30 week appointment

(I *know* this is cheesy. I just couldn't help myself.)

I had my 30-week appointment this morning. I drank the glucose test
soda at the beginning of my appointment. Always choose lime! It really
wasn't bad at all, unlike the *disgusting* orange goo I remember
drinking with Sproutkin. It tasted like sparkling gatorade. On the way
home, I did start feeling a little oogy (not quite nausea, but almost
nausea, just kind of "oog"), which was probably due to fasting until I
finally got home and had lunch at 2. I'm good with needles so I let the
midwife apprentice try for the blood draw (she, very nervous, couldn't
find the vein, so the midwife ended up doing it in the other arm).
Blood pressure was 110/70, baby's heart rate was between 120 and 130
(same for last appointment, while all other times it's been 150 -- darn
it, he/she is determined to foil even my old wives' tale approaches to
guessing the gender!), and my belly measurement was 30 cm. The midwives
complimented my belly on "looking pretty" and we all giggled at the wild
gymnastics that a sugar-shocked babysprout was doing.

After being burst-of-energy woman all second trimester, I'm definitely
feeling my body slow down. I want to rest more, and I was uncomfortable
because of the heat last week, not usually something that bothers me, at
least not that much. I still can't stand pants that cut my belly in
half; I picked up some nightshirts at Target this evening and they're
soooo much more comfy than shorts. I feel mellow, content, satisfied
with the way everything is going, and looking forward to experiencing
birth and meeting our newborn. Looking forward to experiencing birth --
I can't believe I just wrote that. The Mary of three years ago wouldn't
have believed I'd EVER utter those words.

The "think happy thoughts" approach seems to be working. I've only read
positive books this time around, my favorites being "The Gift of Life,"
and "Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful," very encouraging, lovely,
spiritual approaches to being pregnant and giving birth (no Goer or
Wolf, thank you very much!). I've set my newsgroups filter to delete
any threads with "breastfeeding" or "epidural" in the subject (the ones
that can turn into flame wars that end up riling me up), and I've
quietly dropped contact with the one friend we have who never fails to
make my blood pressure rise whenever we talk about birth and parenting.
Denial is working! LOL.

I don't know how much of this is also simply that this is my second
pregnancy, and that I pretty much worked through all the hard decisions
the first time around. I've felt completely free from anxiety, and have
been enjoying every stage of this pregnancy. (In a perfect world, the
first and second trimesters would each be twice as long and the third
trimester would be two weeks, but I suppose that's too much to ask.) I
remember literally yanking at my hair when I was newly pregnant the
first time, and had just found mkp and was stressing about all the
options and obstacles while reading Ericka's loooong replies to my first
handful of supremely ignorant posts. Battling through those decisions
was such a struggle -- and then birth itself ended up being so miserably
difficult -- and now it's like I'm cured! Cured of birth fear. I
should bottle this stuff.

I have my prenatal appointments (every two weeks now) at the birth
center. The first time I was back there, more than two years after
giving birth, I walked in the front door and burst into tears. The
memories that came rushing back were so powerful, and happy, and the
energy of that house is amazing. A thousand women have given birth in
the two bedrooms, a thousand newborns have sat between their tired,
blissful parents on the couch in the living room for their first family
snapshot; all my own memories and associations are still strong and full
of positive energy. I look around and still feel that flush of triumph
and exhileration after surviving such a yucky labor. I'm looking
forward to birth -- I can't wait to be there again, feeling the
intensity of life moving through me. Having walked through fire and
endured something I would have sworn I could not endure, I have 100%
confidence in myself and my ability to get through anything
(non-emergency, I mean) this time. And I fear I've become a junkie for
the birth high. I really feel love (I know that sounds weird to say
about a place) for that little house where my first baby was born, where
I trust every person it it with my life. I can't wait to take my
children through it in future years, on their open-house day, and show
them the rooms they were born in. Heck, they own the house (a tiny
1900s house, decorated like a Victorian home but converted into a
freestanding birth center) -- I won't say I haven't indulged in wild
fantasies of my daughters giving birth to their children there. I'm
such a pregnant hormonal sap!

I just can't believe I'm excited and impatient for the birth -- I'm
actually *happy* when I think of labor -- something that was such a huge
cause of anxiety and fearful unknowns for me the first time. It boggles
my mind how different this is.

Hush up, all you mothers of two who are nodding your heads and saying,
"Yep, labor amnesia."

Mary S.

Mary S. wrote:

I just can't believe I'm excited and impatient for the birth -- I'm
actually *happy* when I think of labor -- something that was such a
huge cause of anxiety and fearful unknowns for me the first time. It
boggles my mind how different this is.

Hush up, all you mothers of two who are nodding your heads and saying,
"Yep, labor amnesia."

Aww - what a fabulous post. I wasn't going to say that at all. I was going
to say 'Yep - the second time *is* so much nicer.' My second birth
experience was awesome and my first was...not what I had expected, lol.

Take it easy and I hope the next couple of months just fly!


--
Nikki

Hush up, all you mothers of two who are nodding your heads and saying,
"Yep, labor amnesia."

Mary S.


I am glad that you are looking forward to this baby being born. I have
honnestly been looking forward to the birth of this child since I was in
labor with #1. Even before the epidural I was thinking of what seemed to be
going well, nurses paid just the right amount of attentions to me even if
one did bruise my arm all up getting the dumb IV in The pain was not what
I expected.. you know a dull knife through the skin.. it was more like out
of control pms cramps. They hurt but not in a oh my word i am gonna die
sort of way. Now I say this on the other side of the epidural but I think
looking back i could have done without but then I would not beable to tell
people the fun you get to have while trying to cough (I had a cold) while
your abdominal muscles are numbed up

Tori

--
Bonnie 3/20/02
Xavier due 10/17/04

On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 21:22:45 -0400, "Mary S."
wrote:



I just can't believe I'm excited and impatient for the birth -- I'm
actually *happy* when I think of labor -- something that was such a huge
cause of anxiety and fearful unknowns for me the first time. It boggles
my mind how different this is.

Mary, I loved reading your post. I think it's wonderful that you are
excited and calm! Wishing you a wonderful birth experience :-)

--
Paula
Mom to Olivia and Cassie (b. 4/8/03 @ 26 weeks)
^Grace^ (b. 5/16/02 d. 5/17/02) and ^Adam^ (b/d. 5/17/02)

"Mary S." wrote in message
...
(I *know* this is cheesy. I just couldn't help myself.)

I had my 30-week appointment this morning. I drank the glucose test
soda at the beginning of my appointment. Always choose lime! It really
wasn't bad at all, unlike the *disgusting* orange goo I remember
drinking with Sproutkin. It tasted like sparkling gatorade.

I discovered that there are a variety of concentrations they can give you
.... with DD, I must have had the low concentration "lemonade" one which was
OK ... this time for some reason I had to have one with double the
concentration and it was lime flaovured and it was *horrible*.


On the way
home, I did start feeling a little oogy (not quite nausea, but almost
nausea, just kind of "oog"), which was probably due to fasting until I
finally got home and had lunch at 2. I'm good with needles so I let the
midwife apprentice try for the blood draw (she, very nervous, couldn't
find the vein, so the midwife ended up doing it in the other arm).
Blood pressure was 110/70, baby's heart rate was between 120 and 130
(same for last appointment, while all other times it's been 150 -- darn
it, he/she is determined to foil even my old wives' tale approaches to
guessing the gender!), and my belly measurement was 30 cm. The midwives
complimented my belly on "looking pretty" and we all giggled at the wild
gymnastics that a sugar-shocked babysprout was doing.

I've had cravings for really pulpy orange juice all the way through this
pg and this baby is also a bit of a suger freak.


After being burst-of-energy woman all second trimester, I'm definitely
feeling my body slow down. I want to rest more, and I was uncomfortable
because of the heat last week, not usually something that bothers me, at
least not that much.

That's when the "third trimester tiredness" started for me too.

I still can't stand pants that cut my belly in
half; I picked up some nightshirts at Target this evening and they're
soooo much more comfy than shorts. I feel mellow, content, satisfied
with the way everything is going, and looking forward to experiencing
birth and meeting our newborn. Looking forward to experiencing birth --
I can't believe I just wrote that. The Mary of three years ago wouldn't
have believed I'd EVER utter those words.

The "think happy thoughts" approach seems to be working. I've only read
positive books this time around, my favorites being "The Gift of Life,"
and "Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful," very encouraging, lovely,
spiritual approaches to being pregnant and giving birth (no Goer or
Wolf, thank you very much!).

Ohh I read Wolf at the start of this pregnancy and couldn't believe how
awful her descriptions were ... i can remember thinking "Thank goodness its
not like that here".

I've set my newsgroups filter to delete
any threads with "breastfeeding" or "epidural" in the subject (the ones
that can turn into flame wars that end up riling me up), and I've
quietly dropped contact with the one friend we have who never fails to
make my blood pressure rise whenever we talk about birth and parenting.
Denial is working! LOL.

Oh you are so smart - my patience is very thin at the moment and I am
finding I have zero tolerance for rude or ignorant behaviour. DH says I
should wear a warning sign saying "pregnant, hormonal and will jump on you
repeatedly for an infrigngement of social rules"

I don't know how much of this is also simply that this is my second
pregnancy, and that I pretty much worked through all the hard decisions
the first time around. I've felt completely free from anxiety, and have
been enjoying every stage of this pregnancy. (In a perfect world, the
first and second trimesters would each be twice as long and the third
trimester would be two weeks, but I suppose that's too much to ask.)

Oh I wish that were true!!! I felt fine for the 2nd trimester but am not
enjoying the 3rd at all.

I
remember literally yanking at my hair when I was newly pregnant the
first time, and had just found mkp and was stressing about all the
options and obstacles while reading Ericka's loooong replies to my first
handful of supremely ignorant posts. Battling through those decisions
was such a struggle -- and then birth itself ended up being so miserably
difficult -- and now it's like I'm cured! Cured of birth fear. I
should bottle this stuff.

I have my prenatal appointments (every two weeks now) at the birth
center. The first time I was back there, more than two years after
giving birth, I walked in the front door and burst into tears. The
memories that came rushing back were so powerful, and happy, and the
energy of that house is amazing. A thousand women have given birth in
the two bedrooms, a thousand newborns have sat between their tired,
blissful parents on the couch in the living room for their first family
snapshot; all my own memories and associations are still strong and full
of positive energy. I look around and still feel that flush of triumph
and exhileration after surviving such a yucky labor. I'm looking
forward to birth -- I can't wait to be there again, feeling the
intensity of life moving through me. Having walked through fire and
endured something I would have sworn I could not endure, I have 100%
confidence in myself and my ability to get through anything
(non-emergency, I mean) this time. And I fear I've become a junkie for
the birth high. I really feel love (I know that sounds weird to say
about a place) for that little house where my first baby was born, where
I trust every person it it with my life. I can't wait to take my
children through it in future years, on their open-house day, and show
them the rooms they were born in. Heck, they own the house (a tiny
1900s house, decorated like a Victorian home but converted into a
freestanding birth center) -- I won't say I haven't indulged in wild
fantasies of my daughters giving birth to their children there. I'm
such a pregnant hormonal sap!

Awww


I just can't believe I'm excited and impatient for the birth -- I'm
actually *happy* when I think of labor -- something that was such a huge
cause of anxiety and fearful unknowns for me the first time. It boggles
my mind how different this is.

Hush up, all you mothers of two who are nodding your heads and saying,
"Yep, labor amnesia."

Mary S.

Mary - be sure to keep your this wonderful message in a scrapbook for your
new bub. What a lovely time she'll have when she reads over the letters
when she's expecting her babies .... assuming babysprout is a "she" (and I
am

Amanda

--
DD 15th August 2002
1 tiny angel Nov 2003
EDD 19th August 2004

I think it is wonderful and refreshing that you are so excited about
your birth! Way to go! I am 23 weeks along in my second pregnancy and I
am also SO much more at ease than with the first. This time you know
what your body is doing and every little thing doesn't make you wonder
what the heck is going on! I also absolutely cannot stand pants that cut
my belly in half, either, and I haven't found that certain style that
doesn't at any local store. I'll have to check out Target, maybe. Best
wishes!

Wendy
Mom to Nolan 7-11-03 and baby girl due in Nov.

A&G&K wrote:

I discovered that there are a variety of concentrations they can give you
... with DD, I must have had the low concentration "lemonade" one which was
OK ... this time for some reason I had to have one with double the
concentration and it was lime flaovured and it was *horrible*.

That's what I remember about the orange stuff, it was really really
concentrated and super sweet. Chugging the bottle of it in five minutes
was so sickening.

That's when the "third trimester tiredness" started for me too.

Aw nuts, I notice you didn't say, "And it ended at..." LOL.

Ohh I read Wolf at the start of this pregnancy and couldn't believe how
awful her descriptions were ... i can remember thinking "Thank goodness its
not like that here".

I know that it's valuable that they are out there, and Goer especially
was a critical part of the researching process that allowed me to make
the decisions I made last time, but sometimes I just feel like it's
fear-mongering, too. But at the same time, maybe it is like that in
many places, so that kind of passionate tone is what's needed to effect
change. I don't know.

(In a perfect world, the
first and second trimesters would each be twice as long and the third
trimester would be two weeks, but I suppose that's too much to ask.)

Oh I wish that were true!!! I felt fine for the 2nd trimester but am not
enjoying the 3rd at all.

The "heaviness" in the belly is starting to get to me. I just want to
lie down and rest a lot during the day. I had no idea how great the
first trimester could be without bad morning sickness! When I'm queen
of the world, I'll decree nausea-free, extra-long first trimesters,
double-length second trimesters, and a third trimester that ends when
you want it to end.

Mary - be sure to keep your this wonderful message in a scrapbook for your
new bub. What a lovely time she'll have when she reads over the letters
when she's expecting her babies ....

Thank you! Although I'm sure she'll just roll her eyes and say,
"Moooooooooooom."

assuming babysprout is a "she" (and I
am

I don't think anyone on mkp has had boy vibes for me yet. I hope I
get a poll when I'm in labor (missed one the first time); I always think
those are so fun to read and see what everyone else thinks about X's
baby's time and size and sex.

Mary S.

Wendy wrote:
I think it is wonderful and refreshing that you are so excited about
your birth! Way to go! I am 23 weeks along in my second pregnancy and I
am also SO much more at ease than with the first. This time you know
what your body is doing and every little thing doesn't make you wonder
what the heck is going on!

Yes, exactly! I was afraid that nothing could compare to the new,
first-ness of the first, but it's just different, and in lots of ways
better.

Also, I don't know about you, but I've mellowed enormously as a person
in the last two years. Could be an age and normal maturity thing, but I
think having a baby has been really good for my A-type personality. I
think (at least, I hope) I'm also much less insecure and judgemental
than I was even a year ago, which makes a big difference in my outlook;
I'm not bothered by people and comments that used to make me feel
defensive, and the fear and unease I felt about the what-ifs when I was
pregnant the first time is gone.

Mary S.