Hello, lovelies. I haven't been reading for a few days because I guess my subscription was off a bit. But guess what? I'm officially on vacation now. No work for 3 weeks! Although DH is off at 4:30 tomorrow morning for Kiev, I'm taking my driving test tomorrow and have the next scan on Wednesday with DH still gone... so other than getting to sleep all I like it's not going to be all relaxation...

Symptoms are still tiny to none. Lower than normal energy, moments of weak nausea, and sometimes some mild cramps or feeling like bubs is pinching me from the inside. Have you guys had that? Like pin-***** sharp pains here and there? I had it last time too, and when I roll over in bed or step off my bicycle I have that sort of little jolt of pain in the groin area, but that's the ligaments I guess.

It really feels that you're on the home stretch now, Katie. Any "nesting" going on now that you're off of work? Oh, the plans I have for the next 3 weeks... starting with cutting the foot-high grass perhaps... :P

Be careful about that high bp, Cindee, and about everything else. It's great that you saw bubs' heart beat. Make sure you take it easy and rest after what happened.

Hammi, where were you off to? I don't remember if you said.

Hanging in there at work, Rozzie? How are you feeling otherwise? Any scans coming up?

Sue, I've been experiencing so much abdominal/intestinal distress this time, it seems that some nights it doesn't matter what I have or haven't eaten, I get these wicked pains in my lower abdomen. But I can tell they're digestive. I seem to hover around diarrhea or constipated and never in between. But even if I know it's intestinal, it's hard to sit there and have pain right in those spots and not freak out a bit. But I think having to go, either pee or otherwise, puts extra strain on the growing uterus and causes some pain. I even read that the other day, when I was cramping a bit and noticing that it's worse when I have a full bladder.

jo -- it's shocking the lengths to which some people's tactlessness goes. I can understand that some people who haven't had a loss like ours can say clumsy things or throw out cliches that they might not understand are more hurtful than helpful. But this woman crossed a line that ought to be bright as day to anyone and everyone. I wouldn't tolerate hearing "sage advice" about when I should give up trying from my closest friends or the dearest loved ones in my family, so I certainly wouldn't find it acceptable from a co-worker. I'm not saying I would have known how to respond (I probably would have been stunned speechless or ran to a toilet), but what we're saying is... forget her nonsense. And perhaps, if you work with her, think up a short, to-the-point way of dismissing further such conversations.

It angered me when people told me "I'm sure it will be fine next time," as if babies are interchangable Wal-mart products and that getting over the death of my child was just a matter of breezily accepting that I'd have a shiny new one at some point. It strikes me as the same sort of trivialization to nag a person about how they already have kids and should consider themselves lucky. Consider this example: my sister died when I was 10 and she was 13. Do you suppose anyone ever went to my mother and said "Well, at least you've got another one, consider yourself lucky"? That would have been positively absurd.

You ARE lucky to have 2 healthy kids, jo, but they are not a modular replacement for the 2 more that you've created out of love and been unfairly forced to grieve. I'd like to tell the lady to **** off.