*** December Snowflakes 2012 *** 158 Snowflakes - 36 born so far!

[Kels815]

Hi Everyone! Sorry I haven't posted. We were out of town for a few days visiting family in Florida.
I am 16 weeks now... just had an appointment on Monday. The Sonogram was great... we found out we are expecting a baby BOY!! Of course my husband was thrilled! I am soo happy! Baby Boy seems to be growing nicely. I can't believe how much he has grown in such a short period of time.
I am a worry wart so it's nice reassurance to know that everything is OK for now. I am trying to relax and not worry as I know it's not good for the pregnancy but it's so hard not to when only so much of what happens in there is in your control. :/
Hope everyone has a nice 4th of July!

 

[GenYsuperlady]

ImSoTired--I work in medicine and have access to some more in-depth resources...I will do all I can to help you find some answers. They didn't tell you which analyte it was? (AFP, hCG, unconjugated estriol?)

 

[ImSoTired]

ImSoTired--I work in medicine and have access to some more in-depth resources...I will do all I can to help you find some answers. They didn't tell you which analyte it was? (AFP, hCG, unconjugated estriol?)

I don't know they didn't say other than it was slightly off and it could indicate that baby wouldn't grow properly and/or I would have problems with blood pressure or early labor. I don't know what to do as I am just completely numb and I can't think about anything else.

 

[GenYsuperlady]

ImSoTired- be patient with me -- I've figured out the likely analyte (PAPP-A) but am just leaving work now to drive home, will do more research there.

 

[ImSoTired]

ImSoTired- be patient with me -- I've figured out the likely analyte (PAPP-A) but am just leaving work now to drive home, will do more research there.

Thanks it's just at this point I'm not sure I want to know what it means for me and my baby. I'm feeling completely terrified and just numb. I'd rather just pretend for right now that the worst will happen to try and protect myself from what will really happen. I'm afraid that if the worst really does happen that I will not be able to handle the situation rationally so I'm softening the blow hopefully. I just knew this whole time there was a reason I couldn't enjoy this and I wonder if this is why. Thank you for the help though, really it is greatly appreciated.

 

[GenYsuperlady]

That is hard for me to hear, especially because what i have just found suggests you should not be nearly as worried as you are.
I would be happy to share more details if you'd like, but respect your wishes and understand how difficult this all must be. I hope your doctor can get back to you soon, and explain to you what this all really means.
Sending massive hugs…

 

[ImSoTired]

That is hard for me to hear, especially because what i have just found suggests you should not be nearly as worried as you are.
I would be happy to share more details if you'd like, but respect your wishes and understand how difficult this all must be. I hope your doctor can get back to you soon, and explain to you what this all really means.
Sending massive hugs…

I really want to thank you for being so concerned and helpful. I'm just afraid to know anything that might make me feel any worse than I already do. I did talk to the nurse at the doctors office today and they couldn't tell me any more than the woman who gave me the results did. What I don't get is- how is my down and trisomy risk so low but apparently I have a protein in my bloodwork that is sending up red flags? I am destroyed and I don't know what else to do. They told me the baby may or may not continue growing accordingly and I may have hypertension or deliver early. That is all that I know. If it is only good news you have I would LOVE to hear it but I 'm not sure I'm prepared for any more bad news. Again I can't express how much I appreciate it.

 

[GenYsuperlady]

Oh sweetie, I am so sorry for the way your doctors office is handling this. They are really not being sensitive to your needs.
From what I can see, the marker is mostly a concern for you having preeclampsia. That is what could cause you to need to deliver early. Even then, and only if your levels were very, very low, a recent study has shown that your risk would only be 1.5 times higher than any other woman. that risk goes up a bit if you are of advanced maternal age, or have had a premature birth before.

I haven't really seen much evidence that this marker shows that anything would be wrong with the baby. The extra ultrasounds would be to look at the health of your placenta, so that they can predict if you might need to deliver a little early. That way you and your doctor can be prepared, and make sure you were close to the hospital.
And, with all of that being said, I must tell you that in my heart of hearts, I truly feel that this is going to be a wonderful, uncomplicated pregnancy for you and baby. I wish it could've been your doctor to be able to explain this all to you, but hopefully all of the information will be in your hands soon, and you can feel more reassured.
My sage medical advice at this point is to kick back, relax, and if you are so inclined, a half of a glass of wine couldn't hurt. Nature will take care of this baby, you take care of yourself!

 

[ImSoTired]

Thank you so much. I am trying to not even think about it but as a fellow pregnant woman you know how difficult it is. Of course my blood pressure is going to be high as it runs in my family and all of these tests are making me completely insane and stressed out. I'm going to TRY and relax. You did make me feel a little better though and I can't thank you enough.

 

[GenYsuperlady]

It's my pleasure! Don't feel bad about feeling crazy and stressed. To be honest, I elected not to get most of the screening tests done, because I didn't think I could handle it if there was a false positive result. I took the chicken way out!

My favorite way to relax is to watch absolutely awful reality TV. You never feel quite as crazy after watching a good episode of that!!!

 

[LemonTea]

Ok, Has anyone had anxiety with their pregnancy? This is my first pregnancy, unplanned, but DH and I have been married for 5 years so I guess it is about time. At first I had the occasional "What did I do?!" thought but now the anxiety seems almost ongoing. I am worried about my career ( I just graduated nursing school but have no job), and finances. I called the doc and the nurse thinks it is just pregnancy hormones. Did anyone go through this? Did it eventually go away? Please help! I feel like I am losing my mind. This is unlike my personality.

The thing I am most worried about is whether or not I should continue working or SAH after the baby is born. DH is leaving the decision entirely up to me, although he would prefer I work, and knowing that I have only a few more months to decide what to do is stressing me out.

Other than that, I've been pretty chill about this pregnancy. I haven't really started buying things, or planning showers, or setting up the nursery yet, and I imagine there might be a little stress involved with that stuff -- although I'm mostly just so excited to get to that part.

 

[LemonTea]

Congrats re all the gender scans! It's just so so exciting!

I have been feeling terribly sad and I want to say that this is not meant to make anyone feel upset but to appreciate life and what's happening to us as mothers to be. It's a complicated story so I will try and tell it the best way possible. I have some friends a married couple, they were unable to have children themselves as the wife suffers from Cystic Fibrosis and cannot carry a pregnancy. The husbands sister who already has children offered to be a surrogate for the couple. They used the wifes eggs and his sperm and now are expecting twin boys in less than 3 weeks time. Unfortunately a little under a month ago the wife got terribly sick with her cystic fibrosis and needed a lung transplant to survive, she got this transplant but unfortunately was too unwell and rejected it...she died on Monday night at age 30. Heartbreaking. We have her funeral next week She will never meet her boys and her husband will be bringing them up alone but with an extremely supportive family. I didn't know her very well, we just caught up every now and again at mutual social events. She was a lovely soul and it's just so unfair ........just thought I would share this with you all. I realise how lucky I am and that life is so precious xx

That is so, so sad.

 

[LemonTea]

I'm happy either way but DH wants a girl. I keep telling him I think its a boy lol

thats exactly the same as me and my OH... he thinks its a girl so much that i say i think its a boy just incase it is and then id feel bad my oh was so convinced its a girl

Too funny -- DH and I are the same way. He has such a close relationship with our niece that I'm really worried that he'll be sad if baby is a boy. He would always refer to the baby as a girl in the beginning, so I started overcompensating by calling the baby a boy. I DO sort of think baby IS a boy, but mostly I just want to help DH maintain perspective

 

[LemonTea]

I might pop a little , or by each of our usernames on the front page depending on whether what sex we're having or if we are staying team yellow. What does everyone think?

Good idea! DH and I are planning to stay on Team Yellow all the way!

 

[LemonTea]

So I kind of just need to vent a little bit. Yesterday DH and I were outside cleaning our cars and garage etc. It was hot (like mid 90's by 9AM) and I hadn't had breakfast or anything to drink besides a small glass of juice that morning. Long story, I basically passed out for about 20 seconds. I called my midwife this morning to ask a question about my next appointment and mentioned what happened yesterday. She immediately jumped on me and wanted to know why I hadn't gone to the emergency room or called the birth center. I didn't do those things because I just figured I was dehydrated and pushed myself in the sun a little too far. I immediately drank water after it happened and felt better. I'm not the kind of person that calls the doc at the drop of a hat but since she snapped at me I've become extremely worried that I've hurt baby somehow. I don't have any cramping or spotting, but I haven't felt movement either (at all yet, besides a few popcorn feelings about a week ago). I want to just sit here and cry like I've done something terrible without even realizing it.

Don't feel bad (easier said than done I know). I doubt that I would have gone to the ER for something like that. It seems clear enough that you over-exerted yourself in the heat and fainted. I don't think that sounds like an emergency situation that would put your baby in danger. I may have called my midwife to update her on what happened and to get feedback, but I definitely wouldn't have gone to the ER over the something like that. And knowing the personality of my midwife, I don't think she would have encouraged me to do so. Instead, I think she would have told me to do what you did -- rest and hydrate!

Try not to worry, although I know it's hard.

 

[munch]

Congrats re all the gender scans! It's just so so exciting!

I have been feeling terribly sad and I want to say that this is not meant to make anyone feel upset but to appreciate life and what's happening to us as mothers to be. It's a complicated story so I will try and tell it the best way possible. I have some friends a married couple, they were unable to have children themselves as the wife suffers from Cystic Fibrosis and cannot carry a pregnancy. The husbands sister who already has children offered to be a surrogate for the couple. They used the wifes eggs and his sperm and now are expecting twin boys in less than 3 weeks time. Unfortunately a little under a month ago the wife got terribly sick with her cystic fibrosis and needed a lung transplant to survive, she got this transplant but unfortunately was too unwell and rejected it...she died on Monday night at age 30. Heartbreaking. We have her funeral next week She will never meet her boys and her husband will be bringing them up alone but with an extremely supportive family. I didn't know her very well, we just caught up every now and again at mutual social events. She was a lovely soul and it's just so unfair ........just thought I would share this with you all. I realise how lucky I am and that life is so precious xx

That is so, so sad.

Yes it is I had the funeral yesterday which although sad was really lovely and highlighted how wonderful this women was. Their twins were born on the weekend and they closed the funeral with a picture of them. It was heart wrenching but beautiful. I felt my baby move during the service which was special. X

 

[Honey.Bee]

ImSoTired - I'm sorry you are having such a rough time. Sending big your way. It's great that Gen has done some research for you. I reckon between all of the snowflakes we must cover quite a spectrum of careers!

Tests are funny things. Yes, science has advanced so much but we still get it wrong (false positives) and we still miss things (false negatives). I think what is important here is that you get some answers from your own healthcare professional. In the UK we could ask to see our GP who, although not arranging the bloods, should have access to the results. I always recommend going with a list of questions and things you need clarifying because in the stress of the consultation it is easy to forget. Just please don't sit at home full of despair. You will drive yourself mad.

Also, please remember that each test has different risks. For example the Down syndrome test can have a massive range - I think someone here posted 1:100,000 but mine was 1:5300. Likewise the 'normal' NT risk is about 1:1200 so to compare the two would be like comparing an apple with a pear. Take care of yourself x

How is everyone else today? I have serious baby brain at the moment. On Monday I went to do the shopping, got all the way around the store and then realised I had left my purse at home Please share with me tour baby brain stories so I don't feel so 'special'!

Also has anyone else been getting tingling or numb legs? I started off with one and now it's both with quite a lot of lower back pain. I know it's just pressure being put on the nerves but it is quite a strange feeling. Anyway, I've been referred for physio and in the meantime I bought a dream genii pillow which is AMAZING! If anyone else is struggling to get comfortable sleeping I'd seriously recommend it. Happy Independence Day to all of you snowflakes over the pond x

 

[Baby Bell]

Honey bee, I have spectacular baby brain at the moment. I have lots of birthdays and fathers day in June. So I bought about 10 cards at the same time, was proud of myself, until I realised I'd forgotten my cousin and her sons birthday. Then when I was writing my Oh fathers day card from Eoin I realised I had two and thought that I must have bought one from bump too. Wrote out both cards and gave them to oh who pointed out one of them was a birthday card! So I then had buy him another birthday card from Eoin and bump (his birthday was a week or so after). Then on his birthday, from me I gave him my OH an anniversary card instead of a birthday card and didn't even notice until again he pointed it out worse thing is I spent ages choosing them all, finding perfect verse etc, and didn't even notice! Numpty

 

[mummyof2girlz]

i am 19 weeks today!! Nearly half way through.. My bump is certainly growing and baby is moving loads feeling really good. One week one day till my scan!

 

[daydream]

Yesterday I was complaining about not getting much clear baby movement. Well LO must have been listening because last night he gave several big clear kicks. I could even press down slightly on my uterus and feel them! I called DH over and he got to feel the slightest little baby movement. Even in the middle of the night I was able to feel a bit. LO sure knows how to make mama happy