Pregnancy- July 2011

Anne: Yeah, I started to have the clean out about 36 weeks and now it's mostly soft bowels very often. I'm tired of the poops almost as much as i am of the small bladder issue. Last night I barely made it to the toilet again.

I have been having soft bowels 2-4+ times per day since about week... um.... (does anyone remember when I first brought it up?) 25 maybe? It is not "loose" just soft.

I mentioned it to my dr but they didn't say anything about it.

I am going to the city today to look at some used cloth diapers. I know, I know, some of you might think it is gross, but she has 37 (with lots of covers) of them and is asking $130obo. This brand retails for about $15 per diaper here. I hope they are good, and if they are I can swindle her down to $100! :-)

Thanks for the membrane stripping info… that is one way they usually try to start an induction (as I read anyways).

This was the first thing they did for me pretty much right away - the first time they checked me after admitting me. It didn't hurt, per se, but it was not comfortable. If I were comparing it to something else I might have said it hurt, but comparing it to the rest of labor, it's nothing. :laugh:

Rachel -- I don't think used cloth diapers are gross! I would've gone that route if I hadn't found such good deals on the new ones I've stashed. Glad to know another first timer is planning to take the cloth plunge with me. I figure if I start out with them as soon as she's big enough (8lbs+), I'll never know any different.

Rachael -- I'm so sorry you're not sleeping well. At least you're in good company. I woke up with some woefully sore hips this morning. Very painful indeed. :frown:

Mel -- :laugh: at your discription of the discomfort/pain of the membrane stripping. I totally agree. I want to say that yes, it was pretty much painful. But then part of me thinks if I really want to admit that I thought membrane stripping was painful then I'm going to be in a whole heap o' trouble in a few days. I mean, it *was* painful and it was very uncomfortable (hi, near stranger's arm in my foof!) but I don't think it was really comparable to the worst pain I've ever felt or anything. Just a new and unusual kind of painfulish discomfort, I guess. :laugh:

I'm feeling a little less uncomfortable (or maybe I'm gettin used to it?) so I think I may stay at work past 1pm today. As long as I stay seated I'm okay. When I get up, baby feels really, really low. Still having funny feeling contractions. So... I know this is totally crazy and unrealistic, but I'm starting to get a bit panicked that I'm not going to know when I need to get to the hospital. I know odds are I'm REALLY going to know but people keep coming by my desk and asking about my cervix (lol) and then telling me stories about how someone they knew didn't know they were really in labor and barely made it to the hospital or whatever. I know it happens, I just seriously doubt it would happen to me (but then again, I bet everyone it happens to seriously doubted it would happen to them). I know, I know, worried for no reason. If only that was a realistic concern, right? Right? RIGHT? :laugh:

Yeah, DS says it freaks him out that the baby is "right there". Whatever. It's only 40 weeks right?!:laugh:

Joonzgurl-Me to! I'm SO freaked out to get pre e again!

On another note, I'm REALLY having a hard time with my weight gain in the last couple of weeks. I've gained like 5 pounds since June 16th! :noway: I'm concerned that I'm gonna be huge. So far I've had a very slow gain. Over all I've gained 18 and I'm 25 weeks so I guess it's not so bad. I just hope it slows down! I've increase my water like others have mentioned. I have NO swelling so I can't even blame that! It's been like 90 here so I haven't been walking as much maybe that's it. IDK, all I know is that I have 14 weeks left and I really want to keep it at a 35 pound gain this time. Any other suggestions?

I'm feeling a little less uncomfortable (or maybe I'm gettin used to it?) so I think I may stay at work past 1pm today. As long as I stay seated I'm okay. When I get up, baby feels really, really low. Still having funny feeling contractions. So... I know this is totally crazy and unrealistic, but I'm starting to get a bit panicked that I'm not going to know when I need to get to the hospital. I know odds are I'm REALLY going to know but people keep coming by my desk and asking about my cervix (lol) and then telling me stories about how someone they knew didn't know they were really in labor and barely made it to the hospital or whatever. I know it happens, I just seriously doubt it would happen to me (but then again, I bet everyone it happens to seriously doubted it would happen to them). I know, I know, worried for no reason. If only that was a realistic concern, right? Right? RIGHT? :laugh:

Maybe if you give birth on the office floor your coworkers will finally believe that yes you are pregnant?!

And you'll know that you need to go when nothing is funny or amusing and you wnt to rip your dh's head off for rubbing your back the wrong way or when you start thinking "There is no way I can do this".

I agree - When I started thinking "There is no way I can do this" (21-22 hrs in) it turned out to be less than an hour from pushing, and pushing was about 40 mins. It was shortly after I asked the nurse, almost in tears - "how much longer??!"

So, I have this co-worker. He is our in-house attorney, and he is massive, like well over 300 lbs. He has broke 2 work chairs here. Anyway, we were both walking up the stairs and he says "Now, I look like you! Except I am not pregnant." Seriously, how do I take that? Maybe he was putting himself down saying he had a big gut, but that made me feel like crap. I really don't think that I look like a 300+ lb. man (who is disgusting btw). Anyway, that kind of irritated me. lol

So, last night I could of swore I was leaking, I just kept feeling kind of damp, but when I would check there wasn't really anything. It was weird, and then later that night I lost quite a bit of that lovely mucus plug. I guess it is not my water, but at least it is something in the right direction, right?

I had the same thing happen yesterday. I was working with a patient (who is 350) and talking to him about his sleep apnea. I was explaining the equipment and said "well this belt is going to go here, but it will fit different because you're not almost 7 months pregnant, ha ha." And he goes, " Yeah, well that's true but my gut's just as big if not bigger, haha." I just smiled. I think he was insulting himself not me. And congrads on the plug! I never got to the point since I was induced, but YAY progress!

Just got a call from doc's office. Sugar was fine from the glucose test. Yipee! :bigsmile:
But iron is "a bit low" ... enough for them to talk about supplements. I told them I have OTC vitamins with 18 mg iron, but haven't been too consistent about taking them lately (shame on me...). I can stick with those for now, but have to take them every day. Iron has never ever been a problem for me before :grumble: (okay, maybe once, but I was about 6)

But still , yay for the sugar being fine and no 3 hour test!

thanks for all of the welcome messages and glad to know im not the only one melting over here. I feel abit like my babies personal jungle gym today, with him squirming up below my breasts and dropping right down below my bladder all day long. He seems to calm down just after i eat a big meal or if im moving around, otherwise he seems to be on the move 24/7 of late. Besides the swelling feet Im physically feeling the best i have since becoming pregnant, largely due i think to my recent return to the gym. Im finding it a huge mental relief from the everyday grind, and the knowledge that ive done some form of exercise seems to stop me from continually pondering weight gain etc.
Im wondering if many of you have taken any classes? if yes, which ones did you find useful?
Ive managed to avoid any stretch marks so far, im wondering if its likely that they'll start to show in the next few months? (im 6 months this week).
Again, its so nice for someone like me who has a severe lack of female friends here to follow your posts

Racheal: Yay for the mucous plug!! Mine wasn't quite so obvious in fact i don't think i would have noticed if Julie didn't mention hers. Sorry bout that guys comment i think i would have def taken that personally. *hug*

Racheal: Yay for the mucous plug!! Mine wasn't quite so obvious in fact i don't think i would have noticed if Julie didn't mention hers. Sorry bout that guys comment i think i would have def taken that personally. *hug*

TMI alert: You know... I thought all of mine was gone because seriously, how freaking much could there be?! It seriously came out all day last Thursday. But um.... the rest of it came out tonight and it was by far the grossest part yet. :sick: I mean I guess it could've been something else related to the membrane stripping but... ugh. Pregnancy/childbirth may be beautiful/wonderous/magical but it sure is disgusting, too.

Anne Elise – Some guys are too funny. They would have to be seriously well endowed and also curved in the right direction to reach the baby! They often have no concept of internal female anatomy! Sorry about the cleaning out and getting sick in the parking lot. I know I would have been really upset by that. And my second labor wasn’t fast – that was just how long I was at the hospital. Labor started around 8 pm the night before and I delivered at 5:49 am. My 4th was 5.5 hours from my bag being broken during a check and delivery.

Jen Z. Glad you are feeling better. And I wouldn’t focus on the number on the scale – just focus on making healthy choices for yourself and the baby!

Lindsay – I’m so sorry about your cousin’s baby. That is very sad news that is especially hard to hear at this time in your life!

Ronya – I’m sorry you’re feeling gross today. And a lot of women go to L&D prior to delivery for complications or early labor, so It may not be that you look ready to pop, just pregnant!

Rachel – what brand of diapers are you looking at? Did you purchase them and get the price you wanted? And so long as they are washed well, I don’t see that it makes a difference!

Rachael – I’m sorry you are having so much difficulty sleeping. For the back pain, try a rice sock heated in the microwave for 2 minutes. It made a lot of difference to me when having a posterior baby. As for the leaking feeling – you get more humid, for lack of a better description, as labor starts getting closer and your cervix starts thinning and opening.

Kerri – glad that you feel better after the dietician appointment and good luck on repeating the glucose test. Why did they test you so early, if you don’t mind answering?

Cloth Diapers – for those of you starting out with them, get liners or plan to use disposable until the meconium passes. That stuff is a sticky mess and very hard to get out of cloth! I generally purchase one package of newborn diapers (the smallest I can find) and use them up, then switch over to cloth.

Victoria – not a fan of bike riding as a sport. Our children are very aware of the efforts that dh and I are making to get healthy – counting calories, limiting junk food, working out and we are try to show them better than we learned. How being active and conscious of what you eat makes a difference and that this is not about losing weight so much as getting fit – the weight is a side effect. So we wanted to be able to involve them and they love to bike ridge, but due to our neighborhood, they are fairly limited in what they can do/where they can ride. So this was a way to get a workout in when they are around that doesn’t have them left in the gym kid zone everyday and to make sure that they are getting out and running around during the summer and not just zoning out on TV and video games.
I’m very happy to read that the kidney levels are improving. We will continue to pray that they become normal.

Julz – yea on passing the glucose test. I’m in the same boat with Iron – just a little low so they are giving me the opportunity to correct it with diet. As for “gradual changes” I’m 16 weeks and have never looked this pregnant before! It has to be all the weight I lost and the toning I accomplished. That’s the only explanation I can come up with to explain the difference.

Julie – I’m sorry that you got stuck at work but happy for you to feel like you’ve managed to get a lot squared away. I hate leaving stuff undone.

Maureen – the messy nature of birth only increases from this point on. Dh was just mentioning that tonight when asking if I wanted relations. Silly man doesn’t see how the two thoughts cancel one another out!

Had a good day today. Went on a small bike ride this morning, 2nd swim class, found my desk and my daughters’ bedroom, beat back the laundry monster until tomorrow and walked up to dinner so got another little calorie burn in. Tomorrow we’ll go to they gym and then swim class, maybe the library and laser quest since we received buy 1 get one free passes from their summer reading program.

And this may sound silly since this is my fifth pregnancy, but what do braxton hicks contractions feel like? I don't think I have ever had any - most of mine I felt in the back or like I needed to have a massive bowel movement. After exercising, I get uncomfortable tightening across the top of the fundus for a few hours and then it subsides. I'll call the midwife tomorrow to check in, but they are not there on Wednesday and I didn't want ot bother them over this.

Thanks and good night!

And how did everybody get there baby tickers on each post?:flowerforyou: