FTM Check-In: week of 6/5

imwithbaby · June 2017

@Mango517 I've never heard anything bad about having a doula, so there's that! Ditto what @DeansGirl14 said, it almost certainly won't be covered by insurance.

Feel free to hop over to the homebirth/birth center thread, I think we've discussed doulas there as well and lots of ladies have used them!

Mango517 · June 2017

Thanks @mrsmatt1212 and @DeansGirl14 for the doula info. I wrote that about 30 minutes before finding out about my GD, so now I guess everything is up in the air regarding birth until I see how well I can control this thing.

imwithbaby · June 2017

@Mango517 I'm not 100% sure, but GD shouldn't impact your delivery options unless you need to be induced. My bff had GD with her third and she just had to watch what she ate and track her blood sugar like 4x/day. She was scheduled to be induced at like 40+1 but L&D was too busy (so clearly not that urgent) and she ended up going into labor on her own. She did have an epidural but that wasn't required, just what she wanted. You can totally still have a natural birth with GD! Just not at home or a birth center (unless the birth center is attached to your hospital).

tova24 · June 2017

@Mango517 I'm looking into a doula. All of the classes I've taken so far through the hospital have been taught by a doula and I was really impressed. One thing I like is that the have post delivery doulas too that help you out with breastfeeding and postpartum care.

knottie0d8cc4d43bacc09f · June 2017

@MrsVP614 DH and I took the childbirth prep class last weekend. I personally thought it was super helpful. Plus it really opened DH's eyes to how long labor can last, what he can do to support me, etc.. The instructor probably focused 1/2 of the class on labor coaching and the other half on delivery options, maternity ward tour and medications available. Can DH take a day off from work or maybe get someone to cover?

AB518 · June 2017

@Mango517 I personally would never use a doula. I have heard and seen doulas try to offer medical advice which is very scary considering that they are not required to have any medical training. I have some horror stories involving doulas trying to give medical advice when it was inappropriate for them to do so which almost cost the mother and/or baby their lives because the mothers listened to their doula instead of medical professionals. At least where I live, it is scary how little training doulas are required to receive. I think that having a doula for emotional support and non-medical advice related to labor, delivery, and postpartum is perfectly acceptable and may be a great idea for certain people, but I think that it is a good idea to do additional research before hiring a doula.

littlebug2010 · June 2017

Figured I would update here, instead of the weekly appointments thread. I officially dont have protein in my urine!!! Still gonna keep up drinking a crap ton of water for the next 9 weeks, but they said that I was in the clear (as of now) for anything pre-e related. My swelling has gone down, my BP is completely normal, and no more protein! However, I guess Im measuring big . . . So I have to get an US done next week to check his size. Then because of me starting off over weight, I have to go in every week after 36 weeks to have an US done. Dont get me wrong, Im happy that they are keeping an eye our for him, but USs make me super anxious, and I was really hoping to avoid one for the rest of the time. Ugh.

imwithbaby · June 2017

@AB518 I'm not sure of these "horror" stories you speak of, and I work in the birth community, so I'm pretty sure I'd hear of one or two. That would be like taking medical advice from a massage therapist. At some point, it's on you as the mom to know who to take advice from and who not to.

Like I said, I've never heard of this. Some nurses and doctors don't *like* doulas, because they're well educated in birth and the evidence around that. And they stand up for the mom. It might come across as "medical advice" but in reality it's been discussed what the woman wants, and it's the doula's job to communicate that to her care team so the laboring woman doesn't have to (from CAPPA, selected bullets: Assist in the preparation of birth preferences to facilitate communication with the birth team, Encourage informed decision making, Provide information on birth options and resources)

If you hire a certified doula, it is not within her scope of practice to offer medical advice. See below. AKA hire someone certified and someone you trust and someone that has good recommendations.

From CAPPA Scope of Practice:
CAPPA Labor Doulas are non-clinical professionals. CAPPA Labor Doula courses do not qualify a professional to act as a midwife or midwifery assistant, as any alternative medicine provider, or as any medical care provider. Labor Doulas do not diagnose medical conditions, perform clinical procedures, prescribe or administer treatment for medical conditions, make medical decisions for the birthing woman, or direct families to act against medical advice.

Sorry, @AB518 but I don't like the fear mongering. Doulas aren't required to have a "ton" of training (although I personally think they get quite a bit), because like you said, they're not medical professionals. They provide emotional, physical, and evidence-based, informational support to the birthing woman and her family before, during, and after birth.

TL;DR: Hire a certified doula and know their scope of practice.

Mango517 · June 2017

@littlebug2010 That is awesome news about your urine and the disappearance of pre-e symptoms! What a relief.
How much water a day are you drinking? And how big are you measuring? Try to not let that freak you out too much, my sister always measured big with no real medical issues- she just made sweet large babies.

I hear you on the ultrasounds though, I was not pleased to hear I'm looking at so many more after getting my GD diagnosis because they also up my anxiety. Was perfectly happy with my one 20 week u/s.

imwithbaby · June 2017

@littlebug2010 that's great!!! Such good news. I think it's so weird that docs are so concerned with baby's size, since we all talk about here how notoriously inaccurate u/s measurements are this late in the game. And if we know that, don't they?! It confuses me. I just looked it up:
There are many different formulas for weight estimation, and even the best ones have a 15% margin of error in 85% of all fetuses. In other words, about one in seven fetuses will weigh 15% more or less than estimated.

Hopeful that your baby is measuring happily on track for your doctor!!! Keep us updated.

littlebug2010 · June 2017

@mrsmatt1212 and @Mango517 YES! I think thats why Im most annoyed. I really dont want to be induced early becuase Im measuring "big" and then pop out a normal size baby. Im only 5' so of course the kid is running out of room much earlier than someone who is more normal in height! Also Im 31 weeks, and the new OB (my usual one left, so I had never seen this one before) measured me at 34 (not sure if thats weeks or what, she didnt say). She said at this point I should be somewhere between 29 and 33, so I was so damn close! I dont go in for the US until next week (because I didnt want to have a mid day appointment and wait forever), so I pushed it back.

imwithbaby · June 2017

@littlebug2010 if it comes down to it, which I hope it doesn't (!), here's a great article helping you make the decision between yes/no induction from Evidence Based Birth (my current favorite website since it's done the research for us):

https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-for-induction-or-c-section-for-big-baby/

littlebug2010 · June 2017

@mrsmatt1212 Thanks. Ill be taking a look at that and doing a ton of research for the next 9 weeks. I have a hard time believeing that just becuase he measures big, means that I must set an induction date. The new OB mentioned it today, and I kinda wanted to cry.

lewliv · June 2017

My cousin got induced last week because her doctor thought that she was too small and the baby too big. She had a 5.8lb baby.

littlebug2010 · June 2017

@lewliv How early was she induced, and is she really short?? This is exactly my fear!

kvh22 · June 2017

@littlebug2010 the centimeters # for your fundal height is supposed to line up to # of weeks, basically. It seems so odd that would work out so perfectly as the rule but that's what I've heard.

littlebug2010 · June 2017

@kvh22 Thanks for the explanation. I assumed it was something like that, but was never actually told.

I should say that Im not 100% convinced that the new OB was right either. I was 29 weeks at my last appointment and measured 29. I have only gained 2 pounds since the last appointment, so I was super shocked when she said I was that much bigger!

knottie0d8cc4d43bacc09f · June 2017

@littlebug2010 I'm so happy your urine test came back without protein! Keep up the chugging

Can you push back and say you really don't want to set an induction date? Maybe they're just being overly cautious with all the extra ultrasounds. It sounds like baby is only a tiny bit on the big side.

lewliv · June 2017

@littlebug2010 she was induced at 38 wks and she's 5'2". The induction took forever because the baby didn't want anything to do with it. I would be so pissed if I got induced for a baby under 6lbs (not that my midwife would ever do that to me).

SouthernMama15 · June 2017

@littlebug2010 DS always measured right on track. At 36+6 weeks he seemed a little big, but it was because he was breech. Ultrasound said he weighed 7.5. Scheduled c section at 39+2 and he weighed 9 pounds 5 oz and was 22 1/4 inches long. I'm right at 5 ft 7 and I have a long torso. Our birthing class instructor said that the mother is the best predictor for size as we feel where baby is. I knew he would be big. I guessed 9 lbs 2 oz. This kiddo has also measured right on track every time, but my ob is monitoring growth really closely since DS was so big. Yesterday he was measuring 72nd percentile and about 2 weeks ahead. I'll have another ultrasound in 4 weeks at 34+5. Per my doctor I hide my babies well. It's definitely not an exact science, so trust your gut. I felt like this one is big and said so the other day, I can feel him everywhere. There are a lot of horror stories out there about inductions and c sections out of fear of babies being too big, but try to remember that's not always the case.

littlebug2010 · June 2017

@lewliv I would be livid if that happened to me! @secicc12 I am planning to push back. Ive been completely healthy so far, and havent gained much weight (thanks to starting off over weight), I was able to show that I was just dehydrated when the protein showed up, so unless they can prove to me that I am in danger, I will be pushing back. I told the OB today that I would not be setting a date as of now, unless it was after my EDD. I really believe that a baby will come when its ready, and I would rather birth a 10 pound baby (someone in June did a few days ago), than be hooked up to induction meds and end up with a super small baby.

DeansGirl14 · June 2017

To add on to @mrsmatt1212 points about doulas... I used to work for a school of nursing and there were RNs and NPs who also worked as doulas. One of the nurses had opened their own doula company. So, it's definitely important to check the credentials of who you're hiring. Nurses (RN and APRN) have legal scopes of practice defined by the states. If I had someone who was both a nurse and a doula- or even better, both an NP/CNM and a doula- that could be advantageous but again, they have laws and ethics to abide by so it's important to understand what they're qualified to do.

AB518 · June 2017

@mrsmatt1212 I know that you are going to be biased about doulas because you have mentioned in a past post that you have had doula training. There is nothing wrong with someone disagreeing with your opinion. You said earlier in this thread, "I've never heard anything bad about having a doula, so there's that!" Well, I have heard and seen plenty of things that would make me not want to have a doula. I think that hiring a doula is a waste of money. But I understand that there are people who think that it is worth the money; I am just not one of them.

imwithbaby · June 2017

@AB518 yes, totally fine to disagree, and I'm disagreeing with you. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Clearly I'm "biased" since I'm in the birth community (though not as a doula; I had to go through the training but I am not a certified doula). But also because of that I'm exposed to more stories and situations to draw from, and I've never heard of what you're talking about. That's fine that you have, but I haven't. Also, like I said, the responsibility falls on the mom to do her research and determine who to take advice from. Just like people shouldn't take medical advice from internet strangers. And, ditto to what @DeansGirl14 said, that some doulas ARE trained medical professionals on top of being doulas, so their medical advice would be appropriately given.

Andplusalso, I've heard similar "horror" stories about OBs giving shitty medical advice at the expense of mom or baby's safety and/or life, but that doesn't mean I swear off OBs. Just saying!

JWatt5 · June 2017

Good to hear your tests came back great @littlebug2010
It's good either way that they are monitoring you for size - my sister was one where they just weren't monitoring it at all which lead to a difficult delivery due her baby really being too big, it just shouldn't have happened. Stick to your goals, you're doing a great job so far - now that they are at least monitoring size, you'll be able to continue to have informed conversations about what the next plan is. You may just have a long/lean baby on your hands, it seems a bit too early to tell if an induction is needed to me too.

bumpybump · June 2017

@littlebug2010 so glad your protein level is down. Quick question, are they discussing any potential for a csection due to baby being "large?" This is what I hear about the most often vs an early induction. Just curious. And "large" babies can totally be delivered successfully vagionally.

littlebug2010 · June 2017

@bumpybump she didn't mention c-section outright, but was vague in her "inducing early" details. I will be interested to see what size they say baby is next week, and then what the new OB says in two weeks. Im not so much worried about having a c-section if there is some medical reason for one, but if its simply because they say baby is "big", I am planning to fight it!

knottie0d8cc4d43bacc09f · June 2017

@littlebug2010 I totally would fight it! Good for you. I hope everything goes well at your next appointment. Just go with your gut.

AB518 · June 2017

@littlebug2010 My baby is measuring in the 98th percentile for size, so I recently had a discussion with my OB about induction, vaginal delivery, and C-section options. My OB and I are in agreement that avoiding induction and planning for vaginal delivery is our plan. We discussed the risks and benefits of all of the options just to get the conversation started for future planning, but he said that it is still too early to decide if any intervention will be needed and that I shouldn't expect any intervention to be needed. My OB said that ACOG recommends C-sections for babies expected to be over 5,000 grams (11 lb) when in the setting of an otherwise normal pregnancy. I start to wonder what other people's OBs are like because mine actually listens to me. It sounds like you might need an OB who is going to listen to you. Your OB should inform you about the risks and benefits of your options, and you have every right to decide what to do for you and your baby.

littlebug2010 · June 2017

Thanks @AB518 I don't really get a choice of OB unfortunately. Its a system where each ob gets assigned a day or two at different small locations, and when you go into labor you could have any of them. I'm hoping that the next appointment will allow me to talk to her more about my concerns.

FTM Check-In: week of 6/5

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