Hey...I'm going to mostly lurk here but thought I'd say hi. I'm not pregnant and hope never to be again (would love to adopt as it is just the pregnancy I hate...babies are fantastic). I was training to be a Doula though when I decided I'd rather be in charge of my own schedule than have a stranger's baby be. So now...I'm mostly a maternity and infant photographer which is great. I get my baby fix seeing and usually getting to hold brand new little people for a bit while mommy is changing or whatever...and yet, I don't have to be pregnant. It is a win win situation for me.

Anyway, just thought I'd chime in about nursing bras. I nursed for a total of 5 years (2 kids) and never used a nursing bra after about a week with the first. I just got either sport bras that weren't too tight so I could haul them up and nurse that way. Or, I'd get ones that had stretchy cups so I could stretch it off to the side and nurse that way. It was much easier and much cheaper than trying to find nursing bras in my size. I found fumbling with the snaps or hook and eye things with one hand while holding a squirmy infant in the other was too difficult to bother with.

Lifeguard - sorry to hear about your test results. Have they decided what kind of treatment they are going to try? I know it seems like a big deal at first but I didn't find that it has been all that bad. I had to spend a few weeks taking my sugar 4 times a day and that was a bit annoying and I spent a week food journalling. I saw the dietician twice and talked with her once on the phone. Luckily my sugars are being controlled really well with Metformin so I don't need to do my sugar every day, I do it like 3-4 times a week. Hopefully you won't have any more difficult issues than something like this.

Day from heck yesterday. Aggravation after aggravation. Won't go into a lot of detail but it was just one of those days where everyone around you is genuinely being an idiot. Not one of those days where you feel like you are just imagining it, definately it was happening. My car got hit in the parking lot at WalMart, no damage to either car but it was definately the other guys fault and he didn't even have the decency to apologize for backing into me. That was the tip of the iceberg so you can imagine what the rest of the day was like.

Anyways I have one week to go, this time next week I'll be in the middle of my c-section and I can't wait. I'm having braxton hicks contractions, have had a few really painful ones. One was so sharp yesterday I was almost thinking I was going into labour.

Lifeguard - I'm sorry to hear about the GD, that's really a drag. I hope you can get it controlled with the least amount of headache possible.

Jen - It sounds like you had a doozy of a day, what a drag. I hope today has gone better and without the idiots! I completely know what you're talking about, sometimes I think I must have a "stupid people" magnet stuck on my forehead. For me, it's mostly people driving. They must look in their rearview mirror and see a sign atop my car that says "Please go 15mph UNDER the speed limit - it makes me happy!" Grrrrrr...
Yay, one more week to go... I'm so excited for you! I hope those BH contractions let up for you, at least to where they're not so painful.

The discussion came up in the July thread and got me thinking about cloth vs. disposable diapers. You all gave me a lot to think about and DH and I have decided to go with cloth diapers. We're "investing" in the Fuzzi Bunz diapers, it looks like an awesome system. One question I have for those of you that have kids already - how many diapers does a baby go through per day? We want to buy diapers but have no idea how many we need. Somewhere in my brain I had 6-8 diapers plus 2 extra per day, so that'd be 20 for us since I don't want to have to commit myself to daily laundry (I can commit to every other day). Does 10 per day sound about right, like it'll be enough? Of course, if I get 20 and he happens to go through 12 in a day for some reason it's not like I can't do laundry that day, of course. But if it's a consistent 12 I'd like to get 24-28, kwim?

And for those of you that have used cloth - did you find that you caught a lot of flak for that decision? I wonder about things like other people babysitting and such, although I don't think it's any harder to change a fuzzi bunz than it is to change a disposable. I think my family in particular may look at me a little sideways since I'll be the first since my grandma to use cloth. Don't get me wrong, they aren't going to change my mind. This is DH's and my decision and it's made, I'm just curious if I should expect to get a hard time for it.

Well I found out today... I'm pregnant! I found out REALLY early though. Because of a medical condition, I needed to get the blood test (way before I missed a period) in order to go off medication ASAP. Actually I was tested Tuesday and the result was "borderline" so I acted as if it was positive and went right off my meds. Went and got tested again yesterday and this morning got the positive result. So I'm only 4 weeks right now... a lot of weeks to go! So far I've only noticed some bloating, a larger chest, and lots and lots of burping.

Congratulations, Modkttn!!!! It is always so exciting to hear a new little one is on the way! Drink your water! Rest! and Eat!


As for me, I am really excited that I have made it this far without any contractions or complications! I have only been working about a shift a week and this week census was soo low they didn't need me. God is definately looking out for me because I was nervous about going in and walking the halls constantly.

Backpain and sciatica have now intensified..both hips are involved. I finally still feel them numb now even in my sleep! Gearing up for the final two weeks of summer before my oldest starts full day kindergarten and the middle son has 3 weeks before he goes to am preschool. The official "Term" day countdown has begun! A little under a month left!!

Congratulations Modkitten!! Enjoy every minute, it goes by so fast. I also found out very early on (about 3 weeks), and I thought it was fun knowing. Like almsthere said, drink, eat and rest rest rest!

Honestly I don't feel any different except that I'm burping a lot and peeing more often. I know that will change though!

I have a question for all of you. I read about what I should be eating during pregnancy and how I only need an extra 300 calories a day. But honestly, how do I get in everything I am supposed to with only the 300 extra calories? Especially with all the calcium I need. That is going to be a hard one! Any recommendations?

ModKitten,

Calcium supplements are awesome. I have been taking the Viactiv ones and you get 500mg of calcium for 20 calories. Talk to your Dr, of course, but that's what's been working for me. Oh, and make sure you get more fiber than normal if you're taking calcium, it causes constipation. Sorry if that's TMI, but it's what it is. Also, if you take calcium at night, it will help you sleep... bonus!

Also talk to your Dr about this, but I found that when I got to about 6 weeks my prenatals made me SICK, really sick. My Dr told me to buy the Flinstones Complete vitamins (in the purple bottle) and take 2 of those instead. I compared the ingredient lists and they are identical except that the prenatals just have twice as much of everything (which is why I take 2 Flinstones vitamins.) They were so much better I'm still taking them instead of my prenatals. Chewable, they taste better, and I don't have to choke down a horse pill every day.

I also wanted to recommend you start a journal for your baby. I bought "The Belly Book" on amazon for about $10 and it is so much fun. I didn't get it until I was about 12 weeks, but I remembered most of my first tri. It's a weekly journal with questions and places for notes and what's going on in your life in addition to the milestones (first kick, ultrasounds, etc.) Very, very fun!

ETA: On the burping thing, I highly recommend Gas-X. It's the only thing that relieved that for me.

Yep...what Gale02 said. Take calcium supplements. If you can't stand the viactive type...which I couldn't for long...I think they now have gummi bear type for kids. You'd have to take a heck of a lot of them probably, I haven't checked. I just did the swallowed pill type.

Calcium while pregnant is VERY VERY VERY important. If you don't take enough calcium for the baby...it will be taken from your bones to provide for the baby. You don't want to be getting osteoporosis early because you didn't take care of yourself while pregnant.

Thanks gals! The problem for me is that I am lactose intolerant. So I can drink lots and lots of lactaid but... yuck! I only like having milk once or twice a day And I like yogurt, but I can only have that once a day.

Don't worry Gale, nothing is TMI for me. I have IBS, so I'm actually really worried about constipation. I already eat a LOT of fiber daily, and I take Benefiber 3 times a day (the nurse told me this was still OK to take).

I'm just starting my 5th week, so I expect tha nausea to get worse, but still nothing! I have to fly exactly a week from today, and normally flying makes me nauseous (burping and some gas) so I'm hoping its not going to be much worse than normal, but we'll see!

Right now, I am haveing a Beta HCG done every two days. They told me that this is because I had to have it done so early. Basically, the first time the numbers were 4.7, then 30, then 110. They want to follow it until it reaches 3,000. I'm hoping it gets there before next Tuesday because that is when I go on vacation and it would be nice to know everything is OK before I leave.

Oh one last question for you! Last night I was REALLY tired, close to exhaustion. I went to bed around 9:15! But before bed, I felt dizzy. I think it was just due to the fact that I was really tired but.... should I call the nurse about it? Also earlier last night I bent down and when I stood up I felt dizzy (blood rush). I remember reading that can happen more often to women who are pregnant, but I can't remember where I read it or what the remedy was. Any advise?

If you stand up and suddenly feel dizzy...that is typically blood pressure dropping.

Are you taking iron? It can cause digestive problems too, but if you are feeling really tired and dizzy...you could be getting anemic. Iron and Calcium...two of the most important vitamins you MUST take while pregnant, and folic acid too (though the spina biffida (sp?) actually happens essentially before you even know you are pregnant, so it isn't quite as important once you know...still take it though).

Yes, I know! I've been taking a prenatal for the past few months (since we started TTC) and there is iron in that. The nurse today said there is enough in there, so I shouldn't need extra. As for the calcium, she suggested that if I take the TUMS for my gas issues, I should be getting enough to supplement (for now) and that if I stop taking the TUMS I can take another supplement.

BTW, my beta level from yesterday was 349 so everything is still going very well

So another question for you ladies. My doctor called and said she wanted to see me in 2 weeks. The earliest appointment they had was 4 weeks. Its not like that is just a day or 2 off, its twice the time! And with the doctor still thinking about whether or not she wants to consider me high risk, I thought that they should be able to fit me in earlier. I called back and left a message for the doctor to give me a call about getting an earlier appointment. Am I justified in this?

Umm...yes you are justified. If the doctor says she wants to see you in 2 weeks, she needs to see you in 2 weeks. Are there any other doctors in the practice you can see instead? Sometimes having a multi-doctor practice can be a bother because you can have someone delivering your baby that you don't know as well as your main doctor, still it can be very helpful because you know there is a doctor there all the time.