Hellobee Boards

Loving all these cute announcement pictures!!! I wish I would have been more creative with mine!

As for cramping...I have crazy amounts of pain/pressure in my lower abdomen...no clue what it is but it is no-bueno!!! Annoys me...plus...it hurts like woah to go #2...this is all new for me (did not experience with K) so I will mention to the Dr next week at my appt!

Anyone feeling movement yet? If so - when did it start? I'm 15 W and not yet! I remember it started at about 20 with my DD so hoping it'll kick in earlier this time...

great announcements everybody!

All the announcements are adorable! I'm feeling so uncreative now!

@ksnow: Nothing yet for me. Last time I didn't feel anything until 17 weeks and then it was another 2 weeks before I felt anything else, but I'd hoped I'd feel things earlier this time! I have an anterior placenta again, though, so I guess not.

Made my appointment for my 20 week anatomy ultrasound today - I'll finally find out if it's a boy or a girl on Oct 29! Luckily between now and then I have a date with my husband to see the Martian, two Thanksgiving dinners, and a trip to Vegas to keep my mind busy, otherwise I'm almost certain I'd give in and go to a private clinic (turns out my neighbour was wrong about it being illegal to tell before 20 weeks, they won't tell before 18).

@Mrs D: so ring slings have two large categories. Wrap conversion ring slings (made from woven wrap fabric) and plain fabric slings. If you don't know anything about woven wraps, it's difficult to describe them in a concise manner, lol. But i, personally, prefer wrap conversions over "plain" slings.

There are lots of brands of plain slings that are great. Sakura bloom is well known and great. I don't like the padded shoulder on the Maya wraps.

My favorite retailers for wrap conversions are 5mr, Heart Hugs, and Marsupial Mama's. I'll go grab links for you...

@Mrs D: so if there's a sling you see that you like and you wanna hear my thoughts on it, I'm happy to help. But with something like a ring sling a lot of it is aesthetics (assuming you're purchasing a well known/safe sling, not just some random sling from Etsy) so it's hard for me to narrow down your options.

@Mrs D: Beyond a ring sling, if you wanted something more structured I'm not a fan of Ergo or K'Tan or Bjorn, personally.

I LOVE Lillebaby soft structured carriers. They can be used with a newborn with NO EXTRA INSERT! And we can even wear my 3 and a half year old comfortably in one. I actually never liked SSCs till I tried my Lille.

Another great option is a mei tai. They're more flexible than a normal SSC in terms of sizing but it's a tad more involved than just clipping some buckles to put it on. Fidella, which is a woven wrap company, makes a mei tai called the fly tai (5mr sells them) which is AWESOME. the body panel can cinch down in both directions so it'll fit a wide range of sizes (starting at newborn size) again with no insert. Once babe is bigger and you're ready to back carry, you can get a MUCH higher carry with a mei tai than a SSC since the strap placement isn't fixed on the panel of the carrier.

DH's favorite carrier is a mei tai. The first carrier I successfully breastfed in was a mei tai. They're pretty awesome.

@Navy_Mommy: You said what I was unable to properly put into words...

These wraps are gorgeous...I have no idea how I will ever pick just one?!?!! OMG I am in trouble. The 5MR is the most user friendly website so far...but I am drooling over these fabrics....

@Mrs D: I'm with you on baby-wearing this time! I know it'll be tougher to snuggle on the couch with a newborn when I have a toddler running around too!

With DS he didn't love the Ergo infant insert and so it was used rarely and my Moby just seemed so cumbersome. My sister has a k'tan I wanted to try but a ring sling might be the way to go! Let us know what you decide to buy!

@Mrs D: I don't love all cotton Tula wraps (the second link). They're pretty stiff to start and I'm just not a fan.

The first link you posted I've heard good things about, I've never used one personally.

Kokadi wraps are awesome. They're super soft straight out of the box. I've loved every one that has come through my house (I buy and sell regularly, lol). I think the link you sent is for a wrap, not a ring sling though. The only place I'm finding that has a ready to ship ring sling out of that colorway is direct from Kokadi, which is in Germany. I've ordered direct from them probably five times and never had a problem. Customs can take a little while, but it's usually not that bad.

http://www.kokadi.de/en/babywraps/RingSlings/kokadi-ringsling-Magic-Dots::4078.html

@Navy_Mommy: So if it is a ring sling...how do I know if it is a conversion wrap ring sling with the woven fabric?

@Mrs D: I have a Sakura Bloom ring sling and I like it a lot, but I never used it when B was very little, mostly for hip carries once he was bigger. I'm looking forward to trying it on the new guy. I'd also like to get a new carrier - I was thinking about a Tula (a standard one, not one of the bloodthirsty stocking kinds) but am open to suggestions. I want something less structured than the Ergo, but easier to put on than the Babyhawk that I have.

@Alivoo01: ouch that sounds scary, glad it went away! I've been having some random stabbing pains at times but they never seem to last long.

@ksnow: I started feeling the odd movement here and there around 16w, and now at 18w I am feeling something pretty much every day. I'd still like it to be more regular though!

I ended up calling the OB since the cramping continued in the morning. No more sharp pains, but wanted to be safe than sorry. They had me come in so they could measure my cervix to make sure it wasn't shortening (since contractions do that), and to get tested for potential infections like bladder infections since preggo women tend to asymptomatic.

Turns out my cramps/sharp pains were actually contractions. yikes! She just told me to take it easy and drink lots of fluids.

@Alivoo01: oh wow ! I hope drinking lots of water helps. I guess I didn't realize we could have contractions this early. Did they find out with those monitors they strap on your belly? (they did that with LO1 when I was having cramping toward the end too)

@princessandthebee: She said to just take it easy and drink lots of fluids. She didn't seem concerned and just said to call back if things got bad or I started bleeding.

@MrsLilybugg: They found out when she was measuring the cervix via the transvaginal wand. She was like uh... how are you feeling now, then she turned something on the machine and it measured the contraction.

@Mrs D: Thanks!

@Alivoo01: yikes! Be sure to rest!

So in my Stitch Fix there was one shirt I REALLY liked. A shirt that wasn't terrible but I didn't like the way the fabric felt. A way over priced knit cardigan. A pair of maternity jeans that didn't fit well enough to be worth $80. And the most hideous dress ever.

So one good shirt.

I've decided to go to destination maternity tomorrow to make up for it

@erinbaderin: I have to skip my next one because we won't have an address, lol. But I'll stick with it. I was happy there was one shirt I really loved, lol.

Went and got maternity jeans from destination maternity yesterday...I fit in an x-small. All the maternity pants I have are large, lol (I have a thing about pants being too tight). I feel much less whale-like in pants that fit. I blew up width wise so much faster with my first two. Which is cool, but it sucks I had to buy more pants, lol.

I felt a little movement yesterday from baby girl on the left but nothin consistent yet I'll be 18 weeks on Wednesday woooo!! Next appt next week