3rd Trimester Check-In Week of 11/21

capps42613

This is a weekly check in for the mommies who have made it to the 3rd trimester!!! If you are in week 28 or past, feel free to join in on the weekly fun.

If you're just joining us, please post a mini synopsis in your first post with your EDD, how many beans, if you know the sex(es) and how you have been feeling in your 3rd trimester along with any appointments you may have this week or had recently. 

QOTW: Do you have a preference as to what brand of diapers you plan to use once your bundle(s) arrive. If so, why? 

If you have updated bump pics, please share! We love seeing these baby bellies!!! Or if you'd like to share a pic of your little one's nursery, feel free to share that cuteness as well! 

3rd Trimester mommies and their little bundles:
@ZoeFer: EDD 11/14/16 with a little girl

@mskeenan: EDD 11/20/16 with a little boy
@capps42613: EDD 12/6/16 with a little boy
@kuposa17: EDD 12/7/16 with a little boy
@erica0901: EDD 12/8/16 with a little boy
@Griffin5413 EDD 12/28/16 with a little boy
@ultratomato EDD 12/29/16 with twin girls 
@Drove2u EDD 1/4/17 with a little girl
@vssbrm EDD 1/14/17 with a little boy 
@tulips29 EDD 1/22/17 with a little boy
@wishingforluck EDD 1/25/17 with twin boys
@dragonfaerie EDD 1/27/17 with a little boy  
@LynnNJ EDD 1/28/17 with a little boy

Congratulations to @Rachd110 for birthing a beautiful baby boy, Isaiah! 

Eviction notices: @ZoeFer & @mskeenan!!

Tulips29

Happy Monday ladies! 
31 weeks here and no appointments this week. I'm just looking forward to the short work week and Thanksgiving festivities. 
QOTW - I don't have a preference for diapers just yet, but my friends have been suggesting Pampers for the most part. We got 1 box already so going to test them out first before buying more or trying other brands. 

ZoeFer

Hi ladies ! I am still pregnant Actually just half an hour ago, they called me from the hospital and we scheduled an induction day. They gave me the option of this Wed or next Mon, and I chose Wed. Because of the holidays, they cannot give me something in between. Induction was not something I dreamed of, but I do not know I can wait until Monday. I hope that a miracle happens and my labor starts today or tomorrow.
QOTW: My friends mostly suggested Pampers so I got a NB box and we will try and see. Also, I got a trial package from Honest but did not read good reviews on it. 

Tulips29

@ZoeFer hoping your little girl decides to show up before Wednesday! If not, at least you have a definite date ont he calendar. Will be sending you good thoughts until then.

dragonfaerie

Good morning and Happy Monday all!
No appointments this week. Wednesday morning we head to Nebraska for Thanksgiving. Please pray the drive goes smoothly; we are driving with my MIL and that is 8 hours of potential stress as she is a terrible backseat driver.
Wee Boy was head down at our 30 week appointment and measuring about two weeks ahead. He's super squirmy almost constantly now and I LOVE it.:) Our maternity photo shoot will be Sunday with my best friend taking the pictures. I think they will be really nice, whether the weather is more fall or winter on us that day.
QOTW: I have not made a decision about diapers yet. I have a box of Pampers and a box of Huggies as they were on uber-sale so we'll see what we end up liking more.

dragonfaerie

I had to share my fortune from last night's  cookie! It's totally going into the baby book!

capps42613

Happy Monday! It's currently 44 degrees here in NJ & the wind is blowing @ 24mph  Just got back from my weekly OB appt and I'm thrilled to hear that some progress has been made. On Wednesday I wasn't dilated at all and now I'm 2cm dilated, on my way to 3cm. Although I could still ride the 2cm out til 41 weeks, this is more progress than I had with DD years ago, so I'm satisfied. 

QOTW: IMO I think Pampers hold urine better than Huggies, Luvs, etc. Although I have used Shop-Rite brands before & didn't mind them either. You'll figure it out 

Drove2u

34 weeks here!! Reading about the ladies on here who are going to be holding their babies soon gives me the chills. Just following everyone's infertility journeys and now we are at this point. How crazy!! 
Anyway enough of the mush. Not much to report here. Starting to get a bit uncomfortable. Luckily I only have four more days of commuting from PA to NYC and then i work from home until labor!! 
Not sure about diapers just yet. I guess I'll see in a few weeks. :-) 

Griffin5413

Hi ladies! So I threw my back out on Friday and have been pretty much out of commission since. I tried to go to work today only b/c I had my biweekly appt on that side of town. Baby is still good at least. Its good to know that even though my body is struggling, baby is still being taken care of.

QOTW: As of now, we are going with pampers. I've heard better things about them than any of the other brands but I guess we'll find out for sure in a few weeks. 

WishingforLuck

Hey everyone.
QOTW: Our preference for diapers are pampers. We've heard that huggies tend to leak, so we won't be taking any chances. We plan on stocking up this weekend as they'll be on sale at some of the wholesale clubs. 
No appointments this week, babies are doing ok, very active as usual. 

vssbrm

Hi! 32+2 today! Not much going in here, still a few Braxton hicks contractions a day. I think we get an exam at our next apt next week. After that apt we are already scheduled for the rest of our weekly, from there out, appointments. Depending on how things go this next week we may also have weekly stress tests. We started birth classes 2 weeks ago. They have been interesting, I am really looking forward to the natural birth seminar we are taking in January (I'm planning on making it that long!!). 

As as far as diapers, we have some NB babyganics and Huggies that we have received as gifts so we will use those at first and see what works best, but after the first month we are going to cloth diaper, which I have been researching but have not selected a brand yet. When we travel or will be out and about a lot on certain days we will do disposables too. 

ultratomato

@capps42613 the wind was crazy in jersey it was also crazy yesterday. Well I have appointment every week lol. This week is the high risk doctor one more appointment with high risk after this one at 36 weeks. Oh and my NST is on every Friday so my weeks are busy ugh. Last day of work is December 2nd. Today they threw me a little shower at work 

mskeenan

Hi ladies , hope everyone's week is off to a good start .

@zoefer ah that is super exciting ! You will meet your baby girl this week ! How cool . I had to schedule my induction for next week but they may be moving it to Wednesday actually depending on how my appointment goes . They offered to induce me yesterday because my amniotic fluid levels are running a little low  

@capps42613 yay I'm so glad to see there is progress !! That's exciting !!! 

@griffin5413 omg I am so sorry ! I have never thrown my back out so I can't even imagine how painful that is . I imagine there isn't much you can take for pain either being pregnant . I hope you feel better soon !! 

So yah as for me I went in to see the midwife yesterday for my 40 week appointment and they decided to do a "quick " scan to look at babys position and noticed that my fluid levels looked low . Not dangerously low but outside of what they want to see . The midwife asked what my feelings were on induction and I told her that I will obviously do it when it's medically necessary but would like to put it off as long as possible . They had originally put me down for dec 2 for induction in case baby doesn't come by then but now may have to induce this week if tomorrow my fluid levels aren't ok . I've been instructed to hydrate like crazy . I feel like I already can't drink anymore but I am always thirsty .so I am doing my best to just drink non stop . 
I also had what I think was a BH contraction for 25 min last night . Is that even possible ? I swear it would not let up and I was alarmed bc all other contractions have been short . I almost called the hospital but glad I didn't because it eventually passed and I was able to sleep a few hours . I am so on edge now and am trying to stay calm . 

QOTW: no preference for diapers yet . I ended up buying a bunch from people whose babys grew out of certain sizes and they had extras so I have a good mix of honest co , pampers , huggies and cost co . I figure it'll be good to try a bunch and then decide what I like best that we can buy more of . 

ZoeFer

@mskeenan it is so hard to decide on the induction, i am still unsure if i should wait until next Mon or not. some of my BH contractions(i think they are) last too long my belly stays so tight too long. it helps to move , especially on birthing ball and drinking water. last night my BH s were 5-10 min apart and very uncomfortable, and only on one side of my uterus such that my belly hot into such a weird shape , it kinda freaked us out. i will also have an u/s today and after talks ng to the doctor we will decide if we want to wait until Mon or not. good luck with your appointment and i hope your little one decides to come soon enough.
@capps42613 it s so exciting that you had progress !! you are almost there

mskeenan

@zoefer it is so hard to decide ! Good luck with your appointment today and with whatever you decide to do I was freaked by the BH contractions last night too but am hoping they are a good sign something might happen naturally ! Let us know how today goes ! 

dragonfaerie

@Griffin5413 Owie girl! That is just terrible! I hope you can get some relief! Can you get to a chiropractor or massage? It is definitely good to know that our bodies insulate baby from a lot of the nonsense we do to ourselves. Hehe. Hope you feel better soon!

@mskeenan Wow, so you are really coming up on your day soon! I'm sorry to hear about the stress with your fluid levels. I hope baby decides to just make an appearance without induction! I've never heard of a BH lasting that long, but I am woefully ignorant of how BH works/feels. FX and prayers for you!

@Zoefer I hope your next appointment goes well and you have some progress!

@vssbrm I hope your seminar goes well, I really enjoyed our class last night.

AFM - Last night we had our Natural Comforts class. We talked about all the ways to get through labor without medication and it made me really excited. I just felt like "yeah, I got this!" We also practiced a couple of labor positions that use gravity to help (birthing ball, squatting, having DH hold you up, etc.) Then the chapter in our Hypnobirthing book was all about Laws of the Mind and how you should focus on having a positive labor and then you can make it happen. But if you focus on all the negative things, then you create fear responses in your body that can create that difficult labor later on. I'm thinking happy thoughts and praying for all of you that are coming up (or have passed!) your due dates. We are strong women who have gotten through so much, we can DO IT!

And TMI post - God bless coffee, it works so much faster than a stool softener! Lol. I know we are supposed to limit our caffeine intake, but I just do a small cup of half-caf a couple of times a week and I feel so much better.

capps42613

@mskeenan oh boy!! Keep us posted tomorrow. 

tvh1982

Keep us posted @mskeensn and @zoefer. 
Glad some BH have started @zoefer. I'm still rooting for a miracle and you start without induction.
Have you been leaking fluids @mskeenan? (Or how does one get less fluids? I'm clueless here, sorry)

mskeenan

Thank you @dragonfaerie ! Hope your drive tomorrow goes smoothly !! 8 hours with a backseat driver sounds stressful ! 

@tvh1982 I'm not 100% sure . I think they were saying that past 40 weeks the placenta doesn't function as well - and if the baby is not getting adequate nutrients and blood the baby doesn't recycle fluids as well . They said I could also be dehydrated . I don't think I'm leaking fluids .. I've had some discharge steadily throughout pregnancy that I had previously had checked out  but there has been no significant change in it . I'm hoping increasing my hydration and taking it easy allows my body to do its own thing ! 

Griffin5413

mskeenan - hopefully they won't have to induce you early. On the bright side, if  they do, you'll have a lot to be thankful for on Thursday! Take care of yourself though
@zoefer - way to go for making it so long. Loved the photo you posted at 41 weeks on the bumps board. You look fantastic!
@capps42613 - yay for progress. all of you ladies are so close now. It makes me excited for the next few weeks to hopefully fly by and then I'll be in your shoes!
dragonfaerie - I had a prenatal massage scheduled for Saturday but had to cancel b/c I couldn't get out of bed. Hopefully I can reschedule in the next few days and that will help. I have basically just been taking tylenol and icing as much as I can. I'm feeling better each day which is definitely a good thing. 

dragonfaerie

@Griffin5413 Oh that stinks! Praying you can get mobile enough to get to a massage soon!

vssbrm

@dragonfaerie totally agree about the coffe! I'm glad you enjoyed your class! Are you trying w/o an epidural as well? Everyone keeps telling me I'm crazy, but I want to try. If it gets that bad, I'm open to one, but not right away.

@mskeenan you are so close!! Hopefully things start moving and you do not have to worry about inducing!

@Griffin5413 I hope you feel better soon. I can't imagine being pregnant and throwing your back out- at this point it's getting so uncomfortable, throw back issues on That and that would be miserable.

@zoefer ive had BH that have lasted a little bit -especially in the mornings. I hope everything goes well and you do not end up having to induce.

dragonfaerie

@vssbrm Yep, the plan is to go without medication completely. like you,  I'm not opposed to meds if we get to that point, but I want to be present and I believe I can do without. 

ultratomato

Ladies I have a question went to MFM dr yesterday and he said that baby b has PAC which has to do with the heart and that the babies heart beat I guess skips a beat sort of not sure I'm explaining it well anyway he told me no caffeine or chocolate which i don't have a problem giving up the next 5 weeks anyone ever hear about this. Dr said it is nothing to worry about but I do anyway 

ZoeFer

@ultratomato it s so hard not to worry when you hear any small problem ofcourse. i do not have any experience or knowledge about this but i had heard from few friends that most of the heart problems fix itself quickly after birth. i guess if the doctor did not worry much about it, try to believe your doctor and be calm. best of luck !!!

mskeenan

Ah so frustrated all posts from yesterday were deleted . Long story short - happy thanksgiving ladies ! I'm so thankful that we have had each other through this journey . Hope everyone has a relaxing holiday . 

My appointment yesterday showed an increase in amniotic fluid so I'm back on the lower end of normal . I am going back in to see my midwife Saturday for a NST and fluid check . She told me to be prepared in case there is any indication it may be time to take my lil guy out but our goal is to still give him as much time as possible to come on his own . December 2 is still my official last induction date . If he hasn't come by then he will be evicted  

@ultratomato I've never heard of that before but I'm glad the doc doesn't seem too concerned . I know it's only natural to worry  

Drove2u

@ultratomato that happened to my coworker recently. She had to cut out all caffeine including chocolate because something was wrong with her baby's heart. She cut it out and everything stabilized still in womb. She now has a very healthy 6 month old. 

ZoeFer

@mskeenan I was wondering how your appointment went, It is good to hear that the fluid went up and you can still wait longer. My little one still is comfy in my womb My cervix was still closed and long on Tuesday, if it is still like that tomorrow I will get the cervidil first to ripen the cervix then they will start the induction. I will be admitted to the hospital tomorrow afternoon/night. I am excited, anxious, worried ... feelings are very complicated.

dragonfaerie

@mskeenan Praying that things continue to go well and stay calm for you!
@Zoefer Well, you just have a little lazy one, don't you? Good luck over the next few days!

ultratomato

@Drove2u thank you that makes me feel better 

tvh1982

That's good news @mskeenan. 

Aw, your little one has it way too good inside @zoefer. You might want to tell her that it's even better on the outside!

tvh1982

My post from yesterday about painkillers or not.
Ive had both this time. Natural delivery but epidural with the placenta. 
Even though I was in pain, and said never again, and please just put it back, and some swearing, ... it was a wonderful experience. 
Once I said I couldn't take it anymore my midwife said, you are probably very close as often that is what women say and I was.

Once the trouble started with the placenta and I had to get the epidural I was scared, more scared than delivering my little girl, just because of all the stories.
But it wasn't painful, and it was only weird just in the beginning and at the end.
I definitely wouldn't mind an epidural during labour. It's definitely a Gods gift to women.

Id say go with what you feel comfortable with. I told my midwife: Id like to try without and see how it goes. Not knowing it would be too late once I kinda thought I needed it.

edited to add: 
Mind you, I 'only' had a 5 hour delivery and 'only' pushed for 40 minutes.

Griffin5413

@mskeenan - glad to hear everything is still looking good. Hopefully he will decide to come on his own before teh 2nd!
@Zoefer - you get to meet your baby today! 

Everyone in my corner of the office has decided they are going to do a pool to see which day I am going to deliver. My boss wants to make it official with squares and everything. I think if no one gets it right, I should get all of the money. lol. So far people are leaning towards the 7th (which is the day we are supposed to get the keys to our house so that really doesnt work for me), 17th, 18th, 25th & 26th. 

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! 

mskeenan

@zoefer I will be thinking of you today !! Hope everything goes as smoothly as possible and so excited to see your lil girl !! 

@griffin5413 haha that's funny ! I agree you should get all the money if they don't get it right hopefully baby waits until after you get the keys to the house ! December is going to be such an exciting month for you !! 

@tvh1982 you are a brave mama ! I am so on the fence about the epidural . I would like to try to go without but even a BH I had the other day was pretty painful and I thought to myself if I thought that was bad I'm sure in for a challenge . 

capps42613

@ZoeFer thinking of you today! Best of luck!

Hope everyone had a good T-giving. Today all my fall decor will disappear and BAM! Christmas everywhere 

Rachd110

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! 

My original plan was to go without an epidural like some of you ladies, but after 18 hours of labor I couldn't take the pain anymore and I asked for an epidural. I'm glad I did because I don't think I could have handled another 9 hours of labor plus 3.5 hours of pushing. The worst part of the pain was the groin and inner thigh pain. If I didn't have that I think I could have lasted longer without an epidural. I don't think everyone experiences that pain tho. My girlfriend, who pushed for about 15 minutes and baby was out, did not have any groin pain. 

But after my crazy delivery, I'm glad I was on meds. Just remember that things may not turn out the way you planned, but it's ok. The final result is the same, which is your baby in your arms. I was a little disappointed at first, but realized the most important thing is baby and my health. 

@mskeenan you're almost there! I hope your baby decides to come soon without induction!

@Griffin5413 my coworkers also did squares. No one guessed the correct due date so they are taking the money and buying lunch for everyone. Too bad I won't be there to join then. 

@ZoeFer good luck!

mskeenan

@rachd110 yah I think it's damn impressive you made it 18 hours without any pain meds ! Ah that sounds so brutal . I'm gonna just see how my labor goes and decide then bc everyone's experience is so different ! 

I saw my midwife today and dodged another day of induction . Amniotic fluid levels are still within the acceptable range and passed the NST . I go back Tuesday for a pelvic exam and another fluid check and NST . May be induced Tuesday if not will start the process on Thursday if he doesn't come . I don't think he's coming on his own .. Just don't feel like he wants to lol . 

thinking of @zoefer and sending good vibes !! 

ZoeFer

hi all, i will try to post a longer labor story soon. i just want to say that our daughter Lara decided come on her own Thursday night,  we got admitted to the hospital on Thursday night and she came to the world on Friday almost midnight. we are both doing great and she is the most amazing thing on this worldfor us. thank you all for your support and good thinkings!!

capps42613

@ZoeFer congratulations! I'm glad she decided to come on her own & that you're both doing well   Can't wait to see your daughter. 

vssbrm

@ZoeFer congratulations!!

Drove2u

Yay!! Congratulations @zoefer love the name too. Lara is on my list. But so is Zoe. :-))