Weekly Chat: Sept. 19-26

[*Amy*]

It's awwwwfully quiet around here this morning. [crickets chirping]

Good morning mamas. I can't believe this, but it's 10:30 and I just got out of bed. I got up with DH around 7:00, ate breakfast, and then got back into bed "for just a minute" and slept for another two hours. I was kind of shocked at myself. Growth spurt, I guess! I felt really crappy yesterday though, so maybe I'm not getting enough rest or something. Anyway, I feel really indulgent now. :)

I had a great birth dream last night; I could feel Brynn's head, shoulders, and elbows being born, but I really was not in any pain at all. Seems like my Hypnobabies programming is working, at least subconsciously! :thumb When I saw Brynn's face, I said, "ohhh, that's what you look like - I've been wondering!" But now of course I can't remember what she looked like. :duh

This week my plan is to order my diapers ( :banana ) and wash and organize the baby clothes we have so far. I'm very excited about this.

I hope everyone's week is off to a great start!!

[Queen of Cups]

Look at me - posting on the first page of the new thread!

My main goal this week is to finally finish cleaning my guest room/sewing room so I can start on all my baby projects (diapers, slings, quilt). I have no motivation to finish it, though - just to sew!

I really exhausted myself on Saturday: work, took DS to a local festival and had to sling him while I walked at least a couple miles, then went to a craft fair, then to a family fun night at the children's museum. I was feeling soooo bad that night and the next morning. I hate having to limit my activities, but I guess 30 weeks is about right to start taking it easier... I should have learned my lesson last time with the PTL a month before DS was born.

I'm loving the Hypnobabies program again - I'm so relaxed about the actual birth, its just the timing of it and family reunions around it that I'm stressed about!

[DreamsInDigital]

6 more weeks until I go on maternity leave. That means only 5 more Mondays. Blah. I wish I could sleep until 10:30.

[AmyGirl28]

Hello Ladies. How was your weekend? Mine was nice. I went to visit my mom 2 hours away. That will be my last trip until after the baby is born. I have resolved to firmly plant my arse to the sofa. :LOL
9 more weeks to go. I am so jealous that some of you only have 4 or 5 weeks left. I am not quite to that totally uncomfortable stage, but I am getting there. Gosh, September just flew by! I'm sure October and November will just crawl. I'm trying to keep busy though to make the time go by faster.

[babykaoss]

Hi everyone.....this is my first time jumping in on these threads, but I'm glad I caught it before it was pages long! Well I finally got all the closets cleaned out.........you have no idea how long that monster has been hanging over my shoulder, as i was one of those that would sort of chuck things in the closets and close the door real fast. I'm SO proud of myself for getting so much organized. It probably wouldnt have happened if I wasnt pregnant and nesting, honestly. :nut

I borrowed the Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth from my friend yesterday, so I'm excited about getting this book read because there have been so many people recommending it left and right!

Oh, and I have gotten to know one of my neighbors in my apartment complex this week, a single girl w/ a 2 week old daughter and 2 year old son. She's had me babysit for her already and we're talking about me doing childcare for her while she works after I have my baby! YES! Stay at home mom AND income?!? This would be a lifesaver!!! :bouncy

[babykaoss]

My main goal this week is to finally finish cleaning my guest room/sewing room so I can start on all my baby projects (diapers, slings, quilt). I have no motivation to finish it, though - just to sew!

I really exhausted myself on Saturday: work, took DS to a local festival and had to sling him while I walked at least a couple miles, then went to a craft fair, then to a family fun night at the children's museum. I was feeling soooo bad that night and the next morning. I hate having to limit my activities, but I guess 30 weeks is about right to start taking it easier... I should have learned my lesson last time with the PTL a month before DS was born.


you'll have to post pictures when you're done, especially of the slings. i'd love to see them!

i did have a similar day to yours yesterday, we ended up going with another couple and their 6 month old baby to the zoo. Dd has been consistently worn up until the past few weeks when she has alternately asked to 'walk' and thrown a fit when i try to put her on my back.......so i think i'm losing my tolerance for it. Yesterday though, her little legs were worn out and so i put her on my back in the mei tai, and although it wasnt uncomfortable as far as carrying her, i was SO exhausted and didnt even realize it until we got back home. And our van doesnt have air conditioning, and so I was all hot and sweaty and cranky when we got home. That must have been why dh sent me to take a nap, heh heh.

[HoneyTree]

Plagio, MelW, gonnabeamom, Bensmom, zjande and Kavita, thanks so much for chiming in about birth anxiety in last week's chat thread. I can't tell you how helpful it was to read your posts!! In fact, I have borrowed a couple of phrases and used them in an idea that I think was mentioned only in jest, but that I am trying anyway:

www.geocities.com/treesock/messages.jpg

I am not usually one to do this sort of thing -- post affirmations to myself -- but then this would not be the first time that I've realized in the past 8 months that the person I thought I was is alrealdy someone I'm growing away from...

[Feathere]

Hi Mamas,
I am finally getting around to this weekly thread thing! I keep saying to myself, this is the week... but finally it is.

I'm feeling pretty good still. I am 32 weeks... we are taking our last big excursion this week to WI where we will be moving...it's rather peculiar, but we are moving a lot in the next year or so. In January we are moving overseas for about 6 months, then to WI. We are going to try to sell our house while we are overseas, keep stuff in storage, and then come back for it before we move to WI, where we will have to buy another house... I can't even begin to think about all this, all I want to do is think about buying diapers and getting our hb supplies in order.

At my last appointment I learned my baby is currently breech. The mw isn't stressed about it yet, and I'm not tooooooo concerned, but I am seeing the chiro to try to help things along. I set up the ironing board and have tried laying on it... has anyone else tried that? It's a real drag!! My 2 yo dd keeps telling the baby to 'turn head down' which can't hurt. I hope the aby turns soon because it would be more comfortable all around.

It is so comforting to read the posts on this board; even though I don't post a lot, it is nice to know that other people are having the same sort of pg events and we are all having babies around the same time! I am excited for everyone! :grouphug

[meagen]

First of all, Amy, those pictures are beautiful! You will treasure those forever. I've been tempted to do something like that, but since I didn't with the first one, I feel like I shouldn't this time. I do, however, have amazing photos of Molly @ 6 mo, and will for sure do that again!

As far as weekend goes, we (dh and I) were big lumps yesterday, which led to a cranky dd. dh ran a marathon, and walking the mile from our house to the finish line and back about wore me out! :LOL So, by the time we got home, we laid around and watched football. I really feel like if we could have just one more weekend day, I'd be happy. The plan this week is to get ready for the in-laws :yikes: mil actually said to me, "we wanted to get out for a visit before you get too big" yeah, well, I'll be 35 weeks, so it doesn't get much bigger than this! You missed it be like 6 mo.! Can you tell we get along well? They are very stressful for me, so I'm trying to stay calm and let things go, as not to go into labor while they are here! That would be hell!!! Usually they just give me migrains, so we'll see.

Other than that, I'm getting very excited for Liam! I'm washing all my nursing clothes from Molly this morning, and packing a hospital bag. Woo Hoo! I hope the next few weeks fly by!!

[trmpetplaya]

Meagen, best wishes with your in-laws! That definitely sounds quite stressful...

It's starting to look as though my Mother will be able to fly up from Georgia to be here for the birth (if the timing works out, of course...)! I will be 33 weeks along tomorrow and the EDD is the 8th so my mom is probably going to fly out the last weekend of October so she won't be here for too long before the baby's born (hopefully this one won't be very late...).

Our first childbirth class was last Thursday and there are only four couples total in it which is a really nice size, I think. They're based on "Birthing From Within" which I just finished reading and are going quite well so far.

This week, I hope to go to work and survive! That's really my only goal till the weekend when I want to sort through our baby clothes and get our registry out to everyone who wants to get us stuff so they'll get us stuff we need/want.

I'm not at work today because I had a slight fever last night and have terrible rib pain on my right side. If anyone knows anything about that or has gone through it, please check out my thread on "I'm Pregnant" about "Bruised Rib?" because I explained it much more fully there. It's no fun though... other than that, things are going well :D

love and peace. :love

[gonnabeamom]

Meagen,

Good luck with the in-laws. Mine drive me crazy, but fortunately are very hands off. Remember that being 35 weeks pregnant is a very good excuse for just about anything. "I'm sorry I need to go lie down". "I just can't face food first thing in the morning, feel free to help yourself to whatever you'd like for breakfast". "Why don't you take DH and go, I'd just slow you down"


DH and I spent the weekend puttering on neglected household stuff. He got his eyes checked so he can actually see the babe when it arrives, we stocked up on some stuff at Costco, and did a mountain of laundry. He was coming down with a cold Sunday, which was a mixed deal. Mostly bad, but it did make him slow down. Lately he's so stressed by the amount he thinks needs to be done that he doesn't relax when he comes home, which means he drives me crazy. It turns out some of it is because the house is very chaotic (our painter is working on week 5), which bothers me some, and him a lot. So now we have a couple of rooms that are functional and a couple of rooms that are, closing in. The handy guy is here right now working on the leak in the kitchen and then he'll replace the faucet in the bathroom. Pregnancy seems to be the only thing that forces me to get stuff done.

It was actually kind of motivating to get stuff done, I actually steam-mopped the kitchen floor, and cleaned up the dogs bowls, and started to vacuum the rest of the downstairs. Then I ran out of energy and hear I am noodling on line again.

Off to try and be productive.

[SonjaW]

This is my first time with the weekly post as well!!

I am 33 weeks today!! Wow! DH and I headed to our cabin in the woods this weekend, and I had a wonderful time away from mirrors. I've noticed that the mirrors in our house make me feel "large" and "tired". Several moose visited our pond at the cabin, one was a mama with her baby.

I am noticing that I hate stairs. We have two sets of them in our house (basement) and they just tire me out. I limit myself to how many times I will go up and down them.

I also seem to be very HOT laitly. It was in the 50's last night and I still slept without blankets.

This week I plan to get Annabelles college fund set up, write my first draft of my birth plan for my doula to review, and practice my HypnoBirthing dilligently.

Annabelle has been moving a lot laitly and she is head down 95% of the day, which makes me very happy. She has discovered that my ribs feel good on her feet, I love it.

Thanks fo listening!

[Awaken]

Hi all, read thru all your updates! I'll try to paraphrase since I have a lot to say and don't want it to get too long!

The w/e started out crappy, I won't go into detail but it involved another parent actually walking up to me and berating me in front of other people for letting my ds splash in a puddle!! The only thing ds had enjoyed and laughed at all day, btw. Between that, putting my back out getting ds out of the car seat, and the blazing heat, I was in tears and so angry I just stomped out of there and went home and cried and thought of all kinds of mean things to say to that idiot father who thought it was fun to ruin a pregnant woman and toddler's day!

Anyway, things got much better after that- we ended up going to Ikea that night and ds had an absolute blast running all over the store and playing with the lights. We got some much-needed household stuff so that feels good.

And we got an organizing shelf for diapers, etc for the kids' room so I was able to clean out a bureau drawer and go through all the newborn clothes and put them in- it feels sooooo good to do *something* to make way for the baby, finally! And it's good to rearrange ds's room now, months before the baby comes, instead of changing it all once the baby gets here.

Then we all went swimming and had a wonderful time- I did laps while dh and ds splashed in the baby pool. Swimming just gives me a huge mental lift, and I felt so much better emotionally afterwards. And my prenatal yoga class resumes this week so that'll help, too.

yay- and just now found out my neighbor 2 houses down just had a baby girl! Woo hoo- can't wait to see her and hear all about it- she was going to a nice birth center.

**TMI alert** Thanks again to all who responded with suggestions/support about my sex and preterm labor question- we didn't have any condoms when the time came, but we, uh, have been trying some other tactics and it's worked out really well...I am so relieved- I really didn't want to be off sex for 8 more weeks, then have a baby and wait even longer after that! I told dh he has to go buy the condoms though- I'd be too embarrassed buying them at 7.5 months preg.! :LOL

Feathere- where are you moving in WI? We lived there for a year when I did my internship.

Ok, well I'm sure there's more but I'll end it here! Have a great night everyone.

[MelW]

Mary~ I can see the embarrassment at buying condoms at this stage. Though it would be entertaining to come up with wisecracks: "I'm trying to prevent twins!" "Just making sure that this never happens again"... :LOL

I've finally gotten off my butt and back to some working out (besides packing and unpacking), with a wonderful swim this afternoon. I'm feeling a little out of shape, though...I haven't worked out consistently for over a month. I'm hoping the exercise will boost my appetite, which has been pretty bad lately. It really worked to get me eating in the first trimester. Is the always-hungry pregnant woman just a pop-culture stereotype?

Otherwise, I'm just coasting here at 33 weeks. I have a midwife appt later this week, then three weeks later, then two, then weekly. I actually booked appointments until the end of my pregnancy- the receptionist booked my final time for December 1st, which is 43 1/2 weeks! I refused to write that one down in my dayplanner... Unless I need a postpartum visit :)

[HoneyTree]

Sonja, ITA on the stairs and hot temps. If I walk up stairs (like, two of them) too quickly, it gives me a BHX! I take it as a sign to slow WAY down, but I'm planning on mentioning it to my mw this week just in case. AND, it may have to do with the still-upper-80-degree nights around here, but I can't get cool enough either. I can't justify putting the AC on 70 degrees, so I brought our little oscillating fan in the bedroom for when I'm sleeping. That seems to help a lot.

[*Amy*]

Is the always-hungry pregnant woman just a pop-culture stereotype?

Um, no. :bag:

Man I have been SO tired the past few days. It's like being back in the first trimester. I hope it doesn't remain this way for the next 8-10 weeks.

Yay on all of you swimming, exercising mamas! I just sent out an email to the stay-at-home-mamas in my village to see if they wanted to start walking with me MWF mornings. We'll see how that goes! I figure the possibility of having other people there will help motivate me to get out of the house at 8:30am. (Instead of going back to bed after DH goes to work. :LOL )

[Gunter]

Hey you mamas!

I am swimming, too! Yay! I kick myself for not having done more of it this summer. But my neighborhood pool stays open until Sept. 30th. Feeling great other than a cold. Thanks for the advice and support about my MW situation. Feel free to check out my post and offer more thoughts!

The head cold started with a mild sore throat last week and is now total nasal flow. I don't take meds so just trying to let it run it's course. I did make potato soup. Nice to be able to stay home on the couch today! I have to go in to work tomorrow though but only half the day.

We've got a decent diaper stash set up, Goodwill clothes washed and ready. We have set up little diaper changing stations in a few rooms upstairs and down just to make life a little more managable. I still need to get cloth wipes from somewhere and some sort of diaper pail. Suggestions?

I had three friends from high school stay this weekend. It's been over 2 years since we were all together at one's wedding. They each brought a blessing for me since they couldn't come to my mother's blessing last week and strung the necklace. I graduated HS in 1996 so it's been a while. While they were here, DH had a surprise guy's night out. He thought it was just one neighbor friend but I e-mailed some of his friends and they all met at a bar downtown to surprise him. Fun times for us.

[tryingitnatural]

Well this weekend was busy for me. I washed all my son's clothes and fixed our bedroom to accomodate him. His bassinet is ready and covered so dust won't get on it. My oldest cat did not seem to like what was going on, though. I felt a little sorry for her b/c this is nothing yet! :wink. I have yet to fix my bag but at least all the babies stuff is taken care off (even the lotion, bodywash, brushes, etc.) I can always do with out at the birthcenter it is not like I will be there for days - I hope :)

[tryingitnatural]

Amy don't be so hard on yourself. I swear that at 30-32 wks for me my energy just disappeared. I felt so sorry for DH b/c I only get to see him during the weekend and all I wanted to do was to lay in bed. I just now started to gain some of my energy back not a whole lot but better than 2 weeks ago. Hope you do the same :-)

[Kavita]

BTE--I liked your pic, and was impressed with myself b/c of you and MelW--I've never actually authored a legitimate affirmation before!! :D Now I feel like Deepak Chopra or something! :LOL

Gunter, I bought a diaper pail from Baby Belle Bottoms along with a x-large purple waterproof tote (bummis? Can't remember.) I also got some Kissaluvs terry wipes and they seem pretty nice, soft and like they will be absorbent. However, it's probably better to get input from someone who has actually seen these supplies in action!!

Amy and anyone else who is buying diapers--I ordered a dozen DSQ chinese prefolds for about $10--clothdiaper.com is having an overstock sale, and I though that was a pretty good deal. I also got 4 double flannel receiving blankets for 9.95. They arrived today and the diapers appear reasonably well made and durable, and the blankies are big and soft and seem pretty cushy, and the colors are very nice. They come in mint, yellow, peach, pink and blue--you can specify colors, so I asked for "mint, yellow, peach, and suprise me!" They sent blue--think it's a cosmic sign that I'm having a boy?

No news here--I am tired today. I didn't sleep enough last night and then I was busy all day today. I'm actually considering starting my maternity leave a week earlier than planned--I'm "due" on 11/15 but was planning to start on 11/7. Now I'm wondering about something like 11/1. I'm just too stressed with all the negative crap at work and I think it would be a good idea to be done with that and focus on the pregnancy and myself for a little while.

Last night I finally did the hypnobabies and sort of remembered some of it! I did one of the CD's before and didn't remember anything between "relax" and "you will count up and be alert". Not sure if I was deeply hypnotized or just snoozing! I am feeling rather behind on it, don't know why I'm procrastinating so much except that in some way I realize that I am thriving on a certain level of stress and feel like I'll just collapase in a heap if I stop and relax. And also I have a lot of anxiety about "doing it right". Hmm, that could be the whole labor problem I'm trying to prevent with hypnosis in the first place, couldn't it?! :p

Well I need to get off of here, I need to do some work for work tomorrow and then DH needs the computer for his coursework.

[Queen of Cups]

re: cloth wipes, I'm a cheapie and so I just get the little gerber packs of baby washcloths when I see them on sale. I put them into a sposie wipe box that's empty, put a couple drops of baby shampoo on top and run enough water over to dampen them. Works great for me!

re: diaper pail, I use a regular trash can with a flap-door lid and a waterproof laundry bag from the camping section of walmart. Again, I'm super cheap.

Thanks for posting the tip on clothdiaper.com - I ordered another 2 dozen prefolds. I already have three dozen, but between cding and needing burp cloths I figure I'd rather have too many than too few. Newborns go through soooo many dipes a day - they poop every single time you breastfeed, you know! New moms, prepare yourself... you're looking lovingly at your baby nursing and then there's inevitably this explosive poopy sound that brings gasps from everyone in the room!

I had a rotten day, but I'm going to go take a hot bath, do my Hypnobabies, and fall asleep. Tomorrow will have to be better, right?

[*Amy*]

Have any of you seen the recent issue of Child magazine? They have an article about co-sleeping so I swiped it from my midwife's office yesterday thinking, "Yay! Mainstream media is finally getting on board with co-sleeping." Not so. The article was SO biased and so scare-tactic oriented that even though it SEEMS that it is going to advocate sleep sharing, it really doesn't. I'm thinking about writing a letter to their editor about how negatively biased the article is, in fact. I tried to find it on their webpage so I could post a link for everyone, by the way, but can't. It just annoys me so much how our culture continues to perpetuate the taboo against night-time parenting.

:soapbox

[nataliekat]

Hopping in a tad late, here, but oh, well.

You ladies are making me feel so lazy! I'm barely doing anything, not even cleaning my house. DH comes home every night to a messy kitchen, poor man. All I do in my spare time is get online and order things I want. Just got a new diaper bag which I'm ALL excited about.

Now I don't know if it was such a good idea to have kids in Oct/Nov because now I have to order Maisie's birthday gifts and X-mas on top of all the baby stuff I want. Her b-day is only a month away, I better decide what she's getting. Um, honey, I think we're going to have to carry a balance on the credit card for a little while :blush .

I was going to do the birth center here in town but all of a sudden am thinking about a homebirth. So that's occupying my mind quite a bit. I never thought it was the right option for me, but now it just seems to make so much sense, especially with Maisie and no family in town, I don't know what I would do with her. Anyway, have a MW visit today, so we'll be talking a lot about that.

I'll be 33 weeks on Thursday and in the last few days have been wiped out! Took up walking again, which makes me feel good. I didn't exercise at all in my last pregnancy, and I think it makes such a difference.

My knitting group is having a knit-along, doing wool soakers for me. It's so fun!

Blah, blah, blah.

Anyway, that's me!

[willemsmamma]

HI everyone. I'm back from my little excursion last week to my parents house. Getting there was a fiasco. My parents paid for a plane ticket thinking a 45 minute flight would be lots better than a 6 hour drive. In theory that would have been nice. But when I got to the airport, my flight was cancelled due to Ophelia weather and I ended up spending the next 7 hours in the airport. I must have been a sight, 8 1/2 months pregnant, chasing willem around trying to keep him occupied. When we finally did board the plane at 10pm we still couldn't take off for almost an hour because one of the planes had "difficulty" landing and there were ambulances and firetrucks on the runway... very reassuring. :o So we didn't arrive until 12:30 am... and we were supposed to be there around 6:30 pm earlier that night.
The time at my parents was actually really nice. They got their fill of willem's craziness and I feel better about our relationship...a lot better than I have in a long time. We only butted heads once on Sunday morning when my mom asked an intrusive question :irked: and I answered her very defensively and abrasively, really without thinking, but that was over in about 5 minutes and th rest of our stay was nice. The trip back wasn't so bad either because the plane was actually there and on time. Only problem we had was finding my car in the parking lot once the shuttle dropped us off... I walked around in the hot sun, huffing and puffing, pushing ds in the stroller while pulling our luggage. No wonder I still feel so worn out!!! :zzz
Dh got a lot done around the house in the five days we were gone. He finished refinishing the dressers I bought at Goodwill so this weeks' major plan is to get them in our bdroom and get them organized. It was nice to get away (my last trip anywhere for a long time) and the coming back was even better :wink :heartbeat :wink .
Oh and the other fiasco when I was gone was that someone hacked into my ebay account and changed things around so I had a few people ask for refunds when it came time to pay... major mess, I'm not really happy with how ebay/paypal handled it especially because I was selling the stuff to make some extra $ to buy stuff for me and the babe :( (like a sling etc). I ended up with $10 in my account for all the work I did.... :angry I just don't feel like relisting anything at this point.

Gunter, on baby wipes, we couldn't afford anything fancy and I don't have a sewing machine to make stuff with so we got a pack of washcloths at the dollar store (I think there were 32 for $5) and used those. They weren't the softest things in the world but they worked, especially on the sticky breastmilk poops. I think we used 1/4 cut-ups of paper towels dipped in water for the first few weeks because we were afraid to use the washcloths on his silky butt!!! Then I switched over to 7th generation wipes when I found them at the discount grocery a few months ago, and I'm planning on using the small baby washcloths this time (I think I've accumulated close to 30 so far).
on diaper pails... for the longest time we just used the far end of the bathtub (we always had two full bathrooms). and then we started using a large mop bucket (wet pail style). and now we have two flip top diaper pails I picked up for cheap (like $1 apeice) at yard sales... one upstairs and one downstairs. Just goes to show that anything will work. I prefer smaller pails because doing laundry more often seems to be what we do.

[Awaken]

Amy- definitely write a letter to the editor! That's been one of my resolutions- to write in when I see something that needs to be said! I have to do it right away when I'm insenced though, b/c if I wait too long I never do it!

QoC- thanks for the tip on the baby washcloths to use as wipes. Some cd'ing friends of mine are going to loan me some motherease, unbleached prefolds, snappi's, etc so I can see what I like.

Willemsmama- OMG- I can't imagine spending 7 hrs in an airport with my 2 yo! Then boarding a plane so late and then sitting there!! You poor thing. Did he sleep at all during that time? I'm really glad your time with your parents was ok though!

nataliekat- me, too, on the homebirth vs birth center. We have all but decided to do the hb, just waiting on hearing back from the mw on confirmation!!

[willemsmamma]

itsybitsy- yeah, it was insane. I only planned on being there for maybe an hour so the 7 hour delay wasn't something I was prepared for (our planes were coming from North Carolina so hence the delays). The worst part was I only had two diapers with me. I changed him immediately when we got in the terminal and shortly after he pooped so I had to change him again. I had to air dry his shorts three times because him sitting in the stroller apparently made his stream go sideways. ANd the second dipe I put on him was a pocket diaper and somehow only got stuffed with 2 inserts but I usually stuff it with 3 because otherwise it falls off his skinny butt... and it did. RIght there in the middle of the airport! I tried to make it tighter but it didn't work and he was soaked anyway, and we still had at least 4 more hours to wait. A little 10 or 12 pack of sposies a the airport convenience store was $16.99!!! So :LOL I lined his pocket dipe inside on the PUL and over the fleece with the free maxi pads in the bathrooms. I think I had to use like 12. And they held up!!!
The Philly airport has rocking chairs throughout and we sat and read his potty books for a while. I got to talking to the lady sitting next to us (she was really sweet and I ended up leaving my stroller in her watch as I walked him up and down the terminal to get him to sleep). lots of people there were stranded just like us and were really nice to me and very helpful. Finally at about 9pm I asked a guy waiting at our gate if he knew if there was a coffee shop around and he went looking for one and brought me back a cup!!! and another guy dragged a rocking chair over just for me. And another businessman helped me get my stuff over to the new gate when they changed gates on us the last time.
Willem slept for about an hour and a half but was awake when we got on the plane. I was amazed that he fell asleep before we took off. He never just falls asleep in my lap.
Anyway....it was crazy. :flipped

[nataliekat]

Willemsmamma - that does sound crazy! What a nightmare, especially with the diapers! It's great that you stayed so calm and that everyone was so nice to you.

Itsybitsy - My MW made us feel great about the HB when we saw her yesterday. In the next couple of days I'm going to email the BC and tell them to forget it! Now, how to tell our parents, hmmmm.

[s_kristina]

I finally got in to my new midwives this week. I thought we were going in for an actual appointment on Monday, but that turned out to be a consult to see if I was a good candidate for the midwives or if I would need to see the OB. Thankfully the OB signed off on me seeing the midwives. Although they aren't what I was expecting from my wonderful midwife in LA, I miss her! They seem to be more of the medwife mindset which could cause some arguments, but I am not up to trying to find a new OB at this point especially since they do deliver at the hospital I want to go to. I guess it will be a good thing I have learned to be far more assertive then I was when I had dd.

Tuesday dd and I went to the midwives again this time for an actual checkup. I was there a good hour before being seen which is annoying, but they had a couple ladies come in wanting to be checked prior to going to L&D. I am measuring big and with a transverse little guy that makes me wonder just how big he is going to be, but the midwife was not concerned. We did find out that I have sugar in my urine now and my bloood pressure is starting to go up so I get to go have bloodwork done Saturday when dh can take me. I plan to keep an eye on my blood pressure by checking it every time we go to a store with a pharmacy until I go back in 2 weeks. Hopefully my blood pressure will stay under control as it went really high with dd and I ended up in bad shape because of it. I have a feeling if that happens this group will be pushing for an induction. With a little bit of luck I won't have to worry about any of that though.

[Slackermom]

Willemsmama -- holy cow, what a story! I can't imagine trying to entertain a 2 year old for that long in an airport. Very creative diapering!

I'm jumping in late, but there's not much new with me. Met with our doula last night...that was fun. She was with us last time too, and is really sweet and great to work with. I really need to get nesting in a serious way. There are so many little tasks that I've been saying, "Oh, I'll do that later"...and now it's "later", and nothing is done!

[spughy]

Hi everyone! This is a crazy busy week for me. On the weekend I was having major, major rib pain and while yesterday was not too bad during the day, yesterday evening it was brutal. At work I've had full-day things going on - Monday I was training people, Tuesday an HR seminar (which was actually fun) but I haven't got any actual work done at all. And I missed my lunch workout both days. But I did manage to cram it in today. I haven't cooked dinner all week, but tonight I have to because our over-the-fence neighbours are moving away in a few days - just to another part of town, but it's fairly far away and I doubt we'll get to see them much, which is too bad because they're awesome neighbours - anyway, I'm cooking dinner for them because their kitchen is getting all packed up and they probably don't want to live solely on take-out and microwaveables for the next few days. This afternoon we have a midwife appt and tomorrow night is prenatal class, then Friday night we're meeting with a doula to see if we're a good match (yes I know we're leaving it really late!) then Saturday we have a housewarming party to go to that I think we might skip and Sunday is our hypnobirthing class and my weekly "oh, right, I have friends" coffee date...

Next week DH is leaving for France for a week (sniff, sniff) and I am all alone with the needy hound - I think I will work from home a couple days or maybe just afternoons. Even though that only saves me a 20-minute commute it still seems like less stress somehow.

Ow ow ow ow ow how can non-broken ribs hurt this much? I feel like such a wussy wimpy girl but it really is incredibly painful. I can deal with the dull ache but the stabbing pain is nasty.

[MelW]

I've had a busy week here, too. Went to my perinatal nursing professional practice group on Monday night, to see an awesome presentation about reducing the medicalization of pregnancy and birth. The doula who presented is really great- she does workshops for medical, nursing and midwifery students. I've seen her present before at a workshop last year with Ina May Gaskin. Lately a lot of my continuing education stuff has been really "high-risk" focused, so it was great to attend something that was so positive about normal birth :love

Yesterday I went for a crazy long walk my favourite Italian deli to buy olive oil (plus several other stops along the way to run various errands), and was totally wiped out by the time I got home. Last night I worked overtime for four hours, but was grateful to be finished by 11- I was exhausted.

Today I had a wonderful swim at the pool and went to the farmer's market. There were lots of moms and babies there! I bought a ton of food to make for Saturday night, when we're having a big group of friends over for dinner. Between all of this and a friend's book launch on Thursday night, my midwife visit Thursday morning, and one last visit to our old house to get our planters and gardening stuff sometime (Friday morning, I guess), I have a packed-full week. I'm still trying to unpack the last couple of boxes, but they're conveniently shoved in the back of the closet right now so I don't have to be remined of them all the time.

Off to start a "to do list"....

[*Amy*]

You all sound busy! I ran around all day yesterday so I think I'm going to take it easy today and wash baby clothes and try to finish reading my vaccination book.

My MIL called last night and said that several people in the family are going in to buy us the Amby. :carrot That's going to save us a bundle, and will be the last major purchase we need to make (except the camcorder DH wants to get). Things are really starting to come together! I ordered my diapers earlier this week so I can't wait to get those in the mail!

Maybe this should get a separate thread, but I'm curious about what y'all have decided to do about Group B Strep screening and/or treatment I just read this article (http://www.mothering.com/articles/pregnancy_birth/birth_preparation/group-b.html) yesterday so I am looking into alternative treatments should I test positive. I'm definitely going to wait until around 37 weeks to be tested though.

Oh, and paging Dr. Freud: I had a terrible dream last night that I was at a friend's house overnight and several men tried to break in and kill us. The whole dream was us racing around trying to lock all of the doors to keep them out. At one point, one of them broke in (and I think it was David Bowie, which how bizarre is that - I know David Bowie doesn't want to kill me!) and my friend somehow killed him and managed to throw his body back outside. I kept calling 911 for them to come help us but they were being totally nonchalant about the situation and wouldn't send help. I wasn't pregnant in the dream though, so at least there wasn't that extra element to terrify me. I know I also had a dream night-before-last that someone was trying to kill me, but I don't remember the details. Are these just normal pregnancy anxiety dreams, ya think?

[Gunter]

I have definately had some odd dreams this pregnancy, too. Weird stuff...what is really in those pre-natals, I wonder???

Tonight, Dh and I are going to a local AP meeting. We've been to two other meetings and really like the group. It's great to meet people before we even have our babe in arms.

Tomorrow, we get a couples massage!!! The owner is a doula and trained in pre-natal massage. Woo hoo!!!

I have had a head cold since Sunday but it's a lot better now.

MW appt. on Saturday at 31 weeks. Kinda ackward b/c we have to decide about who will care for me from now and through birth. I was seeing the MW apprentice and was her primary but she is not working with the MW anymore. So, I have to choose between them, essentially. Hmmn...

[*Amy*]

Gunter, have you come any closer to making your decision? Wow, a couples massage - how wonderful!!

I just had the nicest conversation with the District Immunization Representative for the state of Ohio. I called to ask if I would need special paperwork to take to the pediatrician to explain that we are going to be using a delayed/modified vaccination schedule, and I expected the worst. But he was great! He seemed completely supportive of my decision, and was ALL about advocating breastfeeding before I even mentioned it myself. He didn't at all try to talk me out of my position or anything. I mean, total shocker. People can surprise you!

[samsmamma]

Amy - let me know if you are still looking for info to write to the editor of Child - I can help.

Sorry I haven't been able to post, but between the lack of privacy at work and my exhaustion, there's not much left!

I was on jury duty Mon and Tues, but did not get called to sit for a trial. Yay! So that was that.

Had a great MW visit yesterday and today I ordered my birth kit and my mattress bag and my pads for afterwards. I have some herbs I need to get, but I'm going to wait till my next appt to pick that stuff up. I'm trying to motivate DH to get moving with reorganizing stuff around the house. Oh, I also set up my diaper service! I'm so excited! I guess I finally feel like I'm having a baby!

My chiro was delighted to hear that we're doing HB and offered to come by my house after I deliver to give me an adjustment as a present! How nice is that!

Work is still crazy, as I said, but we should be hiring my assistant soon so that is good!

I've been pretty emotional though and any stress at home kind of makes me burst into tears, so I will talk to my SW about that on Tuesday when I have my next appt, because I know it is normal to be hormonal and emotional but I still just want to be sure nothing raises any red flags for her about PPD.

Will try to check in again, but I can't promise!

--Erica

[willemsmamma]

:champagne Today is my and dh's anniversary!!!! :champagne
3rd year, 2nd pregnancy... yeah, apparently we've been busy :p .

We're not doing much to celebrate other than trying to put ds to bed early tonight and just snuggling. I'll probably cry and get all sappy and go to bed around 9 anyway.

Still feel crappy from our trip. Very emotional too. Somehow today I've been equating my lack of housecleaning/caring to bad mothering.
Damn hormones!!!

Jellyfishy... I feel the same way about nesting. I have so much left to do and still don't care. I've left a lot to later and like you said later is now. All I wanna do is lay on the couch and veg out to sappy movies.

On a happy sappy note, got my diapers in the mail yesterday!!! OMG I actually ordered some newborn sized ones because i hated how huge the smalls were on Willem last time... they looked uncomfortable. Well these are sooo tiny and sooo soft and soooo sweet. I teared up just inspecting them all.

I can't believe that a month from now I will be just about to give birth, have already given birth, or <gasp> will be holding a newborn!!!

[Gunter]

Congrats on your anniv, willemsmama!!!

No concrete decision on the MW thing, yet. I go for my 31 week appt. tomorrow to talk with the actual MW in person. The MW apprentice and i have talked extensively so we want to talk with the MW, too.

The couples massage was great. Kinda weird to have to lay on my sides instead of back and front. But she is a doula and certified in pre-natal so I trust her. It made me want her to do a home visit when I go into labor! DH really relaxed, we've had three couples massages or so over the years and i had never seen him so deeply relaxed. Yay for him.

[Kavita]

The massage sounds great! Of course, anything that relaxes my DH doesn't sound so soothing to me these days--he is so wiped out and exhaused from all the work that he is doing that anything that is even close to relaxation makes him fall asleep and start snoring extremely loudly. Which kind of prevents a lot of relaxation on my part!! It's the worst with the hypnobabies CD's--I listen to them in the bedroom and tried to get him to hang out/listen/participate in some of this. (It's not that he's unwilling, it's the above time/energy problem.) About the time we get to the "this contains powerful relaxation suggestions so never listen to this in a moving vehicle . . . " part, he has fallen deep asleep and is snoring his head off!! This sort of irritates me because him drowning out the CD with his snoring makes it hard for me to relax and pay attention, and I haven't progressed to the point in my relaxation/hypnosis skills where I can just ignore that!! Then later he's all happy and is like, "Wow, this hypnosis stuff is so relaxing!" :LOL :irked: But hey, I love him anyway!

The excellent news of the week is that DH got the faculty job!!!!!! So they will be contacting him soon about what courses he will be teaching. I'm really proud of him (I would have been proud of him even if he didn't get it because he worked so hard and really did a good job in the faculty certification course.) And I'm also relieved, because it stands to make a big difference financially for us and will probably be the difference between me staying home and not, or being fiscally frugal/careful vs. living in penury and getting into major debt if I stay home regardless. So I'm really excited.

[flapjack]

Amy- if David Bowie does break into your house, could you wrap him up and send him to me? I love a man in eyeliner.
OK- hormones aside, the week is calming down. I'm seriously stressing about money because my lovely, wonderful employers didn't pay me my maternity pay and it turns out my husband has no idea how to check his bank balance. The antibiotics are kicking in, so hopefully the nasty contractions won't be coming back, and I had a very cool midwife visit yesterday. I don't know if you remember, we were a little dubious about just how low-key she was prepared to be- well, it looks like I could potentially be getting a very hands off, very low maintenance birth. She's happy with me ignoring the health authority guidelines about transferring to hospital if baby comes early (37 weeks- the form says 36) or late, as long as we go in if there is actually a genuine emergency (blood, meconium or anything abnormal.) and as long as she's working that day, then she'll come and catch the baby- which seeing as I tend to have daylight labours might work out rather nicely. Now, as long as baby stays in until Halloween, everything's ready to go.
Congratulations on your anniversary, Willemsmama :) And your gainfully employed husband, Kavita :) I'm glad it seems like everyone's having a really good week- but you're all so organised! Diapers, washing baby clothes- I feel like such a slob! I have to do some housework, though, because one of my best friends from uni is coming out from London this afternoon, and she'll nag me if I don't...

[MelW]

Congrats, Kavita on your husband's new job. I'm the quick sleeper in our house, and my husband tells stories of me falling asleep mid-conversation some nights when we go to bed. :LOL

Good luck with the midwife decision, Gunter. Have a great apointment :thumb

Helen, I'm glad that things are going well with your midwife, too. I hope that the kidney infection clears up and the yeast stays at bay.

I've been lurking and not posting over the past couple of days, trying to get myself out of a little funk and stress-out. I had a pretty crummy day on Thursday- a strangely awkward and uncomfortable visit with one of my midwives (they work in a group of three- and she's the one I know the least well, works part-time in the practice), which stressed me and set me off.

Then to top it off, I sat in front of some creepy pervert on the bus- and it took me WAY to long to figure out what the strange noises he was making were about. Basically until he kissed the back of my head (I think, anyways), but when I spun around to see what the :censored he was doing, he claimed to have "accidentally" knocked me with his elbow when he turned to look out the window. Whatever... He got off only a couple of stops later, but also accidentally touched another woman's bottom on the way out. I know I should have been angry, but I was still stressed about everything from earlier in the day, and ended up being the crying pregnant woman on the bus. Delightful.

I also have started to deal with the midwives about my relationship with the one that I saw on Thursday. I think we just got started on the wrong foot (a discussion about the possible involvement of a student midwife in my care), and set a bad tone for the rest of the visit. I spoke with the midwife on call yesterday, and I'm going to follow up with the one from Thursday next week. I was really worried mostly about the labour/birth...what if that midwife was on call, what if it was really awkward and uncomfortable at the time, :blah
On the plus side, I am usually a HUGE conflict avoider, and in the past would have let this issue slide for weeks (as in, I'll just deal with it in three weeks at my next appointment- which will be at 36 weeks!), so I'm pretty proud of myself for calling the midwife on call yesterday to start addressing the issue. Obviously it wasn't just my perception, either, because she already had heard from the other midwife that we had a strange visit...

Aside from my stresses, life has been good. We're having friends over for dinner tonight, so I should really go back to bed and get some sleep. After a couple of weeks of sleeping through the night, I seem to be back to my pregnancy waking pattern again... Right now I'm the crazy pregnant woman who wakes up in the middle of the night to post on the internet and read baby name books :flipped

[willemsmamma]

Gunter, couples massage... that was my dream last pg... and this pg come to think of it. Maybe we'll be able to afford it next time around :innocent

Kavita, congrats on the new job for dh!!! How exciting!

MelW :dropjaw :eek :dropjaw :eek ewww, ewww, ew-ew-ew-ew-ew!!!!!!!
I hate creepy perverts. When I was pg with willem I had this one stranger tell me that he LOVED pregnant woman... because they couldn't run away, or they were easier to catch or something equally as creepy and out of line as that. EWWwwwwwwwwww!!!

Dh took willem to work with him this morning to try begin trying to acclimate him to the office for when he'll be taking him there after the baby gets here. I've been having lots of contractions, and they are regular (every 2 or 3 minutes) when I go for a walk. I didn't feel like this last time at all, even right before I went into actual labor, so maybe it means that this baby will be early. Who knows.
So anyway, I've been enjoying my morning to myself. I almost forgot what it is like to take a shower by myself!!!

Have a good weekend everyone!!!!

[babykaoss]

Amy- if David Bowie does break into your house, could you wrap him up and send him to me? I love a man in eyeliner.

i'm next in line! i'd love that man in anything!

:heartbeat

[tripleaces]

Well, today I went on the tour of the hospital I'm giving birth at. All in all I'm quite pleased, two doulas led the tour and they're very pro-breastfeeding (they raffled off two diaper bags and admitted to throwing out the formula that came in them :LOL I won one!) and talked about skin on skin and how important it is, etc. I'm feeling very relieved, a lot of the things I was worried about were talked about and the hospital seems pretty flexible. Their private rooms are pretty nice, too. I hope I get one!

But they showed us the nursery, where the babies are brought to bathe etc. Luckily they're moving towards the babies not having to leave their mother's rooms to be bathed before I birth there. Anyway, there was this baby in the nusery all alone and I just burst into tears seeing the poor little thing. The baby wasn't crying or anything, but it's just so hard to see a little baby who's spend so long in their mamas tummy, listening to mama's heartbeat and breathing and voice, and then to be left alone in a plastic container? :(

Anyway it's just made me so emotional today. They also mentioned fetal monitoring on arrival for at least an hour or two?! Yikes. Going to have to talk to my doctor about that one, or this baby is going to be "accidently" born at home.

[Queen of Cups]

Keja - why couldn't you just decline the bath? There's no medical reason for a baby to need a bath before being discharged from the hospital. Are they really going to come and forcefully take your baby away to bathe it? - if so I would stay home, too! We actually did opt for the nurses to give DS a bath, because he had a head full of hair that was quite gunky. But this time I'm going to give my baby his/her first bath in my room - the hospital has changed its policy recently so baths are always given in the recovery room since my son was born there (I'm sure they would have been agreeable if I had asked for that last time, I was just so tired I didn't even think of it).

Btw, I had a wonderful beautiful natural birth experience at a hospital with DS - it really can be done! I think that in natural-birthing communities sometimes you only hear the hospital-horror-stories, but it is possible to have a great birth at a hospital. I would reccomend staying home as long as possible while laboring, though, just so you can be more comfy and have more privacy. Rooming in was expected at the hospital, as was breastfeeding. Every nurse made a point of introducing herself and letting me know she'd read my birth plan...

On that topic - here's my tip of the week: If you are birthing at a hospital or birth center, make a goodie basket for the nurses/midwives that includes a thank you note and your birth plan. I did that last time and it obviously meant so much to the nursing staff. I got a bunch of pepridge farm cookies (all in individual size packages) and hershy kisses and put some pretty ribbons on the basket handle and then attached my birth plan and a thank you note that said something along the lines of "Thank you so much for sharing this special day with us! We'll always remember your hard work and kindness! Love, the [lastname] family" The whole thing only took me about 10 minutes and $15 or less, but every nurse I met was sooo appreciative. DH dropped it off at the L&D nurses' desk when we checked into the hospital.

DH is giving me the day off today! He's watching DS all day long. So far, I've gone to Whole Foods for lunch and gone to a couple craft/fabric stores, and now I think I'll go to a movie by myself. What luxury! Of course, since I just went and bought a ton of fabric, I'm thinking I might skip the movie and stay home and sew. I never get to sew uninterupted! I'm making the pillow case to go over a body pillow to make one of these: co-sleeping and maternity pillow (http://www.mamaroobabysling.com/newsite/HumanityCoSleeper.html) - for a lot less than $200! I got terrycloth that was 50% off, so I spent a total of $12 since my sister gave me the pillow. I also finally got fabric to make curtains for the nursery. We've had Roman Blinds on the windows that came with the house when we bought it last year right after DS was born, and I've been looking and looking for fabric to make curtains with. I finally found some and it was 50% off, too, so I got 8 yards. That should be plenty - even for the two huge windows in the nursery. Nesting is hitting me hard and I can't stand to not have the curtains finished before #2 is born!

[Queen of Cups]

The nesting instinct got to me... I did stay home and sew all evening. Look what I acomplished! Now the nursery looks fabulous!

Queenie's sewing (http://www.photogrove.com/gallery/album372)

By the way, in the nursery you can see the full sized crib and the very edge of the bunk bed. DS sleeps on the bottom bunk (full-size futon), the crib will be for the baby once s/he is about 6 months and sleeping partially out of our room. Until then, we'll have the baby in our bed, then in a cradle in our room. It seems complicated, but it worked perfectly with DS! (Co-sleep totally until baby starts sleeping a 5-6 hour stretch, then baby starts in cradle and comes to bed when s/he wakes up. Once that's a set routine, we move baby into the nursery crib until they wake up, then they come to our bed each night. THEN, when baby starts sleeping through the entire night and is at least a year old, into a big-kid bed. But, hopefully, this baby won't be ready for that until DS is big enough to sleep on the top bunk!)

[Feathere]

Wow, ladies, you all have been so busy!
I just got back from Green Bay--dh, dd, and I went to 'preview' the town because dh has been offered a job there. It was a good trip--nothing as exhausting as willemsmamas experience, thankfully! I was thinking about her when we were at the airport and was so grateful our flights left on time and nothing was delayed or lost. THe traveling was so tiring, though--I wasn't prepared for how tired I would be. And we stayed at a hotel with concave beds, that sucked. DH and I took turns sleeping with dd, and she kept squeezing me out of the bed, so much so that at one point I got up and went around to the other side of the bed just to have a couple more inches. I've got way more belly than I know what to do with!

all in all, it was good, though, now I can imagine myself living there and don't have scary daydreams about the unknown. We probably won't move there until August because in January we are moving to Austria for the first part of this job. It's a little crazy but right now, all I have to do is concentrate on the baby and my daughter--the rest of the the stuff will be handled somehow, and not by me.

Unfortunately the baby is still breech and I have a raging UTI, which my natural treatments are not curing... any suggestions for either are welcome! I don't think I can lay inverted on the ironing board another minute!

And I loved the sewing Queen of Cups! So far I have only made 2 sets of nursing pad out of old receiving blankets!

[willemsmamma]

Feathere, so glad your traveling wasn't like mine!!!! :LOL
Have you tried chiropractic for the breech situation??? As a chiro myself I have to offer you that solution of course. If you go to www.icpa4kids.com you can find a Webster technique certified chiropractor in your area. That should really help you out. Research has shown that breech presentation is usually due to intrauterine constraint on the fetus caused by a misaligned sacrum and tension in the round ligaments of the uterus. Basically that means that when the base of the spine is misaligned and fixated in that misaligned position it causes the uterus to be torqued thus preventing the baby from flipping head down. so all the inversions in the world won't get your baby to flip if there is no room for him/her to flip.
I have personally helped many patients by using this technique.
Hope this helps!!!! :D

[tripleaces]

Keja - why couldn't you just decline the bath?

Well, I'm just trying to choose my battles, I don't want a huge power struggle at the hospital - I want it to be a pleasant experience! They should be moving to in room bathing and whatnot by October according to the tour, so that's fine by me. Otherwise, yes, I would decline the bath. :wink


On that topic - here's my tip of the week: If you are birthing at a hospital or birth center, make a goodie basket for the nurses/midwives that includes a thank you note and your birth plan.

I love this idea! I was thinking of maybe doing something like this, but thought it might come across as tacky. But even during our tour bringing Starbucks in for the nurses was mentioned, so I think a basket of goodies w/ my birth plan is an excellent idea. Overall, the hospital seemed great. I didn't expect all the things I was worried about to be mentioned on the tour, such as baby going directly to mamas chest for skin on skin, delayed eye drops, birth stools, etc., along with a premade birth plan type checklist my OB gave me which asked what we did or did not want, and it listed rupturing of membranes, IV, epidural, pitocin, and I don't remember what else, at least 10 things.. so they seem pretty open and flexible. :thumb

Anyway, sorry I don't often comment on other's entries, I do read them, though! Now if only my DH would give me the day off... :LOL

[Feathere]

willemsmamma, thanks for the link. I have seen my chiro a couple times already and we did some accupuncture the last time. Do you do that? It was sort of weird because he had me laying on the adjusting frame flat on my back, and he put the needles into my pinky toes. I immediately began to feel nausea taking over, and I tried to fight it for a bit. I thought I was going to lose breakfast. I tried to move so that I was on my side, but then knocked out the needles. So I sat up and felt much better, and we finished with me sitting in a chair. Your professional thoughts are welcome!

I don't know if it made any impact. I see him again Thursday, and will probably schedule more appointments if the babe is still breech at Friday's mw appointment. My mw suggested moxibuxtion too, so we might try that.

[willemsmamma]

Feathere,
I don't personally do accupuncture but I know it works. And moxibustion too because they both stimulate the meridians and the energy flow in the body.
But accupuncture isn't chiropractic. And if your chiro isn't structurally adjusting you, then that tension isn't being released on your uterus. Ask him if he knows how to perform the Webster technique. I'm surprised he hasn't done it already. I'm sure that if you find another chiro in your area who does Webster they probably won't mind working cocurrently with your chiro to help the baby turn.
I wish I was there to help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
Good luck,
Monique

[Gunter]

Feathere, I don't personally do accupuncture but I know it works. And moxibustion too because they both stimulate the meridians and the energy flow in the body. But accupuncture isn't chiropractic. And if your chiro isn't structurally adjusting you, then that tension isn't being released on your uterus. Ask him if he knows how to perform the Webster technique. I'm surprised he hasn't done it already. I'm sure that if you find another chiro in your area who does Webster they probably won't mind working cocurrently with your chiro to help the baby turn. I wish I was there to help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D Good luck, Monique

I started seeing my chiro two weeks ago just to avoid back pain, ease labor, be aligned well, etc... It's been about two years since I saw him on a regular basis. My babe is head down but we did talk about the Webster tech. He helped turn two babes-in-utero the morning I was in the office. And, he was very happy about it, too. His wife is preggo with their 5th, due in Nov. He began to share with me how they are no vax and I told him that we don't plan to vax either. Lots of good support from the chiro! I am going tomorrow and getting some foot refloxology work done by the massage therapist.

[*Amy*]

My back has been so tight the past few days; I wake up in the morning feeling like I've been in a car accident or something. I'm going to yoga tomorrow (taught by my doula) so hopefully I can work the kinks out. I'm jealous of all of you going to chiropractors!!

I've been reading everyone's posts but not replying much; I've just been *so* unbelievably tired the past week or so. It's crazy! I lay on my bed thinking I just need to rest for a minute, and suddenly I wake up an hour later, in the same position that I fell asleep! It's weird for me because I've never been able to nap in my life! DH has been so great about it though, telling me to listen to my body, and every time I tell him I rested or napped, he says, "You are such a good mama!" It's weird for me because I think I have guilt about "resting" or being lazy, so getting praise for taking naps is kind of hilarious to me! Thank God DH is so wonderful! :throb

We've been really bonding more than ever lately. We've started a little evening ritual where he rubs my belly with massage oil, and then reads a story to Brynn before we go to sleep each night. It just makes me feel so good, so close to him - and I know it helps him feel more bonded with Brynn too. It's been helping a lot since we haven't really been having very successful sex the past couple of weeks. At least we feel connected this way (though I know it's not *quite* as fulfilling as sex!). I can't wait until Brynn is actually here so that we can all cuddle together!! :love :heartbeat

[DreamsInDigital]

Somebody needs to start a new weekly thread!