Hope everyone had a good Father's Day yesterday. We went to a summer solstice festival yesterday and I met a couple doula's and midwives in the area. Very cool. Then we went to the IL's for dinner. Fun day.
Baby is moving so much now. I have forgotten how much they move from last time. It felt like she was trying to crawl in my belly. Weird.
Cathy - I know what you mean about the baby moving - it truly felt like he was trying to get out of there yesterday!
Not much else going on, just hanging out, waiting to meet our little one. DH had a good first almost Father's Day - I got him a card and small gift anyway. And, he got to play in a soccer tournament and score a goal, so it was a good day for him.
Movement is crazy ...I get alot of rolling and the elbows and legs rub against the uterine wall and pushes out. It can get quite uncomfortable. Movement is good though!
This baby is so much more active than my son was. I don't think she ever sleeps! It's also starting to get quite uncomfortable when she gets in certain positions. All of a sudden, I'll let out a big, "Ahhhhh!!" and my husband will freak out thinking I'm going into labor! He is the most laid-back person I've ever met, but when it comes to me and the kids, he is quite the Nervous Nellie.
At my last appointment (28 weeks), we verified that the baby is head down. It's felt like she's been in there doing somersaults, so I wasn't sure. I know that there is time left for her to flip around, but it still makes me feel better that she's head down right now.
This baby is so much more active than my son was. I don't think she ever sleeps! It's also starting to get quite uncomfortable when she gets in certain positions. All of a sudden, I'll let out a big, "Ahhhhh!!" and my husband will freak out thinking I'm going into labor! He is the most laid-back person I've ever met, but when it comes to me and the kids, he is quite the Nervous Nellie.
At my last appointment (28 weeks), we verified that the baby is head down. It's felt like she's been in there doing somersaults, so I wasn't sure. I know that there is time left for her to flip around, but it still makes me feel better that she's head down right now.
Heh. That's funny. Mine always gets in the uncomfortable positions when I'm driving. Feels like she is wedging her head under my pelvis, such a weird feeling.
I'm glad she is head down, I'm interested to see if mine is still head down when we go in at 34 weeks for our last u/s.
it's crazy how much she moves now compared to a couple of months ago, when it was just that bubbly "is that the baby or gas?" feeling LOL. there's no mistaking it now! this baby is bony too! all knees and elbows it seems!
i'm wondering what position this baby is in...i'm hoping head down. my son was always in some new different weird position every midwife appointment. more than a few times my midwife would say, "i've never seen a baby in that position before..." he seemed to mostly like to be sideways. his weird positioning was one of the reasons i ended up with the c/s, because he decided while i was pushing that he wanted to switch position and never did switch back. i hope this little girl isn't so creative.
not much else new...still trying to settle on a name. i have it narrowed down to 3 that i like, but bf still isn't sure. nesting is starting, and my house is upside down with getting the rest of bf's stuff in here, and it's stressing me out. i want to get everything organized so i can start getting the baby's room ready. i know there's still time, but it's feeling like less and less.
Rareimer - I'm with you on all the movement! I can't believe that not long ago I wasn't sure what I was feeling was movement. Now he's all over the place ALL THE TIME! I swear, I don't think he slept at all yesterday.
As for the positioning - my pracitioner hasn't said anything yet about what position my baby is in. At what point do they start checking that? I'm a newbie, so I don't know what to expect.
Rareimer - I'm with you on all the movement! I can't believe that not long ago I wasn't sure what I was feeling was movement. Now he's all over the place ALL THE TIME! I swear, I don't think he slept at all yesterday.
As for the positioning - my pracitioner hasn't said anything yet about what position my baby is in. At what point do they start checking that? I'm a newbie, so I don't know what to expect.
I think they usually check every time. They may not tell you because its head down and nothing to worry about. I would just ask them next time, it might be something they don't think to tell you.
Thanks, Cathy! I have an appointment on Friday, so I'll see what they have to say.
I've had a mildly sore throat for the past few days. Not sure if it's allergy related or what. It's been very smoky around here due to some various wild fires burning, so maybe it's that? Whatever it is, it's pretty annoying. But knock on wood, other than that, I'm feeling good, so I guess I can deal with the sore throat.
I don't know about anyone else but I'm starting to feel less confident in my OB/MW office, which as far as hospitals go, its the most progressive/lenient one in my area. Ive been meeting resistance on some pretty simple subjects such as water birth...I can have one IF I end up lucky enough to be in labor when one of the cooperative practitioners in on call...other wise Im SOL because several of them refuse to "allow" you to do it. It depends on who you get. I also requested to have my H&H and glucose test drawn a week early so it would be ready for my 28 week apt. Any time I call the office and make a personal request I get a ton of shit from the nurses who have this attitude that says, "who are you to take charge of your own health". I find it degrading and frustrating. There is no reason I couldn't have a blood draw anytime after 26 weeks and shouldn't have to call 3 different offices looking for the one OB (who acts more like a MW) who will listen to me and have no problem fulfilling my wishes. I guess I'm reflecting back upon my frustrations with having to abandon my wishes for a homebirth back in the winter. I live in CT, which is archaic in terms of natural birth and the wishes that generally tend to follow such an event. For example I recently had a discussion at work with an OB who was shocked to find that I believe an epidural is an intervention.
Uhm...yes, doctor. It is. He retorted with telling me there is always time for an epidural even if mom is ready to push and there is no reason for barbaric childbirth practices. I couldn't even finish the conversation with him, because he believed every word that spilled forth from his mouth. This is the mentality where I live. 80% intervention rate. My options are so limited. Even my posts on facebook about birth and breast feeding are often met with resistance from people I know and love who make comments like "gross" and "did you have to post that". Seriously, I feel like I need to mourn for the loss of what should be a common place event. Natural birth is down the tubes here, most people just accept whatever the doctors say and dont bother to educate themselves here. I know my voice is diminishing minority and it's heartbreaking. I'm just ranting...not sure what I can do but I thought Id put it out there.
So funny you say that b/c I was thinking the same thing! Sometimes I start thinking, is this weird? Is Baby trying to get OUT? Then I calm myself & come back to reality.. pregnancy brain can really get out of hand!
She gets especially active when I drink cold water & eat ice (which I can't get enough of right now even tho I usually don't LIKE ice in my drinks) and I feel kind of bad for her b/c maybe it's making her cold.
Dlynn -- Sorry to hear about the hassle your OB is inflicting. I also felt like my doc office was pretty laid back until now.. I guess when things get closer they start freaking out more. I wish I had some words of wisdom! I felt kind of depressed over it last week, but it has subsided now... just taking things one day at a time.
hugs to those with care provider woes... I know around here there are a few practices that are very "pro-vbac" up until around 30 weeks and then they start doing everything in their power to discourage the "attempt". I even know two loca moms who were given dismissal letters when they argued that they didn't want/have to agree to a scheduled c/s! (a care provider cannot legally drop a pregnant woman from their care after a certain gestational point unless they can transfer that woman directly to another care provider, but they can legally drop a patient up until that point and once you've been dropped it can be very hard to find another provider given that you're "marked" as a problem patient and given the formal/informal non-compete clauses common in some areas).
Anyway, I think that around 30 weeks providers feel a lot more confident in the fact that you'll stay put and, eventually, do as you're told. I know I've heard off handed comments (from OBs but also family practice docs and midwives who are generally pretty birth crunchy) about how a woman will "come around" and "be more reasonable" as the birth approaches. If you're getting a really bad vibe from a provider, but especially if you know that provider is sort of the best of the bunch, then this might be a good time to "play nice patient" and really work with your partner and doula to make sure that once labor begins (and you can invoke EMTALA) you're ready to do things your way.
Oh, and EMTALA (for those lucky enough not to need to have needed to know) basically says that a woman in active labor (so more than 5cm) cannot be denied care and she cannot be forced into surgery/interventions without her consent. It's how some women manage to have VBACs at hospitals that "don't do VBAC" or have outright bans against VBAC. If you show up in active labor they can't legally deny you care, and if you can hold your ground and refuse to consent to whatever it may be they legally can't force those interventions on you (without court odre, and while that has happened in the not too distant past, it's harder for hospitals to get those orders now).
On the happy side of the account though... I learned my OB/Midwife practice just hired a new midwife! And she's someone I know from the local birth community! Several of the local doulas have entered midwifery programs, and this lady is sort of the "first gradute" of that group. She has been a doula for years, a Birthing from Within instructor, and now she'll be one of the midwives who might be on call for my birth! Yay!
Wombatclay - that sounds like a lot of work, but its great that there is a way to do it.
I went on the hospital tour on Monday, just in case I have to have a hospital birth. It's like prison. Here is where they strap you down, next here is where they have to take your baby at one hour after birth while mom is moved and then here is where someone at all times has to be awake while the baby is in the room or your baby goes to the nursery. That's bunk that someone has to be awake ALL night in order to have your baby in the room. Hospital rules just make me cringe. Ick.
Good news is my blood sugar is staying in the zone and my endo doc said that if he gave out awards that he would give me one. He says I'm a model patient.
This means most likely I will get my homebirth and baby won't grow too big. Yay!! Go me!!
Holy CRAP Cathy! That is nuts! They still strap women down there??? What the hell kind of barbaric crap is THAT! I don't even understand, and I thought it was behind the times up here. You are having a HB though, right? Makes me feel a little better about things here even though DH thinks Im being a total control freak because I want to set to may of my own rules. Its called a BIRTH PLAN...hello? Sigh..is 28 weeks also emotionally challenging for any other momma's out there? Sigh...
Holy CRAP Cathy! That is nuts! They still strap women down there??? What the hell kind of barbaric crap is THAT! I don't even understand, and I thought it was behind the times up here. You are having a HB though, right? Makes me feel a little better about things here even though DH thinks Im being a total control freak because I want to set to may of my own rules. Its called a BIRTH PLAN...hello? Sigh..is 28 weeks also emotionally challenging for any other momma's out there? Sigh...
Heh. Oh no, yes, totally know what you thought I meant, but no, they had the straps on the bed ready for the next woman to come in and get strapped to monitors right away. I'm like oh my god, they are going to try to hold me in one place. Ugh. Yeah, no, not that kind of strapping, lol. Yeah, I do need to bring my birth plan if I do go and dh will go with baby to the nursery at one hour after, so they will know not to give eye drops and vit. K shot, etc. It just was like eye opening how they have the straps ready to go as soon as you get there.
Heh. Oh no, yes, totally know what you thought I meant, but no, they had the straps on the bed ready for the next woman to come in and get strapped to monitors right away. I'm like oh my god, they are going to try to hold me in one place. Ugh. Yeah, no, not that kind of strapping, lol. Yeah, I do need to bring my birth plan if I do go and dh will go with baby to the nursery at one hour after, so they will know not to give eye drops and vit. K shot, etc. It just was like eye opening how they have the straps ready to go as soon as you get there.
OH! Good! You had me scared for a moment there! Do they expect you to monitored the whole time? I honestly dont mind a short baseline monitor when I arrive as long as Im not in active labor. Honestly, it keeps them from bugging the heck out of you later when you really want them off of you. After that they can dopler. They have a job to do and will get in trouble in many cases if they dont, so Id rather give them inch in the beginning so I can take a lot more later on when it counts!
I was wondering if you meant straps for a c/s because I couldn't imagine a hospital that still used restraints in a vaginal birth. Thanks for explaining! LOL I was going to suggest running screaming and all that, so again thanks for the clarification!
All the hospitals around here require a 20 minute trace when you arrive, but thankfully most of the providers are willing to go to intermittent after that. Even my VBAC providers will do intermittent as long as everything is going smoothly. Though if they have to hook up the IV then you're sort of stuck with contant monitoring. Actually, if anyone is birthing in a "constant monitoring" situation (vbac or not) there are some great resources for staying active/mobile while hooked up. My favorite is Simkin's Labor Progress Handbook since it has really clear pictures for how to do certain things while on a monitor, and even a section on how to stay somewhat active if confined to the bed due to complications (like wonky blood pressure or pre-existing paralysis or a strong epidural). But VBAC websites often have ideas for adapting birth positions to monitors since so many VBAC providers require contant monitoring (data on that is mixed for VBACs... contant monitoring is a pretty good way to identify a UR, but on the other hand it can lead to problems in it's own right and UR is fortunately rare).
I had a really hard time the last few days between the heat and the humidity... today is sunny and breezy with low humidity and I'm feeling fine! The local garden center is having a big "end of season" sale and maybe I'll take the kiddos to smell the flowers and maybe even pick something out for the yard. Anyone else have some fun stuff planned for the day or the weekend? If the storms hold off we might go to the NYS Faerie Festival tomorrow... we tried to go last year but it didn't work out. This year several of our friends (with kids) are going so it might be more doable.
Anyone have any suggestions for good non-meat iron sources? Had a check up today, and I'm anemic. Based on my recent exhaustion, I figured as much. I've gotten a supplement, but would much rather be able to get the needed iron from food and ditch the pills. Thanks!
ValH -- I was eating part of a Green & Black dark chocolate bar yesterday (the 70% cocoa one) and was surprised to see that it had a bunch of iron in the nutrition info. Also, they say you should cook in a cast iron pan for extra iron. I don't eat a lot of meat but I do eat a ton of beans adn I think that has helped w/ mine! Good luck!
Thanks for the tips, ladies! I'm going to stock up on dried beans and lentils, and see if I can find a good cast iron pan. I"m hoping I can change my diet enough before my appointment in two weeks to turn this anemia thing around.
I am a vegan with one of the best iron scores you can think of. My doctors have even mentioned that my iron scores are better than most of their patients, meat eaters or not. My #1 recommendation is SHELLED HEMP SEED! You can get it from the local health food store or they sell it online. It has a very mild nutty flavor that goes well on just about everything. I usually have a bowl of Nature's Path Hemp Plus oat meal with a large spoonful of shelled hemp seed, a teaspoon ground flax, very large handful of blueberries. I usually go for Manitoba Harvest shelled hemp seed. I also sprinkle it over pasta sauce, beans, soup, salad, smoothies just about everything. Its relatively inexpensive and really concentrated source of IRON and the best source of FOLIC ACD!
Other high iron foods include sunflower seeds (try sunflower seed butter - i tihnk its available at trader joes and most health food stores), sesame seeds (sprinkle over anything, but shelled hemp is better), spinach, lentils, dark leafy greens such as kale, black and pinto beans, quinoa, nuts and seeds.
I cook a lot from this website : blog.fatfreevegan.com. They have a lot of great recipes using many of these ingredients that are friendly to meat and non-meat eaters because most of them are not TRYING to be like meat, just great whole food vegetable/grain dishes.
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2009/05/ridiculously-easy-lentil-soup.html This one is my favorite. I almost always have a few random cans of beans (favorite in this soup are canneli and great northern, but whatever is in the cabinet usually works just fine), a couple bags of frozen veggies (california blend), frozen corn, fire roasted tomatoes (if you can get the kind with the ROASTED GARLIC..... YUM!), and then add 1 cup of quinoa. I also like to add kale when the soup is done cooking. Kale is a quick cook and I usually like to let me soups sit for a while to let the flavors simmer ( I like to cook soups in a enameled cast iron stock pot) so I usually turn off the heat a few minutes before the soup looks completely done, add a few cups of kale (destemmed), stir and let sit for 20-30 minutes before I eat it.
Sorry to ramble. Ive been on best rest for only 2 days now and Im going crazy!
As far as vitamins, they are pricey but I highly recommend these vitamins. New Chapter Perfect Prenatal. They are plant/whole food based with probiotics to improve digestion. I find they do not cause me ANY stomach problems at all (at least for me) and I am very very sensitive to taking vitamins. I always seem to be refluxing other kinds of vitamins or tasting them for hours, but not a problem with these. I take one with every meal along with a digestive enzyme to help digest the most I can out of my food.
I was wondering if you meant straps for a c/s because I couldn't imagine a hospital that still used restraints in a vaginal birth. Thanks for explaining! LOL I was going to suggest running screaming and all that, so again thanks for the clarification!
All the hospitals around here require a 20 minute trace when you arrive, but thankfully most of the providers are willing to go to intermittent after that. Even my VBAC providers will do intermittent as long as everything is going smoothly. Though if they have to hook up the IV then you're sort of stuck with contant monitoring. Actually, if anyone is birthing in a "constant monitoring" situation (vbac or not) there are some great resources for staying active/mobile while hooked up. My favorite is Simkin's Labor Progress Handbook since it has really clear pictures for how to do certain things while on a monitor, and even a section on how to stay somewhat active if confined to the bed due to complications (like wonky blood pressure or pre-existing paralysis or a strong epidural). But VBAC websites often have ideas for adapting birth positions to monitors since so many VBAC providers require contant monitoring (data on that is mixed for VBACs... contant monitoring is a pretty good way to identify a UR, but on the other hand it can lead to problems in it's own right and UR is fortunately rare).
I had a really hard time the last few days between the heat and the humidity... today is sunny and breezy with low humidity and I'm feeling fine! The local garden center is having a big "end of season" sale and maybe I'll take the kiddos to smell the flowers and maybe even pick something out for the yard. Anyone else have some fun stuff planned for the day or the weekend? If the storms hold off we might go to the NYS Faerie Festival tomorrow... we tried to go last year but it didn't work out. This year several of our friends (with kids) are going so it might be more doable.
That makes me feel a little better. Yeah, its been nice with lower humidity here too, but I miss the rain watering the garden.
Sick ds is feeling better, so I have more time and energy to be on-line. Yay!!
I have a midwife appt. Wednesday, which is exciting. I really miss my midwife. We are probably going to be moving by November and I'm really hoping we can move back to MI where we own a house in town. I think that might be a good idea if we can swing it to be able to pay off our debt and finish having kids before moving out to the country again AND dh can finish his PhD, which will be awesome. I will at least be able have bunnies and a garden, not sure if the bill went through about having chickens in town. Just contacted the local poultry club and hoping.
I also take the New Chapter prenatals, as well as the WholeMegas. I usually eat a couple papaya enzyme tablets after meals, too.
Thanks so much for the hemp seed recommendation! I'm definitely going to pick some up. My iron isn't terrible, but it could be better. I'm a meat eater, but I'm always interested in non-meat sources. I actually ate a lot of sunflower seeds during the first trimester. It helped with my morning sickness and was my main source of folate, since I couldn't keep anything, much less vitamins, down.
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