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Stairs posted:I'm a bit nervous about some upcoming plans, and would like some advice from anyone who might have it. I'm 34 (35 in 3 weeks) and have a 17 year old, an 11 year old, a nearly 3 year old and a 9 month old. All labours have been fairly complication free although with the last baby my waters broke at 32 weeks which was a bit poo poo. Two weeks in hospital before giving birth then 12 days of the baby in special care before coming home. As far as pregnancy care at 34 was concerned it wasn't any different to the others but then I'm in the UK and a lot of tests you seem to get in the US I'd never even heard of before reading this thread. Also I think they are less likely to push for sections here than in the US probably because they cost more for the NHS. I have to say I don't know if it's my age or being used to big age gaps but I really hate having the two youngest close together and in a lot of ways wish I had waited. But that is just my own personal feeling and I think in a year or so it won't matter - it's just now that I feel like I'm being split in two and not being a great mum to either. But most people cope absolutely fine so I think it's just me. My mum was 40 when she had my youngest brother and gave birth naturally after having a c-section with my sister and everything was fine.
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Jan 3, 2014 20:59
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Stairs: I was 37 when I had my first and only child, my son, and didn't require any additional testing or anything. They recommended the NT scan but that was it, it's recommended for anyone over 35 in my practice. I was able to see the midwives instead of an OB, and had a remarkably uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery.
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Jan 4, 2014 02:39
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skeetied posted:It sounds like your latch may still be a bit off, which probably doesn't let the sore one heal. Are both of your baby's lips flared out when nursing? It might be easier to get someone else to check the bottom one. If it isn't, you can gently pull down on the baby's chin to get the lip out and more boob in there, which should help even things out. The top is but I will check out the bottom. Thanks for the heads up.
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Jan 4, 2014 16:56
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Stairs posted:My questions are this: Has anyone here had a baby this late in their 30's? I'm concerned about what kind of tests they might insist on, given that two years ago they treated me like an elderly woman and pretty much insisted on c-section from 3 months in (to the point that I changed OB's a month before my due date). With a breech birth like my last, what are the chances of having a normal one this time? And lastly am I being a complete loving idiot for wanting two babies this close together when I'm my age? The tests are going to depend on your individual risk factors/family history, your OB, and who pays for the testing. My province does different tests than other ones do because the health care plan will only pay if certain risk factors arpresent. I don't think you're obligated to do most (any?) of them, so hopefully you can discuss with your OB the various risk factors for you which are age-related, the accuracy of the tests and what you're comfortable with. There might not be any point in testing for condition x if that condition isn't something that will impact your decision making. There seems to be some women who through some anatomical quirk are predisposed to breech babies, but since most of yours were heads down, chances are that was unique to the one pregnancy. My aunt also (in addition to having the largest twins in her province back in the 70s), had kids 5 and 6 a year apart in her mid forties, and it worked out well. The oldest 4 were their teens, so I think she got a lot of help too.
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Jan 5, 2014 02:00
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Welp, a week ago, I had a baby. Oren Kaa'i was born December 28th at 4:38am. 41 weeks exactly, after almost a week of intense prodromal labor and horrific contractions that sent me to L&D twice only to be sent back home both times for not progressing enough to be admitted. Finally, I went in to my OB on Friday at my wit's end and he manually pushed me from 4cm to 5, sent me to the hospital and I continued to make poor progress beyond that in spite of a lot of walking around the ward as best I could through the contractions and getting my water broken. Finally, despite wanting to avoid drugs, I broke down and asked for pain relief, first in the form of stadol which helped for about two hours and made me trip serious balls, then an epidural. With the epi came pitocin and the possibility of having to get a c-section but fortunately I quickly shot from where I stalled at 6cm to 10 and ended up pushing the kid out in about 15 minutes or less. Things have gone pretty well overall. He was a little jaundiced but that's going away and by his first pediatric appointment he'd regained all but 3 oz of his birthweight. I'm pretty fond of the little guy. 
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Jan 5, 2014 06:51
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My baby is getting fat  
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Jan 5, 2014 22:09
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kells posted:My baby is getting fat Oh my gosh s/he is so adorable! Congratulations! That's a really good, clear ultra sound picture. quote:I'm pretty fond of the little guy. Such chubby cheeks! Congrats to you too!
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Jan 5, 2014 23:09
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So I'm going to be moving in about 6 weeks. I'll be 16 weeks when we arrive. Where do I begin to start looking for a new provider? I'm completely overwhelmed. I want to have choices, some control this time. I could just go with the military doc and call it a day but that won't get me to birth I want this time. I'm high risk and wanting a VBAC so that already cuts down on the people who will take me on unfortunately. Any ideas? I posted in a spouse group for the area (barf) but it's very slow so no bites yet.
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Jan 6, 2014 03:56
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Esther Gum posted:So I'm going to be moving in about 6 weeks. I'll be 16 weeks when we arrive. Where do I begin to start looking for a new provider? I'm completely overwhelmed. I want to have choices, some control this time. I could just go with the military doc and call it a day but that won't get me to birth I want this time. I'm high risk and wanting a VBAC so that already cuts down on the people who will take me on unfortunately. If you're in the US, contacting your local ICAN chapter might help you find a VBAC-friendly provider.
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Jan 6, 2014 03:58
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skeetied posted:If you're in the US, contacting your local ICAN chapter might help you find a VBAC-friendly provider. Oh totally forgot about them. Thanks!
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Jan 6, 2014 04:07
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We just moved last month and I asked my old OB the same question. She suggested that we find out which hospital(s) my insurance would cover, call L&D a couple times at different times of day to catch different shifts, and ask the nurses who they think is really good.
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Jan 6, 2014 06:52
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Question: can I really be out by 2 weeks? I have usually predictable but occasionally annovulatory cycles. My husband and I started trying seriously 3 cycles ago in August. After a tense month or so waiting for ovulation, never mind my period, we went to the docs, got told 'you're fine, you'll probably get your period soon'. A week or so later (CD50!) I ovulated and by pure chance we'd been in a position to get pregnant. Fast forward to now; technically 7 weeks 3 days if you add 14 to the ovulation date (which was 29th November) I've had morning sickness, my boobs are two cup sizes larger than before, my belly feels tougher, positive pregnancy tests since 9th December...they started off faint, really really faint, but that line was wonderfully dark about two weeks later (for reference on faintness, the stick has a lower limit of 10miu/ml so faint would be really early). However, I've been spotting and mild period-pain style cramps pretty much all the way through, so today we had our first scan for viability. It showed a gestational sac apparently at the size for 5 weeks 3 days, with a yolk, but no Bean inside. Is it possible that with ovulation (stick test) positive on 29th November, that I could have only 'conceived' two weeks later than that, or that the Bean could be growing slowly enough that it wouldn't be particularly visible on an ultrasound (yet still be viable)? It seems quite unlikely to me but given that the human body is an amazing thing, I'm not going to rule it out (until the scan next week shows an empty sac).
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Jan 6, 2014 21:16
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If you know when you ovulated (and based on getting the initial positive on Dec 9 you are probably right on) it is highly unlikely you'd be measuring two weeks behind in the first trimester. Babies grow at a very predictable rate in the early weeks.
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Jan 6, 2014 21:28
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As a counterpoint, I knew when I ovulated with this pregnancy and I knew I was 5w2d when I went in for my first ultrasound, but I only had a yolk sac that was 3w5d. I was sure that it wasn't viable, but we saw the heartbeat two weeks later (when I still measured behind) and now I'm 21 weeks with a fetus measuring a week or two ahead.
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Jan 6, 2014 23:00
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sheri posted:If you know when you ovulated (and based on getting the initial positive on Dec 9 you are probably right on) it is highly unlikely you'd be measuring two weeks behind in the first trimester. Babies grow at a very predictable rate in the early weeks. Thank you, that's pretty much what I thought - the hospital have given me the number for the maternity ward if I miscarry this week and it's bad. So even they don't think it's likely to be viable given that it's two full weeks behind skeetied posted:As a counterpoint, I knew when I ovulated with this pregnancy and I knew I was 5w2d when I went in for my first ultrasound, but I only had a yolk sac that was 3w5d. I was sure that it wasn't viable, but we saw the heartbeat two weeks later (when I still measured behind) and now I'm 21 weeks with a fetus measuring a week or two ahead. I'm glad that yours has worked out for you, congratulations! I'm trying not to get my hopes up though as I suspect it's a lot more likely that there's nothing growing for me, but augh, waiting a week for the next ultrasound really sucks. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy 
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Jan 7, 2014 12:47
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Hey thread, looks like this is the end of the road for me. We went for our 12 week ultrasound today and found out that the baby stopped growing a few weeks ago, there was no heart beat and I guess the rest of my body never got the memo. I can't keep doing this to myself--a big part of the last month and dealing with my all day morning sickness and being off my medication was telling myself that the misery was worth it because I'd get to hold my baby in June, but I guess that wasn't true. This will be our second loss in the last 6 months, and I just can't go through the months of trying and failing and being off meds and the anxiety attacks that come with that, and then the morning sickness that lasts all day any night only for the possibility of this happening yet again. I am currently waiting to go see (not my) doctor and it looks like they'll be scheduling a d&c today or tomorrow. I'm happy with my family, and one kid is just fine. I'll see you all in the parenting thread--best of luck, best wishes.
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Jan 8, 2014 18:19
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I'm so sorry, raaaan
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Jan 8, 2014 22:07
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My condolences, raaaan. Don't feel you have to hold in your feelings because of your sister and her pregnancy.
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Jan 9, 2014 03:43
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Honestly, I'm still really happy for her, and some cuddle time with my completely adorable 17 month old have me feeling a lot better. That might change tomorrow after she has her ultrasound for determining gender and it's all over my Facebook wall, but we'll see. More than anything right now, I just want this to be over. I went over the ultrasound results with the doctor and the pregnancy ended early enough that rather than D&C she prescribed me a poo poo ton of morphine and some other pills that I have to apply to my cervix topically over the course of 16 hours. I only have one dose left and this entire process is completely miserable (and painful enough that the morphine is only really taking the edge off and making me hallucinate mildly). At least I can start taking my ADHD meds again tomorrow morning. :/
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Jan 9, 2014 07:54
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I'm so sorry for you I hope the little one's hugs helped you feel a tiny bit better. I can't imagine what you're going through but I hope you and your other half are able to get through this okay.
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Jan 9, 2014 13:23
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How much pelvic/public pain is "normal"? How much did you experience? Has anyone had or does anyone have SPD? I'm currently 35w1d and I've had terrible pain - it feels like someone has punched me in the vagina all day - for about 2 weeks now. It hurts to walk, roll over in bed, get out of bed, to stand, to get out of the car, etc. I remember some pain with my first, but nothing like this. Every step comes with a sharp pain and I've sometimes cried rolling over in bed or trying to get out of it in the middle of the night to pee (which happens 5-6 times a night). Is this level of pain normal or should I be worried about SPD? I don't see my doc again until the 20th and if I can avoid being the paranoid patient calling about normal things I definitely want to avoid it.
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Jan 12, 2014 04:56
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apathetic JAP posted:How much pelvic/public pain is "normal"? How much did you experience? Has anyone had or does anyone have SPD? You just described me the last time I was pregnant - I just tried to tough it out but could could barely walk by 40 weeks (I still remember how amazing it felt after the birth when my hips were able to move normally!) This pregnancy the pelvic/ hip pain kicked in at about 9 weeks. No way was I able to ignore it, especially with a toddler to chase after. I spoke to my midwife and she recommended seeing a chiropractor or physiotherapist to straighten everything out. I'm now at 30 weeks and have been going about once a month and it is AMAZING how much better I feel. It honestly changed the entire pregnancy from dreadful to something I (almost) enjoy. So basically, no, I don't think that level of pain is normal (standard "not a doctor" caveat here). There are things you can do to help to ease the pain - like swimming, gentle hip rotations, sitting on a swiss ball, and resting as much as possible - but if you have access to a reputable physiotherapist/ chiropractor/ massage therapist who has worked with pregnant people before then I'd really recommend seeing one.
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Jan 12, 2014 08:02
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Never mind I think.
Bambina fucked around with this message at 00:48 on Feb 4, 2014 |
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Jan 12, 2014 22:27
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kirsty posted:
Thanks for the reply! Does the adjustment itself hurt? If it's going to take away some of this pain it would be worth it but I'd like to be prepared. Is it possible for them to mess it up and injure me permanently?
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Jan 13, 2014 21:50
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apathetic JAP posted:Thanks for the reply! Does the adjustment itself hurt? If it's going to take away some of this pain it would be worth it but I'd like to be prepared. Is it possible for them to mess it up and injure me permanently? It feels tense, and perhaps a bit tender when they are getting you into position, but the adjustment itself is sweet sweet release. It's nearly impossible for them to mess you up permanently with the techniques they use. The concern you have is with your random friend that says "Hey! I can fix that for ya!" Best let the professionals handle it. Make sure to drink LOTS of water after the adjustment. It'll help with any residual headaches or muscle aches afterwards. Those residual aches are from the muscles releasing toxins they've been storing due to being in a tensed state from the misalignment.
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Jan 13, 2014 21:58
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apathetic JAP posted:Thanks for the reply! Does the adjustment itself hurt? If it's going to take away some of this pain it would be worth it but I'd like to be prepared. Is it possible for them to mess it up and injure me permanently? Personally I'd stay far away from chiropractic entirely due to the number of them that practice pseudoscientific quackery. A physical therapist and a massage therapist with pregnancy experience would be your best bet, in my opinion.
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Jan 13, 2014 22:01
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Personally, the treatment I received from my chiro during my pregnancy was wonderful and I know that I would have been a lot more seriously uncomfortable without it.
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Jan 13, 2014 22:23
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I typically avoid chiropractic care due to the pseudoscience nut jobs out there, but I just saw a very reputable chiropractor for SPD who specializes in women and prenatal care and it was nothing like the type of chiropractic that I've seen and heard of elsewhere. There was absolutely no "cracking" or touching of my neck or spine and a treatment plan was determined that didn't require frequent visits (in fact, she offered to teach my husband how to do the particular massage techniques so he could do it at home for me). I think you have to be very very careful when searching, but there may be some good apples out there (I would recommend speaking with your prenatal provider for a recommendation).
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Jan 13, 2014 23:19
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I had a pretty bad experience myself with chiropractic and the practitioner of said pseudoscience before (for non-pregnancy related back pain) but I am so desperate for relief I will try anything at this point. Unless I'm sitting on the couch I'm in pain and I don't think I can take it for (~)5 more weeks. I'll definitely ask my OB if she's aware of anyone with specific SPD/pregnancy experience and I'll seek out a PT if she can't give me the name of a reputable place. Either way it's covered by insurance. Has anyone tried a heating pad between their legs? OB said I could use it in short sessions on my back and hips and I'm wondering if it would help with this?
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Jan 14, 2014 00:19
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jota23 posted:
I know it helped you feel better, and this is not an insult to your intelligence or to your personal experience, but the whole "toxin release" thing is pure bunk, and has been proven to be so. You felt better because your joints got popped, which is as far as the "adjustment" actually went. Chiropractic medicine was a form of quackery that only gained acceptance due to the placebo effect from the massage and back cracking disguised as "adjusting subluxations". There are horror stories out there of people being paralyzed by bad cracking, or poisoned to death by the supposed "therapies" many of these people provide such as chelation and untested and non FDA approved herbal medicine. If getting this treatment helps you and you feel safe with your Chiro, then do it, but please be careful when they talk their talk. And please PLEASE never let them "adjust" your baby, which is something most Chiropractic centers offer.
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Jan 14, 2014 00:31
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Rule of thumb is if someone says something about toxins and it involves your body it is probably bs.
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Jan 14, 2014 00:32
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Stairs posted:I know it helped you feel better, and this is not an insult to your intelligence or to your personal experience, but the whole "toxin release" thing is pure bunk, and has been proven to be so. You felt better because your joints got popped, which is as far as the "adjustment" actually went. Chiropractic medicine was a form of quackery that only gained acceptance due to the placebo effect from the massage and back cracking disguised as "adjusting subluxations". There are horror stories out there of people being paralyzed by bad cracking, or poisoned to death by the supposed "therapies" many of these people provide such as chelation and untested and non FDA approved herbal medicine. If getting this treatment helps you and you feel safe with your Chiro, then do it, but please be careful when they talk their talk. I just wanted to quote this because it's a great post. apathetic JAP, I sincerely hope you find some pain relief soon!
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Jan 14, 2014 01:18
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Isabelle Caramel posted:I just wanted to quote this because it's a great post. apathetic JAP, I sincerely hope you find some pain relief soon! Thank you! I hope so too.
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Jan 14, 2014 01:48
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Stairs, I usually call bunk on about 99.9% of any newagey crap. I had not heard that little detail to be among them. Thanks for the update on that detail. Regardless of my misinformation, staying properly hydrated is a good idea anyway.
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Jan 14, 2014 02:43
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See your doc for a triage/problem visit and see if they think you would benefit from a referral to PT for brace/girdle.
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Jan 14, 2014 03:04
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superbelch posted:See your doc for a triage/problem visit and see if they think you would benefit from a referral to PT for brace/girdle. I didn't even think of a brace. Thank you!
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Jan 14, 2014 03:15
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Hello, pregnancy thread. I am 20.5 weeks through my first pregnancy and we're expecting a little girl! I can't wait! Since the start of the school year, my husband and I are also raising two kiddos (ages 8 and 11) following a family emergency, so to say things have been stressful is an understatement. On the one hand, I feel like we've had a great crash course in parenting but on the other, I am sure there's heaps to learn and I worry about how the kids will react to a new baby. I had an OB appointment this morning, and she wants us to get a birth plan in place. I'm not really sure where to start; does anyone have any book or website recommendations? I love that my OB does an ultrasound at each appointment. I have an anterior placenta, so haven't been able to feel any kicks yet which makes me worry unnecessarily between appointments. We could see the baby yawning and waving her little fingers today .
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Jan 14, 2014 06:33
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amethystbliss posted:I had an OB appointment this morning, and she wants us to get a birth plan in place. I'm not really sure where to start; does anyone have any book or website recommendations? I divided my birth plan into three sections: background info that I wanted the nursing staff to know (I have ridiculously hard to find veins and like giving as much warning as possible), things that were important to me for a vaginal birth, and things that were important to me for a c-section. A lot of it went out the window because my labor was so fast, but it was good to write as it was a good way to mentally prepare myself for what might happen.
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Jan 14, 2014 16:49
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amethystbliss posted:Hello, pregnancy thread. I am 20.5 weeks through my first pregnancy and we're expecting a little girl! I can't wait! Since the start of the school year, my husband and I are also raising two kiddos (ages 8 and 11) following a family emergency, so to say things have been stressful is an understatement. On the one hand, I feel like we've had a great crash course in parenting but on the other, I am sure there's heaps to learn and I worry about how the kids will react to a new baby. Congratulations! As far as the birth plan stuff goes, what you put in there is going to vary widely based on your preferences during birth. Don't let the terminology throw you into thinking it's some new agey thing. I believe that every woman benefits from researching what happens during labor and their options with pain management and different interventions offered, discussing any preferences with your doctor, and getting to be on the same page. A birth plan helps you to accomplish those things well before labor starts, where the situation can escalate quickly. Don't bother using the templates you can find online because some of them have pages worth of truly ridiculous stuff. In my opinion, a good birth plan is one page, clearly outlines your main objective in a header, and divides your main preferences in bullet points by stage of labor so that the medical team doesn't have to wade through pages of stuff to find the relevant information. I think the biggest benefit of a birth plan isn't outlining exactly what you want to happen but comes from discussing things with your doctor upfront. For instance, I delivered at a huge teaching hospital with a rotating staff of OBs and lots of protocols/policies in place. When you are in labor, you are kind of at the mercy of these policies and not really in a position where you want to spend a lot of time arguing. But, during my OB appointments, we discussed all the things I wanted to be able to do that weren't per policy but were fine in my doctor's book - bypass some routine stuff if it wasn't needed, be able to eat/drink as long as I felt comfortable, hold off on the immediate newborn exam etc. When I went to the hospital in labor and my OB wasn't on call, I didn't have to argue or convince anyone, I or my husband just had to say "My OB signed off on this in my birth plan." As far as recommendations go, I can recommend one that I found helpful but it is somewhat more geared towards an unmedicated delivery. The Birth Partner does a great job of outlining what happens during labor and different options as well as giving you things to consider if an emergency situation should arise. It's written for the support person (father of baby, doula, etc) but it is a lengthy read so I just read it and dog eared the parts I wanted my husband to go over.
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Jan 14, 2014 17:17
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Little man is three weeks old now. It seems like it's been forever. How do you all feel about La Leche League? I ask because my mom dragged me to a meeting last night and signed me up for a membership (she's a big LLL fan). Like, it was nice to get out of the house, and be able to feed without covering up, but I'm still kinda on the fence. Maybe it was because my mom was there, and not shutting up about how wonderful LLL is- the entire time. Plus I was surrounded by tons of people who were all about feeding still at the age of 2-3 ( fine for you but I'm definitely not) so I was a little weirded out. Especially since I want to be done with breast feeding by his first bday or before. I guess I'm not the touchy feely type and this place was touchy feely. Any way, end rant. Kid has next weight check in 7 hours and I hope we are closer to his birth weight again.
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Jan 16, 2014 08:28
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