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Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

23w

:D whoo hoo! yay! we finally found someone to pick up the sunbed so now we've got room in our future nursery for the bassinet and changing table. see photo below. I am so excited as it was so difficult to get rid of the thing, even though we were offering it for free. the guest bed will stay in the nursery for the first few months so I can lie down for BF or if we need to rock her to sleep, etc, and then when she's big enough to require rebuild of the bassinet into the crib, we'll get rid of the bed. there's a closet directly on the right when you walk in. there's also horrible scaffolding outside as they are working on repairing the balconies. luckily that'll be gone before she's born.

LV - as you can see from the photo, yes, we get a lot of light in our apartment, plus we have white walls and white wooden floors. the windows are wall to wall, almost floor to ceiling, but our rooms are very narrow. the room I take my BPF shots in is the same size, except it's got 7 meters worth of closets because our larger bedrooms are still small and you can't fit a queen-size bed and a closet in the same room. that's typical for Holland. we'll have to replace the rolling curtain with one that blocks out the light because in the summer we can get sun from 6am to 11pm.

noelwrfuturenursery.JPG
 
Hi everyone

Finally getting to check back in to see how everyone is.

Noel- married life has not exactly been the newly wedded bliss we were hoping for. Work has been crazy for me, late nights and most weekends for about 10 weeks now, so about half our married life so far has disappeared into a black hole. DH is feeling very neglected, and rightfully so, but my project is through the worst now so hopefully we can spend it bit more time together and enjoy this second trimester. Have you had your anniversary yet? I remember your wedding photos and can't believe it has been a year already!

Houie - cute belly. I am with you in wanting the real belly to arrive. I just feel thick and pudgy at the moment. My belly keeps appearing and disappearing. 16 week belly pic is below

Icekid - wow, you still look so compact for 24 weeks.

All this talk about buying things and setting up nurseries is freaking me out. We have not bought, or even considered, a single thing yet. Not even maternity clothes, although this is now getting a little desperate because I am having to alternate the same two or three things over and over. I think I am still in denial that this is really happening.

Apologies for the me-centric post. I'm just catching up on everyone's news. Hope everyone is doing well.

And here is the 16 week belly pic, sorry it's a bit fuzzy.

IMG00020-20100822-0819.jpg
 
Geri, start with the maternity clothes. I waited too long on those and there was just no point. Buy some stuff online at gap and or old navy if actual shopping is too much. Some will work and some you might want to return but it's a start. After the twenty week scan and when the kicks really get going it got a lot more real. Even now at eight months along it seems kind of crazy that there is a baby in there, but the ginonormous belly and wriggling being that decides when to squirm without consulting me - those things have helped on the mental processing. You definitely have time on the nursery stuff just beware that the third tri may sap your energy. 16ish weeks was probably when I felt the best in some ways. And hubs says that having the baby room put together does make it more real for him.

Anyway, I have a sweet baby sleeping in my lap right now! Outside the womb, this one. We are visiting friends at they're vacation home, experiencing the ghosts of christmas future! Everyone else is out biking, I volunteered for some baby watching duty since I am not currently a good shape for the bike riding. Chillin. Overall doing okay but definitely having moments where I am ready for the end of pregnancy and beginning ofvthe next stage.
 
Hey Ladies! Noel - love the bump!

Just popping into say - Geri, you look amazing! :wavey: I agree with Cara to start shopping before nothing fits - you are teeny weeny ballerina lady so I'd imagine you have more time to shop! I waited until 17 weeks and it was too late because nothing tailored fit in the BB area (went from 32C to 32D) and all of my form fitting clothing felt tight around my tummy! So I had to go on a shopping spree!

I have 2 pregnant friends and every time I see them looking fabulous at work, I ask them where they got their dresses/outfits. The only outfits I've loved on them so far have turned out to be non-maternity! I found out that they (teeny weenies like you) just went up a size in normal clothing. So I did the same. One brand I love is BCBG Max Azria. Instead of XS, I wear S now and it's perfect & drapes just right. Elie Tahari is also good for going a size up from P to XS/S or from 0 to 2-4. My arms aren't huge and I hate it when my arms swim in huge sleeves that are too big - I think it makes people look bigger when clothing isn't fitted properly. So this has worked out really well for me. You have a ballerina's body - I can't imagine maternity clothing fitting you at this stage! Why not go up a size in your favorite brands? I imagine that I'll have to get maternity clothing for jeans and tailored slacks at some point, though! Oof!

Are any of you buying new bras because of the crazy boobs and nipples growing bigger? I swear, at the end of the day my poor nipples feel like they've been smashed into deformed pancakes! I found a company called Bravado that makes great nursing bras - if you look up coupon codes online, they're 20% off! Great nursing tanks, too!

http://www.bravadodesigns.com/
 
Bliss, I've gone from a 36C to a 40DD over the past nine months so new bras have been a necessity. However, because this size is temporary and I don't know what size I'm going to be while nursing, I refuse to buy nursing or otherwise expensive bras. I've been making due with very basic Hanes bras from Target. They're basic under wire with a little bit of strategic padding for shaping and modesty. Anyway,I'm going for function over form these days. They're not pretty, but they're very comfortable and they're $12.

They're the ones with little flower shaped "petals" to give you extra coverage when the girls are standing at attention.
 
What HH said. I've gone from 38B to 42D and through at least three bra sizeups from my original. Also the maternity store clerk said that rib cage size will go back down once the baby is out, and the cup size will at least temporarily go up more. So. She didn't recommend buying nursing bras until the last month of pregnancy, and then just 1 or 2 to make it past the milk coming in stage, and then buy more once the (*)(*) have semi-settled at something at like 6 weeks. Maybe we need a BTDT mom to confirm. For pregnancy I've been mostly getting by on target bras as well, though my bra o' choice turns out to be some lightly padded Gillian O'Mally (or something like that) rather than the flower-shaped petals ones. But same kind of price and reasonably decent. I also got 2 bras at Macy's, one was cheap and did the job for a few months. The other was a somewhat pricey black strapless bra for a dress in my 6 mo preggo size, but that made the outfit so it was worth it! It is no fun stuffing the ladies into small bras - just size up and get on with it!

Bliss, I am amazed when the tiny ladies say they just bought bigger clothes - bigger clothes totally didn't work for me! Well, I have never been properly called tiny, rather I am tall and not very skinny these days, but its funny how different people carry and what works for them. My belly started expanding from the zipping/buttoning region of my pants, so I needed a whole new shape not just a bigger size. Bigger size worked for maybe month 2, but those pants were baggy everywhere else and didn't look very good. By month 3 mat-clothes fit better than regular clothes, but there was still a falling down problem on many of them. I can see regular shirts working for some people for a while, but I really needed more length on even loose-fitting regular clothes by month 4 as even loose regular shirts were rapidly becoming midriff-baring. But maybe that is because of my height and a shorter woman would do OK. However if you get reasonable-looking mat-shirts in month 4/5, the belly of the shirt might be a bit loose but they will look fine and your belly will grow to fill them out. I did a reasonable job of second-trimester shopping so I haven't needed to buy much more in the third.

Long way of saying, start playing with your wardrobe earlier rather than later and give yourself some time to figure out what you like and what works for you. There's no point in waiting until you are desperate or being really uncomfortable before clothes-shopping, as you will need some new clothes one way or another.
 
regarding bras, I was already using the nursing bras from Target from 6 weeks pregnancy! that's because I used to wear bras with underwire, but they hurt too much and I found the nursing bras quite comfy. I still wear them, though the left boob pretty much bulges out the side so I usually wear a tightish tank over to kind of keep the boob forward. my colleague gave me some of her maternity clothes and I thought I'd never be able to fit in her D-cup bras, but I do. I am waiting for my trip to the States before I buy new bras.

geri - our anniversary is next week. which reminds me that I need to make dinner reservations.
I was totally scared of the nursery idea until after I had the 20-week scan. with the good news that she will most likely be healthy and her kicking up a storm inside, I have really gotten into motherhood/nesting mode. it wouldn't surprise me if you have the same once you really have your belly. I absolutely love mine, but too bad it still will get bigger.

Bliss - you're also a teeny tiny ballerina lady!
 
Am I abnormal that my cup size hasn't changed??? I noticed my band size needed to go up (thank you to Cara for mentioning the rib cage expanding, I thought it was merely back fat :(sad ) so so far all I've done is purchased a $1.50 hook expander for my current bras until I need a bigger cup size. They have their days where they will be a little fuller, but even my friends say, yeah you haven't really changed much there... normal or just weird?
 
split_shank said:
Am I abnormal that my cup size hasn't changed??? I noticed my band size needed to go up (thank you to Cara for mentioning the rib cage expanding, I thought it was merely back fat :(sad ) so so far all I've done is purchased a $1.50 hook expander for my current bras until I need a bigger cup size. They have their days where they will be a little fuller, but even my friends say, yeah you haven't really changed much there... normal or just weird?

Nope, mine haven't either. 36C pre-preg and still a 36C at 24 + weeks. :((
 
SS, must be normal - the baby class lady said average woman goes up one cup size only during pregnancy... Since some women clearly go up more, others must go up less.
 
OMG, you ladies are like the BBB! The Big Boobie Brigade! :appl: Love it!

Hudson - wow, I'm so impressed! I'm definitely following your and Cara's advice and heading to Target! I remember some ladies from pregnancies past saying that you could find great nursing tanks and bras there. Hanes, here I come! Who cares how they look? The petal cups sound awesome because the girls are always standing at attention now. Oh Lordy.

Split_shank and Laila, be happy that your BBs haven't changed much bc they'll remain perky after you give birth! I keep hearing horror stories of how boobs got huge and then deflated. I am praying that mine stick around or at the very least go back to what they were before. :errrr:

Noelwr! I keep meaning to tell you that your crib ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!! It is so beautiful and I love the stroller! Wow, pricey though! :love: But GORGEOUS!!!! Your nursery looks great. Wow, you are doing so well and so ahead of the game! Love the bump!!!!! I want one!!!!!!! :appl:

Cara! Ahhhh, you smart lady! I bought nursing bras only out of desperation. None of my current bras fit so I needed new bras and figured, why not buy nursing bras so I can at least use them later? On the website for Bravado they have a measuring chart for where you are in your pregnancy and where you will be once nursing size-wise. I don't know if it actually works out that way in reality, but I used it because I had no other choice. My BBs were getting smashed in my other bras!

You know, Cara - you have good advice bc I am probably going to be eating my words in a month or two when nothing fits anymore! When the belly gets huge I'm sure my one size up clothes will "tent up" and I'll be at risk of baring my tummy! I'm happy that "slouchy elegance" is trendy right now because they're fab for draping nicely over the belly. Here's an example of one of those slouchy looks - they call these dolman dresses and with a long string of pearls or a cool funky necklace, they are pretty enough for work. Very comfy, too! BCBG Max Azria and Chaiken have really cool ones right now.

DolmanDress.jpg
 
Oh, boy... boobies! I went from a 36C to 38DD!! I hope they stop growing! Everyone keeps saying "You must be carrying that kid in your chest!". lol I bought some 36D's in June, and had to get the DDs 2 weeks ago. I only bought 2 from Target this time, just in case. I got 4 36D's now that I don't even fit into anymore :sick: Argh... mine will deflate, I'm sure :cry:

Cute dress, Bliss! I feel lucky that I don't have to buy a whole new work wardrobe. Scrubs are easy.

Geri, I agree about your ballerina bod! YOu look great!

Noel... I know! We are due a day apart but carrying so differently! He's so low, I can feel him kicking what feels like the floor of my uterus sometimes - NOT comfortable. RE: swollen feet. You can buy compression stockings or knee highs that help. I spend a lot of time on my feet at work. I got som TEDS (knee highs), and they've been a godsend!
 
20W

Okay ladies, the DH officially caved in today and decided that he did want to know the sex after all (he was the one that wanted a surprise).

We're on team blue and having a boy!!! I knew it all along, I think we both did. That was his reason for changing his mind, he wanted to be able to bond with the baby now by giving it a name. Can't argue with that :love:
 
Congrats and welcome to TEAM BLUE, Kunzite!!!!!!!!! :appl: :appl: :appl: :appl:
 
Kunzite!! Congratulations on Team Blue!!!!
 
My "girls" didn't grow until the second trimester. Then it was like they went all Nat Geo on me over night. They're huge and scary looking.
 
Congrats Kunzite! Welcome to the team!!!
 
20w5d

hey ladies! I've been MIA for awhile, but this month has just been crazy. My little guy is soooooooooo clingy these days that I just don't have time to PS. And combined w/ my never-ending fatigue it's hard to post.

We had our anatomy scan yesterday and I'm on team PINK!!!!!!!!!!!!! So so so so so excited :bigsmile: Bad news is I have placenta previa, so I go back in 8 weeks to check on that (another u/s..yay!). But they don't want me lifting my son, which is just unrealistic since I'm home w/ him all day. But I definitely have to try to take it easy.

Congrats on all the team pinks! It seems like we are finally coming out of the boy wave we had around here.

Congrats on all the team blues too! I love having a son, but man he just doesn't stop....lol.
 
cdt1101!!! Congrats on Team Pink!! And, how perfect that your little boy will be a big brother to a little girl!! Hope you are able to take it easy a little more.
 
Congrats on a BOY Kunzite!!! Little boys just adore their mamas! :love:
 
I am definitely feeling the baby now. Tee-hee!! It is so awesome. I started feeling something over the weekend, just here and there, like maybe 2X in one day, but wasn't really sure if it was the baby or who knows what else? Now, I'm feeling little swishes a bit more frequently. Yay for feeling baby moving!!!!

Bliss, I did pick up a few of the bravado tanks a while back. I read GREAT reviews about them, so wanted to invest in a few. I did order a size up, so hopefully I guessed correctly. After baby arrives, I will order more once it becomes more clear what size I need, and if they are really as good as they say.

For anyone looking for maternity clothes - I ordered a few things from JCPenney, and they are really nice basics and CHEAP. I picked up a pair of denim pants that I will wear to work. They are denim, so comfy like jeans, but they look like nice professional pants. Tees are also nice. I plan to wear mostly tees with cardigans during the fall/winter. Not sure how that's going to work out, but that is my plan.

They also have two maternity dress shirts at Land's End right now. A few weeks ago, they had some cardigan sweater sets in maternity sizes, so I got one of those too, but those appear to be out of stock now. I did get the long sleeve dress shirt, but have not tried on yet.
 
ladies whose girls have not changed, LUCKY LUCKY LUCKY. i def was sporting the national geographic look for most of my pregnancy and it only got WORSE after birth. **** star status. i am SO SO HAPPY those things are deflated back down now even if they are pretty darn saggy. at least i can stuff them into a normal tank again.

i also hated bras so i just mostly wore tight tanks the entire time, the thought of a 38DD bra was sooo not appealing to me, it was like a straitjacket. i did get one from target though that was pretty comfy and only $13.

cdt congrats on a girl!! lex will be so happy to have a little sis to spoil.

popped in to say that one of my good friends just had her baby girl over the wkd, she was 38 weeks and the girl was 7lbs 11oz. my gf is TINY, she weighed 100lbs and was 5'6" before pregnancy and maybe only gained like 20lbs which was obviously mostly baby...i have no idea where she was hiding an almost 8lber in there!!! they are ecstatic and the girl is darling. yay.
 
LV -- Thanks for the heads up on mat clothes. I had a breakdown last night. I don't want to spend money on an entire new wardrobe, but I still want to be cute. One of my friends lent me a lot of clothes which is VERY nice. I totally popped and was planning on wearing my pants and belly band for awhile, but that's now getting harder and harder. Winter clothes are going to be hard to do...I'm not a winter skirt person, and skirts were my go-to outfit this whole summer.

Anyone else's feet grow a lot?!? I hadn't noticed until I went back to work (teacher) and started wearing closed toe shoes. None of them fit! So now I need new shoes, new bras, new workout clothes, new underwear...ARGH! It's getting so expensive!

cdt -- I wrote a comment on the Preggos in Waiting thread, but just wanted to say again congrats on a little baby girl!!!

ETA: Where else to buy clothes? I've bought from Old Navy, Gap, Japanese Weekend (online), Target...now I'm looking at JC Penney. Any other stores you ladies recommend?
 
Lanie I am not a winter skirt person either but I hated wearing pants while preggo. I only had one pair of maternity pants from ON that fit me towards the end. So I wore a lot of dresses with leggings and sweaters, kind of like the layered look. Not all that FLATTERING when you are carrying 30lbs in your belly, but I didn't really care. HA! Also I ran really warm ..REALLY warm so I liked wearing tank dresses and then just layering it on so I could also take off the sweater if I got hot. I was prob about 5-7 degrees hotter which was so bizarre. It would be early Jan and I'd be in a tank summer jersey dress with my sweater off in a meeting and STILL sweating. gross.

Anyway all that to say don't count out skirts for winter. ;))
 
Lanie, Motherhood and their associated stores. Also, eBay. A lot of people sell new maternity clothes on there. Also, Motherhood, or at least their outlet (which is nothing to write home about), has a very strict return policy, so I think women who wind up with clothes they don't want and are outside of the 10 day return window, often sell them on eBay.
 
23w3d

LMAO: National Geographic boobs!

congrats to Kunzite on Team Blue and cdt on Team Pink! Please don't forget to update the sexes on the Preggos in Waiting thread.

Lanie - yes, I need to get bigger shoes. I think like Mara, I will wear lots of long stuff with leggings in the winter, so I am also thinking about getting new comfy boots.

I got back to knitting and finished the first cardigan for my daughter.

noelwrcardigan1.JPG
 
Noel, that's SO CUTE! Congrats on your team pink CDT!
 
Re: 20w5d

CDT-squeeee on team pink!!!!

:appl: :appl: :appl:

Boo on the placenta previa but hoping it all resolves itself by the time of your next u/s.
 
Noel, That sweater is darling! You are quite talented.

HH, How are you feeling these days?
 
Noelwr, you are so clever with the knitting! That is ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a sweet little cardigan! Hahaha, now I have The Cardigans' "Say That You Love Me" song in my head! How cute! Your little girl can wear it and sing, "Love me! Love me! Saaaaay that you love me!" :love:
 
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