Hellobee Boards

@Emilie: Way to go! I've managed to accumulate about 10-15 meals over the past 3 weeks (some of them are something that will make 2 meals, or 3 bags of the same thing portioned out, and some more "lunch" type food than dinner, but still an important meal to cover!) and my plan is to cook 2 more recipes per week for the next 4 weekends (or, you know, however many weekends I have left) so we should end up with like 40 meals worth of food if I can keep this up!

@Baby Boy Mom: I'm glad everything is looking good. But ugh, that sucks about your doctor! I hope you're able to find a provider who supports your choices, or arrive at a more comfortable relationship with your current doctor.

Omfg. I can no longer get out of bed by pushing up onto my elbow on my side and swinging my feet over. Why? The side of my stomach hurts SO bad after sleeping!! No matter how many times I change sides in the night. So now I have to push up on my elbows from my back and gingerly raise myself up and over and out of bed. It took me so long this morning because I was in so much pain!

Anyone else having bed issues?

With you all on the joys of sleep right now! It's definitely feeling like as soon as I get comfortable, if I can, I have to get up and pee! Last night, after bathroom trip #2 (usually there's just 1), I think baby was practicing her gymnastics moves. It was way more than the usual kicks! So much for sleep.

We made great nursery progress yesterday. DH installed the elfa in the closet (which, if you're considering it, looks great and he said was very straightforward), he put up curtain rods, curtains, and blackout liners, I worked on painting the wooden alphabet letters for the wall...and, he put together the crib! And, now it's feeling real. This coming weekend I think we're in for a giant shopping trip for essentials. Right now: getting used to saying I'm due "next month" when people ask.

Wow!

Ladies, I'm popping in over here from the March board to get some advice! Did any of you ladies get shower hostess gifts for you family/friends that threw your showers? And if so, what did you get??

My mom is throwing my shower all by herself and she's really putting in a lot of effort (and money) towards it! I really want to get her something nice to thank her, but I have noooooo idea what! HELP!

@Emilie: Totally off topic, but you have an ice cream maker bowl in your freezer at all times? Jealous! I've wanted to get one, but then I know I'd be eating ice cream waaay too much!

@Emilie: Mmm...sorbet! I might have to look into that but IDK how come we never have enough freezer space as it is!

@shopaholic: Yeah, I need to figure out the breast milk situation too! Though I figure, by the time I'm pumping and storing breast milk, we should have already run through our freezer meal stash. But I want to get a good stockpile of BM because LO is going to daycare at 12 weeks.

@JessiBee: Good for you on the nursery! And I feel you on the gymnastics. He has no room but he is still flailing around and it's SO uncomfortable. Yesterday, I thought I was having a contraction until I realized it was a giant appendage of some sort, or maybe his butt, stuck WAY out right in the middle of my stomach. For like 30 minutes! He basically fell asleep that way. It hurt so badly and I could barely move.

@Emilie: You look great! Yeah, I always wake up on my back -- I'm never FLAT on my back (that's way too painful) but kinda sloped backwards. Oh, well. I've given up on any semblance of quality sleep these days. And am instead privately hoping he comes early

@Adira: Three friends of mine threw my shower, and I bought them each a piece of jewelry from Etsy that was unique to their tastes. It also kinda doubled as a Christmas present since my shower was on Dec. 16.

@Emilie: I have an ice cream recipe book that includes a lot of Philadelphia-style ice cream, which has no eggs! Also sherbet and sorbet. But you do temper the eggs anyway (whisk them and pour them into hot, hot milk) so I always figure the extreme temps (boiling heat, then freezing cold) kills anything bad.

@tororojo: Sorry you haven't been feeling well! I've been lucky, partly living in Florida (though the weather has been so wacky going from pretty cold to humid and raining) that I'm actually surprised I haven't caught anything. My boss and her kids have been constantly sick too, so you would think!

My belly button has been sore for ages now! Especially when baby presses against it. Everything is getting so thin and stretched out!

And I can't believe people are actually SAYING that to you. Though in my case, people are pretty much demonstrating that with their gifts. Wipes warmer? Coffee mug full of candy? Picture frame? And tons of outfits. I think probably 5% of the gifts we've received have been from the registry. Oh, well. I mean, I know diaper ointment's not fun to buy for somebody, but it's what we NEED. I ended up spending like $900 buying the stuff off our registry I wanted to have here when baby came -- and still have the breastpump, solid feeding supplies, and tons of other stuff I'm putting off until later.

So we had the second non-stress test today, everything is still looking great. I always eat a snack and drink ice water before the tests because if he doesn't move a ton, I'll be there forever. But it always works -- he moved 35 times in 33 minutes and his baseline heartrate was in the 140s but accelerated up into the 190s at times when he was moving! Which freaked us out, but the doctor says is the sign of a very healthy baby. I also got my Group B Strep swab and first cervical check today. The cervical check actually took me by surprise, the doctor shoved his fingers up there right after taking the GBS swab, I guess because he figured might as well while he was down there? He did apologize for the discomfort, but some warning would have been nice... anyway, I'm "closed up tight." Which I would fully expect at 35 weeks. I don't even want cervical checks, they annoy me, but my curiosity won't let me decline them. Anyway, the cervical check is *just* as fun as they say it is, though it wasn't the most painful thing I've ever had. Basically on par with a pap smear, but without the speculum. And the GBS is a giant Q-tip stuck up your hoo-ha. All in all, a very uncomfortable morning -- but I guess I'd better get used to things going up and out of me at this point!

@tororojo: They swabbed both... The swab went all the way up my lady hole and on the outside of my booty I think they just want to get the whole area for the best shot at catching it. I'm really glad that they didn't go up the butt because I have a hemorrhoid.

To be fair, we got our stroller at $200 as part of that $900 registry purchase, which DH's aunt is sending us money for. The rest... man, it just adds up. Sheets, towels, diapers, first aid stuff, toiletries... Nobody bought us ANY of that stuff. And no gift cards, either. If they bought off the registry, they went for the few toys I put on there to satisfy people who just can't purchase practical stuff. And we got around a billion bottle brushes, all different brands, even though we clearly registered for one, of a specific brand. I just don't get people!

@tororojo: LOL I *know*! "Not only must you buy me a gift, but you must buy the gift I deem appropriate for you to buy. I AM PREGNANT DO NOT ENRAGE ME WITH YOUR USELESS TRINKETS."

@ladyfingers: Thanks, we made an appointment with another doc for next week. I really hope he works out but am nervous about it...I think that knowing what I know now, it is better to switch late than have regrets about how things were managed and if I stay with the same doc I already know what to expect. BTW, The Birth Partner was super helpful in our last meeting because I knew what I wanted to articulate (not that I was articulate...but you know); I think it is the best book I have read about L&D.

@shopaholic: So true about the freezer space! A good third of our freezer was full of milk for the better half of last year. The thing is, that you have some time...it takes a while to accumulate, so just start eating your way through and it will work out!

@Emilie: Wow! I am so impressed with how much cooking you got done! I'm just planning on starting this week since I'm due a couple weeks later.

@tororojo: Yes on the belly button soreness! It's so weird....

My to do list is still way too long to post. The good thing is that we can finally start doing stuff (everything has been closed since Dec 20 here)! Meeting with a housekeeper and a carpenter this week and hoping to finish a few more house projects before DH is back in the hospital next week.

@Emilie: YES it feels amazing to make progress like that! Although then I look around and realize how much there still is to do. As in, wow, that crib looks great. It's too bad there's no mattress in it!

@Mrs. Markers: It's good to see you on this board! I don't think I've seen you over here much, so welcome!!

@Adira: No shower for me, at least until after there's a baby, so I've got no advice...but it's good to see you here, too!

@shopaholic: Yup. Count me as also jealous of the permanent ice cream bowl in the freezer. Yum. Mine would decidedly not be full of sorbet.

@tororojo: Who goes first is a great question! Now I'm going to have to go find the Feb. due date list and peek! No belly button soreness here...yet...but a new body part seems to get sore each day now, so I imagine that it's only a matter of time.

@ladyfingers: Thank you for the description of the internal check! I've been both looking forward to having the information (on GBS and whether I'm opening at all, which at not-quite-34-weeks I expect not to be yet), and dreading the exam, so I appreciate the heads up on what to expect!

@tororojo: Yup. I'm snickering at your terms, too. Nicely done. Weird look from the hubby from the other end of the couch.

@Baby Boy Mom: With you on excellent intentions for a freezer-food-stash...that isn't started yet. We're actually mid-kitchen renovation, so we have been eating through a stash (and re-crockpotting on weekends) already, since we have no stove/oven at the moment. Still hoping to have the kitchen back for several weeks before we have a baby...but I guess that's up to her! (And also the contractors, unfortunately.)

@WALLAROO: An end date! I am a little jealous, since I've been looking at the entire month of February as a possible end date...and that's a big window of end date.

I had an appointment today, too, with one of the other docs in my practice. I definitely picked a better one for myself, so I'm hoping even more that she'll be there for the birth! Baby sounded good and everything measured right, though, and I'll probably get my first internal exam at my next appointment in two weeks. I'll be sure to update you, and I'll think of some fun terms to use between now and then!

@JessiBee: Wow, good job pulling together everyone's due dates! It's so nice to see where everyone's at all in one list. I wonder whose babies will come early and whose will be late! I think mine will be late because according to my ovulation date, my due date should've been 2/23, but the ultrasound has my baby at 2/28. Plus this is my 2nd baby, and 2nd babies usually come earlier!

I'm already sooo over this pregnancy, LOL - trying to enjoy the last few weeks before baby #2 comes though. I don't know what life will be like with two munchkins running around, ahhh!

@JessiBee: thanks for putting this together!

my EDD is February 12th, but I'm currently scheduled for a c-section a week earlier - either the 5th or 6th? i'll pop back in when i have the exact date!

oh and we're still Team Green!

@WALLAROO: My last day of work (for good) is Feb. 1! That's 20 work days after today, I'm counting down...

@JessiBee: Thanks for including me! I was hoping & mentally prepared to deliver early this whole time (since DH and I were both born so early) but my OB visit last week, she cautioned me against thinking that way and told me to "assume you'll deliver @ 41 weeks." Wahh! I already mentally subtracted a couple of weeks and now if add them back, plus 1, it seems like an eternity!

@tororojo: we both have to "Don't Stop Believing!" lol!

Hi ladies! I can't believe we're a MONTH away. Holy crap.

I read through and got caught up on everyone. Glad everyone's doing well, and enjoyed their holidays.

We start weekly appointments next week due to our cord abnormality. I think next week is the group B strep test, and they'll start checking for dilation. Baby girl was breech for a while, and the night before our 34 week appointment, she flipped! She's still pretty high off of my cervix (aka all up in my ribs), but at least she's mostly head down, so we can try for the vaginal delivery. I'm partially relieved to not have to have a c-section, but I was kind of looking forward to the scheduling aspect! With hubs' work schedule, it would be so much easier for us to know exactly when she's coming. She was large & in charge at our 32 week growth scan at already 4.5 pounds, so I am hopeful that they'll induce me sometime shortly after 39 weeks. I feel like I've been pregnant FOREVER.

@ladyfingers - wth, I would have been pissed if I had a surprise cervical check! and yes, finishing up the registry was super expensive.. but you gotta get all of the necessities, right?? I have 30+ items being shipped to me in the next few days from amazon.

Oh, and @ladyfingers & @torojojo - you two are hilarious!

@jessibee - wow, impressive that you were able to put together the master list!! thanks!! I can't believe we have so many mommas here!

@wallaroo - I'm planning to start maternity leave when the baby comes! I don't know if I'd be able to just sit at home and just wait for this baby... I'd get too anxious! But, if walking to work becomes a pain in the butt, I should be able to just work from home the last couple of weeks without any issues.

@shopaholic - I was also thinking I might deliver early because both of my sisters delivered at least 2 weeks early for their own kids (2 boys each!). But, I'm totally fine if my girl comes at 41 weeks, I just want her to be here before 41.5 weeks, because I really really don't want to be induced!

@Mrs. Markers: Will you have ultrasounds at your next few appointments to check if baby's still breech? We were in the same boat - found out baby girl was breech at our 32 week scan, and were told by a midwife that she most likely wouldn't flip without a version, and if we were uncomfortable we should consider a c-section. My OB did a quickie U/S yesterday at our 34 week appointment, and she's head down now! We didn't even try anything to get her to flip. The OB said that most babies will flip before or around 36 weeks, and only some people actually feel the flip, so we should have never been worried. Hopefully Baby Markers has already flipped & you just don't know it.

PS: I was certain she hadn't flipped, because I thought I was feeling her head up in my ribs, but it turns out it's her feet & butt, so you never know!

@WALLAROO: I don't know if kicking can break water or not, but one of my friends had to be induced a few weeks early b/c of a leak and the theory was that baby's fingernails were so long, they poked a hole in the placenta...crazy, right? It was a slow leak, she thought it was urine at first but turned out to be amniotic fluid.