Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[so cal girl]

Hi ladies! I know I only pop in like once a week, but I try to briefly catch up on what''s going on when I have the time. Things are crazy at workhere, so free time is not something I have too much of.

As for tiredness, I was exhausted the first 8 or so weeks, then it got better. But sure enough, at week twelve, the exhaustion came back. I am 14 weeks today, and I still don''t have a ton of energy. After working 9 hours, I am usually pretty beat by the time I get home. And my house is starting to show it, as I haven''t had time to clean or do laundry. Hopefully I will have more energy soon!

DH and I have started looking at nursery furniture, and man, why is the nice stuff so freakin expensive?! I mean a dresser for $700! My furniture doesn''t cost that much!!! MIL has agreed to buy us a crib, so we can get a nice one of those, but I don''t want to have to spend a ton of money on matching stuff. We may end up with an Ikea dresser at this point, since DH is totally picky about the dressers. He says that will be the one thing they can keep forever, so if we are going to spend money on it, it better be good. All the ones he likes are super expensive, so I may just say screw it and we can get a cheap Ikea one for now and invest in a nicer one later.

I have finally started telling people IRL that I am pregnant. DH has been telling people for a while, but I am just kind of a private person, so I find it pretty awkward to bring up. But I am definitely storing a lot of fat in the front, so I''d rather people know I''m not gaining weight all for nothing!

 

[mela lu]

Dreamer - you make such good point. I know I''m in denial...I just want to be sure before I shell out the cash.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 3/26/2009 12:55:27 PM
Author: mela lu
Dreamer - you make such good point. I know I''m in denial...I just want to be sure before I shell out the cash.

Yup, I felt the same way! I am so cheap I didn''t want to buy anything that wasn''t essential. And I suffered for a month before we finally decided it was essential! You can always do what we did and put off buying it until baby is born. If you go with La-Z-Boy they always have some chairs available that you can just take away, but then you are limited to certain styles and certain fabrics. Ordering a chair in the fabric you want takes 8 to 10 weeks

 

[mela lu]

Date: 3/26/2009 12:57:39 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 3/26/2009 12:55:27 PM

Author: mela lu
Dreamer - you make such good point. I know I'm in denial...I just want to be sure before I shell out the cash.

Yup, I felt the same way! I am so cheap I didn't want to buy anything that wasn't essential. And I suffered for a month before we finally decided it was essential! You can always do what we did and put off buying it until baby is born. If you go with La-Z-Boy they always have some chairs available that you can just take away, but then you are limited to certain styles and certain fabrics. Ordering a chair in the fabric you want takes 8 to 10 weeks

funny how I can justify spending thousands on jewelry though! lol. If I am suffering, and have tried all the chairs in my immediate family, then I'll def hit up an 'off the rack' chair, and call it a day. ;p Thanks for your advice. Always good. I'm more worried about establishing the baby's early sleep habits at this point. I'm more nervous about that than labour!!!

 

[fieryred33143]

Natalina-I''m a big girl so I could technically hide it right now if I wanted too (24w3d or something like that) But I find its better for my ego if I wear painfully obvious "hey I''m knocked up" shirts

I''ve been trying all day to catch up with everyone and everything!

But I wanted to mention that I watched In the Womb with FI last night. I forgot that the woman they followed had a little girl so that was cool to hear the narrator say "she" throughout the documentary. FI ran out of the room when it was time to watch the delivery. I paused it, grabbed him by the arm, and told him he was going to watch it and love it. By the end of it he went on and on about how the woman didn''t have any pain and the baby was so clean. I need to find a really dramatic birth video. I don''t want him to be fooled that this is how it is for everyone. But for the time being, the man can dream.

Also, I''m carrying her really low and its starting to bother me a little

 

[Courtneylub]

My heart racing got better last night once I laid on my side. I think it''s just something that happens when I get short of breathe.

Blen, that positioning link is full of info! I need to look at it when I get home and try it out. I''m so curious to know how she is hanging out in my belly.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 3/26/2009 1:06:22 PM
Author: mela lu

Date: 3/26/2009 12:57:39 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 3/26/2009 12:55:27 PM

Author: mela lu
Dreamer - you make such good point. I know I''m in denial...I just want to be sure before I shell out the cash.

Yup, I felt the same way! I am so cheap I didn''t want to buy anything that wasn''t essential. And I suffered for a month before we finally decided it was essential! You can always do what we did and put off buying it until baby is born. If you go with La-Z-Boy they always have some chairs available that you can just take away, but then you are limited to certain styles and certain fabrics. Ordering a chair in the fabric you want takes 8 to 10 weeks

funny how I can justify spending thousands on jewelry though! lol. If I am suffering, and have tried all the chairs in my immediate family, then I''ll def hit up an ''off the rack'' chair, and call it a day. ;p Thanks for your advice. Always good. I''m more worried about establishing the baby''s early sleep habits at this point. I''m more nervous about that than labour!!!

Have you been reading the mommy thread the last week or so? There is lots of talk about it, I asked a bunch of questions and so did NF. I really like the book Secrets of the Baby Whisperer. Helped a lot! But personally, I wouldn''t worry too much about it for the first 3-4 weeks... then the main priority is healing from labour and establishing BFing. Once BFing is on track, THEN you can mess with sleep stuff.

BTW, don''t know if you read it in the mommy thread but Hunter is no longer sleeping in his co-sleeper. He sleeps full time in his own crib in his own room. Why? Because he is the noisiest sleeper in the universe! We simply couldn''t take the noise. So we transitioned him, took like 5 minutes since he is so young. Anyways, things change on the fly once you have the baby, so who really knows what the future holds!

 

[robbie3982]

Ooh, Dreamer, i called the local La-Z-Boy dealer here and they said they start at $399! That''s only about $100 more than the wooden glider we registered for. I think I might take a trip out to try them out. It happens to be on my way home from work.

 

[mela lu]

Date: 3/26/2009 1:22:32 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 3/26/2009 12:55:27 PM
Author: mela lu
I'm more worried about establishing the baby's early sleep habits at this point. I'm more nervous about that than labour!!!

Have you been reading the mommy thread the last week or so? There is lots of talk about it, I asked a bunch of questions and so did NF. I really like the book Secrets of the Baby Whisperer. Helped a lot! But personally, I wouldn't worry too much about it for the first 3-4 weeks... then the main priority is healing from labour and establishing BFing. Once BFing is on track, THEN you can mess with sleep stuff.

BTW, don't know if you read it in the mommy thread but Hunter is no longer sleeping in his co-sleeper. He sleeps full time in his own crib in his own room. Why? Because he is the noisiest sleeper in the universe! We simply couldn't take the noise. So we transitioned him, took like 5 minutes since he is so young. Anyways, things change on the fly once you have the baby, so who really knows what the future holds!

Dreamer - I have been reading the mommy thread. That, combined with the books I've been reading...(Happiest Baby, BabyWise, Baby Whisperer) it's at the forefront of my mind. Any other books you recommend?
My BFF has a 15 week old is really struggling with the sleeping, and she's strongly advised to start some form of scheduling from the get go. I know you really can't for the first few weeks, but I figure I'd rather have the knowledge at hand for when the time *feels* right to start scheduling/training. This is for the mommy's thread. Sorry girls!!

 

[E B]

dreamer,

Knowing what you know now about gliders and nursing, what do you think about this glider? The company that makes these chairs makes good, comfortable chairs, and the thing I like about this one is that it''s a swivel/glider/recliner in one, but do you see any red flags?

 

[ljmorgan]

I fell in love with the rockers/gliders at Pottery Barn because they are soooo comfortable. They are not like wooden gliders/rockers, they are fully upholstered (even the arms.) I kept on top of Craigslist and finally scored one for $100 -- they retail for much more. I love it!! I stained the rocking rails a dark espresso -- here''s a picture of it in my bedroom. Used chairs can definitely be the way to go.

 

[cdt1101]

hey ladies!! sorry i''ve been MIA, but i''m training my replacement now at work so I don''t have much alone time

Sorry I can''t comment on everyone, but I hope you are all doing GREAT!!!

As for me, I think I really ''popped'' this week! My belly feels so much bigger since last week. I also found out I passed the 1 hr glucose test!! WOOHOO!!!

RE: furniture, we pretty much had to buy our furniture, parents didn''t offer to buy and we had nothing old to use. So we went w/ the Bonavita Metro collection in Cherry

. I fell in love w/ it when I saw it!! We only got the crib and the dresser.

We are also getting glider, similar to the one Ebree just posted!!

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 3/26/2009 2:31:30 PM
Author: *Lindsey*
I fell in love with the rockers/gliders at Pottery Barn because they are soooo comfortable. They are not like wooden gliders/rockers, they are fully upholstered (even the arms.) I kept on top of Craigslist and finally scored one for $100 -- they retail for much more. I love it!! I stained the rocking rails a dark espresso -- here''s a picture of it in my bedroom. Used chairs can definitely be the way to go.

Lindsey Love, love, love that chair!!

 

[mela lu]

Nice stuffs girls!!

Linds - I love that chair. SCORE BIG TIME!!

(scuffles off to troll through craigslist

)

 

[ChinaCat]

Natalina- Good luck on the NT scan. It''s so much fun to see the little bean jumping around. Depends on how you are showing, but I don''t thnk people really noticed on their own until last week or so- for me that was 19 weeks. I could probably hide it a bit now, but not really. You could probably go a few more weeks. But honestly, as awkward as I thought it was to "announce" that at work, it is such a relief to have people know. First of all there are the tons of doctor appointments. Also, just my general preggo brain/forgetfulness and always being tired- now they know it''s for a reason and not just b/c I am a slacker. Also, my sciatic nerve started acting up right around 12 weeks. It comes and goes now, but it''s annoying.

Nursery- I have looked at stuff online, but not in person and I haven''t really made any decisions. I don''t really want to spend a ton of $$$ but I also am pretty particular about furniture and stuff, as is DH. Also, we are buying a new house so I am kind of waiting till we get in there. But I would love for everyone to share their stuff! Also, there is a nursery thread, I keep hoping people will add to it. I want to see bedding, cribs, gliders, everything!!!!!

Lindsey- I

that glider!!!! Great find.

CDT- Beautiful furniture.

Ok, now I feel behind in the nursery/registering department. We''ve done nothing!

And this rib pain SUX!!!

Seems to get worse right after I eat lunch. Seems weird, right?

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 3/26/2009 1:44:34 PM
Author: EBree
dreamer,

Knowing what you know now about gliders and nursing, what do you think about this glider? The company that makes these chairs makes good, comfortable chairs, and the thing I like about this one is that it''s a swivel/glider/recliner in one, but do you see any red flags?

Well I''m no mad expert or anything

, but that looks pretty good! Have you sat in it? We found that different chairs seemed to feel more comfortable than others, just based on your body and how the padding was oriented. Just based on my experience in the last few weeks, I think the things that are most important would be that a) the chair offers a little bit of lower back support, enough that you are relatively upright when you sit without having to strain, b) that the arms are the right height for you when you sit (i.e., they hit where your elbow bends), c) that the chair keeps you upright enough that if you imagine a pillow and baby in your lap, the bay''s head is level with your (*)(*) without you having to bend forward, and d) that the back of the chair is high enough that you can comfortably rest your head against it! You will doubtless want to doze off a little while BFing sometimes, so having a chair that you can lean back in while still being in a good position to nurse is ideal!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 3/26/2009 1:24:04 PM
Author: robbie3982
Ooh, Dreamer, i called the local La-Z-Boy dealer here and they said they start at $399! That''s only about $100 more than the wooden glider we registered for. I think I might take a trip out to try them out. It happens to be on my way home from work.

Awesome! I am willing to bet that after you sit in one you may not want the wooden one

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 3/26/2009 1:36:11 PM
Author: mela lu

Date: 3/26/2009 1:22:32 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 3/26/2009 12:55:27 PM
Author: mela lu
I''m more worried about establishing the baby''s early sleep habits at this point. I''m more nervous about that than labour!!!

Have you been reading the mommy thread the last week or so? There is lots of talk about it, I asked a bunch of questions and so did NF. I really like the book Secrets of the Baby Whisperer. Helped a lot! But personally, I wouldn''t worry too much about it for the first 3-4 weeks... then the main priority is healing from labour and establishing BFing. Once BFing is on track, THEN you can mess with sleep stuff.

BTW, don''t know if you read it in the mommy thread but Hunter is no longer sleeping in his co-sleeper. He sleeps full time in his own crib in his own room. Why? Because he is the noisiest sleeper in the universe! We simply couldn''t take the noise. So we transitioned him, took like 5 minutes since he is so young. Anyways, things change on the fly once you have the baby, so who really knows what the future holds!

Dreamer - I have been reading the mommy thread. That, combined with the books I''ve been reading...(Happiest Baby, BabyWise, Baby Whisperer) it''s at the forefront of my mind. Any other books you recommend?
My BFF has a 15 week old is really struggling with the sleeping, and she''s strongly advised to start some form of scheduling from the get go. I know you really can''t for the first few weeks, but I figure I''d rather have the knowledge at hand for when the time *feels* right to start scheduling/training. This is for the mommy''s thread. Sorry girls!!

Well you are ahead of me! I was lucky and Hunter is a *relatively* easy baby who sleeps well. If your baby is a little more sensitive or fiesty, then having a plan will really help!

 

[mela lu]

Date: 3/26/2009 3:01:37 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Well you are ahead of me! I was lucky and Hunter is a *relatively* easy baby who sleeps well. If your baby is a little more sensitive or fiesty, then having a plan will really help!

We call these "spirited" babies.

I plan on posting my nursery in the ''nursery thread'' when we''re done. Yippee!!

 

[E B]

Lindsey- Awesome find! $100? Doesn''t it go for ten times that new?

dreamer- Thank you! We''re going to test it out Saturday morning. The chair comes in more than 100 different fabrics, so we''ve got to flip through a big book and choose before ordering.

cdt- Oooh, I love your furniture! We were looking at Bonavita, too- the Peyton collection, in that same espresso wood. I can''t wait until we finally make up our minds.

natalina- The NT scan is so much fun! Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

 

[ChinaCat]

Selfiish vent, feel free to skip:

I am so grumpy today. Seriously, feel like I am walking around with a little storm cloud over my head that follows me everywhere. I am angry that people expect me to work (I know this is ridiculous). I feel uncomfortably FULL most of the time, except when I suddenly get massive, demanding hunger pains out of nowhere and have to eat right then. And this rib thing is seriously so painful. GRRRR. It''s dark grey and storming out and all I want to do is go home and put on my sweatpants and order pizza. But I have a stupid writing class tonight that I am taking.

Don''t you think preggos should be able to wear sweatpants to work? I think it''s only fair, we have to put up with so much other crap. And flip-flops. Sweats and flip-flops should be totally acceptable. Can you do that in Canada?

That''s all. Nothing new. And nothing that bad, I know it could be worse. Just grrrrr.

Rant over. Back to happy nursery talk.

 

[fieryred33143]

This is a really random question but wanted to get thoughts:

I have points on AMEX that have been sitting there for about 3 years now. AMEX has a bunch of baby gear stuff available that you can use your points for (for example Chicco BOB/Maclaren/Bugaboo strollers) Or we can get a gift card to use towards baby stuff (we would be able to get a gift card for $250).

But at the same time, if I use my points I can''t use it for travel in the future. That''s been holding me back for years even though I haven''t used a single point since I got my corporate card.

Anyway, just wanted to hear your thoughts

 

[ChinaCat]

Fiery-

Do you travel a lot? Do you plan on travelling a lot post-baby?

I love to travel, but I think in this case I would use it for baby gear. Especially since you haven''t used any miles to travel yet. Oh, unless you guys are saving for a honeymoon????

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 3/26/2009 5:05:37 PM
Author: ChinaCat
Fiery-

Do you travel a lot? Do you plan on travelling a lot post-baby?

I love to travel, but I think in this case I would use it for baby gear. Especially since you haven''t used any miles to travel yet. Oh, unless you guys are saving for a honeymoon????

I travel a lot for work which is how I was able to accumulate all these points

. We usually take two to three trips a year but not internationally. Post baby-I don''t know. I would imagine that we''ll wait before traveling but I really don''t know.

The honeymoon will either not happen or it''ll be a 3 day thing.

 

[february2003bride]

Ebree- Definitely get the super plush and comfy glider! No wooden arms or the padded cushion. You''ll spend a LOT of time in that glider nursing, rocking, reading, and just watching your baby

 

[Kay]

I greatly prefer a fully upholstered glider for comfort. One of my friends had her 3rd baby shortly before I had A, and she told me I should plan on putting the glider in the living room, rather than the baby''s room, because I would want to be where the action (i.e., company or the TV) is, rather than stuck in the nursery for all the hours I would spend nursing and just rocking the baby. We purchased a leather upholstered glider/recliner that looks good with our living room furniture, and I have loved having the chair there. (Of course, I am a TV junkie.) Since we didn''t think of it as just "temporary" nursery furniture, we coudl justify spending a bit more for the glider. The chair fits me very well, so I can see using it for years.

Ebree, the one you posted looks fine, as long as it passes the sit test.

Lindsey, you totally scored with that PB chair.

This is the chair we picked, except with taupe leather and cherry legs. It is the Dutailier Intermezzo.

 

[Pandora II]

Hi All,

For those with rib flare, I spent this afternoon with my physio (who is going to see if I might be able to get the injection in my spine) and she had been doing some research - apparently it's pretty common in pregnancy, but it also only lasts a week or two for most people. So fingers crossed for all of you - and I would like to be normal just for once! She did do a seriously good massage though which hurt like crazy at the time but gave me about 45 minutes pain-free afterwards which was lovely. I'm seeing her next week along with the specialist 'pregnant women' physio so hopefully there might be some more ideas as it looks like it won't be disappearing anytime before the birth...

DD and Mela, I really like the Baby Whisperer book - Tracey seems pretty down to earth and normal. Everyone in the UK likes Gina Ford who I don't care for.

My other good book finds are "What To Expect When You Are Breastfeeding - And What If You Can't" by Clare Byam Cook - I read it in the hospital library and thought it looked really good, and then I bumped into Clare at the Baby Show in London and had a really nice chat with her about things. She was such a nice, sensible person and gave really good advice. Obviously I have no idea until I try it, but I will definitely be packing her book in my hospital bag.

DH and I are also planning to do Baby Led Weaning where you feed exclusively milk till 6 months and then wean them straight to solids - ie no purees, no baby food to carry around with you etc, they just eat whatever you are having and you continue to supplement with milk feeds until they have moved completely over. I found a really helpful book on it.

Regarding gliders, we bought one that I tried out at the Baby Show - mainly because it was just soooo comfortable. It's wooden, but had padding that goes over the arms as well. It reclines to three different positions and best of all has a massage cushion that massages your whole back and is one of the best I have ever tried (and I have tried more than I can remember). It was ridiculously cheap (under $200 including the matching footstool) and actually looks quite nice!

I'm also investing in one of the My Brest Friend feeding cushions - only one with a decent back support built in. I already have a memory foam mattress and a large selection of pillows etc as it is because of my back so I'm hoping this will make feeding in bed easier. Since I'm stuck in hospital for a week it seems sensible to buy in advance and hope I've picked the right one!

For the nursery (which will be doubling as our office/dumping room for the forseeable future) we bought a chest of drawers with changing table top and a matching storage unit from IKEA (the Leksvik) which I'm 'supposed' to be painting with nice Farrow & Ball paint to match the existing woodwork. Then we bought the Stokke Sleepi cot for a song on ebay which I love, and I'm debating getting a new mattress for - the existing one is in great condition and I gave it a mega-wash and hose in the bath (I felt like a grape-crusher as the easiest way was just to stick it and the soap stuff in the bath and then walk up and down

). I'll probably make my mind up when it's time to move the baby out of the co-sleeper.

Otherwise, she's a deprived child and isn't getting anything in the way of curtains, wall decorations or fancy bedding (actually thinking about wall-decoration, the only painting in there is one of me with no clothes on from when I was at Art College - the social worker's face was a picture

).

VERY ODD QUESTION COMING UP...

Okay, I have heard of pregnant women having pica and wanting to eat coal, chalk, bricks etc, but I seem to have developed the most incredible cravings to sniff old-fashioned mothballs or coal-tar shampoo. I have both in the house and I am having real problems not sneaking off to smell them all the time. Am I just very weird - and what the heck could be missing from my diet to make this happen (I believe they think pica is due to some kind of mineral/vitamin deficiency)???

 

[softly softly]

VERY ODD QUESTION COMING UP...


Okay, I have heard of pregnant women having pica and wanting to eat coal, chalk, bricks etc, but I seem to have developed the most incredible cravings to sniff old-fashioned mothballs or coal-tar shampoo. I have both in the house and I am having real problems not sneaking off to smell them all the time. Am I just very weird - and what the heck could be missing from my diet to make this happen (I believe they think pica is due to some kind of mineral/vitamin deficiency)???

[/quote]





I had a similar thing happen to me both times I was pregnant - for some reason I had a strong craving for the smell of rubber, particularly during my second pregnancy, it was very odd! Three years later my husband still finds it hilarious.

As far as mineral/vitamin deficiency I seem to recall reading that a common cause of pica is an iron deficiency, which definitely made sense in my case as I did become quite low in iron during my pregnancies. I can understand how you are feeling, I remember constantly thinking about wanting to smell rubber. However, both times it did go away after giving birth.

 

[Sabine]

Date: 3/26/2009 4:46:40 PM
Author: ChinaCat
Selfiish vent, feel free to skip:


I am so grumpy today. Seriously, feel like I am walking around with a little storm cloud over my head that follows me everywhere. I am angry that people expect me to work (I know this is ridiculous). I feel uncomfortably FULL most of the time, except when I suddenly get massive, demanding hunger pains out of nowhere and have to eat right then. And this rib thing is seriously so painful. GRRRR. It''s dark grey and storming out and all I want to do is go home and put on my sweatpants and order pizza. But I have a stupid writing class tonight that I am taking.


Don''t you think preggos should be able to wear sweatpants to work? I think it''s only fair, we have to put up with so much other crap. And flip-flops. Sweats and flip-flops should be totally acceptable. Can you do that in Canada?


That''s all. Nothing new. And nothing that bad, I know it could be worse. Just grrrrr.


Rant over. Back to happy nursery talk.

China, I''m right there with you today. I''m totally in a funk. I''m blaming it on the fact that it was raining all day today.

 

[mela lu]

Date: 3/26/2009 6:18:08 PM
Author: Pandora II
VERY ODD QUESTION COMING UP...
Okay, I have heard of pregnant women having pica and wanting to eat coal, chalk, bricks etc, but I seem to have developed the most incredible cravings to sniff old-fashioned mothballs or coal-tar shampoo. I have both in the house and I am having real problems not sneaking off to smell them all the time. Am I just very weird - and what the heck could be missing from my diet to make this happen (I believe they think pica is due to some kind of mineral/vitamin deficiency)???

I have no idea. Never even heard of this...but this quirk of yours makes me like you all the more.

You funny bunny!