Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[gem_anemone]

Coda - I got the flu shot.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Coda, so good to see you over here and I'm so glad the pregnancy is going well!

I normally don't get flu shots, but have gotten them both times I've been pregnant. Like Missy, both times I've been pregnant have been right in the middle of flu season and I know getting the flu is no good for the baby, so I get one. Last month my husband came down with the flu and I only had mild symptoms.

By the way, FPS, still thinking about you and hoping all is going well!!!

 

[brown_eyes]

NEL - thank you for chiming in on your thought process and things that made it a little easier. I work for a super small company with my husbands best friend (his wife also works there) and the company is owned by his dad. By super small I mean 11 full time employees. Tiny. Not sure that part time is an option, but I'm also not sure that I want to work part time. I would normally talk it over with my friend, but seeing as she is the DIL of the owner, I just feel like I can't confide in her or talk it out with her. I am seriously considering making the leap to SAHM. DH is 100% on board in theory, now we really need to figure out the financial aspect and really sit down and talk about budgets and monthly spending (BLAH!).

Coda - Welcome! Looking forward to taking this ride with you. I'm 19W1D today, so we pretty much have the same due date . My anatomy scan is 2 weeks from tomorrow. Can't wait! With regards to the flu shot, yes I got it. With both pregnancies. Before being pregnant I had only gotten my flu shot when I was volunteering at a hospital during flu season. Now even if not pregnant I get them with my daughter because thinking about either of us being down and out with the flu sounds terrible.

Missy - you look fabulous! I have to say that I really admire your strength. This baby girl is so lucky to get you as her mom.

AFM - DH felt the the little peanut's kicks for the first time the other night. I just love watching his face light up. Still not feeling regular movements, but it's nice to get a reminder every now and again that there is something amazing going on in my body. Anatomy scan is not until the 31st and my next appointment is not until the week after that, so I'm hoping for a quiet couple of weeks until then.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

FPS-We want an update Hope all is well and you are holding your sweet little girl!

I never get flu shots either (the only times I have gotten the flu were years when I had the shots ) but on the advice of my OB and my son's pediatrician I am getting the flu shot and the DTAP this Friday. I think I have a current DTAP, but can't find my records and since the baby will also get the immunity I am totally onboard for that one.

Still navigating insurance/delivery stuff, but hopefully it will be resolved soon.

 

[gem_anemone]

Sorry I'm just now getting a chance to catch up on everyone....

Yes FPS! That's great you were able to stand up for yourself and your little girl and not let them induce you. I hope your little one has arrived and everything is swell with you guys!! Induction sounds like a nightmare and for me a one-way trip to an epidural. I remember that is not in your birth plan!

NEL are you feeling better yet?

Bella when is the shower? Sounds fun! Mine is this Sunday!

Brown Eyes - welcome! I completely understand your reservations about working and being a mother. I work full time and will not likely have the option to work part time or stay home . Reason being we get our health care through my work as it is much more affordable. What I did do though was I recently turned down the opportunity to apply for a different position at my company which would likely be more hours and more work (well and of course more pay). I didn't want to seem less than ambitious, however, I explained to my boss that at this time I am more focused on my family than I am on my career. I am happy in the position where I am and DH is the one moving up the ladder now. I guess we shall see what the future holds. If DH gets a better rate on his health care plan maybe I could go down to only workng four days like NEL. That would be awesome!

Missy, you sure are looking cute! Looking forward to "meeting' your little girl too!

AFM I made it through the second birthing class although about halfway through I felt kind of sick and had to distract myself from the material. I'm heading off for a long weekend with my shower being Sunday. I'm so excited!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Just got back from the Dr...they really need to recalibrate their scales b/c I knew the weight they had me at last week was way too high and today it says I lost 10 lobs since last week ...thankfully my Dr doesn't really seem to care about my weight at all.

He said he doubts I'll make it to my due date...I am trying not to get too excited about that...but I really, really hope that's true!

I did test positive for group B strep, so I am now more than ever hoping this midwife/insurance thing will get worked out b/c I'll need to go to the hospital when my water breaks to start IV antibiotics .

We are driving to Boston this weekend to see friends. I am a little nervous about the 4 hour car ride and about being out of town this pregnant, but hopefully it will be fun and not too uncomfortable.

We bought an awesome Dutailier glider off of craigslist for $25 last night. It has dark wood and pale sage green micro fiber. I already love it. It's not the most fashionable chair, but it is so comfy and for $25, well...it seemed a much better decision than the glider I really wanted (the Dutailier Verona which is almost $1000 ).

Dutailier: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=13273937&mr:keyword=&mr:trackingCode=506A6366-7315-E311-A497-90E2BA285E75&mr:match=&mr:adType=pla&mr:filter=57155237446&cagpspn=plab_13539907&mr:referralID=NA&mr:ad=39007615486&mr:device=c&camp=PLAPPC-_-PID13539907&KPID=13539907

Verona: http://www.giggle.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-giggle-Site/default/Product-Show?pid=0004097296&kpid=0004097296&gclid=CIvjlebJhbwCFY1QOgod0RIA_A

So, Boston this weekend, my shower next weekend, and then it will be Feb and I'll be in the home stretch

 

[Bella_mezzo]

On the pregnancy front, same old same old...getting bigger and bigger, still throwing up, still not sleeping, got flu shot and Dtap vaccines and had huge reactions to them

We stayed with friends in Boston this weekend for a quick visit and had a great time, but FYI-hell for a pregnant lady is an aerobed on the floor and when it turns out it leaks and said pregnant lady is literally sleeping on some folded blankets on the floor

 

[brown_eyes]

Oh Bella! I'm so sorry that you are having such a rough time. The good news is you're near the end. Hang in there mamma!

 

[gem_anemone]

Bella, you are a TROOPER! Hang in there girl!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Oh, Bella, sorry to hear the trip was a little rough. The weather up here on Saturday was pretty crappy, too. Like everyone else has said, you're miserable, but you're almost there. These last few weeks are just really tough. I feel really bad about the vomiting--it's expected in your first tri, but at this point it's just really maddening. And so much more uncomfortable.

FPS, still thinking about you and hoping all is well!

How is everybody else doing?

AFM, I got a ton done over the long weekend. Mostly just setting everything up. Installed the car seat (and right now one of K's dolls is riding in it), got out some of the baby stuff (rock and play, swing, bouncy seat) so that K gets used to seeing it around the house. I even got some bottles ready so she'd be used to having those around. I basically want everything set up so that when the baby comes home, the only thing that is different for her that the baby is home.

K had a bigger reaction to seeing the baby stuff out than I expected, so I didn't set it all up. When I got out the rock and play and put a toy doll in it, she got mad, threw the doll out and tried to climb in. So I'll just start setting everything up gradually over the next few weeks.

Not much left to do at this point. I need to pack a hospital bag. And the newborn photo shoot hasn't been scheduled, but I did reach out to the photographer. K's b-day party is in a month, so I've also been taking care of that, which sometimes feels like more work than preparing for this child.

 

[lliang_chi]

NEL, I feel bad but I think it's hilarious that K got mad that her doll was in the Rock n' Play. LOL! I'm sure everything will work out though.

Bella, glad you're back in your normal bed. Sleeping arrangements aside, I hope you had fun visiting friends.

 

[Missy0483]

I was surprised with a shower on Saturday afternoon. The girls from my birth month group for Blake on The Bump put it together! A few of them are from PA as well and we were able to meet in person for the first time. DH knew about it, he just said we were going to a new place for lunch so it was a big surprise! We plan on getting together again sometime. We got a few outfits, little handprint/footprint keepsakes, headbands, booties, diapers, handmade blankets.

I set my last 2 appointments for this Friday and next Friday. Eeeek! I tested postive for the GBS again so booo to that. But besides that, everything is good to go except the car seat, DH really needs to put that in soon haha.

 

[StacylikesSparkles]

Phew...the last week and a half have been a complete and total whirlwind! So when I updated last, I mentioned that I thought I was in labor and yep, I was right! After writing out my last post, the hubs and I were working on doing random house stuff to get ready for baby. By that point, I had been having contractions pretty much all day, but didn't start getting steady contractions until around 7pm. When they started coming, the hubs started timing them and we had already agreed to call the midwife when we reached between 5-6 minutes apart, just to check in. So fast forward ALL night long. The contractions kept coming and getting stronger and by 5am they were still kind of all over the place (sometimes 4mins apart, sometimes 7mins, but alway steady and always getting stronger). The hubs decided to call the midwife around 5am and check in and by 7am, we decided to head to the hospital to get checked out because that baby was making her moves! After arriving, the midwife I liked best was on call (April) and she checked me out and found that I was only at 2cm, despite the constant contractions for over 12 hours. She suggested walking the halls for 2 hours and at that point we would re-assess the situation and go from there. Well after walking around, the contractions got even more close together (roughly every 4 minutes..sometimes with double contractions), but after my check, we found that nothing changed with dilation. Since the midwife already knew how long we had been in labor, she suggested that if we wanted to stay and try some meds to help me relax, they should hopefully do the trick to get me dilated further. By the time that we got situated in our room, it was around 12pm and we decided to give the meds a try and see what they would do for me. April thought that since I had been in labor for so long without movement with my body, we needed to give my body a chance to rest up and start to do the work with me, instead of fighting against me. Well after getting an IV and laying down, the contractions started to space further apart (around 10 mins apart, which was exactly what the midwife wanted), however the meds did absolutely NOTHING for the pain. I was able to rest in between the contractions and even get in some napping, which was good for both the hubs and myself. We waited about 3 or so hours and re-checked around 3:15ish and found that no changes had been made. At this point we discussed possibly using something called a balloon to open my cervix. When the hubs and I talked, we figured this would be a decent thing to try, but then the midwife offered another solution where we spend 2 hours doing 15 minute intervals with a breast pump and 15 minutes off. I found that during contractions, I needed to be standing, because laying just made them worse. Thank goodness for my husband at this point! He would hold the breast pumps on me while we swayed (I was leaning against him, my back to his chest) back and forth and I held onto the bed during contractions. This part was really not comfortable, because the contractions got stronger and even more frequent and the breast pumping just plain hurt! My Mom ended up leaving to get coconut oil for me to help with the painful boobs! After the 2 hours, we checked again and found I was only at 3.5cm dilated. We had previously discussed breaking my water earlier in the day, but the midwife wanted to hold off to make sure I didn't run out of time with that. After discussing everything with my husband, we decided to have her break my water (April was comfortable with this now, because even though the changes were small, she saw my body was starting to respond to itself). This was around 8pm or so, so I had already been in labor for 24 solid hours..phew! After she broke my water, she offered to try a new medicine to give me more relaxing time (I think this one was called staydol or something but let me tell you, it was the WORST thing ever! I felt completely out of my head, which made the pain of labor even worse. I clearly do not have a good tolerance for most medication.). After resting up for a few hours between the crazy hard contractions, terrible medication and general weirdness of labor, the midwife came in after seeing how nuts my contractions were and wanted to know if I was ready to push. Pushing started around 11pm and was such a weird sensation! We pushed for almost 3 hours and at 1:56am on 01/13/14, we had our beautiful little girl!! This was the most intense, painful, full of love situation I have ever been through and it was just so amazing to have done it all with my husband and mom there. I didn't know it was possible, but I have fallen even more in love with my husband and I know damn well I would not have been able to do any of this without him. He was my rock and beside me the whole time and really helped me through every crazy moment of labor! Also, my mom and I just continue to get closer and closer thanks to this amazing experience and the fact that I've given her a sweet little granddaughter! Oh and you know how people say you don't even understand love until you become a parent? Yeah, it's true. Having our little baby bug has been the best thing I have ever done with myself and I am so very thankful for her! The labor definitely went differently than I thought (I never even considered not dilating if we were having steady contractions!) and I compromised on some things (taking meds to relax me and open my cervix were not something I ever considered doing) but the three big things that I wanted to avoid were avoided (pitocin/induction, epidural and c-section) and I had my baby just the way I wanted..of sound mind and body with no extra stuff! My midwife was amazing because while we discussed options, there was never any pressure to do something I wasn't comfortable with. Ladies who are about to give birth, I HIGHLY suggest getting in the shower while contracting. I spent a few hours on and off in there and while it didn't take all the pain away or anything, it certainly made things more bearable and gave the hubs and I some time to just sit by ourselves and rest for a bit. All in all, labor was roughly 31 hours of the intense stuff, but every single moment of it was worth it to have our sweet little baby bug. She is the center of our whole world already and while she is only 10 days old, I can't even imagine my life without her or even remember what our days were like before she came. I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but being a new mom, I'm lacking in sleep and still trying to navigate my daily schedule (ha! like a schedule is even possible these days lol).

 

[StacylikesSparkles]

I'm pleased to introduce, Miss Ella Corrine! She was named after my beloved grandmother, who was like a second mother to me and who passed away almost 2 years ago. It's pretty damn great to have another little Ella in our presence and I'm sure she'll have just as much of an impact on my life as my first Ella did. Weighing in at a whopping 8lbs 12oz (hence the trouble I had trying to dilate), she is our sweet little lady and I'm just so thankful for her!!

 

[audball]

FPS!! She's SO SO SO beautiful! I LOVE her name! Congratulations mama!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Oh FPS!!! Ella is beautiful! And I love her name!! It sounds like even though your labor was loooooong, it was relatively un-dramatic and in the end, turned out just the way you wanted! I'm so excited for you, the first days of being a new mom are so full of love and gratitude (not that it ever goes away) and I'm just so happy that you're in the thick of experiencing it. I hope all is going well with sleeping, nursing, etc...I'll have to follow you over on the newborn thread!

 

[gem_anemone]

WOW FPS!! What a cutie pie!! Ella is just adorable!

Sounds like you had a long laborous labor! Kudos for hanging in there and having your birth go the way you wanted. I have been thinking about getting meds rather than an epidural. It sounds from your post that was a great choice for you. 31 hours must have seemed like an eternity, but look at that beautiful little girl you have to show for it. Congrats!!!!

 

[lliang_chi]

FPS, what a beautiful girl and I'm glad your delivery was what you wanted. Welcome Ella!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

FPS-Congrats mama!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ella is gorgeous and what a lovely name.

AFM-I feel like a litany of complaints lately, but I slipped on some ice this afternoon. My feet skidded out from under me but I didn't fall. what I did was, I think, pull every muscle and ligament in my pelvic girdle and it hurts so much I can barely walk. DH thinks I am over reacting, but I am trying not to scream or cry every time I take a step. This is ridiculous!!!

I am going to acupuncture tomorrow in the hopes of starting a slow effective journey towards labor. Still working things out with the midwife (hopefully), and looking forward to my shower on Saturday. After the shower I will be 38 weeks and will happily birth this baby whenever it is ready

 

[Clairitek]

Congrats FPS! Your description of Ella's birth totally made me tear up. Enjoy your sweet bug.

 

[Missy0483]

Congrats FPS, Ella is beautiful!!! I hope things are continuing to go well your way!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

I got the insurance stuff worked out (as far as I can tell, and the insurance company records all conversations plus I took copious notes, so if it comes to an appeal, this should still get paid for) so the midwife who delivers at the awesome little hospital with private rooms is taking me as a patient!!!! I am so excited!!!!

So, tomorrow I have my last appt with my OB and have to "break up" with him and get my medical records. This will be awkward, but I truly think for the best in the long run.

 

[amc80]

Just back from the Dr...my due date is still 2/12 but I am measuring 35 weeks 5 days and baby weighs 6 lbs 1 oz Allegedly I am on track for a 9-10 lb baby

I was in the same boat. I started measuring a week ahead by about 20 weeks, and by 32 weeks I was over 4 weeks ahead. My final growth scan was at 36 weeks and by that point he was measuring something like 41 or 42 weeks. "Luckily" he turned out to be skinny for his length and was "only" 8lbs10.5oz, which was light considering his 22" length. I can't imagine what he would have weighed had he not been on the skinny side. Hopefully my next baby will be in the 7lb 20" range, but given the genetics involved I find that unlikely.

After typing that I'm not sure if that will ease your fears, but just know that a big (long) baby doesn't always equate to a heavy baby.

And congrats to all of you ladies getting close to your due dates! If this is your first baby please please, for me, take as many naps and see as many movies as you can before the big day

 

[Bella_mezzo]

We've had a very exciting weekend!!! (warning, super long...)

Thursday evening I finally confirmed that the midwife we wanted would take us on as patients (we had been negotiating the land of insurance for almost 2 months). My first prenatal visit was scheduled for Monday, 1/27 when I would be just barely 38 weeks pregnant.

Friday morning I had my weekly prenatal with my OB, let him know that we were switching providers, and got a copy of my medical records.

When I got to work Friday, my office threw me a surprise baby shower (the shower my friend was throwing me was Saturday, but as you will see, we didn't make it there).

Friday I left work early to introduce B to his new twice a week afterschool babysitter who will be picking him up on the 2 days a week that DH is not able to.

Friday evening at 7:15 I stood up b/c I thought I had just peed on our couch. I'd been having a lot of pelvic pressure recently and thought incontinence was maybe one of my new "joys" of pregnancy. After abut 15 minutes of continued gushes of clear fluid, I realized this might be amniotic fluid! My back hurt and I was having contractions that felt VERY different from the Braxton Hicks contractions that I been having for the past 20 weeks...but, I was convinced that I was not in labor and had just peed on the couch. Unfortunately, since I tested positive for Group B Strep I knew that if I was in labor and my water broke I had to get treated with IV antibiotics right away and every 4 hours until the baby was born.

We had a prenatal visit scheduled with our doula. She showed up for our 8:30 appointment and I said, "we may have some new developments". Over the next hour, my contractions increased to be about 1 minute long and coming every 2 minutes. Very painful and intense. She noticed several "emotional signposts of labor" and told me that I really was in labor and needed to call the midwife ASAP b/c of the Group B strep. It took several calls, and the midwife at one point she said that she wasn't comfortable delivering me b/c we hadn't had any prentatal visits so she didn't know me as a patient and I that should call my OB (whom I had "broken up with" that morning). But eventually, she agreed to meet us at the hospital.

My doula ran home to grab her bag, I threw up everything I had eaten that day (surprise, surprise!), DH and I jumped in the car, and drove to the hospital as soon as our friend arrived to watch B. We got to the hospital, started IV antibiotics, and were contracting away. After a few hours I was 3cm dilated, fully effaced, and station 0. By 12 hours I was 5cm, fully dilated, and somewhere between station 0 and +1. And there I stayed for the next 12 hours as my labor completely stalled with contractions every 5 -7 minutes apart only lasting for 30-40 seconds. I made no progress and was still only 5 cm. I was exhausted, demoralized, in pain, hungry, dehydrated, and feeling completely overwhelmed. Throughout these 24 hours of natural labor I was also vomiting frequently, eventually only vomiting blood mixed with bile. Since I had the IV for antibiotics, they also administered saline through the IV throughout my labor to help with dehydration.

At this point, the midwife talked to us and suggested that maybe we would want to try pitocin to progress my labor and she would recommend an epidural as I was so exhausted and just really seemed to need a break. I thought that was a GREAT idea, as I was totally out of steam by this point and fantasizing about just having a c-section. DH was very careful to check with me multiple times that I really wanted to change course and go down the pitocin/epidural road, but it really was the right decision. We had tried nipple stimulation, hot showers, birthing ball, and a host of other non-medical options to try and start my labor. Some of them worked a little, but only when we were doing them, none of them got my labor back on track.

I got the epidural and felt better almost instantly. I was able to sleep for an hour or two and then we started pitocin. I labored with pitocin for 5 hours and made it to 6 cm, but unfortunately, shortly after that the baby decided it did not like it and was having heart decelerations between contractions that were very worrisome. They had to stop the pitocin. At this point, I had been laboring for nearly 30 hours and the midwife started broaching the topic of a C-section as a real possibility. But, we kept delaying that decision as even without the pitocin I was still having 30-40 second contractions every 4-6 minutes and the baby was fine with that. Then, after a few hours we started pitocin again at the lowest possible dosage. The baby was fine with that, and the dosage was increased gradually every few hours while the baby's heart rate was constantly monitored. Finally by 6am Sunday morning, after 35 hours of labor, I was 9.5-10cm dilated but the baby was still basically station 0 and meconium started showing up in any fluid that leaked out. I labored for another 2 hours and the head came down to station 1 and I started pushing in earnest around 9:45am.

Our SON Elias Earl was born at 10:47, 3 weeks early weighing 7 lbs 2 oz and 20 1/2 inches long!!! They tried to use a vacuum to help pull him out, but he has so much hair that the vacuum would not get a good suction! I had a small episiotomy to get him out b/c his head is kind of large and apparently my vajayjay tissue is very strong and not very stretchy (equivalent of a first degree tear and is only on the very outer skin).

My birth was very different than the intervention-free natural childbirth I had planned (once I had the epidural, I had a fetal monitor, a contraction monitor, a pulse ox, a BP cuff, the epidural line, a full IV port that was administering--pitocin, saline (I had 6 bags in the course of the labor), zofran, and ampicillan, as well as a host of needle sticks from blood work and attempted IV lines that did not find my tiny veins) but I was thrilled with how it ended up. At each stage of the decision-making I felt that the best decisions were made for the health and safety of me and my child; that I was with a provider I trusted and who understood my perspective; and that the baby and I were being constantly monitored and decisions were being made in our best interest based on our circumstances. It was a long, hard labor that would have been possible with very few providers in NY-NJ (maybe 1-2 others). With the vast majority of providers and facilities I would have definitely had a c-section within the first 12 hours. I am so grateful that I was able to have the vaginal delivery I wanted, that my son was monitored so well throughout the birth and that we were all prepared to make the best decision for him and his health, and that I will hopefully have a much faster recovery time than if I had had a c-section

We are still in the hospital but hope to come home EOD Monday or Tuesday morning. We are waiting for his blood work to come back b/c with the early and prolonged ruptured membranes, the group B strep, the meconium, the long labor, and his being 3 weeks early we want to be sure that he's strong and healthy. So far, he seems to be a great sleeper and an excellent nurser!

(Sorry for any typos or timings that are off, I haven't slept since Thursday night!)

I'll post pics tomorrow.

 

[Kunzite]

Huge congrats Bella You are such a trooper!! Happy birthday little Elias, loooooooove the name

 

[monkeyprincess]

Congratulations Bella! I'm sorry things didn't go quite as you pictured (they rarely do), but I'm so glad to hear he is here and everyone is doing well! Hopefully big brother will adjust well to baby brother! Cute name!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Oh my gosh, Bella!! I have to admit I was a little shocked to read about Elias' birth! I thought you'd go a week early, not three

Your labor story sounds a little like FPS' in that it was long, but in the end the delivery was exactly what you wanted. I'm so glad your midwife was willing to work with you--she sounds like she was really supportive and open minded.

A huge congrats to you! So exciting that you had a boy--and it sounds like he's perfectly sized! You would have had a very big boy if you'd gone to 40 weeks!

Get lots of rest and looking forward to pics soon!

 

[Skippy123]

Yaaaaay, Congrats BELLA, so happy for you!!! love the name Elias!


Ella is beautiful! Congrats!


Missy, you look fabulous!!

 

[lliang_chi]

Oh Bella! How wonderful! Welcome to the world baby Elias! Rest up, and let us know how big bro B likes his Official role now.

 

[lliang_chi]

Oh Bella! How wonderful! Welcome to the world baby Elias! Rest up, and let us know how big bro B likes his Official role now.