Category Archives: birth

40 Weeks of Pregnancy – Week 7

Good morning! Welcome to Week 7 of the Pregnancy Series… If you want to read any of the previous weeks, scroll to the bottom and feel free to browse.
Week 7
Not a whole lot is changing as far as you are concerned. Your baby, however, is making huge strides. Your bean sprout is starting to look vaguely like a see monkey. You may be getting an ultra sound right around now. No, you won’t know the gender, but you will see your wee one, and think it is adorable. And if you are like me, you will post your ultrasound picture on facebook, and everyone will oohh and aww… but no one, including yourself, will actually know what you are looking at. That is okay. The next one will be better.
You are not showing yet. That bump is probably from being bloated. Some women actually lose weight during these weeks. This is perfectly normal. You are still experiencing the first trimester sickness, sleepiness, and all that fun stuff. For most women, you only have a few more weeks to go and then it will get better.
The one change you may be noticing is your skin. For the majority of women, pregnancy clears up your face due to all the hormones, and you may look better than ever. Even if you are not glowing yet (because you look a little green with nausea), your acne, if you have any, is slowly disappearing. I did have this kind of luck, and for me, pregnancy actually made my remotely okay face totally break out. But I assure you, I am in the minority. For some, this never reverts back, and you get nice skin courtesy of your little one.
Speaking of your skin, this is a perfect time to start using Cocoa butter on your belly and breasts. Even though you are not showing yet, and hardly growing, it is never too early. I used the stuff on my belly every morning and every night and now I have no stretch marks after two kids. Remember, stretch marks are not visible so much during the pregnancy. It is not until after you give birth that they become noticeable. So just because you don’t see them, don’t stop lotioning up. These are not things you want sneaking up on you.
If you haven’t started already, you will start having cravings around this time. Indulging a little here and there is not bad, even if a lot of it is junk food. Just don’t over do it, and you won’t have to worry about weight, or baby’s health. Most cravings are pretty harmless in themselves. Unless you are having pica cravings, don’t worry about them.
I hope you pregnancy is going well, and is as mild as possible. This wraps up our Week 7 edition. Check back next Monday for my newest pregnancy update.
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40 Weeks of Pregnancy – Week 6

Another Monday, and another installment of the pregnancy edition. If you are new, every week I am posting another week’s information on pregnancy. If you want to catch up, scroll to the bottom and click on previous articles. Otherwise, here is…
Week 6
The baby is growing! And pressing down on your bladder making you want to pee every five minutes or less. Really, it is not that bad. It is not going to go away until after birth, but you will get used to it.
If you haven’t started already, you will start getting emotional. I was pretty emotional to begin with, so this was just me in over-hyper-super drive. I liked to think of it as a purging. I got to cry out twenty five years worth of everything. Every chance I got. And Hubby got to pretend I was PMSing for nine months straight. Win win. No?
At this point you want to start assessing your diet, and make sure you are eating healthy. Also make sure you are not eating for two. Because, really, the little bean sprout growing inside of you only requires an extra 150 calories per day. Which is less than most granola bars. You can look into some light exercise. If you were pretty active before, you can continue being pretty active now. If you were a couch potato, now is not the time to start training for a marathon. Do some light walking for twenty to thirty minutes a day. You can also look into some yoga. I heard it is great. I didn’t get into yoga until recently, so I have no idea what yoga while pregnant feels like. But I am sure it is fine.
Your hormone levels are spiking so morning sickness may increase right about now. It should go back down in a couple of weeks.
In other news, it is super early, but if you are a planner like me, you want to start considering different types of birthing plans. Do your research, talk to you doctor, and see what is best for you. You may already know, and have done your homework before you even got pregnant. Now would be a good time to look into it to make sure it is still the path you want to follow.
 With that, I leave you for this week’s installment.
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When Is It Okay To Induce Labor?

In a couple of days I will be giving birth. Supposedly I am due July 28th. Last time my daughter arrived eight days early, so as far as I am concerned, I can go into labor any moment now. Frankly, I hope today is the day. I cannot wait to meet my son; the anticipation is almost too much to handle.

A friend of mine suggested I induce since she does it every time and it works for her. I cannot bring myself to do it. I am not suggesting inducing is a bad thing. To each their own. I am even okay with the women who schedule c-sections for no reason other than not wanting to deal with labor, or wanting their babies born on a specific date.

Just as I dislike how others judge me for using epidurals and pain meds, I am sure these women are tired of hearing comments from the peanut gallery about their particular choices. I do not want to discuss their choices, or pass judgment. I simply came to a personal conclusion; I cannot induce unless there is a medical reason for it. I think of pitocin (the drug used to induce) as a resource available if natural labor is not working, or if I happen well past my due date and there is some risk for the baby. I used pitocin when delivering my daughter because for whatever reason my body no longer wanted to cooperate, and I stopped dilating after seven centimeters. So close, yet so far.

I did not go to the hospital with the idea I would induce, or have to mess around with the natural progression of labor. I simply went into labor, and then labor came to a halt mid stream. Yet I was okay with it at that point. I accept intervention when things go awry. But as for actually being the catalyst, as much as I wish I was in the delivery room right now (and trust me, the urge is almost as bad as my craving for chocolate cake), I cannot bring myself to eliminate the element of surprise and excitement that comes during that moment when you realize it is finally happening. My baby and I are ready, and it is show time!

How do you feel about inducing?