MissConfidence – Phew, take a breath!! Everything will be ok!! Sorry about your hands and wrists, I hope they start feeling better.

Sarah – Hi! I hope that you have a nice long weekend! Which match are you going to? I try to keep an eye on the footy, but don’t really keep up with it too much anymore! I hope the weather clears up for the weekend. My sister is actually over there at the moment as one of her best friends is getting married this weekend, so I’m looking forward to the choccy that she brings me back!! Hope you have a fabulous birthday!

Kelley – I’m glad your ultrasound went well and baby is measuring well! Sorry that the little one wouldn’t cooperate so you could get shot of his/her face. Good for you resisting the urge to find out! I thought about not finding out, but I’m so unorganized that I need to know in order to be able to prepare! The kids museum sounds fun! I’m glad your son had a blast, even if it was a bit run down. I want to take my son to the one here, but I’m a baby and hate driving in Atlanta, so we’ll have to wait and find a weekend that OH can go with us! I hope the transition to the toddler bed starts getting a little easier for you! I’m lucky that our transition went well with DS, but I think he may have been a little older than your son when we (finally!) put him in a toddler bed! Have a wonderful weekend with your friend and have a safe trip!

Amanda – I’m glad to hear that you are feeling better, and I hope the nausea tapers off soon. You made me lol with your ‘scary’ pics! I probably dislike 90% of all pictures that are taken of me! Hope your doctor’s appointment goes well and that you have a great last day at work!

Tara – How did the ultrasound go? Any sign of baby? I hope that all goes well

Melissa – I hope that you feel better soon and get your mojo back! I didn’t know you were allergic to gluten, I don’t know what I would do if I was! Are the gluten alternatives for bread etc., any good? I’m just going to the local technical college and I’m currently taking my pre-reqs to get into the LPN program. My plan is to start with my LPN, then hopefully do a LPN to RN bridge program in the future. You don’t think I’m overreacting about my titers then? I’ve been trying not to stress about it, but I had a rough day yesterday. The midwife said that the initial screening at the beginning of the pregnancy was negative, but I don’t think I had an antibody screening done, because they didn’t know I was Rh- until my first set of blood work. After that, the only blood work I had was at 20 weeks when they took blood after finding out about the choroid plexus cyst to screen for Downs Syndrome, then the blood work they did 2 weeks ago. Sorry to vent on you!

Destiny – I hope that Miss Olivia has a wonderful birthday and that you guys have a great weekend celebrating! Serenity is a cute name! I think we have finally decided on a first and middle name for DS#2, but we can’t decide which order to put the names in! We’re not telling anyone until baby has arrived either, because although I don’t care what other people think, I don’t want to deal with having to hear “I don’t like that name!”

AFM – I’ve finally got some exercise in the past 2 days, just 30 and 40 minutes on the elliptical, but I feel so much better for it and I’m hoping it will help me sleep better too. I’ve had a major sweet tooth so I picked up some chocolate cookies and cream frozen yogurt and sugar free popsicles (ice lollies for the Brit!) to help me out, because fruit and granola bars are just not cutting it!! I did make a no bake cheesecake the other day, and we demolished it! We have a birthday party to go to on Saturday and I’m reeeeeally looking forward to a slice of cake! Lol! And I wonder why I’m gaining weight like crazy!! I also finished my first 96 container of Tums today! Heartburn has been terrible this time around! I had it with DS too, but nothing like this! At least I’m getting lots of calcium I guess!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Emily
30w+2d

Hey Everyone! Had my 30 week appointment today. I have gained a total of 14.4lbs, so pretty happy about that. I am petite so my midwife said 20-25lbs is good for me. Baby girl is looking good too! I am still measuring a little small (only 27cm instead of 30cm), but they think she is only going to be a 6-7lb baby (I was only 6lbs when I was born) since her anatomy is right on track.

They gave me the green light to run my 1/2 marathon this Sunday!! Excited but yet nervous at the same time. Once that race is over I am definitely going to cut back on running... not sure I will stop completely until my body tells me to do so.

Thanks for the advice on the video monitors. I do think we are going to get one. I have been researching and really like this one: Motorola Digital Video Baby Monitor with Color LCD Screen, it has gotten some pretty good reviews on Amazon.

I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Monica
30 wks
+14.4lbs

Destiny – yay! Glad to see you here. I like Serenity a lot (of course I also like Quinn). I am also irritated with some family member’s perspective on the name we chose, so I know where you are coming from. Have fun at the zoo, and don’t forget if there’s a hotel gym you can get some time in there as well.

sas – Happy Birthday! No calling yourself old since if we have a 2nd I’ll be that age! Glad your pelvic region is feeling better. Enjoy the celebration and time off!

Kelley- You’re amazing for still not finding out the sex! I’m glad your LO is doing well, mine also gave us a hard time when we tried to US his face but I have a few cute profile shots so I’m grateful. I need a CSA but not sure if they do those where I live, at least I am still eating lot of organic fruits and veggies. Have a great trip!

Emily – thanks, some of the gluten-free stuff is good, like Udi’s bread, but the chewy pizza crust is hard to duplicate! I don’t think you should stress about your titers but your midwife needs to get it together a little bit and know exactly what your titers are. She should also order an RH type on the father of the baby. Congrats on getting more exercise in recently.

Monica – wow, I can’t believe how little weight you’ve gained! I am petite too but when my OB was going by her charts and didn’t know about the 6lbs I gained before seeing her she was giving me a hard time. I’m sure we really don’t need to gain that much, I am just impressed. Are you counting calories? Best of luck with your ½ marathon!

Stellcorb – I think you are doing great, your weight seems right on track! Sorry to hear you are passing on the support belt, I have been thinking about using something and will let you know if I do. I was trying to eat around 1800-2000 since I'm exercising but have been slacking on counting calories but plan on going back to it soon (see below).

AFM - Argh, we have been on the fence about moving and finally decided we'd do month to month renting after the baby comes cause our lease expires 7/1. However, we found out today that month to month will cost us $1000 more a month! So now we are trying to move by then (a week before my due date). Suddenly I'm a lot more stressed about having a home/nursery ready for my little guy and have been frantically looking online at places! I also weighed in today and gained 2 lbs in a week, which is a ton! My stomach also got much bigger! Didn't think I was eating THAT badly, still hoping it's amniotic fluid! So I will have to stop being lazy and start counting cals more strictly (or at least eating less) to try and maintain a little bit. Will start Monday though . Will be working all weekend, hope you ladies enjoy your time off though!

Melissa
31 weeks, +21lbs :noway:

Hi ladies! Am feeling better. The day I posted last I was feeling so anxious and stressed. I am a litle surprised that no one else seemed to relate.. I know I should stay positive and not dwell on worries but dont you sometimes feel overwhelmed? Especially for a first time pregnancy? There are days I'm super clear minded and am confident I will be a great mom and then there are days I'm freaking out just at the notion... Plus, none of my friends are at the married or baby stage, and I have a small family with no pregnant relatives to relate to. So do I feel unprepared? Yes, sometimes. But I think a lot of what I'm going through is being ready to transition from pregnancy to mom hood already and these 8 months have seemed like an eternity. 34+4

Hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Sarah – Hope you had a lovely birthday! Geriatric?! Don’t be so silly! Not sure what choccies my sis is bringing back, I’m not picky but gave her a few suggestions! Hopefully a Wispa though! I love Battenburg too because I love marzipan! You used to be able to find Chocolate Orange’s at Christmas time here, but I wasn’t able to find one this past Christmas and was a tad bit disappointed!!

Monica – Glad to hear baby girl is looking good! How did your ½ marathon go?

Stellcorb – How are you feeling? Hope the cold/sinus infection is clearing up. If you don’t want to spend a lot on a support band, have you checked Craigslist or Ebay? 20lbs sounds perfect, I wouldn’t worry about it! I have it set to gain 1/2lb a week which set me at 2000 calories. Sometimes I hit it, sometimes I’m under and sometimes a little over!

Melissa - Any luck with the house/apartment hunt? I cannot believe that they are going to charge you and extra $1000 for month to month!!!! I know month to month will typically cost you a couple of hundred more a month, but $1000?! That’s ridiculous! I hope that you are able to find somewhere soon.

Tara - I hope baby comes on their own before Wednesday! If not, I guess at least you have date that baby will definitely be here by. Good luck!

Missconfidence - I’m glad to hear that you are feeling better. Everyone handles things differently, but it’s normal to feel overwhelmed, you just have to remember that everything will be ok! You don’t want to cause yourself unnecessary stress!

Becca – Sorry to hear you had a stressful week, not too much longer until summer break though right?! Hope you have great week!

AFM – had a good time at the birthday party on Saturday and DS had a blast! It was an outdoor party at a park and it was about 90 degrees, so it was a tad bit warm! The weather had called for cloud cover and possible showers, but there was barely a cloud in the sky! Thank goodness there were trees for shade!

Hope you all have a great week!

MisssConfidence- Yes, I can relate! You should have seen my end of first/beginning of second trimester rants and raves. I've been SUPER stressed and had to get monthly shots of vitamin B12 to combat my depression. Hang in there. I keep telling myself that billions of women have done the same thing.

Running for 2- I'm super jealous that you've only gained 14 lbs! I'm up 32! Way to keep up your running. Way to go on the half marathon! That's my goal AFTER LO comes along. The furthest I've ever run is 8 miles. I have a lot of problems with my hips so I'm going to have to take it slow and build up to it.

MrsJax- Way to get back on the horse! I've fallen off a time or two, but I think it doesn't really matter so long as you keep on trying. Keep up the effort.

Tara- I hope your LO comes sooner rather than later! Keep us posted, please!

AFM: Last week was pretty good as far as exercise goes. I burned an average of 500 kcals, 4 days a week, and the other days I cleaned and worked in the garden. I haven't been getting on and logging my exercise or food, but I put it all on my calendar at home. I saw an old college roommate this weekend and we did the tourist thing in New Orleans. It was packed and crazy, but not too hot. I bought a hosiptal night gown that is super pretty and feminine, which will be perfect for nursing from an heirloom shop on the square. It has straps that unbutton so I just have to undo one side to nurse. People keep asking me what I need, but I honestly don't know. I've never had a baby before, so I don't know what I *need*. I have about 6 recieving blankets, two towels with 6 washcloths, 5 sets of sheets, diapers and more diapers, clothes ranging from 0-12 mo, wipes, car seats, and a bath. I know I need a stroller and a rocker, but other than that, I don't know what else I could need.
Only 8 more weeks to go. It went by so fast, but at the same time, I'm ready to have him OUT. I'm getting uncomfortable.

Happy Monday, ladies. Good luck with your weekly goals!
Mine: walk 4 days a week, do 2 WODs, drink 8 glasses of water/day minimum, and log my food. I'm so bad at logging. :ohwell:
Jalyn
31w5d

Here's a great link saying what fish we ladies should and should not eat during pregnancy

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/fishmercury.htm

Hi Ladies,

Destiny - Yes, I got my UdderCover from the website, I got a discount code where I only had to pay for shipping and so I order one and got breast pads as well which I never used.
A CSA - is Community Supported Argriculture it supporting local farmers by signing up to purchase there local produce and it gets delivered to a local point and I just pick up my share of that weeks crops. I joined one when my son was about 6 months for 8 weeks and loved it...the one I joined this time is 25 weeks and I did a fruit share as well so I will be able to get my fruit and veggies in no problem. As of late I have been baking my own bread so with those thress ( assuming I can keep the bread up) I will have my staples.
With my son I did find out the sex, I was pressured but also wanted to know but everyone kep saying how could I prepare or they help me prepare if I didn't know the sex so I found out and don't reget it....just wanted to try something different this time around.
- So sorry to hear the weather wasn't the greatest for Olivia's b-day party I am sure she still had fun either way..it's funny how we go through all the planning and prep and stress and the kids are happy just running around doing nothing special. Sorry to hear about the zoo too...I know that feeling of haing my son up half the night and then still having stuff to do the next day but with my son it's like he had a full night sleep so I end up being extra exhausted.

Jalyner - Sounds like you have a bunch of the things you need for a new baby. Seriously you are well prepared...I second the comment on not having enough nursing bras until after the I had my son so I had to go get some after a few weeks. Your hospital gown sounds really great...

Monica - Huge congrats on running a 1/2 in 3rd tri...it's hard enough to do one when you are not preggers...so I am super impressed and you had a great time too...considering you are with child...Go you!!! And wahoo for pre-natal pilates...

Emily - I am with you on the sugar binge but good job on getting back to the exercise. Glad you and the DS enjoyed the birthday party.

MsJaxx- Good for you on getting back on the exercise wagon...we all have bad weeks but sounds like you got back on the exercise track right away.

MissConfidence - We all have bad days...so I am glad you are feeling better this week. I am sure a majority of us can relate to the anxitey of being pregnant and then becoming a mommy...it's not something you can ever prepare for...but be rested assured as someone else said we are the not the first ones there are people who did with a lot less and did fantastic so you will do fine...somethings you can only learn through experience and being a mommy is in a large part one of those things. You can do it and what you don't figure out in advance you will figure out as you more practice and time...I am sure you will be great.

Melissa - Sorry to hear about your apartment predictament...I can totally understand. When I had my son, I was supposed to move into a house the month before, the contract fell through and I had already released my apartment so hubby I ended up in my MIL basement for about 3 weeks. It was extremely stressful and I felt like nothing would be ready for my son...And nothing was...but honestly all a newborn baby needs is it's mother and a few onises, diapers and of course a carseat. All the same I hope you all work out the housing arrangement because I know how hard it can be having everything up in the air and becasue an extra 1000 per month is just outrageous. Hope your work weekend wasn't too bad and you get a few days to rest this week.

SAS hope you enjoyed your b-day weekend.

Tara - as for the US..from what I know if the baby doesn't seem stressed and the mommy is ok I think they will let you go up to 42 weeks before inducing...but I know anything past 40 is agony. My son came at 41 weeks and it was all I could do not to try different things to get him out...hang in there hon...if nothing else baby will definitely be here in 2 days time.

Ok...think I got everyone...if not sorry I missed you.

AFM - my weekend with my girlfriend went way too fast...I had a blast...we stayed up late taking, I used the plane ride to read the first two books of the Hunger Games Triology ( so much better than the actual movie), I got to eat Indian, go the beach all beit at the lake which was way too cold and stayed up Sat night playing this games called Settlement of Catan ( board game)...ver addictive.. All too soon it was over and I was flying south to fly back north so ridiculous but still gave me lots of time. Of course when I got home my little guy was all smiles when he saw me and even wanted me to put him to bed and today we spent the whole day together and it was great...I must say as much as I enjoyed the free weekend...I definitley missed my guys, especially my son...he just makes things so much brigther but the traveling 4 hours with him on and off planes would have been too much for him really. Anyway, I am home now for the long haul...6 more weeks to go. Got a new dresser/changing table for the nursery last week...want to see if the hubs can sand it down so I can repaint it, I have some more clothes to put away and the master bedroom to organize...time is winding down. My mom is supposed to come for memorial weekend so we can do some gardening in the front yard and then cook a bunch of stuff and freeze it for the first few weeks...Wow this baby is coming so much faster than I rememeber my son's arrival...but I want to be as prepared as possible. Hoping to get in 3 workouts this week and really eat tons of fuit and veggies so that my weight doesn't creep up anymore...Hope you all have a marvelous Tuesday...will check in the PM becuase my son has an Am doc appt.

Kelley

33 w 6 days

Hi ladies,
It's good to hear you're all doing well - I'm still playing catch up on this board but I'm getting there.
Thank you for all my birthday wishes - it was a bit of a washout really as I was totally exhausted all day so we just chilled out. I wasn't allowed to lift a finger which is always a bonus!
Had my 28wk appt with midwife this morning and she took my bloods and measured me at 29/30 weeks so she's going to keep a very close eye on that! Going again in 3 weeks at 31 weeks.
DAREN'T step on scales! I just don't want to depress myself anymore! I was terrible all weekend and Monday / Tuesday too! Started healthy eating again today..... I need to get more fruit and veg down my throat instead of all these empty carbs and sweet (delicious) things!
I hope you all have a great week - happy hump day!
Love Sarah xox
28wks 2 days

Hello Ladies,
Wanted to post a quick check in and see how everyone was doing. Fighting the eternal cold still... thinking maybe I have aquired allergies during pregnancy b/c I've never been congested for this long before.
Looks like everyone is doing fairly well and I see a few getting back on the heathly eating track.... I did well w/ that for a couple of weeks but fell off again this week... but luckily still haven't had a spike in a few weeks so I'm holding at 23 gained w/ about 6 weeks left. FIngers crossed I won't gain much more!
Well, please wish me luck girls! I'm transitioning my 2.5 year old to a bunk bed that he will be sharing with his older brother this weekend. New room, new bed, no more crib... not sure how his going to take it but it's gotta happen regarless!
Also getting that nervous feeling as my due date creeps closer that I have too much to do and not enough time. Even though this isn't my first, we borrowed everything for Max so I'm not much better off on my second. I also have absuolutely no clothes yet for the baby. Not sure what I'm waiting for since I'm not getting a baby shower this time... guess I still have the fear that this may turn out to be a boy (only had 1 ultrasound and it was pretty clearly a girl, but you can never be 100%).
Have a great day ladies and if I don't get to post again before Happy Mother's Day!