Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[Deelight]

Just thought I would post not sure they ship internationally but for the Aussie Mum's Babies Galore is having a sale from 2-5th of December the car seat I am after is reduced from $659 to $494.25 they have some good sales on from what I saw quickly

Cupcake I have not got a change table yet but I think I am going to go with the Tasman Eco as it high enough that I don't have to bend and is reasonably priced

 

[CatLuver]

Pandora - thanks for chiming in. I actually think of your labor story when I worry about getting a blood transfusion during labor (which I do too often). I'm sorry you went through all that, such a scary experience. My hemoglobin is 8.9 right now, but supposedly it should go up or stabilize later in the 3rd tri (lowest hemoglobin is typically measured at 28 to 36 weeks). I don't have the kind of anemia that is affected by iron supplements. Was your hemorrhage caused by the forceps delivery or something else? I'm thinking that if the baby is stuck and won't come out, I should get a c-section rather than risk the potential damage to the baby and me.

 

[Pandora II]

Pandora - thanks for chiming in. I actually think of your labor story when I worry about getting a blood transfusion during labor (which I do too often). I'm sorry you went through all that, such a scary experience. My hemoglobin is 8.9 right now, but supposedly it should go up or stabilize later in the 3rd tri (lowest hemoglobin is typically measured at 28 to 36 weeks). I don't have the kind of anemia that is affected by iron supplements. Was your hemorrhage caused by the forceps delivery or something else? I'm thinking that if the baby is stuck and won't come out, I should get a c-section rather than risk the potential damage to the baby and me.

I believe it was uterine atony, and possibly excessive bleeding from the extensive episiotomy (in the UK they are normally done medio-lateral so that if they tear further they don't involve the anal sphincter etc) they did. I would go for the forceps over a section - if the baby is low down and stuck it can be more dangerous for them to be pulled back up and is much more dangerous for the mother. Forceps, if done by an experienced doctor, and with all conditions for use met, is much safer for the baby and much less damaging than ventouse. Forceps look scary but they certainly do the job - I could also feel her being born in much the same way as you would with a normal delivery as you still have to do the pushing part, they don't just yank the baby out - plus they only deliver the head, you do the rest on your own!

They tried ventouse with Daisy first and she had a massive bruise on her head that took weeks to disappear. With the forceps she had a very slight bruise over one cheek that had disappeared within 48 hours. She did have Apgars of 10 and 10 though!

I did have some issues with damage to my pelvic floor, which has taken a long time to improve and still isn't totally great, but whether that was due to the forceps, having a catheter for 3 days, a very long labour or trying to unsuccessfully push for over an hour I don't entirely know.

I've been told that if I wanted to have another baby I could have the option of an elective c-section (which isn't normally offered here), but I would actually opt for a v-birth again even if it meant forceps.

It honestly wasn't that bad for me - I had no birth plan other than both of us getting out as healthy as possible, and I come from a medical family and had heard a gazillion birth horror stories so I wasn't as traumatised as some people might have been. I was quite scared afterwards thinking that when I said I was going to pass out it never occurred to me that some people never regain conciousness, at the time I just felt very like you do when being sedated or put under anaesthetic... DH is the traumatised one!

I wasn't in any pain as I had a great epidural and then morphine for a few days afterwards for the episiotomy (that was actually the worst bit - when they took away the morphine after 3 days! My spinal surgery where they cut away bits of my vertebrae was NOTHING in comparision - I now get why people take those donut cushions with them, I used to cry when I sat down!)

Oh, my Hb decreased steadily between 33 and 40 weeks...just out of interest do you have pica? Mine was dreadful the more anaemic I got (ice chips and mothballs were my big two - I couldn't wait to go into labour because they had a fantastic ice-chip machine on the labour floor ), and I've noticed that Daisy (who is anaemic at the moment) has a most unhealthy interest in ice-chips!

I'm sure you'll be fine, but I would feel bad if I didn't put the Hb info out there as it just isn't ever talked about and then someone had a similar or gawd forbid worse experience than mine. PPH is still one of the biggest killers in the developing world and the main cause of maternal death in the Western world.

 

[CatLuver]

Pandora, I just read about uterine atony, that is scary. I would think that an episiotomy by itself wouldn't be enough to cause such a hemorrhage.
I don't have pica because I don't have an iron deficiency. Interesting that Daisy likes ice chips. Maybe she likes the cold?

 

[Lanie]

Quick driveby post...I'm at 37 weeks today (yay term!) and celebrated with a root beer! 2 weeks 4 days until my induction! My OB appt was a shock to me. I'm 2cm dilated and for some reason I'm insanely excited about it, even though it doesn't really mean anything!

RT--I was super light headed in the beginning. I'd be out shopping and would have to sit down and get juice or something. My doc said it is hormones and increased blood flow. You are fine!

Noel--I second the MD Anderson suggestion, but hopefully you won't need it. It's right here in Houston where HOU and I live, so if you do come, let me know!

Icekid--hope you and the baby are in snuggle heaven! Post pics when you get a chance...it's not like you are busy or anything!

 

[geri]

Icekid - Congrats on the arrival of Jumper!! Hope all is going well and look forward to hearing all about it.

TT- Sending dust to you and DH for his surgery.

Lanie and Lynnie - Well done on reaching full term. How exciting that you will have your little ones in your arms so soon.

Noel - I hope you get some valuable information from your second opinion. It certainly can't hurt.

DCG - So nice to see you in here and thanks for the kind words. So excited for you and hope all is still going well!!

Catluver - well done on the shopping spree! We have the big items (cot, change table and pram) but nothing else yet and just realised that a couple of things we need (like car seat adaptors for the pram) are out of stock in Austalia and may take up to 12 weeks to get here (ie after bub is born) - oops!

Deelight - Thanks for the tip on the Babies Galore sale. The car capsule we are looking at is also reduced so might have to move quickly!

The ultrasound went well this morning. Despite measuring small, the LO is just under the 50th percentile and well within average range so we are pretty relieved. If she keeps growing at the current rate she will be 7.5 to 8 pounds at birth which sounds good to me. Unfortunately she is facing backwards so we couldn't see her little face . She is also currently in breech position so hopefully she does a little somersault soon!

 

[random_thought]

Thank you everyone for reassuring me! I seriously thought I was going crazy!
Well if it's not one thing, it's another...and tonight my teeth and gums are so sore I can't fall asleep...
I hope I have a girl and she gets pregnant one day and has to go through all of this too...fair's fair hehe

 

[Dreamer_D]

Congrats icekid!

Lanie I am curious, I have not followed your story, why are you being induced? I was curious about icekid too but did not get to ask, if you happen to know. I am always curious about the reasons behind induction (ETA: curious as in interested, not curious as in sceptical or anything ).

 

[noelwr]

lost more mucus plug last night and today, so guess I might be dilating further. it is now stringy and wet, so I keep mistaking it for my water breaking!

Deelight - funny that it's summer there. it started snowing here on Monday (which is quite rare for November). the snow is still on the ground because it has been below freezing the whole week. I hope it's warm enough next week for it all to melt away. don't want DD to freeze her little nose on the way from the car to the apartment (though it's only a 30 sec walk). I see all these women outside, pushing their baby buggies through the snow. European women amaze me.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Noel-You must be so excited to meet your little girl soon!

 

[somethingshiny]

Noel~ Woo!! So exciting!!! In case you go into labor very soon, Best Wishes and Lots of Dust for a quick and easy L&D!!

 

[moxie.moo]

Hi ladies
Congrats to icekid! Can't wait to hear the story and see a pic if you're comfortable posting. It's so exciting to see so many of you getting so close! Noel, maybe your baby has her own schedule?
I'm still in the "barely pregnant" stage, but wanted to ask advice of some of you who are further along. I've had wretched all day morning sickness for the last week, and I'm only 6w2d. If there were an olympic sport for discreetly vomiting in one's car in traffic, I might be gold medal material. For those of you who have been there, any tips on dealing with the sickness while still keeping the news under wraps at work, with friends, and with family? If this is going to last the next two months I need to find a way to manage a bit better. I'm eating upon waking, eating every 3 hours and including protein every time to stay full (which is painful), taking B6 and ginger, and drinking a ton of fluids to make up for those I lose, but the logistics are getting tricky. I'm hesitant to try other medications just yet, but it may come to that. I hope you all continue to do well and I can't wait to see the new babies as they arrive!!

 

[Blackpaw]

Congrats Icekid and Basil, great news

Noel, good luck

 

[lliang_chi]

Cingrats ice kid.


Noel, best of luck for your little Princess

 

[cara]

moxie, zofran (and stool softeners to deal with the side effects of the zofran). didn't totally cure the m/s for me but did take it down a notch. as for people noticing, depends on their observation skills and if they are looking for it. you may end up having to tell your boss sooner than you want if the nausea is too bad. as for friends and the rest, sadly it involves staying holed up for much of the first trimester, either because you are too sick and tired to be social or because you want to keep it a secret and not drinking would give it away.

even though I did have an early pg loss and did want to keep my next pregnancy a secret until week 13 or so, I think next time I may tell more friends/family after a good 8 week scan because it just takes a lot of effort and stress to try and keep people in the dark. So its a balance.

 

[Lynnie]

First of all, ICEKID, congratulations, momma, and welcome to the world, little Jumper!!! I can't wait to see him and hear his birth story!!!

Second of all, ICEKID, the next time your little guy wants a BIRTHDAY TWIN, you should give me a little warning!!!

I went into labor right around the time Jumper entered the world (4pm-ish), and delivered our LO at 9:49pm. Introducing Vincent, 5lbs10oz, 19" long. Born Tuesday at 37w2d.

He's home and healthy, and we're both doing well. I am in absolute shock, but super duper happy, of course. I will post the full birthday story when I can. The short of it is this - I was feeling a little uncomfortable Tuesday, went to my 3:30 appt, my dr checked me, and said "You're 5cm and in labor. Get to the hospital NOW!" I drove myself, the dr was afraid my water would break on the way!! It didn't though, thankfully. They broke it at 8:30. By 8:50 I asked for the epidural - the contractions were SO strong and painful. Well, anestheology was busy, and they checked me at 9:30 and I was fully dilated - time to push!! Insane... I thought labor'd be quick, but OMG, this was totally unexpected.

Here's my cutie pie!!

I'll catch up with you all when I can, but of course I'm wishing everyone the best!!!

 

[Laila619]

OMG, Lynnie!!! Congratulations!! I love Vincent's name. He is SO darn cute.

Wow, our December babies are coming early--Icekid, you, and Noel probably very soon! I might be the only December mom whose little one isn't eager to make an early appearance. I'm almost 39 weeks and no signs of labor in sight. Lanie, how are you doing? Any impending labor signs?

 

[Loves Vintage]

Lynnie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my WOW!! What a surprise, huh? Such an enviably short labor!!! Nice job, Lynnie! Wow, wow, wow!

Little Vincent is such a cutie!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

 

[Pandora II]

Hi ladies
Congrats to icekid! Can't wait to hear the story and see a pic if you're comfortable posting. It's so exciting to see so many of you getting so close! Noel, maybe your baby has her own schedule?
I'm still in the "barely pregnant" stage, but wanted to ask advice of some of you who are further along. I've had wretched all day morning sickness for the last week, and I'm only 6w2d. If there were an olympic sport for discreetly vomiting in one's car in traffic, I might be gold medal material. For those of you who have been there, any tips on dealing with the sickness while still keeping the news under wraps at work, with friends, and with family? If this is going to last the next two months I need to find a way to manage a bit better. I'm eating upon waking, eating every 3 hours and including protein every time to stay full (which is painful), taking B6 and ginger, and drinking a ton of fluids to make up for those I lose, but the logistics are getting tricky. I'm hesitant to try other medications just yet, but it may come to that. I hope you all continue to do well and I can't wait to see the new babies as they arrive!!

Moxie, IIRC you're in the UK?

I had terrible m/s till 26 weeks and my GP prescribed me Promethazine - you can buy in OTC in Boots etc but if you tell them you're pregnant they'll make you go and get an Rx from your GP. It's normally used for travel sickness.

I took 10mg a day as it can make you feel a bit tired and while it doesn't totally get rid of the nausea it did make life much more bearable and stopped me throwing up 20x a day which is what happened whenever I didn't take it.

My SIL who's 10 weeks PG has also got hyper-emesis and has already been in hospital being rehydrated. She is also taking promethazine now. It is completely safe in pregnancy.

 

[DivaDiamond007]

ICEKID and LYNNIE - Congrats!!!

Lynnie: Your labor story sounds like mine did with my son - I was 4cm at a routine appointment, was admitted, and left with a bundle of my own!

Moxie: Sounds like you are doing everything that you can to feel better. I agree that you should ask your doc about Zofran if it gets unbearable - it was a lifesaver for me with my pregnancy with DS and also with this one. I also would only eat what sounded good to me. For the first trimester especially your baby's nutritional and caloric needs are very small so straying from an ideal diet won't hurt.

I am 31+1 today and feeling pretty good still. I had an appointment yesterday and my fundal height has caught up with my weeks and my doc didn't mention the GTT so I'm guessing that I passed. Whew! I (barely) failed with my son and had to take the 3 hour. Since I'm high risk I will be having weekly appointments and NSTs from here on out. I also have marginal previa so I will be getting an ultrasound next week to see if the placenta has moved. Starting at week 34 I will be switched from Lovenox to heparin, which will require 2 shots a day. Not looking forward to that, but it will ultimately make delivery easier for me since we won't have to worry as much about hemorraging.

 

[lliang_chi]

Big congrats to Lynnie & Vincent!!! What a cutie pie.

 

[dcgator]

Lynnie - OMG, what a crazy (and pleasantly short) birth story! CONGRATS on the arrival of little Vincent, what a cuite pie! I hope your family is resting well at home and can't wait to get some more pics of the little peanut.

 

[fieryred33143]

Congrats Lynnie He's beautiful!! Hope you recover well!

 

[charbie]

Well, crap, Lynnie! that's excting and awesome!
Congrats- what a cutie!!

Thought I'd share this for you guys: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/pare...bycenters-top-100-baby-names-of-2010-2418678/ Top Baby Names!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Oh Lynnie, he's just darling! I love his little smile

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Well this explains why people keep spelling my LO's name with an "en" instead of an "an"!

 

[puffy]

lynnie, congrats!! he's so cute!!

 

[cara]

Congrats Lynnie and icekid!! Lynnie, little Vincent is so cute!

HH, sympathies on the naming/spelling issue. Even if you had named your son Aiden, I'm sure you'd occasionally get some Aidan and Aaden spellings though! Hazards of the new naming trends for microvarients. My name IRL requires spelling for people, so it was something we thought a lot about when choosing the LO's name. But at the end of the day its not that big a deal - there are still a few names I like/liked enough to consider them even if they would require spelling for others, and it turns out that Silas is uncommon enough to require spelling for many people. No biggie!

 

[noelwr]

37w6d

Lynnie & Vincent! that was a super quick delivery. at least you hardly noticed the first 5 cm! sorry you didn't get your epidural, but guess that doesn't matter now that your cutie pie is at home with you. love that he's winking and saluting at us. you probably won't post for a while as you'll be super busy, but when you say you felt "uncomfortable", what exactly did you feel?

AFM, nothing much happening. my armpit and boob are sore as hell from the surgery and I really hope that it becomes less before labor. or hopefully I'll just forget about it during labor. I have a gynaecologist appointment Monday morning so I will bring my hospital bag just in case my labor also pulls a "Lynnie-Vincent".

Lanie & Laila - guess we will be the December mommies. are you busy preparing for baby's arrival? I wouldn't call it nesting because I haven't cleaned the whole fridge or rearranged my clothes by color or anything, but I sent out the carpets to be cleaned (so we can put baby on the floor) and also washed all the blankets we use in front of the tv as well as the dining room seat covers. yesterday, I bought a Philips Avent bottle warmer which was the last thing on my list. my bag is packed and I added thermal pads (for back during contractions) and breast leakage pads (as I am not going to breastfeed). tomorrow I think I will sterilize some bottles and the 2 pacifiers I will bring with me to the hospital. I think I will also put bedding in the travel crib and place it in the living room so we don't have to put her straight to bed when she comes home. DH still has to hang my blown-up belly canvas photo.

 

[cara]

Oh noel you are close! Good luck! And if you are in pain I would ask if there is something you can take for it. I know pandora did a lot of research on pain meds while pregnant and if there is something you can safely take I would think this is the time for it. No need to start labor already in pain, and it can take awhile for the hospital to get their act together and get you pain meds. Best wishes!