We now have everything we're going to need for Alexis to come home....except the car seat which my mom is getting next week. Just bought her bedding today....$27.00....I love end of summer sales. The one I had originally wanted was $60.00....but, after deciding that was A LOT to spend on bedding that will probably go through pee and poop and puke all the time....the cheaper one was just the way to go. It's precious moments, anything but Winnie Pooh is FINE by me. Haha. And, mom let me pick out the present I'm getting for my shower on Sept. 10. Got a diaper bag and some clothes and other baby necessities. She also bought me some cloth diapers....she said she'll teach me how to use them on those just-in-case occasions if I run out of disposable ones and need a backup. OH....and we bought her Halloween costume....it's a little onesie with a ghost face on it....the real costumes were HUGE and for 6+ months....so, she's going to be a ghost. I don't know whether to take her Trick-or-Treating through the neighborhood or just to my parents and Prestons parents....any suggestions? She'll only be about a month old. And, at my last appointment (A couple days ago) the doctor said Alexis is healthy and I'm healthy and she can handle being born now. So, I guess I'm off of STRICT bedrest and start doing everyday activities again. This Sunday there are fireworks for a radio station and I'm going to them. Preston is going and my dad will be there too just in case she decides to come then. That'll be a nice change of scenery. And, Saturday, Preston is going to a friends 21st b-day party and I'm going to take him (so he doesn't try to drive drunk and hurt himself or someone else) and I'm going to visit my cousin who just had her baby in July. Nothing TOO eventful for my first time out in a long time....but it'll work. ****And....one more question....are those internal monitors NECESSARY for baby? Because I don't really want one....****
monitors: no, not necessary.... I'd stay on strict bedrest....remember, your EDD is just that, estimated....and OBs can't really tell if babies are ready for birth or not....be on the safe side!
No, I didn't have internal monitors for either of my kiddies - just external. Trick-or-treating? Yeah, I'd just take her to the grandparents. But... I'd stick to the bedrest a bit longer too. Doesn't seem fair I know, but here's what I can tell you from experience about premature labor. I've got a joint disorder. Pretty rare & NOT the same situation you're in, but I've got 2 early birds thanks to it. With my son, I was put on partial bedrest at 30 weeks because the doctor was worried about my joints holding up. I was allowed to be out of bed for 2 hours every day, and told to take it easy even then. But even with that little movement, when I hit 35 weeks my hips dislocated to spread for the upcoming birth... and spread ALL the way. I felt them go while I was putting things into the washing machine, and sure enough I woke up the next morning in labor. My son was born 5 weeks early. With my Daughter I was put on partial bedrest starting at 24 weeks, and they changed it to full bedrest at 30 because of premature contractions. I went in for my 37-week checkup and the doctor told me she should be okay if she were born now, and we took that as a sign that I could ease up on my "bed-sentence." My husband took me out for lunch to celebrate, and I went right back to bed after that. But sure enough I was in labor the next morning. It doesn't seem fair, I know. But... really & truly, it's probably best to play it safe. It's just a little longer now. ((((((hugs!!!)))))) love, mom
Good luck to you!! I'd say to be careful until you are closer to your due date too. My friend was taken off of strict bedrest at 36 weeks, and started doing things. Well, her water ended up breaking the next day and her baby had to stay in the NICU because his lungs just weren't ready. It feels good to be prepared doesn't it? I'm a few weeks behind you, and I am really getting anxious to get all I need. I need to order my cloth diapers (and covers), my sling, and get some bedding. I am going even cheaper than you and just getting a bumper and sheet, since that is all I used with my son even tho my sister spent almost $200 for his bedding!! I got my carseat and stroller this week, and lots and lots of baby clothes. I'm amazed at how much clothes have been given to me now that I know I'm having a girl. I can't wait to hold my baby, but at the same time I know how hard it is to have a newborn, so I'm hoping these last 6 weeks go super slow LOL!!
Good luck and best wishes Moon Flower. I am excited for you! Brings back lovely memories from when I had my two. Like the others said, I would still be careful. I'm sure it must be really frustrating not being able to do anything all the time though. Even though I was NOT on bedrest, I wasn't able to do much while I was heavily pregnant anyway... even at the beginning my uterus felt like it was going to split open LOL. Your shower is Sept 10? My boys are getting christened on that day. We are having a big barbecue at our place afterwards. Homeschoolmama, if you don't mind sharing, what is the disorder called?
Purplesage - it's called Ehlers Danlos. I've got the hypermobility type, commonly known as "HEDS." Unfortunately I was "lucky" enough to find & marry someone else with the exact same disorder... and both our kids have it too. (sigh) Little too late to fall in love now, huh? love, mom
NEVER heard of it. Sounds like a very painful condition What are the odds of your husband having it too, eh? 1 in 250,000 have it... goodness!
I'm just peachy. Thank ya. I did the DD for my boyfriend this weekend, but didn't do the fireworks. Instead, I went and cheered him on at a paintball competition. Still feeling well, and no baby yet.
As for the internal monitor, usually it is not neccesary. In some cases, it is preferable to them "losing" the heart tones on the External and then just doing a section "to be safe." I think, if there were any doubt about your uterus or the baby's heart tones, it's better to monitor, than to just DO the section, and find out later, it wasn''t neccesary. It is the External monitors which pick up reading which are not true, internals can only pick up what is happening to the baby, unless it comes unclipped. That being said, MOST mamas and babies don't need them. But, if you are going to a hospital with a high C Section rate, you're actualy safer with the more accurate data they will get with an internal. But, if the hospital is good about letting womyn labor without too much interference, you probably won't need one. When I was in labor with Moon, I had a suspected Uterine Rupture. Heart tones dropped, I went into tacycardia, had SEVERE abdominal pain, and my O2 sats were dropping. They ditched the external monitor, and put in an internal, realized it was NOT a rupture (otherwise the "heart tone decells" would have been true, and they were not with the external, the internal read normal heart tones, which cannot happen with a rupture) and we continued with the labor. This is RARE, that this happens, but if they are seeing Decells, the external monitor is much more likely to be inaccurate. Of course, if you have good OB or midwivery care, constant monitoring won't be neccesary. If you have standared OB care, they will have you on a monitor all the time during the labor. Do you have your birth plan in to the doc and the hospital?
I'm taking my birth plan to them on September 7....that's my next appointment. I made it on a birth plan site....but I plan to add more to it before I give it to them, as the site I used left out things other sites included.
