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I don't trust anyone until it actualy happens ;) You never know if they are keeping me happy this week for some personal motivation :)

MELISSA - True but that was still an encouraging moment for you. I have no idea what to expect at all and feel a touch ill about it all. A little over 2 hours and I will find out I guess and then go from there. I am not an important person/higher up where I work but I do have almost 5 yrs here and am senior in my area so hopefully that will give me some leverage. I definitely do not ever feel like I have an upper hand with my manager. Not at all. Dawn

good luck dawn!! i hope all goes well for you :)

Hi Ladies, I have been so busy with Takira and my other two that I don't spend much time on the computer, but I do think of all of you. Im glad to hear that everything is going good for our pregnant ladies. Takira has been such a sweetheart. She has become a real little daddy's girl already. I don't plan on having anymore 3 kids is enough for me , but man I really miss being pregnant. I can't believe after the stressful pregnancy that I would actually really miss it. Helene, I love getting pictures of Teddy he is such a sweet little boy. About animals well I love Cats and dogs , but developed allergies when pregnant with my first child and can no longer have house pets, besides my hubby hates cats. We have a cat that lives in our garage and a outside dog and I like having our dog because my hubby works away and it makes me feel safe having a big husky to protect us.Dawn, I have severe allergies and even have a problem with our cat in the garage and I can understand not wanting your baby around cats.I just started going back to the gym and I still have have 20 pounds to lose. This pregnancy has been the hardest to lose weight afterwards. Im still b___stfeeding /pumping and supplement one bottle of formula a day . Take care everyone!

Tara - So glad to hear you are doing well. Your feedback on the weight gain has just re-energized me to watch what I eat!!! I have been trying to work out, about 2x per week, and never getting my HR over 130ish, so not much calorie burned I guess!. But, I put on 10 pounds in the first 14 weeks already. And I don't really go for the sugar snacks, more of the salt. One word of advice to you from a self professed weight "nutcase." WHOLE FOODS. Eat nothing but food that is not packaged or refined, and you'll lose weight AND keep the nutrients coming in for b___stfeeding.... DAWN_did you rent a fetal heart doppler? I was thinking of doing this but I wonder if it stresses you out more than provides comfort? My OB twice has had trouble finding the baby with the doppler. I think because the placenta is anterior and maybe more over the outer side of the belly... But it would sure be nice to have it and be able to hear the HB...

Well, my amnio is scheduled for April 10th. I have my quad screen blood test 4/7. I don't know why we even need that test, and I can't get in for the amnio any later, so it will be at 16w3d. Then I guess the quad results come back after. So I can't even use that quad test so make a decision. I guess the MC rate is so low with amnio, and docs aren't out to botch the test up either. This peri is REALLY good so I am lucky to get in with him. My big US is 5/3. I guess from the amnio we'll know the s_x? I hope I making the right decision.

Hi Melissa -- No, I did not rent a doppler. I thought it would be neat to have and very rea__suring but I tell you, I am feeling this baby moving SO MUCH that I know all is well in there. Once you start to feel movement on a regular basis you will not worry about hearing the heartbeat as much. I do have to say that hearing it at my OB appts is very neat though. Every time I go and they use the doppler it is nice and strong and baby usually moves at some point during it. My thought is to not get one. So why can you not get in any later for the amnio? They are all booked up after that? It does seem dumb to get that done before you get the quad results back even...mmmmmm?? As far as making the right decision, you need to go with you heart. Ya know, who is to say you HAVE to do the quad test? You are the patient and it is an optional test, you do not have to do it. You could just go with the amnio and that is all. Especially after doing the first trimester screening, I think all you should get done is the AFP after 16 weeks and then the amnio after that. But, that is just me. I wish you luck on all of it - I know first hand how hard it is to relax and enjoy all of this until those steps and decision are made. After we decided to cancel the amnio we just moved on - had a great 20 week ultrasound and now I am happy. Seem to be getting very emotional in the last week or so though but that is cuz so much is going on. Dawn

OK - now for an update on me and my meeting at work yesterday. It went much better then I anticipated it would. My boss and her boss have agreed for me to work 4 days a week on a trial basis when I return from my leave in October. I can do it for 6 months for sure and we will have to continually evaluate if it is working for both me and the company. Right now it looks like I will get to maintain my benefits and will work four 8 hour days. My biggest request was to have Monday be my day off and they did not go for that. Felt it was too restricting to others that might want it off for a long weekend. That bums me out cuz I think it would be much smoother to work 4 days in a row but beggars can not be choosers. I told my boss today that if I can not have Monday then I want Tuesday to be my day off - then at least I will work three days in a row at the end of each week to get in the groove of things. So far so good - I am so relieved. NOW, we just need to continue the search for a childcare provider with not pets. Yikes - no wonder I am emotional these days. Dawn

Dawn - That is great news! When is your EDD? Mine is 9/23. How much do you get? A friend told if you get a docs note prior to leave, you get some sort of disability that pays, so this is prior to birth. After birth it is leave. I don't know much about it but I might have ot get that doctor note! I get 12 weeks 90% pay (short term disability), then I have 4 weeks vacation on top of this so I foresee almost four months off- this is unheard of amongst my friends I found out. One friend said she got 6 weeks. I guess this is one of the perks they give you when the majority of your career is spent living in a hotel room. I still risk losing my job completely when I come back because I will be refusing the heavy travel and it is in my job description. We'll see if they hold tight with the "work from home" deal.

MELISSA - My EDD is July 21st. I plan to take off 12 weeks which is what is allowed for FMLA. My company pays 4 weeks at 60% for a v____al birth and 6 weeks at 60% for a c-section for their short term disability. I get no pay for the first 10 days off. I will have about 190 hours of PTO by then and I plan to just divide that up and get about 15 hours of pay per week while I am off. FMLA is supposed to be unpaid leave and they are supposed to protect your job but my company makes you use your PTO during it. Pretty LAME!!!!! After I am done with the 12 weeks off DH will take 12 weeks of FMLA from his job so we will not need childcare until early 2008. What you are getting is very very nice :-) Dawn

Have a great weekend everyone. Tomorrow I am baby shopping with my friend due with her 4th a week after me. I need to get my baby registries done for my shower :-) So fun - Dawn

Wow, that is outstanding your DH can take the FMLA. My DH get's one lousy week. It's not the greatest of deals for me though, as my job security flies out the window with my unwillingness to travel... I'll just deal with that when the time comes I guess. Right now, I just want to get past the amnio!

MELISSA - Your husband might want to look into the FMLA thing. That is the Family Medical Leave Act and it should apply to everyone to take time off for a new child, illness of yourself or a family member etc. etc. Like I said, it is supposed to be 12 weeks off unpaid but your job remains protected. For whatever reason my company forces me to use whatever PTO I have left during that time to pay for premiums etc. etc. It seems odd he could only get a week when the goverment allows 12. I really hope they will keep you on even if you are less willing to travel. So much stuff can be done remotely now too I wonder if that could be an option for what you do. Dawn

Where did everyone go? I have my amnio tommorrow at 2pm...

Melissa - Good luck tomorrow - I had one back in June and it was really a simple easy procedure - you spend more time worrying about it than is with, trust me. take it easy afterward. They told us we would get the results back in 10-14 days but I heard back in about a week. ANd trust me, I can still remember the counselor's voice clear as a bell as she she said everything is fine and told me"It's a boy!" I actually started sobbing after I hung up - it was that much of a relief. and at that point i just loosened up tremendously and enjoyed my pregancy (well aside from the puking! LOL). Good luck. Just take a deep breath and stay still and think positively. ANd her is a weird tidbit of info - the peri who id mine told us that they used to do amnios way before u/s and that they would stick the needle i without being able to see the baby on the u/s. Unbelievable. So just think how much more advanced things are now. Let us know how it goes and what time frame they give you for your results (which will be fine!).

MELISSA - I am still checking on this forum everyday but no one has posted so I did not logon. Best of luck with your amnio this afternoon. I am sure all will be fine and hopefully you get your results very promptly like Helene did at the time. Keep me posted - Also, did your DH look further into the FMLA thing? I just can not believe he would only get a week off. How lame is that? Dawn