Why Share Your Labor Story?

Pregnant women have to listen to a gazillion labor stories.  Isn’t it strange that other women just volunteer the gruesome details of their labor?  As if I wanted to know about how this lady’s baby almost died because she couldn’t push the baby out in time.  Or about how this guy’s wife’s nurses weren’t being cooperative and how he had to tell them that his wife is ready because the baby is crowning.  It was my first pregnancy so why would I want to hear the horrors of labor?  What happened to the “My labor was only 3 hours and I pushed only 3 times” type of stories?

I suppose it’s those terrying labor stories that end up sticking in your mind.  I don’t even know who had an easy labor.  The easy labor stories tend to go in one ear and out the other.  I think it’s because we women like to hear stories of other women suffering.  It’s like saying, “Ha!  My labor was easier than yours!”  or “Hey, I feel better because your labor was longer than mine!”  You know how competitive we can get with each other.

I haven’t shared my labor story with many people – only if they asked.  Or if they were a close friend.  Not only do I want to spare the next first time mom but also because I don’t they want to really know.  If they did, they’d ask, right?

So ladies, why do you volunteer such information to other pregnant women?  Seriously?  I didn’t care to know.  Would the big bellied women next to me care?

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Baby Girl Name Suggestions

Last time I was pregnant with Little Mochi, we set up a website with his ultra sound with a name suggestion box on the site.   Our guests had a lot of fun with it.  We wanted to do the same with this baby, but didn’t have the time to edit the raw video from the doctor and set up the site.  Although we already knew what we wanted to name our baby girl, we wanted to see what other people came up with.  So we took name suggestions at my baby shower.

I had set up a basket with pieces of paper next to the basket.  The pieces of paper had 4 lines.  The first line asked for their name so I knew who made the suggestion, and the next three lines were for the 3 names.  As my guests arrived, they can fill out one of the pieces of paper and drop it in the basket.  Here are the suggestions my guests came up with:

It’s interesting to see these suggestions.  I checked the most popular girl’s names for 2008 and according to the social security administration, these are their top 10:

  1. Emma
  2. Isabella
  3. Emily
  4. Madison
  5. Ava
  6. Olivia
  7. Sophia
  8. Abigail
  9. Elizabeth
  10. Chloe

Of the name suggestions that my friends gave, 4 of the names are among the most popular girl’s names!  To top it off, the name we chose is one of those 4.  Can you guess which one?

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Baby’s Head Is Engaged!

I came back from my routine check up today.  Gained 5 pounds in two weeks.  I’m now at 148, a total of 36 pounds gained.  At this rate, I’ll be approximately 42 pounds over my original weight.  That’s 11 pounds less when I was pregnant with Little Mochi!  Not too bad.

In any case, I’m only 19 days away.  Can you believe it?  The days go by so fast.  My first week of maternity week was over within a blink of an eye!  And to think that I got very little done!  My to do list during my maternity leave keeps growing.

The baby’s head is engaged.  That means the baby’s head had dropped below your pelvic bone.  It usually happens before going into labor, but for some women, it happens at the very start of labor.  You can tell if the baby has dropped based on the shape of your belly and how you feel.  Sometimes, your belly can look/feel smaller as the head of the baby enters the birth canal.

You can also tell if you if you find yourself needing to pee a lot more often.  The baby is pushing down against your bladder.

Or you may feel some pain in your pelvic area.  This is because the baby’s head is resting low on your pelvis.

As for me, I have noticed because when I sit down, it’s not comfortable to keep my legs closed.  My belly lies on my legs because it’s gotten so low.  I’ve always carried this one low, but when she dropped, my belly felt even lower.  Also, my pelvic bone hurts when I get up.   And the peeing…yes, definitely.  Almost every hour.

The doctor advised me to stay put and not wander off too far.  She may be early.  Wow.  Little Mochi was late.  This one may be early.  I’m a little scared, actually.  I don’t want to rush to the hospital.  He’ll get a better idea on how “ready” the baby will be next week.

Until next week…

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Removing Your Wedding Ring From Your Swollen Finger

There is no need to get your wedding rings cut.  Didn’t you know it’s bad luck anyways?

If you are finally starting to swell up during your pregnancy (which is normal), and is having trouble taking your wedding ring off, try this.  It was a tip from my husband.

  1. Generously apply soap and a few sprinkles of water to your finger.
  2. Hold your hand above your head for about 15 seconds so that the blood can flow downwards.
  3. Start moving your ring towards your knuckle as far as you can and hold it there for a few seconds.
  4. Push your ring back down a little bit so that more blood can flow downwards.
  5. Keep doing this until you can get your pass the tightest spot.

Make sure that your hands are still above your head so that the blood is flowing downwards.  My mom has been trying to take her ring off for a few weeks now because she gained some weight and her ring was getting tight.  Last night, we tried it and after some pushing and a little bit of pain, we got it off her finger!  She was going to have the jeweler cut the ring for her too.

If you have tried it, let me know if it works for you.  I just have never thought of raising my arms above my head.

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