February Chat (Feb DDC)
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Bren, I started fighting a cold a few days ago and kept it just enough in check for labor. But of course I didn't take any of my supplements or elderberry syrup all day yesterday while n labor, and it's hitting me hard today - not to mention that all my kids have it too. I sure hope colostrum is enough to protect the baby from it!
Bren, hope you're feeling ok. My husband has been sick this week, and although we have been good about avoiding contact, I'm a bit worried about catching it from him. Luckily I don't have any symptoms yet.
I had an ultrasound on Thursday to check fetal weight, which was estimated at 8 lbs 2 oz. So all is ok there, but the crazy thing was all the measurements done that were so out of whack. The abdominal circumference was 97th percentile / 40+ weeks but the head and everything else was in the 37-38 week range. The head was 20th percentile! I know that difference happens commonly with GD (although I have been keeping my blood sugars in control with diet and exercise), and they start worrying about shoulder dystocia when the belly/shoulders are bigger than the head. But I also know that ultrasounds done this far along are often inaccurate, and the final report even mentions that the measurements can be off by 3 weeks! So I'm taking it all with a grain of salt and just being happy that the EFW is well under 9 lbs so they won't start offering me a c-section.
Friday morning was my 39 week appointment with the midwife and we reviewed the ultrasound. She was happy about the weight, measured my fundal height at just under 39 weeks and said the baby feels like it's about 8 lbs. She thought the other measurements were a bit concerning though, so went to talk to the OB on call. Before she left the room, she offered to strip my membranes. I was so caught off guard and hadn't really thought about that procedure, so she said she'd let me think about it while she talked to the OB. She came back in a bit later and first said the OB said a membrane sweep was probably not a bad idea, but also that the OB isn't concerned about the US measurements and usually only looks at the weight at this point. I assumed since the OB wasn't worried about it (and they would be the ones more likely to intervene), it's not that big of a deal. I declined the membrane sweep since I needed time to think about and process that.
The midwife also sent me to L&D to talk to anesthesia per my request at my previous appointment. I don't plan to use any drugs at all, but I do worry about ending up with an emergency c-section (especially if this baby's belly really is that much bigger and gets stuck) and being put under general anesthesia with my reactions from previous surgeries. All I really expected was to tell them to refer back to my last surgery within the same hospital system and use the same drugs, since I did pretty well with everything despite being under for over 6 hours. But the resident doctor actually talked to me for about 15 minutes, reviewed my past history, looked at all the notes and drugs used in the last surgery and talked about a plan. She also went to review everything with the attending anesthesiologist and he came in to talk to me for a few minutes as well. It's a pretty small chance that I end up with general anesthesia, but it's something that has been weighing on my mind and felt good to have a backup plan just in case it goes that way. We even discussed things they could give in the event I had an epidural or spinal. I thanked them for their time and said I hope I don't see them at all during labor! haha
Nothing new going on with labor feelings. My lower back was really sore last night after shopping for a couple hours, but of course I also wondered if it was contraction related. But nothing happened over night and my back is better today. So I'm back to waiting for something to happen.
I had an ultrasound on Thursday to check fetal weight, which was estimated at 8 lbs 2 oz. So all is ok there, but the crazy thing was all the measurements done that were so out of whack. The abdominal circumference was 97th percentile / 40+ weeks but the head and everything else was in the 37-38 week range. The head was 20th percentile! I know that difference happens commonly with GD (although I have been keeping my blood sugars in control with diet and exercise), and they start worrying about shoulder dystocia when the belly/shoulders are bigger than the head. But I also know that ultrasounds done this far along are often inaccurate, and the final report even mentions that the measurements can be off by 3 weeks! So I'm taking it all with a grain of salt and just being happy that the EFW is well under 9 lbs so they won't start offering me a c-section.
Friday morning was my 39 week appointment with the midwife and we reviewed the ultrasound. She was happy about the weight, measured my fundal height at just under 39 weeks and said the baby feels like it's about 8 lbs. She thought the other measurements were a bit concerning though, so went to talk to the OB on call. Before she left the room, she offered to strip my membranes. I was so caught off guard and hadn't really thought about that procedure, so she said she'd let me think about it while she talked to the OB. She came back in a bit later and first said the OB said a membrane sweep was probably not a bad idea, but also that the OB isn't concerned about the US measurements and usually only looks at the weight at this point. I assumed since the OB wasn't worried about it (and they would be the ones more likely to intervene), it's not that big of a deal. I declined the membrane sweep since I needed time to think about and process that.
The midwife also sent me to L&D to talk to anesthesia per my request at my previous appointment. I don't plan to use any drugs at all, but I do worry about ending up with an emergency c-section (especially if this baby's belly really is that much bigger and gets stuck) and being put under general anesthesia with my reactions from previous surgeries. All I really expected was to tell them to refer back to my last surgery within the same hospital system and use the same drugs, since I did pretty well with everything despite being under for over 6 hours. But the resident doctor actually talked to me for about 15 minutes, reviewed my past history, looked at all the notes and drugs used in the last surgery and talked about a plan. She also went to review everything with the attending anesthesiologist and he came in to talk to me for a few minutes as well. It's a pretty small chance that I end up with general anesthesia, but it's something that has been weighing on my mind and felt good to have a backup plan just in case it goes that way. We even discussed things they could give in the event I had an epidural or spinal. I thanked them for their time and said I hope I don't see them at all during labor! haha
Nothing new going on with labor feelings. My lower back was really sore last night after shopping for a couple hours, but of course I also wondered if it was contraction related. But nothing happened over night and my back is better today. So I'm back to waiting for something to happen.
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This is very true. I have had many a mom be told she needs to be induced because of a big baby and end up with a baby 6 lbs. Trust your instincts... somehow our own 6th sense is the best indicator!
Been having strong BH since yesterdaty. Some pretty crampy way down low (on belly and internally) and wrapped around my back, and my belly just seems to stay hard for the longest time after. Excited to havesomething new happening, but not kidding myself that it means labor is imminent!
Feel better soon Bren!
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Thanks everyone. The cold seems to be getting worse, not better so I'm reading up on supplements that might help. So far I'm just taking my prenatals and drinking a lot of orange juice but I guess I just have a particularly nasty bug. I might have overdone it last night going for a walk and seeing a movie with DH. I started having some uncomfortable BH contractions in the middle of the movie and when we got out, he said my belly looked a lot lower. That made me nervous because DH left for Dallas this morning and won't be back until Tuesday night so I really don't want to be sick and alone when I go into labor. I feel a lot less crampy and uncomfortable this morning so I think I just overdid it yesterday. Stay in a little longer, babe!
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Question for people who have had/are planning home births with a tub - how did you connect your hose to a water source to fill the tub? I have a hose and bought what looked like the right adapter to fit my sink, but the faucet is new and you can't remove the aerator without a special tool, which apparently came with the faucet, but the plumber who installed it didn't leave the tool behind. So my adapter is useless. So I guess my question is whether I can hook the hose up to the bath tub faucet somehow...? I know this is a question for the hardware store people, but I wanted to see if anyone here had done it that way.
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I bought a garden hose adapter and plan to use it running from the shower faucet. I haven't actually checked it yet to make sure everything fits, I plan on doing that today or tomorrow. Last time I used an aquarium two-way hose and siphon adapter thing. I think it's called a python? But there is no way I'm aware of to run the water from the bath tub faucet, it'd have to be from the shower at least. @luckiest
ETA: So I went ahead and tested my set-up just now because I really should have done it already, and it doesn't work from my shower faucet because the threading on the adapter is different. I will be using it from my bathroom sink instead. I was originally worried that the sink would just not fit the hose and cause it to link, but it turns out it's alright. Here's a pic of my adapter, and now I'll just leave it there and the hose will just snap right on when we're ready for it. I bought it on Amazon.
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ETA: So I went ahead and tested my set-up just now because I really should have done it already, and it doesn't work from my shower faucet because the threading on the adapter is different. I will be using it from my bathroom sink instead. I was originally worried that the sink would just not fit the hose and cause it to link, but it turns out it's alright. Here's a pic of my adapter, and now I'll just leave it there and the hose will just snap right on when we're ready for it. I bought it on Amazon.
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@luckiest - we got a standard metal adapter at the hardware store and will using it with our kitchen sink, which is actually the most conveniently located anyway. Unfortunately that will mean disconnecting our drinking water filter, but oh well. I guess I can just fill up a pitcher or something. Anyway, I think we would need a different adapter to attach it to either the shower or the bathroom sink - but every faucet is different. Maybe you can take a pic of yours to show the hardware store folks.
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I'll have to go to Home Depot tomorrow and get an adapter to fit the shower head. The sink would be much more convenient, but I don't think I can make it work without the special little key tool, which I'd have to order from the manufacturer. I tried to use the faucet adapter on the shower head but it's a different size. Hopefully the right size won't be too hard to find.
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I accidentally did something good and wanted to share.
I forgot to grab the postpartum pads on my way out of the hospital, got home and realized I didn't have them. I had some old leftover pads that are just normal thin with wings, that I never use because now I use a reusable cup and pads for each cycle, but these are just sitting under the sink for me or guests or whatever. Well, they weren't working out so well. They were too short and the wings weren't needed, so I went to get some more at the store. I was rushed because I just wanted to get home, and grabbed something that said "ultimate" and "extra long" and the picture on the cover was without wings. So I get home and I noticed they are for incontinence. But they are huge and are working out perfectly! Even better then the hospital ones. I just wanted to share. I don't mind using disposables for this temporary time and then switch back to reusable/washable ones for each cycle.
I think I would have run out of the hospital ones and had to get more anyway, but especially for homebirthing mamas who will have to come up with something at home, this is just something to consider.
I forgot to grab the postpartum pads on my way out of the hospital, got home and realized I didn't have them. I had some old leftover pads that are just normal thin with wings, that I never use because now I use a reusable cup and pads for each cycle, but these are just sitting under the sink for me or guests or whatever. Well, they weren't working out so well. They were too short and the wings weren't needed, so I went to get some more at the store. I was rushed because I just wanted to get home, and grabbed something that said "ultimate" and "extra long" and the picture on the cover was without wings. So I get home and I noticed they are for incontinence. But they are huge and are working out perfectly! Even better then the hospital ones. I just wanted to share. I don't mind using disposables for this temporary time and then switch back to reusable/washable ones for each cycle.
I think I would have run out of the hospital ones and had to get more anyway, but especially for homebirthing mamas who will have to come up with something at home, this is just something to consider.
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Funny when I was at the store buying pads, I wondered if the incontinence pads would be better than the overnights. Thanks for sharing!
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DDC crashing. We couldn't get the aerator off our sink faucet for my last birth. We ended up connecting a hose to the hot water supply that is normally hooked up to the washing machine. It connected just fine, but there was some worry about the incoming water being too hot for the inflatable pool to handle, and there was no way to mix any cold water in. So I think they ended up bailing buckets of cold water in to even out the temp. It took longer than I was hoping for, but they did get the pool ready in time in the end. If I had to do it from the washing machine hookups again, I would have a hose for the hot tap and a hose for the cold (or some kind of Y adapter to mix the two), so you could get hot and cold water going in at the same time.
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My midwives said they think they have an adapter that works with the shower head, but said I should still either get one I know fits for sure or make sure the hose will reach from our hall bath (which has a removable aerator) to the bedroom. It won't reach, so I have to go to the hardware store anyway to either get a second hose or the shower adapter. Sigh.
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You use the hose as a siphon to remove the water. I have only done this in warm weather before, and always siphoned out the door. I guess we will have to siphon into our bathtub to avoid creating an ice skating rink outside!
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