***2nd Trimester Check-in, Week of October 24th***

Tulips29

This is a weekly check-in for those in their 2nd trimester: weeks 14 through the end of week 27.

Congrats to all the strong ladies who have made it this far! It's such a great feeling and we've all accomplished so much! We are now 1 week closer to the end of this especially long journey we call "infertility".

Please post below a little about yourself, how many beans you have growing inside, if you have found out the sex(es) and what your EDD is. Please also let us know how far you've made it on your journey and when your next appt is and what for. If I'm missing anyone from this list, please let me know and I will add you. 

Mommies to be:

@tulips29 EDD 1/22/17 with 1 boy!

@WishingforLuck EDD 1/25/17 with 2 boys!
@susykat77 EDD 1/26/17 with 1 girl!
@dragonfaerie EDD 1/27/17 with 1 boy!
@LynnNJ EDD 1/28/17 with 1 boy!
@NurseTMD85 EDD 2/17/17 with 1 girl!
@chicandbubbly EDD 2/25/17 with 1 boy! 
@yelllow22 EDD 3/1/17 with 1 girl! 
@vlbartlett EDD 3/5/17 with 1 bean! 
@AandDM2014 EDD 3/10/17 with 2 girls and 1 boy! 
@mrygoround EDD 3/28/17 with 1 girl! 
@pdbird EDD 3/28/17 with 1 boy!
@2legbaby EDD 4/6/17 with 1 girl!
@jenn6782 EDD 4/7/17 with 1 girl!
@cmm012 EDD 4/9/17 with 1 boy! 
@ale9687 EDD 4/11/17 with 1 boy!
@Knottie36622473 EDD 4/13/17 with 1 girl!
@Rachnan EDD 4/13/13 with 1 boy!
@babylonghorn16 EDD 4/16/17 with 1 bean!
@frustrated and ttc EDD ? with 2 girls! 

Congratulations to @Joyzie77, @ultratomato and @vssbrm on graduating to the 3rd trimester!

QOTW - What family traditions or heirlooms would you like to pass down to your LOs?

Tulips29

Good morning ladies! I can't believe this is my last week in the 2nd trimester. Seems like the past few months just flew by. Next week @chicandbubbly will take over for me (thanks again for volunteering!)

QOTW - I'd love for my LO to learn about my and DH's family roots and be able to speak Russian as that's our native language. I am planning on getting baby books in Russian to read to him so he can pick it up. Plus it'll be easier for our grandparents to talk to him as their English is rusty. My grandpa was an avid stamp collector and has albums full of rare stamps that he said he'd like to pass down to my son (although I know nothing about stamps). 

AandDM2014

Good Monday morning ladies! I have another MFM appointment this afternoon, just to check on everyone. I go in every two weeks for normal monitoring, which is nice because I get worried in between appointments. Last time he said we might find out the sexes today, though at 15+2 I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't.

QOTW: We don't really have any family heirlooms that I know of, though I'm sure eventually DH would like to pass our piano on to one of them. My parents too have a piano that was supposed to go to me, but maybe it'll go to one of them instead, since my bros kids don't play, and I plan to have our take lessons. I think traditions wise, it'll be things like silly words and phrases that we use constantly. I'm hoping that over the next 18 years we can develop some fun traditions with our kiddos to pass along.

@Tulips29 How cool that you'd like to pass along your native language. I think that is an important one, especially if grandparents speak it.

dragonfaerie

Good morning and Happy Monday all! 
My next appointment isn't until the 31st, so just trucking along this week. We did have our first prenatal visit with our doula yesterday, it was great! She ran through the stages of labor, recommended a couple of places for massage/acupuncture and classes, and we just generally chatted. DH was very appreciative of the info as his idea of labor was that you scream and push for HOURS (thank you television and movies for that.) He was very happy to hear that in general, your body takes care of a lot of stuff with minimal effort from Momma. 

QotW: One year, my mom hid our Christmas stockings on a doorknob somewhere in the house (could be anywhere, including an inner doorknob of a closet.) We had to find them before we could get started. It was SO FUN and I definitely want to do that with my kids. I have a piano that was my great-grandma's that will get passed on.

ale9687

Hi all, next apt isn't until nov 10th. It feels so far away! This past weekend we revealed the sex of the baby to our family, everyone but dh and my dad thought girl so they were all shocked. 

@aanddm2014 we found out the sex at 14w5d and when she got a clear view between the legs there was no mistaking it was a boy. I hope babies cooperate and you can learn the sexes.

Qotw: no big heirlooms that I know of, I'm sure some jewelry here and there will be passed down. My grandfather has a few pinky rings, he gave one to my nephew and I'm sure this little one will get one also. the only tradition i am passing down is each year my family, cousins and I all have timeshare in the Catskills mountains in NY at Villa Roma. Think dirty dancing but very Italian American. My grandparents along with my great aunts and uncles bought their timeshare 40 years ago and we've all been going ever since.

Tulips29

@AandDM2014 Hope all's well at your appointment today. How exciting if you find out the sexes today too! 

@dragonfaerie I like your tradition of hidden Christmas stockings, sounds like fun! I want to have fun traditions with my kiddos too, so we'll just have to create them I guess. Glad to hear your meeting with the doula went well too. 

Knottie36622473

Hi ladies, I had an ObGyn appointment Friday. Her little hb was 150. I have good and bad news. I am homozygous for a MTHFR mutation so I have to remain on blood thinner injections the whole pregnancy. They hurt! The good news is...I get monthly growth scans AND they will not allow me to go past my due date. Next scan is Friday (11/4). Hoping she's growing normal and everything is okay. QOTW - What family traditions or heirlooms would you like to pass down to your LOs? Hubby is Indian and I'm Puerto Rican. We are just hoping to keep some elements of both our cultures ( specifically food, holidays, and music). We both aren't super religious so that won't play too much of a role beyond holidays and traditional ceremonies (i.e. baptism).

Tulips29

@ale9687 I love the tradition of a big family trip! 

Knottie36622473 I hope your LO continues to grow healthy and normally! I bet those injections aren't fun. And between you and your husband, I bet there's a lot of delicious food your LO will be indulging in

AandDM2014

@ale9687 I hope so too! Last time biggest one was measuring at 14w and littlest one at 12+6, so hopefully we'll be closer to 15-16w today!

@Tulips29 Thank you! I sure hope we get to find out! It'll be cool too because DH will get to see first if MFM put it up on the screen (I don't get to see the screen most of the time, but DH sees it the whole time)!

@Knottie36622473 I'm sorry you have to keep doing injections, but anything for a healthy LO!

AandDM2014

Just got done with our appointment... A and C are... Girls!!!! B is a boy! All three were bouncy and wiggly. A has a problem with her cord (velamentous cord insertion), but he said it would be okay and we'd just have to watch it. It could be a problem during delivery, but that's a long way off. 

ale9687

@AandDM2014 congratulations! So happy all three are doing well and you got to learn all of the sexes. 

Tulips29

@AandDM2014 ah, that's amazing and so exciting! I'm glad they all coopearated and you got to find out all 3 sexes. 

AandDM2014

Thanks @ale9687 and @Tulips29!

(@Tulips29 my info in the first post can be updated now as my doc is very confident that he is right)

2legbaby

Congrats @AandDM2014 on girls and a boy! I think it's great that B was a boy lol!

We have our anatomy scan on Wednesday (will be 17 weeks) and super excited to see our little girl again!
QOTW: We have a jewelry box from DH's mom that will be hers and I planned to give her the gold/pearl necklace my parents bought for me when I was born. 

BTW did everyone hear the new American Assoc of Pediatrics recommendations for sleep safety? They are recommending same room (not same bed) sleeping for at least 6 months and ideally 1 year for SIDS prevention, here is a link with other recommendations

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-10/aaop-aan101716.php

AandDM2014

@2legbaby Thanks! I love how the AAP gives all these recommendations, yet people in other countries put blankets and bumpers in cribs, yet we Americans aren't supposed to do anything! I really don't understand it.

Knottie36622473

Congrats @AandDM2014!!!! 

AandDM2014

Thanks @Knottie36622473!!

yelllow22

@dragonfaerie How cool that you met with your doula, I have to admit I have a terrible fear of the whole delivery process! Hopefully I'll "man up" when the time comes

@ale9687 that family trip sounds like so much fun, with most of my family living abroad I guess we'll have to do small family trips

@Knottie36622473 what a lucky baby with such rich cultural influences, hope she continues to grow healthy and strong!

 @AandDM2014 Congrats on your very well behaved babies, I love how they all allowed for you to see the gender, you must be so excited

@2legbaby I saw all the hype yesterday about the AAP guidelines, for some reason I had already read that that was their recommendation while doing my own research so we decided to go with it. I'm getting the arm's reach co sleeper for the first few months, my friend has it and loves it.  Have fun at the anatomy scan, hope it goes great!

dragonfaerie

@AandDM2014 Congrats! how cool!
@2legbaby I had heard that having them in the room for 6 months was ideal. I asked my mom and she said we were in the room for about 3-4 months, so that's probably what we'll do too. I just am not sure how having them in the room is better to prevent SIDS than not, if you are following best guidelines for sleeping. I'll have to do the research. 
@yelllow22 I'm sure you will get there! We women are tough and awesome! I've never really felt that much anxiety about labor and delivery, I've kept very peaceful thoughts around it. My doula uses the Hypnobirthing method, which is supposed to help you restructure your thinking around L/D. She also encouraged me to not let anyone tell their birth horror stories to me so I can avoid negative and/or fearful thinking. I'm very much about focusing on the positive and deciding what I want so I can achieve it. 

ale9687

@dragonfaerie dh read the article and started freaking out that ds must stay with us for 6 months because it will reduce the risk of sids by 50%. I had to explain to him that the bedroom sharing is just part of it. That alone isn't reducing the risk, you also need to practice safe sleeping as well, i.e. No bumpers, blankets, toys. The bassinet I have says once baby rolls to move them out of it so I'm using that as my guideline when to transition to a crib. 

yelllow22

@ale9687 yes you are absolutely right, I don't think she'll be in the room for the full 6 months but before we weren't even considering having her in our room at all

yelllow22

@dragonfaerie I think your attitude is awesome, you are badass! lol. I'm sure I'll get there, I was with my cousin  for the entire l&d and without getting into details let's just say it didn't exactly help my fear but I'm just a chicken. Anyway, admitting the problem is the first step to getting over it right? 

yelllow22

I just received good news, the results from my harmony test came back negative for ds 

dragonfaerie

@yelllow22 Hugs for you! You will be just fine! And maybe your hospital will have nitrous to take the edge off when you get there So glad that you got good news from your test too! 

2legbaby

Yay @yelllow22!!!! So glad you got your results back and everything is good!!!!

Tulips29

@yelllow22 that's great news about your harmony test results! What a relief! Oh and im a big baby when it comes to pain also. I recently went to a dentist with a painful tooth. I was squirming in the chair the entire time she was doing a deep clean. She laughed and said "how will you be ready for labor?" Lol...I'm terrified! 

yelllow22

@dragonfaerie @2legbaby Thank you!

@Tulips29 I'm definitely relieved!   Glad I'm not alone being scared. The irony with me being a chicken is huge, I'm a Periodontist  lol... 

babylonghorn16

@AandDM2014 CONGRATS on your 2 girls and 1 boy!! So exciting! May be the hormones, but I teared up a little reading your post. You told your family y'all are expecting THREE, right?! I must've missed that post. How did they react?! They must've been blown away!

@yelllow22 congrats on your most recent results! Must be a huge weight off your shoulders! 

As of now, I'm not really scared about L&D. I'm probably being VERY naive about the whole thing, but I'm very competitive (think Monica from Friends) and figure if all these other women can do it, I can do it too! It's almost like a competition against myself to see how much I can handle. Might be weird, but whatever helps! I'm confident you ladies will do great!

ale9687

@babylonghorn16 I'm the same way going into l&d. I was in the room with my sister so I know what happens but my mom had the 3 of us with no drugs so I just keep saying if my mom who can't even get a shot can deliver three baby's drug free there's no way I can't. 

chicandbubbly

Hey ladies! I am back! I had a wonderful babymoon!! Missed you all. @yelllow22 so happy for your good news. I am feeling great, not much to report. I am feeling super strong kicks now, it is so awesome! And the bump finally popped two weeks ago and is definitely out for sure now. It was fun wearing a bikini with a bump . My next appointment is November 1st.

QOTW: I would say I am a very tradition oriented person especially when it comes to the holidays (Christmas!). I am looking forward to making new traditions for our little family of three as well.

Tulips29

@babylonghorn16 I tell myself the same thing, if millions of women have done it before me, I'll be able to do it too. But fear still creeps in. We've go this though! 

frustrated and ttc

Hi Ladies! Haven't posted in a while but I've been stalking! Glad to hear see so many of you are doing great! Since I've posted we've learned we are having TWO GIRLS! We are so excited! 

QUESTION FOR THE TWIN MOMS: I'm 17&4 and I haven't felt them move yet. Kind of freaking out. I think I MIGHT have felt some fluttering but not sure. I have an appt next week and I'm terrified. When did you feel your twins move? I'm hoping this is normal. With my last set of twins I felt them move by now. I just can't stop thinking about it.HELP!

AandDM2014

@babylonghorn16 Thanks! We told our families last weekend, then our siblings last Thursday! They were all shocked, except my dad, who insisted "I knew". I called all our parents on Monday after the appointment to let them know 2G 1B! My dad also predicted 2G 1B, and I can only imagine it was difficult for my mom to live with his gloating on Monday evening!

@chicandbubbly I hope your babymoon was everything you wanted it to be, and more! Glad you had a wonderful time!

2legbaby

Welcome back @chicandbubbly! My bump too has popped out for good and I LOVE it!!! Our babymoon is in 2 weeks, we are going to Charleston, SC and plan to experience all the fine cuisine. We are staying at a cute little b&b and the lady who runs it has already been so amazing! I have suspected that I have been feeling our munchkin's little kicks and confirmed this today during our anatomy scan (everything looked great, BUT there was a miscommunication and we were a little early (17wks) so we have to go back in 4 weeks for another check as she was too small to see all the details of her heart -darn!*wink wink*  

Congrats @frustrated and ttc on your two girls!!!! I have heard that many people may not feel movement until 20 weeks or later, not sure if that holds true for those carrying twins too? Also may depend on pre-pregnancy weight and placental location as well

I think all those ladies scared about labor and delivery have nothing to worry about...with everything we have been through I know that we are a TOUGH group of ladies. Also had someone who has had 3 babies tell me (after I described to her the joys of 10weeks of PIO injections) that labor will be easy compared to that LOL!

Tulips29

@frustrated and ttc congratulations on your twin girls! What's your EDD so I can add it to the list? I'm not sure if twin pregnancies are different, but I started feeling slight movement with a singleton around week 18 I believe. I was sure it was him moving around 20-21 weeks though. Hopefully you can get reassurance at your next appointment that they are A-OK in there. 

yelllow22

@frustrated and ttc   How awesome! congrats on your 2 girls! I know your question was for twin moms but I also didn't feel anything until the end of my 19th week and it was barely noticeable, and at the 20th week I was finally sure I was feeling kicks

@chicandbubbly Thanks, your bump looks adorable, I love bikinis and bumps I'm sure you looked super cute!

@2legbaby I went to Charleston as part of my honeymoon and I loved it! the food was so ridiculously good, you'll definitely have an amazing time!

On Sunday night baby was kicking so hard that I asked dh to put his hand on my belly and he felt a kick for the 1st time, it was so amazing, he cried! (but he doesn't want me telling anyone he did lol). Also my belly finally popped and i'm loving it!

mrygoround

@Tulips29 Congratulations on graduating to third trimester! Thank you for posting the weekly check-ins.

@Knottie36622473 Yay for a strong HB! I am sorry you have to get the shots - that's no fun.

@AandDM2014 Congratulations! So exciting!

@2legbabyCongrats on scoring a 2nd anatomy scan! And thank you for sharing the sleep safety info! DH and I can now both site it as part of the reason we aren't going to have a nursery. We plan to have a bassinet (or arm's reach co sleeper - thanks @yelllow22) and a crib in our master suite.

@yelllow22 Yay! I've been thinking about you and I'm glad you got good news! I am not looking forward to L&D either (I've seen the action live too), but I've watched videos on unassisted home births and these women are so relaxed and even smiling through the pain. I figure if they can do that, so can I because I will be in a nice hospital with an awesome OB and whatever pain meds they recommend/allow. I will also be induced at 39 weeks so I am hoping that means things will go more quickly.

@frustrated and ttc Go team pink! I hope you feel them soon. 

I love the responses to this QOTW because you've all reminded me that we have traditions, stories, and values our families will pass down.

dragonfaerie

@yelllow22 Yay for DH! Wee Boy always wakes up with me in the morning, I think because after I turn off the alarm I roll over, so he starts kicking. DH has started just putting his hand on my stomach in the morning to get his "good morning" kicks. I'm so glad you are here and getting to see your body change! I popped again overnight, I definitely feel like I look bigger than I did yesterday. And one of my friends saw me and was like "dang girl, your boobs are getting HUGE!" It just makes me laugh

yelllow22

@dragonfaerie Aww what a great way to start off the day!  It's crazy how it really seems like the belly just grows overnight, same thing happened to me, and don't get me started with the boobs, mine were big to begin with, now they're  just out of control lol

dragonfaerie

@yelllow22 Haha, I love it. I was reading an article for men once their partner's get pregnant and it said "It is nature's cruelest trick that your partner's breasts will get larger, and you will not be allowed to touch them for the first few months." 

yelllow22

@dragonfaerie I'm pretty sure DH will agree hahaha