AUGUST 2008 ~ BUMP BUDDIES

[sharishu]

Tina,
I am so sorry you are having work stress! Your boss needs a good bran muffin. Why is he hounding you in this late stage of your pregnancy? My bedrest has been a blessing in disguise, since it is paid for by the gov.; and I know if I had continued work with my crazy boss, the stress would have driven me insane. I know you are a strong girl, so just hang in there, you will be free of all work pressures soon enough. Sounds like you are progressing nicely, slowly but surely. I have no idea how effaced or dilated I am. I guess it's not the standard to check that over here, but I sure am curious to know.

Seltzer and Rebecca,
Any news, ladies?

Karen,
Sorry about your cold. Hope you feel all better in time for delivery.

Marybeth,
Hope all is well with you and your new precious bundles.

Will check in later.
Shari

[tinaO]

I have a strange feeling I am going to be the only one on this thread soon. I guess I will just post to myself and respond to myself.

Shari - Glad you are hanging in there with me. By the way, they mentioned Noah was probably on the high side of 5 pounds yesterday, so looks like I am ok on the size. Who knows - I mean, can they really predict this accurately anyway??

Ok, take care. Hope everyone is doing ok!!

[2ndtimer]

Hi Guys,
Not much time to write but I wanted to let everyone know that I had the baby on Friday 7/25/08 at 8:30pm! I ended up having a Csection. That Thursday night before I started to slowly trickle out fluid -wasn't even sure if that's what it was, but it seemed like watery fluid that definitely wasn't urine just barely enough to dampen my panties about 3 times. I called the MD & they said to just keep an eye on it overnight and of course call if it got more or I started labor. I had a reg MD appt Friday morning. Well, no signs of labor at all -not even the BH contractions that I had been having for so long. At the appt they did an u/s that showed that I had almost no amniotic fluid and also did a check that showed that my cervix was completed closed -no dilation no effacement at all. So they sent me up to the hospital and advised me that I was a poor candidate for induction -to expect a long long induction & still better than 60% chance of needing a Csection. So I just opted for the Csection.
It wasn't so bad at all. You can still feel pressure -lots of pressure, but no pain during the procedure & the spinal was not even as bad as getting an IV started. Baby boy weighed 7lbs & 6 oz and was 20 inches long. He is doing absolutely great and has really taken to breastfeeding. He is alert & strong and beautiful! DH is wonderful with the baby.
I still have incisional pain and cramping, but pretty much controlled by the meds.
If any of you end up with a Csection, be sure to pack some really big granny panties that cover you up to your belly button so that the seam doesn't rub your incision. Also, rooming in is great but for your own health insist that baby go back to the nursery after night feedings to allow yourself to get 2-3 hr naps through the night -And that's pretty much my advice.
I haven't even had time to catch up on the posts, so maybe everyone's had their babies?
It's wonderful and exhausting all at the same time.
Hope all you moms & babies are well.
Rebecca

[sharishu]

Rebecca,
Congratulations on your beautiful baby boy !! Sounds like you are both doing well, so that's wonderful. I got misty eyed once again while reading your good news. Thank you for writing about your experience with the c-section, it really puts my mind at ease, as that is what the doctors are leaning towards for me. Thanks for the tip on granny panties as well, I actually was wondering about that! That's so great that he's doing well with the breast feeding, that must be a relief. Enjoy this time, easing into caring for the baby and relishing in all the cuddles. And congrats to dh! Can't wait to see the photos. Oh, also, did you pick a name? Hope you have a speedy recovery from the surgery.

Tina,
Yup, I am hanging in there with you. I think my body is just gearing up for the move, and not for the birth. I am feeling better than my breakdown a few days ago, guess it was just one of those moments. Oh, I like your latest bump shot by the way. Okay, so I'm thinking that Seltzer will be posting some good news next. Exciting, huh?

Have a good day all, going to pack with dh.
Shari

[tinaO]

Rebecca - Congrats! I also am misty-eyed reading your post! If I gave myself the chance, I would probably bawl like a baby right now. I have been so emotional the last few days....so unlike me. Thank you so much for the advice and I am so glad all went well for you. It is funny that we had talked about my college roommate having the same thing happen with her amniotic fluid and that she had also chosen the c-sec route when confronted with virtually the same situation. I would agree that going the c-sec route in that case is best - a horrible labor would be terrible. I am glad it all went well for you. A huge congrats to you and your husband! Post pics when you can! Again, SO happy for you!!!

Ok, so Seltzer must be delivering now. Karen will be next. Shari's kid is going to drag this out to the bitter end. And me and Noah are still going to be sitting around waiting until like week 41 of my pregnancy. That is my prediction. Noah is determined to cause stretch marks on my stomach like he is creating on my hips and a-- and only then will he come out!! By then, you will have all delivered your babies and I will be here posting to myself like a crazed lunatic because none of you will have time to listen to me moan and groan. What happened to CTMichelle? She appears to be my only option for for continued company in this home stretch!!

Tina

[seltzer]

CONGRATULATIONS, Rebecca!! I am so happy for you & your DH and so pleased that your little boy is doing well. What is his name? Please post pics soon. I love baby pics! We still haven't seen Marybeth's boys--yours will be the first to see. I am glad to hear you are feeling OK and recovering from the C-sec. Seems to me like you made the right choice, given zero effacement and dilation. I would have done the same. This is so exciting!

Shari & Tina - oh no ladies, you will NOT be the only ones on this forum, posting to yourselves, LOL. I am here, no new news. Hanging in there but feeling like utter CRAP. I am not sleeping more than 2 hours until about 6 a.m. I have a emotional breakdown every day or two. God help me. It's the breathing and the digestive pain that are killing me. It's brutal. I am sweating like a pig, too. Anyone sweating profusely? Shari, I really felt for you when I read your post about your breakdown, BP, protein in urine, etc. Please hang in there. This WILL be over and you WILL be able to look back on it and go, "Thank God that is in the past!" You are doing a fantastic job and it won't be long now. You've had a really tough time of it. Tina - you never know, maybe that little Noah will make an earlier entrance. It's anyone's guess really. They say that effacement and dilation is not any indication of WHEN you will go into labor. My OB said first-time moms are usually fine one minute with no symptoms and then bang, they are doubled over w/contractions. I feel for you about your troubles lately as well...my boss wasn't cutting me any slack at the end either. I am so glad I left work early. I think all these emotional breakdowns are so normal at this point. Just try to keep your work in perspective. I think the industry you and I work can be so stressful, never mind adding a pregnancy to the mix. At least you've got your sense of humor!

Karen - sounds like the time is drawing near for you! I wish you the best and hope your cold goes away ASAP.

It is so hot today...I can't stand this heat! I feel like a damn sausage stuffed into its casing. Ugh. Another day to get through...yuk. I went to lunch with some friends from work today. It was nice to see them. Otherwise just biding my time and feeling gross and sick.

I'll check in later.

[sharishu]

Seltzer,
Oh, I guess I jumped the gun yet again . Any new developments re: dilation/effacement? To answer your question, I am sweating a lot too, and breathing is difficult at times, although easier in the last day, so maybe he's dropped down. I can totally relate to the heat discomfort, I can't STAND the summer for that reason. And in Israel, the summer heat can last until November! The good news is that we go to my family in NY for the Jewish holidays in October and usually enjoy nice, crisp fall weather during that time. Aaaaah. Also, the climate we're moving to, though only 30 minutes away, is milder than where we are now.

Tina,
How are you? Still truckin'? How is work treating you? I actually had a 'Tina' moment, and started cleaning all my furniture like a banshee in preparation for the move, which is tomorrow! My nesting instinct has kicked into high gear!

So, I can't wait till tomorrow, although we're not sleeping in the new place 'til Saturday night. We will be sleeping at my cousin's for the weekend, she will spoil us so we won't have to prepare big meals for the Sabbath this week right on top of the move. This week we bought a dishwasher, oven and gas range which we had delivered already. Not to mention a new refrigerator and new beds and night tables which we ordered a few weeks ago, being delivered tomorrow . Next week we're gonna have lots of technicians coming to install all the new appliances and to explain how they work. Can't WAIT till there's order in the new house, aaaaaaagh! Nothing to do but hope and pray that all goes smoothly. My mom is coming on monday morning, and she will be a huge help during this time. I feel relieved that I will have her come to visit at this time.

Beep beep beep (alarm clock)- time to test my BS!
Shari

[tinaO]

Hi - still trucking along down here. Worked too late last night which I now regret, but I slept pretty well which was nice. Noah has been extremely active - non-stop movement. It wears me out some days! But overall, I am doing much better since my meltdown on Monday.

Shari - I am so excited for you that everything is coming together with your new house!!! Plus having your mom there will be such a big help. You see, your little guy has just been waiting until the right moment to make his arrival!!! But wow - you have a lot to do the next few days, huh? But how exciting!

Seltzer - you crack me up with your comment about sausage in a casing. I was LMAO. I am so sick of being so fat. It disgusts me. But then again - feeling my little guy moving all around reminds me there is a good reason for it. I just have a feeling more stretch marks are coming....uh oh. I don't think he will make his entrance into the world until he is done with this masterpiece he has been creating for the last 9 months. A few more finishing touches and I believe I will go into labor....

Ok, I have to run. I have a lovely 2 hour conf call coming up - uuggghh. Good news is that I have so much vacation stored up that I am taking the whole week of Thanksgiving and Christmas off to spend with my little guy. That will be nice.

Ok, will post more later.

[CT_Michele]

Wow- so much has been going on!

Tina- I am here and will be here for the long haul! I have just had a lot going on latelty. This past weekend was my baby shower, which was fantastic. My mom had it at a local restaurant which has a fantastic sunday brunch. I got to see all of my family and friends and they were super generous, we got almost every big item off our registry. After the shower, dh went crazy assembling and we shopped for the remainder of what we needed. It was also my brothers bachelor party, which I did a lot of cooking for. he is getting married this saturday and I am the maid of honor. I am freaking out b/c every pair of shoes I have ordered or tried on have not fit due to my swelling feet, so I have 3 days left to find a pair to match the rest of the party!

So onto more important things. Congrats Rebecca! So exciting...and thanks for sharing about the c-section. I think that is my biggest fear, but I know it happens all the time, and I shouldn't be worried. I can't imagine going to the dr and being sent to have the baby. My dh keeps reminding me that anything could happen at anytime, but that just doesn.t seem real to me right now.

Shari- Good luck on this move. I hope it all goes smoothly so then you can really focus on the baby coming. I am sure you will be very relieved when the move is finally done.

Seltzer- sorry to hear you aren't feeling very great. I hope you feel better soon and don't worry, I think your delivery will not be too far away. As others have said, it will probably be Karen first and then you! I will definitely be last.

My ob appt was pretty uneventful yesterday. No protein, bp was good, 3 lb weight gain in 2 weeks (ugh). They said next time they will do a culture screen for strep B? I can't remember what they called it. Have you guys all had that done? She said it comes back positive in 30% of pregnant women.

Well, again, sorry I haven't been around with everything going on this week, but I will try to post more often. I also think I will post a belly shot from the baby shower. I will talk to you all soon!

[tinaO]

Hello! Everyone still hanging in there?

Seltzer - Come on, girl!!! How much longer can you drag this out????

As for me, all is good. Noah is quite the maniac the last few days. I am telling you, the kid is a spaz. I am so ready for the weekend!!!! Oh - and my mom gets her cast off tomorrow - yeah!

Ok belly buddies....keep me posted.

CT - glad you are sticking it out with me. I am on the brink of insanity as it is and don't think posting to myself will do me any good.....

[seltzer]

Hey everyone, I'm still here, waiting and waiting and waiting...!!!!! GAH!!! Tina, you think Noah is going to drag things out, well this bun I've got in the oven is DEFINITELY dragging things out till the bitter end, LOL. I have this horrid sneaking suspicion that my due date (Monday) will come and go completely uneventfully. I just know it!! Other than my BH contractions (nothing new there) and the shooting pains down my legs, there is nothing going on. Oh yes, and I cannot forget to mention my horrible digestive pain, but that is unrelated to the baby itself. Tonight I began getting the shooting groin/leg pains on the left side...they've been reserved for the right side and leg up till now. I guess that's progress, LOL. Anyway...this kid does not want out right now. I think it's way too comfortable in there & it obviously likes making its mother miserable.

Michelle - glad you are around again. I do NOT know how you can be in a wedding at this stage of the game (never mind the maid of honor). Good for you; enjoy yourself and have fun (assuming you find shoes to fit!). You're younger, though...maybe that's the answer. For me, being 40 and preg is very hard since I've had my body and my life my way for all this time. It's quite a shock to have this pregnancy thing happen to it now. Group B strep is a bacteria that is not harmful to you but can be harmful to the baby at delivery...so they just check to see if you have it "down there" (LOL, what an antiquated expression), and if you do you'll get antibiotics during labor. No biggie. They swab the outside of the vagina to check for it. Mine was negative...got it done at 35 wks I think.

Tina - Glad you got a chuckle out of my sausage/casing comment. That really does sum up how I feel: gross and chubby and cellulite-ridden. But soon, thank God, it will all be gone and I will feel thin! I totally LMAO when I read about the "masterpiece" Noah is working on w/your stretch marks and such! Hey you never know, maybe you won't get any more. Maybe your butt is more susceptible than your abdomen so you'll only get them there.

Shari - The big move is upon you, God bless you! I don't know how you're doing it. I hope it all goes smoothly and nicely and you are settled in soon. The heat over there must be unbearable during pregnancy...at least the place you're moving is better. Do you have a pool you can use or anything? A beach nearby? Embarrassingly I know very little about Israeli culture so I wouldn't know the first thing about summer over there. How have the blood sugars been? The BPs? To answer your question, no new news on any progress. I see the OB Friday @ 10 a.m. and am hoping there's been progress on the dilation front.

I spent today with my mother and sister, just hanging out, shopping, etc. It was nice to have a change of scenery since I'm going berserk staring at my own walls here at home. Not to provide TMI, but I had the most horrific gas pains today (not that this is a huge change from the past 9 mos)...I spend a LOT of time bent over one of those exercise balls and also on my hands and knees on the floor trying to mechanically push the gas out. I'm surprised I don't have better upper arm muscles by now, LOL. DP does a great imitation of me leaning over the exercise ball, groaning. Not very attractive!! I read that progesterone levels drop right away after delivery, and since this is the hormone that causes the digestive tract to grind to a halt during pregnancy, I am remaining hopeful that I will find relief from these symptoms very soon. Well I will sign off now. Everyone hang in there and have a great night (or day, I think, for Shari).

[sharishu]

Tina,
Don't go cyber-schizo just yet! I'm still here with you, sitting in my crowded, soon to be ex-apartment, with an ice coffee- yup, it's MOVING DAY. We packed EVERYTHING, so much so that I had to fork my coffee into my cup with a plastic fork that I found! Oops, bad planning.

CT Michele,
Good to hear from you! Congrats on your shower, sounds like it was very nice. We could use the company these days, so keep us apprised of your sitch when possible .

Seltzer,
How are you doing? Aren't you like past 39 weeks now? Woooow. I hope you are keeping yourself as comfy as possible. Hang in there, girl!
Well, I had a LOT of downward PRESSURE last night, and I started freaking out that we'd have to leave all our stuff here and go deliver. Alas, my little one is holding out, hopefully for another few days. Plllleeease, little one! So I head to my cousin's house soon. I never told her about my GD, I just don't want a whole bunch of questions from her and her daughters. So I'm gonna be on the downlow today, sneaking my glucometer to the bathroom at timed intervals. Fun fun fun.

I gotta go finish the finishing touches. I will not have computer access for a few days, will be in touch when I can.

Be well everyone, and let's all keep eachother updated ASAP!

Shari

[seltzer]

Oh, and while I'm in the habit of providing TMI, I will add that for about 2 weeks now I've had some irritating symptoms of a yeast infection (itching and burning externally). Last week the doc's office said don't worry about it unless it is really bothering me bigtime, which it wasn't. They said those symptoms are common at this stage of the pregnancy. But then last night it was bothering me a lot so I called the office again today. My OB prescribed a cream to use externally called "nystatin/triamcinolone" which is an antifungal/steroid cream. But now I am afraid to use it. What if it hurts the baby? What do you guys think? Also, the nurse said to me over the phone, and I quote: "And, when you wash your genitals [yes, she REALLY said this], use lukewarm water and no soap." NO SOAP? Are you kidding me?!?!?! That would be the day!! OMG, was I grossed out by that.

[sharishu]

Seltzer,
Just saw your post. FOA, hang in there, you're doing great! I have those inner thigh pains BIG time. I have had them since week 20, but they are just soooo intense now. My blood sugar is fine, it was just that one reading after I ate too much bread. My bp gets checked in a few days. The doc did say that the amount of protein found in my urine was not of concern, so I am trying to hang onto that. I also read that warning signs of preeclamp. are headache and swollen face. I have neither (TG), just hope it stays that way.

Anyone's veins (esp. on hands) popping out to beat the band? I noticed that mine are since last week. No biggie, just wondering. It's amazing the changes my bod has undergone these past months.

Okay, this should be my last post till I have computer access in a few days.

Have a great day, all!
Shari

[seltzer]

OK, today I actually have some news...last night I had a lot of strong BH contractions along with mild period-like cramping in my lower abdomen and a little in my back (kind of like before you get your period). I didn't really sleep at all, and when I would fall asleep I would get woken up by a contraction. They are not painful, just bothersome. So anyway, I was on the phone w/my mother just now and going to the bathroom, and out came a big hunk of mucous that was all brown, which I assume is blood! I don't know if this is the mucous plug or if it's bloody show. How would I know the difference?! So I called the OB & am waiting to hear back. I am a little freaked out that it was brown as opposed to red...I will keep you all posted. I am getting nervous. And I am so exhausted! I had hoped to get more sleep. The best-laid plans of mice and men, right?!