Randoms- Week of July 24

omarismyhomeboy

Have any thoughts, questions, feelings, fears? Spill them here!

This is a good place to ask questions to a broader audience than the weekly trimester check-ins so those with experience can chime in!

sasha29-2

For those who've traveled by air while pregnant: what do we think of the body scanners at the airport? Safe? Not safe?  

We're traveling internationally, I'm 25 weeks (will be 25-27 at airport times), and my doctor says the scanner machines are probably fine, but if I prefer "not to take the risk" I can feel free to request a pat down. I don't know what to do with that advice.

I hate being touched by strangers, it makes my skin crawl and in the past has caused me to have panic attacks in these types of situations.  The idea of requesting a pat down by a TSA agent who may or may not be professional about it makes me ill, especially given the alternative of a 2-second scan. Our airport does have the newest machines, which are supposed to be quite safe.  I kind of feel like the pat down will cause me more unnecessary stress than just going through the machine, which is probably equally bad for baby.  Plus I feel like even if the machine isn't running 100% perfectly, it's probably still about the least risky part of our trip, especially at this stage of the game (I might be thinking differently if I was still in my first tri or very early in the 2nd).  

Thoughts?  Has anyone gone through the scanners pregnant and lived to tell the tale?

kaseycoco

@sasha29-2 I travelled about a week after I found out I was pregnant, and although it was super early I also had reservations about the machines. My doctor said it's fine also.  I have seen some security guards just wave visibly pregnant women through the metal detector instead of going through the scanner, so if you're not comfortable maybe you could just ask to do the metal detector? I doubt they would give you an invasive pat down.

kaseycoco

My question is, when did you finally let yourself be excited about your pregnancy? I'm 9 weeks today and there are definitely times when I feel excited, but I still feel like I have to protect myself from worst case scenario and have a hard time enjoying pregnancy. Just wondering if there comes a point where you feel 'safe' enough to finally let out a sigh and just enjoy the special time.

sasha29-2

@kaseycoco  Thanks.  I've ready really mixed stuff about the pat downs online; some people are like "they barely touched me," other people are like "it was basically an OBGYN appointment without having to put on a gown."  I just am not sure I'm willing to risk a panic attack over the latter (and trust: I know how stupid and irrational that sounds, lol).  I may try to ask to go through the metal detector.

And yeah, it's tough to let yourself really get into it early on.  I was excited after I first heard the heartbeat (5 weeks), but I was pretty anxious before every U/S appointment right up until the 20 week scan. Once the cat was out of the bag (around 12 weeks), I let myself get a little swept up with the family stuff, but it wasn't until I started feeling regular movement (21, 22 weeks) that I really started to relax.

ARB425

@kaseycoco every time I would feel anxious or worry I would tell myself " I am happy to be pregnant today". I also did a lot of meditation and deep breathing to work through those feelings. There is a great guided infertility meditation on YouTube that helped me a ton. We told our families at 9 weeks but we really didn't allow ourselves to get excited til around 20-21 weeks. I think it's totally normal to try to protect yourself but try to enjoy the moment. It's tough but it goes by so quickly!

kaseycoco

Thanks @sasha29-2   and @ARB425. Do you have the link or more specific name to the youtube video? That sounds like something I might like. I will try to enjoy it more bc I'm sure it flies by!

@sasha29-2 oy to the pat down! FX it ends up being easy peasy for you.

ARB425

@kaseycoco i used it prior to getting pregnant and through a good portion of my pregnancy. Although most of it about achieving pregnancy it still has a good message and is relaxing. Here is the link
https://youtu.be/apJXGs-rts0

i hope it helps! 

tiffanyw1783

@kaseycoco it took the majority of my pregnancy for me to truly let my guard down and be happy. I'm 35w now and I'm still anxious. Once I reached about 16-18 weeks I relaxed "a little". I set little milestones for myself, like 12 weeks then 16w then 18w then 24w and that helped. It's just hard after dealing with infertility to not be anxious and feel like something bad will happen. I'm pregnant with twins so I've had a lot of ultrasounds and even seeing the babies constantly didn't completely calm me. But it gets easier and as a previous poster said, feeling them move really helps! Just try to relax and enjoy each day!!