Beautiful Babies Due in 2011 (Combined Group)

[lou71]

Anna -- Paul is amazing and precious. Thanks for sharing.

AShley -- Happy Birthday! Gosh... to be 29 again... ha!

Blair -- How's the rash? I agree... it does sound like heat rash.

Leora -- Nice to hear from you. You have a lot to think about but I tend to agree with you that a cerclage sounds like a good idea for piece of mind... as does a singleton pregnancy next time. You do really need to bring home this next baby. Good luck at your job interview! How did it go?

Rio -- I'm sorry you're in pain still. And your MIL is nuts for thinking you should be out walking the neighborhood! Vent all you want.

AFM -- My 24 hr urine for protein came back as 252 mg. I guess 300 mg is required for the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia, so for now I'm doing OK. I repeat the test in two weeks. Won-der-ful! Other than that... working my tail off.

[BlissfulCS]

Hello strangers! It has been awhile since I have been able to post and catch up on everything. Glad to see everyone is doing well.

Anna- Baby Paul is perfect and oh so cute. Glad you are home and things went smoothly. Congratulations again. How are things going?

Leora- so good to hear from you. You have a lot to think about. Don't ya just wish someone could wave a magic wand or look into a crystal ball and tell you exactly what you need to do? Sending you lots of love and prayers. Sounds like the new OB is more openminded than the last though, so that is GREAT. How did the interview go? It would be hard to leave a clinic where you have experienced such terrific results, but the convenience factor is a pretty compelling argument all things being equal. Good luck!!!

Lou- you look so cute in your shower pics. I take it from the photos that it was co-ed? That's the way we are planning on going. Would you do it again or go just girls? How did you decide? For me its because at our age it seems like we have far more couple friends...and I want it to be a relaxed "party" type atmosphere than a girly shower. But that's just me. Glad the protein levels came back good for now.

Blair- Hope the rash is feeling better. Also, thanks for sparking all the stroller discussion. My head is just spinning!

Rio- hope that scar starts to heal soon. I agree with everyone else on here...it seems like it has gone on too long!

Margi- how is work going? Is it good to be back? Sounds tiring but enjoyable!

Ashley- happy birthday! I think your thirties are PERFECT for motherhood judging by all my friends and their feedback. I LOVED turning thirty. I felt like I was right where I wanted to be in life and was passed the drama of my early 20s and settled in. You have a WHOLE YEAR before you get there. Enjoy it Mama.

Sorry for anyone I missed.

AFM- had an uneventful appointment today. Having a home doppler sure takes some of the fun out of the visits that you don't have a scheduled ultrasound, but its worth it. We have our anatomy scan scheduled for 9/12. Its a Monday and we are planning a gender reveal so we won't know until the following Saturday when we can get family together. Yikes!!! Oh well. We have waited this long, we can wait another 6 days. Hope the baby cooperates!

[lou71]

Lou- you look so cute in your shower pics. I take it from the photos that it was co-ed? That's the way we are planning on going. Would you do it again or go just girls? How did you decide? For me its because at our age it seems like we have far more couple friends...and I want it to be a relaxed "party" type atmosphere than a girly shower. But that's just me. Glad the protein levels came back good for now.

Alisa, our shower was co-ed to a point. The men that were there were friends of mine that I've had for 10 years or more. We didn't allow guests to bring dates nor did we invite couples. There were simply guys I felt like I needed to invite. Like my childhood best friend. We met when I was 4 and he was 5 and we played every day all summer long and were close throughout our school years. He moved to San Diego for a while and got married and divorced there. Now he's back and engaged to a friend of mine who I was obviously going to invite. But then I thought.... he should be there too! That's how it started. I had 50 guests and invited only 6 males friends of mine. DH didn't invite any friends but he was there for the whole shower. No one batted an eye that there were guys there. They fit in quite well. I think it's perfectly appropriate to have men or couples at your shower. After all, it's YOUR shower so invite who YOU want there.

[HopeIsAllIHave]

A very quick post.. not sure if you've heard, but Babies R Us is having a 20% off all Graco car seats this Wednesday and Thursday! We're probably getting the Safety 1st car seat ourselves, but just wanted to spread the word for those interested.

And thanks everyone for the birthday wishes! It was a nice alcohol-free celebration!

[blairwh58]

Ashley- Wow that would be a great deal on the Graco carseats but we had already decided on the Safety 1st car seat too. Ill have to let all my pregnant friends know though. Glad you had a nice birthday celebration.

Lou- Rash is still there….but since I go to see the high risk MD today I figure Ill just ask about it then. DH is an MD too and said it just looks like what most people call a heat rash so I'm not as worried about it now. Glad your 24 hr protein came back within normal range. Stinks that you have to do it again in 2 wks but hopefully youre good to go then too. Don’t work yourself too hard.

Alisa-Have you all decided which stroller you may go with yet? I know what you mean about the uneventful appts. Since I go to high risk for US every 2-3 wks, and the regular OB every 4 wks, the reg apts just seem like such a waste. Basically go in, pee in a cup, have BP and weight check, and then sit and wait for MD to come Doppler the girls and tell me things look good. Pretty much the exact same thing they do at the high risk MD…except I get to see the girls each time. So exciting that you find out the sex soon!!! I think it will be very very exciting to wait for the gender reveal party before you find out. Youll have to tell us all about it. And as for the shower…I agree with Lou- you should invite whoever you want to be there. And if most of your friends are couples, then just have a laid back couples shower.

Sunshine- Well I did call MD last fri but she just said to put the cream on it and check back. Since DH thought it was just a heat rash too, or contact dermatitis from the band on my pants I figured waiting until todays apt would be fine. I see from your sig that your beta is 2 days away- Best of luck and keep us posted!!

AFM- Excited to go back to the MD today so I can check in and see how these little girls are doing. From the outside they seem to be just fine, kicking like crazy and moving all over the place. DH and I sat and watched as one made my stomach bounce over and over again last night before bed. Still having lots of back pain and now im not sleeping very well. Both things I knew would happen but I thought I would have more time…oh well I guess. Hope everyone is well and sorry if I missed anyone.

[Sweetpea614]

I've missed so much. I've been on vacation. We went to Canada. It will take me a few days to catch up on personals.

Anna- Baby Paul is so cute!!

Lou- I see you did the 24 hour urine. Glad it looks good so far and they are keeping an eye out on you. I have to do a 24 hour soon to get a baseline as I got Eclampsia with my daughter Brittnie and almost died.

Leora- So nice to hear from you. I hope your new doctor works out and helps you get to full term with your next pregnancy. How was that interview?

Ashley- Happy Belated Birthday. I would LOVE to be 29 again How are you adusting to your new life in Texas?

Blissful- I Glad your appointment went well. Uneventful is good 9/12 will be here before you know it! So exciting. Will you be finding out the sex?


Margi- How are things going?

Riogrl- So sorry it still hasn;t healed. My last surgery it look a long time for mine to heal as well.. My Sister had to have hers redone twice and packed so I would definitely ***** to the doctor and have him do something about it.

Blair- I hope that rash clears up soon for you! Good lcuk at your MFM appointment and hopefully they can tell you what that rash or confirm your husband's diagnosis.

Rypell- it's been 13 years since Angela was born prematerly at 35 weeks and can not remember word for word what they told me. Food wise they had me delay giving her cereal etc and told me not to worry if she wasn;t doing things motor skills wise as other baby's her age. Motor skills wise though she did fine and was actually walking at 9 months.


Sorry if I missed anyone. I'll try and catch up and read everyones post later. MY little guy has decided to start kicking and moving around constantly. I'm loving every minute of it and DF is too as he gets to feel him now.

Kat

[lou71]

Lou- I see you did the 24 hour urine. Glad it looks good so far and they are keeping an eye out on you. I have to do a 24 hour soon to get a baseline as I got Eclampsia with my daughter Brittnie and almost died.
Kat

Kat -- Yay for feeling your baby moving! So fun. Anyway... how far along were you when you developed eclampsia in your previous pregnancy? I'm quite worried about this. Do you know how high your 24 hr urine protein was before it turned into eclampsia? I've heard > 300 mg in 24 hrs is pre-eclampsia along with BP > 140/90 on 2 readings. My urine protein was 252 mg in 24 hrs but doc said it was "OK" and to repeat in 2 weeks. I sure hope it's not creeping up! Any insight?

[lou71]

Ashley -- Thanks for the tip on the car seat. We went with the Britax Marathon 70 convertible car seat which retails at $259.99 - $289.99 but Allbeebaby.com has it right now on sale for $217.49 with no tax and free shipping! I actually had an in store 20% off coupon for Babies R Us making it $231.99 so I bought it there so I could use a $250 gift card that was given to us at our shower. Otherwise, I wouldn't know what to use it on.

Blair -- Let us know what the high risk MD says about your rash. Hopefully it's nothing but a nuisance.

Margi -- Where have you been hiding? How are you?

AFM -- I got brave and got on the scale this morning. I've so far gained 14 lbs. But I gained about 7 lbs the couple months prior to conceiving with the holidays, being bummed that my IVF and FET with awesome blasts didn't work, slacking at the gym, and IVF in general... so I really consider myself to be up 21 lbs. Hoping to keep it at 0.75-1.0 lb/ week but this baby is growing like a weed! I started with a 26-27 inch waist and 34-35 inch hips. At 25-26 weeks it was 33 inches. At 30 weeks it was 38 inches. And now this morning, at 31w5d, it was 39.5 inches at the belly button. And my hips are only 36 inches. How much bigger can my tummy get???? People see me and say "you're so tiny but your stomach is so big". Like, THANKS PEOPLE! Or I get "wow, look at that baby belly. But you don't even look pregnant from behind because you're all out front.". Ummm... I know. I don't have stretch marks yet. Do any of you over 30 weeks have them or did you get them with a previous pregnancy? I mean... maybe I'm vain... but I'll take ANYTHING, including hemorrhoids, if I can avoid getting stretch marks. But I honestly don't know how much more I can stretch!

[Happy Bunny]

Lou, I never got stretch marks and I carried all "out front". I felt huge and then all of a sudden, she dropped and my apparent size went back about 4 weeks - I was bigger at 36 weeks than I was at 40 weeks. I credit lack of marks to genetics and drinking tons of water.

[Sweetpea614]

Lou- In the nutshell I don't want to scare you but I never got the chance for pretesting. My Obgyn when I called them said I probably just had the flu and to stay home rest and stay hydrated etc as there wasn't really anything they could do. It was in the winter. After 4 days finally my regular doctor was willing to see me. He sent me immediately to the hospital and when I got to that hospital I was rushed into Boston and my blood pressure was 195 over 135 and climbing and my lungs were 75% filled with fluid. I coudl go on and on about how bad things went and the complications I ended up having. I was in the hospital for 14 days and about a week of it was in the ICU hanging on for my life.

As far as stretch marks go not sure what I believe. My girlfriend put on 85 pounds and got HUGE in the belly and not a stretch mark on her today after 2 pregnancy's. I didn't get that big and I have a few on my sides but not many and not that bad and that was after Angela my third pregnancy. I got none with my first 2. My sister got none and has had 3 kids. My Mother got HUGE with my brother just in the belly but he was 10 pounds and she got them bad on her belly only. Not sure when mine showed up with my third as I didn;t notice them till after as I avoided mirrors as much as possible when pregnant and din't even allow pictures really;) So far I've gotten no news ones but I'm pretty early still. I'm taking plenty of pictures this time as I regret not having any with my previous pregnancy's.


Kat

[MamaBoo]

Hi ladies. I have been hanging around reading, but not posting much. I am doing okay. Little Denver is kicking like a soccer player. Sometimes my whole stomach jumps. I had GD class and am now checking my sugars and keeping it under control with diet. I see my regular ob ever 2 weeks for cervix checks and my perinatologist every 4 weeks for u/s. After 32 weeks I will see my reg ob ever week for an u/s. I still had some excess amniotic fluid a week and a half ago, but hopefully keeping my sugar under control will resolve that issue.

I am still rooting for all of you.

Lou: I was all belly in my last pregnancy and didn't get stretch marks until about 36 weeks. I thought I was home free, but I got them bad. They are worse this pregnancy and came much earlier, but I am bigger than someone 25 wks pregnant would usually be this time around and I already had them from last time. Oh well, it is so well worth it in the end.

[rypell1985]

Hey ladies-just a quick update from my phone.

Twins had their 5 week appt today. Dylan weighs 9lbs5oz and Isabella weighs 8lbs6oz. They've grown so much!!! Both babies were diagnosed with GERD and DH will be picking up their Zantac on his way home. I already switched them to Nutramigen formula which is helping a little, but kind of expensive!!! Dylan also has an umbilical hernia. Poor little man. Doc says it should resolve itself by 2 years, but if it doesn't we will talk surgery.

Oh-and I wanted to make a recommendation. Anyone have the Miracle Blanket? I heard good things about it but kept holding off because I thought I was a pretty good swaddler. Well after spending an entre night re-swaddling I caved and spent the $60 on 2 miracle blankets. They are amazing. The babies sleep SO soundly in them!!! DH and I laugh because it looks like someone took a straight jacket, made it baby colors and markets it as a blanket...but hey-whatever works! Those in conjnction with their boppys have been lifesavers!

I'm reading eveery day and love the updates but it's hard to do personals from my phone. Hopefully I'll get on the computer tomorrow!

[Reenie100]

Ryann-My son was diagnosed with reflux early on also. We switched him to Nutramigen and he started on Zantac. Unfortunately, Zantac wasn't that effective, so we eventually ended up on Prevacid which has really helped. Our doctor said that they always start babies who have reflux on a prescription of Zantac. However, many babies usually end up on Prevacid before long because Zantac does not always work.

Two other things that helped: feeding him only with Dr. Brown's bottles. All the little pieces are a pain to clean, but it does help. Also, holding him up after feeding and not allowing him to recline also helps. At 5 months, it is under control and he has little discomfort after eating. Good luck.

[rypell1985]

Reenie-our boys sound quite similar! We also use only Dr. Brown bottles. How does your son sleep? Dylan hates being flat on his back. Is your son also still on nutramigen? Also, how long did you give it before deciding to switch to prevacid?

[riogirl71]

Miss Lizzy gained 12oz in 7 days!!! Woohoo no more pumping just occasionally so we can put her VIT D drops in with breastmilk. But Lizzy didn't get the memo so she still wants to feed every 2 hours with not even a 3 hour break yesterday!!! Little stinker! The pedi was so impressed with her head control and strngth for her age, she is about 4 weeks ahead in that dept, so cute and kick ass chickie!

My two precious gifts are just such a blessing, I get teary eyed just thinking of how lucky I am to have them and to think they would not have been able to do this had this been a few years ago before ICSI. And it is so special because we also conceived them with help and after DH survived cancer! I just want to kiss those cheeks all the time! Thank you for all the good thoughts and concern. My scar is still bleeding in one area but OB Said as long as no foul odor, pus, swelling, redness than it is ok, I just can't believe how long it is taking.

Couple of questions for the girls who already gave birth, do you still have red blood discharge? Mine goes away then comes back red, not a lot, small quantities but red, again OB said ok.

For csec girls - do you have swelling like a little pouch over your scar? I sure hope it goes away, I really don't like the little bump!





Ryann - sorry about the GERD poor babies! I use the halo sleep sac and seems to work well with her but she escapes the swaddling no matter how tight!

Mamaboo - so glad baby Denver is doing well!

Sweetpea - what happen to your scar and your sister's? Ouch! Your friend gained 85 lbs, wow! Poor thing. So glad you are feeling your little guy move!!!

Lou - I got big with our DS and felt big with DD, not one stretch mark on my belly and I never could remember to put any oil or creams I guess it is genetic... I did get a little pregnancy mask, a very light brown spot by my left eye, I hope it goes away! You can stretch a lot even when you don't think you can anymore! And if you do get stretch marks call them Love Tattoos! I hope you have nothingas far as eclampsia! Our shower was co-ed too!

Blair - come on and give up the names!!!

Bliss - love the gender reveal idea!

Leora - please trust your gut instinct, if I learned anything during these years is you need to trust yourself. I agree that having had this happen twice cannot just be a fluke. Any way you can schedule a consult with Amanda's TAC doc by phone and ask him his thoughts? My OB said it is best to wait 6 mos before conceiving again, I know you are in a hurry to try again and I would be too, but maybe six mos will give your body a chance to heal and you can do some research. I truly pray that you get your bring home baby soon, I am so very sorry for all you and David have gone through. We are here cheering you on and sending you tons of love and baby dust!