December 2012 Due Dates

for leg cramps, or charlie horses as i call them, put pressure on your foot by standing up. i've done the whole scream and then flip out of bed, stand up, push down on my foot/leg and crawl back into bed while my husband didn't even flinch!

Molu - I get terrible leg cramps too, they're the worst! They happen the most when I'm in the middle of a dead sleep then I might shift slightly and suddenly bolt upright from the pain, freak my husband out with 4am banshee scream, etc. Sorry no ideas about how to cure it though. If anyone has a suggestion, would love to hear. About winter clothes, it does get a little chilly in the winter months, but I find that sometimes it's even colder in the summer a/c, especially in malls, private homes, the chilled foods section of the supermarket, etc. So sweaters and close toed shoes (for older babies/kids) are useful in my opinion. That said, I have friends who never put their babies in anything remotely wintery, including socks, and it's fine. Honestly my advice is to save your money and wait until the baby arrives before buying too many things. It's hard to be restrained because of the excitement and the need to feel totally prepared, but just remind yourself that you're still able to shop after you have the baby (it's not hard to shop with a newborn, harder with a toddler), and it will be easier then to gauge what's actually needed. Newborns really don't need much to start anyway.

Ladies , do you experience any leg cramps in the nights? Oh my God, I had the 3rd one for the past month tonight and i screamed from the pain (poor neighbours). My DH was massaging the toes for like half an hour before the pain gone :((( .... What do you do to prevent such "alarms in the night" ?

I wish tomorrow is already December 1, 2012 :) Hope everybody is doing good :)

Hello! Haven't been here in awhile and just wanted to check in. :) Everything is going smoothly... it's been a very easy pregnancy so far, so I feel quite lucky. I had the glucose test at my last appointment and will get results at my next one on the 17th. Fingers crossed that I passed! Baby boy is still breech and if he doesn't turn by 30 weeks (I have BCU), there is very little chance of him turning. :( Had my baby shower when I was in the States last month and it was fantastic! Not much left to purchase before baby gets here. Now spending all my spare time trying to organize the villa... I hate cleaning and organizing. :P Hope everyone else is doing well! Oh! Quick question... are you meeting pediatricians before you give birth? How are you picking one? Just making an appointment with one? Most of my pregnant friends in the States are interviewing peds but I've never really heard of that done here.

@TDB: Please please let me know if you find a suitable Moses basket. Sounds like we're after the exact same thing. Have a trip planned to Dubai Mall on Saturday. Will try to find something there. As far as clothing...I had the same question regarding winter wear. I suppose the A/C blasts at our home 24/7 so she'll need warm onesies for then. Does it get cool enough outside to justify true colder weather clothing? Baby sweaters? Hats? I'm buying a couple of hats since the baby's head is so tender for the first few months anyway, but hadn't thought of buying anything too thick. Sizing...well, my husband was born 2 weeks late, weighing a giant 11 lbs (5kg). I weighed 8 lbs (4kb). Slightlyl more "average" but still on the big side. I'm 5'7 and hubs is 6'1...all the men in his family are over 6 feet, so I've been hesitant about buying anything "newborn" size. I have one pack of onesies in that size, but doubt I'll buy anything else that small. Though I'm hoping and praying for a natural delivery, at the rate my stomach is growing and how long the baby already looks, I just think I'm going to have a little butterball on my hands :-) So, most of the onesies I've purchased are 0-3 size. Any super cute clothes outside of going home outfit and Christmas (every girl needs a Christmas dress!) are 3-6 months. I'm sure she'll grow out of them quickly as well.

You're so organised TDB! :) Well done! I really need to look to see what we have already between what we have bought and presents we have received and go out and shop!!! :)

Also quick question: Anyone having round ligament pains? I had them all day yesterday. Im assuming its that. You would think that this being my 3rd i would have plenty of room for bub to stretch out. But pain all day yesterday radiating from my groin up across my stomanch. On a scale of 1 - 10 probably a 4. Ranging from short stabbing pains to a dull ache. Anyone else having this atm? I have noticed this bub is sitting alot lower then previous ones. No bleeding, so not too worried. Just seeing if anyone else has experienced the same?

Thanks Hassli and Dangerous Blonde, very excited and secretly happy. Dangerous Blonde Sorry about the petit size, but honestly im sure she will be fine. Im small aswell 5'4 as is my mum 5'2 and husband 5'8 and we tend to have smaller bubs too. But they pork up quite quckly after their arrival and end up high in the percentiles. Hugs.

Wow all of you ladies are so organised :) Well done! TDB, dont worry about your bubs being underweight - as your doctor said, there is nothing to worry about and think, in the last trimester you will probably pile on lots more weight! You can have some of mine if you like :) Well, we have just started on the shopping list but have lots of research done so we know now what we want and where to buy it. Its just getting out there and buying it! Started on it yesterday and I was just shattered after about 2 hours! Not able for marathon walks around shopping malls anymore! :( How many babygros, PJ's etc have you ladies decided to get... I know ppl say dont go out and buy loads but still... you dont want to not have enough either! And as this is our first, I really have no idea! TIA!

Hi all, It's been forever since I posted last - been busy, then relaxing on brief babymoon. We've reached the 24 week mark - 6 months! We had our anamoly scan a few weeks ago - all seemed well. Baby still doesn't like ultrasounds, so though Dr. Tank told us it's a girl, the staff at the AH-Dubai was not able to reconfirm. She just keeps turning away and crossing her legs! A little lady. :-) Either way, we already went and bought the curtains and bedding - pink. Who knows what we'll do if the next one confirms it's a boy (next scan is after my Glucose T. Test in 2 weeks). Nervous about that test as diabetes runs in my family. My cravings for "bad" stuff seem to have calmed down some over the past few weeks, making it easier to eat purposefully and select healthy options. Dangerous Blonde - I'm sorry about the low weight - but you know what they say - come in all sizes! As long as your baby stays healthy and grows at her own pace, she should be fine. I know it's hard not to worry. I can drive myself mad Googling everything. I read something funny the other day "Don't believe everything Dr. Google says. Remember, he got his degree online." Made me smile. As far as purchasing baby furniture - we went and knowingly got ripped off at Pottery Barn Kids. As this is our first baby (and we tried for so long to have her), I insisted that we buy her exactly what I had been dreaming of...so of course had to pay over 2X what those same pieces of furniture would have cost from Pottery Barn Kids in the US. For everything else, I've had it with Mothercare and Mammas & Pappas!! They've made me feel like I'm at the souk bargaining for baby furniture! Everything I would want to purchase had to be the floor model and they would assure me, "We just put thouse out today." The only thing I'm forced to continue buying there is materinity underware - have to admit - their stuff is good. I am also very grateful of H&M's maternity line. Thankfully, I visited Toys R Us at Dalma Mall - what a relief!! They have everything you would find at a US store....at US prices! It was important for me to feel comfortable with the brand, as stupid as that sounds. I was left so nervous everytime I had to make a decision about a brand I had never heard of. So, we have her bedroom furniture, bedding, stroller, car seat and pack-n-play. We're still on the hunt for a Moses basket. Toys R Us doesn't have any and the ones at MotherCare are all the floor models as well as not being very cute and overly padded. I didn't even buy crib bumpers as the American Pediatric's Association has linked crib bumpers to SIDS. So, can't justify buying a Moses basket with tons of ruffles and padding. I've decided to order much of the baby's clothing online from the US. Using Shop-N-Ship to get it here. Even though the postage is expensive, have found that it's STILL cheaper than buying anything at the malls here, and many times, the quality is better. People here just don't like "Sales" or "Discounts", do they? :) As far as classes, we are already registered at AH-Dubai, so we're registering to attend a 2-day set of classes next month. I can't imagine pushing it any further than October. Already feeling like a whiny slow-poke. I am starting to feel achy and getting comfortable before falling asleep is getting harder and harder. May sound odd, but I can almost feel my hips widening. It feels like pressure at my hip bones. Sore when I lay down. I haven't had any swelling (rings still fit), but my feet and legs get tired and sore after about a 30 min grocery store trip. Any of you working ladies check out nurseries? We've hired a nanny to help when I return home, but I do want my baby to have interaction outside of her after six months. So, we're touring a nursery school that starts "early learning" at that time. I couldn't believe it, but they had to wait list me....a year in advance! Wild! Ok ladies, back to work as I've been out for 2 weeks and still catching up.

Hi everyone, I'm due with D?2 on Nov 30, but just introducing myself to December as well because it looks like I'm actually closer in due date to many of you here. Everything is going fine so far; I just started trimester three and definitely feeling the weight! Speaking of which... Dangerous Blonde: I couldn't help thinking that lay people have no right to give you critical advice about your weight based on your appearance. Your doctor, who is medically trained and experienced in these matters, has said it's nothing to worry about, so take comfort in that and forget everyone else. When I was pregnant with DD1, I heard similar remarks from everyone including shopgirls and well-meaning friends—one stranger told me at eight months that I looked only four months pregnant—and it really freaked me out, but I ended up having a perfectly healthy girl (3.1 kg at birth). Your weight gain of 7kg at this point sounds okay to me (lay person that I am), especially if petite runs in your family, but most especially since your OB says so. You sound like you're taking care of yourself and eating healthy foods, and that's fantastic, just keep it up and try not to worry. :)

Congrats for having a baby girl - tablair2004 :) Dallydoo - I do feel the same thing too.. I experience that earlier around 20weeks..my doctor asked me to take calcium supplements and i feel al lot better though there are some occasions that I still feel the stiffness in my joints but manageable. Buckeye - good to know all are fine with your baby. I am also eager for the next holidays - big eid (last week of October - not sure). I am excited.. It's the start of 'BER' month.. It is special for most of Filipinos because the Christmas spirit starts as early as September in my country.. It bring double excitement as we are all due in Dec. Baby kicks a lot during the night and early morning :) Have you all manage to prepare the nursery :) I have most of the basic necessities for my baby (pre loved items but i still love them.. thanks to all givers).. Have a cot, stroller, walker, high chair and baby blankets and clothes... Few items left then we will re arrange our bedroom in end of November :) so excited... Three Months and two weeks to go.. Can't wait to hold my baby :) Happy pregnancies.. Hope everybody are doing good...

Tomorrow starts week 27 for me... Then we're on to the 3rd trimester...wow... Detailed anatomy/morphology scan went well I think. Baby girl is developing well with no signs of abnormalities thus far. I was told that my amniotic fluid level is slightly lower than normal. Seeing as there are no foreseen reasons to the "why" all I can do is drink more water...I just end up in the bathroom more than my current hobby has me there already. It's either more water or eventually IV fluids...great, swelling to come I'm sure. Speaking of which; Dallydoo- I'm always stiff! I completely feel your pain. All of my rings fit well too, but swelling occurs at all different stages I think. Just keeping on the fluids and low on the sodium & caffeine intake! :) Start back to work tomorrow; holiday fun is over....sigh...but good news is that there's only a couple weeks to go before the next holiday! :) Then closer to baby time!!

Hi all, Back from leave and back to reality with a bang! I have a quick question please - have any of you started experiencing a stiffness / soreness in your joints, particularly in the morning? In the past couple of weeks when I wake, my fingers have been very stiff and sore. I have had a read up and was wondering if this could be carpal tunnel but I am only almost 26 weeks so was wondering if it was too early for something like carpal tunnel? Also, I do not feel like my fingers are swollen at all, my rings still fit as before. I already drink in the region of about 2.5 litres of water a day (plus herbal teas, juice etc) and dont think I could physically drink any more! Hope everyones pregnancy is going well!

Hi everyone, sorry i have been so slack. working and 2 kids have kept me extremly busy over the summer. Hope everyone is feeling well. We are all good. We have been told its another girl! :) So team pink for us again. DD1 and DD2 are thrilled to have another little sister to play with. Hope everyone had a great summer and now the countdown is on! X

I wish I could go to antenatal classes too but that would be impossible.. Still paying for the loan we took to pay off the maternity insurance... Would be helpful if someone can share what they learned from the antenatal classes. I am thinking to browse the YouTube for the same... If they give CDs or handouts (I really don't have idea) I would be happy to photocopy/copy the sAme for my reference. Thanks ladies :)

@hassli - You are right, it is always better to be safe than sorry. I have the detailed anatomy scan this evening. If anything, I'm just excited to see my baby girl...I never get tired of it! In regards to gestational diabetes; you can increase foods that Rae high in fiber (whole grained breads and cereals, Rice, fruits, and vegetables). Also, make sure that you are drinking enough water! @Mmmmmm- Im located in AD so what are available in regards to antenatal classes may be different for you. I am going to open a file at the Women's Health Center tomorrow, as the Corniche Hospital is the only hospital I can guarantee a female doctor delivers our baby. My husband is adimant about this. I love my current doctor and would be happy if she could deliver, but it's just not humanly possible with the amount of patients she has. So, another new doctor it seems is in the new future. Other news...nursery furniture arrived and set up. It's a bit early, but my family from the states had given so many gifts, we needed to put them away. <em>edited by Buckeye@heart on 26/08/2012</em>

Hi all, Sorry Hassli, I dont know anything about GD :( Just wondering, have any of you ladies signed up for antenatal classes yet? Have you registered at the hospital you plan on giving birth? How far in advance are we supposed to register? TIA!

Hello mommies :) @ buckeye@heart- it will be a great experience to have the Morphology other than you will see your baby in 4d or 3d, It will give us a sense of assurance that everything is going well And the baby is developing normal :) @ dangerous blonde - great that your morphology scan is alright. Did your doctors told you to have GTT test already (glocuse tolerance test from 24weeks to 28weeks). I had mine and the result is Isn't good (11 out of 8 which is the normal).. I develop gestational diabetes.. My doctor is asking me to go on diet and avoid all sugary stuff and white rice too.. Will have another set of glucose test and hope after 6 days diet or else I will have insulin treatment. I wonder what to do other than to go on diet to make sure that my sugar level become normal again..

Much appreciated! Finally had another check-up, I'm a little behind because of my holiday. The doctor said that she wanted to schedule a detailed anatomy scan even though I was a bit late for the window at 25 wks 6 days. We'll see what they say on Saturday, the office was closed this evening. I've never heard of it being done in the States, especially as I'm sure it's an elective procedure. I'm sure everything is fine, but they're extremely cautious here and happy to charge the insurance companies for whatever they can it seems. We're in the 50th percentile as of today, however her legs are still above average. She's weighing in around 894grams as a far as the scans say. To me, this is far abover the 1.5 lbs of the average 25wk stage...but then each baby is different. Exciting though, after having an amazing trip back to the states, brought back tons of baby gifts. Our nursery furniture arrived today...now the task of putting it away.... It can't stay in suitcases til Dec2nd or whenever baby girl makes her appearance :)

BTW What is a morphology test??

Oh wow, I feel so out of touch. I went on holiday and just fell off the wagon! LOL! Well, before we left at our last scan in July, found out we're expecting a girl! :) We're both happy that thus far things look wonderful. She has some wicked long legs and is as active as a gymnast! I actually started feeling her move for the first time as I was making the flight here on Friday the 13th; so, as my family tradition goes, that day maintains to be lucky for us. My belly is finally starting to show that I'm actually pregnant and not just suffering from some "big Mac addiction" or other various eating issue. Thankfully! Today, we are week 24 and still on schedule for Dec 2...but who knows if she'll make her appearance on time!? Do they ever? Hope everyone is having a fantastic summer! I'm heading back to AD on the 18th...bittersweet leaving my family (two new nieces were born while I was here), but getting to return to my husband who had to travel back ahead of me. Support seriously needed right now, because I have five days to go and the waterworks have already started!

Hello December Mommies :) Hope all are feeling well :) Just had the morphology scan last Saturday and all went fine.. All the results are normal and EDD is 12/12/12 :) also finally we have 100% confirmation.. It is a baby boy.. My feeling from day 1 is correct :) so happy.. We name him Ayyub :) We will be in city hospital under dr. Purnima Deb. As preparation, I watch a lot of natural birth delivery and I am scare a bit but I know we can all do this :) i wish for natural delivery with epidural.. I am so excited.. we will be all proud mommies soon.. I have read again the post and make a list of pink and blue team. Let's wait for the others.. Pink Team Dangerous blonde(1st time) Coccinella78 Texlady Blue Team Hassli (1st time) Fine quinne Floridagirl(1st time) Waiting gender verification Tablair2004(3rd) Ladybird14(1st time) Namnam(1st time) Buckeyeheart Molu(1st time) Nmmz(3rd) Dailydoo AnnaJ Takecare always :)

Thanx for support! Yep,i see my doctor,and everything is just perfect, well she said that its normal to be afraid of,and..i cant even look to screen,when do scanning!ahhh,you know my best friends are back home,and you dont wanna answer to people congratulations,just that i am actually not that happy,as i am scared...well,lets hope that its just hormonal,and it will pass,but i am already 20weeks and still feel same... Well if doctor says that im not alone,like this,just wanna how you fight your hormons(im doing sport,yoga,and lots of activities,maby i just need to eat some chocolate?) Thanx for advise,xxx

Hello ladies,iam not sure if posting in right forum, but i really need your advice.Its my first pregnancy,i am 26,my hubby absolutely happy and crazy about new baby boy!Iam 20 weeks now,due date is december 15,but still have no feeling of happiness being a mother soon!i feel like i wanna hide my belly,and didnt tell yet even my close friends that pregnant.I am afraid of all these ideas that there is a baby inside of me,and its moving and growing...cant imagine even what s gonna be after? Did somebody have same strange anti feelings?i really wanna love the baby,in my mind,but emotionally all against it?Please advice if its normal,or i am strange? Thanx

Hello mommies! We had our morphology scan 2 weeks ago at 18w5d, thanks God , everything is normal, the baby gender was confirmed as well. (we knew the gender from 13w but it was 80%) While checking the baby's face suddenly caught him smiling, Dr Ulrich captured that moment and gave us a nice colored pic. Yesterday we had appointment again with dr. and this time baby showed off his "treasure" :) Soo cute!!! we got this pic as well. Now we are hunting for a good baby album to keep all the records there , anyone can suggest where to get one? Our baby is very active - keeps on kicking, sometimes i can even see the kicks :) Reg the bathrooms issues - I have a spoon of milled flax seeds with glass of water every morning - it helps me a lot. <em>edited by Molu on 26/07/2012</em>

Hi TDB, Dont stress about movement - it can happen anytime up to 24 weeks from what I have heard. About 2 weeks ago, I started to get a feeling in my lower tummy that I couldnt figure out. I thought it was to do with "bathroom activity" too lol but as it continued I realised it wasnt. I have heard too about the bubbles and popcorn feeling and I think its probably closer to bubbles but then I read another description for it on another forum and it describes it perfectly for me - its like a jumping nerve very low down in your tummy. You know when you have a nerve jumping somewhere? Thats exactly what it has felt like for me so far.... I only get it a few times a day - generally after Ive eaten or when Im sitting or lying quietly. You can notice it a lot more when you are not moving around. Ive also read that a couple of things can encourage it - lie down quietly and try either loud music (not deafening obviously lol but loud enough) or drinking a cold, sugary drink. Its funny - I noticed this the first time when I was in the cinema - watching a loud film obviously and drinking a Sprite! :) It was also very noticable the next time I went to the cinema too so not sure if its a coincidence but I want to go to the cinema all the time now :) Im having quite bad lower back pain and seeing an osteopath for this. He suggests that if you do have lower back pain this early that its good to have it looked at early in the pregnancy as it can develop to bad sciatica and they can treat it easier before your tummy expands too much :) Bathroom issues.... dont get me started!!! HTH!

NO!! Can you believe it? After all that and still no confirmation. The munchkin keeps crossing its legs and even more frustrating, sometimes totally turning its back to us. It's like it's saying "do you like people looking at your privates? back off!" We go back to Dr. Tank in 2 hours (I'm counting down at this point) Dr. Tank is extremely stubborn about getting the right view of the baby...not just for pictures or gender ID, but when she was doing scans to check for nose structure / down syndrome signs. I love her scans. She doesn't mess around. If she doesn't get the right view - she'll go to a v. ultrasound and start pushing my stomach around. I'll keep you guys posted. We went to Pottery Barn Kids at Dubai Mall and bought all of the main furniture but did not buy any bedding, curtains or decorations as we're waiting for the morphology scan mid-August to REALLY confirm. (By the way - the upcharge on the Pottery Barn stuff here is ridiculous!! The furniture we purchased is HALF the price in the US - but....it's our first, so I took out all the stops and dished out the money for it). My husband is already calling the baby by our girl name pick - but I keep telling him I'm not convinced it's a girl yet. His response: "My genes would've already made it clearly visible." Such a guy response!! Geesh!

Well, I visited with Dr. Braithwaite last week. I walked in totally positive and hopeful for a good visit. She was extremely friendly, but in the end, we left feeling like it was a rushed appointment. She spent about 5 minutes talking to us (mostly about topics unrelated to pregnancy), we had a quick ultrasound, didn’t measure heartbeat rate or give us pictures at the end. Since the visit, I’ve become obsessed with the baby’s heart rate, listening to it and having our little handheld Doppler machine measure the rate. :( My visits with Dr. Tank had been at least an hour – 20-30 minutes with the ultrasound alone trying to get different angles of the baby. I know I need to adjust what I thought my pregnancy experience would be like here vs the US. In the US, I expected to go to the doctor I had seen forever for all the other well woman’s stuff or maybe go through the process of “interviewing” doctors. I’ve adjusted my expectations on so many other things, that I just couldn’t on this one. So, even though we’re staying with the same office/hospital, we’ve opted to see Dr. Raj on the next visit. We’ve heard wonderful things about her too, though we had heard she’s not as chatty. I’m starting to realize that maybe chatty isn’t what I’m after –but a certain amount of focus and seriousness on the matter-at-hand. I partly blame us for the visit though – we should’ve spoken up and either asked more questions, or just plainly requested that she measure the hb and provide photos. It’s just that we’ve never had to ask for that-the docs just do it. On the plus side, absolutely love the hospital and the head midwife-super clean, modern and well organized. The reception area provided me with her phone number before our visit. She gave us a tour of the maternity ward and explained the processes and policies. She also gave us all sorts of contact info and said we should email her in Sept to register for the couple’s maternity classes. She holds them each month over 2 days, on the weekends, so that the partners can be involved. Our morphology visit is also next month before our visit with Dr. Raj. I was told to eat a normal breakfast well ahead then have lots of water an hour before to have a full bladder. Now on to the next worry. We’ve booked a babymoon for Phuket, Thailand next month. We’re staying at a nice resort, but I can’t help but be fearful about mosquito bites and malaria…and the fact that I’m trying to avoid all medicines (including vaccines) other than my prenatals. I see Dr. Tank tomorrow for our last scan with her – I’m sure she’ll get a kick out of my latest panic – malaria.