November 2011 Cycle Graduates

[KatieG]

Melissa - well, my crib was pretty easy, that was part of its good CR rating - ease of assembly (plus great safety review too). Not sure how yours will be, but I just followed the step by step directions, and there were not akward moments of trying to balance parts, with the exception of that matress support. Unless you have a really difficult one, you should be fine, especially if you and DH do it together. I find deadlines are the best way to ensure something gets done, I wish i had a set one.

K&K - don't have much to offer bottle wise, my sister did not like the tommy tippee ones, not sure if it was her or her son. I need to know, so I am interested in any advice from the others. I am planning on breastfeeding exclusively. Bit, you never k.ow how that will go, and I want her to take a bottle of breast milk, at least for when I go back to work, so will probably start getting her used to them early on.

[Kit Kat]

Bottles - I used Breastflow with my son. He took right to them, and they made him work hard enough that he didn't have issues going back and forth from breast to bottle.

AFM - We finally got a bit of good news today! Baby Boy's micro array came back (that's the step up from an amnio). He is 100% genetically normal!! I also passed my 3-hour diabetes test. Let's hope the positive energy continues because we have another high risk appointment tomorrow. At this point, I think we're looking at IUGR, which can still be very dangerous. HOWEVER, it's not genetic, so there's still a chance that he'll be okay....small, but ok.

[SC-Impatient_in_VA]

Mariah Given you pre-appointment snacks I can't really explain that! Your body continues to rebel

Miska Don't take just my word for it on the diaper thing. See if you can drum up some useful stories on Google too. It might be that my experiences were all uniquely bad and not normal! Or that my nose is ultra-sensitive.

braceland Pumpkin and sweet taters in scalloped potatoes? Say it ain't so! Why, pumpkin and sweet potatoes, those are DESSERT foods

BC-Pennyh Congratulations on entering the 3rd trimester!

Kit Kat That's super fantastic news, and the news I hoped you would get from the get-go as it was the option that best matched your symptoms and had the best prognosis. As I said before, my sister's son was IUGR, but they didn't realize it in time because his growth was ok until they discovered at week 33 that he was too small and had no amniotic fluid left, and had to induce. The amniotic fluid thing (and her pre-eclampsia) were due to her MTHFR mutation (as was the IUGR actually, but this was 19 years ago and they didn't know about this stuff then), but the things don't ALL have to exist together. IUGR is serious, but with due diligence on the part of the parents and caretakers, IUGR babies don't HAVE to be small forever. Much like preemies can catch up, so can IUGR babies!

AFM Still alive and kickin'. Very, very tired due to not sleeping well at night. If it's not worrying about the baby, it's worrying about everything else. Meh. I'll live.

My dad, who many of you will recall had colon surgical drama when we began this, was cleared last week to go ahead and have his colostomy reversed pending the results of his CT scan this week He's up by almost 30 lbs, only another 30 to go before he's back to his pre-surgical weight (he got down to 140 from a starting point of 200) and I've been taking him pies and cupcakes and things to fatten him up.

I was totally going to tell you how much improved I'm feeling but I overate dinner and now even Maalox can't improve me! Though notably I'm not burping green beans and raw pineapple, for which we can praise the Lord, though there are hints of cheeseburger. Trust me, it's better than those foul onions or that minty Gas-x. I'm going to have to switch to the cinnamon toothpaste because I gag and choke every time I brush my teeth with mint now. I always did have a tendency to do that, but now both minty toothpaste AND plain baking soda do it, so seriously, it's cinnamon time.

And if that doesn't work, believe me, I'll use the kid's bubblegum kind. I am a rebel like that. Tooth decay, ye shall NOT be mine.

Have a great week, ladies

[tochristy78]

Mariah - How fun for your shower tomorrow!! So exciting. I am having two, both in June and getting excited about those so far away! How exciting to move into a new house but boy that is sure a lot of work! I hope you're hiring movers!!

Penny - Are you by chance doing the JBF baby consignment? We have had two local sales around here and I love them!! I might even travel the 50 miles or so to the next one Good luck doing it though! I think it's a great idea and the sales were well attended around here.

K&K - I think we are going with the Dr. Brown's for everything. I've had them highly recommended by family/friends with recent infants. **AND** I had never before seen a microwave sterilizer but at the local consignment we got a NEW one cheap!! So excited to maybe not have to boil water as I can burn that and don't want to imagine the smell with burned nipples.

Kit Kat - keeping you in prayer for your next appt!!

Impatient - I feel you on the indigestion issues. I've recently started getting indigestion and it's bad Ugh. ANYTHING with tomato in it apparently does it for me but my father in law's enchaladas were the best! Reminds me - need to hit up the tums early before it starts tonight.

AFM - had my 26 week appt today, pretty uneventful. Just told me I'll feel better not pregnant - seems to be his favorite answer. I really don't have many compliants either - I can see that I'm slowing down a little and getting more tired but we've also had SO many activities at work and the final one was Friday (Golf Tournament) and is officially over. My main issue was constipation which I haven't had any issues with until now but haven't actually poo'd in 4 days now. He told me to take Miralax until I was able to go. FYI. Docusate wasn't doing it the last couple days. I'm excited for the relief but the bottle says it can take 1 to 3 days - ugh. I guess if that's my biggest complaint I'm doing ok though. They scheduled my glucose test for May 14th - seems like a long time away - I'll be almost 29 weeks then. I really can't believe this is going by so quickly - 10 weeks until my earliest possible C-section date - OMG!

Hope everyone survived Monday well!!

[braceland]

WE LOST....... in the biggest upset of the year there were 74000 people there!! The game tomorrow they are expecting 90000 people at the game tomorrow!! Aussies are footy mad!

Impatient I think it is funny that in the US you make deserts out of pumpkin and sweet potatoes. No one here would ever think of these veggies as sweets! Its just something we see in the movies. We just BBQ everything and add salt and pepper

Katie - im jealous youve made so much progress in putting the nursery together put some pics!

Christy - Had my 26 weeks appt yesterday and did they 2 hr glucose tolerance test YUK!!! I felt so dizzy and bored! Get the results at my next appt on Monday.

Mariah - good luck for the shower post pics afterwards and yes MAD for moving between now and AUG 1. wont even move my ass of the couch let alone anything else.

Kit Kat - congrats on the news you are still in my thoughts daily.

Penny - congrats on 3rd Tri - its a week away for me and I cant wait!

[BC-Pennyh]

Braceland - wow, sounds like quite a game! I assume you're watching at home?

Christy - no, I looked at purchasing a license, but decided to do it on my own! Most of my career experience is applicable one way or another, and it's exciting to see this starting to build. I LOVE consignment sales, it's so much fun to treasure hunt and get great things for so much less than at the store. 10 weeks left for you, wow. I guess I only have 13 at most - time seems to be speeding up.

Impatient - glad to hear your dad is getting better. I'm sure he appreciates goodies you're bring him! Sorry you're still having stomach troubles. Hopefully will get better soon??

KitKat - so glad they haven't found any genetic issues! I know two moms with IUGR. One is my SIL, her daughter was born tiny about 4 wks early. She'll be two in July and still small for her age, but she is a total go-getter, walked at about 9 1/2 months, nothing slows that kid down and no other problems besides a bout of RSV.

Melissa - I like how you set up self-inflicted deadlines! Great way to make sure the nursery gets done. I'm sure you're looking forward to the shower.

Jake's Mom - hope the conference isn't too boring! And has yummy things to eat!

K&K - wow, sounds like a huge project out of the way. I'm sure that's a relief. I used Avent bottles, worked great for me in combination with nursing. They really didn't like any bottles with the smaller nipples.

Sorry for everyone I missed! Was a not-so-fun night - can't sleep well anyway, and last night the smoke detectors decided their batteries were about out. Just that sharp little "beep" EVERY FRICKIN 2 MINUTES. I woke up DH to deal with it. Three attempts later he finally did, then got out his Ipad in bed and told me he couldn't go back to sleep. I don't sleep with light in the bedroom (that's most of why we don't have a tv there), so all in all it was a ball. Oh well! Just another day of regular work and side business work and kids and being pg.....why oh why do I always think of brilliant ideas when pg?

[Miska86]

KitKat – So glad you had good news! YAY!

Impatient – Sorry the digestive problems have returned. Ugh! You just can’t get a break. Hopefully trimester #2 will be better for you! So glad to hear your dad is doing so much better.

Christy – Sorry your digestion is bad too! Yay for a great 26 week appointment. I am 26 weeks today too and can’t wait to see how big I’m measuring. My guess is about 36 weeks. Now I must have forgotten, is it because of the fibroid they’d induce as early as 36 weeks? Even with the twins they won’t schedule the birth for before 38 (unless there’s a problem) so I was just wonderin… I wouldn’t worry about the glucose test being a little later, my info says between 26-28 weeks and it seems your appointments are earlier than the actual week so I’m sure it’s fine.

Penny – So odd, our smoke detectors woke us up at 4:00 a.m. on Monday morning! Not low battery, just malfunction, I think.

AFM – 26 weeks today! 26 week appointment this afternoon. I will also have my glucose test. I’m not worried. I’ve been testing at home for quite a while now. The only thing that bothers me is I’ll be starving by the time I’m allowed to eat!



Me @ 26 weeks and with my new haircut! To be clear, the dress makes my bottom look humungous! It isn’t, I can pull the dress around my belly on the bottom and my legs are still little.

Hope everyone has a great day!

[K&k's mom]

Jakes-Hope the conference went/is going good. Catch up when ou can...

Miska-Yup she gets the smallest room...its downstairs w/her own private bathroom, but all new everything, so we figure that makes up for it . Ok, now I'm not feeling so bad....you HAD to get the nursery done! But I'm still envious....lol. I wish mine was done too . Omg, your h/c is adorable!!! And the dress doesn't make you look big, just pg . I tend to wear more fitted things on my belly....lol, cause I feel like it makes me look smaller, hahaha!

Kitkat-So happy for all the good news...yay for no GD!!!

Impatient-Really sorry about your stomach issues! Sadly I have the opposite problem, I can eat anything/everything, especially spicy/hot food. That's why I'm huge

Christy-I love a great find...congrats!

Penny-Sorry about your night, it's hard enough trying to sleep w/our bellies, let alone alarms & hubbies

Ladies....thanks for all your bottle suggestions. I still have no idea which ones I'll use yet, but I'm sure whichever I choose will be fine.

AFM: Anyone else got a party in their belly at all times? These two love to move around, it's like a competition in there . I don't mind at all...but sometimes I wonder when they sleep

[SC-Impatient_in_VA]

tochristy I miss enchiladas. This baby wants NOTHING to do with Mexican food though. Like I literally cringe when I think about making enchiladas or having dinner at my favorite Mexican place. Probably for the best though, as my favorite Mexican place uses some sort of unidentifiable soft white cheese that I love that I'm pretty sure is on the no-no list, especially since my OB specifically mentioned "don't eat fresh Mexican cheese" haha. We have seriously got FAR more Mexican restaurants here than any other kind (besides things with a Value Menu, which I don't count) so it was reasonable for him to assume that I would find my way to one during pregnancy, lol. Miralax never takes me more than 24 hours.

braceland I confess some people do puree pumpkin for use in curry-type soups (an idea which has undoubtedly reached us from the Caribbean islands), and many people do serve sweet potatoes as a side dish, but they cover them in butter and sugar and often marshmallows (wtf). I can't do sweet potatoes in any form other than fried (french fries with hot mustard, or sweet potato chips with sea salt) personally, nor can I stand them in sweets. Though the Farmer's Market does have these orange colored cinnamon rolls that they swear are neither pumpkin nor sweet potato, but also won't tell me what they ARE that makes them that color. My money is on pumpkin puree in the dough, though.

BC-Pennyh I feel you on the lack of sleep. I feel asleep last night with the pilot for the Star Trek show with Patrick Stewart on, and after I woke up and turned off the Xbox, I could NOT get back to sleep. I apparently require the tv now

Miska I see you have graduated to gigantic sundresses. Attagirl, you've got the freedom to just yank up your skirts when you need to pee instead of fighting with buttons and belts and other contraptions. Soon you will arrive at the point (if not already) where you will need to carry emergency panties with you. Because if you haven't yet, you'll soon start peeing when you sneeze. My SIL had that affliction baaaaad with all of her kids, and they were all singletons. But she was only 5'1" so I think her kids were super cramped in there. You've got more torso, but twice as much baby, so carry the emergency panties

That goes for all of you that are full-on round now! Emergency panties. My SIL wound up wearing a pad the last couple of months -- didn't need a poise pad, just a Kotex, to catch said accidents!

K&K You totally are NOT huge from overeating. It's all babies! I can see it! Skinny arms, skinny face, gigantic baby bump -- we know the truth I look forward to being able to eat normal portions again. I know I should switch to the 6 small meals a day thing like everyone says to do, but in all honesty that works out to eating a lot of crappy fattening stuff for me. Like I wish I thought I could eat yogurt and fruit 5 meals a day, but it wouldn't be. It'd be breakfast cookies and lunch brownies and mid-afternoon puddings and ice cream sandwiches and -- you get the idea. The way I control myself is by eating meals where my plate is full of healthy and "if I have room" I get to enjoy a dessert.

Only lately I haven't got room :p So today's dessert is tomorrow's lunch. I am baaaaaad.

AFM Today I am washing the walls and doing some laundry (it's an experiment, DH got pasta sauce on his new egg yolk-yellow Polo shirt) and then making a cottage pudding, aka upside down cake, in this case with Granny Smith apples. Cottage Pudding - Upside Down Cake Recipe - Allrecipes.com

I have a lot of semi-bruised Granny Smiths to use up and they don't taste super good when made into applesauce, so I think a cake today and tomorrow I might core them and make baked apples (where you stuff the center with sugar and butter and cinnamon and then roast them in the oven).

Dinner is ....drumroll please....Raisin Bran. And cake :p

Hope everyone has a great Monday!

[BC-Pennyh]

Impatient - I've pretty much got a liner all of the time, but never needed actual pads, I'm sure it varies! Gee, your post is making me hungry. And I just ate lunch, too.

K&K - I think my little one is doing summersaults. She's eerily quiet all weekend, then Monday I sit at my desk and she goes and goes. And she seems to be rubbing something painfully everytime she spins (have no idea if she's actually spinning but that's what it feels like!). The rest of the week it varies. Funny.

Melissa - you look great! It's all belly. I tend to pick up weight all over...