Pregnant/New Mom Check-in for week of 25 September

[rachydc]

Taitai, omg I'd throw that guy out a window! WTF?!?! Im glad your tests were negative and hope the following tests come back the same!

[rebeccabunch]

Taitai you are living my nightmare. I'm furious at that person. How selfish. When you are sick with a fever stay home! At minimum stay away from pregnant people and children. I obviously have germ issues but I would never ever speak to that person again. Omg TB around a pregnant person that's about to have a newborn. Is this the 1800s?!?

[rebeccabunch]

How far along: 22 weeks 3 days

Symptoms: not sleeping well but I blame my 2 year old more than pregnancy. BHs, some pressure below if I'm on my feet too much, light cramping which I attribute to growth bc I look bigger.

Appt: it was today! I got the flu shot and talked to the Dr about my cervical length concerns. She was great and said in these situations a ultrasound can go a long way on calming my nerves and in the off chance we see it shortening then it's better for everyone so they gave me an order to get checked right before 24 weeks.

Concerns/rants: just tired. Sort of of like Kinepla said but to a much lesser degree, I feel like I've been pregnant forever since my original pregnancy in January. Things are moving along but sometimes it feels like I'm 36 weeks which I would've been and not 22!

Next appt: in 4 weeks. I'll be 26 weeks and do my one hour glucose. I can't believe I'm approaching that stage.

[Taitai]

Sept 27, 2017 9:02:06 GMT -6 rebeccabunch said:

Taitai you are living my nightmare. I'm furious at that person. How selfish. When you are sick with a fever stay home! At minimum stay away from pregnant people and children. I obviously have germ issues but I would never ever speak to that person again. Omg TB around a pregnant person that's about to have a newborn. Is this the 1800s?!?

I know - it is insanely selfish, esp as I'm 9 months pregnant. And to be around my toddler...children under 5 are much, much more susceptible to catching TB. I am just really pissed and this is going to cause me so much anxiety until we all have definite test results back. F this crap.

Thanks for the sympathies and kind comments everyone. I'm going to try to get some sleep...and stay away from google. I just need to tell myself that worrying is not going to change anything...it will just cause stress that is not good for myself or the baby. I have to will the worrying thoughts away and just take things one day at a time.

[August Blooms]

Taitai What an ass for being around a pregnant and kids while being sick and not staying away. That is scary and something you and your family don't need at this point in your pregnancy.

On the plus side you guys have tested negative so far. From personal experience, I have come into direct contact with people with with both active and inactive TB (which is very common in your part of the world). I've been advised that prolonged direct exposure is necessary to contract TB from someone who is active. I've been around that coughing person too, and people suspected with other highly contagious diseases and it's not fun. And no I don't work in health care, which makes it worse.

I hate hate hate that this guy came around you, my coworkers have been so nice about staying away from me or letting me know it's just allergies.

[mkrupar]

Taitai I would be so furious at that employee.

Anecdote: both my H and SIL were exposed to TB as children. They had all the testing done and had to do a course of medication for 6 months. I think this means they were exposed to the inactive strain. He has had no complications in the decades since. His only restrictions are he can't have a standard TB test, because it will always show up positive, and he cannot work in the primate labs at NIH for his job.

[cougarette]

WTF Taitai that makes me so mad! You're right that worrying won't change the outcome. I hope the test comes back negative.

[versed]

38w 1d, and I've had three appointments over the last few days.

Went in Monday because of a fear of cholestasis. The itching has been unbearable - keeping me up at night and uncomfortable all day. They ran a blood test to check my liver bile levels.

So - the bile levels take a few days to come back 😞 what they do know is that my liver enzymes are elevated, but they were last time they were checked a couple years ago, so they're not confident enough to do a c/S now over that.

In the meantime, baby is huge: came up on u/S as over 11lbs, but he's ridiculously long so tech thinks maybe more like 10lbs+. Hard to get a good reading since the machine only measures up to 42w, and a few of his measurements were above that. We're scheduling the c/S for next Tuesday and pre-op will be Thursday. The bile levels should be back by then, too, so we can move up c/S if needed.

I got some good itch meds for the waiting time. So, we're back again to baby by 10/3.

Oh ya, I also have Polyhydramnios (excess amniotic fluid) now, so that's another fun symptom to check off.

Next appointment: Tomorrow, pre-op

[cougarette]

I've been so worried about too little fluid, like I experienced with DS, that I didn't even think about there being too much fluid.

It's interesting to see how many are seeing that.

[codex320]

How far along are you? 37w 1d

Any concerns? How are you feeling? No concerns, feeling pretty good!

What kind of appointment? Regular check, cervix check

How did it go? It went well. We talked about donuts and cookies and all the sweet treats. She couldn't tell how much I was dilated but she said I was around 70% effaced and baby's head was really low, a lot lower than last time.

Any feels/vents/etc? I'm done with work. I have my last scheduled day on 10/13 but I really wish I said my last day was tomorrow. Know what I mean? I still have to train the new person on a bunch of stuff.

Learn anything new? Just that baby's head was really low.

Next appointment: Next Wednesday!

[danvers]

Taitai I'd be livid. Oh my. I will be thinking about you all and FX the blood tests all come back negative. Wow - I'm pissed for you and would absolutely lose it with this employee.

[cythe]

Yeah I'm at "hold my earrings" over this TB thing. Stay home, people!

[Taitai]

August Blooms and mkrupar Thanks so much for your comments about your experiences with TB. I am still most worried about the fact that DS' X-ray came back abnormal and he has had a cough now for 5 days. No fever, but kids under 5 can catch TB so easily and if that happens, they are more likely to go straight into the "inactive" form of TB, which can be harder to diagnose. So it's just like...ugh...even if the blood test comes back negative for DS - because of the abnormal X-ray - we need to still be on edge for the next 2.5 months before he can have another blood test to confirm his TB status for sure. Living with that uncertainty and a newborn is not going to be fun.

mkrupar Quick question - were your H and SIL actually ever diagnosed with LITB - or was it more like, they were around someone with an active infection, so the doctors just put them on a treatment course as a cautionary measure? If it's the latter, that means they were never infected with TB (which is very good)....but yes, they will show positive on a TB skin test for the rest of their lives. If they received the BCG vaccine, the skin test will also show a false positive for them. Glad they got through the exposure without issue though!

[littleowl913]

Omg Taitai, I'm so livid right now! I hate people like that. Stay the fuck home!! How dare he get into your car, with your whole family knowing he's hacking up a lung and has a fever!?

Had another NST and sono today and holy shit my baby actually passed the NST today. I did take a lollipop bf it started (even though I'm GD) to rev him up a little. Tomorrow is appt with MFM to talk about my pint size baby and whether we need to move up my CS date. Things aren't looking good for a vbac but I just want a healthy baby.

[August Blooms]

Taitai I missed the part about his X-ray being abnormal. That really sucks that you are going to have all that stress after the baby arrives. Fuck that guy for putting you in this situation. My blood is still boiling about this and it's not even my kid.

[mkrupar]

Taitai I just asked H for clarification. He's not 100% about his sister, but he had a positive TB test after being exposed, but nothing ever showed up on the x-ray. He had to take medication for six months. He's referred to a PPD Converter. I don't know if all of that means he actually carries an inactive strain.

[CoachTsWife]

I'm so sorry Taitai. I cannot believe someone would do that.

[duskymonkey]

Taitai, I am like super super pissed for you! Seriously after all you've been through with this pregnancy...you don't need the stress of this especially now! So so angry!
Is this person local SEA or an x-pat? Not sure how well organized the healthcare is in Thailand but where I am, it's mandatory for everyone to get inoculated for TB since it's a very prevalent disease in SEA. Heck, we're heavily vaccinated for ever imaginable infectious disease and it's mandatory. One of my GF actually has an inactive strain. Not sure how she caught it since the rest of her family doesn't have it. She found out as an adult. She has 1 child and hasn't had any issues with it. Will be hoping hard that all your test results come back negative and hoping you DS' abnormal x-ray is due to the fact that he was having normal cold symptoms.
Man! like seriously I'm so so mad at the ignorance of this person. Ugh! I really really hate people sometimes!

[duskymonkey]

versed, hopefully things stablize for you until next week but 38 wks is great. Hang in there!

[duskymonkey]

littleowl913, Big big hugs... you do what you need to for baby's sake and it's ok. One of my GF's baby measured under 5th percentile throughout her 3rd trimester and today she's a smart, rambunctious, sweet and healthy 7 year old wee girl.

[Taitai]

Poof

[Taitai]

littleowl913 That's good news your LO passed the NST! I hope things go well at your MFM appointment tomorrow and that you all come up with a plan you are comfortable with. Hugs about the VBAC chances getting lowered, but you definitely have the right attitude about getting a healthy baby as the most important outcome.

[thechickencoop]

kinipela7 did they say how dialated they are? DS2 had one kidney with a 'mild' dilation and the other with mild to moderate. This was the week before I went into surprise labor but even so, they were not talking of any sort of early induction or anything like that. ETA pur pedi will still do an ultrasound to check on his kidneys at...6 weeks? I think? They'll let me know when to schedule it at his next check up in 10 days.

duskymonkey I'm so glad you didn't have any complications from that accident.

parma986 I'm so sorry for the appointment craziness! I'm glad baby is ok and just remember, they just want to get your LO out safely. Hopefully she flips though!

Rama great update! Glad baby is doing well; hope they can get your bp well controlled so you have one less thing to stress about ☺

Taitai omg I am so sorry. Keep us posted with the bloodwork results, I have everything crossed that they're all negative.

versed hope everything comes back normal today!! And goooood luck next week!

[thechickencoop]

I am a new mom check-in:

How many weeks PP/How old is baby? 18 days old!

How are you feeling? Any concerns? Luckily I'm feeling great. Oddly. I'm really struggling with not pushing myself too much because I don't want to inadvertently create some sort of issue with my incisions.

How is baby in general doing? GREAT!!!!! We have thrush which is fucking annoying. I took him to the pedi for it Tuesday am and he weighed 5lb 15oz which is 2 oz over birth weight and 6 oz up from his appt on Friday!!!! So, thrush aside, that's awesome.

How is baby eating & sleeping? Eating well. Sleeping is hit or miss. Two nights ago he was fussy all.freakin.night. last night was muuuuuch better. He woke up like every 3 hours but it was diaper change, nurse, top off with bottle, back to sleep. So that was good.

BF or FF? How is that going? Still pumping and supplementing with formula for the extra calories. Nursing overnight is going ok but he's definitely not getting enough from me. He's a lazy nurser and definitely takes a full 2 oz bottle after he's done.

Milestones? Both baby and mom. Uhhh, wore my pre-preg jeans the other day 😮

Now that we're all home and healthy and doing well, I don't feel bad in saying that it's been kind of nice to miss the last, most uncomfortable part of my pregnancy. Those last few weeks are awful and I was juuust really starting to get uncomfortable when DS decided to make his arrival.

[Taitai]

thechickencoop Wohoo for already being able to wear pre-preg jeans! That's awesome! Hope you guys get through the thrush thing soon - I had that when DS was about 4 weeks old and it suuuuucked. So so so painful. Do you have any Dr. Newman's APNO? That stuff was a life saver for me and helped keep the thrush from coming back.

[thechickencoop]

Sept 28, 2017 8:17:13 GMT -6 Taitai said:

thechickencoop Wohoo for already being able to wear pre-preg jeans! That's awesome! Hope you guys get through the thrush thing soon - I had that when DS was about 4 weeks old and it suuuuucked. So so so painful. Do you have any Dr. Newman's APNO? That stuff was a life saver for me and helped keep the thrush from coming back.

Luckily I think I got on top of mine, I noticed a couple red bumps the same day we were at the doctor so his pediatrician just instructed me to use the same oral medication on my boobs as well. So hopefully I'm ahead of it, it hasn't gotten any worse.

I'll have to Google that dr. Newman stuff, is it just something over the counter?

ETA never mind, I just searched. I'm already using the anti-fungal and then lanolin as needed.

[kinipela7]

Taitai - that's a crazy situation! Thinking about you and your family and hope the blood tests come back all clear!

thechickencoop - pre-preg jeans already? you rock!

Appointment today was much the same. The fluid levels are fine and she passed her NST. The kidneys continue to grow at a steady rate. The doc asked again what my plans for delivery were...I asked him his opinion because I'm not a doctor and I just want someone to tell me what is best for my baby. He said that his opinion would be to induce at 39 weeks and his reasoning is because she is waiting to be evaluated by a urologist (she will be seen 1 week after birth) and by 39 weeks she would be fully developed so keeping her in longer wouldn't give her any added benefit.

She also flipped to being face up last week and she is still like that. I hope she goes back to being face down! She has been head down since before 20 weeks but the face up thing terrifies me. My sister had a face up baby and it was not pretty for her lady parts. AT ALL.

[arimaythea]

I am pregnant check-in:

How far along are you? 37w 3d

Any concerns? How are you feeling? Nope - still doing fairly well for being in late third tri. Nothing unexpected, at least.

What kind of appointment? Midwife checkup

How did it go? Quick, easy, boring. Gained 1 lb, BP still good, fundal height measuring 38w, HR at 135bpm, baby head down.

Any feels/vents/etc? I haven't been letting myself feel ready for this baby up until now. There's always been more housework to do, more baby things to get, more things to finish at work, more days needed so that my maternity leave would last through Christmas. Other than a few decorative things to do to the nursery, a few little things to unbox, and one more day of work needed for Christmas maternity leave - I'm finally starting to feel like I am ready for a baby. It's giving me so many feels because up until this point the baby has felt more like a to-do list than a person joining the family, but that's finally changing.

Learn anything new? I think I knew this but midwife confirmed that baby's heart rate can go down some by the end of pregnancy. He was always right about 145bpm and today was at 135. Maybe things are headed the right direction for baby to join us in the near future!

Next appointment: A week from today for yet another midwife checkup.

[danvers]

I am pregnant check-in:

How far along are you? 37.5 weeks

Any concerns? How are you feeling? I feel 9 months pregnant. Like I want this baby to cook a long time and come out nice and a big and healthy but I'm tired of being pregnant and I could still be pregnant awhile.

What kind of appointment? Regular OB stuff

How did it go? Super quick. Crevix check (maybe 2 cm if OB is being generous) and BP (elevated but still in the good range)

Any feels/vents/etc? Just tired.

Learn anything new?

Next appointment: Next Friday 😩 It was the only one that had a time slot available after school so I didn't have to take any time off from work.

[duskymonkey]

Taitai, I was thinking of you and family all of yesterday and today and it occurred to me that not only do you have to worry about your family but the exposure to your office staff too. Just unneeded additional stress at work too. I also feel bad about the guy now and you've already clarified that he'd needs to be quarantined and unable to work. You're good to provide for him and with him suspected to be HIV+ having TB unfortunately may not have a good outcome. A good friend of mine succumbed to just a chest cold which turned into pneumonia and he was shockingly gone within a few days. He only told us he was HIV + when he was in the hospital. None of us knew he'd been living with it for several years. Also I got inoculated with BCG at age 11 so yes younger kids are still exposed. I'm not sure if that's changed? Anyways keep us updated about your test results and I'll keep praying it all comes back negative.