Questions 5/4

chopchop25

Gif to come later because I’m in the middle of the woods with limited internet.

SweetSweetTooth

Quite random but we are headed to the Austin area for vacation and need ideas of things to do (pregnant and I don't like heat so try for air conditioned things lol) and places to eat. We aren't fancy people and we aren't big on music. 

pajamstagrams

Do you like BBQ? Salt lick BBQ is just Southwest of Austin, like maybe a 30 min drive? They have some air conditioned seating as well as outdoor. Also lots of great wineries in the area...for next time you visit lol. Gruene is a cute little town that's closer to New Braunfels/San Antonio area, but probably an hour ish from Austin? 

I think capitol street has some good restaurants and shops in Austin. I know more stuff to do in San Antonio, but that may be too far.

I mostly do wineries when I'm in the Austin/San Antonio area, so that's mostly what I know. Our babymoon is going to be in San Antonio so I'll have to find some non wine things to do!

SweetSweetTooth

@jemmerjams we may do a day trip to San Antonio. I have been to the river walk let me know what ideas you have for the San Antonio other than wineries  

pajamstagrams

The Alamo? If you haven't been there...

Sea world is also there. There's some nice golf and shopping near "the rim" area. 

Like I mentioned earlier, the New Braunfels/Gruene area is really cute, and that's just north west ish?  of San Antonio. Fredericksburg is maybe an hour to 90 minutes from San Antonio, and a similar distance from Austin. Again, more wineries, but there's supposedly a good museum there (admiral Nimitz). Lots of good German food and cute shops!

tlmill

@SweetSweetTooth I tagged you in the babymoon thread as well, but definitely check out Wimberley.  

SweetSweetTooth

I have been to the Alamo dh has not. Thank you for the suggestions! 

pajamstagrams

@tlmill oh I forgot about wimberley!! The only place I've been there is The Leaning Pear. Has a great patio and great food!

sammierose464

Since we're talking a lot about the anatomy scan/20 week US...

Any STMs want to share what to expect?
Do they tell you anything while they're measuring? How long does it usually take? Anything else to be aware of?

tinattt23

@sammierose464 Takes between 20 minutes to an hour. They have a list of certain pictures and measurements they need to get. So if baby cooperates, they can get them quickly. Or sometimes they’re stubborn and won’t show off something they need. The tech may have you change positions or bring you some apple juice to sugar rush baby into moving. If they still can’t get a certain shot, they may have you come back another day to try again.

The tech can’t diagnose anything. But they do tell you what they’re looking at. Here’s a leg, here’s the heart, etc. And sex if you want to know. Though you can see them type notes on the screen, so if you know what they’re looking for you can decipher some things. They send all the measurements/images over to your OB to discuss at your next appointment (some schedule to back to back with the ultrasound, others don’t). 

sammierose464

Thanks @tinattt23. The office I'm having it done at is my Maternal Fetal Medicine Dr, so I'm wondering if I'll meet with him after it to discuss anything. 

The last two ultrasounds I had baby was not cooperating much, so I'm curious how this one will go. At 10.5 weeks he was curled up and the other week when I went for dehydration she couldn't see much.

pumpkinpancake

@sammierose464 I’m not sure if my experience is different because I go to a big teaching hospital, but they do the bigger ultrasounds like the NT scan and anatomy scan in the Perinatology group, and the ones doing the ultrasound actually do talk through what they’re doing pretty thoroughly. Usually there’s a student or resident in the room with them, so that could be why, but it’s nice that they’re not usually silent and cryptic about things. Also, they have one of the perinatologists come into the room as soon as they’re done with the ultrasound so that they can discuss everything with us, rather than sending it to the OB first and having them talk to us later. It’s nice not having to wait for another appt for the results. 

Lisa3379

If I remember correctly, our ultrasound tech person was super descriptive when we had the anatomy scan (we did it at the MFM office). I don’t think there was a follow-up appointment for us to explain it. But yeah, it’s pretty amazing - they look at and measure EVERYTHING. 

bel194

With DD, our tech was also super descriptive and said what she was looking for as we went.  It took almost the entire hour as she was being uncooperative and we ended up have to go back at 24 weeks to get more spinal pictures.

edited to remove unnecessary triggering paragraph 

sammierose464

I'm so excited for mine (even if there is some anxiety). It's a week from tomorrow. Some days it's still crazy to believe there's a baby growing inside of me!

knottieamusements

You and me both, @sammierose464!

kiwi2628

Same @sammierose464. Mine is next Wednesday and I am soooo excited (and like 10% nervous)

sammierose464

@kiwi2628 sounds we are on the same day

kiwi2628

@sammierose464 If I was clever I would have caught that....I legit thought it was Monday until this very moment.

sammierose464

@kiwi2628 good news, it's Tuesday and you're one day closer to the weekend and your US than you thought.

purplegoldfish2

We also went to an MFM (the same one we had been seeing since it was twins) and the tech talked through most of it and told us what we were seeing and what she was measuring.  She was also relieved that we wanted to know what we were having because they were both spread eagle and she was having a hard time avoiding it, so she told us at the beginning of the appointment instead of the end, which she said is what they normally do.

One of ours wasn’t cooperating for a measurement, and when the tech said she just needed him to move a little, his brother reached out and punched him and then he moved.  The tech actually thanked him for getting his brother to move.  It was pretty funny and lines up perfectly with their personalities today. 

This time we we are going back to the same MFM and will see the dr after the ultrasound (I can’t remember if we did last time or not - I know we saw her a couple times, but I was there all the time, so I dont remember which appointments it was for).

jwebbbber45678

Mine was done in a special clinic on a big flat screen tv the first time and we had a doctor come in shortly after for a consultation. I have a new hospital this time but they also mentioned a doctor consultation would happen immediately after. 

linssears4

Mine is coming up on Monday the 14th!  I will be just under 20 weeks.  I am super nervous.  Curious, how do they keep the sex hidden if you don't want to know?  I mean, I feel like, if there is a penis there, I'll see it, right? 

britvahok

@linssears4 They could probably scan past it and not mention anything and you wouldn't know. If they stop and measure anything then you will definitely be able to figure it out. Be sure to tell them several times that you don't want to know. In the past, they always ask us several times before pointing anything out. 

tinattt23

@linssears4 Just make sure to remind them you don’t want to know. But they asked us like a million times. They may just ask you not to look if a clear view is going to be on the screen. 

quiltandknit

Thanks for the anatomy scan info. Ours is in two weeks and I can’t wait!  For the NT scan the tech was really good, she pointed out things to me as she labeled the images (placenta, arms, legs, brain, stomach, bladder) I really hope we get her again.  My OB books
the anatomy scans back to back with a doctor visit so I’ll get to talk with them right away. 

Still on the fence about whether to find out the sex. We’ve been team green up until this point but I’ve been disappointed in that we haven’t been able to find too much cute neutral clothing or decor. I really don’t like gray and white but I’m not finding much else! The closer it gets the more I think about finding out...

bel194

@quiltandknit I'm with you on the not sure about finding out.  DH doesn't but I know that if I pushed on him a little, he would give in to finding out.  I mostly want to know so that we will only need to think about one name instead of having to agree on two.  

nmadjeski

@quiltandknit We were team green but we caved and found out but I definitely agree on the gender neutral clothes issues. I was having a hard time finding stuff because like you said it was all gray and white. And would have liked some color! 

joey2831

Has anyone done the Level 2 US or does anyone have one scheduled? I'm curious to know what the difference between the Level 2 vs. a normal US. My ob didn't really provide much information when I asked. I had to make an appointment with the high risk team and all the information they really provided was that they tend to take longer and it's more detailed.

nmadjeski

@joey2831 Level 2 is much more in depth and can take anywhere from 20 min to an hour. Really depends on how baby is cooperating. Mine is scheduled for 20w exactly. So may 31st for me. 

purplegoldfish2

@quiltandknit My sister was team green until I asked her if she had actually gone to the store and looked at the neutral stuff.  This was years ago and there was pretty much green or yellow and there weren’t many neutral things in any of the stores we looked at.  That was what made her decide to find out - she didn’t want everybody buying her the same 3 outfits.

You can always ask them to write the sex down and put it in an envelope and not tell you what it is so you will have more time to decide.  With all the gender reveal parties people have, I’m sure that is a common request.

quiltandknit

@purplegoldfish2 I like the idea of keeping it a surprise until after the appointment. I’m toying with the idea of asking the tech or doctor to put it in an envelope so DH and I can go to dinner or something and have a private moment to soak in the news just the two of us. Maybe the same day, maybe not!

sammierose464

Finding out with DH on our own was perfect. I had the nurse put it in an envelope for me and DH and I opened it in the kitchen. It was a moment I won't forget and I loved doing it just the two of us.

quiltandknit

@sammierose464  Aw I love that! So sweet!

nugget2ehf

That's what I've planned on doing. A private reveal for just husband and I. Whether that be dinner or just at the house, or heck, probably won't make it as far as the parking lot. I just thought it would be a lot more personal and sweet than have the tech tell us while there is goo all over my belly and we can't actually react as we would like. (I don't show feelings well in front of strangers.)

acciocoffee

@hannaht8516 With DD we only made it to the car before we opened the envelope. lol

jynjer4

We didn’t find out the way we planned because DH ended up not being able to make it to the appointment. I had the tech tell just my mom and she went shopping for a pink/blue outfit for us to open. (She ended up buying out the store pretty much. First boy in the family and she had sooo much fun!) DH and I decided to watched the video of the ultrasound though instead of open the outfit first to see if we could figure it out ourselves and it was very obvious! I loved finding out in the privacy/comfort of my own home where I could hug DH and it didn’t matter that I ugly cried...and my mom loved being the only one who knew for a few hours! It couldn’t have been more perfect for us. If we’re able to have another one I’ll for sure have the results sealed again! 

nugget2ehf

@acciocoffee I'm almost positive that's what will happen! Haha

sammierose464

acciocoffee said:

@hannaht8516 With DD we only made it to the car before we opened the envelope. lol

We told ourselves we would wait until after we dropped SS off with his mom, so we wouldn't accidentally slip to him. We barely lasted past dinner!

nugget2ehf

@sammierose464 Considering I told my husband that I was pregnant in a Costco parking lot, I'm almost thinking it should just be our thing....

mytrueloves

We had decided to be team green, but I asked DF if he was sure he wanted to wait and he changed his mind. At first he was like "well I can find out but you don't have to know, if that's what you want." But I told him that if he knows then I want to know. I'm okay with finding out, especially since he really wants to. But I made him promise next time, he'll stick it out lol.