h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

We were watching Jurassic Park a week before NOD was born and wow did she jump when one of the dinosaurs roared!

How many weeks now, kelli?

Mol

when I was about 5 months pregnant I was at the IMAX cinema in Leeds with my dad watching something about special effects. There were quite a few loud bangs, and I could feel, and the people around me could see (in the light from the screen) my bump jumping around.

My dad was more fascinated by that than the film being shown.

My Yoga in Pregnancy teacher told us a story involving torches about one of her recent students:
The baby was in breach position and the midwives had said it would have to be born by caesarian section unless it turned.
The mother-to-be, desperate to avoid surgery, tried all the techniques she could - read books about it, sat and lay in the right postions, used birthing ball etc. but the thing she swore did the trick was shining a torch upwards from below ...if you can picture what I mean!

Actually, thinking about it - from what I've heard, the baby avoids the light - but this would suggest the baby moved toward the light... now I'm confused.

Un

Even an old grandmother like me gets broody reading this thread.

I'm definitely too old....though I (and the baby I'm sure) would enjoy the pregnancy and the first couple of years....

Enjoy

Interesting stuff about the torch

The dreams - oh man the dreams! I don't think I have ever had such vivid dreams as I'm having now. I often wake up at the end of them, probably why they are so seared into memory. I don't know if it is the pregnancy causing the dreams or the waking up to pee that is making me remember ones that I would ordinarily have forgotten by morning. Didn't have any last night though, which leads on to the next thing...

...I don't *feel* pregnant any more. The sickness has gone, and the tiredness. I get the odd twinge inside, but that could be anything. Bump is hidden under the wobbly, buddha-like thing I call a stomach. I haven't felt any movement since I mentioned it the other day, so am beginning to suspect that was just wind. Am starting to worry again that something has happened. I have a midwife appointment on Thursday so will be asking her to have a go with the doppler again - surely we can't fail to find the baby this far along so that will be reassuring.

Keep thinking that I should maybe hire one myself, so when I start to wig out a bit I can find the heartbeat and relax again. It feels like a very long time until my 20 week scan (I'm 15 weeks now to answer Mol's question) and hopefully soon I'll have a proper bump to touch and I'll start feeling spud move more often and then I can be sure everything is ok in there.

Phew, thought this worrying would stop after the 12 week scan!

oh honey, try to relax! Normally (according to the gazillion books & mags I read) you'll feel the first movement around 16 weeks. I think you have a wee bit to go yet, haven't you?

Are they still doing that Kick-chart nonsense? I nearly gave myself a heart attack when #1 didn't kick for half a day - but she was just fine.

I think it's perfectly normal to have the dreams (and the worries) I bet you don't find many first time pregnant women who don't have them (and you probably won't find many 2nd, 3rd etc etc timers either)

Isn't it lovely, though, when the sickness wears off. Now is absolutely the best time of being pregnant - try to enjoy it.

One of my friends was 38 weeks pregnant whilst we were doing our obs and gyne finals, the university only let her stay so late because she was based in the hospital she intended to deliever in. We did *sort of* hope she went into labour in front of a very nasty obsetrician just to see what he would do if he actually was alone with a woman in labour!

Anyway the midwife tried to get her to do the kick chart - and told her that if she didn't feel 10 kicks by 10 am to lie on one side and then if it didn't kick for half an hour then to call the midwife. She pointed out that she was in a labour ward anyway and doing Dopplers on herself about 10 times a day so if it didn't seem to be moving she'd just pop along and borrow one.

Oddly enough all the women were perfectly happy to be delievered by a heavily pregnant person, so she got to to deliever 12 babies in six weeks, which believe me is an achievement. (I only found four women who were willing to let me help and they all ended up with emergency C sections).

Still very tempted to get a doppler - would be very reassuring to be able to listen to spuds heartbeat as often as I needed to.

And on to today's worry: my weight. I have gained an unbelievable amount of weight since June - I can't believe quite how much. I just weighed myself and I have put on three stone! About a stone a month!

I'm sitting here in floods of tears because I'm back to the size I was *years* ago. It was so hard to lose and it has gone on in the blink of a couple of months. I went a bit mad in the first month and ate loads, but have tried to settle it down and be more sensible since then, although I am still eating more than I was pre-pregnancy, I was struggling a bit with trying not to gain before getting pregnant and it seems impossible now. The lack of exercise is definitely doing for me too - for the first trimester I was too exhausted to exercise and now I don't feel like I can do hard workouts - my swim last night was knackering - I used to do fifty lengths barely thinking about it, but last night we were down to about forty and it was really hard work.

I don't know what to do - I can't sudden;y just go back to my old diet levels of food - that might not even help if I did because I'm just not going to be able to back it up with the exercise. I feel completely powerless and know it is just going to get worse.

Have my next antenatal appointment on thursday and will ask the midwife what to do, but for now all I can do is sit here and cry. Burns a few calories I guess.

that must be really upsetting - but everyone is different. My friend is a ballet teacher, she's never had an ounce of flesh more than is needed to cover her bones, and now she's bemoaning "fat" which nobody can see.

everyone is different.

all you can do is try to keep up some gentle exercise (without overdoing it) and eat sensibly. You never know,you might not put on much more.

What's the average gain during pregnancy?

Less than I've already gained

oh sorry...

if it's any help (my weight gain is something you don't want to hear about) my weight loss right after the birth(within about 2 days) was around 7kgs more.

keep your chin up - it really is the biggest adventure!

Hi Kelli,
I've been reading and couldn't think what to offer by way of pearls of wisdom - but I think I should at least tell you that I am another one who struggles with weight. I put on over 25kg in each pregnancy and have struggled to take it off. I almost succeeded with my first but I now weigh as much as I did heavily pregnant

Please don't try to diet while pregnant *or* breastfeeding. Toxins live in fat and they get released into the bloodstream when we lose weight. You don't want to be flooding your baby with that stuff... Doesn't work as an excuse anymore for me - my little one is 8yrs old

I feel for you, especially after all your hard work, but please keep your focus on your little passenger. This may be a price you have to pay for now - you can put it on your to-do list for later.


W

kelli, 40 lengths is 80% of 50, and I think that is pretty darn good. Try to keep it up, if you can.

Are you planning to nurse the baby? I highly recommend it. I was amazed at how quickly I lost the baby weight and I credit it to nursing. I seem to remember that about 600 calories per day go towards breast milk. In fact, I think I ended up a little slimmer than before I got pregnant. My pediatrician recommended nothing but breast milk for the first six months, so thats a lot of calories.

Kelli, 40 lengths is pretty good! if you really feel exhausted after, maybe you could fill in some of the exercise time with something gentler? Walking, it's turned out, is still pretty good exercise.

I've had to force myself to go walking when I just didn't have the energy, lately. Before I got sick, I walked *everywhere*, and it's probably why my HA was so mild. But even though I'm not walking as much, I have still kept off the 20lbs I lost after the surgery, so watching what I eat is still effective for me.

I think Wilma's comment earlier was correct, though -- I wouldn't work really hard to *lose* the weight, just try to keep from gaining much more. There are toxins in fat, including fat-soluble vitamins, which can flood your system if you lose fat quickly.

My friend Pam breast-fed all three of her kids, and what Witty said was true for Pam as well. She did gain again after she stopped breastfeeding the last one, but then she lost it through WW, and has kept it off.

Kelli, you're a determined woman, and you did a remarkable thing in remaking your life once -- I *know* you can do this! Meanwhile, you've got friends here who'll be glad to be your b*tching post while you're going through this adventure!

SC

Kelli, please don't get anxious about not feeling pregnant - apparently it's normal at around this stage:

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/antenatalhealth/physicalhealth/don'tfeelpreganymoreexpert/

I hope this reassures you as it did me.

I can highly recommend Yoga for Pregnancy if you have a class near you.

Thanks for the encouragement folks. I'll just have to work at getting the weight off after the baby comes. The problem is that to just maintain I have to restrict what I eat quite severely and exercise loads - I just have to accept that I just can't do that now and get on with it.

Just got back from my antenatal appointment with the midwife. She had a listen for spud's heartbeat with the doppler - it was tricky to find because spud was wriggling around all over the place. We heard them though, good and strong and around 146 beats per minute. While we were listening there was this funny plink! sound - happened a few times. The midwife said that was spud kicking me

I'm much more relaxed again now too.

I asked about my weight - she said I'd gained 5 kg since my last visit and she would have expected me to have gained 3 so it isn't too bad. She said it was quite common for some people to gain loads in the first bit and that it then levels off a bit - my rate of gain has certainly dropped off so that is ok.

Candi - I'm doing yoga although it isn't a yoga for pregnancy class. Will try to find one of those I think, as this teacher is rubbish - I thought so when I did her class before I was preggers and it is worse now. There is anpother girl who is six months pregnant and she can do less than me - the teacher just does the normal stuff and tells us not to do some exercises but to just sit and breathe instead

k

That *is* good news, Kelli. You keep yourself cheerful and flood that with happy hormones, y'hear?

Have you thought of aqua aerobics for pregnant mums? Just a thought.


Wilma

That is what I get up to on a Friday evening - I started back again after a break during the exhaustion of the first 12 weeks.

Midwife said I should get a new program for the gym and told me a good place to get one - my gym is rubbish for this sort of thing. Will do that and get going again

I'm just going to have to stop worrying about it. I'm doing the right things so just shouldn't stress over this

Your mantra for the day today:

I am Kelli and I am well with myself

yaayyy, Kelli. I bet you feel a lot better now.

Wilma - that's a great Mantra. Mind if I nick it?