This Is the Pregnancy Commiseration and Support Thread

Everybody loves advising the pregnant.

I'll start with some whinging:

- I thought I was done with the barfing but after a long, exhausting, frustrating evening at work I was walking home from the train and passed through the smell of two pizza restaurants positioned on either side of the street and had to stop and puke against a tree.

- There is a bro-lawyer outside my office wearing so much cologne that I am contemplating violence.

I commiserate. I'm glad I've never gone beyond the occasional dry retch, usually brought on by the thought of something gross rather than the smell of something. My thing has been all day nausea plus total and utter knackeredness. It's taken everything in me to make it through work, and sometimes I haven't. Fortunately we have a 'quiet room' in our building for prayers and pregnant women, which has a chaise longue in it, so I have taken advantage of the facilities a few times. Outside of work, my life has been spent lying on the sofa or in bed. This last week I think (touch wood) I've turned a corner.

Oh the retching. I always feel like a cat trying to hork up a hairball when that happens. Everybody I know who had bad nausea turned a corner between 12-16 weeks, so I am optimistic for you! I am just one of the lucky ones who get prolonged nausea, I guess.

Knackeredness is no joke. That's great you have a quiet room at work. We have a room for breastpumpers but it requires requesting a key and some other stuff, so I just worked from home a lot and took 30 minute naps whenever I got the chance. I've definitely gotten some stamina back, but if left to my own devices, I can sleep for 10-12 hours without even trying. I don't know if that ever changes.

A friend of mine said that in her third trimester towards the end of her pregnancy, she would fall asleep sitting up typing at her desk, and only realize it when her snoring woke her up! So we have that to look forward to.

I had a brief stint as a hotel night auditor at a hotel, and was trained by a woman in the last couple of weeks of her pregnancy. She kept falling asleep in the middle of a sentence...it didn't help that this was the overnight shift.

the other day on the train there was a very nauseous pregnant woman with her husband. the husband kept trying to do things to make her feel better, which was cute but also cringey. he kept asking her which foods he could make her, which was a bad move. then he rubbed her stomach and was joke-talking to the baby like "you little monster, why are you making mommy feel sick?"

I would have barfed all over him.

Probably the most helpful thing Jeff has done to help me cope with the exXxtreme nausea, aside from truly wonderful practical things like cooking AND doing the dishes and going to the store alone so I don't have to be around food and bringing me ice water on demand, is just be understanding. Like, not care if he cooks and I eat two bites of food and spend the rest of the evening lying down with my eyes closed, or not tease when I cry because I feel so bad, or not care if we had plans for dinner and I got really hungry at 4:30 and ate a bag of yogurt covered pretzels and then felt like hell for the rest of the night and couldn't eat anything else. Just kind of being chill and available and not taking anything personally.

Or like the time we were meeting friends out for a fancy dinner and Jeff was totally nonjudgmental when I had to stop for a hot dog from 7-11 because I suddenly got so hungry I thought I was going to pass out before we even got to the train station.

Anyway. Jeff: he's a pretty good guy and he never rubs my stomach and baby talks our fetus or talks to me about food when I feel like I want to puke.

I'd puke on me if I did that.

why does the puking happen? obvs there's a lot of wacky hormonal stuff going on, but rejecting nutrients doesn't seem evolutionarily beneficial?

i have experienced feeling extra protective of pregnant friends, which is kind of strange! a friend whose wife was pregnant at the time went a step further and began to seethe whenever he encountered someone he felt was capable of being mean to his wife

Nobody knows for sure, but most sources lay the blame primarily on hormones. I'm pretty skeptical of evolutionary theories because they are kind of the "everything happens for a reason" approach to pregnancy.

My doc told me that at least in the early part of the pregnancy, the fetus's nutritional needs are such that it can get everything it needs by sucking it out of my body so not to worry about food aversions/weight loss too much. But I was also starting with a nice surplus, so there was less to worry about. If I had already been underweight, it probably would have been different.

yeah my friend went through some pretty hardcore anemia at first bcz babby was sucking her dry (she was also pretty slight so the weightloss was like whoa)...she ended up on iron tablets and the whole deal (constipation hooray)

The best advice I got re. nausea was from a friend who is 8 months ahead of me. She said whenever I felt ill to just force down some carbs - completely counter-intuitive, but within seconds I feel better. I've been carving through loaves of bread and even though the need for an hourly slice of toast has subsided I still can't manage without my 10am sandwich at my desk.

(I've gone off chocolate and anything but the plainest food, so the carbo-loading hasn't affected my weight.)

http://www.endoftheworldasyouknowit.com/images/smilies/Drudge_Siren_Small.gif ANOTHER RANT ABOUT CLOTHING AVAILABILITY!!! http://www.endoftheworldasyouknowit.com/images/smilies/Drudge_Siren_Small.gif

My underpants are too small now and "plus size maternity underwear" is the most depressing google search ever. There are two choices - Motherhood/Destination Maternity (different retailers, same products) which get terrible reviews, or the $23/pair support drawers from Belevation. I have maternity bike shorts from Belevation that are AMAZING and I love them for wearing under skirts/dresses but spending over $100 on underpants that I'll wear for a few months? Naw man. Also they are not cotton, which is the recommendation for all sorts of fun and gross reasons.

Sigh. SIGH.

A HUNDRED DOLLARS? Oy. Do you NEED pregnancy underwear? Can you just wear maternity tights/leggings under dresses?

Well, $23 each so you figure minimum four pairs of underpants, and that's doing laundry 2x as often as I do now.

Well, I need underwear. Avert thine eyes, those who are squeamish about the grosser aspects of pregnancy - this is a thing that happens. So even if I were prone to underpantslessness under normal circumstances, it's not very comfortable now. I guess I am going to try buying giant brief-style underpants a couple sizes up? That should work for a month or so, at least, and giant brief-style underpants are pretty cheap so.

In other omg seriously? news - http://www.target.com/p/miss-oops-women-s-popper-stoppers-nude/-/A-14337153#prodSlot=large_1_15

They are like bandaids to cover your poking out belly button to make your stomach look smooth under clothes, because women's bodies are defective and ugly no matter what.

But they gave it such a clever name.

Oh $23 each, that seems sensible, I didn't read that carefully enough.

I may buy a pair later for their support properties.

Now see if you had 10 children, you could amortize the cost of all this shit and it would be like $5 per baby. This is clearly the way to make pregnancy more cost-effective.

We just registered for four classes - childbirth class, hospital maternity tour, breastfeeding, and "Babies 101" (LOL which end is up???). Shit is getting real...

we had like five sessions on childbirth and one on baby care. I always thought that was kind of ass backwards.

Babies 101!! Try not to drop the baby, that kind of thing.

also, until they invent a doll that can kick you and pee/poop on you, diaper practice is of limited value

we took a long natural birthing class that was really good and as a bonus connected us to other new parents at a time when we didn't know a lot of people with kids. i also took a short "babies for dads" class at be by baby that was SO DUMB and condescending, like the assumption was that you were a total moron and hadn't done any research on what babies are like.

lol @ babies 101 tbh though if I ever have kids that's a class I'd need because while I love older babies and children I've held an actual newborn exactly once and it was so little I was totally freaked out.

We are doing the one day 9-5 childbirth class so that should be exhausting.

The last time I had a baby in my care, you were still supposed to put them to sleep on their stomachs and I don't think Jeff has ever cared for a baby so we can use all the help we can get. I was watching You Tube videos about how to bathe a newborn. I like that at first you just sort of wipe them off.

lol that's kind of awesome. Eh, just give it a wipe.

Yeah, I guess until the cord falls off you aren't supposed to put them in water?

Yeah, I guess not submerging them until then makes sense since it's supposed to dry up and fall off.

Man, they're like Gremlins - don't get them wet etc. Pretty sure they like to eat after midnight though.

like the assumption was that you were a total moron

There's so much of this, the maternity ward advice seemed based entirely on you being a lazy idiot. The advice on feeding was change nappy, then feed baby - so we were changing out of clean nappy, feeding whereupon he'd dirty it, and having to change again. When we queried why you had to do it before, it turned out it was because they assumed if they said 'after' you wouldn't bother at all.

My dads' class was actually pretty good, but tbh you exceed everything you could possibly learn at it within about 5 minutes' caring for an actual baby. Stuff like this is great for giving you the confidence to deal with those 5 minutes (and preceding months) though.

i was terrified about being a parent tbh, like you get to the hospital and it's all real all of a sudden, and then a couple of days later they just sort of gently escort you out and you have a baby and no clue what to do next (or so it feels.) the best advice i can give is that the first couple of weeks are probably the worst and it continues to get easier. also the first few poops are nightmarish, it's like trying to clean exxon valdez oil off a baby walrus.

lol

(xp to self) Or the one that actually really angered us - if you're breastfeeding, the baby can't have formula milk. But it takes a day or two for the actual milk to come through, so on his first night at home the poor soul screamed until 6am and lost a lot of weight.

The reason of course was them assuming that if you tried formula milk once, you'd just give up breastfeeding. There's no medical basis for it at all. So angry because that little top-up would've saved a two-day-old a whole night of misery.

that is fuckjng stupid

there is so much hysteria and stress around breast-feeding that you don't find out about until you have a baby

Yeah, the amount of crazy talk (on all sides) around breastfeeding is overwhelming. I'd like to breastfeed and I will do my best to make it happen but if it doesn't work or only works partially, I'm going to be okay with that, too.

xp!!!!!!!!!!!

there are so many people who are extremely hardcore about their breastfeeding philosophies (whether to do it at all, how long, how often, where, etc.)

i would say it can be hard at first (as it was for us) but if you want to do it, don't give up.

(somewhat unrelated I was just reading an employment law decision out of Texas district court in which a judge held that it was okay to fire a woman for taking time to pump because breastfeeding was not related to pregnancy (pregnancy is over!) and firing "someone" (he doesn't say a woman, of course) for pumping breast milk is not sex discrimination. Now that's something to get pissed off about, IMO.)

ugh

at my wife's work they have a breastpumping room!

one at a time, not like a hair salon or w/e

i would say it can be hard at first (as it was for us) but if you want to do it, don't give up.

― christmas candy bar (al leong), Tuesday, August 27, 2013 2:53 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i agree with this but would add, if you do give up, don't feel shitty about it

we had lots of problems too and ended up supplementing with formula the whole time evie was breastfeeding and felt vaguely guilty about it at first but now i'm just like why were we so worried about it?

We have a pumping room, too. At the state, they actually would tell women to use the accessible stall in the bathroom, which is arguably against IL law (an employer needs to "make reasonable efforts" to provide a location other than a toilet stall).

I hear you about not giving up, and I want to breastfeed but if it comes to a point where I think it would be healthier to let it go, I'm going to do that. Like if I've got stigmata of the nipples and start resenting our baby as a dreadful monster and thinking about putting it up for adoption, I will probably move on to formula. That is okay, you know? I trust myself to make a good decision there.

xp n/a and I apparently sharing a brain today.

xp to self) Or the one that actually really angered us - if you're breastfeeding, the baby can't have formula milk. But it takes a day or two for the actual milk to come through, so on his first night at home the poor soul screamed until 6am and lost a lot of weight.

The reason of course was them assuming that if you tried formula milk once, you'd just give up breastfeeding. There's no medical basis for it at all. So angry because that little top-up would've saved a two-day-old a whole night of misery.

― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, August 27, 2013 3:37 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Argh, I remember this. The way we heard it was that if the baby tried the bottle it would be "easy" and then it would get too "lazy" to breastfeed. Of course the exact same thing happened to us, and I can still sharply remember that hysterical 3am moment of H and I going back and forth virtually in tears before finally just saying "Ok fuck it, K won't stop crying and she is really really hungry" and giving her a little formula. This was a good decision.

(somewhat unrelated I was just reading an employment law decision out of Texas district court in which a judge held that it was okay to fire a woman for taking time to pump because breastfeeding was not related to pregnancy (pregnancy is over!) and firing "someone" (he doesn't say a woman, of course) for pumping breast milk is not sex discrimination. Now that's something to get pissed off about, IMO.)

― Lawyer... SUAVE... (carl agatha), Tuesday, August 27, 2013 3:56 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The law, in its magestic equality, forbids men and women alike from breastpumping at work

stigmata of the nipples lol omg

Nothing drives home the overwhelming maleness of the federal judiciary like a Title VII sex discrimination decision. xp

Can she be fired for leaking milk all through her top at work? (Fuck that guy with a rusty pitchfork, imho, or better yet go back in time and prevent him from ever suckling at his mother's breast. Wait a sec. Maybe that's EXACTLY what happened.)

Can she be fired for leaking milk all through her top at work?

Probably! Employers can set standards of dress and appearance and as long as they aren't found to be rooted in discrimination against a protected class (for evidence of the federal judiciary's overwhelming whiteness, see many cases on this particular subject), can fire people for failing to adhere to them. Since breastfeeding women aren't a protected class in that district, the employer can probably fire her.

I need to change my DN so I can stop reminding myself that I'm a lawyer and just let comments like that pass as the rhetorical questions that they are.

We have a euphemistically named 'Wellness Room' in my office that no-one is using to pump in presently (though several have in the past) which is primarily dedicated to just that (though also used for storage). I'm more of a commie but it's interesting to see large private coporations see these amenities less as liabilities than as selling points to potential or present employees.

We used to have a space set up in our other building, I think it was called the Women's Room but it was for pumping -- but we haven't had any pregnancies in forever and we sold the other building so idk where it is now, if we have one at all

A lot of that is driven by legislation. Large private corporations don't do anything if they don't have to. xp

I routinely stomped my male coworkers who fake-whined about why is there a women's room etc bcz UGH rly

think I told the story on some other thread but at my dads class they asked us what we liked about pregnancy & I have much love still for the guy who looked at all of us, raised his eyebrows up and down and said "milk jugs", with an "amirite" look on his face

omfg

horrified LOLs

i'm hearing that in the dudebro-unison voice of that "TWINS" budweiser commercial

bwahaah

tbf i don't know how else a dude is supposed to answer that question

i love the yelling and the crying and the swollen ankles

There was indeed panic in our house about breastfeeding. I had pretty much every problem one can have (and some of them multiple times) nursing, but I felt too guilty about quitting. I don't think I realized how crazy it was making me until a good friend whom I really admire weaned her daughter at 18 months. I was shocked, not only that she weaned so early, but that she was totally OK with it. She said she was feeling a bit claustrophobic, and it seemed like the right time. I realized the mom's mental health is just as important. I still have friends who nurse their 3 year olds, but instead of making me feel like a failure, I just feel so happy to be done with all that.

My point is that I don't believe being a martyr for your child is good for anyone.

from friends & family, it seems like the only "right way" is the way that's good for *that* mom + *that* babby.

way too much mania & pressure esp w/r/t breastfeeding. being a new mom is stressful enough!

Totally. Also, new parents are overtired, which makes everything harder.

Hello!

Here is an update. I have been diagnosed with a complication (this, although when diagnosed early as I was, it is not as dire as the wiki page would make it sound). To avoid the dire outcome, doctors have to make sure that whatever happens, I do not actually go into labor as that would potentially lead to cord rupture (bad). So the management of the condition is thus: somewhere between 30 weeks (today!) and 32 weeks (two weeks from today!) I will be admitted to the hospital for careful observation and monitoring. Then at 34 weeks, I get an early c-section. The upshot is that Carl Agatha Jr. will not be a Christmas baby, but will be here in mid-November!

That means the baby will be pre-term and might spend a little time in the NICU, but they are prepared for it and have already started giving me steroid shots to speed up lung and brain development and make things go easier on the little one when s/he makes an early arrival. So far the kid is a picture of health and appropriate growth so fingers crossed.

Obviously I would not have chosen this outcome, but mostly I'm just very grateful that I have access to excellent medical care, ultrasound techs and doctors who know what they are looking for when they see it, and good health insurance. Especially the health insurance. Jesus.

Just to make things more interesting I've come down with a sweet case of gestational hypertension and have resultingly spent a couple of nights over the last few weeks in the hospital for monitoring (and 24 hours of urine collection! Fun times) to rule out preeclampsia (it is ruled out), which makes an early delivery a bit more appealing. Bright side: I was doctor ordered to cut down on my hours at work, so that was a pretty sweet email to send.

Anyway, I'm cool, it's all cool, I am mostly posting this because at some point I will suddenly be coming to you live from a hospital room and then I will have a baby earlier than expected and I don't want people to worry! My mother is handling all of the worrying for everyone.

Geez Carl! That's terrifying, but I will leave the worrying in Mama Agatha's hands and instead focus on the excitement of the baby not being too far away now :) November 14 is a lovely day and just coincidentally my birthday. Will your health insurance cover this extended visit, or are you liable for a portion?

Love love love and thoughts your way. I'm glad you have a great haircut and piercing baby blues to see you through.

thanking of you guys

Thinking good thoughts for you and babby <3

Lemme know if you want me to bring you something that's not hospital food, carl!!

Like, do not hold back. I will bring you the foods.

Sounds like a problem that thanks to medical knowledge and appropriate planning will not actually be a problem! I'm sorry you have an extra thing(s) on your plate, but your attitude is ace and and you will have a babby to dress up like a turkey and place on a platter on the table for Thanksgiving!

Lemme know if you want me to bring you something that's not hospital food, carl!!

― Untt (La Lechera), Tuesday, October 15, 2013 3:00 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yes, for the love of god. Yes.

My mother is handling all of the worrying for everyone.

Genuine lols. Thinking good thoughts for you, carl. Keep your chin up.

Email your order!!

When I was admitted the first time for the blood pressure stuff, I was kind of entranced by the food, especially when I got to pick what I wanted to eat. It was definitely hospital food (my best description of it is that it feels very sterilized) but some of it was not too bad. Then the second time I was in, I realized that the food was the exact same. I got the same dinner that I had the first time (two fried chicken drumsticks, "cilantro rice," spinach, salad, roll) then the same breakfast and then when they came to ask for my choices for lunch and dinner, they were the same choices... I mean, I have a pretty high tolerance for institutional hot turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy but every day for two weeks... I can't imagine.

one of my fears about being hospitalized is being forced to eat institutional food -- i have no tolerance for sog

Will your health insurance cover this extended visit, or are you liable for a portion?

I may very well hit my deductible/out of pocket limit and if that happens, the insurance will pay 100% of whatever subsequent costs I incur. Until I hit those two limits, I think I pay either 10 or 20% of whatever the amount the hospital bills the insurance company, which is less than what the hospital would bill a poor sucker without insurance (I know, right??!?!?!) and is a closely guarded secret. So the answer is probably but I'm not entirely sure. USA! USA! But again, just super super unendingly grateful that we even have insurance, much less really good insurance (we sprung for the costliest plan with the lowest deductible because we were hoping to have a baby this year, so good job, us).

Sounds like a problem that thanks to medical knowledge and appropriate planning will not actually be a problem!

Correct! Amazing, isn't it? It's still a little nerve wracking because there is a list of things that should trigger an immediate trip to the hospital (bleeding, contractions, headaches, blurred vision, upper abdominal pain) so I'm living in a state of yellow alert (so tiresome) but when I'm admitted, I can relax a little because I'm already where I need to be if something happens.

Thank you all for the kind words and well wishes!

It's also pretty much impossible to figure out how much you'll be paying for a "regular" hospital birth in advance.

carl, can you talk to a nutritionist and maybe put together somekind of plan to at least intersperse the hospital diet with some occasional brought-in meals or snacks? Two weeks would drive me bonkers von nutsville.

Since I'm not actually sick or on any kind of restricted diet, I can bring in anything I want, thank god. My cousins are giving us gift certificates to a few local restaurants so Jeff can bring me takeout, too.

Another thing that blows my mind about the food is the sheer volume of it. I don't know if I got a special pregnant lady diet or what, but it was seriously more food than I eat in like two days. Three meals, all of which come with salad AND soup (breakfast comes with oatmeal), bread, desert, milk, juice, and coffee PLUS two snacks, one of which consisted of a sandwich, milk, apple, and (dreadful, disgusting) cookies, aka another lunch.

The second night I was in, my night time snack box had three slices of American cheese wrapped in cling wrap and an apple. I LOLed pretty hard.

I can also wear regular clothes (well, house pants and the like), thankfully.

you will have a babby to dress up like a turkey and place on a platter on the table for Thanksgiving!

THIS AND ONLY THIS

Hugs to you, Carl. It sounds like you are in really good hands. Thinking of you.

I can't believe my grandparents actually love hospital food, they rave about the hospital food in their town and only eat at hospital cafeterias when they travel.

Some of my grandparents' favorite restaurants were about on par with hospital food, so I can see that. It's kind of odd that your gps eat at hospital cafeterias when they travel, though!

I know. They say hospital cafeterias are always clean.

S. still talks about the awesome food and comely nurses in a hospital in Singapore, SIX YEARS LATER!

my very best wishes to you, carl & baby, I hope the waiting time goes happily and well.
signed, yet another fan of your lovely haircut/eyes.

<3 thank you!!!

quincie, I forgot to mention that part of the overall care available includes visits from social workers who specialize in women undergoing high risk pregnancies. As a student of social work, I thought you might find that interesting. And yes, I am 100% availing myself of that service.

Wait, you got a CHOICE of foods?? In the hospital?? I got cream of wheat that wasn't even microwaved, it was like a hockey puck made of horse glue.

The hospital caf had Jamaican beef patties, but could you get those delivered upstairs? Could you fuck.

Only after I'd been there overnight. The initial dinner and breakfast the following day were just whatever they gave me. Then lunch that day day was a choice of veggie burger, Salisbury steak, or hot turkey; peas and carrots or just carrots; mashed potatoes or french fries; potato leek or some other soup (the potato leek soup is the thing that was actually pretty good); garden salad or cottage cheese and tomatoes; a few different things for desert; and then beverages.

Dinner was a set of similar choices - meatloaf, chicken breast, something I can't remember; carrots or broccoli; mashed potatoes or "bread stuffing" (decent); salad or cottage cheese; desert; beverages.

But it was the same choices both times I was there, so you know, once I'm at the point where I'm like "Oh, Salisbury steak just for variety!" then I'll know I'm a defeated woman.

To my eternal frustration, it's an iceberg salad and their dressing selection is Italian, thousand island, Catalina, or fat free ranch. I had a puking incident involving Italian salad dressing early on in the pregnancy and I hate every other dressing option, especially fat free ranch because I like regular ranch dressing just fine, especially on iceberg lettuce (if you're going to go low brow, go all the way I say).

Best health wishes to you and the babby, Carl!

quincie, I forgot to mention that part of the overall care available includes visits from social workers who specialize in women undergoing high risk pregnancies. As a student of social work, I thought you might find that interesting. And yes, I am 100% availing myself of that service.

Oh that's so great! Are you finding it helpful?

First session is tomorrow, but I am comforted even just knowing it's available so I'm going to go ahead and say yes.

Really not impressed with my initial experiences of NCT. First they encourage me to sign up for a direct debit to pay and I leap at the chance, given their antenatal course is costing over £300. Then when I come to pay, it transpires the direct debit only applies to the £40 membership fee, so this is just a tactic to get me to stay a member after the initial year as presumably they hope I'll forget to cancel the payments.

Now I get an email confirming my reservation on a postnatal course, which I didn't book. I write to let them know, and a woman gets back to me with a C&P of a paragraph buried in an earlier email telling me how, since 80% of their members feel they gain from a postnatal class, they have taken the liberty of booking me onto one.

Fuck this. What next, partnership emails from Bounty?

They have taken the liberty to book one for you... What the shit.

bloody hell. I didn't do NCT, we moved and it was too late. I'm glad I didn't bother, not one of my local friends went to the same NCT group, because we're at the edge of so many areas.

They came highly recommended by a few friends - not because of what you learn so much but because of the network of babysitters friends. But this stinks, especially as they're a charity. Of course now I'm now panicking in case the woman I sent a snippy email to is actually leading my class...

I met all of my local mother friends at the local baby group I first went to when A was about 4 weeks old.

How did you find the local group, V? Was it advertised somewhere in particular? I'm avoiding the big online forums at the moment because all the Opinions terrify me.

They did have notices up but it was run by a couple of the local health visitors. Have a look out at local cafes for notices, and go to the library singing sessions too, to meet other new mums. The NCT is an easy, if expensive, way to have a ready made network though

Per my previous update, I am officially admitted for my course of hospital bed rest. So far so good, but it's only been a few hours and they've already sent a social worker in to assess my mental state and to warn me not to be too surprised if my cheery disposition dissipates in a few days.

Hilarious hospital food update: lunch was a hamburger, steamed broccoli, and two (2) different kinds of canned fruit - mixed fruit cocktail and a peach half in a dish on some lettuce. It's one scoop of cottage cheese away from being a diner diet plate! For some reason, though, they've got me coded as having food allergies and being on a restricted calorie diet, which I think accounts for all the fruit. I sorted that out with the nurse, though. Restricted calories my aunt fanny.

Good luck, CA - hope however long it takes goes as smoothly and undepressingly as possible.

Thanks, M!

The plan is two weeks and then a c-section as long as nothing happens to foreshorten that time frame, but the doc told me this morning if I stay stable, they'll delay the delivery by up to a week. I am really hoping that's what happens!

Put your feet up and watch 2 seasons of Scandal on netflix, is my advice.

I'm going to be able to watch the Bulls season opener tonight, which is on a cable channel, so that's kind of exciting.

Scandal has been in our queue forever. Maybe now is the time.

ooooh this is getting so exciting! Babby soon!

Sorry you have to be inpatient, tho. By "bedrest" do they mean "u no getting up, please pee and poop in this pan" or can you do some walking about?

I can get up to go to the bathroom and shower! I'm in the process of lobbying them to let me go to a mysterious place called the "coffee room" so I can get my own water instead of calling the poor nurses to bring it to me (which is nice, don't get me wrong, but I'm going to be here for two weeks plus and I don't want to annoy anybody) and I am going to see if they'll let me go outside for some fresh air later this week when it's not raining. The last one is probably pushing it, but I think they'll let me get the water. I mean, hell, yesterday I walked a mile home from the store carrying a bag of groceries. Shuffling around the corner to the water and ice machine shouldn't be an issue.

hope all goes smoothly carl!

I am dying for the big name reveal!

Oh jeez, that reminds me of Carl and Little Carl from that episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast.

Good luck and here's to a happy and healthy Little Carl!

omg Carl by my math you could choose to have little baby Lexy on november 14 like the universe desires! SECOND COMING. Seriously though, wishing you the best of bed rest, freedom to get your own water and an excellent wifi connection for Netflixing (or is that on TVs in hospitals now?)

good luck CA!! hoping all goes smoothly for you n babby

How's it goin', Carl? Wishing u best.

Day 11. Spirits high. Though I can't stop thinking about the wallpaper in this room. It is the strangest yellow, that wall-paper! It makes me think of all the yellow things I ever saw – not beautiful ones like buttercups, but old foul, bad yellow things.

Man, carl, you're a champ! My roommate just got out of 10 days in the hospital and I think it was getting him down finally, although it's less fun if you can't breathe, I'm told.

What secrets lay within the coffee room?

xp Just kidding there's no wallpaper in here.

I'm fine. Antsy and I had a breakdown about dinner last night that lasted like 45 minutes but that's probably to be expected.

Fetus continues to be a total badass. If everything continues as it has been, they'll start taking it day by day as of Tuesday and see if we can't give the kid a few more days on the inside to make a few extra ounces of baby.

Jeff continues to be a total badass as well. My parents are here and I've had lots of lovely visitors. So all in all: reasonably okay.

The coffee room remains a mystery. There are two water/ice machines and I am permitted access to the closer one, which is in a storage closet. It's too bad, too, because I like the ice from the coffee room ice machine better.

I'm glad your roomie is home, io!

Expected?? I'm amazed it took that long! Rest, have breakdowns, do whatever you do while kiddo gains a gram here, a gram there. Pics suggest Jeff is getting bored enough to start cataloging "The Nights and Days of Francie" so I'm sure he'll be fine.

Thanks for the good wishes for R, you know I'm secretly delighted when someone is completely under my control so I quite enjoyed making him dinner on a tray the first night AND I got to see the holes in his side from where they punched through his ribcage wall to put a tube in his chest. He's on morphine now so all is well.

early morning lol @ yellow wallpaper

Carl, you had me worried with the wallpaper. Glad the waiting is tolerable, that babby's probably growing like mad due to peanut butter variations.

yellow wallpaper ref <3 <3 <3

I'm glad it's all going reasonably ok! hope the storage closet ice undergoes a mysterious improvement to coffee room ice standards.

I was wondering how everything was going and wishing you the very best xo

Pics suggest Jeff is getting bored enough to start cataloging "The Nights and Days of Francie" so I'm sure he'll be fine.

Ha, I have to spend some couch time with Francie every night when I get back from the hospital, otherwise she goes crazy from lack of human attention. Unfortunately Francie time is invading sleep time.

I too enjoyed your yellow wallpaper joke.. Dork :) glad the rest is doing baby good at any rate

yellow wallpaper ref <3 <3 <3

Morning, carl!

the nurses in our recovery area started referring to me as the guy who walks the halls because i refused to press the stupid call button to get ice water or new diapers or whatever, so i feel you on the ice machine access. apparently none of the other new fathers ever do this?! which seems so weird to me but hey, lazy or freaked out or w/e i suppose. obv this same freedom of motion was not granted to k, who was on the bed rest tip

I know! I feel like a tool calling for water, too. Right now I'm on the fetal heart monitor for six hours at a time (six on, six off so I can have six blessed, precious hours of sleep at night) so I end up having to call for bullshit like that sometimes. But I figured out how to unplug and plug in the monitor cables and can often successfully readjust the sensors so I can at least go to the damn bathroom without having to involve anybody else.

Got good news today, though - me and the baby are stable enough that they are going to reschedule the c-section for next Tuesday and then take it day by day until then. Any bleeding, significant contractions, blood pressure issues, fetal distress, or if I just decide that I can't take any more and they'll deliver earlier. But I'm determined to get this kid to 35 weeks, dammit, even if it means lying still with those stupid, noisy, hot air compression boots on all day.

Can't wait until the kid is older and I can say shit like, "You got a C in biology??? I didn't spend at extra week on hospital bed rest to make sure your brain developed as much as possible so you could get a C in biology." Or "I fought doctors and gravity to keep you in my womb an extra week and you repay me by dating this asshole?"

Fun times.

hahaha

Support this course of action.

This poor child.

raised by a village of snarky ilxors

Will rebel by becoming a mod on Reddit.

Not if he wants to live.

Or she, obviously. Defaulted to masc pronoun because that was an actual thing I heard a mom say to her son once: "You'll shovel that sidewalk if you want to live."

lol i felt a twinge of sorrow for the missing of 11/12/13 (hush, non-yanks)

Surely she's going to hold out until 11 Dec, so no worries there

They won't let me go past 35 weeks no matter what. I had to do some convincing to get that extra week in, even.

But I believe 11/16 is FFM's birthday, and 11/19/13 would be all prime numbers, so those are both cool. Also my birthday is 11/22 so really anything in mid-November is excellent, IMO.

those air compression boot are loud! mr veg had to wear them, hated the noise

My birthday is 11/14, but there's nothing wrong with the second half of November: we're the Valentine babies! It is a pity that the epic birthday is being missed, but I'm glad that means you & the baby are healthy and strong. Mwah!

Oh sorry! I knew it was around here somewhere. Well, 11/14 could happen, too!

Baby is welcome to it! :)

My birthday is Aug 6; do you think you could just hang in a little more til then?

Haha yes because I am an elephant.

Hope all is still going well for you, Carl.

I'm having occasional but annoying almost-faints: in the last month it's happened twice in the bathroom and just now on the station platform, which made me miss my train because boarding would have been a very bad idea. When I told the midwife she basically said, "meh that happens to loads of people, your blood pressure is perfect" so I'm more annoyed than worried.

Baby Center and the like always list fainting as one if the fun things you can enjoy as a pregnant person. It sucks that it's happening to you!

How far along are you now?

29 weeks on Sunday. I have been given iron tablets for the fainting, and the afternoon off work hurrah. Midwife basically told me to consider him a parasite and do all I can to replenish what he's sucking out of me. Babby was head down, arse out for her and his heartbeat was strong so draining my life force is clearly to his advantage.

Ha! I remember when I started craving milk like it was the only thing that mattered in the world. Then I read the weekly update and that coincided with the baby sucking all the calcium from me to make its own little bones and it all made sense.

Checking in xo

Oh, you know, nothing major. I'm having a baby tomorrow morning at 7 am.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I didn't get the evite.

Does your room have a whiteboard? You should totally write up a Monday to-do list like:

1) Brush teeth
2) Have babby
3) Freak out over babby reality
4) Etc.

And then cross items off as you complete them throughout the day.

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL!!!!

yaaaay carl!! you are one of three women i know who is in the exact same position -- one already had her baby (girl) and you seem poised to be next, although i haven't heard about the third one.

It's raining babies.

lolololol This is exciting!

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r1a-7OVQHV4/TWb41Xv5P0I/AAAAAAAAEbM/1jkbplItMWo/s1600/cakeify-hurray.gif

There is a white board. Under "special needs" the nurses wrote "Stay pregnant :)" because that is how we joke in the perinatal surveillance unit.

Anyway me and the baby made it to 34 weeks, 6 days, which will significantly reduce NICU time so I'm pleased and can get excited about getting THE FUCK OUT OF THE HOSPITAL and also having my wee baby.

I haven't been outside in almost three weeks, guys.

http://boxercrazy.org/forum/Smileys/jason/straightj.gif

OMG Carl and Jeff!! This is so exciting!!!

http://www.nataliedee.com/091205/NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.jpg

Outside there are trees, which are like very tall vegetables, and shiny metal animals with glowing eyes that you get inside of to go places.

Gosh, there really IS a Nathalie Dee cartoon for everything.

Natalie Dee had a baby at 33 or 34 weeks because of preeclampsia so that is extra appropriate.

I wasn't going to post the link to that story until AFTER your birth but know that I dearly dearly wanted to. I'm glad we're on the same wavelength there.

I've read it (and Jessica Valenti's story) about 1000 times since I learned of my particular complication, mostly because the stories had happy endings.

I've been meaning to come here, and have just caught up with what day it is and been reading about how you couldn't even go outside all this time!!! All the best!

yes!!! uh, break a leg or something? <3

break a water!

Bust a move.

tuesday keeps getting closer and closer, best best wishes<3

this is so exciting!!

Waiting waiting waiting

zomg I only just saw this. exciting! all the best, carl, jeff and babby

^

<3

thinking of u guys this morning!

Baby is born! Everything is looking good. More later.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

yeah!!

Yayyyyyyy

Congratulations! Whooo!

Yay new baby!!!

yaaaay i was thinking about you guys when i woke up!
congrats!! give carl a squeeze for me!

Good news!

:)

Yay carl, jeff, babby!!!!

gosh now I am going to spend the entire day wondering about babby's genitals and name

Yay! Thumbs up all the way for the new baby!

Congratulations!

congrats!

radical news

congratulations!!!

It's a girl, Ivy Elizabeth. She's hanging out in the NICU now getting warm now. Carl is doing good, recovering.

!!!!!!

where's jigglepanda when you need him

omg

sup ivy

Beautiful name.

Hello Ivy! Nice job, Carl!

Ivy Ivy Ivy! Love it, yay little girl, stay warm and thrive so you can go home to meet Francie!

i like the short first name that is a plant - long queenly middle name - last name that is a thing in which plants grow combo! so lovely.

Jeff, I'm glad you were successful in your quest to have a child with a very short name.

Mission accomplished.

w000t

It's a girl

where's my $5

huzzah!!! congrats to jeff and carl and ivy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU4pyiB-kq0

A fucking plus congrats guys!

aw man we totally missed all the polling opportunities that this exciting occasion presented to us

i was so sure she was going to be called Riker whether she was a girl or a boy

Yay congratulations both! Welcome Ivy. Btw Ivy is my favorite name for a girl and what I've always wanted to name a daughter should I ever have one. Good choice! :) Also, well done Carl!!

Yessss!! Well done!

why isn't ivy posting yet?

Ivy's not allowed to use the internet until she's 21.

Hey! Hi! Thanks! We have a baby!

Ivy's in the NICU for now but doing well. I'm very motivated to make strides towards recovery so I can see her!!!! I did get to send a breast milk-o-gram at least.

FYI having a c-section was the absolute most bizarre thing I have ever experienced in my life, and I have done A LOT of hallucinogenic drugs in the past.

Yay!!!! Aww, I can't wait to see pictures. Did you feel all kinds of crazy pressure and pulling? Did Jeff watch them do it? Also lol at breast milk gram. Oh I am very happy for you both.

When do you think you'll get to see her? Did you know the sex or was it a surprise (sorry if I missed that elsewhere)?

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Oh babies are just the best thing.

yay this is wonderful, congratulations! t I'm so glad you are both doing well. and ivy is a beautiful name.

Early on, I mentioned to sunny naming our son Pleasant Plains Baker IV. "We could call him Ivy Baker," I said.

She straight-up shot me down, saying it was a girl's name. Besides, the boy deserved his own name anyway.

So that said, I'm glad there's an Ivy out there that I can now keep up with. Congratulations, you three.

congrats!!!

i know two babbys that were born today! the other is named finley

I've said it elsewhere, but it deserves to be repeated: Congrats!!!

I just found out about two other babies I knew were due soon being born. November is baby month!

Did you feel all kinds of crazy pressure and pulling?

God, yes. Jeff did not watch, but cowered behind the drape with me as I shut my eyes and whimpered about how weird it was.

We knew it was a girl, just kept it a secret!

At about 9 tonight they'll let me stand up and take some steps and it I don't puke or fall over, they'll wheel me to see her. She's already off oxygen and out from under the french fry lamp so I feel like we are both trying hard to meet.

My mom took a video of her while Jeff held her and oh my. This kid.

We knew it was a girl, just kept it a secret!

you guys were v. good with yr pronouns! last week you said something about 'i was on bed rest for weeks, how can you date this asshole' and i was like a) it's a girl, b) it's a gay boy, or c) you have offhandedly reclaimed asshole for all genders

anyway i am so happy for you + jeff + francie

Here she is:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7417/10935838144_47e740740d.jpg

oh, a sleepy little lady.

She looks so comfy and content!

side-sleeper after my own heart

lil buddy

That pic is melting my cold, icy heart. She is too beautiful.

oh my god she is precious. congratulations, jeff and carl! so happy for you guys.

goddammit now I'm tearing up with happy tears

you fuckin guys

she's lovely

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYBIES!

I'm so grateful to come home from that long day to this wonderful thread. Congrats to both of you and loving thoughts to Ivy. Maybe you already tried to stand up? In any case drink lots of water, esp to make up blood loss. I got dehydrated in hosp bc they didn't want me to throw up and make a mess so they only gave me tiny cups of water, and I almost passed out trying to walk to the bathroom. Then of course they were like "uh huh we told you not to walk to the bathroom" but FUCK BEDPANS.

ivy is so lovely. I know it's jumping the gun but I'm already looking forward to her saying some darndest things.

Awwww she's gorgeous!!

http://www.funtasticecards.com/postcard/images/congratulations-baby-crawling-01.gif

http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/congratulations-new-baby-girl--azaleas-carol-senske.jpg

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW
http://thejuxtapositionape.blog.com/files/2011/09/Aaliyah-288x192.jpg

Carl finally got to hold Ivy!

:))))))))))))

So glad everything went well. Congratulations and welcome to the world, Ivy!

While it is true I don't know a thing about neonates, that beautiful babby looks fully formed to me! How much did she weigh? She doesn't look like a premie at all, good job Carl for an excellent babby baking project.

She weighed in at a scrappy 4 pounds, 1 ounce (1840 grams for you metric ppl), which is small for a newborn and a little small for her gestational age (we were really hoping she's top 5 pounds). But at almost 35 weeks, babies look like babies. They just aren't as plump since the last 5 weeks are dedicated to fattening up and learning how to suck, swallow, and breathe at the same time.

She definitely feels mini when I hold her, but the last newborn I held was NA's daughter but that was three years ago and she was tall so I really have no frame of reference.

Anyway the next goal is for her to start showing interest in nursing. I'm going to be allowed to get up and move around once I'm disconnected from all these tubes so I plan to spend a lot of time with her and I'm hoping being around her food source will encourage that.

Does she have a white board? You can list out her goals for her ;)

I'm thinking the smell of peanut butter will certainly arouse her appetite.

how long before we learn if she prefers hot vs. cold

She definitely prefers hot. She already hates winter.

lol

She was pretty content stretched out under the heat lamp.

have any cubs fans asked you if she's named after the outfield walls at wrigley?

They have not. I've considered that association when picking the name, but it really did not factor in.

Been dying to get online and get on this thread, no wifi, traveling...CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!! She is so beautiful!!!!!! Oh so happy for you both!!

Kind of offline lately (and waiting for another straggling baby in chicago), realized I had not heard news about carl's junior yet, then noticed this thread. Congratulations, good on both of you.

lol @ "carl's junior"

<3

congratulations carl !

What a beauty!! Congrats Carl and Jeff. YOU MADE A HUMAN

argh why did I not have this thread bookmarked, belated congratulations to the three of you!!

BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL BABY!!!

Ivy's 4 lbs 10 oz! And no more feeding tube! Yesterday I got to see her face without a tube taped to it for the first time since the three seconds they kind of waved her in front of my face on the way to the NICU the day she was born and I am confident saying that she is a really good looking baby.

We're engaged in "kangaroo care" as I type this, which today involves her farting* on me a lot and it is like the best thing ever.

*let's be real she's totally sharting.

Also thank you all for the kind words!

I've always loved the idea of k-care, and I love that you're doing it!

what's that?

skin-to-skin. http://my.clevelandclinic.org/childrens-hospital/health-info/ages-stages/baby/hic-Kangaroo-Care.aspx

My Australian bride gave our two kids kangaroo care, but it was mostly teaching them how to fight with their feet.

It's when you put the baby bare chested on your bare chest (well sort of bare since there are people in here). It helps preemies regulate breathing, heart rate, and temperature and also just makes them feel better because they are getting lots of human contact, which they don't really get enough of. Also makes me feel better.

xp

ah
i am totally not up on the lingo
i would have called that "holding yr baby"!

k-care sounds like obamacare to me! lol
anyway glad everyone is feelin good and eating and not wearing any tubes and on the way to the rest of your lives!

The bare skin contact is the differentiator between k-care and holding the baby.

I love the origins of kangaroo care. It's so simple but so effective and so logical. Babies like being held! Fancy that.

It also gets me right in the feelings area, sort of like how I cry every time I read about the wire monkey/cloth monkey experiment.

oh, man. that robot monkey mama.

what's the monkey thing now?

do I wanna read up on this while at work?

Does Jeff do the skin to skin thing too? I've seen dads do it and I also think it's v awesome and important and omg at yr little sharting baby. <3

wire monkey/cloth monkey experiment

Uh, I had to stop reading when I got to the part about keeping the monkey infants in complete isolation for up to 24 months. Those poor lil guys! :(

Oh, this is where people are talking about Ivy! It was a hard thread to find b/c ILP doesn't show up in SNA.

Anyway, happy baby to you.

I learned about the monkey deprivation experiment in psych class, but I guess I forgot the 0_o terminology of it, which I guess I won't share here, but yikes. (Just Google Harry Harlow if you're interested.)

Also lol My Australian bride gave our two kids kangaroo care, but it was mostly teaching them how to fight with their feet.

ILP doesn't show up in SNA.

It does if you tell it to.

Heyo so some of you know that Ivy finally came home last Thursday! While she was still in the hospital, it almost felt like I was still pregnant (but not) or at least expecting so it seemed somehow appropriate to keep posting here but now that she's snortling and grunting away right here at home, I'll take Ivy-related posts to the parenting thread and the rolling photo quarantine so as not to monopolize this thread.

xoxoxoxoxoxox

ps How's it going, Madchen?

Just little things for me really. Mum had peripheral neuritis both after my sister and I were born, which is unusual enough in new mums for my consultant not to have come across it before, so I'll be kept in and observed for a couple of days after the birth just in case. White blood cell count is slightly raised, which can be a sign of infection or DVT, but I have neither so they're going to do more bloods in January and see what happens. Four dizzy spells: three at home and one on the station platform, for which I've been given iron tablets. Apart from that... indigestion, bump ache and APPALLING snoring which keeps poor Stet awake all night long.

In summary: could be so much worse.

The snoring! It is a real thing. I also had a terrible drooling problem. At the end I slept with a washcloth under my face.

I hope everything is okay with the post-partum observation. They'll let the baby stay with you, right?

Not sure yet if they have a separate room for the babbies or cribs on the ward - need to check that out. Also, as it's wards of four, it's not a compulsory stay and the hospital's only five minutes away, if it's noisy or stressful I can always check out and be under my own observation. But good to know there's a bed booked if I need it.

So, er, I'm 33 weeks pregnant and on crutches. On the way downstairs to breakfast on Saturday morning I missed the last step and rolled my ankle so badly I heard the ligaments crunch. Felt no pain initially, but knew it was bad so shrieked for Stet who called the ambulance. Don't remember much - I wasn't responding at one point - but oh my god the agony. Thank goodness the paramedics brought gas and air, so I tooted on that for the next couple of hours... It's pretty good stuff.

No fracture, but tons of swelling and one weird circular bruise on the sole of my foot. And when my ankle isn't above the height of my hip it hurts like bejimminy. I declined the offer of a cast because I really need to be as mobile as possible and start doing physio exercises right away to give myself a decent shot at an active labour. So instead I have a gloriously stylish NHS grey plastic boot to match my NHS grey crutches.

Half my Christmas shopping remains unshopped and our trip to Glasgow has been cancelled. Hey ho.

And crutches are a *bastard* at the best of times. When you're 25lb heavier than usual it feels like doing push-ups wearing an army backpack.

Oh my god that's awful. I'm glad it wasn't worse but damn. Just reading that made me cringe in pain.

I hope you heal rapidly and thoroughly!

Oh geez, what unlucky timing! But hopefully your super-charged baby-making body will heal up in record time. Take care and best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Glad it wasn't worse is very much how I feel. I mean, it's crap and it's horrible and it's painful but ... I slipped on the bottom step rather than the top one, and I landed on my arse rather than my head.

Today I have been introduced by the midwife to the wonderful world of self-injection: need to stab myself in the thigh with Enoxaparin Sodium for the next fortnight as a preventative measure against blood clots/DVT. Quite how I'm going to manage this I'm not sure - I guess it will take about 20 minutes of build-up before I take the, er, plunge tomorrow.

Can you practice on a grapefruit?

We conceived via IVF so I am a champion at self administered shots. Assuming you don't have a phobia about needles, the first time is really the hardest, like getting over the fact that you are poking yourself with a needle. Once you get past that, it's pretty easy. Sometimes the medicine burns when you inject it but IME the need stick itself was negligible.

I don't think practising is an option because I'd lose one day's treatment - I just have 14 of the things. I'll just have to go for it. Think you're right and I just need to grit my teeth and get through it. I'm not exactly phobic, but I don't usually look when I have a blood test or whatever. But these ready-filled disposable syringes make things as easy as they possibly could be.

Gulp.

I'm the same way about blood draws, still.

I will think brave thoughts for you!

oh man i love seeing blood being drawn out of me. its so amazing to me. also i have a little needle fetish.

sweet jesus

21 days since I bust my ankle and I managed my first solo trip outside today, to the cornershop to buy milk. Woohoo! I needed both crutches and the spaceboot, but it didn't hurt (though I did need a nap afterwards).

The bambino still appears to be enjoying my womb enough not to want to leave it yet - we hit 36 weeks tomorrow. But I am so bored of sitting around with my feet up, trying to ignore the nesting urge. So many cupboards to clear out!

Oh, and I had to stop the self-injection after two goes because it was giving me really harsh Braxton Hicks contractions with bonus waves of nausea. All back to normal since then and no more thigh stabbing required, which is a definite bonus.

What is the deal with cleaning out cupboards? That was number one on my list when I was pregnant.

It sucks to have to stifle the nesting urge. Glad you're shut of the injections, though!

https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1/p480x480/1503451_10103447442190099_1703133455_n.jpg

Whoops this is the wrong thread

Baby missiles = fastest labour ever.

Q: if my friends and I have been calling my friend's fetus by a nickname, and the real name is either a secret or not yet publicized, is it ok if I address the book I'm about to give to the kid using the nickname? Additional Q: should I write in the book at all? It's a collectible, apparently.

I would tuck a personalized card in at the title page, with nickname.

My family believes you shouldn't give a book as a gift that you HAVEN'T written a dedication in but in this modern world that's a bit odd--not every single book is going to be saved until that kid is 27.

Oh yeah would not write in a collectible AT ALL.

This is why I asked! My intuition is nonexistent when it comes to this stuff. I want him to know it's from me, will stick a note in there. Thx guys.

:) I'm more comfortable not personalizing books that are already old/special. New ones? Go to town.

I stuck notes on all of his presents. Really went to town!

Hee hee! Have so much fun today!

My family believes you shouldn't give a book as a gift that you HAVEN'T written a dedication in but in this modern world that's a bit odd--not every single book is going to be saved until that kid is 27.

― Orson Wellies (in orbit), Saturday, January 18, 2014 9:33 AM (46 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ha, this is one of dad's biggest hang-ups. i gave him a couple books for xmas once and didn't write anything and he made a point of fetching a pen and making me write something, anything

Hmm, when I was a kid I'd often get given books I already had and those dedications make exchanges impossible.

My family was always very insistent about dedicating books, too, but now we all have Kindles and just get each other Amazon gift cards.

Part of me wants to bemoan the lost custom of dedicating books but io OTM about not having books forever anymore.

Baby showers have so many land mines! Glad I asked but also obvs can't please em all, right? Like I'm gonna screw up at least one thing at each baby shower. Today it's that I was explicitly told to only bring a gift for one baby but everyone else got one for each baby. Why couldn't this have been more clear on the invite?

I went to a baby shower this summer where the theme was books and stories. They requested you write a note in the book and I had no idea what to write.

"dear babby one day u will be able to read this love tokyo rosemary"

Perfect.

wait since when were baby showers for baby's? i thought they were for the moms? all the female friend getting the new mom all the shit theyll need to deal with neu baby?

I've been to one baby shower, it was ok. As a non-parent and person who hasn't done much babysitting having all the presents passed around to check out seemed kind of unnecessary, but there were snacks and no games.

i think book dedications are actually sweet, my dad still does that with books he gets for August. He is the only person I know who does that though. I tend to be sentimental and stuff like that guarantees I try to hold on to something forever.

My mother and her friends, who I don't really know, put together a baby shower of sorts when I was 8 months pregnant. It was done with the idea that I would not be attending because I was just living too far away at the time. i felt weird about it. I was sent several gift cards to a grocery store that was not in our area, WalMart gift cards and a few baby outfits and blankets that looked and smelled a bit musty. I had no friends or family where I was living at the time so this was it. Wish the event had not happened. I mailed out thank you notes to addresses my mother provided and more than half were returned because the addresses were wrong.

I have attended several baby showers in the past and really love the make a baby out of bubble gum game.
http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1158/627189242_4ab47d46eb_s.jpg

Baby showers have just recently started to happen here in the UK and are still pretty rare. I went to my first back in November (shortly before GB's first ever Black Friday, ha). It was organised by the American friend of my preg friend and was nice, but there was a definite feeling that people didn't know quite what to do. I dunno, I've always thought I'd rather be given a load of stuff after I know the babby has been delivered safe and well.

*Downer alert* I've been doing a lot of thinking since I heard that one of the couples in our antenatal class lost their baby very shortly before it was due. Lots of wondering how the fuck I would cope with all kinds of practical details on top of the unimaginable emotional trauma. Can't even begin to try and understand.

Oh that's so hard. I had a miscarriage before I got pregnant with Ivy and then there was all that crazy stuff with that pregnancy so yeah, I spent a lot of time in that head space. It's exhausting.

Everything with you is going well so far, right? How often do you see the midwife/OB at this point? I found the frequent medical visits to be reassuring plus I gave myself permission to call for any concern, which helped. I don't even think I had to call but knowing that I would without hesitation also helped.

Our baby shower was just a party with pals. I drank beer and we didn't open any presents or play any games.

(xp) Yeah, things with me are going OK thanks, all things considered. I'm going on two or three outings per week (which means a less-than-10-minute walk to a nearby shop or the post office) but I still have to wear the semi-rigid boot and my ankle swells and aches afterwards. I'm also completely knackered the next day from the herculean effort, wot a wimp. Around the house I'm getting about with no ankle support, *almost* taking the stairs like a normal person and catching up with chores. And there's no doubt it's doing me good to sit around resting for much of the time. 9 days until due date, feel like the clock is really ticking now. Oh, and my absolute least favourite minor niggle is heartburn - really need that to disappear within minutes of birth please.

Oh my goodness, I keep looking here thinking SURELY she can't still be pregnant! You're a champ, Madchen. Looking forward to the end of this time for you and the beginning of the next big thing!

You'd probably be tired even without the ankle boot! A friend of mine was so beat at the end of her pregnancy that she would fall asleep sitting up at her desk at work. Her snoring would wake her up.

I've heard the heartburn goes away like magic. I have chronic, intractable heartburn anyway (yay) so it didn't go away after I delivered but it went back to being controllable with meds and I can drink coffee (decaf, tho) and occasionally eat something spicy or fried again, whereas when i was pregnant there was no controlling it (and Tums made me want to barf).

My tipple of choice, Gaviscon, also makes me want to barf these days but I'm still swigging it straight from the bottle because the acid has actually given me a sore throat. Yuck. Oh, and I think I have PEP because if I get too warm I itch like a fleabitten hound.

Forgot to answer your question about frequency of midwife visits - I've had them in weeks 10, 16, 20, 24, 27, 30, 33 and 36. Got another tomorrow (38) and two more in 40 and 41 if he's not moving. All that plus scans at 12, 20 and 32 weeks, a consultancy because of a very unusual thing my Mum had which I might have inherited (not serious) and a physio session to help relieve osteoarthritis. Thanks NHS!

Looking forward to the end of this time for you and the beginning of the next big thing!

Thanks, me too! Stet's going to be all over the photo thread, be warned :)

I can't wait!

Madchen, not long now (Yay!!!) but pregnancy heartburn is awful.

My heartburn was insane, it did disappear after birth. I had it during labor. I slept the best I had in months after August was delivered. Never had heartburn again.

Time for me to leave this thread OMG there is a baby in the room! Vital stats: boy, 7lb 8oz, 10.30pm, 9 Feb. We're still in hospital because of my high BP and he has a touch of jaundice but we shouldn't be in too much longer, touch wood. Name tbc very soon, but for the moment let's call him GORGEOUS LOVELY TINY PERSON.

huge congratulations to you and stet, that is wonderful news.

congratulations on the new tiny person!! hooray!

WTG mum, dad, and gltp !!

His name is Fox!

Many congrats Madchen & Stet

Awesome news, all around! Welcome, Fox! Well done, madchen and Stet!

yoyoyoyo congrats!

oh wow. Congratulations!

Congrats to Madchen and Stet, and welcome Fox!

Congratulations!!!! Fox! Delightful and wonderful!!!

sup fox! :D

Big congrats to all three of you ilx stalwarts (well, two stalwarts and one future stalwart)!

Awwwww...congrats!!! <3

Fox is a great name! Congratulations! I'm joining this thread because I made a people and have been sooooo sick for the past couple of months I've hardly had the energy to be excited. I'm even on pregnant lady anti-nausea meds and still throw up every other day and feel moderately sick and fatigued all the time. Pregnancy is crazy and I hope it doesn't make me crazy. I think I'm sort of starting to feel better? 14 weeks complete on Saturday! They say energy comes back after that marker. I have resigned myself to the merest of hope for that... Super active fetus during ultrasound made me happy though :)

I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope this is your turning point and you get to eat food with some enjoyment from now on! Omg motherhood Robyn-style, it's amazing.

Whoa hey congratulations!!! Exciting!

I was nauseated as hell, too, and couldn't even think about eating most food. I feel you - it really sucks. I'm very pleased to report that the nausea did go away (not until I was about five months though :( ) and the food aversions went away after delivery. I even ate two vegetables for breakfast today that I wouldn't have even been able to think about without hurling this time last year. I won't mention them in case they are on your hurl list.

Hahaa the hurl list! So real. It's so harsh to be so hungry yet not want to eat anything and then eating something and wondering if I'll feel barfy or not because there really is no rhyme or reason to it! That's slowly been changing in the past week, thankfully, but nausea remains present all the time - I think I've just gotten used to it and let myself slow down from the usual pace of my life (I srsly was basically bedridden for weeks 8-10 - I had to say no to some work because of it, managed to watch all of Merlin (lol) on netflix when screen didn't cause nausea, and stared at the ceiling or slept the rest of the time. That's when I got the meds and could semi-function again. The whole time I was like "why doesn't anyone talk about this??! Wtf!!" Oh I was angry-sad pregnant. Now at least I'm really into eating lots of fruit, which makes me happy :)

I had just been thinking of you kind of a lot and wondering where you were! I thought, ah her life is probably so full of a number of things that she's basically off the whole internet. But I missed you! And really you were busy having to have a mental hurl list. :(

Yeah I was so not well that I really withdrew from a lot of communication, incl fb. I forced myself during week 10 to reach out to everyone I know here who's had kids in the past few years and ask them about doctor recommendations, etc. And that turned into a nice congrats/commiseration thing but it was like all I could do to write back to people and thank them. I did find my ob-gyn that way, after many phone calls resulting in "sorry, not taking new patients." I think I got my doc because by the time I called his office, I was crying out of frustration and illness! Ah... But really it's been amazing how supportive people have been - there really is a pregnancy club, who knew!

And thank you L for thinking of me even if you didn't know why! <3 <3 <3

Plus the emotional roller coaster of my preg sickness has put PMS to shame, to shame. I'm amazed my friends are still my friends and so glad my bf and I have an amazing couples therapist because whoa. Onwards!

holy shit congatulations rrrobyn that's great news (pregnancy, not the hurling)

Haha thanks! :)

rrrobyn i had no idea! you are going to be a+ super-awesome mom!! Congrats!!

Wow, rrrobyn, congratulations! Hope the nausea goes away soon.

Thanks! :) :)
Yeah I haven't been on ilx in ages because I had a crazy busy work contract plus other work for 6 months and then after Christmas it's been preg stuff/sickness. And being in bands and relationship and stuff that just keeps me away from beloved internet. But I needed to tell ilx this! And will prob rant and ask questions here etc as time goes on.

It's one of those things where when ppl I love need to leave ilx or the internet for their health and personal goals, I want them to be and do well, but I'm glad when they come back to the fold after all and haven't totally left us behind. :) :) :)

cosign

Congrats rrrobyn! It's amazing how quickly the horror of pregnancy fades, it'll be hard for you to believe but one day you'll look back on your pregnancy with fondness ;) Hope it's onwards and upwards for you now, plain sailing until 40+ weeks!

Oh, that's so awesome!! I was wondering about you too recently. Hope the sickness subsides and you start feeling better soon. Congratulations!

congratulations robyn!!!

congrats robyn!! i can't wait to find out what you're going to name it!

OMG rrrobyn I have missed you here! I think I even asked about you on the Milk Carton thread or another thread. I've never even met you IRL but you have long been a awesome and happy influence in my life. Very excited about you and babby!!!

I hope you feel lots better very soon!!!

!!!

i can't wait to find out what you're going to name it!

― we slowly invented brains (La Lechera), Wednesday, March 19, 2014 11:02 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

space

cosmo, obviously

kkevin or ssusie

Stella Rrobyn Surname

Thank you all! <3

oh god, i've hardly started thinking about names, but the one or two conversations my bf and i have had indicate that it's not going to be easy.

All in all, I'm feeling a lot better this week than I have been for the past several weeks, but I'm going to still take the medication til it's gone (about another week). I'm still generally nauseous and had to dry heave yesterday for no discernible reason, but energy is higher. I still drink coffee but not every day and when I do, only one. Because coffee is wonderful. I've been burping a lot lately though (with or without coffee), which is annoying as hell + gross. Pregnancy is just kind of gross. "Beautiful" and gross.

irony of ironies: in December, I won a "Year of Beer" in the funding drive contest for the community radio station I volunteer with. Got pregnant at end of December. I haven't collected on beer yet but I think I'm just going to pay jam space rent with it and give it to friends. But seriously, LOL.

Terrible timing re. beer, but congratulations Rrrobyn! The nausea is awful - I could only quell it by eating really plain sandwiches and forcing down those first few mouthfuls was horrid. Enjoy trimester two - have fun adventures before the third kicks in with its heartburn and general enormity :)

not to be a downer on this thread but - these stories got me thinking, wtf do women do who are alone and work low paying jobs that don't provide paid sick leave???

congrax rrobyn, world needs more awesome momz

congradulations!

yeah, this is superb news and one lucky kiddo!

As a low-income freelancer with a low-income partner all I can say, just1ne, is thank god I live in a special place called Canada and an even more highly taxed place within it called Quebec, which provides fairly decent govt maternity & paternity leave for all + subsidized $7/day daycare. Oh and health care obv. I don't even want to think about the worries that would face me in the US (though for one I probably would've gone a different, more lucrative career route many years ago.)

In other news, I went to a play tonight and it was opening night so there was food afterwards, incl a big fruit plate - all I want to eat these days is fruit! All the fruit.

subsidized $7/day daycare

*sob*

I'm whispering, "Apply to college in Canada* into Ivy's ear rn.

Or don't go to college. Cheaper!

"Marry a Canadian" I'm whispering into Ivy's ear.

You have gay marriage in Canada, right? I don't want to force a heterosexual agenda on my baby.

I would only visit in the summer.

better yet, arm and train canadian army to invade and conquer parts of US a la russia/crimea

btw usa is a corporatist dystopia, fuck errthing

Only Quebec has the subsidized daycare iirc :( My friends pay out the nose.. Probably not quite to the US extent though I'm sure!

I would only visit in the summer.

ps what is this shit, Chi-town ;) You're as cold and snowy as we are. Ivy' smart enough not to move to Winnipeg.

I was just going to say Chicago is the same latitude as Toronto!

Maybe Jeff's got his eye on a Florida timeshare retirement? ;)

What do you pay for childcare in the US? I'm guessing it varies a lot from place to place... Here in London it's around £250 per week for a child under two years of age. The government's just announced a subsidy of £2,000 per year, but that won't kick in until autumn 2015.

We pay $195/week for three days of care, and that's on the cheaper end of what we found in our area. We have a pre tax dependent care spending account that maxes out at about six month's worth of care, so that's like a small subsidy that I can't even figure out in abstract terms. X% of Y, where X is our tax rate and Y is the maximum set aside.

And by our area, she means a 15 min bus ride to the next neighborhood over. Child care in our immediate neighborhood is outrageous.

Yeah. But I will say that I really like the place we found! Ivy was crying when I brought her in Thursday and as soon as the teacher took her in her arms, Ivy started smiling like crazy.

i think we get $7/day daycare because we have to deal with stuff like 15cm of snow on March 22... it's almost making me cry.

Blood test results were great except I have anemia - ob-gyn gave me slow-release iron capsules and I took one last night and felt more energetic this morning. Also I got into a midwifery birthing centre (was on wait list since I discovered I was pregnant) and am super happy about that - it's a publicly funded thing so I can't keep my ob-gyn care but can go to hospital (4 blocks from birthing centre) for birth if complications arise. Basically it's just more like the holistic care I need and the pregnancy/birthing experience that seems more me. So that's buoyed my spirits more :)

omg the waves of relief i'm feeling today after 21-week ultrasound this morning... all is well. i didn't realize how stressed i was about it. and we did find out the sex (i wasn't sure i wanted to, and my bf said he didn't, and there was arguing, but in the end i was like "yes tell me" and it was kind of no big deal in comparison to finding out the foetus/baby is healthy and thriving.

the pregnancy sickness seems to have run its course too - i've weaned myself off the anti-nausea medication in the past week or so, and aside from random bouts of burping and heartburn, i'm okay, though still not feeling all flooded with radiant energy as some people are in their 2nd trimester. but hey, i'm okay and not barfing! it's the little things... haha...

it's too bad that bike riding is uncomfortable. i need to buy some summer walkin shoes...

ah and i haven't gone and posted a "baby bump" (shudder at that term) pic anywhere because i'm totally carrying deep and kinda just look like me but with a beer belly. good times. i should head over to the body positivity thread...

but . . . but . . . now we need to know the sex too!

i mean obv not but now I'm dying to know!

Congratulations on the good ultrasound! It is such a relief, isn't it????? And congrats on feeling better. It took me until a bit past five months to stop wanting to barf all the time, too.

It's more just my build than how I carried, but I didn't really start showing until six or seven months, either. I felt pregnant, and I felt like I looked pregnant, but I just looked like a regular old fat lady to most people, I think.

Ah yeah, getting through that scan is a huge relief - it takes so long to check all the organs and limbs and other bits, I was just holding my breath throughout.

I found I looked much more pregnant when I wore maternity clothing; big and baggy non-mat clothes also did that beer gut thing to me. Proper maternity dress at almost five months.

oh yeah, the ultrasound took a while for all that checking of organs and limbs, plus he (i get to say "he" now - there you go, enbb! ;) ) was facing down so we had to wait for him to turn around to check out the face and heart, all beautiful of course :) usually, they only give you 3 photos, but we got 12 because the technician took so many in the process of waiting, haha, so i have this long strip of photos, from the "classic" ultrasound pic all the way to alien-spine pic, haha.

yeah, i'm still just wearing slightly loose regular clothes (and realizing i don't have many of those...) - i think people can tell when i'm wearing tight clothes/stretchy jeggings and a long top - the maternity profile is there, if subtle (i'm fairly thin but i guess i have a lot of torso space in there for the baby!). i have two pairs of maternity pants a friend gave me and one pair is the over-the-belly type, and they fall down still, and the other pair is the lower-waist type, which are fine but just kinda like elasticized-waist pants really, so less of the pregnant profile, more of the beer gut. and they also creep down, like i need suspenders for them or something. but it's almost summer, so i'll soon be wearing dresses and skirts anyway! which is cool because i do have some dresses and skirts that i don't usually wear because they cause pregnancy profile, so hey, now i can wear them!

I have this brilliant pair of sock garters that are adjustable elastic straps with clips on both ends and I would clip one end to my pants waistband and the other to my bra. Worked fantastically.

I got the garters at Sock Dreams but I saw a similar product marketed to pregnant women for that exact purpose.

Oh that is smart!!

so i have this long strip of photos, from the "classic" ultrasound pic all the way to alien-spine pic, haha.

babby photoe booth!

Haha yes totally!

Man, we got dozens of pictures at that ultrasound, like several sheets with 18 to a sheet, printed on X-ray film. Spent ages when we got home holding them up to the light and trying to work out what we were looking at. Amazing stuff.

A boy! Oh that's exciting, R. :D

I always thought I would really not enjoy being preg but tbh it's really exciting! (Now that the nausea is over and I can tell ppl). It's like a little thing all to myself. Trying to make the most of 2nd semester before it all becomes too much.

that is a joyful thing to read. my very best wishes to you, and to rrrobyn also.

Aww yay!

yeah it's much better when the major nausea goes away! mine comes and goes but it's manageable. i'm still fairly burpy though, which is often an indicator that i need to eat. i'm starting to feel my muscles atrophy though because i haven't been as active as usual - I really need to start pre-natal yoga or something. (I hurt my foot 2 weeks ago and that has really hampered my usual form of exercise, walking.)
i'm 26 weeks now and pretty obviously pregs, and sometimes when i catch myself in a full-length mirror or building window i'm like "what?? oh, it's me..."
actually starting to think about the birth and related things... and newborn things... but not enough to freak me out, yet.

Three more weeks to go. Pretty sure they're going to feel like forever, haha... I've had some pretty severe pelvic posterior pain in my right hip that has made walking almost impossible for the past couple of weeks - and walking + public transit is my main way of getting anywhere. I had to get a cane! And see an osteopath! So I haven't been out much lately, plus I've been too tired for much of that anyway. Sigh. But it'll go away with birth I am told. I'm just going with the flow here and in that kinda looking forward to labour o_O

hang in there gurrrl <3

Thanks <3
We moved into a place a month ago with an awesome roof deck in the back so at least I'm not confined to indoors! And I've had plenty of (slow-going - so many rest breaks) unpacking and apartment-beautifying to do at least. Now if this place had a pool, I'd be set ;)

I am building you a pool with my mind-powers

yes! :D

voting virgo!

Poor you, Robyn, the pelvic pain is a killer. Don't know if this will be useful for public transport, but I was advised to put a carrier bag down on car seats before getting in, as you can then swivel on your bum much more easily. Totally genius idea, works brilliantly.

3 weeks, eek!
I've had a similar thing since about 25 weeks or so. It's in my lower back/leg - sometimes it's fairly manageable and sometimes it kills. Swimming has helped but the effects don't last long and I don't have time to go swimming more than once/2x per week max.
Somehow all this is coinciding with building work (bathroom about to be taken out, oh joy) and a friend staying for best part of 3 weeks while we can barely fit ourselves into the couple of usable rooms. Plus a stressful time at work. Once the next few weeks are over I'll be set, I swear....

ah carrier bag idea is a good one! easy swivel action. right now it's more dealing the walk to the metro/bus than anything - and it's hardly a long walk at all, ha. i think we're going to sign up for shared-car program in the next few days anyway.

omg if i'd had this pain since 25 weeks i would be pretty stir-crazy by now - let alone the renovation work and a friend staying, eek, a bit much for you, kinder! and yet we deal with it and make it through... i'm still amazed i somehow packed all my stuff and moved last month. if i'd been in this pain and had this fatigue then i would've Not Managed Well. I'm thankful that the stressful work period is over as of this past week - still some work to do but not a lot (i'm freelance and work from home, so lucky there.) i mostly just want to read baby/birth books and eat ice cream and be that stereotype now ;)

haha, mooks the virgo vote is strong among family and friends here too :)

That pain sounds absolutely dreadful. And kinder I can't even begin to imagine how you are dealing with all of that stuff at once.

Sending calm, relaxed, stress-free, pain-free vibes both your ways. xoxo

kinder i will totally understand if you murder everyone xo

A friend is now at 13 weeks and has mad uterine polyps, 10cm/4 inches long, so many of them that they're forming "a pillow" for the baby and making her look about 6 months pregnant. She is not best pleased.

holy shit

woah
About 2 days ago I was going to post that I am being uncharactistically zen about the whole thing but... I can no longer tell a lie

Anyway I learned all about breastfeeding today and the midwife, while very lovely, reminded me exactly of Dawn French on Psychoville (in appearance only I should add)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET3_FvuMq-k

uugh rrobyn the pain was manageable until about last week and now this is the second occasion where I literally can't walk anywhere, can barely move. I drove to work today then felt dodgy so drove back and that was bad enough. Can't get physio until next week and they are the ones who'd give me crutches, support belt etc.

Oh aagh, it's really awful, I know! The pain has subsided a lot for me in the past few days, amazingly, not sure why but prob because baby is moving down - I'm almost 39 weeks, after all... I had thought about ordering a support belt on amazon earlier, since they seemed to have a wider and less expensive selection than the drugstore, and delivery is fast - maybe a good idea, to see if it works?

movin' on down, to the outside

i gave birth to this amazing baby two weeks ago! pregnancy was hard, taking care of baby is hard but in a much more fun/weird way. (and yaay the hip pain went away in the week before labour began and save for a bit of lingering fascia twinges, my hip feels fine!)

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2950/15481919542_af4c8575d5_c.jpg

baby is hueg

whoops.
well, he was 9.08 lbs! (birthed by unplanned c-section in the end, preceded by 12 hours of natural labour with midwives... my mind has kind of blurred all that. it was an Experience.)

ahhh!!! congratulations, he's so precious!

Conratulations!

My wife is at 37 weeks right now

congratulations!

that noggin'! what a kid.

oh man rrrobyn that kid is cute as heck

babby rrrobyn killing it with chillwave vibes

<3

That is one gorgeous kid. Congrats rrrobyn! Also bestest to First Lady & Prez Keyes.

Good baby.

Our new baby is already at 6 oz and it's still two months til the due date, she's gonna be huge too.

I think you forgot a number

omg I want to eat him all up!!
Pregnancy has made me one of *those* kinds of SQUEE BABIES ladies
Congratulations!!! I was wondering about you & bebe

Ha, me, too. I'm a squee children kind of lady now.

And as I have been discussing with a friend, it has also rendered me incapable of watching horror movies in which kids are in danger or suffer any kind of trauma, including contracting an illness that turns them into evil killer children.

Have you watched "Under the Skin" yet? There was a scene in there that was very divisive between parents and non-parents about how disturbing it was, at least in the ILX thread discussion. (Great movie though).

yeah - it really threw me how awful it was. (I was pregnant, not a parent so I guess smacked me with reality of dependency on parents etc)

No, I haven't seen it.

Don't do it! Very distressing!

I was distressed and I have no kids!

Okay I won't see it! But some kind soul should link the thread (on Zing and can't search) so I can see what the upsetting part is.

Under the Skin (2014) dir. Jonathan Glazer

control-f "family" and you'll get the idea.

congratulations rrrobyn

I mean, I really liked the film, but I got the feeling some other people in that thread thought that scene was ridiculous or almost funny? xp

Well there was the one person who called it hilarious...

Yeah that sounds like it would be a bit much for me. Also all of the comparisons to Tarkovsky, my feelings about whom are best expressed by rolling my eyes really hard.

It was a good movie and I didn't have a strong reaction to the scene either way but i can understand why people would
congrats rrobyn -- your baby has a very dignified face

i meant congrats in general, not congrats on your baby's face

7 weeks to baby #2
getting into that stage where time seems to be moving really slowly instead of moving really quickly
interviewing doulas

christ, time is slipping by far too fast for my liking (6 weeks to go)

I think it's the panic of loads of stuff needing doing and also 'oh hey life as you know it will change forever, appreciate it while you cannnnn'

Our new baby is already at 6 oz and it's still two months til the due date, she's gonna be huge too.

― Immediate Follower (NA), Thursday, October 9, 2014 10:35 AM (5 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I think you forgot a number

― ⌘-B (mh), Thursday, October 9, 2014 11:02 AM (5 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It took me like half the day to figure out what you were talking about. I meant 6 lbs, not 6 oz.

I had a dream that you told me what you named Baby 2 and it had four letters and ended in an -a but was a nonsense word like Fula or Gara or something. Anyway, if you haven't selected a name for this child, might I recommend Fula.

I just figured out this morning that I'm coming up on the year anniversary of checking myself into the hospital for my medically supervised confinement.

Our birth mom is due in 4 weeks and it's seriously freaking me out. At any time now we have to be ready to drop everything and set up camp 75 miles away for a couple days while going through all sorts of craziness involving her and her girlfriend, her family, the hospital, and the adoption agency and I have no basis for comparison for any of this.

Eeeee omg!!! so soon!

It took me like half the day to figure out what you were talking about. I meant 6 lbs, not 6 oz.

― Immediate Follower (NA), Tuesday, October 14, 2014 3:46 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I missed that too. I was just like "man, I guess it's been a while since I had this baby. I don't even remember all the numbers I'm supposed to know."

How's it going rrobyn?
also I know sick mouthy has not long to go...

It's going well! Almost 7 weeks! He went through a serious crying spell this week but it's calming down, phew (more to come of course...). We read Happiest Baby on the Block, which is helpful re: newborn crying/colic.

My body is readjusting slowly, and I get pain in hip, lower back, shoulders but it's normal apparently and lessening each week. My body does feel put through the ringer tbh, but I was in good shape before I got pregnant and shouldn't compare them to now. I'm prob going to see an osteopath though and will ease back into walking and yoga. I think I'll be on rock climbing hiatus for a while, though the woman who co-runs the bouldering gym I used to go to just had a baby so maybe we'll figure out some shared baby care there one day!

Hello:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/63677439@N00/2701ce

(agh flickr app is dumb)

Hello!
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3937/15127544554_68618d0f7e.jpg[

canadian content:
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3938/15747498395_276a1836d2.jpg

that Bay sleeper was the first gift i received for the baby, when i was only about 4 months pregnant - my hair stylist friend said he couldn't resist (he also recently bought him a tot-sized Gautier t-shirt, ha!). and the lambskin was given by a friend of my bf's who makes leather goods out east - pretty swanky!

That's some might fine cancon you've got there <3

but enough about us - i'm not even pregnant for the pregnancy commiseration thread! How are you doing, kinder?? You're close! I hope you're getting to rest a lot. Looking back at things, I seriously wonder why the hell I was doing work less than a week before i went into labour - my body was not happy and my brain was seriously struggling - maybe i was in some kind of weird denial about my abilities, haha, yeah probably.

aw thanks! :)

also, digestive upset, nausea, burping, farting may just continue off and on for a while after birth! i did not know this... sigh
i also didn't know how important bibs are! for spit-up and soon, drool, and later, solid food. so yeah, get a bunch of cute bibs...

My most surprising/unwelcome post partum symptom was night sweats. I'd wake up to pee in the middle of the night and have to change clothes because I'd be soaking wet and then freezing by the time I got back from the bathroom.

R, he is so cute!!!!!

Oh man, yeah, the sweats. How quickly I forget.

I had some sweats but mostly just major milk leakage! That's lessened now

Oh god yes that too. I was basically always sopping wet with milk and sweat. Sexy.

He's so cute!!!
I finished work last week. I was going to work until 38 weeks but got freaked out by everyone (2 people) telling me they stopped at 37 then the baby came the next day or the day after.
I'm OK except my legs hurt if I lie down for too long. Also can't have the house to myself/a bathroom yet as building work still goes on. But can't really complain. Not really ready for the baby to come yet...

I figure if you're able to stop work a few weeks before due date, do it! I know I wanted to have zero responsibilities come 36 weeks but hey, life.) But I also know people who happily worked right up to due date like la dee da. Keep stretching those legs and taking Epsom salts baths. I'm not a bath taker but because I had such hip pain I took many in 3rd trimester and half-resented it - now I'm like oooh long baths what a nice concept... Even if I did get to take one I'd worry about falling asleep in it, ha.

Maybe your baby will wait for the home reno stuff to be done before deciding it's time to be born ;)

I've been dreaming of having a bath for months - it was the first thing to be taken out and will be the last thing to be put in :( Have grabbed one at a hotel when I was staying over for a wedding and one at my parents' the other week.
Baby is super wriggly at the moment!

Ivy's first scheduled delivery date was today, so this time last year I was in the hospital convincing them to wait. Remembering all of this is giving me a lot of feelings!

11/12/13 would have been so easy to remember.

She would have been less than four pounds if she was born today! I think we can remember 11/18 pretty easily.

That would have been a cool birthday, though. I think some of the nurses were a little disappointed I didn't go for it.

Yeah, they were nuts. 11/18 ended up being great!

aw ivy, what a lil trouper. how much courage you all had to rustle up. and now look at her, the darling.

best wishes, kinder, i hope everything goes really well for you.

and best wishes to robyn and your darling babby also.

allow me to introduce y'all to my excellent new granddaughter Isolde

http://i1382.photobucket.com/albums/ah265/DJsleeve/IMG_0957_zps7b652034.jpg?t=1415827907

oops wrong thread kinda

Post her pic in all the threads imo.

Because look at that face.

it is the all knowing buddha baby smile

Somewhere between "jolly farmer" and "mad dictator"!

Awesome babby!

sleeve! she has the best name & the best face

best name and best face yes, but c'mon y'all got to give it up for the hair

(congrats sleeve!)

thanks y'all.

tbh I did not expect this level of emotional involvement with somebody that I share no genetic material with (she is technically my step-granddaughter, my wife is the one who is especially delirious with happiness as a first time grandma). but yeah the hair, the face, the eyes... it just slays me. I can see my wife's son in her face.

rrrobyn, Isolde's parents watched"Happiest Baby On The Block" as well! I now know the five "S" things.

The family lives around 5-6 hours away, so it's not too bad for visits, but we only get to see them every month or so.

cutiepies >>>> sharing genetic material

sleeve, my stepdad is Ivy's grandfather (or as we like to call him Pop Pop) and it is a wonderful magical love to behold. My stepdad and I are never going to see eye to eye on a lot of things but I love him dearly and am so happy he's a part of Ivy's life.

So I guess just big ups to stepdad grandpas and I'm so happy for you and Isolde.

Awww, my dad is a stepdad grandpa to his partner's daughter's twins, and he's in deep. He just built them an insanely complicated and inappropriately delicate train set <3

My wife's parents are divorced and both are remarried, so my impending kid will have six total grandparents which is kind of awesome as I only ever knew three of mine, two of whom have been gone since 1989.

It's an open adoption also so who knows how many more "grandparents" might be involved on some level.

Yeah cosign to everything said above.

Also there was a point this year where I half-seriously considered getting a "5 S's" tattoo

Nora was born 15 days ago today. Thought I ought to check in.

How's it going?

Pretty well so far. She only woke once last night for a feed, she's putting in weight well, and she's a pretty content little baby all told. Feeling very lucky.