"Weekly" Chat thread ~ Jan 10th-19th - Page 2 « Back to Group Discussions

[spughy]

I'm also a lactation consultant as well. (The title is simply "breastfeeding educator" here - but I took the same intensive semester-long course with 30 hrs of observation in hospital and community settings that the nurses here are supposed to take if they want the accreditation.) 

BUT Sam has a good point - actual IRL support is hugely important.  Is your partner taking time off work? Is your mom able to help (and would she actually be helpful)?  Is there a baby group at a community center near you?  Baby groups are AWESOME sources of support - you would not believe how much better you feel after sitting and talking with a bunch of other moms in the same or similar situations as you, especially if the group is facilitated by somebody kind and knowledgeable.   Check out the community centers close to you and see what they have to offer - go meet the facilitators.  If you can't find anything, call up the public health unit nearest you and ask the PHNs.  They can also be a great source of support and information.

Babytoes, I think "trace" protein can be found in urine if you're a touch dehydrated.  If I have a mw appointment early in the am before my morning coffee/tea and water has had a chance to go through, I get that on the pee stick, but not if my appointment is in the afternoon.  It really isn't anything to worry about.

[scruffy too]

Babytoes: I've had "trace" protein a few times, too.  And I've been told it's nothing to worry about - could just be a contaminated sample from not washing/cleaning "properly" first - at least that's what the doctor, the nurse, and my midwife had told me.

ACV = Apple cider vinegar.  I have no experience with this for heart burn.

[SlimP]

Aw ladies, I hate to hear of any of the ddc's upsets as much as I love to hear you're doing well. Sending positive energy to those who are struggling at the moment, remember this journey has highs and lows and you will get through this! I'm sure part of low mood is energy conservation, perhaps due to a growth spurt. Good advice re. the Vit D Chapsie, it's so important at this time. I ebb and flow with supplements but taking oils seriously now. Also started a mineral-rich herbal tincture with birth-preparation herbs......we'll see! I'm starting into red raspberry tea next week too.

Apple cyder vinegar is magic stuff, I take it neat before meals and use it in my salad dressings. My reflux has been the one thing that's much better this pregnancy.

Sam, wow 1 year maternity leave. That's awesome and right! I was v isolated from family and friends with my first baby and a local mother-baby group saved me. First-hand advice from people with babies of the same age is far more use than any book and I made some good friends we still meet today.

Regarding baby's position, I've known he's usually transverse because of kicks and punches out both sides simultaneously, though i did occasionally feel the rounded spine, but I just learned at my midwife appt last week that this could be a big deal if he doesn't turn. So now I'm all about inversions, all-fours, looking at chiropractors and acupuncturists, anything to avoid an ECV or c/s, eek. My diastasis recti may have contributed to his favouring this position, finally seeing a physio tomorrow who will hopefully assess me properly and give me advice about recovery, binding, etc. The clock was ticking faster anyway, now d-day could be closer than ever if the hospital interventions are forced upon me. Has anyone had any success with late turning from transverse? It seems using my pelvic girdle as a hammock is too comfortable a position to rotate from!

[spughy]

SlimP - I JUST saw an article (like, this morning) about body alignment to prevent breech.  There's a video link too which is pretty useful.

http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/mama-baby-alignment/
 

[chocolatechip]

SamSarah, I totally understand liking to have one's support network in place beforehand! I have been working on that as well, in terms of both having people to ask questions of and in terms of reading/research material. This forum is great for questions, and I've also found it really helpful to be part of a mama's group in real life. We are all ladies who are using the same midwives, and when we started getting together all but one of us was still pregnant. We've had three more babies since then! And it's so fun to be around the moms taking care of their new babies and seeing what it's like, and to be able to ask them questions. It was the second baby for a couple of them, and a first for the other two, which leads to different questions and answers! All that said, "The Baby Book" by Dr. Sears seems to be a really impressive hardcopy reference for infant care. I've been reading through it, because I don't have much experience with babies, and it covers everything from how to bathe your baby, to how to use a rectal thermometer, to breastfeeding, to diapering, to some things about parenting, and has a whole section on common baby illnesses and what to do about them. I've found reading through a lot of it has really helped me feel somewhat more comfortable with the idea that ohmigod-I'm-going-to-be-taking-care-of-a-baby. 

SlimP, as this is my first, I have no experience with getting a baby to change positions, but good luck! Fingers crossed for you!

[Chapsie]

SlimP- You should still have lots of time for baby to move into a vertex position! My friend had a baby in November and he was transverse at 39 weeks but moved vertex right before birth and she had a lovely Homebirth. . Hopefully your baby will get the idea much sooner than that!!!!! My DD was breech until 36 weeks and I remember being so anxious about it (did hypnosis, inversions, underwater handstands, etc.). But she flipped on her own!

Most babies won't stay persistently transverse... Hope to hear that the position changes soon!

[maydaymom10]

SlimP - don't worry too much about position yet. We still have a few weeks until is becomes a "concern", and even then the baby could flip and settle in during labor. That being said, I totally understand where you're at b/c I've been concerned about this LO being OP & transverse at times - just where I've been feeling kicks and movement. You might consider a chiropractor who is certified in the Webster technique to help and/or acupuncture. Also, look into the Spinning Babies site if you haven't. She has some wonderful exercises there that you can do daily at this point to help with positioning. Good luck!

[writermama12]

I am really enjoying reading the posts this week. I dont' have much to reply, just wanted to say hi and that even though this is my third child, I am learning so much from all of you. I wish I had known about DDC with my last baby. I don't think DDc existed when I was pregnant with my first 12 years ago though.

I am back from California, thankfully. It was a stressful trip and I didn't realize how stressed I was until I reread some of posts on here and I was totally using the DDC to vent . Anyway, my duties as a daughter are not over even though I am 3,000 miles away, so it may be a long winter/spring. 

I missed my first two week appt. and finally saw my MW today. I am healthy and so is baby Rowan. He was head down, which was surprising as he's been transverse a lot lately. Maybe that is why I am finding your posts so interesting this week! The other thing that is on my mind is my weight. Ugh. I am coming to terms with the fact that I am probably going to gain the same amount as last time despite my best efforts to gain less. I am nearly 32 weeks and have gained 47 lbs. Oh well. I feel in better shape this time around though and have kept up walking the whole time and eat very healthy so this preg. is an improvement. Maybe I'll lose it faster this time...anyway, it's at least a goal to keep me motivated. 

Have a great week ladies.

[SlimP]

Spughy, thanks for your link. I've read some 'Katy Says' articles before and found them very interesting....I think it was you mentioned her squatting advice before also? I just wish I had stumbled across her years ago, maybe my core muscles wouldn't be so weak now!

Thanks ChocChip. It's nice to feel baby is 'locked and loaded' into the right position, although I believe it happens a bit later for multip Mums.
I'm glad you have a supportive network in place. No matter how great the book, and I really like Dr Sears, there's no reassurance as comforting as an empathic fellow mother.

Chapsie, yes there's always hope baby will move right up to the last minute. How long my hospital-based midwife team will allow for that to happen is another thing I believe my hospital will be keen to try an ECV at 37 weeks, which is only 4 weeks away!! But I don't even want it to even go as far as the pressure/scaremongering/intervention stage.
Do you think it was the physical postures, like the inversions and aqua handstands, or the mental sphere of connecting with yourself and baby that did the trick for you? (Is that an odd question? The answer seems important )

MayDay, thanks too! I've seen reference to the Webster technique and looked at Spinning Babies, which is not wholly reassuring about baby easily moving after 34 weeks. Still, I'm game to try everything and anything to avoid intervention. It's great to be able to run things by you gals first as I really value the advice I read here.

I saw the hospital physio today who gave me some exercises to strengthen my core but isn't sure if this could influence baby's position at all. I didn't even mention the post-partum binding but I might bring it up next time. Perhaps I'm wrong, I mean it's hardly that zany, but I get the feeling it would be considered unorthodox!
Fingers crossed, legs definitely not, that all our babies will assume the best exit position.

[cabbitdancer]

SlimP, I wouldn't worry too much about it, but you are definitely doing the right thing by being proactive on this and finding out all you can to get your baby to turn NOW, rather than waiting until it becomes an official concern. I waited, and my daughter never turned. The closer you get to your EDD, the more freaked out your providers are to become and the more likely they will be to pressure you into some form of intervention or another. The biggest danger of a transverse lie is having your water break and enduring a cord prolapse. Obviously, baby can't come out that way, so the closer you get without any movement in the right direction, the greater your chance of an automatic C--even an EARLY automatic C. My midwife, however, refused to do an ECV, saying it was "too dangerous," and never offered up any alternative manner of getting baby to turn. She simply turned me over to her overseeing OB to schedule my section. Here's hoping baby turns without any intervention, sooner rather than later.

My daughter is home sick--again--today. I got my first call from the nurse's office, saying she had a fever of 102.6. So, she was the one to find my bead package in the mail, this afternoon. Poor kiddo. Kindergarten is hard on the constitution! We were bad, though. Stopped by JcPenney's to grab a sweatshirt on clearance that I'd been eyeing, and managed to pick up another 3 piece outfit for the baby. And then I got her an icee at Target to make up for the fact that I didn't believe her when she said she didn't feel well, this morning. She told me, "You didn't believe me, so my body said, 'We'll show her!' and it gave me a fever, so you could see that I really am sick!"

I may also have discovered that I was totally wrong about what was causing my rib pain. I think the Bun may have been pressing her tiny hiney into my ribs. I pushed on her, a couple of days ago, and felt her drop lower, along with sudden relief from pain. My husband actually got her to kick me in the ribs, last night. Holy cow! I've never been kicked in the ribs before. That hurts! I picked up a balance ball from Target, today, in the hopes that sitting on it will help keep her off my ribs, for the most part. We'll see how well it works. \o/

[RainGardenMama]

Slimp- I am unsure about my little guy's position, but sometimes I feel strong "kicks" near my bladder so I suspect his legs are down there. I am a bit overwhelmed by the spinning babies website but have decided to incorporate daily inversions as a first step. I also started seeing a Chiro who is highly experienced with pregnant mamas and my alignment already feels better. Better alignment, I have read, leads to better positioning for babe.

[jodieanneanton]

RainGardenMama- I would make sure u know baby's position before doing inversions.  Maybe it's just me (someone jump in if they know I am wrong), but my thought process is if they can encourage baby to flip from breech to vertex, I think they could encourage the opposite.  If I didn't KNOW that my baby was head down based on palpating the uterus, I'd think it was possible/likely with all the punching I get down low.  (Yesterday I was getting elbowed/punched in the sciatic nerve and it would go all down my leg!!!)  Do you ever feel hiccups?  Where do you feel them?  That could give you a clue as to whether baby is really breech.  Other than that, you could ask that chiro of yours if he/she has experience with palpating to feel for position of baby or ask your OB/MW to check for you. (It is pretty common that they already have done this by now.  I am sure that mine did, but no one ever shared what they were doing when feeling my belly until I came out and asked!)

[RainGardenMama]

Thanks Jodie, that's a great point. My Chiro's theory was that the inversions (30 seconds/day) help your body/the baby's comfort in ways other than just encouraging baby to flip. Something about the muscles around the uterus stretching and then relaxing? Anyway, I have an office job where I sit much of my 40 hour work week and we were talking about managing that. Being in a sitting position all day long isn't comfy for anyone
My MW will be here for an appt in about an hour, I will let you know what her opinion is.

[maydaymom10]

Ugh. Bad night of sleep after a relatively good week. Oh well. I'm due for a lazy day and have plenty that I need to get done around the house today, so I think DS & I will stay in.

Speaking of positions, this little baby just can't decide where she wants to settle. My guess is that she's head down - based on hiccups the radiate to my bum & butt pushes up near my ribs. But, she likes to flip flop from side-to-side a lot. It's really amazing. DS never moved like this, but I also had an anterior placenta with him and may not have felt it as much. Yesterday morning it was a bit disturbing as it felt like she was litterally trying to "dig" out of my side. The kicks/punches felt more like scratching. I just have this image of her coming out with really long fingernails, which will freak me out because I am really bad at cutting baby fingernails. I don't want to even think about the blood that was shed from DS in those early weeks due to my efforts. I'm really hoping that this little one finds a nice happy OA position that she can settle into. I know theres' still plenty of time (I'm 33w). I have a mw appt on Friday, so I'll be curious to see where she finds the heartbeat and her thoughts on positioning.

I'm starting to feel organized. We got our birth supplies in the mail yesterday, and I'm almost done prepping all of my new diapers for this one. I still need wash some of her clothes and get some old sheets and towels from Goodwill for the birth. I'm also planning to start some freezer cooking this week -- got the ingredients and some pans to freeze in. Time is quickly ticking down... ugh. Now to make the final decision on a doula...

[veganyogamomma]

It seems like a common theme here lately, but I've been reading a lot and writing very little lately. I do love to check in here often and see how you are all doing!

I believe there is a Hypnobabies relaxation track for helping baby flip from breech. It may be worth a shot for those who are wanting to avoid interventions. Check their website!

The big news over here is that we FINALLY MOVED! No more living with my MIL! WOOHOO! We found out we got the place last Thursday and we moved in on Saturday. Thankfully most of our stuff was already packed in storage. It's been really tough to take it easy when there's been so much to do though! I'm still having episodes where my heart races if I'm too active, but I think focusing more on hydration, snacking through the day, rest, and low stress has been helping.

I went out last night to a women's gathering that will be meeting weekly going forward. A friend who I met through yoga invited me, so I really didn't know anyone else there. It was so nice to meet so many like-minded women, as I've been rather isolated lately (besides groups like this online). I'm totally exhausted today from it, but I think it was worthwhile.

[scruffy too]

VeganYogaMoma - Congrats on moving!!  Very exciting times.  And it's so great that you connected with like-minded women IRL. 

MayDay - I slept like poo last night, too.  So I think today is going to be a long day.  At least work is pretty laid back, it will just be harder than ever not to fall asleep at my desk.

WriterMama - Welcome home.  I wouldn't worry about the number on the scale if you're feeling healthy.  Easier said than done, I know...

My baby's had their head down everytime someone's checked.  My I do feel those HUGE flip-flop movements quite regularily, so they must be changing sides.

Happy Birthday WithLittleLungs!  Hope you're having a WONDERFUL day!

Edited by scruffy too - 1/16/13 at 10:31am

[chocolatechip]

veganyogamama, hooray for moving! Keep taking care of yourself. 

My most exciting news from yesterday is that we now have a real fridge in our kitchen, rather than just a mini-fridge in the kitchen with a big fridge in the basement. I was getting more and more tired of going up and down the basement stairs every time I needed something from the real fridge, and it was definitely getting more precarious as my belly got bigger - they're steep stairs, and I couldn't load up on food since I felt like I needed to have a hand available for balance! Since the basement fridge was also not in very good condition, we just got a new one (hard work, since it needed to be smallish to fit in the kitchen), and it got delivered yesterday. And last night and this morning I was able to make food by just taking a few steps back and forth between the fridge and the counter. AWESOME. Of course, the freezer handle wouldn't go on because of a defective screw/thread line-up, but they're mailing out a new one. (it's never perfectly easy, is it?)

And in a few more weeks, our new stove comes in, and the kitchen will actually be on it's way to fully functional!

Sometimes I feel a little ridiculous being so excited about this, but we've been living in non-optimal kitchen conditions for the whole two years we've been in this house, and it makes SUCH a big difference when things are set up right. 

[LightForest]

Ug mamas, I'm having a horrible day and just need somewhere to vent! Last night I had a nightmare that I lost DD in a crowded city street type situation. Then my sleep was horrible (nonexistent) for the rest of the night. This is the second time in just a few weeks that I've had a scary dream about losing her. I don't tend to be a worrywart in real life, but she's been SO difficult lately, it makes it hard to go anywhere because she just wants to run... or be carried (while poking me in the eyes and complaining about her hair being in her face etc etc)... or throw herself down on the ground to scream in the most heavily trafficked section of the library, sidewalk, or other public place.

Then today, I took her to her weekly parent/child class at the Waldorf school - something that we both love and look forward to each week. DD threw an absolute fit when it was time to leave today, refusing to put on shoes and jacket. It took so long to get her out the door that we missed the bus home... Which I didn't quite realize until we'd been waiting for 15 minutes and it still hadn't come... I wasn't able to dig my phone out of my bag to look at the time because I was too busy trying to stop DD from rolling around on the ground and licking the glass walls of the bus stop enclosure. Seriously, what is wrong with this kid? (Answer: she's two. Sigh.) I eventually realized what was going on, at which point I took a different transit option (a different/slower bus that costs more $ and requires a transfer to get home)... But it took 2 hours from the time her class ended till we were actually home. The only high point of the experience was that she didn't wet her pants in all that time (we're in the midst of potty learning - diaper free during the day but I'm still nervous when we go out without a diaper on).

Seriously, I'm SO lucky to be having an uneventful pregnancy. I'm still active with her, we're biking places together frequently which I didn't think I'd still be comfortable doing (I'm 33 weeks)... BUT I'M SO TIRED! This kid is wearing me out! This is all making me a little scared for when #2 arrives! What if this new baby is as much of a handful as DD? I never thought I'd want to send DD to preschool but I've recently been fantasizing about it, just to give myself a little break.

Apologies for the rant, mamas. This is hard!

[LightForest]

chocolatechip, I TOTALLY hear what your saying about the importance of a functioning kitchen! that's definitely something to be happy about! it can make all the difference!!

[beautifulnm]

Originally Posted by maydaymom10 

Yesterday morning it was a bit disturbing as it felt like she was litterally trying to "dig" out of my side. The kicks/punches felt more like scratching. I just have this image of her coming out with really long fingernails, which will freak me out because I am really bad at cutting baby fingernails. I don't want to even think about the blood that was shed from DS in those early weeks due to my efforts. 

I couldn't find the paperbag over head smiley but I need it. I was so terrified of cutting ds' nails I had a coworker and the daycare lady do it. Totally paranoid.. The most I could ever do was use the file which doesn't work so great on fresh baby nails.