~Weekly Thread April 30- MAY 6th!!!~ - Page 4

[Jilian]

I didn't do as much "birth prep" this time around. I did buy and read "The birth partner" but more because I'm a Doula. Sometimes I'll scan a few birth books in my lending library if I'm bored but I really don't feel the need to prepare for the actual birthing part. I'm putting more energy into preparing post partum meals and making my birthing room tranquil.

[sylvi76]

I feel as if I have done very little this time to prepare. I do spend alot of time "thinking" about how to breathe when I'm in pain, and how to help myself relax and how I really really hope this one isn't posterier, etc.

Lining up my doula also was a major relief, for me, having a doula is one of the most important ways to prepare for natural childbirth and it takes alot of the pressure off of me. I know she will be there to offer suggestions and remind me of things I may forget when the moment is at hand.

[WhiteWax]

Originally Posted by Corri

...
A couple of the mouthbreather husbands left their wives in the class to go to a hockey game about halfway through...

:rofl

too funny.... OH the mouth breathers!

I am doing precious little to prepare.... barely reading anything really. I am going to a labor prep class (its a 2 hours class) given for free by one of the midwives in my practice. And the pre-natal yoga. I suppose that was really all I did last time, except last time i read EVERYBOOK I had... No I'm just going with the flow, allthough some one had mentioned emotional preperation and I am not doing ANYTHING for that. I know I need to, but right now I'm still just trying to emotionaly settle myself.... I know I'm setting myself up for disaster but I dont know what to do.

[Shell_Ell]

I can't say I've gone out of my way to prepare for this birth (which is my second) but I think just the midwife I've chosen and going down the homebirth route has made the process pretty natural. It's been far easier to be positive with this pregnancy having a positive care provider and making my own decisions. Just having good support means so much!

Question... anyone used gentian violet for vaginal yeast? I'm having a really hard time with the external itching, and I really want to try it. I need to go grab some tonight or tomorrow. Just wondering if anyone's used it in the past. I'll also be using it on the thrush on my nipple, which also has yet to clear up completely.

[Jilian]

Originally Posted by Shell_Ell

Question... anyone used gentian violet for vaginal yeast? I'm having a really hard time with the external itching, and I really want to try it. I need to go grab some tonight or tomorrow. Just wondering if anyone's used it in the past. I'll also be using it on the thrush on my nipple, which also has yet to clear up completely.

My friend used it for thrush on her nipples and it made everything flaming purple and did not work. She had thrush bad and it was resistant to treatment so that may be why it didn't work. I keep feeling like I'm on the verge of getting a yeast infection and I told my MW at our visit today and she suggested mixing about a tablespoon of olive oil with a drop of tea tree oil and putting inside my vagina and outside too. I tried it about an hour ago, I'm not sure if it's working yet or not. I've also stepped up my acidopholus intake, I'm scared to death of getting thrush!

[Shell_Ell]

This is my last try I guess... the OTC stuff is for internal symptoms, which I don't have. I have been treating with probiotics, garlic, limiting sugar intake, etc and did the tea tree/olive oil as well. The tea tree seems to irritate it more. So hopefully adding this will work because the last thing I'd want is the baby getting thrush from me. I had so many issues nursing my son in the beginning it's not something I want to start out with, KWIM?

[willoLevin]

Originally Posted by Shell_Ell

Question... anyone used gentian violet for vaginal yeast?

Hmm... I've only used it on the nipples as a "just in case" our nursing pain was thrush. (It wasn't.)

It certainly will make a mighty mess of your underpants! EVERYTHING gets stained purple. You have been forewarned!

Have you tried acupuncture for your yeast problem?

Remember that book I mentioned before: "Alkanize and Energize"? I got the title TOTALLY wrong! It is "Sick and Tired?" by Robert O. Young (PD, DSc) and Shelley Redford Young (LMT). I'm not sure that I would be able to follow this diet strictly, but I have used the lists in Appendix F to try to reduce UTI/yeast symptoms at the earliest stages.

--willo

[brookibabe]

I am totally prepared for this baby. I got paranoid the other night during the full moon. Something was going on with the baby and I realized that I wasn't ready - so I kicked it into gear and got everything done.

Now I am getting pretty nervous for the "big day". I think I am also feeling sad about my DD not being the baby anymore, and I hope that I can still have as much love for her with two kids to share my time and love with. kwim? But, I have also been pretty emotional this pregnancy.

I am now in the clear for my hb - although my midwife will be out of town for the next week and a half - so this little one better stick around at least until then. I am sure it will though - no signs of anything happening anytime soon.

[mataji4]

Shell...so I battled vaginal yeast for YEARS, and always had it bad in pregnancy (throughout all my pregnancies!). And I cannot say enough how incredible it was to be cured of it! At the beginning of this pregnancy I went to an acupuncturist (who specializes in treating women), and I have not felt or seen any sign of yeast since then!!!!!!! It's amazing, and I am so happy! So maybe try that!

[Shell_Ell]

I've considered accupuncture but it's expensive... I want to try and treat with other things before heading down that route. I just found out about it two weeks ago, so I might just have to give it a bit more time for the current treatment to work. This isn't a chronic issue for me, in fact this is the first time I've dealt with it.

I just figured I would ask if anyone had tried the gentian violet... it's only a few bucks and it's worth a shot. I do plan on wearing a pad, FWIW. I've had a client who used it for thrush and it worked great for her, so if anything maybe it will at least clear that up.

I cannot believe my next appt is my home visit. This pregnancy is going so fast... almost too fast.

I'm loving spring so far, I've been working in the yard and flowerbeds the past few days and it feels so good!

[Marvelleaux]

Hi everyone!

36 weeks today! According to my midwife's agreement I'm supposed to have all of my birth supplies purchased and ready to go by today! I don't!

Yesterday my car went ka-blooey and so it's sitting at my in-laws house until I can get over there and show the tow-truck driver where it is. So much fun!

My dog was up late last night barking her head off at something outside and is now behaving oddly. I think she might have fallen off the steps outside and hurt her back. So now I'm super-crabby from lack of sleep and having a difficult time being appropriately kindly to her. She also rolled in a bunch of poop/dead snake so now I have to give her a bath which is going to spell misery for us both. I'm glad I have one pain pill left from when she hurt her back last time--now I'm just debating on whether I should give it to the dog or take it myself...

Ok, enough complaining (it felt *really* good to complain though )

My body is gearing up for labor. I'm thinking it will be at least three more weeks, but I'll be surprised if this baby will elect to stay in any longer than that. If I were this baby and had to deal with being inside me in the mood that I've been I'd bail early too! I am so, so, SO crabby, totally hormonal, and just plain nasty to be around. Someone please tell me that this gets better?

[WhiteWax]

this gets better.....

[wombatclay]

willo - how's the cold? I'm home from work today (in part because of the cold and in part because my dad's back in the hospital for testing and so my mom can't watch dd today) and I am still feeling pretty rotten. I had SO much trouble sleeping last night...I kept coughing and it hurt.

Today I broke down and took some tylenol and am feeling a little bit better but still ugh.

On the up side, the weather is goregous outside, I'm feeling Roro move pretty regularly, and I have a meeting with our doula on Sunday. So things are emoving right along! I've also decided that I'm going to go to my care provider next week and ask to be put on disability. I think this cold is really the final straw that has made me step back and assess how much I'm doing. Right now the library work is the only thing I may be able to control...so I'm going to do it!

Or try.

ETA- and I'm terrified that the babe will come before I'm over this cold, or that DH and DD will catch the cold and be sick when the babe is born. ARGH!!!!! The same thing happened last time (a massive chest cold a week or two before babe was due) and I'm getting feelings of deja vu!

[todavia]

i hope everyone starts to feel better soon. being sick and super pregnant is so tough.

today is my last day of work and there's nothing for me to do but sit around and wait for my "surprise" goodbye party. i have to finish my last paper this weekend and then i am DONE! so happy...

baby girl is moving a ton and making me really sore by the end of the day but i don't mind. people keep asking me if i'm 'over' being pregnant but i'm really not. i remember how impatient i was last time and now i realize that i need to enjoy these last few weeks cuz it only gets harder once they're on the outside...of course there is the bonus of an adorable baby but still. she can hang out for four more weeks in there as far as i'm concerned.

[willoLevin]

I feel marginally better today (thanks for asking! ), but still have a throat that is sore whenever I swallow and a cough that kicks up (and hurts) if I talk very much.

My acupuncturist is so booked up, she can't see me until Tuesday. Waaah! I did see the chiropractor today, though, so at least my hips feel better. I'm praying for the ability to get a real sleep tonight...

I must confess that I have taken both tylenol (2 caplets) and guafenisin (sp? mucus thinner) both of the last two nights because I was too uncomfortable to sleep. The midwives approved them during my February colds, so I certainly hope they are still okay to take.

DS woke up sobbing from his nap yesterday, and did the same thing around midnight last night! Poor baby! And he is usually a pretty good sleeper, now. I ended up bringing him in with us because I could NOT get comfy sharing his twin mattress and he would wake up/cry again if I tried to leave. Heartbreaking! I just wish I could figure out what is causing this. He doesn't know (or won't say) what the reason is--bad dreams, mild illness, stress?

We had a bit of kitchen progress today. The plumbers got the new sink vent installed. The old one is a type legal everywhere... except Massachusetts. : So now we have a legal sink vent going into the wall, across the ceiling (luckily we were planning to replaster the ceiling!), and out the back flat roof over that part of the house. I didn't realize the vent pipe would be quite so tall, because I don't really love seeing it out DS's bedroom window (big sigh), but it is LEGAL.

It is also fascinating to see that our kitchen could have high ceilings like the rest of the old part of the house. There is a nice tin ceiling up there... coated with paint, probably lead, which is flaking away. I guess that is why they covered up that nice high ceiling in the 1960's. Oh well. If we ever remodel again, we'll have to lift that ceiling. (DH would BEAT ME--sorry, bad joke-- if he heard me mention ever remodeling the kitchen again! )

Since no doubt someone is enjoying following my kitchen saga, we now have a decent idea of the rest of the timeline!!!: The town inspector must come check on this new vent pipe Monday or Tuesday, then the general contractor will be here to check in after that, then plastering next Wednesday or Thursday. Our countertops are scheduled to go in on Monday the 14th, with the finish electrical for that same day. The plumbers will return to connect the sink and do their finish work sometime 24 hours after the counters go in (to give the sink time to set properly.) There will be a few little things, like painting the approx. 50 sq. feet of plastered wall area and installing a restaurant-style wall-hanging system (chrome tubes to hold tools with S hooks and such), but I think the kitchen will be pretty much done by the end of that week. Whew! (Floor guy isn't scheduled yet, but the plan is for him to slide in there somewhere around the countertop day...)

--willo

[wombatclay]

Willo- that's great news about the kitchen! Maybe some day down the line you could surround the exposed vent (on the roof) with a "faux chimeny" or something else that wouldn't interfere with it's function/legality but would be a little nicer to look at? But still...yay for progress!

About 2/3rds of our IKEA stuff is now assembled (dd looooooves helping, and helping often involves temporarily losing all the little wooden pegs and screws and socket thingies down various holes, so it goes a bit slowly). Which is nice. We got a single, long, bookcase that can double as a sideboard that DH assembled last night so in between coughing fits and mini pity patries I've been taking stuff off the random bookcases in the living room and dining room and putting them in their "new homes". It's nice since it soothes some of the nesting urges (and will visually declutter the first floor a lot since stuff will be consolidated) but it's still totally doable with a massive cold and toddler!

I hear you on the sore throat though! I'm doing a lot of salt water gargles, and drinking enough hot lemon/honey to float a boat, but it HURTS!

[willoLevin]

Wombat-- we probably do have the same virus, since you picked yours up in Boston, too. Hot lemonade with honey is the only thing that really makes my throat feel better, but too much of it gives me tummy troubles. :

DH was so tired today (after the way DS kept us awake all night) that, after a meeting at Tufts Medical School with one of the grad students (or maybe she's a post-doc?) from his lab, he accidentally started driving HOME instead of back to work! She doesn't drive, so she didn't say anything until they were all the way to Wonderland, which is well out of the city and most of the way to our town.

She said, "Umm... Where are we exactly?" I don't think she's pressing charges. (Just kidding--but I'll bet she worried a little.)

--willo

[Jilian]

Throat coat tea works awesome! Not too long ago I felt like I was coming down with a sore throat and my MW suggested the throat coat tea and it worked like a charm.

[willoLevin]

I have a new favorite position, and expect I probably now know how I will spend the home part of my labor...

I borrowed my friend's exercise/birth ball to see if I liked it before buying one. (I can be really weird/picky about what is comfy to me.) I liked it, and ordered one for myself, but she said I could hold onto hers until mine came. (She's not pregnant--just has back troubles.)

So hers is a 65 cm size--which is what I should have by height. I felt like my hips weren't high enough over my knees, so I ordered a 75 cm size from Amazon.com, thinking maybe for preggo purposes the size is different than for exercise purposes. The ball arrived. We pumped it up according to the directions. This thing is HUGE! Oops, I thought. But then...

...I tried sitting on the slightly underinflated (I now know) 65 cm ball while leaning my arms/head on the 75 cm ball so my belly hangs in the space between them. Oh, this is SO GOOD!!! Belly hanging forward, no arm pressure like when I try hands & knees, no neck pain like when I try child's pose. Such a happy me! I can totally feel how this position is opening up my hips and giving my belly room to hang forward and hopefully make more room for Glooby to get into optimal position.

As an aside, I also seem to cough less when I'm leaning forward than lying down in any other orientation. That's a relief, too. DH and I were both MISERABLE with the coughing last night.

My acupuncturist had a cancellation, so I get to go in about an hour and not wait for Tuesday. God bless whoever that other patient was who flaked out!

--willo

[Jilian]

I hope all of you mamas who are feeling under the weather get better soon.

Birth balls are awesome! There are so many different positions you can labor in with them. Most people that I've Doula'd for like to have the birth ball up (on a bed or couch) and to lean over it. You can even add a pillow on top to rest your head on during contractions. Then you have someone put a warmed rice sock on your very low back and apply counterpressure during a contraction. I did this for my sister during her labor for about an hour straight. I've already coached DP on how to do it

I feel labor coming soon. Last night I had regular contractions every 10 mins or so for a few hours. They were very mild, which scared me even more because that is how the cntx started out with DS's birth. Today I had a random big one that took my breath away - then nothing else. I'll be 36 weeks Monday! I still think I have quite a few days left, maybe more than a week. I had a dream not too long ago that told me I'd deliver next Friday so it will be funny if I do.