Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[qtiekiki]

Love all the belly pics. Everyone looks super cute.

 

[lovelylulu]

gorgeousness on this thread!!

HH - looking good lady! Time is flying

so excited - those pictures are amazing. your daughter is adorable and I love the interaction in the shots!!!

charger - you are looking fabulous and small in the best way possible. I on the other hand was just told that I look like I'm due "any day now"

jas - sorry about the pain. I don't have any suggestions except that my own discomfort seems to come and go these days, so I hope that yours takes a walk soon!

blushing - you look incredible for being 18wks with two (active) little beans. really incredible!!!!

No BFP for me today, but I did manage to wear all necessary items of clothing to work this morning

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I''m off to Target tonight to buy a new bra and some tank tops. Ugh, have to go up yet another size. 38DD I think this time...

 

[somethingshiny]

Such lovely bellies!!

HH~ With JT, my boobs grew so quickly I ended up buying nursing bras and wearing those throughout the last tri because they had adjustable cups. You may want to try one on and see if it''ll last longer.


Here''s my 32 week contribution. I feel huge! (and look it too!) She''s already been in my ribs for quite sometime since she and I were both measuring much bigger. Now she has no choice but to just go out!

Instead of my normal side-view, I went with more of a frontal. I look like I''ve got a beach ball, not a basketball anymore!

 

[Jas12]

BB--aww, those early movements are terrific aren''t they! And what else is terrific? Yes, you know it, the SNOOGLE! That funny looking pillow is a lifesaver for me too. Sooo much better/more effective than a regular body pillow, If you are a back sleeper coil it into a donut shape and position your hips and bum in the hole part . I find i can sleep comfy like that and not worry about pressure on my back b/c the thighs/core are propped up slightly.
You look great btw!

Charger--can''t believe you''ve only gained 15 lbs at 35 weeks! I am not jealous, nope, not at all

I am up 30 and thought i was doing okay but in the past week i feel like i''ve plumped right up (hoping it''s water tho).
The Dr. should be pleased with how well you''ve managed your GD.

SS-you look adorable!!!

....
My sciatic pain (or whatever it is, i am not sure now) took at turn for the worse. I am outta commission, can''t really walk and in some serious pain. *sigh*
My only hope is the baby is positioned weirdly and maybe a shift will relieve things. Hoping my middie will have some advice on tuesday
The only saving grace is my parents have opened their pool and the weather is nice so floating weightless is grrreat. That and i know there is a light at the end of the tunnel!
Hope everyone is having a great weekend

 

[So Excited]

Thank you very much Pupp, charger, curlygirl, jas, & lulu!!

I''m so happy with the shots considering it was a "unplanned" shoot for me... Our DD was getting her 3 yr old pics done and the photographer thought it would be cute to include some belly shots so I stepped in for a few minutes.

After I saw the pics I realized how BIG I was... haha - It''s amazing how your body can distribute weight differently. I was up 17lbs at time of delivery of our daughter and was pretty small looking and very mobile (and in much better shape) and this one I''m up 18lbs and feel like I''m the size of a house and literally have to Roll out of bed.

Jas- I''m so jealous of the pool idea.... I took the winter cover off of ours yesterday and the pool guy is coming to open it up Monday... It will be a LONG time here in WI until it is warm enough to even think of getting into... pretty sure it wont get much use this year with a toddler that needs contant supervision in there and a Newborn...

Shiny- I know how you feel on the baby in the ribs - I have also been measuring big.... how is it that we give them more room in there and they still wanna be crazy!

HH- I''m a fan of the pea in the pod nursing bra when you decide to go that route (theres actually 2 that are nice and comfortable for me and Im a 38D) I tried on SOO many nursing bras trying to find one that didnt dig in or gap or had an underwire ... or.... and Pea in the Pod was my answer.

Lulu- Yay for wearing all you clothes!

Charger- What a crazy time!!! I remember moving and it was sooo much work... I have been trying to do the "deep clean" on everything around the house for the last 1 1/2 months and it seems like as soon as I get something done it''s dirty instantly!.. ex. I spent 5 1/2 hours scrubbing the kitchen floor and wiping down cupboards on Thursday and as soon as I was done I went grocery shopping and came home and set the milk on the island only for it to not be stable and go crashing to the floor to bust and splatter 7/8 of a gallon of milk across the floors and under the island/under the stove/on the cupboards.. etc... I was SO Mad.. my darling FI just laughed and our DD said "mommy, you make big mess"

BB- you are so cute at 18wks with twins!! As for prego pillows, I dont have the snoogle, but I do have the "Todays Mom Cool Max Prego Pillow" and absolutely LOVE IT.. It actually does its job of wicking away the heat so I dont sweat and the removable cover has held up Very well in the washing machine for the past 5 months.

 

[Jas12]

Soexcited--has your weather been bad there? I am in northern ontario (canada) and we''ve had a warm spell lately (however we had a snowstorm on mother''s day so you just never know) so my Dad opened his pool the minute temps were about 20. It''s a very short season here too, so we try to make the most of it!!

Oh, that pillow looks even more divine than the snoggle....but i think i''d need a king bed. It''s huge!

 

[So Excited]

Date: 5/23/2010 12:56:41 PM
Author: Jas12
Soexcited--has your weather been bad there? I am in northern ontario (canada) and we''ve had a warm spell lately (however we had a snowstorm on mother''s day so you just never know) so my Dad opened his pool the minute temps were about 20. It''s a very short season here too, so we try to make the most of it!!

Oh, that pillow looks even more divine than the snoggle....but i think i''d need a king bed. It''s huge!

It hasn''t been great.. pretty much normal actually, but I didn''t spring for the big heater when we put it in.. (our previous boss had just had one installed and ended up having a house fire caused by it so my FI was like... NO, no heater... you can do it the "natural" way) We have the solar cover on the pool and 2- 4'' x 12'' solar panels so it takes until July to have it "comfortable" Your dad is a trooper,. HOLY COW.. 20 degrees? how is that possible?

As for the pillow.. it is WONDERFUL!!! Yes, it is kinda large and we do have a king size bed (the picture does make it look a little bigger than it is though) I absolutely love that I can roll over and still have the support behind and in front of me without getting a workout and disturbing the bed and all the covers moving the pillow.. I am obsessed with having a leg pillow to prop the top leg up with too and it is nice to not overstretch my ligaments - not to mention its comfy to cuddle to since my belly is so big and I cant get close enough to the FI to be satisfied...

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 5/14/2010 9:36:22 AM
Author: Jas12
Congrats Swimmer!!!

Lulu--you look splendid!
ugh, incontinence in the 3rd tri would not be cool (well, at any point really).
After my son was born i had zero bladder control. For about 4-5 days PP my bladder would just give out in a gush and i would pee my pants. It was kinda scary and awful b/c i was afraid to go anywhere. At first i thought it was excess amniotic fluid draining but the nurse quickly corrected me and was like 'um, no, sorry honey, you can't control your bladder'

. I was so frightened things would stay that way and i'd be in diapers along with my kid. But she explained that since my pushing stage was really fast and furious for a first birth, my son was a good size and possibly i pushed too hard or at the wrong times, i had traumatized the PC muscles and they were temp. damaged. She was right, things improved steadily, but i warn friends about this now!

Ditto Jas here... it came as a real shock to me - I ended up using 3 maternity pads at a time and trying not to stand up too often! They reckon it was the damage from the forceps that did it. It does improve, although slowly. A year on I'd now say that it's 70% back to pre-baby. I thought I'd got off lightly by not having any problems of that sort whilst preggo.

Hope doesn't scare anyone, but I wish I'd known about the possibility beforehand. I knew you could have problems coughing or sneezing, but not the complete and total lack off control that it was - I swear Daisy had better control than I did!

Jas - please make sure and get those iron levels up... it was being anaemic that nearly killed me last year and landed me with 5 blood transfusions. I hate taking iron supplements as they make me feel icky and I reckoned after 26 weeks of m/s that if I just ate spinach and rare steak and took 200mg a day instead of 600mg then I would be fine... barely raised my levels at all in the final weeks. I had no idea how dangerous it was until the consultant who delivered Daisy came and shouted at me in the ICU the next day (literally - he was REALLY angry with me).

 

[Jas12]

Pandora--thanks! I am taking a high dose supplement now and trying to increase the iron in my diet. I didn''t know one of the major side effects of low iron is bleeding out. I just read that the other day and now your experience hammers that home. I am hoping that iron gets to work in there quick, but i''ll have to ask my middie if this has any baring on the birth plan. I initially planned to not have the shot of oxytocin in the 3rd stage, but now i am thinking i def. should if low iron can = excess bleeding.
And glad to hear your bladder is 70%. Mine steadily improved and went to normal but i did a lot of kegels! Ugh, so many things our bodies go thru for our little kiddies. good thing they are so precious

 

[somethingshiny]

jas~ Another vote for sticking with the iron. I know it''s miserable. I have to take tons and keep it up in my diet too. And I just barely pass the anemia level. I know I have to have a c-section so my risk for excessive bleeding is high anyway. The worst side effect is the constipation. I take a stool softener every day and still only go maybe twice a week.

 

[Dreamer_D]

All of you look awesome!!

Blushing I had ridiculous CF most of my pregnancy and it just got worse and it went along. Panty liners are you friend. It is only beginning really, the strange changes to your body when you are pregnant are out of control.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 5/21/2010 8:21:53 AM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
And here''s this week''s picture-22.5 weeks. My god is it going by fast!

Hudson you are carrying just like me!! Exactly the same. Longer and compact. I swear I did not really look pg until I was about 35 weeks

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 5/24/2010 2:01:32 AM
Author: dreamer_d

Date: 5/21/2010 8:21:53 AM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
And here''s this week''s picture-22.5 weeks. My god is it going by fast!

Hudson you are carrying just like me!! Exactly the same. Longer and compact. I swear I did not really look pg until I was about 35 weeks

And just because I am crazy I dug up a photo for you to prove it... I am bigger than you to begin with, but the bellies look so similar!

Here is 22.5 weeks...

 

[Dreamer_D]

But lest you think you will fly through with a nice compact belly, Hudson, here is 39.5 weeks, just 5 days before Hunter was born

Ok, I will stop spamming this thread now with my over 15 months old belly shots

ETA Eeek that is big... and man were my hands swollen

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 5/23/2010 8:10:07 PM
Author: Jas12
Pandora--thanks! I am taking a high dose supplement now and trying to increase the iron in my diet. I didn''t know one of the major side effects of low iron is bleeding out. I just read that the other day and now your experience hammers that home. I am hoping that iron gets to work in there quick, but i''ll have to ask my middie if this has any baring on the birth plan. I initially planned to not have the shot of oxytocin in the 3rd stage, but now i am thinking i def. should if low iron can = excess bleeding.
And glad to hear your bladder is 70%. Mine steadily improved and went to normal but i did a lot of kegels! Ugh, so many things our bodies go thru for our little kiddies. good thing they are so precious

I was told that the only thing I had no option on was the 3rd stage - I would be having the shot whether I liked it or not as it was too risky not to. I''d get your levels checked every week just to make sure they''re going up especially if you''re aiming for a home birth.

Too right about the horrors inflicted on our bodies - but they are indeed worth it. Kegels are my new middle name

- my GP is advising pilates at the moment and once I''ve decided for sure that we''re done having kids then I have a surgery option. My uncle (who''s an OB/GYN was saying that he reckons it''s quicker to recover from a c-section than an instrumental birth and even some normal v-births).

 

[Puppmom]

Dreamer, loved the *throw back* belly pics! I''m carrying *out* which didn''t bother me up until now because my belly is really starting to feel heavy. Some mornings it takes me a few tries to get out of bed and I still have a little over 10 weeks left!

Pandora, I''m such a Kegel novice. I take prenatal yoga and I just sit there like a dummy when the instructor says it''s time for Kegels. My body just doesn''t get it. I clench my butt cheeks, tense my belly, scrunch my face - everything but engage my perineal muscles! I feel like such an idiot.

Lindsey, if you''re out there, I hope all is well with you and Andrew.

Swimmer, I hope you''re feeling well and you''re enjoying your time with your new baby boy.

As for me, I''ve just recently become uncomfortable. I''m a little nervous as I have a long way to go. I''m hoping it''s just a phase. I''ve been having a lot of BH contrax which I HATE and the muscles in my lower right abdomen are sore a lot of the time. My discomfort is usually limited to right when I wake up and the night time so, going to work isn''t bad still.

Oh, and the ILs revealed the nursery this weekend. It really is very cute. Everything in there is the "Sleepy Safari" theme and it''s very neutral which is nice. MIL also pulled out outfits from DHs childhood that his grandmother and great grandmother made for him. She also found a baby blue velour romper that needs to be washed. I''m not a big fan so I''m hoping the stains don''t come out of that one.

The ILs were also kind enough to give us our shower gifts now so that I don''t have to open them on shower day. They also put together everything they bought! That really was a pleasant surprise! I reallly appreciated the gesture especially since my mom needs *credit* for everything she buys so she''ll come to the shower with everything she''s accumulated throughout my pregnancy individually wrapped. At SILs shower, she had a whole laundry hamper filled with individually wrapped things - there were like 40 gifts in there! You can only ooohhh and aaahhh at socks and onesies so many times before the audience gets restless!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Good morning ladies! DH and I spent the weekend laughing over the different shapes my belly was taking. One minute I had a torpedo the next I was back to my 14 week picture. OMG, it HURTS when he makes major position changes! I''m off to my 23/24 week appointment today, fingers crossed that my weight gain was moderate this past month. I get to have an u/s to check on my cervix and I''m hoping they do transab vs intrauterine. I want to see Aidan!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

OH! And I finally decided on bedding and theme for the nursery. Instead of just vintage cars, we''re doing vintage cars and airplanes. I found this super cute bedding at my local Homegoods for $40! http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/177-0967664-2581116?asin=B002SRF2QK&AFID=Froogle_df&LNM=|B002SRF2QK&CPNG=&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001

The colors go really well with the art I have and I''ve found a few other pieces that will meld the two themes together. We didn''t get the nursery pulled together this weekend as I''d hoped. We went to see my parents on Saturday and then got caught up doing other housework on Sunday. So DH is traveling this week and I''m hoping to work on it while he''s away.

 

[Jas12]

Pandora--i suspect my middie will discuss this with me this week. I got the call about low iron after my appnt last week and it was just a phone msg. the middies here are really conservative about home births so iam wondering if she''ll suggest the hospital?? I''ll find out more tomorrow.
Kegels def. help. i am sure pilates would as well. hopefully you don''t need surgery.

 

[Puppmom]

HH, LOVE the bedding and what a steal! Our only *deal* thus far was on our crib. It was marked down from $750 to $299 but I don''t really consider $299 a steal for a crib.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I think that''s a great discount pupp! Ours we got on sale for $132, but it''s just a Graco, nothing fancy.

 

[So Excited]

Its a heat wave this week here in WI... oh my goodness - muggy weather out there for the first time yesterday and supposed to continue all week with 80''s as our high!!! Thats crazy warm for WI at this time of year in comparison to the last 5 years! I went outside to clean the grill and pressure wash the deck and got as far as getting the grill uncovered and then came back inside to the AC.. haha

Not sure if anyone is interested in nursing covers, but uddercovers.com is running a promo for a free cover of choice with the promo code "backorder" (just pay the 9.95 shipping) ($32 value) It shows all are backordered until 6-30-10, but many of the ladies here aren''t due until after that anyway.. just pick one and add to cart and enter promo code and it shows the total 0 (plus the S&H)

 

[somethingshiny]

Sorry for this vent post. You may skip immediately.

I have had contractions for 2 hours now. DH wants me to go to the hospital but I''m trying hard to avoid that. I''m really feeling them on my cervix too. I am just sitting and trying to relax and have a little something to eat. I''m trying not to worry. Something similar happened when I was preggo with JT at around the exact same time. It took most of the day for it to stop and then I was put on modified bedrest. Please keep your fingers crossed that this passes without medical intervention.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Sorry to hear about that SS. You know the drill, lots of water, lay on your left side and time the mo''fos until they stop or they increase.

Just got back from my TWO HOUR check up. Ugh, I hate it when docs run behind. Buuuut the tech who did my cervical u/s was really sweet and did one for Aidan as well. I got the junk shot I wanted, he is most definitely a boy, and some other cool ones like his feet and him sucking his thumb.

 

[Puppmom]

SS, sending anti-labor dust your way. I have BH contrax all the time and they stress me out which I think makes them worse.

It''s weird that you can feel them in your cervix - maybe baby is just applying pressure there during the contractions. Rest up and drink lots of water. Hopefully you can avoid a trip to the ER. Keep us posted.

 

[Puppmom]

Missed your post, HH. I''m so glad you got to see Aidan too! I had to have my ovaries checked at 23 weeks and the stinky tech didn''t give me any pictures of the baby.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Yea I specifically asked her to, she was going to do a transab to check his heart anyway so it wasn''t a stretch for her to get a junk shot. The tech at our anatomy scan was more interested in giving us a skeletor shot of his head than his junk.

 

[So Excited]

HH- Yay! glad to hear you go what you wanted at the US... after that long of a visit it''s a good thing they gave ya somethin good.... JUNK SHOT.. haha Luv it..

my FI wanted the junk shot so bad he asked her to turn it to 3D for him.. I just embarassingly laughed and watched her turn the shot to 3D for him and print it.. Good Stuff

 

[somethingshiny]

I haven''t had a contraction for a couple hours now. They got pretty intense for a while. I haven''t done much of anything, pretty much sat around all day. They started coming every 3 minutes for about an hour and a half. Real full-on contractions. Thankfully, they seemed to have stopped for now. After about an hour after they stopped, Baby started going absolutely nuts! I think she was tired of being squeezed on.

Each day I have increasingly more contractions throughout the day. Fingers crossed that they don''t come like this again for a few weeks!!!