Spring/Summer 2012 Mamas
 

I've seen a whole bunch of you out there in the March - June range...anyone want a 3FC support group?

It's amazing how the food pushers come out when you're pregnant! With PCOS, my gestational diabetes risk is really high, so I'm trying to keep an eye on my carb intake. You'd think I was not eating anything by the way people react!

Just wanted to say CONGRATS Amanda! :) That's wonderful news, I noticed your ticker a bit earlier, so I wanted to chime in & say congratulations to you both!

Yeah I would love a support group!

I am also trying to keep an eye on my carb intake. I have/had PCOS, had gestational diabetes with my first (2005) but controlled it with diet and exercise, and in Mar 2011 my fasting blood sugars were a bit above normal but my A1C was high. Anyway I was able to get my blood sugars under control in about 2 weeks and they have been in the normal range for the past 7 mons. I was never officially diagnosed with diabetes but I know I have a huge increased risk for developing gestational diabetes again. I managed to keep GD away when pregnant with my son (2007) by trying to stick to a lower carb diet and exercising through my pregnancy.

However right now I am in my first trimester (around 6 weeks or so) and the all day sickness is horrible and they things that make me feel better are really crappy foods like plain potato chips and lemonade. It really sucks. I have lost about 4 lbs so far in the last few weeks because of vomiting and nausea. With my son the "morning" sickness lasted till about 16 weeks. I am really hoping it will not last that long this time

Wendalyn - thanks! We're super excited.

Butterflymama - Hooray and congratulations! I am working really hard on controlling carbs and on making sure that when I do eat them, they're balanced with protein and fat. I'm also still keeping up my exercise, although I am utterly EXHAUSTED still (it's my biggest pregnancy symptom - I swear I could sleep 14 hours a day and still feel tired) which makes it difficult sometimes, particularly to do strength training.

I lived on mashed potatoes and gravy for the first 8 weeks or so...you sort of do what you have to do. Get your prenatals down, eat what you can, and plan on getting more complete nutrition in the second trimester. Keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't take as long to fade this time!

mandalinn and butterflymama, congratulations to both of you!! You must be so excited!

I happened to see this thread as one of the most recent posts on the front page and it caught my eye... I am going to beginning my first IVF cycle very soon, and if it works I would have a due date around the end of August. Trying not to get my hopes up too much yet - it will be quite a process, and I won't even know whether this first cycle has worked until the end of December - but I am still hoping I'll be able to join you here sometime in the next few months. :)

In the meantime, good luck and I hope everything continues to go smoothly for you!! :)

Hello everyone
Congrats on both mandalinn and butterflymama.
Hope I can join ;) I really need some supports.
I don't crave anything - I don't even feel like wanting to eat. :(
And always exhausted. Even 1 mile walk away the pounds tires me....
Currently, I'm just aiming for balance nutritions with lots of fresh fruits and veggie to avoid obstipation (aw TMI sorry).

mandalinn - thanks. Were you able to keep up with your exercise during your first trimester? I have tried to walk a bit but am also exhausted and moving sometimes increases the nausea. I am hoping to make it to aquafit tomorrow night, will see how I feel.

chickadee- thanks. I will keep my fingers crossed for you and hopefully you will be joining us here soon :crossed:

annita- congratulations! I hear yeah on the exhaustion and the not wanting to eat. How far along are you?

Chickadee - having used assisted reproductive technology to get this one, I really really REALLY am hoping that you get to join us!

Annita - Hello and congrats!

I definitely had to cut my exercise intensity back. Whoever said you can continue with your normal routine in the first tri probably never experienced first trimester fatigue! Weights still wear me out more than anything, but between walking hills on my treadmill and walking the dog, I'm getting maybe 5.5-6.5 miles of walking a day. I was running before I got pregnant, but don't think the impact is a good idea at this point.

On the constipation, try kiwis! They are like my miracle fruit. I eat a kiwi every day with my breakfast and they really keep things moving along. I don't know what I'm going to do when they're no longer available at my farmers market.

Yay! Thanks for starting this group, Amanda (and CONGRATULATIONS!) It's nice to have support.

I am about 9 weeks pregnant with number 3, due mid-June. The exhaustion in particular gets worse for me with each pregnancy, probably because I still have my other kids to chase around. :lol: My oldest is turning 3 on the 21st and my second is 14 months old. Rambunctious boys to the core, those two are. Morning sickness hasn't been worse this time around, but harder to manage. I think because I don't have much opportunity to sit, even when I'm "resting." With 2 toddlers in the house there's not a lot of rest. All the sudden I see the case for putting 5 years in between your kids, instead of the year and a half trend we're on. Haha!

Here's to happy, healthy pregnancies for all of us! :)

Cool! A group just for us preggo people!

I was thankfully pretty lucky and just had a couple weeks of sickness that totally went away. I also craved a LOT of carbs then...pasta, mashed potatoes, breads, rice...and I'm still kinda anti-veggie. I'm getting back into the swing of things, but it's been slow.

Still working out five days a week, but I've gained 7 pounds regardless. Yuck. And the doctor said weight gain wasn't necessary for me in the first trimester. The way I see it, though, I can gain a pound a week from here on out and still be around the 35 pound mark the doctor set as the upper weight gain limit. Heck, I lost 80 the first time, 40 won't be so bad.

I'm 13 weeks on Saturday, and my only real issue is MASSIVE bloat at night and (TMI) bad gas during the day. First trimester is nearly over!! Crazy to think we'll have a little one in May!

I'm up 3.5 so far...not great, but not that bad, either. But I am STARVING this week. I could eat a horse.

Gale, I don't know how you do this with 2 kids. I am so sleepy and am barely managing to keep myself fed, clothed, and bathed (not to mention actually doing my job, keeping my house clean, etc). I've been an insomniac for the past 5 years, and that completely vanished at 5 weeks. For now, I sleep like a rock (but I'm sure that as I get less comfortable, that'll change).

I'm forcing myself to work strength training into my day, one exercise at a time. Seems to wear me out less than doing it all in a one hour block. I'll do a set of lunges and a set of bicep curls, then sit for a bit. Keeping the weights next to my desk helps.

First off- Congrats to everyone :]

I'll gladly join! I'm a little bit further than all of you soo far I believe. I'm in my 15th week. Second pregnancy, had a miscarriage last October. Super scared because my due dates are literally only a weeks difference from each other. I'm due May 6th

Glad to e out of the first trimester though. Started at 254, currently sitting at 246.8/247.4 depending on the morning. Looks like i'm gonna start gaining here soon. Lots of retaining again.

I maybe workout like once a week. I take the steps down at work, not up because i work on the fourth floor. Little stuff like that. But even the littlest things exhaust me! Nausea and vomiting has been horrible for me. Basically, it just went away but still comes and goes. Also, just started getting really bad sinuses and headaches- not fun. I've been a whiny baby for a couple days and the bf doesn't like it lol

My measurements, belly-wise, have only gone up 1/2 inch since I got pregnant. But my pants are fitting SO tight! I've got to go shopping for some sort of pants on Friday, because my jeans aren't cutting it anymore. I may get one more week of wear out of them, but not much more than that!

This REALLY makes me wish I hadn't given all my bigger jeans to the local clothing donation drive!!

Mindi - I have noticed a trend with me (a pattern, now that it's happened 3 times): I will gain 7-9 lbs in the first 6 weeks or so for no particular reason. This time around I was still working out and counting my calories. Then, I'll maintain for a while before I start gaining again. It's a little depressing to see 8 lbs in 6 weeks when I'm barely pregnant, but it seems to be the way my body does things. Don't worry about your gain so far, just stay healthy and let your body do its thing. :) If you're not eating a bag of chocolate a day, you're probably ok.

I hate that in between stage were your regular pants are too snug and uncomfortable but nowhere ready for mat clothes yet. I am currently living in my yoga pants right now due to bloat and not being able to stand anything remotely tight around my waist.

Anyone having crazy pregnancy dreams? I am having bizarre dreams nightly. The other night I had a dream that my DH took me to a room were a young and very hot LL Cool J was waiting for me to get "busy" and DH was like "Surprise, I arranged this for you" so crazy...:o

I had some crazy dreams up until a week or so ago...now just straight SLEEP! :)

Thanks, Gale...I'm hoping that's true for me also. I'm not pigging out on junk, so I know it's not bad weight. It's necessary, obviously, or else I wouldn't be gaining it! Just don't have to like it! :)

Keller - I think we're about a week and a half apart, I'm due May 17 and just hit 13w today. Sorry you're having headaches...are they sinus headaches or hormonal? Mine were from the shifting hormones and AWFUL for a while there...2 migraines a week will wear a person down. My midwife recommended magnesium for them, which seems to have really helped, thank goodness.

My body decided to gain 4 lbs of water weight over night. I think it was a combination of soup for dinner (with all that salt) and weight lifting yesterday (sore today). Displeased with the scale this morning, though. Trying to be like the rest of you and think, well, if I'm eating healthy foods when I'm hungry, and I'm moving, I'm just going to have to let the weight gain fall where it may.

I've been living in workout clothes since week 2. Thank goodness I work from home. Luckily, my wife has jeans that are slightly bigger than mine, so I have been wearing hers in a pinch (but even they are tight in the waist, too loose in the legs and butt...sigh).

I've had a couple crazy dreams here and there, but nothing extreme. I've been sleeping SO WELL that I don't think I'd remember anything there was.

Oh, and I have to share our hilarious pic from the NT scan. He/she totally looks like an alien! Everyone always says ultrasounds look a little alien-like, but this one actually looks like the classic cartoon alien (for those not fluent in ultrasound, that's the back of baby's head...the alien "eyes" are normal fluids around the brain):

http://static.ow.ly/photos/normal/kQoK.jpg

I had one of those gains, too, Amanda...up 3 pounds today from yesterday. Every time that happens I have to stop myself from trying to restrict the next day...like if I went overboard pre-pregnancy, I'd cut back the following day. I can't do that now....just gotta eat normally and let the little one grow!

But not too much growth...DH's grandpa was 14 POUNDS at birth!!!

14 lbs!!!!! that is crazy! My DS was 9 lbs 12oz and 22 inches long he was a huge newborn.

Love the Alien picture :)

CONGRATS!!!!! I remember you from the 100lb club :). I havent been over there since finding out I was pregnant but will be back when baby boy comes in Feburary. Im to far ahead of you ladies to join but just wanted to say congrats.

Hi! Jumping in if I'm welcome too!

15 weeks here, first baby, all is going well so far.. Can't believe I'll be four months next week it's crazy..

Hoping so much that I'll start to show a bit soon, I feel at the moment like I just look like I gained weight. A friend told me yesterday (she's 8 months 1 week) that one morning she woke up and the bump had appeared, and that's how quick it was.

Thankfully all sickness & tiredness has gone now and I'm feeling pretty good. Gained a HUGE amount in the first trimester, like 16lbs!! This was due to overloading on carbs and crap in a futile attempt to curb the sick feelings. Also had a trip to the US and I gained like 5lbs in that week alone! Have never seen restaurant portions like the ones in Florida :) Something interesting I read was that it's possible that women who have been dieting prior to pregancy are more likely to gain weight quickly, as the body is holding on to all the calories it gets..
So, doing my best to watch what I eat pretty carefully after all that gain or I'm pretty sure my doctor will strangle me next month when I go to see him.

mandalinn, Exciting news ! You are pregnant, how did I miss that ? You must have made the announcement while I was busy packing and moving. Best of luck in the months ahead.

I've had a gain too....as of yesterday 9 pounds! Still eating right and working out. I'm going to ask my doctor Monday if it's too much, too soon. Or if something else could be wrong. It said in one of my books to ask the doctor if you've gained weight for no reason and started at a normal weight, or lost weight for no reason as well, at a normal starting weight. Hopefully it's not a sign of trouble...and I bet it's not. Probably just that my body NEEDED some extra, maybe.

:wave: Hi CardboardCutoutCat

I would say my weight gain was pretty on track, but my body decided it needed to put on SIX POUNDS (presumably of water?) in the last 2 days. I am displeased and puffy, especially since my eating has been moderate. All yesterday I was chugging water to try to get rid of the 2 lb overnight gain from the day before and my reward was another 4. I'm annoyed and trying not to freak out, but last night I dreamed I was going in to give birth and was back to my pre-weight-loss 295 lbs. I won't be far off I keep putting on 4 lbs a day!!

Last night was actually pretty chock full of crummy pregnant dreams...all my biggest fears were covered (miscarriage, pre-term labor, etc). I think the insane work and personal stress going on last week finally got me.

I had a 2.2 gain last night! Agggh, i haven't been gaining weight so far so you ladies could imagine my shock to see it up a few numbers.

Mandalinn: Love the alien pic!

What is everybodys 'official" due date? Mines May 6th, 2012

Also, do you ladies have other children or previous pregnancies? How far did you make it if miscarriage or stillborn? Or What ages and genders? How was labor and delivery on them? I'm soo scared since i miscarried my first pregnancy. I try to stay positive but all i can think is "what if something bad happens?"

My "official" date is May 21, give or take a week, the doctor says. This is my first pregnancy

Keller - I don't have an "official due date yet" I am going to wait and do a dating ultrasound in about 3 weeks. According to my midwifes office using the birthing wheel which goes by LMP the due date is June 14th but according to my calculations based on conception date July 5th. So we will see what the dating ultrasound says :)

My history may not be too reassuring but here it is. (disclaimer - perinatal death and miscarriage)

After 5 years of dealing with PCOS and fertility stuff and trying to get pregnant I lost some weight went on Metformin and was surprised to find out in June of 2005 that I was 9 weeks pregnant with my first. It was a fantastic pregnancy but filled with worry and anxiety, I was so scarred something would happen. I did develop gestational diabetes but controlled it with diet and exercise. Everything looked good until the last 2 months or so. The baby was breech, I had polyhydramnios and my BP was starting to go up. I started to go into labour on Jan 6th 2006 at 36 wks 4 days had to have a c-section for the above reasons and unfortunately my daughter, Sonja Natalia, only lived for 35 mins after birth. She had Spinal Muscular Atrophy that had kicked in in utero and prevented her lungs from developing and some other stuff. We had no idea there was something wrong with her and everyone was shocked. We later found out it was a genetic mutation, SMA is usually an autosomal recessive disorder meaning that both parents carry the recessive gene for the disease, we do not carry the gene (found out after lots of genetic testing)

I then got pregnant again by accident in Sept of 2006 right around the time I went in for gallbladder surgery, the baby stopped developing and I miscarried at 9.5 weeks. I have a feeling that this is due to the fact of the surgery right after conception and then heavy pain meds, etc. 2006 was a crappy year.

Well I started running and eating healthy again and was ready to start trying to conceive in early 2007 after charting my cycle DH and I got pregnant on our second month of trying. I got my BFP on the hp test at 9 dpo. Even though I was a bit worried I decided that I was not going to spend this pregnancy in a state of fear I developed a mantra "Big, Strong, Healthy Baby" that I would say to myself when the anxiety started to kick in. I focused on the present day and enjoyed my pregnancy and preparing for this baby. I had a wonderful pregnancy and was pretty relaxed. I ate healthy and I exercised. I actually ran my first 5km race (my daughter Sonja was the honouree) at 9 weeks pregnant. I did not develop GD this time. I delivered my "Big, Strong, Healthy Baby" at 39 weeks by planned c-section (I wanted to VBAC but it wasn't in the cards) on January 29, 2008. Julian weighed 9lbs 12 oz and was yelling his head off before his body was even out of me :)

I am approaching this pregnancy the same way I did with Julian's. I am using my mantra and I am not giving in to the worry. Worrying about the what-if's will not change the outcome nor will it prepare you any better if they do come true. I am enjoying this pregnancy (well hoping to enjoy it more once the horrible all day sickness and exhausting settle down)

So there is my long story. I wish you a happy, healthy, relaxed pregnancy and birth.

Butterflymama- Wow! You've been through soo much and still have a positive outlook and mantra. You are definitely a role model.If you can go through that, be positive, and have a helathy baby, i can defintely get passed the worries of something happeneing and enjoy my pregnancy too =] I wouldn't be able to pull myself together if I lost a baby I carried to full term. I think I would go crazy. Everything looks good still thank goodness. My worries are beginning to fade as i'm in my 16th week now. 9 lbs 12 oz? Definitely a big,strong,healthy baby. Thank you for the reasssurance that those things can happen and go on to have many healthy babies! I know it in the back of my mind, but personally don't know anybody else who has miscarried and then went on to have a healthy pregnancy.

Butterflymama - that's a lot of history. I am also trying to approach this pregnancy with optimism, since I have no history of miscarriage but a LOT of risk factors. I need someone to come and disable Google on my computer, so I stop researching complications.

Right now I just learned I have a low-lying placenta. Of course in most cases it is TOTALLY FINE (something like 9/10 placenta previas diagnosed before week 14 go away as the baby grows) but it gave me something else to worry about.

I had to get maternity pants, since my belly totally popped and my regular jeans were not cutting it anymore. At least the band on the pants makes my bump look like a bump, and not just like I ate too much lunch.

I'm really struggling today with a migraine. I used to get them maybe every 2-3 months pre-pregnancy, but now I get maybe one every week or so. I could do without it!

The first thing my doctor told me was to stay away from Google!! :)

My Dr also says to stay away from Google. There are too many what-ifs and pregnant women tend to quickly digress from being informed into paranoia.

Manda - I never get headaches when I'm not pregnant and I get at least one a week when I'm pregnant. I think my Dr told me it had something to do with the increased blood flow. I'm sorry you're having so many migraines, that's really tough. :(

Yeah Google can really lead you down a path of fear. Not healthy.

Keller- I am glad your worries are dissipating and you are enjoying your pregnancy :hug:

Mandalinn - I had a low lying placenta with my son and by the 21 week ultrasound it had nicely moved away from my cervix and was no longer a concern. I never had migraines until I had children, they really suck. I found a little caffeine helped. I really feel for you having to deal with them weekly :(

So went for my first midwife visit today and after doing some palpation and looking at dates she thinks I am closer to 10 weeks then 6. Will go for a dating ultrasound sometime next week.

Apparently this migraine wants to hang on for a second day. I really wish I had enough free time to try to sleep it off, but between work and caretaking responsibilities (I take care of my grandfather and his long term girlfriend, who live in an assisted living facility less than a mile from us. The facility does meals and cleaning and etc, but we have to get the girlfriend dressed in the morning and in Depends, and they like visits, so we're there 1-2 times a day), I have no time to sleep. Hopefully it'll calm down next week.

I keep trying to get up the nerve to tell my boss and failing. I have to tell him before Thanksgiving...that's when we're going public on Facebook, and his wife is my friend.

What are you worried about with telling your boss? Are you planning on going back to work after baby is born or is it a "I'm leaving, eventually" kind of thing?

Oh no, I'll definitely be back. I am just considered "key personnel" in that there is no one else who does my job, so I know me being out for 6 weeks full time and another 2 weeks part time (which is what I'm requesting) is going to be rough. I work from home, which will help in letting me get back sooner.

Originally I had hoped to time my work announcements to be after performance reviews (I have no reason to believe that my workplace would in any way change my review on the basis of me being pregnant, I just think it's good to be prudent if you can, since you never know if people will have subconscious reactions that change their perception of you), but the reviews moved out to Jan/Feb which is really too late.

I'm sort of shy/nervous about telling people in general. We went out to lunch with friends on Sunday, and I got all blushy and weird telling THEM. Our conception does raise some unique questions, and talking about the donor/process I'm fine with, but the questions are interesting...plus I'm not good at being the center of attention or making big announcements (I felt the same way at my bridal shower and wedding).

In fact, one of the things I REALLY am not looking forward to is telling my grandpa and his girlfriend...not because they aren't supportive (they were both at my wedding and love my wife, that part isn't an issue), but because they both (Lyn particularly) have memory problems that mean I will have to tell them over and over and over again once I start showing more than I can hide. Lyn has forgotten that Sarah and I are married, and often asks if she can set me up with her sons, so I have a feeling it's definitely going to be interesting.

Do any of you anticipate problems at work with your requested time off? I'm entitled to up to 12 weeks family leave, and I want to take six. Well, the new publisher is trying to say that my plan of taking my weeks unpaid is not going to work, and that I have to take all of my vacation and sick time first.

That's not what's in the handbook...it says people on family leave MAY choose to take vacation and sick time before going unpaid, but that sick leave people MUST take it. Since I'd be taking family leave, I fall under the MAY category.

So now I'm stressing out about what the heck is going on with my time off in the spring. And like Amanda, I'm also a key employee. They are literally talking hiring a full-time person to replace me for six weeks.

And on top of that, DH is whining about his job now. He hates it, but won't give it up for a job with less money. He makes GOOD money for what he does, and will never find a job making as much with the same circumstances (being home every night) that he has now. So he's taking it out on me and driving me INSANE complaining and doing nothing about anything.

It still amazes me that people in America only get 6 weeks leave :( In Canada we get 12 mons. I seriously don't know how you guys do it.

Congrats.

Yeah America is pretty far behind when it comes to that sort of thing. Though I think it's 12 weeks, Mindvi only wants to take 6. (because our time off is unpaid,(unless we use sick days and vacation, some famillies are not able to afford to take the whole 12 weeks.)

Hi! I know I'm a bit late to the thread. Due Mid june with my first. Still Unsure how/what we're going to do after the baby comes. We're about 100% sure we can't afford to keep this baby as we are right now. DF might go find a different job, but it's risky to give up a stable job for one that might not even be out there.

weight wise I gained 10 pounds but I haven't weighed myself this week. I'm a bit depressed that I gained so much when i'm only 8 weeks along. On the good side... the morning sickness seems to have died down. The only problem is the two hour nap I seem to need right in the middle of the day. (possible only on my weekends) I'm hoping to get back onto my vegitarian lifestyle now that I can stomach most veggies again ^.^

Honestly, babies aren't that expensive. If you can forgo most of the gear, they're pretty manageable. Especially if you have insurance to pay for the OB care and well baby checks. All you really need is a car seat and a place for baby to sleep. Some diapers (cloth is always an option. Less convenient, but WAY cheaper.), food is free if you breastfeed, and a few onesies. That's about it. The rest of it is pretty much gravy. Think about how the pioneers did it, they didn't have all of the fancy gadgets we have now and their kids were just fine. Do what you can with what you have, a loving home is what's most important! :)