Late August Chat Thread - Page 6

[snuffles]

Hi ladies.. just wanted to write a quick email to say all of that prelabor stuff really was doing something.. I gave birth early Sunday morning to a beautiful 8 lbs 10 oz baby girl.. 20 minutes after I got to the hospital! Her name is Dorothea Rose.

Saturday night I was still having irregular but painful contractions.. around 12 am I went to bed but couldn't sleep through the contractions, although they were 8-10 minutes apart.. finally around 3 am I started thinking maybe something was going on.. when I got up to walk around they were about 3-4 minutes apart.. I thought about taking a bath but noticed I was starting to shake (like I did last time in transition).. left for the hospital and started feeling pushy as soon as I got there.. went to the room, my water broke on its own, started pushing, and she wasborn in just a few pushes! It was sort of surreal.. I am still in shock it happened so quickly! She is so beautiful... I feel pretty good, and am home from the hospital now.

Sending labor vibes to those waiting.. congrats to Christine and those who have given birth! Will write a more formal birth story later..

Mel

[Dodo]

Another great birth story. Congratulations, Mel!

Are there only two of us left? How depressing.

I am currently not returning six phone calls and one e-mail.

I can no longer face the grocery store.

I spent the morning weeping and cleaning.

Then I bought myself George Micheal's Best Of album and spent the rest of the day dancing and cleaning.

When I was at the store buying the CD, I was in a line-up of women, all in their final month of pregnancy, all with almost three-year-old daughters. August/September is a huge birth time in my neighbourhood.

My belly is getting really itchy. Each time I scratch, I worry about liver failure.

Dodo, whose morale is failing

[sylvi76]

Dodo!!!! Aww, mama....hang in there...it will happen soon!!! Really, it will!! Hugs and warm thoughts to the mama's in waiting. Itchy tummies are no fun, give yourself an oil massage and then take a long hot shower.....it used to do wonders for me!

Still doing the hot showers thing, anything to make nursing easier for my little one. Sometimes she nurses fine and sometimes she doesnt...so still doing the pumping and all that. It's hard and exhausting, but I try to tell myself to be thankful that I have enough milk for her, and that one day soon she'll "get it"...and I won't have to pump anymore.

[~*~MamaJava~*~]

dodo! we'll make it yet! be strong! i was so depressed this morning, couldn't believe i woke up still preggo. but i just went out and decided to try and be positive...i slept all night long
go to the grocery store. i know, so many people saying "you're STILL pregnant?"
at least people are calling you. my phone doesn't ring, because everyone's afraid there will be no answer, and then they'll worry until they hear from me. seriously, nobody's phoned me in like a week.
September is a nice month for a baby to come, don't you think?!

[magemom]

LENA and K8

How are you guys? Mom called to say they are without power, lights, running water and land lines. MIL said they are evacuating part of Richmond because of the rain. I suggested to mom she put all the pans on the back patio and catch water to at least flush toilets. She said no.

Wondering if you guys were hit as well.

[rochellep3]

you're not the only one dodo...

My due dates have been really iffy all along, but the one thing I was really sure of is that I would have an August baby...that's starting to look very unlikely.

There was a full moon and everything, and still no baby. We are having the baby away from home, so everyone is stuck in suspended animation as we wait for this baby. My mom, dh and dc are just as antsy and wound up as I am-maybe that's part of the problem.

Haven't done any vaginal exams. Baby feels lower, I'm extremely achey when I walk around. But contractions are still worse than sporadic. Everything still looks good as far as my health and the baby's, but Wed or Sat is the 42 week mark (by either of the revised due dates, we are now 22 days over by LMP...) and I am starting to worry a little.

That doesn't help either. Guess I just need a little more faith and confidence around here!

I run an online business and feel bad that it's been almost a month of telling customers that I'm about to have a baby. That bothers me more than telling family-I expect them to just deal with it like the rest of us!

Ok, enough boo-hooing from me. Just wanted to let the other mamas in waiting know that you are not alone. I've seen some posts on birth and beyond of more overdue August moms who don't post here as well. I know that I crave each contact-as proof that there is nothing wrong with me, and hope that I will still live to see the day that I once again prove that noone is pregnant forever!

Hugs to all,

Rochelle
Mommy to Meg 5/00, Peter 6/02, #3...someday soon.

[rochellep3]

oh yeah...

Magemom,

I wanted to add that olive oil worked really well for ds when he would get rashes. I would rub the oil in really well, and then give him air time till I couldn't take it any more. Then I would rub in some more and put him in a loosely pinned prefold. The poop is rather messy that way-but I was watching closely to get poop immediately off the poor little rashy bum anyway...

Good luck clearing it up!

Rochelle

[lena_girl]

Magemom, last night we had thise thunder that didn't stop. Like each thunderclap was super long, a minute or so of deep rumbling. Scared DS half to death. That's what the storm the night my water broke (over a months ago!) was like. We are fine though, just pretty soaked I guess. We are just 6 feet above sea level so anytime it rains a lot we get a wet soggy earth that takes days to dry out.

Can you believe Sara is over a month old? I can't! It was Saturday. She is doing so well. SHe had her first smile just for me instead of b/c of milky bliss yesterday. It was so sweet! She just kept smiling and smiling. I am so in love with her. I am going crazy buying her cute clothes. Selling all of DS's old stuff on ebay to pay for it

So how has everyone who is CDing enjoyed their diapers? SOme of mine I have loved (Crystal's Cloth hemp) some I've hated (really thick sherpa ones) and some look and fit nice, but are just not very absorbant. I am so happy to not have the chemicals on her though, after seeing how DS reacts to them (running through the house in the middle of the night screaming until we take his diaper off).

DH is gone right now on a Secret Service mission. My first time alone overnight with both of them. It went fine except DS kept waking up Sara when I was trying to put her to sleep b/c he wanted to play w/ me. He has gone to bed in his own bed for four nights in a row now Of course he joins me later during the night.

A great big to all the mommas in waiting. The babies WILL come, and SOON! I wish I could give you all a hug in person. Labor vibes

[Dodo]

I am also bummed to have missed the full moon. It seemed to be the perfect opportunity.

My house is getting ridiculously organized because I can't seem to think of what else to do. Yesterday, I washed our vases in case we receive flowers when the baby comes. Today, I might go to the dollar store to buy a whole set of new tea towels, which I will then meticulously arrange in the drawer. Dh wants me to switch from cleaning to cooking and freezing food, but I'm having trouble changing modes, perhaps because I've lost my appetite at this point. The things I like to eat at the end of pregnancy (eggs, potatoes) aren't the same things I like to eat post-partum (black beans, veggies).

Dh starts a new job next week. Hope the baby makes it before then!

[madrone]

Oh Rochelle, I really feel for you. I went 17 days past EDD by LMP. I thought I would have the late award for our month. But you get it instead. So sorry.
It was difficult to say the least in going so late. Between the doctors wanting to induce and everyone calling, I really was completely stressed out. DD is completely fine though. She had lost her vernix so her skin is peeling, but that is a pretty minor thing. The advice someone gave me is to lie down for half an hour after eating and count movements. The stimulation of eating should wake the baby up shortly and you should be able to feel at least 10 movements before the half hour is up. I started noting these down for the doctors, but they dismissed them because they were subjective. But, if your baby is moving enough, it should be re-assuring for you. Midwives very much accept this as proof of whether the baby is under stress or not. If you are getting a lot of induction pressure, feel free to e-mail me. Also, I found this page rather helpful: http://www.birthlove.com/free/ten_month_mama.html

Dodo and theBenjies, hugs to both of you also. How late are both of you?

[madrone]

Forgot to say - one thing I learned while waiting for my baby is that my mom "had" to be induced with me. Apparently, I didn't care for the 40 weeks time schedule either.

[magemom]

I love the CD. I don't have any really "good" ones. I have diapers that are as old as me, and most as old as my older 2 DC. That was before I knew how to take care of them and about half of those are falling apart. I used them for PP pads. The rest I have are 2 Prowrap AIO- kinda bulky but super absorbant, and a dozen DSQ newborn prefolds. I have a Nikki cover from DD I use with it and I am happy. SIL sent some Bummis? wraps but they are still too big. The rest of the time Ryan is in regular gerber type prefolds folded up with no cover. I LOVE the Snappis!!
Broker than broke for the next 2 weeks, so I am not investing in anymore at this time.

[~*~MamaJava~*~]

I'm not really *that* far over...my U/S due date was the 20th, so that would be 11 days, but LMP was the 26th, so that's only 5. I've just been having mega prelabor since about 35 weeks so I was expecting babe would be here early!
Today's another crampy day...going to see Dr on Thursday. Hoping to avoid induction! I know she'll be suggesting it then. As long as the baby is fine, I'm going to try to hold out.

[LizaBear]

Hold the tomatoes ladies - 4 days post-partum and had on my pre-pregnancy shorts (zipper and button closure even - not elastic waist!) today, comfortably !!


Did find out one neat thing - Heather Elizabeth is one of the names that my mom had thought of for me when she was pregnant !! How cool is that ? (And we never discussed baby names with her, so I had no way of knowing this at all).

[rochellep3]

Madrone,

Thanks for the sympathy. My midwife is totally cool with the later due date-so I have until next Monday before she really starts to worry. I guess I should have believed it more myself, but when you start changing dates at 30 weeks, it's really hard to change the mindset...

And as for me, I was born at 35 weeks! So I guess you could say I didn't have a 40 week mindset, but I was still rather the opposite of my dear children! (DS was 10 days late on a more sure due date.)

If it can save anyone else the agony I'll be happy to save the amazingly overdue medal for myself! At least I have great support from my birthing team, and kick counts, heart beat, weight gain, etc all still look great.

I guess I should savor the bragging rights I'll have later!

We've decided to lay tile in the kitchen (I won't be doing any of the heavy work) and that should be a great distraction. I think I'll put the microwave in my room and if I should happen to go into labor, I'll just hibernate and ignore the rest of the goings on.

Sorry to ramble on and on.

Anyone want to remind me what a sweet little newborn smells like, and just why this is so worth it?!

Rochelle
Mommy to Meg 5/00, Peter 6/02 (due that May...) and #3 destined for Septemeber?

[magemom]

"Anyone want to remind me what a sweet little newborn smells like, and just why this is so worth it?!"


They smell like sour milk. But then you make them cry cleaning them up and they smell much better.
But watching them sleep and watching them eat and watching them awake is so much fun it makes me all mushy inside. (and tired since I am not sleeping when Ryan is sleeping)

[ilovebeingamom]

Hi everyone!

I am loving cding with newborn prefolds and bummi's covers. They are working great. I have some Kushies from the first chid, but they are so so. The velcro on them gets caught every time I wash them and they aren't as soft as the prefolds. I also love using the snappi! I am almost needing to buy the next size prefold already! Nora was four weeks old yesterday. She is already noticeably bigger.

We are still dealing with night time fussiness, but I know it is normal and will fade eventually. Last night, though, I was absolutely tired and I thought she was done crying, but after I laid down with her for about 1o minutes she starting crying again. So I started crying. The night before, she didn't cry at all, then last night she cried for three hours. I guess she made up for the night before. She just wants to move constantly, and walking circles around our living room gets old after awhile! But she is sleeping now, and ds is getting ready for nap, so I am getting some sleep too! Yeah!

Congratulations Mel! Your birth sounds like it went beautifully!

[Dodo]

I'm only five days past my due date. I never thought that I would get this antsy so soon, but I am -- it feels beyond my control. My dd was born on her due date so I've never dealt with the public and private reaction to going "past." For instance, my mw already gave me a requisition for a NST, which I am ignoring because my baby is a kicker and I haven't lost any amniotic fluid that I know of (does this sound reasonable to the rest of you?). I am so bummed to have to go to my 41-week appt. tomorrow. I really don't think that I can do it without crying. I also have the threat of losing my midwife-assisted birth if I don't have the baby by 42 weeks. Yikes. It just seems that my prenatal care, even with midwives, got really clinical as soon as I hit that due date.

[~*~MamaJava~*~]

Dodo, I'm going for another NST tomorrow...they're not so bad really. I kind of like it just because my baby is so quiet (has been the entire pregnancy) and cuz they spooked me on the last NST. Baby's heartbeat dropped down to 90 a couple of times, just for a moment. So I have that and then doc on Thurs, and then things'll get nuts.
Baby just wants to stay in a little longer! Wouldn't you? I know it's annoying to have to deal with everyone, but try to enjoy these last few days of that little inside you, and counting those kicks. I've made peace with myself (over a long bath and some tears) and the fact that this baby doesn't want to get here yet, and i feel SO much better.
I'm still here for you! and I know there's others out there.

[madrone]

thebenjies - don't worry if the heartrate drops down for a moment sometimes. It's probably just the machine. On the machines I was on for NST, there is a light that is green, yellow, and red. Generally, it's when the light falls into yellow or red that the heartrate drops down. Mine even disappeared completely a number of times when it was in the red. It's just part of why I feel like fetal movements is a more reliable indicator than monitoring. There are so many healthy babies that end up with the horrendous internal monitors screwed into their skull because of the unreliability of the monitors. I completely watched the monitor during NST so that I knew what was going on with the machine to argue with the doctors if they decided to make something out that it wasn't. They never did, although they kept asking me about my BH when I didn't feel anything.