Oh my gosh!! Baby soon!

[Runningmommy]

I can't believe that it is almost time to have this baby!! I have been praying to keep Blessing in me for so long with the preterm labor issues, that it seems to have crept up on me!! I am going off medicine that has kept my contractions at bay next week!!! That means Blessing could be here next week or within the next few weeks!! I can't believe I am not going to be pregnant anymore and that there will be this little person here!!! I am excited and I don't feel prepared.

We will need baby clothes either way so that is one thing on my mind. We loaned all our newborn boy clothes to my husband's neice when she thought she was having a girl and popped out a boy adn she never returned them. We have only had boys so no girl clothes either. I have some jammies and onsies to get us by, which are all washed and in drawers. I also have 36 nb diapers washed and ready. I plan on making more wipes this week. I have the hospital bag packed and a bag packed for our boys.

I still need to get the boys (4 and 2) presents, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also, any ideas for my friend who will watch our boys. All I can think of is a gift cert. to a resteraunt and offering to watch their three girls.

Yikes!! I am excited and shocked that this is upon me already!!

[plantmommy]

Excellent!

Well, the boys are at the age of pretend play being a big thing, still, right? Why not get them baby dolls and stuff so they can daddy their babies while you tend to yours? Or, alternately, get stuffed animals or stuff like that, which are likely going to be things like people bring for the new baby, so they don't feel left out.

[msrog]

Originally Posted by Runningmommy

I have the hospital bag packed and a bag packed for our boys.

I still need to get the boys (4 and 2) presents, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also, any ideas for my friend who will watch our boys. All I can think of is a gift cert. to a resteraunt and offering to watch their three girls.

OK, you are WAAAY more prepared than I am!!! I am so glad you posted this, because now I will add to my "need to do" list: Overnight bag packed for Nicolas; and Gift for person watching him. I had not thought of either of these things!!! Thank you.

Wow, that is quite exciting that your baby could be here next week!! What day do you come off the medicine? What week did you begin the meds?

This won't apply to you, since we're having twins, but you might like to see the ULTRA CUTE present we got for Nicolas, to give him at the hospital: http://www.twinstuff.com/twinstore2003_23.htm

Keep us posted on your contrax!!

ETA: P.S. We also saved Nicolas BIG birthday present for after the babies come... He really wanted a Nintendo type game system with Mario Cart and Mario Shine games. (haha, very specific with his games!) His birthday is Aug. 28; we already had his party early.

[broodymama]

Good luck! I can't believe it is already almost time. I stopped the terbutaline last week and my contractions started right back up. I don't think he's on his way quite yet, but I've already got 3 cm "free", so anything else ahead of time is just more of a head start!

[JenInMpls]

I totally second plantmommy, esp for the 4-year-old: a doll would be a perfect gift!! For a 2-year-old you could make a knot doll very easily. That would give them something to care for and nurture while you are busy with the new baby. They are both in a very imitative stage of their lives and and will especially be watching how daddy takes care of the baby and will probably do the same with their dolls.

A special new blanket (e.g. a double-sided fleece one with tied fringes, easy to make) might also provide extra security at night or when they're feeling a little lonely.

jen

[Runningmommy]

Thanks for the ideas ladies!! Lady bug, you mentioned that your contractions started back up but nothing is changing? I am so curious as to what it will be like off of the medicine. I am so excited that labor will actually be something positive this time instead of something to worry about and try to stop, we can actually look forward to it and enjoy it.

I started the meds at 30weeks 6days so basically 31 weeks. I am a record breaking 35 weeks today!! Things have been very good since then so I dont' see any reason not to make it through this week at least. IT is so neat to actually get to be *9* months pregnant! The looks I get when I go out are so much fun!! (my belly is pretty big and out there!)

I don't know what day I will go off of the meds yet as scheduling an appt. with the doctor has been a challenge. He told me at my 34 week appt. that he would take me off of the medicine after my 36 week appt. but when I went to schedule my appt they only had times in my 37 week. So I called to tlak to them and the scheduling office said that the nurse may be able to squeeze me in. Even if I don't get in during my 36 week, I want to know if it's okay to stop the meds that week.

I am glad to give you some ideas of what to do to prepare, at least I feel helpful even if my to do list keeps growing!! LOL Here's to a great week!!!! Thanks for sharing this with me!!

[mama2annabelle]

I totally know how you feel runningmommy. I've been dealing with PTL since 23 weeks and have spent soooo much time NOT wanting the baby to be born yet, now that it's so close it's actually a really wierd feeling to know that he can come at any time and everything will be fine. I will be 37 weeks on Saturday Aug 21st and that is my goal date since I will only be able to have my planned homebirth AFTER that day. If he comes before then I have to go to the hospital since midwives here can't attend births before 37 weeks. Only 5 days to go!!!!!!! I'm still in disbelief.
I actually went off terbutaline at 29 weeks (was on it from 23-29 weeks) and started on a natural progesterone cream and magnesium supplement. The latter worked much much better for me. I've stopped the magnesuim supplement and have cut the natural progesterone amount in half so far. I plan to stop it all together on Friday. My contractions have picked up quite a bit already, but nothing out of the ordinary. I'm anxious for my MW appt on Thursday to see how far I'm dialated now.
Good luck! We'll probably be giving birth pretty close together.

[Runningmommy]

I actually went off terbutaline at 29 weeks (was on it from 23-29 weeks) and started on a natural progesterone cream and magnesium supplement. The latter worked much much better for me. I've stopped the magnesuim supplement and have cut the natural progesterone amount in half so far. I plan to stop it all together on Friday. My contractions have picked up quite a bit already, but nothing out of the ordinary. I'm anxious for my MW appt on Thursday to see how far I'm dialated now.
Good luck! We'll probably be giving birth pretty close together

Wow, I never heard of the progesterone cream and magnesium supplement. Is the cream an internal thing and the mag is a oral pill? That is so great that worked so well for you for 8 weeks!! I would have been so nervous. What made you make that switch? I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers to make it to saturday so that you can have the homebirth that you want! That is so great! Let's have some wonderful births!! Maybe you can send me 37 week vibes!

About your contractions, how often do you have them now that you are backing off your meds and are they any stronger or different than when you had them before? Did you have contractions at all while taking the meds? I still have them occasionally, and I can tell if it's because of a full bladder or just contraction. I have been having some stronger than before which makes me think my body knows it's getting closer to time.

It's so great to be getting excited about it, isn't it??!! Thanks for sharing this with me!! Good luck!!

[broodymama]

I stopped taking the terbutaline 2 days before my 36 week appt. At my 36 week appt I was 2.5 - 3 cm, which was about a cm more than I was when I was last checked at 33 weeks. I can tell that the contractions are different. When I first started PTL I couldn't even feel most of the contractions that I was having. After I stopped the meds at first I could feel them tightening, then I could feel them start, build up to a peak for a while and then fade, and now (I'll be 37 weeks tomorrow) I'm starting to get some discomfort with them. A lot of the time it just feels like menstrual cramps, but I'll go through periods of time when the intensity picks up and I also get sharp discomfort down around my cervix. Boy, is any of this making sense?

I've also been taking an oral magnesium supplement (for about 2 years now) for my migraines, but it didn't seem to do anything for my contractions. That would have been nice!

Runningmommy - what do your contractions feel like?

[Runningmommy]

When I first started the PTL I could just feel the tighning of my uterus but it wasn't painful. The doctors and nurses would always ask how painful they were and when I told them that they weren't painful they thought BH of course, which sounds like it. Although for me, things dont' get painful until it's time. With my first, who I had at 29 weeks, I thought most of labor WAS BH, but low and behold, I had been in labor for days. THe only thing that got me to the hospital thinking some thing must be going on was a ton of blood and contractions woke me up from sleep (which I still wasnt' sure of since most of the time the contraction was going on I was still sleeping. I woke up thinking, was that a strong contraction or something?).

The first time I went into the hosptial with PTL with this pregnancy, when the staff heard that things weren't painful, I am sure they thought that I needed to go home. When they checked my cerivix, I was dialated 1cm and effaced 50% when just before all this, I had a long and tight cervix. So no matter what they thought, I know that even though they weren't painful for me, that they were still trying to get things going.

This past week or two, some of the contractions are more the tightnening feeling with a little more crampy feeling than before. THese are usually the ones when I have a full bladder or bowel (sorry if TMI). Which is just slightly more feeling than before. BUT, I have also been having some stronger contractions that aren't painful per se, but I can definetly feel the strength of them and they feel like they are lasting longer than the others. Does that make sense?

When I go off medication, I will need to know when I'm supposed to go to the hospital? I haven't been text book in the past, but I don't want to go to the hospital too early (they are too restrictive). Will I just know? Funny to think that this is my third baby and I still don't know!! Ha ha!

[mama2annabelle]

Runningmommy--
The cream is topical and you can get it over the counter at the health food store or online. When I finally went to see my MW's backup doctor, he recommended it to me along with the mag supplement. Up until that point I had only seen the L&D doctors at my local hospital the two times I had to go in b/c the contractions were coming 4 and 5 minutes apart and they both treated me with terbutaline and sent me home with oral terb. I wasn't really nervous about switching b/c I was really concerned about the safety of taking terb for so long since I started PTL at 23 weeks. Also, it wasn't working really well for me anyway. I was still getting lots of contractions and upping the dosage made me miserable (that shakey, crazy feeling). The OB my MW sent me to is very progressive and into natural medicine and is very well researched in that area. He told me to hold on to the terb and use it as a back up as needed, but after I made the switch, I never needed it b/c the contractions were only coming once in a great while.
The contractions I'm having now are very strong and uncomfortable. I'm really getting to practice my relaxation exercises a lot. They have become much stronger and more frequent since I've cut down on the cream and stopped the mag. I'm really hoping that they're actually doing work and I'll be dialated quite a bit by the time I go into "real" labor. With DD I was dialated to 7cm before I felt anything and had her within an hour and a half. It was intense, but was over quickly...I hope this one is the same.

[broodymama]

Originally Posted by Runningmommy

When I go off medication, I will need to know when I'm supposed to go to the hospital? I haven't been text book in the past, but I don't want to go to the hospital too early (they are too restrictive). Will I just know?

I'm wondering the same thing. My doc told me to go when they are less than 5 minutes apart and lasting more than a minute. Well, they have fit that description for a week now! When I pointed that out he said that the contractions will just feel different. Well, they do! I've been using my relaxation techniques to get through them over the past couple of days. So I guess I'll just wait and see if I get that feeling that I need to go, or if I get the urge to push at some point then I'll know that I should have gone already.

I'm hoping that these contractions are doing some work, too. I'm already about a 3, and any more that I get as a "head start" would be welcome at this point.

[plantmommy]

I am in awe of all the different ways our bodies work! Listening to you ladies is really interesting, hearing about the variations on "normal" labor, etc.

Imagine not feeling anything until 7 cms!!!

[mama2annabelle]

Imagine not feeling anything until 7 cms!!!

I will always wonder how far I would have gotten without feeling anything had I not let the midwife break my water. As soon as she broke the water the pain was strong and intense, but it was only an hour and a half after that that DD was born so it went by very quickly. The only reason I knew I was so far dialated was b/c I just happened to have my weekly visit that day. The MW checked me for the first time and said "Oh my, you're going to have the baby today." She told me to get to the hospital, so I did and when she came a few hours later I was at 7 and still had not felt any thing at all. I wonder if my water remained intact if I would have dialated to 10 without feeling it???
But this pregnancy is more than making up for the easy labor of my first. I've had more painful contractions than I care to remember so far and still have more to come. It is amazing how different pregnancies can be.

[msrog]

Originally Posted by mama2annabelle

I wonder if my water remained intact if I would have dialated to 10 without feeling it???

Fascinating, I wonder if that's true? How amazing if it would be!