**~~>>Second Annual Cinco de Mayo Turkey Hatchathon<<~~**all poultry welcome!

[HEChicken]

Raz, look around at all the wimpy girls /women that have given birth..... If they can do it, you KNOW you can! It is not as bad as tv makes it out to be and many have very little pain (I never hurt at all.). Try not to dread it, look forward to it. Labor = end of pregnancy and beginning of the greatest love of your life! I've had three, and would do it again if I could.

x2. Exactly what I was thinking and was about to say. TV and movies make it out to be a big drama and it drives me nuts because what they show on TV is so not what my experience was. I would recommend avoiding epidurals and happy gas and all of the other things they offer you - the pain just isn't that bad. The idea of having to lie still and have a big needle inserted in my back for the epidural was the last thing I felt like doing while in active labor so that held no appeal at all for me. I tried the gas briefly with one of my labors, but it takes so long to kick in as pain relief that even if you start inhaling the second you feel the contraction starting, it has peaked before the gas hits. In the end I threw the mask to the floor and told them I didn't want it any more. I've been through it 3 times and with the exception of the gas for a half dozen contractions, used no pain control and, wait.....for it..... SURVIVED! If you don't have an epidural, you aren't confined to bed until it wears off, so you can be up and moving around as much as you like during labor and after the baby is delivered as well, if you want to.

Have you ever had surgery? Chances are, when you woke up from surgery you were in far more pain than you will be in labor, or at least that was my experience. It is just really not that bad, and once you are holding the baby, it is so worth it.

 

[debs_flock]

Raz, look around at all the wimpy girls /women that have given birth..... If they can do it, you KNOW you can! It is not as bad as tv makes it out to be and many have very little pain (I never hurt at all.). Try not to dread it, look forward to it. Labor = end of pregnancy and beginning of the greatest love of your life! I've had three, and would do it again if I could.

I think the main "tell" is look how many people have more than one child.

If child birth were horrendous, everyone would be an only child.

 

[Arielle]

I am up to 8 cornish chicks and I think there's one more egg pipped. Can't believe that from neglected, shipped eggs. Even if I end up with only 8/12 that's phenomenal. They are wicked cute.

I have one turkey (the first one that hatched) that is in love with me. It cries to be picked up, and will just snuggle down and go to sleep in my hands. Hard to get work done, but just about the most awesome thing in the world.

to everyone having bad luck. Focus on the good, no matter how small it is.

I am so bummed... I only had 2 live poults from this hatch and one of them died last night. My son found it this morning. I went to check and the other one was really lethargic. I gave it a drop of vitamin and gave it water with an eye dropper.... What am I doing wrong?? It is in a brooder with 2 Japanese bantams and 4 silkies, and they are all fine. Yesterday, they were both perfectly fine. My daughter gave them a few sprouts last night that she was bringing out to the older chickens, but the others in the brooder had them too and they are fine. I'm so upset!! Maybe I just wasn't meant to raise turkeys.... I have 7 more eggs in the bator... Now I'm scared.

Quote: Here are a few things to revisit--

Are they warm enough??? No draft?Do they cuddle up with other birds for a nap?

Is the water put in warm?? Are they accessing the water-- water close by where they hang out?

Feed--suitable for a poult? Are they eating enough?

I hatched 15 poults, and have not lost one ( yet !). When I am loosing babies I keep looking for what could be better in their environment.

Hope you find the answer and will try poults again!

 

[Wisher1000]

Oh, Raz, another thing, one of the best memories of my first child's birth was when I was finally alone with my baby boy. I looked at his face, and hands, and feet and was overwhelmed with how I felt about him. I knew in no uncertain terms that I would die for him, or kill for him, without hesitation. I called my mom and said,
"Mom, you know how all these years you have said, 'I love you, baby' and I have replied, 'I love you, too' ?"
She said, "Yes?"
I explained, "Well, now, I know what that meant."

Another favorite memory is when I was talking to my favorite nurse, Maryann. I asked,
"Maryann, does every new mother think her baby is the prettiest baby that was ever born?" She beamed at me and said,
"Of course." To which I immediately growled,
"Well, they'er wrong!" then added, more gently,
"because this is the prettiest baby that was ever born." She laughed.

 

[Arielle]

Quote:

Quote: Raz, your concern is totally normal. I remember feeling scared about how I would handle the pain. I had a doctor that I totally trusted to help me make decisions going into the last weeks. My babies were oversized and Doc didn't want me going into labor so we planned accordingly
and the final decision was to have C-sections. Recover from C section was very difficult, but it was what I chose because it was safer for my over sized baby than a vaginal delivery.

I totally agree with the others, too.

Read some books to know what happens to your body and how to manage the pain. Take a prenatal class!! Every pregnancy experience is unique and individual; learn the options and discuss them with your doctor. Get your preferences into your records in case your doc is not on duty. My doc assured me that HE would be there for me even if he was not on duty. He was a very experienced doc that could handle many complicated deliveries and knew when to send a woman to a high risk facility; He had been a practicing OB since BEFORE I was born: since the 1950's.You have choices and options. I had epidurals because of the C-sections. Make sure it is an experienced person doing it--most docs don't have enough experience, it is a specialty technique. Know what an epidural can do for you and what it can't and how it impacts the delivery.

I stopped at 2 kids because I didn't like dealing with the specialist for my gestational diabetes-- he was a pr___ck! I would have managed another Csection if I could have had a girl.

Also look around for a mothers group. I have made some long time friends via a mothers groupand you will need to k now you are not alone with what you are experiencing and how you feel about it

THis baby is a gift to you. My boys are my most cherished gift and I sacrifice a lot to help them become well behaved joyful people. That is my job as their mom. ANd it' s the toughest job I have ever had. You are about to become a member of a very unique group of people. ( I better understood a mother bear AFTER I had my first.

)

Happy MOthers day-- you're close enough. ( hugs))

 

[Bunnylady]

On the subject of labor . . . .

I have ridden a bicycle up the side of a mountain in 90 degree heat - 13 miles from the time it started going up, until I reached the top. At one point I wondered, "if I were dying, would I know it?"

I have also crashed that bike at 20 mph, and gotten bruises and road rash in a dozen places. This was all before I had kids, and I wondered how it would compare. For me, labor was intense, but not painful. Both of my kids seemed to be in a hurry to get here once things finally got moving, so it wasn't all that tiring, either. I've had a lot of experiences that I would consider worse than childbirth. Unfortunately, after both births, I seemed out of sync with the cycle of things in the hospital, so it seemed like they always came in to check on us at the precise time that I was falling asleep. I left the hospital feeling like I was taking part in a sadistic sleep-deprivation experiment.

I had to go home to get some rest (they ain't kidding about this - nap when the baby naps!)

 

[Arielle]

I left the hospital as fast as I could with the second child!!! You are so right Bunny lady-- I think if I had a choice I would have gone to a birthing center . . .

 

[debs_flock]

Oh, Raz, another thing, one of the best memories of my first child's birth was when I was finally alone with my baby boy. I looked at his face, and hands, and feet and was overwhelmed with how I felt about him. I knew in no uncertain terms that I would die for him, or kill for him, without hesitation. I called my mom and said,
"Mom, you know how all these years you have said, 'I love you, baby' and I have replied, 'I love you, too' ?"
She said, "Yes?"
I explained, "Well, now, I know what that meant."

Another favorite memory is when I was talking to my favorite nurse, Maryann. I asked,
"Maryann, does every new mother think her baby is the prettiest baby that was ever born?" She beamed at me and said,
"Of course." To which I immediately growled,
"Well, they'er wrong!" then added, more gently,
"because this is the prettiest baby that was ever born." She laughed.

As my mom always said........................................."Every old crow thinks their chick is the blackest!"

Here is a memory from when my son was born (just hung up the phone from him calling for the "Happy Mother's Day call"

)

The girl I shared a room with had a little girl, she was a bright red baby, with lots of long black hair. My son was born, pale with a fuzz of blond hair. Her grandfather came in to visit. He was of an age that you say what you think and don't filter your comments. He took one look at her baby and said "That's the ugliest baby I've ever seen". He turned around and looked at my son and said "Now that's a pretty baby". I'd like to say I felt bad for her........................but I secretly just beamed about the compliment to my son.

 

[Razadia]

Thank you so much for all the advice and reassurance! I've been so paranoid about everything that, while I haven't actually lost sleep over it, I've worn myself out to the point of where I actually thought about smoking again. On the other hand, I'd honestly rather not put him through that and risk his health for the sake of making myself feel better. I've started to worry less over the things that have had me stressed out on and off for months. It just does more harm than good and I'd hate to see a reappearance of my anxiety disorder. It's not worth it.

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

 

[mstricer]

You'll be fine. Just remember the contractions only last one minute. If you can count through them as, you should be able to do it without drugs or the epidrual. which is better for you and baby. plus your recovery is quicker without it. can't wait to see the little bumpkin.