Hellobee Boards

@nwm: 42 weeks with all of them sounds like torture. My second arrived on her due date, so she was punctual at least.

@nwm: I think we are firmly in the van camp for now. Where we are in the ‘burbs, it’ll just be easiest at this point in our lives.

@LemonJack: we’ve had an Odyssey since 2015. I originally wanted a 3-row SUV, and it felt like I could make one work. But I LOVE that the van is built for this stage of life with nothing needing to be worked with/around. The car seats fit, the kids can get themselves in, no one is dinging up other cars with their doors, there’s tons of cargo space... I really couldn’t be happier with it.

@LemonJack: Pretty much the only non-negotiable for me was side doors that auto-open - both of my kids quickly figured out how to climb in and up to their seat, so I can hit the door open button on the porch, then they go get in and all I have to do is buckle them into their car seats.

Other than that, we have heated seats, seats that flip down and slide around really easily, and cruise control/lane assist, etc. It'd be nice to have a trunk that can auto-open as well but that was the next price level up and wasn't really worth an additional few thousand to me.

@raspberries: Good to know about the pricing on new vs used. Also, I agree that I want to be able to remotely open the doors.

How was everyone's weekend? Did people manage to keep things quiet or did you end up telling family? A bunch of people in my family were sick this weekend, so we only ended up seeing my uncle for Passover. I'm pretty sure he was totally oblivious to my bump/bloat and non-drinking.

@Chuckles: Sounds like it worked out alright to have a mellow Passover. We don’t have any local family, so it was pretty easy to keep our secret.

@Ms. RV: Sorry to hear about your migraines. I had one around 5 weeks and my OB said not to worry, so hopefully everything is fine with yours as well. She said that my migraines might get worse, but it’s usually not connected to anything bad, and is thought to be due to changing blood volume.

I had a really good weekend, for the first time in a month I didn’t have to work or go out of town, so it was really nice to be home. It was gorgeous here today so I spent my morning in the garden and then napped in the afternoon. We’ve got our first normal appointment tomorrow morning, so fingers crossed everything still looks good.

Everything looked good at the doctor. Baby's still tracking about 2 days ahead. Heart rate was all the way up at 191, but the doctor didn't seem worried, and baby was moving around on the ultrasound, so hopefully it's fine. Fingers crossed this is my last time seeing them for a while.

@karenbme: hooray! I am so glad the appointment went well!

I had my first appointment and ultrasound today, and baby looks wonderful. We brought the kids, and they were so excited to see and to hear his/her heartbeat! My doc is referring me to back to the MFM for my anatomy scan, based on my history, but everything looks good so far!

I don't have any more information on my kidneys (test results should come online overnight) but the sonographer took a quick peak at the baby just for fun and it looked like it was almost doing log rolls!

This is probably TMI but I wonder if I am just not peeing enough and that is causing problems. It wasn't until about 8 weeks postpartum (so just over 8 months ago) that I felt any urge to pee. Even now, I never have very strong urges. Maybe I am just constantly holding my pee and don't know it!

I actually got my results early! My left kidney is normal, right is still enlarged. OB seems to think my uterus might be pushing on the ureta and that I won't need to follow up on it until after delivery or if I have back pain. Big relief!!!

@Ms. RV: oh what good news! I’m glad to hear it and glad you didn’t have to wait for results!

@bees_knees: I had several complications with my third (DS) that sent me to an MFM after my anatomy scan. He has a congenital kidney defect (multicystic kidney dysplasia - he only has one functional kidney). During the pregnancy, I had a cord defect (single umbilical artery) that put me at risk for IUGR/preterm delivery, and he had several other markers that made them worried about T18 and Pierre Robin Syndrome when he was in utero. We feel super lucky because he’s totally perfect (other than his bum kidney), and he’s been totally asymptomatic so far. But that plus the fact that I’m now AMA means they’re being cautious, I guess. I hope your nausea wanes soon. I was sick for most of my second pregnancy, and it is SO HARD!

by the way, anyone contemplating anything creative to tell your families (or have done anything that went over really well in the past)? we told everyone about DD around christmas last year, so put DS in a cute little santa shirt that said "santa is bringing me a little sister" or something like that. easter was too soon for us to announce this time but not sure what the next opportunity might be.

@bees_knees: @Ms. RV: @Chuckles: @nwm: Thanks, ladies!

@bees_knees: Sorry to hear about your nausea. I wish I had something to suggest, but I'm sure you know it all at this point. Idk if you'll have an ultrasound next time. That was technically my "new" OB appointment yesterday (all the other appointments were because of things that have gone wrong in the past or because I was bleeding). Unless something else goes wrong I won't have another until 20 weeks.

@rattles: How fun to bring your littles! Sounds like they're ready for number 4, too. I'm also going to MFM for my anatomy scan because I'm 35 now and have had multiple losses. I'm kind of bummed because at my practice the doctors do the normal ultrasounds and they narrate as they go usually vs. the referral where it will be a tech and then I'll get a call 1-2 days later to talk about the results.

@Ms. RV: That's great that your kidneys are ok! Glad to hear it's not pre-eclampsia this early. Also I meant to say, my doctor recommends excedrin tension headache (which is tylenol + some caffeine) for migraines during pregnancy. Idk if it would help you more than just regular tylenol, but maybe?

@nwm: That's great news! They took me off pelvic rest for the bleeding yesterday, so hopefully they'll do the same for you. I have no creative ideas for an announcement. I wish I were the type of person that thought like that, but I'm just not. Plus most of the people I'm close with know that this is my fourth pregnancy so an announcement that isn't immediately followed with "and we're 12/13 weeks" will probably just create more stress than anything else.

@Ms. RV: Glad I could help. I have no idea how effective it is, but it’s gotta be better than nothing.

@nwm: For telling families... the way we told my parents was to invite them over for dinner. And then I told them I was cooking something and had them look in the oven. I had put a hamburger "bun in the oven." Because they were obsessed with the idea of grandkids, I assumed they would figure it out right away, but it took awhile for them to get it
I had my first regular OB appointment today. Baby looks great. Heartbeat was 160-something. And I am getting my blood drawn this afternoon for the NIPT. I can't wait to get those results back so that we can start telling everyone.
Also, cute or weird? Apparently my RE and OB know each other somewhat. And my RE was so excited that I am having a healthy pregnancy that she texted my OB a couple of weeks ago to tell her I had released my info to the OB's office, so it's not like there's a confidentiality issue. It's just kind of funny.

@karenbme: I was just reading through and saw your suggestion about Excedrin Tension Headache. I’ve never heard of this, so THANK YOU! Tylenol does nothing for me whenever I get a headache.

@nwm: Glad to hear things are going a little better, but it still has to be frustrating to have some spotting/bleeding. It’s always way too hard NOT to google something!

@LemonJack: They said it would take 2 weeks. I had read older threads about it, and there seemed to be a bit of a range, so I was hoping for less time. Oh well.

@nwm: I'm doing the Panorama. I also had to bring a kit to our hospital lab to get blood drawn and sent out. I was hoping she said 2 weeks just so I didn't get antsy but that it might come back earlier. Did they mean 10 days total or 10 business days?

How’s everybody doing? My nausea is getting better the past few days, which is making me paranoid since I’m only 9 1/2 weeks. The fatigue is still really strong, though, so hopefully everything’s still good. I’m also trying really hard to resist the urge to get a fetal doppler to check in on baby from time to time. If I could find a heartbeat it would be really reassuring, but I’m not a doctor and if I couldn’t find a heartbeat I’d probably stress myself out potentially over nothing. My next appointment isn’t until May 22, so idk if I’ll be able to hold out that long without knowing. I have my genetic testing blood draw May 10, but that’s just a nurse visit so I probably won’t be able to convince them to Doppler me then.