The fact that it has taken me so long to get pregnant is what has had me back off a fair bit thus far. But I'm not so good at going to the gym & having an easy workout. I can be a bit of an all or nothing personality - lol. So, I guess I've been looking for what is too hard.
I actual found a great website yesterday: http://www.befitmom.com/index.html I don't know why I didn't find it before now but it has very concrete info & good reasoning behind all it's recommendations. Makes me feel much better about what is indicated by "moderate".
I know that I may lose some of my fitness level - but I really don't think that I have to go nearly as light as is generally accepted. I mean lifting the little pink weights is just a waste of my time! LoL
Lifeguard - I am a registered nurse working on a hospital ward so you can imagine the headaches that go along with 24/7 staffing. I know my manager has got a lot on her mind but I don't think she needs to be ratty with me. I'm saying it that way but I don't know if she really is being ratty because all I have to go by is her e-mails and they are short and terse so I feel like she is po'd but probably she isn't. I have to go for a meeting on Wednesday so I'll see her face to face and then I'll know what is what. I'll be remembering your endless summer comments this winter when we are hip deep in snow and you're taking long walks on the beach with the baby! We live in southeastern ontario between Hamilton and St. Catharines. I haven't been to the Ottawa area though I hear it is nice.
I can imagine how rough it is not to want to work out hard to keep up with the regime you've been on for awhile now. The way that I look at it is that you're going to have your whole life to re-establish your workouts but only a few short months to be pregnant. I know 40 weeks sounds like forever but I'm already past the halfway point and it feels like it went by in 2 seconds.
Hi, everyone! Haven't posted in a while. Getting over being sick..yuck...all month of April. Started with a cold, then went to an ear infection. By the time the third week was done, I was recovering from a sinus infection and a little bronchitis! Geez, and I couldn't even enjoy being pregnant!!
JEN- I, too, work as an RN in the hospital. What time of floor do you work? As for your manager, you need to look out for you! My last 2 pregnancies I was more worried about what coworkers thought and that they would say than to really ease up on all the lifting and pulling I was doing. Lets just say, I think all of that extra work placed me in preterm labor not once like my 2nd son but twice with my last one. I was out on bedrest with both of them starting at 28weeks and 32 weeks respectively. Thankfully, they both were born term at 38 and 39 weeks with medication and a lot of me directing traffic from on the chair!! I changed my OB with this pregnancy and are really doing things a lot differently. My doctor has restricted me doing anymore than 25-30 lbs lifting due to my preterm labor history. At this point, I am finally accepting of doing what I need to do for my health and the health of my baby. Not to mention, the best for the rest of my family. You can imagine the amount of worrying my husband did with a pregnant wife and 2 little boys for me to manage from the chair. Thank God for family! I couldn't have gotten through the last bedrest pregnancy without them!! I keep telling myself at work; it is not worth the risk of pulling up a patient or helping a mod assist transfer! I just ask someone else to do it and offer to do something for them in return. Some times, its easy to do; most times its not. But I keep telling myself...they are not going to be the ones trying to run a household, manage bills, and take care of a 5, 4, and 2 yr old! They can talk about me all they want...I have finally decided to take care of me!
So...look out for you! Please! Don't worry about how stressed your manager is. That is his or her problem. Not yours! Oh and at the time I delivered my first baby (born the day he turned 37 weeks, after working the evening before) there were 5 of us on one unit either pregnant and due in a matter of weeks or already on maternity leave!!!
almsthere - thanks so much for your post! I appreciate the view of another nurse. I work on a ward that is primarily orthopedic, we do mostly fractured hips, not the elective kind, mostly 80 somethings who have fallen and we also have medicine patients a lot of elderly people who cannot cope at home anymore and are waiting for the nursing home. Yes I know it is just about the heaviest patient population anyone could ask for.
I actually don't think my manager is being ratty with me, her e-mails just come across that way. I actually went into the ward today, went to employee health to get someone to look at my throat and take my temperature because I had a terribly sore throat yesterday and today. No strep though and a normal temp but my voice is very ragged and I am practically whispering. So I made sure that she saw me and heard what I sounded like because I have called in sick the past 2 nights. Seeing as I thought she was being ratty I thought she'd better see and hear me in person so she would know I wasn't faking. I don't know why I am so worried about it, I don't like people to think badly of me but you are right that I can't think about that stuff. I am still going ahead with the modified duties and hopefully I'll be able to keep working until I'm pretty close to delivery. I feel a lovely cold developing now, just want I need when I can't take any of my favourite over the counter cold medications!
Jen - I hope your cold doesn't get too bad. My great dh brought one home to me 2 weeks ago & it's been no fun.
Kudos to both of you for working in nursing. What an incredible (& difficult) job. I could't do but think the world of those who do.
My Mom & I were chatting about it last night. When it comes right down to it I'm just not very good at not going all out. She laughed & said I come by it naturally. She is currently waiting to have surgery on both knees.
Nursing can be very rewarding in some respects but very difficult in others. I think right now the nursing shortage is what is really hurting and of course the hospitals not having enough money. The patient to nurse ratio is ridiculous. The ward I work on in particular we need more health care aides, they are people who do stuff like bed baths and incontinent care, they are so valuable on the ward but we don't have the budget to hire someone full-time. We'll get them if we have a patient who is confused and needs 1:1 observation and then we'll usually be able to get them to help us out with the care. I think that would take a lot of pressure off us, we could spend more time doing real nursing things like assessments and less time changing adult diapers.
Anyway....I went to massage therapy and physiotherapy yesterday. The massage was a little painful, she was really digging into my back muscles at times so I'm not sure that I'm going back for more of that! I might go to a different therapist. I don't feel like I really connected with this one. I went to one about 7 years ago when I am pregnant with my 1st baby and I liked her a lot more. She spent about 15 minutes or so talking to me before the massage, this one spent about 30 seconds. Physiotherapy was okay, just really some exercises to do and tips about what ways I should try and position myself.
Otherwise same old, same old. Anything new with anyone else?
I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. Had an ultrasound - which was sooo exciting! I was surprised that I almost cried when I heard the heartbeat. Looks like we're having a boy - dh is super excited!
I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the model of care I'm pretty much being forced into. Ideally I would have a midwife in a hospital/birthing centre. Midwifery here is illegal (found that out this morning) & so is only available for homebirths. But even if we can reconcile ourselves with that it looks like they won't take me as a client anyway because I have pcos.
I just really don't want a medicalized birth with a bunch of unnecessary interventions. Based on the conversation I had with the ob/gyn yesterday this is what I'm in for with her. I'm not afraid of the pain & I have faith in what my body can do. I'm sooo frustrated right now.
Lifeguard - what sort of medical interventions do you not want to have? Being a nurse I suppose I am a bit biased in favour of the conventional hospital birth and all that it entails but I'm open to hear what people expectations are especially when it comes to labour and delivery. Women have been giving birth forever, it is not exactly a new thing for us. The thing that you should keep in mind though is that when you are in the midst of labour and giving birth you may not be able to make some decisions instantly and the doctor has to take over. Some things she may not be able to do if other interventions are not done first. On another board someone was upset about having an IV started. Well my thoughts on that are that it is not the best feeling in the world having an IV inserted but suppose you started bleeding out and they needed to give you a transfusion right away or IV fluid or whatever, it takes a few minutes to start an IV properly and those few minutes could be critical if you live or die. Now that's an extreme example and I don't know what interventions you have in mind but when I went to the hospital with my first pregnancy and made up a birth plan I decided to be open about what I wanted and didn't want but also to listen to the rationale of what they wanted to do. I think this is one of those times where you can't say I won't have this or I won't have that because things can change from moment to moment. You may think now that you don't want anything for pain but when the time comes you may find that it is too much to handle and decide to get an epidural. Anyway just my 2 cents. Are you guys going to to any sort of parenting/birthing classes? We went the first time and while I didn't get much out of it because I already knew a lot of it from my nursing classes I think my husband learned some stuff. I think the instructors are good people to bounce ideas around with because they've probably seen everything.
I was doing a lot of stuff around the house yesterday (for me anyway) and at some point I twisted or turned the wrong way and suddenly my sciatic pain took off and even was down my leg a little bit. My back was really sore by about 7pm. It's one of those things that I wake up feeling good and decide to loads and end up doing too much. Oh well.
Jen - I hope you are able to find some relief from your sciatica. I can only imagine it is terrible. My father has a back injury & has severe sciatica for years & I know how it can put him right out of commission at times. Just to see his face you know it can't be good.
Re: my childbirth. I know that their are a lot of wonderful interventions out there that save lives & that is very important. I want to avoid unnecessary interventions that are not beneficial to myself or my baby (ie. pitocin to hurry along a labour that in reality is going along at an exceptable rate - just not fast enough to appease the doctor. My doctor told me that she likes to give "a little something" to speed things up so we don't have to pay to spend as much time in the hospital. To me that is unacceptable.)
But I am going into knowing you cannot plan birth, but that doesn't mean I can't go in with what I would prefer & with my research done.
I'm also in a different situation in that I expect most of the people in the hospital to only speak spanish which I speak very little of & expect to remember even less of when i'm in labour. I know I need to go in even more prepared to prevent misunderstandings.
This morning I went for a walk with the dogs. I need to focus on drinking more water. My fingers are all swollen now & I know when I drink enough that doesn't happen.
Lifeguard - I definately get what you mean about getting the pitocin when it is not really needed. I can't say that I have ever heard of anyone doing that here but I suppose because of the way our health care system is and we don't have to pay for everything that we don't worry too much about that sort of stuff. Definately it will be difficult not knowing the language when you have to go to the hospital. Is there anyone that you could get to come in with you (besides your husband) for translation purposes? It might even be worthwhile to hire a midwife even if she is not going to do anything other than support you and help with the translation. Would they allow that considering that it is illegal there?
I've been doing some research. I have been in contact with a midwife - unfortunately they are illegal here & cannot go into the hospital. I'm hoping she may be able to help me find a doula. Fortunately the doctor speaks perfect english - but as I know she wont' be there the whole time it is the nurses I am worried about. I've still got 24 weeks to perfect my spanish!!!LOL
Oh my, have I ever been sick the last 20 hours. I felt fine yesterday morning, took the dogs for a walk, ate breakfast. And then suddenly the vomitting & headache started. I couldn't even keep water down. But now it seems to be ok again. I'm glad 'cause I was worried I was going to get dehydrated.
Jen - since you're a nurse, I may have questions for you! I'm so clueless about the whole thing, so I've been reading up lots of info about what to expect when I go into the hospital, and I'm going to take the classes that are offered at my hospital because I figure the more I know the better.
Lifeguard - Congratulations on the boy! It seems like every pregnant woman I know is having a boy (including me). I know one woman who's having a girl, and she's scheduled to have a C-section next Wednesday. Everyone else -- boy. Can you write a birth plan and go over it with your OB? I understand what Jen is saying about how you have to be open to whatever happens and listen to what the medical staff say, but perhaps you could include some things in your plan like "no pitocin unless necessary for X reason" or "do not offer medical pain relief unless I ask for it." I've heard of people including things like that, but I don't know how receptive your OB would be.
I can't believe I'm 29 weeks now. It seems like it has gone so fast! I'm starting to feel pretty crappy -- huge and bloated with random pains everywhere. Ah, third trimester. People aren't lying when they say the second trimester is the easy one -- I felt so much better during that time than I did in the first trimester or now. I imagine it will only get harder as I get bigger. I feel mostly ok, though, so I shouldn't complain.
I'm quite happy to answer any questions to the best of my ability since I've already been through this once and have some knowledge from being a nurse.
At work tonight but I don't have a patient assignment, I'm just helping out doing little things so I've been able to sit for a good bit. Don't know what is going to happen next week with this meeting I have to go to about being on modified duties. I see my doctor on Tuesday so we'll talk about it a little. Frankly I'd just as soon go right off but it might not be an option.
Lifeguard - glad to hear that you are feeling better, maybe it was just something that disagreed with you rather than something pregnancy related.
Lisa - I think I know what you mean about feeling crappy but not feeling like you shouldn't complain. I feel the same way. Like my back is bad but otherwise I'm okay. I don't have anything horribly wrong with me like high blood pressure it's just all the little things that make pregnant life uncomfortable, they seem to add up really quickly!
29 weeks - that's fantastic! I feel like time is going to in slow motion! I don't remember a time when it ever seemed slower - lol.
I have already started on a "birth plan". I plan to discuss bits & pieces at every appointment from now until delivery with the ob & then I'm also going to have it translated to spanish so the day of we can have it with us & refer to it with the nurses if need be. If nothing more it will be a reminder of the right words to use - lol!
Good luck with your meeting Jen. I actually covered the maternity leave for a woman & she simply went to her doctor & told him straight up she couldn't take working anymore (we worked for an absolutely AWFUL *****!) & he put her short term disability until the birth. Probably a little dishonest but I'm sure the stress of working in that situation was NOT good for her or the baby.
Oh I wish my doctor would do something like that! It isn't just her though because she's got forms to fill out and it has to get past a 3rd party adjudicator. The problem I think will be that they will say that I can sit at the desk and do paperwork or just little things that I don't have to be on my feet for very long. If I had something like high blood pressure or gestational diabetes that was not being controlled that might be a different story. My SIL was having sciatic pain and couldn't get off work yet there was a pregnant lady on our ward last year who had the same thing and was able to get off work. I think it depends on how the doctor words everything. In a way I would like off, who wouldn't like to get off work and still be paid? The thing is though that I am in negative hours for my vacation time, almost 2 weeks worth and I don't want to go on maternity leave owing that much time because I don't know if I am coming back to this job when my leave is done. I am hoping not to come back full time probably I will still have to work some part time hours but if I don't go back at all they are going to want that money back! Even if I can work another 2-3 months that will get rid of a good bit of that time I owe and then I'll feel better about going off. I'm banking on that they will just say that I can go into work as an extra, I don't think that they will end up getting my a health care aide to do all the heavy stuff and I"ll just do medications because I'm not sure I could do that. It would be too much walking over the course of a 12 hour shift. Heck I went out on Friday just to run some errands and barely made it through walking through a few stores.
That sounds like a really good idea about getting stuff translated. A good idea too would be to get a list of words printed onto a page and laminate it for reference when you go to the hospital. My doctor and I talk a little every time I go in about what we are expecting for the delivery. Right now though I am waiting to see the OBGYN seeing as we are figuring on a planned c-section. I won't see her until July and then we'll probably make the appointment on what day I'll be going into the hospital
Baby is kicking a fair bit now but until today I couldn't feel it on the outside, just on the inside. My little boy so much wants to feel the baby kick! I'm hoping to take him to my next ultrasound, he's always listening to my tummy to see if he can hear the baby. He had to come with me once to the doctor's so he got to hear the baby's heartbeat and he really thought that was cool!
