3rd Trimester Check In-Week of 2/11/18

amanning2011

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 had

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

@momma6angels11 Delivered 2/4/2018 Baby A (Sean Jr) 5lbs 11oz Baby B (Willow Grace ) 5lbs 7oz
@thucks Delivered 2/8 Amber 8lb 6oz

@kaseycoco 2/27 with a little boy
@amanning2011 EDD 3/25 TWINS! G/G
@dreamcometrue2017 ; EDD 3/31 with a little boy
@MMD1986 EDD 4/2 Team Green
@cashewchicken ; EDD 4/11 with a little boy
@rel_1987 ; EDD 4/21 with a little boy
@meredithj123 ; EDD 4/24 Team Green
@nmtay ; EDD 4/25 Twins! B/G
@helloworld9 : EDD 5/5 with a little boy 

QOTW: Since Valentine's Day is coming up, how are you planning to celebrate?

wabash15

@thucks good luck!!!
@momma6angels11 congratulations!!! I hope your doing well 

Hopeful_mom

@momma6angels11 wow I can't believe it, already here! Congrats mama!! So exciting hope everyone is feeling great!  Such nice size babies!!
@thucks good luck mama!!

helloworld9

Hello! I'm so happy to be in the third trimester. Today I'm 28+1 with a boy! EDD is 5/5

I had my 1 hour glucose blood draw Thursday and still awaiting results. However, they put some blood panel results on my portal and after Googling it looks like I have a slight iron deficiency. I guess I need to eat tons of spinich and stuff now.

My husband and I are kind of boring, we don't really celebrate Valentine's day. But that's ok, I'm kind of a homebody anyway haha.

amanning2011

@helloworld9 Welcome to the third trimester!

We only have one appointment this week (thank heavens) on Wednesday so we'll get to see the OB again and get the results from the A1C test we did last week. For Valentine's Day we are going out to a Brazilian steakhouse the day before so we don't have to deal with as many people. Since I'm due in a few weeks this is probably going to be our last big date night before the twins are born.

MMD1986

Hi everyone. 

Congrats @thucks on the birth of your baby girl!

Tomorrow I'll be 33 weeks. No appointments this week, so nothing exciting going on.

QOTW: We aren't doing anything for Valentine's day.  Today is my husband's birthday and mine is on 2/20, so we normally just celebrate the birthdays and skip Valentine's day.  My blood pressure was also elevated at my doctors appointment last week and my feet have been swelling like crazy, so I'm spending all my evenings at home relaxing. 

cashewchicken

32 weeks this week! 

QOTW: We probably won’t do anything for Valentine’s Day. We never really celebrated on the day of anyway, and we have an u/s appointment in the am so I’ll likely be working late that day. The 32-week u/s will be a Valentine’s Day gift for me and my husband

@helloworld9 do you take extra calcium with your prenatal vitamins? Calcium interferes with iron absorption so if you are taking them together, you might want to space them out. 

@amanning2011 Brazilian steakhouse sounds so yummy! I love going there as the food is gestational diabetes friendly.  

cashewchicken

@MMD1986 hope your blood pressure comes down soon. Hope you get to relax a bit. 

Hi ladies. I finally got baby essentials (car seat, stroller, crib and bassinet and some baby clothes) but I haven’t gotten around to getting anything else. What do you think would be essential at least the first two weeks to a month? I can only think of diaper and baby bath tub at this moment. 

MMD1986

@cashewchicken I'm a FTM, so don't have any experience yet.  But I've been told velcro swaddles come in handy (not necessarily that they are essential).  Also anything you would need for breastfeeding (if you are doing that, I don't remember if you said you were or not from the thread a few weeks back).  Nipple cream, breast pads, a nursing pillow.

persnickity

@cashewchicken the velcro swaddle thing was a life saver!! We didn't end up using the baby bath tub until just now (6 months). Until then, the hospital showed us how to do a sponge bath basically. That's what we used. You can't do anything else until the umbilical cord falls off and we found it so much easier then a tub. Only other thing i found essential was a baby carrier/wrap. Having hands free was huge.

kaseycoco

hi everyone!
I'm 38 weeks this week, which I still can't believe. These last few weeks have flown by. Still trying to get everything organized, but I finally feel like I'm making progress on my checklist.

@cashewchicken I'm a FTM, but in addition to the other suggestions some things I've been told are to have some formula on hand just in case you need to supplement (like pp said, can't remember your plans to breastfeed). Also, get stuff to take care of yourself! I'm setting up a basket in my bathroom with stuff like pads, tucks, extra undies, some spray to help healing. I'm planning on taking as much as I can from the hospital, but was told you'll need more than you can carry out

QOTW- my husband and I had a nice italian dinner this weekend to celebrate valentines day/likely one of our last nights out before the baby arrives. We aren't big on celebrating, but it was nice to get out!
 

nmtay

Hey everyone! I'm 30 wks today with the twins and super excited that the first digit is a 3!!! Making progress on getting ready - @cashewchicken I would also say toiletry stuff for you and baby. Shampoo, TP, I'm definitely also getting bath salts, etc. Also chocolate. 

So we've had a ridiculous amount of family drama lately...lots of unhealthy behaviors and treatment, specifically from my parents, that kind of blew up between Christmas and me being stressed about the babies being affected by/subjected to it...anyway DH and I are trying to establish boundaries, but my  parents and especially my dad is super manipulative, so it's a mess and very slow moving...

Which leads to QOTW: I'm very excited for Valentine's day! We're celebrating tomorrow instead of today cause DH works late, but really I'm just excited to take a break from my worries and snuggle and watch tv and go to dinner. Actually we'll probably just get takeout. But really I just need hubby time. Also we have another ultrasound Friday, so that will be great to see the babies and check in on how they're growing! Oh also my grandma gave me a teddy bear wearing a shirt that says "Prisoner of Love" to give DH cause she used it on her husband last year, so I'm giving him that and some of his favorite snacks.

helloworld9

@nmtay I know what you mean by family drama. My mom's side is filled to the brim with people who have NPD (and my mom as well). So family arguments are a complete sh-t show complete with insults, shouting, threats, manipulative behavior, etc.

@cashewchicken Hmm I probably have calcium in my prenatal, but I don't take an extra calcium supplement. I do drink a glass of milk each morning.

@amanning2011 Hope you had a great time eating steak! Yum.

AFM my husband was talking to his mom last night about his sister planning our baby shower. Well, it seems like it might not happen. There was some disagreement on where it should be held (we live like 5 hours away from his family, and my family is in the city we live in now). We didn't want to travel for my shower, you know? Anyway, my SIL had a baby last year, so she's dealing with that, and I overheard my MIL hem and haw about logistics since it would require her/SIL to get a hotel.

I suggested to my husband that we throw our own shower, but there's not a ton of people we know who live locally who can attend, and he says it would be depressing if only three people showed up.

Anyway, just kind of bummed right now.

MMD1986

@helloworld9 sorry to hear about your baby shower. Maybe y'all could do a smaller dinner party or something? Then you could still celebrate with a smaller number of people. 

rel_1987

Happy Valentine's Day ladies   
30 weeks and 4 days today. Nothing happening this week besides the hubby is taking me Saturday to get a 3d ultrasound done and I'm excited. I do have 2 appts next week, one which is a growth scan.
QOTW: My husband has to work tonight so I am getting off a little early Friday and we are going to see a movie and probably dinner. We don't really make a huge deal out of Valentine's day since we have date night every week! 

helloworld9

@MMD1986 Yeah I think we will host our own brunch or something at a restaurant. Our apartment is way too small for a gathering...

MMD1986

I think a brunch sounds like a great time. I'd love to do something like that as a guest to a baby shower. 

nmtay

@helloworld9 thanks for the sympathy, that is definitely part of our issue there! Also sorry about your shower drama. Hopefully you can still figure out something fun to do to celebrate! I definitely like the brunch idea! Also, one of my friends did a Facebook/Skype shower for similar travel reasons. Not something I would personally do, but possibly something to consider if you do have lots of people all over who would love to participate! Oh! Also vitamin C helps with iron absorption, so having citrus at the same time/meal as lentils, red meat, and/or spinach would definitely help! I wouldn't cut your calcium. Most prenatals have like 15-30% of the recommended amount for a non pregnant woman, and one glass of milk in addition to that still puts you under 50% of what a pregnant woman should have, and your baby definitely needs it!

I would love to hear ideas from someone who does make a big deal of Valentine's day - I'm sure I'll want to make a bigger deal of date nights in general after the babies are born!

amanning2011

@nmtay boo family drama Boundaries are a good thing. I hope you have fun tonight on your Valentine's date! You need some time to relax and not worry about anything right now.

@helloworld9 We had a great time I really like the restaurant we went to and the food is always very good. I even let myself have a little bit of dessert, though we went for a walk after to make sure my blood sugars didn't get too high lol. I like the brunch idea for a shower with close friends, sounds like a lot of fun! Especially if you don't have to cook anything yourself, lol.

We had another appointment yesterday, found out my A1C isn't even in the pre-diabetic range which is great My new BS monitor is stupid and measures pretty high so my OB/Midwife is going to harass the insurance company and see if they can get them to pay for some of the strips for the meter that tests more accurately. Otherwise we'll be paying for the strips and lancets out of pocket since there's no point in using the meter that give falsely high numbers. Also found out that A flipped back to being breech so we are back to a c-section unless she decides to flip back over.

MMD1986

Well looks like I'm probably not going to make it until April 2nd.  I went to the hospital assessment center at 10pm because I was having bad cramping and started bleeding. I was admitted to labor and delivery about an hour later. I've been started on a magnesium drip to slow things down, steroid shots, and penicillin.  I guess we will see how things progress today.  I kept saying I was ready to meet our baby, but I didn't mean this early. Monday will be 34 weeks. 

cashewchicken

@MMD1986 I hope the labor has stopped and that you're able to carry the baby a bit longer.  But even if you do deliver early, 34 weeks isn't bad.  My SIL delivered twins at 34 weeks and though they spent 2 weeks in NICU, they're quite healthy now.

cashewchicken

Thank you ladies for all the suggestions in terms of what to get for the first few months!  I'm definitely getting the velcro swaddle as origami was never my thing... and swaddling looks like an origami art!  I will attempt breastfeeding so I will remember to get the breastfeeding supplies as well as items to care for myself (nipple cream).  Totally forgot about stuff to care for myself, that's a good point... and also stock up on shampoo and personal care items so that I don't have to run into stores to get 'em (my husband can go to the store instead, but he's not that reliable when it comes to getting the stuff I want). I've been thinking about getting a baby carrier but I thought I had to wait until the baby's neck/head stabilizes somewhat, but I suppose I can get a wrap for the newborn.  There is a wrap that is easier to use that I found on Amazon that I might get.  And a can of newborn formula, just in case I can't breastfeed (and bottles). And some newborn diapers.

@amanning2011- Which glucose meter are you using? I'm currently using Bayer Contour Next, and I read online that it's one of the more accurate ones out there.  It's great that your numbers are actually great and that it's not even in the pre-diabetic range.  Does that mean you still need to continue monitoring?

amanning2011

@cashewchicken I was using a OneTouch, but I think we are going to spend the extra and go back to the FreeStyle Lite. Unfortunately, even though my A1C was great they still want me to monitor because fluctuating hormones can screw up my normal diet monitoring stuff still, apparently. I got scolded by the midwife for not tracking inaccurate numbers :rolleyes:

rel_1987

@MMD1986 I hope labor has stopped and your lo decides to stay in for a few more weeks. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

rel_1987

Yesterday my husband took me to get a 3d ultrasound and I'm truly amazed at technology and now even more excited to meet my son!!!

cashewchicken

@amanning2011- well, I suppose even if A1C is in the normal range that doesn't mean you're off the hook, as you must have watched your diet carefully anyway and that would have been the reason for your A1C to be low.  What do you mean you were scolded by your MW for not tracking inaccurate numbers? Isn't the meter tracking it, or is she talking about you not tracking that the numbers were inaccurate?  Unless you have multiple meters (and why should you, unless you're truly diabetic?), how would you know that your meter is not good?

amanning2011

@cashewchicken because we found how inaccurate the meter was I kind of stopped testing....I do have multiple meters because the OB prescribed a meter initially that my insurance didn't cover and we didn't find out until after the fact. We had them call in another prescription for the meter they did cover. Technically the meter is 'working' but that's because the tolerance according to the company is a 20% variance which isn't real helpful when they want to keep my numbers below 140. When I went to the hospital a couple of weeks ago to be tested for preeclampsia they tested my BS, too, and we compared the numbers and it was 15% higher than the more accurate hospital test.

MMD1986

Thanks for the well wishes @cashewchicken and @rel_1987. They were able to slow labor, which is great. The doctor said the meds they were able to start help develop the baby's organs (he specifically said lungs, brains and intestines) by two weeks just by making it an additional 24 hours. The stuff they can do is amazing. Hoping to get moved out of labor and delivery and into a room in the high risk unit later this morning. Hoping baby can hang on a few more days. 

amanning2011

@MMD1986 I'm glad they were able to slow labor Hopefully LO will stay put now and grow more.

thucks

Sorry everyone I haven't posted an update with picture. We are doing well and getting used to eachother. On Friday she was just 2oz shy of her birth weight but she's transfering milk very well. 

MMD1986

@thucks she is precious! And that outfit is too cute. So good to hear everyone is doing well. 

Hopeful_mom

@thucks awwww look at that precious face! congrats! glad all is well!

@MMD1986 seems like youve had some excitement - hope baby is sitting tight and youre all doing ok!

kaseycoco

@thucks she's so beautiful! Congrats  
@mmd1986 glad to hear they could stop labor, I also hope baby can sit tight for a little longer!

Hopeful_mom

@kaseycoco wow can't believe how close you are - just wanted to wish you all the best for an easy and healthy delivery!!

kaseycoco

@hopeful_mom thanks so much!!