Expecting Mommies~JUNE 2008

[obraxton]

Since it's the last day of the month, I posted the June thread rather than May. Any May posts were posted on the April thread:

May Deliveries BABIES
Nikole ~ Nikki ~ DD April 1, 2008 ~ Boy????????????
SBarr ~ Sandra ~ Baby Girl LINDSEY MARIE, Born April 15, 2008

Shaylabooboo ~ Shay ~ Baby Boy BRANDON LEROY, Born April 28, 2008

Wannabeslim4life ~ Melissa ~ Baby Girl Makayla Anne, Born May 2, 2008

Cryssi ~ Cryssi ~Baby Boy Noah Vodrey, Born April 22


EXPECTING:

JessRN ~ Jess ~ DD June 10, 2008

Obraxton ~ Dessa ~ DD August 7, 2008 ~ Boy

ljh150 ~ Janette ~ DD August 29, 2008

RecKate, DD 09/29/08

momof9 ~ DD September 15, 2008

Texoma ~ DD October 5, 2008

Kim Moe ~ DD November 7, 2008

bomen1948 ~ ???

[obraxton]

Oops, sorry about the bad editing....

Hope all is well with all new mommies and soon to be mommies....!

Doing great here, just getting to the uncomfortable stage, week 30, 10 more to go!

[Nik]

I just got my BFP today.
Nikie~ DD 2/1/09 (approx.)

[obraxton]

Hi, Nik, it's a lot slower here than the other thread.....hopefully everyone will reach out soon; there was an explosion of births in April and May....Glad to see you here! The ladies here do give a lot of good tips and advice... have a strong feeling we'll be getting another very soon.....
Anyway, let me be the first to say

[obraxton]

Ok, first day of June, went to church, and it seems that every move I make is twice as laborous, I feel very heavy and people think I'm about to deliver soon, I have 10 more weeks to go! I guess I'm gonna get pretty huge! it's mostly belly, thank God. I'll try to post some pregnancy pics as soon as my dh gets to it.

Having a summer baby means one thing, HOT HOT HOT. It's only June, about the early 80s or lower, and I am getting very hot already. I drink a lot of ice water so Elijah will be cool enough in there. I notice his movements are getting more aggressive, especially at night. Instead of feeling him in one spot I usually feel him in 3 or 4 now, so I figure he's stretching...lol. The love for him just grows every day even though i don't see him, but feeling him and predicting his movements and reactions to taste and sound is amazing.

[Nik]

I walked around a baby boutique today. It's excited to be expecting again! Dessa, DS was born on the hottest day of the year; I feel your pain!

[shaylabooboo]

Hi Dessa!
I've been lucky to have all my babies in late spring before it gets hot hot hot. I'm already a meanie/grouch in the summer (i hate being hot) I can't imagine anyone being able to stand me if I was last couple months pregnant in the hot humid summer. I'm so excited for you since it's your first time experiencing all the new things of pregnancy, the movements are things you'll remember forever.

Congrats Niki on the positive! Are you hoping for a girl this time?

I've noticed the thread being really slow too. I didn't feel right posting a new expecting thread for May or June cause I wasn't expecting no more...

I'm glad u started it Dessa. I'm just soooooo tired right now trying to adjust to all 3 kids and I had to go back to work already.
Times are tough here right now so I didnt have the luxury of taking a maternity leave. I got out of hospital on Wed. and went back to work on Thurs. Luckily I do a majority of my work from home but still it takes a toll.

I'm sure the other new mommies are adjusting to the lifestyle change that being a new mommy brings. I haven't had a full nights sleep in quite a long time and don't expect any soon

Brandon is wanting to eat every 2-3 hours and he's a leisure eater...he eats about half of his formula then snoozes for a while and then wants to wake back up sometimes an hour later to finish the other half. It seems like I'm always feeding him. He is still not sleeping in his bassinet and I find the only way I can get any rest is if he is in bed with me. I have a huge bed and dh works at night so he has a whole side to himself. I have already woken to feed him got up made the bottle started feeding and we both pass out, waking up later wet where the bottle had leaked out on us.

When oh when do they usually start sleeping at least 4 to 5 hour stretches????

I'm hoping he'll smile soon. He looks like he is trying. He will be 5 weeks tomorrow! Whew is that enough to read or what????

[obraxton]

Hi, Shalya....yeah, when I looked at the PG stats, I realized that I was 2nd in line to go next, and most of you guys had "graduated" but I'm glad you're still around. I think it should be "Expecting and Newborn" thread, to give us new expecting mommies a heads up of what to be prepared for. Your guys stories of the delivery and first few weeks have really helped me figure out what I need to be prepared for, stick around a little while longer for us?

I am Southern, and used to the heat more than anything, my favorite memories are playing to exhaustion during the summer months. But as I've been here almost 10 years, I've grown to tolerate more cooler temps. If it were to stay like it is for the next several weeks, I could take it. Any hotter there may be some problems. But my body knows what to do, as I have to have the coldest water possible constantly around me. We just got our Deer Park jugs on March 23, and I've already used up 2. I might need to do a special order.

Wow you're already back at work? How long were you out? I'm trying to take 7 weeks my own time so I won't have to take a disability cut for too long. I don't want DH to try to work OT to keep up. We're trying to get into a house soon, so I don't know what I will do.

Ahhh five weeks, when do they start sleeping longer, anyway? That's my biggest dread, is forgeting to wake up for feeding.....I hope the maternal instinct really works overtime in the middle of the night.

Nik, honey your excitement is really contagious. I wanted to wait and tell people, but I couldn't help myself b/c of how long it actually took to get the BFP. How many tests did you take, I took 3 in the first two weeks, on top of the doctor's confirmation, even after they gave me two thumbs up, I still took another one....lol! But I'm probably the only one who would do that. How many weeks do you think you are? I'm happy that DS is excited too, has he insisted on a boy or a girl? My stepson said to me that he wanted a brother. At the time we were hoping for a girl, and we said, what if it is a girl? He said, no it's a brother, and he was right, and I'm glad he was now! Do you feel MS, or are you feeling ok? I didn't have any, so I think that's why I was so paranoid about the test, but I sure was tired. Have you begun your prenatal vitamins? Am I asking too many questions????? LOL!

[shaylabooboo]

Dessa,

a thread for newborn mommies is a great idea!!! I may start one.

Unfortunately I had to go back to work the same week I had Brandon-home from hosp on wednesday back to work the next day. I've been blessed with a job that allows me to work from home at least 75% of the time and only travel to see my clients monthly-which dh rotating schedule allows for him to care for the kids on the days I have to see clients.

I only had to do this as

1. no one at work knew i was pregnant...if you have followed past threads (like last year Dec.) I was fired from a job when they found out i was pregnant-it is being investigated now by EEOC. But anyway, I was scared to tell my new employer that I was pregnant because I was afraid the same thing would happen again...

2. My dh is currently facing a layoff situation - he carries the higher salary and our health benefits so me not bringing in any income could threaten our well being (mortgage, elec,. etc.) as only unemployment would probably cause us to lose everything. We have no one else/family that would be able to help us financially.

3. No coverage under FMLA as I have only worked for my current employer a few months...(no vacation, sick time built up either) and if I took a leave they are not required to hold my job (see #2)

4. We have 3 children now to care for and me not working combined with dh lay off would be very difficult to make it as I make just enough that we would not qualify for any government assistance or health insurance (the state health plan for lower income, not Medicaid)

5. To cover us and the kids the premium through my company monthly is over $1000 a month who can afford that?

Wow that all really sounds depressing huh? I'm just trying to remain positive and be thankful for all we've been blessed with and just keep on keeping on. We will find out hopefully soon whether or not husband will be laid off. Please for us that he will not be selected.

Other than that everything is hunky dory!

Sorry to be such a debbie downer.....

Brandon is asleep on his tummy over my thigh while I am trying to get some work done in addition to stopping in and saying HI.

ETA: Dessa don't worry about waking up...trust me that mommy instinct will allow you to have supersonic hearing so even the tiniest whimper or movement will have you awake, he will probably not even have to cry. For some reason guess mommy instinct, when he is in the bed I do not move during sleep, usually I move/tumble/toss however, I guess it's that instinct that when he's near I must be still so that I don't disturb him or accidentally roll over on him....

[momof9]

i remember with my first one night he slept 8 hours (after weeks of up every 2) and i woke up and started tearing apart the bed. i thought i lost him while feeding . he was in his bassinet sound asleep...but woke up with all the noise i was making. the 8 hour thing didn't happen again until 8 months.

[kimbo232]

I didn't post a whole lot in April, but you forgot me!! I'm due 11/20. DH is already complaining it's right in the middle of hunting season. I told him he should have thought about that when he was feeling so squirley He's the one that was wanting to have another so soon. i was hoping to wait till #2 was out of diapers.

talking about having your babies in the summer time, my first luckily was born in April, but #2 was born in August. I remember walking around the house w/ an ice bag on the back of my neck wearing not much more than a very thin, short, spaghetti strap dress and just sweating my fanny off, even in the AC! It wasn't like that all the time luckily, but some days were bad! That was in VA where we lived not far from a swamp so it was very humid too. We've now moved to MT where it's much cooler and DRIER!!

Now so far in this pregnancy i've just been freezing cold! i made it through the winter here just fine, then i got pregnant and as soon as it starts warming up i can't get warm enough myself. i have been getting some hot flashes the last couple weeks and i'm not quite as cold all the time so hopefully my body has gotten used to being pregnant again and things are settling down. my nausea has eased alot thank goodness, now if i could just get my energy level up a little more i'll be happy. i'm so darned tired all the time and i swear some days i'd be happy if i could literally lay on the couch all day long.

i think it gets worse w/ each pregnancy. my first i didn't get sick at all and worked up to 2 weeks before i was due. a little tired, sure, but not too bad at all. in fact i wondered a few times what all the fuss was about LOL. #2 i was sick alot more and more tired, then i got high blood pressure the last couple months and was even sent to the hosp one time at my dr appt it was so bad. ended up on modified bed rest . W/ #3 i'm only about 15weeks along now, but have been horribly sick and sooo tired. plus the cold thing which is very annoying. but i can handle all that so long as i don't end up on bed rest again

this is getting a little longer than i'd meant it to be... but dessa don't worry about waking up to feed the little one, he'll wake you up believe me. i used to sleep like the dead, since having kids the smallest whimper will get me on my feet. it's eased off w/ my 21mo old, but i have no doubt it'll kick back in when the baby gets here. trust me, don't wake yourself up unless you absolutely have to! you'll find out that you better get every bit of sleep you can, and it probably still won't be enough. i make it a rule to NEVER wake up a sleeping baby LOL. assuming there's no medical issues or anything...

shayla- just read your post, hope it all works out for you. even if you have to go back to work so soon at least you can do it from home so you can be w/ the kids as muhc as possible. we're in a similar situation, though i'm an artist and work for myself. DH makes $2k too much a year to qualify us for anything. but between gas and the insurance premiums for the family, that accounts for probably around 1/2 of his monthy income. so after the mortgage and utilities, not really any leftover for any extras at all. yet i know people who make much less than we do yet live sooo muhc better because they don't have to pay for insurance, they get wic so all that stuff is paid for, food stamps, and some even get child care paid for. we're barely squeaking by, if he got laid off or anything major happened we'd be in some serious trouble. i'm just now getting back to work after our move and have had no income for months and likely won't have any for a few more. but there's a light at the end of the tunnel and things will be better as soon as i can get some work completed.

ok, i'm done now

[obraxton]

I'm so sorry, Kim, that was totally my fault, as I had written your name and the due date down wrong (I put Kim MOE duh), in the midst of my confusion with the fonts and smileys!!! So sorry!

[obraxton]

Kim,
Praying with you that you won't end up on bedrest again! My sister was on it the whole time, and it was her first, so she's not keen on going through it again, lol.
I don't qualify for anything by myself much less with DH, so that's out. But we do have money management issues that seems to get a little better. The good thing about working for the state is the low insurance premium. We've heard through the grapevine that Corzine might have another standoff with the union and may possibly be shut down for the summer, what that means for us I don't know, since I"m in child protective services, but I work in the foster care unit, that wasn't considered, "essential" before....They're saying we might not even qualify for unemployment, the last time they gave us a week's salary but the ones that were required to work didn't like it, so hopefully everything will work itself out, cause it might interrupt my maternity leave pay, since they anticipate a longer strike.....but whatever happens will happen so i try to just prepare without being stressed.

momof9, that would be me...I hope it just doesn't happen every night with me!

Shayla, praying for the best with your DH's job. It's a hard time I know a lot of people who are facing it. Hopefully, he will not be touched. I will definitely hold you guys up in prayers....This economy is tough, and they say that more babies are born during bad economic times. You're definitely not a downer! I think it's good to have a place to vent off so you can come back with the weight off your shoulders in the "real world".

I had a small burger and fry today....It was light, but I wish I'd stuck with my fruit. But my appetite is shot for today after that now....How did you guys eat towards the end? How much baby weight really comes off?

[Nik]

Dessa:
I lost 16 pounds in delivery, but I was really swollen. Answers to your other questions (don't feel like you're asking too much! I love to talk about it!)
*I took one test and a huge leap of faith. I see the doctor on Friday to get a better idea of DD. My LMP was April 1, but I think I O'd really, really late, so my due date may be off. I think I'm five weeks, but the nurse said nine. We'll see on Friday.
*DS wants a boy, of course. The Chinese Gender Chart says it's a girl, and we'd love to have a girl next. We're hoping for three children total, so it would be nice to have a girl this time, then we can relax next time.
*My mood swings are much improved since ovulation! I'm not worried; the calm is actually a bit reassuring. I feel peaceful and blessed.
*I am TIRED! I slept about eight hours last night, but had to work unexpectedly this morning. After my three hours (I know, I'm a wimp) I had to go to my mom's house and take a three hour nap! I'm going to try to get to be REALLY early tonight.
*I'm taking regular vitamins, and I'm okay with that for now. I'll see if the doctor wants to increase them when I see him on Friday.

[obraxton]

A 3 hour nap, Nik, you are so pregnant ! Probably further than you think. You should get the confirmation ultrasound on Friday. I was only 4.5 weeks at my first visit, so it only showed the thickening of my uterus showing that Elijah had indeed implanted, but no heart beat quite yet so I had to come back 2 weeks later, and I saw his cute little heart beating away, with little arm buds and everything my tiny seed. It's amazing cause now he's the size of a big spagetti squash! Your hubby and ds are too cute with their own excitement. Relax now about the sex, cause you already know when you see him/her it won't even matter what you wanted in the first place. I thought that I was going to be devastated when they told me a boy, but that lasted about 2 seconds, and when he started showing his personality at the ultra sound! How are you eating?

[kimbo232]

dessa - don't worry about forgetting about me! no offence taken at all.
luckily i haven't gained all that much w/ either of my previous pregnancies, i think like Nik i lost around 15lbs w/ the last one. but he was a big boy at 8lb 15oz! i was more than happy to get a c-section that day LOL. if you're planning on nursing it'll be easier to lose pretty quickly, provided you eat properly. both of mine have been bottle babies though, i tried but i never produced enough to feed them even a fraction of what they needed. i suspect this one will be the same and i'm not going to let myself stress out about it like i have i the past, BF was sooo difficult for me and the guilt just ate me up. as for eating habits, i'm all over the place. i'm maintaining and haven't gained any weight yet so i'm not complaining at this point, but i think i could live on burgers and tacos, both heavy on veggies. luckily i'm not eating much in volume so it's evened out a little. it was the same the last 2 pregnancies. i always have an aversion to meat when pregnant, and this time coffee makes me want to gag. i can't believe it, i LOVE coffee! and i crave crunchy food, so today i tried a bunch of raw veggies at lunch and it did the trick. much better for you than cheetos!

nik- i asked my doc about my regular vitamins and he said i need at least 1000mg of folic acid daily. they only had 1/2 that so i got some prenatal ones. i've been exausted myself but its starting to get better thank goodness. in fact that's one of the things that tipped me off i was pregnant LOL. that and the MS.

gotta go make dinner. i'm thinking huge chef salads! (i'm hungry)

[Nik]

Oh yeah! MS=morning sickness, not mood swings! HA! You can tell I'm new to this. I've had mild nausea and minor food/smell aversions, but nothing that I would qualify as morning sickness. I've taken two tums in the past six weeks.

We'll see on Friday about the due date. It could be that I O'd at my regular time and just didn't have enough hcg in my system when I took the first test. Who knows?

Do you girls use an online pregnancy journal? I'm trying to keep track on my MySpace blog, but I don't think it's going to work out so well.

Another symptom I've had is that my hands look like an eighty-year old's. The veins are so thick and dark. Eww!

[Potaty]

One thing my dr. had me add to my prenatals was 200 mg of DHA. I just buy the Expecta Lipil next to prenatals at Wal Mart but some people buy fish oils. I just didn't want to do fish oils in case of mercury.

I am so excited for all of you girls!!!!

[sbarr]

Hi Dessa - looks like things are really progressing for you. I have to go back to work next week, so disappointed.

Added a new picture as Miss L is starting to notice things - in this picture, it was mobile over her swing seat.

[obraxton]

Nik, I use Baby Gaga: Pregnancy & Parenting Social Network & Resources, and Free Pregnancy Calendar with Week by Week 3D Illustrations
I like them both b/c of the ticklers and growth charts. I believe they have blogs but I'm not all together sure.
I'll have to send you my myspace account, I don't know the url for that. I just have my u/s pics in like a slideshow, that's a cool feature.

I have prenatal vitamins by Rx, about $9 for 3 month suppy. They're called Vitacon Forte (generic) and are high potency vitamins that include prenatal vitamins. I like them b/c they're small in size, like tylenol gelcaps, and easier to swallow and don't have that strong vitamin smell, just very faint if you sniff the bottle...I took them before pg, and my obgyn said that was better than anything I could get from the store and to continue.....

Anyway I got some great news made me wanna cry. One of my co-workers, the sweetest woman you'de want to meet, just found out she's pregnant with twins! She has PCOS, and was trying since getting married two years ago. Her best friend just had a baby, and me being pregnant, she was sooooo happy for us, and was patiently waiting her time. Now she's gotten double for it, and I'm just about as happy as I was for myself!
Got some g

[weezie1581]

Most of you don't know me, but I have been a member on this site a long time. I haven't been here in almost 2 years. I saw this thread and felt compelled to post.

congrats to all the new mommies and mommies to be.

DH and I are expecting our first little girl Oct. 21.

I know I won't be on here all the time, but I will post as much as I can.

Sarah

[obraxton]

Hi, Sarah! Congrats on your little girl!

[Nik]

Girls, I need some love!
I had some minor spotting this morning. I went to the doctor, who did an ultrasound. He said there's nothing he can tell me until next week, when he sees if the baby has grown. Right now, it's measuring at 4.8 weeks, which is not far along enough to have a heartbeat or anything to measure. I just need some prayers, hugs, and encouragement.
Sticky dust, please!

[kimbo232]

Nik, I hope all is OK w/ you! I've never had any spotting at all but a friend of mine is pregnant now also, and she's got a history of spotting in her previous pregnancy. It's none of my business of course, but hopefully you and hubby got a little squirley last night? She's mentioned that that's one of the causes of her spotting. Even when i got my ultrasound at 9 weeks the doc said it could cause some minor spotting (it was one of the probe ultrasounds, not through the abdomen.) will keep my fingers crossed for you.

Sarah - Congrats on the little girl!

Dessa- thanks for the link to that 3d pregnancy website. my 5yo daughter thought that rotating picture was the coolest thing! She's so cute, she's really excited about being a big sister again and shows everybody the ultrasound picture i got. she's the little momma around here and since she found out about the baby has been on my butt trying to take care of me. According to her i'm not allowed to drink coffee (don't like it right now anyway), she doesnt' think the baby should be eating that spicy food or that hotsauce i like, and if i don't eat well at a particular meal she fusses at me! She's always trying to get me to go relax, and the other night she went to brush her teeth before bed and came out beaming. she wanted me to go look at the toilet. turns out she 'cleaned' it for me because i'm pregnant and i evidently don't need to be doing that stuff right now! she just used toilet paper and her hands, and the whole thing was sopping wet. so after a good hand washing i tucked her into bed and came up to scrub the toilet. me and DH got a good laugh out of that one