Weekly Thread ~April 16 - 22 ~ - Page 3

[brookibabe]

I just got back from my 34 week check up. Everything is exactly where it should be. Only two more weeks and I can officially deliver out of hospital - that is a little intimidating. I am next for my midwife to deliver. All of her May births went early - so that leaves me. I guess I better start kicking it into gear and getting things ready. I feel like it is too early to have things set up and put away. But I guess if I just keep putting it off - then I will have too much to do the last few weeks - although, it is getting down to the last few weeks.

[Jilian]

Wow, 2 more weeks?! I remember when we were the newest DDC on the board and now we're almost the birth month DDC

I had to borrow some maternity clothes from my sister today, size XL - I started out this pregnancy in XS maternity clothes. My belly is really sticking out far these days. It looks like the little guy is rolled up in a ball. I'm now starting to get the "you're HUGE" comments from strangers : I know my belly is big, I see it every day! Why do people feel the need to tell me? Do they think I don't realize?

[momtokay]

Originally Posted by Jilian

I'm now starting to get the "you're HUGE" comments from strangers : I know my belly is big, I see it every day! Why do people feel the need to tell me? Do they think I don't realize?

People keep telling me I look like I swallowed a basketball or that I look like I'm about to fall over. What is up with people?!? Don't they know if you don't have anything nice to say you shouldn't say anything at all?!?

[rock_dr]

I just found out that I may have been exposed to fifth disease a few days ago. I'm so freaked out by this. I know chances that I have it are probably small, but when you google it and all that pops up are warnings for pregnant women and 10% miscarriage rate if infected...

a call is in to the midwife. but she's going to tell me not to worry and I don't know how not to worry about this.

[wombatclay]

I had my 33 week appt this morning and all is right with the world! My care provider would like me to keep Roro in place till at least May 6, but they said anything past that they would be fine with. The thing that really scared me was my doctor then said "Hmmm...so that would be...let's see...18 more days".

18 DAYS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Yes, I went to 42+ weeks last time, and I am not really expecting Roro to arrive on the "early" side of the due date, but just hearing someone using the word "days" in terms of my pregnancy was...well...ACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm still cleared for my weekend trip to Boston (the 28th/29th of this month) but I'm supposed to pay a lot more attention to any BH, stay hydrated, and generally keep track of any PTL signs that might show up.

This practice has another vbac mama who is actually in the hospital right now. She is due May 18 but her water broke four days ago...I was thrilled to find out that while my care providers want her in the hospital with daily blood draws and fetal monitoring they are happy to wait till labor starts on it's own. Even if that means her water is broken for the next four weeks! They are 100% against induction for VBAC mamas, and actually one of my OBs (there are two) wrote his "thesis work" on prolonged rupture of membranes. He said he doesn't actually see what the worry is about as long as the mama and babe are being monitored for fever or infection there is no reason at all not to wait for birth to start on it's own...the mamas he worked with for his research usually had healthy babes, and often had gone for 6-10 WEEKS with broken membranes.

So yet another point in their favor in my book. I'm just so thrilled I've managed to find OBs who are so pro-natural birth, pro-vbac, and so well educated about the various issues in this field.

I guess I need to get my butt moving though in terms of finishing up my hypnobabies home study. I've been spending two weeks on each "one week" class since I thought I had plenty of time. But now...well...I've got another two weeks worth of classes to practice!

[Jilian]

CJ: That must be scary. If it makes you feel any better you are well past the chance for miscarriage in pregnancy, at this point it would be a premature birth. From all the research I've been doing it sounds like 33 week babies do fairly well. The main problems are that some need breathing assistance for a few days, jaundice, and sucking issues. Although it would be really hard having a preemie, the baby's has very good chances of being healthy. I've heard of many 34 weekers coming home after only a few days in the hospital.

There might be things you can do to boost your immune system, like taking extra vitamin C (you can take an extra 2000 mg on top of your prenatal vitamin) or you could take 1000 and drink emergen-c vitamin drink to boost your immune sysytem.

I hope everything is ok and you don't end up getting sick at all. Try not to panic

[wombatclay]

Rock dr - Big Hugs mama! Hang in there!

The miscarriage rate for exposure...please try not to worry about that! It's more of a concern in early pregnancy. My understanding is that the miscarriage risk is due to maternal reaction to the virus (or whatever it is...and it's only an issue if you've never had fifths or didn't remain immune) and even IF you started displaying symptoms and it reached the point where it threatened your babe they could deliver you and while your babe wouldn't be as fine as they would at full term, THEY'D STILL BE FINE.

It's not the best news in the world, and I know telling you not to worry is silly (heck, I worry about everything...I think it's the curse of the mama or something), but really...at this point in our pregnancies a lot of the health warnings are really not that significant. Not that you should chug a glass of listeria, or eat the moldy meat, or hug a kiddo with an active case of measels...but at this point our babes CAN make it on the "outside". Maybe not without a lot of help, but still....that help is available.

Let your midwife know, keep an eye on how you feel, try to do something relaxing or distracting, and hang in there.

[willoLevin]

My new fridge just arrived. Right at the end of the three hour window, but they squeaked in before 5:30 pm.

Of course, they had it tipped all the way horizontal getting it up my stairs, so now I'm freaking out it will be broken, but I'm about to look this up to see if my fears are justified or not... Like I know anything about the mechanics of the modern Danish refrigerator. (That's funny--Danish Modern! It's just a super energy-efficient European fridge, not a particularly high fashion one.)

I know that the demo goes much faster than the re-building phase, but, BOY, does it seem like a LOT happened in the kitchen today. Wow! The contractor warned me that it seems to slow down in the middle, but now it seems like this will go so quickly. (Knocking on wood as I type!) So far, today at least, things went as they should--since we're saving cabinetry, it was a much more "careful" job than a normal demo, and there is room for trouble when dealing with any existing stuff...

The old kitchen floor--which looks to be vintage linoleum--that was under our nasty brown vinyl tiles is really funky. I bet it was really cool. Since it went under the part that was a peninsula until we removed it today, obviously the original kitchen was a bit more like what I'm doing now. It is only about a 12 x 11 room, so space isn't huge, and it makes a lot more sense to me to have a movable butcher block cart in the middle of the room instead of a big, built-in unit like we tore out today... Well, God and the contractor willing, I'll know in few weeks if it was all worth it.

I've taken some pictures, but DH needs to download them on his computer. Hopefully I'll be able to share tomorrow. You'll all feel like your houses are SOOOO clean!

--willo

[Charity]

to everyone who needs one right now.

Rock dr, it must be really hard to keep yourself from worrying--I have so much trouble with that too. Hang in there, and I hope you get some good news soon.

PatchChild--my DH and I are also an ivory tower family, and I know it can be really complicated sometimes. I'll keep hoping that things will work out well for both of you and your baby.

This week so far is much better than last week. DH came home from his grandfather's funeral and he ended up having a pretty good weekend with his extended family, considering the situation. It was a good celebration of his grandfather's life, and everyone was happy to talk about our baby because that gave them a new life and some new hope to focus on.

Like many of you, I've just started to notice a lot less kicking--which scared me a bit at first, but it's so helpful to hear that others are experiencing the same thing around the same time. Much different from just reading in a book the general statement that kicking often decreases in the third trimester because there's less room. I mean, I knew that, but when it started to happen I still felt something must be wrong, and then I was glad to read that I'm not alone. And then I felt a few gentle kicks.

[PatchChild]

I'm happy to share the recipe. I've already had a couple of warm slices but am working to restrain myself. I can only imagine the look on DH's face if he comes home to a half eaten loaf.

Cinnamon Spiral Bread

Makes 2 Loaves

½ Cup warm water
1 pkg. Yeast
2 Cup warm milk
2 Cups Quick Oats
¼ Cup brown sugar
2 tbs. shortening
1 tbs. salt
1 Cup raisins
5 ½ -6 Cups flour (I use half whole wheat, half regular)

Filling
½ Cup sugar
3 tbs. cinnamon

-Dissolve yeast in water for about 10 minutes
-Stir together milk, oats, shortening, brown sugar, salt, and raisins
-Add yeast
-Slowly mix in flour
-Knead the dough for around 5 minutes
-Place the dough in a bowl covered with a dishtowel and allow it to rise until doubled, around an hour and a half
-Punch down dough, then allow to ride for another 10 minutes
-Divide dough in half
-Roll into a thin oblong and sprinkle with ½ filling mixture
-Roll like a jellyroll, seal ends, and place in greased bread pans, seam side down
-Let rise for 40-50 minutes
-Bake at 400 for 35-40 min.

[rock_dr]

thanks everyone. looks like I can go in for a blood test (fri) to determine if I'm inthe ~50% of adults who have already developed an immunity. If so then we're golden. If not then just have to deal with the very small chance of bad things maybe (but probably not) happening. I'm just not a big risk taker

in the meantime, guess I'll just have to make that recipe from patchchild, and maybe eat the whole thing!

[willoLevin]

Doesn't anyone want to make me some of patchchild's bread? I have no kitchen!

As I ate applesauce this morning from a disposable cup with a plastic spoon while waiting for my tea to cool in a paper throw-away, I found myself really craving the use of real dishes! Do you know how much easier it is for a preschooler to tip over a lightweight disposable cup?!? : (I'm only giving him water until this is done. Juice is a distant memory...)

I felt Glooby's first hiccups today. I was getting nervous after everyone else was talking about them and all that about being a sign of good lungs. Feeling much better now. They weren't a very strong feeling, though. I still blame my extra padding. Aside from my round ligament pains, most of my baby-kick feelings are pretty mild.

--willo

[Jilian]

Willo, I'm happy your kitchen project seems to be moving along. I can't wait to see the new kitchen! Kitchens are my favorite and I'm always drooling over the kitchens on HGTV.

Has anyone gotten REALLY hungry in the past week or so. My appetite was small for a long time and I only ate small frequent meals, but now I'm eating all sorts of food all the time. I've been eating two breakfasts and two dinners every night Maybe it is my body's way of making up for the small weight gain up until now? I gained 4 lbs in the past two weeks, and I'm sure that is going to continue or even increase. I just cannot get enough food!

[Robbins0614]

Originally Posted by Jilian

Has anyone gotten REALLY hungry in the past week or so. My appetite was small for a long time and I only ate small frequent meals, but now I'm eating all sorts of food all the time. I've been eating two breakfasts and two dinners every night Maybe it is my body's way of making up for the small weight gain up until now? I gained 4 lbs in the past two weeks, and I'm sure that is going to continue or even increase. I just cannot get enough food!

Me!!! I've been so hungry it's embarrassing! I can't make it to lunch time without a snack and then I usually have two dinners plus a small snack before bedtime. And after all that I wake up starving!!! I would actually be ashamed to list out everything I ate yesterday. . .

[wombatclay]

Last night I got home from work around 10pm and wasn't hungry. I did some house chores, hung out with DH getting my legs rubbed, took a shower, had some tea...

And then around midnight I was struck by an overwhelming need to eat! The result was I ate an entire tub of low fat cottage cheese and a tupperware container of leftover pasta I found in the fridge.

[willoLevin]

I think I'm flip-flopping from STARVING to food-averse every few hours. I'm getting more heartburn now. I'm not sure I believe I can avoid it by careful eating anymore. I think it is all about how baby Glooby is sitting in my tummy. I'm taking probably one Tums per day on average, but it seems like I need it at a different time every day.

Honestly, I am trying to be more sensible in my eating now. I don't think I've been awful at any point, but I am mildly bummed to be up 29 pounds already. I was so hoping to gain less than last time, but I think I'm going to gain about 40 pounds again this time. :

I worked today, and just thought I would collapse at the end. I was SOOO tired, but I had an acupuncture appointment after work. I felt pretty wonky right after the session--she did a LOT of work on "blood-building" for my iron, which I guess makes one a bit loopy--but I stopped into a deli for a sandwich before driving home so I wouldn't drive badly.

By the time I got home, my energy was so much better! God bless Cory, my acupuncturist! I've had SUCH good results with her! I'm feeling really positive that maybe she can help me get my hematocrit back up to where it would need to be for the birth center. (Well, maybe not totally positive, but I have *HOPE* now!) Knowing she's there for me also makes me feel like Glooby's current breech position won't be a problem. She's just very good for me.

My new fridge seems to be working just fine after I let it sit 12 hours before plugging it in, just in case they moved it wrong. Whew! I got all the remaining food out of the old fridge, so I can call my friend to come pick it up, which will probably make life easier for the workmen. They got all the new cabinet pulls on today, and they look nice. The final cabinet modification seems to be done, too (cutting and shifting a piece of the old base cabinet to make room for a range instead of a built-in cooktop.) That's a relief, because there was some chance the old cabinetry would collapse when we tried to modify it, and THAT would've been a huge, unwanted expense. Big sighs of relief here...

Anyone bake me that bread yet? Wombat, you want to bring some to Boston next weekend?

--willo

[jstar]

i'm starving. last night i had a fairly healthy dinner. and then by 11pm right when i got in bed i realized i was STARVING. i didn't eat because i really needed to get to sleep. but i wake up a lot of times around 4am and pee and have such a hard time getting back to sleep....and i think i am hungry! i haven't been giving in to that food craving. i was hoping to gain less this time too. but i don't think it is going to happen

[wombatclay]

I am gaining less than last time, but more that the "average". Last pregnancy I gained around 70 pounds, mostly in retained water during the third trimester. I had muppet legs and developed nerve problems from the swelling. As of my 33 week appoint yesterday, I was up 31 pounds. But the swelling isn't as bad as it was so I have hopes!

After all, to hit 70 pounds again I'd have to gain 40 pounds in the next 4-7 weeks. And that ain't a'gonna happen! Errrr....I hope.

Willo- I'll see about that bread!

[vannienicole]

**

[willoLevin]

Originally Posted by jstar

i'm starving. last night i had a fairly healthy dinner. and then by 11pm right when i got in bed i realized i was STARVING. i didn't eat because i really needed to get to sleep. but i wake up a lot of times around 4am and pee and have such a hard time getting back to sleep....and i think i am hungry! i haven't been giving in to that food craving. i was hoping to gain less this time too. but i don't think it is going to happen

I get this sometimes, too. Frustrating, isn't it?

The best middle of the night snack I know of is an ounce of cheese. (You could buy 2% milk variety?) Unlike carbs, cheese sitting on your teeth is one of the least damaging in terms of cavities/plaque. I read this somewhere, then checked it with my dentist. I got heartburn from even the water needed to brush my teeth by the end of my last pg. Late night cheese snacks made me feel like at least my teeth had a chance to survive the pregnancy!

We got one of those tiny, plug-in coolers to keep upstairs this time during nursing. (If you need to pump, you can store your tubing/collection parts in a fridge and skip washing them thoroughly after every feeding! Also the milk, duh. ) I'm going to use it to store those individually wrapped portions of cheese if I need to toward the end of this pg, too.

--willo