Upcoming Appointments: 24 week appointment at my doctors on thursday. And then I need to schedule an appointment with the physio because I'm starting to struggle to walk.
How are you feeling?: In pain! Otherwise fairly good, I'm keeping busy which makes time fly.
Rants/Raves: Rave: We agreed on a name! Couldn't convince SO of Max (not short for anything), but Max (short of Maximilian) was ok. So we have a baby Max on the way 😍 Rant: I'm on a business trip to a lovely beer producent country, all expenses paid, and... well... yeah 😅
Questions: Does anyone else's pelvis crack? Like, badly. When seated still.
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received? Haha, I actually am really happy about this one because of the story. But when I was about 6, I got a ticket for an opera for Christmas. Not a kids one either. I fell asleep 5 minutes in and slept through the whole thing. Which is lucky because I'm not sure the opera goers would have appreciated a 6-year old going 'what are they saying????' for 3 hours 😅
@justkp that’s a hilarious opera story! Does your SO know you’re calling him Max either way? That’s so funny to agree on a long Max and not a short Max. But congratulations! I love that name
EDD / Weeks + Days: 26+ 5
crazy I’ve only got 1 week of 2nd trimester left!
This has flown by
Baby is the size of a(n): VHS tape! This one made me giggle and feel old.
Team blue/pink/green: pink 💗
Upcoming Appointments: tomorrow for my last check-in with my current doctor before we move. I’m hoping she can solve all the anemia issues before I go. I’m struggling. See below
How are you feeling?: Lightheaded, exhausted, headaches, some mid-back pain, can’t get a full breath. Ridiculously hot! I wake up several times a night just because of how hot I get. I remember being hot my last pregnancy, but not so much that it keeps me up at night.
Rants/Raves: Rant - all of the above. Plus a couple came to look at our house yesterday and said they love everything about it but it’s not for them. I’m a little annoyed at that but praying the right person comes along to buy my house. Also, I thought my loans were paid off since my loan provider website said “paid in full” but I got a letter Friday that they’ve been switched to a new provider. So the “paid in full” language was really misleading and now we’re going to have to waste $35k of what we make on the house on student loans that I thought were gone 😔
Questions: anyone else with anemia blazing hot all day? I thought I anemics were supposed to be cold 🤣
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received?
Also a story - maybe 3 years ago my in-laws thought it would be funny to do gag gifts and not tell anyone ahead of time. So we all got these awful gifts and we were so confused. But it was pretty hilarious! My brother in law got hemorrhoid cream, my husband got a Halloween wig with facial hair (he can’t grow any and is going bald), and they got me a sign that said “my kitchen was clean last week, sorry you missed it” because my kitchen was always dirty every time they came over and I’d apologize 🤣
@justkp No pelvic cracking here but definitely I have developed pelvic hip pain in the last week after a massage appointment. It’s like I traded one pain for another!
EDD / Weeks + Days: 24w + 3d
Baby is the size of a(n): Cantaloupe
Team blue/pink/green: 💚
Upcoming Appointments: Next midwife appointment in 2 weeks.
How are you feeling?: Well one of my worse fears was realized in the middle of last week- I caught COVID for the first time ever in spite of my best efforts to stay safe (high quality mask indoors and crowded locations, eating mostly outdoors in very small groups and socially distanced). The numbers were looking pretty low in my area but I took too many risks to socialize with friends. Fortunately, I was able to avoid spreading the illness to others including my husband. The symptoms have been mild and baby is moving plenty which is reassuring. I’m taking plenty of supplements and herbal remedies recommended by my midwife which I think are helping since I’m not eligible for any conventional medications at this time. I most likely got omicron and I found an article that mentioned the likelihood of pregnancy complications with omicron are significantly less than delta. So I will take all of the good news I can get!
Additionally, I think I’ve developed Sacroiliac pain on my left side and unfortunately will have to wait for another week until I can get some cranial sacral therapy to help. At least I’m still sleeping through the night
Rants/Raves: Rants are above. Rave- one of my neighbors was so sweet and brought homemade chicken soup to help me heal from COVID. I’m grateful to live in such a caring community!
Questions: To all the STM+ out there: Is it worth investing in a glider or rocking chair for the nursery? Now that I have reached the viability threshold, I’m starting to get serious into researching and purchasing the material necessities of caring for a newborn.
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received?
I can’t think of specifically what has been the worse gift I have ever received. According to my love language, gift giving is the lowest rated value for me. I guess any gift that lacked much thought and are in excess where it just junks up and clutters my home would be probably the worse gift for me. I much rather have one quality gift than spending the same amount of money on useless cheap stuff in high volume. I guess I’m too much of a pragmatist and minimalist in nature overall.
@ttc3y I enjoyed my rocking chair with my first. I’d go with a glider or get a cushion for the rocking chair if you go that route. My butt would always get sore sitting in the rocking chair and my back wouldn’t be comfortable. So either go for the cushiony glider or buy an additional cushion for the rocking chair. I plan on putting the rocking chair in this baby’s room too.
How are you feeling?: Hungry and sick of the weird taste in my mouth
Rants/Raves: not really a rant but a disappointment. My husband had exploritory surgery today to look at what the deal is with the open wound he's had in his hernia site from 3 years ago. The hole he's had for a year. We thought they would be removing a stitch but it ended up being that the entire mesh was infected and had to be removed. So now he is unable to work for probably a couple months and we are down to 60 percent of his normal income with short term disability and have a family of 8 (counting baby). He was hoping to get the remodeling done over the next couple months in time for the home birth and I'm thinking I might need to find a part time seasonal job which is a challenge because I homeschool and that takes much of my time. Thankfully my hubby can pick up with some of that since he's off work and I know it's in God's hands so I'm doing better than I thought I would if it turned out this way and so is he.
Questions:
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received? Probably something ugly I was expected to wear or a gift card for a disgusting sleazy store I didn't want to be caught dead in.
Upcoming Appointments: I just had my last appointment for my glucose test and thankfully I passed but I think I’m anemic. I received the test results through labcorp but not through my doctor yet so it hasn’t been confirmed but rbc and hemoglobin were lower than they should be along with hematocrit. I’ll be out of town around my 28 visit so I scheduled it closer to 30. Do you think this will be an issue? Is the 28 week appointment important or will it be okay to be a week and a half later?
How are you feeling?: ugh, not super great but could be worse. Makes me feel better to come here and find out I’m not the only one! I’m not sleeping at night and when I do I wake up SOAKED in a puddle of my sweat. I’ve had hot nights (my family used to camp in Key West, in tents, in the middle of august 🥴) but I’ve never sweat this much in my life! I’ve also started having some pelvic pain that I think would be pgs? When I tried to explain it to my doctor he didn’t seem to know what it was but also wasn’t concerned. It’s not super painful but more of a discomfort.
Rants/Raves: the company I work for just added two more federal holidays for employees to have off along with an extra 6 weeks of paid maternity leave for 2023! So perfect timing there! I wasn’t too worried about it either way but that made things a lot easier on us! I can’t believe I’m just about 3 months away from having a baby! My mom has a baby shower planned for me at the end of the month which I’m pretty excited about! We will be driving 12 hours for it which I am not excited about lol. But we’re taking the dog to save money on boarding her and we need the extra space for any gifts we may receive.
Questions: anyone else experience the pelvic pain I started to mention above? It’s most prevalent in between my thighs. Just a simple pain and doesn’t feel super sharp or anything but I feel like it has started to get worse. It used to be only first thing in the morning and within the week I’ve started to feel it all day while standing or walking. It’s just worse when I first get out of bed.
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received? i think I’ve been lucky to have some very thoughtful gift givers around me but if I had to pick one it would probably have been a bible from my grandma. At the time I didn’t appreciate it at all. It was my 18th birthday and my older cousins all received plane tickets to Florida for their 18th birthdays. But I lived in Florida and I felt like a bible was not the next best thing. Now at almost 10 years later I do appreciate it and my grandma asks about it every time we talk to make sure I’m still reading it lol.
@paigemm23 😂 I think I would have felt the same way at 18 about the Bible and been glad to receive the sleazy gift card I despised at 28. But by 28 I was a Bible lover and not into the weird gift card that I got for a wedding gift from my crazy aunt. That's really awesome about your new additions of job perks!!!
@seeds_of_joy that sounds so tough! And definitely not what you were hoping for, especially not now. Hopefully he’ll at least be feeling better soon! Infected mesh in a hernia repair sounds like it would be miserable.
@ttc3y that’s miserable, and definitely a little nerve-wracking. Wishing you a swift and easy recovery!
@paigemm23 when your doctor contacts you about your anemia, you can ask. At worst they may want you to come in earlier instead, but they know that life doesn’t hold still for pregnancies without major problems so I’m sure they’ll work around it one way or another. Like I had an appointment pushed back and was going to end up having my 26 week appointment at 27 weeks, but my midwife realized I hadn’t done my glucose test yet (at 23 weeks) so we changed the schedule overall so that I went back at 26 weeks, and will go back at 29 weeks and 32 weeks, when I already had a growth scan scheduled. So basically I ended up on an every 3 weeks schedule instead of every 2 weeks for a while.
EDD / Weeks + Days: Feb 4/27+2
Baby is the size of a(n): lettuce/acorn squash
Team blue/pink/green: blue
Upcoming Appointments: Nov 22 just a regular checkup
How are you feeling?: pregnancy wise, pretty ok, but I’ve been fighting some sinus pressure and headaches for days. I finally caved and called to see what I could take for symptom relief after no amount of water/tea/mint/Neti pot/steam/eucalyptus could give me enough relief to function. Usually, I get this general allergy/sinus crud once each spring and fall, and just need 2-3 days of medication to clear it up, so here’s hoping it goes away sooner rather than later.
Rants/Raves: Rave: We got a bunch of hand-me-downs from my cousin, and they’re so cute! I also love that we aren’t having to buy anything for the smaller sizes, because my husband was a 9 lb baby and is now 6’6”, and I was a 6.5 lb baby and am 5’6”. While we definitely don’t know where our baby will be on the growth charts, we’ve got some reason to be skeptical that we’ll get much time out of newborn clothes, but we also definitely know we might need them.
Questions: natm
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received?
I really haven’t received many downright bad gifts. Maybe the closest I’ve come in recent memory is an aunt who got my husband and I a personalized frame for our wedding that said “Mr and Mrs Hislastname”, which was very sweet but unfortunately, I didn’t change my name and we go by Dr. Mylastname and Mr. Hislastname. She just didn’t know at the time and it was a beautiful frame, so we hung it in our bedroom anyway 🤷♀️
@seeds_of_joy Wishing your husband a speedy recovery. It sounds like you have a good plan in place on how to move forward to support the family.
@paigemm23 If you are feeling any symptoms of anemia, you may want to be proactive and call your provider’s office to see if they should start you on iron pills prior to your next visit. If all is well and there are no issues, there shouldn’t be any worry about your visits not being exactly 2 weeks apart. Life happens. I think I had an appointment or two that was longer than 4 weeks of typical follow up for various reasons in this pregnancy and everything was fine.
As for pelvic pain, it depends where the pain is. The most common areas in pregnancy are the symphysis pubis which is located at the front and the sacroiliac joints which is located at the back where the hip bone meets the sacrum. My pain feels like it’s coming from my left buttock but when I palpate the area where it hurts, it’s definitely at that sacroiliac joint. I have yet to figure out how to resolve these pains myself. So far, I sleep with a pillow between my legs but I’m considering getting a massive pregnancy pillow if this continues. Learning a few anatomical terms may help your provider understand more of what you are feeling. I’m sorry to hear he dismissed you when you did bring up the issue.
@fertile-turtle Thank you for the well wishes. Surprisingly, it has not been nearly as bad as I thought it could be and I’m handling this a lot more calmly than expected.
Sinus pressure headaches are no fun at all. With pregnancy, our options for medications are so limited. I hope your provider was able to give you an effective solution and you feel better soon!
Baby is the size of a(n): kale. Some of the comparisons on this app are weird lol
Team blue/pink/green: blue💙
Upcoming Appointments: FINALLY next Monday Nov 14 with the MFM, meeting with specialists and the regular OB on the 28th. I haven’t seen anyone since the first specialist on Oct 6 with a different provider who we didn’t feel best suited our little guy’s needs. We decided it was better to hold off a couple extra weeks than to stick with someone and somewhere that didn’t seem to be the best fit. It’s been such a process to move care from my midwife to the hospital we feel most comfortable but I’m hopeful it will be for the best for our little guy. I hope I like the providers, I did not like my OB at all with my daughter and was super looking forward to a homebirth with a midwife I adored. So I’m just a little nervous about these upcoming appts. However, based on my research and my husband and I talking to people who have used these providers or have worked with them in the field, they’re supposed to be amazing drs at what they do both care & bedside manner.
How are you feeling?: overall good just exhausted. We foster and our little bud hasn’t been sleeping well. But other than that. Nothing crazy just normal aches & such and I’m forever hungry lol
Rants/Raves: We decorated the inside for Christmas last night and it was so fun to just spend some time together & gearing up for my favorite holiday! 😍
See above for appts.
Questions: NATM
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received?
There aren’t any that really stick out in particular. I guess the worst gifts I’ve received is probably any jewelry that people expect me to wear. I kinda stick to my same necklace & earrings and rarely switch out. I like simplicity. I usually don’t love other’s style either. I’m thankful my husband isn’t a jewelry buyer. As a teen my grandparents would buy little things here and there and same with other family. To be clear, this isn’t fancy stuff and I appreciate the sentiment and being thought of.
@justkp that’s too funny about the name. I had Theodore (Theo for short) picked out almost immediately but my husband didn’t love it so we kept trying names. Once we actually found a first/middle name combo he asolutely loved it.
@ttc3y I love our glider & footstool we got when our daughter was born 7 years ago. I actually held onto it because I loved it so much and we plan on using it again. I used it so much that if we didn’t have it still, it would be a priority purchase. I highly recommend somewhere to put your feet too, that’s a lifesaver.
It seems like everyone is getting a bit uncomfortable lately 😬 I am not anemic that I know of but have for sure been sweaty hot when sleeping. I can’t stand that feeling lol I keep if close we’retgaa a normal in the house now but also don’t want to freeze everyone out.
Upcoming Appointments: Nov 22 for glucose test and 28 week check up
How are you feeling?: moving slower and slower each day, horrific heartburn, and awful pelvic pain. Also super hormonal and crying a lot. Mostly because I’m so discouraged that I feel so crappy 😫 and I feel just gross and huge. also my mother in law asked when we were face timing “did the baby just get really big all of sudden?” Ugh not helpful.
Rants/Raves: well sinceI just was a Debbie downer above I’ll say my rave is feeling all the baby movement. This baby loves moving 🙂 also had a nice brunch with my friend on Sunday. I don’t get much time to myself so that was really nice.
Questions: none
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received?
I have received a lot of bad gifts in the form of things that show no thought whatsoever. My in laws think gifts are a necessary thing and yet they always get me stuff I will never use like make up I don’t really wear or jewelry which I also don’t really wear. I’ve tried to suggest we don’t need to do gifts because we just get rid of most of them 🤷🏻♀️
@angbaby83 I’m with you on the hormonal and large-feeling. I just cried for like 15 minutes this morning because my MIL ordered some maternity dresses for me and I tried them on, and OOF. They’re cute in theory (I’ve seen them on the website, I approved them when she wanted to order them for me), but I swear in reality they fit like a tent. Just because I’m the size of an elephant doesn’t mean I want to look like I’m housing the whole circus!
How are you feeling?: ugh today has been a really emotional day and I'm not totally sure why. I mean, my epilepsy meds are now 3xs what I was taking a few weeks ago... So maybe that's why. I'm just blah today. I also have terrible pelvic pain, but I have PT tomorrow so hoping she can give me some sort of help there.
Rants/Raves: all of the above.
Questions:
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received? I can't really think of anything... I mean I have been given Starbucks gift cards, when we are coffee roasters... Haha but I get it. People bulk buy crap like that 🤣
@nwshay sorry it’s been so rough today. Hopefully it gets better!! Lol at the Starbucks gift cards. I think gift giving is out of control and we just automatically do it without as much thought.
@fertile-turtle yeah some maternity stuff is not flattering at all. I’m sure I don’t look bad but I’m just really sensitive about my body and I’m quick to get down on myself. I know I’m pregnant and supposed to be big but I don’t love people commenting on it.
@itsjess627 wishing you all the best with the new doctors and hope they are what you need. I know my experience was not at all the same I just feel for you so much with all the uncertainty and the grief over not getting the birth experience that you wanted.
@justkp and @itsjess627, I'm jealous that you have decided on names! Max and Theo are both great names. I feel like we are just going to wait until he's born and then pick one of our three top names.
@amccurls, good luck with selling your house! The housing market has been crazy this year.
@ttc3y, I hope you aren't being too hard on yourself about taking risks and catching COVID. It's been almost three years of this pandemic. I've tried to be super safe as well, and I managed to catch it twice in my first trimester. I hope you are feeling okay and the symptoms aren't too bad. Wishing you a quick recovery.
@seeds_of_joy, I hope your husband's recovery goes smoothly. I always love your positive attitude within your posts. I can't imagine how stressful that will be, and I don't manage stress well at all.
@fertile-turtle, I was experiencing severe migraines all last week. I assume it's due to the temperature changes and allergies. I cried daily because of them. I hope you find some relief. I wasn't sure what to do about them because I'm already on baby aspirin for being "geriatric". The only thing that kind of helped was putting an ice pack on my neck.
@itsjess627, good luck with your new OBGYN! Also, my family is a bit crazy around the holidays. We love it. I know that my mom and dad, sister, brother, and aunt all have their Christmas trees up and everything is decorated. I try to hold off until Thanksgiving for my husband's sanity.
@angbaby83, I also feel huge and gross. You are not alone! I cry here and there. I'll go a few weeks feeling mentally okay, then I'll step on the scale, put on a shirt, or just look at myself and break down because I feel so large. It's a constant battle.
Upcoming Appointments: 28-week appointment on November 21. I also need to schedule an appointment to get my COVID booster.
How are you feeling?: Rough. Lol. Mentally, I feel like this pregnancy is crawling so slowly, and I can't believe I have 3 more months left. Also, I've gained 24 pounds already and feel huge. I was hoping to gain 30 pounds or less. Physically, I've had so much pain in my right knee over the past few days and my lower right leg has gone numb a few times. I'm not sure what to do about this. I also don't know if it is pregnancy related or injury related.
Rants/Raves: I'm annoyed with everyone at work right now, and the unreasonable, last minute requests that I constantly get. That's my rant. For my raves, my mom kindly bought our crib, which is being delivered tomorrow, and my MIL just purchased our stroller. We weren't expecting them to do that and are both very grateful.
Questions: I had a question in mind this morning, but didn't have time to reply. Now, I have no idea what that question was. :
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received? Similar to others, I think that clothes probably falls into this category. I've gotten a lot of clothes that aren't my style at all, and that I never really wore.
@karbaud the weight gain is probably mostly muscle from dancing. You got moves girl! 😉 I've probably gain 20 already and am quite short so I'm definitely feeling it too. That's awesome that your mom and MIL helped you out with the big items. We were blessed in that way too by our moms.
EDD / Weeks + Days: Feb 1/ 28 weeks. Hello third trimester!
Baby is the size of a(n): Eggplant
Team blue/pink/green: Blue
Upcoming Appointments: Regular check-up with the midwife tomorrow. My last monthly appt, and we switch to biweekly from here on out. Holy cow..
How are you feeling?: Rushed for time. We have SO MUCH to do, and nothing is done. I went three weeks early with DS and my body feels the exact same way this time around, so I feel like I don't have as much time as I think I do.. I'm getting anxious. Physically, I am pretty sore by nighttime and hobbling around a lot.
Rants/Raves: We were supposed to have three interviews today for a temp to cover my maternity leave. Two of the three were highly qualified, and both backed out within 12 hours of their perspective interview times. I rushed around this morning to come in early, only to find out the 8am one cancelled and it was all for nothing. I am cranky about it.
Questions: Nope
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received? Four our wedding, my grandfather (whom I never see and haven't seen since the wedding 5 years ago) got us these boxes for the tinfoil and plastic wrap at our house. They aren't even the nice ones that you see on TikTok, they were just boxes to take the tinfoil or plastic wrap out of the original packages and put into and then stuff in a draw... so weird.
Me: 34 DH: 34 Married 10/28/17 Our TTC Journey
TTC #1 February '18 Team Green turned TeamBlue 10/15/18
TTC #2 January '21 BFP June '21 MMC/Blighted Ovum that led to D&C July '21 Jan '22 - started IF testing BFP Jan '22 MMC/Blighted Ovum that led to D&C Feb '22 BFP May '22
amccurls Thank you Yeah I told him I will only ever call him Max, it'll be interesting to see if SO will use Maximilian! (I also laughed at the VHS tape!!! 😁)
@seeds_of_joy So sorry to hear about your hubbys struggles and the financial situation it causes you! Hope he recovers soon 💜
@ttc3y Oh, that's a disppointing outcome of a massage appointment, you'd at least hope to replace it with a better kind of pain 😕
@paigemm23 Yes to the pelvic pain!!! For me it's especially the pubic bone/groin area that's worse at the moment, SI joint pain comes and goes - started out as discomfort especially if I moved a bit too much, but now it's full blown agony Especially if I have been sitting down and have to get up. Don't have any tips or tricks to improve it unfortunately (apart from a pillow between the knees at night and 'moving like a lady', knees together when getting in/out of the car). I see a physio every other week but not with any great success. If you find something out that improves yours, please do share💜
@karbaud Thank you 💜 I suppose having a shortlist of 3 names is not too bad either? I can imagine if we had decided on something exotic sounding and then he came out the most pale scandinavian looking baby 😅
@justkp that’s how we chose our names. We are team green so we start with a long list for both boys and girls and narrow it down to usually 3 each. With my daughter we ended up going with the 3rd name on the list because I just didn’t think my first choice fit her at all🤷🏻♀️
Upcoming Appointments: I have my 28-week scan and glucose test on Nov 25th. It's going to be a busy day!
How are you feeling?: I am actually feeling okay. My sleep has improved a lot and sleeping through the night just makes such a difference to everything! I have had a cramp in my shoulder that's been bothering me and I should really try to get a massage. I also am having some random pelvic pain but it doesn't last long. It just feels like everything is shifting.
Rants/Raves: My brother just visited, my mom is here now, my SIL visits end of Nov and my childhood best friend is visiting in Dec! So 4/5 of the upcoming weekends (and last weekend) we have house guests! Then we immediately hop on a plane to go back to the US for Christmas with my family. I have a feeling that February is going to be here before I know it. BTW, I live in a 2-bed terraced house that has one bathroom so the guests reside in the living room/my home office 😂 I think it's going to be a hectic next five weeks, but good.
Questions: nope
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received? I really can't think of anything bad that I've gotten but I know a woman who is diabetic whose husband gave her honey for Christmas once. She was like, "Um thanks, but I can't eat this, remember?" They are now divorced, he was having an affair. It feels like it was obvious from that gift that he'd stopped thinking about her.
@amccurls The bait and switch on your loans is such a bummer! I hope you find a buyer for the house soon.
@paigemm23 Woohoo on extra holidays next year! We get an extra day off for King Charles' (!) coronation so I'm stoked to get that extra day of mat leave.
@seedsofjoy I hope that your H recovers quickly - what a tough situation to deal with.
@ttc3y I hope that you recover quickly! Don't be too hard on yourself, we can't actually live in a bubble and sometimes these things happen even if we are spectacularly cautious. ::hugs::
@fertile-turtle That's sweet that you kept the frame. We are also different names over here so I wonder if we will get some gifts when we get married that are to Mr & Mrs Hislastname when we're both Dr Ourownnames
@angbaby83 Oh boy, that sounds so rough! I'm really sorry that this pregnancy is so uncomfortable for you.
@nwshay Sending hugs. The emotional days can be so draining! I hope that you're having a better day today.
@karbaud How fun to have the crib and stroller already and how thoughtful that your families got them for you!
@tessiesmom26 Ugh! I'm sorry that the temp situation isn't going smoothly. FX for you that they find someone in time for you to prepare them before you go on leave.
Baby is the size of a(n): Cantaloupe, and according to the daily fact, as tall as a container of Lysol disinfecting wipes. Lol
Team blue/pink/green: Pink
Upcoming Appointments: Just had my 1hr glucose test on Tuesday. They haven’t called me yet but I saw online that it was 165 so I’m guessing I will have to do the 3hr test soon. 🤷🏻♀️
How are you feeling?: I’ve been having random heartburn which is annoying and I had some really bad gas pain last night. Some pelvic pain but nothing serious.
Rants/Raves: Rant: My Dr wants me to see a MFM. She originally referred me to them for a NIPT test result that came back “no result” but my husband and I decided against it after doing a bunch of research on the test. I know it’s because I’m 37 and have high blood pressure but my blood pressure has been really good (on the low end even) and there haven’t been any concerns at any of my appointments. I know I should just do it but our insurance won’t pay for it since we haven’t met our deductible yet so its going to cost us almost $850 just for a consultation and ultrasound.
Rave: My parents found an apartment near us and get the keys today or tomorrow. They are retired and live out of state (in my home state) but have always planned on getting a place where I live so they can go back and forth.
Questions: NATM
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received? I have also been the victim of the thoughtless gift. I always try to put so much thought into the gifts that I give so it just makes me sad when someone gives a generic gift. I even got a gift that the person said “I got this for you but you don’t have to use it.” So they bought it knowing I won’t like it or use it. Doesn’t make sense to me.
Re: Weekly Check-In Nov 7
Rave: We agreed on a name! Couldn't convince SO of Max (not short for anything), but Max (short of Maximilian) was ok. So we have a baby Max on the way 😍
Rant: I'm on a business trip to a lovely beer producent country, all expenses paid, and... well... yeah 😅
Haha, I actually am really happy about this one because of the story. But when I was about 6, I got a ticket for an opera for Christmas. Not a kids one either. I fell asleep 5 minutes in and slept through the whole thing. Which is lucky because I'm not sure the opera goers would have appreciated a 6-year old going 'what are they saying????' for 3 hours 😅
@justkp that’s a hilarious opera story! Does your SO know you’re calling him Max either way? That’s so funny to agree on a long Max and not a short Max. But congratulations! I love that name
EDD / Weeks + Days: 26+ 5
crazy I’ve only got 1 week of 2nd trimester left!
This has flown by
Baby is the size of a(n): VHS tape! This one made me giggle and feel old.
Team blue/pink/green: pink 💗
Upcoming Appointments: tomorrow for my last check-in with my current doctor before we move. I’m hoping she can solve all the anemia issues before I go. I’m struggling. See below
How are you feeling?: Lightheaded, exhausted, headaches, some mid-back pain, can’t get a full breath. Ridiculously hot! I wake up several times a night just because of how hot I get. I remember being hot my last pregnancy, but not so much that it keeps me up at night.
Rants/Raves: Rant - all of the above. Plus a couple came to look at our house yesterday and said they love everything about it but it’s not for them. I’m a little annoyed at that but praying the right person comes along to buy my house. Also, I thought my loans were paid off since my loan provider website said “paid in full” but I got a letter Friday that they’ve been switched to a new provider. So the “paid in full” language was really misleading and now we’re going to have to waste $35k of what we make on the house on student loans that I thought were gone 😔
Questions: anyone else with anemia blazing hot all day? I thought I anemics were supposed to be cold 🤣
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received?
Also a story - maybe 3 years ago my in-laws thought it would be funny to do gag gifts and not tell anyone ahead of time. So we all got these awful gifts and we were so confused. But it was pretty hilarious! My brother in law got hemorrhoid cream, my husband got a Halloween wig with facial hair (he can’t grow any and is going bald), and they got me a sign that said “my kitchen was clean last week, sorry you missed it” because my kitchen was always dirty every time they came over and I’d apologize 🤣
@justkp No pelvic cracking here but definitely I have developed pelvic hip pain in the last week after a massage appointment. It’s like I traded one pain for another!
EDD / Weeks + Days: 24w + 3d
Baby is the size of a(n): Cantaloupe
Team blue/pink/green: 💚
Upcoming Appointments: Next midwife appointment in 2 weeks.
How are you feeling?: Well one of my worse fears was realized in the middle of last week- I caught COVID for the first time ever in spite of my best efforts to stay safe (high quality mask indoors and crowded locations, eating mostly outdoors in very small groups and socially distanced). The numbers were looking pretty low in my area but I took too many risks to socialize with friends. Fortunately, I was able to avoid spreading the illness to others including my husband. The symptoms have been mild and baby is moving plenty which is reassuring. I’m taking plenty of supplements and herbal remedies recommended by my midwife which I think are helping since I’m not eligible for any conventional medications at this time. I most likely got omicron and I found an article that mentioned the likelihood of pregnancy complications with omicron are significantly less than delta. So I will take all of the good news I can get!
Additionally, I think I’ve developed Sacroiliac pain on my left side and unfortunately will have to wait for another week until I can get some cranial sacral therapy to help. At least I’m still sleeping through the night
Rants/Raves: Rants are above. Rave- one of my neighbors was so sweet and brought homemade chicken soup to help me heal from COVID. I’m grateful to live in such a caring community!
Questions: To all the STM+ out there: Is it worth investing in a glider or rocking chair for the nursery? Now that I have reached the viability threshold, I’m starting to get serious into researching and purchasing the material necessities of caring for a newborn.
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received?
I can’t think of specifically what has been the worse gift I have ever received. According to my love language, gift giving is the lowest rated value for me. I guess any gift that lacked much thought and are in excess where it just junks up and clutters my home would be probably the worse gift for me. I much rather have one quality gift than spending the same amount of money on useless cheap stuff in high volume. I guess I’m too much of a pragmatist and minimalist in nature overall.
EDD / Weeks + Days: 25 weeks tomorrow
Baby is the size of a(n): cauliflower...wow
Team blue/pink/green: pink
Upcoming Appointments: not for a month
How are you feeling?: Hungry and sick of the weird taste in my mouth
Rants/Raves: not really a rant but a disappointment. My husband had exploritory surgery today to look at what the deal is with the open wound he's had in his hernia site from 3 years ago. The hole he's had for a year. We thought they would be removing a stitch but it ended up being that the entire mesh was infected and had to be removed. So now he is unable to work for probably a couple months and we are down to 60 percent of his normal income with short term disability and have a family of 8 (counting baby). He was hoping to get the remodeling done over the next couple months in time for the home birth and I'm thinking I might need to find a part time seasonal job which is a challenge because I homeschool and that takes much of my time. Thankfully my hubby can pick up with some of that since he's off work and I know it's in God's hands so I'm doing better than I thought I would if it turned out this way and so is he.
Questions:
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received? Probably something ugly I was expected to wear or a gift card for a disgusting sleazy store I didn't want to be caught dead in.
EDD / Weeks + Days: 25weeks + 3days
Baby is the size of a(n): cauliflower
Team blue/pink/green: pink 💖
Upcoming Appointments: I just had my last appointment for my glucose test and thankfully I passed but I think I’m anemic. I received the test results through labcorp but not through my doctor yet so it hasn’t been confirmed but rbc and hemoglobin were lower than they should be along with hematocrit. I’ll be out of town around my 28 visit so I scheduled it closer to 30. Do you think this will be an issue? Is the 28 week appointment important or will it be okay to be a week and a half later?
How are you feeling?: ugh, not super great but could be worse. Makes me feel better to come here and find out I’m not the only one! I’m not sleeping at night and when I do I wake up SOAKED in a puddle of my sweat. I’ve had hot nights (my family used to camp in Key West, in tents, in the middle of august 🥴) but I’ve never sweat this much in my life! I’ve also started having some pelvic pain that I think would be pgs? When I tried to explain it to my doctor he didn’t seem to know what it was but also wasn’t concerned. It’s not super painful but more of a discomfort.
Rants/Raves: the company I work for just added two more federal holidays for employees to have off along with an extra 6 weeks of paid maternity leave for 2023! So perfect timing there! I wasn’t too worried about it either way but that made things a lot easier on us! I can’t believe I’m just about 3 months away from having a baby! My mom has a baby shower planned for me at the end of the month which I’m pretty excited about! We will be driving 12 hours for it which I am not excited about lol. But we’re taking the dog to save money on boarding her and we need the extra space for any gifts we may receive.
Questions: anyone else experience the pelvic pain I started to mention above? It’s most prevalent in between my thighs. Just a simple pain and doesn’t feel super sharp or anything but I feel like it has started to get worse. It used to be only first thing in the morning and within the week I’ve started to feel it all day while standing or walking. It’s just worse when I first get out of bed.
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received? i think I’ve been lucky to have some very thoughtful gift givers around me but if I had to pick one it would probably have been a bible from my grandma. At the time I didn’t appreciate it at all. It was my 18th birthday and my older cousins all received plane tickets to Florida for their 18th birthdays. But I lived in Florida and I felt like a bible was not the next best thing. Now at almost 10 years later I do appreciate it and my grandma asks about it every time we talk to make sure I’m still reading it lol.
@seeds_of_joy that sounds so tough! And definitely not what you were hoping for, especially not now. Hopefully he’ll at least be feeling better soon! Infected mesh in a hernia repair sounds like it would be miserable.
@ttc3y that’s miserable, and definitely a little nerve-wracking. Wishing you a swift and easy recovery!
@paigemm23 when your doctor contacts you about your anemia, you can ask. At worst they may want you to come in earlier instead, but they know that life doesn’t hold still for pregnancies without major problems so I’m sure they’ll work around it one way or another. Like I had an appointment pushed back and was going to end up having my 26 week appointment at 27 weeks, but my midwife realized I hadn’t done my glucose test yet (at 23 weeks) so we changed the schedule overall so that I went back at 26 weeks, and will go back at 29 weeks and 32 weeks, when I already had a growth scan scheduled. So basically I ended up on an every 3 weeks schedule instead of every 2 weeks for a while.
EDD / Weeks + Days: Feb 4/27+2
Baby is the size of a(n): lettuce/acorn squash
Team blue/pink/green: blue
Upcoming Appointments: Nov 22 just a regular checkup
How are you feeling?: pregnancy wise, pretty ok, but I’ve been fighting some sinus pressure and headaches for days. I finally caved and called to see what I could take for symptom relief after no amount of water/tea/mint/Neti pot/steam/eucalyptus could give me enough relief to function. Usually, I get this general allergy/sinus crud once each spring and fall, and just need 2-3 days of medication to clear it up, so here’s hoping it goes away sooner rather than later.
Rants/Raves: Rave: We got a bunch of hand-me-downs from my cousin, and they’re so cute! I also love that we aren’t having to buy anything for the smaller sizes, because my husband was a 9 lb baby and is now 6’6”, and I was a 6.5 lb baby and am 5’6”. While we definitely don’t know where our baby will be on the growth charts, we’ve got some reason to be skeptical that we’ll get much time out of newborn clothes, but we also definitely know we might need them.
Questions: natm
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received?
I really haven’t received many downright bad gifts. Maybe the closest I’ve come in recent memory is an aunt who got my husband and I a personalized frame for our wedding that said “Mr and Mrs Hislastname”, which was very sweet but unfortunately, I didn’t change my name and we go by Dr. Mylastname and Mr. Hislastname. She just didn’t know at the time and it was a beautiful frame, so we hung it in our bedroom anyway 🤷♀️
@paigemm23 If you are feeling any symptoms of anemia, you may want to be proactive and call your provider’s office to see if they should start you on iron pills prior to your next visit. If all is well and there are no issues, there shouldn’t be any worry about your visits not being exactly 2 weeks apart. Life happens. I think I had an appointment or two that was longer than 4 weeks of typical follow up for various reasons in this pregnancy and everything was fine.
EDD / Weeks + Days: 26w 1d
Baby is the size of a(n): kale. Some of the comparisons on this app are weird lol
Team blue/pink/green: blue💙
Upcoming Appointments: FINALLY next Monday Nov 14 with the MFM, meeting with specialists and the regular OB on the 28th. I haven’t seen anyone since the first specialist on Oct 6 with a different provider who we didn’t feel best suited our little guy’s needs. We decided it was better to hold off a couple extra weeks than to stick with someone and somewhere that didn’t seem to be the best fit. It’s been such a process to move care from my midwife to the hospital we feel most comfortable but I’m hopeful it will be for the best for our little guy. I hope I like the providers, I did not like my OB at all with my daughter and was super looking forward to a homebirth with a midwife I adored. So I’m just a little nervous about these upcoming appts. However, based on my research and my husband and I talking to people who have used these providers or have worked with them in the field, they’re supposed to be amazing drs at what they do both care & bedside manner.
How are you feeling?: overall good just exhausted. We foster and our little bud hasn’t been sleeping well. But other than that. Nothing crazy just normal aches & such and I’m forever hungry lol
Rants/Raves: We decorated the inside for Christmas last night and it was so fun to just spend some time together & gearing up for my favorite holiday! 😍
See above for appts.
Questions: NATM
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received?
There aren’t any that really stick out in particular. I guess the worst gifts I’ve received is probably any jewelry that people expect me to wear. I kinda stick to my same necklace & earrings and rarely switch out. I like simplicity. I usually don’t love other’s style either. I’m thankful my husband isn’t a jewelry buyer. As a teen my grandparents would buy little things here and there and same with other family. To be clear, this isn’t fancy stuff and I appreciate the sentiment and being thought of.
@justkp that’s too funny about the name. I had Theodore (Theo for short) picked out almost immediately but my husband didn’t love it so we kept trying names. Once we actually found a first/middle name combo he asolutely loved it.
@ttc3y I love our glider & footstool we got when our daughter was born 7 years ago. I actually held onto it because I loved it so much and we plan on using it again. I used it so much that if we didn’t have it still, it would be a priority purchase. I highly recommend somewhere to put your feet too, that’s a lifesaver.
It seems like everyone is getting a bit uncomfortable lately 😬 I am not anemic that I know of but have for sure been sweaty hot when sleeping. I can’t stand that feeling lol I keep if close we’retgaa a normal in the house now but also don’t want to freeze everyone out.
EDD / Weeks + Days: 26 weeks today 🙂
Baby is the size of a(n): butternut squash
Team blue/pink/green: green!
Upcoming Appointments: Nov 22 for glucose test and 28 week check up
How are you feeling?: moving slower and slower each day, horrific heartburn, and awful pelvic pain. Also super hormonal and crying a lot. Mostly because I’m so discouraged that I feel so crappy 😫 and I feel just gross and huge. also my mother in law asked when we were face timing “did the baby just get really big all of sudden?” Ugh not helpful.
Rants/Raves: well sinceI just was a Debbie downer above I’ll say my rave is feeling all the baby movement. This baby loves moving 🙂 also had a nice brunch with my friend on Sunday. I don’t get much time to myself so that was really nice.
Questions: none
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received?
I have received a lot of bad gifts in the form of things that show no thought whatsoever. My in laws think gifts are a necessary thing and yet they always get me stuff I will never use like make up I don’t really wear or jewelry which I also don’t really wear. I’ve tried to suggest we don’t need to do gifts because we just get rid of most of them 🤷🏻♀️
EDD / Weeks + Days: 24+2- Feb 26
Baby is the size of a(n): eggplant
Team blue/pink/green: blue
Upcoming Appointments: next week!
How are you feeling?: ugh today has been a really emotional day and I'm not totally sure why. I mean, my epilepsy meds are now 3xs what I was taking a few weeks ago... So maybe that's why. I'm just blah today. I also have terrible pelvic pain, but I have PT tomorrow so hoping she can give me some sort of help there.
Rants/Raves: all of the above.
Questions:
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received? I can't really think of anything... I mean I have been given Starbucks gift cards, when we are coffee roasters... Haha but I get it. People bulk buy crap like that 🤣
@amccurls, good luck with selling your house! The housing market has been crazy this year.
@ttc3y, I hope you aren't being too hard on yourself about taking risks and catching COVID. It's been almost three years of this pandemic. I've tried to be super safe as well, and I managed to catch it twice in my first trimester. I hope you are feeling okay and the symptoms aren't too bad. Wishing you a quick recovery.
@seeds_of_joy, I hope your husband's recovery goes smoothly. I always love your positive attitude within your posts. I can't imagine how stressful that will be, and I don't manage stress well at all.
@fertile-turtle, I was experiencing severe migraines all last week. I assume it's due to the temperature changes and allergies. I cried daily because of them. I hope you find some relief. I wasn't sure what to do about them because I'm already on baby aspirin for being "geriatric". The only thing that kind of helped was putting an ice pack on my neck.
@itsjess627, good luck with your new OBGYN! Also, my family is a bit crazy around the holidays. We love it. I know that my mom and dad, sister, brother, and aunt all have their Christmas trees up and everything is decorated. I try to hold off until Thanksgiving for my husband's sanity.
@angbaby83, I also feel huge and gross. You are not alone! I cry here and there. I'll go a few weeks feeling mentally okay, then I'll step on the scale, put on a shirt, or just look at myself and break down because I feel so large. It's a constant battle.
EDD / Weeks + Days: In 3 hours, I'll be 27 weeks
Baby is the size of a(n): Lettuce
Team blue/pink/green: Blue
Upcoming Appointments: 28-week appointment on November 21. I also need to schedule an appointment to get my COVID booster.
How are you feeling?: Rough. Lol. Mentally, I feel like this pregnancy is crawling so slowly, and I can't believe I have 3 more months left. Also, I've gained 24 pounds already and feel huge. I was hoping to gain 30 pounds or less. Physically, I've had so much pain in my right knee over the past few days and my lower right leg has gone numb a few times. I'm not sure what to do about this. I also don't know if it is pregnancy related or injury related.
Rants/Raves: I'm annoyed with everyone at work right now, and the unreasonable, last minute requests that I constantly get. That's my rant. For my raves, my mom kindly bought our crib, which is being delivered tomorrow, and my MIL just purchased our stroller. We weren't expecting them to do that and are both very grateful.
Questions: I had a question in mind this morning, but didn't have time to reply. Now, I have no idea what that question was. :
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received? Similar to others, I think that clothes probably falls into this category. I've gotten a lot of clothes that aren't my style at all, and that I never really wore.
EDD / Weeks + Days: Feb 1/ 28 weeks. Hello third trimester!
Baby is the size of a(n): Eggplant
Team blue/pink/green: Blue
Upcoming Appointments: Regular check-up with the midwife tomorrow. My last monthly appt, and we switch to biweekly from here on out. Holy cow..
How are you feeling?: Rushed for time. We have SO MUCH to do, and nothing is done. I went three weeks early with DS and my body feels the exact same way this time around, so I feel like I don't have as much time as I think I do.. I'm getting anxious. Physically, I am pretty sore by nighttime and hobbling around a lot.
Rants/Raves: We were supposed to have three interviews today for a temp to cover my maternity leave. Two of the three were highly qualified, and both backed out within 12 hours of their perspective interview times. I rushed around this morning to come in early, only to find out the 8am one cancelled and it was all for nothing. I am cranky about it.
Questions: Nope
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received? Four our wedding, my grandfather (whom I never see and haven't seen since the wedding 5 years ago) got us these boxes for the tinfoil and plastic wrap at our house. They aren't even the nice ones that you see on TikTok, they were just boxes to take the tinfoil or plastic wrap out of the original packages and put into and then stuff in a draw... so weird.
Married 10/28/17
Our TTC Journey
Team Green turned Team Blue 10/15/18
TTC #2 January '21
BFP June '21
MMC/Blighted Ovum that led to D&C July '21
Jan '22 - started IF testing
BFP Jan '22
MMC/Blighted Ovum that led to D&C Feb '22
BFP May '22
@seeds_of_joy So sorry to hear about your hubbys struggles and the financial situation it causes you! Hope he recovers soon 💜
@ttc3y Oh, that's a disppointing outcome of a massage appointment, you'd at least hope to replace it with a better kind of pain 😕
@paigemm23 Yes to the pelvic pain!!! For me it's especially the pubic bone/groin area that's worse at the moment, SI joint pain comes and goes - started out as discomfort especially if I moved a bit too much, but now it's full blown agony
@itsjess627 I love Theo as well 😍
@karbaud Thank you 💜 I suppose having a shortlist of 3 names is not too bad either? I can imagine if we had decided on something exotic sounding and then he came out the most pale scandinavian looking baby 😅
EDD / Weeks + Days: 26 weeks/ 16 Feb
Baby is the size of a(n): butternut squash
Team blue/pink/green: blue
Upcoming Appointments: I have my 28-week scan and glucose test on Nov 25th. It's going to be a busy day!
How are you feeling?: I am actually feeling okay. My sleep has improved a lot and sleeping through the night just makes such a difference to everything! I have had a cramp in my shoulder that's been bothering me and I should really try to get a massage. I also am having some random pelvic pain but it doesn't last long. It just feels like everything is shifting.
Rants/Raves: My brother just visited, my mom is here now, my SIL visits end of Nov and my childhood best friend is visiting in Dec! So 4/5 of the upcoming weekends (and last weekend) we have house guests! Then we immediately hop on a plane to go back to the US for Christmas with my family. I have a feeling that February is going to be here before I know it. BTW, I live in a 2-bed terraced house that has one bathroom so the guests reside in the living room/my home office 😂 I think it's going to be a hectic next five weeks, but good.
Questions: nope
GTKY: what is the worst gift you’ve ever received? I really can't think of anything bad that I've gotten but I know a woman who is diabetic whose husband gave her honey for Christmas once. She was like, "Um thanks, but I can't eat this, remember?" They are now divorced, he was having an affair. It feels like it was obvious from that gift that he'd stopped thinking about her.
@itsjess627 +1 for Theo
@amccurls The bait and switch on your loans is such a bummer! I hope you find a buyer for the house soon.
@paigemm23 Woohoo on extra holidays next year! We get an extra day off for King Charles' (!) coronation so I'm stoked to get that extra day of mat leave.
@seedsofjoy I hope that your H recovers quickly - what a tough situation to deal with.
@ttc3y I hope that you recover quickly! Don't be too hard on yourself, we can't actually live in a bubble and sometimes these things happen even if we are spectacularly cautious. ::hugs::
@fertile-turtle That's sweet that you kept the frame. We are also different names over here so I wonder if we will get some gifts when we get married that are to Mr & Mrs Hislastname when we're both Dr Ourownnames
@angbaby83 Oh boy, that sounds so rough! I'm really sorry that this pregnancy is so uncomfortable for you.
@nwshay Sending hugs. The emotional days can be so draining! I hope that you're having a better day today.
@karbaud How fun to have the crib and stroller already and how thoughtful that your families got them for you!
@tessiesmom26 Ugh! I'm sorry that the temp situation isn't going smoothly. FX for you that they find someone in time for you to prepare them before you go on leave.
Rant: My Dr wants me to see a MFM. She originally referred me to them for a NIPT test result that came back “no result” but my husband and I decided against it after doing a bunch of research on the test. I know it’s because I’m 37 and have high blood pressure but my blood pressure has been really good (on the low end even) and there haven’t been any concerns at any of my appointments. I know I should just do it but our insurance won’t pay for it since we haven’t met our deductible yet so its going to cost us almost $850 just for a consultation and ultrasound.
Rave: My parents found an apartment near us and get the keys today or tomorrow. They are retired and live out of state (in my home state) but have always planned on getting a place where I live so they can go back and forth.