FTM Check-In 4/18

DuchessOfCambridge

Happy Tax Day everyone!

1) How far along are you?
2) Any appointments this week or last week? How did it go?
3) Cravings/symptoms?
4) Rants/raves/concerns?
5) Anything else you want to add/ask?
6) GTKY: Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Can be from a book/movie/Disney/anything. 

am1117

1) How far along are you?  
7w6d My husband keeps joking that I'm 7w6d pregnant, and 8w sober. 
2) Any appointments this week or last week? How did it go?
Still waiting on our first appointment- next week!
3) Cravings/symptoms?
No cravings-in fact, really I have lost my appetite and rarely feel hungry. New symptom is some mid-day nausea setting in daily from about 2-4pm.
4) Rants/raves/concerns?
I am very anxious/excited to get my first u/s and hear a heartbeat! However, I read yesterday that sometimes my doctor's office doesn't do u/s until 12 weeks?? I am calling today to determine if they plan to do one. Not a big "concern"... but yeah, leaving the office without a u/s would be a disapointment 
5) Anything else you want to add/ask?
We are planning to tell my in-laws about the baby in the next couple weeks. I'm a little nervous about their reaction. I think they will be excited, but sometimes I completely miss the mark when anticipating their response to big news. Getting married? They were happy but concerned about planning/spending. Buying a house? They worried that we were rushing into it. Basically, they are worriers and sometimes their reactions make me feel like i'm doing something wrong or being impetuous. Which is funny, my husband and I are big planners and have never done anything spontaneous haha. Married after 4 serious years of dating, bought a house in a nice neighborhood at a good rate, having first baby after multiple years of marriage and career building. And yet, I totally predict this news will be met with hesitation and fear! 
6) GTKY: Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Can be from a book/movie/Disney/anything. 
Leslie Knope! Huge supporter of  Girl power and female friendships and waffles. So many female characters on tv sitcoms are either bossy/pushy or airheads. I love that her character was tough but lovable.

DuchessOfCambridge

@am1117 Leslie Knope is awesome! I hope your in-laws don't act hesitant about your news. We had lots of people be weird to us about getting married but so far with the baby news everyone has been just thrilled, wishing the same for you.

1) How far along are you?
9w3d
2) Any appointments this week or last week? How did it go?
Just a check in last week because I was nervous about my pain. All good!
3) Cravings/symptoms?
Still craving a Subway tuna melt which I probably will this entire pregnancy. It may be my post-delivery food. Also reading a book called "How the Hot Dog Found Its Bun" and it made me want a chimichanga so we are going to get that for dinner tonight before meeting up with friends.
4) Rants/raves/concerns?
Rave: I told one of my best friends about our pregnancy last night and she was really really excited. It makes me so happy to tell people close to us and have them be really excited about it.
Minor rant: This morning was one of the first times in a while that I was super comfortable and no stomach issues or pain and I just didn't want to get up.
5) Anything else you want to add/ask?
6) GTKY: Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Can be from a book/movie/Disney/anything. 
Hermione Granger. She's just so smart and confident in what she wants for herself and believes in and is also a BAMF. Girl power for sure.

Tourmalily

1) How far along are you?
11 weeks eeeeee! 
2) Any appointments this week or last week? How did it go?
I went in for an unscheduled appointment yesterday after some spotting and pressure in my lower abdomen, but both protomolecule and I are just fine. I have a bladder infection but the antibiotics seem to be helping already. 
3) Cravings/symptoms?
No cravings, I seem to have moved past that part. No more nausea, either, but lots of bloating and constipation. 
4) Rants/raves/concerns?
Maternity pants are so great you guys. I am no longer being squeezed in two. I can breathe! 
5) Anything else you want to add/ask?
What's everyone's feelings on the holidays?  If you celebrate, will you still be joining family or are you planning on keeping it low key this year? This sounds mad, but my husband and I are keen to host my family for Thanksgiving and Christmas because we have the largest house in our immediate family and then we don't have to travel with an infant. 
6) GTKY: Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Can be from a book/movie/Disney/anything.
Oh geez, this is tough. Ummm it's gonna be a toss up between Commander Cullen from the Dragon Age games or Garrus Vakarian from the Mass Effect games. 

jess0211

1) How far along are you? 10 +6
2) Any appointments this week or last week? How did it go?  We are anxiously awaiting our genetic testing results.  
3) Cravings/symptoms? Symptoms come and go, kind of crampy today. Last night my legs ached and I couldn'tget comfortable. Woke up hips aching.
4) Rants/raves/concerns?  The cramps are bothering me today. 
5) Anything else you want to add/ask? Not at the moment.
6) GTKY: Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Can be from a book/movie/Disney/anything. 

Oh geez.. I need more time for this one.

jess0211

@Tourmalily since we don't live near family we would have to travel 7 hrs to spend the holidays with our family. We do this quite often but I am not comfortable doing it with an infant of only a month or so. We decided our family is welcome to visit us (at least a few of them) but this year will be low-key. 

DuchessOfCambridge

@Tourmalily I desperately want to go to Thanksgiving this year, but it'd be a 6 hour drive and 5 days after my due date so it probably won't happen. DH's cousins are trying to put together an early Thanksgiving because of that and also because another cousin is due in September and another in November as well.

In reality DH's mom will probably visit and we'll do a little Thanksgiving at our apartment...maybe.

dragonfly87-2

1) How far along are you? 8w5d
2) Any appointments this week or last week? How did it go? First U/S last week to confirm due date. Everything went well. Next appt isn't until May 16 at 12w4d
3) Cravings/symptoms? Nausea, nausea, vomiting, nausea and a little bit of sore boobs
4) Rants/raves/concerns? Just trying to patiently wait and hope everything is progressing well.
5) Anything else you want to add/ask? Nope.
6) GTKY: Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Can be from a book/movie/Disney/anything.
Growing up, I loved Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Now, I don't think I necessarily have a favorite character, although I really enjoyed reading A Thousand Splendid Suns recently and I was really impressed with Laila, one of the main characters who was a strong, intelligent woman who faced a great deal of adversity, tragedy and trauma with grace and strength. 

JulesDP

1) How far along are you? 10w5d 
2) Any appointments this week or last week? How did it go? Nothing this week. I have an appointment next Thursday to go over allllllll the testing (blood panel, enhanced carrier, NIPT) results. I'll also have an u/s - so excited to see this little shrimp again!
3) Cravings/symptoms? Shrug. Not really. I ate soooo much junk food last weekend - I need to get back to eating more nutrient rich foods and less Reese peanut butter eggs  
4) Rants/raves/concerns? We announced to my husband's family this past weekend. They were over the moon. My little nieces are so excited about having a cousin.
5) Anything else you want to add/ask? Are you planning on taking any classes before the baby is born? The hospital where I will deliver offers a number of classes - breastfeeding, baby care, cpr, etc etc. I would like to take the first aid/CPR class, but I don't really think I'm interested in any of the other ones.
6) GTKY: Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Can be from a book/movie/Disney/anything. 
I think I'm a very interesting combination of Leslie Knope and April Ludgate from Parks and Rec. I'm very driven and goal oriented like Leslie (I also enjoy waffles @am1117 !) . But I also do not suffer fools gladly and I love animals like April.  God, I miss that show!

@DuchessOfCambridge  I Hermione! She is such a BAMF character.
@Tourmalily YAAAAAAS maternity pants.  I bought a pair of demi-panel (basically just a stretchy waist band) chinos and I feel like a million bucks when I wear them. Actual footage of me the first time that I wore them:

@jess0211 I've been thinking about you - I hope that you get the results from your genetic testing soon!

dragonfly87-2

Tourmalily  Well, my due date is Thanksgiving...so we have no real plans. I know it's unlikely to give birth on the actual travel date, but we have decided we will not make plans for that whole week. Usually, we spend Thanksgiving here in town with DH's mom, so we don't really travel, but my parents do plan to come out around that time this year. So we will play it by ear.

For Christmas, we told my parents we probably won't come out for the two weeks like we normally do because baby would be about 4 weeks old and we don't want to travel 8 hours (between driving, flying, etc). So they have decided they will flight out again to visit us. 

DuchessOfCambridge

@JulesDP I'm taking allll the baby classes, especially infant care. I feel they could provide me with a lot of information I've never thought about. I also know I'm an anxious person so the more information I have, the better, but I know so many moms who haven't taken classes and been totally fine. You do you.

daisymae6215

I haven't checked in for a few weeks, but I'm going to try and be more active here.

1) How far along are you? 10+6
2) Any appointments this week or last week? How did it go? Appointment last week at 10+1 and baby was measuring 10+5 and everything looked good!
3) Cravings/symptoms? I've just been eating whatever sounds good at the moment. The nausea is a little better, but still vomiting almost every morning.
4) Rants/raves/concerns? We told a lot of family on Easter so that was really exciting. I don't think we will post anything on social media for a while yet. Telling people in person is so much better!
5) Anything else you want to add/ask? Anyone know any stores that have a good selection of gender neutral clothes? 
6) GTKY: Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Can be from a book/movie/Disney/anything. Dor some reason I keep thinking Peter Pan. maybe it's because it's my favorite Disney movie. Not sure a boy who doesn't want to grow up is really my favorite fictional character though.

jess0211

@julesdp our hospital offers childbirth classes and newborn care/breast feeding classes. We plan to take both. Eta DH really wants the classes so it may be more for him than me. Haha

kmnat18

1) How far along are you? 8 weeks today (although measuring at 7w 5 days)
2) Any appointments this week or last week? How did it go? None, probably will go for my lab work this week though. Next OB appointment is 5/2.
3) Cravings/symptoms? No true cravings.  Many aversions. Mild cramping and some constipation. Very sore breasts. I have also been exhausted this week. 
4) Rants/raves/concerns?  Just want to know everything is going smoothly and anxious for the next U/S. Looking forward to telling people in another month. 
5) Anything else you want to add/ask? 
6) GTKY: Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Can be from a book/movie/Disney/anything. Currently, I would say Jenn (married to Colin Hanks character) from the TV Show Life in Pieces.  I feel like I understand her so we'll, because like her husband in the show, my husband is also babied by his mom. So many things that happen in her story lines are like extreme Hilarious dramatizations of my life with my in laws.  

zigzag8412

1) How far along are you?
11w3d
2) Any appointments this week or last week? How did it go?
Appt #2 today!  So ready!  So distracted....
3) Cravings/symptoms?
All the carbs (and gas...).  Moody/ticky as crap.
4) Rants/raves/concerns?
Not really
5) Anything else you want to add/ask?
Holidays: DH's family is local and mine plans on visiting. It'll just be my parents and one of my sisters tho cause her husband will be deployed and my other sis will be at a new station with the Marines.  So low key.  I don't feel bad asking them for help/putting them to work and am super looking forward to not traveling.
Classes:  Definitely want to find something BF specific.  Hospital offers online videos and you can ask questions during the tour (lame).  I don't know if I want to go full Bradley Method, but will definitely want to find some local classes on more natural approaches.  I expect my doula (whenever I pick one) will help me know where to look.
6) GTKY: Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Can be from a book/movie/Disney/anything. 
Anne of Green Gables.  For all the reasons.  The red hair, the sass, the crazy, the passionate, the compassionate, the bold, the "doesn't take crap," the flighty/creative/imaginative.  All of it.

Edit: because words.

jess0211

@zigzag8412 good luck today!

DuchessOfCambridge

Good luck @zigzag8412!

zigzag8412

@jess0211 thank you! 

ibanezstarburst

1) How far along are you? 9 weeks 4 days
2) Any appointments this week or last week?  How did it go? I have one this Friday! Excited but nervous. I'm hoping the doctor will try listening to baby bear's heartbeat with the doppler as we haven't heard it yet. The ultrasound tech didn't do the sound when we went for our ultrasound so we only got to see the heartbeat. 
3) Cravings/symptoms? I really can't complain too much! I did have a strange throb/ache on the left side of my pelvis this week and freaked out about it but it's gone now and all seems well. I've definitely been experiencing food aversions. I'm yet to find something that tastes good to me this week. Everything just tastes bad or off to me. Even my usual favourites are a no go. I have been craving orange juice though.
4) Rants/raves/concerns? Rant to hormones. We've been working on finishing up our basement and DH is stressed/cranky about it. That combined with my up and down hormones this week has been a brutal combo for the two of us. 
5) Anything else you want to add/ask? What is everyone's must have baby item? Mine is definitely a big comfy rocking chair! I can't wait to get one and snuggle up with baby in it!
6) GTKY: Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Can be from a book/movie/Disney/anything. I'm with @DuchessOfCambridge on this one! Hermione from Harry Potter (or really anyone from the series) There is just something about reading the books/watching the movies that makes me so happy inside. 

lck101

1) How far along are you? 8 weeks 3 days
2) Any appointments this week or last week?  How did it go? Nope. Anxiously waiting our first ultrasound and OB appointment next Monday. 
3) Cravings/symptoms? More aversions than cravings, though I'm happy to report I didn't let any pesky aversions get in the way of stuffing myself full of food and sweets on Easter. Definitely feeling the increased urination...I used to be proud (don't ask me why, it doesn't make sense) that I could go for super long stretches without having to go to the bathroom but that claim to fame has long since passed. I was feeling a lot of nausea--but no throwing up--last week and <fingers crossed> that seems to have gone away. I've been getting headaches in the evenings over the last couple days. Metamucil is my new BFF. Seriously, it's a miracle.
4) Rants/raves/concerns? We told our families on Easter/last night and it feels so good to have let them in on our secret. Both families were thrilled, and my sister in law, who can be...difficult....has been shockingly sweet and supportive. I'm waiting to tell work for a couple more weeks, and then I'll tell any remaining friends/extended family. I don't think we'll do a big social media reveal (not hating, just not my thing).
5) Anything else you want to add/ask?
6) GTKY: Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Can be from a book/movie/Disney/anything.

Gotta give a shout out to all four of my Girls who are Golden. I've always loved the Golden Girls and for some reason I just feel so happy and peaceful whenever I watch it. I used to watch it almost every night while falling asleep years ago, and just started to put on some episodes lately (holla to Hulu for having the whole series up now) as I'm drifting off. Just thinking of the theme song puts a smile on my face.

car1a

1) How far along are you?  10+4
2) Any appointments this week or last week? How did it go? n/a
3) Cravings/symptoms? Minor symptoms, it's very odd to me how the hormones can affect people so differently (and be different for each pregnancy) and I'm surprised that more is not known about why this is!
4) Rants/raves/concerns? Not really! I guess one rant is that both my mother and MIL are very passive which can irritate me pretty easily (just tell me straight how you feel!), but this past weekend when my MIL found out we were expecting the conversation quickly turned to whether we'd find out the sex, and to my surprise she was (passively) against us finding out! Totally not expected. She kept saying things like, "Oh, yeah, no, I never found out." "I didn't feel the need to find out, it just didn't really matter to me" "Oh, yeah, huh, I thought it was easy to find gender neutral things" (muttering the words "yellow" and "red" under her breath, lol). I had better get used to the opinions!
5) Anything else you want to add/ask? Holiday plans - we'll likely stay here both for Thanksgiving and Christmas and have family visit. I'm sure they'll be in town quite a bit anyway! We like to host holidays anyway, we have a small family so it's pretty simple.
Baby Classes - I already signed us up for all of the ones that are offered - birthing, breastfeeding, infant care. My sister said that her and her DH were surprised by how much they learned at their infant class - mainly some random tips that you wouldn't think to google and would otherwise just have no idea about.
6) GTKY: Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Can be from a book/movie/Disney/anything. 
It's tough to choose! Off the top of my head I'd have to say that I've always related to beatnik characters/book themes. I can't remember many feminine characters from my childhood that I was inspired by.

safinn21

1) How far along are you?  10 Weeks tomorrow! 9w6d
2) Any appointments this week or last week? How did it go? None till early May
3) Cravings/symptoms? I feel SO much better! Haven't had nausea in a few days and my fatigue is letting up. Still a bit bloated and minor constipation but I can't complain. 
4) Rants/raves/concerns? We told our families on Sunday about the baby which was so fun and such a relief. We're slowly starting to tell other people which is also really nice. just excited to be in the second trimester soon!
5) Anything else you want to add/ask? Holiday plans - We already told our families wherever we are they can come to us, no traveling out of state with a 1 week old!
Baby Classes - I truly haven't even thought of this... between my last month of school and work I barely have a day off (hence me being absent from the board - I still lurk and will join in more once I have time!). I probably won't do any classs but it's interesting to hear what you all have signed up for, I may look into something when I find time!
6) GTKY: Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Can be from a book/movie/Disney/anything. 
Umm this is tough, I guess growing up my fav was always Ariel, not sure why.

ibanezstarburst

@am1117 try not to stress about telling your on laws. I though for sure that's how my MIL would react and she was very excited. Let us know how it goes!

@Tourmalily I'm torn about the holidays. I can't decide between hosting or doing our usual of trying to run around to 3 different sets of our parent's houses. 

@JulesDP I would definitely like to take some classes but I'm not sure which ones yet. Probably for sure one on breastfeeding and first aid/CPR.

@zigzag8412 good luck at your appointment!

sarebear55

1) How far along are you?
12 weeks tomorrow!
2) Any appointments this week or last week? How did it go?
I have an appt tomorrow... So far all I know that I'm doing is the blood test for chromosomal issues
3) Cravings/symptoms?
All the sour things... Lemonade/sour candy etc
4) Rants/raves/concerns?
I'm exhausted all the times, my allergies are here and they are unreal, I'm also hoping I get taken off restrictions tomorrow
5) Anything else you want to add/ask?
Anyone else having the crazy hormones that make you feel like a 13 year old boy who discovered masturbation?!? I can't have any sex due to doctor's orders but I want to sooooo bad
6) GTKY: Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Can be from a book/movie/Disney/anything. 
Hermione from Harry Potter. I feel like we would have had the same reaction to going to school... Doing everything we could to learn as much as possible about this world we never knew existed. 

misschanandlerbong15

1) How far along are you? 11+5
2) Any appointments this week or last week? How did it go? next appointment is this thursday
3) Cravings/symptoms? no real cravings, nausea has gotta somewhat better (until I get a random day where it completely kicks my butt) but I've started getting headaches the last few days
4) Rants/raves/concerns? my mom got my a fee maternity shirts and a pair of maternity pants for easter - soo much more comfortable than squeezing into my regular pants!
5) Anything else you want to add/ask? nothing at the moment
6) GTKY: Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Can be from a book/movie/Disney/anything. I read way to much to be able to pick just one 

zigzag8412

Thanks for the well wishes DuchessOfCambridge , christyh0912, and everyone!  Doctor used the term "perfect" when describing how everything looked so I'm basically on cloud 9!  Actually posted results in Ultrasound because it *wasn't* Doppler today!  So fun to see LO squirming around!