*::~::*paif check-in 6/4/2014 *::~::*

DagnyDoo

Happy Wednesday Ladies! 
I miss you all (and am losing my mind sitting at home!) so thought I’d take the reins this week.

This is the place to share how you’re feeling, what symptoms you’ve been having, how your appointments have gone, u/s pictures, belly pictures, anything and everything!  And if you’re babies are already in your arms, tell us everything! J


QOTW: Outside-baby mamas: any advice to pass along to those of us still waiting?

Inside-baby mamas: any last minute pampering / stay sane activities planned?

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@Lyracelesti – is labor underway?!?  If so, good luck girl!  You’ve got this!

Sorry if I missed any updates!  Also, I’m really hoping my little guy is on the outside by this time next week.  If not, I’ll be happy to handle the check-in again, but otherwise the baton is up for grabs.

 

Outside babies!! Congrats mamas!

May 6 


@Curlylocks3 – 2 beans – Boy (Hugsy) /Girl (Mumble)

May 9


@Talon1126 – 1 bean - Caroline



May 16

@Sarah_Beth2005 - 2 beans - Anna/William



May 20

@C_A_Mag – 2 beans – Boy (N)/Boy (Q)



May 28

@KateKat8721 – 2 beans – Scarlett/Violet

@Msechick2– 1 bean - Samuel

May 30

@Letsgobowlingx – 1 bean - Gemma


 

 

Still cooking:

June 1

@Kmw722 – 2 beans - Team Blue x2 

June 3


@KJohnson1002 – 1 bean - Team Blue



June 4


@Bhead81 – 1 bean - Team Pink



June 5

@CrysW08 – 1 bean - Team Pink


@StacyH0507 – 2 beans - Team Blue x2



June 7



@Jaybe11 – 2 beans - Team Pink x2



June 8


@Lyracelesti – 1 bean - Team Blue


@Whoberry – 1 bean - Team Blue



June 10


@Twistsandturnsto2 – 1 bean - Team Green



June 14


@PressLove - 1 bean - Team Pink



@DagnyDoo – 1 bean - Team Blue



June 16


@Gmc222 – 1 bean - Team Blue



June 18


@Chrissy1013 – 2 beans - Team Blue x2



June19


@BrendaW09 – 1 bean - Team Blue


@Danischn - 1 bean - Team Green



June 20


@Stacy&Andrew – 1 bean - Team Blue


June 21


@Becomingmommyagain – 1 bean - Team Blue



June 22


@Lucreciac – 1 bean  - Team Green



June 24


@FutureMrsW9 – 1 bean - Team Green
 

@Cinnomanrollcupcake - 1 bean - Team Pink



June 25


@LadyMacaron – 1 bean -- Team Blue



June 27


@Nancy1250 – 1 bean - Team Green

PressLove

DagnyDoo- Thanks for doing the honors this week!

I'm 38 weeks and it appears I'm on track to make it to 40.  My only issue is the lightening pain in my hips.  Since it comes and goes, I can deal with it.  Still trying to savor the last days of pregnancy.

QOTW: I'm glad you mentioned pampering.  I'm going to make an appointment for a massage ASAP.  Tomorrow, I'm going swimming.  I want to feel weightless for a while.

becomingmommyagain

Hi All!
I'm still hanging on, by a thread...but I'm still cooking.  Appt last Friday was at 3cm and 40%.  Contractions saturday had gotten to 6mins so we went to L&D on Doctor's advice, only to be monitored for 5 hours and sent home due to no progress.  Doc said to wait until 3-5 minutes or extremely painful, water breaks, or bright red blood.  I feel like I'm constantly counting!!  At the hospital they did a growth scan and determined LO was 7lbs10oz +/- a pound and I have excessive fluids... I'm getting really nervous about D day now just because of his size.

Have had lots of pelvic pressure and during contractions I swear LOs head/shoulder is being jammed into my hip socket making it near impossible to walk and extremely painful. 

QOTW - there is no keeping calm or distracted.  We've got so many balls in the air we switch back in forth between "GET THIS BABY OUT NOW" and "if he'd just wait til Saturday that would be great".  The teenagers are now out of school, the countertops will be coming in the next hour, and we have a great 36 hour window that would be awesome if LO decided to join the family.  So, I'm hoping after 5pm today but before 8am Friday....or not until after 10am Friday because DD needs a ride to work!  But other than that...

twistsandturnsto2

Hi all! Can't believe we already have so many outside babies enjoy those snuggles mamas!
All is relatively quiet here. 39 weeks now, still at 3cm, and my nightly contractions have picked up to an all day thing. But there is no rhyme or reason to them yet, and that part is getting terribly frustrating! We did get an u/s yesterday at our appt since one of the OBs was concerned about my lack of weight gain/small measurement but baby is perfectly fine. He or she is measuring in at 7lb 3oz and fluid levels look good so I guess I am just ALL baby since I've only gained about 10 or 15 lbs, crazy!

H and I are both off work now, just sitting at home waiting so there is plenty of relaxing. We have had a walk on the beach, an afternoon movie, lunch out together. Now we are just sort of out of ideas and ready for this to happen, lol!

BrendaW09

38 weeks tomorrow.  Things are pretty much the same here as last week.  I don't think I've really had any contractions although I have had increased menstrual like cramps.  I have an u/s tomorrow for a growth ultrasound, since I was measuring a little small last week followed by my weekly appointment.  I am hoping that all is well with the u/s and that my blood pressure is lower (it was on the borderline of being high last week) and interested to see if they will do another cervical check since I was completely closed last week. 

Otherwise I am so ready for him to come.  The semester ended over a month ago so I've been off of work/teaching for too long without a baby to keep me busy.  DH gets back from his last business trip tonight so anytime now I'm ready. 

QOTW: Got a pedi yesterday which was amazing and overall just relaxing. Everything is ready to go, everything is clean so I don't have anything I need to do so I'm just trying to relax.

curlylocks3

Mumble and Hugsy are doing well! As of Friday Mumble was 5-1 and Hugsy 6-6, we go back Friday for a repeat check. Things are going mostly well here, just loving the snuggles and cuddles. We still have house guests...looking forward to some downtime of just "our" family though. I'm hanging in ok- resigned from my job yesterday which was incredibly hard to do but I know it was the right decision for all of us so feeling a little better about it today.

QOTW: advice? I wish I had some...for postpartum stuff I guess stock up on Dermoplast to use post delivery? Sorry, my brain is gone!

DagnyDoo

@curlylocks2 -- 5-1 and 6-6 -- how wonderful! I can't blame you for being ready to get your house back and just be the 4 of you.  Hopefully soon!  Congrats on resigning, it must be such a weight off now that it's over.

@brendaw09 -- hurray for DH getting home! And for LO for waiting for him!

Seems like a lot of us are in the same waiting boat! As of yesterday I'm 3cm / 80%.  We went to L&D about 10 days ago when I was having contractions about every 5 minutes, but got sent home because they weren't strong enough and I wasn't progressing.  Since then nothing timeable, but I keep going to sleep at night hoping to wake up in a puddle. I wish the OB would stop telling me that I'm not going to make it to my next appt -- it's such a tease!

QOTW: I just treated myself to a full spa mani and pedi, including extra massage and a salt scrub. I will summarize the experience by saying I can see my ankle bones!! If the tale is true that a foot massage can send a girl into labor, I think I may have a chance!

CrysW08

I'm so excited for those of you who already have your babies!
40 weeks here & my cervix was still completely closed at my appointment today.. Will go on Monday for a NST & ultrasound & I guess if all is still well, I'll just be induced later in the week. Of course I'm hoping so hard to go into labor on my own but I haven't had one single contraction yet!

The only thing I'm doing now is trying to walk as much as possible and keep my house super clean.

becomingmommyagain

Hi ya PAIF Ladies!  I'm confirming Lyracelesti is in Labor!  I've started her thread and will update as I hear from her or her DH!  

whoberry

Hey ladies! Still cooking here and still working. Unfortunately I am sick now too which sucks. Hopefully it's just a cold but I hope I don't go into labor until it clears up. My appointment is not until Friday and I have not had any cervical checks or contractions. Just a few BH here and there.
QOTW : We are both working and dealing with DH's mom's illness so that's keeping us really busy.

katekat8721

Hey girls!

It's 3AM here and the krakens aka starving babies have awoken lol. The babies are slowly going back into milk comas though hehe.

The girls are doing good but are very slow to gain weight (despite feeding them constantly!). We're still supplementing but my life right now revolves around nursing, feeding, bottles, pumping sprinkled in with giving them lots of kisses and loves. Hubby handles the diapers

They're a little over one week old now (holy shit) and both hubby and I have fallen into the roles of parents very easily. We've been waiting forever for them! I've become one of "those moms" and constantly post about my kids on FB (facepalm). There's a lot of moments that make your heart melt as a new mom, like hearing your babies cry for the first time and having them stare up at you adoringly as you feed them, but my absolute favorite is skin to skin snuggle time in the morning. They're so warm and squishy and both you and baby are in absolute heaven just snuggling together.

The c-section recovery is going better than I thought it would but there are still "zingers" and stuff now and then. I'm going to work on my birth story soon but ya know, need appropriate GIFs and all that lol.

Advice... definitely take as much from the hospital as you can like CAMag said. Expect your hormones to crash a few days after birth, just ride it out because it's only temporary. If you have hubby's help, try to get on a schedule so you're not both awake 24 hours. The thing keeping us alive right now are our "shifts"... hubby sleeps from 8pm - 2am while I watch the girls, then I sleep from 2am-8am. We each get a solid 4-6 hours (I know, that sounds like so little but it's amazing I swear haha). Always accept help in the form of food, and remember to eat because it's hard.

I seriously cannot wait for you all to have your babies. Ah, it'll be so awesome!

katekat8721

Oh other randoms I didn't know until this week...

- Aquaphor is a good friend. It helps with any diaper rash issues but it also makes it easy for baby poo to be cleaned off baby butts.
- Aden & Anais swaddle blankets are worth the money.
- Glass bottles are awesome because they're easy to clean, warm up, etc.
- Having "let down" feels kinda like someone pouring cool water over your chest. Take burp cloths with you around the house, not just for babies, but for your boobs. Hearing your baby cry is a powerful thing, and you'll be laying in bed or just about ready to jump in the shower and all of a sudden you're leaking. Kiss and snuggle the heck out of your baby before you nurse/pump and it'll speed up the let down process. Plus, baby snuggles!

curlylocks3

I should have included in my update that Mumble does a kickass imitation of a velociraptor, even in her sleep. Seriously, you can be at the other end of the condo and it's unmistakable. Makes me think of @katekat8721 every time!

More advice now that I have slept:
- bring yoga pants for postpartum. Those mesh panties are elastic free and I couldn't keep mine up for the life of me; yoga pants really help hold the giant pad in place, even though you can tell your panties are stuffed.
- bring a robe to cover said stuffing. I have an older cozy knee length robe that was perfect- I could untie it and wear it like a loose jacket or lose it easily but not hard to get back on for when I needed to be up and out of the room.
- if you tear, use your spray bottle WHILE peeing, it cuts the acidity and makes peeing not burn so much.
- it's okay to swear while you pee.
- and baby wipes are awesome on your bum if you have hemorrhoids.
- don't eat chili a week after delivery.
- if you make the bad decision to eat chili (like I did), know that spraying Dermoplast on your hemorrhoids will also make them stop hurting.
- do your best to sleep when your baby does. And if you can't sleep, lay down and rest (I suck at this)
- celebrate every accomplishment, no matter how tiny. It helps me to have a to do list, even if full of mundane items because then I can look at it throughout the day/ at the end and say "I got x, y and z done". Even if x, y and z are that I showered and the twins took their prune juice and vitamins that day.
- I don't know if this will work for everyone, but what has helped me for getting stuff done is to do it piecemeal- throw a load of laundry in while warming up a bottle, let it run while feeding and go back to bed. Move it to the dryer while waiting for the bottle to warm up for the next feeding.

katekat8721

@curlylocks3 lol, that's too funny! When the babies are frantically trying to find the nipple they open their mouth wide and shake their heads back and forth, it totally reminds me of velociraptors too.

I also second the piecemeal advice! Otherwise nothing gets done!

DagnyDoo

@katekat8721 @curlylocks3 @camag  Thanks so much for all the wonderful advice!  I'm gathering it's going to be a whole lot of little things that make the first days a little easier.  In a completely non-creepy way I wish we could see you ladies in action with your babies -- you surely are the best mamas on the planet.

katekat8721

DagnyDoo said:

@katekat8721 @curlylocks3 @camag  Thanks so much for all the wonderful advice!  I'm gathering it's going to be a whole lot of little things that make the first days a little easier.  In a completely non-creepy way I wish we could see you ladies in action with your babies -- you surely are the best mamas on the planet.

Aw thank you! To be honest it just involves a lot of pajama wearing and burp cloths over here haha. I currently have Violet tucked into my pajama top doing skin to skin while bumping. Multitasking at it's finest!

curlylocks3

That's really sweet @DagnyDoo‌....because I don't feel like it- especially in the middle of the night!

katekat8721

@CAMag I love the hallucinate my way through it lol. I have been waking up in the middle of the night panicking looking for our baby. For some reason, I am convinced I have 3 babies and when I only count 2 I start ripping apart the room looking for the 3rd. WTF BRAIN?!

whoberry

@lyracelesti Congratulations!  Thanks for the thoughts.  MIL is improving but she's far from 100%. Not sure she will ever get there. DH is home so I am ready for this baby to come out.  Looking forward to reading your birth story!

eta: typo