This Is the Pregnancy Commiseration and Support Thread

Kind of offline lately (and waiting for another straggling baby in chicago), realized I had not heard news about carl's junior yet, then noticed this thread. Congratulations, good on both of you.

lol @ "carl's junior"

<3

congratulations carl !

What a beauty!! Congrats Carl and Jeff. YOU MADE A HUMAN

argh why did I not have this thread bookmarked, belated congratulations to the three of you!!

BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL BABY!!!

Ivy's 4 lbs 10 oz! And no more feeding tube! Yesterday I got to see her face without a tube taped to it for the first time since the three seconds they kind of waved her in front of my face on the way to the NICU the day she was born and I am confident saying that she is a really good looking baby.

We're engaged in "kangaroo care" as I type this, which today involves her farting* on me a lot and it is like the best thing ever.

*let's be real she's totally sharting.

Also thank you all for the kind words!

I've always loved the idea of k-care, and I love that you're doing it!

what's that?

skin-to-skin. http://my.clevelandclinic.org/childrens-hospital/health-info/ages-stages/baby/hic-Kangaroo-Care.aspx

My Australian bride gave our two kids kangaroo care, but it was mostly teaching them how to fight with their feet.

It's when you put the baby bare chested on your bare chest (well sort of bare since there are people in here). It helps preemies regulate breathing, heart rate, and temperature and also just makes them feel better because they are getting lots of human contact, which they don't really get enough of. Also makes me feel better.

xp

ah
i am totally not up on the lingo
i would have called that "holding yr baby"!

k-care sounds like obamacare to me! lol
anyway glad everyone is feelin good and eating and not wearing any tubes and on the way to the rest of your lives!

The bare skin contact is the differentiator between k-care and holding the baby.

I love the origins of kangaroo care. It's so simple but so effective and so logical. Babies like being held! Fancy that.

It also gets me right in the feelings area, sort of like how I cry every time I read about the wire monkey/cloth monkey experiment.

oh, man. that robot monkey mama.

what's the monkey thing now?

do I wanna read up on this while at work?

Does Jeff do the skin to skin thing too? I've seen dads do it and I also think it's v awesome and important and omg at yr little sharting baby. <3

wire monkey/cloth monkey experiment

Uh, I had to stop reading when I got to the part about keeping the monkey infants in complete isolation for up to 24 months. Those poor lil guys! :(

Oh, this is where people are talking about Ivy! It was a hard thread to find b/c ILP doesn't show up in SNA.

Anyway, happy baby to you.

I learned about the monkey deprivation experiment in psych class, but I guess I forgot the 0_o terminology of it, which I guess I won't share here, but yikes. (Just Google Harry Harlow if you're interested.)

Also lol My Australian bride gave our two kids kangaroo care, but it was mostly teaching them how to fight with their feet.

ILP doesn't show up in SNA.

It does if you tell it to.

Heyo so some of you know that Ivy finally came home last Thursday! While she was still in the hospital, it almost felt like I was still pregnant (but not) or at least expecting so it seemed somehow appropriate to keep posting here but now that she's snortling and grunting away right here at home, I'll take Ivy-related posts to the parenting thread and the rolling photo quarantine so as not to monopolize this thread.

xoxoxoxoxoxox

ps How's it going, Madchen?

Just little things for me really. Mum had peripheral neuritis both after my sister and I were born, which is unusual enough in new mums for my consultant not to have come across it before, so I'll be kept in and observed for a couple of days after the birth just in case. White blood cell count is slightly raised, which can be a sign of infection or DVT, but I have neither so they're going to do more bloods in January and see what happens. Four dizzy spells: three at home and one on the station platform, for which I've been given iron tablets. Apart from that... indigestion, bump ache and APPALLING snoring which keeps poor Stet awake all night long.

In summary: could be so much worse.

The snoring! It is a real thing. I also had a terrible drooling problem. At the end I slept with a washcloth under my face.

I hope everything is okay with the post-partum observation. They'll let the baby stay with you, right?

Not sure yet if they have a separate room for the babbies or cribs on the ward - need to check that out. Also, as it's wards of four, it's not a compulsory stay and the hospital's only five minutes away, if it's noisy or stressful I can always check out and be under my own observation. But good to know there's a bed booked if I need it.

So, er, I'm 33 weeks pregnant and on crutches. On the way downstairs to breakfast on Saturday morning I missed the last step and rolled my ankle so badly I heard the ligaments crunch. Felt no pain initially, but knew it was bad so shrieked for Stet who called the ambulance. Don't remember much - I wasn't responding at one point - but oh my god the agony. Thank goodness the paramedics brought gas and air, so I tooted on that for the next couple of hours... It's pretty good stuff.

No fracture, but tons of swelling and one weird circular bruise on the sole of my foot. And when my ankle isn't above the height of my hip it hurts like bejimminy. I declined the offer of a cast because I really need to be as mobile as possible and start doing physio exercises right away to give myself a decent shot at an active labour. So instead I have a gloriously stylish NHS grey plastic boot to match my NHS grey crutches.

Half my Christmas shopping remains unshopped and our trip to Glasgow has been cancelled. Hey ho.

And crutches are a *bastard* at the best of times. When you're 25lb heavier than usual it feels like doing push-ups wearing an army backpack.

Oh my god that's awful. I'm glad it wasn't worse but damn. Just reading that made me cringe in pain.

I hope you heal rapidly and thoroughly!

Oh geez, what unlucky timing! But hopefully your super-charged baby-making body will heal up in record time. Take care and best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Glad it wasn't worse is very much how I feel. I mean, it's crap and it's horrible and it's painful but ... I slipped on the bottom step rather than the top one, and I landed on my arse rather than my head.

Today I have been introduced by the midwife to the wonderful world of self-injection: need to stab myself in the thigh with Enoxaparin Sodium for the next fortnight as a preventative measure against blood clots/DVT. Quite how I'm going to manage this I'm not sure - I guess it will take about 20 minutes of build-up before I take the, er, plunge tomorrow.

Can you practice on a grapefruit?

We conceived via IVF so I am a champion at self administered shots. Assuming you don't have a phobia about needles, the first time is really the hardest, like getting over the fact that you are poking yourself with a needle. Once you get past that, it's pretty easy. Sometimes the medicine burns when you inject it but IME the need stick itself was negligible.

I don't think practising is an option because I'd lose one day's treatment - I just have 14 of the things. I'll just have to go for it. Think you're right and I just need to grit my teeth and get through it. I'm not exactly phobic, but I don't usually look when I have a blood test or whatever. But these ready-filled disposable syringes make things as easy as they possibly could be.

Gulp.

I'm the same way about blood draws, still.

I will think brave thoughts for you!

oh man i love seeing blood being drawn out of me. its so amazing to me. also i have a little needle fetish.

sweet jesus

21 days since I bust my ankle and I managed my first solo trip outside today, to the cornershop to buy milk. Woohoo! I needed both crutches and the spaceboot, but it didn't hurt (though I did need a nap afterwards).

The bambino still appears to be enjoying my womb enough not to want to leave it yet - we hit 36 weeks tomorrow. But I am so bored of sitting around with my feet up, trying to ignore the nesting urge. So many cupboards to clear out!

Oh, and I had to stop the self-injection after two goes because it was giving me really harsh Braxton Hicks contractions with bonus waves of nausea. All back to normal since then and no more thigh stabbing required, which is a definite bonus.

What is the deal with cleaning out cupboards? That was number one on my list when I was pregnant.

It sucks to have to stifle the nesting urge. Glad you're shut of the injections, though!

https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1/p480x480/1503451_10103447442190099_1703133455_n.jpg

Whoops this is the wrong thread

Baby missiles = fastest labour ever.

Q: if my friends and I have been calling my friend's fetus by a nickname, and the real name is either a secret or not yet publicized, is it ok if I address the book I'm about to give to the kid using the nickname? Additional Q: should I write in the book at all? It's a collectible, apparently.

I would tuck a personalized card in at the title page, with nickname.

My family believes you shouldn't give a book as a gift that you HAVEN'T written a dedication in but in this modern world that's a bit odd--not every single book is going to be saved until that kid is 27.

Oh yeah would not write in a collectible AT ALL.

This is why I asked! My intuition is nonexistent when it comes to this stuff. I want him to know it's from me, will stick a note in there. Thx guys.

:) I'm more comfortable not personalizing books that are already old/special. New ones? Go to town.