Week of October 11th - Rise and Shine Ladies! - Page 4

[Court]

Great pics, 3boyz! You look great! You sound like me about the swollen face stuff- I totally understand not wanting to smile for pictures. I have a big Irish head and now it's extra swollen- I don't even recognize myself in the mirror. :LOL And your kids are gorgeous, ofcourse.

Thanks for posting your birthstory Piglet, and congratulations! I'm so happy to hear all went well with Emily and that you got a nice break in the hospital. Have a nice walk tomorrow! I can't wait to see a picture of Sasha!
I'm a little envious of all you mamas who have your babes.

You know I didn't want to get myself into thinking this baby would come early this time, cause that's what I did with Logan - with help from my OB. I feel like I was set up for induction. My OB was always saying things like, "you know, once you hit 36 wks, we wont stop labor, etc." And she kept harping that I was term at 37-38 weeks or whatever. We ended up inducing at 39 wks for no good reason. Luckily I was 3 cm already and there were no probs. This time I keep telling myself that I'll go to 41 weeks and anything before that will seem early. That's what I keep telling myself.

Good luck to you Kathy! I hope it's soon!

Now I'm worried that I'll never go into labor with all this talk about having kids around making labor stall. Great, I didn't even think of that. I don't have ANY family nearby to take Logan. Just dh. My family isn't coming into town until early November.

Thanks for the EPO reminders and tips! Don't think I'll be inserting them (or that many)- they're too darn expensive. Hey, have we heard from Thia lately? Hmmm...

Letia, you better post soon, or we're gonna start thinkin you don't like us anymore.

Have a nice bath Amie!

[momadance]

Oakember~I'm an ornery beast today as well!

I was due Jan.6th, and was born Feb 8th My poor mom huh? I came out with LOOOOOOOONG hair and fingernails, and a super shrinky placenta. I was induced after 9 days with Miles... I feel real guilty for having been "impatient" with him, like I picked out his b-day, so i'm feeling like I have to be extra patient and hands off this time around. I have such a tendancy to over analize and feel guilt I have been making sure I have LOTS of plans for the up-coming days so as NOT to get impatient. I do understand it's tuff though. It's harder (for me) second time around. Due to the crampiness, bh's, runs and so on that can get you psyched out. I never experienced ANYTHING in my 1st preg.


someone posted this in the homebirth forum about kids books. It's a printable coloring book for expecting siblings. Dh and I went through and photoshopped the text to personalize it for Miles, it's super cute.
www.nchomebirth.com click on resources.

kathy sounds like your next~ blessings mama!

[stanleymama]

3boyz..loved the pics. Your boys are adorable!! And you look like a beautiful pg mama to me

Nancy...got a huge kick out of the p'udder. I think your dh was a sport to pose.

Momadance...I like your suggestion of keeping yourself busy to help time pass. I have been thinking the same thing because I know that I could drive myself crazy with the constant wondering. I have checked out some books at the library and that I noticed as helped me to relax and just enjoy.

Hugs to you all...won't be long now!

[mandalamama]

i now have TWO doulas! my doula had asked if i minded meeting another potential doula, who also needs one more birth before certification. she's a Druid, which is really fascinating. we all really clicked and my husband adores her! i'm so happy to have the help, but also to be able to help them. they're both so supportive and very mellow.

i had hours of surges again today, they got to about 4 minutes apart this evening before they stopped. even though each round of surges is feeling more painful, i curled up with my art supplies and painted through them, which felt really good. *shrug* i guess my body is keen on practice runs!

Piglet, great birth story! it sounds like things are going really well

peace,
meli

[Lucysmama]

I had a really uneventful due date. Just hung out, went to a meeting about acupuncture and chiro care in pregnancy (too late! But interesting to learn about anyway.) and got to meet my midwife's back up mw. She is having some health issues, so she probably won't be at my birth, but there is a chance and I am glad that I got a chance to meet her. She was really sweet. There were some MDC mamas there, too.....

Did I mention that they are going to do a "feed the new parents" thing after I have the baby? I just have to give them the word, and they are going to bring us meals for a while. I love MDC mamas! Here in Cleveland, there are TONS, and we get together pretty regularly. It's nice to have a group where slinging and co-sleeping is the norm, and everyone walks around with a toddler on their boob!

[OakEmber]

Oh Katie, I am so jealous of you!! It must be nice to have other likeminded mothers nearby. That is so nice that they are willing to do the "feed the new parents" thing for you. One of my friends told me today that she'd like to come clean my house while I am in labour cuz she knows that I have everything that I need for the baby

Meli- That's totally cool that you get 2 doulas!!

Momadance- ....and I can see why you are determined not to rush things this time...you have a really good plan keeping busy like that....I on the other hand am driving my DH crazy for not even shopping ahead of time for meals, incase we aren't home (so hey, I do have plans for tomorrow afternoon, gotta go to the grocery store ) Funny how even second time moms can find things to say "why didn't they tell me it would be like this" about :LOL Thanks for the awesome link

Now I am off to check out the new pics of 3boyz!

[Ekatherina]

I just thought i do like bluehalo and hibernate until this baby is born.......nothing new here same crampy all day, woke up from two really strong contractions at night....and then nothing......
oakember, you are right (i guess it was you who said that) that we shouldn't speed the things up...today i decided to change the attitude and pretend i still have one month to go or even more...that was hard to do escpecially with all those cramps and brought nothing but more depression...
Lucysmama, yes it can't be better to have poeple who think like you near you escpecially now...we can't even tell to our parents that we are planning home birth and when we mention homebirth with mw to our freinds here they all have the same reply: "but why?? is it cheaper??" or worse "you shouldn't do this it is so dangerous!!" ....no chance of some understanding around here...
birth vibes to all.......kathy especially to you now!!!

[Thia]

Still here, still prego. Didn't get to the board yesterday, I was so busy. So, Oct 8 was edd 1 and obviously it has come and gone. Monday, I gave myself a talking to and reminded myself that it is possible that a more accurate edd would be the 15th (my cycle was 40 days not 28). SO, that said, I gave myself a chill pill. I have been a lot less stressed out since. Monday night I had two good hours of contrax and cramps. Last night, I slept very well, even less pee trips, no cramps or anything. Oh well.
I am still working, Friday will be my last day though. I can't believe it though, just a few minutes ago a co worker on another floor called me to ask if I was still here. I can't believe I am getting these calls from people working in the same building! Thankfully, I can laugh instead of freak out.
Had to take two hours yesterday for the drs. I went for a nst. The baby had been awake all night Monday night, so s/he was catching up on his/her rest. For 45 min. the nurse and I tried everything to get the kid moving. The baby's heart rate was responding, just not the rest of the body, lol. Finally, after 45 min, we got some movement. Managed to get 20 minutes, then baby went back to sleep. But it was enough that they were satisfied. They scheduled me for another nst Monday and induction Thursday the 21st. I am really hoping to not go through that!!!!
I did not know that the epo should be taken with fats, thanks to whoever mentioned that. I haven't attempted a vaginal insert...I am just too tired to deal with it. I have more to say, but this is getting pretty long, so I'll save it for later.

Hugs to everyone and lots and lots of labor dust.

[Soogie]

Exactly 4 years ago, as I type this, my sweet sweet baby boy entered this world and forever changed my life. My baby is 4 today and mommy is having a hard time. Last night as I was putting him to bed, I could barely sing his bedtime songs between the sobs. 4 years ago I could cradle him in one arm. This morning he stood beside me, now two thirds my height, spelling words and "reading" the back of the newspaper. For all you first time mama's...time goes entirely too fast...savor every moment, The veteran mama's here know exactly what I'm feeling, how hard the pull of time tugs against your heart. You blink, and all of a sudden, your baby is 4.

I had a mw appt yesterday and I told Beth how weepy and emotional I've been this past week (enough to drive DH batty!) and she was very pleased to hear of my uneven emotional state. Hormones are kickin in. Pretty uneventful appt, though I did gain 5 lbs in 2 weeks! I think it's the late night pb&j sandwiches that are doing me in, But I've been so hungry lately. My mw put in her official baby weight prediction and puts this babe at 8 lbs 4 oz at delivery. Which is reasonalbe since Aidan was 8 lbs...maybe this one's another boy???

Labor vibes to all you mama's that are ready...

Piglet and Kazia - love your birthstories

Jillerina - Leo is a cutie. Congrats to you!

I'm off to look at the pics on the yahoo site. I'm dying to see the p'udder!

[sunshinegal]

meli- lucky you with 2 Doulas! and I love that you call them surges. It is such a great description.

Lucysmama- isn't wonderful to have support like that? I never had any support with my other 2 births, me and my dh did everything on our own which is so very tough. But this time, we have some great friends who are helping out. They are going to be giving us food and said anything we need anytime of the day. It is so nice to have support.

This isn't a birth story but it is such a freaky thing that I just have to share! Yesterday my dd was vaccuuming, (her house chore) our study. We have an upright vaccuum and she was using the hose attachment to get under a bookcase. Well, she sucked something up that made wierd noise so she decided to get down on all fours to see if there was anything else under the bookcase. In doing so she knocked over the vaccuum itself. She didn't realize that her waist long hair was spread out on the floor as she looked under the bookcase and ........the vaccuum ended up sucking up a huge lock of her hair!!!! : Well she screamed and cried and my dh was home and ran to comfort her. Luckily, it didn't pull off any skin so there wasn't any blood, but she has a good 1'' x 3'' bald patch right next to the part line at the top of her head It's very tender and there is a small bruise. I just feel so bad and helpless. I haven't seen her scalp since she was just a little babe! I can't imagine how long it is going to take for it to grow back. She was in better spirits when I got home from work last night. She says she wants to take a sledge hammer to the vaccuum! I told her we have to get a new one first .

Other than that, last night was really nice. We are part of a homeschool group and we rotate dinner on Tuesday nights. So I didn't have to cook or do clean up and I got to eat some yummy chinese food.

The baby is getting lower and was really uncomfortable last night. She kept squirming around in there and sticking her hands and feet in all my organs and down into my cervix. It felt so weird!

Sending out lots of labor vibes

[blessed2bamommie]

: I've been lurking and replied to the birth story thread. I've been in diapering, tp diapers and shopping trying to make sure I have enough dipes. : I washed my last custom order that was delayed and came in the end of last week, a FLAM I scored one of these weeks, my car insert and more clothes I was given. I feel like I'm so far behind all yall. I sooooooooooo need to do more cleaning. (and washing) I feel soooooooooo bad about those beads. I *did* get my gift for the swap yesterday and I need to stick in a card and pack it up and ship it. Today is such a wet rainy day, I'm not sure about going out. I've got a awful bump waaaaaaaaay too close for comfort....imagining a baby's head hitting it on the way out... and so cycling has been off this week. Dh took the am off and put the crib together in the midst of a messy bedroom. It took the entire morning and he didn't do anything else I wanted him to do. My apt is so messy we are soooo not ready for this baby and I looked in the dungeon where dh work and where we have a second set of bedroom furniture which is *supposed* to be where guests sleep and although he has made a lot of progress from *not* being able to walk in there, its *still* not ready for anyone to go in there and sleep. We are soooooo not ready for this baby to come. Its pretty pathetic how *not* together we are. At least I don't have to lead worship this week,so I'm home tonight and tomorrow and I lined someone up for Sunday. Baby! your parents haven't got their acts together! Please hold on!

I'm gonna get up and see what I can eat...I imagine I'm probably throwing ketones *again* . And call my mama's best friend. *wave*

[bluehalo]

OMGoodness Sunshinegal, I'm so glad your DD is ok! That must have been so scary

Oh, I've been meaning to ask ... has anyone noticed carpal tunnel flare ups during their pregnancy? I've been having the hardest time w/ my hands, and my doc mentioned that it's common to have symptoms during pregnancy even if you've never had problems before. Let me tell ya, it sucks! I don't know if it's knitting & crocheting, or what, but holy cow my hands are giving me a hard time. I could barely chop the veggies for our dinner last night. Totally freaked me out.

Amie, no reason to apologize ... for some reason when it's soming from other mamas in the same boat, it doesn't bug me :LOL ... how's that for hypocritical?

Soogie, Happy Birthday to your DS. I so hear what you're saying. I'm really enjoying this 4th year with my DS. It's also such an interesting perspective, being pregnant again now ... it's like having a 4 year old *and* being pregnant gives each experience new meaning. I've seen E. grow from a tiny newborn to this wonderful, autonomous individual ... and I feel like I'll appreciate this baby's babyhood more ... as well as appreciating Ethan's "4-ness" more by having this reminder that not so very long ago he was tiny enough to fit inside of me! Ah, hormonal babbling ... sorry

Katie, how cool that you have your own little tribe I do have a small group of caring friends, but we're more across the spectrum, IYKWIM, although we're all very respectful and supportive of each other. I'm *very* grateful for their presence in my life

Initially I thought I would want to stay busy over these last few weeks, but now I'm glad my calender is mostly clear. I feel like I have plenty to do around the house, and it really is nice to have some low-stree, agenda-free time with DS.

I need to go check out the birthstory thread and look at the pictures at the yahoo group. All those newborn pictures might make some kind of hormones kick in, right?

I do see my doc today, so I'm curious (but not optimistic) to see if I've made any progress from last week. I think she also wants to do a NST. We shall see...

Happy Wednesday everyone!

[Ekatherina]

oooooooooh sunshinegal, so sorry about ur dd's accident...it must have been awful... i hope she is better now...
Thia, same here contractions come and go ..i thought i'll stop taking warm baths (tub) in the evenings...can it be that they are slowing the things down???
Letia, welcome back... didn't hear from you so long....hope ur baby will not come before u put everything together...i was also cycling till now, but i stopped because i thought i should walk instead....to get this baby out...

[stanleymama]

Letia..girl its so good to finally here from you!!!

Katie...so cool you have a wonderful suport group to bring you meals. Our church does this for two weeks/4days in each week. It is such a tremendous blessing.

Well i am off to get ready to meet up with a friend for lunch. This will be our last lunch together ( we do this monthly) till awhile after the babe arrives.

Have a great day everyone!!!

[Thia]

Sunshinegal: that sounds really scary, glad it ended okay.

As for the warm baths stopping labor, I have always heard that, especially if labor isn't really going...like before 4 or 5 cm. But yesterday the nurse said they could help. I think her point had more to do with relaxing. Our bodies, when we are tense, just aren't going to bring these babies forth. So, if we relax (baths, glass of wine, meditation, even sex (stress relief on top of hormones) etc), then our bodies are much more willing to labor. So, unless you think you really are experienceing the real deal, I'd keep going with your baths as long as they are relaxing you. Now, if you spend your bath thinking about the baby, worried about labor, thinking of bills and cleaning the house etc...I'd probably find something a little more distracting to unwind.

Ug....we can't be prego forever can we?????

[3bees~1flower]

Originally Posted by bluehalo

Oh, I've been meaning to ask ... has anyone noticed carpal tunnel flare ups during their pregnancy? I've been having the hardest time w/ my hands, and my doc mentioned that it's common to have symptoms during pregnancy even if you've never had problems before. Let me tell ya, it sucks! I don't know if it's knitting & crocheting, or what, but holy cow my hands are giving me a hard time. I could barely chop the veggies for our dinner last night. Totally freaked me out.

ME, ME, ME!!!! i am *sooooooooooo* sick of my hands being numb and achy....i have had it since early summer and it's getting worse all the time....for this reason alone i'm ready to have this baby, just so i can do stuff with my hands without them going numb and achy...i had to stop sewing my baby dipes b/c i couldn't stand it. and don't *EVEN* get me started on nighttime : ....that's when it *really* flares up! but, it's nice to know i'm not the only one suffering from it.......i definitely know how you feel!!

[gottaknit]

Soogie - Your post made me cry! I saw some obnoxious highschoolers (hey you! pull those pants up and get a belt already!) walking down our street yesterday and said to DH, "I can't believe our little baby is going to grow up someday! And dress goofy!" Oh well guess I'll deal with it as it comes...

Letia - Nice to hear from you again! I knew you were probably busy building that diaper stash. I know how you feel about not being ready. We're "ready" (all a baby really needs are loving parents and a warm place to sleep ), but sooo not ready, too. This house is a mess!

I can't believe how much "baby stuff" we have. Where do I put it all!? And it just keeps flooding in. For example, at last count this baby has ten rubber duckies!! Looks like we may be making a donation to the women and children's shelter soon.... (people keep giving me packages of heavily scented sposies, even though they know I plan to CD. )

OK there was a lot more I was gonna comment on, but I've gotta run. Max the mini schnauzer has a beauty treatment today. Poor little guy.

[OakEmber]

Sunshinegal- OMG that sounds terrible! So sorry to hear about that....it sounds like Athena is a real trooper though

Soogie- I so hear you!! Ember will be 4 in just a few short weeks (Nov.6). I keep thinking about her being in Kindergarten next year

Bluehalo- glad it didn't bother you...it does seem different knowing we are all in the same boat.

Ekatherina- actually it was more Momadance, I was just responding to her and agreeing with what she said.

Thia- OMG Woman, I can't believe that you are still working I am doing my last Mother Goose class today, which is hardly considered work since it is only an hour but even that is hard to get motivated for at this point and today is definately my last one for awhile!!!

Well I better get dressed I have exactly one hour until I start my class, good thing it is only 5 mins away :LOL

[AnnR33]

Hang in there Letia-somehow it always works out-and hey-the baby doesn't care if the place is picked up-he/she just cares that you're picking THEM up

So what is an "NST" that people keep talking about? Something to do with ultrasound? Why are these needed at this late stage? Is it a risk issue of some type? Just curious since there are so many "tests" that drs order these days that I worry about the over-interventions.

So anybody talking to the baby more these days? I got to take another long bath the other night and the baby was all over the place-talk about something out of the Alien movie! LOL Anyway, we had a nice long "chat" Seems like that's been happening more lately with more distinct movement. It's hard to believe that I'm going to be holding this babe in just a few more weeks.

I got a lovely baby afgan in bright colors from an aunt yesterday. It's so soft and cuddly, just beautiful. Since this is #3 we're not getting alot of gifts which is fine but these few handmade things are so special.

Off to tame the wild things...why do they always fight when you're in the middle of something!
Ann

[Wabi Sabi]

Miles Rocket was born gently underwater at home yesterday at 1:46 pm after a fairly quick and easy labor. He weighs 6 lbs. 10 oz. and is utterly perfect. I feel great with surprisingly little soreness or discomfort despite one small tear. He's a very sleepy baby and I haven't been able to get him to latch on just yet, but we're working on it.

I'll post a picture on the yahoo group. Give me a few days to get a birth story written.

His daddy and I are just totally in love with him...