Silly Questions

JNR6510

Post all your silly and random questions here ladies.

So my stupid question is this. Do the monthly check-up appointments feel pointless to you guys? My appointment Wednesday was the first time they have even tried to find a heartbeat. The rest of the appointments have just been getting weighed, asking if I had any spotting, and peeing in a cup. Is that all they normally do?

HollyGolightly09

Mine have been like that, too. Last time I literally saw my Dr for maaaaybe 1 minute. 

DPandMB

Yup. That's about it. Checking BP too. Since my BP was so bad last time, I appreciate the appointment, but they do feel real pointless. 

LuckyPenny1231

Monthly appointments are quick and boring, that's why I always have gone by myself. I don't see a point in dh coming? 

kelseyrayay

So far all of mine have been eventful. But with my predicament they Chek LO a lot. With my first son they were short quick to the point. But i switched drs. This one is so much better. He is so nice and takes his time to explain everything. 

HollyGolightly09

LuckyPenny1231 said:

Monthly appointments are quick and boring, that's why I always have gone by myself. I don't see a point in dh coming? 

Yeah, DH was upset he missed mine because of
work. I told him not to lose sleep over it... 

DaphneMoon1

Yep, if everything is going well, they are fast and feel pointless. But that's a good thing! 

msashley2010-2

They do feel a bit pointless, minus getting to hear the heartbeat!! ❤️ 

I don't have a home Doppler because I feel like I won't use it right and then freak myself about it. 

SummerGirl21

Feel the exact same way.  My last appt was right after my NT scan (like, literally an hour apart) and my OB did nothing since I'd already seen the ultrasound and everything was fine.  They are good for me because I tend to get symptom-less UTIs when I'm pregnant, but I wish I could just go pee in a cup and leave. 

lilpoots

Agree with @DaphneMoon1 that it's a good thing for your prenatal check ups to seem quick and fairly boring. They're just checking to make sure you aren't measuring too small/too big, monitoring your bp and looking for any issues in your urine specimen. Uneventful is the way to go.

jena333-2

HollyGolightly09 said:

Mine have been like that, too. Last time I literally saw my Dr for maaaaybe 1 minute. 

Ugh. So frustrating. At my last one the doctor was AN ENTIRE HOUR behind - and I had zero phone battery. Then when she got in there, she was trying to make up for lost time, so she rushed through a couple questions, I was so flustered by her rushing I didn't get to ask any of my own. It's the first time I've dealt with this particular doctor, I've been really happy with the others I've seen (with this practice you never know who will be on when you deliver, so you meet with all four of them over the course of the pregnancy). 

HollyGolightly09

@jena333 there are 11 Drs in the practice I use... ELEVEN! I've seen three so far and have really liked all of them, but I find it unlikely that I won't eventually dislike one, lol. 

jena333-2

I've met the three women, but not the man yet. LOVED one, liked one, and was ehh about the third. Eleven is crazy.

I made up my mind to only do first thing in the morning appointments. I don't go into work until 9, and the office opens at 8. They can't be an hour behind schedule if I'm the first appointment of the day. Plus I'll also be at my lightest :P I weigh myself once a week at home (for my baby week by week journal), and I was like several pounds heavier at that appointment because it was at the end of the day (this is what I am telling myself, since I have weighed exactly the same for the last 6 weeks at home, first thing in the morning). 

jena333-2

"Silly" question (I should freaking be able to puzzle this out, I'm a microbiologist, I have taken immunology courses) - When you develop allergies/sensitivities during pregnancy, could they maybe go away when you're no longer pregnant? I've always been sensitive to bandage adhesive, but I used a band aid almost 3 weeks ago, for 24 hours, and had a nasty allergic reaction to it (blisters, insane itching for 5 days, and you can still see the redness). I am hoping this is not a long term fun thing.

mrs_tacos

jena333 said:

"Silly" question (I should freaking be able to puzzle this out, I'm a microbiologist, I have taken immunology courses) - When you develop allergies/sensitivities during pregnancy, could they maybe go away when you're no longer pregnant? I've always been sensitive to bandage adhesive, but I used a band aid almost 3 weeks ago, for 24 hours, and had a nasty allergic reaction to it (blisters, insane itching for 5 days, and you can still see the redness). I am hoping this is not a long term fun thing.

From everything I've heard/read, I think that the added severity caused by pregnancy usually goes away. I hope it's true, because my allergies are 10 times worse than before I was pregnant.

HollyGolightly09

@jena333 Hmm.... on one hand, I would say since skin is overall more sensitive during pregnancy, then probably. On the other hand, I know with most allergies the reaction gets a little worse with each exposure. 

My skin reacts the exact same way to bandage adhesive about 50% of the time. No idea why it's so oddly inconsistent, but it's annoying as hell. 

Carebella

@jena333 it could just be increased sensitivity from pregnancy hormones. Or it could just be increased sensitivity over time. Hopefully just pregnancy! But I'd ask your doctor to be sure. 

jena333-2

Carebella said:

@jena333 it could just be increased sensitivity from pregnancy hormones. Or it could just be increased sensitivity over time. Hopefully just pregnancy! But I'd ask your doctor to be sure. 

I meant to at my monthly but she was rushing me out of there so fast it got lost

lap018

I see the same OB every time and he delivers my baby. I can't imagine seeing a diff face every time I go in! I actually really missed seeing my OBs face once a week after I delivered! 

awildrose

Same @lap018. My OB is actually pretty insistent on delivering her own babies. I would not be ok with a "luck of the draw" practice. My last OB and I were very close and that made a huge impact on how she and I worked together for my delivery. (In a positive way) 

Becky012016

@jena333 do you see an allergist? They would probably know better than an OB about if the new reaction is a fluke due to pregnancy or if it will continue post delivery. 

HollyGolightly09

awildrose said:

Same @lap018. My OB is actually pretty insistent on delivering her own babies. I would not be ok with a "luck of the draw" practice. My last OB and I were very close and that made a huge impact on how she and I worked together for my delivery. (In a positive way) 

My Dr really wants to deliver her own babies, too. Apparently some of the Drs don't deliver on days they are seeing patients, but she does unless it's the middle of the night and she isn't one of the ones on call. 

jena333-2

Becky012016 said:

@jena333 do you see an allergist? They would probably know better than an OB about if the new reaction is a fluke due to pregnancy or if it will continue post delivery. 

I am actually not allergic to anything! Well, a relatively mild pineapple allergy (it makes my entire face itch... and I eat it anyway because it's freaking delicious), and now the stupid adhesive. So I've never had a cause to see one. 

lilpoots

@jena333 holy moley ouch. Yes, they can go away, but they sometimes don't. I have a mom friend from a previous bmb who was temporarily allergic to tomatoes and bananas, which her baby ended up being allergic to. Not long after birth, she was able to go back to eating everything. 

BigBadWolf12

JNR6510 the country I live in doesn't even bother with first tri appointments if you're not high risk (AMA or 3 consecutive losses or some other health condition that would require extra monitoring, which thankfully, I do not have).
This is our 'low risk' schedule:
1) pee stick test when you first go in (~6 weeks)
2) first appointment around 8 weeks with a bunch of questionaires and family history, blood sugar, urine test, and blood work
3) anatomy scan at 17-20 weeks.

Then appointments are once a month until the last 6-8 weeks when it's every other week.

I got an u/s because I did step 1 at 4 weeks, which they deemed 'too early' so the midwife wouldn't make me a first appointment, they told me to find a gyno and HE gave me an u/s*. Midwives don't check heart beat or anything here until 24 weeks. And generally the anatomy scan is the one and only u/s for the whole pregnancy unless you have a gyno who will do it for you at 8-10 weeks.

* when I first typed this I missed the space and it looked like "anu/s" which is not what I was going for 

Ae_Lovely321

@jena333 my OB clinic is the same way, probably because it's a military hospital and they're always the worse when it comes to having a regular doctor. Every appointment  I have had a different provider each time. I have no clue who is delivering my baby.  It will probably be another random person. 

JNR6510

@awildrose My OB is the same way. Her office has a practice of 10 doctors there, but she is really possessive and doesn't like any of the other doctors doing her deliveries. I guess that's a good thing???

@BigBadWolf12 We are high risk due to multiple MCs in the past. I guess since Lauren has been doing great so far we don't need quite as much extra monitoring.

Today is officially the most pregnant I have ever been, and the only thing the doctor was concerned about was possible GD due to baby measuring 8 days too large. But my glucose test came back perfect, so yay!

Another question, do any of you STMs have experience with large babies? DH's family always had really big babies. His sister was the smallest at 12lbs. 9oz. Is there anything special I should do to try to prepare? The idea of pushing a 12+ pound baby out seems traumatic.

BigBadWolf12

@jnr6510 I'm sorry that you're high risk due to multiple MCs I hope hearing her heartbeat each month helps a little with the pgal emotions and worries.

DPandMB

I have a random kinda dumb question for STM +. I have a 2 yo and she isn't potty trained yet.  We still carry a diaper bag for her with diapers and snacks and such. Now with this baby coming, what's best? 1 big diaper bag with both of their stuff or 2 bags. It is very possible DD will be potty trained by then, but if she's not? Thoughts? What did y'all do? 

MyNamesTaken

@DPandMB I would do one bag for both if you'll usually have them both with you. 

labby18

@JNR6510 yay for most pregnant ever & passing your glucose test!! I'm not a STM, but my family has all big babies too, not as big as that, but in the 9-10lb range. I'm petrified.

MyNamesTaken

My friend has two. Each was close to 11 lbs. She went naturally each time (home birth for #2) and had no issues.

mrs_tacos

@JNR6510 Yay!! Congrats on both counts! 

sugarpixxie2

@DPandMB I would plan on one bag, and by that time you will probably just need a change of clothes for accidents, sippy cup, and snack for your older one.

mamakculb

@DPandMB I would stick to one larger bag if you're going to have both kids together most of the time. 

On potty training, have you started already? If you haven't, I wouldn't pressure yourself or your DD to be potty trained before baby comes unless you're really sure shes ready and you're doing it sooner rather than later. There's still a lot of changes going on with you and it affects her even though baby isn't here yet. I would definitely expect some regression in potty training when baby arrives. It may be easier to start potty training after the family has settled in with the new little one.

DPandMB

@kristanoah Thank you for your response. I haven't started potty training. I am doing like you said and letting her go at her pace. She shows lots of signs of being ready, but she isn't fully there yet. Like she instantly wants dirty diapers changed, and she likes to sit on the potty, but she wont say anything before she has to go, only after she already has. So she is close, but not quite there. Also good point about the regression. I never even thought about that.

allowe

So, I tried an at home fetal Doppler for "fun" and couldn't find the heartbeat at 13 weeks. I have to wait until next Tuesday for my appt. anyone else have this happen but baby was fine at the dr? Kinda freaking mildly...

DaphneMoon1

Another question, do any of you STMs have experience with large babies? DH's family always had really big babies. His sister was the smallest at 12lbs. 9oz. Is there anything special I should do to try to prepare? The idea of pushing a 12+ pound baby out seems traumatic.

12 lbs?!?

My DS1 was 9#5oz, DS2 was 9#4oz. I delivered both vaginally. I have no advice. My first was a hard labor and hard recovery. I had 2 second degree tears. But baby #2 was so much easier. I guess the good thing is it gets easier if you do have a big baby. Good luck!

jena333-2

allowe said:

So, I tried an at home fetal Doppler for "fun" and couldn't find the heartbeat at 13 weeks. I have to wait until next Tuesday for my appt. anyone else have this happen but baby was fine at the dr? Kinda freaking mildly...

Don't freak. The baby's heart is so small at this point that it's easy to miss. My doctor couldn't find it at that time (so I got a quickie US to see the beats). Around 15 weeks I started being able to find it consistently at home (though not always quickly). 

allowe

Thank you!

msashley2010-2

Has anyone gotten the quad screening done yet? If so, how long did it take for you to get your results back? I took the quad test last week. I didn't have it done with my first. My anatomy scan is next Friday so I'm wondering if it will come back before then.