Group 1 Check-In W/O 1/7/19

mrsdee15

This thread is for those due May 1-7

Due date/W+D: 

Baby is the size of a(n): 

Any appointments? Questions?:

Rants/Raves?: 

How are you feeling?:

GTKY: What is your favorite piece of advice someone has told you about pregnancy/parenting?

mrsdee15

Due date/W+D: May 2, 23+5

Baby is the size of a(n): Grapefruit/chinchilla  (in my head those two things are not even close to the same size)

Any appointments? Questions?: A checkup on Friday from my visit to L&D over the holiday for low abdominal pain, it was diagnosed as some urinary irritation but they just want to make sure it's all gone.

Rants/Raves?: So excited to be almost to the first big viability milestone!

How are you feeling?: Holy hip and back pain, Batman!  I don't remember being this uncomfortable this early on last time.

GTKY: What is your favorite piece of advice someone has told you about pregnancy/parenting?  I don't know if it was really advice, but when DD was a newborn my best friend would keep reminding me that a lot of the tough times are just phases.  They WILL grow out of it, it's not how life will be forever.  It sounds obvious, but it was hard to remember in the moment when the newborn baby wouldn't stop crying all day.

MaggieG183

Due date/W+D: 23w+4 today 

Baby is the size of a(n): grapefruit/chinchilla and I totally agree @mrsdee15 those two don’t equate in my head either as same size.

Any appointments? Questions?: next week I have an appt, but no questions thus far outside of insurance things for the new office I will be working with. My midwives moved to a different practice and I’m pretty sure my insurance is still good there, just need to be positive. Reminds me that I should call today.

Rants/Raves?: annoyed that I’m all on my own this week and was most of last as well with DS, but it’s that time of year when DH is at trade shows. I have to keep telling myself that his commission checks pay for the extra daycare this year starting in October so I need to suck it up for the time being.

How are you feeling?: great! Large, but great! I feel like somehow I grew very thick in the middle over the past couple weeks and I don’t know if it’s from food choices (which I tried super hard to be good about) or different exercise (skiing vs. cardio/weight training) or if this kid is just trying to make me look enormous.

GTKY: What is your favorite piece of advice someone has told you about pregnancy/parenting? Double up on sheets and mattress protectors in the crib. As in, mattress protector, sheet, mattress protector, sheet. That way when baby tosses his/her cookies in the middle of the night you don’t have to completely remake the bed. You just strip off the top two and have a clean set underneath. I have only needed it a few times, but damn, it’s always when I was more sleep deprived and needed the quick change. So thankful!

aels12

Due date/W+D: May 3rd, 23+4

Baby is the size of a(n): grapefruit

Any appointments? Questions?: next Monday is my next appt, nothing too exciting but I’ll be doing the gestational diabetes test 

Rants/Raves?: I’m also excited to be getting close to viability!

How are you feeling?: good, Sleep was getting a little uncomfortable so I started using my snoogle this week but I still need to figure out how to get the most comfortable with that, I keep trying to lay on my back most of the night 

GTKY: What is your favorite piece of advice someone has told you about pregnancy/parenting? Pick your battles! It’s so necessary or you’ll drive yourself crazy trying to control every little thing. 

mrsdee15

@MaggieG183 That tip is BRILLIANT!!  We will be doing that!  Also, add me to the suddenly-thick-middle club, this kid feels like he's made it a personal goal to grow big enough to kick me square in the throat by 24 weeks.

@aels12 I also keep waking up on my back, I can never get the pillows right.

MaggieG183

@aels12 and @mrsdee15 I was talking about this with a friend who is a family practice doc. She was saying that when it comes to sleeping on your back, your body will tell you to wake up when something is wrong. While it’s important to think about sleeping on your side and setting yourself up for success in side sleep, if you end up on your back and you wake up that way, you’re either fine still and don’t need to worry about it too much yet, or you will wake up out of breath and light-headed. The second scenario should tell you that your body woke you up and you need to switch positions. I woke up a few times like the latter with DS in the 3rd trimester, but until then I followed her advice just chilled about it for a while. Eventually, sleeping on my side was the only way I was comfy for even two seconds.

mrsdee15

@MaggieG183 That's really helpful to know - I can't remember when I stopped sleeping on my back last time around and I have woken up feeling off from it, so I'm glad to know my body will wake up if that's the case!

aels12

@MaggieG183 thank you! I’m normally a side sleeper so I find it kind of funny that lately the only comfortable position is on my back, but it’s nice to know it’s not a problem, at least yet!

brie_and_almonds

Due date/W+D: 5/5 = 23w, 2d

Baby is the size of a(n): box of mac 'n cheese according to babysizer... which is much bigger than any grapefruit I've ever seen.

Any appointments? Questions?: I had a hematology appt today. Apparently my iron is low, so I have to go back on horse pill prenatal instead of gummies 🙁. If that doesn't work, I get to have a blood transfusion... we'll see in 3 months.

Rants/Raves?: I went back to work yesterday for the first time since before the holidays, and several people commented on how big I am... picked up DD2 from daycare and her babysitter said "Wow, you're really showing now!" on Saturday my parents were over and my dad leaned over to my mom and stage-whispered "I think brie_and_almonds is having twins" ... obviously all these people have deathwishes.

How are you feeling?: gigantic. I whined about this in the symptoms post, but my belly has been really sore, so I ordered a pregnancy support belt. I can't wait until it gets here tomorrow!

GTKY: What is your favorite piece of advice someone has told you about pregnancy/parenting? It's okay for the baby to cry sometimes, especially if it is necessary for you to be able to take care of yourself by showering, eating, etc. 

Bonus least favorite advice: Sleep when the baby sleeps. People who do this must also shower when the baby showers and make dinner when the baby makes dinner, too. Yes, sometimes you get to nap when the baby does, but that is not the magical answer to getting enough sleep and living peacefully.

MaggieG183

@brie_and_almonds soooo many comments after winter break about my belly size too. Ugh...if people could just keep that to themselves? Yeah, thanks. 🙄 and 100% agree with the “sleep when the baby sleeps” comments...like dishes get done...when? What about laundry? Some advice is for the birds if you ask me.

kaitcrystalline

Due date/W+D: May 4, 23+3

Baby is the size of a(n): Grapefruit

Any appointments? Questions?: No appointments until the end of the month. Last week I posted in the PGAL thread and I shared that I had a regular checkup with my midwives. Everything is looking great!

Rants/Raves?: Booked my parenting classes this week for the end of February so that should be interesting! Also got a book on hyponobirthing to see what that's all about. 

How are you feeling?: Good! I learned that I have an anterior placenta so that's why I don't feel my little guy as much. I still definitely do but it's just this week that I'm feeling bigger kicks.

GTKY: What is your favorite piece of advice someone has told you about pregnancy/parenting? I actually haven't got that much advice yet. The one thing that someone told me is to not feel bad about telling people you don't want visitors at your house for the first two weeks so you don't have to play hostess. 

And @MaggieG183 that crib sheet idea is brilliant!

teesmee

Due date/W+D: May 2, 23+6

Baby is the size of a(n): Grapefruit!  Seeing that pic in my app every day this week made me happy.  I love me some grapefruit 😋

Any appointments? Questions?: We have an ultrasound on Friday to get some views of different body parts that couldn’t be seen last time.  Debating taking my daughter because she hasn’t been thrilled about the baby.  But she’s only 3 and I’m not sure she’ll fully process what is happening in the ultrasound anyway... 

Rants/Raves?: Not a rant but I am getting a bit worried how my daughter has been reacting to the baby.  She told me last week “since me and daddy don’t love the baby, we should just get rid of her.” 😱 I know she’s feeling jealous but I don’t know what to do to make her feel more comfortable making room for her sister.  We have a ton of big sister books and she just moved into a new big girl bedroom with a bunk bed and all new bedding that she got to pick out.  I’m thinking of registering her for the big sister class at our hospital to make her feel special? 

How are you feeling?: I have been feeling good.  Tired as always but otherwise I feel good and healthy.

GTKY: What is your favorite piece of advice someone has told you about pregnancy/parenting? honestly I have no idea!  I have a ton of wonderful people in my life supporting me as a parent but I can’t think of one piece of direct advice.  🙈 maybe not advice but when moms just tell you they have no idea either and everyone is just doing their best - always makes me feel better.  

@brie_and_almonds yes yes yes on the “sleep when they sleep!” My daughter had a little radar and if I tried to lay down when she was sleeping, she’d immediately wake up!  Also, is there a fairy living in my house doing all the work while I sleep?

brie_and_almonds

@teesmee after my DD2 was born, DD1 said she wanted to give her back to the hospital  . She also said once that we could make more room for Nana in our car if we put DD2 on the roof. I got a baby-book type book called The Big Sibling Book that was a cute way for DD1 to get involved. Afterward I wished I'd gotten it sooner because it had some questions and pages about pregnancy too.

teesmee

@brie_and_almonds thanks for the suggestion, that book looks really cool!  The big sister class at the hospital comes with a book so I’m gonna make sure it isn’t that one before I get it. Did you have to hide yours so it didn’t get covered in crayon and stickers? 😂 I can totally see my little one thinking since it’s hers and it is to write in that she can “make it her own!”

nuggetmama369

Due date/W+D: May 7th/23w,0d

Baby is the size of a grapefruit.

Appts: had one today. Everything is progressing well.

Rants/Raves: I got a babymoon massage package for Christmas and cashed in on that yesterday. Was absolute bliss and since it was middle of the week, I basically had the place to myself. Including a fancy lap pool which I dog paddled around. It was fun to move so freely, my hips/back have been aching so much that walking/running is just uncomfortable. 

How are you feeling? As alright as a pregnant woman can, just getting bigger each week lol.

GTKY: Probably to take as much time as I can to focus on baby those first few months, I tend to overschedule myself and I dont want to miss out on my first baby experience. 

You all crushed my dreams of napping with the baby 😂 of course, you're being logical. I had conveniently forgotten about keeping my house from falling apart when baby gets here. 

brie_and_almonds

@nuggetmama369 you'll definitely get chances to nap with your baby, but what grates on me is the matter-of-fact way that people give this advice, like it's easy, and all you have to do is sleep while the baby sleeps. Ime, people who give this advice are 100% out of touch with what it is like to actually have a baby.

MaggieG183

@kaitcrystalline hypnobirthing is pretty crunchy, but I did take a 5-week course with DS. It was, if anything, incredibly relaxing. I was very good with the hypnosis aspect of it and was able to put myself into and bring myself out of hypnosis easily during actual labor and during practice. I wasn’t able to complete a natural birth and needed an epidural after 24 hours of laboring and 48 hours of no food (I just didn’t want to eat anything the day before I went into labor). But I highly recommend it from a relaxation standpoint and helping become prepared before baby comes. If you have a chance, meet with a hypnobirthing specialist. They can be very helpful!

kaitcrystalline

@MaggieG183 thanks for the insight! I have yet to open the book but it seems like a popular choice when it comes to birthing techniques. All the copies at my midwife centre were out on loan. I can be an anxious person so I thought even if this doesn't help me with the pain of labour (obviously that would still be nice) then I'm thinking it will help me relax like you mentioned!