General chatter while we wait (and commentary on the "pull out method")

[shaescott]

Done AHHHHHHH BABY GIRL!!!!! It’s probably accurate considering all variables, but of course it’s 99.9% for a reason.

Winter aw poor little guy! SO had such frequent ear infections as a kid that he had 2 different sets of tubes (the first failed/fell out early). He doesn’t have them anymore, the problem luckily went away eventually.

Prayers that all is well with this pregnancy

Lol I agree with my SO too, he has the lower sex drive so he’s the one who needs convincing most of the time, but I think going so long without it involuntarily refreshed his drive a little.

Flueks I’ve noticed some milky CM and my cervix is high today but sometimes right after AF ends I get milky CM and high cervix for a few days then I revert to sticky, then back to creamy to milky, then EW. So I can’t really trust it. I don’t get very good EWCM most cycles, it’s generally creamy/milky with a little EW mixed in. So, hard to distinguish. I think it’s lack of estrogen causing the lack of EWCM, but I’m no expert

 

[WinterBub]

Maybe I need to look at an Instapot again. I shelved the idea as we have an absurd mount of kitchen stuff, and I don't want it to be like my slow cooker... Used about twice and then shelved for 3 years the cheesecake sounds awesome, and I agree on dense! My OH made a cheesecake for his own bday last year and it was foul. As it was his birthday I pretended it wasnt terrible I'm a good cook, but not a baker, so he usually does the baking. Although I've started buying baking mixes- there's a Chiquita banana bread mix that is amazing, and pretty much fool proof! Something nice about a freshly baked cake for afternoon tea. I do tea parties with my LO every so often. He's a rowdy little guy, but gets totally into the cake stand, tea cups etc Deep down he's fancy.

Hope this month works out for you, Shae. Did you say that you're going to see a midwife for a check up in the new year? Was just thinking it would be great to say that you'd like to have a baby as soon as your OH gives the green light. See if they recommend any extra checks etc ahead of that. Not sure they would, but hey, why not ask? Hopefully your OH is still in the mood for a bit of high risk fun tonight

AFM- just got back from the fertility Dr. Definitely have pcos, but clearly I'm ovulating. He also said that I had a genetic issue absorbing folate, so need a high dose supplement instead of the regular level. And finally he thinks I have Hashimoto's disease. So he wrote a prescription for a thyroid medication. He says I should take it in pregnancy etc, but I want to read up on what it is and maybe double check with my OB. I have at least some of the symptoms of Hashimotos (developed exczema in 2019 out of nowhere), and am tired a lot... But who isn't? Most importantly, he said none of this will or would impact the current pregnancy. So that was great to hear still cautious about getting too excited, but that was nice to hear. He also suggested low carb/gluten free... But I can't remember whether that was PCOS or Hashimotos related. I wonder if the thyroid stuff is new

 

[DobbyForever]

Pretty so glad the PT is doing wonders! And yay for a good party/time. Cheesecake is so yum. I saw the ninja thing on sale fir Black Friday and almost got it. I still haven’t replaced my oven, so I was debating an air fryer until I do. Now I’m sad I didn’t commit lol

Winter that’s such great news that nothing looks like it will impact the pregnancy. It’s so bittersweet to get a diagnosis. How are you holding up with the news? A lot to process. I’ve heard of diets for pcos but never looked into it.

AFM I still feel numb. The migraines are def stress. So they are better as I work on mindfulness techniques. But overall my symptoms have essentially faded. I still can’t shake this weird feeling I’m not going to get to have her in the end. I haven’t even bothered with bump pics, I haven’t touched the pregnancy book, I honestly didn’t want to do the sneakpeek I just forced myself.

Spent all yesterday writing a complaint because the school district violated multiple sections of Ed code. Still need to file a complaint with the state and loop in my lawyer

 

[WinterBub]

Sorry I didn't comment on the PT yesterday, Flueky. That's great that it helped did you find things got worse after each child? My bump buddy who now lives in Australia just had her second baby. I haven't asked too many details as she had a really awful time with her first. She's very tall, and skinny and had a really petite bump, but turned out the baby was 10lb+ so, she ended up with all kinds of issues. I just really hope that things went better this time around.

I'm sorry, Dobby. I wish things were easier right now for you. Pregnancy is tough, and you have a lot of added outside stresses. Funnily enough the Dr was explaining to me yesterday how weeks 7/8 are really vital points in a pregnancy, as that's when the blood vessels from the baby attach to the mother (paraphrasing, but that's what I understood!) So, in any case... He said that if you see a heartbeat, and get through those weeks, the m/c chance plummets. So, I'm going to go with that, and that would mean you're like a week away from that point. Everything you've said so far has seemed really positive, so I hope this LO will be absolutely fine and you'll be cuddling her in a few months!

I'm fine with what the Dr said. It actually makes sense going back 10 years re: some weird niggly health things that have come and gone. Still nervous and shocked about everything... But it is what it is. Just have to be patient and see what happens.

I tried to make a Mom friend but may be being rejected we met at a party a couple of weeks ago and exchanged numbers (she has a son the same age and is expecting #2 in Feb). I ran into her today, and she was super friendly. So I texted her when I got home and asked if she wanted to do a play date between Christmas and NYE. No reply as per yet I have found it so hard to make friends as an adult. I had two really good friends here, and loved that. But they both left in 2019/2020 . Now I just wish I'd never sent the text. Gah, this is like dating.

 

[shaescott]

Winter I’m glad they were able to give you some answers at the fertility clinic!

Dobs hm the lack of symptoms does worry me a bit. How were your symptoms at this point during your pregnancy with A? Do you have a follow up ultrasound scheduled?

 

[DobbyForever]

Winter omg making friends as an adult is worse than dating lol. Hopefully she texts back! That’d be such a fun friend to have with kids that close.

TY I know I’ve had an abundance of tests and scans so it’s bothering me how like kinda sociopath level disconnect.

I’m glad that you’re feeling good about the results and having answers

Shae I remember my symptoms disappearing and never coming back. I look back on his pregnancy like it was so easy. But I never had this weird gut feeling. I had anxiety but it was rooted in how much I loved him. I can’t even force myself into loving her. And it happened overnight. It was so bizarre. I even keep looking at A thinking how happy he makes me and how complete my life is with him, where before I felt incomplete and like I was missing her and she was the puzzle piece that was going to finish our family. I’m sure it’s nothing but idk. My prenatal is on Wednesday.

 

[shaescott]

Dobs that’s very weird. It could just be due to a multitude of factors affecting your psychological state. We’ll have to see what Wednesday’s ultrasound shows.

Winter I forgot to respond that yes, I have a midwife appt at the end of the month to establish as a general OB/gyn patient cuz they do well women care as well. I think at this point it’s SO who needs to talk to his doctor, he needs to be tested for a cystic fibrosis variant, since I’m a carrier. He has no family history of it but neither did we.

Re: adult friends, I hate trying to make friends as an adult in general, I bet mom friends are even worse. I have my best friend I met in college and I have work colleagues I chat with at work and very rarely text, we don’t hang out outside of work though so I wouldn’t call us friends technically, more like very friendly acquaintances.

AFM OPKs negative so far :/

 

[DobbyForever]

I was just talking to my friend. I think I’ve just had to emotionally shut off at work to not drown (another fight today, my boss is about to re-roster our grade level because my class just has all these kids literally fighting). It’s probably pouring over.

my mom also texted that there’s an outbreak at her school. Nearly 10% of the school has tested positive in the last week. One kid is in her class and sits next to her desk, and they’ve had indoor lunch several times this week. My brother texted that his Med school is having an outbreak even though the students are all vaccinated and most have their boosters as well.

sorry about the negative opks but things can always turn on a dime with them so fxed

 

[shaescott]

Dobs yeah that could definitely cause some major issues mentally. Perhaps when you have the next ultrasound and they properly show it to you and tell you the HR and print the pics, it’ll feel a bit more real.

My cervix has been high a lot the past 2-3 days so I’m reeeeeally hoping it’s because I’m going to ovulate soon, but no guarantees. I frequently think maybe I’ll get that positive OPK in the CD12-16 region and then I don’t. Today is CD14 so I really hope I get a positive tomorrow or the next day to be within the 5 day range. But of course I shouldn’t get my hopes up.

 

[shaescott]

OPK negative today. Cervix still high, it would be nice if it would give me clear signals. I could probably improve my cycle by not consuming excessive amounts of caffeine and eating healthy foods regularly but ya know, being a nurse means I need caffeine and I don’t get to eat lunch until 2-3 pm some days. Oops.

 

[Flueky88]

Shae sorry your opk is still negative. FX for positive later today!

Also I feel you, it was very hard finding time to eat/drink/pee as a floor nurse.

Dobby I hope that if this is a sticky baby that you get that connection/bond. I think with everything going on in your life that it's normal to feel disconnected. It's also very normal to feel worried or sad about taking away from your 1st by having a 2nd. Hope that your class environment improves.

Winter, yes, I definitely recommend the instant pot or ninja foodi.

As for pelvic floor issues. I had incontinence after I had dd1 but it improved to the point that I only leaked from stress (jumping, coughing/blowing my nose, etc). I didn't feel there was much point in getting help until I was done having kids. I had some incontinence I think during my 2nd pregnancy and only stres incontinence afterwards (back to "baseline" after having kids). With my 3rd, I was having a lot of pelvic pain and even if I kegeled and crossed my legs a sneeze would cause leakage. So I started PT during my 3rd pregnancy and had my last visit the week before I delivered. I started up again in April. I wish I would have went after dd1 but it is what it is.

AFM positive opk yesterday and today. So think I'm Oing today. Doesn't really matter but just wanting to track. I'm Oing earlier this cycle, CD20. So hoping this get a little more regular.

 

[shaescott]

If I’m not actually fertile right now I’m suing my ovaries for emotional distress

Spoiler: TMI EWCM Pic

 

[Flueky88]

Shae holy ewcm!! I would do an opk if you can! If not, maybe pee in a specimen cup later and dip as soon as you get home lol if an opk isn't positive today I bet it will be tomorrow!

 

[shaescott]

I was at work and couldn’t test, but did when I got home on a good hold and it was very negative tomorrow is the last day I can have my surge and reasonably expect to get pregnant, I need to ovulate by CD17, I’m CD15 now. No more EWCM since then, cervix is still high though. Usually I get a ratio >0.4 on the morning of my surge and then it turns positive that afternoon or night. So, praying that my LH is elevated in the morning.

 

[WinterBub]

Good luck, Shae! Really hoping all the stars will align just right for you.

Dobby- I have given up on pregnancy intuition. I was really anxious the whole time with my LO. Part of it was that I went into things blissfully unaware of all sorts of pregnancy complications. Every time I learned about a new pregnancy complication I would fret and obsess it would happen to me. In the end I had a totally uneventful pregnancy. With the MC and MMC, I was totally not expecting anything to go wrong and it did. I don't think feeling detached means anything at all about the pregnancy. Just that you're stressed and don't have the bandwith for the pregnancy at the moment. And that's fine- your body is doing it's thing, and I'm sure she's fine. I think all will go well, and you will bond once it is all more "real", and hopefully some of the other life stresses subside. i agree with Pretty's earlier suggestion of some self care.

Flueky- I'm glad the PT has helped so much. So annoying to look back and wish you'd done things differently after your first. I think as a rule, there should be a lot more care after the birth. You have the six week check, and then it's like " see you in a year!" There probably should be more check ins to catch issues like this. It sounds like it is all going really well, and now you know what to do. Is it mostly kegels? Perhaps something we should all do more of.

Afm- nothing new. Picked up my thyroid medication, but want to talk to my OB before taking it. Not sure whether to email her or just wait until the first scan appt. On a more fun note: We all have Christmas stockings with our names' first letter on them. Long story about choosing our LO's name, but I have a spare "A" one... Give me some good boy and girl A names. Doesn't have to be an A, but hey... Can't let the stocking go to waste!

 

[DobbyForever]

Thanks ladies. I don’t have time for self care. I used to have 7pm-10pm to myself, but since I’m so tired and in bed at 7:30 after I feed the dogs =\. I’m trying to not work through lunch anymore. I am going to brunch today with my friend who is visiting from TX. It’s not really relaxing though. But at least the migraines aren’t constant anymore. I’ll probably feel better after the appointment.

Shae that is definitely interesting. Curious to see if your opk is positive today/O comes. FXed

Winter I’d email. I email my doctors all the time. But I’m sure it’s fine to wait. As for A names, we had a hard time picking one for DS because they were either super unusual or too generic. We ended up on Aiden just because. But golly there are so many Aiden’s in the world lol. I’ve known since I was 17 that I’m naming my girl Aria. So I guess kind of nice that it works out to both be A’s. Lots of fun girl names with A... Adeline, Amy, Anna, Alyssa, Alicia, Andrea, Arianna, Ari, I could go on forever lol

Fluek glad you’re ovulating normally! I was thinking about having my tubes tied after this one, and I’d probably still check for O as well just for fun lol. Probably won’t though because I get keloids, and I was reading that women who get them and do that tend to get a lot of complications from the scar tissue. My mom has intestinal blockage from the buildup of scar tissue. She’s in the ER a lot having to get it cleared. And glad the PT is helping

 

[shaescott]

I’m officially suing my ovaries for emotional distress, OPK was negative as hell this morning.

Winter I’m on board with Dobs’ girl names, I’m terrible with boy names.

Dobs I’m glad you’re getting brunch with a friend today, that’s great! Sorry you’ve lost your evening alone hours to decompress

 

[Flueky88]

Dobby glad the migarines aren't constant now. 1st tri is so hard. The exhaustion is extreme and much harder to deal with when you have a LO and not much support. Hope you get some more energy in 3 or 4 weeks so you can have your "me time". Yeah, I probably wouldn't if you have issues with keloids.

Shae sorry it was negative this morning.

Winter, I do 0 kegels as they will only make my issue worse! My issue isn't that my muscles in my pelvic floor are loose. They are tight (imagine if you were always having your arm in a bicep curl.....that's my pelvic floor muscles). They are that way from a combination of stress on them from pregnancy, stress, and my other muscles getting weak (pregnancy and lack of exercise). So my goal is to reduce stress and build more strength is my other muscles so it can give my pelvic floor a rest. Deep breathing is important too for my recovery. I'm working on my dynamic exercises with weights. I have awful coordination so working on putting things together where a lot of my muscles are working together (core, hamstrings, arms, etc). She's helped a lot with proper form too. If she notices I can't do an exercise properly she'll find a substitute until I get the strength to do it with proper form (not using other muscles to compensate to complete).

A names for girls: Amber, Amelia, Andrea, Addison, Anna, Angela, Alisha, Autumn, Ashley

A names for boys: Alexander, Austin, Alan, Anthony, Aiden

Baby center has a nice name program to help give some ideas too.



AFM, not much going on here. Opk was again positive yesterday, thinking it'll be negative today as I typically have 2 days of positive. Shae I would swap my O with yours if I could.

E has been my fussiest baby when teething. I can't complain much because she does still sleep. It's just eye opening how fortunate I was with V. Except for Vs 2nd year molars and incisors, she didn't really react at all when teething lol.

 

[shaescott]

Having more EWCM today, wtfffff

 

[Flueky88]

Maybe the myoinositol messed with your cycles?