November 2013 Babies!

[The Alchemist]

Bernie - oh good thing you mentioned the red raspberry leaf tea. I found out about it after I had given birthto dd. Going to get some today. Heard good stuff about it.

 

[wantb502]

Bernie: your story is wonderful And encouraging. I get laughed at all the time when people ask if I'm getting an epidural. I get the whole "you're crazy." I've just thought about it and like other said. No drugs is what I think would be best for me. I'm less scred of the pain then I am of getting an epidural! I have an open mind and will keep that option open so if I change my mind I won't be mad at myself. Also, you never know if a c set ion is necessary. Nothing in life goes as planned, but it's nice to have an idea of what you'd prefer.

Whit: I'm sorry your family is so discouraging. I think you'll get plenty of support from us here no matter which way you choose!

Alchimest and Bernie: where do you get the tea?!? I've read about that as well and everyone swears by it.

 

[berniegroves]

Want - I bought my tea from a health food store here in the UK. It needs to be raspberry leaf tea (not just raspberry flavour tea) I'm sure you could get it online.
I'm glad you found my story encouraging. I think like you say just have a plan of what you want and then be open minded. 98% of my labour was as I wanted it, I obviously didn't want forceps but they were necessary and I recovered quickly so it was all good.
People would say to me that I wouldn't have a tooth removed without painkiller, and they are right I wouldn't. But childbirth isn't a process that is being done to you (like an operation) and contractions aren't a result if illness or injury. It's a positive pain, like if your training for a marathon you're going to feel pain because your body is working hard! Looking at it that way really helped me. And it helped me ignore all the negative people around me too (most of whom had never had kids!!! Lol)

 

[therealdalia]

Hi Guys,

I've totally missed you guys and been super with my new job. That's the GOOD NEWS!

Now, the not so good news...I'm on 'modified bed rest' and was told that I'm at risk for pre-term labor.

I had an ultrasound two weeks ago and my cervix was at 3.1. When I asked my doctor to clear me for air travel to the Caribbean for my sister's wedding, he said, "I'm sure you're OK but let's do another ultrasound and fetal fibronectin just to be sure."

Well, in one week, my cervix went down to 2.6cm. My doctor sad I'm 1mm away from pre-term labor and I'm still waiting on the fibronectin result. He put me on modified bed and told me to cancel my vacation. From now on, I will need the cervical length ultrasound once a week and restricted to only going to and from work....no housework, nada.

Can the cervix naturally lengthen on its own?

He didn't prescribe anything but told me to prepare for bedrest and weekly steroid injections. Since it's too late for a cerclage, is there any hope here?

 

[luna_19]

I m sorry to hear that

I don't know that your cervix will get any thicker but hopefully it will stay where it is. I know one person on here that had a virtually nonexistent cervix (less than 0.5cm) for ages with twins and she still never went into labor and had a scheduled c section at 36 weeks. Another friend of mine actually went into preform labor around 23 weeks but they managed to stop it and then did a cerclage and she made it to 31 weeks.

 

[mama.luv]

Dalia, I researched that stuff because I'm high risk for a shortened cervix. I have read that if you go on complete bed rest, it can grow back. I guess if it shortens anymore, they will take you off from work. I'm sorry to hear that, but I have read some success stories.

I got sort of bad news today also. My Doc called me to say that he referred me to a high risk Doctor because according to my recent anatomy scan, Twin B is 2wks behind Twin A. I'm trying to remain positive because the Doctor said there is nothing to worry about right now, yeah ok. The Doctor said that Twin A was measuring 564 grams (1lb 2oz) and Twin B was measuring 409 grams (0.9 lbs). I'm hoping that the ultrasound tech got the measurements wrong, because she was new. We will see, but having to wait two weeks to see the high risk Doctor is going to be hard as heck. I researched this and most women are placed on bed rest and told to increase their protein intake when one twin is lagging in size. So I'm going to increase my protein intake in the meantime. And I think there is a high chance that they will take me off from work once they see me in 2wks. The many things I have to worry about. Grrrr

 

[therealdalia]

My Doc called me to say that he referred me to a high risk Doctor because according to my recent anatomy scan, Twin B is 2wks behind Twin A.

Sorry to hear that. Hopefully the increased protein is a natural cure.

 

[The Alchemist]

I dint know anything about cervical issues so I'm sorry...I'm no help in this subject. But I'd listen to the doctor and not do much at all.

 

[wantb502]

Oh man, I'm so sorry to hear about the length shortening and having to cancel the vaca. I was super concerned about this and there is actually a forum on here about women with shortened cervix. Id check it out. When I was reading through, there were a LOT of women with very short cervix. So keep your chin up. Just take it really easy. I'll Be keeping my fingers crossed for you!

Mama: I thought it was pretty common for the babies to be different in size. I guess I am not aware of what difference makes them concerned. I hope the protein does the trick!

 

[berniegroves]

Mama - try not to worry, I know that's hard, but the weights calculated by the ultrasound technicians aren't all that accurate. My friend was just induced at 38 weeks because they said the baby was really small (under 5lbs) so obviously wasn't getting the nutrients she needed. She ended up with a c-section. But the baby was 6lb4oz, which is a good weight for 38 weeks. So all that worry over nothing.
Hopefully when they check you again they'll be happier with the baby weights. I always thought twins ended up different sizes too.

Therealdalia - glad work is going well. But sorry to hear that you've been put on bedrest. I'm sorry I don't have any advice to offer as the length of the cervix isn't something they monitor in the UK. I hope that the modified bedrest helps though. Fingers crossed.

Xx

 

[mama.luv]

Okay we did our Baby Care Basics class today. My husband enjoyed it as he was able to have his own baby doll to practice bathing and changing diapers. I thought the class was informative so I recommend that you first time mommies take a similar class. The class covered vaccinations, breastfeeding, bathing, circumcisions, cleaning the cord stump, etc. I did not know that using baby powder is a no no nowadays. Man I always used baby powder on my son. Things have really changed.

 

[The Alchemist]

Yeah I remember growing up babysitting my baby cousins and had always used baby powder. I don't even know when that changed exactly. With my dd, I lathered some cream on her so she doesn't get frequent diaper rash because of sensitive skin.

With my next baby, I really want to try cloth diapers oppose to disposable diapers, but I'll probably but disposable ones too in case I get tired of having to wash the cloth diapers lol.

Glad your class went well!

 

[wantb502]

We are cloth diapering too! I'm getting a diaper service for the 1st month or so and will be supplementing with disposables especially at night. I have a lot to learn about cloth, but my friend is letting me use her use cloth diaper stash. I have another friend that is a serious cloth diapering guru. I've already had one "class" with her

Oh and it's my V day!! Though I don't really consider good viability until 27 weeks...

 

[whittnie117]

Dalia, I have no advice, but I hope your cervix stays where it is. Fingers crossed for you.

Mama, I also thought twins were supposed to differ in size and weight because one usually is the 'dominant' twin in the uterus???? That's just what I always thought, but hopefully protein will help get the smaller twin to where they think is a healthier weight.

Hubby and I are talking about cloth diapering, but he is kind of grossed out by the idea of washing poopy diapers, lol. I know it would be healthier and a lot cheaper. Hopefully we come to a better decision soon as I want to start buying diapers on our next paycheck. Hubby also didn't like any of the names I did, so it's back to the drawing board. I'm letting him looking through lists and come up with his own list for me to look at. He seems to like the really popular names. Oh well, we will find one.

 

[luna_19]

We will probably do a cloth diaper service, there is one here that costs about $28 a week which seems reasonable to me.

We re still trying to sort out names too, making very slow progress

 

[The Alchemist]

We're having issues with boys names too. I had my mind on Alexander, but OH isn't crazy about it. If we can't find a name by the time it's 9 months, I'm going to name him after his maternal grandfather, which is Nikolai. Fortunately, I have no problem with this name.

 

[wantb502]

My friend has a son named Nikolai!

Names are always hard to agree on. My hubby is so laid back about pretty mch everythinh and he even had a hard to agreeing on a name. The one name I really wanted was Hamilton (my maiden name)... But he hated it and he's right that it sounds bad... Hamilton Harris. I'm Just glad we finally agreed on Denver which I am completely shocked that he would have liked that name! But he loves it and loves calling him it. He always says "Denverino" hehehe

Good luck ladies,
I can't wait to hear your choices!

 

[mama.luv]

We were thinking about using cloth diapers as well. But we may not start until we run out of the regular diapers we will get at the baby shower. When somebody told me that I would use like 20 diapers a day on twins, I was like oh heck no. So cloth diapers are definitely an option.

Want: Congrats on your Vday! I kind of feel the same way as you about the viability. I won't be in the safe zone until my babies reach about 1lb 8oz, so I have some ways to go. The only good thing about hitting 24wks for me is that if I think anything is wrong, I can go straight to labor and delivery instead of urgent care or the emergency room.

Alchemist: I really like the name Nikolai. I have no choice but to name my boy after my husband, which is "Gilbert." I'm not happy about that at all. Now we have to come up with nicknames or call him by his middle name "Joseph." I still have a little more time to get my husband to change his mind.

Well ladies, I am at the lab doing my 3hr glucose tolerance test, this is torture. The drink was super sweet. Only two more hours to go. Yikes! I just wish it was a grocery store close by so I can knock out some shopping while waiting.

 

[The Alchemist]

I haven't even done one glucose test this pregnancy. I'm supposed to of course but I've been lagging. I don't like waiting and I figured there aren't anyone with thyroid issues or diabetes in my family, I can get away with murder. Bad, I know! I'm just concerned about my placenta, that's all.

 

[mama.luv]

I wanted to get this test done so that I can have one less thing to worry about. How is your placenta doing by the way?