Hello everyone! I'm cheating by posting this late on Sunday night but am not sure what my waking hours will be tomorrow. Prepare yourselves for a lengthy birth story, you might need a coffee and massage to get through it
CHARLIE KAYE’S BIRTH STORY
This is lengthy…
But in some ways I don’t want to forget it all? There seemed to be 4 phases to my labor – the easy-to-cope with starting contractions, then the water breaking and jumping straight into heavy pressure/shaking contractions, the “widening contractions” and finally the in (and out) of tub pushing. A summary of the most useful things I found? Wearing an eyemask the whole time for focusing, always thinking about having my mouth open and creating low-tone noise to get through contractions, and reminding myself constantly to relax muscles which were holding unnecessary tension….
Because I had opted for the homebirth I did lots of reading of positive stories (Ina May’s books are awesome); I strongly discouraged anyone from suggesting negative thoughts or concerns they had. I had my bases covered with super experienced midwives, a doula, a supportive husband …and I was only 20mins from the nearest hospital. To me the most important thing was not to “get in my body’s way” by denying it movement through tensing my body in fear…also, knowing that with a homebirth there would be no epidural (unless I requested a hospital transfer which I suspected would be a highly uncomfortable car ride by the time I decided!), I knew I would have to “release” to the process. Kind of like steeling oneself to get through a tough endurance event – somehow you will get to the end and you focus more on the “how” to do it rather than the negatives?
Around 9pm Thursday I started getting low grade menstrual cramps; they were pretty irregular, perhaps 10-15mins apart. I decided to head to bed and get a little rest. Over the next 3 hours the menstrual cramps came on more regularly at 8-9min intervals. I would sleep/doze between them, imagining myself bobbing in the sea near my parents place, waiting for the next set of waves to roll in. Then when the “set” rolled in, each breath would be a “wave” in my brain, washing onto the shore and subsiding; I knew from practice that around 8 full, deep breaths would be about a minute. I wouldn’t say I was fully immersed in this imagery but it certainly just helped me ride through the contractions as they occasionally got stronger, and gave my brain something positive to think about. Occasionally I would get out of bed and move around, squat, side-sway, remembering from our pre-natal class that moving helped the baby to corkscrew more into position and that just lying around wouldn’t advance things much. By 1am I was starting to get a little irritated that the contractions were still 8-9mins apart. So I gave myself one more hour in bed then decided I would just get up for good. So at 2am I rose, and almost straight away the contractions came on around 4mins apart. I found a frog squat at our dining table the best position to breath through each wave. All the lights in the house were off or low and we had candles set up in the main kitchen/living area where the birthing tub was. In addition I had decided to wear my sleeping eye mask almost the entire night as I didn’t want to get distracted from my focal point of my body and what it was doing by things going on around me or feeling like I was being watched…
At 3am I thought trying for a bowel move before things got really going would be a smart idea…admittedly I strained just a little…and out came the true “bloody show” which I thought I’d been releasing through the day – nope. When that thing came it was pretty obvious, it fell out with a “plop”! (Sorry but the m/w said it was kind of unusual for it to fall out so distinctly!).
About ten minutes later everything changed. I suddenly was down on all fours, shaking with adrenaline and having to open-mouth low moan to ride through it. At this stage I wet myself – “A-ha!” So you really do know when your waters break! was one thought.
By 4am the midwife and doula were arriving with Brett having called them earlier when the contractions were 4mins apart. I was apparently close to transition and the nature of the contractions had changed in that they had moved from “menstrual cramps” to interior movement of some sort and now to…lets just say a distinctly uncomfortable ‘widening” of what felt like the rectum but was the cervix…I had to mentally tell myself often to relax any muscle that wasn’t being used specifically for birthing, it was really hard to let go at this point and allow my body to do something which felt so unusual and uncomfortable but with open mouth low-tone groaning/breathing out, it became do-able (we had been told in our prenatal class how the mouth and cervix can be linked (Ina May mentions it too), that by keeping the mouth open and relaxed, with low-tone/open throat groans, the cervix will be more relaxed too&hellip. I was still on hands and knees but the midwife said she wanted to check my dilation so after the next contraction she checked (I know I hadn’t been going to get VEs but I really didn’t care much about these things in the midst of labor, I was all about energy conservation). To my surprise I was already at 6cm but just let the number float past...whatever, onto the next contraction….
It didn’t seem much later that I was being invited into the birthing pool..really?? I’m already allowed to do that, I thought that would come much later, that there was still a lot longer to go wasn’t there??? So I reluctantly (I found I got attached to certain laboring positions ie hands and knees almost like a focal anchor) made my way over and slithered into the warm pool.
OMG – weightless bliss!!!
For a second. Then I was turning over, back to my hands and knees, leaning over the side of the tub for the next contraction. But as soon as it was over I felt so much better for the relaxation bit between contractions. I still had my eyemask on and was conserving energy by not talking, just focusing on relaxing…Brett would just rub my arms and shoulders with each contraction (though really it should be called each “widening” at this stage, no?) which suited me perfectly. In fact he was a total superstar through the whole night (his reference source – “The Birth Partner” by Penny Simkin).
Suddenly the second midwife was in the room too…huh, obviously I was progressing! The midwife did another check – 9cm. Hmm, okay. I was trying to think of Homer Simpsons burping lips and imagine that as my perineum stretching…soon I was getting urges to push. This is the only real stage I approached cautiously. I tried to hold back a little as I was concerned about extreme tearing. The midwife and doula said I was fine to go with it but to stop if they told me to – or back off as required. Hmmm. Let me tell you, once I went with the pushing it was impossible to change its intensity, all I could do was try and put the brakes on (hard to describe). The midwife was telling me the head was emerging; all I could feel was what they call the “ring of fire” – wowsers!! Oh, I forgot to mention too – that Indian lunch thing?? Yeah…well, when you “push” you use the same muscles as pooping…
Uh yeah. Lets just say that despite my initial hope my poop expulsion would be minimal…that Indian meal did me in. The midwife couldn’t keep up…and eventually suggested that for the baby’s safety and sterility I should move back out of the tub.
Yeah, yeah, very funny, hardi ha. Go on and laugh. I never said "dignity" was in my birth plan...!
Getting out of a 2ft high hot tub whilst a baby’s head is kind of ‘right there” is not something I recommend in the search for comfortable positions…
But finally I was on all fours and being told to push. The entire pushing phase was probably the hardest part of the birthing process for me. I knew I was close to it being over, to meeting my baby but the pushing was overwhelmingly sheer primal energy, it took over everything once I allowed it and the doula had to remind me to come back and breathe rather than pushing too far. The only good thing with the pushing phase is the time between pushes was greater than contractions so I had a chance to collect myself and re-centre my thoughts. Finally, after what seemed like an hour of pushing but was apparently only 20mins, I managed to push through the ring of fire flames and expel a head quickly followed by shoulders with a slithery sensation followed by immediate relief…and my baby immediately crying.
OMG. It’s not fair to try and describe the emotion as the baby was passed up between my legs, but Brett was crying as he moved up beside me on the floor, I was crying, our baby looked so perfect, not the grey and blue mess I thought would immediately greet me (sorry but that was my thought watching a couple of birthing videos!!). Totally overwhelming.
As I was sitting there the midwives were checking down below and decided I needed a couple of labia stitches each side and just one perineum stitch. Funnily enough after the prior 6 or 7 hours the scariest thing for me was the thought of a needle going into that still extremely sensitive area! But I must admit I was glad I got away with a first degree tear...
And so that is my novel of a birth experience; no it was far from easy – but it was childbirth as I expected it and I was really really happy/grateful to my body for being able to do what it did.
So now…4 days later, things seem to be going well. My body is slowly recovering (oh how quickly that belly disappears! There’s almost a sense of loss at how quickly it went!), apparently I lost 14lbs giving birth and after this morning figure the last 10 lbs are sitting in my “milk jugs”!! So far breastfeeding seems to be going well, I have to be pretty tough on not allowing a “shallow latch”.
Anyway ladies, I so look forward to keeping an eye on you all and reading of your own experiences, being on this board has been such a great part of my pregnancy, all your support and advice has been wonderful.
So – I now pass the baton to Monk and Yogi...
Good morning! Ozzy - Thank you so much for sharing your story! I am in awe of homebirths. I know that I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that, especially for my first, but kudos to anyone that is!! The relaxing parts that aren't being used in childbirth is going to be my biggest challenge, I know. I tense up all over when I'm in stress/pain, so reading about your experience helped. Congratulations!! Enjoy holding your baby girl
RR: 6 miles yesterday. It wasn't the best, but not completely terrible, and didn't make me want to stop trying for 6 miles once a week. So I'll call that a win! Finished the week with 15 miles again. Feeling good. Planning on a run after work, but not sure if that will happen. We are expecting a storm, just a few inches of snow, but ice on top of that, which will make the roads MESSY.
PGR: 32w1d. The time keeps on flying... can't believe I'm 8 weeks from my due date. I actually feel good. As long as I keep a good balance between eating frequently enough, and not stuffing myself too full that is. It's a hard balance to keep!! DH got a lot of progress done in the nursery this weekend. We are pretty much ready for paint next weekend, my mom is coming to help him. My shower is the following weekend, so the plan was to have the room all ready so we can get everything in there after the shower. Looks like that will probably happen, yay! I can't wait to see it come together.
NPGR: Had a very good weekend, I relaxed a lot, but also got some house organizing done, as well as meal planning, and cooked dinner every night. DH and I finally had a productive finance talk after I had a mini breakdown (thanks hormones!). I showed him our finances, what we make, how much we SHOULD have left over, which I didn't even include any of his overtime ($100-300 per week usually), and the fact that we are still coming out close to even, without putting anything in savings. I think it finally clicked. Thank god!! He wants to try cutting back on his own, bringing his lunch to work, and we agreed to cut back drastically on our takeout/eating out. So we'll see. I told him if he doesn't cutback on his own, he's getting an allowance. He didn't like that idea much, but agreed. So next weekend we will take another look at how he did this week. Feeling much better.
PRs: 5k - 21:22, half marathon - 1:39:43, marathon - 3:37:16
Ozzy - great birth story! Wow. Thanks for sharing, with all the details. That was really helpful to me.
MA - way to go on the 6 miles. You are amazing! Glad you and your husband sorted through some of the $$ issues. They are tough, for sure. But sounds like you are communicating well.
ER- 45 minutes on the elliptical on Saturday. Swam a mile on Sunday. I thought I'd feel better swimming than I did and had hoped for 1.5 miles, but was getting a lot of RLP and BH while swimming so just called it quits. Wore my hideous new maternity bathing suit that I am pretty sure was made specifically to make pregnant women feel badly about themselves. It is awful. But it covers the body, so I guess that's the main thing. Boot camp this AM, which we drove to...hate it, but it was so icy out that even walking seemed like a bad idea. I think the rest of the people in my boot camp are starting to wonder when I'll stop coming. Haha. I do look a bit ridiculous, but I think I've got another month in me?
PGR - 31wks2days. Have been having a lot of BH, which makes me nervous. Is this normal at this point? I feel like I am staying hydrated. May just need to stay off my feet more. Got a City Mini stroller off craigslist this weekend...great condition and saved $100 by buying used!
NPGR - Working from home this am at least until it clears up a bit. I have been getting increasingly uncomfortable at work in my office...back pain and just general discomfort of being large...ugh. So kind of nice to be home right now.
We got a lot of organizing done on the weekend...hung up some of our wedding pics, finally (1.5 years later).
Alright, better get to work.
Congrats ozzy! Now I really am next... gulp! I'm going to post and then read...
ER: Nothing official over the weekend or today, but I'm counting NPGR.
PGR: 35w3d. My back and hips are getting uncomfortable, my right hip especially. It seems to be an effect of sleeping on my right side. I'm trying to stretch my hips but its not helping a whole lot. My chiropractor said my joints are moving pretty well, so this is just 8-month preggo aches and pains! Also P's been settling a foot or something right on my right hip bone area, so that could be the cause of the pain too, though it doesn't specifically hurt when I feel it there, just feels kinda weird. He's been stretching between that hip and my right ribs, making bending difficult.
NPGR/PGR: We got SOOOOO much done this weekend. Saturday we got our new stove... its so nice! Actually made dinner for the first time in awhile and I also baked a birthday cake for DH and so far I'm satisfied and love my new toy! Saturday afternoon I finally made some progress on cleaning our bedroom... I've had various clothes laying around for months, maternity clothes that were too big and too small, regular clothes that were too small, etc... I cleaned out my side of our big closet and dresser and got three trash bags' worth of stuff to take to goodwill. I also started washing some baby clothes... I can't believe I"ll have a baby that small again soon! Yesterday I finished putting A's dresser together and DH and I rearranged our bedroom and A's room to make room for new beds and the dresser. The main task was to move the couch out of A's room and into our room and there was a lot of work involved in that. As we were working on that I vacuumed all the bedroom carpets, even under stuff in A's room that won't be moved. One of the things we moved was DH's tall dresser that the TV sat on, instead its now on my shorter dresser. So now DH is thinking about buying a new, bigger TV for our bedroom... he wants to today. This week might be a good week for it though since there are always TV sales the week of the super bowl. I feel kind of bad about all the new stuff we've been getting lately, but we're leaving money in savings and we've gone a long time without getting some of this stuff and this will be something new for him when most of the other stuff we've gotten has been for me and P. Anyway, once we finally got the rooms arranged (though not all the way, still have a good amount of stuff to find a spot for in our room), I moved A's clothes into the new dresser and put P's newly washed clothes in the new dresser. I am still exhausted... I feel like coming to work today was a break! The good news is that I feel a lot more ready for P... there aren't too many more things that MUST get done for him, and then just some more organizing and donating and such.
A started soccer on Saturday, but it was kind of a bust. She'd been excited for weeks, but then an hour before decided she didn't want to. We persuaded her to go by letting her wear a dress. She liked watching the kids playing in the class before hers. She also enjoyed kicking the ball around with DH an I before her class started, but right as the class was starting she decided she didn't want to do it, so we watched on the sidelines. We paid for it, so we're going to try going at least a couple more times. She still likes her soccer ball we got her and is talking about playing soccer next week, but I won't be surprised if we have the same issue next week that we had this time. I also wonder now if she's got some sort of separation anxiety that we've contributed to by still babying her quite a bit sometimes. And then she had three accidents yesterday, which she's never had that many accidents in a day since we started potty training. Not sure if that was stress from soccer or stress from all the moving around we were doing yesterday. I'm not sure how much we should push the soccer. Anyone with older kids have any advice?
Ozzy: thanks for such a good birth story! You did an amazing job, funny how different they all are!! I am sad I never got to use the tub at our hospital - no time! Hope lots of friends are bringing meals and cute baby clothes! even though Zeb only BF's about half his milk, I am STARVING all day and recommend lots of comfort food! Hope your stitches heal up well, my OB recommended taking baby in the tub for skin on skin / using epsom salts for me to heal quick.
Hope the rest of you are doing well!! Zeb's latching almost every feed, if only for a few mins but better than nothing!!
Ozzy: That was an awesome birth story. You have a talent for writing and story-telling, too. Congratulations on a job well done. I'm impressed! I love how encouraging your story is to the rest here, in that we can look to your experience and say, "If she can do it, so can we!" Thanks!
MA: Way to go on the running. I'm in awe! Glad you talked with hubby about the finances again. My husband and I both have allowances. It's in our budget. It's not any sort of punitive thing at all. It's just a way to manage two people using the same account. We pay the bills together, then withdraw our allowances, or keep track of expenditures on the debit card so we don't go over our allotted amounts. Works pretty well for us.
Liz: I get RLP when swimming, too. Sometimes I can swim through it, but sometimes it really hurts! Ha! Your description of the maternity swim suit makes me laugh! I have a regular lap suit made of polyester, size 14. The boobs are a little big for me in mid-pregnancy, but I like the full coverage and the fact that it's an all poly suit. By the time I get to the end of pregnancy, my boobs finally fill in the cups of the suit.
*****
PGR: 27w3d. Nothing new. Debating with myself as to whether it's worth calling the midwife's office to attempt making another appointment. I never heard back from the receptionist.
NPGR: Still some coughing and congestion from the flu, but it's not near as bad as it was.
ER &RR: Friday's planned 2 mile walk and sculpting DVD turned into a 2 mile run, 2 mile walk, and DVD. I just felt good enough to run, so I did. I was pretty sore from the DVD. I guess I'm a weakling. I suppose that I need the strength training, so I'm planning on doing it again today. I had planned to bike on Saturday, but never could make it to the gym and the roads aren't safe enough for biking outdoors yet. Today I'm planning to run 4 miles and do the DVD.
ozzy: umm, wow. I was not nearly that strong the first time I gave birth and I don't expect this time to be much different. Awesome! And I love long birth stories, make sure you save it! I still read A's once in awhile, I love remembering all those details. Don't be a stranger now!
Will do more personals later... have to get going on work.
Ozzy - Thanks for sharing your birth story, and for including all the detail, I think it really helps to read about everyone's experiences, so thanks for sharing yours! She is beautiful, and great job on the home birth - I admire people who commit to home birth.
MA - Great job on the 6 miles, you are doing awesome, and I'm glad you and DH were able to have a finances talk and get on the same page. Shared resources can be great, but also difficult.
Liz - you are a ways ahead of me, but I asked the Dr. about my BH, since I have them a few times a day right now, and wanted to know what was "normal" and he said if they start coming about 5 minutes apart, and don't let up, then I should be concerned. I laughed at the wedding pics hanging comment - I just found our wedding pics that we got printed to hang up when we cleaned out the room for the nursery - whoops. Still need to buy frames for those...
monk - wow, you had a busy weekend, but a productive weekend! You are certainly getting close - glad you are feeling prepared.
CJ - glad things are going well with Zeb!
Laura -Great job on the run - glad to hear you are feeling better!
PGR: 23w6d. Growth u/s Friday. Just trucking along.
ER: undecided today - if enough of the ice that we got yesterday melts, I'll take a walk after work with the dog.
NPGR: Busy weekend - work event for DH Saturday night, stayed over in a hotel Saturday then drove to a bball tournament Sunday - roads were very icy, but we made it there and back safely. My girls are still struggling, but showing some flashes of "getting it." They could use a win to boost their self-confidence! It's hard for me to drink enough water on tournament days, so I had some calf cramps last night again, nothing like the doozy I had the prior weekend, though. Got home midafternoon and DH cleaned up the kitchen while I did some more organizing and rearranging of stuff to accommodate our relocation of the office - when we bought our house 2 years ago, it didn't seem this small...
ozzy - congrats on your baby girl and thanks for sharing your story! I'm hoping I can approach my labor with the same peace and strength.
MA - wow, great job on still being able to run 6 miles! glad you were able to work some things out finance-wise with DH
Liz - when did you start getting BH? I'm just curious because I think I'm wondering whether I've had them once or twice, just interested in how other people deal with them.
monk - sounds like you're nesting. Glad everything is coming together and you're feeling ready. Saw that A wasn't quite warming up to soccer yet, but I think you're doing a great job by encouraging her to at least be there, maybe she'll come around and maybe she'll find something else that she likes.
Laura G - glad you are feeling mostly better!
RR: several long dog walks over the weekend, after a rainy week they had too much energy, so that took priority. Planning on a short run and going to watch/warm up with the volleyball team tonight (no playing).
PGR/NPGR: Well, DH and i just bought tickets for a weeklong babymoon in Breckenridge and Park City and then I talked to my mom (who's very conservative) andwe watched Downton Abbey last night (involved pregnancy complications) and I am/was a mess. Not sure I whether I still feel comfortable traveling to altitude or whether we may have to change our plans - and totally inconvenience both sets of friends that we are traveling with. Looking forward to discussing it with my doctor on Friday. Anything you wish you would've researched before or questions you would've asked during the anatomy scan? Otherwise, I've got a lot to do at work this week, need to get a a draft of a presentation to my boss by the end of the week, then I should be able to just relax next weekend.
Ozzy your birth story was great! I'm adding it to my file of positive birth stories. I think you are so right, it is an endurance event and you "trained" and handled it superbly. I really admire your first was a homebirth, maybe my 3rd will be with the speed of my labors, so you should feel very proud.
MA - Ugh, be careful with the storm. We got ice yesterday and it was literally a sheet everywhere. Kind of scary getting to and from the car. But now we're at 49 and rainy, and 61(!!!) tomorrow, so hopefully whatever you get doesn't last long. Good job on the 6 miles.
Liz - Great score on the City Mini. We love ours. That's awesome you're still going to boot camp.
Monk - I think you had the most productive weekend ever. Getting new stuff is always fun. I wouldn't worry too much about A and soccer. At 3 it's supposed to be more of a social event, once they get around to kicking the ball around and running around meeting new friends I'd consider that a victory. I'm sure if you're really concerned the instructor will have some tips, I'm sure they see this all the time.
CJ - That is awesome Zeb's latching every feed now. Progress!
Laura - Go you on your workout. Isn't your DVD the Perfect Pregnancy DVD? Yeah, I made it through 15 minutes of it (during the 1st tri during a bad nausea day) and haven't gone back to it yet. So I don't know I'd consider you a weakling, that video is deceptively easy.
ER - Saturday I decided to try muddling my way through Shred level 2 to see if I still had it in me. I had to modify some of the moves but I completed it. I felt like when I first started doing the Shred way back months ago. Sunday I was grumpy because I wanted to get to the gym, but I was really tired and I considered it (and the ice storm) a sign I should not be working out too hard/frequently. But today I'll be raring to go do something.
PGR - Almost 19w. I had pregnancy amnesia and thought I was turning 18w. Almost a week to the big ultrasound! I've flipped my vote back to girl, but we'll know for sure (hopefully) in a week or so.
NPGR - I'm really hoping to get back to doing some creative stuff this week. I want to crochet a baby sized sweater but I'd like to know for sure first what I'm having. DS already has a few crocheted sweaters I made while pregnant with him, so I might channel my energy into crocheting a sweater in a toddler size. Not like he's much needed it this winter.
well apparently i have a few minutes before C wakes up...thanks for the responses; after posting i was thinking that some details are a little tmi for women still pg; but then in the midst of labor (umm I doubt you will think of it but still) you can always remember my Indian food experience and know that well...s$*t happens (I'm sorry, can't help it, end of a night with a newborn )!!!
MA - superb on the running, that is so impressive! excellent that you are feeling good and sem to be working well at finding a rest/activity balance. excellent you and DH had a $ chat! I hope things improve or eel more reassuring there.
Liz - I think BHs can be normal from 27 wks on? sounds like you are paying attention though with water/electrolytes; totally concur on the maternity suits - truly hilarious huh? You can only laugh...
Monk - a busy weekend! I saw the stove on FB - nice new practical toy! not long to go now...glad you can see a chiro to help get through these last weeks.
CJ - I felt like I had done a calorie-depriving endurance event for the first 48hrs - was glad I had tucked away some comfort foods in the freezer - they are already gone!
LauraG - thanks, you too have been an inspiration to me even only knowing you a a few weeks, thanks so much for your experiences too. Glad you are back exercising!
TN - I hope the u/s on Fri is awesome again, take it easy this week after such a busy weekend! You never did mention where you where hiding those twin pregnancy pounds? couldn't see them in your FB pic
to Sasha, Yogi, T-rozy, Vege and everyone else - I'll be lurking, good luck! gotta go change a poopy diaper, excuse me...
Congrats Ozzy and thanks for sharing your birth story! You did such an amazing job! Sounds like things are going well and hope you continue to pop in here from time to time.
MA runner - Great job on the 6 mile run! Sounds like your finance talk with DH went really well. As long as you guys can get on the same page and develop a plan (which it sounds like you definitely did) you should be on track.
Liz - That's great that you have the opportunity to work from home when you want/need to. Great job keeping up with the boot camp!
monk - Wow! Sounds like you guys really did get a ton done this weekend. That must be such a relief. My DS is supposed to start soccer this weekend, but we are still waiting on a call from a "coach" to find out when he needs to be there. I think DS will like it, but who knows. Hope it goes better for your DD next week.
Laura - Great job on the run/walk/DVD! That's great that you're finally starting to really feel better.
TNesq - Sounds like you had a very busy/productive weekend. I hope your girls get that win they deserve.
DrT - Your babymoon sounds wonderful. I don't watch Downtown Abby, so I'm not familiar with what happened. If you're having doubts definitely just talk it over with your doctor.
scmetterling - How exciting that you're just one week away from finding out what you're having! I am a knitter and have started knitting a crib blanket for this baby. I already had three other projects in the works, but I couldn't wait. This pattern is a large stripe pattern, so I designed the colors so that I could start with a few colors that I'd use whether its a boy or girl, then I can finish up with the gender-related colors once we find out what we're having.
RR: I did nothing this weekend on the RR end of things and the sad part is I really have no excuse. I really should have. Last night I did help DH clean up the 4" of snow that we got so I do count that as something ER. DH had a hernia fixed about a week ago so he has a 6 week 10lb. lifting restriction which means I have to do any lifting (or shoveling) for the next 5 weeks
PGR: 12w6d With this being #2 I think I'm going to need to move to maternity clothes a little sooner. Starting to think maternity pants might fit a bit better. This weekend I pulled out all of my maternity clothes from last time and they're all too big. Partly because I'm smaller to start out and partly because I'm just not showing much yet. I have a few "in-between" pants that I can wear for now. I just remember last time waiting as long as I could to move to maternity wear and once I did I thought "why did I wait so long, this is so much more comfortable" so trying not to wait as long this time for the sake of comfort
Also PGR - for all of you on #2 when did you start feeling movement with this pregnancy. I swear yesterday I felt a little something, but it seems like it would be too early.
NPGR: I have an in person interview for that job today. I'm so wishy-washy about it. I think a big part of my uneasiness is because of the timing. I think the job would be a great move for me for a lot of reasons, but at the same time do I want to make a lateral move and lose my security right before having a child? I had a good discussion about this with a friend that works in HR. She informed me that I would not qualify for FMLA should I get this job so they would not technically have to hold my position while on leave. I also would likely not get as much time off for maternity leave and I was really hoping to take 12 weeks with this baby. Anyone go through a similar experience? Anyone have any advice/recommendations?
Quick response for Dr T:
I think I've been having them for a few weeks now (am 31wks). I didn't really recognize them as BHs until recently, but looking back, I think they've been there.
When was your trip supposed to be (how far along will you be)? At Christmas, we went up to Mammoth, CA, which 7800 ft in town and 9000 ft at the base of the mountain. I was about 27 weeks while we were there. It was fine. Just took it a bit easy for the first day, but was able to do lots of snowshoeing and enjoy myself. My midwives were okay with it and just said to be sure to get lots of iron rich foods and drink a ton of water, which I did. I saw Downton too...luckily we live in a different age!
Trozy-
I switched jobs at about 20 weeks. I started the interview process around 14 weeks or so. I did lose my FMLA coverage as well as some paid leave that I had accumulated at my old job because I'd been there for over a year. However, it was worth it to me because a) the job was closer to my areas of interest and had better long term prospects and b) the job pays more...about enough to be equivalent to the two months of paid leave I would have had at the old place. It was kind of awkward as I did not tell the new employer that I was pregnant until had the offer in hand (which I don't regret, but didn't enjoy). Now that I'm here, I feel pressure to make a contribution before I go on leave, but I think generally it is going well and will be okay. I will still take 12 weeks (unpaid). I had them write in my offer letter that my position would be held while on leave. Hope that helps.
Oh yeah, by the time i had the final interview, it was *really* hard to get into the new, larger suit I bought for the process!