August 2009 Pregnancy Thread

[MinEaston]

Here's the list for August. Let me know of any additions or updates!

linsleyd - 8/14/09 - girl!
wallingjan1 - 8/17/09
Mineaston - 9/6/09 - surprise!
jadenegro - 9/20/09 - boy!
Alleycat - 9/25/09 - boy!
PoppyJ - 9/25/09 - boy!
NewMrsG - 10/14/09 - boy!
Jalapeno - 10/20/09 - girl!
sugarbaby - 10/22/09 - boy!

Waiting to hear from:
LHBryan - 8/3/09 - girl! (induction July 30)

*Candace - Benjamin Oliver - in our hearts*
*Autumn - in our hearts*

[MinEaston]

Hopefully everything went well for Laura last Thursday and we'll hear from her soon.

lindsleyd - are you enjoying being home? Good luck tomorrow with the NST...

We've had a relatively nice summer here in MD, but last week the heat & humidity started to creep up to **normal** levels and it's awful. I get soooo tired by the end of the day and that's in A/C!

I have far more than 5 weeks of work left here in the office, and our house is a disaster zone. I haven't started to think about a hospital bag (we live 2 blocks away so it's not too big a deal) and I should pre-register. We need to get the crib from the attic and set it up, wash the clothes I brought down already, and get the changing 'station' set up. One thing at a time. I think my biggest worry right now is if we have to leave in the middle of the night, because I can't call my inlaws or my parents at 3am. My neighbors are currently out of the country but will be back since schools start before this one is due.

Have I mentioned that DD starts Pre-Kindergarten Aug 31? While I wouldn't mind an early arrival, I really want to avoid this day. Well, I guess the entire weekend before, too.

[linsleyd]

Min - hopefully your little one holds out until after pre-k starts! And definitley take things one day at a time, it can get overwhelming quickly!

Today is my NST and another ultrasound on Thursday. It looks like we'll be doing an induction unless there are some changes in the intestine. Boo....I've been drinking raspberry leaf tea and walking - that's about as far as I'm willing to go! I honestly don't think she's ready, but I also know when I conceived so I think she's two weeks behind the date anyway...

Well I'm headed to take the dogs walking before this heat starts up again!

[chazkp]

Please add me to the list

Due 1/20 - don't know yet

I'm excited that I get to join this group, but it looks like I still have a long way to go compared with most of you

My next dr. appt is tomorrow and hopefully my ultrasound will be soon. Things are going well so far, and my DD (3yrs old) is "taking care" of me.

linsleyd - Good luck with your NST. I hope all goes well.

Min - Hope you are able to get everything around and are able to relax in between.

[MinEaston]

Welcome chazkp! It appears that the editing window has expired for this thread

How cute about your DD.

[PoppyJ]

Welcome chazkp. I hope you have a smooth and easy pregnancy and can you please have your dd give my dd a call?

lindsleyd- Good luck with your NST and ultrasound. Do you think your LO is two weeks younger than they estimate? What has the doctor said about that?

MinEaston- My fingers are crossed that the LO does not come when DD is starting Pre-K.

Things are going fine here. Another appointment tomorrow. I cannot believe that I have less than 2 month to go. Can I start panicking now?!?!

[aggie94]

Can I join this group?

Some of you guys may know me from way back when I started this thread anonymously. Needless to say, since I have never planned on having a baby, I'm feeling a little (okay, a lot!) nervous and overwhelmed right now. But also very excited.

We had our first OB appointment today. My estimated due date is March 14, 2010. Seriously, that is a LONG ways away. I have been feeling queasy and nauseous pretty much 24/7 for the past 8 days and am sooooooo over this already.

[misskitty100]

Can I join this group?

Some of you guys may know me from way back when I started this thread anonymously. Needless to say, since I have never planned on having a baby, I'm feeling a little (okay, a lot!) nervous and overwhelmed right now. But also very excited.

We had our first OB appointment today. My estimated due date is March 14, 2010. Seriously, that is a LONG ways away. I have been feeling queasy and nauseous pretty much 24/7 for the past 8 days and am sooooooo over this already.

Congratulations! I am very excited for you and your DH. You will BOTH be excellent parents!!!

[NewMrsG]

Congratulations Eva and chazkp!

Hoping to hear from Laura soon.

Linsley - hang in there! Hope it's not too much longer.

Min and Poppy - I hear you about nearing the end.

I've had a bit of a scare this week. I had an OB visit yesterday and an ultrasound. The ultrasound went great - BabyG looked awesome (although it's so surprising to me that you can actually see/make out less when they're bigger than you can at 20 weeks). They estimated his weight at 3 lbs, 3 ozs, and he's moving like a champ. The radiologist declared him "perfect". So then I saw the OB. I'm fine except there was a sizeable spike in my systolic blood pressure. I'm still within normal limits - I've always been on the very low end of normal - typically around 100/60, but yesterday was 130/70. The first time it's been high at all. So we were hoping it was just a blip as I hadn't slept the night before, it was 90 degrees out, etc. She wanted me to come in later this week for a repeat check, but I was supposed to fly out for a conference this afternoon, so I went back in this morning. We were hoping it would go back down, but it didn't. Didn't go up, but still right at 130.

So of course her worry is the beginning of preeclampsia. The good news in my favor is that I didn't have it with Macy, and that's usually how it goes, and I have no other symptoms whatsoever. And my labs were all normal. She gave me the go-ahead to fly out to Toronto and I'm going to check in with her again on Tuesday. So I'm now in a really nice hotel in a comfy bed, trying not to worry. I've been telling myself that even if it is preeclampsia, it's developing very slowly and I'm almost 31 weeks. And because I teach, I'm doing a lot of miscellaneous things this summer but am not actively teaching, so most of what I do I could do from home. But really don't want to be on bed rest, and of course really don't want anything to happen to this baby.

As if I wasn't venting enough last week!

[MinEaston]

Congrats aggie94 - I remember reading that thread (can't remember if I ever responded and am too tired to reread right now). It's great to have you here! FWIW, I was fairly certain DD1 would be an only child, so when we found out in early Jan that #2 was on the way, I was nervous and overwhelmed too. Sorry to hear you aren't feeling well. I had nausea with this pregnancy and I found that keeping something in my stomach helped a lot (a few crackers, handful of granola, piece of cheese).

NewMrsG - sorry to hear about the BP issues! Hopefully Thursday it will be either lower or at least steady.

[tholbrook]

Just popping in to say a big congrats to Chaz and Eva!!!

Hope you both have smooth, uncomplicated pregnancies!

And Eva, I peeked at that thread - I was in the same boat as you were. No plans to have any kids for a lot of the same reasons that you listed. It took me awhile to warm up to the idea when I found out (the word "terrified" comes to mind), but I adore my daughter, and I couldn't be happier that things went down a different path than I had intended.

Wishing all you ladies happy, healthy pregnancies - can't wait to see the birth announcements - and pictures - over the next few weeks and months!

[linsleyd]

Eva, congratulations! I had nausea and strong, strong food aversions until about 15 weeks and then a completly symptom free pregnancy from that point on. If that helps.

I'm going in today for induction. I was at the doctor Tuesday and he wasn't happy with the NST so he made me come back Wed morning. That doctor sent me straight to labor and delivery where they monitored me for two hours. So I'm to call to day at 3:30 to get my spot in the line up for induction. Baby's baseline heartbeat is low but otherwise she is spiking normally and moving but it's better to get her out now.

Can I say I'm slightly disappointed I'm not going to be able to see Julie and Julia in the theatre now? I just saw the commercial for it...

So please send good thoughts my way come Friday morning. Thurs night they are only going to do cervadil and pitocin on Friday. I'm quite can't believe I'm actually having a baby!

[MinEaston]

Good luck linsleyd! We'll look forward to your news from the other side.

[Couperine]

Good luck today Linsley!

I keep peeking in to see how things went for LHBryan, but considering how little I post now that I have a 2 mo, I can understand and keep waiting!

[chazkp]

linsleyd - Good Luck! Will be thinking of you Friday and I hope everything goes well.

Eva - So sorry you are feeling bad. Morning sickness is a horrible thing. I had it bad, and just did the best I could with eating something small when I was having a good moment. Hopefully it will be over soon for you. For several weeks the only thing I ate was baked potatoes, mostly plain. I couldn't even keep down my prenatal vitimins and sometimes not even water - so if you find something that seems okay with your stomach go with it!

I heard the heart beat for the first time yesterday - nice and strong . I guess I am carrying higher than expected, but the Dr. said everything is going well.

[wallingjan1]

Hi everyone, just checking in. We are doing really well around here. My midwife says she can tell I'm not ready because I'm not grumpy enough. I think I'm just to busy to be grumpy or worry about the birth too much. And my husband might disagree with her in the evenings. I am ready to meet my new little one and to be able to sleep a little better. Ha Ha!

Good luck to all the newcomers.

Pam

[LHBryan]

Hi everyone! Sorry to not post an update earlier, but we've been busy! Thanks everyone for thinking of me last week. My thoughts are with all of you too.

Linsley--I'm thinking of you and anxious to hear your news!
NewMrsG--Hang in there. I had a couple of readings similar to yours. I hope your blood pressure stays put or goes down. Take it easy while traveling.

As for us, we are thrilled to announce the arrival of our little Zoe Elise!! Believe it or not, she was born last Wednesday night (7/29) at 11:26pm and weighed in at 6 lbs 15oz and 20 inches long. The story is really unbelievable, and I think I'm still in a bit of shock. Needless to say, I didn't make it to my induction appt. on Thursday morning the 30th. I worked a full day on Wednesday 'til about 5:30, picked up a pizza for dinner, came home and ate with DH, DD, and my parents, and then proceeded to get things ready before going to the hospital the next morning. As of late afternoon, I had suspected I may be leaking a bit amniotic fluid, but kept talking myself out of it. (Yes, I know that sounds ridiculous.) I came downstairs to send out a couple of emails at 9:30pm and started having a few contractions. Not a big deal. I headed upstairs to get some water and lie down for a few minutes. I decided to call the dr. on call to find out what I should do just in case I was leaking fluid. It happened to be the same dr. who performed the version to turn Zoe. He said to stay home until morning if I was able to sleep through the contractions and get some rest before induction, but to come on in if I was too uncomfortable. Well, as soon as I hung up the phone, things intensified dramatically. I couldn't even time the contractions--they were one right on top of the other. It was now 10pm or so, and I decided to throw my toiletries together. DH woke my parents up and told them he doubted we'd make it 'til morning. He came back upstairs to our bathroom, and I was on the floor unable to pack my toiletries bag or even talk for that matter. (Note to everyone: have your bags 100% packed! I never imagined I'd have to leave home so fast!) He finished the packing and we left for the hospital at 10:30, driving about 55 mph the whole way there. It was like something out of the movies! When we got there at 10:50 I was 7cm dilated. I vaguely remember the nurses laughing and saying the dr. might not make it. Thankfully a midwife was there just in case. By 11:20 the dr. arrived and they declared me ready to push. Zoe was born at 11:26. Wow. I just couldn't believe how intensely and quickly it all happened--under 2 hours start to finish. We're elated over our little peanut though, and so far she's super sweet and pretty peaceful considering her frantic arrival.

BFing is going pretty well, although she has a very "narrow" latch and a super strong suction. YIKES. I think she's getting the hang of it more and more every day though. She's also had a severe case of jaundice, which was not detected as soon as it should have been (even with us telling them how orange she looked). So, we had to spend Tuesday night in the hospital and then the past two nights at home with a bili blue light bed. She's a trooper for putting up with all the disrupted sleep, uncomfortable beds, and countless heel pricks. This little girl is never going to let anyone touch her feet again. DD1 is a bit clingy and whiny, but is adjusting fairly well. She's most jealous when I'm feeding Zoe, and unfortunately Zoe is a very S-L-O-W eater. My parents left yesterday. They were terrific and so helpful. It's a good thing they were here when I went into labor b/c we wouldn't have had time to do anything with Hannah. I'm so thankful it all worked out.

I'm thinking of all of you and look forward to seeing you over on the New Moms thread! And, welcome and congrats to Aggie and Chazkp!

-Laura

[jadenegro]

Gosh I haven't checked in here in awhile, so much has happened. I'm almost to 34 weeks, I'm still not miserable but there are definitely some issues I could do without, such as it is hard to sleep! Fortunately everything still looks great on the medical end. I know the baby is still able to flip around and I can feel him when he does - so hopefully he will decide he really likes the head down position sometime soon and sticks there. I think that's the thing that is scaring me the most - don't want a breech baby.

Please add me to the list

Due 1/20 - don't know yet

I'm excited that I get to join this group, but it looks like I still have a long way to go compared with most of you

Congrats! There is quite a gap there!

Can I join this group?

We had our first OB appointment today. My estimated due date is March 14, 2010. Seriously, that is a LONG ways away. I have been feeling queasy and nauseous pretty much 24/7 for the past 8 days and am sooooooo over this already.

Congrats to you too! I never really found anything that helped the queasy/nauseous bits... but it cleared up at about 11 weeks, so hang in there!

As for us, we are thrilled to announce the arrival of our little Zoe Elise!! Believe it or not, she was born last Wednesday night (7/29) at 11:26pm and weighed in at 6 lbs 15oz and 20 inches long. The story is really unbelievable, and I think I'm still in a bit of shock. -Laura

Wow, welcome Zoe Elise (beautiful name)! That is quite the story! I'm glad you made it in on time and had a healthy delivery.

[MinEaston]

Welcome Zoe Elise! (what a beautiful name). Laura - your labor sounds a lot like mine with DD1. Makes me glad I work within 3 miles of our hospital and live 2 blocks away.

Midwife said baby was head-down at Friday's appt, and said "if you go into labor this weekend, bless you!" So I guess we're all systems go. I got the gender-neutral clothes washed, so I'm closer to being ready. Over the past week at work my mental approach changed from panic over what I needed to get done, to indifference and some amount of "it would serve them right if I left now" attitude .

[Pony]

Congrats Laura and welcome Zoe...just got chills reading your birthing story! I thought my labor was fast! ha!

[chazkp]

Congrats Laura! I love the name Zoe. I'm glad everything worked out well.

Min - my attitude toward work changed that way with my first. I really stressed at first, then - if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. Hope your week goes well.

[PoppyJ]

Congratulations Laura and welcome to the world Zoe. Your labor story is a little intimidating- makes me want to pack my suitcase now!!!

Welcome aggie94 and congratulations. I was never sure if I wanted kids and here I am close to having number 2. They do melt your heart and bring you some much joy (and tears!)

[Couperine]

Congratulations Laura and welcome Zoe! What an amazing story!

[MinEaston]

quick check-in.

linsleyd - I hope everything is going well for you!

wallingjan1 - how are you doing? getting grumpy yet?

My rant of the day:
"Oh, you poor thing - your legs are getting swollen now too."

um, yeah, I'm 8+ months pregnant. It's summer, and this week has been in the upper 90s with equal humidity. What do you expect? This observer almost got the "well, once the baby's born I'll lose a lot of MY weight" response.

If grumpiness = readiness to deliver, I'm there. Bring it on. HA!

[wallingjan1]

Yep, I'm definitely getting grumpy. But that may be the 104 fever my 18 month old has had all week and my lack of sleep. She seems better today and actually slept last night so maybe there is hope. I see my midwife today. Hopefully something will happen soon.

Pam

P.S. The heat is killing me too. (Boy I sound whiny!)

[NewMrsG]

quick check-in.

um, yeah, I'm 8+ months pregnant. It's summer, and this week has been in the upper 90s with equal humidity. What do you expect? This observer almost got the "well, once the baby's born I'll lose a lot of MY weight" response.

LinsleyD - looking forward to hearing good news!

Laura - what a story! All's well that ends well and you'll have a great story to tell your daughter later, yes? I love the name, by the way. Good friends of ours have a daughter named Zoe and I've always loved it.

So the update is that I saw my OB the day after returning from Toronto (which actually went fine, despite checking my fingers every 10 minutes to check for swelling ) and my pressure had gone up again. My OB said that if the more extended testing met criteria I'd be on bedrest, which I expected, but then she said that it would be hospitalized bedrest and I started to sob as we're sitting in the hallway. All I could think about was being away from my daughter for 4-5 weeks, which breaks my heart.

I do appear to have preeclampsia based on the testing. Depending on the cutoffs used, I'm just under or just over, so my OBs are calling it "borderline" but saying that it's definitely trending there and I'll officially meet criteria in the next week or two.

So I'm officially on bedrest through the duration of the pregnancy. My pressure actually had gone down a bit yesterday, which they attributed to my having been on home bedrest for the last couple of days. So they gave me the okay to continue with bedrest at home and anticipate I'll be able to get away with that for at leat another week or two, although it's unpredictable. They will induce by week 36, if not sooner, and my OB was optimistic we'd get there. In the meantime, lots and lots of monitoring. I'm hoping we can do blood pressure checks at home, which will make this a lot easier, and blood labs at my PCP's office, which is local, as my OB's practice in Boston and we live 45-60 minutes outside of city.

I'm feeling stressed out about everything that's left to do that didn't get done and knowing I'm just going to have to let go of some of it. And also knowing how much my husband has to take on with work, taking care of me (because I'm essentially useless at this point), caring for our daughter, etc.

On the good news front, I'm fortunately close to 32 weeks, which is considered a very good milestone. And the baby is doing fantastic, so that's great too. My boss has also been incredibly supportive and we have a plan for me to work on things at home (there's fortunately plenty for me to do). The hospital also has wi-fi so there's a lot I can do from there if I'm admitted. Friends yesterday were really sympathetic that I was on bedrest, but compared to what I thought would happen last night, being admitted after the testing, I'm thrilled to be home.

Keep us in your prayers in the coming weeks. We'll need it.

[Couperine]

NewMrsG, I'm so sorry that you've been diagnosed with preeclampsia. The bedrest certainly does turn your life upside-down in an already crazy time of your life anyway. There's lots of good advice you'll get for what to do while on bedrest, but don't be surprised when you find out that you truly do very little. I've been induced twice now, once at 37 weeks and the other at 38 weeks, and everything worked out ok for us aside from my insanely long labors. I'll keep your family in my thoughts and prayers - you are right to be reassured by being 32 weeks though!

[sugarbaby]

Hi all. I was wondering if any of you have experienced heart palpitations during your pregnancy. I'm almost 31 weeks, and spent a few hours in the ER last week hooked up to heart monitors because it felt like my heart was skipping a beat. I had been feeling it for a couple of weeks, but last week it increased. Long story short, my heart was beating normally, blood and urine tests came back normal, and the doctor told me to stop drinking caffeine. (I'd still been having 1 cup in the morning, and occasionally half a Coke in the afternoon.). I haven't had any caffeine in 5 days, and I don't think I've felt anymore palpitations. I didn't drink caffeine at all with my twins and never experienced this, so I'm hoping that's it! It's just a little nerve-wracking.

Anyone have a similar experience? TIA!

NewMrsG - praying for you and your family! I'm sorry to hear about your pre-eclampsia.

Laura - congratulations and welcome Zoe! What an amazing birth story!

MinEaston - I feel ya on the heat. The other day I put on a swimsuit - in the house - and poured water down the front. Being this large in August is just so wrong.

[jadenegro]

Sugarbaby, how scary! I'm glad this seemed to have stopped just be quitting caffeine. I haven't noticed anything like that, I've been drinking an occasional cup of coffee on the weekend and sometimes iced tea at a restaurant (that's another topic - it freaks everyone out, but my dr said it was fine - and it's not like I'm drinking a ton of it or anything).

NewMrsG, sorry to hear about the pre-eclampsia and bed rest. It's nice to wish for a time when you can do nothing but rest, but when you are told that, it seems like the end of the world.

Tomorrow I have my strep test and it sounds my first internal exam, not looking forward to that to kick off the 35th week. This morning in church I had 6 braxton hicks during a 45 minute period, which pretty much freaked me out (the frequency), but I've been fine the rest of the day.

[NewMrsG]

Sugarbaby: How stressful. It does sound as though eliminating caffeine did the trick. I also find that I'm a lot more likely to read into things when pregnant than I would otherwise be (which I don't say to suggest that you're being paranoid - truly. Just that it's easier to worry). It may also just be me. I also work in a hospital setting and can say that medical providers err on the side of being more rather than less careful with pregnant women and with cardiac concerns. If they gave you the all-clear and you're feeling better I think you can probably relax. Just be sure you're touching base with your providers with any changes.

I so wish I could "bank" the bedrest time for when I'll really need it in the months to come! My husband continues to say how lucky I am that I can just sit and relax. He just doesn't get it. Although I do have to say that I feel bad for him given that he has total responsibility for our daughter, the house, getting me back and forth for appts ... it's a lot of work for him. We're just starting to figure out how we're going to manage this, what I can help with while on my tush, etc. It's rough and I've been really down for the last couple of days. I have to keep reminding myself that it's temporary.

Waahh!