Hello to everyone, how are you? I've been really busy lately and this thread is moving fast! The baby has been moving quite a bit lately and has gotten in a few good thumps. The other day I was showing my OH how my uterus is at my belly button and when I pressed down I felt the bump press back! Super freaky. I can tell where the baby is now as one part of my bump will be harder than the rest. Sunday night my belly was pointy on the right side! So odd.
I was promoted at work and I'm getting a 50% raise (that should show you how little I made to begin with!) so things are looking a bit up. I'll have 14 weeks of paid leave at 55% of my pay, so that combined with my vacation time should mean I'll take 4 months off.
Has anyone done a private ultrasound? We're thinking of doing meet your baby or prenatal peek since our families are losing their minds right now since we're not finding out the sex.
We went to our WIC appointment last Friday right after lunch an le when they weighed me I hadn't gained any weight. I'm actually under the weight they had listed by 6lbs but apparently three glasses of water, fries, and half a sandwich weigh a lot!! They chastised me gently for my lack of lbs but I just figure nothing I do will make them happy.
I have an appointment this Thursday so we'll see what the doctor says. It's my 20 week appointment so I have no idea what to expect since my doctor won't do an anatomy scan. I'm looking into switching but I haven't found a decent doctor in my area yet.
Congrats on the raise!!!
I did prenatal peek, loved the lady there. If I have the money I plan on going back for another package late march early april. I have a couple of friends who have gotten their 3D scans elsewhere and had a great time with it, too. One went to 4D miracles, I don't know what their packages are like. When I was looking for a 3D place one said horrible things about biggers girls on the website so I didn't even continue from there. I don't remember what they were called.
I have WIC too, I wonder what they'll say to me about not gaining, I've actually lost compared to the first weight they had for me. My next appointment is early Feb. Just around the corner when ya think about it. I'm hoping my weight kinda stays where it is, that way after the baby is born I'll already weigh less. LOL either way I'm not too worried about it, afterall I am pregnant. I won't go overboard with weight gain though...
I would definitely look into another doctor... yours doesn't sound very nice. =\
My leave will be the standard SDI starting 4 weeks before EDD - they adjust it if it goes longer, and 4 weeks after for a vaginal birth, 6 weeks after for a c-section. That's at roughly 2/3 pay. Then I go to Paid Family Leave right after for 6 weeks at 1/2 pay, then 2 weeks full pay (my vacation) -- roughly 12 weeks with the baby. My work doesn't have any maternity leave plans.
And, although there are great laws in California for pumping, it's going to be a bit difficult for me. I'll be able to pump before work, during lunch, and after work when I get home. Once I return to work I plan on nursing in the morning, pumping right before work, pumping at lunch, nursing/pumping around dinner time, then nurse at night. I won't nurse the baby after her teeth start coming in, but will still pump up until about 6 months (which ever comes first). Then we'll use up the milk supply in combination with formula. Before I go back to work I plan on EBF for 8 weeks and then start working on building my milk supply by pumping on the breast that baby isn't feeding off of when we're home. It's not the best schedule for breastfeeding, a lot of people say you need a routine or you'll dry up, but a lot of people also say that your body knows what to do, stay hydrated, keep good nutrition and do what you can. Kind of a go with the flow type of deal.
I'm getting a pump for free, not the one I wanted but it will save us money. My only concern is that it's an Avent pump, and while good quality they don't make different flange sizes, it's a standard 24mm that is too small for many people. Instead of having my nipples rubbed raw, and instead of forking out the money for the other one, I did some research on the internet and found these at https://www.pumpinpal.com. I watched the video and it totally makes sense. It seems that a lot of people loved their Avent or other pump but had trouble. The pieces that you get from these people engulf more breast tissue, stimulating it more. I'll be investing the $30 ish dollars in it.
Cheap for what it does. The person giving me the pump has sterilized it and is including everything, even BM storage, and the stuff for sertilizing it. I'm going to be using different bottles and most likely using the storage bottles to pump into and then transfer into bags, kind of a PITA but totally worth it, I think. I won't have enough room in my freezer to start freezing all of those containers... but easier to pump into bottles at work and move later.
That's my hopeful plan, who knows what will really happen.
Good to have in writing though.
she made a lot of comments about my weight lol. 
. I am really excited, but since I'm plus size I ONLY feel comfortable with you ladies seeing it.
