Weekly Chat Thread - March 17th through March 23rd - Page 3 « Back to Group Discussions

[chocolatechip]

Hah, those are both great cartoons!!

storygirl, that is such a bummer that you are getting sick at the end, but I'm glad you've found a positive side to it. May the baby come soon, and may your experience of the cold be short. Maybe your immune system that has done so well this pregnancy will just kick this sickness quickly out the door!

scruffy, I haven't had a chiropractor appointment, but it's interesting to hear that your chiro and massage both found the same spots. I sure felt all well balanced and relaxed after my massage. And I did tell my husband that if I'm still pregnant in two weeks, I'm going for another one. 

So I dreamt several times last night about going into labor. Nothing beyond that, just the starting part. And yet today I feel less like anything might happen than I have in the past several days. I also dreamt about serving Bill Clinton peach ice cream, so maybe this particular set of dreams is not to be trusted. 

I have another midwife appointment today (they come so fast when they're only a week apart!), and plan on working on our taxes and the cloth baby wipes I still want to make. Super exciting day, no? At least it's not pouring rain like it did much of yesterday, so it will be nicer walking and bussing up to my midwife's office!

[Tear78]

Originally Posted by chocolatechip 

Maybe your immune system that has done so well this pregnancy will just kick this sickness quickly out the door!

Seriously, I think pregnancy gives us super-immune systems! I hope you fight this cold off in record time!

chocolatechip, peach ice cream! Looking forward to a picture soon with you and Bill and the little one settling down for a scoop!

[Bena]

This needs to be checked, but I do remember reading somewhere that our immune system was in high gear during pregnancy....will need to google this!
 

[scruffy too]

I've always heard that pregnancy immune systems are the best, but when I first went to the doctor to confirm my pregnancy, all she could talk about was getting the flu shot because my immune system was going to be weakened.  As I have never had the flu shot before, I declined again (and didn't get a flu!) but she was REALLY pushing it.  Then when I told my MW about it, she said she'd never even heard of pregnant women getting the flu shot.  And she certainly didn't recommend it.  I guess everyone's opinion is different on the pregnant immune system.

[storygirlcindy]

I think it depends on the person. For some (including people with cystic fibrosis) it DEFINITELY tends to be weakened. To a degree, it needs to be (as I understand it) so that your body doesn't attack the developing fetus like the outside organism that it is, LOL. But I think, like with everything else pregnancy-related, everyone's body probably just reacts differently. I haven't had an especially stellar immune system this pregnancy - I've gotten sick several times, I just have spent the last 9 months being a hermit so that I never got exposed to a respiratory virus, ha! Which is why it's the ultimate irony that this one showed up in my house this week. I am definitely quite sick now. :( It certainly seems to be making the rounds - my hubby said at least 3 other people had stayed home from his work this week!

[spughy]

Storygirlcindy, I hope you can get over your bugs with a minimum of fuss and drama.  I'm fortunately one of those people with an ironclad immune system in pregnancy - we've had a few colds go through our house and DH was quite sick a few weeks ago (mine's like yours, REALLY doesn't do the sick thing much at all) but I haven't had even a sniffle. 

Chocolatechip, how come in your dreams *I* dole out pancakes but Bill Clinton gets ice cream????  This doesn't seem fair.  I demand treats from your dreams as well.  FTR, I like oatmeal raisin cookies (if it's your dream, they don't have to give me tummy aches like in real life) and wine gums.

I had another NST and ultrasound today, but the ultrasound was distinctly less fun because all they were looking for was fluid level.  Which was fine, and baby was cooperative for the NST even without cheese and apple juice (which I really didn't want because I was still full from lunch).  Anyway, no cause for concern.  But something labeled "non-stress" really ought to come with some kind of guaranteed parking space.  The hospital's parking lot is a MESS at 3 pm on a weekday.  And also, the traffic getting there is hideous.  I want to find out what route the ambulances take and follow that when I'm actually going there to give birth - because the standard route on the "highway" sucks from about noon onward.

[Chapsie]

oh my word, I almost just lost it on my husband.  He commented that the hose adaptor from the birth pool kit is the wrong size for our bathroom and kitchen, so "I'll just use the garden hose and connect it to the bathroom by the kids' rooms."  WHAT???  There is no way you are using the garden hose that has been sitting outside and has who knows what critters and bugs inside of it!  "Well.. I was going to rinse it out first."

"I AM GIVING BIRTH IN THIS POOL!!  You are NOT using an old dirty garden hose!!!"  I was all teary eyed.  I couldn't believe that I am now 40 weeks pregnant and this is how he planned to fill the birth tub.  Dude, you have ONE job.  To fill my pool.  That's it.  That's ALL you have to do.  I am gestating and birthing this baby.  I highly doubt you'd want to switch roles here.  

I told him it had to be a drinking water quality hose and that he better read up on this. 

I am so frustrated.  I have tried so so so hard to be patient.  This bedroom and bathroom renovation was supposed to be done 3 weeks ago... and it's almost done, but not quite.  I have been unbelievably supportive and patient.  At this point, I just want to relax.  I need his help with so many other things... I want him to be DONE with this project and HELP ME.  

::sigh::

Thanks for letting me vent!!!  

[Tear78]

ok, dude, Chapsie, your hubbie needs to go to Home Depot and find an adaptor that works. Seriously. Not acceptable! Ugh. Hugs!

[Chapsie]

the funny thing is that he is at home depot once or twice a day it seems like!  He was there twice just today!  I told him weeks ago that I wanted to have a practice run with the birth pool and he brushed it off.  I just know that I've read waaay to many birth stories where things go wrong with the tub-filling!  This is our last baby... my last chance at doing things the way I want.  

I am super emotional today.  Thanks for listening.  I've felt so lonely the past few weeks.  I feel like I can't talk about my homebirth plans (because of politics at work -- I work in a maternity department at a busy hospital and majority of people there would freak if they knew) in real life, so it has been such a pleasure to be able to chat with you guys!!!  It is really wonderful to go through this with other people who totally "get it." 

[sunshinelove]

Uggh, such typical male behavior! A lot of guys would think its no big deal to use a nasty garden hose to fill up a birth pool. And then when we get mad at them for such ridiculousness, they still dont get it!! I hope he listens to you and gets that adaptor, chapsie.

I went off a bit on my man today, too. It wasnt about anything too important, i just noticed something illogical about his beliefs in regards to humanity. I dont normally make a big deal about things like that, but i couldnt help myself, i just let him have it. I think it was hormones. I also had some blood-tinged mucus today, so things are definitely shifting.

[chocolatechip]

I'd always heard that our immune systems were supposed to be lower, because of what storygirl said, about not fighting off the developing fetus. And yet, I feel like I've done a really good job of not getting sick often this year. On the other hand, I've been far less stressed this year than last (being pregnant is easier than finishing a dissertation!), and I think that makes a huge difference for me!

Spughy, you're right, that's totally unfair! I will do my best to have a dream where I bake you oatmeal raisin cookies. That wouldn't be such a bad dream! (I have no idea what wine gums are) I'm now remembering that JodieAnne showed up in one of my dreams recently too, but I can't remember why. She didn't seem to be involved with food. I feel like I've just been dreaming a mile a minute recently!

Chapsie, that was a *totally* justified reason to lose it, especially at this point in the proecess. My midwives were adamant that the hose needed to be BRAND NEW, and drinking water quality. You really don't want to be introducing years-old yard bacteria into that tub! That said, my husband, who really does try but isn't very handy, first walked in with some sort of black accordion style sewage pump hose or something, which kind of boggled my mind. He said, "I knew it wasn't supposed to be a garden hose..." I can laugh about it now, but I was pretty taken aback at the time! I managed to be gentle with him, since it was early on, but there wasn't any way to get it even close to fitting onto our sink or shower (it wasn't even threaded!). I eventually sent him back to return it and ordered a hose online.  Anyway, I am sympathetic to your plight, and hopefully  he can step it up and get the right adapter and check that the hose connects to the faucet and do anything else needed to make sure your tub will work!

My midwife appointment yesterday went great. Baby had turned around, so now its bum is on the side where the feet were, and the feet are on the other side, and it's SO very weird to be kicked in a different spot now, since it had been kicking me in the same spot for a couple months! Still happily head down, and seems pretty comfortable there. Midwife estimates the baby's size at about 7-7.5 lbs right now, so about where it should be. Though it did make me think - time to have the baby soon! 

My husband and I decided that since we never went off anywhere to have a couple days of just us before the baby came, that we will take this evening and part of tomorrow to do a little staycation at home. Planning to go out for a sushi dinner, play some games, go for a walk, etc. Simple, but I think it will be a really good thing. I'm looking forward to it. 

But right now, heading off to a session at my yoga studio, which is taking pictures of people doing yoga today to put up on their website! Get to do some yoga and have some food, and then get comped a free class. Woohoo!

[scruffy too]

StoryGirl - I agree, it depends on the person and especially any underlying health issues.

Spughy - my folks are up from the island and I relayed your thoughts on ample parking for a NST and they totally agree with you!!  I don't even like finding parking in Whitehorse!!!!! 

Chapsie - I would have freaked on DP if he'd done something like that, too!  And I probably wouldn't have been as polite as you!  Sometimes boys just don't think.

C.Chip - now I'm craving tuna sushi!!!!!  YUM!!!!!

I just had a 2 hr game of cards with my parents and DP.  (Mom and I won.)  I love Boot Canasta!!!  It's played with 6 decks of cards.  I'm still contracting every 7 mins or so, but managed to get some rest on the couch before our card game.  Now it's Grilled Cheese time, then more rest, then maybe more cards.  We'll see.  Some of these contractions aren't fun and I'm trying to adjust to them.

[nearlyelated]

It's nice to hear what everyone's been up to. I'm finishing my first full week off work, and I guess I've been productive enough (DP commented on how much I've gotten done), but I feel like I've been sitting around doing nothing. I did finally get around to painting the baseboards that we installed over a year ago, and have mostly de-cluttered the downstairs.

Chapsie - I totally understand your stress re: the tub. I opened up the box from the midwives and discovered that the pump they include to inflate the thing is powered by a car adapter. I don't know who thought that inflating a birth pool in a driveway was practical, but apparently all the adapters they have are like this. So last week I went out and bought a pump that will plug into the wall. DP came home and freaked out when he saw it, even though I'd clearly not opened it, and still had the receipt, because he was convinced we already had one in the basement. We didn't, but I decided to see if I could find a converter instead, because it would be cheaper. So I did, and it was $7 or something, and I returned the pump. I got the converter yesterday, and when I tested it with the pump it wouldn't work. I guess the pump draws more power than the adapter can handle. I was out again today, and found an air mattress that came with an electric pump with both a car and wall adapter for $30 (the pump I had gotten before was nearly $40). So we'll see if DP freaks again.

Scruffy - With my first I dilated to 7cm before my contractions got closer than 7 minutes. Hopefully your baby will be here soon!

CChip - Yoga sounds awesome. I need to get off my butt and do something active to get this baby moving.

[Chapsie]

Oh, I wanted to share that I've been wearing my birth bead necklace today!  It has been encouraging and strengthening me today, even not being in labor.  :)  

[Chapsie]

And... my DH took a half day off of work today so he can spend some time with me (AND get a hose adaptor! haha).  :)   I guess he was listening last night when I had my little melt down.  :)  

[sunshinelove]

Aww, thats so sweet of your DH to spend some quality time with you, chapsie . It sounds like he was definitely taking to heart what you said and probably sensed that you're in need of some real attention.

I'm not having a water birth, mainly because i dont want to have to deal (or have DH deal) with all the details that can make them a PITA to set up. Well, i guess if i really wanted one bad enough i would probably deal with it but i dont. With DD's birth, it felt great to be on the floor the whole time, i think the feeling of being grounded helped me relax and go with the contractions more. I never had the urge to be in water. I'm not sensing i will feel any different this time, either. Maybe i'll hang out in the shower for a bit, though, that will probably feel good.

[Chapsie]

Birth pool test run!  :).   You guys, we are getting so close!!

[scruffy too]

Chapsie - so exciting! Your helpers look great, too. I guess in a few hours we'll be setting one up, too, but I don't think it'll be a test run....

[Chapsie]

Originally Posted by scruffy too 

Chapsie - so exciting! Your helpers look great, too. I guess in a few hours we'll be setting one up, too, but I don't think it'll be a test run....

Oh scruffy!   So exciting!!!!  I'll be thinking of you tonight!  I hope this is it!!! 

[chocolatechip]

Scruffy, I am so excited for you!! And I thought it was hilarious you mentioned grilled cheese, since that seems to be what sets off my bouts of contractions, and might actually be able to tip me into labor when the time comes. Hope it got things moving even more for you! 

Nearlyelated, I am impressed that you painted baseboards! I do not so much enjoy low-down things any more. Unless it's yoga-specific, but that's typically designed to feel good.  The yoga really is fabulous. And both of the times I've ended up paging my midwives with contractions, they've said to do some cat-cow poses to help with positioning, so I feel like the yoga is going to help in labor, because I'm used to all those positioning poses. I hope so, anyway!

Chapsie, that is awesome that your husband decided to take some time to spend with you, and I love your picture of the birth pool test run. Hooray!!

The yoga picture event was really fun, and had tasty food. Then I've been spending this afternoon trying to work on our taxes, but it's SO not fun. Sigh. On the other hand, a friend of mine who is technically due 5 days after me seems to be headed into labor today, which is super exciting. She uses the same midwives, so she let me know so that *I* know I'm not allowed to go into labor right now.  I am so happy for her though, and can't wait to see her little boy! In the meantime, I am taking it easy and doing *nothing* to get labor going. No grilled cheese for me.