Questions - Week of 4/29

catlady2015

Ask all those weird, not so weird, or ordinary questions here! 

olivemomma

Alright since we are so far all of the early January mommas, anyone slightly worried about a Xmas baby?? My birthday is close enough and I’m not a huge fan. I have a friend born on Xmas and she just hates it. I’ve already told the little nugget no 12/25 for you!

emmaaa

@olivemomma I was thinking the same thing! I’m hoping I can just use it as a good excuse to not travel all over the place and make people come to me since I will be super pregnant. 

thecoldbothersme

That thought has crossed my mind. Although this is baby #1 for me, so I'm actually hoping I go a little late and have a mid to late January baby. (I'm sure I'll change my mind on that come mid January though! )

dubcompanion

@olivemomma So, my mantra for this pregnancy (and past and any future ones) is to worry only about having a healthy baby. That said, I am mildly hesitant to have a Christmas baby. I’ve had friends with birthdays ranging from the 23-26th of December and either hate it or have solemnly resigned to their realities lol. Basically, none of them are ecstatic about it. But of course, there are way worse things than giving birth around then. I will say I’ll feel bad about taking up hospital staff’s holiday time to deliver ice chips to me instead of being wth their families! But they’d be working at the hospital regardless so I’d still deal. 

BitterBetty12

@olivemama if things work out I’m basically destined for a Christmas time baby since I’ll have a repeat c section at the end of December. My birthday is early-mid January and I’ve always felt it was removed enough. But I do imagine the closer to Christmas it gets the more of a struggle it is. Like @dubcompanion at this point I’m just hoping and praying for a healthy baby any day in late December they want to come!

olivemomma

Of course a healthy baby is #1, I was just discussing in an ideal scenario

galactickates

I am really excited to have a winter baby. I don't have to travel anywhere over the holidays because I will have an excuse, plus we'll be in the winter when we are biggest so lots of cozy sweaters and relaxing without guilt. Plus when baby is born we can stay home and snuggle. I personally cant wait. plus I get a week of paid holidays at Christmas so I don't have to use any PTO right before LO will be born. Its just a huge win win. oooooh and I just thought of the best perk of all!!! I will completely miss year end close at work. oh man. This is going to be great!

gorgeousariel

Are any of the STMs still BFing? Do you plan to wean or tandem nurse?  I am still but want to wean. I asked one of the midwives about it (when I had my iud removed) and she said to stop by 2months so new baby gets all the calcium. 

oldiebutgoodie80

@gorgeousariel I am!! I’m still nursing my 2 1/2 yo. I’m ready to wean so I think we are going to try and do it soon. My OB told me I could BF throughout, but I think this is a great reason to wean now. 

lacroixliz

My birthday is Christmas week and I always said I would never do that to my future child. At this point though, a healthy baby is all I want and if that means they are born on or around Christmas, then we can just have that in common.

My parents really went out of their way to make sure my birthday was a separate event from Christmas when I was a kid and it did help it not get lost in the shuffle of the season.

I think I'm more concerned about going stir crazy in January / February not being able to leave the house due to weather / flu season!

BitterBetty12

@lacroixliz yes stir crazy is a big concern for me too! I had DD in the summer and it was amazing because I could leave the house and take her out to open air places for walks and things like that. Winter baby and flu season are a whole different ball game. 

Whitmore1027

I am excited to go through the holidays and eat a lot and not feel guilty about it! Hahaha! But I hate that I will have to buy winter maternity clothes because I had an August baby first, and now this will be the opposite situation!! I will need a coat that fits a big ol belly. As far as a Christmas baby...I hadn't really thought about it until now!! But I super hope we can hold out until January...

sfgiantsgamerbabe

Being pregnant at the Hoildays is the best! All the food and the comfort of maternity pants. I’m excited that I’m having another January baby so I’m pretty set on maternity clothes. I’m not worried about a Christmas baby as I am baby being so close to DS’s birthday (1/16). We’ll probably be too tired to celebrate his birthday. We usually keep his parties really simple with just family but I don’t know if we’ll have the energy. We might have to celebrate his birthday early. 

emmaaa

My first was born in October and I live in the South so it was warm basically until she was born. I am set on warm weather maternity clothes but will need a few pieces for winter.

lacroixliz

Whitmore1027 said:

I am excited to go through the holidays and eat a lot and not feel guilty about it! Hahaha! But I hate that I will have to buy winter maternity clothes because I had an August baby first, and now this will be the opposite situation!! I will need a coat that fits a big ol belly. As far as a Christmas baby...I hadn't really thought about it until now!! But I super hope we can hold out until January...

I didn't even think about winter coats! I'm laughing just thinking about a puffer coat over a bump!

 

Whitmore1027

@lacroixliz Haha!! Your gif cracked me up! All my current coats (which aren't many since I live in Texas) barely fit as it is...It'll be fun shopping for one to fit for the holidays!
@emmaaa Yes! I have a ton of summer maternity clothes because I live in Texas and my first was born in August! And most are the really thin material. Aww I just thought of the fact I have a maternity bathing suit, but I won't be big enough to wear that one this summer. lol. It's actually really cute.

olivemomma

I have an early April baby and so was pregnant all winter with him, I refused to buy a maternity coat and the struggle was real! Made it until 5-1/2 months and then the bump just had to be out. 

emmaaa

I am really hoping I can find one second hand maybe to save some money!

With DD, I bought very few maternity clothes. A few pairs of shorts, a couple of dresses, tshirts, and tank tops. I am pretty positive I will live in leggings and oversized sweaters and tunics this winter.

thecoldbothersme

Speaking of winter clothes... Any recommendations on inexpensive maternity clothes? I got some basics from OldNavy back when we first went into IF treatment (so hopeful at the time), but I hadn't even thought about outerwear/warmer clothes. I got a few things on ThredUp but jackets seem to be slim pickings. 

Whitmore1027

@thecolddoesbotherme I got a lot of SUPER cheap maternity clothes from Ross. I'm talking, $7-$10 a shirt, pants maybe $15. They we actually really cute and lasted well! That's my favorite place to shop! The only thing is not all locations have a lot of options, the maternity section is super small, and they probably won't have maternity outerwear (I didn't need any my first pregnancy so I didn't really look). But I bought 2 pairs of maternity jeans, maternity shorts, leggings, and tops!

emmaaa

I got a few things at Old Navy but most of my stuff I got from Motherhood. It was more pricey than some places but I felt the quality was better. Like tshirts from Motherhood were my jam! They were long and thicker and I felt like it held me in. The tshirts I got from Target felt thin and like they would rip right away.

This time I am going to try to get a lot second hand though.

ETA: When you spend a certain amount of money at Motherhood you get a discount on your next purchase of $X or more which I always saved and used to buy a dress or something I felt like I couldn't live without

BitterBetty12

I Second motherhood! It’s defintiely price but now I have clothes that are still in great shape from when I was pregnant with DD! I did buy some things at old navy that I loved too, but they defintiely have less of a selection. 

Also @Whitmore1027 when I looked at the Ross’s around me I didn’t find any maternity clothes! I’ll have to look again this time. 

rooonilwaazlib

any opinions on the maternity lines from Target?  That's my go-to store for everything in the world!

BitterBetty12

@rooonilwaazlib I loved targets maternity line but while I was pregnant with DD they drastically downsized and I feel like their selection is not the best anymore. 

dubcompanion

@rooonilwaazlib My DH works for Target so I feel like it’s my second home! lol They recently changed their clothing line/brands, so I’m not well-versed anymore on what the maternity line is like. As we progress further along, we should have a maternity fashion thread. 

catlady2015

@dubcompanion - yes to the maternity clothes thread!!

Whitmore1027

I have two questions:

1: Anyone else having trouble with signatures on here no showing any pictures or graphics? I have my cute little counters on the signatures, and it's there when I go to my signature edit, but it's not showing up when I post! Something wrong with The Bump? Should I tag a bump admin?

2. Any of the TTGP ladies still temping? Like, I know I probably don't need to, but seeing the high temps are making me feel better. It's kind of like pregnancy testing without using pregnancy tests. Haha. Anyone still doing it? And if so, when do you plan to stop? I am now at 17dpo, and still temping. lol. It's such a habit now!

emmaaa

@Whitmore1027 I stopped temping after getting my BFP. Mostly because I was always so inconsistent anyways lol

emmaaa

I do keep putting that I got a BFP everyday since in FF since I keep testing though 

rooonilwaazlib

Which websites and apps will you all use throughout your pregnancy?  I’ve got the bump (site and app) and what to expect (app). Anything else useful? I love Romper for mom/pregnancy related articles and pieces too!

Whitmore1027

@rooonilwaazlib I love the Ovia app! It has cute options on the size of baby, you can choose animals, food, bakery or fun & games. I also really like the What to Expect app. That app has weekly videos that I love to watch with H. It shows development really well! I also have the Baby center app.

Would love more app recommendations, because what else am I supposed to do with my time besides browsing a ton of pregnancy apps?

@emmaaa Haha, I did too! I have like 5 days of positives on there. I got sooo used to temping and I always wake up at the same time every morning, so it became such a habit. I am actually REALLY proud of this chart, and I am going to keep it. Haha!

Whitmore1027

OKAY I figured out my question on the photos in signatures. It was totally user error. Must have pressed a button and didn't realize it. Bahaha....

BitterBetty12

@Whitmore1027 I didn't temp this time but I was on TTGP with DD and temped with her. I think I stopped at my missed period. I had a couple of temp drops and it was freaking me out! But she is a healthy happy 10 month old now so it didn't mean anything! I guess my point is, if it makes you feel better, it doesn't hurt! But if it starts to give you anxiety, give it up! Stopping is hard but after few days the freedom feels good.

catlady2015

@Whitmore1027 - i gave up temping the day after my BFP. I knew it was likely I'd see some ebbing and flowing and I didn't want to stress each morning it might be lower, or that it was artificially high because it's gotten warmer. I agree with @BitterBetty12 - if it starts stressing you out, stop! It's been really freeing - I was temping for 16 months before I got my BFP (I temped way early to get in the habit before we started trying so I could learn my norms). I take stock in my other symptoms (feeling really hot, sore boobs, etc.) and use those to remind me that all is well.  

Whitmore1027

@BitterBetty12 @catlady2015 Those are good points! I definitely don't want to get anxiety if I happen to have a weird drop and it be nothing. I'll probably stop now. I understand there is really no need to anymore. And 16 months of temping! That's crazy! I had never temped while trying for DS. (And it took us 14 months to get pregnant with him, I don't know why I didn't before!!)

missmerl_89

I’m only 4 weeks and 5 days pregnant and I just started suffering from a severe neck muscle spasm these past 2 days. It got progressively worse and an MD prescribed Cyclobenzaprine (muscle relaxant) to me today. When I research it shows it is a category B drug safe for women in 2nd and 3rd trimesters! I’m in so much pain but really scared I could harm baby so early on. I’m skeptical because he is a GP and not an OBGYN and need a second opinion before I actually take it!! Anyone took muscle relaxants first trimester? I’d rather go through excruciating pain than hurt my baby!

ersh1010

@missmerl_89 I wouldn't chance it if it was me.  I try hard not to take any meds when pregnant. Have you ever tried acupuncture? Works well for me for all sorts of ailments. Hope you feel better soon. 

catlady2015

@missmeri_89 - You can call your OB first thing, but you can also talk to your pharmacist about this. They can speak about the drug and it's status, and also to your prescribing doc about changing the script if needed. The pharmacist will know about its safety in special populations. 

Whitmore1027

@missmerl_89 My doctor gave me a list of safe medications for pregnancy, and it does say to "try to avoid any medication in the first trimester unless absolutely needed". I would definitely call an OB and ask them first. Or as @catlady2015 said, a pharmacist can give you info too.

lacroixliz

@Whitmore1027 I stopped temping at 18dpo because of the whole "if you have 18 days of high temps you are likely pregnant" thing that I read somewhere. I had a few temp drops that of course made me anxious. I actually had to hide my bbt thermometer away from my nightstand so I wouldn't be tempted. It is a really hard habit to break!

I have always struggled with chronic constipation and it's only gotten worse with pregnancy. My OB told me that continuing with my normal Miralax was fine but of course the internet has varying opinions. It seems that Colace seems to be generally more accepted as safe. Anyone have experience with either? Fiber / fiber supplements actually make it worse for me not better so that is not really an option.