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MarshallX
Apr 13, 2004
My wife didn't gain any weight this week (37 to the 38th week) and mentioned it to the OB/GYN. He felt her stomach, laughed and said "I wouldn't worry about it, this is not a small baby" :supaburn:

Has anyone used the Bumbo Tray attachment? My wife is intent on getting one but it seems no different than a highchair to me.

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chknflvrdramen
Sep 11, 2007
Making the world a better place... with cookies!

scheissmacht posted:

We wanted to wait until after the first sonogram was all good before spilling the beans. How common is that? Now that we're telling people some think it's odd we kept it under wraps for so long.

Congrats! And plenty of people wait as long as they can, until they're showing and can't easily conceal it anymore.

CrispyMini
May 31, 2005
I wonder what the space baby thinks about all this.....?

MarshallX posted:

Has anyone used the Bumbo Tray attachment? My wife is intent on getting one but it seems no different than a highchair to me.

I wouldn't bother. We thought it would be great to put toys on to play with, but both kids would just knock the toy off the tray. By the time baby is ready for solids (6mos +), he'll be sitting on his own and possibly able to escape the Bumbo completley. Get a used one if you like, but I've used my Bumbo a total of about 6-8 times between 2 babies. (nice for photos!)

A relative of mine had one out when we were over. I made a comment about how they'd been recalled at one point, because they needed to make the warning label clear for stupid parents that it wasn't to be used as a booster seat or on elevated surfaces, because it can tip over. We all smiled and laughed. Then later I bit my lip in horror as they used it as a high chair, on top of the table, to feed their unwilling & thrashing 4 month old rice cereal. "No no! When you tip back like that you pop out of the chair!" :doh:

The Pod
Jul 29, 2003
She opens her box of tricks and begs me to pick from one of a billion ways to feel no pain.

scheissmacht posted:

Hi folks, my wife and I are just coming out of the closet now even though she's entering the 2nd trimester already. We wanted to wait until after the first sonogram was all good before spilling the beans. How common is that?

I didn't tell anyone until we knew the sex and had a name. 20 weeks, I believe. I announced it by posting the ultrasound picture on Facebook and said "His name is Oliver." :clint:

Mr-Spain
Aug 27, 2003

Bullshit... you can be mine.
Wife had to have a C-Section and lost lots of blood, but she is OK now and I've got a brand new 22" 10lb 2oz baby boy.

He is my man-child and we are going by Nutrition Depot on the way home for some Creatine and then we're going to order some P90-X vids from Amazon and he will crush everyone. BOOM!

bilabial trill
Dec 25, 2008

not just a B

CrispyMini posted:

By the time baby is ready for solids (6mos +), he'll be sitting on his own and possibly able to escape the Bumbo completley.



Maybe he will, maybe not. My kid is almost 7 months and doesn't sit on his own, whcih is not unusual. He can be propped up in a highchair on our laps though which is fine for eating.

Gilbert
May 4, 2009
My son has just started on solids too and can't yet sit up. We were given a bumbo which came in the box with a tray and use it with the tray for him to play around with finger food. I just find that is he gets his hand under the tray he can easily flip it off which can be a bit of a pain.

GoreJess
Aug 4, 2004

pretty in pink

Mr-Spain posted:

Wife had to have a C-Section and lost lots of blood, but she is OK now and I've got a brand new 22" 10lb 2oz baby boy.

He is my man-child and we are going by Nutrition Depot on the way home for some Creatine and then we're going to order some P90-X vids from Amazon and he will crush everyone. BOOM!

Holy crap! Congratulations on your giant baby!

foxatee
Feb 27, 2010

That foxatee is always making a Piggles out of herself.

Mr-Spain posted:

Wife had to have a C-Section and lost lots of blood, but she is OK now and I've got a brand new 22" 10lb 2oz baby boy.

He is my man-child and we are going by Nutrition Depot on the way home for some Creatine and then we're going to order some P90-X vids from Amazon and he will crush everyone. BOOM!

Get a goddamn swolePT program! :goonygoongoon:

Seriously, congrats on your gigantor baby. Your wife is a trooper for carrying that sucker around. drat.

Reince Penis
Nov 15, 2007

by R. Guyovich
Hi Everyone!

Marigold was born vaginally on Sunday, 8lbs 4oz and 9 days overdue.

Everyone is happy and healthy, she's almost got the latch going every feed, but we have a consultant coming to do hands-on help tomorrow so hopefully mom and baby can get their dance steps near perfect.



I'm not sure if this is an irish tradition or just my family, but we always give a new baby a silver coin when visiting. Here's Marigold clutching one my mother brought, that was given to me when I was born 30-odd years ago.


We're both first time parents and in complete awe of her beauty. Thanks to everyone in this thread who read my venting and answered my questions during pregnancy.

e: We never found out the sex before birth and it made the experience that much more amazing. Highly recommend if anyone out there is on the fence about it.

hookerbot 5000
Dec 21, 2009

SAKU loving KOIVU posted:


I'm not sure if this is an irish tradition or just my family, but we always give a new baby a silver coin when visiting. Here's Marigold clutching one my mother brought, that was given to me when I was born 30-odd years ago.


Congratulations, Marigold is absolutely beautiful :)

We have the silver coin tradition over on the West Coast of Scotland too, people will come up in the street and give the baby a bit of silver. We made about £20 in the first week - including 30p from a drunk man who staggered out the off license.

Does anyone else get that too?

AlistairCookie
Apr 1, 2010

I am a Dinosaur
Nursing update...The pain is mercifully gone! It's been about a week and a half and it no longer hurts the entire time, just for a few seconds while he's getting settled. Thank you all for the honesty and encouragement to just stick it out for a bit. I still pump a bit so he can have a bottle, and he has no problem going back an forth between me and a bottle. With Midget, it's good to have the option of handing Liam off to Daddy with a bottle if need be to not sideline him [Midget] during an important time of day (i.e. pre-nap stories). If I do that, I just pump at the first chance afterwards I get to make up for it. I am happy with how it's working out so far!

Now, I know Liam is tiny yet, but he has his days and nights mixed up. Daytime, marathon sleeping. Nighttime, awake forever after a feeding, wanting to nurse non-stop. Last night I was only asleep for about 3-4 hours total. :( I never had this problem with Tim, so it's new to me. I've started yesterday to gently try to correct him by limiting napping to ~2 hours at a time during the day (waking him up for a diaper and to feed, even if it's not a big feed) and encouraging a little bit of awake time after daytime feeds. Then at night, feeding and immediately re-swaddling and trying to put him directly back to sleep. Thoughts?

Fire In The Disco
Oct 4, 2007
I cannot change the gender of my unborn child and shouldn't waste my time or energy pretending he won't exist
Personally, my mantra has has always been "never wake a sleeping baby." But, if that works for you, run with it. I just wouldn't expect Liam to get the hang of it anytime soon, so you don't get disappointed.

SAKU loving KOIVU, congratulations! I love the name Marigold!

foxatee
Feb 27, 2010

That foxatee is always making a Piggles out of herself.
Congrats, SAKU loving KOIVU! Your baby is making you monies? That is the best type of baby, imo. My husband is part Irish-- can I get in on this action, too? (kidding)

I had yet another doctor's appointment today which didn't go well, I suppose. They detected some protein in my urine, and my blood pressure is up. After asking me a few questions, he's not TOO concerned, but wants to keep a closer eye on me so I'll be checking in with him every week now. Next week we go in for an ultrasound to make sure everything is okay. They're going to do some other stuff, but I don't remember what. Something about swabbing my vagoo.

Currently I'm sitting with my feet propped up since I've been having a lot of swelling lately (increase in blood pressure~), and I'm drinking lots of water (as usual. I really do miss all my sugary drinks). Doctor says if my blood pressure continues to rise, he's going to induce. I'm 34 weeks in and he says the baby feels to be about 5lbs, so he's not going to worry if I have to deliver early. But of course I'M worried.

Is there anything I can do to keep my blood pressure down? Why the hell did it go up? It's been perfect until now and I can't figure out what could be the cause. My husband is blaming Minecraft. :psyduck:

Any helpful advice? I feel completely unprepared for the arrival of this kid. We haven't even gone to the childbirth classes yet!

hookerbot 5000
Dec 21, 2009

foxatee posted:

Congrats, SAKU loving KOIVU! Your baby is making you monies? That is the best type of baby, imo. My husband is part Irish-- can I get in on this action, too? (kidding)

I had yet another doctor's appointment today which didn't go well, I suppose. They detected some protein in my urine, and my blood pressure is up. After asking me a few questions, he's not TOO concerned, but wants to keep a closer eye on me so I'll be checking in with him every week now. Next week we go in for an ultrasound to make sure everything is okay. They're going to do some other stuff, but I don't remember what. Something about swabbing my vagoo.

Currently I'm sitting with my feet propped up since I've been having a lot of swelling lately (increase in blood pressure~), and I'm drinking lots of water (as usual. I really do miss all my sugary drinks). Doctor says if my blood pressure continues to rise, he's going to induce. I'm 34 weeks in and he says the baby feels to be about 5lbs, so he's not going to worry if I have to deliver early. But of course I'M worried.

Is there anything I can do to keep my blood pressure down? Why the hell did it go up? It's been perfect until now and I can't figure out what could be the cause. My husband is blaming Minecraft. :psyduck:

Any helpful advice? I feel completely unprepared for the arrival of this kid. We haven't even gone to the childbirth classes yet!

I'm guessing they're worried that you might have preeclampsia http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Pre-eclampsia/Pages/Symptoms.aspx but it's one of these things where the the symptoms of preeclampsia and the general pregnancy symptoms can be confused.

Fire In The Disco
Oct 4, 2007
I cannot change the gender of my unborn child and shouldn't waste my time or energy pretending he won't exist
The closer to complete bedrest you can get, the more likely it is that your blood pressure will stay down long enough for you to get to full term. Good luck!

foxatee
Feb 27, 2010

That foxatee is always making a Piggles out of herself.

hookerbot 5000 posted:

I'm guessing they're worried that you might have preeclampsia http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Pre-eclampsia/Pages/Symptoms.aspx but it's one of these things where the the symptoms of preeclampsia and the general pregnancy symptoms can be confused.

That's what I figured. He mentioned hypertension, but not preeclampsia. I'm aware of the symptoms since my husband's cousin lost her baby recently that way.

Fire In The Disco posted:

The closer to complete bedrest you can get, the more likely it is that your blood pressure will stay down long enough for you to get to full term. Good luck!

But--But! The dishes! The cooking! The cleaning! The dog! Oh gawd, my apartment is going to go to hell. :gonk:
Seriously, I'm trying not to panic, but lately my emotions have been all over the place. I'm just wondering if I should be doing yoga or something to keep me calm. Also, it would be nice for someone to tell me they went through this exact thing and everything turned out fine. :unsmith:

hookerbot 5000
Dec 21, 2009

foxatee posted:

That's what I figured. He mentioned hypertension, but not preeclampsia. I'm aware of the symptoms since my husband's cousin lost her baby recently that way.


I'm so sorry to hear that. My sister in law had similar symptoms during her last pregnancy and everything was fine - she got to 39 weeks and then they took her in for a section (there were other factors which made the section necessary). As Fire in the Disco said she was told to rest as much as she could.

Captain Cancer
Sep 18, 2005

Teach em' young
Are pregancy vitamin formulas a crock of poo poo, or are they actually worth the money?

I know folic acid is important and it has been taken from when we were trying to conceive. My partner has a pretty healthy and full diet anyway, but I'm in that excitable frame of mind where I want to seek out anything and everything that could have a positive effect on the pregnancy.

VorpalBunny
May 1, 2009

Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog

Captain Cancer posted:

Are pregancy vitamin formulas a crock of poo poo, or are they actually worth the money?

I know folic acid is important and it has been taken from when we were trying to conceive. My partner has a pretty healthy and full diet anyway, but I'm in that excitable frame of mind where I want to seek out anything and everything that could have a positive effect on the pregnancy.

I have heard DHA is worthless, but I take it anyway! I'm a vegetarian, so I found an algae-based DHA pill. I also take iron supplements and GNC prenatals.

I took them all throughout my pregnancy, and have continued after birth while I breastfeed exclusively.

MarshallX
Apr 13, 2004

VorpalBunny posted:

I have heard DHA is worthless, but I take it anyway! I'm a vegetarian, so I found an algae-based DHA pill. I also take iron supplements and GNC prenatals.

I took them all throughout my pregnancy, and have continued after birth while I breastfeed exclusively.

My wife takes Fish Oil pills daily as well as her Pre-Natals because she doesn't eat as much fish as she would like and wants to make sure enough Omega 3 is provided for development.

auri
Jul 8, 2005

foxatee posted:

That's what I figured. He mentioned hypertension, but not preeclampsia. I'm aware of the symptoms since my husband's cousin lost her baby recently that way.


But--But! The dishes! The cooking! The cleaning! The dog! Oh gawd, my apartment is going to go to hell. :gonk:
Seriously, I'm trying not to panic, but lately my emotions have been all over the place. I'm just wondering if I should be doing yoga or something to keep me calm. Also, it would be nice for someone to tell me they went through this exact thing and everything turned out fine. :unsmith:

I went through that exact same thing, except it started at 32 weeks. My feet swelled at first. By the time I was 37 weeks my legs from the knee down were swollen and walking was painful. Pre-eclampsia is also known as gestational hypertension I think, and the protein in your urine is a sign of it. I had traces of protein in my urine, as well as a constant blood pressure of 140/90. I was induced at 37 1/2 weeks and had a normal vaginal birth with no complications.

I should have stayed in bed a lot more than I did, so I would definitely recommend you tell the apartment to eat poo poo and let it go to hell. Keep your salt intake low, which means NO SODA/POP! It sucked so much for me because it was like 6 weeks of hell where all I wanted to do was chug a 2L of coke and eat fries from McDonald's. Standing in one spot for a while (like when I would do the dishes) made my legs swell even more.

Just take it easy and let someone else do all the work for once. It will make your birth that much easier and quicker to recover from.

Oh, and the swelling will get worse before it gets better. After I gave birth, for 2 days I couldn't walk because my feet were so swollen. It was incredibly painful to move my legs and walk, it was like someone had cut my feet off and I was walking on stumps. It was so awful :( If you can find support stockings, I highly recommend them. They helped me a lot.


It's not so bad though. Everything did turn out fine in my situation. I hope it does for you as well :)

Tatiana
Jan 29, 2001
Forum Veteran

A Serious Woman posted:

Oops, sorry I missed that about the crib/sidecar. Our bassinet is the exact same height as our bed and it has mesh sides so we can easily see each other. Unfortunately, drop side cribs are illegal in Canada (at least I'm pretty sure of this) so rigging our crib as a sidecar isn't an option. Our only other option is to buy an arms reach but we're a bit strapped for cash right now as we wait for my maternity leave payments to start.

Also, that is a fantastic about swaddling her just before I feed her. I am so trying that for our next feed. Fingers crossed!!


I know this is a while back, but we used a non dropside crib for our sidecar.

All we did was not attach one crib side, ta-da ;). We also stabilized the open side by adding a plank of wood at the bottom.

Here is a canadian link to the crib we bought: http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/60091931

What we did was attach the side which turned it into a toddler bed at the bottom. Then we got some bungee cords and attached the crib and mattress to our mattress.

We also have a movement sensor under the crib mattress so that we know if she's rolled off her side.

Sidecarring has been super for us because she is very temperamental- one night she wants to be cuddled, other nights she wants her space. We can also lay down next to her until she goes to sleep. If we wanted to transition her to a crib later, we could just add the side to the crib and keep her just as close as before.

We like our set up though!

Only registered members can see post attachments!

Tatiana fucked around with this message at 08:31 on Mar 17, 2011

Phooney
Dec 24, 2008
Inappropriate touching.

Finally got a taste of this today... There is something about babies that makes women of all races and creeds lose their mind and scream "IT'S A BAAAAYYY BEEEEEEEE AAHAHREEGH!!!" and come in for some touchy feely.

Today at the mall we were at a travel agent (friend of ours or we would have booked online) and Jake started to get a bit fussy and noisy. So to spare the people in the small shop the bleeding ears I took him for a walk to try to calm him down. This diversion worked for a while, but he was basically hungry and the food supply was busy signing things and listening to terms and conditions at that point in time, so he was going to have to wait a few minutes.

I had a fresh vomit stain on my shirt at the time, and to compliment the look, Jake decided to piss on me as well from out the side of the nappy. After that he was pretty much inconsolable, which brought the crazy ladies in from even further afield than normal.

One lady did the "IT'S A BAAAAYYY BEEEEEEEE AAHAHREEGH!!!" battle cry and rushed over and started restricting his arms and prodding him with her long rear end harpy fingernails, saying I needed to "fold his arms in". WTF? Fold your own loving arms in you god damned weirdo.

Short trips can be difficult :(

MoCookies
Apr 22, 2005

I went all baby-crazy a few weeks ago, and got pregnant immediately after deciding that my husband and I should wait another year at least, get some money in the bank, etc. We've got a good situation for the most part, but waiting was the right decision for us. I've been in shock since I found out yesterday morning via pee test. I'm only a "little pregnant", as in I just missed my period a few days ago, so I have approximately 8 months to get my poo poo together. I'm freaking the gently caress out:

1. How can you possibly keep being pregnant a secret until the 2nd trimester? I'm a huge blabbermouth, and can't keep a secret to myself for almost any reason. I've already managed to spill the beans to the 3 people closest to me besides my husband (my 2 best friends + my brother). Plus, the minute someone sees me turn down a margarita or a glass of wine, the jig is up. My poker face is no good unless I'm literally playing poker.

2. I'm somewhat ambivalent about this pregnancy, and it feels false to pretend that it was planned and that I'm loving over the moon about it. Obviously, that makes people uncomfortable, since they want to say "Oh, Congrats! You'll be the best parents ever, etc." I'm sure I'm not the only pregnant person that feels more overwhelmed than overjoyed. Am I really just supposed to put on a happy face?

3. I can't sleep. Insomnia ahoy. I just keep thinking about how I'm going to tell my parents, how my to-do list just keeps growing exponentially, and how I need to find/buy baby stuff I don't hate, etc. Is there something I could safely take to chill out, or is it time to brush up on my meditation skills?

4. I'm waiting to get started buying baby stuff until this summer, so what all do I need to be doing right now? I'm switching to prenatal vitamins, and taking supplements, and all that jazz. I've got some health care stuff to work out, but I'll make an appointment pretty soon and meet my midwife.

5. Any baby-related websites that don't make you want to throw up? If it helps, I'm on board with the whole cloth diapering, breastfeeding, natural-childbirth-if-possible motherhood track, and I hate those DD/DS/DH acronyms and the idea of a truckload of plastic crap invading my house.

I hope this post doesn't make me sound too cranky. I've got a great life and a great husband, and I'm looking forward to figuring out how a kid is going to fit in our life together.

Dogfish
Nov 4, 2009

MoCookies posted:

I went all baby-crazy a few weeks ago, and got pregnant immediately after deciding that my husband and I should wait another year at least, get some money in the bank, etc. We've got a good situation for the most part, but waiting was the right decision for us. I've been in shock since I found out yesterday morning via pee test. I'm only a "little pregnant", as in I just missed my period a few days ago, so I have approximately 8 months to get my poo poo together. I'm freaking the gently caress out:

1. How can you possibly keep being pregnant a secret until the 2nd trimester? I'm a huge blabbermouth, and can't keep a secret to myself for almost any reason. I've already managed to spill the beans to the 3 people closest to me besides my husband (my 2 best friends + my brother). Plus, the minute someone sees me turn down a margarita or a glass of wine, the jig is up. My poker face is no good unless I'm literally playing poker.

2. I'm somewhat ambivalent about this pregnancy, and it feels false to pretend that it was planned and that I'm loving over the moon about it. Obviously, that makes people uncomfortable, since they want to say "Oh, Congrats! You'll be the best parents ever, etc." I'm sure I'm not the only pregnant person that feels more overwhelmed than overjoyed. Am I really just supposed to put on a happy face?

3. I can't sleep. Insomnia ahoy. I just keep thinking about how I'm going to tell my parents, how my to-do list just keeps growing exponentially, and how I need to find/buy baby stuff I don't hate, etc. Is there something I could safely take to chill out, or is it time to brush up on my meditation skills?

4. I'm waiting to get started buying baby stuff until this summer, so what all do I need to be doing right now? I'm switching to prenatal vitamins, and taking supplements, and all that jazz. I've got some health care stuff to work out, but I'll make an appointment pretty soon and meet my midwife.

5. Any baby-related websites that don't make you want to throw up? If it helps, I'm on board with the whole cloth diapering, breastfeeding, natural-childbirth-if-possible motherhood track, and I hate those DD/DS/DH acronyms and the idea of a truckload of plastic crap invading my house.

I hope this post doesn't make me sound too cranky. I've got a great life and a great husband, and I'm looking forward to figuring out how a kid is going to fit in our life together.

1. Many people don't. A lot of folks want to keep the pregnancy a secret for awhile, either because they like the idea of keeping it "just between them," or because they want to wait until the greatest risk of miscarriage has passed. But that may just not be you; some folks also tell everyone they know and post pictures of the pregnancy test they peed on on Facebook (please do not do this) as soon as they find out. Whatever makes you most comfortable.

2. You are absolutely correct that a ton - A TON - of women feel more ambivalent than overjoyed about their pregnancies. Many women who plan their pregnancies carefully and actively try to get pregnant for months are still ambivalent about their pregnancies. You're facing a big change in your life, and an unexpected one at that - it's completely normal to feel a little freaked out about it. As for managing it in relation to the people around you, there are lots of things you can say (like "It's all so overwhelming! I barely know if I'm coming or going right now!" with a little laugh) that come closer to authentically expressing your experience but don't put people in the uncomfortable position of not knowing whether it's OK to say "Congratulations!" or not.

3. MotherRisk is a database with lots of great information on health during pregnancy and breastfeeding, including a drugs database. Searching "insomnia" brought up some results that you may find helpful.

4. Ideally, you'd get in to see your midwife as soon as possible, and she can direct you more on the healthcare side of things, but right now is also a great time to start thinking (and talking to your husband) about what you envision for your birth, how you feel about parenting, all that kind of stuff. For many women, preferences about birth are something that they need some time to think and work through, so it's never too early to start.

Also: beware which pregnancy books you buy! They're all different, and have very different focuses. I know a lot of women end up totally freaked out by What to Expect when You're Expecting, for example, because there's a lot of information on things that could potentially go wrong in it, and if you're a dwelling-on-the-worst-case-scenario kind of person, that can be hard to read. But other people love that it's so comprehensive. It also depends on what your birth values are - the Mayo Clinic Guide definintely has information that's aimed at a different audience than, say, Birthing from Within. If you're into the whole natural-birth deal, you may like that one, as well as Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, which I found really empowering to read.

5. I have no idea.

Good luck! Having a baby is huge and seems scary, but you can do it!

chknflvrdramen
Sep 11, 2007
Making the world a better place... with cookies!

MoCookies posted:


1. How can you possibly keep being pregnant a secret until the 2nd trimester? I'm a huge blabbermouth, and can't keep a secret to myself for almost any reason. I've already managed to spill the beans to the 3 people closest to me besides my husband (my 2 best friends + my brother). Plus, the minute someone sees me turn down a margarita or a glass of wine, the jig is up. My poker face is no good unless I'm literally playing poker.

2. I'm somewhat ambivalent about this pregnancy, and it feels false to pretend that it was planned and that I'm loving over the moon about it. Obviously, that makes people uncomfortable, since they want to say "Oh, Congrats! You'll be the best parents ever, etc." I'm sure I'm not the only pregnant person that feels more overwhelmed than overjoyed. Am I really just supposed to put on a happy face?

3. I can't sleep. Insomnia ahoy. I just keep thinking about how I'm going to tell my parents, how my to-do list just keeps growing exponentially, and how I need to find/buy baby stuff I don't hate, etc. Is there something I could safely take to chill out, or is it time to brush up on my meditation skills?

4. I'm waiting to get started buying baby stuff until this summer, so what all do I need to be doing right now? I'm switching to prenatal vitamins, and taking supplements, and all that jazz. I've got some health care stuff to work out, but I'll make an appointment pretty soon and meet my midwife.

5. Any baby-related websites that don't make you want to throw up? If it helps, I'm on board with the whole cloth diapering, breastfeeding, natural-childbirth-if-possible motherhood track, and I hate those DD/DS/DH acronyms and the idea of a truckload of plastic crap invading my house.

I hope this post doesn't make me sound too cranky. I've got a great life and a great husband, and I'm looking forward to figuring out how a kid is going to fit in our life together.

1. There is no law that you have to keep it a secret. If you want to tell people, go ahead! If you don't want to, do your best to hold out as long as you can but don't beat yourself up if you only make it a week. As for the drinking, if you're OK telling a little white lie just tell people that you had a sinus infection and you're on antibiotics for it and can't drink for a couple of weeks. That'll at least give you time to figure something else out.

2. Don't fake it if you don't want to. It's not your fault if people get uncomfortable, they can deal with their own generic expectations of what every person should feel in a given situation.

3. In the first trimester, most drugs are off limits. I'd recommend the meditation. If that isn't working out for you check with your OB.

4. Try to drink plenty of water, eat healthy food if you're not having horrible food aversions, get plenty of rest. If you were exercising before keep doing that as long as it still feels OK. If you weren't try to start something gentle before any symptoms start kicking in, like walking or swimming. Try to do anything you enjoy now that will be more difficult after the baby comes. Have spontaneous sex, go to the movies, that kind of thing. Maybe plan a babymoon.

5. There's pretty much only one message board that I know of and I don't know if we're allowed to re-post it, so check a few pages back. The Dr. Sears website and kellymom.com are both tolerable and have great info on breastfeeding. Check into Bradley classes in your area for natural childbirth, they are amazing and several of us here have used the Bradley method successfully to have a natural birth. There are also a few great books on the method if the classes aren't a good fit for you.

AlistairCookie
Apr 1, 2010

I am a Dinosaur
/\/\/\

1) You can really tell people whenever you feel comfortable telling them. The 2nd trimester thing is because by then the risk of miscarriage drops to very low. Personally, I would at least wait until your first ultrasound/heartbeat check, but if the stick says so, you're pregnant, so tell at will.

2) Congratulations--you're normal! :D It's a big, freakin' deal and it takes a little while to wrap your brain around. I planned both my kids and still felt a bit 'meh/oh God' for a little while after finding out. But seeing that little heartbeat, and especially finding out the sex, then feeling them move...it will settle in, and it's good stuff. I already kinda miss feeling the movements, and Liam is just two weeks tomorrow.

3) You have PLENTY of time for baby stuff, telling people, etc... Just relax. Benadryl is safe during pregnancy, so if it makes you drowsy, take a couple. But mostly just relax.

4) I wouldn't buy any baby stuff until after your shower, unless for some reason you won't be getting a baby shower. You don't want to buy stuff that you will get gifted to you anyway. Take your vitamin, don't do the obviously bad stuff like drink or smoke, and call your health care provider. My doctor doesn't see women for their first appointment until 7~8 weeks, and some wait longer than that. So you have time.

5) http://www.kellymom.com is good for breastfeeding info. Mellisa and Doug make good, durable wooden toys for the older baby and up crowd. I cloth diaper, but I use a service, so I have my favorite wraps and folds (Thirsties, new improved Bummies, and the angel wing fold), but I have no input as far as washing them goes. Others here can chime in on doing them all yourself. I had two C-sections, the first after 31 hours of labor, so I could have kissed the anesthesiologist full on the mouth after my epidural the first time, so I don't know about "natural" childbirth, but there are others here who do (and will share). Unfortunately, I have to tell you that a truck load of crap, plastic and otherwise, is going to invade your house. :) Babies use a remarkable amount of stuff, and it only gets worse as they get older.

Take some breaths, you will be okay!

DaemonWyrm
Jul 3, 2003

Why don't I hear any sleep screams?
I've been doing some baby shopping on the internet and I feel really fried on it. It drives me nuts how for every product on amazon there are people who violently hate it. I really wish there was a way to just have a pre-made baby registry of all the best products instead of trying to figure out what the hell a bouncy seat is and which is the best stroller.

Anyone have any advice on diaper pail brands?

Also, we're expecting twins this summer (one of each!). I know you guys like the Moby baby wrap thing as a carrier. I like the idea of being able to use it for both or for one as needed. I see that there are two "twin wraps" but is there anyone with actual experience using a twin wrap? Or, is there a better twin alternative?

Fionnoula
May 27, 2010

Ow, quit.

DaemonWyrm posted:

Anyone have any advice on diaper pail brands?

Every diaper pail has a smell, particularly after the kids start eating solids. The only way to keep the smell at bay is to empty it frequently. I don't really have a specific recommendation other than to save yourself some cash and get one that uses regular kitchen garbage bags, rather than some sort of cartridge or insert system.

VorpalBunny
May 1, 2009

Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog
We put Target bags in a regular waste basket, and Febreeze it when it gets a little stinky.

auri
Jul 8, 2005
Yeah I just have a small trash can and medium white kitchen garbage bags for disposables. For cloth I have another small pail half full of cold water and some vinegar. Haven't really noticed a smell yet.

Fire In The Disco
Oct 4, 2007
I cannot change the gender of my unborn child and shouldn't waste my time or energy pretending he won't exist
We have two 13 gallon trash cans, the kind with pedals to step on to open the lids. One gets regular trash bags for trash and the other gets one of the two diaper pail liners we use for clothes and cloth diapers.

When we use disposables, the one that holds the trash gets stinkier way faster than the cloth one. I'm not entirely certain why that is, but there you go. Also, on the subject of washable pail liners, I hate the one that I have that is elasticized at the top. It's too loving hard to get the diapers out of it and into the washer without touching them. I love my drawstring one (I believe it's Thirsties brand) and next time around I'll probably trash the elastic one and get a second drawstring.

peanut
Sep 9, 2007


I use a bucket with a lid for cloth diapers. I also use it when prewashing poop off. Sometimes I hang it on the laundry pole outside to dry out and destink. We do laundry at least every 3 days.
Disposables go into the regular trash. Poopy disposablse get wrapped in a produce bag then chucked.

Fionnoula
May 27, 2010

Ow, quit.

Fire In The Disco posted:

We have two 13 gallon trash cans, the kind with pedals to step on to open the lids. One gets regular trash bags for trash and the other gets one of the two diaper pail liners we use for clothes and cloth diapers.

When we use disposables, the one that holds the trash gets stinkier way faster than the cloth one. I'm not entirely certain why that is, but there you go. Also, on the subject of washable pail liners, I hate the one that I have that is elasticized at the top. It's too loving hard to get the diapers out of it and into the washer without touching them. I love my drawstring one (I believe it's Thirsties brand) and next time around I'll probably trash the elastic one and get a second drawstring.

Why don't you cut the elastic and replace it with a drawstring?

Brennanite
Feb 14, 2009

MoCookies posted:

2. I'm somewhat ambivalent about this pregnancy, and it feels false to pretend that it was planned and that I'm loving over the moon about it. Obviously, that makes people uncomfortable, since they want to say "Oh, Congrats! You'll be the best parents ever, etc." I'm sure I'm not the only pregnant person that feels more overwhelmed than overjoyed. Am I really just supposed to put on a happy face?

3. I can't sleep. Insomnia ahoy. I just keep thinking about how I'm going to tell my parents, how my to-do list just keeps growing exponentially, and how I need to find/buy baby stuff I don't hate, etc. Is there something I could safely take to chill out, or is it time to brush up on my meditation skills?

2. I was more than "somewhat ambivalent" and I didn't pretend at all. Most people understand if you just respond, "It was a big surprise and I'm still getting my head around it." Sometimes I just flat out said it wasn't planned and I was completely overwhelmed. No one judged me.

3. 'Sup, insomnia buddy? Mediate, take Benadryl, enjoy a nice shower before bed, whatever helps. I found reading to be very relaxing (focused my brain on something other than worrying). My sleep schedule was complete crap during the first trimester, though. Things have settled down since. Hold out hope!

That said, tomorrow's my Down's/spina bifida blood draw and I'm feeling nervous. Do they take as much blood as the first visit (four vials)?

Andale!Andale!
Aug 23, 2008
I cloth diaper but I don't use a diaper pail, I have two large wetbags. When one is full it goes into the washing machine and I put the other bag up. I have Planet Wise wetbags and you can't smell anything when they are zipped but I've never tried any other wetbags and thus have nothing to compare them to.

The Macaroni
Dec 20, 2002
...it does nothing.
Just a quick post to say that birth announcements are fine, but please try to keep the "Congratulations!" posts to a minimum. Use PMs or offsite chat for that.

Tatiana
Jan 29, 2001
Forum Veteran

Andale!Andale! posted:

I cloth diaper but I don't use a diaper pail, I have two large wetbags. When one is full it goes into the washing machine and I put the other bag up. I have Planet Wise wetbags and you can't smell anything when they are zipped but I've never tried any other wetbags and thus have nothing to compare them to.

Same, wetbags are awesome! I pick up the wetbag, flip it over in the washing machine, then throw it in with the diapers. No mess, and I don't ever have to touch anything.
I have this one in Aqua swirl

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bamzilla
Jan 13, 2005

All butt since 2012.


DaemonWyrm posted:

Anyone have any advice on diaper pail brands?


We really like, and still use, the Diaper Genie Deluxe II. We've also recommended it to a friend who likes it so much she's put one on each floor. Now that our kid's older and has gross poops we only use it for poop diapers and pee diapers go straight into the trash to help conserve those refills. This is for disposable diapers. I still don't notice a smell unless it's full (or you open it to dump another diaper in, duh) and we just spray some lysol in there after every refill change. The refills can cost anywhere from $5.50-$7 depending on if you pay retail or if they're on sale.

Most of the other recommendations people were giving are for cloth diapers. If it was cloth diaper pails you're looking for a recommendation on, I really like the fuzzibunz hanging wetbag. It's large plus you can just toss it into the laundry with the cloth diapers (after dumping them out, of course) as others have mentioned so that's a nice bonus. It's elasticized, but has a zipper on the bottom so you don't have to touch the diapers.

bamzilla fucked around with this message at 15:27 on Mar 18, 2011

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