I really hope I never meet Mr. Braxton-Hicks...
actually I am sure he's probably dead or something, but if I ever do meet him I am going to give him a piece of my mind. Alright I know it's not his FAULT we have these contractions that do NOTHING for labor progression, but did he have to be so darned self-centered and name them after himself??? Who wants to think about some old male doctor while they are having pointless, painful contractions? And they are so darned frustrating. Every time I start having them I get all excited thinking "this might be it" and then NOTHING.
Spent 6-9pm last night in the throes of a full out Braxton-Hicks attack. They are getting quite a bit more intense and painful every time I have them. But they are SO irregular, last night they started out about 8 min apart, then started slowing to 12 min or so, then all of a sudden 5 in a row at 5 min apart, and then 14 min and then 20... Last night I found that walking helped, they weren't quite as intense when I was walking, so I waddled in circles around the kitchen with Dan following close behind. Poor Max thought we were nutty, watched us for a while, and then went and laid down in the basement. For a while there I thought we were going to have a slow moving conga line in the kitchen, me in the lead, Dan following close behind, and Max behind him trying to figure out why we were walking in circles. Must have been a sight!
Our cord blood donation kit came in the mail yesterday. Umbilical cord blood contains tons of stem cells that can be used for transplantation to save people from things like leukemia and other blood and bone marrow diseases, and might hold the key to cures for other disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. It is collected after the cord is cut, from the side of the cord that is attached to the placenta, so there is no risk to baby or mom for the procedure. Basically there are 3 things you can do with cord blood...1) privately bank it (for a $1500+ initial storage fee and yearly banking fees) so that you have it in case you or your children need it, 2) toss it out with the placenta, or 3) donate it to a public bank where it may be used as a transplant for someone that needs it and/or for research to determine what else the stem cells might be used to treat and cure. Dan and I talked a lot about it, I really wanted to save it, but we are not at high risk (nor are our children) for any of the diseases treated by the stem cells, nor did we have the money for the upfront fee right now, so we had a hard time justifying private banking. So we decided than rather than let these potentially incredibly valuable cells go to waste, we would find a way to donate them. So we found a public bank that accepts donations, and filled out all appropriate paperwork. It's so gratifying knowing that something so often thrown away without a second thought, is going to be headed off to potentially save a life (if used in a transfustion) or save many many many lives (if used in research). Feels good to "do my part" so to speak. You never know who you might pass on the street one day who's life was just saved because of the gift my child gave long before she was aware of what that gift meant. And the donation process took so little effort, you fill out a health questionnaire, send it in, and if approved, you get the donation kit, and the docs and nurses at the hospital take care of everything else. The only thing is I will have to have blood drawn for an HIV test, but women in labor usually have an IV line in anyways, so no additional needle sticks for me even. Such little effort for such huge potential gains. I wish more people knew about dontation (most docs only give you information about private banking, and private banks don't advertise public donation procedures, and most public banks don't have the money or resources to fund advertising like the private banks do, I found out about donation through a pregnancy/parenting message board). OK off my soapbox :)
Spent 6-9pm last night in the throes of a full out Braxton-Hicks attack. They are getting quite a bit more intense and painful every time I have them. But they are SO irregular, last night they started out about 8 min apart, then started slowing to 12 min or so, then all of a sudden 5 in a row at 5 min apart, and then 14 min and then 20... Last night I found that walking helped, they weren't quite as intense when I was walking, so I waddled in circles around the kitchen with Dan following close behind. Poor Max thought we were nutty, watched us for a while, and then went and laid down in the basement. For a while there I thought we were going to have a slow moving conga line in the kitchen, me in the lead, Dan following close behind, and Max behind him trying to figure out why we were walking in circles. Must have been a sight!
Our cord blood donation kit came in the mail yesterday. Umbilical cord blood contains tons of stem cells that can be used for transplantation to save people from things like leukemia and other blood and bone marrow diseases, and might hold the key to cures for other disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. It is collected after the cord is cut, from the side of the cord that is attached to the placenta, so there is no risk to baby or mom for the procedure. Basically there are 3 things you can do with cord blood...1) privately bank it (for a $1500+ initial storage fee and yearly banking fees) so that you have it in case you or your children need it, 2) toss it out with the placenta, or 3) donate it to a public bank where it may be used as a transplant for someone that needs it and/or for research to determine what else the stem cells might be used to treat and cure. Dan and I talked a lot about it, I really wanted to save it, but we are not at high risk (nor are our children) for any of the diseases treated by the stem cells, nor did we have the money for the upfront fee right now, so we had a hard time justifying private banking. So we decided than rather than let these potentially incredibly valuable cells go to waste, we would find a way to donate them. So we found a public bank that accepts donations, and filled out all appropriate paperwork. It's so gratifying knowing that something so often thrown away without a second thought, is going to be headed off to potentially save a life (if used in a transfustion) or save many many many lives (if used in research). Feels good to "do my part" so to speak. You never know who you might pass on the street one day who's life was just saved because of the gift my child gave long before she was aware of what that gift meant. And the donation process took so little effort, you fill out a health questionnaire, send it in, and if approved, you get the donation kit, and the docs and nurses at the hospital take care of everything else. The only thing is I will have to have blood drawn for an HIV test, but women in labor usually have an IV line in anyways, so no additional needle sticks for me even. Such little effort for such huge potential gains. I wish more people knew about dontation (most docs only give you information about private banking, and private banks don't advertise public donation procedures, and most public banks don't have the money or resources to fund advertising like the private banks do, I found out about donation through a pregnancy/parenting message board). OK off my soapbox :)
posted by Maria at 10:30 AM
2 Comments:
I wish I had researched cord blood donation before the babes were born, I looked into banking it but it's expensive and we didn't have the money. Donation would have been such a good idea. Good for you!
I found you now :). Miss you girlfriend!! So are we overtaking the Pereau pool in August???
Really glad to hear about your "donation". I don't think I ever told you, but we were at the point of thinking having to go the bone marrow route with Scott, he just never got well enough. Really, really is such a blessing to have you guys think of that!
I hope your are doing well, despite meeting Mr. Braxton-Hicks. Maybe I will see you Fri and Nanc's?. I got you book marked now :)
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