Weekly Question Thread w/o 10/28

varimama · October 2019

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miss.sally · October 2019

Does anyone have a natural sleep remedy? I’ve been taking unisom for so long that I feel like I should stop now that I’m not puking anymore. It just sucks because the insomnia is real.

chichiphin · October 2019

@miss.sally are you struggling to fall asleep or stay asleep?

varimama · October 2019

Make sure your phone has blue light filtered out at night. Mine I was able to set it to automatically do it from like 8pm-6am.

Maybe some quick meditation? I like the ones where you relax a part of your body from your toes all the way to your head. It’s part of the yoga video I’ve been trying to do and if I’m having trouble falling asleep or back to sleep sometimes I’ll just do that myself.

I’m having trouble waking up to pee and then being awake a couple hours after. Of course by the time I’m falling back asleep DH is getting up then DS 🤷🏻‍♀️ It’s been rough

miss.sally · October 2019

@chichiphin all of the above. And having to get up to pee doesn’t help. And a toddler who doesn’t STTN most nights. I think the world is conspiring against me. Lol.

chichiphin · October 2019

ugh @miss.sally I get it with the peeing thing. I'd plug your phone in somewhere away from you if possible and maybe go without tech for a while prior, just read in bed or something to get your mind ready for sleep.

Malidocious · October 2019

Good question @miss.sally! I struggle staying asleep once I've fallen asleep. I feel like I'm tossing and turning all night.

mrsc918 · October 2019

@miss.sally I feel you so much on the crappy sleep!! I’m so sick of it and it’s only going to get worse is what I hear. Sleep has been tough for me since first trimester. I too took unisom for MS which helped me sleep but stopped once MS was gone. I have no problem falling asleep, I’m usually so exhausted I PTFO but I wake up multiple times a night moving back and forth from each side position and pee at least once a night. It’s so frustrating!!! It’s making me more and more irritable at work during the day.

AFM, I am 19 weeks tomorrow. Last week I felt baby move multiple times one day. I was so excited to finally feel the flutters that was clearly distinguishable from gas bubbles. But I haven’t felt it at all since? Should I be worried? Or is this normal? I do have an anterior placenta...but I thought maybe since I felt her before, I should be able to feel her now?

miss.sally · October 2019

@mrsc918 I feel distinguishable kicks but they’re also VERY inconsistent. It can be once a day or five times in an hour. I’m so ready to feel baby all the time!

lemonlove86 · October 2019

Didn't see this on the product spotlight, but I'm going to BBB this weekend to finish up (or what I hope is finishing up, lol) our registry. What accessories are necessary for your stroller and carseat? I'm planning to get the uppababy Vista and that doesn't come with a snack tray, so I'll register for that, and the only other thing I can think of is a mirror for the car to stick on the headrest for baby to look at. Suggestions welcome!!

aerie_star · October 2019

@lemonlove86 I'd definitely recommend the snack tray. Our stroller doesn't have one and my toddler hates it. There is very little that can be used with a carseat that is safe that doesn't come with the car seat (definitely nothing that goes in the seat with/under the baby). Some babies like toy bars, but we never used the one we had. We have a mirror, even though its not recommended safety-wise because toddler. Its super helpful.

varimama · October 2019

@lemonlove86 not sure if your stroller has this or not, mine (bob jogging stroller) didn’t. It’s a cup holder console for the parents. They of course sell one separately which I’m glad we got bc it’s necessary.

I don’t really feel like add-on toys are too necessary at the early age. DS was satisfied enough by the changing scenery on walks or fell asleep in the car. Plus things added to the car seat aren’t safe in cars. I might get one of the toy bars this time bc I can see the second child get lugged around in the car seat more. I didn’t carry the car seat much with DS bc he was so big, we switched to convertible at like 3 months

EmilyLove25 · October 2019

@mrsc918 Totally normal! This early it is normal to only feel sporadic movement and not to even feel it daily. Add an anterior placenta and it is all the more true. I am RIGHT there with you. There are days I'll feel clear movement, and then days I feel nothing. It's frustrating. As the baby gets bigger and stronger, the movement will be more consistent and EVENTUALLY daily... darn anterior placenta!

hmjensen · October 2019

@mrsc918 anterior placenta club over here, too. I hear you that it’s super nerve wracking to go from clearly feeling movement to nothing/almost nothing the next day. Baby boy keeps doing this to me, too. However, my OB has assured me (multiple times, lol) that this is super normal for right now (I’m also 19w). We’ll all get to the consistent movements eventually!

treetop19 · October 2019

@hmjensen, @mrsc918, @emilylove25, count me in the anterior placenta club as well. I'm at 21 weeks, TTM, and I've only felt flutters a few random times. Especially being pgal, it's hard to just accept that everything is ok and not worry... I'm trying to hang in there though!

Malidocious · October 2019

@mrsc918 @EmilyLove25 @hmjensen @treetop19 Freakin' anterior placentas! I have one too, and am 20 weeks + 4 days. I haven't felt the baby move at all. It's bumming me out. But I've been told it's pretty normal, especially since I'm a FTM. I'm ready to feel baby move all the time... but I still have yet to feel anything.

@lemonlove86 I need to check if the stroller my MIL got us has a snack tray or not! I was so naive when I registered for it and just sort of assumed every stroller was relatively similar. Eek! @varimama cup holder for the parents is necessary, too!

@aerie_star Why are the mirrors not recommended, safety-wise??

aerie_star · October 2019

@Malidocious Mirrors can technically become a projectile in the event of a car crash. I decided the value of being able to see what she was doing was worth more than worrying about a plastic mirror personally.

miss.sally · October 2019

Question for those of you with an Apple Watch/something similar that monitors HR somewhat. What is your normal resting HR since being pregnant? I’ve felt really “off” all day today and realized my resting has been hovering around 100-115. Which is high for me normally. But I haven’t been Checking religiously enough to know if that’s my normal when I’m KU or not. Of course the monitor company is STILL down so there’s no way for me to call my cardiologist and see what they have to say. Luckily I do have an OB appointment tomorrow so I’ll see what could be going on if the off-feeling doesn’t have to do with that.

stacey6689 · October 2019

@miss.sally It sucks that your going through this. Hopefully your OB can help. Since being pregnant my resting heart rate has been between 85-95. I use an apple watch and check it daily since getting pregnant.

chichiphin · October 2019

@miss.sally My resting is never over like, 75-76. I think pregnancy RHR is 70s, maybe 80s. A RHR over 100 seems high tbh. You can also go to your health app on the phone and drill down to heart rate and play around with filters and see what your HR usually is.

kantobean · October 2019

@miss.sally I’ve noticed my resting heart rate has been really high at times, sometimes 100-115, but I think it’s because I’ve had a bad cold and it is sometimes hard to breathe. Now that I’m getting better my resting heart rate is more like 80.

miss.sally · October 2019

Gah. Thanks ladies! I’ll talk to my OB tomorrow.

emilyace · October 2019

Two things! Can anyone start our weekly check in posts? I have wanted to when I check and it’s not up for the current week, but I don’t want to step on any toes. I’m in group 2

I have an appointment on 11/1 and am going to absolutely talk to my midwife BUT at my 12 week ultrasound and my anatomy ultrasound, I have been told my baby is measuring big. I haven’t gotten to discuss my anatomy ultrasound yet because I just had it and my appointment is Friday but my provider opted not to change my due date at the 12 week mark and so I’m curious if anyone else has experienced this? I had my anatomy ultrasound at 19 weeks and based on my apps etc, my baby should have been between 7-10oz but they estimated the weight between 13-15oz which seems like a pretty big difference!

emilyace · October 2019

@miss.sally I have an iWatch but hadn’t even thought to be looking at mine. I just checked and mine is showing a resting rate of 70bpm.

kagesstarshroom · October 2019

Best books on childbirth and labor? Esp. those helpful to first-time moms. I have two in my Amazon cart (see spoiler) right now & want to know if yall recommend any and if so why. Thanks in advance to anyone with good advice.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/p6/7fmxlvr3smfo.png

kantobean · October 2019

@emilyace with my first, we were told she measured large and didn’t change my due date. We’re both tall so it wasn’t a huge surprise. At birth she was 8 lbs 10 oz, so definitely big, but not giant. She was 4 days early. I will say though, the discrepancy you describe does sound pretty big.

wednesdayschild · October 2019

@kagesstarshroom, I liked Birth Without Fear, but it’s basically like one chapter on labor, more on pregnancy. Haven’t heard awesome things about Sears’ books. Also a FTM, but I’ve found The Birth Partner (great to understand comfort techniques and stages in really minute detail), Ina May’s (just for the sheer amount of positive birth stories), and Common Sense Pregnancy (an L&D RN explains it all) to be most concrete and helpful. Got all of them from the library 📚

orbmaker · October 2019

I read Nurture by Erica Chidi Cohen, perused some Ina May stuff, and Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way. My H and I also took a five week class together. All succeeded in preparing me/us for the stages of labor and introduced some coping mechanisms. I think the Bradley stuff would have been most helpful, but really my husband needed to read the book, too, (he just skimmed it) and we needed to practice (which feels awkward). This was all preparing for a “natural” birth (don’t like that term) that I didn’t end up having because of complications. So 🤷🏻‍♀️. I wish I had balanced the birthing research with some parenting books while I had the time to read. I like Elevating Childcare by Janet Lansbury for infancy.

varimama · October 2019

@emilyace anyone can start the weekly check ins! I can’t think of any gtky questions which has stopped me from posting them lol. Feel free to start them!

hmjensen · October 2019

@kagesstarshroom great question! I’ve been wondering that, too. Though finding time/energy to read is not happening lately 🤦🏼‍♀️ Thank you @orbmaker and @pdx2020!

silverhope · October 2019

@emilyace def start the weekly check in if you pop in on a Monday and it’s not there. Anyone can post it

Also they told me DS’s head was the 95th percentile at every u/s and kid’s head has been 50% since birth. I’ve heard they estimate baby size based on ur placenta so if ur placenta isn’t average in size, it’ll skew baby size. (I have no scientific backing for this. Legit just something a friend told me so could be totally wrong. I could google, but I’m bring lazy.) That said, they told my friend her baby would be huge and scheduled a cesarean and her baby was over 10 lbs, so that was a good call for her. I would def ask a lot of questions to ur OB next visit.

chichiphin · October 2019

@kagesstarshroom I was also given the rec for the Birth Partner so I plan on reading it

momoftoddlers · October 2019

@emilyace At my 20 week ultrasound baby boy was 13 oz and the ultrasound tech said that was perfectly average. The dr didn’t disagree. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I was told at 12 weeks baby was measuring big, but they didn’t change my date. I’m sure of when I conceived and I had two 7 lb baby girls so I’m not concerned.

momoftoddlers · October 2019

@miss.sally Have they checked your thyroid? I have an overactive thyroid (diagnosed about 8 years ago) and my only symptom was a rapid heart rate. I went through a lot of testing with the cardiologist back then and thankfully everything is fine as long as we keep my thyroid in check (which means seeing the endocrinologist every 6 weeks in pregnancy). If you’re still feeling off, definitely push your OB to order more tests or refer to a specialist, even if it’s nothing it’ll be worth the peace of mind. Be well!

miss.sally · October 2019

@momoftoddlers they did check my thyroid. All of my bloodwork has come back normal. Who knows. I’ll see that the OB has to say today.

I was told DD would be huge, and she ended up being 6lb. And that DS was average and he was 9lb. Ultrasound measurements can be up to TWO pounds off. Which is obviously huge when you’re talking about a small thing.

kagesstarshroom · October 2019

@pdx2020 good to know Birth Without Fear is mostly about pregnancy--I definitely want something that's more about labor/birth. BWF is just... super current, and the others that I keep seeing recommended are from like the 80s/90s and I'm like--has really nothing changed since then? Anyway, I have enough books on pregnancy itself, so despite it being newer, I might take that out of my cart.

@orbmaker I've seen the Ina Gardner recommended, but yeah, more for natural childbirth and I want something that goes through as many of the different options as possible. If they have it at the library, I will definitely check it out.

@chichiphin Do you think that one will be helpful to us since it's geared towards the people helping us thru birth rather than the actual birther? I know DH won't read a book. I might try to find him a good podcast though, since he insists he "reads through listening," which-- fine. That's fine with me. (It's just funny to me since books are My Life.)

chichiphin · October 2019

@kagesstarshroom so MH was originally in the boat of not reading anything or being too hands on, but when I explained the option of a doula and what I actually want out of a doula, he got more on board with being an active birth partner and learning. For some reason, a "stranger" in the room helping me weirded him out, so he is now ready to read up! haha

also I'm pretty sure there is audio for the one recommended to me. I plan on reading it first and then giving him tabbed sections to go thru haha

wednesdayschild · October 2019

@kagesstarshroom, as far as The Birth Partner goes, it’s helpful because it spends so much time talking about what might and will happen at every stage and what to do for comfort (and it discusses medical options too). Penny Simkin (author) also has a *comprehensive* newer book called Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn. It covers a lot of the same material as the Birth Partner in one section, but from a more laboring-centric view. It’s probably the one book I’d recommend if someone were only going to read one book, since it’s basically a textbook 🧐

@chichiphin, my husband is exactly the same 😂

Edit: autocorrect of name!

mrsc918 · October 2019

FTM here. I was more so thinking of reading books for once baby is born - a friend recommended Happiest Baby on the Block.

I hadn’t really thought about reading about birthing/labor&delivery. I’ve honestly just been trying to avoid getting scared and anxious about it, so I’ve been in a state of “It is so completely out of my control what happens [vaginal vs csection] so I’m just not going to think about it or look into it”. But now you guys made me think maybe it would be helpful to know at least some skills going into it. Tho I do plan on taking the birthing class at my hospital.

And I keep saying I want to read...but I’m so not a reader lol I’m more of a plop down in front of the TV after work gal LOL

wednesdayschild · October 2019

@mrsc918 Happiest Baby has a DVD companion too, but I wasn’t super impressed - thought the book was significantly better (both were available at the library). I’ve gotten four different recommendations for the Taking Cara Babies sleep training system. Covers allllll the same material as Happiest Baby (they literally just use a different acronym) plus sleep schedules and FAQs through online videos - $75 for the newborn classes.

As for L&D...there are a ton of videos on YouTube. Friend recommended using “the calm birth method” as a search starting place - lots of focus on breathing and relaxation techniques. For me, it was less about skills and more about knowing what to expect. FTM too, and a research nut, haha.

mrsc918 · October 2019

My friend used Taking Cara Babies for her son’s sleep regression at 4 months and LOVED it. I’m definitely going to take the newborn class and then any subsequent classes. So good to know it’s so similar to Happiest Baby on the Block so I don’t waste my time reading it!

I might look into the Birthing Partner tho! Sounds like it might be a good one for L&D that my husband can find use in as well.

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