Randoms - Week of January 30th

byrneme

Have any thoughts, questions, feelings, fears? Spill them here!

This is a good place to ask questions to a broader audience than the weekly trimester check-ins so those with experience can chime in!

babylonghorn16

Anyone heard from @ADRIANAC1982?? Still thinking about you, girl!

2legbaby

@babylonghorn16 I have been thinking about @ADRIANAC1982 as well, hope she and baby boy are well

BlueEyedDreamer

Yes, I've been wondering about @ADRIANAC1982 , too! Wishing her and baby boy well!

AFM, I am having really bad hip pain at night. I sleep on my side, and I wake up 30 minutes later in pain from the hip I'm sleeping on, so I flip over. Then that one hurts 30 minutes later, and I'm just done. It's making it so that I really can't sleep on my side, and I know I'm not supposed to sleep on my back. Tylenol doesn't do much to help, and I'm trying to avoid taking it in general anyway. Any tips from those in 3rd tri or who have experience with this? 

ETA: I sleep with a pillow between my knees, which used to help, but it just isn't cutting it anymore.

kdanjou

@BlueEyedDreamer this is me exactly.  I just suffer through it and flip flop all night long.  I find that if I get up and stretch my legs for 1 minute I can fall back asleep easier and it doesn't hurt for a while.

dragonfaerie

@BlueEyedDreamer @kdanjou I added a second pillow between my knees and then diet of rocked back, putting another pillow behind my low back so I couldn't roll fully onto my back, but it took the pressure off my hip. Also, try sleeping with your bottom leg extended straight and the upper leg bent.  It helps open up your pelvis. But what really helped was getting massages and chiropractic. A prenatal therapist of either kind may be able to give you some good exercises to do as well that should help. And do squats/lunges as well as other hip and butt exercises.

I wanted to let everyone know that walmart right now has cami tanktops for like,  two dollars. I bought a handful and basically that's all I wear right now. I tuck Wee Riley into them to do skin to skin care, and i don't care if they get stretched because they were so cheap. Then they are easy to get out of to breastfeed him. He gets all tucked up like he's still in the womb and we're both happy.   and finally,  it puts him close to my chest so if he starts rooting, I know immediately he's hungry and avoid the fussy cries.

byrneme

@dragonfaerie  - did I somehow miss the news you had the baby??? 

dragonfaerie

@byrneme Yes, sorry! Riley is one week old today  

byrneme

Congratulations!!! I hope you all are doing well

wifeinraleigh28

@BlueEyedDreamer I get horrible hip pain all night long too, on the hip I'm sleeping on. I've found it helps though if I sleep with my maternity pillow along my belly so that I'm sort of half sleeping on my side and half on my belly, kind of at a diagonal. This is the only way I am able to stay on one side for longer than 30 minutes.

dragonfaerie

@byrneme Thank you! We are doing well. I had a c-section after 32 hours of labor, so recovery is slow, but we are better all the time.

ale9687

@blueeyeddreamer agree with @wifeinraleigh28 I have to sleep semi on my stomach so that all the pressure isn't on my hips. 

dragonfaerie

Major TMI post for everyone, but especially those who may end up with a c-section (planned or otherwise): The nurses recommended I get a stool softener/laxative called Senna (Senokot) and I did take it for a few days, but it caused what was almost diarrhea so I said no thank you, and went to my regular stool softener without a laxative. Unfortunately,  I was not able to go to the bathroom for two days, and then had a very painful BM, partially because I couldn't  push due to my incisions. Moral of the story: an easy BM is always better when recovering. The Senna is worth it. 

WishingforLuck

I agree with @dragonfaerie about senna.
I know some people aren't too keen on medication, but all the medication I was prescribed and given I took them and they helped. Trust me you'll feel such a relief afterwards. 

ARB425

I posted this in the 2nd trimester forum as well. Has anyone's OB given them an alternative to the glucose tolerance test? I've read about eating a meal and then having the blood work done and that you can also test your blood sugar at home before you eat and after for 2weeks. I don't want to go into my dr and have him think I'm a total crazy person but I really don't want to drink that stuff due to the ingredients as well as I think there is a high probability of me throwing up because I don't do well with super sugary things. 

AandDM2014

@ARB425 I failed my 1 hour and can not do the 3 hour so I'm doing the home monitoring where I test my blood first thing in the morning before I eat or drink anything, then 1 hour after my first bite of breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'll record it for 2 weeks, then get a call back from my diabetes case manager. I think you could ask about having 50 grams of sugar from something other than the drink, but you do need to have 50 grams within 5 minutes.

ARB425

@aanddm2014 it would be a tough feat to eat 50 grams in 5 minutes...that would be either 2apples or 2oranges in that timeframe. Im glad they are allowing you to test your blood sugar for 2 weeks rather than the 3hour test. It just sounds miserable. I've heard a lot of success stories of people passing the 2nd time around so good luck!

AandDM2014

@ARB425 I think people usually do jelly beans or gummy bears. I too am glad that I was given that option as there is just no way with three babies that I'd be able to go 14 hours without eating!

flanners1

@ARB425 I spoke to a friend of mine who is a midwife about the glucose test the other day, and she was saying there is actually no evidence to suggest you need to do it, unless you have PCOS or a history of type 2 Diabetes in your family. I have done some research on it and in fact there doesn't seem to be consensus on whether or not every pregnant woman must be tested, or only high risk groups. Even the US preventive health service agency doesn't recommend the test for all (found interesting article here: https://evidencebasedbirth.com/diagnosing-gestational-diabetes-the-nih-consensus-conference-day-1/ )
I had to do the test because of my PCOS but only had to fast 8 hours at night and am pregnant with singleton, so it was manageable. No way would I have been able to tolerate a 14 hour fast like they wanted to get @AandDM2014 to do. That's just madness. Glad you found a solution btw! 

I am def no doctor, but I believe in being an informed patient and asking about alternatives if you don't want to do a test. Maybe it's really necessary and you will have to bite the bullet, but maybe it's not. Good luck 

janejane-2

@flanners1 - thank you for posting. Interesting take. Funny how medical practices can vary so widely for no good reason. I read an that the new thing doctors are now recommending is re chord clamping. When a baby comes out there should be a gap in between the time the baby arrives and the chord is cut. Apparently even a minute or so leads to prolonged health benefits. I wonder if doctors are starting to practice this or if it'll take time to spread. 

AandDM2014

@ARB425 I just got my GD testing supplies yesterday and today is my first full day of monitoring. I tried it out last night after dinner so I would know how to do it this morning before I could eat, and it's super easy. The finger pricks aren't even that bad! Yeah, it's going to be annoying to test 4 times a day, especially since it's such a specific time, but anything to keep these babies healthy!

@flanners1 my doc told me I could eat breakfast with my test being around 9-9:30. I'm super glad I didn't have to fast, but maybe if I had I would have gotten a better number. Having PCOS is just no fun!

ale9687

@janejane I started doing research on delayed cord clamping and am asking my ob at my next apt if they'll do it. Everything is so rushed in the delivery i would love if I can just hold my baby for a couple min after he comes out before they cut the cord and take him away to be cleaned up. 

ARB425

@flanners1 thanks for the info. I've read several articles that point out the test isn't all that accurate(70%). My dad is a diabetic and my hashimotos does make me more at risk for developing diabetes but I'm hoping to avoid it if possible. My regular endocrinologist checks my a1c which has always been good so we shall see!  I didn't get a chance to discuss it with my OB today but I'm only 14 weeks so there is plenty of time to talk about that.


@ale9687 a lot of hospitals are going for towards delayed cord clamping(up to 15 minutes typically) because the baby is still getting vital nutrients and immunity/antibodies. Definately talk with your dr about it.

@aanddm2014 if you recieved a lancet device with a dial on it, set it to the lowest setting, typically 1 and move up from there. That is the depth setting. Remember to switch which fingers toy poke because they will feel sore. I do tons of diabetic teaching at work( I'm a nurse in a drs office) and I see so many patients who complain their fingers are soo sore and they have the depth on 5 which is pretty deep!  4 xa day is a lot but you just gotta keep those babies healthy! Are they havinf you keep a food diary? 

AandDM2014

@ARB425 I tried it on 1, but it wasn't deep enough. 2 is working out great with getting a proper sized blood drop, and isn't too bad. I have been switching fingers and sites every time and so far so good! They didn't ask me to keep a food diary, but after seeing the difference between breakfast and lunch today, I decided I would go ahead and add what I had for the testing meal so I could compare. So far it seems like I don't actually have GD. I think part of the problem with the 1 hour test is that I was told it was okay to eat breakfast, so I had my normal breakfast, which is relatively high carb. I'm not having it tomorrow, so I'll get to see how it affects my level.

nellin-2

@flanners1 thanks for that information. I also have PCOS so I'm guessing I'll need to have it done but I will now question if they suggest a long fast beforehand.

@ale9687 I live in NZ and delayed cord clamping is definitely becoming common here, I've even heard that you can sometimes do delayed cord clamping with a CS. 

flanners1

@AandDM2014 that's really weird they let you eat and then tested? I hope they didn't think you had been fasting because then of course your levels would be totally out of the correct range. Glad you got your solution and can make sure that you don't have GD, we PCOS ladies are apparently very prone to it.

@JaneJane @ale9687Delayed cord clamping is a thing here too in Asia- but not all doctors believe in it. I am going to ask mine at next appointment, but I haven't decided yet if it's a must for me. I did hear you have to hold the baby lower than the placenta so that the blood and still flow to it? Sounds like rubbish though... So much conflicting information out there...
Happy weekend! 

AandDM2014

@flanners1 Yeah, it seems really weird to me now, especially with testing myself for 2 full days. That is what my doctor said though, still not sure why!

BlueEyedDreamer

@flanners1 and @AandDM2014 My test is on Friday, and they told me that I can eat breakfast but to only eat protein, no sugar/carbs. Like eggs and bacon or something? Did they give you any guidelines like that? It's not very reassuring that each doctor seems to have a different method.

AandDM2014

@BlueEyedDreamer Mine didn't give me any indication as to what I should eat, so I ate my normal breakfast: a large bowl of cereal. Big mistake! After home monitoring I can see that having that cereal spikes my blood sugar way up. If I were you I'd stick to something like eggs and sausage.

kelrauh

I just wanted to give everyone an update. We are 24 weeks today! We made it to this large milestone!!!! I have not had any contractions yet and everything seems to be staying calm. That can all change in the matter of minutes but we made it this far. Babies have been much more active the past few days. When I came in here 12 days ago they were not staying on the doppler for more than a minute and you couldn't see them move outside of my stomach. They are now doing 20 minute nonstress tests daily and my stomach looks like a jungle gym. Doctors haven't really said much besides they are much more optimistic than when I came in. The nicu doctor said babies at 24 weeks here have a 75% chance when I came in they had about 20%. Each day increases their survive rate. By 25 weeks its 85% and 26 weeks is 90%. They also said labor could be extremely fast. So unless my husband is here he will most likely miss the birth which is very hard for me to wrap my head around. I am trying to stay sane, I am able to work from the hospital but try not to get stressed over work which is hard. Thank you for all of the support and prayers, we wouldnt have reached this point without it!

flanners1

@kelrauh it's great to hear the little ones are doing better! What a relief. Hang in there for a bit more and your odds will keep increasing. 
I have my cervix check next week, hoping it's still ok and hasn't shortened more, but hearing your story worries me! Have they checked if it's longer again? Keep us posted please.  

byrneme

@kelrauh HUGE congrats on making it to this milestone and being able to breathe just a little bit easier. Still thinking of and praying for you daily. Thank you for keeping us updated!!

kelrauh

@flanners1 - they are not checking anything other than heartbeats and contractions once a day. They dont want to irritate my cervix or uterus because they are afraid it will send me into labor. Part of me wants to know if I'm dialating and if maybe by miracle it came back some, but then again it would be another stress if I was dilating. I don't get another growth ultrasound until 26 weeks like planned before all of this, unless something is going wrong. 

wifeinraleigh28

@kelrauh Sounds like those babies are making a good decision to stay in there so they can most definitely survive! Glad you're doing well and coping as best as you can.

AandDM2014

@kelrauh I'm so happy to hear your update! I hope you keep those babies cooking for another 10-14 weeks!

2legbaby

@kelrauh so happy to hear your update and hope those babies stay cozy in there for a few more weeks!