Weekly Check-In 8/7

dmcg17

EDD/Weeks + days:

Baby is the size of a(n):

Team Green/Team Blue/Team Pink:

Upcoming appointments:

How are you feeling? 

Raves/Rants: 

Questions: 

ahrob135

EDD/Weeks + days: 20 weeks + 2 days

Baby is the size of a(n): sweet potato

Team Green/Team Blue/Team Pink: team pink 

Upcoming appointments: anatomy scan this Thursday.

How are you feeling? Still not able to get good sleep throughout the night (hip pain) - tried body pillow, wedge pillow and extra pillows but still no luck. Other than that, feeling great!

Raves/Rants: excited for upcoming appointment on Thursday. My last appointment was a month ago (feels like forever ago)!

Questions: Is a month before my due date too late to take birthing classes? It was the earliest time slots I could find with my hospital (all the previous classes are full). Better late than never I guess!

clt2pwm11

@ahrob135 have you tried any stretching for your sciatic nerve? That has helped my hip pain tremendously. If you Google, you will find lots of options(although some you won't be able to do due to pregnancy), but the one I like the best is sitting in a chair, feet flat on the floor. Lift one leg and lay that foot just above your other knee (kind of like making a 4). Then bend your body forward as far as it is comfortable and hold for as long as feels comfy. Repeat on the other side as needed. I was getting spasms in my hips during the night, and doing this stretch once daily has really helped cut back on them! Hope this helps and you get some sleep soon.

dmcg17

EDD/Weeks + days: 22w4d, 12/9

Baby is the size of a(n): Coconut

Team Green/Team Blue/Team Pink: Pink

Upcoming appointments: General check-up 8/16

How are you feeling? Been feeling really good lately - lots of movement and just hoping to feel it on the outside soon so my husband can experience it too.

Raves/Rants: My stupid rash is coming back...but once again it's only in places that I shave/have gotten bug bites, so I'm starting to think that this is just my body's way of handling any minor scratches and things right now.  I might try to make another dermatologist appointment once we're back from our Babymoon, but I'm hoping things will just resolve themselves by then (I'm waxing instead of shaving before we leave, so let's hope that prevents extra itchy razor burn and doesn't make the rash worse...)

Questions: What are some "must-have" items you have on your registry or had for your first/older children if you've got them?

nerakh246

EDD/Weeks + days: Dec 16/ 21w +4d

Baby is the size of a(n): endive

Team Green/Team Blue/Team Pink: pink

Upcoming appointments: Aug 14 check up

How are you feeling? Pretty good. I've been feeling lots of movement which is very comforting, mostly in the evening and at night. Still lots of heartburn and acid reflux but it's bearable.

Raves/Rants: we had a great time on our babymoon! Feeling recharged and ready for the next few months. 

Questions: none at this time

@ahrob135 I've been having lots of hip pain as well. But my issue stems from an old injury that has been flared up by progesterone loosening my joints. So exercises like side lying leg lifts and clamming both really help to tighten my butt muscles which has fixed my issue. Both seem to be safe during pregnancy according to the book " What to expect when you are expecting". 

ahrob135

@clt2pwm11 @nerakh246 thank you both for the suggestions! I’ll need to give these a try!

clt2pwm11

EDD: 21

Baby is the size of an endive

TEAM BLUE!!!

Upcoming appointment: Had my anatomy scan today! Baby looks great and it's another boy!! My cervix shortened a bit which scares me given my history, but is still within a healthy range. I did message the Dr. to make sure they saw the jump.

How are you feeling: Pretty good overall. My husband was able to see and feel baby kick last night ❤️ that was pretty special.

Raves/Rants: I have been finding some awesome baby things on FB marketplace! A lot of brand new stuff still wrapped up for really cheap. I'm so excited.

Questions: none really!

booksandicecream

@dmcg17 We donated most of our bigger baby items when we were living in Africa, so I am also buying a lot of gear. My main advice is to focus on the basics - babies age 0-4 months need very little! Basic (warm) clothes, diapers, car seat, a safe bed, and somewhere safe to set them down in the living room. I also loved my boppy nursing pillow. I also highly recommend buying things second hand - they grow so quickly!

One thing I needed right away for both prior babies was a breast pump. I way overproduced the first time and had to pump some extra off for relief, and the second time baby had low sugar and the nurses needed to measure the amount he was drinking for a couple days, so they fed him my pumped milk.

Last piece of advice is to have a pack of formula on hand, even if you're exclusively breastfeeding. Life happens and you might need it unexpectedly. 

booksandicecream

EDD/Weeks + days: Dec 21 / 21 weeks today 

Baby is the size of a(n): endive (I have no idea how big an endive is ) 

Team Green/Team Blue/Team Pink: pink, although baby is still nameless and stuck as gender neutral "baby" for now. 

Upcoming appointments: regular check-up on Aug 22, appointment with the academic OB on Aug 25. 

How are you feeling? tired! We are on vacation at a lake but it's been rainy, so we've been exploring cities and museums. Fun, but way too much work for my pregnant body - looking forward to a few days at the beach!

foreverhughes4123

EDD/Weeks + days: Dec. 28 / 20 weeks today! 

Baby is the size of a(n): Banana 

Team Green/Team Blue/Team Pink: Blue 💙

Upcoming appointments: Anatomy scan on Monday!

How are you feeling? I’m feeling pretty good overall! Sometimes I have low energy and I’m very tired. I feel acid reflux and nausea starting to creep back up at nighttime. I’m having a hard time sleeping with aches and pains. I have a huge pregnancy pillow that doesn’t seem to work well for me, but I plan to order a small round one that I’ve seen other people use this week. 

Raves/Rants: I’m so glad and thankful to be halfway there!! 

Questions: none for now 

clt2pwm11

@dmcg17 I second everything booksandicecream listed and I would add a baby carrier! I had a Boba the first go around and loved it. Donated it thinking we wouldn't be able to have another. This time a friend gave me a Lillebaby. I just really love these carriers because it's important to my mental health to move around and babies just want to be attached to you lol let's them stay close and you be mobile and have access to your arms and hands!

dmcg17

Thank you so much @booksandicecream and @clt2pwm11!  It has been overwhelming going through all of the "What to put on your registry..." and "What does baby really need?" articles.  I have like 100 items on my registry now (obviously some of that is just cute outfits/fun stuff) and still feel like I find something daily that I'm like, "Oh crap, do I need this...?"

Also, @booksandicecream I had endive last week and thought the same thing! I don't know WHAT it is, much less how big it is. 

booksandicecream

@clt2pwm11 Great minds think alike! I actually dreamt about baby carriers last night and was coming here to add that   I also have a Boba and a Lillebaby! I preferred the stretchy Boba for the first 3ish months when baby was floppy, then switched to the Lillebaby. The Boba is also great because you can nurse without taking it off, plus it's cozy and fits under a winter coat, so all I added were booties and a hat before taking the dog for a walk in the winter (down to about freezing) and that was warm enough. 

ETA the other item I forgot was a Nose Frida to suck baby snot. Gross but necessary. Bonus: there are some pretty funny Amazon reviews 

chelleylin

EDD/Weeks + days: 23 + 4

Baby is the size of a(n): as long as a carton of eggs, these comparisons make my husband and me laugh

Team Green/Team Blue/Team Pink: 💚

Upcoming appointments: next week I have another growth scan, since baby measured a bit small at the 20-week scan. Hoping to see good progress and see baby! 

How are you feeling? Feeling better, it's so rewarding to feel baby move so much, makes it feel more real! I have edged off nausea meds and only throw up about 1-2x a week, which is a massive improvement that I can live with. I finally am not on unisom, which would really bog down my energy!
Heartburn is my newest challenge, but pepcid usually works pretty well, so I feel pretty managed!

Raves/Rants: I've been through several very painful medical situations (kidney stones, migrated IUD poking into my cervix, massive third degree burn) and am aware labor and birth is high up there, but am confident I'll manage and make the right decisions with my birthing class and pain management.
My sister just gave birth and had a traumatic experience made worse by her lack of research and assuming birth would come easily...
I visited her and her newborn, and she told me all the details, which didn't really freak me out, all I heard was how her lack of knowledge lead her to make one bad decision after the next, but I empathized and listened.
She concluded by saying that she has a really high pain tolerance (the worst thing she's felt was menstrual cramps and cavity fillings before this) and that she was not able to handle labor, so because she thinks I have a "lower pain tolerance", I am doomed. 
Annoyed that she's gauging my pain tolerance based off of times when I was in very terrible pain, and projecting her ability to get through labor onto me.
Rant over. Sorry 😐

Questions: none at the moment