Stopped BCP & TTC! Whos with me?!

[Flueky88]

Thanks Gagrlinpitt and Amber.

Gagrlinpitt not much longer now for you. Have you finished all preparations for baby?

 

[Gagrlinpitt]

I guess lol... Car seat installed and nursery is pretty much done lol.

 

[Flueky88]

That's good. We had a few loose ends cause we thought we had more time, but I had most things done. I guess next time I'll be done by end of 2nd tri. I'm not sure when we will try again though.

 

[Gagrlinpitt]

Quick update... I had my 36 week appointment (36 weeks tomorrow). They did my group b strep and checked me. I'm 1.5 cm dilated.. 50% effaced..A -2 station..and blood pressure looks greAt. Baby is head down and she is really happy with how things are progressing. I'm on weekly appointments now.... Getting so close!

 

[Flueky88]

Gag sounds like your appt went well thats great. You are at a point to wherr if anything happen she shouldn't have to go to NICU! Also, I never got a group b strep swab. I was curious if I was positive or not. Oh well, maybe next time.

Also here's my lil cutie

 

[Gagrlinpitt]

Gag sounds like your appt went well thats great. You are at a point to wherr if anything happen she shouldn't have to go to NICU! Also, I never got a group b strep swab. I was curious if I was positive or not. Oh well, maybe next time.

Also here's my lil cutie

She's beautiful!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ajangel25]

She is so precious flukey. Are you off of work? How are you and she doing?? Gag- you are so close!!

 

[Angel5000]

Flueky - She's beautiful!!!

Gagrl - so close! I'm so excited for you!!

As for us, Melody is doing well. I'm finally on summer break and am SO glad to be at home. M has started rolling like crazy, she's getting onto her hands and knees occassionally but then face plants (it's pretty hilarious) and she's curious about everything! Oh and she LOVES food. Doctor said we could start solids at 5 months, I started a couple weeks earlier when she started diving for my spoon when I would eat and every time she saw me pick up my spoon she'd start to open her mouth and lean toward it! So I decdied to let her try. She loves oatmeal, bananas, sweet potato, pears, and prunes. She's iffy about the peas and tolerates butternut squash. lol. But last night she would eat the peas as long as she saw some prunes on the spoon with them (even if it was just the tiniest bit). silly girl!

We're still BF but I'm starting to wean her to formula slowly during the day (she already was taking a bottle while I was at work, but was drinking breastmilk I pumped). I need to be done pumping by next school year, they have my schedule set up so I don't get a period prep until after lunch and there's no way I'd be able to adequately keep up pumping. Plus, it makes it really hard to do my copies and other work. So I'm moving to formula during the day but will try to keep BF for evening/bedtime up through a year. I'll see how long I can keep it up.

Hope all of you are doing well!

 

[Flueky88]

AJangel, yes I'm off work, I actually worked the day I went into labor so all my leave is with her. Going to try to take the full 16 weeks but will have to see if finances allow that. We are both doing well. She originally had trouble gaining weight but she really impressed us last Wednesday with 9oz gain in 9 days. She's finally in newborn diapers too!

Angel, M sounds so cute. That's good you can get her to eat the veggies with some sweet stuff oh oh and glad you are out of school now too.

It's too early but sometimes I think about having another. I'm kind of afraid though because of PTL. I guess I'll discuss with ob at my follow up appt. Anyways, hope everyone is well and I'm looking forward to the next princess being born, Gagrlinpitt.

 

[Gagrlinpitt]

I'll give an update tomorrow after my doctor's appointment

 

[Ajangel25]

Flukey- I hope you get to take the full time off! My job only let me take 12 and it flew by! That's awesome she is gaining so well! Are you breastfeeding or formula? How is she sleeping?

Angel- melody sounds so cute!! Are you still co sleeping? Nathsn was all about the food too, he still is!

Gag- how did your appt go?

Afm, we are doing well! I started a new job, I am working with pediatrics in the hospital. It has been a lot of fun! It's really hard to pump though at work, so I dropped to just one pump a day. I hope I can still maintain a supply doing this, as nathan is all about the boob. He will be 11 months next week, I can't believe it!! He is so funny and sweet, his personality is really starting to show. He gives big open mouth kisses now and it's soooo cute!

 

[Gagrlinpitt]

Still the same 1.5-2cm dilated.. cervix still thick and 50% effaced.. And a -2 station. I told dh that is time to commence sex and ive been bouncing on my ab ball at home...I just want to get my cervix thinned. I honestly don't want to get induced so I'm trying everything...

 

[Angel5000]

Pretty sure Melody is teething. She's been so fussy/cranky the last few days, her sleep is crap, and she'll be happily playing and then suddenly for no reason just look at us and start to wail. She acts better with a frozen teething ring or orajel (or frozen fruit to gnaw on) so I'm pretty sure it's teeth. I hope she hurries up and cuts the tooth (or teeth!) because I'm dying. I think last night I got a total of 2 hours of sleep. It was awful. And breaks my heart when she's crying in her sleep.


Flueky - Wow I can't believe that you worked all the way up to the day you went into labor!! I don't think I would have made it. I was really glad to have Christmas holidays for 2 weeks and then my doctor put me on leave a week early (convenient since I Went into labor 3 days after I would have been back at work). That's great that you'll get all of your leave with her!

What is "PTL" ?

DH and I have been talking about when to have another. Occassionally I start thinking I want to start TTC again and then I have nights like these where I'm dead tired and realize I need to wait.


Ajangel - We are occasionally co sleeping, but mostly not. I moved her into a pack n play in our room a couple weeks before I went back to work, but I kept waking every time she made a noice or rolled over and never gave her a chance to try to settle herself, so I moved her to her own room & crib (around 4 months). She does really well most of the time. She'd dropped down to only waking up once at night but recently she's back up to 2-4 times a night after the second one I take her back to our bed usually. The problem is that she is a big mover! She rolls, kicks and SPINS at night. Literally, spins. I've watched her, in her sleep, spin around in circles. So in our bed she ends up turned sideways and kicking us and we get no sleep.


Sounds like your new job is going well for you! I can understand having trouble pumping. I had dropped to only 1 time pumping at work too. Hopefully your supply keeps up. there is tea that helps. I LOVE how you describe the open mouth kisses!! That's so adorable! I love it! Melody just started doing this and at first I was wondering what she was doing and a friend of mine said it's her way of giving kisses. We call them "baby zombie kisses" because she acts like she's trying to eat our face.


Gagrl - When I was trying to make sure my cervix thinned and everything, I was eating lots of dates (but it might be a little late for that because I think it takes a few weeks) and bouncing on my ball (all the time) and even tried Evening Primrose. We never ended up trying sex, my hips hurt too bad. Good luck though! I know how stressful and frustrating these last weeks/days can be! Also, my doctor said to drink lots of red raspberry leaf tea. She said it helps! Good luck!

 

[Flueky88]

AJangel, I am combifeeding. So breastfeeding, pumping, and formula. No matter what I do she hardly ever gets content from BF. I don't think I'm producing enough. The LC made me feel bad for giving formula so I haven't asked for advice but I just got a fenugreek and blessed thistle supplement. So hope that helps. She usually sleeps really well. Wakes me up once in middle of the night then again around 7 usually. Granted we go to bed around 11 or 12. I think that's pretty good for a NB. She's not a real fussy baby either. I think I'm pretty blessed honestly.

Awesome about the new job, but sucks it's hard to pump at work. I do look forward to more of a personality not that I don't love V, but I thinking fun to have more of a response.

Gagrlinpitt good luck on natural induction techniques. I don't really have any tips. You still have time though and things can change so fast.

Angel oh I hate she's teething. I know all babies go through it but it stinks having them in pain and irritated.

Also, I wasn't going to work the whole time. Was going to leave around 38 or 39 weeks. Victoria just had other plans. The last week I worked was hard especially the last 2 days. Oh and PTL is preterm labor.

I also am wondering about when to ttc again. I think waiting at least a year is best to reduce risk of PTL. I asked dr in hospital and he mentioned is have to take progesterone shots weekly. I think starting in 2nd tri?

Don't think there's much to report here. V gained 5.5 ounces so she's over 6 lbs now

 

[Angel5000]

So Melody's night time is not getting any better, and she's still fairly fussy during the day. How long does teething last?! The only real plus side is that today I've been waiting a little longer between naps (closer to 3 hours) and today both her naps have been 2 hours long instead of 45 minutes. This second one she woke up prematurely because the dogs barked but I was able to get her back to sleep. That's the only sanity I've had today. Thank God it's the weekend and DH is home. He took her when she was screaming and refusing to sleep at 4:45am, and kept her happy and then put her down for a morning nap and I was able to sleep from 5 - 8. Best 3 hours ever.


Flueky - I really get annoyed when anyone, especially a LC, makes someone feel bad for giving formula. My doctor (who was my OB and is also my pediatrician - she has multiple specialties and loves working wiht the whole family!) encourages her patients to do whatever works for the family and as long as baby is fed, loved, and cared for, you do what you gotta do. If she's not content from BF, then chances are you aren't producing enough and you have to make sure baby gets fed. Mothers Milk tea seems to be really good at helping (I think it has fenugreek in it, but not sure). And my grandmother said she took brewers yeast tablets when she was younger to create milk production when she wasn't producing.

Sounds like she's a really good baby though, that's awesome.

Yeah, teething sucks. I hate that she's in pain and irritible and fussy and cranky all the time. And neither of us are getting any sleep. Completely frustrating because we just had a good sleep routine down.


Oh I guess that makes sense. I forgot she was early. If Melody had come right around 34 weeks then it would have been during my last week before I went on Christmas holiday. Is there a big concern that because she was early, a future baby would also be early?

Honestly, I've read in several places that waiting a year is recommended so that your uterus and body can fully heal. I read somewhere that it can take the uterus up to a year to return to it's pre-pregnancy size. I want Melody to be over a year before TTC again, in fact I'm thinking I want her to be closer to 2, but our concern is my age. I was already considered high risk first Tri with M, and I'll be 32 this month. 35 is the high risk age.

I had to do the progesterone pills through all of first tri. It sucked at first, but eventually I adjusted. By 2nd Tri they had me quit, but I guess it would make sense they would put you on progesterone to help prevent PTL.

Yay for V gaining weight!

 

[Flueky88]

Angel, oy it's like NB all over with the night time sleep? Seems like teething goes on intermittently for awhile at least for my 2 nephews. Maybe she's having more come in at once? I'm glad DH is helping though. Mine does great too. I try not to ask him for help Friday and Saturday night because he works 12 hour weekends. He will help if needed.

Yeah I'm not sure what I did. My mom said from a really early age I slept the whole night.

Yeah I believe I'm automatically a high risk pregnancy from now on since it's common to have preterm reoccur. I think American pregnancy association recommends 18 months? DH wants another before 35 and not sure if it will take awhile to conceive again or not. So I think at a year maybe ntnp then ttc at 18 months.

I took progesterone pills to induce AF once and it made me a bit cranky, I can only imagine during pregnancy. Giving myself a shot doesn't phase me at least.

Oh and hooray Melody is almost 6 months!

 

[Angel5000]

Yes! It's like NB sleep all over again! The last two nights have been better, I think it's definitely intermittent!

DH will help but at night I have to wake him because he sleeps through it. So funny (in an ironic, dry humor kind of way) - before baby he was the lightest sleeper I've ever met. Post-baby he can sleep through her crying and even screaming in our bedroom But if I wake him he'll help. I try not to wake him during the week when he has to work but on the weekends he tries to be helpful.

I think you're right, I think I remember reading 18 months from APA.

I had originally planned to do TTA for about 12 months and then NTNP for awhile and TTC around 18 months, figuring it might take awhile, or even if we got pregnant right away at 18 months Melody would be almost 2.5 when baby comes. But I got really tired really quickly of the minipill and having to take it at the same time every day (I'm not very regular at remembering), so I opted to get an IUD, which means I'll have to actively decide we want to TTC and remove it. I had originally wanted to do no BC at all after it took me so long to regulate. But I talked it over with my doctor (who supports natural and hormonal forms of bcp) and she thinks the big thing that affected me was the estrogen part of the pill (and I was on it for 16 years) so we went for a progesterone only form, with lower dosage. Honestly, we aren't having sex very often anyway, but I'm starting to wean her off breastfeeding during the day at least and I don't want to risk getting pregnant again if I happen to ovulate without realizing it while weaning. I don't think I can mentally handle it right now. M is a lot of work!


Yeah, the progesterone pills made me really cranky and actually made me fairly dizzy for a couple weeks. Blah. But once I adjusted it was okay. It's just the onset of the huge increase in hormone. That's great you don't get phased by giving yourself a shot! I think that would be the hardest part for me! I'm glad the pills worked for me because I was not looking forward to the idea of a shot every day!

 

[Ajangel25]

Anyone still here? How is everyone??

 

[Gagrlinpitt]

Still here!! How's everything?

 

[Flueky88]

Still here too. I'm doing alright tomorrow is the last day of my 16 weeks of fmla. So back to work Thursday. I'll be working 4 days instead of 5 and I'll pretty much see the same amount of people I saw for 5 days. So same amount less days. Her 4 month check up is next week on Friday. I'm hoping DH gets benefits by January 1st so I can go prn mid December and not work Christmas. Hoping he gets the job tomorrow. Hope everyone else is well