(2009/06) June 2009 MTBs

hm... of labour pains... i don't think i'm afraid. i counter that by reading a lot of the labour process, to the extent that whatever i hear or read now i brush off as normal (self-delusion huh) hahaha

plus... i believe God designed our bodies to withstand the process. think about it, women having been giving birth for thousands of years.

if all else fails, i'll ask for epidural. i don't think i'm afraid of the process itself 'cos i'd probably be too caught up in the situation to think properly (even if they perform episiotomy on me), BUT i am quite scared of the healing period from the epi. i've heard it's not that bad and passes in one week, but still.... imagine the pain when the epidural wears off.... ouch!
 


I think I will be opting for epidural from the start... don't think i can bear the pain..

Do we get painkillers after birth?
 
hi gals.. wow.. u all zzz so late?

Re: epi.. its really good.. coz i remember i can even zzz when the contraction gt real bad..and without knowing, im fully dilated.. hmm.. i think i'll opt for tat for my #2..

sweethalo.. usually the doc will ask if we experience pain.. bt i remember tat i didnt need any painkiller after birth and i can even sit with cross legs the very next day after delivery worh..
 
ooo thanks May.. that's a load of relief! I was worried about the episiotomy pain.

Think am the only late night bird around ;p
 
sweethalo,
u r not alone..am also in your clan: late night birds..kekeke..

bbjun,
do keep close mointor k? did gynae ask u to come bk if experience any discomfort? ur hubby must be worried.
 
sweethalo..infact im glad there's epi..coz my cousin who did not use epi had really bad tear down there.. and till now.. bb already 3 mths.. still experience slight pain le.. scary.. so im nt taking any chance.. jus wan an easier labour lor..
 
*hi-5* to nozomi *winks*

May:- me too...jus want the labour as painless as can be *hi-5*

Anyone seen Michelle Obama in the green flare dress at the Church for National Prayer? She looks like she has a bump too.. maybe preggie?? hehe... kaypo kaypo
 
wah... u ladies r really 夜猫子, i knock off before 11 almost everyday...

Ooo... regarding epidural, my mum was encouraging me to go for natural without, to try the "real" labour... she said women r made to b able to go through this... i'm still thinking about it...

bbjun, glad that everything is alrite... we must b extra careful now, i make sure i hold onto the handrail in the train or when i'm travelling on the escalator, dun want to take the risk...
 
bbjun, I usually walk behind my colleagues. Hehe. They're really kind and will get doors and stuff for me so hey girl, just linger behind yours and send them into the unknown ahead! I'm REALLY glad you both are ok. *rub your shoulder (& bump, if I have permission to!)*

maydy & First mum, I think I'll want epidural from the start... maydy, WHOA! Can sleep thru contractions?!?! That's a relief. Heard many stories abt how by the time you wait til feel you need it, it can be too late or the pain-numbing effects can be minimal. Although have read too, that numbness compromises our natural pushing response to contractions unless midwife observes very keenly and works very closely with mum on when contractions come in and to push.

Re: Episiotomy
Have ANY mummies here specifically requested to have an episiotomy only if necessary, instead of by default? OR are any MTBs thinking of requesting this?

I know it helps prevent a natural rip along the vagina as jagged tears are harder to stitch up and may take longer to heal. I also believe that it can help prevent tears that rip into the anus/rectum region, causing agony & complications

However, I have read that apparently, episiotomy BY DEFAULT is a practice mainly of Asian drs/ drs dealing with Asians cos stereotypically, we're smaller. While I have two tiny (both <1.6m tall) and skinny sisters, I'm completely not an Asian size. I'm smaller than most Scandinavian women, but as big as most European women and even bigger than most Aussies. So after coming across an article abt episiotomies, I'm thinking of asking my dr not to do the incision unless necessary. I.e., monitor size of bb's head and cut only if it's really not going to come thru without tearing me up...

Anyone have any thoughts / sharings?
 
btw, read in 2 major preg books that a lot of "older generation" think epidurals cause spinal problems. But the reality is that this hasn't been proven, reason being:

i. Most of these back problems are pre-existing conditions exacerbated by pregnancy and labour.

ii. For others, back problems set in with pregnancy and oft instead of recognising lack of proper exercise and good posture to prevent deterioration of back condition, women who have delivered ascribe their subsequent backaches to epidurals...

I don't know how "true" these are... but they seem plausible to me.
 
Think most gynae will do Episiotomy cos of e risk of tearing.

For my 1st, my boy was already on his way out, think cos too small like kenna stuck, immed when my gynae cut, he came out instantly. So I think it's vital.
 
hi mummies, done my detail scan ytd, God blessed everything is fine with my baby and weight is above average, gynae wants me to deliver end May instead of June.

My baby turns into monster overnight, i finally felt his movement at 130am on Wed midnight, can oso feel him having hiccups twice ytd =)
 
Hi everyone!

I'm new to this forum, can I join in your chit chat here too? :eek:)

Some brief info on me.
- First time mum (SAHM)
- EDD 14 June
- Gender unknown
- OBGYN: Dr Fong Yang
- Delivery hospital: most likely Mt A.
- Mode of delivery: most likely elective C-section w epidural

Have been reading this thread, and envy all the mummies who have not been putting on too much weight, cos I've been putting on weight since day one, and now at 19wks, my total weight gain is already 7-8kg. Cry! 1st tri I already put on around 5kg, cos the only way I could suppress my morning sickness is by eating every 1 to 1.5hrs. I wasn't those slim slim type to begin with, but now I have thunder arms and thighs! So demoralised :-(

Hi bbPotato,
Read somewhere that you'll be organising spree on Medela pumps. Have you done that already? Cos I'm interested in buying :eek:)
 
Hi TubbyMummy
happy.gif
welcome here!
 
welcome ahnetsan.

Poulinea,i just called KKH Private suite,they told me can directly book the gynae and they will transfer the file for me.. They said it's depends the gynae whether want to accept my case or not,and if she accept then will treat it as new case.. do i still need go to visit current gynae beginning of next month and let her know first.. she is quite nice gynae,if directly change gynae like that,feel not nice to her...

Ling,i eat bak kwa .. and also durian.. just need to drink more water ..you brought cutie backpack also ah... later your BB saw it will think i'm still so young mummy buy this for who eh.. keke...

bbjun,happy to noe that you and BB are fine ;-D take care..

For mummies want to join Hospital tour,here is the info :

KKH : Friday morning 11:00am need to book,Tel: 6394 3739
Raffles Hospital: Mon - Fri 11:30am &amp; 4:00pm
Sat 10:30am &amp; 12:00pm
walk in,level 8

Re: Epidural
Same like Dovey,my mum was encouraging me go for natural delivery too.. It's depends on our condition also,so don't worry too much.. If gynae tell me i can normal delivery then i will try...huh... "冷汗"

bbPotato,thanks for sharing,but will it very painful when your gynae cut..
 
Jess Ma, I think the labour will prob be so painful that you don't know when the doctor do the snip snip.. that's what my frens tell me

Re: Gynae Change/Transfer- I just changed gynae also, they are quite professional about it. Just give her a call and let her know the reason. Yours is because of inconvenient delivery hospital right?
 
welcome, tubbymummy!

anybody know of good CL agency? i hv no direct recommendation of pte CL, so m thinking of engaging CL thru agency. if CL no gd, still can send back and change right? but if i engage pte CL, if no good, i'm stuck!!!
 
neeciel, congrats on both pieces of gd news! Ermm... not that bb turning into monster is good but at least you can enjoy it!

tubbymummy, hi there! Join our chitchat by all means, it's addictive. Hehe! Don't worry about the weight gain.
As long as you're not bingeing, weight gain is steady and not sudden, bb ok, just eat in moderation.

JessMa, if have epidural, won't feel episiotomy! It's the aftermath that I'm fearful of.. the wee'ing onto your stitches. OUCH!

sweethalo, thanks! i'm going tmr anyway so will check. but most likely signing up for Mt A's.
 
neeciel, that's good news to know that BB is developing so well!
happy.gif
Dr Chan told me that I m likely to due earlier which I am hoping not. Have been telling my BB to be guai guai to stay to full term so that he n I have peace from MIL. kekeke....

Cassey, epidural does not cause spinal probs. My fren's hb is a chiroprator surgeon. He said that preggies has back probs cos of poor postures as we tend to lean backwards to stick our tummy outwards, partly trying to balance our extra wt in front. After delivery, mothers do not realize the constant bending over to change diapers etc, aggravate the months of tension we have on our spine. Instead, he recommended that preggies to take care of postures during pregnancy and make sure changing tables of correct ht are used and stop doing changing of diapers, etc on the cot or bed where the ht is not good for our backs. Excessive carrying of baby after deliver also add strain so he cautions that we must be sensitve to our body calls to aches and learn to give our body a good break when needed.

welcome tubbymummy!

re: episiotomy
I think it's default in Singapore that u have this unless u request not to. I wld prefer to have episiotomy if it helps in healing instead of jagged tearing.
 
bbjun, it's good to know epidural doesn't cause spinal problems... mayb it's myth we have been hearing all this while... yeah, we really have to b v careful of our posture, my hubby pointed out that i'm starting to walk like a pregnant woman, sticking my tummy out a little... must change! must change! else my back is gng to suffer...
 
Gosh... I'm afraid of the first pee after birth too!.... Keep imagine hw painful it will be to pee and wet the wound...
sad.gif
not forgetting with all the lochia blood too... yakkkkkkssss....!

However, some people have told mi that they cant feel anything.. hope they are right man...

Oh ya and my friend oso told mi not all can ve epidural thru out cuz u ve to be "x" cm dilated before u can opt for epidural... anyone noes if this is true??
sad.gif
 
Today's newspaper got article saying its a myth that epidural is bad - under the mind your body section.
on the epi... 'its use has been widely debated, but adverse consequences have not yet been proven'
'the epidural can last for up to 16hrs so its gd not just for reducing pain during birth, but also after birth"
'On the other hand, the effectiveness of the epidural outweighs other options like the pethidine injection. pethidine is a drug used to relieve severe pain druing labour or after a surgery, providing pain relief for about 5-6 hrs'
 
Thanks Cassey, i din expect such a drastic changes on the movement, now i can feel him most of the time...arghhhhhh....he very restless leh.

bbjun, r u ok now? u had a fall ah? Y u dun want to deliver earlier?
 
neeciel,
ya, slipped n fell ytd. Was at Dr Chan's ytd but went at the end of the day just to check that everything is ok.

Dun want to deliver earlier cos I dun want my MIL to come over everyday or even stay at my plc the whole day to irritate me and CL. As long as school hols ends, she will be busy with tuition, no time to come n irritate me. :p
 
kate, thanks for the info on today's mind your body section... i quickly took it upon reading your post...
happy.gif
i'll bring home and slowly read...

i still dun feel strong fetal movement... i think the first time i felt (i think so) was last sat when i was watching red cliff, towards the end... told my hubby, our gal must have loved takeshi or tony leung, that's why she got excited... hehe...
 
oh u went to Dr Chan ah? I was there in the morning and left at 10am. Glad that everything is fine with u and ur bb =)

oh now i get u, then ask ur bb to be more cooperative lor hee...
 
sweethalo, I don't know yet.. =) I'm a West'ie.. but I'll give you a heads up once I decide k!

bbjun &amp; Kate Lee, thanks for reaffirming my point! A lot of acquaintances have said they want epidural, but fearful of suffering backaches in future so may try without it. Tt's why I posted that clarification here. I hope it helps lessen some fellow pain-phobics anxiety abt labour.

neeciel, bbjun, I was wondering if my boy will be bigger than typical bb's at his gestational age neither hubby or I are petite. But so far his size seems normal. I actually would love for him to arrive just a little earlier. Anything'll be better than a post due date bb! My colleagues got so tired of waiting each day past their EDD for bb to make an appearance.

bbjun, so sad to wish bb won't come out too early cos of MIL's interference. Your MIL is not the kinda person you or your hubby can talk things over with? I hope she doesn't add to the stress of you and hubby coping with the bb when it comes.

No one in the right mind would prefer jagged tear or worse, tear into anal region over an episiotomy, bbjun!

My point is that personally, I would prefer NO episiotomy unless I really need it.
(Since given my build, I think there is a very real possibility I may not need it one)

I think I shall mentioned it to my gynae and see if he can be more reserved abt snipping me up. Kinda monitor bb's progress and head circumference through the months first, then do it if he deems it necessary at any point leading up to and during the birth.
 
hi ladies,
may I know how does stretchmarks looks like?
I just notice that I have 4 vertical red lines appearing on my lower abdomen. Is that stretchmarks?
 
toffeecat> for me, im not exactly a clean freak, but at least my MIL should really spend time taking care of the child right? cos now she's babysitting my sister-in-law's fren's 8 mth old boy... and she's always at the pc, playing online games. even when the boy is sleeping in the other room, she wont even know if he has woken up or not, and often, i know he's woken up instead of my MIL. and jus nw smth happened which made me feel OMG! the little boy was sitting up in bed and playing wif watever stuff he can find in my MIL room, and he was eating paper!! PAPER!!!! OMG lor...if she had been careful abt putting things away from the boy's reach, such thing wont happen.
 
neeciel, only lately (this wk, at wk 22) have I started noticing periods when bb is more active. I think usually busy at work and don't notice. My fella's quite meek, he's active at about 6plus in the evenings so I don't need to pretend to rub rub my bump cos I'm really doing it in response to him. =)

sweethalo, what to do?! All v far. Gleneagles isn't that near either... and neither is Thomson

chidori, could just be broken capillaries? Esp as our veins enlarge to cope with more volume of blood and skin's thinning... I can't say how preggie stretchmarks look cos haven't gotten any yet. But have read that preggie stretchmarks can be vivid and red, but will fade to a silvery skin tone after delivery.
 
Cassey, think it all depends how much ur baby absorb and individual's growth rate, me and hb are not tall or big size too, but seems like baby is growing bigger than the norm.
 
Ling> yeah we share the same fear of the delivery process... imagine gynae cut us up and stitch us back. OMG lor.... the thought of it makes me shiver....

i have to stay wif the PIL until our flat comes. by the time the flat is here, our baby will be 2 or 3 yrs old le...

this pregnancy is my first. im jus staying at PIL place nw cos im nt wrking anymore after i got pregnant. so i see alot more, in regards to the way my MIL babysitting my sis-in-law's fren's baby.
 
Chidori, not 100% sure, but to me it sounds like they may be stretch marks, especially if they started appearing over the course of some days (by right they don't just spring up red and angry overnight). New stretch marks appear pink/red, old ones (meaning after they have "settled down" and become permanent) become sort of silvery, like a bit lighter than your own skin colour.

From what I know, when stretch marks are still red, it is still possible to improve the appearance of the marks (but may not reverse them), so slather on your stretch mark cream like crazy! I've been applying a thick layer of 100% shea butter every night ever since I found out I was pregnant, cos I have existing stretch marks already (4-5 big silvery lines running vertically down my lower abdomen), so I really don't want to add so many more lines! Now I apply Mustela stretch mark cream in the day, and my own concoction of pure shea butter + cocoa butter + avocado oil every night. Yes, I'm super KS ;-P
 
cassey, if things are talkable with MIL, my hb n his sis will be on good terms with her years ago. If things are talkable with MIL, I wldn't have to scream at her during wedding preps 2+yrs ago. If things are talkable, my SIL will rather come back to Singapore to stay than to migrate to USA. My SIL's hb is freaking out abt having kids becos my MIL's intention to move over, meddle with everything etc. He is an American. Spending two hours with MIL is oredi causing him internal bleeding. He has been traumatised enuf not to have kids for 6 yrs. u can imagine that.

Anyway, we just do not want to have conflicts with her so best is to avoid all possibilities for conflicts. We can only give way to her on certain things but not all things. As long as we do not have conflicts with her, we have no stress n unhappiness. There are of cos things we try to do to make her happy but cannot do too often cos she has a habit of asking for more to the point we cannot tahan. So we just take one step at a time when managing her.
 
firstmum> i know tat epidural can take away all pain, but, but the idea of injecting into my spine.... dat makes me shiver... plus im always scared of jab...

i remb when my gynae took my blood for the blood test, i was like almost in tears.. and the assistant was laughing at me... my gynae even told me if i find this jab painful, den be prepared for a worse time during the time u're giving birth cos it's going to be many many many times more painful than this jab.... den i stared at my hubby and wanted to cry.
 
Thanks for the welcome ladies :-D

Casey, read in past posts about you waiting to feel your baby move. Haha... I know exactly how that feels. It must be nice now to be able to feel something
happy.gif
I've still not felt my baby move yet. Either that or I'm too dense to realise it. I'm not worried about it myself, but I'm getting annoyed at people asking me left right and centre if I've felt baby move, and looking concerned when I say "nope, not at all". Sheesh.

I'm looking forward to my detailed scan this Sat! Crossing fingers that every part of baby will be healthy... And it'll be nice to finally know if my baby's a boy or girl! Doc's guessing it's a girl, but it's not confirmed, cos at last scan, the umbilical cord was strategically blocking the important bits... :-/

Question ladies: Must I drink lots of water to do detailed scan? Heard that no need to do this from certain wks onwards right?
 
i've read in babycenter website dat eating more veges and fruits and drinking plenty of water will help to prevent stretch marks from appearing...is this true? cos i'm starting to drink lots of water now.... and going to pee each time i finish a glass.
sad.gif
 
Sorry bbjun! :D I don't mean it like that lah hehe... I'm just super KS, cos the stretch marks I have are really not nice, had them since late teens I think, cos of weight fluctuation. So seeing them everyday just reminds me to apply even more cream! I read about your fall, so glad you and baby are both fine. Hope you're feeling less traumatised now. Take care, and also stress less over your MIL ya?
happy.gif
 
ahnetsan, think maybe it's cos veg, fruits &amp; water are generally gd for the skin, so may help with keeping skin supple, more "stretchy", and less prone to scarring? I've been running to the loo lots too, I try to convince myself that every step counts as exercise haha!
 
oh no.. i been lazy in applying stretchmark cream.. only started this week.. maybe that's why I kenna.. how much to apply for the tummy? I'm using the mothercare one..
 
I started applying stretchmark cream at week 4.5.. right after I knew I was preggie.... that's sounds quite KS as well.

Dun worry. I m oredi used to my MIL for 11 yrs. that's how long I know my hb. Will feel frustrated when she creates nonsense but we just let one ear in, one ear out n anticipate certain things to prep so as to manage her. We try not to focus on her cos there are better and happier things to think abt. Of cos, we always wish she will be enlightened some day.. cos it will be nice if we are closer.
 
Tubbyummy, u dun need to have full bladder for the detail scan, in fact i emptied my bladder before that cos i need to do urine test each time i go for consultation.
 


Chidori, eh... I don't know how to say how much to apply, maybe depends on individual? Some people can't stand the oily sticky feeling. I've never used the Mothercare cream before. For me I apply twice a day, on belly, hips and breasts. For the Mustela one, I apply one round, and when that gets absorbed into the skin (feels dry, not sticky anymore), I apply a little bit more. The 2nd layer will also get absorbed into the skin, but at slower rate. The one I apply at night is very oily, so even if I apply a bit, it feels oily and sticky already, but I still apply a lot anyway. Some of it gets absorbed up by my t-shirt when I sleep...

neeciel, thanks for the advice. So relieved that I won't need full bladder, I really hate that feeling like I'm about to explode!
 

Back
Top