2016 May Miracles

[NZKiwi]

Oh that's heartbreaking

 

[pinkpassion]

that's so sad.... poor parents!!!

 

[Em260]

Oh no those poor parents . That is devastating

 

[Spiffynoodles]

Drjo, that's so sad.

My next milestone will be 27 weeks, because it's third tri, and then 32 weeks, because I have a growth scan, and then 35 weeks, since that's when I had my last baby.

Busy, here's my V-day bump.

 

[drjo718]

Sorry ladies, didn't mean to bum everyone out! Work is just hard sometimes and being pregnant at the same time makes these situations even harder.

 

[Esperanza2015]

Hi Ladies:

Haven't been so active around here but i read today most of the new postings. So sad that that little angel didn't make it.
Congratulations those who passed V day already!
AFM im 25 weeks today. Had my bloodtest done and glucose was fine (I even liked that drink). The iron was in the low side and now am taking a suplemment and I dont feel short of breath anymore. Baby is extremely active at night and most of the time she wakes me up after all those dances that she does in my belly.
My weight gain so far is 9 kilos, which really scared me when my midwife told me but in general it seems that am ok and that is normal.
I would definitely try to avoid non nutritious food from now on. Specially pancakes that were my main craving last month.
Here is a picture of my huge bump....People have told me already that..like I dont have a mirror at home!!!
The dress was almost too tight, the pic was while I was getting dress to go to a party yesterday.....

 

[NZKiwi]

Looking good ladies! I still have a week until vday.

Drojo, I bet it's hard being pregnant and having to deal with those situations at work

 

[Em260]

You all look great! I need to take a bump pic. I took weekly bump pics with DD but so far this pregnancy I've only taken one. I'm definitely showing a lot more than I did last time around.

Drjo - I can only imagine . I would be so upset at these situations and being pregnant would make it even harder

Busytulip - great to see you on here! Hope you're doing well.

Esperanza - don't worry too much about weight. As long as your midwife says you're on track I'm sure you're fine. I can't believe people think it's ok to comment on bump size! You should just tell them they look huge too

 

[pinkpassion]

Drjo, I'm sure that gets overwhelming and especially being pregnant I can't imagine!! feel free to vent away (at least to me)!!

I've been absolutely horrible at taking bump photos this time around!! I feel so bad lol, this baby is going to ask what about me?! Lol

 

[NZKiwi]

I take a bumpie every 4 weeks, next one is vday! Then 3rd tri after that.

I really feel like this trimester is dragging, anyone else? Or is it going fast for you?

 

[pinkpassion]

It's flying for me!!!! But there are days that just drag!!! I'm just trying to enjoy every bit of my dd now while she's still the only child so I think that helps!!!

 

[Spiffynoodles]

Esperanza, lovely bump! I'm not sure why people are telling you you're huge, though. You look just right!

Drjo, I can only imagine how hard it must be to deal with heartbreak like that when you're pregnant.

NZKiwi, I'm with you on this one! Second tri has been dragging on and on! I think because I started feeling movements and found out the gender so early, it's like all the exciting parts of second tri happened a long time ago, and the rest has just been waiting.

But hey, I have an idea to pass the time...anyone want to share their birth stories from previous babies? I love reading birth stories!

 

[pinkpassion]

O boy.. I LOVE reading birth stories!! Mine is long and complicated lol but I will work on it

 

[Spiffynoodles]

Okay, this is a little long, since I've had three babies, but here are my birth stories.

DD- On the day I went into labor, I had an OB appointment, so I knew I was 4cm dilated. I went home and decided to go for a walk with DH, and then we DTD and took a nap (we both got off work at 3pm. Those were the days!). While DH slept, I started to feel some uncomfortable tightenings, so I got up and went to my computer so I could start recording them. They started about 5 minutes apart, but by 5:30pm, they were 3-4 minutes apart, so I told DH it was time to go to the hospital (my OB told me not to wait too long, since I was already at 4cm). We got stuck in traffic, so we didn't get to the hospital until 7pm, and by then they were coming every 2 minutes. They checked me and I was 5cm, and asked if I wanted an epidural, and I said yes. By the time the anesthesiologist got in, I was 6cm, so they broke my water and gave me the epidural. Then I stalled out at 6.5cm for about 4 hours, and they were just about to start Pitocin, but then they checked and I had jumped to 10cm. I pushed for 3 hours, and during that time I developed a fever, and finally my OB gave me an episiotomy and she was born at 6am. Because of the fever, and the fact that there was meconium in my waters, they had to hand her off immediately to the nursery staff to be checked, so I didn't get to hold her right away. While they were checking her, my OB had to manually scrape my placenta out, since it had calcified (because it had died, causing the IUGR). That hurt! But even though she was little, she was otherwise healthy.

DS1- I started getting an Irritable Uterus with him at 29 weeks (had to go to L&D to have contractions stopped a few times). At 36+5 I had an OB appointment and I was 3.5cm dilated. That night DH and I were settling in to watch a movie after DTD (that's a theme for me ) and I started getting contractions. By 10pm, I decided we should go to the hospital, and I was 6cm by the time they checked me. I got my epidural, stalled out for a few hours, and then jumped to 10cm just like with my daughter. He was born after 10 minutes of pushing at 2am, with only a small tear. I got to hold him right after he was born, and even though he was technically preterm, he was perfectly healthy.

DS2- My IU contractions started at 8 weeks, and by 32 weeks, I was starting to dilate. At 34 weeks, I was 1.5cm dilated, and that was my last check up. At 34+6, DH and I had DTD (see what I mean? ) and I started getting contractions that felt a little stronger than normal, but not obvious labor contractions. We waited for a while to see what would happen, and by midnight and I told DH I was just going to check my cervix. It felt like 4cm, so I said, "Alright lets go to the hospital". When we got there, they checked me and I was actually 3.5cm (not too far off my guess!) and they told me that if I had progressed in an hour, they would admit me, if not, they would send me home. After 45 minutes the contractions got way more painful, so I asked them to check me, and I had progressed to 4.5cm so they admitted me. I was in pain, so I asked for the epidural, but after I got it, my contractions almost totally died off. They didn't know what to do with me, because they didn't want to speed up labor, because of how early I was, but they didn't want to send me home just yet either. So by morning, they turned off the epidural to see what that would do, and waited until my OB was on-shift and had her make the call. She checked me and said I was 6.5cm at that point, so she broke my water and they turned on Pitocin to get the contractions to come back. They also turned back on the epidural, but this time it all went to my right leg for some reason, and left me feeling all the pain of labor. He was born at 10am after two pushes and no tearing, and they handed him directly to NICU to be checked. He was there for 6 hours for observation, but aside from a little trouble remembering to breath while he ate, he was perfectly fine, so he left with me a few days later.

 

[pinkpassion]

O gosh spiffy , no more dtd for you until after 37 weeks great to read your birth stories!!!

 

[Spiffynoodles]

O gosh spiffy , no more dtd for you until after 37 weeks great to read your birth stories!!!

I know! That was the first thing I asked my OB about this time around, but she reassured me that DTD was fine, and even encouraged it. She said at most, DTD will put you into labor a day before you would have gone naturally anyway. But I'll definitely start taking it easy in that respect if I start showing signs of going early again!

 

[pinkpassion]

With dd I was getting impatient and ready for her to be here. I had irritable uterus too and had been in l&d multiple times. I was told by my dr several times that I would not make it past 37 weeks. Well...... 37 weeks came and went and at 38 wees I was 2.5 cm and 80% and my dr did a sweep. I lost a bit of plug and had some spotting but otherwise we'll (btw I was/am group B strep positive, which you ARE NOT supposed to have any kind of digital exams or sweeps done (but I was uneducated in my dd's pregnancy )).. the next week at 39 weeks I again was checked , at 3.5 cm 70% and another "aggressive" sweep was fone. Same reaction, spotting, bit of plug but nothing to get excited about. All the while we had been trying everything to get labor started. I bounced on my birth ball, I did clary sage, red raspberry leaf tea, dtd multiple times sometimes up to three times a day , ate a whole pineapple one day core and all, made and ate 30 labor cookies over 5 days (Yeah I made myself sick of them lol).. NOTHING was working. I was getting desperate because our birth photographer was scheduled to be out of town the day after my due date so if I didn't happen soon I wouldn't have the pictures I so wanted (sounds so trivial now)... well I knew from my last appointment that my bag was bulging... I tried to check my cervix but my finger couldn't reach so I decided to leave it alone. Finally on father's day, June 15th, 2 days before my dd I had a giant meltdown and told dh "she will be in there forever "... I ate 2 bites of a sandwich for lunch and was feeling sorry for myself so didn't want anymore. Around 2 pm after being lazy and sitting on my ball all day I went to use the restroom. I peed and as soon as I stood up I felt a bulge in my vagina and gave a tiny push and splash my water broke everywhere, all over the toilet lol. I screamed for dh and he came running in. I yelled "OMG MY WATER JUST BROKE!!" he was all calm and ok so?. I looked down and noticed it was green. It looked like green egg drop soup (sorry tmi ) so I said I guess that's meconium.... dh had to bring me one of my depends that I bought a small package of because I read on the third tri boards that you should have some in case because your water tends to continuously drip out... and BOY was I thankful for this advice. Every little move or laugh or cough or anything and another gush would come out.. so we loaded up the car and headed to the hospital. Contractions were minimal but they sure felt strange without all the water in there around her. By the time we got to the hospital I had filled up the depends diaper, and leaked through my shorts.. I hobbled in to l&d and a man sitting in their waiting area was like "are you ok?!" (DH was parking the car) I said very excitedly "Yeah my water broke I'm in labor!" At that point I realized he looked down and said "OH, yes it did!" how embarrassing....
So I got checked in and the nurse said "can you take off your underwear I need to check to make sure it's your water that broke!" I said (embarrassed ) well they are depends because it was leaking so bad" .... she looked at me all weird and said well take it off I'll have a look... awkward... so she said yep it's your water and it's definitely meconium stained (I already voiced my concern over the green)..
We then got transferred into a delivery room which was nice, I could dim the lights and sit on my ball. The on call dr came in to talk to us. She was nice but very matter of fact. She said they were giving me 10 hours for my contractions to start or they'd do pitocin. I was bummed. I wanted a med free delivery. I already was on iv antibiotics for group B strep. I just felt worried about all the interventions. The contractions became strong and stronger but still not unbearable. By midnight they checked me and told me there hadn't been enough progress and I'd need pitocin. They started it and I last about 3 hours until I was in the worst pain of my life!! I begged for something. They gave me stadol (ladies listen to me..... NEVER take this) I still wear to you this day I was walking through a field of wheat searching everywhere for my hospital room ... I kept telling dh "you need to get the nurse I'm not breathing! " he just kept shaking his head at me. It didn't touch the pain but made me crazy! Within an hour I was begging for the epidural. So I got it and it was heaven. I slept for a few hours. And when I woke I was so hungry. I hadnt really eaten since the morning before (besides the two bites of my sandwich ) I was begging for food but it was withheld from me. I then told my nurse I was going to be sick and 3 minutes later I threw up everywhere 4 times. I told her I was so hungry I needed to eat or I would continue to throw up. She brought me 4 popsicles (1 for everytime I threw up ) I scarfed them down.
By 8 am I was checked and was "10" according to the nurse. She said "you've done it you're ready to push!"..I started crying and looked and dh and said I can't believe we are about to meet our baby!!!! I began pushing with the nurse there and after several pushes she told me to stop pushing because my cervix was starting to swell and they needed to give me another hour. In about 40 minutes I had the worst pain of my life in pelvis area. Strong pressure and pain. They called the anesthesiologist and he came right away and removed the epidural and redid a new one. Much better. 35 minutes later it was about noon at this point they said I could start pushing again. Another round of pushing before I was again told to stop because my cervix starmed swelling again ( I guess it would have been pertinent information to tell you that I had begun swelling at 26 weeks and it got worse and worse. I literally gained 28 lbs of fluids in my last 4 weeks of pregnancy, my drs wouldn't listen to my concerns over it and my blood pressure. I had severe pitting edema and even my lady parts were so swollen. You could just lightly push anywhere on me from my belly button down and your finger mark would stay.) So at this point I was getting frustrated and the pain was returning and I couldn't stop the urge to push. The anesthesiologist had to come back in and it was then determined I needed a third epidural higher than the second in a place "not usually given" so they did that and it helped but only for about 25 minutes. At 2:15 I was raising myself of the bed in pain, crying and uncontrollably pushing even though they were telling me to stop (I literally couldn't stop pushing ). It was then I knew that the dr told me I had to have a c-section because she didn't know what was wrong. I was prepped for an emergency c-section and the dr started cutting and I could feel EVERYTHING I was screaming for them to please stop just stop. It hurt so bad. I decided (again I think this was the numerous amount of drugs they gave me to try to make me comfortable, I'm sure I was hallucinating again) that it would be best to just try to push my dd out despite the c-section I started pushing hard and my dh said all my intestines started coming out and that's the last thing I remember. The put me under general anesthesia because I was being a horrible patient. (I do remember them tugging on dd and the nurse having to push from inside my vagina to try to dislodge her head from my pelvis ) but I remember nothing else. Came to about 2 hours after my daughters birth. We have no pictures (dh was too freaked out in the moment of chaos) and I remember when I woke up I was seeing double of everything. I couldn't make out what was what. I asked if dd was ok and if she had a lot of hair. The recovery nurse pointed across the room for me to look. I saw two babies with dark hair. I apparently thought we had twins (I don't remember this but am forever reminded of my crazy moments) and started crying and exclaiming how I'd always wanted twins and I couldn't believe there were two in there and we needed another name to go along with Hannah and "OH HOW HANDSOME my husband is!" .. I'd lost it... and apparently I kept repeating myself over and over again!!!
All in all my daughter was healthy. She didn't cry when she came out my husband said she just layed there looking around, content as ever. They kept smacking her chest with this little rubber mallet trying to get her to cry and break up the fluid but she never wanted to cry, he said she just kept searching the room with her eyes like she was looking for me. That breaks my heart when he tells me that. I think that's why I'm so set on a vbac.
Later that night my surgeon came in and told me I was an excellent candidate for vbac and that all my problems were because dd came down acinclytic (her head came down sideways) and got wedged. She said when she turned her head she would have come right out. Of course at the time I said no thank you to a vbac. I didn't want to go through any of that again. But now I'm thankful she told me that because it gives me the confidence I need to attempt a vbac. And if it ends in c-section so be it. I'll just have to try harder not to be all drugged and crazy

 

[Spiffynoodles]

Wow, Pink! That's a crazy a birth experience! I really hope you're using a different doctor this time around, because your last doctor sounds like they ignored a lot and made some bad choices (like giving you sweeps when you had group b strep). I switched OB's after my first because of negligence, and I'm so happy I did.

I hope you get your VBAC birth this time around and that things go MUCH smoother!

 

[pinkpassion]

Yes I did forget to mention that. After the birth I learned of some horrible things from that OB and they continued to mistreat me. (I developed a uterine infection and they kept rescheduling my appointment because they had overbooked and by the time they saw me it was so bad I needed IV antibiotics) and then when I got pregnant again I called to ask for an appointment to be seen because I thought I might have another infection and the nurse told me "if you're that worried go to the er" ... I was speechless.. you DON'T treat someone like that. I thankfully found the dr I have now who has been an absolute God send. She listens to me and does everything in her power to help me with whatever I need. I can call and get straight in and never have to worry about feeling like an inconvenience. and she is supportive of my vbac!!! It was quite a traumatic experience. I want things to go differently this time. I'm much more educated on labor and the cascade of interventions and everything else so I am hopeful that I can achieve my vbac!!!

 

[ja14]

My 25 week bump!

I feel like I'm going to be huge!

Edited to add:
I added this picture to my instagram, and a girl who is almost three weeks ahead of me (who barely looks pregnant), commented "Good lord!!!" I even replied "Rude!"
That's the only bump pictured I've posted.
I do think the picture makes me look bigger, but I have been really paranoid about my weight gain, so comments like that don't help. I've gained 14 lbs so far, which I know is in a healthy range, but almost 9lbs has been in "month 6".