Wood Staining During Early Pregnancy

I think you are overreacting. I painted and stained with almost all of my kids before they decided that you probably shouldn't do that. I even got kicked by a horse when first pregnant. Right in the ovaries.

I was 8 weeks pregnant and stained a deck. I didn't know I was pg. He is 6 now and he is as normal as can be. I wouldn't stress over it. Congrats on the new baby!

I sprayed the concrete in the garage with brown spray paint. Like you I got a head ache and had to quit. I worried about the baby for the next few months and was so angry for not thinking about it. She was fine. But that does not keep me from teasing her now! haha K. K.

First take a deep breath! I would say you'll be just fine, although I'm no doctor. I wouldn't recommend staining again anytime over the 9 month course. However, your body has a natural way of protecting itself and the baby. I am sure your doctor will be able to ease your mind more.

I'm an assistant fire investigator who has been around a variety of things over the course of my pregnancy. My midwifes didn't feel I needed to stop by job, just wear proper protective clothing and a rebreather. My point here is that you and your baby will be fine. It was a one time exposure for a short period of time & you stopped when you felt light headed.

Stay well,
C.

Congratulations! As for the staining, don't worry about it. You weren't exposed for that long, and as one of the other posts mentioned, you body has an incredible way of protecting the little life inside of you! When we were little we were exposed to much worse and we all turned out fine. Also, expect your worries about little things to continue. I think this is pretty normal during pregnancy, especially your first! Just keep posting and aksing questions so that those of us who have been through it can ease your worries!

Congrats and welcome the the world of worrying about EVERYTHING. I am sure things will be fine. Before I found out i was pregnant I had X-rays done at the dentist office. I was freaked out to but my DD is perfect.

Being pregnant for the first time is very scary. I remember being pregnant with my first child and worrying about everything, from standing in front of the microwave to cleaning the bathroom with Clorox Bleach. There are so many things you can worry about but I think unless it's to some extreme you and your baby will be fine. Even if you weren't staining in a well ventilated area, you were only staining for about 10 minutes and I don't think that's long enough to have caused any kind of damage to your baby.

You will be fine- I painted during my pregnacies and both of my kids are great.

Relax the stress you are feeling is more harmful then the wood stain!

Happy Pregnancy!

S.

Hi D.,
Do not beat yourself up. Luckily, it was very limited exposure. Unfortunately, there are so many toxins in our environment today that you can't escape them. Just treat your body as good as possible the rest of the pregnancy. Constant fear and anxiety is not good for a developing fetus, so eat well (organic), drink good quality water (plenty of it), and get lots of rest.

The two places I thought of to look for more info would be the American Lung Association and Poison Control Center. The best tip I can give you is to really limit your cell phone and cordless phone use. You do not want to have that phone in your purse emitting radiation next to your developing baby. Several European countries have warnings and advisories against pregnant women and children using cell phones, so take it for what it is worth. Search on the recent US Congressional Hearing on CEll Phone Safety for Dr. Herberman's testimonial and tips for safer use.
Otherwise, relax and enjoy the journey.
S.

Calm down...you are perfectly fine!! It doesn't sound like you were inhaling the fumes from the can and you weren't in the room very long!! Your little one will be fine. It is amazing how resilient little babies are, and our bodies are amazing filters....there are environmental hazards in the normal air we breathe outside! I went through a stage with my last pregnancy where I was painting my room, the kids room....I just made sure the room was ventilated and taking breaks of fresh air, fans going, etc....
Just be happy & enjoy your pregnancy!!

I wouldn't worry about it. Your baby is probably fine. You can't change the past, but you can change the present, and you know stress if bad for the baby. I would try to put it out of mind. If you can't call your doctor, but don't live with the stress. It's not going to be good for you or baby. Congratulations!

I think you'll be fine since you stopped after getting the headache.

You and the baby are fine.
Stress on yourself is more harmful than 10 minutes of staining, or a week of staining for that matter. Enjoy this time and focus on the joy of this sweet baby you have been blessed with.....

Take a breath, it's going to be okay! Funny, though, how so many of us seem to do exactly what we should not do in those early months before we find out we're pregnant. I spent a week in a closed space painting and took Nyquil for a few nights the week before I found out I was pregnant. My baby had no effects from it. She is wonderful, happy, and intelligent. I would imagine that if you were acting in your own health's interest (leaving the room once you felt unwell) that you also were protecting your baby's health. Let your doctor give you the peace of mind you need, but until then...relax and enjoy the excitement of finding out there's a little person in you! Congratulations :)

I wouldn't worry too much about something that may not even happen. When I was pregnant with #2, before I found out, I both took theraflu and was exposed to oil paint. My little buddy is just fine; he is perfectly healthy and happy. Even if there happened to be birth defects, you can't blame yourself for something that was out of your control.

D.,
Congratulations on your pregnancy! The human body has its ways of letting you know when to be alert. Please don't get so nervous. A lot of us did things we shouldn't have before we found out we were pregnant. I, for example, ate swordfish and drank Margaritas. I also had to leave the office one or two days since Management decided to remodel and decided to paint all the walls!!! I told my doctor and his answer was since the baby was in early stages, there was nothing to worry about. Talk to your doctor about it anyway, so that he/she is aware and don't worry too much. Just take care of yourself from now on and enjoy your pregnancy.

While pregnant the first time, I painted the bedroom we were gave to our daughter. I would stop and leave the room if I got a headache, but I always came back until the painting was done.

So, slow down and just take a deep breath. You and baby will be fine. You were in, what appears to have been a large room and left when you got a headache. I know there are all kinds of horror stories about exposure to - well, everything. But it will all turn out fine.

The first time pregnant can be very scary. Get "What To Expect When You're Expecting" - it's amazingly helpful. Don't be afraid to as your doc any questions - regardless of how silly you might think they are. I promise they will not laugh at you.

Good luck - and enjoy being pregnant as much as you can. When the baby starts to move, it's AMAZING!

Congratulations. First off dont worry so much. I know that is asking alot. I was such a wreck during my pregnancy I didnt get to enjoy it. A lot of us did things that is considered harmful to the baby before we found out. I had alcohol, cleaned many cat boxes (worked in pet store) and consumed mass amounts of caffeine. We get so worried and wrapped up trying to take care of the baby growing inside we forget the most important thing is that stress is even worse during pregnancy.( In fact I was so stress my doc even suggested that taking a sip of Christmas wine may be beneficial) Think of how many of us survived the "barbaric" ideas of our parents. I've talked to my mom and they didnt have nearly the rules and worries during their pregnancy. We turned out fine. Talk to your doctor and always ask questions. Dont read the pregnancy books unless your using it as reference ( they scared me out of my mind). Try to relax and dont be so hard on yourself. Good luck.

D., congrats!
everything seems scary during pregnancy...something about bringing another human into the world that is your sole responsibility. that's enough to make anyone freak out. relax, i'm sure nothing is wrong and that your baby will be born perfectly healthy. somehow, with all three of my kids, before i found out i was pregnant with them i got completely drunk and found out a week or two later about the pregnancies. i'm happy to say i now have three perfectly healthy, intelligent children. if your really worried ask your doctor lots of questions...but again, ten minutes isn't nearly long enough to do any real damage, longterm or otherwise. you'll be fine, and congrats again.

Hi D.--
Most of us did something in early pregnancy that gave us a similar freak out. I'm sure your baby is fine, and even though it is hard, the best thing to do is to let go of the worry. Remember that EVERYTHING you are doing, your baby is doing too--so when you are worrying or upset, your baby's right there with you. So when you are happy and centered, your baby is, too. Try to sit and take several deep breaths (or meditate if you can) and let go of the fear and anxiety. Keep a list of things to ask the doctor, because you will have things that bring up worries, but after you write them on the list, forget about them until you talk to your doctor.
Everything will be fine, and the more you think and believe that, the more it will be true. Your mind and your body are very powerful--believe in them. :)
Happy baby growing!! :)

First, you should just take a deep breath and relax. Odds are your baby will be fine. I think a lot of moms do things that aren't great during pregnancy before they find out they are pregnant. With my first I was cleaning my little apartment bathroom with no windows in it with bleach and wondering why this time made me so sick. A couple of days later, i found out I was pregnant. My little boy was perfectly healthy. There are so many things to worry about when you are pregnant that you could drive yourself crazy. Try to enjoy what you can and you can talk to your doctor when you see him. You are going to be fine and so is your baby. Don't worry about every little thing.

It will be alright, every mom has these freak out moments during pregnancy, like I drank a giant diet coke right before I found out I was preggers and cried about it, it seems so silly now but at the time I was so guilty about all that caffine and artificial sweetener! Just try not to get too worried, I'm sure it will be just fine! Good luck with your new role as mommy, it is great!

Ok first of all, take a deep breath. A little bit of staining is probably not going to hurt the baby at all. Before I knew I was pregnant with my son I drank quite a bit on two separate occasions. I was so worried that I had damaged him. But he turned out just fine. I am sure you will have a healthy baby and the small amount of exposure is not going to cause any harm. Think of our parents and grandparents, before they know about all the things that could harm unborn babies, and most babies came out just fine! My mother in law smoked thru all her pregnancies and drank beer to increase her milk production! Haha. So calm down, take care of yourself as best you can, and try not to let the little things stress you out. :)

Take a deep breath... It'll be okay.
I did the same thing when I was pregnant with my daughter. I found this fabulous old cradle and wanted to re-finish it for her... so I did without ever thinking that it might not be the best idea to do while pregnant.
All I was thinking was that I wanted it ready when she was born and my husband was over-seas so that ment if it was going to get done I was going to have to do it.
Once the thought finally occured to me I freaked out... but my midwife told me that the odds of damage being done from staining one little cradle, outside in a well ventilated area was really low. She also said that during the 1st trimester the babies are so well protected that there really wasn't much to worry about.
My daughter was born perfectly healthy and she's a sassy little 5 year old now.
You're baby will be fine. Make sure you mention it to your doctor but don't go borrowing trouble... stressing yourself out to much will probably cause more problems then staining the dollhouse.
Good Luck!

D.,

DON'T WORRY- it's going to be fine!

Obviously you want to avoid environmental toxins while your pregnant, but the medical theory on "bad stuff" is to be aware of it once you know you're pregnant- I went camping for fourth of July and found out the next Fri I was preg (ahhh) well I couldn't undrink those beers. Your body and your baby's body are very good at handling things.

The reality is that if any irreparable harm is done the fetus may be aborted and if not then it will be fine- stressing yourself out will not help anything.

Good luck and remember that your body knows exactly how to handle the situation so don't think about all the things that could happen; it will drive you CRAZY- like I was my whole first trimester until I quit reading a bajillion books a week and freaking myself out!

Pregnancy is one thing that just happens all on its own and you don't have to do anything except listen to what your body likes and doesn't like - when you left the room after you got a headache you did the right thing and I think you will be a great mom:)

A couple things that have helped me are to read books about health and not pregnancy- my friend got me What to Expect and I followed the first three months then I just put that book away! If I get a weird thing I will reference it (pregnancy causes dry burning eyes?!?) but I no longer read it. Its cheesy but I am reading How to Stop Worrying and Start Living and that has helped me get grip on everything that I have been worring about, when you let go of the worst case you can make room for a more positive and empowering experience.

D.,
Don't be so hard on yourself. You didn't know you were pregnant at the time!!

That limited exposure is very likely going to have no effect at all. I think you most likely have nothing at all to worry about. Urethane products are more dangerous than a water-based product - do you know which you were using? Even if it was urethane (which I doubt it was -- there would be no reason to use that on a dollhouse), the exposure was so short. You are probably going to be absolutely fine with a healthy and beautiful baby. I know it's hard to not worry, but the worry and stress is likely worse than anything.

As you say, just ask your doctor for peace of mind. And try to let it go, because even if there may be a very small increased risk, there is still nothing you can do about it. If you're inclined to pray, that's probably the best thing you can do... Hang in there and enjoy this time, and blessings to you and your baby.

don't stress. stress is worse than a ten minute exposure to some wood stain. just relax-go to your doctor's appointment-ask him/her about it and they'll probably tell you that you don't need to worry. if you can't stop stressing until then-call your dr. office and ask them about it over the phone. Your baby is probably just fine.

D.,
First take a deep breath. What's done is done. Make sure you say something to your doctor but honestly, I would imagine that you and your baby will be fine. As a new mom to be it is very normal to worry about what you have done before finding out you are pregnant and how that will harm your baby (especially since it took awhile to get to this point:). I am a firm believer that the worrying is more harmful that many of the things that the doctors warn you about. Babies have a lot of built in protection systems while in your tummy that help them (especially in the beginning); nature is pretty clever that way.

Now all you have to do is take care of yourself and your new little one and enjoy this amazing experience. It goes by quickly!

D., I know it is scary. Pray always have faith in the savior and your baby will be fine. This baby will come to you the way Our Father planned for him/her to come and you will be blessed. I am so happy for you. What a wonderful blessing. Especially at this time of the year. May Gods greatest blessing be upon you, your husband and your dear sweet baby.

Try to relax. It's not likely you did your little one any damage. Tests during the pregnancy are likely to reveal anything that happens to be wrong, but again, it's not likely such a short exposure did anything more than cause you a headache. Discuss it with your doctor when you get there.