Spring Babies

[TeeinAZ]

Ok - so I am thinking I could still have Noah before 40 weeks, but I'm not going to worry about it. Although I may have to book a pedicure and waxking around week 37 just in case. HAHA

I really wanted to start maternity leave earlier but, here in the US (and my place of work) We use Short Term Disability to get paid. I could use the FMLA but there is a chance of not getting full pay. With STD (short term) I will take 6 weeks of full pay off and use the rest of the time I want off using my PTO. It sucks but, I'll take what I can get. If I have a C section I'd get 8 weeks paid. Here they think 6 weeks is enough time for you to recover. The I use the FMLA and my PTO for the remaing time for "bonding".

It's going to be so so hard to hand my son over to a sitter at 12 weeks!

 

[karry1412]

FINALLY!! It's taken so long for me to get caught up!

qwerty - Congratulations on the job & on the later start date! That's brilliant news! And I'm sure you'll look fab at your shower

Lilly - That bump pic is amazing!!

Tee - I saw your photoshoot pics on here & FB. They are stunning! They're such a lovely thing to have & I'm sure Noah will love to see them in years to come And your bump is gorgeous!!

Right, here goes! Scott James was born at 5.35pm on 24/03/14 weighing 10lbs 10oz after a short enough but dramatic labour. My waters started to go at around 11am on the 23rd. I phoned the hospital & they said to come in & they would check if it was my waters but they'd probably send me home until the contractions really kicked in. I knew it was my waters because little man was very polite & waited until I was in the shower so I didn't make a mess! I hadn't gotten under the water yet & had just been to the loo so had to be my waters. It was just a trickle but I can't believe HOW MUCH there was over the next few hours! It was bizarre! The ER nurse came back & said she had some bad news - my doctor likes to keep her patients in the hospital when the waters have started to go in case of infection developing. Well that was fine by me! I know loads of people prefer to be in their own homes but I was far happier to be in the hospital & monitored & all that. Which was the right call as it turns out - I developed an infection during labour after being moved into the delivery suite. I felt like I was cold & could not stop shaking - at a couple of points I was shaking so badly I thought I was going to seize! DH told me afterwards that my lips turned blue & my eyes were rolling back in my head!!

Anyways, my doctor came & examined me & I had progressed from 2cm to 8cm extremely quickly due to the syntocin/oxytocin (thank God for the epidural!) & she said we'd schedule the C section for 5pm. She then came back & examined me again & I was 10cm so she said that at 5pm I could start pushing instead of the C & we'd see how it went. At this point it was quite urgent because the infection was starting to effect the babies heartbeat so I was moved to theater to start trying to push - had to be in the theater in case emergency C was needed & we already knew he was going to be an assisted delivery due to his distress. With the help of the vacuum he was out in six pushes! It was so quick that DH almost missed it while he was getting into his scrubs! He came in & was told "sit down - in one more contraction you'll have a baby" - the look on our faces was a picture, I'm sure!

Thankfully baby was cleared for the infection very quickly & is absolutely perfect apart from a little jaundice. Nobody could believe his size in the hospital - we were told three days before delivery to expect him to be 8lbs 10oz!! He's a little dote - barely a peep out of him! He gurgles away if he needs feeding or changing but only cries when he's being changed - he hates getting cold!

So since I was talking to you all last my life has completely changed & all for the better! Can't wait to hear how you are all getting on!

ETA: The pictures on FB are way cuter - this is the only one small enough to upload here for some reason!

 

[BigLegEmma]

He's just sooooooooooooo cute, look at his chubby chops awwwwww

 

[lilly88]

FINALLY!! It's taken so long for me to get caught up!

qwerty - Congratulations on the job & on the later start date! That's brilliant news! And I'm sure you'll look fab at your shower

Lilly - That bump pic is amazing!!

Tee - I saw your photoshoot pics on here & FB. They are stunning! They're such a lovely thing to have & I'm sure Noah will love to see them in years to come And your bump is gorgeous!!

Right, here goes! Scott James was born at 5.35pm on 24/03/14 weighing 10lbs 10oz after a short enough but dramatic labour. My waters started to go at around 11am on the 23rd. I phoned the hospital & they said to come in & they would check if it was my waters but they'd probably send me home until the contractions really kicked in. I knew it was my waters because little man was very polite & waited until I was in the shower so I didn't make a mess! I hadn't gotten under the water yet & had just been to the loo so had to be my waters. It was just a trickle but I can't believe HOW MUCH there was over the next few hours! It was bizarre! The ER nurse came back & said she had some bad news - my doctor likes to keep her patients in the hospital when the waters have started to go in case of infection developing. Well that was fine by me! I know loads of people prefer to be in their own homes but I was far happier to be in the hospital & monitored & all that. Which was the right call as it turns out - I developed an infection during labour after being moved into the delivery suite. I felt like I was cold & could not stop shaking - at a couple of points I was shaking so badly I thought I was going to seize! DH told me afterwards that my lips turned blue & my eyes were rolling back in my head!!

Anyways, my doctor came & examined me & I had progressed from 2cm to 8cm extremely quickly due to the syntocin/oxytocin (thank God for the epidural!) & she said we'd schedule the C section for 5pm. She then came back & examined me again & I was 10cm so she said that at 5pm I could start pushing instead of the C & we'd see how it went. At this point it was quite urgent because the infection was starting to effect the babies heartbeat so I was moved to theater to start trying to push - had to be in the theater in case emergency C was needed & we already knew he was going to be an assisted delivery due to his distress. With the help of the vacuum he was out in six pushes! It was so quick that DH almost missed it while he was getting into his scrubs! He came in & was told "sit down - in one more contraction you'll have a baby" - the look on our faces was a picture, I'm sure!

Thankfully baby was cleared for the infection very quickly & is absolutely perfect apart from a little jaundice. Nobody could believe his size in the hospital - we were told three days before delivery to expect him to be 8lbs 10oz!! He's a little dote - barely a peep out of him! He gurgles away if he needs feeding or changing but only cries when he's being changed - he hates getting cold!

So since I was talking to you all last my life has completely changed & all for the better! Can't wait to hear how you are all getting on!

ETA: The pictures on FB are way cuter - this is the only one small enough to upload here for some reason!

Ahhhhh how amazing Karry - he's a little cutie! He'll definitely be breaking some hearts in a few years! How's the feeding going? Did you decide to bottle or breast (sorry if that's too impersonal a question, feel free not to answer lol). Sounds like you've got a great deal on no crying - so sweet that he doesn't like getting chilly!

Great that you didn't have to have a section, in terms of recovery times I mean! Sounds like you did an awesome job and 6 pushes is the benchmark for the rest of us lol!

Feeling a bit nervous that i'm next...... nothing happening here other than lots of lots of CM, thought at first it might be my plug but not sure that it is, no blood, old or new or anything.

Hope you ladies are all well!

 

[qwerty310]

Hi ladies!

KARRY!!! congrats!!! what a beautiful boy! Sounds like you did everything right in terms of your labor and making choices at the hospital. I'm glad you had good people around you to monitor the situation and encourage you to push when the time came. Rest up and it's SO nice to hear from you! We were all rooting for you from afar.

Lilly I'll be starting up my lab as a new professor of biology! So exciting.

Tee - you seriously getting waxed? You go girl... You are brave and awesome. I imagine it would be great to have everything all clean and shiny down there when your bits are gonna see the most action they EVER have

 

[BigLegEmma]

A couple of pics of me and Maia below last week at a children's charity event in the local resort I can't believe I felt like my belly was getting huge at 3 and a half months hahaha

I'm ecstatic to report my community midwife confirmed today she has dropped and is on her way to being fully engaged and is right on schedule. Oh and I had that Q-tip up the bottom today, lovely... She told us more about the hospital so if I don't get my home birth I won't be quite as upset as originally, because it seems very progressive for Spain and quite frankly, better than the private clinics here; maybe because it's a teaching hospital? She said they do delayed cord clamping, Vitamin K injection is up to us (we're doing oral admin instead) and the staff are very accommodating to natural birthers, unlike the traditional and usual methods here in Spain.

So anyhoo, we're going to visit this week to take a look, but still prefer homebirth because Maia only comes into the world once so we want it to be special, plus I can only have one partner with me and I want my mum there, too. But obviously, Maia's health and safety is paramount. Can't stop weeing and wanting to wee, and getting electric shocks in my cervix from her head bouncing on it lol.

How is everyone getting along with your pregnancies?

 

[lilly88]

Qwerty - that is so awesome! It makes me think of American crime dramas and you investigating murders (I realise that's probably not what you do though!). Out of interest, what do you do in the lab? I feel like I should be asking intelligent scientific questions, but I unfortunately have none!

Can't believe you thought your belly was big at 3.5 months Emma! I think that's the size of my belly pre pregnancy, on a good day!

DH and I just been and did a huge shop so we've got lots of food in and are having a "cooking day" later this week and are going to freeze meals that we make so that we don't have to worry about that sort of stuff when Lily comes along hopefully next week (or the week after I guess!).

Have just eaten a whole bag of strawberry liquorice laces and had to hide the bag from DH as he'll think i'm a pig lol!

 

[TeeinAZ]

Karry - Congratulations, again! I saw all of the updates on FB! I am so so happy for you. Your little man is so adorable! I am so sorry you had such a tramatic experience. I am glad that you and the baby are healthy and doing well. That is quite scary! Keep us posted with how everything is going! I am so nervous about how my life is going to change, it'll be nice to hear about it all!

Emma - you look so amazing. I feel like a blimp compared to you. That bump is so perfectly round, it's so so perfect! I can't wait until my little man drops, I am ready for him to be here. How was that test? UGH I am dreading it. You'd think I'd be so used to stuff like that from going through IVF, but I still hate it. I think my appt is set for a few weeks. Bluah.

Lilly - not too much longer for you to go! This is so exciting!!!

Qwerty - Well I was talking to a few other preggos about the waxing and they have all said that it's a LOT more sensitive down there, and I have never been waxed, so now I'm scared. LOL But dang it, I want to look "good" LOL I may just try a go at shaving again. It's soooooooo hard! LOL

AFM: OK so I was looking at my pregnancy books and omg 33weeks is the start of 9 months! I'm so excited. When someone asks when my due date is I can say "mext month" That is insane. My baby shower is next weekend. I can't wait. OH and this Wed. DH and I are going to look at a new car. I drive a t-top chevy camaro and that will not fit a big ol' pregnant lady let alone a car seat comfortably. So mom car it is! Wish us luck!

 

[karry1412]

Lilly - I don't mind you asking, especially not the way you asked. But if one more person asks me "are you feeding him yourself" I am very likely to snap that no, I'm having my personal assistant do the feeding! We are bottle feeding. The little fella ain't so little so needs a lot of feeding & was not getting the hang of the breast feeding at all! We tried the entire first night. After spending the previous night in the hospital & not getting much sleep & then going through labour & then spending the entire night trying to get him to feed was exhausting & I was so worried that he wasn't getting enough. The midwives were starting to look worried (& three of them couldn't help him feed either!) & I thought he was starting to show signs of the infection that I had so I finally decided to just get the bottle. SO glad I did. DH & both our mothers have helped feed the baby - DH has even done the odd night feed which has been amazing & would be a lot harder if I had to pump in order to get that help. I have such respect for those that breast feed & I did give it my best shot. Kind of think I quit a little early but still 100% think I made the best call for my baby.

And the six pushes was with the aid of a vacuum so no pressure!! And also, the increase CM could be a good sign. Don't mind the lack of blood - I had none!

qwerty - Thanks so much! It was so lovely to log back on here & see all your messages! You're all the nicest people I've met on here And your new job sounds AWESOME!

Emma - That's fab about your hospital. Hope you won't need to go there & you get the birth you want though. Our hospital is a teaching hospital too & I don't know how I held my tongue - I was waiting for my epi & they were getting all the bits together & the head midwife was showing the student how to recycle the packaging correctly! I wanted to scream at her that surely at the present time that was the least of our concerns!

Tee - I hope your transition is as easy as mine! I think I have everything backwards though - my pregnancy was so hard & at the end I could hardly get around at all & was in quite a lot of pain. Now that the baby is born I can move again so I feel like I have more freedom as opposed to less! That's exciting news about the car - let us know how you get on! And congrats on reaching nine months!

AFM - Having our first outing today although unfortunately it's to the doctor. Nothing serious - just think his cord looks a little funky. My MIL said it looked fine & so did my mother but then my MIL text me to say that the more she thought of it the more she thought it looked sore & my own mother didn't tell me I was being ridiculous when I said I wanted to go to the doctor. I'm sure everything is fine but just want the reassurance. If all is well I'll be going shopping - SHOPPING!! Do you know how long it's been??!?

Hope you're all doing well!

 

[TeeinAZ]

Karry - it's so great to hear that you and your little man are doing so well. I hope all is OK with his cord.

I am so glad that you are feeling so great. I can't wait to have that relief. I've heard that the last month of pregnancy is the hardest. I felt it last night. Trying to just roll over was painful LOL. I'm like a beached whale in bed.

AFM: OK 33 weeks today (yay Qwerty!) It's so insane that I can now say, Noah will be here next month. OMG! In 4 weeks I will be full term. It's all happening so fast. I am hoping all goes well with the car tomorrow. I really need a more comfortable car to sit in. I kind of just fall into my car right now. It's so small and low to the ground LOL.

I hope all you ladies are doing wonderful today!!!

 

[qwerty310]

hahaha karry you are hilarious re: teaching hospital how to properly recycle the materials... sheesh! i've ALWAYS been at a teaching hospital so i guess nothing will surprise me but i didn't hold my tongue when i was seen by the THIRD med student who wasn't my dr. and took a full history when i wasn't preggo so i will probably be the real bitch in the ward that day
let us know how things go with the doc and enjoy?? your outing?? as much as it sounds weird it must be nice to have that freedom of your body back and going out of the house must be a nice change of pace.

lilly - thanks for asking! i do biochemistry research, mostly on how the brain signals changes during memory and stress. academics is an insanely stupid job right now in terms of no stability, no funding, etc so i feel very lucky to have secured a spot after so many years and years of training. SUPER glad i won't be starting until january so i can wrap up other jobs/papers/classes i teach and enjoy some baby cuddle time.

@33 weeks (yay tee!) everything still feels the same. got huge last week but feel like nothing's different now. I think we've decided on Ethan though! yay!

hope everyone is having a wonderful tuesday!

 

[karry1412]

Crazy to think that my little dude is a week & two days old & should only have been born yesterday! Everything went fine with the doctor & his cord actually fell off last night. We did get to go shopping for a bit. Got myself the "mother & son" Pandora charm as a little treat. Wanted it since we lost our last little boy so was a little emotional to be finally able to get it. Also went to Mothercare as Scotts godmother got him a voucher for there. They had a sale on so it went quite a long way! Got more bottles as I didn't have very many & yesterday morning he was desperate for a bottle & I didn't have any ready. Also got some lovely little vests & some babygrows that look like Ireland jerseys. So cute!

Tee - The relief is amazing! I'm still quite sore because I tore (obviously - he was huge!) & had an episiotomy so I'm still getting over that but being able to move around again is fantastic! And being able to pick things up! I'm loving it! How did the car shopping go?

qwerty - The freedom is brilliant! I've been feeling so sorry for the poor dog & now I'll be able to walk him again soon. It just sucks that to walk him I'd have to pack up the baby, buggy & drive at least two miles to the village or further to one of the parks around because there's no way I could walk the buggy on the road I live on. It's a little country road so there are no paths so it would be far too dangerous trying to handle the buggy & the dog - some people drive like lunatics around here. Best to be safe & drive somewhere with paths but that's so much more effort! Your job sounds incredibly interesting! Hope you enjoy your new role & glad you get lots of cuddle time before you start

 

[TeeinAZ]

Qwerty - I LOVE that name. That was one we had on our list. Love love love it! I can't believe we are so close.

Karry - Ok the tear sounds awful, I had a friend that had the same thing happen. But being able to bend over must be so nice. LOL I cannot tell you how I even try to put my underroos on. HAHAH It's so difficult! I have gone from wearing pants to dresses and skirts only. It's way too hard to bend over. I am so glad your little man is all good. I had no idea the cord fell off that fast. And YAY for shopping. How fun was that? I keep telling my sister and Hubby, It's going to be so awesome to be strolling a little baby around. HAHAH I am really excited for that. Silly, I know.

I haven't gone to the dealership yet. We filled out our applications and I am sooooo hoping that my credit score is OK so that we can get a lower payment. We are heading up today to look at the car. I have ZERO patience so when I get up there I am going to want to take the car home. I don't think that will happen, but I am so hoping!

AFM: Took my 33 week bump pic and OMG I looked at my hubby and said, Are you kidding me???!! Is that how big I am? HAHAH Looking down at my belly it doesn't feel that big, but I guess it is. LOL YIKES! Alos, I am going to visit a friend in the L&D today. She is 3 days ahead of me and was having contractions two minutes apart and is 60% effaced but not dialating. So scary. I hope her little man stays in for at least another 2 weeks.

Here's a bump pic! And I have been getting a few maternity sneak peeks from the photog, here's a cute one. DH was kissing my belly and Noah decided to give him a kick. And the 11, 22 and 33 weeks comparison. Insane!

 

[qwerty310]

beautiful pics Tee!! crossing my fingers for your friend... and on a lighter note, your credit score.

going to hospital tour tonight!

 

[TeeinAZ]

beautiful pics Tee!! crossing my fingers for your friend... and on a lighter note, your credit score.

going to hospital tour tonight!

Woo hoo for the hospital tour!! We did our a month or so ago. Although I have been in the birthing suits for several births it's so crazy going in and imagining yourself in that bed. Reality check! lol Have fun!!!

 

[karry1412]

qwerty - How did the tour go?

Tee - I saw your FB update! Congrats on the new car! And the cord normally falls off even faster I believe. Scotts just took a little longer as because he's a bigger baby his cord was thicker so took longer to dry out apparently. Hope your friend is ok x

Hope everyone is having a good day! Going to try get some more rest now - ended up crying into Scotts muslin cloth yesterday because I was so over tired. I did all the night feeds & he pee'd through his clothes twice yesterday (once through to the sheets of his moses basket) & pee'd twice while I was changing him so I had to completely strip him four times & wash him (which he hates) & all this on my own because DH visits his parents on Wednesday evenings. It was so tough trying to deal with it all on my own. Thankfully DH is off work all next week but I also worry that it'll only make it harder on me when he starts his new job & I'm on my own again. But at the same time I think it was good for DH to see how upset I was (I had to text him to tell him to come home from his parents to help out). Last night he gave Scott his bed time feed which I've always done & he fed him at 2.30am too. He then slept until 6.30am so I sorted him out then & got up. Hope today is a better day!

 

[lilly88]

Gosh Karry, you sound exhausted! Hopefully the time between feeds will start to get longer in the next week or so, but I guess as he's a big boy that might not happen (I realise that entirely didn't help, not sure what I really meant!).

Re breastfeeding, people say it's better for the baby but it's certainly not if he's not getting enough (and he must need allllooooooot of milk!) and if it's making you tired and stressed then it's in now way good for the little fella! I'm easy about it, if it works then great but if it doesn't then I won't hesitate with formula as otherwise it'll stress both of us out!

On the subject of formula, i'm going to get some this week to put in the hospital bag just in case I can't feed myself. There are so many brands, which one do I get????

Just saw your new ride Tee, looks awesome! I'm the same as you when it comes to cars, once i've seen it and we decide we want it, I want to take it away with me there and then and not have to wait for it lol! Your bump's grown so much since last week!

Qwerty - that sounds seriously interesting! For some reason I now imagine you writing your posts from a lab, in a white coat surrounded by jars with brains in it (an entirely stupid thing to say, I know).

AFM, 39 weeks today! Absolutely shattered from not sleeping. Nature's cruel way of preparing me for impending motherhood! Rolling over in the night happens about every 10 minutes (because of my enormous weight numbing my leg) and when it does I have to be full awake to shift my maternity pillow and make sure I don't roll out of bed onto my bump! Toilet stops have increased massively at the moment, both during the day and night which is tiring.

Hope you're all ok!

x x

 

[karry1412]

I was exhausted but thankfully the following day (& today) have been a lot better. I flipped at DH a little yesterday evening (the day after he'd been at his parents for hours) when he announced he was going out running. I didn't mind that necessarily but given that he's also out tonight because it's his last night in his current job & going out with his dad & brother tomorrow I thought it was really unfair. But it was such a lovely evening I decided we'd go with him & me & the baby could go for a walk while DH runs with his brother. MIL was delighted to see us & came for the walk with us. We didn't go particularly far but I was delighted to get out & go for a walk. It's frustrating that to go for a walk with the buggy I have to drive at least two miles so at least if DH is driving down there anyways I can get a lift. Plus MIL said she'd come collect me some day next week & we'll go for a walk during the day! (Oh, & in DHs defense we didn't time the feeds right yesterday & ended up with two night feeds & he did them both)

Formula wise I don't think there's any right or wrong answer. I know here anyways most brands are pretty much the same (we're using SMA Gold). Do you need to bring formula with you? Here the hospital supply the formula while you're in there.

My toilet breaks increased a lot a couple of days before it all kicked off so hopefully things will happen for you soon!

 

[lilly88]

Ooo that's good, I just bought SMA Gold too! Nope they let you have their first feed from their own supply but after that you have to buy your own! They're not very generous here lol, my friend gave birth on Christmas day (at 27 weeks!) and her DH was absolutely starving and no shop in a 10 mile radius was open and they still didn't give him more than a cup of tea, not even a slice of toast!

My DH is a coeliac so we've had to be uber prepared with the hospital bag and it's got loooooads of food in there for him. I've also just made a load of gingerbread cookies to put in there too for his energy (I really hate gingerbread so I know I won't eat it all before the day).

Literally feel like labour is weeks and weeks away. I thought I was getting contractions this morning but I think it was trapped wind . Thank god I didn't wake DH up! Sorry for the TMI but I've also had an upset tummy today too, I heard that was a sign but I think i'm just looking for signs too much. After all I'm still only 39w1d so there's still potentially like 2 weeks or more!

Great that you're up and about a lot Karry, my friend had a c-section last Tuesday and only came out of hospital this Wednesday! Her OH is literally doing all the feeds and nappy changes because she can't do any of it so he's barely standing up I think.

Have a great weekend ladies!

x x

 

[qwerty310]

Good morning!

Lilly how you doing?

Emma - I think I remember you are traveling this week? Hope you have a wonderful visit.

Tee Happy 34 weeks! Last night I was thinking, wow - this is really happening and no one can take it away and nothing can go wrong with baby (of course things can... but not like I was so terrified of in the beginning and every BFN morning...) Now time really DOES seem like it's flying. May seems AGES away with finishing work and house prep and such. Having baby shower this Sunday and my family is coming down before to visit. I think after this week I'll try to kick it into high gear for baby prep (buy some diapers... pack a bag for hospital... install carseat...).

Karry hope that all is well with you and your little one. Visited a friend who recently gave birth a few days ago that said all her son did in those first two weeks was sleep and eat and poop and she got so much rest and cooking done. huh. not so sure i will believe it when i see it!