sakai - she is BEAUTIFUL.... hugs to you as you start to take care of yourself. You should be so proud of how you grew that baby girl and gave her a great start. You are nothing short of amazing - know that and BELIEVE that. I hope as time goes by that things get easier for you. Sending you healing vibes.

beautiful! Looks a lot like my babies - and then you said the sizes... yep! Mine were both 22". First was 10 lbs 9 ozs and second was 11 lbs 14 ozs.

Sakai, she is lovely. :) You should be very proud. Take care of yourself!

Thanks everyone. Your support means a lot to me. I'm really surprised at the support system that seems to have built up around me. I suddenly have friends and family coming out of the woodwork just to ask how I'm doing today.

I've been told to find something to do in my moment of free time so my thoughts don't turn to negative feelings. I'm finding it a little hard as I don't really feel like doing any of my old hobbies. (Reading, art, writing) But I am making an effort. I'm heading out to the library right now, I haven't been there in months. I'll most likely will be looking for books on diets or something. Just to study up for when I'm ready to get my pre-baby body back.

Racrane- how much longer do you have?

Sakai she is gorgeous!! I'm glad you've talked to the doctor about depression. I had some struggles with that myself when I was pumping. But I agree...find something to do with yourself. Take a class or start a new workout :)

I went to the Dr today. Since Thursday I have dilated from 1 to 3, I am completely effaced and baby has dropped. She stripped my membranes, I'm really hoping for a baby in the next couple of days. :)

Look at those lovely new babies :) I'm so excited for all of you. And Sakai - I'm so proud of the hard decisions you've made and the sacrifice you've made for that little girl. I'm continuing to pray for you.

Gale, it looks like you and I are up next! I've got an inducement scheduled Thursday morning. Last week I had dialated to 2cm - and continue to have false labor contractions, but they've never progressed to less than 10m apart. I've got an appt tomorrow to check and make sure everything is okay - and then Thursday morning we'll head to the hospital.

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't been around lately... moving and starting a new job (yes I know I'm crazy) have kind of gotten in the way of everything. LOVE all the baby pics. :love:

Baby is getting VERY active now. I joked with my (also pregnant) aunt that I have Bruce Lee growing in me, and she said "I must be growing his opponent!" to which I replied "Chuck Norris?" but I don't think she got it. She was a girly girl so I don't think she was into the action flicks in her younger days. :)

Also, if any of you have never gone into a Motherhood Maternity or Destination Maternity store, OH-EM-GEE you need to run there tomorrow as fast as you can. Buy like ONE SHIRT and you get SOO MUCH COOL STUFF for being a customer!!!! First time shoppers get coupons (like, TONS, and stuff that can be redeemed for free merchandise at online stores) and sometimes samples. I got a coupon for a free bottle (already redeemed it! :carrot:), a $20 shutterfly gift certificate, some pump/bottle coupons, some diaper and wipe coupons, and a bundle of "pay only shipping and get this thingie for free" coupons (a car seat cover/blanket, a nursing shirt/cover, and a baby sling)! And you can get things from there if you've already had the baby (like pump or bottle accessories, post maternity clothes, belly support bands, nursing shirts, nursing bras, boppys, etc.) That is my little unpaid commercial :D and YES they do have stuff for plus sized ladies! My pre-weight loss size was 28 or 30, pre-pregnancy size was about 26 (though I did get down to 24 before I knew I was pregnant!), and I fit into their 2x size now (you buy the same size as your pre-pregnancy size).

Sakai: I love going to the library. You can lose yourself there for hours. :D

I am at 29 weeks so 11 more to go, roughly. I'm very anxious right now because I don't know where I'll be living in August - can't afford an apartment on my own. My boyfriend and I are looking for places, but because neither of us have jobs past the summer, it's hard to find people who would trust us. He's looking for a full time job, but it's not easy.

At any rate, I can feel my "nesting" instinct kicking in. I just want to find a place and move in but I don't know if that's happening. I can't live with my parents and although we like his parents, their house is not suitable.

Sorry for the worrying, but I really want to find something soon!

I'll be checking this page for any more baby updates. :)

Hi everyone! Baby Jonathan Lindell is here :D He was born at 6:13 pm last night and weighed 7lbs 14oz and 21" long. I ended up requiring a c-section. At about 7 cm dilated the Dr. was starting to be concerned about his head getting stuck. I blame that on my husband ... he has a huge noggin on him. ;) Anyways although things did not go as planned the end result was a wonderful healthy baby boy and I am so blessed. Once I am back home I will upload some pictures.

Take care all.

Congratulations, Tessa!!

I've been following te posts recently on my phne, just a bit busy to get on the laptop.

CONGRATS to all the new mamas on the beautiful babies! I hope all is going well and the transition with baby is getting easier.

Make sure to tell all the daddies Happy Fathers Day as well!!! =] Anybody doing any celebrating today?

Sakai- Madeline is so cute! I love her hair :)

Congrats Tessa on your boy! Sorry things didn't go as planned but glad you and babe are doing well.

Congrats Tessa! Very excited for you!

Is everyone here a first time mom?

Nope. I have a 4 year old son too.

Ok, I was just wondering. :) I also have a 3 year old and a 1 year old.

Wow, I feel so lonely, everyone here's mostly had their babies and are busy! Just wanted to pop in and say I'm doing ok. I'm really hoping my boyfriend is able to get a full time job this fall, though. He has a summer job only so I'm praying something works out because we need a place of our own. (We both have $$$ saved up but it goes fast.) Anyway, hope everyone's enjoying their babies. :)

I'm still here for the time being, racrane!

I had my 40 week appt yesterday. I'm dilated to 4 and completely effaced. Since I am in so much pain that I'm unable to walk most days, we scheduled an induction for Thursday if little one doesn't come before then. DH got a new job so we're going to be moving in the next 6 weeks or so. Lots of work with a newborn and 2 toddlers, but not as bad as being preggo would have been.

I hope you're all doing well!

Hullo all! We're enjoying baby Jon - and I'm healing up from my surgery. It's certainly not fun, but it's tolerable.

Jon is not sleeping through the night currently - he's hard to keep awake during the day, but he's still wanting to play at night. I'm continuing to work on keeping him awake... we'll see how long this takes me ;)

I'll post a pic soon - (I'm slightly embarrased that I don't know how - heh)

Sleeping through the night! :) Mine started at 22 months.

Sprkle, there is no need to keep a newborn awake in the day, the better they sleep in the day, the better they will sleep in the night - but the vast majority of newborns simply don't sleep in the night, it's when they are most active in the womb and it takes time (weeks, months even) to reverse this.

I made this mistake with mine -eeek how I wish I could have turned back time!

Just keep on trucking but let him sleep when he wants! :)

I guess I should correct that - we had been putting him in a swing during the day, and at night he wouldn't tolerate being placed in his crib. So we've taken away the swing (his favorite item already) that way he's got to deal with the bassinet during the day and crib at night. I'm not fighting to keep him awake, although I do have to wake him up every 3 hours to feed him because he doesn't want to be awake during the day. I don't want a fussy baby - and I'm trying :)

Newborns are definitely a strange breed when it comes to sleep. Rule of thumb is that the more they do sleep the more they will sleep. That said, most of them are born with their days and nights reversed. It normally takes a few weeks for them to un-reverse. ;) I have a modicum of hope that this one might not be living on a graveyard schedule. I almost never feel him at night, even when I get out of bed. He's super active in the late afternoon and evening and then settles down at night. My fingers are crossed, but I'm not naive about it. :)

Sacha - How are you doing? Are you still feeling pretty good?

I've been in labor all day, but my contractions aren't regulating. With my second one I went from 6cm to birth in 25 minutes and I have a family history of extremely rapid birth, so everyone is a little nervous about what's going to happen with this one. (since i was already at 4cm on Monday)The hospital we're supposed to go to is 45 minutes away with nothing in between. There is a hospital here though, if things start progressing so fast I can't make it.

Aww that sounds rough, it is SO exhausting. 7-10 days is prime growth spurt time so you will be looking at marathon feeding, hope you have some help at home to get you through it :hug:

Thanks Gale. Im doing great! 22 or 23 weeks (gee, with #1 I could tell you to the minute), with a little boy, and feeling good. Working out almost daily. My son started sleeping through a few weeks ago and I love the rest... for now :D

Gee, y our contractions are probably annoying you right now ya poor thing!!! Big hugs!!!

Gale- that's kinda scary @.@ I hope everything went okay.

Newborns are kinda strange when it comes to sleep. I worked overnights so I figured madeline would sleep at nights (because everyone says babies are sleeping when we're active) But I don't know if that's true or not. From my visits, she seems to sleep whenever. Though today being 3 weeks old, she was awake for almost 4 hours which was amazing to me because before i would only see her awake to cry for food. then would ppass back out once she got it. but today she was awake forever even after eating twice. i think she's going through a bit of a growth spurt as she had 4oz today when she normally is happy with 2... then a hour later had 2oz, then two hours after that had 3oz. then finally fell asleep for about a hour before waking up for a 1oz snack and then 2oz more a half hour after that. @.@
Everyone jokes that she's trying to catch up to her 7 month old sister. Adoptive mom didn't seem worried, just impressed she was eating so much. So I guess it's normal. ^.^

Hi all - no idea how long it's been since I checked in or where the time has gone!

Continuing to work through my supply issues - I don't think I'll probably ever provide 100% of his calorie needs, but I'm still giving him more than half, using a supplemental nursing system. Our feeding, though, is quite elaborate, and it can be very time consuming (we're using a Supplemental Nursing System, so I have to get that set up, feed him, get him down, and THEN pump - workable during the day, but not so fun at 3am, when the entire process takes just over an hour). I do want to keep with it at least until he gets his first shots, though, for immunity, and will try to go as long as I can so he can get the benefits of at least partial breastmilk for as long as possible.

I'm totally cleared by my midwife as of last Tuesday, so I'm working my way back into exercise...not that I really stopped except for the immediate postpartum period, I ran a 5K the Saturday before he came, but it's nice to be able to push myself a bit more.

We're just trying to enjoy him as much as possible before I go back to work in 2 weeks.

Our July schedule is INTIMIDATING, though...two 8+ hour roadtrips (to see Sarah's dad and cousins in early July, then to see her mom and grandparents at the end of July), and two different sets of houseguests (Sarah's mom for July 4th, and her best friend the week after that). I'm sure we'll manage, though, right?

Joshua Isaac is here! He was born yesterday at 4:17pm. He weighed in at 8lb 7oz and is 21 inches long. He had some respiration issues, but is doing well now. We'll get to head home tonight or tomorrow. I'm doing great, no tearing, my bleeding is down to a menstrual like flow. My hips and back hurt, but that's to be expected.

I hope you're all doing well! I'll try to get a picture uploaded when we get home. 3FC doesn't like the file formatting on my phone. :)

Congrats Gale!!
Glad to hear it went well. ^.^ No having him on the car ride to the Dr.

Gale- Congrats! Our boys were practically the same size! Are you home now? How's the adjustment with another one?

I got released to go back to working out, swimming, etc mid-last week so I have been in the gym for the past week. I'm trying to work back up since I didn't work out much didn't pregnancy due to the spd. They have a 8 week weight loss challenge that I'm considering doing but it starts soon and i'm no where up to par of fully working out. You have to pay a fee but then I think you can do classes and what not. However, I have lost about 8 more pounds since again reaching my "pre-pregnacy" weight!

Manda- Sounds like a busy month for you! Hopefully it all goes well for you. The feeding seems like a long process to deal with so good for you for sticking with it!

Hope everyone else is well. Mamas who have had their babies, how are you ladies transitioning into life as a mama or one with more kids?

Congrats Gale! Meconium??

Sacha - No, he was just a bit stunned when he was born. The cord was around his neck for the delivery so he ended up having a tough time transitioning. It took him a little longer to get acclimated to the outside world, but he's good now. :)

I think Sasha, racrane, and I are the only ones patiently awaiting babies, and unless racrane or I have our babies way early, no new babies until late August ;)

Baby is kicking hard enough that I can SEE IT (with or without my shirt on) and the baby can kick things off my belly (like TV remotes). It's kind of hilarious :)

Woke up today with some back pain, decided to take a shower... then halfway into the shower wanted a bath so I did... then I saw that I still had dead skin all over (pregnancy regeneration?!) so showered AGAIN. Now I'm going to double up on my lotion, maybe get a pedi, and then other random errands until I have to work.

A little perplexed because I have gone from having 3-4 people wanting to plan separate baby showers to... none. Am I supposed to plan my own shower? Am I supposed to recruit someone to do it? My mom and best friend who live 2 hrs away from me (allegedly) have combined forces to do one, but my parents are currently on vay-kay and my best friend is going through life drama (school is out for summer and she wants to party because this is the first time in a long time where she hasn't had summer classes, but she also has a preschool kid but her boyfriend is acting all dumb and she wants to break up but she knows her daughter would be sad without him even though he is mean to her a lot)... one of my friends here who was super gung-ho about planning a shower got into a pretty severe car accident a few months back and now has to do physical therapy multiple times per week, so she's either too in pain or too tired to do anything :( and another friend here who wants to plan one is super busy with work plus her hubby is finishing his PhD out of state so they travel to visit each other twice per month... so most of her weekends are gone between work and family time.

I know the shower is not the most important thing in my life, but I'd like to have one. I just want to have a fun get together with my friends!

Is it possible that alll the reasons for not giving the shower is really a coverup because they are planning a surprise shower ?

Baby Joshua has to stay in the hospital a little longer. His glucose levels aren't stabilizing, his jaundice levels are rising, and the pediatrician found a heart murmur. :( We're hanging in there, but prayers are appreciated.

Gale, praying that Baby Joshua will overcome these problems and that he will thrive and be the healthy baby boy that Gale and DF have looked forward to adding to their family.
Gale , stay strong ,take care of yourself and trust that all will be well with Baby Joshua.

Gale, keeping you and your family in my thoughts and prayers.

Heart murmurs are an INCREDIBLY common finding in newborns (some estimates put it higher than 50%!), and usually mean absolutely nothing long-term. Hopefully Joshua will turn his jaundice and blood sugar around and be home with you before you know it.

Gale - Congrats and I hope little Joshua overcomes everything soon!

I am excited because my mom is buying me a crib today. We searched around until we found the best deal, lol, but I'm happy to finally have one now.

I have been eating like crazy lately. My weight gain is still normal and all, but I have never eaten this much in my life.

Take care, all! :)

LOL You don't know my friends :-) My mom and I talked today and she >kind of< said she'd do a shower. Lord only knows what that means... As for the other friends, there's no cover up, those are the real reasons that have existed looong before the pregnancy (minus the car accident, but that was extremely recent).

:hug: Praying for Joshua, Gale!!!! My friend has a baby who is going through jaundice right now, I know she hates it because they had to stay in the hospital for so long. :(

Big hugs Gale