Pregnancy Blogging

Amalah is still pregnant, but from the looks of things, not for much longer.

Sarah at 40 Weeks is now 38 weeks.

Leery Polyp has gotten around to posting her birth story, and wow is it something. It was very, very difficult but she did it. Not for the faint of heart. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 Part 4. Here is an excerpt:

"What I want to do is have the c-section," I whine. "But I feel like I have to keep going. I know it's better, but I don't want to do it. But I'm going to." It's important to get the tone right: whiny toddler, maybe. I am not accepting my duty stoically; I am complaining all the way, proceeding with much resistance. But proceeding, nonetheless. I am not what you would call gracious.

24 Week Update

I feel great. Hip pain bearable. Appetite good. Energy good. I'm thinking about all the things I need to get done in the next 3 months. At this point, the thoughts are still motivating and not overwhelming.

I bought some training pants for DS2 this week, but we will be out of town in October so I think I will wait until after that to start potty training. He also spent the last two nights sleeping in his brother's room - the first night after a bout of the stomach flu. I did not want him throwing up in our room, but I slept in the other room with him. So, that transition was accomplished easily, though the next step is to get both boys sleeping in the same room and rearanging their bedtime schedules to accomodate that. And getting the room fixed up.

DS4 said to me the other night, "I love you, and I love your baby too." Isn't that cute!

What's going on this week, according to BabyCenter:

Your baby's growing steadily, gaining about a quarter of a pound since last week, when she was just over a pound. Since she's almost a foot long, that makes a pretty lean figure, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon put on more baby fat. Your baby's skin is thin, translucent, and wrinkled, her brain is growing rapidly, and her taste buds are developing. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily.

'Mothering the Mother' During Childbirth, and After

The New York Times has a good article on the role of doulas - focusing on post-partum doulas.

23 Week Update

A lot of women breathe a sigh of relief when they hit the second trimester, as the risk of miscarriage drops dramatically after that point. Not me. Maybe with the first, but my nausea is so bad, I figure these kids aren't going anywhere (in fact, they like to cook an extra week or so).

Anyhow, this week is a different milestone of sorts. Babies born prematurely after about 22 or 23 weeks do survive. Granted, we are talking months in the hospital, feeding tubes, possible life-long birth defects. But at 23 weeks and over 500 grams, the hospital would treat Sweet Pea should he and I become prematurely separated, and he would have a fighting chance at survival. But please, little one, we're not in any hurry.

Baby is kicking and moving all over the place now. I think the kicks can probably be felt from the outside but I haven't confirmed that with anyone else. I'm eating well. I'm up to 120 pounds, three more pounds this month, and fundal height is 22 1/2 cm. (at 22 1/2 weeks). Blood pressure good.

At BabyCenter this week:

Your baby is more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound. His skin is red and wrinkled. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare him for breathing. He can swallow, but he normally won't pass his first stool (called meconium) until after birth. Loud noises heard often in utero — such as your dog barking or the roar of a vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze your baby when he hears them outside the womb.

And oh! I love shopping for maternity clothes on Ebay. But I'm done. Really. I bought a lot of 6 t-shirts this week for $20 (that includes shipping). In great condition, too. Just in time for the weather to get cooler... :)

Birth Photo

SouleMama has posted a photo of her seconds-old daughter - a home waterbirth. What a gorgeous photo - and a gorgeous baby!

Risk of cow milk allergy increased after c-section

A new study published this month in Allergy shows that children born via c-section have twice the risk of developing an allergy or intolerance to cow's milk than children born vaginally.

The thinking is that compared to infants born normally, children delivered by c-section are exposed less to maternal bacteria and their digestive tracts are consequently not colonized in the normal way. Their immune system in turn overreacts to allergenic substances.

The study also shows that children born via c-section were less likely to become tolerant to cow's milk after having been previously diagnosed with an intolerance (i.e. they were not as likely to overcome their allergy with time).

Link: Risk of cow milk allergy Increased after c-section

22 Week Update

Had a burst of energy yesterday. Cleaned out the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. Raked some leaves in the back yard. Started eyeing those dust bunnies in the corner.

We've been talking about potty training. Just talking about it, though. I showed DS2 the Thomas the Tank Engine and Nemo underwear I had saved for him, and he got really excited. He put on a pair, and did a little dance. He and DS4 (who was changing at the time) compared underwear, and DS4 gave him a little talk about how he would get to wear big boy underwear when he used the potty. Precious.

I feel big. I look at my belly and try to imagine how much bigger it is going to get. I can still see my feet, but I tried to shave my bikini area today and gave up due to lack of visibility.

BabyCenter.com says:

Your baby now looks like a miniature newborn, checking in at 10.9 inches and almost 1 pound. Her skin will continue to appear wrinkled until she gains enough weight to fill it out, and the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her head and body is now visible. Her lips are becoming more distinct, and the first signs of teeth are appearing as buds beneath her gum line. Her eyes are developed, though the iris (the colored part of the eye) still lacks pigment. Eyelids and eyebrows are in place, and her pancreas, essential for hormone production, is developing steadily.

Hip pain still present but bearable. No other major complaints. Appointment with the midwife later this week; will update then.

Photos

Baby's first photos. The first one is the baby's foot; the second is the baby's face (on it's right side, looking at you).

Fat Content of Breast Milk Increases with Time

Researchers have analyzed the fat content of breastmilk from mothers who had been breastfeeding for over a year, and found it to have significantly more fat compared with that of mothers who had been breastfeeding for only two to six months:

"This is a nicely done study which looked at a question that really needed to be answered," added Dr. Ruth Lawrence, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and a member of the executive committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics' section on breast-feeding. "I think many people's general impression is if you continue to breast-feed beyond a year, probably the nutrient value drops, and this is quite different information and very important."
...
"We showed that the milk of mothers who breast-fed more than a year had a very high fat content," [study co-author Dr. Ronit] Lubetzky said. "That contradicts the claim that breast-feeding at this stage has no nutritional contribution. On the other hand, the long-term effect of such a high-fat intake has not been studied."

"The constituents of fat and human milk are very different than what we provide in formula today. One of the most important constituents of human milk is cholesterol. Formula does not," Lawrence said. "There are many people who think that probably one of the problems with cholesterol today occurs because infants have not had any cholesterol in the first few months of life; perhaps the body doesn't learn to deal with it. There are studies that show that young adults have much lower cholesterol levels if they were breast-fed than if they were bottle-fed."

Link: Fat Content of Breast Milk Increases with Time

It's a ...

For the record, DH wants to make it "my three sons", DS4 wants a sister baby, though he understands, quite solemnly, that "God decides"; and when asked, DS2 apparently doesn't understand the question, as he answers "red lego guy". As for me, I have mixed feelings. From a practical standpoint, it would be easier to have another boy. And I am generally a practical person. But something deep in me wants a girl. Maybe not this time, but eventually...

Check the comments for the answer.

21 Week Update

A busy week here in babyland. Today I had an adjustment AND a massage from my wonderful DC/RMT. Hot rocks and everything. Just back and shoulders, though. And tomorrow is our sonogram, which means we should know what flavor of baby we are having. As well as a confirmation (but more likely a separate, third opinion) of my due date.

This week I checked out at the library Journey Into Life: The Triumph of Creation which I hoped would have a good birth scene (to help prepare the kids, mostly). However, it was a little dissapointing. The scenes of the birth were very short (no labor, no placenta, just "head, shoulders, here's the baby"), and most of the 30-minute video was a discussion on cell mitosis and meiosis and chromosomes and such. Interesting, but not what I wanted. However, if you want to see something really funny, get a birth video and watch the part where the baby is born backwards. Hilarious.

What does Baby Center say about 21 weeks? "Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long. His eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed. And you can certainly feel him move. He's oblivious to your schedule, though, so don't be surprised if he starts working out just when you're settling down for the night."

Will post the big news tomorrow.

Some More Great Blogs

While working on my Blogger profile yesterday, I found some great blogs. First up is the Human Lactation Information blog. It is written by Ali Crehan Feeney, who is a breastfeeding counselor, and is filled with all kinds of wonderful and useful information about breastfeeding. She links to La Leche League's Emergency Breastfeeding Resources and recent press release When an Emergency Strikes Breastfeeding Can Save Lives. It seems all too obvious to say that some of those babies stranded in New Orleans last week without formula would still be alive had their mothers been breastfeeding.

Next are three blogs by doulas: Aspiring Midwife, Andi Stracner's Doula Blog, and Milliner's Dream. Check them out when you get a chance.

July babies don't get hospital's "A" game

Via Blogging Baby, a Canadian study indicates that babies born in July tend to have lower Apgar scores, and their mothers, while 20% less likely to have an emergency c-section, had three times the risk of undergoing a caesarean hysterectomy. The news article explains:

Certain times of year, such as the beginning of the academic year and the summer months, might have less experienced staff on duty. Infants born in the first quarter of the academic year had lower one-minute Apgar scores than those born in other quarters.

Link: July babies don't get hospital's 'A' game