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Thank you Christa for the reminder. I had my 33 week appointment today. My Dr. said there was nothing else I could do about my fat legs and feet except elevate my feet and reduce my salt intake. She said some women actually leak fluid from their ankles--that would be a weird thing to see! MEL: Good luck on the culture for infection. I hope it goes well. It doesn't seem that the baby could be changing positions as often as every day because there's not much space at this stage that they are bigger. I clearly remember feeling some MAJOR baby movements about 3 weeks ago and specifically telling my husband "I think the baby just flipped sides and did a sommersault" and I think I was right because before that the baby was in breech position (b___t down) and shortly after feeling the big baby movement I was told that he was in a vertex (head down) position. You'll probably feel a big move too when baby gets head down. BTW, I beat you on the weight gain this time!!! I gained 5 pounds in 3 weeks and I'm finally up closer to a 25 lb weight gain so I can stop stuffing my face now and stop worrying about having a scrawny, malnourished baby. Anyway, my stats today: good blood pressure (on the low side of average), baby heart rate of 155 bpm, and measuring 34 cm. He's measuring 1 week ahead (3 weeks ago he was 2 weeks ahead). Also, Dr told me she could feel A LOT more than the usual amount of amniotic fluid around the baby. She said more was better than not enough and one big danger is the baby can have a difficult time getting head down but mine already is head down so no worries. The other bad thing is that when my water breaks, I will make a huge mess. Scary--guess I better stop wearing skirts or start wearing extra thick maxi pads close to my due date.

****HAPPYGAL: my maternity belt is "Gabrialla" brand. It was a bit pricey at $37 (probably a store mark up) but worth it. It has velcro in front, two additional velcro side straps, has a contour the shape of your belly in front and a pocket in back for a heat or ice pak. Definitely worth the money. I'm feeling the pressure more on my pelvic & groin area than in my back--makes it difficult to walk!

PERL~So happy to hear that you had a good visit with your doctor. Yay for your weight gain, that is great!! Remember to elevate your feet as much as you possibly can; this will help very much with your swelling. Also, cutting down on the salt is always a great idea. I can't believe woman leak from their ankles?? I've never heard!! Regarding the baby movements I was questioning, I didn't think that babies could move that much at this stage, but just thought I'd ask due to the different parts of the belly I feel movements at different times of the day. Sometimes I feel them way off to the side of my belly and other times I feel a lot of movement above my upper belly, so I have no idea what the hell she is doing!! LOL. I can't wait for my u/s Tuesday, because I am just concerned about the measuring thing, but my hubby still thinks she measured either wrong or differently from my ob, so we'll see.

Thanks Mel and perl for the 'belt'suggestions. I went into a sug supply store yesterday and tried a bunch of them on and NOTHING WORKED :(, :(, :(. It just hurts the left side of my lower back and leg to walk, any pressure at all. I even tried a cane, but the upward pressure made it worse.....URG. I don't want to take too much tylanol, but I HAVE to get through these next weeks of work so that I can take my full 3 months maternity leave. IT's really hard. Oh, my baby is down, as well...whcih is when I started ahving the back problem. It might be because my OB said he has a "BIG HEAD.." I'm still worried about that, you can imagine how many websites I've looked at regarding possible complications of in-utero 'big head.' URG. Anyway, baby presents starting to come in the mail......now have my "arm's reach" sleeper (for after the C-secton), have my snug ride and carseat frame and car seat, and the Baby Einstein...among other things. It's getting very R E A L, now, isn't it??? I sure wish my husband would wake up and get more invovled w/all of this. I"m limping around and I feel like he still expects me to do the same around I also do and not complain....EXCUSE ME???? I'm in pain here, dude. Men.

Anyone seen the movie Alien(s)? Sometimes I feel like one of the hosts by the way this baby moves. I can actually see her move across my belly like she's stretching her arms or legs out in a smooth motion. It's really neat and it actually tickles when she does this. =D ***Perl*** I'm glad your appointment went well. I understand your pain with swollen ankles, legs, and feet. It sucks that we can't stay off our feet in a normal sitting stance, and we can't stay on our feet walking without swelling. But just think, it'll be over soon! yay! ****I've been really antsy lately. I bought a new pantry for my kitchen this week and got it set up in the kitchen. haha. I'm going out to get paint for my living room and hallways this weekend (husband is painting), and deck sealant for weathering. I want to buy another "open" pantry for extra dishes that are really nice but stuffed inside my hutch collecting dust. I'm itching to do all the laundry for the baby...I would almost do it now even though I still have another month to go, and then do it again before I leave for the hospital...just to soothe my nesting urges. Anyone else going through this? I want to go shopping all the time now. haha

Happygal: sorry about your back and leg pain. Have you already tried a chiropractor or a prenatal ma__sage? If you get a ma__sage, just lie on your right side on the ma__sage table or have them ma__sage you in a sitting position (slumped over a pillow) since it's your left side bothering you. Does your husband go to any of your prenatal appointments with you? My dh does not go with me to each appointment but he has gone to some of them. I was soooo glad he was there when my Dr. told me to cut back on work, stop doing housework, send the husband out for grocery shopping, etc. etc. That way he was able to hear it's what the Dr. ordered not me being lazy. He's also heard the Dr. say that my complaints and symptoms are "normal, to be expected or common". He still expects more from me than I'd like though. Well, later on I guess we can turn the tables, his turn will come after the baby comes, I'll be expecting A LOT of help from him! : ) ***MEL: sounds like your little girl has some strong fists and feet or limber limbs, if you're feeling movement in all direction. Sometimes I try to figure out what my little guy is doing too I never know if what I'm looking at while my belly shifts shapes is a b___t, a foot or a knee.

WOW, it sure is nice to see this board has "woken up" again...I laughed about the alien host comment...so true...HAAAPY...don;t worry about hunny "waking up", My hubby was the same way with the first, I think it is just because they can not understand everything that we have to deal with nor do they read the same things we do to help them figure this stuff out, especially since they don't actually feel all the stuff either...(as much as we tell them" I am sure he will do his best once the baby is here. (atleast he will have something real to fumble through. A suggestion...(from experience) let him do some things his way when the baby gets here...like diapering etc...try not to have him do it the way you do, that helps "wake them up" too and he will be more able to appreciate what it is exactly that you will do...I think this is probably not worded the best way possible to get my point across without sounding preachy or critical...(I have such a way about me) but know it is with the best intentions that I say it and it will give you something to think about. My hubby is a great dad now but we stuggled a lot in the first few months because I for some reason expected him to have the same instincts I did...after all I told him EVERYTHING...lol...MEL...help me out here if you know what I am talking about....PERL, congrats on the appt....I had an NST today...BORING...and I even fell asleep...I think I was supposed to be paying attention to his movements and was just so comfy in the recliner that I dozed off...Talk to you all later

Oops I must have started to type and taken a break before Angelswim's response was posted because I missed it last time. . . Anyway Angelswim: sounds like you're having some serious nesting urges and a burst of energy too. I wish I could say I felt more energetic. ***Christa: I can't relate in the same way because this is my first baby but one of my girlfriends told me that exact same thing. She could not let her husband do anything without looking over his shoulder and telling him how to do things with her first son and it caused some problems between them and a lot of stress for her. I intend to avoid this but I'm sure its easier said than done. Good advice.

Angel: Nice to hear from you....I TOO am having those urges, it's funny, I thought the other day that I wished I had more baby cloths so I could wash and organize them...I'm also nesting in my office (getting things ready for my temp)....and at home, it's really strong, but I CAN NOT DO IT because of this fricken back pain. The other day, I swept and washed floor anyway, then paid for it later, (Including getting a resentment at DH for not thinking to do it for me). Christa: Oh, I think that's terrific suggestions, and you said it just the way I needed to hear it. Yeah, at this point, I feel like I should just be happy if DH does anything....I mean, I know deep down he will, and will be thrilled w/baby, but you are right, the bonding process starts more so after the birth than for us. While we're feeling all the flutters, kicks, shifts and trying to figure out which little part has just moved across our belly, I think they sit around and worry about where the extra cashola is going to come from,etc while 'm more worried about the germs in the house and that things are just perfect so that we can find everything.

This thread is getting a bit long, should we start another???

Happy...have you tried sticking your b___t up in the air? Or getting a a cow like pose...or a cat pose? Get on all 4s...arch and sway your back...hopefully this will help relieve some of the pressure of all the uterine weight off the sciatic nerve...at worst it will help you build up your back muscles....try it...see if it helps...ALSO, instead of heat...try ice packs...if there is inflamation in the area the heat may not be the right thing to do...some suggestions...I will also start a new thread...