Feb 2009 Moms to Be

[ftg]

Neffi-sometimes my stretches last one to 2 days in duration. It'll practically hurt, like its so taught, then the skin & muscles stretch and I'm ok til next time My OB says a lot of women are able to tell when they get the stretch. Mine has been once a week consistently since about 15-16 wks. My fastest and slightly more painful growth has been since 20 wks when I really started filling out.

[angram]

Neffi - I've been getting stretchy feelings, but this week has been the worst for me in discomfort. My OB scheduled an u/s the week of Christmas because she thinks our little girl has dropped and is sitting really low, so she can't tell how large she's getting by just measuring my belly right now. I'm having a hard time sleeping and actually walking, it's like I'm sitting on her. I'm also still having BH contractions, so they're going to keep an eye on me to make sure all is well. I think all the stretching, pulling, etc is totally normal and everyone feels a bit different. Just try laying down and relaxing, hopefully it'll only last a day or so.

ftg - Glad to hear you got lots of good stuff at your shower, I cannot wait to have ours Also great to hear you're still able to do your exercises, that'll surely help during delivery!

Dakota - Oh my, I'm so sorry to hear you're on modified bedrest! Take good care of yourself and keep the little one in there just a bit longer.

Hope everyone else is having a great week!

[children]

angram,

I am sorry that you have not felt so well lately. I hope the coming U/S will reveal something comforting, which I think you will be fine. The first pg is always scarier than other ones. But I really have not enjoyed much of pg per se, as I said before, I wish we could just shorten the incubation time for babies.

Dakota,

I hope you are doing fine with your modified bed resting.

ftg,

You seem to maintain an active life style, that is great. I only swim once per week and 1K/30min each time. Much less aggressive than last pg. I gained 17 lbs total now.

Neffi,

If you can, resist not to wash everything you got for now. Just part of the essential ones. I only used less than 30% what I got from my baby shower for our DD.

I don't have much to say as this is our second pg and almost nothing worth of reporting. The only problem with this one is that my DD brings virus from her daycare to me often and I got sick constantly. I don't recall that I ever got sick during my first pg! And recovery from those sicknesses is longer and harder than regular than normal during pg. I am at 32-weeks now and 7~8 weeks to go!

Hang in there, everyone!

[Dakota]

Hi ladies!!

Ftg- The fFn is called (i believe) fetal fibronectin test. its a test that you swab the cervix and test to see is there is certain proteins that gets released up to 2 weeks b-4 labor. its 90% correct that if it comes back neg you wont go into full term labor for 14 days. so i am 90% safe that i will not go into labor at least for another 1.5 weeks. thank god!!!!
thats is great that you had a good shower an got lots of stuff.

neffi- wow, you got everthing but your travel system? thats awesome!! i know what u mean about going to a shower and feeling bad about someone not getting registry items. i dont understand why people dont buy from the registry anyway.
there are days that my belly feels so tight like it is going to explode, i hear after 25-26 weeks it gets worse. hang in there.

angram- sorry to hear u are uncomfy, but i would imagine since you've been measuring large most weeks that u've got one big girl in there. i've always been real low ftom the beginning and the pressure does get over welming, like she is going to fall right out. let us know how you're u/s goes.

children- i am glad that you are having an uneventfull pregnancy, thats always a good thing!!

bed rest is going ok. i am not going to complain, anything tp keep gracie ok and cooking longer, i'll do and suck it up. i stay down for 2 hours at a time and then only can get up for 15 mins after the 2 hours. just enough time to pee, grab a snack and fill up my water. i am still having contractions, but only about one an hour. i go in on monday for another u/s and cervix check, so i am crossing my fingers that nothing has progressed.

hope everone is still doing well and babies r moving n groovin up a storm!!

[hopefulinillinois]

Hi everyone!
It seems like forever since I've been on...lots of reading to catch up on! WOW! I'm glad that everyone is doing well!

Like everyone else we also had our baby shower. My hubby was nauseated by the sea of pink that we got! LOL! I loved every minute of it! I'm slowly putting everything away. I can't move around like I use to. I feel like every time I bend over or squat down I'm smooshing her! The nursery is FINALLY done! I have the closet doors to put up and then it's time to kick my heels up and rest! I was told at my last appointment that we are looking at a Feb. 5 csection date. Has anyone started going weekly to the dr. yet?

I had to go in for a 3 hour glucose test today. I failed my 1 hour. Has anyone else had issues with their sugar levels? And if so what are you doing to help things along?
Also has anyone had a biophysical done? I have my non stress test Monday and a growth ultrasound and biophysical done. I've read things online but they always give more info than what is needed and then I turn into a hypocondriac and think everythings wrong with the baby!

Other than the little aches and pains this pregnancy has been great. My 17 year old daughter is very very excited at this point for her little sister to arrive! My hubby....still scared to death!

I'll check back often on everyones progess! If I don't post anytime soon I hope that everyone has a great holiday!

[AdsGirl]

Hello ladies! I, too, feel like it's been forever since I've posted. I check in regularly, but I just haven't had much to report! I had my 1-hr GTT today, hopefully no issues. I've been really busy, which, of course, has made me very tired! We have our childbirth prep class tomorrow - ALL DAY. Should be interesting. My shower invitations just went out - I will have one in MN and one in WI...both in January. We ordered a crib, have half of our dresser (half of the pieces were missing!!), and have a book shelf set-up. We're ordering our glider this weekend. I still haven't picked my wall colors, and the baby's room is an absolute disaster! Our due date is later that most of yours...3/16...but I'm starting to feel like I'm falling behind. We will be traveling A LOT over the holidays and into mid-January...so I need to get moving!

DH and I are really excited, though. He's started reading books to our baby, and he has been feeling her move and kick much more.

Dakota- So sorry to hear you're on bedrest - I think it's really great that you are taking the bedrest seriously and keeping yourself down as much as possible. Good job!

Hopeful - Hope your GTT comes back negative! They say 80% of women who fail the first test still pass the second one...fingers crossed for you! I've been really nervous about GD, since I have PCOS, I think I am at a higher risk. Doc seems to not be too worried about it, though. We'll see.

Neffi, Hopeful, ftg - It's so exciting to hear about your showers! Glad you got most of what you were hoping for!!

Just got slammed by a serious need to nap...off I go...

Hope you all have a GREAT weekend!

[Rubylee]

Hi Mommas!!
Well, sorry I dropped off the face of the earth. There were so many things going on I just couldn't keep up. I was also having a hard time staying away from bad news on the boards that would freak me out, so I had to take a leave.

I just popped on to see how this forum was doing and it was so great to hear you all doing so well! The nurseries are getting done, the showers are happening, it is all so exciting. Can you believe we are going all going to be moms in the next couple of months! Crazy.

Things are going great with the pregnancy. They scheduled my c-section for the last day of my 37th week. I hope I can hold out until then. So far my cervix length is staying above 4 cm, fluid is good, I do have the BH but not too bad. I am very uncomfortable but dealing. I have been boiling nipples and breast pump parts today just to try knock a few more things off the list and ease my mind. Plenty more to do.

I am planning on keeping up with you girls. Hope you are enjoying your week!

Oh, btw, I think it was ftg who got the food poisoning from a turkey sandwich? No deli meats girl!! They are super high in bacteria. They say the only way you can have processed meats is if you heat the living crap out of them. Just wanted to make sure you knew that so you don't eat anymore turkey, ham etc.

[angram]

Hi Ladies - just checking in to say hello. I received my glucose results and everything looked good, so I was very happy about that. They did say I was anemic though, so I'm now taking iron 2x daily to help out. Other than that, same ol' stuff going on and getting ready for the upcoming holidays. I'm trying to get the shopping done and planning to enjoy my 3 weeks off starting next Monday I'm hoping to get the baby room fixed up a bit more and hopefully my Mom and sisters can help out while here for Christmas. We had our 3D/4D u/s last week and she's absolutely beautiful! We'll have the real OB u/s this upcoming Tuesday, so we'll find out how she's measuring at this point. I'm just looking forward to seeing her again, we always love it!

Well I hope everyone is having a wonderful week.

[children]

All I can say is that I am very jealous of all of you who had U.S after 20 wk pg. I've gotten none after that! No telling whether the baby is doing fine or not other than feeling the fetal movements from time to time. Getting anxious and huge now.

Take care, everyone.

[Neffi211]

Hey Ladies!

You will not beleive the news I got today! Dh called and said that he found out that since his company was bought out by Toshiba and their healthcare is based in New Jersey that we now have IVF COVERAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now its a little bitter/sweet since we have already spent so much money, but now we don't have to worry about financially planning the rest of our family! I know its weird to think about other children when my first isnt even here yet, but I just can't beleive it! This changes so much for our future. I will be switching to DHs insurance in January! Just had to share my news!!!!!

[jude7702]

Hi all,

Finally have some news to post! I've been reading all the posts but not much going on except getting tired, working on the house A LOT, and working hard.
We had a growth scan at 26 weeks which went good, they were measuring around 2lb 5 oz for the boy and 2lb 4 oz for the girl! About a week or so ahead, and my fundus (?) on Monday at the OB measured at 38 cm!!!!
So far so good, I passed the one hour test, so that is a relief. I love chocolate far too much!

We are now ready to paint in the house, and then put the doors on and paint, and finally put down some flooring. I can't wait to get into the nursery and paint in there, and see it finished. Getting worried now that we are behind schedule. January is going to be busy with hospital registering, baby shower registering, breastfeeding classes.

I wanted to ask the ladies who have already had showers - did you register for more than one store, or stick to one? I wondered if there was a way to keep track of if something gets bought from one store, if you went with two stores, and then adjust the lists accordingly??

Dakota, I hope the bedrest is going okay and you are keeping well and keeping little Grace tightly tucked in there,

glad to see that everyone else is doing well - wow, time is flying by now. I remember when the Feb mums to be thread was so far in the future! Now it's only 2 months away.

My OB said that with twins he won't let it go beyond 38 weeks no matter what, as the placenta's tend to poop out early - so I guess my official due date is now the 4th March, not the 18th (I know, Ishould have been on the other thread!), getting closer!

Children, don't get worried. When is your due date?

I wanted to say thanks for the good wishes for my friend going through IVF. She is pregnant too!!!!! Her beta was in the 3000's at 19 days, so all seems good. Can you believe she doesn't have the first scan until 10 weeks though as the RE is away over the holidays. How much waiting!
take care all, I'll keep checking on everyone.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

[ftg]

Neffi-that's awesome news. I know that can take a load off your mind. You are right though, just think about what is immediately ahead, and all the rest will fall into place!
angram-I too passed the glucose test with flying colors, however was just on the low side of iron so do the same with a 2x's daily dose. All will be fine with your intake of that.
Rubylee-glad to hear you are scheduled (we're a day apart!) and all is going great. The turkey sandwich I had was roasted which is different from all the rest of their deli meats-I queried them on that. It would be like you cooking turkey, slicing it, but not eating it. The eating establishment's problem goes way beyond meat, as I have found they have lengthy issues with the county, and public health is looking further into investigating their practices. I have been eating both hot & cold deli meats my whole pregnancy without issue. So many things we are supposed to be scared to death of, yet how do women in other countries get by? My OB says go ahead and eat sushi which is my favorite food, her partners say no.

Glad to hear the rest are doing quite well. We went to get an u/s yesterday (I'm almost 32 wks) because when I was 30 wks my fundal height measured 33. They ssaw no extra fluid, and all was good. He was head down (facing away from us!) and is measuring 4lbs, right at what they call 50th percentile. He should be in the 8lb range right at delivery 7 weeks from now. He is still super active, and I can see and feel everything he does. I'm still swimming and doing a few weights at the gym, but had to quit prenatal yoga as I can't bend, move or stretch like that anymore without feeling icky, and getting his protest to boot.

Keep up your rest ladies...the days and weeks are going to go fast and we need it. For those of you travelling for the holidays, wishing you a safe trip!

[AdsGirl]

Hello everyone! Not much to report, but thought I would hop on with a couple of quick notes -

Jude - awesome that things are moving right along for you! Also glad to hear you passed your GT test. I took my one-hour test last Friday, but never heard any results. I thought about calling the doc, but I'm going in on Monday, so I'll just wait and find out then. Hopefully no news is good news! In regards to your question about the registries - I haven't had my showers yet, but I have registered. I registered at three stores, and I didn't duplicate any items at the different stores. My biggest registry is at Target, then I registered for all of our cloth diapering needs and for a variety of natural/organic items at a natural baby store, and I registered at another store for our crib mattress, car seat, and stroller (along with just a few smaller items) at another store. That store was the only one that carried the organic crib mattress I want as well as the car seat and stroller we chose...otherwise I would not have registered there. Several of the stores carried the same items, but I just chose one store for each item. Great news about your PG friend, too! Tell her congrats!

Dakota - How are you hanging in, girl? Hope all is well...how did your appointment go on Monday? Thinking of you...

Neffi - That's great news about your DH's insurance! Before my husband and I really started trying to get pregnant, we lived in NJ. I had been off of the pill for a little while, but had not been "on a mission" and didn't know about our fertility issues at the time. Then we moved to WI, even though I am technically employed in IL. Of course - NJ and IL have mandatory infertility coverage. And here I am in Wisconsin! Oh well. I'm really happy for you and excited that you are starting your family and have a brighter future ahead as your family continues to grow!

ftg - Have you been feeling any effects of the low iron? I also had that test run last week and should get some results Monday. I am a vegetarian, so there is somewhat of an increased risk for low iron...hoewever, I eat a pretty healthy diet, and the doc is optimistic that it won't be a problem. Fingers crossed! Great that you got to see the baby again. I agree with Children about being jealous of all of you that have had additional U/S after 20-weeks. I ten to be pretty hands-off and non-intervention-oriented when it comes to my pregnancy and appreciate my doctor only assessing and testing when truly necessary...but I have to admit, I kind of wish I could get in there for another peek at my baby girl!

Hope all is well with all of you. I am SNOWED IN today...at least 12-14 inches has fallen in the last 16 hours. I feel bad cause I really can't help my DH with the snowblowing and shoveling, so I'm trying to come up with something special for dinner. Problem is, I am snowed in and can't get out of the house til DH comes home and clears the driveway...and I haven't been to the grocery store for a while! Oh well...will figure something out.

Have a great weekend everyone!

[ftg]

Adsgirl-I hear you. I know I would not have received another u/s unless she wanted to know about the possiblity of higher fluid, or if he was just big / I'm just small Fortunately all is on target, and it is reassuring to know from here until 7 more wks. I'm able to envision him a little bit more, but its still a guess at this point about what he really looks like. We also in WA have been snowed in with 8" accumulating yesterday. This is an extremely rare event in our lowlands, and is likely the one dump per year we get. Our dog loves it though, so we'll see how this weekend goes.

Have a great weekend all!

[ftg]

Adsgirl-hit send too fast...

No, I never felt any fatigue from low iron. I was at 10.8, and I walked in there in early pg with 13 so I was right on the borderline to even take a supplement. If your OB says you do need it, I do take a vegan chewable brand: VegLife vegan iron chewable. Its sugar free, berry flavor and easy to take. I chew 1 in the am with my prenatal and 1 at night. I do it for the babe, and even though I'm not vegetarian I have a widely varying diet which I also thought would carry me through I know they take whatever they need, and sometimes it robs us of what we typically had!