Buddies for bubs due November 2009 - THIS GROUP IS NOW CLOSED

[polaris]

No still not showing at all, but definitely chubby around the middle now. Most of my normal clothes still fit me in the mornings but by evening time they won't do up! Going to get some new comfy work clothes today I think.

 

[Aussie Jen]

Hey girls.

Lilian - As far as I know there's nothing you can take to reduce gas during pushing. Maybe you could get in a better position this time that means your bum isn't so exposed!

Polaris - Sounds like you had a lovely time away! And so glad you're feeling better. Don't worry about not feeling your bub - it just means us seasoned lot know what to feel for. I'm sure your bub is boogying around just as much as ours!! Bummer about going back to work, but at last the thesis is over I guess.

My birth story, in a nut shell:

I started a hindwater leak (occurs when only a small amount of fluid is released, usually from a small opening in the top of the bag of waters) a week before Emily was born on Monday. By Friday I was having 20 min contractions for the day but by night they'd gone again. By Saturday they got down to 10 mins and Sunday down to 7 mins, so I decided to go in to the hospital to check Emily was doing ok. She was fine, and there was suggestion I should have labour augmented (sped up, using the same drugs as the induction drugs) but I couldn't see the point since Emily was ok and I was doing fine. I was comfortable at the hospital, so decided to stay the night. By Monday morning at 8am the contractions were down to 5 mins. As my waters had been broken for a while and I was showing a bit of a temperature (perhaps sign of infection), I had some antibiotics - mostly for Emily's benefit. I had asked for no VEs (Vaginal Examinations) previously, but by 1pm on Monday I had 3 min contractions and was getting curious if the end was in sight . I had a VE then and was told I was 8cm; I was very happy with that!! I got in the bath and kind of slept in between contractions and breathed through them the best I could. I must have needed lots of rest as Emily wasn't born til 8:30pm (roughly 4 hours after I was fully dialated, but only pushed for the last hour or so), into water. I had not planned a waterbirth, but this was where I was comfortable. It was so nice. I had my hubby, my doula, my GP, a midwife and a trainee midwife - I felt so supported and honestly never even thought I needed pain relief. After Em was born, I climbed out of the bath and had a natural third stage (birth of placenta) with no meds and breastfed Emily for an hour. She is a contented, quiet little baby, has always been a great sleeper and was always a great breastfeeder - I attribute most of this to a calm birth experience (not necessarily HOW the baby is born, e.g. induction, forceps, c-section or natural, but the WAY I felt so calm because of being well-supported).

Have a nice day everyone.

P.S. I've changed my avatar pic so you can see Emily - this was taken about 20 minutes after she was born.

 

[Mynx]

Jen what an amazing picture! Your birth story sounds amazing. Yours is exactly the kind of birth I would like for this one as it would be such a contrast to my first lol! I hope that I can be as cool, calm and collected as you were when you gave birth to Emily

Anyways, how is everyone today? The weekend starts now and I'm excited! Got a busy few days ahead of me as I need to start some preparation for OH moving in to my flat soon.
I'm also having my nuchal fold scan on Tuesday so to say I'm a bundle of nerves atm is an understatement! I'm terrified that the scan will show nothing or no heartbeat I sound completely paranoid right now and I know my fears are unfounded as I've had no bleeding, cramping or anything but I still worry.
I see the consultant on Thursday and we'll finallly know what state my poor old cervix is in Fingers crossed that everything is ok .. you know I'm less worried about that than I am the scan! Crazy
Which means I am working a 2 day week next week.. yay!!! Altho I have to say my energy is back in leaps and bounds and I'm *almost* back to my usual bubbly self again, thank god! I've missed me lol! Nausea was non existent today and maybe this is where my fears are coming from, that my symptoms have been disappearing over the last week or so. Boobs are still sore tho which is something! I can cope with that heh!
So yeah, because I have more energy again, work is more bearable atm, and my manager seems to be talking to me a little more now, and actually acknowledging that I'm there lol! Its all good

What's everyone got planned for their weekends? It's bank holiday too, anyone going anywhere nice? Or planning a day out? Do tell girlies!

Love you all

 

[polaris]

Hi girls!
Mynx - it's good to see you in such good form despite your worries about the scan. I was exactly the same before my scan, I was convinced they would tell me I was imagining things and I wasn't really pregnant at all! OH thought I was mad! Glad work is going a bit better. We have our bank holiday next weekend in Ireland, a week later than you. Hopefully the weather might have picked up a bit by then as it is miserable at the moment!

Jen - thanks for sharing your birth story, it sounds like a lovely relaxed experience. Love the picture of Emily too. I have a fear that the hospital will want to induce me. I was born 14 days late and the only reason I wasn't induced was because it was the Easter holidays! I was actually due to be induced that day. I really would prefer not to be induced but I don't know how much say I will have in it, apparently hospital policy is that they will induce you at 10 days overdue.

Liliana - how are you doing? Hope all is well with you.

My news is that I had a doctor's appointment today and got to hear the heartbeat! It was so lovely to hear it. I don't really feel pregnant most of the time at the moment because I've no symptoms but I'm not showing or feeling movement, so it was a nice reassurance to hear that baby was still there!!

 

[LilianA]

Jen- wow what a nice picture you and emily look awsome in it. and an amazing birth story too I wish i could have a calm and relaxed birth like that this time around.

Mynx- I hope your feeling better. why are you so nervous about the scan? I am sure everything will be just fine don't worry. I know its hard when you haven't seen the baby for a while you wonder if everything is alright and its such a relief to hear that little heart beating. soon you will start feeling the baby move and it will let you know that its doing alright everyday.

Polaris- its so wonderful to hear the heartbeat isnt it. I can't wait for my next appointment which is in about a week. I have thought of getting the doppler and listening to the heartbeat at home but sometimes i worry that i will obsess over it. but it is a nice thing to have especially when your not feeling movement yet. wow i just relized your almost 17 weeks now so very soon you will start feeling the kicks. I can't wait for that. I do feel the baby once or twice a day when its awake i feel it moving around but i dont feel kicks yet.

well I dont have anything new going on. I can't wait to find out the sex and start shopping. I hope your all doing ok and having a great day.

 

[Aussie Jen]

Hey gals.

Well, over the weekend I DID have plans until I got a call from a mum on Saturday morning who had experienced pre-labour since Tuesday. She finally had her baby at 4am Monday morning, and then I had another lady being induced at 9am Monday morning. She finally had her baby today, Tuesday, at 12:30pm. One boy, Tyler, born on Monday, and one girl, Isobel, born today. It was lovely, but I'm pretty exhausted.

Regarding having a positive birth, I have some tips for you:

- Make sure you are having your baby in a place where you agree with their philosophy on birth and that they support women in the ways you would like to be supported; generally if you feel validated during a hospital visit and as though the staff actually GIVE A CRAP and that you're not just another pregnant woman walking through the door, then odds are you'll be looked after pretty well. Also, be aware that hospital policy is NOT law and that it is actually unlawful for someone to do something to you when you have told them 'no'; and they can't kick you out to birth on the street for saying no, either!!
- Decide on a support team that you feel will support you and your OH in making choices that are right for you, and those that won't have a different agenda to you; I can highly recommend having a doula.
- Work on TRUSTING YOUR BODY; there is very little reason to believe that your body is smart enough to grow a baby but it's not sure how to get it out effectively - what a huge design flaw THAT would be!! Did you know that if you were in a coma and you went into labour, your body would birth your baby on it's own? Often, it's learning to 'get your head out of the way' and surrendering to your body birthing your baby.
- Become informed during your pregnancy about birth and every choice you may need to make. This means that all the choices you do make will be informed choices and so they will be right for you. Remember: your body, your birth, your baby. There is no reason to hand over choices about these 3 very important aspects of your birth experience to someone else because you don't know enough about the process.

Well, think I've garbed on enough.

Sounds like you're all well. Take care.

 

[Mynx]

Ok girls, so I had the nuchal fold scan..the measurements were all good (1.66 - apparently anything under 3mm is great) and it was just sooooo good to see the baby! And oh boy has it grown lol! It was just a blob last time and this time we could see the spine, arms, legs, hands, everything!!! We got 3 piccies so when I can find my camera charger I'll take a pic of them and upload them to here
Oh and the scanner has put me 2 days forward, I'm 13 weeks and 1 day, not 12 weeks and 6 hehe!

I'm on cloud 9 right now!!!

 

[polaris]

Congratulations on the scan Mynx! It's so lovely to see baby isn't it? Really pleased for you that everything is going so well.

 

[Mynx]

Me too hun, me too! OH had a dream last night that we were gonna be put 4 weeks ahead and that the scanner would tell us it's a girl lol! I'm convinced it's a boy and we both would like a boy, altho DD would like us to have a girl as she wants a baby sister bless

ETA : All I have to do now is get thru the consultant appointment on Thursday. Now that I know baby is doing very well, I got my fingers crossed that my cervix is hunky dory too lol!

 

[polaris]

Ooh fingers crossed for Thursday, you do have a busy week this week!

 

[LilianA]

HI gals

mynx-thats is wonderful I bet it felt great to see the baby and know its doing great. congrats and fingers crossed for thursday.

Jen- my goodness it sound like a really busy weekend you must have been exhaused. i bet it gets you all excited about the coming baby when you see women having their own.
thanks for the pointers btw.

I think im really starting to show this week i cant suck it in anymore!! and i feel huge lol. I worry if i look like this now how big my belly is going to be full term. last time it was about to bust and people kept asking me if im having twins lol.

have a great night everyone.

 

[Aussie Jen]

Good news, Mynx! Well done!!

Lil - don't worry, I've porked up heaps, too! We'll be fat friends together. At least it's fat for a purpose.

 

[Mynx]

Hey ladies
Had my consultant appointment today which kinda turned into an antenatal appointment at the same time which was confusing as I'm supposed to have those at my GP's surgery with my midwife... anyways, I went along with it and did what I was told lol!
I handed in my little pee pot as requested by the receptionist and the nurse did the whole dipstick test.. apparently there's a trace of blood in my urine so they'll be sending it off to the lab for more tests to make sure I dont have an infection. I'll find out in a few days what the verdict is on that altho the consultant didnt seem concerned as I have no symptoms other than needing to pee alot - I thought that was all part of the pregnancy territory
The consultant didnt examine me, he said that because of the type of biopsy I had on my cervix 9 years ago (LEEP biopsy to remove pre cancerous cells) carrying to full term really shouldnt be a problem. Baby may come early but only by a few weeks at worst. He also said if I'd had a cone biopsy then it would have been much more of an issue as they tend to take much more cervical tissue which makes the cervix weaker. He wants to scan my cervix at my 20 week scan just to be sure tho, so I went and got that all booked up. I've been booked in for my Anti D as well as I'm O rhesus Negative, but that was no big surprise as I had the whole Anti D thing with DD.

I felt it went really really well aside from the blood in the urine thing but I've been told that UTIs are actually quite common in pregnancy and once treated, they're nothing to worry about.

Soooo big relief for us!!! We've got past the worst bit now, I really was dreading the thought of having this stitch put in, but it seems I probably wont need it, and we're coming up for 14 weeks which means I'll be heading over to 2nd Tri forum in the next couple of days

I have new found energy altho I'm not sleeping great at the moment because I'm really suffering with heartburn and omg, my poor poor boobies are sooooo sore so the pain keeps waking me up! I'm supposed to be at work tomorrow but I've had most of the week off so I'm tempted to stay home tomorrow too and get a few bits done that really need to be sorted. I dunno yet, I'll see how I feel in the mornin

Soooo, enough of my essay, how's everyone doing? All had good weeks so far?

 

[LilianA]

Jen- lol ok fat buddies sounds good so we can be postpartum diet buddies too. btw I really love your photo, you both look so pleasant and happy it looks like something out of a magazine to me.

mynx- great news im glad all went well and as for the UTI its simple i got it with my first pregnancy and with a few pills it was gone in no time.
I hear you about the sleeping, I am having a hard time sleeping at night because of constant bathroom trips and because i used to sleep on my belly before and its hard adjusting to sides only now plus all the weird dreams lol.

Polaris- how is everything going? Hope all is going well. r you going to find out the sex of the baby?

 

[Aussie Jen]

Mynx - sounds great! Yes, I wouldn't be terribly worried about the trace of blood in urine (like you said, UTIs are pretty common, along with thrush). Aren't we lucky, as gals?! Sounds like it all went well. Thank God you don't need that stitch!!

Lil - thanks about the photo. Lucky for me, I had a doula who is also a professional photographer.

Polaris - what's doing, chick?!

 

[polaris]

Hey girls,
all is well with me. Think I might have felt baby move again last night. Not sure though, it could be just wind! LOL.

Mynx - so glad your appointment went so well, you can relax now and really enjoy the pregnancy. So it looks like you could have a November baby after all if you are measuring ahead and the baby might come a little early.

Liliana - I'm generally a belly sleeper too. Am finding I'm doing a lot of tossing and turning at the moment, hard to get comfortable. I've heard that a pillow between the legs can help, might try that. I've been lucky with the bathroom trips though, baby mustn't be pressing on my bladder too much at the moment, I generally don't have to get up during the night. Not going to find out the sex, we want to leave it as a surprise. I think most people in Ireland do leave it as a surprise, whereas I think most people in the States find out, could be a cultural thing.

Jen - hope that all is well with you. Your job must be very rewarding. Tiring too though, I bet!

 

[LilianA]

ohh how exciting polaris about the kicks.. I can't wait to feel the baby actually kick. lucky you your baby isn't pressing on your bladder I must get up at least 3 times a night but i also drink alot of water each time i get up cuz im having a very dry mouth these days. I heard alot of good things about the U shaped pregnancy pillow i might try it out.

 

[LilianA]

ohh how exciting polaris about the kicks.. I can't wait to feel the baby actually kick. lucky you your baby isn't pressing on your bladder I must get up at least 3 times a night but i also drink alot of water each time i get up cuz im having a very dry mouth these days. I heard alot of good things about the U shaped pregnancy pillow i might try it out.

 

[Mynx]

I was thinking of trying one of those pillows, I think I'll look into it some more and try and pick up a bargain
Polaris, how great that you're feeling movement at last! I've felt the odd little "flutter" here n there, but I dunno if it's too early to feel yet, altho I have been told that being my 2nd pregnancy, it may well be baby. It's probably just gas tho

I'm pretty sure that I have a UTI now, I'm feeling some pain really low down, feeling like I constantly need to pee but getting there and just doing a trickle (sorry TMI!!) and starting to get some pain my back Maybe it's phsycological but I'm not feeling 100% at the moment. My nausea seems to have started back again along with acid indegestion already!!! I have my seabands back on since last night and I havent worn them for a few weeks! I've gone out and bought some Rennies in the hope that the acid will calm down, I suffered really badly with that in my first pregnancy, right up to the end - to the point I was having to sleep sitting up!! Ah well, the trials and tribulations of pregnancy eh!

Oh well, I'm off to go do some cleaning and then maybe sit and enjoy some sun for a bit, get my quota of Vitamin D

Enjoy your weekends ladies, hope all is well with you

 

[polaris]

Let us know how you get on with the pillow if you get one.

Sorry to hear you're not feeling 100% at the moment. UTIs are miserable but at least they are very treatable and not too serious. My m.s. came back with a vengeance for about a week at about 13 weeks, before finally going for good. I hope yours is just a last stand and then it will disappear for good. I would recommend Gaviscon for acid indigestion, I haven't suffered from it yet, but OH's brother suffers very badly (he has cerebral palsy) and swears by Gaviscon. It tastes rotten though.