Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[robbie3982]

This bloat is out of control. Someone please tell me that yours was this bad...

Some pics to illustrate:

The left is in the beginning of April when I decided that I was getting too flabby and it was time to get in shape. I weighed the same as I did at my last doctor''s appointment which was a week ago today. The middle picture is at the end of May when I was in the best shape ever. I weighed about 3 lbs more than on my wedding day, but had way more muscle. Right after that was when my doc thought I might have a heart problem and he ordered me off of exercise. It messed up my schedule and even when he cleared me after we found out I''m perfectly fine, I didn''t really get back into the hard core workouts so my weight settled somewhere between the May and April pics. The last pic is from today. I know it''s bloat, but holy cow!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Robbie Sexy bikini pictures mama!

I will spare everyone similar shots of myself

I think you are showing early (as in looking preggo), every woman is different, and even though your uterus is still little there are still things being pushed around in there--like all your guts! I think Blenheim showed really early. I think it depends how "little" you are, as in bone structure etc. Looking at your bikini model shots, you look little to me, so I am not surprised! You may need to come out of the closet sooner than you planned! But it's only 2 more weeks until you can tell people! Are you getting excited?!?!?

ETA your face in the 10 week shot is PRICELESS! Smile mama, you are glowing and growing a baby!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 12/8/2008 6:17:41 PM
Author: snlee

Date: 12/8/2008 6:00:18 PM
Author: neatfreak

As nice as it would be to be home, I have to say there *is* something nice about having a 24 hour on call staff to help you learn to breastfeed, swaddle, etc. the first few days!

I wouldn''t want to go home the same day. I could barely move after my VB! Plus I loved having 24 hour on call service, nurses helping you learn to care for your baby, change the baby''s diapers, give you pain meds, wake you up to remind you it''s time to feed baby, lactation consultant to help you breastfeed, nurses and doctors checking up on you and the baby to make sure things are going well, and the yummy hospital food (no joke! I thought the hospital food was great. Make sure you enjoy those meals because when you come home you have no time to cook a meal!). I loved my time in the hospital. DH enjoyed it too...so much that he asked me to have another baby soon so we could stay at the hospital again!

That does sounde nice, but I don''t think our hospitals are quite so swanky. There is no private insurance to milk here, it is all funded by taxes, so I think some corners get cut a bit. I plan to let my mom and DH wait on my hand and foot at home instead

Hopefully that will be almost as good!

 

[robbie3982]

LOL, thanks, DD

. I am getting excited, but nervous too. I can''t decide if I''m more nervous to tell work or my in-laws. My boss is awesome and I know logically that I have nothing to be worried about, but I''m still nervous. With the in-laws I''m worried that FIL will say something stupid like "again?" When we told them last time he said something along the lines of "You couldn''t wait any longer?" He''s really a nice guy, but he doesn''t think before he speaks and he''s negative about EVERYTHING.

I''m really hoping I can wait to tell my boss until after we tell the family, but I don''t know that I have many (any?) shirts that can hide a belly that''s sticking out further than the boobies.

 

[robbie3982]

Date: 12/8/2008 9:30:13 PM



ETA your face in the 10 week shot is PRICELESS! Smile mama, you are glowing and growing a baby!

LOL. I was concentrating really hard on not moving the camera after I looked at the screen. It was hard work

 

[neatfreak]

Robbie To be fair to your bloated picture you do look like you are hunched over a lot more in that picture, I bet if you stand up straight it''s a liiiiittle less obvious right? Regardless, you look fabulous!

And if you want to hide the bump empire waist tops and dresses are the way to go.

 

[Kaleigh]

Awww Robbie, you make me smile.

You look great, the last pic is what I looked like way back when.

 

[robbie3982]

Neat, I''m actually not slouching any more in the last pic than I normally do. I think I look like I''m slouching just as much as in the first pic.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 12/8/2008 9:37:02 PM
Author: robbie3982
LOL, thanks, DD

. I am getting excited, but nervous too. I can''t decide if I''m more nervous to tell work or my in-laws. My boss is awesome and I know logically that I have nothing to be worried about, but I''m still nervous. With the in-laws I''m worried that FIL will say something stupid like ''again?'' When we told them last time he said something along the lines of ''You couldn''t wait any longer?'' He''s really a nice guy, but he doesn''t think before he speaks and he''s negative about EVERYTHING.

Well it may make me a party pooper, but in that case I would have DH tell his in-laws and also order his Dad to not anything dumb, then I would show up 20 minutes later to enjoy all the happy emotions! But I know that approach might not be for everyone.

 

[Pandora II]

Hi all,

Well, the belly has popped for definite - weird it was almost an overnight thing on Thursday. I'm now in maternity clothes as nothing much else fits.

Friday I went to see my midwife - it was DH's company Christmas party that evening so I turned up to my 5pm appointment in gold sequins (all the staff were most impressed with the effort I'd made just to see them

). It was the dress I wore to my cousin's wedding in May - a vintage silk 1920's number and suprisingly spacious round the bump area (to my amazement).

The midwife made me feel much better after the crappy OB appointment the day before. Apparently my uterus is now level with my belly-button and so she expected me to show because of that - I always thought it was 20 weeks to reach your navel??? I'm praying that I don't end up having an elephant like my family normally do. I was only 7lbs, but my brother and sisters were all over 9lbs and my sister's two were over 10lbs!

The heart beat was 140bpm down from 169bpm at 12 weeks and she seemed very happy with that and told me not to worry about my weight or what I ate until the m/s had gone for good.

I see them again in January after the anomaly scans and they're making me an appointment to see the neo-natal team to discuss what might happen. She also told me that it's very unlikely that they will take the baby away - unless something is seriously wrong then they will leave the baby with me and just monitor both of us more closely than normal. Such a relief, I was feeling bad enough about it all as it was, but when the OB was kind of saying the baby would be whisked off to NICU I was fairly devastated.

My hospital it's normally 1-2 days for VB and 3-4 days for CS but it's all done on a case by case basis. Most people want to go home fast as you only have an individual room post-natally if something is not quite right or you go private. Otherwise you are on a ward. At my hospital it's only 3-4 on a ward but some hospitals it might be 10 on a ward. Since they don't take the babies away at all, being in a room with 9 other screaming infants is not conducive to rest or sleep!

In the UK, the midwife also comes out to see you at home everyday for the first 10 days once you are out of hospital and then the Health Visitor comes in once a week for about 4-6 weeks. I've got someone coming out everyday for the first 3 months because of my PPD risk.

Hope everything goes well for you Sabine, fingers crossed!

Cute pics Robbie - that last one looks rather like my bump, looks like you will show early too.

Hey Mela, how are you doing?

Pandora
17 weeks today.

 

[Courtneylub]

Sexy mama, Robbie!! I felt and looked that bloated around 10 weeks as well. Some days would be more than others. I would get comments ranging from "you''re already showing!" to "it just looks like you ate a hamburger!". You will be that same size for a while I bet and then you''ll really pop out about 16-20 weeks.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 12/9/2008 8:45:24 AM
Author: Pandora II
The midwife made me feel much better after the crappy OB appointment the day before. Apparently my uterus is now level with my belly-button and so she expected me to show because of that - I always thought it was 20 weeks to reach your navel??? I'm praying that I don't end up having an elephant like my family normally do. I was only 7lbs, but my brother and sisters were all over 9lbs and my sister's two were over 10lbs!

Hey Pandora, I'm glad you had a better appointment with the midwife... I think that OBs and doctors generally like to prepare their patients for the worst, so they whip out the most extreme possible scenerio when discussing things, but midwives tend to want to prepare you for the norm, so they whip out the most likely scenerio. Obviously, it is much more pleasant to talk to a midwife in general because of that! I figure that if the worst happens, it isn't going to be any easier because I worried about it for months and month before hand.

And certainly not to minimize the reason for the daily visits from the health nurse post-partum, but that would be really nice to have. I would love such care myself, as long as the person who visited was nice!

And I bet you don't have an elephant!

Every woman's navel is placed differently on her abdomen, and maybe yours is on the low side... are you long-waisted? I am high waisted so it took a long time for the uterus to reach my bellybutton, which is pretty high up.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/9/2008 9:29:46 AM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 12/9/2008 8:45:24 AM

Author: Pandora II

The midwife made me feel much better after the crappy OB appointment the day before. Apparently my uterus is now level with my belly-button and so she expected me to show because of that - I always thought it was 20 weeks to reach your navel??? I''m praying that I don''t end up having an elephant like my family normally do. I was only 7lbs, but my brother and sisters were all over 9lbs and my sister''s two were over 10lbs!

Hey Pandora, I''m glad you had a better appointment with the midwife... I think that OBs and doctors generally like to prepare their patients for the worst, so they whip out the most extreme possible scenerio when discussing things, but midwives tend to want to prepare you for the norm, so they whip out the most likely scenerio. Obviously, it is much more pleasant to talk to a midwife in general because of that! I figure that if the worst happens, it isn''t going to be any easier because I worried about it for months and month before hand.

I think that is a bit of an overgeneralization...I''ve talked to many different doctors throughout my pregnancy and I think the norm is to tell you the most likely scenarios, in fact I have had to push to be told all the possibilities usually...if you have a doctor that is doom and gloom, it''s time to find a new doctor!

 

[mela lu]

Mornin!

Pandora - reading your post was like a carbon copy of my life! (well, in general

). I too have "popped" to the point is SO obvious that I''m preggers. My baby''s HR dropped to 140bpm last appt (from 172) and I too have a middie who will visit me daily post-partum, and then sporatically throughout the first 6 weeks WE''re TWINS!!!

Glad to hear your appt went well. You sound more upbeat, which is GREAT!

Robbie - the bloat. It was the strangest thing for me. Between week 8 - 10, I was HUGE. So big that I was researching preggo bellies online to see if I was on par - or if I was some sort of freak. Oddly, at 12 weeks, ALL of the bloating disappeared!

And to be frank, I was "thin" again. Now I''ve popped, but it''s VERY different from the bloat belly I had. Bloat was just big and puffy. Now I''m tight and hard and have a little round ball. It''s SO hard to photograph. I''ve tried...but I haven''t been able to capture the true shape. I guess it''s kinda like how you have to take 50 pics of your diamond to get a couple AMAZING shots! lol.

Sabine - hope things are okay!

I am really petite 5''1" and am quite short-waisted. I think that is why I''ve "popped" like I have at 16 weeks.

Mela 16w4d

 

[robbie3982]

DD, I''ve been discussing with DH possibly telling them separately before we''re at the big xmas eve party. That way if he says something dumb I''m not bursting into tears in front of everyone. DH really wants to tell them the way we''d planned though and he doesn''t think his dad will say anything dumb. We''ll see.

Pandora, yay to popping! Every time I read that word I think it says "pooping" though, lol. That''s great that your little one will most likely get to stay with you.

Courtney, thanks!

Mela, congrats on popping! It would be kind of nice to have no bloat for even a week. I spoke to Sabine this morning and she was still spotting, but doing ok. Her second beta is tonight after work. I''m also short waisted. I''m 5''5" though and generally don''t think of myself as too petite.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 12/9/2008 9:44:29 AM
Author: neatfreak


I think that is a bit of an overgeneralization...I've talked to many different doctors throughout my pregnancy and I think the norm is to tell you the most likely scenarios, in fact I have had to push to be told all the possibilities usually...if you have a doctor that is doom and gloom, it's time to find a new doctor!

Yup, it probably is. I have found that whenever I make broad, sweeping, general statements about entire groups of people they somehow end up being a bit of an overgeneralization

Funny how that happens!

Robbie well I think you should do whatever makes you feel the safest even if it isn't as fun as a big public announcement. Hopefully he learned his lesson from last time!

I am doing a practice job talk today for all my faculty in my department (all 7 of them). They can get a little...ummm... carried away at these things so wish me luck getting through their sometimes ridiculous criticisms! ("e.g., "I don't like your font on that slide")


28w 2d

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/9/2008 10:18:28 AM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 12/9/2008 9:44:29 AM

Author: neatfreak



I think that is a bit of an overgeneralization...I''ve talked to many different doctors throughout my pregnancy and I think the norm is to tell you the most likely scenarios, in fact I have had to push to be told all the possibilities usually...if you have a doctor that is doom and gloom, it''s time to find a new doctor!

Yup, it probably is. I have found that whenever I make broad, sweeping, general statements about entire groups of people they somehow end up being a bit of an overgeneralization

Funny how that happens!

Robbie well I think you should do whatever makes you feel the safest even if it isn''t as fun as a big public announcement. Hopefully he learned his lesson from last time!


I am doing a practice job talk today for all my faculty in my department (all 7 of them). They can get a little...ummm... carried away at these things so wish me luck getting through their sometimes ridiculous criticisms! (''e.g., ''I don''t like your font on that slide'')



28w 2d

Lol DD. Very true. I just wanted to point out that most doctors aren''t like that so if you have one that is you shouldn''t be scared to switch!

Good luck on the job talk today!!!! And you know that they''re critical because they love you right? At least after presenting in front of them it''s unlikely you''ll ever see a more critical bunch right? At least that is how they do it at my school, they are really hard on you at your practice sessions so you don''t get ruffled at the real job talks.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 12/9/2008 9:57:08 AM
Author: mela lu
Mornin!

Pandora - reading your post was like a carbon copy of my life! (well, in general

). I too have ''popped'' to the point is SO obvious that I''m preggers. My baby''s HR dropped to 140bpm last appt (from 172) and I too have a middie who will visit me daily post-partum, and then sporatically throughout the first 6 weeks WE''re TWINS!!!

Glad to hear your appt went well. You sound more upbeat, which is GREAT!

Robbie - the bloat. It was the strangest thing for me. Between week 8 - 10, I was HUGE. So big that I was researching preggo bellies online to see if I was on par - or if I was some sort of freak. Oddly, at 12 weeks, ALL of the bloating disappeared!

And to be frank, I was ''thin'' again. Now I''ve popped, but it''s VERY different from the bloat belly I had. Bloat was just big and puffy. Now I''m tight and hard and have a little round ball. It''s SO hard to photograph. I''ve tried...but I haven''t been able to capture the true shape. I guess it''s kinda like how you have to take 50 pics of your diamond to get a couple AMAZING shots! lol.

Sabine - hope things are okay!

I am really petite 5''1'' and am quite short-waisted. I think that is why I''ve ''popped'' like I have at 16 weeks.

Mela 16w4d

Wow, very similar - we must be normal

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 12/9/2008 10:26:11 AM
Author: neatfreak
Good luck on the job talk today!!!! And you know that they''re critical because they love you right? At least after presenting in front of them it''s unlikely you''ll ever see a more critical bunch right? At least that is how they do it at my school, they are really hard on you at your practice sessions so you don''t get ruffled at the real job talks.

Oh yes, they love me... I am their "star" on the market this year

I like the feedback, it usually helps, but sometimes I feel that everyone thinks they know best, but often it is just their opinions about a particular style of presenting... you can''t please everyone, and that is aggravating when they get too fixated on something small. This is a talk that I have been tweaking for a few years, so I am not anticipating too much wierdness, but you never know. Lucky for me, I am an "old" student now and I feel more confident in my decision-making about what makes a good talk, so it doesn''t ruffle me as much as it used to!

 

[mela lu]

Date: 12/9/2008 10:32:29 AM
Author: Pandora II

Date: 12/9/2008 9:57:08 AM

Author: mela lu

Mornin!


Pandora - reading your post was like a carbon copy of my life! (well, in general

). I too have ''popped'' to the point is SO obvious that I''m preggers. My baby''s HR dropped to 140bpm last appt (from 172) and I too have a middie who will visit me daily post-partum, and then sporatically throughout the first 6 weeks WE''re TWINS!!!

Glad to hear your appt went well. You sound more upbeat, which is GREAT!

Robbie - the bloat. It was the strangest thing for me. Between week 8 - 10, I was HUGE. So big that I was researching preggo bellies online to see if I was on par - or if I was some sort of freak. Oddly, at 12 weeks, ALL of the bloating disappeared!

And to be frank, I was ''thin'' again. Now I''ve popped, but it''s VERY different from the bloat belly I had. Bloat was just big and puffy. Now I''m tight and hard and have a little round ball. It''s SO hard to photograph. I''ve tried...but I haven''t been able to capture the true shape. I guess it''s kinda like how you have to take 50 pics of your diamond to get a couple AMAZING shots! lol.


Sabine - hope things are okay!

I am really petite 5''1'' and am quite short-waisted. I think that is why I''ve ''popped'' like I have at 16 weeks.


Mela 16w4d

Wow, very similar - we must be normal

Very very very normal

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 12/9/2008 10:36:27 AM
Author: mela lu

Date: 12/9/2008 10:32:29 AM
Author: Pandora II
Wow, very similar - we must be normal

Very very very normal

Keep dreaming guys!

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 12/9/2008 9:29:46 AM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Hey Pandora, I''m glad you had a better appointment with the midwife... I think that OBs and doctors generally like to prepare their patients for the worst, so they whip out the most extreme possible scenerio when discussing things, but midwives tend to want to prepare you for the norm, so they whip out the most likely scenerio. Obviously, it is much more pleasant to talk to a midwife in general because of that! I figure that if the worst happens, it isn''t going to be any easier because I worried about it for months and month before hand.

And certainly not to minimize the reason for the daily visits from the health nurse post-partum, but that would be really nice to have. I would love such care myself, as long as the person who visited was nice!

And I bet you don''t have an elephant!

Every woman''s navel is placed differently on her abdomen, and maybe yours is on the low side... are you long-waisted? I am high waisted so it took a long time for the uterus to reach my bellybutton, which is pretty high up.

I think I was in a better mood on Friday which probably helped the whole communication thing...

I''m hoping daily visits will be nice - means I have to buy teabags, coffee and milk, none of which exists in my house, and I''m really hoping they don''t expect the place to look tidy. It only ever looks like that for about an hour after the cleaning lady has left!

I''m 5ft 10" so I''m quite tall, but I have a short body and all my length is in my legs so that might explain why it''s shown earlier than it would on someone who was better proportioned for my height. I''m on the thin side as well so that probably makes it show more. It looks quite high up though - the bump starts a fair bit above my navel. I''ll try and find the camera and take some pics!

Tomorrow I have a meeting with my employers - which I''m trying not to think about too much. I''m seeing my shrink on Thursday morning which I will probably need by then.

 

[mela lu]

Date: 12/9/2008 10:42:28 AM

Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 12/9/2008 10:36:27 AM

Author: mela lu

Date: 12/9/2008 10:32:29 AM

Author: Pandora II

Wow, very similar - we must be normal

Very very very normal

Keep dreaming guys!

LOL!

 

[mela lu]

Pandora - PICS PICS PICS PICS!!!!!!!

GL with your appt next Thursday.

And don''t worry about the state of you home. Your only job will be to look after yourself and your baby.

DH can make tea

and stuff.

 

[brgirl]

I guess it''s time to ''come out...'' as I''ve come out everywhere else now! I am officially in my 2nd trimester, due June 14th! I was sort of on the TTC thread - mainly just an observer who soaked up ALL the info the ladies had to share, but still ''in the game!'' I mentioned once that I had some friends that read the board, so I didn''t want to give away too much. Turns out, my sister knows I love this entire website, and when she suspected I was pg and not telling yet, she tried to search for me on here!

Anyway, I read this thread several times a day and try to keep up. I just am not a huge poster...but I''m here!!

As far as ''popping'' goes, I couldn''t fit into my jeans after two weeks. I was very sad, but could only complain to my DH. Now I am in some maternity jeans and some bigger sized, low-rize regular jeans I bought. I am just glad that I''m out at work now so I don''t have to hide my little belly!

So, that''s my story. It''s still kinda surreal. We heard the heartbeat yesterday for the first time, so it''s seeming more and more real now!

Hope everyone is doing well!

 

[neatfreak]

Welcome brgirl!!! Happy to have you here!

 

[brgirl]

Date: 12/9/2008 11:20:31 AM
Author: neatfreak
Welcome brgirl!!! Happy to have you here!

Thanks! Because of the twin explosion on here, I was half-convinced we were going to have twins and kept proposing it as a possibility to my DH. Yesterday the doc said I''m carrying normal for a singleton, so I can stop with the twin obsession....but that doesn''t mean I can''t wonder every day ''I wondre if NF went in yet?''

I also LOVE your push present. I saved it last night to my computer to keep as inspiration for my ''piece of jewelry symbolizing the birth of our baby'' since my DH hates the term push present. Plus, I''m picking it out myself, so it''s not really a gift!!

 

[mela lu]

OH WOW!!!!!!! Congrats Brgirl

This is GREAT news!
June 14th - there is something romantic about that day to me. No reason in particular, I just like the way it sounds

I''m planning my push present too! I''m having an antique stone set...but I cannot decide what I want! lol. I have another 23 weeks to decide I guess!

YEY Br~~~~

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/9/2008 11:41:08 AM
Author: brgirl

Date: 12/9/2008 11:20:31 AM

Author: neatfreak

Welcome brgirl!!! Happy to have you here!

Thanks! Because of the twin explosion on here, I was half-convinced we were going to have twins and kept proposing it as a possibility to my DH. Yesterday the doc said I''m carrying normal for a singleton, so I can stop with the twin obsession....but that doesn''t mean I can''t wonder every day ''I wondre if NF went in yet?''


I also LOVE your push present. I saved it last night to my computer to keep as inspiration for my ''piece of jewelry symbolizing the birth of our baby'' since my DH hates the term push present. Plus, I''m picking it out myself, so it''s not really a gift!!

Awww thanks! My DH hates the idea of a push present too, so I call it my "I am going through so much discomfort and pain for the good of our family and you don''t have to do anything" present.

I really want to take some of my own pictures of it but it''ll just have to wait, I am not that motivated yet and sadly it doesn''t really fit my chubby fingers right now even though it''s a size bigger than I normally wear already.

And don''t worry Robbie is on call to let everyone know when I go in if I don''t post beforehand myself! But it''s looking more and more like we might have a scheduled induction/c-section. We''ll see!

 

[Pandora II]

Welcome brgirl!

I mentioned the present thing to DH the other day - his response was to say that due to my situation we may not be in a financial position to do that.

Made my employers even more delightful in my eyes!

I have my eye on something along the lines of a RHR 5 stone band with OECs, but we shall see...

Talking of the lovely people who employ me, I''ve had an email this pm in which they are completely moving the goalposts. Grrrr. They normally send me all their emails at 4.55pm on Fridays so I have to wait all weekend to speak to my lawyer. This time they send me an email at 2.30pm about a meeting tomorrow morning.

Luckily my brother is a lawyer and so he has stepped into the breach - my own is in court all day today - and I have sent them back a fairly blunt response.

I''m dreading tomorrow, but keep thinking that this time tomorrow I will have got through it. I''ve got a great friend who used to work in HR and so knows how it all works coming with me as my representative so things should be okay. Still feel sick at the thought of it...