I finally had my baby girl! Last Sunday at 4 am, I woke up feeling contractions. DH and I spent the day timing contractions. At 9 pm, my MIL came over to support us. At 4 am on Monday, we made the trip to the hospital. I spent the whole day in the hospital with contractions that never progressed much. When the midwife checked me, she said I was only 1 cm. I could have cried because I felt I was halfway there! They tried to break my waters to get things moving, but not much happened. That night they gave me morphine so that I could sleep since I hadn’t slept in a day or so!
I slept, and then in the morning (Tuesday) I labored most of the day and only made it to 2 cm.! They gave me gel to ripen my cervix, but by then I was so exhausted and lost my confidence. I asked for an epidural. I labored for the rest of the day feeling much better, but not feeling much below! I eventually made it to 10 cm! I pushed for 3 hours, and then the decision was made that a c-section was the safe way to go. Off to the OR, and my baby girl was born weighing 9 lbs. and 14 ozs. She was 20.25 ins. long! She was not going to come out vaginally. I spent a few days in the hospital getting to know my little girl and healing. DH has been the most amazing. We are having so much fun being a family and taking care of each other!
It may not have been the birth I envisioned, but I have a beautiful and healthy little girl. HypnoBabies helped when I was forced to lay down for fetal monitoring. It helped in the whirlpool tub. It also helped in the OR to keep me calm while the surgery was going on. Lamaze helped when I was upright and walking around through contractions. I’m glad that I went through labor and pushing. DH thinks it’s great that I got to try a little bit of everything! The epidural worked perfectly, and the c-section was as fast as possible. All in all, it got the job done. I thought she was never going to be born!
Filed under: Baby Worries, Labor, Pregnancy Symptoms, Third Trimester | Tags: Pregnant
Ouch! First internal exam. It was not the most comfortable exam I’ve ever had, but at least it was quick. I’m softening, so that’s good. Otherwise, there isn’t much to report. The fetal non-stress test is fine. The baby was about 7 lbs. at my last ultrasound! I’m hoping they were a few oz. off. I still have a week to go until my due date. Not much is going on. I have a few contractions here or there. I’ve gain 60 lbs., and I’m trying to not let that get me down. I had every intention of only gaining 30 lbs, but here I am at twice that! Yikes! The OB’s seem fine with it, so I’m trying to just keep moving… I’m swelling and retaining water like it’s my job. I live in my compression stocking and carpal tunnel braces. I don’t have much feeling in my finger. I’m tired, but ready to meet my LO. Everything is checked off my “To Do” List with the wonderful help of DH. Just waiting…
DH and I had fun this weekend doing a belly cast. It was messy, but lots of fun. DH thought it was cool, so that made it a really great memory. I just did the belly, and my plan is to take a picture of my LO in the belly. I’m hoping it’ll be as neat as it looks in my mind!
Filed under: Baby Worries, Pregnancy Symptoms, Third Trimester | Tags: Pregnant
I had my last ultrasound today. I’m not sure how I feel about Maternal Fetal Medicine. First they were concerned about the baby having a large belly. At the last u/s they decided the belly was fine, but they were worried about having too much amniotic fluid. Today, the amniotic fluid was fine, but they were worried about the belly again. The belly was in the 95 percentile. They said they are usually concerned about the ratio between the head and belly. They don’t like the belly to be larger than the head because there is a risk for shoulder dystocia. The ratio for my baby is fine, but the belly is measuring large. I’m not sure they have a good measurement. The tech was having a lot of difficulty getting measurements of things because of the way the baby was positioned and the lack of room to move. She took too different pictures of the belly because she couldn’t get a really good one. She said the doctor would take an average of the two. Part of me is concerned and a little scared of shoulder dystocia, but the other part of me knows that this really doesn’t mean anything. These measurements aren’t exact. The belly was fine at the last u/s, and now the level of amniotic fluid is fine. I think the baby is fine… they might be trying to covering their ass… and their business is to look for problems. At least they don’t want to see me back, which isn’t a surprise since I’m 37 weeks! I’m feeling a little tired, and I’m fighting a cold- yuck! I’m hoping to get some rest and feel better soon. This last month of pregnancy has been rough so far!!!!
Filed under: Baby Worries, Pregnancy Symptoms, Third Trimester | Tags: Pregnant
I had another prenatal test. The non-stress tests are getting boring. I still have a few more to go until this LO decides to be born! My daughter really doesn’t like the test. She stops moving whenever they strap the doppler on me! They gave me some juice to get her moving. It didn’t really help- she just doesn’t like it! It takes the nurse forever to get her heartbeat, and once she does, the baby moves away just as the nurse attempts to leave the room! DH was able to come today. I was happy to have the company while I pushed the buzzer when she kicked. He loved how she kept messing around with the nurse! It’s adorable to see him excited or loving with the baby.
I met a new doctor today. She was great. She actually asked me if I had any questions! Most of the doctors try to rush me out while I scramble to get my questions answered. She knew a little about hypnobirthing. I didn’t tell her I was doing hypnobabies since the two are so similar. She felt the office that kept recommending these ultrasounds was being ridiculous, which made me feel better since it seemed like every time I went there they found something else for me to worry about! There isn’t much I can do about the carpal tunnel- except have the baby. I don’t have any of the early signs of labor, so I’m thinking I’ll be in this for the long haul!
During this prenatal visit, it took forever for the nurse to find the heartbeat. Luckily, I was feeling her move, so I wasn’t concerned… But, you can’t help be feel nervous when they don’t find the heartbeat immediately! In the end, everything worked out, and the doctor was happy with the results. We had to do the test for Group B Strep. That was a little painful since nothing has really been down in that area in awhile. Then I had the big talk with the doctor about all the things that can go wrong during birth. I was not interesting in hearing all about tearing, C-sections, and blood loss. I guess it’s a standard thing so that they can’t be sued for not telling patients all the risks. I had to sign some paper afterwards stating that I heard and understood the risks. It was a bit of a downer. I understand that they have an obligation to inform their patients, but I felt nervous afterwards! I have another visit next week, so hopefully I’ll get good results from the strep test.
Filed under: Baby Worries, Labor, Pregnancy Symptoms, Third Trimester | Tags: Pregnant
My prenatal visit suddenly felt very technical and medical. I came in a did the pee and weight check. I gained 8 lbs. in two weeks. I couldn’t believe it. I have no idea how that happened since I haven’t changed anything with my diet or exercise. I’m hoping it was just because they used a different scale or something. I’ve gained about 44 lbs., and I still have a month to go. I’m trying not to beat myself up about it since now isn’t the time to diet! I’ve been slacking a bit on walking since the weather has been in the 90’s. I’ve been walking in the stores getting my last minute baby items. Anyway, we talked a bit about the amniotic fluid, but the OB didn’t think that was a big deal. Then they strapped on a monitor. I had to click this button when I felt the baby move. The monitor looked at the baby’s heartbeat and if I was having contractions. Apparently, I am having contractions. I didn’t think anything of the feeling. It just felt like a cramp from my period. I didn’t know THAT was also a contraction. The baby is doing great. Her heartbeat goes up when she moves, and that’s what they are looking for. I have to go in every week now for this test. It’s interesting, but a little scary. It just turned everything technical. I can see why people don’t want to have continuous fetal monitoring during birth. It’s uncomfortable, and then everything becomes a big deal. For example, the OB left me for a bit while the monitor was on. The heartbeat was going great, and then it just disappeared! I couldn’t help, but stress out that something had happened! The OB said that she had probably moved away from the monitor. I kind of thought that at the time, but it was still unnerving to have it disappear! We’ll see how the next visit goes…
My fifth ultrasound was very short. You couldn’t really see much of the baby since she doesn’t have a lot of room in there now. I saw a few body parts- mostly bones. Her head was turned away, so I didn’t get a good look at her face. It was around 15 minutes long. Then the same goober of a doctor from my last ultrasound came in. He said that the baby looked good. She was a little over 5 lbs.!!! The “big belly” is no longer an issue. Now, he is concerned about the amniotic fluid. The fluid was measuring at the upper end of normal. I tried to get more information, but he didn’t really say anything except that it was “like how a basketball player is at the upper end of normal in height.” Basically, it doesn’t mean anything since it’s still technically within the normal range. So, they want to see me again in 3 weeks, and they want my OB to do weekly non-stress tests to monitor the baby. Ugh! I just want a normal- “everything is great” type of visit. If it’s normal- then it’s normal! But, another ultrasound will be fine. I’m hoping they don’t find something else to worry me about!!! I know it’s great to have such good prenatal care, and they are just making sure they check out everything. My hormones are just having a hard time when it feels like they are “looking” for problems!
I had another prenatal visit today. It was with the new doctor again, but he wasn’t such a goober since it was the first visit of the day. I keep gaining weight- Yikes! I know I’m suppose to gain weight, but I’ve gained about 35 lbs. so far- Geez! I better lay off the ice cream. The doctor didn’t say anything about my weight, so I’m guessing it’s not an issue. I keep walking every day and doing yoga on the days it’s too hot to walk. I’m guessing I’ll end up gaining 45 lbs. by the end of this pregnancy. I really hope it’ll be easy to lose most of it. Otherwise, it was a pretty typical appointment. The baby is still head down, so I’m happy about that. I have another visit in two weeks.
I registered for a Baby Boot Camp class and a Breast feeding class at my hospital. I almost missed my chance since I waited so long. The breast feeding class is next week, and the Baby Boot Camp class is held the last two Wednesday’s in August. The Boot Camp class will cover baby care. It’s going to be a busy month with a baby shower next Friday, two classes, an ultrasound, and doctor visits!
I’m getting a few nice comments about my pregnancy- “you look great” and “you’re all belly.” I had one stranger come up to me just to tell me I looked pretty in the color I was wearing. It was obvious she was trying to compliment me on something other than the obvious baby bump. I thought that was sweet. Now, there are many more “compliments” that I don’t care for- “are you sure there’s only one in there,” “you’re huge,” “how much longer do you have,” “are they going to change your due date,” “X more weeks- good luck,” etc. It’s amazing what people will say to you when you are pregnant. It’s also amazing how much “bad” advice you will get. For example, a co-worker saw me scratching my belly. She told me not to scratch since that’s what causes stretch marks. Hmmm… yeah, it’s the scratching- not the baby I’m growing in my uterus. I’m sure this is just the start. I’m betting I’ll get lots of unsolicited advice once the baby is here!
My practice hired a new doctor. I had an open mind going into the appointment. I had to wait 45 minutes to be seen. Then they harassed me about getting my Tegretol levels checked. I explained to them that my neurologist, who I have been seeing for 7 years, feels that is not an appropriate treatment plan for my particular situation. Blah Blah Blah. Every doctor talks to me about this, but no one follows through by talking to my neurologist- who is the EXPERT in this area. We go through the whole song and dance about why, and I give him my neurologist’s card so that he can call him personally. I end up getting the blood drawn since they were nagging. Fine- check my levels, but I only trust my neurologist to change my medication. Then, he measures my belly (he pushed too hard on the tape-OUCH!) and listens to the heartbeat (for two seconds). He didn’t even check the position of the baby… or ask me about cramping or bleeding. He gives me the slip for the front office and is about to leave. I tell him I have questions. So, he comes back, and I give him the FMLA form I need filled out for my maternity leave. Apparently it has to be filled out by someone else, so I’ll have to get it back later. He tries to leave again, and I ask about the results from the ultrasound. He leaves to get the information. We talk for a bit about it… it’s obvious he doesn’t really know what that could mean. Then he tries to leave. I still have a list of questions, but I am too tired of fighting for each questions. Geez! Could it be more obvious that he just finished his residency? I felt so rushed after waiting for 45 minutes. My appointments are already scheduled through to my due date, and lucky me- I get to see him again in two weeks. Part of me wants to complain and ask to see someone different… but part of me is too tired to make a fuss over an inexperienced doctor. I know they have to start somewhere. I just hope that he doesn’t end up being my doctor when I deliver.
Filed under: Baby Worries, Pregnancy Symptoms, Third Trimester | Tags: Pregnant
To start off with, I passed the glucose test with flying colors! I’m very happy that I don’t have gestational diabetes. Whew! One less thing to worry about. Last Wednesday I had my fourth ultrasound. It was great to see how much she has grown. The 4D images are so much amazing now that she is bigger. I really can “see” characteristics of my husband in her face! I was so happy to hear all the organs are developing normally. She is a little over 3 lbs., which is good. She’s head down, so I’m happy about that. I’m trying to sit on my birthing ball to keep her in the right position. I also use a wedge pillow in the car. I’m hoping it helps. Yoga and walking seem to be good too.
The only concern was that her belly seemed big to the doctors. They asked me if I had taken the glucose test for gestational diabetes, and I told them that I had passed. I asked them what would cause a “big belly,” and they said all babies are different. I’m trying not to worry about it… or worry that I’ll have the infamous “big baby” scare later in the pregnancy. I am really hoping for a natural birth without any unnecessary intervention like c-sections or being induced. They want to see me again in 6 weeks for another ultrasound. I didn’t expect to have another one. At least I’ll get another look at her, and maybe will have the “big belly” thing all cleared up. I would have pressed for more information from the doctor, but he didn’t have the best bedside manner. I get my ultrasounds at a different place then my typically OB. When I have my next prenatal visit I will ask the OB or midwife for more information. On a happy note, a friend of my husband sent me a gift certificate to a spa! I was so surprised that I cried. I’ve been wanting to go to this spa, but I always thought of better ways to use the money. He’s such a great friend! I think I’ll make an appointment for sometime after 30 weeks to celebrate. I can’t believe I’m 29 weeks already. I found my first stretch marks- oh dear! The time is going by so fast!
