40w 5d Update

[lucy-lu]

Hi all

Well, I saw my midwife today. She didn't do the membrane sweep again
today, thank goodness. To be honest, I had been dreading it since the
consultant tried it last week.

She didn't do anything internal at all, but said the baby's head is now
fully engaged. Other than that, I'm now just waiting either for labour
to start, or for the induction on Friday night.

I'm feeling a lot better mentally at the moment, which is a massive
relief as I hit a depression when my due date came and went. That said,
I am becoming a bit anti-social as every conversation I have starts with
people asking if I've had the baby, and then getting frustrated that I
haven't - like they're the ones carrying the baby! And I swear, if one
more person tells me to eat a pineapple, I will insert one in them ;)
And no, I can't eat another curry!! :) As for the saying "the baby will
come when she's ready" - well, she'll come out, ready or not this
weekend - I am that determined now! :)

Physically I seem to be taking it day by day. My hips aren't so bad at
the mo, so long as I use the pillow at night and the fembrace during the
day. The heat/humidity/hayfever affects me differently each day, but I
seem to have kept food down the last couple of days, which I think is
also helping me mentally and physically. As for the narcolepsy, well,
that makes up its own rules each morning ;)

Hope you guys are all ok. I'm not online a lot at the moment, primarily
as I am trying to avoid the above conversations, but I am trying to read
the posts and I do think of you all. I'll be back when I am more
civilised :) (and of course when I have a birth story to share :) :) )

Lucy x

[Anne Rogers]

good luck Lucy, I'm really crossing my fingers that labour does come
naturally, induced labour stinks, even ignoring all the risks it's still an
unpleasant experience and even if you have control of the date, you don't
have control over anything else.

Anne

[carlye]

Anne Rogers wrote:
> good luck Lucy, I'm really crossing my fingers that labour does come
> naturally, induced labour stinks, even ignoring all the risks it's still an
> unpleasant experience and even if you have control of the date, you don't
> have control over anything else.
>
> Anne

Well, let's not scare Lucy, though... My induced labor was easier and
more pleasant than my natural one (which wasn't terrible either) and I
have heard many others have had similar experiences. I think, Anne,
you have had exceptionally difficult labors, judging from your posts.
Chances are very good Lucy won't have your experience, regardless of
whether she's induced.

-Carlye

[Anne Rogers]

>
> Well, let's not scare Lucy, though... My induced labor was easier and
> more pleasant than my natural one (which wasn't terrible either) and I
> have heard many others have had similar experiences. I think, Anne,
> you have had exceptionally difficult labors, judging from your posts.
> Chances are very good Lucy won't have your experience, regardless of
> whether she's induced.

well your induced labour was a 2nd time one, which makes a huge amount of
difference, it seems very rare to hear a good story of a first time induced
labour, particularly with no other indication than post dates. Ones done for
PROM seem to go a little better.

My first labour wasn't particularly difficult, the bad thing about it that
was specifically related to the fact it was an induction was I got some
hyper stimulation, which was a big factor in me getting an epidural. It
seems pretty rare for induced labour that it either isn't long with painful
but ineffective contractions, or some hyperstimulation occuring. I'm not
meaning to scare Lucy, just to let her know what things could be like. From
what she's said they'll be doing things the british way which means at least
one dose of prostin gel, if not up to 3, which can make things very very
slow compared to going to straight to syntocinon.

Cheers

Anne

[carlye]

Anne Rogers wrote:
> well your induced labour was a 2nd time one, which makes a huge amount of
> difference, it seems very rare to hear a good story of a first time induced
> labour, particularly with no other indication than post dates. Ones done for
> PROM seem to go a little better.

I do understand that the 2nd birth is apt to be easier, regardless of
circumstances. I just know many people who have had even 1st
labors/births through induction that were described as "easy" and were
very fast. So that's what I was basing my statement on. I've also
heard horror stories, but I have heard those from people with many
different types of births.

> From
> what she's said they'll be doing things the british way which means at least
> one dose of prostin gel, if not up to 3, which can make things very very
> slow compared to going to straight to syntocinon.

Could be another US-UK thing, certainly. But my induction didn't use
any type of synthetic oxytocin, not even in 3rd stage -- it was just a
cytotec tablet (works the same as the gel, from my understanding) to
dilate me a little, and then rupturing my membranes. And I was still
done after only about 4 hours of labor, 2 hours of "hard" labor.

So, I don't know, really. I just think that *any* labor can be hard,
no matter how it comes about. And I think the biggest thing for making
it easy (a "normal" labor, not one with complications) is to be calm,
relaxed, and not afraid. Certainly, no good can come of being afraid
and expecting the worst.

-Carlye
DS 6-2-06
DD 9-29-04

[Michelle J. Haines]

carlye wrote:
>
> Could be another US-UK thing, certainly. But my induction didn't use
> any type of synthetic oxytocin, not even in 3rd stage -- it was just a
> cytotec tablet (works the same as the gel, from my understanding) to
> dilate me a little, and then rupturing my membranes. And I was still
> done after only about 4 hours of labor, 2 hours of "hard" labor.

Cytotec isn't all that safe for induction, though, and as they've
discovered in the last some years, absolutely horrific in the case of
post-c-section. It has a higher likelihood of causing rupture.

Michelle
Flutist

[carlye]

Michelle J. Haines wrote:
> Cytotec isn't all that safe for induction, though, and as they've
> discovered in the last some years, absolutely horrific in the case of
> post-c-section. It has a higher likelihood of causing rupture.

Well, I haven't researched it at all, but they did tell me that a full
cytotec tablet was way too strong to use. I was given a fragment of a
tablet -- maybe an eighth -- and monitored for an hour in case
contractions got too strong.

-Carlye
DS 6-2-06
DD 9-29-04

[Anne Rogers]

> Could be another US-UK thing, certainly. But my induction didn't use
> any type of synthetic oxytocin, not even in 3rd stage -- it was just a
> cytotec tablet (works the same as the gel, from my understanding) to
> dilate me a little, and then rupturing my membranes. And I was still
> done after only about 4 hours of labor, 2 hours of "hard" labor.

We tend to use the gel, which has the disadvantage of not being easily or
totally removeable. Plus that method of only needing that is rare for first
timers, I know one person who managed it that way, but she was 17 days over,
so must have been exceedingly close to going naturally. It can take 3 doses
of gel to get a first timer (or anyone for that matter) to the stage of
being even able to break the membranes and if breaking the membranes doesn't
work that's when you get synthetic oxytocin.

Anne

[Anne Rogers]

>
> Aww! It's going to end soon enough, at least! A lot sooner for you than
> me, by a long stretch!
> I shouldn't ask, but why pineapple??? Maybe it's one of those things that
> some people insist on - like my neighbour with her OJ and castor oil - but
> I don't wanna go back there lol

there is supposed to be something in fresh pineapple (not tinned) that helps
get you ready for labour, it's not like castor oil or curry, more like
evening primrose oil I think, if it get's you ready, then it's good!

I did have some before a surprisingly sucessful 37 week induction with
number 1, I wasn't able to do any preparation like that and with number 2
when induction was attempted I made less progress in 14 hrs than I had in
6hrs with my first.

Anne

[xkatx]

"Anne Rogers" > wrote in message
...
>
>>
>> Aww! It's going to end soon enough, at least! A lot sooner for you than
>> me, by a long stretch!
>> I shouldn't ask, but why pineapple??? Maybe it's one of those things
>> that some people insist on - like my neighbour with her OJ and castor
>> oil - but I don't wanna go back there lol
>
> there is supposed to be something in fresh pineapple (not tinned) that
> helps get you ready for labour, it's not like castor oil or curry, more
> like evening primrose oil I think, if it get's you ready, then it's good!
>
> I did have some before a surprisingly sucessful 37 week induction with
> number 1, I wasn't able to do any preparation like that and with number 2
> when induction was attempted I made less progress in 14 hrs than I had in
> 6hrs with my first.
>
> Anne

Hm... Never heard of the fresh pineapple thing! I dunno... I've heard of
that primrose stuff, and with DS2, someone had suggested the RRL tea. I'm
not a tea drinker at all (not a coffee fan either) and would take water far
before tea (or coffee) but someone said the RRL tea helps with labor, I gave
it a shot. Drank as much of that red raspberry leaf tea as I possibly could
as often as I could, and I dunno... Easy, fast labor. Then again, I had the
same start of fairly fast labor with DS1, but due to a (footling) breech, I
was rushed to the OR for an emergency section.
Didn't do the RRL tea with DD, but, as with the other times, I had an even
faster labor that I would consider to be fairly good and easy.

[Ericka Kammerer]

carlye wrote:

> Could be another US-UK thing, certainly. But my induction didn't use
> any type of synthetic oxytocin, not even in 3rd stage -- it was just a
> cytotec tablet (works the same as the gel, from my understanding) to
> dilate me a little, and then rupturing my membranes. And I was still
> done after only about 4 hours of labor, 2 hours of "hard" labor.

Most inductions in the US involve pitocin, though
obviously there are those that don't. There
is also some concern about the use of Cytotec for induction
of labor, as it has been associated with an increased risk
of uterine rupture in some studies. Cytotec and the gel
are slightly different (different kinds of prostaglandins).
Any of them, as well as pitocin, can be associated with
an increased risk of uterine hyperstimulation or other issues.
Some of the prostaglandins can be removed (and Pitocin can
be turned down/off) if there is uterine hyperstimulation
or if there are other issues, but Cytotec cannot. Use of
Cytotec (misoprostol) is off label in both the US and UK,
but I'm not sure how commonly it is used in the UK.

Best wishes,
Ericka

[Ericka Kammerer]

carlye wrote:
> Michelle J. Haines wrote:
>> Cytotec isn't all that safe for induction, though, and as they've
>> discovered in the last some years, absolutely horrific in the case of
>> post-c-section. It has a higher likelihood of causing rupture.
>
> Well, I haven't researched it at all, but they did tell me that a full
> cytotec tablet was way too strong to use. I was given a fragment of a
> tablet -- maybe an eighth -- and monitored for an hour in case
> contractions got too strong.

Even at that dose, it's still very risky in VBAC
situations. Evidence is somewhat more mixed with an
unscarred uterus. Some studies suggest it's no worse
than pitocin or other types of prostaglandins in terms
of rupture risk, tachycardia, etc., but that does still
put it riskier than no induction (if the induction itself
isn't warranted). Really, what are needed are more and
larger studies to rule out serious but rare complications.

Best wishes,
Ericks

[Anne Rogers]

> Use of
> Cytotec (misoprostol) is off label in both the US and UK,
> but I'm not sure how commonly it is used in the UK.

I've never heard of it being used, because of NICE guidelines everything
about induction has a very strictly prescribed order of happening, including
the doses, it's good in the sense that you don't get a small hospital with
little time to keep uptodate with research keeping on with an old practice
that is dangerous, but nor does it give any flexibility and it takes quite a
mature and thinking doctor to do anything different. I did convince them to
do something differently with number 1, but I was lucky and the doctor was
also very keen to get the baby out fast rather than waiting for the slim
chance of not needing syntocinon.

Anne

[Joybelle]

"lucy-lu" > wrote in message
...

> I'm feeling a lot better mentally at the moment, which is a massive
> relief as I hit a depression when my due date came and went. That said,
> I am becoming a bit anti-social as every conversation I have starts with
> people asking if I've had the baby, and then getting frustrated that I
> haven't - like they're the ones carrying the baby! And I swear, if one
> more person tells me to eat a pineapple, I will insert one in them ;)
> And no, I can't eat another curry!! :) As for the saying "the baby will
> come when she's ready" - well, she'll come out, ready or not this
> weekend - I am that determined now! :)

Hi, Lucy,
I remember with my first two kids having that "slump" and then feeling
better and then one day baby was here. :) I went over 41 weeks with my
first three, and with my last baby I went on my due date. Y'know what? I
missed that extra time. I fully expected to go past my due date (despite
complications) and when I didn't I felt rather bummed. It didn't last long,
though.

And what is it with people?? I really think people who aren't pregnant
should just keep silent! LOL I remember my mom would call up to my due
date, asking if today was the day, that kind of thing, and when my due date
came and went she'd stop calling. I'd call her, and she'd be all excited
thinking I was calling that I'd gone into labor, and when I hadn't, she'd
act irritated at me like I was doing it on purpose. Never mind that she'd
gone post dates with 4 out of 5 kids. You'd think she'd have been a bit
more sympathetic!

> Physically I seem to be taking it day by day. My hips aren't so bad at
> the mo, so long as I use the pillow at night and the fembrace during the
> day. The heat/humidity/hayfever affects me differently each day, but I
> seem to have kept food down the last couple of days, which I think is
> also helping me mentally and physically. As for the narcolepsy, well,
> that makes up its own rules each morning ;)

I'm glad the food is staying down and the hips aren't doing too badly.
Every little thing helps a little bit. :)

> Hope you guys are all ok. I'm not online a lot at the moment, primarily
> as I am trying to avoid the above conversations, but I am trying to read
> the posts and I do think of you all. I'll be back when I am more
> civilised :) (and of course when I have a birth story to share :) :) )

Oh, you've always been civilised, Lucy! :) I'm very excited to hear the
birth story when it happens.

Joy

[lucy-lu]

carlye wrote:
> lucy-lu wrote:
>> She didn't do anything internal at all, but said the baby's head is now
>> fully engaged. Other than that, I'm now just waiting either for labour
>> to start, or for the induction on Friday night.
>
> Poor Lucy. :-( Hoping for labor before Friday for you!

Me too, though given as it's now Thurday, and all BH's have gone away,
I'm thinking it's unlikely now :)
>
>
> I completely shut myself off from everyone the last few weeks. I went
> to work and closed my office door, wouldn't speak to anyone. At home,
> I wouldn't take calls -- e-mail was all I'd do. I could not STAND
> those stupid questions/comments all the time. It was more than I could
> take. You have my sympathy.
>
Heh the best one was when I *saw* someone that asked if I'd had the baby
yet! Yes, but I am ALWAYS this huge! ;)

> It's going to happen for you soon, one way or another. I know that
> doesn't help at all, but I'm sure it's nice to at least get to see that
> end-point. That's definitely ONE positive thing about scheduling
> inductions!!
>
It's an odd feeling though! I thought I would be terrified today,
knowing that the process starts tomorrow... but I'm not (I reserve the
right to be demented with fear tomorrow though! ;) ). It's quite
bizzarre - last Tuesday, tomorrow couldn't have been further away, but
I've had a mini countdown this week, and I am so happy to be on Thursday
already!


> Good luck & take care!
>
Thanks :) Hope all is going well for you too!


> -Carlye
> DS 6-2-06
> DD 9-29-04
>

[lucy-lu]

carlye wrote:
> Anne Rogers wrote:
>> well your induced labour was a 2nd time one, which makes a huge amount of
>> difference, it seems very rare to hear a good story of a first time induced
>> labour, particularly with no other indication than post dates. Ones done for
>> PROM seem to go a little better.
>
> I do understand that the 2nd birth is apt to be easier, regardless of
> circumstances. I just know many people who have had even 1st
> labors/births through induction that were described as "easy" and were
> very fast. So that's what I was basing my statement on. I've also
> heard horror stories, but I have heard those from people with many
> different types of births.
>
>> From
>> what she's said they'll be doing things the british way which means at least
>> one dose of prostin gel, if not up to 3, which can make things very very
>> slow compared to going to straight to syntocinon.
>
> Could be another US-UK thing, certainly. But my induction didn't use
> any type of synthetic oxytocin, not even in 3rd stage -- it was just a
> cytotec tablet (works the same as the gel, from my understanding) to
> dilate me a little, and then rupturing my membranes. And I was still
> done after only about 4 hours of labor, 2 hours of "hard" labor.
>
> So, I don't know, really. I just think that *any* labor can be hard,
> no matter how it comes about. And I think the biggest thing for making
> it easy (a "normal" labor, not one with complications) is to be calm,
> relaxed, and not afraid. Certainly, no good can come of being afraid
> and expecting the worst.
>
> -Carlye
> DS 6-2-06
> DD 9-29-04
>
Well, to my mind, this baby's coming out one way or another this weekend
:) I'm figuring labour's going to hurt like hell anyway, so whether she
gets her bum out by herself, or with a helping hand (or drug!) I'll deal
with it as it happens :)

[lucy-lu]

xkatx wrote:

> Aww! It's going to end soon enough, at least! A lot sooner for you than
> me, by a long stretch!
> I shouldn't ask, but why pineapple??? Maybe it's one of those things that
> some people insist on - like my neighbour with her OJ and castor oil - but I
> don't wanna go back there lol
>
Goodness knows why pineapple :) Something to do with enzymes, but I
think it's all rubbish, and works only on coincidence! I've had sex,
eaten curry, munched pineapple and walked my little heart out all
through this pregnancy! Why this week should be the week it all triggers
labour is beyond me! I think that if it's worked for someone, it's only
because they were due anyway.

> I HATED the last little while... All people ever said was, "Baby yet??" and
> when I'd say no, it was pretty much end of conversation, and no chance of
> new topic, as the new topic would be, "So, when will there be a baby??" -
> which would anger me!

heh, someone actually called me stubborn the other day for not having
had the baby, or for not even admitting that it was possible I'd still
have the baby that day (was 9pm at that point!!). What gets me is I tell
people how much it annoys me to stop them, and they still go on! Ugh,
they all need a slap ;)
>
Bless 'em, eh? ;)

[lucy-lu]

Anne Rogers wrote:

> We tend to use the gel, which has the disadvantage of not being easily or
> totally removeable.

Just out of interest, why would you want to remove it?

Plus that method of only needing that is rare for first
> timers, I know one person who managed it that way, but she was 17 days over,
> so must have been exceedingly close to going naturally. It can take 3 doses
> of gel to get a first timer (or anyone for that matter) to the stage of
> being even able to break the membranes and if breaking the membranes doesn't
> work that's when you get synthetic oxytocin.
>
I read somewhere that it's not good to go straight to the oxytocin? I
looked into it, as my MIL has never gone into labour naturally, and
nothing much happened for her until she was on the drip, when things
then happened very quickly. However, my pregnancy book says "Because
uterine contractions that are induced by syntocin can be very string and
start suddenly before the baby has been exposed to more gentle uterine
activity, there is a greater risk of the baby becoming distressed". I
guess this is why they give the pesseries etc a good chance of working
first.

> Anne
>
>

[lucy-lu]

Joybelle wrote:

> Hi, Lucy,
> I remember with my first two kids having that "slump" and then feeling
> better and then one day baby was here. :) I went over 41 weeks with my
> first three, and with my last baby I went on my due date. Y'know what? I
> missed that extra time. I fully expected to go past my due date (despite
> complications) and when I didn't I felt rather bummed. It didn't last long,
> though.

It's funny, cos much though my bump is really uncomfy at the moment, I
think I am going to miss it a lot... I guess that's a similar feeling.
>
> And what is it with people?? I really think people who aren't pregnant
> should just keep silent! LOL I remember my mom would call up to my due
> date, asking if today was the day, that kind of thing, and when my due date
> came and went she'd stop calling. I'd call her, and she'd be all excited
> thinking I was calling that I'd gone into labor, and when I hadn't, she'd
> act irritated at me like I was doing it on purpose. Never mind that she'd
> gone post dates with 4 out of 5 kids. You'd think she'd have been a bit
> more sympathetic!
>
Oh yeah, I've stopped calling people as it just over excites them!! A
lot of those are ones that gave birth at 37/38 weeks, so they didn't get
the daily calls, and just don't understand how annoying it can be!

> I'm glad the food is staying down and the hips aren't doing too badly.
> Every little thing helps a little bit. :)

Thanks :) I'm up at stupid o'clock as my body seems to have taken
offence to last night's dinner, but I'll forgive it as it seemed to
enjoy the previous few meals ;)
>
> Oh, you've always been civilised, Lucy! :) I'm very excited to hear the
> birth story when it happens.
>
Ah, but then you've not demanded I give birth today ;) I'm taking
advantage of the rest of the UK still being in bed, and therefore not
spotting me online, so I can catch up with some posts :) I'm looking
forward to doing a birth story though :) It seems quite surreal at the
moment though - the thought that in a few days, I will have a baby -
very odd!

Take care

Lucy

[Joybelle]

"lucy-lu" > wrote in message
...

> It's funny, cos much though my bump is really uncomfy at the moment, I
> think I am going to miss it a lot... I guess that's a similar feeling.

I really, really miss the rolling baby and kicks. It was such a cool
feeling.


> Oh yeah, I've stopped calling people as it just over excites them!! A
> lot of those are ones that gave birth at 37/38 weeks, so they didn't get
> the daily calls, and just don't understand how annoying it can be!

I stopped calling, too. It was so depressing some days wishing that
somebody would call, so I wasn't sitting just wishing baby would come.
Somebody would call and then be all irritated I hadn't had the baby. Or so
it seemed! I did have a good friend who was wonderful. She'd call and we'd
just chat. People gave up on me after I went to 41 weeks. LOL


> Thanks :) I'm up at stupid o'clock as my body seems to have taken
> offence to last night's dinner, but I'll forgive it as it seemed to
> enjoy the previous few meals ;)

I'm sorry you had to be up!


> Ah, but then you've not demanded I give birth today ;) I'm taking
> advantage of the rest of the UK still being in bed, and therefore not
> spotting me online, so I can catch up with some posts :) I'm looking
> forward to doing a birth story though :) It seems quite surreal at the
> moment though - the thought that in a few days, I will have a baby -
> very odd!

Isn't that such an odd feeling! I hope so, too. That last week sure can be
a bit long. Best wishes to you, and I'm hoping that lil' one decides to
make her appearance soon for your sake! :)


--
Joy

Rose 1-99
Iris 2-01
Spencer 3-03
Grant 9-05 www.caringbridge.org/visit/grantphilip

[Ericka Kammerer]

lucy-lu wrote:
> Anne Rogers wrote:
>
>> We tend to use the gel, which has the disadvantage of not being easily
>> or totally removeable.
>
> Just out of interest, why would you want to remove it?

If it is causing hyperstimulation, that can lead to
other problems. In that situation, it's good to be able to
get it out/turn it off rather than not being able to get off
the roller coaster as complications are developing.

Best wishes,
Ericka