[Boston77]

OK, lots to catch up on! hahaha You guys have been busy this morning!!

Joy - thanks for the tips for my appt today. I wonder if my u/s will be 3-D or the regular kind? And I totally understand what you're saying about thinking of our group as your friends. I feel the same way...heck you all have known everything I've been going through and my own parents don't even know that we were going through IVF and that I'm preggers! hahaha My DH thinks it's great and I know he's happy I found you guys.

I love the idea of getting away before the baby comes. I've thought about it a lot...I love to travel and it's hard to think about not doing a big trip for a while. I know getting away before the baby comes won't happen. With everything going on with the house, we don't want to be away for too long...and my DH is going to Ireland in August (when I would have wanted to go away). There are a ton of wonderful and luxurious inns and B&Bs on the water in RI, MA, and ME that I have on my list of places to spend some time at so maybe just a weekend away will be nice. My in-laws have a house on the beach but, I find it hard to really relax there. I really would have loved to get one more trip to Europe in...or a walking/hiking trip in China and Tibet. I guess the rest of my travel list will have to wait a few years (totally worth it though...right?!)

What are you ladies thinking for your babymoons?? I'll live vicariously through you!!

[cat915]

Robin, you have a boat where you are, isn't that a vacation in itself? Could you take the boat to a lake nearby and stay in a bed & breakfast or something as a retreat? The haircut sounds fun. I also got my haircut yesterday. I thought of Joy at the time

We're going to the Bahamas in early October... I like it because it's a) not far and b) you can drink the water! But Vegas happens to be a fav of mine as well. although there's a lot of smoking going on there!
hmm, i've always wanted to do san diego... and san fran is nice. Of course, the wineries are a great part and you can't do those now...

havana- i want to hear all about what you and peachy buy And the hummus sounds good. i forgot to buy some! I had it on my list but have NO clue where it is at our new grocery store and my 2 year old didn't have patience for mommy looking. I do have chick peas though, so maybe you can send me that recipe? As for vaccines, it's the mercury in them that's under debate. Most now for children under 6 are thermosal-free or should be if you ask... I know my daycare requires certain ones.

[Boston77]

Originally Posted by havanajims

Ok Robin, I'll put on my thinking cap for you. Inside the country, and water...hmmmm

Also, I wanted to tell you that my veteran baby-making sister told me that those NT tests have a high rate of false positives. She had that test with her 2nd pregnancy and they told her that there was a 90% probablilty that the baby was going to have downsyndrome. She was freaked out of her mind, and she also had the cvs test. To make a long story short, the baby was born as healthy as can be with no problems.

One huge problem that did come up later was she formerly lived in Europe. She moved to the United States when he was 2 years old. He was progressing very well, Singing, ABC's, animal noises, everything.
Well when she moved here the school system made her give him additional vaccinations. All the typical stuff that the recommend for kids these days. Sadly, he developed Autism. She and many of her doctors are convinced that it came from the vaccines. He has trouble speaking now, (he's almost 5) and he has regressed about as far back to the stage before he was 2. My DH and I are going to really investigate the vaccines that they give babies to see what is going on. We're definently going to give the baby some vaccines, but my sister is horrified and she would kill me if she knew I was thinking of some. Have you guys seen this on the news?

Sorry to tell you this scary story!!!!! I just want you all to be aware of what we're giving our babies later. I mean do they really need the chicken pox vaccine??

Thanks for the insight, Havana. I am sorry to hear about what your sister has gone through. I have read up on the autism/vaccine issue because there are two autistic people that work in my office so I was curious about it. There isn't enough of a conclusive link to convince me yet but, I know many people feel strongly about it. There have also been studies that have linked autism to a weakness in many genes in people affected by autism...but they're still trying to figure out a consistent way to see if they can screen for this because the weakness wasn't seen in just one gene...it's seen in about 100 genes within an autsitic person's DNA. I also think another reason we've seen such an increase in autism and autism awareness is that, decades ago people that were autistic or have other developmental/behavorial issues would have been institutionalized...they weren't integrated into the mainstream...people didn't talk about it as much and wonder about the causes, etc. There's a lot of controversy around the cause(s) of autism and I'm always drawn to the new articles and studies on it...

[jkris80]

Robin - isn't the haircut/color so refreshing! I felt so great after I had mine done last Friday!!! Felt like a whole new person!

We are also thinking of doing a last minute trip before the babies. I think we will have to go soon because I will probably be on bedrest after 20 wks. We are thinking Cabo or Hawaii, but I'm nervous about the flights. We've been to both, but my back gets so sore from sitting in weird positions for too long, so I'm nervous about flying that far. We were also thinking about going somewhere on the CA coast???

Havana - I just had a whole conversation with a friend this weekend about the vaccines. Thats a hard one! Something is going on with autism, especially in boys. I will probably do the vaccines that the dr requires and then have a long conversation with the pediatrician about the others...especially if I have boys. I'm really sorry about your sister. We have some friends who have a daughter who is autistic and its such a difficult struggle. However, as she's grown older she's really developed more and more each year and they have a lot of hope!

Have fun shopping today ladies!

Cat - you should definitely come to Chicago...especially in the summer! And, we could meet up! That would be a blast!

[Boston77]

Originally Posted by cat915

We're going to the Bahamas in early October... I like it because it's a) not far and b) you can drink the water! But Vegas happens to be a fav of mine as well. although there's a lot of smoking going on there!
hmm, i've always wanted to do san diego... and san fran is nice. Of course, the wineries are a great part and you can't do those now...

havana- i want to hear all about what you and peachy buy And the hummus sounds good. i forgot to buy some! I had it on my list but have NO clue where it is at our new grocery store and my 2 year old didn't have patience for mommy looking. I do have chick peas though, so maybe you can send me that recipe? As for vaccines, it's the mercury in them that's under debate. Most now for children under 6 are thermosal-free or should be if you ask... I know my daycare requires certain ones.

Cat, San Diego is great! I used to spend every weekend there when I was working on a client in CA...I got to choose the people that worked for me on that project so I chose two of my girlfriends (who just happened to be superstars at work) and we'd pile in the car every weekend and drive down there from our client....good times! I especially love Coronado Island and the Hotel Del Coronado...it's a must if you're going to San Diego! My other favorite places in CA are Carmel and really any place in wine country (not Napa though...too commercialized for me). Healdsburg is a very cute town in wine country with one of the best Inn's I've ever been to! Of course, no wine country for us for quite a while! You should def. make a trip to CA!

And, good point about the vaccines...most of them (if not all) are thimerisol-free now. Strangely enough, I learned in my late teens that I have an allergic reaction to thimerisol. It was used in my contact lens solution as a preservative and my eyes swelled up and got incredibly irritated. But, it never bothered me in the vaccinces as a child. Using the contact solution every day must have just built things up to the point where my eyes couldn't take it anymore. When I tried to get a flu vaccine shot at work about 5 years ago, they wouldn't give me one because thimerisol was also a preservative in the flu shot....since I told them I had an allergic reaction to contact lens solution once years before, they told me they couldn't give me the shot.

[Boston77]

Originally Posted by jkris80

We are also thinking of doing a last minute trip before the babies. I think we will have to go soon because I will probably be on bedrest after 20 wks. We are thinking Cabo or Hawaii, but I'm nervous about the flights. We've been to both, but my back gets so sore from sitting in weird positions for too long, so I'm nervous about flying that far. We were also thinking about going somewhere on the CA coast???

Go, go!! I love the CA coast!!!! hehehehe I did read in one of my pregnancy books that pregnant women should be careful with long flights such as non-stop cross country flights or transatlantic flights. Hawaii might fall into that category. The book said that, even though the cabin is pressurized, the air at the higher altitudes that the long flights fly at is much thinner...so your heart rate will increase and so will your baby's as your body to trying to get more and more oxygen. They said to definitely get up and walk around at least once an hour to help with circulation too. But, many people fly to Europe and cross-country when pregnant with no problems. I think the Dr that wrote this book may be more cautious than some other Drs. I am sure if your Dr says it's OK then it's OK!!

[JustPeachy]

Sorry I missed all the gossip this morning! I had to catch up on some real work before I go out to play with Havana

Robin - I love wine country too but no temptations for me now. I do have a good California suggestion. It's a town between LA and San Diego on the coast called Laguna Niguel. I flew into San Diego, rented a convertible, and drove from there. If you looking for something luxurious, there is a gorgeous Ritz Carlton on the cliffs overlooking the ocean with a great spa. Really breathtaking. The little town has lots of cute art stores and great restaurants so that would be our night outings. Pretty relaxing vacation and gorgeous beaches. Oh, and I'm chopping my hair off tomorrow too and can't wait!

Maggie- I know exactly which lamb too. They are so adorable. I'm always buying them for parts of shower gifts!

Cat - We wish you guys were all here too! The offer still stands. My DH is slowly catching everyone's story too. We'll let you know if we find anything exciting today with our shopping excursions. If nothing else, we can do lunch, shop, and then get a smoothie all in one place!

Boston - Good luck with your NT scan. I'm eager to hear all about it. I'm still trying to figure out if Blue Cross is going to cover it... got to call the OB and get the diagnostic code before my visit.

Mirka - We've all got our fingers crossed too!

Joy- Take it easy over there today and wear those socks with the rubber grips on the bottom

We're still dreaming of a babymoon. Got to see if I can get my investment house sold this summer...

[cat915]

okay, i'm laughing at joy wearing socks w/ rubber soles

Boston, i've been to carmel and loved it.

Peachy- that place sounds awesome. My DH just wants a beach when he goes on vacation but i love little shops & atmosphere!

Uh oh, i hear the ice cream man outside... may be calling my name...

[Boston77]

Peachy & Havana - have fun this afternoon!!!

[cat915]

ha! I think we should all go here for a weekend
San Francisco Spa Resorts, Bay Area Luxury Vacations & Sausalito Hotel Packages - Casa Madrona

[Rob&Irina]

wow... that looks really nice...
too bad i can't bring my boat all way there... hehe...

3 nights for $1,060.64... plus flight!!!

[Boston77]

Originally Posted by cat915

ha! I think we should all go here for a weekend
San Francisco Spa Resorts, Bay Area Luxury Vacations & Sausalito Hotel Packages - Casa Madrona

Count me in!!!!!

[maybebaby]

Hi ladies!!

I am finally back in Toronto As much as i loved Ireland, its always nice to be home

I had an ultrasound this afternoon and the baby almost doubled in size since my last visit and has a healthy heartbeat of 160 bpm. The best news is there is no sign of the hemotoma the RE said that it healed, i am SO relieved! I can breathe a sigh of relief (for now ) he still wants me to take it easy. I go in for my NT test next Friday and i have my first appt with the obgyn on August 1st.

As for a babymoon, we were suppose to go on a 2 week Mediterranean cruise in Spetember but we cancelled. We will probably go away near the end of October, so that we can celebrate out 6th wedding anniversary as well

I second San Diego, I really enjoyed it there! especially shopping at Ysidro (sp) the temperature is almost perfect!

Nice to see that everyone is doing well!

[JustPeachy]

That place looks gorgeous Cat & Sausalito is a cute town. Sign me up too! Oh, and send the ice cream man my way...

I think Havana & I have fully exhausted ourselves. The shopping place were we met up is outdoors and its only about 93 degrees today! We had to stop before we both took an afternoon nap in the dressing room. But, so fun. We did lunch and then hit the stores. Both Old Navy and Ann Taylor Loft had maternity but it was small sections. I got a cute summer skirt and lightweight dress at Old Navy. Neither are maternity but are the loose style. Definitely what you need in this heat! Then, we couldn't resist stopping in DSW and doing some minor damage there. Our next excursion will have to involve air conditioning or a swimming pool! Havana, I'm hungry again now May have to make a TCBY run.

Welcome Back Maybebaby!! Great news about your checkup!

[jkris80]

Love all the vacation suggestions! These will be helpful!!!

Maybebaby - welcome back!!! I bet its nice to be home after a long trip! Sounds like your little one has really grown!! Its so fun to see how the progress they make in such a short amount of time!!

Peachy - wow, I'm exhausted just reading your post! Sounds like a blast though!!! A pool sounds like a good plan for your next outing!

I think she's probably already gone, but GOOD LUCK BOSTON!!!