14 weeks
19 weeks
21 weeks?
24 weeks
26 weeks
28 weeks
32 weeks
35 weeks!
So this last picture is (obviously) the most recent. I feel so big! I guess that every woman feels that way at the end of her pregnancy though right? This picture also confirms my theory that the baby has dropped. See how much lower my belly is than in all the other pictures? I still technically have about 5 weeks left in the pregnancy, although I would be very surprised if I carried to term. I would be even more shocked if I was late. So... before my one-doctors-visit-a-week-weeks start next Tuesday, I thought it would be fun for everyone to guess when the baby will come! I'll put together a little prize for the winner!
So leave a comment and place your bet!
My guess is that I'll have her between 37-38 weeks. So lets say in 19 days. April 5th.
Which brings me to my next question for all the mothers out there. I am panicking about labor and delivery! It so soon! Eeshk! I've done a lot of research, so I know what to expect (sort of), but that's really not calming me down at all. So...any advice? Or what do you wish someone would have told you before having a baby?
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17 comments:
Don't stress! Your body knows exactly what to do, and it will take care of everything.
Both of my deliveries were totally different, and the second delivery where nothing was ready, nothing was packed and no drugs were given was actually better than the first.
Erin, you can do this. If you push, it will come.
Oh, and pack some slippers. Feet always seem to get cold in the hospital.
I'm on board with Alicia. The second was better than the first, for me becasue I didn't have an epidural, they are way over rater, prolong your delivery, and it took me longer to recover. My sister agrees with me on this one she is having a girl the fist part of April also, her 4th, she has only had one epidural, and didn't like it!! If you want to know more drop me a line or give me a ring. But I'm thinking April 7th!!! Good luck!!! Kourt
587-1314 or dawn1229@hotmail.com
Cute cute cute pictures!!
My guess is Baby Watson will be here the day before your due date (not sure when that is).
About labor/delivery - it will be easier than you think! We even had complications for ours and it still wasn't that bad. Something that NOBODY told me was this... your epidural may make you nausious. Like wanting to throw up while you push nausious! Ugh. I hated that part. If you have any desire to go all natural I would say go for it! *Not that I have done it myself, but I think I want to try next time. I just hated how I felt so sick to my stomach, couldn't move my legs by myself, couldn't feel my pushes, and then puked all night long while it was wearing off. Sorry, is this making you more nervous? I just wanted you to know what I wish I would've known. But even then it wasn't that bad. Ok, and my other advice is just enjoy it!! Labor is so exciting and so fun, and in a wierd way I miss it so much!
Not gonna sugar coat it....it's going to hurt but if you get an epidural it's alllllll goood. Besides that the labor is only a day but having that baby is forever and when you look back you'll say "totally worth it!" good luck you'll do great! As for your due date...when you think she'll be here sooner she usually comes later so April 13th is my guess.
My wild guess for your baby girl's birthday will be exactly one week before you're due date.
Since there are SO many opinions about labor & delivery and adjusting to new motherhood....the ONE thing I can advise is to keep an OPEN MIND!!!! Odds are that things WON'T go exactly as you plan with everything, so just EXPECT to be surprised, then you won't be let down by your expectations.
L&D is way easy - not because the work is easy, but because it brings you a beautiful baby and if that is what you are concentrating on, everything will go fine. Plan on a labor similar to your Mom's, it's your best indicator of how your labor will go. And, rest assured, you will forget all about it by the time you go to your 6 week postpartum check!
The scariest part about my 1st labor was not really knowing what it was going to be/feel like, and exactly how my body was going to react. That's the only real "unknown".
They do not have to take a healthy baby from Mom until she wants. If the baby is placed directly on you after bith (skin to skin is best, helps keep them warm and encourages breastfeeding) you can keep her as long as you want. You can even breastfeed before she is weighed and measured. I think I had Anna for about hour and a half before she and Ron headed to the nursery.
Dustin (or some other person who will be there for delivery) needs to be your advocate - you are not in the right frame of mind to make/enforce decisions. Tell him exactly what you want, and tell him to be a butt about it if the hospital gives him grief.
I agree with the natural vs. medicated delivery. Sooo much better without the drugs. Yes, its the worst pain you've ever felt. Yes, it seems to last FOREVER. Yes, you will eventually ask for the drugs, but at that point, the baby is almost here! Once the baby arrives all that pain/discomfort is gone and you are able to get up and walk around. Medication takes time to wear off, and you could be lying around for hours before you can get up! That means no bath/shower, no peeing (except in your catheter, of course).
You have started to drop, but 1st babies tend to drop sooner to help stretch your pelvis. My hips hurt for weeks when I was prego w/Liah! They hardly hurt with Anna.
Pack good snacks for the hospital, fruit, nuts, etc. I am always STARVING after delivery and there is never any food - Liah was born at 9:13pm and Anna at 1:18am.
After Anna was born I wasn't sure I had the strength to take a shower (which is normal), but I wanted to because birth is a pretty messy process. The nurse said I could take a bath - the BEST suggestion EVER. The warm water helped relax my muscles and made my bottom feel so much better.
If you do take a bath, you will bleed a little while soaking in the tub, so I sat down while the water was running and washed my body/face. Then filled the tub, relaxed (for about 45 min while Ron was at the nursery with Anna), then when I got up, I just sprayed off.
I bet you'll deliver around 39 weeks.
Babies have the most wonderful smell, their breath even smells good! It's as if, the little bits of heaven are still attached to them. It only lasts for a few weeks, so soak it up!
April 9th. Since you were born on your great grandmothers birthday, its only natural that your baby get born on my birthday.
Great Pictures! And I'm going to say April 15th, to mark the end of tax season! ☺
Advice: None, really. Nothing can really prepare you for what's coming. With my first, I asked a lot of questions to the nurses. They gave me a pretty good idea of what was coming. It helped me just knowing what was next, and I was freaking out pretty bad. And like Alicia said, your body knows what to do. My best advice, pack a bag now. You never know when you might need it. I wasn't prepared at all when I ended up in the hospital 2 weeks early and had to have Bo go home and pack my bag - bad idea. So pack now and put the car seat in the car. ☺ (advice here, pack slippers and a robe it will make you feel more comfortable)
Since there is controvesy about epidurals I'll add my 2 cents in, I loved mine. No side effects, no puking and no real problems; basically it did the job and wore off fast. But the best advice here: Everyone is different, you'll know when you get there if you can handle it or if you want it. But I will say, don't take Staydal. It's not a pain reliver, it just makes you sleepy and then you sleep but in full pain. My body didn't like it, but again, everyone is different.☺
Good luck!
hmmmmmmmmm.........april 12th! Good luck. And I know you will be fine. I had an epidurhal with the first 2.....my last one all natural. The difference, AMAZING!!! But if it's back labor....I have to say the best way might be an epidurhal. Like Kourtney said if you want to talk give me a call. 386-0203.
First of all you are a super cute preggo! And also I am sad I missed your shower. However I have your gift and it is awesome and it is so Kate. You'll love it. When I am in the valley in the next couple weeks I will drop it by. I don't obviously have any advice for the labor but whatever advice you do get (that works anyways) please pass it along to me! :) GOOD LUCK with the next couple of weeks! Hmmm well April 19th is my Dad's birthday so that would be a lucky day!
I thought of something else. My mom brought two bags of sugar-free hard candy to me. Sucking on them was awesome. It kept my mouth from getting dry and they didn't make me thirsty. Plus, they were a great snack after the baby was born. Delivering a baby is such a work-out! I was starving afterwards.
As far as the epidural goes, mine worked great without any problems, I just was so drugged up that I wasn't able to really enjoy Lacy in those first few minutes. I don't remember much, and I wish I did. But I was induced and the labor was painful, so I don't know what I would have done without the epidural. Having Trenton come on his own was so much better. I was thinking about it two days ago and started crying. That was one of the most amazing days of my life. Except for the part where Jeff Dixon saw me hunched over and screaming. It took me two months before I could talk to him. But other than that...
I bet you'll have your baby a couple weeks early! and don't stress, honestly it's really exciting and fun to be in the hospital. Just get an ephideral and everything should be smooth sailing!
Hey, so since I work in Labor and Delivery, I'll give you my 2 cents on the whole thing. HAHA. Don't let your doctor talk you into being induced. First time mom's are more at risk for having a c section if they are being induced. Only be induced if it's medically necessary. Don't take staidol. It will make you all groggy and the baby is affected from it as well after you have her. TRY your hardest not to get your epidural until you are established labor. Meaning, you are more then 3 cms dilated, and your contractions are every 2-3 minutes apart. WALK WALK WALK before you go in. Roll around on a big bouncy ball, and having warm water sparyed on your lower back helps ease the pain (so I've heard). When you get to complete, don't get all excited about pushing. The average time for the first time moms to be pushing is 3 hrs. Ask your nurse if you can labor down for at least an hour that way Kate can move down on her own. When your pushing, push in your butt. NOT your face or your feet. If your too numb ask for the epidural to be turned off. That way you can feel where to push. Believe me, you will know what I mean once you get to that point. If you want to watch yourself push ask for a mirror. It actually helps to see where your pushing and its cool to watch the babys head move down. WOW I'm giving nothing but gory details! Sorry! haha. K so since you are a first time mommy, I'm gonna guess that you will deliver AFTER your due date. Sorry that's mean I know, but it happens. SO I'm gonna guess whatever date that would make you 40 weeks and 3 days. April....20th maybe?!?! GOOD LUCK!!!
I think you will be 8 days early-especially if you start walking around alot!
As for advice, have your mind made up about how you want everything in advance, because once it happens it is all so fast and foreign it doesn't seem real. Like an epidural, decide in advance if you want one or not (like I tossed around the idea of going natural, but as soon as labor started I wanted the epidural. I think I could have done it if I had been more decisive). Also, if you are breastfeeding, the first 30 minutes is when she will have the strongest rooting reflex, so as soon as they are done cleaning her try to feed her.
Also, on that note, breastfeeding can be really hard, so know for sure if you want to do that. I wanted to really bad, but it was so hard I almost gave up. Make sure you can nurse before you leave the hospital and demand as many lactation consultations as you need.
Something that caught me off guard was your uterus starts to shrink soon after you deliver and it hurts, so take Motrin.
It sounds scary but honestly it is not as bad as I thought it would be!
I loved loved loved my epidural! I was induced 2 weeks early cause I was already dilated to a 3 and 75% effaced and living an hour from the hospital. I was gonna try to go natural but changed my mind real quick. I was on pitocin for several hours and I could not get dilated past a 4. I was contracting every 3 minutes for a couple hours but nothing was happening. And I was in PAIN. I was having hard contractions and back labor and couldn't take it. I was told that you should wait till you were dilated at a 5 before you get the epi because it can prolong your labor. Not for me. It worked the opposite. Right after the epi they broke my water, I was still a 4 at that point. About 45 minutes later I felt like I had to go poop (sorry for being so graphic) but that's what it feels like just fyi. I called the nurse in and she said I was ready and to start practice pushes. She got me the mirror so I could see what I was doing since you can't really feel, (by the way I highly recomend the mirror) believe me you will have that baby out a lot faster with it. So for me the epidural actually helped me go faster. With all 3 of my babies it has done the same thing. It helps my body to relax and do it's thing. And I have continued using the mirror. I loved all my deliveries and would do it every year if I could. Cause I think it is fun. I guess I just have lucked out. Also the nurses will give you ice packs for your bottom which helps and if they don't give them to you I would ask. It helps with the pain and swelling. Also the 2 hospitals I went to have a little room where they have juices, fruit plates, yummy sandwiches, jello, ice cream, bread with a toaster and a ice machine and it is open 24 hours. Most people don't know about them. Just ask the nurses and they will tell you. But you are allowed to go to them. My husband loved the sandwiches and would always get an extra one for him. My husband didn't stay in the hospital over night w/ me with our last 2 kids so after I would nurse I would want a little snack and around 3 in the morning would walk to the little room and help myself. About the nursing, I had a really hard time figuring it out with my first. I think it was harder for me then the baby. Some nurses might try to push the bottle after the baby not latching right away ( I had one do this). Just keep trying and tell them to "shove it" eventually it will work. I wish you the best of luck and hope you have a good experience. Remember everyone's body is different and just go with what feels right to you. Let me know how it goes. I think you will have this baby 3 to 5 days before your due date.
You are so cute preggers!!
Well my dear, I hope you go a little early, but first timers usually go late! I was HUGE, nobody thought I would makwe it to my due date and guess what....I went 8 days over and had to be induced! I hope all goes Great!! Good luck!
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