perineal massage

one of our friends who gave birth last year had an episiotomy.. this is a surgical incision done to enlarge the vagina during childbirth if needed.. the incision is done on the skin between the vagina and the anus (ouch!)

i was thinking if this can be prevented and the answer is yes.. sort of.. there are things that can be done to help prevent it..

one of which is a massage called the perineal massage that can be done starting at 34 weeks to help stretch the perineum which will be the one being stretch by the baby's head during birth..

here is how it's done as written by brenda lane in one of her articles in suite101.com

How to do Perineal Massage

Perineal massage can be done by you or your sexual partner. The first few times, take a mirror and look at your perineum so you know what you are doing. Be sure your fingernails are short. If you or your partner has rough skin, it might be more comfortable to wear disposable rubber gloves. Wash your hands before beginning

STARTING POSITION:

Make yourself comfortable, in a semi-sitting position, squatting against a wall, sitting on the toilet, or standing with one foot up on the edge of the tub or a chair. Some women may find it comfortable to do perineal massage in the shower.

MASSAGE:

1. Lubricate your fingers well with oil or water-soluble jelly. Some people recommend wheat germ oil, available at health food stores, because of its high vitamin E content, but other vegetable oils, such as olive oil or water-based lubricants such as K-Y jelly can also be used. Do not use mineral oil or petroleum jelly. Wash your hands before dipping into the lubricant again.

2. Rub enough oil or jelly into the perineum to allow your fingers to move smoothly over the tissue and lower vaginal wall.

3. If you are doing the massage yourself, it is probably easiest to use your thumb. Your partner can use his index fingers. Put the fingers or thumb well inside the vagina (up to the second knuckle); move them upward along the sides of the vagina in a rhythmic U or sling-type movement. This movement will stretch the vaginal tissue (mucosa), the muscles surrounding the vagina, and the skin of the perineum. You can also massage by rubbing the skin of the perineum between the thumb and forefinger (thumb on the inside, finger on the outside or vice versa). In the beginning, you will feel tight, but with time and practice, the tissue will relax and stretch.

4. Concentrate on relaxing your muscles as you apply pressure. As you become comfortable massaging, increase the pressure just enough to make the perineum begin to sting from the stretching. (This same stinging sensation occurs as the baby’s head is being born at the end of the pushing stage.)

5. It is recommended to do this massage for 5-10 minutes daily from the 34th or 35th week of pregnancy until labor. Check with your caregiver if you have questions.

Perineal massage is only one way to help stretch the perineum. See the articles on avoiding episiotomies and writing a birth plan for more information.

18 weeks.. done!

22 more to go! (wait is my math right? lol!)

it seems like forever especially when we can the baby's progress week by week.. it gets us excited and anxious and scared and happy.. this gamut of emotions day by day.. im sure it would still be like this when he/she comes out.. cant wait!

here's an image from babyfit.com..


wouldnt that make you smile? how much more when he/she's right in your arms =) smiling at you.. wth the occasional exploding poo and pee shower.. hahaha! =D

the baby is now more that 5 inches in length, weighing over 5 ounces and is about the size of a cantaloupe..

im getting more leg cramps, backaches and weird dreams.. yup! weird dreams!

would you believe that those dreams are also attributed to the hormone changes that pregnant women go through.. also, being a scatter-brain is also one of the 'side effects' of pregnancy.. fun huh? =p all for the little angel waiting to be born =)

what happens during an epidural

looks scary.. =S

http://video.about.com/pregnancy/During-an-Epidural.htm

body pillow

i bought my body pillow last weekend.. my physical therapist recommended it.. she said that it will help keep my pelvic bones aligned which may lessen or prevent the pain i had a few weeks back..

i was adviced to buy the regular body pillow as compared to the 'J' or 'C' shape pillows (i forgot what they're called) in baby stores.. she said that that kind loses it's 'puffiness (?)' fast..

we bought the pillow for $20 dollars at bed bath and beyond.. the slip cover was $10.. not bad especially when you have two 20% discount coupons.. =)

maternity clothes

since most of my pre-pregnancy clothes are no longer usable.. ive been starting to look into maternity clothing.. my first thought was 'yey! shopping!'

BUUUT.. after a few weeks of trying to find maternity clothes that fit, i realized it was not as fun as regular clothes shopping =(

the smallest size on most store is small.. some do have XS but they are still waaay too big for me! huhuhu..

*sigh*

so far ive only bought one jeans =( and i cant even wear it to work except on fridays..

this really sucks the FUN out of shopping..

ive been asking friends and doing research.. ill let you know when i find anything..

on epidurals

one of our friends just gave birth a few weeks ago.. she tried going into normal delivery with epidural but eventually ended up having a CS..

and a few more weeks before that, another friend gave birth through vaginal delivery without using any painkillers.. (yikes!) for 36 hours!

just thinking of these deliveries scares me *sigh*

and as if im not already freaked out enough, i got this information regarding epidurals from babycenter.com

• An epidural provides a route for very effective pain relief that can be used throughout your labor.

• The anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist can control the effects by adjusting the type, amount, and strength of the medication. This is important, because as your labor progresses and your baby moves farther down into your birth canal, the dose you've been getting might no longer cover the pain, or you might suddenly have pain in a different area.

• Since the effect of the medication is localized, you'll be awake and alert during labor and birth. And, because you're pain-free, you can rest if you want (or even sleep!) as your cervix dilates. As a result, you may have more energy when it comes time to push.

• Unlike with systemic narcotics, only a tiny amount of medication reaches your baby.

• Once the epidural's in place, it can be used to provide anesthesia if you need a c-section or if you're having your tubes tied after delivery.

• You have to stay in an awkward position for ten to 15 minutes while the epidural is put in, and then wait another five to 20 minutes before the medication takes full effect. This may seem like a minor inconvenience, though, when the tradeoff is hours of pain relief.

• Depending on the type and amount of medication you're getting, you may lose some sensation in your legs and be unable to stand. Sometimes, particularly in early labor, so little anesthetic is needed to make you comfortable that you have normal strength and sensation in your legs and can move around without difficulty. (This is called a "walking epidural.") Still, many practitioners and hospitals won't allow you to get out of bed once you've had an epidural, whether you think you can walk or not.

• An epidural requires that you have an IV, frequent blood-pressure monitoring, and continuous fetal monitoring.

• An epidural can slow your labor, in which case you may need Pitocin to get it back on track.

• An epidural often makes the pushing stage of labor longer. The loss of sensation in your lower body weakens your bearing-down reflex, which can make it harder for you to push your baby out. You may want to have the epidural dose lowered while you're pushing so you can participate more actively in your baby's delivery — but it may take time for the pain medication to wear off enough that you can feel what you're doing, and there's no evidence that reducing the epidural dose actually shortens this stage of labor

• Having an epidural makes it more likely that you'll have a vacuum extraction or forceps delivery, which in turn increases your risk for serious lacerations.

• In some cases, an epidural provides spotty pain relief. This can happen because of variations in anatomy from one woman to the next or if the medication doesn't manage to bathe all of your spinal nerves as it spreads through your epidural space. The catheter can also "drift" slightly, making pain relief spotty after starting out fine. (If you notice that you're starting to have pain in certain places, ask for the anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist to be paged so your dose can be adjusted or your catheter reinserted.)

• The drugs used in your epidural may temporarily lower your blood pressure, reducing blood flow to your baby, which in turn slows his heart rate. (This is treated with fluids and sometimes medication.)

• Narcotics delivered through an epidural can cause itchiness, particularly in your face. They may also bring on nausea — though this is less likely with an epidural than from systemic medication, and some women feel nauseated and throw up during labor even without pain medication.

• Anesthetics delivered through an epidural can make it more difficult to tell when you need to pee. Also, if you can't pee into a bedpan (which for many people is harder than letting go on a toilet), you may need to be catheterized.

• An epidural raises your risk of running a fever in labor. No one knows exactly why this happens, but one theory is that you pant and sweat less (because you're not in pain), so it's harder for your body to dissipate heat generated by labor. It doesn't boost your or your baby's odds of getting an infection — but since it's unclear at first whether the fever is from the epidural or from an infection, you and your baby could wind up getting unnecessary antibiotics.

• Epidurals are associated with a higher rate of babies in the posterior or "face-up" position at delivery. Women whose babies are face-up have longer labors, tend to need Pitocin more often, and have a significantly higher rates of c-sections. (There's controversy, though, over whether having an epidural actually contributes to babies ending up in this position or other factors are at work.)

• In one in 100 women, an epidural causes a bad headache that may last for days. (You can reduce the risk of headache by lying as still as possible while the needle is being placed.)

• In very rare cases, an epidural affects your breathing, and in extremely rare cases it causes nerve injury or infection.

~~
i guess ive to have a long discussion with my OB regarding our delivery options..

some good news

work has not only prevented me from updating my blog but also eating enough for baby this week.. *sigh* =(

i have a couple of good news though =)

1st: i had my final PT session last Monday! yey! i can now go home right after work.

The people at WSW were really helpful and very considerate.. one time i had my schedule mixed up and i went there when i didnt have an appointment.. but they still worked things out for me.. =)

and since most of their patients are pregnant women, they have free snacks! just a bonus =p especially for me since i come straight from work and can really use some afternoon snack ;)

they gave me a free shirt on my last day as well as a...... baby onesie! =D wasnt that just sweet =) ill post a photo of it once ive downloaded it from my phone.. =D


2nd: in a month's time, we'll know our baby's gender.. woohoo! shopping time! =D

i went for my prenatal check up yesterday and that's what the doctor said.. in a month's time! cant wait! =D

during yesterday's check up we used the doppler again to hear the baby's heartbeat.. it took a while and i was already crying since we cant find the baby ='( we eventually found the little peanut at the right most side of my belly.. phew! i always thought they just stay in the middle.. guess i was wrong.. NOTE TO SELF: less freaking out!!!


3rd: my hubby and some of our friends are planning a roadtrip to niagara falls!

one last vacation before the baby comes.. hope my body's up to the trip.. and also, hope our friends are up to stopping every couple of hours for bathroom breaks.. =D


4th: we're having the interior of our house painted =)

we've already settled on the painting company.. we just need to agree on the price and scope of work.. =D

vaginal discharge

im getting more and more vaginal dischange the past few weeks.. and as always, i have got to know the cause.. =p

here's what babycenter.com has to say:

Is it my imagination or do I have a lot more vaginal discharge now?

It's not your imagination. It's quite common to have more vaginal discharge during pregnancy.

What you're noticing is probably normal leukorrhea — the odorless or mild-smelling milky discharge that you occasionally noticed in your underwear before you were pregnant. There's just a lot more of it now, partly because of increased estrogen production and greater blood flow to the vaginal area. This discharge is made up of secretions from the cervix and vagina, old cells from the walls of the vagina, and normal bacterial flora from the vagina.

You'll probably notice more vaginal discharge as you approach labor, although it's likely to look somewhat different from the flow you've become accustomed to. In very early pregnancy, cervical secretions filled your cervical canal and created a protective barrier — the so-called mucus plug.

As your cervix begins to efface (thin out) and dilate, it may expel this mucus, and you'll notice discharge that looks like egg white or mucus from a runny nose on a cold day. You may even expel the plug in one gelatinous glob. This discharge might be tinged with a bit of blood.

kicking time?

they said that that baby should start kicking sometime between the 16 and 22 weeks.. we just completed our full 15 weeks last sunday so im pretty excited..

the first few kicks may be hard to distinguish.. cause the movement may just be regular stomach rumblings or gas.. =S but they said veteran moms tend to notice these more easily compared to first time moms..

a woman's built is also a factor to consider.. thinner women tend to feel movement earlier than women who weight more.. im banking on this one since im petite.. =D

PT sessions

i had my first physical therapy session yesterday at ATI WSW (women serving women).. my OB referred me to them to help ease the pain on my upper left thigh..

the pain ranges from 1 to friggin 10 at times.. and it is at its worst when im bending over and even when walking.. so now im limping a bit when i walk..

they said it's related to the sciatic nerve and to the fact that im pregnant..

the hormonal changes loosens the joints and ligaments which makes me less stable and cause pain when i walk, stand, sit for long periods, roll over in bed, bending etc..

hopefully the PT sessions would fix it soon.. with 3 sessions a week, the treatment can be very expensive.. *sigh*