Yes @bbrahmbhatt we definitely are! All of the photographers I’ve looked into in my area have a ton of special covid rules and practices in place (spacing out days between clients, def wearing masks, sanitizing everything between sessions, etc) and I actually feel like they are being very careful! They are also moms so have tdap vaccines and are practicing safety precautions for their own families’ safety as well.
@Serenamarr ugh I’m sorry. I EP, too, and put an insane amount of hours on mine. Now I’m wondering if I’ll hit the same road block. Hopefully yours hangs in there but that’s crappy of them.
@bbrahmbhatt we are for sure! That is one of the first things I did when I got pregnant and felt a little safe - all booked and ready to go!
@bbrahmbhatt we plan on doing a newborn shoot too. We did it in the studio with DS but this time I feel more comfortable doing in home, where there’s less exposure. I haven’t found someone yet but it’s on my to-do list to email our regular photographer and see if she’d be willing to do in home.
@bbrahmbhatt not an official one but I’ll prob take excessive amount with my iPhone- I know it won’t compare but I’d rather wait and get family pics when she is a little older. Curious, what rules are you putting in place w family? I know ours are waiting to follow our lead but not sure what to say— they would have to stay w us bc all out of towners— I trust my parents whole heartedly but not in laws judgement (although all will have been vaccinated by then)
I think I've started to lose my mucus plug and its kind of stressing me out. I put in a call to my OB, but waiting on a call back since its not emergent (no contractions or other signs of impending labor, baby is still moving like crazy). I know I could still go weeks after losing it, but also possible it could just be days (or even hours, worst case). I have a feeling they'll tell me to go into the office to get checked/monitor baby no matter what. If I went into labor early theres absolutely no chance DH could be here. And I'll only be 32wk tomorrow, so theres still a lot of baking this baby needs to do. I don't recall losing my mucus plug with DS, so I could be totally wrong, but I'm still going to be a ball of nerves until I hear from my OB.
Thanks for all the replies, ladies! I'll probably do something similar @eahayes and just take GOBS of photos with my iphone. If it take a ton of pictures, I figure one or two have to be good enough for framing. We've been so careful thus far, I just don't want to jinx us.
@eahayes we are mandating a 14 day quarantine before anyone can come see the baby, as well as everyone has to be up to date on Tdap vaccines. It would be great if they could have their COVID vaccines, but I'm not sure that will be an option by then. I have varying degrees of confidence in our families tbh. For instance, I know my mother gets all her vaccines, but she hasn't been taking the pandemic as seriously as she should be or I need her to for the safety of my newborn. My MIL is *kind of* an antivaxxer (she's 73 and from India so she just doesn't think they're necessary) and while she doesn't go a lot of places I feel like if she's visiting family/friends she doesn't wear a mask. Honestly, I am just going to lay out the rules, no exceptions. If someone can't or wont adhere, thats fine and we can just wait until the pandemic is over before they get to meet her. DH is like "Wow, you're already in Mama Bear mode, huh?" lol.
@mamabee1113 oh that is stressful. Sending good thoughts that it is nothing serious and babe stays in the oven for several more weeks!
@mamabee1113, it can come out in chunks after the first pregnancy... It grows back. But, let your OB know. It could mean you're starting to ripen and dilate.
FWIW, in my 2nd pregnancy, I went to 80 percent effaced and 4-5cm dilated at 35w...and still ended up being induced at 40w4d. I also kept losing chunks of the plug throughout the entire pregnancy. Not. Fun.
@mamabee1113 oh that’s stressful! I hope you hear back soon. I was going to say the same as @aisukurimsarang, that I think you can lose some and then it grows back. Not that that makes it easier since it’s not quite baby time yet. ❤️
@aisukurimsarang thats both awful and encouraging at the same time haha
OB brought me in for monitoring. Babe is a total wiggle worm and keeps moving away from the monitor. My BP and HR are great, baby's HR is strong and steady (from what we can read before they move!). Having some small contractions, but they're inconsistent. Waiting on making the call for a cervical check since the risk of infection raises if I have started to dilate/lost my mucus plug.
@eahayes We will likely only be seeing my parents and in-laws during the first month-6 weeks or so after delivery. I am hoping they are all vaccinated by then, and that I'm also able to be vaccinated. My parents have been and will be basically quarantined, so I'm more worried about potential exposure from us to them than the other way around. My in-laws are still working/volunteering and have a trip planned to visit their daughter in Florida over Easter, so I'm slightly more concerned about them, but I am hoping that by the time April rolls around cases will be lower. We are planning to ask them to come help so I guess I'm not worried enough to put my foot down about a strict quarantine. I just know we'll need the help and they are the closest available help.
@mamabee1113 that sounds stressful - I’m sorry! Hopefully baby stays in there safe and sound!
@eahayes the covid rules for when baby is a newborn stress me out every time I think about it! I know that our parents will want to see the baby IMMEDIATELY! But I also intend to require everyone to strictly quarantine (not like sort of quarantine where they still go to the grocery store) but like full on quarantine and get a negative covid test before coming to see the baby. Will probably still require masks to visit. I’m a psycho but also know that our parents have still been seeing friends/family, my MIL actually currently has covid (but mild and not experiencing much symptoms) and my mom is constantly flying back and forth between PA and FL. I’m afraid to really talk to our families about this because I know it will not be well received. It would be great if they could just be understanding and adopt a “whatever is necessary to keep baby safe!” attitude but I’m not so sure that will be the case.
@juliebird6, we got diagnosed as iugr. At the time, it look like I would make it to 37 weeks. But, things got a little bit worse between last week and this week. So, now it's as early as next week, but probably not any later than the 5th of March
Do you all think we should consider migrating somewhere more private soon? I'd rather not share photos of my baby and such on here, and as @aisukurimsarang points out any of us could deliver soon.
@kadeephd would be SO happy to migrate! I hate this app so much lol, and I never feel comfortable posting pictures.
@theblondebump@bbrahmbhatt I feel the exact same way on the quarantine for others (but also am not setting anything in stone because if I have to keep DS home from daycare I may be begging for help soon!). I want my parents to come up who have this whole thing very seriously-- my in laws THINK they have been but not as safe in my opinion. They would have to do a 2 week quarantine from my SIL and her daughter since her ex is anti covid believer and the daughter is with him weekly for visits.. too much of a risk in my eyes to be around such a small newborn. I think at my 34 week appt (2 weeks) we will hopefully know a little more in terms of numbers and DH and I can make a clear decision on what to tell family.
@aisukurimsarang, how are you feeling about potentially delivering next week? I know you were expecting to be early anyways. I’ll be thinking about you! ❤️
@bblair24, Scared. Sad. The idea of being in the mother baby unit with no baby sucks. Angry at my partner because when I asked him to come home early today, he gave me stupid reasons not to. Annoyed with my MFM because she's so damn perky. Mad at my mom who has suddenly decided I need to do all the stuff I've been avoiding because I wasn't emotionally ready, and now I'm even further from being ready. At this point, I'd rather her be born and then go buy stuff.
@aisukurimsarang thinking of you! 💕 I think it’s a good idea to start the thread as I’m sure some others won’t be far behind as well. There is a good chance I will deliver early based on my history.
I’m being fairly strict about people quarantining before visiting baby as well. I’m not sure I’ll allow anyone to hold the baby for the first month or so. My parents would have to fly here so if they come they will definitely need a strict quarantine before I will let them in the house. My in-laws already had COVID and recovered. I feel like they tell me they are being safe but they somehow already caught it so I think they are not 100% honest or don’t really get how to protect themselves. My husbands grandma is dying (not Covid related) so the family has been getting together more and more. We’ve had to have some hard conversations about family gatherings and it’s terrible timing because of course everyone wants to hug and grieve together but I’ve had a very complicated pregnancy and I just can’t risk any additional complications now or after I bring home a potentially premature baby.
I’m really starting to get nervous about labor 😬 I might not be able to get an epidural due to low blood platelets and I’m just starting to get nervous about the amount of pain I’m assuming labor is! I know it will be all worth it in the end but I’m still getting anxious. Also I haven’t picked a pediatrician yet... or gotten the nursery done so I can feel myself stalling even though I’m already 32.5 weeks 😬😬😬
@grilledcheeezinwill they let yiu go into spontaneous labor? It's a lot easier to take. Also, walk walk walk walk. And what about other pain meds, like Norco?
Hmmm I’m not sure I didn’t ask about other pain meds of epidural wasn’t allowed 🤔 I didn’t even think too lol and I’m sorry I didn’t understand the first question! I’ve been going on small walks here and there I def need to amp that up!
@aisukurimsarang Thinking of you and sending all the positive vibes and thoughts your way that baby girl gets to stay put as long as possibly safe to!
@grilledcheeezin There are definitely other meds you can get through the IV to help take the edge off of the extreme labor pains. Of course it’s not like the complete numbing of an epidural but it helps a lot to catch your breath and keep your sights on the finish line. The epidural failed with my first and I wanted the meds. Unfortunately I said yes yes yes to everything and ended up a zombie once she was finally out, which I regret. That was 10 years ago though! I’d talk to your OB about the options they have now that help but don’t completely knock you out to where you can’t feel present, like I did. I think with my second, I opted for something that worked in 30 minute intervals before it was time for the epidural, if I needed more I could but otherwise it wore off relatively quickly so I didn’t feel so out of it.
@jenn622-2 That’s tough while also going through the process of losing a family member. So sorry you guys have to navigate that during such an exciting time as well. I’m going to be pretty strict on boundaries and stipulations too for meeting the baby as well as the weeks leading up to his estimated arrival. Thinking about having those conversations with family stresses me out but I know I’m going to have to sooner than later. We plan to quarantine ourselves starting mid-March, and since most of our family works in public service positions, won’t have a meet n greet the baby until at least his first shots but that still depends on where the numbers are with Covid in my area. Makes me feel mean but just don’t want to risk it even if it hurts peoples feelings.
@grilledcheeezin definitely look into what your other options might be. I've heard good things about various techniques like hypnobirthing as well (but I had 2 epidurals) but hopefully they have an alternative medication you can get if that's what you want. If you need to be induced (or augmented which I was) pitocin makes contractions a b**** usually so I'd also discuss what options you have BEFORE getting any pitocin. I was 5cm but bit progressing quickly with my second (had irregular contractions that only took me from 2 to 5 in 20 hours after going 0 to delivery in 24 with my first). I got potocin at a super low dose and asked for the epidural first and she said I'd be fine. I was NOT fine 🤣 the contractions became super strong and they turned off the pitocin after only 10-20 mins of it. I went from 5cm to baby in 3hrs after that. Pitocin contractions are more painful than regular contractions.
@grilledcheeezin I had a vaginal birth without drugs of any kind with my DD. Was it uncomfortable? Yes. Did I survive? Yes. Would I change anything about my labor? No! Don't be scared, because fear heightens your pain response. Your labor will be what it will be and you will get through it. If you don't know what to expect, then why should you be afraid of it? Be positive!
@grilledcheeezin, sorry my phone was all kinds of messed up there.
Will they let you go into spontaneous labor? Of my three, it was the longest at 30 hours, but by far the easiest because the pain was gradual and my membranes ruptured naturally. Pitocin and a membrane rupture are the killers here.
Walking is a GREAT way to ease labor pain, which is why I said WALK WALK WALK. I found, even with my two inductions, the pain eased back to bad menstrual cramps when I was walking around.
I absolutely loved giving birth med free. It was painful, yes, but the high is AMAZING. My first epidural experience was not PLEASANT. I detest being numb and not able to move around. My second epidural only lasted for about 45 minutes, wearing off right at transition, meaning I did 11 hours of my 12 hour labor med free, and again... I loved the experience.
@theblondebump I've definitely had some itching in my armpits, but also my belly and thighs so who knows lol. I think I've developed a tiny umbilical hernia too; there's no bulge, but it hurts and I can feel a little tiny hole. Ugh.
@bbrahmbhatt re: the umbilical hernia - well if it helps at all, my doctor was completely unconcerned about it, haha. So apparently no big deal whatsoever, just a little painful/uncomfortable from time to time.
@theblondebump Lol. Definitely random and sounds annoying! I haven’t had itchy armpits associated with pregnancy but did once when a deodorant didn’t agree with them. Did you switch that up?
EDIT: To add, also another time.. when I used an electric razor instead of a normal razor.. NEVER DO THAT! Awful razor burn and itching for days! Hahaha.
@theblondebump, I don't have itchy armpits, but I have itchy legs after shaving this time. The solution for me was to use Head and Shoulders 2 in 1 shampoo, which I discovered completely by accident when I didn't have shave gel. I learned you don't question stuff when you're pregnant. You just go with it.
You guys are still shaving at this point? Kudos! I have abandoned all hope when my belly started preventing me from bending over
@grilledcheeezin Unmedicated labor is painful but it is a productive pain. When you let your body go through its natural process, it is incredible how well everything comes together. (Obviously I am speaking about low-risk births). As someone who has worked within the holistic birthing realm for years, the biggest thing that makes natural birth more complicated is fear and unnecessary interventions. Your body's instinct is to close up and halt labor when it gets scared/senses that you are in an unsafe environment. This is why having providers that you trust and a comfortable birthing space is so important. The great thing is that there are many other forms of pain meds/pain reduction techniques that you can use during labor apart from epidurals. Thanks to modern medicine, you will be taken care of if something goes wrong. It's also normal to feel scared about labor pain because it is the most intense thing you will go through in your life probably. The cool thing is that your brain chemistry changes during birth and makes it bearable. What really helped me during my unmedicated labor with DD is hot shower/tub. Also, I was lucky enough to not be induced or receive Pitocin. I would recommend taking a natural birth class or researching more holistic ways of birthing that emphasize the mind-body connection. If you have the resources to hire a doula, I would definitely recommend that as well. Also, anything can happen during labor so try not to expect the best or worst.
@aguamala I’m glad I’m not the only hairy one over here. I shave the bottom half of my legs every few days otherwise they get dry and itchy, but the thighs- forget it. I can’t even see around my belly if I wanted to.
@forevertired@aguamala samesises! I just get my ankles pretty much, and the rest is dead to me. I told DH he will have to help me shave before delivery so I'm not looking like Tarzan, although at that point I'm sure I won't care lol.
Re: Random Thread
@eahayes we are mandating a 14 day quarantine before anyone can come see the baby, as well as everyone has to be up to date on Tdap vaccines. It would be great if they could have their COVID vaccines, but I'm not sure that will be an option by then. I have varying degrees of confidence in our families tbh. For instance, I know my mother gets all her vaccines, but she hasn't been taking the pandemic as seriously as she should be or I need her to for the safety of my newborn. My MIL is *kind of* an antivaxxer (she's 73 and from India so she just doesn't think they're necessary) and while she doesn't go a lot of places I feel like if she's visiting family/friends she doesn't wear a mask. Honestly, I am just going to lay out the rules, no exceptions. If someone can't or wont adhere, thats fine and we can just wait until the pandemic is over before they get to meet her. DH is like "Wow, you're already in Mama Bear mode, huh?" lol.
@mamabee1113 oh that is stressful. Sending good thoughts that it is nothing serious and babe stays in the oven for several more weeks!
FWIW, in my 2nd pregnancy, I went to 80 percent effaced and 4-5cm dilated at 35w...and still ended up being induced at 40w4d. I also kept losing chunks of the plug throughout the entire pregnancy. Not. Fun.
OB brought me in for monitoring. Babe is a total wiggle worm and keeps moving away from the monitor. My BP and HR are great, baby's HR is strong and steady (from what we can read before they move!). Having some small contractions, but they're inconsistent. Waiting on making the call for a cervical check since the risk of infection raises if I have started to dilate/lost my mucus plug.
@eahayes the covid rules for when baby is a newborn stress me out every time I think about it! I know that our parents will want to see the baby IMMEDIATELY! But I also intend to require everyone to strictly quarantine (not like sort of quarantine where they still go to the grocery store) but like full on quarantine and get a negative covid test before coming to see the baby. Will probably still require masks to visit. I’m a psycho but also know that our parents have still been seeing friends/family, my MIL actually currently has covid (but mild and not experiencing much symptoms) and my mom is constantly flying back and forth between PA and FL. I’m afraid to really talk to our families about this because I know it will not be well received. It would be great if they could just be understanding and adopt a “whatever is necessary to keep baby safe!” attitude but I’m not so sure that will be the case.
@theblondebump @bbrahmbhatt I feel the exact same way on the quarantine for others (but also am not setting anything in stone because if I have to keep DS home from daycare I may be begging for help soon!). I want my parents to come up who have this whole thing very seriously-- my in laws THINK they have been but not as safe in my opinion. They would have to do a 2 week quarantine from my SIL and her daughter since her ex is anti covid believer and the daughter is with him weekly for visits.. too much of a risk in my eyes to be around such a small newborn. I think at my 34 week appt (2 weeks) we will hopefully know a little more in terms of numbers and DH and I can make a clear decision on what to tell family.
I think it’s a good idea to start the thread as I’m sure some others won’t be far behind as well. There is a good chance I will deliver early based on my history.
Will they let you go into spontaneous labor? Of my three, it was the longest at 30 hours, but by far the easiest because the pain was gradual and my membranes ruptured naturally. Pitocin and a membrane rupture are the killers here.
Walking is a GREAT way to ease labor pain, which is why I said WALK WALK WALK. I found, even with my two inductions, the pain eased back to bad menstrual cramps when I was walking around.
I absolutely loved giving birth med free. It was painful, yes, but the high is AMAZING. My first epidural experience was not PLEASANT. I detest being numb and not able to move around. My second epidural only lasted for about 45 minutes, wearing off right at transition, meaning I did 11 hours of my 12 hour labor med free, and again... I loved the experience.
@grilledcheeezin Unmedicated labor is painful but it is a productive pain. When you let your body go through its natural process, it is incredible how well everything comes together. (Obviously I am speaking about low-risk births). As someone who has worked within the holistic birthing realm for years, the biggest thing that makes natural birth more complicated is fear and unnecessary interventions. Your body's instinct is to close up and halt labor when it gets scared/senses that you are in an unsafe environment. This is why having providers that you trust and a comfortable birthing space is so important. The great thing is that there are many other forms of pain meds/pain reduction techniques that you can use during labor apart from epidurals. Thanks to modern medicine, you will be taken care of if something goes wrong. It's also normal to feel scared about labor pain because it is the most intense thing you will go through in your life probably. The cool thing is that your brain chemistry changes during birth and makes it bearable. What really helped me during my unmedicated labor with DD is hot shower/tub. Also, I was lucky enough to not be induced or receive Pitocin. I would recommend taking a natural birth class or researching more holistic ways of birthing that emphasize the mind-body connection. If you have the resources to hire a doula, I would definitely recommend that as well. Also, anything can happen during labor so try not to expect the best or worst.