Brontosaurus Lays an Egg

[Eaquae Legit]

Pweb doesn't generally need much modding. It's awesome like that. You guys make our job pretty easy most of the time. I did mean it as a joke. I don't like interfering with other people's posts, I would have thought that would be obvious by now. If I really wanted it gone, I would have just asked him to take it down. That's what I've always done in the past, unless it was in violation of the TOS.

And I don't know about anyone else, but my hammer isn't like Thor's.

(Also, for the record, I never intended to keep the meta thread locked, if I had. Just close it for a day or so to let everyone cool down. But that wasn't necessary, because like I said, pweb's pretty awesome that way.)

[Petrie]

(Also, for the record, I never intended to keep the meta thread locked, if I had. Just close it for a day or so to let everyone cool down. )

Well, even on a temporary basis, this surprised me since I can think of at least one other instance of far more inflammatory, actually hateful and trollish behavior that got not a lick of mod attention.

I'm not saying it was bad that it was brought up and I agree on Pweb generally being so well-behaved, modding is unnecessary (part of the reason I've been vocally for reducing the number of mods/admins), but there seem to be some inconsistencies and I hear about enough casual abuse -not often but more than once, in my opinion, is enough/too much- that I have a hard time taking any jokes like that as jokes.

Deleting posts last year, checking on IP addresses of Confessions in non-emergency situations, changing invisible/visible status of posters, editing posts for no good reason.


I'm glad the tone in the other thread changed, I really am, and I appreciate all efforts to make that happen and I'm also glad we're waiting on Jan to make any decisions, but I think when she gets back and is ready, we need to have some serious discussions about a lot of things regarding how this place is run and will be run. Basic forum rules being another thing.

[Mommy Brontosaurus]

We're buying yarn. To knit baby stuff. Funny hats. Funny hats are awesome.

[Luet]

Just so you know, I did attempt the dalek for you but it was a fail. Sorry!

[starlooker]

Right now, even as I type, I am busy 1) missing my period, 2) building a placenta, and 3) developing a baby heart and neural tube.

Life is good.

Sort of.

Work life is not good, and is causing a good deal of stress. Hoping not to get fired, pretty much. Don't want to get into it, right now. Unrelated to the pregnancy.

Baby life is good, though. Donny kisses my tummy at night and says, "Good night, Little Bit." The Lunch Fairy also came last night and packed me up a nice, healthy lunch to take to work, as apparently my habit of dining on granola bars is not sustaining enough. Last night, I ended up having to tell my last client (Tuesday I'm there an hour later than usual), because I was just ridiculously hungry and had to have a granola bar during session or keel over. I'm not exactly more hungry than I used to be, but I'm hungry more often for less.

Have also told my supervisor and a couple of DBT colleagues, as I was supposed to go to a team intensive training that is for one week in September and one week in early March. Obviously, the second week is out. Since we're supposed to be registering for it now, they made it into the need to know club. Well, I called the person in charge of the training and left a message explaining the circumstance and asked for a return call to discuss options. She called back, but had misheard my name, and so got transferred to a DBT team member with a name similar to mine, who immediately sent an email about how she'd just gotten a call from B-Tech wanting to know exactly what kind of accommodations the pregnant team member would be needing, and what was up with that? So, that cat kind of got out of the bag. The Ki/Kr name problem strikes, yet again! (I think I can limit it to just the DBT team, though. I love 'em and don't mind if they know, but I just don't want people I'm not real close with to know, yet.)

Find myself humming the song "Baby Mine" an awful lot, lately.

[Mommy Brontosaurus]

I had a nightmare last night that I started miscarrying. It was unpleasant. But a relief to wake up! Oh good, everything is still okay! And Wee Brontosaurus has moved around a bit, including one big stretch, so it's very reassuring.

This is the hat I want to knit. I found the perfect shade of yarn, with a bit more blue in it than the picture.

Kirsten, did you know you totally have an awesome excuse for footrubs, in about 8 months?

Also, here's a great tutorial on taking care of baby: Part 1, Part 2.

[Mich]

Also, here's a great tutorial on taking care of baby: Part 1, Part 2.

Classic!

We used to watch these so much growing up. I have no idea how: we didn't have cable for most of my childhood, and I know my sister, at least, would have found it boring. Maybe a relative had collections on tape?

[starlooker]

Week Five down, Week Six begins tomorrow. I have known about the existence of Little Bit for over a week now. Continual refrain in my head from West Side Story, "Today the minutes seem like hours. The hours go so slowly." Waiting for the first prenatal check, waiting for an official word from someone that everything is fine.

I feel fine is the good news. Queasiness comes and goes, but not really that frequently. Occasional mild cramps. No spotting. Mood-wise, except for work-induced anxiety, I feel utterly chipper. Except when something makes me cry. I both laugh and cry more easily.

Dreamed that you were pregnant, Steph.

Further Awesome Things About Pregnancy

1. Telling people (still keeping the circle fairly limited, but still.) They seem so, so happy. And the ones with young children offer me things. So far, I have a bouncer, a swing, a pack 'n play, and a diaper genie lined up for whenever I want them. (I'm taking the advice of a friend and refusing to accept anything until after the first trimester.)

2. Super strength fingernails. I should get a manicure.

3. Alphamom.

4. Donny cooking new foods from the Healthy Pregnancy book. Also, have been eating more leafy greens, which is just generally good for me.

5. Trying to enjoy the things in my life that are going to change in the near future. Not with resentment that they will change, and not trying to cling to them -- more like making sure to give them a fond farewell. Like sleep.

6. "So, I've been busy growing a baby and a placenta today. What have you been doing?"

7. Pregnancy buddies. Having Ali going through this right ahead of me is cool, plus my sister-in-law is also pregnant, and due about three months before me. That's just nifty.

8. Speculation.

Further Unimpressive Pregnancy Experiences

1. The Intensive Training inconvenience. ARGH.

2. Further breast development. In another week or two, my bigger bras will not fit, at this rate. Sore frequently, and the turkey is constantly done. ANNOYING.

3. Waiting, waiting, waiting for the first doctor visit.

4. Not being able to take anti-anxiety meds.

5. Not telling some people I would want to know and having to tell some people I would not want to know due to FMLA and the other work situation.

~~~

Again, awesome outweighing inconvenient quite easily.

[VelvetElvis]

4. Not being able to take anti-anxiety meds.

Aside from that it's like tossing an M&M at a lion, have you considered hydroxyzine? It's category C (but it's cousin diphenhydramine is B), and a lot of doctors use it.

[Mommy Brontosaurus]

Wee Brontosaurus has been going through a PhD. "This week, it's working on the chapter on neurons." "This week, it's researching spinal formation." "Only a week and a half till it passes its upgrade, just needs to pad out that chapter on lungs, first!"

Also, yes, enjoy sleep. Enjoy it while you can. Also enjoy being able to roll over comfortably.

I also like having someone else going through this!

[Mommy Brontosaurus]

Mommy Brontosaurus bought a new swimsuit today! Hooray! Hopefully it will fit the first try, since I'm nervous about ordering online. Also, check out the new avatar! They make baby-sized and adult-sized versions of the shirts, and I totally want a matching pair!

[starlooker]

You totally have to get a matching shirt set!

I am worried about the rolling over issue. Especially since I started sleeping on my stomach about 2-3 months pre-pregnancy. Damnit. I'm going to miss that.

When I was in developmental psych in undergrad, a friend of mine and I used to study for tests in the laundry room of the dorm. We would get a little loopy sometimes. We were learning about in-utero development, and the thing I remember most clearly was singing (to the tune of Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes) "Eyes and ears and mouth and limb buds!" (instead of "eyes and ears and mouth and nose") and sticking our hands next to our shoulders to represent limb buds. It was ridiculously silly and we found it hilarious as all anything.

Anyhow, turns out we were singing about Pregnancy, Week 6. I can't believe it. I'm in "Eyes and ears and mouth and limb buds" week!

Okay, question. Mommy Bronto, I know you were more queasy than hungry first trimester -- did any mommies out there get super freaking hungry? I mean, "wake up to pee at midnight and realize there is no way you are going back to sleep without eating something" hungry? There is no more denying it. I'm flipping starving half the time. And it's not because I don't eat. And it's not in my head. I mean, it's hunger-pangs style hungry.

I'm starting to worry Little Bit might turn out to be two Little Bits. I was not expecting to get this hungry this fast.

[Petrie]

Love the image, Ali.

Kirsten, do you or D have a family history involving twins?

[starlooker]

D doesn't. My maternal grandfather was an identical twin, but no one else in my family has had them.

Egads. Perhaps that means I'm the only one who got the lucky gene.

Probably not. I'm just cycling between various anxieties today.

[steph]

Dreamed that you were pregnant, Steph.

My test was negative, although I was surprised that it was.

As for twins, identical twins can happen spontaneously to anyone. Fraternal twins is the genetic ability to drop multiple eggs in a cycle. (Although age can play factors of being more likely to drop multiple eggs. That's usually as you approach your 40's though.)

If the only twins in your family history are identical, it's a pretty slim chance you have a genetic ability for twins. It doesn't rule out the spontaneous identicals. And, of course, there were no twins in my family history before my mom got pregnant with triplets. But now we know that dropping multiples is in the genetics, since there were identical and fraternal in the mix, and I'm always prepared for that possibility.

[starlooker]

Good to know. Okay. So, not worrying about that anymore. It was just a brief blip on the worry chart, anyhow. I'm now busily freaking out about ectopic pregnancy.

The minutes seem like hours, the hours go so slowly.

[Eaquae Legit]

If you have pain or bleeding or any (real) worries, they can do early scans which will relieve worries. Right now, Little Bit looks like a little round dot that pulses as its heart beats! He's probably chillin' in your uterus right now, getting comfy and settling in.

I got queasy, but I know some people get hungry! Just go with it!

[powerfulcheese04]

I have a friend who alternated wildly between ravenous and ridiculously nauseous.

(Granted, she was simultaneously growing a brain tumor and a baby, so we/her doctors think the hungry was baby and the nausea was tumor.)

[starlooker]

Thanks. I am trying to just go with it. Judging by some pregnant women forums I've browsed, I'm far from being the only one with this issue. Which leads me to my newest pet peeve: educational books and websites that talk all about how you should try to limit weight gain during pregnancy and normalize losing weight in the first trimester and fail to mention, "Oh, hey, on the flip side, you might be honestly, truly, ravenously hungry. It's not just in your head, you might not just be needing extra attention or trying to self-soothe, so go for healthy options and don't feel bad about it."

I am not loving the quick weight gain, but I really don't think I could've done anything to healthfully prevent it. I mean, I can't keep skipping lunch anymore, and I'm eating more nutritiously than I have in ages. Hopefully it'll slow down when the hormonal craziness does.

[starlooker]

I called my mom on the way home from work tonight, and casually mentioned my random freakouts over little things, like, you know, ectopic pregnancy.

God, I love my mom. She picked up on that right away, as far as, no, I'm not taking my little freakouts as in stride as I'm trying to pretend. And, the thing is, when I was about three, she actually had one. And she pretty well swears I would know. She felt something was off, her abdomen was really tender even before it ruptured, and she just did not feel as healthy overall as she did with my brother and me (even though she had morning sickness with all three of us). Me? I'm healthy as a horse. When I'm not having crazy anxiety, I'm feeling pretty good, I'm hungry, I'm obviously healthy, and, most importantly, I'm NOT doing myself any good by looking up information about all the things I'm afraid might go wrong. Basically, if there's a lot of pain or bleeding, call the doctor. Otherwise, quit driving myself nuts. Good advice. Feeling back on track with my original trustfulness.

[Eaquae Legit]

Good for you. And yes, stay away from DOOM sites, they always always give the worst possible case scenario!

[Mommy Brontosaurus]

23 weeks today! 1 week until Wee Brontosaurus upgrades! I can't believe how fast it's come. I'm so excited.

Last night I had a baby dream, and it was reasonably nonsensical as dreams are, but I remember snuggling Wee Brontosaurus and loving it. My new bathing suit arrived, and fits reasonably well. I'm thrilled I can finally go swimming again! It will be soooo nice for my back and my self-esteem, I'm sure. It just feels super weird, because I've never had a tankini before, plus I'm a whole new shape.

Wee Brontosaurus continues to be an active little bugger, making sure to kick me at night as I try to sleep. It's big/strong enough now that you can feel it from the outside quite clearly, and you can even see it! This morning he has been protesting the presence of my laptop and making it wiggle as I type.

People keep making excuses FOR me about doing stuff, and frankly, I'm not too proud to let them. Sure there's a lot of stuff I COULD still do, but it's usually less pleasant at the best of times, so I'm happy to let them.

Oh. And I've come down with some sort of cold or throat infection, and I'm grumpy and worried about what I can do about it. Will need to go to a walk-in or something, I guess.

[Mommy Brontosaurus]

This morning I woke up from a nightmare in which I had stupid pointless fights with my family, fought with an acute and severe depressive episode (and no one would comfort me), and then tried to help hold/bathe a baby which twisted impossibly and hated me and puked and pooped (impossibly) and then coughed up some intestinal worms onto my hand.

I hope never, ever, to experience that level of devastation in real life. No one would hug me or comfort me or even admit something was wrong with me. And we were all still mad at each other. And I was falling apart the day of a crucial high school exam which I had to take because somehow my original high school graduation didn't count and I had to make up a credit or something. (I've actually had that dream twice now, feck.)

Stupid baby giving me nightmares. It's a good thing I can feel you moving around right now, because that makes me all affectionate toward you. Also, I promise to do everything in my power to protect you from intestinal parasites.

*shudders and has more tea*

Hey! I forgot I never replied to this!

Also, here's a great tutorial on taking care of baby: Part 1, Part 2.

Classic!

We used to watch these so much growing up. I have no idea how: we didn't have cable for most of my childhood, and I know my sister, at least, would have found it boring. Maybe a relative had collections on tape?

They used to air an hour of Stooges every Sunday morning on a local channel. We'd rush home from Sunday School and tape them. My dad is a huge, huge fan from during HIS childhood. I admit, they're even funnier now that I'm an adult. My whole family will randomly quote The Three Stooges at appropriate times, and it's always a disappointment when I do so elsewhere and no one gets it!

[starlooker]

I believe it was Mark Twain who said, "Three people can keep a secret, if two of them are dead."

ARGH.

There is no point any longer in trying to hide it from anyone at work (except clients). Damnit.

Okay. Here's the situation. A team I am on at work has been trying for two years to get people to have both funding and availability to go on this really super important training. The training happens over two weeks, one in September and one in early March. We have to send in our applications for it now, pretty much if we want to go. Since we barely have enough people to send, the fact that I will not be able to go in early March meant that I had to tell the people on the team.

Okay, well, that's all well and good. Fine. I trust them. Well, around that same time, we have a new person joining us, and the new person has an intern and wants to know if the intern can come to consult. I sent an email to the five people on the team who knew asking that we please not discuss my pregnancy during consult, as I don't know this person that well. They all agree that's fine.

Except that, in replying to the person who asked the question (who did not know about my situation), she replied in an email that had my request not to talk about the pregnancy down towards the bottom. And sent it to the listserv. I'm not exactly sure who is on the listserv, but it's NOT just the regular members of the team, damnit. So, that means I have no idea now who all knows, but what I do know is that when I told my supervisor in a completely different building who just got back from Italy the news this morning, she already knew.

Argh.

I wouldn't have told anybody other than my supervisors at work if it weren't for the stupid training situation. I mean, I'm feeling more and more confident that everything will be fine. Still, though, there is that nagging fear, and I really would not want to have to deal with a bunch of people asking me how the baby is if I were to lose it (God forbid, please and thank you and Amen).

[starlooker]

Alright, folks, Little Bit and I are wrapping up Week 6 today, starting Week 7 tomorrow. Feeling good, and also feeling hungry and tired and occasionally headachey.

Awesomeness

1. Okay, this one is going to sound weird, at least at the beginning. I was reading about the various hormones and the different things that they do, and why. And I was reading about how the immune system gets suppressed to lower the chances that your body will reject the baby. And you would think this would fall under the inconvenient/scary category. However, somehow, reading me it just hit me that the reason your body would reject the baby is that baby has his/her own DNA. And that just made me smile, almost sent me into a kind of euphoria. That growing inside of me, part of me right now, is this whole separate person with his/her own unique DNA. I can't explain it, exactly, why that was so awesome. I think that the reality of what's happening keeps blooming and fading for me right now, and when it blooms, it's amazing.

2. This one is kind of similar. Fretting over weight gain and rapid body changes, and I was looking at myself sideways in the mirror, with my shirt up to show my belly, and suddenly had the "Oh. I'm pregnant!" epiphany. Which made everything more okay, and kind of funny and sweet.

So, basically, this week, awesomeness is about my brain trying to wrap itself around what's happening. And, occasionally, when it does get itself wrapped around the concept, I feel pretty giddy.

The Unimpressive

1. NIGHT SWEATS. Oh my gosh, I never, ever, ever understood why menopausal women complained about that. I mean, I've woken up overheated and sweaty before, and kind of assumed it was something like that. NO. It is NOTHING like that. I mean, I woke up drenched and soaking two nights in a row, half wondering if I had wet the bed. I had to get another sheet to put down before I went back to sleep. Fortunately, it is one of those things that is supposed to go away in the second trimester.

2. Being at this awkward stage where I don't want to buy maternity clothes, but am definitely needing new clothes. I hate clothes shopping to begin with. Ish.

Also, I'm not putting this under it's own number, because it's not new, but it's such a pain that it deserves an honorable mention -- the breast pain/tenderness/growth/misery. They hurt. A lot. Least favorite part of the day -- taking off my bra. Holy hell. That is just insanity of pain.

~~~

Happy Sixth Week, Little Bit. Here's looking forward to Week Seven.

Hee! We're halfway through the first trimester, technically, even though the first two weeks didn't actually involve me being pregnant. It still feels nice to think of that way.

[steph]

Thanks for sharing your updates! (both of you.) I love reading them.

[Eaquae Legit]

My sister sent me a Bella Band and it has extended the life of my wardrobe considerably. Highly recommended!

[starlooker]

Last night was my first experience of true first trimester hell. I am now very aware of why I'm supposed to be looking forward to the second trimester so much.

It was flat-out awful.

First, there was having to pee after every REM cycle, at a minimum. Now and then there was the fun of going to the bathroom (leaning forward & double voiding, of course), going back to bed, and five minutes later trying to explain to my body that I did NOT have to pee again, there was no way it was humanly possible that I had to go again, and my body insisting very loudly that it has broken beyond simple "humanly possible" needs. And, it turned out, it was right every time.

Okay, well, that was bad enough. Except the night sweats had returned in full force. So, when I'd wake up at every REM cycle, I'd also wake up miserably hot and soaked. Since we had the fans on in the room to try to cool me off, I would start to freeze in the process of getting out and back into bed. Then I would lie there with my teeth chattering miserably. My husband took charge of putting the big blanket on me when I got back into bed and taking it back off when I fell asleep, so that I would neither freeze nor overheat.

At about four in the morning, I got back into bed, entirely exhausted and still half asleep, and realized that my stomach was literally hurting with stabbing hunger pangs, and that I couldn't just try to go back to sleep, I was stuck having to eat something. Thank God for husband, who got me a few Fig Newtons to munch on without getting out of bed. Husband has been great and wonderful. So, of course I had a nightmare involving fighting with him and then losing him in a gigantic, awful, horrible, insanely crowded train station where I also had some machine eat my forty dollars and a really mean person yelling at me about what an idiot I was while simultaneously being in charge of getting it back for me. But, mainly, I was walking around trying to find the correct part of the train station. The station had ramps and hills, and I just kept walking until I was exhausted and my legs hurt, and my cell phone wouldn't work so I couldn't call Donny, and I couldn't find him ANYWHERE. Finally, my Mom found me and said she'd found him looking for me in the place he assumed I would be, and it turned out there was a big Starbucks in the middle of the station that I hadn't found in spite of all my walking. And then, to get to the place we needed to go, there was a lot more crowd fighting and walking while exhausted until I woke up, soaked, hungry, and needing to pee.

I am feeling better now, but at one point last night, I was in tears and feeling quite deeply sorry for myself. Half-asleep, blubbering to Donny as my teeth were chattering, "It's not fa-air."

So. Yeah. I guess that's why I'm looking forward to the second trimester.

[Mommy Brontosaurus]

Hugs! It sounds like you're having a rougher time of it than I had! Night sweats are awful, and I never had them before either. They got better for me pretty quick, so I hope the same holds true for you!

Meanwhile, because I hope everything is going well enough that you don't need an early scan, here is a picture of roughly what Little Bit looks like! I think they mostly look the same at this age, lol.

[starlooker]

Thanks!

It's nice to know what Little Bit looks like from the outside Reading about what parts are developing has not yet lost its magic, and I really don't foresee that it will do so.

Feeling more queasy this morning than I have for awhile. Also, very, very tired. Thankfully, I slept better last night with minimal night sweats. Benedryl helped. Also, I took a bunch of advice from a column in Alphamom about dealing with night sweats (cool shower before bed, pulling hair back into French braid, putting my deodorant/antipersperant on all my pulse points, etc.) It really seemed to help. Although I woke up with parts of my body ridiculously warm, I wasn't miserably soaked through from sweating. And I only woke up twice to use the bathroom. So, that was a plus.

Yay for small victories!

[Eaquae Legit]

Hooray for not night sweats! Small victories are still victories!

[Mommy Brontosaurus]

Today I was talking to the doctor about my happy-making vitamins, and I realised that holy cow, yeah, by the next time I see him, it will be less than three months to go and time to start reducing my dosage. This seemed SO FAR away not that long ago!

We also talked about getting me registered with the practice's associated psychiatrist, just so that I'm on the books and have a relationship, even a small one, with someone in case I need help to deal with the lower dose, or if I go a bit wonky post-partum. I know I'm at risk for it, especially if I've been off my meds, so I'm already starting to make plans for any environmental factors I can control. It's just good to know I have a bit of backup, I guess.

Midwife appointment this afternoon, hopefully all is well still!

Edit: Everything is well indeed! I feel good, the baby moves around a lot and has a nice, strong heartbeat, my scans showed nothing negative. I must be losing weight in my limbs/face/something? because I am definitely heavier on the whole, but the first thing the midwife said when she saw me was that I looked like I'd lost weight and I looked great. So hooray!

[starlooker]

Yay!

Meanwhile, not only am I constantly hungry, but I am compelled to talk about food when I am not able to satisfy my hunger. I swear, half my clients must think I'm high and having the munchies.

Talking to my mother on the phone on my drive home, I was rhapsodizing about strawberries, blueberries, chicken salad wraps, and also my discovery that I now hate sliced cheese. I realized she might be growing bored, so I politely changed the topic. "Well, enough about me. So, tell me, what are you going to be eating for dinner tonight?"

[Mommy Brontosaurus]

I forgot to write about the sad things yesterday, I was so excited to be at 24 weeks and with a healthy baby.

Turns out the structure of things here is such that my midwife won't be the one at the birth, almost for certain. Especially since with my high BP they're probably going to strongly recommend being in hospital, it will be the hospital midwives/nurses attending, who I do not know. I'm actually pretty stressed out about this.

If I knew my mom would be here for sure when Wee Brontosaurus finally decides to walk the earth, I'd probably have zero worries at all. The combo of mommy/doula that she'd be would solve all of my worries. Calm, reassuring, knowledgable, liable to crack jokes at just the right time... yeah. But she might not be here, and I don't even get my own midwife who I know.

So I'm really seriously considering contacting Doula UK to see if they have any trainee doulas or anyone who will work for a bit less for a low-income family. I know my best friend here would probably come down to help me, but she's a train ride away and can't just pop on over at any hour of the day or night.

Will keep you posted, I guess. Meanwhile, Wee Brontosaurus now has a slightly better than 50/50 chance if it decides to come way early, so that is awesome!

And I discovered alcohol-free ciders this week, which makes me SO HAPPY. Non-booze beer just sounds (and looks and tastes) dreadful, but cider might be a better thing, and I wouldn't feel so left out all the time!

[locke]

while I knew about the two ongoing pregnancies, I initially clicked this thread thinking, oh, Egg Balancer and Steph have made another baby. :-p