ok so who wants to get pregnant in 2011? (closed group)

[sarahincanada]

flying I will get a new bump photo soon, and I will put together some photos of my finger!! although the early one is pretty gruesome, I might get thrown off bnb

 

[flyingduster]

haha, I don't mind gruesome; I have a photo of when I tripped walking up an escalator and it gashed my knee open in a huge ragged wound almost to the knee cap... I took the photo on the way to the emergency room. lol!

 

[Huggles]

lying in bed at 2am unable to sleep, i remembered you were worried about the hypnobirthing not working because you don't believe in it 100%.
I have major issues with losing control of myself, and as a result am completely and utterly against hypnosis. The thing that swayed me towards hypnobirthing is that i would be in control of myself at all times, it wasn't someone else making me relax or telling me to do stuff. I never did any of the relaxation exercises during class, where the practitioner talks you into a relaxed state etc - i tensed up enormously with all of them and constantly told myself not to relax, stay in control etc. So in that regard i never participated 100% in the classes etc, yet it still worked for me.
I never managed to do the relaxation exercises at home - i tried some of them once or twice - just didn't really do much for me. Although in saying that, after i had given birth i had a dentist app where i was totally freaking out. Managed to talk myself into focusing on my breathing and 'zoning out' like i did during labour and it worked fantastically.

I was also always open to the option of using gas and air.
I was very against epidurals because i'm really scared of them - goes back to the not being in control of myself thing. I've had a terrible experience with partial anaesthetics before (conscious sedation) and am terrified of something similar happening, so would rather be knocked out completely if i needed an emergency c-section. So was adament i didn't want epidural, but was open to other pain relief options if necessary. But when the time came i never really felt i needed them.

So basically what i'm saying is that it can work, even if you only listen to the cd while going to sleep, and even if you're not 100% sure you believe it completely.

Also, re pain etc - i honestly found the cramps i got with my first proper period after jarrod far worse than the worst contractions i had during labour with logan.

Re pushing vs breathing down - when jarrod was born, the first words out my mouth were 'omg, if that was a small one there's no ways i'm doing a full size'
3 days later i was totally ready to do it again (meaning birth without drugs).
But with logan and focusing on the breathing and bearing down like that, i felt disappointed every time a contraction ended because i really wanted to push more (mentally - physically the urge was gone). It was totally empowering and exciting and generally an amazing feeling.
And as someone else mentioned - the pain/discomfort is only there during the contraction (which lasts maybe 1 min?). Once that stops the pain/discomfort is gone again. Focus on breathing during that minute, don't focus on the discomfort.

 

[NDH]

I dare say the woman who likened childbirth to being burned alive has never even experienced a minor burn. And I bet she never had her finger tip bitten off either and managed on extra strength tylenol only.

Yeah people with lower pain thresholds will find it more painful, but yours seems to be pretty high

Huggles makes me want to do it over again lol.

 

[sarahincanada]

ndh Im hoping you will do it all again soon! wouldnt it be lovely for you to get a bfp by october, I got my bfp in jan, your birthing month

huggles you do make me feel much better to know you didnt practice all the extra techniques and you were not totally into it. all the couples in my class were sooooooo into it and knew they were doing a natural home birth so I felt like the odd one out. then my hubby got all brainwashed by them too and totally into it and now thinks I can do it 100% naturally. I mentioned NDH's code word idea to him tonight!

Ive had some terrible period pains in my life so I wonder if they are similar to a contraction, I will see.

as for the pain only lasting a minute...how many hours of these contractions did you natural birthers have? my other worry is having so many hours that i will be exhausted/had enough. but my MW said even if I want a epidural and Im almost fully dilated she will fight for one for me.

hope you get to sleep soone huggles!

 

[NDH]

8 hours here. But it honestly didn't seem even that long. I looked at the clock once and was 4 hours in and thought it had been 10 minutes.

 

[flyingduster]

mine was 9 hours, but I also had no idea it'd been that long! At first the contractions are spaced like 10 mins apart, so me and DH were excitedly chatting for the first hour or so between them, cos AT LAST he was coming! And when they are only every 10 mins; in only 6 contractions [that were fairly mild and only lasting like 20 seconds] an hour has gone already! It was about 3 hours into it that I started to just zone out, and then my sense of time was totally screwed around and I had NO idea how long it'd been. It didn't feel very long really, like an hour or so, but it was 6! lol.

 

[Huggles]

mine was about 7 hrs.
contractions started at like 2 min apart (6:30pm) - but my stitch was still in so that could have played a role in their intensity etc as muscles were pulling against something that was designed not to stretch.

That was removed about 45 min after contractions started.
I then spent maybe 15 min answer the mw's questions and talking her through my birth plan etc - felt the contractions but they weren't that intense.

Things picked up a notch around 10pm - called the mw as things had changed. She checked me and i was 5cm dilated i think. She said he had dropped a lot which is why they felt different (he was quite high to start with). Then they were fairly intense for the next 3 hours, but like the others said - it felt like maybe 30 min.

If you have something other than the contractions to focus on - like the breathing or the cd etc - you totally lose all concept of time.

I felt like i was in labour for maybe 1.5 hours in total, with the longest time being between when my waters broke / contractions starting, to when the stitch had been removed and all the questions answered and i coudl finally lie down with my cd and just zone out.

Also, very important to remember, empty your bladder often. A full bladder can delay labour as the baby can't move down past your bladder if it's full.

oh, i also remembered something else. As it got time to push i suddenly had a moment of panic and "i can't do this". I'm not sure if that's a normal reaction at the thought of pushing a baby out your foof, or if it was because that's when everything ended badly the first time for me, but when that moment arrived and spoke to myself and reminded myself not to be silly, this is what i'd been waiting for, i was about to meet my son. And then the panic left.

My mw did say at the beginning when we were talking through the birth plan etc that there comes a time in every labour when you all of a sudden feel like giving up and that you just can't do it anymore. She said if i reached that point at 9cm dilated she would do everything she could to encourage me to go the final distance without an epidural (i told her how set i was against having one), but if i reached that point at only 4cm then she would ask me to consider getting one. I don't really remember reaching that point but maybe that was the minor freakout i had

 

[sarahincanada]

thanks ladies! those are not to bad lengths at all, you hear about the 24 hour people. I wonder if it really is shorter when you are relaxed then.

huggles my mw said that often people have those 'i cant do it' moments and its usually when theres not too much time to go.

eeeek Ive only got august and september to get through

 

[babyhopes2323]

wooo hooo for passing you GD test !!! so glad you didnt have to do the 3 hour one !!! xxx

sorry i cant give you any tips, as i had a c-section. x but im sure you will do fine xxx


so excited, just cant believe youve only 2 months and a bit to go.. im back from holidays on the 5th of oct.hoping ill have access to the internet to be able to read your updates !!

that pic is adorable xxx

 

[sarahincanada]

heres 4 photos of my finger, especially for you flying!! it really shows the progress and as you can see from the first 3 I was thinking I would have to live with a chopped off stubby finger. As you can see theres now a miracle lil nail growing, it looks a bit odd as its at the end of the finger but Im hoping it will grow more and eventually I could have some gel on it to fake a better nail. It still gets me down, but looking at these photos I should be happy Ive healed the way I have so far (and at the same time as growing a bub!). The tip is very sensitive and I cant pick up things yet as it feels numb still, but that should get better in time. Its all new skin and tissue up there so could take a year.

***warning graphic photo of finger injury in spoiler***
its not that bad but not for fainthearted!!

Spoiler

https://www.miltonnailspa.ca/fingersmall.jpg

 

[NDH]

oh wow its come a long way in a short time! And yay for the miracle nail! I hoped that would happen as the root does go quite deep. I don't think that's something most people are likely to even notice at a glance.

 

[MummyCat]

Well done on getting through your 3hr test. They don't bother with the 1hr one here... I was thrown straight into the 3hr one.

I know it's mostly being afraid of the unknown, but once labour begins you will be fine, because you can only really take it one contraction at a time and see how things progress and deal with each thing as it comes up. Both my labours are a bit of a blur now. You are so filled up on hormones and really with Lizzie's birth I was up and in the bath about 20 minutes after she was born... that's with stitching up a tear too. One reason I'm most sad we aren't having any more kids is that I don't get to have another labour! I think I would have opted for a home birth.... as Lizzie's active labour (4-10 cm's) was only 2 hours.

You will be just fine!

PS... thanks for sharing your finger pics with us. Looks so sore but how amazing the growth of nail now! x

 

[sarahincanada]

ndh the doctor said that there wouldnt be a nail so when I showed him proudly there was one growing he said he hadnt seen that before. I told him I own a nail spa and praying for a nail works he is just a local hand doctor so I might one day try and see a plastic surgeon in toronto for a 2nd opinion. the sides of the nails are sore as if the nail underneath is trapped and the nail has grown raised so Im wondering if its from being restricted from the sides. if I didnt wear a bandaid right now the nail you catch on things as its so thick and raised. but I do have some hope, as you can see I had little hope before! in 6 months its really healed well.

mummy you said before you *might* try for a 3rd one day, so thats a definite no? isnt that amazing how most people have a quicker labour 2nd time around.

 

[sherylb]

Your pictures are a tiny bit shocking but they are really neat. It's hard to believe your dog did that to you! Thank you for sharing!

 

[MummyCat]

ndh the doctor said that there wouldnt be a nail so when I showed him proudly there was one growing he said he hadnt seen that before. I told him I own a nail spa and praying for a nail works he is just a local hand doctor so I might one day try and see a plastic surgeon in toronto for a 2nd opinion. the sides of the nails are sore as if the nail underneath is trapped and the nail has grown raised so Im wondering if its from being restricted from the sides. if I didnt wear a bandaid right now the nail you catch on things as its so thick and raised. but I do have some hope, as you can see I had little hope before! in 6 months its really healed well.

mummy you said before you *might* try for a 3rd one day, so thats a definite no? isnt that amazing how most people have a quicker labour 2nd time around.

I think you should definitely get a second opinion. There's a Dr McSteamy out there just waiting to fix your finger! (Grey's Anatomy reference!)

Ah well... never say never... but the likelihood is slim. Things would have to change a lot financially for us to even consider it! xx

 

[flyingduster]

Wow, that first photo is a little freaky cos it's SO obviously a cut off finger, but it is looking heaps better now! Yay for the super nail!!!

 

[babyhopes2323]

Oh god sarah, while reading about your finger, i tried to picture it but couldnt, the first pic is shocking, as the whole top part is gone, im so sorry that you had to go through that !!

thanks for sharing the pics, i cannot believe how the nail grew again.. its so determined !! thats amazing. x

 

[sarahincanada]

yes the first photo is a little shocking, I wasnt able to show anyone or admit how bad it was at the beginning but now that its healing better I can cope with it better, if that makes sense!

sheryl I tend to look at it that I put my finger in the wrong place, rather my dog doing that to me. she has never shown me any aggression and I dont believe she would ever bite me. but she was fighting my older dog and Ive since read never put your hands near their mouth when in fight mode and that jack russells jaws are like a guillotine my hairdresser said to me on the weekend he would have gotten rid of the younger dogs, but they are like family to us so I could never do that. but my feelings towards them have changed a bit, I cant deny that, but its coming back slowly.

mummy I might have mentioned before the ER doctor that did my stitches was hot!! I called him Dr McDreamy, and told my hubby that too! when I give birth Im hoping I can go see him and say thanks, as it was his suturing that turned into a nail being saved and Im sure he doesnt hear thanks much in his job. I remember him telling me what was happening there would not effect my baby and I want to let him know those words really helped at the time.

anyway enough finger talk, its nice to finally show you what I went through, still cant believe it happened when I was 7 weeks pregnant (after going through all the infertility and IVF) but what doesnt kill us definitely makes us stronger.

so excited almost 30 weeks

 

[sherylb]

YAY almost 30 weeks?

On a different note do any of you watch Army Wives? Roxy went from being maybe 20 weeks to 37 weeks in one episode. In 2 weeks she's going to have her twins on the next episode.