Weekly Appointment Thread: 10.03-10.09

SandNStarsNJ

The bi-weeklys are coming to a close and some of us are moving into weekly! How's the doctor going?

SandNStarsNJ

34 week fun for me tomorrow... I'm hoping to inquire as to doctor help in using sick time that HR says is off-limit. How are 110 accrued sick days off-limit?! I mean, I did earn the time.

squish143

I have my 32 week appt tomorrow and I'll be starting my bi weekly appts after this. I assume it will just be a normal check up. Pee in a cup, blood pressure, listen to baby's heart beat, measure my belly and give me a chance for questions. It is surreal though how quickly this pregnancy is going and the reality of LO being here so soon is definitely making me stress everything I have left on my to do list. 

kvruns

SandNStarsNJ said:

34 week fun for me tomorrow... I'm hoping to inquire as to doctor help in using sick time that HR says is off-limit. How are 110 accrued sick days off-limit?! I mean, I did earn the time.

how in the world is sick time off limits? All I can think of is if they say that if you miss 3 or more days and use sick time you have to have a Dr note? Otherwise that doesn't seem right. What does your policy/handbook say about schedule/use of sick time? 

kristah2

I'm back in again on Thursday. Been weekly for a couple of weeks now. My OB is on holidays this week so it'll just be a quick visit with his replacement. And I'll get the exact date of my section booking which is sort of exciting! 

And I agee about the sick leave. Look into it and consult legal if you have to. I just had to appeal a "non-support" for my short term disability but with a good doctors note it was approved again. Hopefully a doctors note saying you need them will do the trick! Good luck! 

SandNStarsNJ

Thanks @kvruns and @kristah2 - We get 3 every year and an additional 10 that are for special circumstances. What we don't use each year goes into our bank of days to carry over, which has now brought me to 110 this year. But when asked if I would be able to use those days post-delivery, I was told I am not imply entitled to use my days, I have to have medical emergencies, which are validated by doctor's notes and would then need to be approved by the Board... so now I'm kicking myself for never having used my sick time to any real extent because I'm considering leaving at the end of the year anyway.

anne11716

Just got back from 1 of 2 appointments this week. Blood pressure was higher than even normal but honestly I feel like it was because she tested me right after she told me she was going to check if I was starting to dialate and do my swab today. At least I hope so. She said no outings and stay on strict bed rest. She thinks I'll make it one more week but probably not 2. I'm 1cm and baby is in a good position. 

MollySm

I had an appt last Friday.  It was my first bimonthly.  I gained 3 lbs (in 1.5 weeks!), but doc said it was fine and that baby had a growth spurt.  I was measuring on track, but on Friday baby was measuring 1 week ahead.  Otherwise everything looked normal and I had my flu shot.  The flu shot was much less painful than the TDAP!

tigerfish227

I've gone to weekly now and probably all on Tuesdays cause that works best for DH to be there. Tomorrow is Group B strep and my first cervical check. Eek!!!

Justpeachier13

My 35 week appt is tomorrow and then I have another one the 19th. Not sure what happens after that. I need to ask. Should DH come to these appointments? The last few I told him not to come because nothing was going on. 

MrsMaryK2016

I've got a regular appointment on Friday. I'm sure nothing interesting will happen but I'm oddly looking forward to it. I need to find out if baby is still sunny side up or if he's flipped. 

@Justpeachier13 I never have my husband go unless there is an ultrasound scheduled. Honestly, he has better things to do than watch me get weighed and have my blood pressure checked. 

When are you guys discussing your birth plans with your doctor? Mine hasn't asked and I don't know when the right time is. 

tigerfish227

@MrsMaryK2016 I brought up a few things with my OB about making a birth plan and they said that most of it will need to be communicated to the nursing staff at the hospital. The only really big thing for me is avoiding unnecessary interventions so I'm also not making a super detailed plan. I would just check with them at your next appointment and see what they have to say.

kvruns

  @mrsmaryk2016  My hospital has you do a private tour and registration and part of that includes birth plan and stuff like that. Need to schedule it in the next couple of weeks 

kmmnocal

@MrsMaryK2016 Similar to PPs response, but my doula told me it's most important that nurses and others in the room at the hospital read the plan. (Part of my plan is that anyone who touches me or witnesses the birth has to read the plan.) It's short — some bullet points on one printed page — but it's important enough that I do insist that it's read. I'm delivering at a teaching hospital and am totally down with a room full of students if they really want to watch, but I want to make sure I'm as "in control" as I can be by making my wishes known. In my case, the Dr will come in to deliver baby, and nurses can share the relevant details with her/him at that time. 

jmama1611

Had my ultrasound to check if babe is breech (midwife suspected), and babe is head down. Hooray! Thrilled baby either wasn't breech or turned. 

Regular midwife appointment later in the week. 

SandNStarsNJ

@justpeachier13 DH only comes to the 36 week for the sake of the ultrasound here... but I think it's all a matter of what he wants to see/hear/do.

atcwag

Had my 32 week appt today. Had to switch to another Dr. in the practice at my last appt because my Dr. left the area. I'm bummed, but happy with my new Dr. thus far. 
BP continues to be great, which is awesome because I was induced for gestational hypertension w/ DS. 
HR was 143 today and baby continues to be head down. 
Dr. signed my medical waiver for a health evaluation we have to do at work to determine our level of "pay-in" for insurance. I couldn't fast for the bloodwork portion, so everything was out of range and I "failed" my evaluation. She signed off on it without issue so I won't have to pay a higher premium. 
I'm due 11/27 and she is off 11/28...so I'm sure that's when baby will come. Haha. 

camcbeth

SandNStarsNJ said:

Thanks @kvruns and @kristah2 - We get 3 every year and an additional 10 that are for special circumstances. What we don't use each year goes into our bank of days to carry over, which has now brought me to 110 this year. But when asked if I would be able to use those days post-delivery, I was told I am not imply entitled to use my days, I have to have medical emergencies, which are validated by doctor's notes and would then need to be approved by the Board... so now I'm kicking myself for never having used my sick time to any real extent because I'm considering leaving at the end of the year anyway.

If you leave at the end of the year can you get paid out for some of them? Some companies do that. I also think legally you can't be denied use of your sick time. My husband had a co-worker that was caught playing poker at a bar every Wednesday night for months after calling in sick for those days, but her lawyer said she can do whatever she wants with her sick time. And she won (The company wanted to fire her for it). I don't know what your policy handbook says, but if it's not written then they shouldn't tell you how to use your time, you've earned it. With a Doctor's note can you help apply it for FMLA?

desoky01

I had my 34 week appointment yesterday. We are now at weekly appointments, and we will be going in for another growth ultrasound in 2 weeks. I can't believe how fast the time is going, yet I still feel such anticipation to finally meet little one! This appointment looked a lot like the previous ones, weight, blood pressure, fundal height, and listen to the heartbeat. 

SandNStarsNJ

camcbeth said:

*snip*

If you leave at the end of the year can you get paid out for some of them? Some companies do that. I also think legally you can't be denied use of your sick time. My husband had a co-worker that was caught playing poker at a bar every Wednesday night for months after calling in sick for those days, but her lawyer said she can do whatever she wants with her sick time. And she won (The company wanted to fire her for it). I don't know what your policy handbook says, but if it's not written then they shouldn't tell you how to use your time, you've earned it. With a Doctor's note can you help apply it for FMLA?

Thanks... I'm a teacher so FMLA is used differently as is the entitlement to my sick time, but the doctor today made it sound like I should be able to finagle a note to extend my leave so as to use my sick time.

In appointment updates, for the first time the pregnancy I did not gain weight! And trust me, I've gained PLENTY at this point.

tigerfish227

Had my group B strep swab today and they did NOT swab my butt! Got appointments set up all the way thru Oct 25th but they wouldn't do all the way to the edd in case I go early. It only would have been one more week(ish) but whatever. It's nice to know I'm set for the next couple weeks anyways.

tigerfish227

Almost forgot... They also checked my cervix(super uncomfortable but not excruciating) and I'm not at all dilated. 

LadyBugMe101

I have my 33 week appointment tomorrow, it is my second bi-weekly appointment... At what point do we normally start weekly appointments and also when do they start checking my cervix??? So many questions... I know, I know... I need to ask my doctor. Thankfully everything feels fine. 

mamahazey

I had a high risk appointment yesterday. I'm 35 weeks 4 days. Their goal is still to make it to 38 weeks. He's measuring 6lbs 8 oz... I feel like that's big but they didn't act like it was anything out of the ordinary. I have a regular ob appointment Thursday where I'll do my strep b test and non stress test. 

SandNStarsNJ

LadyBugMe101 said:

I have my 33 week appointment tomorrow, it is my second bi-weekly appointment... At what point do we normally start weekly appointments and also when do they start checking my cervix??? So many questions... I know, I know... I need to ask my doctor. Thankfully everything feels fine. 

At the practice I belong to it's 36 weeks when you start going every week and getting internals.

kvruns

SandNStarsNJ said:

LadyBugMe101 said:

I have my 33 week appointment tomorrow, it is my second bi-weekly appointment... At what point do we normally start weekly appointments and also when do they start checking my cervix??? So many questions... I know, I know... I need to ask my doctor. Thankfully everything feels fine. 

At the practice I belong to it's 36 weeks when you start going every week and getting internals.

Mine is also weekly at 36

Knottie1458416769

Depends - if u are on insulin shots they also make me come 2x week for non stress tests - so that's on top of weekly checkups 

camcbeth

SandNStarsNJ said:

Thanks... I'm a teacher so FMLA is used differently as is the entitlement to my sick time, but the doctor today made it sound like I should be able to finagle a note to extend my leave so as to use my sick time.

In appointment updates, for the first time the pregnancy I did not gain weight! And trust me, I've gained PLENTY at this point.

I'm a teacher too (well taking the year off). When you said, "board" I've dealt with one of those at a school I worked for and was super happy when I left and moved to a new school not run by a board, but by the district, and I have to say the grass was much greener. When I had my first I was with that school with the board and they do have to honor FMLA. I only had a total of 10 days built up that counted as sick and vacation at the same time. Once they were used I could have up to 3 months off, but days off were docked in my paycheck. It may vary from state to state. Something seems fishy that you can't use your days. Definitely go the Dr. note route and fight this. Good Luck!

lenacoilbov

My OBGYN is great, supportive and knowledgeable but no nonsense...but one of my frustrations throughout is that she says everything is "great!" and everything is on track, but won't give me percentiles, weight, nada. I even asked her at 24 or 28 weeks if she can look up his measurements from the 20 week anatomy scan and she came back with "well I don't have percentiles but he was 12oz at 20 weeks." Thats it! SO frustrating. We have our 32 week appt this Thurs and a 3D ultrasound...planning to ask the tech and doc for more details, but worried they won't. Is this normal? Should I just trust and stop nagging for specifics?

hollowway

ad my 34 week appt yesterday... DS is measuring in the 94% at about 7lb1oz, his head was measuring 39&4! I passed my 1hr glucose at 29 weeks with a 107 (they wanted it between 100-140)... but I had to redo it yesterday, because of his size! I've only gained 2lbs since my last appt and 33lbs overall so far, and my uterus is measuring right at 34 weeks, so GD sounds a little off to me, but we'll see when the results come in. If he keeps growing like this, they mentioned a c-section, and with the size of his head, it's tempting to accept. But I really want to do natural again like I did with DD. Go back at 36 weeks and they'll recheck his growth. Good news is that he's healthy and head down! My vagina may never recover when ges born, but he's healthy!

kvruns

lenacoilbov said:

My OBGYN is great, supportive and knowledgeable but no nonsense...but one of my frustrations throughout is that she says everything is "great!" and everything is on track, but won't give me percentiles, weight, nada. I even asked her at 24 or 28 weeks if she can look up his measurements from the 20 week anatomy scan and she came back with "well I don't have percentiles but he was 12oz at 20 weeks." Thats it! SO frustrating. We have our 32 week appt this Thurs and a 3D ultrasound...planning to ask the tech and doc for more details, but worried they won't. Is this normal? Should I just trust and stop nagging for specifics?

Mine doesn't give any info like that either. All I know is they always say belly measurement is "normal" and that is about it, no info on how big that may make him or where it fits in the scheme of being big/small/early/late whatever. I bet if you ask during the u/s they will give you some of that stuff, it could be they don't mention it because then it might cause someone to worry if the measurement was a high % or low % and then someone starts freaking out. 

kristah2

I always asked my tech for his weight. My OB just says Things look good but I always make a point to ask the tech weight. I don't know percentile (but I don't bother to ask) 

BmcD2016

lenacoilbov said:

My OBGYN is great, supportive and knowledgeable but no nonsense...but one of my frustrations throughout is that she says everything is "great!" and everything is on track, but won't give me percentiles, weight, nada. I even asked her at 24 or 28 weeks if she can look up his measurements from the 20 week anatomy scan and she came back with "well I don't have percentiles but he was 12oz at 20 weeks." Thats it! SO frustrating. We have our 32 week appt this Thurs and a 3D ultrasound...planning to ask the tech and doc for more details, but worried they won't. Is this normal? Should I just trust and stop nagging for specifics?

Really, sometimes more information is just going to drive you crazy. Trust your doctor. My husband freaks out because my OB doesn't do a ton of ultrasounds like his ex wife's did. I always have to tell him that's good! Even though I don't know an approximate weight of our baby, that's ok, especially since those are often inaccurate. I pay my doctor because I've trusted her with mine and baby's health and I trust that she will let me know if anything is wrong. 

rspalding001

I had an apt yesterday at 33 +1. They said baby boy is measuring two weeks ahead based on fundal height, but Im not sure how accurate that is, could it be just because I have gained more weight than I should have? Ha ha ha. They also put me on a non stress test because they thought the heart beat sounded slow. After monitoring for about a half hour they said heart rate looks just fine but I am having small contractions apparently even though Im not feeling them at all. It was enough to keep me from going to the gym yesterday though ha ha. Decided to go home and have a root beer float instead

In regards to getting percentiles, weight etc... I never get any of that. I assume they would have to do an ultrasound to know those numbers and I wont get another one of those until maybe a week before my due date. The only thing they measure at my appointments is fundal height so I dont think you can get much detail from that. I just try and trust they would do more looking around if they were concerned.

SandNStarsNJ

Thanks @camcbeth! I've been thinking about looking at other districts for the first time in my teaching career (11 years) and that makes only more curious.

ZoeFer

I had my 34 week appointment this Tuesday. My doctor does not even measure the fundal height, so I have no idea if the baby is small, big etc. Is it normal that they are not measuring the fundal height ? I always forget to ask to my doctor why they dont.
They check my urine, BP, weight then the Dr. checks the position of the baby by hand quickly and then her HR. I have an ultrasound next week so we will finally have an idea of baby`s size. Nurse said that they will do vaginal exam every appointment starting next week. 

hoosiermama-2

32 week (+ 4 days) appointment tomorrow! 

@kmmnocal I don't mean this insensitively in the slightest, but what types of super important things are on your birth plan that everyone is required to read? I haven't made one yet (note to start the convo with doc tomorrow!), and have no idea what all they should entail.

atcwag

hoosiermama said:

32 week (+ 4 days) appointment tomorrow! 

@kmmnocal I don't mean this insensitively in the slightest, but what types of super important things are on your birth plan that everyone is required to read? I haven't made one yet (note to start the convo with doc tomorrow!), and have no idea what all they should entail.

I'm not doing a written plan because I'm familiar with my hospital's policies and I'm great about speaking up re: my needs and wants. 
With that said, some common birth plans include:
- intermittent, not constant monitoring
- hep lock instead of IV (if you're planning no epi)
- do not ask if I want pain meds
- epidural or no
- permitted to labor freely in any position
- use of birthing tub/shower
- skin to skin directly after birth
- breastfeeding vs. formula
- mom/dad to give first bath
- circumcision vs. no

Google "birth plan" and you'll get lots of inspiration. 

kmmnocal

atcwag said:

hoosiermama said:

32 week (+ 4 days) appointment tomorrow! 

@kmmnocal I don't mean this insensitively in the slightest, but what types of super important things are on your birth plan that everyone is required to read? I haven't made one yet (note to start the convo with doc tomorrow!), and have no idea what all they should entail.

I'm not doing a written plan because I'm familiar with my hospital's policies and I'm great about speaking up re: my needs and wants. 
With that said, some common birth plans include:
- intermittent, not constant monitoring
- hep lock instead of IV (if you're planning no epi)
- do not ask if I want pain meds
- epidural or no
- permitted to labor freely in any position
- use of birthing tub/shower
- skin to skin directly after birth
- breastfeeding vs. formula
- mom/dad to give first bath
- circumcision vs. no

Google "birth plan" and you'll get lots of inspiration. 

Mine are very similar! Also includes things like: 

- students welcome but everyone in the room must introduce themselves as they come in
- keep vaginal exams to a minimum and please ask first (this is a sensitivity due to something that happened in the past, I can't with a near-stranger coming in the room and just sticking a hand up there without asking.)
- Please don't touch me without asking first (same reasons as above)
- I would like to try walking, nipple stimulation, or other methods of natural induction before starting pitocin or artificial rupture of membranes.
- No cord cutting until it's finished pulsing. Husband cuts cord. 
- Encouragement is good, but telling me "i'm almost there" isn't. I prefer an update on progress (baby's head is in the birth canal, baby's crowning, etc.) (This comes from my background as a distance runner. To me, this is like someone yelling "you're almost there" at mile 20 of a marathon. Nope, not almost there, still have the hardest six miles to go, thanks! Tell me I look strong and to keep going.) 
- Placenta stays with us (we're doing encapsulation). We need ice, but have bags and a cooler. It should not leave the room or be put in the medical fridge, it will be picked up immediately after birth.

It's highly specific because I know what works for me and what will make me the most comfortable. We also have a plan "C" in case of c-section that includes details about the cord, skin-to-skin, and what should happen if baby and I have to be separated (H stays with baby at all times) or I have to go under general anesthesia (no friends/family hold baby besides husband until I can hold her.) I am fully aware that I can't plan my labor and things may go out of my control, but by essentially pre-making decisions, I'm at least making my wishes known to everyone who cares for me and baby. 

ETA: My hospital encourages all moms to have detailed birth plans, and I'm told the nurses are flexible and accommodating, which makes all of this work. BUT, you are totally free to dictate your care (within the realm of safety), which, in my opinion, is a feature of health care that isn't shared enough!

hollowway

My birth plan is pretty specific as well, because the hospital took liberties when DD was born, without asking me first (they dried her off and did their newborn tests before I was even able to hold her, they gave her a pacifier and formula even though I wanted to breastfeed, etc)...

Some of mine:
- Do not ask if I want an epi or pain meds
- Let me labor freely with minimal checks and use of the birthing tub
- Do not cut cord until it has stopped pulsing and DH is to cut the cord
- Hand me my baby IMMIDIATELY for skin to skin
- Breastfeeding will be established immediately
    - DO NOT give my baby a pacifier, bottle, sugar water or formula
- Newborn tests can wait until skin to skin and nursing have been established
I also added some things in the event of an emergency c-section or complications.

BmcD2016

Had my 32 week check up today, all is still going really well. Baby girl was laying back relaxing towards my back which made it harder to measure her but the midwife was pretty sure we gained a half a week. So now she's 3.5 weeks ahead. Yippee. I was able to get confirmation that her head is down and her butt is in my right rib