IVF Graduates thread!! - Page 82

[Carlyle]

Originally Posted by blueyezz4 
 DH got to feel the little guy kick for the first time last night.

Oh yaay!  That's always so great when they can start feeling the baby.  I slept on either side with both my pregnancies.  Actually for Maggie's pregnancy I think she would fall to a better position when I was on my right side, so don't worry about it.  Do what feels comfortable!  I love seeing you on here even though I don't post much :)

[Tear78]

blue, I'm constantly waking up on my back. I think I wake up because I'm on my back and my blood flow is slowly restricting. yuck! lol... I think it's ok. Your body will let you know where you need to be. So happy that your DH got to feel him! My DH has yet to catch the right moment over here, but that's partly I think because we're so on the go these days. Thinking of you this week: keep up the good work,, little guy!

[TenzinsMama]

Off to Antigua today, and I've still got to pack!!! Ack!!!! Anyway, just wanted to pop on to wish all of you a good week, Blue, thinking of you this week especially.  Glad to hear that your mom is getting things figured out, and Abby is doing so much better. Oh, and I think it was you who was asking about our set-up in Antigua? It's just me, DH and the kids going, we have a condo on the beach that we are renting for the week.

[blueyezz4]

Thanks all for all your kind thoughts and words of encouragement this week!!!  So far, so good.  Today is 22 wks 3 days and going strong w/ only 124 more days to go.  I only know that b/c of an app on my phone that keeps track.  I'm really not that anal.  LOL  Thanks too for the info about sleeping.  I know it was my OB that said to start sleeping more on my Left side, so next Tues when i see the high risk dr for our ultrasound I think i'll ask him as well.  Okay, i'm off to bed.  Tomorrow I'm going w/ a friend for her big Ultrasound b/c her DH can't go so she asked me to tag along.  She isn't finding out the sex of the babe though so i'm hoping i can try and sneak a peak and just not tell her.  LOL

[BellyBean]

Blue, how fun!  I think I would really enjoy going to a friend's ultrasound and trying to sneak a peak!  After all the research I did online I feel like I am practically an u/s tech anyway :)  I remember ending up on my back for a while, then eventually (later than "suggested") it mostly stopped.  Love that DH felt the baby kick, such a magical time.

Tenzi, I hope you have a wonderful trip and see my response when you get back :) We went through the EXACT same thing with our girls.  We were so concerned with them waking eachother up or our older DD that we would feed right away.  And instead of sleeping longer they started creeping back.  We went from a solid 5-6 hour stretch back to 3.  It didn't help that we would wake the other twin to feed so we wouldn't get woken up right after getting back in bed.  We trained and allowed them to become horrible sleepers...which was necessary for survival at first, but we finally had to draw the line.  So we put the "better" sleeper in the room next to our older DD and the "worse" sleeper stayed in our room (and still is, although I am not sure she is still the worst sleeper, the flip back in forth perfectly so that no night is good for us...just for fun, I am sure!).  Our older DD is a very light sleeper, so I thought for sure the "better" yet much louder one would wake her up, but she hasn't...or atleast not enough for her to start crying/screaming too.  And trust me, she does, when she wakes up in the night our oldest DD screams for me, so I really don't think the crying has bothered her.  All the girls have sound machines so that might help drown out the noise a little too.  The babies cry for about 5-10 minutes and usually go back to sleep.  If they need help soothing we rock, give one a bink, or bounce until they fall back asleep.  You could always try for a night or 2 and see what happens with your DS, it'd be worth it if he sleeps through it and your DD works herself back to sleep!!

Aura, glad you are switching doctors if you don't feel you are getting adequate care!  You have to do what's best for you.  Your babies look lovely!  I can't believe you are already in the 2nd tri!  I am sorry, I might have missed, will you be finding out genders?!?  If so, I can't wait!!!!!!!!

Hi Hope, Vegan, Carlyle, Tear, Kewpie, Keira, Monkey, and Renavoo!!!!

Nothing new for me, just wanted to see what ya'll are up to!

[Kewpie80]

blue - I would fall asleep on my left and if I woke up on my back or right, I would just flip back to my left.  Once I got pretty big, laying on my back would actually make my legs tingle and would wake me up.  I don't think laying on your right is bad, just that the left is better for opening up a major artery. 

aura - Love the pic! 

[hope4light]

Tenzins - Birth plans?  My only real plan is to deliver vaginal.  Other than that I'll be at a hospital and will just take it play by play.  It's what I did with my first and it worked out so much better that way as I had a LONG labor (I had some scar tissue that kept me from dilating) and lots of interventions (pitocin, they broke my water, they broke up the scar tissue, internal monitoring, plus I was GBS positive so had the IV antibiotic, got the epi, etc).  It really allowed me to look back and love my l&d experience.  I hope you are having a great time in Antigua!  Let us know all about it :-)

Vegan - Yeah for nursing going well!!!  And that's awesome that you are both on the same page, if it were to happen!

Keria - We finally have some things ready.  The bassinet is in our room but we still have to wash the sheets/etc.  The nursery has the crib and glider in it, and we've found the car seat and one base.  We still have to find the other base.  (We moved after DD was out of it, so it's there... somewhere....)  We also still have to get out all of the newborn and 0-3 month clothes.  Oh yeah, and we still have to make the short list of names.  I started freaking out about it right around Thanksgiving, because I'm getting so close and at the time we had NOTHING ready.  So, we're getting there, step by step LOL.  I'm sorry that they got sick :-(  It's so sad when they don't feel good.  Can't believe that walking is coming so soon!

blue - big hugs to get through the next couple of days.  You're almost there!!  I'm glad that you're mom is OK as well, I hope they get the meds figured out so that she can have more energy.  Sleeping - I go between sides and sometimes wake up on my back.  I have a pillow on either side of me, so even if I roll I tend to not be flat on my back.  I wouldn't worry too much - as PP said, if you're legs start to go numb it'll wake you up and you'll know to roll.

Belly - glad to see you!!  I hope you have no more sickness for a while, you deserve a healthy home!

aura - They look so cute!!!  I'd consider changing too... they have to take care of you for quite a while yet, and you should be able to build a good relationship with you're OB. 

AFM - Tuesday I have my 36 week appt and GBS test.  I still can't believe how close it's getting.  Last night I was thinking how I'm not ready for this pregnancy to end, even though in some ways I am so ready (sooo uncomfortable these days!!  Plus, I just can't wait to meet this little one!!).  People at my work threw me a little baby shower yesterday, it was SO very sweet.  They scared the crap out of me though, telling me that my VP had called an emergency meeting with me and our director.  So I'm thinking paybacks to my VP can include me in his office with a bottle of water behind my back that suddenly loses all of it's water.  Evil, I know.  On another note, my pregnancy brain is getting WAY worse.

[vireoes]

Finally time to move my self over to the graduates thread.  A quick bio for those who don't know me.  We started TTC in 2007.  We were diagnosed with MF infertility. We moved overseas in 2010 and did our first round of IVF/ICSI.  We we blessed with a BFP on the first try and had DD in 2011.  I am still BF DD so we had to wait to this summer to get first PPAF.  Given our age and that we wanted to take advantage of more affordable IVF services before we return to the US, we didn't waste time TTC the natural way and went straight back for high tech solutions.  We did a failed FET in Sept with embryos leftover from our first IVF.  We just completed our second fresh cycle and were rewarded with a BFP.  We did our 7 week check today and have one little embryo with a nice strong heart beat.  We are due in late July 2013.  Most likely we won't move until after the birth, but we are not 100% sure yet.  DD loves playing with real and stuffed babies so I know she is going to make a great big sister.

[blueyezz4]

Vireoes - Congrats on graduating!!! You will notice this thread is a little slower moving than the other one.  So glad to have you here.  Are you still w/ your RE or did you get transferred to your reg OB already?

Hope - can't believe you are getting so close!!  Yay!!!   What is a GBS test?  That is a new one to me.  Thanks for the info about sleeping.  I've been doing pretty good sleeping on either side and mostly on my L side, so that's good.  How are things going w/ DH?  Hope things are much better now.

Belly - my friend didn't get to have her big u/s b/c she wasn't told that she had to schedule two different appts on the same day.  She did have to have a cervical check w/ u/s though and the tech was nice and did give her a few other shots on top of her belly so we saw the little one.  I'm going back w/ her on Mon morning now and then i have my next big u/s on Tues afternoon.  Big week for ultrasounds.

Tenzi - hope you had a good vacation!!!!  How did the babe do on that plane ride?

Kewpie - thanks for your sleeping in put.  How are the repairs on the house coming?

Tear - hope you are doing well.  Anything coming up soon for you or just the reg ob appts?  How often do you go???  How many weeks are you again?  I wish i could remember but i also have 3 other friends IRL that are pregnant and i can never remember how far along they are either. LOL

Carlyle - thanks for sharing your insight too!!!  Hope you all are well!!!

Laura - how are you doing???  haven't seen you in awhile.  Hope everything is okay.

Hi to everyone else i missed.  I was kinda just looking up at this last page and those of you that posted recently.

AFM - Today is 23 weeks yay!!!!  Saw my OB on Thurs last week and she checked me manually.... ugh does anyone else get checked or is it just b/c i'm stitched??  Man does that hurt when she does it.  Don't like it at all but oh well.  She was seeing me ever 4 wks and now she told me she wants to see me every 2 weeks.  Kinda freaks me out b/c then i left there wondering if there is something she isn't telling me after checking me.  Women's mind can be so mean!!!! Go figure i don't think to really ask much until i leave.  She did say just b/c of my history but wouldn't you think she would just move me up to every 3 weeks instead of 2.  Who knows.  I'll do whatever it takes.  I have my next big ultrasound tues afternoon at like 4pm to check his growth and my cervix length.  I think he is growing b/c his kicks and punches are for sure getting stronger and i feel like i'm popping now.  Still carrying high enough that i can wear my reg jeans w/ the rubber band and a belt.  My mom is having troubles w/ her heart rate being too high (150 resting) so they gave her another pill so she is really feeling it.  Poor lady can't catch a break.  They were talking about if this new med doesn't work then she will need to have a pacemaker put in.  That scares me a bit too just b/c of her history of strokes and also being on a blood thinner.  We will see.  Keep her in your thoughts and prayers if you think about it.  They normally go out west for part of the winter and they drive all the way there and normally leave Jan 3rd so i don't know what will happen now.  Last yr she had her major stroke on that trip and i flew out to be w/ them but this year that will be a little harder so the whole thing makes me a little nervous that they would be out there all by themselves.  They do now have drs out there after last year so at least that is good.  Okay, i think that is about all that is going on here. 

[Kewpie80]

vireoes - Welcome and congrats!!!!

Hope - So excited for you! 

Blue -I'm so excited for you too!  I also know how you feel about your mom.  My mom had a history of strokes and minor heart attacks from about 1998 till 2008.  She's on blood thinners and she was having troubles with her BP bottoming out.  She had a pacemaker put in in 2008 and then a triple bypass later that year.  She moved in with us during that time and it was extremely stressful and scary.  She is doing fantastic now!  I hope everything goes well with your mom and her procedure.  Keep us updated, ok?  You all will be in my thoughts and prayers.

[auraleigh]

blue, 23 weeks!!!! i am terrified of the manual checks.  i have not heard great things about them.  how do you feel?  has the sleeping gotten any better?  how is your mom?  i think kewpie shared a wonderful story, and hopefully they can get your mom up and running soon!

tenzi, hope vacation is great!  can't wait to hear all about it.

viroes, congrats!!! so nice to see you on this side.  how are you feeling?  

hope, you are SO CLOSE!  do you feel ready?  do you have all the baby things you need?  i can't wait for this baby to be born! 

hope everyone is just quiet because their babies are keeping them busy!!

things are good here.  i'm 14 weeks currently, and i've decided to finally switch my OB.  my practice is totally incompetent.  i finally called and asked them if they ever planned on taking blood, and the nurse freaked out when she realized they had NO RECORDS for me.  they didn't even know my blood type.  what if something terrible had happened??? what if i have a vitamin deficiency or something that could easily be remedied? they had me come in right away to draw blood, and the nurses, not realizing I could hear them in the waiting room, were all "how does this even happen?!?!".  the fact that they were so freaked out really freaked me out.  so i found a new dr that works with a perinatologist, and my first appt with them is on december 27th.  i believe the receptionist said that the dr would do an ultrasound.  i'll be 16.5 weeks then, so i am hoping they can tell me the sexes of the babies!  i hate surprises, i want to know asap.  other than that, i'm holding steady at 7lbs gained in 14 weeks, which i'm pretty proud of.  one dr told me to gain 30 lbs, the other told me not to gain a SINGLE POUND.  with twins.  that's another reason why i'm switching! i can't go to one practice where every dr tells me something different. 

[Kewpie80]

aura - wow! That shocks me!  I'm glad you found a new doctor.  I am very overweight.  I'm 220 lbs at 5'3 and they told me to gain 40 or 50. I can't remember exactly what at this point.  Not gaining anything with twins is a BAD idea.  And no blood draws???  YIKES!  It sounds like you found a good one.  I loved seeing my perinatologist.  Not just cause I had another set of eyes watching my babies, but I also had twice the u/s and could see them all the time.

[auraleigh]

kewpie, i am so glad you agree that this is insane?!! i mean, the only way to not gain weight is to DIET.  and everything i have ever read said not to diet while pregnant.  i'm about the same as you, and while i understand i shouldn't be eating everything under the sun, i can't listen to the crazy of that doctor.  i eat healthy, my portions are pretty small (otherwise i feel really sick), and i eat a lot of protein.  i thought i was doing everything right.  i am SO curious what the new dr will tell me.  

[blueyezz4]

Aura - i'm also glad you are getting another Dr. That is crazy!!  I think when i was preg w/ twins my Dr had told me it's common to gain like a pound a wk even in the beginning.  I know w/ a singleton they say once you hit the 3rd tri you may gain a pound a wk i think it is.  Glad you are changing and going to be better monitored and followed!!!  I can't wait until you have your first Ultrasound!!!! So excited for you and so glad you are finding out sexes.  I'm a total planner too so i have to know myself but understand some people like the surprise.  I'm doing some better w/ sleeping and my Mom is doing okay but really tired i think from all the meds they have her on to slow her heart rate down.  I talked to them after my ultrasound today hoping the news would cheer her up so and she sounded a little better just tired.  I feel bad for my dad too b/c he has to watch her suffer like this and is all alone since i live 2 hrs away.

Kewpie - thanks for sharing your story about your mom.  It is good to hear that things cleared up and the pacemaker helped.  We will see if they have to go that route or not.  She is suppose to be getting some kinda heart monitor here soon too so they can watch her heart rate closer to know if she needs it.  I think the pacemaker might actually be a good thing if she can make it through the surgery w/o any other complications b/c then it might dec her risks of stroke b/c then her heart would be at a better rhythm.  We will see.

AFM - saw the high risk OB dr (perientologist) today and had our ultrasound.  Love seeing our little guy.  We had to wait an extra hr or more b/c the dr was running behind and we were the last appt of the day.  All is well and the little guy is measure right on.  She gave us some good pics and confirmed that he still is a boy b/c i was worried since i had just sent out Christmas cards saying we were having a boy.  I didn't want to have to call everyone on my list to tell them they had made a mistake. LOL  Here is one of the 3 or 4D pics that we got.  It's a little blurry but still cute.  So in love already!!!!

[MOMTOALEXIS]

BLUE- Love love love love love that little boy too!!!!!!!

AURA- Was your doc and male, screw them lol, how is it possible not to gain any weight with two babies.  I gained 65 lbs and took about a year to lose it all and even lost 5 lbs more. One doc would comment about the weight gain but the other 3 were fine about it.  Hope you find someone you love cause you should be enjoying every second of the pregnancy and not stressed out by some doc.  Still so happy for you BTW. 

Hi to everyone else!!!!

[deborahbgkelly]

Subbing for stalking- Aura- that doctor is nuts! You need to gain more in the first 20 weeks with twins than with a singleton. Every twin book I read (sadly I read them too late) said the first 20 weeks are your most important for weight gain. My perinatologist told me to gain 35-40 pounds with my pregnancy and I was about 45 lbs. overweight at that point. I have a friend who is probably double my size and was told to eat like 3000 calories a day. I say, 7 lbs gained at 14 weeks is perfect.

[auraleigh]

BLUE!!!!!!! I almost cried looking at that photo.  It's magical!  I can't imagine how full of love you must be!  Sending healthy thoughts to your mom, I hope they figure this out soon. 

Thanks ladies for backing me up on this weight thing.  Surprisingly both doctors were female.  I always thought a female dr would be more understanding, but so far my experience is that men seem to be a bit more gentle.  Dr T was a dream, and my new dr is a man as well.  I hear he has GREAT bedside manner and is really sharp.  I can't wait to meet him! 

Oddly enough, I have lost two pounds in the past week or so.  I am eating non stop but obviously the babies are eating more than I think they are?  And it's not like I'm depriving myself.  I may have had a chocolate donut and some ice cream yesterday.  heheh  I balanced it out with a salad for lunch.  

[auraleigh]

also, i had to share.  my life is ridiculous these days.

my just cat started puking.  which triggered my gag reflex and then I threw up.  my husband is one lucky guy!

[hope4light]

vireoes - Welcome to the grads thread - so glad that you're here! 

blue - YEAH for making it through the 22 week mark :-)  The GBS is a Strep test where they check your vaginal canal to see if you have strep there.  Apparently it's not uncommon, but it can come and go so they don't check it until around your 36th week.  If you have it and have a hospital birth they will give you IV antibiotics during labor and delivery to ensure that you don't pass it along to the baby as the baby descends through the birth canal.  It can be bad for the baby if they catch it.  After all I've gone through to get here, I'm one of those that isn't willing to take the chance.  I was positive during my first pregnancy, and even though I had like 4 or 5 bags of IV antibiotics my DD was STILL running a fever... so for me I'm glad I didn't chance it.  Things with DH are actually going great, thank you for asking!  It seems like he's really realized what he did and wants to make up for it.  We still have tough conversations some days, but every day is better than the one before.  Now I hope that nothing reverts in those first few days/weeks/months after the baby is born.  I don't remember when I started my every 2 week visits, but it sounds like you're just a little earlier than normal, so I'm betting it's just caution.  I hope they figure everything out with your mom, and soon!!  What a great picture!!!

aura - I feel ready in some ways, and SO NOT READY in others!  I think for the most part we have everything we need, so that is good.  I'm so glad that you decided to switch, sounds like that office has some serious issues, and it's not worth risking anything.

AFM - for those of you that have had your babes - did you notice feeling different in the few weeks leading up to delivery?  In the last few days I suddenly have no appetite, and have even lost a couple of pounds.  My tummy has been hurting a bit and I'm more worndown than usual.  Sleeping has taken a turn for the worst and I know for sure that I've had some contractions.... I know that they are just the braxton hicks getting a little stronger, so some nice practice labor.  Had my strep test and will get the result next week.  She asked if I wanted her to check while she was 'there' and I normally would have said no because it really doesn't matter, but for some reason, at that exact moment, I said yes.  I have no idea why.  But as of Tuesday I was 2 cm dilated and the babe was really low (which I knew - thank you for using my bladder as a trampoline :-)  I'm 37 weeks on Monday.  On the one hand I am ready.  I'm uncomfortable and can't wait to meet this little one, can't wait to know what we are having and provide my DD a baby.  I can't wait to nurse again and have that relationship.  On the other hand, knowing that it's my last, I want to hold onto this pregnancy for as long as I possibly can.  I'm not ready to give up feeling those kicks and jabs, the hiccups and stretches, the movement that lets me know we grew another little one.  I'm having some stress over that to be honest, does that sound strange?  I mean just typing it brings tears to my eyes.  (awe, and now little one is moving for me!)  I never wanted more than 2 kids, and that hasn't changed now, but I really do love being pregnant.  Even if this pregnancy had some serious stress at times.  It's just hard to know that the things I love about being pregnant I'll never have again.  So, I'm just trying to love every second and see when baby decides its time to come and grace us with his/her presence! 

[shesaidboom]

Hi ladies! I've been feeling unsure about jumping into the grads thread, but I just decided I would go for it. DH and I got our BFP after our first try at IVF. We transfered one beautiful embryo (5 day blastocyst) on November 25th, so we're very still early. I'm nervous about having another miscarriage, but I do have a good feeling about this pregnancy and am very excited! I'll be reading back a bit to catch up on everyone, both the names/faces I recognize and ones I haven't gotten to know yet!