Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[curlygirl]

JACKIE!!!!! Congratulations on your gorgeous sons and your hysterical birth story!! I'm so glad everything went well with no puking!!!

ivana, congratulations to you too! I remember reading about everything you were going through and I'm so happy to hear that you are expecting twins!! Fantastic news. Morning sickness cures? Ginger ale, lemons, carbs and TIME. It will pass! Congrats again and lots of sticky vibes to you.

littlelysser, I'm so sorry. Take care of yourself. Hope to see you back here soon.

Pave, I'm sorry to hear of your son's heart issues but you'd be amazed by what they can do these days. We have a friend whose baby has been through 4 heart surgeries by the time she was 9 months old and now she is a thriving, "normal" toddler--you'd never know she had any issues. Sending lots of positive thoughts your way.

lisa, you'll be in my thoughts too. You have a good attitude and that will get you through everything. Keep us posted.

Hope everyone else is doing well--sorry I don't have time to respond to everyone individually. I'm 36 weeks now, kind of hard to believe. I'm in no hurry to get this baby out since it's my last pregnancy and I've enjoyed every bit of it. But she's definitely dropping--I can totally see the change in the way I'm carrying. Still all out in front but LOOOOW. I'm only fingertip dilated though so I don't think she'll be making an early appearance which is good because I'm not ready! It's funny because this time around, I'm not at all scared about L&D. I'm more concerned about the reality of having a toddler and a newborn. But I'm not the first one who's done it and I won't be the last. And I'm not a complainer so I guess it will all work out! I have no choice, right?!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Jackie, what a great birth story told in a way only *you* could! I am sorry about your annoying inlaws & SIL but am so happy for you and Mr Jas. Can''t wait to see you on the mommy board!

Ivana, congrats! That is wonderful news. I remember you TTC when I was preggo. I am so glad it finally worked out. I survived on pepsi and saltines the first 3 months.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Jas Your story is awesome and I can''t wait for more more more!

Ivana Congrats!!! My aunt and uncle had a similar story, and it is so wonderful to see a happy ending after such a journey!

 

[Gemma12]

Wow so much action on this thread!

Jackie great birth story-a footling breech

! I''m so glad you and the boys are okay-in fact more than okay-13 pounds of bebe in there, you''re my hero! I cannot believe your ILs were such PITAs whilst you were in hospital. Seriously? I''m just glad you got the pick of the litter in your DH-he sounds like he shares your sense of humour. Nice to know you got a good anaesthetist!

Ivana, I''m so excited for you! What a difficult road you have had! On the ms front, I never found the magic bullet that worked for me. I was doing a lot of shift work so irregular meals which didn''t help. I agree on the empty tummy thing-even if you''re not a breakfast eater it''s really important that you have something in the am so that you''re not sick for the whole day! When is it the worst-am or pm?

LL I''m so sorry about the bad news. Big hugs.

Take care of yourself.

Pave I am so so sorry to hear about your son''s heart. As amazing as it sounds 1% of newborns do have a cardiac defect so it is common. I worked at a hospital that did a lot of cardiac surgery for tets, hypoplastic hearts and transpositions for Australasia and the outcomes are really good. Most of the children I saw had an isolated cardiac problem-no syndrome and no associated trisomy. It''s incredibly difficult when it''s your own baby-I am just so sorry that you are experiencing this. When will you have a definitive answer? Are you near a major children''s hospital? What implications does this have for your delivery? (Sorry for all the questions!) Big hugs sweetie-I am thinking and praying for you.

Lisa yay for one sac on target-here''s hoping the little one will catch up!

Jen I am so sorry about your cat-it is hard to lose a member of the family. Big hugs to you and your kids-particularly Donovan.

on the visit to the labor ward-aren''t those girls grounded? Seriously, I am glad that you''re still preggo-looking forward to meeting them but not too soon!

LIA and Snlee you guys are both in my thoughts with the bed rest!! LIA, I''d love to see some more results of knitting action

.

So I had my GCT yesterday-I think it must have been a bit different from the US one-they basically gave me something like 300 mls of Sprite to drink and then I had a blood test an hour later. Totally painless. The nurse said that some women feel a bit chucky after the drink and I was thirsty because you can''t drink any water for an hour! So I think I get the result in a couple of weeks when I go back for my appointment.

Hope everyone else is doing well!

 

[sk8rjen]

Date: 9/2/2008 7:21:44 PM
Author: lover in athens
jen...you are so cute. it''s too bad you and i don''t live in the same city, we could meet for coffee after all of our l&d trips! i''m so glad those girls are sticking where they belong!!! and also, i''m glad you had a cry about pichu. it''s so hard, but sometimes just letting go really helps...

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm real coffee.....

heehee -- we''re quite the group here, aren''t we? The April group of baby-mamas did everything so nicely, and here we are, some on bedrest, some needing permanent rooms at l&d... wish we *could* all meet in person and commisserate! CONGRATS on 30 weeks!! that''s such a happy milestone!

snlee -- do you really only have a week left on bedrest??

let us know how your appt goes...

Ivana -- yeah, the m/s is worth it for sure, but still no fun -- i loved watermelon and saltines, and i drank LOTS of water -- hope it''s a short and sweet bout of m/s

Blen -- (thanks for the kind words btw) oh geez i''m hungry now -- do you deliver?

my hubby cooked through most of my first trimester -- he gets rewarded by me ordering pizza

sweet dreams!
jen

 

[sk8rjen]

Gemma -- thanks! good to see you and i hope you get good GCT results! Yeah, girls are still grounded but i guess they''re practicing to be teens already with some attitude

Curly -- congrats on 36 weeks -- you''re so close! glad you''re still here even if we don''t see you often...

and one more thing to LIA nd Snlee -- do not EVEN talk like that!! I mean, my dh has joked about it too(SUCH a freakin comedian), but so help me if 38 weeks rolls around and I''m still preggo...

jen

 

[katebar]

Seriously Jackie your are the Erma Bombeck of this century accept way more beautiful, hotter and cleverer for having such beautiful boys

.
I can''t wait for the next installment but well done to you and your hubby!!!

 

[snlee]

curly, wow, 36 weeks! You''re so close! I''m glad you aren''t scared of L&D. I''ve heard some women are scared the second time around since they know what to expect. Good to see an update from you!

Gemma, I hope you get a good glucose test result! That''s interesting that you get a different test. The Sprite sounds so much more pleasant.

jen, I HOPE I only have a week left. I''ve been asking my doctor at the last few appointments and that''s what she says. I will confirm with my other doctor tomorrow (I''m seeing the main doctor of the practice tomorrow). I''ll keep you guys posted. We are an interesting group! I am glad we have each other to commiserate with, even if it isn''t in person! Regarding going past due, at least you know you''ll be induced at 38 weeks! I wouldn''t be induced till 41-42 weeks?! What an awful thought!

 

[pavelover]

Hi all- lots going on here as usual! gosh.

LLysser I am so sorry about your miscarriage. You sound like you and your dh have a great attitude. I hope you heal quick and are back on the ttc asap.

Dreamer and Indy I kinda figured I would hear that- but I don''t understand those stories, still...
But good news so far for my amnio- preliminary fish shows no trisomy 13,18, or 21. I wanted to feel better but just felt weak in the legs when I got the results. Isn''t that weird? Maybe I wasn''t breathing or something, I don''t know. One week or a little more for the rest of the fish results/chromosome study.

Lisa - sorry you have to go through worry too!!! I was worried when we hadn''t heard from you. I feel like indy''s info about her twins sizes and other info like it is reassuring???? I really hope so. Hang in there and stay positive. We are thinking of you. Oh and not that you asked but I agree if you need meds please go back on them. I have been off of ssris for about a year- I briefly tried wellbutrin last year after my m/c but I hated it- my ob thought it was safe in pregnancy though. Now I take fish oil(supposed to be a natural mood elevator)- as far as I know it was supposed to be safe for pregnancy- although I would double check it since I am not sure what caused my lo heart defect. Either way please take care of yourself.

Erica thanks for the good thoughts! I appreciate it.

ivana congratulations!!! I am so happy for you and glad you are here! Sorry to hear you had such a long struggle to get here.

JAS YOur story is nothing less than I thought it would be! Thank you for sharing with us! I can''t believe the first guy was coming out foot first!!! that''s just crazy. Sorry your family is putting you through it- I really am wishing that my family was closer in times like this and with baby coming, but sometimes it is soooo nice to be 3,000 miles away, you know? well maybe not your family, but your in-laws for sure. Hang in there.

Jen seriously enough with the trips to l&d. aRe you doing ok? You are such a strong mommy. incredible. When you do make the move to adopt again, I can''t wait to see your new family member/pet.

LIA and Snlee Keep on hanging in there!!! I know that the babies need time to grow but I wish I could somehow fast forward time for y''all-

Blen- ok that food sounds amazing- it sounds like you are hitting your nesting period early- ya think???

Curlygirl I really love hearing all the positive stories like your friends! thank you for that. Luckily I am hearing this frequently, and I think it is helping! I can understand why you feel concerned about having two at home. I don''t have any but I am really scared for life when I become a mom- no more lying on the couch watchng t.v. alllll day. Wow you are really getting close! can''t wait!

Gemma thanks for all the good info!! So far, we have prelim fish results that are good(read above). Will get the final results in a week to 2. long wait but I hope it goes fast! We had another fetal echo today- sweet guy dr. Silverman and I am not sure but he sounds like a kiwi(is that the right term?) He is apparently the guru of fetal echos(yes we are at a major med ctr- stanford in northern ca). Good cv surgeons too, so we are blessed there. so anyway now again they think it''s tetralogy of fallot and they said it''s better than truncus although the other day I could have sworn they told me the opposite. Should have another echo in 6 weeks where hopefully they will be able to see the pulmonary vessels better and they will have hopefully better idea of what to expect at birth. But they were definitely positive re: surgery/etc. Not so much about the possibility of digeorge(they make this sound potentially bad but the internet doesn.t make it sound so bad. hopefully the amnio results will be negative and I won''t have to worry either way. fingers crossed.
Sounds like I really can have a normal delivery believe it or not but the baby will go right to the nicu to be watched until a while(till the pda closes and they see how he does on his own). If he does well, then home for a little until it is time for surgery between 6 weeks to 3 months. Mind you I haven''t spoken to the ob drs. at the new place and the delivery plan came from the cardiologist so I guess it''s not official

thanks for the hugs!

Ok I think I am caught up. I f I missed anyone I am sorry. thanks again for all of your support!

 

[msb700]

LL: I am so sorry for your loss

Ivana: yay!! congratulations!

 

[neatfreak]

LL: I am so sorry to hear about your loss. I am sure we''ll see you again over here very soon! HUGS!

 

[erica k]

bumpwatch
week 12

 

[erica k]

week 15
ETA: My low-rise baggy denim is beginning to sit a little higher, and I now use a rubber band on my regular pair. My next OB appt. is in 3 weeks, hopefully we'll find out the gender then! We met with a doula last night, and she was so wonderful. Even if we decide to go with a midwife, it'll be so nice to have someone supporting us.

 

[msb700]

Jas: i had tears rolling down my face reading ur birth story!! totally cracked me up (except the part of the foot...that freaked me out!)...but the first portion of ur story with the water breaking could have been word-for-word wat happened to me (minus the boxers )...we too went to bed at 11 and at 130 am my water broke and it just kept going and going and going !!! glad to hear that the whole family is doing good (and sorry about the in-laws!)

erica: ur tummy is practically non-existent! too cute..

 

[snlee]

pave, good news on the preliminary amnio results!

erica, bump watch? What bump? Hehe. I guess your pants is hiding your bump cause I can''t see much of a difference. You are still so tiny! You look great!

 

[mela lu]

hi all! I''m just a general lurker, but I could use your help

What I REALLY need is a comprehensive guide to food.
...specifically, the "Don''t eat"''s during pregnancy.

Any good linkies would be greatly appreciated. Thanks gals. hope to join you here soooooooooooon.

 

[Independent Gal]

Hey Mela, I bought "What to Eat when you''re expecting" which is pretty comprehensive.

Erica, you''re so lucky to still be bump-less. I am freaking HUGE at this point. I''ll take another pic tonight.

 

[snlee]

Date: 9/3/2008 3:55:49 PM
Author: mela lu
hi all! I''m just a general lurker, but I could use your help

What I REALLY need is a comprehensive guide to food.

...specifically, the ''Don''t eat''''s during pregnancy.

Any good linkies would be greatly appreciated. Thanks gals. hope to join you here soooooooooooon.

Hi Mela! I hope you join us soon too!

"What to Eat when you''re expecting" is REALLY comprehensive. I borrowed it from the library and didn''t keep it long. I skimmed it and felt too confined and overwhelmed on what I should and should not eat. I like to use these websites as references:

Baby Center

Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy

 

[mela lu]

Thanks Snlee!

As an aside, when I read your username, I waiver between pronouncing it "Suh-neh-lee" or "S.N.L.-ee". How do you say it?

 

[snlee]

Date: 9/3/2008 4:27:57 PM
Author: mela lu
Thanks Snlee!

As an aside, when I read your username, I waiver between pronouncing it ''Suh-neh-lee'' or ''S.N.L.-ee''. How do you say it?

I''m curious how people say my username. It''s interesting how we all see it differently. At PS GTG''s people always say it ''Suh-neh-lee''. I really like ''S.N.L.-ee'' but I''ve never thought of it that way before.

 

[Blenheim]

Erica, you''re teeny!

I see snlee as S.N.Lee. Kind of like R(obert) E Lee, but with different first and middle names. How do you say it?

I almost killed DH tonight. Luckily for him, he was on a plane at the time and slightly out of reach. But seriously, who uses the last of the ranch dressing and does not mention it to their wife!? I wanted a chicken salad and already had the popcorn chicken in the oven when I figured it out.

 

[snlee]

I'm back from my appointment.

Bad news is that I'll be on bed rest and medicine a little longer than I thought. The doctor I saw today (the head of the practice) is more conservative and wanted me on bed rest and meds till 36-37 weeks. She was surprised that the other doctor said 34 weeks. She said let's compromise and go with 35 weeks. Even though I'd be able to deliver the baby at 34 weeks (if I should go into labor), it's still early and the baby wouldn't be able to go home until 36 weeks. Obviously it's best for me to deliver around 37-38 weeks, when the baby is full term, so another week or two of bed rest isn't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. Plus I don't want to deliver when DH is on his business trip anyways!

After two appointments of not gaining a single pound, in 2 weeks, I went up 3-4 pounds! I am up 25 pounds total at 33 weeks, which the doctor was pleased about. She said I could gain another 9-10 pounds and be ok. Baby is still head down. Yay! We got to listen to the heartbeat for awhile - longer than usual. We were able to hear 3 of the chambers very clearly and the doctor said that's rare so she was enjoying it. I think she said you never hear all 4 chambers. Everything else is pretty much status quo. The doctor didn't check my cervix since she didn't want to stir anything up.

I asked about having relations at 37-38 weeks. DH didn't want me too (he was embarrassed!), so I asked when the doctor had her back to him. I wanted to know in case we do decide to have relations. She said once I'm off bed rest we can do it all we want.

That was good to hear since it's been a loooong time! Even though I'm huge now, I'd be nice to do it once or twice before the baby arrives and if it helps get him out closer to 38 weeks then 40+ weeks, I'm all for it!

We went over my birth plan too. It was reassuring that she agreed with most of my birth plan. I only made a few changes to it and I feel good about it.


LIA, how did your appointment go?

 

[Kay]

Date: 8/27/2008 11:19:42 AM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Kay That is crazy about the gender ratio at your office! Something must be in the water. Was it the moms who work with you or the dads? And what is the gender ratio in your office? I ask because I have read studies on rats where if the geneder ratio gets too out of whack then the gender ratio of the babies tends to shift to bring it back to 50:50! Crazy, eh?

My firm as a whole has different gender stats, both on the parents and babies, but my department has 23 attorneys, 6 of whom are female. Most of the staff is female. In the last 2 years in our department, 6 baby girls and 1 boy were born to 7 male attorneys and 1 girl was born to a female secretary. The other dept. seems to have a majority of boy babies, but it is more even (and more were born to female attorneys in that dept).

 

[Kay]

Date: 8/27/2008 7:48:06 PM
Author: Independent Gal

Date: 8/27/2008 6:00:11 PM
Author: sk8rjen
This lady literally STOPPED me to ask how much longer i had until i was due and i told her ''8 weeks, they''re twins'' and she was like ''oh my god, i just had in vitro and i do NOT want to ever look like that!!!!''

That made me laugh out loud. IN SHOCK!!! I can''t believe she said that!

Man, we should have a contest to see who gets the most dumb-ass comment said to them. That''s up there with the bikini bimbo''s comment.

 

[snlee]

Baby gender ratios in the office/in groups are interesting. My department has nearly 300 people, with lots of people in their 20''s and 30''s so it''s not that surprising that many babies are being born each year. A total of around 24 babies will be born (mostly to women who work there) and only about 8 are girls this year. There are tons of BOYS! They outnumber the girls 2 to 1!

 

[snlee]

Date: 9/3/2008 9:34:18 PM
Author: Kay

Date: 8/27/2008 7:48:06 PM

Author: Independent Gal

Date: 8/27/2008 6:00:11 PM

Author: sk8rjen

This lady literally STOPPED me to ask how much longer i had until i was due and i told her ''8 weeks, they''re twins'' and she was like ''oh my god, i just had in vitro and i do NOT want to ever look like that!!!!''

That made me laugh out loud. IN SHOCK!!! I can''t believe she said that!

Man, we should have a contest to see who gets the most dumb-ass comment said to them. That''s up there with the bikini bimbo''s comment.

I think the twin mommies would win, no contest. Bigger bellies = dumber comments.

 

[Kay]

littlelysser, I am so sorry to hear that. You are in my thoughts. Hugs.

 

[Kay]

Indy, I’m glad your announcement at work went so smoothly. It sounds like your workplace has a good attitude about parenthood.

Dreamer, sounds like the announcement went really well with your supervisor too.

Blen, cute 8-week pic. You are still tiny – I think if you stood up straighter in the pic the bump would disappear. LMAO about the chips – priceless. Yay for scoring with the maternity clothing and baby stuff – sounds like you got some great deals.

LIA, glad to hear you had a good appointment and are enjoying the new house. I think Coby is a cute nickname.

Gemma, I hope your friend and her baby are doing well.

Jas, your boys are so beautiful!

Love the gangster shot! I hope the bris went well today. Man, between your sis and the in-laws, you just can’t catch a break girl!

Snlee, that is so cool that your family threw you a surprise shower.

Pave, I am so sorry to hear about your little guy’s heart defect. It sounds scary, but hopefully it is something they can fix easily with surgery. Yay for team blue!

Jen, I am so sorry to hear about your kitty and how hard it is on your sons. They’ll need some time to heal.

Lisa, sorry to hear you are having such a rough time emotionally. It sounds like you have at least one healthy baby in there, and I hope the other sac will resolve one way or the other so you do not have to deal with making that decision.

Ivana, congrats on the twins and welcome to the preggo thread!

Okay, I''ve got to run now but will catch up with the rest of the posts later.

 

[Dreamer_D]

So this is only indirectly pregnancy related... today the head of my department, who is also a friend and colleague, came to see me and asked me if I can take over teaching an upper year course this fall, and the class starts in one week

Turns out that the prof who was going to teach it needs emergency back surgery

and cannot teach, and they thought of me to step in and save the day LOL. It is an honours research methods seminar with only 20 students, and since the prof has already prepped everything and has the class running like a well-oiled machine, I will basically just need to get up to speed with her materials and syllabus and present the course as she planned it.

Here is where it becomes pregnancy related: Because I am now teaching one and a half classes this fall (I was already co-teaching a different class) and the payment is totally in addition to my regular research salary, I will be able to save everything I earn by teaching and use it to help fund my maternity leave! My maternity benefits through my government research grant were adequate but modest, so this extra money will allow me to afford to take a full 12 months off with my baby if I want, without us having to scrimp and save and compromise our standard of living!

I am so happy, this is such a relief. Things were going to be really tight otherwise.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

DD, that is great news!