Question - When will it really become an issue to lay on my back? I am getting a facial tomorrow and think I'll be ok... But, I'm wondering how long I can keep doing that. (I have a gift certificate balance at a local spa and have given up massages since the BFP... might have to switch to pedicures soon?)
Question - When will it really become an issue to lay on my back? I am getting a facial tomorrow and think I'll be ok... But, I'm wondering how long I can keep doing that. (I have a gift certificate balance at a local spa and have given up massages since the BFP... might have to switch to pedicures soon?)
It is more so a matter of your comfort than anything else. I think I was ok on my back til about 20 weeks, then that got uncomfortable and I had to lay on my side.
Can an they recline you slightly vs laying flat to do the facial? If that is an option, you should be go the duration of your pregnancy, barring any complications.
With our DC center you pay by the week and they require 2 weeks notice when you pull them out, so you could put them in and turn in your notice at the end of the first week without any problem. I would normally feel a little bad about doing that without telling them up front that was the plan, but honestly, most of them have waiting lists full of people waiting for a spot to open up and so wouldn't have trouble filling the spot when you pulled out.
I've also seen instances where a kid starts and the circumstances change unexpectedly so that DC is no longer needed and it hasn't been a big deal. With a small center or in-home place I would want to be completely upfront about the plan as they could be in a bind if they don't get someone lined up.
Halo Bassinet vs Arm's Reach- I've never used either one, but if I end up having a C-section with this baby I'll probably go Halo because it can swivel. One of the big complaints I've seen in reading about C-sections is trying to get out of bed around stationary co-sleepers/bassinets/etc.
@grapeskittles4lyfe ooh I really like that one. It's essentially the cost of buying a second crib though so I don't know if I can justify it. It is pretty though.
@grapeskittles4lyfe ooh I really like that one. It's essentially the cost of buying a second crib though so I don't know if I can justify it. It is pretty though.
Oh, we got it off of ebay...when I saw the price new in store both SO and I were like nope. And we'll have used it for two kids, so good deal, right?
...I've been saying that to myself for a lot of our purchases.
All the grandkids have slept in this bassinet that my parents purchased for the first grandkid. (Amish built, solid wood, beautiful) anyway that's what i have planned for in our bedroom.
Question - When will it really become an issue to lay on my back? I am getting a facial tomorrow and think I'll be ok... But, I'm wondering how long I can keep doing that. (I have a gift certificate balance at a local spa and have given up massages since the BFP... might have to switch to pedicures soon?)
It's what you are comfortable with.. i can lay on my back for about 10 to 20 minutes before it gets uncomfortable. It's what you are feeling.
@MLRocha@LinnyAnne10 Laying in your back isn't just about comfort, it's about the weight of your uterus compressing a major blood vessel and reducing blood flow to you and the baby. It's around 18-20 weeks that this starts to be a concern and you should no longer lay flat.
For those of you who had c-sections, how was your recovery? How long before you could be relatively self sufficient?
H is getting 2-3 weeks off after the baby is born and I'm wondering if i'll still need help with certain things. And can you really not drive for 6 weeks?
Would love to hear about your experiences!
************* First BFP: 12/16/13 EDD: 08/23/14 Baby BOY born: 08/29/14
@concreteangell , I think the rule is only no driving while still on painkillers. My doctor I will never forget at my last check up in the hospital said, if it hurts, don't do it. You know your limits. And you can tell your husband I told you no sex for as long as you want to tell him and I will back you up.
Married - 7/29/06 Ben and Maggie - 4/10/09 Mia - 6/16/11 Surprise! due 2/23/17
For those of you who had c-sections, how was your recovery? How long before you could be relatively self sufficient?
H is getting 2-3 weeks off after the baby is born and I'm wondering if i'll still need help with certain things. And can you really not drive for 6 weeks?
Would love to hear about your experiences!
@concreteangell my doctors rule was 1) off pain killers, and 2) I had to be able to stomp my foot hard onto the ground without pain. I can't remember exactly but I was driving again after 2-3 weeks.
I felt pretty good at the 2 week mark after my c section. My biggest issues were swelling in my legs (from being pumped full of fluids, antibiotics, and pitocin during labor), and I couldn't sleep in the bed for the first few weeks because I did not have the stomach muscles to get back up. I slept in a recliner I had my husband move into our bedroom.
i had no issues caring for my newborn - but this time I am worried about caring for my DD. We plan to continue sending her to daycare, so the only issue will be Friday's (my day home with her) once my husband goes back to work. I hope by then I can be self sufficient with her, but if not I plan to ask my mom to come over and help me with her.
@MLRocha@LinnyAnne10 Laying in your back isn't just about comfort, it's about the weight of your uterus compressing a major blood vessel and reducing blood flow to you and the baby. It's around 18-20 weeks that this starts to be a concern and you should no longer lay flat.
Adding on to what @MommaBean said..... My allergist/pulmonologist also warned me of sleeping on my back. 1. He told me that when a women is pregnant, she is actually in very very very mild heart failure. Because the heart is working overtime for those entire 9 months and it enlarges significantly. 2. Laying on your back will put pressure on the main artery to your heart which puts you further in danger by reducing blood flow to your heart. The very 1st symptom is usually shortness of breath. 3. Sometimes asthmatic women will mistake shortness of breath for an asthma attack. He said, instead of first reaching for your rescue inhaler, change your position. It could be that the position I'm in is putting pressure on that artery, reducing blood flow, and causing the shortness of breath. I think this advice is important for every woman, not just asthmatics.
PS: I love my allergist. He's so thorough and will explain in such detail. I could marry his brain..
I don't remember in which thread we were talking about pregnancy pillows so I'm just going to put it here.
I just received my Leachco Chic back and belly pillow from Amazon!! So far, I love it!! I'm using it right now to sit up and it's super comfortable! I tested it laying down and feels very secure on my back, too. I got this one as opposed to the Snoogle because I toss and turn a lot in my sleep and I didn't want to have to reposition the snoogle everytime I switched sides. Also, I ordered this pillow (through Amazon) from a company called Earth Baby and was able to get the removable washable cover included for the price of $78. If you go to the store, it'll cost you $84 without the removable cover. I'll let you know tomorrow how it feels to sleep with it. BTW, if you do decide to purchase this pillow, make sure you get the "Chic" version. The original version received a lot of complaints about the seam digging into peoples' skin.
For those of you who had c-sections, how was your recovery? How long before you could be relatively self sufficient?
H is getting 2-3 weeks off after the baby is born and I'm wondering if i'll still need help with certain things. And can you really not drive for 6 weeks?
Would love to hear about your experiences!
My recovery was pretty easy but I forgot that just because I felt good on the outside didn't mean I could do everything. I ended up tearing a stitch from doing too much. I only took the pain medicine for a few days and switched to something not as strong so I could drive. Taking stool softness and gasX helped so much too. Gas gets trapped inside and it will help with the pain. I think the most pain I had was the first poo but I heard if you hold a pillow over your scar it should help.
@AfKash while I appreciate the analogy, I think that calling pregnancy "mild heart failure" (however many 'verys' he qualifies it with) is kind of overkill. I understand why he's making the connection between the two, because there are obvious similarities, but I find it professionally irresponsible for him to describe pregnancy in terms of a disease. We're built for this. We obviously have to make adjustments to accommodate our condition, but we're not diseased!
@NiceyMeany I think you took it the wrong the way. He didn't say it to label us as diseased. He knows that I'm in the medical field and I will understand what he means. He said it to illustrate what is happening to the heart and how much work it has to do and to show that some of the symptoms we as pregnant women feel are similar to what patients with early mild heart failure feel. Also, to explain to me to take it easy. Perhaps I shouldn't have shared his analogy with this board.
@AfKash I don't think I'm taking it the wrong way. I'm not offended or anything. I'm not in the medical field, but I'm well-educated, and I understand what he means, too. I just think it's professionally irresponsible to compare the normal course of a pregnancy to a legitimate pathology.
For those of you who had c-sections, how was your recovery? How long before you could be relatively self sufficient?
H is getting 2-3 weeks off after the baby is born and I'm wondering if i'll still need help with certain things. And can you really not drive for 6 weeks?
Would love to hear about your experiences!
I'm a rule breaker. I drove the week after I had DS and it was fine. My recovery was actually really easy and I didnt use painkillers after I left the hospital.
3 weeks after birth, I was getting around really well and able to do most things, although I kept the heavy lifting to a minimum.
This time around, I'm hoping for another easy recovery but you never know.
I've had several minimally invasive surgeries on my abdomen. The reason they tell you not to drive is 1. If you're still taking pain killers which can sedate and impair your judgement. 2. You need to be able to react swiftly to avoid an accident should something happen. If you're reaction time is impaired, that's dangerous.
But my thing is, would you even want to risk driving with your new born in the car, if you're not 100%? And if the baby is not in the car, would you want to risk injuring yourself and not being able to care for your baby?
Edit: However, I do understand how tough it is when you can't drive. I had my gall bladder removed this winter when my husband was still out of the country. Living alone, it was tough. I hate asking people for help but I was forced to swallow my pride and ask.
I've had several minimally invasive surgeries on my abdomen. The reason they tell you not to drive is 1. If you're still taking pain killers which can sedate and impair your judgement. 2. You need to be able to react swiftly to avoid an accident should something happen. If you're reaction time is impaired, that's dangerous.
But my thing is, would you even want to risk driving with your new born in the car, if you're not 100%? And if the baby is not in the car, would you want to risk injuring yourself and not being able to care for your baby?
Edit: However, I do understand how tough it is when you can't drive. I had my gall bladder removed this winter when my husband was still out of the country. Living alone, it was tough. I hate asking people for help but I was forced to swallow my pride and ask.
Sometimes you have to make it to appts and don't have any other option. I didn't have a c section, but your statement came across pretty judgy.
Didn't mean to come across as judgemental. I was trying to say that that is the mentality I used after my surgeries. I don't have a kid yet, but I told myself, if I get injured driving, I'm going to end up worse than I am now and I need to get back to work ASAP. And that helped me put things in perspective. But ya, it is very hard not being able to drive especially if you live in the suburbs. Sorry I came off that way. Also, I try very hard not to judge anybody because I don't know what that person is going through.
For my c/s my rules were 3 weeks to drive and 6 weeks to carry anything heavier than my baby and a car seat. The first week was pretty rough. Like I think day 3 or 4 I went to target and had to lean on a stroller and was profusely sweating and took breaks to sit down. By week two I was fine for the most part and by week 3 I was stir crazy and basically hiking daily wearing my guy and walking our dog.
I took the pain meds after going home so I couldn't drive. I pushed myself and did more than I should have and then I had pain for a year after my c section. A. Year. I know what it's like to want to be supermom and the only thing I can recommend is give yourself a break to heal.
I didn't have a csection but my advice for all new mothers is to pace yourself. I pushed myself very hard after my vaginal delivery (my sister and close friends got married in the following 2 weekends). Any other people and I would have skipped out, but since moving home there our only close friends (especially post children) and my sisters my sister.
I found that I still didn't feel normal for several weeks. Lower energy, I'd get very achy/so sore/just a crashed feeling. Now I did have some things that added to that - lots of stitches, very low iron, hypothyroidism.
So the short moral to my novel is its ok to not feel normal, pace yourselves/listen to your body/sleep when baby sleeps.
I'm 16 weeks with my first and I haveNO symptoms whatsoever and it's freaking me out! I used to have extreme hunger, FATIGUE, round ligament pain every few days, nausea,and my boobs don't even hurt anymore and for the last week I haven't experienced any of these symptoms. I've never been this far along so I don't know what's normal or not. Please tell me I'm not the only one. If I can, I can go all day without eating and not feel like I have to eat. I'm worried something happened and I don't even know...
@AdriGold, a lot of symptoms start to ease up in the second trimester. Its hard not to worry, I know! Read through the weekly symptoms thread and you will see everyone is different. When is your next doctor appointment?
Married - 7/29/06 Ben and Maggie - 4/10/09 Mia - 6/16/11 Surprise! due 2/23/17
@Patience7150 they did not have baby clothes in my experience, just blankets. She was naked in a blanket until she had her bath which was day two. I had brought a few outfits and only ended up using one.
I will be bringing my own robe this time for after but are you talking about for before?
@Patience7150 I know everyone is different in what they do. When I had both kids they stayed just in their little tshirt from the hospital and swaddled till they had their baths. Then I put them in the little outfits I brought to the hospital. So with my daughter her bath was a few hours later and I put her in an outfit, then I changed her outfit the next morning, then again the next morning(the day we went home) so in my case we used our little outfits but I know some people don't. As for gowns idk as I've used the hospital gown both times and been happy with them.
@Patience7150 He was naked and on me or swaddled. I may bring a robe this time but not worth buying a push gown or whatever. Unless you're cool just tossing it.
@AdriGold my symptoms disappeared overnight, including my gnarly morning sickness. I got so freaked out, but apparently it's normal and can happen when the placenta takes over and our bodies get used to the second tri. I had an appt and they let me come early and hear the heartbeat with the doppler and it really helped. They said I could come in whenever and listen again if I needed to, is that an option for you?
@Patience7150 Nothing ever seemed to fit the babies and I was always so exhausted that I just didn't see the point of a "coming home" outfit. I did get a cute beanie hat for the girls. For me, I labored and delivered in the hospital gown. However, I was glad to change into my own robe/clothes after delivery once I got those awesome ice-packed mesh panties.
Re: Ask a STM 8/10
Can an they recline you slightly vs laying flat to do the facial? If that is an option, you should be go the duration of your pregnancy, barring any complications.
I've also seen instances where a kid starts and the circumstances change unexpectedly so that DC is no longer needed and it hasn't been a big deal. With a small center or in-home place I would want to be completely upfront about the plan as they could be in a bind if they don't get someone lined up.
Halo Bassinet vs Arm's Reach- I've never used either one, but if I end up having a C-section with this baby I'll probably go Halo because it can swivel. One of the big complaints I've seen in reading about C-sections is trying to get out of bed around stationary co-sleepers/bassinets/etc.
...I've been saying that to myself for a lot of our purchases.
H is getting 2-3 weeks off after the baby is born and I'm wondering if i'll still need help with certain things. And can you really not drive for 6 weeks?
Would love to hear about your experiences!
First BFP: 12/16/13
EDD: 08/23/14
Baby BOY born: 08/29/14
Ben and Maggie - 4/10/09
Mia - 6/16/11
Surprise! due 2/23/17
Ben and Maggie - 4/10/09
Mia - 6/16/11
Surprise! due 2/23/17
I felt pretty good at the 2 week mark after my c section. My biggest issues were swelling in my legs (from being pumped full of fluids, antibiotics, and pitocin during labor), and I couldn't sleep in the bed for the first few weeks because I did not have the stomach muscles to get back up. I slept in a recliner I had my husband move into our bedroom.
i had no issues caring for my newborn - but this time I am worried about caring for my DD. We plan to continue sending her to daycare, so the only issue will be Friday's (my day home with her) once my husband goes back to work. I hope by then I can be self sufficient with her, but if not I plan to ask my mom to come over and help me with her.
My allergist/pulmonologist also warned me of sleeping on my back.
1. He told me that when a women is pregnant, she is actually in very very very mild heart failure. Because the heart is working overtime for those entire 9 months and it enlarges significantly.
2. Laying on your back will put pressure on the main artery to your heart which puts you further in danger by reducing blood flow to your heart. The very 1st symptom is usually shortness of breath.
3. Sometimes asthmatic women will mistake shortness of breath for an asthma attack. He said, instead of first reaching for your rescue inhaler, change your position. It could be that the position I'm in is putting pressure on that artery, reducing blood flow, and causing the shortness of breath. I think this advice is important for every woman, not just asthmatics.
PS: I love my allergist. He's so thorough and will explain in such detail. I could marry his brain..
I just received my Leachco Chic back and belly pillow from Amazon!! So far, I love it!! I'm using it right now to sit up and it's super comfortable! I tested it laying down and feels very secure on my back, too. I got this one as opposed to the Snoogle because I toss and turn a lot in my sleep and I didn't want to have to reposition the snoogle everytime I switched sides.
Also, I ordered this pillow (through Amazon) from a company called Earth Baby and was able to get the removable washable cover included for the price of $78. If you go to the store, it'll cost you $84 without the removable cover. I'll let you know tomorrow how it feels to sleep with it. BTW, if you do decide to purchase this pillow, make sure you get the "Chic" version. The original version received a lot of complaints about the seam digging into peoples' skin.
Perhaps I shouldn't have shared his analogy with this board.
3 weeks after birth, I was getting around really well and able to do most things, although I kept the heavy lifting to a minimum.
This time around, I'm hoping for another easy recovery but you never know.
Big Bro 7/14/13
Little Bro 2/6/17
1. If you're still taking pain killers which can sedate and impair your judgement.
2. You need to be able to react swiftly to avoid an accident should something happen. If you're reaction time is impaired, that's dangerous.
But my thing is, would you even want to risk driving with your new born in the car, if you're not 100%? And if the baby is not in the car, would you want to risk injuring yourself and not being able to care for your baby?
Edit: However, I do understand how tough it is when you can't drive. I had my gall bladder removed this winter when my husband was still out of the country. Living alone, it was tough. I hate asking people for help but I was forced to swallow my pride and ask.
I didn't have a c section, but your statement came across pretty judgy.
I found that I still didn't feel normal for several weeks. Lower energy, I'd get very achy/so sore/just a crashed feeling. Now I did have some things that added to that - lots of stitches, very low iron, hypothyroidism.
So the short moral to my novel is its ok to not feel normal, pace yourselves/listen to your body/sleep when baby sleeps.
Ben and Maggie - 4/10/09
Mia - 6/16/11
Surprise! due 2/23/17
Also, supplying your own hospital gown...overrated? Never used it? Loved it?
I will be bringing my own robe this time for after but are you talking about for before?
For me - I wore the standard hospital gown. I just never understood the added expense of something you were gonna bleed all over. To each their own!
Nothing ever seemed to fit the babies and I was always so exhausted that I just didn't see the point of a "coming home" outfit. I did get a cute beanie hat for the girls.
For me, I labored and delivered in the hospital gown. However, I was glad to change into my own robe/clothes after delivery once I got those awesome ice-packed mesh panties.