June Angel Baby Mommas Hoping for Rainbows!!

[Middysquidge]

Hey, it wasn't my labour thankfully! I'm so relieved and also glad I got a full nights good sleep, feel loads better!

Vegas, it is weird how similar thus pregnancy is to charlottes isn't it? Did they say there are risks with c section and anterior placenta I'm sure I read about a bleeding risk somewhere and how did you find c section recovery? What do you plan to do this thine recovery wise with Charlotte around? Sorry for loads of questions just never thought I'd maybe have a c one day!

Stef, absolutely amazing deal on that furniture you're so savvy! You'll have to post a picky when it's all set up! Also sorry you're off colour. When do you finish work? X

 

[vegasbaby]

Middy: I never knew there was any more risk with an anterior placenta and c-sections. My surgery went quite well last time. I was on feel good drugs (ask for them) during the surgery so things are a bit fuzzy, but from what I recall Charlotte was out within 5-10 minutes of them starting the surgery and 30 minutes later I was sewn up and in recovery. With the section you stay in bed for about 24 hours before they get you to walk. I had an IV with pain meds, but there was still a bit of painful cramping within the first two days (and a lot of bloating/gas pain from air being let in during surgery). Getting out of bed for the first two days was super painful, but I was in the hospital during this time and had help with the baby. The incision was painful until they took the staples out and put surgical tape on instead ( the staples would snag which was the main cause of the pain).

This time I plan on Charlotte being in daycare from 8-5 during the week, so that will give me time to bond with baby and recover from surgery. I also plan on showing her my incision so she knows to be careful as it hurts. I will get a week of recovery time before she goes on Christmas break. I plan on trying to walk as much as possible in the hospital before returning home as I feel this really aids in recovery. I'm also bringing my own gas medicine and stool softener as the surgery and pain meds slow down the digestion process. Last time I really had a problem going after so I'm going to try to head that off this time. I'm sure that's tmi, but the more you know the better you can prepare. I'm just hoping she'll turn and you can get a traditional birth, especially since you've done it before.

 

[angel2010]

Vegas, I do feel like it was a fast labor. Jeff and I kept talking about how time was flying! My nipples are okay now, and it only hurts for a second or two when she first gets on and the milk comes. I am finding it hard to get her full though at night. She seemingly falls asleep on the boob, even spits it out like she is done, but then won't settle. I know I can just pop her back on once she is fussy again, but the whole process seems to take forever and at night I am finding myself getting frustrated with her. Last night she was up from 2:30am to 5:30am. I am wondering if it was the spicy dinner I ate. I am not sure how long that hangs out though.
As for the tearing, I forgot to put that in the story. I did get a first degree laceration on my inner labia. I got some stitches. I haven't looked down there yet, and from what I felt when washing, things feel quite a bit different down there. My doctor said he made things "prettier" down there. His wording pisses me off first of all, second- I liked my vagina just fine the way it was. So I am wondering if he did in fact fix things to "his liking" or if things were worse than he made them out to be so he had to do more down there??? Either way, I am scared to look down there.
I really wish I had heard of those soothing pads while I was so sore!!! Like you, I was starting to resent her for hurting me so much. I think in actuality though, if formula weren't so expensive, I would have already went ahead and switched. I really wanted to bf, but now that I am doing it, I don't really enjoy it and I think she would be a more content baby on formula. I am going to try to carry on and hope that the snags work themselves out over time. I am going to go ahead and have 2oz ready for her two night feeds to make things easier for us.
I like the idea of incentives for Carter, but he doesn't do very well with delayed gratification. He has been better these last few days. I am going to start asking him to help more with her, like getting her diapers, wipes and binky for more.
I like your term postpartum bender. I had a beer several nights these past two weeks and out to dinner last night, I had a very nice sangria.
Hope you had fun with your mom and trick or treating went well.

Melissa, Carter was born with his blonde hair and blue eyes and it seemed very natural because he looked just like me. Emma's eyes are strange right now, sometimes they seem brown and sometimes blue. I would love for her to have dark hair and blue eyes. I think she would be gorgeous! Well of course I already think that, but you know!
I do pump a couple of times a day, what kind of bra are you using? I have been thinking of getting the kind that looks like a mini tube top with two holes.
I am so happy to read Xzaviers updates, especially today. How wonderful that you got to hold him, and for so long!!! He is doing so great! I am so proud of him and you guys too! How is ds1 taking all of this. I am sure he is a great big brother!

Middy, I sure know about it taking so long to write a reply! And luckily my nipples are better now. I was using lanolin several times a day when they were raw.
I am sorry baby is breech now. I know your options both seem scary. I am also sorry about your labor scare! I hope you got to relax yesterday.
My c-section wasn't awful (it was just a traumatic experience due to how things played out). I only have two bits of advice, cover your belly tightly with a pillow when coughing or laughing very hard and take some stool softener! With a scheduled section, you can try to ask for skin to skin in the or and try to make it as peaceful as possible. Oh, and I had an anterior placenta with my section and they never quoted any risks, but it was an emergency c-section. I never had any trouble though.

Stef, what a great deal on the furniture!!! We don't have any for her and likely won't until March. It looks like we will go ahead and stay in the apartment for a full year. The thought of trying to find a house now and moving just days after Christmas, just seems to stressful. It will also allow us to be in a better position financially as we will have gotten our tax money and gotten a few things paid off.
I hope you start feeling better. No one wants to go through labor and have a newborn when they themselves are sick!

No other updates from me right now. Trying to take it day by day until we get into some kind of routine.

 

[Meli_H]

Hi everyone,

Jasmine, so glad to hear that it wasn't labor!!

Stef, good job on the furniture!

AFM,

been totally on a high the last few days that we have held Xzavier. ...

Vegas and angel,

Here is a pic of the pumping bra I use. Totally worth the money spent.
Also a pic of the Medela breast shields. Love them! Also bought them from the hospita lactation center. These are so much better than the standard un angled breast shields. Let me know if u guys can't find these and I I can buy here and ship to u.

Will check in again later, almost done pumping and plan to pop into bed to squeeze in another hour or so of sleep! Miss u guys! Xoxo

 

[Meli_H]

Here is the breast shields

 

[vegasbaby]

Meli: I'll have to look into both of those products. I'm going to wait to buy most of my pumping supplies until I know want to continue bf'ing. I am going to stock up on anything that soothes sore nipples before baby arrives because last time was so painful.

I was elated to see photos of you and your dh holding Xzavier. You have waited so long for that moment. I was also delighted to see that he was able to have some real milk yesterday, I'm praying he keeps up the good work and is able to start packing on the pounds (can I donate some of mine weight to him?).

Angel: you sound a lot like I did with Charlotte. Formula is so expensive, but I noticed Charlotte did better tummy wise on the Target store brand than she did Similac. Also, ask both your doctor and pediatrician if they have any samples every time you go to the doctor. This is a good way to load up. I felt no shame in combo feeding. I'd nurse during the day and give formula or an expressed bottle at night. Even if I didn't nurse at night I'd usually pump because my boobs needed the relief. Of course I could pump myself dry in 30 minutes (I only had a single manual pump) whereas Charlotte took over an hour to feed. I just couldn't keep my supply up when she started sleeping through at six weeks (I needed my sleep more than she needed my milk as far as I was concerned).

With regards to Carter, have you tried giving him a little gift from the baby? I hear that pleases them to no end. I'm planning on giving Charlotte "The Little Mermaid" from the baby and this will also serve to give me an hour or so of uninterrupted time with the baby while she watches. Also, she can watch with the baby for a little bonding time. Of course, none of this may work and I'll have a jealous and clingy little girl in addition to a high maintenance infant. All we can do is try, right?

Afm: heading off to my 34 week appointment in a minute. Somehow I gained six pounds over the weekend! I'm hoping it's mainly water weight as I've been quite swollen since Saturday. I'm so ready for baby to be here. I worry all the time that something bad will happen and now I feel crappy too. Hurry up December 12th!

 

[StefNJunk]

Vegas, I'm sure the 6 pounds is mostly water weight, unless you ate a buffet this weekend I'm wondering how much of mine is water weight because I'm swollen ALL the time. My legs are like pieces of artwork with all the crazy temporary indentations they get from everything - my pants seam, leaning on things...

Jasmine, glad it wasn't your labor, and yayyyy for her being head down now! I will definitely post a pic once everything is done in there, but it might not be until after she's born, I'm not in a rush to get the decorating, etc. done completely; working on it, but working on the more important stuff first. My last day is next Friday (the 15th). I'd like some time off before she arrives, but I also want enough time with her before my parents come out (the 28th), so I'm torn on if I'm hoping she comes early or not!

Angel, glad your nipples are doing a little better now. I hope you are able to stick with it! How rude of your doctor! I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it, but it definitely comes off wrong. As for the furniture, we really only needed the dresser (we literally have NO dressers, we use drawers built into our bed and our closet for our clothes), but with such a good deal, we couldn't pass it up.

Meli, I'm solo happy Xzavier is doing better! What a little ham, too. So cute and sweet! I'm happy you both got to hold him

AFM, I'm not coming down with anything... it hasn't gotten any worse. I've realized the weird head feeling comes with BH. The pressure in my head starts up pretty bad and then I have a BH. Those are also getting stronger and more frequent (occasionally mildly painful), so who knows!

We got the pack n play set up in the bedroom, so we're working on trying to convince the cats they want nothing to do with it. One doesn't, he hasn't made any attempt to get in it and only showed mild interest when the other one had jumped in and was trying to play with him, so it was really only interest in the other cat and not the pack n play. The other cat seems to think it's a great place to get comfy and stretch out, so we're working on that.

Also got my bag for the birthing center packed, just have to add a couple of things that just got washed last night. Car seat still needs to be installed, but otherwise, we're pretty good on everything else. Still want to get a massive cleaning done, but I'm not stressing about that too much because it doesn't seem to matter how much of a massive clean I do, between Hurricanes Blake, Capone and Sonny (the cats), it becomes a mess again. So I'm just continuing with the regular cleaning I'd do anyway and fitting in anything bigger when I can. I'm deciding that everyone who comes to visit will just have to deal with any mess and really won't care anyway.

And totally off topic but because my phone has been blowing up for the past 20 minutes from a group message... there really should be an unsubscribe from group texts option on phones. It's driving me nuts. Luckily no one at my work cares!

 

[angel2010]

Vegas, like Stef said, I am sure it is water weight and I wouldn't worry. That is a great tip about asking for samples! That is actually what we have been using, samples I signed up for online. I ended up with 6 sample cans! As for the gift, we did do that, he got his gift when he first visited the hospital. I am sure he just needs time, but currently he tells her "shut that baby mouth up!" Not very nice, but we had to chuckle the first time he said it.

Stef, glad you are feeling ready and that everything that must get done is done. As for the group texts, I just wish people would figure out how to only reply to the sender!

Jasmine, so glad they got her turned for you. Hope it wasn't to bad.

AFM, today has been nice. I took Carter to a play date so he could see his friends while Jeff stayed with Emma. He had a great time. I am also thinking of taking Emma out alone for the first time and going to Target while Carter is having rest time. FX it goes well.

 

[vegasbaby]

Before I reply to everyone else I thought I'd share a photo. Here I am at 34+2. I am truly as big as a house. Not sure how I am supposed to expand any more!

 

[vegasbaby]

Angel: I forgot to say that I thought your doctor's comments were super rude. Why even make the comment? Men! Glad to hear things are getting a bit better and that Carter is getting to go play with a friend. Let us know how your outing to the store with Emma goes.

Middy: Hooray on successfully getting baby to turn. Let's hope she stays that way. Was the version painful?

Stef: You sound pretty ready to me. I love how nice my house looks right after I've cleaned it, but I also realize all that effort is for naught as it takes mere hours before it is a disaster zone again (and I blame Ben more than Charlotte for this).

AFM: nothing new to report. Doctor's appointment went fine. The swelling hasn't been too bad the last two days, but I prefer flip flops to actual shoes. Luckily it is still warm here.

 

[angel2010]

Glad your appointment went well. You may be big, but you still look cute!!!

 

[StefNJunk]

Angel, glad Carter's play date went well! How has he been behaving lately? Good luck on the outing with Emma!

Vegas, you look adorable! Loving the bump. I feel like after I clean, it's mere hours before it's a mess again. Maybe I'm just oversensitive to mess. Or Blake really IS that much of a pig, haha.

AFM, had my latest appt yesterday. Everything looks great. Still head down, very low, which explains why it's felt like someone kicked me in the vag for the last week. Negative for group B strep. Nothing else new, really. Isn't heartburn supposed to reduce when they drop? :-/

 

[vegasbaby]

Stef: my heartburn didn't go away until she was born. Of course since I had her at 37 weeks maybe she never dropped. Good to hear baby has stayed in the right position. Are they doing cervix checks yet?

Afm: speaking of heartburn, I'm now taking Pepcid every night. This pregnancy was so easy up until about two weeks ago and now I'm falling apart! The good news is that since I'm having a c-section the doctor said we won't be doing cervical checks (I asked as I really don't want them). I do have to have the strep swab next appointment.

 

[StefNJunk]

Vegas, I've been taking 2 Pepcid every day, one in the morning to make it through the day, one at night so I don't wake up choking on acid

And nope, no cervix checks. They don't do them, even in labor, unless necessary to reduce risk of infection. I'm curious, but I'm totally fine with it because I don't really want them either.

Sorry you're feeling crappy! You're getting so close though!

 

[StefNJunk]

38 weeks!
https://i.imgur.com/p7iGGLE.jpg

So I want some thoughts on this situation. Blake said his mom is going to expect to hold Sienna within minutes of her being born. My plan was skin to skin for as long as possible, be that with me and breastfeeding or with Blake. He seemed offended by this somehow, like I was denying his mom her right to hold her grandchild. He said it's a "tradition," she held her first two granddaughters minutes after they were born and he held them within 30-45 minutes.

To be 100% honest, I'd rather it just be me, him and the baby for AT LEAST an hour after she is born, not even with anyone else in the room. That's almost guaranteed NOT to happen because I know his family will all be there waiting before she is born. I think the most I can get away with is saying until she's been able to breastfeed successfully, which MAY lead to an hour, but even then, it's going to offend someone, I'm sure. Not sure what to do here.

His mom is pretty stuck in her ways (just like him!), so if she doesn't see the point in something, she'll say it and make it very clear. She asked if I'd been checked for dilation and when he told her they don't do that at the birthing center to reduce risk of introducing infection, she said that's the stupidest thing she's ever heard. He told her a certain level of dilation doesn't necessarily mean labor is starting or about to start and she insisted that it does. I love her to death and she does know A LOT after having 6 kids, but the woman thinks she knows EVERYTHING about pregnancy and babies.

Anyway, that was just a rant to point out how insistent she is.

I MIGHT get away with telling his family she needs to be held by me until she feeds successfully, then spend some time with Blake, then they can hold her, but I highly doubt I'll be able to keep them out of the room for that time without offending them...

OH! I have good news! I didn't mention it on here or to anyone beforehand because I didn't want to end up jinxing it or something. I've been in contact with a local company that was looking for someone to work from home on their web stuff. I had a phone interview with the president about 2 weeks ago, then it took another week for him to get back to me, which got me nervous. I'm almost over qualified for what the position entails currently, but I have ALL of the skills that it may require once it grows (according to the president). I was just worried he'd think he could find someone less qualified and pay them less. Anyway, we set up an in person interview that I went to yesterday. I was nervous the bump would scare him off, but he gave me the job! It's only half time, which is good for being able to handle the work plus the baby, and it pays more than I'm being paid now (quite a bit more), so with 10 less hours per week I'll be making more. The pay has a VERY good chance of increasing, as well. Add in however much work this job I have now has me doing from home (he STILL hasn't gone over this with me) and we'll be ok for now. Only downside is this new job is 1099, which is going to suck for figuring out taxes, but I'll figure it out somehow.

How is everyone doing today?

 

[vegasbaby]

Stef: your bump looks perfect! Blake's mom sounds like a handful. If it were me I would NOT tell anyone you are even in labor. That way you can call them after she is here and it will take a good while before they make it to you. You can give Blake some lame excuse like you are afraid you may need a hospital transfer and this way everyone will only have to go to one place. Does the birthing center have any restrictions you can enforce? I wouldn't want anyone else to see me or the baby for at least three hours. You need time to bond with baby before handing her off. You and Blake need your alone time with baby too. I think she's being selfish asking to be able to hold the baby so soon. I'd put my foot down now or she'll continue to make requests that you aren't comfortable with (like Thanksgiving dinner).

In other news, congrats on the job! Sounds perfect for you.

 

[angel2010]

I agree 100% with everything Vegas said!!! Put your foot down now! She will continue to act this way, maybe how much you hold her, weaning, breastfeeding, who knows. If you aren't willing to do what Vegas said about not telling them you are in labor. I would go ahead and tell them about the hour now so they aren't shocked and stand your ground. She is your baby, you don't get to redo your birth experience with her, you won't get that time back!!!

 

[angel2010]

Oh yeah, and congrats on the job! It sounds great! How soon would you start after she is born?

 

[StefNJunk]

Vegas, I would wait to them them I'm in labor, but I know Blake will call and tell them. I was thinking we could wait until either I started pushing, or right after she was born (they all live about an hour and a half away), but I know that won't work. The birthing center has no restrictions on visitors, it's all up to the patients who they want there, how many people, when etc.

Angel, that's a good point about not getting that time back!

So I sent an email to my midwives asking their suggestions on the issue (and mentioned not getting that initial time back!), and one responded back with this -

Stefanie,
I am glad you brought this up so we can have a plan now! We have several strategies to use. One of the most simple is to leave the baby attached to the placenta/cord for a while. It is likely that your placenta will take 15-30 minutes to deliver and we are insistent that the cord not be cut until the baby is done with it. I have no problem using my role as your healthcare provider to say "sorry, the baby needs to stay attached" and busying ourselves around you and baby. Lisa and I don't have to see these people ever again, we are glad to be the bad guys for you. So I am assuming she is going to be at the birth center while you give birth? We will play it by ear as far as whether they know exactly the moment she is born, and whatever else we need to do. Our knowing your preference is the first step. Trust me, Lisa and I can make it look like it is all us, not you requesting the time.

Jessica

That made me feel a lot better! I just hope Blake doesn't put up a fight as far as going against what I want. If he does, I know it's because he's close with his family and wants them to experience everything right away (goes right along with his not being able to keep secrets because he gets too excited!), but I hope he can hold out a little bit.

We only stay at the center 4-6 hours after birth before heading home (which is great! I'd rather be at home), so we can't delay too too long, I don't want the entire family following us home, lol. If I can get my hour or so, I'll be happy, then they can all head home and we can head home and bond more there.

Thanks for the congrats on the job! Took me long enough to find one, huh? I'm always so last minute I'm waiting on him to send me info on the exact tasks that need to be done to start out, then I'll be deciding when exactly I start. If it's things I can take care of before leaving this position, I'll start up next week. If not, the week after, so before her due date. He knows when she is due, though, and understands if I need some time after.

 

[vegasbaby]

Stef: I'm glad the birthing center will help you out. You need to get Blake on your side too. While I know he loves his family, you and Sienna are his family now too. He has to start supporting your decisions as opposed to just feeling like his mom might feel a bit hurt. I guarantee she'll get over it faster than you will. You aren't trying to keep the baby from anyone, but you also don't feel comfortable having his mom crash in on your first moments with your child. Being with your child for the first hour of her life is essentially part of your birth plan and I don't see any reason why you should compromise.