Week of Sept. 11

[King26]

What's up ladies?

[King26]

I'm hoping that our sleep patterns are starting to settle in. Yesterday and today he's taken a few decent naps during the day (between 1-2 hours three times a day). Nighttime is still hit or miss. The last 2 nights he has had one long stretch of 2 1/2 hours of sleep then the rest between 1 hour and 1 1/2 hours so we are tired but the 2 1/2 hour stretch makes it manageable.

As for breastfeeding, I'm struggling. I got a hospital grade scale I'm renting for the week. I've done 2 weighted feeds and he took 1 oz both times. It weighs in .1 ounce so I feel pretty confident this is how much he got both times. In better news it does look like he's gained 3 ounces sine Thursday so I'm feeling better about that. I think it's the upping of the formula that has done it. We went from 4oz. per day to 6 oz. per day but he's still breast feeding 9 or 10 times per day which if he's getting 1 oz each time means he's getting 10 oz. that way. I'm wondering if it's worth it to keep breastfeeding and doing the supplementing of formula. He started spitting up the formula last night and has done it twice today as well which worries me a little bit. Last night it was almost projectile and got all over everything. Today it was just all over himself (and me).

[loira]

King26, A always spit up formula more often than breast milk. I don't know why. She never seemed to have a problem digesting the formula (she didn't have reflux or other tummy issues). She was also a grazer, and I remember it took her a LONG time before she would take even 80ml consistently in one sitting. How old is J now? 16oz of food per day seems pretty good for a wee newborn. I had a friend who also did the combo feed thing, and she really did have supply issues. Everyone she talked to tried to tell her it wasn't that bad, and her dd would be fine, and she should just feed 24/7, drink this weird tea, or subsist entirely on oatmeal. She finally convinced the doctors to let her try that medication that's supposed to help (can't remember the name of it), and presto, her supply issues stopped! The point is, nobody took her seriously, and she was one of the few people who had supply issues that couldn't be cured by any other means, and it's not impossible that you could be, too. But she was adamant about breastfeeding, and I wasn't and either route is totally fine. For me, all the problems seemed to outweigh the benefits, and I felt this massive relief, first when I started combo feeding and then again when I switched to EFF. You can only do what's right for you and your family, and you can count on the support of everyone here. ((hugs))

[mrsgoontz]

King26 I just want to say that you're an amazing mom. I can't help with the BF/formula questions (yet) but I think as long as he's gaining you're good. Sorry about the projectile vom.

My SIL had a daughter 3 weeks ago and she also noticed a big difference once she started supplementing. I think as long as you want to continue BFing then do it, it's your call.

I'm at 35w4d and it's really hitting me that he's going to be here pretty soon! I'm starting to get pretty uncomfortable, it's going to be a long 4 weeks but I'm still sleeping good (except for getting up 3x/night to pee) and I'm so thankful for that.

Do we have anyone that was affected by Irma? My area has a long road ahead of us with tons of damage from Harvey so my heart goes out to you all.

[kellikans]

My sister was right in the path of Irma. The eye went right over where she lives. Luckily, she is safe and there was minimal damage.

9w3d here. I have another appointment Wednesday. Hoping everything still looks good. My last appointment (at 8w6d) his heart rate was 185, which makes me nervous because it seems high. I know it'll start going back down and regulating, but of course I Googled and saw some scary scenarios.

Does anyone know if the TB skin test is safe in early pregnancy? I need it for work, and they say it's OK. I left a message with my OB, but they never got back to me today. My RE said it should be fine, but I wanted to double check with my OB.

[pooh8402]

Sept 11, 2017 19:33:18 GMT -5 kellikans said:

My sister was right in the path of Irma. The eye went right over where she lives. Luckily, she is safe and there was minimal damage.

9w3d here. I have another appointment Wednesday. Hoping everything still looks good. My last appointment (at 8w6d) his heart rate was 185, which makes me nervous because it seems high. I know it'll start going back down and regulating, but of course I Googled and saw some scary scenarios.

Does anyone know if the TB skin test is safe in early pregnancy? I need it for work, and they say it's OK. I left a message with my OB, but they never got back to me today. My RE said it should be fine, but I wanted to double check with my OB.

It's fine. And remember that your RE is a trained OB/GYN as well.

[cherryvalance]

King26, I know the weight fear, as we were discussing, but it sounds like he's doing well! It's so stressful to know whether to introduce formula/move to formula only, etc, but whatever choice you make will be right. As long as he's fed, you're killing it, mama.

kellikans, holy shit, glad your sister is okay. DS's HB was very high, too and my RE only ever said he had a nice, strong HB. Actually, so did my OB. Don't stress it.

[pooh8402]

185 seems high, but a normal newborn's HR is 110-160. but early on (like first and second trimesters), HRs are higher than that. when I've cared for micropreemies (less than 28 weeks), their HRs were more like 150-190.

so I wouldn't sweat it either.

breathe. and I would stay away from Google.

[dollyllama]

Sept 11, 2017 19:33:18 GMT -5 kellikans said:

My sister was right in the path of Irma. The eye went right over where she lives. Luckily, she is safe and there was minimal damage.

9w3d here. I have another appointment Wednesday. Hoping everything still looks good. My last appointment (at 8w6d) his heart rate was 185, which makes me nervous because it seems high. I know it'll start going back down and regulating, but of course I Googled and saw some scary scenarios.

Does anyone know if the TB skin test is safe in early pregnancy? I need it for work, and they say it's OK. I left a message with my OB, but they never got back to me today. My RE said it should be fine, but I wanted to double check with my OB.

DS's heartrate at 6.5ish weeks was 191 & would drop a little each appt until the end of first tri when it got to 150s & stayed there for quite some time. HR was the only thing throwing me off & making me think he was a girl. I remember googling too because all the other grads had been checking in with lower HRs from their first ultrasound so my best advice is to google as little as possible

[pandora89]

King26 - I don't have any BF advice but you are doing a great job. Lots of hugs.

@daylily - Glad the ultrasound went well!

We slowly started telling immediate family after the ultrasound last week. We know we aren't out of the woods yet but would like a support system. So far my mom and sister know (my dad has a huge mouth and cant keep a secret so we are waiting to tell him). We also told MIL and FIL along with H's two sisters. We texted both his sisters because that's usually how they do things. H's older sister has been super supportive but his younger sister literally just sent a "" in response and has said nothing since. She already isn't my favourite person so this may be clouding my feelings but come on. She knows about our IF struggles, our last loss, she already has two children and is done having kids, never had any IF struggles. I don't expect a parade but a smiley face? Argh. H is annoyed too.

[cherryvalance]

@daylily, I'm so happy for you! I'm glad you have a good team on your side, also.

Pandora, that's obnoxious. I was pissed when we announced on fB and people wrote "Congrats" with no exclamation point, lol. I literally lived that Seinfeld episode, but it made me so mad because we shared our struggles. A smiley from family would have set me over the edge.

My doctor said my healing is awesome, but I will need a repeat c-section if we have another. Apparently my cervix is an asshole.

Aside from that, DS has his first PT appointment today, so FX we get some strategies to deal with the torticollis.

[loira]

Sept 12, 2017 7:25:15 GMT -5 @daylily said:

kellikans , glad your sister is OK.
King26 , its still so early. Don't feel like you have to make any decisions now. You're doing great.

I had my ultrasound for the integrated screen yesterday. Everything is perfect. Measuring exactly on track (I'm just about 13 weeks), a good heartbeat, no concerns with the NT measurement. While they had the wand on, we saw her wave at us We got a picture of her hand that is just perfect. I can't believe its happening.

Everyone has been so nice. The ultrasound tech saw the topsheet on my file (Total Pregnancies: 6. Deliveries: 1. Live Children: 1...I really wish I could get out of writing that shit on EVERY piece of paper at every visit) and as soon as she took measurements, she spent maybe fifteen minutes just playing around with the machine and the 4D and took a million pictures for us. She said she hoped we could breathe easy and enjoy this baby. It was so, so kind.

I'm so sorry. I feel you on that. It fucking sucks. I was okay during my pregnancy with A while we were in the UK because medical records are accessible to everyone in the NHS system, so I didn't have to fill out any forms. But when I moved back to Canada, I had to go through my entire history with my new OB. Then again with every high risk doctor I saw thereafter. When I asked for my c-section, I had to tell the OB why, and I could barely get the words out that I just couldn't go through another labour.

I'm so glad everything is measuring right on track and you got to see baby wave!

[starryfish]

King26, how bad was the projectile vomiting? Only reason I ask is bc at 6w old DD projectile vomited about 5 feet (she was sitting in her bouncer and it went 5 feet- no joke) and I took a picture and went to her Pedi. Pedi ordered testing bc multiple projectile vomiting can by pyloric stenosis-turns out DD has it.

[starryfish]

S turned 9 months old yesterday and started army crawling on sunday! OMG it is a game changer. She has learned she can crawl to me so I can pick her up. She is a total mommas girl lately. We went on a cruise last week and it was so much fun! S did great and I would do it again!

[konapoppy]

@daylily, I should have mentioned earlier that my doctors all recommended that I not do the blood work for the integrated screen because the data isn't nearly as good as PGS. We also opted for cell free dna just to have another layer of information (even though it isn't as reliable with twins).

kellikans, I think you ended up doing PGS so this might help you too I skipped the blood work that is free from the state of California with your NT scan.

[King26]

I'm so glad everything looks good @daylily, I did the cell free DNA testing as well. The results came back within a week which was nice.
Good luck tomorrow kellikans,
Good luck with the PT appointment cherryvalance,
starryfish, No clue because it happened with DH but I'll ask. It's the only time it's happened thankfully but it did worry me a bit.

[konapoppy]

Sept 12, 2017 10:25:27 GMT -5 @daylily said:

konapoppy, what we ended up doing was the NT ultrasound measurement, the cell free DNA to have an extra confirmation of the genetic abnormalities found via placental DNA (much like the PGS), and then at 15/16 weeks we will partial NT bloodwork: only checking for MS-AFP, which checks for increased risk of spina bifida (which placental DNA tests like PGS or cell free DNA do not). I feel pretty good about it, but admittedly I am super pro-testing and with the PGS, much of it probably wasn't necessary.

That all makes sense to me and mostly aligns with what we did! We skipped spina bifida because I have so many ultrasounds they knew they would catch it that way.

[janegold]

Still so so happy to see kellikans, @daylily, and pandora89 posting here!

Poor B is sick again. He's had an ear infection he can't quite shake and got sent home yesterday with a fever. Not sure if it is still the ear infection or another bug. He wouldn't sleep last night unless it was in my arms and was tossing and turning all night. I don't think I got more than ah hour stretch of sleep last night, soooo tired today. I hate seeing my little bug upset and it's so hard when they are too little to tell you what's wrong.

On the bright side, he just turned 9 months and is such a sweet, happy little soul.

[Chrysanthemum]

How was the appointment cherryvalance?

[dellabear]

DS has been bitten twice at daycare so far and it's only been a week. The first one wasn't too bad but today the kid bit him hard enough to make him bleed, on the cheek right by his eye! They say they are going to keep this other kid away from all the other kids from now on. I know kids bite and there's not much else to be done except keep them apart but I'm still pretty unhappy about it. My poor baby.

Then DD was stung by a wasp at school so I got a call at work about that too. Not a great way to start the week, sigh.

[loira]

Sept 12, 2017 23:01:52 GMT -5 dellabear said:

DS has been bitten twice at daycare so far and it's only been a week. The first one wasn't too bad but today the kid bit him hard enough to make him bleed, on the cheek right by his eye! They say they are going to keep this other kid away from all the other kids from now on. I know kids bite and there's not much else to be done except keep them apart but I'm still pretty unhappy about it. My poor baby.

Then DD was stung by a wasp at school so I got a call at work about that too. Not a great way to start the week, sigh.

Ugh, other people's kids are the WORST. Lol, I... don't actually like most children, except my own and my friends' kids. Some little troll once came up to A on the playground and clawed at her face so hard she left bruises. Totally unprovoked. And the parents were all "now, now, that's not nice." There is a very strong organic hippie mummy cult here. A and I both have trouble making friends.

[cherryvalance]

Chrysanthemum, thanks for asking, it was good! The woman taught me a bunch more exercises to do with DS to get him stretched out.

We are going back next week, but im not sure for how mich longer. They're one of the only places that sees kids, apparently, so it's crawling with then and all I can think about are all the germs and DS not having any vaccines yet. Plus, there's only so much they can do with him since he's so little.

loira, LOL, but I feel the same way! My coworkers bring their children to work on the last day and most of them are so ill-behaved, they're just vile. There are several who I love, but not the majority. Troll made me legit LOL.

[shoeless]

I got pseudo good news last week that my Dr will let me switch to PIO instead of Crinone since Crinone was so expensive and not covered (if the FET works, I'd be on it for at least 9 weeks). Still waiting to hear if my insurance will cover PIO for the FET (they will in order to sustain pregnancy). So all in all good news.

Great news on the ultrasound @daylily!

[konapoppy]

The girls passed their non stress test with flying colors yesterday. We also had our second to last growth ultrasound and they are both just about 5 lbs. The perinatologist isn't worried about them at this point, but would like them to make it to 34 weeks (a week from tomorrow).

Holy crap I am going to have two infants soon 😮

[pandora89]

konapoppy - So soon! I feel like you just found out you were pregnant, although I doubt you have felt the same way.

@daylily - that is so sweet! I hope he has a great first day.

I have been freaking out all morning because my boobs aren't as sore today as they previously were and this is basically my only pregnancy symptom. Argh.

[shoeless]

Sept 13, 2017 8:42:53 GMT -5 @daylily said:

shoeless , how much Crinone do you need? I think I have two months left at least and would be happy to send it to you for no cost. Let me know.

YGPM.  Thank you so much for the generous offer!

[MrsDarcy]

Sept 13, 2017 8:42:53 GMT -5 @daylily said:

shoeless, how much Crinone do you need? I think I have two months left at least and would be happy to send it to you for no cost. Let me know.

Not that y'all know me, but I have 20 applicators of Crinone left from a previous FET. Happy to send it for free as well.

[kellikans]

Sept 13, 2017 9:59:23 GMT -5 pandora89 said:

I have been freaking out all morning because my boobs aren't as sore today as they previously were and this is basically my only pregnancy symptom. Argh.

I freaked out because of my sore boobs coming and going, too. I would find that they would be less sore in the morning, then as the day went on they would get more sore. The soreness still comes and goes. I've had very few symptoms this whole time besides the few bouts of nausea and being tired. Otherwise I feel completely normal.

[konapoppy]

Sept 13, 2017 9:59:23 GMT -5 pandora89 said:

konapoppy - So soon! I feel like you just found out you were pregnant, although I doubt you have felt the same way.

It is so weird. Between the 4 pregnancies I have now been pregnant for like 14 months of my life, so in a way it feels like forever and in a way it feels like it happened just yesterday. Since we did retrieval, biopsy, short freeze, transfer it also feels like I have been pregnant this time since last December.

And even after the years I still have moments of "wtf did we do" lol.

[cherryvalance]

konapoppy, ah, so glad to hear they're doing well!