Tuesday, June 28, 2011

32 weeks: nesting phase, labor dreams, begin.

i feel like it's time to start the countdown. 5 weeks till full term, 8 weeks till 40 weeks. lana, feel free to come out a little early.

two topics for today...

1. nesting. my officemate keeps teasing me that i am all about nesting these days. i think it's more mentally true than actually true. in my mind i am amazing - effortlessly handling all these creative endeavors to make lana's nursery a dream. in reality i am heavy and not very crafty. so we'll see how this goes, but i have two projects right now that i hope i can bring to fruition.

project 1 is repainting a used baby dresser i found on craigslist. sh took me to lowe's so i could buy all the supplies: sandpaper, wood filler, primer, brushes and paint. i figured that, with less money than it costs for a 3-dresser drawer from ikea, i could save a used piece of furniture and make something special and customized just for lana. i'm still in the sanding phase, and i've gotten a good amount done but man - it's not easy. it wiped me out last night. i'm hoping to put my 10-year-old cousin to work to help finish the sanding. she loves doing things with us (sh let her help paint the nursery until we said no more because we were redoing all the areas she was painting), so i said, "do you want to sand the dresser with me?" she goes "ok...what's sanding?" i said "it's something super fun." haha. i'll post before/after pics when i'm done (if they're presentable...).

project 2 is creating a mobile for the crib. i was browsing etsy to buy one when i realized that i could maybe make one for way less money. i don't have a sewing machine and i'm not very good at hand sewing so i looked for and found a very cute and simple bird template. the goal as of now is to sew 3 little birds, and then hang them from either a round wooden hoop or a branch. then i'll have to figure out a way to fasten it to either the crib or the wall/ceiling so that it hangs over the crib.

2. labor dreams. i had my first two nights ago. i had what i thought was a contraction, so i told sh and we headed to the hospital. i got admitted only to be told that it was a little too early to be there so i should go back home. i was like no! please don't kick me out! now that we're 8 weeks away, i've been thinking about the fact that i actually have to get this little booger out of me. i don't think i'm scared as much as just preoccupied with that thought - wondering how it'll go and what my experience will be. i'm trying not to read -too- much because i can get a little crazy when i over-research things, but i do want to be prepared and know what to expect. i think my biggest fear (besides the general level of pain) is...tearing. or getting an episiotomy. yikes. a question for moms - did you have a birth plan? was it oral or written out? i'm a little confused about this and how it actually plays out, but i found a good template online that has a bunch of topics that can be covered. i'm thinking of filling it out and giving it to my OB as well as the hospital.

in other pregnancy news, i saw the OB on monday and i now weigh 127 pounds! i can't believe i'll be entering the 130s territory soon - sounds scary. o_O lana weighs about 4 pounds now. she hiccups after every meal - without fail. she kicked so forcefully yesterday that i felt like my skin was going to rip and her foot was going to come out. i have major back pain and i can't sit or stand for long stretches, which makes the couch in the empty office next door to mine tempting.. i have outgrown maternity pants that "can be worn till the end of pregnancy!" i still don't eat crazy amounts but i had 3 chocolate chip cookies today and regretted it. and, i love our new place but i am NOT feelin' the stairs. not at all.

BUMP! (i feel like it's so big i need to use caps.)

14 comments:

  1. Full term is 37 weeks. I keep on thinking I only have 4.5 weeks until I could possibly have a baby, providing it is full terms. But the closer to the due date, the better developed, plus hubby won't be here, so I'm telling the baby to stay put. As far as birth plans, have several copies printed out. Give one to your OB, submit it at the hospital when they make your chart, and a couple more to anyone who is taking care of you. I would verbalize it to all of the above as well, in case they don't really read it.And whoever is going to be laboring with you, like SH and your mom? should know it really well so they can protest to any wayward nurse or staff who hasn't read yours and is doing something you don't want.
    I have maternity pants in two sizes b/c nothing is that stretchy!

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  2. I had 2nd degree tears both time, even with being in the water and/or perineal massage. It would have been worse if I hadn't been in the water, especially with Nathan. But I didn't feel them at the time since I was so focused on getting the babies out. And the sewing up afterward wasn't bad the first time, but the second time was somewhat painful b/c that CNM didn't give me as much local anesthetic, I think. The healing was fine for both and all I really remember is how sore I was in general, but that's regardless of tearing, I'm pretty sure!

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  3. I should say that the first time: water plus perineal massage. Second: just water. First time, the CNM told me to wait before pushing the baby completely out, while the baby was crowning. I couldn't do it. I just wanted him out! I think I was supposed to wait to allow for more stretching to avoid tearing. The second time, I had to get the baby out since his heart rate was a little low b/c his head was pressing against my cervical lip (DS1's heart rate didn't go down in the same situation, but maybe it's b/c DS2's head was so much bigger!)

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  4. I wish there was some way to correct my comments without having to post a new one-sorry!
    What I meant in my first comment is that when you are fully 37 weeks is when they stop considering you pre-term. Obviously full term is 40 weeks.

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  5. Sorry to inundate you with comments. So I was right the first time. I believe full term is 37 weeks (meaning the end of your 37th week of pregnancy when the lungs should be fully developed)although some may only classify it as at term. It is 36 if you are having twins. But then I read that some doctors may differ in whether or not to allow you to deliver while you are only 36 weeks. I posted the first 3 comments, doubted myself, went back to the computer, posted the 4th, then went upstairs, then double-checked myself on the internet again, and then here you go. You know I knew all this really well after my first pregnancy and after that, well, I kind of forget stuff! Sorry!

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  6. i didn't have any real birth plan, other than, "try not to intervene too much, ob." i think a birth plan is more important if you really feel strongly about how it all goes because you may not be able to communicate things as well when you're in the moment and you may be upset afterwards if you felt like labor was out of your control. i ended up having a c-section, which i really didn't want to do, and i was kind of upset about that (i kind of had a meltdown en route to the or). but then, we had our baby and he was healthy so i got over it pretty quickly. :) i hope that wasn't tmi, but i guess when talking about pregnancy & labor, it's always tmi...

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  7. i was REALLY worried about the tearing, but turns out you don't even feel it! but however much you tear does affect the strength of the drugs you need afterwards... so as much as we all hope not to tear at all, episiotomies are blessings in disguise. they keep things neat and hopefully not too deep.

    i LOVE birth plans. i didn't have any for ella but i found myself being very upset about the way certain things went with my pregnancy - like the fact she was whisked away to be cleaned and how i was in so much pain being stitched up that i barely got to hold her. so that's why i wrote that i wanted to do skin to skin with her as soon as she is born. it was great b/c giving birth tends to go for a while and i went through 2 nurse shifts. with each set of nurses and doctors i saw, they went over exactly what i wanted and it was great. i'm not really a control freak, but i think it can be very emotional for mothers when births doesn't go the way we imagined it... but who really knows what they are up for, especially the first time around!
    but i HIGHLY recommend doing skin to skin right away. it helps you bond with your baby and vice versa. i couldn't really make the connection that the baby inside of my belly was a real live baby - and i remember being a little shocked by the reality when they showed me ella and i had to make sense of it while being stitched up with her crying in the baby warmer... it was all very crazy and overbearing. but with noah, he was placed right on my belly after being wiped up a little bit - and it was... AWESOME. a little weird at first, but it's such a great bonding time. it's apparently a hospital rule that the baby has to be monitored for 2-3 hours in the nursery, but what i didn't know is that depending on the amount of time i hold the baby in the delivery room is deducted from the time the hospital needs to monitor the baby. i held noah for about an hour and a half so when they took him away to bathe him and monitor him, they returned him to me within an hour.
    8 weeks to go!! wahoo - home stretch! awesome that you're doing all the diy... makes things more special and personable. definitely nesting! :D

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  8. sorry i meant birth not pregnancy, him not her, etc etc. :D trying to type this while taking care of ella. haha... that or my writing skills have dulled - oh no!

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  9. Your hospital and the medical staff can really put a smile or a frown on you. My biggest thing was- don't let anyone into the delivering room other than the required staff, ie med students and residents.
    Episiotomy is unavoidable in most women. And as long as you are opting for an epidural, the chances are you won't feel it. And it's actually better to get the episiotomy than tearing bc then you'll have a clean cut and fewer stitches.
    Um, go easy on dyi. I hear fumes can be bad for you and your baby ESP when you're refinishing furniture. Make SH do it?! :)
    And Lana will have no idea whether you made a beautiful nursery or not. Don't drive yourself crazy! You should sleep some more while you can! :)
    AND, as much as you want her out, it's just more trouble when she's actually out! ;) good luck with everything Carol. You're going to be great!

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  10. i had discussed a general birth plan with my dr. when it was around the 36/37 week mark. i didn't want an episiotomy, and wanted to do the skin-on-skin right after birth, too. i did have a written copy, but never pulled it out once i was at the hospital. i was pretty adamant about not wanting drugs, though. i emphasized that with the dr. and staff beforehand and after we got to the hospital. i had an epidural with justin and the whole process kind of ran away and ended up being not what i had imagined. and honestly, the epidural hurt a lot T_T;
    it sounds so impossible, but i didn't actually feel the tear itself. it's a general... 'ring of fire' pain down there, and i didn't even know that i had torn. stitching wasn't too bad, my dr gave me enough local anesthesia. i'd say the recovery was the worst part of it all.
    these last few weeks will FLY by ^_^ so exciting!

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  11. I am sure you have done the research, but there is plenty of research to indicate that episiotomies can cause worse tears, more pain,increased chance of infection, and a longer recovery time. Besides being in my pregnancy book, even a generic site like babycenter.com says that it is not recommended like it used to be and cites all these cons to episiotomies.(http://www.babycenter.com/0_episiotomy_165.bc) I would rather tear any day. Your kegels and perineal massage will help to reduce the chance of a tear. For me, it kept it to minor tears (2nd degree is not severe.) Eat well, keeping hydrated, etc. that will help too.
    Skin-to-skin, keeping baby with you as much as possible especially after first born, breastfeeding as soon as possible, delaying the cord cut, all are great things and should be considered as you are writing your birth plan.

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  12. thanks everyone! and anonymous - i can't tell who you are!

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  13. Hey Carol! I guess that everyone is different (as evidenced from the array of comments above), but I feel like so much about the birthing process is unpredictable that there's no way that it's going to go the way that you have planned...I was more like Michelle, with a general "minimal interventions" request, and I wanted to breastfeed V right away. I planned to go with the flow as far as an epidural went - if I could do it without, great, if not, I wasn't going to martyr myself! :) I ended up getting the epidural (which was awesome, btw!), having minimal interventions and a relatively great experience, except for a fever that I developed after getting the epidural. I ended up having to get antibiotics which meant that V had to get antibiotics as soon as she was born, so I didn't get to breastfeed her right away. But I did so a few hours later, and as michelle said, had a healthy baby, so all was well! I tore, too, but didn't feel it...The stitching up afterwards was probably the worst part, but not so much because it was painful in as much as I just wanted to get off the damn table and go see my babe! :)

    You'll be totally fine - don't worry. If things don't go exactly the way you hoped they would, just remember the end result and go with the flow. I think as long as the doctors know the general desire you have for your labor and delivery, they will do their best to give you that (obviously, sometimes things go their own way). I'm super excited for you! Can't wait to see what's been growing in your belly! It's definitely surreal when they put the baby on your belly for the first time...

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  14. Episotimy and healing from it wasnt as painful as i thought. All the pain really wasnot as bad as i feared it would be. C wasnt coming out after an hour of pushing with an epideral, so i was like give me the episiotimy or i give up. I totally get u on the not being able to stand or sit. Sad thing is i just reached 28 weeks so still have a long way to go. Never thought i would say this but bedrest seems pretty inviting right now. I didnt know the no wash rule so i took a shower as soon as i could. But after i think i didnt wash for a few weeks to satisfy my mom's wishes. I had a lot of body heat after birth so i refused to wear long pants,etc. But i did wear fluffy slippers around the house and didnt leave for a month except for dr appts. It was soo tough following the rules then. Since they seemed so mideival and it was the first time hearing of it. But a couple of friends i know who recently gave birth readily followed their parents rules that this time, i will be more open to following the rules rather than doing it so reluctantly and questioningly as i did before. I hope u are r doing well in these last few days. You and sh will be great parents!

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