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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.
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Feb 20, 2011 06:50
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Congratulations, AlistairCookie! And yeah, I was reading your description and thinking, "That sounds about right." I will say that the pain only lasted a week for me, so maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones.
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Mar 8, 2011 08:10
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Hillridge posted:Thanks for all the info! Would you be the person giving birth, or would that be your partner? In my opinion, assuming you've got a low-risk pregnancy, it should really come down to what best works for the pregnant lady. I've given birth twice, once at a birthing center and once supposed to be at the hospital but accidentally at home, and while both were good experiences, I honestly preferred the second time. When I'm in a lot of pain or having to work hard at something, I really just want to be left alone to get on with it--I found the encouragement and offers of honey at the B.C. exasperating while I was in labor. Does the mother-to-be most want to be in a homey, familiar environment, or to feel absolutely secure that any medical problem can be dealt with instantly, or to have pain relief, or labor in water, or? Figuring that out is a good first step.
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Apr 7, 2011 20:06
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I drank plenty of water and didn't swell up at all [twice]. Also, I found ginger chews or real ginger ale [nonalcoholic of course] helpful, but my morning sickness wasn't too bad [threw up a few times per week, felt sick most of the time].
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Jul 21, 2011 02:34
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Banana Cat posted:If you have a chance after your baby is a little older, I'd love to know how the Sunbabys work for you. Pete is ten months old, and we have some Sunbabies--they are okay, although they're at the bottom of the stash. Honestly, if I had it to do all over again, I would do all prefolds and covers; nothing else is significantly more convenient, and prefolds are cheap. I got a wide variety of diapers to try: we have Sunbabies and FuzzBunz, as well as unbleached cotton prefolds, inserts, flip covers, thirsties covers, and Best Bottom covers. Heck, we even have a couple of fitted diapers, which I love but which are beyond expensive. And if I were going back now, I would buy only prefolds and Best Bottom covers. But the Sunbabies work fine! They're just sort of cheap looking and not excellently sewn.
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Sep 23, 2011 07:43
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FWIW, the vegetarian moms I know (myself included) are even more regular than they usually are during pregnancy. No idea what's going on there, but I'm grateful.
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Oct 6, 2011 20:42
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vanessa posted:I don't see any benefit to trying to guilt trip someone who just wants a few minutes to freshen up before taking a picture. I have no idea what I'll look like after I deliver, or if I'll have a chance to hold my baby right away (heaven forbid there be complications that separate us at first), but one thing I do know is that I won't regret taking a moment to clean up before letting the paparazzi in. I don't think it's about a guilt trip; I think it's that, to many women who have actually gone through labor, this position sounds unbelievably stupid. So Fionnoula is describing an excellent reason for not, e.g., making sure that you aren't wearing a tacky hospital gown so that you instead poo poo yourself wearing a Pretty Pusher--if that's the most important thing to you when you've just met your child, then something is loving wrong with you.
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Oct 13, 2011 06:29
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VorpalBunny posted:You need to read the birth story where the mother gave birth in the toilet. I forget who it was, but she did the same thing (laboring at home) and BOOM - baby in the toilet. That was me! But to be fair, that was my second labor and birth--the first one took two and a half days. D: It is very, very rare for a first pregnancy to go so quickly.
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Oct 16, 2011 06:43
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Lyz posted:Congrats! That must have been a minor heart attack to see the kid up on the monitor! You should of course seriously consider the downsides, but I was able to induce labor with castor oil twice--the first part of your experience will be pretty awful (although it will keep you from making GBS threads yourself during labor!), but I suspect it's an easier induction overall than the hospital variety. Whatever you do, good luck!
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Oct 21, 2011 19:52
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We did bedsharing for the first seven months or so. We had planned to use a little in-bed cosleeper but, like you, discovered that he would wail and wail unless actually sleeping with a person--so when he was two weeks old and we were so short on sleep that it was hard to focus our eyes, I gave up and just pulled him into the bed with me. And immediately we were getting enough sleep at night. We moved him to a crib when he started to roll out of bed and try to take up a full half of our queen bed--the middle half. If you're comfortable with it, I say go for it (providing that you don't drink, use sleeping drugs, have a ton of pillows, etc.).
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Oct 30, 2011 02:09
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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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I've had natural childbirth twice--one long labor and one short--and am planning on it again this time. I had a mantra the first time of "Thousands of women stupider than I am and more chickenshit than I am have made it it through this, so I can do it too." Classy, right? I don't like needles, I didn't want the baby to get any drugs, and I wanted to labor in water, so it seemed like a pretty straightforward decision for me.
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Nov 23, 2011 20:29
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Crazy Old Clarice posted:Goonettes I need your advice. Today I am officially 40weeks and there is no sign that this kid is ready to emerge. I had my midwife appointment today and she said they are willing to let things go a little while longer, but with my gestational diabetes they are planning on getting this kid out in a week if labor hasn't happened by then. She tried to strip my membranes today to help things along, but it turns out that my cervix was all "hell no" (completely undialated) and she said that induction at this point wouldn't take since clearly my body wasn't ready yet. I can tell you what I did, and what's worked for me twice: castor oil. If your cervix is ripe (even if undilated), castor oil may be able to kickstart labor. Both times I took it twice in the evening and woke up in labor--but you will poo poo YOUR BRAINS OUT, so many women consider it not worth trying. On the plus side, I didn't crap myself while in labor, having already cleaned out my insides. Best of luck! Oh, and congrats, Superdawg!
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Jan 5, 2012 04:24
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bamzilla posted:That's weird. I got 2 opinions, one from my OB and one from another doctor, that both said it was fine. I'm also in my first trimester. I mean it's not something I'd take multiple times a day, but I take it when I need it (which is usually 2-3 times a week). I think there was one study that showed an increased risk of cleft palate with Benedryl use in the first trimester--this is what my medical mother told me when I asked, anyway. The odds are very much against it, but I admit that I've avoided it.
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Jan 13, 2012 06:53
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Bodnoirbabe, I'm so sorry to hear that you're having such a hard time. Do you have someone at home helping you right now? I haven't been in your position--I did have times when I was so short on sleep that I thought I would lose my mind, but I had help and I had cosleeping. Have you tried waking Max up at regular times to feed him? If there's anyway that you can set an alarm for two hours hence when he falls asleep, nap yourself, then wake up, wake him up, nurse him, and repeat--you might both be better off. Even if you can't sleep, if you can lie down and rest your body, it will help. Can your husband watch him sleep while you sleep--could you sleep if you knew for sure that in two hours or when Max wakes up, whichever comes first, he will bring the baby to you? He's beautiful, and it really does get easier once you figure out a routine together.
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Feb 27, 2012 12:02
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Mnemosyne, I was having terrible charley horses, too--started drinking a glass of orange juice or a banana every day, and they are gone. Maybe try just eating or drinking something with potassium?
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Apr 16, 2012 04:26
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Lolitas Alright! posted:I have a breastfeeding question for you guys. I spend the first couple of months or so of nursing smooshing my breast between my fingers--sandwiched so that the nipple stuck out quite a bit from the rest of the breast--and that was enough for us. My hands hurt, but as he got bigger, things got easier.
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Jun 2, 2012 04:48
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PeachyKeen posted:Congratulations on the new wee man Mr Darcy, he's gorgeous. Could you be dehydrated? If I don't drink water like crazy, I get the sore throat and headaches.
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Jun 19, 2012 21:27
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My boys are twenty months and six weeks old--we had planned to wait a little longer, but at least so far, it's been much easier than I feared (although some times, like tandem nursing, have been harder than I expected). My youngest is a pretty cheery baby, though; this would be so, so much harder if he was colicky. As it is, we're all just a bit dazed. But it's great!
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Jul 27, 2012 00:44
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Alterian posted:So far so good. We only have a few issues. He got a little jaundicey and the dr thought it was because he lost too much weight his first two days of life while my milk hadn't come in yet so they had us supplement with formula. Pretty much I nurse him for about 45 minutes and if he's still hungry, give him a bottle. He's such a pig though. After we had done that for about 5 days he was back to his birth weight. We don't need to supplement him anymore for weight reasons, but he still has a huge appetite. I'll still nurse for about 45 minutes and he'll need to be topped off with a bottle. Sometimes he only needs half an oz and other times he'' have up to 3ozs. I guess I just have to wait for my supply to increase. I still feel sort of crappy about it, but he's healthy so I guess thats what matters. What an adorable little beast you have there! Congratulations! In terms of increasing supply, the first thing that comes to mind is making sure that you're drinking enough water. I personally have noticed that if I get less than four hours or so of sleep a night, my supply nosedives; also, taking fenugreek supplements works for many people. Nursing more frequently might also be helpful. Good luck!
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Dec 2, 2012 23:10
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I love the Ergo, too--I've carried my son in it since he was a newborn. Now he's two and change, and loves to ride on my back in the Ergo. It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out that you can move the cross strap in back up and down; it was jammed into my throat for quite awhile. =/ But now it's great, super comfortable!
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Apr 5, 2013 19:46
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Awesome Kristin posted:Hey, thread, I'm back! I believe I'm about 3 weeks pregnant. Yeah, the line was SUPER faint, but there! I got pregnant with my youngest when his brother was ten months old; it's hard, no loving lie, but the baby turns one year old next week and I wouldn't change the timing for the world. The first six months were especially hard--but I had heard from other moms of kids close together that the first year is the hard part, and we got through it, and I'm thrilled with my boys. I hope you have a partner and maybe some friends or grandparents to help out; if I hadn't had people to cover for me once in awhile so that I could sleep, I think I would have lost my mind.
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Jun 2, 2013 23:13
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