Weekly Check-In 9/14

szwill86

How far along are you? (Weeks + Days):

FTM/STM/STM+:

Interesting Baby Fact/Baby is the size of:

Upcoming appointments:

How are you feeling?:

Rants/Raves:

Questions:

GTKY: If you could hire someone to help you free of charge, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or childcare?

mdfarmchick

How far along are you? (Weeks + Days):
20 weeks / DD 1 February 

FTM/STM/STM+:
STM+

Interesting Baby Fact/Baby is the size of:

Baby size is a Boarding Pass

Upcoming appointments:
21 October

How are you feeling?:

Pretty good other than the heartburn and occasion out of nowhere gagging and throwing up 😑

Rants/Raves:

Questions:

GTKY: If you could hire someone to help you free of charge, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or childcare?
Cleaning. Hands down. Cleaning. 🤣

moguippy

How far along are you? (Weeks + Days): 19+2

FTM/STM/STM+: STM

Interesting Baby Fact/Baby is the size of: hotdog/dollar bill/hedgehog/gameboy

Upcoming appointments: Wednesday for anatomy scan!

How are you feeling?: meh. Tired, a lot of heartburn, trouble sleeping, dizziness. Both excited and nervous for AS. 

Rants/Raves: rant: the transmission on my car is having problems and I have to take it today to get looked at. Not excited to find out what the cost is going to be. 

Questions:

GTKY: If you could hire someone to help you free of charge, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or childcare?  My first thought is cleaning without a doubt. But my second thought is: childcare is so expensive in my part of the country, I would take the free childcare, use half of what I’m saving for a house cleaner and pocket the rest of the money 😂. 

babyturtle22

How far along are you? (Weeks + Days): 18+3

FTM/STM/STM+: FTM

Interesting Baby Fact/Baby is the size of: artichoke

Upcoming appointments: TBD

How are you feeling?: Pretty good, minimal symptoms but having trouble sleeping at night trying to stay on my side... I usually sleep on my stomach or back so I toss and turn a lot trying to get comfortable. 

Rants/Raves: Rant

We moved across the country in the last couple weeks and where we were supposed to move to was being evacuated for fires and still is under evacuation warning with active fires and hazardous air quality. My fiance and I are staying with my parents right now 8hrs away from there and now he might not even have a job to go to and we are considering moving somewhere else because we couldn't even find a place to live in the new city (which will be even harder due to fires). So I am feeling unsettled being up in the air but I also am feeling so bad for all the people losing their homes in the fires and am trying to just be thankful we got out while we could. 

Questions:  Based on my current situation, I was supposed to change prenatal care to a new provider in our new city and get my anatomy scan done (which I am so eager to do, we didn't do any early genetic screenings) but now we aren't sure how long we'll be staying with my parents or if we'll end up in a different city. I'm thinking of finding a local provider by my parents and temporarily transferring care in order to keep on track with appointments and get the anatomy scan done. This also sounds like a pain and wondering if I should just wait until we are settled somewhere and only transfer care once. Any thoughts or suggestions or what you guys would do if you were in my shoes? 

GTKY: If you could hire someone to help you free of charge, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or childcare?
 I think cooking! I wish I liked it more but it's so time consuming to plan and cook every meal 

hannahbananas11

How far along are you? (Weeks + Days): 17+4

FTM/STM/STM+: STM

Interesting Baby Fact/Baby is the size of: grapefruit maybe?

Upcoming appointments: next Friday for AS

How are you feeling?: lots of energy and overall good!

GTKY: If you could hire someone to help you free of charge, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or childcare? Cleaning for sure

hannahbananas11

@babyturtle22 that’s a lot of logistics! I would definitely get the anatomy scan done at the very least. That’s the best and usually only shot of knowing if there are any heart abnormalities or any other issues with any organs or the spine that would require specialized postpartum care. 

ETA: call your old office and see what they recommend. You can also call up your insurance to see what clinics near you are in-network.

szwill86

How far along are you? (Weeks + Days): 19+0 

FTM/STM/STM+: STM

Interesting Baby Fact/Baby is the size of: hand print is the size of a postage stamp, the Bump is telling me baby is the size of a mango

Upcoming appointments: none- had my anatomy scan on Friday and everything was great! I posted my AW ultrasound in the thread. Can't wait to see everyone else's soon!

How are you feeling?: I've been feeling more aches in my uterus lately, I'm assuming due to growth/stretching to fit this ever growing child. But coupled with that is more mild nausea that I thought was gone after my first trimester ended.

Rants/Raves: Rave: the MFM place I went for my AS was great! The tech was so kind and supportive and friendly. It was nice to experience that given our current COVID doctor restriction appointments that I am used to.

Questions: for the STM+ ladies with a child already in daycare- when are you planning on telling your current daycare about your new little one? I remember looking when I was 5 months pregnant and there were only a few spots left at most places; I would assume it might even be tighter due to everyone looking for COVID childcare. I know my director would always have a spot for me, but I wanted to make sure I'm not downplaying the amount of time I have. Baby would be starting at the end of May 2021.

GTKY: If you could hire someone to help you free of charge, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or childcare? like @moguippy, I would definitely choose childcare just due to the cost, especially thinking about having two in there full time next fall!  

jumpy57

20+1 baby weighs the same as an ear of corn
Stm+

AS tomorrow and I'm so excited and so nervous I just want to have it done so I can stop thinking about it.

Feeling pretty good! I've finally trained myself to stay hydrated I think. Stairs still make me winded but 🤷🏻‍♀️

Raves: today is DD2's  second birthday!!! I hope she's having a good day at daycare

GTKY: this one is hard because I want to say cleaning, but what I really struggle with is tidying which usually isn't a hired task. I think I'll choose cooking!!!! DH does most of the cooking but is always asking me what to make and I hate meal planning

hannahbananas11

@jumpy57 Happy birthday to your daughter!

I also don't need help with cleaning exactly. I just need someone to fold the laundry. LOL

kkfishy9

How far along are you? (Weeks + Days): 18+4

FTM/STM/STM+: FTM

Interesting Baby Fact/Baby is the size of: a can of pop!

Upcoming appointments: Not until the end of September for my AS

How are you feeling?: Generally fine. I too am having trouble sleeping, so that makes for some sleepy days. 

Rants/Raves: We went to visit by H's cousin yesterday. She gave us SO much baby stuff, which was so awesome. 

Questions:

GTKY: If you could hire someone to help you free of charge, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or childcare? Well, I'm waiting on my first child to arrive, but I'd have to go with childcare come February just given the expense! In my current life, cleaning, for sure. 

birdiejo

How far along are you? (Weeks + Days): 18 weeks 

FTM/STM/STM+: STM+

Interesting Baby Fact/Baby is the size of: a croissant! I love croissants. 

Upcoming appointments: sep 28 anatomy
scan 

How are you feeling?: pretty good just struggling to get comfy at night 

Rants/Raves: I work sporadically from home right now and we have two jobs at the same time this week and I’ve been sitting at my desk all day every day for the past week or so working including this weekend ... I’m looking forward to Thursday evening when it’s all over! 

Questions:

GTKY: If you could hire someone to help you free of charge, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or childcare? This is a well timed question. I need some childcare right now but if I really think about it I’d do cleaning so I didn’t have to think about it. Both my kids will be in elementary next year (depending on Covid) and I’m home anyway so I’ll keep this one with me. 

WildMagelet

How far along are you? (Weeks + Days): 19+2

FTM/STM/STM+: FTM

Interesting Baby Fact/Baby is the size of: A pint of ice cream

Upcoming appointments: 9/22 Anatomy scan with MFM; 9/23 general OB follow-up

How are you feeling?: Overall, good! Still having breast soreness/tenderness. It seems to be partially dependent on the weather at this point.

Rants/Raves: Raves to my hubs for indulging my out-of-town, cash-only, mom-and-pop Italian pizza cravings this weekend. Tasted amazing (unfortunately my stomach disagreed with it several hours later!)

Questions: Have any of you considered what the holidays are going to look like for your family this year? DH had a potential COVID exposure at work last week (luckily it was nothing) but it prompted us discussing COVID-19 in relationship to holiday shopping (read: crowds) and multiple gatherings with people from other cities, states (and sometimes countries). We haven't talked about it too much yet, but it got me thinking and ultimately telling DH that "If I get COVID because of Christmas and can't hold our baby when it's born I'm going to be pissed." We normally have 4+ get-togethers and I'm just not sure it's feasible this year.

GTKY: If you could hire someone to help you free of charge, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or childcare? Cooking, but only if that also includes grocery shopping & meal prep. Otherwise cleaning.

birdiejo

@WildMagelet we always go to my family for thanksgiving and his for Christmas but we are going to stay home for both. Mine involves a flight which we won’t do and his involves like 60 family members. It’s just too much and I don’t want to take the risk. I’m secretly looking forward to making thanksgiving and doing Christmas at home for like the first time ever. 

hannahbananas11

@WildMagelet we’re cutting out all indoor gatherings except with our very strict quarantine bubble until the baby’s here, and then maybe even longer depending on the state of things. There are still way too many unknowns about how severely covid can affect pregnant women and the placenta/blood flow to the baby to make the risk worth it. It sucks, but it’s a temporary precaution with potentially long-term payoff.

earlgrey_honey

How far along are you? (Weeks + Days): 16 weeks 2 days

FTM/STM/STM+: FTM

Interesting Baby Fact/Baby is the size of: Grenade size!

Upcoming appointments:  Not for a few weeks 

How are you feeling?: Ok.

Rants/Raves:
Apparently my tingly fingers maybe carpal tunnel.
I can sometimes feel a rubbing in my belly. It doesn't feel like any of descriptions for baby movement so pretty sure it might be an alien.🤔

Questions:

GTKY: If you could hire someone to help you free of charge, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or childcare? This one is tough. Probably cooking. A free cook would be nice.

manditchka24

@babyturtle22 that sounds very stressful! I’m so sorry you’re going through that! I would be way too impatient to wait and see if you end up moving, and would probably opt to try to get the anatomy scan done where you are now. Also that way you’re established somewhere that you could just stay with if you don’t end up moving. Good luck with whatever you choose!

How far along are you? (Weeks + Days): 17+5

FTM/STM/STM+: Ftm

Interesting Baby Fact/Baby is the size of: chipmunk! 🐿 

Upcoming appointments: None until October, but lots of virtual doula interviews this and next week!

How are you feeling?: Finally starting to feel a little better and more like myself! Back to working out daily and it is so helpful for my mental wellbeing as well!

Rants/Raves: my dog ran through our screen door today ☹️, but my husband managed to fix it 😊.

Questions:

GTKY: If you could hire someone to help you free of charge, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or childcare? 100% cooking!! Hoping that includes grocery shopping which is the worst part of my life, lol.

mdfarmchick

@babyturtle22 sorry for all the uncertainty! I think you should do the anatomy scan now because it’s a narrow window and can’t be done after 23/24 weeks depending on the doctor’s office. 

@jumpy57 Happy Birthday to your daughter!

@WildMagelet we are visiting family now while MH has a work trip on the correct side of the country. We take most of the same precautions we would be taking at home. Thanksgiving and Christmas will be just our little bubble and maybe some close friends. There’s a possibility of visiting friends for Thanksgiving but they take the same precautions we do so it doesn’t change much other than the drive. Honestly we stopped traveling for the holidays after DS1’s first year because there was so much family drama and traveling at the holidays is my least favorite time to go—everyone is in a rush and worried about missing their family time that it just seems extra stressful. As for when baby is born, my mom is going to plan to come in so we have childcare for the first two and I’m sure MH’s parents will want to come which will be a whole different bag of worms because they don’t take any of the shots required by my pediatrician ((TDAP, Flu)) let alone follow anything I’d ask during these times. 😣

travandas

How far along are you? (Weeks + Days): 16+1 (mo/di twins)

FTM/STM/STM+: Fourth

Interesting Baby Fact/Baby is the size of: Babies are the size of chipmucks (not including the tails) lol

Upcoming appointments: MFM tomorrow hoping to find out the gender!

How are you feeling?: The same, sick, migraines, insomnia...

Rants/Raves: I get to see my babies on an ultrasound tomorrow!  Really sad that my husband and kids cannot join me. 

Questions: Any ideas on how I can surprise my kids with the gender?

GTKY: If you could hire someone to help you free of charge, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or childcare? Definitely cleaning!  I love to cook and I homeschool my kids so they are always with me.

babymamadimo

How far along are you? (Weeks + Days): 20

FTM/STM/STM+: stm

Interesting Baby Fact/Baby is the size of:

Banana!

Upcoming appointments: had my anatomy scan yesterday and next checkup is the 30th

How are you feeling?: overall pretty good but exhausted still 

Rants/Raves: We found out we are having another boy! I’m so excited because our boys will be 2.5 years apart! I think everything went well but I don’t have my ob visit until the 30th so I’m supposed to get a call if anything is wrong. 

Questions:

GTKY: If you could hire someone to help you free of charge, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or childcare? Easily childcare. That would save me SO much money!!

PinkKathryn12

How far along are you? (Weeks + Days): 20+2

FTM/STM/STM+: STM

Interesting Baby Fact/Baby is the size of: 🤷🏻‍♀️

Upcoming appointments: 4 weeks for a follow up ultrasound since baby was uncooperative 

How are you feeling?: Good but worn out and busy this week but i think that’s just life

Rants/Raves: nothing really 

Questions: 

GTKY: If you could hire someone to help you free of charge, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or childcare? Cleaning!!! Hubby cooks and childcare is free for me cuz i work there but i hate the like mundane deep cleaning stuff 


@szwill86 i would let them know ASAP if you need a spot
in my area all centers have tons of wait lists! My daycare is full through next spring/early summer 

andylandy511

How far along are you? (Weeks + Days): 19.5

FTM/STM/STM+: STM

Interesting Baby Fact/Baby is the size of: A four toed hedgehog 🦔 

Upcoming appointments: Just had one, so not until 24 weeks

How are you feeling?: I’m okay! Been having BH contractions, which I also had early on with my 2st child. Midwives never seemed concerned about it with her, but the OB I see now (we moved cross country), was very concerned and wants me on pelvic rest until baby is viable. Kind of feeling like this is a little extreme. 

Rants/Raves: Toured a birthing center this week and loved it! My only concern is that I would get transferred to the hospital for some reason and end up with double the costs. Having babies is such a financial spiderweb, it’s frustrating. 

Questions:

GTKY: If you could hire someone to help you free of charge, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or childcare? Dear God, cleaning. Hands down. 

tamalahoops

How far along are you? (Weeks + Days): 19+6

FTM/STM/STM+: FTM

Interesting Baby Fact/Baby is the size of: Mango! 

Upcoming appointments: Anatomy scan tomorrow! So excited! 

How are you feeling?: I've been feeling like crap this week. 

Rants/Raves: I'm still really frustrated that my husband can't come to our anatomy scan. I'm sad that he can't see the ultrasound but even more upset at the thought of getting bad news without him there.

Questions: None this week! 

GTKY: If you could hire someone to help you free of charge, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or childcare? I'm thinking cleaning. Specifically laundry. 

hannahbananas11

@tamalahoops can you FaceTime him while you're getting the scan? I'm hoping to get permission from my OB to have my H (and DS who H will be watching at the time) go with me, but if he can't, that's what I plan to do. I'm so excited for you! The AS is so neat because you get to see so much. Hopefully you get a good tech that tells you a lot about what you're seeing on the screen. Remind me: do you plan to find out the sex of the baby?

tamalahoops

@hannahbananas11 I'm able to facetime him but because I have no service and their wifi is kinda sucky he can't see anything. But it is really nice for him to be "present" at least virtually. He also insists on coming with me and sitting in the parking lot which is comforting to know he's just outside. 

We did the NIPT so we already know its a girl! So far my office has been awesome during all of my visits so I'm hopeful to get a good look at everything! 

moguippy

@hannahbananas11 @tamalahoops my MFM has a no video policy so you can’t FaceTime or take a picture or video, plus you can’t have anyone come with you. It’s rough. My H did sit outside the office during one of my early scans that I expected not so great news at, and we got lunch to celebrate to the good scan after. 

hannahbananas11

@moguippy oh man, that's rough. The AS was the first time my H felt like it was "real" with DS. This pregnancy he's in the same boat (knows it's real as an objective thing, but doesn't feel emotionally attached yet) so I'm really hoping he can be there. It would suck for the partner to not be able to be there or at least see the baby moving around via a video. My ob's clinic is super small (she's actually the one who does the US, not a tech, since her office is just her, a nurse, and the receptionist). So she luckily is able to make exceptions for things like the anatomy scan. My OB for DS was part of a big hospital system, so they probably have a lot more strict rules like yours does.

manditchka24

@andylandy511 I have the same concern about our planned home birth. We are paying for it entirely out of pocket and if I end up transferring we will also end up with a hospital bill. At the end of the day I decided that I am only planning on doing this once and it was worth it to me to be with a provider in a location where I was comfortable. Financially it will be tough if we get that second bill, but I am thankful that we are in a position where we will be able to manage.

@moguippy that is terrible that they don’t allow FaceTime or visitors! My anatomy scan is in two weeks at the hospital where I work. Today we got an internal email saying that an updated visitor policy will be released next week. I am crossing my fingers that it will allow my husband to come to the anatomy scan and maybe even my midwife or doula to the hospital in the event of a transfer in February! Hopefully facilities will be able to begin easing some restrictions over the course of the rest of our pregnancies!

moguippy

@manditchka24 I’m lucky that in my state the governor has said that you must be allowed a support person while giving birth so my H will at least be able to be at the hospital. I would be super bummed if this was our first kid, but my H was able to go to most of the ultrasounds for DS so that’s good at least. I’m assuming we won’t be allowed any visitors so DS probably won’t be meeting his brother for 2-3 days and I’ll have to host our parents and siblings as soon as we get home from the hospital which is not ideal. But it is what it is. As for insurance, we will hit the out of pocket max and then everything else should be covered. I just have to make sure everything is in network. 

PinkKathryn12

@moguippy I am dreading the initial like you coulnd't come to the hospital so now you want to come to my house after this baby. last time, my inlaws visited in the hospital then came back like a week later and that was nice. I'm hoping they are in no rush to come this time. with my son also not being able to come meet the baby, I want to setle in as a little family before i have too much crazy! I'm also hoping policies are slightly changed by then, but doubtful especially cuz jan/feb is still flu season as well (meaning visitors under 16 were never allowed anyway) 

moguippy

@PinkKathryn12 I think we have the same flu policy except it’s under 18. I’m sure everyone in our families is going to want to come the first day we get home. But there are 5 different families we will have to host so they’re going to have to take turns lol. I’m going to have to be more firm about our nieces and nephews holding the baby though (all 7yrs old or younger). I wasn’t a big fan of that with DS. my SIL didn’t even ask us when she visited the hospital she just looked right at her daughter and said “(2yr old niece), want to hold the baby?”.  Like I would have said to a baby’s mom “is it ok if my toddler holds your day old baby?”  

PinkKathryn12

@moguippy UGH how frustrating. I was fine last time with our nieces and nephews holding my son but this time I really don't want all the germies. Idk how we will handle visiting. My mom and H's parent's will definitly come/hold him IF THEY ARE HEALTHY and of course wash their hands. I haven't decided about family more extended than that. My SIL takes our pics for us, so I'm sure I will have her up for newborn pics, but she has 3 kids. they are older (8, 8 and 11) so I think I can make sure they are washing their hands etc. but everyone else is little and always in your face so idk how to go about like "they can visit but you can't" I am just gonna address it as we get closer and see how things are at that time. A general, no kids holding the baby might be the easiest solution or a general no visitors except grandparents . WHO KNOWS. lol 

moguippy

@PinkKathryn12 I didn’t really mind my niece holding DS, I was more annoyed that my SIL didn’t check with me or H first. I think we might hold off on our siblings coming (that cuts out 3 families) and try to do a no kids holding the baby rule but I know that’s not going to go over well. I agree with seeing how it is in 4 months bc so much can change between now and then. I’m more worried about the fact that my MIL probably won’t get the flu shot and I think my other SIL is gonna be an antivaxxer. I’m going to put it out there now that if anyone wants to hold the baby they need to get the flu shot and make sure they are UTD on their TDAP. We’ll see how that goes. My side of the family is fine but Hs side is gonna push back. 

hannahbananas11

@moguippy That’s the way we handled it. We told parents and our siblings that if they or their kids wanted to hold DS, they’d have to have flu shot and TDAP. Luckily we don’t have any antivaxxers in our families, so the only minor pushback we had was that it was an inconvenience, which basically we replied with idgaf.
This time it’ll be a lot different for us. Family all lives in the lower 48 and won’t be visiting at least until summer, but we have an “Alaska mom” here at our church who is willing to help out in any way we need when the baby arrives. She’ll probably be the one to stay with DS while H is with me at the hospital. She is so awesome. When she offered to help, she said “I’ve already gotten my flu shot, so just tell me what else I need to do in terms of social distancing beforehand or getting tested and I’ll do it because I’d be blessed to help.” I’m so grateful for her. She’ll most likely be the only person in our bubble in those early days, unless the pandemic changes significantly by then.

WildMagelet

I hadn't even considered the inevitable in-home visit yet. Yikes. Something else to discuss, I suppose.

babymamadimo

@moguippy I almost had a panic attack when my 5 year old (terrible listener) nephew was on a couch by himself holding my newborn son for a photo. Nobody asked me and it was so hard to bite my tongue. He’s the type of kid that’s done with a toy and just drops it and walks away and I could just see that happening to my new baby while everyone was busy holding their iPhones snapping photos. 

@hannahbananas11 your Alaskan mom sounds amazing! It is so good to have a support system.

our closest family is over an hour away and it will likely be snowy and icy when I deliver so I have a friend setup to come right over when we need to leave until my mom can get to our house to watch our son.

moguippy

@babymamadimo that happened with said niece a few weeks/months? later. She was holding DS, my SIL wasn’t paying close attention and she just tried to get up off the couch. Luckily my SIL caught my son before he rolled off her lap/couch. I’m not a big fan of kids holding kids. I usually don’t even let my DS touch other kids but he’s rough lol. I’m also super vigilant about my son bc I know he can be a handful and I would never want him to cause harm to someone else. Other parents aren’t always like that. 

@hannahbananas11 that woman sounds legitimately delightful and I’m jealous. I’m mostly worried about my SIL’s baby who will be 8-9mo when this kiddo is born. She most likely won’t be in daycare or anything but I don’t think she has gotten vaccines, and I doubt any of them will get the flu shot. I think I’m gonna hold firm. If any time is a good time to hold firm it’s during a freaking pandemic. 

babymamadimo

@moguippy you have every right as the mom to decide who can hold your baby. This is my first winter baby so I’m going to be a lot more strict this time. Tdap and flu shot are a must and don’t you dare kiss my baby!! My mil kissed my son as a newborn so much and I cringed every time. This time I’m putting my foot down!

hannahbananas11

@moguippy Yes, I think you're 100% reasonable to be firm on this. The last thing you want is having anyone in your family deal with the flu when those symptoms have so much overlap with covid. It would be a clusterfuck. I'm sorry that you have to deal with that, though. I wish people would just respect boundaries without being pushy and rude.

birdiejo

We don’t live near any family. We are going to be screwed if my MIL doesn’t time her trip here right for the birth 😂. For second kid she lived two hours closer and just happened to be at our house at the right moment. I went into labor at 12 am we would have had to have brought my daughter to L&D 🤪. 

But for visitors it’ll probably just be my mom
and his dad at some point. My mom will have to fly so I don’t really know what to do.... she’d be super careful because she’s extremely worried about Covid but she works in an office with her boss who doesn’t wear a mask and socializes etc... our siblings won’t come til later because they all live a flight away. 

angelofmusick

How far along are you? (Weeks + Days):
20 w 1 d

FTM/STM/STM+:

STM

Interesting Baby Fact/Baby is the size of:
Banana

Upcoming appointments:
Wed 9-23 Anatomy Scan!

How are you feeling?:
anxious to find out if baby#2 is a boy or girl (we have a 15 month old boy)
Recent symptoms include headaches, heartburn, stuffy nose and motion sickness.

Questions:
when will the second trimester energy kick in?!

GTKY: If you could hire someone to help you free of charge, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or childcare?
definitely cleaning. My DH cooks, and we are lucky to have both sets of grandparents close by for child care.