Can we do a "getting to know you" thread?

[melissel]

There are already a bunch of us here. I say we jump right in, LOL! And anyway, I fell asleep putting Bella to bed and now I'm up late and bored. I'll start...

I did kind of an intro in my Me too! post, but I'm Melissa (30), DH is Dennis, DD is Isabella, DDog is Toby. I sort of WOH, in that I work full-time (business research editor) but I work from home all but 1 day a month. My mom comes once a week to take care of Bell, and she's in "school" about 12 hours a week (I'm kind of regretting that decision, but boy does she love going, blech). But I get to kind of be a SAHM to an extent too, which isn't exactly what I want, but the bills get paid and I get to spend more time with my DD than most working moms do.

We live in NJ, my job is in NYC. We AP, Bella is still nursing, we co-slept until a few months ago and CDed until Bella started rejecting them around 18 months. I'm a voracious reader, but lately I can't get seem to get into anything except parenting/homeschooling type stuff, so if anyone has suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them!

Bella's birth was totally medicalized--I was induced at 10 days overdue due to poor NSTs, had an epidural because I was terrified of "Pit hell" and because the nurse kept telling me I should call the anesthesiologist soon before my ctxs got too bad, so finally I did. I really liked the OB and nurses, but they were not natural birth-friendly at all. This time we have the most amazing midwife, I am SO looking forward to working with her. I am toying with the idea of a home birth, but don't think DH would go for it, and anyway I am still pretty chicken. We'll see how that turns out.

I'm looking forward to hearing the rest of your stories, if anyone is inclined to share.

Melissa

[SimplyMama]

Hi, I'm Kristina & you can see my minions in my sig. We're still kind of new to Maryland, and live out in the semi-rural countryside. I'm turning 30 on Friday (!), and am a SAHM. DH is an airline pilot, and has been flying a *lot*, so I'm running the circus on my own about 4 days a week. He's super helpful when he's home though, and we're lucky to have moved to a cul-de-sac with very nice neighbors and lots of small children. We just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary, and are very excited about #4. (We found out on Christmas Eve day, which was nice.)

My firstborn Katherine is turning 9 this Feb, and mentally resides in Pony-Fairyland. You can find her by following her trail of socks, books, and other assorted items. She's dramatic, and a *huge* animal lover.

She was induced and I labored with pitocin & an epi because 1.) DH was working on the other side of the country after his commuter airline went under, and could only get 4 days off, and 2.) I didn't know any better. I was pretty fortunate to have a wonderful nurse who dimmed the lights, gave me a squat bar & mirror, and totally trusted that would deliver vaginally. I did, after much waiting, and was running around as soon as the epi wore off. I really assumed that this is what hospital birth was like, all of the time.

Next came Stephen, my scientist. He loves to measure, all things to do with numbers, and plays a mean game of checkers. He's also a great artist, and loves to help in the kitchen.

His birth was tough. My parents and DH took vacation days when he was *supposed* to be due, but the days dragged on. My mother actually sat on my couch glaring at me because I wasn't in labor yet. I was miserable, and finally consented to an induction. At a teaching hospital. My arms were bruised from the first nurse not getting a vein, another one couldn't find my cervix, and the third one cranked the pit up every time I turned my head. Not suprisingly, soon after I got my epi, all hell broke loose.

I 'crashed', someone jabbed a needle in my arm, and I was raced down the halls (past my Mom, who just got off of the elevator) and into the operating room. The meds made me itch and shake, and I was vomiting. I was pretty sure that I was going to die. However, I soon noticed that everyone was pretty cheerful at the business end of the table, gossiping & cracking jokes. Stephen was cut from the womb, and tried to crawl back in. He screamed fiercely, and was just fine. I was asked if the med students could keep my placenta. I gathered that I was *not* meeting my maker that day after all, and started to get pretty p*ssed.

DH got permission to bring Stephen to the recovery room, where he got to nurse. I roomed in with my little guy, and followed him everywhere. He slept in my bed, and we left as soon as we could. At home though, I got an incisional infection. My OBGYN refused to meet with me, and I only got to see his partners. I worked through PTSD, and resolved to never, ever, let something like that happen to me again.

Thomas is number three, and does *everything* Stephen and Katherine do. He's a happy little guy, and loves to help. We delivered at a freestanding birthing center with no interventions. He was posterior, but after a *lot* of work he was birthed with nary a skidmark. There isn't a lot to tell, other than it was great, painful at times, and I felt in control. I'd do it again in a second! DH was *amazed* at the difference in experience. We all slept in the big cast iron bed for a few hours, and went home 4 hours later. Though the pushing was hard, the whole feeling *after* the birth was bliss.

Our fourth little bean will hopefully be another great VBAC, though it will probably be a fight to get one. This mama, however, is motivated! ;)

[~Megan~]

I'm Megan and I'm boring! Really I am!
I'm married, will be 5 years right before the baby is born, to Shawn. I have a 2.5 year old. She hangs with me all day.
I was baby sitting a friend's son 4 days a week 7 hours a day but last week was my last week (thank goodness, I was getting so tired!).
So we are out the money but I can sleep in now!

I like to read (haven't done much lately) and knit. I'm a horrible housekeeper and totally unorganized.

We are having a HBAC with a great mw friend of mine. Dd was breech and my incompetent doctor scared me into a c-section without giving me other turning options, etc I wasn't educated about birth and at first thought a c-section was my way out of a labor that I thought would be horrible. The c-section wasn't at all what I wanted I found out. It was a much more serious surgery and affected my daughter in many ways.
She was taken at 36.5 weeks, before I was in labor, but I had dilated to 6 and 80%. She wasn't ready though and had breathing problems. She was suctioned so viciously that she had eating problems until she was nearly two, she didn't eat solids until 21 months on a regular basis.

For this baby we ttced over a year. We didn't tell anyone until I had a loss in September, a very early one but I was still upset. The consensus is pretty much "finally!" by all of our family. This will be the second and third grandchild on each side.

[AllyRae]

I'm Ally (24) and dh is Dave (26)...our anniversary is tomorrow. We have one little guy, Brandon, who is 13 months old. We are due with our 2nd on September 7th...

With Bran, I had hyperemesis, and then was on bedrest for 6 weeks due to PIH. Because of PIH and severe edema, I was induced, and ended up with 53 hours of labor, and 3 1/2 hours of pushing (ending with a vacuum extraction). Completely traumatized me and scared the crap out of me. In addition, the hospital was stupid and gave Bran the hep B vax, sugar water, and a pacifier against my wishes, and the later two completely ruined breastfeeding.

So, this time, I'm determined to reverse the cycle. I'm meeting with a midwife today, and will be hiring a monitrice. Homebirth is probably not an option (due to being high risk last time, and having SVT), but I would like someone who will help me have a natural birth. I really need a good birth experience to restore my faith in birth, and my own body...

[sweetred]

Hi---

I'm Sara (32) and my dh is Dave. I'm due Sept. 7 (even though my ob said Sept. 1) with my 2nd. My son, Leo, is 22 months old. He was born 4 weeks early, so I am a little scared of another early baby. I know he wasn't "that early" but it would be so much easier to have a baby that is bigger and doesn't have bfing problems. I am in the process if deciding to go with a different ob or a midwife. I want really good care, someone that will listen to me and not just say, "Oh, that's normal," and disregard my instincts. Anyway, enough of that. I am am SAHM and love it. We moved to Rochester 2 years ago and I've made a lot of friends, but still don't feel like we have many close friends. We don't have any family here, which is hard sometimes. I do some freelance photography and my husband is an engineer. That is about it for me. I hope to get to know all of you other Sept. moms more in the months to come!

[mom2threenurslings]

I'm Amanda (turned 30 on Dec 30th!), married to my amazing dh Jim (turned 30 on Jan 2 and is the son of a LLL Leader!) for almost 9 years (anniversary is Jan 13). I'm a church secretary, working 9 hours a week and plan to quit when baby is born! Yipee! (Work is a 40 minute drive one way, three days a week, for me and not worth it anymore...I used to be able to make my own schedule and work at home a lot more!).

I am Mama to:

AJ ... my angel baby whom I lost due to abuse when I was 15. His father died of leukemia a few week prior to my losing him.

Angel, a natural (complete) miscarriage on March 1, 1998.

Alexander, conceived 3 weeks after the miscarriage, was born in a hospital 9 days "late" after a horrible induction, epidural, episiotomy (I didn't know any better at the time...ugh!) ... blue and lifeless weighing 7 lbs 2 oz. After being resuccitated (sp?) and spending 3 hours under observation in Special Care, I finally got to hold him and nurse him. We had some nursing difficulties at first, but got lots of support and had a very successful nursing relationship.

Zachary was conceived when Alex was 9 months old. Alex nursed through his pregnancy and Zack was born 8 days "late", completely naturally at a medical center (OB attended) after 3 days of labor. He weighed 9.5 lbs. He and his brother started their tandem nursing relationship a few minutes after he was born.

Haley was conceived when Zachary was 15 months old. Alex and Zack tandem nursed through her pregnancy. She was born on her due date, completely naturally in the water at a birth center (midwife attended), weighing 8 lbs 4 oz. She and her brothers triandem nursed for over 18 months until Alex naturally self-weaned on his fifth birthday.

I'm currently tandem nursing through pregnancy (again!). My kids are now 6 yrs., 4.5 yrs. and 2.5 years old. I plan to have a midwife attended homebirth this time around and am SO excited!

All I wanted for my 30th birthday was to be pregnant...and I got my birthday wish!!! :love

[cj'smommy]

Hi :wave I'm Amy, married to Jim. We're both in our early 30's (ok, more like mid but I'm trying to stretch the early part! :LOL) and we have a 23 month old son Connor. He's like his daddy and loves cars and anything with wheels. He's quite a character and really keeps me on my toes! I'm a SAHM and am loving it. Jim is a Controls Engineer. Jim and I have been married just over 3 years. Oh, I can't forget my fur baby Rufus, him and C are great pals. We live in a suburb of Chicago.

Connor was 9 lbs. 2 oz and I had a hospital birth. From start to finish it was about 12 hrs. with almost 3 hours of pushing. I wouldn't say my experience was a bad one but it wasn't all that positive. I tore on top of my episiotomy really bad, as bad as you can get. It wasn't a pleasant experience. Since I tore like I did, I needed an epidural so he could sew me back up because I could feel him stitching me. He couldn't get to where he needed to with an injection to numb the area so an epidural was the only other choice. It was a nightmare, they couldn't find the anesthesia doc, then I started to hemorrhage, etc. I'm terrified that the same thing will happen again. I really hope it's a positive experience this time. I also had some bleeding problems when I was pg with Connor and that was scary. I'm praying that doesn't happen with this pg.

AllyRae - I hope you have a good experience this time too. :Hug

[tsfairy]

Hi there!

I'm Heidi (29 next month), and my DH Michael is 30. We've been married for 2 years next month. I'm a Systems Analyst and DH works for one of the local school districts. We're both total bookworms and computer geeks.

This is our first child. I'm one of 6 kids and except for one bachelor brother, I'm the only one who hasn't had any babies yet. My family's reaction was "it's about time!" We were trying for about 9 months, but didn't really tell anyone so I think everyone had decided we were just never going to have kids. Our baby will be the 15th grandchild on my side, but the first on DH's side.

I'm due in early September. (The doctor's nifty "wheel of pregnancy" says 9/4, but I'm sort of counting on probably a week later because my family tends to be slow cookers.) We're planning a homebirth. We've met with 3 different midwives so far, and I think we're going to pick the one closest to us. I do have some reservations but she seems to share our birth philosophy (no interventions, very hands-off, etc.) and is very nice. Plus she is going to work with us to get the HB covered under my insurance. :thumb

I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone in the coming months.

[hollyhobbie]

hey,
my name is hayley and my dh is mark. we have been married since my dtr cassia (23 months) was 6 months old!! so not that long. i am 39!! and dh is 35. i am a social worker but i havent worked since boo was born. well, not outside the home anyways. i live in victoria, bc on the west coast of canada. i am a proud canadian!! my dh works with computers. i am learning to knit and i love to read. i just saw a DVD about frida kahlo on the weekend and it was very interesting and inspired me to get some books out about her from the library.

i have had two previous losses this year. it is very hard. i have done tons of research and made some changes including weaning cassia. i was ready to do that anyway. i am feeling like my progesterone is better and that maybe this one will make it.

i have an amazing, wonderful, warm midwife who is truly a gift!! the whole group is so supportive. i had cassia at home with no intervention and it was an amazing experience. i was so relaxed b/c i was in my own bed etc that by the time angela checked me the first time, i was 10 cm and ready to go! it all happened very fast and i am a bit worried about how fast this one will go!!

welcome everyone!! say a prayer for me if you can or send good vibes my way. feel free to ask the same of me. i am asking as many ppl as i can b/c i somehow feel that if i get enuf ppl praying maybe it will help!

[Mommay]

Hi everyone. I'm Laureen, 32, dh is Larry, 34 and ds is Kyle, 18 months old. I was working on my dissertation when I got pregnant with Kyle, and still want to work on it, though it has essentially come to a halt. But I love being a mom and am thrilled to be able to have another one.

I had a pretty bad birth experience with Kyle, and hope to have a better one this time around. I'm still wondering what I should do. Homebirth? Hospital? I want to do a homebirth, but am probably brain-washed about having to be in a hospital. I've heard of a great hospital, but now I have to find a midwife who delivers there. But maybe I will go with homebirth. I'm driving myself crazy, but I'm doing the research now, and that'll make me feel better.

[AllyRae]

Hi Laureen! I had that same dilemma...all I know is I didn't want to go through the same hospital junk as the last time. But after a lot of thinking, with my high risk pregnancy last time, and my SVT, it's probably better to be around medical care. What I did do was find a GREAT midwife who is totally against unnecessary medicine of any time. She even said because I had a 3rd degree tear (before I ended up having an episiotomy for the vaccum), she won't do an epis...most doctors probably would, but she said that it would probably end up causing me to tear even worse because the area is weak.

So anyway....if you want to do the hospital or birth center, at least find someone who will listen to you and work with you to have a great birth experience!

[melissel]

Wow, what a great response, I hope we keep adding to this as new mamas arrive! I love finding out about everyone.

You know, I wasn't overly thrilled with my first birth experience, but I can see that I got off pretty easy. I so hope that everyone has an amazing experience this time around.

Melissa

[lrmama]

Hi, everybody! I'm Shannon (almost 31), married for three years in March to my dh (31). I'm a SAHM to two wonderful girls. There's a pretty big age discrepancy betwwen the first two. I had my oldest dd when I was 16. I was overdue, went through an induction and a huge episiotomy, which "required" spinal anesthetic, according to my doctor. My dd was perfectly healthy, though, and weighed 9.5 pounds.

My second dd is now 18 months, and still nursing around the clock. I'm a little concerned that my supply is drying up, though. She actually woke up and asked for water last night, which makes me think she wasn't getting much milk. Her birth was also in a hospital setting, but I managed to avoid drugs.

I'm hoping for a homebirth this time, but my dh is very leery. I've got a little while to convince him, so hopefully, it'll work out!

[Palmetto210]

Greetings all!

My name is Kate (27.5) and my husband (35) and I celebrated our 4th anniversary on Thanksgiving. We are still blissfully in love, and thrilled, absolutely thrilled to be expecting baby #1 somewhere around Labor Day. We have always used NFP, and though I have not yet been to see a doctor, once my temps stayed elevated, I knew we were pregnant. We have been actively ttc for 4 months and I have been taking prenatals since last February. Before ttc, I got a healthy check up with my family doctor. I later discovered that she has written several medical texts on childbirth. Yeah! She seems 100% supportive of my intention to birth naturally. We are planning on using the Bradley Method of natural childbirth. Has anyone here tried it? In the mean time, I am devouring every book I can find, planning healthy meals, and snacking on fruit and organic yogurt whenever I get hungry.

Some think I am an overachiever, but mostly, I just have too much energy to sit still. There is always something new to learn or some adventure to try. I am currently finishing up my MBA and will graduate in May. DH is finishing up a fellowship in geratrics. His training was in family medicine, which is great since I am pretty inquisitive and would probably drive him crazy if he wasn't interested in this stuff. He was actually interested when I told him I noticed little white spots on my nipples at about 2 weeks pregnant. He said he had heard some women got these but it wasn't someting he had been able to "see firsthand" in medical school!

We are both tried and true Southerners, though sadly, I have lost my accent due to frequent moves as a child and several stints of living overseas. I was living abroad most recently from Feb - Aug while I worked on some graduate studies in Vienna, Austria. Ahh, it was great. My flat looked right over the Hapsburg palace and I felt like the city was my personal oyster! DH was incredible to support my adventure; while I was off exploring the towns of Poland and Hungary on the weekends, he remained back home working hard.

I am avid reader, enjoy vegetable gardening (though grad school has currently got my energy),love to dance, to learn new languages, and to develop new recipes. I try to read several newspapers a day to provide a fuller perspective. I am fascinated by current events and I also like antiquing.

I, too, am looking forward to getting to know y'all better over the next months.

Palmetto

[Mommay]

Thanks for the advice Allyrae. I think that's what I'm going to do. I may have to go far, but I am confident I'll find the right midwives. Sorry to hear about your troubles. I hope it's better this time around.

[wenat]

I've put some info into my other email, but here's a quick bio ...

I'm Gladys, 37, married to DH for 5 years now. We had DS 18.5 months ago, and this is pregnancy #2 for us. I've been nursing until now, and hope to nurse through this pregnancy. I'm so glad to see so many other pg nursers and hope to get advice from you on how to keep the supply up. Part of me is feeling guilty that DS is getting deprived of his milk, but at 37, I'll take the chance at pregnancy just in case it doesn't happen again.

I'm NOT looking forward to being 7-9 mos pg in the summer heat, but again, being pg is better than not being pg at all, so I'll try not to whine too much about it. I'm definitely starting a low-salt diet now, however. With my first pregnancy, I put on a TON of water weight and could only wear sandals from March until I delivered in June, so hopefully I'll be able to avoid that this time.

We live in a suburb of Vancouver, Canada, and I commute about 45 minutes to work in downtown Vancouver. I knit (mostly entrelac baby blankets these days) and most of the time I think of myself as a nerd, though the days of playing computer games for hours at a time are long gone now -- the 18 mo doesn't let me do anything without him!

Like I said in my other email, DS was an emergency c-section, and this one will probably be a planned c-section because my cervix is small and XL heads run in our family. I had 2 months of BH contractions and then 3 weeks of double-up-in-agony contractions last time, and I don't know that I can endure that again, especially with a 2yo running around the house this time.

[mtnsunshinemama]

Hi there! I just had my first appt with the midwife and she pushed my due date back to Sept.2 so I thought I'd say hello to you ladies in September!

I'm Tracy, 35 and a practicing acupuncturist, this is my first baby and I'm so excited and my DH is too! He's 40, a professor and we were just married in Sept '04, luckily it didn't take us long to conceive. Our midwife is our dear friend, who also performed our wedding ceremony. We are both absorbing all the info we can and read Ina May's Birth Stories to each other every night.
Looking forward to hanging out online with you all!! :love

[lillian]

hey everybody. i am lillian, almost 36, and this will be my second babe - i have a 14 month old boy. i am home with him here in rural wisconsin. i am due sept 4.

[phathui5]

Hi there. My name Liz. I'm 20 and my dh, Tym, is about to turn 25. We have two kids, Patrick is four and Delilah is 16 months. I got my positive HPtest this morning! The due date calculator on quiverfull.com says I'm due September 9th. I just put in a call to the midwife who delivered Delilah to see what insurance she takes.

Dh works at a cell phone store here in Baltimore and I'm a part-time breastfeeding counselor at WIC. Dd goes to work with me and ds is either with dh or the great-grandparents when I'm at work. I like how it's worked out. When I have the new baby, he/she will go to work with me and both of the older kids will be with family.

When the baby's born, dd will have turned two and ds will almost be five. I like how they seem to be spacing out.

[canadiangranola]

Hi all,
My name is Anno and I am so excited to be joining this thread...at home right now we have me (30, sahm) to spunky, laugh making Elijah who is 18 months, dh (28) who is a registered nurse who hates his job and is at the same time a full time student studying to be a lutheran pastor (we are year 1 of a 5 year track.) We live in a teeny tiny 730 sq foot house in saskatoon, saskatchewan, and love the cottage like feel of the place...I think it might feel even a bit smaller after number 2 comes along, but we would so much rather be in our own tiny house than in someone else's rental property.

We also have a siamese fighting fish (the only pet we could responsibly own at this time), although sometime down the road (like in 8 years) we will get a wonderful dog.

I am an avid reader, an aspiring knitter, and have a degree in international development studies, as well as an almost degree in elementary education (lacking only my final 10 week practicum as I got pregnant with ds just before finishing and was unable to complete due to a very messed up back. I had back surgery this June, when ds was 1, and although the 6 week recovery No lifting time was excruciatingly difficult, I've gone from having to use a wheelchair to grocery shop and not being able to stand for longer than five minutes due to extremem pain to being able to walk freely and stand for hours at a time. It's been quite a life giving thing for me, as i was very depressed and isolated trying to raise a baby i couldn't lift or carry, and has given me a whole new perspective on the things we take for granted (walking, being pain free most of the time) etc. I'm expecting this pregnancy to be a completely different experience from the last one, simply because i can move and walk now...not to mention labor being very different.

Anyway, enough for now, I look forward to walking the road ahead with all of you, gaining expertise from those who have had more than one child, and new insight from all.

Peace as you begin your pregnancies,
anno

[excitedtobeamom]

Hello! I am a SAHM (26) to my DD, Aiden, who is 15 months old. My due date is Sept. 2nd but we have an ultrasound next week to confirm the date. We are still nursing and hoping to do so through out this pregnancy. My c-section will probably be scheduled in August but I thought I would post here since my due date is Sept. I had a schedule c-section due to a complicated breech baby. My DD was in the NICU for a week with many complications that included a blood platelet problem that is the reason why I must only have c-sections. I am hoping that a genticist can rule it out so I can have a vaginal birth this time but I am not counting on it. We were planning a homebirth with my DD until 37 weeks when it was decided she was stuck and breech and boy was she (short, flimsy cord...I could do on and on). At least I learned from my birth experience to trust my instincts (I kept having dreams that she was stuck with the cord and they were scarely right). We actually almost lost her. I still mourn a bit for a HB but I know it is for the best. Anyways, I don't look forward to being pregnant in 115 degrees this summer but that is what I get for living in Arizona. My DH (28) is a computer programmer and we can't be happier about this baby! Nice meeting you all!

[wenat]

I'm with you there on the scary cord situation. During my emergency c-sec, they discovered that DS's cord was wrapped 3-4 times around his neck.

I'm finding that being pregnant doesn't come with quite the same world of fear this time around, thank goodness, but the fears are all still there, just not quite as scary now that I've faced some of them. (That, and I've loaned out my What to Expect book to another pregnant friend, and I'm not going to tell anyone I'm pg until March, so I won't be getting it back until then. But in my recollection, that book added a whole lot of fear to the picture.)

One of the best pieces of advice I got with my first baby was the classic "healthy baby, healthy mother." And if it means having a c-sec to get there, then that's what I'll do. The only thing I'm going to insist on this time is that I want to try nursing from the start, post-op "shivers" and all.

[j7muse]

I'm Jessica (26), my husband is Matt (30) and this is our first baby. We were married in September and the baby is due on our one year wedding anniversary, September 5! :)

[hoppytoad]

I'm Karen and my DH is Jon. I haven't posted on MDC for a long, long time.

I'm a mama to:

Chloe (9)
Harrison (6)
Carter (6)
Emma (2)

and two dogs, a cat, 18 hens and two roosters (one was supposed to be a hen!)

Chloe and Harrison are my children through marriage, so I don't have a birth story to tell about them. Carter was my c-section baby, delivered (more like removed) after almost three days of a Pitocin induction. Long story short, I was in a car accident, went to the hospital for observation, OB said I had a partial placental abruption, and they wanted to induce. I was 17, went through hell (with two doses of IV pain med, not epidural) and still had the c-sec. The midwives I've talked to since have said I probably didn't have the abruption afterall, because the first sign is hemorraghing and I didn't have any bleeding. The nurses were pushing meds on me even though I begged to go natural. It was awful.

Emma was my VBAC. I gave birth to Emma on the floor of my amish midwife's check-up room that is attached to her house. The midwife does checkups one day a week, and since I had Emma on a weekend, I had the room all to myself and my support people. My mom, sister, and doula were there with me. There is also an addition built onto the back of her house for birthing mothers. She doesn't travel, only does homebirths in her own home. :)

Anyway, that was a healing experience for me. I was a single mama at the time, and Emma's birth really empowered me.

Now I'm married and DH and I are expecting our fifth (and first together). We are really, really excited that it happened so soon (we were only trying for a few months!). Thank you Toni Weschler!

I want a homebirth this time, so I'm going to find a different midwife. It makes me kind of sad because I love, love, love my other one, but I'm staying home this time!

Thanks for letting me share. I'll be around from time to time. I do a lot of reading and not much posting, but I'll try to be better about that. :)

[Galatea]

I am Lilli (actually I am Lillian too but never use my full name). Dh and I are 26. He is in college full time to finish his BA. I had been in law school, hated it, then was a teacher, hated it too.

We had our 1st child, Maddox, last March. He is still bfing but really loves to eat whatever we are eating, so I am hopeful that if my milk dries up, he will not have too bad a transition. We were seeing a group of midwives with his pregnancy and ended up being induced. We went for an ultrasound and the ob said my fluid was too low and so he was induced. It actually went really well. I was stuck at 3 cm all day and the midwives were cool and let me go at my own pace. Finally I got an epidural and they broke my water and 4 hours later he was born! My only goal with that birth was to deliver vaginally with out an episiotomy, and I achieved that. This time my goal is to be completely unmedicated. The epidural was a pain in the ass b/c I couldn't feel my contrax when I was trying to push.

We are going to use the same midwives this time, but hopefully do it at their freestanding birth center and not the hospital. We talked about a homebirth, but dh is too nervous. Also, there is really only 1 HB midwife in the whole area and they are really giving her a hard time, so she has become very cautious about hospital transfers.

I just got my BFP today so am hopeful it is sticky!

[marieangela]

Hello all. I'm Marie (29) and my dh Derek is 30. We've been together for a little over ten years and married for a little over three years. I work a very flexible 15 hours a week at a library. I worked full time before ds (24 months) was born. Dh is a chef and works A LOT. Luckily my parents live close by and we get along great.

I lost my first baby at 19 1/2 weeks. It is somewhat of a long story and is often difficult for me to share. My pregnancy with ds was very easy and uncomplicated. I gave birth in the hospital with no meds. It was basically a good experience and I will probably stick with the same ob/gyn (partly because she knows my history and I won't have to explain my loss and partly because she is open to my way of doing things). I've made my first appt for next week and the reaction to my continued nursing of ds may change things.

Just found out about this pregnancy last night and I'm still in shock. We've been trying since I got my first ppaf in Sept, but I was thinking that something was up with my cycles and it would take longer. Perhaps later I can express some of my concerns and worries about how ds will react to a new baby, how to manage with more that one child and such...

[melissel]

Welcome Marie, and ((HUGS)). I definitely share your concerns about handling more than one, and how your first will react when they're not center stage anymore! My DD is so excited about being a big sister, but she's also VERY bonded to me, and I'm afraid the reality will be hard for her. I just keep telling myself it will all work itself out. I also got a few books from the library about going from one to two, I'll let you know how they are. I haven't started them yet, I'm finishing up my Ina May's Guide to Childbirth first.

[jennas2]

I'm Jenna (27) married for 7 years. We have one Ds who will be 4 in April. We are heavily into martial arts specifically Brazilian Jiu- Jitsu and Kali. Me not so much due to pregnancy but I'm walking everyday so that's better than nothing. I'm also an avid scrapbooker. We are homeschooling/ unschooling, I guess eclectic (nothing formal Ds is still young and so far child led seems to be niche that works). Delivery w/ Caleb was less than to be desired. We were living in UT at the time and I had an OB. We did the Bradley Method and were able to accomplish everything on our birth plan w/ the exception of an epi (due to "pit hell"). I ws due April 24th but delivered April 13th. I had a prenatal on the 11th (personally think the OB stripped my membranes w/out my consent). Water broke on the 12th, it was a slow leak that in hindsite I think may have repaired itself had I taken it easy. We stayed home for quite a few hours before heading to the hospital. I was only 2 cm w/ no contractions. I fibbed about what time my water broke because they wanted to put me on a pit drip 12 hours from the time my water broke. Long story short, ended up on a pit drip that rocked my world. I was so tense that even on pit I progressed to 4 cm and stayed there for about 3 hours. I did finally get an epi and within minutes fell asleep and woke 1.5 hours later to push. I just neeed to relax and let my body do it's thing (at least as naturally as possible w/ pit :eyesroll ) Anyway this pregnancy is a planned homebirth and we are so excited.

Jenna

[musicmaj]

I am Angie. Dh and I have been married for 6 years. DD is 4, DS will be 3 on valentines day. I am pregnant with #3. DD Mary is adventurous and spirited. I have started homeschooling her already - at her demand. It is a lot of fun. DS Wilson is a special needs boy. He has developemental delays and possible autism. We are trying to get an appointment to find out exactly what he has. I am also teaching him as it is necessary to do a couple of hours worth of therapy (speech and occupational) with him per day. He is a very sweet boy. My children are the joy in my life. My family keeps asking me how I am going to be able to give Wilson enough attention with a new baby. Dh is very supportive and spends lots of time with the kids. I sling my babies. I know that it will be challenging at times, but I am not worried about it like the relatives are. They just laugh at me when I tell them, "I will just sling the baby and get on with life." Wilson was in a sling for most of his 1st year. It allowed us to bond and I truly believe that his receptive skills and autistic tendancies would have been a lot worse if I hadn't have been so hands on.

My pregnancies were rough with 4 months of bedrest each for preterm labor. I feel that I am healthier this time and am taking all the supplements I should be - including omega 3's - so I feel optimistic about this pregnancy.

My sister in law just found out she is pregnant yesterday. Our due dates will be only 5 days apart. I am so excited! This could be fun!

[avrysmama04]

Hey everyone...
Glad to "meet" all of you:)
My name is Erica, I will be 33 next week! I am married to Elliot, he will be 34 next week. We have been married since September 02. We live in Charlotte, NC. Although, I grew up in MI...I moved here to be with him after a "long distance" love affair:) I had been living in Chicago when I met him, so the transition to the South was hard at first, but now my sister has since moved here (and is due in March!) so I have adjusted and come to love the South :thumb
We had our first sweet baby, Avery on January 2, 04... I was induced with pitocin at 2 weeks overdue. I had her in the hospital with a midwife and doula...Without an epidural, which is how we "planned" (minus the induction!)
With this pregnancy, I am hoping that I don't have to worry about being induced...I would like to have the totally natural birth experience. We have thought about a home birth, but are not totally convinced at this point...
Anyhoo, I look forward to getting to know all of you ;)

Erica :coffee
Married to sweet DH :love 9-21-02
Mama to sweet Avery :2toddler:
:belly due sometime in mid September
:autism :novax:

[Mommiska]

I guess I should join in, as well, as I got a positive yesterday...

DH and I have been married for 10 years exactly and have three kiddos - dd1, 5 years old, dd2 3.5 years old and ds 16 months.

Number 4 should be due the end of September, I think (haven't looked up an exact due date yet), which will make him/her 2 years younger than ds...and I'll have 4 under 6!

Shoudl be exciting, right? :thumb :D

I'm excited, but a little apprehensive - I live in the UK, and families larger than 3 children just aren't the 'done' thing over here, so I'm kind of dreading the comments when we eventually start telling everyone. Immediate family knows - my parents were thrilled, but my in-laws were...surprised.

I'm sure they'll come around, but I know that's what I'll be getting a lot (sigh).

Anyway - I'm looking forward to getting to know you guys over the next 8 months or so...

[matts_mamamama]

Jumping in here too! I'm Dawn, Dh is Mike and DS is Matt (16 months). After 3 positive HPTs and morning sickness that won't quit...plus the headaches, fatigue, hormonal jags and cravings, I think it's pretty certain that I am going to have a baby! LOL. Haven't seen my doctor yet, but estimating due date about Sept. 10th.

Ds was born after 18 hours of labor via c-section. Wasn't coming out any other way. :D Luckily, I was slightly prepared for that and it was as good an experience as it could have been.

Pretty much scared about ds not being our whole world anymore and how he (and we) are going to handle it. But, I know in my heart it will all be ok. Funny thing about this time? I'm ready to tell everyone NOW instead of waiting for the first dr. appt. Just not sure if I should or not!!

[matts_mamamama]

Jumping in here too! I'm Dawn, Dh is Mike and DS is Matt (16 months). I own my own business (optometry office) and dh is a Math Modeler. After 3 positive HPTs and morning sickness that won't quit...plus the headaches, fatigue, hormonal jags and cravings, I think it's pretty certain that I am going to have another baby! LOL. Haven't seen my doctor yet, but estimating due date about Sept. 10th.

Ds was born after 18 hours of labor via c-section. Wasn't coming out any other way. :D Luckily, I was slightly prepared for that and it was as good an experience as it could have been.

Pretty much scared about ds not being our whole world anymore and how he (and we) are going to handle it. But, I know in my heart it will all be ok. Funny thing about this time? I'm ready to tell everyone NOW instead of waiting for the first dr. appt. Just not sure if I should or not!!

[hazmat]

I'm Hazel, I'm just about 32 and got married in August of 2004. My husband is 36 and we've been together for over 5 years. We pretty much got married to appease the parents and because I wanted to be married before we had kids and I thought that kids were on the horizon for us. Luckily after 3 months of trying, here I am... apparently due September 14th. I oscillate between pretty excited and "holy crap what are we doing?" I'm not that sure what to expect, but so far so good. My husband is even keel all the way, but excited in his lowkey sort of way - I'm sure it won't seem real to him until the baby moves and he can feel it. I haven't told my parents yet (their first grandchild) and I think they'll be pretty excited. They knew we were trying so it won't be a total shock. I'm trying to figure out a good way to surprise them as they are not local so it'll have to be online, in the mail or on the phone. We might create a website and have them click on it to see what's going on.

We live in Vancouver, Canada and are in the midst of renovating our house. Thankfully we pushed to do all the major stuff last year and are now just ripping apart and rebuilding the basement. We also built a brand new deck last summer so I'll have a great place to loaf in the hot months while my husband brings me virgin daquiris :)

I've been a compulsive checker on this site since I found it. I can't get enough information right now and I'm reading everything... which can be a bit overwhelming. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a happy healthy birth and child.

Can't wait to meet more of you.

[Cedarmama]

Mind if I join in too?? I just got a + a few days ago and I'm so excited I can barely contain myself!!! I can imagine that I'm in good company feeling this way!

I'm Lisa (31) my dh is Steve (32) and this is our second baby. We have a dd who is just over 2 years old. We told her for the first time yesterday that we are having a baby and she demanded that I take it out so she could snuggle her (she also is asking for a sister!) :D :D

We are hoping to having a homebirth once again with the same midwives, but I'm not sure if that will be possible. I hemorrhaged post partum and had to be put on oxygen and bed rest for two days. Does anyone know if that would be an issue for a homebirth?

I look forward to getting to know you all!
Lisa

[Galatea]

Congratulations Hazel and Cedarmama! I stopped checking the TTC threads so I am sorry I missed your BFP, Lisa.

[Cedarmama]

Galatea - no problem! I just posted it today :D

Wow it is 10:30 at night and I am just wired with energy! My dd woke up at 5 am today, so you think I would be a walking zombie!

[wordgirl]

hi guys, have room for another? i just posted my + today after seeing cedarmama's... got it on sunday, and it still doesn't feel a bit real. if it weren't for the, uh, 4 positive tests and lack of af and my super-sensitive sniffer, i wouldn't have believed it -- this was our first try for #2.

anyway, i'm lori, 31 for a few more months, and dh will hit the big 40 this coming summer. ds jasper is 13 months and of course has no idea what "new baby" really means around here yet. i'm also hoping to nurse him through this pregnancy and beyond if he wants, and just pray my body can handle it all! the doggie isn't going to speak to us again, ever (he's still upset over jasper!). we've not shared the news with anyone except a few online friends yet, but are preparing to tell our families and other close friends probably in a few weeks when things feel a little more real.

this babe's due date looks to be about september 28th. we're hoping for another homebirth, perhaps a little less harried than the last one (only the nurse made it, and only with about 15 minutes to spare till jasper came shooting out). we're undecided at this point whether to stick with the practice i saw for jasper or find a midwife. i'm leaning towards going with a midwife (only cnm's are legal in illinois), but it could mean considerably more out-of-pocket expense for us because most likely our insurance wouldn't cover one. we shall see in the next few weeks what i can find out.

other than that, i'm currently a wohm/wahm (3 days/wk at office, 2 days/wk at home, plus various freelance stuff whenever i find time and energy!) and dh is mostly a sahd -- we're trying to get things switched around, hopefully in time for the new babe if not sooner.

i look forward to getting to know everyone around here!
::: lori

[melissel]

Hey Lori, what do you do for a living? Are you an editor too? Your situation sounds just like what ours used to be before I was allowed to work from home full time.

Melissa

[wordgirl]

nope, i'm not an editor. i'm actually a designer (web, multimedia, whatever else gets tossed my way). i worked out this 2 days/home 3 days/@ the office back when i was just returning from fmla and incredibly concerned that ds might prefer the bottle and wean on me... then due to the hr person leaving for another job a few months later, what was to be a 2-3 month arrangement has continued for almost a year now. my boss said he didn't see any reason i couldn't continue on that schedule indefinitely (wow), but of course if it comes down to it, he's not the one making the rules. so we shall just see how long i can keep this going!

::: lori

[dawnk]

Hi everyone! I just posted a thread asking if I can join the fun! My name is Dawn, I will be 32 tomorrow. Dh just turned 34. I am a wahm, I have a part time photography business, which is great for a creative outlet! We live in the suburbs of Detroit, and have for most of my life.

Mason is my 6 year old. He is very active and very social. If he could have his way, he would have a friend over 24/7. His birth was simply a horrible experience. I went to a teaching hospital, there were millions of people in the room with us, the interns practiced their sewing skills on me, I didn't get to touch Mason for over an hour after he was born. It sucked. I also had an episiotomy, which also sucked!! It was a pretty short labor though, which helped I guess.

Ty was a different story. My experience birthing him was simply wonderful, and amazing! I went to a different hospital and different OB. I had a very short labor, hardly any pain at all. After I was fully dialated, dh got dressed in scrubs as planned, and as soon and the doc unwound the cord around Ty's neck, I pushed him out right into dh's waiting arms!! It was a great experience until Ty lost more than the "alotted" weight (Ok, he was born at 8 lbs 8 oz, he was still big!!) the nurses threatened that he wouldn't be able to go home unless we gave him formula to gain weight. I called the lactation consultant in the room to get someone on my side! She said not to worry about it, and not to give him formula if I don't want. He stopped losing weight and we went on our merry way.

With #3, I would love to have a home birth, but haven't looked into it yet. This baby will be due around Sept 24.

It is nice to get to know everyone!!

[MrsSmall]

I'm 32 and expecting our first. DH's parents are super-supportive, which is great since I don't have any. I plan on Breastfeeding and Cloth Diapering. I went over all the pro and cons and DH is supportive of both descisions. :thumb We're doing an in-hospital delivery with my OB, who is great. He's one of those rare OB's that think women have all the power to birth a baby themselves and will be as unobtrusive as possible. I'd like to go natural/vaginal if possible.

[Galatea]

Mrs.Small - Welcome! I don't want to scare you, but even nice-seeming OBs can go evil on you. We had "Mr. Rogers" until we asked him about his episiotomy rate. Then he said, "I could not do an episiotomy, but then your labia would rip off." :rant: :cuss :bang :censored Off to the midwife center for us, and my vagina is intact. :D

[Worldshakerz]

Hi, my name is April (27), married to dh Jamie (25) for a little over 2 years now. Ds Jakob (23m) was born at a free-standing birth center in 2003. It was a relatively good experience. I had verrry strong contractions and back labor, but from the time my water broke to the time Jakob came into the world only about 8 hours passed. I spent a good amount of the first part of my labor in the birthing tub because I was in lots of pain and was actually begging to go to the hospital for an epidural! Luckily my mom got there within an hour and directed my attention back to my original goal. Also my midwife gave me some blue and black cohosh and it seemed to do something and I was able to at least deal with my contractions. Something I really hated was getting internal checks way to often IMO. Someone putting a hand up and in, when my body is trying to push out I think is the worst thing I have ever felt in my life!
So this time around, I think I may try for a homebirth but we'll see what dh says about it too. I'm at least going to check out if there is a closer birthing center, since another not so great part of my labor was the long car ride in traffic to the center. My EDD is October 1st but I'm joining here because ds went one week earlier than EDD...although this due date is probably closer since I charted and now exactly when I concieved. I'm very excited about baby #2!
April

[MrsSmall]

Galatea - I'm going back and forth on this now. There is a midwife's group nearby that I can use also. The hubby says he wants me to use whoever I am most comfortable with. One of the things that the midwife doesn't want to do, is a first trimester ultasound. I just had an IUD removed, so I think one is a good idea. I also like the idea of the midwife being there for more of the delivery that the OB would be.
:idea

[meliemom]

hi there!! My name is Krista, we just found out yesterday we are expecting 2nd baby sometime around end of September (I think maybe Sept 25?).

I am 28, a part time student and SAHM to Amelia, 18 mos, who is still nursing. We live (DD, DH, and I) with my mother, our dog, and two kitties.

I had a long, difficult labor with A, I had an epidural and after that everything started to go wrong, I think I would have had a c-section were it not for a very patient doctor. I have made an appointment with the same practice, though the doctor whom I liked isn't there anymore, so I am thinking of finding a midwife.

yay!!!! I am so excited to be here. Am hoping for a girl, we have so many girl clothes already and I think it would be nice for A to have a little sis.

[mom2threenurslings]

Galatea - I'm going back and forth on this now. There is a midwife's group nearby that I can use also. The hubby says he wants me to use whoever I am most comfortable with. One of the things that the midwife doesn't want to do, is a first trimester ultasound. I just had an IUD removed, so I think one is a good idea. I also like the idea of the midwife being there for more of the delivery that the OB would be.
:idea

You could do what I did with my last pregnancy...I knew I wanted to see a midwife but also knew I needed to have a 1st trimester ultrasound for my peace of mind, so I went to my OB for one appointment (they have u/s in every room...scary!!!), got my u/s and then switched practices to midwives/birth center. I thought it was going to be ackward switching, but the office just transferred my records and off I went!

[Galatea]

Galatea - I'm going back and forth on this now. There is a midwife's group nearby that I can use also. The hubby says he wants me to use whoever I am most comfortable with. One of the things that the midwife doesn't want to do, is a first trimester ultasound. I just had an IUD removed, so I think one is a good idea. I also like the idea of the midwife being there for more of the delivery that the OB would be.
:idea

Or you could just tell the midwife that you really really need the ultrasound b/c you are worried. You can get whatever you need. You just have to ask.

I recommend asking the hard questions to your doctor and comparing them to the midwives. That's when we discovered our doctor wasn't so cool. Honestly, though, I know of very few 1st time mommies who used an OB who DIDN'T get an episiotomy - it seems to be standard practice. :angry

[mamabeth]

Hi, I'm kinda late but would like to join! I just got a ++ yesterday and am due sometime at the end of Sept/early Oct. I'll probably jump over to the Oct thread since my dd was very late, but since I'm on the border I wanted to introduce myself here too. I'm 29, work part-time, and have a dd who just turned 2. This new little pea was most likely conceived the day after her birthday! :)

It happened really fast this time so I'm still processing, but I'm happy to be here! Congrats to y'all too.

[Mama2Mila]

Hi, I'm Alex (29) and pregnant with baby #2, due early September 2005. My husband and I already have a dd Mila who's going to be 3 years old this May. We conceived again right on the first try and I'm already smack in the midst of first trimester fun, or not. I'm quite nauseous this time (with Mila I wasn't at all) and it pretty much lasts all day. I'm feeling a little bit guilty for letting my dd watch more TV as usual or just reading to her all day, but some days the tiredness and nausea are just tooo much. I'm glad that my DH is super supportive and does most of the household chores/shopping on top of his regular job :) Well...I'm looking forward to posting more regularly now that I'm "outed" and getting to know all of you better.

Happy Pregnancy !!

Alex