Pregnancy Archives - Page 2 of 2

Does Stripping the Membranes Help Bring on Labor?

December 27, 2009 by Painter Mommy 9 Comments

I have read a lot of different things concerning the topic of stripping the membranes during pregnancy. Some say it is dangerous and can actually cause severe cramping. But in my experience, stripping the membranes of the cervix to bring on labor contractions actually works!

I have had this done for 3 of my pregnancies and I went into labor almost immediately. Of course, it does not always work this way for everyone. Some doctors are not comfortable doing this and would rather you just wait for things to happen naturally. Now a days doctors are very quick to use the drug pitocin to help induce labor. But there are major side effects to that as well.

I had pitocin for baby #3 and man was that nuts! The drug causes your contractions to come on faster and harder. The pain is so intense, like nothing I have ever felt before. I don’t use pain meds during labor and delivery and looking back on that, I wish I was more informed because I would’ve. Most woman who have the pitocin usually get an epidural to go along with it. I suffered through that swearing I would never have any more kids. LOL

Stripping the membranes is a fairly simple procedure. The doctor gives you a vaginal examination by placing a gloved finger through the cervix and sweeps the amniotic membranes free of their attachment to the lower part of the uterine cavity. This process is believed to release hormone-like substances called prostaglandins, which helps to ready your body for labor.

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My OB/GYN will do this procedure once I hit 38 weeks of pregnancy, though she did work with me for this past baby and did it a few days earlier than that so that I could be home in time for Christmas. You can read more about my labor and delivery experience here.

So, in my humble opinion, stripping the membranes can be a great natural way to induce labor. I actually begged my husband to try and do it at first, but once I read up on it and saw the picture above of how it is really done, I see that this should really be done by a doctor. It is not something you should try at home.

Some other great alternatives to help bring on labor are:

Walking
Sex
Castor Oil
Spicy Foods
Nipple Stimulation

Funny Pregnancy Cartoons

November 23, 2009 by Painter Mommy 9 Comments

I couldn’t resist! LOL

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OK, which one was your favorite?

The 6 Annoying Pregnancy Symptoms

November 22, 2009 by Painter Mommy 11 Comments

Well, it is coming down to the wire for me. I am 33 weeks pregnant and due around Christmas. These last few weeks have been tough. I have been totally exhausted and my motivation level has really plummeted in comparison to my usual super mommy self. And in addition to being really tired, I have been struggling with a of the usual and annoying pregnancy symptoms. I think as you get farther along in your pregnancy they get even worse.

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So, here is the list of the most common pregnancy symptoms.

Nose Bleeds & Nasal Stuffiness – I wrote a whole blog post on this. Check it out here.

Vaginal Discharge – OK, come on, when you are pregnant, your period is supposed to stop right?! Who wants to have an annoying discharge? For the past several months I have been stuck using panti-liners which really do help a lot to keep things dry – but still annoying! I did read that this will also increase in amount until the baby is born. Ugh! But please remember that if there is ever a change in color or an odor, you should report it to your doctor or midwife.

Insomnia – This has to be the hardest for me to deal with right now because I am already extremely tired as it is. Pregnancy insomnia can manifest itself in the form of an inability to fall asleep or as the inability to fall back to sleep after being awakened (like your nightly trips to the potty). So, now every night when I get up to go to the bathroom, it take me forever to get back to sleep. I keep telling myself that it is preparation for the many sleepless nights ahead. 🙂

Gastrointestinal Distress (Burping & Gas) – The hormones of pregnancy have sent my gastrointestinal tract in a spin. The unladylike affliction of belching, burping and gas are fairly common. My last 3 pregnancies I struggled more with the heartburn and acid reflux, but for some reason with this pregnancy I am plagued with this horrible burping syndrome. I burp constantly and I have to be honest with you, I hate burping! They say to try and avoid offending foods and never hold the air inside because it can cause pain.

Constipation – This actually just started for me about 2 weeks ago. The hormones of pregnancy can cause your intestines to slow down and become sluggish. So not only am I constipated, but I am also getting hemorrhoids from trying to push. Ugh! Drinking plenty of water and eating high fiber foods can be very helpful in this issue. There are also medications that you can take, so be sure to ask your doctor if you are really having a hard time.

Lower Back Pain – This has always been something that I have struggled with. I am usually a pretty small framed person and it seems like all this extra weight really puts a lot of pressure on my lower back. I am not able to roll over very easily when laying down or get up easily from sitting or laying down. I pretty much have to moan in agony because it hurts so bad. But the funny thing is, that once I give birth the pain goes right away. So I keep that in my mind and try not to complain too much. Heating pads can give some relief and of course not overdoing it like I often do by staying on my feet for too long. I think taking it easy is the best bet at the end of any pregnancy.

How about you? What annoying pregnancy symptoms did you have to go through?

What is up with Pregnancy and Nosebleeds?

October 5, 2009 by Painter Mommy 6 Comments

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I have never been one to get nosebleeds. It all started for me during pregnancy #3. I thought there was something wrong with me. Every other day I got a nose bleed. They weren’t too bad. They lasted about 10 minutes. Some were worse than others. I had no clue that this was actually completely normal during pregnancy.

But they come at such terrible times! I had one come when I was standing in line for lunch on our recent cruise. I had no tissue and it was dripping on the floor until my husband could get me a tissue. And what made it even worse is that there were these ladies behind me telling me that I needed to put my head back. But my doctor told me to definitely not do that because the blood will just go back into your head and not come out. The ladies meant well I am sure, but they got kinda snippy with me because I told them that I would rather do what my doctor had advised me to do. I couldn’t WAIT to get out of that line. Ugh. And I would’ve just sat down at a table, but the lines were 45 minutes long and I didn’t want to have to stand in it all over again to get my food. As you know on a cruise, the food is usually the highlight of the day.

So, why does this happen? What is the cause of nosebleeds during pregnancy?

Pregnancy can cause increased blood flow in your body which can cause pressure on the delicate blood vessels in your nose causing them to rupture. A pregnant woman can have 30% to 50% more blood circulating in their body than normal. This extra blood helps the placenta and the growing baby to be healthy.

You are more prone to nosebleeds during the following:

When you have a cold
During a sinus infection
If you have allergies
When your nose dries out
In cold weather
In air conditioning
In airplanes
In dry environments
Trauma or medical conditions

This is how to stop a nosebleed:

Sit down
Lean forward and keep your head at a level that is above your heart
Pinch your nose firmly, just under the bridge
Maintain pressure for at least ten minutes
Don’t release this pressure until ten minutes are up – it will stop the coagulation process
If you have some ice, put a bag of it over your nose – this will help the
blood vessels to constrict
Don’t lie down or lean your head back – this could cause you to swallow your blood, which can lead to nausea and vomiting
Once the
bleeding has stopped, try not to blow your nose for at least 12 hours

You can prevent nosebleeds during pregnancy by:

Drinking extra fluids to keep your mucous membranes hydrated
Gently blow your nose. Blowing your nose too hard can cause a nosebleed
Keep your mouth open when you sneeze
Avoid dry air or smokey environments. You can use a humidifier in your home
Use a lubricant in your nose such as petroleum jelly
Don’t over use medications such as nasal spray and decongestants

This information helped me a lot. And it was nice to see that my doctor was actually right that you are NOT supposed to lean your head back during a nosebleed.

So now I carry a wad of tissues around wherever I go. I am not going to get stuck again dripping blood all over my clothes and the floor. It is best to be prepared.

Have any of you gotten nosebleeds during pregnancy? Tell me your story. Where is the worst place you got a nosebleed without being prepared? Hearing your stories will definitely make me feel better. 🙂

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Never Go On a Cruise When You are Pregnant!

September 7, 2009 by Painter Mommy 16 Comments

As many of you know, I just got back from my first cruise. Hubby and I had been planning this for quite sometime. We went because of the Social Media By The Sea Conference which took place on the cruise ship. I shared about the my speaking opportunity at the conference in my Previous Post. Be sure to check it out.

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Going on a cruise was definitely an experience. We cruised with Carnival Cruise lines on the Carnival Destiny. I did not realize until later on that Carnival is known for their fun ships where the focus is partying and having a good time as opposed to relaxing. I might not have minded it so much if I wasn’t pregnant and feeling exhausted throughout the whole trip. There was only one quiet place to go on the ship and that was on the lobby floor outside decks on either side of the boat. My husband and I spent a lot of time there on the comfy lounge chairs. We even saw a bunch of dolphins swimming next to the boat on our last day at sea. It was breathtaking. I think there must’ve been 50 of them. And of course, that is the day I don’t have my camera with me! 🙁

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Here is a picture of our room. We were on the 8th floor, mid-ship. It was really a great place to be as far as not feeling too much motion from the boat. I heard that you can feel more being closer to the ends, especially if the water is rough. We had 2 double beds that were put together. It was quite comfortable!

Here is a picture of the bathroom. It was pretty small, but the shower was surprisingly big. And for the life of me, we could not figure out what that machine was attached to the wall. It said something about being a shaver. Anyone have a clue what it does? I totally forgot to ask.

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Our first full day was spent at sea. That was the day I had to speak at the conference. There was so much anticipation and planning that when it was finally done, I wound up falling apart emotionally. I know that it was because of being pregnant. I was just exhausted from all the travel to Miami, hotel, shuttle, first night sleeping on the cruise, being terrible home sick, and then the conference. Everything came down on me pretty hard and all at once. I drove my husband crazy because I could’nt stop crying for over an hour. We wound up getting into a huge fight. Once things finally blew over and we made up, I got a migraine headache that wouldn’t go away for a couple days. It was crazy.

The second day, the ship stopped in the port of Ocho Rios, Jamaica. I was not ready for what we faced there. We had set up an excursion with Carnival to go to the Dunns River Falls and also to Dolphin Cove. They were both nice places, but the people were just crazy. The second we stepped off the bus, we were bombarded. One guy walks up to me and hands me these Jamaican beads made out of beans and says “Welcome to Jamaica… Free, Free..” I said thank you and started to walk away. He stopped me and said “Donation, donation” and then tried to take the beads back. I was pretty shocked. It is kinda funny thinking back on it now. And that is the way it was the entire day. Every person we came in contact with was trying to sell us something. I got approached at least 10 times to have my hair braided, at least 15 times to buy these hand carved pipes that people make there, and the funniest thing was being approached to buy pot! We just ignored them, but I felt like saying “Do I look like I smoke pot?” I mean come on!

Here is a picture of my hubby that I shot really quick as we are fleeing the shopping market maze.

I really wanted to buy stuff as souvenirs, but because of all the pressure we faced, I was so overwhelmed that I didn’t buy anything. 🙁

The area was beautiful though in most areas. Here is a picture of us on the beach at the Dunns River Falls.

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Here is a picture of the falls. A part of the excursion was to actually climb the falls with a group. The treck looked dangerous, so of course we opted out. I didn’t want to kill myself out there. LOL

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I enjoyed seeing several Jamaican music groups randomly playing throughout the tourist area. They wanted money of course, but they were really good, so I did stop to give to them.

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Dolphin Cove was nice as well, but nothing is free so we did not get to swim with the dolphins as we thought we were. They wanted us to pay an additional fee for almost everything there. So we walked around and saw the dolphins from afar. We sat for a few minutes on the beach and then decided that we can eat for free back on the boat so we went back.

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That night we were so worn out that we skipped the shows and went to bed right after dinner. I think that really helped me because the next morning my headache had gone away almost completely. I was so hesitant about the day at Grand Cayman after such a crazy day in Jamaica. But our day wound up being really great. It was definitely the highlight of our trip. I had 3 excursions set up in one. We started out on a small bus tour checking out the island. The bus driver / tour guide was really awesome. He brought us to the town called Hell where there are these crazy rock formations. There was even this little post office in the town. Check out the pictures:

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Then we got to go to a really cool Turtle Farm. They had hundreds of turtles there. My favorites were the HUGE ones. They were like 3 or 4 feet long. Each of us got to even hold a turtle. The tour guide there was great too.

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Our last excursion of the day was Swimming with the Sting Rays. And guess what? We actually got what we paid for! We were brought to a boat and our group was boated a couple miles out in the ocean to a sand bar in the middle of nowhere. We anchored down and then got out of the boat where they were lots and lots of sting rays, all different sizes. We could pet them, hold them, and whatever else. I just stood watching everyone. I was a little grossed out because the sting rays were so slimy. I did touch one and several of them brushed up against my legs. But I did not hold them like some people were doing. There was one woman who was letting them lay on her stomach while she floated in the water.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get any good pictures of our sting ray experience because my camera is not waterproof. Next time I am going to get one of those water proof case for my camera so I don’t have to worry about it getting wet.

This is us in the boat going out to the place they call Sting Ray City.

This picture is the only one that I got of all the people that were already out swimming before we got out of the boat to go swimming too. You can’t see the sting rays, but they were all around the people’s feet. Once we got out of the boat, they came to us from all over.

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The rest of the trip was nice. I finally got adjusted to living on a huge boat. The last day was nice. I attended the last conference sessions, had a really nice dinner (even tried escargot, which I didn’t like) and ended the night with a great show at the ship’s theatre. The dancer’s were great!

We pulled into Miami at 5am the next morning. We were all packed and ready to go. After a quick breakfast we headed downstairs to the lobby to get ready to get off the boat. We had just gotten off the elevator when someone called my husband’s name on the loud speaker asking him to go to the information desk. I went to the desk first and asked what they needed. They told us to wait there and made a call. A minute later there were 4 police officers surrounding my husband and telling me they were taking him without explanation. They almost left me standing there with 3 suitcases. I refused. I told them point blank that I was not leaving my husband. They got mad and said that I could not do that and that I can be arrested. I had no clue what was going on and I started balling and freaking out.

They were totally going to leave me there and take my husband off the boat without me. Finally they agreed to take me too. I am telling you, I did not care about being arrested. I did not want to be left alone. They probably gave in because I was pregnant. So I guess there were some advantages. 🙂

So they escorted us off the boat and to a building where customs was located. I was still balling. They left me in this waiting room with the luggage while they took my husband to an interrogation room (at least that is what it said on the door). The cops came back out to me, pretty pissed, saying that I should be arrested for what I did. But I still didn’t care. They made me freak out even more. Finally some immigration police came over and they were nice to me asking if I was ok and if I needed to go to the hospital, etc. After a while I calmed down. It was hard though because I really didn’t know what was going on. I just knew we had a plane to catch in a few hours.

Finally my husband came out with the officer who explained that there was a discrepency in my husband’s past record history. My husband is not yet a US Citizen (we are working on it). But that immigration office did not have his updated info so they practically treated him like a criminal which was totally unnecessary. I was relieved that everything turned out ok, but also angry that they could not just wait for us to go through the normal customs line and pull us aside there instead of causing so much embarrassment.

So, there ya have it. Our crazy first cruise experience. Looking back, I definitely would not go on a cruise again being pregnant. The cut off to go on a cruise being pregnant is 24 weeks. I was 22 weeks. I had to bring a doctor’s note and everything. It is just too much (without all the drama I went through). But with the drama, it nearly pushed me over the edge.

I came home so utterly exhausted that I could not get along with my mom who was also exhausted from watching my 3 little ones for 6 days. I just didn’t have anything left to give. I feel bad about it for sure (sorry mom).

Cruising is really fun. I would love to go on a cruise again and next time I will make sure I am NOT PREGNANT. Too many hormones!!

But we are home now – safe and sound. I am recovering and resting as much as I can before my work week starts.

So, how about you? Have you cruised before? Any drama? I would love to hear all about it so I can feel better! LOL