Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[neatfreak]

Date: 7/11/2008 9:59:36 AM
Author: Jas12
Eph--i am totally frustrated for you as well! Just my opinion but I would try to find another OB or at least get another opinion. I generally liked my OB but at times i found him condescending and dismissive which irritated me to no end made me uncomfortable expressing my wishes and concerns. Unfortunatley i could not switch and i ended up with more stress than necessary. The line 'stop researching on the net and don't believe everything you read' must be the line all industries use when they feel challenged by informed 'consumers' (i got the exact line from my OB when i questioned him about cord-blood and i got that line from a diamond dealer when it was apparent i knew more than he did and i was researching on PS!!

. Confident care providers should be happy their patients are informed and encourage this. What is your gut telling you, do you feel like something is amsiss?

Keep us posted

Eph, I totally agree with Jas. You are I are both the researcher type and so of course when I was "interviewing" my OB I asked him what he thought of me reading studies on PubMed. He said that he LIKES to have informed patients because that way he doesn't have to dumb things down! So I think your (and Jas's!) OB's are being a bit touchy about that. It's not like you are researching on "Bob's blog about babies" ya know? You have a right to have your concerns validated AND a right to know WHY your doctor isn't concerned in your particular case ya know?

The few times I have had concerns my Dr's office has gotten me in right away, my doctor has told me his *opinion* about what was going on AND our OPTIONS. He let me know what things he thought were extreme and WHY and also WHY he wasn't worried in my case. Made me feel so so much better and now I am more relaxed about things because he has explained WHY he feels the way he does about my situation ya know? You deserve to be treated like the educated person you are. If possible, I totally would try to see another OB at least for a second opinion...

Good luck honey! We are rooting for you over here.

 

[Kay]

 

[Kay]

Random gripe before I run off to work. I am having the worst time sleeping. I have trouble getting to bed before 11 or 12, then I wake up sometime between 4:30 and 6 every morning and can''t get back to sleep. Oh well, at least it gave me time to post this morning.

The last two weeks, I have been having bouts of pain later in the day around my tail bone (aka the "thong zone"). It especially hurts when I have to sit back down. Is this part of the sciatic pain so many pregnant women complain about? Last night, it was just unbearable my last few hours at work, and it still hurts a bit this morning. I have the feeling it is going to be a long day.

 

[sbde]

morning everybody!

Loves2Laugh: welcome to the preggo thread. i'm super excited that you're here, because we are both due the same week (i'm due Jan 23rd).

Gemma12: i hope now that i'm so close to the 2nd trimester the nausea will start to ebb. sorry you have some 'foot in mouth' colleagues! i love all of the names that you are thinking of

Indy: TWINS!! omg, congratulations! you guys must be so thrilled - and what a great time for your family to now have these 2 little babies to focus on.

sk8rjen: glad to supply the laugh you must have had a blast picking out all those little girly things...so much fun!

jas: ginger altoids eh....sounds promising! thank you!

eph: sorry about what you're going through

kay: hope the sleep situation sorts itself out...but at least you're going on vacation pretty soon!

so it seems like yesterday was the day for ultrasounds...we went in for our 12 week fetal risk assessment u/s. it was offered as an option (which I greedily agreed to because it meant seeing the baby one more time

) but I'm glad i went.

little jelly is doing fine and was dancing up a storm...it was amazing to see the difference between the 6 wk pictures and the ones from yesterday. IT JUST SEEMS SOO REAL NOW!! the dr. said everything is looking good and normal so i'm thinking all the nausea and fatigue is so worth it.

 

[snlee]

Kay, I'm sorry you are having a difficult time sleeping. Some nights I wake up frequently and I am not a happy camper when I don't geta good nights sleep! I think it's one way our bodies preparing us for motherhood.

I think the tail bone pain you are experiencing is different from sciatic nerve pain. I'm experiencing some of both. The sciatic nerve pain is felt in your low back and right below your butt (behind the thigh and radiating down your leg). It hurts most when I'm walking or if I move a certain way. Sometime just putting pressure on that leg.

I haven't talked to my doctor about the pain yet. I have a prenatal appointment in a week, so I'll bring it up then. Unfortunately there's not much they can do. They will probably say take Tylenol to help relieve some pain but I'm trying my best to stay away from Tylenol, even though they say it's safe.

Gemma, sciatic pain is relieved by lying down so thank goodness it's not affecting my sleep. Sometimes it hurts when I move my leg but usually it's ok.

sbde, congrats on a great u/s! It does start feeling more real around then. Wait until you start feeling baby movements!

It become even more real!

 

[lover in athens]

hi sbde!
congrats on the ultrasound. those 12 week ones are just SO cool...i couldn''t believe how much he looked like a real baby! it''s neat to see them moving around like that too... and soon, you''ll be able to feel it!
i meant to comment on your poor conf call. that is awful! the end is definitely in sight though...hang in there!!

 

[lover in athens]

snlee, i''m glad your sleeping isn''t too bad despite the sciatica! are there any special exercises or stretches that might help?? although i''m sure that anything you could normally do would be very awkward pregnant!!

the last few days i''ve been waking up early and not able to fall back to sleep either. it''s so frustrating! esp when i know i''m going to be tired all day!

kay, when are you leaving for france again? i always order my support hose online at brightlifedirect.com . they have great prices and deliver really fast. otherwise, you could try a normal pharmacy (or a medical supply store). if they don''t carry them, they probably will know where you can get them. i would go for around 15-20mmHg or even 20-30mmHg

 

[sbde]

aww thanks lover in athens!

the ultrasound was definitely pretty magical.

afterwards, we heard the baby''s heartbeat for the first time @ the dr''s office. needless to say i was a puddle of tears...it''s so insane because i''m still at the point where i don''t LOOK preggo but so much has already happened!

i hope you''re resting and drinking liquids like the dr ordered! i''ve bought one bella band so far, and have only worn it once but it definitely was much more comfortable than stuffing my bloat into my skinny jeans

 

[sbde]

snlee, thanks for the congrats!

i''ve read one particular type of stretch helps for sciatic pain. apologies if i read it on this board and am just rehashing, but sit up straight in a chair, and put the ankle of the leg that hurts on the knee of the other leg...just as you would if you were casually crossing your legs.

at that point, just lean slightly forward (you may feel a slight stretch in the thigh that is sore) and just stay that way for a bit. it''s a great light stretch and you can do it in meetings without anyone really noticing anything. i''ve heard it has helped folks in the past, so i guess it''s worth a shot, right?

 

[snlee]

Thanks LIA and thanks sbde for letting me know about that stretch! I have been trying it out.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Indy has it sunk in yet?? Two little babies!

 

[Kaleigh]

INDY,
Congrats!! There is a twin explosion going on here!!! How are you feeling?

 

[lover in athens]

am i imagining things?

i am currently studying on the couch with my feet propped up on the coffee table and laptop on my legs with the edge balancing on my belly (tough life!!

). anyway, i SWEAR that when the edge of the computer is low, the little one starts kicking at it. if i move it up, he kicks at it there. i keep changing the computer''s position and he is totally following it. soooo bizarre. i guess he doesn''t like having his space invaded!!

have any of you ever experienced this???

 

[mela lu]

OMG Indy - i cannot believe your news! TWINS! Whoa. In my PMS stupor, I actually cried tears of happiness for you. That is so great, you big jerkstore! I''m thrilled for you and your DH. I mean, I know that here on PS we like ''em bigger and better, but holy moly girls! So many twins!!!

 

[icekid]

I bet Indy still looks like that! hehe, but wow..... definitely something in the.. er, diamonds around here! Congrats to you and Mr. Indy. Totally thrilled for the two of you. Babies babies everywhere! so fun

 

[Dreamer_D]

Ok I am clearly a moron because I just went onto a different forum and read all these miscarriage stories and freaked myself right out! Gah! The uncertainty of this early phase is really horrible! Now I am going to go watch TV and put my "blind faith" hat on and try not to think about this anymore.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 7/11/2008 9:17:35 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Ok I am clearly a moron because I just went onto a different forum and read all these miscarriage stories and freaked myself right out! Gah! The uncertainty of this early phase is really horrible! Now I am going to go watch TV and put my ''blind faith'' hat on and try not to think about this anymore.

Stay away from those forums DD! It''ll only make you nuts I promise.

 

[ellaila]

Date: 7/11/2008 10:32:45 AM
Author: neatfreak


Eph, I totally agree with Jas. You are I are both the researcher type and so of course when I was ''interviewing'' my OB I asked him what he thought of me reading studies on PubMed. He said that he LIKES to have informed patients because that way he doesn''t have to dumb things down! So I think your (and Jas''s!) OB''s are being a bit touchy about that. It''s not like you are researching on ''Bob''s blog about babies'' ya know? You have a right to have your concerns validated AND a right to know WHY your doctor isn''t concerned in your particular case ya know?

LOL! Hey, if it''s on the Internet, then it must be true, right?

BTW, I posted this in the mommy''s thread but I''ll post it here too. Not that I am an expert BY ANY MEANS on twin pregnancies, but I think it''d be kind of cool for your twin mommies-to-be to go back and read my old posts just to see what I went through and compare it to what you''re going through. For reference, I found out I was having twins on May 31 last year (I was 9 weeks), and that''s somewhere around page 30-something. Again, I''m no font of wisdom - just a lady who went through it and had the same fears/concerns that you do! - but I think it''s fun to go back and read the words of all of us now-mommies back when we were preggos!

Anyhow, off to bed. Hope you''re all doing well!

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 7/11/2008 9:54:24 PM
Author: ellaila

Date: 7/11/2008 10:32:45 AM

Author: neatfreak



Eph, I totally agree with Jas. You are I are both the researcher type and so of course when I was ''interviewing'' my OB I asked him what he thought of me reading studies on PubMed. He said that he LIKES to have informed patients because that way he doesn''t have to dumb things down! So I think your (and Jas''s!) OB''s are being a bit touchy about that. It''s not like you are researching on ''Bob''s blog about babies'' ya know? You have a right to have your concerns validated AND a right to know WHY your doctor isn''t concerned in your particular case ya know?

LOL! Hey, if it''s on the Internet, then it must be true, right?

BTW, I posted this in the mommy''s thread but I''ll post it here too. Not that I am an expert BY ANY MEANS on twin pregnancies, but I think it''d be kind of cool for your twin mommies-to-be to go back and read my old posts just to see what I went through and compare it to what you''re going through. For reference, I found out I was having twins on May 31 last year (I was 9 weeks), and that''s somewhere around page 30-something. Again, I''m no font of wisdom - just a lady who went through it and had the same fears/concerns that you do! - but I think it''s fun to go back and read the words of all of us now-mommies back when we were preggos!


Anyhow, off to bed. Hope you''re all doing well!

Lol Ellaila. I went back and read your entire preggo story the week I found out I was having twins!

 

[Burk]

Congrats Indy! Holy PS Twins! Not telling hubby abou this...he''s already scared to try for the next one!

Emph~Sorry to hear about what you''re going through. I simpy cannot imagine how you must be feeling and then for your doc to not help, but actually make you feel worse. Keep us posted!!

Sorry everyone else I missed. This thread moves so fast and I can barely keep up with the mommy thread!

 

[Independent Gal]

Date: 7/11/2008 9:59:36 AM
Author: Jas12
INDY--Craziness, wow, congrats on the twinsies !!!!

Eph--i am totally frustrated for you as well! Just my opinion but I would try to find another OB or at least get another opinion. I generally liked my OB but at times i found him condescending and dismissive which irritated me to no end made me uncomfortable expressing my wishes and concerns. Unfortunatley i could not switch and i ended up with more stress than necessary. The line ''stop researching on the net and don''t believe everything you read'' must be the line all industries use when they feel challenged by informed ''consumers'' (i got the exact line from my OB when i questioned him about cord-blood and i got that line from a diamond dealer when it was apparent i knew more than he did and i was researching on PS!!

. Confident care providers should be happy their patients are informed and encourage this. What is your gut telling you, do you feel like something is amsiss?

Keep us posted

JAS, this is interesting because of something my doc said. He pointed out that reading other peoples'' stories on the internet can be scary, because people are overwhelmingly more likely to go to the internet and write or ask questions when something goes wrong. So that gives a skewed vision of how likely it is that things will go wrong and makes us panic. Heck, which of us isn''t guilty of that?

So I think the trick is to go to the internet to read actual research and try hard to ignore the personal stories, unless something has already gone wrong and you need the comfort and support. At least, for me, that''s what I''m going to try to do from now on.

 

[Independent Gal]

Date: 7/11/2008 8:38:32 PM
Author: icekid

I bet Indy still looks like that! hehe, but wow.....

Yeah, pretty much, especially now that I realize that they are almost certain to be identical. I didn''t register the anatomy quite right, and I gather that if they are in the same dark blob (aka the placenta) they are pretty sure to be identical, even if they have their own amniotic sac.

So, hey, wow!

The bad news is that apparently even sharing the same placenta comes with a 25% mortality rate. I know I said I wasn''t going to read up, but this is really just from looking at wikipedia about twins! I didn''t expect it to be scary! So, I guess my risk is not going to go down after the first trimester. In fact, not until they are safely born. So those of you who pray, I hope you''ll keep the cubs in your prayers! And those of you who cross your fingers for luck, please cross your fingers for us! It''s going to be a crazy ride!

I''m steeling myself. We can do it! We can get through this as calm as possible.

 

[Independent Gal]

Ellaila, I''ll definitely be going back to read all your posts!

And thanks again to everyone for your good wishes!

 

[Mrs Mitchell]

Indy, I''ve been MIA from this thread for a while, for a few reasons, but I have been following it and I just had to jump back in to congratulate you and wish you well. I do pray, so the cubs will be in my prayers. Thinking about the three of you - I''m so happy for you!

Jen

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 7/12/2008 6:37:27 AM
Author: Independent Gal

Date: 7/11/2008 8:38:32 PM

Author: icekid

I bet Indy still looks like that! hehe, but wow.....

Yeah, pretty much, especially now that I realize that they are almost certain to be identical. I didn''t register the anatomy quite right, and I gather that if they are in the same dark blob (aka the placenta) they are pretty sure to be identical, even if they have their own amniotic sac.


So, hey, wow!


The bad news is that apparently even sharing the same placenta comes with a 25% mortality rate. I know I said I wasn''t going to read up, but this is really just from looking at wikipedia about twins! I didn''t expect it to be scary! So, I guess my risk is not going to go down after the first trimester. In fact, not until they are safely born. So those of you who pray, I hope you''ll keep the cubs in your prayers! And those of you who cross your fingers for luck, please cross your fingers for us! It''s going to be a crazy ride!

I''m steeling myself. We can do it! We can get through this as calm as possible.

Indy, as far as I understand, at this point you wouldn''t be able to see the placenta on an u/s. If they are in the same blob at this point, it means they are in the SAME amniotic sac for now (from what I understand based on my own twin research).

BUT that doesn''t mean that there won''t be/isn''t a separating membrane in there, but you can''t usually see it with an early u/s from what I have heard. I guess the best time to see one is between 12-16 weeks if it''s there. My twins on the other hand you could clearly see that they were in two different sacs even on our earliest ultrasound at 7w. So likely yours are ID, but they very well still could end up with separated sacs, so don''t worry yet!

And please don''t read/worry yet about complications with ID pregnancies. My doctor (who I really like and is affiliated with a wonderful research focused medical school) told me that many of those numbers/stats on them are old and/or don''t reflect the good quality medical care that you can get with good insurance these days (or money...but that is another story). He said that even the riskiest types of twins these days have a much much better shot at things because they monitor twin mommas so closely with u/s, especially ID twin moms.

Sorry for all that, just figured that all the reading I did might be helpful!




And for those interested...
Here are the possible options for ID twins depending on when the egg splits:

There are 3 kinds of id twin pregnancies: dichorionic/diamniotic (di-di - meaning they have 2 placentas and 2 amniotic sacs), monochorionic/diamniotic (mono-di - meaning they share the same placenta but have separate amniotic sacs), and monochorionic/monoamniotic (mono-mono - meaning that they share the same placenta and the same amniotic sac). If the embryo splits early (usually before day 3) then they are di-di. If it splits sometime in the middle (usually between days 4 and 8 ) then they are mono-di. If it splits later on then they are usually mono-mono.

I find this whole thing fascinating for sure!

 

[Independent Gal]

Thanks NF! I''m actually feeling OK about it, although gearing up for possible trouble. Just like with my mom''s surgery, I think the best way to approach these things is to be psychologically ready in CASE something happens, and then just sort of ''decide'' that it won''t. I actually feel very confident that things will be OK.

Plus, next year I''m going to be somewhere with one of the best research hospitals in the world and a team of OBs, two of whom specialize in these kinds of cases. I already touched base with one of them and he gave me his cell number and said to call any time so we could ensure continuity of care. I''ll also have kick-@ss insurance. Not even any co-pays. So I couldn''t be better in terms of that situation!

I have every confidence! In fact, I''m positively excited.

Hey NF and other twin mommas, did all of your docs tell you to take extra iron? What about other nutritional info? My doc here said not to do anything differently, including calorie intake, which struck me as a little odd.

 

[Independent Gal]

Actually, I''m feeling so upbeat (and I think that''s healthy, even if it were unrealistic) that I''m just completing knitted baby booty 1 of 4. In lush, soft Peruvian alpaca.

 

[jas]

Date: 7/12/2008 10:37:37 AM
Author: Independent Gal
Thanks NF! I''m actually feeling OK about it, although gearing up for possible trouble. Just like with my mom''s surgery, I think the best way to approach these things is to be psychologically ready in CASE something happens, and then just sort of ''decide'' that it won''t. I actually feel very confident that things will be OK.

Plus, next year I''m going to be somewhere with one of the best research hospitals in the world and a team of OBs, two of whom specialize in these kinds of cases. I already touched base with one of them and he gave me his cell number and said to call any time so we could ensure continuity of care. I''ll also have kick-@ss insurance. Not even any co-pays. So I couldn''t be better in terms of that situation!

I have every confidence! In fact, I''m positively excited.

Hey NF and other twin mommas, did all of your docs tell you to take extra iron? What about other nutritional info? My doc here said not to do anything differently, including calorie intake, which struck me as a little odd.

Indy, I was put on extra folic acid (in addition to my prenatal) and extra iron. These weren''t prescribed until my 2nd trimester when my blood work came back.

As far as insurance, you are very lucky. I am on cobra right now and am terrified about what happens in December when that is done. DH self-insures. Could be ugly.

I do not want to get into an insurance debate here, but I am very happy for you that you have one less worry on that front...

 

[Mrs]

Ladies, may I join you here? I''m kinda scared to join in since I''m not very far along at all and one of my close friends just miscarried at 8 weeks earlier this week... I know (from your wonderful posts here!) that the rate of miscarriages is very high so I could certainly do the same...

A little about myself: I''m in SoCal and I''ve been married 11 months. I posted my wedding pictures here but I''ve reregistered with a new name since I''m terrified about my new boss somehow finding out that I''m pregnant too early on this site since he has access to all my emails and internet history. I don''t think he exercises that power but I''m still a little worried about it.

I''ve been reading this thread as well as the new TTC thread and mommies thread for months and I think you are all fantastic! I''ve learned a ton of info from you and would never have thought to start charting if I hadn''t found you here so Thanks!

I went off the pill mid-April and started charting with FF. My first cycle was 39 days long. According to my chart I O''d on day 21. This past cycle, I seemed to O on day 25. I was certain we hadn''t timed it right. I started to get that heavy feeling in my uterus that usually comes before menstruation and I was little crampy for a couple of days but I had no bleeding so I tested yesterday (40 days into my cycle and 15 DPO according to FF) and I got a BFP!

I used 3 tests - 2 dollar store tests and then a digital.

So I''m thrilled since I never imagined we would be so fortunate to get pregnant so soon! But I''m also a little confused. How far along am I? Do I count from the day of my last period even though my cycle is so long? I''m still kinda crampy but there''s no blood. Did any of you have that crampy feeling too?

Thanks in advance for your help! Sending sticky vibrations to all those still in their 1st tri!

Mrs

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 7/12/2008 10:37:37 AM
Author: Independent Gal
Hey NF and other twin mommas, did all of your docs tell you to take extra iron? What about other nutritional info? My doc here said not to do anything differently, including calorie intake, which struck me as a little odd.

No extra iron for me, but he does have me on my regular prenatal, plus an additional 400mg of folic acid, PLUS a DHA supplement. I've also heard iron, but he said my iron levels were fine, so he wasn't doing it for now.

As for eating, my doc said to just eat what I could, when I could. If you're extra hungry, eat some more (and you will be!), but mine also told me not to worry really about getting a certain number of extra calories. Technically he said you're using about 600 extra calories with twins, but it doesn't usually come into play until a bit later when the babies are growing a lot. And as long as you follow your body's signs about hunger, you'll get everything you need.

And Indy: I know you are going to be totally great girl! I think you have a great outlook on things, that's the way I try to be too, prepared in case of the worst, but assuming the best. My doctor told me that he was "prescribing" limited worry on my part because he thinks empty worry isn't good for the babies. So if you think of it that way it becomes a bit easier to not freak out prematurely since it isn't about YOU anymore ya know?