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Idonie posted:It is! But I found it got easier, not because the problems were solved (there were always new problems) but because they get better & better at giving clear feedback, and you get better at understanding it. I wouldn't mind if you posted it here. People can skip over the info if they want.
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Oct 31, 2011 03:21
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Welp, of all the things I thought I'd learn in my first week of motherhood, changing diapers by candlelight and nursing by flashlight was not one of them. Stupid freak October snowstorm absolutely wrecked any tree with leaves on it and now my town has no power, going on two days and counting. On the plus side, my husband was kind of hemming and hawing about the co-sleeping thing, but we've done it the past couple nights out of necessity cause of the cold and it's been pretty sweet. The little monster has been sucking me dry though and he gained four ounces from Friday to today! He'll be back to his birth weight by one week old, it looks like.
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Nov 1, 2011 00:25
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Lyz posted:Welp, of all the things I thought I'd learn in my first week of motherhood, changing diapers by candlelight and nursing by flashlight was not one of them. Stupid freak October snowstorm absolutely wrecked any tree with leaves on it and now my town has no power, going on two days and counting. Parenting - frontier style! Glad to hear the co-sleeping is working out, too. I've been hemming and hawing about it myself. The baby will definitely be in our bedroom, but between my husband's coma-like sleeping habits and the fact that our dogs have always slept in our bed, I'm not sure it's for us. I'd also love to hear more about infant sleep, from those of you who've read more about it. I've enjoyed reading the No-Cry Sleep Solution and Happiest Baby on the Block.
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Nov 1, 2011 18:00
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healthy sleep habits, happy child is another good one to look at.
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Nov 1, 2011 18:04
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Well my baby force field (aka Implanon) has been removed. The only thing that hurt was the lidocaine shot and then my arm just felt like it fell asleep for a few hours. The doctor was able to take it out through the same entrance area so I shouldn't have a new scar. I really liked the doctor and I talked to him about my anxieties about pregnancy and my antidepressants. He said we could try to come off the zoloft for at least my 1st trimester but if I was not doing well with that he was ok with staying on it for the entire pregnancy. Baby-makin' full speed ahead!
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Nov 3, 2011 07:13
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We also coslept from the beginning. I slept in several layers of clothing to avoid blankets completely, it seemed to work out well.
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Nov 3, 2011 23:12
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Smuffin24 posted:Well my baby force field (aka Implanon) has been removed. The only thing that hurt was the lidocaine shot and then my arm just felt like it fell asleep for a few hours. The doctor was able to take it out through the same entrance area so I shouldn't have a new scar. Do you have a therapist? If not please, please, PLEASE get one lined up before you get pregnant, even if you feel fine. I really do advocate for those with previous PPD and mental health issues to be able to have children without horrible PPD/problems, but part of that process is making sure you just don't wing it and figure "WELL I'LL DEAL IF IT HAPPENS". Deal with it before it happens, so even if it doesn't you are safe. Also going from 1 to 2 children is really stressful and having someone to talk to about it considering you have recently relocated and probably don't have a ton of friends would be worth it anyway.
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Nov 4, 2011 22:29
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MrsD. is now at week 9, no morning sickness but a major loss of appetite. Hormones are all over the place, finding out that she can eat a type of cheese that she thought she couldn't caused an attack of the waterworks at the supermarket for example. Then she gets upset because she's getting upset. She's on her way into the docs this morning because she thinks she's got a bladder infection. Fun and games!
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Nov 7, 2011 09:41
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I used to flip the gently caress out when people said I couldn't eat feta, when I've never even seen unpasteurized feta in this country. It should pass eventually 
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Nov 7, 2011 11:37
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Here's hoping. I'm just trying to be there to offer hugs when she needs them and apologise when it's something I've done. She is prone to letting stresses and worries get on top of her at the best of times. I'm trying to pre-empt my actions to make things easier for her and I was expecting her to be a worrying first time mum to be anyway.
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Nov 7, 2011 12:21
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All the food stuff is pretty bullshit- then again, the US does have a bad food safety record... Here in Japants even the hospital offered sashimi. Cheese, raw eggs, even a little booze* is considered OK here. *A glass of wine on the weekend is healthier than drinking diet Coke everyday.
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Nov 7, 2011 13:00
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I got really emotional at the beginning of this pregnancy because it felt like 99% of pregnancy information is all about the poo poo you can't or shouldn't do because you'll gently caress up the fetus. I was feeling so much pressure to be the perfect womb environment, and it was really overwhelming, and I felt like everyone was judging me all the time. Cue the waterworks! The FACT is that its all the stress is far worse for the baby than almost anything else. I recommend that you encourage your wife to stay as far away from Babycenter, pregnancy forums, and the majority of online "news articles" about pregnancy as possible. It all combines to stress you/her out. I was SO much happier and less anxious when I cut that poo poo out of my daily routine, and just concentrated on the relaxation practice from my birth class, and the "need to know" medical stuff. I did come across an awesome book recently, though, which I'd definitely recommend. It's "Brain Rules for Baby" by Dr. John Medina, and it includes all sorts of cool info about how babies' brains develop before and after the birth, actual science-backed information from a person who is great at translating research studies into fairly entertaining reading. There are lots of clips from the audiobook on the books website: http://brainrules.net/brain-rules-for-baby Some of the pregnant women I know would be appalled by how relaxed I am about all the "food rules" - I've had some wine, some seriously funky cheeses, a little raw cookie dough on occasion, I still drink coffee/tea/Coke daily, etc. But the fact is that I feel great, even at 38+ weeks preggo, my kid is growing well, and I've really enjoyed being pregnant. It's all anecdotal, but out of the women I know, that's pretty rare.
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Nov 7, 2011 17:59
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MoCookies posted:Some of the pregnant women I know would be appalled by how relaxed I am about all the "food rules" - I've had some wine, some seriously funky cheeses, a little raw cookie dough on occasion, I still drink coffee/tea/Coke daily, etc. But the fact is that I feel great, even at 38+ weeks preggo, my kid is growing well, and I've really enjoyed being pregnant. It's all anecdotal, but out of the women I know, that's pretty rare. I found out late in my pregnancy that apparently you're not supposed to eat deli meats... and that's what I packed myself for lunch for work every day for the majority of my pregnancy. Whoops! The kid came out healthy enough. I think a lot of the pregnancy stuff is bullshit, most "well 2 or 3 kids out of MILLIONS had a problem because of this thing, so everyone should avoid this thing just in case." I painted rooms, used chemical strippers, lifted heavy objects and even helped glue PVC pipes together, and my kiddo seem none the worse for it.
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Nov 7, 2011 18:08
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My wife was obeying all the food rules for about 6 months then just decided it was all nonsense and now eats whatever she likes, soft cheese, shellfish, deli meats, cured meat, raw fish etc. No alcohol though.
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Nov 7, 2011 19:45
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I've found that this blog : http://www.pregnantchicken.com/home/ has pretty good and reasonably funny sections for just about everything you're not supposed to do/eat/wear during pregnancy. I was super paranoid at first and once sent back a pizza that had feta cheese on it. Now, having done some research and understood WHY things are considered taboo during pregnancy, I have no issue with feta.
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Nov 7, 2011 19:53
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I'm in the same boat, though I never really believed the hype about food. For the first couple of months I stayed away because a lot of the negative side affects were possible miscarriages (which you don't have to worry about nearly as much after 3-4 months). I'm currently 29 weeks and I still eat sushi, runny eggs, whatever cheese I feel like and drink a glass of wine every other weekend. My midwife has been really great and supportive on all accounts. WebMD and the too-common germophobic/hypochondriac American mentality does not make for a stress free pregnancy.
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Nov 7, 2011 20:05
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MoCookies posted:Some of the pregnant women I know would be appalled by how relaxed I am about all the "food rules" - I've had some wine, some seriously funky cheeses, a little raw cookie dough on occasion, I still drink coffee/tea/Coke daily, etc. But the fact is that I feel great, even at 38+ weeks preggo, my kid is growing well, and I've really enjoyed being pregnant. It's all anecdotal, but out of the women I know, that's pretty rare. It is anectodal, but good for you that you feel good. I don't mean to be rude, but I think the "I did X and I'm fine" argument to be silly no matter what the topic. It's just not logically valid. And I ate sushi and drank coffee during pregnancy (two cups of coffee are ok if I remember correctly, and sushi is ok here, this probably varies from place to place)  I'd rather people get information of what guidelines apply for them, why those guidelines are there and then use common sense.Sarsaparilla, I think it's a little unfair to call the guidelines germophobic and hypochondriac. Guidelines like this are (hopefully) based on research and a risk/benefits assessment. Oh and it's not just an American thing, we have the same general guidelines here including a recomendation to completely avoid alcohol.
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Nov 7, 2011 20:25
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A lot of the guidelines are based on "better be safe than sorry" and very few studies and experts to back them up. For every research you find saying diet soda will possibly cause three eyes and a tail in your fetus, you'll find ten more saying that's absolutely ridiculous. It's obviously a very controversial topic, and in the end, everyone should practice whatever makes them most comfortable throughout pregnancy.
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Nov 7, 2011 20:53
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A study came out this September that showed only 30% of American ob-gyn guidelines are backed by "level A" scientific studies. Another 38% are backed by observational studies and another 32% are backed by expert opinion and experience. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/16/us-ob-gyn-guidelines-idUSTRE78F68920110916 edit: and here's a link to the abstract of the study: http://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Abstract/2011/09000/Scientific_Evidence_Underlying_the_American.3.aspx For a while my husband and I were really fighting over this, because he wanted to just trust the doctor to do whatever she wanted during labor and delivery and I felt very strongly about certain things (Pitocin, spontaneous pushing, labor positions, etc.). But after finding that study and statistics on American c-section rates, he is more willing to listen to me. We are still making sure that the doctor medically approves of our birth plan but we've hired a doula to make sure we follow it as much as possible. And give me massages
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Nov 7, 2011 21:10
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I think the reason I feel great is that I'm choosing not to stress, not that everyone should try to eat like me or make the same choices as me. Panne posted:Guidelines like this are (hopefully) based on research and a risk/benefits assessment. Oh and it's not just an American thing, we have the same general guidelines here including a recomendation to completely avoid alcohol. You're right - guidelines should be made on a risk vs benefit basis, and data is more than just the plural of anecdotes. But don't you find that the majority of the time, the rules are just repeated, rather than actually imparting useful information? For example, 'Don't eat soft cheeses' isn't very useful, especially when nearly all the cheese you can buy in North America is pasteurized, which means it has a very low risk of being contaminated by listeria. Stuff like that makes me nuts because it's repeated so often, despite being nearly useless information. Relative risk is an important concept, and one I think that doesn't get emphasized enough when we're talking about the riskiness of various germs or other pregnancy related stuff. I don't spend much time worrying about suicide or my husband murdering me, but there was just a study published about how expectant mothers are more likely to die from murder or suicide than the most common pregnancy-related medical issues. Weird, right? You'd never know it by the looks I get when I order a big coffee at Tim Hortons. My philosophy is that real food and real life comes with certain risks, and I'd rather enjoy the benefits of living with less stress than try to be perfect or perfectly safe all the time.
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Nov 7, 2011 21:15
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Food born illnesses are not something to thumb your nose at. While the recent outbreak of listeria was with cantaloupe and not deli meats, it still shows that the bacteria can be in our food sources. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/03/us-listeria-cantaloupes-idUSTRE7A20BU20111103 Also, there was a recall on eggs last year. http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/types/eggs/ I am not saying don't eat anything but be aware of what you are eating. Eat smart and make choices that make sense for you and be happy with them but also know that you have to deal with the possible consequences. And I agree, stressing out about it is likely to be worse in the long run. Again, be smart about what you eat but don't totally disregard guidelines.
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Nov 8, 2011 00:57
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MoCookies posted:My philosophy is that real food and real life comes with certain risks, and I'd rather enjoy the benefits of living with less stress than try to be perfect or perfectly safe all the time. I agree with your philosophy for myself personally, but when I am pregnant, I'm not making choices just for me. I'm a lot more careful about what I eat during pregnancy. Sure, I'll have runny eggs sometimes or soft cheese (because as previously mentioned, most soft cheese in America is pasteurized anyway), but why take unnecessary risks?
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Nov 8, 2011 03:41
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When I was trying to get pregnant, I though that I was going to ignore most of the dietary restrictions. Then I managed to get food poisoning the day I found out I was pregnant. I'm not 100% sure which of the ingredients did it, but the only thing I ate the day before I got sick was a sandwich with lunchmeat and brie. After being ill for 5-6 days, I have a new respect for food safety.
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Nov 8, 2011 04:17
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I was told by my midwife in regards to things like sushi and rare meat, was if I was confident in the source and it was something I ate regularly, it was fine - be concerned about food safety practices but that's it. But that If my body wasn't used to processing it not to start now. I still eat lunch meat and hot dogs but I limit it and try to eat better than I did prepregnancy but I dont limit sushi at my favorite restaurant.
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Nov 8, 2011 04:33
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I haven't gone crazy with the food restrictions this pregnancy, but I also realize I'm making choices for a completely helpless child that has no choice but to live inside me for 9 months and deal with the consequences of my decisions, so I'm not going to be all "lol gently caress dat i wanna be stress free". It literally takes an extra 20 seconds to microwave my deli meat before I eat it, and I enjoy california rolls just as much as sashimi, so I can easily make that "sacrifice" for my unborn baby and not feel stressed about it. But I've also used my judgment plenty of times and if I felt confident about the source of my food, then I felt okay about bending the rules somewhat. I also relaxed a little more once I passed the first trimester and the miscarriage risk became substantially lower.
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Nov 8, 2011 05:34
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I took my glucose test yesterday, the one hour, and it came back high. So now I have to do the three hour test, which I'll be doing tomorrow. I'm worried, of course, but I wonder how common it is to fail the first one and be fine on the second one. The nurse couldn't tell me if I was really high or borderline or anything. The thing is, so many people have told me they didn't have to fast for the first test, or just not eat two hours prior. My nurse told me to fast at least 8 hours. So I did it first thing in the morning yesterday, after not eating for 10+ hours and I wonder if that's the reason? Like maybe because that sugar drink was the first thing I'd had for so long? Even the lab tech told me it wasn't necessary for me to fast. They want me to fast for the three hour one too. Which I gather IS common. Anyone have experience with the three hour test, or with having gestational diabetes? Bodnoirbabe fucked around with this message at 19:44 on Nov 8, 2011 |
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Nov 8, 2011 19:37
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I have my one hour on Friday and was told not to fast - that I should eat my normal breakfast and then come in at 9am. My midwife told me not to worry if the one hour comes back high - that if it doesn't cool and if it does, the three hour is what I need to worry about (and that one I'd need to fast for) This is my first so I have no experience with Gestational Diabetes , however she did tell me that if I "failed" my three hour, we would work on changing up my diet a bit and work with a meter.
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Nov 8, 2011 20:27
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I've had to do the glucose screenings three times now - once with my previous pregnancy and twice with this current one (due to my weight they tested me early, and then again at the usual time), and all three times my 1-hour has come back high, but my 3-hour has been fine. The first one, they told me to fast beforehand, and I wound up drinking some iced tea in the window of time that I shouldn't have so that could have been why it came back high. The second and third times, they told me not to worry about fasting before the 1-hour and I didn't, but you always have to fast for the 3-hour. Mostly it's just a pain in the rear end, very boring. Take a book. I took the Kindle and the DS and still wound up reading half the baby magazines in the waiting room. I've got an appointment tomorrow and I'm worried, because my blood pressure has been quite high since Sunday. I have borderline hypertension anyway and they have me on a low dose of Cardizem for it, and up to this point it's been keeping things where they want them, but over the weekend it shot up and I'm running about 155/95. Not good. They told me to call and get the hell in there if it goes higher than 165/110, so I'm not there yet, but that's still pretty bad. Hopefully everything else looks ok and they'll just give me a higher dose of the meds and send me on my way. They've been keeping a really close eye on me this whole time to watch out for pre-eclampsia so I'm hoping that's not what is happening but it is very concerning.
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Nov 8, 2011 20:59
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Thanks for the replies. Makes me feel a little bit better. Failing the first test doesn't seem to be uncommon, but I am a bit nervous about failing the three hour. Fret, I really hope your BP holds out and you don't get the pre-eclempsia. I see your either just at or just about to be 8 months. It's scary of course, but hopefully if you do become PE, they'll be able to keep it managed until you can deliver. I'll be thinking of you and hoping for the best! Bodnoirbabe fucked around with this message at 21:21 on Nov 8, 2011 |
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Nov 8, 2011 21:18
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Bodnoirbabe posted:Thanks for the replies. Makes me feel a little bit better. Failing the first test doesn't seem to be uncommon, but I am a bit nervous about failing the three hour. I'm 30 weeks. Right now I'm torn between trying not to worry (since worrying can only make things worse) and just taking it easy, and trying to finish up preparations I thought I had ten more weeks to take care of. Hopefully I'll feel better once I see the doctor tomorrow, they can tell me what all this could mean and if there's anything I should or shouldn't be doing, etc. It's going to be tough to diagnose me with PE though, because I already had the high BP and protein in my urine beforehand (kidney issues). So far there are none of the other symptoms other than my pressure going up. Y'know, I think I'm done having kids, the first one went fine but this one is way too stressful.
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Nov 8, 2011 21:30
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Regarding fasting and glucose tolerance testing: it seems to just be physician preference. I've heard from lots of people that they didn't have to fast for the one hour but I had mine done on Friday and my doc wanted me to fast. Hope I passed it! I don't have time to do the three hour!
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Nov 8, 2011 22:14
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Am I the only one who was given the glucose drink to take home? The instructions don't mention anything about fasting - just to refrigerate the "glucola" until I'm ready to drink it, to drink it within 5-10 minutes, not to drink anything else afterwards, not even water, and to get to the office within 30 minutes of finishing it. (There's a spot on the label to record when I started drinking it and when I finished drinking it, presumably so that they can time the blood draw appropriately.) It just seems to me that there's going to be a difference between "woke up, drank a bottle of glucola, went to get blood drawn" and "woke up, had a nice big bowl of oatmeal, drank a bottle of glucola, went to get blood drawn".
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Nov 8, 2011 22:22
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The 1-hour is a screening. There are many women who have no issues with blood sugar control in pregnancy and it rules them out. They could eat three hot fudge sundaes before the test and it wouldn't matter, and they are ruled out by the first test. Many women fall in a category of finding that pregnancy hormones do interfere with how well their endocrine system works. It might be slight or it might be severe as they get bigger. The three-hour test will find those women whose blood sugar shoots up and STAYS up. If your sugar spikes then goes down quickly, it's a little delayed but it won't end up mattering to the baby. If it goes up and stays up, that's where it becomes a problem. You just have to follow the directions for your particular doctor/lab. If it's a non-fasting test, they are taking that into account, but it really doesn't make much difference anyway. That's just not how our bodies work. If your pancreas is up to snuff, it is producing insulin based on what you put in, and overloading it just means your pancreas has to kick in more strongly but it accounts for the extra food/glucose (and stores it efficiently in fat cells). The kind of numbers they are looking for just won't show up in someone with no problems processing glucose.
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Nov 8, 2011 22:49
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I think I was supposed to fast for three hours, but since it was first thing in the morning I ended up fasting something like 12 hours. Still came back normal. So the kiddo is two weeks old today and I am officially out of love with bed sharing. If he's anywhere near me he won't sleep and will instead wake me up constantly panting at my boobs until he gets a latch to fall asleep with. If I try to put him on his back he'll just fuss until he's lying on his side facing me. On the plus side, he seems to be losing his dependence on human contact for sleep, so maybe we can look at getting a cosleeping bassinet. Poor kiddo also has a blocked tear duct so there's another torture I have to inflict on him on every diaper change. He gets plenty of revenge on me by holding his pee until the diaper is off though, fun fun.
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Nov 8, 2011 23:08
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Lyz, I ended up just learning to sleep with my son latched on, lying on his side; it is doable for many women, if you want to try it, especially if you get tired enough. But if you want to move him to his own space, I can't blame you.
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Nov 8, 2011 23:38
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Yeah, I slept on my side with her on her side latched on constantly. And then at some point, she began to latch herself on without my help, which was completely awesome.
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Nov 8, 2011 23:40
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Susan B. Antimony posted:Lyz, I ended up just learning to sleep with my son latched on, lying on his side; it is doable for many women, if you want to try it, especially if you get tired enough. But if you want to move him to his own space, I can't blame you. Oh that's the way we finally drift off to sleep - him latched on. But my nipple is still a little sore, and combined with the fact he falls off pretty frequently and can't relatch on his own means it's usually another hour after nursing until he finally settles enough for me to go back to sleep. But if I get up to pee and leave him alone on the bed he sleeps like the dead. Go figure.
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Nov 8, 2011 23:45
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Bodnoirbabe posted:Anyone have experience with the three hour test, or with having gestational diabetes? I have been learning all about (and living with) GD, since my diagnosis a month ago. I hope you pass your three-hour test, because frankly GD isn't fun, but you only have to deal with it for a few months, so it could be worse. But if you get bad news and have questions about the new lifestyle let me know.
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Nov 9, 2011 02:50
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My wife's about to go get her RhoGAM shot tomorrow. We've only now realized that it may not be necessary and of course comes with some small risks. Is there any reason she should get it tomorrow instead of waiting and asking for a blood test for me? From my understanding if I were rhesus negative or if she were rhesus positive there'd be absolutely no reason for her to have the shot. Presumably the doctor's have checked and found that she's rhesus negative otherwise they wouldn't have ordered the shot but who knows, they may not have bothered checking. Can anyone make a recommendation here? We're certainly not against modern medicine or anything like that but if the shot might be totally unnecessary we could avoid all risks entirely. Melraidin fucked around with this message at 03:52 on Nov 9, 2011 |
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Nov 9, 2011 03:39
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Melraidin posted:My wife's about to go get her RhoGAM shot tomorrow. We've only now realized that it may not be necessary and of course comes with some small risks. You should discuss this with your doctor. Rh incompatibility is a pretty big deal from what I've read and discussed with others. I thought that blood typing was part of the set of blood work that doctors do. It's likely that your wife is Rh- if they want to give her the shot but I thought they also typed the dad's blood too. The shot doesn't just protect the current pregnancy but also future ones. I would get the shot if I were her. Just my nonmedical opinion.
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Nov 9, 2011 04:18
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