June 13-19 - Page 4

[HoneymoonBaby]

nak

Ian arrived Monday night at 10:03 pm after more than 24 hours of mostly unmedicated back labor (I finally asked for an epidural after I'd been at 9 cm with my water broken for a few hours and was SCREMAING in pain with each contraction) and 3.5 hours of horrific and totally unproductive pushing . . . ending in a c-section. I got out of the hospital this morning and we are both doing fine. I'm really, really sore, though. Breastfeeding is less challenging than I thought it would be, but also much more time consuming. He loves it though, which makes it worth it. He's finally wearing cloth on his bum, and really seems to like it compared to the hospital sposies that kept falling off of his skinny butt. I'll post my birth story if I ever get some time!

ETA: He weighed 7 lbs., 4 oz. and is 19 3/4 inches long.

[dharmama]

Congratulations Kirsten and Susan!!! Welcome to Ian and Julian!!!

HH ~ Beautiful name!!

Well instead of going to the movies we went swimming tonight!!! It was HEAVENLY!! I'm SO relaxed. Ahhhhh...

[mattjule]

Yay! 2 more babies! This is why I check 5 times a day, LOL. Congrats to you both, glad you are out of the hospital so quickly Kirsten, with no complications. What a serene birth, Sandi!

[wildthing]

Congratulations Kristen and Susan!!!! Babies babies everywhere! Welcome new little ones!

Yes, my little Crush is the other nameless babe here. But look for an announcement SOON!

Erin, I put a message on my answering machine whenI got close to my due date with my other kids (didn't get a chance to do it this time). It just said "You have reached (us). We are still waiting and planning for our new baby to arrive, and we can't wait. Please leave a message, and we'll get back to you." After baby comes, we put up a similar message with the birth info, so I don't have to talk to anyone if I don't want to, but people can still get the main details.

Also Erin, this was the first of all of my pregnancies that I had swelling as well. I just assumed I would never swell. My ankles swelled horribly while we were at the LLL conference. I also gained 5 pounds in the last two weeks before baby was born. It wasn't until after the birth, when the swelling went away, that I realized how bad it had been. And yes, my feet and legs hurt from it too.

Irishgreengables, whatever your cervix is doing now has nothing to do with when you will go into labor. Labor is triggered by a complex interaction of hormones. Checking a cervix doesn't give anyone any really useful information. My cervix has always been tight and closed up until I actually go into labor (I check it myself). Don't let it get you down.

[seedling]

Yay! Welcome little babies, welcome. How fun that they are all coming out! I love reading this thread to see who new is in the world.

My outing went well today. I don't know how in the world I'm going to manage my older child when she's in a mood though. I've always had the "do you want to walk on your own or shall I carry you?" option in the past. Not an option anymore. Unless I figure out how to carry two kids at once. Of course that's gonna be hard if the older one really doesn't want to cooperate and trys to protest. I think I'm just going to have to plan outings where I'm meeting friends who can help me out. Today went so smoothly b/c I had three friends who were helping me keep tabs on my oldest.

I have been blown away this week by how BIG my oldest is. It's like all of sudden someone took these blinders off and I'm realizing, wow, you are heavy. Wow, look how big your hands are! Wow, when did you learn to do that? It's bizzaro. Everyone said this change in thinking would happen but it's really quite remarkable how dramatic it feels.

Flora has her two week check with the pediatrician tomorrow. And my midwife is swinging by for a two week check in the afternoon. My midwife left her scale here so I've checked Fora's weight a couple of times. She's up half a pound from her birth weight. I'm SO excited about this because my oldest took a little over two weeks to regain her birth weight and then we struggled with weight gain for a year. It's nice to have Flora plumping up some.

Everyone's getting close now! I'm thinking about you Erin. Hope that little one graces you with her presence soon. Julie, hope yours cooks long enough for your labor support to arrive.

Well, today's my 9 year anniversary so I'd better get off the computer and pay some attention to my DH.

[jaredsmom]

Congratulations to all the new mammas and babies these past few day!

Originally Posted by seedling

I have been blown away this week by how BIG my oldest is. It's like all of sudden someone took these blinders off and I'm realizing, wow, you are heavy. Wow, look how big your hands are! Wow, when did you learn to do that? It's bizzaro. Everyone said this change in thinking would happen but it's really quite remarkable how dramatic it feels.

I can totally relate! It seems like ds grew up overnight! He's even starting to do things like sleep in his own bed, pour milk for himself, and draw real pictures! (he drew a smilie face and called it "Happy!" I had to take a picture of it!)

We went for a walk around the block on Tues. I was glad to get out, but I probably over did it. My bottom was hurting yesterday, and I could sit right. (I have a big ol' hemorroid and it hurt like the Dickens!) Luckily, the mw came over for our 3 day check-up and gave me some pointers on how to eleviate the pain. Must have worked, because I felt better today. I just can't stand too long or sit upright too long.

Tonight, I started feeling a bit blue thinking about ds. I miss cuddling in bed with him. There's just not enough room for all 4 of us in our bed. Tonight, he chose to fall asleep in our bed knowing that we would have to move him when we go to bed. I had to cuddle next to him for a while. He's my snuggle buddy. Anyway, at least I've been feeling up to being with him more during the day when dd is sleeping.

Well, I better get some sleep. Take care, all!

[Smithie]

Congrats new mamas! Welcome Ian and Julian!
---
"I finally asked for an epidural after I'd been at 9 cm with my water broken for a few hours and was SCREMAING in pain with each contraction."
---

Good freaking God. I had ONE true screaming contraction and that was all I had in me. You are amazing, mama. I really think the Powers That Be sent me a short labor because They knew that I could handle intensity, but not duration.

My mom and I went to get massages today. It was GREAT. I am going again with MIL when she visits.

James slept and ate at two-hour intervals last night. I can handle that.

[Doodlebugsmom]

Yay Kirsten! Congrats!

Our first night home went very well. Julian sleeps for about 2-3 hours at a time and then he'll nurse for 1/2 hr. to an hour. He is so beautiful and perfect. I'll post pics later today. I had trouble sleeping last night due to pain in my hips and horrible afterpains. I also lost a decent amount of blood during the night. Early this morning, Julian and I came down and slept on the loveseat. Much more comfy. We'll be doing that until this hip soreness goes away. He is just a champion nurser. I expect my milk to come in tonight, but every time he nurses he has nice, milky colostrum all over his face! It's too cute!

Smithie, good for you for getting a massage. I was thinking about one while lying in bed with my hips in pain last night. You seem to be feeling much better and I'm so glad!

[Smithie]

Well, I jinxed myself talking about those two-hour intervals, bc last night and this morning he's needed some nip every hour on the hour. I can handle the pain, which is diminishing slooooooowly but steadily, but he's really stepping up my milk production I feel sort of sunk-down and hollowed out, YKWIM?

DH, dad and bro are building a fence is the blazing heat wave that now engulfs Seattle. We had a pretty awesome thunderstorm last night.

[Queen of Cups]

Congrats to all the new mommies!

Life is going good here - still in moving hell - but Killy is doing great! The only thing I'm worried about at the moment is birth control. I was planning on practicing ecological breastfeeding. BUT, Killy is already sleeping 4-5 hours straight each night. (For breastfeeding to be a really effective means of BC, you need to be feeding every 2-3 hours around the clock.) Part of me would love to have another baby within a year (!) - but I'm worried about my milk drying up if I get pregnant again too soon. My sister and I are 20 months apart, and my mom said her milk dried up about 4 months into pregnancy and she ended up weaning me at that point. I'd like Killy to be mainly breastfed for at least one year because I want to feed him very few solids the first year as we have a family history of terrible food allergies (I plan on nursing him as long as he wants). The last factor is that I'm EXTREMELY fertile, as are all the women in my family. It only took 19 days off The Pill for me to concieve Killy! So, I need to figure out this birth control thing quickly - DH and I are raring to go! I don't want to go on the Pill, I don't want an IUD, and I don't want to do NFP because I don't want to have several days of abstinence every month... Am I diaphram bound?

[Greaseball]

How about NFP in combination with diaphragm on the fertile days?

I think I am having the last-baby syndrome. I don't really want another one, but I'm sad when I think of never doing this again. No more newborns, no birth preparations, no cute diapers to buy, no nursing EVER AGAIN! I almost can't imagine.

Andrea and I are doing well. The only problem is the constant spitting up. I'm afraid to take her anywhere because she might throw up all over something. Sometimes it's only once a day, sometimes 3 times a day or more.

We aren't co-sleeping anymore because dh and I decided to share a bed again (long story...we had separate rooms for the past 6 months due to snoring, tossing and turning, etc.) and I really missed sharing a bed with him so I'm glad he's back, but he says Andrea's sleeping noises are too much for him. They don't bother me at all. I miss sleeping with her, but she's doing fine in the crib.

[dharmama]

I hearing the updates from all you new mamas....can't wait to join you!!

I went for an acupuncture treatment today. I talked to my doula this morning and she encouraged me to give it a try. It was an incredible release. The doctor put the needles in and left the room...as soon as the door closed I realized tears were streaming down my face. I also ummm...released quite a lot of gas : so clearly the energy was flowing!! :LOL

On the way home I stopped and got take-out at our favorite Indian restaurant. Hopefully DH will be in the mood for some lovin tonight!

I AM SO READY TO MEET OUR BABY!!!

[Smithie]

I'm in the same boat WRT birth control, Queenie, except I can't use a diaphragm bc of the UTI factor (and also I'm not rarin' to go, but after another week of letting things get healed I'm sure I will be). I think we're stuck with condoms unless they've started selling the sponge again in the US. Fortunately, dh is very understanding and doesn't fuss about using condoms. Pre-baby, I used Norplant for 4 years and loved it.

This morning's Super Awake Baby has turned into this afternoon's nap To End All Naps. My parents, bro and dh all took their cue from James and went to sleep, but I can't seem to. Is it really true that most moms "sleep while baby sleeps" during the day? Will I learn to eventually?

[eilonwy]

Hello! We still don't have our computer at home, but I'm at the IL's for the night so I can log on for a while without worrying about a time limit! Ah, it's the simple things that make life grand!

It's so exciting to read about the new babies! I'm so happy and giddy and such. I spent the last two nights (with Eli) at my mom's house ostensibly so Mike could clean and have some time to himself. Well, he had lots of time and was a much happier person, but didn't really do any cleaning (two loads of laundry. That's nothing!) It was great, except that Eli really missed Dada on Thursday night and kept waking up in the middle of the night asking for Mike and being upset that all he could have was a nursie. It's the longest Eli's been away from Dada since he got out of the NICU and it was just too much for him. He was SO excited when he got to see Mike this afternoon!

People keep asking me if I know what I'm having. I usually say "A baby." but I'm so tempted lately to say something like "a litter of gerbils" or "a bottle-nosed dolphin" or "I don't know which of the aliens inseminated me, so I'm not sure if it'll have two tails or three." :LOL In fact, I'm fairly certain that the next time someone asks, I'll say one of those things. I'm big enough and far enough along that I just don't care about their reactions at all, I feel totally self-centered and more than entitled to my opinions. More than usual, even! :LOL :

Eli is all better, no sign of infection; everything is in place and ready to go. I am *so* totally ready to deliver this baby! I actually went into the hospital late Monday night/early Teusday morning because I was having regular contractions which, while they didn't hurt, totally nauseated me. While I was on the monitor, I noticed that NewBean's heartrate would drop when I had a contraction. Well, apparently the resident didn't dictate well enough, because when my doctor read it he had the impression that she was having late decelerations instead of variable decelerations, so he sent me back in for an NST and a fluid check (because when my water broke with Eli I didn't know it had happened, and late decelerations can be indicative of fluid loss). Everything was lovely, and NewBean is still baking. I'm ready to have her out, but she'll come when she comes. Oh yes, I am *so* ready!

Queenie, I used a diaphragm for a while and my only bit of advice is this: they don't work when they're on the night table. That's why we have an EliBean. :LOL : From my experience, I say it's easier to deal with abstaining a few days a cycle than it is to remember the diaphragm when things are likely to get intimate. *Much* easier. NewBean could easily have been concieved on my second cycle after Eli was born... and if that had been the case she would be 9 months old right now!! : If it had been solely up to the diaphragm, I would most certainly be a tired, still-annoyed mother of two rather than a tired, soon-to-be mother of two. I'm glad that I learned about NFP and talked with Mike about it. That's the thing about NFP, if your partner isn't 100% on board, it probably won't work. It definately requires more cooperation than a diaphragm or a condom or something.. but again, it's much easier to deal with, becuase you can deal with things before they get hot & heavy.

Donna, I told my mom you were calling your baby "TiBA LiNN" and she started laughing and said "To Be Announced? That's hilarious!" right away. So someone got it! :LOL

It's so strange to me, not only to be Officially Full Term, but to not be murderously angry all the time. Yesterday a punk pissed me off and I was really angry but it occured to me that I felt that way *all the time* in the month leading up to Eli's birth. I don't know if I'm just more relaxed or if people are nicer in general to me this time.

I'm sorry to hear that people are harrassing you about inducing already, Erin. I was talking to my sister about my niece; I thought that she was born at 40 weeks 5 days, but it turns out that she was born at 42 weeks 1 day. :LOL I had it all wrong. She had NST's at 40 weeks, 41 weeks, and was scheduled for another at 42 weeks but she had the baby after having her membranes stripped that morning. I told my doctor what I thought about it all and he said that they don't induce before 42 weeks unless something is wrong, and even then they're willing to wait as long as you are and everything's fine because dates are just guesses, really, even if they have been "confirmed" by ultrasound. On one hand, it's depressing to think of myself being 43 or 44 weeks pregnant but on the other hand, I'm glad I won't have to worry about that stuff unless NewBean starts showing signs of stress.

I bought some EPO the other day and Mike laughed at me. "You're such a dork, to spend money on something that's going to happen anyway." Yeah, well, I think he's a dork sometimes too. :LOL I'm *tired* of being pregnant and if taking a gelly capsule could potentially help, I'm so there! They totally drop my blood sugar if I don't eat something right away though.. I almost passed out today because I hadn't thought about it when I took them. :doh

In a week and a half (on my due date!) my brother, his wife, and my nephew are coming in to PA. We will have our pictures taken and then I will CUT OFF ALL OF MY HAIR!!! I'm looking forward to this almost as much as I'm looking forward to giving birth. :LOL : It's so freaking hot, and I feel like I'm wasting valuable time and energy washing and combing it every day. Don't get me wrong, I love my hair, but right now it just feels like a waste of time to me. People who aren't super-close to me (like SIL, friends of my sister, etc) just can't understand why I'd deliberately shave my hair off, because I have what everybody wants. It's long, it's red, it's curly but fine, not too thick and not too thin, bouncy and soft and super cute... but it's just such a drain on me right now! SIL thinks that I should leave it long enough to curl because it's just soooo cute. Hello, I'm 26 years old and people already think I'm 17. I have no desire whatsoever for people to think I'm younger, or to "look just like a doll" Ick! Not on your life, I don't want to look like Little Orphan Annie. She just can't understand why I wouldn't want to. Um, am I the only person around who has no desire to look like a doll?

At any rate, I'm hoping to have the baby soon. I'm just tired of being pregnant and I want to meet my NewBean. . Bring on the labor vibes!

And now, off to edit the list! Please correct my dates if they're wrong; the dates I see here are not always accurate.

[jaredsmom]

Originally Posted by eilonwy

People keep asking me if I know what I'm having. I usually say "A baby." but I'm so tempted lately to say something like "a litter of gerbils" or "a bottle-nosed dolphin" or "I don't know which of the aliens inseminated me, so I'm not sure if it'll have two tails or three." :LOL

Rynna, dh got tired of people asking the same thing. At first he would tell people that "we're 95% positive that it will be a baby." Then, when he got tired of that response, he changed it to "We're 50% sure it will be a boy." : That got people to stop asking. In fact, most people didn't get it!

Originally Posted by Doodlebugsmom

I had trouble sleeping last night due to pain in my hips and horrible afterpains.

I so understand about both pains. I would be in tears because of the afterbirth pains. My mw said that they get worse with each birth! How do you mamas with 3 or more children do it? Thankfully, they went away after 3 days.

I better get some sleep. Belly rubs to those mamas who are in waiting!

[LizD]

Congratulations everyone! Our baby is ten days old and still unnamed. We really like the name Rowan but we named our other baby who was stillborn Rowan years ago. Sometimes I feel this is the same baby anyway, so he can have the same name, other times I fear that would be unlucky. We are getting an interesting variety of responses about not having a name yet. Some people find it very odd and some say oh yes, my baby was three weeks old before he had a name. My mother in law is going insane over this and swears she has never heard of such a thing. She asked me the other day in an outraged tone, didn't you discuss this at all?! At least no one has mentioned a bris.
We are still out and about and feeling groovy. Our guy had his birthweight back at eight days but as we don't have our own scale I don't know how much he lost. A few people have confidently assumed I had a csection! Some because he is so big (9,8 at birth) and one bc his head is so round.

[Greaseball]

I read that legally, a child does not need a name until age 5. Tell that to your family; they'll freak out thinking you are going to wait that long! Or tell them you're going to let him pick his own name. :LOL

[curlygrrl]

Originally Posted by eilonwy

In a week and a half (on my due date!) my brother, his wife, and my nephew are coming in to PA. We will have our pictures taken and then I will CUT OFF ALL OF MY HAIR!!! I'm looking forward to this almost as much as I'm looking forward to giving birth. :LOL : It's so freaking hot, and I feel like I'm wasting valuable time and energy washing and combing it every day. Don't get me wrong, I love my hair, but right now it just feels like a waste of time to me.

Rynna,
From a fellow curly, I'd love to encourage you to check out The Curly Girl Handbook by Lorraine Massey. I learned that low-maintenance is really the way to go with curls, I *never* comb it and only condition it every other day. I'd a lot less work and my curls are amazing! I cut my hair off before DS was born and really regretted it.

Tamara

[dharmama]

Hi Rynna ~ Nice to hear from you!!! SO glad Eli is all better!!

Hmmmm....not sure but I think *something* might be going on...

I am releasing copious amounts of something...amniotic fluid? cervical mucus? I'm not sure. I always pictured amniotic fluid to be VERY watery and a big gush. This is more like the most fertile EWCM I could ever imagine and there is a LOT of it.

Having some very mild irregular contractions and hoping this is it!!!

[wildthing]

Erin,
Amniotic fluid can be a gush, or it can be a slow trickle. This last labor, I was loosing "something" as well during early labor. I told dh it might have been a slow leak, or it was mucus, which can be watery or thick as well.

Gee, that was helpful, huh?

Good lock Erin! It sounds like things may be happening. Sending you peaceful labor vibes.