Weekly Check-in 1/9

peyts228

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days:

FTM/STM/STM+:

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise:

Interesting baby fact / Baby is the size of:

Upcoming appointments:

How are you feeling:

Rants / Raves:

Questions:

GTKY: what is your all-time favorite movie? 🍿

thescarletmom

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days:

June 14 / 17w5d

FTM/STM/STM+:

Third time mom

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise:

Find out at anatomy scan in 2.5 weeks!

Interesting baby fact / Baby is the size of:

Baby was the weight of a hockey puck the other day which was crazy to me because I thought hockey pucks were pretty hefty?

Upcoming appointments:

Next appt is anatomy scan on Jan 26

How are you feeling:

Honestly my first trimester was so bad all I can usually think to say is that I feel great! But I'm also having some really unpleasant/annoying second tri symptoms. Like back pain, really poor sleep/fatigue, constant headaches, dry skin. 

Rants / Raves:

I felt baby kick and wiggle around for like 10 straight minutes last night and it was the best 🥺 DH and I had just sat down to finish a movie (rare that we watch through an entire movie in one go in the evenings, usually pause and come back) and I said "oh, the baby's bopping" kind of absentmindedly and DH instantly reached over and left his hand on my belly for the entire time while we watched just to see if he'd be able to feel them move. It's not the grandest gesture ever but was really sweet to me.

Questions:

GTKY: what is your all-time favorite movie? 🍿

HARD question. I don't consider myself much of a movie gal, I don't usually have the patience. My husband loves movies though so we definitely still see plenty. But a few movies I've loved over the years are Knives Out, The Princess Bride, The Village, and I'll go with Dr. Strange MoM for marvel movie representation. 

pttomato

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days: 6/23, 16 weeks 3 days

FTM/STM/STM+: TTM

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise: girl

Interesting baby fact / Baby is the size of: avocado

Upcoming appointments: OB Wednesday, diabetes nurse and MFM next week. 

How are you feeling: I am feeling pretty good now.

Rants / Raves: I feel kind of overwhelmed by how much stuff I have to get done to get the house to where I want it before the baby comes. 

Questions:

GTKY: what is your all-time favorite movie? 🍿 I don’t know, I don’t really have a favorite.

kalesix3

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days:

June 4th, 19w1d 

FTM/STM/STM+:

Third time mom

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise:

Team green 🍏

Interesting baby fact / Baby is the size of:

Somehow both a hot dog and a mango and as usual I want to know who thinks this stuff up because hot dogs are nowhere near as short as mangoes unless someone is growing crazy long hot dog mangoes. Is it supposed to be "your baby's body is as big around as a hot dog"? Even that seems wrong, and a few weeks ago baby was the size of a newborn hat in the hospital, who the heck knows 😂 

Upcoming appointments:

Thursday for a prenatal and then next Tuesday for my anatomy scan FINALLY!  

How are you feeling:

I'm curious how long morning sickness will last, it's not bad, but I'm curious if it's going to actually go away or just stick around the whole time. I was nauseous almost my entire first pregnancy and I get really bad seasick nausea once baby starts moving harder and flip flopping so I may end up having a similar experience this time. We'll see. 
I need to get better at remembering belly oil because my belly is really itchy and that's my only new symptom at the moment. 

Rants / Raves:

We are pretty sure at this point we're not going to move into a house before the baby is born, so I'm sad about that. We did find a really good apartment in the state we are planning to move to, it's the same amount in rent but it's three bedroom and an extra 700 sqf which will be super good for us. It's just hard to reconcile leaving the best midwifery experience I've had, and the clinic I wanted to have this baby at, and my MFM who are amazing and know me and take such good care of me only to move somewhere that the only perk is one more room. I'll probably warm up to the idea but it seems severely unworth it at this point. 
A rave I guess is that the state we're going to is supposedly one of the best birthing states in the country, so let's hope it lives up to the hype because honestly I don't think anything can top where I'm at now and I'm not one of those kinds of people who can just go with the flow and not care what kind of experience I'm going to have. I have enough trauma to process as it is without adding more. 

Questions:

GTKY: what is your all-time favorite movie? 🍿
For many many years it's been The Young Victoria, that film is an utter masterpiece of cinematography. Tied or either close second would be the Japanese movie Kimi no Na wa (Your Name) 
I like most marvel movies and there are a bunch of historical costume drama movies I am obsessed with but those two have to be my favorite, I can watch them anytime and never get sick of them. 

kalesix3

@thescarletmom instant oxytocin burst whenever my partner puts his hands on my belly to feel the baby. To me it's definitely one of the grandest gestures ever 🥺 

peyts228

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days: 6/23, 16w3d

FTM/STM/STM+: STM

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise: Girl! 

Interesting baby fact / Baby is the size of: An avocado, which makes me laugh because avocado size depends on where you live! 

Upcoming appointments: Friday for a swab/check for possible yeast infection/BV. Boo! I'm not actually due for my next prenatal check until Feb.

How are you feeling: RLP on the right side; some irritating vaginal symptoms, hence the upcoming date with a cotton swap.

Rants / Raves: my OB is great, but she's in a huge group practice so it's really frustrating when you need an unexpected appointment. I'm at higher infection risk due to complications from my son's birth, so I'm a little nervous that they can't squeeze me in until Friday.

Questions:

GTKY: what is your all-time favorite movie? 🍿 When Harry Met Sally!

monkey_mcfee

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days: June 10, 18w2d

FTM/STM/STM+: First time mom

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise: team Girl!

Interesting baby fact / Baby is the size of: her fist is the size of an MnM

Upcoming appointments: Jan 20 for anatomy scan

How are you feeling: great overall, but heartburn is still a thing…ugh

Rants / Raves: I wish my preggo pillow would get here! It’s late on delivery date with no updates available! I need something between my knees. 

Questions: none right now

GTKY: what is your all-time favorite movie? 🍿 Possibly National Lampoon’s Family Vacation - although it’s getting outdated it still makes me laugh!

francesgs

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days: June 19th/ 17 wks today! 

FTM/STM/STM+: STM

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise: Boy!

Interesting baby fact / Baby is the size of: A pomegranate 

Upcoming appointments: Tomorrow I have a routine appt

How are you feeling: Feeling good still.. lots of energy.. but still dealing with sciatica 

Rants / Raves:

Questions:

GTKY: what is your all-time favorite movie? 🍿

I love so many movies… it’s so hard to answer! I love sci-fi and horror. I’m going to say interstellar. 

hitcj4687

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days:
June 13th- 17w6d

FTM/STM/STM+: STM

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise: boy

Interesting baby fact / Baby is the size of:
The bump is wild with their comparisons for size 😂

Upcoming appointments: Friday 

How are you feeling: uncomfortable.  I feel like I cannot sleep or lay comfortably.  Lots of heartburn and I keep getting RLP and just random cramping type feelings that make me uncomfortable.  My hair is thinning which is annoying. Congestion. Fatigue. My nausea has recently been flaring up. 

Rants / Raves: I love that my son is so involved but we are swamped! Monday is scouts, Tuesday and Thursday is jiu jitsu and Wednesday is basketball. Our free time is next to none. 

Questions:  

GTKY: what is your all-time favorite movie? 🍿 the first thing that comes to mind is the breakfast club. I haven't seen it in years but I still remember all the words and it always is an enjoyable watch. I am more of a show binger than a movie watcher. 

thescarletmom

@kalesix3 I can't imagine if we had to move out of state and I needed to find a new midwife! My midwife was a family friend of DS1s dad and I think the process of interviewing a new provider to find a good fit would be so stressful. I'm sure you're already looking into local practices, and hopefully that will help you feel more comfortable. And that the extra bedroom and space makes up for it!

Also, it literally melts my heart when he does it. He didn't do it very much with DS2 because he had thought I wouldn't like to be touched - I had to tell him a stranger or distant relative putting their hands all over my belly is way different than the person who put the baby there doing it, haha. It's very sweet to watch those first "becoming a dad" (again) moments.

thescarletmom

@hitcj4687 I don't know about your pack, but our pack is very involved, basically a full time freaking job 😂 we also have our regular meetings Monday, and since I'm a den leader I'm on the committee and have meetings once a month on Tuesday (today). JUST IN JANUARY: this past Sunday the kids had a scouting event at Main Event, there's a lock-in one weekend, the pinewood derby workshop another weekend, spaghetti dinner fundraiser, we have to sign up for summer camp, and I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting. We did just have 2.5 weeks off for the winter break so the entire first week of January was break, meaning we're cramming all this stuff into the other three. But DS1 loooves Scouts and I would walk over hot coals every month if that was part of the deal. 

hitcj4687

@thescarletmom I'm still getting the hang of it, but they are pretty involved! Although most of the activities fall on the Monday that they have scouts and there are a few random things that fall on a weekend. I don't mind, but it can be a lot. Scouts ends when school ends and I haven't heard anything about a summer program yet. Basketball is only a 8 week program. Jiu jitsu is a life time sort of thing. He can stop anytime he wants but he loves it, and it's something I'll be jumping back into as soon as I can after this baby comes lol 

knottietheknot

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days:

16w0d

FTM/STM/STM+:

First time mom

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise: Want to find out but happy with either gender

Interesting baby fact / Baby is the size of: size of an avocado

Upcoming appointments: next prenatal appointment is in about 3 weeks. 

How are you feeling: Anxious but good otherwise 

Rants / Raves:After having a missed miscarriage last year. I am constantly worrying everything is still going smoothly. After hearing the heartbeat at the end of December my anxiety was put at ease, but it's slowly creeping back in. 

Questions: When have people started to get a bump? 

GTKY: what is your all-time favorite movie? 🍿 Tough question. But when I don't know what to watch I often will pop on the Princess Bride. So I guess that must mean it's a favorite!

peyts228

@knottietheknot welcome!

I'm a STM, so I started showing earlier this time. With my first, I "popped" pretty late- my bump wasn't really noticeable until maybe 18-20 weeks. And I didn't look obviously pregnant until a bit later, closer to 24 weeks. Everybody carries differently!

thescarletmom

@hitcj4687 Jas is a chronic quitter of activities (until scouts - which is why I care about it so much) so it's all we have on our plate. But it works out because I would be so overwhelmed to add anything else to our weeknights! And our extracurriculars are never on meeting nights, I'd say 9 times out of 10 it's a weekend day that it falls on. The pack spends a lot of time together and many families are very close, and I'm definitely grateful for those kinds of bonds. If you have good leaders, scouts is a great environment for kids and they can do so much with it!

kalesix3

@thescarletmom oh it's going to be an absolute nightmare, especially since I already picked the worst midwife alive for my first birth and last year not only did I find a horrible fertility clinic but also that horrible OB practice who caused me so much freaking stress in the fall. I'm convinced my picker for medical things is just broken so I'm already preemptively stressed with myself because I'll potentially only have two months to really try to get to know whoever I find and make sure they won't put me or my baby in life threatening situations during labor. It's one step closer to having our own house but I wish I could stay here for the birth. My birth center has a ton of fellowship midwives from the state we're going to so I'm hoping on Thursday they can give me some recommendations. I reached out to a doula in the area too 

thescarletmom

@kalesix3 aw, there's nothing worse than doubting your intuition 😞 I know you've had a helluva time recently finding your current clinic and I'm so sad you'll have to leave it! 2 months definitely doesn't feel like enough time to get comfortable. Hopefully your clinic's midwives and the doula you reached out to will have some good recommendations for you and you'll find some ease in that. I totally get feeling like one step towards a house isn't on the same playing field as being confident and trusting in your birth care and providers.

mommasay04

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days: June 15, 17w5d

FTM/STM/STM+:  baby #5

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise: boy

Interesting baby fact / Baby is the size of: his thumb is the size of a match tip. 

Upcoming appointments: reg OB appt on Monday, anatomy scan on the 27

How are you feeling:  pretty good, heartburn all the time, no matter what I eat. Headaches a lot, but that’s getting better

Rants / Raves:

Questions:  does anyone take collagen peptides? I was going to ask my dr to be 100% sure they are safe but had to cancel my appointment this week bc of a family emergency. 

GTKY: what is your all-time favorite movie? 🍿. It’s hard to choose just 1. I love pretty much any Adam Sandler movie 

another one of my all time favorites is Grease. 

monkey_mcfee

@knottietheknot my bump started becoming noticeable around Week 17 or so. I'm a FTM, so maybe that made a difference. I can still totally hide it at week 18+3d if I wear a vest like I am today. But my pants no longer fit so there must be something there haha!

kalesix3

@mommasay04 I do and yes they're recommended, but I do know you're supposed to avoid protein powders with BCAA during pregnancy if you can help it. I think the brand I use is viral proteins or something like that? 

@thescarletmom yeah very true, I wish we'd just bought a house last summer like we planned on and then I'd already be settled in no worries but oh well. If we live in the area it should be way easier to house hunt. I think I'm going to call the birth center in the other state and just see if I can talk to one of the midwives about care policies, philosophy etc and that gives me more of an idea of what they're like. There's a hospital birth center that was highly recommended to me but it's in one of the big cities and an hour away and I'd rather not spend an hour in the car in labor if I can help it 😅 
I'm relieved we have a plan and won't be homeless in March after our lease is up but at the same time I'm really sad to leave now, part of me was hoping we'd just find a really affordable apartment/townhouse in this area and stay until later this summer. 

thescarletmom

@kalesix3 oof, my last labor was literally 3 hours long and I was in denial for probably 70% of it so I also would rather die than get in a car for an hour while in labor haha. And heaven forbid you go into labor on a Friday at 4pm! I'm wishing you all the best navigating everything, they're huge changes to be making, let alone halfway through a pregnancy 🩶 

kalesix3

@thescarletmom so was my last labor! I woke up in the middle of the night in early transition and my water broke immediately! I didn't even want to call the midwives because I was like "huh I can't walk or talk through these but it's fine, I'm fine"😅 he was born an hour after I got the the birth center by the time I finally headed in. 🤦🏻‍♀️ It was so good though, I loved my labor and my midwife still talks about it when I see her. 
Gosh thank you I can use all the good vibes! I'm equal parts feeling like I got this and panic but I'm sure it will be fine. 🧘🏻‍♀️ 

thescarletmom

@kalesix3 I went into labor with both of my kids at 6:00 in the morning, DS1 my water broke in bed and it woke me up. DS2 it was just contractions were too strong for me to sleep through (though with both of my labors I didn't sleep pretty much at all the night before) and I was too uncomfortable. Since I had back labor with DS1, which for me manifested in not feeling the "traditional" contractions - once my water broke I had extremely intense period-like cramping and back pain that never stopped or let up whatsoever, nothing to time because it was all the time - I didn't trust that I knew what being in labor would feel like. And I tend to have prodromal labor for weeks at the end, and I was afraid of "wasting my midwife's time" and being embarrassed if she came to the house and I wasn't really in labor. She ended up arriving only 20-30 mins before he was born and only because my husband called her despite me telling him not to haha. Not looking forward to what my midwife suspects may be an even SHORTER labor this time 🙃

You DO got this! 🩶 equal parts confidence and sheer terror are the way I like to do things as well haha.

hitcj4687

@kalesix3 @thescarletmom I have to drive an hour to my hospital! It does scare me. I labored for 36 hours with my first before the c-section but you never know If your next will be the same or similar to your first so I truly have no idea what to expect this time around. I'm really very afraid. I also keep being told you absolutely cannot wait to go after having a c-section because there's a large variety of issues that can occur and it's safest to be at the hospital at the first sign of labor. And the more people keep saying that to me, the more afraid I feel 

mommasay04

@kalesix3 thank you!  I have the vital proteins collagen peptides and have them sitting on top of the fridge bc I keep forgetting to ask. 

thescarletmom

@hitcj4687 ahh that would be so stressful! Have you heard that from your provider or just from other women who've had c-sections? If I'm wrong, please correct me but I think I recall you saying you wanted a VBAC and haven't had the best support? Easier said than done, but unless your provider expresses concern, I would try and not let it get under your skin. I know other moms usually mean well but sometimes all they're doing is terrifying you. (And it's literally only the US that has such poor VBAC rates so... I'm not always certain how much of the panic and urgency around them is real and how much is fabricated - hot take). But truly every labor is so different, I always feel like I'm no more prepared subsequent times than I was the first 😂

kalesix3

@thescarletmom my midwives all think this labor will be shorter but I don't know, I've had a several day long labor and a three hour, I don't know what to expect. Plus I hear stories that third labors are longer than second so I'm not sure. I've had labor start at 7 am and at 3 am so it's anybody's guess this time too! I didn't have prodromal labor with my first, but I did with my son in a perfect labor pattern that the apps all told me to go into the hospital for 🤦🏻‍♀️ I didn't because there was no pressure so I knew it wasn't real but apparently I live in a state of denial even when it is the real deal😅 I think this time I'll be better at listening to myself because last time showed me I really can trust my intuition when I thought I'd never be able to again. 
@hitcj4687 if it helps, I've never heard of a second labor being like a first so I think this time will be completely different for you. Are you planning to hire a doula? Maybe having someone to text at all times like "hey should I head in" would help you feel a lot more comfortable? 

bridgettetheboxer

@hitcj4687 I’m so sorry, that sounds like it is a lot of emotion for you to be working through! If you’re on Instagram, maybe try following the VBAC link. They have some really helpful and comforting info on vbac and vbac stats! It could help soothe some of your nerves. 

bridgettetheboxer

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days: June 24 16+4 I think?

FTM/STM/STM+: third baby

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise: at our last appointment our midwife said she “thought” she saw some boy parts (her words, not mine lol) but we can’t be certain so we will know at my 20 week scan! 

Upcoming appointments: nothing til my anatomy scan in early Feb. I did meet with my doula today and that was great!

How are you feeling: every day is different… today I feel fine!

Rants / Raves: I am loving all the tiny flutters recently!! Can’t wait til I can feel them on the outside too, my girls are so excited and I think they’ll love that!

Questions: none as of now!

GTKY: what is your all-time favorite movie? 🍿 ohhh hard question.. I’m not sure. I really love Amazing Grace. Also Pride and Prejudice. I probably couldn’t decide. 

thescarletmom

@kalesix3 my first labor was six-ish hours, and the second was three, so I'm fully prepared for it to go fast no matter what. Outside of starting at the same time, having the worst night of sleep the night before, and the fact that I can't talk through my entire labor (not just contractions), my labors were pretty different! Which still makes me feel like I have no idea what to expect haha. Hopefully I'll feel more confident this time? 😂

francesgs

@thescarletmom 6 and 3 hours sound like a dream.. my first labor was about 11 hours! I hope this one goes faster and at least not any slower. Lol 

thescarletmom

@francesgs they sound nice... I totally get that! But in reality your body does all the same amount of work/stretching/etc. in a much shorter amount of time! It's physically very intense and not something I prefer truthfully.

francesgs

@thescarletmom I didn’t think about that… I was so terrified of my first birth so I am thankful for mine.. my mom shared with me that her first was like 17+ hours long with no pain meds so I just knew that mine was going to be that long also but thankfully that was not the case. 😬

thescarletmom

@francesgs my mom terrified me with her 36+ hour first labor story 😳 all of my mom's labors (6 labors, 7 babies) were loooong, though the first was longest, and she straight up told me mine would be too! Not helpful, lol. It didn't turn out to be the case for me either obviously, and I will say I'd happily take my intense but short labors over a multi-day affair, since I go med-free.

hitcj4687

Thanks for all the kind comments about trying to relax about this labor with this baby. My mom means well, but she has been scaring me a bit about this labor! And telling me "to watch for signs of blood clots" and just different things I wasn't even thinking about! I'm so tired of people assuming I'll be having another c-section because I already had one. I've been listening to podcasts about successful vbac stories, I have been back to working out and walking,  and just all around a different approach here than with my first pregnancy and I truly believe things can be different for me. Even if this does end in another c-section, it is what it is! I just want to go into this labor not terrified. 

krnadoptee

June 7 / 19 weeks +1 day

First Time Mom

Team Girl 

Baby is the size of a Mango (I luv 🥭 so this made me smile)

Upcoming appointments: T-minus 4 days until anatomy scan (ahhhhh) 

How are you feeling: I really feel my belly popped between Week 18 & 19. For the first time ever I’m starting to feel more uncomfortable just like sitting if I don’t sit up straight. Starting to feel pains from all the stretching now, not too severe but def there. And I think I may be feeling flutters but could also be gas (sigh 🤷🏻‍♀️).

Question: Is anyone else planning babycations or been on one before? I feel I need to plan this now if I’m serious about going & want to do a girls friends trip when I’m at week 28 (right at the end of the 2nd trimester). But I’m worried I’ll be miserable since I’m already starting to feel uncomfortable/ tired at week 19. I’d be going w/ friends who aren’t pregnant & will want to eat a lot. This would be a domestic trip but would require a 4 hr flight. Any overall advice, planning tips, or experience how it went for u if u did this? 

Fav movie? 🍿: I don’t know if I have one since I think of a fav movie as one I’d watch over & over again. But I really liked Everything Everywhere All At Once - the one movie theater experience I had last year 🤪

thescarletmom

The bump says baby weighs as much as a hamster today and that has to be my favorite size comparison ever. I love hammies! Tried for years to convince DH we should get one haha

peyts228

@krnadoptee

I finally streamed Everything Everywhere All At Once last weekend, and I loved it! 

We're taking a babymoon + toddler right around Week 30. My first pregnancy was in 2020 so we couldn't travel, and not having one last chance to get away was a bummer. Everybody feels and carries differently. Personally, my first pregnancy was more uncomfortable in my second tri because of all the stretching, and then I felt pretty good from about 27w-34w.

I hope you don't mind me asking- does your bump name stand for Korean adoptee? I ask bc I'm a mixed Korean kid with one white parent myself!

krnadoptee

@peyts228 Good to know that you actually felt better later on w/ ur 1st pregnancy- there is some hope this trip I’m planning will be worth it. Glad u can also do a trip this time around. And yes, you guessed my bump name correctly. Purposely put that so other adoptees & krns would know 🤗. It’s a pretty big deal for me to give birth to my 1st known biological relative 🥹.

peyts228

@krnadoptee what a cool experience for you and baby! ♥️