week of October 25 - almost all done! - Page 3

[gottaknit]

40 weeks 2 days....water broke 2 days ago

Well, today is the day! I got lots of sleep, got up at six and had some toast, then slept again til 9. So I just had twosies breakfast and now I'm all ready for my castor oil rootbeer float (yum yum! :LOL ), to be accompanied by nipple stimulation and followed up with homeopathic measures later if nothing happens..... Let's just say it's a busy day here at the gottaknit residence.

DH stayed home from work and I plan to tell him I need Alone Time until things start going. I think I'll go hide out in my knitting cove and organize yarns and knitting books or knit or something. Phones are unplugged, windows all covered up, and all we need now is a sign outside that says, "Homebirth in Progress. Do not disturb!" But I think I'll wait to put the sign out. Oh yeah, and we gotta get these yippy little dogs to the sitter...

Sunshinegal and Oakember, hope this is the day for you, too!!

[mandalamama]

**good labor vibes** for OakEmber, sunshinegal and gottaknit!!

i'm panicking. ugh. well, i have a lot to be legitmately worried about, so i guess it's normal. Pan goes back to work Thursday, i'll need to be "on duty" for about 15 hours a day once he does, and i can barely manage mommy-duty of 6 hours a day now. even in little 1-hour shifts sometimes. my body is already failing me because of the fibromyalgia spasms and weakness, but i pushed myself very hard this morning to just keep carrying Willow around in my arms. she hates being in the sling when i wear it! actually she hates everything but being in a cradle-hold in my arms. with daddy she's agreeable to the sling, the boppy or the car carrier. i can understand wanting to be in mommy's arms, though! i just worry how am i going to take care of her when the spasms get bad and the weakness hits really hard. it tears my heart apart if i have to delay even a minute to pick her up when she's crying!!

[gottaknit]

Meli, is there anyone else who can come over and help you out after Pan goes to work? A mom or sister or friend? It's so soon for you to be on your own.

[mandalamama]

gottaknit: we have no one. i posted in "life with a babe" about the whole situation. we knew going into this how hard it would be, but how rewarding and so worth it! i keep telling myself we'll be ok. i mean, people do this all over the world all the time, many of them without any help, right?

[gottaknit]

Originally Posted by mellybean

gottaknit: we have no one. i posted in "life with a babe" about the whole situation. we knew going into this how hard it would be, but how rewarding and so worth it! i keep telling myself we'll be ok. i mean, people do this all over the world all the time, many of them without any help, right?

yeeeees.... I suppose lots of people go it alone, but it seems so unfair and difficult for you that way. If I lived in CT I'd come over and help you.

[True Blue]

Lots of luck Nancy!!! And Amie and Sunshinegirl!!! Lots of action going on here. I wish we'd hear from Katie....I have a bad feeling that the lack of news means she wound up at the hospital. Which isn't bad in general, I would just feel so bad for her bc I know how much she wanted this VBAC.

So I came here to post something specific and darn if I can remember what it was! :LOL Poo!!!

[kraftykathy]

Good Luck Nancy!!! Hope your getting into labourland right now!
Hope it's going well for all the other mama's on the verge of labour too!!!
I can tell that there must be a lot going on today. It's been sooooo quiet here!
I hope labour and birth went well for Katie : Looking forward to hearing from her again!
Meli - good luck with being on your own. Sure wish you had someone else to help you out though!

Well, I have to go make a cake and decorate it like a spider's web. My daughter has her girl guides halloween party tonight! I'll be checkin in again later!

[momadance]

Originally Posted by mellybean

gottaknit: we have no one. i posted in "life with a babe" about the whole situation. we knew going into this how hard it would be, but how rewarding and so worth it! i keep telling myself we'll be ok. i mean, people do this all over the world all the time, many of them without any help, right?

I think we need to start a October moms life with babe thread! We seem to be having a baby boom around here!!!

[gottaknit]

I've been through two rounds of castor oil now, and while "eventful", it hasn't produced the event I was hoping for. Yet. I am having some contractions, and some abdominal pain, but I don't know if it's the contractions that hurt or my intestines turning themselves inside out.

Nipple stimulation with the Avent breast pump was quite unpleasant. I could see how nip stim could work really well if you are nursing a real baby or if brought on by someone with some emotional attachment, but with a piece of plastic it just hurt.

Haven't tried the homeopathic voodoo tabs yet, but it's next on the agenda. Hope everyone else is having better luck!

[True Blue]

I'm sorry Nancy. Try just rolling your nipples between your fingers, it's not painful and can produce the same results. I've also read that sometimes it takes 3 (yuck) doses of the castor oil. On the plus side, true contractions do feel a lot like intestinal cramping....so it could be labor starting too. I described them while birthing DS as a combo between "my worst menstrual cramps and diarrhea cramps."

[mtnjenny]

Advice?

Hi all. Still waiting...

Good luck to laboring moms and good luck to you Meli. I wish I had some magic advice that would make this easier for you.

Maybe some of you have some advice for me...I was talking to MIL today, who just retired from being a pediatric nurse after 20 years. She asked me, "Have you gotten your flu shot yet? You qualify, you know." I explained to her that no, I hadn't, and that I never have gotten one. She went on to explain to me (or try to scare me, how I took it) that I could be exposed to the flu SO easily when I go back to teaching, and then I could give it to the baby, which could be VERY dangerous. It made me feel so uncomfortable, considering that we really don't talk very often at all, and certainly don't discuss anything very personal when we do...I feel like this is going to come up again, or that she's going to put dh on the spot about it and I want to have some things ready to say to her when it comes up again.

The fact is, I don't get sick! Obviously, this doesn't mean I won't get the flu, but why compromise my immune system when it's so strong right now? Is it selfish of me NOT to be getting the flu shot? (Dh and I have decided to do some delayed/selective vaccinations after baby is born.)

I don't know...if any of you have words of advice, I'd love to hear them. I know we can always use the standard, "It's a personal issue."

[mirthfulmum]

Jenny - You can tell your MIL that it is very unususal for a healthy, full-term breast fed baby to get any sort of major illness before the introduction of solid food. But I have the feeling that there is nothing that you could tell your MIL that would make her feel better about you not having the flu shot. Your best bet will probably be to stick to the "it's a personal issue." response and leave it at that.

It's been so quiet here today... I just know we'll be reading some birth announcments soon .

[True Blue]

Jenny -- I'm not even sure having the flu shot will protect your baby...can you still carry it anyway even if you don't actually contract it? I'm not sure.

Yea it has been quiet...should be lots of stories soon!! Not mine though :LOL

[AnnR33]

No news here either-my 5 yr old DS said "it was time for the baby to come out today" Wish he knew something I didn't!
What's weird is that I haven't even had any Brax Hix for 2 days and usually I have quite a few each day But baby is moving so not worried...

I'm so hoping that all is well with Katie-I'm starting to worry a little but praying they are just babymooning!

Sending lots of labor dust out
Ann

[Momma2LiamandTara]

40 weeks 2 days

Still here and pregnant. Went and got some enemas today in case I feel like maybe getting things going. I thought I'd go that route before castor oil. I'm waiting until at least Friday before I go that route for now it's pressure points. I do have a good article on natural induction methods if anyone is interested.

I'm hoping all is well with Katie. I'm nerovus too about her. Also wondering about Thia too.

Sorry not in much of a mood to post. I'm just really pissed off at my upstairs neighbors. We live in a duplex and the guy who lives upstairs w/ his fiancee and 4 kids decided to stain some window frames downstairs in the basment and not in the garage becuase it was raining outside. Well you know I'm pregnant and hello you have 4 kids and are a fire fighter you should know it's not smart to have those awful fumes around.

Thanks to him I woke up from a nap w/ Liam w/ a horrible headache and had to leave the house for awhile because it stunk soo bad! Thankfully one of my freinds were home so we went over there for awhile.

Sorry for the rant!

Happy Laboring everyone. Hopefully i'll be soon.

Carrie

[Milkymommi]

Hi Ladies I gotta jump in here... MS. LETIA!!! You are still pg? My word, when was the babe supposed to come I see you said you're overdue? I'm still so happy for you I have to track you down every now and then to check up. I can't wait to hear the good news!!!!

Baby blessings to all of the rest of you Mamas patiently (or maybe not so patiently :LOL ) waiting for your little bundles.

[sqoya]

Jillian is 1 week old!

I feel really, really bad I just dropped out of the board after Jillian was born! I'm trying to catch up with all the new babies and Mamas still in waiting.

I've been having a horrible time bf. Basically, Jillian sucks super strong and I have sensitive skin and small nipples. I was already bleeding after the first time she latched on right after birth! I did fine for a few days, then the pain became just about unbearable - cracked and bleeding nipples, scabs coming off all the time. Things seemed to be getting better, and then yesterday, after she latched on I saw bright red blood streaming from her mouth. I just lost it. I just feel horrible for her. I feel horrible that I don't look forward to nursing her. I called my mw, sobbing, and she came over - a wonderful woman! She comforted me and gave me all sorts of remedies (comfrey tea soaks, this green goo another midwife makes, similar to lansinoh, cool gel packs, nursing more frequently, not wearing a top ...) We checked her latch, which is still perfect, and talked about different positions besides cradle hold. I have my self confidence back and see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it's been rather hard. I just loved those first few days when I loved comforting her and couldn't wait for her to fuss so I could nurse her!!!

All of this makes it sound like I haven't loved the past week. I love snuggling with her at night, seeing her smile when she's getting ready to nurse, us just gazing into each others eyes for so long. I just love the way she smells! I am trying so hard to remember all the wonderful things when I nurse her bc I don't want any bad memories of the first few weeks!

I posted some pics of us. I still can't believe our big baby girl came from inside of little me! My dh is absolutely in love with her and spends hours making faces with her!

Thanks for listening! Sorry this post is all about me, me, me. I'm trying to catch up now! Sending happy labor vibes to all you Mamas still waiting!

[AnnR33]

Mandi-I know how hard BFing can be! It's so worth it but so trying at times-with my first I had such a terrible time too and if it wasn't for my stubborn"ness" I would have given up for sure-but we nursed happily for a year so it can be done-the first 4 wks are the hardest though, that's for sure! So hang in there mama!

It was our 13th (yikes) anniversary today! We got to go out for probably our last nice adult meal in a very long time. My nicest outfit was very tight and I felt HUGE! Black is supposed to be slimming except when you have a beach ball hanging out in front of you :LOL But we had a nice time and the kids are already in bed-yippee!

Anxious to see who's having a baby with that full moon on Oct 27!

Do you already have a sweet one in your arms Nancy!!?? Hope all is well.
Ann

[Ekatherina]

first snow!!!

good morning everyone......somehow i woke up in a good mood today even feeling that it's ok if this baby is not born this week.......and looked out of the window and saw much much of snow and it made me feel so happy...:LOL...i'll post pictures on yahoo....
Momma2Liam, ...so sorry you are suffering from your neighbours... to them....i woke up from some noise today at 5 am too...my bengladesh neighbors are so crazy...i don't know what they were doing at 5 am there but it seemed like "elephant jumping" ...
Meli, so sorry you are having problems...hope they solve out for you soon....
oops my mw called right now...she wants to come and check on me... let's see what she says...she said something else in japanese but all I could understand is that she is coming now...:LOL...off to clean up a little bit...:
much birth vibes to NAncy and everyone...hope everything is fine with Katie...:

[OakEmber]

Still here and still pregnant, sigh. Oh the day I have had! We headed down to Kelowna a little before 10am and didn't get back home until 8pm, argh. Had a NST at 1pm and an u/s at 4. Still having bleeding...it had tappered off but I had two vag. exams today so I am sure that's why. I am about 2 fingers dilated, even after 2 hrs of contx. 8 mins apart so I finally decided to go home (I wasn't in the hospital all that time, just for the procedures). My midwife and I both weren't sure if I should head home (over an hour away) but when my cervix hadn't changed at all we figured it would be OK. The procedures were just to assure us that the bleeding wasn't to do with the placenta or anything, and really just to ease our minds, esp. with the distance. Oakley's weight est. from the u/s was 9lbs...it will be curious to see how close it is, of course I know they are notoriously off but it will still be neat to see because he should be born within a matter of days (although at this point I am feeling like I gonna make it to Nov. ). This is really driving me crazy! I felt so intune with my body when I was in labor with Ember and this time I feel like I my body is playing head games with me!?!? I am sure there is some kind of lesson to be learned by it all but common! So how many days can this really go on for (don't answer that, LOL...I know I shouldn't complain because people like Katie have contended with so much more than I have so far, which only makes me in even more awe)

Mandi and Meli- ...I am sorry that you are each having a difficult time with things. I hope things do improve really soon. Mandi I do think it is possilbe for you to overcome this and enjoy nursing yet...Meli you will find something that works for you too, and I really believe that Willow can feel your limits and will adjust accordingly (KWIM? hard to explain but I think that babies are just so intune with their environment and can pick things up...)

So I better try to get a good nights rest...who knows what tomorrow might bring. Thanks for the well wishes and vibes.