Learned in my ultrasound yesterday that apparently, my placenta migrated over to the side! Yay! And this morning, I felt him kick from the outside. Now we just need to time it so my wife can feel it. She ran over and stuck her hand on, but our lazy little boy was already settled and asleep. He still is asleep when I am, meaning he isn't keeping me up. Let's hope that pattern sticks!

Every time we get an ultrasound, he is face down, legs spread wide, and refuses to move. So we BARELY got face shots yesterday as well (and yeah, just profiles). Apparently he uses the placenta as a pillow.

I don't get awakened at night either....hope that means her schedule will match mine! Wishful thinking, huh? :)

I'm hoping that, too!

Ugh, I just stubbed my toe so hard I'm about 95% sure I broke it. THAT HURTS. Nothing I can do about it, but wow, that's uncomfortable.

Amanda, I think we're both falling apart. I woke up with a horrible pain in my right hip this morning, and it hasn't ever gone away! I even had our brand new elliptical delivered yesterday and haven't been able to get on it to try it out yet...it's killing me! Hurts to even walk, much less do all the cleaning and organizing I've been doing all day long...

I had a horrible stomach flu yesterday. woke up at 2:00 am Sat morning and threw-up and then again every 15-30 mins for the next 3 hours and then every hour or so for over 12 hours. I couldn't keep anything down. Finally stopped throwing up last night and was able to keep some soup down. Ahh horrible. I was worried about dehydrating and about the baby so DH called our m/w and she said to just rest and take sips of water and gatorade every ten mins and call her back if it hadn't let up in 24-36 hours. I felt baby bumping around a few times yesterday but nothing so far today, but I am not feeling movement on a regular bases yet and m/w said my placenta is in the front so am not too concerned. Fell like I was run over by a train today.

10 days till our u/s.

Sarah got to feel him moving last night! So exciting. We were sort of snuggling, and he kicked her square in the leg. He was SUPER active yesterday, and I loved it (I can see how in a few months, it's gonna get old, but for now, bring it on!)

Negative - the toe is definitely broken. I can't even put shoes on.

Butterfly - How awful! I had a friend that happened to, and she ended up in the ER getting IV fluids. Take care of yourself!

Mindi - I had a couple days with really bad hip pain. Then it went away as quickly as it came. Weird. Go easy until it feels better, maybe do some stretching?

Here a week or so ago the baby was really active in the morning, and I laid in bed and told DH to put his hand on my belly. He felt the little kicks a few times and all he could say was "That's SO weird!" He has NO idea!!

This morning my hip is a lot better. Some pain every once in a while but nothing horrible like yesterday. Wish I could say the same for my back...just gets worse and worse!

My dad just got admitted to the hospital after waking up with horrible chest pains to the point it hurt to breathe. They have no idea whats wrong. It scares me horribly because my dad is already in such bad health now. His mom had a heart attack and went down hill and died from it and his dad had heart problems I believe so the thought just can't help run through my mind that something really bad could be happening and that he may never meet my son at the rate his health has gone down in the past year.

I won't be getting much sleep tonight. Praying for the best.
Good thing I have plenty of of homework to keep me busy til class at 730am.

Keller - keeping you and your dad in my thoughts and prayers tonight. Hang in there, and get some rest if you can.

Praying for your family, Keller...

I need to quit weighing myself. Up 7 pounds in 2 weeks. At the rate of 3 pounds a week, I'll weigh like 230 pounds at 40 weeks. That's more than I weighed BEFORE I lost weight in order to get in shape to get pregnant.

ETA: Now that I've had a major freak out and cried and ruined my makeup today over it, I'm MAD. I mean what's the freakin' point of eating right and working out five days a week, 45 minutes a day, if I'm packing on pounds like crazy? I've literally eaten fried food ONCE in the past 5 1/2 months, and fast food a grand total of MAYBE four times. The rest is lean proteins, veggies and whole grains. High fiber. I don't eat potato chips that often...I eat salads and peas and squash and carrots. And 7 pounds in 2 weeks is what I get? Seriously?

I've about reached the point of "Screw it, give me Texas Roadhouse." If I'm gonna gain like that, I might as well enjoy myself until May and then get back on the weight loss bandwagon.

Thanks mindi and amanda. He's beens hospitalized until further notice and stabilized with oxygen, iv, etc etc until they can find and treat what is wrong. No way to say whether its looking minor or major. None of us will relax until we know so were praying they work as fast as they can as its effected his breathing.

Got no sleep last night bewtween texting/calling my siblings and mom and baby A kicking. I have a feeling it will be a long week.

Keller- I am so sorry to hear about your dad :( Sending lots of healing vibes his way. So stressful for all of you.

Mandalinn- That is so cool that your wife got to feel baby kick, I can't wait till DH and DS can feel baby. I feel DH isn't really connect to the baby yet and seems to be avoiding my belly so hoping that once he can feel the baby he will fell more connected.

Mindi- that sucks about the weight gain. My midwife clinic doesn't weigh their clients or even ask about their weight they do ask for a 3 day food record though. My mw said that the important thing is the women is eating mostly healthy foods and baby is measuring fine and is doing well and mom is healthy. She said the number on the scale gives them very little diagnostic information.

I am feeling much better today and able to eat a normal breakfast this morning. Ok take care everyone.

Mindi - that sounds like the week I had where I became convinced that I had pre-eclampsia. My midwife made me put the scale away. I did, and I'll tell you, not only has it helped with the freak out, but my weight gain has actually evened out as well. Having a "growth spurt" week or two is apparently not uncommon around 21-22 weeks.

She also said that every woman she has seen who has previously lost a lot of weight gains significantly during pregnancy...but that they also drop it fast afterward. She said she suspects people already eating a healthy diet may carry less water weight, since they tend to eat less refined carbs, so they put on a ton with pregnancy, but it isn't fat.

I know it doesn't help much, since I had this SAME freakout, but I gave it a couple of days scale-free and I feel so much better.

Original doctor had thought It was a heart attack but when they switched shifts the morning doctor did more tests. Heart came back fine but there's some kind of problem with diaphragm. They don't know exactly what is wrong and said It will most likely happen again so he is now on monitoring. Relieved it had nothing to do with heart but still worried as its likely to happen again. :(

Well the fact that it's not his heart is a BIG relief, Keller! I just hope they figure out what's wrong!!

Thanks Amanda...I know I need to put the scale away, but it's hard. I'm down to just once a week, which is good for me. I need to have my husband just hide it. Like I said, it just worries me especially since I'm concerned I'm not eating ENOUGH rather than too much. Only 100 to 150 extra calories a day over my maintenance level.

The doctor just called...he's going out of town for a bit and wants to do another sonogram to confirm gender ASAP. So he's supposed to be working in the ER tonight and wants me to come up around 7:30 or so to find him for a scan...so maybe we'll be sure our girl is a girl later this evening!

Mindi - did you get confirmation?

I'm falling apart. My toe hurts, I think I am getting an ear infection, and now my wife brought home a cold! I'm trying to do everything I know of to keep from catching it, but my normal routine (Airborne, Emergen-C, zinc, etc) isn't necessarily a good idea during pregnancy, so I'm just making her bathe herself in hand sanitizer and hoping for the best. I have a bad feeling, though, that I'm going to be miserable in a day or so.

Well, there's some news...

Had a LONG sonogram last night. He looked and looked and looked. The baby was totally sleeping at first...his first shot was the little face, mouth opening and closing with a little perfect hand up by the face opening and closing. It was in that VERY second that I FINALLY got attached to this baby. I saw the little pinky on the hand and got wrapped around it. I'm done. Over. Lost forever.

So then he started looking around. He measured the femur when he got a good shot, and I measured close to 24 weeks. The tech a few weeks ago said I'm due May 13, but the doctor is sticking with May 21. He said the more sonograms you do, the less reliable measurements get and he likes to stick with the original date.

I've been early all my life. I'm sticking with May 13.

Anyway, on to the rest. He looked and looked. At one point I swear he was looking at what he thought might be testicles or something sticking up and out. Then we saw a couple of lines. Then he saw this:

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s...-9-1275pct.jpg


He said it could be the baby's labia, which means girl. He didn't give me a percentage last time...just said think of girl names but don't buy pink clothes. This time, because of the initial confusion and lack of three clear, even and visible lines, he's upped it to 75 percent girl, 25 percent boy.

So we're still thinking of names. And maybe picking up a few girly items.

Mindi- after clearly seeing a penis and testes, that sure does look like a girl to me! Im glad you feel that connection now and have a better idea.

Class this morning sucks. I couldn't even make it through my first class without puking. Bleck!

Now I get to explain to my midwife how I've gained 15 lbs in the last month and a half. The truth is, even I have no idea! I printed food journals to prove that I didn't "earn" any of this.

If I'm going to gain 50 lbs with this pregnancy, can I at least be eating to earn it? Right now, my 2000 calories of healthy, moderate-to-low carb food at 80+ min of exercise just seem like an exercise in futility.

Amen, preggo sister! I gain 2 to 3 pounds a week, eating about 150 calories over maintenance and working out 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week. NOBODY believes I don't over-eat. I'm not even eating 2,000 calories a day...1,950 MAX. At this rate I will literally be 230 pounds by my due date.

At the doctor today he wasn't terribly worried about it, yet, even though I've gone from 147 to 170 in 22 weeks. My maximum weight gain, according to him, is 35 pounds. I'm at 23 with a long way to go. Guess it could slow down but since it seems to be picking up I doubt that seriously. He said I'm tall, and could be retaining water, etc. But at my next appointment in 4 weeks he wants to check in on it again and see what has changed, and do my GD test.

I'm like you, though, Amanda...why forgo potato chips and fried food for lean meats, salads and veggies when it's not helping keep my weight gain at a healthy rate? The bad angel on my shoulder is saying "Screw it! This is the last time in your life you'll get to ENJOY food you used to love! Go to Chili's! Go to Texas Roadhouse! Eat dessert with abandon!" But I can't do it!!!

My sister-in-law just heard my appointment update. She said he will probably start telling me to control my weight if it doesn't stop. HOW?!?!?!? Short of going on a calorie-restricting diet, there's nothing I can do.

My one thought is maybe I'm not eating ENOUGH for growing a baby and gaining healthy weight with the amount I work out. But I'm afraid to eat more...

Keller - I'm keeping you and your family in my prayers. I hope they get things figured out soon!

Mindi - I've never seen a girl ultrasound, but with all three of my boys they got up under them (almost like they were sitting on a copier, ha!) and it was like a horizon with a penis on it. LOL! If the doc isn't sure I probably wouldn't go buy all girl stuff, but a few things here and there won't hurt. :)

I'm hanging in here. Still more tired than I thought possible. DH went into work an hour late today so that I could sleep for an extra hour. The man is a prince. :) Not much else going on. That's good, I suppose. I have a dr appt on Friday and I'm pretty sure I'm up 6 lbs this month, but since I lost 5 lbs last month I'm not too worried about it. I can still get my prepregnancy pants over my butt (not zipped, of course) so at least the gain is in my tummy so far. I count that a success even if I am up 15lbs in 18 weeks. Meh. It is what it is.

Ladie, ladies. remember that little guy or gal is just laying in there gaining weight and it will show on your scale, his/her exercise of kicking you or poking you with an elbow will not help. Good luck !

Bargoo - I appreciate that. I'm only concerned because I am quite far ahead of what one would consider an appropriate or healthy amount to gain during a pregnancy. I get that I'm not going to stay the same weight, but I wouldn't anticipate gaining as much as I have at this point with the diet and exercise I'm doing. My midwife WAS concerned, in fact, until we reviewed my food log.

The concern is that excess weight gain can cause quite a few complications in pregnancy, so I'd wanted to avoid it. I'm trying not to worry since I know that I'm eating well, but this isn't "normal" pregnancy weight gain I'm worrying about...it's weight gain that is too much, too fast, inexplicably.

Can I now join you ladies? I posted on this board in December. I had just found out I'm pregnant. Well, I'm now about seven weeks along (I know, I found out early on). My boyfriend and I are still leaning towards adoption. As much as I know it will be the hardest thing I have ever done, I'm struggling to support myself, let alone a baby. (We're both college students) I already have a family in mind from the agency I've chosen, too.

However, since things are normal and I want the baby to be healthy, I'm going to do my best to keep thing going in a positive way.

I have no energy to workout whatsoever and I feel very guilty for it. Even walking seems horrible now (and that says a lot because I love exercising normally). In addition, I'm in the midst of morning sickness and it's hard to eat anything without feeling like puking. Crackers, plain popcorn and cereal are my friends right now, as well as drinks like boost or ensure and lots of water. I've lost 10 lbs so far but apparently that's normal. Anyone have advice for making it thru the day? (I'll be attending classes next week so I can't just lay in bed) I have a busy two weeks ahead of me where I will be going from 8AM to 10:30 PM and I'm just dreading it!

I suppose I more need support than advice right now, and I know you ladies have plenty of both. Thanks for reading my rant-y post. :D

Your doctor should be telling you an approriate weight gain for you. Sometimes these medical people assume that we know or they just are busy and forget to tell us all we need to know. I am not pregnant but have been and have given birth, I hope I am not being a busy body.
Just for the record there is a baby coming in my family. too and adoption is involved, actually it is quite a mess, I am planning on making the best of it.

Racrane- Sure and welcome! When is your due date? Theres also another rmom on here thats putting her baby up for adoption! It's a hard thing, but as that babys mother you do know best for your own child!

So tired! I had my nephew at 6am this morning and he decided to shriek and cry for an hour and a half- just because I wouldn't hold him the whole time like my sister does. Went to talk to my mechanic about a new car today. Hopefully, I can get this figured out in the next couple months so I don't have to settle on a car i don't really like or a buy here pay here place right before or after lil guy is here. I just want to get everything done. Also Went to the secondhand stores today. They had tons of outfits that were practically new for a dollar each on clearance! Most name brand, some still had tags. What a great deal!

I'm Starting to make invites for the baby shower as i'm customizing them myself since it will be cheaper to just print them off. My sister is throwing it, but doesn't wanna buy invites lol I started a registry too. Too soon? Idk! But it's taking forever to add stuff me and DF can agree on. I really do have most of the say but I don't want something if he absolutely hates it!

Hope you ladies are having a fantastic day! Off to do homework. I miss high school!

Bargoo, I'm in the same boat as Amanda. Inexplicable weight gain. I'm eating right, working out 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week at a good (yet safe) intensity and burning calories just as always. I'm eating fruits and veggies and not pigging out on anything. And yet I'm up 23 pounds at 22 weeks. My doctor told me no more than 25-35 pounds....and right now I'm up 2 pounds a week every week, and I KNOW the baby isn't gaining that much!!! Just worries me that something is wrong in there!

keller237: I'm due August 29th, so right at the end of summer. I'm honestly not looking forward to being the most pregnant at the hottest month of the year for Wisconsin. But that's life.

Hi everyone! sorry for being gone for so long. Life got in the way again, you know how it goes.

Racrane-p Hi! I'm the other mom Keller was talking about ^.^

Ladies!! I think I'm feeling false labor or the worst bout of gas I have ever felt in my life!
Not passing gas though, it's like it's trapped. so many people say it's falce labor. But I thought 19 weeks was too early for false labor pains? Is it? The pain is high on my belly, well above my belly button and it swops around my sides to my lower back. It's been going on for the past 24 hours. It was so bad yesterday that it work me from the middle sleeping because no matter how I lay it hurt. it wasn't in waves, it was just a constant pain. I woke my DF which must of freaked him out because it must of looked like I was in labor they way I B***'in and moaning about it. ^.^
Gas meds seemed to have helped which leds me to think it's just gas that wont move, but the pain keeps coming back.
It's the weekend and ER bills are beastly...I should be okay to wait until monday as long as it isn't much worse? I"m not spotting or anything so I'm not worried, but i don't want to wait till it's too late.

Hi everyone,

This is the kind of week where I've just been trying to keep my head above water!

A little bit of semi-scary news at our ultrasound on Wednesday, although logically it isn't likely to be anything of consequence - our boy has a little dilation in both of his kidneys. This means that, for whatever reason, at the time of the ultrasound, he had a little urine built up in the storage area of the kidneys, making them bigger than average. This is a pretty common finding (they see it in maybe 1-3% of ultrasounds, much more commonly in boys than girls), and generally doesn't result in any serious complications.

In the vast majority of cases, it either is a blip that goes away in subsequent ultrasounds (I found some interesting research showing that it could be related to maternal hydration...and I am NOTHING if not well hydrated, plus they made me chug a big bottle of water so I'd have a full bladder for the cervical measurements, so I was SUPER hydrated), or something that the baby grows out of before birth or by the time he is 2 years old, without any necessary interventions other than possible antibiotics to prevent bladder and kidney infections.

However, it CAN be a marker for chromosomal abnormalities (but we are extremely low risk due to my age and donor's age, our son has no other so called "soft markers", and our first and second trimester screenings both came back with odds of having any sort of chromosomal problem as 1/4000 or so, so that is extremely unlikely in our case), or it CAN be a urinary tract problem that requires intervention after he's born (which would be a fairly non-invasive surgery) or even before he's born (which would obviously be only in severe cases). The main concern if his kidneys were non-functional in utero would be that the amniotic fluid levels would get too low, and he'd have to be delivered early or would have trouble breathing because of it, but again, that would be really rare and would only occur in very severe cases.

So we have to go back for a Level 2 ultrasound to check out his kidneys, his spine, and his nuchal fold (the last two, presumably, are to check for Down syndrome and other chromosomal issues). I am trying to focus on the 95% of the time that this finding is basically incidental, instead of focusing on the much smaller percentage of things that could really be a problem. And of course, I'm not drinking a ton of water before that ultrasound!!

Luckily he reassures me with his flip flopping around. Sarah has started reading books to my belly, and he loves it.

racrane - Welcome.

Sakai - Good to hear from you, I was getting worried :) It sounds like maybe trapped gas. At 19 weeks the top of your uterus is only at about your belly button so if you were having contractions or braxton hicks they would most likely be lower. I would rest if you can and make sure your drinking enough water as dehydration can cause contractions/braxton hicks, just to be on the safe side.

Manadlinn- Wow that is nerve wracking news. I think you are wise to go with focusing on the 95% chance it just being incidental. When do you go for your level 2 ultrasound? I will be sending healthy kidney vibes out to your little guy.

So I have had two neat experiences this past week. I am pretty sure I felt my first movement from the outside. I was lying on the couch and reading with my hand resting on my lower belly and I felt a little bump from the inside and at the same time a bump to my hand. It was just under my belly button so would be near the top of my uterus :) The second was I think I felt the baby having hiccups, it was these rhythmical little taps coming every 3 seconds or so for about a min or so low on my left side. DS used to get hiccups at least twice a day in utero but I don't think I felt them before 25 weeks or so but it really did feel like when he would get them but smaller :)

So I have my anatomy scan on Wed and I am feeling a bit anxious. Ugh, I love ultrasounds because you get to see the baby and feel reassured when everything is good but I also get so anxious that there will be some problem discovered. Anyway I know stressing about it wont change the outcome either way so I am just trying to focus on the positive and the bigger odds that all will be wonderful!

Hey y'all!

Sakai...I agree. I bet it's gas! But with anything, I always say if you're worried and it doesn't go away, call your doctor just to be sure. If nothing else it will set your mind at ease!

Amanda...pretty stressful news! But like you said, I bet it turns out to be nothing hugely major. Keeping my fingers crossed for you...and look on the bright side, you get another ultrasound to see your little man!! :)

Butterflymama...I get the same way too before ultrasounds, for sure. But this one is cool. You get to see the baby forever!! The odds of there being a problem are small. Just enjoy it!

As for me, I had WAY too much caffeine yesterday. Accidentally made a pot of full caffeine coffee to drink instead of decaf. Whoops! Didn't realize until it was gone.

I get worried sometimes because I don't feel a ton of movement. I mean, a lot of y'all, and the ladies I'm friends with on Facebook from another board, say they feel all kinds of movement and can even SEE the baby moving in their bellies sometimes. I get sporadic kicks and punches, and that's it. Couple of times one hour, then nothing forever, then a few times and that's all for the day.

At what point do you begin to worry that there's not enough movement??

Mindi- My doctor told me not to count kicks or pay attention to how often until 28 weeks. Because of her size, he said it's normal and that as long as you feel your baby kick at least once everyday not to worry. Before finding out the gender, he also said sometimes kicks can be a sign-- that girls tends to be lazier and less active. I think most of us are having boys lol

Racrane- It'll be okay! At least theres pools you can go in. Just enjoy your pregnancy and don't focus on little things like that.

Sakai- Glad to hear from you! My doctor warned me about braxton hicks around 22 weeks. He said it's not common to start that early, but some women do. It would be low and shouldn't cause a backache. It sounds like gas that you're describing. Maybe ask your doctor about taking some gas medicene to relieve it?

Manda- How stressful! Way to focus on the positive though as most would see the "bad" in it. Sending good thoughts your way.

Buttefly- Are you finding out the gender or waiting? Yay for the movement. How exciting!

On my end, they released my dad a couple days ago unable to figure out what's wrong. He was told to take it easy for a couple days but is back to work and on doctor monitoring 2+ times a week for now. They said if it happens again, they can go in and do some kind of further testing but he was exhausted from being bugged so much!

For the past 4 nights, I get these upper thigh, groin and hip pains. It feels like sombody is kicking me in the crotch. It hurts to walk or move. I couldn't even get up to eat last night and it took me ten minutes to get to the bathroom, maybe 25 feet away. I was in so much pain. It's not here in the morning when I get up, only after i've been on the couch for a long time doing homework or when I lie down to sleep. I googled it(Bad idea but what else do I do at 3am?!) and it said something about pressure being put on a nerve and that there is nothing to do if it doesn't go away on it's own. So now i'm hopeless. I think i'm going to call my doctor tuesday when they are open if it continues but i'm not making a trip to the er over it. DF about cried last night watching me crying and moaning in pain.

Keller,I've heard that the baby may start pushing on a nerve....you may get it checked out!! And hope all goes well with your dad. Maybe it was some fluke spasm or something that won't happen again...

I may have heard about not counting kicks til after 28 weeks. It was just weird because she was in there doing flips daily for like a week and then suddenly nothing...even after I eat which I could always count on before.

Keller - when you're sitting on the couch and it hurts, how are you positioned? It sounds like Pelvic Girdle pain, which can be made worse by sitting up with your legs out straight in front of you and your back slouched. So if you're sitting with your feet up and your back against the couch arm or etc, you might try curling one leg up or otherwise changing positions.

I said I'm *trying* not to focus on the negatives. Some days are more successful than others.

So here's a random question for you...after having a baby, how long are women told to take it easy? I've never heard of a single woman released to go back to normal activities (including working out) before six weeks.

Just curious...something I was wondering about today!

Mindi- They say 6 weeks, but I've been released after 4 weeks with both of mine. I was out for very slow, easy walks within 72 hours. It's different if you have a c-section, both of mine were vaginal births with no complications. Oh, and I have never been able to wait longer than 3 weeks to have sex. Shhhhh... don't tell my doctor. ;)

Manda- Thats exactly how I sit. However, even trying to move, sit with one leg up, bent, etc etc actually makes it feel tens time worse. And once I lay down, i'm done for and can't get up. Sitting in a chair with good posture hurts too.

It's just after 6:30 and i'm already in excruciating pain and crying. My DF is trying to get me to go to the er but I hate them and only have bad memories of being pregnant in the er. I can't even get up to pee without rolling off the couch because it hurts so bad.

Mindi- All the moms i know have been told six weeks for vaginal delivery, eight weeks for c-section. However, i know people who have gone back to work within a week of having a baby due to money issues. My sisters doctor made her wait 10 weeks, but her baby was 2 weeks overdue and a few complications from size.

I'm getting six weeks off from work, but it's gonna be hard to not work out for six weeks! DH thinks I'm crazy...but it's gonna be like losing my right arm after doing it five days a week for five years!

You might be surprised. It's not like you'll be sitting around the house with nothing to do. :)