November 2009 babies?

[excited-in-la]

Hi all,

Sorry to have been MIA. I am sorry for the difficulties so many of you have been going through.

Wondercat - thanks for keeping us all smiling.

Our restricted activity seems to be working! At our last ultrasound, the baby shot up from the 3 percentile to the 51st! The doctor said she is already an overachiever! I asked if I could now go back to work, but he said no - this is proof that the modified bedrest is working. I can't really argue. We signed up for Netflix and I have been watching lots of movies, catching up with friends, etc. - oh, and I check my registry 3 times a day - no joke. Pretty pathetic! I am allowed one outing a day, but that is often doctor's appts. Since she is looking good, I really have nothing to complain about.

For cord banking, we went with CBR. At my OB's recommendation, I looked at CBR and Viacord. He said they were both good and I should to with the one with the better deal, but when I pushed he said he leaned slightly toward CBR because they were bigger and better established - he said it is all about the lab, so going with a lab that knows what they are doing is critical. The other factor seems to be that the OB has experience in collecting the cord blood. My dr. said to avoid some of the smaller companies based on lab quality. I also talked to my fertility doctor who is a good family friend and he said the same thing - that he leans slightly to CBR just based on the years they have been doing it. Viacord is running a $500 discount in California that CBR honored, so they were exactly the same price! You can just ask about it on the phone.

We had our breastfeeding class, which I had been fearing somewhat, but it was really helpful. My husband compared the teacher to the "Soup Nazi" on Seinfeld and kept calling her the "Boob Nazi" - not the best name coming from a nice Jewish boy, I reminded him, but fitting none the less We are going to give it a try and see how it goes. My friends had all told me to get the Medela Pump 'n Style pump, but apparently there is a new, better one - the Medela Free Style. I swaped it out on our registry (warning - price tag is about $100 more!) Our last class is Baby Care next weekend. I have to say that the infant CPR was really helpful and I would recommend it.

We have our next ultrasound tomorrow, so fingers crossed

[Wondercat]

excited-in-la - I am so glad to hear that the bedrest has worked out so well for the well-being of your baby, even though I'm sure you must be going nuts. I'm trying to keep on going, but it's getting harder and harder to do. Picking things up off the ground is this enormous hassle, and of course I'm dropping things twice as often as usual. Last night eating dinner on the couch I just had to get up and take my pants off because the panel was just making it too tight to comfortably sit up straight any more. My husband was looking at me like I had officially lost my mind (which I probably have) but it still didn't stop him from trying to take advantage of my pantless state once we were done eating. And I know - I just KNOW - that one of these mornings I'm going to stretch out to hit the snooze button on my alarm clock and my belly is just going to tip me straight out of bed onto the floor.

[excited-in-la]

Wondercat - I was laughing out loud reading your post Just keep having a good sense of humor about it! I just vetoed eating on the couch until the end of the pregnancy, because I just can't take it anymore! I have full faith that you will be able to stay in bed without rolling out throughout the pregnancy!

[Wondercat]

I am a firm believer in the maxim that you can either laugh or cry, and crying usually just gives you a headache. Not that I don't ever cry about anything - I wasn't doing too well two days after finding out my cousin killed himself, after putting in 9 hours at work and then going to day one of dog obedience school where my dog was freaking out for the full 45 minutes and I was exhausted and hungry and my back hurt by the time I went home to my empty house at 8:30 that night.

But for times like recently when our other dog ran away in a cloudburst and for some strange reason my husband jumped in the car while I set out on foot... That was just funny. I heard him howling so there I was swathed in my husband's slicker, waddling through the puddles after him at "top speed," heart racing as I reached a brisk walk, waving the bag of treats at his retreating tail, barely able to wheeze out his name to try and call him, fondly dreaming about having one of those motorized scooters you see advertised on TV all the time. I had to call my husband, who drove over and (acting on a tip from some fat, hairy guy who was for some reason standing on his lawn with no shirt on) was able to tackle the beagle to the ground and throw his soaking wet little fanny into the car just as I came panting up. Naturally, this happened on the day when I decided to wash the collars they usually wear that have their name and our phone number embroidered on them.

That's just my life, though. How has everybody else been? Kind of quiet on this board. I have been getting some heart palpitations but from what I understand that's normal.

[aspotofTea]

Hi again ladies-

Wondercat, you are going to have to write a book someday. Between the dog, Charlie and Paul, and all your odd experiences with doctors and nurses it would be a bestseller. Plus, you have a good sense of humor about it all.

ianmichael, I'm sorta with you about the emotions. I'm a pretty even keeled person normally, but lately everything makes me cry. Not like sad tears, but just emotional. Commercials, TV shows, everything.

charr, I've been thinking about you and hoping that you are doing okay and that the cervix is holding steady.

excited, glad that the bedrest is working well! I am a believer in it now, since I've come so far with the buns still in the oven.

So today is 31 wks 1 day. Never has a single day been such an important measurement of time! Tomorrow, I will leave my house for the first time in 2 months. I have to actually go into the peri's office for my two week u/s. He wants to be able to use "the big guns"- the fancy high tech equipment in his office, since we're getting so close.

I'm really nervous- the most activity I've had is shuffling around my bedroom and to the bathroom. Tomorrow I have to go downstairs and get in the car! My OB is nervous too but she knows it has to be done. He will be able to get a good look at the babies and make sure everything looks good and get another weight on them. I'm hoping the girl put some on- she was smaller than her brother two weeks ago.

Have any of you had the non stress test? My OB is going to have the nurse come to my place next week and do this. The Dr is funny- she's so cautious and so invested in us, she really is one of the biggest reasons we've managed to not deliver yet.

We've all come so far- it's getting to the end of September! I can't believe it. Hope you all are well!

[charr]

Wondercat - Thanks for keeping us all laughing!

Aspotoftea - Good luck with the u/s. I'm sure you're looking forward to seeing the babies. I have a non-stress test weekly now. I am usually on the monitors for about 40 minutes. I also typically have my cervix checked weekly. In the last two weeks I've stayed the same at 50% effaced and the baby is still at -1 station. So I, too, am feeling that all my rest either in bed or in the recliner is doing the trick. I'm at 33 wks 3 days today.

I hope everyone else is doing wonderfully. I'm definitely getting to that uncomfortable stage. It's hard to find a comfortable position these days!

[nancy1]

Hi ladies,

for those of you who are on bedrest, my thoughts are with you. Just hang in there a little while longer and it will all be worthed!

ASPOTOFTEA: I must really complement you on your patience! I'm glad that everything is going well thus far and hope to hear soon about your perinatlologist's visit

Charr: good luck on your stress test. Let us know how it goes.

Wondercat: agree with the rest of the ladies! You have a great sense of humor through all of this.

IANMICHAEL: hang in there! I get really emotional too at times!

I had my OB visit today. BP, urine and weight are all good, although I feel like a whale!! UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Going to work is becoming a real hassle!
I feel like I don't have anything ready yet. Just placed the order for the baby's furniture today and I hope the baby doesn't come before them! :-)
Oh wel, I always have the bassinet as a back up.
Anyhow, that's my venting for the day.
Good like ladies and keep us posted how your visits go.
Nancy

[excited-in-la]

Hi ladies!

Nancy - Congrats on a great visit!

Wondercat - You have the BEST stories! I agree on the book deal!

Spot of tea - Hope your outing to the doctor was easy, uneventful and let you breath some fresh air. Please let us know how it went.

Charr - Good luck with the weekly stress tests and lay low.

Things are looking good here (thank god and finally). We had an ultrasound Friday and the doctor said the baby is strong and healthy and at the 50th percentile. Her vital organs have all caught up! He does a full structural ultrasound every week and they usually take 10-15 mins. He is a serious guy and hardly says anything during the ultrasounds, but this one went 25 minutes without a word. He kept going over her brain and I was tearing up - I almost lost it. Hubbie finally asked what was going on and he said "the baby just isn't cooperating, everything looks good, but I can't measure blood to her brain because every time I try, she moves her head to the other side." We all lauged and took a breath. That's my girl! Being feisty and causing trouble already!!! Now, when I say we have weekly ultrasounds, don't get excited. We haven't seen her face in about 2 months. The perinatologist is all about the medical aspects - the fun aspects to him are a sidenote and with all that has been going on, we don't really care as long as the baby is healthy - though the nurses are pushing us to ask for a picture

We go back next week and he thinks we will deliver at 36-38 weeks - I am at almost 33 now, so it is really coming up fast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yikes.

Hope all is well with everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ianmichael3]

Oh girls.... you're all keeping me in stitches and upbeat! Thank you and God bless all of ya! I'm 31 weeks, nine to go, can't figure out my ticker or why it says there's only 17 days left. Next appt is this Thursday, hoping he'll see me everyother week there after, but guessing he'll put that off, too. He's very laid back, which is probably good b/c I'm so high strung.

[Wondercat]

It's good to see everybody's posts so positive! I had my regular check-up today and was told that he has dropped significantly and I am 1 cm dilated. The nurse seemed to think this was a good thing, it just means I'm getting ready to go but not about to go into early labor or something. So all it probably means for me is that my suddenly-paranoid husband won't let me have any more sex for the next 6 weeks. Oh, and it also means that when the little guy gets the hiccups it feels rather like my rectum has the hiccups. Which is... different.

I feel like I have lost track - what is everyone having and when are you due? I am having one boy, due November 11.

I'm sure more later, but I missed the morning for the doctor so naturally I have some financial reports that urgently need to get done!

[aspotofTea]

Hi Ladies-

excited, I'm so glad to hear that the baby is doing so well! Good news. Funny, do we have the same perinatologist? Yours sounds like mine- once, my OB had to remind him to "show the mommy to be" the scan b/c he was so intent on what he was doing, and I was the only one in the room who couldn't see the screen!

Nancy, I hear you- I'm feeling like myself, only with Jupiter attached to my abdomen. I can't believe how big the belly has become.

and charr, I'm with you too. Comfort is a distant memory these days. I wake up about every two hours because I have to shift to my other side, which requires me getting out of the bed since I can't roll over anymore!

wondercat, lately I've felt the same thing with the boy and his hiccups! he's low, so I feel them really low near my butt almost and it's so weird.

So for me: today is 32 weeks 1 day. The Dr visit last week went well- it was SO weird to be outside, in the car, etc. The babies are growing very fast- 4 lbs 3 oz and 4 lbs 6 oz. Doc says the fluid levels look good, everything looks pretty good. He seemed optimistic that we could hang in there for a few more weeks.

I did however, score high on the glucose challenge test. So tomorrow I have to do the 3 hour test. Another trip out of the house, but instead of sitting in the waiting room of the lab for the blood draws, my OB is going to have me lie down on the couch in her office! If we make it to 34 weeks, it is really because of her. I can't thank her enough.

At this point, that's what I have my eyes on- 13 more days- which gets us to the start of week 34. If I can make it that far, I'll be very happy and ready to go whenever it happens. I was getting really scared, last night and today my contractions not only got stronger but more frequent. I was adjusted to a slightly higher dose of the meds, and this evening it seems to have settled down a bit.

Oh, and to answer wc, I'm having twins- one boy, one girl. As to when, well, that's totally up in the air! Which makes my husband and I look at each other like deers in headlights.

I'll try and keep posting frequently just for posting sake- so when I'm gone for more than a week, you guys will know there is a good chance I'm in the hospital possibly with two newborns!

take care everyone- hope this home stretch goes well for all of you.

[charr]

Hello, ladies! Glad to hear everyone is doing so well. I had my weekly appt. today and am now 75% effaced. My cervix is still in tact though so I'm not dilating yet. I will be going off my contraction meds between weeks 35 and 36 and let nature take its course. This coming Sunday is week 35 for me. If I make it that long, I'm due Nov. 8, and we're having a boy. I'm starting to get some nerves about labor and delivery. I just have to keep telling myself everything will be fine and I'll get through it!

[Wondercat]

charr - I hear you on the pre-labor/birth nerves. I made the mistake of watching a TV show on "free-birthing" at like 3 in the morning a couple weeks ago... You know, when I couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep. Eep. The only thing that freaked me out about finding out I was already 1 cm dilated was worrying that I will get to the hospital and they will tell me it's too late for painkillers. Now I don't exactly want to be doped out of my mind, but I have a healthy respect for my embarrassingly low pain tolerance level. Especially after wussing out as much as I did at 6 am this morning with a vicious, nasty leg cramp. Gotta love how philosophical my husband is about those now. I'm alternately convulsively grabbing my calf (which I can barely reach) and punching the bed with my fist and he's just like, "Oh, it's just a leg cramp?" ::rolls over and promptly starts snoring again::

Can you believe that the number of weeks left for us is in the single digits now?? It feels like yesterday we were all at around 7 weeks talking about our little beans and 40 seemed like forever away!

[nancy1]

Hi ladies,

always great to hear from all of you!

IANMICHAEL: hang in there! And it's good that your OB is laid back. Sometimes docs make you a lot more nervous than you need to!

CHARR: hang in there! 3 more weeks and the baby will be full-term!!!

ASPOTOFTEA: I must applaud you! The bedrest this long couldn't have been easy but you did it! The glucose test; don't worry. I tested borderline on my first one than good on the second.

EXCITED: you're lucky you're getting regular u/s. That must give you plenty of piece of mind even if your OB is not very communicative! :-)

WONDERCAT: it seems like we are all close as far as due dates go. I will be 33.5 weeks now and having a boy.

Hubby and I are trying to finalize to baby's name and get the room in order. While much has been done already, we still have quite a bit to do.
I also want to finalize the cord banking today in case of an early arrival!

Anyhow, have a great rest of the week everyone!
Nancy

[excited-in-la]

Hi everyone. We had an ultrasound today and all looks great! The doctor thinks the baby is around 4 lbs, 8 ounces and is looking great! It is about time. They did blood work last week and I am a bit amenic, so they added iron supplements to my plethora of pills (this makes one shot and 13 pills a day at three different times - fun!) My doctor said in an abundance of caution, he is having me go in twice next week (and probably going forward) for the non-stress/fetal monitoring test. The nurse said with people with my history, he usually does that around week 30 and we are at 33, so I feel good about that!

We are having a baby girl - due Nov. 18, but he expects she will come in late Oct./early Nov. When Oct 1 hit, I looked at my husband and said "oh my god, we could have a baby this month!!!!" It feels surreal. I agree, it seems like we were all just in the first trimester, finding out the sex, dealing with amnios, etc.

We have two baby showers this weekend and one next weekend - I am so glad to celebrate with family and friends, but still not sure why there needed to be three showers!!!!

[/b]Wondercat - I have been getting leg cramps (again, I had them in the first trimester too). I find it helps a ton to get up and walk. It helps more than anything else. Kick hubby when he tries to fall back asleep!

Nancy - I get the trying to set up the room thing. We ordered the baby furniture July 22 and JUST got a call that it is arriving next week - it takes almost as long to make the furniture as the baby!!!! We had a mural painted on the baby's wall and we need to have the closet people out to build out the closet (scheduled) and the shutter people out to install a shutter over the window (paid and ordered, not scheduled!) SO much to do!!! I don't think we will ever agree on a name. I figure I will have tremendous power to choose in the hospital, so I'm not worried about it!

ASpot ofTea - Hang in there with the bedrest. Hope the non-stress test was uneventful. We go to Dr. Tabsh. Who is your perinatologist?

Charr - Thanks for sharing about the non-stress test. Hang in there! We will be sending good thoughts for no dilation. I am scared about labor and delivery too - but I just keep telling myself that everyone you ever meet was delivered! I figure if they can all do it, we can too!

IanMichael - Hope the app. went well. Hang in there. Type A is not all bad