2nd Trimester Check-In: Week of April 24th **NEW LEADER NEEDED**

byrneme

Hey all! I'll be 27 weeks, 6 days next Monday so I'd like to get someone lined up for the following week, May 8th!

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 appointment is and what for. If I'm missing anyone from this list, or you are new to the 2nd tri, please let me know and I will add you.

Please let us know when you have graduated to 3rd trimester so that I can update our list!

Mommies to be:

@taradise99 EDD 7/16/17 with 2 boys!
@MicronesianMamma EDD 7/21/17 with 1 boy!
@byrneme EDD 7/25/17 with 1 surprise bean!
@ARB425 EDD 7/30/17 with 1 girl!
@JuliaAnn86 EDD 8/4/17 with 2 beans!
@persnickity EDD 8/5/17 with 1 bean!
@ChristinaV2015 EDD 8/5/17 with 1 surprise bean!
@Esperer EDD 8/6/17 with 2 beans!
@ljsmith805 EDD 8/8/17 with 1 girl!
@JWatt5 EDD 8/13/17 with 1 bean!
@DDRGirlie EDD 8/16/17 with 1 boy and 1 girl!
@Stars2016 EDD 8/24/17 with 1 boy!
@oxinfree EDD 9/5/17 with 1 boy!
@omarismyhomeboy EDD 9/8/17 with 1 girl!
@latershrader  EDD 9/12/17 with 1 boy!
@Kp214 EDD 9/25/17
@emilye13 EDD 9/28/17 with 1 girl!
@emgem819 EDD 10/5/17 with TWIN girls!
@ChocolateIsLife EDD 10/21/17 with 1 girl!

QOTW: What question are you getting tired of being asked?

omarismyhomeboy

Hey hey! 20 weeks, 3 days over here with a miracle little girl. Last week was our 20 week appt and it was fairly non-eventful which is always good. We don't get our anatomy scan until 24 weeks, so a month to go on that...

At 20 weeks, baby girl's head was measuring 1 day ahead, and her belly and legs were measuring 1 day behind, so all on track! They estimated her to be 11 oz- Yet when they told me her percentile, she was at 38.3%, down from 50th percentile at 16 weeks. They said its totally fine, but I think it's strange that she could be measuring so on track and be 11 oz and yet be below average? I don't know...

Anyway, I have been feeling her move a lot more! It's amazing! It's like a little alien kick-boxing

QOTW: What question are you getting tired of being asked? Omg without a doubt, it goes like this:
them: "do you know what you are having?"
me: "yup, it's a girl!"
them: "is that what you wanted?"


first of all, don't make me go there about my IF journey- 'wanting' a certain sex has LONG been out the window. And I don't know who would possibly answer 'no' to that question! Like, "no, we are actually already disappointed in our unborn fetus' sex, but we are trying to make do." Like, really people??? Yes, it's exactly what I wanted. And the same thing if it had been a boy! Sheesh. 

byrneme

Hello ladies! I'm 26w6d today which means 3rd tri is NEXT TUESDAY. Holy cow! I guess a new leader is needed and I should update this post. Didn't quite realize it until I typed that. Craziness. No appointments this week - I have my glucose test and rhogan (gam?) shot next week so that should be fun, yay...

Last week's appointment went great, just a check in, so I'm comforted by that. I'm sick with an upper respiratory thing and had a fever over the weekend which freaked me out. I went to urgent care because I was at home for my family shower and asked for a heartbeat check while I was there, just to ease my mind, and they were able to do it with a stethoscope! That blew my mind that I've reached that point where it's just a doppler that can be used. 

I had a great shower this weekend - I was impressed almost everyone stuck to the registry. And those that didn't were for clothes and books which I will NEVER complain about. It's all starting to get REALLY real!! 

QOTW - OMG @omarismyhomeboy, yes! Although mine goes a bit differently:

Them: do you know what you're having?
Me: nope, we aren't finding out
Them: really? why? That's crazy, I'd be dying to find out. How are you planning ANYTHING??

Most questions don't annoy me - it's the follow up to my answer. Maybe it's because, having gone through the IF/IVF process I am happy to answer that I'm still feeling fine or planning on going back to work or whatever because I know how lucky I am to just get to this point. But let's not then critique my answer!!

JWatt5

Happy Monday Everyone!
24w,1d with our little boy - Viability! Feels great to reach this point! Feeling great right now - seem to just be coasting along. I have the glucose challenge this Saturday, other wise no appts until May 10th. That should be the last one with my Family Doctor and I'll be fully transferred to my OB. I haven't seen my OB since March so I'm accumulated some questions for her! Work has been crazy busy, but in a good way- right now I can honestly say I'm getting a little bummed I'll be leaving my team for a year but I'm sure as soon as he's here, it won't bother me hehe.

QOTW - I still can't believe that people ask me if it was planned! (I am an adult - also married so a baby typically follows) Yes it was planned, I assure you!. When I say that I get a statement from them -  "oh August - it's so hot, you're going to be so miserable - you should have planned that one better". Awkward Smile and nod...and then I just remind them there's A/C everywhere you go.

@byrneme - 3rd trimester already!! yeah!!! 

latershrader

Hi all. 19w6d today with one baby boy. Excited for this week. I'm leaving the office in about an hour for my monthly OB appointment. Nothing exciting I'm sure. But Thursday is our anatomy scan! I'm super excited. I'm bringing my mom with me, since I thought she'd get a kick out of seeing her first grandchild on screen. I'm feeling good. Got my pillow situation straightened out. Allergies are kicking my butt still so I'm going to ask the OB what else I can do. If one more person tells me "local honey" i think I'll throw something at their face. LOL!

QOTW: How are you feeling? That is something I get asked daily, multiple times a day. I know it's all well intentioned, but I just get tired of it. I'm feeling great, really.

@omarismyhomeboy I do get asked about the sex, and it is annoying to justify not caring what this baby was, either way. I'm just happy to be pregnant at all.
@byrneme Congratulations on hitting the third tri! Can't wait to see you over on those boards!!
@JWatt5 YAY! Viability! I'm so happy for you!

latershrader

Oh! And @byrneme I'm happy to take over the board unless someone who's earlier in the second tri wants to do it!

byrneme

@JWatt5 yay for viability!! Congratulations  
@latershrader thank you for volunteering! I'll let you know if anyone else due after you jumps in!

MicronesianMamma

Hey everyone! I've been MIA due to things being crazy at work and at home, still trying to move out all of SO's stuff from the nursery. I'm 27w3d with my little man and I can't believe 3rd tri is this Friday already!! We went on our babymoon to Big Bear, which was nice and very cold. I passed the 2hr glucose test last week - what a relief. Passover was a lot of fun with all of the baby talk but I was a tad bummed about having to pass on the gefilte fish this year. I don't have any dr. appointments till 5/11 but we do have our first interview with a pediatrician next week and I hope we both really like her, the staff, and office so we don't have to do any more interviews. I registered online with the hospital and started my birth plan. Our shower is not till June 3 but I'm already seeing items being purchased  - super exciting!  I love feeling him move around and kick and I'm becoming familiar with his schedule. 

QOTW: Not really tired of being asked any questions but I also haven't been asked annoying questions or the same question over and over again. 

Read through posts from last week and I love the nurseries @byrneme & @JWatt5 !!!

@jwatt5 Congrats on reaching viability!!

ChocolateIsLife

@omarismyhomeboy Ahh I am so excited about baby kicks!! Can you feel them from the outside as well? I really dislike invasive/personal questions like that(from people that aren't super close). I haven't been around too many people yet since announcing, but I think I'm going to read everyones answers to QOTW and come up with some awkward responses to confuse people if I get the same question. Oh and I found you on IG and followed you! I haven't updated mine much since starting IVF last year, but there are lots of cats/dogs on it! 

ChocolateIsLife

@byrneme I hope you are feeling better! Yay for a successful baby shower! Congrats on moving to 3rd trimester next week! 

AFM: Currently 14w3d and my next appointment is at 19 weeks, which is right after we get back from our trip to Oregon/Washington! Things are pretty smooth right now, and it feels like my stomach is growing every day. This may be TMI, but we had sex over the weekend for the first time since the first week of January. This is the first time we haven't been restricted for one reason or another, and I feel like a new person 

QOTW: What question are you getting tired of being asked? I haven't had to too many questions irritate me, but I keep going back to comments that make me want to scream. The "just you wait" comments are what I'm really not loving right now. I am pretty sure I have posted about this on my BMB too, but it just drives me crazy. Example:
FIL: How are you feeling?
Me: Pretty good, not as tired as I have been which is nice.
FIL: Just you wait, you are never going to sleep once you have your baby.

omarismyhomeboy

@ChocolateIsLife are you a pet photographer???? that is the great job of all time! so amazing! let me go through and like every..single...cat photo...haha. 

As far as kicks, its pretty hard to feel externally- but its getting stronger and stronger! It's the coolest feeling. 

ChocolateIsLife

@omarismyhomeboy Thanks girl! Most of those pets are actually rescue work. I take their glamour shots to get them adopted, and it usually works! 

ARB425

edited because the site is having glitches and won't save my entire post!

ARB425

Hi everyone! I'm 26 weeks 2 days and due July 30th with a little girl! My next OB appointment isn't til next week but then I have the dreaded glucose test! I can't believe I'm 2 weeks away from my 3rd trimester. At times it still doesn't feel real. Nothing new or exciting to report. Just coasting along. Definitely still having some pelvic tenderness but I really think that's from being on my feet a lot and everything expanding. I'm going to ask the OB about it next week.
We are working on a few nursery craft/diy projects so I'm looking forward to finishing those. Yesterday alone at work I had 3 coworkers tell me how much my belly has popped. I wear loose scrubs so prior to this most people couldn't tell! Time to invest in some larger tops!

QOTW: I get a little irritated that people think it's odd my husband will essentially be a stay at home dad. I hold our insurance benefits so not going back to work or going to part time is not an option. He works from home with a very flexible schedule so we are just making the best of our situation. 

@chocolateislife Ohh I love the " just you wait" comments. One of my co workers loved to always tell me "just be glad you don't have kids" when she was ranting about hers! Used to drive me crazy when we were struggling to just get pregnant!

@JWatt5 yay for viability! Congratulations!

@byrneme Congratulations on getting to the 3rd trimester! I'll be joining you there shortly! I hope you are feeling better! So glad your shower went but well!

@latershrader sorry to hear about the allergies! This year has been terrible for the pollen counts, at least in Ohio. Mine are driving me up a wall!

latershrader

You guys, @oxinfree has a blog post about National Infertility Awareness Week that has me in tears. (Sorry to be cyber-stalker-y!). Please go take a look and share it. https://liv4today.blog/2017/04/26/listen-up-niaw/

I hope @oxinfree is just busy advocating for us and that's why she hasn't posted. Thank you for that beautiful tribute.

JWatt5

@latershrader - I watched it last night - great job @oxinfree. 

ChocolateIsLife

@latershrader that brought tears to my eyes as well! Such a meaningful post @oxinfree

oxinfree

Super late to posting, whoops. Usually I'm on the ball! Been a busy week...

We are currently 21 weeks with baby boy due Sept 5.
We had our anatomy scan yesterday and everything went great! Yet another doc telling us its safe to go off lovenox but still so nervous and we're planning to wait for viability at least. Thats only 3 weeks await... what!?!!?

We went to the outlets and bought WAYYYY too many baby clothes, whoops, prices were too good and clothes too cute to resist though. I have had family in town from Ireland for the week which has been nice, but busy. They helped me out with my #ListenUP NIAW concept video. Thanks for sharing it @latershrader and yes, just been busy over here haha -  I'm sure you could all relate to it if you wanna watch it you can here! It's really short (2 min) but is all about what we endure to get our babies. Loved honoring our journey in that way. Glad those that have seen it enjoyed it I aim to continue being an advocate for this community as much as I can.

Otherwise, feeling alright, busy getting ready to move and SOOOOO excited to start on the nursery and nest Been so jealous of all you ladies and your nurseries etc. PS when are y'all planning on buying your carseats/strollers?

QOTW>> I hate the standard - How are you feeling? --- pregnant! haha obviously .I dunno. 

@ARB425 - mine is in 3 weeks and I too am dreading it. Hope it goes well for you! I met a couple where the father was a stay at home dad and my first reaction was "that's awesome". I think it's incredible when a couple is unwilling to conform to gender roles just because that's what society thinks is appropriate or normal. Parenting is normal, and that's a team effort. Each couples situation is entirely different and unique and should be considered as such. Power to you guys and just let those comments slide off your back. I'm sure there's plenty of women who wish their SO's would be more involved. xx

@ChocolateIsLife - haha no TMI in the case of this community! We've only had intercourse once as I had bad cramping after the next day. We'll likely give it another go soon, but so glad it went well for you!!! Hope you have a nice trip! 

@MicronesianMamma  - wow almost 3rd tri!! how exciting. Crazy how time keeps speeding up throughout pregnancy. I hear it slows down again near the end though.

@latershrader  - allergies are also kicking my butt. So bad this year! Good luck at anatomy scan tomorrow!

@JWatt5 - yahoooooooooooooooooooo viability milestone, how exciting!!!! Yay

@omarismyhomeboy  - alien kickboxing - omg too funny, I literally giggled out loud. Pretty accurate description. 

@byrneme - yay for a successful baby shower and yay for 3rd trimester! Sorry to hear you were sick but glad you got some reassurance about baby! 

JWatt5

@ARB425 - I'm doing my glucose test Saturday am, I'll let ya know it goes hehe. Nice that my testing clinic is open Saturdays & beside the grocery store - they'll let me leave for the hours to get my shopping done - helps when you have to drive 30 mins into town to start with. 

My afternoon energy levels have gone down the tubes - I feel like I'm in the first trimester again - not quite as bad but switch out extra tired with just tired & irritable...poor DH. By the time I get home I just don't want to make dinner, never mind being able to decide what I actually want, then go on the verge of a meltdown over the food before I stop and remind myself to chill out and stop being a brat hehe. All I want is chicken caesar salads lately hehe. 

@oxinfree - We bought our stroller a while ago because I was excited - now I'm super bummed because the Britax Be Safe Infant seat is not compatible with the City Select anymore  (In Canada, but also heard its the same for the US since Britax changed up their seat connector to easily pair with the BOB strollers) Baby Jogger said it might have the new adaptor in Canada later this spring/early summer but I think I'll want to know which we want to purchase if it's not ready in June and then buy it by 37 weeks/full term. 
If it's not ready....any suggestions on which car seat anyone? We've been looking at the Peg Perrego, it's nice and light but pricy.  

omarismyhomeboy

@oxinfree omg your video is so amazing!!!! so happy your anatomy scan was perfect. Bummed I have to wait another 3 weeks for mine...

ARB425

@jwatt5 I don't know which city select stroller you have but depending on which one the Chicco key fit 30 may work according to their chart online.
 Obviously I haven't used it yet but it is super user friendly and has a dial that shows if it in sitting properly in your car. 
Good luck on the glucose test! I'm surprised that they are letting you leave. Exercise affects glucose levels( in the best way by lowering them) so typically they make you sit there and not have any fluids. That's awesome though. I'd be doing laps around the store for sure!

@oxinfree love the video! Thanks for your positive words. I've been letting it slide off my back but it is just irritating! Believe me he is partly terrified for when I go back to work but I keep reminding him that I'll be home for 12-13 weeks and I work 5 minutes from our house. He has never even changed a diaper so it will be different but I think he's going to be such a great dad. He is so interactive with our nieces/nephews/ friends children I think he will pick up everything quickly! 

byrneme

@oxinfree your video ❤️ Love. 

Kp214

@oxinfree that video is amazing and so moving. I'm in tears. That's a powerful video. 

I'm 18w+3 today with a little boy. I have an appointment in 30 minutes due to spotting yesterday and this morning. However, the next official appt is the 20 weeks scan on 5/9. 

oxinfree

@Kp214 - thinking of you. hope your appointment gave you some reassurance! I'm sure all is fine but look forward to an update xx

JWatt5

@ARB425 - I didn't know that! They said no problem to leave when I asked at my last TSH check - I've got an appt downloaded that lets me know I'm up 15 mins before. Maybe that person didn't know. I'll throw a book in my bag just incase haha.

omarismyhomeboy

@Kp214 So sorry you're dealing with that. I have had spotting about 3 times in my pregnancy, and it is scary every time. But THANKFULLY, things have all been fine- my cervix is a little more sensitive than others, and its very vascular during pregnancy. Still though, I have a mantra that every day without spotting is a great day. I know how it feels, girl. But hopefully everything is totally fine. Keep us posted xx. 

Kp214

@oxinfree and @omarismyhomeboy thanks for the reassurances. Everything looked good. They aren't sure why I had spotting and have told me to do nothing overly strenuous. I haven't been, so no big lifestyle changes. It was really nice seeing baby boy waving at me, such a relief!

oxinfree

@Kp214 glad to hear

byrneme

@Kp214 yay! so happy to hear that.

emgem819

Hi ladies!  First, I want to apologize for being so off these boards for the last few weeks.  DH and I have been in waiting limbo for the tests that determine if baby has a chromosomal issue.  It all started a month ago when they noticed a higher than normal neck size in baby a, and we had 2 inconclusive Q Natal tests done, 1 inconclusive CVS procedure (where they take a sample of baby's placenta) where they couldn't get a big enough sample and the cells didn't grow, and finally I just had an amnio done and got results back yesterday that baby is normal and is also a girl!  So it's been a long stressful waiting period but now we can finally breathe a little easier knowing that both babies are normal and move on with the pregnancy.

As a recap, I have two girl beans growing inside of me and I'm due on October 5th, so I'm now 17 weeks along.  Because of all of this stress, I decided it was best to switch to a high risk doctor, so I've been in the process of doing that, and have my next appointment next Friday.  I had pre-diabetes before I got pregnant (2 years of infertility treatments seems to not have helped in that department) and now I likely have gestational diabetes.  I've had to test my blood sugar 4x/day with a finger pricker kit, and next week I'll get the diagnosis but with the numbers I've seen so far, it's pretty likely I have it.  I've also had some high blood pressure lately so my doctor wants me to prepare for possibly having preeclampsia later on in the pregnancy.  DH is freaking out about this because his ex-wife had this as well, as it was extra stress inducing and made his son be born 1 1/2 months early.  All this anxiety has caused a bit of tension in our marriage, so next week we have an appointment with a mid-wife who has a mental health background, so we can hopefully talk it out and get to a point where we're both excited and not as anxious about everything.  We're also moving next month into a bigger place, so we'll be having to pay a bigger rent and will need to buy a new car soon, not to mention all the baby stuff we'll need, so you can imagine our anxiety is growing!   But we're both really trying to take it day by day and just be thankful for what we can do right now. 

QOTW: Honestly, the people that know we're pregant have been great about being supportive and giving us our space.  People have been asking about the test results (DH's mom has been constantly asking!) and we keep telling them we don't know anything more, but yesterday we were finally able to tell the good news.  We are announcing to FB this weekend and I told everyone at work yesterday and some friends who didn't know.  I'm sure we'll get those annoying questions soon, but so far, people have been giving us space and very supportive. 

emgem819

@oxinfree love love your video.  Thank you for making it and sharing the infertility journey with the world.  It made me tear up as well as it really is such a long journey but in the end that one embryo, one doctor, one baby makes it all worth it

Kp214

@emgem819 I'm so sorry about all the alextra stress. I'm glad baby A's results came back normal and that you found out the gender. Hopefully, that takes a big weight off of you. Hang in there. 

JWatt5

@emgem819 - so great to hear all is ok with the babies!! You're a trooper - keep tackling things as them come!!  

ARB425

@emgem819 so happy to hear the positive results!

@kp214 im so glad that everything checked out okay!

byrneme

@emgem819 what a relief all that must be. I'll be thinking of you as you continue your road and hope that your midwife can help. I'll also update the gender of Baby #2. Yay!

JWatt5

@ARB425 - thanks for the Chicco seat suggestion. I had it down to that seat and the Nuna Pipa. There was a girl who also wanted the Britax At the store as well - we went over seats together haha she got the Chicco and I got the Pipa - she says thanks as well. 

EmilyE13

@emgem819 I'm thrilled to hear the news! Have been thinking of you and hoping for the best. 

@oxinfree that video was perfect. Thank you!

AFM, I'm 18 weeks 4 days with my little girl and obviously super late to this week's updates. Sorry!! I had an OB appt last Tuesday with another ultrasound (I had a LEEP back in 2000, so they keep checking my cervix). Baby girl looked great and had a heart rate of 152. My cervix was also overachieving and has a length of 5 (they hope for 3, I guess). 

QOTW: all I ever seem to hear these days is "how are you feeling?" My usual response is just "great!" I mean, it's a hell of a lot nicer in the 2nd tri, and I just kinda like being pregnant!

emgem819

@emilye13 thanks for the good thoughts, we're very relieved!  Glad to hear things are going well for you and baby girl is doing great.  Those darn overachieving cervixes lol!