Ok, maybe that's a slight exaggeration. I saw the midwife Wednesday. Fine. BP 130/80. Weight gain: 15 lbs so far. Baby's heartrate: not sure - baby was hiccuping every 3-4 beats and we were laughing at that so I forgot to ask. Sounded about the same as last week, though (130-140).
I'm starting to swell just a bit. Can't get my rings off right now but I have been able to for the past few days (since the swelling started).
I saw my chiro on Friday. She adjusted my pubic bone (in addition to my pelvis and back) and then I went for a big (think 6 km) walk. Mistake? I think so. I felt great during most of the walk but I was pretty scared that baby was going to fall out near the end. Now, that would be TOTALLY fine with me. I was picturing myself trying to get my underwear off under my long jean skirt without really alerting other walkers as to what I was doing...
I was an emotional wreck Friday night. Still managed to snap at DH even though he was a saint and took the Hippo out for a few hours so I could reset my sanity by tidying the kitchen and cooking. After the Hippo went to bed, I sobbed to DH about what a horrible person I am and why can't I just be nice. Turns out he still loves me (even though he didn't appreciate being snapped at ) and I am very thankful for that.
I've gone from "I don't feel pregnant as long as I'm moving around" to "The baby is sitting on my bladder and on my rectum so I pretty much always feel like I have to pee and poo". My lower back has started to ache. DH is learning the virtues of counterpressure. Not only did he give me a backrub yesterday afternoon, he let me nap for two hours while he played with the Hippo in the living room. I love my husband.
I'm having more and more BH contrax. I can feel them down low and they make my scar area feel sore. I'm not sure why this is. The Hippo was never this low. Am I sore because of the scar or would I have been this sore if the Hippo had ever unwedged his feel from my ribs? I was pretty tender when the chiro was adjusting me on Friday.
My feet don't look too swollen - they look like I've been standing all day on a hot day. I think I'm going to climb into the bathtub and see if I can soak some of the swelling away. I have NOT worked this hard and come this far only to swell up like a balloon at 37.5 weeks. With the Hippo I was swollen much, much earlier (30ish weeks, I think?) and it was REAL swelling.
A final thought: in 5 days I will be more pregnant than I have ever been. Hippo was extracted at 38 weeks exactly.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Short Active Labour? 36 wks 5 days
I finally questioned my mother in-depth about her births. I knew the basics (I was induced via AROM, my brother came when she was sick with the flu), but I didn't know how each labour progressed. Turns out she had a 2 hour active phase with me and about 15 minutes of active labour with my brother.
With me, the doctor ruptured her membranes around 10 am. She finally had regular contractions at 12ish. Things got serious at 6 and I was born at 8pm (33 years ago today!!).
With my brother, she went to the hospital late at night and he was born the next morning. When the doctor finally showed up, he checked her and she was less than 5 cm so he said he was going to get some breakfast. Before he hit the elevator she was in transition and my brother was born 5 contractions later.
Not sure if I have inherited these birthing genes, but I'm hopeful.
I decided to take the GBS test just for my own info. We discussed what would happen if we had to transfer and they found out I had refused antibiotics. My midwife assured me that they would only want to monitor baby and perhaps run blood test after 12 hours or so. I'm taking echinacea, burdock root, and astragulus tinctures to help build my immune system.
All is well on the blood sugar front. I haven't been as vigilant about testing the past 4 days because I haven't eaten anything that sets me off. I need to go buy more strips tomorrow, though. My fasting numbers have dropped back down considerably. Not sure if this is in response to stress reduction or having been off wheat for long enough that it's out of my system. I wasn't really any more stressed out before than I am now. My bp at the last visit was 120/84. The 84 has me a touch worried that I'm on an upward trend, but my midwife wasn't at all alarmed. I see the acupuncturist Wed and will ask her specifically to focus on bp. I also had a cup of coffee before the reading at the midwife so I suspect that could have done it (caffeine has been known to raise my blood pressure before).
I have no swelling to speak of so far. At this point last time I was swollen up like a balloon. I can still get my rings on and off. On the warmer days I do get a touch swollen, but this would happen even if I weren't pregnant.
I pulled out the birth pool today and read the instructions. We went shopping for a hose-faucet attachment and a tarp for the floor, but we got frustrated at not being able to find anything at Canadian Tire so we left. A local store offers a basket full of the homebirth supplies required by our midwife, so I'll buy that instead of dragging the Hippo in and out of a bunch of stores. It's a little more expensive, but the extra $20 is likely worth the aggravation and fuel.
With me, the doctor ruptured her membranes around 10 am. She finally had regular contractions at 12ish. Things got serious at 6 and I was born at 8pm (33 years ago today!!).
With my brother, she went to the hospital late at night and he was born the next morning. When the doctor finally showed up, he checked her and she was less than 5 cm so he said he was going to get some breakfast. Before he hit the elevator she was in transition and my brother was born 5 contractions later.
Not sure if I have inherited these birthing genes, but I'm hopeful.
I decided to take the GBS test just for my own info. We discussed what would happen if we had to transfer and they found out I had refused antibiotics. My midwife assured me that they would only want to monitor baby and perhaps run blood test after 12 hours or so. I'm taking echinacea, burdock root, and astragulus tinctures to help build my immune system.
All is well on the blood sugar front. I haven't been as vigilant about testing the past 4 days because I haven't eaten anything that sets me off. I need to go buy more strips tomorrow, though. My fasting numbers have dropped back down considerably. Not sure if this is in response to stress reduction or having been off wheat for long enough that it's out of my system. I wasn't really any more stressed out before than I am now. My bp at the last visit was 120/84. The 84 has me a touch worried that I'm on an upward trend, but my midwife wasn't at all alarmed. I see the acupuncturist Wed and will ask her specifically to focus on bp. I also had a cup of coffee before the reading at the midwife so I suspect that could have done it (caffeine has been known to raise my blood pressure before).
I have no swelling to speak of so far. At this point last time I was swollen up like a balloon. I can still get my rings on and off. On the warmer days I do get a touch swollen, but this would happen even if I weren't pregnant.
I pulled out the birth pool today and read the instructions. We went shopping for a hose-faucet attachment and a tarp for the floor, but we got frustrated at not being able to find anything at Canadian Tire so we left. A local store offers a basket full of the homebirth supplies required by our midwife, so I'll buy that instead of dragging the Hippo in and out of a bunch of stores. It's a little more expensive, but the extra $20 is likely worth the aggravation and fuel.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Hangin' In There
All is well here, thank G-d. I've been seeing the chiro and babe is quite low (I've had almost no heartburn!!!!). When I stand, baby's bum is only a few inches above my belly button. I felt pressure on my cervix for the first time ever a few days ago while riding in the car.
Sugar control has been pretty easy. I cut out all wheat and wheat products. Obviously I'm off sugar, too. It's totally doable at this point. I can still eat fruit in combo with protein and some on its own (melons). Quinoa, spelt, rye, and kamut are grains my body tolerates well so far (haven't tried any others). At first I felt hungry all the time until I realized there were grains out there that worked for me.
I'm hemming and hawing about the Group B strep test. I was barely positive last time ("scant growth"). This time my midwife gave me a protocol to follow that helps keep down the GBS, but it sounds like a huge hassle considering all the rest of the things I'm dealing with. That said, I don't think I'd go to the hospital for the prophylactic antibiotics unless I was totally rife with the bacteria. I just would like to know so that I can keep an eye on babe if I am GBS+.
I'm feeling more and more like this birth will happen at home. I'm starting to ask the necessary questions and make the necessary preparations. I've decided to set up the birth pool we bought just in case. Not sure I'll want to be in it, but my doula thought it would be a nice option. I have a feeling that gravity will play an important role for me in birthing since baby drops noticeably the more I walk during the day then floats back up at night when I'm lying down.
I had a dream the other night where I was telling someone I'd had a dream that I had a repeat c/s. In the same night, I dreamt that I had baby at home and she came out fast and without any pain... In the dream I called my mom and told her that giving birth didn't hurt at all...
I'm currently 35.5 weeks. At this point in my first pregnancy, the Hippo was 2.5 weeks away from being born (though I didn't know it at the time). It's a little crazy to think of it that way, especially since I'm planning to be pregnant for at least 5.5 more weeks.
All in all, I feel fantastic. The only time I really feel pregnant is when I'm bending over or I'm rolling over in bed. If I'm out walking, I feel awesome and have had very few low-energy days.
The Hippo and I belong to a group of 5 moms and toddlers. Until Friday, all the moms were pregnant for the second time. The first mama had her baby at home in the water on Friday. I'm next by due date and the third mama is due about 2.5 weeks after I am. The other two aren't due until March. All of them had vaginal births the first time (yippee!!) - even though one babe was an undiagnosed frank breech. Let's see if we can make it 5/5 vaginal births this time! I also have two friends due in December - one with her third (first two were vag) and one with her first.
Off to bed!
Sugar control has been pretty easy. I cut out all wheat and wheat products. Obviously I'm off sugar, too. It's totally doable at this point. I can still eat fruit in combo with protein and some on its own (melons). Quinoa, spelt, rye, and kamut are grains my body tolerates well so far (haven't tried any others). At first I felt hungry all the time until I realized there were grains out there that worked for me.
I'm hemming and hawing about the Group B strep test. I was barely positive last time ("scant growth"). This time my midwife gave me a protocol to follow that helps keep down the GBS, but it sounds like a huge hassle considering all the rest of the things I'm dealing with. That said, I don't think I'd go to the hospital for the prophylactic antibiotics unless I was totally rife with the bacteria. I just would like to know so that I can keep an eye on babe if I am GBS+.
I'm feeling more and more like this birth will happen at home. I'm starting to ask the necessary questions and make the necessary preparations. I've decided to set up the birth pool we bought just in case. Not sure I'll want to be in it, but my doula thought it would be a nice option. I have a feeling that gravity will play an important role for me in birthing since baby drops noticeably the more I walk during the day then floats back up at night when I'm lying down.
I had a dream the other night where I was telling someone I'd had a dream that I had a repeat c/s. In the same night, I dreamt that I had baby at home and she came out fast and without any pain... In the dream I called my mom and told her that giving birth didn't hurt at all...
I'm currently 35.5 weeks. At this point in my first pregnancy, the Hippo was 2.5 weeks away from being born (though I didn't know it at the time). It's a little crazy to think of it that way, especially since I'm planning to be pregnant for at least 5.5 more weeks.
All in all, I feel fantastic. The only time I really feel pregnant is when I'm bending over or I'm rolling over in bed. If I'm out walking, I feel awesome and have had very few low-energy days.
The Hippo and I belong to a group of 5 moms and toddlers. Until Friday, all the moms were pregnant for the second time. The first mama had her baby at home in the water on Friday. I'm next by due date and the third mama is due about 2.5 weeks after I am. The other two aren't due until March. All of them had vaginal births the first time (yippee!!) - even though one babe was an undiagnosed frank breech. Let's see if we can make it 5/5 vaginal births this time! I also have two friends due in December - one with her third (first two were vag) and one with her first.
Off to bed!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Gestational Diabetes
So, wherever you fall in the "does gestational diabetes really exist?" debate, I'm here to tell you that there is at least some truth to some mamas getting abnormal sugar readings in late pregnancy. I'm now one of them. About 10 days ago, I discovered that I'm no longer tolerant of any wheat - I'd sworn off white flour ages ago, but I'm a baking fanatic and plain whole wheat artisan bread is pretty much a staple of our diet. Not anymore - not for me, at least. I made the mistake of having a peanut butter sandwich a few days ago - whoa. I've never felt my blood sugar spike before, but I could surely feel this. It almost felt the same as when I know my blood sugar is low (shaky, unable to think clearly). It was scary.
Kamut seems to sit nicely, as does quinoa (in limited quantities). I've made some kamut bread and will try some this morning to see what it does to the blood sugar. I'm hoping to be able to tolerate at least a slice.
The hardest part right now is feeling full - I pretty much never feel full. I'm hoping the kamut bread will help with this (is it just psychological or do I really need some form of grain to feel satiated?). I've been mostly combining protein sources and vegetables with some fruit thrown in (fruit doesn't seem to cause a spike in me for now), but I'm starving again 2 hours later.
Oy. This too shall pass and my baby and I will be healthier for it.
Kamut seems to sit nicely, as does quinoa (in limited quantities). I've made some kamut bread and will try some this morning to see what it does to the blood sugar. I'm hoping to be able to tolerate at least a slice.
The hardest part right now is feeling full - I pretty much never feel full. I'm hoping the kamut bread will help with this (is it just psychological or do I really need some form of grain to feel satiated?). I've been mostly combining protein sources and vegetables with some fruit thrown in (fruit doesn't seem to cause a spike in me for now), but I'm starving again 2 hours later.
Oy. This too shall pass and my baby and I will be healthier for it.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Flippity-flop
As of the last 8 days, baby is head down. Well, almost down. She sometimes hangs out with her head in my hip, but this is fine by me for now. My amazing chiropractor and the magical Webster technique did the trick. I had a treatment last Thursday and another on Tuesday. I go again today. I also think that baby passed the magical weight mark where her head is now the heaviest part. She's back to being Party Baby. She wakes me up often in the night with her dancing. The Hippo didn't do this, but his placenta was anterior, so he had less scope for dancing, I suppose.
I'm back to troubleshooting blood sugar. My fasting numbers have been up for about a week. My post-meal numbers have been slightly elevated, but not above my midwife's cut-off. Is it stress? Not enough exercise? I've walked every day, but not the mammoth lengths that I have in previous weeks (only because I haven't wanted to go without friends and everyone is in the middle of their 9th month, vacation, or something else). Whatever. I took two cinnamon capsules last night before bed and my fasting number was down this morning. Yay for alternative remedies!
I feel fabulous (aside from a little more tired than usual, but I'm not concerned about that). I can still take my rings on and off (somehow this is a sign to me that all is well with my body - go figure).
I'm off to make smoothies for breakfast. I've totally become addicted to these and they make great popsicles, too. I would say combine the ingredients to your taste:
banana
strawberries (or raspberries, cherries, whatever other fruit you have to hand)
cottage cheese
Balkan style yogourt
If your bananas aren't quite ripe, add a teaspoon of honey. I also find that pureeing the cottage cheese first gets the lumps out. Cottage cheese adds lots of protein while the yogourt adds a nice creaminess and tang. I prefer to make this with an electric hand blender, but mine broke so I've been using my big blender until I get a new hand blender.
I'm back to troubleshooting blood sugar. My fasting numbers have been up for about a week. My post-meal numbers have been slightly elevated, but not above my midwife's cut-off. Is it stress? Not enough exercise? I've walked every day, but not the mammoth lengths that I have in previous weeks (only because I haven't wanted to go without friends and everyone is in the middle of their 9th month, vacation, or something else). Whatever. I took two cinnamon capsules last night before bed and my fasting number was down this morning. Yay for alternative remedies!
I feel fabulous (aside from a little more tired than usual, but I'm not concerned about that). I can still take my rings on and off (somehow this is a sign to me that all is well with my body - go figure).
I'm off to make smoothies for breakfast. I've totally become addicted to these and they make great popsicles, too. I would say combine the ingredients to your taste:
banana
strawberries (or raspberries, cherries, whatever other fruit you have to hand)
cottage cheese
Balkan style yogourt
If your bananas aren't quite ripe, add a teaspoon of honey. I also find that pureeing the cottage cheese first gets the lumps out. Cottage cheese adds lots of protein while the yogourt adds a nice creaminess and tang. I prefer to make this with an electric hand blender, but mine broke so I've been using my big blender until I get a new hand blender.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Face all your fears...
I've had the nagging sense that I should be doing research on breech. Sure enough, babe has been breech for the past week. I can feel her wobbly little head above my belly button and her feet down below.
At first, I panicked, seeing my HBAC plans fly out the window, but then I calmed down and decided that I should research, find a provider who catches vaginal breech, and try to do everything I can to turn the baby.
The good news: I'm only 32 weeks, so there's lots of time left. Babe has lots of room.
The not-so-good news: No one in my community will catch a vaginal breech, so I need to go farther afield. My midwife is helping me find someone in/near Vancouver and I'm even looking as far away as Washington state. The practitioner will have to be either an OB or an unregistered midwife as registered midwives are prohibited by the BC College of Midwives from attending vaginal breech births.
Off to do breech tilts.
At first, I panicked, seeing my HBAC plans fly out the window, but then I calmed down and decided that I should research, find a provider who catches vaginal breech, and try to do everything I can to turn the baby.
The good news: I'm only 32 weeks, so there's lots of time left. Babe has lots of room.
The not-so-good news: No one in my community will catch a vaginal breech, so I need to go farther afield. My midwife is helping me find someone in/near Vancouver and I'm even looking as far away as Washington state. The practitioner will have to be either an OB or an unregistered midwife as registered midwives are prohibited by the BC College of Midwives from attending vaginal breech births.
Off to do breech tilts.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Update: No news
All is well, thank G-d. BP=normal. Blood sugar=normal. Weight gain to date=11 lbs. Baby was less active last week and appears to have had a growth spurt. We're now back to our regularly scheduled dancing (maybe I should name her Ginger if she's, in fact, a girl?) and my belly-button is sporting a scab where the skin tore as it expanded.
As of last Wednesday, Ginger is head down and is rapidly running out of room. I haven't felt her turn since then, but I could be wrong. All the same, I invested in a yoga ball for proper posture when sitting (though I'm currently enjoying the comfy chair in the living room) and I'm contemplating doing some pelvic tilts, swimming, and other general good-positioning exercises. Still seeing the chiro and acupuncturist regularly.
Back to gestating in peace (which lately means lots and lots of time to myself since I can't seem to sleep in later than 3am...).
As of last Wednesday, Ginger is head down and is rapidly running out of room. I haven't felt her turn since then, but I could be wrong. All the same, I invested in a yoga ball for proper posture when sitting (though I'm currently enjoying the comfy chair in the living room) and I'm contemplating doing some pelvic tilts, swimming, and other general good-positioning exercises. Still seeing the chiro and acupuncturist regularly.
Back to gestating in peace (which lately means lots and lots of time to myself since I can't seem to sleep in later than 3am...).
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