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August Chat Thread

3K views 39 replies 19 participants last post by  wengrin 
#1 ·
So the July chat thread kind of died, and it's August now - so, new thread! Just post about whatever's going on with you.

I'll be 32 weeks tomorrow, which means everyone should be in the third trimester now, I think! Baby continues to wiggle, wiggle, wiggle. Looking forward to my appointment tomorrow. They didn't ever call me with any blood test or ultrasound results after all the stuff I had done at 29 weeks, so I'm assuming it's all good, but I'd like to see how my iron is, and I'm curious about my exact glucose numbers. And, of course, I want to verify that the baby's choroid plexus cyst has resolved. I'm also hoping that the doc can palpate and tell me if the baby is still breech, as she was in the ultrasound. I've felt her try to flip several times, but she seems to get stuck halfway. However, as much as she moves, I'm not really sure if she's head down, and I should be discouraging flipping, or head up, and I should be trying to help her get unstuck. We will see!

Currently, I'm potty training my almost-two-year-old DS. Can't believe it's been two years this month since he was born. It's actually going quite well, but is still somewhat labor-intensive. My dh is out of town for the entire week, too, which just sucks.

My really-need-to-get-cracking-on-that list for this month:
-Get serious about talking baby names
-Make a birth plan
-Reread The Big Book of Birth
-Discuss/practice distraction techniques with dh
-Discuss the idea of a doula with dh and decide yes or no on hiring one (and hire one, if yes)
-Do some exercise/stretching

How about everyone else?
 
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#2 ·
Happy August! 32 weeks- wow, you're getting so close!

29 weeks here though we only can go to 38 max and likely less than that. Had another trip to the hospital and just got home tonight after 3 days. Major blood pressure scare (stroke-like numbers) and seeing spots. Admitted and they found protein in my urine. All signs of preeclampsia. Much more common with multiples and my age doesn't help. Thankfully, BP has been great since. So we got discharged and will have more frequent monitoring with weekly biophysical profiles on the babies. They're great btw. <3

Feeling pretty good minus frequent and sometimes quite painful contractions (BH). Getting so excited knowing there's 8 weeks left to 37, which is full term for twins. Cloth diapers and wipes and are all set, clothes all set, cosleeper here but needs to be set up, winter clothes almost ready (we live in the mountains at high altitude so it comes early) and just needing car seats and a few last minute organization things and we are all set. Grateful to have made it this far. <3. Big brothers canNOT wait.
 
#3 ·
There is a ton left to do for me. I'm 32 weeks today.

We need a car seat, clothes, cloth diapers (just about done sewing the covers have all 6 newborn ones done and 3/15 one size done) and I'm sure other things. We've bought nothing baby but a bobby pillow, play pen and a changing pad we picked up at a yardsale.

Part of the problem is I have no idea when my baby shower will be and I don't want to get stuff prior to the shower. My MIL is planning it. And hasn't set a date yet.
 
#5 ·
Let's see. Today is my 30th birthday, and tomorrow I'll be 28 weeks. I'm feeling much better than I had been. Yay! Last week I had a day when I couldn't keep anything down, but that was a fluke. I couldn't sleep the night before, and I think that threw me off. Then the next day my blood pressure dropped way low and I was all fainty.

Baby is very busy. Strong and healthy, growing on track. Having a few BH contractions every afternoon and evening, as usual for me. I'm starting to be a little sad that this is probably our last one. I like having the belly, and I love babies. But pregnancy is just so hard on our whole family. We just don't think doing it again on purpose would be a wise choice for us. 3 is a nice number, too.

Not excited about my glucose test coming up at my next midwife appointment. It's not my favorite part of prenatal care, that's for sure. At least my midwife lets me choose my sugar for the test, instead of making me drink the thick syrupy drink I had to drink for my dr with my first. I threw that one up, it was so gross. Dr. Pepper will be a nice treat.
 
#6 ·
I'm 30 weeks now. Been in chronic pain for 10 weeks now with symphysis pubis dysfunction and varicosities. Has changed my whole lifestyle since I can't do much anymore. This summer has been hard with the kids home and dh working all the time but school resumes on the 20th! Baby is big, strong, and very active! I love feeling him move and guessing his position. I stopped prenatals at 23 weeks so now I'm just excitedly awaiting my freebirth. Kinda wish I could be done, but at the same time I'm trying to savor these last few months since this is our last! I'm happy that for the last 8 weeks, the kids will be in school all day and I can rest and nest to my heart's content. :)
 
#7 ·
I'm 32wks+2 today, and feel lucky to have made it this far. I'm having insurance difficulties, since it switched in July, I got confused and thought I needed to switch doctors to stay covered. I switched, went to my 1st app for new doc, and was turned away due to them having to straighten something out. So I got on the phone, straightened everything out (or so I thought), so before my next 1st app I called them to make sure it was all good on their end. It wasn't. After trying to work it out some more, I got frustrated and just canceled the app. So now, its been 3wks with no doc app. Feeling frustrated, I guess I'll just go back to old doc, since I found out that I had been wrong, and they will take my new insurance. I hate figuring out insurance.

Oh, and on Thurs I took my nephew to his football scrimmage, and as we were leaving I noticed my wallet was not there. I figured I left it at home, even though I knew I didn't. But I wasn't worried. Now I realize, I left the doors unlocked at some point, and my wallet was stolen. :irked
I had my bank card, health insurance card, drivers license, and some money in there. So mad. Had to cancel my card, and thankful at least that my DL had my old address on it.

As far as prep for baby, we just need a car seat, diapers, and a baby book. I feel like I'm procrastinating. Part of it is the hope that if I don't get it yet, she won't come till Oct. I need to try to sew some diapers or covers, although I was just going to buy them, I want to try and make some, just to see if I can. My lack of energy lately probably means I won't thou, I've been avoiding all sewing lately. She has a ton of clothes, socks, mittens, even some shoes my mom got her (cute, but....) & Her cradle just needs a (better) mattress, and that's it.

I'm not much looking forward to my nephew & niece starting school again because I have to drive them 15m each way to their school, when there is literally a school across the street. Uggh. The good thing is that this yr my niece will be in 1st, therefore she now gets out when her brother does. Last yr in K, she got out 1hr+30min before, and it was a pain in the butt to pick her up, go home for like 1hr, and go back and pick him up.
 
#8 ·
As far as prep for baby, we just need a car seat, diapers, and a baby book. I feel like I'm procrastinating. Part of it is the hope that if I don't get it yet, she won't come till Oct.
I must seriously be a procrastinator then, because we have not gotten anything yet. I am waiting until the baby shower (September 13th), so I know what exactly I will need afterward. Baby isn't "due" until October 17th, so I think all will be okay. ...Right? This is my first, so I don't know when is the "right time" to buy everything.
 
#9 ·
I also have not gotten a whole lot of anything, other than some things for around the apartment that have needed changing: bath mats, curtains, a new dresser, etc. If anything, I am more in cleaning/planning/decluttering mode, because I want things to be fresh and nice for the baby.
But we are slowly starting to accumulate things, and I am hoarding 20% off Buy Buy Baby coupons to do a big excursion in the near future :)
 
#10 ·
Since we already have one child, we have most of the things we need (though we desperately need another dresser!), but I haven't organized anything or rearranged furniture or gotten our baby equipment out yet. I'd like to redecorate the nursery, but we'll be moving out of state shortly after the baby is born, so it doesn't seem worth the effort. The baby will probably be sleeping with us for a while anyway, and DD is back in our bed after a year of sleeping fine on her own (argggghh!), so I doubt the nursery will get much use.

Anyone else having lots of Braxton-Hicks? I don't remember having them when I was pregnant with DD, but I've been contracting off and on all day for the past couple of days. I think maybe I need to drink more water?

We still haven't come up with a name we love. Boy names are hard! We're looking for something that's not super common but also not unheard of. Lionel is a possibility (DH is a big jazz fan). I love Nathaniel, but I don't think I can talk DH into it. We're also considering Galen, but again...meh. I just suggested Wesley and am waiting for feedback from DH. Does anyone have any suggestions? Middle name will probably be David after my dad.
 
#11 ·
I'm glad to read that there are some others here who also haven't gotten much baby stuff yet. We just had two friends gift us some hand-me-down stuff last week, but until then we had nothing and I was starting to get nervous. My priority has been trying to clear stuff out of the house that we don't really need - we live in a tiny rental house - but it has taken a while to get my partner on board with that. Let's just say we have different levels of attachment to stuff. We're getting there little by little though. We did just decide that we are going to get some diapers and a car seat in the next couple weeks, because those are two things we'll need immediately upon the baby's arrival, but I am the kind of shopper that likes doing tons of research before spending money on anything, so I've been in the research phase up to this point.

I feel like a lot of my energy right now is focused on getting things in order at work to be on leave. I have a pretty intense job with a lot of responsibility and work in a small organization where each person's function is unique. Everyone is stretched to their limit and can't take on much extra work, so we're hiring special coverage for me while I'm out...it is taking a lot of extra time and energy to get everything in order for the folks covering for me. I know once the baby is here I won't be worrying about work much at all, but any tips or advice for preparing to be away for maternity leave?

(Calycanth - we're also struggling with boy names - we narrowed it down to three names, but who knows which will be first, which will be middle, and which will not make the cut. Sometimes I hope it is a girl just so we don't have to go through the great name debate anymore - our girl name has been settled for months.)
 
#12 ·
We've bought a carseat (did that very early in the pregnancy, as I wanted to fit-test it with my son's while we were car shopping), and I just bought a onesie and pants that say little sister on a whim. Other than that, nothing. But we'll be reusing a ton of stuff (including cloth diapers and some clothes) from my son, so there's not a ton to do. Even with my first, though, we saved major buying until after the baby shower at 34 weeks, and after sifting through hand-me-downs from my SIL. We didn't end up with much left to buy.
 
#13 · (Edited)
I have known a Galen and a Nathaniel. Galen was easy to say, very sweet kid, though I don't know how much he liked it after he turned five (lost track of him since then). Nathaniel's nickname turned out to be NatNat. At two yr old, he doesn't mind. It's not a mouthful to say like you might think. There's a lot of options for nicknames with Nathaniel.

Wesley is from The Princess Bride, right? I have known a few guys that go by Wes instead of Wesley, but for the full name, I always think of The Princess Bride. I love that movie.
 
#14 ·
The only Galen I ever knew was a total sweetie, too. But I don't know if I'd use that name or not. I like Wesley, but dh definitely does not! (This baby is a girl, anyway.) The Princess Bride Character is actually Westley, which is also interesting. :)

We're not making a ton of headway on girl names. We have one we both like, but it's a name of semi-obscure TV character, and while it technically exists as a name in another language, I have never, ever heard of anyone with that name. (The pronunciation in the other language is totally different, too.) So people would either just think we made up a weird name, or they would know that we (me, actually) is a total nerd. I know that doesn't bother some people, but it does bother me some. Plus our son has a super-traditional name, so it doesn't seem to "go". We've been exploring other options, but just aren't really sure yet.
 
#15 ·
Monkeyscience, now I'm really curious what the name is, though I understand if you're keeping it under wraps until the baby arrives.

I'm hesitant to use Galen because I'm worried he'd have a tough time with it in middle school (though the optimist in me hopes that by the time this kid gets to seventh grade, people will have ceased to use "gay" as an insult). DH likes it and said that hadn't even occured to him. We have friends who named their son Westley, presumably after the character from The Princess Bride. :) Nathaniel is my favorite, and I think we'd call him Nat since DH hates the name Nate (I think that's his main objection to it).
 
#16 ·
I am 29+5, so coming right up on 30 weeks, and the biggest change is that my body is not okay with me being on the run all day like I was used to. I'm used to being active, I work full time, I love to get outside and go for walks or hikes, and now all I want to do is be in my house, curled up, or preparing things for baby. I feel him moving so much, too - I can feel individual limbs, and the hard areas of my belly where he is hanging out. I also love guessing his position - I believe he is head down, but posterior because I feel all the limbs in front. Hope he spins in time! (Speaking of - my midwife recommended the Spinning Babies website - have you guys read it? Cool stuff.)

I have had a couple scary experiences with excessive braxton hicks - and yes, I believe it's directly related to dehydration. Over the weekend, I traveled for my friend's wedding, and that was dehydration + altitude change + not enough sleep. I feel great when I take good care of myself, drink tons of water, and sleep 9-10 hours a night. Not sure how I'm going to do this when it's not my first and I have other little ones to care for -- I have a lot of respect for all you mommas doing this the second, third or more times!

As far as being prepared - I have received lots of clothes from my sisters in law, and purchased a lot more for next to nothing at garage sales. I have the crib, pack n' play, bouncy seat, changing table and dresser (it was all given to me as hand me downs!), but I need to refinish the dresser yet (correction - my DH needs to refinish the dresser, because I'm not inhaling that stuff). At least the baby will be in the pack n' play in our room to start so it doesn't REALLY matter if the nursery isn't done, but my nesting self wants everything in place! We got water in our basement in June so we had a ton of work to do on the drywall/paint/carpeting after the foundation crack was repaired, and the nursery has taken a backseat. I'm really hoping someone is planning a shower for me, but no word yet. There is so much stuff I need: carseat, cloth diapers, breast pump, bottles, burp rags, pacifiers, blanket... I feel so unprepared!

Anyway... back to work, so I can get stuff done and get out of here at a good time, and go home and make friends with the couch and a good book :)
 
#18 ·
I think she was referring to prenatal check ups since she's doing a freebirth (unassisted childbirth and doing her own checks/monitoring at home), not necessarily prenatal vitamins ;)
 
#20 ·
Whoops! Should have read all responses. If by prenatals, she meant vitamins, rest assured I am still taking prenatals and several other supplements!
 
#22 ·
Anyone else having trouble staying full? I feel like I'm constantly hungry, and getting enough food is a perpetual battle. It doesn't help that I can't have soy or nuts. I've ended up eating a lot of carbs and dairy, but it's not really satisfying. If only a nice steak were as easy to dish up as a bowl of cottage cheese or ice cream!
 
#23 ·
I go through phases! there are days where nothing I do makes me full, and other days where I can eat pretty normally. I bought these awesome protein bars to eat at night and in the morning (and in the day if I so choose) that only have 3-5 ingredients and I think that has helped me feel a little fuller. However, they are soooo pricey! But 20 grams of protein and only 3 ingredients is hard to pass up, and it helps at 4 am when I wake up and am hungry but am not about to go and make food.they are soy and nut free!!!! called rise protein bars. I get them at sprouts. available online, too.

And so I have been told that it will just get worse with breastfeeding lol. I want to feel full again!
 
#24 ·
Don't really know what to say as I haven't really been hanging out here. I'm 30+2 today and incredibly bored. I'm not expecting baby to come until very close to the due date, DS came at 40+1. We found a cosleeper, I bought a new baby carrier (an "Agility", its similar to the K'Tan), and I'm waiting for the replacement parts for our swing (which should take about a week). I passed my glucose test with flying colors, I'm slightly anemic, and my blood pressure is as great as always. So now its a bunch of doing the same stuff every day.

Slightly interesting, DS is a little obsessed with his old toys. We have one of those floor arch things and he's pretending its a tent by spreading a blanket over top. He spends more time with it now than when he was an infant, haha.

monkeyscience - I'm always hungry but I never want to eat anything we actually have. I too feel like I'm just eating carbs and dairy over and over again.
 
#25 ·
I'm feeling very whiny these past few days. I keep feeling slightly dizzy, with mild numbness/tingling in my arms. Nauseated too, sometimes. (I am SO OVER the nausea - it may have taken half the pregnancy with my son to get over it, but at least it STAYED gone after that!) I think it's low blood pressure. I took my blood pressure at the store yesterday, and it was 102/65. And that was after actually moving around. I'm guessing it's probably more like 95/60 at home. Trying to up my water intake, but just not really wanting to drink much. :p
 
#26 ·
I'm 30 weeks, 3 days. I had a major anxiety episode yesterday, feeling like I'm not going to be ready,but not really sure what I should do to prepare for baby. Last night, I read up on all of the medical "emergency interventions" that I don't want to happen, then woke up at 1am and couldn't fall back asleep, tossing and turning with nightmares about labor and not being able to push baby out or feel my contractions. It's very reassuring that my baby is VERY active. I have some anemia as well, that also contributed to the anxiety because anemia can lead to pre-term labor, and pre-term labor means I'd have to go to the hospital! I am so terrified of the hospital, and I want nothing to do with c-sections or epidurals! I just have to get these fears out here.
Besides all that, it would seem that my husband is turning into a sexist pig :-( While I do want to stay home a lot with the baby, I recently interviewed for a really great job that pays more that my husband's, has incredible benefits, and would only require 16 hours/week of childcare even if we both kept working full time! When I brought it up to my husband and mentioned the other main benefit- that I wouldn't have to work every single weekend (I'd have SUndays off), and that we'd have a day a week together as a family, he said "well if you're telling me that I have to stay home with the baby every Saturday, I'll be doing my own stuff on Sunday." I said, "what about MY stuff?" and he said that I'm the woman and all of my stuff can happen in the house WITH THE BABY. WTF. I've been working on getting work in my field for 7 years, i'm halfway through my master's degree, and this man who doesn't have any degrees is telling me that my career has to take the backseat so that he can fulfill his 1950s role as the breadwinner and expect me to do all the housework and childcare. How do I even talk to my husband about how sexist he has become? He didn't understand what he said that was wrong . . . I don't want my son (it's a boy in my belly!) growing up with a sexist role model.
 
#27 ·
Gosh. I don't know what to say. My DH and both work full time. We are both liberal and are equally responsible for everything that goes on in the house. Idk. I personally just would never take that kind if talk but my DH would also never say that kind of stuff. I just feel really bad for you. You should definitely be honest about your feelings because if you hold that in it could easily make you more and more angry with him. Counseling maybe? Is this your first baby? Once that baby comes your relationship will be seriously strained just due to the change. Trust me, I know. Maybe take some time to make it stronger before baby. Sorry. I don't feel very helpful.
 
#28 ·
Hey all! I have not be active in this DDC although I have been reading along. I'm 32 weeks today! Oh wow! Starting to burn out especially not being able to do the physical things I want to. Which is not much, just housework mainly (bc I'm home on summer break). You all encouraged me to actually order a car seat yesterday. That's about all I've bought for this baby. We don't know the sex of the baby. I think girl but either way I dug out some clothes from my DS that should be good for either. A lot of Halloween onesies! Anyone else excited for their October baby? I love October! I am not really interested in buying a bunch of stuff this time. I didn't really last time either. BUT I would like a diaper bag (I think). Any recommendations? I don't want to spend big bucks. Not having a shower or anything so I'm buying! Going to attempt a VBAC! I think it will be fine this time. I'm confident. I'm also well aware that it might not. Which is also good for me bc last time I didn't consider it (I was home birthing for crying out loud) and it was a complete devastation. Anyway, the provider says that VBAC success are 80% which really is good. I'm going to try to keep up with this thread and do some personals!
 
#30 ·
Oh, insomnia. Sigh. It's nearly midnight, and I'm just starting to feel *maybe* tired. After waking up every 1-1.5 hours last night, and feel exhausted for half of today, by 8 or 9 PM I'm awake and ready to go! Too bad so much of the stuff I need to accomplish (involving stores and businesses and such) can't be done in the middle of the night!
 
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#34 ·
Is there a normal amount of tiredness I should feel? I know everyone says you lose your energy in third tri, but this is sort of ridiculous. I feel like I need a nap every 3 hours. I only worked 6 hours today and it feels like 10. I took an hour nap after getting home, and I am still so exhausted I can barely even think about making dinner. I forgot to feed my dog....

It is pretty much all day except the first 3 hours I am awake. I was going to the gym at least 3-5 times a week, I haven't been in a week to go swimming, I just can't do it. :( Partner is off on assignment so unfortunately I don't have anyone here to help- but it would be just so amazing to have someone cook me just one meal. just one.
 
#35 ·
Have you been tested for anemia? That could be a factor. But honestly, your tiredness doesn't sound abnormal. Frustrating, sure, but not weird. Although I've never worked while pregnant, I'm in awe of those who are working full time. That sounds like way more than I could handle!
 
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