Keller - I had a couple days like this. I laid down flat, and made sure to stop sitting like I described on the couch. In four days or so, it was better. Seriously, sitting like that = bad. Warm baths helped a lot, too.

Manda- lying flat and warm baths make the pain more intense. I tried both yesterday and today. The only thing that even helps a little bit is to lay on my stomach, which I can't do if I've eaten recntly. Laying on my right takes the pressure off since its mainly sharp pains on my left inner thigh but it still hurts! It seems like a never ending pain :(

How are you sleeping? It helped me a lot to lay with a pillow between my knees, particularly when I was asleep, it seemed to relax my hips a bit.

Usually on my right side. Pillow between knees. Pillow between upper thigh. And a flat pillow under my stomach/side.

Usually its gone by the time I wake up, but the pain actually woke me up this morning.

No longer worried about no movement...she'd kicking like crazy this morning! I wonder if it's my Monday through Friday workouts that get her going early...and on the weekends she's lazy like me!

Hi Ladies!

The pain went away ^.^ not sure what it turned out to be... I still think it was gas.

Mindi- I still haven't felt anything from the baby that is for sure the baby and not a random cramp or gas. I'm just 19 weeks though and there is a nice layer of fat right over the baby bump so I'm sure it will take some time before I feel it on the outside. Right now I'm just waiting to feel it on the inside.

Ultrasound on wednesday! hopefully we'll find out if it's a boy or a girl!

Keller-Have you tried taking anything for the pain? It's the weekday now so have you thought about going in to talk about what it could be and how to manage it?

Sakai, I started feeling stuff around 19 weeks, so I bet you do anytime!! Glad the pain is gone!

Sakai- Tylenol don't work and the on call nurse I spoke with on Friday afternoon said not to take anything else without being seen. However because it's a holiday(MLK) the schools, doctors, and banks are all closed around here so I can't call my doctor until tomorrow.

Mindi- Glad to hear she's kicking!

Sakai, I'm glad the pain went away. :)

I have a question. Does anyone know of some really good pregnancy resources (online or books) specifically for men? My boyfriend really is curious and wants to learn but doesn't like the books I"m reading that's geared for women. I've seen a few but wondering if you may know anything that your partners may have really liked. Thank you so much!

As for me, I'm craving Taco Bell. I hate that place normally so don't understand why all of a sudden I want a cheesy potato burrito from there. :D

Racrane- My DF read "The expectant Father" I think it's by Armin Brott?. He said he really liked the information and the way it "talked" to fathers but some of it was aimed at an "average sexist" man.

Racrane - Just don't buy "How to Make a Pregnant Woman Happy". UGH. It should have been called "How to Annoy Your Pregnant Partner", and I usually am not that picky about books! Seriously, if my wife took half of the "tips" in that book, I don't think we would have survived this far without me injuring her. It was all kinds of "tell your wife not to do this for her own good" sort of stuff, like "When your partner asks for a snack between meals, suggest that you both take a romantic walk instead". PREGGO IS HUNGRY, DARN IT!

Keller- That really sucks about the pain :( I hope you get relief soon. Have you ever been to a Chiropractor? maybe that could help? We are not going to find out the gender.

Mindi- I am glad you got some reassuring movement. I have had 2 c-sections and was told no heavy lifting (like I not picking up baby in carseat) for 6 weeks. I was pretty sore for the first few weeks but I actually went to aquafit at about 6 weeks and I did have sex before 6 weeks, I think I was just 2 weeks after we had DD. I was also wearing DS and going for walks at about 3 weeks or so after having DS. I really just try listening to my body and stopping if things feel too much.

Sakai- I am glad the pain went away. We are having our U/S on the same day!

Racrane- I had crazy Taco Bell cravings in my first trimester too. I never go there normally and one day my craving so so intense I drove with my DS in the pouring rain to the nearest taco Bell (30 mins away) to get my fix. DH was joking I was like an addict :lol:

Doctor was booked for the week, said I could make an appointment for next week or try and call to see if anything opens up tomorrow. I already have my next appointment next week I think. Said to go to the er if it got to a point that I can't walk.... but it was at that point three days ago. Im in bed and not moving until I have to. Df is at work so im here alone tonight.

Racrane- I know that "what to expect when you're expecting has a nice chapters for fathers. not a very big chapter but it has answers to questions men might have. My DF read it right up. plus it's a good book to have when expecting anyways.

Keller- sorry to hear that you have to wait so long to see a Dr. Are you planing on going to the ER? or have you thought about seeing a regular Dr who might have openings?

Butterflymama- Whoo! scan on the same day? so cool! are you going to see if you can see the gender too?

Wasn't too bad last night and I was able to get some sleep however I did get woke up at 6am by my nephew. A few good hours is better than none tho.

Sakai- i told df if its still horrid on friday, then id go. I just really hate hospitals because both times I went last pregnancy, something was wrong and im not ready to hear something is wrong again. It just brings back horrible memories for me. Otherwise ill wait to see my doctor. I don't have a regular doctor. That's the other issue. I didn't have insurance until finding out I was pregnant so I used state services for my annual pap for free and avoided the doctor the rest of the time.

I figured out a really likes fun dip/sugar. Everytime I eat them he kicks me for hours! Guess that's my trick for my next ultrasound to get him to move around.

Level 2 ultrasound is in 3 hours. Trying to be relaxed. He definitely kicks the heck out of me, so I know he's in there still, I just really want his kidneys to be a little smaller (or, at least, not bigger) this round.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you and your little boy, Amanda!!!

How'd the ultrasound go Amanda?

I just got home. Everything was back within normal limits, so it was a false alarm. Whew! And I got to see him again, which is always nice. Today was the first time I saw him kick on the ultrasound while feeling it at the same time.

Yay! It's cool to feel and see the kicks...at my last one I saw our little one kick back at the probe thingie and felt it too! She was spunky that day...

mandalinn- so glad to hear all looked good :)

So I had my ultrasound today and the tech took 2.5 hrs!!!!! it was pretty unpleasent and anxiety producing, she said nothing the whole time. At the end of the scan she finally went and got my DH and DS and brought them in and showed us the baby moving around and told us everything looked good. When she showed us it's legs he/she had them crossed at the ankle wiggling it's feet around. She said it was hard to get good shots because I am heavier and my placenta is anterior. We got a bunch of pictures of the baby's head in profile. We didn't want to find out the sex of the baby.

Now however I am stressed out that exposing the baby to the ultrasound for that long could have caused some harm.

Sakai - How did your U/S go? Did you find out the sex of the baby?

Hi ladies!
Went to get my scan...took 20 minutes. Everything looks good, the baby is measuring well and weighs 10oz.
And she's a girl....no question.^.^
She was on her back and the technician kept jabbing and wiggling my belly with the wand to get her to flip around to see the spine. It didn't hurt or anything but it gave me the giggles everytime. Plus I got to see her get all kinds of mad before finally rolling over.

I'm so glad everyone and their little babies are doing well! :) I'm looking forward to my next ultrasound. I really don't know what to expect as the last time I went the baby was tiny and not very far along.

I'm having a really tough time tonight. I really have felt for some time that I don't want to adopt and I am so very torn. I just want to do right. It didn't help that my boyfriend informed me tonight that his brother and his girlfriend are also expecting and she's due the same time as me. Only his brother is older and they expect to raise their baby.

I'm feeling very alone in my adoption decision. I don't want to make a rash decision by any means but it's just everywhere I turn I see mothers with their children and it's tearing me up inside. I just want to make the best decision for the child, no matter my feelings but it's just been a terrible day for me.

Sorry for the long rant, everyone.

Gahhhhh gained 6 pounds in the past two days-- and i've barely even eaten!!! I'm freaking out!

Racrane- Just remember that no matter what you choose, you will have support(from us at least!) and as that childs mother and carrying her/him, only YOU know what is best. Whether that is adoption or parenting. Also, don't base it off of his brother expecting. Each family/parent has there own circumstances in making the right choice. You have a long road ahead of you still and plenty of time to decide whats best. When is your next ultrasound?? They are so exciting!

Sakai- Glad she cooperated for the ultrasound. Do you have names yet? Will you be naming the baby, the adoption family, or both of you together?

Butterfly- Baby must have knew to keep their legs crossed =]

Manda- Glad everything went well!

I'm curious because I've seen this a lot in this thread. Obviously gaining too much weight over a short period of time isn't good, I'm guessing, but does it even out in the end? I'm curious because I haven't started gaining weight whatsoever (not that I'm too far along) but I'm just curious how the weight goes up over the course of the nine months. I've gotten mostly from my doctor to not worry about it too much and just eat healthy. So I'm curious.

As for the ultrasound, I have one February 9th. I'll be eleven weeks, I think. I keep getting screwed up on my weeks. I'm not very good at counting, lol.

I'm still very confused about what to do. However, there is one couple in profile that I like very much. I'm not sure why, but I'm so drawn to them. The idea of adoption will be much easier for me if I really like the couple personally. Anyway, my boyfriend will support me no matter my choice. So, I'm grateful he's completely on my side.

I really like reading everyone's experiences so far. I'm looking forward to when I can feel my baby and know what sex the baby, too. :)

racrane- A ticker is the way to go! I also get a daily email that tells me how far I am and whats going on each day. With the weight, I lost weight first. I'm 25 weeks in a couple days and this is actually the first time i've even been over my "starting" weight from the day I found out I was pregnant. There's a thread on here that we also keep track of our weekly weight. Some ladies even out, some don't. I shouldn't freak out as it's been up and down lately but 6 pound difference is ALOT when you're used to seeing it go down or stay the same! And I sure don't eat super healthy either. I still puke almost everyday and salads and fruits/veggies make me sick to my stomach just chewing them. I don't eat fast food like crazy(only if I really can't keep anythign down) but i'm not eating all the extras that I probably should be. I try to walk 20 minutes a day at least but sometimes I hurt to much to move. I told DF that if this pregnancy gets any worse as i've had every horrid side effect possible, I never want another child of our own unless it accidentally "happens" and we can adopt.

It's so fun reading about everyone's ultrasounds! I'm glad things are looking good for everyone.

I'm still motoring along. I find myself overdoing it some days, but with two toddlers to chase and a house to keep up with there's not much I can do about that. :dunno: My weight is staying about the same, although I have been craving grapefruit juice like mad. I've drank (drunk?) a little over a half gallon in the last couple of days. :yikes: I think the craving has been satisfied, for now. ;)

I hope everyone is feeling good and hanging in there!

racrane- I second the ticker for keeping track of weeks! In terms of weight gain usually most women gain little or even lose weight in the first trimester. Most weight gain happens in the second and third trimester as baby gets bigger, blood volume increase, more fluids are produced by baby, placenta gets bigger, etc. here is a page that shows how what the weight gain is

Honestly though it is really hard to control your weight gain in pregnancy if you are eating mostly healthy and doing some form of exercise. Also you only really need about 300 cals above maintenance for the baby. Some women use pregnancy as permission to just eat crazy and end up eating way too many calories and of course then put on too much weight. You can also have poor nutrition and therefore poor fetal growth but be eating too many calories if you eat mostly junk food. So really what the scale says doesn't really tell you much about the health of the baby or the mother. Looking at what the mother is eating and how much is a much better indicator of health.

Hi ladies - I had been using the forum when loosing weight, but didn't realize there was a pregnancy forum. Glad to have you all around. It's nice to see how you're all doing and to have some folks that are around the same as me to know what "normal" is :)

Doctor in the morning to make sure this thing with my back isn't anything not baby-related. It could be an infection, a kidney stone or the doctor said it might be a kink in the tubing of my kidney. Hoping for infection or something easily treatable so I can sit at work comfortably again. If it's baby related...well...gonna be a LONG, painful time 'til May...

Mindi- Hopefully you get an easily treatable answer tomorrow!

My appt got changed to a week from tomorrow instead of this tues. It's the glucose test for GD. Have any of you done this? I'm a little worried I may have it and my doctor said he thinks I may to. He said it's because diabetes runs in my family anyways but always because A and my fundal height was measuring a bit bigger than average.

I've began getting the "OMG when are you due?" now and it's soo annoying!

Gonna call tuesday to schedule a 3d ultrasound at Stork vision. It's about 65 to 70 minutes from where we live but its the closest one. My doctor won't do another 3d since A wouldn't show us his face and we really want to see him! It's so weird to feel him. He kicks and flips literally all day long. I think he bounces off my belly again and again like its a trampoline!

Thanks, Keller. This sounds weird but I'm really hoping for an infection so it can be treated and go away! I don't want to hear "It's pregnancy, get used to it!" I may not make it to May.

I'm also worried about GD, since diabetes runs rampant in my family. I'm supposed to go for my monthly preggo appointment on Feb. 9, and I think we're going to do the test that week or the next week. We'll see what he says.

We've got a Stork Vision place about 40 minutes from us that we're thinking of going to later on. I go back and forth though. Part of me thinks it'll be cool to actually SEE the baby, and another part wants it to be a surprise as to what she actually looks like!

See that's the thing, even just from the profile, we can tell he looks exactly like his dad so either way it's not a surprise to us. His family has super dominant traits and all the boys look like carbon copies of their fathers. Even DF looks exactly like his father. While none of us on my side look like either of our parents and none of my nieces or nephews look like my siblings. The only thing I get from my dad is his build, teeth and feet and you can't even tell me and my mom are related! But we're choosing stork because how uncooperative he was at the last ultrasound and they do free redos if baby in uncooperative and won't show face! Theres no places in my city anyways so we might as well pick the one with the better offer, even if it's a 20 min longer drive!

Any news Mindi?

My doctor had "a meeting" so my appointment got pushed back to 3:30 pm. :( I'm in a foul mood now because it's hurting...he may wish he'd seen me at 9:30!

Mindi, I hope you get an answer today! Your doctor seems really hard to schedule.

Still keeping on. I ordered a pregnancy pillow because I am waking up stiff every morning, AND I always manage to migrate so I'm laying on my back!

I was in line to use the restroom at a coffee shop, and someone let me go ahead of him, saying "Pregnant women are always first in line!". It was my first public pregnancy acknowledgment from a stranger! We also got a TON of clothes as a gift from a friend, so now we've got a whole mini wardrobe going on. I am feeling very behind, though, because friends of mine who are 6 weeks behind us already have their nursery mostly set and their crib assembled...we have a plan, and are moving slowly toward executing it, but we're NOWHERE near done.

Heck Amanda, we don't even HAVE a nursery! My husband is putting off buying more than a few baby clothes until after the shower. And he's insisting on starting a budget in February, which doesn't leave a lot of room for baby stuff. He goes through this once a year though...maybe this "budget push" won't last too long again!

The family and I are working together to find a name for her ^.^ Right now I think we've settled on a name we both like and they want to give her my name as her middle name, which the selfish side of me thinks is amazing.

(Long emotional rambling....sorry)
Been having a hard time right now. I've had a very emotional week...mostly at work where I have to fight tears for about 3 hours of my work day. I'm starting to feel weird about the adoption in that I don't want to do it, i want to keep her.
I don't know why I suddenly had such a change. I'm still 100% sure we can't afford her and our lives would change so much if we kept her. We'll have to work different shifts, have different days off from one another (and still have to find a babysitter for 2 days of the week when she's older)
DF is very much against all this...which is kinda weird because he's around me all the time and I don't know a man who wants to be around his woman all.the.dang.time...I think he's just afraid of change.
I also am still 100% sure I don't want to be a parent to a school-age child. keeping my baby is really tempting until i think about her being older and all that comes with it.
I think this is a sign that it's my own selfish feelings coming into play about wanting to be like other new moms.
There are still a few people at work who know I'm pregnant but don't know I'm giving the baby up. I've basically stopped talking about it because 70% of the time they seem to freak out and won't even bring up the fact that i'm (obviously now) Pregnant. And it is nice to have people to talk to about pregnancy questions as they come up.
I don't know if they think it will make me feel bad if they ask about the baby or what? I always tell them right away that I'm still super excited about being pregnant (even more so because we thought we couldn't have a baby)
Luckly though there are a few out there that don't care about the adoption and tackle me every time they see me coming with a question with a million questions of their own, which I never really mind because I'm starving to talk to someone about my June-bug.

I'm also starting to worry about how awkward it's going to be to go right back to work after having the baby if i don't tell everyone that i'm not keeping her. Even now I can't remember who I still need to tell. I'm thinking of just having DF spread the word when he goes back to work after the baby and make sure to tell the people who come up to ask about the baby.
I'm pretty sure I can handle it on my own but really I have no idea what my emotional state will be at that time; and then to have someone wanting to come see the baby or wanting to know what it's like being mom now. I just really don't want to fall apart at work.

I haven't talked to DF about suddenly wanting to keep her. I don't want him to stess out because I know for sure he will want to keep her too...but then remind me why we can't. Then he will feel awful.

Edit: My cousin's wife (The adopting mom) asked us today what we want the baby to call us when she gets older as we may visit often. We have no idea whatsoever. I sorta want her to call us whatever she wants to call us.

Sakai, have you looked into any type of counseling services? From what I've heard, the feelings you are having are perfectly normal. It's a struggle to decide to give a child up for adoption, and IMO it's a very brave thing to do to say you're not at a point in your life where you can adequately take care of a child. To me it's the most unselfish thing you can do to say "I'm not prepared, but I want this child to have a wonderful life anyway."

I don't feel comfortable encouraging you to choose either way...but I will encourage you to seek out someone to talk to about what's going on. Not sure if you're involved in the church, but maybe a pastor can help, if you are. If not, what about a message board for moms who are putting or have put a child up for adoption? I'm sure there are some out there that are supportive! There may even be some counseling services you can call for free. Just a thought. :)

My appointment went ok. After talking to my doctor, I found out I was likely not taking enough Tylenol. I got the smallest dosage of pills, and pretty much gave up after taking two when the pain got really bad. He was ready to order a sonogram of my kidney and all, but I asked him to wait until I tried upping the dosage of Tylenol to his recommended amount. And I'm trying to get on top of it today instead of waiting until it gets too bad to function to try to take anything. If it's not better soon, we'll look at my kidney. But he said it could be a variety of things...a back injury I didn't know I had before that's aggravated by my uterus pushing things around; my body reacting to the weight gain (nearly 30 pounds now)...viable options. Since it only hurts when I'm sitting down, and feels better when I stand up, he leans more toward a "musculo-skeletal" problem over a kidney issue. I've seen my sis-in-law with a kidney stone...no amount of standing or sitting helps those...

Oh, and as for weight...I made a concerted effort to try to reach 2,000 calories a day last week. On my weekly weigh-in...no gain. So I'm gonna try it again this week and see. Maybe I just wasn't eating enough for both me and the baby with my workout rate? Not sure...but that would be nice!

Hi everyone :) And thanks Amanda for introducing me to this part of the forum :)

I was reading through the last few pages, and I feel like all of these stories are a soap opera or something. I think I'm just a weird person because I haven't had any crazy emotions yet (well I did just try to punch my DH because he's pretending I am a talking doll and moving my chin while I'm talking because he thinks it's cute! what a goof) and I still sleep on my stomach. Our bed is a horrible lumpy mess and there is a HUGE divot in the center, so for now I think it's actually okay to lay in it because there is plenty of space for my belly :D :D :D

Okay so "quick" rundown of what's going on with me (I shouldn't lie... it's a doozy):
*Thought I was pregnant through Christmastime but didn't really do anything about it (taking a pregnancy test or such)
*Decided at the beginning of the year because my boobs were hurting SO BADLY that I needed to take a PT just to be sure... and the at home PT said I was indeed pregnant! Went to Planned Parenthood with my DH to confirm and they said I was definitely pregnant :D
*Immediately called my best friend and told her; then proceeded to tell most of my close friends over the next few weeks (without telling his family or mine)
*JUST YESTERDAY we told our moms. I thought my mom would freak out, but she was super excited :) I have never heard her have such a calm voice over the phone!!! I just know she is going to LOVE being "Nana" now :)
*Went to the doctor this Monday (she used to be my gyn a LONG time ago, and she still remembers me! even though it's been over five years and she has moved her practice) and told her about my desire to have a water birth. Her reaction, though weird at the time, made sense after I thought about it for a minute. She said, "If you want to have a water birth... keep it to yourself" At first, I was a little bit upset, but then I saw what she was getting at. Directly prior to this sentence, she told me that all of their patients get forwarded to the Uni hospital and that if I didn't have plans to give birth there that I should let her know ASAP so that my records can get transferred to the appropriate location. I am actually against having a hospital birth at all, but her stance is "we have the technology, why not use it?" My stance is "we didn't have the technology for centuries, and we got here somehow!" I'm just against laying on my back and having weird people peer into my nether regions and me not being able to swat them away.
*Trying to apply for jobs, but mostly given up hope. I am as far along as 11 weeks, as "short" along (LOL) as 8. I really don't feel like pretending I'm "just fat" for the next 2-3 months and then saying "by the way, I'm pregz" and then having them look at me like I've sprouted two heads. Especially since my degree is in engineering and LOTS of engineering jobs are in manufacturing settings.
*Trying to apply for public assistance... sigh... DH and I are already on EBT (food stamps) and since january started we are making about 1/3 less money than we were in december. going in for my WIC appt tomorrow, crossing my fingers...
*REALLY want to be a work-from-home-mom!!!!!! I am a consultant with Mary Kay and I know of lots of other women who have worked this jobs in all frames of pregnancy/kids. Current job is retail and I love the store discount I get a Lane Bryant but I can already feel the pregnancy tiredness creeping in on me. Plus, working 4 hours a week at minimum wage, I'm essentially ready to cut my losses and just share the 4 hrs with someone who needs it and focus on being the work-from-home-mom (put those good habits into practice now so I can stick it out a year from now, right?)
*Feel lucky not to have vomiting with my morning sickness, only some nausea!
*Still exercising (or trying to) but I have let my eating habits slide slightly... back to having carbs (though I need to remind myself not to go crazy... had 5 packs of easy mac today!) but have pretty much maintained my -30 lbs since last August
*Due mid-August/early September

PHEW that is all (isn't that enough???) :D

I enjoy hearing you lovely ladies' stories, glad to know I'm not the only one with wacky friends/family!!!! :hug: for everyone!