Hellobee Boards

21.5 weeks today!

@jaguar: there is a test here called sneak peek (claims 99.5% accuracy) that you can do starting at 8 weeks!
@periwinklebee: thanks!

@yellowbeach: What great photos of your little girl!

I am twelve weeks tomorrow, and go for an ultrasound/NIPT/genetic counseling on Friday. I have so much more anxiety this time around, and am hoping getting past this round of testing will help a bit, but am also considering ordering a doppler to use at home when I'm getting in my own head. DD might get a kick out of it as well - as long as everything looks okay, we are telling her on Friday!

Has anyone's OB asked whether you are vaccinated against COVID? I was a little surprised that didn't come up at my first visit.

@lady baltimore: Yay for almost making it out of the first trimester! They haven't asked me about vaccination status. The hospital the practice is affiliated with has little notices encouraging people to get vaccinated at the bottom of appt reminders, etc, but that's it... I'm sure they'd be happy to answer questions for anyone who has them...

I got my first dose around 6 weeks, as soon as I was eligible. I definitely wanted it, though wouldn't have had a choice regardless as work mandates it. Glad it will pass some immunity on to the baby, much more effectively than breastmilk does.... No idea when they'll have something my older two are eligible for and they are in daycare, so I'd consider us at high risk for infection.

I am still mind blown some days that I'm having a baby. Is this weird denial? 24 weeks now. :o

@jaguar: @yellowbeach: Not weird at all... I don't think it's really sunk in for me either...

I feel like there's definitely been a marked shift over the past couple of weeks, from second trimester relief into third trimester-like misery (even though I'm not to third trimester yet). In this span, I went from "is she pregnant or just fat" territory to I'm pretty sure random strangers on the street are worried I might give birth then and there, lol. My 3 yo even said "mommy looks so different because of baby brother" and "baby brother is getting too big to be in mommy's tummy now."

I'm also just so darn exhausted - back to first tri energy levels - life is already overwhelming me, and I know things are just going to get worse between now and when the baby comes. The chores just never seem to end (first world problem, but of course our dishwasher broke a few weeks ago and we're still waiting for a replacement, ugh). Our babysitter who's helped us with the childcare shortfalls due to limited daycare hours is quitting, and it's been impossible to find a replacement. With the rebound in cases definitely expecting more quarantines from daycare this fall, which will make work a mess. My 3 yo never sleeps in past 5:45am, and anyways, I could really use a (kid free) vacation but no way that's going to happen.

The other thing I've started to worry a bit about as we get closer to the due date is what we are going to do with the kids when I go into labor. I think there's a pretty decent chance the baby will come on Thanksgiving, when a bunch of people are out of town and I'd feel bad interrupting thanksgiving dinner of people who are around to ask them to watch our kids, who are a handful. It's dejavu to DD, who was due a couple days after Christmas but ended up coming a few days before, when all the babysitters we lined up had already left town for the holidays. Last night when I asked DH if he had any thoughts on this, his answer was "I can drop you off at the hospital and then come back home and take care of the kids." When I expressed that I wasn't on board with this, his response was "we have two other kids, what do you expect." Ugh, it honestly pissed me off. I feel like it is the motto for mom life lately. Like, whatever minimal expectations one has are asking too much...

Everything was great today at my NT scan, breathing a sigh of relief as one hurdle down. Now we wait for the NIPT, hopefully will hear that in a week or so. Couldn’t get a great view between the legs (not that it would be reliable at this point anyway) but here is the shot we got. The geneticist said that the sneak peek results were probably accurate since it said girl, but I won’t paint the nursery until we get confirmation LOL

Bubba girl is breech! Almost 25 weeks... so still time to flip I hope!

@jaguar: I think my OB doesn't check for positioning until 37 weeks, when it would be not very likely to flip back. But I'm pretty sure this guy recently flipped head down, at least part of the time, because I can feel the head bobbing with hiccups down there, lol... and more pressure than before. Still lots and lots of time for her to flip!!!

@MountainBaby: Welcome, and congratulations!

NT scan and NIPT went well for me, and I go back to the OB tomorrow for a regular check-up. DH does have to get blood drawn because I am a carrier for some super rare but scary genetic condition, so that is one more small hurdle to clear.

@lady baltimore: So glad all is going well. Good luck with the next round of bloods!

@periwinklebee: YES omg yes. Some take my breath away!

@periwinklebee: Normal but uncomfortable.

We've just been told our lockdown continues for another 5 weeks here.. I swear, nobody in my family will even see me pregnant at this point.

@periwinklebee: It's intense. Some days I'm so busy I forget I'm pregnant. The exhaustion is REAL!

@periwinklebee: Seriously, my house is a DUMPING ground. I genuinely don't know how I'll ever catch up at this point.

@periwinklebee: Oh I have the same fears!!! My 20 month old is hard work, man... the big girls will be ok, but Amelia.. she's hilariously intense. Hopefully she copes with a new baby, she still feels like a baby herself!

@jaguar: @periwinklebee: I do have a little guilt about the close age gap this time, it’s funny y’all both mention 20 months because that is going to be how far apart they will be for me. My older two kids are also 20 months apart, and at the time it didn’t seem like a big deal, but looking back at pictures, my daughter was still such a baby and it was hard to imagine having to that close again! I actually intentionally wanted to space them a little further out, but jokes on me!