The Labor Thread

mommytimesfour

September is just a few weeks away, so let's use this thread to post about all things labor! Symptoms, questions, trips to L&D, inductions, and anything else that's labor related can go here. 

erinmarie86

ok i'll start...has anyone's baby "dropped" (head down and laying low)??

I think my little girl dropped sunday night/monday morning (32w+)...i've noticed some relief of heartburn and pressure on my ribs...but now my pelvis are is feeling pressure....in addition when i went for an ultrasound today the lady said she was head down and low and basically blocking my cervix (like she wasn't able to see my cervix in the ultrasound...so i'm assuming that means she's low????)

With my first LO everything happened on the same day within hours of delivery so i don't really know the whole "dropped" feeling...maybe it's just a new position she's in.

Anyways...anyone else thing their LO has "dropped"

I know this isn't completely labor related, but certainly a step in that direction.

hey_clever_girl

My little dude hangs out so low. He was head down at his last appointment and am assuming he still is. I feel like he is gonna fall out some days because he's so low!

mommytimesfour

This little girl is head down and so low. The pelvic pressure is so intense that it's miserable to walk 5 steps. I don't know how I'll make it another 6-7 weeks with two other kids to chase after. Also, LIGHTNING CROTCH! 

mommytimesfour

@BumpAdmin can we get this pinned please?

erinmarie86

@JLmama118 yeah the pressure is intense...but seems to be fine if i'm sitting or standing still isn't too bad...but walking is a little rough, and i really need to get to walking...maybe things will get better?? lol

fireflygirl12

This one has been low for awhile. I went to L&D last week at 33w after having contractions 4-10min apart for about 7hrs. I wouldn't have been as worried except baby hadn't been moving as much. I was hooked up for monitoring and contractions were showing up and baby's HR was great. My cervix is short (50%), but no changes in length or dilation, so got sent home. Confirmed that she is currently at -1 station and my OB could feel her head, so she's definitely hanging out low. So glad she is staying in for awhile

ajn092

My little guy likes to hang out low too. Sometimes it feels like he's pushing off the other side of the uterus to purposely put pressure on my bladder and cervix. I find myself hunching over and sitting down just to take the pressure off. And it immediately goes away. Kinda like how the baby's head can act as a cork when your water has broken and you move from sitting to standing. Fun times!

JennM205

I have the opposite problem - this baby is super high! DD was always really low. She was head down early on and stayed that way. When I had my first cervical check at 35 weeks, I barely felt a thing and my OB said she was "right there". Meanwhile, this kid is head down (and has been for a while) but is alllll up in my ribs. I didn't remember it being like that with DD but it was confirmed when I was in L&D last week and OB checked my cervix. It was not pleasant. When she reported that baby is still really high, I said, "Uh, yeah...I could tell!" I'm a little worried seeing as I'm already dilating and baby hasn't dropped yet... Hopefully he/she keeps baking long enough to drop (and make it to at least 37 weeks).

irishblessings916

@JLmama118
That explains me everyday recently. At times I feel like I'll snap this kids neck when I bend over lol! At my last appt she was head down and her back facing my left (same place my son hung out). I've had so much pressure in my pelvic area, too. It's hard making it to work on time anymore. And the walk thru the parking lot is tiring and at times painful. I never thought that she could have dropped already! I can best describe the lightening crotch to feeling like getting zapped by a horse fence thru the cervix lol! Intense! But my son did the same lol!

camichael84

My LO also feels pretty low. Much lower than my first ever did. I don't think I ever really "dropped" before she was born. This time can feel her bouncing against my bladder with each step. Also lots of pelvic pain (mostly at night). I do still get really high kicks, so I feel likes she's all sprawled out in there sometimes. 

yellowrose314

My girl is definitely head down, and she was switching sides for the last 3 weeks but all of this week she's been on the right, and her butt and knees are jammed into my ribcage. Definitely super uncomfortable to be sitting up for long periods of time, whenever she stretches her legs I lose my breath, so I'm almost hoping she'll drop soon. 

CoffeeBeanFiend91

Baby is head down and I can tell her head is low but she isn't engaged or dropped yet. One day I'm suffocating because she's so high the next I waddle like a penguin because she's so low.

mrsvoorhees-2

@JennM205 don't worry about her being high, DD1 never dropped until I was fully effaced and dilated. They put me on my side with one leg straight and the other bent up high (how I seek, actually) and I was like that for about an hour. She slipped right into place

camichael84

MrsVoorhees said:

@JennM205 don't worry about her being high, DD1 never dropped until I was fully effaced and dilated. They put me on my side with one leg straight and the other bent up high (how I seek, actually) and I was like that for about an hour. She slipped right into place

They did that for me, too! She was still stationed high once I was fully dilated. I only stayed in the position for 15-30 minutes before I begged to push, though. Then after half an hour of pushing, they could see the top of her head.

mrsvoorhees-2

camichael84 said:

MrsVoorhees said:

@JennM205 don't worry about her being high, DD1 never dropped until I was fully effaced and dilated. They put me on my side with one leg straight and the other bent up high (how I seek, actually) and I was like that for about an hour. She slipped right into place

They did that for me, too! She was still stationed high once I was fully dilated. I only stayed in the position for 15-30 minutes before I begged to push, though. Then after half an hour of pushing, they could see the top of her head.

That's supposed to be "sleep" by the way. Im not playing Quiddich, here. 

There red were 3 different times in my labor that my doctor braced me for the possibility of a c-section: when my labor stalled because of the Epi, when she didn't drop, and when she got stuck. All 3 worked out fine in the end!

camichael84

@MrsVoorhees Bahahaha! I knew what you meant, but playing Quiddich makes it sound more interesting. Should have stuck with that.

Yeah, the OB told me at that point she thought I'd need a c/s. She thought she hadn't dropped because my pelvis was too small. When the nurse called DH down to see her head, I realized it was happening vaginally. I was so happy... or as happy and excited as you can be when you're pushing a baby out.

mrsvoorhees-2

@camichael84 that's how I felt! They thought my pelvis was too small too, and then I pushed for over an hour and she would get close and then shoot back in. So she again thought it was too small, but then eventually found that she was face up and vacuumed her out. I too, was so happy. I'm really scared of a c section!

jbscmama

I have a labor question.....is it truly possible for my husband to do the whole "stay up by my pillow" thing and not actually see down below???!  Or does everything/everyone just end up all over the place and he sees it all??

camichael84

@jbscmama It should be. One of my BILs is freaked out by the birthing process. He wouldn't even cut the cord. So he stayed by SIL's head and saw nothing. However, you might need another support person there if that is what you want. In both my and SIL's case, the support person held one of our legs while pushing (a nurse held the other). DH it was hard to avoid seeing anything once he started holding my leg.

erinmarie86

@jbscmama i think it could be possible...but you should probably let your nursing staff and doc know.  When it came time to push my husband was holding one of my legs and i think it was just assumed he was there to see everything.  So if that's not the case you just need to let people know. maybe include it in your birth plan?

Jocelynguillermo2007

 FIRST TIME MOMMY HERE, SCARE AND ANXIOUS TO MEET MY LIL GIRL. I CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW PAINFUL DELIVERY MAY BE FOR ME. ANY ADVICE LADIES. I PRAY AND HOPE GOD GIVES ME THE STRENGHT TO DELIVER BABY ABIGAIL INTO THIS WORK ON SEPTERMBER 2ND WIHTOUT ANY MAJOR COMPLICATIONS.

Steephers123

@jbscmama  Not sure if it's possible, but DH failed in his attempt.  In the end with all the nurses and the doctor moving around constantly and the stress of the whole situation, he ended up moving around quite a bit and did not stay by my head.  He said he's okay with how it turned out, and it wasn't near as bad as he thought it would be.  

Ssoccerball

jbscmama said:

I have a labor question.....is it truly possible for my husband to do the whole "stay up by my pillow" thing and not actually see down below???!  Or does everything/everyone just end up all over the place and he sees it all??

This was our plan with Baby #1 (for DH to stay above the equator), but then our entire city decided to give birth on the same day.  Nurses and doctors were spread thin and the nurse assigned to me ordered my DH to grab one of my legs and hold it back while I practice pushed.  By the time my doctor came in, DH didn't have the option of moving, so he was downtown for the entire event.  He still talks about how I ruined his tennis shoes!

marajay6

jbscmama said:

I have a labor question.....is it truly possible for my husband to do the whole "stay up by my pillow" thing and not actually see down below???!  Or does everything/everyone just end up all over the place and he sees it all??

We never really planned on this.  And then when it was time to push, the nurse had my husband hold one leg while she held the other - there was quite a bit of time when it was just the 3 of us in the room. After a while, the nurse thought my husband looked pale and she ordered him to go sit down. The nurse had to go find someone else to hold my leg (it ended up being a surgical tech).  After that, my husband stayed by my head but could still see a lot. There isn't a barrier in place to block his view like there is with a c-section.

COmama87

@jbscmama DH and my mom had to stay up by my pillow and did not see anything with DS. I had to be on my side and was holding my own leg/thigh while a nurse held the other (had to be on my side during delivery because DS's heart rate would take a huge dive when I would move to my back). 

jbscmama

Interesting....thanks ladies! I had heard of the whole "holding the leg" thing but didn't realize how common it was for the hubby to be asked to do so. Obviously the main concern is to give birth to a healthy baby and I'm sure I won't care WHAT he sees when I'm in the moment haha...just wanted to see if it was at all feasible to not let it all hang out there for him.  Def don't want another support person in the room so if it has to be him holding a leg, so be it! 

jbscmama

@Ssoccerball OMG on the tennis shoes!!! hahahahaha

mom2adoodle

Did anyone give birth on all fours? I have this weird fantasy of giving birth like that haha

mrsvoorhees-2

@jbscmama my H was super concerned about it and was asked to hold my leg, so he just looked at me. He ended up getting into the moment once her head was out and totally didn't mind what he saw, he said it was cool. Don't worry about it too much if you are, being in the moment changed a lot of minds!

ruemcclanahan

I don't  want FI to see ANYTHING.  My mom will be holding my leg and he will stay by my head the entire time. (Or at least that's the plan. Whk knows how labor will actually go)

ansley0319

@MrsVoorhees   My husband is super concerned, so much so that he keeps saying he won't be there when the baby is actually coming- when the pushing begins. He made the joke the other day that he will bring me to the hospital and "hang out with me" aka for the labor but that he plans to step out when baby starts "coming out." I have seen in other posts how heated some people get over their DHs not wanting to be present but I feel like he will change his mind when the time comes bc he knows that I want/need him and he will want to be included. I also don't feel like I will be bothered if he decides to step out bc my mother and sister will also be in the room and I am more comfortable with my business exposed in front of them ( they both have been through this- I was also in the room with my sister for one of her sons births) than my husband.. my modest mind is somewhat the opposite of many others.

Today was my 32 week appointment and my DH was there for my midwife giving the warning signs of labor or reasons to come to the hospital without calling first, water breaking, etc and my husband was white in the face. For his health and not fainting and TOTALLY missing the birth of our first child - I would 100% rather him dipping into the adjoining room to take a breath until they hand him the baby, as he will be the first in our family to do this.

I may also be so content with him doing this because the hospital has these tiny 4-5 people waiting rooms for family with a window to see mom giving birth without being in the actual room. 

cate2273

mom2adoodle said:

Did anyone give birth on all fours? I have this weird fantasy of giving birth like that haha

*Lurking from o16

I used to work at a birth center and yes, women do give birth on their hands and knees, often leaning over a birth ball.

seitzy3

Just saying @jbscmama my husband helped deliver our first and then our second came around he's like nahhh I'm good I'll stay up here. Haha so yeah he didn't look at all with our second. Stayed near my pillow and just pepped talked me the whole time. I ended up pulling her out on my own though, kourtney kardashian style 

ruemcclanahan

seitzy3 said:

Just saying @jbscmama my husband helped deliver our first and then our second came around he's like nahhh I'm good I'll stay up here. Haha so yeah he didn't look at all with our second. Stayed near my pillow and just pepped talked me the whole time. I ended up pulling her out on my own though, kourtney kardashian style 

YES- ever since I saw her do that I want to try! I think it would be the coolest thing.

mrsvoorhees-2

@ansley0319 there's a big difference between just not wanting to see that grossness, and being like your husband and not dealing well with blood and medical situations. I find it annoying when men just don't want to see it (my husband, who ended up changing his mind). Your situation is different! If my H was gojng to pass out or get sick, by all means, stay at my head!!!

Bibliobebe

@seitzy3 DH has no problem with witnessing the birth, which is a relief. The one thing he did draw a line at was "catching" the baby. When the nurse asked me if I was interested in helping deliver the baby I enthusiastically said yes but when she then asked DH if he was wanting to help deliver as well he looked horrified. I'm surprised he didn't pass out from fear and anxiety right there. I laughed and laughed.

mommytimesfour

I've had about 8 BH contractions in the last hour. I think they say to go in if you have more than 4-6 in an hour right? It's only been an hour, do I drink water and give it another hour or should I go in ASAP? I'm a TTM but I've never experienced going into labor on my own. 

ruemcclanahan

@JLmama118 call your OB and see what they say! But drink water anyway

asht

JLmama118 said:

I've had about 8 BH contractions in the last hour. I think they say to go in if you have more than 4-6 in an hour right? It's only been an hour, do I drink water and give it another hour or should I go in ASAP? I'm a TTM but I've never experienced going into labor on my own. 

Usually they say lay down and see if they stop. Also you can call the labor and delivery line and they will tell you what to try

mrsvoorhees-2

Megan324 said:

@JLmama118 call your OB and see what they say! But drink water anyway

This!