★ October & November 2020 Hedgehogs ★

[jellybeanxx]

Thank you everyone!
I spoke to a very lovely GP this morning. She said under normal circumstances she’d want to see me but did the appointment over the phone because of the current situation. After asking lots of questions, she thinks it’s tonsillitis which I’ve had a few times over the years and it definitely feels like a bad case of it! She’s prescribed antibiotics which should help make me feel better in a few days.
As I’ve got a fever, I have to self isolate for 7 days and my family does for 14 days just in case. Luckily my mother in law was able to go out and get the antibiotics for me!
Will catch up with the thread properly when I’m a bit more with it. Hope you’re all keeping well!

 

[co_fostermom]

I'm glad you were able to get help and meds! Feel better soon!

 

[Fern81]

Jellybean- so sorry to hear that you are so sick! It’s terrible to be so sick in pregnancy and to not be able to take all the meds that you normally could... hugs!

 

[Pineberry]

Jelly - hope you feel better soon, and dont worry, baby will be just fine - glad your MIL was able to get meds for you!

Bit confused here as the brown spotting after my hematoma had disappeared by Monday (this week), then this Wednesday after the ultrasound, it started right back up and pretty heavily, and it has not eased off since then. I wonder if the pressure on my belly from the abdominal scan caused some more old blood to loosen up and exit my body.. or if the progesterone is irritating my uterus. Cant wait for my appointment on Monday so I can bring it up with the doc.

Also, I compared the doctors notes from my ER visit when the bleed happened and the ultrasound on Wednesday - and looks like the hematoma has grown! The notes from the ER visit said the length was 1.2cm, and the ones from my 12 week scan said 2.3 cm... Not sure what to think of that!

On a happier note - Yay for entering the second trimester as of today Its crazy how fast it all goes.

I made my first big baby clothing order on patpat last night! Found the cuuutest of stuff.

 

[co_fostermom]

Pineberry happy 2nd Tri!!!!! - okay so for the SCH - my bleeding comes and goes completely randomly. I don't know about an abdominal scan, but transvaginal scans can definitely irritate it. Intercourse, exercise (of any kind), can also cause bleeding. My doctor told me it's nothing to worry about unless you're soaking a pad in an hour or less, it's bright red, or you have cramps so bad that nothing helps. You could always call your doctor's after hours line to see if they have any further insight. If it helps, I had a bit of a bleed yesterday too. Completely random. Also, my hematoma got bigger before it started shrinking - not sure why that happened but it does happen. I think baby growth can also shove blood out. Was it brownish? If so that's "good." As far as size, take your index finger and make a circle with your thumb like the okay sign. Where your fingernail meets your thumb's knuckle is about how big 2.3cm is. When the tech showed me this with her hands it gave me a lot of perspective because it can look so incredibly huge on an ultrasound picture but in reality it's this tiny little, albeit annoying, thing. Hope that helps reassure you a bit! Just know that you might see light bleeding or spotting until it's completely gone.

 

[jellybeanxx]

Thanks everyone, the antibiotics have really helped already and I’m feeling better than yesterday. Temp is back to normal and am able to swallow a lot more easily. So thankful for modern medicine!

@Pineberry second tri already! Wow! How exciting to be buying baby clothes! Sorry to hear about the bleeding, it’s not something I know anything about but @co_fostermom seems to have explained it all brilliantly, hopefully that gives you some comfort!

 

[Fern81]

Glad you’re feeling better jellybean

Happy second tri pineberry! Yes it goes by so fast! Yay for buying baby stuff that’s so much fun. I took ds to buy a few winter clothes before lockdown and he chose a pair of denim shoes with lions on them for the new baby, I bought a 0-3 months short sleeved onesie (grey stars on white fabric with yellow trim). The new baby’s first clothes! I gave away most of my baby clothes and a lot of items after we lost our last frozen embie (before we decided to do ivf again).

I wish we had everything we needed to fix up the nursery, we have enough time now! Although I’m starting to work from home again next week (this week was an official school holiday in any case) and then I might not have that much time.

Must say I’m enjoying having my ds home and doing activities with him. Can’t WAIT until this one is born, I’ll be a SAHM for a while!

 

[JessdueJan]

Glad you're starting to feel better jellybean!

Just done a massive catch up as haven't been on in a while.
So pleased about all the great scans and glad to hear you're all doing well xx

 

[co_fostermom]

I've been looking at all the Thanksgiving and Christmas newborn stuff on amazon. Oh my word. I'm so excited about having a late fall baby! We were in the process of becoming foster parents (and have been in the past) so there's quite a bit we already have. We found a high quality crib on FB for free, I got the crib skirt on Anthropologie on sale for way cheap, we've had a glider from fostering before and I found a Lovevery play gym in excellent condition on FB for $60. But, no baby boy clothes yet except for a small handful of hand-me-downs from a friend. Still need a crib mattress and basically all the small baby things and a bedside crib/ bassinet, and high chair. Oh, and we have a structured carrier that we got for $40 when I was pregnant the first time and then we recently got a used Baby Bjorn bouncer for cheap. Hand-me-downs are like my eco-friendly option lol. Everything else I buy new. My parents bought us our car seat for Christmas because we honestly thought we'd have foster kids by now but then we got the money for a cycle and got pregnant and put that all on hold. I still feel like I need a ton of stuff despite all of that. Maybe I don't? Any advice?

 

[jellybeanxx]

You sound very organised @co_fostermom in my experience, newborns don’t need a lot of stuff, just a safe space to sleep, nappies and some clothes really! However, no one expecting their first baby (or second... third... etc) really sticks with that! Buying all the stuff is part of the excitement I think! It’s also quite individual, I’ve found what one parent swears by as an essential, another parent will buy and never use. It’s a learning curve as to what works for you and your family. Enjoy the shopping!
My husband always tells first time parents to buy a travel mug to keep a cup of hot tea by the bed for the night wakings. He swears it was the most useful thing he bought

 

[Pineberry]

Pineberry happy 2nd Tri!!!!! - okay so for the SCH - my bleeding comes and goes completely randomly. I don't know about an abdominal scan, but transvaginal scans can definitely irritate it. Intercourse, exercise (of any kind), can also cause bleeding. My doctor told me it's nothing to worry about unless you're soaking a pad in an hour or less, it's bright red, or you have cramps so bad that nothing helps. You could always call your doctor's after hours line to see if they have any further insight. If it helps, I had a bit of a bleed yesterday too. Completely random. Also, my hematoma got bigger before it started shrinking - not sure why that happened but it does happen. I think baby growth can also shove blood out. Was it brownish? If so that's "good." As far as size, take your index finger and make a circle with your thumb like the okay sign. Where your fingernail meets your thumb's knuckle is about how big 2.3cm is. When the tech showed me this with her hands it gave me a lot of perspective because it can look so incredibly huge on an ultrasound picture but in reality it's this tiny little, albeit annoying, thing. Hope that helps reassure you a bit! Just know that you might see light bleeding or spotting until it's completely gone.

Thanks hun, you are always so helpful yes, the spotting is always either dark brown or lightbrown/ yellowish. I am glad the hematoma is very small, just wish it hadn't grown especially because I have been doing nothing but rest! The spotting is very light today luckily, hope it stays that way now, and will see what the doctor has to say tomorrow.

About the baby stuff, wow you have quite a bit of stuff already and been so smart and moneysavy (pretty sure that's not an actual word) about it!

I think that a lot of stuff that advertisers claim are necessary for newborns/babies, isn't TRULY needed and they just wanna make a buck out of inexperienced first time parents. A while ago I researched what is really needed for a baby and what's not, and came across a very compact check-list on a German website (translated it all to English) that only has the things that really are useful.

If you're interested in checking it out, you can download the pdf here I for one have it printed out and am going to check things off the list within the coming months.

@jellybeanxx I'm so glad to hear you're feeling better

@Fern81 How adorable that your boy chose the first clothes for the new baby and yes, it is soo much fun buying baby stuff! Can't wait to make my next order hah!

@JessdueJan Long time no see, I hope all is going well with you and bubba!
And hope all the others we haven't heard from in a while a doing ok too

 

[co_fostermom]

Thank you for that list Pineberry! I've downloaded it and will have to check it out later today. Yeah, I definitely know they don't need a lot of stuff. I think the challenge for me recently has been trying to prepare for foster babies/ toddlers as well. I have over 300 things on my registry! (face palm). I think I'm going to remove most of the foster stuff for now (mainly stuff for 3-yr-olds). I honestly don't know how I will be able to handle the stress of fostering while also trying to get through this pregnancy which already has its complications. I mean, most of the baby stuff is little, like pacifiers and baby care stuff, but I have a whole category of stuff just for foster kids and I think I can definitely tone it WAY down lol. I love nesting, and work is super boring and slow lately so this is a good activity for the work week.

 

[Fern81]

Thank you for that list Pineberry! I've downloaded it and will have to check it out later today. Yeah, I definitely know they don't need a lot of stuff. I think the challenge for me recently has been trying to prepare for foster babies/ toddlers as well. I have over 300 things on my registry! (face palm). I think I'm going to remove most of the foster stuff for now (mainly stuff for 3-yr-olds). I honestly don't know how I will be able to handle the stress of fostering while also trying to get through this pregnancy which already has its complications. I mean, most of the baby stuff is little, like pacifiers and baby care stuff, but I have a whole category of stuff just for foster kids and I think I can definitely tone it WAY down lol. I love nesting, and work is super boring and slow lately so this is a good activity for the work week.

Foster, I got a LOT of stuff from family with my last pregnancy. I really wasn’t able to judge what I was going to use beforehand, I guess it depends on what suits your family and especially your baby’s temperament. Eg I got a brand new fancy co-sleeper and never used it because baby slept in a carrycot on top of my bed, then straight to the cot because he was sleeping through the night very soon. I might have used the co-sleeper if he’d been awake a lot at night. I used the swing a LOT since he loved it, but couldn’t use one of the carriers as he has a big head and the carrier has no head support. My sister and brother both used the same carrier a lot though because their babies tolerated it really well. I ended up never using my very expensive gifted jogging pram because it felt too bulky to me, yet my mom has been using it for all her grandkids since. I had 3/4 bath support systems, I only used 2 because he didn’t fit into the others. So you don’t always know beforehand. I suggest maybe- Get what makes you feel comfortable and prepared, apart from the necessities, and whatever you don’t use now you can always try for #2 or a foster kiddie, donate it or sell it later
I am excited to see how my second one will be and what he/she will like/use! It’s part of the adventure I guess!

 

[Fern81]

Last night’s activity consisted of me reading through my whole old pregnancy thread from 2016. It brought up so many memories. Needless to say I’m not looking forward to the last few weeks lol, but at the same time I can’t wait to feel baby move, find out the sex, and of course having baby in my arms! And time does fly, before we all know it we will be on labour watch and done with this quarantine/ lockdown business (I hope!!)

 

[jellybeanxx]

Last night’s activity consisted of me reading through my whole old pregnancy thread from 2016. It brought up so many memories. Needless to say I’m not looking forward to the last few weeks lol, but at the same time I can’t wait to feel baby move, find out the sex, and of course having baby in my arms! And time does fly, before we all know it we will be on labour watch and done with this quarantine/ lockdown business (I hope!!)

I love this! And you’re so right!
I bet that nostalgia was lovely as well. There are so many exciting things to look forward to and we have to hold onto that.

 

[wantingagirl]

Jelly - hope you feel better soon, and dont worry, baby will be just fine - glad your MIL was able to get meds for you!

Bit confused here as the brown spotting after my hematoma had disappeared by Monday (this week), then this Wednesday after the ultrasound, it started right back up and pretty heavily, and it has not eased off since then. I wonder if the pressure on my belly from the abdominal scan caused some more old blood to loosen up and exit my body.. or if the progesterone is irritating my uterus. Cant wait for my appointment on Monday so I can bring it up with the doc.

Also, I compared the doctors notes from my ER visit when the bleed happened and the ultrasound on Wednesday - and looks like the hematoma has grown! The notes from the ER visit said the length was 1.2cm, and the ones from my 12 week scan said 2.3 cm... Not sure what to think of that!

On a happier note - Yay for entering the second trimester as of today Its crazy how fast it all goes.

I made my first big baby clothing order on patpat last night! Found the cuuutest of stuff.

hun sorry to jump in but just wanted to let you know I had two scary bleeds whilst on progesterone suppositories and my friends did too xx

 

[JessdueJan]

You sound very organised @co_fostermom in my experience, newborns don’t need a lot of stuff, just a safe space to sleep, nappies and some clothes really! However, no one expecting their first baby (or second... third... etc) really sticks with that! Buying all the stuff is part of the excitement I think! It’s also quite individual, I’ve found what one parent swears by as an essential, another parent will buy and never use. It’s a learning curve as to what works for you and your family. Enjoy the shopping!
My husband always tells first time parents to buy a travel mug to keep a cup of hot tea by the bed for the night wakings. He swears it was the most useful thing he bought

The travel mug for hot tea is a lifesaver! Somebody suggested it when I had my third and it was an absolute game changer. Since then I have always bought one for my friends when they become new mums xx

 

[stacey1986]

Hey all, I'm so awful at replying to this thread!! Lol how are u all doing??

@Pineberry those are lovely scan pics

I have my scan this morning, am pretty nervous about it tbh with everything that's going on. Hopefully all will go ok.
Will try and keep up with the thread more today after I know everything is all good with baba haha

 

[JessdueJan]

@Pineberry all well here, 12 weeks today which feels like a bit of a milestone. Lockdown has got our house like a madhouse. I have one child in the extremely vulnerable category due to being immunosupressed and on biological medication who can't go out at all and I have another with autism who is struggling with complete lack of routine and having everyone in his space all the time. Don't get me wrong I am loving the extra time we are getting together but it feels like a bit of a juggling act.

@co_fostermom you are very organised with what you have so far. I always end up buying far too much for newborns because I just get caught up in the excitement of buying. A babyswing was an absolute lifesaver with all 3 of mine though so is top of my purchase list this time round.
My only purchase so far has been a few cloth nappies, I wasn't going to buy this early but I was browsing and couldn't resist some of the prints

 

[jellybeanxx]

@stacey1986 all the best with the scan today! Hope it goes really well!