Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[dcgator]

Laila - Luke is such a handsome little man! I his long little legs too. It looks like he is ready to start running, lol.

I am glad to hear that labor went quickly and safely. Enjoy your time with your new man and I look forward to hearing the rest of your birth story.

 

[Skippy123]

Laila, Luke is beautiful; Congrats

 

[Loves Vintage]

Lanie - Are you next? I forgot what date you are being induced, 20th or 22nd?? How is passing the time going for you?

I find it is helpful to be at work, but at the same time, I think about this baby all the time! I've been working steadily on clearing off my desk, so that helps some. I was going to take the last week of December off, and then the first week of January, but lately everyone has been telling me I'll go crazy at home waiting, so decided to work up to my due date after all. I'd be happy to go a few days early!!

Oh, and this is a great time of year to be pregnant, in terms of weather/temperature, but there is so much chocolate everywhere. It is insane, the amount of chocolate I've had in the past week!!!

 

[CatLuver]

Congrats Noel and Laila!

Noel - Skye really is beautiful. I hope you are enjoying being a mommy, your posts make me think that it comes so naturally to you. I love the name Penelope/Penny too.

Laila - what a cute little guy, and exciting surprise.

Who's next?!!

 

[fieryred33143]

Congrats Laila. Luke is adorable!

 

[tiffanytwisted]

Congrats Laila and welccome Luke! He is precious!!

 

[Bliss]

CONGRATULATIONS, LAILA!!!!!!

Luke is such a gorgeous little peanut with a handsome face!!!!!!!!

 

[princessplease]

Congrats Laila!!! He is adorable!!!!
Tiffany, you look great!!!!

 

[HOUMedGal]

Awww, Luke!! What a handsome boy!! Congrats Laila, he's just perfect.

Icekid, hang in there momma!! Hourly feeds won't last forever.

So I think Lanie's next, then LV, right?? Sooo many babies in December and January!!

 

[lili]

Congrats Laila and a big welcome to baby Luke!
He's got so much hair!
Glad to hear that labor and delivery was easy....can't wait to hear all about it.
Rest up and enjoy your little man.

 

[Lanie]

I'm not next. I don't know what you ladies are talking about.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Congrats Laila, enjoy these first weeks, they will fly by so fast.

 

[Kunzite]

Congrats Laila!! He's so long!!!

 

[natalina]

Laila- Luke is adorable! I love all his hair! My brother and his wife just had a baby named Luke- love the name! Glad you had a pretty easy delivery!

Tiffany- you look fantastic!

 

[geri]

Congratulations Laila - he is so sweet. Hope you are enjoying your little bundle of joy!

AFM, I had my latest OB appointment this morning and bub is still in breech position. There is still time for her to move but if she doesn't I am likely to have a c-section about 10 days early on 28 Jan. That is a little over 6 weeks from now I'm starting to get nervous!!

Lanie - I can only imagine how you must feel! Good luck for the next week or so.

 

[Deelight]

Laila Congrats on your new bubba boy - He is such a cutie loving the name

Geri I have heard of people having the baby turned before birth is that a possibility - you don't have long now

 

[Tuckins1]

Laila, congrats! Luke is so handsome!!

I have made my ultrasound appointment for December 29... I will find out if it's a boy popple or a girl popple!! Can't wait!!!

 

[princessplease]

Tuckins- So exciting!!!!!!! Just in time for New years too!!!!!!

 

[noelwr]

geri - for breech I would also go with a c-section as opposed to having the baby turned, but that's up to you. I would do some research now on what you can expect the recovery to be like so that it doesn't get "too much" when your baby is here. shuffling life between your own recovery, breastfeeding and taking care of a newborn is really exhausting. I don't have the c-section recovery nor even the breastfeeding, but even with all the help I have it can get overwhelming.

 

[fieryred33143]

Geri baby still has plenty of time to turn. There is asite called spinning babies that will show you exercises to help baby turn. I don't know how many weeks you are but Sophia was breech at 32 weeks and turned. It's worth a shot rather than risking a c-section.

 

[princessplease]

L2L- I didn't want to threadjack ttc, but what's your edd???

 

[random_thought]

PSA:
Pregnancy brain is a very real thing that can be very dangerous when it comes to your fashion sense. Beware of episodes that include but are not limited to, putting your pants on backwards and walking around that way all day in public. Side of effects of this include strange looks and stifled giggles from strangers. Please spread the news and let all your fellow pregnant friends know about pregnancy brain!

 

[bissa]

Hey everyone! I'm a longtime PS lurker, but a first time poster. I found this site like many of you did, I'm sure. I was browsing styles to see what I'd like for an engagement ring, and I ended up here. I've now been married for 7 months and we are expecting our first baby!

Shortish intro: We started TTC immediately after our wedding, as I am 33 and DH is 34. I went for my annual pap smear a month into trying and my GYN decided to do some bloodwork since we were trying. It came back that I had some of symptoms of PCOS. I had suspected that many years before, because my periods have never been normal. I was on the BC pill for 12 years before coming off just about a year ago to let my body adjust before TTC. Anyway, the dr sent me for the glucose test and ultrasound and determined that I am "mildly polycystic." She told me to try on my own without any meds for a few months to see what happens. I did a lot of research and obsessively lurked the TTC thread here and started tracking my cycles. My dr wanted to see my on Sept 10 to discuss my options, but I knew I was due to O the following week, so I cancelled the appt. And guess what?? We got busy during my O week and I tested on 13 DPO and got a BFP!!! I was so shocked that I sent my poor husband to the store to get more tests.

So here I am now at 15 weeks pregnant!! Besides some awful m/s and fatigue in the first trimester, it has been a perfect pregnancy so far. I am a worrier by nature, so I expected some problems, but it's been great.

I read your posts everyday and feel like I already know you all (NERD ALERT!!), so I thought I'd jump in and start posting.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Welcome Bissa! Always good to see a lurker some out to play.

 

[Tuckins1]

PSA:
Pregnancy brain is a very real thing that can be very dangerous when it comes to your fashion sense. Beware of episodes that include but are not limited to, putting your pants on backwards and walking around that way all day in public. Side of effects of this include strange looks and stifled giggles from strangers. Please spread the news and let all your fellow pregnant friends know about pregnancy brain!

Lol!!! Poor thing!

 

[Tuckins1]

Hey everyone! I'm a longtime PS lurker, but a first time poster. I found this site like many of you did, I'm sure. I was browsing styles to see what I'd like for an engagement ring, and I ended up here. I've now been married for 7 months and we are expecting our first baby!

Shortish intro: We started TTC immediately after our wedding, as I am 33 and DH is 34. I went for my annual pap smear a month into trying and my GYN decided to do some bloodwork since we were trying. It came back that I had some of symptoms of PCOS. I had suspected that many years before, because my periods have never been normal. I was on the BC pill for 12 years before coming off just about a year ago to let my body adjust before TTC. Anyway, the dr sent me for the glucose test and ultrasound and determined that I am "mildly polycystic." She told me to try on my own without any meds for a few months to see what happens. I did a lot of research and obsessively lurked the TTC thread here and started tracking my cycles. My dr wanted to see my on Sept 10 to discuss my options, but I knew I was due to O the following week, so I cancelled the appt. And guess what?? We got busy during my O week and I tested on 13 DPO and got a BFP!!! I was so shocked that I sent my poor husband to the store to get more tests.

So here I am now at 15 weeks pregnant!! Besides some awful m/s and fatigue in the first trimester, it has been a perfect pregnancy so far. I am a worrier by nature, so I expected some problems, but it's been great.

I read your posts everyday and feel like I already know you all (NERD ALERT!!), so I thought I'd jump in and start posting.

Yay! How exciting for you!

 

[somethingshiny]

Geri~ I've had two cousins whose breech babies were turned during delivery. I know there are different breech presentations but I think you still have time to avoid a c-section. That being said, a c-section is major surgery (obviously) but they aren't too bad to recover from.

RT~ I TOTALLY did that! I put some pants on backwards (capris no less!) and went outside to do yard work. My MIL came over and looked at me funny and then said something about "weird pockets." I had a grass stain in a very unusual place!

bissa~ Welcome and Congratulations!

 

[Loves Vintage]

re: inducution. I did some research on this when pregnant with Hunter. The research is very clear on a few things.

1) there is NO benefit to baby or mother for inducing because a large baby is anticipated. Do not let then induce you on those grounds as it only serves to increase the odds of C-section significantly. This conclusion was reached by comparing the birthing outcomes of *anticipated* large babies to *surprise* large babies. The surprise large babies had no worse outcomes than any other babies in terms of interventions and outcomes for mom and baby, but the *anticipated* were more likely to be born by c-section in part because of early induction.

2) In a cost-benefits analysis looking at outcomes for mom and baby and the need for interventions, induction does NOT win up until 1 week past the due date. Up until then, going into natrual labour was much better than being induced in terms of outcomes. But after 1 week past due date, the risks start to outweight the benefits of waiting. I am personally against interventions in general, but based on my research I concluded that I did not want to go more than 10 days past my due date with biophysical montioring in the latter part to make sure the placenta was not deteriourating (the main risk of waiting).

Dreamer,

I did want to come back to this post, which you posted over a week ago. Thank you very much for sharing your research. It really hadn't occured to me that induction would be recommended because of the anticipated size of the baby. I have an appointment with the DR on Thursday and am curious if they will say anything about the u/s findings/estimated size. I will surely resist any talk of induction before my EDD, but will remain open to discussions, of course. When you refer to biophysical monitoring above -- what does that mean?

Bissa,

Welcome and Congratulations! You'll have to post your EDD on the Preggos in Waiting List too!

**********

I don't have much of an update. I have been and continue to have intense pain when I get up from sitting at work. It is troublesome, but not unbearable. As I mentioned above, I have a dr's apptmt this Thursday. I will have my first internal exam. Really curious if there will be anything to report, though I know from my reading here that I could be dilated and that won't mean anything in terms of progress. Then, I will be on to weekly appointments. Baby moves around a lot and moves from side to side in huge swirling movements every few days or so.

 

[Dreamer_D]

re: inducution. I did some research on this when pregnant with Hunter. The research is very clear on a few things.

1) there is NO benefit to baby or mother for inducing because a large baby is anticipated. Do not let then induce you on those grounds as it only serves to increase the odds of C-section significantly. This conclusion was reached by comparing the birthing outcomes of *anticipated* large babies to *surprise* large babies. The surprise large babies had no worse outcomes than any other babies in terms of interventions and outcomes for mom and baby, but the *anticipated* were more likely to be born by c-section in part because of early induction.

2) In a cost-benefits analysis looking at outcomes for mom and baby and the need for interventions, induction does NOT win up until 1 week past the due date. Up until then, going into natrual labour was much better than being induced in terms of outcomes. But after 1 week past due date, the risks start to outweight the benefits of waiting. I am personally against interventions in general, but based on my research I concluded that I did not want to go more than 10 days past my due date with biophysical montioring in the latter part to make sure the placenta was not deteriourating (the main risk of waiting).

Dreamer,

I did want to come back to this post, which you posted over a week ago. Thank you very much for sharing your research. It really hadn't occured to me that induction would be recommended because of the anticipated size of the baby. I have an appointment with the DR on Thursday and am curious if they will say anything about the u/s findings/estimated size. I will surely resist any talk of induction before my EDD, but will remain open to discussions, of course. When you refer to biophysical monitoring above -- what does that mean?

It is sort of old school, but as we know many docs are old school. I was just watching that horrid "Kendra" show and she was induced because of an anticipated large baby. I asked my OB about it when I was referred from my midwife and she said she will not induce solely on those grounds -- if you can push out an 8lb baby you can push out an 8.5lb baby is what she said , so waiting a week does not matter much. So either the baby is "too big" (a whole other issue about whether that is even possible ) or it is not, and inducing will not make a difference. So it is something to bear in mind as you get closer. I know that you are against interventions which is why I bring it up. I think that if you are wanting as few interventions as possible it is good to be informed and be your own advocate. That said, who the heck knows what will happen in the end so you also need to be open to the possibiity of lots of interventions too! haha I did not want any and ended up with tonnes. But avoided the ones I really wanted to avoid thank god -- episiotomy (no tears!) and c-section.

Biophysical monitoring is when you are in the later stages they do an u/s and monitor a bunch of signs of fetal health -- breathing motions, gross and fine motor movements, amount of amniotic fluid, heart rate, bladder being full etc etc. They need to see a certain number of each type of movement in a specified period of time, usually 30 minutes. I had this done twice around the 39 weeks mark because I was measuring large and it was discovered I had polyhydramnios (excess amniotic fluid). This is usually only done is there is a risk factor present -- in my case measuring large and slight elevation in BP -- or you are past your due date. They can also do something called a non-stress test (NST) which is where you are hooked up to a fetal monitor and basically you push a button when you feel the baby move and it makes a mark on the fetal HR monitor. They then want to see a certain amount of variation in the babies HR and he/she moves, and they want to see that the HR goes down when he she is at rest. That also takes about 30 minutes. I did that once.

Like I said, I would rather know nothing about any of these medical interventions, but you never know what is going to happen!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Dreamer,

You are a wealth of knowledge! What would we do without you?????? I am so intrigued that you did not have an episiotomy and you had no tearing! What's the secret, please? Did you do perineal massage? Just in the hosp, or beforehand at home too? I will definitely ask for perineal massage, but have not been very good about doing it every evening!! I suppose I'm not convinced it will make a difference if I do.

Re: interventions, I think my doula will be key to helping keep things balanced. She knows that I want as little intervention as possible, but also that I am willing to listen to the drs. She will not have the same emotional involvement as my DH, so I think having someone else who is clear-headed in the room will help a great deal. She has encouraged us to call her early. She said that a lot of women wind up agreeing to interventions before she was even called to come to the hospital!!

Oh, another thing that I did not realize. She said that they will automatically put an IV in as soon as I enter the birthing room! I was so surprised by this. I think this may be the one thing that I refuse up-front, unless there is a real need to have fluids from the start.

Funny you mentioned Kendra. I did see that episode, too. And, I think she did wind up with a c-section because she wasn't progressing, right?