Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[neatfreak]

Date: 1/21/2009 7:25:59 PM
Author: Blenheim

Date: 1/21/2009 5:19:05 PM

Author: Pandora II


Regarding cervix length, is that the length of the part that sticks out (that you can feel) or is it a total measurement that can only be seen on a US?


I only wondered because I checked my CP and it''s pretty much how it is around O - very, very high up, soft and about 1.5cm long max. It''s not something I have really checked often - once every 3/4 weeks maybe, but it was definitely firmer and much lower before.


I''m not worrying about it - but wondered if I perhaps ought to.

That''s about what mine feels like, but my m/w and the OB at the hospital could tell by manual examination that it was ''long''. U/S showed it was 4.6 cm. I''ve been wondering what it feels like when it''s beginning to efface, but I guess I''ll know within a couple of months here. It''s probably best just not to worry, unless you have other signs of PTL.


Nyc - listen to DD''s tough love. I think she''s completely on.


As for me

I just broke down earlier. I''m sick of bed rest. I''m bored and my whole body is aching and the baby is invading my lung space, and I just feel done being pregnant - and guilty for thinking that, because of course I want a full term baby. My mw called to see how I was doing, right when I was sobbing on DH''s shoulder, and she said that she knew that everything was physically ok or she would have heard from me, but that she knew it must be really hard emotionally and wanted to know how I was holding up. She''s making me schedule myself a massage to help with all of the aching. Hubby and I went out to see a movie this afternoon to get out of the house, which also helped a ton. My OB appointment is late tomorrow morning, so hopefully everything''s doing okay and I''ll be allowed to do more things.

Big hugs Blen! I have totally been there. Fortunately the first week on bedrest is the hardest. If you find yourself needing to be on it for longer it does get easier, I promise. And it''s completely ok to be feeling how you are feeling. I''ve been there myself, it is COMPLETELY normal.

 

[nycbkgirl]

Mine look like pills also but they have an applicator so I don''t have to use finger.

Ugh im in such a sad and weak state right now..if not for sis and u guys I would be a total mess...appreciate all the info,support and tough love!

Pandora- thanks for chiming in and putting yourself in my shoes. I did ask doc what point of late amnio was..and she said u can still terminate even for just 1 twin. I can''t even think of such a thing at this point. But im glad and satisfied with all the info that it isn''t anything to worry about. Sorry about your pressure..please check it out and keep us posted.

And I thought everything was going well so far..go figure.

 

[nycbkgirl]

Sorry double post...

Blen- sorry u feelin so bad hun...my bedrest is beginning and im sure I will feel the same

the joys of pregnancy..hang in there mama.

 

[ljmorgan]

Blen I am so sorry about the bed rest, it sounds horrid. I hope that you schedule that massage and get some much needed relief.

nycb hang in there!

To add to all of the fun news in this thread lately, my antibody levels went up yet again today. Baby still looks good on the dopplers though, so I try to keep that in mind. I have a C-section date! It's scheduled for April 27th at 39 weeks, can't believe it. That is our ideal date, so that if the baby continues to do fine with the antibodies, I can make it until 39 weeks. If she starts having trouble, they will re-schedule for sooner but we want her to have the benefit of hanging out in there as long as she can.

 

[snlee]

Date: 1/21/2009 7:32:49 PM
Author: neatfreak
Big hugs Blen! I have totally been there. Fortunately the first week on bedrest is the hardest. If you find yourself needing to be on it for longer it does get easier, I promise. And it''s completely ok to be feeling how you are feeling. I''ve been there myself, it is COMPLETELY normal.

Blen, ditto what NF said. Hugs. Hang in there!

nycb, sorry to hear your update. Hang in there!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Nycb,

Praying for you, girl. I can only imagine how stressed this is making you. Try to stay calm though, that means a lot to your little babies right now.

I hope the talk with your Dr. clears up a lot of things today!

****
Blen,

Hope you get good news with the visit!

Praying for it, sweetie! Sorry you're bored. I'd be out of my mind, too...

****
Pandora,

Still having some pineapple every day. The taste has grown on me.

I'll let you know how it works out!

Have you heard anything else from the visit last week? Did they say what the next steps would be? I'm so glad that they were kind and seemingly trying to be helpful. I'm also proud of how you're handling it. It says a lot about your spirit and personality, and your love for your baby.

****
Lindsay,

Yay for a birth date! I'm sure that makes it seem all the more *real,* huh? I loved your preggo picture a few pages back, by the way. So pretty. Radiant even.

****
DD/Pandora,

The grapefruit in the hoo-ha thing has me totally freaked out. I'd almost forgotten about Jen's ECP, and now it all comes back to me....

****
Happy thoughts to all the mommies-to-be here. There seems to have been a lot of drama around here lately. I hope it all settles down and that no further issues arise.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 1/22/2009 7:12:18 AM
Author: fisherofmengirly

Pandora,

Still having some pineapple every day. The taste has grown on me.

I''ll let you know how it works out!

Have you heard anything else from the visit last week? Did they say what the next steps would be? I''m so glad that they were kind and seemingly trying to be helpful. I''m also proud of how you''re handling it. It says a lot about your spirit and personality, and your love for your baby.

LOL, the pineapple can get a bit addictive!

I haven''t heard anything back yet - although I had another visit from the other 2 social workers on Monday. They are people I am likely to see quite a bit - one is my psychiatric case-worker and the other is a specialist in ''baby bonding for new mothers with mental health issues''.

We had a few disagreements on things, but I held my ground and they didn''t push too hard. They did say they were relieved that I seemed realistic about the baby - apparently a lot of their clients are firmly wed to their rose-tinted views and get a nasty shock. They seem to think that the first lot will close my case unless I am referred back to them - hooray!

DH didn''t help by coming home very early from work in the middle of the meeting. He''s not good at small talk and HATES anything medical with a vengeance (despite both his and my fathers both being MDs and half the rest our relatives also working in medicine). He decided to read the paper and be deeply monosyllabic - he did this at hospital appointments too, the only time he has actually put his paper down at all is for ultrasounds, so I don''t take him with me.

I know it''s because he feels awkward, but I could still have murdered him!

I saw my lovely GP yesterday and we discussed the whole thing - he feels like I do: it''s overkill, it''s invasive and a PITA, but the best thing to do is just cooperate and hope to tick all the boxes. He also laughed when I said I quite often feel like giving terrible answers to their questions just out of sheer badness.

He also said I looked 100 times better than the last time he had seen me and that he thought I was really starting to recover from the depression. (I didn''t ask him about the ''grapefruit'' because I there is no way I was taking my clothes off - totally ridiculous I know....

)

Heard from my horrible employers via my representative yesterday. She''s meeting them on Friday which should be interesting. They are escalating their whole system and progressing straight to the Appeal Panel stage (I should have gone to a senior management appeal first - although I did point out in my letter to the CEO that he could hardly appoint someone to investigate a case in which he was clearly implicated).

It''s basically a mini-court and I can feel the anxiety building already. I know once I get in the door I will be fine, but it''s the anticipation and worry - and trying to second-guess their strategy and anticipate and counteract their moves in advance - that weighs on your mind. It should be in about 2 weeks time, so I''m going to have to really put some serious work into getting my notes and everything else as good as they can be.

DH was in floods of tears about it all last night - didn''t help that there was a TV docu-drama about a girl who worked in the City who fought a similar case (she won £3 million GBP) and went through hell at every point, I didn''t see it which DH said was a good thing as he found it very traumatic to watch and said I wouldn''t have coped.

Ah well, these things are sent to try us!

 

[Courtneylub]

Well, I just typed a whole long post and pushed backspace to correct a word and instead, it took me to the previous page and deleted my whole entire post!!! This is an example of how my days have been for the last week.

AS I WAS SAYING! URGH.

I''m sorry I haven''t posted in a while, but I have been lurking and keeping up with all of you.

Pandora - What a relief to have the case workers say they think the case will be dismissed sooner than later.

Nyc - I''m so sorry about your little scare. Try to enjoy the bedrest and just keep coming here for support! We''ll be here.

Blen - I''m so sad to hear about your breakdown. Don''t feel guilty about being "done with the pregnancy". I''ve been saying that for a few weeks now and I know I have it pretty good compared to lots of others. Of course we want them to bake as long as possible.

Lindsey - April 27th is my birthday! My due date is April 30th, so it will interesting to see when she decides to arrive.

As for me, my emotions have been out of control. Crying one minute and laughing the next. I yelled at poor DH last night and he was still sweet and took me to the Rocket''s game. We ended up having a good time, but I sure did want an ice cold beer after my long day. Work has been stressing me out more than I can ever remember. I''m covering 2 jobs in my department because we''re short staffed and the turnover in the position (which is not mine) has been horrible since I''ve been here (2 years ago). So bascially, I''ve been covering 2 jobs since I started here. I have experience in that area, so boss lady throws everything at me. If they were smart, they''d move me over into that position. On the other hand, I''m relieved I don''t do that job fulltime because explaining the work to my boss (a VP, mind you) is impossible because she has no knowledge in the area. I don''t have the patience for that at all.

I''m looking forward to a weekend alone. DH is going out of town and I really need to pamper myself. Prenatal massage, a movie, girls dinner....all sound good to me!

26 weeks today

 

[nycbkgirl]

Thanks snlee/ fisher/linds /court!

Linds- how exciting is it to actually hear the expected date like that sorry about the antibodies..
the joys of 2nd/3rd tri are really smthg huh?

Court- wow lots of emotions mama..but the weekend sans dh sounds veryyyy promising ...im thinking I need to go for a facial and mani/pedi right about now...but bedrest it is.

Waiting for doc to call today.

 

[fieryred33143]

Big hugs to all the ladies. I know nothing medically so I can''t contribute intelligently but wanted to send loads of support and well wishes.

 

[nycbkgirl]

Thanks fiery ...always appreciated

 

[Blenheim]

Thanks, girls! We need to leave in about 20 minutes for our appointment, and I have my fingers crossed that it''s all going well.

Nycbk - did your doctor end up telling you to go on bedrest? I may have missed it. If you can get out of the house, a facial and mani/pedi sounds pretty relaxing to me, and like a lot of fun!

Lindsey - it''s awesome that you have a date! That must be really exciting.

Pandora - with the appeal, is it now going to someone who''s implicated in it? Or are they avoiding that? Good luck with everything.

Courtney - Your job sounds really stressful. All that pampering sounds good to me too!

 

[cdt1101]

good luck today Blen!!!

nyc - sorry to hear about the bumps in the road! Sending you lots of dust that everything will work out fine!

Court - I hear ya about work! We''re short staffed too (who isn''t these days?). So i''m super busy and super tired! I keep waking up at exactly 2:30 each night! WTH? so annoying. I just lay awake for hours after that. Enjoy your alone time this week!

Lindsay - congrats on the date! My b-day is April 22nd!! Go Taurus!!!

As for me, things are ok. I feel lightheaded today though and was super nauseous this morning which was weird. Just hope I''m not coming down w/ something...lots of sick people here.

Hope everyone else is hanging in there!!!

19 weeks today!

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 1/22/2009 10:50:40 AM
Author: Blenheim
Thanks, girls! We need to leave in about 20 minutes for our appointment, and I have my fingers crossed that it''s all going well.

Nycbk - did your doctor end up telling you to go on bedrest? I may have missed it. If you can get out of the house, a facial and mani/pedi sounds pretty relaxing to me, and like a lot of fun!

Lindsey - it''s awesome that you have a date! That must be really exciting.

Pandora - with the appeal, is it now going to someone who''s implicated in it? Or are they avoiding that? Good luck with everything.

Courtney - Your job sounds really stressful. All that pampering sounds good to me too!

I don''t know who will be on the panel yet - I do know all the possibles and I have worked with a large number of them. One consolation is that I know the chair of the committee that will form the panel has a deep loathing of the CEO - but DH and I have also had some run-ins with him in the past, so who knows.

To be honest, I''m not expecting great things - if they don''t find completely in my favour and I don''t get the settlement I will be asking for I will just have to go to Tribunal (a proper public courtroom where the decisions are final).

We shall see....

Sorry to hear that you''re feeling down Blen. Even though I wasn''t on ''bed-rest'' I have been stuck at home since November 6th and only really went out to go to medical appointments until after Xmas, certainly never left the house to go shopping or do ''fun'' things.

It gets pretty tedious - it''s worth finding a few hobbies that don''t involving having to move around too much. Reading reviews of babystuff and bargain hunting for it on ebay has helped while away the hours many times.

I certainly lost it more than just a few times - and it was pretty tough on DH coming home to a wife who had turned into a complete vegetable and was incapable of even putting clothes in the washing machine.

Sometimes having a complete melt-down does make you feel better and less stressed for a while afterwards.

Hope you feel better soon! Big hug from me!

 

[nycbkgirl]

Blen- im thinkin of ya..please let us know how appt goes!
Im still waiting for ob to call me..I hate that it takes so long for a call back!...she said to "take it easy, not work and have feet up"...I translate it to bed rest anyhow so we shall see monday how the cervix is doing..hopefully staying put! I can''t imagine not goin out for mani/pedi and stuff like that but I think it should be ok since I won''t be on my feet.
Anyhow good luck again and waiting for u to get back with good news

 

[nycbkgirl]

Thanks cdt!
Sorry you''re not feeling too hot..there are lots of sickies everywhere and I make sure to have not contact lol...I did get a scare when nose started acting up..so my advice...drink lots of herbal tea..use a sinus rinse and ricola throat drops (they are safe and so yummy)...I have such nasal congestion esp at night that I sleep with mouth open which causes throat to be sore. And the blowing of nose is driving me crazy but im not sick..its dryness and sinus...so I use the nasal rinse and helps during the day somewhat but nitetime is the worst. I need humidifier.
Anyway feel better..and yay for 19wks!

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 1/22/2009 12:12:05 PM
Author: nycbkgirl
Blen- im thinkin of ya..please let us know how appt goes!

Im still waiting for ob to call me..I hate that it takes so long for a call back!...she said to ''take it easy, not work and have feet up''...I translate it to bed rest anyhow so we shall see monday how the cervix is doing..hopefully staying put! I can''t imagine not goin out for mani/pedi and stuff like that but I think it should be ok since I won''t be on my feet.

Anyhow good luck again and waiting for u to get back with good news

NYC if you are on bedrest there is no going out for a mani/pedi, no doing chores, no grocery shopping, nothing. Unless your doctor says you are just to take it easy, bedrest means staying on the couch except to get yourself a snack or go to the bathroom. And if you get put on strict bedrest all you should be doing is going to the bathroom.

 

[pavelover]

Hi Everyone! Just a quick second to say hello and I hope everyone is doing well. Sorry that you are going through a scare, Blen and NYCB. I will keep you guys in my thoughts and prayers, and hope things smooth out very soon.

Pandora gosh I hope the work thing goes well(I can''t remember what the meeting is called and I am not running on all cylinders right now)- Those meetings with the social workers still sound like a pain but I guess you have to do it. Sometimes my dh comes across as stoneface/scary and he is not at all in private. It makes me feel akward but what can you do. When we were in the hospital, my dh was trying to arrange interviews and find a job/work on certification- I didn''t agree with where he was spending his time but what could I do? that was how he dealt with things I guess. Anyway, my point is when he was at the hospital, he tried to be buried in a laptop with headphones on- didn''t look like an involved dad- I didn''t feel like explaining to ppl what was going on in addition to the baby''s surgery. at least irl/private they are fantastic guys right?

Neat how are you? I haven''t been on the mommies thread and don''t know if you have been posting much there. are the boys keeping you jumping? I''m sure they are if it is anything like having one at home. Did you have your one month check up? Gotten shots? I''m not looking forward to that day. We can''t get anything till at least 6 weeks.

dd hope you are well. thanks for answering the question for me a while back. its'' hard to find time to post these days and I was bad about it before the baby was here, haha.

Radiant girl Welcome back! so glad things are going well and you are so far along. that is great news.

mela how are you? sounds like you are great! yay!
ok diaper to change and crying baby. gotta go. take care

 

[nycbkgirl]

Thanks neat for the explanation of diff kinds of bedrest bc I was really confused there so here is the update:
Doc called..said cerclage is not an option bc of twins and risk. she said my length of 2.6 is not critical. If it was like 15mm she''d be worried. So the plan is to stay on prog. And keep it monitored..bedrest she said sustained of not working and not staying on feet for too long (like talking walks etc) I should lay and have feet up whenever possible but I can still go to kitchen and bathroom and to and from as long as im not on feet too long. So I plan to lay in bed and def no chores!...
Re the "spot": she reviewed all the scans with the radiologist and they found no abnormalities or any other spots..brain and everything is clean so she said just have to monitor it and make sure its not just some growth.
She said once I hit 24 wks and g-d forbid cervix really shortens they can give shot and hospital stay but until then there''s nothing else. So im almost 23 wks..so I guess I can feel some security hitting the 24wk point? Duno. But I feel a little better.
Thanks again everyone.

Pave- so nice to hear from u! How is little ty???

 

[Blenheim]

Good news! Everything''s looking good and I can resume normal activity, starting tomorrow or Saturday. He said that he wouldn''t do everything at once - like climb up the stairs with a load of laundry and then go on a walk and then have sex all in a row, or something - but to start adding maybe one of those in each day. Yay!!! It''s so much easier with an end in sight, and so soon.

Pandora, I really hope that everything goes well with you.

Nycbk, that sounds like bed rest to me. If you''d still like a mani/pedi, definitely call and ask if that would be ok first - it sounds like that''s probably out. Or maybe DH can try to do your nails for you. (Or is that a bad idea? It would be with mine.)

29w0d

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 1/22/2009 3:07:37 PM
Author: Blenheim
Good news! Everything''s looking good and I can resume normal activity, starting tomorrow or Saturday. He said that he wouldn''t do everything at once - like climb up the stairs with a load of laundry and then go on a walk and then have sex all in a row, or something - but to start adding maybe one of those in each day. Yay!!! It''s so much easier with an end in sight, and so soon.

Yah!

And LOL!! How many pregnant women do ALL of those things in one day? However, I think there is an abvious order in which you should introduce those activities...

... and maybe leave laundry out altogether!

 

[nycbkgirl]

Lol blen! Yeh dh doin nails ..sounds very promising but aint happenin lol. He does enough as is poor guy...takes care of cat,laundry,dishes etc. Can''t ask for more ...she didn''t say strict bedrest..so I think I can do nails..im not standing on feet there..just to and from.

Glad everything is ok! U can get back to business as usual and yeh all in one day sounds very exhausting LOL

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 1/22/2009 3:37:09 PM
Author: nycbkgirl
Lol blen! Yeh dh doin nails ..sounds very promising but aint happenin lol. He does enough as is poor guy...takes care of cat,laundry,dishes etc. Can't ask for more ...she didn't say strict bedrest..so I think I can do nails..im not standing on feet there..just to and from.


Glad everything is ok! U can get back to business as usual and yeh all in one day sounds very exhausting LOL

NYC, I don't mean to be a downer but if she said *bedrest* then you should stay at home. Even walking to/from places is more strain on your body than you realize. I'd call the doc to clarify first whether things like that are ok or not. I would at least play it safe until you can see what your cervix is doing week to week.

 

[nycbkgirl]

Neat- she wouldn''t say the word bedrest..she just said don''t go for long walks and try to keep your feet up whenever possible...but I labeled it as bedrest and I agree with u..I will wait until monday to see what the cervix is doing.then maybe go do nails...so home in bed it is..just to and from bathroom and kitchen.

 

[Sabine]

Wow, Blen, NYC, and Lindsay, I am thinking of all of you today!
Blen, I''m glad bedrest is almost over and things are looking up!
NYC, I hope you have an easier time taking it easy. Thinking LOOOONG cervix for you.
Lindsay, it must be so frustrating having to deal with the antibody issue, especially knowing it was all due to a mistake. At least it doesn''t seem to be causing too much trouble yet! I''ll be hoping you can make it to your c-section date!

I found out today yet another teacher at school is pregnant, due about 2 weeks before me! There''s another that''s about 7 weeks right now, and another 2 that are about to pop! It''s so fun having other people in real life to talk to about pregnancy. But sometimes I feel weird when they talk about stuff because I feel like I''ve heard of so many other pregnancy situations through all of you, and they will say something like, I never knew it was normal to be constipated in pregnancy, and I have to laugh because I had all you to fill me in!

 

[nycbkgirl]

Thanks sabine! Well unfortunatley cervix can''t get longer but lets say STAY PUT CERVIX lol

That''s a funny story...we are the lucky girls that get all this wealth of info and knowledge from our gals here. I''d literally be a worried nervous wreck (worse than I already am) if it weren''t for ps and the knowledgable preggos here!

 

[nycbkgirl]

Neat- ?....is sitting up in bed ok or only laying?

 

[Pandora II]

Can I recommend 'The Best Friend's Guide to Pregnancy' to anyone who is bored and wants a good book to read.

My only advice is to read it well before the stage when bladder control is dubious. I nearly died laughing a few times today.

Oh, and anyone who is finding doing Kegels difficult, my father called me to give me 'words of wisdom' from my uncle (who's an OB). Apparently if you're having difficulty finding the right muscles, then just imagine that you are swimming naked in a pool full of small and very curious fish...

Blen, that is great news - fingers crossed that you have had your share of traumas for this pregnancy!

 

[snlee]

Date: 1/22/2009 5:07:55 PM
Author: nycbkgirl
Neat- ?....is sitting up in bed ok or only laying?

Obviously I''m not NF but I was on bedrest during my pregnancy. You should clarifly this with your doctor. When I was on bedrest, my doc wanted me to be horizontal as much as possible, so no sitting up, unless I was eating.

 

[snlee]

pave, please come over to the mommy thread! How are you and Tyler doing?

Blen, that''s great news!