The final stretch

     It's September 8th and the baby due date is September 17th so I'm in the final stretch. I know due dates are more an estimate since it seems rare for people to have their  baby on that date but it's still around the corner. I know the common assumption is that for first time pregnancies you're likely to be late but a number of studies have shown this to be rumor. From what I read it's most common to deliver mid into week 39 but prior to hitting week 40. The issue with estimates and studies like this is that it all depends on how accurate the date of conception is. Most women don't know when exactly they were ovulating or conceived and many give an estimate on the start date of their last period which is how the due date is determined. So it's all a guessing game.
     At this point the baby is full term and according to my OBGYN could be anywhere from 2 weeks early to 2 weeks late. Actually at my check up 2 weeks ago I was already 1cm dilated. Sure that's nothing in terms of labor and pushing out a baby but if I was already dilated about 4 weeks prior to the due date I'd say my baby and body were on their way.
     I have mixed feelings on the labor and when I'd want it to happen. I'm so tired or pregnancy, the lack of sleep, the inability to get comfortable, the aches and pains- that sometimes I just want her to be out already. Then when I think about all the work once she is here; the feedings, diaper changing, constant work, crying, lack of sleep. and responsibility I reconsider and want her to stay in a little longer. That and the fear and anxiety of the labor and birth process puts me in no rush for her delivery. I know women have babies every day and it's been like this for centuries but it's hard not to be scared and worried about the birth. It all seems so PAINFUL, difficult, and unpleasant. I worry too about the recovery after and at times that seems to scare me even more. I try to catch myself and divert my attention to something else because like it or not the baby will be coming out and it's unavoidable. My tendency to overanalyze and overthink just hurts me in this situation since it increases my anxiety and does nothing to prepare me for delivery or calm my nerves. So for now it's a waiting game.

The TMI files: Constipation

     After some debate I decided to go ahead and start a series of posts on the ugly truth of pregnancy. I know it may be "too much information," hence the name the TMI files but pregnancy is not all pretty and honestly I hate how much some people sugarcoat it. So, if you would rather not hear some of the ugly truth about my pregnancy and bodily functions I suggest you skip this post... for others- read on.
     To date perhaps the worst experience of my pregnancy was a particularly bad constipation day. Constipation during pregnancy is rather common. Your body produces hormones that slow the digestive tract, which causes waste to pass through much slower and more of the liquid to drain out resulting in large, hard, and difficult to pass poops. Gross- I know but I'm just being real and telling it as it is. As you get late into pregnancy the distance between the stomach, which is now up in your chest since the baby pushes all your organs into tight spaces, and the anus is pretty long so it feels as it if it takes even longer for things to make their exit... giving all the waste and poop even more time to sit inside and build up. I found myself in this situation after a few days without a proper bowel movement and I knew there was lots built up inside that didn't want to make it's way out.  I was backed up and it was starting to give me pains.
     What made this particular day that much worse is that it was a work day. I'm one of those people that feels odd about needing to take a dump while at work. Some people don't care... I do. To make it that much more difficult- my office has the worst bathroom set up EVER. There is one tiny bathroom; and I need to go through my boss's office to reach it. Yeap, that's right- there is one toilet and it's next to my boss's office. I swear the walls are thin  and I feel that you can hear what's going on in the other room- so if he has a client I can hear everything being said which makes me think they can hear what is going on inside the toilet. So it's obvious that if you are in the bathroom for a minute it's just a pee break- anything more and everyone knows what's going on inside. And finally there's the risk of embarrassment if any noises or smells come from the bathroom. Again some people might not care about all this,  but it gives me anxiety and just makes things so much worse on me and my " ability to do my business" while at work.
     So on this particular day, I started to feel early on that I needed to poop but when I got to the toilet I just couldn't squeeze out more than some rabbit pellets. Mind you I'm also trying to go about my business as quickly and quietly as possible because of the stress knowing that someone is on the other side of the wall and no doubt knows what's going on in the bathroom. The result of which was me giving up on my attempt and heading back to my desk only to try again in an hour or two. You can imagine how difficult it was to focus on work and how time seems to stop making the day drag. I also got that heavy & full feeling and it was difficult to sit still or comfortably at my desk. But no matter how many bathroom attempts I made I just couldn't get it out. Perhaps if I got over my pride, groaned and strained and sat on the toilet for 20 minutes I could have gotten it out but I resorted to toughing out the day and waiting to get home; much like I had done on other days.
     But when I got home it wasn't any easier. I was no longer worried about how long I sat on the toilet or any noises that might come out. Yet no matter how much I pushed and strained it did no good. I began to worry that I'll either push so hard I get hemorrhoids (another common pregnancy "symptom" from situations like this) or that I'll rip my asshole. I'm not even kidding I really wondered how I was going to get what felt like a baseball sized shit through the tight opening. And then as if I needed anything else to worry about it made me think of the upcoming childbirth and how it will be a similar situation only with a baby head and a different but equally small opening. That just stressed me out more and I took another break.  I made a number more bathroom attempts without any luck.
     So what do you do next in a situation like this? What else- you Google it and see what info you can find. What I found out from various posts, message boards, and sites is that at this point an enema wasn't going to help me as it sees I had fecal impactment. I also learned that if I leave the poop there it'll just get harder and worse and lead to a trip to the emergency room. And if that happens how will doctors deal with it? Well they can either try an enema, but it'll probably do no good at this point, so they will Vaseline your asshole and go in manually to break apart the poop into smaller pieces and pull them out of your ass. I'm not even kidding- that is how they handle it. And that is a good outcome because if you leave the waste in there for too long you run the risk of  other complications. For me the embarrassing idea of going to the doctor to have shit pulled from my ass was enough motivation do whatever I could to avoid the ER and get the poop out ASAP.
     So at this point it seemed that I might need to get a pair of gloves, some Vaseline, and go in to break off pieces and pull them out. GROSS. I know and so TMI. I did think of one more option. OK so it might not be much better than option one but still something that ran through my mind; the reason I couldn't get anything out is because the poop had grown large, hardened, and impacted and my anus was just too tense and tight to let it through. So another option was to find a way to relax and stretch the sphincter. When else do people do that? During anal sex. No- don't jump ahead and think that my bf and I had anal sex to get the poop out. I highly doubt he would have gone for it anyway. I can't imagine anyone agreeing  to a proposition like "I'm constipated and full of shit- you want to have anal to help get it out?" working on anyone. Still I have heard that anal is good for constipation and if the opening was stretched more open and relaxed it's plausible that the poop would come out. So anal play seemed like option two.
     My choices came down to a lubed finger up the butt to pull out the poop, a sex toy up the ass to widen the exit, or a combination of the two. I'm not telling you which option I went with but, although not a proud moment, it worked. Since then I've also done my best to eat small meals and make sure waste passes through my system rather than letting it build. More fluids, fruit, and fiber is a good option too but I had already been doing that. Also my work bathroom anxiety eased up a bit- I stopped caring if I was in the bathroom for long or that co-workers and clients might know is going on in there. Better that then letting anxiety inhibit me from taking a poop when I was able to do so rather than let it get to fecal impaction again. I finally started my maternity leave so the work toilet is a non-issue now. So there you have it- the first of my "too much in formation" posts. I know there will be a few more; not sure if anyone will continue to read my blog after but it's a risk I'll take.

Product Review: Mama Mio The Tummy Rub Butter

   
    I should probably begin this by saying that I am the worst person to review a lotion as I am terrible about keeping up with a daily cosmetic routine. That said, after reading lots of information about stretch marks, dry skin, and the need to moisturize while pregnant I thought it was worth while to research and invest in some sort of belly cream or lotion. From what I read Mama Mio had great reviews. They're products can be a bit pricey then again most cosmetics are. So when you compare a daily lotion like this to say a regular face moisturizer by Clinic or any high end product the price point is reasonable. Still I didn't want to order a lotion or cream for $50 bucks only to find it too greasy or heavy and waste my money.
     I'm very picky when it comes to the feel of lotion. I can't stand anything that slabs on heavy and seems to weigh down my skin. I was happy to find that Buy Buy Baby carries Mama Mio products and even has samples that you can try. (Sorry, I know it seems I'm pushing Buy Buy Baby but I really do find it a convenient store to shop at for baby stuff). I tried out a number of the skin products that Mama Mio offers and was surprised to like the Tummy Rub Butter the most. Usually any lotion listed as a butter turns me off since it tends to be heavy and greasy but I thought this one rubbed in quickly even though it does have an initial heavy and thick feel. The scent is also nice- not too much but a noticeable lotion scent. Mama Mio has a number of lotions, oils, and creams and even see a "starter sample/ pregnancy kit" but I decided to just go with this one container. The tummy rub butter lists that it should be used daily and can be used from the neck down so it's not just for the belly but can be applied to your boobs, back/ muffin top wrap around area. I don't see why you couldn't use it on arms and legs as well- even though they do see a special leg lotion.
     As far as it controlling of limiting the look of stretch marks I can't really tell how well it works because I do not keep up with daily use of the butter and because I'm only developing stretch marks now. I think I'll be able to comment more on this after the baby if/ when stretch marks become more of a concern. For now I do feel that the tummy rub butter is good at moisturizing, limiting dry skin, and limiting the itchiness that comes from skin stretching. This might be a bit TMI (too much info) but as my boobs grew with pregnancy they itched like crazy and I do feel that the tummy rub butter helped keep the skin moisturized and limited the itch. So overall- I like the Tummy Rub Butter by Mama Mio and would recommend it to others as a good moisturizer. Again I can't speak to it's ability to limit stretch marks or make them vanish but as a lotion/ cream I think it does the job.
     Below are some other products by Mama Mio. I haven't tried them (well other than in the store) so I can't speak of them but it's just for reference of what else they have to offer. The pricing is from Buy Buy Baby where the photo was taken but Mama Mio products can be bought at other retailers, online on the company site, as well as other online sites such as Amazon. I don't know how prices compare or where the best value is. Oh one more note on Buy Buy Baby, they take Bed Bath and Beyond coupons so I was able to use a 20% off coupon so that helped with the cost factor.

Baby Room

     The baby room is finally coming together and it's making it all seem real. A while back we decided that my bedroom would become the baby room. We got almost all of my belongings and furniture out of the room in May. Although my dressers stay there under a tarp for the last two months in anticipation of room painting. It took Teddy much longer than I hoped but the baby room is finally painted. Since I shoulding be around paint fumes Teddy offered to take care of the painting. He primed the walls, painted the ceiling white, and then got the one accent wall before tackling the three remaining walls. It was months of looking at a tarped and taped up room that we nicknamed "the kill room" a la HBO's Dexter; but it's finally done. The walls at least. There's still spots that need touch up paint and the window frame needs painting but we still have time for that.

     After getting the painting done, Teddy and his friend moved my dressers out and the furniture that we'll use for the baby in. Teddy also assembled the crib. Is say the room is 70% done. We still have decals to put up and well as some framed pictures and decorations. Besides that it's setting up the baby swing,mobile, and other baby gifts. I also haven't figured out the baby "changing station." I think changing tables are a waste of money and space. I hoped to place a changing pad on top of the dresser and manage that way but now I'm worried the space is too narrow.

     The other thing I could use is a seat in the baby room. The only glider (baby rocking chair) that I actually liked is well over $1,000. My mom offered to buy it but I can't let her spend that much on a chair. It's just too much. Even the traditional gliders go for a few hundred dollars which I think is outrageous. Not to mention they are so hideous. You'd think someone would come up with an affordable but practical baby chair. For now I placed an ikea lounge chair in the room but it won't work for me and baby because I can barely get out of the chair now. I'm sure we'll figure something out.

     When we get the room all done I'll post more pictures. It's still a work in progress but at least it has a baby room feel to it already. 2 more months to get it all done and welcome the baby.

Registering with Buy Buy Baby

     Before being pregnant I rarely stepped foot into a baby store so the idea of registering for baby products seemed overwhelming at first. Just the choices of what store to register at seemed complicated. Sure you have the big company baby chains like Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby. If you want to be fancy and go the high end route- Bloomingdales and some other department stores have a "baby shop" and offer registries. Then there's Target, Walmart, Kmart, and all of those stores. Lastly, there's the internet and even more possibilities for places to register.  I settled on Buy Buy Baby and Amazon.

     I went with Amazon for one of my registries (yes, I did more than one). I like the convenience of the internet and Amazon has EVERYTHING. Plus prime members can get free shipping (depending on the product). The thing that sold me on an Amazon registry (other than the convenience)  is their "universal button." After installing it, you can browse other websites and link items from other sites into your registry. Sadly, I have yet to figure it out so that I can add the universal button so that I can attach a few items from other sites into my registry. I've gone though the directions a few times and even asked Teddy to do it for me since he's more computer savvy and we still haven't figured it out. If anyone knows how to set up the universal button please message me or comment back on how I can do it.

     For my other registry I wanted to pick a store. Some of my guests, like my grandma, don't have a computer nor would they know how to go about using an online registry so I needed a standard store option. I went with Buy Buy Baby for two reasons. 1) they accept Bed Bath & Beyond coupons and 2) I liked their inventory & customer service.

    Originally I though I'd go with Babies R Us but I hated their customer service during my initial trip to the store. There were limited associates on the sales floor and when I needed help and information on a stroller I spent 20 minutes waiting for help. Maybe it's a bit harsh to make a quick judgment on one bad experience but I also read a few negative comments online about their return policy. So I gave Buy Buy Baby a shot.

    Before beginning my registry I spent hours online ready product reviews, watching youtube videos of parent reviews, and even started following blogs like Baby Gizmo. By the time I went to the store to do my registry I had a huge list of my wants and needs. Turns out I didn't need to do all that research on my own. Buy Buy Baby gives you a booklet of things to consider and register for and they even offer you a personal shopper (free of charge) to walk the store with you, answer your questions, and to make suggestions of useful items. I also didn't realize that I could have done my registry bit by bit rather than spending a half day with a scan gun getting all the items that I wanted. It's ok. I took my mom, rather than Teddy, to complete the registry. We made a day of it. After the initial sign up at the help desk, I was offered water as we are shopping (we got two little bottles) and given a goody bag. I've included a picture of the items in the bag; it was a good mix of coupons, promotions of products, and some samples.

     As mentioned before I was offered a personal shopper but I declined since I already know many of the brands and items that I wanted. If I knew the store staff would be so helpful I would have started my registry earlier. Perhaps then Teddy could have come along to do part of it. He decided against it since he know I already had a ton of items in mind and he'd just be bored following me around the store. Had I not research everything first and just worked on sections of the registry at a time he could have been involved. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20.

Acupuncture and Physical Therapy for Hip Dysplasia during Pregnancy

     As I mentioned in a prior post, I have hip dysplasia. Being pregnant has increased my pain and also limited my treatment and pain management options. My back and hip pain is now accompanied by pain of the entire pelvic bone and sciatic nerve pain that sends a shooting pain from my butt down my leg. The shooting pains come on unexpectedly, usually while I'm walking or when I move to get up. The pain varies from day to day but has progressed along with my pregnancy. I was becoming desperate and willing to try anything; which is how I ended out starting acupuncture.
      I have no problems with Western medicine and I do believe that a lot can be said for alternative and holistic medicine/treatments and their healing abilities. My problem is with the needles. I HATE NEEDLES. You'd think I'd get used to it by now because being pregnant doctors are constantly taking my blood, testing this or that. But I still get horribly nervous each time. So the idea of getting pricked with numerous needles and left to "relax" in my human -pin cushion state was not something I wanted to try out. But when the pain gets bad- you'll try ANYTHING to make it stop. And that's how I began acupuncture.
     I've been going to acupuncture about a month now. Twice a week after work I let a nice Korean lady named Naomi stick little needles all over my body. I've learned to clench my teeth and remain as still as possible while she works her magic. Each session begins with her asking how I am doing, where my pain is that day, and the severity of it. She then has me lay down either face down or face up or even sitting and proceeds to stick me with needles. As I mentioned before, I hate needles so I try not to look but from my count it's usually between 15 and 25 needles. After she places them all  she covers me with a thin aluminum like blanket, dims the lights. and leaves me to relax and let the needles do their work.
     Does it hurt? Well that depends. Usually, no. Most times I barely feel the needle but other times there is an instant pressure and pain. Naomi explains it saying that the body is like a roadmap and everything is linked. So if she is treating my hip, she can find a point along that map either on my hand or foot or even elsewhere  that is linked to the hip. Sometimes she hits a point on the map that is blocked so its an instant "trigger spot." Those trigger spots are the ones that hurt and that I feel most. For me there is one on the side of my left hand almost at the corner of what I believe is the "life line," and every time I get a needle there (which is almost every section) it hurts. I've learned to brace myself for it. I think it also depends on what part of the body she is placing the needles. In general hands and feet are more painful. Being pregnant there are certain points that she can't stick me with needles so maybe that's why I end out with so many in my hands and feet. Overall it's not too painful and although I can't say that my pain has magically vanished I do find myself feeling better after my sessions now that I learned to relax a bit more.
     The center that I do acupuncture at is actually a physical therapy and sports rehab center. When I went for my first acupuncture session I also met with the chiropractor and head physical therapist. I already see a chiropractor elsewhere so I didn't opt to switch. As for physical therapy, my orthopedic advised against it until after the baby was born. The therapist at the center was surprised by this because pt is one of the few things that can help during pregnancy. She agreed that some treatments need to be avoided but there were still exercises and massage treatments that can be used to ease the pain. She offered to speak with my orthopedic and obstetrician.
     During my second visit she said she spoke with my doctors and got the approval. Seems my obstetrician was very accommodating where as it seems my orthopedic backpedaled a bit on his earlier statement claiming that he discouraged pt because obstetricians don't take kindly to it. Either way I got the green light and began a series of exercises that will help strengthen my hip bones and core. The other part of my physical therapy includes being stretched out by the therapist, and getting massaged to work out the knots in my back and hip areas and minimize the inflammation to the joints. I admit I love the massage and even though it hurts at times I usually feel better after. The exercises aren't difficult but I sometimes I feel pain while doing them or get sore afterwards. Still I know they are important and with time I hope they won't bother me at all. Overall it's nice to finally have some sort of pain management again. I'm not sure if I'll have the time or continue to go to weekly sessions once the baby is here but for now it helps with the hip, back, and pelvic pain so I just take it day by day and week by week.
    

Glucose Screening Test (Pregnancy Sugar Test)

     Between weeks 24- 28 of pregnancy it's standard to get a glucose screening test done. The test checks for gestational diabetes; diabetes that begins or is found during pregnancy. A woman can develop diabetes while pregnant and the diabetes can either wane off after pregnancy or continue. Kind of weird but I guess it one of the many changes that can occur with pregnancy; as if there wasn't enough to worry about.
     Anyhow, when I was about 25 weeks pregnant I went in for the glucose screening. My doctor instructed me not to eat or drink anything prior to the test (water was ok). My test was scheduled for the morning (9:30 am) so that I could come in soon after waking up. I was given a sugary drink when I arrived.

You're instructed to drink it within 10 minutes and report back on when I was done. They then have you sit for an hour. You're not supposed to eat or drink anything as it can taint the results. After the hour is up, your blood is taken and then sent to a lab to test the amout of sugar on the blood. If the levels come back high then there's a chance the mother developed gestational diabetes and a second, longer test is ordered. The second test is a three hour test. It's similar to the one hour except that you repeat the cycle and have to drink the glucose drink, sit, give blood, sit more, drink another glucose drink, wait more, give blood agajn, etc.

     I was worried about the test because I heard the drink is terrible and some people can't hold it down. I was worried I'd vomit and be instructed to come back another time to be retested. Actually the drink wasn't too bad in taste. It was like an in carbonated very sweet orange drink. It's given to you cold which helps. I found that as I got half way through the bottle the taste seemed more sugary and gross. But not too bad. I finished it in about 7minutes. After about 10 minutes the sugary taste was still stuck in my mouth and I wished for water. Then I started feeling a bit nauseated. Apparently it's one of man y possible side effects; see the bottle:

     The hour went by slowly and I was dying for some water to kill the sugary taste in my mouth but I stuck it out. After the hour was up, they drew some blood and I was free to leave. I was told the results take a few days and they'd call if anything was up or if they need to re-test.

 

     As I left the office the nausea seemed to get worse and I regretted going to the appointment alone. Motion make the nausea worse. As time went on I was feeling worse and I began to shake uncontrollably. I had a quick taco and that helped calm the shakes but I still felt off. I could feel the large amounts of sugar in my system and as my body tired to process it I felt extremely weak. I continued to feel this way for the rest of the day. NOT FUN. It's a good thing I didn't need to go back to work after the glucose test because I couldn't have done it. I was so weak and sick feeling that I took a two hour mid day nap. It helped a little but it wasn't until hours later and after lots of carb foods that I felt better. My advise to anyone that needs to do this test:

1.  plan to make a day of it. Everyone responds differently but it seems a number of people get sick during or after the test so if you can afford a day off of work- take it just in case.
2. relax, lay down and just wait it out. Time seems to be the only thing that helps.
3. try to get some carbs in your stomach; I don't know why but it seems to help.

     As for my results, I haven't heard anything back so I assume they were fine. I'm sure if there was any indication of possible diabetes I would have been called to schedule the 3 hour test.

Yeay! Another baby-related test passed with flying colors.