Well I called the OB this morning and asked to move my appointment from next week to this week. I figured if I had my appt this Friday instead of next Friday it would be only 4 days sooner than it was supposed to be. I explained that I really wanted reassurance that baby was still doing okay as the first trimester symptoms (mostly nausea and heartburn) had gone away which is great but since I also hadn't reached the point where I could feel baby move, I have no reassurance that baby is still alive and well. I also told her that we had ttc over 5 years for this little one, and that I had a miscarriage 2 1/2 years ago. It was to no avail. She said unless I was bleeding or something like that I have to wait four weeks. I have to admit I almost burst into tears when she said that. I wasn't expecting to have such an emotional response. I asked if I could at least move it up so that it was only 4 weeks later. I had originally picked the Feb 15 appt bc it was a very convenient time slot in terms of having my appt and then teaching at BU as the OB's office is super close to my bldg at work. She gave me two choices for Feb 11 - either 9:15 or 1:30. Normally 1:30 on a Tuesday would be perfect, but that Tuesday I have a meeting in State College (over an hour away) from 1:00-3:00. So I took the 9:15 even though it means I'll miss ladies Bible study next Tuesday. I know it's probably silly. I probably should have kept my appt for Feb 15, but I just didn't want to wait 3 extra days. So my next appt is in 8 days. I hope the time flies as I sure would like to have that fetal doppler test right now if I could even though I have no valid reason to be concerned.
Yesterday I ordered two used books on half.com. One was by LaLeche on nursing. When I told Paul he looked at me like I was nuts. I could tell he was thinking you need to read a book to know how to do that? And yes I know there are plenty of women through the ages and around the world today who nurse w/o reading any books, but I also know it's not always a super easy thing at first. The second was on the Bradley method of childbirth which I have had friends over the years tell me is far better than Lamaze. I can't find any actual Bradley method classes around here; so I told Paul I will read the book and give him the info he needs, but we'll skip going to any classes since it seems they only offer Lamaze classes around here. I figure me reading a book and us discussing it will take less time than attending a weekly class for several weeks. He again looked at me like - you need to read a book? He said I thought my job was to just to say "push." LOL! I said well I want you to know more about L&D than that as actually you don't push until the very end. Boy is he in for an education the next several months. I can't wait to see him change a diaper, LOL! Trust me he is NOT looking forward to changing any diapers; if it were up to him he'd probably never change one. I told him that I am sure I will change far more diapers than he will, but I do expect him to share some of the diaper changing duties! :-)
4 comments:
Good idea buying the nursing book...there are alot of questions when you are nursing your first baby! And alot of surprises too...the biggest surprise for me was that it hurt...after all of the nurses were telling me it shouldn't hurt if you're doing it right. They were right to an extent....it doesn't hurt if you're doing it right AFTER your nipples become a little tougher...but for the first week or so, you're not used to it and even if you're doing it perfectly it will hurt! After another mom told me that I felt MUCH better that I was doing what I should be :)
I can count on one hand the # of times Josh has changed a diaper, and he's never ever done a poopy one.
I think that going to a birth class is still a good idea for several reasons: you get to meet with other expecting moms (you might end up bonding with one of them); you and DH get to do something toghether in preparation for the arrival (i.e. helps DH to get more involved in the process), they teach you about the labor process, they show videos (which I thought were very helpful), they talk about taking care of the child afterwards... but the biggest value in my opinion is DH's involvement and commitment. You might want to ask for a program of what they teach in class to see if there is anything that you can find helpful. BTW, Raj has been changing all sorts of diapers ;-), giving the kids a bath, feeding them... I am really proud of him!
You might see if there's a birthing class that is a "weekend" class (several hours in one day) rather than one that is spread out over several weeks. We had signed up for a weekend class (was supposed to be something like 10-4 on a Saturday with a lunch break, if I recall correctly) in preparation for giving birth to Susie. THis is less time-consuming overall than going to weekly classes. However, I have to say we missed the class entirely, because Susie ended up being born two days before we were supposed to attend the class! (at 36 weeks 5 days). So, we went into the L/D experience with no classes. I had read What to Expect when pregnant and What to Expect the First Year, which give advice on both L/D and on nursing. I agree with the post by "ayre" regarding the initial pain while nursing. I don't know WHY so many people (even in books) tell you "If it hurts, it means you're doing it wrong/bad latch." It's true that it hurts WORSE if there's a bad latch, but even with a good latch/perfect technique, it is extremely painful for a full week. Even my second time around, this was the case (and I had only weaned Susie 7 months prior to giving birth to Adam, so I thought I might still be "toughened up," but nope, it still took a week of nursing for the pain to dwindle away). Definitely buy some pure Lanolin ointment in preparation for nursing. That was a MUST have for me both times. You don't need it after the first couple weeks of nursing, but it helps a lot at first, and is harmless for baby to ingest some. The pain DOES go away... it's worth toughing it out, but just don't worry that the pain is necessarily a sign that you're doing it wrong! :)
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