Chat thread for another new week Aug 17-? - Page 4

[FischK]

mareseatoats, thanks. And I do hope you left the house yesterday. It does wonders for me even if I have to put up with people staring at me and making strange comments - directly or behind my back - about pregnant women and birthing.

EB - hope your husband is right about the new moon. And come back once as soon as the computer is relocated. Can't wait to hear your labor story!

Italiamom - welcome back and sorry to hear that life with a newborn proves to be difficult. But as you said, at least your body is getting back to normal which sounds really awesome!

Lynann, sorry to hear about you (un-)eventful night. That must be so frustrating especially when you're already running on too little sleep. Maybe your DS will be able to go to bed early tonight and allowing you to catch up on some sleep.

douladianne, I love your advice. It's difficult to follow but then keeping routines in place and not waiting around all day is probably the best way to pass the time.

Lady_Jennifer, yay for losing a bit of plug. Hope things move more quickly than 2 weeks.

Carrie, glad to hear you're enjoying time with Finn. That is great! I'm also really thrilled that your daughter is so cooperative, since that DS's behavior is one of my primary PP-concerns. And yay for feeling so balanced!

AFM, had a major fight with DH last night about something as stupid as dinner plans. Not worth repeating, but let's just say, it ended in me bawling my eyes out, him going into avoidance mode, and DS repeatedly using the f-word with a strange gesture and saying "Mama ok?" In the end, we cleared everything up and it's all good, but wow. These hormones make me so unstable that I have no way of controlling anything, esp, once certain button get pushed. Today, all is back to normal except we're hyper-careful not to cause another hurricane. 

Up to this point, yesterday was awesome. The beach was very nice even though we arrived close to high tide when the islands are not excessible anymore. I love the ocean!

Today, I had another appointment, and it was great. No progress on the dilation/effacement front (despite increasing crampiness and almost constant BH), but it seems that I managed to get in with the most relaxed of the three OBs. She thought scheduling an induction at this point was stupid and that we should wait at least until next week to even discuss it. And she said that with someone as healthy as myself she may be willing to go to 42 weeks which is great news! Not sure if I would want to wait that long, esp. since my ILs are going to be here to help next week and leaving on labor day, but I appreciate her approach and her refusal to pressure me in the slightest. So next Monday, u/s, NST, and wait-and-see until then.

Of course, I'm still spending the afternoon on the birthball because I am still ready for the baby to come out. And I'm planning to take a long walk before picking up DS and then take him swimming. Moving about cannot hurt. But the big plan for this week is to take it easy and eat good food. If the baby doesn't want to be born yet, then I may as well spend my time cooking fancy meals since it'll be a few months before I have time and energy to do that again.



 

[mareseatoats]

Oh Lynn, that sounds awful! It sounds like you had such a great attitude through it, though. And I'm so excited to find out if you've got another little boy or a girl! Do you have a feeling either way?

Jenny - I think I already mentioned it, but I thought I lost my mucus plug on Thrusday. It was about the size of my thumbnail and white, no blood at all. I got really excited because with DD I lost my mucus plug in the early afternoon, had bloody show later that day and DD was born at 2:07 the following morning, but no such luck here.

Carrie - It's so nice to see you around here still! I am glad being postpartum is treating you so well. It's great that Nora is having such a good time with your DH! I bet that makes it even easier to enjoy sweet little Finn. What is he like, so far? I would love to see more pictures of him.

Michelle - We miss you so much! I hope things are really wonderful over at your house, I'm so glad your pain is better.

Last night I had very painful, crampy contractions for about five hours. They woke me up pretty consistently for the last few hours of them and I had to get out of bed because they were too painful to take lying down, but I eventually got a hot water bottle and put it on my back and that seems to have ended them. DF and I were talking about what would happen if Malcolm comes supers fast and we don't get to the birth center, because I'm honestly a bit worried about that. During the day traffic can get pretty bad going that way, not to mention DF would have to take the bus home to come to me first, which takes an hour. It takes about half an hour (in good traffic) to get to the birth center. My labor with DD was very short, and with all these practice contractions I'm worried I 1) Won't recognize labor when it actually starts, unless my water breaks and 2) It will go really fast. My Grandma had a baby (her fourth) come so fast he was born at home and my mom took an ambulance to the hospital with my sister (second), because she was coming so fast. It's probably a silly thing to worry about. I told DF he should look up emergency childbirth stuff and he was like "Eh, the baby comes out, what's there to know?" It kind of frustrated me, even though I understand it's unlikely we'll need them.

My mom is a teacher and is going back to school soon, so I am hoping Mal decides to make his appearance very soon, or she's not going to be able to be very available to help. I feel a little bad, too, because my sister is leaving for college (her second year, but a different school) on the morning of the 25th and my mom wanted to go with her, but if baby hasn't been born then she isn't going to go. I'm grateful she isn't just going to leave, but I know she would have really liked to go with Avery. Oh well.

Edited by mareseatoats - 8/22/11 at 5:35pm

[kylaskye]

Praying for laughs to start up contractions. (I get BH when I laugh a lot... so who knows?)

And came across this.

http://damnyouautocorrect.com/11469/movie-night-5/

[nursejoc]

Alright, I'll take the plunge and join you ladies here. I've been lurking these boards for months!  I'm due August 27th, but I'm sure I will last a little longer since there's nothing going on over here. Boo! 

[Baby_Cakes]

Originally Posted by kylaskye 

Praying for laughs to start up contractions. (I get BH when I laugh a lot... so who knows?)

And came across this.

http://damnyouautocorrect.com/11469/movie-night-5/

  Thats hilarious!  

Originally Posted by nursejoc 

Alright, I'll take the plunge and join you ladies here. I've been lurking these boards for months!  I'm due August 27th, but I'm sure I will last a little longer since there's nothing going on over here. Boo! 

  Baby will be here soon!!!  You never know.  One day nothing, the next day, BABY!  

AFM - Just having some coffee and baby is in the swing.  We got up around 9, but DH and DD are still sleeping!  Damn.  LOL!  I'll let them sleep.  My best friend is planning to come for a few hours on Friday, I'm not exactly looking fwd to it, but eh.  I'm sure it'll be fun.  Just a few hours.

Hope everyone has a great day!  

[Lynann]

So I had a great sleep last night thanks to sleepytime extra tea and a tylenol PM. I even had almost 5 hours straight without a bathroom break. It feels so good to get some real sleep for a change.

This morning my lady bits feel like someone has been kicking them, all sore and feel swollen with constant pressure. Then a couple of hours later I start feeling the same ache and pressure behind my belly button. I've also been having very mild contractions for the last hour and a half. If this is another false start I'm going to be really annoyed at this baby when they finally come. So I'm drinking lots of RRL tea and bouncing on my birthing ball to try and encourage this baby to take the plunge and come out already. 39 weeks exactly today, and its a beautiful day, and if they do come today we won't have to be concerned about our MW driving through the hurricane that's heading our way Thursday/Friday.

[FischK]

Welcome, nursejoc. The baby will arrive at some point. And then it will all be good.

mareseatoats, it sounds like it would be wise to prepare for UC just in case if your labors are really that short. Is there any way you could meet up with DF at the hospital (and get there either by taxi or ambulance or with a neighbor)? And I'm glad your mom is willing to stay with you, but I understand why it makes you feel bad that she has to decide between you and your sister. Maybe the baby can come before that?

kylaskye, laughs to start contractions? That's the coolest idea ever. Will try to convince DH to watch a comedy tonight.

Carrie, hope you're friend's visit was fun. 

Lynann, keeping my fingers crossed that your ctx are going somewhere. If you are checking back in here: Does it actually help to bounce on the ball or are circles better? I'm spending more time on mine but I'm not sure what the best and most effective way is for baby to come further down.

AFM, very productive morning after a night of crappy sleep. But after dropping DS off, DH and I baked cookies, finished setting up the baby's room, sorted all his clothes into the dresser, made jam, did some laundry, and made lunch. Now Dh is napping, and I'm torn between lying down as well or going for a walk. Both sound equally appealing, if only I knew what the baby could use most. Oh, and I made it to my due date. Yay, 40 weeks today! 

[mareseatoats]

Lynn - I hope this is it for you!

Fisch - I'm hoping Malcolm will decide to come at night and I won't have to worry about any of it. We're planning on the birth center, so an ambulance is kind of out, but you're right, there are options. I'm amazed at how productive you have been! And homemade jam sounds amazing.

I had my appointment today -- the midwives are really thinking Malcolm is close. Apparently I'm 5cm dilated (half way? Really?) and 80% effaced and Mal is at +1. Had really painful contractions for about 5 hours after DTD last night, but at least they're accomplishing quite a bit. DD is watching Dragon Tales and I'm going to go rest, since I'm not getting much sleep at night.

[LadyJennifer]

Lynn, hoping it's the real thing for you!

Fisch, yay for productive mornings! I wish I felt like being that productive! I drag myself around to clean up after the kids, then just sit around most of the time. I'm sooo tired!

Mareseatoats, Woohooo for being like, super about to just drop out a baby with no labor! Lol! I wish I was that open/effaced/engaged! lol

AFM, I will be 39 weeks Thursday, and besides pretty regular contractions, I'm really not feeling anything special (I always contract in pregnancy, so that doesn't mean that much to me). The baby does seem much lower though, so that's good. My 2nd (ds) dropped a few days before I went into labor, and I felt this one drop a couple days ago. So hopefully it won't be too much longer:)

[Lynann]

So over 12 hours of mild contractions, and then NOTHING!!! This prodromal stuff is driving me crazy. I have however decided that I am going to totally ignore all mild contractions from now on, no matter when they come or for how long. DH stayed home yesterday because we were both really convinced something was going to happen, but at least he helped get all the chores caught up, and our fridge is fully stocked again. I even tried using the breast pump for nipple stimulation last night to try and kick it up a gear. All I got out of that was sore nipples and an ounce of colostrum. My MW did say it could restart and go straight to active labor at any time so to make sure I get plenty of rest and stay hydrated etc. I'm thinking this baby just wants to wait until Labor Day.

FischK, I find that although I will start out bouncing on the ball I will naturally tend towards hip circles. I get a lot of sacral pressure so the hip circles really help me with that.

Mareseatoats, sounds like you could go anytime now. Yeah for being 5cm before labor even starts.

Jenny, my MW did say all that pressure on the lady bits was because the baby had moved down lower into the pelvis. And low babies have less distance to go when the real thing starts, so that can only be good.

[FischK]

Mareseatoats, wow! I can believe you're already this dilated. Sounds like the prodomal labor is doing something for you. Keeping my fingers crossed that baby M arrives very soon and at night.

Jenn, congrats on reaching 39 weeks and having some regular ctx.

Lynann, and here I was hoping you had reached the finish line. But alas. I think just pretending that the mild ctx are not really there is the way to go. It'll allow you to enjoy your days more. Waiting is just so TEDIOUS!

AFM, took it easy yesterday afternoon, went for a long walk, and then made a nice dinner (grilled pork roast, roast potatoes, and corn). Ctx were getting stronger all evening, but then petered out as soon as I fell asleep. But they weren't quite serious anyway, more like bad cramps. Took another walk this morning, and we're headed for the beach again this afternoon. The weather is way too nice to sit around and wait for baby to arrive. LOL.

[mareseatoats]

LJ - That's great that your little one has dropped! Hopefully not too much more waiting.

Lynn - The mind games false labor plays are so frustrating! I think you're smart to keep your eye on labor day and ignore anything that isn't a big change. I do the same thing with my birthing ball, too. Bounce a little, hip circles, bounce a little...

Fisch - I wish I could come hang out with you! The beach sounds so nice. It's just too hot here right now (although I feel bad complaining when so many other mamas had it so much worse throughout the summer).

ASM - DF's parents agreed to take his son for this coming weekend, since we figured we would have a newborn or be right on the cusp of going into labor (and his family and son all live a little over an hour north of us) but DF's mother apparently forgot she agreed to that and doesn't seem to want to take him. Which means we can maybe trade weekends, but then we'll have his son two weekends in a row AND directly after having the baby. Ideally I was hoping for a good three weeks without DF's son and I definitely don't want him here if when I go into labor, especially since it's unlikely my labor with be very long. I thought we had this all figured out and it was such a load off my mind, and now it's all just a mess again. And DF is not so good at sorting these things out.

[Lynann]

Mareseatoats, so sorry your arrangements seem to be all up in the air, especially when you thought you had it all sorted out. Hopefully something will get sorted so you don't have to worry about your DSS during labor. And I don't think you'll have much time to labor either when you are already so far dilated.

AFM I've had few more contractions today, stronger but a lot less frequent. I can only hope they are making progress down there and I get a shorter labor than last time. DH is getting really exhausted too, and was really looking forward to having the rest of the week off and now he has to work since there is no baby. I feel really bad for him to get all excited about both meeting the baby and having some time off to just hang out with DS. I'm more impatient for him that for me as I can see just how much he really needs a break. If we weren't having this baby he'd have already had his summer week off work and not be so tired all the time. It doesn't help that he had one day off yesterday and today when he got to the office it was chaos. He said it felt like he'd been gone for a week, not just a day. But we both have to just keep waiting until this little one decides its time. No matter what there is less than 3 weeks to go until we get to hold this bundle of joy.

[FischK]

Lynann and everyone else, I hope you're not posting today because you're busy having babies. That's what I was planning for today, too, but it didn't pan out that way. 

Mareseatoats, congrats!

AFM, I devoted most of the day to resting. I've been sleeping increasingly worse in the last few days, and I don't want to go into labor running low on sleep. The problem is I can't sleep without waking up every hour or so. It's like having a newborn without the newborn. And it's not like I've ctx or something keeping me up. Anyway, I did have some regular ctx this morning, but then I took a good walk today with DH, and that was the end of that. Later, I went home for a "long" nap, which was nice but too short and too choppy. Tonight we went on a car ride to hit some of the bumpy roads, but that didn't do much either. Unless of course it is the reason why the baby  spent most of the night rolling from the left side of my belly to the right side. It looks as if he actually vacated the left side entirely and all of his parts are on the right side. The height difference is almost two inches. Weird. But maybe he's trying to get into a better position?

[Lynann]

FischK I totally understand the needing to nap all day. I've been that way for at least the last week. The only nights I get a decent amount of sleep are the ones I take Tylenol PM, as per my MW instructions, but I'm trying to go without sleep aides as much as possible. My biggest fear is going into labor already tired, as last time I had a really long labor. While I know second babies are usually quicker I may turn out to be one of those women who just have slow labors so I want to be prepared for another long one and not start off already exhausted. I can hope for a much shorter labor, but prepare for the long haul too.

I had my MW appointment yesterday. She did confirm that the baby is quite a bit lower down from last week, so at least I know all these false starts are doing something. My baby is over on the right side, and my left side is mostly fluid. My MW did say there is a lot of fluid in there and what my water bag does finally break to expect a really big gush.

Doesn't look like there are many of us left chatting here. I think most of the mamas that already have their babies are mostly chatting on the mamas with babies thread. So now that there is just a few of us left still waiting I guess the thing now will be which one of us will be the last one standing. In my last ddc I was the last one to deliver, although another mama had her DD earlier that same day. Since I'm not due until Tuesday, and completely expect this baby to wait until at least Labor Day I'm probably a contender for being last one standing again.

[Baby_Cakes]

I agree all you ladies need to be resting!  Very smart.  I don't think babies will come for exhausted mamas, just a theory I have.  So yes, rest!

Have you all see the post about the social group thing?  I think it sounds neat.  I volunteer to be the group leader, or at least be a candidate if anyone else wants to be it, and we can put it to a vote.  I would love to keep our group going and going!  Sounds fun.

Nora is going to Grams today, she's been going over there a lot.  I think she really loves the one on one attention.  I'm really glad we have that outlet to give her what she needs.  It would suck so bad for her if she were stuck home every single day.  :-(

Ugh, ok, my house is just a disaster and though I'm not supposed to be cleaning, I'm going to at least pick up all Nora's toys, the coins she dumped all over the floor, Mr Potato head and his ENTIRE bucket of parts, the box of 84 crayons all over the floor....

sigh.  I need a maid.  Ha!

[kylaskye]

Originally Posted by Baby_Cakes 

Have you all see the post about the social group thing?  I think it sounds neat.  I volunteer to be the group leader, or at least be a candidate if anyone else wants to be it, and we can put it to a vote.  I would love to keep our group going and going!  Sounds fun.

I was totally going to "nominate" you! You're the most active member of the ddc, from what I've seen. If you're willing I'm sure we'd all love for you to be the leader.

[PoetryLover]

Hi everyone. I haven't posted in the chat thread for a few weeks, as my mom was here for a couple weeks and I felt guilty spending too much time online. But I'm still around, still very round with baby, nearly 42 weeks, and very exhausted.

I hear you ladies on the fear of going into labor already tired. Most days I am able to take a decent nap, but my DS wouldn't let me today. He woke me early and we only napped for about an hour. We usually nap 2-3 hours.

Carrie, I long to be with you on the other side. LOL I remember our due dates were very close. As for the social group thing, I was very happy to see that and wouldn't mind your being our leader at all. I think you'd do a great job of it.

Lynann, if you don't mind, can I please go first? LOL Was your midwife concerned about the amount of fluid? Last pregnancy my midwife said there was a lot of fluid, but she wasn't concerned. This time it's mentioned as a concern, as a reason for an ultrasound.

Is anyone else still plugging away at To Do lists? I better get going so I can get started on mine. They're all small things, really, but I really need to cross them off. I accomplished a lot yesterday. I just still have a ways to go. Like I said, all small things for the most part.

I'm still debating whether to let people come into my home for the meal train my sister wants to sign me up for. I guess it depends on how clean I can get things around here. :-) And I'm feeling very guilty because I've been cleaning with bleach, which I never do, except right before I had DS and now.  But my counters were fairly stained and so was the high chair tray. Normally I'm a baking soda and vinegar cleaner. I hate the smell of bleach, too, but something inside of me is making me do it.

[LadyJennifer]

No baby here yet! I did have over 24 hours of strong-enough-to-be-early-labor-contractions yesterday and day before. I was sure it was it. I guess it was just prodromal though. It was sooo disappointing at first, but after a good night's sleep last night, and a great chiro appointment today, I'm feeling really great! I'm feeling more energetic and very positive emotionally:) I'm so excited about meeting this sweet little person inside of me, but also enjoying these last days of pregnancy:) It's kind of like having a Christmas present you can't open yet. It's exciting just thinking about opening it!
 

I agree with the rest too! I've been trying to put as much on dh as possible, lol, and get as much rest as I can. It's hard when the smallest mess drives me nuts, and dh is not a clean freak:) (and neither are my kids....)

Lynann, it looks like we might be the last ones standing together:) I'm preparing for labor day too. At least it's a nice date to look forward to, and maybe some cooler weather? Also, if you want a really cool date, there's a 09/10/11 right around the corner;) (which would be neat for me because my son is a 07/08/09 baby:)
As a long laborer here, I think it's really wise to be prepared for a shorter or longer labor. I had a long labor with my dd, and was expecting a short one with my son. Well, it didn't happen and it was really hard to get to 20+ hours and still not be close! So this time, even though I'm praying for a shorter labor, I'm preparing mentally and physically for a marathon:) Maybe my body just needs to take a while, ya know? And that's okay:)

Fischk, yay for baby finding a better position:) That can only be good:)

Is it only 3 of us now?

ETA, we must have posted at the same time PoetryLover, I did not see your post when I posted.
I think we'll all agree that you certainly deserve to go first! I can't imagine how hard it must be to go that long, just emotionally, if nothing else.
Sending lots of peaceful, easy labor vibes your way!

Edited by LadyJennifer - 8/26/11 at 2:48pm

[Italiamom]

I am sorry to all the mamas still patiently waiting for your babies.  May the (labor) force be with you!!

I think Carrie would make a fantastic social group leader!!  I read the link though, and I'm totally confused about how you start one, how to nominate, etc.  To-fu had posted the locked thread here, and said something about following the link, but when I followed the link it just seemed to be a big discussion about the pros/cons of the social group format...