Weekly Questions 1/8

7425cait

We told our DD after the first ultrasound. Now she kisses and talks to my belly sometimes. She says it's a girl. 

legallykate

STM+s, do any of you have any experiences flying late(ish) during pregnancy? We just found out yesterday that DH's dad is getting married June 9th and I am wondering how difficult/annoying it would be to fly from Texas to California and back at 30-31 weeks.

mrsbubbles-2

@legallykate I flew up through 30 weeks when pregnant with DS. Make sure you let your OB know that you will be traveling, they will give you instructions on what to do in the event you need medical attention. If you have swelling of the feet and ankles by then compression socks are your friend! Make sure you walk up and down the isle a bit during the flight. Lots and lots of water. I didn't have too bad of a time, I just made sure to check all my bags so I didn't have to carry anything but my purse and giant bag of snacks through the airport.

Funnygirl34

We told our boys (almost 5 and 3.5) after we saw the heartbeat!  They are so excited and seem to "get it". 

delujm0

@legallykate I flew for my sister's bridal shower at 32 weeks with DD1.  It wasn't the most comfortable I've ever been on a plane, but really it wasn't too bad.

rosalie0208

Question about side sleeping.....with my DD, i was told sleeping on your left side is best and provides good blood flow to baby. Every time I tried it, I’d get so nauseous and sick. Fast forward to this pregnancy and the same thing is happening. I’m fine laying on my back, but if I turn onto my left side, bam, I’m heaving. Anyone else’s body apparently hate the left side??

pghctwife

@lalala2004 the times I threw up I did feel better after. But it’s only gotten to that point a couple times and I’m not about to try to make it happen more. Even right now I’m doubled over in sick feeling, and yet the idea of throwing up is terrible! Esp with food in my stomach. 

@cthulu I have two kids old enough to understand and I have also had losses. I’m so thankful we didn’t tell them before my losses. It was hard enough for me without also having to guide them through it. And yes my oldest can’t keep a secret lol. So we will tell them right before we make it public. I’m planning to wait until I get my cfdna results. That should give me extra peace of mind that things are ok, and we’ll know the sex too and can announce to them with cupcakes or something. They will be soooo excited to know - last time my oldest was PISSED when he realized that we COULD have found out and didn’t lol

pghctwife

@rosalie0208 YES!!! I’m normally a right side sleeper and in previous pregnancies if I tried sleeping on my left it had me practically vomiting from my heartburn (which was bad) I assumed.  Just slept on my right instead! 

@legallykate I think I was about 32w when I flew at thanksgiving when preg with my second. It was miserable. If more bc I was solo with the belly and my extremely difficult then- 19month old. I think if it was just me it would have been fine lol

lolog531

We told DS who is 2.5. He doesn’t talk about it unless we bring it up though - the only place he would blab is at school and they’ll know soon enough because we will need a spot in the infant room. If I ask him ‘where’s the baby?’ Or ‘who’s having a baby?’ He points to me and my belly, and he’s even kissed it a couple of times. He says he wants it to be a sister, but not sure he knows what he’s talking about!

rosalie0208

@pghctwife I’ll de  be sleeping on my right side this time around too!! We win some we lose some in this journey of pregnancy lol I’m glad I’m not alone!! 

@lolog531 that’s so sweet that he’s excited!! I am looking forward to when our DD understands, but for now she has no idea lol 

hezzer78

Has anyone had a SCH? I had an US today and they found a very very small one. I've had no spotting or bleeding and doctor thinks it's no big deal, but I do have to cease activity for a few weeks until it goes away. 

Anyone had one go away on it's own? How long did that take? 

derbysquirrel

@cthulu
I wanted my (step)kids to be the first to know (other than DH) so I told them just a couple of days after I had my BFP on my birthday. They are 20 and 17 years old, though. My 17 year old (18 in March) is the most excited, other than maybe my mom. He's already asking to babysit. I keep having to remind him that he'll be in college, and living in a different state.

How many ultrasounds are given in a typical pregnancy? I had a dating ultrasound at 7w, and I'm already eager to get eyes on the fetus again. Do I have to wait until 20 weeks? Can I just pay out of pocket to have one done sooner? 

delujm0

@derbysquirrel the only truly necessary ultrasound is the AS at 18-20 weeks.  Many offices also do a dating scan at 8-10 weeks and an NT scan along with the 12 week bloodwork.  The NT scan is standard at my OB office but not everywhere so if you want it you should ask.  It looks for physical markers of some genetic issues.
 
After 20 weeks scans are on an as needed basis.  With DD2 I didn't have another scan after 20 weeks.  With DD1 I had several...one bc my fundal height was suddenly way off, during which they found she was breech, then one to make sure she had flipped head down as a result of the previous scan, and then another at 38 weeks bc my blood pressure had spiked. 
 
If you want to get one at a boutique place that's up to you but I would never do that because the staff are not necessarily medical experts or experts in prenatal scans and there is some concern about being exposed to the rays unnecessarily.  If my OB says I need a scan, I know she has my medical history and has weighed that against the risks of exposure to determine whether I need a scan or not.  If it's a boutique place they just want your money.  I've also heard numerous women on my prior BMBs that had an elective ultrasound where the tech noticed something that looked off and can't do anything about it, so the women freaked out and demanded to get in to the OB when in many (though not all) cases it was absolutely nothing to be worried about.  I'm not interested in getting worked up for no reason.  I leave the medical tests up to the discretion of my OB.

lakesideknitter

hezzer78 said:

Has anyone had a SCH? I had an US today and they found a very very small one. I've had no spotting or bleeding and doctor thinks it's no big deal, but I do have to cease activity for a few weeks until it goes away. 

Anyone had one go away on it's own? How long did that take? 

I currently have one. Waiting for it to resolve. I had some intense cramping and moderate spotting on the day it was diagnosed, but have only had moderate cramps and no spotting since then. I think they said about 90% of them resolve on their own.
A number of other women on the board have them or have had them with other pregnancies. There's really no way to know how quickly yours will resolve. It could have been so small on the scan because it was already shrinking. There's no way to know how long it's been there or how long it will stay.
Good luck on future scans! I go back on the 18th for my dating scan and to check if it is still there.

ecwk

@delujm0 perfect answer! 

aj1327

@lolog531 our sons seem to be responding exactly the same. It’s so funny to watch. Mine says he wants a “wittle brudder” though. 

@derbysquirrel They found a fibroid at my anatomy scan with DS, plus he was measuring huge, so I had another ultrasound at 32 weeks. I was set to be induced at 38 weeks, but went into labor the week before. 

derbysquirrel

@delujm0
I don't want to go to one of those boutique places for exactly those reasons, but I'm hoping to have an extra one done at my OBs office, and just have them bill me. I'll ask about it on Monday when I go in. I'm not getting the NT done because I am low risk, and my insurance won't cover it, but I wish they would!

aj1327

@derbysquirrel I know my OB offers a three D ultrasound for $150. Maybe your office will do something like that as well

7425cait

@derbysquirrel my obs office had one in house and did one for almost every single visit. Just for a minute each time, but still. I hope she does it again, because im already anxiously awaiting the next one. 

I have a piggy back question...
If you only get around 3 ultrasounds your entire pregnancy, how do your obs check to make sure everything is good? Do they still do a Doppler or something?

delujm0

@7425cait yes, the visits where I don't have an ultrasound, the nurse uses the doppler to check the heart rate.  My office has the scans in house but only does them when necessary.  Typically you have them at your first 2 appointments (8w dating and 12w NT scan) and then they use the doppler at 16w and you have the AS at 20 weeks.  After that it's just doppler unless something comes up that they want to check on.

aj1327

^ Mine was a Doppler as well. I got an ultrasound last time at 11 weeks though. It was so neat, the baby was wiggling all around in there. I think that is the last one I’ll get until 20 weeks though. Sad. 

derbysquirrel

I got my dating US at 7w 3d. At the time the embryo measured small, and that's causing me some concern. Because I used frozen donor sperm I know within 12 hours of when I conceived, so there is no possibility of me having the date wrong. I'm hoping the now fetus has caught up, but without another US I won't know =(

lalala2004

I’m definitely not a fan of the elective ultrasound places. I know it’s nice to see baby, but they truly don’t know the actual effects on the fetus. There is one study that found correlation between more ultrasounds and left-handedness, which is totally benign, but since it’s related to the brain, that makes me nervous. I don’t want any that aren’t medically necessary. I actually wasn’t happy when they made me get extra ones because of soft markers on the Anatomy Scan and actually cancelled my last one that they scheduled because “he is measuring big”. What difference does that make? Made me feel like they just wanted money at that point. 

nicnique

@hezzer78 I have an SCH too. Found at 5 weeks and I’m having ultrasounds every two weeks to monitor it. My OB didn’t tell me the size but it was larger than the gestational sac at my last appt. she didn’t give my any rest restrictions and she also told me not worry if I have spotting. This past week I have been trying to take it as easy as possible and not carry my 22 month old DD as much. Today I woke up with some pretty intense cramping and have started bleeding. It’s hard not to worry and I wish it wasn’t Saturday. My next ultrasound is on the 18th and I’m hoping it hasn’t gotten larger and that baby is ok. 

She said most resolve on their own but no way to know how long it will take. Keep us updated on your future scans! Hope yours resolves quickly! 

pghctwife

@derbysquirrel you might check with your insurance if you didn’t already. I feel like the NT is pretty universal (not reserved for high risk likevthe cfdna is - in terms of blood work)

honestly if baby was measuring small and its msking you wirried just tell your care provider. 

TW: after having a loss, I had an early u/s where the baby measured small. Like 4-5 days I think... it was within the normal range for that but I was certain on my dates and historically measured right on. I texted my midwife and she wasn’t worried bc it was within the margin of error but could tell I was worried and said she’d order another u/s a week later to make sure baby grew appropriately.

i agree that extra u/s aren’t necessary but I think that is a valid reason. How far off were you? A day or two could also be later implantation.

jsnakehole

@derbysquirrel I'm low risk and my insurance is covering the NT scan (and will cover NIPT if anything comes up on that scan). I would definitely call your insurance company and ask. Mine covered a whole battery of genetic tests because me and DH are from a high-risk group.

delujm0

I agree the NT scan is pretty universal...My office doesn't even tell you that it's optional, they just do it.  Though I do think I was once told that medicaid only covers the anatomy scan (one of my friends is an OB and hates this.  She has had to tell patients that they are having twins at 20w because there is no scan before that!  Can you imagine!)
 
NIPT testing is typically only covered for high risk or AMA individuals.

shri929

@derbysquirrel if your doctor feels it’s necessary for an ultrasound your insurance should cover it. I am high risk so I had lots and they were all covered. I mean like probably once a month. Also, @delujm0 the nice thing about ultrasounds is that they don’t have high risk “rays” like say an X-ray or many other snans which use radiation but rather it uses sound waves. (Some heat too)

Edited

kburg15

My midwives only do 1 ultrasound (18-20 weeks) and every other appt is the Doppler. They don’t even do a first appt until 8-10 weeks. So jealous of all the ultrasounds. 

Firemanswife11

My OB does not do a 12 week ultrasound. Not sure why but I don't have any known risks from bloodwork/my previous pregnancy so I'm just trying to relax. 

derbysquirrel

@pghctwife My embryo was 5 days smaller than it should have been, bit had a healthy heart rate. My doctor didn't seem worried, and everything seems to be progressing normally (all the morning sickness!) but it bugs me a little. I'll ask on Monday. 

I did call my insurance re: NT testing, but they don't cover ANY genetic testing without risk factors present. They might cover it if we just did it anyway and sent them the bill, but they won't pre authorize it, and I'm trying not to be obnoxiously paranoid. 

pghctwife

Understand. I’d definitely tell your dr that you are feeling anxiety about the baby measuring small and can you come in for a follow up u/s to confirm appropriate growth. I hope s/he listens!