@EALasagna45 along the lines of what the other ladies said, my OB had a template that she gave me and we spent awhile talking about later in the pregnancy. I wouldn't get too detailed with it though (there are people that have 20 page birth plans), and I found the main things I wanted for my birth plan (delayed cord clamping, direct skin to skin, right on the breast, delayed weights/ meds) were all standard at my hospital so it was kind of a moot point. I found it was best used for a guide for my husband when I was in the midst of labor and not wanting to think about anything else (like preferences on how I wanted to labor, when and if I wanted an epidural, etc). When it comes down to it you kind of just have to go with it and the more detailed the plan is the more likely you will be to be disappointed in the process and focus on that instead of the beautiful child you are about to have.
Pretty much everything @meq124 said. Having your SO or whoever you want your labor partner to be on the same page as you is huge. And I second the idea of having birth preferences as opposed to a detailed plan. Birth is so unpredictable and sometimes you have to completely throw the plan out the window to have a safe delivery. You may find that the things that you prefer, the hospital/birth center already does.
Along the lines of birth plans, If your hospital does a birthing class, I suggest you do it. It gave me a better idea of what is going to go on during my labor and helped set my expectations. I get that everyone is going to do things differently but my hospital brought almost every tool/portable piece of equipment that could be used. We got to see the epidural cath, a foley bulb, an IUPS, forceps, fetal monitors, vacuum and a handful of others. Waaaay less scary when I got to get some first hand experience.
PCOS diagnosed secondary infertility
BFP #1 (letrozole 2.5mg + ovidrel) February 2016, MMC April 2016 @ 7 weeks
Late to responses but just wanted to say THANK YOU again to everybody who chimed in about birth plans. I feel like I now have some awesome insight and direction. Ya'll are the best!
Did anybody try delayed cord clamping with a C-Section?
I spoke to my OB about delayed cord clamping and she said it's really only beneficial for babies born pre-term. If it's a full-term baby, allowing the cord to stop pulsing can result in the baby being overloaded with fluid and causing liver issues.
Did anybody try delayed cord clamping with a C-Section?
I spoke to my OB about delayed cord clamping and she said it's really only beneficial for babies born pre-term. If it's a full-term baby, allowing the cord to stop pulsing can result in the baby being overloaded with fluid and causing liver issues.
That is interesting, I have never heard of that.
Married DH 12/31/13 BFP#1 1/21/14 ended in loss DNC 3/5/14 BFP#2 7/2014 Baby Girl born 4/15/15 BFP#3 2/10/2016 natural mc 2/27/2016 BFP#4 6/25/2016 Due 3/2/2017
Did anybody try delayed cord clamping with a C-Section?
I spoke to my OB about delayed cord clamping and she said it's really only beneficial for babies born pre-term. If it's a full-term baby, allowing the cord to stop pulsing can result in the baby being overloaded with fluid and causing liver issues.
That is interesting, I have never heard of that.
Hmm...I will definitely have to talk to my OB about this. I have never heard that...will have to do a bit more research. All of the research that I have done to date strongly encourages it and hasn't mentioned the items you mention above. Thanks for the different perspective @DrillSergeantCat!
Me 29 I DH 28 Married in April 2007 One Furbaby - Adorable Pitt Mix 15 Months TTC....2nd Cycle of Letrozole - Success! Expecting our first two little miracles - Boy/Girl Twins! - EDD March 3, 2017 High Risk Pregnancy - Type 1 Diabetic; Hypothyroidism; Di/Di Twin Pregnancy
Did anybody try delayed cord clamping with a C-Section?
I spoke to my OB about delayed cord clamping and she said it's really only beneficial for babies born pre-term. If it's a full-term baby, allowing the cord to stop pulsing can result in the baby being overloaded with fluid and causing liver issues.
I don't believe this. The cord pulses for maybe 30 seconds and that is it. It's not like you are loading the kid with old blood plus the baby is above the cord so when the pumping stops there could be no other blood flow into the baby.
ETA if that was the case it wouldn't be standard practice at most hospitals
I believe in delayed cord clamping. I had one baby that they did not do this with and two that they did and I noticed a difference in the temperament right away so I feel that it influenced that. My first (no clamping) had mild (forgetting word for yellow-ing skin) but my other two did not, despite being significantly lighter in pigment than my first.
Eta: It pulses for a range of seconds to 2 mins but it is negligible while it is happening. Some OBs believe in manually pumping the cord so that it goes faster but most feel that waiting is fine. I do not believe for a second that it would cause too much to go into the baby's body; it's very minimal.
Thanks so much @meq124! This seems to line up more with the other research that I have done on the topic.
Me 29 I DH 28 Married in April 2007 One Furbaby - Adorable Pitt Mix 15 Months TTC....2nd Cycle of Letrozole - Success! Expecting our first two little miracles - Boy/Girl Twins! - EDD March 3, 2017 High Risk Pregnancy - Type 1 Diabetic; Hypothyroidism; Di/Di Twin Pregnancy
Did anybody try delayed cord clamping with a C-Section?
I spoke to my OB about delayed cord clamping and she said it's really only beneficial for babies born pre-term. If it's a full-term baby, allowing the cord to stop pulsing can result in the baby being overloaded with fluid and causing liver issues.
My doctor said similar. That it has only been shown to be beneficial for pre-term babies. My doctor did not mention any issues with doing it at term though. Interesting.
@disneybaby84 they are worth it! The best thing is to get one that does both. We have the Britax B-Agile which is a normal stroller but allows for the infant seat to click in, and the new City Select we got also does that. I want to say you can't really put them in a normal stroller until they have head control, so because of this most strollers adapt to fit the infant seats
Are the strollers where the baby seat fits in it, worth it or would I be fine with a traditional stroller?
This really depends on how much you plan to keep baby in the car seat. I wasn't one of those people that carried the car seat around because that got old, fast! We got the car seat/stroller combo (Britax) as a gift and it was great in the beginning (like the first 6 months), but I found that I ended up not using it much as baby got bigger since I liked wearing him better; especially when it started to get cold outside. My 2 yo isn't really a stroller kid. We only use it now if we go on a walk or if we travel, but when we take him on errands, he's usually walking and holding one of our hands, or both. I think this pretty much comes down to preference and you won't know what your preferences will be until the baby's here. I think if I were to do it all over again knowing what I know now, I probably would've skipped the infant car seat altogether and would have just had the convertible car seat from the get go. We now have the Maxi Cosi Pria 70 and it comes with an infant insert. All that said though, since we already have the infant car seat, we'll go ahead and use it for the time being for the new baby and will eventually get another convertible seat when they get bigger. This was probably not much help, but letting you know our experience.
@kiyamurph I was a lot like you where I hated carrying the seat so I would wear her. I switched to a convertible seat at 6 months because it was easier to get her in and out of and carrying was amazing since you can be hands free! Although in the beginning I found it was easier to just leave the sleeping little newborn alone in the seat and clicking the seat in and out
@disneybaby84 so worth it! She would fall asleep in the car, so then I could just pick up the whole carseat put in into the stroller without waking her up.
@disneybaby84 so worth it! She would fall asleep in the car, so then I could just pick up the whole carseat put in into the stroller without waking her up.
Did anybody try delayed cord clamping with a C-Section?
I spoke to my OB about delayed cord clamping and she said it's really only beneficial for babies born pre-term. If it's a full-term baby, allowing the cord to stop pulsing can result in the baby being overloaded with fluid and causing liver issues.
That is interesting, I have never heard of that.
I have, but I have also heard the opposite. It seems that delayed clamping leads to more cases of jaundice...however, by 9 months babies exclusely breastfed babies with delayed clamping had higher iron stores. (specified because formula is iron fortified so people were studying iron levels in ebf babies). My midwife said that babies born earlier actually had a higher instance of jaundice in these cases? Delayed clamping is becoming pretty standard practice for vaginal births in my area.
I know every baby/situation is different but in regards to delayed cord clamping:
My DS came so fast (at 40w1d) that my midwife didn't arrive until 15-20 minutes after his birth. We were on the phone with her before and right after his birth (and she was at our house 2hrs before his birth but left because I was only 3cm -- it's quite the birth story ) and she said to leave the cord until she arrived. So, in our case, it had stopped pulsing looong before it was cut and there was zero issues with swelling/fluid retention or his liver or anything like that.
Did any of you STM's use anything to prevent stretch marks? People seem to have so many opinions on this... and maybe in the end, if you're going to get them, you're just going to get them... but interested in any recommendations. Thanks!
Did any of you STM's use anything to prevent stretch marks? People seem to have so many opinions on this... and maybe in the end, if you're going to get them, you're just going to get them... but interested in any recommendations. Thanks!
I didn't use anything special, just normal lotion since I always put lotion on my belly anyway. There's nothing to prevent stretch marks since they're hereditary. You either get them or you don't.
hereditary and nothing you can really do viewpoint here too. I wouldn't spend money on anything that says it's the "miracle cure". I will say they do fade!! I thought I'd never be seen dead in a bathing suit again, but this summer i survived
@jenny0228 I've heard they are heriditary, but my Mom got horrible ones and I religiously used Spoiled Mama bump gloss and belly butter every morning and night starting at like 12 weeks and I didn't get any. Maybe it was just luck, but for me it's worth spending the $$ again this time just in case it really did help. Smell is rough on MS though, so I might wait a few more weeks.
@jenny0228 I got stretch marks on my legs/hips from a growth spurt in puberty so I thought for sure I was going to get them in pregnancy. I still used lotion every single night though (basically from my knees to my neck haha) and I didn't get a single new stretch mark. I just used a cocoa butter lotion from Wal-Mart so as PP said, I wouldn't waste money on any 'miracle cure' (stretch mark related or otherwise) but I do think keeping your skin moisturized will make a difference.
thank you all for the advice on stretch marks! so far i don't see any but will take your advice to at least add lotion/oil/cocoa butter. can't hurt! thanks!!!
alright mommies, question: when should i start thinking about day care/baby sitting options? i will be going back to work after a 14 week (give or take a week or two) maternity leave. is it too soon? (i'll be 13 weeks tomorrow, but i've already heard that a lot of day care centers have super long waiting lists and to start looking ASAP!)
Did any of you STM's use anything to prevent stretch marks? People seem to have so many opinions on this... and maybe in the end, if you're going to get them, you're just going to get them... but interested in any recommendations. Thanks!
I'm with PP on the idea that they're simply hereditary. I've also heard that lotions and oils don't even penetrate the skin to the depth where stretchmarks occur anyway. Still, I did use Burt's Bees Mama Bee belly butter for my first pregnancy and the Belli brand belly oil for my second just because I liked the placebo effect of actually doing something. I didn't get any stretch marks either time, though according to my mom neither did a lot of my family. I did get stretch marks on my thighs during adolescence though.
March 2017 September Siggy Challenge: Favorite Fall Things
alright mommies, question: when should i start thinking about day care/baby sitting options? i will be going back to work after a 14 week (give or take a week or two) maternity leave. is it too soon? (i'll be 13 weeks tomorrow, but i've already heard that a lot of day care centers have super long waiting lists and to start looking ASAP!)
It depends on your area. In my area, I found several centers with immediate openings or they'd have an opening by the time I was ready to go back. IMO, it's never too soon to start researching. Go visit the ones you're interested in. Do surprise visits too. Meet the people who will be in charge of caring for your LO. Once you find one, you're comfortable with. Put the deposit down to hold your spot.
I am not sure if this is correct butl in my experience, I got stretch marks in spots that were itchy (and I chose to scratch said spots instead of using oil/lotion). My suggestion would be to never scratch your tummy (if possible) and use lotion especially when it is itchy.
Did any of you STM's use anything to prevent stretch marks? People seem to have so many opinions on this... and maybe in the end, if you're going to get them, you're just going to get them... but interested in any recommendations. Thanks!
I was at my dermatologist for my yearly checkup when I was pregnant last time and already had stretch marks. He told me there was nothing he or I could do about it.
If you were going to get a $100 gift card at a baby shower, where would you want it to be for? We have two colleagues in the office (one with a brand new baby, one due in Nov) that we are having a small shower for. Neither are registered.
DD #1: April 2017 DD #2: May 2020 Baby #3: EDD May 2023; MC October 2022
Re: Ask a STM
PCOS diagnosed secondary infertility
BFP #1 (letrozole 2.5mg + ovidrel) February 2016, MMC April 2016 @ 7 weeks
BFP #2 (letrozole 5mg + ovidrel) July 2016, Beta #1 359, Beta #2 745, Beta #3 11484
EDD April 9th, 2017
BFP#1 1/21/14 ended in loss DNC 3/5/14
BFP#2 7/2014 Baby Girl born 4/15/15
BFP#3 2/10/2016 natural mc 2/27/2016
BFP#4 6/25/2016 Due 3/2/2017
Married in April 2007
One Furbaby - Adorable Pitt Mix
15 Months TTC....2nd Cycle of Letrozole - Success!
Expecting our first two little miracles - Boy/Girl Twins! - EDD March 3, 2017
High Risk Pregnancy - Type 1 Diabetic; Hypothyroidism; Di/Di Twin Pregnancy
ETA if that was the case it wouldn't be standard practice at most hospitals
Eta: It pulses for a range of seconds to 2 mins but it is negligible while it is happening. Some OBs believe in manually pumping the cord so that it goes faster but most feel that waiting is fine. I do not believe for a second that it would cause too much to go into the baby's body; it's very minimal.
Married in April 2007
One Furbaby - Adorable Pitt Mix
15 Months TTC....2nd Cycle of Letrozole - Success!
Expecting our first two little miracles - Boy/Girl Twins! - EDD March 3, 2017
High Risk Pregnancy - Type 1 Diabetic; Hypothyroidism; Di/Di Twin Pregnancy
My DS came so fast (at 40w1d) that my midwife didn't arrive until 15-20 minutes after his birth. We were on the phone with her before and right after his birth (and she was at our house 2hrs before his birth but left because I was only 3cm -- it's quite the birth story
married to M since 6.13.09
T - 3.3.14
A - 2.24.17
TTC Since: Nov. 2015
Dx: PCOS
Clomid + Ovidrel, Round I: BFN
Clomid + Ovidrel, Round II: BFN
Clomid+Ovidrel, Round III: BFP! 7/5/16
DD #2: May 2020
Baby #3: EDD May 2023; MC October 2022
married to M since 6.13.09
T - 3.3.14
A - 2.24.17