Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[Independent Gal]

Robbie, 1200 is definitely too low. That is starvation level. But at the same time, be careful to note that you don''t really need much extra until the second and third trimesters. You should be eating about 100 extra calories a day on top of what you need to maintain your weight (i.e., eat normally, add an extra glass of milk) until the second trimester and then you need to add 300 calories. So that''s, say, two extra glasses of milk and a piece of toast.

It sounds like seeing a nutritionist would be a good thing for you! For me, I counted grams of protein because that was where I thought I''d have problems. But other than that, eating when I was hungry has basically kept me in the ideal weight gain range week by week, and the kiddos were growing right on schedule at last check.

I don''t know whether that works for everyone though. So that''s why I think a nutritionist would be a good idea! Ask your doc for a referral maybe?

 

[neatfreak]

Indy I just wanted to send my condolences to you and your family over the loss of your Grandmother. It''s never easy even when it''s expected. HUGS!

 

[robbie3982]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I''m going to keep tracking over the next week and if I''m consistently not getting enough, I''m going to bring it up to my doctor and see what she recommends. I really can''t believe it was so low yesterday when I felt like I ate so much. Surprisingly, for how low it was, my protein wasn''t too far off. Only under the recommended range by 12g. I''m pretty sure I got enough dairy too. I definitely need to work on the veggies. They''re not sounding too appetizing right now. Whole grains were pretty much nonexistant yesterday as well.

Babyfit.com offers meal plans. Maybe I should try to start eating what they suggest instead of just marking down what I''m eating. I just put in everything that I brought with me today and I''ll still have to eat a lot of calories when I go home to get to the low end of the range.

 

[sk8rjen]

DD, NF, Indy and Mela -- I appreciate your thoughts on my subject. Yeah, Indy, I''ll admit, my first reaction was to be totally PISSED -- how the %^&* could they miss something like that? We looked at the placenta(s) every visit, along with fluid and checked growth every 3 weeks, so I feel like I got appropriate care (at one point my doc mentioned some concern about differentiation in the girls'' sizes and had me come back sooner to dbl-check, and my reaction was a little more like "it shouldn''t matter, they have their own sacs and placentas"). I read last night that embryos can embed close together in the uterus and the placentas *can* fuse, so I suppose that''s the most likely option. I will definitely be spending the out-of-pocket $$ for the DNA test asap, but I feel like this is a bill the hospital should pick up when the results come back "frats" you know? (not likely, i know!

)

Indy -- I''m so sorry about your grandma!

I''m sorry you have to miss the funeral, too, but I''m hoping for a mircle for your family -- keep up the strength, girl! You sound like you have such a wonderfuul family!

Mela -- I always cramp when I ovulate. It sucks actually. My periods are total nightmares, though, so by comparison, it''s not so bad. I usually ovulate early, around day 11-ish, and for that particular cycle, I cramped on both days 9 and 10. Some say that''s too early for it to work, but thats how I got knocked up with my 3rd son (surprise! and thank god, too -- he''s such my little man!

)... So I am pretty confident that I o''d twice, but while I''ve said all along that that could be true, it''s still possible that an egg could have split. I really honestly believe my girls are frats and conceived on feb 13th and 14th. The month before, we had a chemical pregnancy, btw -- that can do weird things to your body, fwiw...

jen

 

[Maisie]

Indy I am so sorry to hear about your Grandma. My condolences to your family.

 

[robbie3982]

Holy crappola, I almost just got outed at work!

Today is flu shot day. I didn''t realize that free flu shots meant that we''d essentially all be in a line waiting to get them, meaning no privacy. I also didn''t realize that there would be a consent form where I had to check if I was pregnant or not and that pregnant women needed a written note from their doctor.

I''d gone to the room with my work friends and couldn''t leave without saying why (they would''ve dragged me back). When it was my turn I whispered to the nurse asking her to please not say why I couldn''t get it, to make something up. She whispered back that I really needed to get it, but from my OB. I told her my OB had told me to get it at work and she said that was good enough then and she''d give it to me.

I hope we weren''t whispering too loudly. My friend who was standing pretty close waiting for me didn''t say anything. I really hope the Senior VP who was behind me in line didn''t hear. It''s way too early for work to know.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 10/30/2008 2:16:20 PM
Author: robbie3982
Holy crappola, I almost just got outed at work!


Today is flu shot day. I didn''t realize that free flu shots meant that we''d essentially all be in a line waiting to get them, meaning no privacy. I also didn''t realize that there would be a consent form where I had to check if I was pregnant or not and that pregnant women needed a written note from their doctor.


I''d gone to the room with my work friends and couldn''t leave without saying why (they would''ve dragged me back). When it was my turn I whispered to the nurse asking her to please not say why I couldn''t get it, to make something up. She whispered back that I really needed to get it, but from my OB. I told her my OB had told me to get it at work and she said that was good enough then and she''d give it to me.


I hope we weren''t whispering too loudly. My friend who was standing pretty close waiting for me didn''t say anything. I really hope the Senior VP who was behind me in line didn''t hear. It''s way too early for work to know.

Don''t worry Robbie, it is considered safe for preggos to get a flu shot. I got one yesterday myself! The one thing I have learned throughout this pregnancy is even when you think it is SO OBVIOUS to everyone that you are preggo, and slipping up here and there, most people are so self absorbed that they don''t even think twice about it.

 

[EricaR]

Indy - I just lost my grandfather so I know how you are feeling. I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[Linda W]

Date: 10/30/2008 8:23:11 AM
Author: Independent Gal
Wow Jen, if that''s true, then you doctors were GROSSLY negligent. Seriously, every maternal-fetal medicine textbook and article on twins I have seen (and believe me, girly-o, I been doing some READING) says that determining chorionicity is a first and CRITICAL step to the management of a twin pregnancy.


I''ve heard of lots of cases where fused placentas and squished together sacs make it look like they are mono-chorionic when they are actually di/di. But the idea that they were mono and your doctors completely missed that and though they were di? I mean, that''s hard to miss if you actually are LOOKING for it.


Thank heavens your girls are safe! But what if they had got TTTS? Or one of the other mono/di issues that are sometimes treatable when caught early? Only from lack of monitoring, you had lost them unnecessarily?


This makes me mad! Get that DNA test! And if they are ID and were mono, be seriously angry at your OB! That is just not acceptable.


NF, sooooo happy to hear about your -fFN! That brings you basically into the safe zone, right? Two more weeks after that would be even better. I''m crossing my fingers for you. Hurray.


Well, this morning my grandmother passed away. She was 87 (I think?) and had cancer, and we knew it wouldn''t be too much longer. Plus, I think she was ready. But the timing couldn''t be worse. I sure as heck can''t travel (I''m 100% effaced, 2cm dilated, and contracting strongly). My mom is two days out from her chemo treatment and totally immune compromised so she can''t travel. My step-dad has to go alone to meet up with my brothers, and let me tell you, none of these men are particularly good at coping with these kinds of situations. So, they''re missing their support people and mom''s missing her support people. Just watch me go into labor again the day of her funeral. Well, if that happens, I think I just won''t tell my parents until the next day so they can deal with what''s immediately in front of them. What a situation!

Our family has really taken a beating this year! But we soldier on! And we have a lot of love between us to keep us all glued together through the tough times.

Oh Indy, I am so sorry to read this. My heart just breaks for you and your family. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. I am so sorry about your dear grandmother sweetheart.

Love, Linda

 

[Skippy123]

Indy, I too am so sorry about your grandmother. Prayers outgoing.

 

[katebar]

Dear Indy my deepest sympathy on the loss of your beloved grandmother. Sending you prayers to you and your famly.

 

[janinegirly]

just popping in to catch up and look at baby pics:

Kay: she is ADORABLE and the hair is amazing. My LO had a head of hair too but not like yours. Ours was also 7.4lbs..how long was Alexis? More pics please!

Jen: your twins are soooooooo cute, I love the shared hospital basket shots. They look so healthy and content

LIA: Jacob is such a cuty, did I miss any updated shots? How're you doing?

Indy: I'm so sorry for all that you've been going through, I haven't been here much but have followed your story, please take care and keep us posted. HUGS.

 

[snlee]

Indy, I am so sorry to hear about your grandmother. My condolences to you and your family.

jen, I can''t believe your doc missed that! It''s a good thing you didn''t have the extra worry while pregnant but what if something had gone wrong!? Thank goodness your girls are healthy and everything turned out okay!

 

[Kaleigh]

Indy,
So very sorry to hear of about your grandmother. Big hugs!!

 

[ljmorgan]

Date: 10/30/2008 9:18:57 AM
Author: robbie3982
Indy, I''m so sorry to hear about your grandmother

. Your poor family has been through so much recently.


After posting about how I was just going to try to do my best with eating, but not really worry about it since I have a tendency to become obsessed with tracking things, I realized that I probably have a skewed view on what is enough since the only time I was ever tracking was when I was trying to lose. I decided to track for at least a little using babyfit.com until I have a better feel for how much and what I should be eating. Yesterday was the first day and, apparently I''m not eating anywhere near enough. Yesterday totaled 1232 calories and it has my range at 1920 - 2220

. I''m pretty shocked that it was so low and wondering if maybe something was off on the foods I entered. I mean, that''s the amount I was eating when I was trying to lose weight and I feel like I''ve been eating a ton more. I''m eating when I''m hungry: breakfast, 10am snack, lunch and dinner. I brought something in so I can have an afternoon snack today and brought twice as much for lunch, but holey cow, according to this thing I need to be eating almost double what I am! Granted, not every day is like yesterday (had a ton of fast food on Monday and Tuesday for my business trip), but it still kind of freaked me out. I don''t want to have to have a big mac every day for lunch to up the number, since I''m sure that can''t be healthy either.


Should I listen to my body and keep eating when I''m hungry or do I need to actively try to up my calories (with healthy foods obviously)? I guess I just kind of always thought that my body would let me know when I''m not getting enough.

I feel your pain about getting calories in. A few pages back I posted about the same thing. I''m just coming out of morning sickness, and lots 2 pounds in my first trimester (which is actually good considering some women lose a lot more.) I''m still queasy a lot, and on my best days I''m getting in 2000 calories. Most days are 1500-1700. My ideal range right now for my weight/height at this stage in my pregnancy is 2000-2200. It''s tough for me because I have a major meat aversion (before being preggo I looooooved steak, and every other meat possible) and can''t stand any sort of meat at all, which is a really easy way to up calories. I also am avoiding peanut butter now that I''ve hit my second trimester, and peanut butter was a great way for me to up my calories in the first trimester.

It''s been getting easier though -- before I was preggo I never ate breakfast, now if I don''t I get sick. So I''ve started eating a full cup (two servings) of steel cut oats which is 300 calories, and I put walnuts (150 cals), dried cranberries, and honey on it, and serve with a glass of whole milk. That healthy meal clocks in at 700 calories!! So that has helped tremendously with upping my calories. If my breakfast and lunch have been too low in cals, I get a burrito from Chipotle. If you like meat, theirs is all natural and they use no hormones. I get a burrito with rice, salsa, corn, cheese, and guacamole (avocado is so good for you, and the mono fats are good for the baby.) A whole burrito like this has 865 cals, and I eat half then, and try to eat the other half later at night, or the next day. I try avoid frequenting other fast food because I don''t like the additives and chemicals, but I also occasionally have a large french fry from Chick-Fil-A with a garden salad. Instead of my usual low fat raspberry dressing, I go for the full fat ranch!

I think as long as you''re conscious of your food intake and make the effort to eat within your range, you''ll do fine. Not every day will be perfect, you may not hit those numbers every single day (especially with morning sickness, you''re lucky if you''re eating hardly anything!) but I think it''s great that you''re thinking about it, you''re concerned, and you''re coming up with ideas to improve your food intake. Good luck!

 

[Blenheim]

Wow, a lot''s happened in just a couple of days.

NF, that''s great about the ffn test!

Indy, I''m so sorry about your grandmother.

Courtney, you''re tiny! I can see the difference though.

Lindsey, I didn''t realize just how scary that is. I''m so sorry that you''re having to go through all of that.

Robbie, hopefully they didn''t hear anything. Most people are kind of in their own self-absorbed world, but then again others are really in-tune. The girls who sit next to me were.

I''m just now large enough, I suppose, that coworkers who somehow didn''t hear through the grapevine have started asking around to see if I''m pregnant. I got congratulated by someone today who just found out, and by someone yesterday who evidently has been wondering but thought it would be rude to ask.

I''ve been told that I must watch Ugly Betty tonight to see the name Wilhelmina in use, and that it might turn hubby off to the idea. He spent all of dinner two nights ago talking about how much he loves it. He''s thinking Wilhelmina Rose. It''s growing on me, but not on my friends.

Oh, and he''s agreed to Josephine, but ONLY IF we''re having twin girls and the other one is named Wilhelmina. Hahah.

Anyway, 17 week (how did that happen?) BELLY:

 

[mela lu]

Blen - YOU''RE SO CUTE. YOUR BELLY IS SO CUTE. THOS PICS ARE SO CUTE. Whoa. I''m shouting

and seeing your dog in the background in the pic on the right ALMOST made me bust my bloated gut. hahahahha. Its the most hilarious thing to me right now. hahahhahaa. Great pics. Thanks for sharing!!!!
holy crow - 17 weeks already girl?!

 

[E B]

Date: 10/30/2008 6:00:22 PM
Author: Blenheim
He spent all of dinner two nights ago talking about how much he loves it. He''s thinking Wilhelmina Rose. It''s growing on me, but not on my friends.

Oh, and he''s agreed to Josephine, but ONLY IF we''re having twin girls and the other one is named Wilhelmina. Hahah.

Awww. I wish my husband suggest ANY name that isn''t in the top 10. How does he feel about just Willa? Willa Rose is beautiful.

 

[ljmorgan]

Blen, your belly pictures are too adorable! You are such a cute preggo

 

[zoebartlett]

Oh Indy, I''m so sorry to hear of your grandmother''s passing. This is the grandmother that you were super close to, right? If I remember correctly, you mentioned her often while planning your wedding.

My thoughts continue to be with you and your family.

 

[Blenheim]

Lindsey and Mela, thanks!! Mela, you''re hilarious - I''m cracking up at your response. Aonghus (that dog) is always at my side, on his toes hoping that I''ll tell him to do something. He ran in as I was taking pictures like, "Why is there something going on here that does not involve me? Something is wrong here."

Date: 10/30/2008 6:17:05 PM
Author: EBree

Date: 10/30/2008 6:00:22 PM
Author: Blenheim
He spent all of dinner two nights ago talking about how much he loves it. He''s thinking Wilhelmina Rose. It''s growing on me, but not on my friends.

Oh, and he''s agreed to Josephine, but ONLY IF we''re having twin girls and the other one is named Wilhelmina. Hahah.

Awww. I wish my husband suggest ANY name that isn''t in the top 10. How does he feel about just Willa? Willa Rose is beautiful.

I''m so happy that he''s finally ready to start talking names. It took him just over 16 weeks (plus the 3 months of trying, plus the 18 months of trying really hard to wait to start trying) to come around to it.

Wilhelmina really is growing on me, although I''m afraid that I think it''s great just because he suggested it. I really hope I''m not being like, "Oh, you like Kumquat for a girl? You''re right, honey, that''s the most beautiful name ever.

"

I''m not sure what I think about just Willa, although I love it as a nickname. Let''s pretend that my last name is Miller. I''m not sure about the repeated "il" sounds so close together, although Wilhelmina Miller doesn''t bother me. Mina Miller is fine (my real last name does not start with an M), and Willa Miller strikes me as acceptable if Willa''s a nickname. Plus, I tend to like longer given names - they tend to do a better job passing the Supreme Court Name Test.

And Walter Miller and Victor Miller... two names that kind of rhyme? Not wild about those either.

 

[E B]

Indy,

I''m so sorry about your grandmother. You and your family are in my thoughts.

Blen,

I completely agree with you about favoring longer given names. And I think Wilhelmina has a similar feel to other favorites of yours (Josephine, Beatrice, Vivian, etc.) which might explain why you''re warming up to it.

It does have two pretty cute nicknames as well, which is nice.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Blen you have a lovely bump! You are about tas big as my cousin was at your stage, which is so lucky because now you get to enjoy being socially pregnant for a long time! boo hoo, I am getting closer to actually looking preggo. I think 2 more weeks and it will be totally obvious to strangers. This week my close friends have finally started saying, "NOW you look pregnant!" So it won''t be long now! Still carrying long and compact though! You are lower and more prominent.

22w4d

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Blen, of course I cannot remember the band (just remembered I listened to them all the time in high school, maybe Jakob Dylan''s band??? What were they called???) but they have a song Josephine and it is seriously beautiful. You should start playing it for your DH all the time

 

[tiffanytwisted]

Date: 10/31/2008 8:41:33 AM
Author: Tacori E-ring
Blen, of course I cannot remember the band (just remembered I listened to them all the time in high school, maybe Jakob Dylan''s band??? What were they called???) but they have a song Josephine and it is seriously beautiful. You should start playing it for your DH all the time

It''s the Wallflowers. That is a beautiful song.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 10/31/2008 8:46:37 AM
Author: tiffanytwisted

Date: 10/31/2008 8:41:33 AM

Author: Tacori E-ring

Blen, of course I cannot remember the band (just remembered I listened to them all the time in high school, maybe Jakob Dylan's band??? What were they called???) but they have a song Josephine and it is seriously beautiful. You should start playing it for your DH all the time

It's the Wallflowers. That is a beautiful song.

Oh yeah! Thanks Tiffany. How funny I saw them twice in concert and still couldn't remember their name. Anyways the song made ME want to change my name to Josephine!

 

[mela lu]

Date: 10/30/2008 7:52:44 PM
Author: Blenheim

I''m not sure what I think about just Willa, although I love it as a nickname. Let''s pretend that my last name is Miller. I''m not sure about the repeated ''il'' sounds so close together, although Wilhelmina Miller doesn''t bother me. Mina Miller is fine (my real last name does not start with an M), and Willa Miller strikes me as acceptable if Willa''s a nickname. Plus, I tend to like longer given names - they tend to do a better job passing the Supreme Court Name Test.

And Walter Miller and Victor Miller... two names that kind of rhyme? Not wild about those either.

Blen - I''m having the exact same "issue" with the rhyming. Let''s just *say* my Hubby''s last name is Cargo. A lot of our names (boys) end in ''O'' making the strangly rhythmic, "Rocco Cargo" sound. Not happy. We have a hard enough time agreeing on a boys name, and SO many favourites are eliminated because of the o-o-o-o pattern. out because of it: Hugo, Wolfgang (for the simple fact of too many "g''s", Rocco. The only name we can agree on (and Looooooove) has a bit of this rhyming but I guess we''re overlooking it because we love it so much

. Funny how that can happen.
We still have lots of boys name on the list; but none of them we LOOOOOVE. Girls are easy. Girls names are in abundance...oh course, I''m convinced we''re having a boy. lol.

Love Willa (sooooo pretty as far as knicknames go). I even like the knick-name Willa over the nick-name Josie (which would happen to the beautiful Josephine). Luckily, you have lots of time until you have to make your big decision.
Are you "feeling" like you''re having a girl?

Jen - how are you feeling? How are the girls doing?

I guess I have to start perving the Mommy''s thread. It''s funny how I''ve "protected" myself for the last 11 weeks by not delving into the Mommy-land in case I m/c. Now that I''m 7 days away from that magic 12 week mark, I''m feeling a little bit ready to fall in love with the idea of REALLY being a Mom soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mela 11weeks today.

 

[robbie3982]

Oh my goodness, Mela, how did you get to 11 weeks so quickly?! It seems like just yesterday you got your bfp!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 10/31/2008 9:33:41 AM
Author: robbie3982
Oh my goodness, Mela, how did you get to 11 weeks so quickly?! It seems like just yesterday you got your bfp!

The first four weeks are pre-O and 2ww, so it's only been 7 weeks since the BFP, that may be why it feels closer! I know for me I cannot believe I am almost 23 weeks

last night DH said, "Our baby will be born in 17 week." and I almost fainted!

Mela isn't it wodnerful to approach that "magic 12 weeks"?? I am so happy for you! I didn't feel totolly relaxed until I was about 16 weeks, but it is a slow and steady release of tension from about 10 weeks on, I found.

22w5d

 

[mela lu]

Date: 10/31/2008 9:33:41 AM
Author: robbie3982
Oh my goodness, Mela, how did you get to 11 weeks so quickly?! It seems like just yesterday you got your bfp!

I know right!? It kinda went quickly......??!!
Now, if this last week would only go so fast

. Then I can start my next 12 week wait till 24 week viability. lol. Everything in small steps, right?