First pregnancy. Looking for advice & support!
 

Hi all!!:wave: I just found out yesterday that I am pregnant!:bb: Yay!!!!:dance: I have been looking for a good place to post for the advice & wisdom of other moms or moms to be, but I'm not sure where to go. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Take your vitamins--obviously. Eat 7 carrots a day. Has a vitamin in it that you need ( I was told this by a nutirionist at a pregnancy class). Eat frequently throughout the day to avoid feeling sick. ( Didn't work for me, I was sick until 18 weeks ,all day, everyday!) Don't scoop the litter box if you have cats, and let your husband wait on you hand and foot.
Have a happy and healthy 9 months!
Sonya

take PRENATAL vitamins, stay active, eat often (light snacks) and ENJOY every week!

I was sick till 16-17 wks lost 10 pounds, didn't start gaining teill week 20. Frequent meals can help with morning sickness as well as heartburn.

Happy & Healthy 9 months!

Congrats! Anything in particular you would like to know? Ask away.

Congratulations!!!! I don't really have anything else to add.

Congratulations. Do your research. I cannot say that enough. The United States has a c-section rate of 29%, nearly three times the WHO's goal, and significantly more than the US's own goal. Many of them are unnecessary. Lots of women, for instance, are told their baby is too big to deliver vaginally because he weighs an estimated 8 or 9 pounds. Totally leaving aside the issue of how hugely erroneous ultrasound estimates of a baby's weight tend to be, the simple truth is that subdermal fat has almost no bearing on whether a baby will fit through your pelvis. There are more things, but I'm trying to avoid preaching too much. ;) I've had two c-sections myself--for babies who tried to walk out into the world--so I can tell you having a section is no picnic.

So: research. And be willing to look outside the mainstream for your answers. Remember that pregnancy is not a pathological event. Remember that your healthcare professionals work for you, not the other way around. Don't hesitate to find a different doctor or midwife if they rub you the wrong way.

Realize there's more to pain control than epidurals. Look into natural ways to manage the pain, but keep in mind you get no medals for going drug-free, and no one's gonna spank you for getting some pain relief.

And once the baby is here, do what is right for you & your family. Remember that breastmilk is species specific, but more importantly realize you're not going to spoil your child by picking him up when he cries, especially when he's very young.

Thank you all!!! I have been taking prenatal vitamins for the last year, so I'm all set there. And I am still eating healthy and getting exercise. I'm in the process of finding a new doctor right now. Mine was fine before but now that I'm expecting she isn't good enough. All she's told me is that I'm pregnant. I don't know how far along I am, I don't know my due date, and I don't know when my next appointment should be. Most of my appointment to find out if I was pregnant was spent w/ an intern and when I did see my doctor she just rushed trough the rest of my appointment. She just doesn't seem to have time to spend w/ me and doesn't seem to want to answer my questions. Sorry for ranting. Since I am planning on delivering at St. Mary's Hospital I was thinking of a doctor at Columbia West. I'm so nervous, but good nervous. Thanks for listening.

So, is it ok to wait a couple of weeks before I go to the doctor again? We switched to my husband's insurance since I got laid off and we won't get cards for 10-15 days. Oh, and by the way I got a new job this morning.

Enjoy your days! Eat good nutritious food! Let people spoil you! Don't take unnecessary tests. They talked me into a test that determined the chance of genetic disease. This test has way too many false positives. My results were that my son would be born with down's syndrome or spinabifida. They gave me the option of terminating the pregnancy. Abortion is not for us so we decided not to terminate and accept lovingly what we had been given! My son was born perfectly healthy and is one of the great joys of our life! THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE TAKING ANY TESTS LIKE THAT!

Congratulations!

Every pregnancy experience is different - don't hesitate to ask if you have questions :)

Definitely. It was standard procedure in the clinic I went to with my first two girls to make no appointments in the first trimester unless it was for purposes of dating the pregnancy. Did you get a blood test? I think you said in the other thread you did. If you don't have a printout with the HCG numbers on it, call the office & request one; it ought to be something you can just walk in & get. That will give you a rough idea of how pregnant you are:

* 0-1 week: 0-50 mIU/ml
* 1-2 weeks: 40-300 mIU/ml
* 3-4 weeks: 500-6,000 mIU/ml
* 1-2 months: 5,000-200,000 mIU/ml
* 2-3 months: 10,000-100,000 mIU/ml
* 2nd trimester: 3,000-50,000 mIU/ml
* 3rd trimester: 1,000-50,000 mIU/ml

Blood HCG is one of the best ways to date a pregnancy early on. Ultrasound can be accurate too, but only in the first trimester. However, most doctors are going to want to go by your LMP. This is my favorite online due date calculator, since it lets you adjust your cycle length & also calculate by the day you ovulated or conceived.

Just remember that the key word in EDD is estimated. Only something like 5% of babies are born on their due date, so try not to get too hung up on it--impossible, I know! :lol:

One last piece of unsolicited advice: When talking to people in real life, be really vague about when you're due. Or else if your mom is anything like mine, she's gonna start calling you every single freaking day, staring about a month before your EDD, and ask if the baby's here yet. :dizzy:

Okay-thought I would add my 2 cents of advice as well. ;)

~DO NOT, under any circumstances, tell any family members what you plan on naming the baby while you are still pregnant. :rofl: I had many people tell me my children would be scarred for life, made fun of in school, and so forth. My MIL even emailed my husband and told him "not to let ME" name our son a "sissy name". :o Once the baby is already born, they won't say NEAR as much, because they don't have any influence.

~If you suffer from extreme morning sickness and find that you cannot take prenatal vitamins (like myself) make sure that you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables (5+ servings a day) to get in your nutrients. Make sure you get a variety of colors, so you know you are getting a variety of nutrients. I cannot take prenates at all, I vomit them within 20 minutes. Another alternative for those who cannot stomach prenates, is to take kiddie vitamins. Yes, Flinstones, or what have you. If prenates are too strong and make you reel, sometimes less concentrated vitamin for kids can stay down. Something is better than nothing.

~On the other end of the equation, from what GBMonsterMamma said-there are also instances where a C-section is the better choice, and you need to listen to your body. Many CS's are uneccessary-like Britney Spears simply not wanting to go through the pain of labor-but every now and then it can be the other way around.
Case in point-my first pregnancy I gave birth to a 10lb, 40z baby-and I had her vaginally because of pressure from my doctor. She wasn't just heavy, but large framed-23 inches long, wide shouldered, with a 15 inch head and chest. I knew "something was wrong" during labor, but listened to my doctor instead of my own gut feeling-and had many complications during the birth and afterwards.
When it comes to labor and delivery-and whether or not to have drugs-you have to listen to your own body and gut feeling. Every woman is different-different body, different uterus, different sized baby, different health issues, and different pain tolerance. You do what YOU have to do-not what someone else wants you to. A healthy mother and baby is the most important outcome. :)

Hey sassybrat, me too! I just got a positive test on Friday afternoon, and an online calculator gave me an EDD of October 8. I have been pregnant before but had a very early miscarriage (chemical pregnancy) so I am hoping that this one works out. Even though I am only five weeks, I am further along than I was last time. I am going to call the doctor on Monday to see about getting my first visit set up. Happy & healthy nine months to you!

My EDD is Oct. 9th!! I wish you all the luck!!!!! I hope all goes well for you!!! It' such an exciting time, try to enjoy it. I think I will relax more once I hit my second trimester. PM me if you would like to talk at all.

Hi again Sassybrat. I hear you on not relaxing until trimester 2! After having one early miscarriage, every day I get through feels like a huge victory.

I had a miscarriage scare yesterday (some spotting and cramping) so I had to go in to the Dr. and get some tests done - urine, which was +, and quantitative blood test (waiting on results). Sitting on pins and needles because I really DON'T want to miscarry again. The good news is that I'm not cramping or spotting much this morning and I feel icky disgusting morning sickness, but I won't know until they call me today. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

I hope you're doing well.

Christina, try not to get too worried, if it's possible. I had bleeding with two out of three pregnancies, so I know that while it's not normal, it's fairly common, & you can carry a pregnancy to term.

Have you gotten your progesterone levels checked? I know anecdotally that a lot of women with prior miscarriage supplemented their progesterone throughout all or most of their successful pregnancy, so it's something to ask about if you haven't.

I'm sorry I did not get a chance to post yesterday, but I am crossing my fingers for you and wishing you all the luck!!! I hope everything goes well!!:hug:

Hello,

I'm new here to this area. I think number one is don't let people tell you there horror stories about there labors. Trust that your body can do what it needs to. This can be difficult when you are overweight. Look into hypnobirthing and decide if it is something for you. Either way I would suggest taking a birth prep class not associated with you doctor. Don't believe everything the doctor’s say. Always look into it yourself.

If you have an open mind I would read the book Mother's Intention. Many say it is too preachy. Also I would like to point out that a C-section is not the easy way out. It is very difficult and hard to recover from.

Morning Sickness?

There are many things that I have found that work. Some of them are Ginger Snaps, Ginger Tea, and Preggie Pops. If you are having a hard time with the vitamins try taking them with yogurt. Also I found that Rainbow Light prenatals were very easy to take. One more thing is that a Doula will work wonders. Remember that you will need to eat more protein and don’t forget the bread. It is fortified with folic acid. Folic acid can help prevent some birth defects.

Oh, I read the other day that sucking a lemon wedge can be helpful for motion sickness. It is worth trying for morning sickness as well. I know that nothing helped for me, and I tried everything from ginger tea to Sea Bands to prescription medicine.

Birthing from Within is another favorite book of mine.

GreatBigMonsterMama - as far as I know, my Dr. has not tested my progesterone level, but it's something to consider. (I'll make a note to ask if that's something worth checking into.) They didn't seem too worried about the spotting since it was very light and mainly brown, but, at my request, have done two blood tests to measure my HCG levels. The first one (taken on Monday) was 254, kind of on the low side of acceptable, and I should get results for Wednesday by noon today. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that everything works out. I will keep you all posted!

Update: my HCG level dropped to 47 between Mon and Wed, so it's onto miscarriage #2 for me. :cry:

Good luck to you, sassybrat!

Christina, {{{{hugs}}}} I am so sorry this happened again.

Christina I am very sorry to hear about your loss. I have been there too. It is hard sometimes because some people don't realize how hard it is. Also having a miscarriage is hard on you physically. Don't give up. I was sure after I had my miscarriage I wouldn't be able to have anymore. Then God blessed me with my little boy. This is a very hard time in your life but trust and know it will pass.

Thanks flower and happiegirl.
Physically, I feel terrible right now :( but I was able to get some time away from school to rest and recover. Hopefully next time (which will be my 3rd pregnancy) everything will work out great. I am going to talk to my doctor and find out if there were any underlying problems that may have caused this...

:hug: I'm so sorry to hear that. Definitely you need to be checked for possible issues. Once can happen to anyone, twice is the start of a pattern. My MIL had five miscarriages before she had my husband. Hopefully you will only have two before you have a baby to hold.

I'm so sorry to hear you have to go through another m/c. :grouphug:

:hug: I am sooooo sorry! When the time is right you will be blessed with a beautiful baby. Just keep trying, and hang in there. I'm thinking of you.:goodvibes We're all here for you!:grouphug: