Petunia again!

Vee - that is helpful information about TDAP and relatives. I saw one thread where a FTM was not allowing in-laws over bc they did not get the vaccine. I thought that person was going a little overboard. But, I also understand how protective people can feel about their little vulnerable babies.

Elle and Vee, I am glad your Braxton-Hicks settled down. I have not had them too bad. I just get tired for days when I over do it. Last weekend I did a bunch of weeding and yard work and I still feel like I am not back up to full strength. But, I am trucking along getting ready for the baby shower at our house this weekend. Next week I will rest

I too have quite a few things to get together for the nursery before this little one arrives. The shower is motivating my husband and I to mostly have the nursery done though by Sat.

Is anyone else hungry ALL THE TIME? A few weeks ago, I felt hungry, but couldn't fit much food in. Now, I feel like I could eat all day (and I kind of do!). My weight gain has been fine, so I am kind of enjoying indulging during these final weeks. Speaking of which, it is snack time!

Elle here!

Vee, I totally have the same problem. If I do too much, I get those painful Braxton-Hicks too. One time I got nervous, because I started feeling them in my back, but I just immediately laid down, and it got better.

But I do feel a sort of surge of energy sometimes, and I try to take advantage of it. Yesterday, though, I came home and was totally wiped out and had to take a nap at 6PM, and I wasn't able to shake myself out of it until 8PM, so ended up eating dinner really late (DH was out with friends).

Still, I'm getting excited. I know there's no way to know whether the baby will be early, late, or close to due date, but I feel like my body is getting ready. But... I am totally not! Too many things to do yet. Nursery is a pile of baby stuff in boxes, my mom just moved in and her stuff is everywhere, and I have a baby shower a week from Sunday!

Vee here. I asked about TDAP at my doctor's appointment last week. I got it two years ago right after the birth of DS #1. My doctor said we really don't need to get it again, though there is a movement of some doctors saying you should get it every time you have a baby. Since it's only been two years though we are all set. I also asked if visitors need to get it. I've read other threads on this board where folks have asked their parents/relatives to get it as well. Doc said that if you have a nanny or constant caregiver, they should probably get it, but for relatives who are just visiting for short periods of time she wouldn't worry too much about it. So I'm not going to worry about it anymore

I'm feeling pretty huge but I know I should be thankful since I don't think I'm swelling up much. I really overdid it on Sunday and paid for it Sunday night and all day Monday. We ran errands, I did a lot of housekeeping, and probably didn't drink enough water. Braxton Hicks were really noticeable and almost painful. I came pretty close to calling my doctor on Monday, but by Monday night things had settled back down. I think for me, staying hydrated is really key.

My husband is definitely ready for this baby to be out! I am too in a way, but I need the time to finish preparing. The baby's room is getting there but not totally ready, and I have a short list of things we still need to purchase or pull out of storage.

Petunia here. Elle, thanks for sharing your thoughts on vaccines. After I talked to my doctor, and thought it over, I decided to wait on the Tdap vaccine until after delivery. My husband and I were also considering skipping the Hep B vaccine at birth. I agree, it is not a childhood illness and seems so unnecessary for such a young baby to have.

Hooray for head down babies! And, swimming sounds wonderful in this heat!

Aside from heartburn (mostly at night), some fatigue and some restless nights because of difficulty getting comfortable, I am feeling pretty good. I expected to be much more uncomfortable at this point (::knocks on wood:. I am mostly feeling very excited to meet this baby - it almost doesn't seem real that the due date is so soon.

Hi everyone! Elle here! Happy July! We will all have babies next month! CRAZY!

Petunia, I decided not to get any vaccines during pregnancy. I think the immunity that you pass on is minimal, and does not negate the need for a vaccine for the baby when the schedule calls for it, so I'm just going to wait.

Vaccines are such a tricky thing for me. For instance, I'm not doing the Hep B vaccine at birth - I can't see a justification for it. I don't have hepatitis, and nobody in my family does, and it's a blood and sexually transmitted disease, not a childhood disease. And there is some evidence that giving a baby a vaccine when they are less than 12 hours old can have some adverse effects, seems totally not worth it.

But it's recommended by the APA. So that makes me skeptical of what the APA recommends in general. I'm not anti-vaccine at all, but it seems like anyone who questions the vaccine schedule in any way is made out to be some kind of crackpot who's endangering public health, which seems unfair.

In terms of everything else, baby is head down (yay!) and anterior mostly (yay!). I've added swimming to my daily walking, which feels so good as I get bigger and it gets hotter. I recommend to everyone! Get thyself in the water. It feels great.

How's everyone else feeling in this last month?

Petunia here - Thanks for the tip on the Target tanks, VEE. I will have to check them out. And, thanks, everyone for pediatrician advice/info. I am all set with mine, they come to the hospital and then I take the baby in 2 days after discharge. Same situation Elle explained - simple indeed!

Went to an appointment today, and the doctor thinks the baby is head down (woo!). She said she will be able tell more definitely in 2 weeks.

Did anyone get the TDAP vaccine (or are planning to) before delivery? I understand they give it at the hospital after delivery. But, you pass immunities on to the baby if you get vaccinated prior to delivery. I doubt I will have a chance to get it before delivery, but would like to if I can.

Elle here. Your posts about pediatricians just reminded me to call the one that I am going with, Capitol Medical Group. They do have a prenatal meet n' greet thing, but I have already decided to go with them due to their location, recommendations, and that they take my insurance and my husband's.

So... I called, and they just told me to tell my provider (in this case my midwives) that they would be our pediatrician, and I guess they have privileges at my hospital, so they'd come do rounds when I deliver. Then 24-48 hours I'd need to bring the baby into their offices for an appointment.

Pretty simple! I thought it would be more complicated.

VEE here. I got all my nursing tanks at target. The only thing I would look for is make sure you can undo and redo the clasp with one hand.

We're sticking with our current pediatrician's office - Vienna Pediatrics. We see Dr. Lee there and are very happy with her. We've seen other doctors in the practice on occasion and have never had a problem. They don't come out to Fair Oaks, where I'm delivering, but honestly that doesn't really bother me. When DS#1 was born, he was seen by the on-call pediatrician who did a fine job.

We're fortunate that we don't have any special concerns and I think I'm a pretty laid back parent. Even so, I felt better "interviewing" Vienna Pediatrics before we chose them. The "interview" just consisted of a 15 minutes sit-down with the doctor to explain their philosophy and answer any questions you might have, including when they want to see the baby after he/she is born. I'd recommend doing this if you have time to put your mind at ease.

And Petunia - I hadn't thought about it but now flip flops are definitely on my list!!

Anonymous wrote:Petunia again - one more question: Have you all chosen your pediatrician yet? I know what practice I am going with and just need to call (I think). I guess you call and ell them you will have a new patient for them in August. Any experience with this?

Due in August and pregnant with #2:

It certainly doesn't hurt to call now. After the baby is born, have someone call the ped to make an appt so that you can bring baby in within a few days of checking out. In fact, it may be a good idea to call the dr now and ask what their policy is about the timeframe for newborns. It could be 48 hours.

Also, some peds may have privileges at your hospital so you could find out about that to see if they can see your baby while it is in the hospital.

Oh, one final piece of advice--if you are not satisfied with your baby's ped, don't hesitate to find a new one. Trust your instincts.

Petunia again - one more question: Have you all chosen your pediatrician yet? I know what practice I am going with and just need to call (I think). I guess you call and ell them you will have a new patient for them in August. Any experience with this?

Petunia again. VEE, I hear you on struggling. I am pretty tired and worn out, but also want to get stuff done before this baby comes. Laying around makes me feel useless too, but I do typically nap once a day. Just too tired not to!

Thanks for advice on the hospital bag. LR, I read that about chapstick too - good reminder. Also, people recommend cheap flip flops for showering (think about all the blood, etc. that has been on the shower floor from previous moms). VEE, I was trying to decide if I should bring the Boppy. Now I know I should. Elle, I am worried about taking too much or too little as well. We live close to the hospital, so I guess my husband could always pick up stuff I need.

Any advice on good nursing tanks and tees? I looked at the Gap website today, but did not see many favorable reviews.

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so I hope they can tell me if this little one is head down. I think I feel his bottom to the left and above my bellybutton.

Hang in there ladies - like LR said, we are almost due "next month"!

Elle here. I'm so obsessed with the baby's positing, and I honestly can't tell. I feel like he moves from my right to left side all the time lately. Sometimes I feel little kicks on my right side and a clear butt and back on the left, and sometimes that butt and back moves to the right.

Last couple of midwife appointments have told me that the baby is head-down, so that's good, but I worry way too much about sitting the wrong way or doing the wrong thing that will make him flip or turn OP.

Have an appointment tomorrow, so hopefully I can talk more about positioning and get help with quelling my anxiety around it.

I'm due in early August, so I really should think about a hospital bag. I don't want to take too much, but I don't want to take too little either.

I feel like there are so so many things left to do, it's overwhelming! Work is starting to wear on me, but luckily they've been flexible about letting me work from home, and when I do I try to sneak in a nap.

LR here! --

The head butts aren't that low yet they are more like in my tummy -- think my baby might still be transverse but not sure - guess we will see next week at my 35 week appt what they say! but there's a ton of wiggling going on!!

We've talked about packing the hospital bag but haven't done it yet - we took the birthing class at the hospital and there was a packing list in there - one thing they said to bring is chapstick cause your lips will dry out -
i'm also bringing my boppy and something for LO to go home in (since we don't know what we are having i was thinking about buying something for a girl and something for a boy and returning the one we don't use - we will bring a birthing ball too since our hospital doesn't have one -

another suggestion was packing two bags - one for while you are laboring and the other for post partum -

can't believe after this weekend we can say our babies are due next month!!

VEE here. How is everyone feeling? I have to admit I am struggling big time. This baby is beating me up from the inside and sometimes it's quite painful. My husband wants me to rest more, but resting makes me feel totally useless. At least when I'm at work I can feel productive and accomplish things. When I think I have two more months of this, I just want to cry. At the same time, I feel totally guilty about feeling this way, because I know that I am so lucky to be having a baby, and so far everything is totally normal and healthy. I should be more thankful and happy!

Anyhow, hospital bag. From my previous experience, I'm definitely packing differently. I'm bringing a short robe (to be purchased!), nursing tanks, and clothes for the baby. I'm also going to bring my Boppy nursing pillow this time. With DS #1, I was constantly adjusting the 8 pillows they gave me so I could nurse. I think the boppy will make things easier.

Petunia here - hope everyone is doing well!

LR, happy to hear your LO may be getting in to position! When you get head-butted, is it a sharp pain way down low (basically in your crotch)? I have those from time to time - weird sensation indeed!

Is anyone packing a hospital bag yet? I ordered a few things - robe, nursing gown, non-skid socks - and have been checking out the hospital bag threads to see what to bring. Any suggestions for what to bring or not bring?