Weekly Appointments (2/19)

izza2

Who has appointments coming up this week?

stephcat421

Getting a 3/4D ultrasound with my sister on Wednesday. She's been one of my biggest supporters since BFP and is visiting from out of town so thought it would be a nice treat! I just hope at 24+6 he is filled out enough as they usually say 26w is best time to view. Anyways, should be fun!

Then I have a regular 4 week OB check Thursday. I'm thinking I probably have 1 four week check left before moving to 2 weeks!

aharv77

I have my every 4 week check up on Wednesday. @stephcat421 I have one more 4 week appointment and then move to every 2 weeks as well! Time is flying

stephcat421

@aharv77 then is it about three 2 week checks until weekly checks weekly checks! Wow, things seem to have really picked up pace after the 20 week mark!

amys614

I have my regular 24 week appointment on Tuesday. Little nervous about the possible weight gain on this visit. My doctors don't say much about it, but I don't know if it's because they just don't, or because I had only gained 6 pounds total as of my last visit so there was not much to say.

Starting overweight, I know my goal is to gain less.  Anyways, I've been eating like a beast this month and it's obvious that belly and baby had a growth spurt. I just don't want the uncomfortable conversation, really, because I feel really good about what I'm eating  (like 90%), it's just volume volume volume that I have been consuming, even of healthy stuff. I should just find batteries around here for my scale that died 2 months ago so I'm not surprised lol 

@stephcat421 that will be so fun! I didn't know 26 weeks was the best time. I guess it makes sense then.... before they get too squished but hopefully have moved past alien phase. My MFM doctor, switched it over to 3D for us for 2 images at my anatomy scan and am wondering if they will do the same at my 30 week growth scan. Need to consider if I want to spend $100 on an elective. Let us know how it goes. 

aharv77

@amys614 I'm so nervous about weight gain for this appointment too. I had only gained 2lbs from my first OB appointment but my scale at home now has me up to +5lbs. I also started overweight so I'm trying to be conscious about weight gain knowing that I'm only supposed to gain between 12-15lbs. 

I think I've been pretty good about portions and limiting treats but the extra 3lbs came on literally overnight. I'm just dreading "the talk". I gained over 40 with DD so I'm definitely in a better spot than I was with the first pregnancy. The struggle is real!

stephcat421

@amys614 I'm sorry, I should have been more clear! The scanning place recommends 3/4D AFTER 26w for best images. I think 30w is ideal actually so hopefully your next appt will give you a perfect 3d look at your LO!

amys614

@stephcat421 ooooh gotcha. Thanks! I guess I will see then what they show me at that appointment and decide from there. 

becca_123

@stephcat421 aww I hope you have a great time at your ultrasound, that's so sweet!

I have my regular 24 week appointment today!  Nothing special happening at it though.

@amys614 I'm worried about the weight thing too.  I started as overweight and at 16 weeks I hadn't gained anything and at 20 weeks they didn't tell me but I feel like I've eaten like a hound since then so I'm really nervous about the number today!

amys614

WtheactualF. TB deleted half my response above. Argh

@aharv77 yes "the talk" is what I don't want to experience either. I eat a few servings of not so great snacks per day, but 1 snack, breakfast, lunch and dinner are super healthy. I'm getting 8 servings of fruits and vegetables, Greek yogurt daily, etc but logging my calories in myfitnesspal, I'm still usually between 2500 and 2700 per day. This feels like so many considering I was at 1800 for over a year pre-baby. According to calculators (for what they are worth) 2nd trimester I should be at about 2400 and 3rd I should be at 2700, so I am a bit over on the daily already. I could probably cut 300 per day if I tried, but sometimes I just get ravenous and there are no rational thoughts. Good luck at your appointment. 

krash_

@amys614 it sounds like you are doing everything right and in our Bradley classes she said that we should be getting 2600 a day so you're right on track. The main thing that they push is that if you can prove to your doctors that you have been doing the right thing then they won't beat you up. If they start to ask about your weight gain you can tell them that you have been getting 80 g of protein and 8 servings of fruits and veggies and maybe a couple snacks here and there. Your body will gain what it needs to as long as you are maintaining a healthy diet which you are. What you post on "what my pregnant self is eating" would put most of my diet to shame. It always looks delicious and healthy. 

amys614

@krashke thanks for the support!  I appreciate it.

I put batteries in the scale and as I had suspected, I gained 7 pounds this month. I have had quite a bit of water this morning, so maybe slightly less. Funny though because 2 visits ago, I had gained 7 and then last visit, I lost 1 lb. Maybe it will be a repeat. They didn't mention the last 7 pound gain, but I just always stress about it. Things certainly aren't linear are they?!

emiliadkay

@amys614 & @aharv77 My doctor's office always sends me to get a urine sample right when I check in, and last appointment I definitely snuck into an open exam room across the hall just to check the scale! If the nurse leaves you with a bit of a wait after taking you to your room and coming back to check your vitals, you can probably do the same in a less sketchy way Those few extra minutes of a heads up really do help to be mentally prepared.

In any case, I second everything @krashke said: if "what" you're eating is on point, try not to stress out about the "how much" or the impact on the scale. That will all work itself out, and I'll bet your OBs tell you the same.

ffw0617

every 4 week appointment on Friday. Its crazy, comparatively this is the fastest 4 weeks have ever gone by, feels like just yesterday I was at my 20 week a/s & appointment. Oddly, Saturday I got a bill for the hospital for the entire a/s I'm super concerned bc they have my insurance information, so I have to call to figure out why its not covered when the hospital called before the appointment and they said that it was covered. Sigh.

becca_123

Well I gained 4lbs this month making it a total of 8lbs since the first appointment.  Definitely not linear!

@ffw0617 What does your insurance determine as covered?  My anatomy scan was "covered" but it's not "preventative" so I still had deductibles and coinsurances to pay.  Thus enter whopping $1500 a/s bill.

MoonOverGoldsboro

Regular checkup on Friday (24 weeks), and then I think I'm going to go do my GD screening after, since I'll be in the same building.

Since I've been getting my weekly progesterone shots, I've been getting a real play-by-play of my weight gain this time around. I'm confident my body knows what it's doing, and if my doctor said anything to me, I'd tell her to STFU. I'm sure you're doing great, @amys614 and @aharv77!

ffw0617

@becca_123 well the bill I receive was for the entire amount. If I have to pay that, in combination with the 1,800 we've already paid my OB and the deductible they from last year then I need to know. I'm not coming out of pocket $23,000 to have a baby (that's this year's deductible, last year's deductible, the $2,000 we've already paid my OB, and the a/s bill). I don't bring home enough money to justify that type of spending. I just don't.

becca_123

@ffw0617 Definitely talk to them about it and see what's up!  I feel you with the spending.  I was going through paying the bills yesterday and called DH upset because I totally misunderstood how billing for tier 1/tier 2 worked and basically have screwed us over for this year.  So I've already come to the sad conclusion that before the baby even sets foot on this earth we'll be paying $$$ and probably hitting our max out of pocket.  Spending most of my life in England/Canada,  I could go on for days about how unfair and expensive health coverage/insurance is in the US.  Maybe this should be in the rants thread.

I really hope your bill is just a misunderstanding!

ffw0617

@becca_123 I hope so too. esp since I asked twice what I'd have to pay for this hospital a/s and TWICE by TWO different people I was told it was fully covered and I'd have to pay nothing.

aharv77

Thanks ladies! 

ffw0617

I've been on the phone with the insurance company 44 minutes already (still one the phone). I promise absent an emergency, if I ever get pregnant again, I probably won't go to the doctor at all until I'm 20 weeks. This is the MOST stressful thing about this pregnancy hands down (and this is saying a lot as a person who bleed for 7 weeks straight in the first trimester).

lisa2589

Passed my 3 hour glucose test today!! 

aharv77

@2589 Yay!

krash_

@2589 woo hoo! 

lisa2589

@aharv @krashke thanks ladies! I’m so relieved. The 100g glucola was so much harder to drink than the 50g. Fasting blood sugar was good. Between hours 1 & 2 my glucose had dropped from 187 (failed the first hour) to 128. Then the last hour I was soooo hungry I became nauseated and light headed, and I think my body went crazy producing glucagon to stop my blood sugar getting any lower after fasting so long, because it bounced back up to 137 for the final draw (goal less than 140). 

Edit it to add: I've told my patients many times, your body does some really crazy things when you’ve been fasting for a while... totally made a believer out of myself today 

ffw0617

Welp that settles that.

I'm putting in my notice today. Medical bills are going to bankrupt me. The deductible for last year along with the $2,000 we've already paid my OB, and the THREE bills I now have from the ONE a/s I'm $10,700 in the hole already.  Assuming I make it to work through May, I'm only going to bring home $11,400. So I'd be working just to pay medical bills and accumulating even more.

lisa2589

@ffw0617 That’s so frustrating, I’m sorry! I was hoping for your sake it was just a coding error or something 

catlady1215

@2589 yaaaayyy!! That's good to hear! And i agree, that 3 hr drink is tougher to get down. 

@ffw0617 I'm so sorry you're having so many issues with all that  

becca_123

@2589 Congrats!

@ffw0617 I'm sorry to hear 

ffw0617

@2589 & @catlady1215 thanks. Also remember my boss changed the company policy to where if you're not getting a pay check you have to pay your health insurance with NO company contribution, so my entire maternity leave I was going to have to come up with $750 per month just to remain insured. Its frustrating, but I've talked to my coworkers, husband, and a couple friends. The circumstances were only getting worst, this is for the best. In other news only 18 more work days before I'm a stay at home mom to be.

stephcat421

@2589 awesome news!!

@ffw0617 so sorry, you surely don't need this stress. It seems like you've been getting squeezed by your employer for some time and their unfortunate benefits.  Will you still be able to have medical care if you leave work?!

elsie42

Regular OB appointment on Thursday. Mine have been every 6 weeks so far (10, 16 and now 22) so I'm thinking they may start being more often too... we'll see. 

ramennoodlegif

@2589 Yay!!!! Congrats

@ffw0617 I am so sorry you have to deal with this. 

doxiemoxie212

I passed the 1 hour glucose test yay! Lol

emiliadkay

@2589 and @doxiemoxie212 niiiiice

@ffw0617 I'm sorry for all the reasons you've made your decision to put in notice, but I hope you're at peace with it (maybe even a little excited for the next chapter?). You're moving forward and doing what's best for you, and having the option to be a SAHM is just awesome.

amys614

@ffw0617 I'm sorry you're having to deal with all that extra stress. Its disgusting that a health insurance plan can even be as awful as yours is/was. Hope you can now enjoy the thought that you can stay home and no longer deal with a company you were very unhappy with. 

Woot woot to the ladies rocking the glucose tests this week. 

amys614

Just finished my appointment. Gained 6 pounds as I had thought. Doctor didn't say a peep. It was my first time meeting this guy and now I've seen all 4 in the practice. I really really like this guy. Young, super calm, kinda silly. I really like him and one of the others. The 3rd is fine but a little more straight and the 4th reminds me of the short guy at The Night at the Roxbury soooo lol not sure how I feel about him delivering but whatevs. Crossing my fingers for one of the 2 that I love. 

I mentioned the itching to him and he was totally on board with drawing the liver enzymes and bile acids. I'm sure I'm playing it extra safe here but totally a case of better safe than sorry. So yay. Got my lab drawn and an order for the regular 28 week glucose test and cbc. Just did the glucose 4 weeks ago for the early one due to BMI, but guess I have to do the regular one too. 

mytinc

yay for passing glucose tests @2589 and @doxiemoxie212!

Regular checkup this Friday.  Then nothing for 4 weeks, which feels weird since my a/s and fetal echo fell in between my regular checkups so I've been going every other week since mid-December.

And I have no idea how much I've gained.  I only get on the scale at home maybe once a week.  Thankfully, the one at my doctor's office shows me about 3 lbs lighter.

katelynrae86

Just wanted to update everybody who read and/or commented about my ultrasound last week (baby's heartbeat decelerated and then accelerated again which worried the radiologist). I had an appointment with my OB today and she said that at this point in pregnancy, that can be totally normal especially while lying on your back during an ultrasound. 

She listened a little longer with the doppler and thinks the baby might have an arrhythmia, which doesn't concern her either at this point. She explained that so much changes as the baby continues to develop and especially after birth (change of environment from inside uterus to the outside world) that it would probably correct itself. So we'll just keep monitoring it.

I also learned that my amniotic fluid was measuring low during the ultrasound, which worries my dr more than the heartrate...so she's sending me back to have it checked again (apparently it could have been a fluke the first time because they measure in quadrants around the belly button but at 21 weeks babies are barely above the belly button). So...its wait and see and try not to panic (and STOP googling "low amniotic fluid...) until then.

LaceyBee522

@katelynrae86 Glad your doc doesn't think the heart rate is anything to worry about. fX the amniotic fluid is a fluke. I've been reading a lot about that (I guess it is something that happens a lot during twin pregnancies). I'm not sure if it really helps, but everything I read suggests upping your water intake to increase the amniotic fluid. I shoot for 120 oz at least, per day. It might be worth trying?

Afm, I have another ultrasound on Friday morning. Not sure what this one is for....

Edited for spelling.

katelynrae86

@LaceyBee522 Thanks for the tip! I read that too. I already drink a ton of water, but I'm upping it as much as I can. I've already had 5 24 oz bottles today (and its only 12:45pm). Overkill, maybe...but I'll do whatever I can.

Good luck at your ultrasound on Friday!