Weekly Appointments 01/11

mimser

When do you / did you have your appointment?  

How was your appointment? 

What did they do? 

Feel free to ask any questions - either leading up to your appointment about what to expect or after your appointment.

littlelibelula

I have my 2nd appointment tomorrow, bright and early. I´m going to see the other obgyn in the office and see what she says. I´m also hoping to get a timeline for getting the AS, which is usually between 18-22w. So 19w might mean I could go this week.

gusgus14

I have an OB check up tomorrow. Should just be a quick u/s on the portable to check their heartbeats and a BP check for me. Nobody has said anything about my glucose results so I'm assuming we'll go over those tomorrow as well if necessary (but from what I can tell, my numbers all look like they were within standard range). 

ETA: They finally messaged me through the portal and I officially passed! WOOOHOOOOOO! Glad that's over and I don't have to cut back my beloved carbs and sugar 

yellingbanana

@gusgus14 super exciting about the glucose test! 

asf0613

yay@ gusgus14! congrats on passing!
@littlelibelula hopefully you are able to go for AS this week.  saw on other checkin you need to see if DH is on board.  better to get it done ASAP i would think because no guarantee things will be better or different in 3 weeks

mrosek91

@gusgus14 congrats! that's such a relief

Appointment today was ok. Baby refused to cooperate, so we still don't know the gender, and I have to go back in 4 weeks to get better measurements of the face and heart. They said they are not at all concerned everything they see looks great, but they just have a few more boxes they have to check. Oh, also baby is measuring about a week behind. Again, not concerning, just might mean a smaller baby (which my nether regions will appreciate) or baby might not come early like I was hoping.

ec1212

@mrosek91 sorry they didn't get everything they need, and that today wasn't team blue/pink reveal day!! Due date estimation is such a crap shoot...maybe you'll still deliver "early" since it's your 4th rodeo. 

asf0613

@mrosek91 aw man was hoping you’d get your team today!  Well on the bright side you get an extra ultrasound!!! And seems like an overall good appointment

texas_t

@mrosek91 aw mannnn! I'm disappointed for you! I go back tomorrow for my rescan bc they didn't get pics of heart or brain bc he's so uncooperative. 

queen_frostine

Spoke to the NP at my endocrinologist today and feel tons better. I keep upping my insulin and my morning numbers are staying a little high. She said it's normal and keep upping it, but my mornings are okay because my post-meal numbers are good. My A1c and fructosamine look good. So, hoping to keep things managed for another ~17 weeks. 

ec1212

• Had regular check-in with OB today. Despite my anterior placenta, doc found the heartbeat first try, sounding nice & strong between 140-150bpm.
• Sadly they do want me to go back to mfm lab for an detailed scan to make sure little man is growing enough due to my fibroid. I was hoping to avoid additional dr. / office visits but it'll be nice to see him again.

I asked a lot of questions today, so just dumping all the info here in case it's helpful or you want to discuss same with your own docs.

• @mimser - had the doc look at the "skin tag vs mole" on my boob - she said it might be the beginning of a skin tag and to just keep an eye on it, but nothing to worry about
• RE: Covid vaccine - at this point I don't think I'll be eligible to get it before I deliver anyway based on our state's schedule, but the doc said that ACOG is recommending to wait until after delivery unless I work in a high-risk/exposure profession, so that is also my practice's stance
• My practice recommends that women over 40 deliver by their due date...she said it's my choice but they would strongly advice against me going to 41 weeks or later. That makes me grumpy since due dates are guesses at best. Since I'm aiming for an unmedicated birth, I reallllllly want to avoid induction
• I asked about protocol if my water breaks before I'm in labor. I'll be GBS tested @ 36wks, if negative then I can wait to go to hospital 6 hours if contractions haven’t started. There is a significant risk of infection by 24 hour mark. If GBS+, I'll have to go in right away if water breaks before labor.
• The hospital we'll deliver at has has wireless monitors that are waterproof for periodic monitoring - this is great cause it means I can labor in the shower in my room. Sadly my hospital doesn't have tubs (tho, tbh, depending on how COVID is by then I might not have wanted to use a tub anyway)

ec1212

I can't edit my post because TB sucks but also the doc didn't remark at all on my weight. I haven't gained much since my last visit so there wasn't really anything to comment on, but I feel like it'd be great for them to acknowledge that sometimes OB comms around weight management sucks and women gain weight all different ways and at all different rates.

littlelibelula

So I had my second appointment today and met with a different OB, the first female I've seen. And amazingly enough she was the first doctor I've asked who actually seemed to believe a VBAC could be possible for me, but she didn't recommend completing too much of the labour at home, in case something did happen, it would be better if there was being monitored. She also reaffirmed my choice of hospital verifying that I had a greater chance there, plus they are more specialized and right beside the children's hospital. 

She wants me to see the cardiologist because I haven't been for 5 years and she didn't think there was a problem with my weight. I've only gained 1lb and I'm almost half-way there and have never vomited. 

Also she want be to get a morphological anatomy scan which supposedly only an MFM doctor can do or so she says. 

I think I'd rather stick with her for now and see how it goes. 

mimser

@ec1212 In a FB group I'm in of local May mamas, there's a lot of posts about weight. And it had me go back to the 2nd trimester chapter of Expecting Better and took a picture of the summary of the weight section. See in spoiler.

mimser

@texas_t how did your ultrasound go?

ec1212

@mimser that chapter of that book (and just common sense, and understanding that first tri was just really tough on my body) are what annoyed me so much about that OB! I knew I was fine and that things would level off once I started eating normally (for me) and getting some movement again. The stress is so not worth it, and the stupid BMI scale was never intended to be used for actual medical measurement anyway. [/endrant]

mimser

@ec1212 some doctors are stuck on some measures and don't use judgement. My GP whom I love once told me my BMI being over 23 meant I was at higher risk for diabetes. At the time I weight lifted 4 times a week and genetically I've always had a big muscle mass. I got back to my physical trainer and we did a body composition test and confirmed that when I'm training at this rate (it was even more later on), BMI would eventually say I'm overweight when it's not the case. 

ckmb_1250

@ec1212 thanks for reporting back & I thought it’s interesting that your OB interpreted the ACOG statement that way. That is honestly how I read it also, but I’ve heard of a few OBs interpreting it differently & recommending everyone get it. 

Regarding due dates, any idea how accurate yours might be? Like do you know what day you ovulated? Knowing may give you some peace of mind that your date is pretty accurate.

@littlelibelula glad you got some promising news from this new Dr!

spartan4life

Glad all of your appointments seem to be going well this week!!

@mrosek91 same thing happened to me and we have to go back in a few weeks for more measurements. Darn stubborn May babies! But at least you get to see him/her again!!

RE Weight gain: with DS I was gaining right on track, then at 37 weeks I gained 7 pounds in one week! I didn't do anything different and I was retaining some water at that point (it was late September and really warm here still. My doctor didn't say anything at that point and didn't seem concerned but I cried. I ended up gaining about 40 pounds with him. 

@ec1212 that's basically what my OB told me too...she said the CDC and ACOG recommend it but that each person has to weigh their own risk vs benefit. However, a good friend of mine is an OB so I ended up asking her even though I try not to bother her with my pregnancy questions. She said her opinion is anyone working outside of the house is at higher risk even if I'm not seeing patients. I have over 400 direct reports over two hospitals so I do see quite a few people and have had several known exposures so she said she would consider that high risk. Her stance was, unless someone is working from home and limits their exposure to people, she recommends it...but she also did say everyone has to weigh their benefit vs risk. @ckmb_1250 I also find it interesting how each of them interpret things slightly different! 

mkc3888

@ec1212 my last pregnancy I lost weight until the end of second tri. My ob said it was fine as long as baby was growing and she was. She was born at a normal weight for being early. This pregnancy at my first mfm appointment he told me he didn’t want me gaining more than 5-10lbs. I’m a plus size momma though, so I’m not surprised. No one has commented on my weight since. At my last appointment I asked how much I gained since the beginning since I recently feel like I’m eating/hungry more, and I’ve lost 10lbs. I’m not too worried though because he’s measuring correctly on as and the same thing happened last time. I expect I’ll gain more later. 

ec1212

littlelibelula - that's such good news!! 

ckmb_1250 - due date is pretty accurate, I think based on my ovulation date I'm actually a couple days earlier even. I'm just a bit nervous that I'll go late since I'm a FTM but not gonna stress too much about it now.

mkc3888 spartan4life mimser thanks for all the additional shares on weight during pregnancy. Met with my nutritionist today and now she says I can start getting some more calories lol. Will share on that below. 

RE: Covid vaccine, I guess I expected my practice to be conservative, but I hope they'd support me in wanting to get it if it opens up to "regular" folks before I deliver because we are at a higher risk just being pregnant.

ec1212

Had follow-up #1 with nutritionist today. Some nuggets:

• For background, I was referred to the nutritionist when the last OB I met with freaked out about my 1st tri weight gain (I gained ~18 lbs). This OB asked me nothing about my lifestyle or why I thought I gained that weight, or how my diet/exercise habits had changed as I started my second tri. I wasn't worried about it since I was eating nothing but carbs and basically immobile for 3 months, and felt better immediately in second tri.
• Since then (about 6 weeks ago) I've gained less than 2 lbs. I don't share to compare to anyone else's journey, just to give context to below. Last time the nutritionist and I met, she said my new daily calories in second tri looked good, she just wanted me to add some calcium
• For this meeting, she said I can add 100-150 calories/day since regular walks (30-45 min.) are really wearing me out. She advised having a carb/protein snack right before or after a walk to see if that helps. I feel good after any other kind of exercise, but walks make me useless afterwards so she thinks I just need more energy.
• Calcium looks good now, but she wants me to get more protein. I was aiming for 60-70g/day (and even that was challenging given hubby doesn't eat meat) but she wants me to up it now to 80g / day based on my height. She said that will be as easy as having one snack or serving of nuts/yogurt/cheese or a hard boiled egg OR just doubling my protein at lunch or dinner.
• I'll email her when I get my 1-hour GD results, and if I come back positive she and I will meet right away to make a game plan, otherwise we'll have a follow up closer to my due date to talk postpartum nutritional needs.

texas_t

@ec1212 That's great info! Thank you for sharing!

mimser

@ec1212 thanks! Out of curiosity, how tall are you? I'm currently aiming for 60-70g of proteins a day and it definitely is a challenge.

ec1212

@mimser I am 5'6" or about 1.68M according to Google converting me into metric

mimser

Oh ok! Same here! Well 1.67M haha I guess I'll try to up my proteins too then! I'll have to double a portion because I already eat nuts, cheese,yogurt and eggs everyday

ec1212

@mimser I was eating eggs most days for breakfast but have been having oatmeal with yogurt more recently for the fiber and to get more calcium. There’s always something to tweak haha!! But I feel like if I’m getting most of what I need most days, I’ll be fine.