Monday, January 28, 2013

Midwife Visit Update

29 weeks, 5 days

Everything seems to be going along swimmingly.  :)

This week I was back with my Marvelous Midwife.  I do think I am more comfortable with her so far, so it was nice to ask some tougher questions.

Me:  I didn't feel the baby kick as much as normal on Saturday (but Sunday/today were ok), I got a bit worried.  Should I be doing a kicking log?
MM:  No.  She is fine.  At least one kick in morning, afternoon, evening - all is well.

Good!  PHEW!  I was quite worried and required serious snuggling on Saturday night.  The 2ndary midwife had said I should feel 4 kicks an hour, but that the baby can sleep an hour and a half...all that seems complicated to keep track of to me, so I was like I will start a log if the MM thinks I should.  But she doesn't.  And I have to say - good.  We have a lot going on right now with the mini-reno fast approaching, I'd rather spend my time reading baby books than on a log that doesn't matter.

Me:  What do you mean exactly by helping me through each surge?
MM:  Suggesting new positions, touch, staying present with you.

Ok.  This is more what I thought.  The Hypobirthing practitioner said her midwives were totally hands off.  My marvelous midwife is a touchy lady, so I couldn't see her not touching to give comfort.

Me:  Does baby need formula before my milk comes in?  Should I have some around in case? [Our cousin has recently given birth, and her nurses told her to give the baby formula for those first few days]
MM:  NO!  The baby is ok for about five days with just colostrum.  We'll tell you when to use formula if you need to.  Don't have it around - you will be more likely to use it.  With your family history of allergies, I wouldn't use it unless we had to.

Ok, that's what I thought.  Just wanted to check.  I super don't want to use formula.  She said day 1 babies sleep.  Day 2 babies cry - this helps your milk come in.  Day 3 Mommies cry (milk comes in) - she said often your body can't start producing milk and keep you sane at the same time.  Ok, good to know.  But sometimes milk doesn't come in until day 4 or 5, it is ok.  And if a midwife tells you to use formula - it's time to go buy formula.  We'll cross that bridge if we get to it.  She said babies come ready to lose weight those first few days - they come out with extra padding and fluids to make it through ok.  And that their tummies are the size of garbanzo beans!

All in all, things going well.  I am 29 cm now.  Not sure if the head has turned yet.  As you know I am gunning for an 8-pounder, but she says she thinks it will be a 7 pounder.  Bah.  Maybe I should eat more?  Let's see what Dr. Google says about that.

My next appointment (in 2 weeks) is with the third midwife backup.  It will be interesting to meet her!

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Really jazzed about baby led weaning!

28 weeks, 3 days

Ok, so I'm reading this book about baby led weaning.  I'm so jazzed about it!

If you've got a young baby or a baby on the way, check it out!

The basics are that you give the kid food, not purees.  Starting at 6 months.  And let them feed themselves.

So yes, it gets all over the place - but eventually they'll have good hand-eye coordination!  :)

For ~2 months the babies will just play with their food, leaning textures and how to grip, then eventually they'll connect it to being hungry and fill their little bellies. 

The benefits include not having to fight with your baby to finish a jar of food, and not knowing if they truly are still hungry or not.  If you put healthy food in front of them, they will eat it.  AND so they'll be less picky, trying normal foods - not just pureed veg and fruits and cereals, and they we are left wondering why at 5 years old they still only eat mac and cheese.

AND less work for Mom.  You just give them what you're having!  (one caveat - no salt)

Ok, I'm not done the book yet, so I'm not sure how soups are handled.  I think maybe you don't eat them for those months.

So far this has been the funnest baby book I've read so far!  :)  I'm about 2/3 way through, but I highly recommend it!

I am totally picturing myself out to a restaurant with the family, and simply bringing a pair of kitchen shears (and alcohol wipes to clean it), and cutting whatever I'm eating up for Appleseed to explore.  That way she'll be exposed to many different types of foods early!  All of this is while you're still boobie feeding, because that is where their nutrition is coming from.  They should naturally want fewer boobie feeds as they actually start eating more.

I'm so excited to try it out!  :)
Yay!

Ok, the Hypobirthing lady will be here soon, got to run!  Hugs to everyone! 

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Met Secondary Midwife today

28 weeks, 1 day

So we met our secondary midwife today!  From now on our appointments will rotate between the primary (the Marvellous Midwife) and this secondary one.  At the birth there will be two midwives.  Always.  That's the rules.

There is also a tertiary midwife, but we don't meet her for a while (I don't think she is assigned yet).  If primary or secondary are busy with another birth, or off duty, she'll step up.

So secondary midwife was ok.  She seemed nice enough.  I was a bit of a gloomy Gus today (another sickness coming on?  cloudy weather?  wrong side of the bed?), so I am not super excited about it.  She did seem a lot more "page us if this-this-or-this" than my Marvellous Midwife is.  I think because the MM is older, she's seen a lot more, she's more chill.

I'm still crossing my fingers MM will be available on the big day!

I was reading mothering magazine in the waiting room (super hippie - loves), and I came across part of an article about how having a scarred cervix can slow down labour.  I asked the secondary midwife, and she confirmed.

WHAT?

We all know I have a scarred cervix!  WHY DID NO ONE MENTION THIS AT THE TIME?  I really really really don't think I needed that surgery so long ago.  It was totally bogus, and no one mentioned any problems that could occur.  (And it felt like 10 knives being stuck up my hoohah - painless I think NOT!)

It does seem that they can massage the cervix to break up the scar tissue.  Good.  It seems like often ladies go from 0-4cm, then stall for a few hours, then all of a sudden go the rest of the way.  I am doing a LOT of work to make sure I am calm and relaxed during labour, I think I would start to worry I am doing something wrong if I stall.  At least now I know.

I'm def going to bring this up with the MM in 2 weeks and see if she has any experience with it!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

3rd Trimester

28 weeks, 0 days

Just a quick note to say - WOOHOO, I'M IN THE THIRD TRIMESTER NOW!!!

Wow.
How exciting!
I am just soooo lucky.
DH and I are soooo happy.

I am so thankful for this gift.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

My rant against dryer sheets

27 weeks, 4 days

I loathe the use of dryer sheets.  They are bad for you.

There are plenty of articles out there how bad they are for you.  Some fun highlights:
  • Contain fiberglass!  Like..as in fiberglass is as bad for you as asbestos?  Yes, that fiberglass.
  • Contain cocktail of toxic chemicals!
  • As always, synthetic fragrance screws with your endocrine system, linked to birth defects, bad for your ENDOMETRIOSIS, etc.
I have tons of used baby clothes my Mom has given to me, but at least half of them are super crazy scented.

Do you know the young infant uses scent to identify Mommy?  But if everyone smells "mountain fresh" or some such nonsense, that isn't going to work very well!

So I went to war on the scent in these baby clothes.

  1. HOT wash with lots of Borax, Washing Soda, Laundry Detergent + Baking Soda - soaked 2 hours in this
  2. Rinse WARM, loads of vinegar, soak for 1 hour in that
  3. 2nd rinse WARM + Vinegar, 9 drops lemon essential oil, soak overnight
  4. 3rd rinse WARM + vinegar
  5. 2nd wash HOT, same as above + 20 drops lemon essential oil, soak all day
  6. Rinse WARM + vinegar
  7. 2nd rinse WARM, out of vinegar by this time
You'll be interested to know THEY STILL SMELL.  Perhaps slightly less.

So they are quarantined.  Thankfully, a friend also gave us a load of clothes - and she uses unscented soap.   It is like heaven.  No smells!

I think I will try airing them outside on the line if we get any sunny days soon.  But...my hopes are not high.  I've been told by my Aunties it takes a LONG time to dissipate.  Clearly the "just wash it with vinegar" stuff you read on the Internet is bunk.  And I don't quite understand why essential oil would help, but I thought it can't hurt - but so far no dice.

Why can't we all just use dryer ballz and get along?  My Aunt gave them to us as part of our wedding gift.  They are super awesome.  Clothes are soft.  Nothing to throw out and waste space in garbage with.  Cost effective.  Easy-peasy.


Thursday, January 10, 2013

You give me fever!

27 weeks, 1 day

Hello hello!

I was out for the count for a few days.  Monday I just felt super off, but I couldn't pin down exactly what was going on.  Monday night I had a low fever.  You will laugh if I tell you the number, it is super low.  But for me at least, this is enough to bring on the fever pains.

Do you get fever pain?  I get random leg pains, my skin hurts - totally lame.  That's how Tuesday night I finally realised I needed a Ty.lenol - I was lying in bed, and I suddenly thought "Hey!  My legs should not hurt!  I'm just lying here!  What the heck!  I better check if I have a fever."

All day Tuesday I was kinda hurty, it was kind of a crap-tastic day.  I probably had a super low fever all day and didn't realise it.  In hindsight I should have been taking Tyl.enol.  I was worried this was just how things were going to be aching in the 3rd trimester.  But thankfully, those pains have died away, they seem to have been fever related.

I didn't end up getting nose/throat symptoms by Wednesday, which sort of freaked me out - I had been assuming I was getting the flu.  I called my midwife, and she said it was ok, not every flu has nose/throat.  Although I am logically thinking the Appleseed is fine, googling scary things on the Interweb did make me cry (a few times) before I pulled it together and called her.  Poor DH was distressed.

And well, yeeeehaw.  I can live WITHOUT a headcold.  I seem to be ok today.  No fever last night.  I was also dizzy a LOT on Tuesday and somewhat on Wednesday, so I'm working from home today in case the dizzy isn't totally over.  I majorly dislike spending all day at work with my head in my hands at my desk feeling like I just want to lie down.

Through all of it Appleseed seems ok.  So nice to be able to check her heart rate!  (still hanging in the 150s).  While the spot we check for her heart rate has moved, I don't think she's turned yet.  Still has me slightly concerned, but there is plenty of time still.

I am still thrilled to be pregnant.

I have just started up a Baby oriented books review page above, check it out if you're maybe expecting and like to read books about things!

Friday, January 4, 2013

Happy New Year/6 months appt!

26 weeks, 2 days

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope 2013 brings you the family of your dreams!  :)

In the IF ME world, everything is going swimmingly!  I had a day of cramping/period bachache when I was home for the holidays, and that sort of freaked me out, but it seems to have resolved itself.

I had another Marvelous Midwife appointment!  From now on I go every 2 weeks. I am so excited about that - for some reason that is a huge milestone for me.  Go team Appleseed!

I was browsing about one of those online forums for people with babies due in April 2013 - well lo and behold, someone has ALREADY had their baby!  Yikes!  Scary!  Hope that baby is ok - but little Appleseed - YOU STAY IN THERE.

I'm really stretching to find questions to ask the MM, but here's what I came up with for this month's appt:

CS: Can you recommend a post-natal tea?  
MM:  Wait until I am post-natal, and then see what I need.
 
She then recommended the herbalist around the corner, and said I should go there and have her make me up a brew for whatever ails me post delivery.  I asked if the tea really works to bring milk in or help with flow - she gave a resounding "OH YES!".  I asked if the tea specifically made by that herbalist helps, and she said yes.  So that seems like a good plan.  I'll send DH out for it if need be.  :)
 
CS:  Can i still drink red raspberry leaf post-natal?  
MM:  Yes.
 
Remember I am drinking red raspberry leaf tea every day. Sometimes several times a day.  This seems to raise eyebrows in the preggo and formerly preggo community, as there seems to be a lot of bad info on the Internet about this.  But my midwife strongly recommends it, and there are lots of side benefits to red raspberry leaf tea as well.  One day I swore I was getting sick, I chugged down 3 cups of the stuff and I didn't get sick!  :)  And I've had no pre-term labour yet.  AND - you tell me a drink will make my labour easier?  I'm down.
 
CS:  Is there a weight at which baby should be transferred to hospital?  
MM:  Yes, 2.5kg.
 
Hahah - my first reaction was "kilograms!" with a groan.  Here is a cultural insight for all non-Canadian blog readers.  While Canada is officially fully metric, Canadians typically know their heights in feet/inches and their weight in pounds.  Give us a mile or a degree Fahrenheit and we run screaming [although I'm 'bilingual' - I can speak Fahrenheit because I grew up on a border town], but our weight and height and we're all Imperial.  I think it is too much American TV.  ;)
 
Anyhoo, that is like 5 lbs 8 oz.  Very small.  I am gunning for an 8 pounder! (I was 8 lbs - that seems a VERY perfect weight to me.)  I asked if it was a home birth would the baby have to go in an ambulance, and she said it depends on how they are doing.  She said in fact that morning they she had delivered an underweight baby, but he was doing ok and she would have brought him in a car if he had been a home birth.
 
CS:  Do you check for a cleft palate?
MM:  Yes, one of like 25 checks we do on the baby.

CS:  Let's talk about back labour.  I've heard bad things.
MM:  Yes, it is difficult - mostly because back labours tend to be longer.  This is often a good case for epidural.  My first labour was back labour.
 
She then went on to say there are positions that I can sit in now that will lower the likelihood of having back labour.  Total surprise to me!
 
I found this fun site on the Internet http://www.spinningbabies.com/ and it is pretty much a  summary of her recommendations.   So I'm trying not to slouch backwards at work (I'll be hopefully ball-sitting soon), and I even washed the floor on my hands and knees last night!  That was recommended somewhere on the Internet (since on hands and knees is a great position to be in), and I was like - why not kill two birds with one stone?

I am generally not a floors person.  I don't really care if they are dirty (although that would be different with an Appleseed crawling on them, of course).  So it was certainly the first time in this house the kitchen floor had ever been washed by hand!  It was ok - sort of a good workout in the end!

CS:  What was up with that cramping/backache?  It felt like a doozy of an AF was about to arrive!
MM:  Probably just ligament pain.  No need to worry unless it is rhythmic.

I am measuring right on target for bump-size right now - I am 26 cm and I am 26 weeks.  I guess that is how it is supposed to go!  :)
 
My blood pressure is still low low low, but that is better than high!  While home for the holidays, I measured my blood pressure a bunch with my parent's fancy home blood pressure machine - I was like 90/60 in general.  LOW!  I find if I get below 60 on the bottom, I'm not feeling good.  But MM said plenty of preggos are walking around in the 50s.  But for me, that's when I want to lay down.

Appleseed grows

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