Pregnancy Rollcall (a sister thread)

I thought this was going to be about people whose sisters are pregnant!

Congrats Rumpie! I don't think I knew this. How far along?

My doc gave me a firm warning that I cannot get pregnant without at least three months head time b/c of my meds. :( I've got to get an IUD. The pill is not reliable in this situation.

Thanks, it's very early days yet, I still have a few weeks until my first scan. I'm bursting with excitement and fear though, I just want the next seven weeks to be over so I can relax and enjoy it!

Has Nath had hers? It seems like just yesterday that she told she was expecting again. Although I'm sure the nine months didn't go quite so fast for her.

Oh, congratulations! Baby in town!

(Nath is still pregnant, but she did announce it after about a week or something...)

a week past due or week past being pregnant? I had planned on knitting/sewing something for the new bebe but time flew by before I knew it!

Alisa, are you on this thread to tell us something?

Dammit, I misspelled your name again. You've got to tell me how it's pronounced, that might help.

I'm hearing conflicting advice about the two hospitals I have the choice of, so far Paisley has the upper hand. A home birth would be my first choice but perhaps not for my first baby.

Is there a way to do a home birth with the option to move to a waiting hospital if necessary?

No! I'm on this thread to keep up with others (Rumpie lives round the corner from me, hence baby in town comment). NO BABIES ROUND HERE THANK YOU!!!

;) I thought so but just wanted to ask. I like keeping up with pregnancies. It's on my mind personally these days so maybe I can live vicariously.

rumpie, is your other option the Southern? I've heard better things about the RAH (infiltration by terrorists notwithstanding).

I like keeping up with pregnancies because it reminds me that I want nothing to do with the whole shebang myself :-)

Yep. I'm more familiar with the Southern so part of me is drawn there.

I'm thinking of looking into a home birth with the option of going into hospital in an emergency but it depends on how supportive my care givers will be.

I've just discovered there's a midwife led birth centre about 20 miles away (Vale of Leven). This sounds perfect, must check it out further.

OK, I'm not a sister but congrats to you anyway!

Yeah, congrats Rumpie!

And to Nath too, I didn't know she was having another baby.

Thanks all!

awww! congrats Rumpie! Im so jealous!!

i think nath is full term but hasnt reached her due date yet.

im not going to get into my opinion of midwive or home births here because this should just be a yay! thread.

Oh but sunny I'd love to know!!

well...admittedly, i don't know a whole lot about home births or birthing centers but they just seem incredibly irresponsible to me. what if something goes really wrong and you or the baby need help fast? you're kind of relying on an ambulance being able to get to you quickly but that isn't always going to happen. maybe someone who has actually done this can say otherwise though.

I know someone who has went through training to be a mid-wife. It's thorough training so I feel like they know what they're doing. A birthing center could be a compromise between home birth and hospital.

Besides, Pamela Lee Anderson had all her children on her bathroom floor so you know, good enough for her.

what if the kid needs surgery or something?

take them to the hospital. I don't think they ever bust out the scalpels right there in delivery room. I'm sure the birthing center would have all the necessary resuscitation type equipment for an emergency.

well not in the delivery room but at least the doc is there and youre in the same building as any equipment, drugs or whatever you might need. and getting to a hospital youre relying on traffic being ok etc etc. why not just be in the hospital to start with? doesn't seem worth the risk just to be able to tell your friends you had a non-hospital birth.

Sunny, I wd probably share your viewpoint if I thought the actual incidence of problem deliveries was high enough! But now I wonder: among healthy mothers that have normal pre-natal care and exams, what're the rates of unforseen problems at childbirth? Ah, well.

The point is, I'm happy to report that my sister's delivery two weeks ago went normally and I am the happy aunt of one 8lb Sebastien. In immediate photos he looked properly red, angry, and smushed like a little prune.

just to be able to tell your friends you had a non-hospital birth.

Oh. Well, no. If that was your reason for choosing home birth you should probably high-tail it back to the hospital. :)

have you read this, Sam?

http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/family/story/0,,2169286,00.html

aww Laurel! Congrats on being an Aunt! I feel bad bringing up this stuff here. Rumpie doesn't need me putting the phear in her so early.

Yes, well, anyway people are going to do what they're gonna do, this is not an issue that they feel they can afford to be swayed on, usually -- it runs too deep. Better just to let everyone do her own thing, prob.

yeah, agreed

Congrats Laurel!!

I'm influenced by the high levels of possibly non neccesary intervention in hospitals, I also cringe at the ideas of being hooked up to monitors and made to deliver in bed.

I'd like as non traumatic a birth as possible, but every birth is different, and at this stage every opinion is important to me ;)

I'll try to read it later. I'd be interested in knowing stats if they are out there.

I don't know about in the UK but in the US hospitals are amongst the most germ-ridden places ever. The industry tries to keep it a secret but there are lot of deaths from infections people get while in the hospital. My mother, while in ICU, contracted sepsis and almost died.

That being said no one I know who has had a child in either a hospital or an alternative environment has had any issues. Rumpie has nothing but good things to look forward. :)

Oh yeah, this risk is small small small. i just like to eliminate as much risk as possible. im such a scaredy cat though.

im going to shut up now and get to work on some nominations for 1P3's annual top twenty blondes thread. maybe i'll nominate LAUREL.

Congrats Rumpie!

FWIW my 3 kids were born in RAH and they were excellent with us every time, particularly for the 1st one which was a very traumatic emergency thing.

Thanks for the congratulations! I was also asked to godmother this little thing, which I guess should be a big honor but I'm sort of...feeling unmoved actually? Please that there's a new generation of the fam to mold and corrupt, though -- my aunts and uncles certainly left us a rich legacy in my own generation.

*Pleased

Uh. I should read 1P3 more often, shouldn't I.

I think I might be the godmother of my nephew. I don't really remember as that was seven years ago and my brother/sis-in-law are no longer religious. Be that as it may, G and I have already discussed how we would adopt all 4 of them if anything (god forbid) ever happened to their parents. So I guess that makes us godparents sans church intervention.

I'm influenced by the high levels of possibly non neccesary intervention in hospitals, I also cringe at the ideas of being hooked up to monitors and made to deliver in bed.

I'm studying women's health right now and the medicalization of birth is something we've been concentrating a lot of recently. A lot of women are forced into procedures and medications they would not normally want/need because of pressure from Docs.

What Laurel said is OTM. If the pregnancy is "normal" and there is proper pre-natal care, there is no reason to be scared of a birthing center/midwife especially since most are affiliated with hospitals and will have a backup plan in place. What MM said about the germs at hospitals is also otm and a huge issue.

Once I've finished my degree I'm actually contemplating going to either midwifery school or becoming a birthing coach so this thread is really interesting to me.

Also, CONGRATULATIONS RUMPIE!!!

Congrats Rumpie!

:)

More positives for the RAH. I think the mat there is midwife led too so it may just be the way to go.

Thanks for all info/advice.

Congrats Rumpie! In a very weird way (because I've got my hands full and totally don't want another baby at the minute thank you very much) I'm jealous! I loved most aspects of being pregnant, it's a very special time and it just gets better and better once they're here! (amazing how you can forget how all consuming parenthood is when they smile and laugh at you!)

I had a midwife-led birth centre birth, but it was at our local hospital, so had the best of both worlds. As has been said above, if no problems have been identified in ante-natal care then I think the birth centre option is definitely a safe option. Midwives can generally tell whether a birth is progressing well or not and transfer mothers to hospital in plenty of time if they can see that things are not progressing to plan.

Like you I was a bit wary of a homebirth for my first but if I do go through it again then I'm definitely going to aim for a homebirth.

I used to be and could STILL probably be really militant re the medicalization of labor & delivery etc etc, but honestly in a lot of ways hospitals really aren't so bad anymore, especially if you do your own homework and are firm about birthing plans and so on. So apart from some preferences for solitude, darkness, a different attitude about the event, it's hard to say that any given hospital is worse than any given home situation. Which is awesome, because the option of going the full natural/home route is open to those who want it and/or qualify, but the bulk of the population is still getting hospital care that is CLOSER to a homebirth attitude. That's a win/win!

I'm partial to the idea of waterbirths, myself. ;)

Thanks Vicky, I'm loving it so far despite only being a few weeks along, it's so amazing to think that there's going to be a little baby at the end of this - I keep forgetting, then remembering with a little jolt of excitement!

I'd definitely love the option of a birthing pool Lauel, I think labouring in water would be really relaxing. Keeps all the mess in one place too!!

I mean, having spouses, relatives, doulas present is "new", delivering in your own room and not an OR is "new", having a Jacuzzi tub in yr suite and being able to play your own music and get up and walk and squat and having one of those giant rubber balls to sit on are all "new".... Pitocin is dripped in slowly as a closer simulation to natural onset of contractions instead of as a shot that hits you all at once, techniques like perineal massage are more understood & accepted in a medical setting...many things are better!

I LOVED my waterbirth! Obviously I don't have anything to compare it to but it was fab once I got into the pool!

My next door neighbour gave birth to her daughter the day after Aidan was born - for health reasons she wasn't allowed to use the birth centre so gave birth in the hospital labour ward. I know it's not really fair to compare births as there can be so many variants, but I left with a much better experience than she did.

Oh GOOD, Vicky! I'm glad your experience was so positive, I like to hear that. V sorry for your neighbor -- sometimes these things just get away from you, and it's not a situation where you can go away and think about it, or refuse care, or step back at all, really -- it is ALL SYSTEMS GO in flashing red lights until it's over.

but honestly in a lot of ways hospitals really aren't so bad anymore, especially if you do your own homework and are firm about birthing plans and so on.

Unfortunately from the research I've done regarding women's experience giving birth in hospital settings, I don't think that's necessarily true for the majority of hospitals. I think you're probably right that some are better than they used to be but I think there's still A LOT of work to be done.

A friend of mine recently who recently gave birth did all the homework etc. and had a very firm birthing plan but her two more important requests, that her husband cut the cord and that the babe be placed on her chest before being cleaned up, were still ignored! :-(

AHhh that is sad. My sister's baby was put in her arms immed, and my mother, who had no complaints about her own 4 hospital births even though they weren't as forward-thinking, was so moved by the phenomenon of baby going straight to mother's heartbeat and smell and body temperature...it was apparently an extremely affecting time.

wow i like this thread though i will be un-caught up in about 2 hours.

congrats to all the baby people!

what mm said about the germs is otm. i have a really awful horror story about a friend of our family's delivery that turned into her contracting a terrible infection and encountering other very uncomfortable problems in the hospital. my sister also has a 20 min rant about why hospitals are bad because docs are coming off extremely long shifts (this may be different in the uk) and the fact that an epidural screws up your ability to properly produce the baby. i never thought much about it til i had this conversation but when/if i ever end up choosing a delivery spot, i will definitely do lots of research.

birthing pools actually seem really kind of ideal... i think the squatting action would help things along and be good for the pain (though i know nothing of labor pains so i can't really say).

I don't really trust homebirths, but then I'm a hyper-extreme-ultra hypochondriac. Thank god, I am because not only was Ophelia miconial (she... uh shat before she came into this world) which can be extremely dangerous but I also tore some skin (inside) which needed to be fixed PRONTO and I lost tons of blood. But I don't think homebirth is as dangerous as I envision it. If all is good, then usually it goes well. But usually doesn't mean always which I don't like. :-) Then again problems can arise in the hospital.

I'm now full-term, meaning I am in my 38th week. This means that if she arrives today she's not a preemie.

(Nath is still pregnant, but she did announce it after about a week or something...)

So so true. I can't help keeping quiet about it all.

Tuomas didn't know I was pregnant? Shit, didn't I talk enough (too much) about it? hahaha

haha. i got induced because my mom was in town and due to leave soon.

I've been trying to stay as active as possible, loads of long walks, house cleaning and sex as normal.

Was up at the unit seeing the midwife team leader last week, we're still agreed on me birthing in there, yahoo!!

I can't seem to find that info from the link Ned...

excellent news.

Have you taken lots of nice bump shots? That could easily while away an afternoon, trying to get that perfect shot! In the months to come it's ace to look back in amazement that you could ever have been that huge.

Have you washed all the baby clothes, linen etc? Got your bags packed? You could make a mix cd/ipod playlist if you haven't already got anything sorted.

Re. the whole 'overdue' thing, the due date is only based on an average gestation period, babe will come when it's ready. Even two weeks over your due date isn't anything to panic over, though the NHS will try to put the frighteners on you, they can't force you to be induced

I was 10 days overdue and it sent me mental. Looking back, I should have enjoyed the peace and quiet, and the chance to sleep ;-)

Have you got a birthing ball? Great for making sure the baby is in a good position for labour, and for the early stages of labour as well.

I'll second Meg on the birthing ball, I virtually lived on mine in the leadup and all the time I was in labour at home I didn't want to get off the thing, good job they had one at the birth centre for me to use until I got in the pool!

xp
No, sorry rumpie, you need to get the book! I thought it would referenced somewhere but extensive searching has not found it. Basically it says what Vicky says.

In my limited experience, midwives were much more sensible about this than doctors (who to be fair are not usually specialists).

Anyway, you're not at that point yet!

My friend is bringing me a birthing ball on Thursday, I've heard they're an absolute godsend.

My midwife said they'd let me go to 12 days past my edd then bring me in to discuss induction, but if everything looks okay with the baby they'll just keep an eye on me and let me go a bit longer.

Meg, I wish I could sleep! I reckon my body is practising for the sleepless nights ahead, I just can't switch off at all.

I've been keeping a 'bump gallery' Vicky, it's funny to think back to four and five months ago when I was desperate to 'show' and now I'm sobbing because I can't get into any clothes!

Must admit though, I'm loving being pregnant, it's amazing to have company with me all the time, even when I'm alone. It feels so private and special sometimes.

I'm pretty much organised, my bag as been packed and unpacked umpteen times and I can't stop looking at the baby clothes. All I need now is the baby!

rumpie, don't worry - the baby WILL come out! It is hard to be patient, though, when you're feeling uncomfortable and anxious. I don't have any great natural induction suggestions (sex, spicy food, long walks - all of my standard ideas have been thrown out already!). But I remember a friend telling me I should "go to a lot of movies" in the last weeks because after the baby came, it would be hard to go. (And it's true: I almost never go to the movies anymore!)

Hmmmm, I wonder if there are any funny or possibly scary movies out there that you might enjoy, which could also precipitate labor? At any rate, you should treat yourself to something distracting and fun.

I went to see the Simpsons the sunday before I was due, but unfortunately I didn't laugh him out of me! Cinema is a very good call, and read as many books as you can, I so miss being able to spend a couple of hours with my nose in a book.

I miss being pregnant. Sounds silly as it can be really uncomfortable, but there's something so precious about it.

birth ball was rub and only meant as a joke on me. ;-) i was five days overdue with both. elisabeth was induced.

Looking back, I should have enjoyed the peace and quiet, and the chance to sleep ;-)

of course those last weeks are so uncomfortable you can't sleep. but you should cause sleep deprivation will last for a couple of months. roffle. :-)

rumps, i am rooting for you!

I'm hoping you're not pregnant any more and too busy with newborn to post!

yes, best wishes rumpie:)

Wooohoo, I'm excited for her. Man, how quick it goes: Elisabeth is no longer a newborn anymore.

Hey y'all, still here. Had two failed attempted cervical sweeps, one friday and one sunday but my cervix is still unfavourable, the kiddo hasn't engaed and I've to be admitted on wednesday to start with the prostin.

I cried all day friday, I'm shit scared of going into hospital, never been in before except as an outpatient, and my birth plan has flown out of the window.

I've tried all the old wives methods of inducing labour (not the castor oil admittedly) and I've hardly been off my feet but nope, nothing, not a twinge.

Just got to stay positive and keep reassurring myself that the outcome will be the same, a gorgeous and healthy little baby. Doesn't stop me bursting into tears at the thought of drips and wires and wards, eeek!

It's gonna be fine! Don't worry! It will happen!

Thanks, I'm just all hormonal and worked up. I've had such an easy pregnancy I just assumed labour and birth would go smoothly and automatically too.

Rumpie, it was exactly the same way for me - my cervix was doing nothing. People put so much stock in midwives and not inducing and no drugs but its not always that easy and in the end none of it matters for shit. Its the 18 years (and beyond) after the birth that really counts.

Yip, you're so right. I've just been dealing with everything one step at a time and it's hard for me to see past the labour and birth bit just now. Going into labour has been my main focus for weeks now, I'm still struggling to imagine actualy having a real baby.

Wed is still a long way off in labour terms, plenty of time for it to kick off on its own before then. But if it doesn't all that matters at the end of the day is a healthy mum and baby.

Marley Mae was born at 01.17 on the 20th of June - all 7lb 13oz of her. My waters were broken for me and I delivered my baby 7 hours later. There were a couple of hairy moments, she flatlined twice and I almost had to have an emergency section but she recovered by herself.

My mum had a tyre blowout on a country road on the way to the hospital too, so it was a bit of a dramatic night.

Marley is feeding like a limpet, my nipples are three feet long but I've never been so happy in my life. She has completed me.

Look forward to chatting on the parenting thread.

Pics and story for anyone interested are here: http://boards.babycentre.co.uk/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=bcUKbclub200806&tid=5653

Well done Mr. rump.

She's GORGEOUS! Congratulations!

CONGRATULATIONS!! She's beautiful!!!

Aw, congrats, she's a wee star.

congratulations!!!!!! a total knockout!

nice one, rumpie. congratulations.

congratulations rumpie, she is absolutely beautiful.

how wonderful! congratulations!

:D
babies <3

She is beautiful! Congratulations!

Oh Rumpie!!!! Wooohooo! I can't look at the pics too much, cause I would shed a tear. (Yep, I'm a total crybaby.) Congrats. I am happy to hear both you and Marley are in good health! How are you feeling otherwise? Isn't it all that and much more? :-))

Whoppee! Well done Rumpie and Mr Rumpie and Baby Rumpie! Another Mae (just like my daughter)!

It's the BEST feeling in the world, I can't get over this love I feel, it's totally overwhelming. I just want to stare at her day and night.

Love her love her love her!!!

rumpie, she is so beautiful I'm boo-hooing over her just looking at her!

Thank you :)

Congratulations! She's a beaut :)

So no one has been pregnant since 2008? I am 12 weeks today. I started mood swings at 8 weeks but approaching 12 weeks... those mood swings were small thunderstorms compared to the tsunamis I am getting now.

I will be going through the day happy and excited and then out of nowhere get hit with semi-anxious, overwhelming sadness. There is no reason for it and I find trouble when I start giving it a reason or searching for a source. If it is hormonal, it has no reason other than hormones raging.

I have never experienced chemical depression or ever had PMS that compares to something like this. I am not in the habit of feeling sad and depressed without a solid reason and I guess I am not grasping the hormone thing. I never bought the hormone thing and scoffed at anyone who used it as a reason for anything. I loathed it when girls said their PMS made them do it. While PMS made me feel low sometimes, I could always control my thoughts and emotions. Can hormones alone can make me feel like my world in caving in on itself? I usually find solutions to my problems but now I feel crazy.

When I am hit with this semi-anxious sad feeling the tears start flowing and it's hard to even get out and try and take a walk to take my mind off it. I can't top crying. I tried exercising which always makes me feel great but then it exhausts me and feeling tired seems to be a trigger, not eating as soon as I crave something is another. Although sleeping and eating don't always prevent them or cure them, helps decrease their intensity somewhat.

Yesterday I woke up feeling great. Had a dip in mood so decided to sleep it off. Took a nap. I was awake 3 hours straight, worked out, had a snack, felt great but was extremely sleepy again. This is the sort of drowsiness I only previously experienced going into and coming out of anesthesia. It is really intense.

After a second, shorter nap, I woke up, ate dinner with my boyfriend and was fine for about an hour then had a drop in my mood. Unfortunately, my boyfriend was home and was quickly devoured by my tsunami of anxiety and depression. A question led to a conversation that led to a discussion that escalated and now things there are weird. We woke up this morning in separate beds.

This is my first pregnancy and his as well. I don't think I am able to articulate my frame of mind accurately to him. I am happy about pregnancy but at the same time I am shocked with what I find myself experiencing. Having been a person who was previously in control and now finding myself unable to control things going on inside and with my body. It doesn't feel normal to feel so out of control, to have mood swings and these sleeping fits. I see Rosemary's Baby in an entirely different way now. It is a scarier movie than I thought, I get it now.

Is there anybody out there, who knows what this out of control feeling is all about? How to keep things in perspective so that you don't wind up taking a Greyhound to Nowheresville only to get there and mood swing into a what have I done moment?

I have never been pregnant so I don't have any experience with this or word of wisdom to offer. I am sure someone else will. I just wanted to say congratulations to you and Mr. S! Babies seem pretty great.

:) Thank you!!!!!!!!!xo

There's a more up-to-date rolling pregancy thread on the I Love People-Making sub-board:

Knocked Up Rollcall

congrats, tera; similarly i can't really relate other than recognising that pregnancy must be a crazy change in state to go through, so inevitably comes with a lot of weird changes, but i hope you can get comfortable.

And congrats to you, Tera, hope you manage to get over the feelings you have.

(x-post)

Congrats Tera! :)

Thank you guys!!!!!!!! Going to that other board now....thanks, Tuomas

Ah, congratulations! I always had this weird feeling about being pregnant. "A BABY IS FORMING IN MY BELLY. WOHA." :-) I have two kids and don't plan to have more. I do envy others being pregnant. Ah.... :-)

Thank you!!!!!

Since I never had a baby before, just pets, tons and tons of pets, I find it hard at the moment to wrap my head around a small human. It is easier for me to understand The Ultimate Pet.

Then, last night, after having a chat with a woman who described her three pregnancies and being able to relate to some things she said I thought of the chickens I once had. They were Silkies, the best mama hens ever.

They would go broody and I would get them fertile eggs to sit on because I never wanted to deny them motherhood even though I couldn't keep a rooster. For three weeks I would watch them and spent a significant amount of time watching them sit on the nest and wonder what they were thinking. They had such serious expressions. They would only get up for a morning bm and to eat and some water. I would gently pet them and they would coo but other times I would get severely pecked (they are not known to be a mean breed and rarely do that). I saw them get cranky when another hen passed by (actually heard a chicken growl) or when I had to pick up some eggs.

So I began to think, my bed is my lil nest. I get up to get groceries, make meals, clean up and take care of myself then back to bed and remembered that even my hens had mood swings.

Hey Tera - like I said yesterday, no personal experience here but I've known and worked with a lot of pregnant ladies and from what I understand the overwhelming fatigue begins to lift in the 2nd trimester so there's every chance you might start feeling more like yourself again sometime soon.

That said, if I had an valid reason to spend a lot of time in bed nobody would ever see me again so I say get comfy and make the most of it while you can.