Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[vespergirl]

I just spent 3 and a half hours in line at our county government center to get myself and my 35 month old son our swine flu vaccines. I got there at 7:30 am for a 9 am start time, and was done at 11 am. I''m really glad we got it, but I felt like I was standing in a Soviet-era bread line. Can''t wait until the government is running the rest of the healthcare system ...

Whatever happened to the days when I could just get a life-saving vaccine straight from my doctor''s office?

 

[taovandel]

Where do you live? I live in VA and I received both my flu shot and my h1n1 from my doctor''s office...no waiting in line or anything.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 10/24/2009 11:52:01 AM
Author: vespergirl
I just spent 3 and a half hours in line at our county government center to get myself and my 35 month old son our swine flu vaccines. I got there at 7:30 am for a 9 am start time, and was done at 11 am. I'm really glad we got it, but I felt like I was standing in a Soviet-era bread line. Can't wait until the government is running the rest of the healthcare system ...

Whatever happened to the days when I could just get a life-saving vaccine straight from my doctor's office?

Just so you know-it's not the government. It's the manufacturers who can't make it fast enough. That's why it's being rationed to make sure that those who need it the most get it. Even if it means waiting in line for a few hours. I would happily wait in line a few hours here to get it for my kids-but it's not available here yet at all. So consider yourself lucky.

 

[Mara]

vesper, sorry to hear that! here in CA we go to our DR''s office or the hospital. i will get mine next week.

does anyone who is definitely getting it or has gotten it worry that even if nothing happens to you or the baby right now, that 10 or 20 years down the road they are going to find some horrible side effect of the vaccine? part of me says, well you can''t worry about that now, you have to go off information given you and make the educated decision BUT the other part of me just knows that seems to happen all the time when it comes to medicine and in 20 years they will prob be like ''oh it causes some new form of cancer''. i wish i didn''t have to deal with such a big decision right now.

viz...hope you are in labor at the hospital!
pg...hope things are going well!!! i can''t remember if you were going in yest or today...jeez my mind is mush.

sunkist you look soo cute with your baby belly. i can''t believe how tiny you gals are everywhere else. i feel like a mini hippo. greg said compared to some of his coworkers i still have a ''cute'' belly, i was like GIVE IT TIME honey. soon i will have that freaky ''end'' belly where you are amazed (and slightly scared) that the body can stretch that far.

china good to see you!! i heard the same thing re: photo from some other pals who have recently had kids with their pups. so funny!

tao...congrats on full term..yay!!!
kim...have fun in NY!!

its my birthday on tues so my mom and sis are taking me for a massage and lunch today which will be fun. i forgot to ask her but i assume she told them i was preggo since i can''t just go in and lay on my belly like i always do! has anyone had a preggo massage? what does it entail?

and then tomorrow we need to go finally look at cars. i wrote about our dilemma in the preggo things thread, but jeez, car shopping is tedious. why can''t the mini grow 2 more doors and a bit of extra room? i am so lazy, this is seriously the last thing we want to be doing!

 

[Blenheim]

They''re rationing H1N1 vaccines here too. Our ped was completely booked within 5 minutes of the "they''re now available" email going out, so I now have to wait until they get the next shipment in.

Mara - it''s made just like the normal flu vaccine but with H1N1 strains rather than other flu strains, so if you feel comfortable with the testing on that one, I wouldn''t really worry about the swine flu vaccine. I booked weekly massages for 37 weeks on (which I''d highly highly recommend if there''s room in your budget, by the way), and she had me lay on one side and then switch half way through. She concentrated most on my hips and lower back, as they were taking quite the beating at that point in pregnancy.

 

[vespergirl]

Date: 10/24/2009 12:19:25 PM
Author: taovandel
Where do you live? I live in VA and I received both my flu shot and my h1n1 from my doctor''s office...no waiting in line or anything.

Hi tao, I''m in Fairfax Co., and after calling my dr., my husband''s dr., my ob, and our pediatrician, we couldn''t find it anywhere. They had all ordered it long ago, but never received it from the state of VA (who is in control of distributing the vaccines to drs. offices). They all referred me to the health dept., and that''s why we went to the free clinic offered by the county.

Reporters were at the event because so many thousands of people were lined up, and people were not only from Fairfax, but coming from surrounding counties as well, because no one could get swine flu vaccine at their regular drs.

 

[vespergirl]

Date: 10/24/2009 12:49:16 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 10/24/2009 11:52:01 AM
Author: vespergirl
I just spent 3 and a half hours in line at our county government center to get myself and my 35 month old son our swine flu vaccines. I got there at 7:30 am for a 9 am start time, and was done at 11 am. I''m really glad we got it, but I felt like I was standing in a Soviet-era bread line. Can''t wait until the government is running the rest of the healthcare system ...

Whatever happened to the days when I could just get a life-saving vaccine straight from my doctor''s office?

Just so you know-it''s not the government. It''s the manufacturers who can''t make it fast enough. That''s why it''s being rationed to make sure that those who need it the most get it. Even if it means waiting in line for a few hours. I would happily wait in line a few hours here to get it for my kids-but it''s not available here yet at all. So consider yourself lucky.

It''s really both the fault of the manufacturers and the government - the state is not distributing to drs. - instead it''s being horded at hospitals for thousands of employees who are refusing to even get the vaccine.

My drs. told me that usually they just order direct from the manufacturer, and the govt. "middle man" is holding up distribution. For those of us who are used to geting the service and treatment that we need from our drs., having to deal with this socialist system sucks. Honestly, if OBs and pediatricians are not getting the vaccine in a timely fashion, then it is not being made available to those that really need it.

 

[vespergirl]

Date: 10/24/2009 12:51:59 PM
Author: Mara
vesper, sorry to hear that! here in CA we go to our DR''s office or the hospital. i will get mine next week.

does anyone who is definitely getting it or has gotten it worry that even if nothing happens to you or the baby right now, that 10 or 20 years down the road they are going to find some horrible side effect of the vaccine? part of me says, well you can''t worry about that now, you have to go off information given you and make the educated decision BUT the other part of me just knows that seems to happen all the time when it comes to medicine and in 20 years they will prob be like ''oh it causes some new form of cancer''. i wish i didn''t have to deal with such a big decision right now.

Mara, I totally know where you''re coming from. I guess the thing that really motivated me to want to get it for me & my 35 month old son were the stories I keep reading of the immediate danger of death - a woman who was 6 months pregnant who worked in the hair salon I go to contracted swine flu early this summer and died from it. That''s when it became more real to me. Maybe it''s a little different because I have an older child to care for, but I didn''t want to risk dying and leaving him motherless. However, I always worry about the long-term effects of vaccines. I actually staggered my son''s vaccines when he was going through the schedule so that I could assess his reactions to each one. I guess in this case, though, the risk of the disease definitely seemed higher than the risk of side effects ... I guess only time will tell ...

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 10/24/2009 12:51:59 PM
Author: Mara

does anyone who is definitely getting it or has gotten it worry that even if nothing happens to you or the baby right now, that 10 or 20 years down the road they are going to find some horrible side effect of the vaccine? part of me says, well you can''t worry about that now, you have to go off information given you and make the educated decision BUT the other part of me just knows that seems to happen all the time when it comes to medicine and in 20 years they will prob be like ''oh it causes some new form of cancer''. i wish i didn''t have to deal with such a big decision right now.

Mara, I think the media feeds our fears regarding such things (including H1N1, which has yet not yet proved to be any more serious as any other flu, it just happens to be targeting a different population, younger people, than normal). I absolutely believe people need to make educated decisions about such things, and if an alternative schedule or not vaccinating is their conclusion, after a thorough education, then that is their right, but it is imperative that no one buys into the frenzy caused by a 2 minute blurb on the news, as the news is not typically accurate anyways. What would the they report if it didn''t talk about bad things that happen? No one wants to hear that vaccines have saved hundreds of thousands of lives. Personally, I do not believe that the makers of vaccines and the CDC are out to poison the citizens of this or any country. This is obviously no garuantee that there won''t be affects from vaccinations, but vaccines have been around since the late 1700s and have done a lot of good for many societies. I also am not claiming that no one has ever had a bad reaction to a vaccine, or one that has caused long term health issues, but it is safe and fair to say far more people have been helped than hurt by them.

Went shopping today, bought a few cute dresses, a sweater I love, and a tank all at good prices, thanks to Motherhood Maternity. I''m all set for New York now. We also went to BRU, pushed around a few strollers and browsed a bit. I''m not registering there, but it was good to see the stuff in person.

 

[natalina]

Hi guys! Just checking for new babies! Not much time for PS anymore

. Things with a newborn are crazy. She''s 2.5 weeks now- how funny that I thought she''d be on a schedule at this point- hahahaahahahaha! Joke is definitely on me!

QT- Yay on a boy! So nice that you will get to experience one of each!

RE: vegetarians- I eat seafood every now and then, but no other meat. I also take fish oil/DHA supplements. My doc had no concerns and checked my iron levels regularly, and it was always great. Ellie was 8.5 lbs at birth and is so far gaining plenty of weight just on breast milk, so enjoy your veggie pregnancy if that''s what you like! Just eat balanced and your baby will get the nutrients he/she needs.

 

[taovandel]

Natalina---We need more pictures of Ellie!


It''s been a crazy day so far.

I woke up this morning--first with a bit of drama. My husband woke me up to let me know that the neighbors fire alarm was going off (we live in an apartment) and that it looked like a false alarm but to just be aware of what was going on. He called 911 to be on the safe side....Well about 30 minutes later I get up because I hear banging on the door. I look out the window and there are 3 fire trucks outside! So I throw on some decent clothes and open my door and speak with the firemen. They were letting people know that there was no need to evacuate and he asked if I smelled any smoke. So apparently it was just a false alarm because they all left about 30 minutes later. In my mind though, I was trying to figure out how I could possibly fit two cats in one cat carrier!! Then I thought about throwing one of the cats in my hospital suitcase to get them out in case there really was a fire! My husband laughed at me when I told him about my thought process.

Anyways, once I finally and officially got out of bed this morning---I went into full on nesting mode! I vacuumed, furniture polished, scrubbed down cabinets and toilets, Swept, Mopped, Bagged up garbage, cleaned the microwave and stove, cleaned the bath tubs, and did the dishes and some laundry!

I know I overdid it because it feels like my crotch is ripping in half right now!

 

[Mandarine]

Quick drive by..

LULU CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!

I am so so happy for you and am sending you tons of sticky vibes!!!!!!

QT, congrats on the boy!! welcome to team blue!

Viz, thinking of you!

Just wanted to post this since I know I was always curious about post partum bellies!. I''m down 24 lbs (so half way there since I gained 48!!). The belly seems to go down daily...I didn''t get any stretch marks but the skin feels loose (especially down under the belly button). I''m sure things will one day tighten up....it''s sprt pf interesting/fascinating to see how your body starts trying to get back to normal. I can''t wear my pp clothes yet and will probably be a while since my hips really expanded and I''m sure that will take time to shrink again!.

My boys are doing good. We''re having trouble BFing so we''re seeing a LC. I''m trying to remain flexible and not beat myself up about it (I type this while I pump...and I absolutely HATE pumping!). I can''t believe the boys are 2 weeks old today. It''s been so amazing to have them!. I have to say I thought the first couple of weeks were going to be HELL...and not at all. Yeah, they demad a LOT of time...and I don''t sleep much...but they are really good babies (I think!). They''re not on the "3-hour" schedule that you read about (I thought eating every 3 hours was crazy...haha, little did I know my boys didn''t like that plan! hehe)....they''re more on the 1.5-2 hours schedule. They need to gain some weight so that''s ok... I''ll catch some zzz''s one day!

Hope you girls are doing great!! xoxo

 

[steph72276]

Holy Moley, Manderine! You look GREAT and I can''t believe you''ve lost 24 pounds in 2 weeks....you must have had a lot of fluid. Glad things are going well!

 

[Kaleigh]

OMG Mandarine you look terrific. Seriously!! That''s awesome. No one would know you had delivered twins 2 weeks ago. So happy all is well with you and your adorable boys!!!

 

[Mara]

wow mandarine you go girl!! you look amazing for 2 weeks after TWINS! sorry to hear you guys are having issues with BF but great the boys are doing fab!

nat good to see you too and glad things are going well! the schedule idea is nice but i am not expecting anything, that way if it''s anything else we can be pleasantly surprised lol.

tao, def an exciting morning... your descriptor on your crotch had me wincing!!

i had my pregnancy massage yesterday, wow it was INTERESTING. a cutout pillow for my belly and boobs allowed me to lay on my stomach. i didn''t find it super relaxing, but in a way i did. the kid was moving all around like WOAH what is this new position! and i felt really kind of out of it and shaky afterwards which i typically didn''t used to after massages so maybe it was like working the toxins out and helping circulation? i tried to drink a lot of water the rest of the day. the gal wants me to go more regularly, we''ll see.

we went car shopping today, i posted about it in the preggo things thread. so far the a3 is our top contender but we''ll see. honestly i hate car shopping, so tedious hehe. but we liked what we looked at so that was nice, at least we didn''t hate the short list options we had.

and also i asked in the preggo things thread if anyone had experience with the valco latitude stroller, so if you have any input pls advise. thanks!!

 

[gingerB]

mandarine - ditto on the looking fab only 2 weeks post twins! i aspire to you

lulu - super sticky vibes coming to ya!

no news here...except i''m in the 24th week so we''ve reached viability!

 

[puffy]

mandarine glad the boys are doing well. you sound like you are handling things very well also. and you look beyond amazing!

 

[MonkeyPie]

Mandarine, you look downright AWESOME for only 2 weeks after! I can't believe how quick your tummy is going down, you'll be back to PP size in no time I bet.

I have my 18 week app on this Friday, and I think I am going to ask for another check on the heartbeat - I still have yet to feel the baby kick anymore (it's been almost a week) and it's REALLY making me worry, plus I have had some really strange pressure and pains the past few days. I need something to make me feel like she's still ok in there.

 

[anchor31]

Lulu - Congrats on your pregnancy! Here''s to a very comfortable and healthy one.

Qtiekiki - Congrats on joining team blue!

Mandy - You look amazing. I hope things get better for the BFing.

MP - I hope that little baby is ok in there!

DH and I are insane. We''re starting house hunting. At 31 weeks preggo.

I guess that''s how we are... When we decide to do something, there''s no waiting or fooling around!

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 10/26/2009 9:20:51 AM
Author: anchor31
DH and I are insane. We''re starting house hunting. At 31 weeks preggo.

I guess that''s how we are... When we decide to do something, there''s no waiting or fooling around!

Anchor, we have a house on the market and will be moving whenever it sells and who knows when that will be. I don''t find moving stressful, though, so I''m not too concerned about it. I hope you find the right house sooner rather than later.

Today is my anatomy scan, looking forward to seeing the kid, it''s been a while (8 weeks or so).

 

[drk]

Mandy - you look freaking fabulous. Can''t believe you just had twins!

MP - Don''t worry too much. Chances off anything going wrong at this point are very very low, and I also had a good few days between when I felt the first little taps/pops until I felt anything again. It''s only now past 20.5 weeks where I''m feeling at least something every day. Some days are more active than other even now. Even in the 19-20 week range, I had 2-3 days when I felt nothing again. They should do a quick heartbeat check at every appointment now, and you deserve some reassurance, but I bet you''ll feel the little one again before you get to Friday.

I''ve had a few quiet days at home since being told to go off work entirely for a few weeks when I had my panic moment last week and went in to the hospital to be assessed. I''m giving the peterm labour clinic I''ve been referred to until tomorrow to give me a ring, and if they haven''t, I''m going to call and see if they''ve gotten all they need to book me in. Cervical length ultrasound again on Thurs whether I have my appointment or not.

I got a little freaked out last night by thoughts of how many costs are coming up in the next 3 months with the new house closing and all. Huge land transfer taxes because of the city we live in. Lawyer fees. The designer we met with at the future house on Sat wants us to give him an approximate budget to work within. Even though we don''t need to get a ton of furniture right off the bat, we want to get some and do some renos before we move in, so that''s going to be a good whack more than the land transfer taxes. Had I still been working, none of this would be a problem, but with no income from me right now, I''m getting a little more nervous. Hopefully they''ll give me another 3-4 weeks and then clear me for part-time work again.

Hope everyone else is doing well and that we''ll have some good birth stories to read soon (along with cute baby pics to check out)!

 

[ChinaCat]

Mandarine- You look great girl! And can't believe you are finding time to post with twinks. O is 10 weeks tomorrow and I am just now finding time to post. I think that by 2 weeks I pretty much didn't look pregnant at all in clothes, and now at almost 10 weeks, I probably have about 5 lbs to go to get back to my pre-preggo weight. But the flab factor is a different story- even at an ok weight, the stomach muscles and skin are not the same at all. I need to start exercising, but it's just hard to find time and energy. Plus the chocolate obsession that I developed while preggo has not gone away!

Thankfully it's fall and I can layer.

Anchor- Well the good thing about moving while preggo is that you can't do anything! We moved when I was about 32 weeks and DH did most of the packing and unpacking, sweet sweet man. Good luck!

Mara- No help on the car front, the only car you are looking at that I know anything about is the X3. I love that car and the way it drives, but it's too small for me. We have a lab and between the dog, the baby and all of our stuff, it isn't big enough for travel. But for everyday, it would be great for one kid.

O is 10 weeks tomorrow and so much fun. I won't lie, the first weeks were exhausting and emotional and really difficult for me. I think a lot of it is personality and perspective though. For example, Lysser's description of her first weeks were really close to mine and she thought it had been easy, while I found it hard. My baby is an easy baby, but I just wasn't prepared for how needy a newborn is and how non-stop it is for the mother. As much as others help, it really is all about you, especially if you are BF. The good news is, it gets better and it's so worth it. For me, week one was hell, week 2 was better. Week 5 I really turned a corner and things have been awesome since about weeks 7-8. I don't do well without sleep, so once he started sleeping more (and therefore I started sleeping more) it got so much better. O is sleeping between 7 and 10 hours a night now, so there is hope!

ETA: MANDARINE- Meant to say that I have used a nipple shield since day one- I have flat nipples (who knew such a thing existed!). And BF has not been a problem at all with it, so you can BF with the nipple shields. And my hats off to you for trying to BF with twins, it's a hard enough process with just one. I know Neatfreak did it, so perhaps you could get some tips from her. But just know that even if you can't BF, your twinks are going to be great and you are a GREAT mother. Just do your best.

 

[vespergirl]

Mandarine, you look great! Sorry about the BFing trouble - I had tons of problems BFing my son - he would only latch on with a silicone nipple shield, and my production was extremely low despite almost constant BFing/pumping - but we persevered for 3 months before we had to give it up because of recurrent thrush that no antibiotics could kill.

My doctor said that BFing in the beginning is the most important part, so any breast milk that you''re getting to them now is great for their immune systems and brain and eye development. My hat is off to you for BFing two at one time - that is just amazing!!!

 

[vespergirl]

Kimberly & Monkey, can''t wait to hear how your 18 week scans go. Are you finding out the gender?

Anchor, you guys aren''t crazy - we bought our house when I was about as far along as you are. I loved the second house we saw, and that''s the one that we ended up getting, so we were lucky that our search didn''t take long. We moved in about 6 weeks before DS was born, and I was so glad that we were settled into our new place before he was born. Even though moving while pregnant was no picnic, I imagine that it''s way better than moving while wrangling a newborn.

 

[Mara]

lol China...it always gives me a giggle when people say a small SUV or something is too small for them!! i know most people feel that way, i think Greg and i must be freaks because when we were sitting in these SUV's its like OMG they are HUGE!! and we're not small people, we're tall. it's just relative to what we have now.

the one thing about the X3 is that it is shorter on backseat space and bigger on cargo, whereas the Tiguan was bigger on backseat and shorter on cargo. the two are sized fairly similarly so it's just different distribution. interesting for sure what the manuf's deem the way to go.

and like you... i am bad without sleep. it is really the one thing i am dreading the most about having the baby. greg functions just fine on almost no sleep thanks to his early rowing days so i have already asked him to make sure i don't totally turn into a zombie because unless i get enough sleep, i am a disaster, i've been like that my whole life, when people ask about your favorite things or what can't you do without, sleep is like #2 hehe.

drk, hope your appt this week goes great. i hear you re: the costs, we have property taxes due here in dec and we have 2 properties this year to pay on since we kept our TH as a rental and holy crap. 2 payments is downright scary. and then the new car. the holidays. it just all eats into what you want to have saved for when the baby comes you know? and then the baby expenses in the beginning, etc. i am glad we could get the furniture all on points so no cost at least. and pretty much everything else will be registry hopefully.

mp... i third the others in saying don't worry, BUT you should def get another heartbeat check at your appt. it takes like 2 seconds so i don't see why that wouldn't happen. i hardly felt anything until around 22 weeks i think... its hard to remember now but i know it took a while. and it was VERY intermittent. that is why the dr said they don't say to do kick counts til later, around 28 or 29...since i imagine for some ladies it takes a while. it's only been in the last week that i can say i solidly can feel him every day...he is only big enough now to make an impact on my burgeoning belly i guess. and the uterus is still VERY thick at 18-20 weeks, so he is well padded in there. as he grows and stretches out the muscle, it thins and he is 'closer' to your skin hence the feeling of things so much more acutely.

i know it's easier said than done to not worry...but as drk said chances now of something happening are extremely low. when i asked my Dr at 16 weeks she said under 1% moving fwd of chance of miscarriage.

ginger, yay for viability!! i was so excited to reach that milestone too. btw do you know when you are having your showers? i am always curious about those due around me since it's such a funny time with the holidays smack dab in 'shower time'. i have a friend shower on dec 6 and my mom was going to do her family and friends one in early jan BUT now she is saying maybe 3rd week of nov. that is a little soon for ME but she might be moving in jan so she is worried about waiting. decisions.

anchor, at least you guys know what you want and what direction to go in..!! it might take a while to find something too, but it's also a nice distraction for the last 9 weeks of pregnancy hehee. we started looking randomly (kind of just said lets see) in 2nd week of nov of last year, right before thanksgiving! and we closed on our house dec 30th. it was a pretty crazy whirlwind, but we loved the house. word of advice though, if you find something you love then getting it and into it before the baby comes will be very stressful timewise. ours moved FAST and that was only because we pushed the heck out of it, and man was i stressed out. anyway, good luck!

 

[MonkeyPie]

Thanks for all the reassurance, ladies. I keep wondering if maybe her little feet are not facing my belly button anymore and that''s why I can''t feel it as much - I have no idea if I could feel a bladder kick right now lol. I''d rather ask and be safe than sorry.

vesper, I am going to call and make sure this is not the big ultrasound appointment, but I think I have to wait two more weeks until I am at 20 weeks to get it done. I just don''t want my husband to miss it! My uncle was trying to tell me Saturday that I was going about it alllll wrong, and I should be surprised. But I just can''t wait that long lol.

 

[ChinaCat]

Ok, I have been meaning to write this down for ages- let''s see if I have time before the little guy wakes up.

THINGS I NEEDED/USED/COULDN''T LIVE WITHOUT FOR FIRST WEEKS WITH A NEWBORN:

Miracle Blanket- The swaddle for dummies. My son didn''t sleep well unless swaddled (they wake themselves up with their arms) and trying to swaddle with a normal blanket in the middle of the night was just an added hassle I didn''t need. Once I found these, I ran out and bought enough so that we always had one handy. Get them before you give birth!

Onesies- Forget all the cute clothes. My son only wore onesies and pretty much still does. You change so many diapers, put them in something that is easy to do so. The ones with feet never get worn unless we are going out and it''s chilly. But usually it''s a onesie with a blanket and socks. My guy was little, so I had to go out and get a bunch of Newborn sizes- Sizes 0-3 were way too big for him. And if you can find the kimono style, buy as many as you can. My son HATES things going over his head, so if you can avoid it, great.

Swing- Of course, this depends on your little one. This is like baby crack for my son. We borrowed one from a friend and it''s the only thing that I can put him in and he''ll just zonk out and I can actually make something to eat, shower, etc. while he''s in it. The only one that works for my kid is the big kind that swings both ways (of course, the most expensive one). But SO WORTH IT. If you can try one out first, I would, because some babies don''t like it. But if they like it, believe me, it will save you.

Bouncy Seat- He can take it or leave it. Entertains him for maybe 10 minutes, so long enough for a shower.

Snap-n-Go- Love it, so easy to use. I use this all the time with our infant car seat.

My Brest Friend- This is a BF pillow that actually snaps around you and is much firmer to lay your little one on. This one was way better in the early weeks to BF than the boppy b/c he was so little and the Boppy sags around your waist. This one you can latch on higher and it also frees your hands up a bit more. Couldn''t live without it. Now I alternate b/w the Boppy and the Brest Friend, but if I had to pick one, My Brest Friend wins, hands down.

Baby wipes- I like Pampers Sensitive. Huggies were too thick and harsh for us.

Diapers- Pampers Swaddlers Newborn.

Pacifiers- He can take them or leave them, but when he''s screaming and I need him to calm down, they work. The green Soothies are the only ones we''ve used.

Itzbeen- This is a nifty little device I got at BRU. It has four timers, a clock and a light. When you are BF in the middle of the night, you press one button and it will tell you how long you have been BF for. I use one for each side. You can use it for diapers changes, how long they''ve been sleeping, etc. I didn''t use it for that, but it''s genius in the middle of the night when you can''t think straight. I kept a written account for the first few weeks of how often and how long I fed him and once I found this, it became so much easier. Trust me, you think it''s easy to remember what time you fed them, but you won''t be able to remember anything. It also has a little switch for R and L- so you can remember which side you started BF on last time. You are supposed to switch off everytime you BF and I could never remember which side I started with last time. Not a must-have, but this little thing made things a ton easier for me.

Muslin blankets- I like Luna Lullaby or Aden & Anais. These are really light-weight blankets and I use them for everything- swaddling him, to lay down on a surface before I lay him down, over the top of his car seat when I take him out so he is covered or out of the sun. They are really light, so you don''t worry about if they can breathe if you drape it over the car seat. Love them, can''t have enough of them.

Burp Cloths- I use tons of these. My favorite are just the cloth diapers.

Monitor- This is just a personal decision. We moved our son into his nursery about week 2 or so. Because our bedroom is downstairs, I am glad we had the video monitor. But I rarely use it now, I can hear him cry and that''s all I need. But it is a great comfort when I wake up in the middle of the night and want to check on him, I just turn the monitor on and take a peek, then can go back to sleep without going upstairs.

Moses Basket- He has slept in this exclusively. It goes anywhere and we love it. He is about to grow out of it and will need to go into his crib, but we didn''t use the crib at all until recently. This is really similar to a bassinet, but I think maybe cheaper???? Not sure as ours was a gift.

Ok, that''s all I can think of for now. I will post more if I think of other things. Hope this helps!!!!!

 

[steph72276]

So, I just got back from my 26 week appointment. The doc checked me and the cervix was still closed (yea!). When I was signing in, they had a notice up that they had just gotten shipments of the H1N1 vaccine, so I decided to go ahead and get it. There are just so many people around us getting it, that I felt the risk of not getting it was higher than the risk of getting it. I checked with Andrew''s ped. today and they have not received it yet, but put him on a wait list to get it. The shot was not painful at all, but now the injection site is a little sore. Anyway, I hope I did the right thing, but like Vesper said, I''ve got a little boy to be there for so I felt the need to get it. Hope everyone is having a great day!

 

[sunkist]

Mandy, looking gorgeous girl! Glad you are having fun with your boys. I hope BF gets better. I''m so curious to see what it''s like and how my bambino and I will take to it!

Anchor good luck on house hunting and purchasing!! My hubby and I just bought a house and started moving in this weekend! We actually started house shopping the day we conceived (!) (I wouldn''t say that to anyone except my PS girls

), we finally found THE house and made an offer when I was 32 weeks and now we just closed escrow when I''m 36 weeks

Ya, it''s stressful, but I see a lot of people moving around the time of baby coming whether it''s right before or after. I know it''s doable. I''m doing it! So best of luck!

 

[phoenixgirl]

We are finally home with baby Claire. She was born Friday at 7:43 a.m. via C-section. Not what we were hoping for, but I reached full dilation pretty quickly after my bag of water was broken, and then she just would not budge from her occiput transverse position.

Timeline:
membranes stripped Thursday a.m., dilated to 3
went into hospital at 8, dilated to 4
bag of water broken at 10:45
epidural sometime around midnight
dilated to 10 by 3:30 a.m.
pushed from 4 to 7 with a break to elevate my legs while I was on my side to try and turn her
delivered at 7:43

She was 8 lb. even, 20 inches long.

The first day was hard. I didn''t realize that the epidural would make me so useless (basically paralyzed my right leg, and it had to be redone because the first time it made the room spin). Even after delivery I had my catheter, my IV, my space legs compression thingies that inflated every five minutes to reduce the risk of blood clots, couldn''t wear underwear because of the catheter, so I was making a mess everywhere from the bleeding, the morphine made me throw up periodically and I had to stay prostrate to avoid nausea, and of course friends and family descended in droves. With the adrenalin and happiness and all, I didn''t realize that I probably should have asked people to stay away. When I finally proved to the nurse that I could be disconnected from everything and made it to the bathroom that night, I was a little horrified at what people had been seeing of me all day.

Now our biggest hurdle is that she lost a little too much weight -- down to 7 lb. 1 oz, -- so they are having us supplement with formula and having me pump to stimulate my milk coming in. The funny thing is that after everything with the C/S, the formula is what made me cry. I didn''t even cry when they told me we were having a C/S (despite the fact that my stoic German doctor tried to sympathetically command me to cry. "You can cry now. It''s ok.") I was upset but also relieved, so it was today that I finally became a hormonal mess. That probably makes sense since it''s a bit intimidating to go home and leave behind all the extra help.

So, that''s the bad stuff. The good stuff is baby Claire. She is everything we dreamed of and more. Such bliss. I''ll post pics and a better update later.


Has anyone heard from Viz????