~* Weekly Thread May 28 - JUNE 3 *~

[Jilian]

Yep, you read that right, JUNE 3 We're coming into the birth month now, there's no turning back. I'm hoping this is my last week of pregnancy, anyone else with me? I've been feeling really antsy/energetic/aggitated since yesterday. I feel like I have this surge of energy that I don't know what to do with.

Did anyone do anything fun over the holiday weekend? DH an I went to see Pirates yesterday and I don't know how any of you mamas made it through without a bathroom break!

[wombatclay]

subbing...more later...gotta convince dd she wants a nap now!

[mataji4]

yes, jillian, i'm with you!! this week is looking good!

i'm feeling much better today- sore throat is pretty much gone and i don't feel sick, but still a bit sluggish/woozy and slightly nauseous. my only plans for the day are to sit in the garden and point out what i want planted and where, and then take a nap! sounds good since i'm not in labor!!

all my friends who are due now (and really, most of my friends are pregnant!) are having their babies- so far there are three boys! so maybe that increases my chance of having a girl??

UGH! IT'S SO HARD THESE LAST COUPLE WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[awallrising]

Birth Month! As long as I can make it until June 1, I'll be happy for D Day to come. It's so weird knowing that "something" is going to happen & not knowing when. I'm a planner so it's a little hard to deal with mentally. More cervical cramping last night. Keep those coming slow & steady.

On Saturday, DH & I met my best friend for a day in NYC. I walked over 3 miles (with a few A/C & iced tea breaks). We hit the Lincoln Center Craft Fair, Union Square Farmer's Market & Chelsea Markets. We also had Indonesian for lunch & Armenian for dinner. Yum!!! I needed one last hurrah in NYC before Ian comes. Everyone is amazed that I could do that much in one day at 9 mths & in hot, humid weather. Of course, I slept almost all day Saturday, but it was worth it.

I'm not seeing my family today (I would have to drive to them). I'm just going to make a little cookout for DH & me & lay low today. I'd really like to jump in my Bro's pool though.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

[boheime]

I knew that June started later this week - but I hadn't actually put it into that perspective. Yikes!

The downstairs carpet will be installed on Friday and the upstairs carpet will be installed on next Monday - then I can finally get the house back in order and start nesting. I can't wait.

We are experimenting with alternate arrangements in our family bed. Ds is having a hard time not sleeping by me (since baby and dd need to be by me to nurse), so we have been trying different possibilities. Last night he built a dragon nest out of pillows on the bed (we have a King + Queen) and slept there.

[wombatclay]

My due date is the 4th of June so this is getting "close". I really really REALLY want a May babe though.

Not sure today is the day however...no contractions, no show, no plug, no nothing! But we'll see. I've got all the "soft" signs of getting ready (loose stools, nesting, lost a few pounds, crampiness, pelvic pressure, etc) but nothing major. Ah well, there's still time, right?

As I was pointing out in the last weekly thread I'm beginning to get nervous about "deadlines". My two amazing VBAC doctors are 100% pro-VBAC. But one of the them will be out of town during my 41st week and they have gently suggested that a foley cath induction is an option for a few days before her trip. Basically any induction after a prior c/s carries a serious risk of uterine rupture. Foley Cath inductions are the safest, but there is still a risk. And of course, any induction ups the chance of a repeat c/s since obviously your body didn't start things on it's own.

BUT if one of my docs is out of town when I enter labor on my own and the other doc is attending a different mama then I have an almost 100% chance of a repeat c/s. None of the other local doctors/midwives will attend VBAC mamas so... those aren't great odds in my mind.

I've still got two weeks before this becomes a real issue, but it's making me a bit nervous. I'd really like Roro to come sooner regardless of what happens, than have to make a choice like that. Sigh.

So maybe I should go turn on the Law & Order Marathon and see if that helps?

Actually I think there is a L&O marathon on one channel and an L&O Criminal Intent marathon on another...so there are choices even there!

ETA

so we have been trying different possibilities. Last night he built a dragon nest out of pillows on the bed (we have a King + Queen) and slept there.

We set things up last week so it's a toddler bed, then a queen bed, then an arm's reach co-sleeper all "belted" together along one wall. It actually fills half the family bedroom, and dd still climbs up from the toddler bed to the queen during the night, but she's mostly adjusting to staying on "DH's" side of the queen...leaving me the co-sleeper side and giving the coming babe some space. Hopefully it will work, but I'm not certain it's the final format yet!

[rock_dr]

These weekly threads get hopping so fast I figured I'd better sub early this week to keep up!

'due date' is saturday for me... Aside from a little more pressure and a pelvis that feels like I've spent the last week in the saddle, I'm not feeling like a birth is imminent. So hard to fill the time right now. We've been going to alot of basketball games since our home team is making an unexpected run in the nba postseason!

jillian - I want to see pirates too but - bathroom breaks aside - I can't get comfortable in normal seats. Would they let me bring a birth ball I wonder?

wombat - it sounds like you are doing great with the waiting game. I'm really rooting for your vbac!! Also your bed setup sounds awesome.

awallrising - nice job on the walk-a-thon! I'm still doing our normal 3 mile-ish loop with hills, but boy do I move slooooww.

Did anyone else notice that it's Baby Week on tlc/discovery? not sure that's a good thing.

I too am worried about deadlines but probably with much less reason. I know there's plenty of time, but I also know that 42 weeks is d-day for our birth center birth. Just the thought of 'what if' I go past 42 sends me to tears. mantra: there's plenty of time left.

[vannienicole]

**

[saratchka]

Originally Posted by rock_dr

Just the thought of 'what if' I go past 42 sends me to tears. mantra: there's plenty of time left.

I know how you feel about that. But the fact is it's fairly unlikely, so the odds are very much in your favor that it won't become an issue. Personally, once I hit 41 weeks, I'm willing to start trying natural induction methods. I really don't want to go to the hospital this time, but DD was slightly overcooked at 41w3d, so I don't want to go past 42 weeks regardless.

I can't believe that my official due date is a week from today. Holy cow, that's soon! We got so much done this weekend, though, that I'm feeling far more ready for babe to arrive than I was on Friday. We finished building DD's new sandbox, and got it full of sand. (1500 lbs of sand. It was a lot to carry up the hill in the backyard, but she *loves* it!) DH replaced the bathroom fans, mowed the lawn, and is going to help me out with a few more things tonight. I got most of the house cleaned fairly well, caught up on the laundry, cooked and froze a couple more meals, and reorganized DD's toys so that they're no longer taking over the family room. There are still a thousand things I'd like to do, but only a handful that are truly important to me and none that will cause disaster if not completed.

And I'm a bit more at ease now that it's looking very unlikely that DD and her younger sibling wil share a birthday. I don't know why that idea was so distressing to me, but somehow I really felt that they should each have a birthday to themselves. Today is DD's birthday, so unless the kid shows up in the next seven hours, we should be all set on that count.

[wombatclay]

Happy birthday to your dd saratchka!

So...I only have one "dose" of EPO left. I do have an appointment tomorrow and I plan on getting checked (and having my membranes swept if my cervix is at all open) so I'll probably wait before buying more. I know the point of the EPO is to soften the cervix and if that's going well then I probably don't need more...I can stick with my RRL tea. But if my cervix is still cosed/tight I suppose I should get another bottle. I used to take EPO to smooth out my cycles anyway so I suppose it will get used eventually.

Today has been a wonderful day weather wise. The past few have been hot and humid and nasty and bouncing back and forth between sun and rain. but today has been in the upper 60s with a nice breeze and lovely sun. DD and I played on the back porch for hours and it's been a really nice, relaxing, holiday sort of day. And DH only had to stay in the lab for about 3 hours so that was great too!

I just finished addressing the envelopes for the birth announcements. And tomorrow (when things are open again) DH will be finishing off a few more of our pre-babe chores (picking up the car at the shop and installing the car seats, dropping off a few more bags of stuff at Salvo, possibly getting one of those Home Depot rental trucks to take the bags of yard waste to the recycling center/dump, etc). But really, the list is more or less bare.

Anyone else running into the ongoing nesting problem? Where you clean obsessively but then realize that things are getting dirty again (as is the way of the world) and suddenly you're cleaning all the time AND getting frustrated about it. Or is that just me?

[willoLevin]

Wore myself out running simple local errands this morning. A little nap with DS helped a lot with that.

I do think that I'm getting my body more "used to" the fact of an afternoon nap, because I'm not waking up cranky anymore, and it isn't preventing me going to sleep at bedtime. I hope I can manage to nap with this newborn, because I wasn't very good at that with DS.

My feet got swollen today while we were shopping. It started off VERY humid, showering, chances of thunderstorms (that never materialized), etc., then graduated to 83 F and sunny. I think my hands are fine, that it was all feet swelling, so I'm not too worried, but I do like it better when I'm fitting into my shoes! My weekly acupuncture appt is tomorrow, so we'll see then--those points actually HURT when she treated me for swelling a few weeks ago.

It's funny that, while I think of myself as quite a worrywort generally, going past-dates hasn't ever registered on my radar yet. It helps me (this time) to know I went a few days early last time, but I don't think I worried about it that time, either. Hmm...

I worry about this posterior baby. I worry that this one will get its cord wrapped around its neck like DS did. I worry about not being prepared for labor. I worry about "something" going wrong and needing a c-section. I just haven't worried about actually starting labor!

--willo

[Laurie73]

Hi...I don't typically post in this thread cause I always forget, so i hope it's okay to join now.

I'm also due June 3...and I am so hoping that he decides to come this week. But not on Thursday (so, I'm sure I jinked myself). SO has a major job interview that day and in the afternoon we have the house inspection on our soone-to-be-home. But any other day will work.

I too don't have any major symptoms going on, but the crampiness, nesting, etc is all there. I also feel so restless....get agitated easily too. I cannot stand this hot weather and am so glad this will be over before the true summer weather hits.

I am excited to see how we all do on this journey.

[brookibabe]

Well, yesterday was my EDD!!! I am still pregnant . I was kind of hoping that the baby would be here by now. I still don't think it is reality for me yet that I am going to have a newborn soon. Just doens't seem real. I would really love to have my body back to normal though. I was kind of looking around today at some shorts to buy after I have the baby, and I couldn't even bend over enough to see how the shorts might look on me. It was just too hard. I am completely, 100% ready to have this baby.

[wombatclay]

Baby movement...

Roro has been a super bounce ball today with wiggles all over the place. Anyone want to speculate on whether or not a wiggly babe is a "good" birth sign?

Sigh...I can't even watch my Law and Order marathon since DH has been playing Lego Star Wars for a few hours now. I suppose it's better than having a DH addicted to WarCrack or EverQuest or SecondLife but still! How long can you honestly watch legos run around the screen?

[momtokay]

well, my baby didn't cooperate and come during the long weekend. oh well. i'm sort of bummed as that gave me the longest time to have help between my mom and dh, but i guess we'll make do. hopefully the third will just slip into the family smoothly and i won't be overwhelmed to be alone with them all...

i can't believe it's almost june. i never even considered i might be pg when june 1st came around. both my other two were early and even though i had been told the third baby is the wild card i still figured she'd come around the same time as the first two...oh well. other than feeling "overdue" even though it's still way early and the fact that contractions keep me up most every night, all is good here.

[jbobys]

ok, i have been trying to post for DAYS now, but cant catch up! yall post too much!!
just finished reading last weeks thread WHEW!
havent read this weeks yet. but will after i post! i cant remember what ive told yall and what i havent, so here goes!

had an appt on thursday where we decided that i just dont have a due date instead~ im allowed to hatch any time after june 3rd. (dh and i say its june 20, u/s says july 2~ which would mean god and i got busy at least a week after the last time dh and i did the folks at the u/s place are convinced i had an affair )

of course all my excitement because i knew hed moved was actually bad news...he was breech, now hes transverse, or at least WAS on thurs. ive come to terms with breech...although neither of us are excited about it, we're both ok with a breech delivery. transverse, on the other hand, means a csection. : i honestly think his position will be determined in labor. : ill keep working on him, but he clearly has plenty of room.

im still stuck on r&r until june 2.....which was beautiful with my in laws here this weekend!! im so bored, though!

im feeling ok, just DONE and fairly cranky! im so freaking constipated its not even funny. think im buying an enema tomorrow. : ive pooped twice (barely) in the last 9 days, approximately...maybe more....so miserable! been taking my stool softners that got me through 2 other pregnancies, but it aint workin this time! the fact that i havent been walking much is the big problem, im sure. eating a bag of fritos right now...did that 2 weeks ago and EXPLODED sorry, tmi?

FINALLy ordered my birth kit and my pool!! trying to think positively that mr. trouble will be cooperative and come out the way i want!

my poor sweet dog, abby, looks like she might be on her last leg. shes been going down hill for awhile now, but she has fluid in her lungs again and its worse then ever! she coughs and/or wheezes like 19 hours of the day. she doesnt seem to miserable, remarably....but this is the dog that had her entire gut cut open to remove thread and was standing wagging her tail as soon as she woke up! (she got into my sewing stuff w/o my noticing...*found* the needle, fabric and some thread coming out her bum! this was like 7-8 years ago). anyhow, this has happened before and she recovers completely after like 2 weeks, but im worried this time...its real bad. not to mention what its doing to us...she sleeps in our room, thus no sleep around here!

saw there was a L&O marathon (actually a couple of them! ) and couldnt wait to get on here to see who was in labor!!! looking forward to playing catch up!!

ooooh, think the fritos might kick in!! YES!!!!

[wombatclay]

And when I woke up this morning...still pregnant! Ah well, another day another dollar, and this way I avoid the holiday c/s risk right?

Jbobys- I'm sorry about your canine friend...one of my MIL's just lost her cat of 18 years. It was time, but it was still hard. I hope all of you find peace and healing!

Turns out my appt isn't today, it's tomorrow. But then there's the festival parade on the 31st so even if Roro stays put that's something fun to look forward to!

[Jilian]

Is everyone still pregnant today? I certainly am!

Jboys: Sorry about your dog not being well. I hope your little one turns for you, have you seen the breech baby threads in the past? There were lots of good ideas on turning breech and transverse babies.

I'm trying to keep busy and make plans in advance so I don't focus too much on wanting to go into labor. I'm due in 6 days! My next MW appt is on Fri and I'm considering asking her for a rough VE to maybe stir things up. I'm right on the verge of labor and Friday is that full moon. I figure that around 40 weeks I'll start giving babe some gentle encouragement to come out. I'm positive of my conception and due date so I know he's almost had a full 40 weeks of baking. I'm serving him with his eviction notice soon!

I'm getting anxious about going too overdue. I don't know if I'd be comfortable going past 42 weeks, I've heard too many bad stories. I'm trying to have faith but the thought of 42 weeks frightens me.

[willoLevin]

Still preggo here, happily. I require a few more days, at least, and would prefer to go into labor on Sunday, June 10th, if God is taking "reservations", although the 16th or 17th would also be okay.

DS came on a Sunday, and there was no traffic to make the car ride any worse, thank God! Transition in the car? GRR! I don't recommend it. At least the drive from our house to Beverly (further north of the city) is shorter and less prone to traffic than last time (going INTO Boston), but there is still a cruddy time between about 8 am and 9:30 am on weekdays that I hope desperately to avoid. Plus, of course, DH would be in Boston at work, and he could have more than an hour to get home if I went into labor during rush hour! I hadn't thought to worry about that until JUST NOW!!! :

I'm really wondering how I will know when to go to the birth center (!) this time, though I "just knew" when to leave last time, in spite of my doula thinking (not saying, but I could tell) we were going too early. Because I really had only about 9 hours of labor with DS, and probably only 6 hours of "serious" ctx, the midwives want me there sooner rather than later... Hmm... I almost hope my water breaks first again, like last time, because that is so "obvious"!

I'm so happy today is my acupuncture day. I really credit her with making me feel much, much happier and healthier at this stage of this pregnancy (compared to the first time, though I had a "good" pregnancy then, too.) The chiropractic I had last time, too, and it really helps with aches and pains, but the acupuncture helps more with my emotions and hormones, I can tell.

Another reason I want to have this baby a couple of weeks early? My acupuncturist is on vacation the week leading up to my due date! I've made an appointment for the evening that she is first back, because then we would work on "coaxing" the little one out, but I hope I have the baby before she goes. I really want her to be in town, because, if I have low milk supply issues like I did with DS, I trust that she can help me with them. She's even agreed to a house call during my "lying in" week--but she needs to be in town!

How dare care providers have lives, huh? Shouldn't their schedules revolve around our needs? Sheesh! :


--willo

[wombatclay]

Jilian- I hope it doesn't come to it, but 42 weeks isn't really scary once you're there. You're too tired to care about the calendar! My care provider started scheduling NST for me after 42 weeks, but I actually went into labor on my own at 42 weeks 3 days, the day before my first NST.

Willo- I'll keep my fingers crossed for a traffic free birthing day (or time). I half hope my water breaks before birth again since it's such a handy "here we go" sign! And the other half hopes it doesn't break till I push so that dd has as much help as possible moving about into a good position.

Oh! My friend (who was due May 14th) had her second baby on the 27th! (her first babe is 6 months older than mine) It was a home birth with 2 hours 45 minutes of labor, and little Ronan Arbor was 8 pounds even and 21.5 inches long. I haven't seen them in person yet, but the pictures are adorable. He's such a squishy cute babe, and I can't wait to introduce him to Rowan. Though a Rowan and a Ronan? Names could get tricky!

Here's hoping the full moon oomph on the first (combined with any membrane sweeping that may be done this week) is enough to get us "early June" mamas going again!