I was all about pants with the fold down waist and they came in handy for those first weeks after having the baby (I had a C-section). In my 3rd trimester, I was so large and uncomfortable, that I actually liked the maternity pants that come up all the way. I just couldn't stand anything constricting around my waist and anything other than pj pants sitting under my belly felt like they'd come off.

Oh and for trying to get pregnant. The cervical mucous method is my tried and true holy grail of baby making. My mom got pregnant 5 times with it and I got pregnant the first month of trying by using it.

[Edited on May 14, 2012 at 4:02 PM. Reason : .]

5/14/2012 4:01:21 PM

That's probably the one thing I haven't tried yet. I will do that this month. Thanks!

I always welcome any more tips and advice!

5/14/2012 4:36:39 PM

my favorite pregnancy method is sex. lots.

5/15/2012 8:13:30 AM

For those trying to conceive, I know this says "infertility" so I don't think y'all would fall into this category but this doctor knows his stuff and had a webinar recently:

http://www.uabmedicine.org/uabmd-webinars/infertillity

He's a little arrogant, but I guess with how many couples he helps he has a right to be.. The video gives tips on ovulation timing, too

5/15/2012 8:36:28 AM

I totally googled cervical mucus method....I regret it

5/15/2012 9:46:14 AM

Yes, but anyone who has sex regularly knows that sometimes it's just slippery than others. It's not really new news.

[Edited on May 15, 2012 at 11:06 AM. Reason : g]

5/15/2012 11:06:00 AM

i personally throw it in a category of things better off not known. haha

5/15/2012 12:24:52 PM

I used an online Ovulation Predictor and had sex 4 days straight during what was estimated to be the two days before and after ovulation. It worked for us and I got pregnant the first month - BUT I have a extremely reliable cycle. Every 28 days like clockwork.

5/16/2012 9:02:04 PM

Quote :

"Oh yeah, does anybody have suggestions for a belly band? I need to start wearing one so my pre-pregnancy work pants can still button"

The Durham Rescue Mission has a maternity section. They put a new coupon up on facebook for 50% off the price. (It is the one behind Frankie Fun Park). I found like 5 pairs of pants (blank and jeans) for less than 10 dollars. They were in awesome shape too. Since we live right here, you could probably check every 2 weeks and get some awesome stuff.

FYI...watch out for the Target printable 3/1 Liz Lange Maternity coupon. Makes the 70% off rack free with coupon. I got 5 pairs of yoga pants over Christmas for free.

5/16/2012 9:54:53 PM

^^This last time, my husband was out of town on training and I knew the exact day I had sex. The doctor basically said it was a surprise I was pregnant. They are basing my due date on ultra sound because she thinks I am making up the day I had sex. There is an 6 day difference. We weren't really trying. We weren't really not trying either.

5/16/2012 9:57:55 PM

Sperm can live like 3 days in the reproductive tract. The day that you have sex and the day that the egg and the sperm do the dirty can be off by a bit.

5/16/2012 10:34:51 PM

these cravings are killer. blueberry poptarts at 2am. thank god for 24/hr grocery stores.

5/17/2012 2:28:47 AM

^^I know; however, the difference in my case was a week.

Due date based on sex, was June 16th. Based on 1st ultrasound my due date is June 23.

The scheduler is going to call me Monday....looks like my c-section will be 6/15 or 6/18 I will have a baby in a month. I signed the released originally for the VBAC but after carefully weighing my risks (including the 1% of the scar rupturing + a hysterectomy and the 25%-50% chance of needing a c-section after going into labor anyways), I opted for the c-section.

5/18/2012 3:28:36 PM

and now the smell/taste of bacon makes her sick

I love bacon.

5/18/2012 4:56:42 PM

^how far along is she?

5/20/2012 3:34:39 PM

8-10 weeks

5/20/2012 4:04:16 PM

Cool, I will be 15 weeks tomorrow


You can do a baby due date calculator and it'll tell you how far along you are and when your due date is

I got it confirmed at our first doctor's appointment and the calculator was right on.

http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/pregnancycalendar/l/blpregcalc.htm

She'll need to know when the first day of her last period was.

[Edited on May 20, 2012 at 5:21 PM. Reason : d]

5/20/2012 5:19:28 PM

Jan 4, 2013

1st doctor apt is Tuesday to verify.

5/20/2012 7:56:57 PM

my back is KILLING me. the only time it doesn't is when i spend all day walking or in my car (bc i can customize the seat to exactly how i need). i was really hoping this was going to be temporary or at least come & go...but it's not. idk how i'm going to survive sitting at my computer work in july.

5/20/2012 8:59:51 PM

Try sitting on an exercise ball. Seriously.

5/20/2012 9:05:44 PM

the only time it feel better sitting is while my back is completely supported & i'm leaning back just a tiny bit. if i had an exercise ball i'd try it but i feel like it might not work. idk. i hurt enough that i'd try almost anything. i'm really hoping our trip to the beach next weekend pans out so i can spend the whole time floating.

5/20/2012 9:44:46 PM

my wife took ownership of the couch during the last trimester... she padded it up with pillows and make it just right to support her back and just stayed there while she was at home (slept there too)

5/20/2012 10:10:13 PM

Will have a baby in Nov.

5/23/2012 12:42:10 PM

Quote :

"my back is KILLING me. the only time it doesn't is when i spend all day walking or in my car (bc i can customize the seat to exactly how i need). i was really hoping this was going to be temporary or at least come & go...but it's not. idk how i'm going to survive sitting at my computer work in july."

I feel that! poor 73. I got a foam roller, put it on the wall and did semi deep squats rolling it up and down my back as I rolled it up and down the wall. (I don't know if that makes sense.) It helped so much until I couldn't do the squats anymore.

5/23/2012 1:02:26 PM

Joining in. Went with my wife to our first ultrasound today. We've got a 8.5 week lima bean with a strong heart beat, and due Dec 31st.

5/24/2012 7:51:46 PM

^^that makes sense. i may try that if i can find a piece of foam or something. i've started laying down on the couch upstairs at work when it gets really bad. about 15-20 mins & it's good enough for me to sit at my desk for a while. also if i sit in my chair at home with my thermarest compressible pillow vertical on my back, it helps. it kinda feels more like a cramp almost bc it'll just all of a sudden tighten up & i can feel it loosen/release when i lay down or sit with this pillow. kinda odd.

^congrats!

[Edited on May 24, 2012 at 9:11 PM. Reason : ]

5/24/2012 9:07:57 PM

Went to the doctor today, c-section is set up for June 20th.

Estimated to be a 6.5-7 pound baby currently. Makes perfect sense since my son was 7 pound at 35 weeks. She said there is a 50-50 chance that the baby will come in 2 weeks.

5/26/2012 7:00:02 AM

how many weeks are you? Do you have gestational diabetes?

5/26/2012 2:10:36 PM

Due date shift.

December 20, 2012

5/26/2012 3:02:18 PM

^so you are gonna get one day with your baby before the world ends.

5/26/2012 3:09:27 PM

oh shoot

5/26/2012 3:33:55 PM

Well I got a jury summons for a month from now. There's no way I'd be able to sit in a chair like that for extended periods. I wanted to die last night when we were out to eat & the chair had no lumbar support. Ughhhhh

5/26/2012 3:41:24 PM

I have nearly bought out the grocery store of baby watermelon.

yea, her back is killing her. I got the bengay with no scent (she has the nose of a blood hound, it seems)

5/27/2012 3:10:54 AM

My wife's sense of smell became insanely strong during her pregnancy. It's apparently pretty common. She couldn't even stand the smells of some foods she liked because of their strength (things like beef jerky or anything involving seafood).

5/27/2012 9:39:23 AM

Same here. The smell of Bacon makes her sick. Bacon was previously one of her favs

5/27/2012 1:24:56 PM

My sister had her baby Dec 24th, they celebrate her B-Day earlier in the month because of xmas.

5/27/2012 3:02:24 PM

I had trouble grocery shopping because I could smell the seafood department the second that I walked through the door.

5/27/2012 3:44:58 PM

cooking onions did it for me. also the raw chicken aisle. could not stand those two smells.

5/27/2012 8:21:43 PM

I learned I could only smell cyanide when I was pregnant. I thought I would die if it were anywhere near me (I am a chemist).

5/27/2012 9:30:05 PM

Has anyone had issues with sciatica while pregnant? My right leg is in an awful state right now. Last night it was so bad I literally could not move without causing intense pain. My mom was telling me when she was pregnant with me she ended up having to take two months worth of short-term disability because of bad sciatica

5/29/2012 10:26:33 AM

Doesn't sound too surprising. Strapping an X weight ball to the front of your abdomen is bound to push and pull some of your muscles and nerves around.

Quote :

"Same here. The smell of Bacon makes her sick. Bacon was previously one of her favs"

That's just cruel and unusual. I hope she recovers from that.

5/29/2012 11:13:20 AM

checking in. wife is due december 14.

5/29/2012 12:00:10 PM

Wife is due June 17. Hopefully earlier. She's petite and looks like she has a belly the size of a watermelon.

5/29/2012 5:09:32 PM

^^^so does she. I can make it. I think. Ha!

Onions are now forbidden.


It is really seeming like the only thing she can eat is blue berry poptarts, dry cereal, or any melon.

5/29/2012 5:33:38 PM

I def had Sciatica. Terrible stuff so sorry.

5/29/2012 6:46:12 PM

Just found out that I'm going to be an uncle.
My SIL is due on Dec. 23. They are hoping for a boy, but don't really care either way.

They don't like the December/ xmas bday, but that is what they get for trying in Feb/March.

5/29/2012 10:32:30 PM

just got back from a routine appt. heart rate was b/w 130-140 & everything is fine. my back is fucking killing me though. doc agreed that the location (mid-back) was a little odd but that it's probably just muscles trying to cope with all the weight in the front. i'm convinced it's a cramp or spasm though, bc i can feel it coming on, then it hits, & i cannot sit down one second longer. it's not a constant ache or anything like that. i have been trying to do different stretches, especially when i first start to feel it, but i haven't found one that works those muscles yet. i've laid down on the couch 3 times today at work & i'm about to go for my 4th.

i'm going to try upping my potassium since i have leg/foot/hand cramps at night anyway. doc said tums is a good way to do this. i've got some gatorade & sent chris to the store for some more foods high in K.

baby also likes to spend ALL of its time on my right side now. this does not feel good. i think the bottom couple of ribs are going to be pried off soon. i can thump my stomach & it sounds almost hollow on the left, then solid as a rock on the right. i've tried pushing the baby back left some but of course that doesn't work.

on the positive side of things, i can feel when there are feet poking out vs other body parts. i was able to kinda pin a leg down & get the baby to keep its foot sticking out so my parents could feel this past weekend.

5/30/2012 4:07:19 PM

^I am not sure about you....but with my cramping (I actually woke up screaming last night) they are making me take more Calcium too.

Apparently K+ is the most common normally, but Ca++ is the more common cause in pregnant women as the baby is leeching the Ca++ out of your bones. It makes sense in my case because I am lactose sensitive and I tend to stay away from dairy products.

I hope your back feels better. I currently have the worst heart burn I have ever had.

5/30/2012 10:41:36 PM

i get a lot of calcium. i eat & drink a LOT of dairy. i love love love it & being pregnant finally lets me consume as much as i want (milk mostly)

i have mean heartburn too i take zantac twice a day. sometimes i still have to use gaviscon though.

[Edited on May 30, 2012 at 11:03 PM. Reason : ]

5/30/2012 10:54:17 PM

Today the woman was pretty sick, lots and lots of puking combined with crazy amounts of back pain...

I gave her comfort food and lots and lots of gatorade...but she was hating being pregnant today...:\

5/31/2012 2:25:33 AM