Pregnancy chat

I like this thread idea ;).

As far as DIY belly casts go, I never did one pregnant, but I made body casts with a bunch of my friends, once, as part of an art project in high school. What we did is put vaseline on our bodies then use plaster gauze strips (this kind of thing: http://www.fineartstore.com/Catalog/tabid/365/List/1/CategoryID/13804/Level/a/Default.aspx?SortField=UnitCost%2CUnitCost) to make the actual sculptures. We let them dry on us and then they came off relatively easily because of the vaseline.

I wouldn't worry about DD feeling cheated at all. She'll know that you were at a different point in your life, you know? I sort of see the fun things like belly pics/casts/etc. that you do in pregnancy being less about the baby you will eventually birth and more about charting your own motherhood.

Im down.

No belly cast this time. I did't do it last time. I just don't know where I would put it.

I did the 3-d Ultrasounds this time. I didn't do them with my son. I have more money now, and the Ultrasound tech was willing to tell me the gender with Julian...This time they weren't so I had to go for the 3-D. I feel a bit guilty about that.

Anyone else really not liking being pregnant?

I just had a friend do my belly cast the same way Hil described it. It ended up being mad cheap. I wonder if Cae will feel cheated about some stuff sometimes... like oh hey next baby is getting an amazing father or like that I have almost no preg pics/baby pics because I had no money, but then I remember that Cae is still living the good life the new baby will be getting. He's got a great new father figure and I take tons of picture of him and get to do cool things for him that I never could have afforded before.

I took alot of pics for j when he was a baby. I dont have many newborn pics of him though and that kind of upsets me but the memories are still in my head. I did do a handprint of j when he was about 6 months old. I will do way more for the next baby because I am in a much better position than I was in before.

I don't enjoy being pregnant. So far, my second pregnancy has been harder physically than my first. More nausea. More exhaustion (probably this is because of DD still waking up ever couple of hours at night). Nursing during pregnancy just being really hard on me.

My first pregnancy, I bonded to the embryo right away. Of course I'm happy to be pregnant this time around - I'd be sad if I lost the pregnancy - but it's different. Part of it is that I am just a lot busier than I was the first time around, bizarre as that sounds. (I used to be working and going to school full-time; now I just am a SAHP and I'm busier. Go figure.) Part of it is just that I feel guilty about the effects it has and will have on my daughter, though I think the benefits for her outweigh the negatives. Still, I spend a lot more time planning how I will make my daughter's birthday party be just as special for her as it was last year (she talks about it every day and has ever since it happened) while having an itty bitty baby (the baby's due date is three weeks earlier than my DD's b-day) than I spend on planning the birth of my second child.

Oh, and I'm still dragging my feet on telling my parents.

Other than that, I'm excited. I've foudn a midwife. I'm not thrilled with her - and I think about doing an unassisted birth still, but I really want someone who's legal in this state so I can get dental work done during pregnancy. There just aren't a lot of midwives who do homebirth here. I'm very relieved to have that finally done. We still need to go through all the old baby stuff and see what we still need this time around. I really hope I nest this time around - my home could use it!

I had a hospital birth and a homebirth and I would reccommend a homebirth to anyone. It was just wonderful. Definitely having a homebirth the next time around!

Loved the homebirth! I will never give birth in hospital again unless medically indicated. Why are you not thrilled boigrrlwonder?

I got bellycasting supplies at Micheal's art supply store...

I have 9 weeks left to be pregnant. My anxiety gets really, really bad in pregnancy, and I just want the baby to be here so the paranoia will go away :(

Pregnancy DOES go by a lot quicker, when you already have a child keeping you busy. Plus, I have a job this time...so time is really, really flying. I just hope the "infant" time dosn't go buy even quicker this time.

I feel SO tired of being pregnant at this point. Arcrane, I know what you mean about the pregnancy time going by quicker - I feel like I really didn't do any cutsie pregnancy things this time around.

Momnipotent - I love that link! My son was really late, which means this baby may very well be late too, and I haven't even reached my due date yet. It definitely doesn't help with my impatience to have people constantly asking if I've had the baby. Seriously, once he's born, I'm not going to be able to talk about much else. I WILL tell you. Right away. You don't have to ask.

I am the worst about taking pictures. I don't even have a working camera at this point. I don't think my kids will feel terribly deprived because of it, though. We more than make up for it with fun memories!

*priv trigger*

Funny people should mention food. I have been vegan for six years. This pregnancy, though, I was so sick and having constant dreams about eggs. I finally decided to go with the craving and got some really expensive eggs. Ever since I've been eating eggs, the vomiting, though I still don't feel great.

This time around, someone's letting me borrow their home hypnobabies study, so I'm gonna try that. Anyone have any experience with hypnobabies?

I'm also thinking about doing a waterbirth. I know a lot of people use big kiddie pools, and this would be the time to buy one. I just don't understand why a kiddie pool is better than a bathtub. Anyone know?

My big question at this point is what I'm gonna do with T and who's gonna watch her. If nothing else, I need to figure that one out.

I'm not thrilled with my midwife, because even though she's the most laid back one I can find who's legal in the area (there are direct entry midwives who work here illegally, but they couldn't write a note to my dentist and allow me to get dental work), she still has a relatively narrow definition of normal, low risk birth. Furthermore, she (like all the other homebirth midwives in the area) doesn't have hospital privileges and I'd be transferred out of her care and to an OB I will maybe have met once possibly for interventions I think are unnecessary. (For example, if I go past 42wks, then I will be transferred to an OB for induction; I'm personally comfortable going late if a non-stress test shows the baby's doing fine.) Still, she's probably the best match.

All of this talk of Midwives and Homebirthing sounds incredible. Unfortunately for me, I don't have such an option. I haven't heard of any midwives in the area, and the demand for doctors are so high that none of them have time to squeeze me in. I finally get to go for my first ultrasound Tomorrow afternoon, Though I'm already 11-12 weeks pregnant. I'm not really enjoying my pregnancy, yet I am... So many mixed emotions I'm sure you have all experienced. I have to go through the maternity clinic at the local hospital, which probably means I won't even be seeing the same doctor/nurse every time. I'm just going to have to tough it out, though, because I've been stressing about health and well-being. I've already outgrown all of my bras and I can definitely feel where my uterus is expanding. But with my pregnancy, I got a terrible intestinal yeast infection which has continuously given me an incurable vaginal yeast infection for almost 2 months. I went and spent 80$ on Probiotics that contain approximately 50-60 billion active cultures, and pure virgin extract coconut oil that's organic. I also bought digestive enzymes but I learned later when I got home that you shouldn't take them during pregnancy, so I am just sticking with the coconut oil and Probiotics!
I think a waterbirth would be most interesting to witness, though I'm not sure if I would do it myself. =P

Momnipotent - I've started getting weirdly nervous about this birth too. I don't know why - I had been really excited about birthing again for the longest time. I guess, maybe, just because the day is creeping up on me the waiting ends up making me nervous.

What wasn't good about your experience last time?

KannaChidori - I second doing as much research as you can, and advocating for the kind of birthing experience you want. I also agree that if you can find doula services that you can afford it may be nice to have someone familiar and supportive advocating for you.

Boigrrlwonder - You've definitely decided to homebirth, right? The only reason I ask is that some of the smaller hospitals and the free standing birthing centers around here are already set up for water births. When I was considering that option, not having to worry about the logistics of it (or the extra cost) seemed like a big boon to me. You might also check out http://www.waterbirth.org. I haven't looked through the entire website, but they seem to have some good info.

I can imagine what the anxiety is like for you women who have already been through a birth. I'm thinking maybe you guys are feeling more anxious because of worries that things may be much different this time? I try to think that if I keep a positive mindset about going through with a birth it definitely would help when it comes to the time when the baby comes. But I'm sure hormones aren't very easy to overcome at the later stages in pregnancy. I hope you girls are able to overcome it =)

And I am going to do some research, I talked to the mom-in-law about possibly having a midwife, because someone in the house who lacks any brain capacity to realize "you guys should look into getting a doctor in another area of the province" is expensive >.<, I tried to suggest something along those lines. But she said that even midwives out here are hard to come by and it may be best for me to go through with my first pregnancy in a hospital in case of any problems, because all the equipment and knowledge is there and we wouldn't have to worry about anything minor. So as it stands, I'm definitely doing research on the area I live in but I certainly won't be able to look for a doctor in other areas of the province. We are a pretty low budget family as it is and me and the BD are trying to get our own place to have a quiet and lower stress environment for when the baby comes.

As it stands I'm sticking with the maternity clinic at the hospital until I can do otherwise. I was thinking of going to this teen pregnancy center called building bridges downtown, I saw it and was thinking maybe they could help us with information and advice. But that's still something I have to look in to.

The reason a kiddie pool or something like that is necessary instead of a bathtub, is because there isn't any room around a bathtub for birth assisters (like your midwife)

During my water birth at home, we had an inflatable pool in the middle of the kitchen because it was the biggest room with a hard floor. my midwife was at my feet, leaning over the edge of the pool. There was a birth assistant to the left of me (her assistant), a birth assistant to the right of me (my mother), and a birth assistant behind me (my then-husband). During the actually delivery, my husband was litterally holding me up so I wouldn't slide too far into the water, and my midwife was leaning over between my legs pressing on my perineum and preparing to catch the baby. I can't imagine being able to do all that in a bathtub.

One of the most wonderful things about my waterbirth, was when his shoulders came out, the midwife turned him and I got to pull him out all by myself and bring him to my chest. His umbilical cord was really short, so two of my birth assistants had to lift me up so my belly was out of the water, so the baby wouldn't drown.

There wasn't a drop of blood during my water birth, which absolutely shocked me. I would reccommend a home water birth to anyone, it was the most wonderful birth experience I ever could have imagined.

Also, if you want a water birth and have a midwife, ask them about it before buying a pool. My midwife had an inflatable tum she uses for births, that was way better than a kiddie pool and made for hot water.

KC- Many midwifes have hospital privilages. Mine does. I have the choice to deliver in the hospital (I am actually going to deliver in the hospital). If you, or your mother in law are worried that something will go wrong at home, this may help. I have done a midwife pregnancy and a OB pregnancy. I haven't given birth yet, but I can tell you that the pre-natal appointments for both have been very similar. From what I have experienced, the midwife spends more time answering my questions. Also, they have a 24 hour on call system (something my OB did not have). And after the birth, they offer post-natal and breast feeding support in my home (OB did nothing to promote breastfeeding, and definatly never came to my home). Otherwise, I have been to the same amount of appointments, same routine tests, etc.

I am not at all anxious about the delivery, although I know I should be. I am very anxious about something going wrong while I am pregnant, or loosing the baby. Different anxiety for different people, I suppose. Somedays the anxiety is very intense, and some days its better.

I did find out my baby is now head DOWN!!! I hope he stays this way.

Yeah, a Midwife would be really good. I know how you feel in a sense, momnipotent, because when I went to my maternity clinic appointment I was the youngest pregnant person there and I got a lot of really dirty looks from both the Nurses at the reception and the people that were in the waiting rooms.
Teen Pregnancy is a huge head turner in this small city I've moved to. I was really comfortable with one of the nurses though, she treated me just like she would any normal mother. And I heard there are a lot of really good doctors who do deliveries. But I am also very concerned about having negative people like that at my delivery.
I'm also due for the whole pap/body examination. They only have a male doctor to do it. And I'm sort of uncomfortable with the idea. I got out of it at my last appointment because of my yeast overgrowth. I was very happy. But I must do it.

Being judged makes me feel uncomfortable. A midwife would be so nice to have though, because everyday it seems like I have a million questions in my head and I get really anxious. I'm not even into my second trimester yet but I get this feeling as my pregnancy progresses a lot of things are going to change, such as the way people look at me. But I've been pretty lucky so far. People don't assume I'm really young when they meet me, but when I tell them I'm 18 in November they give me that awkward stare and become really nervous. It's like no one out here can just accept I'm wanting this as much as any mother would. This is why I like to be in my house =P

Kanna - I second in encouraging you to try the teen resource center. Where I live, pregnant teens can get doulas for free as part of a pregnant and parenting teen program.

Went to look for a kiddie pool today, but I guess it's too late in the season after all. Ah, well. I know many midwives here rent out birthing tubs, but it's expensive. I was hoping for a cheap alternative.

Arcane - I think it's great that you're not anxious about the birth. The more anxious you feel, the more you'll tense your body. Relaxation can really help make your labor easier and more comfortable.

Do people have names yet? As of now, we think we like Asher the best, but I still have several months to go.

We already have the names picked out and I'm not even pregnant yet. But I'm not telling anyone.

I still dont have a name picked for this baby!!!! I hate all my husbands suggestions, and he hates all of mine..... I am jealous!

I have just started dealing with Insomina. Its not pleasent!!

A lot of us here are having a second child. I was wondering when your kid understood that the entire pregnancy thing (and how old they were). T still doesn't understand consistently that I'm pregnant. Sometimes, she'll say stuff like when I tell her I need to rest, she'll ask if there's a baby in my belly, but in the same day, she'll tell other people that there's no baby or she'll tell me that her only little sibling is her doll.

BTW, I've been watching a lot of hypnobabies birthing videos on youtube. Check it out - some are pretty amazing.