I feel horrid because you guys eat right and exercise! I've only gained nine pounds at 30 weeks, eat out at least 3 times a week and don't work out at all because of the pain. I still try to have salad instead of fris and healthier choices but my eating habits have become terrible as I can't stand fruits or vegetables without gagging. I don't use it as an "excuse" to eat what or how much I want. It just sucks not being able to handle healthy stuff most of the time.

90-100 pounds is ridiculous! My doctor told me at MOST, somebody should gain 35-45 pounds but most women should stay under thirty pounds unless they are underweight to begin with. Granted, there are the women like you guys who do everything right and still gain more than that.

Class got cancelled this morning- thankf goodness. I still feel like crap and didn't sleep more than two hours last night. Hopefully I sleep better tonight.

I feel bad too about my low weight gain. With my first pregnancy I ate really well, had GD so had to eat a very strict diet, I walked every day, took a belly dance class once a week, yoga class once a week and an aquafit class once a week and had an active job and I gained about 40 lbs.

My pregnancy with DS I also ate pretty healthy, ran for the first 11 weeks and then walked everyday, did hula dance class once a week, aguafit once a week and yoga once a week plus did occasional circuit training and gained 30 lbs.

With this pregnancy I ate horrible my first trimester, have been eating pretty well since and lower carb but lots of full fat cheese and lots of meat and stuff so pretty high cals, not really exercising at all (I try to walk when I can but have been pretty lazy about it) and I have only gained currently about .4 lbs. I looked up my info with DS (I was going to a weight loss support group throughout my pregnancy so have all my weekly weigh-ins) and at 24 weeks I had already gained 13 lbs above my pre-pregnancy weight.

Anyway I don't know why our bodies do what they do in pregnancy. I was really worried I would put on a lot of weight with this pregnancy as I was actively losing weight when i got pregnant and had lost 45 lbs so was worried my body would just try to put it back on but it didn't. Weird!

Mandalinn- glad to hear you passed your GTT too! Sorry you are feeling achy I too started feeling achy today, way earlier this time then the last pregnancies. Maybe cause I am older or my body is just worn out from 3 pregnancies. Anyway it sucks :(

Sakai - Your caterpillar story made me cry and your DF is very sweet, what you are feeling is totally normal :hug:

Keller- Sorry to hear about the illness :( Hope you feel better soon.

Mindi - My DS is just going to be getting his own room in the next few weeks (months) and he is 4! This baby will not have a nursery at all will room with us and have all the baby's stuff in our room till he/she is night weaned and then will move into DS' room.

So my midwife called yesterday with the results of my 2hr GTT and she said the results were normal! I was really shocked. I am dying to see the numbers and will see them on Monday at my next apt.

Happy and Healthy days ahead to all.

Since we're sharing bump pics, I'll attach mine. As you can see, I'm carrying STRAIGHT out in front. From the back, I look pretty much the same...but the side? Ridiculous.

Baby boy is kicking like crazy today! And my MIL actually talked about him and asked questions, which she hasn't done the entire pregnancy (seriously, not a word. It was really starting to hurt my wife's feelings). And our shower invites are going out as we speak. So all of that is good!

On the negative side, I think this shooting pain down my left butt cheek might just be some sciatica starting up. Any tips from people who have been there before?

I like seeing everyone's bumps. I wish I would get one, soon. I"m 13 weeks along and as flat as can be.

Madnalinn- I'm having that same sort of pain too. It was really hard to explain it to DF about a pain in one buttcheek LOL. It only bothered me after sitting for a while during lunch and break, then after walking for a few minutes it would go away.

I'm sending the caterpillar with the baby, Which works because I just found out adoptive mom is decorating her nursery with a butterfly theme. ^.^ (her first baby has a ladybug theme) sooo cute.
I also found out that my cousin and his wife will have to stay in state (mostly in town as our family is all here) for a few weeks due to our state's adoption laws. So I'm hoping that I'll get to see the baby lots during her first weeks.

I'm so glad, Sakai :)

love the bump Amanda!

Gosh, baby shower drama is just continuing! Now the organizer (who I hardly know and who had the whole thing pawned off on her by my sister-in-law) "doesn't like" my good friend who really, REALLY wants to help, so she is excluding her from the planning. I mean COME ON people....they're in their 30s, 40s and 50s. They're not 13 or in high school!!! Gonna talk to my SIL tonight if i get a chance and tell her the planner better get her crap together or just cancel the whole thing. I don't need this stress!!!

Racrane, I didn't have ANY bump at all until about 21 weeks. Mine has really grown a LOT recently!

Mandalinn- That is awesome that your MIL has finally started to come around!

Sakai- I'm glad that you'll get to spend time with your little girl after she's born and also that the caterpillar can go with her! It sounds like your cousin and his wife will make sure to include you and that they will make a great family for you're little girl.

Mindi- Great that you got a crib ordered as well. Don't know how I passed that over before. We got the same brand/thing but ours is Espresso colored and a different crib design. They told me it would take 3 weeks to get here so I ordered it early- and it showed up 4 days later. I was happy but it's been in the corner for awhile now. When do you plan on putting it together? We're doing ours around the 20th of March so i'll let you know how it goes if we get ours together first!

I'll throw in a "belly" pic too. This was taken today, a couple hours off from 30 weeks. A always stays and pushes at the outside of my stomach. Only 70 Days to go! It's so crazy how times going by quickly now! It seems like I just found out he was a boy last week, not 8 weeks ago!

Hi everyone - I love all the baby bump pictures. I'm still a bit early for how overweight I was when I got pregnant I think, I'm not showing as much as I'd hope to be.

Mindi - It really stinks that they continue to put you in the middle of this whole baby shower ordeal. (I know this doesn't help you) I guess I can't understand why they can't all work together and do something nice for you. I'm just agreeing that it would be quite frustrating and I'd be more likely to tell them to call the whole thing off if they were going to continue to put me in the midst of drama.

I'm not subject to drama currently, but my husband has decided that I'm extra cranky and has been giving me a wide berth. He also has sent me to hang out with girlfriends and told me to "hug it out" :) I'm tolerating him currently... lol

We have some adventures going on - we made an offer on a house today, so I'm waiting impatiently for a counter offer or an acceptance. I'm quite nervous but have been packing the house up a couple boxes a week for month or so. I'd like to be out of our rental house before giving birth although that means some pretty huge help from my family and my husband as far as getting things ready. They are all being champs. So I'll continue to pack and hopefully be able to update you all with some good news in the next few days.

Keller, ours is actually in espresso too, I think! It was supposed to be here by Tuesday but hasn't shipped at all yet. So who knows when we'll get it? I'm sure it'll be put together right away...DH loves any excuse to use tools!

sprklemajik, your husband sounds like mine. He says I'm moody and irritable. I told him I'd SHOW him moody and irritable... :)

Good news! I talked with my cousin's wife and they do have to stay in state and really wants us to come visit while they are there and spend as much time with the baby as we want and she loves pictures, so there'll be oodles of pictures.
Also I've got my muse for painting (use to paint all the time, but haven't in years) so I'm going to paint a little something for her nursery now that I know the theme is lavander and teal with butterflies. ^.^

Here's a stupid question...do I need to bring anything for the baby while we're in the hospital? Besides clothes to leave the hospital?

Sakai., I am an adoptive Mom, bio Mom did not bring anything, I brought everything to take my son home, PS Bio Mom was thrilled at the things I had provided.

Baby A has been moving a lot less recently. I'm still getting way past my kick count at "the most active time of day" (A good 25 kicks/rolls within an hour or two) but other than that, he must be taking long naps. It freaks me out a tad bit but doctor said it's completly normal for movement to begin slowing down around now because baby has less room. Did this happen to those of you who already have kids? He said as long as i'm getting my kick count and two movements an hour after, not to worry, BUT he also told me I could go to the hospital for monitoring if it ever feels "just not right."

The pain is getting ridiculousy worse now and NOTHING helps. For awhile, a heating pad would help a little but now I can't even get out of bed some mornings. Doctor was talking about bed rest if it gets worse- but i'm practically already constricted to my bed and couch and just want to cry half the time. He's still talking about possibly inducing around 37 weeks. He said it's my choice in the end- but I have no clue what to do. I want him here and to be out of pain but i've heard bad things/stories about inducing as well.

Sakai- Within the adoption agencies here that my friend was looking into awhile back, they said the adoptive parents provided everything- even the clothes to go home in. Whether provate or through an agency, Your best bet would be to have a talk with your cousin and his wife to see if they will be providing that outfit, let them know if you want to, or you guys could even pick together.

Sprkle- Did you hear anything on the house yet? So exciting!

Keller- I did ask My cousin and his wife and they said that the hospital would have everything and really they would bring things for the baby, or I could bring clothes for her to go home in if I wanted to.

I'm having a bit of a issue in that if we get let out of the hospital 2 days after birth, the papers are not signed until day 3. They wanted to know what we wanted to do about that? if we wanted them to take her home from the hospital.
I told them honestly, that DF and I would much rather take her home ourselves to have that one day with just the 3 of us outside of the hospital. but we also agreed that if we felt we would be too much unstable emotionally when that day came, we wanted them to take the baby home.

I don't know, I just really want to be her parent for just one day at least.

Keller- as they get bigger the movement changes so you get more wiggles and rolls as opposed to those big kicks and punches. The thing to keep an eye on is if the pattern changes like if his normal "busy" time is quite. My midwifes have always told me to be more aware of the pattern of movement like if baby is always busy in the evenings after dinner and one night he isn't moving much during his normal busy time to then drink some OJ and sit or lie quietly and give the belly a good jiggling around and if he doesn't start being busy in 20-30 mins to page her. Also instinct says a lot. Don't hesitate to go in to be monitored if you feel something isn't right. I read an article that said that Dr.s take mother's instinct about their babies very seriously as they are usually right.

Sakai- I am not sure in the states how it works but here they have really cut down on what they supply in the hospital. Like you need to bring diapers and wipes to the hospital. Anyway they should tell you what you will need to bring when you go for your tour and then you can talk to your cousin and his wife to ask them to supply it.

Oh also you may want to look into getting some breast pads and cold packs for your breasts for when your milk comes in if you are not going to pump for the baby. Have you thought about what you will do about your milk or discussed it with your cousin and his wife? If you can emotionally and if they are ok with it you may want to nurse the baby when she is born so she get the colostrum as it is really good for her. Also be prepared for the emotional trigger when your milk comes in even if you don't do any nursing. When I lost my DD at birth my milk came in 2 days later, it just started dripping out I was told to just leave it and not to express etc. but I got engorged and I started reading up about the best way to "dry up" my supply and decided for me the best thing was to pump until the engorgement went down and then to slowly decrease how much I pumped over the course of a couple of weeks. I also drank a herbal tea that was supposed to help decrease my supply. If you do pump you could also give the milk to your cousin and his wife to feed the baby with. I hope this doesn't upset you.

So I went to my midwife apt yesterday and all is good baby's HB was 160 and I was measuring about 26cm so within range and I also passed my GTT all the numbers were within the normal range! I am shocked but happy. Now I just have to not let myself get lax on my food intake as I still want this baby to not grow too big.

I had an embarrassing hormonal moment today. I started crying at supper because I wanted mozzarella sticks and I couldn't have them, lol. I'm past the cravings now but in hindsight it's funny. :)

It's March!!! The more months pass, the faster our babies are coming!!!


I'm soo exhausted this week! Blah! I just wanna sleep the month away already.

We move in two weeks- and I haven't even began to pack/clean out apt. Ugh! I need to get on that.

Racrane- I haven't cried about food yet...but I have cried about cute things. like a baby bunny I saw on tv, or the itsy bitsy winter gloves in the baby department. it's all good ^.^

butterflymama- I asked my cousin's wife about the breastfeeding. i told her I wanted to feed at least the first few days and would be willing to pump for her for the weeks they have to stay here.
lol she was all over that idea because her supply is alread starting to drop with her 4 month old. she said she'd bring a pump and and bottles for me to use. so Yay for that!

So what is everone taking to keep them entertained during labor? I was thinking of taking my kindle for reading, maybe my MP3. I hear labor can get boring at some points, mostly when the pain is taken away and you're just sitting there.

:wave:

I'm getting tired again! And STARVING. Hello 3rd trimester. My feet are also starting to swell just a little - guess that's an excuse to make the wifey rub them.

Started prenatal classes, took a breastfeeding class last night which was really interesting. This weekend, my whole family is going to a wine tasting weekend - can't have the wine, but all the wineries put out lots of food, so I got a designated driver ticket and will be snacking on cheese and crackers and all kinds of cooked goodies. It could be worse!

Sakai, my current plan is to go unmedicated, so I don't imagine I'm going to have a lot of "bored" time where I'm able to focus on much (although in the event I needed an induction of any kind, I'd be more worried). I am going to pop my kindle in my bag for after he's born, and we've made a playlist that I'll be keeping on hand with a little iPhone speaker.

Racrane, I haven't cried over food, but I have gotten ANGRY. Like genuinely, yell-at-the-wife angry when she takes something off my plate or if I think she has served herself more. Don't mess with mama's food supply!

It amuses me that pregnant women can be so emotional. I remember reading about it and then bam, I was that pregnant woman. I haven't been angry, but I can understand! :)

I feel kind of wimpy, but I don't think I could do a natural birth. Kudos to those who want to but I know it's not for me.

OMG I'm having trouble sleeping!! I've finally reached the point where I'm not comfy lying mostly on my stomach anymore, so I'm propping up with a pillow. Only I can't go to sleep on my right side - HAS to be my left. But my left hip, ever since I lost weight, has given me fits. It's like there's nerve damage or something in there, and if I lie on that hip I wake up a little later feeling like it's on FIRE and then it's too sensitive to lie on the rest of the night. So I slept like three hours last night. Boooo!

Other than that, not a lot of change. I'm feeling a little nauseated in the mornings again, but not too horribly bad and it passes.

I'm also going medicated, I'm thinking. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain, but it'll really just depend, I guess. I'll know as soon as that first real contraction hits me. If I do go with the drugs, I plan to try to sleep as much as possible, and otherwise just stay awake and enjoy the silence. Won't be much of that once things really get going...

Racrane- Getting an epidural doesn't mean that youre a wimp! It's all a matter of personal preference and pain tolerance.

I've decided to try to do it without pain medication BUT if I feel like I need it or can't, thats okay to. Keeping an open mind really is the key. My friend said the whole time she wanted an epidural- but labor hit her so fast she was too dilated to do so when she arrived at the hospital. Circumstances also matter.

Sakai- That's awesome about the breastfeeding!!!! As for labor and after, All I plan to take is my homework and my ipod- enough to focus when baby boy is sleeping or family is there. (Simply because I CAN'T get behind in classes or I will fail otherwise homework would be last choice)

Mindi- Sucks about your pain and I hope you get better sleep soon! Any luck on the crib being shipped out yet?

Manda- I had to laugh after reading your post. DF won't dish up the food anymore- and if he does, he knows to give me the plate that has just a tad bit more- then he eats whatever I leave after i'm done. LOL I just need the option! I remember you said you were doing a monkey themee for the nursery. Thats what we're doing as well so i was just wonderign what kind of stuff you guys bought? I'm trying not to "over-do" the monkey stuff and also focus on a light green/brown theme.

Looks like the third trimester blues have hit all of us who are there =/

MindiV- I've been having issues sleeping...but it's kinda weird. Like today, I woke up almost 5-6 times to get a drink of water... i was like dying of thirst. I normaly don't drink much when i wake up for water because I don't want to get up a hour later to use the bathroom, but even though I downed a whole bottle of water during the night, I didn't have to get up for the bathroom until my alarm went off.
And I'm still dying of thirst! @.@

Keller, the crib and all have arrived! Hopefully we'll get it all put together this weekend. That's the goal at least....if DH won't start helping I'll begin the project myself using HIS tools. That'll get him up and in gear...

Sakai I sorta found a solution last night. Ever since I was little I slept with a leg pulled up over a pillow, and the top of the pillow kinda hugged to my chest. Weird, yes, but effective and comfy :) I was still trying to do this, just with a bigger pillow, and it wasn't working. So last night I put a pillow under my head, a big one underneath my leg and got a small one to hug to me. Worked like a charm! I was able to get comfortable then even on my right side, and when I turned to the left I had enough belly room to kinda stretch out where I wasn't lying directly on that hip. Decent sleep!! Yay!!

Got a call last night from a lady who was setting up a garage sale, and had a TON of baby girl clothes! For 25 cents apiece I got a bunch of stuff, AND some maternity capris and a couple of shirts so I won't have to spend any more money on clothes, hopefully, until much later. I may go buy another t-shirt or a tank top or two, but those can be worn afterward as well. Kinda excited. Love garage sales!!!

MindiV- I'm glad you were able to find something that worked for you! nothing is better than a good nights sleep.

I think I have carpal tunnle.. :( my right hand is killing me. All my fingers and the back of hand hurts so bad. (My thumb feels fine though) It seems to fade away as the day goes by, but when I wake up in the morning i can hardly move it. Today I woke up because my hand started hurting me so much. Maybe it's the way i have my hand when i sleep.

In other news. DF and I joined the hopsital gym today. I'm mostly going to use the pool. Df will be in the gym (and I'm sure will soak in the hot tub a time or two hehe. He's got shoulder and back pain) Only bad thing is, I gotta get my pregnant butt in my old swimsuit. 0.o

I am speechless at this, I promise you labor is not boring.

Dr appointment today went well. Baby had heartrate of 137. I have gained 4 pounds since my last though. I didn't want to see that.

I don't have another one for 3 weeks(its been every week and a half for a bit now) but my doctor will be gone for two weeks.

Moving soon. Finally started packing!

Bargoo- Adoptive mom was telling me about her labor and she was bored for hours. So she wanted to let me know to bring something to do. I don't know how long she was in labor, but she did get pain meds pretty early and basically twiddled her thumbs for a few hours, pushed for 10 minutes and she was like "That's it?"

Though I think she was so ready to have her baby that the hours just before with no pain to deal with must of felt like it was dragging for eternety.

Keller-I have a dr. appointment tomorrow, I know I've gained 5 pounds this month. not happy about that myself. Good luck with the move!

went to the pool a few hours ago. it was pretty nice to get moving like that again without the pain.

Sakai, I've read that carpal tunnel is common in pregnant women.

And I've also been told that labor can get boring, especially if you get on meds early. My niece gave birth in October 2011, and was sitting there wishing she'd had something to do for hours. Everyone just kinda sat there and stared at her. She had the epidural early and literally just sat in bed for HOURS staring at the TV or the wall while everyone else just sorta sat around. So I can see it for sure. Then, of course, her epidural wore off and they couldn't get it to work again before she started pushing. She wasn't bored then!!

DH is being so helpful. He's getting up on time without hitting snooze forever, he's helping clean...it's amazing! It's like he's realized I'll need a TON of help soon. Hope it lasts!!

29 weeks this week...doctor's appointment Friday. I figure I'll go to every two weeks from here on out, but with this guy you never know.

My best friend and my sister also told me that labor was extra boring because they got their epidurals early and had nothing to do. My best friend got hers at 2cm. I thought you had to be farther than that to get one!

Mindi- Shocking! I hope dh stays that way too. I think you're right. As it gets closer, he realizes hes going to have to do more. Did you get the crib set up? i know you were excited to do so!

Sakai- How did the appointment go?

No crib yet, but we've both been busy. Hopefully this weekend, depending on work!!

Glad everyone is getting stuff done! Seems like moods are improving a bit, too!

We've got major progress on the nursery front - dad came yesterday and did some home repairs, too, so that's all covered (although he has more to do. I keep joking that we need him once a week until Spencer is born just to get things done). We have some added stress in that it worked out best to have our shower here at our house (one host is from across the country, and the other has some personal stuff going on, so it just made the most sense to hold it here), so we need to get the house all pretty for that, but we have a few weeks.

Keller - for our "theme", we're trying to just paint the walls a solid, neutral color (in our case, it's a pretty green) and use monkey accents, so the room theme can be changed for future kids. Right now, my favorite accent is this custom wall decal. (obviously it says Spencer), but we also got a light switch plate, hamper, and a valance for the window (which I can't find for you because it's discontinued!). My dad is also refinishing a dresser that was my uncle's when he was a kid, in the bright green trim color we're using. The knobs are going to be these.

Other than that, just keeping on. I've had some weird food cravings during this pregnancy that I hadn't anticipated...I normally HATE cilantro, and I'm neutral on Indian-style curries, but I've been craving both like mad. Apparently this baby is going to have a worldly palate. It was funny, though, we went to Indian food on Sunday, and tons of pregnant women were walking in to get takeout, so clearly it wasn't just me!!

Had some BAD sciatic pain wake me up last night - no fun! Had to hobble and stretch it out.

My appointment went okay. I got the "you gained too much." talk this time. i was just waiting for it to happpen. *sigh*
Also after 4 tries, the blood pressure machine wouldn't pick up my BP so the nurse tried twice the old fashioned way, then the head nurse came in to try. It was pretty low 110/69 ish is what they finally picked. i got strechmark looking bruses on both arms because of it.. ugh. But they didn't seem worried, so I guess it was fine.
Also did my glucose test. If anything turns up, their gonna call me.
I do have carpal tunnel because of pregnacy making my wrist swell and pinching those nerves. so after work today i gotta get a brace to wear while sleeping to keep it from getting worse.

Sakai- that is fantastic about the breastfeeding!

I get carpel tunnel in my right wrist when I am pregnant. Just starting acting up yesterday, I need to get out my brace. I also found icing it for 10 mins on and off helps.

Glad to here everyone else seems to be doing well. Can't believe we are all getting so close!

So DH is going in to have ear surgery tomorrow and needs to stay overnight at the hospital for one night. I am trying to be all relaxed and not stress but am turning to my old stress reliever food :( Haven't done to bad today but really want to cram a quarter pounder with cheese, fries and a diet coke down my throat.

I washed up some of the used baby stuff I bought and folded it and organized it into sizes today. I also got an order from Old Navy today of some socks, onsies and legging type pants but haven't washed that stuff yet. I don't have a lot of clothes for this baby and not sure if I will have a shower or not, prob will have a meet and greet after baby gets here. I had so much stuff for DS and feel a bit sad that I can't go crazy with this baby but we just don't have much money. Oh also we got a Honda Odyssey minivan a few days ago, it is a 2004, now just need to sell our other car to pay for it :) I love the van, it is so easy to load the kids into and it will be great when I have to pull over to nurse the baby, it's like a couch in the back!

Butterfly- Awesome for the new van. My parents just got rid of theirs for a cheaper car payment but they loved it as well. I think they had an 05. Don't stress out too much. It's only one night and he'll be right back by you're side! (Maybe it's just easy for me because I sleep alone 6 nights a week since df works overnights.)

Sakai- While the blood pressure may be low for you, it's actually in the middle of the normal range. Mine is always 115-120/60-75.

Manda- Cute stuff! We only have a hamper from babies r us with a monkey on it and this decal for the wall. I couldn't find a whole lot around where we live. Most of the monkeys i've seen were for girls but I'm gonna check out amazon now!

Good morning ladies -- I know I've been pretty sparse lately, but I've been reading all your posts, even when I don't have time to comment back. Sounds like things are picking up for most everyone. I'm feeling the same way (mostly). Work has been less than amazing lately -- but I've decided to give up being upset about it. It's just noise...

On the homebuying front :) we're still in negotiations, but we're quite close. I'm hoping in the next few days we'll come to an agreement. I'm very excited about it. If everything goes as planned, we'll be moving in late April. I've not spent any time really working on a nursery, but I'll still have 6 weeks or so...

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Baby Grandaughter is due anytime now according to the Doctor. The name they have chosen is Faith. I like it, not too common and definitely a girls name.

FINALLY for the first time in a month, I slept for over three hours last night. I think the time going forward threw my body off a bit because everything seems so much later- but i'll take it!

I think baby boy dropped. I've had constant pressure for a few days now and it SUCKS! I can't blow my nose or sneeze without peeing a little because he's right on top of my bladder =/

Sorry I haven't dropped by. I had spring break and I almost never go online. I had a rough break because I had a migraine last the whole week, food poisoning and two trips to the ER. I'm trying to just keep afloat through all this crap.

It seems like everyone is doing okay. I hope you all had a good weekend. :)

Gosh, Racrane...feel better soon!!!

Finally got the room together. The crib was the easy part. Getting my husband to help move stuff was hard!! :) He finally realized how close all this is to happening so he got into gear Sunday. I just keep walking in there and looking...crazy that there will be a baby in there soon!

My shower is in about a month. Then it's all downhill from there trying to get it all together in time. I feel much better with the little half room done, though. Now it's the workout/baby room. DH has a plan to build a building out back to make a workout area, so our little girl can have a whole room in the next couple of years. I'm all for it...that way we won't have to move into a bigger place! Our house is paid for, so I want to stay as long as possible.