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

[DobbyForever]

Oh and A qualified for 1-1 pyschotherapy so he'll have his first appoint in a couple of weeks.

 

[Jules8]

My landlords are chicken farmers and our farm is used to grow feed so there’s no animals there permanently, but we have had some come and go. Our neighbors daughter used to do rodeo so they had a few horses. Then she had a concussion and couldn’t ride so they sold their horses to a therapy farm and the barn was rented out to a few horses for a little bit. After that they brought in beef cows for a few years, but none this year. Now all we have are some stray cats that run around. We love our area and living on the farm! We are in Amish country so lots of baked goods and farm stands. There’s so much space for the kids to explore and privacy. Our biggest issue now is that our house is way too small. We only have 2 bedrooms. There is another house on the property that is huge that is rented out as well. We’ve been waiting because they said they were moving once their son graduated because they bought a house in the mountains. Their son graduated last year and there’s no sign of them moving. Sigh. We really don’t want to move, but there’s no way 6 of us can live in a 2 bedroom.

 

[gigglebox]

Jules that spunds like an absolute dream, all the farm animals and farm life without the responsibility, lol!! We’re in the country but we do have a couple of houses/neighborhoods nearby, so not the rolling acres of farmland I’d prefer. That said we have a very large historic district down the street that preserves the land, and it’s minimally developed with old farm houses and beautiful land. It’s nice to drive through!

Good luck on your ultrasound!! I hope all goes well and you get good news

 

[gigglebox]

dobs yay for therapy and horses! Ugh the planning sounds so messy but i hope it works out in the end and in A’s best interest.

AFM…NT scan this week eep

 

[Jules8]

They are definitely moving in on buying up farmland then turning it into big housing developments and luxury apartments around here too. It would nice if they could at least build things people could afford.

I had my scan today! Baby is measuring on point based off of when I ovulated and they measured a hb of 119. I don’t go back til November 18th. She did ask if I was having pain in my left side and I said sometimes, but figured it was things stretching. Apparently I have a large cyst so they’ll be monitoring it. The cycle before femara I had a really long cycle so I wonder if that’s when it grew. I’m hoping it resolves itself.

 

[DobbyForever]

Oh wow! That's awesome. That's too bad about the concussion. Horses are great but yeah they're huge and fast. I hope she's alright both physically and emotionally. Makes me think of that Dr. Dolittle 3, when the daughter is at a ranch camp and the owner's son isn't supposed to bull ride anymore because he took a bad fall. Ooo baked goods and land to explore! Bummer about the other tenants. Hopefully the move! Maybe they're just waiting to see if he's coming back at all before they move? Hoping it works out!

That's too bad about the housing. . We're in a suburban area, but I'm not loving how it's being developed. I know they aren't building skyscrapers, but it's getting far too urban for my liking. We just had an affordable housing prop on our ballot. Do you?

Yay! So glad the scan went well! I'm sorry about the cyst! I hope it doesn't give you too much trouble. I had a cyst with my second pregnancy, but it was quite large and problematic very early on. I remember lots of women sending positive stories of their cysts resolving or not causing any issue.

Gigs what day is the scan again? Are you going to ask for a nub shot or no because you have the bloodwork? I'd still ask just for scientific purposes hahaha. Do you feel less stressed about it since you have the results from the bloodwork?

AFM A is on the struggle bus and I almost took trunk or treat away from him. But I came up with a better plan to have him pick the consequence for his actions. So he gave up his iPad and tv today to go. We had fun. It was definitely different than last year. I don't feel like he has as many friends. He did the trunk or treat part pretty much solo. Saying hi to a bunch of kids but not actually treating with them like last year. But he did play tag with two girls after, say his friend that was over this past weekend, and one of his teachers. So he had fun.

 

[DobbyForever]

Only issue is I ordered his costume on Amazon and we didn't try it on. His mask is WAY too small. I ordered mine from Disney, and mine is also too small. We have big heads LOL. The gloves are also weirdly made so they don't fit well. And I think a friend of his walked off with one of his gloves so I'm up s* creek for Halloween. I'm also trying to find a mask for him to wear on Halloween to replace this one. He's Spiderman (classic red) and I'm Spider-Gwen

ETA his daycare teacher found the glove

Also omg the amount of parents openly drinking wine at their trunk or treat cars or out of flasks. I’m dead.

 

[gigglebox]

Dobs do you have a local Facebook page? Maybe someone has a mask. I love the idea of you two matching, that is so sweet Glad A had fun! Other kids suck anyway lol. Ahh love the idea of him picking his own punishment! I literally attempted this the other day because ds2 broke one of my rules at grandmas. I asked him in the car what he thinks his punishment should be and told him to think about it…and by the time we got home I completely forgot :rolf: and he definitely didn’t remind me lol

To answer your question appt is on Wednesday and I won’t specifically ask for a nub shot but I’ll look for a pic of it to share, especially because my SIL wants to guess before I tell her. I’m nervous because I just get that way for every ultrasound, especially since my bad NT scan with ds1 so I’m conditioned, but I have been reading that NIPT is actually more accurate than NT scans for predicting complications, and I’m learning that a lot of ob practices are phasing out NT scans if NIPT has been done. But it can still catch signs of physical abnormalities so I’m interested in getting it anyway, plus an opportunity to check on baby. I am nervous about how baby is doing. I have read a couple ladies in my reddit group had MMC’s after their initial scan was fine so that’s been on my mind.

Mostly I’m just hoping the more I see baby, the more I can bond. As it stands I’ve been so ambivalent toward this pregnancy. I hate that. I just want to feel excited. It comes and goes but mostly I’m just still in disbelief I think! I know I’ll get there eventually (especially as I start feeling kicks and maybe feel less sickly) but I’m terrified I won’t. I’m scared of not bonding

Jules I think cysts are pretty common. I had one with my last pregnancy that got me in for an early scan due to pain, but all was fine and it resolved on its own. I suspect I have one this time on my right but the tech couldn’t tell during my last scan. But that’s great you got to see baby and even the heartbeat!!! How lovely.

 

[DobbyForever]

Aw thanks! Yeah, I'm milking the matching as long as I can. Especially now that he's verbal. He tells me what he wants and I think of something similar and ask him if he wants me to be that/match. Like yesterday I was so sick I really didn't even want to go let alone dress up. But he said he wanted to match so I put it on. We probably do but I just don't care enough to put any real energy into this. I might just conveniently disappear this mask or try cutting in the seam a little bit. He just can't pull it down far enough over his face. My mom suspects it's from his hair haha

OMG lol I love that. But flip side, the fact that you forgot on the way home means it was a smooth car ride. It's impossible for me to forget because the car ride home is hell Banging on the door, hitting me with his shoe, screaming.

Yes! That's true. When i went in for Setsuna, they told me if I do the NIPT then I won't have an NT scan. I'm glad you get both! I'm sorry for their losses. First tri is so delicate and nerve wracking. Sending posiitive and sticky vibes.

 

[HalfricanMa]

I’ve been crazy busy with the kids while my hubby is away. DS and I made 3 loaves of banana bread for the freezer and a loaf of asiago bread. We love to eat it with butter & marmite. So good!
@shaescott that treadmill sounds great. I always felt like improvement happens when one consistently says no to something, almost anything. Even intermittent fasting just saying no between the hours of X and Y. Idk, maybe I oversimplify.
In terms of what my body is up to, cryptic doesn’t fit. I’ve been feeling pregnant and got positive urine tests just negative blood work. If anything, it could be twins causing the hook effect with my bloodwork. Diluted urine makes my test show rather than concentrated. Also, my first pregnancy was twins that ended in miscarriage right before I got pregnant with my son.
I know the odds are slim, but honestly I dont pay attention to odds after last pregnancy. Fewer than 1% of pregnancies have polyhydramnios yet I did and it was severe! I had triple the normal amniotic fluid at 36 weeks. Hence the section at 38 weeks. Also unique, a lot of polyhydramnios is caused by genetic abnormalities or physical problems. Nope, thank God we beat the odds and it was simply that our girl drinks a lot and pees a lot.

I’ve fallen behind on the thread since dh is away so im day & night with the kids. I’ll be trying to catch up. Dd is doing well with crib training and night weaning. That’ll help me for sure!

 

[shaescott]

I’ve been crazy busy with the kids while my hubby is away. DS and I made 3 loaves of banana bread for the freezer and a loaf of asiago bread. We love to eat it with butter & marmite. So good!
@shaescott that treadmill sounds great. I always felt like improvement happens when one consistently says no to something, almost anything. Even intermittent fasting just saying no between the hours of X and Y. Idk, maybe I oversimplify.
In terms of what my body is up to, cryptic doesn’t fit. I’ve been feeling pregnant and got positive urine tests just negative blood work. If anything, it could be twins causing the hook effect with my bloodwork. Diluted urine makes my test show rather than concentrated. Also, my first pregnancy was twins that ended in miscarriage right before I got pregnant with my son.
I know the odds are slim, but honestly I dont pay attention to odds after last pregnancy. Fewer than 1% of pregnancies have polyhydramnios yet I did and it was severe! I had triple the normal amniotic fluid at 36 weeks. Hence the section at 38 weeks. Also unique, a lot of polyhydramnios is caused by genetic abnormalities or physical problems. Nope, thank God we beat the odds and it was simply that our girl drinks a lot and pees a lot.

I’ve fallen behind on the thread since dh is away so im day & night with the kids. I’ll be trying to catch up. Dd is doing well with crib training and night weaning. That’ll help me for sure!

Are you pushing for an ultrasound?

 

[DobbyForever]

That’s so annoying. I’ve had ultrasounds just to check for cysts or weird symptoms. It’s not like they don’t have the machines and people and time to do it. Glad hubs is back and you hopefully get some rest now.

 

[HalfricanMa]

That’s so annoying. I’ve had ultrasounds just to check for cysts or weird symptoms. It’s not like they don’t have the machines and people and time to do it. Glad hubs is back and you hopefully get some rest now.

Nah, he wont be back for another week yet. But he returns the same day his parents will be getting into town also so there will be plenty of adults to take the kids for me to relax! Yay! Haha
I feel the same about ultrasounds though. They don’t have to be used to a ridiculous amount, but with weird things happening and trouble diagnosing, there’s more of a reason.

 

[shaescott]

Nah, he wont be back for another week yet. But he returns the same day his parents will be getting into town also so there will be plenty of adults to take the kids for me to relax! Yay! Haha
I feel the same about ultrasounds though. They don’t have to be used to a ridiculous amount, but with weird things happening and trouble diagnosing, there’s more of a reason.

Replying a little more since my first reply was super quick haha. I’ve never heard of a hook effect on bloodwork, I’ve seen hcg levels of like 30,000 on my patients, so I’m not sure it’s that, but with the hook effect on your urine tests I’m wondering if something else is preventing your hcg from being picked up in bloodwork, like a protein or something.
If they refuse to give you an ultrasound, it might be time to get a Doppler with 2 day shipping. If you find a heartbeat, make sure to compare to your pulse to make sure it’s not your own pulse. The only time you could possibly have the same heart rate as a baby is if you’re tachycardic, like if you’ve been doing a bunch of activity/working out, or if you have a medical condition causing an elevated heart rate of course. Then you can tell your doctor that you’re detecting a heart rate of, say, 140 via Doppler while your pulse is, say, 80.

 

[shaescott]

Okay now for everyone else hahaha

Dobs sorry to hear about the therapy horse situation and that A has been having a rough time. Also that your masks don’t fit

Gigs I bet kicking will make a big difference in bonding. As much as an ultrasound is proof, physical sensations as proof can be even better in conjunction with the ultrasound. Though my mom said that when I was born, it took a few hours for her to bond with me. At first, it was kinda like “who is this baby”, despite having a vaginal birth. She would’ve protected me with her life at the first moment, but I didn’t feel like hers for a little bit. After a few hours she was like “yeah this is MY baby”. I’m told that that’s normal. She was excited throughout the pregnancy though, I was her second pregnancy, first carried to term.

Jules do you have any ultrasound photos? Sorry about the cyst

AFM I hadn’t been testing OPKs because my ovulation was delayed by stress (DH taking that test) and I was kinda like whatever, I’ll notice the EWCM. This morning my temp was up so I thought maybe I had missed it, but then I went to the bathroom and holy EWCM. Took an OPK and it was the most blazing positive I’ve ever had

 

[HalfricanMa]

Thanks for the reply. They’ll do an ultrasound tuesday or if they cant in office, the doctor will refer me.

 

[HalfricanMa]

That is BLAZING!! Nice @shaescott!! Have fun

 

[gigglebox]

yay @HalfricanMa ! I'm glad they're taking you seriously. Also you can share your tests here I speak for everyone lol
Actually I'm quite curious, if you dip one in urine, dilute that same sample, and dip again, is that how you're seeing the hook effect? I wanna seeeeee
Also seems totally reasonable to get an ultrasound despite symptoms in case it's a cyst causing issues. Tuesday's not far, I hope you get some clarity and they're able to at least do the ultrasound. Also you don't sound crazy. I had a coworker who went on for 4 months with an undiagnosed pregnancy and even saw the doctor in that time who said she wasn't pregnant (I think she went because of all her symptoms), and she ended up with twins (was 16 weeks with b/g twins when she found out!). Anything's possible; most likely scenario, maybe not, but stranger things have definitely happened!

 

[HalfricanMa]

Sunday was when i tested diluted and it was a stronger positive but they were still weird lines. The diluted is the torn hcg one. The top hcg is concentrate.
Middle is wednesday and i threw in a different brand and took pic in timeframe but it was fmu again.
Bottom photo is the most recent that i took on Thursday with fmu. I havent taken more because im sick of them not getting dark, the concentrated is faint and the lines still arent going all the way down even though i use from different boxes.
I’ve even tried mixing up between using 10 and 25s trying to see what’s wrong. They’re not negative and not positive.

 

[gigglebox]

no matter what with the weird lines, that one in the middle (The blue) is undeniably positive, and definitely looks stronger than the 5miu hcg the office said. That bottom one is positive too, albeit faint.
Bottom line is this should be investigated, pregnancy or no. I hope you get some direction at your appointment.