35+ TTC 1st Graduates!!! Come on Over!

[animalcracker]

Thank you Svet and Muffet! Yes it was so scary and I am nervous about what the cardiologist will say tomorrow, but I will keep you guys posted.

I think this really gave hubby the kick (and shock!) he needed to get his health in better shape, once and for all! He's been eating so well this week and not one cigarette! I will be joining him on my own health kick once Ava is here too.

Thank you for the well wishes - I hope you ladies are doing well!!

 

[CeeDee]

Hello ladies, I’m coming out of lurkdom. I haven’t posted in a while, but I’ve been checking on you all. Congrats on the new babies. They are all so cute and the mommies look great after giving birth.

MA it is so wonderful to see you with a baby after all you’ve been through. What a blessing!

Sunshine, So beautiful! Both of you!

Lavalux, Hopefully you won’t have to worry about premature labor. I’m so glad you were able to feel the baby move. I can’t wait till I can feel the baby move.

Rottpaw, Love the new pic! He is so big and cute!

NMG, Sounds like you’re doing well. Keep us posted on your next scan.

Animalcracker, So sorry about your husband. I’m glad he’s starting to change his habits. I like the name Ava Noelle Maria, very pretty.

I had my 2nd prenatal appointment and got my results from my NT scan. I have a 1/5000 chance of down syndrome and 1/9000 chance of Tri8, so I’m very thankful for these results. Also my morning sickness has started to fade away, so I have so much more energy and get eat better.

 

[Junebug_CJ]

Anna, completely normal for one breast to make more milk! Just keep nursing on both sides... As a matter of fact, when Z stopped nursing my right breast remained bigger than my left and still is

MA I forgot to mention. Pumping is not reflective of how much milk you produce! It takes a while to get used to pumping, when she nurses she actually gets more... I felt my let-down a lot better with her nursing then I ever did with pumping!

CeeDee, awesome results hun! Hope mine are OK too, getting a bit anxious...

AnimalCracker, yikes what a scary episode! Keep us posted

 

[svetayasofiya]

Oh yeah Jules, I really love the name!!!

Welcme back CeeDee good stuff on the test results

 

[Mommy's Angel]

Hi Animalcracker!

Overall my c-section wasn't at all bad. A bit odd as you feel them tugging and pulling but you don't feel the pain and it's over fairly quickly.

I also don't think I felt really bad from the incision. It didn't take me long at all to feel better. Even now I have to remind myself not to do too much because I just had major surgery. I'm going out on nice days.

The only things that are bothersome have nothing to really do with the c-section at all. That's the PUPPS and the water adema. I'm going batty with both issues and am hoping they go away soon. It's honestly horrible. It figures I get these. Not everyone gets them...I'm guess the added progesterone has wreaked havoc though it did help with preterm labor in order to keep Amelia. So I suppose a few weeks of being uncomfortable is worth a life time without our daughter.

 

[skye2010]

Rebekah Amelia is gorgeous, gorgoeus, gorgeous. She is sooo pretty. I'm truly amazed that you finally had her )) I have been lurking the last couple of days, sorry just had the time to post finally, but I keep looking at your photos. )))
I felt quite emotional when I read about Doug's dream. I guess you would never forget such a loss. I remember my grandma having wet eyes telling me about her first daughter who passed away when she was a little girl. I wish all three of you a happy and a long life together to enjoy each other's company. Pupps and the retention must be the last leg of unfortunate tricks that this pregnancy has played on you. LOL!!! So once that's gone hopefully all will be wonderful. Give her little kisses from me tooo.

JB, it's nice to hear everything is going well I'm sure it will be all fine. Pls update when you have the screening xxx

Animal what a scare?? That would have scared me breathless as well. Is he having a 24 hr heart monitor to check? Hope the dr would identify what it was. And he would be well. It's sooo true that our DH's (who are over 35) need to take better care of themselves. My DH has a lot of junk, sugar, a very stressful job, the odd cigarette often. He had a racing heart a few times. I will remind him to be more careful. Weather he would listen is another matter. ))

Ceedee, it's so nice to hear from you and that the baby is doing well.

Anna, anymore photos of Jo? I bet she already grew up a bit Can't believe you are going back to work so soon? Are you gonna go back at 3 months? Do you have a good daycare near by your work? Maybe you can go nurse her at lunch hrs? BTW I've ordered the Aden and Anais swaddling blankets Can't wait to receive them.

NMG I'm there with you on the csection I think I have a low lying placenta too covering my cervix so unless it moves I willl have to have it.
Didn't have a proper kick untill 20-21 weeks either. Isn't it amazing to feel it?
Do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet?

Angela has Ethan started walking??? Wooow can't beleive, already? That's a keen boy. He looks such a sweetie xx

Steph so funny Katelyn would be eyeing your food. LOL! My friend's little boy used to do that. And once he started walking/crawling he would come up to you and beg for your food. So funny like a little bird he would open his mouth and start feeding. How's it getting back to work? Must be difficult to get used to the routine again. Can you see Katelyn at lunch times at all? Did put the rack on my list, thank you ))

Laura sorry that you still have the tummy issues. Hope you are better now. xxx

Svet Have a wonderful week with your parents. They must be excited to meet her. Add photos pls when you have time ))

Tery, Lucy, Caroleb, Sunshine, Viv Austen hope you and the three musketeers are doing well.

Girls thank you soo much for the bfing info. It's so good to know that you are all there for support and equipped with the best first hand advice. Love you all XXXXXX

AFM Shirin's is well, doing her little summersaults. ) I love feeling her move. Went to see the dr today. She couldn't find her hb on the doppler so I had a quick peep at the scan. It was so sweet to see her face. She's now 1 kilo. The dr asked me to get off the blood thinners since I have a bleeding risk but I'm a little concerned. I don't wanna jeopardise her blood flow. I'm gonna discuss with my IVF consultant too.
Dh's finally back at home tomorrow. I missed him even though it's so much easier to sleep alone in a big bed nowadays. I use every corner of the bed turning and if I can't sleep I can get up and post, which I am doing right now. LOL!

That's all for now. Wishing you sweet dreams to you all tnt xxxx.

 

[newmarriedgal]

Hi Jules - I'm so sorry your husband had a scare like that. I have a few heart conditions (I know, I'm greedy, I couldn't have just one!) and I have felt exactly like that. One of the things it could be is SVT (supraventricular tachycardia) which is skipping/extra beats or having runs of out of control beats. It can be very scary while happening. Sounds like what your DH experienced. I have had this all my life and the 24-hour monitors never picked anything up as it wasn't consistent enough (i think my heart knew and was being on good behavior). So my cardiologist put me on a 30-day event monitor. It is as small as a beeper and has 3 leads going to your chest under the shirt and you press a button every time you experience something. Even if it was so fast and you missed it (a skipped beat and be very quick) it will still mark the time on the recorder so they will look before and after the time you marked (same goes for the 24-hour one too). This is a great tool (you can shower with it and just causes some skin chafing), but don't feel discouraged if your husband doesn't get one yet, they may wait until he has another one to make sure it is a recurring issue. I am taking extra magnesium and sometimes potassium as they help with regulating the beats.

I know this is easy to say but try not to worry. I do know what he is going through and there have been many times I thought I wouldn't be here. My other heart issues are too scary to post about, but I have a history of heart issues, starting with heart surgery when I was little, so I usually don't post them because I wouldn't want people to worry about me or themselves. I have the support/guidance of a great cardiologist who is monitoring me closely through this pregnancy.

I wish you and your husband good news today, praying for you!!!!

 

[pablo797]

morning ladies!

Thanks to everyone for not making me feel like a freak in the BF area. Good to know one breast producing more milk than the other is a normal thing.

MA, sorry you are still suffering some side effects. Even with a normal birth it takes time to get back on ur feet, so give yourelf time and you will be back to normal in no time.

Svet, your parents are going to be so excited to meet the baby! Enjoy their visit! And Jo is good, thanks for asking. She is feeling better and a happier baby.

Animal, so sorry for the scare with DH! My DH needs to take better care of himself too. Let us know how the doc appt goes today. I will be thinking of you!

ceedee, hi and glad test results came back so good.

Skye you aways do such a good job posting! How are you? I know what you mean about the bed. . . Nice to have it all to yourself sometimes. Glad all is well, you and baby sound happy and healthy.

cj, when do you have your tests?

AFM, nothing to tell. Same old feed the baby get the baby to slep thing. I did get the birth anouncements done this week and feeling proud that they're out. Walmart is awesome for this task iif anyone needs. This morning DH said we should ask my parents to take the baby on sunday so he can sleep. ??? he went to bed last night at 9 and didn't get up until it was his turn at 5am. That's 8 hrs of sleep!!! Why is he complaining?? Sometimes I swear!! To top it all off he woke me up because he couldn't get her back to sleep so my little few precious hours of sleep got disrupted. I love hime, but really?? Ok vent over. Happy friday all!!
anna

 

[animalcracker]

Hi Jules - I'm so sorry your husband had a scare like that. I have a few heart conditions (I know, I'm greedy, I couldn't have just one!) and I have felt exactly like that. One of the things it could be is SVT (supraventricular tachycardia) which is skipping/extra beats or having runs of out of control beats. It can be very scary while happening. Sounds like what your DH experienced. I have had this all my life and the 24-hour monitors never picked anything up as it wasn't consistent enough (i think my heart knew and was being on good behavior). So my cardiologist put me on a 30-day event monitor. It is as small as a beeper and has 3 leads going to your chest under the shirt and you press a button every time you experience something. Even if it was so fast and you missed it (a skipped beat and be very quick) it will still mark the time on the recorder so they will look before and after the time you marked (same goes for the 24-hour one too). This is a great tool (you can shower with it and just causes some skin chafing), but don't feel discouraged if your husband doesn't get one yet, they may wait until he has another one to make sure it is a recurring issue. I am taking extra magnesium and sometimes potassium as they help with regulating the beats.

I know this is easy to say but try not to worry. I do know what he is going through and there have been many times I thought I wouldn't be here. My other heart issues are too scary to post about, but I have a history of heart issues, starting with heart surgery when I was little, so I usually don't post them because I wouldn't want people to worry about me or themselves. I have the support/guidance of a great cardiologist who is monitoring me closely through this pregnancy.

I wish you and your husband good news today, praying for you!!!!

This is SO incredibly helpful NMG - and SVT is exactly what the E.R Dr. thought hubby was dealing with!

I am so sorry to hear about your heart issues. So scary - I hope everything is okay with you

We have an appointment with the cardiologist today at 2:15pm, so I will absolutely keep you guys posted on what the Dr. says. My poor hubby is so nervous (as am I!) He keeps thinking he is going to get some bad news.

Thanks again for this helpful post. I wouldn't be surprised if the Dr. does recommend some sort of contraption to monitor his heart for a while. xo

 

[newmarriedgal]

Jules - I'm happy to help! I'm so glad you have a possible diagnosis and are following up with a cardiologist!!! I know it can be very scary, but remember you are going to a dr who deals with this all the time and you aren't letting it go! Face it head on and the dr will be very helpful! The best thing your DH can do is get it checked! My thoughts and prayers are with you both! As far as worrying about bad news, I still do everytime, as the heart is a scary organ but the moment I see my cardiologist, I feel so much better and know he is so skilled in this. please let us know how your DH does!

Feel free to message me if you have any specific questions if he has to get a monitor.

many hugs!!!!!!

 

[Junebug_CJ]

Anna I felt like several times at DH during those first few months, sometimes the insensitive stuff that came out of his mouth was unbelievable! I don't think they get how exhausted we are, and that even before baby comes, starting in pregnancy!!! Sorry you're having issues with him, I think it's pretty normal though unfortunately My DH had a MUCH better understanding of everything during his 8 months off with her: although to be fair, by the time he took over the parental leave, she was 7 months old so in my mind the worse was over

I have my CVS on October 17th, and the NT on October 20th... Hopefully will have the CVS results around the same time as the NT scan. Helps to know personally the Cytogenetics laboratory director, am calling her today to give her the heads up about me having my testing done

 

[sunshine71]

Good morning ladies!

It seems like every time I try and post I get sidetracked with a fussy baby, a hungry baby, a baby that needs changing, or I just plain fall asleep. (I'm trying desperately to keep my eyes open right now...)

Very interesting to read about the BFing issues going on - it's comforting to know I'm not the only one having a difficult time of it. I guess it's something we just have to stick with and cross our fingers, right?

Jules - I'm so sorry for the scare you and the DH are going through! Fingers crossed that everything works out fine. I'm sure it will! Sometimes a scare like that is exactly what's needed to get things back on track.

It sounds like basically everyone is doing well and all scans have come back with good news - yay! Please know that I am reading everything, just finding it difficult to find the time to post. You ladies are all in my prayers for continued pregnancy/baby care success, even if I don't have the chance to address everyone personally.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

[lavalux]

Jules,
You must have been petrified. Hugs to you for having to go through that. I am glad you are seeing the cadiologist so they can monitor your DH closely.

Today we are going to an all-day Childbirthing class sponsored by the hospital where we will deliver the babies. I have purposely not read those L & D chapters in my pregnancy book yet b/c I keep thinking it will likely be a c-section and I guess, if not in outright denial, I'm very nervous about doing it the natural way & the pain. On the otherhand, I don't like being out of control of my body which I would be with a spinal block. Hopefully this class will ease some of my fears. DH is actually excited despite him missing his football games. At least his team plays tonight.

We saw our neighbors and their 3 week old twin girls. They were sleeping in their car seats/double snap n go. So so tiny & precious but growing well. They were 5 & 6 lbs at birth but lost weight as is typical the first week or so. My neighbor is outside daily walking the dogs around, looks like a skinny model again already, they both look well-rested & have taken the babies out to dinner twice now with easy results. Why am I convinced that isn't going to be our situation at all? I need some of that PMA that I tried to cultivate while TTCing!

Ladies, hope you all are doing well.

 

[Mommy's Angel]

Just curious, Those who bf'd and pump. When you started, how often did you bf'd and for how long and when did you pump? Did it raise your milk production? I'm not really getting milk to store. Not sure how normal that is.

Next....This may sound naive and I feel really stupid, but My daughter is flailing her arms and sucking her fists and fingers. This is after she feeds too. Doug thinks she's just trying to discover things and has discovered her hands and fingers. It's possible it could also be gas. The flailing of the arms though is making me nervous. Is it normal?

How do you know if they are getting colic?

Thanks.

Rebekah

 

[Lucy1973]

Hi MA, just wanted to pop in and say wow isn't Amelia so gorgeous, congratulations you must be so over the moon! I personally tried pumping and found it took hours to get a tiny bit of milk so I stopped....I don't think it is necessary to pump to get good milk production, your baby encourages that every time she feeds....unless your milk production is low.

 

[svetayasofiya]

MA it's too early for colic. She's so new. Swaddle her when she does that. She proably needs to feel secure.
Why r u pumping? Your milk is still regulating itself. Giv it time. Pump later when she's older. I find pumping fairly useless.

 

[svetayasofiya]

Anna, your husband imo is reacting like a typical husband. They don't do the work we do but somehow stil get the exhaustion

 

[animalcracker]

Hello ladies!

Well, we went to the cardiologist on Friday and so far, the news is good! The Dr. did another ECG and although it was just a littly abnormal, the Dr. said it was not anything to worry about because an ECG showing just a tiny abnormality is very common.

He seems to think that hubby experienced an episode of SVT (as Codegirl had suggested). One other thing to mention was that the morning it happened, hubby made some extremely strong coffee (stronger than usual) and according to the Dr. that can sometimes trigger it.

He is getting his thyroid checked and also getting an echocardiogram to be on the safe side, and the Dr. would like to see him again in 2 months.

Hubby joined weight watchers last week and has been a busy bee counting his points every day. He's really into it, plus he has not had one cigarette since this happened and I'm really happy about that!

As for me - all I do these days is eat and eat some more! I'm hungry all the time!! I need to slow down or else I will weigh 200lbs by the time this child is born LOL

How is everyone else doing? Much love to you all!!!

 

[newmarriedgal]

Hello ladies!

Well, we went to the cardiologist on Friday and so far, the news is good! The Dr. did another ECG and although it was just a littly abnormal, the Dr. said it was not anything to worry about because an ECG showing just a tiny abnormality is very common.

He seems to think that hubby experienced an episode of SVT (as Codegirl had suggested). One other thing to mention was that the morning it happened, hubby made some extremely strong coffee (stronger than usual) and according to the Dr. that can sometimes trigger it.

He is getting his thyroid checked and also getting an echocardiogram to be on the safe side, and the Dr. would like to see him again in 2 months.

Hubby joined weight watchers last week and has been a busy bee counting his points every day. He's really into it, plus he has not had one cigarette since this happened and I'm really happy about that!

As for me - all I do these days is eat and eat some more! I'm hungry all the time!! I need to slow down or else I will weigh 200lbs by the time this child is born LOL

How is everyone else doing? Much love to you all!!!

Jules - so glad all is well! I was sure it was the SVT as I've been there! But you heard great news and I'm sure that is a relief. I have to stay away from most caffeine - no coffee, only decaf tea, no soda....i only splurge on chocolate! But even then, if I eat too much, I do get a cardiac reaction so I know when to cool it with eating chocolate!

MA - that is not a stupid question! Of course you have to ask, otherwise you will never know! And it's great that women here can help, what a comfort for us up and coming moms!

lava - how was the birthing class? I def am having a c-section so I was curious about the classes too - I asked the dr if I even needed it as wasn't it geared towards labor and delivery and she told me it can also help me as it will go over after delivery, baby care, and guidelines for c-section....so I need to schedule that! As far as the twins parents being all together and able to eat out - I'm jealous! I'm not sure how I will manage with one! but hey, chaos is ok too!

hello to everyone else, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

AFM, not sleeping much again, up for hours, sometimes in joint pain, sometimes just up. will try the tylenol pm again. made some pie dough today so I can make up some pies tomorrow. otherwise, nothing major going on, been a lazy weekend. Been loving feeling the baby kick! very active after ice cream

to you all!

 

[lavalux]

NMG,
The class was helpful. They covered pre-labor signs, comfort measures & partner support during early labor, which you still may have prior to having your c-section, the difference btn epidurals & spinal blocks (for example if you have blood clotting issues they may do a spinal block instead), the c-section procedure, who can & will be present, how you can still be involved in the delivery, the importance of skin-to-skin contact & getting the baby to breast within the 1st hour if possible. I am taking a separate breastfeeding class but she talked generally about that.

That said, it was definitely geared toward women who wanted a natural childbirthing experience & we watched a video of a non-mediated labor & delivery. The instructer's daughter had twins by c-section so she talked to me a little more afterwards but since I am not 100% sure I will be doing a c-section if Baby A is vertex, in a way, the class stressed me out b/c before I just thought I'd likely have a scheduled c-section, but now I realize its possible I will go into labor, get an epidural at some point, and have at least one vaginally, then having a C-section for the 2nd so I'll need to recover from both. Just be prepared, even if the instructor says not to feel bad about having a C-section, the underlying message may be that vaginal births with the delayed use of or total rejection of medication is the superior option for you & the baby. That made me feel conflicted. But since you don't have a choice in the matter medically, it may not confuse you or make you feel a bit guilty like it did me.

If you in with your supportive husband, it can only be a positive experience together. We did some.massage & partner coaching exercises and it was a lovely little bonding time with DH.