Pregnancy Thread...Monday, 12/27

[metroames]

ThininMex..............Brianna Irish...................Born 10/05/04
little bear...............Aiden Xavier.................. Born 10/06/04
aphexacid..............Bethany Erin...................Born 10/08/04
lizzyd.....................Henry Stewart................Born 10/15/04
Mrs. Sarah.............Tanner Christian.............Born 11/12/04
ChristinaK..............Joshua Vincent...............Born 11/18/04
karatejen...............Murphy Archie................Born 11/27/04
BrattyChelle...........Elana Marie....................Born 12/23/04

Surfdol......................W41................12/22/04
GetNSlim...................W41................12/24/04......Boy
Kay&Lydi...................W37................01/18/05
Viki............................W36............... .01/22/05......Girl
Shandril105...............W36............... 01/23/05......Girl
Nyanchan..................W36................01/31/05......Girl
metroames................W35................02/08/05......Boy
MadameX...................W35................02/09/05......Girl
AmyJuli.......................W30................0 3/10/05
JennPayton................W29................03/13/05......Girl
blueyedgrl..................W28................03/26/05
kimism........................W28................0 3/26/05......Girl

Heather123................W27................03/30/05......Boy
shelly..........................W27............... .04/02/05......Boy?
Marthad......................W25................04/11/05
Dar20..........................W24................ 04/16/05.....Girl
Jefinner.......................W24................ 04/16/05
GoJackets....................W22...............05/03/05
mom2twoboys.............W22...............05/07/05
chels_hoff....................W21...............05/15/05......Boy
Ravenly74................... W21...............05/15/05......Boy
Denise85.....................W20...............05/22/05......Boy
tekla............................W20.............. .05/23/05
azktycat.......................W18...............0 5/30/05
michigangrad...............W18................06/01/05
Vixendrop....................W15................06/18/05
naerenaenae...............W15................06/18/05
ChristieJ.......................W15............... .06/19/05
Alibarbar......................W15................ 06/20/05
jehcekah......................W15................0 6/22/05
gilbabe75.....................W14................0 6/25/05
Miss Gigl.......................W14................06/26/05
rooney..........................W14............... .06/30/05

Acutepenguin...............W12.................07/10/05
allibaba........................W12............... ..07/12/05....Twins
Tbugs...........................W10............... ..07/21/05
Mandyhoward...............W9..................07/30/05
SmileyAmy.....................W8.................. 08/08/05
takahirakoshino............W7..................08/15/05

Green12........................................... ...Trying!
2BFitHourglass.................................... Trying!
lil miss.............................................. ...Trying!
Nicole133......................................... ....Trying!
jeepifer.......................................... ......Trying!
StrawberryGirl.................................... ..Trying!
AnnieO............................................ .....Trying!
speckle........................................... ......Trying!
Alissaliz......................................... .......Trying!

[metroames]

Good morning ladies!

Michelle, I'm so glad Elana is doing better. She'll be home before ya know it.

Hopefully, Surfdol checks in soon. We haven't heard from her since December 8th. I hope everything is ok.

Are ya shooting for a New Year's baby now GetNSlim? Just kidding. As much as you've been having contractions this week it could be anytime now.

Things are going ok here. I've eaten pretty crappy the last few days, and don't feel as good....kind of groggy from too many carbs. I guess I don't have anybody to blame but myself. I'm gonna do better now so I feel better....bye, bye sugar!

I guess that's all for now. Have a great day everyone!

Ames

[GetNSlim]

Good morning, ladies. Still no baby here! It is actually 3:30 a.m. here and I can't sleep...so I went to our Super Walmart and browsed over the after Christmas stuff and got groceries, laundry det., dishwasher det, vaccum bags and stuff. Figured I would go while the kids and hubby are sleeping, that way I wouldn't have to go in the day with the kids and hubby is at work. So, got home and unloaded everything, put in a load of laundry to washer, ran the dishwasher, put the groceries away and now here I sit at the computer wide awake!!! GRRRRRRR. I need to go to sleep! If I could go back to sleep I could still get four more hours in before the kids get up!! Anyway, hope everyone has a good day. Maybe since I actually feel like doing stuff that is a sign that something is gonna happen later today!!! It sure would be nice!

Michelle-So glad to hear how much progress Elana is making! My prayers are with you and hubby!!

Ames- I know how ya feel. I was so with sugar and carbs the last few days. Oh well, NEW BABY AND NEW YEAR!!

Hope everyone has a great day. Check in later!

[BrattyChelle]

Morning Ladies!! Thought I'd pop in and reread the last few days threads and give you my birth story, from the CSection perspective.

GetNSlim....now that I can, I have recrossed everything for you! Have they given any thought to inducement or are they simply waiting to see if/when you go on your own?

ames....blame the carbs on Xmas

allibaba....glad to hear all is well with the twins. YEA for June babies!!! (I'm a June baby)

Denise85....congrats on the boy!! I too was worried about having the opposite sex of what I have now, but once they arrive...that all goes out the window. You'll be a great mom to a boy!

SmileyAmy....glad the bloodwork went easier than you expected. I too am a very hard stick but sometimes they surprise ya

Dar....GREAT pics, you look awesome!!

Hi to everyone else...hoping you all had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to healthy and happy New Years!!


I'm doing well...I never thought I'd be so happy to finally "potty" (if yanno what I mean). I think I simply needed my own environment instead of the pressure of the hospital LOL. I'm still sore and moving slowly, but at least I'm able to care for myself and not feel like my wonderful hubby must be at my side 24/7 in case something happens. I thought I'd let ya'll know how my birth story went in all it's honesty to show that while a CSection may not be the preferred choice, it can be a speedy recovery.

We arrived at the hospital at 5:30am to the L&D assessment room where I was put into a gown, monitored for baby's heartrate, blood taken, medicine given for nauseau due to anesthesia and prepped (shaved) for surgery. At exactly 7:30 they walked me into the delivery room while hubby waited in the hall for them to finish prepping me. A spinal was given (ouch, the pressure from that was enough to make ya queasy) and instantly I was feeling warm and numb. I will say the difference in a spinal vs. an epidural is that I felt sleepy with the epidural and was able to concentrate on staying awake to see the baby vs. focusing on the fact I couldn't move my lower body. With the spinal I was fully awake and it was difficult not to feel trapped. Hubby came in and surgery began. I had a few episodes of dropped blood pressure resulting in nausea and difficulty breathing due to the pressure of them pushing on my stomach to get Elana out. But when we heard her cry, all was fine and I knew the worst was over. Dad went with Elana to the nursery while my surgery was finished and I was taken to recovery, still fully awake.

Around 9:30am, I was taken to the women's surgical unit and transferred to a normal bed/room before they told me of Elana's breathing problems. I was given until that evening to remain in bed before turning or trying to sit up in a chair. With Elana under the hood, she could not room-in with me and I couldn't see her in the nursery until I was able to tolerate being up in a wheelchair. That afternoon I ran into my own complications as we found out my blood was not clotting nor was my uterus contracting adequately, therefore causing tremendous bleeding. After hours of uterine massage and medications, the decision was made not to return to surgery and to let nature take it's course for 24 hours. That night, despite my own health issues, I was able to roll over and sit up in a chair for an hour, but not enough to go to the nursery. It was later that evening Elana was transported to the childrens hospital and they brought her to see me for a minute before they took her.

I was blessed with nurses who understood my pain and emotional state, yet pushed me to do things so I could visit my daughter. The next morning I was given a bed bath, back massage, foot massage and words of encouragement before getting out of bed and walking after the catheter was removed. A few hours later I challenged myself to walk the halls while pushing a wheelchair, knowing if I did that, I could handle the ride to the childrens hospital. Sure enough, we went to see Elana that afternoon. From that point on, my motivation was to spend as much time with her without overdoing my own recovery and I think we found a good balance in the following days.

While it's very hard to be home without our little angel....I know that she's in the best care that she deserves and needs right now. I'm trying very hard to keep my emotions in check between the hormones and the situation...and I treasure every moment I get to spend with her until she's home with us. Suddenly the issues that seem so large in life, simply aren't at this time. Bills will continue to get paid somehow, the relationship with my father is building once again, my house will never be clean enough to my liking....but in the end, Elana coming home is the most important thing to us and we look forward to celebrating the day she does.

I guess what I'm trying to say is....while we all have the best laid birth plans and scenarios in our heads....there always lies the unexpected which challenges, defeats the preconceptions and brings out the strength in each of us. In the end, it is how we all approach the situations given to us that makes us who we are and stronger parents for it.

I thank each and every person here who has taught me something, given me support, allowed me to support them...you have no idea how many times my hubby and I talked of each of you and continued to hope good things for you. It was comforting to know there were people we've never met in person truly caring for us and our little one...and there's no words to thank you all for that.

[Dar20]

{{{Michelle, Elana, and family}}} Glad to hear both of you are recovering!

[MadameX]

Welcome Elana Marie!

Congratulations Michelle and hubby! Thanks for sharing your birth story, Michelle. It does sound like you have made a speedy recovery and continue to get better. I'm sorry baby Elana isn't home with you now, but you will make up for lost time, I know it! The photos are so sweet...she looks healthy from the pictures! I will cross everything I can for you that she can come home as soon as possible to be with Mom and Dad.

GetNslim~You're up, lady! Your labor starts soon, or that you get some sleep!

Kelley

[Dar20]

I certainly don't want to take away from Michelle's or Slim's time on the board, but I have to vent a non-pregnancy vent. Argh...

Yay, it's the holidays.. time for family, right? Well, we talked to my SIL (who is currently on her way here with DH's parents and her 3 kids) on Christmas day. And, instead of telling us about how the kids are doing in school and sports, she spent the entire time telling us how she is living paycheck to paycheck and they declared bankruptcy. Now, mind you, all we ever hear from her is how horrible her lot in life is, etc... etc...

What makes me frustrated is that it's all we hear from her... her life sucks, her husband sucks, life is so hard with three kids, etc. Well, it's hard to sympathize when she's chosen her lot in life and does not try to better it. We live paycheck to paycheck, too. You guys know how I've been trying to get a home equity loan for two months now and get turned down bank after bank. We're only living on one salary. But, while I stress about it constantly and we are not in great shape, I don't talk about it all the time. It's a personal struggle, not one I want to share with family or friends. And we are also working to better our situation, with DH getting his degree.

Here's where the sticky part is.. she's coming down today and is going to see the new computer we had to buy DH for his classes, and we got them what we consider to be a pretty nice gift (portable DVD player). But we saved to buy those.. and some of it's still out there on credit, unpaid for. I can just picture now the condescending comments that are going to be coming our way. It never ends.. we can never be proud of what we do have and have worked for around her, because it's never received well. And I'm afraid with my hormonal level as it is.. I have a tendency not to keep my mouth in check like I used to.. that I'm going to burst.

Added to that the stress that her 3 year old is a terror and we have electronic equipment worth thousands of dollars he could potentially break.. it's going to be a very stressful 3 days and I'm NOT looking forward to it. And my older dog has a tendency to aggressively herd small children that move quickly, so another thing to worry about. She'll slow him down!

Sorry about the long vent, I just had to type it out to help me get through it.

Back to pregnancy related items.. yesterday after I ate my lunch I sat to rest a while (we were finishing up organizing the office). I sat in my recliner, so my tummy was poking out quite a bit, and it was moving a bunch.. quivering and you could see kicks and punches really well. I just sat there mesmerized watching it, and even called DH to watch. He thought it was pretty cool.

[BrattyChelle]

Dar....so sorry to hear that you aren't looking forward to the family visit, but can understand why. Sounds like you hit the nail on the head tho when you said it's her "choice" to live the way she does instead of attempt to change it. Someone once told me some advice re. a similar family member..."if you don't like your life, change it and if you can't change it, quit complaining about it and find a way to accept it." Granted, easier said than done. What you have to remember is it is HER life, not yours...and you or your DH do not have to justify the choices you make in your life to anyone. Hope the time together goes surprisingly better than you think it will...sometimes people have times in their lives when they realize what is truly important.

[MadameX]

Aww, Dar,
Your sis sounds like a flake, sorry. Try not to let it ruin your Holidays. I agree that it's how we handle hardships, everyone gets their share, and you and your hubby seem to be coping a lot better than she. I hope she's happy to get the DVD player, what a generous gift! Maybe just don't point out that DH's computer is new. Good luck with the monster kiddos.

After the devsatation from the Tsunami in the Indian Ocean, you could point out to her that she should be thankful everyone in her family is alive and accounted for. My prayers are with those folks over there.

I hope you make it through! But don't feel you should hold back your feelings or your comments, it seems you are well within your rights to say something if it comes up. Good luck!

Here's my Holiday vent: My cousin, let's just call her "Clueless", saw me on Christmas for the first time in my pregnancy. She proceeded to tell me how childbirth was a "horrible" experience, and the pain unbearable without drugs, and even then, she can't believe she ever made it through. She thought I was "stupid" to try to be "brave" and give birth naturally (just like all those "stupid" women who were dumb enough to give birth before the 20th Century, I guess). Just what I needed to hear. BTW, Clueless' babies were 8.1 lbs and 7.1 lbs, respectively.

Ahhh, Family. Can't pick 'em, can't shoot 'em.

Kelley

[Dar20]

LOL, Kelley. Thanks, you guys. I know there's nothing I can do about it. I'm sure if we had three kids, we wouldn't have alot of the things we have. But, we made the conscious decision to wait to have children. Oh, well.. what can you do. It just felt good to type it out.

I don't understand why some folks can't learn to keep their mouth shut sometimes. As Michelle said, quit complaining about it! I didn't add that she's OCD, like her mother. It must be part of the disorder that they crave the attention. They both tend to be hypochondriac and always tell elaborate versions of stories.. even if we were part of the story and remember it the correct way. LOL.. at least it keeps me on my toes.

Boy, lots of folks must be on vacation, huh? Lucky ducks...

[wari]

Michelle - Thanks for sharing your birth story! Thinking of Elana and you! Take Care!


Wendy

[vixendrop]

Thanks for sharing your birth story Michelle... it was very touching! Take this time to gain more and more strength because she'll be home soon and you'll need it!

Now... a short vent... amazingly enough, not holiday related......

I am SOOOOOO impatient! I want to know what this baby is, and I want to know now!!!

At my last appointment I found out I'll have an u/s at my 22 week appointment, but that's soooo far away! I've been planning on getting a 3D u/s later in the pregnancy for the pictures, but now I'm wondering if they'd be able to tell me what the sex is sooner... I'm a pretty big girl so I know that affects the images so I should wait a while, but dang! I want to know if there is a peepee or a hoohoo in there!

When I was having my daughter I'm pretty sure I was only 19 weeks when they saw she was a girl... why do I have to wait do long this time??? It'll be the middle of February before I know! Argh!!!

[Shandril105]

Hi ladies!

Glad to hear Elana is doing better. Hope you get to bring her home soon.

Sorry about the family issues Dar. Some people just don't get it.

Labor vibes to ya Slim!

Well, It's official. The baby has dropped. The good news? I can breathe again. The bad news? I have to pee all the time and it seems she has parked her little head right on my pelvis.

I also learned the hard way not to do too much. We decided to clear out my four year olds room to make way for her new xmas stuff and I had to constantly stop and sit down. By the end of it I was getting BH about 10 minutes apart. DH banished me to the couch at that point. Grrr! I hate feeling so damn gimpy!

But on the plus side there is only 4 weeks to go. My office here has a pool on how long I'll last. The latest so far is 01/16/05 and I am due 01/23/05. At this point I am all for the sooner the better.

[GetNSlim]

Don't get your hopes too high, Shandril!!! I've thought that I would have this baby for the past month now!! It is actually starting to get frustrating! I am now 3 days overdue. I have decided I will actually do the whole Castor oil thing. I just want to have this baby and be able to get on with life!!! Being as this is my last one, I keep thinking that I should be trying to enjoy the pregnancy feeling...but I just can't any longer!!

Dar and Madame-Sorry about the family!

Michelle-Thanks for sharing your story!

Vixendrop-I had an appointment for my ultrasound at 24 weeks to see the sex and check the baby out. However, baby was stubborn and wouldn't let us see their "sex", so then I had to wait 5 more weeks to have another ultrasound!! What about amnio syntesis, can't you find out the sex that way??

Nothing going on here. Have the whole house put back in order now from the holidays...so once again ready to go. I'll let every know about what happens with the castor oil!

[vixendrop]

Originally posted by GetNSlim
I have decided I will actually do the whole Castor oil thing.

Please rethink the idea of using castor oil! I tried that with my daughter and all it did was make me sick to my stomach for days, but didn't induce labor... and now with so much research showing it's dangerous for both mom and baby I'd highly suggest trying something else.

Originally posted by GetNSlim
Vixendrop-I had an appointment for my ultrasound at 24 weeks to see the sex and check the baby out. However, baby was stubborn and wouldn't let us see their "sex", so then I had to wait 5 more weeks to have another ultrasound!! What about amnio syntesis, can't you find out the sex that way??

I am going to a midwife so unless it's medically urgent, tests like that aren't offered, and I wouldn't have such an invasive procedure done anyway, never. I am seriously considered just paying the $150 for a 3D u/s at the end of next month when I'm about 19 weeks... if they can tell the sex, great! If not, well, I still have my other u/s a few weeks later and we'll find out then... I'm not even going to consider the baby won't cooperate... I'll deal with that if it happens... but until such time I'm thinking positive ~smiles~