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Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

AMC, glad the appointment went well. And that's such a strong heartbeat! :appl:

Phoenixgirl, I'm glad you're happy with your decision. And how great that your mum is coming over to help!

S&I, I too am thinking that maybe it's a mix-up. I think I'd be pretty pissed if they were making decisions without consulting with me!

PP, I know what you mean. Greece is the same way. Women just don't give up smoking! I frequent a Greek pregnancy board and one even went so far as to say that smoking is fine, within reason, because nicotine doesn't cross the placenta! :eek:

AFM, 20-week scan today! :appl: I'm positively giddy! A couple of pages ago somebody said they foresee team blue for me, but I never asked why. Let's see if they're right! Also, I seem to be going through this nesting phase. Apart from my recent obsession with CDs, I've just spent all night dreaming of bassinets, baby blankets, etc. :D
Anyway, I'll update more after my scan.
 
Well, it's 1am and I just woke up to the most interesting pain. Feels like round ligament pain, but lasted for a good two minutes or so. Sharp pain, even with my hip bone, about two inches in. After the initial pain it went away and then came back as a duller pain...feeling almost like ovulation pain. Actually exactly like O pain in that it goes all the way through to my back. Any ideas?? I will call my doc in the morning just to be on the safe side.
 
Mayerling - :bigsmile: Yay! Good luck with your scan. I was so sad that mine went by so fast. Like literally 10, 15 mins tops! I waited 14 weeks to see the baby again and I get 10 minutes gee thanks!!! And that was the last u/s til birth unless complications arise which I don't want!
 
Welcome, mayerling, megumic, amc80, and PetitePoire! :wavey: Wishing all of you a happy and healthy pregnancy!

amc - Perhaps you were feeling stretching of the uterus? I got a lot of that around the end of the day during the same point in the pregnancy, especially after an active day of teaching and being on my feet a lot. My belly button area at 16 weeks was really sore!

PG - Excited that you will be the PSer who delivers next! Hope you are feeling well today. I am glad to hear that things are going well with the new practice. 4 cm and 80% already is a great sign that things seem to be going well for you to VBAC. I haven't had a cervical check yet, but I expect one at my next appt on Monday.

NEL and LC - Hope you are both home resting and enjoying your little loves. :love:

PPM - Yay for team PINK! I hope you are able to find some answers with your testing soon, sorry to hear that the first scan was inconclusive. No hard markers must be some relief, I would think. I saw your post about having an overwhelming day at school. I totally get it - I am in my seventh year of teaching middle schoolers. I have progress reports due Monday and I need to have my classroom ready for me to leave for 12 weeks at a moment's notice, but my house is a wreck and I have a million baby things on my mind. I had this entire week off, and I feel like I've gotten hardly anything accomplished for school that I wanted to have ready for baby's arrival. Wishing you some rejuvenating thoughts - I hope your weekend is relaxing and enjoyable.

S&I - Wondering about your doctor's suggested induction - hope you get some answers on that today. The newborn basics class that I signed up for was really good - DH and I went together and learned a lot. It was especially good to go because neither of us has helped take care of a newborn since our siblings were little, and that was about 30 years ago!

AFM, I hit full term this week! Woo hoo for 37 weeks! My hips are so sore in the mornings, and turning over is a major feat during the night. I will be glad when I can sleep more comfortably soon. I've done as much baby laundry as I can handle, and purchased an area rug for the nursery to keep feet cozy and keep the new floor from scratching up in high traffic. I have been off school this week for midwinter break, but have not been hardcore nesting like I thought I would. I did some cleaning, and finished thank you notes from our family showers, but have been focusing more on trying to relax and enjoy myself - getting a mani/pedi on Monday was a nice treat.

My doctor's appt on Wednesday was fairly uneventful. The doctor said I was still measuring a little big for 37 weeks, and was interested in seeing the results of my ultrasound for GD/baby size screening. While he was feeling baby's position in my belly, he said I was having a contraction right there on the chair! Since then, I've been feeling some BH here and there, but nothing consistent or really noticeably painful. I did not get a cervical check, but was told to expect one next appt (Monday evening).

I went in for the ultrasound last night with my husband, and my parents drove out to join us for one more sneak peek at their grandson before he is born. It was amazing to see the little guy on screen again - we have not seen Weston since week 21! He looks very healthy and has enough fluid showing up around him, and he is definitely head down and jamming his little feet into my ribs. All boy parts are still attached - a relief, since I had a dream recently about having to shop for all pink on the way home from the hospital! :lol: We watched as the tech measured bone length, umbilical cord flow, placenta size/location, organs, etc. and he was making sucking motions on the monitor, almost like making a kissy face!

The tech told us that sometimes the measurements run through her ultrasound and can be off by about a pound, but Weston is currently estimated at 8 POUNDS 4 OUNCES. :shock: He's not supposed to be due until March 13th. Holy moly! Even if she was off by a pound, that means he would still be HUGE by his EDD, if we make it that long. Not sure what my doctors will do with this information yet. My mom and I think on Monday at my appointment, I may be asked to schedule an induction so that he doesn't get too big, given his current size and my GD diagnosis. Looking forward to hearing what they have to say at the docs.

Week 37 belly pic attached! I am having trouble with the ultrasound one, will post in a minute...
Baby%20Rose%2037%20Weeks.jpg

ETA: Here we go! We were able to get a shot of Weston's little face during the US. :love: Sleepy little boy.
rsz_1img_3965.jpg
 
Well, what's a girl to do when she can't sleep...

bobbin and lc, thanks for the suggestion! I forgot to mention that I don't have leg cramps but stomach cramps. Doc told me what causes it so I feel much better!

Missy, gah, I hope you find a suitable bra soon! My wireless bras don't fit me perfectly but at least they don't leave scars like my wired ones do...

Monarch, thanks girl. I've decided to sit much more and wear a back-support belt. I think it's the sitting down, but I feel so much better now! Glad you don't have back pains. I thought it was going to come later :(
OMG, I'm telling your girl to stay away from your intestines!! 3 days? You poor thing...

China, I'm so scatter brained naturally! Yesterday I forgot my jacket and my teaching material at home. I hope I won't forget to bring the baby... :shock: I thought those drinks were sweet and yummy...Gah! Can't I bring my own orange juice??

pheonix, *HUGS* You're so close! Glad you're feeling better...Did the chiropractor help previously?
Thanks for the poem! I love it! I stayed off my feet yesterday and I feel MUCH better. Thanks :D


Merry, are you going to get the Pilot?

mayerling, have a great scan!!

steph, you're nesting already!!

MuffDog, I'm doing Gaiam's prenatal yoga and crunch yoga mama. Got the first one on sale at Target and the second one "free" on netflix streaming. I'm naturally flexible and grew up doing lots of stretches, so I'm not sure if it's giving me anything extra. But I figured it wouldn't hurt, and doc told me it's a good way to give my kid space :D

S&I, Did you get an update? I would be so pissed if they tried to induce me without my consent.

PPM, congratulations on pink!! I feel like an utter failure at teaching this semester. gah.

Mannequin, congratulations! And what a big baby! Are you ready to let him out now? :D

AFM, thanks for your sympathy to my previous whines. Had a doc appointment, and she told me that my stomach cramps are contractions :shock: She told me the difference between pre-term contractions and pre-term labor. As long as it's the former I'm okay. But she told me to sit and drink so I did that yesterday at class. I sat through most of my lecture and drink, drink, drink. I felt great ( :appl: ) but my class sucked because I was more focused on keeping myself comfortable. :roll:
Doc also said that because I'm so short I'm going to be uncomfortable sooner than most people. Anyway, I've been up since 4AM today, and I'm going to attempt to get another couple hours of sleep. Hi all!
 
Holy crow, there's lots of preggos!!

LC and NEL - Congrats!!!! NEL - I missed your whole pregnancy! Katie is gorgeous - tons of BFing dust! I'll be seeing ya in the NB thread this summer!

:wavey: Hi everyone! I was a PS regular, then I had my son and took a break when I went back to work. I work night shift, so keeping up with the baby, work, and the house caught up to me. Happy to announce we're pregnant again, I'm 17w5d, and we just found out it's a GIRL! Super excited. EDD is 7/30. So I HOPE to be able to keep up here. I do wanna say congrats to all the 1st time mommas and recently-found-out preggers. I hope that all our journies are happy and healthy!
My son will be 20 months old on the due date. EEK 2 under 2! THis pregnancy has been much harder than my first - nausea the entire 1st semester, I lost 7 lbs, headaches throughout the entire pregnancy... My first was such a breeze! DH jokes 'Figures, the girl's already giving you headaches!'. haha

I'm loving all the bumps, you ladies look great!!! Looking forward to getting to know you all!!!
 
Quick post just to update on our scan.

Thankfully, everything is okay with the baby. All the organs seem to be developing normally and no sign of structural anomalies. And whoever guessed team blue, you were right.

I have to say I'm a bit disappointed that it's not a girl - I'm saying this to you because I know Muffdog and Monarch recently went through a similar thing. I love my son and I'm very happy he's healthy and can't wait to see him, but I can't help feeling a bit disappointed it's not a girl. In the back of my mind, I could only see myself with a girl. Anyway, I know I'll soon get over it, but I wanted to get it off my chest.
 
MQ - You are looking amazing! Glad little (or big!!) Weston is doing well in there!

Mayerling - I believe NEL was disappointed at first because she was expecting a boy?? But look at her now, she said she's so in love. This is another reason I didn't want to find out yet. By the time I deliver I'll be SO excited to see whatever has been growing inside me and I know I'll be happy either way. We're hoping for a boy, but we've come to realize that we'd be just fine with a girl too. I just know you'll change your mind soon. It's a shock when you get the opposite news at first. Don't you worry! :))

Lynnie - Welcome! There's a lot of us around here...good luck catching up with everyone! I just wing it and try not to leave anyone out! Congrats on finding out it's a GIRL!
 
I forgot to mention that the placenta is, in fact, anterior thus explaining why I haven't felt any movement.
 
I finally talked to someone at my OB's office. From what I described, she didn't think it was anything that required me to go in right away. She did say that if it gets at all worse I have to go immediately to the ER. She listed off a bunch of things she thought it could be, including kidney stones, kidney infection, bladder stuff, pulled muscle, etc. Also on pelvic rest for a few days. She was wanting to tell me it was round ligament pain, but I get that, and it lasts a few seconds. This has been hurting for 12+ hours now. I tallked to DH and he thinks I should go to the ER after work, since the pain is very steady and not getting better. The good news is the nurse didn't seem to think it was baby/uterus related (well, not directy). Being able to hear baby's hb would probably help out my bp at this point though.

Speaking of, I'm going to walk over to the nurse's office and have my bp taken.

ETA- BP was normal, but I have a lowgrade fever of 99.6. The OB's office nurse listed a bunch of things to look out for and a fever was one of them. Damn.
 
AMC-

I would probably head to the ER if I were you. Of course, call your MD, but with the pain still there and the low grade fever, my guess is that they will want to rule out kidney infection or stones. Better to be safe than sorry, you know? Let us know how it turns out. Good luck!!
 
Dani|1330125340|3133728 said:
AMC-

I would probably head to the ER if I were you. Of course, call your MD, but with the pain still there and the low grade fever, my guess is that they will want to rule out kidney infection or stones. Better to be safe than sorry, you know? Let us know how it turns out. Good luck!!
Click to expand...

Yep, those are my thoughts. It's funny, if I weren't pregnant I wouldn't even think about going to the ER...but so much more is at stake now. Looks like I have a really fun Friday night in front of me!
 
amc, is it on the right or the left? could it be your appendix? i have a friend who had appendicitis during her first preg, and they removed it w/o any trouble or complications. hope all goes well. keep us posted.
 
megumic|1330129412|3133778 said:
amc, is it on the right or the left? could it be your appendix? i have a friend who had appendicitis during her first preg, and they removed it w/o any trouble or complications. hope all goes well. keep us posted.
Click to expand...

It is on the right, but a couple of inches lower than where my appendix should be. Although I did read that appendix pain in pregnant women can present in different places. Definitely a possibility. Hoping that the "I'm pregnant and having sharp pain" thing will get me through triage quickly :) Half hour left at work, then I'm running home to meet up with DH, then off to the hopsital. I will update you guys when I can!
 
Madeline Doris was born today at 3:17pm! 8lbs 1oz and 20.5 inches of gorgeous little girl.

A huge congratulations to KatyWI and her husband!!!!!
 
Hooray!!! Congrats Katy!!!! Beautiful name!!!!
 
Wow, congratulations to Katy!!!!!

AMC, I hope everything is alright! Please keep us updated!!!!

Mayerling, I totally get your feelings and am glad you're sharing them. I think you don't always know that you had a secret preference or leaning until you actually find out the sex.

Mannequin, you don't look big enough to have a big baby in there! And yeah, those measurements are usually off by a pound or so, I think. Let's hope it's a pound less in your case!

S&I, what did your doctor say about the induction?


Thanks so much for the dust and reassurance, everyone. Today was a million times better. I actually climbed 5 flights of stairs touring the hospital (one of the two elevators out of the parking garage was broken, and after we saw the same people -????- riding the elevator back up a second time, we decided to climb). Probably I should have just pretended I was in labor, though. :naughty:

Anyway, I saw the chiropractor, who was super encouraging and positive about natural birth. He said he sees 7 or 8 heavily pregnant women every month, and helped turn 3 breech babies recently. I didn't really know what to expect; I guess I thought he'd press on my belly a lot or something. But actually he adjusted me and only did a little bit on the ligaments (I think) in the front - that was the most uncomfortable part, but not super uncomfortable. He said that if you're torqued or tight or whatever, the baby may not be able to get into the right position. I don't know much about the science behind that, but I figure anything that gets you feeling positive and like you're "doing something" to help the birth is a good thing. I'll go back next week, you know, if the baby stays put over the weekend . . .

Then we toured the hospital, which was also a super positive experience. The tour coordinator took time to give us a private tour since the next group tour is on my due date. She was also very encouraging. Unfortunately we didn't get to see much - the L&D room she thought was free hadn't been cleaned, and the only free bed on the maternity floor was in a double. Yikes. She said that it wasn't usually a problem to get a room and that the doubles were rarely used for two patients, but of course you think, well what if I were in labor now?

But get this . . . so I knew there were these special suites available on a separate floor for all patients (well, let's hope not infectious ones). They have super amenities . . . two rooms, a real bed for the husband, two bathrooms, a nice sitting area for guests, Egyptian cotton sheets, meals like steak and lobster for both mom and dad (not sure that's what I'll want to eat, though!), etc. So we are definitely doing that. Well, as long as one is available. Darn not knowing when you'll go into labor . . . But as soon as we enter L&D we can call and reserve one. And the price is only what you'd pay for a middle of the road hotel room in NYC per night, so I consider it well worth the extra expense. Luckily DH agrees.
 
Katy - CONGRATULATIONS!!! Hope you are enjoying this very special time. I'm not quite 2 weeks out, but those first few days are already golden in my memory :)

PG, glad things are looking better and you had such a positive experience with the hospital tour! Here where I live, most of the big private maternity hospitals have arrangements with a 5 star hotel where, if the parents wish and the baby and mother are well enough, you move out to the hotel for the remainder of your hospital stay - there are midwives and LCs staffing the wing of the hotel that is reserved for maternity patients. We spent 2 nights at the nearby Hyatt after 2 nights at the hospital and loved it - it was a great step-down to going home, plus the food (room service!) was FANTASTIC. Rare Black Angus steaks... droooool!
 
Well, went to the er and it was fairly uneventful. Urine came back clear. Blood was fine except a high white blood cell count. But not high enough to be alarming. The doc thinks it is most likely my appendix acting up, but said with my WBC count what it was an ultrasound likely wouldn't see anything. I got orders to keep a close watch on it and if it gets worse I have to go back. This morning it still hurts but I think is slightly better.
 
Amc, I'm glad it wasn't serious.
 
Katy, many congrats and much love! Welcome to the world Madeline!!!

Can we talk birth plans? Specifically, who wrote one and how did you go about writing it? Did you use an outline or example you found online? What are good sources for that type of thing? Did your doctor/midwife ask you to provide one or give you any guidelines? I started thinking about this last night and while I consider myself a flexible person, I don't want to wing this entirely. I guess I'm just unsure about how to actually write one!

AMC80, I wonder if your baby was squishing something inside you causing the pain? A couple of weeks ago I was in excruciating pain for a few days and then suddenly no pain at all. Like baby had been leaning on a nerve or organ and then shifted away. I was considering doing handstands to get her to move, it was so painful!
 
MOnnie, NEL had a pretty extensive birth plan but had medical reasons for it. I had a loose birth plan: Go in 2 people, come out 3. Open minded to pain relief but wasn't going to go hard core one way or another. I ended up with a c-section, which was what I didn't want, but the recovery hasn't been too bad. PhoenixGirl has a birth plan buy this is her 2nd so she already knows a thing or two. Sorry I can't help more. My suggestion is ask a lot of questions to your OB and the hospital staff when you go on tour. Some of my questions were, "How quickly can I get an epi if I request it? Is it 20 mins or 2 hrs? How many CRNAs/Ana Docs are available? (staff) What happens if I cannot delivery vaginally? Who will perform what?" Also ask about c-sections. "What about recovery? What about subsequent children etc." I had naively wished it wouldn't happen to me, and didn't prep or anything. Our c-section happened really quickly after the Doc decided it was best course of action.
 
Congrats, Katy!

Missy, thanks for the words of encouragement. I feel a bit better today and trying to focus on "what is" rather than "what if". I decided to go baby clothes shopping and focus on boy clothes. My nesting urge is helping me see myself with a son in a few months.
 
Katy!!! My cycle twin! Congrats to you! I can't wait to see Madeline!

Monnie, like LC said--I had a birth plan, but only for medical reasons. So even when I went into labor and quickly dilated to 8cm, I still had to have a c-section. I think flexibility is key--you go in with an "ideal" plan, but when it comes down to it, you just do what is best for you and the baby.

Mayerling, like Missy said, I had a bit of a reaction to finding out that I was having a girl instead of a boy. D and I used the shettles method (though admittedly not stringently) in hopes of having a boy, so when I found it was a girl it took me some time to just get used to the idea. You can't beat yourself up, but I also know you won't dwell on it and you will be so excited to meet your son. I was completely ready for a girl by the time I delivered and then once I saw her face, I completely melted and now I just couldn't imagine having anything other than her!
 
Monnie, I didn't have a written birth plan, but it was pretty simple: healthy baby, healthy me! I did not want a C/S but had no objection if it was what my obstetrician felt was necessary. I was judicious in choosing my obstetrician and I think that is THE most important thing - whilst he was not at my delivery, I also knew the covering ob and trusted both of them completely to make the right decisions, and my L & D could not have been a more positive experience!
 
I second Pancake that thinking through the birth plan will be useful to you in figuring out what kind of experience you want, but honestly I'm not sure if you can expect every staff member to have consulted your plan before treating you. So if you feel very strongly that you want your birth to go a certain way, I'd recommend hiring a doula to attend the birth with you. A real live person will a lot more effective in communicating your wishes than a piece of paper when you are concentrating on other things.

I also agree that picking a provider you trust is the most important thing. At my first hospital, they put pitocin in my IV (which I had because I was Strep B positive) without telling me, and it turns out I was already fully dilated. So a birth plan might have helped if I had thought to say that I didn't want anything put in my IV without being told first, or something like that, but ultimately I think I was just a hospital with a high intervention, c-section, etc. rate, and it was better for me to research the kind of approach I wanted from my provider rather than to try to dictate medical decisions, which I'm not qualified to do. By switching practices I've gone from a 30+% chance of episiotomy to less than 2% chance. So that makes me feel like I don't have to wave a piece of paper saying I don't want an episiotomy unless absolutely necessary around.

I guess some questions to ask yourself might be (some taken from the form my midwives gave me - others I just made up!):
*What is your ideal birth scenario?
*What will you do to achieve this?
*Who do you want with you during L&D? What do you expect from them?
*Do you have any personal, cultural, or religious beliefs that may impact the birth or postpartum period?
*How do you feel about natural methods of inducing or augmenting labor such as stripping the membranes, breaking the waters, etc.?
*How do you feel about medical methods of inducing or augmenting labor such as cervidil and pitocin?
*How do you feel about fetal monitoring?
*How do you feel about an IV?
*How do you feel about an epidural or other pain medications?
*What methods, if any, of coping with pain do you plan to employ?
*What position(s) do you want to be able to be in while giving birth?
*How do you feel about the use of forceps or the vacuum?
*How do you feel about the baby being taken from you immediately after birth for testing or cleaning?
*Do you want your baby to remain with you overnight in the hospital?
*Do you plan to breastfeed?
*How do you feel about your baby being given formula or a pacifier in the hospital?

There were a lot of questions about your fears and images of birth and all that, but I'm not really a froo froo kind of person so I omitted those. ;))
 
To add to what LC said, I'd also add questions about what you want in case of a c-section too. Is it possible to hold and/or nurse the baby immediately? Is it possible to keep the baby with you immediately after birth (at my old hospital, my DD was taken away and I saw her for maybe 20 minutes during the first two hours -- at my new hospital, you still get the "magic hour" and can even attempt breastfeeding with the baby flung over your shoulder while you're being stitched back up.)? What will they give you for the pain afterwards? How will it affect the baby?

Also, when I was talking to the nurse practitioner at my old practice about how I didn't want them to break my water this time, and she just looked confused and said, "Well, we do break your water if it hasn't broken yet." And then this means you have to deliver within 24 hours or else they'll do a c/s. At my new hospital, you guessed it, they won't break your water. I wish I had known what a variety in approach there can be from hospital to hospital! And it's not like I'm delivering at some podunk hospital now -- it's the major university medical center in my city. They just do things very differently than my old hospital and practice.

A friend who's had two c-sections stayed with the same hospital, but the second time she made a big stink about getting the baby right away and being able to nurse, and they accommodated her, so you definitely do have some say, but if you don't ask about things, they'll just do whatever their standard protocol is.
 
Oh, fantastic. Thanks for your responses--this is helpful not only for me but I bet lots of other preggos as well. I am aware that I can't plan how things will go with the L&D itself, and I will remain flexible and do whatever is best at the time for myself and baby. I was really having trouble with how to structure the plan in writing and I was getting confuzzled over what to include/what not to include... these suggestions are all great!
 
monarch64|1330230317|3134734 said:
Oh, fantastic. Thanks for your responses--this is helpful not only for me but I bet lots of other preggos as well. I am aware that I can't plan how things will go with the L&D itself, and I will remain flexible and do whatever is best at the time for myself and baby. I was really having trouble with how to structure the plan in writing and I was getting confuzzled over what to include/what not to include... these suggestions are all great!
Click to expand...

Monarch, Rixa at the blog Stand and Deliver has a great birth plan. You can Google her - check it out.
 
I just felt what I now know for sure to be baby kicks! :appl: He's been kicking up a storm over the past half hour; so much so, that even DH was able to feel him 4-5 times!
 
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