Baby Corner

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

My ultrasounds were accurate too. As were my best friends with both her kids. And we both delivered 9lb+ kids. And I saw an OB who wanted to induce...I chose not to, delivered 9 days overdue and was able to push out my 9lb whopper with minimal tearing, so was my friend, without induction.

My twin sister had a midwife, who didnt like to intervene medically. And no matter what my sister said about feeling like the baby was too big, the midwife assured her the same "that her body would only do what it could handle" well after 2 days of labor and 4 hours of pushing my sister (size 3) delivered a 10lb4oz baby boy who happened to give her 3rd degree tears in her perinium, #######, and her ####### and she bled, horribly, for 3 months. She couldnt get off stool softeners for 5 months and even when she did have a BM her ####### bled, and did so for months. She is scarred by it and is deterred to have more kids. I strongly believe in this case my sister should have had a csection and most doctors would have done one.

Point is, do what you feel is best, not what the doctor or midwife says. You know your body. Good luck and enjoy your last free weekend.

[Fandango 1,440]

Tank you so much Staashi for your words, they really are uplifting.

When I first got preggo, I actually wanted a C section...doc said no unless proven med necc. I did call my neurosurgeon (who medically cleared me years ago) and he told me there was no reason on his end to not do a VB. Funny thing was, at the time I was skeered of a VB and preferred a C, and you'd think hearing from your neurosurgeon that you're 'completely normal' would be a good thing, right? I was like 'that b@stard's gonna make me push!!!' LOL

I've since come around to preferring a VB, but at this stage of the game, will do whatever the doctor thinks is the best. He knows my fears. Several years ago, *upsetting story under this spoiler, do not read if it will upset you*

my neighbor - at 38 - had her 4th child. She developed placenta previa and something else, which I can't remember. She was supposed to go schedule a C, and I dunno what happened then (I was living in the UK at the time so this is all 2nd hand), but long story short, she went into labor, and had a VB. Due to her age and the factors, he was 12 lbs, and the stress of the delivery caused him to have a stroke in the birth canal. He's more or less functional ok, but he does have lots of problems now.

That is the thing that terrifies me, so I don't care which way I have to give birth, as long as it's the best for the baby. I've been through worse either way, so whatever's clever.

@Anna - Don't worry, I didn't take it that way! And thank you also for your post. I find the support and vast knowledge here so wonderful, esp for a baby n00b like me, lol. Seems like everything will play out the way it's going to, and that's not that I'm taking a passive approach, but I really do trust my Dr. With everything he's done for my care so far, he's proven that he's erring on the side of caution, and that makes me feel secure that he's going to do what's best for us, but more importantly, the baby.

Congrats on the speech testing, that's so cool to be bilingual so young. I wish I was! It's sucky about your sinus infection, and I hope that clears up soon. Good luck with the plane flight and a 2 year old! Hopefully, he'll be really tired and sleep thru the whole thing? Hey, ya never know!

@ Twila - You're right about learning to be your own advocate, but the problem with me is that I've had such freak things happen to me that I'm pretty much shell-shot when it comes to health issues/loss. I probably do need therapy at some point, because I worry so much over the smallest detail. I've had a lot of loss of loved ones in my life - completely unexpected loss, completely unexpected 'you're gonna die, Lisa, if you don't have this surgery' things, So that has kinda made me be a little neurotic. Like, when the tech said he was non responsive, I did know that he's sleepy in the afternoon, but in that moment, seeing her face look all casual-but-concerned, my whole body turned to ice. This post is so long, so I'll make another one in a lil bit from a c&p to an email to my MIL explaining what exactly happened on Monday.

So I dunno if it's that maybe I don't trust my instincts, trust my faith (I do believe very firmly in God), I dunno. Like I said, I probably need therapy to deal with anxiety for these issues.

@ Caro - wow I didn't know he was that big at birth and you were so tiny!!!

@ZM - that sounds absolutely horrific, your poor sister! How long ago was that and how is she now????

I really can't thank you all enough for all your support. I know I'm not always in this thread because sometimes, the anxiety has overwhelmed me at times, lol. But just know that I appreciate your support greatly.

Edited September 1, 2010 by Happy Bunny

[chri'stina 190]

Lisa, glad your baby will have more time to bake. I am going away for the weekend til Tues so I won't be around here, but hope everything goes well for your labor Monday! Induced on Labor Day, how appropriate.

Kavi was only 6lbs 2 oz and he was born on his estimated due date so he should have been 40 weeks, but just not a big baby. Due date could have been off by a week. (I was only 6lbs 12 oz when born, full term. My sis also about the same.) I went into labor on my own the day before his due date.

Certain things I wish I had tried differently like standing up or sitting during the end of labor bc when I finally was admitted to the hospital I was already 7cm which was good, but then when I laid down in the hosp bed my body didn't keep up with the contractions at the same pace anymore. I got an epidural bc I was exhausted by then and the nurses thought he'd be born at any time. But my body stalled there for hours and hours until c-section was needed in the evening. I never actually pushed bc I never got past 7cm. But my water had broken overnight and meconium was in there so it was time to make sure baby was safe and get him out.

[Anna C. 4]

I think it's a common problem to find a obgyn/midwife who you can trust. I have had bad experiences! When I had preterm contractions, the doctors wouldn't take me seriously and thought I was some hysterical first time mom. I explained to them my family history of cerclages, incompetent cervixes, small babies, but nada. They wouldn't do a non stress test, only a fetal fibronectin, but that doesn't show the contraction patterns... Which ended me in the ER for a couple hours on the monitor and then I finally got some Terbutaline. The next doc refused to give it to me beyond 35 weeks as he felt that's a safe time to have a baby, I couldn't have agreed less. My sister had the meds til 39 weeks! He also is a super example for crazy evil old guy obgyn - the things he said, I cannot even repeat all of them. He didn't like a woman with questions or own visions of birth... Yikes. I feel it is important that health care providers listen to a mom's (or parents') concerns and take them seriously. The first group I started out with in this pregnancy certainly didn't like questions and wanted me to be part of some medication trial, no thanks! I feel very safe with the midwife group I am with now at the birthing center. They listen, we have one hour appointments, and they truly addressed my concerns. We already laid out a plan in case my PTL returns, and I will meet their wonderful backup obgyn for the u/s, and if that is not approved, I would still meet him in case I develop anything or need the Terbutaline. I have talked to other moms who had their baby in the hospital with him, and he is very nice, great bedside manners, and super low intervention rates, combined with a very low maternal/fetal death rate compared to the nation's average. I need a practitioner who is ok with me questioning and explaining en detail why something should be done. Obviously, there are cases when c-sections or inductions are warranted, and I'm glad we have the technology at hand, but overall, it is grossly overused and puts a strain on families and babies.

@ Caro: Your case reminds me to update my c-section part on the birth plan, we have one on file with the hospital in case of a transfer. We would be taking a doula, maybe she can do filming, that is a good idea. I think I would want to see it. Heck I wanted a video of Jona's birth, but DH was too queasy about it, hahah. He got to see it and actually I would have wanted to see it too. In case of surgery I need my husband to remain with the baby until I'm able to, and make sure nothing happens we don't want (we don't want newborn procedures at all, and no formula or sugar water). I think sometimes babies are just bigger, and it doesn't work out. Evi's firstborn was basically the same, but her daughter was a VBAC. I'm still astonished that my niece weighed 9lb 10oz at birth and my SIL got away without a tear even. She's a size 2 (granted she's tall, 176cm and has wider set hips than me, maybe that's the secret).

@ Kelly: Oh my your poor sister. Sounds horrible!

@ christina: Yeah same here - we just don't have big babies, and my doctor fussed over that that I was measuring sooo small. But the biggest baby ever weighed 3000g...

@ Lisa: All the best to you, I'll be thinking of you on the plane! I'm pretty obsessed with details as well, however I must say that once in labor, you sort of drift off to a different place! I didn't like it because I felt out of control, I stopped asking questions and let things happen that make me mad now. I don't want to worry you at all, but prepare your husband to advocate for you, like let's say you want a different position or orange juice, he has to be your voice. I don't know how one is under an epidural, maybe more there, but plain labor made me very influenceable. Stadol/fentanyl makes you high, I wouldn't take it again, if I need pain relief I'd rather take an epi as it doesn't mess with your head!

As for the flight... Oh well we first have an afternoon flight to Chicago, I fully expect to walk and crawl around the plane with him... Then one hour layover which will be just enough to change planes, and it will be 8:30pm local time when we leave there, so he should get tired soonish. I bought some homepathics and rescue remedy and secret weapons: "junk foods" he likes (Annies cheddar bunnies, yobaby, crackers, baby food jars).... I'll also bring Scout, a leapfrog toy he sleeps with and a Scout book that reads out loud to him. It's so loud on the plane, I doubt anyone will be bothered, especially if it keeps him happy.

I just got myself an appointment at urgent care to get some meds, just in case. I hate hate hate mucous all over my head. Yikes.

Edited September 1, 2010 by Anna C.

[chri'stina 190]

I don't remember having any size estimate ultrasounds. I didn't have any u/s past 22 weeks and I guess they didn't think I needed another. So my midwife never said if she thought I was having a big or small baby. I really liked her a lot, and when I had my c-section, she assisted the surgeon(both from the same office, midwife and obgyn Dr/Surgeon) I guess because she is a "certified nurse midwife". I got lucky because she was one of the nicest medical professionals I have ever dealt with.

Edited September 1, 2010 by chri'stina

[Fandango 1,440]

@ Christina - That's what I'm happy about too btw, the baby will be more mature then.

@Anna - I not only have Scott, I have my mom and dad too...and my mom is a tiger when it comes to lookin out, as all moms are.

Here is the c&p about my appt on Monday. Stupid Chris!

Here's a recap yesterday:

I went for my NST. Baby was not really responsive, but it was the middle of the

day, and he's usually kinda quiet then. But Chris, the sono tech (we don't like

her btw) kept coming in to check on the readout. She kept looking very

skeptical and mentioning that she had to show the doc the printout. Then she

comes back in and says 'ok we're going to give you an ultrasound just to make

sure, and since you are due for it tomorrow to check his weight, we'll just do

it now.' So I get the u/s. Her face looks like quiet surprise, so I'm like

'what's up????' and she's all 'well, I guess he's sleeping, but the position he

is in is making it hard to measure the heartbeat.' Obviously at this point, I'm

kinda anxious. Then she tells me that he's apprx 8lbs 10 oz! I was like 'um,

that's kinda big for this age, yeah?' and she's all 'yes it is, I need to go

show the doctor'

She comes back in, and says 'yeah, he wants to move up your appt to tomorrow,

you can discuss then when you can get induced so he doesn't get too big. I'm

like 'where's the fire, Chris?' to which she says 'well, he can't get too big,

yadda yadda yadda'. So they change me from 9 am Wed to 3 pm Tuesday. Oh, get

this; usually Tuesday afternoon, he doesn't see patients. But they walk me to

the front where the office manager overrides the system to book me for today. I

ask why the rush? and he says he doesn't know, Chris knows. Doc had to go

deliver a baby, so he's not even there anymore.

I know the doc goes to his other office Thurs and Friday, so naturally, I ask

Chris whether he wants to see me Tues because I'm going to be admitted tues

night, so he can deliver the baby Wed morning so he's still in the area, and

they get the baby out because obviously there's a problem as highlighted by all

this urgency? She just says 'don't worry, but with all your risk factors, if

that's what he wants, it'll be the best for you and the baby.'

So we unpacked boxes all night last night, lol. My mom came over and helped me

clean so that I can bring the baby home to a nice organized house. Got no sleep

because I was too anxious. Going from possibly 3-4 weeks out last week to 1-2

weeks out to hey, you might have the baby tomorrow was too much for my brain.

Anyways, I go in today, my nerves are shot...omG, I haven't packed a bag!!!

Wait a minute, what goes in the flipping bag anyways???? It was quite comical.

End result: the doc moved all his appts around cos his 92 year old g'ma in Tx

is dying and he's going to see her.

WHY COULDN'T CHRIS JUST SAY THAT!?!?! I hate her so much!

Anyhoo, I'm being induced on Labor Day, lol. I report at 1 am. He's not going

to break my water, he's just going to induce slowly and see how it goes. Blood

sugars will be taken every hour,and he's promised me that if there's the

slightest stress on the baby, he'll give me a C section. I don't care about my

pain, I just want what's best for the baby. So I don't care if I have to get a

C section - supposedly it won't affect breastfeeding, and my mom can help us too.

I know it's gonna be a harder recovery, but I'm not made of marshmallow fluff so it's

whatever God wants at this point.

Doc also said if I get a C section, he can give me a mini tummy tuck too. So

there's a plus!

So my doc is going to induce, but it's going to be a slow labor, which is fine, I don't care.

[Staashi 371]

All the best to you, I'll be thinking of you on the plane! I'm pretty obsessed with details as well, however I must say that once in labor, you sort of drift off to a different place! I didn't like it because I felt out of control, I stopped asking questions and let things happen that make me mad now. I don't want to worry you at all, but prepare your husband to advocate for you, like let's say you want a different position or orange juice, he has to be your voice. I don't know how one is under an epidural, maybe more there, but plain labor made me very influenceable. Stadol/fentanyl makes you high, I wouldn't take it again, if I need pain relief I'd rather take an epi as it doesn't mess with your head!

Excellent point! My DH was a champ in L&D - he was my advocate and hardly ever left hospital except to go home and shower. He was doing alot of the questions and such.

Aside from that, epidural was awesome - I was totally with it but out of it as it finally took away my pain and helped me to basically sleep if I wanted to. I was awake for my c-section and I remember kissing Enzo, but because the umbilical cord had been wrapped around his neck 3 times, they had to race him to the NICU and then I didn't see him until the next day. Fortunately, the little guy (who was dark purple) had no oxygen loss to his tissue or brain, but it was a harrowing experience all the same for hubby and myself.

A girlfriend of mine had her epidural and said that it was so nice to be pain free. The whole time she was watching the Biggest Loser on TV. The nurses came in and said, we need you to start pushing. She said, "I'm good. Give me 5 more minutes because I need to see who goes home."

[Fandango 1,440]

Oh, here's a very cool thing I didn't mention: the hospital where I'm delivering is very cool! One patient bed per room, and the baby stays in the room too, if you'd like. And there's a really cool chair/visitor bed where one member of your family can stay with you 24/7. So, essentially, Scott is not leaving the hospital at all.

[Anna C. 4]

Hubbie complained how terribly uncomfortable that bed was... lol... i was like I just had a baby and u r complaining about the dad-bed?!

[Staashi 371]

Hubbie complained how terribly uncomfortable that bed was... lol... i was like I just had a baby and u r complaining about the dad-bed?!

Hubby slept on that uncomfortable bed one night...the next day a super kind nurse got him an eggcrate for the bed. He was super for the rest of the week!

[chnst 6]

Hubbie complained how terribly uncomfortable that bed was... lol... i was like I just had a baby and u r complaining about the dad-bed?!

haha my husband did the same thing! But he went through a lot, very little sleep so I kind of understood his concerns with the sofabed, especially when we had to pay almost $300/night for a single room. Any friggin Quality Inn has nicer beds..

as for the ultrasounds- mine were pretty accurate too. And I really really wish I had a c-section. Ben was 8lbs 11oz, I broke my pelvis and had an epi, and now I am in week 14 and can hardly walk because I am in so much pelvic pain from the pressure and whatever else is going on in there with this new baby. I think the most important thing is to find a midwife or doctor you can trust 100% and also listen to your gut feeling like Kelly said. I am glad that I found a really nice office this time, they do all the standard testing and don"t rush during office visits, they are just really nice people. My midwife is also pushing for a natural birht despite the pelvis problems but I will definitely get a second opinion from the ob/gyn at the next visit because I am already in so much pain.

Kelly: congratulations on having a little girl!!! I can't wait to find out what we are having. It's going to be so much fun to go shopping for girlie stuff. What does Zaid think about having a baby sister?

[Anna C. 4]

@ Steffi: Wow already in pain... Maybe they should check out the positioning of baby that the pain is so intense... They are still so small at that point! I have to ask my mom if she felt like that after my oldest sister (she had the same broken bone, and they actually made her rest still for 4 weeks in a hossy bed back then, with weights attached to her, yikes!). She did have us after that vaginally, of course no pain relievers cause there were none (when she heard about epidurals she was like wow I wish we would have had that... I think they were pretty mean about women asking for Demerol or anything... They kept telling her to suck it up... Dark old times).

How are you measuring this time - I'm still measuring ahead. Might just be lots of amniotic fluid, but I'm hoping for a big baby since I doubt I'll make it to 40 weeks...

Holy cow though for paying - the LDRP family room was standard in CA. As it will be in Denver in case we have to go there, they actually have a real twin bed there opposed to the sofabed. maybe for once Tricare is nice about covering this.

I just came back from urgent care with a script of Amoxocillin. I don't intend to take it, it's my backup plan only if it gets terrible. Apparently my nose looks pretty bad from the inside... On the plane I will take some Tylenol, I know it is bad for my liver, but just to get me going on the plane, not afterwards. The pain is sooooo bad on the plane, it's like labor in your brain, seriously...

I would imagine girl shopping so much fun too! The stores are just 75% girl clothes and then some boy clothes, so frustrating. MIL already bought cat outfits in pink since I love cats and camouflage dresses since DH is Air Force, oh well. I'm pretty sure she'll have to hold on to them in case we have a third baby

Edited September 1, 2010 by Anna C.

[chnst 6]

tylenol doesn't help me much, I've had pretty bad headaches the last week and it did nothing... Is there anything else that you can take for headaches when pregnant? I tried the japanese peppermint oil but it didn't work either.

As for the amoxicillin, that is pretty safe to take in the 2nd trimester, I'd rather do that than deal with the pain on the flight. I've had this before and I almost passed out from that pressure.

About the pelvis, I don't know, they didnt measure me, only the ultrasound and the last one measured almost 2 weeks ahead... I have no clue, but I can tell you I have a belly and going down stairs or leaning forward, carrying Ben, getting up after sitting or laying is pretty bad. Not as bad as it was right after I gave birth but I can only imagine how bad it will get as I get bigger... I did a lot of walking and stair climbing in Germany, maybe I just over-did things. I guess I will just take it easy until the next appointment.

[Anna C. 4]

There are no pain medications one can safely take really, unfortunately. It's too late for the antibiotics to kick in in time for the flight... So I'll see how it goes. We still have to go to the local health food store to get some Annie's stuff, I'll check what they have, maybe it'll help!

@ steffi: Yeah that is a lot. I notice it sometimes just with Jona, he wants to climb all over me or runs in the backyard, it's a very active lifestyle, way more than before him. I don't get to lie all day in bed anymore.... When home, I won't be traveling far or much. We'll do small excursions, to local attractions, stuff kiddos like, but no far drives to visit all the relatives and friends, it's just too much.

For a couple days now I feel strong and regular baby movement, but at the outer sides of the uterus, way different than Jona who liked to hover around my belly button. So different.

[Empress of Groovy 373]

tylenol doesn't help me much, I've had pretty bad headaches the last week and it did nothing... Is there anything else that you can take for headaches when pregnant? I tried the japanese peppermint oil but it didn't work either.

As for the amoxicillin, that is pretty safe to take in the 2nd trimester, I'd rather do that than deal with the pain on the flight. I've had this before and I almost passed out from that pressure.

Is it a vascular headache (migraine type)? I've had several of those and had decent luck w/ Tylenol & caffeine (Tylenol typically doesn't do much for me either. I miss ibuprofen!). I also got a prescription for Fioricet, although it made me sick to my stomach. Fioricet seems to be the migraine drug of choice for pregnant ladies, although it is Category C. My OB said it's fine, though, just to take it sparingly.