any word from Wheetsin?

[HeatherO 7]

She is absolutely beautiful, congratulations. Thank you so much for sharing your story.

It seemed like your OB office kind of overlooked your labor. I am not sure if it was because your labor was extremely atypical or what. Have you talked with them about it again since delivery?

I had a bad tear as well. I remember that I could feel every single stitch going in and could feel it pulling. In some ways it was worse than delivery because it is a little freaky feeling the sensations and it was painful.

I did not have an epidural because I wanted to go natural. I was well and good until the last 10 minutes or so . . . then I desperately wanted an epidural but they told me it was too late :0). It is entirely possible to go without if you have a high pain tolerance.

My best friend had a baby a year ago and I was there after she had her epidural. Other than occasional nausea related stomach upsets, she was speaking normally, and even though labor was progressing . . . it was like she could have been at home having a cup of tea for all the distress she was in. If the epidural takes well, it seems like labor is a breeze and I was a little shocked it was so easy. A

t this point in time, the epidural is looking good to me for this go round.

[losingjusme 12]

ok ... im going to preface this with i am totally clueless about L&D and my class isnt until late December/early Jan... (one full day - is that normal??)

some of this stuff is kinda TMI ... sorry.

- mucus plug... i already have a kind of mucus-y discharge all the time ... how different is the plug from regular discharge? will i KNOW that i've lost it? i mean is it blatantly obvious?

- you said "way more blood" ... like scary bright red blood that they say if you have go to L&D or more brownish type blood (like after an exam) was it steady like a period or just when you went to the bathroom?

- fetal movements... i know everyone is different and i feel him moving around, but it's not constant... maybe 2-3 'sessions' a day. i started feeling it right at 21 weeks. when did you feel pretty constant movement?

- catheter... everyone get one that you know of?

- post partum bleeding... how bad is it? is it like a really bad heavy period or worse? (sorry to ask this) were there lots of clotty type bleeding or just blood? how long did it last?

- mesh underwear... i assume they usually supply you with some or is DH going to have to go on a mission to find some?

thanks so much for sharing all of this... it really puts it in perspective (and scares the crap out of me ... :eek:) but im so sure it is worth it.

Avery is truly beautiful! :thumbup:

[eejaydiva 3]

OMG she's so teenie and wonderful and cute Wheetsin! Thanks for such an interesting and detailed birth story! She is so cute, she truly made my heart ache...I hope I'm next!!

Hugs.

[heartfire 4]

Oh Wheetsin! She's beautiful! And you can't usually say that (and MEAN it) with a brand new baby!

Congratulations to you and your hubby!

[HeatherO 7]

- mucus plug... i already have a kind of mucus-y discharge all the time ... how different is the plug from regular discharge? will i KNOW that i've lost it? i mean is it blatantly obvious?

- you said "way more blood" ... like scary bright red blood that they say if you have go to L&D or more brownish type blood (like after an exam) was it steady like a period or just when you went to the bathroom?

- fetal movements... i know everyone is different and i feel him moving around, but it's not constant... maybe 2-3 'sessions' a day. i started feeling it right at 21 weeks. when did you feel pretty constant movement?

- catheter... everyone get one that you know of?

- post partum bleeding... how bad is it? is it like a really bad heavy period or worse? (sorry to ask this) were there lots of clotty type bleeding or just blood? how long did it last?

- mesh underwear... i assume they usually supply you with some or is DH going to have to go on a mission to find some?

- mucus plug - I never saw this with my first pregnancy. However, the day I delivered I had an ob appointment where the doctor did something he called "stirring the cervix." It was supposed to help induce labor, was really painful and I think basically he was loosening the mucus plug. It worked, he did it at 10 in the morning and I was not in labor at all, I had my son before 4 in the afternoon. I never had any discharge that was different than what you might have on non-period days prior to pregnancy. My Water also never broke, they did it in the hospital for me so I missed all of the special excretions, lol.

- you said "way more blood" - for me it was like period blood and was never more than heavy to light and was never very bright red.

- fetal movements - mine was always in sessions like you and never consistent at the end. Also my doctor said through the end of the pregnancy I should be feeling for fetal movements daily, no movement = potential serious problem. This really freaked me out because he wasn't moving regularly and I went hours or even most of the day without movement. Everything was fine but I am not sure why I had dramatically reduced movement at the end of pregnancy (other than the lack of space issue).

- catheter - I think everyone gets one. Also, one thing noone ever told me . . . and I almost died of embarrassment and can't even write about it now without blushing, is that if your bowels have anything at all in them, they will be empty by the time the baby is born. So this time, if labor is approaching, I will make an extra special effort to be empty.

- post partum bleeding... how bad is it? It was like an extra long period lasting a couple of weeks instead of a couple of days. Not really a big deal.

- mesh underwear - they supply them to you. However, they are not especially attractive when your gown gaps open in the back post delivery, lol. You also will want to probably not wear your best underwear when you get back home for a while. I bought some cotton granny bloomers which worked great, are comfortable, were incredibly cheap and I tossed them after.

Edited November 11, 2008 by HeatherO
typo and bad grammar

[Daisalana 33]

Ahh Wheet, I missed the update. NO TMI, we need the details! Really, I am with LJM I have actually been trying to read birth stories because I am clueless on L&D! The only good ones I find where people go into detail are natural homebirths, which is not what I'm doing. I haven't signed up for any classes yet, I guess I should??

Like the catheter, no websites I have looked at mention the catheter, but my mom said if you get an epidural you get a catheter, and that was my biggest fear for banding (they ended up not doing it).. I am terrified of the idea of a catheter!! And episiotomies, so I hate to hear you had a bad tear.. you'll have to let us know how long/how well that heals.

Anyway.. the natural delivery stories mention the mucus plug and bloody show, but no one talks about bowel movements--these are important things to know.

How funny that, when I saw your post, I immediately scrolled down to see pics first (she is adorable!!) and one of my first reactions was "How did they get that bow to stay on her, surely it's not a barette!" Then I read your whole post, and the very end you mention the KY lol.

She looks so small, and so pretty <3

Re: Catheter.. I have even posted about it in my blog around time of banding, that's how terrified I am of such things!

Then they told me I'll have a catheter! Now I panic a little. I don't want a catheter That's one of those things up in my list of 'things I don't want in my entire life', up there with skydiving and enimas.I'm trying to come to grips with it

Then they wheeled me to pre-op room where I met my nurses.. I asked the nurses 'So who is doing my catheter?' and the lady laughed and said “You don't need one for lap-band.. just gastric bypass”. I kept saying “I AM SO RELIEVED.. that's ALL I've been worried about, I'm ready to get this on the road now!”. They gave me something to make me woozy and wheeled me more.. and then I don't remember anything else

Edited November 11, 2008 by FairyFacade

[Daisalana 33]

Where's the pics of mommy with baby???

[losingjusme 12]

i've heard about the pooping... i just hope i have an empty bowel when i deliver... **shudder**

[Wheetsin 714]

- mucus plug... i already have a kind of mucus-y discharge all the time ... how different is the plug from regular discharge? will i KNOW that i've lost it? i mean is it blatantly obvious?

When some of my girlfriends have lost theirs it was obvious. To them. As they described it to me, "It was like I had just blown my nose." For me - not so obvious because I think mine had been coming out in pieces for a week or so. The morning I went into labor it was bloody. Not blood mixed with mucus like you normally hear, but like red mucus. Probably two tablespoons. I didn't have much discharge for most of my pregnancy, and then in the last month it really picked up.

- you said "way more blood" ... like scary bright red blood that they say if you have go to L&D or more brownish type blood (like after an exam) was it steady like a period or just when you went to the bathroom?

It was dark red, like period blood. Not like a cut. With some pink blood mixed in. I didn't worry too much because of the mucus with it, but I still wanted to call. The bright red blood they tell you about is mostly for a placental abruption (placenta separates from the uterus), in which case there's usually a lot of blood, abdominal pain, and even some abdominal hardness. At no point would I have "soaked a pad" as they kept telling me.

- fetal movements... i know everyone is different and i feel him moving around, but it's not constant... maybe 2-3 'sessions' a day. i started feeling it right at 21 weeks. when did you feel pretty constant movement?

I didn't recognize the first movements until my 21st week so I wouldn't worry too much. Once I felt it, I elt it pretty much (not quite) every day after, but maybe just once or twice. I'm going to guess I was into my third trimester before I felt regular movements. And I began to recognize patterns too, e.g. she was always most active starting right around 11:30 am, and again around midnight. I was told that during an active phase, I should feel at least 10 kicks in an hour. But it was very common that I felt only one or two, or perhaps none, at other times. Pretty soon you will be able to see the movements and won't need to feel them, and then it'll hurt and become a love/hate relationship.

- catheter... everyone get one that you know of?

At my hospital they cath everyone who has an epidural. The cath comes out before you deliver - right before they let you start pushing. I had my first catheter in my first trimester when I had the subchorionic hemorrhage. I had to have one so they could backflush a bag of saline into my bladder for the emergency ultrasound. It was very uncomfortable but it didn't hurt. Just a burny/stingy feeling. More uncomfortable coming out than going in. With delivery, the cath went in after the epidural was in place, and they took it out before it wore off so I didn't feel a thing.

- post partum bleeding... how bad is it? is it like a really bad heavy period or worse? (sorry to ask this) were there lots of clotty type bleeding or just blood? how long did it last?

Mine was pretty bad. They actually had to give me medication to help. And I as passing apple-sized clots. The blood was the deep red blood like you (I, anyway) get mid-period, and has the same tissue-ish "pieces" in it as a period. (at first) For the first -- 2 or 3 days it was gushing. Like an open wound, which is basically what's happening. And when they would push on the uterus I would feel it come gushing out. Any time I stood up, gush. Bent oer, gush. For 2 days they gave me adult diapers and I was having to change them at least every hour. If this helps put it in perspective, the night I delivered I took a shower, and when I walked from the shower to the toilet I left a trail of blood even though I had just washed/cleaned. It really was a constant drip. After the diapers I went to BIG pads. When the hospital pads ran out I bought some "extra long" pads designed for bladder issues. I had to wear those about a week. I'm coming up on 3 weeks out and can now get by with regular period pads with room to spare. I'm hoping in another week or so it will be over. This has been the most annoying part. I never wore pads before, and I can't stand them. And it would be so nice to just go to the bathroom, and not have this whole ritual of epi bottle (because of my tear I'm supposed to rinse every time I go to the bathroom, regardless of what I do), mesh underwear, pads, etc. Oh, by day 3 or 4 the blood had changed to lighter blood mixed with clear Fluid. Think when you're a kid, fall and scrape your knee. It bleeds, but you also get the clear fluid seeping out. That bleeding lasted 3 or 4 days. Then it was a combo old brown/old blood and regular/lighter blood for a day or two, and then it went to regular/fresh blood.

- mesh underwear... i assume they usually supply you with some or is DH going to have to go on a mission to find some?

The hospital gave them to me. They come in different sizes so don't be shy to say something if the ones they give you are too small or big. They're basically elastic netting boy shorts. I had them give me a few extra bags (two pair per bag), and they're washable, so I'm still using mine. Like I said I'm fairly new to pads and probably don't really know what I'm doing with them, so I've found the mesh underwear really help -- hold everything in place. My tip to you - if you (and you will) soil them at the hospital - get blood on them - don't throw them away. Just put them in your bag and wash them at home, or ask for new ones. I must've discarded at least 6 pair at the hospital that I now wish I had. I didn't realize they were washable. The tear - I didn't feel it at the time. When the doc told me I had torn I was surprised. Felt the stitching. Then while in the hospital it was sore. Not unbearbale, and not a sharp pain. More like a sore muscle or something - a "few days after" pain. I had to get in/out of bed slowly, stand up using my arms, etc. but once I was down I was ok. And they give you epifoam, which kinda numbs you, and they'll give you pads that have built-in icepacks which are uncomfortable at first, but once you get over the initail chill they're soooo nice. They put me on a stool softener and told me it would hurt the first couple times I had to poop but it didn't. In fact after the second day I don't remember any discomfort. My stitches are still there, a little (they used dissolving ones - I remember they were red and really thick suture material), but it doesn't hurt at all.

[losingjusme 12]

wow, thank you thank you thank you for the responses.. (to both Heather & Wheetsin)..

[losingjusme 12]

forgot to ask...

how are you guys sleeping? do you see any similarities from when she was in your tummy vs now (11:30am then, 11:30am now, etc...)

[Daisalana 33]

Are you showing yet LJM? Did you show Wheet? I think I have the same body type as you, and so I'm curious how you showed.. I'm starting to think due to a long torso I may not show very much.

[losingjusme 12]

Are you showing yet LJM? Did you show Wheet? I think I have the same body type as you, and so I'm curious how you showed.. I'm starting to think due to a long torso I may not show very much.

yeah, i am showing. considering post TT i was relatively flat

this was taken today

[HeatherO 7]

I have a relatively short torso, almost no belly fat but have a little skin, and am definitely showing now. The last 2 weeks have made a big difference. People can't tell by looking at me (unless I was wearing stretch pants or something similar which I would never do). My husband and I can definitely see a difference.

This is my second child which they say makes all the difference in the world. With my first, you really couldn't see a difference until after 16 + weeks. The biggest thing I notice about my "bulge" is that it is relatively hard and is under the abdominal muscles . . . definitely not extra flab.

I am starting to wonder if maybe there is a reason why I am showing so early. I don't think I am wrong on my dates but I definitely look a month or more further along than I should. I have my first ultrasound on Monday so I guess I will see what they say.

[Daisalana 33]

Heather- everything I have read said things like, 1st pregnancy doesn't show till well into 6month for some, but when you're on your 2nd pregnancy they show really early (as early as 8 weeks!!).

So I'm sure that has something to do with it!

WOW LJM.. you are most definitely showing.. I wanna baby bump

This is my belly today.. 17 weeks and 2 days. No bump. Any definition down there is just my flab from deflated belly.

Edited November 14, 2008 by FairyFacade