Anonymous wrote:Best thing for the baby is a c-section (fastest and safest way to get the baby out,might?). Best thing for you is a separate yet related issue, right? If you opt for a second opinion, you'll need to have your records from your last delivery with you so the second OB is informed (as opposed to relying on your recollection of things).

What? Can you back any of this up? I don't mean to be rude, but the best thing for a baby is not ALWAYS a c section, though thank god we have them, because sometimes it is. But it's not the default best option.

Poppy, that day of healthy sleep sounds divine. I've always struggled with sleep despite trying to keep good sleep hygiene. As luck would have it, I'm one of those people who feel wired after taking unisom / benadryl. (That's relatively rare -- in case I'm scaring others away from a good remedy!). Right now I'm trying to keep active, go outside for a while in the early afternoon, and do my best to sleep. Last pregnancy my OB told me to just go ahead and take melatonin (I took .5 mg prepreg) on nights I really needed but I didn't end up doing that. We'll see how things continue to go this time around...

Today my big issue is that I have one of those awful neck kinks where you can't turn your head. And no advil of course. Tylenol is like a cruel joke. Does it work for anyone? I feel like the manufacturers were like "let's just shape some harmless white powder into pill form and call it a painkiller, see how many fools take it." (Hopefullly it at least takes the edge off of things, though I never think it does).

Poppy, I want what you're having! That all sounds good! I just polished off 16 crackers with "cheese spread" (it was organic at least!) and for dinner I had a grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich because our original plan was fish and I wanted to die looking at the pale, quivering filet as I was about to prepare it. I do want to try to be healthier when I can.

Moving right along....

Jin, do you know about these?

http://www.amazon.com/Motherhood-Maternity-Bra-Back-Extender/dp/B000T8G94Y

and this?

http://www.target.com/p/be-maternity-beband-assorted-colors/-/A-13742281

I may have said this already, but if I haven't, when I was pregnant with my first everyone told me not to buy maternity clothes until I "had" to, that otherwise I'd outgrow the first things, etc. I also sized up pants. I don't know if that was great advice, after all. Once I was finally in maternity clothes I regretted not doing it sooner. Yes, it is pretty early, but if you're sizing up, try on a pair of maternity pants and just see. I've heard IVF drugs can mess with your weight, though I bet you are much slimmer than you think (aren't we all? well, let's hope ). Anyway, there are consignment shops if you want to avoid spending too much on "early" clothes that you might outgrow later in your pregnancy. I like wiggle room (VA) and monkey's uncle (Cap Hill). I hope you get to work out soon! And I hope I can do better with working out than I have been.

Talk soon!

PS. Ooh - a benefit of signing in? The edit button. You'd think I'd use it to make these shorter...

Yay! Glad to see this thread! Sorry for stopping by as I'm the Oct mom OP, but I wanted to say how glad everyone's doing this (this will be the last one I barge in on -- sorry it was yours!). You'll no doubt get lots of takers but feel free to stop by the Oct thread anytime too! We have a lot in common - second kid, I'm 39 and have a husband, also love to garden (and actually do plan to plant annuals early this year as well as veggie garden to try to beat some of the heat; I'll use cloches and covers for the soil). Oh, and I like to read though I don't get too as much anymore. ARE YOU ME? Actually, I live and work in the city, so I guess not. Maybe we'll meet again on a gardening thread! I'm considering keeping the screen name for a while, since it makes the interactions more personal; though I've been on DCUM for years and was never tempted before - for obvious reasons!

Take care and have a great pregnancy. If it's annoying to have a non-Sept mom be the first reply I don't mind if you ask jeff to delete!

OP, I would have another conversation with your OB. Since you like and trust him, I actually don't know that you should necessarily dump him, though don't rule it out after you've given it a ton of thought and conclude that he can't give you a fair shake at VBAC given his own limited experience or the hospital environment. I had a posterior baby and I know that I spent at least two hours on my hands and knees wiggling my butt back and forth like a dog slowly wagging its tail. It brought me so much relief, and in hindsight, I think that's what caused baby to turn partially for an easier birth. I didn't have an epidural, but if I had (I wasn't opposed) I really would have wanted to make sure I could still change positions. I think it's nearly universally accepted that different positions open up the pelvis more, as PP said. This is a little bit gross but in SE Asian countries where people squat to toilet, they have fewer issues of constipation, etc. There's a reason for that. So, what I'd ask specifically is if the hospital's anaesthesiologist is able to "right size" your epidural (if you want one) to make sure you can change positions - even if just a little bit - while pushing and get off your hips and at least onto your side, or preferably hands and knees or ideally, squatting with a squat bar. A question I'd have for your OB? Is he willing to be personally invested in your VBAC, really champion you in it as opposed to just "allow" it, and what can he (and you) do to bring that 10 percent figure higher.

Do some research, have another talk, and maybe just for kicks, consult another provider. There are midwives that deliver in hospitals that may present a best of both worlds for you - medical attention if you need it, including pain relief, but also the kind of support that might get you further without it.

GOOD LUCK!

sepilove,

congrats on your sonogram, too! I'm with midwives this time around so I think I won't get a scan until 20 weeks (unless I go for the NT scan, which I actually skipped last time). I have to say I found that reassuring with my first, but now that I know what to expect, my symptoms are reassuring in a similar way. I wish I knew how to deal with fuzzy pregnancy brain. It was BAD for me last time - I feel like I lost half my vocabulary. I haven't noticed as much this time....yet. If I remember correctly, it was something that hit me later on in my pregnancy.

I know when I have less sleep I'm barely functional as it is, and it made pregnancy brain way worse. So, lots of sleep?

BTW, this is pumpkin. I broke down and registered! But I had some buyer's remorse on my name so I switched it. Pepita is pumpkin seed, obviously, and was my "Spanish name" in middle / high school Spanish, so that's how pumpkin = pepita.

Anonymous wrote:For my first, it felt like intense diarrhea cramps during transition, everything else just felt like period cramps. My cousin told me "embrace the sensations." to me it wasn't exactly pain. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but at the same time that it was painful, it was exhilarating. Like running when you're beyond exhausting, pushing through to the next milestone kind of thing. They don't call it labor for nothing. When / if the pain is excrutiating, change what you're doing. Get on your hands and knees, soak in a tub for a while, counterpressure for back labor, shake your hips. Don't push on your back or on your butt, try to be on hands and knees or squatting.

Good luck! I LOVED birth, I am looking forward to baby 2.

PS. I'm a total wimp in other areas of life / pain.

This was my post and I wanted to add something to it:

I also think having a planned unmedicated birth is often (not always!) going to be less "painful" than unplanned. I do believe in a huge connection between fear and pain. But of course, while fear amplifies pain, I don't assume that the opposite is true and that being fearless vanquishes pain or guarantees a pain-free delivery. I just think that it can make the difference in perceiving something as an overwhelming, all-consuming, quasi-painful but totally exhilarating "sensation" vs "having your entrails ripped apart." I went into my first (and only) birth feeling very fearless, and the only time I second guessed the drug free part was during transition. And it was "okay, this seems like it's getting close to the maximum I can handle and if it's going to get a ton worse, I may need pain medication." But in fact, I was in transition, then I got a short break and my body did the reverse-vomit pushing thing, which made it really easy to get through that part. I had nothing to do with it and my body did all of the work. There's something to that, to being able to really let your body take over. I'm pretty far from "crunchy" but I found it to be a transcendent experience. Like seriously, some dali-lama on a hilltop kind of stuff.

But, but, but, but, but, one experience is not universal. I have dozens of friends who prepared for drug-free births and not all of them, fearless or not, felt it was not painful per se, and some of them had to work very hard to stay on top of the sensations. So I'm not giving my story to suggest it is universal, but it is certainly one possible outcome that I hope you find reassuring. good luck!