Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[Courtneylub]

Puffy, that is great! I love that that happened.

Blen, I could see how that would get really old really fast! Luckily you have Dreamer and Puffy here to make you feel better.

I woke up at 3am this morning and could not go back to bed. I came in the living room to watch TV and finish the last load of baby clothes. This sounds familiar, doesn''t it Blen?

China, you look fantastic!

 

[Jas12]

Blen-- I delivered at exactly 42 weeks and even on the morning i went into the hospital (after water had broken and i had been having moderate contractions all night) i was still only 1 cm dilated and the head was high. Sometimes the big stuff just doesn''t happen till the actual day you give birth. I know the last few weeks are so hard and it is utterly annoying when everyone around you is calling and emailing making comments like "no baby yet?". I just tried to remember that anything from 38-42 weeks is *at term* , but i ll admit the waiting was still torturous & all the darn *false symptoms* got my hopes up! Sending REAL labor vibes your way!

Robbie--hope you had a great b-day

Chinacat-what a cute bump--you look great!

Hello to everyone else, hope everyone is feeling good!

 

[robbie3982]

Thanks for the bday wishes everyone! This stupid credit card mess is STILL not sorted out. I spoke to a different rep on the phone this morning and she said they''ve had access to the accounts since yesterday so I guess the girl I spoke to yesterday had no idea what she was talking about. The rep said I could pay now over the phone, but I won''t have online access until tomorrow. She said that no late fees have been charged and my first payment with them isn''t due until 4/25. I''ll believe I don''t have any late fees when I see it with my own eyes so I''m not paying anything until tomorrow at the earliest when I can see what I''m actually being charged.

Blen, I''m sorry you''re so down. I agree with everyone else though. Everything I''ve read and learned in class says that checking for progress during internals tells you absolutely nothing. You could be dilated for a while and not go into labor or be showing now signs of progress and go into labor that same day like Puffy did. Maybe try some visualization and/or positive mantras. I just finished reading a book by Ina May and she''s pretty big on that stuff. Can''t hurt, right?

China, you''re teeny tiny like CDT! You look great!

NYC, congrats on 32 weeks!!!

I learned an important lesson this morning: No matter how good it sounds, spicy v8 is not a good choice for a breakfast drink. I''m having some MAJOR heartburn right now

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 3/29/2009 9:35:43 PM
Author: Blenheim
Bleh. My m/w just came over to do another exam because of the potentially wonky positioning. It was going to be earlier today, but she was at a birth. The bad news - now that I''m 1 cm dilated, she could stick her finger up my cervix enough to determine that it''s still like 3 cm long. (I think I misinterpreted what she said before - thinking that 70% of the work was done, vs having 70% of the way to go.) But, basically, way thicker than I thought it was and no progress in that arena. Baby''s at -2 station, so still fairly high. And all this despite the painful contractions and all of the walking I''ve been doing - I even walked another 4 miles today to try to help it drop more.

The good news - she''s now 80% sure that baby''s headdown, and my cervix has started moving forwards which it needs to do before birth. She said to expect a 41-42 weeker. But with all of these false alarms, I''m just feeling DONE and discouraged. Ebree, thanks for asking.

Add me on the list of women who went overdue. It is actually MORE common to go over with your first baby. I was induced 6 days after my EDD. I seriously think 99% of women think they will go early. I was convinced I would. It is a let down when you realize you have to wait even longer to meet your baby and stop all the pregnancy aches and pains. From experience though just try to relax. Once the baby is here there is no going back so enjoy those bonus days of being lazy and selfish!

 

[neatfreak]

Blen I think it''s pretty rude of any midwife or doctor to tell you what your body will or won''t do for sure. Why? Because NONE of these things predict with good accuracy when you will go into labor! It could happen tomorrow with no signs or someone can walk around 4 cm dilated and 70% effaced for weeks and weeks. Just no way to know.

Just serves to stress the mom out and considering there is no scientific evidence that these things predict when you will go into labor it ticks me off when medical professionals put absolutes out there. Grrr.

Hang in there mama!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Aww, Blen. I''m sorry you''re ready for this baby to come out and it''s just not been the right time yet. I''m hoping that things progress quickly for you, though. And it''s great that you''re all prepped and ready for when that baby gets here, because it could be any time!!!

****
Peony!

Making us wait til Friday for an ultrasound you got on Saturday?

****
Nyc,

I''m so glad to know that you''ve made it to 32 weeks! What an accomplishment!!

Keep baking. I can only imagine how hard it''s been to be on bedrest all this long, but just look at what a great job it''s done of keeping the babies safe! How intense is your bedrest? Can you fold laundry if you''re in bed or sitting down? I know it''s not much, but something like that could help you feel better about "nesting" for the babies.

 

[Courtneylub]

nyc, I''m sorry you''re having a rough time. I''m so glad you''ve made it this far and you''ll keep on truckin I am sure! I can imagine why you''d be emotional, but keep your chin up and you''ll get to 34 weeks in no time.

Regarding my weird fainting spells, I think it may have been a circulation thing instead of blood sugar or blood pressure. I had plenty to eat and drink and my blood pressure was normal at the doc appointment a couple of hours before it happened.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Date: 3/30/2009 9:55:32 AM
Author: Courtneylub
nyc, I''m sorry you''re having a rough time. I''m so glad you''ve made it this far and you''ll keep on truckin I am sure! I can imagine why you''d be emotional, but keep your chin up and you''ll get to 34 weeks in no time.

Regarding my weird fainting spells, I think it may have been a circulation thing instead of blood sugar or blood pressure. I had plenty to eat and drink and my blood pressure was normal at the doc appointment a couple of hours before it happened.

I''m glad to know that the scariness didn''t return, Courtney!

 

[NovemberBride]

Happy belated birthday Robbie, I hope you had a great one.

Peony - congrats on seeing the baby and the heartbeat, you and DH must be so excited!

Amber, Sunkist and Peony - I love that our EDDs are so close together - it will be fun to experience all the different stages together.

Blen - it sounds like you are so close. I''m sure it''s frustrating, but you''re in the home stretch now!

Courtney - that''s so scary about the fainting, glad yo are ok now.


Starting this weekend, I have had absolutely no appetite. I am not particularly nauseous, just a general aversion to all food. I''ve basically been choking down anything that seems remotely appetizing, mostly consisting of pizza and fried food. I am a little worried because I am generally a healthy person and don''t want to gain too much unnecessary weight. Don''t get me wrong, I am happy to gain the recommended weight for a healthy baby, but with the food that I am eating I am afraid I''ll blow up like a house. Yesterday I ate nothing but a few carrot sticks and handful of trail mix. I still wasn''t hungry at 9:30, but I sent DH out to get me food form McDonald''s since I felt like I needed to eat something for the baby and I couldn''t stomach anything we had in the house. I am hoping this passes after a few weeks and I can go back to eating normal healthy foods again.

I also discovered this weekend that 90% of my bras don''t fit anymore. I am going into this pregnancy as a 32D, so I was hoping they wouldn''t get much bigger, but it sounds like that was wishful thinking.

 

[fieryred33143]

Blen I''m so sorry you are feeling down and discouraged. It''s great news that the baby''s head is down. She can only guess that you''ll be overdue as the ladies have mentioned. Big hugs!

China you look fantastic! You are tiny just like CDT! We have some *hot* mommies here.


I took the sugar test today. The drink wasn''t bad but just way too sweet so it took me about 10 minutes just to drink it. The doctor didn''t do an u/s because she didn''t feel the need to. She checked the heartbeat, all is well there. She measured me and said I''m measuring on time but also added in "yeah, you''re getting bigger." I asked her about my weight since I''ve packed on some pounds but she isn''t concerned about it. She told me I was on the edge so try to control the weight gain from now on.

I went with my MIL. She asked again yesterday if she could go and I said sure since I would be sitting around for an hour doing nothing. I''m glad she went. We talked a lot about stuff. She asked what we were planning on doing once I go back into work. We were going to ask her if she can take care of the baby but I didn''t want to have that conversation without FI so I just told her I didn''t know. Then about 15 minutes later she said "I know it isn''t my place and whatever you guys want to do is fine but I would really love to take care of the baby so that she doesn''t have to go into daycare." I almost kissed her LOL. I told her we would love for her to take care of the baby as well and that we would pay. Of course she said no to paying but we''ll take care of that later. Then she went on and on about the baby shower she''s planning. She''s very excited about it (she loves planning parties) so it made me excited as well.

Hope everyone else is doing well! I''ll check in later

 

[mela lu]

Amber – tomorrow tomorrow I love ya, tomorrow, you’re only a day A-WAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Blen – poor you. I feel for you. I know it’s easier said than done, but try your hardest to tune out all the negativity and comments, and focus instead on positive visualizations. I know it may feel forced, but my heart of hearts feels like it could work to brighten your mood. Just like I would visualize the sperm busting through the egg…it was “lame” and not something I told anyone that I did, but I did it and PAAN! Preggo. We’re here for you when you need to vent in between positive thinking, natch! xo

Robbie – Happy Belated Bday! I wasn’t online yesterday…but wishing you the GREATEST year to come ☺ xox

Tao – Love your names!!!! Seriously. They are great. Love Carys (but have to be honest, I’m kinda over Olivia beause it’s SO popular over here in Canada), and I love love love Evangeline Rae. Also, (biased here) but I think you have taste in Phoenix *wink. It’s tops for me too!

Peony – GREAT update about the HB. YEY for you and DH! It is the greatest sound ever.

Fiery – GL with the glucose test!!

Pandora – you owe us a belly shot loung yady! (that is young lady with the first letters switched. SO MUCH Fun to say aloud!)

Courtney – very scary about the fainting. Be careful mommy!

China – what’s so weird is that not only do you and I have the same first name IRL, but we both have a tattoo in the SAME PLACE!! What is yours? Mine is the sun with a moon on the inside. I got it when I was 15 (lol) and that’s why I was so gung ho on naming my potential daughter Luna Soleil. Too bad everyone veto’s me
You are one Skinny Minnie! Looking GREAT girl!

Sunkist - I''m a MAC monkey too. Loves it!

NYC – aww honey I’m so sorry. This must be incredibly hard for you. I agree about maybe doing some light ‘in-bed’ chores or writing. Maybe even organizing music into playlists…anything to make you feel like you’re accomplishing something. Hang in there. You’re doing a phenomenal job and soon your babies will be here. Very soon in fact! Tee hee. That’s so exciting.

November – don’t beat yourself up. Choke down what you can and know that the baby is taking what it needs. You have the rest of your PG to eat more “healthy” once you feel better. Also, I’m with you on the Cannons. I have them too and there ain’t nuthin’ we can do about it. Lol. Get used to them knocking you around. Haha.

Just a shout out to all the newly pregnant mommies - Love having you all here. I like remembering back to the beginning of pregnancy. Its all so fun, in different ways. You all are on SUCH an exciting journey!!!

******

As for me. I had a great weekend. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been VERY VERY itchy. Well, sure enough, I have a very light rash – little red bumps – which point to PUPPS. I’m pretty sure that’s what it is, as all research I’ve done sounds bang on. Middie is not worried, (surprise surprise. They are so chill) so I’m not going to worry. I’m soaking in oatmeal baths before bed to reduce the itchyness and I’m trying to focus my attention on other things when the itch becomes “unbearable”. It’s really hard. Its quite the mind-f^c#, let me tell you….but so far I’m coping “alright”.

DH feels really badly for me, so he spoiled me rotten all weekend. Flowers, my favourite ice cream, and then….surprising me with this expensive duvet cover I’ve been coveting for months. Months. He said we deserve it and will need it when the baby barfs on our one and only duver cover. SOLD! Haha.

He also took me to BRU (I’m using your acronym!) and we bought our car seat. HARROW~ Getting there!

Mela 32w3d

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Hey mommies in the making!!!

A friend of mine (one of like 10 or so!!) is trying to find a baby name for a possible daughter (not far enough along to get the gender yet, and they plan to wait for the birth to find out) that runs along the lines of Robert, her father''s name. But, she''s not really loving any of the variations of Robert (female verison) out there. So I looked around online and found this website that lets you put in the meaning of a name, and then you get all kinds of choices, but still the name means the same thing as Robert. I didn''t know this such website existed, and thought I''d throw it out here for you girls who are still debating (or just beginning) the great search for a name.

Robert means "bright," or "noble." I searched "bright" and found over 40 girl names. And some of them are really great and darling!

Here''s the website: http://www.thinkbabynames.com/

 

[E B]

Ladies of the PS Pregnant forum, please give me the strength to keep from ordering (almost) everything in the Gymboree Whale Of A Time collection. It's on sale, and I'm feeling spendy.

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 3/30/2009 12:48:35 PM
Author: EBree
Ladies of the PS Pregnant forum, please give me the strength to keep from ordering (almost) everything in the Gymboree Whale Of A Time collection. It''s on sale, and I''m feeling spendy.

Dearest EBree,

Fieryred33143 is of no help because she wants you to spend and then post pics of everything you buy.

 

[mela lu]

Date: 3/30/2009 12:48:35 PM
Author: EBree
Ladies of the PS Pregnant forum, please give me the strength to keep from ordering (almost) everything in the Gymboree Whale Of A Time collection. It''s on sale, and I''m feeling spendy.

LOL!! HAHAHAH. Oh Ebree - you are such a great online shoppers! Always have been

Don''t look at me for help - I''d say "spend spend spend"!

Fisher - thanks for the website posting. I LOVE NAME GAMES!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[E B]

Oh no. Enablers.

I've got to remind myself that we're getting a ton of free onesies already and we just spent a fortune on nursery furniture.

But how cute is this? Whale Polo Shortie

And this? Whale Hoodie

ETA: And this?! Whale Polo Bodysuit

What is it about tiny embroidered whales?

 

[mela lu]

okay yah - those are PRETTY DARN cute.

You''re thing for whales is mine for insects. I LOVE seeing little embroidered bugs on things.

 

[mela lu]

HARROW!!!!

 

[fieryred33143]

I don''t know why but after seeing these clothes, I have the urge to hug something little as tight as possible.

I think I might go give my coworker a hug

 

[fieryred33143]

 

[mela lu]

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

 

[Mrs]

Date: 3/30/2009 12:31:11 PM
Author: mela lu

******


As for me. I had a great weekend. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been VERY VERY itchy. Well, sure enough, I have a very light rash – little red bumps – which point to PUPPS. I’m pretty sure that’s what it is, as all research I’ve done sounds bang on. Middie is not worried, (surprise surprise. They are so chill) so I’m not going to worry. I’m soaking in oatmeal baths before bed to reduce the itchyness and I’m trying to focus my attention on other things when the itch becomes “unbearable”. It’s really hard. Its quite the mind-f^c#, let me tell you….but so far I’m coping “alright”.

Mela 32w3d

Mela, just wanted to let you know that my experience with PUPPS was not great but it went away very quickly once I started the steroid creme my dr prescribed. Definitely consider it if you''re not getting relief any other way. Check out this page for other remedies that might be helpful: http://www.tcinternet.net/users/kritzerburke/naomi/PUPPP.htm

Ladies, I''m still here and hoping you''re all well! don''t have much time to read and I''m still working on my birth story - sorry in advance for it''s length!!

congrats to all the new pregnant peeps.

Blen, hang in there hun! We''re all sending you positive vibrations!

Mrs (Sage is two wees old today! CRAZY!)

 

[Mrs]

Cesarean Birth Story from 3/16/09 (sorry it's so long!!):

I woke up at 3AM and thought I would go back to bed for a bit but my mom, who had arrived the previous day (on her own birthday), woke up as well and we were too excited to sleep. When DH awoke my mom made him some breakfast, bacon and eggs, while I showered and finished packing for the hospital. I was very very excited and couldn't stop smiling. DH put everything in the car and we finally left at about 7:15AM, waving goodbye to my mom and our old life!

Driving to the hospital was sort of surreal since we knew we were going to have our baby. It's a short ride (only 10 minutes or so) and it kind of sped by. When we arrived we left everything in the car except for my purse with a camera and a CD of Jack Johnson music. We went right up to the L&D floor where we checked in and they had me sign some paperwork. We met Angie, the nurse who would be taking us through the whole process, and she walked us to the recovery room since all the other rooms were taken. The recovery room was long and had about 4 beds on each side separated by curtains. We were taken to the last slot on the left which was next to the window which was nice. The curtains across from us and down one were closed and we could here a newborn screaming. It was really loud and I was surprised by that. Angie explained that newborns cry like that to get stuff out of the lungs so it's a good thing. My sweet husband was getting pretty overwhelmed at this point. He was very nervous about the surgery but I was feeling great! Angie explained that she would check to confirm that the baby was still breech before putting in my IV but first she asked a bunch of questions about my weight and health history. She gave me a gown to change into that had snaps on the shoulders and she kind of struggled to get them snapped right. I didn't understand at the time why it was designed like that but later learned that it was so you could unsnap the shoulders to breast feed the baby. DH helped me tie the gown and I went to the bathroom quickly before getting the monitors placed on my belly. The baby's heart rate was fine and I was contracting a little bit. Janet, one of the nice nurses who I had gotten to know in fetal monitoring, came down with an ultrasound machine and confirmed that the baby was indeed still breech. As she left, another dad and his newborn entered the recovery room and were placed right across from us. DH could see the baby and was reassured by how relaxed the dad was and how well the mom looked when she was brought in later.

After Janet left Angie put in my IV in my left arm an inch or two above my outside wrist which went fine. She numbed the skin first and that made it relatively painless. I remember her saying I had tough or thick skin which surprised me. She got some fluid in me and I ended up going through a whole bag of fluid before we even left for the OR. After that the anesthesiologist came by to introduce herself, ask some questions and explain that they were going to do a spinal and went over what that meant. I asked her to put our CD on and she was glad to do so for us and explained that she remembers "highway to hell" or some other such strange song had been playing when she had her c-section which made us laugh. She was very friendly and I was glad to have her helping us. She said that she would help me view the birth with a mirror if I wanted and I said that I did indeed though DH said he most certainly did NOT want to see it. After that my OB came by to see if we had any other questions and said that they were ready to go when we were. Angie then shaved me a little bit to get me ready and had me get up to walk to the OR. Through this whole prep process my DH felt very anxious. He was a little teary at one point and commented on how overwhelming it all was. He kept feeling like he was sort of in the way though everyone said he was fine. I think he asked my OB how squeamish dad's typically do and she said she's only had one dad pass out when she was operating and he should just put his head between his knees if he felt like he was going to faint. Angie brought DH a mask, paper hat, and sterile suit to put on over his clothes and reminded him to keep his camera out before she had me get up and hold my fluid bag while we walked to the OR. I think I must have kissed DH before leaving but I can't remember. Poor guy was pretty worked up and I do remember worrying about how he would do all alone there while I was getting prepped in the OR.

When we got to the OR there was another nurse there who was helping to get everything ready. She was older and kind of cranky in a funny way and I remember her talking about how she had 3 girls and it's been great seeing them with their kids since they put her daughter through the same torture her daughter put her through, or something like that. She was rather strange and I kept wondering what her job was exactly. My CD was already playing softly in the background and I found that reassuring. Angie had me sit on the table and the anesthesiologist came in. They had me hunch my back to help the anesthesiologist find the right spot for the needle. She commented on my tattoo and explained that she once did a spinal on a woman who had a cross tattoo and the right spot for the needle turned out to be right at the intersection of the cross. She explained that she would be numbing the spot before putting the spinal in and I should let her know if I had any pain. She put the numbing stuff in but I found the right side of my spine was hurting a bit so I said as much and she put more numbing medicine in. She said I might feel an electric shock type feeling when the spinal went in and sure enough, I did feel like a current went through me to my feet which was uncomfortable but not really painful. The whole thing only took about 5 minutes I think. They had me lie down and placed my arms out to the sides and a pillow under my right buttocks to tilt me slightly to the left. They also put a blood pressure cuff on me which they said would be monitoring my pressure through out and sure enough now and then it would go on and off intermittently. They also put a heart rate monitor on my finger and some other sensors on different parts of my body (shoulders, sides, etc) which were there to measure other vitals though I don't know what exactly. My legs started to tingle but I could still feel them which was a strange sensation. At one point the anesthesiologist asked if I could wiggle my toes and I said that I thought I could but when she asked me to demonstrate, I couldn't wiggle them. Angie then came over and I could feel her maneuver my legs so that I was like a frog (feet kind of together and knees bent) and she explained that she was putting in a catheter which, like the IV, would be in for 24 hours. She and the other nurse then put a sterile wash on my tummy and the anesthesiologist was behind me working on getting other things ready (not sure what). She then came over and did a cold test to see at what point on my body I could begin to feel the temperature. I could feel her on my legs but not the cold sensation until she got up to my upper torso. This was probably the biggest surprise since I had anticipated not being able to feel anything. I really thought it would be numb but instead my legs and tummy could feel touch, but no pain.

DH was soon brought in and I could barely recognize him since only his eyes were visible from behind the mask and hat. He was still kind of teary and they had him sit next to my right side. I remember feeling very exposed and surprised that they hadn't put the curtain up yet. I feared that he could see my exposed everything and for some reason I worried that that would upset him but I think I asked him what he could see and he said only my tummy was exposed. We started talking about how surreal it was to be there and about to meet our baby. I was still very excited. I explained to him and the anesthesiologist that I was glad I had watched so many TV shows that showed what happened during a c-section since everything was happening just as I had imagined it would. DH said he thought that it was those shows that had made him so nervous. oh well!

They put up the curtain at that point and the anesthesiologist brought the mirror out to find out what angle would be right for me to be able to see the birth and she said she would try to remember it. My OB and her partner (I think it was about 9:20 at that point) came in and said hello and explained that they were marking my belly to know where to cut. Soon enough they were cutting away and I was so surprised to be feeling the cutting but still no pain. It was so strange. DH and I continued to talk about how amazing it was that we were really there experiencing birth. Though I can't recall what we said exactly, I remember feeling like it was a very special moment. It didn't matter that there seemed to be a lot of people in the room, he and I seemed very focused on each other and the moment. Then suddenly it seemed like something might be wrong since the drs stopped what they were doing. I asked if something was wrong and they said everything was fine but they didn't want to deliver the baby until the pediatrician was near so I guess they needed to wait a moment. Soon enough they began again and we could hear a suctioning sound as they siphoned the amniotic fluid away. The anesthesiologist then held the mirror up for me to see. She didn't have the angle right for very long but I could indeed see myself and a little bottom emerging from my tummy. Apparently they had tried to turn her to deliver her feet or head first but the dr could only find one hand and one foot so she ended up pulling her out butt first. It was kind of strange to see myself like that but it felt more like I was watching a movie than myself.

As soon as she was born the took her over to the warmer (or something like that) to check her out and my DH went over to her. It was as if a switch was flipped because he was no longer nervous and seemed immediately in control. I could hear him reassuring her and welcoming her to the world which was wonderful. I was worried that I would feel left out or sad at that point since I couldn't immediately hold her but in reality, I was just really happy and it was so great hearing him talk to her. Apparently the person checking her out was concerned that there might be something wrong with her knees but when the dr's said she was breech they said that it was normal. Even now, more than a week later, her little legs sometimes kind of stick up instead of out when she's relaxed since that's the position she was in for so long in the womb. DH was taking lots of pictures and then he cut the cord (one of the nurses got pics of that) and then they took her over to the scale where I could see her to my right and they said she weighed 6 pounds, 11 ounces and she was 19 inches long. I remember thinking that my father in law had one the pool about how much she would weigh. He had guessed 6 pounds, 12 ounces since that's what DH weighed when he was born. I was surprised at how small she was. They swaddled her up and put a really ugly cream colored hat with a purple pompom on her and gave her to DH who was then allowed to bring her over to me. I kissed her sweet face and the anesthesiologist took some pics of the three of us. It was such a wonderful moment! They stayed with me for a little while but then DH, the baby, and the baby nurse went to the recovery room while they finished putting me back together. I remember feeling lots of tugging when they were stuffing my repaired uterus back in and that was very strange. When they were finished stitching me back up they took the curtain down and continued to clean me up. One of the doctors said something about how messy she was from all my fluid which was kinda funny. The drs started to leave and I thanked them for doing a great job. Then I remember feeling the nurses pushing on my tummy - I think they were pushing to get whatever blood was there out since it seemed like they had a bucket of some sort being held between my legs to collect whatever they were pushing out. Then they were maneuvering my legs to take whatever was under me away which was a very strange sensation since I could see my knee and thigh up near my chest but I wasn't moving them myself. At that point I remember seeing a clear container of some sort on a table in the corner filled with bloody milky looking fluid and asked if that was the fluid that had been inside me and they said that it was indeed.

Finally Angie and the other nurse hoisted me onto the other bed through some fancy work with sheets and leverage and they started to wheel me back to the recovery room where DH was holding the baby. He looked so happy and I was so glad to be there. They soon asked if I was up for holding her and I said that I was. They unsnapped my gown at the shoulder and unwrapped her to do skin to skin and she felt so good. DH took some pictures and called his parents and my mom to say that we were fine and he left for a little bit to show my mom the pics since she was waiting in the waiting room. I was able to nurse her a little bit while in the recovery room and we stayed there for about an hour and a half as they continued to monitor my blood pressure.

I called my mom on the way to our room and let her know that she could join us there. I remember crying a little as I told her the baby's name.

They moved me onto the bed in our room and continued to monitor my heart rate through a cuff on my arm through the day and night. The baby "roomed in" with us in a little clear plastic bassinet which was on this aluminum cart with wheels and it had a drawer filled with soft cotton disposable towels and little newborn diapers which had a yellow line on them that turned blue when she was wet. When she wasn't nursing or relaxing on my skin she was swaddled in white flannel receiving blankets with pink and blue stripes. I don't remember a lot about that day though I know I regained feeling in my legs relatively quickly. I believe they had synthetic oxytocin in my IV drip to help my uterus shrink. My mom came with flowers from other relatives at one point and throughout the day I was allowed to have a few Popsicles which tasted really good. By dinner, I think I was allowed to eat and the food was actually pretty good. They had me get up and walk to the bathroom at 9PM, 12 hours after my surgery, which was not actually that difficult since my pain medication was working well. The baby slept well that night and I felt pretty good the next day when they removed the catheter and IV. They started to give me percocet and motrin for the pain after the IV came out which was helpful. My incision didn't hurt too much though I was certainly nervous to sneeze or cough. The baby got her first bath that morning and she looked like a new baby once all that junk was out of her hair!

The next few days are something of a blurr. The nurses took great care of us coming in very regularly to check my blood pressure and temp as well as the baby's and to give me my pain medication. I found that the after pains hurt just as much as my incision did but it was not really that bad. I tried to get up and walk the halls at least once a day since I was told that would help with healing. My mom came to stay with me during the day while DH worked, and he would come stay with me at night. The second night was really rough since the baby hardly slept and I was exhausted. My milk started to come in on the 3rd day and I was very alarmed at the size of my breasts by the 4th day! They were enormous and the baby began to eat in earnest which was good for her but not so good for me! We struggled with the latch for a while which caused my nipples to be very cracked and sore. We're still working on that...

They took my staples out on Thursday which didn't hurt at all, to my surprise, and replaced them with steri strips (like little pieces of tape). We were told that we could leave that day or stay one for another night so I opted to stay since I still hadn't passed a BM since Monday (sorry if this is TMI!) and I was beginning to get very uncomfortable and nervous about that! The nurse that night gave me a "cocktail" of milk and 7-up which was supposed to help and finally the next morning I was determined to make it happen. It took a ton of effort and courage, but I was finally able to go and it was so extreme that I clogged the toilet! What relief!!!

We came home on Friday morning to a very clean house thanks to my mom! She stayed through Wednesday to help with the baby and was going to stay much longer (7 weeks) but decided to leave early since we have a relatively small apartment and she felt that we didn't need her as much as we thought we might. She felt we needed the time as a new family to settle in and I know she was right. It was both sad and a relief when she left - there are times when I really wish she was still here but it wasn't easy to be sharing such small space with 4 people. Fortunately she's coming back in a couple of weeks to help me while DH is at his sister's wedding out of the country.

The last week has been both great and really hard. I stopped taking the percocet a week ago and have only been taking motrin since. My incision still hurts when I sneeze but it's not bad. Sage is growing well which we learned at the pediatrician's at her one week check up. They usually don't see the baby until two weeks but she was a little jaundiced at the hospital so they wanted to see her at one week to make sure she was recovering which she was. We've sort of settle into a routine in which DH helps with one feeding at night and I get up to pump while he's giving her a bottle since I can't go move than 4 hours without my breasts getting engorged. Sage is feeding like a champ and breast feeding is going well despite my VERY sore nipples. We're getting better at the latch thing and I'm hopefull that it will stop being painfull sooner than later. It's already much easier now than it was a week ago.

Today at my two week incision check I learned that I've lost 23 lbs so far so I have 15 to go until I'm at my pre-pregnancy weight which is great. I still have a belly but I'm fitting into some non-maternity clothing. Granted, they're clothes I purchased as I was gaining weight in my pregnancy but I'm still feeling good about it. They removed the steri strips and said my incision is healing well at the dr's today. I can now drive though they still want me to limit my activity to 20 minutes of walking a day which is hard for me since I'm used to being much more active.

Emotionally, I'm something of a wreck at least once a day. It's hard to be tethered to the baby and to subject yourself to pain (breast feeding) every few hours but for the most part I feel good and it's wonderful just to look at her beautiful face and marvel at her little body. What a blessing it is to be able to produce life!

Anyway, sorry for the length of this but hopefully it'll be helpful to someone.

Let me know if any of you have any questions about my experience!

 

[phoenixgirl]

Peony, that's great news about the heartbeat and that Clomid was such a good decision! When they checked my ovaries last week I didn't really realize that's what they were looking for. The technician was just swiveling that thing around painfully and saying, "There's your ovary."

Blen, I hope the m/w if wrong about being "overdue." Hang in there!

Ebree, try to resist, girl!


I have MIA because I have been compulsively planning for my new classes next year. It turned out that the AP literature classes became available, and then I was forced to decide if I could commit to staying at my job (no choice with the current market) and if it was crazy to take up the extra work. But as DH pointed out, teaching 12AP is the "best" (from some perspectives -- nothing wrong with teaching a different grade/level) position I can attain in my profession, and here I am being offered it. So I took it.

So now I have been crazy obsessed lady who spent hours and hours on Saturday trying to get started. Hopefully the crazy obsession will continue and I can just plan a whole year's worth of lessons now. I need to get my course outline approved by the college board before school lets out this year anyway. This means I'll have to attend two weeks of training this summer, but there's also a nice stipend based on a grant we won to make up for it.

We have told a few close friends that we're expecting, including my crazy bohemian neighbor who wants me to a) not take my morning sickness medicine b) not find out what the baby will be and c) have natural childbirth. I just listen and say, "Uh huh."

 

[Dreamer_D]

Fiery As one voluptuous woman to another I wanted to comment about the weight thing... it is common to gain the most weight between weeks 20 and 30, you can really pack it on! So don''t be surprised if you actually find you get really big in the next month or so! I think I gained about 6lbs a month in that time, and once it was 9lbs! Looking back, I think there are some things I could have done to slow it down, mostly just avoiding eating crapola and especially drinking juice, which I never normally do but did a lot of when preggo. In the end I think every woman gains different amounts and there isn''t much you can do. I mention this just in case your doc changes his/her tune and puts any pressure on you about your weight. Research actually shows that such pressure changes nothing and just makes mamas feel bad and adds stess. My midwife didn''t pressure me at all and I was grateful, as if we don''t know what we have gained?? I gained a lot, more that I thought possible, but ended up losing 30lbs in the first two weeks--compared to MRs. who just told us she lost 23lbs in the first two weeks... a lot of the variation in weight gain is fluids so there is no predicting. Now I am losing about 1-2lbs per week from BFing and am down 35lbs. Anyways, making small changes is probably good for any preggo woman, but try not to stress about it too much it will be what it will be!

 

[Sabine]

Wow, Mrs., what an incredible story! Thank you so much for sharing it! I was wondering, if you don''t mind sharing, you didn''t mention breast feeding until your milk came in. Were you able to do that sooner and just didn''t mention it? I was wondering with the C/s whether you have to wait a certain amount of time until drugs wear off/etc. I''m sorry your nips are sore though, and hopefully that will work itself out soon! So glad to hear Sage is doing well!

 

[mela lu]

Date: 3/30/2009 2:20:30 PM
Author: Mrs

Date: 3/30/2009 12:31:11 PM

Author: mela lu
******
As for me. I had a great weekend. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been VERY VERY itchy. Well, sure enough, I have a very light rash – little red bumps – which point to PUPPS. I’m pretty sure that’s what it is, as all research I’ve done sounds bang on. Middie is not worried, (surprise surprise. They are so chill) so I’m not going to worry. I’m soaking in oatmeal baths before bed to reduce the itchyness and I’m trying to focus my attention on other things when the itch becomes “unbearable”. It’s really hard. Its quite the mind-f^c#, let me tell you….but so far I’m coping “alright”.
Mela 32w3d

Mela, just wanted to let you know that my experience with PUPPS was not great but it went away very quickly once I started the steroid creme my dr prescribed. Definitely consider it if you're not getting relief any other way. Check out this page for other remedies that might be helpful: http://www.tcinternet.net/users/kritzerburke/naomi/PUPPP.htm
Mrs (Sage is two wees old today! CRAZY!)

Oh THANK YOU for that post MRS. I'm desperate to try something...this gives me loads of options.

I'm at work, and plan on tucking in tonight with your birth story - can't wait!

*****
For all you savvy online shoppers - want to help me? I'm looking for a diaper bag, that looks like a PURSE (black, leather or patent leather) and is NOT messenger style. Looking to spend $100 - $200 dollars. Have you seen anything out there that fits this bill? TIA.

 

[Courtneylub]

Sabine, Mrs. did nurse before her milk came in:

"Finally Angie and the other nurse hoisted me onto the other bed through some fancy work with sheets and leverage and they started to wheel me back to the recovery room where DH was holding the baby. He looked so happy and I was so glad to be there. They soon asked if I was up for holding her and I said that I was. They unsnapped my gown at the shoulder and unwrapped her to do skin to skin and she felt so good. DH took some pictures and called his parents and my mom to say that we were fine and he left for a little bit to show my mom the pics since she was waiting in the waiting room. I was able to nurse her a little bit while in the recovery room and we stayed there for about an hour and a half as they continued to monitor my blood pressure."

 

[Mrs]

Date: 3/30/2009 3:09:39 PM
Author: Sabine
Wow, Mrs., what an incredible story! Thank you so much for sharing it! I was wondering, if you don''t mind sharing, you didn''t mention breast feeding until your milk came in. Were you able to do that sooner and just didn''t mention it? I was wondering with the C/s whether you have to wait a certain amount of time until drugs wear off/etc. I''m sorry your nips are sore though, and hopefully that will work itself out soon! So glad to hear Sage is doing well!

Sabine, As Courtney said, I did indeed nurse very regularly until my milk came in. I had plenty of colostrum from the start and the baby got that until my milk came in. sorry that wasn''t clear!

Glad you enjoyed my story!

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 3/30/2009 3:09:07 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Fiery As one voluptuous woman to another I wanted to comment about the weight thing... it is common to gain the most weight between weeks 20 and 30, you can really pack it on! So don''t be surprised if you actually find you get really big in the next month or so! I think I gained about 6lbs a month in that time, and once it was 9lbs! Looking back, I think there are some things I could have done to slow it down, mostly just avoiding eating crapola and especially drinking juice, which I never normally do but did a lot of when preggo. In the end I think every woman gains different amounts and there isn''t much you can do. I mention this just in case your doc changes his/her tune and puts any pressure on you about your weight. Research actually shows that such pressure changes nothing and just makes mamas feel bad and adds stess. My midwife didn''t pressure me at all and I was grateful, as if we don''t know what we have gained?? I gained a lot, more that I thought possible, but ended up losing 30lbs in the first two weeks--compared to MRs. who just told us she lost 23lbs in the first two weeks... a lot of the variation in weight gain is fluids so there is no predicting. Now I am losing about 1-2lbs per week from BFing and am down 35lbs. Anyways, making small changes is probably good for any preggo woman, but try not to stress about it too much it will be what it will be!

Thanks DD! That really means a lot to me. I have gained 25lbs so far so I wouldn’t be surprised if I finished with 40lb weight gain or more. I tried my hardest not to gain as much weight but during weeks 14 through 20, I packed it on. It’s been slow since then. But I knew I was getting up there so I asked her about it. Before weight wasn’t even on her radar but I could tell this time around she paid attention to it. A coworker told me that BFing burns about 700 calories so there''s that to look forward too

. I''ve only been walking for about 30 minutes or so but I''m going to either try to do an hour or do 45 minutes twice a day.

Thanks again!