Appointment check-ins! - Page 7 « Back to Group Discussions

[inkandpaper]

Had my third appt with the midwives earlier this week.  The baby itself is just the right size and the heartbeat is still strong.  We could even hear the valves opening and closing!  But I haven't been gaining enough weight. My pre-pregnancy weight was 95 pounds (and this was an improvement from 92 after trying really hard to gain weight).  I'm almost 20 weeks and have only gained about 4 pounds.  I've been eating a lot and trying to eat lots of high-fat foods (whole milk and yogurt and tons of butter... eggs, meat, liver pate, etc) but it doesn't seem like it's doing any good other than being tasty   

Also, I'm at the low end of normal as far as iron goes.  If I fall out of the limits, I'll risk out of the midwives practice, so I really need to be sure I keep my iron levels up.  I've rearranged my diet so that the foods that inhibit iron absorption (dairy, breads, etc) are eaten earlier in the day with the prenatal vite, and the iron-friendly foods (beef, pate, etc) are eaten later in the day.  I picked up some Floradix and nettle tea to have in the evenings as well.  I'm hoping this works.  If anyone has advice or experience with difficult weight gain or low iron, do share!

In other news, the ultrasound is back on.  DP and I had cancelled the appt after learning that insurance would only cover $19 out of the $319 total cost, and it didn't seem worth it given the normalcy of the pregnancy thus far.  There aren't any concerns to check on, and mostly dp just wants to know if it is a boy or girl.  However, my mother was not happy to learn that we had opted out of the sonogram.  She isn't ok at all with the fact that I'm giving birth outside a hospital (never mind that I live 2 minutes away from the nearest one) and has been trying to convince both dp and me that we should be going through an ob and a hospital.  So she talked to my aunt (who is a very mainstream pediatrician) who is of the opinion that ultrasounds should be standard procedure with every pregnancy and has been trying to convince me to get one.  DP and I first told her no, but then decided to go ahead and hopefully it will give her some peace of mind.  We'll see.  

[XanaduMama]

How come your insurance only covers so little? Is this an in-network/out of network issue? That's really frustrating!

I'm one of those people who always gets the 20w anatomy scan, but if you're really not keen, I would talk to your aunt about what specifically she thinks an ultrasound would be essential for. What exactly could it detect that couldn't be diagnosed at birth? Having more specifics might help you make a more informed decision (and satisfy your mom!), rather than just going by your aunt's vague scare-mongering. Just a thought.

As for the iron, you probably know this, but you should take iron supplements or eat iron-rich foods along with vit C, which aids absorption. Why is your weight a concern? I know you're very low-weight to begin with, but many of us haven't gained anything yet this pregnancy (in fact, I'm still 10-odd pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight). So I'm just curious.

[inkandpaper]

Insurance covers so little because I have a $300 deductible that I haven't met yet.  Obviously, we will be paying this deductible sonogram or no, but we had expected it on the bill after the delivery, not right now.  I could really go either way on the sonogram.  If there were an indication to do it, I'd go for it, but I don't think it has to be routine. My aunt specifically mentioned heart defects - her son had a heart defect (I don't know the details) at birth and was taken to the hospital.  He was an accidental home birth, but they'd never do one on purpose.  My mom is concerned about vague "things that could go wrong requiring immediate medical attention," but I think her conversation with my aunt gave her a concrete complication to worry about.  I don't know if others were mentioned; perhaps I should ask.  Overall, dp and I decided this was something we could bend on (really a money issue), and we decided to appease her since we've done so much to cause her stress over the past few months (too much to get into here, but including the pregnancy before we actually got married, me moving far away from my parents to be with dp, not planning to birth in a hospital, etc).

Yes, that's a good point about the vitamin c with the iron.  I may start taking the floradix in orange juice.  

Weight is not a big concern, it's just that the midwives told me I should gain 35 or 40 pounds since I'm underweight to begin with, and I am nowhere near that.  I haven't yet recorded my diet over three days, which they require and I think that will assure them that I'm eating well.  

[lactomom]

Originally Posted by inkandpaper 

Insurance covers so little because I have a $300 deductible that I haven't met yet.  Obviously, we will be paying this deductible sonogram or no, but we had expected it on the bill after the delivery, not right now.  I could really go either way on the sonogram.  If there were an indication to do it, I'd go for it, but I don't think it has to be routine. My aunt specifically mentioned heart defects - her son had a heart defect (I don't know the details) at birth and was taken to the hospital.  He was an accidental home birth, but they'd never do one on purpose.  My mom is concerned about vague "things that could go wrong requiring immediate medical attention," but I think her conversation with my aunt gave her a concrete complication to worry about.  I don't know if others were mentioned; perhaps I should ask.  Overall, dp and I decided this was something we could bend on (really a money issue), and we decided to appease her since we've done so much to cause her stress over the past few months (too much to get into here, but including the pregnancy before we actually got married, me moving far away from my parents to be with dp, not planning to birth in a hospital, etc).

Yes, that's a good point about the vitamin c with the iron.  I may start taking the floradix in orange juice.  

Weight is not a big concern, it's just that the midwives told me I should gain 35 or 40 pounds since I'm underweight to begin with, and I am nowhere near that.  I haven't yet recorded my diet over three days, which they require and I think that will assure them that I'm eating well.  

$300 deductible for birth is amazing. Ours is $10,000 before our insurance would even touch anything!

Your body and baby will gain what it needs you to gain!

[mrs_mandolini]

@inkandpaper .. Hopefully you will see some weight gain. With what you say you are eating, it sure seems like you should, you probably have a really high metabolism. I know a few others have chimed in with "you'll gain what you need to," and that was my attitude with my first... but women who gain less than 15 lbs during pregnancy do have a higher risk of low birth weight, premature delivery, and one or 2 other negative things. (My net weight gain of zero probably had something to do with my 32 week gestation with baby # 1.) In our dieting-obsessed culture it's really easy to overlook that being underweight is much more dangerous to your health than being the same amount overweight. Of course, if you have had other babies you may already have a gage as to what is "normal for you."

Personally, I'm using a calorie-counting weight loss program on my ipod to be sure I eat ENOUGH and consume enough protein! ( I set it to "maintain my weight" and added extra calories to my daily allowance since I'm actually trying to gain, and am more active than average.) It's kind of fun. I'm having whole milk kefir or yogurt smoothies with chocolate and peanut butter and a banana as one of my snacks each day. I use ketone strips on days when I feel icky to make sure I'm not dehydrated. I take 2 anti-emetics three times a day (not an issue if you're not sick, obviously, but I will most likely be taking these the whole time.) At my checkup I had only gained 1 lb in the last month, but I had gained 7 so far already, so I'm happy with this so far. And the appointment was after a few rather barfy days, I actually think I have gained a bit more.

16 weeks down.. hoping for at least 21 more!!

[Shinyredstar]

Originally Posted by scowgirl 

Shinyredstar--GOOD LUCK with your appointment on Monday! I'll be thinking of you.

AFM--fetal survey this morning and they said a) everything looked good and normal, and b) it's a GIRL!!!! 

Thank you! And congratulations!!  I'm loving getting these little updates. It's interesting watching the group progress.

Originally Posted by MaerynPearl 

wowsers! What do they think?

(and I'm not meaning the wowsers in a negative way at all, I came from a large spread out family, my oldest sister is 13 years older than me and my baby sister is 10 years younger than me... so yeah my oldest sister turned 23 just after my baby sister was born!) 

AFM - FINALLY doing my blood tests monday, get my ultrasound monday... really really hoping my hubby has off work monday. 

My 18 year old rolled his eyes when we told him, haha. As the oldest, I think he just perceives it as more that he'll have to be helping with, but was actually participating in the conversation the other day about names so I took that as a good sign. He's very introverted and isn't always very emotionally expressive, so I suppose his reaction didn't surprise me- but it's good to see him warming up the idea. We were most concerned about telling my 14 year old as we'd jokingly said something about having a baby earlier in the year and he'd gotten really upset. I was telling a friend of mine that story and she said that she remembered that it was about that age that she'd figured out that babies = your parents had sex and telling her parents that they should never, ever consider having children so I'm kind of wondering if that's what had prompted him bringing that up? However, when we told him he laughed about it and got kind of excited. He's got a friend with a 4 year old little tag-along brother so I think he relates to the idea in that sense.  My 11 year old likes the idea and has been very curious- making name suggestions, following up on the development of the baby, asking lots of questions about the progress of the pregnancy, and lecturing me about whether or not I should be laying on my stomach, whether or not I should drink coffee, etc. We'd considered taking him to the ultrasound tomorrow but because it's a high risk situation and we're looking for potential development/heart and brain issues, we decided to wait until we were more confident that we wouldn't be getting any upsetting news- but I think he'll really like that a lot. My husband and I are both oldest children and both have siblings that are 15-20 years younger (my husband actually has 13 younger sisters- he's 40 and his youngest sister is 6) so while it was a definite surprise, I guess we have some experience living it.  My children are actually all spaced with almost exactly the same difference in years as my siblings and I are- and it wasn't planned, guess I should have seen this surprise pregnancy coming since it just followed the pattern!

[lactomom]

I definitely wasn't trying to "overlook" under weight "issues". However as long as we (very close to that line) eat healthy (and that means lots of fat and protein to meet baby and our growing needs), then we will (typically) gain what we need to gain.

My first child I gained consistently, after loosening 12 lbs I didn't have room to loose (7 lbs 12oz 22 inch long baby girl). Second child yo-yoed me. I gained nothing and then shot 5-10 lbs. Then nothing again (8 lbs 15 oz 21 inch long baby boy). This child I'm 15 weeks, eating healthy and have gained NOTHING! All I can do is eat healthy and rest. Stressing about my weight is counter productive to health, because of the stress hormones effects on the body.

Unless there is a medical condition or mom is not taken in the nutrients (typically protein, think of cell composition) needed to supply babies AND her needs, then a women gains what she needs to gain.

[Kimithee]

I had my third OB visit last wednesday. Baby's heartrate was 147, it was 169 my first visit and 160 my second. This is my first prenancy where I have been Vitamin D deficiant, this is my third pregnancy. Did the blood draw for the AFP test, hopefully the result come back good.

My older kids are 13 and 8. The 13yo isn't thrilled at all to have a new sibling on the way. She would prefer to have no siblings at all. The 8yo absolutely loves the idea of being an older sister as long as it's a girl. We were trying for a boy this time. My U/S is a week from this wednesday so we will find out the sex then.

[sjdragonfly]

Originally Posted by inkandpaper 

Also, I'm at the low end of normal as far as iron goes.  If I fall out of the limits, I'll risk out of the midwives practice, so I really need to be sure I keep my iron levels up.  I've rearranged my diet so that the foods that inhibit iron absorption (dairy, breads, etc) are eaten earlier in the day with the prenatal vite, and the iron-friendly foods (beef, pate, etc) are eaten later in the day.  I picked up some Floradix and nettle tea to have in the evenings as well.  I'm hoping this works.  If anyone has advice or experience with difficult weight gain or low iron, do share!

One good trick for raising your iron levels is blackstrap molasses. Eat about a tablespoon of it every day and you'll get your iron levels up in no time. That stuff is packed with it. Also, there's a great supplement by MegaFood called Blood Builder. I've taken that for years, and even as a vegan have really high (in a good way) iron levels. It's one of those whole food vitamins so your body can process and absorb it better than regular vitamins. Plus, it's got a bunch of stuff that makes your body convert it to iron itself so you're not getting too much. 

ETA: The MegaFood supplement contains vitamin C as well. Just thought I'd mention it since everyone is suggesting taking your iron with some C. :)

[scarykarrey]

Make sure you're taking your iron supplements with orange juice! It'll help with the absorption. Or, if you're anti-juice like me, make sure you take it at the same time that you eat an orange or clementine (scrumptiously in season now).

[deborahbgkelly]

Other good sources of iron: kale, spinach, raisins. These have been my cravings and my iron levels are in good shape. I would recommend upping intake of green veggies if it doesn't upset your stomach and you don't have any issues with clotting.

[maxnmaizy]

The whole family is going in for our 20 week u/s today! We are going to find out the sex. We are all super excited!

[MaerynPearl]

Had ultrasound today (put up pics in another thread) and it was great!

First, I had to fill out the paperwork... which was a lot funnier than it should have been:

Quote:

Reason for your scan today?  Pregnancy         

Do you know what caused this? ____________

Has your doctor explained the cause? _______

I REALLY wanted to give smart-alec answers, but thought better of it.

Then, we got the scan and our tech was awesome, totally okay with us not finding out and didn't even try to peek. 

We weren't sure when I am due because I was breastfeeding still and had JUST gotten fertility back, but the ultrasound measured exactly to the day we were going with, so I feel VERY confident going with that date!

[sjdragonfly]

That is hilarious. I'm guessing it's just a form they give to everyone, but still. I don't think I could have held back from filling something in those other two blanks.

[MaerynPearl]

Yeah, they also do MRI's and X-rays there so it's a general form for everyone. It took a lot of self control not to put "I have no clue, that's why I'm on my fourth child." But then, I'd probably have to sit through them trying to explain it LOL

[fruitfulmomma]

LOL. Standard question for moms of many, though it is usually coming out of the mouth of nosy neighbors.

Did your husband make it?

I am hoping dh can come next week to ours. He runs his own business so it shouldn't be a problem, but we are usually slow this time of year and have to take work when we get it. The girls plan to come at least though. I had one at 10 weeks for dating which they came to but they are all really anxious to know the boy/girl question. DS declined to come after I told him they would have to lift my shirt up. (I didn't even ask last time since I was pretty sure it was going to be a vag one.)

[Jodie]

Went to my ultrasound today. It was not what I expected. The woman didn't speak much till she was done and I could not see the screen, so didn't get to "see" the baby.My kids saw more than I did. I did get one crappy pic. She said the baby was giving her trouble, maybe moving around too much.

The good news is baby looks good. Measuring 19wks 6 days(just about right on) and baby is about 10oz, heartrate was in the 150's, can't remember exact number. And there is only one in there.

I'm glad the baby is fine, but this was not the experience I had imagined.

 Never had an ultrasound before. I haven't been missing much.

[MaerynPearl]

Wow, that's a terrible ultrasound experience! I got to see the screen almost the whole time and got lots of pics, almost every single ultrasound. The only times I wasn't allowed to see the screen were the emergency ultrasounds I had (and that was "in case anything was wrong" because the tech isn't allowed to determine if anything is wrong, a radiologist needs to)

You really didn't seem to have a great tech :( I've had one or two that were just rude about it all... I got lucky today and had an awesome lady.

[Shinyredstar]

Originally Posted by fruitfulmomma 

DS declined to come after I told him they would have to lift my shirt up. (I didn't even ask last time since I was pretty sure it was going to be a vag one.)

Wow... pregnancy brain. I kept reading this as "DH declined..." over and over and trying to figure out what kind of dynamics you must have in your relationship if you had multiple children but your DH was too uncomfortable to see you with your shirt up. Hahaha...
 

Originally Posted by Jodie 

Went to my ultrasound today. It was not what I expected. The woman didn't speak much till she was done and I could not see the screen, so didn't get to "see" the baby.My kids saw more than I did. I did get one crappy pic. She said the baby was giving her trouble, maybe moving around too much.

That's really crummy! I'm sorry your experience wasn't what you wanted it to be. It always seems to me like people who work in certain industries should be held to some kind of higher standards for their bedside manner.

I had a follow up appointment today (I'm actually on weekly visits because of the high risk issues) with the perinatologist and he's increasing my insulin but we're making progress and I haven't had any super crazy blood sugars so I'm feeling pretty good about that, at least. We did an ultrasound today and he said that the hear looks "very good" and that he'd gotten a very clear shot of all the chambers and it looked great- which eliminates about 95% of all heart related birth defects. The brain looks good, the babe was very active and he was able to eliminate the majority of issues that might have been an effect of the diabetes. He was "quite pleased" with what he saw, and SO AM I! 

Also found out.... we're having a girl!  It's going to be quite a change to have some more estrogen in this place and we're so excited!!  Well, the boys and I are. DH is still terrified. Haha. Wish we'd gotten some better pics, but they were all a little blurry because she was very active so nothing really worth sharing (and, I admit, I feel a little nervous that he could have made a mistake on gender because of it, but he said he was "pretty sure nothing was going to change" on that end- and there was a relatively clear shot of the three lines that he was able to show us.)

[XanaduMama]

Originally Posted by MaerynPearl 

Yeah, they also do MRI's and X-rays there so it's a general form for everyone. It took a lot of self control not to put "I have no clue, that's why I'm on my fourth child." But then, I'd probably have to sit through them trying to explain it LOL

That alone would be worth the price of admission! Hilarious!