Post!
PRs: 5k - 21:22, half marathon - 1:39:43, marathon - 3:37:16
RR: 3 miles last night, plus a 30 min walk with cowokers in the afternoon. Was a pretty good run, though the bladder pressure is getting so bad that it wasn't easy. There is no way I can run for more than a half mile without needing to walk and relieve the pressure a little!
PGR: 36w4d. Like I said, crazy bladder pressure. I feel like I have to pee instantly after I go! And I thought I was peeing a lot a week ago... ha! Last night DH and I got a ton done for baby. We set up the pack n play/bassinet in our bedroom, put away a ton of stuff that was hanging out in the nursery into the closet and set up some of the decorations, monitors and changing pad. It felt good to get so much done. We need to get the car seat installed, hopefully over the next few days, and get the hospital bag packed. But really, I'm fine with baby coming anytime after Sunday (when I'm full term). CRAZY! Tonight I'm going over my mom's house to do baby laundry and get take out. Should be nice
NPGR: Working at home today, thank goodness. Getting really annoyed with people saying "You better not go early!!! We need you!!!" Uhhh I'm gonna go whenever this baby wants... and you've known I was leaving for 5 months now so... sorry!
MA- Sounds like you are almost ready for baby to make an appearance! Fun that you can get together with your mom and do baby laundry -what a nice bonding experience.
PGR: 28w2d. Growth u/s this morning. I must be hitting a big growing time - I had to get up at 4:30 and eat something again. I took my prenatal (which has the DHA in it) about 30 minutes before I ate anything this morning, and now I'm all fishy-burping - gross.
ER: yoga last night - last class of the session. I talked to the instructor, and she was going to see if I could pay for blocks of the next session - either 2 or 3 classes at a time, instead of all 6, since the classes will go from 30-36 weeks for me, and I'm a bit concerned about bedrest or delivering a bit early, or just being monstrously uncomfortable.
NPGR: We bought the monstrous SUV. It will be a great family car - lots of room, DVD player for long trips - which reminds me, we should check if the DVD player works before we sign the final doucments! I'm having to adjust to parking it a bit, since a year ago I was driving a small two-door car...
Morning.
ER - Going mallwalking this morning. Depending on how chaotic the day goes, hoping to also look at the ballet DVD. From what I can tell, it is split into different workouts, which is great for me since I don't know how helpful the ab workout would be while pregnant.
PGR - Nothing much to report other than I'm so tired of hiking up my dress maternity pants. I look ridiculous. I don't remember my annoyance at my clothes starting til somewhere in the later 20s/early 30s but I'm telling myself it's only a few days a month I have to wear these particular pants. I've decided once it's warm enough, skirts all the way.
NPGR - DS ended up taking a 2.5 hour nap yesterday and I joined in for about an hour. Today I really have to get him more probiotics so I hope they're in stock at the dr's office. The ones I've been trying to use don't work as well, I think.
ER: 5 miles on the elliptical this AM. Getting pretty sick of the elliptical, I have to say... Need to get myself to the pool. Did manage to get out for a short walk yesterday, but was kind of pathetic.
PGR: 35w5d. We got a Chariot yesterday! We got it off craigslist and it came with the running and biking attachments. Best of all it came with an infant sling, which means I should be able to put the baby in around 1 month. I'm excited. It was a good deal - $250 for the chariot plus all those add ons - could definitely run over 600 new.
PGR2: Definitely feeling that the baby is low...sometimes feel her pushing her head down (or something) and it is really a bizarre feeling!
NPGR: working from home today. Really need to focus!
MA: Sounds super productive! We're still waiting for some stuff to come in the mail. Have fun with you mom tonight.
MA - I agree with TN, sounds like you're getting set to be ready for the baby. Have fun with your mom tonight!
TN - Congrats on the SUV. I know what you mean about parking, before we got an older model Corolla, I had to drive our pickup truck everywhere, including into the city. I felt like I was maneuvering a barge compared to a car. Hope the DVD player checks out, I have mom friends who swear by those things.
Liz - Great deal on the Chariot! That is impressive! Understandable on the eliptical boredom, I sometimes feel that way about the treadmill but I'm telling myself it's temporary.
MA: I totally feel you on coworkers attitudes about me leaving! Actually, it is more my bosses. They have known since I was 10 weeks. I mean, seriously, I told them early! But now another woman is going in for surgery just a week before I am due and will be out for 6-8 weeks. So they are going to be totally screwed. Not my problem! They have had plenty of time to replace us but they have done nothing about it. Great job on the running. I'm totally impressed that you still are! Yeah, sounds like you might go before me. My baby has not dropped. Question: are you planning on taking Borage oil? I'm taking it (2000 mg 3 times a day). It is supposed to be very helpful for softening the cervix. My midwife said that once she started recommending it, she had a lot more women come in 4 or 5 cm dialated instead of 1 or 2. Anyway, you can start taking it as soon as you are term.
TN: I hope they can work out the yoga classes for you since it sounds like you are enjoying them so much. A DVD player! How fantastic for long trips. Especially with Redbox available, you should get great use out of it. Have fun with the ultrasound! They are great!
Schmett: I have been a bit sad about not being able to wear skirts at all. I just can't manage it in the cold weather. My sister was pregnant in the summer both times, so she had quite a few skirts to pass on to me, but I haven't worn any of them. Your hour nap sounds great! And even better that DS slept for longer, giving you time to do things without him in your hair.
Liz: Congrats on the Chariot purchase! Sounds so great! My midwife said sometimes the baby will stick it's fingers into your cervix. Apparently it is a very uncomfortable feeling! Maybe that's what yours is doing. I tend to forget how far along people are. I didn't realize how close you were to MA and I!
ER: Going on another walk today. I'm not sure about a whole three miles, as the SPD yesterday was pretty unfortunate, especially having to work for 9 hours. But I'll see how I feel once I get started. My swelling went down considerably by last night, so that in itself is enough to motivate me to get out and go again.
PGR: 38w! Wow... I say that all the time I know, but I can't believe how fast it's gone. I just found out a couple nights ago that a friend of mine is pregnant and due in June. She was raped in September. She is single and doesn't even have a boyfriend. I know her from Ultimate Frisbee, but we now go to church with her as well and I'm in the women's study with her. I felt at such a loss as to what to say. I know I was scared when I found out I was pregnant, and I had been happily married for four years. We haven't talked much about it yet, but I am planning on trying to spend a lot more time with her. I invited her to go with me to a Birth Expo on Saturday, which I was planning on attending solo. There is a seminar on immunization that I am especially interested in attending.
NPGR: Nothing... I am realizing how everything is attached to the pregnancy now... I was going to say that I need to go shopping, but that is PGR too because I really need to stock up on a few things before the baby comes so I won't feel bad about not leaving the house for a while after the birth...
QUESTION: So this is for everyone who wants to, to chime in on, but especially women who already have babies. Feel free if you are lurking as well. What is your plan for immunization? I had a talk with my midwife, very brief, and she is reluctant to offer straightforward advice. She is obviously against just getting all the standard ones, and gave me a book to read. But I would love other people's information on this. If you have any resources as well, that would be great.
de-lurk...
Sasha - I am leaning towards not vaccinating - or at the least following Dr Sears delayed vaccine program. As you know I am a big pharma cynic and to be honest i don't want my child's underdeveloped immune system being exposed to so many things (esp the multi needles with 3 different strains) - and it amazes me how often you read of "vaccinated communities" having outbreaks (eg whooping cough recently). I want to talk more to my naturopath about this. There are one or two vaccines I might consider (eg if C hasn't had chickenpox by 12 it may be worth getting the vaccine to avoid shingles) but I think it absurd to get a few of them, not least the Hep B one...anyway I am in research mode, I'll message you when I have more of an idea...PLUS we don't intend to put C in daycare or multi-child things for some time and that is where things are picked up...perhaps if we were I might be more thoughtful about doing a couple of vaccines earlier.
Managed 2.5 miles at the mall, my patient mallwalking buddy waiting for my slow butt to get there (it's been one of those mornings) ended up with 3.5 miles.
Sasha - is Borage oil the same as Evening Primrose oil? I didn't take any EPO last time, and frankly I'm super nervous about taking it this time since I already started at 4.5cm without even knowing (ok, a little red raspberry leaf tea here and there, but nothing consistent).
As for vaxes, we're lucky to have found a dr. that is fine with both delayed and non vax families. She has a consult at 3m where she goes through the "recommended" vaxes, what the traditional timetable is, what a delayed schedule might look like, what her personal consideration is if the vax is necessary for your family (do you do international travel, will the baby be at daycare, etc.), and options to take if you choose not to vax. In our case, I stay at home, he doesn't attend daycare, we're planning to homeschool, we don't travel by plane or go on international travel for that matter. That said, we started out doing an extremely delayed vax schedule with DTaP, HiB, and the infant pneumococcal one. Starting at 4m, we did one shot of one vax, with vitamins given the day before, day of and day after to boost the immune system. So it was monthly visits there until about a year or so, when we stopped just before the last rounds of each of the 3 vaxes. We're not planning on vaxing our 2nd, because we look at it like vaccines can always be given, they can't be taken away. We've also known some other families who have had complications from especially the MMR (speech delay, an eventual autism diagnosis) and my DH in particular is more leery on the what-ifs. Our dr's hunch is the rise in autism isn't helped by the traditional vax schedule and the Standard American Diet/formula/rice cereal combo, and when children get the MMR at 12 months I think it is, if they're going to have issues, that's usually the tipping point. She obviously advocates doing research for yourself, reading the Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears, and there's others, Educate before you Vaccinate by Mayer Eisenstein off the top of my head. And for full disclosure, this was the one parenting thing that freaked me out the most, finding a supportive dr. to work through this issue. I hear stories so much around here of getting kicked out of a practice because you don't go along with what a dr. recommends, and I'm so thankful that's not been the case with our dr. I was originally for the regular vaccination schedule, but looking at what's in our food, our water, I don't know I trust the regulations for vaccines to be completely on the up and up. And personally for ourselves, I don't know I could live with myself if something came up like a complication and it was something I gave my child. But that's just me, and please don't think I'm typing this out to scare you. Just my opinion.
Thanks Ozzy and Schmett. I too had heard about the link between autism and over-vaccination, which is why I started looking into this. If I don't have to vaccinate for 3 months then I at least have some time to research and think about what I want to do. Myself and all my siblings have never had any complications of any kind. All of us are super healthy, and all of us had all of the standard vaccinations. That being said, there are a lot more vaccinations now than when I was born, and even than when my baby sister was born in 2000. Like you, Schmett we will not be using day care and will be homeschooling, so the most contact our baby will have with other kids will be at church. I still have to meet with a pediatrician, (I have an appointment for next Wed) so I have to discuss whether or not he will be open to at least a delayed schedule. It can be difficult to find someone who will take an uninsured family, give discounts because of lack of insurance, and also be willing to work with you where vaccines are concerned. This particular pediatrician did both of the first two things, which is really important to us. The third... we'll see next Wednesday.
Schmett: Borage oil is similar to Evening Primrose oil but it is stronger, which is why the midwife recommends it over EPO. Of course, you aren't supposed to take it until you are term, so you wouldn't even be using it at your stage. I just started it so I hope that LO stays put for a little while so it can be of real assistance.
PG: 30w4d. I think I may be coming down with a cold. I have scratchy throat, cough and sniffles. Maybe allergies though I’ve never really had an issue with allergies before. Its been really windy this week. Nursery furniture now getting delivered Sat between 1-5. Ughh, not that I had big plans on sat I just hate four hour windows in the middle of the day.
PG2: I have a two coworkers that have gone on interviews for promotions with a good chance of getting it. Then I’ll be on leave so I predict my boss is going to really stress out. I get my mandated leave but I’m asking to come back part-time (with no travel) for three months which is at his discretion. I’m meeting with him tomorrow to hopefully get his approval in writing.
ER: bodypump last night. Tonight I was planning on spin class but it really depends on how I feel when I get off work.
NPGR: DH bday is next week and he is being kinda grumpy about it. I wanted to go out to nice dinner but he said he didn’t want to do anything.
MA: Great job on being productive!
TN: Congrats on the new SUV! Hopefully your yoga instructor can work with you.
Schm: hope you get a chance to check out the new DVD
Liz: Yay for the great score on CL. I’ve heard wonderful things about the chariots. I’ve only seen one on CL in my area and they were asking $500!
Sash: That must be tough for your friend. But at she has you for support.
Sasha - I hope the ped visit works out for you! I agree, it's hard cause you look at your own life and think...but I turned out ok, but 20 years is a big difference between what we dealt with as kids and what our kids deal with now. And I agree, the combo vaxes are just insane. Good to know about borage oil, I'm obviously not ready yet to take any of that, but I remember staring at EPO around term last time and I just couldn't do it. I was too afraid of the what-ifs, even if it does work in your favor lol. I'll be curious to hear your feedback once your baby is here.
I was the second one on this morning, and was just about to send my post when my computer decided to run some automatic updates. It closed what I was working on, restarted my computer, and poof! It was gone. I decided to go on with my day and come back later when there would be more personals to write. So here I am! Again.
MA: I have to go pee every 15 minutes sometimes! Ha! I would tell those that are saying not to go early... um, why else would I be knocking myself out with all my running? I am hoping the baby comes a little early. That's a perk I deserve for all this hard work! Sounds like you got a lot done.
TN: Fish-burping, yuck. What is the brand of prenatal DHA you are taking? Mine has a light strawberry flavor to it, so if I burp at all, it's a lot more pleasant. I hope all this night waking for eating isn't keeping you up too much. I suppose you might get some snacks ready before you go to bed so that you'll be able to eat quickly and go right back to sleep. I hope the yoga class situation works out for you. Learning to park the bigger vehicle won't take very long, but learning to back out of a parking spot might prove challenging to you for a while.
schmett: I'm with you on the skirts as soon as it is warm enough. Skirts and no pantyhose or tights! I don't know if it'll be warm enough before I pop to go full-time skirts, but on the warm days, that is definitely what I am wearing.
Liz: I hate the elliptical, too. So boring! I've been trying to limit my elliptical to only one day a week and continue the running on 2 days a week. I have a chariot, too. I love mine. Also have the infant sling, and you can really put a tiny baby into it and off you go!
sasha: I haven't heard of using borage oil to soften the cervix, but I have heard of using evening primrose in the last several weeks. I'll have to check that out. Thanks for the tip. Sounds like you and MA have coworkers/bosses that don't fully realize that you truly are going to have babies soon! So sorry your friend is having to face such a challenge, even after the horror of being raped. I admire her courage for going through with the pregnancy. Glad she has you as a friend to mentor and love her through it. As for your question on immunizations... it's a can of worms! There are many opinions and experts disagree. What's right for one family and one child may not be right for another. I have moral objections to a few of them, because they use the cell lines from aborted human fetuses (rubella and varicella, I'm thinking there might be another one also). So, I don't use those at all. I choose not to start any vaccines of any type until 18 to 24 months, and then we don't try to catch up, we just go at our own pace with the vaccinations, which is admittedly slow. I'm selective. For instance, my baby doesn't need a Hep B shot, because it's a disease that is only passed through sexual contact or blood. Unless the hospital is using a dirty needle on my baby, there's no way my baby needs that shot. S/he is not sexually active. I also don't get the erythromycin ointment in the eyes, because I don't have Chlamydia or Gonorrhea, and I'm in a monogamous, faithful relationship, so I don't worry that I will end up with any STDs. I only get a vitamin K shot for my baby if the birth was traumatic in some way, or if I was planning on circumcising a little boy before the 8th day (when their own bodies make enough vitamin K for clotting)... but I don't circumcise my boys... only one was circ'd, and then after learning a lot more about it, we decided never to do that to one of our boys again. I regret having it done with the first one.
Mann: Hope you don't have a cold, and that it goes away quick. It is no fun being sick when pregnant. I am STILL coughing and somewhat congested from the flu in January. I can't believe how long it has been.
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RR: Nothing today.
ER: Did the elliptical and weights yesterday. Today I got on the exercise bike for 42 minutes. I had to pee so bad, so I got off the bike and scurried to the bathroom. Didn't make my afternoon walk yesterday, but I hope I can do it today.
PGR: 31w6d. Midwife appointment on Monday.
NPGR: This has been an insanely busy week. I'm glad the busiest days are behind me. I hate when life is so busy I barely have time to sit, or eat, or breathe!
vaccinations - we vaccinate, on the normal schedule. I researched it and didn't find a personally compelling reason not to. Even if my family is not taking the risk of international travel or whatever, that doesn't mean other people won't and subsequently expose my kids to it. For us, it's what we feel is best for our family.