Breast feeding and breast pumps

When I had "T," I wasn't able to breastfeed because I had pre-eclampsia and was given magnesium to bring it down. No one told me in the hospital (not even the lactation consultant) told me it could affect me supply.

So, when we came home, I used my manual breast pump and couldn't get anything at all. "B" went and rented an electric breast pump, and I still couldn't get anything. We didn't even have any bottles in the house, as I was so determined to do it. "T" was so small, and she had to have something to eat. It was an agonizing decision for me, but at "T's" first appointment, her doctor said, "It's not good for her to have a depressed mother. She has to eat. It's ok to give her formula." I thought that said a lot because he's a huge proponent of breast feeding.

So, we formula-fed the entire time. "T" had to be on Nutramagin for a while, and it is so expensive. This time, I really, really want to breastfeed. Besides me not making any milk, "T" also had trouble latching on, so I'm planning to buy a pump so the baby will get breastmilk if it can't latch on. I will do like my sister-in-law did and freeze the milk. She quit after a year, for which I really admire her, but I'm thinking I want to try for two years. I've heard pediatricians are now recommending it for two years anyway.

Anyway, I was looking at breast pumps at Wal-Mart.com and Target.com. They are expensive, but as I explained to "B," we will make our money back very quickly with formula being that expensive. I also said that maybe we can get his parents to buy one as their present to us. After all, they did buy "T" a boat when she was born.

I'm totally getting this T-Shirt

I want a Barack Obama T-Shirt and know that it will have to be a maternity one, so I've been looking online. I really wanted something to drive my inlaws nuts when they visit in September or October.

I found it. It's a little more than I would normally be willing to pay for a t-shirt, but I don't care. I will be getting this shirt. Here's a pic.

Woo-Hoo: New Harry Potter movie comes out Nov. 21

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince comes out Nov. 21. I am so excited. I was so afraid the movie would come out a week or two before my due date, and we wouldn't be able to go.

So, we will be taking "T" to the IMAX Theatre in Nashville to see the movie. We went there to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and had a great time. I know I'm going to be huge and miserably pregnant, but I still think I will enjoy it. Opry Mills has an aquarium restaurant that I really want to go to. The Rainforest Cafe is also great there. So, I was thinking we could get there early enough to go eat at one of these places and then go to the movie. If we get there too early, there are plenty of other things we can do, like seeing the sting rays again, which was awesome the first time.

Anyway, back to Harry Potter. I just finished re-reading the Half Blood Prince, and I bawled my eyes out at the end. Hormonal much? I cried the first time, too, though, and I wasn't pregnant. LOL. I know I'll be a wreck in the movie when Dumbledore dies. Oh my goodness, I just can't wait.

More on the name game

I've mentioned before that it took "B" and I forever to decide on a name for "T." I think I was about eight months pregnant before she had one, and my mom had started calling her Matilda.Ugh.

So, I'm starting early with this baby discussing names. We don't even know the gender yet, but we are making a list of names.

Girls:

Molly Elisabeth
Melanie Elisabeth
Nancy Elisabeth
Julia Grace
Juliana Grace

Boys:
William Paul
Harrison Paul
Maxwell Paul
Samuel Paul

The girls' names wouldn't really have any nicknames for them, but the boys would be Will, Harry, Max or Sam. I'm particularly fond of Harry for a boy (don't laugh; it's because of how much I love the Harry Potter books and JK Rowling) and Molly Elisabeth for a girl. Don't tell anyone but Molly also came from the Harry Potter books. That's the name of Ron's mother. It just so happens that I love the name.

I still would love to name the baby after my granny if it's a girl, but I've got to realize that it's not going to happen. "B" just doesn't like the name Alethea and said we would have to put one of his family names with it, which I'm not crazy about at all. I guess I'll have to settle with name Paul if it's a boy, since Granny's middle name was Pauline.

Pregnancy Television Shows

When I was pregnant with T, I watched all of the pregnancy shows on television, including a Baby Story and Special Delivery. If it had to do with pregnancy and birth, I was all over it.

After she was born, I stopped watching them. I think part of it was that I was jealous because I didn't think I would ever have another baby. Besides that, I didn't have any need of it.

But, now that I'm pregnant again, I find myself suddenly interested in these shows again. I haven't had a chance to watch A Baby Story, but I am watching Special Delivery. My favorite new show is Deliver Me, about group of ob/gyns.

It is about three female doctors who practice together, but who are also friends. I love these women. I feel like I could be friends with them and be so comfortable with one of them as my doctor, kind of like I felt about Dr. LaRoche, the doctor I saw while I was pregnant with Tessa and trying to get pregnant with this little one. She doesn't deliver babies anymore, so I went with someone from her old practice. Dr. McGowen is wonderful, but I'm not too used to her yet. I'm very hard on doctors.

Anyway, I know I would love to have these women as my doctors. It's a great show. I actually think I would probably like it even if I weren't pregnant, which is saying a lot because these shows used to bother me so bad. Check it out if you haven't.

Sweet deal on maternity clothes

Craigslist.com is a wonderful thing. I think I like it even better than eBay, after all their changes to feedback. I've been looking at baby things on Craigslist and decided to check for maternity clothes.

Being a plus-size, I knew it was going to be hard. I searched for several weeks, and most of the listings for maternity clothes were for smaller ladies. Finally, I saw one for plus-sized, and they were sizes that would fit me. So I e-mailed the lady. She sent me pictures of all the tops, plus she has four or five pairs of pants and a Bella Band to go with it. The Bella Band will allow me to wear some of my non-maternity clothes for a little while longer. So, this lot of clothes included nine tops, four or five pairs of pants and the Bella Band, all for $50.

I couldn't believe it. These clothes are from Motherhood Maternity and JCPenney's, so they aren't cheap. She said it was probably around $300 worth of clothing, and I believe her. I'm going this weekend to pick them up.

I think this is one of the best deals I've seen.

Heading into the second trimester

I have found so much conflicting data on when the second trimester actually starts. Is it 13 weeks, 1 day; 13 weeks, 3 days or 14 weeks?

I am 13 weeks today, so I'm going to say that tomorrow I will be in the second trimester. I am so ready. I hate the first trimester, all the worries, the sickness, the fatigue. With my last pregnancy, the second trimester wasn't much better for the sickness, but the fatigue did go away. Since I haven't been sick this time, I'm hoping I'll feel great in the second trimester. I think that's when most women say pregnancy is wonderful. I hated being pregnant the last time, although it was all worth it in the end.

I think I've been feeling the baby move a little. It's not so much kicks as it is flutters. I can't wait to feel the kicks so that "T" and "B" can feel it, too.

One baby? Two babies?

I had my ultrasound today. B couldn't go so I asked my mom, too. She hasn't been too excited about the whole thing due to my tramatic experience with T, so I thought this might be helpful.

The ultrasound tech was the same one who did my ultrasounds when I was pregnant with T. She did an abdominal ultrasound first, but she couldn't really tell anything. She then did the transvaginal part of it. Does anyone else think the ultrasound wand for that looks like a futuristic BOB (battery operated boyfriend)?

Anyway, she moved it around and found my ovaries. Then, she looked at my uterus and saw the fibroid tumor. She said it shouldn't hurt anything at all. Then, we moved on to the baby, just baby, singular. There is only one.

S/he measured at 10 weeks, but she said it could be off by plus or minus five days, which is about right. The heart rate was 176 beats per minute. Everything looked really good. Here's a picture of the baby, but it's really hard to see anything at this point.

We heard a heartbeat

Today was my first appointment. We barely got to sit down before they called us back. The nurse asked a ton of questions (I really had forgotten about that part of it) about my medical history and genetics. My blood pressure was good, and I hadn't gained any weight, which seems weird as my clothes are feeling really tight.

So, my doctor comes in. I met her when I was pregnant with Tessa, but we rotated meeting the doctors in the practice, so I think it was one time. I was so afraid I wouldn't like her as well as I did Dr. La Roche, but I did. She's really nice.

We discussed my issues with depression, and she said it would be safer to wait until the next trimester for me to go go on anti-depressants again. I'm going to wait, but this constant irritability and weepiness is really getting to me. She said that none of them are without risks, but Prozac and Zoloft have lower risks. I've taken Zoloft before, and it has helped. I go back July 7, and we'll see then about going back on it.

We also talked about twins. She said we definitely needed to do an ultrasound to see if I'm having multiples. She said Clomid raises the risk about 10 percent, but since B and I both have them on both sides of the family, it's even higher. Great. But, to be honest, I'm getting used to the idea, and might even be a little disappointed if I'm not.

We also discussed being induced. She said with me having pre-eclampsia with T, I have a greater risk of having it with the new baby, so I could be induced. But, she won't due it until 39 weeks. I'm fine with that, but 39 weeks exactly is B's birthday, his 39th. Me having the baby on his birthday would make a nice present for him. She said I might come naturally before then, and if I do, at like 38 weeks, I would be great with that, since I'm due Christmas Eve and don't want to spend Christmas in the hospital.

So, then she did the dreaded pelvic exam. I'm serious. I hate them. You can't tell me anyone enjoys scooting their butt down to the edge of the exam table, putting their feet in the stirrups and letting the doctor do her job. But, it was over quickly, and then, she went on to find the heartbeat.

When she first started, she said she might not be able to find it. She started on one side, but the only heartbeat she found was mine. She went over to the other side and eventually found it. It was very fast, but not very loud at first. Then, she moved the Doppler a little lower and it was very loud. I think I had a smile on my face for the rest of the day.

So, I couldn't get my ultrasound today. They couldn't fit me in, nor could the ultrasound people who have an office up above Dr. McGowen's office. So, I'm going tomorrow. I can't wait to see this little baby. Hearing the heartbeat helped to make it real, but the ultrasound will seal the deal for me.

Oh, and B was so cute. He gets nervous going to the doctor, and he was talking about a mile a minute to this doctor. We're going to have to explain to her that he gets diarrhea of the mouth when he gets nervous.