daily check-in, january 4th! - Page 2

[chilichiki]

Had my 36 week check up and BPP today and received some excellent news, little man has finally moved out of breach and is head down!!!  I am so ecstatic!!  I was amazed when the tech told me.

The only indication I had was some pains/discomfort about two this morning, but I thought it was just a more painful version of his usual stretching.  His head is now down and in position, and his foot has officially taken up the spot that his head previously occupied...the exact same spot which is sort of weird.

Baby is still measuring two weeks ahead, while my stomach still measures right on target.  My cervix is still thinning as well, which they say is from my constant BH.  The doctor tells me he is not letting me go past 39 weeks, which would be the 25th...but he doesn't think I will make it that long. 

Considering I have had the mindset for the past week that this kid was content to stay where he was and I was going to have to have a c section...I feel like a drastic weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Add to that that LO could quite possibly be here 'anytime' (in the doctor's words)....ELATED!!

Got home from the appointment and the first thing my husband asks is "Does that mean we can have sex now?" hahaha...we have had to sustain the last couple of weeks because of the condition of my cervix and the baby's position.  I hadn't even thought to ask the doctor about that, and it feels odd to me to call up to the office to ask....awkward.

On the other hand, now that I have been given the okay for delivery...sort of tempting!!

Hope everyone is doing well in their neck of the woods

Also wondering- is it true that squatting will help engage the baby and keep him in place?  I am so horribly paranoid that he will decide he was more comfortable breach and flip back around, so I want to do everything possible to encourage to stay head down!

[begoniamama]

everyone seems so close!  and yay for kewpie, can't wait to see photos. 

i'm officially 39 weeks today, and last night i was up every few hours to leakage, little gushes of fluid soaking my underwear and when i finally got out of bed this morning i realized it's definitely amniotic fluid and my waters are leaking for sure. small gushes throughout the day, way more tightening in my belly, menstrual like cramps and a nagging lower backache. BUT - no real or regular contractions. i napped and then cleaned and walked and am going to walk more later. MW is coming by tonight to check in. any thoughts girls? my mind is now so preoccupied! does it sound like early labor?

[begoniamama]

is it true that squatting will help engage the baby and keep him in place?  I am so horribly paranoid that he will decide he was more comfortable breach and flip back around, so I want to do everything possible to encourage to stay head down!

yes it is true! now that he is in place i would squat, walk up and down stairs (even sideways) to encourage further engagement. 

[Devaskyla]

chilichiki .... He won't "let" you? That's utter bs, it's entirely your decision. Drs have no right to make decisions like that, they just want you to believe they can. As for sex, why not? It's not going to put you into labour if baby isn't ready, it'll just help your cervix get ready.

Begoniamama All of my labours have started with my water breaking. With my oldest, I bought into their time restriction bs (& I was kind of stuck at the hospital due to our transportation situation at the time) and wound up with a cesarean. With my 2nd, my water was broken for 90 hours before I got any labour at all. He was born about 20 hours after that. With my 3rd, I started getting very distantly spaced contractions after about 8 hours, they went to 20 minutes after about 15 hours and he was actually born within 22 hours of my water breaking.

[HardCoreMom]

chili, i am SO seriously stoked for you.  yay, baby!  way to turn!

i say you have some sex to celebrate.  :)

[demoonunit]

Originally Posted by chilichiki 

Considering I have had the mindset for the past week that this kid was content to stay where he was and I was going to have to have a c section...I feel like a drastic weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Add to that that LO could quite possibly be here 'anytime' (in the doctor's words)....ELATED!!

That's fantastic! Throughout my whole pregnancy I was paranoid about baby being breech. Luckily, my baby has been head down for the past few months and hasn't budged from her favorite spot (my right side). I call her my little Moonunit because she's been positioned like a crescent moon forever! But enough about me...I just wanted to say that because of my paranoia of breech-itude, I can totally understand where you were coming from with having a heavy head about your baby being breech, and I'm so happy for you that he decided to switch! I heard that sitting upright and getting on your hands & knees is good for keeping them in position. I've been doing this *just in case* my baby decides to change her mind at the last minute. I do very little lounging unless it's on my side and my knees are curled up. Even in the car I position my seat super upright. It's worked so far!

[coldandsleepy]

Good luck kewpie!  I hope everything goes (already went??) really well!

Chili, how exciting that your little one turned... that's such a relief.

I had a great day today... my first day of maternity leave.  I did absolutely nothing of consequence.  Basically everything I had to do pre-baby other than daily chores has been done since last week.  So I gave myself today to just slack slack slack.  And amazingly, despite sleeping terribly and waking up at 4:30, I had energy.  I got some knitting done, walked for an hour (the first time I've been able to walk without crippling pelvic pain in weeks-- no idea why it felt okay today), met up with friends at the farmer's market, came home and cooked a lengthy and involved dinner... all sorts of fun stuff.  Still feeling lots of annoying prodromal stuff but at least I had fun today!

Tomorrow I have a checkup and am going to ask for a membrane sweep.  Not that I think it'll make a difference, but I'm reaching the point where I'm ready to try whatever... also going to see my friend who is my doula hopefully for a bit.

[juneboymum]

Yay Chili!!!  So happy the baby turned for you!!  Now, stay put, baby!!!

[chilichiki]

Originally Posted by Devaskyla 

chilichiki .... He won't "let" you? That's utter bs, it's entirely your decision. Drs have no right to make decisions like that, they just want you to believe they can. As for sex, why not? It's not going to put you into labour if baby isn't ready, it'll just help your cervix get ready.

His reason for not wanting me to go past 39 weeks is the size of the baby.  I know the ultrasounds aren't 100% accurate, but there is definitely a big difference between this baby and my first son.  He worries that the baby may grow too big and get stuck in the birth canal...which I have to admit I worry about too. 

My mom tells me not to worry about that since I have already had one child (even if he was small) and that my hips are more than sufficient enough to pass a bigger kid.  She also thinks that the U/S weight measurements are off.

Honestly, I am so damned uncomfortable all the time that I wouldn't mind going a week early.  But then again, I do not want to be induced.  I dread the idea of that almost as much as that of a c section.

I was lucky with my first son.  I was scheduled for an induction ( I had a lot of problems in the first pregnancy and my doctor was going to be out of town for a week, so she left the decision of induction to me. I chose to go ahead with it because I was comfortable and familiar with her), but woke up a few hours before in labor.  Went to the hospital a few hours later and had my son within six hours.

This pregnancy has been so vastly different than the first one, that I wonder how different the labor will be.

I have a sneaking suspicion that I won't make it to 39 weeks though...I really do think this little (or big) guy is getting ready to make his entrance sooner.

Of course now that I said that...he will most likely stay put!!

[redbirdlady]

My mom tells me not to worry about that since I have already had one child (even if he was small) and that my hips are more than sufficient enough to pass a bigger kid.  She also thinks that the U/S weight measurements are off.

I tend to agree with your mom.  I had multiple ultrasounds with my first baby, she was expected to come out in the 7 pound range, and she was 9 pounds even.  Same thing happened with #2 - had an ultrasound the week before I was induced with her, supposedly 7 pounds, she was 8 1/2.

It is a very very rare occasion that a baby cannot pass through a woman's hips.  I think that's more doctor-speak for wanting to control a birth, IMO.

[Kaitlyn811]

Sort of off topic because I feel like a total jerk..

My appointments have been on Thursdays for the last several months..so I assumed this appointment was for Thursday..it was for today ): I missed it - I never got a call from the office saying I missed it, or a reminder call yesterday for today. So now I have to call tomorrow and tell them how sorry I am for being such an unintentional jerk. For whatever stupid reason this is really eating at me..I feel terrible. But I can't understand why no one called to tell me I missed my appointment. ): 

[chilichiki]

Originally Posted by Kaitlyn811 

Sort of off topic because I feel like a total jerk..

My appointments have been on Thursdays for the last several months..so I assumed this appointment was for Thursday..it was for today ): I missed it - I never got a call from the office saying I missed it, or a reminder call yesterday for today. So now I have to call tomorrow and tell them how sorry I am for being such an unintentional jerk. For whatever stupid reason this is really eating at me..I feel terrible. But I can't understand why no one called to tell me I missed my appointment. ): 

I had that happen a couple of weeks ago.  i was never called for the reminder, and I had thought my appointment was for the usual Wednesday instead of Tuesday.  they called me a half hour after what time they had me coming in to ask where I was... they told me if I was able to come in anyways they would fit me in, which worked out.  They insisted that they had called me and left a message about the appointment, but they never did.  I figured it wasn't worth the argument.  We're pregnant women, we can always claim forgetfulness and people will nod in agreement :o)

[cedarwoman]

Thinking about the hips thing... there is really no way to tell how wide a woman's hips open to birth a baby from what I've read! The angles change so dramatically during birth (well, little tiny changes really, but in the big picture... dramatic...) Like the way the tailbone opens on hands and knees - you can check this by placing a hand on your pubic bone and a hand on your tailbone... as you bend forward the angle increases and I find that reassuring ;)

This link http://www.givingbirthnaturally.com/birth-positions.html talks a little more about it and is well-cited imho.

I think a lot of it is about the head-and-shoulder sizing too - you can have a heavy baby with a regular-sized head, like my 9+ lbs and 27-inches-at-birth DH apparently was! 

This is what I'm telling myself. MW commented that the baby was "heavy" as she helped me turn over the other day and I just went "heavy? um..." 

And no one in my family has guess less than 8.5lbs ;P

[Kaitlyn811]

Also, any tips for nausea, headache, discomfort? I can't be comfy sitting, or laying down. I feel sick to my stomach. My head and neck hurt..thus not being able to get comfy. Anyone else experiencing this? And what are you doing? Is this what my first trimester was like? It feels so far away now lol that it's hard to remember. 

[moonSnail]

chilichicki, also, don't forget that hormones do amazing things to a woman's pelvis when she is birthing.  I totally believe that a woman grows a baby that within her capabilities of birthing... barring pelvic abnormalities of some sort.  I went to 42 weeks with my son... he was 9 lb. 14 oz, 23 inches long..... and posterior.  I was vegan at the time so he grew this huge regardless of my worry that I was eating enough protein.  Everything was fine.  I had a beautiful homebirth.  I am certain that had I been in the hospital and had all sorts of ultrasound dating to let them take a guess at his size (and given that he was posterior and I had a long labor), I would have been a cesarean.  Don't let the doctor pressure you into doing anything with your baby and your body that you are uncomfortable with.  It is YOUR decision.  Your little guy may not be ready at 39 weeks!

[Devaskyla]

Barring medical issues (diabetes, broken pelvis), your body won't grow a baby too big to birth. So long as you allow labour to start naturally & labour and push in positions which allow gravity and your pelvis to work.

Despite what drs believe, the research shows that inducing for suspected "big baby" only increases the cesarean rate. Several reasons for that. Big one is that induction ties you to the bed & increases pain, making you more likely to get an epidural, all of which means you can't work with your body and your pelvic outlet is much smaller.  The other big reason is that when you go into labour naturally, your body is ready for birthing. You have more relaxin so that your pelvis can give the baby more space, you have the right hormones in the right amounts, and so does baby. When you induce, neither of you is ready (or you'd be in labour already), which means if the baby is actually big, you're decreasing your chances of being able to birth.

Shoulder dystocia is a genuine concern but a) while bigger babies are more likely to get stuck, dystocia happens "commonly" with smaller babies too (the commonly is in quotes because shoulder dystocia itself is extremely rare, occurring in between .5-1% of births) and b) one reason drs are so terrified of it is that their methods to deal with it are..not the greatest. And a lot of them have panicked and caused damage trying to yank the baby out.The best way to resolve it is to change the position of the mother, which with an epidural can be very difficult, so instead of using the FLIPFLOP method http://www.spinningbabies.com/spinning-babies-and/resolving-shoulder-dystocia they use HELPERR http://midwifethinking.com/2010/12/03/shoulder-dystocia-the-real-story/ (great article in general, you'll have to read down for the info on HELPERR)

Sorry if that's a bit much info, hopefully you'll find something reassuring in all of that.

Originally Posted by chilichiki 
His reason for not wanting me to go past 39 weeks is the size of the baby.  I know the ultrasounds aren't 100% accurate, but there is definitely a big difference between this baby and my first son.  He worries that the baby may grow too big and get stuck in the birth canal...which I have to admit I worry about too. 

My mom tells me not to worry about that since I have already had one child (even if he was small) and that my hips are more than sufficient enough to pass a bigger kid.  She also thinks that the U/S weight measurements are off.

[sarah_bella1050]

I'm still here waiting for baby too.  Having prodominal labor for 4 days now but it obviously isn't producing anything.  I'm 39+2 and baby is still not engaged.   Trying my best to stay distracted and keep myself busy.  I have reorganized, cleaned and spruced up every room in the house and might just have to tackle th garage if I make it to the weekend!  Today I got a pedicure, tomorrow I am going out to lunch for my birthday (which is on the 8th) and the next day I have coffee and thrifting with a friend planned.  Also going on tons of walks with dh which are kinda like mini dates.  Having a good time but seriously ready to meet this babe!!!

Oh and I totally rocked dinner tonight and made 3 chicken pot pies! 2 are for the freezer of course.

[begoniamama]

baby arrived today at 39 weeks 1 day!!!! born at home after about 9 hours of labor - definitely THE most adventurous day of my life. crazy. will post birth story soon, thanks for all your support girls!

[redbirdlady]

Originally Posted by begoniamama 

baby arrived today at 39 weeks 1 day!!!! born at home after about 9 hours of labor - definitely THE most adventurous day of my life. crazy. will post birth story soon, thanks for all your support girls!

CONGRATS mama!! 

[AfricanQueen99]

Woot!  Another baby!!  Can't wait to hear the story!