Babies April 2015

Hi ladies,

The scan was wonderful! It was deeply moving to see the little one moving around and hearing those few seconds of heartbeat. IT IS REAL NOW. My estimated due date is 8 April although he said perhaps a bit later.
The new Dr. was totally amazing, I have never met a doctor with such great bedside manners and great sense of humor! We talked for 15 minutes (really) about art and design in South africa as my husband and I are both artists. I have never met a doctor that has made me feel so comfortable and patiently answering all my questions, quite a stark contrast to my previous gynea. The BIG downside is that he is not willing to be my backup gynea at the midwives birth unit because he is too busy as he runs 2 practices. He said that he could do all my checkups until 20 weeks with him and then the midwives take over my care and then I must use one of the other backup gyneas at Femina should I need it. We also met with midwives exclusives and WHAT AN AMAZING setup they have!! I was very impressed with their balance in having a natural active birth but still being cautious of complications during labour. I am so grateful to have found them all!

So yes, I am walking on clouds.

Think I want to go and buy the fetal doppler instrument at Baby boom right now.

Hope that everyone else is coping with the fury of the first trimester symptoms!!

How was your scan??

Hi Ladies,

Thank you for everyone's kind and supportive words. I am sure we will work things out, it was just such a shock because my husband is actually a very kind and caring person and not the type of guy who behaves like this. I think I will be getting foot massages every night for the next couple of months to make up for the whole fiasco.

StarryEyed - So sorry to hear that the symptoms have kicked in full force. I can only imagine how challenging all of this must be for you now being away from home etc etc...I really hope you get through the presentation on thursday. Will be thinking of you. You and Ilse have such interesting jobs! Sounds really like exciting stuff.

I also tried the accupressure wrist bands but know if they work. What I find is that it is important to get protein in your diet, but this is sadly very difficult to do, depending on the level of nausea. I make myself french toast in the morning with 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of coconut milk, pinch of cinnamon and salt, 1 teaspoon honey then fry bread with a bit of coconut oil. It tastes more like a bread and butter style pudding than just egg (which is good at this stage...). I try and eat raw almonds every now and again as they are high in protein. Peanut butter on toast is also a high protein snack. I agree that the nausea actually is worst from 5 in the afternoon until I go to bed. I have found that it helps that I eat my last meal at around 5 and then just nibble on other lighter things until bedtime. I really eat very small meals almost every hour or two - the same portion size my 5 year old eats! I am craving mangoes and watermelon BIG TIME! Can't wait for them to come into season!!

Ilse - looking forward to your scan! Woohoo!

Nels_n - So sorry to hear that things are going rough and the NAUSEA certainly doesn't help! I remember losing weight in my first pregnancy too. I really struggled to keep any food in which totally demotivated me to continue eating which then makes the nausea worse. My Gp said that most women's nausea ends latest 16 weeks...I know this is still a bit away for you, but let's hope it is before that! Our house is stacked with stuff we must sort out and get rid of, I feel your pain. We can barely walk in the garage. I have just decided to tackle all of that when I start to feel better (and not invite anyone over until then).

Newbiemom - yes, 3 october is still a while... I have a very strong feeling it is a girl. If I look at my cycle and the only day in the month that could result in pregnancy was day 7, I don't think I could have ovulated before day 10 which means the chance for a girl is good since the male sperm die very quickly. Would love to have 2 girls but will be equally happy if it is a boy.

Now time for another fruit salad!

Oh no gloei that sucks... hope you have resolved the tension and that you can make up for all the stress by having an AMAZING scan tomorrow and then a super chill weekend...

Starryeyed, goodluck for your presentation!
My classes are 45 mins each, and it goes by very quickly most of the time. Hope it does for you too. Lately I generally dont feel like I able to teach but have gotten through each and every class just fine.

I feel you girls... im super nauseous aaaaaall day. And this time of the day it starts getting worse and builds until I eventually just go to sleep. Not long now. Im counting down the weeks until im done with progesterone.

So wish I could go for a scan this week!! 3rd of oct is sooo far away. Ai.
I dreamt last night that I gave birth to a little girl, and she had my sisters eyes. So beautiful. Im so in love right now. So excited to have this little one, and so grateful for this journey. You girls have any feelings yet on the gender?

Hello ladies

lol Ilse. U know the feeling of relief that you are not alone.

Starreyed@ oh no, i hope you get as much rest on Wednesday night and thus have a refreshed Thursday.

Gloie@ im sorry to hear your weekend was ruined. Our partners can at times not understand our feelings when we advise them against something, its even worse during pregnancy.

My days have been hectic, the build is getting too much. The nausea just isn't setting, this morning i could only stomach fruits and water. I hardly eat , my eating amount has dropped drastically and i cant help it , if only i was like this in real life not just during pregnancy. I am even loosing weight, i am eating cleaner than i ever have.
Cant wait the hear how your scans go ladies.
My house is a mess and i have so much to do and rid of and file etc. so i will be scarce lately but will pop by.

Shame gloei, that is a really stressful weekend - alcohol can be so destructive and cause so much heartache. I'm so glad to read that everyone is feeling really pregnant and not well, glad that I'm not the only one.

Ai starryeyed, I can't think how much worse the extra stress must be to be alone and in a foreign country. I'm also nauseous all day long and I'm also trying to keep it at bay with constant nibbling. I'm keeping a box of salticrax next to my bed, so I eat to just when I wake up. When exactly will you return to SA?

I'm a biochemist, however my phd was in human physiology. Your work sounds interesting - what exactly are you guys doing there? Do you work with live birds or more tissue samples or in vitro work?

Yes! I'm having a scan in 2 days' time, can't wait! So exciting!

Hi everyone

Sorry I have been scarce... I have been struggling to deal with my health. Until yesterday, I was feeling terrible... so I have only really had two days (including today) of feeling better. The cramping is on and off... but my earache is gone. I am battling to deal with the pregnancy symptoms... really did not expect to have them set in as soon as I was feeling better from the gastritis... but such is life. I am back at work today, my colleague is really understanding and not pushing me too hard... we have a huge meeting on Thursday... ALL DAY... I am not sure how I am going to get through that! I also have to give a presentation... so I will be standing for 45mins... GULP!

So far... I am having food aversions to all of my favourites things and smells make me gag! I am nauseous all day!! I have to constantly nibble on things to prevent gagging and I am using acupressure wrist bands... which seem to be doing nothing for me. Very frustrated... I think I am just worn out from being sick and I am just not handling this very well. I will be counting the seconds until the first trimester is over and hoping all my symptoms go away then.

Ilse - I am a animal physiologist... at the moment I am part of a International working group investigating the Evolution of plumage and sexual ornamentation in weaver species... so mainly bird stuff. And you?

Gloei - so sorry about your tough weekend. Men can sometimes be very inconsiderate and it is such bad timing with you not feeling well. Hope he behaves for the rest of your preganancy

A few of you are having scans this week... I hope everything goes well and cannot wait to hear all about it. Being able to chat to you ladies is all that's kept me going the last few weeks so Thank you xxx