Heather

Due to distance, I will not be having a baby shower so many of the items that new moms typically get during the baby showers will need to be bought by my husband and myself. Anyway, I don't want to go out and spend money on items that aren't really needed so I would like your opinions of items that you found absolutely necessary for your newborn. This is my first child so I don't have much experience with this.

My parents will be getting us a crib and changing table and we have already bought the car seat and stroller, so I'm looking more for a list of items like how many onesies, receiving blankets, etc. I will need. Also, should I stock up on diapers ahead of time or just buy them as needed?

I am due in less then 16 weeks and am having a baby boy. My husband and I can't really agree on a name.

He really likes Jacob Michael and although I like the name Jacob, I think it'll be a little ridiculous as our two dogs are Bella and Jasper (yes, they were named after Twilight characters and no, my husband hasn't even seen Twilight so he has no idea that Jacob is another character).

I like Joshua Michael better. Which name do you like the most? Michael will be the middle name as that is my husband's first name and that was our compromise instead of naming the baby Michael Jr.

If you have any other recommendations for first names, please let me know. I'm not stuck on a J name, but I really only like traditional names for boys so no modern/unique recommendations, please.

Thank you!

I'm only 16 weeks pregnant and do not know the sex yet, but if it's a girl my husband and I have plenty of names picked out. However, we are having problems coming up with boy names we like. The middle name will be Michael and that is not changing as it's my husband's first name.

We both like more traditional names and no crazy spellings. His sister already has a son named Alexander and his brother's name is Christopher. Our fathers' names are Joseph and Robert. We don't want to use any of those names.

We kind of like Andrew Michael, but we also want some other options.

What prenatal vitamin are all you moms-to-be using? I have been using OB 400 with DHA since before I got pregnant, but I was wondering if any of you are using any over-the-counter prenatals that have worked well? The thing I don't like about the vitamin I'm using (besides the price - $45 for a 30 day supply AFTER insurance pays their portion) is that the DHA leaves a fishy taste in my mouth and some of the capsuls have leaked out which causes all the capsules in the pack to taste very fishy.

My husband and I had been TTC our first child for 21 months. We just started seeing an RE in May who diagnosed me with PCOS. I was scheduled for laparoscopic surgery at the end of August to check my left tube as the HSG showed it to be abnormal and to check for endometriosis.

Surprisingly I just found out a week ago that I'm pregnant. According to my LMP, I'm seven weeks tomorrow, but since I ovulate late I'm really about 5 1/2 weeks along. Anyway, I have an ultrasound at my RE's office scheduled for next week and the only thing I can think about is that something is going to go wrong. When I had my blood test on Monday it showed my hCG level at 12,135 which the nurse said was fairly high but my progesterone was 16.3 which she said was low. I'm currenlty using progesterone suppositories now to increase my progesterone level.

Anyway, I'm thrilled that I'm pregnant, of course, but the excitement and happiness are overwhelmed by this fear that I'll miscarry. I'm sure the fear has something to do with the fact that it took me so long to get pregnant in the first place, but it just doesn't seem normal to me to be THIS scared of miscarrying. It's really all I can think about because when I think about having a baby, naming a baby, buying baby things and setting up a nursery, I just feel like it won't actually happen for me.

Does anyone else, whether it took you a long time to conceive or not, have this constant fear of miscarrying? I really just need to feel like I'm not alone.

I would just like to share my excitement with others. After 21 months of TTC our first child and being diagnosed with PCOS by my RE back in May, I would like to announce that I had a positive pregnancy test (two actually!) today at 18 DPO without any fertility treatment!

Baby dust to all you ladies trying to conceive!

I am going to start grad school this next semester - Spring 2010. I have some debt (credit card, motorcycle loan, etc.). I do not need any financial aid to pay for school or housing, but I was thinking about taking out a student loan (federal unsubsidized Stafford loan) to pay off some of my debt since the interest rate on those loans are fixed and are lower than the interest rates on my credit cards. Does anyone see a problem with doing this?

So my husband and I have been TTC since last October. Today is the beginning of my 11th cycle since TTC. We're both young and this would be our first child. After going off BC it took awhile for my cycles to become regular but they did around January. I started charting this last cycle because I wasn't sure whether or not I was ovulating (I found out I am due to my temps and OPK results). Anyway, AF showed her face today (damn her!) which was really disappointing because I thought for sure that this was my lucky month.

Anyway, I told my husband that I was going to chart for one more cycle and then if we still weren't pregnant, I wanted to go to the doctor to get tested, etc. I want him to get a sperm analysis as well as me get any sort of blood work, etc. that they normally check when couples haven't conceived within a year. Well, his response was that he wanted to wait three or four more months to go to the doctor. He was the one who really wanted to start TTC last year and now he just wants to prolong it??? I asked him what his reason was thinking that maybe he just wasn't completely sure he was ready to be a father or maybe he had another reason. I just wanted to know why he wanted to wait. He couldn't give me a reason - just said he didn't want to do it this month or this month. What the h*ll??? If he had given me some sort of reason for waiting, I would have been fine. Now I'm really upset!

Have any of you TTC ladies had husbands/partners who just didn't want to get tested? Could it be that he's embarrassed to do the sperm analysis or afraid of the results? I just really don't know what to do. I thought he wanted a baby as badly as I do since he was the one who wanted to start TTC immediately after we got married last year (I asked him to wait until we had been married about six months).

Please help! I've just been really frustrated lately and today when AF showed just made me feel worse.

I ovulated on CD 23 which is shown on my BBT chart. The temps after ovulation have been pretty steady. But yesterday (7 DPO) my temp shot up from around 97.6 to 97.9 and then today it went up again to 98.3. This is my first cycle charting and my 12th month TTC. I take my temperature at the same time every day (7:15 am) and have been getting about the same amount of sleep each night. Does anyone have any idea what might be going on?

Here's the link to my chart:

http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/28ac04

Thank you!

My husband and I have been TTC since last October with no luck yet. I've tried ovulation testing and have not had a positive in the three months I've been doing it. I have talked to my doctor, but she doesn't want me to come in for testing until I've passed the one year mark, even with no positive on ovulation.

I'm just a little down. It seems like everyone around me is getting pregnant without even trying. I really don't have much of a question. My husband and I try not to think about this while having sex since we don't want to make it feel like work, but it's always in the back of my mind. How do all of you who have been TTC for awhile keep upbeat and positive???

My husband and I are traveling from Texas to Minnesota for his brother's wedding. We will be spending quite a bit of money just getting to the wedding location and our lodging while there. Plane ticket for me - $300.00; gas for my husband to drive up and back - $100.00(?); tux rental for my husband (he's the best man) - $130.00; hotel room for two nights - $200.00; chipping in for food and alcohol at joint bachelor/bachelorette party - $30.00.

What would be an appropriate amount to spend on a wedding gift for them? When my husband and I got married last year, his brother and fiancee spent around $50 on our gift and did not have the added expenses like we do of traveling.

My husband and I have been TTC since October with no luck yet. Anyway, I have a doctor appointment on Thursday (just a general check up). I was hoping to bring up the subject of starting a family with the doctor, but I'm not really sure what questions to ask. Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

Thanks so much!

My husband and I are TTC our first child. I went off bc (NuvaRing) in October and had a normal period starting Oct 9th. My next period came later than I expected on November 21st. Yesterday I *think* my period started (it's pretty light so I'm not sure since mine start out heavy). So my cycles since going off bc have been 43 days and 48 days.

My cycles were normal before I went on bc when I was 18 (I'm almost 24 now). I have not been on birth control consistently for the past five years but whenever I have been off it my cycles are messed up so I go back on it to regulate them. But now I'm trying to have a baby and I'm not even sure if I'm ovulating. I know I should start using OPKs to check if I'm ovulating, but I wanted to know from your experience, how long did it take for your cycles to regulate after going off bc? And if you had a child after going off bc, how long did it take you to conceive?

Here's the story. My husband and I are TTC #1. I went off bc the beginning of October, got a normal period, then my period was two weeks late this month. I made an appointment last week because I still didn't have my period and mine were always irregular before going on bc so I just wanted to talk to a doctor to see what I could do to make TTC a little easier. Anyway, I have my period now so I feel weird going to the doctor when there's obviously nothing wrong.

Do you think I should keep my appointment (it's next Thursday) or just cancel it? If there are any questions you think I could ask the doctor, please let me know.

Thank you!

OK, this is annoying. I went off birth control at the beginning of last month because my husband and I wanted to TTC. We had sex around the time I thought I was ovulating (normal ovulation cramps all that for me). About 7 dpo I had a bit of light spotting when I wiped (sorry if TMI) that only lasted a day. I've had some pregnancy symptoms (weird cramping, the spotting, bloating, fuller breasts, slippery cm) and am now five days late for AF (due Nov 6th) with no signs that it's coming (I usually have awful, awful cramps and very little cm before it comes). I have taken two hpt (one on the 6th and the other on the 7th) and they have both been negative. I know going off bc can screw with your cycle but I've never had a problem with it the other times I've gone off it.

I think I'm going to wait until this weekend to take another test, but do you think it's possible that I could be pregnant and just not have high enough hormones in my system to cause the test to be positive?

OK, so my husband and I are on our first month of TTC #1. My last period started on Oct 9th and lasted six days (longer than usual because I just went off my BC). Anyway, he and I BD'd on the 17th and 19th (he's only home on weekends). I was getting my normal pains that I get when I ovulate (or when I'm pretty sure I'm ovulating) right around that time and then I noticed spotting this weekend (the 25th). Since I just went off BC, I know my cycle may be a bit screwy because I am only regular when I'm on BC.

My big question is, is it possible I'm pregnant? The spotting lasted about 24 hours and was a light pink color when I wiped (sorry if that's TMI!). I've never had that before so maybe I'm just way too hopeful that it's implantation bleeding.

If you have any experience with this, please help me out!

So my husband and I would love to have a baby but the problem is is that he works out of town Monday through Friday so the chances of me ovulating when he's home are quite slim. Although we have not been trying long at all, it just frustrates me that it could potentially take us a very long time to have a child. And while we're pretty young and have plenty of time, it just sucks to know that it could take us years to have our first baby. I hope eventually he gets a job where he's home every night. That could make this whole thing a lot easier.

Anyway, I didn't really have a question but how do those that have been trying for years keep it together enough to keep going month after month?

Here's the story. My husband decided he wanted to get a puppy so he bought one from a pet store (not good, I know). Well, my husband works out of town all week and is only home on the weekends. I have never wanted a puppy - a dog, yes, a puppy, no. So here I am stuck taking care of this little puppy five days a week along with working full-time, trying to keep a house clean, and take care of the seven parrots we have already. It is already too much for me and we've had the puppy for four days. I dread going home after work and on my lunch break because I know I pretty much have to spend all my "free time" with the puppy, taking her out, feeding her, playing with her, etc. Now I completely understand none of this is the puppy's fault as she's just acting like any puppy would and she needs the attention and care, however, I just don't feel like I have the time or the desire to do it.

My husband gets mad every time I bring up the idea of giving her to someone who can pay more attention to her. He doesn't understand how much work a puppy is when you're trying to also take care of seven birds. I haven't even been able to play with the birds since I got the puppy.

What should I do? We can take her back to the pet store, but I really don't want to even though we'd get a refund. I'd rather she go to a home where people want to and are able to take the time to care for her like she needs. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to talk to my husband to make him understand how worn out I am already?

I'm sorry this is so long. Please read it if you have the time.

Here's the situation. My husband and I got married almost three months ago. We moved 17 hours away from our families for his new job. His new job requires him to be gone during the week so he is only home on weekends. This isn't the main problem, just part of it, since I knew he would be traveling before we got married. Now we have seven parrots - I take care of them during the week since my husband's gone and he helps out on the weekends with them.

Now here's the problem. My husband decided he wanted a puppy so when we were at a pet store (I know, not the best place to get a dog), he decided he was going to buy a puppy. I didn't stop him, but I didn't encourage him since I do not want a puppy nor have I ever wanted a puppy. This was Sunday. Now my husband left Monday morning for work and so I have been the one taking care of the puppy (and the birds). I cannot deal with it - I wake up at night to take it out, I waste my short lunch break from work (I work full-time) trying to get the puppy to go potty outside - I don't even get to eat, I feel like I can't do anything after work. I have no one around to help me out since my family lives up in MN and we're in TX. Now I understand this isn't the puppy's fault as she is just a baby.

I called my husband on my lunch break crying and left him a message stating that he either needed to come home or he needed to find a place for the puppy since I do not want to deal with it. He called me back (when I was outside with the puppy so I didn't hear it) and basically yelled at me saying that he's working his butt off to provide for us and if I want to eat on my lunch break I should stop by somewhere before going home (we're not made of money, I can't eat out all the time). Pretty much he doesn't want to get rid of the puppy even though he's been around her less than 12 hours. I'm stressed, tired, and just want to leave. Do you think I am overreacting or is he way out of line?

Does anyone know anything about Univ of Wisconsin - La Crosse's online master's degree programs...specifically the program in Student Affairs?

I work full-time in a university and want to get my master's degree. However, a traditional on-campus program won't work for me because I cannot afford to quit my job (plus this job is related to the degree I want). I was just wondering if anyone has heard any positives or negatives to their online programs.