Hellobee Boards

@coacheswife123: I'm glad the bag is packed, but I still feel like there is soooo much to do!

Next up is installing the car seat, but I might be getting a new car this month, but not sure. I will probably just put it in my car just in case the baby comes before we get the new one. Car shopping does not sound fun at all being 8 1/2 months pregnant.

@oliviaoblivia: I feel your pain! Our little guy is big too!!! He is really just majorly long - femur bones above the 98th percentile. Makes me wonder where I'm going to put him for the next 9 weeks?! And yay for getting the bag packed! I can't believe we will have some babies on this board so soon!

@oliviaoblivia: you don't wanna know but i eventually had a c section and he came out perfectly...23 hours later (3 1/2 hours of pushing), but I am very small (only 5 feet tall and about 100 lbs when not pregnant)

@birdofafeather: As a Canadian -- thanks for including me!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! (Ours was back in October).

Is anyone else swelling? My hands and feet (feet especially) are so puffy. I'm even swelling a tiny bit under my eyes. My midwife looked at it and said it's all in the normal range of swelling and I have no other indicators for pre-eclampsia or anything, but wholly moly I do not like this swelling. It makes me feel hideous! Going to try a epsom salt bath tonight! Any other tips for dealing with the swelling?

@Jumpingjacks: @oliviaoblivia: I was going to say mamas because I thought there are a few of you!

I walked a 5K this morning and my hands were sausages! I only have the swelling when walking a while or in my feet sitting in the car for a while (I regularly drive a couple hours on the weekends to see DH). It's definitely getting worse as the weeks roll on! I also have issues when sleeping with circulation so I'm trying to remember to wear socks at night to help.

@Jumpingjacks: I just noticed today I'm starting to get puffy in my face. I've heard drinking lots of water. And spending time in the pool. Apparently the pressure helps push the water back into circulation and out through urination instead of just sitting there.

I am starting to swell a bit too, but only after being on my feet all day, and when I eat too much salt or don't drink enough water. I have my compression socks on this am to go shopping...

I am hoping the swelling stays under control until after our NYC trip in two weeks...

I shared one on the bump thread - but wanted to post one on here too! here is a photo from my maternity shoot yesterday. I was hesitant about doing one but so glad I did. My cousin took these!

@dagret: thanks! I did the same as you with nursing tops. My MIL is supposed to be getting our jogging stroller!

@coacheswife123: love it! what did you like about the maternity shoot?

speaking of photos, is anyone thinking of doing professional newborn photos? have you found someone? my husband isn't quite on board with the idea and i'm feeling somewhat neutral about it, but sometimes i waver and think it would be so cute!

@dagret: oh, good idea about asking for nursing tops as a holiday gift. after all this time thinking about maternity clothes, it's tough to switch gears and realize there's a whole other world of nursing tops that i need to consider (if breastfeeding works out). jeesh!

@edelweiss: I would like to, but the price range I heard was $600-$1000 - way more than we can afford!! My MIL keeps insisting that it's so "worth it," but I feel like paying rent that month will be even more "worth it."

We have a DSLR, so we're just going to read up on how to take decent newborn photos and do them ourselves. I mean, I wish I had the cash to drop on professional ones because I've seen some really cute pro baby pics, but it's just not gonna happen.

My husband is also going to attempt to take some maternity photos of me during Christmas (fam is renting a cabin). I'm really hoping I'm not all swollen at that point.

We went to two of the 5 childbirth class sessions that is offered near here. The second class, which focused on comfort measures, was really good! We tried different relaxation techniques and the teacher timed out a minute (typical contraction time), and we could see what made the time go by the fastest. Massage and deep breathing FTW! Ha.

Holiday gifts: I'm just hoping we get some baby stuff, man. We still only have like 4 pieces of clothing for this kid.

I've decided that I'm going to splurge on a couple of NUI organics wool sleepers (http://nuiorganics.gostorego.com/baby/sleepwear/footed-bodysuit.html) because I'm obsessed with dressing baby in wool from head to toe to regulate his/her body temp. Since it'll be so cold.

@allison: Oh yeah, my mom kept telling me "Don't buy clothes, you'll get a ton of clothes at the shower!" We got, like, 5 things. So now we have a total of about 10, some of which aren't newborn or 0-3 month size! Thank goodness we live near a Carter's outlet!

@littlebug: THANKS! the only reason I did it was because it was FREE.

Same here with the clothes!! We are having our shower Dec 29th (supposedly...it's still up in the air)....and I'm due January 11th. But we need to prepare for the baby before then! We've only gotten a handful of baby clothes, hardly any of which are 0-3 month and no newborn clothes.

I guess I'll just pick up a few newborn sleepers and onesies and then get stuff as we go.

I lucked out and have a cousin who had a baby in August and is handing everything down to us. Right now he has a ton of NB - way more than we will need - and also 0-3 but I am going to have to buy him a whole new wardrobe after that if the hand me downs stop coming! We have gotten some really cute sleepers/gowns as gifts but mostly in 0-3 month sizes.

Also, I found a lot of sleepers, onesies, gowns, at consignment (a huge bi-yearly sale here) that look BRAND new and I got them all for no more than 3.00 each. I was iffy about buying consignment but they grow out of them so quickly and the stuff looked brand new!

yeah, the clothes things has been super weird/confusing for me! i bought a grip of 0-3 stuff and have some NB onesies as well. i also bought baby legs and a couple sleepers and other than that, i'm trying to wait until she arrives and then see if we need more NB or are skipping over it completely! i feel like you need so stuff, but it's better to wait and see how big they are first!

@littlebug: I hear ya! I know I'm going to be a much better baby gift-giver after having gone through this myself. We are going to send some of the stuff that we don't like to grandma's house and a few things to goodwill. We only received 1 small pack of diapers out of 2 showers, which shocks me!!