"Just Barely" Pregnant PS''ers

[pancake]

Re:

anchor I think missrachelk means progesterone supplements. I'm not sure about that but I think if you've told the practice of your history (or they already know it) and they think it's ok regardless, I'd go with that. As far as prenatals go, those companies make a KILLING out of guilting women into taking their expensive "comprehensive" supplements. The evidence only supports the supplementation of folate and iodine, and if the diet is replete in everything else then there are no other routine supplements required. Iron and Vitamin D are most commonly the deficiency/insufficiency issues. Last pregnancy a friend of mine gave me some multivitamin prenatal horse pills that made me feel sicker so my obstetrician told me to just take folate and not worry about the rest, which improved things a lot. This time around the new recommendation here is to supplement iodine also so I just take a combined iodine-folate supplement, vitamin D (as I am frankly deficient), and B6 for the nausea. Last pregnancy my iron stores dropped into my boots by the 3rd tri so I took iron for the last trimester as well.

rachel that's a great HCG result too - hope the doubling time all looks on track!

clairitek - how much does daycare cost where you are? Here it's between $80 and $120 a day, and we receive a government rebate of 50% up to a ceiling rebate of $7500 in a year. Even with that, though, daycare - the cost and availability - is still a significant barrier to women returning to work, especially part-time. Certainly if we didn't have my mum and my MIL to help out, we would be bleeding money for me to do my PhD on my scholarship stipend and it simply wouldn't be financially feasible. My husband will be starting a PhD in August this year so there are some lean years ahead for us, thank goodness for grandparents.

LC your cardiac output increases a heap in early pregnancy, plus your body is more attuned to rises in carbon dioxide in the blood and tolerates less of it compared to when not pregnant, so a bit of shortness of breath is common. I certainly feel the difference when walking briskly up hills or doing a tough workout at Pilates, etc, and I remember trying to walk up steep hills in Croatia in the 2nd trimester last time and just STRUGGLING!!

AFM, going to pick up my prescription for ondansetron from the pharmacy at work today. I've been useless for days - have been planning meals etc all week as usual but have had to abort mission several times as I just cannot cook meat in particular. I have been eating 2 minute noodles and McDonalds for the last 3 days as it's all I can stomach, I did manage to marinate a steak for DH to cook for himself last night though. Ugh.

 

[Clairitek]

Pancake- mmmm McDonald's and two minute noodles! Yum! Sorry you've been so limited in your diet but that sounds delicious. I hope the meds work promptly for you.
I'm paying by the month and it's quite comparable to what you pay. We can use pretax dollars for dependent care but it's the equivalent of 2.5 months of daycare. Aftet that you have to use post-tax money. Then you can get a small tax credit for it but I think we might not qualify. I was actually pleasantly surprised at the cost of the daycare center I chose given how new and nice it is.

 

[anchor31]

Re:

Oh grand. No need to go into details, but don't forget your Kegel exercices, ladies...

 

[lliang_chi]

Re:

Pancake, Hugo is a really nice boy's name. Not very popular here in the States so you're the first person that I've heard think about it. So funny that it seems like all your friends like it too. A good sign that you all are like-minded I think I'm getting better with riding, it was likely a combination of a really heavy bag and just being out of practice for 2 wks. How's the scrip helping with your general functioning life? Wow, that's really nice for you to still prep food for your DH even though you weren't eating it. What do you do about S's food? Does she just eat off your DH's plate?

Clairi, awesome you're still riding a lot. I have an old crappy bike that I use to tool around town (so I won't feel bad about locking it up on the street) and a nice road bike. With the slush and snow, my "sports car" is too slick to ride to work, so it stays in my bike room. Has your OB/MW said anything about riding while you're pregnant? I need to ask my MW about it since "they" say your center of gravity changes with a belly in your front. Plus both my crappy and nice bikes are roadies, so there's a fair bit of forward lean which might make me a little more off balance assuming my belly gets bigger.
Our cost of day care is SO EXPENSIVE, we spend over $27K a year for it. Ugh! It sucks. My DH was going over finances in prep for hopefully buying a new house and he's like, "Where is all our money going?" "Dude, childcare." For some reason it seems like Chicago is insanely high for daycare. We pay more than family members in California. SIL lives in Sunnyvale/San Jose and she pays almost $700 less a month than we do. We're at least comforting ourselves knowing that once our kids are old enough for public school, we be able to revert a good chunk of change to savings.

Anchor, yikes, Kegels. Check. I don't think I did them much for our first and had a c-section so no pelvic floor issues for me. But who knows what will happen with this. Thanks for the reminder.

AFM: Home sick today. I actually didn't realize i was sick, I thought I was just exhausted (E's been having poor sleep due to teething) and achy from sleeping wrong and felt slightly nauseous so thought it was MS. So I called in and then went back to bed and woke up feeling a touch feverish with a headache. Glad I made the call to stay home. I still have a massage set for this afternoon that I'm going to go to, but other than that I've been kinda taking it easy.

 

[ello]

Re:

Pancake: I adore the name Hugo. It's strong, unique & looks great on paper. I think you should just go for it.

Mia: Sorry to hear that you've not been well with your UTI. I hope the meds kick in soon. It is such an annoying & uncomfortable thing to go through especially while being pregnant. I was laughing so hard at your pee in cup experience. I had a similar situation where my cup fell in the toilet. Btw.,I've been doing research myself and they say online to avoid acidic food. Tomatoes, oranges...
Also, much strength to you & your family during this difficult time. Sending warm hugs your way.

Anchor: Are you Canadian? hi!!! Can you believe the Winter we're having? I think we've had more than our share of snow. I've been shovelling snow for days. Thanks for the kegel reminder. Hee hee!

LC: hi 5 for being so active. It is wonderful to let off steam and must be really good to help balance your hormones during pregnancy. How's the house shopping coming along? I hope you will find a great spot soon. I hope you're feeling better, it's really hard to be a mom, pregnant & sick.

Clairitek: I'm so happy to hear you found a reasonable and new daycare. I recently learned that we can't make lunch boxes for our guy. Apparently they don't allow outside food in the daycare. Mainly because of peanut allergies. I feel so sad about this as it has been my dream to pack snacks for my son.

Rachelk: How are you doing? Any news on your beta levels. Fingers crossed for you.

I am 5W,4D's today and could not be happier to be this far. I still test every morning. So bad!!! I was a little queasy today, this must be the start of morning sickness, yikes! I asked my doctor about my Beta levels and she said that they did not test for it. She was actually snippy...and said that there was no need to test before 12 weeks. She did say that they tested my thyroid (checked out okay) and that I could go for my first ultrasound around 7-8 weeks. Btw, My due date is Oct 5th. So excited!!!

Symptoms so far...fatigue, nausea, frequent urination, and breast tenderness, especially painful after lying down & first waking in the morning. Then I have an increase in CM, watery and with a light brown tint. Hopefully this is normal for me. I'm trying not to get stressed about this.

Hope you're all doing great!

 

[Clairitek]

A quick drive-by to share this article that my mom sent me.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/health/childbirth-study-sees-longer-labor-as-normal.html?ref=research&_r=0&referrer=

 

[anchor31]

Re:

Pancake - Dammit, now I'm craving a burger. At 9:30AM. Oops.

Ello - Yup, I'm Canadian. Hi! Honestly, the cold's been bothering me more than the snow this year. My son was born on December 29th 2009, and I clearly remember going to my last appointments in snowstorms, we even drove to the hospital for the birth in a blizzard! That was a bad one. Then again, I do a lot around the house but I don't shovel snow, especially not pregnant.

AFM - 10 weeks today! I don't want to jinx myself, but I've been feeling better since Wednesday. I don't know if it's a direct cause-effect link, but it appears that resolving the constipation issue helps with everything else, including the nausea. The metamucil was giving me horrible cramps, so I started taking a ducosate capsule and a senna tablet twice a day instead.

 

[ello]

Re:

Anchor & Pancake I blame you for eating a hamburger today. Ha ha!
Anchor, are you taking the prenatal vitamins called PregVit folic 5 (Duchesnay)?
My Dr just prescribed 3 months worth. You take it twice daily (morning vitamin & night vitamin)
I just got them yesterday but not looking forward to take them since they made me really really nauseous the last pregnancy. Do you have any recommendations?

 

[amc80]

Re: Re:

Anchor & Pancake I blame you for eating a hamburger today. Ha ha!
Anchor, are you taking the prenatal vitamins called PregVit folic 5 (Duchesnay)?
My Dr just prescribed 3 months worth. You take it twice daily (morning vitamin & night vitamin)
I just got them yesterday but not looking forward to take them since they made me really really nauseous the last pregnancy. Do you have any recommendations?

Vitamins make me barf, so I used the chewables from VitaFusion. They don't have iron, though.

 

[missrachelk]

Re:

Hi mamas! Busy week at work, I'm glad for weekend!

I was pretty annoyed today that my drs office hadn't called with my second beta, they're closed Fridays for appointments but I thought the nurse was still working. Oh well. I think everything is juuuuust fine.

@ello I'm also starting to have the slightest twinge of ms/ nausea sometimes. Like I mentioned I'm trying really hard to eat a clean diet and a snack has helped when I feel that way. I've also been feeling not so hot after I eat - like I need to eat less but more often.

Sooo I only have 1 wondfo left and one digi ( but I know I'm preggo so I kinda feel odd using it) so I dipped an opk just for fun - I got a super dark line! I think my eye for lines must be skewed because I was around 5w the first time I POAS with my daughter so the tests were basically blinking POSITIVE !

Emotionally I've come a long way in one week. I was pretty scared at first, of having kids 2 years apart instead of 3, and finances. But it's all going to work out.

I bought a coue pairs of maternity pants online tonight - I haven't seem it be evident yet but from noon onward I feel bloated. Elastic here I come! I got the Demi panel ones, I remember not liking the full panel until I was 20ish weeks last time.

I hope you all have a great weekend and happy bun baking!

 

[mia1181]

Re:

Hey guys sorry I kind of disappeared! I've actually been pretty sick. I am not sure what happened but Wednesday night we went out to dinner and as soon as we returned I got diarrhea (sorry TMI) that was very painful because I was also constipated (figure that one out!). Somehow in that ordeal I began vomiting. I was thinking the vomiting was a morning sickness bonus but my stomach has been burning ever since and all day yesterday I stayed in bed just feeling awful and nauseous. No fever or other symptoms and I kept my food and water down, so I have no idea what it was. I have a shellfish "intolerance" so I was thinking maybe somehow my dinner was contaminated. Another possibility is the antibiotics I am on for the UTI, but I actually hadn't taken my evening dose when I got sick so I don't know.

Anyway, feeling a little better and we went to Disneyland today and I wasn't nauseous on the rides so that was great!

I wanted thank everyone for their comments on my mom's and brother's situations. Luckily I am not super-super close to my mom like some women are, but it's still my mom and that sucks. I think she has some time left so I'm not freaking out just yet. My brother and his wife are young and while they haven't gotten the results yet, I'm very hopeful that this situation was a random event and nothing that will impact their ability to carry healthy babies in the future.


Okay, so now I will go back and read what everyone else has been up to!

 

[mia1181]

Re:

Pancake- I am so sorry to hear about your father. And that timing must have been so extremely difficult. That newborn period is no joke even with the best of circumstances. You said 4 months were difficult, was it only 4 months from when he was diagnosed? I am trying to get a grasp on how quickly things could deteriorate (even though I know it's impossible). My mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 inoperable, non-small cell. She did radiation for a few weeks and just had her 4th chemo. Her scan just came back showing the tumors did not shrink but did not grow either so she has 6 more chemos to do before the next scan. Anyway, I was hoping for better news than that because she has been sounding better on the phone. Thanks for your kind words though. I know for my mom having another grandchild will give her something to look forward too I just have a lot of guilt about being pregnant at the same time as my brother's loss. Your diet sounds exactly like mine last pregnancy when I was so nauseous, DH had to take over cooking because most raw foods would make me sick.

LC- OMG! I am so angry that I walked by Sodastream hundreds of time in target and never stopped to check it out! I just asumed it was probably filled with chemicals, aspartame, and high fructose corn syrup. Not that I am super crazy organic, but I just try and avoid that stuff if I can. So to find out that I can use my own fruit juice! That's exactly what I have been looking for! I told husband I need one now! I love your story about biking to work! The part about huffing uphill made me laugh. I was super active in my last pregnancy. I was running races and swimming and triathloning but every day I would almost die climbing the stairs to my office. I don't know what it is but being pregnant made it impossible for me to climb hills or stairs. I even requested a laptop to keep in my office because I felt like I would die lugging my personal one up those stair (only 2 flights mind you). Not gonna lie, I am very glad I don't have to do that this time around. You also cracked me up about skipping a couple of days of prenatals. Every time I forget to take them I say "you can't possibly need them EVERY day, right?" Makes me feel better haha!

Clairtek- Yeah my insurance doesn't cover any of the fancy prenatals either. Last time it only covered like 10 of the anti-nausea pills that worked best for my MS. I can't remember if it was zofran or reglan but I was really bummed. I will check out the ones you linked though because I would love a "multipurpose" prenatal solution. Thanks for that article. Very interesting! I have had a theory that more women or going past their due dates and having longer deliveries. I think they need to push "due dates" back a little and give moms more time to labor. I had a csection with DD. I don't regret it at all because by the time it was suggested I was ready and I was glad my baby was never at risk. She was 9 lbs and sunny side up and my cervix was swelling shut. But I was in labor for more than 36 hours and at some point my labor slowed a lot. I will always wonder if my labor slowed because she wasn't in the right position and if I would have given her time, things could have realigned. Ah well I'll never know. Luckily I don't regret my c-section though so it's just a curiosity I have.

MissrachelK- Good beta! I think 19 is probably fine but definitely check with your doctor. Mine is only 12.5 currently and my doc said I can supplement if it would make me feel better but it's probably fine. I'm waiting on my next betas to decide. My doctor never calls with my beta results so I have gotten used to bothering them myself. I guess progesterone can take up to 48 hours to come back from my lab? Weird since I know I've gotten it on the same day before. Anyway, I am started to get a little scared too. Our babies will be 17 months apart! DD has been very needy lately and I wonder how we will do it. But we will! I think having two kids of any ages will have challenges. But you are right it will all work out. I probably will need to start looking at maternity jeans soon. I was lucky to not have to buy any the last time around (I carried high), but this time I am already huge I swear it's the bloating! Where did you get yours?

Ello- I wouldn't worry too much about the betas your doctor is right they really aren't that necessary. Even if they aren't looking good, there isn't much they could do. They could alert to a molar or ectopic pregnancy but I think their are physical symptoms with either scenario. I'm not even sure why my doctor keeps sending me for betas. My dates are not off and I only asked about progesterone. Every time I call for beta results they say the same thing "your numbers look good but we want you to go in just one more time to make sure they are doubling." And that is before I even ask about the doubling. I don't complain though because the lab is right down the street so it's no trouble at all. 7-8 weeks will be here in no time and you will definitely see a heartbeat by then! I have no idea when I will get to go for my first ultrasound... I think 12-13? Your symptoms are looking good and I wouldn't worry about brown tinted CM, totally normal!

Anchor- I also noticed that I am less nauseous when I am not constipated so I think you are on to something! I am going to try what you are taking and see if that helps.



Because I <3 Stats!
4w4d
Beta#1(9dpo): hcg- 21 prog- 11.4
Beta#2(15dpo): hcg-697 prog- 12.5
Beta#3(18dpo): waiting on results
DD: 10/13/14

 

[pancake]

Re:

Mia - I'm sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out! It wasn't until some time after I'd posted that I realised that my post about my father might come across as scary and insensitive, my apologies. Yes, it was 4 months from diagnosis HOWEVER he had a very rare variant of non-small cell which is particularly aggressive and unresponsive to chemotherapy. It sounds like your mother's situation is more stable, and I am glad for you that it is. You are right; it was a very difficult time for us for lots of reasons (messy relationships) but the world smiled on us and gave us a baby who was very easygoing and chilled out, which made it immeasurably easier I'm sure.

I sympathise with you re the way you feel about your brother and SIL's loss and being pregnant at the same time. So difficult - I hope they will come through with strength and hope for the future.

Hope you are over your gastro bug - sounds rotten!

missrachelk I kept testing every few days until I got to about 5 weeks - I saved up a couple of CB digis with the conception indicator, which was reassuring each time. Then I weaned myself off testing although it was hard! Feeling you on the bloat - I am very very bloated and people who see me often would be able to tell I'm pregnant if I wore particular clothing. I was super-bloated the first time around as well but I think my abdominal wall held it in better then. Last time I deflated a bit at around the start of the 2nd tri, here's hoping the same happens for both of us this time!

anchor - is your appointment this week? Good luck! Glad you sorted out your, ahem, bowel issues

ello - I hereby take all responsibility for your hamburger consumption and absolve you of all responsibility. On a serious note - am excited for you that everything appears to be going well! May that continue. Re prenatals - I think I posted this recently but the medical literature supports the supplementation of folate and iodine in pregnancy as routine, but nothing else unless indicated by deficiency. So if the fancy combined prenatals make you feel queasy, I'm sure it would be ok to just pare it back to the essentials.

LC I still cannot get over $27K for childcare. That is more than my annual PhD scholarship stipend. Holy crap. What are you going to do when you go back to work after #2 (assuming you are planning to go back - hope that's not presumptuous of me)? It must be tempting to look into nanny options, although I don't know how much that costs. Here at the moment a nanny costs about double per day compared to a childcare centre, and no rebate can currently be claimed from the government (although that may change) so it only becomes cheaper if there's a sharing arrangement with others' kids or you have 2-3 kids.


AFM - I took ondansetron for the first time yesterday and that stuff is MIRACULOUS. I felt normal all through the afternoon and evening, just amazing. Today I have had a pretty good day and haven't needed any, which is good. Thanks for the vote of confidence on Hugo - I think we are settled on Hugo or Julian for a baby boy and will just ignore the multitude of Hugos in our acquaintance circle (we don't see any of them anyway).

10 weeks tomorrow.

 

[anchor31]

Re: Re:

Anchor & Pancake I blame you for eating a hamburger today. Ha ha!
Anchor, are you taking the prenatal vitamins called PregVit folic 5 (Duchesnay)?
My Dr just prescribed 3 months worth. You take it twice daily (morning vitamin & night vitamin)
I just got them yesterday but not looking forward to take them since they made me really really nauseous the last pregnancy. Do you have any recommendations?

No, I take a generic brand of OTC prenatals. I'm sorry the prescription ones are making you sick, I was hoping they'd help! Maybe ask for a low-iron prenatals? I take vitamin B6 (25mg 3X a day) to help with the nausea and I plan on asking for some Diclectin to my OB on Monday.

 

[lliang_chi]

Re:

Pancake, not presumptuous at all. Truth is, I personally need to work, for my own sanity. So yes, I will go back. If/when we move and as Ethan gets older, childcare cost should go down some, but probably only a few thousand/year. So it'd be like $20-22K rather than $27K. So there's definitely a premium for where we live in the city. Yes, it's expensive,but once Ethan gets old enough for (possibly) pre-K/(definitely) kindergarten, we won't be paying that much anymore. And Baby#2 will then graduate to public school also. So it'd be like 3-4 yrs that we'll skimp and scrounge, but after that we should be OK. Heck, it'd feel like we got a super big bonus. It would be wonderful if we could have family members to watch him for a few days a week, just to save on childcare fees, but it is what it is. And this is also why we plan on putting our kids into public school, so we're only looking for homes in neighborhoods that have good public schools. I will say that in Chicago, it seems like childcare costs are just REALLY high. I daresay it might be (proportionately) higher than even NYC, since Chicago's cost of living isn't as high as NYC. My SIL lives in San Francisco-Bay Area (another notorious high COL area) and she pays less than we do for childcare(but she also uses a home daycare). Also there are other options for childcare, home daycare, nanny, nanny-share, corporate daycare. For us, home day cares just didn't work out for drop off/pick up timing. Maybe we could consider doing a nanny if we have 2 kids, but I'm not 100% on board for my own reasons.
ANyway, sorry about my dissertation about childcare. I'm so glad the prescription has been so helpful for you, and you're a normal functioning person again! Hooray for science Honestly if it were me, I'd fake it a little more just to get DH to do some more cooking etc.

Mia, check out the SodaStream if you're a big fan of the sparkling juice. Just so you know it's not like you're carbonating OJ etc. You're carbonating water, then you just add juice to it. Like a juice spritzer. And it's great for cocktails once you can start drinking again. Hooray for your numbers going so well

Rachel, Everything is fine I'm sure. But boo for them not calling you back Annoying. I bought a maternity dress and have an old one that I loaned a friend of mine. Otherwise last time I just used Bella Bands and stayed in my regular jeans. I hope I can do the same this time. Also, last pregnancy, I was super big in the middle of winter. This one I'll be in the summer, so it's not exactly like I can reuse stuff. I plan on just buying stuff 2nd hand, or jerry-rigging larger clothes or my DH's t-shirts etc. I have a sewing machine and novice skills. And it's all temporary maternity stuff so it's not like I have to worry about longevity, y'know?

Ello,ditto what everyone else said about maybe the iron is making you nauseous. Can you get some OTC gummy pre-natals? No luck on the house front yet, we're taking a break from looking this weekend. DH really likes the area in the city that is my preference but the reality is not a whole lot come on the market in that area. Plus it's the middle of a particularly cold and snowy winter so not a lot of new listings, y'know? So we're taking it kinda easy. We decided that we'll try to sell our condo too, so we'll need to work on things to get it market ready. There's a few fix it projects to do (dry wall repair (which I hate doing, so will likely hire out), painting, replacing carpet). So that'll keep us busy for a few weeks.

Anchor, Dust that your constipation and MS is turning a corner. Glad you found something that is working for you. And I'm like you, I take OTC prenatals too. The midwife did tell me she could prescribe some for me, but felt I had a good enough habit and generic OTC would be fine for me. I like taking the gummies since they're sweet and kinda like candy

AFM: not much to add. E's be throwing us through the ringer in terms of sleep the past week, so we're pretty much consumed with that right now. I've had a few brown spotting when I pee, but I'm not going to worry about it too much. Still some breast tenderness so taking that as a good sign. Still feeling crappy, but I think that has more to do with lack of sleep (because of E) than MS or being sick.

~LC, 6w5d

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Re:

Okay, so I'm definitely not JBP, but LC, I just had to chime in and tell you I completely understand where you are coming from with child care costs. It was honestly one of my biggest considerations when having a second. As you know, we do in-home care and I only work 4 days/week, yet with 2 it will still be over $34K/year. The nannies I interviewed were all >$50K/year and DH wasn't on board with the nanny option even with the higher cost. It's so hard shelling out that kind of money every year--we definitely won't be adding much to savings over the next several years. And I'm seriously considering going back to 5 days/week to increase my salary. People always ask me if I miss the freedom of life before kids and I say "yes, but I miss the money more". Just wanted to provide a little solidarity--I remind myself that it's temporary...at least I hope

Lots of luck to you JBPers!! I still can't believe how fast it all goes!

 

[anchor31]

Re:

We had a dinner with the ILs yesterday. BIL is expecting his first child - his GF's 3rd - and he likes to very smuggly proclaim that helping his GF raise her two preteens one week out of two has him prepared for a newborn. Bwahahahahaha, he's in for a shock. I won't argue that his GF's preteens aren't difficult, but newborns are a whole different kind of difficult. Stubborn kids won't prepare you for sleepless nights, colic and spit up...

 

[pancake]

Re:

LC - I don't mind your "dissertation" at all! Coming from Australia where social welfare and government subsidies are very different, I find the way the American system works fascinating... albeit morbidly so in this case! I can understand why people have reservations about nannies, I do too and certainly after a certain age (definitely 18 months onwards if not earlier) I would much rather my kids have interaction with their peer group. Also, the idea of trying to find a nanny and screen them, feel safe... makes me shudder! Hope E's sleep is improving now, sounds like it's been really rough.

anchor - funny that your brother said that, in actual fact I worry much more about the pre-teen and teen years than about the newborn period but maybe that's because S spoiled me for my first go at mothering a newborn I just think that the world is such a different, bigger, more connected, scarier place than it was when we were growing up. I worry all the time about how I will keep my teenager safe without smothering or being overprotective, and how I will keep her connected with us.

NEL - 4 more days! Getting VERY close now - good luck! So exciting.

AFM, main issue is the MS, it's waxing and waning. Yesterday was a bad day and I took 2 doses of ondansetron but today I haven't needed any and felt queasy but not awful. Other thing is that it's becoming increasingly difficult to conceal my thickening midsection. Last time I'm sure this wasn't so much an issue until the 2nd trimester, but as we've established, my abdominal wall isn't what it was pre-babies! Need to be judicious about how I dress for the next few weeks until the NT scan.

 

[tbaus]

Re:

Hi ladies! I planned to do a big catch up post this evening after work but had to stay back a few hours, and have just gotten home with the hugest headache. Planning a quick cat nap before DH arrives home instead. I promise I'll catch up in the next few days but just wanted to update you all on my 12 week scan that I had on Saturday. All looks good, definitely a big change to our previous scan. This one actually looked like a baby! I was totally convinced that something had gone wrong so once the little "soltana" showed up on the screen and I saw it move for the first time I burst into tears. Though we may have to change the nickname, since it is definitely not the size of a sultana anymore (Soltana is a mix of the first few letters of Dh's and my names)!!! I had done my bloods earlier in the week, so I got my results while I was there, 1 in 15 000, so no further testing recommended. So we are slowly letting the cat out of the bag, which feels weird to do after keeping it to ourselves for so long. But definitely exciting now and feeling more relaxed about this whole pregnancy

I'll be back soon!

~13w1d

 

[BrightSpot]

Re:

Hi lovely ladies. May I join you over here? I'm looking forward to sharing this journey with all of you.

I've had a long & bumpy road to get to this point, so I've been feeling very cautious. I had good beta results this time, though, & saw a heartbeat at my 6w3d ultrasound, which makes me feel infinitely better. (The morning sickness helps too!)

At that ultrasound, my calculations (just based on OPK's & FertilityFriend) said I was 6w3d, but the ultrasound measurement was only 6w2d. Is this cause for concern? My next scan is on Wednesday at 8w, 2-3d.

I've been having some form of morning sickness since about 15dpo, but in the past it only appeared in the evening & felt more like motion sickness (no vomiting.) It's been getting worse lately, though, and showing up earlier in the day. I still haven't vomited yet, but I've been coming close lately.

Also, since the day after our first ultrasound, our lives have been thrown into chaos since a water pipe burst & flooded our apartment. We're currently living out of a hotel (thank heaven for renter's insurance!) as the apartment reeks of mold & the floor & ceiling are destroyed. We've also lost most of our clothing & shoes & other personal items. We're trying to make the determination as to whether we want to move or stick it out in the hotel until the apartment is repaired, which could be a month or more. (And our experience with our landlord is that he usually does the least amount of work possible to fix a situation, so I'm not confident he'll actually remove the mold.) It's a one bedroom in NYC & we had been thinking of moving to a place with more space, but didn't really plan to do that until this summer, but the situation has forced our hand. We're also debating staying in the city vs moving to the burbs to be closer to family, but it seems really premature to make such a big life change this week. I knew change was coming, but didn't expect it so suddenly!

So please forgive me if I'm not able to post here as much as I'd like until things even out at home (wherever that turns out to be!)

 

[anchor31]

Re:

Just had my first prenatal OB visit! Everything looks good for now and we heard a heartbeat (160bpm)! She set my EDD at Sept. 5th. She prescribed me something to replace the senna for the constipation, but I don't remember what it's called... :s She upped my docusate dosage and prescribed the Diclectin I wanted for the nausea.

We'll be announcing at large later this week. Now that we heard a heartbeat I feel confident enough.

 

[lliang_chi]

Re:

Welcome Bright! I'm so happy you're here to share your journey with us. So stressful to hear about your apt. I'd say do your best to stay relaxed (easier said than done, I know). I hope you can recover most of your things and your insurance will replace what you cannot. That sucks big time. In terms of moving, sounds like in your head, you guys already decided you're moving. Now it'll just be a question of where? Is there somewhere in the surrounding NYC area that's convenient for your commutes to work and being close to family? I'm sure there is. The whole being close to family is a big plus, but if your day-to-day commute suffers because of it, then that sucks too. Plus once the baby gets here, spending 1.5 hrs commuting is going to suck the life out of you, KWIM?
And I wouldn't worry about the difference in 1 day or so. Really it's up the accuracy of the technician who does the measurements. And the difference is likely just mm's.

Anchor, hooray for the great appt and hearing the HB! Did you guys get an US also? I'm glad you got the medication for nausea. Hopefully it'll be a distant memory soon. LOL that your BIL thinks caring for a newborn is the same as teen-tween boys...

Tbaus, yay for the NT scan. They're so fun Woo hoo, you're ready to move over to the "big thread" soon! (Not that I'm pushing you out or anything)

Pancake, hopefully you can hid the belly for a little while longer. I remember it wasn't until nearly 20 wks when I actually started showing something. At least it's summer there so you can wear a lot of maxi dresses and loose tops. Here it's winter so I wear a lot of wool sweaters. Which wouldn't be so bad except all my wool sweaters are the non-bulky type, unless I bust out my ridiculously cold weather sweaters. Which this past winter has actually been pretty often...

AFM: so feeling better from being sick. Not sure if I was actually sick or just pregnant or a combo of both. Anyway, I'm feeling better, and Ethan had a marginally better sleep this weekend. I have my appt in 1 wk. Looking forward to seeing Sprout on the screen. For those of you with an older sibling at home, when are you/did you talk to them about the new baby that will be coming. Ethan's a week from his 2nd birthday, so I'm under no delusion that he'll understand. But I also want him to be aware of what's going on.

 

[Clairitek]

Re:

Anchor- Hooray for a heartbeat, anti-nausea meds, and help with the digestive issues! You seem to have turned a bit of a corner and that's awesome! Fingers crossed for continued improvements. I laughed at the story about your brother in law. Wow. He is seriously delusional. I've never had a child and I know better than to think that any other life experience will prepare me for parenting a newborn.

mia- You poor thing. That sickness you described sounds terrible. Glad you felt well enough to enjoy Disneyland though! I am happy to hear that you are satisfied with your birth experience. It sounds like it went the best way it could have with all that was going on. My mom and friends have been asking me if I have anything I want to avoid during labor and delivery and I really have no opinions besides wanting to avoid induction drugs. I figure if I go into this way I can't be too disappointed. All of you second-time moms feel free to laugh at me! I realize that stuff like this may or may not sound totally naive coming from a first time mom.

pancake- So sorry that ms is continuing to be a major issue for you. Good to hear that the ms drug is helping when you take it, though. I hear you on the expanding mid-section. I think I need to kiss my skinny jeans goodbye. Even with the hair elastic they are uncomfortably tight in the waistband. Before I buy any belly bands I'm going to check out some maternity consignment stores for jeans. May as well make the full leap if I'm really starting to have the belly to hold it up.

ello- Sorry to hear that your doctor was snappy with you when you asked about a beta. Sounds like things are going well for you otherwise (well if you consider nasty pregnancy symptoms "well"!) and you are progressing. If it makes you feel any better I never had a beta draw, either. I hope you can find some supplements that don't make you feel ill.

mrk- I hope your mat jeans are comfortable! Your beta results look good. Sorry you've had to chase your doctor around for results.

LC- Sorry to hear that Ethan has been rough in the sleep department lately. I'm recalling back to when I was about 6 weeks along and I can't imagine having a sleepless toddler on my hands, too. I hope begin to feel better soon. Good to hear that you and DH are on the same page for neighborhoods in the city. Winter certainly is a dead time for real estate in any area I've ever lived in. I bet once the end of the school year approaches people will start listing.

tbaus- Thumbs up for a good NT scan and low risk results! I still don't know my blood results from nearly two weeks ago. I called last week and they still weren't in. My insurance has been billed for it so I hope that the results are not far behind. Have fun sharing your exciting news! I love seeing the look on peoples' faces when I tell them. Soltana is growing up! Isn't seeing the baby move so neat? I kept nervously giggling when I had the scan two weeks ago because the baby was so active.

brightspot- HOW EXCITING TO SEE YOU HERE!!! Sorry that your good news with the baby is met with the apartment flood. That's unfortunate that your landload is not very proactive. I hope your scan this week goes well! I had one at 6 weeks and then didn't see the baby again until 11 weeks. Curious to see what changes you'll notice at the 8 week mark. According to my pregnancy app the baby should be the size of a kidney bean.

AFM- Nothing really to report. We checked out strollers on Saturday. We thought we might want a fancier one that we would buy second hand but after test driving that one and struggling to collapse it I think we will end up with a much more wallet-friendly option that you can collapse by grabbing a handle in the middle of the seat and yanking upwards. I also bought a stash of second hand cloth diapers. I really really hope cloth diapering works for us. DH is on board so I joined a diaper swapping forum and made my first purchase.

My PSA for the week is that if you like leggings (I pretty much live in these on the weekends) then consider getting yourselves a pair of these from Seamly.co.
http://seamly.co/products/leggings
They have a wide fold down waist band that is adjusting nicely to fit my belly as it is getting bigger. I currently own the grey (they look green in the picture on the website, to me) and am about to get a pair of the denim colored. I love that they looked cute before I was showing at all and are now comfortably working with my expanding waistline.

13w1d

 

[missrachelk]

Re:

WELCOME BRIGHT! So so glad to see you on this side. The feeling you're having is what a lot of mos experience, whatever time of day it is. I had more of just nausea the first go around, couldn't STAND the smell of food in the refrigerator, but I never did throw up. So far this time I've had just a twinge here or there of queasiness. I can't eat as much as I think I can, if I eat a full plate (typical amount for me) I feel sick afterwards. But I'm learning : )

@ Mia and LC no maternity jeans??!!?? you must have some good genes or luck or I don't know what. I think I got my first pair last time around 9 weeks. I don't need them now yet, just want to be prepared.

I found mine on ebay, I'm not willing to spend a ton, and I have more free time at night when dd is sleeping than actual weekend time to look at consignment shops.

@lc I'm also a novice sewer and tried to make a few maternity things last time with disastrous results! We'll see if I do any better this time or even attempt.

For me I don't need a ton since this is exactly the same timing as with DD (exactly 2 years apart nearly to the day!) But my favorite capri jeans were worn so much I literally wore a hole in them, and in the beginning I wore yoga pants and one pair of demi panel jeans forever and I want more variety. I haven't spent more than $15 on ebay and the quality is good. I'm only getting GAP. I don't like the quality of the target or motherhood jeans that I've seen so far (those ones I loved but wore a hole in last time were from motherhood)

My second beta was more than a doubling (399 to 914 in 48 hours) so I'm in the clear. My test lines also got nice and dark this weekend, and the last digi I had progressed to '2-3 weeks' so I feel good. Still in shock but good.

I called today and scheduled my first appointment for March 5 and am trying to get an ultrasound for dating next week.

I figure I am somewhere between 6w1d and 5w3d today. By my LMP I would be 8 weeks I believe.

 

[missrachelk]

Re:

Oh, I thought of a cute little poem to tell people (maybe a couple family on Friday, maybe we will wait until after the ultrasound as planned)


Roses are Red,
Violets are Blue

I'M PREGNANT! With Baby #2

 

[Clairitek]

LC-I must have been composing my novel when you posted. Great to best that you're feeling better and that Ethan slept this weekend!

Rachel- Awesome that you're in the clear! Congrats!

 

[anchor31]

Re:

Brightspot - Congrats! It's wonderful to see you here. I'm sorry about your home troubles, I hope they get sorted out soon. I wouldn't worry about the measurements being just one day off.

LC - No u/s here until 20ish weeks, and we usually have just the one. It's just as well, I don't think I could have regular scans and resist finding out the gender!

Loads of "feel better" vibes for the sick preggos! *hugs* I'm recovering from a nasty cold, so I know how you feel.

Oh, and another PSA: If you take Lactulose for constipation, stick to a single dose for a few days before going up to two. Potent stuff.

 

[mia1181]

Re:

Pancake- Oh you didn't scare me and your post wasn't insensitive at all! Thank you so much for sharing about your father. It does sound like my mom's is a bit different (slow-growing) but I am curious about other people's experience with this since I feel like I have no idea what to expect. That is so great that your baby was easy going though! Yeah my parents are kind of a lot of drama and this news has kind of increased family drama so I'm just trying to stay out of it all. Thanks for your comments on my brother and SIL. He has been "liking" and commenting on pics of my DD on FB so I don't think they are the type to feel resentful of others but I feel guilty. I think I may be projecting how I would feel in their shoes and want to be careful for their sake. I don't know any Hugos or Julians and I think they are both great names!

My MS is also coming and going. When it's gone I feel like I am fine without meds but once it comes back, I curse myself for not having them in case! I think tomorrow I am going to get a scrip whether I'm having a good day or not. I hear you on the tummy showing. I get so bloated in the evening that I look 4 months pregnant!

LC- Sorry about the lack of sleep from E! Has he sorted it out? I don't think we will tell DD too much about the baby because she will only be 17 months old when the baby comes. So E will be 2.5ish? I think he will be a little more aware at that age. I don't have personal experience, except my work with young children, but I would say hold off until you are showing and then you can start with talking about the belly. Introduce him to all the gear as you start to get it all out and set up and bring it up when you see babies around or dolls. Be casual about it. At that age they are so self-centered it really won't make sense but once the baby comes he will be like "oh that's what they have been talking about!" Sorta... really when the baby comes he's gonna be like "okay how is this going to affect ME?" And that's going to be his top concern so just make sure you have a plan in place for easing him into this new life with a baby.

Anchor- I LOLed at your BIL! Yeah kids are tough for different reasons at any age but newborns are clearly the most difficult because of the sleep deprivation! I have a feeling his girlfriend is going to feel like she is starting over because I'm sure she won't remember everything. I've only been not pregnant for 11 months and I already forgot so much about what I did when I was pregnant the first time! Congrats on that heartbeat! Yay for getting to announce to everyone!

tbaus- Congrats on being in the 2nd trimester (right? I know some ppl say 14 weeks?) and having great blood test and NT scan results! Yay!

Bright!- Welcome! I definitely wouldn't worry about the dating being a couple of days off. Besides, measurement error which is something crazy like +/- 4 or 5 days, babies tend to have little growth spurts so they could be behind one days and then 3 days ahead the next. As you get further along the dating becomes less and less accurate too so keep that in mind! So sorry about the flood! It's probably a good time to make some decisions on where "home" will be for your little family, so I'm sure it will all work out in the end! I moved when I was hugely pregnant last year and it was very difficult because I couldn't physically accomplish everything that I wanted so I say the sooner in your pregnancy the better!

Clairitek- I don't think your idea for approaching your birth "plan" is naive at all. It sounds like the best attitude. You sound like you are going to stay open-minded but have an idea of things you'd like to avoid (love that word as opposed to using absolutes like "absolutely no induction, no drugs, etc..."). You never really know what you are going to get so the best attitude is to learn about it all and then have ideas about what you'd ideally want. I swore I would never take narcotics because there is a small effect on the baby and I figured I'd just go right to the epi if necessary. Well 18 or so hours into my labor, I went with them because I was managing well without the epi and I knew that a little rest would increase my chances of continuing to labor without it. There are so many different scenarios that come up and decisions to be made, that a birth plan comprised of absolutes will go out the window almost immediately. I'm sure you'll be just fine if you have a rough idea of what you want, knowledge on what factors are likely to increase your chances of getting what you want, and then flexibility to adjust when things don't exactly how you pictured them. That is my PSA for first time moms! Oh, that and tell yourself you will go to 42 weeks! I tried to do that but my stupid doctor started telling me I'd definitely be early and I wasn't!

I wouldn't worry too much about the ease of collapsing your stroller because you will get used to it after doing it a million times. My stroller doesn't fold with one hand, but I can still do it while holding the baby and then I'm still stuck with the problem of lifting it into the car (which I can't do with one hand). We love our stroller, but now I'm trying to decide if we should get a double or what!

MRK- Haha well I think I got away without maternity pants because I carried very high! I used the Bella Band for a little in the beginning when my uterus was still low but once it moved above my pelvic bones I was fine with low rise jeans because they fit under my massive belly. I gained 25-30 or whatever the recommended is, and my stomach was so far out it was crazy, but it was high. Cute poem! I'd steal it but we prob won't announce to anyone until at least next week.



AFM, My progesterone is still on the low side of normal. The NP called and said that it is "stable" however since I have a history of low progesterone they want to be safe and I have to use the icky disgusting horrible suppositories 2x a day again! Oh well! DH feels strongly that we should "do everything the same as with DD" so he's happy . The good new is that she said whenever they prescribe progesterone they need to check and see if the pregnancy is "healthy enough to prolong" so I get to go for an ultrasound next week! Hopefully we will see a heartbeat in there!

We have friends visiting at Disneyland and one of them is a doula and I spilled the beans to her and we talked about my plans for this birth. I am excited that I've made a decision on trying for a VBAC. I really weighed the planned c-section versus the VBAC with her and I really think there are a lot of benefits to going with the c-section, but I just can't get past how much easier it will be to care for my DD while recovering from a vaginal delivery. So I decided to have a modest plan in place to try for the VBAC. The conditions that probably made my cervix swells up last time were that my daughter was 9lbs and sunny side up. So I think IF the stars align, AND my baby is smaller (maybe if I go into labor naturally a little earlier or she is measuring smaller), and presenting the right way I will try for the VBAC. Last time I KNEW my baby was facing the wrong way. She always was! I could feel her legs and arms punching out when they should have been toward my back. If that happens again I will go to the c-section. So we will see. I just feel great that we explored all options and I have a plan in place to give it a shot. I'm thinking my MIL will probably come stay with us again so if we have to go section route I'll have help and the recovery will be manageable so we will have a plan B in place.

5w1d
Beta#1(9dpo): hcg- 21 prog- 11.4
Beta#2(15dpo): hcg-697 prog- 12.5
Beta#3(18dpo): hcg- 4,303 prog- 11.3
U/S 2/20/14
DD: 10/13/14

 

[tbaus]

Re:

I have a few pages to catch up on!

pancake I was 23/24 I think when we went to Croatia, we were on one of those annoying party ships (but a more tame one than some of the others, ours was made up of only couples). It was truly one of the most beautiful places and I can't wait to go back. Interesting you say you were out of breath while travelling there, that is something I am worried about. We had a trip booked to Europe for May this year, but now I am thinking I will be almost 6 months pregnant and I don't know how I will cope. DH and I love just walking and getting lost in new cities, we usually clock around 6 hours a day of pure walking when we travel. I don't think I will be capable of that this time around!

I'm sorry to hear the MS has finally struck you, but so glad to hear the medication is working it's magic.

mia I did end up using the same photographer! We got some great shots and I have never regretted our decision. I'm sorry to hear about your mum and brother/SIL. Someone told me today that during sad times there is always one bright light to look towards. We went through something similar late last year, DH's grandma got an infection just before Christmas, and passed away on Christmas Eve. I truly think our good news is what got MIL through the next few days- she saw it as something to look forward to; and even though I was only six weeks at the time, most of the family found out then because it was good to have some good news going around. Your pee cup story made me laugh! And yay for an early ultrasound. I hope you get to hear the heartbeat.

lliang_chi I hope you find a house that you love soon! Good on you for cycling to work, I've done absolutely nothing since starting work again last week.

bibiloves Sorry to hear you have a cold. It is summer over here and I have been battling with hayfever...I can just imagine how miserable I would be having a cold!

Clairitek I'll start moving over to the other thread if you do Congrats on finding a daycare! And yes, seeing the baby move was very cool. I think that was when it finally sunk in for both DH and I.

anchor Woops! Must add kegel exercises to my to do list. Ahhh, isn't pregnancy fun sometimes?? Glad the constipation issues have cleared up, I might need to sort myself out soon too...

ello Sounds like you got all the typical pregnancy symptoms! I'm sorry about the bad tempered doctor, and you are doing very well so far without any further testing. I guess we just read so much on here that all of the extra testing starts to sound normal.


missrachelk Yay for doubling numbers! I'm also noticing my stomach is bigger/bloated in the afternoon, and then I wake up in the morning and I'm back to nothing.

Hi to anyone else I missed. I'm sorry, not feeling my best today but I wanted to try and catch up before i get too behind.

AFM, not much has changed since my last update. I've had a headache on and off for 3 days now, last night I finally gave in and took some paracetemol before bed. Woke up this morning and my head was still pounding. I think it may be because I am spending more time at the computer at work, so it could be a combination of bad posture/eye strain. Dh was super cute at the scan, and the whole day after. Every time the baby moved on the screen he would squeeze my hand so tight. And for the rest of the day he would randomly stop what he was doing and say "Tbaus! We're having a baby!"

We are slowly getting around to telling people. It is exciting to finally say it out aloud, but I have been surprised at how many people have outright asked if it was planned or not! Even thought it was, I find that really rude for some reason so I just say "We couldn't be happier." Is it just me, or is that not really anyone else's business? I've never thought to ask anybody if it was a planned pregnancy when they announce. But then again maybe I'm in the minority because I have been asked that question A LOT!

 

[missrachelk]

Re:

@ mia I believe there's a website called 'spinning babies' that has a lot of info about strategies to help turn LO into more favorable positioning. Here's hoping you get to go for your VBAC!

I know when I went to a meet and greet with my midwives practice with dd, one doula who I was speaking to really emphasized trying NOT to cross your legs. Apparently it creates 'imbalance' in your pelvis (makes sense to me) and that can lead to tighter muscles and ligaments on one side and therefore can possibly make it harder for baby to get into the right position. It also helps my back to try to keep both feet on the floor, no matter how much a habit I have to cross my legs. That's my preggo PSA of the day.

My first pair of pants came and they're fabulous. I think I have 4-5 more on the way. At the very least I hope not the be in the situation I was last time postpartum where NOTHING fit, and the seasons changed and all of my summer maternity clothes that did fit were inappropriate.

I'm definitely starting to feel 'iffy' sometimes, but it's definitely different than how I felt with dd. I'm just holding my breath to see if time will kick it in or if things will be really different this time. My actual stomach aches more often than feels queasy, and I have the general malaise feeling of a hangover more than actual nausea. Today was the first day I was really really tired, but dd had a rough night and woke up ridiculously early. I think that factor (older child) will definitely make this pregnancy VERY different. No more afternoons with my feet up!

We're snowed in here in ATL, I hope everyone else is faring well. This has been a crazy winter for us! Temps in the single digits and this is our 2nd major snow event! It stinks because I really am unprepared. Don't have boots or salt for my driveway or a snow shovel or anything. Oh well, I don't think I have to go to work until Friday.

Everyone is keeps saying 'the first person that complains it's too hot this summer, I'm going to slap them' HA!


We've decided to get DD a 'big sister' shirt and see how long it takes my parents and my in laws to notice it before we actually give them the news : ) There are some super cute ones on etsy, I think I might get her name on it too : ) : )