Weekly Check-In Week of 8/21/23

makingbacon

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 the best baby/kid advice you have ever received:

varimama

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days: 11/24 26+3

FTM/STM/STM+: TTM

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise: boy 💙

Interesting baby fact/Baby is the size of: a slow loris

Upcoming appointments: 9/11 for glucose test

How are you feeling: pretty good, had a very busy weekend and I kept up so can’t complain

Rants / Raves: Rave- I don’t know if any of you have heard of the Savanah Bananas but we got to see them Friday night and it was absolutely amazing! I would love going to baseball games if they were all like that! If you don’t know, at the beginning they hold up a baby dressed as a banana while playing the lion king song and parade them around the field so now DH and I are like we need to find a way to go back when this baby is born so he can be the banana baby 🤣 

Questions: none 

GTKY: What is the best baby/kid advice you have ever received: you can’t spoil a baby! I’m so looking forward to all the baby snuggles! 

ohsmith

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days:

11/5, 29w1d

FTM/STM/STM+:

TTM

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise:

Girl

Interesting baby fact/Baby is the size of:

Acorn squash 

Upcoming appointments:

On the 30th

How are you feeling:

If my allergies went away that’d be great so I can actually breath but other than that I’m good

Rants / Raves:

Rants: again my allergies. Raves: we’ve got stuff for the baby shower in a few weeks.

Questions:

None

GTKY: What is the best baby/kid advice you have ever received:

Trust your gut, you usually know what’s best for your kid(s)

chrissdee

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days:
November 1 / 29 weeks 6 days

FTM/STM/STM+:
Baby # 4

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise:
Team Girl

Interesting baby fact/Baby is the size of:
I don't even know what to go with here. I'm 30 weeks tomorrow, but she's measuring 26 weeks... so baby should be the size of a zucchini but is closer to the size of "a kale" -- (what does that even mean, The Bump? "A Kale"?? A leaf of kale? A bunch of kale?)

Upcoming appointments:
Biophysical profiles and non-stress tests every Monday and Thursday for the foreseeable future. At yesterday's appointment, baby girl was still measuring about 4 weeks behind, less than the 1st percentile all around and estimated at 1 lb 15 oz. She passed her BPP 8/10. Absent end-diastolic flow is back in both umbilical arteries. But it's not reverse thankfully, so we keep on trucking. My MFM is pleased that we have been able to keep her in as long as we have, and says he feels really positive about her outlook at any point that we have to deliver now.

How are you feeling:
Today, tired and nauseous. Why is the nausea/vomiting back?? I'm hoping it's not a virus because I don't need this to spread through the whole house.

Rants / Raves:
I think I ranted enough last week. Today, I'm just thankful to be home and that they didn't find another reason to send me to the hospital at yesterday's appointment.

Questions:
N/A

GTKY: What is the best baby/kid advice you have ever received:
There's no one "right way" to parent your kids. You have to do what's right for you and your family, and not everyone is going to agree with it, and that's okay.

pumpkin2023

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days: 11/29 25 weeks 6 days

FTM/STM/STM+: FTM

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise: surprise!

Interesting baby fact/Baby is the size of: cauliflower  

Upcoming appointments: gestational diabetes test and ultrasound

How are you feeling: feeling good! Finally getting over a dreadful cold that left me stuffed up for weeks. 

Rants / Raves: raves: berries are my most favourite thing lately. Rants: feeling so unprepared and needing to figure out some baby names asap!

Questions:

GTKY: What is the best baby/kid advice you have ever received: so far I feel the best advice has been to not feel guilty about having boundaries with family when it comes to your pregnancy and newborn. So so important 

makingbacon

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days: November 26; 26+3

FTM/STM/STM+: 4TM

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise: Surprise

Interesting baby fact/Baby is the size of: kale

Upcoming appointments: Next week

How are you feeling: Good, just tired still

Rants / Raves: Raves: We survived our trip to my parents' house over the weekend. I didn't sleep great, and I'm completely exhausted, but DS2 had a great time (he didn't want to go without me) so it was worth it. I also passed my glucose test, so next stop will be getting my Tdap shot in a few weeks. The older boys also had their first day of school today, and they were so excited when I picked them up this afternoon. Rants: Like pretty much everywhere else, it is so freaking hot outside right now. The dog got mad about not getting a walk yesterday, and she peed on DS2's bed. I dropped the boys off this morning and then made her take a short walk around the neighborhood before it got super hot.

Questions:

GTKY: What is the best baby/kid advice you have ever received: The best advice I ever received was that toddlers and little kids just want some control over their choices. I'm not perfect at it by any means, but I try really hard to adjust what that looks like with each kid. For DS1, picking his outfits was a big thing, and it still is. He has a fantastic fashion sense, and rarely matches in the traditional sense. The only rule is it has to be seasonally appropriate. For DS2, that means having a hand in planning his schedule. He is fiercely independent, and he can't just be told what to do all day long. DS3 has just started this, but he is starting to help pick his outfits and his between meals snacks. I didn't grow up with choices being given, and it's fun (most of the time lol) watching what they pick and how they grow.

@varimama Are you the one who has the glucose test scheduled for the afternoon? I follow the Savannah Bananas, and they are on my bucket list for seeing! The banana baby sounds absolutely adorable.

@ohsmith I hope your allergies give you a break soon. They are the worst!

@chrissdee I'm glad you didn't get sent back to the hospital this week! We are praying hard for baby girl over here. I completely agree about not everyone agreeing with your parenting choices. We parent very differently than my parents did, and they do not approve of how we're raising the boys at all.

@littleboo22 I'm glad you are feeling better! Good luck on the baby names. We have a girl name picked out from last time, but we are completely stuck on a boy name. We used all of the boy names from our list already lol.

stevieraem

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days: 11/23 26 weeks 6 days 

FTM/STM/STM+: FTM

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise: it’s a girl!

Interesting baby fact/Baby is the size of: cauliflower

Upcoming appointments: glucose test today, 8/30 follow up appointment 

How are you feeling: sleeping is hard, my hips are so so so sore   But I’m still feeling like me and feeling the little girl wiggle now is helping my sanity  

Rants / Raves: hubby and I went to the UP this past weekend for an anniversary getaway  did some hiking with the dogs and took some well needed walks on the beaches of Lake Superior   It was wonderful- except the part where we were walking around shops downtown and I lost my breath, turned pale, and started cold sweating out of nowhere… I sat for a few minutes and it went away but holy cow that was weird and kinda freaked me out.

Garden is not producing tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, or potatoes like usual - getting a ton of kale, chard, and collards blanched and frozen - did 16 pints of green beans on Monday and 8 quarts of beets last night… so we are getting some production but just not anything like last year - maybe that’s a blessing this year lol  

Questions:

GTKY: What is the best baby/kid advice you have ever received:  honestly no one has given me much advice and I’m feeling a little left out. Been gifted a few books, maybe I should actually read some… not much of a reader tho so idk. 

fitandnerdy

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days: 26w0d, 11/29

FTM/STM/STM+: STM

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise: Surprise 

Interesting baby fact/Baby is the size of: Spaghetti Squash 

Upcoming appointments: 2 weeks for glucose test

How are you feeling: Overall good!

Rants / Raves: Still treading along with unpacking and working FT and no childcare… pre-k starts after Labor Day and I’m so ready. I also won the debate about where to put the nursery in the house :P 

Questions: For people whose partners get some type of paternity leave… what’s your strategy for taking it? My husband will get 6 weeks… trying to decide if it’s better to take all 6 at once or split it up into 3-3 or 2-2-2 or something like that. FWIW, I’ll be “off” more or less until next August. 

GTKY: What is the best baby/kid advice you have ever received:

Honestly the best advice is not really advice, but to take the advice you receive and use some of it and ignore the rest. No one knows what will work for your family and just because it worked for them doesn’t mean it will work for you.

The other piece of advice that I received that was really comforting to me with my daughter was it doesn’t matter if your kid is breastfed or formula fed, they’re all going to eat some old crusty piece of food they find on the floor as a toddler anyway.  

@chrissdee I’m glad the MFM feels positive about the outlook and you got to go home after the appt. 

@littleboo22 we don’t have names figured out either

UnwritteN12

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days: 11/2, 29 wks, 6 days

FTM/STM/STM+: Baby #5

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise: Surprise

Interesting baby fact/Baby is the size of: It's all lies since I'm measuring 3 weeks ahead as of last week.

Upcoming appointments: 9/11 @ the MFM. Should have one with my regular OB next week since I'm supposed to start seeing her every 2 weeks now. She is completely booked though So I had to push that out to 9/14. Guess that's the price I pay for having a really great OB that everyone loves. 

How are you feeling: Crappy. I'm sleeping half the time in the nursery chair and half the time in bed....when I can actually get to sleep. I hurt and I've been feeling nauseous. And let's not get into the emotional roller coaster that I'm on. Ugh.

Rants / Raves: 

I'm so tired of the heat. (We only hit 99 yesterday and it felt amazing, comparatively!) And the drought. And the fact that our power grid is barely holding on down here. Living in Texas is tiring. I suppose each state has it's own woes though. 

Unless this kid comes super early, he or she is officially set to be an October baby. We set the c-section for 10/18, 37 weeks 6 days. Which is basically as far as they'll allow me to go. 

Questions:

GTKY: What is the best baby/kid advice you have ever received: Don't force potty training. It's one of the few things that a child has complete control over. 

Also the whole fed is best thing. I don't care if my kid is exclusively breastfed, exclusively formula fed or a mixture. If their favorite food is mac and cheese and dino nuggies or salads and fruit. If they're fed, it's fine. Yes, everything in moderation. But each kid is different and you work with what you've got. 

Kiek

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days:

11/3 so 29 weeks and some odd days 

FTM/STM/STM+:

TTM

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise:

Boy!

Interesting baby fact/Baby is the size of:

Baby is the size of people keep asking if I’m having twins 😂

Upcoming appointments:

Next week. Into appointments every two weeks now

How are you feeling:

Meh. This pregnancy has definitely been hard on my body but I can’t complain

Rants / Raves:

Rant: Eastern NC is trying to kill me with this heat 😂

Rave: We are heading up north in a couple weeks and I’m so excited to be back in my mountains even if it’s just for a week. I’m so ready for this move next year

Questions:

None

GTKY: What is the best baby/kid advice you have ever received:

Everything is just a season. 

varimama

@makingbacon yes I have my glucose test in the afternoon! It’s not until almost 30 weeks though bc of office scheduling. I’m glad you passed yours!!!

makingbacon

@varimama Mine was in the afternoon this time. It wasn’t too bad, I just ate a good breakfast and fasted until my 1 pm appointment. The hardest part was not eating lunch because I usually eat around 11:30. I always did the morning tests, so I was worried how my meals would mess up my results. 

shinyobjects

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days: 

Nov 16/28 weeks exactly

FTM/STM/STM+: STM+

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise: boy

Interesting baby fact/Baby is the size of: eggplant

Upcoming appointments: This week officially starts my weekly bpp and nsts, but my mfm and ob are switching off, so I will see one of them every week. Ob is first up tomorrow.

How are you feeling: large. Tired. SO hot and ready for this seemingly endless summer to be over. Getting over my 3rd round of strep this pregnancy and just wishing I could not feel like crap all the time 

Rants / Raves: Kind of both:getting to the weekly bpp/nsts feels like a big milestone, but still just very scary. We talked about this in a pre-conception appointment with my mfm and on one hand I can’t believe we’re already here and on another I feel like it’s been sooooo long getting to this point. Also I got an email that my C-section has been scheduled for October 30 at 37+5, so good to know it won’t be later than that, but honestly for various reasons that scares me, as I thought it was going to be earlier than that, but we’ll see if things change as time goes on. Straight rave: I passed my gd test! I was SO nervous about it, but feel very relieved. 

Questions: for those planning to get Covid booster-any thoughts or advice on getting it soon to have it vs waiting until next version comes out with the newest variant (which I heard may be end of September!)?

GTKY: What is the best baby/kid advice you have ever received: 

“Every stage is great”. Someone told me this before my first was born, and I made it kind of a mantra. Like, there are things you will miss (and things you definitely won’t) from each stage of their life, but there’s always something new and wonderful in each new stage. Thinking “every stage is great” really helped me embrace the best parts of different stages, without too much longing for previous stages or resentment for the harder parts. 

@varimama I love the Savannah bananas!! I would love to see a game one day, but the tickets are surprisingly hard to get! Glad you had a good time!

@makingbacon giving toddlers chances to make their own choices whenever possible is such good advice! It is amazing how far a little autonomy goes for them!

@stevieraem I tried, but never really read much of the books, and I am a big reader. I would take bits and pieces here and there, or find chapter names that seemed relevant to questions I had and just read those parts. Also I googled a LOT. Some of it is helpful, but honestly, so much of parenting is on the job, in the moment training. I truly believe you could read every book in the world and still not be prepared for the reality of parenthood. I don’t mean that in a bad or scary way, just that preparation only goes so far when you’re in the thick of it, and you figure out a LOT as you go. 

@fitandnerdy I love that advice! I had so much guilt when I had to stop breastfeeding early on, until people finally started saying fed is best, but it’s such a good point about toddlers eating off the floor (and licking windows. WHY do they love to lick windows?!)

@unwritteN12 officially October baby here, too! My csection is set for 37+5 on October 30! Although I’m taking it with a huge grain of salt because I’ve now had pre-eclampsia twice so I’m surprised they didn’t make it closer to 37, and I’m just like we’ll see if I get hospitalized bed rest for a 3rd time and that date becomes earlier…

kiki047

Hi ladies, I disappeared for a while because things were feeling super overwhelming. Hope it's ok if I pop back in... 

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days:  11/11, 28+5

FTM/STM/STM+: FTM

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise: Girl! 

Interesting baby fact/Baby is the size of: These days it feels like she's the size of a bowling ball with legs, not the eggplant she supposedly is. 

Upcoming appointments: 30w growth scan tomorrow, a little early because my OB is on vacation the first 2 weeks of Sept so he wants to see me next week instead. Got my TDAP shot today too. 

How are you feeling: Really good, thankfully. Some aches and pains, which are to be expected. I can see why they call 2nd tri the "honeymoon" phase of pregnancy, it was a dream. So far in 3rd tri I just feel extra heavy, but I am obsessed with my bump and after 5+ years of infertility, I'm soaking it all in. 

Rants / Raves: Rant - we're having pandemic deja vu because it feels like everyone around us has Covid from the wedding we went to last week, but *knock on wood* DH and I are ok so far. MIL is driving everyone crazy with her paranoia. Rave - I think I've mostly finished our registry and I'm coming around to the idea of having a small shower in Sept with just very close family and friends. We're also starting to work on the nursery, which is giving me all the feels. 

Questions: What do Braxton Hicks contractions feel like? I've been feeling sporadic intense pressure/tightening across the middle of my abdomen (along my belly button line) the last 4 weeks, only lasts maybe 15-30 seconds, then goes away. It's not a crampy feeling like I would expect though, nor is it painful. I always just assumed it was baby pushing sideways. Do BH feel more like a period cramp? My OB and GP are both males so I have zero trust in their opinions of what a contraction actually feels like. 

GTKY: What is the best baby/kid advice you have ever received: FTM here so hard to say what the best advice is, but I'm loving all of the responses I've read from you! Especially the part about boundaries. And not being able to spoil a baby - I sure feel like this little one is going to be one spoiled little girl, but really it's just all the love and support we're getting from the people who have been wanting this for us as much as we have, and I'm trying to relish in it as much as I can (even if it makes me uncomfortable). 

makingbacon

@shinyobjects I hope your strep stays away this time! I agree that every stage is great. We've had some really tough stages, but they are so fun to watch grow. It is also crazy to me that we'll have babies born in this group in 2-ish months!
@kiki047 Welcome back! I hope you're feeling less overwhelmed now. PGAL brain hits hard for me prior to viability, and I only experienced a fraction of what you've experienced. I hope you miss getting Covid! We had an outbreak at DS1's family birthday party last year, courtesy of my sister. The pressure/tightening you're feeling sound exactly like BH. My BH have never hurt, I just feel the tightening/pressure, and my belly will feel harder while it happens. Early contractions maybe feel like period cramps, mine are generally sharper than that. Contractions typically make you stop what you're doing, and you may lean on a counter, wall, or anything around you as the build in intensity.

fitandnerdy

@shinyobjects at my last appt, they advised me to wait for the new one. I think we’re in a bit if a tricky spot because ideally you’ll want a few weeks between vaccine and baby being born, so if the new version isn’t available until late September or October, those with earlier due dates might not have enough time… my due date isn’t until end of November, so I think that’s why they advised me to wait a bit longer to see when a new version will become available. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer for you since you know you’ll deliver on the earlier end, but I’d check with your doctor to see what they think!

bluepeach565

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days: Nov 8 - 29w + 2d

FTM/STM/STM+: TTM

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise: Surprise!

Interesting baby fact/Baby is the size of: Acorn squash? I love everyone’s way more interesting sizes! Definitely been asked if it’s twins 😂

Upcoming appointments: I have skipped at least one or two, and I think I should be going again soon but won’t actually go until the end of Sept 🫣 more on this below

How are you feeling: with the end of the second trimester, I’m suddenly feeling heavy and slow!

Rants / Raves: overall this pregnancy has been much tougher than my other two but about halfway through the 2nd tri, things got easier  I’ll take it! 

Second rave: so sorry I’ve been MIA for awhile, we were planning a huge trip and I was completely overwhelmed (though I have been trying to read and follow along with everyone, just using the damned bump app is so frustrating) but greetings from Italy! We’ve been here for three weeks so far and have another 3 to go. It’s been amazing, and very hot! But even without the wine, we are enjoying so many fun things and the kids are doing great. I was really worried about everything from the lack of access to my OB, how the kids would adjust, how traveling would feel with them (DH and I used to backpack a lot before kids, this is our first international trip with them!) but it’s way less stressful now that we are here and settled. 

Questions: none!

GTKY: What is the best baby/kid advice you have ever received: “it’s all temporary” - remember this in the good times, soak it all in because it’s temporary (and more wonderful things are coming! But some things will leave too) but also remember this in the hard times, it’s all temporary. When you couldn’t possibly deal with another poopy diaper or can’t seem to function because of lack of sleep - it’s all temporary. 

Another random one - take as many videos of simple silly moments. My husband did this and I cannot stress enough how much they mean to me. I thought I’d remember everything. How they first sounded, what they acted like, but it starts to fade and the videos mean the world to me. Even if it’s just them walking around doing nothing. Playing with a toy. 

medicmomma6115

Estimated Due Date / Weeks + Days: 26w 3d due 11/29

FTM/STM/STM+: STM+step daughter

Team Boy/Girl/Surprise: Boy

Interesting baby fact/Baby is the size of: bowling pin or butternut squash

Upcoming appointments: 

8/31 - OB check

9/8 - growth US & OB check

We’re scheduled all the way to the end…and then one after 40w “just in case” 

How are you feeling: I’m feeling alright. Woke up today with what could be a cold, allergies or pregnancy. I live in Western NY so it’s definitely getting to be that time of year where allergies plague me. Feeling kinda yucky. Otherwise, I’ve been sleeping a bit better. Still waking up a few times a night to go potty but haven’t been having trouble falling asleep until last night. 

Rants / Raves:

Rave: I work at an OB office so I have access to multiple physicians and PAs who are so awesome and willing to answer questions or give second opinions. 

Rave: I also have access to Dopplers and an iPad with ultrasound capabilities so I got to peak at Benjamin Friday. 

Rant: My 8yo is struggling because my exhusbands mom has been in the hospital for going on 3 weeks. (She was in and out and then on vacation for an unexpected 2 weeks prior). She watches him every day for me from 3 until 5 and I pick him up when I get out of work. And she would have him overnights for a few days when I worked my old job. She would pick him up from school too because I don’t get out of work in time. He absolutely loves spending time with her. So for the past 3 weeks I’ve been managing to find child care for my son when my boyfriend and I are at work. We’ve become the punching bags of his horrible attitude and I’m about at my wits end. My exhusband hasn’t taken any responsibility for him since he was 6 months old. And even less when he had his 2 additional kids who are 3 & 2. It’s infuriating. 

Questions: I don’t think I have any. 

GTKY: What is the best baby/kid advice you have ever received: 

The nights are long and the days are short. 

It’s temporary, embrace the suck and enjoy every moment. 

Take a lot of photos and videos. Every little moment. Every person. But don’t forget to enjoy the moments not behind a screen.