[fossie]

Here is a 33 weeks picture - not pretty at all because no clothes fit anymore and since I am not leaving the house there is no reason to do anything with my hair but you can at least see how big the belly is getting!

[Eriksgirl19]

Shellie - You look wonderful! I love your twin belly! How are you feeling?

Caroline - I'm sorry to hear you are feeling uncomfortable & having contractions. I, too, have really been feeling contractions lately. I guess our bodies are starting to get ready!

Amy - I hope you had a great 1st day of school!

Ugh...it's supposed to get into the 100's this week. I hope this is the last of the heat this summer!

[ara79]

it's 4:30 and i'm up. gonna be a long day today. i am having pretty bad menstrual type cramping. i know a few pages back several of you said you had it too. did it last long? i have had them for about an hour now. did anyone ever talk to their dr about them? i can't help but worry a bit...

[fossie]

Amy, sorry your were up so early - I was right there with you but not on the computer! I have had a few menstrual type cramps but I they are associated with constipation that I no longer notice!

What do contractions feel like? I haven't had BH contractions in a while but are they similar just more frequent or are they like menstrual cramps or what?

[Eriksgirl19]

My contractions on Friday consisted of my stomach hardening and I was very sore/achy in my lower stomach. The labor/delivery nurse I talked to said I was probably having a combination of BH along with ligiment pain. I think I might have also pulled my lower stomach muscle area in the middle of the night last week. I don't know where all the discomfort was coming from...I was a bit of a mess! :-) And, to top it off, I was literally driving to an evening work event while on the phone with labor & delivery. The nurse was telling me to lie down for 2 hours and I'm thinking "Sure...I'll be able to lie down in about 5 hours!". I definitley have realized I have my limits...no more night work events for me!

[flamingpajamas]

Amy call your OB if you are worried. Going in to get monitored is a hassle but I can't tell you how much peace of mind it gave me. I think I got more discomfort with my BH contractions when Natasha turned head down. - more pelvic pressure too.

A good trick to do is to drink a bunch of water and lie down on your left side and see if things subside.

Update us on youru status...

Shellie you look adorable!!!!!!1

[CatIz1]

Holly & Shellie - you guys look great.

Amy - sorry to hear about your cramping - I agree with Claudia call your OB it will give you peace of mind. Take it easy at work.

Christie - I love the wall you did in Bailee's room and look at all the stuff she got.

Claudia - glad to hear you had a great shower, we need some pics when you get a chance.

Tabitha - glad to hear Baby George is getting nice and strong. It won't be long before he's home. Post some new pictures when you can.

We are almost done with Amara's room. We hung up the letters for her name and the rest of the butterflies and dragonflies. All that's really left is a few little odds and ends. I will post some pics this weekend.

My shower is this weekend and I hope Hurricane Gustav keeps going south and stays away. I know it's hurricane season but it's been nice the past few years that I haven't had to deal with them and am hoping that we don't get any this year. I don't want to have to deal with a Hurricane while pregnant.

Hopefully everyone is having a great week.

[norcal]

Thanks for all the compliments ladies! I keep waiting for the weight to catch up with me in these last few weeks. Shellie thanks for sharing your pic too.

Laura - I hear you on the heat!


I understand on the contraction front. Walking or other activity def seems to bring on the BH for me. The other thing I've noticed is if I stand up quickly, I'll get a sudden cramp. Shellie - you're right, I do notice a connection sometimes between the menstrual type cramps with constipation.

[che_girl]

Good Morning Mommas!

I am going to have to come back later today to address some personals but before, I wanted to let Shellie and Holly know that you look awesome.

Shellie, you are carrying twins and you look lovely. You may not feel that way but that is how I see you.

Holly, dahlin', you are one hot momma! Look at your belly profile!

Amy, I hope all is well. Please update us.

I really promise to come back to the rest. . . Laura, Christie, Melissa, Dellemma, Claudia, Caroline, Celeste. . . hello to all of you! I hope I am not missing anyone.

Next week, DH and I are taking our one week vacation. We will be staying home for the first time and I am really looking forward to it because I need a break to catch up on several things (like this wonderful forum), and finish our nursery. These past two weeks, the little free time I had was used to write all my personal "thank you" notes from the baby shower. Phew! That was a task and I am glad it is done and over. I felt exhausted.

I have two new symptoms that have been bothering me and luckily I have a f/u appt today so I will address them. One is bad and serious leg cramps in my left calf or right behind the knee. And this is only on the left leg. The other symptom is the crazy itching I have all around my belly, breast, back and front legs. It really drives me nuts because they are all day long. I have been lathering in lotsa cocoa and shea butter since day one and this itching is just so new and so annoying.

A very quick question, well, it is not really quick but I don't think I want to post this in the "we're pregnant" forum since I don't want to cast a wide net. Besides I feel more comfortable with you ladies.
We have received a lot of baby clothes, blankets and towels, all new. Also, we are still receiving some hands me down clothes, which I need to wash them.
So, my question to you is, Are you planning to wash all your new baby clothes/blankets/towels before the baby wears them? I never wash my clothes when I buy them before I wear them for the first time, but having a baby has created this doubt in my mind that perhaps I should wash all new items.

My mom insists that we should wash all new baby items. My BF who had her baby 4 years ago suggests that I should play it by ear and not wash them all but maybe fluff them in the dryer as we go.
Now that I am reading my silly preggo question, geez! I tend to make things more complicated that what they are.

I will come back later and I love you ladies! We are soooo freaking close to our special days and I feel happy but at the same time, I feel like 'oh, there is still a lot to do'.

Also, I wanted to tell you ladies, my new avatar is a very special drawing by an artist from California. She drew Loui and Che, my two fur babies from the many pictures I sent her and let me tell you, she did a wonderful job because they look just what they are. Loui is the brindle pied boy who is wearing a crown because his registered name is "King Loui, XIV" and in front of him is his favorite red kong toy. Che is the little guy who has the communist beret under his paw, to honor his registered name of "Che Guevara" and next to him is his most precious toy bone. Just wanted to share that and we are thinking of maybe putting their drawing in Ella's room.
Happy Wednesday (I swear I didn't mean to make this such a long post so my apologies!)

[Eriksgirl19]

Netty - So good to hear from you! Your avatar drawing is wonderful! Would you mind sending me the contact information of the artist? I would love to have something similar done for my fur baby Jackson.

I'm sorry to hear about your leg cramps & itching. I've heard the itching is super common and I hope your doctor can provide you with some relief.

To answer your questions, yes I am going to wash all baby clothes before Luke wears them. I already bought some Dreft detergent & am going to do his first load of laundry this weekend. I am not going to wash all of the clothes I have for him since I don't know what all I'll keep once he is born. But I am going to get a bunch of basics ready for him.

So along those same lines - does anyone know if it is ok to use dryer sheets when drying baby clothing?

Hope everyone is doing well today!

[flamingpajamas]

Netty, your new avatar is adorable!!!!

Yes, I am washing everything we get before she will wear anything. Also re dryer sheets, I have read that it is not recommended since babies have such sensitive skin and they have fragrance and chemicals in them that could irritate. It is also recommended to wash all baby's clothes and blankets in fragrance free detergent.

Amy, just checking in with you to make sure everything is ok.

Northern California Ladies (Laura and Holly) stay cool today!!!!

[mum2abbylily]

Hi Ladies.... just a quick response.

Netty - I've washed all the clothes, and blankets etc, then I got super paranoid..... what if they got the gender wrong and I have all these girl baby clothes that I won't be able to use or return!??! Haha... silly I know, I guess EVERYONE ( ands I mean literally EVERYONE) telling me I'm carrying like a boy is making me question the u/s.......!

Holly - as I said a few posts ago....the BH get a lot worse for me when I do an activity, especially a long walk or something.... They do calm down when I stop, sit down and get a drink.

For me, the lower menstrual like cramps are low down in my pelvis, and I think that's ligament related. The BH are all over my stomach and feel like a strong hardening, along with some mild discomfort. Hope that helps you all define what you are having! Remember, not all women get them.... I don't recall them with DD, but this time around they are unmistakable.

[flamingpajamas]

I think BH contractions are supposed to be more noticeable in 2 nad 3rd pregancies. Ha! I can;t imagine them being more noticeable or frequent then what I have been feeling!!!!

[fossie]

I have washed everything in Dreft, other than things like bouncer and swing covers - that includes burp cloths, blankets, etc. and we have started washing all of our clothes in Dreft too just in case they are sensitive to detergent and when we hold them our clothes will have been washed in fragrant/dye free too. It definitely might be overkill but I have really sensitive skin so it won't hurt. I do worry about genders being wrong or not needing all of the the things we have gotten but I honestly will probably be more likely to put them in a consignment sale rather than take them back anyway since I don't have that many receipts.

Netty - I have constant, unquenchable itching too and it is driving me crazy. I slather on the cocoa butter too and it helps briefly but not for long. I woke my dh up last night because my scratching got so intense! It is right where I have gotten stretch marks and some of them are raised and so it kind of hurts when I scratch too much but I just can't help it!

[CatIz1]

Netty - glad to hear from you and I love your new avatar - it is way too cute. Sorry to hear about the leg cramps and the itching. I hope you get some relief.

I am planning on washing everything before Amara wears it. I bought some Baby All which I found to be much cheaper than Dreft. Like Laura I'm not going to wash all at once just.

I do not plan on using dryer sheets. Someone once said that the dryer sheets can affect the fire retardancy (sp?) on the kids clothes if you use dryer sheets. Don't know if it's true or not but I'm not using them because I don't want anything to irriate Amara's skin and I think there are way to many chemicals in the dryer sheets.