Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[PetitiePoire]

PP- DD has the Radian RXT and we love it! Are you planning on extended rear facing? We got ours because I wanted something that would last a long time rear facing. The Radian R120 will actually last a little longer though because it doesn't have headwings. Kids usually max out earlier than the stated height limit because their shoulders hit the headwings and it becomes uncomfortable. The R120 is the same seat but without the headwings. I actually went with the RXT because I just think it looks cuter and I think the headwings will come in handy as "pillows" for roadtrips.

The pros to RXT IMO are:
- Long lasting (45 lbs rear facing)
- DD is comfy in it
-It sits low on the seat so she will be able to climb into it easily
-It is super narrow (plenty of room for 2 other people or 2 other carseats in my back seat)
-It doesn't take up much front to back space when used with the angle adjuster (we don't need ours because the seat is so narrow it sits between the two front seat when they are reclined to comfortable positions)
-I like the look of it

Cons:
-Expensive
-Not any safer than any other approved carseat on the market, so you don't get any more safety for the price
-Heavy (I don't mind this so much because I don't take it out often)
-The way the straps tighten SUCKS. It's a ratchet system so instead of just pulling the bottom strap once to tighten like most other carseats, this seat you have to tug, tug, tug. It's annoying but I'm used to it.
-The cupholder is a joke! It has the ability to hold 4 cupholders which would be awesome except the cupholders just sit inside a little hole. My DD just pulls the cupholder out as soon as I put it in. It has a blunt metal stick part too which I think is dangerous if it was thrown around in an accident. Luckily, I don't let DD eat or drink in the car so I don't even keep it in the car.


I hope that helps. A few other tips if you do go with the RXT:
- BabiesRUs and BuyBuyBuy price match so wait for a low price on Amazon and print it out and bring to the store.
- If you don't like the bulky shoulder/chest pads that come with the seat (most people find them too bulky), call Diono and they will send you smaller shoulder pads for free.
-If you haven't heard Diono is coming out with new models in May. They have a slightly higher weight limit and maybe a few other minor changes, like fabric options (OMG I NEED THE HOUNDSTOOTH!).



As far as double strollers. I've decided on the Baby Jogger City Select. It was the only appealing option for a tandem stroller because all the rest have the lower kid basically sitting underneath the other kid which takes away from the basket storage space. I also love all the different configurations you can put it in (if the kiddos want to face each other they can, if they are fighting you can put them back to back, etc. DD will only be 19 months when DS arrives so although I would love to skip the double, I think she will need it. I considered wearing DS and keeping our single, but I want to have the ability to put him down when necessary. I also love that the City Select can still be used as a single for times when I just have one kiddo. Oh, my friend just bought one and the storage basket is huge too!!! Lastly, I have seen some people get the City Select but just one seat and the car seat adapter. So you just keep the newb in the infant car seat (if you have one) and then by the time the baby outgrows it the older child can either walk or you can get one of those scooter attachments.

Thank you mia! Loads of information. Between you and and NEL I should be set! Your reasons for loving the Diono are why I like it too, or at least the idea of it. How big is your DD? Will she be able to use it to it's max? Our Britax has the headwings, which I thought were for extra safety, but they definitely will limit how long she can comfortably stay in it. Have you used it on a plane? I like the idea that the Diono can "fold" up for travel/carry on your (haha- DH's) back! We travel to see family often and the Britax is heavy AND bulky! I'll have to remember the buckling system.

The baby joggers seem to have great reviews. How does your DD fit in the CS? (NEL- if you see this, can you answer too about K in the CM- she's tall, right?). We saw a tandem Contours (Kolkraft?) a few weeks ago and DH loved it, however, I honestly don't think DD would last another full year in it. She would only want to be in the stroller when she is tired, so the back/head area needs to be tall enough. It's so funny that I even have to be concerned with my kid's height because I'm so short!!

Thank you NEL And Mia for your help!!

 

[coda72]

Congrats, Gem! He is cute!

Anchor-your anatomy scan is soon, that's great. It's a good time to see the baby (as well as get everything checked out)

PP-Don't feel bad about gaining 40 pounds; I'm sure I would be right there with you if I hadn't been put on this restrictive GD diet. I was up 22 pounds at 24 weeks, but since then have lost 6 pounds for a 16 pound gain at my last appointment. I hope to keep it to a 25 pound total gain, but we'll see what happens. I'm glad your nursery is almost finished. Mine still is in shambles because we decided to do some major renovation in it. I hope it's done in time. I know we won't be using it for a while, but I at least want somewhere to put all the baby's stuff because right now it's all piled in the guest bedroom. And I know already that we will have a bunch of out of town visitors this summer to see the baby, so the guest room needs to be ready. I already bought my car seat, and since it's for my first, I don't have to worry about a double stroller or anything like that. I got an Eddie Bauer travel system on deep discount at Target. While it wasn't my first choice, it was too good of a deal to pass up. Sorry I'm no help with something like this.

I had a 32 week growth scan today to make sure the baby is growing normally. Everything looked good, and her estimated weight is 4 pounds 2 ounces, which I was told is normal. Because I have GD, I will get at least one more ultrasound at 36 weeks, and possibly one right before she is born.

Hope everyone is going this pregnancy as well as possible!

 

[PetitiePoire]

Coda- I'm so jealous of your ultrasounds!! Is it because you have GD? My last one was 20 weeks and they won't be doing anymore. So depressing, considering I had one at each appointment with DD. We are paying for a "fun" ultrasound at a business next Thursday though! I'm excited for that!

 

[pancake]

I have a Baby Jogger City Select and I LOVE it - it is heavy but simple to use, great steering, tyres don't need inflating (and more importantly are foam-filed so punctures are not an issue), HUGE basket, tall seat back for my beanpole 2yo. We originally bought it with a 2nd child at the back of our minds but to be honest I'm not sure that any in-line double is a perfect solution. They are difficult to push, are very long, and because with the capsule fitted the older child has to sit at the front, the balance is a bit weird and makes it hard to get up onto kerbs etc. However, we have bought a Chicco Keyfit capsule for #2 (hired a capsule the first time around), will buy a second-hand set of capsule adaptors, and if necessary will use it as a double for a while. #1 will be 2y7m by the time #2 comes, so I don't intend at this stage to buy the second seat kit. When out and about with the car I will wear #2 and #1 can sit in her umbrella stroller (Peg Perego Pliko Mini) if she wants to.

If there were a smaller gap between our kids then I would be buying the City Mini Double. It is one of the narrowest side-by-side doubles around, and Baby Joggers are such great prams. We have a Mini single (gosh how many strollers do we have??) and it's a breeze to use.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I completely agree with Mia's pros and cons of the Diono. I bought the Diono because K is tall and I kept reading it was comfiest for tall kids. She was more comfortable while rear facing, but we still had to turn her at 16 months. There was no way we could make it to 2 years. And there is no way K is making it to 45 pounds before outgrowing the seat. It was harder to install than the Britax and the straps are harder to adjust. I do like the smaller footprint of the Diono, though.

 

[mia1181]

Wow NEL, K must be tall! I am attaching a pic of O in her seat at 13 months. Still plenty of room, but she's not tall (50th percentile)

PP- Did you say if DD is super tall? I think for tall kiddos it's worth looking into the Clek Foonf (if you want to spend a fortune) or the Graco Headwise/MySize/Size4Me (same car seat just different name). Here is a link of height comparisons for a bunch of different seats and there are a few other options on there.
http://csftl.org/how-much-headroom-a-height-comparison-of-rear-facing-convertible-car-seats/

I belong to a car seat group on FB and they have an album of kids rear facing ages 2 and up and there are a lot of kiddos in the radian 4 years plus. They just might be be short to average height like my DD though.

Also, we haven't bought the City Select yet, it's just what I have my eye on. We have the bumbleride indie single stroller and love it but sometimes I feel like it's too wide (and it's not very wide) so that makes me not want the bumbleride Indie double (or any side by side double).

 

[mia1181]

Oh and I forgot to answer the plane question. I have not taken it on a plane but a lot of people from my car seat group have. It fits. You definitely need the angle adjuster. You also need to get a seatbelt extender front the flight attendant, otherwise when you tighten the belt the buckle will go inside the car seat and the space is not big enough to open it again. People seem to love it. The only thing is it's heavy! I think heavier than your britax. It does fold up flat, which is really nice, and you can get backpack straps for it too.

 

[Puppmom]

Is it weird that my 15 month old still fits comfortably in the chicco key fit carrier? He's such a peanut! DS1 moved to a convertible at 6 mos because he was huge. We have the Evenflo symphony which we love but the footprint is huge making for a really tight fit in our corolla.

 

[blacksand]

Failed my 1-hour glucose test. Oh what a joy this pregnancy is. Going to some new place I've never been for the 3-hour test on Monday. I am always sick on an empty stomach so I'm sure I'll be sick and mess everything up. Coda, you have GD? What do I need to know?

 

[lliang_chi]

Pupp, don't feel bad. A friend of mine has her 2yo in her Keyfit. They're so generously sized it's great that he can still fit in it!

 

[anchor31]

I'm back from my anatomy scan! I was confirmed at 19w5d and it's a boy! The radiologist said it's a beautiful baby, so good news all around. I'll post a couple of pics once I've scanned them.

 

[Laila619]

Is it weird that my 15 month old still fits comfortably in the chicco key fit carrier? He's such a peanut! DS1 moved to a convertible at 6 mos because he was huge. We have the Evenflo symphony which we love but the footprint is huge making for a really tight fit in our corolla.

Hehe! My daughter is 17.5 months and is still in her Key Fit too! And my son is almost 3.5 and still happily rear facing.

 

[Puppmom]

Congrats, anchor! Having two boys will be awesome!

Laila, good job on the rear facing! We struggled with DS1 because he didn't understand (or refused) to bend his legs.

LC, it's so convenient that I'm pushing off switching over as long as I can! Plus, I'm not looking forward to the expense of THREE new carseats!

 

[anchor31]

I'm back with a couple of pictures!


His head from the side


And a tiny little foot (1.3"!)

I'm happy with having two boys, but I think finding a name will be difficult... None of the names on my list "clicked" with DH.

ETA: Gosh, sorry the pics are so huge!

 

[coda72]

Anchor-Congrats on another boy!

PP-I do get extra ultrasounds since I have GD, but the 32 week growth scan was one I would have received anyway. In fact, with having GD and AMA, I am now doing twice a week non stress testing which includes an ultrasound at each appointment. So, I get to see my baby often.

Blacksand-A lot of women fail the one hour glucose test, but do fine on the three hour one, so don't get worried yet. I will say this, the one benefit to having GD is not gaining a lot of weight! I haven't gained a pound since 24 weeks, and in fact I lost 6 pounds.

AFM-Nothing new to report other than the normal pregnancy aches and pains. 53 days until my due date, less than 2 months!

 

[anchor31]

Coda is right, I failed the 1-hour test with my first, but it didn't mean anything.

 

[anchor31]

20 weeks! Half-way there...

 

[PilsnPinkysMom]

Hello mamas! I'm finally going to jump over here from JBP. Today marks 12 weeks gestation for my little babe, and I'm feeling thankful to be at the end of the first tri.

I'll try to catch up and read up on everyone. I haven't been on PS as much as I was with pregnancy #1, but it's such a great community that I'd still like to stay connected

Things are uneventful right now. My last midwife appointment was at 7 weeks. Since then I was plagued with horrendous exhaustion- I felt like I couldn't function! And then 1.5 weeks ago my morning sickness came back with a vengeance and I lost 11 pounds My midwife prescribed Zofran and it has been SO helpful (minus constipation). I take between 4 and 12 mg/day, depending on how crappy I'm feeling, and I really think it's a lifesaver for me. Energy is finally starting to return (hallelujah!), which I know my toddler is thankful for Next midwife appointment is in three weeks when I'll be 15 weeks along.

Hope everyone who celebrates as a nice Easter weekend, and those who don't, hope you snagged an extra Friday off and are enjoying something fun or relaxing!

 

[Clairitek]

Coda- Glad to hear that your 32 week growth scan look good! Do you have to test your glucose levels daily due to your GD?

Anchor- Way to go on halfway and wonderful to hear that things are looking good. Adorable that your son got to hear the baby’s heartbeat and that he thought it sounded like music. Congrats on having a second boy and a healthy mid-pregnancy scan. My MIL is French Canadian but was raised in northern Vermont (you are too, right?) and I really like some of the French boy names. One of the names we are considering is Avery. Thanks for the tip on rubbing my ankles when RLS sets in. Such a cute little foot you have there! I loved seeing DS’s feet and hands in the 20 week scan.

Gem- Congrats on your son!

PP- I think I’ll be in the same boat as you with the weight gain. I’m up 18 lbs already at 22ish weeks. DH claims that I don’t look like I’ve put on excessive weight but he is a sweetheart who knows what to say. Glad to hear it does eventually go away, though. I’m hoping to keep it at 35 lbs or under but with over 17 weeks to go I am not too hopeful anymore for that number.

Mia- Your little O is so cute! I’m filing your pointers on the car seats away for when we need to figure that stuff out down the road.

Blacksand- Sorry to hear about failing the 1 hr test. I hope that you are able to keep the 3 hr stuff down.

PPM- Great to see you over here!! Sorry to hear about that wretched MS but that is great that the Zofran is helping you so much.

AFM- 22w5d here. As I mentioned above I’ve already gained 18 lbs. I can’t even dream of regular clothes anymore. In fact, they’re all under my bed in vacuum sealed space bags. I was really struggling with the maternity wardrobe thing for a while. I owned 8 tee shirts and a few pairs of jeans and was getting sick of not having any options. A few of the shirts weren’t really something I’d wear to work (I can be casual but I work with mostly men and don’t feel comfortable wearing fairly tight tops). Then I visited my friend in Minnesota this past weekend and scored 11 pieces for $92 at a consignment store (shorts, dresses, light sweaters, blouse, tees) and then raided her maternity clothes box and borrowed another 20 or so items. I can’t wait to wear the dresses this weekend. Our next big prep items are to find a pediatrician and figure out birthing classes. I actually plan to start a separate thread for the class thing. I’ve really torn about which way I should go with this stuff. We also plan to build our master “closet” along a wall near our bed so we can give the whole walk-in to the baby. That’s the extent of our nursery work.

Evil crotch pain has seemed to be absent more than present lately, which is awesome. I caught a cold and part of me wonders if the pain is staying away because I’ve been laying around a lot. I think the Snoogle is helping me stay fairly stable while I sleep and since I figure out how to support my belly with it my hip pain has been going down. I feel a ton of movement from the baby and sometimes can feel a head or butt through my belly if he’s curled up on my right side (which he seems to prefer).

A tip about strollers- I noticed that the pricing on Amazon will vary and already I’ve seen the price of our chosen stroller (Baby Jogger City Versa) go down $30 from $290 to $260. If you use Amazon might be worth adding it to your cart and keeping an eye on it.

 

[anchor31]

Clairitek - Yes, we are French-Canadian. What are the French names you like? DH is particularly unhelpful. He likes Michael, period. I don't, but he's been talking about that name since I was pregnant with Jacob, so I agreed to use it as a middle name. I have a list of 14 names for the first name, but DH is stubbornly saying that none of them "click".

 

[pancake]

Hi all!

anchor that is an annoying impasse with the name! Surely something will come out in the next 4 months or so. My husband and I didn't really narrow down names until quite late with #1 - we always had a short list but it was always changing - but this time we are pretty much down to 1 girl name (we have a few we like but one is a frontrunner by so far it's not really worth considering the others) and 1 or 2 boy names. I find it easier now that we have #1's name to "match" it with! I'm of Vietnamese background (DH isn't) and my mother will give the baby his/her middle name, although I have power of veto

Clairitek - I bet you are really pretty neat with your bump etc! I long for the days of the neat bump with #1, I haven't actually gone back to photos to compare but I am almost certain that I look like I'm at least 2-3 weeks ahead of where I was at each stage the first time around. That abdominal wall is just never quite the same again! Oh well...small price to pay I don't know where my weight gain is at but I suspect it's around the same as the first time, although I started out a bit smaller this time. I gained 14kg (~30lb I think) in my first pregnancy, but only weighed myself about 3 times in total so I don't really know when that all went on.

blacksand, sorry to hear you have to do the OGTT, I can imagine that on top of your all-day sickness it will be a bit of a challenge I hope that the results are as you hope - but if you are diagnosed with GD, I guess it is best to try and see it as a positive thing that it has been detected early and that you can do all you can to minimise the risk to bub.

coda, glad all is going well and the scans are looking good! You are very close now!

petitepoire, I have a ginormously tall beanpole of a daughter - she is 2y2m and >98th centile for height - and she still fits comfortably in the City Select and City Mini, not that we use either these days, as we only use our umbrella stroller really. For what it's worth, the Select is known to have a deep seat with a tall back and so is one of the better bucket seats for a tall toddler. S is currently about 93cm or perhaps just a tick above.

Carseats here are totally different from in the States so I can't contribute to the discussion much. I kept S rear facing until she exceeded the height marker on her seat (which was the Australian relabelling of one of the Britax birth-4y seats) and then turned her around. We have purchased a Chicco Keyfit this time just because a friend was selling one barely used for a very good price and I like its safety testing scores and also the fact that it's a larger carrier - will fit #2 for longer than the capsule we used the first time round fit #1 (only about 4.5 months). I'm probably going to get the second seat adaptors for the Select and the capsule adaptor, and use it as a double that way, but I'm as yet undecided about whether to buy the second seat entirely. I figure that I will be wearing #2 a lot and will likely only use the capsule on the stroller if we're out and about in the car. We actually didn't have a capsule that snapped onto a stroller the first time around at all, and it was fine, but I'm not counting on getting such a settled, easy-going baby this time!!! (although one can dream...)

AFU - I'm 20 weeks and coasting along. We're in Vietnam, coming up to a fortnight now. We've done the two busy/family legs (Saigon and Nha Trang) and tomorrow we fly up to Hoi An for a week of R&R, swimming pool, and creature comforts. I can't wait - we all need the break! S has been a total delight and so easy to travel with, charming everybody. And we have introduced the idea of a baby in my tummy - she has latched onto it and is running with it! "Mummy, we open your top to give the baby a cuddle?" "There's a baby in a house in there!" "When the baby is ready it will come out to play with me!" She kisses and cuddles my tummy ALL the time. I don't know what she thinks is going on in there but it is adorable!

 

[Clairitek]

Clairitek - Yes, we are French-Canadian. What are the French names you like? DH is particularly unhelpful. He likes Michael, period. I don't, but he's been talking about that name since I was pregnant with Jacob, so I agreed to use it as a middle name. I have a list of 14 names for the first name, but DH is stubbornly saying that none of them "click".

I could have sworn I saw Avery on a list of popular boy names in France and now I can't find that link I was looking at. Anyway, that's one name and then I sort of likes Ansell and Pascal but I'm an engineer and Pascal is a commonly used unit of measurement around here and I think it would be odd to have a child named the same thing. I haven't even brought up Ansell to DH. All of my MILs siblings have French names- Marcel, Jacuqeline, Marc, Pauline, Claire, etc. There are 11 of them total.

Pancake- Glad you're heading into the R&R part of your trip! Bonus that S is proving easy to travel with. I hope that continues. Insanely cute that she is really excited about the baby! For some reason I always think that you're further behind me than less than 3 weeks. Anyway, congrats on crossing the halfway mark!

Your stories about S remind me of how I was at the home of another PSer and her sons (5 yrs) asked her husband how I got a baby in my belly. He told them that I ate one. Then they came in and gently patted my belly asking me if there was a baby in there. They were so sweet and gentle.

AFM- Finally got past the first cold I've had while pregnant on Friday after missing 3 half days of work. Now I think I have a sinus infection in my right sinus. I'm flying on Thursday to Detroit to visit a friend (a PSer in fact!) so I need to get this taken care of quickly or else I'm in for a world of hurt while flying. We had a really busy and active weekend and I'm feeling it today with the aches.

23w1d

 

[pancake]

Clairitek, bad head colds whilst pregnant are the pits! When we arrived in Vietnam S had a nasty cold (we knew it was coming as she'd had a couple of days of fevers in Melbourne before we left), poor little soul, it was 36 degrees and humid outside and her nose was running like a tap. I subsequently caught it and it has been HORRIBLE! Thankfully seems to have just about left the building, just as we start our week of R&R. Would have been so upset if I'd been sick for this part of the trip! Re French names, I think there are plenty of lovely names that would still translate well for a non-French speaking audience. Actually, #1's name is French (very French!) and it is likely that #2 will also have a French name (both our girl and boy names are French, or appear a lot in France). But I agree, you need to be a little careful as some very beautiful French names do not do at all well with American or other Anglo mispronunciations!

 

[PetitiePoire]

I am so so behind! I will try to update a little from my phone and come back if I have to.

Re: French names. I love French names. We tend to like French names with the American spelling, at least that's what we did for DD. In my opinion, it's VERY difficult to find a name that can be pronounced the same in both languages. It's a constant struggle for us. Usually, I like the way DH pronounces a word and hate the American way or vice versa.

Anchor- what are some Vietnamese boy names? Although DH is French, his fathers side is of Vietnamese decent and I would like to honor that, if we found a name we could agree on.


Afm- 4 weeks to go! I'm down to the weekly appointments. I had some type of 36 week culture today so she went ahead and checked dilation. I'm at 1 cm. I know it means absolutely nothing in terms of when he will arrive, but it made me realize how soon 4 weeks will be here and that in at the end! Crazy.

 

[pancake]

PP did you mean the Vietnamese boy name question for me? Or is Anchor VNese as well? Or have I missed something? In any case, there are loads of nice Vietnamese boy names but it's always a matter of the pronunciation once it's "Anglicised". VNese names are often double-barrelled to give more subtlety or poetry to the meaning. Here's a short list of names that might be a decent starting point: http://planning.thebump.com/baby-names/origins/vietnamese

I can link to Vietnamese pages as well but they will be a bit hard for you to read!

Re French names, it's the perfect sort of middle ground for us as our children obviously look non-"Anglo" (being Eurasian) and with a VNese family in Vietnam for whom French is the second language (my mother and her brothers and sisters all grew up pretty much fluent). They are much easier for my family to pronounce and we love them too. My husband's surname (which all our kids will have) is also the name of a town/city in France so it's a good match. The names we have chosen are both pronounced pretty much the same in English and French, or in the case of the boy name, the Anglicised pronunciation is pretty mainstream and we like it too. But other French names that I love - (eg. Maëlys or Anaïs) would get butchered by Australian pronunciation!

 

[anchor31]

Petite poire - I'm afraid I know very little about Vietnamese culture and names! My family has been living in Québec for generations, I am as French-Canadian as they come.

Pancake - I understand what you mean by wanting to give names to your children that can be pronounced in English as well. We do too. At the very least, something that can easily be anglicised in case we move out of Qc. My favourites are Dominic, Philippe, Olivier and Antoine. DH is stuck on Michael and won't negociate for now, so I asked him to expand his list and we'll talk about it then.

In other news, I went for a fetal cardiac ultrasound yesterday. My OB wanted to check because I've been taking SSRIs. Everything checked out perfectly thought, so no worries!

 

[PetitiePoire]

Oops! Yes, I meant Pancake! Thank you for seeing it and correcting me. My brain is pretty useless these days. I'll take a look at that link when I finish this.

Anchor- I'm glad your tests came back looking good. Would you pronounce micheal like micheal or Michelle? That's one of my FILs middle names but it's pronounced like Michelle.

Claritek- I'm glad you are over your cold. I had one right around the 15-20 week mark with both pregnancies. It's so much worse when you know you can't take meds. I hope they stay away from you! Thanks for the amazon tip! I'll definitely be needing baby items soon, so watching prices now is a great idea. I'm sure you'll find the new maternity clothes tremendously helpful! I'm nearly out of clothes that fit and it's so depressing.

Afm- we have moved the crib, rocker, and dresser over to new baby's room! I went shopping for DDs new big girl bedding today, so it's really starting to feel real! We have a 3D "fun" ultrasound tomorrow! I'm so excited and pray we get good shots!

 

[blacksand]

anchor, congrats on reaching the halfway point! PPM, congrats on 12 weeks! That's a huge milestone. Claritek, I hope you're feeling better from your cold/sinus infection. I had no idea how bad a simple cold could be during pregnancy. It completely wipes you out. I think my coteachers thought I was being melodramatic the last time I was sick (I also missed three days of school), but I seriously could not function. Pregnancy just makes everything so much harder.

coda, anchor, and all: thanks for your reassuring words about the glucose test. Unfortunately, after a truly horrible 3-hour test replete with near fainting spells, dizziness, hot flashes, and several days of vomiting and diarrhea afterward, I got my results and I apparently failed that, too. So I officially have gestational diabetes. This is especially awesome because at 29 weeks I am still freaking throwing up pretty much daily. I am nauseous much of the time. I am definitely better off than I was a few weeks ago (vomiting multiple times per day), but I have no idea how I am supposed to go on a diet when I have a hard enough time eating in the first place. Carbs have been most successful at settling my stomach, so it looks like I will be even more nauseous for the rest of my pregnancy as I cut back on those. I have gained about 10 lbs. so far in my pregnancy and I lost 2 lbs. last week, so it is not like I having been pigging out over here. There is really no reason I should have GD, no genetic factors, nothing, but I am just one of the super lucky ones, I guess. Despite fretting over how the heck I'm supposed to actually go on a diet here, I am still hoping I don't have to go on insulin.

I have to go see an endocrinologist next. They were already closed when I called yesterday at 4 PM, so I'm guessing this means I will have to miss more school to get in there. I really can't take any more days off. I just have a few more weeks of student teaching and I need to graduate. But I have to go figure out what to do next.

Between this and my blood pressure issues, I am reasonable sure I am headed for an induction and likely a C-section, both interventions I was really hoping to avoid (though I realize neither is the end of the world). I feel so naive sitting here surrounded by all this books and DVDs I bought early in my pregnancy about eating right and exercising to have a healthy, magical pregnancy. It seems I have no control over any of it and nothing is magical at all.

Sorry for such a me-centric post. I'm just really down about all of this. My rational brain realizes it isn't my fault, but I feel like I can't do anything right.

 

[BrightSpot]

Hi ladies. May I join you over here? I'm 18w4d now & our baby girl, our first, is due 9/22. We had an early anatomy scan at 16w & all went well. (Though they couldn't see the spine due to her position.) We have another anatomy scan at 20w.
The nausea is much better now, though I still feel tired a lot. I seem to have a variety of aches & pains in the belly region, but I guess that's normal. (Though it still freaks me out a little bit.) My belly has started to pop a bit (especially if I wear something really form fitting) but it's still not obvious in a lot of looser clothing. Kind of surreal!

So my last appointment with my OB was on April 1st. At that time she asked me to stop taking metformin (I'd been on it for over 2 years for PCOS). I was a little concerned about stopping it as I'd read that it can decrease the likelihood of developing gestational diabetes or fetal growth restriction but dutifully followed doctors orders. Well, she called me yesterday to say she'd consulted with a RE who said that I should go back on the metformin & continue it through the rest of my pregnancy as it could help prevent GD. She also wanted me to keep taking my baby aspirin until 36w due to my mild clotting disorder (thankfully I hadn't stopped taking that one.)
So now I have to build my tolerance to the metformin again (it takes a while for my body to get used to it & I usually have side effects for the first week or so). I also hope that the 3 weeks without the drug didn't do any harm. I'm a little annoyed that my doc didn't consult the RE before telling me to go off my meds (& annoyed at myself for not questioning my doc more.)

Blacksand, I'm so sorry about the GD diagnosis & that you're still experiencing such awful MS. You poor thing! I hope your endocrinologist has some helpful tips for controlling your blood sugar & nausea.

Petitepoire, you're almost there, lady! How exciting! Enjoy your 3D scan & post lots of pics!

Anchor, congrats on a great cardiac scan & reaching the halfway point!

Pancake, I'm so sorry about your cold! I've had 3 colds this pregnancy & each one has really knocked me out. I'm glad you're feeling better in time to really enjoy the R&R portion of your trip. And your little girl's comments about the baby are just adorable & so funny!

C-tek, I'm glad you're feeling better too! Being sick while pregnant is the pits. Have fun seeing your friend in Detroit. That's a good idea to do some visiting while you can. We have a trip planned to Charleston in about a week & a half & were thinking of doing a road trip to get there so we could visit a few friends on the way. Hopefully it won't be too much time in the car.
Also thanks for starting the thread on birthing classes. I've been following along eagerly as it's something I need to starting thinking about soon.

Coda, I hope you're well. Almost there!

PPM, I'm so glad the zofran has been helping you & you're starting to feel a bit better between the decreased nausea & increased energy. Yay!

Gem, your son is adorable! Congrats!

Mia, thanks for the carseat tips. So much to research... Hope you're doing well & come to join us here soon. Any news on the gender?

Hi to anyone I may have missed!

 

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Blacksand - Sorry about the GD. I hope managing it won't be difficult.

Brightspot - Hello! It's frustrating when two doctors give you conflicting advice. I'd be surprised if 3 weeks changed things significantly for the bub.

Petite poire - Michael in French is pronounced "Mee-kah-el".