Moms to be Part 4

[KiKi Mouse]

yeah it's call socialized medicine.

 

[irisbud]

KikiMouse,

Sorry you are having to go through this! I hope your DD decideds to come all on her own!

 

[DMickey28]

Kiki - I am so sorry you are going through this ... you don't need this on top of the stress of getting this far in general. Are you being induced because of the GD? I don't know how it works with Socialized medicine so I am assuming you can't just refuse to get induced and ONLY work with the midwife can you?

I can't imagine having to be in a non-private room PP. The hospital I had DS in only had 4 private rooms (at $199/per night out of pocket) but I waited in recovery for 3 hours for one ... No way in heck was I going to be sharing a room with someone in that ghetto hospital. I feel for those that have no choice ... The triage room was bad enough but luckily I was the one that was in hardcore labor in there and bothering everyone else so they moved me out pretty fast!

I hope you go into Labor on your own Kiki ... I wish I had some secret ideas but I really have nothing. DS was 4 days late and I tried everything ....

******
I am bummed today. I tested positive for GBS and I am scared. I had been hoping to go into labor on my own and try for the VBAC but now I don't want to. My labors tend to be a little on the faster side and I am scared if I do go into labor
1. I won't realize it soon enough and take too long to go to the hospital, plus I need to get someone here to watch DS, at least an hour.
2. the hospital is a good 30 minutes away
3. I won't get enough antibiotics before my water breaks and DS will be exposed
4. My DS will be allergic to sulfa and penicillin like DH is and have a reaction to that regardless of how I have him but still have antibiotics.

I am kinda freaking out .... Of course the internet is not the place to read about that! I wish it was Monday the 22nd or I could get the doctor to push the date up a few.

 

[Piecey]

The whole idea of triage freaks me out!

The hospital I delivered DS at didn't do triage.
They had private observation rooms, private L&D rooms, private PP rooms.

 

[ZPT1022]

Nice to see you Becky - Thanks for telling me that I am not alone. I am so excited to met this little guy but when I think about the reality of bringing him home I get so scared!! I *know* that in a few months things will settle down and be back to a new "normal" But until then ....

DH is fine. He got his blood results back and no infection or anything to do with his heart. He is feeling pretty much fine now so that's great. I think he was just run down and stressed. Back to normal.

Bad news .... Have to take my ca back in for service.

Yup, it is definitely scary when you think about the reality of it all! I'm very nervous how it will all work out and since it's been almost 6 years since I had a baby around, I am also nervous that I am way out of touch with baby stuff, and it will hit me even harder. Guess there's no choice now but to figure it out when it happens

Glad to hear your DH is okay and bummer on the car stuff- I hate dealing with car stuff.

ZPT - sorry to hear you've been sick as well, sounds terrible! I so know how you feel with having to make all the decisions because I do the same in our house. Most of the time I like it because I am kind of controlling , but sometimes when it's a really big decision, I just don't want all of the responsibility. I want somebody to share in making the decision and help reinforce that I am making the right one. But most of the time when I ask DH he says, "Whatever you want/decide is fine with me."

Totally agree- most of the time it doesn't bother me but sometimes I feel like I have another kid when I am the one making all the decisions. DH is just really easygoing and while that has its benefits, it can also be very frustrating

To all the other 2nd + time moms, what did/are you doing to prepare your older kid(s) for the new baby? We explained to DS that there is a baby in Mommy's tummy, and showed him a few pics of a pregnant woman from a pamphet, explaining that mommy's tummy is going to get bigger because the baby is growing. We also got him a "big brother" t-shirt and book. He likes to read the book every day!

We're not really doing anything special to prepare them but my kids are older- the twins are almost 6 and my oldest is almost 9 so they kind of know what the deal is with babies. I also used to watch my cousin's kids so they are familiar with what is involved with having a baby around a lot. Yes, it will be different when one is living with us but having one here for 10+ hours a day was a pretty good intro to babies.

When we were expecting the twins we tried to prepare the oldest but I don't think it ever fully sinks in until you have the actual baby. My mom bought her a doll stroller with boy/girl twins and talked to her a lot about babies and feeding them, diapers, etc..... I think my mom was more into it than we were, lol. They named the babies the same names as the twins, etc... I'm not sure if it really got her used to it or not but she had fun with it

39 weeks yesterday.

I drank the castor oil potion 2x and nothing happened. I did have a burp and that's about it...LOL

Went to see the OB today and she scheduled me for an induction for the 15th. I will be 40 weeks on the 14th. Because my fetal assessments and blood sugar levels have been good I get to go to my due date.
She swept my membrane today. DH held my hand and had to peel me off the ceiling. There was blood on the table after and there's still a bit of stuff coming out. Not something I ever want to see while pregnant. DH said that he has never seen me turn so red that fast as when I arched when it hurt so much. I get to do it again tomorrow with my midwife.

Tried the breastpump a while ago and DH and I are supposed to BD as much as possible. Like I really feel like it with everybody poking around in there.

So nothing new with me. No contractions, no nothing.

What a bummer that nothing seems to be moving things along. The membrane stripping is awful, I'm sorry you had to go through that. I hope things get moving for you soon.

Man! And why do they strip membranes? I was induced with Lucas at 39 weeks and they never did that to me! He was a waaay planned out induction, too. Though I think I was at 3cm, 90% effaced two days before they induced me. Is that the purpose? To try to get things going?

I took DS to the pedi today for his 9 month. I really hate the checkout lady. I can't decide if I'm hormonal or not but I'm about ready to call around and find another pedi because I HATE the checkout lady that much. I love the pedi, though. Ugh. Hormones!

We've switched doctors over the staff before, unfortunately. You deal with the staff a lot, more than the doc even sometimes, so if they are always making things miserable and you hate the thought of just having to go to the office, that's not really good. If you do wind up switching, I'd be sure to tell the doctor that his or her snooty staff was a part of it- they need to know these things.

Hi everyone! Just joining in, though I've been lurking for a while

Welcome! And congratulations!

I gave in an went to see the OB today for the cold. I hate going to the doctor for viral stuff... there really isn't much they can do, but I was so stressed about all the different meds and what I was reading on the internet (I should really stop that) and I haven't been sleeping much. He gave me a z-pack, cuz he figures it's gonna go bacterial infection now that I'm coughing and told me to take mucinex DM for drainage and coughing. He also gave me an Ambien script so if I'm miserable tonight I will take one of those and hopefully get a good night of rest (though how I will stay asleep when I am so thirsty is beyond me). I do feel a bit better. Managed to take a 1 hour nap this afternoon. Skipped work today too... I feel so guilty about calling in sick when I just took 6 days of vacation.

Don't feel guilty about calling out of work- I try to think of it this way- no one else wants to get sick either and maybe that day off will help to not spread the germs and reduce the cycle of passing it along from person to person to person, etc..... I hope you are feeling better soon, being sick while pregnant sucks, it seems like it takes so much longer to get over it too.

On a completely different subject, I went to the doctor today and was asked if I was eating. My husband actually sat there and laughed at the doctor, which caused me to give him an evil stare.
I told the doctor that of course I was eating, but that I was trying to eat healthier things. Apparently I haven’t gained as much weight as they thought I would.
Since the baby is measuring exactly where she should be the doctor isn’t overly concerned, but has asked me to make a conscious effort to eat.
Has anyone else had this happen to them?

Yes, I've gotten the lecture on eating. I've lost a bunch of weight this pregnancy and at 35-ish weeks I'm still below my pre-pregnancy weight. The funny thing is, I had a growth ultrasound and baby is measuring at 5 lbs 13 oz already, which is already bigger than my smallest baby was at birth! So I guess there is no correlation between my "morning" sickness and baby's health, if that makes you feel any better

Hello Ladies!!
I'm going to take a big leap of faith that I will carry this pregnancy to term and have a healthy happy baby in 36 weeks and go ahead and join you all. Yes....I'm only 4 weeks along. I had my first beta draw yesterday and will have my next one on Friday. If things look good I will have an ultrasound late next week or early the following week. Only symptom I'm having really is exhaustion....but I'm also taking a progesterone supplement AND got up at 4:10 this morning for bootcamp. So I'm not going to blame it all on the pregnancy. It looks like I'm the newbie of the group.....my due date looks like it will be 11/15/2010.
So happy to be here....and I recognize a few ladies from the TTC thread.

Congratulations! I had to do the progesterone supplements with this pregnancy because of prior miscarriage too and they just make you feel awful. I felt flat out DRUNK quite a few times after taking them! Once we were in the car and I had to pull over at a rest stop and make DH take over because I really just felt like I was totally wasted. As soon as I got in the passenger seat I passed out cold and slept the rest of the trip until DH woke me up because he needed directions. I am very happy that the progesterone helped and I am on track to deliver a nice healthy baby but I really did not like the way I felt when I was on it.

They officially put me on "work at home" rest until I deliver. So I'm working from home right now. It's okay. Yesterday it took 3 nurses, 1 midwife and 1 dr 45 minutes to find a heartbeat during my NST. If Spike hadn't been kicking around the whole time I would have been really worried.
Last night I was up all night long with horrible heartburn and it hasn't gone away. THat's really annoying.

Will your doctor let you take Zantac or something for the heartburn? Pregnancy heartburn is the worst.

 

[WDWorBUST]

Kiki - so sorry you are having to deal with that. The hospital that I had dd at I had a private room....I think that's all they offered.

DMickey - Sorry to hear you had a positive result. I think that would change my mind too. I had a C-Section with DD so most likely my doctor will just want to do a repeat with this baby. I, however, although not opposed to another C-section, do not want to be scheduled. I want to go into labor and then go from there. However....I don't know if that will be allowed or not. I had considered a VBAC but I know my doctor mentioned doing a c-section at my first appt of my last pregnancy before we knew I had miscarried so I really don't know her thoughts on it since we didn't get any farther.

As for me......I'm counting down the hours until tomorrow when I have my second beta done and get the results to see how things are going.

 

[kpm76]

Kiki - So sorry for all the stress and anxiety. I, too, cannot imagine a non-private PP room. The hospital where I will deliver is entirely dedicated to women and infants. All the rooms are private, almost suite-like. They also have an Alternative Birthing Center for women who want something a little less "sterile." Home births are not legal in our state so I think this is the compromise. Actually, my OB (whom I have been with since I was 19 yr old) left the practice recently and is in another part of the state, thus gave up her privileges at this hospital. It is such a good hospital with a NICU (the hospital she went to has a special care nursery) that I decided that was more improtant to me than having her as my OB. It was a tough decision but I switched to another doc in the practice and I really love him. I wish you all the best and hope for the delivery you want

DMickey - So sorry about the GBS. That stinks and adds unnecessary stress.......

*****
I'm finally feeling better after pregnancy-related sickness and the horrible chest cold. Norovirus is going around though and I am soooo scared of getting it! We all had it when DD was an infant and it was horrible.....seriously thought I was going to die! And I was still nursing and remember calling the ped on the weekend because I was so scared DD wasn't getting anything from me since I wasn't keeping anything down. I can handle colds, not noro though!

 

[kpm76]

The whole idea of triage freaks me out!

The hospital I delivered DS at didn't do triage.
They had private observation rooms, private L&D rooms, private PP rooms.

Me too!!! I was induced with DD and sent right to the hospital from my 38 week appt so I avoided the mess that is triage...

 

[ZPT1022]

I just have a vent.

My EDD is Sunday. I have a midwife and DH and I were hoping for a home birth like we had with our last DD. I have gestational diabetes which made me have to see an OB for a consult. I saw her on Monday and she scheduled an induction for this coming monday.
I have been trying EVERYTHING possible to get this baby out on my own. Nothing is working. Today is Thursday and stress and depression have set in. DH is very stressed now and didn't sleep well last night because he is worried about all this.

I called the hospital to ask how this all works. They will call us sometime between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. to come in. Well at 10 p.m. I go to bed I am not going to call my family to come over for child care at that time. If I did by the time I got to the hospital it would be midnight. Once there we have to wait in triage for a bed to be open. That area is open and you have nothing but a curtain dividing you from other people. That's not exactly conducive for rest. If and when they have a room I will go in there and get the pitocin I.V. Who knows how long that will take.

After baby is born I would then have to go into another room that I would share with another woman. Again, not conducive to rest.

I got off the phone and told this to DH who snapped. I spoke to my midwife after and she said that when they call people late like that they are setting them up for failure. That was my feeling too.

As soon as the needle is in my arm then care is transferred from my midwife to the doctor. As soon as things are fine with baby and me care is transferred back to the midwife and I can leave.

I know a lot of people won't understand the stress this is causing. I had a very traumatic birth with DD#1 because of the staff at the hospital and I had a really hard recovery. When I became pregnant with DD#2 I started having anxiety attacks thinking about going to an OB and a hospital again. Fortunately none of that happened.

Now I am worried about having anxiety attacks which is not good for me or baby. I was up Monday night this week throwing up and had a migraine because of this. I am trying to be calm and deal with today and not what Monday is going to bring but it is hard. We have had to turn the phone off and tell family to leave us alone. We were getting up to ten calls a day asking us if there were any "rumblings" or "twitches". Like we are going to keep it a secret or something. It drove us nuts. Family have not been understanding about that and my MIL was pretty cold to use when we spoke to her yesterday.

Anyway...sorry about the long rant. It's a vent and there is nothing much anybody can do but I needed to get it out.

I'm so sorry. The whole situation sounds crappy and annoying. I've had inductions for both of my deliveries so far and they were NOTHING like what you are talking about. The system at your hospital sounds awful and antiquated.

When I had my first induction, I found out about it that day at my appointment. The doctor said to go home, get my bag, have a nice lunch and be at the hospital a few hours later. Unfortunately it was the one appointment DH missed and my mom was with me but it was okay- she took me home, I got my stuff together, we went out to lunch and headed over to the hospital. I was in a room and they started the IV and all the induction stuff. Back then they did move you to a different labor room once things really got going, so I did have to transfer down the hall to there, but I came back to the original room once labor was over. I did wind up with a roommate for a few hours on the day I left and I agree, I hated that.

With my second induction, it was planned out days ahead of time so in my opinion, it went a lot smoother. I knew on a Friday that I was going in on Monday for the induction. Went in at I think 6 am and went into my room (by this time a few years later the hospital has switched to Labor-Delivery-Recovery-postpartum rooms, no moving and no roommates). By 7 am I was having contractions on the pitocin and I had the babies that night.

I really cannot imagine the setup your hospital has. Even the difference for me from Delivery #1 to Delivery #2 was so different in how it went. Things like a set time and private rooms really make such a difference. I wish I had good advice for you as to what to do but you really have my sympathies. That setup is just terrible. I guess the best thing to do is remind yourself that getting your little one into the world safely is the only thing that matters, but even just typing that out it sounds so hollow. I really hope it all works out for you. Does your midwife have anything else for you to try? Can she give you cervidil or something? Have you tried evening primrose oil yet?

 

[ZPT1022]

Kiki - I am so sorry you are going through this ... you don't need this on top of the stress of getting this far in general. Are you being induced because of the GD? I don't know how it works with Socialized medicine so I am assuming you can't just refuse to get induced and ONLY work with the midwife can you?

I can't imagine having to be in a non-private room PP. The hospital I had DS in only had 4 private rooms (at $199/per night out of pocket) but I waited in recovery for 3 hours for one ... No way in heck was I going to be sharing a room with someone in that ghetto hospital. I feel for those that have no choice ... The triage room was bad enough but luckily I was the one that was in hardcore labor in there and bothering everyone else so they moved me out pretty fast!

I hope you go into Labor on your own Kiki ... I wish I had some secret ideas but I really have nothing. DS was 4 days late and I tried everything ....

******
I am bummed today. I tested positive for GBS and I am scared. I had been hoping to go into labor on my own and try for the VBAC but now I don't want to. My labors tend to be a little on the faster side and I am scared if I do go into labor
1. I won't realize it soon enough and take too long to go to the hospital, plus I need to get someone here to watch DS, at least an hour.
2. the hospital is a good 30 minutes away
3. I won't get enough antibiotics before my water breaks and DS will be exposed
4. My DS will be allergic to sulfa and penicillin like DH is and have a reaction to that regardless of how I have him but still have antibiotics.

I am kinda freaking out .... Of course the internet is not the place to read about that! I wish it was Monday the 22nd or I could get the doctor to push the date up a few.

STOP READING THINGS ON THE INTERNET!!! Have you talked to the doctor about your fears with the group b strep?? Maybe they can move your appointment up a few days and then you will be able to plan things better? Worst case scenario, can your family meet you at the hospital to take your son, so that you can get to the hospital that much faster?

 

[DMickey28]

Becky - I haven't really talked to the doctor about it yet. Just kinda absorbed it at my appointment this AM. I actually have my pre-op (38W) appointment on Tuesday so I'll talk about it there. My RCS is a week from this Monday so it's not that far away really. I am sure everything will be fine. Right now my MIL is an hour away and we can bring DS to the hospital if we need to and she can meet us there. My mom is 2 hours away and will be in the car the minute I call. I also have an older retired neighbor who will watch DS until my MIL can get here if I need it. She is great with him and has her grandson a few days a week that DS plays with a lot.

I think I am just really tired today and it's hard to absorb ...

 

[ZPT1022]

Becky - I haven't really talked to the doctor about it yet. Just kinda absorbed it at my appointment this AM. I actually have my pre-op (38W) appointment on Tuesday so I'll talk about it there. My RCS is a week from this Monday so it's not that far away really. I am sure everything will be fine. Right now my MIL is an hour away and we can bring DS to the hospital if we need to and she can meet us there. My mom is 2 hours away and will be in the car the minute I call. I also have an older retired neighbor who will watch DS until my MIL can get here if I need it. She is great with him and has her grandson a few days a week that DS plays with a lot.

I think I am just really tired today and it's hard to absorb ...

I can appreciate how everything is so much harder to deal with when you are already exhausted and as we all know, pregnancy is like a constant exhausted state, and add in the hormones, and well, yeah..... Rational is not really part of the game for me at this point and unfortunately, hasn't been for a while. I look forward to getting my brain back a bit after baby is born! If it's any consolation at all, I had Group B Strep when I was pregnant with my twins, had the V-birth and no complications whatsoever for either of them.

 

[irisbud]

All these stories had me scared! I checked the hospital where we will deliver and they have all private rooms where baby and DH can stay in the room too, room service for me, two free meals for DH, and free wifi. Wheww....I was worried about having a roommate!

What is GBS? IDK why I am unfamiliar with the term but it sounds scary!

Still sending good thoughts to Kikimouse for a home delivery

 

[KiKi Mouse]

Kiki - I am so sorry you are going through this ... you don't need this on top of the stress of getting this far in general. Are you being induced because of the GD? I don't know how it works with Socialized medicine so I am assuming you can't just refuse to get induced and ONLY work with the midwife can you?

Yes I will be induced because of the GD. I can refuse to get induced but at 40 weeks they will have let me go 2 weeks longer than they usually do for GD patients. It's only because my fetal assessment u/s & blood sugars being good that they weren't worrying about me.

There are only two hospitals in the city here that deliver and they are overcrowded and both can be ghetto. One more than the other. I am going to the lesser of the two evils.

They are building a new section in the hospital with more birthing rooms but that won't be done until October. The government is also building a women's health and birthing center next year. Great idea.

Sometimes having health care run by the governement isn't all that great. I cannot complain about the care I have received. I am complaining about the process at the hospital and the lack of beds. We have something here we call "hallway medicine". No beds available so you lay on a stretcher in the hallway until you can get into a bed in a room.

 

[KiKi Mouse]

re: GBS

Yes that would be scary finding that out. I felt a big sigh of relief when I found out I was negative.
Here they have to test you at 35 weeks plus because the results are only good for 5 weeks maximum. From what I understand it's because you can test negative and then later test positive or even the other way around.

I am a fast labourer too and my midwife was saying that I would have had to call her immediately so that she could get at least one IV antibiotic dose into me.

I can totally understand the stress this puts on a delivery and if I were in your shoes I may opt for a c/s too just to be safe.

 

[WDWAurora]

Ok guys, who wants to hear something weird?

We had my rescheduled due to snow baby shower this weekend. It was amazing. Now, the weird part...

The shower was in my tiny hometown. The bank got robbed yesterday. By a woman who was AT MY SHOWER on Saturday! Imagine a great aunt robbing a bank (one you actually have contact with) and that would be the situation...to say I'm freaked out may not describe it...

 

[KiKi Mouse]

Ok guys, who wants to hear something weird?

We had my rescheduled due to snow baby shower this weekend. It was amazing. Now, the weird part...

The shower was in my tiny hometown. The bank got robbed yesterday. By a woman who was AT MY SHOWER on Saturday! Imagine a great aunt robbing a bank (one you actually have contact with) and that would be the situation...to say I'm freaked out may not describe it...

I don't mean to make light of this situation but it sure makes for a memorable baby shower to tell your little guy when he is older.

Just out of curiousity...what did she give you as a gift?

 

[ZPT1022]

All these stories had me scared! I checked the hospital where we will deliver and they have all private rooms where baby and DH can stay in the room too, room service for me, two free meals for DH, and free wifi. Wheww....I was worried about having a roommate!

What is GBS? IDK why I am unfamiliar with the term but it sounds scary!

Still sending good thoughts to Kikimouse for a home delivery

GBS is group B strep- something that can be present in adults and poses no problem whatsoever to us because our immune systems can deal with it, but it can be bad for the baby. If you test positive for it you will have to have antibiotics while you are in labor- I had mine through my IV every four hours.

Yes I will be induced because of the GD. I can refuse to get induced but at 40 weeks they will have let me go 2 weeks longer than they usually do for GD patients. It's only because my fetal assessment u/s & blood sugars being good that they weren't worrying about me.

There are only two hospitals in the city here that deliver and they are overcrowded and both can be ghetto. One more than the other. I am going to the lesser of the two evils.

They are building a new section in the hospital with more birthing rooms but that won't be done until October. The government is also building a women's health and birthing center next year. Great idea.

Sometimes having health care run by the governement isn't all that great. I cannot complain about the care I have received. I am complaining about the process at the hospital and the lack of beds. We have something here we call "hallway medicine". No beds available so you lay on a stretcher in the hallway until you can get into a bed in a room.

That sucks about the hospital choices. FWIW, we have hospitals here too where they get overcrowded and people will be in the hallway- that's mostly an ER phenomena but still, it sucks. Actually, when I was in the ER last week there was a kid in the hallway on a stretcher near the bathroom. Too sick for the waiting room, but not enough rooms either. And we have tons of hospitals in my area so no idea why this is an issue but it is.

Ok guys, who wants to hear something weird?

We had my rescheduled due to snow baby shower this weekend. It was amazing. Now, the weird part...

The shower was in my tiny hometown. The bank got robbed yesterday. By a woman who was AT MY SHOWER on Saturday! Imagine a great aunt robbing a bank (one you actually have contact with) and that would be the situation...to say I'm freaked out may not describe it...

OH MY GOODNESS! That is totally bizarre

 

[WDWAurora]

I don't mean to make light of this situation but it sure makes for a memorable baby shower to tell your little guy when he is older.

Just out of curiousity...what did she give you as a gift?

It's so insane I kind of have to laugh about it...she and her mother got us baby lotion, baby bath stuff, and an organizer thingy for the changing table. Nothing overly extravagant, but a very nice gift. My first thought was about how she was at my baby shower and then robbed a bank!

The woman also stays with my mom (she has dementia) 2 days a week. She was at my parents' house Tuesday night caring for my mom so dad could go to a meeting. That evening she told dad she couldn't take care of mom on Wednesday (a usual day) because she had appointments. Apparently one of them was robbing the bank! I feel awful about the whole thing...she must have been desperate, but it's just SO WEIRD!

 

[pixiegoose]

I had my 19 week appointment today. It went well. The doctor said the u/s results looked good. She checked Squirt's heartbeat with the doppler and it was in the 140s/150s and she kicked at the doppler a few times. I also learned that I have an anterior placenta which explains why I haven't felt anything yet, even though she was quite the wiggle worm on the u/s. And I gained a pound instead of losing, so yay for that. I'm still gaggy but haven't thrown up in a month, which is nice. I'm ready for the exhaustion and gagginess to go away though.