|
NEW RULES, SEE NEXT SECTION The Pregnancy/Parenting Megathread has been divided into two threads. This is the pregnancy thread, parenting thread is over here: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3316493 This is the new incarnation of the previous pregnancy thread. This thread will cover the whole timespan of pregnancy and birth, but will also cover newborns up through 3 months because a lot of new baby issues are wrapped up with that whole birth thing. Discussion of rugrats over 3 months should go in the parenting thread. Interested in becoming pregnant? Click here for the "Getting Knocked Up" thread! Edit: Want to join the SA Moms Facebook group, where you can talk all you like about anything you want? Click here or search FB for "SA Moms." ********************** NEW RULES Going forward, this thread is intended primarily to be a question and answer resource. We don't want to keep people who suffered miscarriages or PDP from asking or answering questions--we do want to keep them from using the thread as their own personal Livejournal, especially as their postcount increases in proportion to their emotional instability. It's that simple, and we trust you to act like adults. We've seen a lot of things like: - oversharing/TMI - non-pregnant people just wanting to hang out with the pregnant folks, then creepily overidentifying with them - people suffering from miscarriages, pre- and post-partum depression, or self-destructive behavior who feel that endless e/n posting in this thread is a crucial part of their coping/healing process - oversensitivity about issues that functioning adults can have a healthy disagreement about (breastfeeding, co-sleeping, etc.) None of these things are expressly against any SA rules, but when they go on unchecked, it makes the thread difficult to wade through for both new people and veterans (and mods). We've heard complaints from all three of those groups about this thread. We recognize the value that this thread has for some of you as a community chat or sounding board, but that's really not what the Ask/Tell forum is for. This forum is for questions and answers about specific topics. There are now a couple of offsite resources for further discussion: a Facebook group, an IRC channel, and various posters who have volunteered to give advice over PM or e-mail. Use these resources! In the meantime, we are looking to discourage discussions or posts that are 1) chatty ("Hey, just wanted to let you know that the baby burped today! I don't have a question, I'm not answering anyone else's question, and the burping isn't a followup on anything we talked about before. I just like using this thread as my Facebook update!") 2) overly argumentative or baiting ("Moms who give their babies formula are like HITLER but with life-hating vaginas! Go on, disagree with me, I've had 13 kids without an epidural!"), or 3) indicative of severe, untreated problems (OK: "Hey, I've been feeling really stressed and down, any advice on how to pull through?" Bad: "Omigod the screaming, it made me miss another one of my pills, I'm having flashbacks to my last miscarriage and my abusive ex-boyfriend! But I'm fine, really. Hey, how are your kids doing?") Please report posts that are bad. Got it? Good. Now let's talk about babies and stuff. Remember kids, don't feed the trolls or crazy people: report them and move on, rather than derail the conversation! FAQ from previous thread: GobbleDeGook posted:Welcome to honest, sparkly-emoticon-and-creepy-fetus-counter-free parenthood discussion! ~Buddleia bamzilla posted:A note on early inductions: Somebody fucked around with this message at 13:56 on Apr 4, 2013 |
#
?
Feb 18, 2011 14:54
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 16, 2024 11:41 |
|
|
Additional Resources 1. Post-Partum Depression (PPD) Where do you go if you think you've got postpartum depression and there's no mental health anything in your town? Lady googooGaGa posted:Call your local hospital's behavioral health unit and ask for help. Most of the time they are very nice and willing to assist. Google your town, nearest cities and Intensive Outpatient Services, they might be able to help you find a group. Even if it sounds cliche, read Brooke Shields' book, Heather Armstrong's "It Sucked Then I Cried", something that makes you feel like you relate (you are NOT the only one, and the great part is you DO have the power to help yourself). Find someone you can talk to, preferably a therapist, or even a minister, but even online, and be blunt. Share ALL your thoughts, even the 'bad' ones with someone you trust. It helps to get them out. Personally (as a non-professional), I advise against other non-professionals googling every medication prescribed looking for a reason not to take it. While yeah, if your midwife tells you to take something it might be good to look it up on kellymom before nursing, no matter what med you are prescribed, some website will tell you that it is evil and going to kill you. This is NOT true in most cases, and will only exacerbate anxiety. Childlike Empress adds: quote:I attended a prenatal yoga/lifestyle workshop, and they suggested that before the baby comes, you and your partner spend a moment going over signs of PPD (especially differentiating the severity/length of possible PPD from the more regular "baby blues") and agreeing to a course of action. That way, when the baby comes and if PPD is an issue, rather than starting an argument from scratch, either partner can say, "Remember how we agreed that if we saw a certain number of warning signs that we'd get some help? I feel like we should take that step." The Macaroni fucked around with this message at 03:47 on Feb 19, 2011 |
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2011 14:54
|
|
|
2. Information on Cloth Diapers (thanks GoreJess) The cheapest option is to forgo all the bells and whistles mentioned in captainOrbital's post and go with plain' prefolds and covers. In my experience, the fancy fitted velco-tabbed closing diapers with all the pretty colors were just not as absorbent as the good ol' fashioned flat ones, and with the flat/prefolded ones you can adjust them to just about any size/shape/rise whereas with the fitted ones you have a lot less leeway as to how long/how well they fit. Best cover I have tried is the Bummis Super Whisper Wrap (which comes in several fun patterns if you're into that, I personally just went with all white cuz its all covered by clothes anyway). Its cheap, waterproof, machine wash and dryable (tho the life will be longer if you hang it up to dry, they dry superfast, like 30m) and you can reuse them until they get poop on them/start to smell like pee. I used wool covers to begin with because I was super uber eco hippie mom, but handwashing/air drying wool covers got old after I started working again so now we just use bummis exclusively and so far so good. I've had one leak-through and it was because I was dumb and didn't stuff a nighttime diaper. For a newborn, I would, unless you have a history of tiny babies, just go with infant-sized prefolds, as they'll be out of the newborn sized in a few weeks (or, if you have a beast like my kid, never would've fit them in the first place). So the kid swims in them for a few weeks, you'll be fine, I promise. You can go either Chinese or Indian, bleached or unbleached (tho unbleached hide that bright yellow poopy stain a lot better) they all pretty much work as advertised, regardless of where you buy them, they all come from something like a half dozen distributors in China/India. I have unbleached chinese prefolds and they've held up quite well. I've heard good things about Green Mountain Diapers, but just go to diaperpin.com for reviews and vendors and pick one closest to you to save on gas/cost from delivery or whatever. There's lots in the northeast and south, not so many in the midwest, oddly enough. Anyway, to start with I would go 36 infant-sized prefolds and four covers of your choice. With that many diapers/covers, you'd be doing a load of diapers every other day/maybe every two days. Using disposables for travel is what we do, works out fine. We use Seventh Generation diapers (no chlorine bleach, so they're brown) and they fit well and haven't leaked on us yet. We also use them for daycare. For your infant, just the diaper should be absorbent enough for daytime and nighttime; once your kid hits about 16lb or drinking more than 4oz at a feeding you might want to think about getting some doublers (or when nighttime diapers start ending up leaking from sheer volume). A doubler is just extra material you put into the diaper. We've used everything from cloth wipes (you will be using cloth wipes, right?) to fancy sewn doublers made of organic cloth to infant-sized prefolds folded up and stuffed into a premium-sized diaper. I like the fancy sewn shaped ones, because they add less bulk and are pretty absorbent. Lots of other people swear by polarfleece/microfleece/whatever that fuzzy is called-type doublers. Again, check diaperpin.com, hold your nose and try not to barf at all the cutesy acronyms, and see what reviews say there. Doublers can be washed with diapers (or should be able to be). Regardless of what kind of diapers you get, BUY A DIAPER SPRAYER. This thing will save your marriage/sanity for the first six months of parenthood. Noone wants to be dunking their hands into poopy toilet water. The diaper sprayer saves you this problem and cleans off diapers with an ease that has to be seen to be believed (it also works later on getting solid food off clothes, as babies tend to love to wear what they eat, and sweet potatoes and squash stain like you wouldn't BELIEVE. Don't even get me started on tomato sauce). Don't think about using it as a bidet, which you will be tempted to do on your poor stitches (should you get any); the water that comes out is COLD. As far as how to wash them, I would use the dry pail method (i.e. just chuck them in any low trash can with a foot-operating lid, I believe you can get one at Toys R Us for like 10 bucks). If you get a washable waterproof diaper bag to line said diaper pail, you can just chuck it bag diapers and all in the washing machine and reuse that as well (lots of people who sell cloth diapers make these bags or sell them as well, again diaperpin.com). If you're handy with a sewing machine you can even make your own. You shouldn't wash more than 18 diapers at a time; any more and the water can't really agitate around/through them enough to get them really clean. Luckily this is almost exactly the amount that will fit in abovementioned small trash can so you don't have to do a lot of guestimation as to when to wash. You're going to wash on hot and rinse on cold (double rinse, your washer/dryer should allow for this). Top-loading washers are ideal for cloth diapers as you can let them soak. You're going to let them soak (preferably overnight, at least four hours) in COLD water with 1/2c of baking soda dissolved therein. This kills the germs that cause bad breath. Or well, neutralizes pee smell. Then run two rinses on this, pull out all the diapers, dissolve a large load amount of whatever detergent you're going to be using (All free and clear and BioKleen premium powder are popular) along with a 1/2 cup of washing soda (you can find it in your grocery store's laundry aisle) and put a 1/2 cup of plain ol' vinegar in the fabric softener receptacle. Let the washer get half-full or so, swish the water around real good to make sure the soap is dissolved, and chuck your diapers in. If you're concerned about staining you can pretreat stains before you do this (I do, or did when he was breastfeeding exclusively, because I am anal and planning to reuse the diapers on my next kid. Oddly enough, regular poop doesn't stain and shakes off so there's usually no need, especially with aforementioned diaper sprayer). Let it run, chuck'm in the dryer on high for like 80 minutes and you're done (if you have a heavy duty mode on your washer, wash'm in that if you're squeamish or they're particularly icky, I used normal for most of the my diaper washes and things went fine). If you have one of those he front-loader dealies, look for washing instructions on whatever site you buy your diapers from, them all have them, the above was stolen from one. As far as how to actually put the drat things on your kid, use a Snappi if you go the perfold route. Most places that sell diapers sell them, they're like five bucks for two. Practice with it a little bit on dolls or complacent small animals or whatever. There are several ways to fold your diaper, I think I've linked to them before but here's a good page to get an idea of the various ways you can collect your spawnpoop. So, what do we need to start cloth diapering? -36 infant-sized prefolds (chinese or indian, bleached or unbleached, if you buy those pieces of poo poo Gerber ones from Target I will personally come to your house and snappi your rear end, buy'm online) -4-6 diaper covers (infant-sized) Bummis Super Whisper Wraps are the best I've used, followed by wool (loveybums makes nice ones and doublers too) -36 cloth wipes (terrycloth on one side and flannel on the other are best) -1-2 Snappis (you may lose one, always good to have a spare) -2 diaper pail bags (one for use while the other's in the wash) -1 diaper pail (can be any small (knee-high) trash recepticle with a foot pedal) -1 Potty Pail diaper sprayer (actual pail optional) -50lb box of your favorite non-bleach powder detergent -1 box of washing soda -1 bigass bag baking soda -1 bigass jug plain white vinegar -baby All told I believe you'll be looking to plunk down around 3-500 bucks for your initial investment. Oh yeah, you'll wonder if you should go regular or premium. The difference is the number of layers in the middle to catch le pee. I always went for the most absorbing layers possible. It delays having to stuff diapers and you can never have too much absorbency, as far as I'm concerned. I think that covers just about everything you may need to know. Let me know if you have any other questions. ************************************************************** My system in a nutshell is as follows: quote: Fill washing machine on COLD cycle with a ½ cup baking soda; make sure baking soda has totally dissolved (swish your hand in it) before adding diapers, bag and wipes. Bummis covers can go in with diapers for washing, just make sure the Velcro isn't exposed, there are tabs on the diaper for just that purpose. Let soak for several hours or overnight if time permits. Rinse twice just to be sure everything is gotten out. Pull out diapers, add a cup of the BioKleen (use the line on the cup provided in the box) and ½ cup of the washing soda or Borax. Add ½ cup of vinegar to the fabric softener area. Run HOT wash to dissolve powders completely before re-adding diapers. Check diapers for obvious stains; if any found, treat with Bac-Out (just dribble a little on the strain, blot with other part of diaper and toss aside to add last so it has at least a minute to sit) Run two rinses (COLD) for the wash as well. Dry on Permanent press for 80 minutes (don't forget to check the lint trap!) Bummis can be dried with diapers as well. My washing machine actually has a HOT/COLD wash option (means hot wash, cold rinse) and a second rinse option which is ideal for this. The baking soda neutralizes odors esp. from the urine, and the vinegar neutralizes any baking soda residue which might make your diapers rough and if you have hard water also helps take care of that buildup on diapers (which can cause them to get rough-feeling and become less absorbent). My dryer runs REALLY hot so permanent press is as high as we ever run anything, they get plenty dry (on high they got a bit crispy feeling). YMMV feel free to experiment. You want your dryer hot to dry them to help fluff them up (throw in a tennis ball if you like) and partially sterilize them just in case you feel paranoid the hot water didn't do the job well enough. You can also turn up the hot water heater in your home to 135 degrees about an hour before you run your wash just to make sure that water is good and hot and turn it back down after its done (to avoid scalding anyone). ******************************************************************************* We've been very, very happy with Bum Genius 3.0 One Size AIOs. Yes, they cost a lot, yes, some people think they are gimmicky, but I have been 100% happy with them. They have been super easy to wash, the new ones can be popped in the dryer, and they look like disposables, which really helped convince my husband. We hang out on the couch and watch tv while we stuff them. There are lots of cheap packages out there that give you everything you need to go the more basic CD route. No one cloth diaper will make everyone happy-- hell, even disposables can cause brand loyalty arguments over what sucks and what works. If you are lucky enough to live in a town with a cloth diaper shop, go in and check out the options. Those types of places often have nights where they show people how to use different types, but even during a regular day the staff can be super helpful. That way you can find a couple types that you like and buy one of each to see how you feel about them on your baby before making the big purchase. Its hard to say until the kid is actually here, because (assuming you're talking about fitted diapers and not prefolds) diapers fit different kids different ways. If you get a short squat fat-thighed baby you're going to want different brands than if you get a long lean kid with a high rise etc. That's why I recommend the prefolds as they're like togas; one size fits all with a little creative pinning. That said, I would just register for a bunch of trial-packs for your kid at the various sites. I liked the Loveybums covers (they are wool however and you will be washing and lanolizing that poo poo by hand if that doesn't appeal ignore) and the Little Beetle stuff was raved over by various parties on various sites. The covers I found were good but again, the diapers themselves could not keep up with my kid's all-powerful urine stream. Further research found that a microsuede inner lining might have helped with that so you can throw that into one of those trial packs if you like. Several people in this thread have raved about Bum Genius, you could throw some of those on there. Keep in mind I'm going for 'spare no expense' and for me that means organic poo poo, which is probably the most expensive out there. As for registering, depending on how internet-friendly these old biddies are (I'm guessing not so much) you can use a site like http://www.myregistry.com/ which will allow you to register whereever the hell you feel like and have it all available on one page. I think there's a ten dollar fee, I found a coupon on a website that let me join for free which is no longer valid.
|
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2011 14:54
|
|
|
Reserved for additional resources. Please feel free to suggest stuff that should go here.
|
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2011 14:55
|
|
|
I've downloaded an IRC client, but I either 1) completely missed what server to use and what the channel is called in the OP, or 2) it's not there. I don't have PM, so could someone give me this information, so I stop posting non ask/tell posts in this thread? Thanks! 
|
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2011 15:25
|
|
|
The server is SynIRC and the channel is #pregnancythread. CE, you might want to edit that into the OP, as it doesn't say it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2011 15:29
|
|
|
Oh good. I've been wondering about that irc channel. Do you think we should add something in the OP about baby registry essentials/suggestions? In the last thread, a few people asked about strollers, car seats, and wraps/carriers. I know I asked for some goon recommendations in that department. Also: latching techniques and tips on how to soothe your aching nips? Edit: wanted to mention http://babyli.st/ which is a pretty neat registry that allows you to add from any store. Best of all, it is free. 
foxatee fucked around with this message at 16:08 on Feb 18, 2011 |
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2011 16:03
|
|
|
foxatee posted:Oh good. I've been wondering about that irc channel. A good resource for breastfeeding (probably the best online) would be http://www.kellymom.com. Googling "essential baby items" brings up a host of items recommended and even some check lists with some good information. You can also get a list from your OBGYN or maybe your hospital's maternity ward. Here's one of the many links that came up: http://www.thenewparentsguide.com/essential-baby-products.htm Every person will have different ideas on what is necessary for starting your new life with baby. bamzilla fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Feb 18, 2011 |
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2011 16:06
|
|
|
foxatee posted:Edit: wanted to mention http://babyli.st/ which is a pretty neat registry that allows you to add from any store. Best of all, it is free. Amazon lets you add items from other websites as well. They even have an add-on for Firefox that will add the item to your registry when you click it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2011 03:32
|
|
|
McStabby posted:Amazon lets you add items from other websites as well. They even have an add-on for Firefox that will add the item to your registry when you click it. Amazon has a universal wishlist button for Chrome too.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2011 04:03
|
|
|
I keep meaning to ask, but does anyone have a link to a good mei tai pattern that they can recommend? It seems simple enough, but without having one in front of me, I'll probably estimate the measurements incorrectly.bamzilla posted:A good resource for breastfeeding (probably the best online) would be http://www.kellymom.com. I do think it would be worthwhile to have recommendations on specific products. I mean, everyone's different, obviously, but holy gently caress, is there a difference between, say, a My Brest Friend and a Boppy.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2011 04:12
|
|
|
http://www.askdrsears.com/ and car-seat.org are also great resources.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2011 07:38
|
|
|
I have an idiot cousin who already has 2 boys that are delinquents headed for prison, and it breaks my heart to say it, but they will end up like their father because she's too busy drinking/smoking/doing drugs and pretending she's doing a great job to notice that she really isn't, and her kids behaviour isn't normal. A few weeks ago she had her 3rd baby at 38 weeks by emergency caesar. She was at home and suddenly had severe pains and was rushed to hospital. She started hemorrhaging so they did an emergency caesar. She lives on the outer skirts of the main city here, so her baby was sent to the children's hospital in the city, while they fixed her up. Fixing her up required an emergency hysterectomy while stopping the bleeding. Baby had a cardiac arrest in the womb while they were rushing to get him out, and he was in the NICU for a couple of weeks. The kicker? She started hemorrhaging because she took some speed. At 38 weeks pregnant. Apparently she was "tired and it was hard to get out of bed in the morning to get the boys ready for school." Uh... you're 38 weeks pregnant, of course you're tired! I was livid - so so angry, because that poor new baby boy didn't choose to be born, and she'd already started off by making his entry to the world poo poo and would continue to do it. Now, all of that aside, my real question is about the beautiful baby boy. The NICU doctors and nurses were monitoring him for signs of withdrawal, but given that I didn't hear anything serious and he wasn't in there too long, it looks like she wasn't using during the rest of the pregnancy. (Or at least not enough to cause harm  )Has anybody here known any babies who were born in a similar situation? I'm just concerned that just because he didn't show immediate signs of withdrawal, and seems to be okay, that perhaps the drugs still could affect him in the months/years to come. Yay/nay? I dunno. It's all just so unfair and his life is going to be rough enough with her as a Mum, I don't want him to be ill aswell. (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2011 15:26
|
|
|
Is it still okay to post birth stories here? I am also wondering if someone has already set up some sort of repository of goon birth stories, because it needs to be done.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 05:42
|
|
|
A couple of hospitals here offer $70 childbirth classes but my CNM doesn't think they're very useful for teaching practical information about how to get through labor--just education about "This is what happens when baby comes, these are some of the tools we use". I've gotten all of that information from my own research. Bradley classes would be awesome, but we can't afford them. I feel like I could learn a lot from a book, but I'm not sure. If you took classes, do you think you could have done without? And is there anyone who attempted natural childbirth without taking classes? Second, my husband is stubborn and has agreed to read *one* pregnancy book. I need to choose wisely. I'm trying to decide between NCB the Bradley Way and The Birthing Partner. Which one would be better for him? Finally, has anyone had any success with Hypnobabies? It sounds neat, but I can't find it for less than $150. Maybe natural childbirth is not for the poors 
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 05:47
|
|
|
NCB the Bradley Way is an awesome book. I don't have any experience with the second one. I did listen to Hypnobabies and I do think it helped me achieve a really zen state while pushing-- to the point that I actually slept between pushes. The nurses thought it was hysterical, and I vaguely remember one saying, "hey, if she can do it, more power to her," or something like that.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 05:51
|
|
|
LuckyDaemon posted:And is there anyone who attempted natural childbirth without taking classes? I had 3 babies naturally with no classes.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 06:04
|
|
|
LuckyDaemon posted:A couple of hospitals here offer $70 childbirth classes but my CNM doesn't think they're very useful for teaching practical information about how to get through labor--just education about "This is what happens when baby comes, these are some of the tools we use". I've gotten all of that information from my own research. Bradley classes would be awesome, but we can't afford them. My husband and I took a birthing class together when I was pregnant the first time. It was kind of a drag for me since a lot of what we went over was stuff I already knew just from reading various books, but it actually was worth it just for the amount of stuff my husband picked up from the class. So if daddy isn't really a book reader, I would recommend taking a class or two, even if it feel like it wouldn't be beneficial to you. Also for what it's worth, I went in to it ignoring everything about natural childbirth since that wasn't in my "birth plan". I was one of those who had zero pain tolerance, getting blood drawn and exams caused me to cry half of the time, so I knew I was going to be one of those who needed an epidural. Things didn't work out that way, and when I was admitted I ended up being 9cm, so I never did get an epidural. The laboring pain at home was unbearable, and I was angry for most of it, but I made it through it all with out having taken any natural birthing classes. Rathina fucked around with this message at 06:38 on Feb 20, 2011 |
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 06:26
|
|
|
LuckDaemon, I had a natural childbirth at a birth center with no classes and no books. The whole pregnancy I just had it in my head that when the time came I would know what to do and anything I had previously learned would probably be thrown out the window. I'm normally someone who likes to plan things carefully but I think in labor you can really only have preferences. It worked perfectly for me and I had a great birth, but I also had a nice midwife helping to guide me. I did read a ton of birth stories online and asked everyone I knew how theirs had gone, in my opinion that is the best source of knowledge.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 06:29
|
|
|
.
A SPECIAL UNICORN fucked around with this message at 04:43 on Feb 15, 2019 |
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 06:37
|
|
|
I had natural childbirth without classes, but after reading some books--the one that really helped me was Spiritual Midwifery, which is totally nuts but really helped me to think about the pain of labor in a way that I could manage. The first half of the book is just a lot of women talking about their labors; that's the good stuff.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 06:50
|
|
|
I am currently 35.2 weeks pregnant with di-di twins. I am currently dilated to a 2 and almost completely effaced. My doc says she wont induce until 38 weeks. ARGH! But she did agree to strip my membranes next Friday. I was just wondering how many of you this has been successful/unsuccessful for? Ive heard it works for about 50% of women. I'm also curious if its more/less/the same for twin pregnancies. I'm also nervous its going to be painful. Is it just painful if you're not dilated or is it painful no matter what?
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 07:05
|
|
|
LuckyDaemon posted:Bradley classes would be awesome, but we can't afford them. If you can't afford Bradley classes how are you going to afford the epidural? Seriously though, if that's your only hurdle give the instructor a call and see if you can work something out. I did take Bradley classes, and honestly? I don't know. I'd like to think that I could have done without, but my husband could not have provided the level of support that he did without them. He would have been freaking out. But with them, he was a rockstar and I really don't know if I could have done it without him learning what the classes taught him.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 07:47
|
|
|
I didn't go to any classes and had a natural childbirth as far as no pain relief went because the midwives didn't seem to believe I was in labour until 10 minutes before Connor was born so all I had was 2 paracetamol then gas and air for the 9 minutes I was in the delivery room. But then I was lucky in that it only lasted 4 hours. Brighty 2002 - I had my membranes swept, it didn't hurt but it didn't do anything either, the worst part for me was the midwife trying to get her hand in far enough to do it. I think if you're not dilated enough they can't do it but I could be wrong or there could be different methods in different countries.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 08:10
|
|
|
There are zero Bradley classes in my rural area - in fact, when I met with the public health nurse who has been teaching prenatal classes and providing pre- and post-natal support for two decades, she had never heard of Bradley. It's not really a thing around here, and the only available classes are the hospital ones, which don't apply as I'm well-researched anyway, and planning a home birth. That said, my husband and I are still using the Bradley Method, just by going through the book and doing our own practices based on what they detail in the book. I haven't read the Birthing Partner, but it's in my midwives' library and I probably will before I deliver. Anyway, if you can finagle a book and a fraction of another book from your husband, what's worked for us has been for me to read the Bradley book and just hand it over to Mr. starshine to catch up on the short "for the coach" sections, read him anything I think is really important to learn, and go through the practice exercises together. So maybe, you could get him to read the other book on his own and use my strategy for Bradley! There's a lot of good information in there, but it's mostly for my benefit and I've had an easy enough time summarizing for him. Good luck! Also interested in the birth story question miss.kitty.jane raised - have to shamelessly admit that reading about the light at the end of the tunnel is my favorite part of this thread. Question for those who have done the hour-long glucose test: did you have to fast or prepare for it in any way? I had an unrelated physical and labs to go through yesterday (for immigration to Canada) and the doctor I saw called and let me know I had a moderate glucose level in my urine sample. I called my midwife and she agreed we should do the blood test when I'm there on Tuesday, but I forgot to ask about doing anything specific beforehand. Thanks in advance!
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 09:26
|
|
|
LuckyDaemon, I did not have a natural childbirth as such (I was fully induced and had an epidural after a few hours of pain), and while I was okay with not having gone to any classes, my husband was definitely NOT. He sat like a plum and didn't really know what to do with himself (he had also not read a single book on pregnancy or childcare). So I'm sure you will be fine with no classes, but it may be best to go to one for your husband's sake, especially if he is not a reader. Starshine, for my one hour glucose test I didn't do anything special. I had mine in the morning, and I just ate a normal breakfast beforehand. I'm pretty sure you don't need to fast for that one, just don't have a giant block of chocolate or anything crazy right before. Usually (at least here in New Zealand) if you "fail" the one hour test, you have to do the twelve-hour fast one, and they definitely tell you about that.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 10:52
|
|
|
miss.kitty.jane posted:Is it still okay to post birth stories here? I am also wondering if someone has already set up some sort of repository of goon birth stories, because it needs to be done. I'd like to know this as well, because I will be waking up in about 6 hours to take my wife to the hospital for our "elective" C-section and so by this time tomorrow I should have a son and a birth story to share! Ahhhh!
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 11:49
|
|
|
LuckyDaemon, I'm going to go against everyone here and say that I wish I took a class on natural childbirth. Not one of the normal birth classes, but one specifically geared to prepare you for a drug-free labour. I wanted a drug free labour, but ended up using gas and an epidural. My husband was really good, but he didn't quite know what to do with himself for a lot of it. If there is a next time I will probably do hypnobabies. I would also really like a birth stories repository, I really enjoy reading them.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 11:52
|
|
|
Starshine: I didn't have to fast for my glucose test. I started fasting once I got there. And as far as childbirth classes go, I can't speak for the natural birthing classes (or Bradley classes), but my husband and I went to a generic childbirth class, and it was really pretty worthless. I already knew about everything they were talking about from going through nursing school and from doing my own research and reading, but it was good for my husband, who had no clue about anything. That's really the main reason we went, so that he wouldn't be going into it not knowing what the hell was going on, and so I wouldn't have to stop mid-contraction to explain things to him.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 13:28
|
|
|
I took Bradley classes and had a natural birth. However, my husband absolutely hated the classes- he's a very private person and really didn't like doing the relaxation exercises in front of everyone. I think I would have been fine with just reading The Birth Partner and Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way (skip the book by Dr. Bradley,it's really dry and a bit outdated)although I agree that it was really interesting and helpful to read the birth stories in Spiritual Midwifery. I'm sure it varies from instructor to instructor, but I felt that a lot of the time the actual solid information came from reading chapters in the book on our own. Nthing the birth story repository idea, I really enjoy reading them and it was really helpful when I was pregnant.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 13:49
|
|
|
Brighty2002 posted:I am currently 35.2 weeks pregnant with di-di twins. I am currently dilated to a 2 and almost completely effaced. My doc says she wont induce until 38 weeks. ARGH! But she did agree to strip my membranes next Friday. I was just wondering how many of you this has been successful/unsuccessful for? Ive heard it works for about 50% of women. I'm also curious if its more/less/the same for twin pregnancies.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 15:32
|
|
|
dreamcatcherkwe posted:I had 3 babies naturally with no classes. I had one baby with no classes. Hot water is your best friend.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 15:43
|
|
|
Lucky Daemon: I'm currently taking birth classes from our hospital. Some of the information they have covered definitely falls under the "things I already knew" category. Other information that I thought I knew was actually corrected in this class. We've covered (and will cover in this week's class): some massage techniques and some breathing techniques as well as different positions for giving birth. I think it is useful (as mentioned before if your husband isn't a reader) because you do pick up some information. Starshine, I had my glucose test in the morning and they did tell me to fast for two hours prior to coming in. Because I opted to have mine early, I just got up and went to the test without food in my stomach for several hours. If you're unsure, I'd definitely call and check with the doctor because you don't want to have to go back for the three hour test if it's not necessary. I'm thankful that I passed the hour test because I don't think I could have sat through that longer one Also wondering about the birth stories...I like reading through them and seeing pictures of the new goonbabies.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 15:57
|
|
|
starshine posted:Question for those who have done the hour-long glucose test: did you have to fast or prepare for it in any way? I would call and ask. When I did the hour glucose tests with my first two pregnancies, I was told to fast. I didn't do it the 3rd time around so maybe the recommendation has changed, but I'd call to make sure.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 15:58
|
|
|
starshine, my GP specifically told me NOT to fast and eat a regular breakfast before the 1-hour glucose test. She said that if you fast, you'll get skewed results. They want to see how you tolerate glucose on a regular basis, and if you fast, it'll look like you can't tolerate it as well, as opposed to if you had of ate normally.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 17:28
|
|
|
Just to let everyone know - based on suggestions from the FB and IRC groups I've started a separate thread in E/N: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3391030 I don't know - maybe it won't amount to anything, but I figured it was worth a go.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 17:34
|
|
|
zombie duck v2.0 posted:starshine, my GP specifically told me NOT to fast and eat a regular breakfast before the 1-hour glucose test. She said that if you fast, you'll get skewed results. They want to see how you tolerate glucose on a regular basis, and if you fast, it'll look like you can't tolerate it as well, as opposed to if you had of ate normally. Mine also told me to go ahead and eat, but said to make sure I didn't eat too much sugary stuff. So I had eggs and toast.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 17:46
|
|
|
zombie duck v2.0 posted:starshine, my GP specifically told me NOT to fast and eat a regular breakfast before the 1-hour glucose test. She said that if you fast, you'll get skewed results. They want to see how you tolerate glucose on a regular basis, and if you fast, it'll look like you can't tolerate it as well, as opposed to if you had of ate normally. Just a note, there is more than one glucose test out there so you have to go by what your doctor told you to do. As a diabetic, I don't think you can cheat your way into a high blood sugar - people with normal endocrine systems will manufacture enough insulin to take care of a huge ice cream sundae whereas someone with gestational diabetes will get a high reading from a handful of crackers - but it's best to go by whatever instructions the doctor gave you. If the doc forgot, call the lab and ask, they know which test they are giving. Aagar, thanks for starting that thread.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 17:47
|
|
|
I was told to fast after midnight and I had my test at 8am. I did the same when I went for the 3 hour test.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 18:06
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 16, 2024 11:41 |
|
|
starshine: For my glucose test with my son, I was told to fast starting at midnight until the time of my test (which was at 8a). With my daughter, I was told I could eat a small breakfast, but not more than something like a piece of plain toast and an egg.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2011 18:14
|
|
