Pregnant with #1 in our 30s August

[pinkorchid2]

Welcome to the Pregnant in Our 30s with #1 thread!
:jumpers: = newest member of the thread!

:belly CURRENT MEMBERS :belly

:shamrock August 2007:shamrock
dctexan (Emily) 34 :storkboy EDD Aug 2007
plummum 36 :surprise: EDD Aug 2007

September 2007
beckyphry (Becky) 32 :storkgirl EDD Sept 2007
hazieluna (Natalia) 36 :surprise: EDD Sept 2007
ATD Mom 32 :surprise: EDD Sept 2007
K9sarchik (Laura) :storkboy 38 EDD Sept 2007
~minnow~ (Lane) 31 :storkgirl EDD Sept 2007
Down to Earth (Laura) 30 :surprise: EDD Sept 2007

October 2007
amberbella :storkboy EDD Oct 2007
shibababy :surprise: EDD Oct 2007
veganone (Elizabeth) 34 :storkgirl EDD Oct 2007
jpiper0430 (Jenn) 31 :surprise: EDD Oct 2007

November 2007
MajorGroover (Dee) 32 :storkgirl EDD Nov 2007
Grace24 (Julia) 36 :storkboy EDD Nov 2007
VeganLove (Michelle) almost 30 :surprise: EDD Nov 2007
dcgirl (Rebecca) 36 :storkboy EDD Nov 2007

December 2007
cmu204 (Cher) 34 :surprise: EDD Dec 2007
CowsRock (Kripa) :surprise: EDD Dec 2007

January 2008
Kharen (Karen) 32 :surprise: EDD Jan 2008
mamajennvt :surprise: EDD Jan 2008
Nico DeMouse 31 :surprise: EDD Jan 2008
xenon 30 :surprise: EDD Jan 2008
SarahJen (Sarah) 36 :surprise: EDD Jan 2008

February 2008
phillybama (Aimee) 31 :surprise: EDD Feb 2008
Teenytoona (Leah) 31 :surprise: EDD Feb 2008
Jujubie (Judy) 34 :surprise: EDD Feb 2008
cicely_m almost 30 :surprise: EDD Feb 2008
jentina (Jen) 34 :surprise: EDD Feb 2008
trizzle(Tracy) 30-something :surprise: EDD Feb 2008

March 2008
pinkorchid2 30 :surprise: EDD Mar 2008
cking (Christina) 31 :surprise: EDD Mar 2008


April 2008
mandy74 (Mandy) 32 :surprise: EDD Apr 2008
:jumpers:PixieAlly (Ally) Age 31 :surprise: EDD April 2, 2008
Anouk(Lacy) 32 :surprise: EDD Apr 13 2008
GISDiva (Kim) Age 32 :surprise: EDD April 15, 2008
meli-mello (Melanie) Age 31 :surprise: EDD April 2008

:baby GRADUATES :baby
:girlbaby: rock dr (CJ) Gabriella born June 05, 2007
:girlbaby: farmama Natalina born July 17, 2007
:boybaby: nikkihoi 37 Marshall born August 4, 2007
:boybaby: eri_flores 31 Ariel Efrain born August 10, 2007
:boybaby: cornpicker 33 Jonah Harrison August 15, 2007
:girlbaby: PiePie 36 Lorelei Siobhan born August 16, 2007
:girlbaby: greengrey (Alex) 30 Layla born August 25, 2007

Click here if you are looking for the TTC #1 in our 30s thread. (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=722338)

[pinkorchid2]

Welcome to the Pregnant with #1 in our 30s August 2007 edition! We have several mamas getting ready to graduate this month, how exciting!

Please remember to highlight requested changes in bold. If you're missing from the list above it was not intentional, just let me know. If you'd like to be added or have info changed just post it in bold.

[Grace24]

Thanks Pink, it looks great!

[cking]

Thanks for the new thread, Pink! It looks great.

This Saturday is my birthday. I'll be 31. ;)

[dcgrl]

Thanks for volunteering to host the thread, Pink! one change for me--I had a birthday a couple of weeks ago, so I'm 36 now (!).

[PiePie]

happy belated bday dcgirl! i'm 36 too!! a great age to have a baby, right?

[PiePie]

cornpicker, emily, alex, how ya doin'? it's our birth month!

[pinkorchid2]

Thanks mamas! Happy belated birthday Rebecca and happy early birthday Christina :).

[Grace24]

Me too, I'm 36! It's been the best one so far! Happy late b-day Rebecca!

I'm sooooooo excited, I was starting to worry it wouldn't happen but it did... I found a midwife for my homebirth! :bgbounce I'm sooooooo happy. She says we can even do a waterbirth if we want to. We're going to meet next Wednesday, I knew talking to her on the phone that I liked her immediately (plus it seems I'm running out of time and options) so I hired her on the spot. I am sooooo relieved. Whee! She offers all the typical tests and leaves it up to me, I love that! Does the exams and stuff in my home, etc. Love it. Soooooo happy. We're starting our Bradley classes in a month and I'm reading Birthing From Within as part of my homework. Still waiting for my Hypnobabies home study course in the mail...so I think I'm covering all my bases. Oh, and taking my RRL tea capsules.

Now the only question left is whether or not I should let the doggies stay here during the birth or have a friend come get them. They're extremely comforting and relaxing to me, so I'm tempted to keep them here to help me, but my german shepherd worries if I even sniffle and I'm afraid she'd have an anxiety attack if she heard me in labor! So I'm not sure yet. Putting her in another room would probably just drive her crazy...she would destroy the door to get out. I've seen her do it. She's got talent.

How are all you ladies today?

[dctexan]

Oh my. August. Wow.
I guess the babe really is coming!

Pink - the thread looks awesome. Thank you so much for hosting :D

I am 36 weeks today according to FF (I will be 36 weeks tomorrow based on my own personal feeling about when O happened).

Still working on the grant, but everything seems to be coming together nicely. I cannot wait until I drop the whole thing off as FedEx. Usually the waiting is really tough, but somehow I suspect that time will be FLYING because I will be on mat. leave with the wee one :love

So I think I have been having a lot more BH recently. Not quite sure though. The babe is wedged in there fairly tightly so it is tough to know when tightening is due to the babe and when tightening is due to muscle contractions (or perhaps they are occuring together?). I declined a cervix check at my last midwife appt. and I *think* I am going to continue to decline. No point in knowing, right? Although the curiosity is killing me. I feel a lot of stuff hapening down there (twinges and sharp momentary pains).

I am also VERY hormonal. I am EXTREMELY annoyed with DH and he honestly has done NOTHING to deserve it. Just the sight of him makes me crazy. I want to smother him or something?! Very weird. I think part of it is just that I want to den up and be left alone (but I am not annoyed my the dogs for some reason?) which I can do fairly well at the office (since I can just close the door) but not so much as home. DH and all of his "crap" (i.e. clutter) is all over the house. It annoys me when we go to bed at the same time, it annoys me when I wake up and he is still sleeping, it annoys me when he talks. Argh. I just want to purge the house of him! Is this normal? It feels awful to be thinking this way because he has seriously done nothing to deserve it and he can sense that I am annoyed (I just told him I was feeling very uncomfortable and that it was making me very cranky - which is true).
I really hope I don't end up killing him before I go into labor because I will really need his support.

How are the other August ladies doing?!

[Grace24]

:rotflmao Emily... not to make light of how you're feeling at all, just that I can relate. I don't know if it's "normal" at 36 weeks but I can tell you that my first pregnancy symptom was that DH, out of nowhere, could do NOTHING right. Even the way he breathed wa sannoying me. But here's what I think... are you annoyed and overwhelmed by the clutter? Cuz I get that way when our house is cluttered and I transfer it to resenting him. Once we organized the main floor of the house I was suddenly a very happily married woman. Recently his papers and books were everywhere and I hated him again. I mean, here you are, trying to nest, and there's this JUNK everywhere? No fair. Just wondering if there's a connection for you too... when my house feels out of control, I feel out of control, and now is not the time when you need that feeling, KWIM?

[SarahJen]

Happy August ladies, thanks for the new thread Pink with due dates, very exciting month coming up!

I thought I was the only one who was 36 here, I don't know why I thought that but I'm really reassured to find out that I'm not :o

I'm 15 weeks today :loveeyes: feeling mostly pretty good but still have the occasional surprise breakfast reappearance. I'm starting to get some more energy, being on holidays helps - I can get out for a walk most days.

Emily 36 weeks, wow! Seems like it went so fast (although probably not for you). I can't wait for the August babies to get here.

I'm on dialup a the cottage so I hope this post goes through...

[PiePie]

I am also VERY hormonal. I am EXTREMELY annoyed with DH and he honestly has done NOTHING to deserve it. Just the sight of him makes me crazy. I want to smother him or something?! Very weird. I think part of it is just that I want to den up and be left alone (but I am not annoyed my the dogs for some reason?) which I can do fairly well at the office (since I can just close the door) but not so much as home. DH and all of his "crap" (i.e. clutter) is all over the house. It annoys me when we go to bed at the same time, it annoys me when I wake up and he is still sleeping, it annoys me when he talks. Argh. I just want to purge the house of him! Is this normal? It feels awful to be thinking this way because he has seriously done nothing to deserve it and he can sense that I am annoyed (I just told him I was feeling very uncomfortable and that it was making me very cranky - which is true).
I really hope I don't end up killing him before I go into labor because I will really need his support.


this was how i sounded from about the end of june until about mid july.

[~minnow~]

Hello, just poking my nose in to the lovely new thread. I had a birthday lately: I'm 31.

I'm so excited for you August ladies. I'm excited to stalk symptoms and labor signs.

Dee, on the other thread you mentioned you got married in Jamaica. Neat! Is there more to the story?

Julia, I'm so excited for you!

We're in the new house. Stuff eVERYWHERE. My husband's OCD is becoming a little annoying because in his fit to put everything away, he's putting stuff where I don't want it. Also, I think he doesn't register that we're having a baby which means that we have to have areas for BABY things. However, he and my parents were GREAT in the whole moving thing. And I needed the help badly, so I just let my mom and dad take care of me and buy me dinner and clean my house, you know? I remind myself that we have until the end of September (probably) before the baby comes to try to get everything (re)-situated. Overall I'm overwhelmed but feeling pretty good emotionally. But huge, and starting to be more uncomfortable (baby limbs getting a lot more invasive). I think I'm between 32 and 33 weeks?

[hazieluna]

One more 36 yo here!

Just stopping by with my sausage fingers to say hi!

I went to my midwife yesterday and she wants me to get another u/s to make sure that the baby is in position. She says that it's just a precaution since she is 90% sure from touching my belly that the baby is head down but just to be sure... I've never heard of this being done before but I'm a sucker for u/s - so I get another chance to see my baby before meeting her (or him).

Julia- congrats on the midwife and homebirth decision! I've got a birth pool and hope I will have a water birth.

I'm excited for the August mamas!!!

[~minnow~]

Emily, I have periods of feeling the same way, esp. about the going to bed at the same time as me thing. Periods where everything he does annoys me, just because he's around, in my space.

Fortunately, I have lots of goodwill built up toward him right now because of how great he's been during the move, which is helping me to negotiate what could be the very trying time while our house is so chaotic and while he's still piling crap in "the nursery" and on my desk, crap that clearly belongs somewhere else, like in the garage, maybe.

Natalia, what kind of birth pool do you have? I need to get one.

[PiePie]

My husband's OCD is becoming a little annoying because in his fit to put everything away, he's putting stuff where I don't want it. Also, I think he doesn't register that we're having a baby which means that we have to have areas for BABY things. However, he and my parents were GREAT in the whole moving thing. And I needed the help badly, so I just let my mom and dad take care of me and buy me dinner and clean my house, you know?

my brother's ocd was very helpful in sorting baby clothes hand-me-downs. now we have 11 garbage bags separated by size. :wink

our apt. is so not ready yet. and i could go soon...

[pinkorchid2]

Today is a good day to go check in on the TTC #1 in our 30s thread! The first graduate of the month has been announced!

[k9sarchik]

Hey all you lovely pregnant 30 somethings~

My usual pop in to say I'm here for the month and keeping up with all the activity.
I am at 33 weeks now and going strong. Having some feet and ankle swelling and minor hip pain but that's about it. Swimming helps a lot with that, and I try to get the pool everyday. Soon the cold weather will come and I won't have the luxury of my pool anymore.

I've been doing hypnosis for childbirth with a hypnotherapist. It's very good with putting the thought of "relax" into my brain. I'll probably NEED that!

Grace24~ Congrats on getting your midwife for a homebirth! And you sound like me with trying to cover all the basis.

Dee~ You got married in Jamaica! I got married in Tortola. Hurray for Caribbean weddings!

Speaking of pregnancy hormones. Holy cow did I blow up at my DH this past weekend. I just instantly lost it. My brain went bonkers. I'm glad that he is a very understanding man.

Glad you are all doing well. I'm keeping watch of you ladies that are due this month!

[dcgrl]

Pie, yes, 36 is a great age to have a baby! It would have been unthinkable even just a couple of years ago... You have 11 BAGS of baby clothes! I thought I was doing well with my little stash, but you put it to shame!

Julia, your homebirth sounds like it's going to be great. and congratulations on finding a midwife you like to attend. and as far as the dogs go, if Hypnobabies does what it's supposed to, they won't even know you're in labor! (I'm planning a hyponbaby birth, too, and I'm starting early with the positive affirmations...)

Lane and Emily, I'm feeling you on the clutter. We moved into our new house in April, and we still have boxes everywhere! The baby's room is the worst. there's even an old sink and vanity in there!

Natalia--sending head-down vibes your way!

I'm very excited because we're going to Ikea tomorrow to buy things for the baby and for the house. the closest Ikea is 4 hours away, outside DC, so this is quite the exciting road trip! We plan on getting the crib, a dresser, some shelves, and something to store all the books and albums that are currently occupying the baby's room.

I was reading a mainstream board earlier, and was really annoyed by it. There's a thread about women choosing to not breastfeed, going straight to formula, and all these women talking about the best ways to dry up your milk. The thing that was most aggravating were the people suggesting that women who don't want to nurse should refuse to see lactation consultants in the hospital because "they'll just try to change your mind." :irked: Yeah, let's avoid encountering information that will make us feel bad about our choices.

August Moms, I am so excited for you! try to do something to pamper yourself before your little ones come. And keep us posted with every last detail!

[veganone]

Thanks Pink - it looks so pretty!!!

I'm glad to hear that some of you ladies that are due soon are still getting baby stuff ready. The nursery is NOT ready at our place, but people keep asking me if it's all done. Um, no. We only have a crib and a stroller, really... We'll get it together before she actually gets here, but we are really accomplished procrastinators!

My chair is FINALLY here! We get to pick it up tomorrow. I'm so excited! I'm getting to where I'm really uncomfortable on our couches (they look great, but aren't built for comfort), so I want my chair!

I can't wait for all of the August babies to start arriving. Woohoo!

[xenon]

Thanks for the new thread, Pink! Lovely work.

Count me in on being excited for August babies... So! Exciting!

[Down_to_Earth]

Hi, all! I'm still alive. We lost Internet the past few weeks. Andy called to have our cable pulled for sometime next week and it was gone the next morning. Eh, we still had cable TV (a smaller package, but still the channels we watch the most) until yesterday morning. Ugh. Now we have antennas on two of our TVs and we're getting wireless Internet from church.

Happy birthday, all!

Yay for those who are in the homestrech! I can't belive that on a technicality (as it is August) my baby is due next month. Yikes. :yikes:

I'm hardly showing, but at the same time, I'm feeling my belly more. I'm also feeling the baby more. I'm too the point where I need to lean more, instead of sitting straight, but the chair I'm using for my desk is too square and my husband's desk chair doesn't fit my desk well. Ugh.

As for baby clothes, I think I have enough to comfortably dress a couple of babies. My church held a shower for me and I probably got hundreds of dollars worth of stuff. My parents, sister, her 4-y-o daughter, my husband's parents 21-y-o sister and their aunt came. On Sunday, the day after, my sister and mother who are both very organized people, helped me go through the stuff, decide what I wanted to keep and sort the clothes into sizes. The zero to three month stuff is in one box, 3-6, in another, and the bigger stuff in another, all marked. I also have a box of clean baby clothes that I'm either going to put in my car, or just very clearly mark, so it's available right away. I'm hoping they'll both be able to come on the 12th to help.

I'm almost done with the thank you notes, but I ran out of cards. I have some old stationary somewhere that I might just pull out and use. We have thank you note cards leftover from our wedding, but we're not sure where....

I still have much to do for the baby, but we're waiting until after we move so we have less to move.

I think I don't have much left to do for the move. I have to pack my other closet, but the track doors are broken again, so I'm going to ask my husband to take them off to make packing easier. I have random stuff in the basement to pack, but it's just stuffing stuff back into boxes of stuff that was just stuffed in the boxes from the last move last August. Sigh. I have to pack the rest of the kitchen stuff and the pantry and bathroom stuff, but I'll wait until next week, maybe do the dishes on Saturday and just live off of paper plates. I'm not keen on paper, but sometimes things have their use. Boxes will be packed, but not closed yet.

At least for moving day I won't have to do much. I'm not allowed, my husband told me. Andy has been putting announcements in the church bulletin and giving verbal announcements before the service during the time of announcements, so who knows. There is also a group from church helping to build a house for Habitat that day, too. Andy has promised alcohol and pizza for those who help. I just hope my husband has time to do stuff. He has a funeral on Friday and one on Monday. He was selfishly hoping they would die after we move and let the new intern get some funeral experience in.

One thing that is concerning me is that I don't have a doctor yet in Columbus. We were hoping to have one by July at the latest and start driving down there for appointments. Nope. Maybe I can have my dream birth with the next pregnancy. (Doula or mid-wife, water and/or home birth.... I just pray that I can not only get vegan food at the hospital, but real food, too.)

Sigh. One day at a time. Now, I have to get up so I can breath again, and, I want dinner.

Happy day,
Laura

[Dee-Groovy]

Thanks for hosting PinkOrchid, the thread looks great! Oh yeah, I'm 32!

Happy belated and upcoming birthday to Rebecca, Lane and Christina!

Julia I'm so happy you found a homebirth midwife. What an exciting decision! There are some good resources on MDC for choosing a birth tub and getting all the supplies you need. Your MW will also probably give you some info. I asked my (former) MW about the dogs and she said they were no big deal. She said to keep them in another room if they were upset or getting in the way, but that's about it. What brand of RRL capsules do you take? I hate the tea and it's too hot to drink it anyway so I'd love info on capsules.

I'm so excited for those of you due this month! Holy cow, you're actually going to have babies! Pie, I can't believe you have a huge trial right when you're due. Emily, I'm sorry you're feeling hormonal - I hate that out-of-control why-am-I-feeling-and-behaving-like-this feeling.

Sarah glad you're feeling better & hope you're enjoying your time at the cottage.

Natalia I have sausage fingers too! When I walk the dogs in the morning before it's even hot, my fingers swell so much they look like they want to split. Aah the joys of later pregnancy and humidity! Hooray for another u/s. I feel bad saying that here but I'm a sucker for them too. It's just too cool to see the baby in there!

Lane OMG my DH did the same thing the first time we moved (when we moved in together, actually) and it sparked our first fight. Fight is too strong of a word, actually, since I just do the silent treatment (hate that about myself). :o But boy is it irritating when you're trying to do it right and he's just trying to get it done. Once the boxes are off the truck I'll unpack at my own pace, TYVM!

Many years (and moves) after that we got married on the beach in Negril (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1312/978596445_f2aa34180f_o.jpg), Jamaica. It was awesome and I recommend it to everyone. We didn't want to go through the hassle of planning a wedding on a shoestring budget that was going to be more for our parents than ourselves. We started a guest list and it was quickly up over 100 people and my mom wasn't into helping me plan b/c she was in seminary at the time. We used to work out a lot, so we chatted w/ the guy at the front desk of the gym and he gave us the idea b/c he'd recently done it. DH's parents and my parents were invited to go with us but they both declined for various reasons, so it was just the two of us. So romantic! It was an all-inclusive adults-only resort called Couples. I planned the wedding in 30 minutes while wearing my bathing suit. We got married on a Monday morning, I had purple orchids in my bouquet and a chocolate cake with buttercream icing, with champagne of course! When we got back to the room there was a bath with rose petals and candles, rose petals on the bed and more chilled champagne waiting. Sigh. I wanna do it again! Sorry that got so long... I was in a bit of a reverie there...

Xenon how are you? Did you move and get a new job? How are you feeling?

:wave to our lurking Lauras!

[PiePie]

I'm very excited because we're going to Ikea tomorrow to buy things for the baby and for the house. the closest Ikea is 4 hours away, outside DC, so this is quite the exciting road trip! We plan on getting the crib, a dresser, some shelves, and something to store all the books and albums that are currently occupying the baby's room.



something to look for at ikea: the make a plastic frog that is a combination bib, suction bowl, spoon, and sippy cup. at got it at one of my showers and it it too cute! every kid at the shower had one of their own. apparently it is a must-have for babes born in the last 5 yrs. who knew? i have never been to an ikea before.

[PiePie]

I'm almost done with the thank you notes, but I ran out of cards.

OMG, I have not done ANY yet. :duck: I am very overwhelmed with day-to-da y life. I got thank you notes as a shower gift (same with for the wedding, actually...). you can get super cute but pricey cards here: www.tinyprints.com

[~minnow~]

OMG, I have not done ANY yet. :duck:

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

[Grace24]

Rebecca, you're going to the Ikea near me! Potomac Mills? Enjoy! I've never been to that one. Let me know if you find some stuff. We still need a changing table and dresser, but DH says "Ikea is Swedish for 'crap'" so I may have a hard time convincing him to go there. I love their stuff though. Maybe I can appeal to his inner penny-pincher :lol

Dee...OMG your picture is gorgeous. You sound like me, the way we started planning a wedding and became quickly overwhelmed, and I thought, Why do all these people even need to be there? I researched all those Caribbean weddings and we almost got married in Hawaii on what ended up being our honeymoon, but we decided to move the date up 4 months so people wouldn't try to talk us out of it. We're so glad we did, but your wedding picture is exactly what I pictured for us originally. Still, our B&B wedding was lovely and low-key, and Hawaii was just for us! You guys are a gorgeous couple! Thanks for sharing the picture.

There's more I want to say but I'm hungry so it will have to wait.

It's nice to see so many people popping in we haven't heard from! Welcome back everyone!

[PiePie]

please vote! http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=723066

[~minnow~]

Dee -- I love your wedding story and your pic. Wow! Hot! We got married in Vegas. I'm a fan of by-yourself weddings.

[~minnow~]

PiePie, I voted! I love, love, love the name Francesca right now. This babe wanted a 3 syllable name so I've been stuck on Francesca, Tallulah and Adelaide. Adelaide is the only one DH likes so by default it is still our top possibility... but I still try to sneak the other two in. I like Lorelei, too. It used to be one of my favorite possible middle names.

[xenon]

Pie, I voted! Francesca for the win!

It's my new-month resolution to keep up with and post in this thread. I really missed the ________ #1 in our 30s community when I wasn't keeping up over the past while... so forgive me if my personals suck for a while. I WILL catch back up :)

Dee, gorgeous wedding shot! Gorgeous you -- I don't think I'd seen your photo before.

Here's a nutshell summary of what's been going on with me:

Job/DH job: we went across the country for DH's interview, but DH decided that he wasn't actually that interested in the job... however, the prospective boss is interested in him for another job, in another location. This other job? Starts in January (the month I'm due!)

In the meantime, we've both signed one-year contracts to continue our current jobs. I'm due just a little over halfway through the contract, but I haven't actually hashed out leave/pay etc with my supervisor yet, but it might be moot if we're moving for DH to take a new job.

Living: we were on a one-year sublet in the place we were in previously, so we had to find a new place for this year (this six months?) We just moved a couple of weeks ago, so I have enormous empathy for those of you who are packing/moving/unpacking in more advanced states of pregnancy.

Care provider: I had my first appointment with the OB/GYN a few weeks ago. This was my first time meeting her, and she was really nice -- laid back, friendly, responsive, and just a touch motherly. If I stick with her, the birth will be at a university (teaching) hospital.

However! A few days before the appointment, I got a call from the birthing house where I was wait-listed, and they said that one of the midwives has an opening and can take me! I have to go to an info session in a couple of weeks, but then I can start care with the midwife. Right now I'm inclined towards this, but it's really nice to have a fallback OB/GYN that I actually like.

General question: has anyone gone without ultrasounds? I haven't had one yet, and I just realized that I've got The Big Ultrasound scheduled at a time when I'm going to be away. It's scheduled at 22 weeks, and that's the earliest they could get me in, so if I reschedule it, it probably won't be until 24 weeks or so.

The thing is, neither DH nor I are particularly convinced that I need an ultrasound anyway. I've read that ultrasounds are not correlated with better pregnancy outcomes (but haven't seen the literature to back that up.) Pros/cons of not doing it? Am I being ridiculous in considering declining it? Will it create a problem with the doctor/midwife if I don't do it?

[cking]

Dee, I agree, you are gorgeous! It’s so fun to see pics of online friends. ;)

PiePie, I voted too! :D

Wow, xenon, sounds like you’ve been incredibly busy!

Re: the ultrasounds – no, you are not being ridiculous to consider declining it. Not at all. If it’s not medically indicated, and if you don’t feel you need it, it’s not necessary. I just read a Mothering article on this the other day – I thought it was well written. Here it is (http://www.mothering.com/articles/pregnancy_birth/birth_preparation/ultrasound-risks.html). (I fwded it to DH - he is unsure about it.)

It depends on the OB or MW, of course, but I think many MWs would be ok with it. I checked the FAQ on my MW’s website, and it looks like they don’t do u/s in house – they refer their clients outside if one is needed. I was happy to see that.

[Jujubie]

Dee -- I love your wedding story and your pic. Wow! Hot! We got married in Vegas. I'm a fan of by-yourself weddings.


Yea! We got married in Vegas too (http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a259/jujubie/Wedding/f233re2.jpg). I couldn't see spending all that money for a big church wedding! (after we came back we had the church "validate" our wedding so I can be sure I made my late grandma happy!) We invited our friends and family to join us in Vegas and we had about 20 people come and had a three day party!

[mandy74]

Hey Everyone,

I am glad to see several of you from the ttc thread!! I just got my BFP yesterday!!! :dizzy: Still a little surreal to me- I tested again this morning just to make sure! :+ again!!

My cheeks are so sore from smiling since yesterday morning.

Anyway, just wanted to drop in and say hello and to say thanks to those of you who gave me so much support on the TTC thread. I really appreciate all of the kind words and thoughtfulness. You guys are awesome!!

[Grace24]

Ok, I'm lovin all these wedding pictures! Jujubie, you're gorgeous too! I love your hair.

Xenon I understand the quandry about doing u/s...it is the only prenatal testing we did, and I have to say it was a huge relief. I'm glad I did it because I have now decided to give birth at home and now I know that he doesn't have any huge issues that will need to be attended to in a NICU after birth. I know, I know, they can't always tell from an u/s, but I feel greatly relieved to know that I'm birthing a healthy baby... gives weight to my argument for all the people who I'm sure will try to talk me out of a homebirth. (Unfortunate that I have to have that argument, but I'm already prepared for it.) But that's just me. And I haven't read that Mothering article about it yet. But you have to do what you're comfortable with. I know "the studies say" there's no difference in outcome but when it came down to MY BABY and MY BIRTH it was important for me to have that peace of mind considering I'm not birthing in a hospital. That may not be typical MDC policy or whatever, but that's where I'm at. Not sure about this 36 week u/s, I only just found out they do that at OB/GYN's, I'll have to discuss it with my midwife.

[Grace24]

OMG Mandy you snuck in there! A huge :w and congratulations!

[cking]

Welcome Mandy! And Congratulations again! :D

[Grace24]

Dee...the capsules are by Nature's Way and I got them at Whole Foods. It took some digging around and I can't remember what section they were in, but just root around in the herbal supplements area. I want to switch to tea just cuz I hear the stories about the tea and not the capsules, so the paranoid me wants to do everything Just Right. But I hate tea! So maybe I can mix it with juice and put it over ice or something, and if I can't stand it go back to the capsules. Did it taste really bad to you?

[Jujubie]

grats Mandy and welcome!

[phillybama]

Welcome Mandy!

I am finally getting out of the sick phase. Yay! I was actually able to eat spaghetti last night without gagging. :)

We saw the baby again on Tuesday--VERY active with a heart rate of 167. Now we feel comfortable enough to let everyone in on the news. I actually lost a pound, which I think is great, because I am already about 25 lbs overweight. I was afraid all those grilled cheese sandwiches were going to do me in. :lol

I picked up some maternity underwear, because my regular ones are sooo uncomfortable. I will soon be making much use out of my borrowed bella band. I am so fortunate to have a friend who just had a baby this past February, so she is giving me all of her fall/winter maternity clothes. Now, I just have to squeeze into my summer stuff. I can't wait until summer is over! Sorry, but I HATE the heat.

Hope everyone is well!

[veganone]

Pie - I voted! Good luck chosing. We have a clear frontrunner on names, but are still officially undecided. We have about 5 possibilities. The one that I keep second guessing about is Suselle (both soft s's), which is dh's sister's nickname. I think it's beautiful and NO ONE has it, but we decided early on that we don't want to use a family name... I think we won't be sure until we meet her!

Welcome and congrats, Mandy!!!! I'm really happy for you!

Aimee - I'm so glad you're feeling better. I got better slowly, but felt really good by 16 weeks! I lost about 6 lbs when I was sick (lots/constant nausea but not too much throwing up), but have put on about 2 lbs a week since 16 weeks, so I more than made up for it! :o

My MIL is finally strarting to really get draining. She's so sweet, but she and dh speak Spanish all the time and frankly, the intonation in his whole family makes them always sound like they're bickering even when they aren't. It's stressful to listen to, especially since I understand just enough to get confused and curious... Our house it just too small to do well with long-term guests. She's been here for a week and we have another 2 to go...

[~minnow~]

Hey, Judy, we got married in the same chapel!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98065056@N00/6793643/in/photostream/

Too bad I didn't post any of our "outside" pics. They posed us in front of the limosine as if we were going to prom.

Welcome and many congrats, Mandy!

[Jujubie]

That's neat! :) We had a lot of photos, but seemed a lot of the ones I picked had us kissing! Must have been how I felt the day after when I picked out my 35 allowed photos in my package! They did a good job for the ceremony and the photos and my flowers too.

[PiePie]

What brand of RRL capsules do you take? I hate the tea and it's too hot to drink it anyway so I'd love info on capsules.



i just got the tea but i confess i haven't had any yet. i have never liked tea -- i associate it with my mother. :duck:

[Grace24]

Lane, you're gorgeous too! And I love your dress! Your hubby looks sooo proud :lol

Loving the wedding pics!

Seems like a lot of us "eloped"! Is that cuz we're in our 30's and a little more realistic? Or our families wouldn't pay for the wedding? :lol

[Jujubie]

Ha ha Grace! I don't think it's because our families wouldn't pay, its because we wouldn't ask them to pay! I'd like to think its because we are older and more realistic. ;) For me, I also didn't want the stress of planning a big wedding either!

[veganone]

We basically eloped, and got married young. I was 24 and dh was 23 - our 10 year anneversary was last month! I didn't want a big wedding because I had planned one, and called it off, a couple of years earlier and didn't want to have anything be about the "wedding"; I just wanted to be married this time!

[phillybama]

We got married young as well. We were 23/24. We had a very small wedding, under 30 guests. My mom and aunt make wedding cakes, so I got both the bride and groom's (red velvet, of course) cakes for free. I bought fabric and a pattern, and had a local seamstress make my dress ($130). My DH bought a suit that he could use for interviews and the wedding, rather than renting a tuxedo.
DH and I made appetizers the night before the wedding. We "rented" a house (my mom volunteers for the university, so got this for free) that had a flower garden out front, so we only bought the flowers I held (which doubled as the centerpiece for the reception). I think the most expensive thing was the unitarian minister. We had to pay her gas for commuting from another city. This is what happens when you want a nonreligious wedding in the South. That's really it. Oh, I had a friend (amateur, but had classes) take photos as his wedding gift to us and another friend played guitar for the wedding music. I did my own hair and makeup and all that jazz. Hell, we even helped set up the chairs for the wedding!

We sound really practical, don't we? :lol

I just hate the idea of going into debt for a wedding. I think too much emphasis is placed on the wedding and not the marriage. Sorry, don't want to rant!

[jpiper0430]

Welcome Mandy!

Xenon - It's great to see you posting! About the U/S, most of the time, my midwives only send you for the 20 week u/s if you request it. Because I had bleeding at 12 weeks, I had an u/s done then to make sure everything was okay and they found I had "placenta previa," so I had to have an additional u/s to make sure it moved up (it did).

I love all the wedding photos. Everyone looks so beautiful! DH and I had a traditional church wedding, but there were only 40 people at our wedding (which sounds big here, but usually people are surprised how small). My MIL works at a wonderful church in southern Maine - it's an old stone church with big red doors, so we got married there. We did pay for our wedding ourselves - when I was 18 my parents said they would pay for college or a wedding and I, of course, chose college. It wasn't bad though and we had a great time.

Piepie - good luck with names. DH and I are still struggling with that, and my mom keeps nagging me for at least a hint (I could tell her what has been voted down, but that's about it). We had Lorelei on our list of possibilites, but the Gilmore Girls link made DH nervous that there will be a ton of Lorelei's around. Too bad, since I picked that name out when I was in high school.

[phillybama]

I like the name Lorelei too, but it is off-limits because it is one of DH's ex-girlfriend's name. Any of the exes' names are off the list--for good reason. :)

[Dee-Groovy]

Welcome Mandy and congratulations!

Pie I voted for Francesca!

Thanks for the compliments on the wedding pic. :loveeyes: Y'all are gorgeous too! It really is interesting that so many of us had destination weddings - Judy and Lane at the same chapel in Vegas! Wow! DH and I thought about Vegas - doing a drive through or getting married by an Elvis, since we had already been together almost 6 years. We both love the beach though, so we combined the honeymoon and wedding. We were young (23/22) and just didn't want the hassle of planning a wedding and, like Aimee, we wanted the wedding to be about the couple, not about everything else. Jenn and Aimee, your weddings sound awesome too! How in the world did you get away with inviting so few people!?

Xenon, good to hear from you. You sound a lot like me right now - everything is kind of on hold, like an artificial calm but you can feel all the changes coming. It's pretty uncomfortable, for me anyway, but I try to forget about all the career/moving changes and focus on the baby changes. Congrats on getting into a MW and liking you OB! It's great to have options. I don't think either one will have a problem with you refusing ultrasounds unless you have bleeding issues that would indicate placenta previa or something like that.

Julia thanks for the info on the RRL caps. I don't have a whole foods but I have the internet! :) The tea isn't yucky at all, I'm just not into it. Oh and it's summer so I don't think to drink it often enough. Even though I'm from the South I never really liked iced tea so I haven't tried it that way. I'm sure it retains all of its benefits when iced so you could definitely give it a shot. The RRL tribe thread is too dang long to navigate these days!

Aimee glad you're feeling better. Hooray for maternity underwear! They should be standard issue with a BFP. :lol

Elizabeth holy cow, 3 weeks with MIL? You must be a saint!

The baby was pretty quiet for a couple weeks but she's been a ball of energy the past couple days. Wonder what that's about? It's fun, though, to sit and watch my stomach move! I still haven't called the doulas back because I'm a slacker. Well, and I don't want to discuss personal stuff while I'm at work so I haven't found the time to do it. Two of my friends are getting their PhDs this week so I'll be the only one left. :( The undergrad who handled radiation for me all summer is gone now too, so I have to use it tomorrow for the first time since January. I'm more upset about having my helper gone than handling the radiation! Wow Summer is winding down already!

[Down_to_Earth]

Hi, all!

Welcome, Mandy!

Oy. I attacked the basement today and actually went through the boxes. Not bad, I found stuff that I want to try selling on Craigslist, have a stack of old magazines to send to Recycling Heaven, and threw some stuff out and actually emptied some boxes. Oddly, I think we're going to have leftover boxes. Nifty.

Unfortunately, though, I'm not done.

Oh, yeah. I also found some leftover thank you cards from our wedding, six years ago, and a box of stationary that is leftover from high school. I want to get the ones from church done before we leave at least.

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow at nine. I also have some errands I want to run. I should do some more tonight, though. I have to shower tomorrow; I've not done so since Sunday. I've hardly been out of the house. I still have laundry to fold and sort. Yay. Yet, if I go to bed early, I can get up early and get some stuff done. I function better that way.

I just looked around and I think there is more to do than what I realized.:eek

And, I get to spend time on-line and on the phone looking for a new doctor. This kid is coming next month and we technically don't have a doctor for her, or somebody to deliver her... I have to go through the list of doctors, then call the company that is doing my insurance company's billing to see if they accept the doctor, then phone the offices.... Yikes. Gee, a very natural home birth is sounding better and better....

Okay. I think I'm going to get up now. I think I'm making this harder than what it is.

[dctexan]

I LOVE the wedding pictures! We have such hotties here in the 30s thread! Woohoo.

DH and I considered eloping, but since we were paying for the whole wedding ourselves, we decided WTF, let's have a real wedding, but do it EXACTLY how we want to have it done. We got married in our favorite restaurant (food is a big thing for us) and invited only 100 people (I think we had 74 people attend). We LOVED our wedding so much (we still look back on it as one of the best days of our lives.

I'm not a pro with the whole posting pictures online thing, but I'll give it a whirl.
Couple Pic (http://render2.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup600Q%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3AxxrKUp7BHD7KPfrj%3DQofrj 7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQQJxlnlxPJax v8uOc5xQQQQoJPoaP0P0qpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6gXo0% 7CRup6JaQ%7C/of=50,304,443)

Walking down aisle (http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp46%3Dot%3E2327%3D9%3B9%3D46%3B%3DXRO QDF%3E23234735%3A59%3B6ot1lsi)

Dancing with DH (http://render2.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup600Q%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3AxxrKUp7BHD7KPfrj%3DQofrj 7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQQJxlnlxPJax v8uOc5xQQQQoJPoaGlaQqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6gXo0% 7CRup6JaQ%7C/of=50,304,443)

Just looking at these pictures again has made me all swoony.

[Teenytoona]

I'm not sure if it's current age or age at baby's due date, but I will be 32 in Feb when the baby's due.

I'd like to say I'd go without ultrasound, but I went in to get checked for fibroids via ultrasound, and we found the wee thing just kickin' and wavin' and I said "What!?!" My doc, at the time, who though I told I've got wonk-ass periods, but do have a partner and don't use contraceptives (because we've been doing the we'd like to have a kid so we'll just not use protection and when it happens it happens - been doing this for a few years) didn't even test me for pregnancy. Only doctor I've been to who didn't even think of considering it. Weird. Usually docs ALWAYS do a pregnancy test, even if you stand little to no chance of it. So I've already had one. Good thing I'm going with a CNM now.

I will probably have another, for Mr Toona's sake, he'd like to see it himself. If I had been better prepared, I would have considered going without.

[PiePie]

down to earth, where do you get the energy? when i am home i swear all i do is internet and read.

[dcgrl]

Oh boy, so much to get caught up on! All the wedding pics are beautiful!
Count us as another destination wedding. We got married on the beach in St. Petersburg, FL. Kind of an old person destination, but we had really loved visiting the Tampa/St Pete area for years, and, when the priest in MA told us that the church doesn't approve of co-habitation and I should move out of our apartment in the months before our wedding (we had been living together for 5 years!), we decided to pursue other options. Our wedding was so wonderful, we had a great minister, the setting was perfect, a reggae band, etc, and about 50 family members and our closest friends. I only have hard copies of the pics, but maybe I could scan one and share... (I was 28 and he was 37 when we got hitched...)

Dee! we went to Couples Ocho Rios! loved it--have never been more relaxed...

Lane and Judy, my sister's getting married in Vegas in February. We'll be flying with our little 2-month-old to Sin City (give us strength)! I'm psyched though, because I found a baby Elvis costume for the baby to wear to the wedding...

Aimee--I agree about going into debt over weddings. Those bridezilla shows on E! or whatever make me crazy. We did, however, go a little overboard on our honeymooon. I think we may still be paying it off! :lol Your wedding sounds like it had a great personal touch--you made your own appetizers! that's awesome...

Xenon--after having 4 ultrasounds, I would really like to turn back the hands of time and do it over again. I love the pics we have of the boy, but the anatomical scan at 18 weeks seemed to really agitate him (it took about 45 minutes).

Julia--we made it up to your Ikea yesterday. What a bonus to be there on a weekday instead of a weekend! we basically had the place to ourselves. And yes, I've heard Ikea is Swedish for crap, but we can't afford Swedish for quality! (on another board I go to, someone posted a link to a $900 changing table--it was beautiful and modern, but $900? :dizzy: )anyway, we got our crib, a bureau with integrated changing table (for $69!), and a big bookcase (for storing husband's albums), along with myriad other things for the house. Neither the crib nor the changing table are on Ikea's web site, otherwise I would show them off. One thing I would say about Ikea's cribs is that they're really low to the ground/small. The ones you find at Babies R Us or whereever are much larger/taller. This is good if you have a really small space, and I appreciate the fact that when it converts to a toddler bed, it's low to the floor, so the boy doesn't have far to fall (if he takes after me, he'll be doing it a lot!).

Pie--thanks for the tip on the froggie bib. We didn't pick it up yesterday (it's going to be a while before he'll need a bowl or sippy cup), but it's definitely on my list for when we go back. (also, I voted Francesca--I would call her Franny... How are you doing with boys names?)

Teenytoona--wow! what an exciting surprise! How did you tell your husband after you found out??

Only news with me is that 1. I can now see the boy's kicks from the outside and 2. we went to a Meet the Midwives event on Wednesday. Our midwifery practice is based out of UNC hospitals, so I was starting to worry for whatever reason that they would be taking a medicalized approach to labor and delivery. But, apparently not. Only about 30% of women in their practice receive an epidural, and 85% deliver with an intact perineum (yay!). so I'm more confident that I'll get the kind of birth experience I want.

Have a great day everyone! and sorry for the long post...

[pinkorchid2]

Changes made to here.

Teeny, I think it's your current age. When you have your birthday let the thread host know to chage your age :).

dh and I just married 2 years ago (our anniversary is next week):loveeyes: . We had an outdoor wedding with about 70 people in attendance. Our parents helped us out with some and we paid the rest. No debt. I did consider eloping since wedding planning is stressful :dizzy: , but I'm so glad I stuck through it because that day was the best day of my life so far. I love weddings (I'm in the industry) and I have to say that I haven't had a bridezilla yet.

I went to babies-r-us yesterday and looked at a bunch of stuff. That store is scary. I don't know what most of that stuff is for! I did sit in a rocking chair and loved that. I just sat in it and closed my eyes and imagined having a baby in my arms.

[Teenytoona]

dcgrl, I called him (it was about lunchtime) and he started goin' on about work, and I said really fast "Ihavesomethingtotellyou" he said "how far along are we?" I told him (I was at 9w4d, according to the tech) and he laughed one of the surprised/excited laughs. :lol

[Grace24]

Ok ok, now I want to share my wedding pictures! I'm getting all swoony looking at everyone else's! Emily, love yours too by the way in case I haven't responded yet (can't remember, pregnancy brain)

We got hitched at a B&B in the Shenandoah valley (2 hours from here) for the low low price of $695, including two nights for us in the B&B, ceremony in the parlor, pictures, a (kind of cheesy-looking) cake, dinner at a local restaurant. It appealed to my inner cheapskate. I wouldn't have dreamed of asking my mom to pay, who's living on a retirement salary now. The only people who were in attendance were Mom, brother, and Paul's friend/roommate Molly, who videotaped. I hate crowds so this was perfect.

This is one some of you may have already seen:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7342008@N05/423112232/

Our first kiss (and you can see the mark on my neck from my violin but oh well)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7342008@N05/997877492/in/photostream/

Everybody, and you can see my dress better:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7342008@N05/997877706/in/photostream/

Isn't my DH handsome :throb

Teeny, I can't believe an u/s is how you found out you were pg! That must've been quite a shock!

[PiePie]

i feel really overwhelmed with work this morning. i can't believe that i have only 5 more days left -- so much left to do -- plus opposing counsel has created this bull**** crisis for me:irked: , which has pissed my boss off at me:( . the worst part is that i know she is partially right, and if i had more hours in the day i would tend to it. :duck: i just hate screwing up. somedays i feel like i can't do this job part time (with a full-time caseload), but other days i realize that i felt like this when i was practicing full-time and it's just how litigation is. maybe i'm just not good enough. maybe i need to learn to breathe.

[Grace24]

Rebecca, I want to go to Ikea now! I would never, ever pay $900 for a changing table! Argh! Glad you got some stuff.

Pie, sorry you're having a rough day again. 5 days left! Hang in there! And yes, breathe! (Easier said than done.)

[Teenytoona]

Oh it was a shock! We quit using protection (a few years ago), so we figured we'd eventually get pregnant, but I've got such slow cycles (maybe have 3-4 a year, sometimes less) that we figured it would take a while. Well I didn't really notice any symptoms, but if I did know I was pregnant, I would have noticed that I had sore breasts, (but they sort of went away after a few weeks, so I figured I was just weird or something), and I attributed my stomach growling/feeling wierd/nausea to my efforts to lose weight, and just having a grouchy stomach because of it, ha!

And it was nice to see that indeed, I have no fibroids, endometriosis or PCOS, it's just that this time I didn't have a period for a new reason! :)

[Jujubie]

I love all the wedding stories and all the photos of beautiful brides with their handsome DH's!! Sharing is so much fun! I can't wait until we can all share our photos of our new babies!!

Pie, hang in the sweetie, you are almost there!

I'm hoping to make a trip to Ikea soon, there is one about 45 mins from us near Detroit. I want to get new dressers/chests or just some baskets to put in the walk in for that stuff, then i'm going to use our old dresser and chest for the baby. I'm not going to buy a changing table, i'm going to get one of those foam thingies (http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_23/602-0794671-7695850?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000KUASB6)and just put it on top of the dresser and it works just as well. Most of the time i'll probably be changing on the bed in the beginning anyway!

[PiePie]

I'm hoping to make a trip to Ikea soon, there is one about 45 mins from us near Detroit. I want to get new dressers/chests or just some baskets to put in the walk in for that stuff, then i'm going to use our old dresser and chest for the baby. I'm not going to buy a changing table, i'm going to get one of those foam thingies (http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_23/602-0794671-7695850?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000KUASB6)and just put it on top of the dresser and it works just as well. Most of the time i'll probably be changing on the bed in the beginning anyway!


that's what we're doing. dh has yet to evacuate his stuff from the bureau, though.

i am somewhat calmer over the immediate crisis, but i have the feeling i am heading for a couple more! arg!

[Down_to_Earth]

Pie-- God did not give me the strength, intelligence or stamina to be a lawyer. I don't even have an undergrad degree yet. Yet, I've seen what my husband and our friends go through with school and I'm impressed. I happily dropped out of a two year program (that I was four years in) when we decided it was time for my husband to go to seminary. (With our church, seminary is a graduate program, so when my husband is done, he'll have his Master's of Divinity degree in addition to the certificate or degree that will allow him to start doctorate work when he wants.) I'm not saying I'm stupid, I just don't think I'm as scholastically inclined.
I'm not sure if I could even work at Wal-Mart this far along in my pregnancy, let alone do what you do. I'm quite thankful that we've been blessed to have me be at home this entire pregnancy and that I'll be able to stay home after. (After seminary we're hoping and praying that we get a chruch with a parsonage, housing allowance [similar to what military gets, at least with the whole IRS thing] and all or part utilities paid. That will also help with me being able to stay home.)

I think I might be making headway with the doctors. It's really kinda scary to think that I'm roughly 34 weeks and technically don't have a doctor yet. I just got off the insurance company and the person with whom I spoke is e-mailing me a list of family practictioners, Pediatricians, and something else. I pray that helps. Also, one of my husband's classmates might have some good information. Since starting almost four years ago, he and his wife have had two kids and they came with a baby.

I'm feeling better. I should get up now and do some more stuff.

We're not getting a changing table either. My sister just said that she used a pad, too. I have two diaper bags that came with pads and a diaper bag changing pad that I picked up at a yard sale for $.50. I figured it might come in handy. Although the bed sounds good, too.

Our furniture is ecclectic. When my husband moved back home from college, he bought a new dresser that he only used for a year. We're going to use it for the baby. We have a crib from a family at church whose son out grew it at the right time. It will transform into a daybed. We have a glider that we got from his mom, I think we were "borrowing" it, but I think it's ours now. She used it to rock my husband when he was a baby. Aaawww...

Our coolest piece of furniture is this: http://www.babeetenda.com/safetabl.htm

We went to a baby safety seminar they put on and a lot of the information seemed sound, like they did some good stuff on car seats. Andy wanted the crib too, but it just seemed to be too much money, especially when we already had the other one. I just liked the versatility of it and that it can fit in our trunks to go to grandparents'. I also liked, that even when she's little, I can leave her in it for a bit while I leave the room.

Anyway, I was going to say more, but I don't remember. My appointment this morning went well. The doctor seemed pleased that I was finally growing. (I'm tall and thinish, theres room for the baby to hide.) I all but finished the basement. What's left was stuff that I wanted to bring upstairs but since Andy was still in bed, decided not to. I also showered today and have clothes on and feel human again. Amazing.:lol

Happy day, all,
Laura

[cornpicker]

Hi, all, thanks for keeping me on the list. It is strange to see that I'm 'next'! I can't hold out the denial much longer. At my appt this morning, my midwife was like, "Hello. It is August. This baby is coming!" ha ha ha

Everything looks good-- baby's position is good and now 'engaged'. I feel mostly good but get awfully tired. We're mostly set up with baby stuff but I'm still working through laundry. Our birth tub arrived and we've assembled the accoutrements (still need tarp and fish net, ew).

Only 1.5 more weeks of work and I'm counting the minutes. I'm working through my EDD of 8/15 unless of course baby comes early. My boss is apparently competing for biggest beotch of the year so I can't wait to be out of there. I'll probably work this weekend just to try and wrap things up earlier.

I will keep you posted, of course.

Sending good thoughts to all the wonderful 30-something mamas! ~*~*~*

[veganone]

Happy Friday mommas!

Pie, I'm sorry you're still dealing with so much stress at work, but at least you only have to deal with it for a bit longer - almost there!!!

I am having major MIL issues today - she's really getting to me. DH finally asked her to stay with her brother until she either sees a doctor or feels better. She's had a horrible cough for like 2 months, but still came to stay with us. I think it's asthma, but she refuses to go to the doctor so we don't know and I don't want whatever it is!!! So, now I feel guilty for kicking her out of our house... That is just the tip, though, it's just a constant string of things the last couple of days. Dh gets really moody when his family is around, which is stressful for me too. He doesn't so much take it out on me as it is just exhausting and stressful to be around someone who's in a bad mood all the time. I vented to THREE separate friends to decompress after some alone time with her this morning so that I didn't end up dumping on dh! She seems to feel like she can confide in my about her issues with dh (separate from her illness), and, um, hello -I'M ON HIS SIDE!!!

In happier stuff, I found out that my good friend, whom I want at the birth, sold her registration to the Chicago marathon since it's Oct. 7th and I'm due on the 2nd. She didn't even tell me! She just did it quietly so that she'd be here for me. I'm really touched, because she's never done that one and has wanted to for a long time. She's a very serious runner and she treasures the few big marathons she's done and the buddies she runs with. She's doing a small, local one instead on the same day. And, my long lost friend that I recently reconnected with is still keeping in touch. She has emailed or called at least twice a week since I first contacted her - I'm really happy that she's back in my life.

I'm also freaking out about how close I'm getting to the end of this! I mean, I'm excited about the baby getting here, but ovewhelmed by the amount of stuff left to do! I asked my OB about when the GBS test would be, and he said the appointment after my next, which will be 36 weeks. I mean, while I realize I probably have 9 weeks left, I will want to have everything ready by 37 just in case, and that's not even 6 weeks away!

[Dee-Groovy]

Emily and Julia, beautiful wedding pics! You both look so happy! We are going to have some gorgeous babies from this thread!

I'm jealous of those of you with Ikeas nearby. They don't even ship half the stuff you can see on the website. Just as well I guess, we only need a couple pieces and they'll come from thrift stores anyway. Judy I wanted to warn you that the foam diaper changing thing is a lot bigger than I thought it would be. I registered for it online but then saw it in Babies R Us and was astounded at its size. I guess it'll fit on my dresser (haven't measured) but now I'm looking for a changing table with drawers so I can store baby clothes and have enough room for the giant foam thingy.

Pie sorry you're having a rough time at work. It'll be over soon!

Laura it sounds like you're making good headway in baby prep. You've got the "stuff" now you just need a doc. Good job packing too, you're getting the job done.

Speaking of moving, Lane, how's your new place? Were you able to manage a crap-free nursery? :lol

Cornpicker good to hear from you! Sorry work's crappy for you too. Glad to hear that baby's head down & ready to go! Definitely keep us posted.

Elizabeth, you're a month ahead of me and I'm freaking out about how little time we have left! I wanted to wait to buy stuff out of the irrational hope that someone would throw a shower for me, but now I think I'll be a lot more relaxed after I start accumulating baby stuff. Prepared is the way to go! Out of the blue a couple days ago I got the idea that my little one will arrive 3 weeks early and the feeling is still there. There's no way to explain the feeling (maybe it's wishful thinking!) but I need to start getting ready. Hooray for catching up with lost friends - I've been doing a little of that & it feels good.

[eri_flores]

Nice to find this thread (through PiePie and the others in the Aug DDC). Also a NYCer having #1 in my 30's. I'm 31 now, yipee!

It's great to read about so many others at similar places, with school, MILs, work, all sorts of things going on. While having other children already seems like a whole other set of complicating factors, having our first now certainly has plenty of emotion and complication attached to it too!

Thanks for those wedding shots! My anniversary (2 years!) is coming up at the end of Aug and I *believe* we'll have baby here by then, though it does fall on 42 weeks for me, so no guarentees! I started thinking about how much fun our wedding was (once it actually got started, that is) and how much a family/homegrown affair it was. So much love and help by so many friends and family members allowed us to have such an amazing party for very much less than might be expected.

Here we are in the field his uncle owns, bales of hay in the background.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/erianna/1000996575/

And the cake that the caterer "threw in" because she was a family friend and
was horrified that we weren't going to have one! (my aunt made the dress!)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/erianna/1000996665/in/photostream/


I've been in school for the duration of my pregnancy, doing an accelerated nursing b.s. as a second degree. My last final to finish the program is Aug 24 and my "official" due date is Aug 13, so that's been causing me some consternation. I've really been wanting some time to just stop and think about the labor and birth and the baby but I have to put a certain focus on finishing up the work for my degree. I've worked out a deal to do some of the clinical visits ahead, so that I'll be finished with that by next week (39.5 weeks!) and the majority of the written/classroom work must be complete by about the same time. If I then have to miss a lecture or two because I'm laboring/birthing I'll just have to figure out a way to make it to the final and I should manage. But I feel for all those working all the way up to the end... It's hard not to have a break of some sort.

Lovely to meet you all! Keep it up! We can do it!

PS I'm one who has done no ultrasounds. I didn't check the link that a pp posted, but it might be one of the articles that convinced me. I've heard also of evidence that lots and lots of ultrasounds can contribute to colicky babies, though since most of the babies who have many ultrasounds were either high-risk and/or multiples, it may have to do with other factors. We decided that unless there seemed to be some indication that it was necessary, we wouldn't do it. (Homebirthing with a mw makes that easier, because there's no pushy OB to face up to and refuse them. We also didn't do a lot of the screening tests because we decided ahead we wouldn't choose amnio to confirm them, so I didn't want the stress of a possible "elevated risk" result. For me, not knowing that something might be wrong until baby is born is bliss. But this is very personal.) I haven't missed them. We listen to the hb with a doppler at our mw visits and that has been great.

Anyhow, hi all and thanks for having me!

[rock_dr]

welcome Mandy and Eri_flores!

I love all the wedding stories and pics. We got married in a yurt on the side of a mountain. I arrived by snowmobile. we're the weirdos (http://www.thevikingyurt.com/otherServices.htm) with vodka and viking hat.

I agree, we are some hot mamas if I do say so myself!

and I've been waiting for so long to write this: NAK!!!

[dctexan]

:w eri_flores I love it when new #1 in 30s ladies join us (funny how many New Yorkers we have just in August...must have been something in the water last Nov/Dec :wink)

Yay cornpicker! So happy you dropped by to hang with us :love

I have only done one u/s (I absolutely couldn't resist the "big" 20 week u/s) and I don't expect to have anymore. My midwife can feel the babe and says he is head down, ready to go. She doesn't think he will be moving anywhere but down and out :D Since my midwife HAS to work under the supervision of OBs, I am not sure what her policy is with "overdue" mommas...maybe you HAVE to have a u/s once you go past 40 weeks? I haven't really asked because I am so sure (yes, I am completely setting myself up here).

So some good news for me - I was GBS negative! I am very excited about that.

Oh! We got our changing pad thingie in the mail yesterday and is IS much bigger than I thought. It still fits on top of our dresser and everything, but it's big. I guess that makes sense if people are still going to be changing diapers on it when the kid is 2 or 3 or so (when DO kids stop using diapers?!).

Now that I am at 36 weeks I have TOTALLY given up on people get us the stuff we need. I ordered all of the things I felt like I needed off my amazon wishlist. DH and I are making a trip to BRU and Target tomorrow to get the rest of the stuff (Pack N Play, diapers, wipes, thermometer, waterproof pads, nursing pilllow, breast pads, diaper cream, etc.). I also order two baby carriers - a hotsling and a Gypsy Mama Bali baby Stretch. I am going to a babywearing meeting tomorrow to figure out how to use them both. I tried them out today with a sack of flour, the results were secure, but not very pretty and I want to be a cool looking babywearer, not a sloppy babywearer.

Finally, DH and I are still not getting anywhere with our circumcision decision. I had just been ignoring the whole thing, hoping DH would "forget" or something (foolish, I know), but he brought it up last night. I think I have decided that we can go ahead with it if DH does the following things...

1). He HAS to get in touch with our birthing class instructor and watch the circumcision video

2). He has to find a doctor who will use a local anesthetic (not just a paci dipped in sugar water)

3). The doctor has to agree to let DH stay with the baby at all times during the procedure (and DH has to agree to stay).

I haven't presented this yet to DH, because I just thought about it today and because I want to let it roll around in my mind and see how it feels before committing.

Other baby boy mommas (or those of you who don't know the gender), how are you dealing with the circ issue?

[Dee-Groovy]

Welcome Eri!

CJ I smiled so big when I saw your "NAK"! Your wedding looks really cool & you guys look like a fun couple!

Emily DON'T DO IT! I know I'm not a boy mama but DH and I had the circumcision talk before we even TTC. I approached it gently, mostly b/c I didn't want him to have to think about what was stolen from him. I've always had a gut feeling that there was something wrong with it, and it turns out my feeling is backed up by a lot of facts. There's no medical reason to do it, and even religious reasons aren't that great (there are several Jewish groups against circumcision). It's a LOT different today than it was in the Bible or even 100 years ago - they used to just nick the tip of the foreskin and now they take the whole dang thing. The big argument that baby is less likely to get infections is false - he's actually more likely to get an infection b/c he has an open wound. Being uncircumcised is much more common than it used to be so the "locker-room shame" thing doesn't work either. Sorry to come on so strongly here, but I really believe that circumcision is unnecessary, and it's something you can't undo. Penn & Teller have a TV show on Showtime called Bullsh!t and they did an episode on circumcision. Watch it with your DH - it's funny and informative and will make you think. :innocent

Hooray for being GBS- and good luck shopping tomorrow!

[dcgrl]

Emily, I am so sorry you're dealing with this. :( There wasn't much discussion in our house about this, because somehow my husband escaped getting cut (something of a miracle, seeing as he was born in the early 60s when about 85% or more of boys were getting it done routinely) Whenever I tell him people's reasons for circumcising (hygiene, locker room, etc), he basically rolls his eyes.

For what it's worth, I think your plan is a good one. Is he insisting on the circumcsion so your son will look like him? this always gets me. Tattooed dads don't insist on inking their sons so they look alike. How often will they be naked together anyway?

I wish you didn't have to deal with this stress..

[dctexan]

Being uncircumcised is much more common than it used to be so the "locker-room shame" thing doesn't work either.

Yeah, I keep trying to find some real evidence for this. Circ rates in the US (well the parts I grew up in anyway) were about 50%. However, I have never, ever seen an uncirc'd penis! How is that possible? Shouldn't 50% of the men I have seen have an intact penis? I also have asked around to see what my friends are doing (presumably their children will be my son's peers) and all of them who have had boys (ALL of them...and there are 3 MDs in that group of people, two of them pediatricians and 3 others with PhDs!) have had their sons circ'd. In fact, it wasn't even an issue that merited discussion/debate for most of them! I was SHOCKED to learn all of this ('cause I started asking around hoping to get some ammo to use with DH...you know, stuff like Dr. Allie didn't circ her boys because she thinks it is wrong). So seriously, who are these non-circers and WHY the #$%^ don't I know any of them!!! It is extremely annoying and I feel very alone here.

[Dee-Groovy]

Ugh that sucks! It really is shocking that they just went along with it with no debate. Just remember, lots of people do it because "everybody's doing it." That's not a good enough reason for your little boy's pee pee! Yes, your friends' kids will be your son's peers as of now, but change happens in 3-18 years and he may end up with different peers entirely. If he decides he wants to be circ'd when he's 13 or 16 or 18 or whatever, let him do it. That seems fair to me. It sounds like you already know the arguments against it and don't want it, so all you have to do is convince DH and feel comfortable defending your choice to your friends. I guess that sounds insurmountable now but you can do it. You need a new project now that the grant is turned in, right? :wink

Seriously, the Penn & Teller vid is awesome. My DH came around 100% after the vid piqued his curiosity and he looked into it.

[PiePie]

Yeah, I keep trying to find some real evidence for this. Circ rates in the US (well the parts I grew up in anyway) were about 50%. However, I have never, ever seen an uncirc'd penis! How is that possible? Shouldn't 50% of the men I have seen have an intact penis? I also have asked around to see what my friends are doing (presumably their children will be my son's peers) and all of them who have had boys (ALL of them...and there are 3 MDs in that group of people, two of them pediatricians and 3 others with PhDs!) have had their sons circ'd. In fact, it wasn't even an issue that merited discussion/debate for most of them! I was SHOCKED to learn all of this ('cause I started asking around hoping to get some ammo to use with DH...you know, stuff like Dr. Allie didn't circ her boys because she thinks it is wrong). So seriously, who are these non-circers and WHY the #$%^ don't I know any of them!!! It is extremely annoying and I feel very alone here.

it is my understanding that a lot of the non-circ'ers are immigrants from latin america or asia. i too cannot think of a friend from our peer group who didn't circ (one contender -- haven't asked, though). the rates were much higher in the 70's, when i suspect most penises you have seen aside from friends' kids made their entrance. wait: i have one friend who adopted a boy from cambodia at 24 mos. -- maybe he wasn't circ'd? the orphanage catered primarily toward european (french) adoptive parents. again, never asked.

[PiePie]

because I am so sure (yes, I am completely setting myself up here).



ditto. the thought of going "overdue" is too horrible to contemplate. not only because i will get risked out of the birthing center at 41 w :irked: and not only because dh is going out of town sept. 10th :irked: but mostly just because i think i will lose it. but sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof, right?

[PiePie]

Oh! We got our changing pad thingie in the mail yesterday and is IS much bigger than I thought. It still fits on top of our dresser and everything, but it's big. I guess that makes sense if people are still going to be changing diapers on it when the kid is 2 or 3 or so (when DO kids stop using diapers?!).



ours is big too. girls day train on average at 2.5 yo but you my dear can expect an average boy to be in nappies until 3 y (36 mos. exactly). :p

[PiePie]

Now that I am at 36 weeks I have TOTALLY given up on people get us the stuff we need. I ordered all of the things I felt like I needed off my amazon wishlist. DH and I are making a trip to BRU and Target tomorrow to get the rest of the stuff (Pack N Play, diapers, wipes, thermometer, waterproof pads, nursing pilllow, breast pads, diaper cream, etc.). I also order two baby carriers - a hotsling and a Gypsy Mama Bali baby Stretch.



we just did the same thing. for things that charged shipping, i went to buy buy baby (got completely lost in there -- just like sucked in -- it was very disorienting... but at least i bought only what i intended to before going in) and i sent dh to bru to biuy the stuff not available at bbb (i made a whole list of what was cheaper where) but he misunderstood and just ordered the stuff with shipping... gee, i do the legwork and you do what?

oddly, i got 2 nursing pillows (can we say one dust collector??) and lots of breast pads as gifts. i guess i've been vocal about my intention of bf'ing! and we got 4 baby carriers (maya wrap, bjorn, ergo, and filly tough traveler backpack). none of these things have places but at that rate of excess you may begin to understand why our house is a hazard right now!

[cmu204]

Too brain dead for personals, but thanks to Emily and Grace (I think?) who posted about the changing pad -- I think that will work well with our IKEA dresser (we're not doing the whole changing table thing either - no space in our tiny ranchito!).

Had our ultrasound today -- man, that tech was serious about the H2O!
Admittedly, I went to the bathroom *just* before she called my name!
(I was sure I'd pee my pants if I waited any longer). So I chugged a couple of cups of water before we got started, and that was sufficient.
Baby was a little shy, so sex is not confirmed. She gave us her best guess, but we're not telling.

It was pretty amazing to see the little Bean -- I was fine most of the time as she measured the limbs and the kidneys and the bladder and the head (unsurprisingly, my baby's head is larger than average - you should see my DH :wink ), but I totally lost it when we looked at baby's little heart, pumping away. Most unexpected, but I've been crazy sensitive this whole pregnancy, anyway.

Afterwards, I said to DH "Dude: you're gonna be somebody's daddy!" :dizzy:
He laughs at me, but I'm serious. I'm really starting to believe there's a person in there and all the discomfort and puking and hyperactive sense of smell will all be worth it.

Now to go pass out in the loving arms of my sweetie. Man, oh man, Friday nights just ain't what they used to be!

Cher:afro
21w4d with biokid#1; loving aunt to N (8) & T(6); married to the most awesome geek boy in PDX

[PiePie]

CIRC: emily, before deciding, i would suggest interviewing peds with dh. i was surprised that all of the peds we talked to were STRONGLY against circ. they are on the upper west side of manhattan -- not exactly crunchy in an anti-establishment sense. my dh is anti-anti-circ -- he thinks my political approach is anti-Semitic and hurtfully judgmental -- i.e., he doesn't approach it as a children's rights issue or a bodily integrity issue, just a parental preference where there is no right answer. he is deeply embarrassed by my vehemence on the subject and asked that i 1. don't tell his jewish relatives (none of whom is observant enough to ever have a bris -- i don't see how it is particularly jewish to have it done in the hosp outside of the religious context) and 2. don't mention it in public -- like he said he would walk out of the ped q and a session if i asked about it except in private. he thinks my anti-circ stance means i hate his people -- although he never in any other context self-identifies as jewish and it is i not he who is looking into exposing our dc to various jewish religious rites so as to teach them that part of their heritage. never mind that i first started thinking about the ethical issues around circ'ing from hearing an npr story in the late 90's on the anti-circ movement AMONG JEWS. i do wonder if majorgroover's point is applicable to him -- that he would never acknowledge that he is missing something and is therefore defensive of the practice. even when he reads something basically anti-circ, e.g., sears, saying something like "uncirc'd penises are not that hard to clean" he will distort it and say "look, even this biased author thinks that it requires more work!" so basically before we conceived we worked this out as something i cared about and he was indifferent on. as it becomes more real he is expressing his difference of opinion more but it is not outright opposition -- it is a case of the person with the stronger feeligns on the subject wins. something we try to do a lot of in our relationship. the circ issue (unlike the CD question, on which we also disagree) is particularly hard because there is no real compromise, as i see it.

[PiePie]

(unsurprisingly, my baby's head is larger than average - you should see my DH :wink )

oh dear

[jpiper0430]

Emily - I am fortunate enough to have an intact DH. Of course, no one in my family really knows that and they all think we are crazy for not circ'ing (due to hygienic reasons, of course). I have already thanked my MIL for making the decision easy on us! She said she and my FIL just couldn't see a reason to put such a young child through cosmetic surgery. DH never felt strange or got teased in the locker room - we think that the boys wouldn't say anything even if they did notice a difference because it meant they were looking...

We have discovered that everyone else we know is circ'ing, but we found a ped who is actually against circ'ing, so we'll probably go with him. The Nurse practitioner in his practice is his wife, and she shares most of the same views, so even if we see her for visits, it won't be bad.

A friend of mine who was due August 7 was induced on Wednesday night. I haven't heard from her since, but I'm assuming she had the baby. I had a total freakout when she called to say she was heading to the hospital. This women is one of the healthiest people I know - eats well all the time, gets regular exercise (yoga twice a week, swimming 3x a week and walking every day), and her blood pressure shot up in a 24 hour period of time (to over 160/90) so they had to induce her. I'm assuming everything went well, and they are resting and bonding. I'll find out on Monday ( our DH's work together, so one way or another we'll find out).

I have 9 weeks left until my due date. I can't believe it's coming so fast. We just ordered the bedroom furniture for the baby. We are waiting for my shower (labor day weekend) to see what we get before buying everything else, but there are a few things I wish I had on hand.

Have a great weekend everyone!

[xenon]

Happy Saturday morning, gestating lovelies :sunshine

Welcome, Mandy and eri_flores!

You sound a lot like me right now - everything is kind of on hold, like an artificial calm but you can feel all the changes coming.

Oh, Dee, this made me smile. I have felt this way consistently since about six months before finishing my degree. That's just about two years now! You've got a good plan in focusing on the baby... much more pleasant than thinking about fellowships, scholarships, job applications, etc.

Emily, boo for the circ argument with DH (my DH and I haven't talked about it yet, but it's definitely on the agenda now!), but yay for the GBS result!

Ultrasounds: thanks so much for all the feedback. It's really great to have so many different thoughts, even though I know it's a completely personal choice. For me, I don't think an ultrasound is going to make me feel more connected to be baby, and nor do I think I have any big fears/worries that are going to be assuaged by seeing the images. Pending OB/midwife approval, my plan right now is to opt out.

Christina, thanks for the article -- it was really exactly what I was looking for.

Teeny, your "I'm pregnant!" story is absolutely wild! What a fantastic surprise!

Wedding: we opted for the self-planned, self-paid backyard wedding. It was simple, and beautiful, and a lot of fun. I must confess, though, that we didn't get a real honeymoon (conference at Princeton the week after the wedding -- Princeton is lovely, but this was hardly a honeymoon), so I'm jealous of those of you that did destination weddings. Combining the wedding and honeymoon is genius!

Ikea: the place I word is in a research park that's not far from the big box stores. Shameful confession: I eat lunch at the Ikea restaurant on a semi-regular basis :o

Have a great day everyone! I'm going to go shopping for maternity clothes today -- my first ones!

[pinkorchid2]

Changes made to here

:birthday: Christina!

:w eri_flores!

[Grace24]

Happy Birthday Christina...is it today? Whee! Doing anything fun?

Hi Cornpicker, good to see you! So you're next, eh? Cool! Can't wait!

CJ I think you guys win the prize with the viking hat, that was tooooo funny! I love all our wedding stories!

:w eri_flores! Beautiful wedding to you too, and I love that you got such a nice cake cuz the caterer felt bad!

Elizabeth...I'm so glad MIL is out of your house. Try to let yourself off the hook. Family is so tough and you have to focus on YOU now and that baby feels your stress. I think you did what you needed to do, so no guilt, please.

Laura...I laughed at what you said about the college degrees and not being scholastically inclined... I do have two college degrees but in music performance. I have absolutely NO patience for reading textbooks and really don't know how I got through the other college courses except to say they were entry-level and not that hard! Performance and music was my thing and thank god I was good at that, cuz, um, NO to the studying and reading stuff. It's so nice you can stay home with baby! My grandfather was a methodist minister, and the church always provided them with a nice home. I remember the big white brick farmhouse they lived in, in Indiana when I was a kid. We ran all over that thing, it was HUGE! The church took very good care of them.

Cher...congrats on the u/s. I felt much better after mine, really. Even though I couldn't see very well, and they didn't take pictures cuz I "didn't ask for them". :irked: My bean measured 5 to 7 days ahead, as well, but DH is HUGE and this is a boy, so that makes sense. Also, I think I O'd early that month, so he's right where I thought he was.

Finally, Emily... :Hug for your circ argument. This is a tough one. I am having a boy so this did come up...I said, "Honey, I don't want to circ" and he said, "Ok." So honestly I don't know what I'd do if I had to have that fight, but I know I'd fight it. Funny thing, I don't think most people think about it. They just do what their folks did, and if I had not found MDC (thank god I did) I'd be giving birth in a hospital, having routine vax, using sposies and formula, and probably... gasp... circing. Thank you to MDC for educating me about these issues... whatever we choose to do, at least now it's a choice and not just a repeat of what my folks did. Good luck. And YAY for GBS negative!

I. am. so. sick. of. Phantom. of. the. Opera. !!!! I think baby is too, he's kicking stronger now when I play :lol or is that normal for 24 weeks? 12 shows left, then I get a vacation! Whee! I can do it! Honestly I'm glad I'm doing it though because normally we don't work in the summer and I'd be SOOO bored without being able to take my Bikram yoga and my dance classes (6 months pregnant + salsa dancing = not impossible, but a little weird), plus the money's nice.

Have a great weekend and think of me slaving away in the orchestra pit all day!

[Dee-Groovy]

Cher congrats on the u/s! Isn't it fun to see the little one moving around in there?

Jenn and PiePie, I thought all peds were against circ'ing since it's no longer recommended by the AAP?

Jenn that's scary that a super-healthy woman would have to be induced b/c of blood pressure. I *really* don't want to be induced! I heard some famous doctor (obstetric anesthesiologist at Harvard) say that pitocin and epidurals go together. Yuck.

Xenon good to know I'm not the only one who feels like she's in the calm before the storm. Sorry you missed out on the honeymoon - I recommend Couples in Jamaica.. one day, after the baby's older right? Have fun shopping for mat clothes. I LMAO the first time I tried on the fake bump.

:birthday: Christina! Have an awesome day!

Julia sorry you're sick of POTO! Only 12 shows left!

Happy 3rd trimester to me! I can't believe it, but then I can, but then I can't. :dizzy: Wow.

[PiePie]

Jenn and PiePie, I thought all peds were against circ'ing since it's no longer recommended by the AAP?


well, the aap doesn't recommend for, but it doesn't recommend against either. and i have found that peds are not necessarily in line with the policy statements -- for example, the pro-bfing position is pretty clear (exclusive for the first 6 mos) but none we have met comes on that strong -- afraid of seeming judgmental. also, there is a revision of the aap statement in the works (to come out in 2008) changing their position to recommended because of the hiv thing.

[beckyphry]

Hi Ladies!

Happy birthday, Christina!!

I've been SO BUSY these last few weeks. Ugh. But I've caught up on the whole thread! I wanted to share some wedding pix too!

Add us to the list of couples who eloped. We got married on the island of St. John in the USVI. It was amazing and lovely and next week is our 2-year anniversary!

Our ceremony was back in this little private cove (my legs got completely bitten up back there!! But it was great!):

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/199/498474289_0ce1275c2e_o.jpg

Here's the boy and I, cracking up at something. This is my favorite picture!

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/227/498431618_9c5b998f42_o.jpg

Oh man, seeing our beach totally makes me want to go back!!

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/216/498475881_0653cf61d9_o.jpg

Anyhoo, here's my life in a nutshell:

- We're moving August 17, approximately 2 weeks before my due date. Yes, we're insane.
- For the last few weeks we've been working hard to get our new condo ready to move in. That has included clearing the unit out of the previous owner's crap (it was a short sale, pre-foreclosure, so paying to have her crap removed was the only way we could close), hiring a cleaning crew, hiring painters who started this past week, getting air ducts cleaned, and setting up to have the carpets cleaned.
- All is well with me and baby! I had my GBS swab this past week, haven't gotten the results yet. I didn't expect to have an internal and the midwife just kind of went for it without asking! She's my favorite midwife in the practice, so I'll forgive her, but I will likely be refusing internals unless I go late. My cervix is closed but thinning. Baby is head down, on the left, and anterior. Woohoo! She's also been moving much more lately. I think that's what I'll miss most about being pregnant; feeling her move.

So, August mamas to be, what are you guys packing in your bag if you're delivering in a hospital? I want to get my bag packed by next weekend!

Are you August ladies totally freaked out? I am! (and I could end up being an August mama, my due date is Sept 2!).

[PiePie]

becky, it sounds like your cervix is more ready than mine! of course it has been more than 3 weeks since my last vaginal exam, so who knows for sure.

i am hormonal, grouchy, and way too hot today. trying to nest. stressed about the state of the apt. dh is being great.

[dctexan]

Cher - Yay for seeing that little heartbeat. That was favorite part of the u/s too. I was so amazed at how baby-like he looked in there (until I saw the front face...THAT was a tiny bit creepy, but everything in profile was awesome :D). Since you aren't telling us, I am going to guess girl for you!

Becky Yes, you are completely insane but congrats on the move anyway. Listen up Becky's little daughter, you best stay inside and cook until after Aug 17. Your mama wan't to have your new place already for you BEFORE you arrive (plus, you will never pack as well as you are right now, so STAY INSIDE!!!). BTW Becky, love your wedding pics. You two look like you had so much fun!

Christina - HAPPY BIRTHDAY preggo!!!! Hee hee. It still gives me great joy that you are over on this thread with us now :D

Pie Sorry you feel hormonal and grouchy. I am doing a little bit better today that I was earlier in the week. I don't want to kill DH right now. I do sort of wish my feet would either decrease in size and swelling or just get it over with and explode. This in between state is awful (my flip flops left marks on my feet for the first time today - ugly and pitiful).

So, DH and I did our final run to BRU & Target today (ha ha, like it's really going to be our final run - but it's our last anticipated run) and bought our supplies. The My Breast Friend pillow is HUGE! I was shocked. Packing for the hospital is going to be a big deal. My goal is to have all of my hospital stuff ready to go by next Sunday.

I also had a great time learning how to use my wrap at a babywearing meeting. Woohoo. Sooooo ready to put the baby in the BBS and the hotsling (and now I really want a ring sling). Do any of you have baby carriers yet?! I so think I have the beginnings of a major addiction.

[Grace24]

Becky your wedding looked so nice! Casual and relaxed! You look so happy! Pretty there, too. Wow.

Emily...I have a maya sling my friend passed along that she could never be bothered with and a pouch from kanga corner or something like that which was her gift to me. I teared up when I saw the pouch, it was the first moment I think the pregnancy felt real to me. That said, I'm uncertain of my abilities to do too much babywearing because I already have back problems and neck/shoulder issues from playing the violin. I'll have to see... otherwise I plan on using it as much as I can, probably more when we're NOT playing though. I think baby will spend a lot of time on his daddy's back though.

10 shows and counting.

[Anouk]

Hi all, can I join? I just got my first-ever BFP this morning! Well, if you want to get into the particulars, there were lines on three of the FOUR tests I peed on (CBE, $Tree, AimStick), and then I ran out and got a digi, which came up BFP in less than a minute! :dizzy:

For specifics on the front page, I am 32 and my EDD is April 13, 2008. I turn 33 on April 4, and DH turns 33 on April 26, so that's a pretty significant EDD. My mom is April 12, and two good friends are April 13! LOL

I enjoyed reading this thread from the first page, getting the details of everyone's weddings. DH and I got married 2 years ago at an outdoor ceremony in a courtyard behind a historic Victorian mansion in Sacramento. We have big families, so had to invite about 150 people, but they are far-flung, so only 46 attended, which was a nice size. When I figure out how to imbed photos I'll update with one...

PiePie - I also am an attorney. I did three years at a litigator (dependency law :dizzy: ) and now am much less stressed working in-house for the State Dept. of Fish and Game. I can sympathize with what you're dealing with, and hope these last days of work go by quickly. BTW, I voted for Lorelei as I do think it's a beautiful name, and I'm also a huge GG fan so would probably consider the name because of the show rather than despite it.

Julia - I grew up near and later lived in the Shenandoah Valley! What a beautiful place for a wedding! I lived in Southside Richmond, then Churchville (near Harrisonburg) and later Waynesboro (between Staunton and Charlottesville). I'm really impressed that you play for POTO as I was raised by a father who majored in band-directing and now plays for the Richmond Pops. I think I disappointed him by never showing talent despite lessons on piano, ukelele, clarinet...:lol DH and I just got back from a whirlwind trip to NYC during which we attended RENT and Wicked performances, Yankees and Mets games, and visited four museums. When I heard Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal were reprising their roles in RENT, I just couldn't stay away :wink

Dee - It's good to see you here. Thanks so much for your *donations* to my TTC cause, the tests were super-helpful! Now I will have some extras to pay the generosity forward!

The circ issue is a strange sort of *sleeper* issue. It's weird. I knew nothing about it until I started TTC, then a good friend brought up the issue and I started asking questions. I still can't understand why I had to search out the info - why the info hasn't pervaded our media and societal knowledge. What I found out made me really angry - the widespread hush-hush especially. When I forwarded a bunch of the articles to DH, he was appalled. I will search out the Penn and Teller show on Netflix - it sounds interesting.

[Grace24]

Lacy...:w and congratulations! How exciting! Lots of April babies in your family, eh? Our wedding was in Staunton at the White Fence B&B. My normal gig isn't POTO, it's with the opera at the kennedy center and then we play for shows and visiting ballet companies in our off-season. We have to rotate to the top of a long, slow-moving list for shows, so the extra money is unexpected but well-timed as I'll have to let go of some income in December for maternity leave. When you're only officially employed 26 weeks out of the year it's tough to convince management you need paid maternity leave...:o So nice to see you here!

[~minnow~]

Oh wow, there's a lot to comment on but I'll do my best. First off, welcome and congratulations Lacy! And Teenytoona! And eri_flores! I'm really excited to have new people join. It reminds me how amazing being pregnant is. And how awesome it was to get that BFP.

Happy birthday Christina! Congrats on seeing the heartbeat, Cher!

I love an active thread. Let's see. I wish we had an Ikea nearby, but we don't. My brother can be persuaded to bring a crib from Ikea when he visits soon. (We'll cosleep... but kind of want a crib for in case and eventual naps.) But what about other stuff we might need? A dresser to use as a changing table? Or a cheap rocker? And should getting a bigger bed be an immediate priority? Right now what I want are cushy, cushy chairs. My husband built most of our living room furniture ( http://www.digitalmediatree.com/schwarz/comment/30262/ -- the chairs, not the desk, and incidentally I don't know why I can't bury my URLs in words like you all do. I can't use smilies either. Must be some setting.) which is cool. But low, wooden chairs are not so comfy whilst pregnant. Our couch is similarly spartan. Cushy furniture would have to go entirely on the credit card, though. What to do?

But we do have carriers! I have a used hug-a-bub (like a Moby wrap) and a Rockin' Baby Pouch. Same brother bought us a nice ring sling which should arrive soon. I'm excited to try them all with a real baby!

Love the wedding pictures and stories, everyone. It's really neat to see faces for some of you I haven't yet.

Emily, circ is tricky. I feel like that's something I COULD NOT compromise on, but when I brought it up DH agreed that we didn't have to circ if it was a boy. If he'd been adamantly on the other side, I don't know what I would have done. He's quite stubborn. I feel like I've mentioned this before, but I've never seen an (adult) uncirced penis either? However, I found out just weeks ago that my father and brothers are all uncirced. I've lived in that family for 31 years and never realized this.

Becky, hooray for good position! And wow... moving two weeks before. That's intense. I would do it, too, but make sure you have LOTS of support. Our move (8 weeks before) was hard. Not the move itself, so much as the aftermath. I think you own the condo you're moving into, right? So that'll help, probably. But there's the unsettled feeling, and the being overwhelmed by having to figure out how stuff works in the new space. It's been hard for me; I was pretty down the last couple days. Of course I'm still working too, and haven't felt like I'm doing as good a job lately, so bringing all of that together with my tiredness and sense of how much work still looms even AFTER we get the furniture moved (or, in some cases, bought!) has been kind of killer.

I guess I thought the last few weeks of my pregnancy would be me all journalling and taking self-portraits and serenely cooking freezer meals and sorting baby clothes in a perfectly aesthetic nursery, and oh yeah, swimming each day and writing my dissertation. Now it's feeling hectic and rushed. Our phone doesn't yet work (their fault not ours) so my midwife can't call me to arrange the appointment we're supposed to have next week. I'm feeling better about it all, though. The cameraderie of this thread helps a lot.

[eri_flores]

Thanks for the warm welcome all! And welcome to Anouk! How exciting is that first BFP!?!?

dctexan: hubby and I just made our "last" run to BRU last week. We had a gift certificate to use and got some odds n ends: a changing pad (also just setting it on a low dresser), a few bottles and bags for breast milk storage, baby nail clippers. I got a boppy from somone on craigs list and was also suprised by how huge it is! I've been using it to prop up the belly: so useful for lounging!

Also in the beginning stages of a *major* baby carrier obsession. So far have only bought two pouch slings: one in a neutral color so hubby can use and one with a girly print (both used, both from MDC). My brother says he's getting us an Ergo as a gift so that's three. We'll go from there, as I really would like to try just about everything out!

PiePie: re: the aap changing bfing recs based on hiv infection... I just read a study that said that actually babies of hiv+ moms who were exclusively breastfed had a *lower* chance of getting the virus...something to do with the proteins in formula when supplementing causing small injuries to the stomach and intestines that allowed the virus more of a chance to infect, rather than just passing through. So it's not as clear-cut as it seemed. Though I don't know if this will have any effect on their plan to change the recommendation. Bah.

On the circ issue, I'm with the pp who said it's funny how "underground" an issue it is! It just never really came up for me, maybe a function of my family's practices and beliefs (non-circing) but I assumed that beyond the religious practice, most people just didn't really do it. So much emotion being attached to it sometimes suprises me. I'm lucky that hubby is intact and I'm not even sure we actually asked the question out loud to one another, just assumed we would not circ a boy child. (Maybe I should ask him, just to be sure!)

Guess overall, I'm feeling ready. I have a cute little diaper changing station set up now, finally got all the clothes washed and put away. We still need some more prefolds but we might plan to do gdiapers for a little bit in the beginning til we can be sure that prefolds are the way we want to go. What else? Got boobs, carriers on the way, homebirth kit, even have a few meals frozen ahead. Sounds pretty good, right?

Anyone doing/planning to do perineal massage? My childbirth educator gave us a pamphlet about it, saying start at about 34 weeks and my mw has been suggesting it. I kinda tried, but can't reach myself (dang large belly!!) and hubby and I have opposite schedules now. I'm at 39 weeks tomorrow and I guess any massage is good massage right? Does it seem worth it? Anyone with anecdotes from friends who have done it?

Cooler temp today! I feel ever so slightly more human.

[~minnow~]

I've heard mixed things about perineal massage; some of what I've read (and what OUR childbirth class people said) suggests that it doesn't necessarily help prevent tears. Do it if you want, it doesn't HURT, but it isn't necessary, is sort of the message I've imbibed. I do try to remember to do kegels, though.

Wow I can't believe how close the next babies in this thread are!

My poor husband. He's done SO much work moving stuff around, but yet I'm so grouchy lately. And today I'm not grouchy, but I have strong opinions about arranging stuff (diaper stuff, for example), and he feels like they're "impractical" (I've done extensive childcare; he's never babysat, so yeah, they are practical demands) for the space. I think he's just too attached to his own version of order and isn't thinking about the actual needs of having a child. (Like, the diapers have to be within reach of the diaper changing place.) So he's working super hard, but putting up with me and dealing with frustration at the same time. I tell him his idea about how to arrange things isn't going to work; he sits and sulks for a bit... then he gets up and does more hard work. I tell myself it's okay; he's going to need these skills and the ability to sometimes not get his way when our kid is here. Overall, I have to say he's been amazing lately, even given that we've had a fair number of arguments about where to put stuff.

And can I just tell you guys that I'm wearing my jeans that the butt ripped completely across, and a white tank top that, like all my tank tops, is stained with both colustrum AND coffee? Awesome.

[PiePie]

And should getting a bigger bed be an immediate priority?

for us it became the furniture priority. dh had wanted one all along, i resisted. but then i read good nights, by j. gordon, re safe colseeping. and now we've got a king-size mattress (on the floor).

[PiePie]

yesterday i wore a t-shirt of dh's and my brother's soccer shorts. today, more soccer shorts. i don't have much in the way of short-sleeved maternity shirts for work. sigh. it's almost over, right

[beckyphry]

Emily, so sorry you're still all swollen. Yuck! And I know what you mean about your carrier addiction. I have two so far -- a Maya wrap ring sling and a Babyhawk mei tei. I still want a Peanut Shell. I need to practice for a bit, though! Thanks for your message to my little one to stay put! :) I think she heard you!

Welcome Lacy!! :) Congrats on your BFP!

Lane, thanks for your thoughts on moving. Yeah, it's going to be hard, but we really had no other choice. The closing date wasn't up to us, and it was much later than we'd hoped it would be. If we had decided to wait til after the baby comes to move, that would mean paying a mortgage and rent and two sets of utilities. So, we're just sucking it up and making the best of it. We do have a moving company, but we have to do all the packing. Now that my husband has gotten the "hard labor" over with (emptying the place out), he can help more with packing so I can relax a bit! :) Sorry you've been down the last few days -- hopefully as you settle in, you'll feel more comfortable!

[plummum]

Just found this thread before gr