*Baby Corner*

[caybee 21]

does anyone use baby signing? i've taken a couple of classes, and i think it's great. i'm sure ayah's personality is a huge factor in her contentedness, but i think at least part of her being such a happy baby is due to her being able to communicate more effectively with me through signing. my mom has been learning signing too, to help her communicate with ayah when she starts baby sitting her in a few months.

I have so much catching up to do here, but I wanted to say that we hope to use some baby signing. I've heard such good things from friends who have done it. I'm glad to hear it's been successful for Ayah as well.

[sandinista! 1,816]

Ladies, Enzo got his 2-month old shots today. OMG!!! It was so traumatizing to Tavo and myself. Enzo had been examined by the dr. and had fallen asleep. Well two nurses came in and said, "Just remember you love your baby." Oh noes!!! He got three injections and one oral vaccine. He cried out and then when it was all over I started sobbing, too. I guess I just had his whole NICU experience come back to me. He cried for no more than a minute and fell asleep. Tavo and I loaded him into the car and brought him home. My MIL said he's doing just fine - but it was so hard to go through. If I could have had a drink at 10am I would have done so.

poor enzo! i'm so sorry. shots are definitely traumatic for the whole family though. it absolutely doesn't seem possible, but i think it gets a little easier with time. i hope it does for you guys.

does anyone use baby signing? i've taken a couple of classes, and i think it's great. i'm sure ayah's personality is a huge factor in her contentedness, but i think at least part of her being such a happy baby is due to her being able to communicate more effectively with me through signing. my mom has been learning signing too, to help her communicate with ayah when she starts baby sitting her in a few months.

I have so much catching up to do here, but I wanted to say that we hope to use some baby signing. I've heard such good things from friends who have done it. I'm glad to hear it's been successful for Ayah as well.

thanks! i hope you'll enjoy it too.

[Eveline 9]

Staashi: They gave Enzo the shots while he was sleeping? I hope he feels better soon.

Seems like Allie has yet another ear infection. I'm gonna take her to the pedi tomorrow and ask for a referral to the ENT so we can get tubes in for her too. I'm so sick and tired of all the ear pulling, the fever, the antibiotics, the crying etc. I've had it.

Allie - usually not a cuddly baby - is so clingy today. I can hardly even put her down and play with Adam. Usually she just wants to be left alone and doesn't say a peep when I leave her sitting somewhere for a long time. Not today though. She lept on my belly this mornig (first time in almost 10 months), laid next to me earlier while napping and then wanted to be held again. I gave her two suppositories so far, that helps but the fever doesn't stay down.

[Staashi 371]

Staashi: They gave Enzo the shots while he was sleeping? I hope he feels better soon.

Yes, the dr said he needed to calm down before they would give him the shots...well, he fell asleep. It was probably for the best so that he wouldn't realize what was happening.

[Vi Mazzella 4]

Staashi@ Is your hubby's name Gustavo?? and we had a similar experience, we went for Sofia's two month appointment and she was super calm until the nurse came and and gave her three shots, poor baby, she cried a little bit and then at night cried like crazy, according to my mom she was upset from the morning . Now we have the next appointment on July 10th I guess she will get more vaccines.

Nessa@ I speak to my baby in spanish 99% of the time and daddy speaks to her in english but from time to time he says some words in spanish that he got from me like "que linda" (how cute). Congrat with little Ben sleeping the whole night.

Hubby is sick so I have been sleeping with my mom and the baby and she is waking up just once around 3am to drink some milk and then back to sleep until 7am more milk and then again back to sleep until 10am. Can't complain.But she hates to sleep on her crib!!!!!!!

[Staashi 371]

Staashi@ Is your hubby's name Gustavo?? and we had a similar experience, we went for Sofia's two month appointment and she was super calm until the nurse came and and gave her three shots, poor baby, she cried a little bit and then at night cried like crazy, according to my mom she was upset from the morning . Now we have the next appointment on July 10th I guess she will get more vaccines.

Yes, he's Gustavo. Enzo had some time today where he was protesting but he's doing fine now...I just don't know what he'll be like tonight.

[Nizzy 1]

I did sign with Eman and he picked up the sign for "milk" when he was about 10 months old. It was soooo cute! It helped us out too because then we knew what he wanted. He also picked up on "mommy" and "daddy" a short while after. I have a sister with a disability and she really reinforced a lot of that.

[JVKn'CVO 11]

@la souris: thank you and good luck on making your own. we'll be waiting for you to join us.

@caro: are u also buying the wall decals?

if it was me, i'd go with a blue. i don't like the color on the pic at all.

Yeah, we're getting pretty much everything but the stuffed snoopies

Saludos,

Caro

[Eveline 9]

Nobody cares for Allie?

[JVKn'CVO 11]

Nobody cares for Allie?

I hope Allie gets better soon

Saludos,

Caro

[JVKn'CVO 11]

For the pregos - a little long, but worth it

I'm linking the whole article because I can't access the web site, I think because it is a UK server.

It was sent to me by our Bradley instructor

Get Your Baby Lined Up!

Optimum Fetal Positioning

By Angela Horn, found at http://www.horns.freeserve.co.uk/ofp.htm

'Optimal Fetal Positioning' is a theory developed by a midwife, Jean Sutton, who found that the mother's position and movement could influence the way her baby lay in the womb in the final weeks of pregnancy. Many difficult labors result from 'malpresentation', where the baby's position makes it hard for the head to move through the pelvis, so changing the way the baby lies could make birth easier for mother and child.

The 'occiput anterior' position is ideal for birth - it means that the baby is lined up so as to fit through your pelvis as easily as possible. The baby is head down, facing your back, with his back on one side of the front of your tummy. In this position, the baby's head is easily 'flexed', ie: his chin tucked onto his chest, so that the smallest part of his head will be applied to the cervix first. The diameter of his head which has to fit through the pelvis is approximately 9.5 cm, and the circumference approximately 27.5cm. The position is usually 'Left Occiput Anterior' or LOA - occasionally the baby may be Right Occiput Anterior or ROA.

The 'occiput posterior' (OP) position is not so good. This means the baby is still head down, but facing your tummy. Mothers of babies in the 'posterior' position are more likely to have long and painful labors as the baby usually has to turn all the way round to facing the back in order to be born. He cannot fully flex his head in this position, and diameter of his head which has to enter the pelvis is approximately 11.5cm, circumference 35.5cm.

This means that often posterior babies do not engage (descend into the pelvis) before labor starts. The fact that they don't engage means that it's harder for labor to start naturally, so they are more likely to be 'late'. Braxton-Hicks contractions before labor starts may be especially painful, with lots of pressure on the bladder, as the baby tries to rotate while it is entering the pelvis.

Posterior presentation is more of a problem for first babies and their mothers than it is for subsequent births; when a mother has given birth before, there is generally much more room for maneuver, so it is easier for the baby to rotate during labor.

Sutton notes that the rate of posterior presentation has increased drastically in the last few decades, apparently in line with changes in the way women use their bodies. Sitting in car seats and leaning back on comfortable sofas, together with less physical work, have combined to produce an increase in posterior presentations. Paying attention to your posture in the last few weeks of pregnancy can help to reverse this trend. Since keeping reasonably active in pregnancy, and practicing good posture, isn't going to do anyone any harm, this theory at least deserves to be considered.

When do you need to start doing something about this?

Pay attention to your posture at the time when your baby may be starting to 'engage', which means its head will be descending into the pelvis. This means for the last six weeks of your first pregnancy, and the last two or three weeks of subsequent pregnancies. In your second and later pregnancies, the uterus is more roomy and the baby will not normally start to descend into the pelvis until later, and often not until labor starts.

What position is your baby in?

This is important because you need to know when your baby moves into a good position, so that you can encourage it to stay there! You can learn to tell what position your baby is in, by asking midwives to show you what to look out for, and by practicing feeling for the baby yourself.

When the baby is anterior, the back feels hard and smooth and rounded on one side of your tummy, and you will normally feel kicks under your ribs. Your belly button (umbilicus) will normally poke out, and the area around it will feel firm. When the baby is posterior, your tummy may look flatter and feel more squashy, and you may feel arms and legs towards the front, and kicks on the front towards the middle of your tummy. The area around your belly button may dip in to a concave, saucer-like shape.

If you feel the baby move, try work out what body part was moving. Remember that heads feel hard and round, while bottoms feel soft and round! It may take a lot of concentration and trying to work things out at first, but you soon get the hang of it. You may find it easier to feel your baby's position if you lie on your back with your legs stretched flat out.

If your baby is posterior, you may find that you suffer backache during late pregnancy (of course, many women suffer backache then anyway). You may also experience long and painful 'practice contractions' as your baby tries to turn around in order to engage in the pelvis.

Practical steps to avoid posterior positions

The baby's back is the heaviest side of its body. This means that the back will naturally gravitate towards the lowest side of the mother's abdomen. So if your tummy is lower than your back, eg: you are sitting on a chair leaning forward, then the baby's back will tend to swing towards your tummy. If your back is lower than your tummy, eg: you are lying on your back or leaning back in an armchair, then the baby's back may swing towards your back.

For more detailed discussions of positioning, some good diagrams, and lots of tips for turning babies, please see the sources listed at the end of this article.

Avoid positions that encourage your baby to face your tummy. The main culprits are said to be lolling back in armchairs, sitting in car seats where you are leaning back, or anything where your knees are higher than your pelvis.

The best way to do this is to spend lots of time kneeling upright, or sitting upright, or on hands and knees. When you sit on a chair, make sure your knees are lower than your pelvis, and your trunk should be tilted slightly forwards.

• Watch TV while kneeling on the floor, over a beanbag or cushions, or sit on a dining chair. Try sitting on a dining chair facing (leaning on) the back as well.

• Use yoga positions while resting, reading or watching TV - for example, tailor sitting (sitting with your back upright and soles of the feet together, knees out to the sides)[3]

• Sit on a wedge cushion in the car, so that your pelvis is tilted forwards. Keep the seat back upright.[3]

• Don't cross your legs! This reduces the space at the front of the pelvis, and opens it up at the back. For good positioning, the baby needs to have lots of space at the front

• Don't put your feet up! Lying back with your feet up encourages posterior presentation.

• Sleep on your side, almost on your tummy supported by lots of pillows (the sims position), not on your back.

• Avoid deep squatting, which opens up the pelvis and encourages the baby to move down, until you know he/she is the right way round. Jean Sutton recommends squatting on a low stool instead, and keeping your spine upright, not leaning forwards.

• Swimming with your belly downwards is said to be very good for positioning babies [1] - not backstroke, but lots of breaststroke and front crawl. Breaststroke in particular is thought to help with good positioning, because all those leg movements help open your pelvis and settle the baby downwards. [3]

• A Birth Ball can encourage good positioning, both before and during labor. See Birth Balls article on the MomCare website at http://www.geocities.com/momcare/birth_ball.htm for more details.

• Various exercises done on all fours can help, eg: wiggling your hips from side to side, or arching your back like a cat, followed by dropping the spine down, and pelvic rocking. This is described in more detail in an article at http://www.btinternet.com/~wellmother/backache.htm - 'Exercise for relieving backache' by Suzanne Yates.

• More ideas from a Shiatsu teacher specializing in pregnancy care: Shiatsu and Optimum Fetal Positioning, again by Suzanne Yates at http://www.btinternet.com/~wellmother/9909optfoep.htm describing the importance of hands and knees crawling in pregnancy and labor.

(Nothing to do with baby positioning, but... if you're swimming, make sure you have goggles so you can swim in a good position, with your face partially or wholly in the water as you dip down. Doing breaststroke with your neck craned, holding your face out of the water, is bad for your neck and back at any time, let alone in pregnancy when ligaments are loose.)

If the baby is already posterior…

When your baby is in a posterior position, you can try to stop him/her from descending lower. You want to avoid the baby engaging in the pelvis in this position, while you work on encouraging him to turn around. Jean Sutton says that most babies take a couple of days to turn around when the mother is working hard on positioning.

• Avoid deep squatting

• Use the 'knee to chest' position. When on hands and knees, stick your bottom (butt) in the air, to tip the baby back up out of your pelvis so that there is more room for him to turn around.

• Sway your hips while on hands and knees

• Crawl around on hands and knees. A token 5 minutes on hands and knees is unlikely to do the trick - you need to keep working at this until your baby turns. Try crawling around the carpet for half an hour - while watching TV or listening to music. It is good exercise as well as good for the baby's position!

• Don't put your feet up! Lying back with your feet up encourages posterior presentation.

• Swim belly-down, but avoid kicking with breaststroke legs as this movement is said to encourage the baby to descend in the pelvis [3]. You can still swim breaststroke, but simply kick with straight legs instead of "frogs' legs".

• Try sleeping on your tummy, using lots of pillows and cushions for support.

The Kneeler-Rocker

If your baby is persistently posterior, Jean Sutton recommends using a special kneeler-rocker chair for the last few weeks of pregnancy. This is like a kneeling stool, which sits you in a helpful upright position with knees lower than your chest, but it has rockers underneath it. The combination of upright posture and rocking movement encourages the baby to rotate.

Try midwifery or doula organizations, or specialist back chair shops (which sometimes sell kneeler rockers, although they probably have not heard of them used specifically for this purpose). For example, Norwegian furniture company Stokke make a kneeler-rocker designed to encourage good posture at your PC or desk. It is not constructed specifically with pregnant women in mind, as Jean Sutton's rocker is, but would still be useful. You can see their Stokke Variable Balans online at http://www.stokke-furniture.no/variable.html?61,39 , and get details of suppliers.

When your baby turns to an anterior position, you can encourage him to descend further into the pelvis - by walking around upright, massaging your bump downwards, deep squatting, and swimming - and now you can use lots of breaststroke "frogs' legs" kicking.[3]

If your baby is posterior when you go into labor:

These movements can help the baby wriggle through your pelvis, past the ischial spines inside it, by altering the level of your hips. They are also helpful if the baby is anterior but has a presentation problem, eg: his head is tipped to one side (asynclitic).

• In early labor, walk up stairs - sideways if you need to.

• Rock from side to side

• March or 'tread' on the spot

• Step on and off a small stool

• Climb in and out of a birth pool [3]

• The positions listed below may also help.

For the second stage:

• Use kneeling or all-fours positions. Kneeling on one knee can help.

• Supported squatting in second stage, but the mother must be lifted quite high up; her bottom should be at least 45cm (18 inches) off the floor.

• Birth stool seats should be at least 45cm (18 inches) from the floor.

• Avoid lying on your back, semi-reclining, sitting or semi-sitting. These positions all reduce the available space for the baby to turn. Lying on the side is OK.

Is there any proof that this works?

Midwives and mothers who have learned about, and used, Optimal Fetal Positioning techniques are convinced that it works. There is a wealth of anecdotal evidence in favor of it. However, there have not been any trials or studies on the subject so far, because they would be extremely difficult to organize. Practicing techniques to turn a posterior baby can take a lot of commitment on the part of the mother, which could not be assumed in a randomized trial. There would also be ethical problems with a trial - would mothers in the control group be told not to adopt upright or forward-leaning postures? Or would they simply not be told that taking care with their posture could lead to an easier labor?

There has been one small study [4] which looked at the short-term effects of mothers adopting a hands-and-knees position, compared to sitting, when their baby was in a lateral or posterior position. Mothers were asked to go on hands and knees, or to sit, for a short period of time, and the position of the baby was noted ten minutes afterwards. The study found that babies were far less likely to remain posterior after mothers had been on hands and knees.

However, since the babies' positions were only assessed for ten minutes after one session on hands and knees, this study doesn't tell us very much about the longer-term effects of alterations in the mother's posture. You can read the abstract in the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Database at http://www.update-software.com/ccweb/cochr...tr/ab001063.htm.

Some good evidence for the effectiveness of the theory comes from its author's own practice. When Jean Sutton was appointed Principal Nurse Midwife at a maternity unit in New Zealand, she emphasized antenatal education on fetal positioning. The transfer rate from maternity unit to hospital fell from 30% to 5 % and the forceps delivery rate fell from 3-4 per month, to 2-4 per year, over a period of several years [2]. Jean now lectures regularly on her theory and will be visiting the UK for another tour in Autumn 2000.

Finally…

My first baby, Lee, kept trying to settle in a posterior position because his placenta was attached to the front wall of the uterus (anterior placenta). Babies generally tend to face the placenta, and most placenta implant on the back wall of the uterus (posterior placenta). So if your baby's placenta is on the front wall then you will need to be extra-careful about positioning as the baby's natural tendency may be to settle in a posterior position.

I would feel Lee turning towards my front as he got larger, and every time I would go down on all fours, rock my hips and wiggle around until I felt his back towards my belly button. Then I'd stand up and walk around to settle him there, massaging him downwards. Despite his best efforts to turn around, I won!! And had a 9 hour, straightforward, completely natural labor to produce a 9lb 6oz (4,250g) first baby... I was told that if he'd remained in a posterior position then I would probably have ended up a very hard labor, and probably major intervention and perhaps a cesarean given his size.

If your baby appears to be in a posterior position, you will probably need to put considerable effort into persuading him to move around. It is no use spending five minutes on your hands and knees every now and then, and then saying "I tried to turn him, but it didn't work...". Optimum Fetal Positioning should be a lifestyle for you, for those last few weeks of pregnancy, not just an occasional distraction. Adopting a 'good' position now and then will not make much difference if you are in 'bad' positions for the majority of the time. A 'good' position is not a magic cure, a pill that you can take to turn your baby. The only person who can get your baby into a good position is you, and unfortunately, you are going to have to do the work to make it happen!

It may be that your baby is going to stay 'sunnyside-up' and will just refuse to turn; perhaps that's the way he/she needs to be. However, it can't hurt to try to get the baby to turn. If you do end up having a posterior labor (and they're not all dreadful, but many are harder than they would otherwise be), at least you'll know you did all you could to make things easier for you and the baby.

More information online:

Posterior Babies - what mothers can do - from the UK's Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services (AIMS)

www.aims.org.uk/posterior.htm

Article on posterior babies, with photos of a pregnant mother's tummy when carrying a posterior baby, and tips on how to spot a posterior presentation: http://www.geocities.com/momcare/pos_sym.htm

Posterior Presentation - A Pain in the Back! Article by midwife Valerie el Halta on posterior babies and how to turn them anterior for faster, easier labors: http://www.geocities.com/momcare/pos_pain.htm

UK Midwife Archives page on presentation, from the Association of Radical Midwives http://www.radmid.demon.co.uk/presentation.htm

The Midwife Archives on the gentlebirth.org website have an amazing collection of wisdom and experience on just about every subject related to pregnancy and birth. The pages on positioning start at http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/position.html

Article on positioning and how to improve it, with good diagrams of baby in womb and pictures of exercises for mum: http://www.cefcares.org/fetal/position.htm

References:

All data and recommendations in this article are from [1] below unless stated otherwise.

[1] 'Understanding and Teaching Optimal Foetal Positioning' by Jean Sutton and Pauline Scott, in New Zealand: Birth Concepts, 1995. From Midwiferytoday.com for $12.50 (I also have it in my lending library.)

http://www.midwiferytoday.com/Merchant2/me...egory_Code=OTBK

[2] Modern Midwife , January 1997 Vol 7 No 1, article by Mary Nolan

[3] Recommendations from other sources, including antenatal classes I have attended, and discussions with midwives and antenatal teachers, which are not specified in Jean Sutton's 'Optimum Foetal Positioning'.

[4] Hofmeyr GJ, Kulier R. Hands/knees posture in late pregnancy or labour for fetal malposition (lateral or posterior) (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 2, 2000

http://www.update-software.com/ccweb/cochr...tr/ab001063.htm

Saludos,

Caro

[Marina-Del 10]

I care! I don't have babies yet, but I always read the baby thread because I want a baby so much! I hope you guys don't mind that I post on here sometimes!!

But I care! I hope that she feels better soon! I hope she gets better soon and that her appointment goes well! Good luck tonight!!

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

Staashi, shots get easier, zaid screamed his 2 and 4 months, didnt even cry for his 6 and 9 months, and threw a terrible fit for his 12. Just know that its temporary and Enzo will forget the minute u pick him up. <3

Anna, i am with ya on the comparison, My brothers son is 6 weeks older than zaid and has done EVERYTHING way before zaid. My brother is always saying..."OMG Zaid stiilll isnt doing such and such " Nephew crawled at 6 months, Zaid at 9, Nephew walking at 10 months, Zaid walked at 12.5. My nephew also signs and zaid hardly says mama and dada. Babies are different and most all level out with their age group ....

Ev, poor Allie, ear infections run in my family as well altho it looks like zaid didnt inherit it. My cousin has 5 girls and each one of them had tubes by 15 months. Hope Allie feels better soon <3

Stef, hows ben poop probs going??? lol.

I wanna say I feel sorry for you who are sleep deprived. I honestly dont think i could workm let alone work and go to school (Which is what im up to lately) if zaid woke up even 2 times a night. Since zaid was a few months old he slept 8pm to 8am. Ill pray for you new moms that your children do the same lol

[Eveline 9]

allie is still not crawling. She's wanting to but she can't yet. She just falls over and then scoots around backwards on her belly. She is mobile though but she just can't get where she wants to go .

@Anna: About the comparing. I know you are not supposed to compare but I do it too. I just do it in my head though. Adam was pretty quick with everything, sitting up at 6 months, crawling at 7.5 months, cruising at 9 months. Allie on the other hand just doesn't seem to be so quick with it and first I thought something was wrong with her but I guess she's just taking her time.

Edited June 2, 2009 by Eveline

[Ladylethal 12]

I care! I don't have babies yet, but I always read the baby thread because I want a baby so much! I hope you guys don't mind that I post on here sometimes!!

But I care! I hope that she feels better soon! I hope she gets better soon and that her appointment goes well! Good luck tonight!!

Ditto, but can't afford to get preggers yet and hubby also wants us to be stable and to have more alone time before starting our family as well.