Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[luvthemstrawberries]

Goodness, so much can happen so quickly around here!! All these baby picture make any day so much better. Missrachel - Hannah is absolutely gorgeous, and I love that name (it's actually on my girl list too). My brother was born on my dad's birthday, and they have always enjoyed having that special date they share. And sunnyd - Harlowe is so beautiful, and I think that outfit just seals the deal! MP - those picture of little E are so cute - hoping things are beginning to settle into an routine for you guys!

Sounds like JGator is in the batter's box!

Thanks for the little bit of commiseration on the hormones. They still kick my butt, but I think it's also hard for me and my husband both to realize most of the time that that's what's going on - he just thinks I'm irritable and then it eventually transfers to him, and I just wallow and wonder what the heck just happened, haha.

lulu66 - I LOVE that rocker you linked to! If only, right?

puppmom - yay for a little boy! I think the way you found out sounds fun.


Only news here on my end is that I took my first fall 2 days ago. I am generally a clumsy person anyway but have managed to survive surprisingly well so far in the pregnancy (except for dropping stuff a lot, haha). But I forgot to get my bath towel 2 mornings ago before my shower, and had to step out of the shower and around the corner to our door rack to get it when I finished. I totally slipped on the bathroom floor turning the corner to head back to the bathmat, and spilled right there on the floor. Somehow instinct kicked in and I managed to get a knee undermyself, and caught myself on a combination of that knee and my hands. The worst of it all is the foot that slipped went sliding up under the bathroom door and has one of those nice scratch/cut/bruise combinations that just stays sore. Combine that with the lovely hormones and that was a great start to the day... But thankfully nothing worse - I paid attention to everything that day and all seems normal. The knee that took all my weight strangely isn't even bruising - guess I can thank all that extra blood flow, haha. Baby's just getting used to clumsy mama I guess.

 

[dani13]

Congrats Rachel and Sunny!!!! Beautiful babies!!!!

Buttons and MP, hope you're doing better!!! Hang in there!!!!

 

[Skippy123]

awww, congratulations mommas, your babies are gorgeous!!! many hugs and congrats from me!

 

[Prana]

Just popping in to say congratulations to all the new mama's! Such beautiful babies!!!

MP I can't believe your pregnancy has come and gone already, and you have your beautiful baby! Congratulations to you, I hope you are loving every second!

 

[katamari]

Babies. Babies! BABIES!!!

Congratulations to all the new PS Mommies!!

Buttons, Congratulations on Tadgh! He is simply perfect!!

Dani, I hope you are still loving every moment with the adorable little Lucas!

RachelK, I love every pinch of Hannah's little cheeks! I love her name, too!

Vintage, Welcome to baby Richard! What a sweet little blondie!

Sunnyd, Harlowe is a doll! Congratulations!

MP, E looks so peaceful when he is sleeping. Hopefully he starts to settle into a routine for you. Congratulations!




To all the other mommies to be, keep it up! Life only gets better. I hope all is well with each of you.

And, baby JGator, turn, turn, turn!

 

[monkeyprincess]

I had a bit of free time this evening while the little guy is alseep, so I thought I'd share my birth story before I forget the details. It is so surreal he is actually here and has been for over a week. The first week passed by in a blur, so be prepared for that! And listen to people when they tell you to sleep at the hospital and when the baby is asleep. I think my body went into shock because I literally slept about 1 hour a night for the first 5 nights of his life. I finally had to turn him over to my mom for two nights in a row and take benadryl to sleep.

Anyway, without further ado, the night before the induction, I was a nervous wreck just wondering how things would play out. My doctor was concerned the baby would be too big for me to deliver based on the ultrasounds we had at 40 weeks which estimated he might be a 9 lb baby with a larger abdomen than head. We arrived at the hospital early, and the doctor broke my water and started pitocin at about 8 am. They slowly increased the pitocin throughout the morning, so I was getting contractions which just felt like tightening. DH and I walked around with my IV and watched tv most of the morning. At one point, DH and I were alone in the room and I sat on the edge of the bed, and all of a sudden water started gushing out of me all over the place. It was like how it happens in the movies. DH was grabbing towels and trying to clean it up. It was really funny in hindsight.

They slowly increased the pitocin throughout the morning, and I started to get close to active labor, but then I started contracting like crazy at about 1 pm, and there were no breaks between contractions. All of a sudden three nurses rushed into the room, gave me oxygen and made get on my hands and knees. It was really scary because i didn't know what was happening. Baby's heartrate apparently had a big deceleration. After a couple minutes, it returned to normal, and they had to stop the pitocin. DH and I both got really emotional and were so scared. The doctor came to talk to us and told us that it might happen again and if the worry and anxiety were going to be too much, we might consider switching to a c-section because the baby might not be able to tolerate the contractions. We decided to go forward with the labor unless it happened again. I was only about 2 cm dilated at that point.

The nurse started up the pitocin again, and kept increasing it, until I was finally in active labor. The contractions got really painful in my back, and I couldn't seem to do anything to alleviate them. The doctor came in to check me at about 6 pm, and I was at 3-4 cm and 90 percent effaced. She said I could go ahead and get an epidural. I hesitated and didn't want to get one because I worried it would stall things, but at that point, I really couldn't tolerate the back pain anymore. I must say I have a new found respect for anyone who labors with pitocin without an epidural. I went ahead and got one, and it was he best thing I could have done. My body relaxed and labor progressed really fast. About 20-30 minutes later, I felt horrible pressure in my rear end, so I asked the nurse what might be causing that. She was surprised and said she better check me again. I was 7 cm dilated and nearly 100 effaced. Shortly after that I was fully dilated and ready to start pushing. It happened SO fast after I got the epidural.

The doctor came in (along with a young male med student, which I wasn't thrilled about, but you really lose all awareness and modesty when you are pushing). I pushed for a little over an hour. It is such hard work and I didn't think I could do it, but somehow you just get through it. When he finally came and was laying on my chest and looked perfect, it was the most amazing moment I have ever experienced and one I'll never forget. Truly love at first sight.

Baby ended up being tall (21.5 inches) and skinny, so I was able to deliver him fine. I did suffer a second degree tear, but I seem to be healing fine and haven't had too much trouble with postpartum care. My belly is already almost gone, which is just crazy considering how huge I was the day he was born! Nursing is not going well, nor is pumping, so I might give in and formula feed. I'm sad about it, but I think it might best for our family, and the baby needs to get back to birth weight. Other than that, life is good, except for the sleep deprivation.

Whew, that got long! I can't wait for all of you to experience the miracle of life!

Finally, here's a recent snapshot of Bumby. Moving over to the other thread, but I'll keep checking in when I have time.

 

[dani13]

Awe, MP, he is so super cute!!! What's his name?

Thanks for posting your birth story....you did so amazing!!! You must be so proud of yourself!!!

I hope things are going well....the sleep deprivation is the worst for me too. Well, that and the being a slave to breast feeding...it's truly one of the hardest things I've ever done!!!! We've had our hurdles, but so far it's going well. Lucas also lost a significant amount of weight in the hospital and his bilirubin was elevated....we literally had to go see the pediatrician every day for the 5 days after we left the hospital to check his weight and bili levels. I did need to supplement with some formula until my milk finally came in, but I also kept putting him to breast and also pumping to maintain my supply, and then once he got back to birth weight and the bili came down, the pediatrician encouraged me to switch back to exclusively breastfeeding, if that's what I wanted. So I did just that, and things have been going well. He does get one bottle of breastmilk at night so that I can sleep a little and my husband can feed him. So so far, it's working out.

Hi to everyone else!!!

 

[JGator]

MP, Bumby is adorable! Good luck with everything. Don't be too hard on yourself...it's hard work being a new mom. Also, that is a tall baby! No wonder you were so uncomfortable at the end.

 

[Dandi]

Congratulations rachel and sunny on your beautiful bubbas!!! I'm so thrilled for you both, you clever mamas!!!

mp, Bumby is just so gorgeous. Sorry to hear that breastfeeding is being so hard on you, you do what you need to do, mama! Ooh I just wanna squish his little pink cheeks!

Dani, I'm so glad that the feeding thing is working out for you, it's one thing I'm really unnerved about. I guess whatever will be will be, however. Did you end up posting your birth story? I'm gonna go and stalk your posts now! Hope you get some rest, mummy!

strawberries, you poor poor thing! I hope your foot is healing up quickly, no preggy mama needs that!! Take care of yourself!

mlk, I totally hear you on the imaptient thing! I know everyone tells us we should just enjoy 'our time' while we still have it, but dagnabbit, I just want to be a mum already! Hope the weather in Sydney is being kind to you, it's really warm down this way!

Yippeeeee, JGator, you're next, my love!! Squeeee, so exciting!! Are you still scheduled for a casearian at this stage?? Thinking of you!!

pupp, I just love how you found out your little guy's gender, how sweet! Congrats on your little man!

Big hello to katamari, lulu, Buttons, bean and Haven!

AFM, I had a checkup today, and my OB kindly reminded me that I am growing one beeeeeg baby! I guess I take after my mother, who despite her tiny stature managed to produce 4 rather big babies (my older brothers were over 9 pound, I was 10 and my younger brother was over 11 pound!! )! It was my second checkup in a week as I had a minor car accident last week where a big fat SUV slammed into the back of my car. Thankfully no one was hurt but I got one hell of a fright, so as a precaution I went straight to hospital (where I work, and I was on my way to work anyway, how convenient!) and had an examination and CTG. My goodness, baby went wild when those CTG plates were put onto my tummy, I've never known it to move like that before! Oh and according to the pressure trace on the CTG, I had about 10 BHs over the 20 minutes or so I was there. Who knew?? All is well and I only have two weeks of work to go, I can't believe it!

Much love to everyone and their beautiful bubbas!!!

33 weeks 6 days.

 

[JGator]

Hi, Dandi, sorry to hear about your car accident. I am glad you and the the baby are okay though. I am scheduled for a c-section for next Monday, Oct 29th, and my last day at work is this Friday. I work from home though so it's been pretty convenient for the whole pregnancy.

Hi to everyone else!

AFM, I will go back to the doctor this Friday to check to see if the baby has moved positions yet. I don't think she has though as I don't feel any differently. I have not had any BH or regular contractions that I am aware of. It is hard to believe one way or another the baby will be here a week from now! I still haven't packed my hospital bag, and the baby doesn't have a name yet. My DH and I had a discussion over the weekend, and I found out he definitely wants an Indian first name, and he found out I wanted an American first name. Trying to come up with a compromise. There aren't many names that cross over, and I am realizing that I pronounce most Indian names incorrectly.

 

[sxn675]

Hi everyone! I'm 31 weeks pregnant with a boy. Due on X-Mass Eve! It's fun to see all the cute baby pics!

 

[lulu66]

mlk i'm 32.5 wks and some days i feel really impatient and ready for her appearance but MOST days i feel nervous & unprepared for this little one's arrival! i still feel like maybe she could just live in my belly forever

luvthemstrawberries glad you're okay after your fall! i almost took a tumble out of the shower one day but was luckily able to catch myself. i'm so clumsy by nature too!

mp thanks for sharing your birth story!! (especially because we are looking at a possible induction too; it's nice to hear an experience from a real person.) i'm so worried about nursing and pumping too! i'm going to give it the ol' college try but i refuse to let myself feel guilty if we end up having to formula feed. i hope that your issues resolve themselves but, if not, don't let any sort of guilt get you down. you're a great mom making the best choices for you & your family! btw, could he be any cuter?!

dandi so glad to hear you & baby are ok after the accident! how scary!! would you have noticed the BHs on your own? i feel clueless because i don't know if i've had any or not. LOL. we are close--i'm at 32.5 (-ish, the doc wants to change my due date to make me 34.1 but i'm sticking w/the original in my head). how are you fairing? i'm starting to get to that more uncomfortable stage...feet swelling fairly regularly, hip and back pain, i'm walking so differently to compensate for this little (big) bump.

jgator still hoping your little one flips around. the name is the hardest, isn't it?! i'm sure you guys will find a name to suit your little one perfectly! good luck at the doc on friday!

sxn675 welcome!

big HELLO to everyone else. how are all the other still preggos doing? i love reading everyone's updates...where are you all?

AFM, just chugging away over here. did my 3 hour GTT yesterday. should have the results back w/in a few days. of course, we had to ask for the results of my 1 hour, which they said, "oh yea, the levels were slightly elevated; you need to do the 3 hour test." so, we'll see how promptly i get those. i have a terrible headache/sinus pressure today but haven't taken anything--is anything safe for me to take? so ready to start maternity leave but i still have 5 wks left at work. i'm just so distracted when i'm here & i feel like there are a million more productive things i could be doing at home (this is our sloooow season at work). the nursery is starting to feel like the baby's room; so far that's really the most exciting part. preparing the house just makes it all seem so real! anyone else have experience preparing dogs for the baby's arrival? we read to keep them out of the baby's room; make that an "off limit" zone. we just have one who needs so much attention & gets jealous if you are giving the other dog or someone else attention, so we are a bit worried about how he will adjust to baby's arrival. we've been not giving him "on demand" attention for a while now but he still wants it.

 

[lulu66]

well, i called to get the results of my 3 hour GTT test today and.........I PASSED! i'm beyond thrilled; i had such a bad feeling about it going in. i'm one happy preggo today!

how's everyone else? since the baby boom, it's gotten a little quiet in here.

 

[Haven]

well, i called to get the results of my 3 hour GTT test today and.........I PASSED! i'm beyond thrilled; i had such a bad feeling about it going in. i'm one happy preggo today!

how's everyone else? since the baby boom, it's gotten a little quiet in here.

WOOHOOOOO! Great news!

 

[Haven]

Hey preggos! I've been so tired and busy lately that I've totally neglected this thread. I can't believe all the beautiful babies we have in this thread!

I'm 32w2d today and I figured I should take another bump picture before it's too late. I'm not great at taking them in a timely manner. Anyway, I can't believe how huge I am, and it's kind of depressing to look at these pictures!

 

[monarch64]

Oh Haven, you look great! Seriously, you're not huge by any means. You once said you hoped you looked as good as me when I was pregnant, and guess what? You look AMAZING. Try to enjoy your last few weeks of having your little meatball in the oven, before you know it you'll be holding your beautiful baby and back to your regular shape. Think of all the good things about being preggo in the fall: you can layer, wear cute scarves, boots, sweaters, and not feel like you're dying of heat stroke because it's not 105 degrees! And by March or April you will likely be back in your pre-pregnancy clothes and it'll be warm enough to get out and stroll around with your babe. You're doing great and looking fab.

 

[Haven]

Awww Monnie, thank you so much! I came back to the thread to delete my picture, but you've given me the courage to leave it up.

You remain my preggo inspiration, though I know I don't look nearly as chic as you did! These days I'm lucky to brush my hair and put on makeup in the same day.

I do feel so lucky to be very pregnant in the fall, especially after the past two days of unseasonably warm weather that had me so uncomfortable! I could not wait for it to cool down again this evening.

 

[monarch64]

You're welcome, Haven. I always appreciated your compliments and am happy to have the opportunity to offer you some very sincere support as well.

 

[JGator]

Haven, you look fabulous. Seriously I don't know how you think you don't!

Lulu, so happy you passed your glucose test.

SXN, welcome!

AFM, baby is still breech. C-section is scheduled for Monday, but we are in the Sandy storm path so we have to call the hospital before we leave to make sure they can accommodate us. My doctor said she will make it in and the hospital has generators, but they don't know for sure if all the surgical staff will be there and may cancel surgeries that aren't critical. So, if that happens, baby will have to wait a day or two. They said she is looking good though so no need to be concerned if we do push back the c-section a little bit. Oh, and the ultrasound tech said today the baby has a lot of hair as I suspected from all the heartburn! Also, she said the likelihood of the baby flipping on her own is similar to a humvee making a tight u-turn. Still no name decision. Hoping we can compromise this weekend!!!

 

[Dandi]

JGator, GOOD LUCK for Monday, I can't wait to 'meet' your bubba girl! Ahhhhh you're nearly a mamma!!!! And I love the Humvee comparison

Oh my gosh, Haven are you kidding me?! You look magnificent, girl!! I'm sure you feel huge given how teeny tiny you were pre-preg, but seriously woman, your 32 week pic was me at about 27 weeks! You are one stunning mamma-to-be!!

YIPPEE lulu, so thrilled you past your GTT! What a relief. I didn't realise we were so close in dates, how awesome! Nope I didn't notice any of those BHs on my own at all, I do notice the occasional one when I'm on my feet at work all day though. They don't hurt, I'm just aware of my belly tightening for a few seconds and then relaxing again. My tummy is as hard as a rock all the time though, so I think I usually miss them! The last few days I've been a bit unconfortable, I think Baby B is starting to head south, whenever I feel him/her do a big wriggle I get sharp pain low in my pelvis for a second. I have perfected my waddle

sxn675, welcome welcome!! Hope you've been well, and OH a Christmas baby! How gorgeous!!!!!!!

34 weeks 1 day

 

[Haven]

You ladies are so amazingly supportive, thank you! You really know how to make someone feel better when she's down.

 

[blondebunny]

Congrats to all the new mommies!!!!

Buttons- Congrats on WeeButton he is so precious!!!

SunnyD- Harlowe is soo cute!!! I cant believe you did it with no drugs... I dont know if I can do it but I would like too haha

MonkeyPrincess- Congrats!! Glad to here that your induction went well!

VintageLover- Congrats on Richard! Love his blonde hair and kudos on the home birth!

Puppmom- Congrats on the boy! Boy names are definitely hard.. if we have another baby and its a boy its going to be very hard to find another name that we like!!

missrachel- Congrats on Hannah!! Look at those chubby little cheeks!!

Haven- I think you look great!!! I dont think you look huge at all to be honest!! I think its just hard seeing ourselves get bigger and not being used to it.. I have a hard time sometimes too but then remember i am growing my sweet little boy inside and I need to get big so he can grow! You dont have much longer!!

JcGator- Goodluck on Monday!! I am in the path of Sandy/ Frankenstorm as well!! Im in NJ by NYC so we are hoping I dont go into labor in the middle of the storm!

Well its been a while since I posted... things have been crazy and I havent been feeling well lately. The sciatica pain has kicked in and its BRUTAL... I dont think my back injury at L5-S1 is helping either...its been torture and then add my rib pain... OH and how about I had a nasty fall on our hardwoods floors 2 weeks ago and still can barely move my arm... Oh and I had a nice head cold for a week as well.. hahah its been rough lately.. I had an ultrasound Monday and they said baby was 33w6d and I was 36w2d.. so we were really concerned something was wrong, but I guess my fluid is fine, so we are just hoping because the tech had the HARDEST time getting measurements and baby is already at station +2 and so low that she couldnt get the measurements correctly and he is bigger than that.. but Im still concerned...he has always measured bigger and then to be soo much smaller it really worried me. Hoping all is fine though.

So I think Ive been losing my mucus plug since last night and tonight Ive been having some contractions. They were really intense, but they have calmed down for the time being. Hoping its not labor starting, although Im totally over being pregnant, not ready for baby yet haha especially with this storm coming. I guess I should start timing them, I am just so freaked out its labor I dont want to believe it haha...I mean we have everything pretty ready for baby, just worried I guess about the ultrasound and him being small and then him coming early!

We did our maternity pics on Monday and I think they came out amazing!! We really love the preview we got and I cant wait to get the rest!! Im so excited I found this photog and she was in our budget as well! We are using her for newborn pics too!

Im 37w1d today (Sunday)

I included some of our pics and my 37 week bump pic! Almost there!!!

OH and QUESTION TMI though haha... Constipation... Did anyone else get horrible constipation in the 3rd trimester??? It was so bad I had to use an enema.. which sucked.. went some.. and then nothing again for the next week did another enema and it didnt help at all.. I dont know what to do anymore and Im so uncomfortable.. Anyone have any suggestions?? I tried the senna laxative that my dr suggested and then the enema and it didnt work so I dont know what to do.. ahh...

 

[mlk]

Just a quick check in to wish jgator the best of luck tomorrow. Can't wait to meet you little girl. Hope you can find a name you both love!

Afm, bp has been high since my OB appointment on thursday. He has run bloods and urine test for pre-e which my mother had with me so a little stressed to say the least. Only 25+4 today so I hope it is not pre-e cos I still have a long way to go at baking this bubba

 

[lulu66]

haven you look sooooo great! nothing but little baby in that belly, i swear! i could make you feel better (if ps would let me upload photos)...my belly's huge. plus my a$$ & thighs too! but, hey, whatcha gonna do? i sure miss whatever little amount of ab muscles i did have though--getting off the couch is getting increasingly hard!

jgator good luck on monday! i pray for all the east coasters that sandy does not live up to the hype. any progress on name selection yet? DH & i joke that our LO is going to come out w/more hair than any baby ever!

dandiandi my belly is sooo tight all the time too! i don't know if i could tell if i was having a BH. i do notice sometimes when it feels even tighter (to me) but i never notice how long the feeling lasts and just assume it must be the baby pushing out a bit.

blondebunny first, those pics are just gorgeous! second, good luck weathering the storm. as i said to jgator, i hope it's all mostly hype. sounds like your LO is coming sooner rather than later...how exciting! as for constipation, i've basically had it the entire pregnancy! i thinks it's from the vitamins the doc's got me on (prenatal w/dha, iron, and fish oil). i have used a stool softener (phillips) when it was REALLY bad which helped immensely during my first trimester (it was at least a week between bms--very painful). i now eat a high fiber cereal at breakfast and have a slightly painful (or maybe i'm getting used to it) bm every 3-4 days. other than that, i've just been suffering through. for me, it's been one of the worst parts of being pregnant.

mlk hoping your test results come back clear!

afm, 33.2 today. earlier this week, when i called for the results of my GTT, i inquired about my rhogam shot (i forgot to ask when i was at the appt). we had discussed it early on during my pregnancy but then it was never brought up again. the nurse/receptionist asked how far along i was (34 wks according to the doc) and was like "oh we have to get you in asap to get that!" i think i got lost in the shuffle; my doc went from a private practice to a large group practice when i was around 26 wks. i really like my doc, but sometimes i feel like i'm the doc here this is my first pregnancy, so it shouldn't make a huge difference that i'm getting the shot so late, should it???

 

[blondebunny]

Well... It looks like my little boy decided he wanted an October birthday and not a November one! Started having contractions at 4am got to hospital at 5am and had my little prince at 12:27pm!!! Ill post pics and birth story soon!!! Ahh can't believe I had my little boy!!!!!!

 

[monkeyprincess]

Congratulations Blondebunny!

And wishing you a safe delivery tomorrow JGator. So excited for you that she is almost here! See you on the other thread!

Thinking of all you others who are stll waiting! You are in for a wild ride and so much love all at the same time.

 

[lulu66]

congrats, blondebunny & family!! can't wait to hear all the details. welcome to the world, little baby boy

 

[Haven]

Well... It looks like my little boy decided he wanted an October birthday and not a November one! Started having contractions at 4am got to hospital at 5am and had my little prince at 12:27pm!!! Ill post pics and birth story soon!!! Ahh can't believe I had my little boy!!!!!!

WOW! Congratulations, BB!!!! Welcome to the world, baby boy!

JGator--I'll be thinking of you tomorrow!

 

[Skippy123]

Congrats BB!

 

[dani13]

Congratulations, BB!!!!

Best of luck, JG!!! You are going to be fine!!!! My best advice is to get up walking ASAP after the surgery!! It really helps you heal faster
( but take your pain meds first)!!!!