Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[Mara]

lol nice catch on the short torso lili, i totally do. i am mostly legs... it''s funny because i am tall so people assume i am tall everywhere but i have a short girl torso...menaing there is less room for baby in there...yikes!!

lol drk ... it''s funny because i was just talking with a coworker and she is like you look so cute...and i was like well i feel HUGE. she''s had 2 kids and is tiny btw but she was saying...i know you just feel so gigantic no matter what you actually look like. it feels so heavy that you just assume you look gigantic too. which is exactly how i feel!

oh and i grow more at night which moms have told me is normal....and in the morning my belly is smaller again. so i think since i am more ''aware'' of it at night (aka on the couch at home vs distracted at work)... i feel like it''s giant all the time...hehe.

i have two coworkers on my team who are due within 2 weeks of me (one is 1 week after, the other is 2 weeks after) so it''s funny...we end up sharing stories all the time.

 

[vizsla]

hey everyone. thanks for all of the well wishes. got a little sleeping baby right now so have some mins to write.

my actual labor went really well. about 12 hours long. i went in for an induction on friday night. they checked me and i was already 3cm! it was a total shock, b/c we thought we were going to be waiting around all night for the balloon to open my cervix. instead they started pitocin.. baby''s heart rate dropped immediately so they stopped the pitocin and broke my water. i was so freaked out because it all happened so fast! i labored naturally for about 3 hours before i got talked into the epi it was about 1 in the morning and the nurse made a good point: i could either continue with the contractions (which were uncomfortable, but not unbearable) not knowing how long that would be, 12 hours? 7 hours? or i could get the epi, have a rest and be ready to push when the time came. that seemed logical so i opted for the epi. a few hours later it stopped working! they tried a few times to wiggle it and up my dosage, but i started puking b/c the contractions hurt. they eventually took it out and gave me another one. during that time (about 1.5 hours of trying other things before re-doing the epi) i labored on my own without any pain meds and couldn''t open my eyes or talk. i totally passed out in between contractions or, at least, it felt like i passed out in between them. as it turns out, the puking had helped get me to 8cm. the most fun was that i had zero epi juice during the ''transition'' portion of labor... felt it all. not gonna lie, it hurt... but finally the second epi worked.. i was numb from my boobs down which freaked out the nurses b/c my heart rate started dropping. couldn''t feel the contractions, only pressure. went to 10cm pretty quickly after the second epi and started pushing. pushed for about an hour/hour and 15 mins. the contractions were 4-5mins apart so there was a lot of waiting around. didn''t really think pushing was going to be as calm/easy as it was. it was just my midwife, a nurse, dh and i in the delivery room. kinda cool b/c i always thought there would be like a slew of people in there. i felt some burning when he finally came out, but nothing like the earlier contractions. all and all i labored by myself without pitocin and was super happy about that. and couldn''t remember the pain 1 min after he was born

little observations 1. send baby to nursery at night! it''s a godsend! 2. know that baby comes out with lots of fluid in their lungs and it''s so scary when they start to choke. no one told me about this! you have to bulb syringe their mouths to get all of it out. 3. totally limit visitors. you''ll be having your bum and nether regions checked, you are trying to figure out nursing, a ton of different doctors are in and out checking you and baby... lots of visitors is total added stress. 4. along the lines of sending baby to nursery at night, take the 20 mins in the morning before they bring him back to take a quick shower, you will feel like a million bucks! 5. if you have trouble breastfeeding, see a lactation consultant - or 3 like i did. everyone says something different and eventually something will work. more tears were shed about breastfeeding than actual labor. 6. be prepared to cry, a lot! and have a good network of people to reach out to. i''m not one to call and vent to anyone - always thought i was strong enough to do things on my own, but this is a horse of a different color. nothing prepared me for the tears, feelings, anxiety, nervous belly, fear of being at home the first 48 hours with my new baby. if i didn''t reach out and share what i was going thru i don''t know if i could have made it thru in one piece.

oh, gotta run and feed this little man. will write more later.

 

[indypitty]

Hi ladies! I haven''t posted in forever, but today is my 35/35, so I thought I would celebrate with a belly pic!

Everyone looks great and it''s so interesting to see all of the different bellies!

Sorry for the bad pic...

 

[steph72276]

Qt, adorable pic as usual. You are so teeny tiny!

Nov, you are so close! You look great!

Amber, I hear you on not feeling hungry. I am getting heartburn every night so that kind of takes the appetite away. You look so cute! Never heard of the dead zone before, maybe ask your doc on your next visit?

Lili, thank you! Love your little cutie's picture in your avatar

Vesper, congrats on team blue! Your son will love having a baby brother I'm sure!

Burk, you are not big at all...so cute!

Puffy, haha thanks...my body is just distributing it out all over I think. I wonder why my body thinks it's necessary for my butt to get bigger??

Mara, you look great! I think I get way bigger at night too. I should take a pic at night next time...maybe I will look at little more pregnant. Cute Gap sweater. I am in a size Med. in Gap clothes now. My chest is just way to big for anything smaller.

Sunkist, you look great...woohoo, any day now!

Drk, that's how I feel...just thick not really pregnant looking. I wouldn't worry about the lack of weight gain as long as your eating healthy. Some people just don't gain that much until the end. I on the other hand, gained 10 pounds before my first doc. appt! Then I slowed way down and have only gained about 5 since week 16.

Viz, good to hear from you. Glad you are doing well!

IndyPitty, you look great. Cute sweater too!

 

[Sha]

Thanks to everyone for the reassuring 'labour' vibes!

Everybody's bellies are so cute!! Monkey Pie, I think last week was the first time I 'saw' your face....you're so cute! And Amber, that's the first time I've seen a photo with your hair down...it really looks nice like that!

steph, you really are tiny!! And meresal too.... Everyone carries so differently....it's really interesting.

Here's my belly pic from this week - almost 35 weeks. Yikes!

 

[Sha]

And just for fun, I thought I'd post the first belly pic I took after finding out I was pregnant - I think it was at about 6 or 8 weeks? Can't remember....but it was definitely when I still had a waist! Such a difference, huh?

I would love to see everyone's 'before and after' shots too, if you care to share.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Amber I used to get that up under my ribs on my right, which was where Hunters legs/bum were. He would stretch out and push that spot and it must have hit nerves or something!

 

[AmberWaves]

Whew: thanks Dreamer! I had a nightmare that the skin there died.

Any other full termers have carpal tunnel? My hands absolutely ACHE in the morning. My doc said I can get braces to sleep with if it gets too bad. So far it''s not so bad that I want to use them.

Also: bought a nursing gown/robe, bra, and tank top. I''m packing my bag! It''s scary as hell leaving work and not knowing if I''ll be there on Monday. Today I got a package in the mail. It was a polar bear suit I coveted and blogged about last Fall, I was really sad because I wouldn''t let myself buy it- fear of the jinx. I think I was in my TTC cycle #8 or 9. My cousin Lisa had bought it for me back then and had kept it for me, knowing I''d get pregnant soon enough. Needless to say, I bawled my eyes out.

 

[indypitty]

Hi everyone! Can we talk about baby names for a minute? We are having so much trouble committing to a name for our baby boy...

Our last name is only one syllable and three letters, and begins with an "O". Most of the boy names I really like are only one syllable, but I won't use those because they just sound too choppy with our last name.

For the same reason, I want to stay away from names that could be shortened into one syllable nicknames.

Sooooooo, our top two contenders right now are...

Nolan Ross
Weston Ross (People might call him Wes or West, which I like, but not with our last name!)

Any thoughts or opinions? Ross is in honor of my g-pa. I have a feeling we may need to see this baby before naming him...

 

[cdt1101]

Amber - I had carpel tunnel pretty bad towards the end. Like I could barely grab anything w/ my hands. It went away right after birth (so weird right??). I also had the numb sensation above the belly button, I asked my doc at the time and she said it was normal...again no effect after birth.

Indy - Nolan gets my vote!

 

[Mara]

amber, that is so cute about the polar bear suit..! i didn't buy anything for the kid until about 15 weeks as well. when we were in europe i HAD to get some super cute little euro boy outfits like gingham short overalls and similar hahah.

indy, i like nolan ross. we are having a horrible time with names... so far we still have one contender that we both like but don't absolutely love. we've gone through a few hundred names online with lists and one of us typically vetoes them. boo.

viz, your story is not bad at all, but i showed it to greg to help prepare him for what might come and he was a little freaked. haha..poor boy. actually the puking freaked me out...i absolutely abhor puking and will try anything to not do it. i imagine at that point its not like you can control it but yikes, is this what i have to look fwd to.

steph, i get heartburn every night too so i tend to eat more during the morning and day and then have a relatively small meal at night and about 2 hours before bed. and i still have to take a tums. i think this has also kept the weight gain down since i am not eating at night then going to bed. oh and i don't know why my body thinks my butt needs to be bigger either.

sha i love your photo of before and after! i didn't take any before photos to show side view or anything, i guess i should have. oh well!!

we went to a friend's party last nite for some other friends that are moving to TX and i was telling greg on the way home that all people want to do is talk to me about the baby or childbirth or whatever. i am like hello i can have a convo NOT related to childbirth or how far along i am or if we have names chosen.too!! it reminded me of that 'why can't people have a normal convo with a preggo lady' thread. having some stranger tell me that he thought it was so helpful him and his wife took a childbirth class because of all the 'stuff that happens' almost made me laugh though.

 

[taovandel]

I can''t believe that Evan is already a week old!!! It''s crazy how fast the time is already going.

My sister came over yesterday and took some newborn pictures of him...here is one, I''m posting more on the newborn thread.

 

[E B]

Date: 11/7/2009 8:10:45 AM
Author: indypitty

Nolan Ross

Weston Ross

Any thoughts or opinions? Ross is in honor of my g-pa. I have a feeling we may need to see this baby before naming him...

I vote Nolan. People seem to want to shorten even the simplest names, but "No" or "Nol" probably won't be used as much (if at all) as "Wes" or "West" would. Plus, I think Nolan Ross 'flows' better.

 

[ChinaCat]

Indy- I like Nolan Ross as well! On the nickname thing, it is possible. My cousin's kid is Benjamin and no one ever calls him Ben. His name is Benjamin, they let everyone know right away that it's not Ben, and honestly, he is such a Benjamin it wouldn't occur to me. Everyone said that people would call Oliver "Ollie" which I don't like, but not one person has. He's Oliver or O and sure, someone might call him Ollie, but it wont' be his name. I think it's what you call him and introduce him as. My dad is James and never Jim. Just a thought in case you find a name you love that has a potential nickname!

Mara- I am right there with you on people only wanting to talk preggo talk. When I was planning my wedding, that's all anyone asked me about. When I was preggo, that's all anyone asked me about. Now that I have a baby, that's all anyone asks me about.

It's annoying, but c'est la vie!

Viz- Love your attitude girl! Thanks for sharing your story, still so interested in labor stories.

Amber- So close girl! Can't wait to meet Piper Jane! I had something I was going to respond about to you, but now I can't remember.

Cute bellies ladies! Sometimes I miss being pregnant.

ETA: Indy- Does your last name have a long O or short O sound?

 

[indypitty]

Date: 11/7/2009 12:22:40 PM
Author: ChinaCat
Indy- I like Nolan Ross as well! On the nickname thing, it is possible. My cousin''s kid is Benjamin and no one ever calls him Ben. His name is Benjamin, they let everyone know right away that it''s not Ben, and honestly, he is such a Benjamin it wouldn''t occur to me. Everyone said that people would call Oliver ''Ollie'' which I don''t like, but not one person has. He''s Oliver or O and sure, someone might call him Ollie, but it wont'' be his name. I think it''s what you call him and introduce him as. My dad is James and never Jim. Just a thought in case you find a name you love that has a potential nickname!

Mara- I am right there with you on people only wanting to talk preggo talk. When I was planning my wedding, that''s all anyone asked me about. When I was preggo, that''s all anyone asked me about. Now that I have a baby, that''s all anyone asks me about.

It''s annoying, but c''est la vie!

Viz- Love your attitude girl! Thanks for sharing your story, still so interested in labor stories.

Amber- So close girl! Can''t wait to meet Piper Jane! I had something I was going to respond about to you, but now I can''t remember.

Cute bellies ladies! Sometimes I miss being pregnant.

ETA: Indy- Does your last name have a long O or short O sound?

The O sound is short!

Thanks for all of your comments. I know DH is really in favor of Nolan, and it was my favorite boy name for years and years. It''s just really hard for me to actually commit to a name.

 

[MonkeyPie]

indy, I like Nolan, too. It sounds so cute when they are little, but translates well into adulthood. I am always worrying about how a name will sound once the baby grows up - some names are just better when they are babies!

Sha, aw, thank you! I don''t think I had ever posted pics of me before. I really love your early pg shot - I wish I had thought of that, but I had a little tummy before anyway so it wasn''t too much of a difference except that I puffed below the belly button, too.

viz, your labor story freaked me out a little bit, mostly because of the whole "numb from the boobs down" thing. Does it make it tend times harder to push? My moms biggest complaint with the epi (and she had a c-section) was that it felt like her legs were bent and they were actually straight. I hope that you feel better now, and your little man is doing great!!!

 

[AmberWaves]

Indy: I also like Nolan!

Thanks for the carpal tunnel info, CDT, I could barely make a fist this morning. Incredibly uncomfortable!

Last night I made the mistake of watching an "Epidural assisted birth" on baby center. I saw her TEAR. Yeah, I know childbirth isn''t pretty, but as I remarked to Paul when I woke him at 1am in terror "Her vagina looked like a watermelon that had been sliced in half lengthwise!" It just kept getting BIGGER. Holy moly. I literally thought, "Why the hell am I wishing she comes later? She''ll be GIGANTIC." Then I thought, "Well, it''s a blown out vagina if I go later, or a cribless, messy room if she comes now." The OCD in me is wanting the baby to come later so we can finish her room. Yikes.

 

[vizsla]

hey! i didn''t mean to freak anyone out. it''s not scary, really and truly! it''s so awesome the way you WILL get into a total labor zone. anything you thought you would care about before going into labor is a non-issue when the time comes. i was super numb from the second epi i thiiiinnnkkk b/c they gave me extra juice to make up for not having any. they stopped the drip instantly after i said "i feel funny". and you still have control over your legs etc. you can and should still be able to feel pressure, move your legs, push etc... it''s just the contractions don''t ''hurt'' - you can still feel them coming, so you know to push.. i don''t know.. it''s hard to describe.
mara - the puking did suck! not gonna lie. i hate puking too.. and if your epi works you probably won''t (although i guess it''s more common than not). however, that puking got me to 8cm! and, like i said, the second your little man is out, everything is a distant memory.
my DH didn''t watch much of the actual pushing, except at the end. which i''m happy about... they kept asking if i wanted the mirror down... .NO NO NO NO NO! i''d like to keep that area as sacred in my head as possible.

lol.... tee hee.. i did keep asking my m/w if i was pooping when i was pushing... lol lol lol lol lol..... she never told me if i did or not

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 11/7/2009 3:48:24 PM
Author: vizsla
they stopped the drip instantly after i said ''i feel funny''. and you still have control over your legs etc. you can and should still be able to feel pressure, move your legs, push etc... it''s just the contractions don''t ''hurt'' - you can still feel them coming, so you know to push.. i don''t know.. it''s hard to describe.

my DH didn''t watch much of the actual pushing, except at the end. which i''m happy about... they kept asking if i wanted the mirror down... .NO NO NO NO NO! i''d like to keep that area as sacred in my head as possible.

lol.... tee hee.. i did keep asking my m/w if i was pooping when i was pushing... lol lol lol lol lol..... she never told me if i did or not

Oh it wasn''t a bad freak out - I was just imaging the numbness and feeling worried I wouldn''t know if I was pushing or not. I''m glad to know you were still aware of when to do it! And LOL @ asking the m/w about pooping - I saw someone on tv the other night that said if you didn''t poop, then you probably weren''t doing it right, hah. So now I have a goal

And they had a mirror?! Ack. I do not think I want to see that, I know for sure that my husband will not be anywhere near my nether regions during that time lol.

 

[Mara]

ack...not pooping!!! that is one thing i would hate worse than puking hahaha. and NO on the mirror. sacred for me and Greg won''t be down there either!!

amber...your watermelon visual was worse than viz''s puking visual OMG!

greg just put together the ektorp dark brown big bookcase from ikea for the living room and moved stuff from the office to it so we can move the PB leaning bookshelf to the baby''s room, and i don''t know that i love it. ugh i''m so picky. maybe i just have to get used to it.

viz don''t worry about your story, it was not one of the worst by any means!! i liked the detail and matter of factness of it so that''s why i showed it to greg hehee.

 

[fieryred33143]

LOL about puking. I totally puked. Tasting the epidural was nasty but that''s how we knew it was time to push. I was also completely numb but still felt the pressure to push. After birth I was on my feet maybe 45 minutes later and had no trouble walking after.

FI was all in the mess the entire time. He went from not even wanting to see births on video to telling me what it looked like. I was like um, honey...shut up. And when he saw the head his first words were "yes she has a lot of hair!" LOL he cut the cord but stopped at the placenta. I don''t blame him. I still have nightmares over glancing at it

 

[taovandel]

I had a problem with my epidural apparently. I couldn''t feel anything at all. No pressure, I couldn''t feel my legs or anything. They would lift my legs up and I couldn''t keep them in a bent position--they would just flop back down. I couldn''t feel my pushing or anything. The nurse would tell me to push her fingers away and I couldn''t feel her fingers. We wound up waiting an hour for the eppi to wear off a bit before I could officially start pushing. You definitely don''t want to be 100% numb when pushing starts or else you will be a mess trying to.

The nurse commented that she had never seen anyone react like that before to the eppi.


Also, I threw up also during the labor process...not from the epi but from not eating for days. The entire pregnancy I was like that---I would throw up in the morning unless I ate something first before getting into the shower. So I should have expected it when I was in the hospital also.

 

[littlelysser]

I''m another one that had them turn the mirrors away! I DID NOT WANT TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON DOWN THERE!

I didn''t puke all through labor. My epi worked great and I could definitely feel the urge to push. Oh, and I totally thought I pooped on the table - I asked the doc right after I had him and she said I didn''t. Unfortunately, it is pretty common. And it is a good thing, because it means you are pushing correctly. They see it all the time...

Amber - I had the carpal tunnel BAD. My mom had the wrist braces and they made a HUGE difference. I only wore them while I was sleeping and it made me so much more comfortable. Don''t be a hero, get the braces!

 

[taovandel]

I was super proud that I didn't poop on the table! I did fart though...haha. Oh well.

They asked me if I wanted a mirror---uh no!!

don't be so sure that your husbands won't be looking at the baby coming out---My husband kept saying over and over again that he wouldn't be looking....and the first time the nurse asked him to look he totally did! He kept telling me about all the hair he had and everything....he even went so far as to draw a sketch today showing me what it looked like! haha!

 

[Mara]

ok now you ladies are freaking me out. i was telling my mom about this today and she goes 'just dont eat anything and you'll be fine'. so i can either STARVE and retain (some) dignity or not starve and deface myself every which way? yay!!! lol! stay in there kiddo! plus when i am starving i am such a bitch, i am not a happy hungry person. so it might be better to eat, or else greg and everyone around me trying to help might just murder me.

anyway... onto happier news (for now) hahaa. we got a lot done this wkd...and moved the baby's room around and stuff from the office etc etc. it's coming together! it makes me feel so happy...i am such a nester and planner that i seriously feel down and blue when the house doesn't feel right and look right and i know i have work to do on it. so when things start happening, i totally emotionally relate. and i want most everything done by end of nov because we already have the rest of nov wkds booked up with events, and it's moving into dec. so i know time til the nugget is here will just FLY, esp with holidays.

the kid is kicking up a storm too, yesterday i laid on my side and greg put his hand between my belly and the bed and that is when the kid likes to go crazy and he felt him moving for 10 minutes!! i am like i feel that all the time (but many times greg is not here when he does it), he was amazed at how active he is. i am afraid he will be THAT ACTIVE in real life immediately too. hahaa.

not much else to report...hope all other preggos are well.

 

[phoenixgirl]

DH just told me that I farted really loudly twice when I first started pushing. I of course do not remember this. But no pooping, thank goodness.

My epi was in between Tao's and Viz's. I could move/feel my left leg but my right leg was really numb and heavy. I kept arguing with DH because he kept holding it out to the right in between contractions, and I wanted it held upright/leaning left, I think because I wanted to know that if he let go (not that he would), it would fall onto my working left leg and not just flop off the table. He was like, "But I'm holding it firm!" and I was like, "For goodness' sake, just hold the leg where I say!" And I couldn't really feel pressure except for one band-aid sized spot on my back that wasn't covered by the epidural; I could feel the contractions there.

I threw up too. I hate throwing up, and in fact had not thrown up since the spring of 2003 (food poisoned at my cousin's graduation party) as I have a stomach of steel, but I threw up once during labor and at least three times later that day from the morphine. Finally they put Zofran in my IV. That was the worst because we had our ridiculous numbers of visitors, and then I'd try to sit up and the nausea would hit me and I'd have to order everyone outside. But the throwing up during labor was nothing; it was later when I was more cogent and focusing on my own comfort rather than getting the baby out that it bothered me.

But since we're on the topic (DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE DIRTY DETAILS), what did bother me was having my bag of water broken. They just put a couple of wash clothes down and let it leak all over. I am a super clean person, and obviously birth is not a clean process. It really bothered me to be lying there leaking fluid without it being cleaned up/dried right away. Then with the falling in and out of sleep, the epidural where the room was spinning and only one leg being paralyzed, the puking, etc. it became what I could only describe as "Kafkaesque." Then I spent the day following my C/S in bed with my catheter throwing up and wearing the space leg compression things. And since I had to have the catheter in, I couldn't wear underwear although somebody had stuck a pad between my legs but I don't think I was really aware of it so I wasn't making a real effort to keep it in place, so the lochia was just dripping out in the bed, and we had a million visitors!!!

By that night I really wasn't feeling well enough to walk to the bathroom yet, but I faked it just so I could be freed from all the darn contraptions and wash up as best as possible.

 

[steph72276]

Woohoo, got most of the nursery done. I have to add a few last details like a couple of prints I am hanging up and a roman shade, but the room is pretty much done. These pics didn''t turn out that well, but I am super tired, so I will take more detailed shots later and post them in the nursery thread. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

 

[steph72276]

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[steph72276]

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[Skippy123]

Date: 11/8/2009 5:06:19 PM
Author: steph72276
Woohoo, got most of the nursery done.

Steph, I LOVE your nursery!!! Aw, Evan will love it; so cute!!