38 week adventure

So last thursday I went to my Dr appointment and found a BP up around 140/90. Well that's a lot higher than usual and a huge jump from the week before. My Dr decided to send me to the hospital for monitoring. He figured I'd be there for 24 hours for monitoring.

We got there... waited around for a room for an hour. All the antepartum rooms were full so I got put in a LD room. Lovely little pee test, blood work, blood pressure, NST and more blood pressure. First BP showed what the Dr saw. After lying down for the NST for 30 mins or whatever, my BP was back at 120/80ish or whatever normal was for me.

Then they sent me home... that was a stressful day. We didn't know if I'd be stuck in the hospital to deliver the baby or not... All was good though.

At my appointment, I was dilated 1cm (boo but 1cm more than last week!), soft (but not effaced) and posterior. Oh well, that will change in labour if it doesn't before :P

We didn't tell anyone about the hospital visit though. No reason to stress anyone out.

37 week Dr appt

Since I know I'll forget all of this by monday I'm going to post it now.

• group B strep + (boooooo) will write more on this below
• internal exam to check dilation and effacement next week
• baby seems to have dropped a bit more, head doesn't wobble as much as it did last week
• because Dr is away for my entire 40th week and a bit before that, he's scheduled me for another ultrasound to assess size, fluid, and position just in case I deliver before he's back (so the on call Dr has all that info)
• heart rate normal
• BP normal (after checking with the original cuff, it read 140/whatever, so he rechecked with a bigger cuff and it read 118/whatever lol)
• fundal height 37cm
• fundal height puts baby at about the 60th%ile for growth according to the Dr's charts and has been in normal the whole time
• Dr estimating I'll deliver a 7.5lb baby (I doubt it... expecting 8.5ish)
• Dr estimating I'll deliver shortly after he comes back from vacation (Oct 1+ at 41+ weeks)
• REALLY REALLY hoping to deliver before Oct 4ish because the thought of feeling like I need to entertain MIL and SIL while in the hospital trying to learn how to feed/bathe/diaper my baby is just killing me... delivering by the 4th would mean I should be out by the 6th if all is good and they're arriving on the evening of the 5th.... plus if I deliver before they arrive, there will be no drama if they decide they are above the rules that we set for our stay in the hospital
• inductions for my Dr would start at about 11 days after your due date which in my case would be the 5th and there is a possibility of being bumped for someone who's having complications if I'm just a normal post term with no complications... that might mean that MIL/SIL wouldn't get to see baby

What being positive means for my labour:

• go to hospital AS SOON AS my water breaks
• IV antibiotics at least twice 4 hours apart during labour
• if water doesn't break before labour, go in with the 5-1-1 rule like normal

So it really doesn't mean much for my labour except I have to get an IV... which is a huge PITA considering my hospital doesn't do routine IV's for natural labouring moms (except for epidurals, pitocin, dehydration or c-sections). Hopefully I can get a heplock so I don't have to be all corded in between doses.

Info on group B strep:

What is Beta Strep, or Group B Strep? Group B Strep, or GBS is a type of bacteria commonly found in the intestinal tract, rectal, or vaginal areas. Up to 30% of women have these bacteria in their vaginal flora at one time or another. Most of the time this bacteria lives in balance with other bacteria and is considered normal, however if it grows out of balance or travels to other parts of the body, such as the blood stream, the urinary tract, or meninges, problems could occur.

How Can GBS affect my pregnancy or my baby? Pregnant women infected with GBS could develop urinary tract infections, amnionitis, or endometritis. Amnionitis could cause the membranes to rupture prematurely, resulting in a pre-term baby. GBS disease could also cause a stillbirth. In most cases, however, women with GBS colonization remain asymptomatic and are only carriers of the bacteria.

If a woman is a carrier, the concern is the possibility of the baby contracting the bacteria as he/she passes through the birth canal or before birth if the membranes rupture and the bacteria passes into the amniotic fluid. Most babies exposed to GBS during birth have no symptoms and do not contract any illness, but in some cases Early Neonatal Group B Streptococcal Septicemia (ENGBSS) could result. Here, GBS bacteria infects the bloodstream and could potentially spread to the meninges (water which surrounds and protects the brain) resulting in meningitis. This could lead to brain damage or death in the baby. Other effects of the disease in babies include pneumonia, cerebral palsy, hearing or vision loss, and learning disabilities. A premature infant is at much higher risk than a full term baby of developing ENGBSS.

Most cases of GBS infection in babies are of the early onset type, which occurs within the first week of life, and often within the first 24 hours. There is also a late onset type, which is the type that most often results in meningitis and this can occur after the first week up until about three months of age. Late onset of GBS infection is only caused by exposure during birth 50% of the time, and the rest of the time is unknown.

What are the signs and symptoms of GBS in an infant?The first four to six hours after birth are the most crucial time for acute observation. Signs and symptoms to watch for are problems with temperature regulation, breathing problems and grunting sounds, fever, seizures, and stiffness or extreme limpness. All of these will be carefully monitored by your health care provider.

How often does GBS infection affect people?Different sources off different statistics on GBS infection. The Group B Strep Association estimates that 8000 babies each year in the US contract serious GBS disease, and that of these 800 will die. Another source sites that 300 babies die each year from GBS disease. The CDC estimate that the risk of a baby contracting GBS disease is .5/1000 births. Although all sources agree that it is a very small number of babies affected, strict protocols have been written by the CDC that affect an extremely large number of women and their babies.

What is the current protocol?

In 2002 the CDC wrote new GBS protocols that call for all pregnant women to have a rectal/vaginal culture to detect GBS between 35 and 37 weeks and for those who test positive to receive I.V. antibiotics during labor if certain risk factors develop that would increase the baby's chances of developing ENGBSS. These risk factors are:• Preterm Labor(less than 37 weeks)• Rupture of membranes before 37 weeks• Rupture of membranes for more than 18 hours• Temperature in mother higher than 100.5 during labor• GBS found in urine

Problems with current Protocol

One problem with the present protocol is that GBS colonization can come and go. A woman, who tests positive at 36 weeks, could become negative by the time she goes into labor as her body creates its own balance yet she will still be considered positive and receive treatment. And vice versa, she could test negative and become positive by the time she starts labor and go untreated.

This present protocol has led to 1/3 of all pregnant women and their babies being treated with I.V. antibiotics during labor which has caused and increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria, not just in GBS strains but other bacteria such as E. coli. This has led to an increase in babies being infected by other bacteria as well as some strains of GBS which are resistant to all know antibiotics.

A study of 43 newborns with blood infections caused by GBS and other bacteria found that when the mother was treated during labor with I.V. antibiotics, 88-91% of the infants' infections were resistant to antibiotic treatment. In mothers not treated during labor 18-20% of the infections were resistant.

Another less serious effect of the I.V. antibiotics is that they also wipe out the natural, healthy flora in the mother's (and baby's) body creating an environment for unhealthy flora like Candida to grow. Thrush, an infection of Candida in a baby's mouth, has become rampant since the development of this protocol.

Allergic reactions to antibiotics are also a real concern. Ten percent of mothers will have a mild reaction and one in 10,000 will experience anaphylactic shock, a severe allergic reaction to the antibiotics which threatens the lives of both mother and baby.

In women who test positive for GBS and receive no antibiotics, less than 1% of babies will become ill from GBS infection according to CDC estimates. Are these dangerous protocols truly worth it?

Are there alternative protocols?

The effectiveness of herbal therapies on GBS has not been scientifically proven and most likely won't as the drug companies won't benefit from herbal treatments for disease. However, it must be assumed that if a woman carries GBS in her body, she also carries the antibodies which will also be pass to the baby. There are herbal which could support this natural immune response in the body and keep GBS in check.

The following is an herbal regimen the mother could use during the 5 weeks prior to her due date:

• Echinacea-tincture or tea once per day• Garlic- 1 clove or 6-8 capsules per day• Vitamin C- 1000 mg/day• Probiotics- daily, follow directions on bottle• Vitamin E- 400 IU per day

This protocol can be used by women who choose not to be screened but are still concerned about GBS or by women who have tested positive for GBS but who choose to have a home birth and no antibiotic treatment, or those who just want to treat prophylactically(not testing but want to just make sure).

Another safe alternative treatment that can be used during labor is rinsing the vaginal and rectal areas with Hibiclens solution every 4-6 hours until baby is born. Hibiclens is the brand name for chlorohexidene, an antiseptic solution that is safe for both mother and baby yet very effective in reducing the incidence of GBS and E. coli infection in newborns. Unlike the herbal regimen recommended above, there have been specific scientific done which have proven the efficacy of this treatment (J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 2002 Feb; 11 (2) :84-8 and British Journal of medicine 1997 Jul 26;3 15 (7102):216-9). This treatment can be used if the mother tests positive for GBS and her water breaks without labor or if other risk factors develop during labor. Your health care provider can answer any questions you may have about this safe and effective option for prevention of GBS infection in your baby.

Dr. Appointment and more CL finds

BP was lower than 2 weeks ago... 125/62 instead of 135/something... that's good news. He wants me to rest for 1.5 hours twice a day on my days off and probably also once a day on days I work. Also wants me to drink 3-4 cups of milk or supplement with some extra calcium. I've got to watch swelling in feet and fingers and blurry vision and such in case BP problems arise but all is good. Baby measuring right on track at 18cm fundal height with 148 BPM.

We also got 4 BG pocket diapers (2 white, 1 blue, 1 pink) and a tummy time play mat for $20 total. Great finds on CL <3

Dr. appointment

• Baby was easy to find heartbeat. Nice and strong the Dr. said at 148 bpm
• Weight gain is normal for this point
• My blood pressure is up from about 120ish to about 136ish so I'm going back in 2 weeks to check again and he'll put me on meds if there's any concern at that point.

Hopefully I can put the blood pressure worries out of my head since the Dr. said not to worry anyways. I'll see him in 2 weeks and see the baby next week.

Deals, nesting and doctor

Jackpot on deals for me lately. Below are my 43 microfiber inserts for various diapers (I'll use as doublers for nighttime too), which I paid $10 for. I literally paid about $0.23 for each one. I've seen people selling them for $1.50 to $2.00 each and even more online lately.

The picture below shows my newly acquired 50 burp cloths/receiving blankets. I plan on sewing them into things. For example, I can serge 8x8 squares together (in 2 or 3 layers) to make cloth wipes, I can use some of the bigger ones as flat diapers for the baby while he/she is a newborn, I can sew a few together with some velcro maybe to make a couple swaddles (at $20 each brand new that's ridiculous) or I can make scrappy pants by sewing strips together and then cutting a pants pattern out of the sewn strips to make pants with random patterns in strips all over them. I'm sure there's lots more things to sew out of them but the point is I got a great deal paying $14 for 50 ($0.28 each).

And my last deal is below. it is a 36 inch square mirror worth $90 that DH and I won at a silent auction for $5. For now it's going to stay in the baby room and we'll lean against the wall or lay on the floor for baby to look at while he/she is stationary and then when he/she is mobile, we'll put it on our bedroom wall and bring in a white framed floor length mirror from our bedroom to mount on the baby's wall.

This here is a deal I got a long time ago. It's an old old style snap and go that so far works with a graco carseat. Hopefully we'll get our stroller we want before the baby is born but even if we don't we'll have a stroller frame to use until we get it :) Then when we get our stroller, we'll give the frame away to someone for free, just like we were given it for free and the people before us were given it for free. I'll post more about the stroller we want another time.

As for my nesting, well I came home from buying the inserts this morning and folded the 25 blankets that weren't folded, took some tags off things, sorted clothes and most of the other baby things.

Left: folded burp cloths 2 rows deep

Right: diaper inserts

Left: random freebies (wash cloths, changing pad, toddler feeding set), wall art, soothers

Right: baby pool floatie, nestle diaper bag, bedding

Left: organized coupons and random baby papers

Right: formula freebies that don't expire for a long time after baby is born. I'll donate at least 2 to the food bank or women's shelter once breastfeeding is established.

Left: ikea plastic bag holder (will probably use as a wipes holder)

Right: our 6 freebie avent NB bottles with breast pads

And last but not least (well, I'll probably be back later today so it's not really last lol), my doctor's appointment: CANCELLED. *sad face* The doctor's office cancelled this morning because the Dr. got called in to labour and delivery to deliver someone's baby :) I hope everything is alright with the mom and baby :) and I'll go back next thursday for my appointment instead.

Hide and seek baby

Saw a different doctor yesterday to try find the HB again. The Dr. told me that at 10 weeks it's about a 50% chance to find the HB and at 11 weeks it's about a 80% chance to find it. It took him a while and a few diff ways (knees up/knees down) but eventually he found baby, right behind the placenta that was beating with my HB as well. I was thrilled to hear and and so relieved. It was beating around 152 which now makes hubby say "IT'S A BOY!" because that's how it worked with his friend's boy. High 160's at first, then settled to 150's. Yeah sorry hun but it really points to a girl at this point given the timing of conception.

I'm still pretty sure it's a girl and I will be disappointed that it's a boy for two reasons:

1. I would be wrong :P (Mama's intuition)
2. Girl clothes are so cute and all this time I've been looking at M&K's 19 m.o. girl and thinking how cute her clothes are.

I'll be thrilled for a healthy baby either way of course.

First appointment

History... blah blah blah...
Tried the doppler... no luck (which means I'm not 10 weeks as I would be by LMP)
Got an u/s appointment... will be called within a few days
Scheduled next Dr. appointment... 2 weeks (will hear HB and get pap... icky)
Got bloodwork done... ouch

9 weeks tomorrow :) I'm feeling better about the baby despite the fact that I couldn't hear the heartbeat. I'm hoping to borrow a doppler from a friend if she can find it :)

I have a doctor!

Yay, remember the doctor I posted about here and here? Well I got a call back from my Dr. office and he will take me. I just need to call and make an appt myself. I'll call asap on monday.

So stoked. I really hope this Dr. will be a good fit for me. If not, then I'll check out some of the women Dr.'s around here.

Dr. appt and this pregnancy so far vs. last

Last time:
found out at 4w6d
Dr. appt at 5w4d (BFN) needed blood test
had drank some water before appt and peed max. 2 hours before
took 2 HPTs with BFPs with FMU
sore nipples and growing cramps (only symptoms) by miscarriage at 8 weeks
spotting started after having sex, went away and came back

This time:
found out at 4w4d (ish)
Dr. appt at 5w1d (strong BFP)
had not peed since 6am (appt at 10am)
taken countless HPTs: some with FMU, some right after drinking a ton of water
sore nipples, extreme hunger and just overall feeling different (at 5w1d)
not having sex until out of first trimester at least

I feel like this pregnancy is off to a good start. I hope it all ends well too. I hope to have the OB monitor my HCG levels for a few weeks.

My doctor referred me to the OB that I want and I'm waiting to hear if I will be able to see him throughout my pregnancy. I hope I will be able to. He's the one I talked about here. My GP won't send me for an U/S. He says that there's a reason we don't send people until 18 weeks up here... I was like "are you f__ing kidding me?" (in my head). I don't even know when I'm due. How can I cope right now not knowing when I will hit 8 weeks and get past the point I miscarried last time? Right now I've got about a 2 week span that I'm going to be nervous. It'd be nice if that 2 weeks was only one week... Maybe this OB will give me an U/S. Hope hope hope! I really expect he will. M got one and she knew when he last AF had showed but she got it for dating purposes.

Dr. appt again

I had another doctor's appointment today.

My blood work came back all normal. I kinda wish it had come back abnormal so that I would know why my cycle is not normal.

He seems to be sure that things will regulate soon... I wish I had his confidence...

Oh, and also... he tells me not to get stressed out... Boss is coming back to work after Remembrance Day probably. I'm sure that I'm going to be one of the first people she comes to check in with. I'm not excited about that.

Edited: Forgot this part

He asked me if I had a way to track ovulation. I told him I had an app that tracks temperature and cervical mucus. It sounded gross saying it out loud haha. I love ovuview!

BFN, BFN and blood work

I've gotten 2 BFN's this week on days I suspected I should test. I also went to the Dr. hoping he'd put me back on birth control and he just sent me for blood work. He also won't put me on BC until mid november. There goes ANY chance of getting PG before my due date.

Maternity Doctors

My friend M just had a her 2nd baby at the beginning of September and had one the previous August as well. I was talking to her about her doctor and I think I'd like him to be my maternity doctor when I get there again.

She said that with any spotting, he sent her for an u/s and that's something I'll feel better with. Also, she seems to think that he will send me for an u/s first thing to find out when the baby is due. That's also something I'd feel better with.

He delivered her and her two babies and I'll definitely be making an appointment with him when I get my BFP.

What the Dr. said

He wasn't worried that it's been three months since my mc with no sign of AF. He told me to give it 6 weeks and then he will put me on BC to make AF show up.

Dr. appt

I have a Dr. appt today to let him know about my non existent cycle. I hope he has something he can give me to jumpstart it. It's getting depressing knowing there's NO chance of being pregnant and I was hoping to get pregnant this summer at the latest, putting me at a April/May due date but it doesn't look like that will happen.