Week of 4/10

[mpc]

Hi. I'm still here. Pretty exhausted, as sleep is hard to come by these days. It's even extra frustrating since of course sleep won't be any better after birth. I have another NST this afternoon, but no OB visit since she is on vacation. 

We had a nice weekend. DS spent the night with grandparents friday, and saturday was the most relaxing quiet day. I needed that.

How's everyone doing?

[starryfish]

I hear ya on the sleep mpc,. My sleep SUCKED during 2nd and 3rd tri. I would be up for hours during the middle of the night. Sleep is getting a little better, S is down to mostly 1x a night wake ups.

So I am going to Italy for work next month and will be leaving S for the first time. She will be 5m. I am excited and scared at the same time. I Know my DH will do a good job but I am UNexcited about pumping 24/7 while I am there and bringing it home.

S rolled over for the first time last week! AND she started holding toys and playing with them (aka putting them in her mouth). EKKKK she is growing up so fast!!!

[shauni27]

starryfish, I cannot believe she is almost 4 months! That is wild.

Had a good weekend enjoying the spring weather finally. Did a little hike yesterday and while it was GLORIOUS to be outside in the warm sun, my body was so wrecked after. My back was killing me and I was so crampy. and I was so tired I felt like I ran a half marathon.

H get's his cast off in a week and then we can start building the closet in the nursery. I think once that is done I will feel like a HUGE item on our list can be crossed off--once the closets are done we can put so much shit away, haha.

[knx9211]

We had our first shower this weekend! It was so fun. It was a tiny one, just some of my mom's friends and a couple of at-home family members... and we still got SO MUCH STUFF. I can't imagine the amount of stuff we're going to have after our big one. It's overwhelming. How does a tiny person need this much stuff? Also, I feel like I didn't even register for THAT MUCH. I went through the BRU check list and didn't pick a ton of the stuff on there because it didn't seem necessary. I need more room in our house

I just can't wait to get our furniture so we can start putting stuff in drawers, etc. It'll make the room seem much tidier. Right now there's just a bunch of stuff thrown in it.

I'm feeling super uncomfortable today. This is the first time I've really had a whole day like this. I want to go home and lay down.

[King26]

Hey all,
I'm pretty sure I'm finally feeling movement everyday. It's usually when I sit in a certain position on the couch and it's still just a flutter. Constipation has set in. Man it sucks. Otherwise, I'm still mostly in regular clothing even though I'll be 21 weeks tomorrow. I've worn maternity pants exactly 3 times and only because I was going out to a big dinner each time.
I have a fetal echocardiogram next Monday. Has anyone had one? I'm a little worried about it but hopefully everything is ok. I'm not telling anyone we are going to that because I don't feel like the worry. It will be nice to see the baby on Monday then again on May 8th. Makes me feel better.

We are finally going to look at baby furniture on Thursday and I might register for some stuff. We are driving over an hour and going to Babies R Us so I'd rather just get it all done at once and not have to go back. I'll register at Target later because it's near my OB/GYN. I'm still a little panicky about doing this but our baby is going to need some furniture. My mother has taken care of clothes (seriously, she calls everyday telling me she's bought more stuff. She's known for 1 week it's a boy and has gone shopping everyday. I've bought nothing for this kid yet!)

[loira]

King26, I had a fetal echocardiogram for both V and A - even though we'd had a CVS and numerous good scans with A (with the fetal diagnostic specialist) they just signed us up for everything I guess. It was just like a longer scan, with a much more detailed examination of her heart. I loved that our hospital in the UK only used doctors to perform the scans, so you got real time news. None of this ultrasound tech, talking to the doctor later nonsense.

[cherryvalance]

Hello! I'm on spring break from work, which is awesome. H is healing nicely, but is still home, so we have a few days together.

Other than that, I'm tackling the baby's room this week, cleaning out boxes we never unpacked and listing old furniture online.

Good luck with the scan, King26!

[konapoppy]

We just toured a daycare that for sure has two slots in March, so we are going to put a deposit down. My only concern with daycare (besides the cost) is that each baby may be sick at different times, which would mean one of us would need to be home. The fear of an unreliable nanny is greater, so I think we will start with daycare.

[grover]

King26, we had a fetal echocardiogram. It was because our harmony came back great during 1st tri, but then someone inccorectly marked us as also needing the 2nd tri scan which came back elevated for downs. So we had a level 2 a/s scan, and while there she said she was sending us for a fetal as well. She didn't think we needed it for the downs, but she liked seeing the more in depth look at all her MFM patients, plus baby wouldn't give us a shot of her feet at all based on how she was sitting.

It lasted about 40 minutes if I remember correctly, a tech started it, and then the MFM came in to finish it.

[thoseareradishes]

King26, I had a fetal echo because of IVF. It's a detailed look at the heart. I think it actually took longer than my anatomy scan, because E wasn't being very cooperative.

I got my "free" from insurance breast pump (a spectra s2) over the weekend, and I have to say, I'm not impressed. I know I'm spoiled from using the hospital grade pump (a medela symphony), but omg. I worked today so I took the spectra instead of lugging the heavy ass medela around, and my boobs were not happy by the end of the day. I wonder if it gets better suction if you use the parts it comes with instead of the medela adapters.

[Chrysanthemum]

King26, I had two fetal echos. Initially it was just because we conceived via IVF, but they found something "atypical" so we had another one. In short, C had a pulmonary valve that didn't close. Things looked better at the next one, but we did still need to see a pedi cardio when he was like 10 days old to look AGAIN. Basically, it's very normal and I concerning for that valve not to have been closed yet because he was so young. So, all of that was out of an ABUNDANCE of caution, and caused me a ton of unnecessary worry. My point is: try not to worry if something comes up during the echo. The lesson I learned from it all is that if you go looking really hard, you'll find something. We saw normal development, but they aren't usually looking at it so carefully.
starryfish, So exciting! It's amazing how quickly they learn things!
thoseareradishes, I wound up never even trying my "free" insurance pump. I rented the Symphony for my short pumping stint because I knew my body just wouldn't respond to anything less than the hospital-grade one. PIA.

C's reflux has been acting up again the last couple of days. I thought we'd finally gotten the Zantac dose perfected, but he's had more spit-up and pain again recently. He might be working on his first cold, too. Today was day 6 of daycare and he's got a lot of mucus in his little nose, poor guy. He's such a talkative baby! He wakes up in the morning and just baubles to himself for like 45+ minutes! He doesn't cry or demand attention, just talks and talks! I love his little noises and hearing him experiment with his voice.

[scm1011]

My sweet boy is 5 months old today! Lots of first this week: first time hanging in the grass (loved it), trying solids (not a fan), and the infant swing at the park (skeptical, but coming around I think). He still sucks at sleep, but is otherwise the happiest guy in town

[mpc]

I had an NST yesterday and I was contracting every 5 minutes. It was actually pretty affirming to see what I thought I was feeling was real. I thought they might do something, but they just said come back if it gets more painful or your water breaks. It kept up all evening but I've only had a couple this morning, nothing regular. This is going to be the most surreal week, walking around every day not knowing what is going to happen when. At least I have a defined end date.

[oneslybookworm]

Not much going on here. I feel like a broken record. I hear from EM, I don't hear from EM, I'm convinced things are going well, then I'm convinced they're going to fall apart and she won't go through with the placement.

Essentially, I'm a hot mess.

[mpc]

(hug) oneslybookworm  (hug2)   It's like you are pregnant and some days you feel a lot of movement and some days you feel none. Some days you feel confident it is all ok and some days anxiety takes you down the path of assuming the worst. Of course it's far more complicated than that, but this is like your version. I'm sorry you're on such a rollercoaster. Honestly, she probably has no idea that little breaks in communication cause such stress, and of course it wouldn't be fair to put it on her to constantly reassure you. I hope you can have more calm, confident days in the next couple months. And on the panicky days, we can hold your hand. 

[starryfish]

scm1011, aww he is so cute! S is 4m old today!!!! I need to take pics today. So far I have been 2-3 days late with all her monthly pics, I suck lol.

[cherryvalance]

scm1011, that smile! What a cutie!

oneslybookworm, I can't even imagine the stress. I'll keep praying and sending good vibes that you get some reassuringood news.

mpc, that must be maddening. I hope everything progresses quickly and easily for you. I was cursing my due date because it falls in the worst way possible for mat leave, but after hearing from everyone here, I guess at least I'll definitely be home to overanalyze every twinge. Bright side! Lol.

[oneslybookworm]

mpc, exactly. I will never tell her that the breaks cause me stress, when she does text and apologize I always tell her it's not a problem. It's not her job to keep me in check, that wouldn't be fair.

But shit...it's hard. She's the only one who can actually make me feel better about this, and she's the only one I can't ask.

[knx9211]

oneslybookworm, I wish I could reach you to give you a giant hug. I'm so sorry for the rollercoaster.

[knx9211]

Um, I somehow managed to gain 7 pounds in two weeks. How the fuck is that possible? I was just complaining about how heavy he felt yesterday. Yikes.

Also, this morning the CNP we met with told us to think about a few things: breastfeeding, who our pedi would be, and birth control. Candidly, I had never really considered going on birth control. We tried for years on our own and couldn't get pregnant. It appears to be a tubal blockage issue. I got pregnant right away with both IVF cycles (although the first ended in an early m/c), so it seems to just be that nothing can get through. I'm not concerned with getting pregnant on my own or right away (and honestly, I wouldn't hate being pregnant on my own relatively quickly anyway, within reason for recovery purposes). Anyone have words of wisdom? Am I being an idiot for considering not going on anything? I mean, we could just wrap it up.

[starryfish]

knx9211 we aren't on bcp. Plus if you BF that's like natural BC for the first 6m or so

[kristind3]

Morning sickness has hit me like a ton of bricks today. I've been nauseous off/on for the last few days but I can't stay out of the bathroom this morning.

[thoseareradishes]

I talked with my midwife this morning at my 6 week postpartum appt about birth control options knx9211. We had to use donor eggs, so it's so unlikely I'd get pregnant again, BUT, it happens. And I don't want to get pregnant again, at least not anytime soon. I also don't want to be bothered with bcps or an IUD, so I think we're just going to do withdraw for now, which my midwife was cool with. If you're okay with getting pregnant again, I'd just skip birth control.

I also haven't picked a pedi yet. One of the neonatologists suggested a practice for us, but I haven't called or done anything about it yet. She's going to be in the NICU until like June, so I guess I have time.

[shauni27]

knx9211, we have no plans to go on any form of BCP for the same reason you listed. We can always wrap it up if need be.

[cherryvalance]

knx9211, we're not considering BC, either, truthfully. We're MFI anyway and H just had hernia surgery, so we're planning on just seeing what could even happen.

[pooh8402]

Apr 11, 2017 10:22:04 GMT -5 knx9211 said:

Um, I somehow managed to gain 7 pounds in two weeks. How the fuck is that possible? I was just complaining about how heavy he felt yesterday. Yikes.

Also, this morning the CNP we met with told us to think about a few things: breastfeeding, who our pedi would be, and birth control. Candidly, I had never really considered going on birth control. We tried for years on our own and couldn't get pregnant. It appears to be a tubal blockage issue. I got pregnant right away with both IVF cycles (although the first ended in an early m/c), so it seems to just be that nothing can get through. I'm not concerned with getting pregnant on my own or right away (and honestly, I wouldn't hate being pregnant on my own relatively quickly anyway, within reason for recovery purposes). Anyone have words of wisdom? Am I being an idiot for considering not going on anything? I mean, we could just wrap it up.

Well we have several grads with multiple years of IF who conceived baby #2 spontaneously within a year of baby #1. Our diagnosis was mixed male/female factor, but we didn't take chances. I used an IUD until beginning of last month.

[loira]

Growing apart from your spouse seems to be pretty effective birth control in our case. More factually, I have an IUD and I hate it. I bled every day for 5 months. I just spot occasionally now, but I don't know if it's the IUD itself or the fact that I hate the idea of a foreign object in my ute that's part of the reason for my low sex drive. Or maybe it's the fact that there's lingering trauma from losing V that I still haven't addressed - and it didn't seem to matter when we were TTC A. But after getting pregnant with her, and having my body invaded by vag wands and needles and scalpels, I just don't want to be touched any more than necessary, plus I'm already touched out from spending all day every day with A. Sorry, that got long and didn't really answer what you asked, knx9211.

[knx9211]

Hugs, loira. I'm having a pity party over my low sex drive today. I feel like IF robbed us of a normal sex life. And it sucks.

[pooh8402]

ditto loira and knx9211. I thought it was the IUD too, and even said as much to my OB last year at my annual. she was like, "no, you're tired, you're breastfeeding, you have a toddler, and you had infertility and sex became a chore. it will probably be a while before you enjoy sex again." even now, we've been weaned for 3 months. my IUD has been out about 5 weeks. and I still don't like sex. it's still a chore.

[oneslybookworm]

knx9211, I actually just went off BCP after going on them last year (IVF jacked up my cycle horribly). I figure, at this point, if we manage to get pregnant without a team of doctors and fancy science, then hell yeah. But I'm not banking on it.

loira, I 100% understand what you're saying. My sex drive is the pits. I was on BCP and Zoloft, and dropped the BCP, but it's still low. I feel like the several years spent TTC just pretty much got me over any desire for sex. But, I'm hopeful it'll get better (maybe). But yeah, I definitely understand. DH and I had sex last night for the first time in MONTHS.