June & July 2020 Pearls & Rubies!

[kittykat7210]

It's been pretty quiet in here how is everyone doing?

Okay ish, still struggling to gain any weight, and my fundal height is well below 10th percentile but baby seems okay and midwife not worried.

still struggling with girl names, but hospital bag is packed for baby it’s just me left to pack for. Braxton hicks are getting increasingly more frequent and occasionally painful but cervix still feels relatively shut so that’s good!

 

[MiissMuffet]

Okay ish, still struggling to gain any weight, and my fundal height is well below 10th percentile but baby seems okay and midwife not worried.

still struggling with girl names, but hospital bag is packed for baby it’s just me left to pack for. Braxton hicks are getting increasingly more frequent and occasionally painful but cervix still feels relatively shut so that’s good!

I'm glad things are going ok- did you have problems with your cervix not staying shut?

 

[kittykat7210]

I'm glad things are going ok- did you have problems with your cervix not staying shut?

Not problems exactly just worried because once I started contracting with my daughter I went from 0-10cm in 4 hours which for a first labour is very very quick! So I worry if I do start to get contractions at this early stage that I won’t have long to try and prevent going into full on labour, and especially being only 25 weeks it’s scary to think I won’t have time to get to hospital to prevent her being born so so premature

 

[Livvy]

Hopefully you don’t have any problems kitty! That is very fast for any labor, especially a first one.

miss, we went on a little vacation this long weekend but we’re back home now. All is good here. I finally this week started feeling baby up by my belly button instead of just down by my bladder. Hubby felt him/her too can’t wait till my kids can feel it.

 

[Livvy]

21 weeks

 

[wanna_baby]

Kitty, I know you never stop worrying but keep thinking positive that we’ll all make it to full term and have healthy babies...

@Livvy, that’s a lovely prominent bump at 21 weeks... mines just half that... I do at times worry I haven’t gained enough weight and bump is not big enough, hopefully my scan tomorrow will put my mind at ease...

 

[Livvy]

Thank you wanna. I always gain a lot during pregnancy, and I have no ab muscles anymore so I’m definitely popping sooner. Everyone’s bumps are so different and so lovely!!

 

[Heather.1987]

We always do sibling gifts when baby is born. Something inexpensive but meaningful.

When hadleigh was born, landon and hadleigh gave each other build a bears. So now when a new baby is born, like colton and kaylin...the older siblings make them a special build a bear stuffed animal.

When colton was born, he gave Landon a personalized super hero big brother book. And hadleigh a boy baby doll to represent baby colton. (And colton got a build a bear)

For Kaylin, the older siblings will make her a build a bear. And for hadleigh I'm thinking the girls will have matching big sister/little sister necklaces with the letter of their first name attached and their birthstone too. No clue on what to get the two boys.

 

[wanna_baby]

That’s so cute Heather... good to get the kids involved with the new baby like that...

I just came back from my scan... it went well... I do have an anterior placenta which explains why I didn’t feel the baby earlier... baby was very active and in a transverse position... I guess that’s side ways?? Which made it a bit tough for the tech... and I got the gender only about 80% confirmed in an envelope as my neice really wants to do a gender reveal for us which will be on my bday in a couple of weeks...

Sure am relieved that everything looked ok and Baby is active.... this makes it real!!!

 

[Nima]

So sweet Heather!

Wanna I'm so glad everything looks good.

We're also back from the scan and baby looks perfect, placenta isn't low anymore and generally it's all ok. Only thing is I seem to have a very high risk for preeclampsia so I'll have to do more scans to see that baby keeps on growing properly. I'm not too worried, I feel it's ok.

 

[Nima]

And a picture...

 

[Proserpina]

Let's talk baby showers.

I'm 2.5 weeks from the end of my 2nd trimester and so far, pretty much no one has offered to throw me a baby shower yet. My stepmother offered to throw one when she comes to Chicago in June, but she lives in Seattle and she's only coming out for about a week for the baby's birth. She's also in poor health. I appreciate her offer and would love to have her throw one, but I'm not excited about having a stream of people in my home when I'm a few days postpartum, and I'd be stuck doing most of the work anyways (at a very inopportune time) since she isn't local and is in bad health. I also don't want a bunch of people clamoring to see the baby when she's just a few days old.

I have no local family members or in-laws. None, whatsoever. My closest relative is a male cousin in Danville, and we aren't emotionally close.

I have plenty of female friends, but so far no one has stepped up. The woman at my church who threw my son's baby shower 7 years ago is in her 60s now and maybe not enthusiastic about doing it again.

So my thoughts are, I'm just going to throw this thing myself. I've made a list of 45 local women I could invite, and 1/3rd - 2/3rds of them would probably actually show up. Plus I bought a beautiful new 5-bedroom house last year and never had an open house, so it could be a belated housewarming as well.

I would ask one of my friends to run the RSVP list (and it's possible that when I mention my dilemma to her, she'll step up and just offer to throw the shower herself). But I figure if it's her name on the RSVP for the invitations, no one is really going to know that I was tacky and threw my own shower.

My husband and I make enough money to be comfortable, we aren't hurting for gifts or anything. We could buy every last thing on my registry tomorrow if we wanted to. I'm just craving the company and the event itself.

Thoughts? Yes? No?

 

[Heather.1987]

Obviously you can do what you want. My opinion is that baby showers are to shower a new mom with gifts. I dont care for baby showers after the first baby. I know people say each baby needs to be celebrated, but that's not what a baby shower is. You celebrate the baby with gifts after the baby is born! If someone is willing to offer, that's one thing, but normally it is someone else throwing the shower. I know there are other opinions on it, but that's mine.

 

[Proserpina]

Yeah I am definitely in the "a shower for every baby is fine" camp. The rationale used to be that there was no need for showers for 2nd/3rd kids because mom would already have baby stuff from the first kid, but that was back when everyone was having babies 1-2 years apart. My kids have each been 7 years apart, and have alternated genders every time, so of course I didn't have much baby stuff left between kids.

I also had a bridal shower for my second wedding. Granted, that was planned and thrown by my co-workers, but same rationale.

 

[kittykat7210]

I was under the impression that subsequent babies had ‘sprinkles’ which are different from showers as no one brings gifts, it’s basically a chance to reveal gender (if you’ve chosen to find out) and play games and have a bit of a get together but there’s no presents like you would get at a shower.

It might be different depending on where you’re from, and to be fair I didn’t even get a baby shower with my first so it doesn’t effect me at all!

 

[MiissMuffet]

I threw my own shower and hated that they are for gifts so I said no gifts and could everyone bring a plate of food instead. I think they are good for hanging out and playing games

 

[wanna_baby]

Ya where I am usually showers are for the 1st baby.... we had a lavish one for our 1st that was thrown by my close friends and family... for the 2nd, my close friends took me out as a surprise and got mommy gifts... although this baby is 6 years after, I still don’t want to do a shower...
just doing a reveal because my neice is insisting... even that I’m hesitant to invite the whole family cause I don’t want people to think we are expecting gifts...
the thing is both our immediate family alone will be around 25 people.... still debating on where to do the cut...

but like some mentioned, to each it’s own, you should do what you feel is right for you and Baby...

 

[Nima]

I have absolutely no personal experience with baby showers since here in Switzerland and also in Israel where I'm from it's simply not a thing.
But I do like it that you wrote why you want it, so I would try and make an event that fits those needs. Maybe invite good friends for dinner and games at home? Or an open house with people writing you their wishes for you and the baby in a special notebook?
I think you should do it if you want it, it doesn't matter who organised the party.

 

[zmzerbe]

I had a baby shower for my first but didn't for my second and won't have one for this baby either. My youngest will be 4 when baby is born and we gave everything away because we thought we were done, but we still won't get a shower. We usually allow close family and friends over for a lunch and to meet the baby when they are about a month old and people usually bring diapers and wipes and maybe some outfits.

 

[zmzerbe]

I had a baby shower for my first but didn't for my second and won't have one for this baby either. My youngest will be 4 when baby is born and we gave everything away because we thought we were done, but we still won't get a shower. We usually allow close family and friends over for a lunch and to meet the baby when they are about a month old and people usually bring diapers and wipes and maybe some outfits.