Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences and your reassurance. Happy to say the surgery went very well and she is recovering now. The babies are doing really well, too! Dr. said she is on bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy. She can only walk from the bed to the couch to the bathroom.
@cford08 I am so glad to hear the cerclage procedure went well for you! Hope you can take it easy and relax while you recover.
@vaewelch I am so very sorry to hear about your loss. Like some of the other ladies mentioned, I've always heard that our bodies provide everything to give your baby what he/she needs to grow and thrive. I've asked the question about how emotional stress can affect pregnancy (*TW my father is chronically ill, has been for years, he's in the hospital and we never know how much longer we'll have him) and my doctors have always said it won't affect the baby, but do caution me to try to take it easy as hard as that may seem. Maybe call them tomorrow to talk to a nurse about what you've been going through and perhaps they can offer you more reassurance. That's what I usually do when something going on seems to be more than I can handle.
Ladies, we had another power outage and internet has been down for a few days. Sorry I'm missing out on this and other threads!
Question: After I work out, I feel super nauseous and just not good. I'm hydrating throughout and eating protein right before it. What would you change or do differently?
@barrelocarol Not sure if you ate protein before workouts before being pregnant, but I pretty much can't eat anything within 1-2 hours before working out(pregnant or not) or it makes me want to puke.
Ok, so has anyone had experiences with spraining an ankle (or a similar injury) while pregnant? I sprained mine a little over a month ago and finally went to the doctor to get it x-rayed today because I'm still dealing with pain and swelling sometimes. Thankfully nothing is broken (!) but the doctor said between my job (I'm a massage therapist and therefore on my feet most of the day) and being pregnant/retaining fluid that's why it's taking so long to heal. I'm going to try and modify my work as much as I can and raise my ankle/keep it wrapped the rest of the time, but if y'all have any additional advice I'd appreciate it!
@ksmwalters Yeah, sorry to hear that usually one of the top treatments for sprains is ibuprofen, so.... I guess just the rest/ice/elevate/compress routine then.
@chasingroygbiv My RE and OB both recommended Align for probiotics.
@syssa-o I don't recall any regular posters in our BMB as being MoM from a prior pregnancy, but I've been reading up on this sort of thing... a lot so I *might be able to help a bit. Your questions depend on what type of twins you're having. What type were you diagnosed with? How far along are you?
@barrelocarol Is your heart rate getting super high? Are you going at the same speed/intensity as you were when you weren't pregnant? I eat a small amount of granola when I wake up and then have some sugar free yogurt with fruit right before I work out. I only feel sick after working out when I push it too hard (at a pace and intensity that would have been just fine a few months ago but feels not OK now). I'm also pretty much only doing elliptical and walking/light hiking, and I usually only go ~ 20- 30 minutes. If I were you I'd experiment with the activity, length, and intensity. Take notes and see if you can find that goldilocks place
@barrelocarol I think your fueling is off. Next time try having a snack with both carbs and protein (I'm always a fan of half an apple + peanut butter + raisins or something like a little bit of cheese and crackers) about two hours before. Hydrate throughout as you are, and then have a little snack ready to go right afterwards. One of the things I've always liked are those single-serving packets of nuts and dried fruit from Trader Joe's. It's small, packable, not so perishable, and has a bit of protein and carbs.
@ksmwalters I would think that the other problem with your ankle healing + your job is that you're not just standing all day, you're leaning and using your feet/ankles/legs as leverage to help you massage. I think you need some solution for taking the strain off your ankle as you work. You could start with getting a stool to put the knee of that leg on? Or maybe you could go to doing a different type of massage? I'd definitely try to get the people who want lighter pressure and avoid the deep tissue set. I'm not sure how long you've been out of school but do you have a teacher you could contact for ideas on how to work around it?
Me: 34 DH: 38 Married: June 2011 TTC since Feb 2016 BFP#1: 7/7/16 MMC: 8/16/16 BFP#2: 5/8/17 - CP BFP#3: 6/27/17 EDD: 3/10/18
Ladies, we had another power outage and internet has been down for a few days. Sorry I'm missing out on this and other threads!
Question: After I work out, I feel super nauseous and just not good. I'm hydrating throughout and eating protein right before it. What would you change or do differently?
@barrelocarol protein right before a workout isn't necessarily your best fuel option. @kiki75 mentioned a better balance of your macronutrients, which is a good idea. Your body works harder and takes longer to breakdown protein as fuel, so it's great as a recovery food, and if you blend it with a carbohydrate beforehand, I'd recommend longer than 30 minutes before to give your system a head start on digestion. Pregnancy will slow that process down, so what worked before pregnancy might not feel as good now. Similarly, if your protein source is milk-based, I'd reconsider due to the gastrointestinal impact it can have on someone who works out too soon after consuming.
Also, I've noticed that as I go through this pregnancy (3), my recovery time is a lot longer and I can't push it as hard. My workout time feels great, but then recovery is tough if I do too much or go for too long. I end up feeling sick and gross rather than energized. Just an idea!
Ok, so has anyone had experiences with spraining an ankle (or a similar injury) while pregnant? I sprained mine a little over a month ago and finally went to the doctor to get it x-rayed today because I'm still dealing with pain and swelling sometimes. Thankfully nothing is broken (!) but the doctor said between my job (I'm a massage therapist and therefore on my feet most of the day) and being pregnant/retaining fluid that's why it's taking so long to heal. I'm going to try and modify my work as much as I can and raise my ankle/keep it wrapped the rest of the time, but if y'all have any additional advice I'd appreciate it!
@ksmwalters, I had a stress fracture in my foot from week 7ish that lasted about 10 weeks. I teach and coach, so I am always on my feet, and it took forever to recover. Thankfully, our bodies prioritize our pregnancies, but the kicker is that it makes those injuries last longer! Good shoes and minimize steps wherever possible, whenever possible. It can make a big difference! I hope it gets better quickly!!
@syssa-o Ah, OK I am also di/di. Well, obviously I can't share my experience because it hasn't happened yet (and not sure I won't get a c section anyway), but I can say that if you are di/di then you definitely have 2 waters to break because your twins are in 2 separate sacs. I don't know how commonly they break at the same time or different times, but there will be 2.
FYI even though they have their own sacs and placentas di/di twins could still be identical. There are situations where the fertilized egg splits super early, resulting in 2 different embryos before the sacs and placentas are formed so although fraternal always = di/di, identical can sometimes be di/di too. The only way to be sure of them being fraternal is if you know you have 1 boy and 1 girl (or if you get an amnio and one has a genetic issue that the other doesn't). If you conceive through ART the chances of di/di twins being identical is reduced because you took drugs to increase the number of mature eggs in that cycle and/or had a monitoring appointment before you ovulated which indicated more than one mature egg that could have been fertilized. You can have them genetically tested after they are born--some people only find out theirs are identical that way after birth and they're surprised because the possibility of identical twins when they are di/di is often overlooked, though it's not actually that rare, just less common than fraternal. Of course if they have different color eyes or hair or something then you'll know without genetic testing.
@vflux33 you have been reading! Thanks for the info, very interesting. How far along are you?
I had been putting off the research because I honestly didn't want to get too involved till I saw 2 hearts growing properly and now that I have I'm allowing myself to get a little bit excited.
@syssa-o I'm 16 weeks. Research puts me at ease for some reason so I started as soon as we had ours confirmed by my RE at 7 weeks. I'm a FTM and IF patient so I was already kind of freaking out wanted to educate myself fast in case I needed to do anything differently than other people.
If you do want to research more now that you're getting excited, I recommend the book "When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, and Quads" and the podcast "Twin Talks". Another MoM who is further along than us recommended those and they're really helpful. I don't remember what episode, but on one of the episodes of the podcast they explained the identical di/di thing and there was a MoM who didn't know her di/di twins were identical till she and her H got them tested at like 4 months. So crazy! I know I had 2-3 mature eggs due to ART so less likely for me, but not impossible for either of us
@vflux33 I'm not really a podcast person, but will definitely be taking a look at the what to expect book. It is pretty cool to think they could be identical as di/di! I'll have to check out the MoM thread, haven't ventured over there too much yet.
@kiki75 These are actually great ideas I hadn’t thought of! I’ve been out of school for a good while but stil stay in contact with some of my instructors. Definitely going to reach out to them to see if there’s anything they’d recommend work-wise.
@LiveNLove44 Ugh I’m sorry you had to deal with a stress fracture! Those suck, too. I’m so mad at myself because I knew that it wasn’t getting better and I was just hoping that it would go away. Definitely my own worst client at the moment. I especially hate it because otherwise I feel *great* right now and would love to go to town on the treadmill/in a spin class.
Any HR experts here? I'm feeling like I might be experiencing some discrimination at work due to being pregnant. Examples:
-told boss I was expecting, she said ok I can't promise anything about you keeping your job. Um, isn't it sort of the law? She later emailed me saying she looked into it and I still would have it when I come back -boss has taken away 3 projects from me, not given me new projects because 'I'm not going to be here soon anyway' . These projects would have enabled me to grow and develop, good for resume, advancing career, and most were short term, done my march, so I'm feeling upset that they were given to a colleague now just because I'm leaving in March (I will be gone on mat leave for a year, but still). -boss talked to me about how I have seemed negative and frustrated at work. She knows what a struggle this summer has been (nauseaous and on diclectin, exhausted, have a 2 year old, just moved houses), so I mentioned that that was affecting me at work, but I was trying my best.
Another detail to add to the story is my boss told me last fall when I *TW had an ectopic pregnancy* end TW that she has been struggling with infertility for 3 years. I've really tried to be sensitive to this and not complain about being nauseaous, etc. because I'm sure it's really hard to see me (and 2 other women in my workplace) be pregnant...I do however feel like she potentially could be treating me poorly right now due to some personal emotional reasons.
Am I just a sensitive hormonal pregnant woman or is she treating me unfairly at all? Thanks for your input!!
Amazon registry: what is a "completion discount"? There are some big ticket items I want to order and would like the extra 15% off from the completion discount. Do I just register for some silly small items, buy it all, and they send me a coupon code for all the real stuff I want? TIA!
Amazon registry: what is a "completion discount"? There are some big ticket items I want to order and would like the extra 15% off from the completion discount. Do I just register for some silly small items, buy it all, and they send me a coupon code for all the real stuff I want? TIA!
The completion discount is 15% for prime members and 10 for non prime members. 60 days prior to your due date is when the discount kicks in. If you add the item from your registry to your cart it should discount automatically, I don't believe there is a code or coupon. You can add anything you want to your registry and it will tell you if to eligible for completion discount or not. The Burts Bees on mine isn't eligible, but the bathtub is. Most big ticket items should have the completion discount. I don't think there is a requirement for purchased items in order to be eligible, just whatever is left 60 days before your EDD.
Do any STM’s (or maybe if you know somone who has them and loves them) have any bassinet recommendations? We have moved since having an infant and the way we have our bedroom setup the PnP will not fit next to our bed. I would rather baby be next to me than at the end of the bed.
Second, any 2 camera baby monitor recommendations, preferably reasonably priced, but that work well? Would love for it to show the room temp as well as sound/video. We currently have a Summer Infant and like it, but I still would like a camera monitor with DD because she’s still waking at night and roaming.
@chasingroygbiv we will be using the rock n play again, at least for the first month or so. Also, we have the infant optix video monitor and love it! I have one in each girls room (my oldest is 5 but I can’t hear her calling for me at night without the monitor). I plan on buying a 3rd camera. It’s not cheap but it’s not the most expensive either. We have had it for a couple years and have been really happy with it.
@chasingroygbiv We have an Arm's Reach cosleeper that we like a lot. We too don't have room for a pack 'n play (or crib...) so this worked really well until we switched her to her own room. It is the kind you have right up next the bed. I liked it because I could see her really well and it was almost like she was next to me. The only downside to the product is that you have to buy leg extension separate to get it to be the right height.
*disclaimer: not my picture
Me: 30 H: 30 Dx: PCOS Married: June 2013 TTC#1: January 2015 BFP #1 8/24/15 | MC 9/3/15 at 6w2d BFP #2: 12/12/15 | DD born 8/29/16 TTC#2: June 2017 BFP #3: 7/15/17 | DS born 3/20/18
@chasingroygbiv we used the Rock'n'Play with our first two for the early weeks and will again with this one. Ours doesn't have any fancy features, but it's worked well for us. I also love the I can bring it to the hallway/bathroom/wherever I need it so I can soak my PP body in the tub a time or two in the day.
@ksmwalters@heatherdubrow@becausescience@livenlovealways Thanks, ladies! For those that suggest the RnP, did you ever have trouble transitioning out of it when the time came? DD was/is a poor sleeper and I’m hoping to find a better approach to sleep— if that exists, so the thought of a rough transition makes me nervous. She didn’t use a RnP and I debated just because of its rave reviews with helping babies sleep better, but then I panicked wondering if it would be worse in the end.
So I was going to put this in the Fitness Friday board but haven't honestly attempted to set aside time for genuine working out since I've been pregnant. Up until a month before I became pregnant, I was an avid runner and ran about 4 miles 4-5 times a week and lifted weights at least once week. Sometime in June I was robbed at gunpoint at work and took three weeks off, during which I was literally scared to leave my home. Not one workout happened. Then I found I was pregnant shortly after returning to work and the horrid MS and exhaustion kicked in. Now that I've finally started feeling somewhat normal, I miss the feeling of strength and accomplishment from being so active. Any tips on how to get back into it or finding motivation after taking such a long break from it?
@sarah_haha760 I took 10 weeks off due to a stress fracture in my first pregnancy, and it was really tough to get back into running, but your body will eventually adjust! I started back in with jog/walk intervals of 1 minute on, 1 minute off, and then steadily increased the jog. I had to totally throw my idea of pace out the window, and just go for how it felt, and eventually, it got better. I was running through 37 weeks over a 5k twice a week, and I was happy I had picked it back up! You can do it, just have patience with yourself and give it time. I'm sorry you went through what you did, and I hope it turns around so you can enjoy a run a couple times a week!
@chasingroygbiv we eventually had to sleep train, but my kids are just crappy sleepers in general. I don’t think it had anything to do with transitioning out of the rnp.
has anybody started sleeping exclusively on their side yet? I'm still finding it most comfortable to sleep on my back (though I've got myself slightly angled with my snoogle). I know this is a habit I'm supposed to quit at some point in the 2nd tri... i just find side sleeping uncomfortable
@bb3vj3n quit when it stops being comfortable. Your body will tell you. I'm a stomach sleeper usually but I've naturally started favoring my back because obviously my stomach is kind of uncomfortable now. I don't think I started favoring my side until almost my due date with my daughter, and my doctor was never concerned about it
I've been a stomach sleeper, and I know I need to change to my side. But it's hard for one simple and selfish reason....I can feel baby boy move the most in that position. He's probably protesting me laying on him, but I can't help myself sometimes!
@bb3vj3n I'm usually a back/side sleeper and I stayed on my back slightly angled with the snoogle for most of my 1st pregnancy. If you're uncomfortable, you'll move (even in your sleep). Sleep however works best for you and don't worry about what that position is, your body won't let you do harm because you'll get uncomfortable first.
@chasingroygbiv no trouble transitioning here. DD was an amazing sleeper, but DS just didn't like being put down, so his transition was rocky due to who he is rather than the thing he slept in.
Re: Questions - Week of 9/25
@DDRRT1982 @cford08 @megpeg
Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences and your reassurance. Happy to say the surgery went very well and she is recovering now. The babies are doing really well, too! Dr. said she is on bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy. She can only walk from the bed to the couch to the bathroom.
@cford08 I am so glad to hear the cerclage procedure went well for you! Hope you can take it easy and relax while you recover.
@vaewelch I am so very sorry to hear about your loss. Like some of the other ladies mentioned, I've always heard that our bodies provide everything to give your baby what he/she needs to grow and thrive. I've asked the question about how emotional stress can affect pregnancy (*TW my father is chronically ill, has been for years, he's in the hospital and we never know how much longer we'll have him) and my doctors have always said it won't affect the baby, but do caution me to try to take it easy as hard as that may seem. Maybe call them tomorrow to talk to a nurse about what you've been going through and perhaps they can offer you more reassurance. That's what I usually do when something going on seems to be more than I can handle.
Question: After I work out, I feel super nauseous and just not good. I'm hydrating throughout and eating protein right before it. What would you change or do differently?
@syssa-o I don't recall any regular posters in our BMB as being MoM from a prior pregnancy, but I've been reading up on this sort of thing... a lot so I *might be able to help a bit. Your questions depend on what type of twins you're having. What type were you diagnosed with? How far along are you?
@barrelocarol Is your heart rate getting super high? Are you going at the same speed/intensity as you were when you weren't pregnant? I eat a small amount of granola when I wake up and then have some sugar free yogurt with fruit right before I work out. I only feel sick after working out when I push it too hard (at a pace and intensity that would have been just fine a few months ago but feels not OK now). I'm also pretty much only doing elliptical and walking/light hiking, and I usually only go ~ 20- 30 minutes. If I were you I'd experiment with the activity, length, and intensity. Take notes and see if you can find that goldilocks place
@ksmwalters I would think that the other problem with your ankle healing + your job is that you're not just standing all day, you're leaning and using your feet/ankles/legs as leverage to help you massage. I think you need some solution for taking the strain off your ankle as you work. You could start with getting a stool to put the knee of that leg on? Or maybe you could go to doing a different type of massage? I'd definitely try to get the people who want lighter pressure and avoid the deep tissue set. I'm not sure how long you've been out of school but do you have a teacher you could contact for ideas on how to work around it?
Married: June 2011
TTC since Feb 2016
BFP#1: 7/7/16 MMC: 8/16/16
BFP#2: 5/8/17 - CP
BFP#3: 6/27/17 EDD: 3/10/18
I did some reading, nothing I would source... just a feel community boards,
but it seems identical is twin,twin, placenta
for fraternal, I've seen answers that vary
twin, twin, placenta x2 and
twin, placenta, twin placenta
I have one anterior and one posterior. Twin birth stories totally suck me in! Lol
edit - autocorrect
Also, I've noticed that as I go through this pregnancy (3), my recovery time is a lot longer and I can't push it as hard. My workout time feels great, but then recovery is tough if I do too much or go for too long. I end up feeling sick and gross rather than energized. Just an idea!
FYI even though they have their own sacs and placentas di/di twins could still be identical. There are situations where the fertilized egg splits super early, resulting in 2 different embryos before the sacs and placentas are formed so although fraternal always = di/di, identical can sometimes be di/di too. The only way to be sure of them being fraternal is if you know you have 1 boy and 1 girl (or if you get an amnio and one has a genetic issue that the other doesn't). If you conceive through ART the chances of di/di twins being identical is reduced because you took drugs to increase the number of mature eggs in that cycle and/or had a monitoring appointment before you ovulated which indicated more than one mature egg that could have been fertilized. You can have them genetically tested after they are born--some people only find out theirs are identical that way after birth and they're surprised because the possibility of identical twins when they are di/di is often overlooked, though it's not actually that rare, just less common than fraternal. Of course if they have different color eyes or hair or something then you'll know without genetic testing.
I had been putting off the research because I honestly didn't want to get too involved till I saw 2 hearts growing properly and now that I have I'm allowing myself to get a little bit excited.
If you do want to research more now that you're getting excited, I recommend the book "When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, and Quads" and the podcast "Twin Talks". Another MoM who is further along than us recommended those and they're really helpful. I don't remember what episode, but on one of the episodes of the podcast they explained the identical di/di thing and there was a MoM who didn't know her di/di twins were identical till she and her H got them tested at like 4 months. So crazy! I know I had 2-3 mature eggs due to ART so less likely for me, but not impossible for either of us
@kiki75 These are actually great ideas I hadn’t thought of! I’ve been out of school for a good while but stil stay in contact with some of my instructors. Definitely going to reach out to them to see if there’s anything they’d recommend work-wise.
@LiveNLove44 Ugh I’m sorry you had to deal with a stress fracture! Those suck, too. I’m so mad at myself because I knew that it wasn’t getting better and I was just hoping that it would go away. Definitely my own worst client at the moment. I especially hate it because otherwise I feel *great* right now and would love to go to town on the treadmill/in a spin class.
Thank you! I took a screenshot of what everyone wrote so I can reference it...Might be weird, I know.
Thank you!!
-told boss I was expecting, she said ok I can't promise anything about you keeping your job. Um, isn't it sort of the law? She later emailed me saying she looked into it and I still would have it when I come back
-boss has taken away 3 projects from me, not given me new projects because 'I'm not going to be here soon anyway' . These projects would have enabled me to grow and develop, good for resume, advancing career, and most were short term, done my march, so I'm feeling upset that they were given to a colleague now just because I'm leaving in March (I will be gone on mat leave for a year, but still).
-boss talked to me about how I have seemed negative and frustrated at work. She knows what a struggle this summer has been (nauseaous and on diclectin, exhausted, have a 2 year old, just moved houses), so I mentioned that that was affecting me at work, but I was trying my best.
Another detail to add to the story is my boss told me last fall when I *TW had an ectopic pregnancy* end TW that she has been struggling with infertility for 3 years. I've really tried to be sensitive to this and not complain about being nauseaous, etc. because I'm sure it's really hard to see me (and 2 other women in my workplace) be pregnant...I do however feel like she potentially could be treating me poorly right now due to some personal emotional reasons.
Am I just a sensitive hormonal pregnant woman or is she treating me unfairly at all? Thanks for your input!!
2 questions.
Do any STM’s (or maybe if you know somone who has them and loves them) have any bassinet recommendations? We have moved since having an infant and the way we have our bedroom setup the PnP will not fit next to our bed. I would rather baby be next to me than at the end of the bed.
Second, any 2 camera baby monitor recommendations, preferably reasonably priced, but that work well? Would love for it to show the room temp as well as sound/video. We currently have a Summer Infant and like it, but I still would like a camera monitor with DD because she’s still waking at night and roaming.
Also, we have the infant optix video monitor and love it! I have one in each girls room (my oldest is 5 but I can’t hear her calling for me at night without the monitor). I plan on buying a 3rd camera. It’s not cheap but it’s not the most expensive either. We have had it for a couple years and have been really happy with it.
*disclaimer: not my picture
Dx: PCOS
Married: June 2013
TTC#1: January 2015
BFP #1 8/24/15 | MC 9/3/15 at 6w2d
BFP #2: 12/12/15 | DD born 8/29/16
TTC#2: June 2017
BFP #3: 7/15/17 | DS born 3/20/18
Up until a month before I became pregnant, I was an avid runner and ran about 4 miles 4-5 times a week and lifted weights at least once week. Sometime in June I was robbed at gunpoint at work and took three weeks off, during which I was literally scared to leave my home. Not one workout happened. Then I found I was pregnant shortly after returning to work and the horrid MS and exhaustion kicked in. Now that I've finally started feeling somewhat normal, I miss the feeling of strength and accomplishment from being so active. Any tips on how to get back into it or finding motivation after taking such a long break from it?
Edited because I can't spell
Pregnant with #2: