3rd Trimester Check In Week of July 24

latershrader

This is a weekly check in for the mamas  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 babies you are pregnant with
•If you know the gender(s)
•How you have been feeling in your 3rd tri
•Any upcoming or recent appointments you may have had

Feel free to share pictures of your bump, nurseries, baby gear, and of course those babies when they arrive! 

QOTW: 
What is the oddest thing you have used your bump for during pregnancy?

3rd Trimester mommies and their little bundles:
@MicronesianMamma EDD 7/21/17 with a little boy
@byrneme EDD 7/25/17 with a little surprise bean
@ARB425 EDD 7/30/17 with a little girl
@persnickity EDD 8/5/17 with a little girl
@JWatt5 EDD 8/13/17 with a little boy
@Stars2016 EDD 8/24/17 with a little boy
@tiffanyw1783 EDD 8/30/17 with two little girls!
@oxinfree EDD 9/3/17 with a little boy 
@omarismyhomeboy EDD 9/8/17 with a little girl
@latershrader EDD 9/12/17 with a little boy 
@EmilyE13 EDD 9/28/17 with a little girl

Congratulations to @Kp214 on the birth of little Julian! We are all pulling for him to make it home as quickly as possible!

latershrader

Hi All. 32+6 today. Feeling pretty good. All my appointments went well last week. It's so nice to have weekly scans even though it's a lot of appointments every week. Baby is estimated to be 4.5lbs and is on track to be a 8-8.5lb boy! Whoa! But I'll take him how ever he comes, as long as he is healthy! 
I had a shower from all my work friends that was lovely. I went through and organized everything this weekend. Everyone purchased 3mo clothing! LOL! But it's all so adorable and smells amazing with the Dreft detergent. Ahhhh! Can't get enough of that baby smell.
This week is my weekly scan at the MFM and then my friends & family shower on Saturday. I'm REALLY looking forward to this one. A lot of friends are coming in from out of town for it!! I can't wait to see everyone!!

QOTW: (I actually remembered to answer my own QOTW!) I was using my belly as a cell phone holder. I loved seeing him kick it off, cracked me UP! But DH suggested not putting my phone on my belly due to the possible radiation it can give off? So I have since stopped doing that. Now it will hold the TV remote sometimes!

Stars2016

Hi everyone! I'm 35 weeks and 4 days. Exhaustion and pain near my tailbone have really kicked in this last week. I don't have any appointments this week, just continuing to organize around the house and hoping to get both car seat bases checked this week. I'm pretty sure his room is finished and we have all but his swing set up.

QOTW: I use it to help support whatever book I am reading haha 

@latershrader I just used Dreft for the first time the other week to wash all of his stuff and I absolutely love the smell too!! I hope you have a great shower this weekend! 

byrneme

Hey there ladies! So this is officially my last check in - CRAZY. I'm 39w6d and have a scheduled c-section for tomorrow at noon. Remember a couple of weeks ago when I struggled with the thought of being induced? Yeah, I'd gladly take that option back now! Baby B is breech and hasn't turned (that we know of) as of now. I have the option to try an inversion before surgery tomorrow which I'll do if my cervix is favorable - but if I'm not dilated (still) then there isn't really a point. After a lot of tears and talks with my doc and DH and friends I've finally come to terms with this is how it is going to be. I even changed my birth plan around so now the bottom is 'in case of vaginal delivery' instead of 'in case of c-section' LOL. It's a weird feeling - like Christmas Eve! I'm going to be a mommy tomorrow (holy cow, even just typing that makes me tear up) !!! Oh, and did I mention I have equal amounts of excitement and terror???

QOTW - honestly, I don't think I've done anything with it! Except the occasional joking comparison with guy friends who have a beer belly! Mostly it's been me staring at it in amazement, especially when you could see movement. I always thought that was going to be weird but I love love loved it and will miss that for sure.

I do want to thank you ALL  - this group has been nothing short of amazing. It is so hard for those who haven't been through the struggles of IF to understand where we come from so thank you so much for the support and sometimes talking the crazy out of me Best of luck to all of you on your journeys - I will be lurking for sure and will post a picture when I can. 

latershrader

@byrneme your post made me tear up. I'm so excited for you and will continue to hope for your little one to turn. Either way, I wish you a safe and healthy delivery! Can't wait to see what Baby B is!!

@Stars2016 I feel like the organizing is never-ending! LOL! But it'll be worth it when we are searching for that one thing to calm our little one...and we find right were we "organized" it to be!

omarismyhomeboy

Excited for you @byrneme! Thinking about you and hoping everything goes very smoothly! Excited to find out the sex of your little baby B. 

AFM, I am 33 weeks + 3 days with my little rabbit. DH and I did a LOT of work this weekend unpacking everything from our baby shower, washing clothes, sterilizing bottles, building a rocking chair, etc etc etc! It was exhausting and my back was hurting even though he did all the hard stuff. But we are getting more and more ready for her arrival! I'll post pictures of her nursery soon, when things are closer to 100% in order. 

QOTW: Haha, I can't think of much, but on the road trip to our showers, I balanced a tower of water bottles on my belly....and my husband was like "WHAT are you doing?" lol. 

tiffanyw1783

Hi! 34w 5days with two little girls! I cannot breath b/c they are both right under my diaphragm. Weekly biophysical profiles either with my OB-GYN or MFM. I love getting to see them every week. Baby A is still a pound smaller, last week she was 3lb 11oz and Baby B was 4lb 12oz. So we are still worried about their size difference. I'm scheduled for my c-section on 8/10/17 at 37w1d. I'm scared and excited all at once. Just praying that neither has to spend any time in the NICU! 
QOTW: I use it as a holder for remotes, my cell phone, ipad, books. The babies aren't fans of me putting anything on my belly though and immediately start kicking and wiggling. 

persnickity

@byrneme So exciting!! It's crazy to think of you holding your little one tomorrow. It certainly has been quite the journey!!

@latershrader Hope you have a great time this weekend!
@latershrader @stars2016 It's funny that you like the smell of dreft. We decided to use something else as detergent because of the smell of dreft. I thought it smelled a little like baby powder. Lol

AFM, I'm 38 weeks 2 days. I'm just waiting at this point. Lol. This is my last week in the office. After this, I'll be working from home until I deliver. It's a fairly busy week getting ready to be out, but it's good to have my boss practice having me gone. He's been doing things for the first time in a long time this week. It's funny to watch him learn to do my job.

MicronesianMamma

@latershrader sounds like you've got a nice healthy baby boy growing in there! Yay for a lovely work shower and enjoy your upcoming friends and family shower!

@Stars2016 congrats on finishing baby boy's room! Feels so good doesn't it - I love just opening the door and looking around the nursery sometimes. 

@byrneme So exciting you're going to welcome your little bean into the world tomorrow!! I can't wait to find out the gender and see pictures! 

@omarismyhomeboy all that work is definitely exhausting. Can't wait to see pics of the nursery!

@tiffanyw1783 Wow 8/10, you'll be meeting your baby girls very soon! I'll definitely drop in on 3rd tri for updates & praying for no NICU time for ur little ones. 

AFM, 40w3d with my, definitely in no hurry to meet the world, little man lol. I'm just chalking it up to him being on island time since he is a little islander baby. At my appt. last Friday I was still 2cm dilated so she stretched me to about 3. She is still thinking I'll go into labor naturally this week but I have to call her later today to schedule induction for Friday just in case. FX'd I go into labor before then! In the meantime, my AC has been fixed so I'm at least comfortable at home and I have another appointment tomorrow, at which she'll probably try stretching me some more. 

QOTW: We have a binding machine at work that I have to use often and there is one step where it can be tricky to remove the book and prep it for the next step - I use my belly to hold the book in place while I remove it from the machine lol!

MicronesianMamma

@persnickity glad to hear I wasn't  the only one working from the office at nearly 39 weeks, everyone thought I was crazy lol. 

oxinfree

@latershrader - funny how that happens hey!? I got mostly 0-3 month stuff but luckily most people opted for non-clothes options like books, swaddles and other random items. I'm glad you're excited about your next shower, I'm sure you'll have a lovely time celebrating! 

@Stars2016  - I hear you on the exhaustion front... so tired. For me it's mostly due to my insomnia. I wake up to pee in the middle of the night, every night, and takes me hours to fall back asleep. So annoying.

@byrneme - eeeee how crazy! That's so so exciting. I hope all goes extremely smoothly for you. Can't wait to hear how everything goes and what the little bean is! 

@omarismyhomeboy - I love how nonchalantly you threw in building a rocking chair haha... as if this is a normal occurrence. So impressive! Look forward to nursery pics when you're done!

@tiffanyw1783 - are you scheduled for c-section at 37 weeks because baby A is on smaller size? or is that a common time to schedule with twins? Just a few weeks left for you, how exciting! 

@persnickity - yay for last week on the job. I'm sure you'll enjoy working from home much better, and hopefully you feel rested up before baby makes their arrival home stretch! Is it true the last few weeks lag? I'm 6 weeks away now and it still feels ages away, yet weirdly soon at the same time...

@MicronesianMamma - oooooh things are progressing, how exciting. Come on little babe... get a move on! I hope you go into labor spontaneously before Friday. Sending those positive vibes out into the universe for you!

AFM - I'm 34 weeks with baby boy Beau. We had our maternity photos yesterday which felt like a dream come true. I won't inundate you with pics, but I'll include a few of my favs below. I'm feeling really tired, have brutal insomnia every night after I wake up to pee. I think Beau is still breech as I feel him kick my cervix (unless he's punching it, I dunno). I have our 34 week appointment on Wednesday so will see then. We're trying the exercises off spinning babies hoping he'll turn. I also got an exercise ball that I sit on from time to time. I need to do more maybe. I guess in large part it may be because I am tall, so hoping he just has room and will turn yet. Preparing myself for possibility of C-section though so will be talking to my OB about scheduling this for 39 weeks if he doesn't flip by 36. 

MicronesianMamma

@oxinfree Wow! Such beautiful pictures! You both look great!

omarismyhomeboy

@oxinfree you look like a magical mermaid goddess. 

tiffanyw1783

@oxinfree your pictures are gorgeous!!! I hope Beau flips in the coming weeks. Originally we planned on sometime between 37-38 weeks for c-section. With the weight discordance my MFM doesn't think it's safe to go much longer than 37 weeks. I'm starting to get pretty miserable and they are completely out of room, so I'm ok with 37w. Just not before then.

ARB425

Hello ladies! I'm 39w1day with our little gal due on July 30th. We are so ready to meet her! I'm honestly exhausted and considering stopping working Wednesday this week rather than Friday. I'm not sleeping well because I'm up constantly through the night readjusting and going pee! Today my hips felt like they were going to break after being on my feet all day...usually I sit 50% of the day and today I floated to another part of the clinic and I was on my feet 90% of the day. My husband wants me to just stop working now but I plan on talking with my boss tomorrow. I don't think a few days are going to make a huge difference in our staffing but I also don't want to screw them over.

I have an appointment on Wednesday with my OB...hopefully we will have some progress! Otherwise I'm sure we will start talking about a possible induction date. 

We we had a class on Saturday and it was the Happiest Baby on the block/infant massage class. I honestly think it was one of the best classes we took and one we got the most out of! There are several YouTube videos if anyone is interested that explain the 5 s to calm a baby. The infant massage had this GREAT massage technique for gas and constipation relief. I will try tomorrow to take a picture of the diagram if anyone is interested!

QOTW: my favorite thing to balance on my belly is typically ice cream... I don't eat it often but it is like the ultimate pregnant look! I'm going to miss my dog resting my my tummy though. It's so sweet!


@oxinfree love the pictures! So incredibly gorgeous! Hopefully The baby will flip, you still have time!

@micronesianmamma you are so close! Hopefully labor will start soon!

@tiffanyw1783 ahh how exciting you only have a few more weeks until you meet your girls! That's so exciting! Hopefully very little to no nicu time will be needed!

@byrneme I'm so excited for you and your hubby to meet your little one! Sending positive and healing thoughts your way!

persnickity

@oxinfree those pictures are gorgeous!!! Stunning!

@MicronesianMamma Glad you got your ac fixed! Hopefully you're making progress. I'm glad I'm not the only one working too. I really love my job and I'm sitting almost the entire day, so it's not difficult to keep going. If DH wasn't nervous about me being so far from home if I go into labor at work, is be in the office until the last minute. As it is, I'm glad I can still work from home.  

persnickity

@oxinfree For me it does feel slow some weeks. Others seem to go by in a blur. With two weeks left, it feels like the 2ww for me. Lol

latershrader

@oxinfree You are GORGEOUS! Those photos are amazing! I'm so glad you shared!!

kelrauh

*** lurking ***
@byrneme - Its crazy to think that almost a year ago we both got our retrievals on the same date! I am so excited that you are about to meet your little one. It is the most amazing feeling in the world. I still look at my LOs in disbelief that they are mine and here. C-sections are not even close to as scary as they sound and can be just as intemate as vaginal. Once you see your litte one you wont be thinking about anything else. Good luck!!! 

byrneme

All- thank you for your well wishes! Going in to the hospital the u/s showed just how folded in half our LO was! That, coupled with no contractions/dilation, made me a very weak candidate for inversion, so we moved ahead with the planned c-section.

It's a girl! Zoey Alexis made her debut yesterday at 12:39pm, weighing 7lbs 14oz, 19 inches, a good head of hair and a GREAT set of lungs! She is positively perfect and we are in love. She latched like a champ for her first feeding and we've had a couple of struggles since then but I just had an awesome half hour feeding so I'm holding out hope that breastfeeding will be a hurdle we won't have to face. The lactation consultant will stop by soon!!

It's nothing short of amazing to finally be a mommy and seeing my DH with her just makes my heart swell! They are both possibly the best feelings in the world. I'm feeling good physically too. I'll totally be lurking to see all of ya'll get to this point as well!!! Good luck to all of you, I can't wait to see your journeys!!

Kp214

Thanks, everyone. 

@byrneme congratulations!  She is beautiful. 

persnickity

@byrneme Congrats!!! She's gorgeous!

omarismyhomeboy

Ahhhh I'm so happy for you @byrneme! She's perfect!

MicronesianMamma

@byrneme A girl!!! Congratulations! She is absolutely precious! FX'd that BF continues to go well for you!

Stars2016

@oxinfree Your pictures are gorgeous!! 

@byrneme Congratulations! She is adorable and I'm glad both you and baby are doing well!

latershrader

@byrneme She is perfect! You and DH look SO happy. Your post brought tears to my eyes. I hope you all have a perfect life together!

JWatt5

@byrneme - CONGRATS!! A girl - that's so great. Love her name, she's perfect. You guys look sooo happy!!
@oxinfree - the pictures turned out wonderful - great keepsake for you and Eric!
Sorry I'm not responding to everyone - I feel super behind on the board this week but it's been so busy with work. getting a new car this week, my sister visiting - I think I'm "nesting" at work because I'm in serious go mode right now lol.

37w, 5 days - I'm going by my OB's date of August 11th now since that's what will determine my inducement etc. Had a great appt last week and was told I could go off the blood thinners until after the birth - now my pain management options are much more open and I less concern about bleeding. Parker continues to try to move - I can tell he's running out of room lol. Still working and enjoying it actually! I kinda wanna just work on Friday too but my boss won't let me lol. Little guy is super spoiled already - I get a new CRV tonight with all wheel and extra safety features, just in time for him!
***TW***
My sister just found out she's pregnant again - due on her son's 2nd birthday - I'm super excited for them. But...it made me realize that I think I really do want two children and I'm afraid it may not happen or maybe it'll be harder than last time. I was upset for a little while - she got pregnant with one month of trying. It's one thing to have a friend or something do that but, she's my sister, she came from the same parents. It's so confusing how it can be soooo different - she's luckily really sensitive to it though which helps. I think she expected the shock on my face and me saying "how do you just do that!?" hehe So I had a little pity party out of frustration for just a bit - but I'm very happy for them and I'm back to focusing on my son who's about to come any day now! Now isn't the time to think about a second but...I think I know now I'd like to think about a second in a year or so. We always thought we were one child people. 

wabash15

@jwatt5 my brother and SIL are fertile myrtles... their first 2 pregnancies they got pregnant the first month trying and the third was unplanned while using contraception. I get the frustration when someone related to you gets pregnant so easily but its so hard for you. We also decided to go through fertility treatments a second time for baby #3. we tried for a little while on our own, but with no real hope that it would work with out assistance and it didn't. We did IUI again and got lucky on our second round.  So LSS don't give up hope on having a sibling for your little one just be prepared to go back to the RE. 

oxinfree

@byrneme  - yayyyyy awww she's so so precious. well done mama!!! enjoy this amazing time!!

@JWatt5 - I completely relate to it being harder with siblings. My brother and SIL got pregnant within a few months (2 or 3 I can't remember) and it really hurt. I had been trying years. Of course I was happy to be an auntie and so happy for them, but I think too the idea of cousins and like you said, being genetically linked makes it confusing emotions-wise. I don't think you need to feel weird or anything for thinking about baby number 2 already. My OB and I actually had a conversation today about birth control after pregnancy (she brought it up, not sure why haha), but funnily enough Eric and I had recently had a convo about it and decided we wouldn't prevent anything (since nothing is likely to happen on its own anyway) and then start IVF again by beginning of 2019. It probably will seem crazy to our friends/family... but we're not getting any younger and if we need to do another ER then I'd like to do it before my endo gets bad and my eggies die off Plus, took us 4 tries last time so we know nothing is a guarantee and if we go down the adoption route we know that takes time as well and would like our kids relatively close in age if that is at all possible. 

AFM - thank you all so much for your lovely comments on our pics. They are such a treasured keepsake for us, and I'm so grateful to have had that experience. On a less positive note, just had my 34 week appointment. Beau is "transverse" but it's kind of like footling breech meets transverse... regardless, looks like he's continuing to be stubborn. Will keep up with my exercises but the plan is to schedule c-section at 39 weeks if he hasn't turned by then which would be August 29th-ish likely. I had a friend who's baby turned at 37 weeks so I'm not giving up yet fx

ARB425

@byrneme Congratulations! She is just precious! I'm so glad you all are doing well and she is breastfeeding like a champ!

@jwatt5 I can completely relate to what you are saying. My SIL was told she would never be able to naturally conceive as she has 1 ovary and pcos. They are now expecting their 2nd naturally conceived surprise child. When they found out they were pregnant with their 1st child I just started crying and couldn't even talk because we were struggling and I had just found out I wasn't pregnant like a day before. Granted I love my nephew so much and wouldn't trade being an aunt for anything, it just hurt so much more because we fall into that lovely "unexplained infertility " category. 

@oxinfree what a stubborn little guy! Hopefully he turns within the next few weeks!



Well just got back from the OB, still no change in my cervix! Although her head is extremely low, to the point he even did an ultrasound because he was surprised I haven't had any cervical changes based on that! I see him again on Monday and based on my appointment that day we most likely will be scheduling an induction. We discussed a gentle induction and using a cervical ripening drug to start things and hopefully letting my body do the rest of the work. I would like to avoid pitocin due to the fact that I would have to be monitored all the time rather than intermittently. The thought of being confined to bed just would drive me crazy! At this point it's a waiting game.

On a better note today was my last day of work! I decided to start a few days early because I'm just exhausted. Hubby made a good point as well " No one gets a trophy for delivering their baby at work even if you are a nurse". It made me giggle because I know that I would totally work up until my water broke if I could but I need to think differently now that I'm going to be a mom soon! 

i hope everyone else is doing well!

JWatt5

Thanks everyone for understanding. It's such a weird feeling. DH and I have talked about a second before - saying that we'll wait until Parker is one, then start testing and such again but don't want to start the actual attempts again until January 2019 as well - after Christmas. I have to see what's going on in there once the baby is out and if I'll need surgery once I'm done breastfeeding. I actually said out loud "maybe after surgery I'll be able to get pregnant like that" with such hope but then just sounded odd. It's not the same as her but that's about as close as I could get hehe. My plan is to get an IUD after, try to keep the endo calm, combined with diet. If I don't breastfeed they've suggested Lupron but...that stuff sucks lol. There's no other way to put it.

@ARB425 - I hope you start seeing some change soon! I'm off to the OB's for a check myself. Hoping for something, anything lol.

persnickity

@ARB425 not sure if you've tried everything, but there are a couple of natural things to try. My doula suggested evening primrose oil to help... That and sex   

persnickity

@oxinfree You never know about position. My little girl didn't rotate to head down until 36 weeks. She's been heads down since. Hopefully the exercises help!

ARB425

@persnickity . Her head is so low and I'm so uncomfortable  the thought of sex just isn't working for both of us lol. I'm getting a pedicure tonight so I'm hoping the ankle/foot massage moves things forward! I've been walking, doing stairs, using my ball, using accu pressure points, drinking red raspberry leaf tea etc. I'm kind of at the point of it is what it is. Hopefully she decides to come on her own because I really don't want to be induced but there is still time. My cervix just needs to cooperate! I've been having some decent contraction this afternoon... one actually just woke me up from a nap it was pretty strong. Thanks for the suggestions though!  

@jwatt5 sending positive thoughts your way for a good OB appointment and some changes! 

persnickity

@ARB425 At this point, I imagine everyone has given you advice on starting labor. It seems to be the favorite topic when you get near the end. I'm not sure how much of it actually works versus is just done close enough to when labor would have started on its own. Fingers crossed that your cervix decides to cooperate and that you don't need an induction. Otherwise, hopefully the gentle induction works. 

ARB425

@persnickity no worries I've heard so many things lately and I'm just to the point where I'm okay with whatever happens. I know in the end we will have our little gal in our arms and that's all that matters to me! It's just a little frustrating because I feel like I've been on top of doing all of the suggested things and nothing has worked but she just isn't ready yet I guess! 

EmilyE13

@byrneme Congratulations on your beautiful little girl!
@oxinfree  You look seriously stunning in those photos. Pregnancy is gorgeous on you. 
@MicronesianMamma Thinking of you! Any progress?
@ARB425 I hope the pedicure helps get things moving. 
@JWatt5 Yup, totally empathize on the fertile sibling phenomenon. My little sister is now done after 3 kids that they conceived basically first try (and the 3rd was a surprise), and here I am still cooking up #1 after all the IF struggles. We are really hoping that #2 is an easier path since DH got varicocele surgery a couple months ago. 

AFM, 31+1 with the little lady, whose new favorite hobby is punching my cervix at inopportune times. I was supposed to have my 3 hr glucose tolerance test today, but I came down with a nasty summer cold this week after traveling for the (wonderful) in-law baby shower last weekend, so my OB pushed it back a week. Apparently being sick can mess with blood sugar numbers. 

QOTW: Like @ARB425, my belly is often used as a favorite snuggle spot for my dogs and cats: 

omarismyhomeboy

@oxinfree stubborn stubborn! Hoping he turns (you never know!) but also a bit jealous if you end up having a scheduled date earlier than 40 weeks...I am worried about going past my due date!

MicronesianMamma

Hey all! My little guy is way to comfy just hangin out and I'm 41 weeks today - yikes! My induction is scheduled for tomorrow at 4am but I have to call in at 2am and they will either tell me to come in or call back if no beds are available yet. Still hoping for spontaneous labor within the next 14 hours though. The plan is to start off with either a low dose of pitocin or to break my water since my cervix is already dilated and effaced, and have me walk around to get things moving. I don't mind laboring a long time if it means I can avoid high doses of pitocin and epidural. So now I'm just doing some last minute cleaning and will nap since I have to be up by 2am and I know sleeping will pretty much be impossible! 

byrneme

Good luck @MicronesianMamma !!!! Your LO will be here soon!! Sending positive thoughts and safe delivery vibes your way!!!

persnickity

Good luck @MicronesianMamma