Stubborn little man:( and my recent trip to L&D

[marquess78]

My little man is not phased by anything that spinningbabies has suggested. I am trying to get into the chiro next week for adjustments to see if that helps.

And would you believe I found a midwife who was more awful than any OB I have ever been to? She was cold and rough and just plain rude. I started having contractions on Friday. They still havent stopped but arent as regular. Being as I was only 30w5d at the time I went in. I was scared not to.

So my cervix is still pretty thick and closed. But this is a different person (the not nice MW) who checked me this time. Not the goofy female OB who I am not sure what I think of at this point. They did the Ffn test which was negative, and told me to adjust my activity level based on how many contractions I have in an hour while I am working. Which is hard to do since I have a very physical job which keeps me up for 8 hours at a time. I am drinking a minimum of 96oz of water everyday and taking as many breaks as I can and still get my work done.

The nurses at L&D were great. I was miserable on the monitors cuz I couldnt change positions or else one or both babies would 'disappear'. So after an hour they were like, you dont need to be on anymore, theyre fine and we know you are contracting a bunch. Doubt that will be an option when real labor starts. But its in my birth plan

31 weeks today. I am hoping that these two decide to stay put til at least the first part of Nov.

My next appt is the 19th and I am hoping that I can convince little man to flip. Little girl is still being good and staying put. I have options as far as delivery goes. I can go into labor and choose to have the c/s with my doc, labor and hopefully vbac with little girl and MAYBE need a c/s for little man, or with luck, have both babies vbac. I still dont feel comfortable delivering him vaginally if he is still breech. I just dont get a good feeling about it.

Either way, I could use some stay put and flip around vibes. My insurance doesnt cover chiro's or acupuncture which sucks. so thats all out of pocket. But at least maybe I can be alittle more comfortable once little man flips around and get some sleep.

[MsBlack]

I think if you want to have a normal-length gestation for twins, and give your lil man plenty of time to shift his position, you are going to have to cut back on work hours--or at least, change work responsibilities. Preterm labor is associated with moms who are on their feet a lot. Twins are more prone to early delivery anyway. The combination does not bode well for a long-enough gestation! The signs you report strongly suggest to me that you are working too many hours, or at least too many hours on your feet and physically active. It's great that your cervix is still long and closed and that the ffn test was negative, right now. And you just cannot count on those signs to remain 'normal' as long as you work so hard.

There is a lot we can do to help ourselves and babies stay healthy, naturally. But some things about pregnancy and birth are just not really negotiable! We have to 'obey the demands of the pregnancy', or pay the price....sorry to sound so hard-a**ed about it, but mama, I think you need to know this.

I would think you can get a medical excuse for work--so that your hours are reduced some or your responsibilities are changed to less physically-demanding ones. Gestating ONE baby is already hard work, even for a mama who is sleeping (calories burned, work done by organ systems compared to non-pregnant). Gestating 2 is so much more work for our bodies (and minds)--and everyone has their limits. There simply MUST be enough 'input' for your body to continue doing so much 'output', or your body will end the pregnancy sooner than usual. 'Input' is food, water, AND rest; 'output' is all the work your body does to grow babies while also keeping you healthy and doing what you do in a day.

In every case I've seen of preterm labor, when there was no other underlying problem for mom/baby, it is the violation of this 'input-output law' that has been in effect. Our bodies will place our own survival first, above babies' continued gestation, if there is not enough input for the amount of output demanded. This means that if your body is not getting enough, it will kick out the babies sooner, to save your life. It's a simple logic, really! And one that simply cannot be negotiated.

I strongly urge you to look into getting a med excuse to shorten hours or do physically-easier work.

[marquess78]

i have spoken with my OB at length and we are in the process of working out a plan for cutting my hours. unfortunatly my job is physically demanding no matter how much i do and unless it is a work injury, they will just send me home instead of adjusting things.
which financially would be devastating right now. i need at least 2 more paychecks which means i need to work at least until the end of Oct, as planned. i know its no excuse but losing my income will be a big deal.

i have a chiro appt this afternoon at 3. i am excited and terrified at the same time. i hope that getting adjusted will help with my sleeping issues and help little man flip around. but at the same time i am afraid to encourage him to turn for fear of adding more pressure to my currently closed cervix. when you add my never-ending contractions to cervical pressure i fear that it will only make things worse and really get things going.

i need more fear clearing sessions i think! i really am afraid. at 31 weeks they arent ready to be born. having a vbac or c/s is irrelevant to me at this point, when compared to having them born healthy and able to survive without machines. my choice for delivery doesnt even come into play if i know they will struggle.


i havent left my couch much today, but the contractions continue. i am drinking and snacking thanks to the little cooler next to my bed. i dont know what else to do.

[smeep]

If your doctor documents a medical need to limit activity, can they legally just send you home? I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure in those cases they HAVE to make adjustments for you. Let them know that this is a matter of your babies' health and it COULD become a life or death situation if you birth too soon (which I of course am sending positive vibes that it never comes to that situation!!!). Also take into consideration that if you DO go into PTL then you will still miss out on those weeks of pay. It may be something to consider taking leave now so, if you run a serious risk of not being able to work anyway, at least if you walk away your babies will have a chance to stay in longer, but not walking away might mean taking the same time off only with babies in the NICU...kwim? Also, have you looked into FMLA?

If you don't mind my asking, what is your job anyway? Is there any possibility of sitting down while you work? Can you supervise or just do office work? I had a job once where a cashier couldn't physically work anymore (because even with sitting down it is still a pretty physical job) and they let her do office work for the last few weeks of her pregnancy so she was still a productive employee and earned her pay, and so she could keep a roof over her head.

[MsBlack]

Originally Posted by smeep

If your doctor documents a medical need to limit activity, can they legally just send you home? I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure in those cases they HAVE to make adjustments for you. Let them know that this is a matter of your babies' health and it COULD become a life or death situation if you birth too soon (which I of course am sending positive vibes that it never comes to that situation!!!). Also take into consideration that if you DO go into PTL then you will still miss out on those weeks of pay. It may be something to consider taking leave now so, if you run a serious risk of not being able to work anyway, at least if you walk away your babies will have a chance to stay in longer, but not walking away might mean taking the same time off only with babies in the NICU...kwim? Also, have you looked into FMLA?

If you don't mind my asking, what is your job anyway? Is there any possibility of sitting down while you work? Can you supervise or just do office work? I had a job once where a cashier couldn't physically work anymore (because even with sitting down it is still a pretty physical job) and they let her do office work for the last few weeks of her pregnancy so she was still a productive employee and earned her pay, and so she could keep a roof over her head.

Yes! All of that.

SEnding you calm uterus vibes, happy-in-there-for-several-weeks-more vibes to the babies!

[marquess78]

my job is in research animal care. i move back and forth from my station to my animals about every 60-90 seconds. they arent very big rooms but with as much as i need to accomplish in a day, sitting down is only an option during breaks. i have asked my manger for a lighter load, and despite being pg herself, she denied me many many times.

as far as the legality of not allowing me to work, sadly yes they can send me home. if its not a work related injury/illness, dept policy states they do not have to allow me to work.

i planned on leaving early anyway, just not this early. both FMLA and TMLA (TN has their own fmla type protection that goes into place AFTER fmla leave has been used up) cover my job for at least 7 months between them. if they are born now and require NICU time, i will go back to work as soon as i can, as the hospital I will be delivering at is also where I work. In that instance, i will start my FMLA leave after they are released from the hospital.

Off to get a snack and then to see the chiro. wish me luck.

[smeep]

Originally Posted by marquess78

my job is in research animal care. i move back and forth from my station to my animals about every 60-90 seconds. they arent very big rooms but with as much as i need to accomplish in a day, sitting down is only an option during breaks. i have asked my manger for a lighter load, and despite being pg herself, she denied me many many times.

Can you sit on a rolling chair? I know the answer is probably no, but I had to suggest it.

Can you go to your boss's boss? That's ridiculous that she won't give you a lighter load. Though I would wait until you get an official note from your HCP stating that you need a lighter load.

[akind1]

I know alot of places simply do not offer light duty. Can they reduce the hours though? I am assuming you don't have some sort of short term disability that would pay you while you would be out of work.

Sending you stay put and flipping vibes!

[marquess78]

irritatingly enough, my short term disabilty will not start till after i deliver its not an option for employees who have been there less than 1yr and then it is not offered again until open enrollment , which only happens in october. so while i can start getting paid STD benefits on jan 1,2011 while i am on FMLA, it doesnt help me now.


at this point i am looking at it this way. its technically only a few more days really. if you count it out, i only have like 11 working days left unless OB feels like i need to stop next week at my appt.

[phathui5]

Do you have any vacation/sick/personal days you can cash in?

[marquess78]

i just found out that i can start recieving my STD earlier than 1/1/11 but only after they are born, not before. so thats good.

i cant tell where he is anymore. sometimes i think he is breech, sometimes not. im so stretched its hard to tell either way. still doing webster. loving that part of this experience, but i hope that it works and he does turn. im having enough issues with my OB at the moment.