Pregnancy - October 2011

R_mageddon

Our announcements this weekend were amazing! Everyone is so happy for us and it was great to finally be able to talk freely about it! Our parents are thrilled

Tomorrow is our big appointment with the midwife. I'm excited and really hope to hear or see our baby.

ElizabethJ17

Appointment went good. Got my glucose test, rhogam shot and flu shot. The dr asked if my u/s showed baby breech. Which I would probably be more worried about but I still have plenty of time for her to turn. If I remember right my first didn't turn head down until about 34 weeks or so and wow could I feel her do it lol. Glucose went fine. I have one more appt in 4 weeks then I switch to every two weeks. Woo hoo like the dr. said I have hit the homestretch. From my beginning of my pregnancy I am up 5 lbs. Which I will take. Hopefully I can keep it to a minimum.

mukie89

R_mageddon- how did the appointment go? im so glad everyone was so excited for you! The pregnancy will be so much more exciting now everyone is in the know

Elizabeth- I hope your LO turns for you 5lbs in awsome! I'm up to 24 atm lol

Had my 2nd to last appointment today! and i actually wrote down a list of questions i wanted to ask before the 24th (anal i know). They mainly had to do with the recovery period for the c-section and my birth plan. She gave me some clear guidelines for recovery such as that im not to lift anything heavier than 10lbs, vacuum or constantly bend or have sex within the first 4 weeks of recovery (at which point she'll check me out and let me know where to go from there). She had questions about whether my sister skyping in would be allowed at the hospital because this could technically mean that there was an extra person in the room (which i think is rediculous) :noway:

In terms of weight gain ive gained 24lbs so far, so will probably end the pregnancy on a 25lb gain which i dont really feel good or bad about. Being that this was my first pregnancy and that I wasnt overweight to begin with i think ill just be happy with it

ElizabethJ17

24 lbs isn't bad at all! Especially since you weren't overweight starting. I have to keep mine as low as possible since I was overweight to start. I think it is silly they might not let you skype. I guess it is better than our hospital they don't allow cameras or videotaping during delivery. Not that I would have taped it anyways.

R_mageddon

The appointment went amazingly! One of our midwives (they work in teams apparently) is hilarious! We get to meet the other at our next appointment.

She took some blood (yuck) and did the detailed medical history. Because of diabetes and such in my family, she wants me to do an early 2 hr glucose test and gave me the paperwork to get that done in the next week or so.

After talking with her, I'm swaying towards natural birth with pain management and I think Adam is more on board with this as well. We're looking for a birth with little intervention and this would help with that.

We also heard the heartbeat! OMG, what a sound! She had trouble finding it at first and I started to panic but she kept at it and sure enough, our babe was just playing hard to get. I can't describe how that felt when we finally heard it.

What I really love is now we're planning, making decisions and DOING something more than just waiting. It feels real now...people know (I told my boss today after the appointment too), we've heard the heartbeat, we're deciding on our birth plan etc. I'm excited

FitMommyLuv

HELLO TO ALL ..HOPE EVERYONE HADE A GREAT WEEK AND IS FEELING OK :drinker: ..
I cant believe i'm 9 weeks today :bigsmile: ..It was nice turning my what to expect when your expecting book to the third month .Gosh it seems like just the other day i took the pregnancy test!!!My morning sickness is seemingly to be easing off just some and i'm not having to use a med to help it...The only issues i'm having is i'm getting tired easily again and my boobs are killing me and nothign is helping with that pain.Also starting to feel the lower tummy stretching and rounding out a bit more!

ron2282

I figured I’d type of up my birth story while Kathryn is napping. I swear they gave me the wrong baby, she hardly every cried in the hospital. Now we’re home and it’s all. she. does.

Labor and delivery was a million times better than I was expecting. I woke up at 3:45 Sunday morning to a really strong contraction and my water breaking. I took a shower (before waking up hubby since I knew he’d just want to go straight to the hospital) then called my doctor. I was going to wait a little bit to call because my contractions were only 8 minutes apart but since my water broke I didn’t want to wait to long. Doctor told me to come in but I could take my time. We got to the hospital around 5, I was 4 centimeters dilated and contractions were 2 minutes apart. The contractions obviously hurt, but they weren’t as bad as I was expecting them to be. I got an epidural (a beautiful gift from the heavens) around 7:30 and pretty much slept on and off from then until I started to push. At one point I asked the nurse if I was still having contractions because I couldn’t feel anything. They started me on pitocin and by 10:30 I was 7 centimeters. A little while later I started to shake pretty baldy, I always shake when I’m nervous and the nurse said that it could be a side effect from the epidural. We realized later that it was because I was in transition. My labor and delivery nurse checked me around 12:40, she asked if I felt any pain but I told her only a mild pressure on and off. She didn’t say anything else but I could tell by the look on her face I was further along than she had expected. She said, “I’m going to find your doctor, be right back.” My doctor was delivering another baby and the nurse said that she wanted me to start “practicing” pushing; this was at 12:48. After about 3 practice pushes the nurse told me to stop and “whatever you do, do NOT push”. She ran out of the room and I heard her say to someone, “Get Dr Peters in here right now, she’s crowning.” All of a sudden it seemed like there were a million people in my room. After 3 or 4 pushes, Kathryn was born at 1:01pm. It was the most amazing thing because I could feel the pressure of her being born but I had absolutely no pain at all. I started to cry as soon as I hear her cry, then looked over to see hubby (who gets emotional sometimes but NEVER cries) crying. I did get a second degree tear so that’s not very fun right now. I had zero side effects from the epidural and was walking around less than 3 hours later.

Then we got up to the mother baby unit…..while the nurse was helping me get settled in Kathryn started to choke on some mucus. I didn’t notice it because she didn’t make any noises. The nurse suctioned it out and showed me what signs to watch for. It happened again a little later, I suctioned the mucus out but called the nurse just to double check that she was ok. The nurse said I got everything and I did a great job. While I was talking to her Kathryn’s face turned bright red and her lips went blue. She tried to suction it out and couldn’t, she grabbed her from me, flipped her over and started to hit her back. It didn’t work so she took her out of the room. I just about lost my mind. I kept telling myself that she’s ok and the nurse would get everything out, but I couldn’t stop crying and shaking. The nurse came back in and said she’s ok but they needed to keep her in the nursery for a while so I went there to be with her. They called my pediatrician who suggested a NICU doctor look at her. The NICU doctor said she probably swallowed my mucus plug and because my delivery so fast all the normal mucus didn’t get pushed out during birth. She ordered a tube put down her nose to her belly to pull up whatever mucus was left. It was so much! And so thick too! My poor little baby had all that junk in her belly. The nurse said it was so thick there was no way she would have been able to work it up on her own and her belly was so full that’s why she wouldn’t nurse for me. She also had a chest x-ray, which was clear. They decided to keep her in the NICU over night and as much as I wanted her in my room I knew she’d be taken care of there. I went over every 3 hours to nurse and cuddle with her. The doctor said that since she wasn’t getting anything from me and she had no wet diapers that they wanted to supplement with formula, I initially told them no but was told that she was getting dehydrated and it was either formula or an IV. I couldn’t let them stick an IV in my baby so I said ok to formula. She still had a very hard time sucking and wouldn’t take formula either. The doctor came to my room in the middle of the night to say she was still dehydrated and they needed to put in a feeding tube before in got so bad that she needed an IV. She needed to eat a certain amount every 3 hours but they wanted to get her to learn how to suck too. I started pumping right away and we gave her whatever I pumped first then supplemented with formula. If she didn’t eat the necessary amount by mouth the rest was given to her by the tube. She finally started to eat more by mouth and the tube was removed on Wednesday morning, they kept her for one more night just to make sure she was still eating good and having wet diapers without it. The first night at home without her was hard. I sobbed the whole ride home, then sat in her room and cried more. Every day we were told she might come home tomorrow so I stopped getting my hopes up. Even when I called the NICU when I woke up the morning she was discharged the nurse told me to bring a going home outfit for her, I left everything in the car until the doctor said she was working on her discharge papers. I know compared to all the other babies in the NICU she’s so healthy but it still killed me to see her hooked up to so many monitor and machines. I probably would have lost my mind totally if it wasn’t for my husband. He never left my side and made me take breaks to eat and sleep. He even went over to the NICU to feed her in the middle of the night so that I could sleep.

I had and still am having a very hard time getting her to nurse. I cannot get her to latch on and because she had so many issues with eating, I’m afraid that she won’t be getting enough. Right now I’m pumping every 3 hours (getting about 2oz total each time) and giving her that in a bottle. I’m trying not to supplement with formula too much but I have no choice sometimes. I have an appointment with the lactation consultant on Tuesday; hopefully she’ll be able to help me. There are times when I want to just say forget it and only use formula, and there are times where I want to try everything possible to get her to nurse. I get so frustrated sometimes which I know doesn’t help the situation at all. I just want her to get what she needs to be ok.

R_mageddon

I had and still am having a very hard time getting her to nurse. I cannot get her to latch on and because she had so many issues with eating, I’m afraid that she won’t be getting enough. Right now I’m pumping every 3 hours (getting about 2oz total each time) and giving her that in a bottle. I’m trying not to supplement with formula too much but I have no choice sometimes. I have an appointment with the lactation consultant on Tuesday; hopefully she’ll be able to help me. There are times when I want to just say forget it and only use formula, and there are times where I want to try everything possible to get her to nurse. I get so frustrated sometimes which I know doesn’t help the situation at all. I just want her to get what she needs to be ok.

Congratulations! She's beautiful and I'm glad that you finally got to bring your little girl home.

A friend of mine and her son struggled with breast feeding. Like you, she was getting extremely frustrated and upset which in turn upset her son. To make things worse, she felt guilty for her frustration until finally, she realized that none of this made her a bad mother, that even if she switch strictly to formula, she at least TRIED to breastfeed and that it was beyond her control. Once she did make the switch, she was more relaxed and her son was more relaxed and less hungry. They were finally able to bond while feeding him. The effort was stressing them BOTH in a way that wasn't good for either of them.
I'm not necessarily suggesting that you stop trying, but I am saying, that if you feel that trying is not healthy for Kathryn or you, it is YOUR decision to make. Don't let anyone tell you that you are failing her, because you are her mother and you are doing what is right for you and your child.

sandijones5783

I'm now 10 weeks and 2 days pregnant and finally starting to get a little bit of energy back! still trying to walk everyday and so far i have only gained 1lb! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

FitMommyLuv

Sandijones5783->You're so lucky to have only gained 1 pound :flowerforyou: ..

ElizabethJ17

Ron-
I struggled with breastfeeding my daughter when she was born. She was in the special care nursery and it was the same statement I received that they needed to give her formula. I met with an awesome lactation consultant but between her already having the bottle, me not getting the hang of it and her not latching it didn't work out. I ended up pumping for 6 weeks and giving her breastmilk in a bottle. Towards the end I was not getting enough milk and tried a few different options. I got to the point where I told myself I tried my hardest and it didn't work out. It was a sad and frustrating moment but looking back on it I tried and that is all that matters. Wishing you the best of luck and congrats she is beautiful!

R_mageddon

Woo! under 200 days (technically)! :happy:

Scorpiomom222

I've been slacking on checking in here. I hope everyone is doing well. Everything is fine here. 35 weeks and I'll be getting my GBS test done on Friday. I've been walking as much as I can (3-5 times a week) and only a gain of 24 lbs so far. Still been feeling nesty and I keep the bathroom scrubby clean and the sheets changed as well as the laundry done up. haha I've never ever kept up on the laundry this well. There hasn't been a full basket of laundry in the house for over 2 weeks. haha

mukie89

R_mageddon- wohoo thats so exciting!! and i think awsome advice about not feeling guilty about the transition from breast to formula

scorpionmom- Sounds like your household is definitly benefiting from your nesting i also did another big clean yesterday, and am hoping the house will stay this way for at least a few days lol

Ronya- thanks so much for telling your story. Well done on the delivery!!! I'm sorry you and ur husband had such a trying time those first few days and had to go home without her at first, i know i would have been a total and utter wreck. I hope the lactation consultant can give you some great help and advice, but like R_mageddon has said, dont be too hard on yourself should you have to move to formula. she is just gorgeous!!! congrats :flowerforyou:

So im 38 weeks and 1 day today, and although i appreciate being pregnant, im totally at the point of :GET THIS BABY OUT OF ME! haha. And this is purely because im just sooooo uncomfortable right now and the only thing that is comfortable is walking around, which sux for me because all i want to do in this last week is try and relax! I have stopped going to the gym and have taken up walking instead, which has been nice although i miss the atmosphere u get when with others at the gym.

We can officially have skype running in the OR, yay!!! my twin sister will be so happy all of the parts for my breast pump arrived finally and i tried it out. It works like a charm and was able to express my colostrum without a hitch. FYI I decided to get the 27mm shields, as I was told that most woman start with the medium shields (24mm) but alot end up switching. I have quite large nipples anyway so decided to go straight for the upgrade.

Please may this week go fast! 8 days until I get to meet my LO

How has everyones weekend been btw?

Scorpiomom222

mukie- That is so cool that you can have Skype running in the OR! I watched a live homebirth last night at like 1:30 in the morning. lol

lilibe

Michelle – Good luck getting settled in a new house. Moving is a ton of work!

Elizabeth_C34 – I don’t have much advice on TTC, but I would recommend taking a prenatal vitamin now with folic acid. I cut out caffeine and alcohol when I started trying.

Melissa – You’re getting so close! That’s so nice of your coworkers to throw you a great shower. I’m also up 24 pounds, but I still have 7 weeks to go! I’m glad your sister will be able to skype in the OR.

Jenna – Congrats on 36 weeks!

ElizabethJ17 – Did the doctor have any suggestions on your swelling? I’ve been having some uncomfortable swelling in my hands lately and a little on my feet. Great job on only 5 lbs weight gain!

R_mageddon – I’m glad your announcement went well. Congrats on a great first midwife appointment!

FitMommyLuv – Hopefully your boobs don’t hurt the whole time. Mine never hurt but they also never got bigger. :ohwell: I hope your morning sickness doesn’t last too long.

Ronya – Thank you for sharing your birth story. That’s scary that Kathryn had to stay in the NICU, but I’m glad she’s doing well now. Sounds like your labor went really well though! I hope it goes well with the lactation specialist.

Sandijones5783 – Congrats on 10 weeks and only 1 lb gain!

Scorpiomom222 – Great job on keeping up the walking and cleaning! Walking is starting to get uncomfortable for me, which is weird since the elliptical at the gym is still fine.

AFM – I’m finally starting to get a little uncomfortable. We slacked off training my dog and she pulls a lot on leash, and I think I finally can’t walk her by myself anymore. On the plus side that will mean more walks with my DH. I’m also getting swelling in my hands and feet especially in the evenings and mornings which is a pain.

MadBabysMama

wow, some of you ladies are getting so close! I love your beautiful bumps! I'm almost at 12 weeks now, so excited to be getting closer to the second trimester (and I'm ready to get back some energy already!). My ultrasound on Friday was great, everything looks good so far. Can't wait to find out whether it's a girl, have to wait another month or so, I guess.

Scorpiomom222

lilibe- It's not easy keeping up with the walking for me, either, but hell, I gotta manage weight and get this baby's head engaged somehow, right? I WISH I had an elliptical. Maybe that can be my birthday/Christmas present in one. lol B-day is in 2 weeks, but I'd gladly skip out if that meant an elliptical trainer!

MadBabysMama- I'm glad your ultrasound went well! And hoping your energy comes back full swing in 2nd trimester for you. Mine did and it was so nice to have!

Beckabooflip

I am so sorry for your loss. I also lost a baby. I had no physical systoms, and decided to use medication to help the misscarriage pass. It was awful. It did not work as effectivily as the doctor said. I was told it would take about 6-8 hours. It took 5 days, and the last 6 hours was extremely painful. I choose to use the medication because it seemed less invasive. I also did not want to wait the weeks it could have taken to happen naturally. God forbid I am ever in that situtation again, but I would not wait or use medication. I would have the D/C. I hope you can make the decision that works best for you and your family.

ehr0509

Hey everyone. I came up on this group. I am 16 weeks preggo with our first. I was about 10 lbs from my goal weight. I started pregnancy at 160 lb and gained 12 lbs already. I have not been eating very well and had stopped working out because my first trimester was so rough. But now i have been feeling great and getting back on the wagon with working out and watching my eating. How are yall doing your setting for calories per day? Maintain weight? and did you use your pregnancy weight? I am excited to get back to it and feel good again. Any advice with eating and exercising?

ElizabethJ17

Lindsay-
The dr just mentioned to elevate my legs when I can. She also suggested compression socks that are knee high. She said the thigh highs just roll down and are a nuisance and to remember to take them off at night. The last half a week or so it hasn't been bad but I have noticed it happens more working so I might buy them to wear there.

I have no energy it seems lately. I am hoping this is just another phase in the journey. At my appt last week my doctor told me I have a low hemoglobin and that is why I am exhausted.

JKilty

Wow. So. Tired! Everything is going alright though I keep having to have extra tests and ultrasounds because of the high blood pressure (its not Pre-e, I had high bp before pregnancy). Last Friday we had an ultrasound and she stuck her tongue out at us...the time before she flipped us off...so I'm thinking she may be a handful! The ultrasound tech said that its been at least two years since she has seen a baby as active as Grace in this stage of pregnancy

ehr0509 - I set my calories to maintainance when I found out I was pregnant. Then during the second trimester I added about 300 calories daily (I think it was 300 anyways). I also tried to walk an hour a day...which didn't work out in the first trimester because I was so sick. Eventually I stopped counting calories all together, and just tried to make wise decisions. One thing I found was that if I craved ice cream, I would have a spoonful or two and that would take care of the craving...etc. So far I have gained 25 pounds (starting weight was 145). I think I gained the most in my first trimester. Good luck to you! I'm sure you'll do fine

mukie89

I just had my 'bloody show' wohoo!!!!! I know i shouldnt get too overexcited about it, buuuuut i am :laugh:

jsmith2377

I just had my 'bloody show' wohoo!!!!! I know i shouldnt get too overexcited about it, buuuuut i am :laugh:

WOOO! Almost there! I didn't have that with my previous pregnancy until birth. Good luck!

mukie89

connor arohana belleville was born at 2:36am on he morning of october 19th, 2011 he is just amazing!! will post the labour and dlivery story soon. breastfeeding is going well, though he favors a side from time to time, so we are working on that

nicola1812

for Lindsaychick
Firstly I'm very sorry to hear your news. I have suffered 2 miscarriages this year, the first miscarriage I opted for the natural method with tablets and found the whole experience horrendous. With my second miscarriage my baby had stopped growing at 8 weeks and I only started bleeding at 11 weeks and after the initial slow start to the bleeding it took about 5 days but I have been told the time it take can vary greatly.

I would like to join this group as we have just found out we are pregnant again and finding it very nervous after the previous 2 miscarriages. Fingers crossed we have better luck this time.

kristyoconnor

Good Morning Ladies, I'd also like to join your group. I'm a (mostly) stay at home mom from the Northernd VA/DC area. I am about 16.5 wks pregnant with my 3rd child. I really like using MFP to log my food and being able to see that I am making healthy food choices. I'm trying to keep my weight gain with this baby within the suggested 25-35 lbs since I gained 45lbs and 38lbs with my first and second babies. I look forward to reading & encouraging you all throughout your pregnancies

Scorpiomom222

Congrats, Mukie! That is so awesome!!!

JKilty

Congrats Melissa! Can't wait to read your story!!

Does that mean I'm next?!?! Oh my.
I had an appointment yesterday and my BP keeps creeping up slowly, so I will be induced on Wednesday instead of Nov. 4th, like we had been planning on. I am 1 cm dialated and 50% effaced...praying my cervix thins out more before next week! She wants me to deliver while that placenta is at 100%, rather than wait another week when it could start hardening a bit due to the high bp. She is having me go in on Tuesday night to get the cervitol (sp?) and a little pitocin to help things out a bit and then they will up the dosage of pitocin on Wednesday. I lost a pound since my last appointment (not sure how that happened...) so that brings my weight gain total to 24 lbs, which I am very happy with

Hope you all are doing well!

kcurtis05

Yay! Congrats Mukie! Welcome to the newbies!

It's been a while since I have checked in, but I have been trying to keep up with what is going on.

Well, My in-laws came down this weekend and graciously shared a nasty cold bug with me! I am pretty miserable at the moment. It was incredibly hard to get up for work this morning. I just keep telling myself that it's almost the weekend when I get to sleep in and just snuggle with my puppy! So, I guess no Zumba tonight like I had hoped. I can barely walk to the restroom without getting winded.
I had a doc appointment yesterday. We went over a lot of family history and the dos and don'ts. We also got to see "peanut" again! I am truly amazed at how much more developed he (wishful thinking) has become! Since our last ultrasound that just showed a little bean that barely resembled a human to a fully developed baby! It's just amazing! Still haven't heard the heartbeat, but we are convinced it is pumping just right with how squirmy and busy he was. So Cool:bigsmile:
On other news, we have finished cleaning and repairing our rental property, and Hubs meet with some prospective tenants and they really like the house and we have agreed that they will be moving in on the 28th! YAY! It is such a relief to have it finished and have good (seeming) tenants. I just hate not really knowing who these guys are or how they live, but I guess that the change you have to take being a landlord. So now we just have to cross our fingers. :ohwell:
Yesterday, I broke down and bought a pair of maternity work pants... I just couldn't stand the waistline digging into me while sitting at my desk anymore. I got them at target and don't love the fit, but they will help me get thru the workweek. I've tried JCPenny also, but couldn't find any that I liked. So, I think I am going to Motherhood this weekend to try on a few more pair. On their website they have select twill pants for buy one get one free. Can't beat Free!

Well I hope everyone has a great rest of the week and weekend! :flowerforyou: