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October 2014 Moms
atcwag
member
AMA from October 2013!
atcwag
member
Hi ladies. I'm a October 2013 mama. My little guy made his arrival on 10/3/13!
So, I figured I'd pop on by and post an AMA. For those of you who don't know, this is "ask me anything". I figured since I was in your shoes last year, you may desire some insight into being an October mama, about pregnancy and childbirth in general, or just need to get a random question about anything off your chest for a little fun. Oh, and lets get real....I'm bored!
So anyway, hope you all are doing well!!!
And just for fun....here's my little guy last week in his new pool. He turned 8 months yesterday! Time flies!!!!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: AMA from October 2013!
Two questions:
Any tips on delivery day - did you use natural methods?
Any things you couldnt live without that you bought for you or baby?
I definitely want to hear about the best parts of being an October mom! What was the hardest part?
Well, for me it was that I got to miss the busiest part of the year at work. :0) I was also happy that he wasn't born in October - we have 16 family members born in September, so we were hoping he'd hold out!
I went in 100% committed to a natural birth. I did lots of research and prepared. That all went out the window when I was induced due to progressively worsening gestational hypertension. I began induction on my due date (Cervadil overnight) and he was born the following day. Instantaneously, my body responded with a big WTF to pitocin and I had back to back to back contractions with no break in between. I caved - tried 2 IV meds, then an epi. I would say definitely go in with an open mind, but do what is going to be best for you and baby. I got NO sleep the night before (Cervadil made me cramp badly) and there was no way I could A. deal with that horrific pain with no breaks and B. have enough energy to push. I'm going to try to do natural next time, but I'm open to whatever it going to get baby here safely. Must have products was kind of answered earlier, but I ultimately could not have lived without: Lansinoh Soothies Soothie pacis Rock 'n Play
We live in PA, so by October it's already cold and after that it's freezing. We just got through one of the coldest winters on record. The first few weeks, my little guy lived in gowns during the day. Obviously he was being held or sleeping in his bassinet swaddled most of the time. At night, we put him in a long sleeve onesie and a fleece sleeved sleep sack. As he got older, he moved to fleece footed sleepers and was in those all the time unless we left the house (or even sometimes when we did). I wish I would have had more long-sleeve onesies. We always seemed to be running out.
We went out pretty soon after he was born - maybe 2 weeks old for a non-essential (ie Dr) out of the house adventure. I wore him in the Moby so he was nice and warm. I probably had him in a cotton sleeper with a hat, obviously a blanket tucked in around him in the car seat. Once winter hit, we were inside a lot more. Mostly because it was SOOOO cold/snowy this winter and I was an exhausted new momma. It's definitely must more of a "process" to leave the house. I think, had the winter not been so awful, we would have went out more. I definitely got cabin fever. I say, get out as much as you can without over-exerting yourself. Best part of being an October mom for me was answered earlier. Hardest part was the cabin fever with the nasty weather and also breastfeeding has been a HUGE struggle for us, but still going strong @ 8 months!
This is a hard subject for me. My little guy got very sick right after Thanksgiving. And we ended up spending out first Christmas in Children's hospital. We were in the hospital for nearly 3 weeks. In then end, it was just a VERY severe stomach virus. No idea how he got it, but it was very, very scary. As for the holidays and visitation in general before that, we kept it to bare minimum. We did not make people get vaccinated. Had he been spending any significant period of time with anyone other than my husband and I, we would have maybe looked into that, but........I thought going into this adventure that I was going to want visitors. As it turned out, I didn't. I was exhausted, barely showering, bleeding, and trying to master BFing. We allowed the grandparents and very close friends to visit, but didn't encourage other visitors. We did go to our families for Thanksgiving (Christmas we were in the hospital), but they live close. So we went, ate, visited briefly and came home. I know this sounds like we were completely anti-social, but I really was just happy home with my little guy, not feeling like I had to be in clean clothes, clean house, etc. etc. etc.
By Thanksgiving, I was feeling fine to go out of the house. Did I physically want to? Not really, but I was also getting a bit stir-crazy so it was a double-edged sword. If we had to travel a long distance for the holiday, I doubt we would have gone. We didn't have to drive anymore than 30 min. We kept visits short. At that point I wasn't comfortable BFing in front of people, so I had to escape to another room every 2 hours or so which was annoying. With all this said, my little guy was born the first week of October. Late October, I would probably have a different thought process. I'm not sure I would have been comfortable out of the house at the 4 week mark.
- This is very helpful, along with all the other advice for cold climates - we live in a cold climate too and I'm noting the cozy cover and clothing advice. We had the same brutal winter as you, so I totally get how tough it must have been - here's hoping this winter is much milder.
Thank you. Sorry you had such a hard time on your first delivery. This is super insightful. I know, after the miscarriage I had (it was missed and we had to use meds to finish it) that I would not be able to deal with non-stop contractions myself, so will keep that in mind, should I need to be induced. Thank you for all of your good information. It is really appreciated.