First Time Mommies Due February 2016 - Anyone Want to Join Me?

[panda fan]

xfadingpat: That's a really good idea to make the dress adjustable with lacing. Can't wait to see wedding pics!

We picked our nursery colors before we knew gender. We are doing a spring green with lots of modern looking black and white patterns (panda theme or course). My mom is making us a black and white chevron knit baby blanket.

For clothes, I have a lot of onesies "pinned" that are nerdy star wars, lord of the rings, etc, but I'm a nerd with that stuff so I would have got the same for a girl.

Pri and Jules, I'm in your camp. I'm a pretty average size but since I had the surgery on my stomach I've not had a flat stomach and it's kind of "fleshy" which makes it hard to tell difference between baby bump and just bloating/fat at this point. I'm def looking forward to my bump looking more pregnant and less on the just bloated side.

 

[PriandRafa]

Duster:
sorry you fell, and good you got to see your ob and check baby is fine!

Me personally, I am a very girly girl, I LOVE pink and I wear pink all the time!
So if I have a girl it will be very hard not to have her all "girly up"
I dont like the big thing with flowers on the head, so for me, this is a no no. But I just wont be able to have a girl or a boy and dont "girly up" or man "up". I think the boys outfit where they actually look like a man so adorable.

And I am with Jules, there is limit. Ok for clothing, but you dont have to buy the car seat, stroller, high chair all pink or all blue / green.
I actually am getting the car seat and stroller from a friend, the they are black with grey.

Panda: your nursery sounds lovely!!!

We are not sure what to do for the nursery yet, but we will wait to find out the gender first. What I'm a really "upset" is that we will make some changes on our apartment and what was going to be the baby's bedroom, will temporary (for I guess all 2016) the guestroom, and we will split a big room between nursery and office.
We will have all the grandmas staying a couple of months with us 1 each time, from birth until almost end of 2016, so it will be better for them to have their own room, rather than share with the office.

 

[Jules8]

Panda- That sounds really cute!

Pri- That stinks that you can't do the original plan, but I am sure you will make it work and it will be lovely. At least you will have lots of help through the first year!

So I went to my first trimester screening yesterday. They didn't offer it to me until late last week so they had to try to squeeze me in before I am 14 weeks since the screening can't be done after that. Well I was 13weeks5days and baby is measuring 14weeks1 day so we couldn't do the screening. I am happy we got a free ultrasound though! lol The only other option is the verifi so we agreed. Of course it includes gender so even though it wasn't my plan we will be finding out when we get the results back. We decided it will be our little secret til we have our gender ultrasound on Oct 1st...I will tell you guys though of course. lol I also get to to something fun to tell hubby since I will be the one getting the call. Any ideas??

 

[panda fan]

Jules, great ultrasound pics!! Very excited that you will be finding out the gender.

Just FYI I did end up telling close friends and family gender. Once you know it, it's SOOOOOO hard not to accidentally say he or she that for us we just realized it was easier to give in and tell. If you def want to keep it secret make sure they don't know that YOU know so if you slip saying he or she they won't think anything of it.

As for ideas . . . I thought about doing a surprise like that for hubby but we ended up doing secret envelope together instead since I got results at my appt instead of by phone.

My ideas though were to get a cupcake filled with pink or blue frosting and then give it to him. Or . . . to give him a small wrapped gift to open of a newborn onesie that said something like "daddy's girl" or "daddy's little boy"

 

[PriandRafa]

Hi Jules:

Yayyyyy second gender reveal of the group! when I read you were keeping a secret, I thought "oh Nooo" Thanks for the clarification we in the group will know!!! LOL I told you guys before I am super anxious!

Yes, it will be great if you get to find out early so you would have time to do buy something to tell hubby

I was thinking for my gender reveal, to purchase a cute little shoe if it is a girl or the cutest sneaker I would find if it is a boy. So that's an idea for you too! you give the box to hubby and once he opens it he will find out!

It just hit me I am on my 4th month! It is weird. It feels it is taking forever, but knowing I am about to be half way through my pregnancy made me think time is flying!

 

[panda fan]

Pri: I like the shoes idea. That's cute!!

I am excited to be in week 14 and rock solid in the 2nd trimester now. It is weird though to not be showing yet and it still feels too soon to buy much so I'm mostly just going about my day and practically forgetting (not really but you know what i mean) I'm pregnant.

Unfortunately, last night we took my cat the to the emergency vet and they couldn't stabilize her breathing so we had to put her to sleep. She was just under 4 years old but had a genetic heart problem we found out about last year. She has a brother we adopted with her who is now acting lethargic and confused that she's gone which is really hard to see. She seemed to be doing so well on the meds, that is was a bit of a shock to lose her suddenly although I'm glad she didn't suffer long. I've been trying to deal with the grief as calmly as I can for baby's sake, but being hormonal is also making it hard and I'm feeling a bit heartbroken at the moment.

 

[PriandRafa]

Hi Ladies, good morning

I hope you all had a great weekend

I was wondering if any of you placed an online order at Motherhood already.
I did place 1 order, and received some of my items, but found it interesting that these gift certificates were on the package.

Was wondering if you guys know if they are legit?

 

[thexfadingpat]

I'm so sorry about your cat, Panda.

 

[dustergrl]

Panda: so sorry to hear about your cat. Losing a pet is heartbreaking. I have two rabbits entering their elder years; seeing it and knowing what will happen is sad. We also got 15 chickens in May and I'm really trying to keep them in my mind as livestock.

Pri: I don't know about those certificates. I'd assume they are legit but would guess either the items or shipping would be outrageous. Can't say for sure though.

AFM: 16 weeks today with my 16 week appointment this evening! I'm finally being released from pelvic rest (got that news last week at the appt I had when I fell) and that is so exciting! Too bad it isn't during swimming season; that's all I wanted to do all summer! I want to do a facebook reveal, but have to figure out what I want to do for it. I have all these ideas and it most likely won't happen. We will see what I end up doing.

I am planning on bringing a bunch of herbal teas to my doctor tonight to see if they are safe during pregnancy. One is a cold and flu blend made locally, that is super effective during the misery of cold season. I also want to bring my cranberry supplements; I have a history of UTIs so it would be nice to prevent those.

I am slowly allowing myself to buy baby items. I have bought three outfits so far, and want to start doing the diaper stock-up soon. I feel so different than I thought I would in this pregnancy: when I'm around DH, he takes such good care of me that I love that we are having a baby together. When I'm alone, though, I'm almost in denial and (repulsed isn't the right word but it's along the right lines) by having a baby. Like I don't want it. Maybe I'm just not as ready as I thought when we started trying, but all I hear is "you're never ready". I also have body image issues which could be a part of it. I know that deep down, I want this. It means so much to me. These feelings are just a lot to deal with.

I also have to tell my boss this week that I'm pregnant. I go back to work on Thursday, and it's getting quite difficult to hide!

 

[thexfadingpat]

Dustrr- Im kind of feeling like you right now. I truly am super happy and excited to be having a baby. But there's times where someone will ask if FI and I are excited, and I feel like I almost have to force myself to say yes. I think it just hasn't fully sunken in yet that this is real.


I 'm trying to think up gender reveal ideas too... It's exactly 3 weeks until our private gender scan and I want a fun way to tell our families. But it's hard because our appointment isn't until 8pm, and I know we'll be eager to tell our parents right away.

 

[PriandRafa]

Panda:
your post shows before mine, but I guess we were writing at the same time and I just read it now... I'm so sorry for your cat... losing a pet is never easy
I hope you can feel fine soon and the cat's brother can get used to be without her...

Duster:
I think what you were feeling is completely normal!
I was trying for over 1 year when I got my bpf. I cried when we got them, and then right then, the question came: "What now? Do I really want this? Am I ready?"
In the sense that we are never ready, we will be more than ready when the time really comes!!

Relax to tell your boss! you are not the first woman to get pregnant and he will be fine with it!!!

Today I went to talk to my HR to see how the Maternity Leave works here

Fading:
Im also thinking about gender reveal.... I dont want to do a party, but I need to come up with something

Yesterday we went to see some baby stuff, cribs, etc. but still havent bought anything.. just the stroller with car seat and swing that I am buying from a friend, but Havent gone pick them up yet!!

 

[panda fan]

Duster: I understand how you are feeling. I have been trying for this 4 years!!! and yet I still have moments where I feel anxious wondering if I can handle the anxiety of caring for a child or I have thoughts that I won't be able to travel like I wish anymore and then feel guilty for feeling that way. Also, this early it's hard for me to feel a bond with the baby because I can't feel it and I'm not really showing. I went through tons of painful, exhausting treatment to get here and yet I still have these thoughts and I am definitely surprised. I thought I would just be so happy all the time once I was pregnant especially by 2nd trimester.

I think it's perfectly normal. It's still a HUGE life change and a lot of self-sacrifice to have a child. I also think that the bonding will come later.

It's especially hard for me right now because I'm feeling terrible grief over my cat and having trouble feeling excited about pregnancy and feel weird that I had a stronger bond with the cat than this baby inside me, but it makes sense. The cat and I had time to get to know each other. Baby and I are still waiting to really meet.

 

[panda fan]

Wanted to add (on a happier note) I think the shopping helps get us excited! It's fun to hear you gals are starting to buy stuff and research stuff.

I've done more research/window shopping than anything, but we picked up some paint color chips to start thinking about nursery wall so that was fun.

Excited to see how everyone handles their reveals and Facebook announcements!

I'm going camping in 2 weeks (I know . . . brave of me when I have to go to the bathroom all the time) and friends will def post pictures. I'm thinking loose t-shirts will still cover up any minor bump so it's safe to not announce yet. Wanted to wait until end of Sept.

Sorry, my posts are so long

 

[dustergrl]

Thanks for the reassurance, ladies. I'm glad to know I'm not alone in how I feel.

I'm home from my appointment; heartbeat was normal and we are scheduled for our anomaly scan: due to DH's uncle having a congenital heart defect, I will be having my scan at the local hospital on September 18. My OB said there is very little risk of a problem, but it's better to be safe than sorry. So glad things are going well so far.

 

[thexfadingpat]

I can't wait to start buying bigger items.
So far I've just gotten a few cloth diapers, some outfits, a car seat cover, and a baby blanket.
I think in November we will be buying the crib + mattress and travel system. Both that I want are from Walmart (where I work) and in November we have a "associate appreciation week" where we receive three 20% off an item coupons. So I figured it would be smart to use those on the three biggest purchases.

 

[panda fan]

xfadingpat: that's a good idea to purchase the big stuff when you have that awesome discount. I should start looking for coupons and sales coming up. Very smart.

Was planning to paint the nursery and start buying big items in November as well, but now family is coming for Thanksgiving so the guest room that is going to be the nursery might get used. I'm waiting to see if my brother wants to stay here or in the hotel with the parents.

There's a panda rocking horse on Wayfair that I'm totally itchy to buy. I get a big discount from them because I buy stuff from them for work projects. They have fun stuff and sometimes good deals.

When are the rest of you starting work on the big nursery stuff?
Has anyone figured out when their shower will be?

 

[PriandRafa]

Hi Ladies!

how exciting to talk about shopping

Fading, great you have a 20% discount, I would definitely wait for that!
I also liked a crib I saw at Walmart.

Panda, I think is completely normal what you are feeling about your cat and the "guilt" about not feeling the same love for the baby.

Once we are farther along, with no more feeling sick, baby kicking, a better picture on the ultrasound and nursery getting ready we will be ready to be MOMS!

And yes, you are brave about going camping!! I'm sure it will be fun, though!!!!

I wanted to see what kind of deals we will have now for Labor Day and then Thanksgiving. I'll probably buy something on Labor Day if I find it in a good price.

Well, being anxious the way I am, I announced on facebook as soon as we got our ultrasound at 11 week. So, I am already thinking on the gender reveal announcement!

Anyone going anywhere as a Babymoon trip?
We had a 3 day cruise booked since May for October, so this instantly turned into our Babymoon

 

[thexfadingpat]

I guess we're somewhat having a "babymoon"... It's our honeymoon.
We're taking a roadtrip to Banff, AB.

 

[AnnieMac2]

Oh wow - I have a lot of catch up. Hectic week.

Panda - My dog died last Monday, actually. And it was only 4 days after the cancer diagnosis that we had to put her to sleep due to pain. Kind of sudden. So I'm feeling your pain, Panda. I'm so sorry about your cat. I had my dog for 12 years and don't know this baby yet, so I totally understand what you're feeling. Big hugs to you. I hope your other cat acclimates to the new situation soon.

Duster - I also get what you're saying. A child is a big deal, so of course we'll feel overwhelmed or ambivalent sometimes. My pregnancy is very much wanted, but I do feel a little lost sometimes and not into talking about it. When I'm feeling excited, I go with it. If not, I try and let it go and try not to be too judge-y of myself. And yes, I'm familiar with the body image stuff. I had hip and foot surgery this year and was out of shape and at my heaviest going into the pregnancy in the first place. So it bothers me too. Also, I'm glad you're doing well after the fall and had a good check up.

Gender stuff - we have a blue nursery actually. It's just a pretty color and I would use it either way. At my scan yesterday, the tech said she really thought it was a girl, but "don't paint the nursery yet" because it was too early to be sure. But with that said, I absolutely love some of the "girly" clothes. I just buy what I like. Sometimes it's gender-neutral, sometimes not at all. My kids can dress however they want when they're old enough to voice an opinion. I don't want to sway them in any way.

Jules - cute scan

Where are you going on your cruise, Pri?

 

[panda fan]

Anniemac2: So so sorry about your dog. Big hugs to you, too.