Baby Corner

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

I know the massage is a side laying massage. Most prenatals are as having your belly hang could be harmful. Im excited.

Anna, ya, Ive felt alot better the past few days. The doctor really made me feel like a nutjob but after a good hardy cry and getting in touch with my hormones and pregnancy im starting to feel better. I see the therapist next wednesday so im really hoping I start to feel 100% soon.

[MARM 7]

Thanks everyone for the congrats!

I am really looking forward to my first apptmnt next week as I am failing at guessing how far along I am. If they start counting from since the first day of last period,which would be July 02 for me, that means I am more than 6 weeks along, which I can hardly believe. Should I have had a period after the July 02 one? I have irregular periods so how does that come into play when figuring out how far along I am?

@ZaidsMommy: Good luck with the massage and therapist. I hope you feel better soon!

@Happy Bunny: You have been through quite a lot during your pregnancy! I hope that everything works out well and soon enough, you will have your precious baby boy!

I also had a question: I am sure that it is mentioned somewhere in this thread, but I would appreciate if someone could suggest a book for me to read (like "What to Expect When You're Expecting", how accurate is that?) as this is my first ever pregnancy and it has been a long time since I have been around any family members that were pregnant, so I need some guidance please!

Edited August 26, 2010 by MARM

[chnst 6]

Kelly: sorry you are going through all this, this pregnancy has been very tough on you! Kudos for talking about it, I'm sure its not easy! With everything going on at work and having a toddler, you are superwoman! Hope you enjoy the massage!!!

Mommies: not sure if I mentioned it here or in the german corner, but 2 days before we went to Germany I totaled my SUV (doing only 30mph) , we are all fine and healthy but we have to get rid of the carseat. Something we didnn't know- the insurance will pay for the carseat if you can send them the receipt (I don't even remember if I still have it) It was a $320 Britax, that we just bought a year ago... So I wanted to mention it here for you guys - keep the receipts!!!!

Anna: we have a cheap car seat here too, it's a world of a difference from the Britax, I think at some point I will just buy a german carseat. It works perfect with the isofix, but I worry about the side impact protection too! Something I think is weird is that none of the german seats have a 5 point harness. But I really like how they are installed with the seatbelt system in the back, its a lot sturdier than the US seats with the seatbelt.

Happy Bunny: sorry you have to deal with the insulin, at least you are almost almost there. BTW The diabetes association has lowered the standards of a "healthy" blood sugar level recently, because a lot of people who were borderline around 110-120 developed diabetes within a few years without intzerventions. They adjust the healthy levels every few years and some doctors and nurses are just not as up to date.

[chnst 6]

I also had a question: I am sure that it is mentioned somewhere in this thread, but I would appreciate if someone could suggest a book for me to read (like "What to Expect When You're Expecting", how accurate is that?) as this is my first ever pregnancy and it has been a long time since I have been around any family members that were pregnant, so I need some guidance please!

I like Dr Sears Baby Book, theres a chapter about pregnacy and it rocks when it comes to child development and basic child care and diseases. I didn't read much when I was pregnant, my OB gave me a book, but the pictures were too scary.

[Jenn! 918]

We've always used Pampers. Swaddlers and now Baby Dry. Many people don't like the new "dry max" that they've switched Swaddlers and Cruisers to. Adam was out of Swaddlers by the time they did the switch - I didn't see a problem with it in the Cruisers, but ended up switching to Baby Dry because they're cheaper and seemed to do the job just as well.

Lisa, I was induced a week early for high blood pressure. If I could do it all again I would have researched more about different induction methods - I thought pitocin was the only induction drug. They induced me by placing a Cytotec tab in my cervix and if I had read about it before I would have insisted that they use Cervadil. Also, they say that contractions are harder when induced. I don't have personal experience to say one way or the other, but just something to keep in mind.

[Jenn! 918]

let alone the friggin heel pricks for bilirubin checks.

Adam had to get full blood draws for his bilirubin checks, poor little guy. I'm mad now that they could have done a heel ####### instead?!

[Staashi 371]

Lisa, I was induced a week early for high blood pressure. If I could do it all again I would have researched more about different induction methods - I thought pitocin was the only induction drug. They induced me by placing a Cytotec tab in my cervix and if I had read about it before I would have insisted that they use Cervadil. Also, they say that contractions are harder when induced. I don't have personal experience to say one way or the other, but just something to keep in mind.

I had the Cervadil twice and wouldn't dilate to save my life. Then they had me take the Cytotec orally and still nothing. Finally, the doctor came in and put the Cytotec into my cervix. My daytime nurse was just getting off of her shift and she came in to my room. She was from Jamaica and I'll never forget what she said to me: "Stacie, girl, you are in for a rough night. Just wantin' to warn ya." Oh Lord!!!! Knowing what I know now about induction, I wish I would have had a c-section. It would have saved me from being in labor for 56 hours and the mental trauma that I still suffer to this day.

[Anna C. 4]

@ Jenn & Stacie: hmm most practices have abandoned Cytotec for its dangers, and of course its off-label use (it's a stomach ulcer drug). They wouldn't use that in CA nor in CO at the obgyn practices I went to, even the local horror hospital uses Cervadil only (which is a lot more expensive btw than Cytotec)... I woudln't want it either Jenn. Stacie, with such a traumatic experience, most insurances will allow you to opt for a c-section next time if you want to. Why were you induced? I don't remember. My midwives don't do chemical induction, and the backup obgyn only does them in certain cases (preeclampsia, gestational diabetes past due date and high insulin doses management and such).... Cytotec causes brutal contractions!

@ Steffi: Yeah for now the Scenera will do. I agree about the easy installation, it was a breeze, but latch/isofix is super easy too... I just can't have Jona forward facing, he'll freak out and I don't feel comfy with it. Good to know about the receipt, I better log on to Amazon and print that one... They tend to disappear once one needs them. Soon enough though, once JOna hits 35 lbs, we'll buy the Radian XTSL. This baby is already measuring big, maybe he'll (I'm convinced it's a boy) move into the Britax even earlier than Jona... I'm still glad we have the infant bucket, it's so much safer for newborns. At least we get our good use out of it with two children.

@ Jenn: actually, if they took blood from the arm vein, it's much less painful than the heelpricks, and more accurate. Jona has had both ways and the heel pricks are horrible. For the bilicheck a certain amount of blood is needed, and there isn't a whole lot in the heels. They "milk" the foot and legs, which is painful, and it's a 3 minute crying session... When he was 3 weeks old and they took blood from the arm, what a difference. Just a little ####### while he was nursing, so he didn't even care, and the blood vials were filled in no time! I would actually insist on arm blood draws in the future! I feel the heel ####### is ok for the genetic screening (PKU test, newborn screening or whatever it's called), cause they need so little, but everything else is pure torture! Oh and the blood draws were done by a hospital pediatrician, he was really good. He could do the whole catheter thing without retracting Jona, for which I am very thankful (Jona had some fever at 3 weeks and they FREAK about it, even though it was low, it turned out to be some virus and he was fine, but they are always scared it could be meningitis).

Edited August 26, 2010 by Anna C.

[Jenn! 918]

Good to know about the heel ####### - I guess I'm glad he got it taken from the arm then! The idea of milking the leg makes me queasy - poor Jona!

About the cytotec, yeah I was really surprised when I read about it after my delivery. I had him at Brigham and Womens in Boston, which is a renowned OBGYN hosital. And I was at the high risk OB with a history of placental abruption, which made it all the more shocking to me.

And yes, the contractions were horrible, but I have nothing to compare it to. The cytotec-induced contractions were one on top of the other. I would have about a 90 second contraction with maybe a 10sec break. I did it for six hours and then I gave in and asked for the epidural. Would definitely recommend staying away from cytotec.

[Staashi 371]

@ Jenn & Stacie: hmm most practices have abandoned Cytotec for its dangers, and of course its off-label use (it's a stomach ulcer drug). They wouldn't use that in CA nor in CO at the obgyn practices I went to, even the local horror hospital uses Cervadil only (which is a lot more expensive btw than Cytotec)... I woudln't want it either Jenn. Stacie, with such a traumatic experience, most insurances will allow you to opt for a c-section next time if you want to. Why were you induced? I don't remember. My midwives don't do chemical induction, and the backup obgyn only does them in certain cases (preeclampsia, gestational diabetes past due date and high insulin doses management and such).... Cytotec causes brutal contractions!

I was an insulin-dependent diabetic and the doctor didn't want to run the risk of a dying placenta that would have killed the baby. He didn't want me to go past 39 weeks. Enzo was born at 39.5 weeks. There will be no next time, but if I had to do it allover again I would opt for the c-section in a heartbeat. I recovered so quickly - less than a week, but most of it was due to being a walking fool when prego.

[Empress of Groovy 373]

Thanks everyone for the congrats!

I am really looking forward to my first apptmnt next week as I am failing at guessing how far along I am. If they start counting from since the first day of last period,which would be July 02 for me, that means I am more than 6 weeks along, which I can hardly believe. Should I have had a period after the July 02 one? I have irregular periods so how does that come into play when figuring out how far along I am?

I also had a question: I am sure that it is mentioned somewhere in this thread, but I would appreciate if someone could suggest a book for me to read (like "What to Expect When You're Expecting", how accurate is that?) as this is my first ever pregnancy and it has been a long time since I have been around any family members that were pregnant, so I need some guidance please!

My periods have always been very irregular too, w/ cycles on the long side...sometimes very long side (like 50 days wasn't unusual). I'm not sure if this is standard, but it seems that nowadays, a lot of people get a transvaginal (crotch probe) ultrasound at the first prenatal appointment, which is typically between 6 and 8 weeks. I had mine at about 7 weeks, and it gave a due date that jibed completely w/ my own estimate. I knew pretty much when I ovulated because I was using the test strips. They always ask for the date of your LMP, but they know that this isn't necessarily the most accurate predictor of your due date because people's cycles vary so much. I was blown away by how accurate the due date generated by the ultrasound was given that at that point, the little critter was teeny tiny. One thing to keep in mind is that the fetal pole & heart flutter won't show up on the ultrasound if it's too early, like much before 5 1/2 to 6 weeks. From what I've read on message boards, this has led to a lot of freak-out. Do you have any idea when you may have conceived?

A friend of my mother's gave me "What to Expect When You're Expecting." I think it's a very good and comprehensive resource. The writing style is super-cheezy, though.

[Staashi 371]

Good to know about the heel ####### - I guess I'm glad he got it taken from the arm then! The idea of milking the leg makes me queasy - poor Jona!

About the cytotec, yeah I was really surprised when I read about it after my delivery. I had him at Brigham and Womens in Boston, which is a renowned OBGYN hosital. And I was at the high risk OB with a history of placental abruption, which made it all the more shocking to me.

And yes, the contractions were horrible, but I have nothing to compare it to. The cytotec-induced contractions were one on top of the other. I would have about a 90 second contraction with maybe a 10sec break. I did it for six hours and then I gave in and asked for the epidural. Would definitely recommend staying away from cytotec.

Mine were like that, too - but I wanted the epidural. My cervix dilated from .5 centimeter to 10 in an hour. My IV line came loose and they couldn't find a vein and without the vein they couldn't do the epidural. I was in agony for about 3 hours. Finally the anesthesiologist came in and I was just in such miserable pain. He said to me, "I'm gonna give you this epidural but you have to be as still as humanly possible." I had like four contractions when he was doing it and I just gritted my teeth on a washcloth. It was rough. But once the epidural took effect - heaven! You know one side effect of the epidural was uncontrollable shaking/chills. To this day, I get those every so often at night when I'm in bed. Happened again just last night - it was bizarre.

[Jenn! 918]

Mine were like that, too - but I wanted the epidural. My cervix dilated from .5 centimeter to 10 in an hour. My IV line came loose and they couldn't find a vein and without the vein they couldn't do the epidural. I was in agony for about 3 hours. Finally the anesthesiologist came in and I was just in such miserable pain. He said to me, "I'm gonna give you this epidural but you have to be as still as humanly possible." I had like four contractions when he was doing it and I just gritted my teeth on a washcloth. It was rough. But once the epidural took effect - heaven! You know one side effect of the epidural was uncontrollable shaking/chills. To this day, I get those every so often at night when I'm in bed. Happened again just last night - it was bizarre.

They were able to get mine in with only two contractions, thank god, but I hear you. I had such a great nurse at that time who saved me. My mother said it was the hardest part of the whole delivery.

[Anna C. 4]

@ Stacie: Wow I hope those side effects wear off soon... I have heard of epidural migraines before or friends had epis that only worked on one side of the body... Yikes.

With your stories, I don't want to know how my contractions would have been with Pit or induction. I had them on top of each other for a long time with no break for the final hour, though it was productive (5 to 10)... Back labor... I had some Stadol as the jacuzzi was never available (gosh did I swear about that), which made it worse (didn't take the edge off, but gave me hallucinations for an hour, great!!!!)... Baeh never again, I'm worried about the side effects... This time I have the tub for me, yeah!

@ Marm: I second the Dr Sears book, he actually also has a pregnancy book. I'd get it at the library, cause now I have a bunch of books and don't use them anymore and had to donate them... I personally didn't like WTEWYAE, it was too shallow and paternalistic in some places. The breastfeeding section had some bad info. It's an overview though. At my midwife's office they had a marvelous picture book of all gestational ages with a lot of detailed information about development. the earlier pictures are IVF embryo pics, and God knows how they got the other shots... So interesting. So many things happen upon conception and implementation, and then the stunning development from a bunch of cells to a child, it's beautiful. It's a $60 book though, I forget the title, but Google should find it

[MARM 7]

I like Dr Sears Baby Book, theres a chapter about pregnacy and it rocks when it comes to child development and basic child care and diseases. I didn't read much when I was pregnant, my OB gave me a book, but the pictures were too scary.

I have read about Dr. Sears while I was searching co-sleepers. I actually like the idea of co-sleeping and I see that he does endorse the ones by Arm's Reach. Thanks for the suggestion!