Pregnancy Check-in!

KH826 · April 2014

Good Morning Pregnant Peeps & Partners!
Here is our current EDD roster for this check-in:
1. @Jazibel: April 29 boy
2. @KH826: June 3 girl
3. @redrockmama: July 11 singleton
4. @ball.and.chain July 13 boy
5. @belovedvirgo0209 July 14 girl
6. @Kleigh1: July 26 girl
7. @2mamazinseattle: Aug 20 girl
8. @2momsinCA: Aug 20 boy/boy twins
9. @flygirl1228: Aug 21 girl/boy twins
10. @Trisholio and @trisholiosboi: Sept 2 girl
11. @shelly2314: Oct 2 twins
12. @manada and @healz413: Oct 29 twins
13. @only1leia: Oct 31 singleton
14. @pauljl: Nov 2 singleton
15. @byrrd: Nov 3 singleton
16. @rkbo: Dec 10 singleton
17. @doodah1013 & @firstcomeslove2013: Dec 12

If you have a recent BFP, and you would like to be added to this list, please just let me know your EDD and other info if available! Thanks

So how is everyone doing/feeling? How is pregnancy treating you and/or your partner this week? Any updates to share?

QOTW: What is your favorite/most memorable or meaningful baby gift that you have received so far? If you are new to pregnancy and/or haven’t received any baby gifts yet, tell us about what you most look forward to purchasing or receiving for your future LO!

doodah1013 · April 2014

Hello!
Feeling deliciously crappy! I am struggling with some serious nausea and while it is nagging, I am still pretty happy about making a baby so nothing too bad. I am exhausted all the time and by chest is huge!!! I have been binding since I was 20, so having big "boobs" has been the hardest thing so far. It's like I don't know how to steer them or something and they are always getting caught on things.

The there super weird thing is I am having these super bizzzzaaarrrre dreams. Not very many are about pregnancy or babies, but they are all super creepy. Not scary, just vivid and about situations in which one would be anxious. I usually wake up several times a night in a strange state of shock... It's uncomfortable, but certainly not unbearable! Once i snap back to reality some of the dreams are very interesting to think about....

QOTD: the most memorable gift I have been given so far since we have been pregnant, was the kite my Dad and I use to fly at the beach when I was little. He was so excited that now @firstcomeslove2013‌ and I will have a little kiddo to fly the kite with. It was really cute and sweet!

trisholio · April 2014

@Jazibel you are next in line! So exciting!!!

I will be 22 weeks tomorrow. I am still having lower back pain. I have seen a chiropractor and have an appointment with him once a week to see if that helps. The last few days I have had a lot of pressure/pulling low in my abdomen. I am assuming it round ligaments stretching and my uterus stretching. It is really uncomfortable and makes it hard to walk up right. So between the back pain and the front pain, I am already waddling and whining alot. My wife chuckles at me occasionally.

The good news is that I am pretty sure I felt the baby kick Sunday morning. It was like someone was flicking me from the inside. I am not 100% sure, so its hard to be super excited about it.

QOTD: My mom has bought lots of clothes already. Our RE gave us a silver spoon when we graduated. I am sure there will be lots more fun and sentimental gifts. I will feel better once we have our co sleeper and double stroller purchased. Those are the two big things we need right now.

healz413 · April 2014

We are 13w5d! Officially in the 2nd trimester.

Our next ultrasound is a week from today and we see the midwife a week from tomorrow.

@Manada is feeling really gaggy and nauseated but over the last few days has had significantly more energy than she has in the last 2+ months. So we took advantage of it and did some baby-related errands on Saturday. We bought a dresser for the twins at ikea on Saturday and picked out a shelf/storage unit we want but they are out of stock in the color we want. We also went to a used baby stuff store and we got a baby fence/play yard thing. It is pretty awesome and we will probably PIP it but I'm on my phone now. We have now added the extension set to our registry.

I updates this in the induced lactation check-in but I'm not sure how many people read that. We had our consultation last week at the breastfeeding clinic for me to induce lactation. They want me to meet with my doctor for a full check up before I start the protocol. I will be taking ortho 35 (a high dose BCP) and domperidone for a few months. Then 4-6 weeks before we think the twins will come, I will stop BCPs and start pumping. My appointment with my doctor is next Tuesday. I hope that all goes well and I get to start the protocol soon.

QOTW: we are still pretty early to receive gifts. M's friend sent us a couple lovely baby hats she knit. M's mom told us she has a couple of baby quilts for us but we don't have those yet. My mom has been having a field day shopping for clothes, sheets, etc. at a couple of her favorite thrift stores.

KH826 · April 2014

I will be 35 weeks tomorrow.
As I mentioned in my GTKY post on Friday, baby flipped last week. She had been breech since the anatomy scan at 20 weeks, and we were pretty sure that we were going to be looking at a c-section. However, baby surprised us, and last Monday-Tuesday she managed to get herself turned around. I could tell she was trying to turn – it was mega uncomfy and I had tons of BH contractions and shortness of breath while she was turning. Wednesday I went to the OB and she confirmed with an ultrasound that baby was then successfully head down! Having her not be breech has taken A LOT of pressure off of my lungs, and most of my shortness of breath is gone. The end of last week was WAY better than the start of it. I am proud of her for figuring this out and getting into position, and it is an added bonus that it has made me feel physically better.
At my appointment on Wednesday they estimated that baby was approximately 5lbs10oz. She has slowed down her growth a bit too in the last couple of weeks, so that is also reassuring. She had been measuring in the 95%-ile and 2-3 weeks ahead for a while, but as of last week she was only 1.5 weeks ahead now, so we are hopeful that she is not going to be gigantic! HAHA
We had our baby shower on Saturday. It was awesome. I will post more about the shower in my 10 Things tomorrow, and I will save some PIPs for Thursday

… the one thing I will say is that I way over did it this weekend. Between time back –and-forth in the car for the shower, and then the shower itself (which was awesome but about 4ish hrs long and kind of overwhelming and a lot)… then when we got home at Saturday night I insisted on bringing everything in the house and unpacking, organizing and starting to get things settled. I was in full-on “nest mode” and my wife went with it b/c it was kind of like Christmas opening everything and getting it set up, but after a few hours of that I was sore and achy and the kind of tired where you just cry for no reason. Yesterday we got up super early, my MIL came over and we went out to breakfast then ran errands all day. We spent almost 3 hours in Babies R Us, but we got pretty much everything else that we needed that we didn’t get at the shower. Last night was more setting up, organizing and putting away… we still have lots to do, but we made a good dent. ANYWAYYYY, long story not-so-short (sorry!), I am a “hurtin puppy” (as my mom would say) today. My back and legs ache, I am feeling exhausted, and I have been having those pesky BH contractions since yesterday afternoon. I know I need to take it easy a bit more. I have promised my wife I will try from now on!
QOTW: So we received soooo many wonderful things at our shower this weekend, but I will pick two that stand out as particularly memorable/meaningful:
· Many of you who have been around for a while know the story about my little brother. I won’t go into detail here b/c it is long and complicated, but I will just say that he is 15 yrs old and has severe special needs and is medically fragile. He has been classified as end of life, but at this point no one is really sure when that will be… he has more bad days than good and is now living full time in a residential facility with round the clock medical care (before that he was at home with my mom). Anyway, one of his nurses knits, and she knew that my wife and I were having a baby and that my mom was coming for our baby shower. So, she sat with my brother every day for a month and she made the baby a quilt, and took pictures of her doing it with my brother each step of the way and put together a photo book that went with the blanket. She had my brother hold the yarn, she held his hands around the knitting needles, she had him test out the blanket when she was done… it is really special. And now baby will have a blanket that her uncle “made” for her and the photo book to go with it that tells the story. It’s pretty amazing.
· My mother-in-law gave us a handmade outfit (pants, sweater, hat, booties…) that my wife’s great-grandmother made when my MIL was a baby. My MIL has worn it, my wife wore it and now our baby will wear it. We didn’t know anything about this until we opened it and read the note that my MIL wrote to explain it on Saturday. It’s particularly special because we are naming our little girl after my MIL’s mom – so this feels like a further connection to that family, and it just feels really special. I cried. Again!

healz413 · April 2014

@kh826, I'm sitting at a public computer on campus crying because of those two gifts. Holy cow!

Manada · April 2014

Basically what @Healz413 said!

At 13 weeks 5 days we are now officially in 2nd tri! HURRAY!   I never thought we'd make it here!

Symptoms List:
- GAG REFLEX is in full swing. It's not the same as morning sickness, but way more dramatic!   I just gagged super loud in my office as I was desperately reaching for my anti-nausea pills and started laughing hysterically.     But smells are setting me off like never before, and while the super-loud-dramatic-gagging hasn't resulted in actual puking lately, it's definitely unpleasant.

- Heartburn - I've had a bit of it. Mostly from eating too much too close to bedtime I think. I've started propping myself up to sleep more.

- Fatigue - I am SO enthused to make it through the day with just a little lie-down midday instead of a full-blown multi-hour nap.   I feel like a new human being.   The Multiples board tells me this joy will be short-lived as the growing cranks up, so I'm enjoying it while I can.

- Squished organs.   I notice this mostly in that my stomach is getting noticeably smaller. I am actually forced to eat smaller meals, but also need to eat way more often. This part is hard because I want to have a life other than always eating, but yeah... I also generally feel the pressure in my throat more like I am GOING to vomit, but don't actually do it.

Otherwise --- just here, growing and growing.   Waiting for next week when we get another u/s. I am doing pretty good about maintaining faith that the babies are still growing and rocking out in there, but it's hard to go so long between confirmations of that.

My PAIF brain sneaks in occasionally.   H. and I have also bought/been given lots of baby stuff, which feels strange to me sometimes because I haven't yet connected the idea/experience of being pregnant with the actual babies who will use all this stuff we are accumulating. I hear this is a common struggle after infertility, but I still feel like I'm generally bracing for news or something, even if I don't feel particularly negative.   That part is hard.

I know some friends are a little stranged out by the fact that we are preparing and buying stuff so early, I was talking to a friend last night who said there's no way she even wants any baby stuff in her house until she hits 24 weeks... but for us, I don't know - it's like we've had such a long string of terrible luck, the alternative to us having hope and actually planning/preparing for our twins is an awful desperation and grief at how much we've hurt so far.

QOTW:   I think that Little Playzone we bought last weekend is pretty damn awesome!   I'll PIP a pic of it below, but I'm totally stoked to have some babies to enjoy it! It's the most awesome baby jail I think I've ever seen!

It's fairly large, about 5 feet across on the sides, and while the extension kit will make it huge, I'm pumped to have a place to put in our living room that will keep the dog out of the baby toys and help keep the baby stuff contained! Plus it looks like tons of fun.

2momsinCA · April 2014

@KH826‌ those gifts truly are beautiful and touching. The blanket from your brother has to be the sweetest gift I can imagine.

I'm 23w5d today and feeling good. I had an ultrasound this morning to look at my gallbladder- I've had major pain in my right upper back. This was the only ultrasound I've had where they are trying to not look at babies. The sonographer said everything looked good so it really is just my rib cage stretching to accommodate my organs.

Otherwise I'm feeling alright but very much looking forward to not making this drive to work in June. Heartburn has returned a bit- that was a big part of my first tri and had somewhat tapered off. I'm hoping it stays at this minimal level of discomfort though (wishful thinking).

QOTD: the best gifts we've gotten so far are the gifts for my dogs. My dad and his wife have generously offered to watch them when I deliver and for a little bit after which is fabulous because they love spending time with grandpa. Also we got a book from a coworker on how to prepare dogs for the coming baby. We are failing on that front but it's important for us to think about- they are our first babies but I have a feeling they will be pretty neglected in those first few weeks when these boys arrive.

trisholio · April 2014

KH826 I love the blanket 'made' by your brother. That nurse is extraordinary and really must be a special lady. I would have cried my eyes out for sure!

2MamazInSeattle · April 2014

@KH826 I love the story of your brother's blanket! Very touching. And again, big ups to your LO for flipping! YAY!

I'm 23w5d with an EDD of 8/20 with Simone!

All is well here! I think our biggest development was that she FINALLY starting kicking me! I felt a few things but couldn't be sure. However, on our flight home I got a movement so big it kind of shocked me! I thought "oh maybe it was just gas" but then @ball.and.chain wisely noted, "I doubt gas would shock you." Fair! And, since, definitely feeling her lots - not constant or consistent, but enough! Very exciting!

In other news we took a different route than expected and got a crib, changing table and small dresser via Craigs.list yesterday! The people were super cool (like, to the point that J wants to make friends with them!), so I have no qualms about using their 'used' stuff at all. We had thought we were going to buy all-new, crib with conversion kits to toddler bed and then regular bed, etc. but we are way happier with this approach. Especially since we do plan to co-sleep, spending that kind of money seems silly since the baby may never even sleep in the crib! And, I love the idea of her getting to pick out her toddler bed, big girl bed, etc. later. Anyhow - there is a crib in our house! Holy crap!

Other tasks accomplished included finishing our Amaz.on registry and getting our shower invite list to my sister. I also called to get the second-parent adoption train started.

Otherwise, I got back to prenatal yoga on Saturday and walked the lake yesterday so feeling like I'm back in my groove health-wise. Food is now the focus since I did allow myself many'a'treat while in Maui, and a few things since I got home. I want to stay off the sugar train so I am getting myself back to center in terms of eating this week. We continue to read to her every night (right now we're reading The Phantom Tollbooth - super cute kids book that adults can appreciate - J found it on a "good books to read aloud'" list and it really is a fun out-loud read!) and we play her 15 minutes of music each night (usually classical, but we did play The Flaming Lips a bit to also ensure she likes cool music

hehe.) Jill rubs cocoa or shea butter on my belly while she reads which is nice too.

Our next appointment is a week from Thursday - glucose test and growth scan, otherwise regular visit with the doc. I'm still in the second tri bliss physically - I think I may actually feel better now than when I wasn't pregnant! I know that won't really last, but...

QOTW: I think the best thing is the cradle my grandfather made me when I was a baby! I shipped it from PA when I was back for my dad's (non) surgery in March, and it is set to arrive this week! I plan to give it a good cleaning and potentially pay to have it refinished. It's very cute, but my dad said "don't get too excited, a baby really on fits in it for a month or two..." but still. It's special!

Jazibel · April 2014

Still pregnant ;-)
39 weeks and 6 days today.

Feeling very tired, but this is probably less related to the pregnancy and more to a cold Kaden came down yesterday with that had me up last night.

No new symptoms really. I had some mild contractions in the wee hours yesterday that stayed 20ish minutes apart. I chose to sleep (when I finally could drift off) and they went away by my first pee break.

I have acupuncture today and a chiropractic appointment that I rescheduled due to Kaden's cold. Since I slept less than 5 hours last night I'm counting down the minutes until Kaden's nap so I can jump in the shower and crawl into bed.

Tomorrow our midwives come over for my 40 week visit. We'll likely strip my membranes and see if that moves things along. I haven't had a ton of cramping or pelvic pain like I did with Kaden which makes me worried that I'm not progressing - but I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

One good note is that I finished a very thorough rough draft of my portion of our group capstone project. A friend said to me that maybe "Owen was holding out until I finished my homework because he was so considerate already". Anyway pre-labor superstition is as bad for me as TTC superstition so I worked all weekend and submitted it last night. I have more to do on our capstone project, but I feel like this is a huge weight of my shoulders and will buy me some "just Mama & baby time" if he arrives in the next week or so.

QOTD: We were surprised by the gifts we did receive and by our mini-baby shower since this is #2. Just having friends and family so excited about Owen's arrival makes me so grateful. One of my favorites are these adorable newborn socks my BFF brought us from a little boutique in NYC. I just love baby socks.

@KH826 - I was seriously bawling when I read your post earlier. You're little girl is so lucky to have such a treasure. The nurse seems amazing and I'm just as excited that your little brother has such a lovely care provider in his life. Also congrats on baby girl flipping - Woohoo :-)

ball.and.chain · April 2014

29w1d; EDD 7/13/14.

Just plugging along. No new or more severe symptoms. Mostly I'm just tired a lot and hungry a lot. Mr. Baby is still kicking like a wild man. On Saturday he kicked so hard my wife could see my belly move from across the room, and so she came over to talk to him and gave him a kiss. He reacted by kicking her in the chin. Not the last time, probably.

OB appointment this Wednesday. Should be pretty routine; my only concern is whether my weight will be up too much.

QOTW: I inherited an antique rocking chair that used to be in my grandparents' house when I was growing up. It is probably at least 100 years old. The seat broke at some point and nobody ever fixed it, so I inherited it broken. My step-mother started walking me through the process of fixing it, but life got in the way and I never made it very far. It's honestly not the type of work I enjoy, and I was only doing it myself because it was too expensive to have it done professionally. After I told my wife's cousin this story, she contacted my step-mother and said that she wanted to pay to have it professionally repaired and upholstered as a surprise for me so I could use it in the nursery. I haven't seen it yet but I'm excited to rock Mr. Baby in it!

shelly2314 · April 2014

QOTW: What is your favorite/most memorable or meaningful baby gift that you have received so far? If you are new to pregnancy and/or haven’t received any baby gifts yet, tell us about what you most look forward to purchasing or receiving for your future LO!

What we have received is already very important. My parents gave me a rocking chair that my father bought my mother when she was pregnant with me and that is sweet. On top of that my dad came in and put up chair rails in the nursery and it looks great. They bought a crib for our babies and my sister bought anything she can get her hands on LOL

redrockmama · April 2014

I'm a day late, but thought I'd post anyways. It's only Tuesday, but it's been a busy week at work.

29w4d EDD July 11th

Not much new in the pregnancy world for me. I'm feeling bigger and, at times, much more uncomfortable. Bending over is completely out of the question. I did it way too many times this weekend and baby did NOT like it at all. Bubbles continues to move around a lot. Wifey and I like to lay around at night and watch my tummy do all sorts of weird contortions. She can hear the heartbeat now without the fetoscope, which is pretty cool. I ask her to check everyone now and then just to make sure everything sounds good. We went to the cloth diaper change event here and picked up some flats and a diaper pail liner. We dragged our friend along who is also pregnant, 24 weeks, and has already said she isn't going to be changing any diapers at all. It was funny to hear her reactions to things. We decided we should probably get some all in ones and/or pockets for folks like her who might watch Bubbles. Then, we went to BRU because they were having a big clearance sale and bought way too many clothes. They are so cute though, it's hard to resist. We had to go register somewhere else because our friend accidently said we registered there on the shower invites, that was fun. I'm really hoping people will get us stuff we need and not just random stuff we don't want or need. One can hope right?

QOTW:

Hmm this is a hard one. We haven't received many gifts yet really. If I had to pick one I would say the book from one of our friends from grad school. He has two moms and his moms are phenomenal. They hosted the shower at their house in Little Rock. We spent many hours talking to both him and his moms about their experience raising a kid in the south as a lesbian couple. Their story is beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. After the shower he sent us the book Heather Has Two Mommies and wrote a really sweet note for us and Bubbles. He will be a great mentor and friend for our little one, even though he lives in D.C. now.

Jazibel · April 2014

Figured this would be the best place to post an update ;-)

Had a great midwife appointment yesterday - I just heart them both so much. They're great, wise, funny and easy to talk too. Plus it's nice to have two lesbians who love and respect our family overseeing our birth preparations.

Baby is doing great, a little sleepier than usual which is normal for this stage. I'm measuring a week ahead.

We've set ingesting Castor Oil as our last resort scheduled for mid-week next week if Owen should hold out. Now we're working backwards utilizing other natural induction techniques to hopefully start labor in the next week.`

At my appointment yesterday my cervix was still tucked back (likely caused by my ligaments tightening in that position a while back). With it tucked back the babies head is not engaged in putting pressure on it to help the process of thinning/opening. My midwife "walked" it forward (meaning she pulled it into a better position), and did a membrane sweep. I'm now about 2cm and 20% effaced but very soft so my midwife thinks I'll go quickly once labor starts. Supposedly Owen has a very firm bag of waters. R was also able to feel his fontanel and says his head is well tucked and in a great position for labor. I love that R has the been the first person to "touch our babies" and it makes it so much real - that Owen's right there - so close to being born.

Next steps, include going on a mission to Santa Crux to pick up a couple of herbal tinctures, which I'll take daily while using nipple stimulation with the breast pump to initiation contractions. I'm going to continue Acupuncture and Chiropractic, as well as the herbal supplement the Acupuncturist gave me. As well as evening Primrose oil internally and as a suppository, castor oil externally on the skin, acupressure, walking, eating dates and pineapple, resting and of course orgasms. LOL - that last one was strongly suggested by the midwives and my Acupuncturist.

All in all I feel great, I managed to paint my toes yesterday and our midwives were impressed with my general mobility and health. Last pregnancy I had horrible sciatic pain and discomfort toward the end. Right now I feel like I could be in the 2nd trimester - which is great.

Our poor family and friends are getting so impatient :-)

pauljl · April 2014

I'm late to the party, again. It's crazy how much I look forward to "checking up" on everyone. I catch a few minutes to read at work, but never get around to typing!

I'm 13 weeks! We had a Dr. Appointment last week and heard a strong heartbeat. It took a while for the Dr. to get a reliable heart rate because our little one kept rocking and rolling in there. I just can't wait until I can FEEL it!

I ordered the crib and a dresser, which is starting to make all of this feel real. Although, my protruding tummy is also making it real.

I'm just so overjoyed that this is happening for us. Some days I just want to cry over the whole thing .While I know nothing is for sure, I'm sure feeling on top of the world right this moment.

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