All trimester check in week of Nov 4!

PoeMasque

Happy Monday! As always let me know if your info needs to be updated or if I’ve missed you all together. 

• How far along/EDD?
• How are you feeling this week?
• Rants/Raves? Questions?
• Any upcoming appointments?
• GTKY: with the holidays upon us, what’s your favorite (or family tradition?) holiday movie? 

Calling!!

@PoeMasque EDD 2/8 (boy)

@emmasemm EDD 3/7 (girl)

@k_mama91 EDD 12/5 (boy)

@Tulips29 EDD 1/11 (girl)

@cigaline EDD 2/10 (boy)

@celticknotfire EDD 2/27

@ivfsurvivor EDD 3/3

@love112314 EDD 3/9

@sincethelastday EDD 3/9 (boy)

@bluguitarhannah EDD 7/5

@caitiemae EDD 1/30 (boy)

@akak23 EDD 3/27 (boy)

@wifeinraleigh28 EDD 4/4 (boy)

@sanpelligrino EDD 4/12

@laurajon2015 EDD 3/25

@jolo1241 EDD 2/2 (girl)

@hanshotfirst77 6/21

@stella_700 5/28

sanpelligrino

• How far along/EDD - 17 weeks
• How are you feeling this week - feeling good but the pelvic pressure is starting to increase. I'm having  minor back aches as well. 
• Rants/Raves? Questions? - where is everyone going on their babymoon? 
• Any upcoming appointments? - anatomy scan on the 27th 
• GTKY: with the holidays upon us, what’s your favorite (or family tradition?) holiday movie? - love everything about the holidays: it's when we get to be with our families. Love everything pumpkin spice and egg nog! 

k_mama91

• How far along/EDD? 35w4d
• How are you feeling this week? Still exhausted, super uncomfortable, swollen beyond belief! 
• Rants/Raves? Questions? I got all my Christmas decor up this weekend! Normally I would decorate for Thanksgiving but with it being late this year and my DD being the following week I figured I should just skip to Christmas 🤷🏼‍♀️
• Any upcoming appointments? I had a BP check this morning (all is well) but my 36w appt is this Friday 
• GTKY: with the holidays upon us, what’s your favorite (or family tradition?) holiday movie? Home Alone. We watched as a family every Thanksgiving night growing up. Also A Christmas Story and It’s A Wonderful Life, these were my dads favorites and watching them makes me feel like he’s here with us now ❤️

emmasemm

@k_mama91 love that you’re already decorating for Xmas - fantastic! DH also loves to watch Home Alone during the holidays!

@sanpelligrino unfortunately no babymoom here as I have a travel ban. Would have loved a week in a warm but not too hot resort to just relax, walk on the beach and dip my toes in the sea 

• How far along/EDD? 22+2 7th March 
• How are you feeling this week? I have a cold - well blocked sinuses and all the fun with that. I feel ok - just can’t really breathe and when I sneeze Ferrari gets mighty annoyed with me! She is moving so so much now and always gets active when she hears DHs voice. I even captured her movements on video for the first time on Saturday which was super exciting as I didn’t expect to do that so early.
• Rants/Raves? Questions? Rant - we didn’t get half as much done last week on our week off as I hoped. And at our scan on Wednesday Ferrari was bent in two which made shots of anything other than the top of her head, her backside and spine basically impossible... growth looked to have slowed, but definitely not as accurate measurements with her in that position. So going to be watched closely... Rave - we had a nice time with friends visiting who we hadn’t seen in more than a year. And today I handed in the official plan A for my maternity leave. My doctor thinks I won’t go back to work after Xmas, then if Ferrari arrives as planned in March I would go back to work May 2021!!! 
• Any upcoming appointments? None this week - long glucose test next week and midwife appointment 
• GTKY: with the holidays upon us, what’s your favorite (or family tradition?) holiday movie? Love actually is one of our favourites. But Home Alone. The Holiday. Any James Bond or Indiana Jones. Pretty Woman. Top Gun. So a mix of festive sand classics. We light some logs, snuggle up under blankets and pop some popcorn. Oooh can’t wait.

Tulips29

• How far along/EDD? 30w2d
• How are you feeling this week? Huge. Exhausted from everything. Out of breath walking up the stairs. And in general, it's getting difficult to walk around too much. The pelvic pressure gets pretty strong at times. Had an ultrasound last week and a cervix check which confirmed everything is fine and labor is not in sight, which I was worried about with so much pressure and discomfort. 
• Rants/Raves? Questions? This week it's a 3 in 1. So I've been able to sleep laying down until now, which I'm happy about. And I've been sleeping not too bad for the most part, so yay. But now congestion is coming in full force at night and I'm becoming miserable. I'm not sick and fine all day, but towards the evening my nose starts getting stuffy. As a result, I end up sleeping with my mouth somewhat open so I can breathe and end up with a sore throat by morning. Anyone else experiencing this and can offer some suggestions? I tried flonase but it didn't work. As a result, I wake up feeling like I barely slept. I also wake up at least 3-5 times a night. It's so tiring and pretty much came out of nowhere these last few days. I'm hoping I don't have to sleep half-sitting to avoid all this stuffiness. 
• Any upcoming appointments? OB check up this Wednesday 
• GTKY: with the holidays upon us, what’s your favorite (or family tradition?) holiday movie? Agree with above on Home Alone being a favorite movie, I can watch it over and over and never get tired of it. As far as traditions, this one is always confusing for many. So we're Jewish but come from Eastern Europe where we celebrated New Year's instead of Xmas. So we put up a New Year's tree (same as Xmas tree) and we get gifts under the tree on New Year's Day. Instead of Santa, it's Father Frost who brings gifts and we always open them up together as a family on New Year's Day. For us, New Year's Eve is the biggest holiday of the year, so we always have a big party and get together with friends/family. And I always look forward to putting up the tree and decorating it for the holidays. Not sure what'll happen this year as my due date is right around that time, so I may be at the hospital for the holidays...but I will definitely put up the tree early and my son is already excited to help decorate it.

PoeMasque

@sanpelligrino we sort of had our baby moon early on for our anniversary in August. We spent a weekend at the coast (we live in Oregon) at a really lovely B&B. We haven’t talked about anything else, but maybe we should! 

@k_mama91 wow, I was planning to just skip Christmas decorating all together haha. So good for you!

• How far along/EDD: 26+2, 2/8
• How are you feeling this week: I’ve had some cramping (back and low abdomen) and feeling really stretched out. The time change was really hard for some reason, but otherwise just plodding along! 
• Rants/Raves? Questions: not really a rant or a rave, but our son has been teething and he gets diarrhea, it’s his last set of molars, so it’s been a week of him waking up covered in poop (and all his bedding/stuffed animals covered) and his poor butt is so red and sore. Just hoping it ends soon, mostly for him, but also getting tired of cleaning up poop haha. 
• Any upcoming appointments: nothing till 30 weeks
• GTKY: with the holidays upon us, what’s your favorite (or family tradition?) holiday movie: we also watched A Christmas Story as a family every year, but my mom and I started to get together to watch The Holiday a few years ago. 

emmasemm

@tulips29 I’m also sleeping with my mouth open to breathe and it makes me so dry. Each time wake up I try to drink a glass of water (I keep a big water bottle by the bed to refill it through the night) - which does mean peeing more but seems to make me a bit more comfortable.
Our bed has an option to slightly incline the head end which I’ve done and I’m using the pregnancy pillow in combo with my normal pillow to make it feel like I’m laying almost flat on my side by actually sleeping on an incline... not sure if I’m really managing to fool myself or not though! 

Tulips29

@sanpelligrino babymoon options were limited for us both times as I was due around same time with DS. Last time, we took a cruise up north from a port right here in NY. It was chilly, but we enjoyed not flying and just relaxing on the cruise. This time around, we didn't want a cruise and could only go away for 3 days, so we just did a local "staycation" about 2 hours away from home. It was still nice, but definitely not the preferred beach trip I would have loved. Also, with Zika, our travel options were limited both times. 

@k_mama91 I'm debating getting out holiday decor earlier too, so kudos for decorating already!

@emmasemm you're in the UK right? I am so jealous of your maternity leave! You'll have so much time with the baby. And here I am excited that I'll be going to work in early June most likely, but in 2020 lol...I wish I could stay home for a year and a half! Also, didn't realize you picked out baby's name already

emmasemm

@Tulips29 I’m British but living on the continent! And yes the maternity protection here is really something we shouldn’t take for granted. 

And the name is our “working title” lol - though I have a very real fear if we don’t find a “real” name she might end up with it!!! It all started when DH said we could have bought a brand new Ferrari for the money we spent to make her... which is now a great lead into an IF conversation every time someone asks about it, kind of a light hearted way to educate people very gently.

k_mama91

@PoeMasque You can get away with not decorating, your ds would never know! I hope he gets some relief soon, poor thing. 

@Tulips29 Ive had the same issue with breathing. I’m drinking a ton at night bc of the dry throat so I’m up almost every hour peeing. It’s pretty miserable. 

@emmasemm So great you get such a long maternity leave!

PoeMasque

@Tulips29 I’m also struggling with sore throats and bloody noses in the morning. I’ve cranked up the humidifier and changed the filter to a higher allergen rating in our furnace, but I might try taking some Zyrtec just to see if that helps. I also haven’t been able to sleep flat for a few weeks due to reflux, I remember these same issues last time, so they seem to just be par for the course the last month for me was basically surviving on a handful of hours of sleep each night. 

@emmasemm So jealous of your leave! I’m working on mine right now and will have to return mid-June if I deliver on my due date (that’s maxing out my protected leave) DH will take a month off after me so that baby doesn’t go to daycare until 6 months. We are super lucky we can afford to even take the leave. Most people we know can’t. Thankfully our state will mandate PAID parental leave of 12 weeks starting in 2023, sadly this doesn’t help us now. 

Tulips29

@emmasemm @PoeMasque @k_mama91 ugh I’m sorry you ladies are suffering from the same dry/sore throat. I didn’t have this last time around so this is new. I‘m dreading going to bed soon because I already feel so congested and my throat is getting drier. I also drink plenty at night and therefore get up more often, but I just want to get my sleep! Is that too much to ask for? Wishing a good night’s sleep to all! 

k_mama91

@Tulips29 My poor dh asks me each morning if I slept well and seems bummed when I say no. I told him today to just stop asking bc it’ll be a few years before I can say anything different 😆 

wifeinraleigh28

• How far along/EDD? 18+3, 4/4
• How are you feeling this week? All is well, just tired, and dealing with a sick kid. I'm on a bit of a high from our anatomy scan yesterday. All looks great with our little man and he is measuring almost a week ahead! My daughter never measured that far ahead at any scan so that took us by surprise.
• Rants/Raves? Questions? What sort of exercise is everyone doing? I've been walking a lot but would like to mix it up a bit. I took a yoga class a few weeks ago and that felt good but unfortunately the yoga class I like to take at my gym is not at the most convenient time for me.
• Any upcoming appointments? Since I just had my monthly prenatal appointment last week and anatomy scan yesterday, it'll be a few weeks. Next OB visit is the day before Thanksgiving and my next ultrasound (fetal echo) is December 3rd.
• GTKY: with the holidays upon us, what’s your favorite (or family tradition?) holiday movie? Love Actually and The Holiday are the two we watch every year but I love lots of holiday movies. For whatever reason, my husband considers the first Harry Potter movie to be a holiday movie (insert eye roll because I don't get it) and so we usually watch that one followed by all the Harry Potters too this time of year.

wifeinraleigh28

@sanpelligrino Not sure if we're taking one this time around but last time we went to Disney for a week when I was around 21/22 weeks and it was the most amazing trip ever. The whole time we were imagining what it would be like to bring our LO there one day. And Disney is awesome because there are still so many rides/attractions you can do while pregnant.

@k_mama91 You're getting so close!!! So exciting!

@emmasemm I'm sorry you're sick. It really sucks being sick while pregnant. I've already been sick 3 times this pregnancy so I feel for you! I hope you feel better soon!

@Tulips29 I can't believe you're 30+ weeks now! Crazy!  I find that the steam from sitting in the bathroom with the shower running hot helps with my congestion when it gets really bad. I'm a chronic allergy sufferer so I've tried a lot of things. My ENT recommends using a netti pot or similar nasal rinses but I struggle with them and always feel like I'm drowning lol. Couldn't hurt to try them though. Last pregnancy I had a U shaped pregnancy pillow that allowed me to sleep on my back with a slight incline which also was super helpful. I didn't hold onto it sadly so I just ordered another one from amazon which will get here tomorrow! I hope your congestion gets better soon and you're able to sleep better.

@PoeMasque Ugh the teething sounds awful. I'm expecting my daughter's 2 year molars to start pushing through any day now. At her last dentist check up a couple weeks ago the dentist said it should be soon. And OMG the cleaning up of poop sounds miserable, especially while pregnant. I can't wipe my daughter's butt without almost vomiting right now so if DH is around I make him do it. It's sooooo bad!

sincethelastday

Happy start of the week, ladies!

@sanpelligrino - good luck with your upcoming scan! I know what you mean with the pelvic pressure; it hits me pretty bad in the evening and the only thing that makes it better is lying down. DH and I would have loved to have taken a babymoon, but he is saving all of his vacation time for the summer in case we need to move for his job. So we just went to a little tea house/restaurant out in the countryside for brunch one Saturday to celebrate finally being pregnant. They had a little gift shop there so we bought a couple little baby things as well. But, yeah, I’m totally mourning the fact that we probably won’t be going on any hot vacation for a loooonnnggg time lol. 

@k_mam91 - props with decorating for Xmas already!! Very impressive! Hope you start finding some relief from the discomfort and swelling! 

@emmasemm - isn’t it cool seeing the actual movements!? I just caught our little guy kicking yesterday evening and freaked my dog out by gasping quite loudly when I saw it lol. Hope all your future scans are positive!

@Tulips29 - sorry to hear about the congestion 🙁. I was quite sick for most of October and the only thing that somewhat worked with the congestion was propping my head up higher with pillows and having a glass of water by my bedside. Even just taking tiny sips so I wouldn’t need to go to the bathroom more frequently than I was already. Otherwise, yeah, I didn’t get much sleep those nights and allergy meds have never really worked for me. Hope you find something that works, or even better, that it just goes away! 

@PoeMasque - an Oregon B&B sounds lovely!! Sorry about the teething your son is experiencing! Sounds very unpleasant for everyone involved. Hope the end is in sight with the teething or at least with the diarrhea!

@wifeinraleigh28 - great to hear your anatomy scan went so well! In regards to exercise, I was going on 30 min walks every day when the weather was nice, but now I’m just doing pregnancy-safe weight exercises and stretches and occasionally am going on the stationary bike at home. I’m finding it hard to get motivated to exercise, but trying my best to keep it up. 

• How far along/EDD? 22w1d 3/9
• How are you feeling this week? Feeling pretty good now that I’m back on Diclectin. I ended my first prescription of it and was thinking I wouldn’t refill it because I was feeling good. However it didn’t take long before I started feeling quite nauseous again and then puked one morning so refilled my prescription. Been feeling better since, so there must be something going for it that’s helping me out. And finally have no more symptoms of my cold/flu, so thankful for that! 
• Rants/Raves? Questions? Raves - since DH was not able to attend the anatomy scan, we booked an appointment with one of those non-medical ultrasound places to get another good view of baby. We got some great photos of him which we’ve enjoyed sharing with family. And we ordered the crib and change table/dresser, so feeling more and more like we’re getting there with getting ready.  We’re attending our first prenatal class this evening which is a 6 week class focusing on labour and postpartum. Hope it will be good! 
• Any upcoming appointments? OB appointment on Thursday. Will be reviewing the results of the anatomy scan which I’m assuming looks good since I haven’t received a call from the clinic asking me to come in sooner. Still a bit anxious though and just want to hear good news. 
• GTKY: with the holidays upon us, what’s your favorite (or family tradition?) holiday movie? Since Thanksgiving has already passed for us here, it’s crazy that I’m already focusing on Xmas. I wait to put up decorations, listen to carols, etc until December, but some of my favorite movies are ones others have listed already like Home Alone and A Christmas Story.

bluguitarhannah

• How far along/EDD? RE says 6 weeks 3 days, online calculator 5 weeks plus
  
• How are you feeling this week? Some stomach issues not terrible, cranky after daylight savings with the cats all still waking a hour early.
  
• Rants/Raves? Questions? The bloat is real.
  
• Any upcoming appointments? 1st ultrasound this Thursday
  
• GTKY: with the holidays upon us, what’s your favorite (or family tradition?) holiday movie? My family usually goes to a movie on Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We have a long-standing habit of accidentally picking the worst movie out at the time.  Think Problem Child, Wolf of Wall Street (not a movie to see w/ Mom)
  

Tulips29

@wifeinraleigh28 so great about your anatomy scan! Ha, I can't believe I'm 30+ weeks either...time is just flying by this time around. But also can't believe you're pretty much halfway there yourself! Oh, I can't do a netti pot either, it freaks me out for the same reasons as you. 

@sincethelastday I'm glad that your flu/cold are gone! And glad you feel better on the meds again, albeit having to throw up to go back to them. 

I tried the pillow suggestion under my head/pregnancy pillow to elevate my head last night and I think it made a bit of a difference. I only got up twice at night and my throat wasn't hurting that much this morning. I was still congested, but not as badly. So will continue to sleep like that. 

bluguitarhannah

@Tulips29 My RE has been letting me use Eucalyptus essential oil for congestion.  I rub directly on nose at night and has helped.  Sometimes, I diffuse the oil as well.

Great news @wifeinraleigh28 on anatomy scan!

wifeinraleigh28

@sincethelastday I'm surprised you need to wait for another appointment to review the results of the anatomy scan. During our appointment the ultrasound tech went over everything she was doing/seeing and saying that all looks normal along the way. And then the doctor reviewed the scans and came in shortly after to tell us the same thing and answer any questions. I think I would go crazy if I had to wait to find out how things went! Sorry your nausea came back without the meds!

@Tulips29 glad the pillow helped last night! I can't wait to get mine tomorrow.

@bluguitarhannah GL at your ultrasound coming up!

k_mama91

@wifeinraleigh28 ABC Family or whatever it’s called now plays all the HP movies on their countdown to 25 days of Christmas. It kills me. HP is NOT a Christmas movie, maybe Halloween but even that’s a stretch. 

PoeMasque

@wifeinraleigh28 last time I did lots of walking (3+ miles with hills several times per week) with squats and exercises my PT suggested. This time I’m not allowed to do anything more than “moderate walking” due to the placenta previa. Since the foot injury happened from going on a flat 4 mile walk I’m doing basically nothing and feeling really awful about it. 

@sincethelastday glad you’re feeling better and exciting to be starting birthing class! I’m with @wifeinraleigh28 our US tech narrated the whole scan and then the OB came in after to give us the “official” results, not sure how I would feel about waiting! Yikes. 

@bluguitarhannah good luck at your ultrasound this week!! 

sincethelastday

@wifeinraleigh28 and @PoeMasque - yeah, it is annoying, but it’s pretty much the norm here. It depends a lot on which type of US technician you get - some are more “medically trained” apparently and can say more, but the ones who aren’t are usually pretty tight lipped because of potential liability issues (i.e. saying/interpreting something that’s not right). I actually haven’t been freaking out too much as I’ve just been so busy with work and other stuff that it’s taken my mind off of it. But, yeah, will feel relieved once I get some definite answers tomorrow. 

mbradfo2

@emmasemm
@PoeMasque
I think once I get some free time when baby's older, I might look into advocating for parental leave in the US. My husband was lucky -- his work gave him 2 months paid leave. I took a much longer leave (paid) because I work at the family practice and started coming back gradually part-time then back to a more normal schedule.

cigaline

Hello all!
Sorry I missed another week again last week. Just caught up with 2 weeks worth of messages...

@sanpelligrino We went on our 'babymoon' at 23 weeks to the south of France. That's 'just' a drive away for us although it was about 8 hours each way in the car, which turned out to be a bit much in the end, even with an overnight stop halfway :-) We had a lovely time though in a B&B on the edge of the Pyrenees, some walking and then a bit of sight-seeing in Toulouse at the end of the week. 

@k_mama91 impressed at you finding the energy to decorate despite feeling exhausted and swollen beyond belief!! 

@emmasemm sorry to hear about the cold etc. Your mat leave does sound amazing! I know all of Europe is more generous than the States, but that is way better than what we get here. Is that the German mat leave, or is your company especially advantageous? On the constipation front, I haven't had it too badly despite being a bit prone to it normally, and my current theory is that kegels have helped a bit with general motility. I've been doing them about twice a day for a few weeks. Anyway they seem to be good for lots of things!

@Tulips29 Sorry about the congestion. I was having major problems with it at the beginning and it started to really mess up my sleep. I suffer from chronic rhinitis (not allergic - seems to be triggered by temperature changes so it's worse in the winter) and I stopped taking my steroid nasal spray as the research on pregnancy seemed a bit inconclusive. Well it got so bad on holiday that one night I sneezed for about 10 minutes solid and then alternatively snivelled/blew my nose for the next hour or so, keeping both me and DH up a large part of the night! So I gave in and started taking it again every other day and it's already back under control, phew. Anyway not suggesting a steroid spray for you as obviously that's a bit extreme unless you have pre-existing issues, but my friend recommended the nose strips you can buy online which help keep your nostrils wide open at night - could be worth a try? There's various types, I think the brand I tried once was Breathe Right and they pull a bit on the nose but they're very helpful at giving you more space to breathe through. My friend said she couldn't have got through her pregnancy without them!

@PoeMasque Sorry to hear about the diarrhea, your post just suddenly brought home the stark reality of looking after young kids and their problems!! Really hope it clears up quick. I don't consider myself terribly squeamish but the vivid images of having to deal with soiled sheets soft toys etc on top of child makes me realise there's going to be some gritting of teeth involved - eek! Btw I saw your post about boys and pee last week - I get the need for a spare nappy but if that happens all the time aren't you also getting hit yourself (and possibly the surroundings)?!!

@wifeinraleigh28 congrats on a great anatomy scan!

@sincethelastday Ah congrats on joining the boy club fellow TTTCer! That's very exciting. Odd how different the protocol is where you are for the ultrasounds. Hope you get some proper reassurance tomorrow although I agree with everyone else that if there was any cause for concern they'd definitely have contacted you sooner about it. And you are way ahead on the baby equipment front - we haven't sorted anything that's not been given to us already (mostly small bits and pieces).

I'm procrastinating on the pram front (stroller I think for the Americans!) as can't decide whether I want to fork out to get something I really like or take my SIL's advice that there's no point investing much in the newborn stage as from 6 months on they can go in a pushchair. She apparently has a good pushchair we can have (has been sitting in a damp house for 9 years though so hope it's ok!) and if we get a Maxicosi car seat apparently you can clip that on a base unit and use it as a pram for all intents and purposes. Have any of you tried this or are you considering it?? 

@bluguitarhannah congrats on your BFP and hope the first trimester treats you kindly... 

cigaline

AFM:

• How far along/EDD: 26+2, 10 Feb
• How are you feeling this week: Mostly OK - posture problems a bit better than last time I posted. Getting quite a bit of discomfort around the rib cage though, mostly when sitting down and especially in the evening. Feels like either the uterus pressing up into my ribcage or my ribs pressing down into everything below, can't decide which but it's pretty uncomfortable! Also it's getting trickier to find a good position to sleep in - my usual left side with legs bent was fine up until recently but now I seem to get lower back pain when lying in this position - does anyone else have this? Seems odd as I know back pain is par for the course but can't understand why I should have it lying down when I don't the rest of the time.
• Rants/Raves? Questions: Rave - our MFM scan to look at the kidneys in more detail. The doctor was very nice and didn't seem worried though both were measuring a bit on the large side. I'm not worried either as I can see that he's only just outside the British norms which are a bit more generous than the French ones. Anyway, while we were there the doctor looked at everything again and then said she'd try some 3D images, which were tricky at first as Baby was turning away, so she spent quite some time jiggling the probe around to get him to move..! When he finally did he was in such a perfect position that she got completely carried away taking shots and we've at last got an amazing set of colour photos to show in which he already looks like a newborn baby 
• Any upcoming appointments: gynae on 15 November. Saw a new GP today who gave me strict warnings to drink more as my standing BP was only 9 today - always been on the low side but apparently even for pregnancy it's a bit extreme   
• GTKY: with the holidays upon us, what’s your favorite (or family tradition?) holiday movie:  Our family tradition is Holiday Inn (mostly in order to hear the original version of White Christmas!) and we often watch that on Christmas Eve... but we do know it practically by heart now so occasionally we swap it for something similar!

PoeMasque

@cigaline the first thing my son did after delivery was pee on me, so I think that set the tone! He’s done it several times since then and - yes - the pee does get everywhere if you aren’t quick enough with a towel or diaper. I’m a nurse though, so body fluids don’t bother me. I was worried about my husband (he faints at the sight of blood and refuses to listen to any of my work stories if they involve poop!), but for some reason he’s fine as long as it’s our kiddo’s mess. I am also feeling all the same pains you are, ribs and back. Sleeping is getting really uncomfortable, even with the pregnancy pillow. I hate to tell you that it doesn’t get better....but if you can see a massage therapist or physical therapist they can help a lot! How exciting that you got good images at your scan! Isn’t it incredible how detailed the images are now? 

@k_mama91 I’m really hoping the next president brings back the push for paid family leave. Obama actually did a lot to move the needle forward on it (including great stats on paid leave on the DOL’s website), but that was all erased as soon as trump took office - and I mean literally erased. I don’t know what state you are in, but Washington, Oregon, California, New Jersey, NY, Connecticut, Rhode Island, DC, and Massachusetts all have some form of it, so looking to how/what organizations in those states successfully advocated for those policies is always a good start. Here in Oregon it was a group called Family Forward. 

persnickity

@Tulips29 I found that some yoga poses actually help with congestion. I found that pigeon pose really helps. Plus, it's recommended as a prenatal pose to open your hips. Win-win

Tulips29

@cigaline I had the back pain after sleeping on my left side during my 1st pregnancy. It got pretty bad so I switched to sleeping half-sitting at around 22 weeks and slept like that with a bunch of pillows propped up around me until the end. I hope it gets easier for you! As for boys peeing, I have to laugh. It happens quite often and I always found it so funny, especially when our son peed on DH. My tired mom brain once made a rookie mistake when I was changing his diaper and he was a few months old. I had him on top of the changing pad on the dresser and opened up all the drawers below to look for a new outfit. His diaper was off for less than a minute and he started peeing, so pee went on me, on the changing pad, and into every open drawer. I never made that mistake again...you gotta be quick with the boy diaper changes or they get chilly and start peeing! 

And thank you all for the suggestions about the congestion. Turns out a pregnant friend of mine is suffering from the same thing and a few others had it as well, so at least it's not just me having weird issues. 

Tulips29

@persnickity I had to google that one since I'm not a yoga pro...I feel like I may break a hip getting into that pose at this point lol...I will try though! My husband might get a good laugh at me while I attempt this at home. 

persnickity

@Tulips29 the good news is that you don't have to go all the way down to get the effects. Lean forward as much as you can, support yourself with your hands, and call it good.

bluguitarhannah

Had dr visit today.  1st ultrasound

heartbeat 113.  Measured exactly on target go back in 2 weeks.   

Furthest I’ve ever made it!

k_mama91

@bluguitarhannah That’s wonderful news! Congrats!! 

Tulips29

@bluguitarhannah congrats on a great appointment! 

PoeMasque

@bluguitarhannah yay! Congrats!! 

On a funny side note since we’ve been discussing boys peeing....my son had diarrhea all over me (and the carpet!!) this morning. He had a diaper on, but somehow it dripped down his leg. This was a first, I definitely prefer getting peed on vs pooped on! Haha

bluguitarhannah

@PoeMosque I still distinctly remember my 1st cousin having that kind of explosion on my leg in college. Poor guy is now 26 with his first baby and I still talk about it.  I was a nanny for some of college and so the peeing I'm unfortunately aware of.

sincethelastday

@bluguitarhannah - ahh, that’s awesome news!! Hope everything continues to progress nicely along!