As always happens with us, everything kicked off at the last minute this holiday season. I'm taking two posts to cover everything. This one deals with pre-Christmas and there will be another later today or tomorrow to bring everything up to date.
December started out as pretty uneventful. I took walks to stay limber, worked on getting the flat set up for baby's imminent arrival and kept up with the housework. I even found time to get us ready for Christmas: baking gingerbread, sending out the cards and putting up decorations. We couldn't believe what an easy, healthy pregnancy I was having.
Then the other shoe finally dropped.
The day after our last appointment with the midwife, I called to set up a tour of our first choice birthing centre. The consultant had signed off on the low-risk-only midwife led unit, pending the results of one final test, my maternity notes were filled with printouts of great lab work and normal blood pressure and I was feeling good; healthy, happy and ready to go. At the midwife appointment, the results of the final draw had come in and whilst they were slightly elevated, she had told me they were within a normal range for me and had suggested booking in on the tour ready for the big day.
But at the same time as I was booking in on the tour, the antenatal clinic left a message on my phone. Because the results of the last draw were elevated from their baseline reading, they wanted to repeat the test.
I went on the tour anyway. It was three weeks to my due date and I had every reason to believe it would work out. It had taken a whole week after the results were made available for them to call me and so I figured it was never that urgent. Whilst I was visiting the unit, I spoke to one of the midwives about my history, the monitoring during my pregnancy and the most recent results. She called up my results from the system and said that whilst they were a little elevated, she saw no reason it should cause a problem.
Feeling relieved, I went back to the antenatal clinic a couple days later. The consultant was happy with my health and said that, short of the results turning topsy-turvy, I was good to go. She even wrote in big letters in my notes that I was good to go. We did the draw just before I left and she said she'd marked it as express and would call me with the results later that day.
It actually took four days for her to get back to me with the news that my creatinine levels had risen further. Thirteen days to my due date and the word 'induce' had started creeping into conversation....
Showing posts with label planning for birth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label planning for birth. Show all posts
Monday, 5 January 2015
Monday, 3 November 2014
Update (31 weeks 2 days)
Well, I've been meaning to post for a while but between work and getting ready for baby, there hasn't been much energy left to do so. This one's just a quick miscellaneous entry to catch up and I hope to begin posting a bit more reliably once I take annual leave in a couple weeks.
Baby and me: According to the books, baby weighs approximately 4lbs this week and is roughly the size of a pineapple. She's a very active little girl, her busiest periods being at breakfast, lunch, late evening and around 2/3 am.
Symptoms now I'm officially into third trimester include mainly tiredness and breathlessness as baby gets bigger and puts more strain on my body; and I'm peeing a bit more often, though it doesn't really affect day to day life so much at this stage. In the last couple weeks, I've been getting some form of acid reflux. I'm hesitant to call it heartburn, since I only really feel it in my throat, it seems to be at it's worst if I've been for more than 3 hours without eating and it is aggravated by dairy (as I found out when trying to ease it with a milk and honey remedy) At the moment I'm having some success in easing it with peppermint tea.
Parentcraft Class: Birth In October, we attended the first of our parentcraft classes; and in the two hour session on birth, we covered quite a lot of ground. This session was an open class led by our midwife and we were apparently a larger audience than she was used to - about twenty of us in all, mostly couples. The class covered early signs of labour, when to call the midwife/go to the hospital, the process of labour (with some rather amusing props) birthing positions and a discussion on common forms of pain relief.
We were a little disappointed that this was only a two hour session instead of the multi-week course they used to run, feeling we could have benefitted from separate sessions on the various topics covered (as always with the NHS, it came down to funding) but on the whole, we found it to be a positive experience. We went at a pace that covered everything neatly within the session's allotted time with most questions getting answered or referred to an appropriate and accessible source. We liked that time was taken to explain the birthing partner's role and techniques they could use to help at different stages of labour. It was especially comforting to hear the midwife offer honest accounts of her own labour and the experiences she had in supporting other women during theirs.
Bump Band: As my belly finally started to expand (the waistline still oddly narrow in proportion) I took the time to hunt around in town for a support band that would bridge the widening gap between the waistband of my trousers and the hem of my shirt (because I'm far too hot most days to dig out the winter wardrobe) What I hadn't counted on were two things:
1: There are no mother and baby shops in the city centre. You have to drive (or in our case, take the bus) to a shopping mall miles out from the city centre to find so much as a Mothercare. The alternatives for those of us who don't have all day to jump from pillar to post are either go online or hope they carry what you're after in Boots or the maternity corner of one of the department stores (yes, corner. Apparently, it's not worth a full department any more)
2. My size is apparently not big enough to be expected to need a support band. Everywhere I looked, I could find nothing for the smaller bump.
It took three stores and five staff members to eventually find something in my size.
Baby and me: According to the books, baby weighs approximately 4lbs this week and is roughly the size of a pineapple. She's a very active little girl, her busiest periods being at breakfast, lunch, late evening and around 2/3 am.
Symptoms now I'm officially into third trimester include mainly tiredness and breathlessness as baby gets bigger and puts more strain on my body; and I'm peeing a bit more often, though it doesn't really affect day to day life so much at this stage. In the last couple weeks, I've been getting some form of acid reflux. I'm hesitant to call it heartburn, since I only really feel it in my throat, it seems to be at it's worst if I've been for more than 3 hours without eating and it is aggravated by dairy (as I found out when trying to ease it with a milk and honey remedy) At the moment I'm having some success in easing it with peppermint tea.
Parentcraft Class: Birth In October, we attended the first of our parentcraft classes; and in the two hour session on birth, we covered quite a lot of ground. This session was an open class led by our midwife and we were apparently a larger audience than she was used to - about twenty of us in all, mostly couples. The class covered early signs of labour, when to call the midwife/go to the hospital, the process of labour (with some rather amusing props) birthing positions and a discussion on common forms of pain relief.
We were a little disappointed that this was only a two hour session instead of the multi-week course they used to run, feeling we could have benefitted from separate sessions on the various topics covered (as always with the NHS, it came down to funding) but on the whole, we found it to be a positive experience. We went at a pace that covered everything neatly within the session's allotted time with most questions getting answered or referred to an appropriate and accessible source. We liked that time was taken to explain the birthing partner's role and techniques they could use to help at different stages of labour. It was especially comforting to hear the midwife offer honest accounts of her own labour and the experiences she had in supporting other women during theirs.
Bump Band: As my belly finally started to expand (the waistline still oddly narrow in proportion) I took the time to hunt around in town for a support band that would bridge the widening gap between the waistband of my trousers and the hem of my shirt (because I'm far too hot most days to dig out the winter wardrobe) What I hadn't counted on were two things:
1: There are no mother and baby shops in the city centre. You have to drive (or in our case, take the bus) to a shopping mall miles out from the city centre to find so much as a Mothercare. The alternatives for those of us who don't have all day to jump from pillar to post are either go online or hope they carry what you're after in Boots or the maternity corner of one of the department stores (yes, corner. Apparently, it's not worth a full department any more)
2. My size is apparently not big enough to be expected to need a support band. Everywhere I looked, I could find nothing for the smaller bump.
It took three stores and five staff members to eventually find something in my size.
Monday, 29 September 2014
Stepping out with our baby (Bump!) - 26 weeks 2 days
Week 26, and our baby is now the size of a head of lettuce (or, since she's measuring small, maybe a large cauliflower) By the end of the week, we will be rounding into third (trimester, that is) and we will have entered into that magic phase where baby's chances of survival, should she be born prematurely, raise to a very acceptable 80 - 95% (depending on various factors)
As to me, I'm feeling a little more sluggish recently. I've been sleeping in a little more, running around a little less during the day and often falling asleep in my chair towards the end of the evening. This week, I have been experiencing hot flushes more often, which are certainly no fun when I'm stuck wearing a fleece to protect baby from the cold atmosphere of our store. And I've had frequent moments of light headedness during the day, despite my blood pressure raising to more comfortable levels. At this stage, I'm feeling very grateful that I have such a supportive partner and for the care and consideration of my colleagues.
Finally got in our consultant's appointment on the last day of week 25. I went on my own for this one, since it was mainly to do with my health and less about the baby's. We had a short discussion about the reasons I had been referred (namely my kidney and the family history of diabetes) and I had blood drawn to assess kidney function. It will be another week before we know the lab results but when I mentioned that we were hoping to transfer to the birthing centre, she [the consultant] didn't say anything discouraging. In fact, she was quite enthusiastic about the experience there, with only a minor mention of transfer times if medical intervention should become necessary and the fact that epidurals are not an option there.
Obviously, we can't say for sure what the birth experience will be like for us. I know that it's possible to get some idea by looking at my mother's birth experiences (the ones that were delivered naturally, anyway) and on the whole, it looks promising if genetics are any indicator. All my mothers pregnancies were strong and healthy (which is good, since my first seems to be mirroring hers) As far as girls are concerned, both I and my sister were significantly smaller than average (approximately the same as little Felix is estimated to be) and were delivered in under an hour on gas and air. In ideal circumstances, I would most like to have a home birth (although A prefers the idea of having medical assistance close to hand) The NHS is very discouraging of home births for first time mothers - and I can understand their point of view, I'm not completely without common sense - but still, I would feel much more comfortable with an experience as close to a home birth as we can get. And that is why it means so much to us, me in particular, to get that transfer. The birthing centre is a home from home. They even have beds available for partners to stay over. The transfer time is currently under 30 mins, if medical intervention were required - which we both consider acceptable - and as to epidural...I'm pretty squeamish still about epi, spinal block and the like.
On the birth plan we've started to draw up, we've decided to have an open mind on the subject of pain relief. We've stated that we are willing to follow medical advice wherever necessary for the health of myself and the baby but that we would rather pain meds not extend to procedures which restrict my movement. I've never liked being on my back and feel something close to anxiety if I'm in that position for more than a moment or two. I also believe that this is certainly not the most effective position for birthing. We are currently researching active birthing classes in our area.
As to me, I'm feeling a little more sluggish recently. I've been sleeping in a little more, running around a little less during the day and often falling asleep in my chair towards the end of the evening. This week, I have been experiencing hot flushes more often, which are certainly no fun when I'm stuck wearing a fleece to protect baby from the cold atmosphere of our store. And I've had frequent moments of light headedness during the day, despite my blood pressure raising to more comfortable levels. At this stage, I'm feeling very grateful that I have such a supportive partner and for the care and consideration of my colleagues.
Finally got in our consultant's appointment on the last day of week 25. I went on my own for this one, since it was mainly to do with my health and less about the baby's. We had a short discussion about the reasons I had been referred (namely my kidney and the family history of diabetes) and I had blood drawn to assess kidney function. It will be another week before we know the lab results but when I mentioned that we were hoping to transfer to the birthing centre, she [the consultant] didn't say anything discouraging. In fact, she was quite enthusiastic about the experience there, with only a minor mention of transfer times if medical intervention should become necessary and the fact that epidurals are not an option there.
Obviously, we can't say for sure what the birth experience will be like for us. I know that it's possible to get some idea by looking at my mother's birth experiences (the ones that were delivered naturally, anyway) and on the whole, it looks promising if genetics are any indicator. All my mothers pregnancies were strong and healthy (which is good, since my first seems to be mirroring hers) As far as girls are concerned, both I and my sister were significantly smaller than average (approximately the same as little Felix is estimated to be) and were delivered in under an hour on gas and air. In ideal circumstances, I would most like to have a home birth (although A prefers the idea of having medical assistance close to hand) The NHS is very discouraging of home births for first time mothers - and I can understand their point of view, I'm not completely without common sense - but still, I would feel much more comfortable with an experience as close to a home birth as we can get. And that is why it means so much to us, me in particular, to get that transfer. The birthing centre is a home from home. They even have beds available for partners to stay over. The transfer time is currently under 30 mins, if medical intervention were required - which we both consider acceptable - and as to epidural...I'm pretty squeamish still about epi, spinal block and the like.
On the birth plan we've started to draw up, we've decided to have an open mind on the subject of pain relief. We've stated that we are willing to follow medical advice wherever necessary for the health of myself and the baby but that we would rather pain meds not extend to procedures which restrict my movement. I've never liked being on my back and feel something close to anxiety if I'm in that position for more than a moment or two. I also believe that this is certainly not the most effective position for birthing. We are currently researching active birthing classes in our area.
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