November 29th Due Date - I need a buddy!

[Allie84]

What a bump! Are you sure there aren't two in there?

Sarah, I'm so sorry....maybe it's a good sign, though? Maybe it means the hematoma is bleeding out slowly? Remember chances are all in your favor that everything will be fine. I know it's hard to feel positive when you see blood, though. Thank goodness for the doppler. I hope you were able to enjoy telling family.

I hope everyone has a good weekend. I guess I got over my dissapointing appointment and I'm trying not to worry that my uterus is 'too high' as he put it.

I have a question....how often do you all see your docs/midwives? Mine is once a month but it feels like sooooo long between appointments!

 

[sparklebunny]

I only get to see my midwife on the 16th June then i think it's about once a month after that....seems so long in between appointments, but i think it does emphasize their theory that things should be fine and it would be a rare occasion if they weren't fine.....that's how i like to think about it!

I would really like to know why my ms has decided to re-emerge from the woodwork....euuurrghhh!

 

[Allie84]

Hope you're feeling better Sparkle. My MS is more or less gone now, knock on wood! Gosh, I wish sick for soooooooo long it's kind of a miracle to not feel that way. I still have really bad food aversions, though. My diet is crap and I can't really eat meat.

I decided to jump on the maternity clothes train with you girls. I bought 3 pairs of maternity pants yesterday. I tried Old Navy but they were sold out of every normal size and try as I might, I didn't really fit into the size 4! So we went to Motherhood Maternity in the mall and they were having a buy two get one free sale on all trousers.

I got one with the full panel, which I don't really need yet, and one that goes under the bump and one that just goes across the bump. We'll see what style I like best I guess. It's so fun to shop!

Here is my 14 week bump pic. I think it looks kind of big for 14 weeks? And this being my first. I can't fit into my prepregnancy jeans anymore! My uterus is measuring ahead, though, so that must be why. It's apparently already just below my belly button according to midwife.

Having a lovely weekend here, hope everyone else is too!

 

[luckyalready]

Nope just one girls.. I told ya, this belly is out of control!!
You are cute Allie.. when you lay on your back can you feel it buldging out perfectly? I can feel definitely where my uterus is, everything else is kind of puffed up around it.. but its hard and right at the bottom of my belly button too. I definitely cant lay on my belly anymore or else it feels like Im laying a big rock..and it doesnt feel good. lol
Oh and Allie the full panel just feels good on the belly sometimes.. so that was a good purchase

 

[Allie84]

I wore the full panel yesterday and yes it was very comfy!

Where has everyone been recently? Must have been having a good long weekend! We certainly did, although last night we had a tornado scare and a big storm where we lost power. We had to pack up the dog and head for our apartment building's basement with everyone else. I was pretty scared so hopefully I didn't scare baby in there!

 

[desiwannabmom]

Allie,

I logged on a few times but it was a busy busy weekend. My SIL was visiting us and we spent a lot of time with her. We also drove to the closest big city and I bought a pair of full panel jeggings in Old Navy and a few summer dresses (non-maternity) that have an empire waists so I think I can wear them in the second trimester and also afterward. I am short 5'2" and so none of the pants they had were my size. They were just too long! I am going to my sisters next week and I am hoping I can shop there in bigger stores for some more clothes.

My belly is sort of sticking out now but it is very flabby. My uterus is still down right above the pubic bone may be a couple inches above it. I have a Nurse appointment tomorrow so I will ask her exactly where it is. I get to hear the heartbeat so I am looking forward to it! I also find myself sleeping on my tummy, and on the right side in the middle of the night and then I panic, wake up, sleep on the left side. So I am waiting to see what Lucky is talking about regarding not being able to sleep on the tummy !

We also told all of our friends this weekend. So I was also on the phone a lot. I had made a list of people prior on who we will call/e-mail etc and I went down that list one by one. I wrote couple of e-mails but to most everyone we called and shared. Everyone was pretty excited! We are too, the whole world pretty much knows! Our LONG kept secret is OUT!

How did everyone's "telling" to families/world go? Are some of you still waiting to tell?

 

[Allie84]

Sounds like a fun weekend Desi!

The whole world now knows about me as well. We had told most of our family and close friends last week, but as we move around a lot to different countries, it was impossible to tell everyone individually so this weekend we did the big Facebook announcement! I was nervous but it was wonderful to see the love and excitement when people commented on the news.

Oh, and I'm kind of short too (well, 5'5") but most jeans are still too long on me so the maternity pants I got are all capri, jegging or crop style. Those Old Navy jeans are especially long! I got a pair of maternity yoga pants there but I had to get a small because the other sizes were sooo long.

 

[sparklebunny]

I'm here, was away at my fiancee's mum's house for the weekend. I'm now chilling at home while my dad baby sits for me. He has cleaned the whole house and has hoovered every where and cleaned the oven and everything!! I love my daddy!!

 

[Sarah12]

Hey girls! I was away for weekend too. Did u have bank holiday in US also? We told lots of friends & family our news! Was nice to be able share it. Got a few people we are seeing this week to tell also. Infact we've ended up making dinner plans for every night this week so we can get round people. I'll be shattered come the weekend.

I still get so tired - I even have an afternoon nap! I can't cope without it.

My spotting eased off on Sat afternoon although I had a little more today. I'm really hoping it's a sign hematoma is absorbing & breaking down. Weird I'd not had any before.

I've not bought any maternity clothes yet. Still have room left in my stuff although a friend is going to lend me her jeans. And I've seen some bits on line I may order- I still feel a fraud buying it as can get into my clothes!

 

[BumpHope123]

Hi Ladies!

We have not announced the pregnancy to our friends yet (with the exception of two close friends) and will do so after my MW appointment this Thursday. We'll tell our local friends in person and call/email the rest.

I got my doppler today. It took me a while to find the heartbeat...eventually I tried applying some lotion but that didn't work. So then I used water to help the doppler glide around easily as the instruction manual suggests. I did finally find it but it felt like a soon as I found it, baby moved or something and I kept having to chase the heartbeat around. Baby must be doing summersaults in there! Overall, I'm a bit disappointed with the doppler itself. I have to turn the volume up pretty high but then I hate how it makes deafening screeching sounds at times when I'm picking it up off my skin. OUCH! And I really wish it had a screen that told me the actual heart rate. I suppose it's decent enough for the price, but I wish I had just stuck with the Sonoline B doppler. Trying to decide if I should return it and splurge for the better doppler.

 

[Sarah12]

Speaking of Dopplers- do you find the heart beat is in the same place everyday of moves around your belly? Mines always in Roughly the same place which I find strange.. Shouldn't it move?

Bumphope- I get the screetching but turn it down before I take off skin..

 

[BumpHope123]

Sarah - I've used the doppler at three different times now since I got it yesterday. Yesterday afternoon I found the hb on the left side (was expecting it to be on the right since that's where the u/s tech found baby during my NT scan). Last night and this morning, it was more centralized but not in the exact same spot. I think that's why the screeching is especially annoying for me, because I have to keep moving the doppler around to find baby. I don't know about what's normal or not, but I would say that as long as you're finding a heartbeat then you are fine.

 

[Allie84]

Bumphope, did you get the Angelsounds one? Yes, the screeching is really annoying! It still works, though, so I guess that's what matters. I do have to turn it up a bit, though.

I find that the baby seems to move every few days. When I first did it last Wednesday baby was far to the left and then was still on the left when the midwife found him/her the next day. Then on Monday I did it and baby was on the right. Yesterday the baby was more towards the center left.

I think if the baby likes one spot then that's perfectly okay! Mine only moves every few days it seems.

I have a question for you all....what color is your discharge? I've been getting a yellowy tan discharge since about 4 weeks and I thought it was the progesterone. I stopped the progesterone the day before yesterday and I'm still getting the same discharge. I called the nurse but they haven't called me back yet.

 

[BumpHope123]

Allie, yes I got the Angelsounds doppler. I'm on my last week of progesterone! Since I'm doing 1/2 dose every other day now, yesterday was my first day not taking the stuff. I was so nervous. But boy is it nice not to have to take it...three more doses left! I have been chalking up all my colored discharge to the progesterone too so I'm interested to see what the other girls and your nurse say about this.

 

[desiwannabmom]

Allie,
I have had dark yellow - almost brown discharge for the last week or so. I have been using liners. I am not worrying too much and I am not on any supplements like you and Bumphope are.

I had my Nurse appointment and we were able to hear the heartbeat again. She didn't have a fancy one so it didn't tell us how fast it was beating but she was able to locate it at first try. Mine is still in the center, right above the pubic bone.

I also had a question for you ladies. Are any of you getting the second trimester screening done? Is it called the quad screening?

 

[BumpHope123]

Desi - I am having the second trimester screening, which is just additional blood work drawn at 15-20 weeks. When it is combined with the NT scan and first trimester screening, it will give a refined and improved risk assessment for down syndrome & trisomy 18 and will also give a risk assessment for neural tube defects and SLOS (I'm getting this info from this pamphlet I got from the dr.'s office). Why do you ask...are you considering getting it done?

 

[Allie84]

Midwife says that the discharge is normal. The nurse thought it might be a yeast infection and asked me to come in, which I did, and the midwife said he didn't think so and it sounded perfectly normal to him. He said if it IS the progesterone causing it, the effects from that can last up to weeks after. So either way it sounds fine.

He also found the heartbeat so I got an extra doppler listen which is always good haha. He warned me that between 16-20 weeks it can be hard to find with the at home dopplers so I thought I'd pass that on....he said the uterus gets much bigger and baby has lots of room to hide and turn away, etc.

Glad you had a good nurse appointment Desi!

I've been debating the quad screen. Alex and I had decided to do it, but we still have until our 18 week appointment to change our minds....oh, and the midwife told me that most of those problems will be spotted on the 20 weeks ultrasound anyways? Does that sound accurate?

Are you leaning towards or against it Desi?

 

[Allie84]

BumpHope, did your doctor say anything about false postives? The doctors here almost seem to try to talk you out of it, saying the false positive rate it so high, etc.

I kind of want it but I kind of dont....

 

[BumpHope123]

Allie - Glad your appointment went well. It's good to know that the effects of the progesterone can last for weeks (if that's what's causing it)!

No, I haven't discussed false positives with my MW. I figured I'd deal with if the time comes. It does seem strange though that they'd almost try to talk you out of it. My MW wouldn't give her opinion on whether or not we should do it (even though I asked), just explained it and said it would have to be a personal choice and that some people want to do all the screening even if they are low risk and others who are high risk don't want to do it, so it really varies. I guess it really just depends on what you would do with the information if it came out positive. Personally, I don't think I would be able to do any further testing, since CVS/amniosentesis has a risk of miscarriage, nor do I think I would I be able to end the pregnancy, but I would want the info so that we could prepare for the baby if something were wrong. And also, all the testing is free for me and close to my house (and I'm not a spring chicken anymore!) so we figured it wouldn't hurt to do it.

I know from my pamphlet that the detection rate for downs and trisomy is better if you do the full integrated screening as opposed to just the quad screening, but the detection rate of all the other 'abnormalities' screened for is the same since it is just the second trimester blood draw that screens for them. But I'm not sure what the rate of false positives would be depending on which screening you do. I wonder if it is higher if you do just the quad screening and that's why the dr.'s are saying that???

 

[desiwannabmom]

Bumphope, Allie,
I had a call in to the nurse regarding the screening. She called me back and said they test for Downs, Trisomy 18 and Neural Tube Defects by doing a blood draw. BUT in my case, since we opted for an NT scan, and since my insurance would ONLY cover NT if it was done with blood work, they ALREADY did the blood work screening when they did the NT last week. Everything came back normal. She said that the NT combined with blood work is a much more better test than just doing the quads again in second trimester. She pretty much told me it would be a waste of money. My Downs risk is 1/5000 according to screening. I went and got my personal medical reports to take with me on my trip and it was kind of interesting to read all the medical information they have on with me. On that it says that according to my age my downs risk is 1/465 which is kinda crazy. So by the time we have a second baby, I will probably be high rish.Phew...I guess I should stop worrying about baby#2 now hahaahah...

So all in all, we won't be getting the quad screening. Our next "test" will be the anatomy scan at week 20!!