Baking soda is good for blackspot or powdery mildew, can't remember for sure which but I think it's blackspot, & then milk is good for powdery mildew. or vice versa... Baking soda is also *wonderful* for wasp stings: the instant you get stung, race over to the baking soda, dampen the sting with water (or whatever fluid is handiest, some people lick the sting), dampen your finger, stick some baking soda on your finger, & dab on the sting. It's a wonder-drug. & corn starch is good to prevent or soothe heat rash; you can find it in the grocery store, & use it like talcum powder in the sweatiest & hottest areas, like around your elastic waistbands & legbands. When you come inside & shower, apply it again. It's good to put in your shoes, too.

A great way a friend of mine announced her pregnancy was to show up at a family gathering (in this case it was Thanksgiving) and when she took off her coat, she had a special sweatshirt on. It took a minute of staring, whispering and sputtering, but after a minute everybody was excited and the grandma-to-be said "Are you telling me we're gonna have a GRANDBABY??!!??" In this case the sweatshirt in question was one of those with a picture of a baby in the womb with a cute saying, but there are many t-shirts/sweatshirts out there. "World's best Dad (or Mom) would be more subtle, "Baby on Board would be more blatant, the baby in the womb ones are really cute.... It's all up to you, but I thought it was great when she told me how she did it!!

Hi every one of you wonderful supportive & very kind women! I am beyond grateful for finding this thread after quite a bit of searching on the net! I just turned 49 years old last Friday (Aug. 15th) & because of all your kind words & your personal stories you've all shared, you've made me feel sooooo much better! I have 2 sons, with my oldest being 19 & my youngest, being 16 & a half. They both are the absolute joy, treasures & blessings in my life & I thank God every day for blessing me with them, & I cannot believe how lucky I am to have these 2 incredible children & being given the privilege to be their mother! I was always told as a teenager & well into my mid-20s, that I would never be able to conceive a child due to the fact that I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (aka PCOS). My ex-husband, whom I divorced over 6 years ago, is the father of my 2 sons. We did have many challenges re: infertility but, I was able to conceive my oldest son, after 2 years of fertility treatments. I should also mention, I know when I conceived, due to Trans-vaginal ultrasounds. I swear, within 2 days, I started having pregnancy symptoms, such as morning sickness, fatigue , craving Bologna & Cheese Whiz sandwiches in the middle of the night, etc. I had a urine Preg. Test, as well as blood work, @ 25 days, post conception but both were negative ! I didn't have a positive blood test, until Day 38, after conception! Although my Obstetrician disagreed with me, my 2nd son was conceived through acupuncture. I am an RN, but had a serious, work-related back injury & I was receiving the acupuncture to help control the constant back pain. Because of the PCOS, I've never, ever had a regular period, & there've been times through the years, when I've actually gone up to 2 years without a period. But, while I was the acupuncture treatments for about 3 months, I actually had a regular cycle every 28 days, whilst receiving the acupuncture. I'm not sure why, as I didn't have any pregnancy symptoms @ the time, something told me that I should buy a pregnancy test. Lo & behold, it was positive! I can't begin to describe the sheer, utter joy felt, when I did a HPT (Home Preg. Test). I should also mention; both of my pregnancies were extremely difficult, such as needing to be on bed rest with both boys from 18 weeks, to my delivery. I was also, especially with my 2nd son, very sick with constant "Morning Sickness", as well as being in & out of hospital numerous times with both boys. As well, with my 2nd son, I was literally walking down the hallway (no stairs involved), @ about 16 weeks, speaking on the telephone, when all of a sudden, I had this horrible extremely sharp pain, worse when I took a breath, non-stop pain & I literally collapsed on the floor! I couldn't move a muscle because of the pain. My husband @ the time, rushed home from work & had to actually carry me to our car; as well as carry me into our Chiropractor's office. Apparently, 2-3 discs in my mid-back had herniated, again...this all happened while I literally was doing NOTHING,(I do promise, there's a reason why I mentioned this, lol) my ex-husband & I, had always wanted 3 kids but even after numerous fertility treatments, we never were successful. 6+ years ago! post-divorce, I met the man of my dreams! He's the absolute love of my life, my best friend, my soulmate! He's never been married,nor has he any children. He is absolutely phenomenal with both my sons; especially with my youngest, who has moderate-to-severe autism. He truly is much more of a father to my sons, than their own father. About 3 years ago, I had my IUD removed, & ever since then, I'm absolutely astounded & flabbergasted because, I've had a regular period every 25-28 days, like clockwork! I actually had some symptoms similar to puberty, including acne, PMS, etc! I had my last period around the end of June, early July, 2014. I wasn't thinking about pregnancy, as well as, thought with the PCOS, & my age, pregnancy days were over. In the 3rd last week in July, of this year, I started getting extreme nausea. To this day, if I get too hot, too tired, or the smell of literally anything cooking, I end up with horrendous retching/dry heaves, for up to 30 min, many times a day. The only thing that helps, is to be in a cooler temp & free of any odours. My sense of smell, I swear, is multiplied by a thousand! My breast size has almost gone up one size since the nausea started. The only thing I've been able to eat, is red licorice(I don't mind it regularly but, I'd never eat it before all of this) & Jello Pudding cups. I'm exhausted beyond belief, my abdomen is growing daily, I'm either crying over a Hallmark Commercial, lol, or losing my temper over absolutely ridiculous things, (normally, I'm very good-tempered, rarely get angry, rarely cry). I've had unexplained heartburn, off & on, &, the most obvious sign...my abdomen is growing, a small bit everyday! When I should've had my period on Aug 6/Aug7th, I had some pink spotting but on Aug 7th, I had very heavy bleeding, with quarter-sized clots & a few times, it looked like very small bits of either more clots, or tissue!?!? Prior to this happening, the pregnancy symptoms were so severe, a few days before this, I literally couldn't get out of bed, due to the extreme nausea & fatigue. I had also had a lot of cramping before this too. I thought maybe that I'd had a very early miscarriage but, the bleeding only lasted 10 hours. After this, no further bleeding or cramping! I still have all the pregnancy symptoms but they're about 35-40% lessened in severity! As well, after the bleeding episode, as time goes on, they're starting to increase in severity! I really do think, I may've been pregnant with twins but possibly???, I may've very sadly, miscarried 1 of them? As well, what happened with my mid-back, with my 2nd son, literally occurred last Friday!!! Same pain, same scenario, where is literally standing still in the bathroom, just about to start putting my make up on, when...excruciating pain, bringing me immediately to the floor! As well, my very well-controlled asthma, again with my 2nd son, was so bad, I literally couldn't climb 2 steps, without getting short of breath. (This happened @ about 10 weeks with him. Same thing with my asthma, since this past weekend! I absolutely & most, most sincerely apologize for such a long post but the reason for such a long post is: I've been doing HPT, every 2-3 days, since my symptoms started. I've tried different brans, even tried with only the 1st morning urine, BUT, they're all coming up negative!!! However, 1 of the tests did have a very, very, very faint line, which my hubbie could see too! I did a HPT last night; negative! I was beginning to think I was going crazy here, lol, I thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, for taking the time to read such a long post; as well as, for all of you sharing your experiences! I'd be eternally grateful, if anyone has any suggestions, or has had a similar story! I'm going to go to the ER today, with the hopes of getting some answers! I wish you all, nothing but the best, including much, much, much happiness, luck, light & love

Lonepiper, how many months along are you? I didn't gain any weight either for the first 3 months, I actually lost weight too. Then 4-5 months, I had only gained around ten pounds. By the time I was 7 months though, I had gained 30. Owch! Listen to your doctor, unless you have other concerns with his advice. We're all individuals, as long as your baby is healthy I think there shouldn't be any worry about actual poundage gained. Some people don't hardly gain any weight. Some get as big as a house. The main thing to remember is that your baby is taking from you everything they need. Good nutrition is important for the baby, yes, but the baby will take what it needs from you. You need to replinish your supply for your health, so the baby will have more to take and not leave you depleted. Baby Center says: How much weight should I gain during my pregnancy? It depends on your height and weight, or body mass index (BMI), before you conceived. You can calculate your BMI here. If pre-pregnancy weight was in the healthy range for your height according to your healthcare provider (a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9), you should gain between 25 and 35 pounds, gaining 2 to 5 pounds in the first trimester and about 1 pound per week for the rest of your pregnancy for the optimal growth of your baby. If you were underweight for your height at conception (a BMI below 18.5), you should gain 28 to 40 pounds. If you were overweight for your height (a BMI of 25 to 29.9), you should gain 15 to 25 pounds. If you were obese (a BMI of 30 or higher), you should gain no more than 15 pounds. If you're having twins you should gain about 35 to 45 pounds. If you fall into any of these four categories, talk to your healthcare provider about how much you should gain each month.