All trimester check-in, week of November 25

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: here in the US it’s thanksgiving week, so for those here tell us your plans/traditions. For all you lucky ladies with paid leave and better maternal/fetal outcomes outside the US, any upcoming holiday plans? 

Also! Feel free to post pics of nurseries and bumps.

Calling!!

@PoeMasque EDD 2/8 (boy)

@emmasemm EDD 3/7 (girl)

@k_mama91 EDD 12/5 (boy) ....so close!!!

@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 EDD 2/2 (girl)

@hanshotfirst77 EDD 6/21

@laurad75 EDD 7/24

Tulips29

Good morning everyone! 

• How far along/EDD? 33w 2d
• How are you feeling this week? Exhausted, mainly because we've been doing a ton of house work to prep for the baby and to get our son's new room all ready for him. Still feeling a ton of pressure in my belly.
• Rants/Raves? Questions? Rave - I only have 2 more days of commuting to the office left and then I'm working from home until my leave! So happy not to deal with our crazy NYC commute for a little while. Also, my team and I mapped out my entire leave on the calendar and if I go out first week of January, I wouldn't be returning until mid-June, which is so exciting! I can't wait for warmer days and taking strolls with the baby. My last leave, I was back beginning of April, so I didn't get to enjoy the warmer weather outside as much. 
• Any upcoming appointments? OB checkup today. Ultrasound next week and now the appointments are becoming weekly for me. 
• GTKY: here in the US it’s thanksgiving week, so for those here tell us your plans/traditions. For all you lucky ladies with paid leave and better maternal/fetal outcomes outside the US, any upcoming holiday plans? We've spending Thanksgiving at my inlaws. Both of our parents and immediate family are all nearby so no one has to travel far. No holiday plans aside from that. For now, just taking it day by day as I get closer to the due date. Can't plan much as we won't know when this baby decides to come. 

Also! Feel free to post pics of nurseries and bumps. I was so much better taking weekly bump pics last time around...now I barely remember. But when I do, I like to compare them, so here's one I took this weekend. 

sincethelastday

@Tulips29 - glad to hear that you’re going to be working from home soon - just the thought of commuting in NYC sounds super stressful (coming from the girl who lives in a much smaller city). And that sounds like a good amount of mat leave when it comes to the states from what I’ve heard! Hope some of the busyness and craziness quiets down a bit for you. Also, answering your question from the last thread: yeah, Black Friday deals are big here too. We’ll take the deals minus the holiday lol. Love the bump photos! That’s so cool to be able to compare from one pregnancy to the next! 

• How far along/EDD? 25w  3/9
• How are you feeling this week? Again, been feeling pretty good physically. Little bits of heartburn now and then, but I’m just riding this high of feeling well for as long as it lasts! 
• Rants/Raves? Questions? Raves - we’ve been making pretty good progress on the nursery and just getting baby stuff in general. Hoping to do some more nursery shopping this upcoming weekend. 
• Any upcoming appointments? Just regular OB appointment next week combined with the glucose test. 
• GTKY: here in the US it’s thanksgiving week, so for those here tell us your plans/traditions. For all you lucky ladies with paid leave and better maternal/fetal outcomes outside the US, any upcoming holiday plans? Just slowly getting ready for Christmas. We’ll be putting up the tree this weekend and I’m getting close to finishing my Christmas shopping, so then it will just be tackling the Christmas baking (one of my favorite things to do around Christmas).

And bump photo below...(24 week photo)

Tulips29

@sincethelastday love the bump photo! Good luck with the glucose test! And I would love to see everyone's trees when they are put up...I think I want to start putting ours up this or next weekend as well. 

laurad75

• How far along/EDD? 5+3 today/ 7/24 - seems like a million years away!
• How are you feeling this week? fine.  I am still symptom-free with the exception of being tired but I'm always tired when the weather starts to get cold
• Rants/Raves? Questions? The lack of symptoms is messing with my head.  I took a HPT today.  Still positive.  (face palm)
• Any upcoming appointments? I have an u/s with my RE next week before I 'graduate' to my OB.  
• GTKY: here in the US it’s thanksgiving week, so for those here tell us your plans/traditions. For all you lucky ladies with paid leave and better maternal/fetal outcomes outside the US, any upcoming holiday plans? We are driving from Boston to CT Wednesday morning to spend the holiday and wknd with our families.  We will have dinner at my mom's and then probably spend Friday with my husband's family.  Our one major tradition is to do the local 5k race on Thanksgiving so I'm glad I still feel well enough to run that because I'm not ready to tell anyone.  

emmasemm

@laurad75 i took more than 100 HPTs... 

@sincethelastday enjoy feeling good! I wish I was taller with more body length like you. My bump is totally squished up under my breasts already as I’m so short!

@tulips29  just loving the turkey on your head hehe!!! And sounds like you do get a pretty good mat leave for the US

How far along/EDD? 25+2 due 7th MarchHow are you feeling this week? Oh man my lungs are squashed. If I need to do two flights of stairs I’m done. And I’m feeling so much pressure low down. Making me a bit nervous. But she is moving on cue so trying to stay calm. Well at least until my appointment tomorrow. The evening nausea and heartburn are back full swing. And I’m fighting sleep by 8pm on the best of days. But I love my bump and the little one in it so so much.Rants/Raves? Questions? Rant - DH got up at 3.30am to head off on a business trip and I couldn’t get back to sleep after so I’m exhausted. Rave - we’re having lots of fun with the name testing. Any upcoming appointments? US with the OB tomorrow to check on Ferrari and my placenta and cervix. GTKY: here in the US it’s thanksgiving week, so for those here tell us your plans/traditions. For all you lucky ladies with paid leave and better maternal/fetal outcomes outside the US, any upcoming holiday plans? Well this coming Sunday is the first Sunday of advent so it’s tree buying on Saturday and tree decorating on Sunday!!! Otherwise resting up so I have enough e edgy to get through the week at work after again! 

k_mama91

• How far along/EDD? 38.4 Dec 5
• How are you feeling this week? Big tired and feeling lots of pelvic pain. 
• Rants/Raves? Questions? I have about a week left which is mind blowing! In reality I know it’ll be closer to two due to my lack of progress but it’s surreal to be so close to the finish line!
• Any upcoming appointments? Wednesday and hopefully I can get a membrane sweep 🤞🏻
• GTKY: here in the US it’s thanksgiving week, so for those here tell us your plans/traditions. For all you lucky ladies with paid leave and better maternal/fetal outcomes outside the US, any upcoming holiday plans? Pretty much skipping this year. I usually cook for my side the weekend after but being right at 40 weeks I passed on it this year. Im a little bummed but just thinking about entertaining and cooking has be exhausted. We’ll do my in laws for lunch Thursday though and dh will do our outdoor lights that afternoon too. Our trees been up since the 1st lol

I’ll be back with a picture when I’m presentable for my appointment Wednesday.

@Tulips29 I didn’t take any pictures with ds1 and I love that you get to compare, so cool! 

@sincethelastday Good luck with your glucose test! 

Tulips29

@laurad75 one day it seems like your due date is a million years away and next thing you know, you're at the finish line. Lack of symptoms will definitely mess with you. Hang in there! 

@emmasemm I figured turkey was appropriate given I not only feel like a huge turkey at this point, but will also be in a turkey coma in a few days lol. Enjoy all that sleep and don't feel bad about to bed at 8 pm! I'm also thankful for our NY paid leave which is on top of what my company offers, so it's great overall. Can't compete with the European leave though. 

@k_mama91 any day now! I've had friends who went from no progress to full on labor super fast, so anything is possible I guess. Did ds1 come early, late or on time for you and does the doc say if that sets a precedent? 

sincethelastday

@laurad75 - oh, I was totally in the same spot with symptom checking. I really didn’t start experiencing symptoms until week 7, but I know how tempting it is to just start feeling even a little differently so you “really” know that you’re pregnant. And I definitely took more than one HPT after that initial one lol. Sounds like lovely Thanksgiving plans you have this year! 

@emmasemm - yeah, I’m quite lucky with how tall I am (5’11”) since I think having more trunk space allows baby to have a little more room to “stretch out” lol. A friend of mine who is really short just had a baby and she always looked so uncomfortable when pregnant; I felt so bad for her! Really sorry to hear that the nausea is back! And the heartburn - yuck! Hope you find some ways to get some relief. Good luck at your appointment tomorrow as well - hope all looks good! 

@k_mama91 - it’s crazy how close you are to the finish line!! I’m only at 25 weeks and already feel like the countdown is on, I can’t imagine when you’re actually almost there! Hope you enjoy a more laid back Thanksgiving and that things continue to progress smoothly. 

hanshotfirst77

• How far along/EDD? - 10+2/June 21
• How are you feeling this week? Mostly good. 
• Rants/Raves? Questions? Well my appt yesterday kinda took a turn. My last Progesterone and Estrogen doses were on Friday. Went in to test my levels. And in my way out stopped at the bathroom and my liner was full of blood. Ugh! I am so over the random bouts of bleeding this pregnancy. They squeezed me in for an ultrasound and baby was dancing away. Heartbeat was strong and measured perfectly. I pretty much bled all day and my RE couldn’t find any reason for it. Levels came back and estrogen was great but my progesterone took a nose dive so I started PIO back up this morning for another week. Oh how I've missed stabbing myself in the butt. lol
• Any upcoming appointments? first OB appt 12/3, recheck progesterone 12/4
• GTKY: here in the US it’s thanksgiving week, so for those here tell us your plans/traditions. For all you lucky ladies with paid leave and better maternal/fetal outcomes outside the US, any upcoming holiday plans? Were going to my family in NY. We live in CT so it’s  thankfully not a ton of travel. And despite yesterdays little scare I am still leaning towards announcing to them. But still a little nervous at the same time.

@laurad75 In the beginning I POAS more than I'd care to admit lol. 

@emmasemm Good luck with your appt today!

@k_mama91 Ahh you are so close!

@Tulips29 @sincethelastday Love the bumps! I can't wait to be far enough long to have one. I didn't take nearly enough pics with my DS so I really want to document this one as much as possible. 

bluguitarhannah

@hanshotfirst77 Sorry about the bleeding has to be scary.  Glad the us was good.

For those who are so close ... whoo hoo I hope the home stretch is easy.

Tulips29

@hanshotfirst77 oh man, so sorry about the bleeding. I can imagine how scary that is! I always find it bizarre when they don't have a cause for these things and we just have to accept anything and everything as being normal. I hope this was a one-time thing and doesn't happen again so you have some peace of mind and can announce the news to your family if you feel ready! 

cigaline

@Tulips29 Well done on getting so much done for YS’s room - impressive! Love your bump photos too - makes me realise I should have made more of an effort to do mine properly against a dark background - just been doing selfies in the bathroom mirror but the angle is a bit different each time so it’s hard enough to compare from week to week - not sure they’ll be that useful for another pregnancy! Glad you get to work from home soon - I’m sure that’ll make a huge difference. Wish it was easier for speech therapists to work from home!

@sincethelastday Glad to hear you’re getting to enjoy the ‘golden’ period at last! Makes such a difference to feel really good again from time to time, doesn’t it? You look very slender in your very discrete bump picture! When I get round to editing mine you’ll see that at 5’3 it’s a different kettle of fish (though it has grown a lot over the last few weeks)!

@laurad75 Good luck with the 5K, that sounds impressive! The beginning does go very slowly, but I found that after 12 weeks time seems to accelerate rapidly!

@emmasemm I’m with you on lungs and ribs etc being squished. Depending on baby’s position it can be sooo uncomfortable! But recently it hasn’t been too bad most of the time for me. Hope your appointment goes well.

@k_mama91 Thinking of you and hope the last few weeks as comfortable as is possible... enjoy being a guest for Thanksgiving this time round - you deserve it!

@hanshotfirst77 Sorry to hear about your scare but glad they were able to reassure you very quickly that all was OK.

• How far along/EDD?  29w1d / 10 Feb
• How are you feeling this week? Wow, third trimester! Can't believe I got here. Generally still feeling OK, fingers crossed this will last for a while :-) We had DH's friends over for lunch who we hadn't seen for a year so this weekend was a mad rush trying to finish certain things in the house and then cook for 8 people! It ended up being way more than could reasonably get done in the time and by the Sunday morning I was already pretty tired so I just did fairly light tidying and cleaning while DH did nearly all the cooking. He managed to pull the whole event off pretty impressively in the end! By the Sunday evening we were both totally shattered and I was really feeling the effects of being on my feet all day, but it was fun hosting everyone. 
• Rants? My skin has been playing up recently and had one night with itching so bad in my right breast that I couldn't get back to sleep. I also have a red rash around my waist and some odd red spots close to it, as well as a couple of bright red circles just under both my breasts (sorry if TMI). These look nothing like my eczema which I've had since birth, so I was convinced it was a fungal skin infection and have stopped moisturising in order to avoid spreading it. By miracle I managed to get a dermatologist appt for today (most are booked up at least 6 months in advance here) and she was quite nice and reassuring but told me it was all eczema, which I'm struggling to believe. You'd think eczema was a dermatologist's bread and butter so they ought to know but the two I've seen so far have come across as a little dismissive and not terribly interested in the detail. I dunno, maybe you have to have a malignant looking spot before they start getting excited...
• Raves? Don't want to jinx things but overall my back has been pretty good recently. Even sitting down I'm not getting nearly as much discomfort as I was 6 weeks or so ago. Questions? I was giving the Queen Rose maternity cushion recently - has anyone else got it? I have mixed feelings as although it feels very comfy when I'm in it, I think it has made my neck pain come back which had almost disappeared. So now I'm using it upside down with the 'head' at the end of the bed, just using the sides between my legs for support. 
• Any upcoming appointments? Seeing a midwife for the preparation classes next week which I'm looking forward to starting soon. 
• GTKY: For all you lucky ladies with paid leave and better maternal/fetal outcomes outside the US, any upcoming holiday plans? Going back to London for Christmas this year but that's not till the 21st which feels a way away. Our family has always resisted putting up decorations until the week before Christmas (distinguishing Advent from Christmas!) so I probably won't do much here as we'll be away for most of the Christmas period. 

k_mama91

@Tulips29 Ds1 was a 41 week induction and the doctor has said that could or could not set the tone for this time around but..

The home stretch is not being kind to me guys! What I thought was horrible heartburn last month has become apparent gallbladder attacks. I had my second one in a week this afternoon and after 4 hours of excruciating pain I went to the hospital. Baby looks great and I was given pain meds and told to follow up with my ob tmrw for a game plan. Hopefully I’ll have more info on whether or not the gallbladder needs to go and I’m hoping to be put on the induction schedule for Tuesday to hopefully avoid another attack while pregnant. 

PoeMasque

@k_mama91 yikes!! I hope they can get baby out before you need surgery on your gallbladder. Did they give you any bentyl? It helps calm the gallbladder down and reduce pain. I’ve seen quite a few women come through the ER with gallbladder issues and a coworker even had to have hers removed at 11 weeks! So sorry this is happening, I know it’s super painful

@hanshotfirst77 Im glad you were able to get a scan and know everything was ok and do med adjustments, but still super scary to keep having bleeding and progesterone dips. 

@cigaline isn’t pregnancy super fun?? Haha. No one warns you about the skin stuff. Can you try an anti fungal on your own to see if it helps? It would be strange for the belly rash to be candida (unless it’s under your belly), but under the breasts makes sense. I have a history of eczema too, but that actually gets better for me during pregnancy, instead I get patches of candida in my armpits. 

@emmasemm I feel you on all of those things! I feel like they all flare up for a week and then go away, I assume it’s a growth spurt and once my body stretches out to make more room it gets better. 

@sincethelastday so jealous of how tall you are! I’m barely 5’3” so this baby has nowhere to go, must be nice for your little one to have room to stretch

@Tulips29 yay for working at home! Especially with a commute like that. 

• How far along/EDD?  29+3, 2/8
• How are you feeling this week? tired. I can’t tell if I am getting a cold or if I’m entering that “just can’t” phase....
• Rants/Raves? Questions? Rant - on Friday I started spotting. Just a little brown and it had stopped by Sunday. Pretty sure it was just from the ultrasound on weds, but definitely scary. I also saw my OB on Monday and she seemed pretty negative about my placenta moving any further, despite MFM thinking it would. Considering it’s the OB who does the delivery, I’m just going to assume I’ll need a c-section and be super surprised if I don’t. 
• Any upcoming appointments? OB in 2 weeks
• GTKY: here in the US it’s thanksgiving week, so for those here tell us your plans/traditions. For all you lucky ladies with paid leave and better maternal/fetal outcomes outside the US, any upcoming holiday plans? my family has a tradition of not making holiday plans until the last minute. Haha! This year we were volunteered to host thanksgiving, but other than that I don’t even know when people will be showing up yet or what food they will bring. 

I’m also super bad at bump pics this time around, but it’s definitely fun to compare! This was two weeks ago, left is 2017 right is 2019

sincethelastday

@hanshotfirst77 - man, I would have been freaking out too seeing that blood! Really hope that was the last time and maybe your OB will have more ideas on what was causing that. 

@cigaline - ah, makes such a difference finally feeling better during pregnancy! It was such a long stretch of nausea/vomiting, that it still feels weird not having it anymore. However, the past couple of days heartburn has been creeping itself into my life, so hoping it doesn’t get too too bad. I love your bump photo! It’s always interesting to me how women can carry so differently based on height and shape and even then it can be so different between two women who have the exact same body type. Hope your skin issues get sorted out and the itchiness calms down. Also, so jealous about spending Christmas in London! I know it’s home to you, but Christmas in London sounds so magical to me (I would love to go back one day)! 

@k_mama91 - so sorry to hear about the rough time you’re having with this last stretch! ☹️ My friend who just had a baby four weeks ago just had her gallbladder removed - I wonder if there’s some connection to pregnancy? Tuesday is not that far away, so hope speeds up for you and you don’t receive any more unpleasant surprises! 

@PoeMasque - when will they make a definite decision on whether you’ll need a c-section or not? I imagine it would be easier to just know now, but it sounds like a good plan to just assume that you’ll be giving birth that way. And love your bump photos as well! We have quite the group of beautiful ladies in this thread! 😉

mbradfo2

@cigaline
Christmas in London does sound lovely! We plan on going back there at some point, but honestly preferred Paris as the major city we visit although DH prefers the northern provinces overall. I have a couple friends who moved to London for work and love it although with the Brexit thing, they're starting to get a little anxious over that. We're looking into buying a small place in Calvados for holidays, but we'll have to see how much we can manage after our home reno is finished. We were planning on going to either Avignon or Rome in the next year or so, but since I want to see Pompeii, Italy trips will probably have to wait until  the little one is old enough to tolerate sightseeing. So hopefully somewhere in the south of France! Or if we're in a good place with finances, maybe back to Calvados to do some house shopping XD 

@k_mama91 OMG you're so close! It must feel crazy!! I feel like it was just yesterday that you got your BFP XD but I think I say that about everyone (I still can't believe @emmasemm
 is almost 3rd tri!). Hopefully you'll get a good plan and a date of eviction! I feel like everything happens so fast when it's time for baby to actually arrive -- I remember going in for a scan and my BP being high so the attending was like, "You'll probably be delivering this baby this weekend if we can't get it down." And I felt, "Wait a second - this is actually going to happen?!!"  
 
@hanshotfirst77
Ugh, the unexplained bleeding is the worst. Hopefully it goes away. You probably just have an extra sensitive cervix -- are you taking baby aspirin? My RE had me on that and said that with all of the medicines and placental development was likely causing that area to be sensitive and bleed easier. We could never find a reason for my bleeding either. I was so anxious my whole pregnancy; I got one of those home dopplers so I could reassure myself after I graduated from the RE but my OB was great about letting me get extra scans when I was anxious. My girl would probably be a good research subject for someone studying the safety of ultrasound in pregnancy -- I had SOOOOOO many scans! (And she's perfect!)

cigaline

Happy Thanksgiving to all the American ladies! Hope you have a lovely day. 

@PoeMasque Those are really pretty bump photos! Did you do something special with the lighting (it looks professional!) or is that just luck? At any rate, your skin looks as if it’s absolutely glowing - I’m very envious

Re the skin issue, yes I was only referring to the under the breast spots when I mentioned the candida. The rest is more round my waist where the clothes rub and although it’s still different from my normal eczema, it’s much more of a diffuse rash. Maybe it’s crazy to suggest a dermatologist could fail to distinguish something that basic, but when I looked again in the evening I was still sceptical! Under the breasts the skin is completely smooth and not the least dry or scaly. Ah well - I’m being obedient for now and trying her corticosteroid as instructed to see if I’m proved wrong. Just before I got the appointment my OBGYN gave me a prescription for an anti fungal cream so I still have that as a final resort.

@sincethelastday Thanks for your nice comments! London for Christmas may sound glam, but in reality I always spend most of at my parents’ in the suburbs well away from the bright lights, so yes it doesn’t seem particularly exotic to me! They do live down the hill from Harrow School though (where Winston Churchill and many others went) and it’s always nice to walk up there at Christmas for a drink in one of the pubs, as the school and village look very picture-book when decorated for the festive season. 

@mbradfo2 Sounds as though you’ve got lots of exciting plans ahead! Those are all lovely places to go, though yes, to ‘do’ Pompeii properly you need plenty of time and ideally no children in tow!! I did it with my sister a few years ago in June and had a fantastic time. Of course the site is massive, so there’s a lot of walking involved if you want to do most of the highlights. We found that as expected, it was a mad scrum of tourists mostly in large groups in the morning, which obviously is a bit of a shame, but we stayed pretty much until closing time and were amazed by the last 2 hours or so of the evening to find ourselves nearly alone on the site! It was really magical walking around in the setting sun and feeling like we had the place almost to ourselves. I suppose we were lucky to be there outside of school holidays, not sure what it’s like in real peak season. If I had more time on another occasion I’d get a multi-day ticket and only go in the afternoons.

PoeMasque

@cigaline wow thank you! No special lighting, just blessed with olive skin tone and two parents who have aged really well. I also only shower once a week (otherwise my skin gets super dry!) and when I’m not pregnant and having crazy hormones, I skip using soap all together and just scrub really well with a rough shower mitt. I don’t know if any of that makes a difference, but it saves me a lot of time! Haha

i think it’s perfectly reasonable to question the dermatologist, studies have proven over and over again that women are often dismissed and not really listened to by medical professionals.