Pregnancy Check-in (June 2)

KH826

Good Morningg Pregnant Peeps & Partners!

Here is our current EDD roster for this check-in:
1. @KH826: June 3 girl
2. @redrockmama: July 11 singleton
3. @ball.and.chain July 13 boy
4. @belovedvirgo0209 July 14 girl
5. @Kleigh1: July 26 girl
6. @2mamazinseattle: Aug 20
7. @flygirl1228: Aug 21 girl/boy twins
8. @Trisholio and @trisholiosboi: Sept 2 girl
9. @shelly2314: Oct 2 twins
10. @manada and @healz413: Oct 29 twins
11. @only1leia: Oct 31 singleton
12. @pauljl: Nov 2 singleton
13. @byrrd: Nov 3 singleton
14. @Mazere: Nov 25 singleton
15. @rkbo: Dec 10 singleton
16. @doodah1013 & @firstcomeslove2013: Dec 12 singleton
17. @RobertJane33: Jan 8 twins
18. @twobrooklynmoms: Jan 10 singleton
19. @jjlvscg: Jan 10 singleton
20. @cageymack: Jan 22

If you have a recent BFP (and/or if you are new to the board), and you would like to be added to this list, please just let me know your EDD and other info if available! I think I have added all the people who asked to be added last week… I hope! Thanks

So how is everyone doing/feeling? How is pregnancy treating you and/or your partner this week? Any updates to share?

QOTW: Are you keeping a pregnancy journal? Do you plan to have a baby book for your LO that will chronicle the main events of your pregnancy? How about weekly bump photos? Let us know what if anything you and your partner are doing to document pregnancy milestones!

KH826

Yep, still pregnant. Due date is tomorrow.

We spent Friday in L&D.
I called my Dr's office after I had 8 contractions in one hour and my back pain and pressure I was feeling was increasing. I was also very short of breath. Dr's office sent me to L&D, and the midwife I saw there said I was stuck on the brink between early and active labor. Until I was in active labor they could do nothing for me. They monitored baby for a while and determined that all looked good. The "P word" pitocin, was thrown around a few times, but I didn't bite. Finally, after some discussion they decided to send me home. Oh, and I was still 3 cm dilated when they checked.
I was a mess. I cried at the hospital and the whole way home. Just so uncomfortable and exhausted and frustrated with no end in sight.
This weekend was more of the same, but last night was the worse.
Today I feel kind of at the end of my rope.
I have an OB appointment at 1:15 today. I will be so glad to see my own Dr.
I feel like if the option to admit me and start me on pitocin is discussed again, I might just take it. I fear my body just can't progress to active labor on its own without help.
I know I am not set my due date yet, and most 1st babies are late (if one more person tells me that I might just scream!), but 5 days of early labor is enough for me, and I already feel like I have no energy left for the main event.

Anyway, I know that it sounds like I am complaining.
And in someways I guess I am...
I truly don't mean to.
I am grateful to be pregnant and have this experience. I am grateful to have a healthy, full-term baby in there. I am grateful for the support of our families. I am grateful for the support of this community.
But I am tired and super uncomfy and emotionally spent/frustrated...and mostly just ready to meet our daughter.
So thank you for indulging my whiny update. I thought about just not posting today and letting someone else post this check-in, but that didn't feel right.
This is where I am in my journey, and I will share the good, the bad and the whiny

QOTW: I have not kept a pregnancy journal. We do have a baby book that my MIL bought us (she ordered it custom online for a family with 2 moms). We haven't started filling it out yet, but we plan to after LO arrives. There is a pregnancy section, and we will just do our best to recall details to fill in that part. We have been taking weekly bump photos. Sometimes just me iPhone selfies, sometimes actual photos my wife takes, and sometimes photos of my wife and I together with the bump! Not sure what we are going to do with all of them yet -- but something!

trisholio

KH826 try not to feel bad about being honest.  This entire process is difficult, we all break down at different stages.  I hope your little girl comes soon and without causing you too many more meltdowns :-)  Lots of hugs and positives vibes being sent your way.

I will be 27 weeks tomorrow.  It seems like the middle part of my pregnancy has been creeping by, but at the same time I am still a bit nervous to handle three littles ones.  So in that aspect I am ok with the baby staying inside for awhile longer.

I think being pregnant has made me more sensitive to the sun.  I spent a few hours at the pool yesterday (kid free thank you to my wonderful wife).  My arms got really burned!!  I am miserable today and got no sleep last night.  Normally I would lay on my back, but I can't sleep like that anymore due to being pregnant.  It really sucks!

QOTD:  I have a pregnancy book that I try to keep updated.  Sometimes I do a few weeks at a time and I need to add some pictures to the updates, but I am trying to stay on top of it.

doodah1013

Good morning!
@KH826‌ It sounds like a really frustrating place to be and you can vent all you need to! I am sure once many of reach that stage we may feel the exact same way. Here's hoping to a natural start to labor or a peaceful decision for the "p word"

We are hopping along. One more week of first trimester. What?!?! Still often nauseous, but not nearly as bad, which is nice. I am getting more energy and for that I am grateful. @firstcomeslove2013‌ has started her induced lactation protocol so our house is a full on hormone fest.

QOTD: I think because of our struggle to get/stay pregnant we are scared to do any kind of milestone recording yet... Maybe when we are out of the first trimester we will be more open to it. I do know we want to so some really ridiculous "Manternity" photos where I dress up like the stereotypical manly things, but am extremely pregnant... Might as well take this super strange opportunity to make some Queer Art, right?

wishiwaspreggo

*lurking*

@KH826 I've been stalking you to see how you're doing Even though I'm less active on this board I'm still checking in to see which babies are being born!  Don't feel bad about complaining.  You have a fully baked baby in your ute and you must feel horrible.  I don't blame you at all for being unhappy with 5 days of labor (yikes!) and being impatient to just have it over and done with.

I think pregnancy is fun and exciting for the first 6-8 months, but once you're in that home stretch most women are at their wits' end and can't take it anymore.

For your sake, I really hope you labor in earnest soon and meet your sweet daughter!  Good luck!!

ball.and.chain

@KH826, it's totally normal at this point to be frustrated and uncomfortable and impatient and unhappy! I will keep everything crossed that things progress soon, whether naturally or with intervention. I'm glad you're seeing your doctor today.

@trisholio, I think that may be true about sunburn. I recall @herbabymama scorching her legs once when she was pregnant. And I ended up with a (mildly) sunburned upper chest on Friday just from wearing a scoop-neck t-shirt in the car on our trip to NJ.

@doodah 1013, I LOVE the idea of the "manternity" photo shoot! PLEASE post those photos when you take them.

AFM, I am 34w1d. Whoa. Even though everyone says first babies are typically late, I feel like I have been inundated lately by people telling me about how they went into labor 2-4w early with their first, which is totally overwhelming me. I am NOT ready to have a baby in 2-4 weeks, and I feel like with my luck, if I am not ready for him to come early, he will come early. The nursery isn't even getting wallpapered for almost 2 weeks, and then we have to move furniture into it and put clothes and things away. I feel really behind. I mean, we have our infant car seat, plenty of clothes, two boobs (technically we have four but only two of them have milk), and a lot of other stuff, so we would make it work if he came today. I just want everything organized so we are actually starting off in a good place when the baby hurricane hits. But, as my MIL would say, people in hell want ice water. We'll do our best and hopefully he'll be right on time or around there and we'll be at least logistically prepared for him. I did tell my wife when we unpack our bags from our trip this weekend, we should start putting hospital essentials right into them.

Our NJ shower was this weekend and it was lovely. The food was delicious and everyone was so happy for us. We got a lot of loot but not so much that we couldn't fit it into the car to drive home, which we were worried about. We did get a lot of newborn/0-3m/3-6m clothes, maybe more than we can use, so after our MA shower (this coming weekend), I plan on taking inventory and seeing what I can exchange for larger sizes. I think I also mentioned we had registered for the wrong stroller and someone bought it for us -- so we took it back to BRU while we were in NJ and because we had a coupon, we were able to upgrade to the correct stroller (a $40 difference) for $2.01! Happy to have that straightened out.

Tonight I have my breastfeeding class. I hope it's helpful because I have to go straight from work and it doesn't end until 9, which is going to be a looong day especially after a tiring weekend away. I'm kind of regretting signing up but it's already paid for, so I'll go. In good news, I tried a different commute today (express bus rather than subway) which shaved about half an hour (one way) off of my travel time! This is going to make daycare drop-off and pick-up a LOT easier.

Physically, I feel OK. Heartburn is essentially non-existent now that I am taking Zantac regularly. Carpal tunnel isn't getting any better and is frustrating, but I can live with it for 6 weeks or so. I've had some swelling in my hands and feet but I am just doing my best to stay hydrated, elevate my feet when I can, and wear comfortable shoes. I am tired and slow and a bit stiff, but not too uncomfortable.

QOTW: We haven't been doing regular updates or photos. We have been meaning to get a baby book and like KH, will just do our best to remember the pg stuff. My MIL gave us a baby book at the shower, but it's all about mommy and daddy so we'll be returning it for one that is more flexible (we picked out one from Hallmark that has extra pages you can swap out to customize).

Manada

@KH826‌ - hang in there! And please don't feel bad about venting! I imagine the waiting on edge feeling is touch emotionally and physically when you're not sure if you should be gearig up or relaxing. An unsolicited tip: if you're nervous about pitocin for induction you can totally ask them to ramp it up super slowly - like waiting an hour between to increase dose increments. This may help you get the labour support you need while also maintaining some feeling of control over the process. This is something I was reading about for our own birth plan.

My update:
18w5d today and super grateful to be nearly another week closer to the First goal. I have developed a viral infection in my mouth that leaves me suffering super painful ulcers on my palate, so I just got back from the Dr and have hope that the script she gave me for an antiviral helps tremendously. My Tylenol dose just kicked in though so I have about an hour or so to eat and be productive before it knocks me out again.

Otherwise. Bedrest is just bumping along.

QOTW: we aren't keeping a journal, though maybe we should be. We are doing weekly bump shots though. I am not sure what to do with baby books for twins so I haven't really thought about it much. Someone recently told me to write things down though because there's no way you will remember things like milestones and things with twins as the first year is largely a blur....

2MamazInSeattle

@KH826 - Hang in there - I can only imagine the exhaustion and anxiety. Thinking of you!
@doodah1013 - OMG MANternity photos! Yes, please and thank you! I love the idea of a coffee table book called "Man Bump" or something... hm...


I'm 28w5d, EDD 8/20.

Last week we had an appointment which turned out to just be a fluid check u/s and a check-in with the nurse practitioner and also the diabetes educator. The funny thing was Seattle had a traffic meltdown that day - they had to close I-5 and it literally took us over 1 hour to get to our appointment (normally 15 minutes). What terrified me was that this is our path to L&D. I told J if this happened while I was in labor, we're going to the closer hospital!!

Anyhow, the ultrasound showed my fluids were back to normal! This was great news. Also, we got a surprise 3D look at the baby and she is super cute, despite the creepy-baby-floating-on-the-ocean-floor look of the picture. I was so shocked that *there is a real baby in there*!!! It was cool but we were both taken aback by it! She's still breach - now transverse (last time, frank)... but she has plenty of time to turn. Otherwise, I got a prescription for Zantac as I am downing my calcium intake post-kidney stone made of calcium (Tums = calcium) but I'm not taking it yet as heartburn isn't all that bad (so far). We bumped my insulin from 10 to 12 units to help with my morning sugars, but they are still higher than ideal. I'll call tomorrow on that. Daytime sugars are great - even after two little 'cheats' this week! Oh, and somehow I lost two pounds. This surprised me, but it is what it is - I've gained a total of 3 pounds since BFP. Obviously I had some reserves . I'm supposed to start kick counting now, but she's not the most active baby so I've been stalling. But, I am going to get moving on it today. It's hard to have that much time to focus on it!

Our next appointment is on June 19th at 32w for a growth ultrasound and doctor visit. Then - get this - they require 2x/week NSTs after 32w!! UG! We were shocked. But it's ok - it's 8 weeks of my life and we'll be fine, but sheesh. That is a lot of trips to the doctor. (And for those who know Seattle - I live in Fremont and doc is on first hill...not the ideal commute!).

In semi-unrelated news, I went to the hand doctor about my wrist. I was SO bad and not pregnancy related, but I learned that they do give safe steroid shots for pregnancy carpel tunnel, and in my case, gave me a smaller dose of that shot in the tendon that I'd damaged. Talk about near-instant relief!! It's still a little tentative, but I can brush my hair and use a knife and go to yoga again! YAY!

We painted the nursery on Memorial Day and I'm waiting on a few finishing touches as well as the delivery of the recliner/rocker. I'm working on lighting as well. Still aiming to have it done by my mid-June birthday! Our shower invitations were sent out this weekend which is exciting!

Otherwise, we are just plugging away! I will be 30 weeks on my birthday - 75% there! I'm back to yoga 2x a week plus getting in my Greenlake (3-mile) walks 3 or so times a week. I feel like I'm slowing down, but still at it. No swelling, back or hip pain yet! Please stay away!

QOTW: Funny you asked this! So perhaps you've all noticed I write a lot of details in my pregnancy updates? Well that is because I'm using them to make Simone's baby book - along with selfie bump shots, some life pics, etc. - I'm building one of those online hardback books. I plan to do a section on her donors, and just our life too. The house, cats, chickens (even though they are gone now), vacations we took while pregnant - all interspersed to hopefully create a nice pregnancy book for her. J also bought me a locally made journal we'll fill in. Last pregnancy I blogged and it was great, but I was just so scared to start another blog and lose the baby again, I couldn't get myself to do it - so that's when I thought using these check-ins, which I write mostly like blog posts - would be a great way to do it without fear!

KH826

First of all, thank you all for your kind words and support! You are all amazing! Secondly, I have an update! I just came from the OB and I am 4.5 cm dilated and 70% effaced! My dr took one look at me and said you are in labor, and we need to help move this along for you. She stripped my membranes (ouch!) and sent us home to see if anything happens overnight. If I am still pregnant in the morning (and not already at the hospital), we have an appointment to go back to the OB's office tomorrow at 8:15am and she will admit me to L&D and start me on the lowest dose of pitocin. She thinks I just need a little push to "get me over the hump" and she said she refuses to let me go one more full day feeling the way I have been. I am so relieved! I feel a little worse physically, but a million times better emotionally. Looks like odds are that we are having a baby tomorrow (on her due date!). I will keep everyone updated when I can Oh, and @firstcomeslove2013 - get ready to take over the pregnancy check-in starting next week. This chick is graduating! ;-)

redrockmama

Hi all. 

34w3d here and nothing too exciting happening. Our midwife just got back from Kenya so we can schedule our c-section. I talked to her this morning and she is just going to come with us to our MFM appointment a week from today. She wants us to schedule the surgery so that she can be with us the whole day, which would be awesome. 

Our friend and my mom threw us a shower over the weekend. It was a lot of fun and we got showered with lots of love and gifts. Bubbles is one lucky baby. My mom lied and said she wasn't making us anything for the baby and surprised us with an adorable rainbow/animal blanket. I will have to PIP it later this week. 

I can't believe we are having a baby in 2 1/2 weeks. I almost feel ready though

QOTW: I do have a pregnancy journal that I bought and have been writing it throughout the pregnancy. The question prompts are kind of fun. I also have a blog that I've kept somewhat up to date. We take belly photos every week (usually) and I'm making a slideshow/video out of them. We'll see how it turns out. We don't have a baby book yet but we will be finding one and keeping track of milestones and mementos in it for the babe. 

CageyMack

Hi all! I'm so happy for all the growing babies and hearing how you all are doing. I like hearing it all. Our update: had our first ultrasound at 6w3d! There is one baby in there, which is amazingly elating and also a little bittersweet. It is frightening to see how the fractions went: 19 eggs. 8 mature. 4 fertilized. 2 to transfer. 1 little heartbeat. As my wife says, "And then there was one." We are so happy. 120 bpm, and DW will go back in a week for another check. We are feeling lucky beyond words. Blissed out. Going to look at double strollers now.

firstcomeslove2013

@KH826‌ this is amazing news!!! I am so excited for you!!! I am ready to take over!!! I'll have to start posting early (you are such an early bird!!!) but I am excited you are graduating!!! Can't wait to meet your little one!!!

shelly2314

Today was our monthly visit with our MFM Dr. Elise is weighing in at 1.3 lbs and Olivia is weighing in at 1.1 lbs. We are currently 22w4d. They are extremely active and giving me severe heartburn/indigestion but it was great to see them moving. Elise was constantly photo-bombing Olivia's ultrasound so we got a good laugh over that: every time we would try to get a good picture of Olivia, in would creep Elise's foot to distract! LOL

 

@KH826...it is venting and you deserve it. We are here for each other: good, bad, ugly.  And I am sure that it will help us to know someone else has gone through this when it is our time so we don't feel so crazy.

@trisholio...In my first trimester I got a severe case of sun burn when I only spent 45 minutes to an hour out in the sun. Fast forward 3 more weeks, I went to watch a softball tournament-put on sunscreen SEVERAL times and stayed in the shade and somehow ended up with sun poisoning.  I can't be out in the sun for longer than 30 minutes without over-heating. SIGH---I live in Florida

 

QOTW---we are not doing any journal of any sort. I am starting to gather crafts and papers for the making of their baby books. We decided to do one for each baby so they could have their own. I am gathering items now to plan and will add notes on the pages

rkbo

Good afternoon everyone!! 

Today I am 12w5d.

I went in for my NT scan and Harmony blood draw this morning. I should get the results of my Harmony tests in about 10 days. The NT scan looked great. 

I have one day left in my first trimester and I have made it through without puking once! I'm pretty proud of myself. Its kinda weird though, every time I blow my nose, I gag. Annoying!

I haven't seen my regular Dr. since May 12 and I don't see her again till June 16th. I have my anatomy scan scheduled for July 25th. 

Here is a pic from this mornings ultrasound. Nerd is no longer a little blob, it is looking like a real person now!

shelly2314

Here is one of our sweet girls

pauljl

I'm late. Again. After an extended absence. 

I've been checking in on everyone but not posting. I could give you all of my excuses/reasons about dealing my family or just keep typing and focus on the positive .  

Everything is good at our house! We got to see our sweet baby GIRL yesterday They had a hard time seeing all the heart structures they want to see (she had her hands up in front of her chest and face) so we get to have another ultrasound in a month. I can't say I'm sad about that! 

I've been experiencing some sciatica...or posterior pelvic pain. I haven't figured out the specifics of which one it is. They seem to mirror each other. The doctors aren't concerned so I'm just trying to work with it and identify patterns in the pain so I can learn to deal. Exercise/yoga seems to help as often as it makes it worse. So that's frustrating. But I have to keep healthy for baby girl regardless! She's apparently sucking up all my iron too. But I'm so obnoxiously happy that she can have it. All  

I found a cute book called From Pea to Pumpkin that is a fill in the blank pregnancy journal week by week. I enjoy it because it uses the word Partner without gender specific words. It also has places for journaling and gluing in pictures. It wasn't expensive (about 15 dollars I think?). It approaches pregnancy with a bit of humor as well- especially applicable to my own concerns about my changing body in the first trimester. C and I have quite enjoyed it!

redrockmama

pauljl that is the same book I have! I think it's pretty fun and I liked that it used the words partner as well

trisholio

I have the same book too. It's really cute and not a ton to fill out each week.