4 and 3 -- Graduating class of WTTer's

[baby D]

Thanks for the welcomes girls --- been mega busy!

We have viewed a couple of wedding venues -- all so so expensive. Now considering a more intimate wedding with closest family and friends. What do you ladies think??

As for TTC OH just rund hot n cold so am just trying to put it to the back of my mind at the mo (not easy) but if it happens - it happens! If not, I have two beautiful children to snuggle and love xx

 

[jbell157]

Hey D! DH and I eloped for our wedding. Our family actually encouraged us to do so as we saved so much money. It was wonderful, stress free, and it couldn't have been more perfect. I wouldn't change one thing. So yes, I'm partial to smaller weddings. I think it keeps you from having to impress people you hardly see or know. So my vote is for the intimate wedding as long as you're happy!

AFM, if the baby boy dream wasn't enough I watched a series of videos about what happens during pregnancy and it was so sweet and interesting! I have full blown baby fever right now! I'm hoping I ovulate in about 2 weeks and we catch! It will give me a late October baby. FX!

 

[puppymom]

Jess, no O in sight for me. I thought maybe the other day, as my temp rose, but it`s gone down again today. I am thinking the high temps was something to do with the sore throat that I was waking up with. Ugh... looks like I`ll be going onto clomid cycle 3.

 

[jbell157]

Gosh puppy! I'm so sorry I just want you to know that I'm thinking about you!

 

[MindUtopia]

Baby D - Yes, totally go for the small, intimate wedding and make it really personal to you two and your family! We didn't have a 'big' wedding by most people's standards (about 60 guests) but it was at a really nice venue and we spent a lot more than I ever would have imagined wanting to spend. Fortunately, even though we could never have afforded a wedding like that, my stepfather is a very nice man who makes more money than he knows how to spend, and he really wanted to pay for it, which was very kind of him. But I would have been disappointed if we had struggled to pay for that ourselves. It was a great day and it was beautiful and fun and people still talk about how awesome our wedding was, but I think the best parts (for us and everyone else) were the bits that weren't expensive. We wrote our own vows. We did a really funky, non-traditional ceremony with an interfaith minister (so it was sorta part Jewish, part just spiritual, part Hindu-inspired since we met in India). The food was good and we just made it really fun and there was good music and lots of dancing. The venue was beautiful, so were the flowers and the cake and all that stuff. But what made it great wasn't the stuff that cost a lot of money. If I could do it again, I'd probably do something a lot smaller, even more personal and without all the extra fluff. It's nice to have a pretty venue, but it would have been just as great without (and a lot less stress for me!). In the end, I was having so much fun and the day went by so quickly that I barely noticed or cared about the stuff I'd spent so much time and money on. Would you think about just getting married at the Register's Office and then doing a blessing ceremony, like in your garden, and then going out for food and drinks at a local pub or restaurant or having like a BBQ or food at your home (or a family members)? We actually thought about doing this at my MIL's house since she has a really nice garden. We also didn't actually get married in our actual wedding ceremony. We did the quick ceremony with the Register people in the morning because we wanted more flexibility in the wording of our real ceremony than they would allow. I thought it would be weird to get married (legally) before our wedding, but it really didn't matter. The big ceremony was the one that felt real and meaningful and the earlier one was just about signing paperwork.

Emma - how are you feeling today? How is your husband? And Oliver? Hope you're doing great and enjoying secondtime mummyhood.

I'm feeling a bit grumpy today, as the work deadlines for me to stop work at the end of next week are looming. Also, annoyingly, we ran out of heating oil this morning. Apparently, the gauge on our oil tank doesn't work anymore because it still says we have plenty, but the heat didn't come on this morning and my husband went out to check what was wrong and opened up the tank to check with a dipstick and it was empty! So we are without heat or hot water until Friday which is the earliest date they can possibly deliver an 'emergency' order. Leave it to us to run out of oil the one week it's -3 degrees. So Tim is going to get us an electric heater on his way home tonight so we can at least keep one room at a time warm until then. It's fine, we needed to get one this week anyway because our house isn't very energy efficient and with a baby coming along we are going to need to sometimes heat one room a little extra. I'm just glad it didn't happen next month when I was in labour and needing to fill up my pool! But still it was just an annoying way to start the day. Now I just have to try not to freeze until Tim comes home tonight with the heater. I'm pondering working from bed today with the electric blanket!

 

[mrspeanut]

Hi ladies, I'm feeling less sore today and dh seems to be better so is back to helping out! Oliver had a good nights sleep which has helped us all.

D we had a medium sized wedding as dh has a huge family, but to keep the cost down we did a lot of 'homemade' things and called in favours. My sister made the wedding favours, my mum made the wedding cake, my brother in law did the photographs and we borrowed his lovely car to transport people, a friend of a friend made the bridesmaid dresses and men's cravats, my aunties band were the entertainment for most of the night and my sisters dj friend finished off the last couple of hours. We ordered little things like serviettes, table runners, centre pieces, bubbles (instead of confetti) all off eBay. It's so much fun shopping around for the best deals too! One brill thing my sister made for us was a wishing well. She painted one she got from a garden centre and put sparkly bits on it. Then she wrote out a poem and put it on the roof of the well which invited people to write us a good luck message or give a piece of advice. She also subtly said how we didn't want/need presents but we would appreciate money towards our honeymoon. We managed to pay for most of our honeymoon with the contributions in the well! We had also sent that message out via our parents so people knew to expect that's what we'd want rather than having a gift list.

Puppy got my fingers crossed that clomid works for you really soon, thinking of you. How have you felt taking it? Only ask because dh cousin felt pretty nauseous while taking it, but it did work for her so all good

Feel sorry for you Mind that your heating has gone off! Our hot water broke yesterday, luckily we have had a new boiler fitted this year so it was under warrenty and we managed to get it fixed same day. Least you have a little hot water bottle inside you to keep you warm, and definitely think working whilst in bed is a good idea!

Jess good luck for this cycle, get in lots of bding! lol

 

[baby D]

Thanks for all the wedding stories -- some lovely ideas there! xx

 

[puppymom]

Jess - thanks

Emma - I feel absolutely fine taking it. I would trade that for symptoms any day if it meant it would work!

 

[MindUtopia]

How is everyone doing? Who got lots of snow this week? I know it snowed both here in the UK and in the U.S. by the sound of it. Emma, glad your husband is feeling better now. How are you and Oliver doing?

We have heat and hot water back again as of Friday. Woo hoo! I'm used to living in a drafty house and when we visit my husband's family, they don't even have central heating because they live in an old farmhouse, but geez, I don't think I've ever been so thankful for modern conveniences before! Heat I could manage without. We did have two electric heaters that we ran in our bedroom and in the lounge (though my many middle of the night bathroom trips were a big frigid!), but not having hot water for four days was rough. I am a big fan of long, hot showers, especially in winter. I was showering at the gym after I worked out or swam, but it's just not quite the same as at home. So I'm back to feeling a bit more human again this weekend.

I'm feeling pretty good today. The past two days my back has been killing me. I think it was just too much time spent at my desk without getting up to stretch this week, but today it's much better. I even took a nice long walk with my husband. We also had a date 'afternoon' out yesterday to see Les Miserables (which was soooo good!! I'm a big musical nerd, so it was great). Now today, I've been working since about 9am (yes, on a Sunday, yuck) because I'm determined to get my work finished up so I can start my maternity leave in a week. I'm feeling very overworked at the moment. I haven't had a day off when I didn't work at least a half day in about two weeks, which will be three after this week. So maternity leave will be well-earned when it starts! I'm getting tired and restless, so it will be nice. I've had my husband on house painting and cleaning duty all day though, so hopefully things will be mostly in order and ready for baby after this week. Our birth pool arrived on Wednesday too. It's sitting in the lounge now. We need to do a trial run setting in up next weekend, but just the fact of having it there makes it all see so much more real. Yikes! Now if only my scan tomorrow goes well, we're officially just about ready for baby!

Though I keep reminding this baby to stay in there cooking awhile longer because mummy really needs a week off to nap and schedule an afternoon at the spa before someone makes their arrival! So there's no rush.

 

[mrspeanut]

Hi ladies, how's everyone doing?

Is there any poas going on Jess and puppy?! I'm excited for you girls, I really do have my fingers crossed for you.

I can't believe I'm going to say this but I wish I could do it all again now! 2 kids is our limit though, unless something changes drastically financially, and I am truly grateful for my boys. Olly is doing well - he put on 11oz in his first 12 days!! He is so chilled out and easy to deal with. I'm feeling 1000% better now my cut is healing. My muscles still hurt underneath but I'm back in my 'fat day' jeans so feel good about that. I'm 10lb off my pre-pregnancy weight but not stressing about it, it's fine.

So Mindutopia you've reached full term today, congratulations!!! Any twinges yet?? bet you'll be so fed up of people asking you that soon! I can't wait to hear your birth story, I really want you to get your home birth.

How is your wedding planning going D? Have you picked a date? Hope you are having fun looking for ideas.

Any news on your girlies Gen and Kerry? Hope all is going well.

Xx

 

[jbell157]

No POAS yet! I think I just o'd within the past two days or so but then again I'm not sure. I'll definitely keep you ladies utd.

How is everyone else?

Emma I'm so glad Olly is doing so well and that you are feeling better!

 

[puppymom]

Glad to hear that all is going well, Emma! It'd be nice having an easy baby with another little one running around as well.

No POAS for me, either. I have finished round 3 of Clomid and am waiting to see what comes of it. I have stopped tempting for a bit, as I found my mind on my temps too much the last couple of cycles. I will just BD every other day or so, and maybe start tempting again in a week or so just to see where I am at. I know my temps well enough now to know if they'd be pre or post ovulatory.

 

[MindUtopia]

Jess and Puppy - Fingers crossed for you ladies! I have a good feeling about things. After all, someone has to hop on the preggo train this next month or so once I hop off. So sending you lots of baby dust!!

Emma - So glad you and Olly are doing well and you are starting to feel recovered and getting back to your old self. Have you gotten out for the first time yet or are you still mostly resting at home?

I'm doing well. I'm officially 37 weeks now. It was weird waking up yesterday morning and thinking, okay, so this could in theory kick off at any moment now! I've been thinking the past few weeks every time I had a little gas cramp or something silly like that, that one day soon I might feel something like that and have it actually, really be labour. Just on time to feed into my paranoia, yesterday I started having some mild period like cramps and fairly noticeable BH and dull low back ache. My midwife always asks me if I get BH and I've been like, um, I guess! Sometimes it does feel tighter or I get some pressure in there, but it wouldn't be something that stops me in my tracks and makes me think, whoa, what was that?!? But yesterday I definitely got a few. I've been totally of the mindset that nothing is happening anytime soon. I don't have anything major ready. Baby clothes aren't washed (well, the 3-6 month ones are! Just not the newborn ones!). My 'just in case I have to go to hospital' bag isn't packed and frankly I don't even have most of what goes in it. We are woefully low on toilet paper and groceries, etc. So it did sorta freak me out a little when I started feeling a little twingey yesterday because I was like shit! I am so not prepared! And it would be just my luck to go into labour and have nothing ready! So today, I'm finishing all my errands, washing all baby clothes and bedding, packing my bag, etc.

I had my appointment with the midwives yesterday to go over my birth plan. I think they tend to make some special efforts to go through it all with you when you are planning a home birth as they want to make sure you understand what all you need and various scenarios when they might recommend a transfer. It was really nice. I had two midwives all to myself to ask lots of questions and we went through my birth plan line by line and discussed it. They were pleased with everything and took down all the directions on how to get to my house and then sent me home with my box of home birth supplies (they usually give you a kit to have in advance with everything they need so they don't have to go all the way to the hospital before they come out to you). As I write this, I'm literally sitting next to my two gas & air canisters, which is really weird.

We also practiced blowing up my birth pool last night and figuring out where everything will go on the day. I put on some candles and my birth music and got in to give it a go. It was sooooo relaxing and comfortable! So at least I feel like I kinda know what we are supposed to do just in case anything happens sooner than I expect. I'm probably the only pregnant lady ever who isn't in a hurry to give birth, but I'd really love a couple weeks off to relax and get things in order. But the joke would be on me if I went into labour soon. I just hope it's not before Thursday because I have a massage and facial booked and I've been really looking forward to that these past few weeks!

Okay, off to the shops. I have some maternity pads to stock up on!

 

[MindUtopia]

Just a quick update while I can still see straight! Our little munchkin decided to make an early arrival on Friday at 37 + 5. I woke up to my waters going at 2am and when the midwives arrived at 9:30am I was fully dilated! Josephine Rose was born at 1:55pm at home on our bedroom floor! I totally didn't believe she was a girl and the midwives had to double check for me. Will update more soon but someone is hungry now.

Hope you all are going great!

 

[jbell157]

Just a quick update while I can still see straight! Our little munchkin decided to make an early arrival on Friday at 37 + 5. I woke up to my waters going at 2am and when the midwives arrived at 9:30am I was fully dilated! Josephine Rose was born at 1:55pm at home on our bedroom floor! I totally didn't believe she was a girl and the midwives had to double check for me. Will update more soon but someone is hungry now.

Hope you all are going great!

Woohoo!!! Congratulations!!! And what a beautiful name!

 

[baby D]

I just new it! As soon as I saw our thread on the User CP page -- I knew it would be you telling us this fab news!

Whoo! A baby girl! Huge congratulations xxx How are you feeling??

 

[baby D]

looking forward to some pics x

 

[puppymom]

Congratulations, can't wait to see pictures - I bet she is beautiful! Looking forward to hearing your birth story.

Jess, how are you feeling so far this month? Looks like you have ovulated, which is always a step in the right direction!

 

[jbell157]

Hey puppy!
I'm doing well. I'm currently experiencing one of my favorite pre-PMS symptoms, starvation! I have O'd but I'm not sure if it was CD 14 or CD 18. I never saw any fertile cm. If it was cd 14 then I'm definitely out because we did not bd. But if it was cd 18 we have a good chance. I refuse to test early though...so I probably won't test until 2/18 or 2/19.

How about you? Any good news?

 

[puppymom]

Yeah, it's hard to tell by your chart!

I am not sure about me -- I decided not to tempt this month, for the most part, to avoid stressing myself out. I thought that by not obsessing about my temps, my body might just work better! It's wishful thinking, probably, but we shall see soon. I may check to see where they are at sometime this week -- I'll know if I have ovulated or not, as I know where they generally are pre- and post-ovulation. I also have bloodwork to test progesterone (for ovulation) this coming weekend. If it doesn't show anything, I am not sure if I'll be upped again, or just referred to the FS.

Either way, were BDing to cover our bases!