Fit, Fabulous and Pregnant - December 2011

Belinda - that's awesome you're off bed rest.

I am losing my motivation. Only another hour untill I lave to go meet a client and then I'm going home for a 3 day weekend. I should really use this time to be productive but......

I got my results from my Strep B test a little bit ago and they were positive. Of course I have done all my reasearch now, and about 25% of women test positive for the bacteria and all it means is that they'll give me antibiotics during labor, but I still feel nasty somehow. :ohwell: I guess I just have some extra bonus bacteria. Oh goody.

OK, I'm going to try to focus for my last hour here today. I'll start the new thread on Sunday and come up with another intro similar to what we did at the beginning of last month so we can keep track of everyone and maybe do a nifty chart again like Kim did this month.

Ashley - 35 weeks, 5 days (or by the dr. 36 weeks, 1 day) - Due date 1/25/12 - 26 pounds gained

Antibiotics- no problem. We take them all the time when we're sick. Your doing great! :flowerforyou:

Ashley - Don't feel bad about strep B...I had that too...and everything went fine and they said it's normal for some women...I know what you mean about being what in the world is that and why do I have it...

Belinda - Congrats on being off bedrest...I am sure that's a huge relief...

Rayna - Sorry to hear about your hands...I would definitely look into short-term disability. Good for you on the list...I am so not a list person but my husband is and I have been making list of things he needs to get done...I guess I should make my own list...I guess I
just now it will be huge and daunting...

As for sleeping...last night was the 1st night in a while that my son slept all night it was great...so when I woke up at 5 to pee I was up and about...got my work out in...have been working on getting my water and veggies in today and seem to be doing ok. So today is better than yesterday. My only problem is that I am still super sleepy...I slept last night from 11:30 -5 and then had to take a nap today around 9:30 and when my son went down for his nap at 12:30 I was going to stay up and work but he was a bit fussy so I laid down with him next thing you know I had slept for for 2 hrs with him...sigh...i really think the naps is why I stay up so late...I need to break the cycle just not sure how...humm...

Welcome to all the new people...can't believe this year is almost over and I am preggers...I started this year with a 2 month old and now I am prepping for another baby...life is full of surprises...but it has been a good years...here's to an even better 2012

Bumping for stalking, Since I don't post much on here anymore. Wanted to say hello to the new members! Welcome!

Nothing has really changed for me. I'm managing the gestational diabetes very well, only part that sucks is cooking my food separately and then measuring everything out. But oh Well. Since I've been on the new diet I have actually lost 6 lbs. That brings my total weight gain to 14lbs at the 29wk mark. Not too shabby. Just hoping I don't lose too much more.

I did have a bright spot over the Holiday. I had my 3D ultrasound on the 27th. Kaiden was being difficult with an arm, hand or foot in front of his face the whole time. We did get some really cute pics though. This one is my fave.


Luna~ Such a cute nursery!!!

Cindy (29wks1day) (+14lbs)

Hey Ladies!

I just found this board and I am so excited I am 17 weeks pregnant and I would love some advice on some good workout routines. I worked out before I got pregnant, but in the first trimester I was way too tired and I just started a new job, so the workouts have stopped! I'm planning on doing a natural birth so I know how important working out and staying healthy is for me and my baby boy! Any suggestions? Thanks so much

It has been a few days it seems...
I had a great U/S Wednesday...went to the mall and movies yesterday, and overdid it. I was starving ALL day, and if I didn't eat I would start to feel nausea. 2 eggs on toast for breakfast, PIzza, milk shake, lemon cake, chicken with potato and peas for dinner, cereal with banana, 1/2 slice of chocolate cake, pickles, cheddar chex mix....so I am going to do some housework and the elliptical today, and push a lot of fluids. The only good thing about going back to work next week is that I am so much better about eating good since I pack healthy foods and normal portions.
We are still discussing names, and Mr is stuck on Jack. I tell him that Jack Jackson sounds ridiculous, and to pick 5 other names he likes... I am favoring Ruby Suzanne for a girl as of right now...but who knows!
I got the travel system yesterday, and will price flooring for the baby's room this weekend.
We are going to a bonfire with a lot of friends this weekend, and will share the news:)

Carmel: You can actually take Tylenol every 4-6 hours only 650 mg though. I am normally one that doesn't take anything but I ended up with one of thos mind numbing migraines and I couldn't take it after 8 hours. It didn't make it go away but it took the edge off enough that I could fall asleep and when I woke up it was gone. Good luck as head aches are my least favorite thing to deal with this preganancy.

AFM: I am so over the moon about being able to be normal again. It is funny how the little things can make you happy. Last night I went with my husband to walk our dogs. It was the first time since Thanksgiving that I have gone on a walk. We only went 0.8 miles but it felt great! Then this morning I did a little arm workout. It amazing how much better one can feel after getting a workout in.

I am totally sure that we have decided on a girls name! We have two boys names though and I love both of them. I don't want to look at any other names at all but the hubs seems to think that over the next 5 months many names will come and go. At what point did you decided on a final name?

Belinda - 17 weeks - 4.4+

I am totally sure that we have decided on a girls name! We have two boys names though and I love both of them. I don't want to look at any other names at all but the hubs seems to think that over the next 5 months many names will come and go. At what point did you decided on a final name?

Belinda - 17 weeks - 4.4+

We just decided on our girl's name a couple weeks ago. You can always choose 2-3 you like and then make the final decision when he/she arrives.

Just wanted to update everyone. Hannah was born at 12:53am December 26 weighing 8lbs 5oz and 20.5 inches tall. We are doing great and are just adjusting to our new life. Updates to come soon if this baby ever stops eating. I feel like a milk factory.

Hannah’s Birth Story

Hannah’s original estimated due date was December 19, 2011. She ended up being born on December 26, 2011 at 12:53pm.

My water broke at ~3:30am Christmas morning. I was sleeping in bed when all of a sudden I felt a gush of water. My midwife Tanya did say that I had probably around 2 liters of amniotic fluid and that once it broke it would be like Niagara Falls. She was not kidding. We then texted Tanya to let her know and she said to let her know when my contractions were 5-6 minutes apart. So we decided to try to go back to bed but I started getting pretty strong contractions right away. It took a while to figure out the best way to cope with them and for some reason I found the toilet to be the best place. I also really liked for Jeremy to be there holding my hand and helping me breathe through them.

Around 9am we decided to go to the hospital. My contractions were 4-5 minutes apart since 6:30am. I was set up on the stress test to see how the baby was doing and to see how my contractions were progressing. At that point I was about 2 cm dilated and my cervix was only about 90% effaced. My contractions were still between 4 and 6 minutes apart. I also had a second rush of my broken water when I was checked. Hannah’s head was acting a bit like a cork. I cannot believe all that amniotic fluid was in there.

We were then let into our labor room. I stated in my birthing plan that I did not want any medical interventions, including pain medication and induction methods. By 2:14pm I had dilated to 7cm. I have to tell you it was one of the craziest and most unbelievable things that I have ever done. Hannah was positioned posterior which means that her face was directed towards my front and the back of her head was facing my back. This resulted in really bad back labor. Every contraction would ram her head into my tailbone pushing on my back. I used hypnobirthing to cope with the pain. I did really well. Jeremy said I was amazing and that he could never endure what I was going through. My midwife and nurses (I ended up having two nurses since one shift ended and another one began) were very impressed with my coping and breathing techniques. They said I was doing an amazing job.

At around 6pm I had made it to 8cm, but part of my cervix under the front of my pelvis was still not melting away like it should. We had a period of time where we thought I was getting close and I was rocking back and forth on my hands and knees for over an hour trying to get her to turn around and help melt the cervix. We were hoping that she would use my pelvis as a pivot point during the contractions and turn herself around. The back labor was excruciating. I then started feeling constant pressure which was an indicator that Hannah might be ready to come out. With every contraction I had the urge to push and with every push I had the worst back pain I have ever felt in my life. This went on for quite a while. I was on my hands and knees in the bed facing Jeremy and holding his hands. [Note from Jeremy: This was the most amazing display of will power and determination that I have ever witnessed in my entire life. I still get choked up trying to talk about it and sometimes even thinking about it. Nobody could have asked Nichole for anything more. At one point during one of the most intense parts of her labor, I said to Nichole, “you can do this”, and she exclaimed with all the power within her “I CAN!”. I have never been more proud of her and truly amazed with her inner strength.] I had felt like I was really close and gave it everything that I had saving nothing for later. When nothing changed, I felt very defeated and I was having a hard time managing the pain at this point. Hannah’s head was hitting the small part of my cervix that was being stubborn and was causing that part to swell. By that time I was getting very exhausted. In between contractions I was falling asleep and the contractions started slowing down. After feeling that I had gotten so close and then finding out that there was still a lot of work to be done with little energy left I started to crack. At that point Tanya said we may try to introduce some pitocin to help keep the contractions coming. My uterus was getting really tired and I had opted out of any IV’s and had been trying to keep hydrated myself which I had done a really good job about. I told Tanya I wanted to wait and try again myself for a while. So I took a small break trying to recover a bit and then really tried for round 2. I just had nothing left for round 2. My body hurt so bad in every place possible. I was absolutely exhausted. I had finally got to my breaking point and had agreed to try a mild pain medicine to help take the edge off. It didn’t really help. So around 9:00 pm I finally agreed to pitocin and an epidural.

The epidural was the most amazing thing in the world after going through 18 hours of natural labor. We kept trying up until around 11pm. I had finally reached around 10 cm but the remainder of my cervix would not budge. There was only a small amount left under Hannah’s head but every time I tried to push my cervix kept swelling up instead of melting away. This coupled with the fact that the contractions were again slowing down prevented any permanent progress. Hannah would move down some during the contraction, my cervix would swell and then push Hannah back up during the break between the contractions. Tanya said we could keep trying if I wanted but that Hannah was still posterior and she kept moving out of position. She said I may want to consider a c-section. The words I did not want to hear. At this point I was starting to run a fever and Hannah’s heart rate was starting to lower. Jeremy and I had talked about it and had determined that I had given my all for a natural birth and unfortunately things just did not work out. At this point we cared most that Hannah came out healthy and that my body was just too tired. I had literally given everything I had. So we decided to go ahead and get the c-section. Luckily I had had the epidural so I was able to be awake for it.

At 12:53 am on December 26, 2011 Hannah Marie Scuteri was born. She came out screaming. It was the most amazing sound I had ever heard in my life. They brought her over to us and she was absolutely the most amazing thing I had ever seen. Jeremy left with her while they finished sewing me back up.

A part of me is really sad that I did not have the natural labor I wanted, but I know that I gave it my all. Jeremy was absolutely an amazing birth partner and I could not ask more from him. He was with me every step of the way. I have never felt so close to him. He told me I was the strongest person he had ever known and that he was proud of me. I love him so much and can’t believe we brought this beautiful baby girl into the world. The most important thing of all is that Hannah was born completely healthy at 8 lbs 5 oz and 20.5 inches tall. After recovery they brought Hannah to me and I was able to breastfeed her with no problems. We are still working on our technique but we are doing really well and I feel like my bond to her has not suffered from getting the c-section.