Me, too!

[Cumberland]

I am 14 weeks pregnant and due Feb 7, 2004! This will be the first grandchild on either side, and we are really excited!

I was looking for some opinions/ answers-

Did anyone do natural childbirth? Any suggestions for classes?

I am not showing at all, and just wondering when I will be. ( I already went to maternity gap for their $9.99 sale and got some stuff that i cant believe i will ever fit into). Just as a comparision, I am about 2-3 weeks behind the actress, Kate Hudson, who has been showing/wearing maternity clothes for weeks now. When does it usually become obvious?

I am at 16 weeks and starting to show (but it is the second pregnancy). During my first pregnancy, I thought I was getting downright huge around 4 months....little did I know! re: Kate Hudson, I think it depends on how fitted the clothing is that you are wearing. I also think the idea of maternity clothes is a little bit misleading -- I think there are really three stages of clothing:
1. transition (waistband on regular clothes too tight but not ready for true maternity wear, also useful post-partum),
2. regular maternity when you are really showing and need the belly panel,
3. HUGE and most of your regular maternity stuff doesn't fit.

The transition phase was a few months for me (maybe 10-18 weeks), the regular maternity was most of the pregnancy, and the huge stage was the last few weeks. For the last few weeks, I had a rather limited selection because I wasn't about to spend much $$ on clothes I would wear for 2 or 3 weeks. I think that everyone I was working with got really tired of seeing the same few dresses I wore! Sooner or later, you will need the gap stuff you bought.

re: natural childbirth -- I didn't do this but found the book "Birthing from Within" to be very useful. (Tried, had morphine and epidural for various and lengthy reasons). I thought the breathing exercises were way better than the lamaze ones. The class through the hospital was useful, but I got more out of the book. Several women I know who did deliver w/o pain medication used this book. If you are interested, it would be great if you could find a doula or midwife trained in or at least familiar with this method.

[Rapunzel]

I agree wholeheartedly with everything Nellie said (except for the book - I've never read it but maybe I should!). I think she is spot-on with the maternity clothes. And, I must admit that I have always loved and appreciated my epidurals. :P So, I have to agree with her on that as well. I wish you luck in your decisions! And congratulations!

Jennifer

[SueC]

I didn't start officially showing with my first until I was 7 months pregnant. I longed to have that cute pregnant belly so that people would know I was actually pregnant and not just getting a little chubby! In the meantime, I bought several pairs of knit pants at JC Penney's in a larger size than I normally wear and wore those.
I know nothing about natural childbirth! Actually, I know a little because I was dilated to 10 and ready to push but was afraid to without the epidural so I breathed through the contractions until the anesthesiologist could get an epidural in me (I had a 2 hour labor so things moved way too fast!). I can tell you I didn't enjoy those contractions and made sure to get my epidural much sooner with my second so I wouldn't have to experience them again! I know several women who did it though, and I applaud them! In retrospect, I think I could have just pushed her out without the epidural. I hope I didn't sound too negative about natural childbirth--I wasn't prepared for it but I think if you prepare yourself in advance and had the right support then go for it!