So I was thinking about my pregnancy, and what I would consider the best part, as well as the worst part. Now, at the time of writing this, I have about 6 weeks left, so my opinions could change. But honestly, I don't think they will too much. So here they are...
The worst part:
Honestly, the worst part for me is not being able to breathe through my nose starting from about week 12 on... and this coming from someone who's suffered from ECP early on, as well as someone who had to go to the ER twice with the worst pain I've ever felt in my life. Not only is it uncomfortable and inefficient to breathe through my mouth all the time (brushing teeth is especially hard when you can't use your nose to breathe), I cannot sleep if I cannot breath through my nose. I will literally wake up the instant I start mouth breathing. So often times I'm up half the night blowing my nose until I suck it up and take some Benedryl (which sometimes doesn't even work if it's bad enough). And then I'm exhausted in the morning, when the cycle starts over. I've heard that often times, the instant you give birth, the congestion clears up. Hope that happens to me... it'll give me a few days of reprieve, since my fall allergies will ultimately make their appearance, which always seems to happen exactly on July 30th.
The best part:
Although I think the best overall part will be when I finally get to hold my baby, right now, the best part for me is feeling the baby move around. It makes it so much more real. The baby has recently been sticking its butt out, and I love giving it a little pat. I also love how I can now tell how the baby is laying, in general anyway. Before, you knew that there was a baby in there, and that you'd occasionally feel little kicks, but you had no idea which way it was facing, or if it was a kick or a punch. And they move around so much, they were probably doing somersaults and cartwheels. But now I know that space is at a premium, so flipping around won't happen as much anymore, and that the baby is head down... which in and of itself is a relief. I don't wanna have to worry about trying to turn the baby so close to delivery or else get a c-section. Hope it stays that way!
May 30, 2012
May 28, 2012
Pregnancy: 32nd week
May 22 - 28
I am sooooo relieved! I had my 32 week checkup on Monday (technically in the 31st week), and I got up the nerve to ask my doctor about my concerns. I was originally just going to ask about the pushing positions at this one, but it ended up with me asking about the induction cut-off as well.
For pushing, she told me that as long as I didn't have an epidural or spinal block, I could push in any position I wanted, just as long as the baby was tolerating it. She did tell me though, that when it comes time for delivery, she would feel better about me being in the bed since it'd be more difficult to catch the baby if I were out of it. Okay, I can work with that.
The I asked about the 41-week induction limit and the fact that I'm actually about a week behind what EDD she gave me. She seems really receptive about allowing me to go over so that I can get to the 41 week mark going by my ovulation date. She said we'd talk about it more once she starts doing the cervical checks and determines my progress. But that overall, she prefers to let nature take its course, doesn't induce very often, and that an extra few days beyond her EDD shouldn't be a big deal. She also said her c-section rate is also pretty low for that reason. So those are a few big things I'm glad I asked about.
Oh, and when she was checking the heartbeat, I asked if she could guesstimate the baby's position within the womb at that moment. She thinks the baby is head down, although she did warn that at this point, the baby could still flip flop around. That's okay... I just wanted to know if what I felt yesterday was the butt like I thought. And it was!
Physically, I'm starting to feel huge now. And I'm kinda sad because while I can still fit into one pair of pre-pregnancy jeans, it's now getting harder and harder to button them up. Don't get me wrong, I'm so happy that they've fit me going into my 7th month. But it's just that my 2 pairs of maternity jeans are uncomfortable, so I'll probably be wearing every other bottom I can before I wear the maternity jeans again. For 2 months. It'll be weird not to wear jeans at all for that long. For me anyway.
But now on to a more stressing topic: insurance. When I was laid off in 2010, I lost my health insurance. To add me to DH's insurance at work would be exorbitant, and would continue to be so unless you had a family of over 5, so I looked around at individual plans, hoping to find some that offered maternity benefits. I found a whole 2 plans. So I took the one that had a high $2,000 deductible, and then after that, they'd cover 100%. And now that I'm knocked up, I've been looking into the cost of upgrading into a family plan once the baby's here, and I *think* the plan is that DH will drop his work insurance and come over onto mine, and that his employer will reimburse him up to a certain dollar amount. But the thing is, the deductible on a family plan goes up to $3,500. So now it's looking like we'll be paying that extra $1,500 once the baby's added, instead of thinking that the hospital charges would be free since I've already reached the $2,000 single deductible limit (thanks to my ER visits in March). And it's completely my fault for not thinking it through past having the baby. If I had thought of this back when I was getting the insurance, we would have moved DH over to mine a lot sooner, and since he's had health issues of his own this year, there'd be a pretty good chance that the $3,500 deductible would have already been met, or if not, pretty darn close.
But the one possible bright spot is that for the past few years, DH bought a supplemental insurance plan that covers hospital stays, and it covers what the main insurance doesn't for the entire family. He bought it a few years ago on the advice of a co-worker, and it's pretty cheap per month. So hopefully we'll get some payout off of that.
Insurance sucks. We should just move to Canada.
May 24, 2012
Names
But going off experience, I (executive decision, of course) have decided not to let anyone know what the potential names are until after the birth certificate is signed. It hasn't happened to me, but I have seen the reactions of other people when told the name of a yet-to-be-born baby when the name choice is either odd or something not to the liking of the person being told. You all know the look: a scrunched up nose like they're saying "ew" and then followed by "however did you come up with that name?" or "you don't want to name them that!" I haven't personally seen it, but apparently some people are forward enough to blatantly say "I don't like it." It is incredibly rude since they didn't ask the opinion of the other person anyway.
And I know my personality. If I tell people what the names are, and they don't like them, it will bother me and make me second-guess my decision. I don't need that, especially since I happen to love all the names I've picked out. Though I still fully expect to be bombarded with suggestions from family and friends. I'll probably just smile, nod and say "that's pretty."
Yes, I do have a handful of names for each sex, and have for quite a while. As we get closer to meeting this new little one, the list might be whittled down, but it ultimately may be that we wait until the baby is actually here before deciding.
I do feel a little bad though, because it seems as though I am the one naming the baby, with no input from DH. But then I just have to remember the "names" he's suggested so far, and then I don't feel so badly. His "names" aren't really names, but instead food items that I happen to crave. As much as he insists on it, Spicy Chicken Sandwich will not be in ANY part of the name. If he doesn't like the names I pick out, well, that's his own fault for not taking it seriously and suggesting real names. Okay, I take that back. He has suggested an actual name for a girl. I haven't vetoed it yet just because it's been his only contribution and I don't want to discourage him, but I don't really like it as it's kinda trendy. And the first thing I think of when I hear it is a US President from the 1800's. But it's progress, and I'll ask again soon to see if he has any new suggestions for me.
May 21, 2012
Pregnancy: 31st week
May 15 - 21
I'm kinda confused! We had our 2nd baby class on Monday, with a different nurse (every session has a different nurse/lecturer), and when talking about pushing positions, some of the things she talked about were contradictory to what the previous nurse said. Apparently we can push in different positions like squatting, side-laying or hands and knees. But the most common position is on the back with knees drawn up... usually because most women get an epidural so that's the only position they can labor in. So while it mostly clarified it for me, I'm definitely going to be checking with my doctor about it. I mean, it's not like I wanna get all crazy and deliver on the toilet (which was mentioned), but I would just like it if I had options, ya know?
We also did a couple of simple breathing exercises, which constitutes our Lamaze training, which they don't teach anymore. One of the exercises, the support person had to count the number of breaths the preggo normally took in 60 seconds. My result? Seven. Then we were instructed to do the same thing, but to focus on controlling the breathing. My new result was 5. Both were on the lower end of everyone in the room, which means nothing now, but that apparently I'll be better at using breathing as a pain management tool, and she did say that swimmers tend to have better breath control. So I guess I rock at breathing? Go me! It motivates me to not slack off during swimming now and breathe every 2 strokes like I want to. I'll try to keep doing every 4 strokes, with maybe a few every 6 strokes thrown in. Anyway..... Then everyone practiced a few different breathing patterns, which felt weird considering no one was having contractions. I figure I'll just go with the flow when the time comes.
She also went over pain medications they administer, as well as interventions. Although I still want a drug-free birth, I still have all pain meds options on the table... mostly because I want the option to change my mind (I like having options, can you tell?). As for interventions, I'm not as uptight about those as some are, so whatever helps.
Onward, I also consciously experienced Braxton-Hicks for the first time Monday as well. But I think that has more to do with the fact that I was super active and productive all day. The baby has been super super active lately, too. At my appointment next week, I'm going to ask the doctor if she can determine which position the baby is in, because at no point can I tell. I realize that it might still flip-flop, but at that moment, it'd be nice to know and if I get any movements around that time, it might help me decipher whether that poke was a headbutt, a kick, a wave or whatnot. All I know is that I'm now getting some jabs on the left side, and if it's on the lower left side, it HURTS! I have no idea what's down there, but man, it's not fun.
*a few days later*
Okay, definitely having more Braxton-Hicks even without being super active. It doesn't hurt, but sometimes I'll get a really good one going where it's hard to draw a breath. It's just weird.
In nursery news, the dresser got built this week. DH wanted to do it, and so I let him. But he wasn't being very careful when "tapping" in the wooden pegs to the top of the dresser... he tapped a little too hard and one of the pegs slightly cracked the top surface. It's not bad, but I definitely notice it, only because I told him not to use a hammer in the first place (I think I may have said something along the lines of "I told you so", but I can't be sure). We *could* return that part as defective, but we'd have to take it back to Ikea. And as I had to move heaven and earth to get there in the first place, I doubt we'd make a special trip just for that. So we will live with it. But as I said, it's not bad. And the dresser is a lot bigger than I had originally thought! It's nice though... to get something that cheap, you usually don't get very big drawers, and the quality usually isn't too good. This has 6 big drawers, was less than $200, and is surprisingly sturdy. Steal! The best part, I think it has DH a little more on-board with Ikea, which will come in handy next time I get evil plans to outfit our home with Ikea. :)
May 16, 2012
Crunchy thoughts
So I kinda feel like a hypocrite. Remember when I wrote about the reasons why I wanted to use cloth diapers on my baby? That 2 of them were that I didn't want chemicals next to my baby's most sensitive parts, and that I wanted to reduce my involvement in putting disposables in the landfill? Well, recently while on the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt, I came across a few online stores that make "mama cloths", and it got me thinking.
Mama Cloth is basically a menstrual pad made out of, you guessed it, cloth. And honestly, up until very recently, was something I thought was a little too crunchy, even for me. I mean, don't most women just want to forget that AF even happens? Who needs a reminder of it when it comes time to wash them? Yeah, I know the same can be said about cloth diapers. But somehow I think mama cloths are in an entirely different category of gross. Anyway, back to my thoughts.
Why shouldn't I use them? After all, pads end up in the exact same place as disposables do, AND they're made mostly with the same chemicals. Why would I willingly put that against my most sensitive parts when I won't with my baby? It's a pretty big double standard. Not to mention that the cost savings would be pretty significant, too. So they've become something I could actually see myself using. But the thing is, when I get AF, while I do wear a pad because of leaking, I'm mostly a tampon girl. So then that brings me to another crunchy product: menstrual cups.
I've known about these for a few years after seeing discussions about them on various message boards. And even though I see women rave about them, I cannot see myself using them... especially if I'm out and about (because you're supposed to rinse them out before reinserting). Can you imagine being in a public restroom and seeing someone come up to the sink and rinse one of those bad boys out and then go back into a stall? Gross! I will absolutely not be *that* person. Yeah, I suppose I could use tampons when out of the house, but isn't the point to not buy that stuff anymore? And unless I'm in that 6-week time frame post-partum when you shouldn't put anything up your hoo-ha, I will not use just a pad for AF. I spent the first 5 years of my AF-getting phase of life not even knowing about the existence of tampons, and it is something I'd rather just forget and not experience again.
So after all that rambling, I guess what I mean to say is that I think I might be a little crunchier than I first thought since I'm considering using mama cloth in place of disposable pads. But I still have to research how one goes about washing them, and if there are any with a waterproof layer. It still does seem gross though, so I don't know. I shall have to think more on it.
May 14, 2012
Pregnancy: 30th week
May 8 - 14
This week has been full of baby-related events.
The first thing is that we had our first baby class. This technically happened on 29w6d, but it was close enough, so I'm counting it for 30w0d. Anyway, every other month, the hospital holds 4 2-hour classes on Mondays, and they go over basic pregnancy stuff, stages of labor, labor options, etc. In the last class, they give a tour, which I'm really looking forward to, since the hospital is brand new.
So we get there, and we find out that due to Memorial Day, they're going to combine the 3rd & 4th classes, so we'll only have 3 weeks of classes. Works for me, I guess. We have the Happiest Baby on the Block class the Tuesday after Memorial Day, so it pretty much works out the same for us anyway. Anyway for the first class, it was pretty much everything I already knew, although I did find out that they don't do water births at the hospital. Not because they aren't equipped to, but because no doctor here will do one. But they'll let me labor in water, so it's not too disappointing. What is disappointing though, is that if a woman is going to deliver vaginally, she will be on her back in bed when pushing. No kneeling, squatting, etc. I hope that at least they'll raise the back up so I'm not flat flat. It just seems that it would be easier for everyone involved if they'd let gravity help a bit.
And then they started talking about induction times. The standard here for every doctor is 41 weeks. So basically, going back to my concern that I'm actually a week behind what my doctor says, if I don't have my baby by my actual EDD, I will be induced. No going over a week like all the other moms get to do. It is something I plan on bringing up with my doctor at one of my appointments down the line, because I cannot stress how much I DON'T want an induction if I can avoid it. So maybe my baby will be nice to me and come on time. Please?
Other than that, it was pretty boring. I figured as much though, and figured it'd be more for DH than anything. But with the way his memory works, I'll be happy if all he remembers is how to get me to the hospital. Okay, I should give him more credit... just as long as he remembers to give me massages on demand. And Taco Bell after I give birth :) One last thing: I was surprised at the number of people there. There were at least 14 pregnant women there, not including myself. And they're all first time moms, which tells you that the amount of babies being born in July is going to be staggering, taking into account the 2nd, 3rd or 4th time moms who don't take the classes. The nurse running the class said that they've been warned by many doctors that July is going to be super busy for the maternity ward. So it might be interesting come delivery time to see if they have to overflow the preggos to "normal" hospital rooms, since our hospital only has 3 delivery rooms, and 2 post-partum rooms for those who've had c-sections. I'll be sad if I'm not in one of those 5 rooms, because they're the only ones with tubs. The rest only have showers.
Then the next day, I had my 30 week checkup. Up 4 pounds in 2 weeks. If I keep up this weight gain trend, I going to get a talking to. And I still don't see where the weight is going if it's not to my belly. All I know is that I hope this kid isn't massive. I didn't bring up the induction thing yet, but probably the next appointment. I don't want to sound like a broken record and insist on a later due date, so I hope my doctor at least is open to letting me go later than 41 weeks. If not, I don't know what I'll do, other than finding a new doctor (which I don't think will fly anyway, since apparently the 41 week mark is widely accepted here). Anyway, she told me I have a pretty belly since I don't have any stretch marks. I'm like "thanks", although all I see are slight red splotches whenever I look at it. The baby's still chillaxin' on the right side, and its heartbeat is about 150 still. Not much else went on, and was a quick appointment. My next one is in 2 weeks.
And the most exciting one, DH & I went to the nearest Ikea (400-some miles away) to get the nursery furniture! We got the crib and dresser, as well as a lamp, which we weren't looking for, but will go well with everything. And as soon as I rested up, I put that crib together by myself. I just didn't want to wait for DH, and it actually wasn't hard at all. I feel all accomplished and stuff.
I loved Ikea, and am a little sad that we live so far away from one. But on the plus side, while we were walking through the display floor, DH found a setup he likes for our bathroom. And surprisingly, I liked it, too, which hardly every happens when it comes to stuff like that. So it looks like another trip to Ikea will happen in the future. It will be a few years down the road (to save up), but it gives me something to look forward to.
May 7, 2012
Pregnancy: 29th week
May 1 - 7
Not much has been going on pregnancy-wise. Baby's going through periods of activity, and it's kinda fun to put my hands on my belly and try to decipher which body part I'm feeling. Still haven't a clue. Perhaps when it's bigger and more out of room. But I like to tell myself that it's mostly head down now, because I don't get kicks to the bladder much anymore, and I've been getting more movement at the top. So I'm guessing that's where the feet & butt are.
A few times this week though, I've woken up with a slight ache in that troublesome kidney area again. It's usually when I'm sleeping on my right side, which I'm doing more now that my hips cramp up if I'm on one side too long. Anyway, I just switch back to my left side and hope for the best, and so far, that's done the trick. Hope that trend keeps up if it happens more, which I think it will.
Um... still waking up most nights a minimum of 3 times to use the bathroom. Although around the full moon nights, there were 2 nights in a row where I only had to get up once per night. AND I slept later than I have been. So that was nice. But now it's gone back to "normal".
And finally, just a little laugh. I was talking to my mom, and she was telling me that she had no idea what kind of baby stuff to get me... you know, because it's really killing her that we're not finding out the gender. Anyway, I just told her that that's why I created a registry... so people could look at it and get an idea of the stuff that I need/want. She's all, "oh, ya!". Mothers *shakes head*.
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