Weekly Questions w/o 07/24

EvilRaccoon

I've taken the liberty of starting a new one this week, I hope it's ok!

For the STM (and third time, and fourth!), when did other people were able to feel your LO kick? I've been feeling him for quite a while now, and I'm really looking forward to having DH feel it too!

MouseMama817

@EvilRaccoon I'm a STM and I was about 20 weeks, perhaps a little earlier when I felt flutters. I have an anterior placenta otherwise I think I would've felt her sooner. At 22 weeks I feel real kicks and a few times even DH has been able to feel them.

Is anyone else doing freezer meals and if so, when do you plan to start? I want to have mine done by the end of September at the latest but DH thinks I'm getting ahead of myself. I made a big batch of rosemary chicken the other night with the intention of freezing half but he thought it was way too early for a meal we intend to have in November or December. We don't own a deep freeze so the meals would just be going in our regular freezer. Thoughts?

EvilRaccoon

@MouseMama817: ooh thank you, then won't be long for me.

As for your question, I'll start around the same time, and try to plan according to the duration of storage, meaning some things can be kept longer than other. I don't own a deep freeze either, but I have two freezers.

Here's an website that's handy: https://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/foodkeeperapp/index.html 

MouseMama817

@EvilRaccoon Thank you! And thinking about it now, it's probably best that I wait later. Hurricane season in FL isn't generally considered a big deal (to Floridians at least) but unfortunately our power grid is shitty and I doubt our power company has done much to make sure we don't have a repeat of last year. I don't want to put in all that effort and money only to lose it all in a power outage.

firsttimespartanmom

@MouseMama817 do you have any good recipes or websites for freezer meals that you can share? I’ve been horrible about this in the past - I freeze things, forget about them and then end up having to throw away - but feel like it’ll be so much easier when the baby comes. 

EvilRaccoon

@MouseMama817: ah yes good point. Here fall is pretty quiet, our "power outage season" is during the winter.  The challenge then is to stay warm. Frozen food I just shove in the nearest snow bank (no kidding, I've done so numerous times).

MouseMama817

@firsttimespartanmom I don't have any recipes that are specifically intended to be freezer meals, I just double my favorites and freeze half. What I plan on doing this with are:
Baked mac w/ spinach 
Spaghetti (I freeze the meat sauce only)
Broccoli cheddar soup
Italian noodle casserole 
Protein bars (I have an AMAZING recipe from my uncle I can share if you'd like)
Rosemary chicken (bite sized chicken in marinade that I put over rice)
Muffins
Broccoli tots
Breakfast burritos
Beefy macaroni
Beef stew (I've read that potatoes actually freeze really well)
Chicken enchiladas
Lactation cookies
Tomato spinach tortellini
Korean beef

I hope that gives you some ideas. I can provide recipes for most of it if you want!

emjohn517

Freezer meals! Yes! Im actually planning to start mid to end of August and build my stash little by little. If I’m cooking something for dinner I’ll make a double batch and freeze half or make a couple a week until im stocked. Trying to spread out the work and grocery costs. Here is my list so far- 

breakfast egg muffins and oatmeal muffins to freeze and defrost a few at a time

soups and crock pot freezer gallon bags-
chicken hoagie mix
beef sandwich mix
cabbage soup
potatoe soup
broc cheddar soup 
chili
white chili 
lemon garlic chicken 
ranch pork chops
sweet and sour chic 
veg soup 
stir fry mix 
sausage and peppers 
pot roast 
fajita mix 
scalloped potatoes and ham 
beef stew 


dinners/aluminum pans-
spaghetti 
lasagna
alfredo
chic anc rice
pot pies
chic noodle casserole 
pesto pork 
shepherds pie
pizza casserole
tuscan pasta 
chic, broc, rice 
meatloaf 
enchiladas 


Hopefully all that fits in my freezers lol! But it’ll make cooking with 2 littles much easier. 

EvilRaccoon

I am taking notes ladies!

Also, I've spotted the stores in my area that make frozen meals which are good, not too pricey, and not to filled with fat, salt, sugar, and so on. Nothing replace homemade meals, but if my stash dry out faster than I thought it would, I'll know where to send DH on an emergency mission.

lifesabeach85

@EvilRaccoon I am almost 26w and I would say for the last few weeks DH has been able to feel her. Maybe 22w?

@MouseMama817 I am going to start soon! I figured three months out would be a good point, and that’s August! I also just make double of favorites and freeze half. We do have a deep freeze in the garage though, because our inside freezer is already full.

Should we just start a thread on freezer meals? 

MojieJo

@EvilRaccoon About 16 or 17 weeks I was definitely feeling real movements (actual kicks).  They got strong around 18 weeks and by 20 weeks I could see my belly moving from the outside.

I felt flutters around 13 weeks (it felt like a heartbeat in my stomach that would come and go and didn't match my heartbeat), but I'm naturally very thin (which apparently makes it more likely to feel movement early).

The first time around, with my twins, I felt them around 15 weeks or so (flutters).  My OB says I'm just apparently an "early feeler."

offtoneverland

@EvilRaccoon I agree with everyone else that H started feeling it around 20 weeks or so. That said, the baby is really sneaky and shy. She'll be moving like crazy and as soon as I ask H to feel it...she stops. How rude! 

runwmusic

@EvilRaccoon I felt him moving around 18/19 weeks but very faintly as I have an anterior placenta. I feel him daily now mainly after meals but only two hard kicks so far. I'm 23 weeks on Thursday and have not been able to see or feel anything from the outside.

@MouseMama817 I will probably be waiting until fall to start freezer meal prep. It's been so hot I have no desire to make foods that will be good in winter. I just want ice cream and cereal right now!

honeybeebub

@MouseMama817 @ftm_jen : I'm also in the same boat with anterior placenta. I had been feeling on and off from about 17 weeks, now I feel real kicks here and there but they seem muffled. So not good for my PGAL brain. 

For those doing freezer meals, like @lifesabeach85 mentioned I've found the easiest way to do this (rather than spending a whole day on your feet pregnant) is to make regular meals throughout 2 or so weeks but double or triple it since you're already doing all the work! 

herewegoagain3rd

Anyone else still not 100% sure it is baby movement sometimes. I think it comes from years of infertility that I  completely forget I am pregnant for a little while until I feel something again. And even when I do, it sometimes feels more like a gas bubble. There are of course obvious kicks but sometimes the little pops and flutters feel more like gas.

pelorunningmama

I just wanted to chime in on freezer meals. With my first, I was super stressed out about it and spent a full weekend preparing freezer meals for after we had DD. They were definitely nice to have. However, I remember being so anxious about not having enough of them in comparison to other moms. And I was so tired, it was the last thing I wanted to do. With my second, I didn't make any freezer meals and we were ok. Most of the meals I make take about 15 to 30 minutes to prepare and cook and DD won't eat any style of casserole, so it just didn't make as much sense for me to worry about it last go round. 

But just in case anyone finds themselves in that place where thinking about prepping a whole bunch of freezer meals stresses them out big time, try not to worry too much. You will be ok if you don't ever get around to it. The approach of making extra of meals you are making now definitely sounds way less stressful than how I handled it. If I do make them, I will try that approach.

runningyogimama

Totally agree with @wannaflickone. I didn’t do any freezer meals because we don’t really do casseroles, etc, and most of our meals are easy and take less than half an hour to make, so we were always fine. 

lifesabeach85

If you’re a stm+ and people want to do something for you but you’re not having another shower it’s easy to have someone set up a meal train for you. 

https://www.mealtrain.com/

middleschoolmommy

@bfpafter4years it's getting easier to tell when it's baby now that she's getting bigger, but just a couple weeks ago I was still questioning. DS was always  head down, so I felt all kicks up high. Baby girl has planted her butt on my cervix and all kicks are super low, so it became a game of "baby or gas?“

runningyogimama

Anyone else just feel like they have trouble focusing at work/just not being able to work at the same pace while pregnant? Idk if it’s because I have such a mentally demanding job and experience extreme exhaustion in pregnancy, but I’ve been on the struggle bus since early first tri at work. Which makes me feel terrible. I’m an overachiever, so I don’t think it’s at all noticeable to anyone else since I’m still doing well, but I know I’m not going at 110% like I normally would be. Maybe more like 85%. 

Clobert

Someone started a thread just for freezer meals.  I know some people found it unecessary but it’s my main thing I want to do because I didn’t do it the first time and we really struggled to feed ourselves and didn’t even have another kid.  A lot of dds favorites are simple quick foods, so for that I’ll just make some grocery lists.  It may seem like a lot but I’m replacing other silly things I spent time on like learning to crochet tiny booties that she never wore and I don’t need to do hardly any shopping this time.  
Move been feeling flutters since 13 weeks this time (stm) but dh didn’t feel until last night (22 weeks).  It was mostly timing, he probably could have felt before but baby is shy. 
It is really hard to focus.  Pregnancy brain is very real, but I think it’s really interesting that your brain is reprogramming and will be rebuilt and better than before after baby.  I have to check things 3 times or I’ll show up on the wrong day or leave something on top of the car.  Just try to stay organized and get lots of rest. 

runwmusic

@runningyogimama yes! I am usually super stressed out working a ton of hours and going a million miles an hour. Now I just can't. I feel guilty but I try not to think about it. Being salary I've never been a 40 hour week person but find myself getting closer to it each week.

runningyogimama

@ftm_jen I’m also salary, and not that I worked THAT much over 40 hours a week before, but I would often pick an afternoon/evening once a week or every other week or so to stay late and just bust out a bunch of things that are easier without interruption. I’ve definitely been working right at 40 hours, and I only stay late to make up time from leaving early for appointments, and even that’s a struggle. I feel like I have to put super extra effort into prioritizing, even more so than normal.

runningyogimama

Here’s another question - has anyone failed the one hour glucose teat and opted to test your blood sugar levels rather than do the 3 hour before? If so, how long did you have to test your blood sugar levels for?

I’ve only been doing it for a week (while eating my normal diet, which is already clean/balanced, but I definitely also eat my fair share of my kids’ fruit snacks, haha), and it’s pretty clear I don’t have GD - the nurse who called said to do it until my next appointment or else the rest of my pregnancy (she had no idea, and when I told her I wasn’t taking the three hour test, she was completely confused), but I feel like that’s overkill, when literally all my fasting numbers are in the 70s, and my 2 hour after meals numbers are high 70s-80s. It’s just hard to work my snacks in and the readings at the appropriate times at work, around meetings and stuff.... I want to make sure I have enough to send to my dr and be like “here, see?” but don’t want to be annoying and send it too early and seem like I’m not taking it seriously.

pelorunningmama

@ftm_jen and @runningyogimama The struggle bus has definitely taken over these last two weeks. I'm hoping I can get back to normal soon. I'm like y'all though and am an overachiever, so I figure my performance these last two weeks is everyone else's normal. 

As an added stress, I decided to drop from salary to part-time two years ago when I had DS. It has been incredibly more stressful for me because I work in a small office with some catty women. I feel like they are always watching me because my true work schedule is 9-3 with the ability to work an hour or so from home daily. Because I'm so concerned about anyone ever questioning me, I typically don't even charge the hours I do from home. And even though I went part-time, my workload didn't change. So, I'm still expected to do the work of my normal schedule in an even shorter amount of time for less money. Financially, it's a crap deal for me EXCEPT I get 2 extra hours a day with my kids which makes it worthwhile. I shouldn't let their opinions get to me because our roles are so different and they have no control over me, but I still struggle.

offtoneverland

@runningyogimama I failed the first test with my first pregnancy and took the 3-hour test and passed it. I don't have any experience with testing my blood sugar though in lieu of doing the 3-hour test. However, I wonder if you can document all of your results for the doctor and show them at your next appointment. Can you write it down in a notebook or take pictures of the results or something? That way you will have proof for them that you definitely don't have GD. 
Also, yes! I have so much trouble focusing at work lately. I still get my work done, but it's a lot harder than it was before. Like you, it used to be easier for me to stay late and work extra hours, but since I've been pregnant, I just work my 40 hours and that's that. 

KellyT22

@runningyogimama Me!!! With my last pregnancy, I failed one hour/passed three hour around 24 weeks. Around 36 weeks my OB had me do the one hour again. I failed. Rather than doing the awful 3 hour I went right to blood sugar testing. Granted, I was super late in pregnancy, so the timeline was abbreviated, but at 38w6d (so after almost 3 weeks of testing), they decided diet wasn't controlling my fasting number and put me on insulin. I literally had one injection and had DS2 the next day. 

I think the normal timeframe is 1 month of blood sugar testing before they determine treatment. Part of the reason for all the testing is to decide how many shots you need and when. So in my case, my daytime numbers were well controlled, but fasting wasn't, so I only needed one shot at night. Others may have to do them more frequently. 

runningyogimama

@offtoneverland I’m saving all of my readings in my phone, my appointment is just still 2.5 weeks away, and my readings have been consistent every day/meal.

runningyogimama

@KellyT22 I wasn’t actually diagnosed with GD, and my numbers have been perfect (I just don’t do well/get super sick from the 3 hour test, so declined it), so I don’t think any treatment is needed, and I’m wondering how long I have to prick my finger and time everything out to be able to do it 2 hours after meals during the work day, haha.

susan112118

@EvilRaccoon- I've felt flutters since 16 weeks (posterior placenta), but there weren't kicks DH could feel until 22 weeks.

wildrainbow

Has anyone noticed a change in baby's movements? Usually he moves around 8, then around lunch, then sparactically through the day, then when I go to bed. Yesterday, I noticed a decrease in movement and last night, he didnt kick me at all. Nothing so far this morning except for 2 half-hearted kicks. I'm trying not to freak out. My dr uses L&D for after hours calls, so I don't want to call if this completely normal. Ds moved all the time. This babe moves less, but has had a definite pattern since I started to feel him, which is why I'm worried. 

highsteaks

@wildrainbow yes, there was a bunch of movement for me all last week, but yesterday i noticed nothing. couldn’t help but also be concerned last night. i just got done prodding at them with a stethoscope this morning and i could feel them reacting to that annoyance. they’ve gone back to pretty stealthy since then. i’m 23w2d fwiw.

herewegoagain3rd

@wildrainbow This little man likes to mess with me all the time. There will be days where I barely feel anything, but then there is today where he is repeatedly kicking my ribs. This is the most I have felt him though. I almost always would only feel him if I was sitting really still or laying down. 

wildrainbow

@highsteaks I wouldn't be worried except when I poke and prod my belly he doesn't react at all. Doppler shows a good heartrate, but no real movement. 

I ended up calling L&D. They want me to come in and get monitored and check to see if I'm leaking amniotic fluid. I'm the least high maintenance person, but when I'm pg my body is the most high maintenance. It kills me. 

highsteaks

@wildrainbow do you think you might be leaking? please update when you can. good that you’re getting checked out, and i hope it’s ultimately something nonconcerning. i’ll be thinking of you all day.

lifesabeach85

@wildrainbow yes! Tues and Weds she was dancing all day and night. Thursday and yesterday she was really quiet and still. I was concerned. But today she back to her wiggle worm tricks. 

Hope all all goes well at the doctor! No shame in being cautious! 

pelorunningmama

Keep us posted @wildrainbow

mockingjay1

@wildrainbow - I hope baby is just being stubborn and everything checks out great. It's always better to trust your instincts and be cautious if you're worried.

wildrainbow

At L&D now on the monitor. Cervix is high and tight and no leaking. A few contractions, but not bad. 

wildrainbow

Leaving the hospital now. All seems to be good. I have to increase my fluids by a ton, and keep my eye out for contractions. 

offtoneverland

@wildrainbow So glad to hear it! Had you been feeling the contractions or were they just picking them up on the monitor?