Replies by lizhaley

Yepp! That sounds like pre-labor I went through that for a couple weeks. The cramping sounds normal too, I experienced that as well. To me it felt kind of like the cramps I feel around af time and my doctor told me that it was probably the contractions working my uterus. And as far as the losing weight thing that is very common at the end of pregnancy! I lost weight too around 36 weeks and was shocked so I researched it and it is one of the signs that labor isn't far off. Also if you feel like you might be in labor its best to go even if you aren't having close contractions, its better to be safe! My contractions never got closer than 4 minutes apart even while I was pushing him out, they tried to get them closer and they couldn't. Also I never felt very painful contractions it just felt like tightening with period cramps to me.

The doctors said they want to do the tests to make sure that the fluid in his brain isnt increasing now that he is born. If it increases it could be very bad and they would have to drain it. If it gets worse it could lead to learning delays, autism, and in extreme cases it can effect motor functions and other normal brain functions but at this point it is nowhere near that. They told me at the very most it might take him a little longer to reach certain milestones but once he hits them he will catch back up to normal. But so far at this point he is looking excellent and is doing everything he should be doing and even hitting milestones early!
Just yesterday he had his first real smile (one that isn't in his sleep or because of gas) I started talking and he heard my voice and turned and looked at me and gave me the biggest toothless smile and has been doing it all the time since! haha The doctor said the first smile is a major milestone for babies because it shows that their brain is maturing and developing on track and also that they are learning from things you do and developing their social skills!

That is scary to think of your baby on a feeding tube, I couldn't imagine going through that. Prayers for you that are able to continue being pregnant for a few more weeks! As far as the baby having glucose problems after delivery, we went through that too. Even more reason that I think the doctor missed my gestational diabetes... But all they had to to was take his blood every so often to make sure that it leveled back out and eventually it did. I was told that the colostrum is a really big aide in helping level out a babys blood sugar and thankfully I was able to give him that for the first two days. I am glad to hear you are able to keep yours under control tho!

How are you doing with bed rest so far and not going to work everyday? I bet its a big change for you! And sounds good, I'll message it to you now :]

Heyy!! It sounds like you sure have had an interesting couple of days!! I hope your little one is able to stay in a little longer, mine started trying to come out around the same time but was able to make it to 37 weeks on the dot! I know its hard not to worry but the steroid shots greatly help and im sure your doctors will keep a great eye on you and your little one!!! I know what you mean, I was put on bedrest after my hospital trips and it was so hard not to clean and get up and do things. It makes for a long few weeks...as if the wait wasn't long enough already haha. How are you feeling? Have your contractions stopped?

Sorry it has taken me awhile to respond, its been a busy few weeks with a newborn! haha To answer your previous message unfortunately I wasn't able to breastfeed. I started to but wasn't able to produce enough in the beginning and as a result he developed jaundice and I had to supplement until my milk came in to basically "flush out the jaundice" and once my milk came in he was use to the speed he would get the formula and it takes longer breastfeeding and he would get really upset. But he was a large baby being a few ounces shy of 9 pounds and that was part of the reason he wasn't getting enough, because he was bigger and just wanted more. He had his one month checkup yesterday and is already weighing 12.6 pounds and has grown an inch lengthwise and is already eating 4oz a feeding! I must say it was difficult in the beginning because I would get upset when he would cry for no reason and getting used to getting up every few hours but we had a great support system from our parents and after a few weeks you get used to the crying and are able to distinguish between real cries and fake cries. I am still nervous about taking him out in public alone for the fear of him having a crying fit and me not being able to settle him down, Im sure that skill will come with time too. I can't wait for you to get to experience everything. It is so rewarding and so different when its your own baby. Just seeing them stare back at you and react when they recognize your voice, its just amazing! They are still following up on his brain he had a head ultrasound last week and everything still measured the same but they want to sedate him and give him an mri just to be 100 percent sure but it really upsets me. He is just so tiny and innocent that it breaks my heart at the thought of him having to undergo anesthesia. But the doctors told us that its necessary to prove that everything is okay and that they think he is developing just fine, they just have to do the tests to prove it. He has that on the 19th of December. The postpartum recovery has been a little different than what I expected, there is a lot of things they neglect to tell you haha. On the plus side I have already gone back down to 4 pounds shy of my pre pregnancy weight, I gained 30 all together. So how have you been? How have your last few weeks of being pregnant been? Sorry it has taken me awhile to respond I will try to check this site more often since you are getting close. If you want I can message you my email address, I check that a lot more frequently. I am so excited for you that you are getting so close!!!

I finally have some time to reply! Lol so here's what happened:
I went in for my 37week check up and nst. I was still having contractions but they weren't regular. When i was given my ultrasound the amniotic fluid levels were low again and he saw some dark spots in my placenta which he thinks was blood meaning it might have been starting to separate. So he told me to go home take a shower and get my things together then head to the hospital to be induced! So my husband came home from work and we headed to the hospital. I got there around 6pm and they started the pitocin to induce me at 10pm. Once the contractions started to pick up i decided to get an epidural. That part was a lot easier than i thought, it didn't hurt a bit. Unfortunately, it didn't take well on the right side so every few hours they had to give me a little boost on that side. Around 4pm the next day I started to feel an odd pressure in my bottom. It wasn't the urge to have a bm like a lot of people say it just felt like pressure. So they checked me and I was 10cm and the baby was ready to come out! so they cut my epidural off and I pushed for about 30 minutes and he was out, my contractions never got closer together than3 minutes apart so that's what made it take so long to push him out. I had to get a 2nd almost 3rd degree episiotomy because he was so large his shoulders had trouble getting out. it was honestly not as bad as ithought it would be at all. I did have the epidural but with it it was completely painless, even the pushing. I was sure iwould feel some kind of pain but it was only some pressure. Healing from the stitches has been difficult. I can't sit on anything and I'm constantly scared they will break! But having a child is amazing. I can't explain how amazing the feeling is when they get him out and lay him on your chest for the first time. It's an overwhelming feeling of tons of emotion. And when they lay on your chest and stare into your eyes it melts your heart. It makes me tear up just thinking about it.

How are things going with you and your pregnancy? I hope your gd diet is getting easier on you!

Sorry ihaven't been on to reply! I just wanted to hop on really quick to tell you we had to be induced Monday! Everything turned out okay and yesterday at 5:04 pm we had ahappy healthy little boy! 8Pounds 11ounces 20 inches long. I will message you again and fill you in once we get settled at home. Keep me informed about how you and baby are doing :)

Oh man I can only imagine how difficult that is. I only had to do it for about two weeks until I had my next test and I remember feeling like I couldn't eat ANYTHING. I love fresh fruits, breads, and green beans are my favorite vegetable I felt like everything I liked I couldn't eat! You are so strong being able to stick to that diet through the remainder of your pregnancy, I know its tough!! Hopefully once they start you on a treatment it will make your diet less strict and you can eat more of a variety of tasty things! haha I can completely empathize with you on the tiredness, and unfortunately it only gets worse. I thought it was crazy when people would tell me "oh, at the end of pregnancy you will want to sleep all the time!" Turns out its true, unfortunately. I go to sleep earlier than I ever have at night and feel like I need naps during the day. I am constantly exhausted for no reason.

I am still having the contractions! they get really annoying at night time haha. They will get really regular about 6 minutes apart for a long time then they will go back to like 10 mins apart, its so frustrating! I got my membranes stripped on Thursday. It was painful but so fast that the pain didn't matter. Later that night I lost my mucous plug. I was 1cm dilated (Ive been at 1cm for 2 weeks) when he stripped them on thursday and I went back the next day (yesterday) to be checked and I went from 1cm to 2.5cm in just one day! And I also lost more mucous...there is seriously so much that I never would have expected it, just a little tmi so that you aren't as surprised as I was when it happens to you haha. I have also been spotting since I had them stripped which the nurses said is good because thats a good sign that im still dilating. So fingers crossed it won't be too much longer!!!

Its okay, I do the same thing :] haha. And I feel the same way! I don't know hows hes still in there with him being so big and me so tiny! I can definitely feel that it is about time. I can feel my body just being different and I can feel the contractions changing to be more stronger and getting crampy almost like a burning feeling. And I definitely waddle now hahaha. I am excited to see how tomorrow goes and to see how how the "natural" induction works. I am excited but nervous as well.

So glad to hear everything is going so well with you besides the gd. I can imagine how difficult it is to live a busy life and try to manage it all while pregnant. I heard they can give you insulin and that it wont effect your baby or pregnancy. I hope it all goes well for you! And good to hear you are feeling so much movement, its such an exciting thing and still hasn't gotten old to me lol. Have you started to feel your baby flip head down or have and braxton hicks yet?

So sorry it has taken me so long to respond! It has been acrazy week! Thankfully I'm still pregnant, he hasn't had to come out yet :) just about every time i go to an appointment tho they send me to labor and delivery. I've been sent twice for having super low amniotic fluid levels and i was sent yesterday for fetal monitoring. My doctor has me going to his office twice a weekto get monitored with an nst and ultrasound. I'll be 37 weeks tomorrow and my doctor is going to strip my membranes tomorrow to try and induce labor "naturally". He says it's the most non invasive way if it works. At my last appointment i was having contractions 8 minutes apart and wasn't even feeling them and I've been having them since, they think I'm starting the very early stages of labor. And little man is 8 pounds! He is definitely trying to start his way out and my doctor thinks he's ready and will benefit more from being out despite only being 37 weeks. So iguess we will find out more tomorrow at our appointment. Thank you for thinking about me and sorry again it took so long! I hope you're doing well! How's your pregnancy going?

Well I'm back in the hospital! I went to my appointment at 9am and they sent me straight to labor and delivery. Little man's fluid was lower than last time. Now it's 11pm and they are keeping me over night. I've been on iv fluids all day and will continue to be on them throughout the night. The doctor said if my levels aren't satisfactory by 8am I will be induced tomorrow. And even if they do improve he will only let me stay pregnant for another week since his amniotic fluid keeps disappearing. I have my scan at 8am and will know then!

So glad to hear your appointment went great! And I don't blame you about the testing. I opted not to have it until all of these brain issues started showing up and they said I needed to have them so they can rule out problems and of course they came back negative. We are the same way and will love our little one regardless of what any tests say :)

Hi! Glad to hear managing your GD is going so well! How did your appointment go yesterday?

It has been another eventful week for me haha. MY little man just keeps trying every chance he can to come see us early!! I went to my ob Thursday and I passed the NST and went in for my growth ultrasound and where they do some kind of visual test. We were able to see him already breathing on his own which is awesome! BUT the doctor said I had hardly any amniotic fluid left! It was a 4.6 (10 is normal and 5 is an automatic admission into the hospital) So he told me that my husband needed to take the next day off and I needed to go get admitted into labor and delivery that morning! So we went in that morning and they gave me the steroid shots for the babys lungs in case I had to deliver. And I got ultrasound monitored for about 45 minutes and was given an IV to help create some more amniotic fluid. I was hooked up to the contraction monitor and I was having contractions that I just couldn't feel, my stomach wasn't even getting tight but I was definitely having them! The nurse checked me and said my baby is as low as he can possibly get and I am 1cm dilated and about 50% thinned out! And he weighed 7 pounds! I am only 35 weeks so thankfully they were able to get everything under control and he will get to cook a little longer :]
Tomorrow morning I have a follow up with the childrens hospital about the babys brain and I am really not looking forward to it. I feel like my baby is just find and they are just a really pessimistic group of doctors there. My whole second half of pregnancy has just been one thing after another and I just want to enjoy the last 4 weeks because at this point what is going to happen is going to happen...

That is really exciting about having a baby shower! I had so much fun at mine and it was a great opportunity to see everyone before we become parents :] I hope you have lots of fun with it!!

Glad to hear you are adjusting well to the glucose testing, That is half the battle!
My doctors don't seem too concerned with making me take the glucose test again since I passed the 3 hour. I have taken it upon myself to make some healthier choices and watching my carbs even though they said I don't have to. I feel like this far along that it wont change too much either way. My husband was a large baby too so that could be part of it as well. At my last appointment my doctor decided to give me a NST and an ultrasound once a week until delivery to keep an eye on his size so we can decide how I am going to have to deliver. Since I have such a small frame I'm concerned he won't be able to "drop" into my pelvis which is a common thing with large babies. But we will see! I have my next appointment Thursday.
Im glad to hear everything is going well for you so far! I didn't know they waited so long to test in your country, but the important thing is you found out soon enough that you can still correct it! And it sounds like you are doing a great job keeping on it so far :] I see how that could become difficult to check while you are in class. Maybe you can take a trip to the restroom or to a teachers lounge to give yourself a little privacy? Im sure you will find a way to make it work. I know you were concerned about working as you got farther along in your pregnancy, how is it going so far?