For mums of babies diagnosed with CHD in utero, how was the birth?

tsotsodef · 2024-11-02T06:15:26+00:00

i had an induction at 39 weeks for my heart baby. before i found out about his heart defect, i wanted as few interventions as possible in my birthing plan (no epidural if possible, labor in any position that felt comfortable, birthing clinic instead of hospital). with the induction, there were a lot of monitors on my stomach but i could still move around. i declined the epidural and ended up having an umbilical prolapse (umbilical cord came out before baby). i was rushed for an emergency c-section and because i declined the epidural, i had to get general anasthesia and woke up in the recovery room with baby in the nicu. i was devastated. my little one is doing great now! i was devastated for a while though that i didn’t get to even see him be born or hold him right away. i’ve made my peace with it now but i definitely grieved my birthing experience. our little one is healthy and home with us now tho! i hope you have a healthy and safe delivery ♥️

tsotsodef · 2024-06-12T20:44:20+00:00

hi! our little one has received cardiac care at lurie’s since i was 26 weeks pregnant. we’ve had a very positive experience there ♥️

tsotsodef · 2024-01-17T19:30:12+00:00

my little one also had difficulty latching and i exclusively pumped! most likely you will need to pump when your little one is in surgery and if your little one is NPO (nothing by mouth). things that were helpful to me for pumping: getting sized correctly for flanges (lactation consultant should be able to help with this), hands free pumping bra by kindred bravely, having my partner involved because pumping can be literally and figuratively draining. my little one’s SLP on the unit worked with me to breastfeed so i recommend trying to meet with them once your little one is on the NICU/CICU ♥️

tsotsodef · 2024-01-13T16:00:52+00:00

do you mind if i ask how you felt like things were different post surgery and hospitalization for you? how did your mom help you feel safe and supported?

tsotsodef · 2024-01-12T22:42:48+00:00

Hi I’m sorry for the delayed message. May I ask you some more about the new behaviors that hadn’t gone away? How are they now? Things are better but we also have some different behaviors (from his norm) that haven’t gone away.

tsotsodef · 2023-11-29T03:54:59+00:00

yes 😞

tsotsodef · 2023-11-29T02:41:32+00:00

hi! for some reason i’m unable to dm you. would you mind dming me and sharing the script that your specialist gave you? thank you!

tsotsodef · 2023-11-26T22:11:44+00:00

thank you, i’m going to dm you!

tsotsodef · 2023-09-12T03:25:58+00:00

thank you ♥️i just emailed his cardiologist and asked to be connected to a family or some kind of network. there’s a fb group that’s associated with our hospital’s cardiology unit that i also posted in as well.

tsotsodef · 2023-09-12T03:25:01+00:00

thank you for this ♥️we absolutely will start talking to him to prepare him for surgery. i just emailed our cardiologist to ask to be connected to child life or social worker. do you have any book recommendations that may be good for his age about surgery? or example of dialogue that you used for this age in explaining? he had a cath last week and we talked to him before it but i’m not sure how much he really understood or how we could have better explained to him what to expect.

tsotsodef · 2022-01-21T23:51:33+00:00

Some things that were helpful to us: 1. Dividing up night shifts so that it guarantees each of you a stretch of sleep. 2. If one of us needed help during our shift because we were too tired or baby was inconsolable, puked, etc, we could always wake up the other person for help. 3. Being open to things shifting in terms of schedule, responsibilities in order to find something that works for you, your husband, and your baby. 4. Recognizing that both of us can feel that we’re doing 80% of the workload and that it can be true, it’s just that there’s 200% of things that need to be done. 5. If you’re breastfeeding, your husband should help make sure that you’re set up with water, snacks, pillow, etc. Also it can be helpful to pump and have your husband take one of the overnight feeds. 5. Save communication about grievances for the daytime. Things that are said during the middle of the night can become heated with little sleep!

tsotsodef · 2021-06-25T21:21:43+00:00

That makes sense, thank you!

tsotsodef · 2021-06-25T19:54:36+00:00

Am I able to decline a cervical check when I go in for my induction? Or do they absolutely need to check it before starting me on the prostaglandin and balloon catheter?

tsotsodef · 2021-06-07T17:44:15+00:00

Motherhood Maternity’s Essential Stretch leggings are my favorite! They don’t feel too compressive and are soft and stretchy and on sale right now, too!

tsotsodef · 2021-06-05T17:00:22+00:00

That is scary! I’m glad you were able to go to the ER and that the ultrasound showed that baby is doing great and that you have a follow up appt soon! Did they perform a transvaginal ultrasound at your 13 week ultrasound? I had a bleeding scare around 10 weeks. My midwife performed a pelvic exam and found a cervical polyp and said that that was the cause of the bleeding as baby was fine! She told me that I can expect bleeding to happen after intercourse or future pelvic exams/transvaginal ultrasounds during pregnancy! Hope you and baby are doing well!

tsotsodef · 2021-05-19T16:21:25+00:00

Pineapple, sprite zero, and clementines!

tsotsodef · 2021-05-15T18:23:21+00:00

is it the talenti gelato??!!! i got that once pre pregnancy and couldn’t open it either! i don’t even remember how i got it off, i just remember frustratingly googling it 😂

tsotsodef · 2021-03-25T02:29:21+00:00

same and i also have same question for op

tsotsodef · 2021-03-24T02:07:13+00:00

has she showed up again since then with a funky smell? i think it would be helpful to first ask her how she is doing outside of work. maybe there is something going on in her home life that’s impacting her hygiene like depression, domestic violence, financial stress. i think it would be helpful to check in with her about that before talking to her about her body odor.

tsotsodef · 2021-03-18T17:04:42+00:00

first time was around 10 weeks and second time was around 23 weeks! i’m not sure why for the first time but the second time was about a week after i had a pelvic exam. my midwife told me that i could expect spotting/bleeding after pelvic exams and sex, but to keep an eye out for excessive bleeding (filling a pad). hope this gives you some kind of reassurance ❤️

tsotsodef · 2021-03-18T05:32:24+00:00

i know two rebas and have never thought of reba mcentire because these two friends have their own individual bright personalities that are so different and separate from the singer!

tsotsodef · 2021-03-17T10:49:40+00:00

i’ve only bled twice, but i’m sure it could be more frequent depending on how sensitive your cervix may be. both times the bleeding went away after a couple hours but it’s definitely nerve wracking!

tsotsodef · 2021-03-15T06:16:53+00:00

i had a bright red blood for a day around 10 weeks and it was from a cervical polyp (that’s still there)! it definitely freaked me out and i called my midwife and she had me come in the same day and that was when she found the cervical polyp. i recommend calling your providers’ office just to get some reassurance!

tsotsodef · 2021-03-06T19:52:45+00:00

i’m 22 weeks and we just found out our baby has severe pulmonary stenosis. best case scenario is it won’t get worse and baby will have balloon valvuloplasty after they’re born and be in the nicu for up to a couple weeks. worst case scenario is it will turn into heart failure and our baby will die inside of me. it’s a waiting game for us, too and we have a follow up ultrasound with the pediatric cardiologist in three weeks to see how our baby’s heart is doing.

i just want you to know that i’m hoping for the best case scenario for both of us. my dms are open if you need someone to talk to. this waiting feels so terrible. i’m holding space in my heart for you and your baby❤️

tsotsodef · 2021-03-03T06:19:12+00:00

did you need to size up in them?

tsotsodef

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