"Just Barely" Pregnant PS''ers

[monkeyprincess]

Re:

Thanks Meg and Missy! That one looks like it has gotten some pretty good reviews, so I might just have to order it and worry about explaining it to DH later He's worried it will cause me to panic if I don't pick up a heartbeat, but I think I can be reasonable about it, especially when I'm just figuring out how to use it.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Re:

MP, I'm just over here spying on you. I also got the fetal heart doppler and was really glad I did. Yes, there were times I couldn't find the heartbeat, but I didn't freak out about it. I just liked being able to listen whenever I wanted. It helped me to bond early on and in my own time--you know how it is at the dr. office. They do the doppler and then look at you with those excited eyes and it's just sort of a weird moment to share with a stranger. I prefered to listen on my sofa with my husband!

As for finding out the gender...I don't know. I was glad that I had time to adjust to having a girl (you know my story), but looking back I kind of laugh that I needed all that time to adjust. Seriously, when you see your baby for the first time you really are just a huge mushy mess of love and can't imagine your life without him/her. So in the long run, the sex doesn't matter at all. But it is a huge focus while you're pregnant!

 

[sunnyd]

Re:

I had a huge reply typed out yesterday, then closed my window by accident! Boo!

Please excuse my truancy, this week has been nutty! I must have jinxed myself in some way, because I've been nauseous on and off for the last week. Not fun. Also bloated like a whale, and rocking a full on, no joke bump. At 9w5d. I started wearing maternity pants, and I don't think there's any going back now! They're really comfy, thanks Target! Hehe. My scale says I haven't gained any weight yet though, not sure if it's lying or broken or what...the way I've been stuffing food in my face it's actually shocking that the number hasn't changed.

I kind of envy the people who don't find out the gender until the end. My friend did that with her first baby, and I think it would be such a great thing to experience! However, I'm too OCD not to know. I NEED to plan the nursery, etc. Also, it seems like all of the stores want you know the gender as well, because the neutral section is teeny tiny!

Doh, that reminds me, I need to schedule my NT scan before the office closes in 20 mins! Keep on trucking, ladies!

 

[monkeyprincess]

Re:

Hi NEL, I totally spy on you ladies over in the newborn thread too. Katie is darling by the way. I just love all that dark hair! And motherhood seems to suit you very well. Thanks for the input on the doppler. I went ahead and ordered one. I told DH about it, and I just got a long lecture on why I shouldn't have done it and how I better not get upset if it doesn't work for me. Starting to wish I hadn't said anything until after it arrived and I figured out how to use it. Oh well. And I totally get what you are saying about how the baby's gender doesn't matter once he or she arrives. I'm pretty sure I will find out just because I'm so curious and don't have enough will power to wait, but it does make me happy to see how thrilled you are with your little girl even though you always imagined a boy!

 

[missrachelk]

Re:



I'm back with my report from NT scan / peri consult - it went great and can I jsut say, the specialist office is SWANKY! It's like a spa, man I would go there every day if I needed to! I mean the room smelled great like a massage place, the gel was heated, the towels were heated, comfy chairs the whole 9. The experience overall was great. baby was very active and was still pretty tadpole-looking in all but a few of the pictures (of course none that they sent are the really baby looking ones but oh well). The actual US was fairly quick, maybe 10-15 minutes and we were able to get good CRL measurements and NT (and by my observing the display I think the NT measurements were good, I saw 1 recorded around 8 and 1 around 11) Blood draw was jsut a finger stick. Peri himself is super personable and he showed us all of the details on his big screen. I brought up my racing heartbeat and we talked some about my PCOS. Since I do feel fine, not short of breath we're going to wait and see on the heartbeat, but if necessary will do a cardiac scan to see waht if anything is going on. I really hope I can convince the midwife to let me do the glucose screening with real food instead of glucola (I'm not sure of the term for that but it is a recognized way to test) You eat something with a known amount of sugar like pancakes and syrup from Mcdonalds and get the blood draw 1 hour after finishing eating. Same result of flooding the body with sugar but much less pukey sounding!

Based on CRL my due date was moved up 5 days! I'm not quite sure what to make of that, and wether to mentally move myself up or not. What does the peanut gallery think? Anyone else's due date been moved around? If I go with my new date I'll be graduating like this weekend!

Baby must be growing or something because I've been intensely hungry the past few days. Have woken up 2 nights in a row now between 4-5am and haven't been able to sleep with a rumbling tummy so got up and had a little pre breakfast and went back to bed. I think today I didn't eat enough protein at lunch so I got STARVING as the afternoon wore on. I know I need to plan better and set myself up for success, but whenever I'm in the store I jsut cant face prepping anything! Too bad the only lunch options around my work are really not all that healthy. Hopefully I will be able to tackle some prep this weekend.

Our pollen count is high - like crazy high, so DH and I have both been sneezing, even though we really don't get bad allergies ike some people suffer with. Yesterday it was over 9,000 and today over 5,000. Rain come please!!

On the house fromt the inspection went well so pending a few double checks for relatively minor things we're all systems go!

I feel thicker but not bump-y just yet so no pictures. I did get a cute blue dress this weekend that I might use for the photo series (but I jsut might change them up too) after that initial weight gain between the first 2 months I haven't gained any more, and even may have lost a few pounds so I'm not worried anymore. I jsut really didn't want to gain a pound a week in the first tri! Overall I don't have a number in mind I jsut want to stay as healthy as I can. I wish I had energy to exercise but I jsut don't : ( Maybe in a few more weeks.

I hope all of the other lovely JBP"ers are having a great week and good developments! Personally I wouldn't get a doppler, I know I would worry myself more with it than without. And I'm super excited to find out the gender! My next appt for anatomy scan is in 6 weeks, it seems so soon! I'll be 18 weeks by adjusted EDD by that point.

 

[Buttons]

Hi ladies,

I am so behind!!! Have been reading but hand fallen way behind on replying...

So I went to the doctor in the end as I just wasn't feeling any better and I was getting worried that I'd had a cough for a month at that stage. Long story short she thinks I've had a viral infection for the past month...

On the one hand it is reassuring to hear I'm actually sick, and not just a big wuss and a whinge, but on the other hand because it's viral there's nothing to be done but wait for my body to beat it. The doctor gave me a prescription for a reliever inhaler with the idea that it may help me sleep, and one for some antibiotics (to be filled it the infection goes into my throat and I get a fever, as apparently those would be signs that it's actually bacterial).

I'm trying to sleep as much as I can, to eat really well and keep hydrated. I've also been doing the Vicks on the feet at night trick. DH has gotten me a humidifier steamer thing for the bedroom (don't know the proper name for it), going to try that tonight.

Does anyone have any good tips for stuff I can do to make myself feel better and heal quicker? I am so tired of being sick!!!

Hope everyone is doing well

 

[monkeyprincess]

Re:

Buttons, glad you got a bit of an explanation too, but it's too bad that you might just have to wait it out. Hopefully you'll be feeling better soon and have a stress-free pregnancy the rest of the way.

Rachel, yay for seeing your baby again, and I'm glad the NT scan seemed to go well. I was thinking you were probably a little farther ahead than you first thought. Not sure what to tell you about the due date, mine was moved up three days between my first and second appointment, and I know the second appointment was more accurate because that also coincides with the timing of our IUI/ovulation. It's all more of a range anyway, so 5 days doesn't really matter. Maybe split the difference? When is your due date by the way?

AFM, DH and I still have not decided whether to do the NT scan, but we need to make a decision soon to make sure we can get an appointment in the right timeframe. I'm so conflicted because I would love to see the baby again and hopefully hear that everything is on track, but what I don't want is to get inconclusive results or cause to stress. It seems like most people on here elect to have it done. I called my doctor to find out what her thoughts were and if most people elect to do it. The nurse came back with very general information which I already knew, so she is going to ask again about what the doctor recommends and what most patients in the practice do. Ugh. I'm probably making too much of this, and maybe I should just not do it if I'm so conflicted. Other than that, things are going well. I'm feeling good and the nausea seems to be gone (I hope that's a good thing). Our doppler should arrive next week, so I'm hoping that will give me a little reassurance.

 

[sunnyd]

Re:

Buttons, you poor thing! I hope your sickness goes away completely soon! I had the flu when I first found out I was pregnant, and it was miserable not being able to take anything! Sleep and hydration will be your best bets.

MissRachel, I would choose McD's breakfast over the nasty drink in a heartbeat! I hope it's an option for you! Glad your scan went well, mine is scheduled the latest they possibly could, at 13w4d! Bah! That was their earliest appointment too. Yay for an EDD bump up! I got bumped up by a week, and it's nice to be further along. Bean measured a week behind, I assume it will all catch up at some point?

Heartburn has started for me. Bring on the Tums! I usually don't get HB though, just acid reflux, so this is quite the reprieve actually! Ha!

 

[Laila619]

Re: Re:

AFM, DH and I still have not decided whether to do the NT scan, but we need to make a decision soon to make sure we can get an appointment in the right timeframe. I'm so conflicted because I would love to see the baby again and hopefully hear that everything is on track, but what I don't want is to get inconclusive results or cause to stress. It seems like most people on here elect to have it done. I called my doctor to find out what her thoughts were and if most people elect to do it. The nurse came back with very general information which I already knew, so she is going to ask again about what the doctor recommends and what most patients in the practice do. Ugh. I'm probably making too much of this, and maybe I should just not do it if I'm so conflicted. Other than that, things are going well. I'm feeling good and the nausea seems to be gone (I hope that's a good thing). Our doppler should arrive next week, so I'm hoping that will give me a little reassurance.

For me, I liked doing the NT scan because knowledge is power. I would want to know if the baby looks healthy or if something (God forbid) might be suspect. It can really put your mind at ease if everything turns out fine. Once DH and I had our NT scan with my first pregnancy, I finally felt like it was 'safe' to tell everyone. But if you think it will cause you to worry even more, then maybe it's best to skip it. Sometimes, the blood work can show elevated risk of Down syndrome even though the baby is fine.

 

[Puppmom]

Re:

MP, I'm a "knowledge is power" believer too BUT with all of your inconclusive and downright confusing experiences up until now I can see your hesitation. I guess just remember that the window is small - will you have regrets if you DON'T do it?

 

[Kunzite]

Re:

MP - I just wanted to chime in and let you know that even though it seems like everyone does the NT scan, IRL it's not as high as it seems on PS. We did it the first time around but really just because I wanted to see the baby! This time we decided not to do it again. Most of our reasons were twin related (the blood tests are crazy inaccurate for twins and nearly always lead to an amnio which we wouldn't do), but it was also because we knew that most problems that we would need to be aware of would likely show on the anatomy scan. Not everything mind you, but enough to put my mind at ease that if there was something major we needed to prepare for we would find out about it eventually. In my opinion the NT scan is really only valuable if you plan to terminate as it's much easier to do at 12 weeks instead of actually going through labor at 20+ weeks. So I really think it boils down to what you'd do with the information and what course of action you would take if the odds were not in your favor. Would you do further testing like an amnio or would you just worry the entire pregnancy? Since I knew we wouldn't do an amnio for definitive results, there was no need to incur the worry.

 

[missrachelk]

Re:

For the NT debate, I totally agree with Knuzite as far as it's really not necessary if you know you won't go ahead with amnio or termination if anything horrible showed up. For us, we jsut really wanted to see the baby again, meet the peri / backup to midwives, and get information. We won't terminate but if there's anything wrong, we really want to know and prepare.

Don't stress yourself over the decision MP, I think if you're not itching to do it, jsut skip it and wait for the anatomy scan.


Do most docs do anatomy scan at 20 weeks? Mine's scheduled for 18 so jsut curious.

Off to read the gear thread, I can't stop thinking about strollers!!

 

[amc80]

Re: Re:

For the NT debate, I totally agree with Knuzite as far as it's really not necessary if you know you won't go ahead with amnio or termination if anything horrible showed up. For us, we jsut really wanted to see the baby again, meet the peri / backup to midwives, and get information. We won't terminate but if there's anything wrong, we really want to know and prepare.

Don't stress yourself over the decision MP, I think if you're not itching to do it, jsut skip it and wait for the anatomy scan.


Do most docs do anatomy scan at 20 weeks? Mine's scheduled for 18 so jsut curious.

Off to read the gear thread, I can't stop thinking about strollers!!

I think anywhere from 18-22 weeks is considered pretty normal for the anatomy scan.

The great NT scan debate...

Are you doing the triple screen blood test? In hindsight, I'm glad we did the NT scan because of the blood test. My #s were normal, but had they not been, I would have been comforted by having seen my baby at the NT scan. I saw his little neck measurement, I saw his nasal bone. If anything had come back weird with the blood tests, I wouldn't have freaked out...I would have thought it was likely a false positive. So there's another reason.

I agree with some of the other ladies, though, it was a great chance to see the baby, because at that point it really looks like a baby instead of a blob.

 

[sunnyd]

Re:

That's most of the reason I want to do the NT scan as well...to see the baby looking like a baby!

 

[monkeyprincess]

Re:

Thank you everyone for weighing in on the NT scan debate. I feel like an indecisive parent already I'm leaning toward not doing it because the only reason I'd be doing it would be to see the baby. I just don't think that outweighs the risk that the results will cause me to get all stressed out again, especially because we are not interested in having any invasive testing done. I gave DH the literature I have on the test, so he can look at it, and we will decide for sure this weekend, so that we have plenty of time to get an appointment if we decide to go ahead with it. I'm 11 weeks today (or tomorrow), not sure which date to go by anymore.

Hope everyone is doing well!

 

[katamari]

Re:

MP: Glad to hear the nausea is gone! I think that is a good thing. At this point, the MC risk is near 1%. It will never be 0, but for me anyways, 1% of anything is a risk I can deal with. The doppler should also help. As for the NT decision, that is obviously up to you, but if you are this uncertain about it, it sounds like the right decision to not have it. Could you possibly arrange with your doctors for them to not tell you about the risks unless they are at a certain point? Say 1:5 or 1:10, where ever you and DH decide would constitute legitimate concern? Then, if the risk is "elevated" but is still, say 1:500 or .002%, they would just keep mum and not say anything, but then your doctor can have the info (because, statistically speaking, .002% is actually no risk)? Just a thought. DH and I are trying to be very rational-mathy with all decisions and panic and I do find it is helping. (Not to mention that we are both math geeks, and it gets us talking more about measures of central tendency and standard deviations. LOL). I did have a long talk with my doctor about false positives and false negatives because, in my job, with the type of stats we use, we avoid false positives at all costs. Yet, in medicine, they avoid false negatives. My doctor has agreed to respect my preference for false positives when the likelihood is lower than a level DH and I set with her.

Rachelk: I am so glad to hear that the palpitations aren't alarming for your OB. Also super glad to hear that your scan went well!! And the home inspection!! This is great news!! Hopefully you will be moving soon. I guess, I would mentally move up only if you think you are okay seeing the DD as a window and not a fixed time. Like, are you willing to induce 5 days earlier if you end up going over? Will you be disappointed if you reach your due date and are still pregnant? If so, I'd probably leave it, but if not, why not? Especially if later scans confirm it. Pollen at 9,000 sounds miserable. Have you been taking any benadryl or anything? I will hope for rain for you.

Sunnyd: Glad to hear you are rocking the maternity pants. Do we get a bump pic soon? I am off to get some maternity pants today. Are you getting your scan at the U hospital? If I remember correctly we are in the same city. That is where we are getting ours. Sorry about the heartburn. Hopefully the Tums are helping.

Buttons: Yuck. Sorry to hear that you have an infection. It sounds miserable. Beyond rest, fluid, and movies on the couch, I don't really have any home remedies. I hope you can kick it soon enough!

Dani: Hope all is well!

Thanks to all the BTDT mamas and preggos who weighed in on the NT scan. It is helpful to hear what others think about the scan.

AFM: We finally told the ILs, who totally freaked out, and the BILs. That brings our count of people who know IRL, outside DH and I, to 5. It still feels very odd to tell people. I am planning on telling my Department Chair in the next two weeks (we are on break next week, but we live in the same neighborhood, so I was thinking about asking her to have dinner or something). I haven't told my mom yet, and it makes me feel like a terrible daughter. The issue with telling her is that she will immediately tell everyone--and I mean E.V.E.R.Y.O.N.E., so DH and I decided she shouldn't know until we are ready for everyone to know. Plus, I have a close cousin who is getting married Easter weekend, and, while this may sound weird, I really don't want the news to be out before her wedding to distract from her day at all. So, I will tell my mom sometime after April 9th. Her birthday is the 20th, and I thought about waiting until then, but then I also feel like a jerk for being 17 weeks before I tell my mom.

Best news, I am on Spring Break this week! YAY! I don't have to squeeze in to my work clothes for a whole week! We have the NT scan on Monday. And, my two teams are still in the running to win the Men's NCAA championship. So far, so good. I am sure I will update again after the scan, if not before. Happy weekend, JBPs!

 

[katamari]

Re:

/startPSA: I stopped by a consignment shop while out and about today and bought a pair of maternity jeans. My gosh, it was heaven. If you have been holding out, I encourage you to embrace the elastic waist. I couldn't wear the fully band and I know the low pants won't last me, but it was so worth the $13. Infinity better than my regular pants with ponytail holders. /endPSA

 

[dani13]

Re:

Hi girls! Just checking in. Hope you're all well. Things are ok here, I am still suffering immensely with nausea (its just not letting up) and am pretty much miserable every day!! I am so hoping that this gets better. I guess in the grand scheme of things it could be worse, but suffering with nausea all day just sucks.

I had my 10 week appt this week, everything seemed fine. The baby was moving all over the place (I think she/he is going to be a dancer!) and it was super cute. My genetic testing hasn't come back from the lab yet, so we are waiting on that. My NT test is scheduled for 4/3, so we are looking forward to getting reassurance that the baby is healthy. We've also decided that we aren't going to find out the sex....now lets see if no one slips for the next 6 months!!! LOL!! Its going to be hard, but we both think it will be a wonderful surprise. Still haven't told our parents and friends, so provided everything goes well at the NT scan, we will tell them after. I keep thinking about how happy my parents are going to be, and it makes me smile- they've been DYING to be grandparents for years now!!!

Hope everyone else is doing great!! I think we are all looking forward to getting out of this first trimester craziness.....Even with all the nausea though, I still don't actually feel "pregnant," -like I really can't believe that we're going to have a baby. Anyone else feel this way? Its very strange. I keep telling MH that this may be a "one and done," because I REALLY don't want to go through this nausea ever again!!! Oh man, what we go through for these little babes!!!! Just hoping to one day feel NORMAL again!!!

 

[monkeyprincess]

Re:

Hi Dani, I'm sorry to hear you're still not feeling well. Hopefully you are nearing the end of it! I'm glad you got to see the baby again. I bet it was fun to see him or her moving around. Ours was pretty chill last time, so we didn't get to see much movement. I totally know what you mean about not feeling pregnant. Other than the fact I seem to have to go to the bathroom at least twice if not three times every night, I do not feel pregnant and I certainly do not look pregnant yet. I'm sort of in denial there's a baby growing in there that we are going to have in just over 6 months!

Katamari, glad you're liking the maternity jeans. So far, I'm still fitting into everything, but it's good to know the maternity jeans are comfy. I have a couple bella bands ready to go when my work pants stop fitting. Whoa, I don't think I could wait until 17 weeks to share the news with my mom. She's known since 4 weeks. We are going to tell DH's family on his birthday which is in about 10 days. They're gonna flip! DH's niece and nephew are 9 and 7, so it's been a long time since they've had a baby in the family.

Hi to everyone else!

AFM, our doppler arrived yesterday, and I of course waited all of 10 minutes to try it out. It is hard to figure out! I was picking up on all sorts of arteries and different beats that I knew had to be me because they were in the 70-80s and 120s. I was able to pick up on some steady 140-150s, which I assume was the baby, but then I would lose it immediately. I was getting really frustrated, but then DH got home and got online for some tips, and he took over the doppler. And we finally found a steady 150-160 something rate that sounded different and had to have been the baby. It was so fun to hear the heartbeat for the first time with DH. I'm thinking we will be able to pick it up more consistently in a few weeks. At my request, DH hid the doppler from me, so that I am not tempted to use it all the time

 

[lucy.lucy.80]

Re:

Hello!! Congrats to you ladies!!

RE: NT Scan- Just wanted to share my recent experience, maybe it will help some of you one way or another or shed some light on the test itself.....

At the time, last year i had a healthy 11 month old daughter, my dh and I were in our late 20's (healthy and no genetic history of anything) and we were 12 weeks pregnant with our 2nd child- went in for the NT scan which in my OB office is customary, and found out our child had a Nuchal fold msmt of around 4.0mm (2.8mm was my normal)- We were told by dr & genetic counselor we had a 30% chance of having a baby with a genetic or heart defect. DH and I felt so blindsided by the news and to make a long story short had to go through a CVS and 10+ genetic/heart/ultrasound tests- luckly our little boy passed all of the tests and I now am blessed with a beautiful 2.5 month old who is smiling at me right now I thank god every day he is in my life.

I do not regret getting the test, but it did ruin the peaceful feeling I had about this pregnancy and created a ton of stress. My genetic counselor and doctor told me most 3.0mm-4.0mm high risk babies end up being fine, but the test is a net, and they have to make the holes very small in order to catch most of the high risk babies- my doc said they would rather have false high risk babies than missed high risk babies. If you look up the NT test online, there is a 5% false positve rate, but per my genetic counselor that is in reference to margin of error on the US tech performing the test correctly, not the outcome of the test itself.

wish you ladies all the best and cant wait to see your beautiful babies

 

[Buttons]

Re:

Hi ladies,

Nothing to contribute on the NT scan as I know nothing about it. I don't believe it's offered over here unless you're high risk. It hasn't been mentioned to me anyway. I actually only get two scans the entire pregnancy - the 12 week scan I already had, and another one at 34 weeks to check the position of the placenta. If we want an anatomy scan we'll have to decide to have that done at a specialist clinic and pay out of pocket for it. We're still mulling that over.

monkeyprincess glad to hear you got the doppler working - that was a real team effort! You sound in such good spirits and like you are relaxing into the pregnancy, it is lovely to 'hear'

dani I feel your pain, really I do! My nausea was appalling from week 7 to about week 13 and I seriously thought about telling DH "never. again. never. ever." Once the nausea eased up the sinus infection took over, which wasn't a whole kettle of fun, but it was still so much easier than the endless motion sickness feeling. Hang in there, I really hope it lifts for you soon! And yes, I absolutely know what you mean about the denial. I think when we start properly showing and feeling the babies moving it will all seem much more real?

katamari I hauled my tired miserable backside out to a maternity shop on Saturday as they had a 50% off event that was ending on Sunday and I scored myself a pair of maternity jeans and oh yes, they are amazingly comfy! Better still, they were 70% off! I don't actually need them yet as I am doing really well with leggings and an elasticated belt expander thing with an apron to go down behind your zip, but I am not far off. I am so glad to have them ready and waiting in the wings as I'd say another two weeks and I'll be living in them That's a difficult one re telling your Mom but it sounds like you have some really good reasons for waiting.

megumic I don't know where I got the idea you're in Oz! I have a relative nursing in Brisbane, her FB feed is just one endless round of BBQs, parties and sunshine. I am convinced the nursing thing is a front, and she's actually a professional party animal We do indeed share a career, that is gas.

AFM...

I think the worst of the sinus infection has lifted. I have basically spent all of my time since Wednesday either sleeping or eating (on doctor's orders ). I still feel tired and stuffed up but the appalling headache has eased, the pain in my sinuses and throat has faded significantly, and the cough seems to be reducing to only at night now. Fingers crossed I am over the hump. Even better, my nausea seems to have gone unless I forget to eat, and then all bets are off, but that's fair enough... insert Hallelujah chorus here!

So tomorrow I may have a huge milestone in work, I'm still waiting to hear if it's coming off or not. It will involve a full day's work an hour's drive away, a lot of meetings, potentially some really high-adrenalin stuff. On the one hand this is really not the best timing as I would rather be in full health and not still a bit woozy recovering from a virus, but on the other hand it would be very exciting. Overall I am kind of hoping it may get pushed back a little bit as I want to do the best job I can. In any event I spent some time over the weekend doing some prep work just in case, thankfully I had a lot of the work already done.

Can I ask any of the ladies who wear a suit to work how did you find it sourcing work clothes? I am limited to black, no trousers, and I must wear a jacket that has to remain buttoned at all times. I anticipated this could be an issue so I've been digging around online but I didn't anticipate it would be this hard! I have access to all of the major European and UK chain stores, and may be able to make it work getting my hands on some of the US stores.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Re:

Lucy, thanks for sharing your NT experience. Yikes, that is exactly the kind of situation I'm hoping to avoid, but I'm so happy for you that you had a happy outcome.

Buttons, seriously, you are expected to wear a skirt and a buttoned up suit jacket every day? That sucks for even when you're not pregnant! I'm an attorney, but fortunately our dress code is business casual unless you are meeting with a client or going to court, something I rarely ever do as a lowly associate. So I imagine I will just wear dresses and maternity pants and tops come this summer and fall. Wish I had some advice for you, but good luck finding suits that work. I cannot even imagine what it looks like to see a 9-month pregnant lady all buttoned up in a suit jacket!

AFM, I made an appointment for an NT scan for next week. Still not sure if I will actually go through with it, but DH read through the materials I had on it, and he thought we should do it. It surprised me because I thought for sure he would not want to do it, but he seems to think it will be good information for us to have and hopefully will make us feel better about things. If anyone has one in the next week or so, please let me know how it goes and what to expect.

 

[amc80]

Re: Re:

If anyone has one in the next week or so, please let me know how it goes and what to expect.

Well, mine was a couple months ago, but I can still tell you what to expect. Basically it's a 10-15 minute u/s (or longer if baby isn't laying correctly). The tech took a bunch of measurements, including the NT fold...they actually do that one a few times and use an average. She looked at the heart and got the hb rate, and looked for a nasal bone. Ours went really fast because baby was cooperating, so she spent a few minutes just looking at the baby with us. She printed about 6 pictures for us. One thing that was really cool was the setup of the room. There was a comfy chair thing facing this wall that had a giant tv screen on it...much better for viewing than the tiny one at my OB's office.

Oh! And I'm sure they told you- have a full bladder. I think my instructions were to drink 32oz of water 30 minutes before. I didn't drink that much and it was totally fine.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Re:

Thanks amc, I didn't even think about the full bladder thing. I'm so used to the lovely internal scans. I'll make sure to ask about that when they call to remind me about the appointment. We are required to meet with a genetics counselor before the scan, so I don't want to be in agony any longer than I have to! I looked up a picture of the doctor that will be doing the scan, and he is kind of creepy looking. I guess it has to be a perinatalogist? Starting to rethink my decision again. I'm SO indecisive.

 

[amc80]

Re: Re:

Thanks amc, I didn't even think about the full bladder thing. I'm so used to the lovely internal scans. I'll make sure to ask about that when they call to remind me about the appointment. We are required to meet with a genetics counselor before the scan, so I don't want to be in agony any longer than I have to! I looked up a picture of the doctor that will be doing the scan, and he is kind of creepy looking. I guess it has to be a perinatalogist? Starting to rethink my decision again. I'm SO indecisive.

My scan was done at a peri's office, but the scan itself was done by a tech. We never even met the actual doctor.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Re:

I wanted to thank you all for your comments and concern; I'm going to be okay. We're going to be okay. And better days are coming. God isn't finished yet!

I've quickly flipped through the last few pages and I'm thankful to see that it looks as if everyone's precious little ones are doing well. Praise God!

 

[dani13]

Re: Re:

Thanks amc, I didn't even think about the full bladder thing. I'm so used to the lovely internal scans. I'll make sure to ask about that when they call to remind me about the appointment. We are required to meet with a genetics counselor before the scan, so I don't want to be in agony any longer than I have to! I looked up a picture of the doctor that will be doing the scan, and he is kind of creepy looking. I guess it has to be a perinatalogist? Starting to rethink my decision again. I'm SO indecisive.

MP.....LOL!!! So sorry, but this post made me crack up!!!

I have my NT scan next Tuesday. I am nervous, but its something both MH and myself believe in, as we would choose to have the more invasive testing if it were to come back abnormal. We are also seeing the genetic counselor before hand, as I have a first cousin that was born with a rare syndrome, and sadly he is completely incapacitated. So, I'm hoping that for the small amount of time we are there it will help ease our worries a little bit.

Every week my cravings and food aversions change....this week, I'm totally craving NUTTER BUTTER cookies!!! OMG!!! I asked MH to pick me up some at the food store today....he's been home all of 1 hour and I keep sneaking into the kitchen to grab some more!!! They're so good! Why can't I be craving salads?? UGH this kid's killing me

 

[missrachelk]

Re:

Hi Ladies!

Late PSA if anyone is on here right now - Gap / Old Navy is having a 30% of everything full priced (if you spend $100 or more) including maternity but it ends tonight (Monday)

I jsut ordered up several pairs of shorts / dresses / tops and am really hoping they will work. I'm currently rocking the yoga pants every day since nothing else is really fitting, even though I don't feel like I'm showing. Between my beginnings of a belly and extreme breast growth a lot of regular tops are also feeling too short. Boo. But new fresh t shirts are always so nice. Sorry to rub it in but my office is extremely casual (I work for a produce distributor so our office is inside a huge warehouse that's all a massive refrigerator with different temperature rooms) so I can wear whatever I want and I am so thankful! I hate binding dressy clothes, I really don't think I could hang with dress pants every day (well maybe with an attorney's salary LOL)

Buttons - re maternity wear for work - I have a feeling that you may be better off having things altered than trying to buy off the rack. If you're open to it you could even try to find things at second hand stores (maybe plus size so there would be enough fabric) and have them altered. Or regular size and since everything is black it shouldn't be too hard to add panels etc. I would think that might be easier than trying to find skirts and jackets off the rack. I'm sonewhat crafty and have found some really cute DIY instructions for maternity clothes (one takes an XL mens dress shirt and turns it into a cute babydoll style top). SO there's a lot an experienced seamstress / tailor cold do to alter existing peices. I think the skirts could be made to have nice full panels quite easily.

MP - don't fret! I thought my RE looked really scary in his website picture and he turned out to be super sweet and not scary at all. I think our feelings will project a lot onto things like that and make the situation seem worse than it will end up being. I didn't have to drink a specific amount of water or have a full bladder before my NT scan the other week, so I think it depends on what equipment they use. My Dr's setup was also really nice and had a good chair for DH where he was beside me and could hold my hand while we watched the screen on the wall. Come to think of it I haven't heard anything back and I think the bloodwork is supposed to be pretty quick to process, I think I'll call in tomorrow and see what's up.

Dani - I am right there with you and the random junk food cravings! In college my roommate would amke this dip with cream cheese, canned chili and velveeta and that's all I could think of this weekend. I got some turkey chili from trader joes and indulged, it was so good!! I do find that the craving will pass if I don't get that thing and then later in the week I'll be onto something else, mine are all fleeting. Here's to hoping in a few weeks bab(ies) will get hungry for salads! I think hot weather should help us want light foods too. I hope your nausea is passing and if not, eat what sounds good!

AFM -
With my increased due date I guess I'm about to graduate up! By new date I'll be 13 weeks on Thursday. Babycenter is telling me that the 2nd tri starts with 14 weeks, I thought it would be 13?? I guess it really doesn't make much difference.

I ordered some more clothes from old navy / gap since everything is getting too small pretty quickly. I still might return some things I got from motherhood, I think I can do better than $20 for plain t-shirts. I also looked at spanx's site today and they have maternity spanx! I am personally curvy pre PG and am anticipating some fairly uncomfortable hot days, so I think the spanx will help prevent chafing and hopefuully make me feel a bit less jiggly. We'll see if I can stand them since I'm not used to anyhting squeezy or over the belly.

Things are moving along with the house, just waiting for our final loan approval and the time to tick away till the end of next month. I can't wait to know that it's happening for sure, we are planning to get hardwoods laid in the 2 bedrooms that don't ahve them between closing and when we move so I'll ahve to choose those with DH and get it all lined up. We also want to completely reno the master bath, but that will be a bit further down the road, not sure yet if we'll be able to get it done pre baby or not.

I talked to my accupuncturist today, and we talked about my racing heartbeat. She's always noticed my pulse being fast at our visits and is going to look into some things from her point of view that might help it. I'll see her this weekend always such a little treat, I love it. In a literal sense my symptom can be explained by the fact that the blood volume may not have increased much yet and the baby is taking a lot of blood, then especially after I've eaten for example a lot of blood goes towards digestion so my heart has to pump a lot to keep up. I'm hoping the volume will increase, I've been extremely thirsty the past few days (I use a 27 oz kleen kanteen and filled it 4 times at work today!)

Have a great week everyone!

 

[monkeyprincess]

Re:

Fisher, I'm so glad you posted an update. I've been thinking about you a lot and wondering how you were doing. Your strength and faith continue to amaze me. I look forward to the day you are back in this thread with more good news. Until then you will continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.

Dani, I haven't had a nutter butter in ages, but yum that sounds good So far, I have far more aversions than cravings. Just the thought of certain foods and drinks - for example, Ice brand flavored sparkling water (which I used to love), asparagus and pasta - make me sick. It's weird.

Rachel, you're right. I've definitely overthought this whole NT scan thing. I'm sure the doctor is fine, although he seriously weirds me out. I was just looking at his bio, and he apparently participates in adult figure skating competitions and may have gone to medical school in Mexico. WTH? I might call to reschedule because the other opening next week was with a different doctor

 

[BrightSpot]

Re:

Mp, just checking up on you. Glad you're doing well. And you should definitely reschedule your scan. You know what they say about figure skating doctors...

Cheering everyone else on from the sidelines!