PALS ~ August Thread

I'm tentatively sticking my foot in the door....

Sandy, I am SO happy for you, and thanks for this thread.

Just got my BFP a week ago when I decided to test on what would have been my due date to my 5th m/c in January. So, I've got literally months of worrying before I feel like this baby's safe. And before we tell anyone. So you guys are it.

: Congrats Kim!! : We'll try and help you thru the worry. Ooh, and to be the only ones that know! I am so excited for you mama.

Brandi ~ No fair, you're already 12 weeks! How exciting!! At least I'm only a month behind ya.

Now I know we have more mamas than this! Where is everybody?

Thanks Sandy for doing the new thread! How are you feeling?

I am around 6 weeks. I had two m/c at 8 and 9 weeks so I am still in freak out mode. I am getting an u/s at 10 wks which is on 09/06. Can't wait! I am so excited for all the new mamas here! Congradulations! : :

Adensmommy- Congrats on 12 weeks! Good luck tomorrow!

Keeuum- Look forward to getting to know you!

5th- I bet it feels great to feel the baby! I can't wait for that!

Summerland- You are so close! Hang in there!

Hi girls. :

I'm mostly lurking, but had to post to say how happy I am for all the good news here. It's great to see mamas who were just starting out when I was almost done, now almost to the halfway mark and beyond.

And welcome to all the new mamas. Good luck on your journey.

:

Hi all! I'm now 24 weeks.

I'm visiting my mom this week, so I'm a long way from home. I've had some random pains that have scared the crap out of me, although I think they are mainly gas from eating the unhealthy stuff my mom prepares. : Anywhoooo, I think I'm getting a window this week into what the rest of the pregnancy is going to be like, with me getting freaked out at every little pain.

On the upside, the baby is moving and is very active which is quite reassuiring.

Hi Mamas,

Been so busy! Just printed our summer issue of the zine so the past week has been intense, trying to get it all ready to print and now mailing to my subscribers and getting it out the the distributors. Yikes, I'm tired

I am feeling good. 23 weeks along My belly is getting big and round. I have been really fatigued the past few days and she has been been sleeping more than she usually does. I bet she is having a big growth spurt and my belly will be even bigger in a few days. My metabolism is changing too, I can't tolerate sweet stuff. This happened to me in the third trimester when I was pregnant with my second daughter. It is pretty wild. My ob at the time told me that the placent can make insulin-like hormones that can affect blood sugar in some women.

Mr. D finally had his blood typed (In my 6th pregnancy!) and he is Rh neg as well. So I can forego the Rhogam injection from hereon in. Yay LOL he said he almost passed out after my MW drew his blood. I was like "Dude, just imagine getting that huge horse syringe of immunoglobulin in the butt every time!"

Thanks for starting this thread Sandy, LOL about your DDDC, are you feeling sick?

Keeum, congratulations. I hope this pregnancy progresses smoothly and boringly for you!

Brandi, I can't believe you are already 12 weeks. I hope the spotting is nothing but an irritated cervix. Hope the cerclage goes smoothly too. Will you be on bedrest afterward?

Summerland, glad to hear things are going well. Yeah there is always something our brain gives us to worry about isn't there?

Pottermama, I hope the next few weeks will go by quickly. I forget if you said or not, did you have betas drawn? If you freak out very much you could go and have a serial blood draw to show the levels rising up. Hang in there, it is so darn hard in the early weeks. I feel for you Mama.

Hi Katana, it is so great to see you here!

Beth, My little girl is so active too, it is wonderful. I so get you on the pains freaking you out. I have been feeling all sorts of random stuff and it gets me so worried, even though I know it is normal. Ugh. At least these babes are wiggly ones.

5th attempt. Have a great appointment tomorrow. Because of the blood thinners, you may not be able to have spinal anesthesia (ie. spinal or an epidural) Will they be doing clotting panels at the end of pregnancy? Will they taper the dose of heparin? There are other options of pain relief.

Some people have opiate analgesia. This would be an IV injection of stadol or another drug (blanking on the name right now) that will give you temporary relief in the form of not caring about the pain (it won't actually make the pain go away, or do anything to prevent the upregulation of pain receptors and pathways). A benefit of the opiates is that, in general these are really safe drugs for the mother. Downsides are that some women experience drowsiness, and some are not present enough to be fully aware of the birth. These drugs are best used earlier in labor, as they will have a depressive effect on the baby's respiration.

Do you know about your first baby's position during labor? Having a baby in good position ie. not posterior, will be very important to the smooth progression of labor. Back labors are longer and more painful. There is a lot you can do to help facilitate good fetal positioning. Here are a couple links. optimal fetal positioning and more
There is a lot you can do to make things favorable to a good, productive labor.

Another thing that is really important in pain, is fear. When a person is afraid, it upregulates the adrenal cortex to make cortisol. This hormone will decrease relaxation, and amplify your pain. Working through your fears and coming up with coping strategies will help make the fear managable. "Birthing from within" is a great resource for this.

Water is a wonderful tool to decrease discomfort during labor. Being in a tub or shower can diminish the discomfort. I would start the discussion/negotiation with your care provider now about what sort of things will be allowed during your labor. Try to get them to do external monitoring, and let you move around. While traditionally in hospitals laboring women are put on their back to labor, this position is one of the most painful. Yoga poses, sitting on the birthing ball, leaning on a wall or a person, are all positions of relief that you can take in labor that will be more comfortable than lying on your back.

Avoid having your water broken. The contractions become much more intense and painful. Also this will put a countdown on your labor, which can increase stress and fear and therefore pain.

Are you planning on having a doula? Doulas are wonderful. Let me repeat. They are wonderful! I think every laboring woman deserves a doula to help her. A doula will be a coach for you and will be watching you how you cope with the labor. When it seems like things are getting hard for you, she will help you find a different position or coping mechanism that will make it better for you. She will keep helping you and finding new ways as you go through the labor. She will also help your DH help you better. It is so hard (as I am sure you remember) when you are deep in labor to make decisions and changes to plans.

It is so hard when you fear the discomfort and want an epidural pain relief, to not be able to have it. Hopefully this will still be a possibility for you. But if not, there are many things you can do to decrease the impact of the discomfort on your ability to cope.

OK Mamas, I better go, got a bunch to do yet today!

Erika

Hello! This week I have been feeling kicks! yah! I am so excited. It is the most amazing feeling in the world. Yesterday I think I felt a kick from the outside, but DH hasn't felt it yet. Soon! also just found out we will have a new niece or nephew next spring! The babies will be close in age!

The weekly pregnancy email that I get just said I am only a few weeks from the third trimester! Wow! time is flying by. I don't have anything ready, either.

Thanks for starting the thread, Sandy!! I didn't realize it was August until I saw your post! He he. I haven't been able to eat Ramen noodles since college . How are you feeling?

5th, glad your appointment went well.

Adensmommy, I am thinking about you today. Hope everything goes well.

ND, wow, thanks for the birth info (even thought it was directed at 5th)! You are a wise woman! I need to get "Birthing from within". I can't believe how fast the time is flying! My mind is starting to think about birth so your post is helpful! Yah for your zine, too!

Beth, so exciting to hear you have an active baby. sorry you are feeling pain.

Keeuum, Welcome and congratulations on your pregnancy!! :

Pottermama, . Those early weeks were hard on me, too. Try and take it a day at a time and recognize that it is OK to be scared. How are you feeling? Yah for an ultrasound in a few weeks, too!

We are off for a short vacation, probably away from a computer, so I look forward to new exciting news next week! Have a great week and weekend!!

I am fine and the baby is fine. he couldnt explain the bleeding. My cervix looks good , my Placenta is in a good place and the wee one has a beautiful heartbeat. So I am going to have a teeshirt made up saying "I am a Spotter". I am happy everything is ok but frustrated. I hate this anxiety.

On a much lighter note. I did a ton of research about the Cerclage and my understanding was that after the surgery a woman had to go on complete pelvic rest. To mine and dhs delight today that wont be the case for me : Because it would have been a great reason to become celibate I was a bit................ ok a lot upset about the prospects of not being able to share that part of dhs and my relationship. SO WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO on that news.

: I'm so happy for you Brandi! I was just checking our DDC for an update from you, didn't see one so thought I'd pop over here. Yeah!!!!

Sorry I haven't posted here in awhile, but I've been lurking almost everyday. It's been great hearing all your good news!

I'll be 14 weeks tomorrow and I'm coming up on when we lost the babies (16 and 20 weeks). I was getting scared (well, still kinda am) and not enjoying the pregnancy. I read someone's post about enjoying this pregnancy for what it is. Thank you to who posted that! I really needed to hear that! So we're enjoying this pregnancy and I'm thankful for each day. It's getting a little easier because I'm actually starting to feel some movement (I swear it's not gas!!!). I know I've said it before, but I'm so thankful that I found this thread and I promise to be more involved in this thread and my DDC thread!

Have a wonderful evening!

I was reading the intro and I was like, "Hmm, that sounds kind of familiar, but I can't place where..." Thank you Sandy for making me feel famous! Don't you love the PALS title? Makes me feel like we all have secret decoder rings for our special little club.

So I hope it's ok if I jump in here. Feeling really chatty tonight. I'm 10 weeks with #2 after 2 m/c's and trying not to lose my mind. I felt really sick for a while and that sucked, but then I started eating wheat again and now feel much, much better. Well, physically at least. Mentally it was really hard to go from such a strong pg symptom to feeling pretty much ok. Not that I really want to be sick again, but I bet you all know what I mean.

Congratulations Kim!

Brandi - So glad to hear about your great results and I am so excited that you are already 12 weeks! : Great news on the lack of pelvic rest too! heh heh

5th - Glad to hear that your appointment went well.

Summerland - There is a town just south of me with the same name. I wish you a peaceful and uneventful last few weeks!

Pottermama - Hope your wait for the u/s passes quickly and smoothly.

Egoldber - Sorry to hear about those pains. Last week I pulled a hip muscle or something having sex and was convinced that the one sided low abdominal pain meant an ectopic. That was a fun one to get diagnosed with.

ND - 23 weeks already! Woohoo! I am loving your DDDDC by the way. I am a huge fan of gnomes. Have you knitted your gnome baby a little pointy hat yet?

Sandy - How's that DDDDC treating you?

NWmt_mama - Yay for kicks! How far along were you when you first felt them? I am so looking forward to that myself.

Mrsuribe - I'll be thinking of you as you approach and make it past these milestones in your pregnancy.

Ok I am now going to try and settle myself down from this peanut butter cookie high and get some sleep. I look forward to chatting with you all some more.

Paisley ~ Whew, our ddc is quite active isn't it? I've been reading along mostly and just putting my 2 cents in every now and then. There's just not a whole lot happening with me right now so that's why I haven't posted in our March PALS thread very much. I'll need it more towards the end of this pregnancy. I'm glad you're not feeling ill anymore. It's never any fun to uke

Mrsuribe ~ Yeah on the movement! That is awesome. And you're right. You SHOULD try to enjoy each and every pregnancy. Easier said than done, I know.

Brandi ~ Oh, I'm so glad that your OB appt. went so well! That is wonderful news!! Especially on the note!

NW ~ Oh, I so can't wait to feel kicks. It seems just so far away! Wow, almost in the 3rd trimester! : Have fun on your vacation!!

Erika ~ Man, you're such a wise mama! I need to re-read your post and take some notes! YEAH on the rhogam shot! Hmm, I'd smack the dh for waiting THIS long to finally get blood typed! I've heard those shots are NOT fun!

5th ~ I hear ya on the birth. I don't need the "perfect" birth either. Just one that brings my baby home alive.

Beth ~ I'm sure they are just gas pains. Tell your mom to cook healthy for you!

Pottermama ~ Doesn't it seem like our u/s's are SO far away? Mine is Friday (8 weeks) and it seems like I've been waiting for it FOREVER!

Summerland ~ Wow, you're almost there! How awesome!!

Let's see. I will be 8 weeks on Saturday. No morning sickness. Every now and then my stomach will be a little upset but nothing in the way of uke
Still spotting every now and again. It's not frequent enough to freak me out....yet. I just can't wait for my u/s this Friday! Ugh, just counting down the days.....
Hmm, and I wonder why I can't keep up with my ddc! It's because I'm over here all the time!

Hi guys,

Brandi, glad baby is doing great. What a relief. And great that you and DH will enjoy some "activity" after the cerclage...

Paisley, I have a gnome pattern but I think I will do a teddy bear instead.

Sandy and Paisley, it is so hard isn't it, either you are sick and miserable, or feeling OK and worried. Argh. I rented a doppler when I was 10 weeks along because even though I was sick, I was still so worried. It finally got better when baby started moving in my belly. Hang in there.

We have a nice day planned. Some girlfriends are coming over with their kids and we are heading out to the local coffee shop. Mr. D is going to MIL's tonight in Chicago to pick up the mattresses for the girls bunk bed. We painted their room and once he is back we will begin the process of setting up the bed (it came in this little box from IKEA and I am imagining about 1000 steps in the assembly process : ) Then I have to find a place to stash the old stuff from the room while I transition the girls into it. I am really excited though, I feel like once the girls are in their new room, then I can start trying to get ready for baby.

ND