Weekly Check In w/o 1/31

pinkkillersheep

Y’all it is almost February!

Est Due Date / Weeks + Days: 

FTM/STM/TTM+:

Upcoming Appointments or Results:

How are you feeling?:

Rants/Raves: 

Questions:

marionberry19

Est Due Date / Weeks + Days: 20 w 1d 

FTM/STM/TTM+: STM

Upcoming Appointments or Results: anatomy scan today in a few hours and 20 week appt tomorrow. 

How are you feeling?: hard to explain, I guess I just feel run down. 

Rants/Raves: baby stuff is so expensive and I guess I forgot about it in the last 5 years lol. 

Questions: nope! 

pinkkillersheep

@marionberry19 Hope all goes well for you at the anatomy scan today. Sorry it sounds like you’re having a rough time; I’ll be thinking of you. 

Est Due Date / Weeks + Days: June 25th, 19w2d

FTM/STM/TTM+: FTM

Upcoming Appointments or Results: Nothing planned for awhile 

How are you feeling?: I’ve got quite a bit of abdominal soreness/pain going on. Otherwise ok.

Rants/Raves: Rant - Somehow I can deadlift 100 lbs but hand washing sweaters and wringing them out is too much. I ended up with intense abdominal pain yesterday to the point of laying in bed in tears. It subsided pretty quickly but I’m still sore today. I’m incredibly bummed. I’m going to have to cancel my workout to avoid potentially making whatever happened worse. No bleeding or anything so I think it’s just overtaxing my body.
Rave - Baby movements have become a little more regular, so that’s been nice. We leave for vacation on Friday. Looking forward to fully taking a break. Hopefully whatever is causing this pain will calm down with all that rest.

Questions: Any one else panicking a little about backordered nursery furniture? Theoretically it’s supposed to be here in April (ordered it back around Thanksgiving) but man does that feel like it’s cutting it close. 

Tulips29

Est Due Date / Weeks + Days: 19w5d, 6/23

FTM/STM/TTM+: TTM

Upcoming Appointments or Results: MFM appointment on Wednesday. Hoping they can do the full anatomy then as well. 

How are you feeling?: Depends on the day. Mainly just anxious telling at work hopefully this/next week. 

Rants/Raves: Rave - I finally got a bunch of maternity clothing that fit and leggings that are not see-through. Now I just have to finally do all my returns of things that didn't work well. 
Rant - I am still not feeling much movement due to anterior placenta. I feel things here and there but not as much as I expected at this point, it's still very light and sporadic. 

Questions: Anyone else have itchy skin around the abdomen? My skin has been so itchy lately around the waist area from front to back and it's driving me crazy. 

@marionberry19 hope your scan goes well today! 

@pinkkillersheep we're planning to re-use the same nursery furniture that we have now. It's 5 years old, but still functional so not planning to order new stuff until baby outgrows it. But I've been hearing of furniture being on backorder for months. Crazy that Thanksgiving orders won't arrive until April! Maybe some miracle will happen and stuff will ship earlier! And hoping your pain subsides and you feel better! 

KFrob

Est Due Date / Weeks + Days: June 17th, 20w 3d

FTM/STM/TTM+: 4th

Upcoming Appointments or Results:  Boring appointment Thursday

How are you feeling?:  Great most of the time!  I'm in full nesting mode and driving myself crazy a little bit though being a spaz.   

Rants/Raves: I'm tired of feeling like I need to wait on DH to get things done.  I told him I'm going to go out and buy myself a drill and take control of the situation (I'd use his but I never know where he puts it, its always a different spot, and the bits and charger are never with it either.)  I'm jonesing to get baby stuff out and washed but know it's waaaay too soon.  We don't even have a spot for it all yet since we need to figure out who's in what room and buy another dresser.  Part of my being crazy is DH starts his seasonal side gig job(s) tonight.  He coaches a state university lacrosse team and has practice Sun, Mon, Wed, and then games will start soon also.  That goes until May.  He coaches high school starting in April and that will go until June. So with him MIA and me doing a bunch of solo parenting I'm panicking to get stuff done before I'm too big and uncomfortable.   

Questions: Nope

@pinkkillersheep I believe that you can dead lift all that weight but can't wash clothes!  It's something about the standing at the sink.  It's awful.  Sounds like you may be having RLP.  Is it like a super sharp almost crampy feeling?  

fluteling

Est Due Date / Weeks + Days: 20 + 1

FTM/STM/TTM+: STM

Upcoming Appointments or Results: regular OB appointment with not-my-regular-OB in two weeks

How are you feeling?: exhausted. Tired of being sick. I showered once this week because I don’t want to stand that long. 

Rants/Raves: I guess this goes under rave, my OB is taking me seriously and getting me scheduled with a pulmonologist. Here’s to hoping they believe me. 

Questions: anyone else not encouraged by the “your baby’s foot is as big as a gummy bear” or “as long as a piece of bacon” stuff from the app? I don’t read them because then all I can think about is how entirely too small that is and it makes me nervous. 

ournextadventure

Est Due Date / Weeks + Days:  22w5d

FTM/STM/TTM+: STM

Upcoming Appointments or Results: glucose test in a few weeks

How are you feeling?: pretty okay. Having RLP which makes me not want to do anything but lay in bed

Rants/Raves: I have a cold. Husband had covid so I tested twice and both came back negative but I'm not convinced. Probably will give it a couple days and test again. I have had congestion this whole pregnancy but it is at a whole new level this week

Questions:

@marionberry19 I feel like prices have for sure gone up since 4 years ago when I did this last. 
@tulips29 I had this bad with my first and a little this time around. I thought it was stretch marks coming on but I never got them but I still think its from skin stretching lotions helped a lot.
@kfrob I would feel the same way. I already feeling like i'm going into nesting mode early this time. I've been cleaning non stop and am dying to get the nursery done but I'm waiting for my husband to have a free weekend. I if I knew he was having a crazy schedule until may my anxiety would be so high.
@fluteling i'm not crazy about the size comparison either until late pregnancy when I feel like if something bad happens then baby should be okay. 

KFrob

@fluteling I had the opposite reaction this weekend. The app told me baby was as big as a venti coffee and I was like “really!? In there? Already!?” Lol 

Tulips29

@ournextadventure I hope you remain negative! Does your pregnancy congestion feel like sinus pressure or is it just in the nose area? I had congestion with my second but I don't remember much what it felt like and what I did to relieve it. I've had congestion for over 2 weeks now (multiple negative covid tests and all) but it started out like sinus pressure so I ruled that one as a cold. The last few days I'm mainly ok during the day but congestion builds up at night and it gets hard to sleep unless I have a humidifier blowing in my face all night. It's still annoying. Have you found anything to make it better? 

@fluteling here's to hoping! But they better take you seriously so you can find some relief finally. 

marionberry19

@pinkkillersheep our crib was purchased in November and it’s still not here… so I’ve been really stressed about everything baby related and the supply chain issues. 

romeoandjuliet146

@Tulips29 My nose has been getting stuffy at night.

@pinkkillersheep I wish I was strong enough to lift that much weight. That's impressive. I didn't think about stuff being backordered. I still need to get a bassinet. 

@marionberry19 I hope your anatomy scan went good. I felt a little sore after mine. 

@KFrob I feel the same way. I want to get stuff done while I have energy. That's hard to try and do everything yourself and parent. Is there anyone who can come over to help to get stuff done? 

Est Due Date / Weeks + Days: June 9th/ 21 weeks 4 days

FTM/STM/TTM+: STM

Upcoming Appointments or Results:  End of next month

How are you feeling?: Stuffy nose at night and sciatica 

Rants/Raves: Bought some baby stuff. Trying to get only the mimimal stuff because my first pregnancy I was excited and bought a bunch of clothes that she grew out of fast. 

Questions: I saw some people online with moses baskets. Was wondering if it was worth it to get one. I have a crib. Last time, I got the Halo bassinet which she did not like, so not sure what to get for the new baby to sleep in before transitioning to the crib.

shoarmie99

Est Due Date / Weeks + Days: June 13 / 21 weeks

FTM/STM/TTM+: FTM

Upcoming Appointments or Results: glucose test end of Feb

How are you feeling?: was feeling great until getting pretty sick last week - thought it was a cold because a rapid test was negative but my BF and I got PCR tests yesterday and they came back positive for covid.  i'm glad i didn't know it was covid when it was the worst (2 nights of fever - not quite high enough to worry about baby at 100 but still high and uncomfortable) bc I would've probably spiraled more.  starting to feel better but still very tired.

Rants/Raves: Rave - I love feeling this little girl swim around, it's not strong or consistent yet, but it's been wonderful, especially being sick it's been nice to know she's still moving around.

Questions: do you guys use an at-home Doppler?  I've heard mixed reports as to whether they are safe or not, my friend has offered to let me use it because it's still such a long stretch until I see my doctor after having been worried about being sick, but I was curious what you guys think?

@ournextadventure are the tests you are taking at home tests?  because after my experience getting all negatives last week with at home rapid tests when I was highly symptomatic and now testing positive on a PCR test, I'm not sure what to think...

@KFrob and @fluteling I feel you both.  I am shocked on some days that an entire microphone could fit in my belly right now, sounds huge, but then the altoid-sized palm is too tiny to fathom.  Mostly I get annoyed when it goes from an apple to a peach 2 weeks later???  Is there a standard-sized peach I don't know about lol  

romeoandjuliet146

@KFrob Saw this and thought of what you wrote. 

romeoandjuliet146

@shoarmie99 I had a doppler last time, but only used it a few times for piece of mind. Glad you are feeling better.

KFrob

@romeoandjuliet146 lol totally accurate! Im
all about being independent so I’ll probably just do a bunch of stuff on my own and have my dad come help with some stuff that’s going to be flat out unsafe for me to do pregnant. 

Tulips29

@shoarmie99 I hope you are feeling better! My OB talked me out of using a Doppler because if I used it incorrectly and didn’t hear anything, he didn’t want me to worry. DH was on the same page so we never got one. 

@romeoandjuliet146 Moses baskets are cute but I feel like are not very practical in the long run. I got a halo for my first and it was so clunky next to my bed. I kept tripping over the legs and ended up getting rid of it. This time I feel like I want to get a cheapie bassinet that I can have next to the bed that won’t be as giant as the halo. 

binxybaby

Est Due Date / Weeks + Days: 19 +1 June 26th

FTM/STM/TTM+: STM

Upcoming Appointments or Results: Routine appt Feb 21st

How are you feeling?: I finally popped so enjoying a bit of belly! Mostly feeling good. I have some insomnia, lots of stretching pain @pinkkillersheep, and I can tell my abs have separated a bit since I struggle more to sit up. Interesting that I had a worse 1st trimester with this kiddo, but so far it's been a super easy 2nd trimester. Very few cravings or aversions or crying actually.

Rants/Raves: Working on getting my son potty trained and sleeping in his own bed before Baby #2 comes. He slept in his bed last night so that's a win!

Questions: More of a rhetorical one. Why in 2022 are maternity clothes still not very cute? Come on, people!

@romeoandjuliet146 That dang Halo bassinest! We're going to use it again even though my first son didn't like it because the thing is so dang expensive! If it really doesn't work out, I guess we'll figure something else out.

fluteling

@binxybaby right?!?? On the maternity clothes. I’m trying not to be vain but uuuuugh whyyyyyyy. 

KFrob

@binxybaby and @fluteling I'm blaming the pandemic.  They think that all we want to wear is joggers.  

binxybaby

@KFrob Seriously! I swear, all you can buy these days is super casual clothing. I still want to look nice sometimes!

romeoandjuliet146

Has anyone found a good diaper pail? 

binxybaby

@romeoandjuliet146 I have loved my Ubbi, but you have to be diligent about changing it or things go south. 

romeoandjuliet146

@binxybaby I was wondering about that one. I saw  someone on youtube talking about how much they liked it, but when I read reviews people said it can get stinky. I guess it can if not changed often enough.

Tulips29

@romeoandjuliet146 I’ve had the original diaper genie for the past 5 years. The downside is it requires special bag inserts but otherwise its been fine. You can get air freshener inserts for it as well so it doesn’t get stinky. 

romeoandjuliet146

@Tulips29 I saw that one online at Target and was considering it. 

Tulips29

@romeoandjuliet146 I will say, we don’t put poopie diapers in there. Those I put into doggy bags and throw in the trash and there’s never a smell. It helps not stink up the diaper genie also. 

romeoandjuliet146

@Tulips29 Good idea

mauvelousone

Est Due Date / Weeks + Days: June 23/19W 5D

FTM/STM/TTM+: STM

Upcoming Appointments or Results: Had the anatomy scan last week. Confirmed there is a baby in there, and he's got all his organs growing nicely. He's also using his lungs, as evidenced by a couple hiccuping fits. Next week trip to the OB.

How are you feeling?: Overwhelmed and depressed and tired, but also there's heartburn, round ligament pain and gas.

Rants/Raves: My nearly 2-year-old seems to have developed a fear of the dark or something and it's wrecked her bedtime groove. She absolutely will not be left alone in her room after dark without her owl soother on. We recently got her into the toddler bed, hoping to have her in a real bed by June, so we can no longer let her figure herself out in bed lest she decide to start trying the doorknobs. As soon as we break routine of bedtime and allow her in our room, she's hyper and running around like a maniac. It's leading to some sleepless nights.

I would recommend the Diaper Genie. It does require special bag refills, but it contains the stench and the excrement well away from the pets and toddler.

romeoandjuliet146

@Tulips29 @mauvelousone Thank you! I am going to order the Diaper Genie.

marionberry19

I used the ubbi diaper pail and will be this time around as well. We cloth diapered so I didn’t run into the stink factor since we were washing the diapers every other day. 

romeoandjuliet146

I did order the Ubbi wipes dispenser. Thought of getting a wipes warmer, but the one I had, last time, wasn't that great. 

maddieftm

@shoarmie99 I hope you feel better soon!

Est Due Date / Weeks + Days: 20+1

FTM/STM/TTM+: FTM

Upcoming Appointments or Results: Anatomy scan on Friday!

How are you feeling?: A bit stressed

Rants: it's been a weird week so far - I got into a fender-bender with an anti-masker who got way too close for comfort yelling in my face, water is leaking into my kitchen from a roof leak, my oven broke, the shower drain froze in the -30 weather.

Raves: But I can feel baby moving around in there and it makes me thankful. And my heating still works so I have a warm house to come home to. 

Questions: Is it normal to feel stressed about the responsibility of becoming a mom? I'm so excited but also freaked out. Does it get easier?

KFrob

@Tulips29 you’re making me think I’ve been handling poop diapers wrong this whole time.  We mostly put only poop diapers in ours and it smells awful.  I regularly spray it with Lysol but even that seems like it’s not enough. 

fluteling

For the record, I never bought a diaper genie or anything of the sort. We just use a target bag on a handle and when there’s a stinky diaper or it’s full it just goes in the trash. Trying to figure out the “right thing to buy” last time made me nuts until someone told me you don’t have to buy one at all. So that was a bit of very freeing advice that I want to put out there.
@maddieftm it’s normal. And at least for me it doesn’t get easier. It got more hectic and then funnier once I realized babies are pretty baby-proof. You’ll be great!

Tulips29

@mauvelousone I don't know if this would work, but my 2 yo would go to bed just fine, until she decided she didn't want to be left alone in the dark. We were going to get a night light but then she was gifted a doll with a built in night light that my daughter would press and it projects stars on the ceiling while playing music. It's been her comfort doll for the last 2 months and she soothes herself to sleep with it and the little lights. Here's a link to it if you're interested:

https://www.target.com/p/cry-babies-goodnight-starry-sky-jenna-12-34-sleepytime-baby-doll/-/A-81961947?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&DFA=71700000012732838&CPNG=PLA_Toys+Shopping_Local|Toys_Ecomm_Hardlines&adgroup=SC_Toys&LID=700000001170770pgs&LNM=PRODUCT_GROUP&network=g&device=c&location=9004148&targetid=pla-517349206223&ds_rl=1246978&ds_rl=1248099&gclid=Cj0KCQiA9OiPBhCOARIsAI0y71BIQjpTxUSe88OmW3C6qEAZeGQgA6TlxaSbND_Zsu-x8EmSSeqtRxwaAg_XEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

@maddieftm I'm sorry you've had such a rough week. I hope things get easier from here. And your stress is absolutely normal. I think everyone goes through being excited but also terrified and not knowing what to expect. No one can prepare you for parenthood, but it does get easier. You will make mistakes along the way, but you will also know what's best for your baby and those motherly instincts kick in really fast. And it's perfectly fine to ask for help when needed and also decline millions of unnecessary suggestions from people around you. 

romeoandjuliet146

@maddieftm That is scary about that guy yelling at you.

It is normal to be stressed. One thing, I wish I would have done before the due date, of my first baby, was to do stuff that I don't have time or energy for like cleaning out my closet, junk drawers, just getting rid of stuff.

bww_0331

Est Due Date / Weeks + Days: 22 weeks today! 6/8

FTM/STM/TTM+: Third

Upcoming Appointments or Results: Regular appointment next Tuesday

How are you feeling?: Pretty good.  My stomach muscles are tightening a lot more frequently and I get out of breath.  I feel so big suddenly.  Ugh.  But otherwise good. I'm not miserable yet.

Rants/Raves: Rave- I went to a work training in Memphis. Left Sunday, got back late last night. Two dreamy, dreamy nights with tons of sleep and no kids/dogs waking me. Glorious.  Then I got to take a comp day today for the travel. An entire day alone in my house. A nap and tons of cleaning. I feel rejuvanated.

Questions: Is it June yet?


@pinkkillersheep where are you headed for vacation?

@shoarmie99 I hope you feel better soon!

@maddieftm That sounds like a rough week!

maddieftm

@romeoandjuliet146 this is such good advice! I have so much stuff from years ago that I "might possibly fit into one day in the distant future" that I just need to go through and donate.

And thanks everyone for normalizing the scary feelings, it's nice to know that I'm not alone!

pinkkillersheep

Back for all the tags…

@Tulips29 Good luck breaking the news at work! No itchiness here but I’m sure I’ve heard others talking about it.
@KFrob I’m sure whatever the pain is it’s normal, but it it didn’t match the descriptions I’ve seen for RLP. Dr Google suggests it’s early Braxton-Hicks contractions, which is insane to me. I also heavily relate to the desire to make progress on baby things. The backordered nursery furniture is infuriating because I just want to get it together now so we can move on to smaller nursery stuff.
@fluteling Hope you make some progress with the pulmonologist. Trying to get health care professionals to take you seriously is waaaay more difficult than it should be and I hope you get to the right person.
@ournextadventure Hope you are staying healthy and the husband recovers quickly!
@romeoandjuliet146 It may be mostly an issue with larger furniture (dressers, cribs, and gliders) but definitely check on bassinets just in case. And I always appreciate a good Encanto reference!
@shoarmie99 Sorry to hear your Covid news, take it easy over there! Glad you’re feeling better but give yourself lots of time to fully recover. On Dopplers, I assume they’re safe but I am very hesitant to do any at home testing because I prefer to leave these things to professionals. I suspect I would have a hard time finding the heartbeat and it would just cause me more anxiety. Right now I’m telling myself as long as I don’t see blood I will assume everything is normal.
@binxybaby My maternity clothes struggle is I can’t tell if I bought the wrong size or just haven’t grown into them yet. But I’m so tired of wearing clothes that don’t make me feel good. My Target jeans are too short and huge through the hips, so the second pair I splurged for Seraphine and bought tall but the stretchy part is too loose!
@mauvelousone Sorry for all the difficult feelings. I feel you on ALL of them.
@maddieftm Man what a week, I’m sorry. And as a fellow FTM I think it’s perfectly normal. It helped me to verbalize the thoughts I’ve been most ashamed of with a coworker who recently had her third and have her completely non-react and just say “Yep, and that’s ok.”
@bww_0331 That sounds like an amazing week so far! DH and I are going to California. Very much looking forward to it. We’ll be caught in the ice storm tomorrow through Friday morning. Hopefully it doesn’t cancel our flight.

hillies22

Est Due Date / Weeks + Days: 19w3d, June 26 

FTM/STM/TTM+: FTM 

Upcoming Appointments or Results: Anatomy scan next Monday 

How are you feeling?: Stressed, overworked, burned out - not really pregnancy related! 

Rants/Raves: Rant - Husband can't come to anatomy scan. My belly skin hurts/itches even though I have no noticeable bump. Rave - Ice cream is the best. 

Questions: Anyone have a larger nursery dresser they love? 

binxybaby

@romeoandjuliet146 It is only stinky when you open the Ubbi. It does a good job containing the stink. For me, and please please do not judge me too harshly, we weren't changing it enough once our kiddo became a toddler and we started getting bugs. Poop is a great breeding ground unfortunately.

@maddieftm The great thing about babies is that you aren't handed a toddler. You're handed a newborn. While they can be hard, they aren't mobile and they only have a few things you must do to keep them alive. Every age has its ups and downs. It's hard and exhausting, but you get through it. Also, it's incredibly fulfilling in the long run.