If you have ever been pregnant than you know that you get tested for everything under the sun at different times in your pregnancy. While I was pregnant with DD, around week 28 they tested me for glucose and various other things. When my blood work came back, I thankfully wasn't sweet enough to work about gestational diabetes, but I was low on iron. In these kinds of situations some people have a need for iron supplements to help keep their iron levels high and in my case, I needed to start taking these supplements. When I got tested during this pregnancy, I thankfully had high enough iron levels that I didn't need to add any more supplements to my daily regime.
Another thing that is much different the second time around, is that I don't notice that I am pregnant as much. I have been very lucky to not have any morning sickness with either pregnancy, but the second time around I don't have the time to ponder the going ons of my uterus. It is causing the time to fly by much faster. One new thing I have experienced with this pregnancy, is the overwhelming fear of giving birth.
The fear of giving birth, just came on last night and it has been stuck in my head all day. With my first, I had a friend that was also training to be a doula in the room with me and my husband. She was able to keep things nice and calm nd remind me that I was doing well and that I could do it without any drugs. When I got to about five cms and wasn't dilating anymore, probably cause I was so tense and stressed due to the pain of labor, I started calling for drugs, which was something I explicitly didn't want to have. I called for the one thing I am most squeamish about and that is the epidural, the main reason I didn't want one was because of the obviously large needle that has to go into or near my spine. No Thank You. I have a tremendous fear of needles. When I started to ask for one, my doula told me I could do it without it and reminded me that I didn't want one, my husband tried talking me out of it. At that point I just started yelling for a nurse to come in, when she arrived, I asked for some Stadol instead of the epidural. She gave me half a dose and I was able to relax enough to start dilating again. I loved having the extra support of someone there that knew my wishes and helped talk me out of asking for unnecessary things, but this time around she just had her own baby this week and most likely won't be available for our delivery come the middle of October. The only remedy I can come up is to find another doula in our small rural town that could be there for the birth, which would alleviate my fears of giving birth a second time.
I would love to hear from you. Have you had multiple children and did you fear giving birth with any of them more than another? Do you think because we know from the first time how painful it really is that we fear it more the second time?
I can't help you with this one. I had 3 c-sections, and the worst pain I felt was the epidural. I recently had knee surgery and heard the nurses say "epidural" and about fell out. I only associated epidurals with childbirth, NOT knee surgery! Luckily they didn't give me an epidural, but instead gave me a "block" that stopped all feeling from my thigh down without a needle near my spine.
ReplyDeleteOuch! Knee surgery is killer. My mom and father in law both went through the surgery a few years back. Both of their recoveries have been very different. FIL was able to get on his feet a bit quicker than my mom, but they both still experience pain years later. I hope your recovery continues to go well.
DeleteI also feared birth a bit more the second time. The first time my biggest fear was not making it to the hospital in time since it was an hour away. (That came true the second time, and the hospital was only 12 minutes away, but it was totally fine.) What I was actually most afraid of this time was tearing because the recovery was awful, and it actually ended up not as bad the second time. The recovery was so quick, which was a huge blessing because I, too, have a young toddler to keep up with. I didn't even feel the need for medication after the birth, even with second degree tearing. That was 7 weeks ago already! My husband and I took the Bradley classes together before our first one, so I completely trusted him to help me through it and stick to our plan. Having your husband read Husband Coached Childbirth is another option for you that might help both you and your husband feel more confident about the second birth. It is so amazing to be able to give birth the way our bodies were created to do it! It might sound silly, but practice relaxation daily, even imagining your way through contractions and letting your body do its job, and it really becomes instinct when the real time comes. Good luck! You can do it!
ReplyDeleteCarrie, Congrats on your newest little one! Were you able to make it to the hospital in time?
DeleteThanks for the tips and info. I do trust hubby will stick to the plan, but I just felt having the second person there reassuring me things were fine and I was doing great helped keep me and my husband calm. We will look into that book you suggested. We didn't take any Bradley classes the first time and aren't taking any classes now. We just took the hospital class the first time through. But relaxing is something I need to practice. Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
I understand wanting another person there to help! It definitely helps to have extra support. I hope you can work something out.
ReplyDeleteNo, we didn't make it to the hospital this time, but the paramedics made it in time! She was born right here on our bathroom floor. I had no signs of labor until my water broke, and even then, contractions weren't like what I remembered from before. She was born an hour later! She was also at 42 weeks, so she waited until she was good and ready and then just got the job done! :)
Well I can't relate there. Both my pregnancies were c-section. I did get to almost 9 centimeters before having to have an emergency c-section due to baby's heart rate falling. So I understand the pains of labor but not the pains of pushing. For me it was more of a fear of c-sections the second time, even though I had one. I knew I had to have another because the hospital in my town does not do V-bacs. So I was forced to have another operation. Oh well. I have two healthy boys and its a thing of the past now. Hang in there! I'm sure the second time will be easier because you will let your body do its thing. I've heard meditation and listening to calming music will help you to get in that zone.
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