Weekly Thread July 23 - Page 5

[artgirl]

cleaner than dh's sweaty penis, which is in there often enough.

TMI!! TMI!!

[josybear]

my mw has never, ever checked me. she said even in labour she'll keep it to the bare minimum. but i check myself at least once a day. it means nothing at all, but i like knowing. plus it might trigger labour...

[mamamoo]

maybe that is ther real reason I don't want any checks, I am still in denial, and want to keep labor from happening.

[MysteryMama]

Originally Posted by artgirl

TMI!! TMI!!

[kissykoko]

This is the first pg I have been checked. I almost declined because I don't want anything to trigger labor. I am 1cm,thick and the baby's head is pretty high still. I found the VE pretty uncomfortable and I was kinda sore the rest of the day. I am going to decline the dialation check next week. I am a little afraid to rock the boat with my ob because earlier in my pg I told her I found a midwife and I was having my 2nd homebirth and she said"well then you are firing me right?" We cannot pay out of pocket for a back up doc and she is "free" through my hmo. Oh well ,sunday is a full moon ,right? Maybe baby will want to come then.

[Alohamelly]

My MW gave me the option of being checked and I was curious. I will probably keep being checked because I am just one of those people who have to know. Then I will drive myself crazy with the knowledge.

[danotoyou2]

I've had two VE's this pregnancy (I also declined a pap). One because I'd been having contractions, and wanted to make sure that after the ctx stopped, the cervix went back to 'normal.' It was 70% effaced, but still closed. The second time was when my MW was trying EVERYTHING to figure out if the hard lump in my pelvis was a butt or a head. So, she thought if she felt vaginally she might be able to tell... she couldn't (I had an ultrasound, and found out that it's a head!).

Otherwise, I plan on not having any VEs until I'm in labor. And then, I'd like to keep them few and far between... but knowing my need to KNOW, I'll probably ask a lot.

FWIW, I also check myself. So I know that I'm still soft, partially effaced and maybe less than a finger tip dilated. I check every few days, after carefully scrubbing and washing my hands... it makes me feel like a surgeon in a medical TV show. :

[Jster]

Just a thought for those who've had painful vaginal exams...probably your practitioner "stripped your membranes" by trying to separate the cervix from the edge of the membranes, or maybe saw whether you are a "stretchy" 1cm. I had that happen with my first pregnancy, after I'd explicitly told the doctor I didn't want it! It was a miserable experience, caused a lot of bleeding and cramping, and : I left his care despite the fact that I was 39 weeks+. Since he said he wanted to induce me in the hospital on my due date since I wasn't "progressing" enough (before labor had started or should even start, mind you, and a first time mom!), rather than attending my homebirth (this was in the Chicago area where a few family docs attend homebirths), I knew it was a bad sign of things to come. Now I'm in the "no exams" camp...mostly because, after two kids, I know that I don't really dilate before labor anyway, and also because it really doesn't mean as much as it seems. But as long as people are making informed decisions, then to each her own!

Oh, one more thought about exams...make sure they use STERILE gloves when they do it, individually wrapped gloves. If they just use exam gloves, who knows what might have happened to them getting in the box, falling out and being put back in, whatever! Regular exam gloves are marked "non-sterile" and are only for the protection of the practitioner, to keep him/her from being contaminated by you, but really you are the one at risk of infection, so sterlile gloves!

As for my preparations, I'm finally getting everything together for the birth, but oooohhhh I get soooo tired! Anyone else have a horrible backache by the end of the day? And sleeping on my sides is making my circulation all goofy...can't wait to sleep on my tummy or back again! I'm tired of waking up with sleeping limbs!

[Lady Lilya]

MW just left.

My weight jumped up, my BP is high for me, and my swelling is more than usual. Protein in urine checked out fine, though.

She told me to
* reduce salt intake
* increase protein intake
* take lukewarm baths daily
* rest more on my left side with my legs up
* eat foods that are a natural diuretic

She specifically thought I should have fresh juices from a juice bar, and said that cucumber and lemon are diuretics. I have a juice machine. I posted in the nutrition sub-forum for recipes. In the mean time, my father is going to drive over here with his BP machine and bring me a juice from his local juice bar that has carrot and apple and cucumber. He is also going to bring me a bunch of cucumbers and apples from the supermarket (I have a ton of carrots in the house). Hopefully I will get some other ideas of what to juice before he comes this afternoon, and I can add to the list.

Today I was planning to give a super-mopping to the floors. They seriously need it, and I wanted them clean for labor because I am pretty sure I will spend some time on them. Now I am debating if I should just forget it.

I am going to go now and dig out some steaks in the freezer, thaw them, then cook them to have as a quick and easy high-protein snack. Maybe I will have a can of bean soup for a snack now (it has little salt).

[josybear]

isn't it nice when docs & mws give practical solutions to problems instead of saying 'hmmm, this is bad. we should induce.' or whatever? rest, baths, and changing your diet are all easily workable solutions, much better than being given pills or something like that. i'm always grateful when medical types give me solutions instead of meds and interventions. it saves me having to ignore them and go find my own solutions.

[SeekingJoy]

I just left my OB's office and feel so frustrated. I turned down a VE at my last three visits (36w, 37w, 38w) with no problems, but caught a lot of flack from my favorite nurse this time. When I asked why have a VE since I explained I really didn't want to know how dialated (or not) I was, her response was "Because he/OB always does after 38w." What kind of BS is that? "Because I said so?" Are we in kindergarten?

When I asked the OB about what it would tell him -- trying to be open to the idea that there may be some additional reason that I wasn't aware of -- I was given some nonsense about it making a difference with when I should come to the hospital and to verify that she is head down.

This is my second pg. I have been having contractions off and on for weeks. Does it matter whether I am dialated and effaced? Nope. I will come to the hospital when I feel like it. I wanted to add -- "if at all!." (Sorry, that is petty of me. I know. But I have already told him at least a half dozen times that I plan on laboring at home until the last possible second - just like last time.)

As far as anatomy, for weeks I have been telling OB baby is head down, anterior, with her back to my left side, and with her hand up by her face. Each time the OB has agreed, yup baby is head down. (He doesn't seem to care whether she is OP, even though having been through back labor with DS, I care.)

All of a sudden it is "necessary" to do an immediate ultrasound to make sure she isn't breech.

What!?! I have no extra fat on my tummy. You can feel and see where all of baby's limbs are. Even down to the hand that I TOLD him was jammed up by her face.

I consented to the darn ultrasound. It was good to confirm that she has sufficient fluid still and placenta is high. But I still walked out of the office and just cried. Why am I a "bad patient" for asking questions? Why give me so much grief for something so meaningless? :

[mamamoo]

mama. I hate that they can not trust their patients. It sucks! ANd for the record. I have lots of fat on my tummy and my mw the last two times could always tell my baby was head down. Now the mws at the clinic here...that's another story. I think that medical people just rely too heavily on technology, and are out of practice with the real medicine.

[Cujobunny]

Originally Posted by Lady Lilya

In the mean time, my father is going to drive over here with his BP machine and bring me a juice from his local juice bar that has carrot and apple and cucumber. He is also going to bring me a bunch of cucumbers and apples from the supermarket (I have a ton of carrots in the house).

Mmmmmm fresh juice........

[lyttlewon]

Originally Posted by Alohamelly

My MW gave me the option of being checked and I was curious. I will probably keep being checked because I am just one of those people who have to know. Then I will drive myself crazy with the knowledge.

My biggest concern with VE is my OB tried to strip my membranes without my consent with DD. Thank god I carry so high and she couldn't reach. She wasn't even going to warn me first :

[lyttlewon]

Ah Sarahjoy that sucks! :

[QueenOfThePride]

I feel like cr@p today. My skin is so sensitive, every time DS touches me, I yell at him. The seat belt in the car pinched my nipple and I about screamed. While I was driving, a motorcycle revved it's engine really loud right next to me and I about jumped out of my skin and slammed on the brakes.

Oh Lord, I'm going to go lock myself in a closet. :

Also today every time I stand up, or sit down, or pee, or bend over I have a strong BH contraction.

[sagira]

sweaty penis..

Moving on..

Lady Lilya wrote:

I never get sick, but when DH does he has a method that makes it go away amazingly fast. He drinks a cup of black tea with a spoon full of raspberry jam, as hot as he can drink it. He bundles up and sweats for a while, then he rinses off the sweat in a shower and goes to sleep. I would say he seems about 75% better the next morning.

Thanks, Lady Lilya, for the advice. I will tell dh! He's willing to try anything right now to feel better than he's been feeling

I'm the type of person who has to know everything. If I could find out on the Internet how dilated I am and how my cervix was, I would

I feel fine. A bit bored and a bit more tired (lazy?) than usual, but so far so good. Tomorrow I'm 39 weeks and I'm excited. I have 39 stuck in my head for a long time now, so let's see..

I'm holding an informal bet on when my due date and baby's weight are going to be, and dh's day he picked is today -- he tells me "let's have sex so I win!" I tell him either way he'll win anyway

[PiePie]

eri: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/27/ar....html?ref=arts the pool i went to on wednesday is marcus garvey (in my 'hood).

[jandj+1]

Yay, found out today my GBS test was negative! YAY!

[sagira]

That is always a relief, jandj+1

Lady Lilya, if I were you I would relax and do all those things. Keep your feet elevated. Good excuse NOT to do any housework

Man, QueenofthePride -- I felt a little bit like that during my 5th month or so, but not that extreme. Even then I felt like surrounding myself like Bubble Boy : I really hope you feel better, friend

SeekingJoy, I'm sorry about your experience. Unfortunately many people don't think we have a right to our bodies