Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[robbie3982]

I''m so upset right now! After fighting with the HR rep who handles FMLA and disability leave, we (coworker due a few days after me and me) finally got her to send our paperwork. We''ve been asking for it for months. The paperwork sent is confusing and we had questions about what was due when and what certain things mean. We called the HR rep today (she''s in VA and we''re in PA) and she flipped out at us for asking questions! She actually said, "I will not sit here and be nitpicked over every little thing."

I was about to say some things I knew I''d regret so I said, "ok, thank you very much and hung up." We emailed the HR manager to set up a time to talk to him about her.

IAWEFOAIWJEFLAKSDFJ

I''m seriously shaking I''m so pissed off right now. I got a call from the GM in VA to talk to me about my leave so apparently she went and complained to him about us! I don''t understand why the GM of another location would have anything to do with my leave. Coworker and I called him back and she apparently went to him and complained about how WE were on the phone with her! He said something along the lines of "she wasn''t the only one in that conversation." Yeah, well I wasn''t the only one in my office and WE didn''t give her attitude. We asked questions about what we don''t understand. That''s her job to answer them.

He wants us to type up our list of questions and send it to him. I know he''s just going to give it to her to answer and we''re going to be back at square one.

I''m seriously in tears right now and just want to quit.

 

[Blenheim]

Anchor - congrats!!!

Courtney - good luck today! I''m sure you''ll be holding Alila before you know it. And yay for the earrings!

Mela - pinning curtains is a great idea- maybe we''ll just do that. Oh no on the panicking hubs.

Robbie - that''s so frustrating. And seriously - unless you worked in HR, how would you know that stuff? I didn''t. And there was actually no paperwork for me to fill out (I gave them my mw''s phone number, and she just had to verbally verify I''d delivered), so it seems like it varies by company or by state or something.

Ok fussy baby...

 

[ChinaCat]

Robbie- That is weird and unprofessional. It is her job, even IF you were annoying and asking too many questions, it is her job to answer them. Though I am sure you weren''t annoying. Why would this GM take her side? And what exactly did she "accuse" you of doing? Asking questions? I am so angry on your behalf.

 

[so cal girl]

I know I haven''t been on in a couple of weeks, but I just wanted to pop in and say HI and do my usual drive-by. Can''t leave a note for everybody, but I wanted to respond to some recent posts.

Anchor - Congrats!

Courtney - So excited for you. Can''t wait to see little Alila. I''m sure she''ll be beautiful.

Mela - I am guessing girl for you. Just because when I think of you, I think of you with a little Luna

Natalina - You are exactly 2 weeks behind me, so I know how you feel on the lull. I keep waiting to feel something, and am kind of getting anxious about it. I go to the doctor tomorrow (19 weeks), so I''m hoping that will reassure me. And I''m hoping they will tell me what the heck I''m having!

We are way diiferent in our shapes, though. I started looking pregnant weeks ago. I had to buy maternity clothes at something like 12 weeks! My belly just got big really fast. Some people who see me on the street probably just think it''s fat, since I''m not small normally, but everyone who knows me and sees me pretty regularly can tell.

Robbie - I have had similar problems with our HR. When I found out I was pregnant, I called to find out the leave policy, and nobody seemed to know anything. They kept passing me along to the next person, and I still never got an asnwer. I work for a huge corporation, so I don''t know why HR doesn''t know the answer to simple questions. I ended up just asking someone else I knew who had recently taken maternity leave. Hopefully you get it all worked out.

Okay, on a random note, I have a funny naming story. We had pretty much picked out a boy name, since I have the feeling it will be a boy. Well, DH has a dream the other night that someone else in his extended family had that name, and that person killed someone. So now DH says we can no longer name our baby that. Because some imaginary person in his dream with that name killed someone! So now we''re back to square one

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 4/29/2009 10:21:02 AM
Author: Pandora II
How come you''re not allowed to eat in labour? We are told to bring snacks and things with us and we get the offer of breakfast/lunch/dinner if we feel like it throughout labour so as to keep your strength up. The hospital has just finished a major research project into the effects of eating on labour and deemed that it doesn''t affect outcome - however lots of women (about 30%) don''t feel like eating at all.

Because as always in the US the doctors are more worried about the teeeeeeensy chance of problems with it rather than the mother''s comfort?

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 4/29/2009 1:23:41 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 4/29/2009 10:21:02 AM
Author: Pandora II
How come you''re not allowed to eat in labour? We are told to bring snacks and things with us and we get the offer of breakfast/lunch/dinner if we feel like it throughout labour so as to keep your strength up. The hospital has just finished a major research project into the effects of eating on labour and deemed that it doesn''t affect outcome - however lots of women (about 30%) don''t feel like eating at all.

Because as always in the US the doctors are more worried about the teeeeeeensy chance of problems with it rather than the mother''s comfort?

All this time I thought it was so that you don''t poop on the table

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 4/29/2009 1:36:18 PM
Author: fieryred33143

Date: 4/29/2009 1:23:41 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 4/29/2009 10:21:02 AM
Author: Pandora II
How come you''re not allowed to eat in labour? We are told to bring snacks and things with us and we get the offer of breakfast/lunch/dinner if we feel like it throughout labour so as to keep your strength up. The hospital has just finished a major research project into the effects of eating on labour and deemed that it doesn''t affect outcome - however lots of women (about 30%) don''t feel like eating at all.

Because as always in the US the doctors are more worried about the teeeeeeensy chance of problems with it rather than the mother''s comfort?

All this time I thought it was so that you don''t poop on the table

LOL! But actually, you want to poop on the table because that''s how you know you are pushig right

 

[ChinaCat]

EBREE- Search for the nursery thread started by Tacori. On the last page (I think) Lovelylulu posted a collage/inspiration pics. She has GREAT taste, and may give you ideas. LULU- if you are lurking, hope you don''t mind!!!! Now I''m inspired to figure this nursery out.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 4/29/2009 1:36:18 PM
Author: fieryred33143

Date: 4/29/2009 1:23:41 PM

Author: neatfreak

Date: 4/29/2009 10:21:02 AM

Author: Pandora II

How come you''re not allowed to eat in labour? We are told to bring snacks and things with us and we get the offer of breakfast/lunch/dinner if we feel like it throughout labour so as to keep your strength up. The hospital has just finished a major research project into the effects of eating on labour and deemed that it doesn''t affect outcome - however lots of women (about 30%) don''t feel like eating at all.

Because as always in the US the doctors are more worried about the teeeeeeensy chance of problems with it rather than the mother''s comfort?

All this time I thought it was so that you don''t poop on the table

I guess people are more litigious in the USA than they are over here...

Fiery, I don''t think food will get through your system that fast! Talking of pooping on the delivery table, my father was talking about this the other day and said whatever you do, don''t take laxatives in the day or so before or enemas as they are happy to deal with solid poop and it''s pretty usual, but liquid poop is seriously unfunny for everyone including the baby...

 

[Kaleigh]

Congrats Anchor, that''s soooo exciting!!!

 

[Sabine]

Oh my goodness, Pandora, now that''s all I can imagine! Gross!

Anchor, YAY YAY YAY!!!! Welcome!

Courtney, hope all is going well and that Alila is cooperating as much as possible!

Robbie, that totally stinks! I''m sorry you have to continue dealing with her crap.

So Cal, glad to see you around!

I think baby is going through another growth spurt today. I''m soooo exhausted for no reason, and I''m feeling extra crampy and tight. I seriously feel like I did a major workout or something yesterday in even my arms and legs, but I (sadly, pathetically) haven''t really done any exercise other than walking my dog.... I''m also feeling extra snippy today. My poor students...

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 4/29/2009 2:45:02 PM
Author: Pandora II


I guess people are more litigious in the USA than they are over here...

Fiery, I don''t think food will get through your system that fast! Talking of pooping on the delivery table, my father was talking about this the other day and said whatever you do, don''t take laxatives in the day or so before or enemas as they are happy to deal with solid poop and it''s pretty usual, but liquid poop is seriously unfunny for everyone including the baby...

Ewwwwwwww

 

[Pandora II]

LOL, my father doesn''t mince his words, made me laugh though!

 

[mela lu]

Back from the middie - good news...baby''s head is engaged! I kinda *knew* as I''ve had some very mild cramping, increased pressure and WAY more trips to the bathroom. All this equals nothing though...it could still be weeks away from D-Day.

Good to know things are gearing up though!

 

[phoenixgirl]

Congratulations Anchor!!! How amazing that it only took one try! How do you think your brother and SIL will feel? Maybe you don''t need to mention it was your first month of trying . . .

So Cal Girl, I''m 15 weeks tomorrow and have (what I think is) a fairly large bump for this stage. You just want everyone to know you''re pregnant so they don''t think you''re just getting chubbier and chubbier.

Mela, glad you''re progressing nicely!

 

[robbie3982]

Blen, you''re so lucky you didn''t have to deal with a meanie HR rep. I''m jealous. Of that and your cutie pie baby!

China, I''m sure she spun a story about how coworker and I were rude to her or something. No idea exactly what she told him we did, but he sounded mad on the phone and it was clear that she had NOT described the situation the way it really went down. Coworker and I are going to start recording any phone calls we have with her. We have the option to do that on our phones.

So cal, that sucks! Sorry you''re having HR difficulties as well. Coworker came out of the closet about the pregnancy really early and told HR right away. I told soon after telling my boss after we came back from Christmas break, so I was more like 14 or 15 weeks. We''ve both been asking to see something in writing on our leave since then and we just got it in the mail last week. Oh, and it says that some things need to be turned in within 15 days of her sending them, but of course we can''t get clarification from her on what things mean. Grrr. Funny story about your DH''s dream!

Sabine, wanna call my HR rep and be snippy to her for me? I think she deserves some snippiness at this point, lol.

So coworker and I sat down and typed out a document explaining all of our questions in detail and pointing out all of the contradictions in what HR rep sent us and sent it to the GM of her location like he requested. We also copied my boss and her boss (who happens to be the head of her division) on the email. A few minutes later we both got emails from the HR Supervisor setting up individual meetings for each of us with HR Supervisor and HR Manager. We called HR Supervisor to let her know that we''d forwarded our questions in a word doc to GM per his request. She knew nothing about that and she didn''t understand why he was involving himself in this either. The whole thing is a giant mess now and I''m still really upset about it. I have my doctor''s appointment tomorrow (last one before my 15 days is up to turn in god knows what) and I have no idea what the Dr. is supposed to fill out now and what is supposed to wait so I have a feeling it''s not going to be filled out correctly because HR rep couldn''t take the time to answer our questions.

Did I mention that according to the paperwork that we were given we have to call in twice a month to talk to HR rep while we''re on leave? Yeah, that''s not happening. I refuse to deal with her while I''m on leave. I''ll be stressed out enough learning to care for my baby. I don''t need her bs on top of it. Not to mention that I''m seriously worried about how my body is going to react to the loss of the pregnancy hormones which have been essentially acting as anti-anxiety meds for me during the pregnancy. Historically, I go through depressive periods triggered by anxiety and this is all without a major hormonal change. I was already worrying about it, but now I''m even more worried that the stress of having to deal with her is going to put me over the edge. Awesome.

 

[Mandarine]

I missed all the action this morning!!! I''ve been just SO TIRED all day, like a zombie!. The last few days I have just felt exhausted!

Court Thinking of you!!!!

Anchor YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WELCOME!!!. I was also a first try jerkstore (double-wami jerkstore!...hehe). Sending you TONS of sticky vibe and prayers!!! I am so happy for you!!!

Natalina Everyone is different, you''ll have a belly before you know it!. I''m going to guess boy for you!!...for no particular reason!.

Mela Did I vote for what you''re having?...if not, I''m voting girl for you!...and that''s mainly because I love the girl name options you have

Ok, back to trying not to fall sleep on my keyboard. I though the exhaustion would end by now! seems like I had it pretty bad from week 7-9, then good 10-11 and now it''s bad again...Hopefully the babies get the memo that tomorrow (week 13!) we''re entering the honeymoon trimester and we should not be feeling so tired!

M~

 

[robbie3982]

Date: 4/29/2009 3:53:40 PM
Author: phoenixgirl
Congratulations Anchor!!! How amazing that it only took one try! How do you think your brother and SIL will feel? Maybe you don''t need to mention it was your first month of trying . . .


So Cal Girl, I''m 15 weeks tomorrow and have (what I think is) a fairly large bump for this stage. You just want everyone to know you''re pregnant so they don''t think you''re just getting chubbier and chubbier.


Mela, glad you''re progressing nicely!

Anchor, didn''t SIL cause some drama during your wedding planning? I seem to remember something about them getting engaged after you and then scheduling their wedding before yours as well as some type of dress drama (can''t remember if it was what she was wearing to your wedding or what she was having you wear to hers). Was that you or someone else? If it was you, did you guys ever work things out? I hope so cause if not I can totally see her saying you got pregnant before them on purpose or something.

 

[robbie3982]

Just thought of something, Anchor actually has the highest chance of having twinks out of anyone who didn''t do more than fertility drugs to get pregnant since she''s a fraternal twin herself! Ooh, wonder how many you''ve got baking! Maybe if you mention to the Dr. that you''re a twin you''ll get an earlier u/s to do a head count.

 

[janinegirly]

Is mucous plug same as bloody show? i can't remember. If it is, I had bloody show the morning of my due date. Read some books which said that could mean labor in 24hrs, but could also mean another 2wks. So I assumed that meant 2 wks for me (in denial) and proceeded to clean apt/do laundry and procrastinate packing of my bag. I did find time to eat lots of junk food (huge lunch/dinner and gorged on peanut butter ice cream). Of course I went into labor that evening and had the baby w/in 36 hrs of the show. No stomach issues during it all (just very thirsty!) but also no cute clothes to wear at the hospital.

Good luck Courtney, maybe your little baby is here already!!!! And getting excited for Mela!

 

[taovandel]

Just wanted to say Good Luck to Courtney!

And Welcome to Anchor!

 

[mela lu]

Date: 4/29/2009 10:21:02 AM
Author: Pandora II
Mela - Hoping bebe has dropped a bit! I can''t decide if mine has or I''m just wishing it so... I also can''t work out if I''m having loads of braxton hicks or if it''s the baby bracing herself against me. I''m kind of confused!

I know what you mean. I''ve been having weird feelings, but I *think* they are just the baby moving and pushing in its confined space. So hard to tell though.

Anyone - What do BH feel like, exactly?

 

[E B]

Date: 4/29/2009 5:25:06 PM
Author: mela lu

Anyone - What do BH feel like, exactly?

They feel like pressure. You feel your belly getting tighter, as if it''s being squeezed. Very little to no pain.

(That''s what they feel like to me, at least!)

 

[lili]

Congrats to Anchor!!
Lots of sticky dust to you.

Mela
Yay for baby engaging.
At least now you know that baby have a shorter way to go when delivery comes
Oh, BH is when your belly just balls up and feels hard to the touch.

 

[ChinaCat]

Braxton Hicks- no idea what they feel like, but hearing the name always reminds me of an episode of Friends when Rachel is pregnant. She thinks she is having contractions, Joey rushes her to the hospital, Ross freaks and rushes to meet them there. Once Ross arrives and finds out she is just having Braxton-Hicks contractions, he says, all relieved, something like "Oh, those aren''t any big deal, they don''t hurt."

Rachel looks at him and says "No uterus, no opinion.".

I love it. I tell DH that all the time!!!!!

Ebree, I didn''t realize you could get them so early!

 

[lili]

Date: 4/29/2009 6:21:31 PM
Author: ChinaCat
Braxton Hicks- no idea what they feel like, but hearing the name always reminds me of an episode of Friends when Rachel is pregnant. She thinks she is having contractions, Joey rushes her to the hospital, Ross freaks and rushes to meet them there. Once Ross arrives and finds out she is just having Braxton-Hicks contractions, he says, all relieved, something like ''Oh, those aren''t any big deal, they don''t hurt.''


Rachel looks at him and says ''No uterus, no opinion.''.

I love it. I tell DH that all the time!!!!!


Ebree, I didn''t realize you could get them so early!

Some people get them pretty early.
I started having BH at 12 wks.

 

[Pandora II]

Okay, then they are BH... yippee!

I''m getting a couple an hour for the last few days and stronger than they have been. Don''t hurt just a bit uncomfy - she does seem to move a lot at the same time, but then I guess getting squished isn''t much fun at her end either!


DH''s grandmother sadly passed away at 2pm this afternoon.

DH is okay at the moment, but says it will hit him hard next week at the funeral. At nearly 96, no-one can say that she didn''t have a pretty good innings and up till this year she was still beetling over to Italy on holidays!

Funeral is next Thursday, since he''s got to be in the same city for a wedding on the Saturday (the one I was debating whether I could go to or not), he''ll be away and I''ll be on my own from Thursday morning through to Sunday evening. He''s a bit worried as I will be nearly 39 weeks by then - I''ve just told him not to drink - even at the wedding, that I will call him if anything happens in plenty of time and he''s to drive back to London SLOWLY. I''ve also warned him that I could end up calling him back for a false alarm...

Good thing the second L&D person on my birthplan is my OB friend - I might need her more than she thinks!

We''re now hoping for an arrival on May 18th - would have been DH''s grandmother''s 96th birthday and would even things out since Daisy was conceived on MY grandmother''s 91st birthday!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

I''m sorry Pandora.

That would be awesome to have your little Daisy girl on her birthday, though!! Hoping, hoping, hoping!!

 

[anchor31]

Thanks to everyone for the congrats!

Date: 4/29/2009 3:58:57 PM
Author: robbie3982

Date: 4/29/2009 3:53:40 PM
Author: phoenixgirl
Congratulations Anchor!!! How amazing that it only took one try! How do you think your brother and SIL will feel? Maybe you don''t need to mention it was your first month of trying . . .


So Cal Girl, I''m 15 weeks tomorrow and have (what I think is) a fairly large bump for this stage. You just want everyone to know you''re pregnant so they don''t think you''re just getting chubbier and chubbier.


Mela, glad you''re progressing nicely!

Anchor, didn''t SIL cause some drama during your wedding planning? I seem to remember something about them getting engaged after you and then scheduling their wedding before yours as well as some type of dress drama (can''t remember if it was what she was wearing to your wedding or what she was having you wear to hers). Was that you or someone else? If it was you, did you guys ever work things out? I hope so cause if not I can totally see her saying you got pregnant before them on purpose or something.

Oh dear... Yeah, I''m not really looking forward to telling them. They did indeed get engaged 3 months before our wedding and talked about "beating us to the altar" (my brother''s words, not mine), but ended up getting married in November. And then there was the "Christmas ornament dress" thing, where my SIL had picked a gold prom dress to wear to my semi-formal daytime wedding. Neither were intentional slights on my SIL''s behalf; I believe she''s just clueless when it comes to etiquette, but I do worry about my brother''s reaction. He''s very competitive and has a bad temper. The thing is, my SIL has been diagnosed with PCOS around Christmas and only recently began to have ovulatory cycles. They waited a long time before taking action (temping/seeing a doctor). In any case, it certainly wasn''t our intention to "beat them to it". I was not expecting to get KTFU on the first try!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

My friend at work had her baby late yesterday afternoon!!! He''s fine and none of the issues she''d had during pregnancy effected him too much. So yay! He was born at 36weeks, 5days. Mom''s doing well, too. She went in on Monday for an amnio to check his lungs for maturity, since he really needed to come out before any of her conditions effected him too badly. They said he was good, and the went ahead and told mom to stay the night and she''d be induced the next morning, early. They induced Tuesday morning, she had no progress (was 2 cm when she went in... stayed that way each time they checked). They scheduled for a c-section that evening. Then she got up to go to the bathroom, and started screaming... the baby had crowned, she was completely dilated.... the baby came within 20 minutes of that, about 3 hours before the c-section was to be! Everything went so fast she had him without her Dr. there, and with NO meds at all. She said that it didn''t hurt because she was so focused on making sure he came out fine and good. No tearing, nothing.

He''s a little baby. 6lbs 5oz. Head full of hair. I went to see her after work and just cuddled and cuddled him. Man, I could have sat there with him for ages. His baby finger nails are the size of poppy seeds! So adorable!!

As if the baby bug hadn''t bit before... I''m completely insane with it now!!

All you mommies are going to be there in that moment (my friend was absolutely glowing with love for her little one!!!) in no time!! (And Miss Courtney may be there NOW!!!)

Yay for babies!!