Magnificent Mamas (Closed Group)

Rachickidee

Happy Anniversary, yesterday! Looks like we have quite a few of us married this week! Your the 13, I’m the 17, and Julie is the 18. Anyone else get married this week?!

Not this week, but I did in June. June 27

AMummysLife

sorry double post from pregnancy!

I had a very weird apt. today so I am hoping some of you can help me sort through it. This may be long sorry. I went in, I gained 2 lbs in the last 2.5 weeks so at 32 weeks 3 days I am up 17 lbs. My dr. talked to me about my getting sick and told me that since I am gaining she isn’t going to make me do anything but gave me the option of getting a medicine pump and having a home health nurse come give me an IV daily…. I respectfully turned those down for now. Then she did the heartbeat, 156. Then she did the fundal height measurement and I measured only 29.5 weeks (which was the exact same as my 30 week apt). She was worried about that so she sent me over to get an ultrasound. She did say that the measurements can be off for SO many reasons and that the US measurement was way more accurate. So I got another US (kind of fun but I was worried the whole time), my fluid was good and at the end the gestational age was 33 weeks and 2 days…. A week BIGGER than she is supposed to be. So my FHM was 29.5 weeks, I am 32 weeks 3 days, and she measured in the US 33 weeks 2 days. WHAT? The technician said she looked great and that the dr. would look over it and unless something was wrong talk to me about it at my next apt. She was still a she and estimated to be at 4 lbs 7 oz which is the 48th percentile. She also had a big head measuring at 34 weeks… yikes. I guess it was just odd and I don’t know what to think, do you think they will move up my due date or leave it alone?

They'll most likely leave it alone. The furtherer along in the pregnancy the harder it is to determine the exact dates due to different growth patterns with each baby. I would imagine that you are probably carrying more in the back than the front and that baby is bigger than your size would indicate. I wouldn't worry about it though, hun. It is normal.

dragonfly74

I am going to try this once more and then I give up.

[img]http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i391/dragonfly8874/after photos/1-27-101.jpg[/img]


Okay this is nuts. I just created the account today and moved photos into the album. So how are they deleted or missing? Time to get the hubby to help.

AMummysLife

Wow, some very inspiring birth stories there and some awesome inspirational pics.

This is one of mine. I was about 17 at the time so taken about 10 years ago but it was at my healthiest weight.



I have a few from much later on in life before I got pregnant with my first baby but there isn't any that don't have other people in them.

MisdemeanorM

They sent us home today! It's too bad that that doesn't just mean he's healthy and done with all that, but at least he'll be bigger for the really hard stuff. He's pretty much a normal baby for the next few months - other than some meds, a shot twice daily, some follow up apts and a bunch of stuff to watch for...

I am sure I'll be a little paranoid. I didn't have any of that new parent anxiety with my first. I'll probably be checking on this one a lot more often! Glad to be out of the hospital. Spent the last 30 hours there. Plus since I am sure I'll need time off when he has surgery I went back to work Monday and am trying to pull full time. I was planning to take this week off but between that and hubby's current lack of a job I can't afford unpaid off. It's not bad, but I have a feeling I'm going to be exhausted! Here's hoping gabriel sleeps a ton!

dragonfly74

Sorry Mel, I must have missed something. I had no idea your little guy has had problems. I haven't been on the pregnancy board in awhile so I didn't see any of your other posts.

Glad you are home and I will keep your family in my prayers.

MisdemeanorM

Yeah. He was born w no pulmonary artery and has a hole in his heart. Incredibly, they are going to build him an artery out of secondary veins that developed to oxegenate his lungs. Initially we thought he'd have to have open heart surgery this week but they're waiting until he's bigger. Also incredible they can operate on a 6 lb baby and a heart the size of a walnut!!

AnneElise

Annabelle- Thanks for sharing your story. Wow! Esca is a cutie!

I love seeing everyone’s motivation pictures… it makes me want to start now! But 8 more weeks!

Sheri- I am sorry that you are having a hard time. We are here for you and miss you when you aren’t around a lot!

Ronya- Glad you in-laws came for a visit! Hope you had a nice time. My DH’s grandparents stopped by last night on the way to FL. It is always nice to see them.

Patricia- Thanks for the advice, that seems to make sense. I got no call from the dr. so I am guessing that the US looked fine. I am not going to worry and just assume she is as she was before the apt

Mel- So glad you get to go home, your little man will still be in my T & P

ron2282

I loved seeing everyone motivation pictures – we’re a hot group of mamas! :bigsmile:

Mel – yea for being home! The hospital wouldn’t have sent him home if he wasn’t well enough, but I would be a wreck too. You’re both in my thoughts and prayers.

My in-laws made it to town at about 1am last night. They said they called us but our phones didn’t ring and there were no missed calls, so they ended up staying at a hotel about 10 minutes away from our house. I feel bad, but we talked to them right when their plane landed and they still weren’t sure if they were staying in NJ for night since it was so late. When they didn’t call we assumed they would come this morning. So I won’t see them until I get off work today. My mom invited the four of us down for dinner tonight, so I'm going to meet them there when I’m done working. I guess it’s not too big of a deal since they’re staying with us until they leave on Tuesday, then they’ll be back again in December. I love that they’re giving us two months to adjust to life with baby before they come back again, even though it’s killing my FIL because hubby is his only biological child so this is his first grandchild.

brittonymiller

Oh I love the motivation photos! This one is actually from October. I had lost about 30lbs using MFP and felt pretty for the first time in a long time. I think I got pregnant a week later. haha. I've gained all of the weight I lost since becoming pregnant... plus some. So my goal is to get back to prepregnancy weight, which would be somewhere between 165 and 170.

tahmed

Hi Ladies,

I still need to catch up on all the posts, but I thought I would write a quick message while Ethan is naping. Things have been a bit rough here over the last couple weeks. I think we FINALLY have Ethan settled down from his colic. It literally made doing anything other than focusing on him impossible. We ended up figuring out that he cant seem to digest my milk...at least when he has my milk 100% of the time it makes him miserable. So he is now on 75% formula, 25% brest milk. He is a totally new baby, and things are finally settling down. However, now that things are calm, I am not so calm. I flat out asked my husband last night if he thinks I am depressed and he said no. We are both just struggling with the changes in our life. We both are very active, always on the go people, and life has slowed down a TON for us, but expecially me. Being at home all the time is difficult for me, and with Ethan's colic, I was almost a prisioner in my own home for weeks on end. My husband is leaving for a business trip on Thursday and will be home Sunday night. I have a lot of anxiety over being alone with no help for several days & nights. Should be interesting.

Anyway...I am starting to gain weight, after my intial loss, so I am going to start trying to log my food again, and to go for a walk with Ethan as much as the weather allows.

Well...off to catch up on all the past posts. I cant believe how many people are getting closer to meeting their little ones!

Editied: Mel - I just read about your little one. You are all in my thoughts and prayers!

joonzgurl

We are a hot group of mamas!!!

Mel- So happy Gabriel get's to come home! Are you guys calling him Gabe or by his full name? I can understand how it would make you paranoid, and it sounds like you are going to have a lot on your shoulders... be kind to yourself! Just out of curiosity did you have any ultrasounds? I know they looked at the heart a lot when I had my ultrasound, I am wondering if this is something that they would know for me before my baby is born?

Tahmed- I'm sorry it's been so hard! Cholic sounds like it would be awful to deal with. If you think you could have post partum depressionI please take it seriously! It could just be a case of the baby blues and natural due to the massive changes in your life. I feel for you, especially with hubby going away. Is there anyone else who could come by and help you? Friends, family? Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it.

Annabelle- Thank you for sharing your birth story- you are awesome!!

Soon2Bfitmamaof3

Annabelle- such an amazing birth story! Thanks for sharing

Bethe- You’ll be back there

Mel- So glad Gabriel got to come home, hope he lets you keep up on the work and such. Is hubby helping out since he’s home?

Amanda- glad you found a way to calm Ethan, I have been depressed lately.... hubby may say you're not but I think it is worth figuring out on your own. Remember only you know all of your thoughts and feelings and so he may not see it. My husband thought everything was fine and dandy until I told him straight out that I am depressed and that it has been spiraling downward since I had the baby....birth control made it worse. Hubby thinks I can just "snap" out of it but unfortunately it does not work that way. I am here if you want to talk about it.

Thanks for all of you kind words, they REALLY mean a lot to me since I pretty much have hid this from people in my real life. I had a full on panic/anxiety attack last night that lasted about 1 1/2 hours and I cried the whole time while hubby tried to cuddle and comfort me. Oddly enough I feel a bit better today compared to yesterday.

I must agree we are a great looking bunch and will get to those points together.

MisdemeanorM

Mel- So happy Gabriel get's to come home! Are you guys calling him Gabe or by his full name? I can understand how it would make you paranoid, and it sounds like you are going to have a lot on your shoulders... be kind to yourself! Just out of curiosity did you have any ultrasounds? I know they looked at the heart a lot when I had my ultrasound, I am wondering if this is something that they would know for me before my baby is born?

Hubby doesn't like Gabe, but I told him when he picked it that he'd have to be OK with me using it because I'm lazy and when he's older won't call his full name every time :laugh:. But for now it's Gabriel. Actually... Gabriel and Buck. I don't think my son is going to call him anything other than Buck so it's sort of stuck, at least on the internal family nickname side.

I had 2 ultrasounds. One at 18 and one at 21. The one at 18 I dont think they were looking for anything really detailed, since it was just to evaluate him before my back surgery. The one at 21 I remember it took them about 20 minutes to get the pictures of the heart, but they didn't see anything off in the scan. I dont know if VSD (the hole) is hard to see and in his type his ventricles are fully formed. In other varieties it comes with an underdeveloped ventricle which is easier to see (but also a worse thing to have). They said that the missing pulmonary artery is the most commonly missed congenital heart defect on ultrasounds. It's not common though so that's probably why. I'm not sure how uncommon it is though because pulmonary atresia includes / means not having a pulmonary artery valve - he has the much more rare version of no artery at all. They will probably grab his ultrasounds as a learning tool to see what could be caught in the future. I'm not sure if knowing in advance would be any easier or not. You'd still have the same shock and reaction of not knowing if he was going to be alright or not. Actually, this way we had one really awful day of not knowing, I think that 20 weeks of not knowing what condition he would come out as might be worse. I mean, we could know all the stats on successful surgeries etc, but we wouldn't know if he'd be able to breathe on his own etc.

brittonymiller

Sheri- I'm sorry you are feeling depressed. It's good that you are willing to address it and work toward fixing it. I think I would be in denial or something at first. My family is the "you'll snap out of it" kind of group too, so I can understand you needing to talk about it more here. If stopping with the pill doesn't help are you going to be talking to your doctor?

Amanda- So glad you found a way to calm Ethan's cholic. I hope Emma doesn't turn out having cholic. It's just one of those things you have to figure out, I guess. I'm glad I'll have you ladies for advice if it comes to that.

I realized I've been neglecting this group quite a bit. I hope you don't think I'm ignoring you. I guess I just sorta figured you would read my updates on the other board if you were still following it. Then I realized I wasn't responding enough to your updates on this board. Terrible I promise this will be my main board once the little one pops out!

ron2282

Amanda – I’m glad you found something to help Ethan’s colic but I’m sorry you’re feeling so down/stressed lately. I still have a hard time imagining what an adjustment it’s going to be to after Kathryn is born. Hopefully it will get easier for you since he’s feeling better now, we’re all here to listen anytime you need to vent.

Apparently a lot of the women in my family suffered from post partum depression. I mentioned that I was worried about it the last time I got together with my cousins and they all started to tell me their stories. Thankfully it was never anything severe with them. I think I’m so worried because I have all these ideas and expectations about what it’s going to be like when she’s born and I’m so afraid that I’m going to have a hard time if things don’t go like that (I’m a bit of a control freak). But in my head I know there’s no way to plan for something and I’m just going to have to go with the flow when the time comes but it’s much easier said than done.

Soon2Bfitmamaof3

Sheri- I'm sorry you are feeling depressed. It's good that you are willing to address it and work toward fixing it. I think I would be in denial or something at first. My family is the "you'll snap out of it" kind of group too, so I can understand you needing to talk about it more here. If stopping with the pill doesn't help are you going to be talking to your doctor?

I actually would not talk to my doctor, I have gone in for counseling when I was much younger and they are too quick to medicate. I had this problem before and it was caused by birth control so hopefully I can get it out of my system soon. I came to terms with it after many weeks of denial and thinking oh its because I have 3 now, oh its because moneys is super tight, oh too much on my plate at work. I finally just had to stop making excuses and accept reality, I feel much better than a few days ago already.

Any luck with Ms. Emma flipping?

brittonymiller

No luck yet. She seems to really like the position she is in. We have another appointment on Monday with my doctor to be sure. Then it's the flip attempt on Tuesday.

Ronya- I am worried I might experience a little sadness post baby too. As I said on the other board, I'm going to miss having her all to myself. Plus I feel like I'm a control freak too and I am nervous I'll get a bit too overwhelmed with all of the visitors. Since we don't live near any family or friends, they'll all be staying in town for extended periods of time. They are all attempting to reserve dates and it feels like we will have visitors constantly for the first two months. I just don't know how well I'll do with people constantly being around. I want alone time with my new family, but I feel bad keeping the baby from anyone since it'll be the first grandchild/niece on both sides. I'll have to find a way to be open and honest when I need space because I really don't want to have a meltdown in front of in-laws. That's another thing. My MIL seems to insert her opinion on how we should raise our child a bit too much already and the baby isn't even here. I really don't know how I'm going to handle someone telling me how to be a mother. Advice can be much appreciated, but she is kind of pushy about her way and how her two boys turned out great because she was so awesome. That sounds way worse than it really is, but it's how I feel sometimes. So yeah. If all of those things combine I could have some serious mopes. Hopefully they will all be manageable.

LittleSpy

Okay ladies, Publix just paid me $1.81 to take a 4oz Playtex drop-in nurser bottle from them. I had already gotten a 4oz one along with a box of drop-in liners for free from Publix a few months ago.

They're normally $3.29 This Publix had them on close-out priced at $1.19. I had a coupon from Publix for $1 (in their Summer Savings booklet available at the front of the store) and a $2 off coupon from Playtex so I got to use both for a total of $3 off a $1.19 bottle. I love making money taking that way!
Here are links to what were a couple of printable coupons for Playtex products. I've already printed all mine so I can't tell if there are any available for other people or if it's just telling me there are no prints left because I've printed all mine already:
$2 off: http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=yfomeyo45391320&bt=wi&o=81556&pt=&lang=&ws=&ct=&ci=&cl=&cp=&eb=1&c=PL&p=148785&z=&r=&pc=&tc=
$1 off: http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?bt=wi&tqnm=zlrradj80909573&o=79030&c=PL&p=LutlY2k1

Also, today only, you can scan your CVS Extra Care card at the little red coupon printer/scanner in the store and it's printing coupons for 99 cent 12 packs of Pepsi or Diet Pepsi. Apparently it's only printing for some people though, but if you need something else at CVS today, don't forget to scan your card to see if the coupon prints. It did for me!

mwilson1018

I love Publix, I wish I had one near here! That's where my family shopping when I lived at home (high school). Going to catch up later...need to shower now while Annabelle is sleeping :laugh: You learn to schedule things around naps......

jw17695

I need suggestions on how to fix Aubrey's diaper rash. I've tried just about every cream out there (A&D, Desitin, Boudreaux's Butt Paste, Dr Smith, Lansinoh baby, plain Vasaline, & Triple Paste) and none of it has helped. What else can I do?

dragonfly74

Oh boy we are in major meltdown mode here in this house.

Husband works from home and sometimes it makes it hard because he sits here while I discipline and listen to a crying baby in the background.

My oldest has really started acting out and I finally am putting my foot down. Time to follow through with punishments instead of just threatening them.

Yep, I have had quite a cry fest this afternoon.

MisdemeanorM

I need suggestions on how to fix Aubrey's diaper rash. I've tried just about every cream out there (A&D, Desitin, Boudreaux's Butt Paste, Dr Smith, Lansinoh baby, plain Vasaline, & Triple Paste) and none of it has helped. What else can I do?

Try Ammens powder. It's in the foot care isle at CVS or Walgreens or on of those stores, or you can get it online. It's the same active ingredient as butt cream, but it's a powder so it's easier to put on a bleeding, raw bottom. Not an overnight cure but it worked well for me with my first.

MisdemeanorM

Husband works from home and sometimes it makes it hard because he sits here while I discipline and listen to a crying baby in the background.

Sounds like my house except hubby often annoys me by sitting and watching TV while I am working and dealing with the boy.

mwilson1018

I need suggestions on how to fix Aubrey's diaper rash. I've tried just about every cream out there (A&D, Desitin, Boudreaux's Butt Paste, Dr Smith, Lansinoh baby, plain Vasaline, & Triple Paste) and none of it has helped. What else can I do?

Annabelle has had one for the past 2 weeks now...Dr said to use plain Vaseline, but it's not getting any better. It's not bumpy or open, it's just red splotches, but I definitely don't like it!! If you find something that works let me know!

mwilson1018

Mel - I am so glad Gabriel is home!!! Take care of yourself and your LOs. Will keep praying for you both!

brittonymiller

My friend's pediatrician told her to dry off the baby's bottom using the cold setting on a hair dryer before putting the diaper back on. She and one of her friends do this religiously now and don't ever have diaper rashes. I don't know if that is just for prevention or if it can help an already existing rash, though.

AnneElise

Sorry ladies I have no advice about helping diaper rash... but I did just get very excited thinking that in a couple months it will be something I have to think about! :laugh: Wierd how those things are exciting.

So we have been trying to do some investing in properties this year and none of the ones we have offered on have gone through (usually we won't go up to their price or because of inspections), we have decided to look a different route and purchase in the metro detroit area. (We live in Chattanooga but are from Michigan). We have found some good houses and we are going to talk to a mortgage person today. The market is SO low there. We will see how that goes, I like this option because it is very low risk compared to some of the others my DH has wanted to do.

AnneElise

Bethe- Sorry about the meltdown :grumble: I wonder if it is an attention thing from your older one. Sounds like you are making all of the right moves!

AnneElise

Hi Ladies,

I still need to catch up on all the posts, but I thought I would write a quick message while Ethan is naping. Things have been a bit rough here over the last couple weeks. I think we FINALLY have Ethan settled down from his colic. It literally made doing anything other than focusing on him impossible. We ended up figuring out that he cant seem to digest my milk...at least when he has my milk 100% of the time it makes him miserable. So he is now on 75% formula, 25% brest milk. He is a totally new baby, and things are finally settling down. However, now that things are calm, I am not so calm. I flat out asked my husband last night if he thinks I am depressed and he said no. We are both just struggling with the changes in our life. We both are very active, always on the go people, and life has slowed down a TON for us, but expecially me. Being at home all the time is difficult for me, and with Ethan's colic, I was almost a prisioner in my own home for weeks on end. My husband is leaving for a business trip on Thursday and will be home Sunday night. I have a lot of anxiety over being alone with no help for several days & nights. Should be interesting.

Amanda- We miss you! Colic sounds awful, it sounds like you are doing a great job. We are here for you if you need anything!