:thumbup:Hi guys! I know we have been keeping each other posted in various other threads, especially "Banded & Hoping to Get Preg", but since the title of that thread doesn't exactly give out the best info, I am starting a new one for all to post their fun pregnancy stuff, like how appointments go, how the baby is, when we find out the sex, due dates, etc etc!!

Here's my info for today!

We had our 13/14 wk appt today. I am very aware of my ovulation/menstrual cycle, so by my dates we are 13 weeks, however the docs say the baby is measuring 14 weeks. Whatever, it's gonna come when it's good and ready! We got to hear the baby's heartbeat today and it was good and solid, also fast. About 160 Beats per Minute, so there is a good chance the baby is a girl if you go off the heart rate literature. Lower rates like 120-145 BPM are often boys, higher rates from 150-180 BPM are often girls.

Other than that, all is well! I'm officially out of 1st trimester and had another lb lost, which is great as that means I technically didn't gain. The first few weeks I was starving so gained 4-6 lbs real fast, then the hunger tapered off and the band got kinda tempermental and tight on certain days, so I have lost what I gained...YIPPEE! Hearing the heartbeat was wonderful, it made it more real, just like our first ultrasound did.

wow - great store link....

Joshua is such a peanut, he still swims in preemie sizes... looking for cheap clothes that i can get (have tons of 0-6 month, but NB and preemie, not so much...)

. . . . ahhh, I want to hold a little peanut. :0)

I was looking at the preemie and newborn sized clothes the other day. It is so hard to imagine that the baby will fit them. I cannn'ttt waittttt. I think that is the hardest part of pregnancy, waiting and waiting and being sick and waiting some more, lol.

Does anyone have advice on baby slings/carriers? A friend suggested the folowing from moby:

Moby Wrap, Baby Sling, stretchy wrap, baby carrier, Moby sling

She said it was very versatile and comfortable. I like the thought of having something easy to run around the house in that keeps my hands free and my baby happy.

Slings look intriguing as well but I don't know what would really be the most comfortable for both of us. Whatever I choose I want to have in the early days post delivery.

Any thoughts or experience on this topic . . . or maybe I should start a different thread???

My favorite place to shop though has been Online Baby Store - Newborn and Infant Clothes - Gifts for a New Baby

Ridiculously cheap stuff, shoes for $1, washcloths, onesies, etc.. great pricing.

OMG, those prices are unbelievable :sneaky::w00t::mad2:, and shipping is almost free, or is free, but with those prices being so low you'd have to buy a gazillion things to get up to $100 for free shipping.

Awesome website, thanks for sharing.

Some reason slings don't appeal to me, so I have no input :sneaky:

im still wanting to get a sling... we havent set up our pack and play yet and his crib is in our room, i'd rather him be near me during the day, so im thinking a sling would be great...

havent heard about Moby though - - they look nice.

RE: sling advice. I've tried several. Honestly, I use none. The one I used the most is the Baby Bjorn but I haven't used it in at least a month. If I could do it over again, I would save the $80 from the Baby Bjorn and ~$200 I spent total and pass (and put it into all the other things I needed, but didn't know I would!). Reasoning will follow.

I tried the Infantino sling rider. I found the strap too stretchy, very hard to get the right fit because you adjust, then add baby, it's too low, take baby out, adjust, put baby in, still to low, take baby out... plus it's a side sling, and it didn't really free my hands because I was having to hold the sling in place because it swayed when I walked and I was worried her head would get knocked into a doorway or something.

I tried a Mod Mum baby sling and didn't have the problems with really stretchy straps, but I had a hard time letting go and feeling comfortable that she was secure. So I'd end up holding her against me, and then what's the point?

A crafty friend made me a standard fabric sling, but honestly I didn't even try it. By the time I received it, I was "over" the sling thing.

The best luck was with the Baby Bjorn. I liked that she faced me, and it was easy to "wear" her while I did housework because I knew where she was and wasn't worried about her banging into things. I did have to use at least one hand to support her when I would bend forward - no big deal. They have a lot of back support so I felt comfortable not supporting her all the time. Downside is that the downward pressure translated to downward pressure on the straps, and I have sensitive skin, so after 15 - 20 minutes the strap pressure would really start to irritate my skin and I'd have to take it off anyway.

So all said and done, they were all wastes of money. But keep in mind she was born on Oct and headed straight into winter. Had she been born spring or summer, maybe we would have gotten more use out of it. Anytime we go somewhere she's in the carrier. And if I take her out, I just hold her. No sense in taking her out, strapping her into a sling, only to unstrap her from the sling and back into a carrier when we get into a car.

I asked my friends with kids about slings before my daughter was born and they told me it was a waste of money, but I didn't see how. Now I do. But like I said, different weather, or even more urban surroundings and maybe it would be different. But where we are, you get in the car and go somewhere, then get in the car and go somewhere else. If we just went and could walk around I may feel differently.

Oh, and specifically on using slings around the house... just my two cents/experience. I too thought for sure I'd "wear" her everywhere so a sling would be perfect. That lasted maybe two tries. I mean - when I'm at home, I'm really not up that much unless I'm working, and if I was working it was really hard/inconvenient to wear her (like I said - worried about her banging into doorways, had to use a hand to support her anyway)... plus you really can't see much with the baby strapped to you, you kind of have to approach everything from your open side... don't want to cook because of radiant heat, doing dishes too loud, etc.

So when I was at home I was either seated holding her, or she was in her lounger or swing while I was up working (usually when she was asleep).

hth

My quick update. Baby girl will be 4 months (calendar dates, not technical months) tomorrow. As of last week she was 14 pounds & change, and a little over 25 inches. ~90th percentile for height, ~70th percentile for weight. "Very well proportioned, just a big baby" as her doctor puts it. But with me around 5'11 and dad around 6'5, it's what we would expect.

She is now making multiple syllable coos and has mastered the social smile, and is starting to recognize mom and dad. She doesn't sit on her own, but she can solo in the Bumbo or with a hand on her back to keep her steady. She doesn't yet purposefully reach for things, I don't think, but when you put something in front of her the hands start to move and eventually she gets ahold of it, and sure enough the first place it goes is to her mouth... but she doesn't know what to do with it once there (e.g. bite on it) so she just kind of presses her tongue against it. Unless it's your finger. Fingers go full on into the mouth. She tries to put her pacifier in her mouth, but it's not so much a coordinated effort as a "do my best to hold the pacifier and them impale my head on it". Per doctor she's slightly ahead of average milestones. Which really means nothing.

Speaking of, it's baby bath time, but I'll post some pics later.

Speaking of, it's baby bath time, but I'll post some pics later.

I can't wait to see pics. I am also looking forward to the stages of social smiles and different coos. They become so much more interesting and dynamic at those stages.

Do you like the bumbo seat? I thought it looked like a good thing to have.

Thanks for your advice on slings. I think that is why I have been asking so many people questions lately. With my first baby, the things I thought I needed I didn't need or didn't use. I wanted to avoid some of that this go round.

Aww, I can't wait to see pics Wheet!!!

I don't know what is up with the sling, but it's one item I just never even though to get. I don't think I'd use it, like you said Wheet-- I assume you'd always have one hand on there to 'hold it in place' or just to reassure me that it's not going to fall--and then what's the point. I plan to use bouncers/jumpers/soothing station stuff when I'm around the house cleaning or working. pumpkin seat in public.

Not to sound dumb, but I have no idea what a pumpkin seat is...thanks for the wrap advice, I may end up still getting one of the harness type ones, with spots for arms and legs instead of the wrap-type, diagonal-across the body ones; they seem more secure and can be used for longer phases of the baby's life, plus our lifestyle is lots of walking, fairs, festivals, outdoor stuff like music festivals, flea markets, etc that would make sense when we don't always wanna bring a stroller.

I had my 4 month appointment today, the doc's office consistently lists me a week ahead of my own personal calculations, meaning they had me at 18 wks, I have me at 17, but whatever. I have given up arguing that I know my dates of conception, ovulation, etc because it's a moot point now. If they have me showing at 40 weeks before I actually am, maybe it'll work in my favor since Lord knows I'll be ready to get the baby out by then either way.

All was well, the heartbeat was 150 BPM and the baby bean thwumped the heart monitor device several times, which was cool to hear! We get our 20 wk ultrasound on Friday March 13th, which is funny and ominous at the same time, but I'm not very superstitious. Can't wait to find out the sex! I wanted a chance to ask the doc about sleeping on my belly, as I keep waking up that way and am concerned it will harm my tummy, but I can't seem to help rolling over in my sleep! He had only a few minutes because several patients were in labor and he had to get back to the hospital, so I forgot, dummy me.

You're going to eventually hit a point when 'rolling onto your tummy' is going to hurt quite a bit, and you won't do it. I still slept kind of side ways kind of belly (half and half, with one leg stretched out in front of me) for a while, now if I even try to roll on my tummy to flip positions (instead of rolling on my back) it hurts in different places.. pulls my lower abdomen muscles (and starts the round ligament pains), feels like someone is punching me in the gut, etc..

If it's not uncomfortable, don't worry about it yet. All the 'books' say it's best to sleep on your left side, but if you find you wake up on your belly or right side, it's not the end of the world, don't panic.. just roll back onto your left side.

Pumpkin seat is what we call infant seats. I got a graco travel system, the seat only weighs 5lbs, snaps into the stroller, and snaps into the seat base in the car.. so you can move it with you. If baby is sleeping, don't have to wake them up to move them to something else.. it also fits onto the soothing center for the house I have, which was an unexpected surprise.

This is a travel system (with pumpkin seat). the seat in the pic is on the carseat base, so it's a little less bulky than that.

I am a natural belly sleeper too. It was not a problem until I hit 22-23 weeks were it became increasingly uncomfortable. I also found at some point that the baby seemed to start fussing when I lay on my stomach. Now I sleep in a semi belly/side positon with some pillow propping.

I did ask my ob and she was fine with this.