October Due Dates: Please Join us!

[Anonymous]

Oops, Pumpkin back: missed Wavy's update.

LJ - Oct 3 - 10
Sepi - Oct 8
Raspberry - Oct 8
Wavy - Oct 8
Poppy - Oct 20
Peanut - Oct 21
JinDC - Oct 25
Pumpkin - Oct 31


Did I miss anyone else?

[Anonymous]

LJ here.

Raspberry - My hunger seems to have quieted down a little bit, leaving me more in the normal appetite range. We will see how long it lasts.

Peanut - Hope the doppler is helpful. Like jindc referenced, it can be a source of stress. I just sort of mentally committed to being chill about it and not flipping out if I cannot find the heartbeat. I have been able to find it nearly every day for the past few weeks - only once I could not, but I was tired and gave up easily. It usually didn't take more than 5 minutes and for the past week or so I can hear it pretty much as soon as I start trying, instantaneously. I have been happy with that doppler. Good luck with it!

I keep hoping for movement but it hasn't happened yet. I have, however, discovered that trying to be very still and waiting for movement helps me fall asleep very quickly

[Anonymous]

Hey Peanut! I actually have only gained 1 lb overall. My doc said it was fine. I lost 1 in the first trimester and since then gained 2 lbs. I'm 17 weeks tomorrow. This is my first, so I'm not really sure what to expect. I'm sure you're fine! Before I knew I mc last year, I continued to gain weight, I don't think my body recognized that something was wrong for a few weeks. So, I guess I'm saying, NOT gaining weight shouldn't be a concern. Especially if you've made it this far, chances of mc are so small from what I've heard.

LJ, we should share recipes. I'm finally feeling okay enough to start cooking more again. I'll try and come up with good ones. I've honestly been trying to get most of my greens and fruits through smoothies, and let myself eat cheeses, etc in meals.

Wavy - I think I lost some weight in my first trimester b/c I wasn't really allowed to work out. So I think I lost muscle mass . But, I'm hoping to remedy that soon. But overall all, I'm up one pound. Honestly, I think if you just try to eat healthy and get your vitamins in and get a good walk in once a day, you should be okay. I have a coworker who said she gained 100 lbs in her first pregnancy. She shed it most of it right away and she looks awesome now. I think everyone is just so different, it's sort of hard to define normal.

I don't know about you, but my stomach has popped! It's crazy. All of my weight I think is now situated there. I honestly feel like I have an extra 5 lbs there. I wish I could weigh that separately .

I'm having trouble sleeping again. It's the middle of the night bathroom visits. Ugh. But I seem to be adjusting to very little sleep.

LJ, Wavy, Raspberry - I hope we're not all delivering at the same hospital, or Oct 8 is going to be a busy day for them!

My doc told me not to expect to feel any movement until 20-22 weeks. I can't wait for it!

[Anonymous]

oops ^^ sepi, here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:oops ^^ sepi, here

Peanut here

Sepi and LJ - thanks for the reassurance! The doppler is suppose to arrive today so I'm excited. I try to conentrate and feel the baby at night too and next thing you know, i'm knocked out =)

So I have some good news today. Turns out I won a free maternity photo shoot! I actually never planned on doing one since I figured I wouldn't really feel attractive while pregnant but hey, it's free! Has anyone done this before? How far along were you when you had them taken?

[Anonymous]

Sepi - my stomach has popped out too! it's so weird 'cause it's hard all over. I do enjoy having a bump though =) I think my weight is all on my belly and my face

[Anonymous]

^^peanut

[Anonymous]

Peanut! That sounds so exciting! It's a chance for you to get you to get all prettied up- your baby will be so excited to see pics of her beautiful mom pregnant with her! I'm serious- i wish I had pics of my mom pregnant with me ! And- they'll be GOOD pictures and they are FREE! Congrats!

I'm still managing to hide my bump at work- I just wear a stretchy long tank underneath my top, so it covers the clasps/buttons. I just zip up and leave unbuttoned! Sometimes use a rubber band. Is that awful? It's kind of freeing though! And I add a suit jacket to help me hide it. No one has even glanced down there, so I think I'm pulling it off for now.

Also, I have been reading about feeling the first movement and I cant wait! It's going to drive me crazy to wait even a few more weeks - it seems like most people feel it when they are laying down?

How's everyone else?

-Sepi

[Anonymous]

Hi Peanut, pumpkin here, that's really nice about the maternity shoot. I didn't have formal portraits done but I do know that my son LOVES to look at pictures of me with a huge belly and say "that's me in there!" or ask "Was that when I was living in there?" which is really, really sweet.

I've been having a pretty good week. It's my post about sciatica / pelvic girdle pain or whatever - it's kind of killing me lately - but I think if it's like last time it will go away. At least, I hope! Other than that things are pretty good. I have a ton of business travel (taking the fam) over the next few weeks and then I cannot wait for things to slow down.

I definitely felt all the early movement when lying on my bed, either watching TV or internetting, with my back propped up on pillows. If you think you MIGHT be feeling something, try this trick, drink a glass of OJ then recline on some pillows and watch TV quietly, be still, see what you feel. When you pay attention, you can feel all sorts of things you never noticed before, silent gas bubbles, muscle twitches, different random spasms, even just your blood pumping around (I think Poppy (?) mentioned that one), but you might start feeling something just a little bit.....different. It's kind of cool to start doing it now, and paying attention to all of the little movements. Even if you don't feel The Real Thing for another month, you'll be more aware of the other things going on and less likely to be unsure of what you're feeling. It'll be like, is it? Is it? OMG, that's definitely the baby. I'M FEELING THE BABY MOVE!

Then you get to have those moments just between you and the baby. I used to tel my DH "oh, he's moving around!" and he'd try to feel, but you can't feel it from the outside for a good while. (He'd still say "hello baby" so he did get in on some of the fun...). But, it's also something that is mostly between you and your baby at first, which is actually kind of really nice. I guarantee many of you will feel it before 22 weeks, that seems conservative based on my wholly unscientific recollection of when my other pregnant friends say they felt movement, but at the same time, don't get too bummed if you don't feel it sooner - I've also heard of moms not feeling it for ages past when they think they should. I swear, sometimes I do think I feel that little creature already this time, but I'm also aware that it is really, really early - so I'm definitely at the "not sure" but nice to think about "stage."

Hope everyone is doing well! Has anyone else told any other family or friends? Any appointments or other excitement? I can still wear all of my pants, probably because most of them are lower in the waist to begin with or have a good deal of stretch. But, oh my goodness, the muffin top. For fun, I put on a maternity dress that is kind of fitted, but with space for the belly and let it all hang out and the mirror suggested I was 5 1/2 months pregnant, not 15 weeks!

[Anonymous]

Pumpkin - How have your handling business travel with a family? I'm going to be a first time mom so I'm really worried about this because I travel alot for work.

[Anonymous]

^^that was peanut =)

[Anonymous]

Hi, all, Poppy here!

Peanut--so cool about the photo shoot! Congrats! I'd probably want to do it when I had a nice round belly, but wasn't quite to the "frompy whale" stage, as a PP on an entirely different thread put it (I love that phrase). Of course, that sweet spot totally varies by person, so if you can play it by ear, I'd go for that. If not, maybe early in the third tri?

I saw above you asked about work travel. I don't travel a ton for work, but have gone to a few conferences of five days length, so a not insignificant amount of time. In our case, my husband is a terrific co-parent, so I have no qualms about leaving (other than missing them, of course). For the first year, he was the one who took care of her when I went into the office (three days/week). It's a bit of a logistical pain when you're still breastfeeding, but not insurmountable in my experience. We had daily video chats, which were great.

Nothing much going on here, I'm definitely in that feeling better, forgetting I'm pregnant phase, and mostly enjoying it. I've almost forgotten to take my Zofran a few times, though, which would not be good, but whatever. I've started wearing maternity pants, mostly because I got some cute new things and am excited to wear them. :^) Sepi, I totally did the unbutton the top button thing with my first pregnancy--liberating!

Pumpkin, have you gone off the Unisom yet? If so, how did that go?

What else... we're not planning on finding out the sex, and I don't have any strong hunches either way. We didn't find out with our first, and I had a slight inclination towards girl, but that was it. This time, that inkling is towards boy, so we'll see in six months or so!

Is anyone thinking about names yet? We had a girls name we loved forever, but couldn't agree on a boys name the first time around. Now I have a boys name I love, and we've kicked around some ideas, but nothing definitive. Names are hard.

So great to read updates--I hope you're all well!

[Anonymous]

Sleepy here. I am adding myself to the list.

LJ - Oct 3 - 10
Sepi - Oct 8
Raspberry Oct 8
Poppy - Oct 20
Peanut - Oct 21
Sleepy- Oct 22
JinDC - Oct 25
Pumpkin - Oct 31

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I think Wavy went missing again, here she is!

LJ - Oct 3 - 10
Sepi - Oct 8
Raspberry - Oct 8
Wavy - Oct 8
Poppy - Oct 20
Peanut - Oct 21
Sleepy- Oct 22
JinDC - Oct 25
Pumpkin - Oct 31

[Anonymous]

Hi all! I'm still on the unisom. I have board meetings next week and my entire week including this coming weekend is going to be insane. I don't want to be throwing up, out of the country, super busy, etc, during this time so I've decided to wean myself off the unisom after I return from my big work stuff.

About travel, everyone handles it differently. But what works for Poppy works really well for many of my friends (I'm in an industry where we travel constantly). DH has a super flexible job, which gave us options. I planned on doing what Poppy is doing, but right before my first trip, DS was starting to categorically reject the bottle. He'd go without it for long periods of time, then nurse all night (the dreaded reverse cycling) and although I'm sure we could have resolved it eventually, time was not on our side with the trip looming so we gritted our teeth and bought two, extra, very expensive last minute plane tickets to my destination for that first trip.

It was supposed to be just for that first trip but DH and DS basically had a huge adventure in a new city. I worked without worrying too much about them and they had a ton of fun. When we got home we still felt like it had really worked, so they just started coming with me on trips! I definitely felt strange at first, like maybe I looked like one of those crazy moms who can't bear to be separated but it wasn't really that so much as it was just that it worked all around. The ONE drawback is that it is hugely expensive. We definitely take fewer "real" vacations because of all the plane tickets we're buying for DH / DS. But, the plus side is my kiddo has been to almost every state, is a real veteran traveler, and I think there's value for all of us. Ask me again when we have two kids to contend with, though. You may find my answer has changed!

Anyway, if DH did not have the flexibility, I think I would do just what Poppy does. My friends who do it a lot say there is major comfort in having a routine, in knowing your partner is a true equal parent, and while BFing makes it harder, it is also, people say, a very tangible way to feel very closely connected even if thousands of miles apart. If you're not doing it, you might look at someone else and say "how can she do that?" but when you have to do it, you do it, and you realize that you can do it, that everyone is fine, in fact everyone thrives, and then you're home before you know it. From the times I have traveled solo, I can tell you, know what TSA's rules are about breastmilk. Why? Because TSA does not know its own rules. Don't dump that liquid gold! You don't have to, even if TSA says otherwise at the check point. Take a print out of their rules, and be nice, but just say "let me show you what the rules say so you know why I'm insisting I don't have to dump this." ay yi yi...

All that said, there's also nothing wrong with feeling like you don't want to travel once you have the little one. A few of my friends (I'm in a high travel industry!) hated the separation. Some took new jobs with no / less travel, others are SAHMs now. But if you can do it, I think travel is fantastic, solo or as a family. There's something renewing in traveling (solo or with the fam) and renewal is so valuable for a sleepy new mom!