To the 17:40 poster; actually I'm due in 3 wks. One of our cats had been going into the babys room and sleeping in the crib!!!! I was not too pleased with this thought. He has also found that sleeping on the changing pad is lots of fun too and quite comfy. Since he's a fat cat and can't jump over baby gates we recently purchased a baby gate that has the step release (incase one of us needs to get into the room with baby in hand) and this has solved the problem with the fat cat. Now, we knew of course that one of our cats can jump a standard baby gate but fortunately so far he isn't interested in going into the crib. Crossing my fingers that he'll just use the room as his sanctuary from the fat bully cat.

Good luck! Oh yeah, we also bought some of the Feliway that we'll plug in right before the baby gets home to help calm/soothe the kitties. You know how tempermental some cats can be. Crossing our fingers. ;o)

Personally I wouldn't change where the dogs slept. There will be PLENTY of change when the baby comes home. We have 3 dogs and 3 cats and have made a few changes, but not many as this is their home too. (Shhhh, don't let my MIL know...she wants us to lock everyone in the basement.) As for not allowing the dogs to sleep in the bedroom I would only think that could be an issue if you have problems with your dog and dominance issues as to who is Alpha in your home. If it's been established that he/she isn't the Alpha I wouldn't worry about it at all.

I like what the PP did about letting their dogs smell the blanket that the baby was swaddled in to get the scent of the baby. I think that's an excellent idea.

Best of luck!

My sister-in-law tested positive and had to have the antibiotics and all was fine. I believe if you test positive you need about 4 hours to get the antibiotics...if you deliver too quickly and can't get them the baby can end up staying in the hospital for 10 days. Depending upon your doctor he/she may choose to induce (that's what my sis-in-law did) so that she could get the antibiotics. Check with your OB if you're concerned.

Best of luck!

The PP is right, you should call your doctor. I am currently 36 weeks pregnant and had some spotting (old dark brown blood) at about 5 to 6 weeks along with some cramping. I called my OB and he had me go in for a sono. Everything turned out fine, we saw the blastocyst and a heartbeat. I also found out at the time that I had (have) a large cyst on my left ovary.

Each pregnancy/person is different and I would suggest to call your OB on Monday and schedule an appt.

Best of luck!

That's good to know about the Mountain Buggy. That's why we got the Quinny - I am 5.2" and my husband is 6.4 and we needed a stroller that had the adjustable handlebar.

I'm not due for another 4.5 weeks but we got the Maxi Cosi and Quinny Buzz. It's great since you can put the car seat with the stroller base and later on use just the stroller portion. I have another friend who's child is almost 4 months old and has the same one and LOVES it and says that it's super easy to use. One complaint she had initially was she had troubles getting the car seat out of her SUV, but I think with practice that gets easier. BTW, she's tiny (100lbs) and is able to deal with the stroller without any problems. I've been able to close up mine and put it in the back of my SUV without any problems either and being super prego makes me feel better about the stroller.

Best of luck!

Looking to buy a car seat mat to protect the seats in my car. Is there one that is better than another? I have leather seats and this will be for a newborn car seat.

Thank you!

Thanks everyone. I suppose I should just be glad that in a little while I'll at least be able to get some "satisfaction". Having an IC is no fun!!!

Don't know if this is exactly what your daughter told Santa she wanted but found this online.

http://cgi.ebay.com/WALKING-MUSICAL-CHRISTMAS-REINDEER-TM-TOY-HALLMARK-SHOP_W0QQitemZ300066512024QQcmdZViewItem

YEAH, that was my thought too. ;o)

Something else I found on La Leche League:

Hygiene and possible contamination can also be an important consideration. Breast pumps with special traps built in, such as the Ameda and the Nurture III, prevent pumped milk from entering the tubing and then getting into the pump motor itself. The Medela pumps do not have such a system and milk can go into the tubing and even get into the motor, which is very difficult to clean. The diaphragm of the Pump in Style often becomes contaminated. This is one reason why buying a used Pump in Style may not be a good idea (see sidebar). Mothers need to be careful while pumping in order to prevent this from happening; keeping the pump at chest level helps protect against contamination.

True you can sterilize a toothbrush but you can't sterilize a breast pump.

For a little more $$ I'd rather play it safe and buy new.

Yeah I'm not so worried about my husband. I'm a little sick of not getting any satisfaction for myself. GRRRRR......

Okay, this is a really stupid question but here it goes. How long after giving birth (vaginal) until you can have (I didn't say until you wanted to have...) sex? I only ask this because due to an IC I haven't had sex with my DH since week 20 and I am almost at week 33....I can't imagine going possibly another 2 to 3 months.

I think it's great that you want to be "green" about your pump. However, unless it is hospital grade it's acutally not sanitary to use someone elses pump. I know that there are plenty of people that are selling/buying used pumps but the motor would actually need to be replaced which isn't really cost effective, (it sounds weird I know, but check it out : Personal use pumps should never be resold or shared among mothers. The Medela Pump In Style® Advanced has an internal diaphragm that cannot be removed, replaced, or fully sterilized. Therefore, the risk of cross-contamination associated with re-using a previously owned pump such as the Pump In Style cannot be dismissed, even when using a new kit or tubing.) http://www.medela.com/NewFiles/preownpump.html This is per medela's site.

Not to mention if you speak to any lactation consultant they will recommend NOT to use someone elses pump. Essentially it's like using someone elses toothbrush. (Gross!) So personally if it were me I would not sell or buy a used pump.

BTW, we're not necessarily talking about infectious diseases however bacteria.