Week of 3/21 Random thoughts and questions

riveridgional

So, I figured I'd start this as a weekly thread, so we can have more communication between everyone in different trimesters. Also, sometimes we have questions that could be better answered from a larger audience and we may not want to start a whole discussion.

So, feel free to post any random thoughts, questions, feelings, fears, etc. here! If it takes off, I'll keep doing this every week until closer to/when I deliver!

riveridgional

First, I just want to say, I'm really happy this board has become more active. I recognize so many of you from the IF board and either cheered you on as you provided me hope when I was still in the IF board or I was lurking to see you obtain success! I'm glad to be able to tune in to your pregnancy journey! I'm also looking forward to getting to know the other ladies who came from other boards like secondary IF.

I'll also add a few questions:

(1) anyone experiencing sciata pain? I've been having it the last few weeks, but it seems kinda early to me. I'm 20weeks, 3 days today and not showing too much. Any tips to relieve the pain? Do you think a chiropractor would help? I've never been to one before.

(2) would anyone be interested in this board having a few more get to know you posts or a hump day bump day? If so, feel free to share ideas!

KidShrink

Great idea @riveridgional ! It's true that there's little interaction outside of the trimester boards, and now themat there's a lot more of us, it'd be nice to have a more active board where we all feel comfortable sharing and asking, no matter where we're at in our pregnancies. Having been through IF does make our experience a little different I think. I would also love a 'Parents after IF' board...unless that already exists? Other posts (HDBD, etc.) could be fun too. 

As for your chiro question, I'd say it's likely a good idea. Being pregnant, our body releases relaxin to make our joints more flexible, but that can lead to some issues too. I've had pretty bad hip/lower back pain in the past few weeks, but it's not getting considerably better thanks to the chiro I've been seeing. Just make sure to see someone who is Webster certified. You can find more info online as to what that entails, but essentially, they work on the sacrum/hips, and also on the round ligaments in the front to insure that your pelvis is nicely aligned to create enough space for baby (it apparently can help to have a breech baby turn) while in, and getting out. No need to be afraid of chiropractors (one of my best friend is a chiro, but we now live too far for her to treat me), and it's apparently been shown to help with labour, making it shorter (we'll see how that goes in a few weeks!).

Sleeping with some sort of pillow between your legs is a must, and I've now had to add a wedge to support my bump as this was contributing to the problem (I'm still lucky enough to have an hourglass shape, but that means that when lying on my side, my belly is sort of dangling in the air, and therefore pulling on my hips/lower back muscles). 

tvh1982

Great idea!
No tips on the pain, as my snowflake is only millimetres big and not giving me any discomfort yet.

kennelchick

I love this board and would love more discussions. I think k more interactions between trimesters would be wonderful, to give advice to those of us still early in this journey. 

I'm sorry, all my snowflake does so far is make me puke and sleep. A lot. I'm at work right now, (I'm a nurse in an intensive care unit) and even the dirty stretcher in the corner looks cozy.....

riveridgional

@kennelchick Exactly! And, oh yes the fatigue of the first trimester! It does get better though! There were a few times I was walking to the bathroom at work and think how I was so tired I could just fall asleep walking there. 2:30 - 3:00 was not my friend! 

KidShrink

Oh first tri fatigue and nausea! I may have slept on the floor of my office between clients on a few occasions...I tried again recently, but unfortunately, the floor isn't quite as comfortable with a belly It's all worth it in the end though  

mskeenan

Hi ladies! Love the idea of this thread. Although I have no CLUE what to expect later down the road (or even what to expect at this point, really) it's kind of nice to get an idea of  what to expect. I didn't even know what sciatica was until I recently joined a prenatal yoga class. Many women in the room were talking about it so I had to go look it up. As for prenatal yoga, I really like it even though I'm so early in my pregnancy. I started it while I was going through IVF. I highly recommend for those who haven't tried it out!

As for the moment I'm just trying to stay calm before my first US tomorrow. I should be 5 weeks, 3 days if the online calculator I used was correct. I've just been feeling very tired (not complaining). I know its really too early for me to be feeling very different. I did get sick at work today. I am a pediatric speech therapist and I see children in their homes. I was at one client's house that smells very heavily of cigarette smoke. The smell is usually just annoying to me but today I started gagging while in the kid's home! I tried to breathe and thank god I did not barf while with the client. I made it to my car and grabbed a cup in my cup holder and lost it I felt queasy for the next hour then back to normal. So weird! Not sure if that was pregnancy related!

Anyways I hope everyone is doing well and having a good week so far! I love that so many of us have been so active on this board! When I used to check this board awhile back it looked so dead!

Minnie1155

I think this is a great idea! I'm not always that active on the boards, I don't get a lot of time to get on the Internet, but I've found it so helpful to connect with others who have experienced infertility. 

@KidShrink interesting info on how pregnancy can effect our joints. I tend to have chronic back pain so I'm going to have to stay on top of it. I may have to check a chiro out, I never have but sounds like there could be lots of benefits!

@mskeenan good to know you're enjoying prenatal yoga. I just found a place near me that does a bunch of different prenatal exercise classes so I was thinking of checking it out!

I have my first OB tomorrow, I feel like it's going to be strange not going to my RE I loved everyone in that office but I'm hoping this will turn out to be the same.  Did anyone get an u/s at their first OB appt? The paperwork they sent me doesn't sound like they are going to do one but I am really hoping they will!

emsmama15

@riveridgional - my sister is a chiropractor and was admonishing me the other day to get to one before things got too bad.    She's offered to come stay with me after I deliver to adjust me and the babies and I'm totally going to take her up on it.  These little ones are probably going to wreak havoc on my body.  But, it's a great idea to see someone now.  They can help you prepare for labor.  

As for other threads, I'd be up for those.  

ETA: Let me know if you want me to post something weekly.  

PhloriDaMom

So I have a question that feels weird to ask, but I just can't stop wondering about it....

Where do the other embryos go?

I mean, I had 4 transferred. Today we found out we have one healthy-so-far little bean (yipee!) I was so overwhelmed with a mix of feelings that I forgot to ask the RE: What happened to the other three? I had no spotting, so it's a big mystery to me!

Anyone know what happens to the ones that don't take?

riveridgional

@mskeenan Do you recall if the girls in your prenatal yoga class stated that the yoga helped with the sciatica? I've been wanted to check out a class, so that would definitely be added motivation to do it! 

@Minnie1155 My OB did things a  bit differently. I had an ultrasound at their office the week before my appointment. At my OB appointment, it was pretty quick. I mainly just answered medical history questions. I didn't have a pap smear, but I've heard it is relatively normal. Depending on how far along you will be and the preferences of your OB, he/she may try to find the heartbeat with a doppler.

@emsmama15 I think I will get an appointment with a chiropractor. I had no idea it also had labor advantages pointed out by @KidShrink. Lucky you to have your sister!

@Phloridamom if one initially took but didn't make it, it can just be absorbed by your body. If it didn't take at all, I believe it either disintegrates or your body just expels it.

mskeenan

@phloridamom I wish I had an answer for you ! I've wondered the exact same thing . My guess would be that if they don't implant they just  get absorbed . I think you would only bleed if they were lost at a later stage . I transferred two and think I'm only pregnant with one (I'll find out today though ) . 

@riveridgional I'm not sure how much it helps for sciatica but i do remember the teacher announcing when we were doing stretches and poses that were supposed to help with it ! I don't recall what they were.. But I'm sure they are worth a shot ! I found this on YouTube .. I bet there are a bunch more 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gopPS-mfsFk

mechelita44

I love this board as well! Thanks @riveridgional or starting! It's really nice to see some familiar names here too along with some new folks I haven't had a chance to chat with  

I started to experience some minor sciatica pain right around 19 weeks (I'm 23 weeks now) but my doctor actually associated it with a bug since I was having some stomach issues as well -- that lasted for about a week and a half. Long, hot showers where I literally got on my hands and knees and let the water run directly onto my back helped temporarily, along with on/off ice and heat. Then I started doing prenatal yoga (no class, just at home via YouTube) and that has helped tremendously with my so called sciatica pain but also some minor lower back pain I was having.

Binnie505

I have no suggestion for all the ladies that have back pain issue but I hope that it gets better for all of u.

I do have a random question. Is anyone planning to use a changing tray on top of the dresser to make it a dresser+changing tray combo? The changing pad goes in the changing tray. My question is do you attach the changing tray to the dresser? And if yes how??
TIA.

Piperella

My friend had a dresser and a changing pad, and never used the changing tray.  I've seen some where I think the changing tray attached in the back.  could you put felt pads on the bottom of the changing tray so it didn't damage the dresser?  Hopefully another more experienced mom will chime in!

tvh1982

Here they don't put a changing tray on the dresser, just the changing pad with anti slippery (or however you call that in English) so no help here

KidShrink

What we got is a Keekaroo Peanut Changer that we just put on top of the dresser as it's a bit too big to fit in a changing tray. I may need to look into something anti slippery for when baby gets older and wiggles more, but because of the material it's made from, it doesn't really move right now. What's also nice about it is that there's no covers to change on it, so when there's an accident, you just wipe it down. It's a bit more pricey that a traditional change pad, but when you consider that you don't need to get 2-3 covers for it, it sort of comes down to the same price. It also comes in a range of pretty colors. 

Binnie505

@KidShrink I might look into that as that looks interesting. I guess the anti slippery mat of some sort might be the best for the regular tray. I might also just stop by the buy buy baby store and ask them how do the tray get attached when we buy it separately from dresser.

mechelita44

We registered for the Keekaroo too. We liked that we didn't need to get different sets of changing pad covers and I tested it out on top of a dresser at buybuy BABY and it stay put really well. I also read somewhere regarding traditional changing pads on dressers -- there was a suggestion to use that drawer liner stuff that is sort of sticky / keeps your spoons and such in place. I haven't seen it in practice but it seemed like an interesting concept.