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Weekly Check In November 21

ttc3yttc3y member
in February 2023 Moms

EDD / Weeks + Days: 


Baby is the size of a(n):


Team blue/pink/green:


Upcoming Appointments: 


How are you feeling?: 


Rants/Raves: 


Questions:


GTKY: What are you looking forward to with the upcoming holiday season?

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Re: Weekly Check In November 21

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    amccurlsamccurls member

    EDD / Weeks + Days: 28 + 5 


    Baby is the size of a(n): Eggplant or a Kit Kat Clock 🐈‍⬛


    Team blue/pink/green: 🎀


    Upcoming Appointments: 2 weeks! Had one today also. 


    How are you feeling?: Pretty good lately! 


    Rants/Raves: Rave - got moved into our apartment! My son is with my in-laws for a couple days while I get it set up and it feels so good to finally nest and get everything ready. We also have an appt tomorrow with the design team of our new house and I’m super excited to see what it’ll look like! 


    Questions: natm


    GTKY: What are you looking forward to with the upcoming holiday season?

    I’m excited for pie on Thanksgiving! I’ve been laying off the sweets so I can eat extra 😋 For Christmas I’m excited to go to the walk through Christmas story nearby and just enjoy the all around spirit of Christmas. 

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    seeds_of_joyseeds_of_joy member
    @amccurls sounds so exciting about the new house!! Congrats!
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    amccurlsamccurls member
    Thank you! @seeds_of_joy
    @itsjess627 it’s so much fun!! When we used to live here I loved it and I’m so excited to take my son through 
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    amccurlsamccurls member
    @fertile-turtle that was so sweet of your neighbors! 
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    itsjess627itsjess627 member
    @karbaud I also have to be induced at 39 weeks because they want all hands on deck when my little guy arrives and also don’t want him to hang out too long. I don’t love the idea of being induced. With my daughter, I labored at home and went to the hospital when it was time and wasn’t there long so I’m nervous as well for it to be so different this time. That’s definitely a great question, I’d love to see others’ response to inductions as well.
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    karbaudkarbaud member
    @itsjess627, there is a thread in the December 2022 Moms group about inductions that I’ve been lurking in too. It might be worth taking a look.
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    seeds_of_joyseeds_of_joy member
    @karbaud just make sure that you are the one getting to decide if you are getting induced. Babies typically know when to be born in my opinion and I'm fortunate enough to have had all mine early naturally. But even at 41, I don't think I would choose to be induced unless there was a very good medical reason and not just my age. I think the biggest concern is placenta "aging out" so if I did happen to make it to 40 weeks, I might get an ultrasound to see if anything concerning can be seen. I just think your birth plan is really important and women in their late 30s and 40s have been having babies successfully and naturally for ages. Honestly, Im personally afraid of needles in the spine too and have never had one but I think most mom's who have can tell you that it wasn't as bad as it sounds. If it does come down to it, nitrous would probably help with anxiety so that's probably the right track! But I hope you do get to labor at home like you had planned. That would be great if your baby arrives right before 39 weeks!! 🙂
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    seeds_of_joyseeds_of_joy member

    EDD / Weeks + Days:  27 weeks tomorrow 


    Baby is the size of a(n):Terrarium


    Team blue/pink/green:pink


    Upcoming Appointments: in 2 weeks


    How are you feeling?: Pretty good. I waddle a lot and I'm a bit warn out from adjusting to being home part time and working part time. 


    Rants/Raves: rave: 'Im getting used to giving up some of the homeschooling/homemaking control and my husband has surprised me quite a few times by me coming home to a house that's cleaner than what I had it when he came home from work and getting our 6 year old closer to reading.

    Rant: really struggling with my restricted diet, especially this time of year. I see a commercial with a sandwich and crave it but realize I can't eat any of it but meat and lettuce and I emotionally shut down towards food and have no desire to eat anything I can have but have to eat because I'm growing a person. 

    Questions: when do you all plan to wash and put your baby clothes away? I'm really excited to do this again. 


    GTKY: What are you looking forward to with the upcoming holiday season? Being done with my temporary job and then going on a Christmas break from homeschool shortly after...just relaxing with the family and focusing on my hypnobirthing.

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    ttc3yttc3y member

    EDD / Weeks + Days: 26w 3d


    Baby is the size of a(n): bunch of kale or scallions.


    Team blue/pink/green: 💚


    Upcoming Appointments: This Wednesday with my midwife. 


    How are you feeling?: I’m a bit anxious too. I’ve been watching my blood glucose closely and in spite of my best efforts to eat a keto friendly diet (which is 90% of the time) and exercising 5-6 days of the week with tennis, pilates, and walking, my fasting blood sugar is rising. It’s really frustrating because I’ve looked up the clinical recommendations and if I start taking anti-diabetic meds of any kind, the guidelines recommend an induction anywhere from 37-39 weeks and expectant management will be off the table. I feel like the walls are closing in on me on having the opportunity to have a natural unmedicated birth with all of my high risk labels that I’m trying to navigate through: IVF pregnancy, advanced maternal age, gestational diabetes… It‘s so annoying! I’m doing everything I can to stay healthy and to have the birth I would like to have but I may not be given the chance to do so. I’m praying that my midwife will be willing to bend the rules for me. I’ve been reading up on the literature and I have some clinical points that I think might be persuasive to keep expectant management as a possibility. We are human beings after all and not a clinical flowchart!


    Rants/Raves: 

    It seems like the topic of induction is on a lot of moms’ minds in this community this week, including mine. I highly recommend reading about inductions on Evidenced Based Birth. Everyone’s case is different and you have to weigh the pros and cons as well as know what are your options are in terms of induction. But one thing I know for sure, I will not allow an induction unless my Bishop score is high enough to show that my cervix is ripe and ready enough to have a successful induction with Pitocin and therefore lower the risk of getting a c-section. And furthermore, if I do have to get an induction due to gestational diabetes, I don’t want it any earlier than 39 weeks based on the evidence I have read so far.

    I personally do not want an induction and prefer expectant management if my midwife will let me. Based on my conversations with other mothers who have experienced inductions with pitocin and unmedicated births, the pain is worse when induced than managing through natural contractions. I suspect the likelihood of getting an epidural is higher if you get induced with Pitocin. I want to be in touch with my body and adjust my movement to support the labor and delivery process. I feel like an epidural will obscure that experience. Additionally, the epidural will affect my baby’s cognition upon delivery and their ability to breastfeed successfully early on will be compromised. I want that beautiful latch and bonding moment during that golden hour right after delivery.

    As for my Rave: I just discovered a keto baking recipe book and I’m excited to try out the recipes. I think I have found my way through surviving the holiday season! In fact, I just finished baking my first recipe from the book tonight: blueberry muffins. I’m eating a muffin as I write this post as a late evening snack before I head to bed. I’m pretty happy with the outcome!  😋 For those of you who are interested, the book’s title is “The Ultimate Guide to Keto Baking: master all the best tricks for low-carb baking success” by Carolyn Ketchum


    Questions: natm


    GTKY: What are you looking forward to with the upcoming holiday season?

    This year will be a quiet holiday season. Both of our parents live far away and neither plan to travel to celebrate the holidays with us. My in laws are still afraid to leave their home because of COVID and my parents don’t see the point in coming when they plan to stay and help us with the baby for two months starting in February. I’m actually ok with that. My husband just finished a stint of work projects and he needs the space and time to decompress this Thanksgiving. This will give us the opportunity to focus on preparing our home for our first child. I still look forward to cooking and baking delicious meals for the holidays and spending the last few months bonding with my husband before everything changes. 

    Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate it! 🦃🍁🥧

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    PaturkeyPaturkey member

    EDD / Weeks + Days: Feb 16/ 27w 5d

    Baby is the size of a(n): cauliflower

    Team blue/pink/green: blue

    Upcoming Appointments: 28-week growth scan & mini-glucose test on Friday

    How are you feeling?: I'm actually feeling really good (aside from having another cold). The bump is starting to be in the way and I definitely am feeling more pregnant in the sense of my body being trickier to maneuver around. A guy gave me a seat on the train last week because "I saw your bump" so it's now clear to the rest of the world, too, which is nice. Give me your seat, fellow commuters! :)

    Rants/Raves: Had a great visit with my mom and it was a milestone birthday for her and her first birthday since my dad passed away. It was nice to be able to support her. Only 3.5 weeks until I start my Christmas vacation and I can't wait! I am *very* busy until then but it'll be wonderful (not counting the trans-Atlantic flights) and when I get back I'll be 33 weeks and nearly baby time!

    Questions: Nope

    GTKY: What are you looking forward to with the upcoming holiday season? Spending Christmas at my Uncle's house. I haven't done that in many, many years (certainly it's been more than 15?) and my kids are going to get to play with their second cousins and it's just going to be so fun. <3

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    PaturkeyPaturkey member

    @karbaud and everyone else interested in labor stories: TL;DR - hormone-augmented labor was much more painful for me than labor without a hormone drip, but I managed the pain with nitrous both times. Personally, I will avoid induction if possible and don't plan to discuss it until 40 weeks if I make it that far unless growth scans require an earlier conversation. Long version below.

    With my son, my water broke at midnight, went in to get checked at 10 am the next day, not many contractions and not dilated much so sent home to come in for an induction the following day if no progress. While waiting to leave hospital, MWs call to say there was meconium (baby poo) on the mat where I was so the baby was going to be born today. I return, they get me to a room around 2 pm. Contractions are getting stronger and have a bloody show around 2:30 or so. However, due to the meconium they required the baby to be continuously monitored which was a pain-in-the-a** because it restricted my movement and they also wanted to put me on Pitocin to speed up the labor. It was very uncomfortable & painful on the hormone drip and I did my best to move around while tethered to the monitor and drip. At about 5:30 the MWs said "We'll check your dilation at 8 pm." I said to my then-husband "I don't think I can do this. I think I need an epidural" and he said "why don't you try the gas and air again (nitrous)" so I did and at that point it worked well for me (no pain meds prior to this point). The MWs were looking at me and the monitor and were like, huh, maybe we should check you now and sure enough I was fully dilated and ready to push. My son was born at 6:20. After all of that, I had significant tearing and they had to give me a spinal tap to stitch me up. So only nitrous for labor pain relief but then fully numb from the waist down for post-birth. The spinal tap was absolutely fine. In contrast, with my daughter my water broke at 11 pm and I went to the birth centre around 5 am. She was born at 8:40 after a nice mellow labor with gas and air for pain relief. I didn't even have to push with her, I just breathed her out. Since I have had both experiences I can say that for me, the hormone-augmented birth was significantly more painful than the unmedicated birth. I managed pain with nitrous both times but preferred the second labor and do not want to be induced. Having said that, due to my history the doctors think that just breaking my water would be enough to induce me without the hormones. I'd still prefer to wait (and avoid the hormones at all costs if I can). The spinal tap was totally fine.

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    amccurlsamccurls member
    @seeds_of_joy I already washed and put them away, BUT we just moved and I wanted boxes out of the way and everything organized. My son is also out of town for a couple of days with my in-laws so it was a great time to get it done. It feels good to have her stuff ready to go and I can just relax the next 10-12 weeks. 
    However, I plan to start homeschooling my son after thanksgiving so that’ll keep us busy. Nothing major, but there are zero preschool openings where we moved and at his old school he was working on kindergarten level reading and I really don’t want him to lose it if we don’t homeschool until the new school year. 

    @karbaud I hope you get the birth experience you want! Like others, I was given Pitocin. They gave it to me at around 7cm and now that I think about it they didn’t even ask, they just started it. I had an epidural and an extra dose a few hours later. Both wore off before I even got to push, so I’m convinced it prolonged labor and made it worse. I’m glad to hear of other moms going natural and it not being as painful. That’s my plan this time! My husband thinks I’m crazy after the pain I went through last time, but I don’t want it again. However, if it’s any reassurance, the epidural didn’t hurt at all. It was just one small pop and you’re adrenaline is so high and you’re in pain so you really don’t care about the needle. 
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    seeds_of_joyseeds_of_joy member
    edited November 2022
    @ttcy3 I'm about to see if our library has that book! I've had such cravings for sweets lately but I can't have much added sugar either. I made myself my allergen free, almost sugar free puppy chow for breakfast. I need more options. Lol. Yes! They have it!!
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    karbaudkarbaud member
    Thanks for all of your feedback and stories. I’m going to read up on the topic more. I’m ready to get this baby out as soon as he’s fully developed, so I like the thought of not having to wait until week 40. 😆 

    But I also want to be prepared for the experience. My OB said that induction lowers the risk of having a cesarean with advanced maternal age. I think I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but I’m sure labor is way beyond what I can imagine. I was told the pain isn’t worse with induction, it’s just that you go from 0-60 rather than contractions gradually getting more intense. Even though I believe that medical statement, I also believe it feels more painful to the mother. 

    My sister was induced with her second and was in labor for four hours. She did get the epidural, but it was too late and she felt the pain anyway. My mom and sister have always had pretty quick labors (around 4 hours). I’m hoping it’s genetic. 😂 

    I do want to look up the proper way to control pushing. I was told that if you just go all in and push nonstop, you are more likely to tear. Typically, with an epidural, it’s easier to relax, so that’s something to consider too.

    I like the tip of making sure you are ready enough for pitocin to work. Also, I want to be mobile for as long as possible. I have a researcher mindset, and my OB is used to me coming in with a printed list of 20+ questions. Lol. I’m sure I’ll have a lot more next time I see her.


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    seeds_of_joyseeds_of_joy member
    @ttc3y I usually just replace almond with a different nut that I can eat. If I could get some duck eggs, I would use those. :) I'm sure I can tweak things. Thanks again for sharing!
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    kamays54kamays54 member
    @ttc3y you always find really good information. Thank you for sharing!

    All – Thank you for sharing your stories. I haven’t done a lot of research or even really thought about my birth plan. I have always been a go with the flow person and I’m not much of a planner but I know that I really need to sit down and figure things out. I’m hoping to talk to my doctor at my next appointment about what my options are since I do have some risks because of my age and my blood pressure.

    EDD / Weeks + Days: 26 + 5

    Baby is the size of a(n): bunch of kale or a Walkman

    Team blue/pink/green: Pink

    Upcoming Appointments: Dec. 6th for growth scan

    How are you feeling?: I passed my 3 hour glucose test which makes me happy. I have been having more and more back pain and heartburn. I’m waking up multiple times a night from the heartburn the last few days so I’m pretty tired and ready for the long weekend.

    Rants/Raves: 

    Rave: We had a really good year at my job and I just found out this week that my bonus is almost double what it was last year and that is going to help out so much.

    Rant: Speaking of money. I spoke with the MFM office again since my doctor sent over another referral. I asked if they had a cash pay option since I would have to pay ~$850 out of pocket if I go through insurance and they said that if I pay in full they give a 50% discount. With the discount it would be ~$750. At that point I would just go through insurance so at least it would go towards my deductible. It’s just frustrating because we already told the doctor that we decided against further testing (we got a no result on monosomy x on our NIPT test) but she said that she still wants me to see the specialist. I’ve done a lot of searches on the test and the result and a lot of what I read is that the test isn’t that great for sex chromosomal tests. Also, even if she has it we can’t do anything about it now. I’m half glad we did the test because we know that everything else is low risk but I also wish we never took it because of all of this.

    Questions: None

    GTKY: What are you looking forward to with the upcoming holiday season?

    This is the 4th holiday season at my current job and our office is closed between Christmas and New Years day. All my previous jobs (Grocery Store, Toys R US, Basketball Arena) were super busy during the holidays so I never had time off. I’m looking forward to just being able to relax and maybe take a short overnight trip with my husband before the baby gets here. I also love to bake cookies for Christmas and I’m hoping I feel up to it because I didn’t get to do it last year.
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    cpk3535cpk3535 member

    EDD / Weeks + Days: 28W1D


    Baby is the size of a(n): coconut 🌴 


    Team blue/pink/green: blue 


    Upcoming Appointments: Ultrasound happened this morning, and I have a standard checkin on Monday post-Thanksgiving 😊


    How are you feeling?: Tired, sore back. Overall, I can just tell I’m getting to that phase where my gigantic uterus is crushing my insides, lol. I’m actually at my lab work right now for the gestational diabetes and a couple of other tests, so good to get those out of the way. 


    Rants/Raves: Rave- had a good ultrasound today and spoke to the ultrasound tech. She was kind in saying that I didn’t look nearly as waddle-y as one of her coworkers who is about 6 weeks behind me, lol. The baby looked really great in this morning’s ultrasound- very active and getting so much bigger and more baby-like!!! Rant- as I said, my giant uterus feels like it’s crushing my digestive tract daily, so that’s not fun. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I have a severely tilted uterus (basically completely reversed I’ve been told) and I think that hides my bump to some degree but also puts more pressure toward my spine. The ultrasound tech told me it makes it harder for her to see what’s going on with baby during our scans because of how I’m situated. Fun!! 


    Questions: Like a few of you, I’m also trying to avoid getting induced or having a c-section following my last pregnancy. Last time was an emergency c-section, but because of the direction of the incision, I’ve been told I should be able to deliver VBAC so long as it’s not too delayed. The problem is that both of our other babies have waited past 40 weeks to show up, so I’m pretty sure I won’t be in labor at 39 weeks. I don’t want to risk anything for the baby, but I’d rather push him out vaginally than to get induced or have to surgically deliver him. 


    GTKY: What are you looking forward to with the upcoming holiday season?

    I’m looking forward to having a low-key holiday season. More people are probably coming to visit us over the next month and a half so we won’t have to drive so much. I’m nervous to be on the road too far from my medical facility, plus our toddler has little to no patience for car rides longer than 3 hours. People have been very understanding thankfully! 

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    nwshaynwshay member

    EDD / Weeks + Days: Feb 26th- 26+3


    Baby is the size of a(n): butternut squash


    Team blue/pink/green: blue!


    Upcoming Appointments: Dec 6th- I'll do my glucose test then, a little late but my doc wanted to combine that with some other tests, including RH factor since I'm Rh-. Maybe just trying to save my arms? Not sure! 


    How are you feeling?:  Pretty good! Still have the pelvic pain, but PT has helped. I've had the worst cold though for weeks! My daughter keeps spreading all of her kindergarten germs to me! Besides that, physically pretty good. I've been resting a lot, and I think I need to swap that with some stretching, or yoga to add some activeness. 


    Rants/Raves: none really! I know y'all we talking about inductions  and unfortunately I'll end up being induced. I live on an island with no hospital. No bridge, ferry to the main land only. It's quick (18min), but they don't run during certain hours of the night (10:55PM-5:30AM for where I'm going. Seattle there is a less of a gap at night, so if I had to I would do that).  We do have midwives, but my first labor was precipitous and I had a 4dt. It's a hard decision because I know induction you risk tearing, since your chance of epidural is higher, but I also don't want to get stuck having a car baby, or a stressful home birth if I have another 4dt. I'm so back and forth on it, but my and my doctor have talked a lot about it and this seems like a good choice. I'll also have a back up midwife on island in case of spontaneous labor at home. I know I could a home birth, I have it in my, but again... The 4dt, and needing to go to a hospital anyway if it happens really worries me. 

    Questions: nada


    GTKY: What are you looking forward to with the upcoming holiday season? Just family time. It's so much fun with my daughters age, and I am thankful to have 3 grandparents still, and lots of cousins close by. Excited to catch up with everyone. 


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    kb1322kb1322 member
    edited November 2022

    EDD / Weeks + Days: 2/7, 29w2d

    Baby is the size of a(n): apparently like a Guinea pig today 🤣

    Team blue/pink/green: 💙

    Upcoming Appointments: next Thurs for my 30 week! 

    How are you feeling?: Unfortunately I tested positive for Covid, so I’ve been fighting the good fight since Sunday! I woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and my throat was on fire, and all of Sunday I thought I had another bad cold (I literally just got over being sick) with pregnancy aches, but I opted to test on Tuesday once I wasn’t feeling any better & got two separate BFP within seconds. Although, I’m very grateful to have been vaccinated and boosted because the symptoms this round are soooo much more milder than before when I got it back in Jan 2021 before the vaccine came out (not to get political in any way- to each their own body). I’ve mainly had the horrible wet cough and congestion, but not being able to take NyQuil is the only misery. 

    Rants/Raves: Rave- I adore this time of year with the changing of the seasons. Although I’m a summer girl through and through, especially as a teacher, I never get sick of seeing the changing colors outside on my daily walks. Really makes you appreciate the beauty in the small things 🍁🍂

    Questions: Is anyone else’s Braxton Hicks starting to get more intense? I’ve been having really intense tension lately, and even my OB felt it as my last appointment. Now with my kick counts I’m also supposed to be monitoring my tension/cramps time and location to rule out signs of early labor (which seems terrifying!). Anyone else??

    GTKY: What are you looking forward to with the upcoming holiday season?- This is our last holiday season as a family of 2. Sometimes my heart breaks thinking of how I should have a four month old baby right now bouncing along with me throughout the house, but I try to appreciate the tiniest things in life right now and stay grateful to what I have and have been blessed with 💙🌈 with me getting COVID my husband and I are just at home playing every board game, card game, and dice game with have in the house and this companionship goes beyond any present he could ever gift me (maybe minus the healthy baby boy in my uterus right now, that gift trumps all 🤪🤩)! 

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    fertile-turtlefertile-turtle member
    @kb1322 what terrible timing for Covid! I’m glad you’re having a milder case this time, though. I know it can be really miserable.

    I highly recommend calling your OB/midwife to see what you can take. I called when I had some serious sinus pressure and couldn’t get relief and they sent me a list of approved cough and cold medicines, and there’s more on it than I expected. I only took one dose of Sudafed for mine but there were some expectorants and cough suppressants as options, too. I know everyone has different comfort levels with medicine during pregnancy but it never hurts to know your safe options.
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