Christmas (December) Babies 2018!

[jessicaftl]

I don't think they are going to test my iron levels again, my mw doesn't want to get into it with the state insurance since they're already against having the out of hospital birth. We only had to replace the starter, and luckily we have our other car so dh was able to drive into the city and buy a refurbished one, and he'll get the core charge back for it when he takes the old one in. I always learn a lot when he works on cars, we've had to do work on all of our vehicles over the years, from pulling many motors(replacing a few) to just about any type of wiring.

I'm not having too bad of a morning yet, got some laundry going and did some basic cleanup. Waddling everywhere and my three year old asking me why I can't bend over to pick something up for him, lol.

 

[dove830]

Went on a cleaning/organizing BINGE yesterday. Way, way, WAY overdid it and am paying for it today. I think that was nesting. This is baby #4 and I've never experienced that before, lol. I could not stop. Everything is now organized. The only thing left is for hubby to build the crib. I also got a jumpstart on x-mas shopping. 42 days left until baby comes. I feel like she's dropped though??? Isn't that early? I feel like I can breathe a little better. I started on the hospital bag, but I'm waiting for a few things to arrive that I bought online, before finishing it.

Star--glad your shower was amazing, and you can NEVER have too many wipes!

Welcome back BDB! You are almost there!

Jessica--BOOOOOOO to car issues!! Far too stressful! Good luck at your appointment tomorrow.

I see my regular dr tomorrow. Wednesday, I have another U/S and I see the OBGYN....busy week!

 

[StarGazerRose]

Just having a rough morning in general i guess, maybe hormonal idk.... Rain is never good for a Leo ....

Jess -- That's good that you didn't have to replace the whole car. I've learned a little bit here and there from Hubby and his dad. I promised that with my 'new' car i would take care of it to make sure that it lasts many many many years, it's now paid off and i make sure that it takes it's regular trips to the dealer for oil changes and whatnots. My old Chevy bit the dust (luckily not on my clock)... We replaced so much and "jimmy-rigged" the rest. No air conditioning, manual windows made many summers a nightmare. Poor thing was only running on 1.5 cylinders in the end and you had to check the oil daily. My FIL had enough of looking and messing with it and told me to get a new car--- needless to say i didn't argue with him. He sold me chevy after "patching it up" enough to keep it running but the new owner didn't listen to him and my FIL said he finally found where all the oil had been going -- as it was then spread across 2 lanes of road. (The car never lever oil spots, just ate the oil...)

Dove -- yeah i think the ability to "over clean" is nesting! I think when i'm at home more, near my due date, i'll probably go crazy cleaning, organizing baby stuff, probably cleaning every crevice i can clean. There are quite a lot of things we've been neglecting while focusing on the spare room, so i'm sure that's what i'll be doing while "waiting around"

I have an appointment this friday, but today is day 1 of our Birthing Classes. I'm interested in seeing how it goes! (hoping my night goes better than my morning)

 

[jessicaftl]

dove - that sure sounds like nesting and at least you got lots of stuff done. I know when I went through my super clean mode a couple weeks ago I felt almost dead the next day, I was so sore. I hope you feel more like yourself soon!! As for baby dropping, mine never have, not until they come out, it's crazy. Does seem early, but who knows what it means? Seems like babies always have their own mind for things lol.

star - sounds like one of the cylinders was bad and was burning oil. I don't think I've ever had my oil changed by someone else, lol, expensive and easy to do at home. The last car we bought, we had to replace the motor, that was such a chore as I was pregnant with my second ds and it happened when we were in transition of buying a house and living with my mother and her husband, so all of our tools were in storage. We've had quite a few cars over the years, the newer ones can be a bit more complex with their computer systems. Our newest car, the one we replaced the starter in, was so well maintained when we bought it, they had all the paperwork for it and everything. But parts always fail eventually. I sold my old '66 vw bug to some guys who wanted to restore it, but I've yet to see it and I doubt they did anything to it, hopefully I'm wrong though!

 

[StarGazerRose]

There was so much wrong with my little ol' Chevy ... Half the engine had been touched by something. I had an issue with my thermostat for years (i couldn't even sit in drive thru without it hitting red) [minus that drive thru around here is basically the same as going in an sitting down ... they don't understand the aspect of how to handle it (side note -- i could be the ONLY one in drive thru and the whole restaurant and STILL have to pull up and wait for them to bring me my food) ]
I bought my new car from the dealer -- because i have gone to them for everything. It's saved me money. I had to replace the trigger for my air conditioner, and instead of paying nearly 600$ i think i paid under 100 for it. It takes the synthetic oil, and i've never bought it on the shelf. Plus this thing has way more bells and whistles my chevy ever could have wished for so i wouldn't even KNOW where to start. And i didn't wanna risk anything happening to it at my FIL garage so i just took it to the dealer for the oil changes -- and i normally get out around $40, which is the same as i was paying for my chevy, buying everything myself.

Well ladies i gotta take off -- need to go play crochet with a soda can and then leave to get hubby....

 

[jessicaftl]

I've had some clunker cars over the years, lol, I can relate to that! Hope you have fun this afternoon. I'm getting ready to make a "test chicken" for a recipe I've been wanting to try as the one for Thanksgiving, kind of excited to see how it tastes in the end, I've tried so many roasted chicken recipes, it's hard to find ones that are not dried out or bland. Fingers crossed this one is good! I ate some carrot cake I made over the weekend and it was soooo good (my favorite). I haven't had it for a long time, and had been craving it all week. Baby seems to be liking it as well, moving all around after I ate it (probably the sugar hehe).

 

[StarGazerRose]

Morning
[This one is going way better than yesterday's]

Got up early! Hubby had to go to work, but was out of the shower before I got in. Baby likes the shower so they were wiggling around this morning. Got to work 10 mins early!
Class went alright. Most of the information in this class I knew already (either from my research, reading, what you ladies said ... or basic knowledge) Next week we'll be doing the breathing and soothing techniques, and the 3rd week we'll be doing the tour. Then i have a breastfeeding class and another about "taking care of baby" (mostly since i've never dealt with a newborn, and i don't know if Hubby has ever watched kids alone)

 

[jessicaftl]

I'm so glad your morning is going better than yesterday! My lo also likes the shower, lol, maybe it's because it's warm and we're relaxed? Either way, they wiggle all about in me too. I hope your class was a bit helpful, even if most of the info you already knew. I had never even held a baby until my first, so I can relate to the taking care of a baby class. Babies can be a bit intimidating at first, lol. Anxious to know how your tour goes as well, and the breastfeeding class.

afm - time change still has me going a bit earlier than usual, so everyone is still asleep and when I wake up to waddle to the bathroom I am always surprised it's not later than it is. I'm starting to get a little bit anxious about child birth, but I am trying to keep in my mind that I've done this before and I know how it'll be and to just take it one step at a time. My appointment is tonight, so I'll likely in for a few hours of sitting in the car in the dark lol.

 

[StarGazerRose]

I think the classes will help. Just curious to see how they will finish. One of the girls due date is the 6th (if i remember right) haha We're gonna finish a week before she's due.
I felt it funny that one of the posters the lady shown was the week I am. I'm still amazed at how "little" baby is.

 

[jessicaftl]

I always forget how small newborns are, it's amazing, dh was able to hold our dd in one hand (granted he has massive hands) and part of his forearm. He has kept a newborn sized diaper in a special spot and I found it a couple weeks ago when I was looking for batteries and I was like oh wow, they really are so tiny at first!

 

[dove830]

My smallest newborn was 8 lbs, 2 ozs, LOL! My last baby was born looking like a 3 month old....

 

[jessicaftl]

Mine have also all been over 8 lbs, but I suspect being on the IV plumped them up quite a bit, too, wasn't your last one like 11 lbs? My second ds was always in the higher percentile too, he loved bf sooo much and still does, (he's pretty excited for my milk to come back when baby is here).

 

[Sushai]

Stargazer glad to hear your classes have begun and that they seem to be going well. I’m sure things will really seem real once you have the tour, I mean the fact that birth is so close.

Dove and Jessica I don’t know how you managed to birth large babies, kudos to you both! Mine have been tiny, all between 5 and 6lbs and fullterm (this is something the MFM took into consideration with the twins growth). I feel you all on the anxiety of giving birth, although it seems like I won’t be getting a natural delivery I’m still nervous as I’ve never had a csection and it’s less than 3 weeks away, yikes!

Tomorrow I have a follow up growth scan. I’m really curious to see if there’s been a change from last time.

 

[jessicaftl]

Sushai - looking forward to your update about your scan, hope all is well and you're so close to the end as well. Fingers crossed you end up being able to birth them naturally without needing to do a c/s. With every pregnancy I also worry about having to end up getting a c/s so I understand those feelings too. I really don't know how I managed such large babies, but I can say my sister's boys have all been well over 9 lbs. I'm just hoping for a tear that won't be worse than 2nd degree.

Just wanted to check up on here before heading out, as it's such a long drive (about 1.5-2 hours) to this consult.

 

[dove830]

11 lbs, 6 ozs, haha....this one will be the same, I'm sure...

Saw my GP....still measuring 5 weeks ahead, so at least it's consistent. BP was high No swelling or headaches though. I also have a bladder infection, but I can't feel it at all :s

U/S and OBGYN tomorrow....hopefully my BP will be a little lower :/

 

[markswife10]

I can't believe how close we all are getting! I had my 35 week appointment today and baby boy is doing great still! I have had some itchies the past couple of nights so they drew a liver bile acid test to rule out Cholestasis (they said they rarely see it though, so more than likely it isn't an issue, but we'll see when the results come back in two weeks). My BS numbers are still good, and I'm measuring 34 CM, so my consistent 1 week behind like I have been all along pretty much. She did a cervix check and said it was closed, but she said baby boy is down LOW (she could feel his head). No wonder I always feel him on my bladder. He's a low rider lol. Anyway, they also did the group b strep test (not much fun, especially when you are already -TMI- dealing with pregnancy hemorrhoids). I'm on weekly appointments now! Just 4 weeks and two days from my c-section date! Woot!

Haha, talking about big/small newborns... it is going to be SO weird for me to have a normal sized baby! DD was only 1lb 5.9oz and 11.4" at birth, and was only 4lb 15oz when she came home from the hospital at almost 3 months old. So even a smaller newborn will look big to me lol! At this point, though, baby boy is likely already bigger than she was when she came home, haha.

Well, I've been doing some nesting. I deep cleaned all of our showers/bath tubs, washed/folded all of baby's cloth diapers (had to break out the stash I had with DD), organized his disposable diapers/wipes and other things on his changing table, got all his clothes washed/folded and ready for him, and have my hospital bag packed and in the car ready to go at a moments' notice. We also got DD her "big sister" gift for the hospital. We decided to get her a cheap digital camera that she can play with and take her own pics of her baby brother at the hospital. I think she'll have fun with it (she's 5) and it will give her something to play with when she's at the hospital visiting baby brother

 

[jessicaftl]

dove - sorry about the high BP, maybe stress or anxiety about things? And measuring 5 weeks ahead still, lol. Kind of anxious to see just how big this one will be for you as well LOL. Fingers crossed for your appointments tomorrow and seeing LO.

markswife - eek sounds like nesting has hit you big time. Good to hear your BS numbers are decent, too. I feel you on the hemorrhoids, seriously one of the least favorite things of pregnancy for me, sooo uncomfortable to deal with. Good that your LO is head down, too.

afm my appointment went well. I had a long wait as lots of people came in at the same time. Midwife didn't see where I wouldn't be able to have my water birth due to iron levels, so I'll talk with my regular mw about it this Friday when I see her! Baby is still head down, which I knew, and hb is going fine.

 

[StarGazerRose]

I know newborns are super tiny... I was given a set of premie onesies ... oh my goodness SO TINY!!! (I'm hoping i can at least attempt to use them, but might end up passing them to someone else) But in the end I've never held one.
When my nephew was born they were super protective of him, so i let grandparents and her sisters hold him rather than getting too close.
Hubby and I were both over 8lbs, so this little one will be too. I'm not worried about it, what I'm worried is how much over 8 Baby will be.

Sushai -- Yup classes are going well, just had our first one. I'm interested in the others cause they will have more information I don't know. Eager to hear about your latest scan too! I hope that things check out well.

Dove -- As long as your BP doesn't stay high and swelling doesn't show up, you should be fine. My BP has been spot on for all but 1 appointment thus far. (And honestly i can say it was cause i was anxious and they were using that stupid automated one - which i hate) Finished my pills for an infection last week! I hope it goes quickly for you.

MarksWife -- I'm glad your appointment went well! Good to know that you'll have a full term baby this round! And you are SO CLOSE! wow 4 weeks! So crazy! My numbers have been doing well. I have 1 day that my numbers are high--- and it's always after breakfast (which i'm following my carb amount -- and i eat the same thing ALL THE TIME) So i'm not too worried about that. Half the time i'm trying to make sure that i get more carbs than what she told me so that my numbers are higher (cause otherwise they are around 100

Jess -- That's great that they said you can do your water birth! So exciting!

 

[markswife10]

Jessica, I think it has, haha! Not a problem though, I want to be prepared when he gets here so I can just relax and enjoy him (and wrap some Christmas presents--we have all of our Christmas shopping finished too!). Ugh, hemorrhoids are the worst! Especially when they decide to itch in the middle of the night or just hurt when you are trying to walk around. Ugh! LO has been head down since at least my ultrasound (at 31 weeks) I think, not that it really matters since I'm getting an automatic c-section this time around (I had classical incision with DD on my uterus because of her prematurity). But at least he's prepped lol!

Star, I'm glad you are able to keep your numbers controlled too That's awesome! I know, I can't wait to have a FULL TERM baby this time! Eek!!! I've officially hit a big milestone to where they will deliver me at my local hospital and won't have to transfer me if he was to come at this point (before 35 weeks, they automatically transfer to the big hospital with the NICU where DD was born), so I'm glad to have hit that point, and it means MY OB can deliver (rather than whoever happens to be working at the big hospital at the time like with DD). As for the preemie clothes, I doubt your baby will be able to use them. Preemie clothes go up to 5lbs (DD was almost grown out of them by the time she came home at 4lb 15oz at almost 3 months old. Preemie clothes truly are for TINY babies...and to think they were HUGE on DD when they put them on her at first at a month old). I'm hoping DS will be small enough to use all the newborn stuff we have for him. I'd say there's a good chance since I was 7lb 14oz and DH was only 6lb at birth, and I've been consistently measuring a week behind the whole time (he was at the 40th% at my last ultrasound), so I really don't think he'll be huge by any means.

 

[jessicaftl]

Star - I agree with markswife about the premie clothes, I doubt they'll fit at all. I generally buy 0-3 months for a newborn, but it also really depends on the brand. I had no experience with babies until my first, it was really awkward just to hold him and talk to him at first. Just have to keep an open mind about it all.

markswife - yes, I know what you mean about the hemorrhoids, they sting when you walk or itch so bad. I responded to a post in the fb group about it yesterday. I think prep h works the best, I get them randomly, too. I got them postpartum and luckily baking soda baths helped relieve the itch but not the pain/discomfort otherwise. I, too, am thinking about Christmas. It's crazy that Thanksgiving is in like two weeks! With having a c/s hoping your recovery goes well around the holidays especially with how hectic they can get.

afm - sleep was quite elusive last night. It didn't help that I ate fast food and it messed with my bowels big time . I went from cold sweats to being just too hot and had those nasty sulfur burps. I think my bowels just don't agree with random foods much during pregnancy. This morning I feel quite dried out and hungry/weak. LO has been moving a lot because of it. I had a butt in my ribs and some really strong BH last night because of it all. I plan to just take it easy this morning, clean the kitchen after things settle, and try to relax. I am anxious to see what my mw will think of the notes from my consult last night. I was told nothing about getting an infusion, but was recommended a liquid iron made from fruits and vegetables, but at this point it seems it might not be worth it. Since the birthing center where I plan to have my water birth is literally across the street from the hospital I can be transferred if I have any serious bleeding after delivery, which is the main risk.