I feel like her body has not handled pregnancy well and I just hope she leaves a larger gap this time. Sounds like she’s champing at the bit to start trying again but is pretending she’s not.
Hi all,
I have some money put aside for a second carrier and wanted feedback/ideas.
TL;DR: I want an easy front carry for when my babies are young for nursing, but still useful as they age for bad weather.
Current carrier: I currently have a LennyLamb size 4 shortie woven wrap. She’s my ride or die. I’m most happy back carrying and do so from around 6-8 weeks. My 2 year old is super happy in a ruck or various hammocks. I also have a 2 month old I just started back carrying and my woven has us comfy and set.
Ideal scenario: I want something for my front that’s easy for nursing when my babies are small. Now, small is relative. Both my kids are over 22” and 10 lbs at birth and hit 15 lbs and 24” by 6 or so weeks, so I have more options than most do. I also like to front carry as they age in crappy weather so we can snuggle. But this isn’t a major concern.
Dislikes: I do not like ring slings (my wife has one). I have a half buckle Stokke Limas that’s ok but I want to get rid of it. I really don’t love buckles as the waistband isn’t super comfy. I did not like the stiffness of my sister’s leather Sakura Bloom straps but do like the waistband.
Current thoughts: I’m considering a Oscha Coorie, a Didymos Meh Dei, possibly getting a size 6 woven wrap, or an onbuhimo? All have pros and cons but wanted to see what others thought. My budget is $500.
Let me know if I can answer more questions.
I tried to find the data on this and couldn’t, but observationally, it seems like most embryos have a same or higher graded ICM than TE. For example, AB embryos seem far more common than BA embryos.
If this is true, I have questions. Is there a structural reason for this? Or is it just a consequence of how grading is defined? Any info much appreciated.
As a quick background, my first was born at home at 41+3, weighing 10 lbs 1 oz and I had a shoulder dystocia requiring a Gaskin maneuver and delivery of posterior arm. My midwives and I were hoping to avoid a shoulder this time, so that was very present in my care this pregnancy.
At 3:30 AM at 40+3, I woke up with contractions I couldn’t sleep through, about 8-10 minutes apart. They picked up to 6-8 minutes apart by 6 AM and felt enough like the “real deal” to call and update my midwives who decided to head to me. I could still talk between contractions and cope very well, but wanted to keep them updated. I’m glad I called them when I did, because labor picked up and by 8 AM contractions were 3-4 minutes apart and really required some working through. My first midwife arrived at 8:30 and her and my wife immediately set up the birth pool for me, as I was in active labor.
I got in the pool around 9:30 or so, but I’m honestly not a huge fan of the pool for anything beyond a break. I find it really kills my power. So I got out, and hit transition and got very pushy and popped my water in epic fashion. (Like a GIANT gush) around 10:30 or so. I got pushy again but it didn’t quite stick, and I had a lot of pressure in my front and my midwives assumed I had a cervical lip. They asked if I wanted them to check me, and I did, because in my soul I knew things were off.
Turns out, I did have a cervical lip and my midwife offered to help me push past it. I got back into the tub just for ease of access and movement. We did 5-10 contractions of her holding it back and it was truly some of the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. It was over two rounds, the second of which was needed as my cervix was feeling a bit swollen. There was still a small amount of lip, so I headed with my other midwife to the toilet to try to get fully dilated. I then got into my bed and did some side lying to finally kill the lip. During this time, contractions were back to back, starting to force me to bear down, but running up against the lip. I do not wish this combination on my worst enemy as it was brutal.
I was in transition for like 3 hours with the lip which made me really doubt my ability to keep going. But once it was gone, I could feel all pressure only in my butt and the fetal ejection reflex really kicked in and I could finally feel progress. My spine was on fire, but I knew my baby was coming and no longer feeling like giving up, I dug as deep as I could. I was on all fours, pushing like an animal.
Baby’s head delivered and then we waited for the next contraction. This was the moment of truth as I had a shoulder dystocia with my first son. The contraction hit and baby plopped out perfectly. Only 20 minutes of pushing! This was a huge relief compared to the four hours my first took. He had a nuchal cord, but those are totally normal and common. As he was slid up between my legs I could see he was a boy, he cried immediately! I got to hold him right away (my first son had a very short cord so I couldn’t get him past my belly button) and my midwives and I agreed this looked like a 9 lb baby, and hence the easier push (hold this thought).
We waited around half an hour to deliver my placenta which is hands down the greatest feeling in the world. During the wait, my midwives let me know that baby boy was asynclitic (head tilt) and directly posterior, which explains the cervical lip as his head couldn’t clear cervix. I had a very small second degree perineal tear that we repaired before doing the newborn exam. Baby boy shocked all of us at 10 lbs 8 oz and 22.25” long.
I truly believe I only got my two vaginal births by being at home and I am so grateful to my midwives.