Does sweeping your membranes actually help labor to start? At my last appointment I was talking to the dr about cervical checks. I plan to decline them, but she mentioned that they will not induce me because they won’t induce for VBACs and I may want the check to “help things along.” (She also mentioned being able to break my water during a check, but I’m not sure I’d be ok with that, even at 40 weeks. Thoughts on breaking water at an appointment @jennybean80?)
@purplegoldfish2 a sweep may help trigger labour, but it’s definitely not a guarantee. The problem with breaking waters as an induction is it puts you on a clock. They want you to deliver within 24 hours (typically) and if it doesn’t start labour there’s no going back from it.
Any downside to letting them sweep (besides that it can be painful)?
If I get to the point that I let them break my water, I’m probably on a clock already. I just wasn’t sure if that really helps labor. I read that drs breaking waters before it happens naturally can make labor harder and leads to more c-sections, so if that one makes things harder and doesn’t have a great chance of leading to VBAC anyway, then I’m skipping it. (Hopefully all of it is a non-issue, but since they brought it up I started thinking about it).
@purplegoldfish2 a slight increase in chance of infection. As long as they use a sterile glove it’s not really an issue. Also theoretically if you had a low lying placenta they could cause bleeding, but they wouldn’t ever do one on someone with a low placenta. If it was sort of the “break waters or just go straight to a c-section” decision, I’d try for the waters.
@halfanewt I asked my doctor about this at my last appointment because she mentioned making sure everyone has had it. DH had it a couple years ago so she said anyone who has had it in the past few years is ok. For anyone that hasn’t had it, she said just have them have it any time before the baby is born and/or they handle the baby. She didn’t give a real timeframe.
Amazon - 20% Target - 15% Babylist - 10% BuyBuy Baby - hadn’t emailed me yet, but I believe is 10%. However, they do email and mail 20% off single item coupons pretty regularly!
@halfanewt Thanks!! I signed up for the Bed Bath and Beyond thing that gives you 20% off all purchases so I was trying to figure out if it’s worth waiting for or if I can just go buy the stuff we still need after our shower on Sunday.
Something weird happened last night... I rolled over in bed quickly and got a TERRIBLE pain in my lower right belly/groin. I immediate thought RLP. However it was BAD, i was almost in tears and it was a good 5 mins before the pain subsided. It literally felt like a muscle had torn in half. Still a bit sore today when walking.
Any ideas? Is this normal? Never had this with my first..
@nasalot188 Was it like a stabby pain? Because I had this awful stabby pain on my lower left belly/groin area this morning out of nowhere. It lasted about a minute before I could walk again. I have no idea what it was, but LO has been hitting all kinds of nerves down there the last few days.
Sounds like RLP to me, @nasalot188 - I had a similar experience yesterday, which actually doubled me over in pain every time I stood up / walked. It's less sore today, so there's hope!
@spartan4life you sound so prepared! My shower is Sunday, too, but I’m guessing it’ll take a few weeks after that before I actually am organized enough to what we still need!
I'm so embarrassed to be asking this because it probably doesn't matter, but what does is the difference between baby "dropping" and baby just sitting low? DD never dropped until active labor and really never sat very low at all, so all I know is that she never "dropped" according to my last OB. This LO seems to have his head right on my cervix already and I can tell he is in my pelvic area which is so weird. I know they can drop at any time, I just don't know that I understand how people know when their baby has dropped.
@nasalot188 I've been experiencing that as well. My dr said it's just a ligament. I have to be really careful how I roll or bend or even lift my leg or it happens.
@acciocoffee I've been wondering the same thing. Griffin has been super low the whole time. I know he's low because I feel hiccups in my pelvic region (like where my uterus would normally be). There's constant pressure on my pelvic and bladder (possibly my cervix). I'm going to ask my dr on Wednesday if he can tell where the baby is at.
@acciocoffee... I have the same questions. I feel like if this baby gets any lower, she will be coming out, so I guess I don't understand where she is going to drop if not in labor?!
Yup, she feels reallllly low. Feels like everything is dropping out when I pee, and I almost always have an urge to pee when I stand, even with a completely empty bladder. (No UTI). Also have a lot of sciatica and low back pain too.
Something weird happened last night... I rolled over in bed quickly and got a TERRIBLE pain in my lower right belly/groin. I immediate thought RLP. However it was BAD, i was almost in tears and it was a good 5 mins before the pain subsided. It literally felt like a muscle had torn in half. Still a bit sore today when walking.
Any ideas? Is this normal? Never had this with my first..
So weird, this happened to me too last night! It was when I laid on my side to sleep. Almost feel like something was tearing. Also didn't happen last pregnancy. It's been such different symptoms this time around.
Thanks ladies! Glad it's not just me. It just really scared me because of how painful it was. I guess my body has done this once already and has decided to give up
Point me in another direction if this has been discussed... but how many & what size (oz) bottles and how many & what kind of nipples do I need to have right away? I plan to breastfeed/pump and I will be going back to work after 12 weeks so I want to make sure I’m prepared! (Clearly FTM who has no idea how any of this works)...
@lolo_0924 Every baby is different. DD couldn't care less where her food came from. She would gladly take a boob or any bottle we gave her. Most babies seem to be more picky. I was told to only buy one type at a time and try it. If LO doesn't like that kind, buy a different one. I think it was over in the baby classes thread that they were talking about only buying the slowest kind of nipples. That might be helpful to read through as well.
ETA That we probably had less than 10 bottles with DD and just washed them every night, but I was also still breastfeeding so that might make a difference. For size, we had a few smaller ones then bought the next size up when it became necessary.
@lolo_0924 I’d buy one or two bottles in a few different brands. DD wouldn’t take ANY bottle so pumping or supplementing was useless for her - she would only take it straight from the breast. With DS we only tried Dr. Brown’s and he did great. I will say that Dr. Brown’s are a HUGE pain in the butt because of the different parts so I’d avoid those if at all possible. We’re hoping the Philips Avent work well for his baby because that’s what I was given a bunch of by a friend
I’m no help size-wise because DS was FF so I’m not sure of the normal amount for a BF baby to take. By 6 months DS was taking 6-8 oz of formula at each feeding but I don’t know different it is with breast milk.
Agreed about babies being picky! DS hated bottles and only wanted boobies. But when forced to use a bottle (like during my medical tests) the ONLY bottle he would take was the munchkin LATCH bottle. My nephew would only take the Dr Browns bottles until he was like 6-8 months, then he didn't care as long as he got a bottle. Lol My little sister would only take the Playtex bottles that require the dropn-in inserts.
Doing things that give samples (like the target bag etc) helps give a few kinds to start with. I think we had 3-4 types to try when he was born, and the LATCH are the only he would tolerate. (And I got that as a sample.) If you're bottle feeding breast milk and want to continue breastfeeding at the nipple as well, definitely use the slower flow nipples and read up on Pace feeding. It's important for breastfeeding babies.
Weird question.. do I ever need to be worried about how long my baby has hiccups? I never really noticed them very much until last night. He had a vicious round of them that lasted for a good 10 min at least.
If you are breast feeding and pumping get the smallest size bottles. Formula fed babies eventually need bigger bottles as formula isn't as nutrient rich ounce for ounce as breast milk so a bf baby only needs a few oz of breast milk at a feeding.
@jynjer91 wondering this too. Mine will get them at least once a day, sometimes more, and seems to last a while. Maybe not 10 minutes, but it just seems like she gets them frequently.
@jynjer91 nope. Hiccups are normal. Their diaphragms are immature and prone to spasm (which is what hiccups are), and it’s part of normal lung development. Be warned, they will continue after birth, but don’t seem to bother babies at all.
If you're bottle feeding breast milk and want to continue breastfeeding at the nipple as well, definitely use the slower flow nipples and read up on Pace feeding. It's important for breastfeeding babies.
Yes, totally agree with the paced feeding. Also suggest that anyone who is watching/babysitting your child for you watch a video or be well informed about paced feeding as well. I've heard so many mom's stress over family members or babysitters claiming mom isn't providing enough breastmilk in the bottles when in fact baby is being overfed. So important to watch baby's queues and even if there is milk left in bottle, that's totally ok. Babies know when they are full and will turn their heads away and send signals that they are done....they don't "need" to finish off a bottle just because there is still an ounce or so left.
I got a couple of the stretchy ones that run small, medium, large, vs cup size to accommodate any changes and then after a couple of weeks I ended up ordering some larger underwire/specific cup size bras
I’d wait until after your milk is in, and then has had time to settle down before buying nursing bras. Around day 2-3 you’ll probably end up with obscene Dolly Parton-esque boobs that are tight and hard and ridiculous. A couple days later they figure themselves out, and will settle to a more normal size. Go get bras at that point. I’d have a super stretchy sports bra style nursing bra (or two) for the first few days.
I’d wait until after your milk is in, and then has had time to settle down before buying nursing bras. Around day 2-3 you’ll probably end up with obscene Dolly Parton-esque boobs that are tight and hard and ridiculous. A couple days later they figure themselves out, and will settle to a more normal size. Go get bras at that point. I’d have a super stretchy sports bra style nursing bra (or two) for the first few days.
I’d wait until after your milk is in, and then has had time to settle down before buying nursing bras. Around day 2-3 you’ll probably end up with obscene Dolly Parton-esque boobs that are tight and hard and ridiculous. A couple days later they figure themselves out, and will settle to a more normal size. Go get bras at that point. I’d have a super stretchy sports bra style nursing bra (or two) for the first few days.
Yeah, umm, my experience may be different, but I swear three and a half weeks postpartum, and my boobs are still getting bigger....
sammierose464
member
Re: Questions 8/10
Any downside to letting them sweep (besides that it can be painful)?
If I get to the point that I let them break my water, I’m probably on a clock already. I just wasn’t sure if that really helps labor. I read that drs breaking waters before it happens naturally can make labor harder and leads to more c-sections, so if that one makes things harder and doesn’t have a great chance of leading to VBAC anyway, then I’m skipping it. (Hopefully all of it is a non-issue, but since they brought it up I started thinking about it).
If it was sort of the “break waters or just go straight to a c-section” decision, I’d try for the waters.
Amazon - 20%
Target - 15%
Babylist - 10%
BuyBuy Baby - hadn’t emailed me yet, but I believe is 10%. However, they do email and mail 20% off single item coupons pretty regularly!
I rolled over in bed quickly and got a TERRIBLE pain in my lower right belly/groin. I immediate thought RLP. However it was BAD, i was almost in tears and it was a good 5 mins before the pain subsided. It literally felt like a muscle had torn in half. Still a bit sore today when walking.
Any ideas? Is this normal? Never had this with my first..
ETA That we probably had less than 10 bottles with DD and just washed them every night, but I was also still breastfeeding so that might make a difference. For size, we had a few smaller ones then bought the next size up when it became necessary.
I’m no help size-wise because DS was FF so I’m not sure of the normal amount for a BF baby to take. By 6 months DS was taking 6-8 oz of formula at each feeding but I don’t know different it is with breast milk.
Doing things that give samples (like the target bag etc) helps give a few kinds to start with. I think we had 3-4 types to try when he was born, and the LATCH are the only he would tolerate. (And I got that as a sample.)
If you're bottle feeding breast milk and want to continue breastfeeding at the nipple as well, definitely use the slower flow nipples and read up on Pace feeding. It's important for breastfeeding babies.
Be warned, they will continue after birth, but don’t seem to bother babies at all.
What size do you buy for nursing bras? If they fit at the end of pregnancy are they still good for nursing? Or should I go up a size?