May Marvels 2018

[Reiko_ctu]

Wicky any update hun?? Hope you are all doing ok!

I’ll take all your Labour vibes now that I’m 37 weeks ladies... so done XD

 

[BrokenfoREVer]

Thinking of you Wicky. Hope it is either going well or has already gone well and you are snuggling that babe by now.

 

[ricschick]

Happy 36 weeks broken!
Happy 37 weeks girls!!! Hopefully not too long now!!

Wicky hope your ok!!!!

 

[ChibiLena]

CHib glad your sugars were normal! I was reading on amniotic fluid when I had mine measured a little while ago and apparently there can be no reason at all. How high is it? Are they thinking you’ll need a c section because of it?

No, nothing quite as severe as that. Last week amniotic fluid was standing at 15cm (as it had been for weeks), then it was suddenly at 22cm on Friday, so the doctor was a tad concerned and sent me for a blood test. From what I googled up to 25cm or up to 8cm in any of the four "pockets" they use to measure it is still considered normal, so I dunno if I should be concerned or not. At the same time the doctor on call that I saw this time didn't strike me as particularly skilled with the ultrasound machine for various reasons "ahem". We will see what next week's appointment brings.

 

[ReadynWaiting]

Wicky hoping for an exciting update!

Reiko I’m sending you all the ‘baby come out’ vibes I can muster. It’s so crazy that we are at the end.

My pain and discomfort is increasing with each day. This pain down my right side is causing me to hobble like mad and in turn is hurting my lower back. I know it’s just a matter of time and she will be here and the pain will go but my lord it’s sucking right now. 6 more days and I’ll be full throttle doing what I can to start this train in motion....eeek!!

 

[Agcam]

Thank you, ladies. I think DH and I have simply agreed to disagree, though I reserve the right to have a conniption if I hear any comments

Wicky - I hope all is well, and you have your LO with you by now

Reiko - Labour vibes coming your way!

Chib - Good luck with your next appointment. When is it?

RnW - I'm sorry about the pain. For me, it's down the left. I'm going back to the osteo this week.

All these size measurements are driving me bonkers. At my 28 and 32 week checkups, they told me I was measuring large. At 34 weeks less so, and today (at 35+6), I'm measuring small. The MW said that if I were officially 36 weeks, she would have sent me for a scan. I told her I had one last week, and they told me everything seemed to be fine. I guess they'll measure me again at 38 weeks and see how it's going. You certainly can't tell by the size of my belly that I'm "small".

 

[ricschick]

Agcam my mw told me as long as your measuring 2cm either side that’s normal. I was measuring 35cm at my 32 week appointment and still measuring 35cm at my 34 week appointment but was told that was fine. 🤔

 

[Reiko_ctu]

AGcam the size measurements are aggravating. At 33 weeks I was measuring 35 and now at 37 I’m measuring 36. I feel like growth spurts affect it and I’ve never measured a 40 with my previous pregnancies... my body is too small for that. My mw today was fine with the 36, I’m guessing next week I won’t be measuring any bigger but hopefully I won’t make it that far XD

 

[KittenLifter]

Holy kittens it's been much longer than I thought since I last checked in!

Reiko, thanks for the encouragement about baby positioning! My "women's group" last week (part of our childbirth classes) ended up just being me and the midwife I hadn't met properly yet, but it was awesome, and she said "hey, I'm happy to check positioning if you like!" and we confirmed that this kiddo was still head-down. (Our midwives are mostly fairly experienced & pretty quick with palpating for position, but the most experienced one doesn't do many appointments because she has a day job at one of the hospitals in town. But she's been a midwife for almost 50 [!] years.)

Plus I've been having acupuncture adventures to keep them head-down, including my first moxibustion. So weird how much I will happily go along with at this point. Sure, put some herbs on my toes and light them on fire! Sounds great!

So glad your blood sugars have stayed good, and sorry you've had all that bonus stress this time! But I had to laugh a bit about your super-motivated DH; our midwives said it's super common for partners to funnel their nesting energy into house projects & I keep seeing how true that is for a lot of people (same thing at our house!).

chel, what a mess maternity leave is, huh? My friend got 8 weeks off (unpaid), and her company made a BIG deal about how generous they were being, covering her benefits while she was out. Sorry you have to deal with so much crummy bureaucracy. Crossing my fingers the timing works out just right with his arrival/your leave timing! And happy belated birthday!

I'm actually getting paid for my whole 90 days out, which is SO generous from a US perspective (and so absurdly small compared to the rest of the world). Working in tech is bizarre. And yet I have friends at other tech companies who've gone "oh, that's all?"

Agcam, we're supposed to have "clear protein drinks" on hand for our homebirth, because they'd still let me have them if we had to do a hospital transfer, and you gotta have fuel for all that work (although we're vegan and every clear protein drink I've found is whey-based, but hey, they work for most people). Anything you can get down easily that packs a big nutritional punch is great! And there are tons of options if you want to try some of those beverages.

re: perineal massage, I've alternately heard that it's a godsend and prevents tearing, and also that it does nothing to prevent tearing. Who knows. Seems like it can't hurt? (Still haven't done any!)

and re: positioning, I've been told to sit forward (no slouching! no leaning back!), do cat/cow stretches, lean forward from the hips on high tables/counters. Basically anything to get the front of your belly down/forward, because baby backs are heavier, so will tend to get pulled down by gravity. (I'm sure Spinning Babies has some more thoughts/recommendations on this, but their disorganization is so overwhelming to me that I can only take so much of their website.)

ricschick, hugs to you. That's so tough having your dad so much further away, especially at such a time of transition.

Wicky, sending you and that little baby lots of good thoughts! Hope you're both doing well.

Agcam/Chibi, having the weird overpathologized ultrasound a few weeks ago + talking to a bunch of friends/professionals helped me learn about how third trimester measurements are notoriously difficult/inaccurate/imprecise (especially of baby's body parts; I'm sure it's true for other things as well). I basically will put on my best unimpressed face if anyone tries to scaremonger me about measurements being "off" within the standard margins of error again. Maybe I'm erring on the wrong side here, but I get mad when people get determined to stress out pregnant mamas! I've been feeling extra protective of myself & other pregnant folks lately, harumph.

 

[KittenLifter]

omg that was long.

Anyway it is SUPER WEIRD to me that in two days I'll be 37 weeks, and then we're "in dates" for homebirth! Like, if I went into labor tomorrow, we'd go to the hospital. But if I went into labor in TWO days...we'd just page the midwives. Who did their home visit with us last week. PROBABLY we have a few more weeks, but I can't believe it's all so close now.

Got my first unsolicited "you must be due any day now, huh" from a random dad at the coffeeshop. He's been temporarily excused because he talked about how his kid is super great, and being a parent is awesome (and challenging), but still.

Also finally got my first new bras since September. Uh, these breasts are apparently nowhere near a B/C cup anymore. So be it! Eventually it'll all change again, anyway.

 

[cheluzal]

I feel y'all on the pain...I am barely moving these days. I hobble and my back kills to where I can't even take a breath without wincing in pain. This sucks!

 

[ricschick]

Kitten not long now!!!! Are you having a pool or anything at home?
Can’t believe some of you will have your babies soon!!! 😱😱

I’m in so much discomfort now lol walking is hard I can’t walk very far without the feeling of something stabbing me in my groin! My back is sore my belly hurts! Il be glad once this last few weeks pass!! 1st day back at school yesterday and it killed me lol thank god my mil is picking them up today! I’ve been awake since 4.30am because the cat woke me up then I couldn’t get back to sleep so I don’t see me doing a lot today. 😴

 

[BrokenfoREVer]

I'm with everyone with the pain and discomfort. I can barely stand to wash up or make a sandwich anymore.

A saw a few of you talking about cement belly and I am without you all there!! I've not had any braxton hicks (that I've noticed) but every so often my whole stomach will just go rock hard for like 10 ish mins. It's not painful, but it's uncomfortable.

And obvs, my groin hurts, my hips hurt, my legs hurt. I am 100% ready for this baby to getttttt outtttttt now.

Ricschick I was so lucky to have DH take DS to school and a friend give me a lift to pick him up yesterday. She's a life saver. It's so far to walk it just makes me want to cry.

 

[Reiko_ctu]

Weirdly enough my BH have totally calmed down. I was having them tons during the day and night and then yesterday I noticed they weren’t really happening and I only had about 3 during the night last night.

Baby is super active which is driving me nuts, it’s like she’s trying to get out through my belly instead of the exit XD

And I’m having some super bad insomnia. Laid in bed for hours before I fell asleep last night!!

1 week till my membrane sweep!!

 

[BrokenfoREVer]

I've been for a growth scan today and to see my consultant. Scan went well. Got to see bubba playing with his feet and he has what looks like lovely chubby cheeks.

When they gave me the scan report, his abdominal circumference was off the 95% percentile.

Went into see the consultant, he said reason baby's abdomen is so big is because his liver is really big. It's a sign he's getting too much sugar from me. So they think I might have developed GD since I had my test.

So I'm going for another GTT tomorrow morning. If that comes back positive they're going to induce me in the next few days. Basically get him out asap. If it's negative I'll go back to see consultant again at 38 weeks, he might send me for another scan then, he's probably going to check my cervix and go from there, might offer me a sweep there and then.
If nothing is done at 38 weeks they're going to induce me around my due date. They won't let me go over at all and tbh, I think they just want him out now.

I've spent most of the day low key panicking because it was such a shock and worrying something is wrong with bubba. Consultant reassured us there is nothing wrong with baby, nothing wrong with his organs or anything. He's just big and they don't want him getting so big I can't deliver him.

I have a bunch of questions for my midwife on Thursday, but I think all my birth plans have gone out of the window. I wanted a water birth and from what I understand you can't have that if you've been induced. So I am sad about that. I don't have a birth plan really, I'm not fussy, but I did really want to try a water birth and have him as naturally as possible.

Anyway, giant update. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all tbh. And now I have to fast again and get stabbed again and be stuck in the hospital again for hours. Sigh.

 

[Agcam]

Ricschick - Yes, they said that the threshold is +/- 3cms. I bet there is person-to-person variability in measurements too.

Reiko - Still sending labour vibes your way! TBH, I don't remember how big I measured with my previous pregnancy. All I know is that I'm much bigger this time around. Everybody assumes that I'm due now, and the expressions I see when I say I have a month to go are pretty comical. It's like they know they've put their foot in.

Kitten - Thanks, I'll look for "clear protein drinks". I hear you on the growth measurements.
I've purchased a gym ball, so will start using that for positioning. I've also had a look at the spinning babies website.
I haven't started any perineal massage either - can't reach down that far
Hope the home birth goes well

Broken - You must be so stressed
I'm glad that they picked up on it, and that all is well with baby. Sounds like you might have him pretty soon. Sending good thoughts your way...pls keep us in the loop. We're all rooting for you and bubs.

 

[mrsstrezy]

Reiko-here's to hoping you get that baby out soon!

Broken-so sorry this was sprung on you so suddenly! it's a relief that nothing is wrong with the baby, but to find out you could possibly be induced in the next few days is crazy! I'm even having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I'll be full term in two weeks and could potentially have a baby then! Sorry about the GTT test too, that's seriously the worst.

I have my days where I hardly feel uncomfortable, and then others where it hurts to get up. I had to make an emergency appointment to the dentist yesterday because I now have a tooth infection. I was up half the night on Sunday because of the pain and my face is swollen. It's in a tooth that I've had problems with before due to a root canal not being done properly. They encouraged me to get the root canal re-done NOW,which would cost $1300 and MAY not even work, or to get the tooth removed and then get either a bridge or dental implant ($3000-5000). I was like ummm, can I just get antibiotics for the infection?? I really would rather not take medication while pregnant, but we literally do not have the funds for expensive dental work right now. With recently buying a house, the two trips we've taken since January, getting stuff for the baby, and remodeling a bathroom, we are absolutely tapped for cash. Plus we'll have medical bills from the birth coming in soon. They agreed to give me some antibiotics and now I'm feeling guilty for taking them, but I felt it was the best decision at the time. Ugh.

 

[ReadynWaiting]

Broken sorry you are feeling stressed and worried. Hopefully it’s nothing to worry about. Why can’t you have a water birth if you have been induced?

Mrs-I probably would have done the same thing...try not to feel guilty.

Reiko- I feel like you are speaking my thoughts. Cramping and BH have lessened like crazy but it feels like baby is trying to find any way out. She’s stretching and kicking and her head is so damn low it feels like she may fall out. The pressure on my bladder and low back is so annoying. I’m feeling quite miserable today but I really haven’t slept much since last week.
Last night I slept on the couch in a seated position as my reflux was so bad. I’m tired of complaining but I’m also tired of feeling miserable. Dh said he wished he could help relieve the discomfort and I told him I wished he could take over this last bit of pregnancy lol.

 

[KittenLifter]

ricschick, not sure if we'll use the birth tub, but we've got one on loan from the midwives (plus a liner that I guess someone else didn't use after all?)! I feel like people I've talked to either DESPERATELY craved water in labor, or didn't end up caring at all (or, in one case, didn't have time to fill it!). I'm thinking I'll go with the flow, if you'll pardon the pun

Reiko I'm with you on the "trying to get out through my belly" thing! Lots of bit stretching sweeps across my belly lately. I just keep hoping this kid doesn't punch a hole through my belly button.

Broken, sending you lots of . That's a whole lot of sudden unexpected change to handle! Plus a GTT is bad enough anytime, but oy, now? I'm glad at least the consultant seems unconcerned with baby's health. Hoping this next bit works out as calmly as possible. Either you'll meet him sooner or you'll get a little more time!

mrsstrezy, what a bummer about the tooth! Dental infections are no joke, though, and that sounds like a totally appropriate time for antibiotics.

 

[ChibiLena]

37 weeks, term finally! And eight days left at work! I can barely walk now or if I do the pressure becomes amazing.

Broken - Sorry that you may have to be induced but why would that mean no water birth? Sending lots of good vibes your way!

Mrs - That sucks with the dental work and bills! Hope you feel better soon and can have treatment soon. I am sure the antibiotics will be fine for bubs.