DD Check In Fourth+ Week of August (12/23 Edition)

offtoneverland

This is a check in for those of us due between August 22nd and 31st.

How big is baby this week? Any fun comparisons? 

How are you feeling? Physically and/or emotionally? 

What are you doing for the holiday season? Anything you're looking forward to or dreading?

GTKY: If you didn't have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?

offtoneverland

How big is baby this week? Any fun comparisons? 4w 2d, baby is the size of a grain of table salt. 

How are you feeling? Physically and/or emotionally? Good mostly! I get hungry quickly and if I don't eat I start feeling just a little bit queasy. 

What are you doing for the holiday season? Anything you're looking forward to or dreading? Visiting my parents in Florida and enjoying the time off work and the warm weather. I'm already not looking forward to leaving them after Christmas! It's been great having them around to help out with DD. 

GTKY: If you didn't have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time? I'd like to think I would do something productive like laundry and cleaning. Oh and meal prepping! I would love to have more time for that because as it is I'm not able to do it often. 

coffeecocktailsandcake

Is this a thing? Why isn't it the ticket change?  

offtoneverland

@coffeecocktailsandcake We changed it. There was a poll a few days ago with an extensive discussion about it. 

jsnakehole

How bigs is baby this week? Any fun comparisons? By LMP I'm 5w1d, but by O I'm about 4w3d so baby is between a poppy seed and a sesame seed. 

How are you feeling? Not bad. I'm still tired and the fluctuating symptoms (like breast soreness and cramping) is a bit of a mind-fuck, but I'm doing okay. 

What are you doing for the holiday season?
We had a small party at our house last night, which was fun. Like five people cancelled last minute but I was happy with the smaller gathering. We're going to do Jewish Christmas (Chinese food) at my parents' house on Monday, and we'll be telling them they'll be grandparents twice over next year then  

GTKY: Probably tons of extra teacher work. I'd finally be one of those Pinterest teachers!

meeks2020

How big is baby this week? Any fun comparisons?  5wks 1day -ish. I know I O'd sometimes between Dec.1st-6th so I'm not 100% on my dd, which makes me so happy we're doing this type of check in instead of ticker change 

How are you feeling? Physically and/or emotionally?  I'm doing good. I feel pressure in my cervix area I assume is stretching. Food sounds terrible until I'm starving, then I take a few bites and I'm stuffed.

What are you doing for the holiday season? Anything you're looking forward to or dreading? I'm looking forward to watching ds open his gifts and announcing to my inlaws

GTKY: If you didn't have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time? I would knit a blanket. I love loom knitting 


@offtoneverland you are way better than I am, I don't want to spend the extra time being productive   

junabugtunabug

How big is baby this week? Any fun comparisons? 
Baby is the size of a dot snail. 5 weeks and change

How are you feeling? Physically and/or emotionally?
Physically, ok. Mild nausea and heartburn all the time, boob pain, bloating, and fatigue. Emotionally, so done with people. My poor SO. I don't want him to touch me, I don't want him to be lovey with me. He calls be beautiful and I want to stick forks in the poor guy's eyes. I'm trying to be nice but everything he does and says annoys me.  

What are you doing for the holiday season? Anything you're looking forward to or dreading? I'm hosting my whole family in my tiny house and I'm dreading out. I work 12 hour shifts all weekend and so there is zero time to prep and cook. I should have thought this through. It will be nice once it happens though. 

GTKY: If you didn't have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time? Couldn't I still sleep?

matryoshkadoll

@offtoneverland Thumbs up for grandparents! Enjoy the warm weather too!
@jsnakehole lol about pinterest... I always feel like "why, yes, I could DIY that... but when????"
@meeks2020 I love knitting too, haven't had much time for it since having my LOs... I made one thing that I couldn't find in any stores but I was on the struggle bus keeping them out of the yarn. I mean, I get the appeal, yarn is awesome... but hands off!
@junabugtunabug lol to wanting to sleep. We just hosted our in laws and I was really glad I did a lot of easy recipes, the best was a premartinated tri-tip, broiled lobster tails, quinoa in rice cooker, and premade salad from costco. Fancy but almost no prep.

How big is baby this week? Any fun comparisons? 4w5d, don't know

How are you feeling? Physically and/or emotionally? Great! Trying to clean and organize my house before the holidays / first tri exhaustion kicks in

What are you doing for the holiday season? Anything you're looking forward to or dreading? We work in tourism so will be working the next two weeks, but looking forward to Christmas morning with the kids.

GTKY: If you didn't have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time? I would probably do something crafty, but would also have to start selling on etsy or something to fund all the diy.

lngcdr2009

How big is baby this week? Any fun comparisons? 
4 weeks 5 days today. Poppyseed

How are you feeling? Physically and/or emotionally? 
I've been pretty good. I've had a lack of hunger the last few days, no nausea or food aversions. I also get lightheaded/dizzy if I stand up to fast sometimes. However last night I had this migraine hit me out of no where, within 2 hours I was paying homage to the porcelain gods, yuck. And I couldn't take anything but Tylenol and wait for it to pass. 

What are you doing for the holiday season? Anything you're looking forward to or dreading?
Well we have a total of 6 Christmas's to go to before all is said and done. The only thing I am really dreading is dealing with some family drama at Christmas that has been on going. Doesn't directly involve me but it is going to be awkward!!!

GTKY: If you didn't have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?
Probably get some more leisure reading done. I also would want to go to back school and further my degree.

junabugtunabug

@matryoshkadoll I'm going to have a diy pizza station. I got naan, sauces, and tons of toppings. I just have to cook up some of the toppings so they aren't raw (bacon, onions, sausage). I figure ill just let them do the pizzas and I won't have to do much. 

born2run911

How big is baby this week?

4W3D chia seed 

How are you feeling?

Amazingly normal and praying it stays this way! I have been hit with morning sickness between week 7-9 my last two pregnancies 

What are you doing for the holiday season?

My husband and I both work shift work which generally means one of us is working, this year it’s him. Our girls are still little enough that we can move Christmas to another day entirely (dec 27 Santa is coming). We are doing my husband’s side of the family Christmas tomorrow and I’m really hoping nobody asks my daughter if Santa is coming tomorrow night (she’s 3 and knows there are “3” more sleeps until Christmas). It sucks, but it’s our reality for now. 

GTKY: if you didn’t sleep what would you do with the extra time? 

I work shift work, I rarely do sleep haha. I’m on nights tonight so I’ll be wrapping presents at 0300hrs tonight if we’re not busy. 

mrsbubbles-2

So I’m due the 22nd but will probably be induced between 38-39 weeks because diabetes runs some risks as you get further along. 

How big is baby this week? Any fun comparisons? 
5 weeks 3 days today, bb pellet

How are you feeling? Physically and/or emotionally? 
I’m a bit of an emotional roller coaster lately, poor DH. 

What are you doing for the holiday season? Anything you're looking forward to or dreading?
So excited for DS this year, he was only 4 months old last year so this year he’s had so much fun with wrapping paper and pulling the ornaments off the tree.
Kinda dreading Christmas though, ***TW in spoiler /  cancer and loss of a parent**

My mom passed away about a year and a half ago, during my pregnancy with DS. This isn’t our first Christmas without her but it’s a tough time knowing how much she loved celebrating Christmas and how excited she was about becoming a grandma. So I’m trying but my heart just isn’t in it this year. 

GTKY: If you didn't have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?
I think I would cook my way through Julia Child’s Art of French Cooking. Very Julie and Julia of me, I know   

meeks2020

@born2run911 I hope nobody ruins it, 3 is such a fun age for this, the magic is so innocent and special! My ds is such a Santa fanboy even tho I've tried telling him he's fake, he doesn't believe me lol

@mrsbubbles-2 holidays are so hard if you've lost a close one, especially recently. I'm so sorry she has to miss these fun times 

sjlipham1

How big is baby this week? Any fun comparisons? I am 5 weeks based on LMP. Baby is about 0.13 inches! Or, the size of a headphone port?

How are you feeling? Physically and/or emotionally? 
I feel good! I am more tired than usual, but exercise and napping have been really helpful. I’m crazy thirsty...anybody else having this?

What are you doing for the holiday season? Anything you're looking forward to or dreading? I’m actually dreading telling my brother about the BFP. He will know something is up when I won’t drink with him Christmas Eve.  We have always been so close but our lives have taken very different paths the last couple of years. I became a nurse practitioner and bought a house and he is still living a very bohemian lifestyle. I can feel the distance between us growing and know this will only make it worse. I really want him to be there for me and his new nephew or niece but I’m afraid it will drive him further away. He isn’t a big fan of kids.

GTKY: If you didn't have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time? Something creative, make stop motion videos or craft or work on a play (1st bachelor degree was in acting). 

sjlipham1

jsnakehole said:

How are you feeling? Not bad. I'm still tired and the fluctuating symptoms (like breast soreness and cramping) is a bit of a mind-fuck, but I'm doing okay

My sentiments exactly. I know cramping is normal but every time I start cramping I run to the bathroom to look for bleeding. 

Also, my mom keeps insinuating that I am not nauseated enough and that seems to concern her. I wish I had not told her yet, she is making me nervous.

born2run911

@meeks2020 that’s awesome that he’s such a Santa fan, I would rather a hardcore believer then have that one kid that tells all the others he’s not real! 

@mrsbubbles-2 that breaks my heart. Hopefully she had lots of Christmas traditions that you can continue with your kids in memory of her since she loved Christmas so much ❤️

offtoneverland

@jsnakehole So glad your holiday party went well. You'll have to let us know how your parents react to the news. 
@junabugtunabug What do you do for work? I hope the party at your house goes better than you're expecting and you have a great time. A DIY pizza station sounds like a great idea!
@matryoshkadoll Do you mind me asking what you do in the tourism industry? Sounds interesting! Good idea taking the extra time to craft and sell it on Etsy. I would love to do that if I had extra time.
@mrsbubbles-2 I'm so sorry for your loss and that this Christmas season will be difficult for you. Your family will be in my thoughts and prayers.
@sjlipham1 I totally get what you're saying. I haven't had any cramping, but I still expect to see bleeding every time I go to the bathroom. Early pregnancy is so hard! I don't think nausea is supposed to kick in until like 6 weeks, so don't let your mom make you nervous! I hope the announcement to your brother goes okay. That must be difficult with the both of you slipping apart from each other. 

melbel0824

How big is baby this week? Any fun comparisons? 4w5d based on LMP. Baby is the size of a poppyseed. 

How are you feeling? Physically and/or emotionally? I’m feeling pretty good. Slightly nauseous in the morning and more tired than usual. Plus I’m cold all the time but I’ve always been cold so that may or may not be a symptom. 

What are you doing for the holiday season? Anything you're looking forward to or dreading?
Even though it’s early we decided to tell our families at Christmas. I ordered a print off Etsy and I’m really excited for them to open it. DH’s sister is also pregnant so his grandparents are going to be shocked when they find out about her and doubly shocked when we tell them. 

GTKY: If you didn't have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time? Probably read or craft. Although since I’m a FTM I currently have a decent amount of free time. 

@offtoneverland how long are you in Florida? I bet it’s really nice this time of year. 
@jsnakehole sorry people canceled last minute. I hate when that happens. But it sounds like you still had a nice time!
@meeks2020 I used to love knitting but I’ve never done loom knitting.
@lngcdr2009 that’s a lot of Christmases! I hope the family drama is kept to a minimum. 
@matryoshkadoll I just realized you were here! Congratulations!!
@junabugtunabug I like the pizza station idea. Hopefully it’s not too much work for you. 
@born2run911 Good luck keeping “Christmas” a secret until the 27th!
@mrsbubbles-2 I’m so sorry for your loss. I hope seeing your DS on Christmas Day will create new happy memories of this time of year. 
@sjlipham1 family dynamics are so hard sometimes. Hopefully your brother will surprise you with his reaction. 

junabugtunabug

@offtoneverland I work in critical care at a community hospital. 
@melbel0824 thanks, I'm working on a coffee and hot chocolate station too, and I have an area for desserts, too. I'm thinking the less I have to prepare beforehand the better off I'll be. 

yosemite2018

How big is baby this week? Any fun comparisons? 4w2d so the size of a poppyseed

How are you feeling? Physically and/or emotionally? Other than being tired and gassy, I feel completely fine. I do have a little cramping as well. I was so worried when pregnant with DD and now I am just trying to keep calm and focus on my daughter.

What are you doing for the holiday season? Anything you're looking forward to or dreading? We hung out at my uncle’s last night. Today I am watching football at my parents house and tomorrow we’re all going to dinner at my sister’s. My mom doesn’t want to keep a secret so she doesn’t want to know when I’m pregnant until she can tell everyone. It is soooo hard not to tell her but at least I don’t have too many symptoms where she will guess at the moment. My sister and BIL know so at least I can talk about it with someone!

GTKY: If you didn't have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time? Clean, get to the list of 2,000 things I haven’t gotten around to, and maybe paint or do a puzzle?

offtoneverland

@melbel0824 We're in Florida until the day after Christmas. It's really warm here which is great, but at the same time it doesn't feel like Christmas without sweaters and cold weather!
ETA: sounds like such a fun way to announce to your family! Hope you get a great reaction from everyone. 

meeks2020

When is everyone's first appointments? Mine isn't until January 30th and although I'm happy I'll get a more detailed photo, I hate waiting so long to find out EDD and get the ball rolling on my referrals. It'll all come out in the wash and be fine, but I was wondering if anyone else has their first appointments that late or later?

offtoneverland

@meeks2020 You're not the only one! My first appointment isn't until February 7th. 

jsnakehole

@meeks2020 mine is on 1/2. I'm not expecting to see much, but I'm glad to get all the bloodwork and such out of the way early. I'm just a little frustrated because they insisted on going by LMP, even though I definitely O'd late in my cycle. 

meeks2020

@offtoneverland I'm glad I'm not alone but hate you are waiting even longer! 

@jsnakehole they went by my lmp too, even though I didn't O until sometime between CD24-CD30. I'm not complaining about that bc it gets me in 2 weeks earlier... they would have waited until mod February to get me in of they went by O date 

junabugtunabug

Oh my goodness, you ladies with late appointments! I'm sorry they are so far off.

My first appointment is Jan 10th. It's with a new doctor so I don't know what this practice does.i would hope for an ultrasound, but I know my old doctor didn't do one at the first appointment.

lngcdr2009

@meeks2020
mine is on February 5th. So you are definitely not alone. 

lizziealyssa

I'm 5w4d today. I'm having a lot more cramping than with previous pregnancies. Same as y'all have said-always checking for blood. And ps I usually never have any symptoms at all. The entire pregnancy. Maybe just a bit more tired and prone to motion sickness. Everyone is different.

Our Christmas was sort of sad. We recently moved internationally and no one visited us so we were alone. We made the best of it and of course having some space to build new traditions is good. We had some other expats over for a Christmas meal. But being apart from family and close friends for the holidays is just hard. Y'all are fortunate to see your loved ones for the holidays! (Even if some are crazy;)

If I had more time I would read more and crochet while watching old movies. 

lolog531

How big is baby this week? Any fun comparisons? 
4w3d

How are you feeling? Physically and/or emotionally? Physically - crampy and headache. Emotionally - still in shock because just got my BFP this morning! 

What are you doing for the holiday season? Anything you're looking forward to or dreading? Just got back from traveling to see my family, celebrated with DH’s last weekend. It was all fun! Looking forward to a quiet NYE at home with a homemade surf and turf dinner

GTKY: If you didn't have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time
Print photos and Make photo albums. Everything I have is saved digitally and I’m horrible at printing anything! I’d love to get prints and put them all together over the past few years 

lolog531

I got my BFP over the weekend, so haven’t called my OB yet to set my first appointment. With my DS they didn’t see me until I was 10-11 weeks, so I am
expecting it to be the same this time around. The wait is the absolute WORST! 

offtoneverland

@lolo531 Congrats on the Christmas BFP! My nickname is Lolo, so it made me laugh seeing your screen name!
@lizziealyssa Sorry for the lonely Christmas. It was nice of you to have some other expats over to celebrate. Do you have any plans to see family in the future? Where did you move to, if you don't mind me asking?

lngcdr2009

@lolo531   congrats on the BFP!
@lizziealyssa  Sorry you had a quiet Christmas. But sounds like you and DH had some good quality time. 

lizziealyssa

@offtoneverland we are in the Czech Republic. We have some family visiting in a little over a month so looking forward to that. We will go back to the states for the first time in over a year in june. 

@lngcdr2009 thank you! We have 3 kids ages 5, 3 and 2 so it was still a wild Christmas. But yes, lots of great quality time. 

mrsbubbles-2

How did it go for everyone that announced to family this weekend? Any fun stories to share?

I *think* we have a first ultrasound appt on Jan 9th. I got a phone call from the receptionist at the MFM office saying she scheduled me for an ultrasound but didn't tell me the date. My patient portal updated with a new appointment with the office on the 9th so I think that's the ultrasound.

Also, thanks all for the love, thoughts, prayers and kind words. It means so much

offtoneverland

DH called MIL yesterday morning and told her the news. She was really excited but I think everyone is trying to be cautious *TW* after my two losses this year. *End TW* DH tried to call his dad after (his parents are divorced so we had to call them separately) but couldn't get a hold of him. He called us later in the day and MIL had already announced the news to him and DH's brother at their Christmas dinner. Ugh! We didn't ask her not to tell but I figured it was a given. DH didn't care but it bothered me because we didn't get to hear their reaction. Oh well.
I had already announced the pregnancy to my mom and dad. I took the test the day I got to Florida and just showed them the test that said "pregnant" afterwards.  They are really excited! An August due date is exciting to them too because DD was born in August along with my sister's twin boys, so there will be so many August birthdays!

melbel0824

@lizziealyssa I’m sorry your Christmas was a little sad. But it sounds nice that there were other expats you could at least enjoy a meal with. How long will you be in the Czech Republic?

@lolo531 Congrats on the Christmas BFP! That’s so exciting! I like to scrapbook so I have tons of pictures printed, but then I never have time to scrapbook so the pictures never go anywhere except in a box.

@mrsbubbles-2 That will be awesome if your first ultrasound is January 9th. My first appointment is 1/22 and they said they’ll do an ultrasound since I’ll be almost 9 weeks then. I hope that’s true because DH is coming with me, plus I’ll be really disappointed if they don’t.

It was so fun telling our families on Christmas. Everybody cried, including me! DH’s grandmother had the best reaction when she realized both DH’s sister and me were pregnant. And my parents were totally surprised. It was the best, and now we’re just thinking good thoughts since it’s still really early.

Although I did have one aunt who was excited, but then said “I hope it’s what you wanted.” Like, who says that?

mrsbubbles-2

@melbel0824 Ugh with the inappropriate responses! You're left scratching your head like wait... what? So sorry! We had something similar happen when we announced with DS - 2 people on 2 occasions asked if it was a planned pregnancy. Um, do you want to see my Fertility Friend chart with all the details of how often we do it and what CM I was having on what day? lol.

@offtoneverland NOOOO! I'd be so disappointed too! August birthdays are awesome! My DS is August too! And how cool that you got to tell your parents on the day you tested!

jaztastic

5w4d feeling overall okay. Had a nasty fight with "morning" sickness last night. Had me feeling like I was Christmas drunk and just needed to throw up. Ginger chews helped fix that. 

1st Ultrasound is Friday so I'm pretty excited about that. 

Since its so early we still haven't announced. My FILs wife caught me off guard yesterday when she asked "Do you think you guys will have more kids?" ... well 1, it's not that easy for us lady, and 2, I guess the answer is yes since I'm currently KTFU. But I replied with a sweet "yea, I think we will some day" 

offtoneverland

@melbel0824 So glad your announcement went so well, despite the one weird comment. Not sure what goes through some people's heads! That must be so exciting for YHs grandma to be expecting 2 grandchildren at the same time! Are these the first grandkids for her?
@mrsbubbles-2 I so hope you get an ultrasound on the 9th! I'll be anxiously waiting along with you!

lolog531

@melbel0824 you’re one step ahead of me with actually printing them!!! I think maybe I’ll make it a goal of mine before this baby comes to get the past few years printed and organized!

The BFP on Christmas was a great little present! No announcements for us yet - I had a BFN 11dpo, then we left for a few days for the holiday, so didn’t get my BFP until we were back home. I think we will wait awhile to announce - our families both lives a few hours away and no set plans for a visit right now! 

jsnakehole

We told our families yesterday. We got my mom an Alex and Ani baby block bracelet, and we got a NY Rangers shirt with a matching NY Rangers onesie for my dad. It took them a few seconds to figure it out, and my mom screamed when she put two and two together. 

She then called her two best friends and all of her siblings. My brother didn't let her do that when she found out his wife was pregnant, and I knew she really wanted to, so I let her do it for me. She also called my dad's sister because she has a petty one-up thing with her and, as childish as it is, I knew it was going to make her day to tell my aunt she was getting not one, but two grandkids next year. 

We also called DH's parents. We asked his dad what he has six of already (my BILs have six kids between the two of them). His dad could t figure it out, so we eventually had to just be like 'you're getting a 7th grandkid'. His family's very happy as well, and I'm sure the entire state of Israel knows I'm pregnant now (they are not good at keeping secrets). 

Now I'm just counting down to my first appointment next week. I checked the patient portal and I'm getting an ultrasound done too. I'll be between 5w6d and 6w4d, so I wonder if it'll even show anything.