October 2022 Moms

Ask a STM+ Thread

24

Re: Ask a STM+ Thread

  • @mckenzc I have never liked dresses because my thighs rub together and it’s just not comfortable, and I get really warm that way. 

    I will use the tips for sure!
  • @daisyyyy 50mg B6 3x a day with unisom at night is what my OB nurse recommended for me and is very popular for morning sickness. I don’t vomit but do have waves of nausea. 
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  • I hate the full panel. Like hate hate hate. It makes my belly hot and itchy. I've had two summer pregnancies and I lived in dresses (I live in dresses normally). I get huge. I'm 5'5" and with my last pregnancy I measured 40 weeks at 28 weeks. I have a hard time with full panels actually covering me and not slipping down. I bought the most comfortable under the belly yoga pants off Amazon. I already have two pairs. I also normally have to wear a belly belt to keep my hips stable and belly supported because... I'm massive. They've actually had to check to make sure they didn't miss a baby because by 14 weeks I was measuring 20. I don't like when my thighs rub but I'll throw maternity bike shorts under. 
  • @pangolindrome I also hated the full-belly panel but liked the under-belly cuts! I guess it’s a matter of personal preference. I too always felt super itchy and weird having the material on my belly- and hot too! I had a couple pairs of pants with a panel and only wore them as a last-resort, and would often fold it down anyway lol.

    I’m also a fan of dresses, if you’re into those! But might be best to just give a few things a try and see what feels comfortable to you.
  • I prefer dresses over anything else for summer pregnancies, too. 
  • Thank you for the input everyone! To me it sounds like I’ll live in maternity workout gear this summer 😂 
  • Any other STMs+ finding that no one really gives a shit about your pregnancy this time around?  :D I mean, I totally get it, but the contrast is pretty funny. Most people I've told, even close friends, are just like, "oh, congrats! That's so sweet..." then the subject pretty quickly moves elsewhere. Compare that to my first, and I had 3 baby showers thrown for me, constant check-ins, everyone was so excited and wanted to talk about the pregnancy all the time. This time, I think we'll feel lucky if we get a freezer meal or two after delivery!

    Anyway, it makes me extra glad to have a space to vent with other expectant moms, because most people seem less interested in hearing me whine in person now. Lol.
  • @merostomata I haven't noticed that yet, but I have noticed that there's a bit more of a 'deal with it' mentality around my symptoms even though they're worse this time around. I think they're like 'well, you knew what you were signing up for this time'. 
  • @merostomata @mckenzc I will add that DS was born in lockdown so no one could really visit for weeks after he was born. I think the extra excitement from my family and friends this time also comes from the possibility of getting to be there when or shortly after this baby is born. 
  • @daisyyyy - I can’t do unisom, personally, hubby works 3rds and I have my 4 year old to be responsible for. So we bought motion sickness wrist bands from the pharmacy. They’re not foolproof or perfect, but they take it down a peg. Also super cold Gatorade & crackers will stay down when I legit can’t stand the thought of real food. If it’s truly awful, and you can’t do the B6/Unisom combo, your doctor can prescribe something. 
    @merostomata - I think the only reason people are going to pay attention to our 2nd pregnancy is because we didn’t think it would happen. I thought for sure I could no longer conceive as we’ve been trying for over 3 years, and I expect early menopause due to having one ovary removed in 2016.  The odds of ovulation each month are less than ideal, and conception even less likely. That said, I’ve only told a few people at this point and we aren’t sure what they might plan. We also didn’t receive much fanfare with our DD, I had a toxic coworker that really poisoned the well and made a difficult pregnancy almost unbearable.
  • @pangolindrome I wore full belly panel for my August 2016 baby. I liked the support it provided. This time, since I’ve had 2 winter babies since, I’m looking more for lounge shorts with draw string, so that I can try to re-use them (I’m likely not going to fit into my maternity clothes from my first :(…)
  • @merostomata people care less and less with each child you have. When I had my 3rd, I had zero offers to drop off a meal from any of my closest friends, or even my in-laws that live less than 20 minutes away. It’s very much this “oh, this again” and an assumption that you need zero help after the first. 
    We’ve only told a few close friends, and my boss and work team (and them only because I have to up-skill 6 people to do my job while I’m out, so we need all the time we can get for that). Some of our friends actually forgot I was pregnant last time, even though I was 22 weeks and clearly showing. 
  • Does anyone have experience with nitrous oxide during birth? My hospital now offers it. I don’t want the epidural, but open to the gas. I just wonder what the experience is like 
  • When did you start showing with your first pregnancy?
  • @pangolindrome with my first I started showing between 13 and 14 weeks. Just the slightest bump that couldn’t be sucked in. It also depends on a lot of things. Some women barely show ever because of how they carry. 
  • merostomatamerostomata member
    edited March 2022
    @pangolindrome I want to say I was around 16 weeks? By 20 weeks I was absolutely, without a doubt pregnant to any stranger though!

    @mckenzc I did! The nitrous wasn’t great at pain relief per-se, but it did offer enough of a distraction that it helped me to get through the most extreme contractions. It’s nice to have as another option in your toolkit. But just know that it won’t exactly lessen the pain. It was like being really high, but still feeling everything.
  • Yes I can relate. I didn’t have the epidural with my 2nd but they gave me IV meds that were exactly that. Loopy/disassociated but pain was there…kind of in the corner? Lol. Did you make it through with that only or did you receive anything rise? @merostomata


  • merostomatamerostomata member
    edited March 2022
    @mckenzc that’s interesting, but makes sense with the degree of pain the labor is. I did manage to make it through with only that (and an awesome husband and doula)— I saved the nitrous until transition, which was…something. Let’s just say. But on the bright side, I was very close to needing an emergency C section and think I wouldn’t have been able to get my daughter out in time without the ability to move. I also avoided tearing and think feeling everything helped with that.

    I’m leaning towards getting a walking epidural this time though. I just think I need the rest! The first time took everything out of me.
  • @pangolindrome with my first I was very obviously bumped up (like dirty looks from women in Starbucks when I got coffee bumped up) by 12 weeks. It was pretty obvious by about 10 weeks. Now I'm pretty sure I just start showing as soon as conception occurs. 
    I've had plenty of friends not bump out until after twenty weeks with their first. I think the average is probably by 16 weeks based off people I know.
  • tpecitpeci member
    @pangolindrome suppeeerr late, when I finished my uni semester I was like 24 weeks and just wearing bigger shirts no one had any idea I was pregnant. But for more body fitting stuff I think around 20 weeks. Now I'm 10weeks with my 2nd pregnancy and it's really starting to show. Doesn't look like I'll be able to hide it from the world as long this time around. 
  • @pangolindrome I never “popped” with my first so it was just kind of a gradual process of showing. I was really bloated too and there’s a fine line between bump and bloat. This is not helpful I know 😂. But definitely by 20 weeks I had a real bump 
  • 14 weeks and definitely no bump, so I’m looking forward to seeing where I end up on this spectrum!
  • posted this in the “sleeping surface” product highlight too…

    Pack and play or bassinet?? Planning on newborn sleeping in our room for the first few months rather than the crib…but in what? FTM here, 12 weeks and starting to look at registry-type things, and man is there a lot out there. 😅
  • mckenzcmckenzc member
    edited April 2022
    I personally preferred a bassinet bc of the height. Our bed sits up high so a PNP would have been too low (and a huge footprint). But this is just what worked for us! Our PNP did come with an infant attachment thing so they’re up at the top but I still felt like that was too much bending for me. I had the halo bassinet that basically sat level with my mattress next to me. It was nice to just reach a hand over in the middle of the night to soothe or check on babe. 

  • Has anyone had covid while pregnant before? I think I might have it and I'm panicking a bit. I am fully vaccinated at least, but I made the mistake of googling the risks.
  • @krthouse oh no, I'm sorry to hear that! Did you test? I haven't had it, but just saw that a new study came out showing pregnant women were at about double the risk of breakthrough Covid while vaccinated~ just wanted to share for the group https://thehill.com/news/3256154-study-pregnancy-nearly-doubles-risks-of-breakthrough-covid-19/

    Hopefully someone else has firsthand experience. But I'd think you'll be just fine as long as you address any fever and let your provider know. 
  • @krthouse I haven’t personally but 2 of my friends did (one was first tri and I think the other was second) and they both had mild cases and were fine. They were vaccinated. I’m sure it is scary! I think pregnant women are eligible for the monoclonal antibody treatment, I’m not sure if that’s different in Canada though (where I think you are? But if not ignore me haha)
  • @krthouse
    yes! I had a positive Covid test the same weekend as a positive pregnancy test 🤣 I feel like if there was going to be a vulnerable time, it’s right there at implantation.  I truly wasn’t worried about any of it except getting a high fever which never happened! Just felt achy/congested for 2 days. 

    Talked to my OB about way after the fact, like 2 months later and she couldn’t have been more meh about it. It’s been going on for 2 years, she’s seen plenty of pregnant patients with it and no major findings have come about. They don’t have any reason to believe it crosses the placenta or anything like that. Do we have 20 year studies? Nope. But she was just as casual as I was about it. 

    Unless you have extreme symptoms like we have heard about, it is merely a cold-like experience and baby is fine! Just stick to your med safe list, stay on top of your temperature and stay positive!! 
  • @mckenzc Thank you! I really needed that reassurance. Fortunately both DH and DS are completely fine so far so I'm hoping it's just a quick bug.

    @merostomata   Rapid test was negative last night, but I know it's been going around my work so I'm presuming I tested too early. I've requested a PCR test appointment to confirm since those are more reliable.

    @bows22 Yes, I am in Canada. I'll ask my midwife about that!
  • I've had two friends get Covid while pregnant. The only weird thing that's happened is that they both think meat and eggs taste like sewage. 
  • @nerdymom22  - I preferred the bassinet, personally. Ours was a hand-me-down and got pretty beat up post-baby because DD found it in the storage unit and started racing up & down the sidewalk 🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️ So we’re looking for another one. It was on wheels and worked really well for when I needed to sleep in the living room sometimes. My husband snores and I think he really should have appreciated our couch more bc I think it probably saved his life during the first few weeks 😂
  • tpecitpeci member
    @krthouse I got COVID the same day I got my BFP. It was going around daycare so I knew we'd catch it sooner than later. Had two days of low grade fever and thought it probably wasn't great for baby but everything has gone smoothly since. I asked my OB about risks and it seems the riskier times in terms of complications are late second trimester and 3rd trimester, and even the incidence is low. Hope it goes smoothly for you too!
  • krthouse said:
    Has anyone had covid while pregnant before? I think I might have it and I'm panicking a bit. I am fully vaccinated at least, but I made the mistake of googling the risks.
    My friend had it at least twice while pregnant (fully vaccinated and boosted). If you’re vaccinated, especially with the booster, risks really are minimal. 
  • For those of you that traveled throughout your previous pregnancies, do you have any recommendations for compression socks? I have a bit of travel coming up for work in May and June that's a mix of short and long flights. I'm already prone to swelling and worried that at 26 weeks it'll be even worse.
  • If you’ve been attached to a slim waistline, do you have any advice for mentally processing the fact that it’s going to change…? 

    I’m 175lb @ 5’5”, and I inherited my dad’s bone structure so I’m kind of built like a workhorse, but my waist is slender and I’m really happy about that. I’m realizing, as I begin to develop a very slight bump, that it’s going to change and that I have feelings about that.
  • @pangolindrome so with my first pregnancy I hated the way I looked so much that I covered up the mirrors. I'm 5'5" and normally a size four. I have a lot of issues with my body changing. I can't say it ever got any better. I still have a lot of issues with how much my body changes after each baby. 
  • merostomatamerostomata member
    edited April 2022
    @pangolindrome I have this problem as well. Lots of body image issues that I continue to work through! From my first pregnancy, and now, I guess I feel a little better when I wear clothes that actually fit me well (maternity, generally) and wear outfits that are put together. Sometimes I’d even put a belt on above the bump and be all fancy.

    It is an internal issue though. I like affirmations and following body-positive accounts, or focusing on what I like about my body as it is (e.g. growing a human is frickin amazing and my body is doing a great job, or physically, having big boobs is kind of cool). And just talking about it with friends and your partner. You are not alone and women have felt like this for ages.
  • My husband loves my pregnant body. Like... I'm pretty sure he agrees to a fourth baby for that reason. Lol. I struggle. I'm pretty good about dressing my body in a way that makes me feel good about myself. I'm small chested but big in the butt/hip/thigh area. I worked really hard to lose 40+ lbs from previous pregnancies. I was finally feeling more like myself. I'm a fan of fun prints and dresses. My husband was joking that I have a bunch of clothes with tigers on them the other day. He's not wrong but I was surprised he remembered. Lol. Pregnancy makes my wardrobe more subdued and boring so I like to snazz it up with belts, necklaces, and earrings. 
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