All Trimester Check In February 10

wildrainbow · February 2020

Happy Monday, y'all!! Hope you're having a good day!

How far along/EDD?
How are you feeling this week?
Rants/Raves? Questions?
Any upcoming appointments?
GTKY: If you have your baby name picked out, is it a family name? If not, are you doing a family name?

Also! Feel free to post pics of nurseries and bumps.

Calling!!

@emmasemm EDD 3/7 (girl)

@cigaline EDD 2/10 (boy)

@celticknotfire EDD 2/27

@ivfsurvivor EDD 3/3

@love112314 EDD 3/9

@sincethelastday EDD 3/9 (boy)

@bluguitarhannah EDD 7/1 (girl)

@caitiemae EDD 1/30 (boy)

@akak23 EDD 3/27 (boy)

@wifeinraleigh28 EDD 4/4 (boy)

@sanpelligrino EDD 4/12

@laurajon2015 EDD 3/25

@jolo1241 EDD 2/2 (girl)

@hanshotfirst77 EDD 6/21 (girl)

@knockupthestock EDD 7/23

@cirrra EDD 8/4

@wildrainbow EDD 8/16 (Boy)

@angelina1919 EDD 7/29

@cashewchicken EDD 8/8

@businesswife EDD 8/21

@31magnolia EDD 9/8

@artemis618 EDD 9/2 (Boy)

wildrainbow · February 2020

How far along/EDD? 13+1/ Aug 16
How are you feeling this week? Ok. The weekend was rough as I just felt bad. Nausea combined with heartburn is not the greatest combo. My appetite has disappeared and that makes controlling the heartburn and nausea hard.
Rants/Raves? Questions?
Any upcoming appointments? February 27th
GTKY: If you have your baby name picked out, is it a family name? If not, are you doing a family name? Can you tell I was hard up for a question today? Also, I have zero clue for a name, havent even thought about it. H and I are going to go through the family tree and see if anything jumps out at us.

bluguitarhannah · February 2020

How far along/EDD? 20 weeks/7/1
How are you feeling this week? Not bad overall, headaches continue to be an issue but I feel much better than I was.
Rants/Raves? Questions? I'm surrounded by construction in my building at work and it's getting on my nerves.
Any upcoming appointments? I had the anatomy scan today. She's still measuring ahead a week. All looked good and I'll now be on once per month appointments for us and to see Advanced fetal specialist. That's primarily my age though donor for embryo is much younger. Not recommending any amino after NIPT was good. See regular OB this Thursday.
GTKY: If you have your baby name picked out, is it a family name? If not, are you doing a family name? No, we have a family name picked for a boy but we're having a girl.

emmasemm · February 2020

Thanks for running the thread @wildrainbow

@sincethelastday we are having a scheduled c section - right now there would be zero other option due to the way she is laying transverse. But we already had several other medical reasons for firstly her needing to come before 40 weeks and secondly why an induction is contra indicated.

How far along/EDD? 36+2 7th March but eviction end of Feb

How are you feeling this week? Full! Baby is growing well, but my bump hasn’t grown so we are “competing for space” lol! Really need my sleep every day and the evening heartburn disturbs the first part of my nights sleep. Otherwise it’s my left leg/hip issues which give me most grief. My hair and nails have suddenly improved again though adding to me looking like I’m glowing even if I feel like a zombie!

Rants/Raves? Questions? So grateful to get to 36 weeks with things looking good. Have my final hairdresser appointment tomorrow to cover up some of this grey before the big day - but should be nice and relaxing. At the weekend DH’s new office was finalized by the electrician so he moved all his furniture out of the nursery.

Got two students coming to deep clean the whole house on Thursday which I’m hoping will satisfy the cleaning part of my nesting! And then I really really hope DH manages to build the rest of the nursery furniture at the weekend - I think he’s got about 10-12 hours of assembly to do...

Any upcoming appointments? Had my weekly OB appointment today and all looking good still with NST and US. Now estimated 2.8kg (6lbs 3oz). Rheumatologist on Wednesday for routine check.

GTKY: If you have your baby name picked out, is it a family name? If not, are you doing a family name?
Originally we were looking for a family linked name, but in the end we’re starting our own family name tradition. We needed something that works and is pronounced the same in two languages which helped narrow things down a bit. Having said that we will not finally decide until we see her just in case we don’t think the name suits her!

hanshotfirst77 · February 2020

@wildrainbow I'm sorry things have been rough lately, I have pretty bad heartburn too, it's the worst.

@bluguitarhannah I have pretty bad frequent headaches too. It sucks. Glad your A/S went good though!

@emmasemm ahh you are so close! So excited for you!

How far along/EDD? - 21+1, 6/21
How are you feeling this week? - Pretty good. Except this heartburn sucks. And these headaches also suck. I'm not sure if I mentioned it here, but I had a scare last week, frequent headaches plus left foot was majorly swollen out of nowhere. Went to the OB and BP was slightly high, they ruled out a DVT, and did some bloodwork. Baby's heartbeat and fundal height was good. Everything seems okay right now, even though I'm still getting the headaches. But bloodwork should come back soon and I go to recheck BP this week.
Rants/Raves? Questions? Nursery prep has been great. Crib and dresser are assembled, started decorating and ordered a few more things. I will take pics when it's all done. Also my DS is the cutest, he's home sick today and he was drawing some pictures and drew a picture of baby sister
Any upcoming appointments? 2/13 for BP check, 2/27 OB, 2/28 Fetal Echo
GTKY: If you have your baby name picked out, is it a family name? If not, are you doing a family name? - Her first name is not a family name, it took awhile to come up with it. All the girls names from my pregnancy with DS just seemed meh to me. But then I saw it, and tried it out for a few weeks and I just love it. Her middle name is a family name though. I did the same with my DS, his middle is after my late grandfather. And her middle is actually my middle, also after my late great grandmother.

31magnolia · February 2020

How far along/EDD? 9w6d, Sept 8th

How are you feeling this week? Had a really bad headache for 48 hours straight! That was painful. Then it just magically disappeared.

Rants/Raves? Questions? Rave- Had my last RE appointment today. This U/S was very detailed. We got to all the limbs, the spine and the brain. Baby even waved at us! It was a special moment. The tech said she thought it was a boy! We'll see.

Any upcoming appointments? First OB appointment tomorrow.

GTKY: If you have your baby name picked out, is it a family name? If not, are you doing a family name? If it's a boy I wouldn't mind the first name being the same as my SO. He's adamant about it not being the first name though. He has the first name as his dad and he hated it growing up. Lol. If it's a girl she will have my grandmother's middle name as her middle name.

@hanshotfirst77 - That is a scare! Glad everything turned out OK.

@emmasemm - Yay with being almost done with the nursery! And it's good that you have someone coming over to clean so you don't have to worry about it! I have so much to do and even though it seems like I have loads of time, I'm an awesome procrastinator!

@bluguitarhannah - Awesome about the A/S!

@wildrainbow - Aww. Can you stomach ritz crackers? just keep them in your purse so you can have something.

cigaline · February 2020

Hello all!

How far along/EDD? 40w/10 Feb and yes, today is my due date...

How are you feeling this week?

Variable - was feeling great last week, on Friday I had a beautician come to the house for a wax and a pedicure, and then walked all the way to my swimming class via a friend’s, which was nearly 3 miles, so I felt pretty proud of that! Swimming was great and I ended the day really on a high. However, some kind of hormone change hit me yesterday and I had a couple of crying spells for no reason and felt really down at the end of the day.

Rants/Raves? Questions?

Well I’ve got a lot done over the last few weeks, which is great, but I’m still not ready and the house still feels like a bit of a mess arrgh! I so want to come back to a nice peaceful tidy space with baby, not ready to go into labour just yet...

Any upcoming appointments?

Two monitoring sessions this week tomorrow and Thursday. My OBGYN is away on holiday now until the 18th, so if I haven’t given birth by then instructions are to go in to see him and schedule induction for 19/20th. Hopefully it won’t come to that but apparently the cervix was ‘mid-long’ on Thurs which suggested I had a least a few days to go (though I suppose the situation could have changed by now..)

GTKY: If you have your baby name picked out, is it a family name? If not, are you doing a family name?

The first name is not a family name since we wanted a bilingual (identical) English - French name and there aren’t that many of those to choose from (especially for boys). But we’ll be giving him my grandfather’s name as a second name.

[Deleted User] · February 2020

<ul><li>How far along/EDD? Aug 21 / 12+3</li><li>How are you feeling this week? Home sick with DD...</li><li>Rants/Raves? Questions? Just got off the phone with the leave coordinator through my work and learned some interesting things! Looking forward (dubiously) to planning my end of work here sooner, rather than later...</li><li>Any upcoming appointments? NT scan on Wednesday</li><li>GTKY: If you have your baby name picked out, is it a family name? If not, are you doing a family name? We went with family names for DD, but we might go off that if this baby is another girl. Or maybe still find a family name to use for MN. Boys we are a hot mess so, maybe?</li></ul>

artemis618 · February 2020

How far along/EDD? 10w5d / 2 Sept (but repeat c-section by 26 Aug)
How are you feeling this week? Nauseated and exhausted. I should be sleeping!
Rants/Raves? Questions? Sometimes I wonder whose idea it was to be pregnant with a toddler at 42 (years old). *yawn*
Any upcoming appointments? Not this week - NT scan next Friday, but might get NIPT result this week.
GTKY: If you have your baby name picked out, is it a family name? If not, are you doing a family name? With DD, DH tortured me with the worst name ideas until maybe 10 days before she was born (he says he meant to stop at the third trimester but couldn't help himself). DD has a Welsh name because I liked the alliteration with our last name, and DH and all his siblings have Welsh names (and four names) because their dad is Welsh. For now I just refer to this little one using a name that literally means "son of [DH's name]." Not sure if it'll stick, but it tickles me how literal it is so I think it should at least be one of his names, and it's better than "Gilgamesh" for now I'd be open to family names once DH is ready to have a serious conversation about it.

emmasemm · February 2020

@wildrainbow I can recommend the app “kinder” - both you and YH download it, you set yourself up and invite him to link to you. Then you can choose from lists of names to go through and swipe left or right (like Tinder). It keeps the list of names you like and it shows you the ones that both you and YH like. We were really struggling until someone told me about this app - then it made our shortlist easy. We then tried out each name one by one until one stuck. Some didn’t last more than 10 minutes in the end!

@bluguitarhannah great news on the good anatomy scan

@hanshotfirst77 do you have an at home BP monitor? I have one of the wrist ones as mine kept being high at my early appointments. It was only 25 euros and I’ve used it 3 times a day for 7 months so well worth the investment. Hope all your bloods come back ok - though at the hospital they had all results in 1.5 hours so they shouldn’t take too long (checking for signs of pre eclampsia or HELLP).

@31magnolia wow that’s an early gender prediction from the tech!!! So great that your final RE appointment went so well!

@cigaline oooooh so so close! I’m so with you on wanting everything organized and tidy and clean before heading to the hospital. And fully understand the Bi-lingual name search!

@businesswife hope your DD is feeling better soon, but good you had the chance to check out all the leave possibilities

@artemis618 glad I’m not the only one whose DH thought choosing a name was a great game for winding me up!

And I’m interested to hear in some months how you feel about being 42, in third tri and chasing a toddler... if we are lucky enough to get a second from our embryos I would be at least 43...

[Deleted User] · February 2020

@emmasemm oh, but it makes my heart so happy to see how close you are to meeting your little sweetheart! And to hear you daydreaming about the possibility of having another. ❤️ To think @artemis618 here we both are with our precious DDs running around, very soon to be big sisters! It just blows my mind to see how far we've come over these past several YEARS! Can you believe we've known each other so long? It's just wild to me how each other's paths may continue to intersect, ...and I think about others we haven't seen in a while... My heart!

angelina1919 · February 2020

How far along/EDD? 15+6 / Jul 29th but most likely will have a programmed c-section on July 15th

How are you feeling this week? Headaches, headaches and more headaches. I really need a break!

Rants/Raves? Questions? Yesterday I found out I have 4 additional weeks of paid leave before giving birth (nesting period) which totals 24 full weeks pre and postpartum and I can’t be more thankful because I was concerned about working until the week before my c-section. My job can be stressful at times and being AMA I was worried about my blood pressure….which reminds me I should stop worrying about things that might or might not go wrong, but that is my nature.

Any upcoming appointments? OB appointment on 02/21

GTKY: If you have your baby name picked out, is it a family name? If not, are you doing a family name? We will go with a family name for the middle name and for the first name, just like @Cigaline and @emmasemm we want a bilingual name. After finding out we are having a boy, the list is narrowed down to just a few.

sincethelastday · February 2020

@wildrainbow - ugh, sorry to hear about the nausea and heartburn! Individually, they suck, but having them together sounds brutal - hope you find some relief soon (or better yet, they pass altogether!)

@bluguitarhannah - what a great scan! That’s great how everything is looking great so far!

@emmasemm - man, you’re so close!! Is knowing the fact that you’ll be having a scheduled c-section help you feel more in control over everything? It must be surreal knowing the exact date you’ll be having your baby! So excited for you!!

@hanshotfirst77 - very cute of your DS with his drawing for his sister! 😊 Sounds like you’re making great progress with the nursery as well!

@31magnolia - ugh, sorry to hear about the headaches! Sounds like you had a great scan though!

@cigaline - wow! Can’t believe you’ve reached your due date!! It doesn’t seem that long ago that the both of us were crossing our fingers on the TTTC board hoping we were going to get pregnant! I feel like I can totally relate with you on the shifting hormones and feelings. I was packing my hospital bag on the weekend and kept flipping back and forth from being excited to wanting to break down with nervousness. I think it’s all par for the course when we’re this close to having our babies. Will be thinking of you and hope your little one comes sooner than later so you don’t have to worry about induction.

@BusinessWife - totally get you with being excited with the whole leave of work and just sorting that all out! Hope your workplace is quite accommodating!

@artemis618 - wow! Gilgamesh is some name!! Lol. Hope you and YH come to an agreement about a name you both like.

@angelina1919 - that’s great to hear about your leave and having some good chunk of time off before your c-section!

How far along/EDD? 36w1d Mar 9th
How are you feeling this week? I continue to feel good. Sore here and there at times, but I just keep knocking on wood that I continue to feel physically well as long as possible. Emotionally, I’ve been all over the place at times. I go from being really excited to meet this little guy to being absolutely terrified of being a new mom and having life as I know it totally changed.
Rants/Raves? Questions? I only have two more weeks of work and then I’m done, so that’s a big rave! Just counting down the days!
Any upcoming appointments? OB appointment this afternoon.
GTKY: If you have your baby name picked out, is it a family name? If not, are you doing a family name? We lucked out and had an easy time picking out a name that we both liked. It’s not a family name, but his two middle names are both of our late grandfathers’ names.

artemis618 · February 2020

@emmasemm Hmm. I guess I hadn't considered the tired getting worse later, but I suppose every pregnancy is different. With DD - pregnancy-wise, I had it pretty easy peasy (delivery was another story - no thanks to an epidural that had fallen out - which somehow no one noticed till they went to prep me for c-section after I'd pushed for 3 hours and tore my cervix...but I digress). I never really got uncomfortable during pregnancy - I went to ballet (skipping pirouettes & jetes) and tap class till 38 weeks (I was induced at 39). The first tri stupid tired and nausea was the worst of it last time. I guess we'll see! It's not like the tired is going to get better later (in age) - and it's not an option waiting till DD is in college!

@sincethelastday Here's an example of some of DH's suggestions for DD's name:

Other gems included "Elabradora" because he likes Labrador puppies, and "Meliflora Ursula" so he could call her "honey bear."

bluguitarhannah · February 2020

@sincethelastday You are getting so close how exciting!

@artemis618 My Dad wanted to name me Star Bright or my brother Brother Lee.

artemis618 · February 2020

@bluguitarhannah Oh my. Like "Brother" as his first name? DH hasn't yet suggested that, but this morning he referred to the baby as Hammurabi Amadeus...

wildrainbow · February 2020

@artemis618 Hammurabi Amadeus?

sincethelastday · February 2020

@artemis618 - Oh my gosh!! I literally laughed out loud at your response emoji to your husband’s suggestions!! 😆 The upside would be I’m sure your DD would not have to share a name with any school mates lol.

cigaline · February 2020

@emmasemm Yes it's hard to believe that whatever happens, baby will be here in just over a week at the latest! Eek! I am excited but like @sincethelastday it's also quite scary now it's so close. However I bashed through a lot of tidying and cleaning today and feel as though I'm almost ready for him to arrive! Just a few more mainly little things to do on my list. I think I've asked you this already, but is YH German or English? I had English in mind, but since your DD will be growing up in Germany I can imagine you wanting a bilingual name anyway.

@angelina1919 interesting you are also looking for a bilingual name, what other language is it?

@artemis618 surely YH is pulling your leg with those names?! My Welsh friend was a lot more reasonable - her boy is Edryd and her little girl Elinor - still Welsh, but less of a mouthful ;-)

@sincethelastday Yes completely agree it's amazing to see how far we've come from the TTTC board - that almost seems like a different age, and yet it wasn't that long ago. (I had a quick look back a while ago and saw that quite a few girls got their BFPs, but they haven't turned up here, which is a pity...) I was thinking recently of those balmy days in May last year when I was doing my injections, and about the nurse who visited me to help me do them the first time. I'd really like to let her know what the outcome was! The emotions are so variable aren't they, despite how long it's been I think you don't really believe you're actually going to end up with a baby until he/she is here. Well done on keeping going at work up until 38 weeks - that's pretty impressive! Good luck with the end - hope the last few days are not too tough for you.

cashewchicken · February 2020

How far along/EDD? 14+4/Aug 8
How are you feeling this week? Not great! Caught a cold from my son and I’ve been feeling miserable since. Sinus cold mostly but I feel dizzy too.
Rants/Raves? Questions? Got my panorama test result and the baby is low risk for all trisomies they test against! And the baby is confirmed girl (the embryo was PGS-tested so we knew, but nice to be confirmed)!
Any upcoming appointments? Diabetes counselor tomorrow, OB Friday.
GTKY: If you have your baby name picked out, is it a family name? If not, are you doing a family name? We do have a baby name picked out. My mom, my sister and I all share the same ‘alphabet’ (syllabary) and the girl will share one too.

So hard to reply to everyone’s comments on my phone! Will do so after I get home!

artemis618 · February 2020

@wildrainbow Yes, DH was trying the name on DS. That one's a hard "no" from me.

@sincethelastday Glad to have amused you

@cigaline Yes, he was definitely joking. Those are lovely names though we're not limited to Welsh names. We relatively unremarkably named our DD Teagan - which kind of annoyingly made #6 on Nameberry's outlook for the top names for baby girls in 2020. I proposed it after our 20 week scan at which he found out the gender (I had to keep her gender from him till then, which sort of stressed me out worrying about slipping), and he was fine with it, but he kept the crazy name suggestions up till about a week and a half before she was born.

How exciting for the ladies who are so close! Some days I still don't believe DD is here and she'll be 14 months this weekend.

[Deleted User] · February 2020

Today's appointment went great! All the measurements for our 12w NT scan were in range, and we even got to see a big baby YAWN and scratching his/her nose. So cute! :D I go back for the early glucose test at 16w...

artemis618 · February 2020

@BusinessWife Great news about the scan! I really wish I knew what was going on in there, but we won't get a peek till end of next week.

Is there a reason you are doing the early glucose test? I'm probably going to chug some glucola myself this weekend because my a1c came back as pre-diabetic at 5.8

again - actually the same as it was the day before DD's transfer, so at least it's not worse?) Super frustrating as I feel like I already deprive myself carb-wise a lot as it is, but I suppose blood sugar while pregnant isn't anything with which to mess around.

[Deleted User] · February 2020

@artemis618 They said since DD was over 9lbs at birth (10,1) I guess it's standard to screen early for it. Last pregnancy, I tested frequently at home for it as well, as I did today. Just took a baseline bloodsugar, then drank 50g worth of pear nectar, and tested at 30 min, and again at 60 min. Gives me peace of mind, so I'm sure I will check again at home a couple more times before my official screening, and again between appointments going forward. I didn't have GD last time, I just think I grow big babies, but anyway it's good to be on top of it. Definitely better safe than sorry if it's something that they can help nip in the bud!! GL this weekend

artemis618 · February 2020

@BusinessWife Ah, I see. I didn't have it last time either (tested early and at 24 week) although I mostly ate like I did anyway - DD was 6 lbs 11 oz (pumped full of c-section fluids - she was down to 6 lbs 1 oz when we left the hospital). I'm glad it gives you peace of mind to test at home but I couldn't imagine having that much sugar at once that many times! I am a little curious to see how different foods affect it - but not enough to prick myself 4c/day for kicks

. It's not clear to me how early the placenta actually contributes - it seems like this early it's just be my preexisting carb intolerance :(which I know is also not good *sigh*)

emmasemm · February 2020

@cigaline MH is German. And yes we plan to bring up family predominately here in Germany (not averse to going overseas for a few years if the opportunity presents itself....). But we see with colleagues how important it is to have a name which people can easily remember, pronounce, write etc as we both work in global businesses. Names with lots of special characters in are really a nightmare.

@cashewchicken congrats on the clear panorama results!

@artemis618 I’ve not been able to exercise basically the entire pregnancy since I had bleeding end of week 5 - that was from my adenomyosis, then just when that settled we found I had placenta previa and now at the end my blood pressure is high and they just want me laying relaxing down as much as possible... definitely no ballet classes for me!!!

angelina1919 · February 2020

@cigaline - Looking for a name that works with Spanish and English...and by works I mean not to have to spell it like I do for my last name, which is a hispanic with 11 letters (d and n and v included) so I end up spelling it every time and not only with letters but with names so they get the d as a d and not a b and not an m instead of the n....its a mess!!! There are a few names that can work, like David, Daniel, Lucas, Leonardo, Tiago...we just need to agree which so far has been difficult.

artemis618 · February 2020

@emmasemm Ah, what a journey. You're so close to the end and holding your little girl in your arms!

sincethelastday · February 2020

@cigaline - yeah, it still doesn’t feel completely real until I think I’m holding him in my arms. Such a roller coaster of a ride, especially when infertility was thrown into the mix! Yeah, I’ve seen that some of the other TTTC members had graduated and was hoping to see them on here; I really hope some of the long term people on that list get their BFP soon! Hope every day until your little one arrives go by peacefully!

@cashewchicken - congrats on a girl!! Hope you get over such a nasty cold soon! Being sick while pregnant is the worst!

Just also wanted to share that DH got his thyroid ultrasound results back and they showed that he doesn’t even have a thyroid nodule!!! Little bit miffed at how worried his doctor got us with thinking there was one there, but just so relieved that everything’s okay. I was starting to go down a dark rabbit hole of worrying about if it was going to be cancerous, so it feels like a load off our shoulders to have one less thing to stress about now.

wildrainbow · February 2020

@sincethelastday That is awesome news! I'm so glad it is clear.

[Deleted User] · February 2020

@sincethelastday Cheers! So glad his results were clear!

@artemis618 lol yeah, I was a doctor's kid, so I guess I must get a kick out of it - for science! ETA FTR, I really only would have had to check ONCE at 60 minutes, but you know... Datajunkie lol

wifeinraleigh28 · February 2020

It has been AGES since I've logged on here, but I just thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone's updates and can't believe how far along everyone is! @cigaline any day now! So exciting!!

How far along/EDD? 33 weeks tomorrow! April 4th (but c-section is scheduled for March 30th)
How are you feeling this week? Uncomfortable. I've been really uncomfortable for about 2 weeks now and I don't remember feeling this way with my first. Lots of BH and just an overall feeling that I won't make it to my scheduled c-section.
Rants/Raves? Questions? Anyone here do a VBAC? I'm planning to try for one if I go into labor before my scheduled c-section. Because of my autoimmune issues I have to have the baby before I reach 40 weeks and I just refuse to go through another (failed) induction. Induction is contraindicated if you've had a previous c-section anyway but my OB is fully on board with me trying for a vaginal delivery if I labor naturally. I would love to avoid surgery if I can! But I know that when I go into labor isn't exactly in my control hah.
Any upcoming appointments? Growth ultrasound in the morning (it's currently 4am and I can't sleep).
GTKY: If you have your baby name picked out, is it a family name? If not, are you doing a family name? Yes, we are naming him after DH's deceased grandfather.

[Deleted User] · February 2020

GL @wifeinraleigh28 I am hoping for a vbac, but last conversation (before I was ku) they said they would let me go late in the interest of going into spontaneous labor. DD came 9 days after her edd, lil stinker! So I am hoping this baby comes at or before 40 weeks as well... I hope everything falls into place for your VBAC!

wabash15 · February 2020

***lurker***
@wifeinraleigh28 I've had 2 VBACS. the first my water broke before active labor/cervical dilation, but we were able to nudge things along with a foley balloon in the cervix and pitocin. That was a long birth (36hours) but overall everything went fine. My second I was 40+6 and was facing a medical induction the next day, so I took a midwife cocktail (almond butter, castor oil, apricot nector and champagne) and that put me into active labor 5 hours later and I was holding him 4 hours after that. If you want to avoid a medical induction you could talk to your provider about the midwife cocktail and see what they think. My midwife said she's only had it fail to start labor two times and those times the womens bodies just weren't ready yet.

wifeinraleigh28 · February 2020

@wabash15 Interesting I have never heard of that cocktail! I'll definitely ask about that. I'll be willing to try anything other than medical induction (they said they wouldn't let me do Pitocin anyway).

wabash15 · February 2020

@wifeinraleigh28 my midwife warned me that when labor started with the cocktail it would progress quickly and she was right. my contractions started at 5 min apart, less than 20 min later they were 2 minutes apart. The only side effect is the runs (the campaign for what ever reason is supposed to help decrease that)

cigaline · February 2020

Hello all

Very belated check-in from me to say that Hugo Francis was born on 15 February 2020 at 1.12pm, weighing 3.4kg (7lb8oz) and measuring 52cm. Thankfully it was spontaneous (at 40+5) so I didn't have to have an induction although the second stage of labour just stalled so the gynaecologist was eventually called to bring him out with the vacuum.

The first 12 days have been pretty difficult for me, which is why I haven't felt much like going on social networks etc. Apart from the fatigue, which was expected, the maternity ward turned out to be a bit of a traumatic experience, with next to no breastfeeding support, a number of heavy-handed unsympathetic night (and day) nurses, a lot of fussing about weight loss in the first two days (which I knew was going to happen and wasn't worried about myself), then pressure to give him bottles of formula etc, which in my sensitive state got me really upset and panicky. The next day I got some help with the breastfeeding and he succeeded in latching on to the right breast for 2 days (he's always had difficulty on the left and it worked with a nipple shield for a day, then he refused that). Anyway, the day we went home (last Thursday), he stopped breastfeeding at all, just screamed when I put him on the breast, so in desperation (as we had to leave) I gave him a bottle of expressed milk. Unfortunately, since then he's only breastfed once (Thursday evening), the rest of the time I've had to give him bottles of my milk, which has obviously made it harder to get him to go on the breast.

DH has been around on and off but has had to work 4 days out of 5 this week (today I am home alone), and thankfully I've had a bit of help from my sister last week and my parents this week (although my mum came down with a chest infection and couldn't hold Hugo at all, and my 80 yr old dad got gradually a bit better at holding him but was a bit clueless about what to do with a newborn to begin with... Anyway he is quite difficult to settle and not sleeping much in the day (I realise this is not unusual..) so when I'm on my own it's extremely difficult to do anything other than hold or feed him (today I've plucked up the courage to use the Ergobaby carrier, which has been life-transforming). So basically, using the breast pump every 2-4 hours as I'm supposed to is practically impossible. Today my setup was almost comical it was so difficult - sitting on the bed with a towel round my waist to catch the drops, both hands holding the two flanges up to my breasts, one foot rocking Hugo in the Maxicosy car seat, despite which he started bawling his head off halfway through, so I had to stop, try to calm him down, start up again, whereupon of course he woke up and started crying again.

So there you have it. Not wanting to scare the FTMs to be on this board (I expect the STMs won't be at all surprised), but depending on what your baby is like, the first few days are HARD. And I mean feeling that you are a completely incompetent mother incapable of meeting baby's needs, you have no idea what to do when he/she's crying, you feel like crying yourself a lot of the time, and you honestly can't see how you'll get through the next few months. Hugo is very very sweet, but also very impatient, so all the advice I've been given so far for the breastfeeding (and without giving you all the details, we've now seen two different lactation consultants since leaving hospital) has been fairly impossible to implement as he just goes crazy if he can't latch on. Honestly, there's so much talk of labour, but for me it seems like a piece of cake in retrospect, compared with the days since the birth. Sorry if I sound negative, things are getting gradually a bit better, but if your early days as a mother in any way resemble mine, at least know that you're not alone. None of my friends warned me about how hard it would be, but I think if I'd at least expected it to be half as hard, I wouldn't have been so unhappy and feeling like I was supposed to be in a warm glow just enjoying my new baby all the time.

angelina1919 · February 2020

@cigaline First congratulations on Hugo Francis mama! I am a FTM and I hear all kind of stories and advice, but I am sure nothing will be the same to having your own baby and every baby is different….also no one like you to know what is best for both of you. You are doing the best you can and that is what it counts, keep rocking as a mama and congrats again. Give yourself and Hugo Francis time to adjust these first few weeks. We will always be here to root for you!

emmasemm · February 2020

@cigaline oh I so wish you were closer as I’d definitely be over to give you a huge hug!

As I read what you wrote I could so so so easily have seen my first days going the same as yours if I had not had the extensive and experienced support. So you have made me feel very grateful for that, where maybe I was taking it a bit for granted.
I hope the LCs can help you get to where you want to be.

And Holly sends Hugo a huge “welcome to the world” snuggle. And says she knows it’s frustrating when those breasts are hot and huge and almost impossible to latch onto, but it is worth giving in, plus screaming and sobbing does not go well with sucking!

See you on the mama thread fellow mama!

Are you on Instagram? Do feel free to connect and also send a direct message (we will have the same timing middle of the night battles to deal with I’m sure). I’m on there as “peggysemm”

31magnolia · February 2020

@cigaline - Virtual hug from me, too!!! I have nothing else to add, except you're doing your best. It'll eventually come together. (hugs)

persnickity · February 2020

@cigaline I was on the board for my daughter and still lurk. First all of, massive hugs. Being a new mom is insanely hard! Especially without a lot of help at the start. It's okay to feel like no one really prepared you for what to expect. We're all so focused on labor and delivery that no one stops to talk about the first few weeks with baby.

One thing you might want to get is a hands free pumping bra. If you're going to pump, either exclusively or just for the occasional bottle, it's a life saver. That way, you have both hands free to try and take care of Hugo.

There are also some great blogs out there for exclusive pumping that might help with a schedule and advice on how to pump, feed, and take care of baby. Even if it's just temporary, it might help.

You might try giving him a bottle for a bit to calm him down and then trying to nurse for the rest.

No matter what happens, try and take care of yourself too. You'll have good days and bad

All Trimester Check In February 10

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