Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[Pandora II]

Date: 5/22/2009 1:52:06 PM
Author: robbie3982

Date: 5/22/2009 1:47:13 PM
Author: EBree
mela, you look fantastic! You carry so beautifully.

Date: 5/22/2009 1:29:03 PM

Author: ChinaCat


Robbie- I would love to know the answer to your questions as well.

Me three! I hadn''t even thought about forceps/vacuum assistance until this last week''s birthing class when we discussed possible risks. One woman in my class said she''d much rather have a cesarean because she''s heard horror stories about brain/nerve damage (and more commonly, more severe vaginal tearing), but I don''t know how likely either of the two more severe risks are. I found a thread in one of my other pregnant communities discussing either or, but most of the women said something to the effect of, ''I''d rather switch positions- if you aren''t having an epidural, get off your back and into a more birthing-friendly position like a squat.''

See, I''ve heard horror stories as well. From the searches I''ve done today, it seems like vacuum is safer than forceps, but the risks of each (including c-section) increase when multiple methods are used for the same delivery. So, if you''re going to end up with the risks of a vacuum, forceps AND a c-section if that ends up being the only way they can get baby out, it seems like maybe it''s just better to go with a c-section from the start?

I agree that in a non emergency situation changing positions would be ideal (though I plan to try different positions to push in from the get go to find what will work best for me), I think the Dr. was talking about something where baby would need to come out faster than that.

Trust me, in the moment you will opt for whatever it takes to keep you both safe, and often there is no time for discussion or even being given an option.

I would definitely go for an instrumental delivery over a c-section - especially if the baby had descended a good long way as having it pushed back up is traumatic to both of you. You also have more chance of a succesful vaginal birth the next time.

I had put a preference for forceps in my birth plan as it''s safer for the baby (if done by an OB with plenty of experience) - even if it''s not as great for you.

Some situations changing positions etc is just not an option - it would have made zero difference to me and there often just isn''t time to try it.

 

[taovandel]

Oh wow! What a birth story! But look at that beautiful baby!!

 

[VRBeauty]

Pandora:

I'm so glad everything ended well for you and Daisy. What an ordeal you went through! And what a beautiful baby you have to show for it!

Best wishes to you and Mr. P., and to little Daisy!

ETA your pictures are just precious.

 

[rainwood]

Pandora -

I''m so glad you and Daisy are okay! She''s a beautiful baby and the pictures of her with her parents are so touching. I''m so sorry to hear the birth was such a harrowing experience, but glad that you are all home safe and sound.

 

[icekid]

Pandora- Congratulations on the arrival of precious Daisy! I am so sorry that you had such a rough go of it, though. It sounds like a pretty crazy experience from start to finish. But look at that beautiful little girl

 

[E B]

Oh wow, Pandora- what an experience! I''m so glad both you and Daisy made it through and are well. She''s absolutely beautiful.

How are you feeling now?

 

[Kaleigh]

Wow, Pandora, what time you had. I am so happy that you and your precious Daisy are ok and are home!!! Your pics are beaiutiful.

Best wishes to you and Mr. P!!! Have fun bonding... This is such a special time.

 

[fabienne]

Oh Pandora! I''m soooo glad to see you! I was so glad when surfgirl posted that you were okay. I''m so sorry that your labor wasn''t as smooth and speedy as we wanted for you. On a more positive note, Daisy is so freakin'' beautiful--congrats! She is so just beautiful!!!!! And she shares a birthday with my Maddy! Congrats! Thanks for sharing your birth story as well as pics of Daisy.

CDT.....yay for you! I can''t wait for you to have your baby either so you can start healing. Two weeks is soon!

Cellososweet.....I''m sorry about your experience. Doctors really need to learn to listen. Keep us posted!

Sabine and Robby...you guys look great!

Mela....any updates? I also wanted to tell you that you look fabulous!

7 days left! If I''m still around next Friday, I''ll post belly pics......

 

[Burk]

Pandora~Daisy is absolutely precious!! Sorry for everything you had to go through, but wow what a sweet prize you got at the end!

 

[snlee]

Pandora, wow, what an experience! Glad you and Daisy are okay and home. Your pictures are beautiful. Congrats again!

 

[nycbkgirl]

pandora- she is the cutest precious little baby! and despite the labor experience u looked absolutley beautiful!!! congrats congrats buddy!!!

robbie/sabine- u guys are soooo cute together in the matching colors

....and as soon as i saw the pic i noticed those shoes Sabine!!..well maybe the cutey pututi bellies first then the shoes

Loooove!

Cdt- ugh i feel for u

but glad u had a nice weekend!

cant wait to see u all in the mommy thread....esp MELA...waiting..waiting

!!

 

[puffy]

pandora daisy is so precious!! sorry to hear about everything that you went through but glad that you are home with daisy. Congrats again!!

 

[cdt1101]

Pandora - Daisy is just gorgeous

What an ordeal you went thru!!! Glad you and Daisy made it thru safely.

I really wish we would have done the pregnancy pics, but my DH wouldn''t have gone for it. He''s just not into my belly at all! Takes care of me wonderfully (couldn''t ask for more), but i''m not sure if the baby is actually real to him yet because he has no attachment at all to my belly. He doesn''t like to touch it because it''s so hard

. He tells me it feels like a watermelon and he doesn''t like watermelon...hehehe...men! And w/ all that''s happened this last trimester, pics were the furthest thing from my mind anyway.

Thanks ladies for your thoughts! The nice weather and having some company this weekend definitely lifted my spirits! That and knowing the end is near

Can''t sleep as usual these days....boo! I''m averaging about 3 hours a night at this point, just can''t get comfy and being in pain doesn''t help. Was hoping to be well rested before baby comes, definitely NOT happening!!!

 

[bee*]

Wow Pandora-thankfully you and Daisy are both ok! She''s an absolute dote! Gorgeous.

 

[Lorelei]

Pan, many congrats - your daughter is beautiful!!!

 

[Deelight]

Pandora congrats to you both those pictures are just amazing and so special she is just beyond words precious and so beautiful.

 

[Smo]

Pandora, I am just delurking to say Holy fu**ing sh*t!!!!

I really admire your posts, attitude and honesty. I always look out for your posts in the various threads on PS, you always offer excellent advice and I remember reading in another thread which was about people who aren''t sure about wanting kids and you spoke about how you came to your decision to try for a baby in the first place.

I am in no way ready for a baby now (my bf is a whole other story!) but I can''t believe what you went through to have your gorgeous Daisy. Congratulations, she is adorable!

 

[neatfreak]

Pandora: Daisy is just STUNNING! I hope you continue to have a very quick recovery so you can enjoy every moment with her! They grow up so fast-watch out!

 

[fieryred33143]

Pandora,

Daisy is absolutely beautiful. There''s so much beauty and love captured in those photos. It truly is breathtaking. I also just wanted to say that I know you went through so much with this pregnancy not only physically but emotionally with all the stuff from work and sincerely you did such a wonderful job. It really is inspiring. Enjoy Daisy! She already looks to have such a great personality!!

 

[cdt1101]

I finally got around to taking some pics of the nursery, although some are really dark for some reason...i suck at taking pics!! I''ll post them here since i don''t think the nursery thread was ever reopened.

 

[cdt1101]

stripes

 

[cdt1101]

chair

 

[cdt1101]

...

 

[cdt1101]

.......

 

[cdt1101]

and this one came out dark, but it''s the whole stripe wall....

 

[Pandora II]

Thanks for all the lovely comments!

It is so nice to be home again - and be back in control again. Post-natal ward was pretty bad - although I did get my own room for the whole time and the mental health team had a bed moved in for DH so he could help me out a bit as I was so sleep deprived. I was having a really hard time breastfeeding and even now my milk hasn't really come in, and I was getting really upset that Daisy wasn't getting anything to eat and so was crying and hungry all the time.

The witches on the ward were really horrible to me about it and when I finally asked for some formula you would have thought I'd asked for cyanide! I ended up getting DH to smuggle some in for me and hide it...

Daisy ended up losing loads of weight and her electrolyte levels went haywire, so the neonatologist ordered them to give me formula for her and things improved really fast.

I was totally devastated and furious and spent most of the week in tears and feeling like a totally crap mother. Luckily the teams from before the birth kept coming down to see me and help sort things out. I'm now doing mixed feeding and hoping that the breast milk will eventually take over completely. In the meantime Daisy is now content and happy - and so am I.

My midwife came over yesterday to see me and told me that they were a load of 'nasty people' on the postnatal ward and she wasn't suprised I'd had a bad time there which made me feel much better.

Daisy is now sleeping 4-5 hours at a time and last night slept from 12.30am to 6.30am - I don't go to bed till 1am so suits me fine. Long may it last!

Here's a few comments from me on posts I missed while I was away and added bits and pieces:

Swollen feet/legs - these can get seriously painful (especially at night) as well as looking like you have elephantitis. I used TED stockings to help reduce the swelling which did help a bit and also reduces the risk of DVT. Keep them raised as much as you can and don't stand still for too long. Mine are just starting to go down now - hooray!

Weight gain - a lot depends on how bad you have water retention. I started the pregnancy at 61kg (134lbs) and was 92kg (202lbs) when went we set off for hospital on the 16th - so put on nearly half my body weight again. This morning I was down to 75kg (165lbs) - so I've lost 17kg (38lbs) in 10 days... and that is with no exercise at all.

Anaemia - One of the reasons that my post-partum haemorrage was so severe (I lost nearly half my total blood volume) was because my haemoglobin levels were so low. If you have anemia, really take the iron tablets religiously - 600mg a day. I hate the things, and now have to take them for 3 months, but if my hb levels had been higher I would have probably avoided having so many blood transfusions - and the doctors in ICU discussing whether I was whiter than the sheets or not!

Breast-feeding - everyone tells you that you will have sleepless nights when the baby arrives and will have to feed the baby x times a day. But, they never tell you that you can sit there for 4 hours at a stretch desperately trying to feed a howling baby when you have nothing to feed it. If you end up like this, just hit the formula - it is perfectly possible to switch between the two and you will both be a hell of a lot happier and healthier for it. In the UK there is a huge 'Breast is Best' campaign, most of which I agree with, but it is leading to a lot of babies being re-admitted to hospital for dehydration as mothers are desperately trying to do the 'best thing' and having problems with milk supply/latching etc

Bits and pieces - I really recommend one of those cushions with a hole in the centre. Sitting down with stitches is a unique experience! I will say that the episiotomy hasn't been as bad as I expected (do take pain meds for it though in the first few days/weeks) and I had a fairly major one, although I had no tears at all and no damage internally - I am fortunate to have had a surgeon who was very experienced in forceps deliveries!

Ditto icepacks - surgical gloves filled with crushed ice are great! I also took 4 pillows and spare pillow-cases - DH used them to sleep on in the Delivery Room and then I used them a lot when trying to feed in hospital.

Disposable underwear is crap - I kept old undies and got a 7 pack of maternity knickers in the sales. They were so much better and more comfortable to wear.

The 'My Brest Friend' cushion for breast-feeding is fantastic and really helps with back pain etc.

Finally - and possibly TMI - no-one warned me about the potential consequences of a) having a catheter and/or b) a physically traumatic delivery. It can easily lead to problems with bladder control which can be a shock to the system. The stronger your pelvic floor muscles the quicker you will regain control - it took me about a week - but in the meantime it can be a complete PITA that everytime you have to stand up you have to do a quick rush to the bathroom! Take quite a few changes of clothes with you and get working on those Kegels!

 

[mela lu]

wow. Pandora - you are a trooper! What a life changing experience (to say the least). I think you handle yourself very gracefully amidst all this pressure (throughout the pregnancy - and to date) and you should be VERY proud! Daisy is unbelievably beautiful. I suppose that is your prize at the end.

Thanks for taking the time to document everything and for all your advice. All of us will be better off for it.

So happy you are home!!

CDT - beautiful job on the nursery! We really need to re-open that thread!!! I love the 4 photographs. Did you take those? Your baby is veeeeerrrrrrry lucky!

_____

40w4days

Although I''m feeling great, the baby is really hurting my inner organs. There is just NO space left!

 

[fieryred33143]

Memorial day weekend for the Fierys was rain, rain, rain, hamburgers, painting and some more rain. LOL We were invited to a bbq yesterday at FI''s best friend''s house which really translates into FI cooking for a bunch of people. He''s the bbq man but he loves it. We played Uno for money like we usually do. We started off with zero dollars (forgot to take out cash) and left with $15.

I''m very excited because its mango season

FMIL had about 7 for me yesterday from her tree and one of my coworkers brought in a cooler filled with mangoes

. Plus we''re going to Macaroni Grill for lunch today AND one of our coworkers that just got back from Switzerland brought some chocolate. Today is going to be an awesome day haha

*****
Mela-Donde esta la bebe? I''m still sticking with girl for you although I was glancing at belly pictures over the weekend and in passing Mr. Fiery says "that''s a boy." He thinks he''s a pro now.

CDT-I know this is the biggest cliche in the world but hang in there love. A few more weeks left and you can go back to normal. I''m glad they kept you on the medication to at least help a little with the pain.

Jas-Thanks for posting your labor story!

Cello-I hope you feel better soon. I''m keeping you and your little bean in my thoughts.

Fabienne-7 days left

! After the truck I sent over to Mela''s house stops dumping the labor dust on her, I''ll send it your way

Sabine and Robbie-Don''t know if I said this already buty you guys look wonderful!

On the topic of mat pics, as horrible as this sounds I have zero desire to capture this pregnancy on film lol. I love being pregnant but I can''t stand being in my own skin right now. I''m not happy with my size and taking pics makes me uncomfortable. We are doing newborn photos though!

 

[Dandi]

Just de-lurking to congratulate Pandora on your gorgeous little girl!! Daisy is absolutely stunning!!!

You must be one proud mummy!

 

[curlygirl]

Pandora, what a story! Wow. So glad you and Daisy are doing well. She is gorgeous, enjoy her!!

Robbie, GORGEOUS photos. Love them all!

Mela, you''re still here?! BAKE SWEET THINGS! Hang in there, girl.