January Baby Bears 2017 ~ 48 Momma Bears: 21 Blue, 17 Pink

[Sunshine Star]

Congrats wantabelly! She is beautiful!!

Congratulations momtastic, excited to hear your story!

I've been having on and off contractions, or what I think are contractions, but this morning I woke up to lying in a pool of bright red blood, about a cup full. I immediately phoned the hospital who told me to come straight in.

All my vitals were good and baby seems happy with a "textbook" heart pattern.

The doctor examined me and I'm just 1cm dilated and removed some clots from up there and did a stretch and sweep. She didn't seem overly concerned, but I am. It was just so much red blood which i wasnt expecting as my mucus plug. I've been having constant period pains and contractions every now and then.

They've kept me in hospital and booked an induction for Saturday, but I hope I go myself today! But nothing seems very regular. Just a little frightened and ideally would like to know the source of the bleeding.

My placenta was low lying but that had moved by my 32 week scan.

I'm in a Wee two bedded room by myself just now which is quite peaceful and I've sent my hubby to work otherwise he'd just be bored!

 

[Sunshine Star]

Funnily enough I couldn't access this page through the NHS wifi as it branded it "tastless"?!?!?

 

[slammerkin]

Congrats momtastic!

Oh my, Sunshine, that must have been scary! I hope things pick up for you today/tomorrow and you have baby without any complications! Funny about the wifi blocking this site! I'm surprised I'm able to get on it from work to be honest.

Still nothing here. 38-week appt today, which should be uneventful since they don't do internal checks or anything. Just pee in a cup, BP, weight check. Really hoping to have this baby next week.

 

[AliJo]

First - Mega congrats Momtastic and Wantabelly!! I keep hoping to see more babies born while trying to keep up and failing to find the time to reply or update at all!! I will get the front page updated. Things have been insane.

Update from me - Baby and I are doing great! We got home yesterday, but this week has been pretty crazy. Soon after having my son and being stitched DH informed me that my great grandma had another stroke and is going hospice. He felt awful for having to tell me soon after having baby. Then because this happens my brother decides he has to come up ASAP. Which is awesome because I get to see him, my SIL, and niece. Reason of course sucks, but they also get to meet their new nephew.

I get home and about 3 hours later they show up. I got home and literally started cleaning. They were coming to stay with us and I had to get DS's room organized so they can stay in there and things just got out of control between me being in the hospital, my brother being over with his two boys while I was in labor, and then just deep cleaning being neglected for months. My brother's oldest dumped ALL of the fish food in the fish tank. That's been a mess and I'm trying to salvage it.

Also when I get home I check out my DS1's nipple because DH said it's been red and swollen with a hard spot. Sure enough it's quite red and swollen with a decent sized hard spot that bothers him. So I have to call and get him into the doctor hopefully soon. Really hoping later today or tomorrow.

Also just found out my best friend who sadly lives in another state is expecting their second.

I am SO GLAD I'm not having any baby blues or postpartum depression symptoms like last time.

DS2 sleeps like a dream during the day, but won't sleep by himself at all during the night. I finally got some sleep, though. Literally had less than 3 hours from Monday morning at 430 am till Wednesday night.

Physically I feel like a million bucks. I thought I felt pretty good for just having a child with my first. This one is even better!

Emotionally I'm kind of off. So many mixes of emotions that I'm kind of in a daze. I'm more happy than sad, but I know it will hit me when I go visit her. Hopefully doing that today.

The only part that kind of sucks is I expected to have family time with just DH, DS1, and DS2 but now we have a plus 3. Thankfully it isn't bothering me. I don't feel overwhelmed with them being here. I don't know if they'll stay here the whole time or not. They talked about getting a hotel, but they may just stay.

I will get pictures and stuff up as soon as possible. I wanted to pop in and let you all know how I'm doing and that I am keeping up with you! I just can't seem to reply with everything happening in life right now.

 

[Apple111]

Hi ladies, gonna make it a short one as think phone playing up, ive tried 3 times to post today and when ive wrote full post with comments to updates its cut me off and lost it ! So Frustrating ..
congrats new mummies, gorgeous pic wantabelly and can't wait for ur birth story momtastic xx
Good luck sunshine and vrogers with inductions, I'm in for induction on the 10th! Not looking forward to it never been induced b4..

Midnight ..Hope things get moving naturally for you surely can't be long now.. You are a very comfy mummy ️xx

Jess .. Hope things get moving naturally soon also ️xx

Greats .. Hope things get more regular, hopefully once you get into active labour all the stops and Starts will have done some good work ! ️Xx

Brief update: I have been getting period pains and back ache since yesterday afternoon, and aching in tops of legs..last night for first time got some regular tightenings that were painful and seemed quite regular for an hour or so , much different to BH I have been getting for weeks.. Couldn't sleep through them.. Then they stopped and nothing ! Think I've joined the mind games with some of you ladies.. Def crampung again today but nothing else x

Sorry not replied to everyone will have proper read through n catchup when I can get on my laptop ️xx

 

[shobbs]

So all team yellows that have delivered are now among the team pinks????

 

[slammerkin]

AliJo - glad to hear from you! I'm sorry to hear about your grandma. You're so lucky that you're recovering well from birth though. My god I certainly didn't feel that great after having my first. Can't even believe you were doing cleaning right after getting home from the hospital! I hope you continue to feel good and can enjoy your brother's company.

Apple - I hope things get going for real for you soon!

 

[Ally2015]

sunshine- oh my that sounds scary, all the best and lots of luck. get some nice magazines and books to read to pass the time. Funny about the website on nhs site, it worked fine for me when i was in hospital!

slammer- fingers crossed for next week

ali- so happy baby doing well. Very sorry about your gran, but will be nice to have family come and stay with you. I feel abit off too, sometimes really happy, other times letharhic and sad.

DH went back to work today, so was mostly DS and I, my parents were at work, and brothers at school.
got the health visitor tomorrow, not looking forward to it, but dont know why. not sure what they do?

 

[Ally2015]

oh my goodness, when i submitted my reply, more responses came up

apple- hope things get going soon, and that you can avoid induction

 

[Literati_Love]

Ally - sorry you're so exhausted. I remember the unimaginable exhaustion from having a newborn/recovering from birth all too well. Make sure you rest when you can. Productivity can wait! What matters now is your rest and healing. I'm glad the tongue tie procedure was so quick and painless. Hope it really helps.

Ali - wow, that sounds like a lot going on all at once but I'm glad you're not feeling down at all! Sounds like you're coping amazingly. How is ds1 adjusting to having a brother? Very sorry to hear about your great grandma.

Sunshine - that is certainly unsettling about all that blood! are they going to do an ultrasound to re-check your placenta? I am glad they have you in the hospital and I hope you go into labour asap!

Midnight - sorry you're still overdue! I'm glad you feel somewhat at peace with it.

Apple - I hope things get more regular for you soon.

WDW - trust your instincts! I personally get very nervous about going overdue because of some things that have happened to friends and family members, but I know that statistically the first week overdue isn't really any higher risk than going to your due date. I personally will opt for a sweep at 40 weeks because I find that a lot more natural way to give my body a chance to go into labour rather than risking having to be induced later. If your body isn't ready it won't work anyway. I have another friend who also refused sweeps and even induction but she did finally have the baby 9 days late, healthy as ever! It is whatever you feel comfortable with, so definitely trust your gut!

Slammer - hope you enjoy your appointment even though it will be uneventful! I always find it reassuring to check in with baby's heart beat and all that.

AFM - just plugging along on my second last day of work! Got things sorted with EI benefits so that I can get my max earnings despite taking two weeks unpaid holidays first. My supervisor has told me to go ahead and take it easy. It feels nice to just do my work but not really have any time pressure. What I don't get done, someone else can deal with! Buahah.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Just home from hospital. Static growth but they have checked me over. All ok. Xx

 

[Literati_Love]

Midnight - glad they checked you. Was there a concern, or was this just a routine check because of being overdue? They aren't concerned at all about the static growth? Hope your body gets going soon!

 

[Anababe]

Ali - Glad your feeling well and baby is doing ok. So sorry about your Grandma, sounds like you have loads on but are coping amazingly!

Momtastic & Wantabelly - Congrats to you both!!

Sunshine - Oh how scary, glad your ok and hope labour starts soon for you.

Apple - Hope things get started for you soon.

Midnight - Glad all ok at appt and your feeling ok about being overdue. I am having homebirth and usually refuse too many VEs and interfering, however I do and have always accepted a sweep, i wonder if id have gone over with all mine if I hadnt and maybe because im not allowed one this time that will cause me to be later than usual. I have to wait until 40+5 before Im offered a sweep. Ive usually had one at some point between 39-40 weeks.

Nothing much going on here, lots of on/off uncomfortable BHs, dont seem to be progressing into anything real, feel like ive got a bit of a wait yet. My mum is coming on Monday which is 2 days before im due so kind of hoping I dont go over too much or she will miss the birth, shes only here for a week or so.

Really struggling to sleep at night at the min, loads on my mind so im feeling pretty dead during the day. Be glad when kids are back to school on Monday so can relax a bit.

 

[Literati_Love]

Ana - I hope baby doesn't come too late this time so your mom doesn't have a wasted visit! I, too, wonder if I would have gone late last time had I not gotten a sweep! I got a sweep at 39+5 last time, went into labour at 39+6 and gave birth in the first wee hours of my due date. This time I won't get a sweep until 40+ 0 because of when my appointment falls, so I feel like I might go over this time, especially since my cervix is completely closed and only 25% effaced right now whereas at my 37 week appointment last time I was 50% effaced, 1 cm dilated and lost some blood-tinged mucus plug. This time - nothing! Blah.

I am having trouble falling asleep at night now. Before I had no trouble falling asleep but I'd get insomnia at 3 am ish. Now I don't get the insomnia later on but I'm often not asleep until 1 or 2 am! Bleh. So I feel you on the tiredness! I hope you can catch up on rest soon!!

 

[Ally2015]

lit- thank you! living with parents helps, as they look after him too. I will do my best to rest! great that time pressure if off you. Please do take it easy also, pregnancy is tough as well as post birth. Basically, i think women just need to rest

midnight- glad all is ok

 

[kksy9b]

Hi all! Just read through but hard to reply to everyone on the phone.

Congrats to the new babies born!!

I'm sorry for all of us that keep getting teased with labor... EVENTUALLY though it will be the real thing...Despite how it feels, we will not in fact be pregnant forever (this is what I have to keep reminding myself lol)

Ali- so sorry about your grandparents

Had my appt today. I'm 4cm (last week was 3.5, stretched to a 4), still 50% effaced and baby at a -3 station. She offered a sweep but I declined. Belly only measuring at 35 weeks. Dr said past 36 weeks it's not accurate since baby can be down in the pelvis (which this one is). However, because I have a history with a small baby (DS was 4th percentile at birth), she is sending em tomorrow for a biophysical to check baby's weight, make sure there are no cord/placenta issues etc. I'm sure everything is fine but will be nice to be reassured.

 

[Literati_Love]

Kksy - I hope all is well with baby! I'm sure it is, but good that they are checking everything! Hopefully your body springs into labour soon! I can't believe how long you've waited now after all that!

Ally - I agree! We all deserve more rest than we get!

 

[kksy9b]

Thanks Lit! It keeps trading and just won't full on start. Hoping once it does start it goes quick. DS was a 16 hour labor, 40 min of pushing...I wouldn't be mad if this was shorter

 

[vrogers]

Sunshine- wow that sounds scary! I hope they are able to figure out where the bleeding is from, and either way that everything goes well!

Ali- glad you are feeling good physically and recovering well as well as not dealing with PP depression! I'm sorry about your great grandma, that's gotta be especially rough with a new baby. I'm sure it's nice to be with everyone but I'm sure you're also ready to bond as a new family of 4.

Ana- I hope baby comes while your mom is able to be there! Also hope you are able to get some sleep soon, I have been sleeping awfully as well!

Kksy- it's good they are careful to keep an eye on you and baby, I hope it all goes well!

 

[Angel5000]

After yesterday's sweep I had a lot of bleeding at first (even some looking like "clots" which scared me at first but then it tapered down to almost nothing by evening which doctor said was fine). Now just having a little brownish spotting today which again doctor said to expect. I think I'm losing or lost my mucus plug this morning because (TMI!) when I went to the bathroom and wiped was a large glob of stretchy mucousy stuff. It was definitely blood tinged and I can't be sure if it was actually "bloody show" or just part of the plug and the blood part is still a side effect of the sweep (since doctor said that could take a couple days to finish spotting).

Related to work: I just got off the phone with HR and am a little annoyed. Since doctor had me go out a week early, I was planning to just input that as sick leave and keep my FMLA dates the same, but HR said I can't do that. Since it was doctor ordered they shifted my FMLA leave dates. The reason this sucks is that now my return date for mat leave is a week earlier - and that annoys me because it's one less week with baby. It's actually 2 weeks less, honestly, because the week I was supposed to return is spring break, and because that's a part of my normal allowed vacation time that wouldn't count against me and I'd be back to being a paid employee but would return the week after.

On the other hand....it means I will go back to work for a week and then we have spring break the very next week so I will have a week of adjustment, then a week off to recooperate (I'll need it!) and figure out what changes I need to make before going back full time hard core. So maybe it is better this way. Either way I've been on the phone with HR most of the day and I'm exhausted from it all.

Oh, and they told me that my monthly insurance premium that I will owe has to be paid every month so I have to come up with an extra $300 a month to pay back to my job each month to keep insurance. I expected that but it's a real slap in the face when you don't get paid maternity leave to be told you then have to pay your job to keep the insurance that I have to have or I can't go ot the doctor.


Literati - I would terminate my insurance except that isn't even a logical option in the US, I'll need the coverage for me and baby. I could have moved DH off my insurance to lower the premium because his job sort of offers insurance but it's so horrible that we are better off to pay a slightly higher premium than to have him do his own for "free". Since we can only make changes once a year, I don't want to go through that. At least I'm only paying out about $300 a month in my premiums - the job picks up the rest of the premium which accounts for almost $900 a month. So if I look at it that way it's not too bad....

Good luck with being back at work!



Slammer - OMG $1,000+?? I mean, my premiums are over $1,000 but the one benefit I do get is that my job pays almost $900 of my premium and as long as I am not out more than the 12 weeks then FMLA forces them to keep paying that. I'm glad you were able to save up enough to take care of that, but I agree it's ridiculous how awful our medical care is here (and, for that matter, how awful oru maternity leave options are!).


WantAbelly - CONGRATS!! What a beautiful name!!

Greats - Thank you for sharing. THat has made all the difference. I honestly didn't start taking zoloft (sertraline) until October 2015, when I realized I couldn't handle being without my "herbs" and I told DH then that I would probably never stop because it made SO MUCH DIFFERENCE. Then I stopped it when I got pregnant because I handle summer okay. I probably should have started again this winter but was doing okay and.... I felt like I should be able to "push through". Mental health is so stigmatized, you know? I'm so glad you shared that you've been on it the whole time, it makes me feel so much better about starting on it again


Momtastic - accidental home birth?! Can't wait to hear the story! CONGRATS! So exciting!


Sunshine - OMG I would have been so panicked! I'm so glad that the doctor isn't very concerned, but what a scary time! FX That you go into labor soon!


Ali - Thanks for hte update! Sounds like things are going well! I'm so glad that you're feeling well! Take care of yourself, don't push too hard! Sounds like you're going to be busy for awhile.

WDWJess - trust your instincts. If you don't want a sweep don't get it. I really only did it because I wanted to know what the state of my cervix was. and, my doctor is very anti any kind of induction unless medically necessary, and yet this is one thing she offered so I guess she doesn't see it as induction? I don't know. But I was really curious about my cervical "situation" so I went for it. I'm glad I did but I don't think it's necessarily going to induce labor. I haven't had labor yet. But am having a few more contractions today.


kksy - hope that everything turns out well at the appointment!