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Philosopher King
Oct 25, 2006
So where does everyone stand on the 3d/4d ultrasound? I've heard a few conflicting things in the past and I'm not sure what to believe. Is there a strong possibility of danger to the fetus?

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Janelle
Apr 5, 2004

Tesla Insanely Coil posted:

So is it common to stay in the hospital for several days after the baby is born? I figured I'd go home asap unless there is bad tearing.

Everyone is right about the length of stay depending on the hospital. But, watch out for the group b strep. I tested positive and progressed through labor so quickly that there wasn't any time to give me antibiotics so the pediatrician wanted to keep baby for a full 3 days. Since there was no way I was leaving the hospital without my baby I ended up in the hospital with him.

foxatee
Feb 27, 2010

That foxatee is always making a Piggles out of herself.
We discussed this a couple pages back, I believe. Basically, it isn't necessary, and it's a bit creepy, but whatever rocks your socks.

MoCookies
Apr 22, 2005

Philosopher King posted:

So where does everyone stand on the 3d/4d ultrasound? I've heard a few conflicting things in the past and I'm not sure what to believe. Is there a strong possibility of danger to the fetus?

Danger - not so much. Other effects? Possibly. There's been a few studies associating left-handedness and ultrasounds, which kind of freaks me out about the other possibilities. We decided to skip it because I find the pictures creepy, anyway.

starshine
Nov 26, 2007

Philosopher King posted:

So where does everyone stand on the 3d/4d ultrasound? I've heard a few conflicting things in the past and I'm not sure what to believe. Is there a strong possibility of danger to the fetus?

We got a 3d ultrasound - I'm a pretty hippie mom who had a home waterbirth, but I got to find out the sex, see her face, and get a keepsake all for a pretty fair price. My even-more-hippie midwife said they probably don't know ALL the risks, but getting one or two ultrasounds during pregnancy probably wasn't anything to worry about. I'm not really sure what people mean by creepy... I thought the pictures were really interesting - that's your baby's face!

Number19
May 14, 2003

HOCKEY OWNS
FUCK YEAH


Since I was the person to ask a few pages back, I figured I'd follow up. We decided to get a 3D ultrasound. We're schedule for next Wednesday. I hope we get a decent look and that she doesn't hide the whole time.

Philosopher King
Oct 25, 2006
Yeah, but the 1-2 ultrasounds seem to only happen for a few minutes, this one is trying to get like a half hour video or something so I'm kind of worried.

foxatee
Feb 27, 2010

That foxatee is always making a Piggles out of herself.
If you aren't comfortable with it, don't do it. It's as simple as that. We got the 3D/4D images and a few 5-second avi videos on a disc. The videos were pretty cool because she was a mover and a shaker, but the still images creeped us right the gently caress out.

Beichan
Feb 17, 2007

pugs, pugs everywhere
If any part of it makes you nervous or worries you, it's not worth it. You'll see the real baby in 3D soon enough.

Bodnoirbabe
Apr 30, 2007

starshine posted:

I'm not really sure what people mean by creepy... I thought the pictures were really interesting - that's your baby's face!

What is unsettling is it's your babies face....melting. I have never seen an image that doesn't look like a melting baby.

legbeard
Jun 13, 2006

Philosopher King posted:

Yeah, but the 1-2 ultrasounds seem to only happen for a few minutes, this one is trying to get like a half hour video or something so I'm kind of worried.

I found this article on how these new ultrasound machines are different and why they are possibly more dangerous. It seems to be a well supported article. http://www.askquestions.org/articles/ultrasound/

What I took from it was that it can heat up the babies brain a little, and they don't know exactly what that does to them. The reason these fancy ultrasounds are allowed to exist is because doctors needed them for use on adults for purposes other than pregnancy.

FretforyourLatte
Sep 16, 2010

Put you in my oven!
The good news: Sonogram next Thursday so if this little one cooperates we'll find out the sex. :neckbeard:

Bad news: My blood pressure is a little high and they're sending me to get evaluated and determine if it needs treated or just monitored. Anyone else have issues with high blood pressure, and if so what course of treatment was there, if any? I don't want to wind up stuck on bed rest. :ohdear:

foxatee
Feb 27, 2010

That foxatee is always making a Piggles out of herself.
They just had me on bedrest and monitored my blood pressure. Since my mom has her own monitor, it was easy for me to keep track of it.

opie
Nov 28, 2000
Check out my TFLC Excuse Log!
I have a newborn, a bunch of prefolds, and some newborn-sized bummi whisper wraps. I could've sworn we used these with the last kid before her cord stump fell off. Maybe I'm just remembering wrong? I can't think of how we'd put them on without the stump getting irritated though. We have a diaper service so I'd hate to waste all that time and money waiting for it to fall off, and I'm pretty sure we didn't last time.

The Young Marge
Jul 19, 2006

but no one can talk to a horse, of course.
Hm. I know some newborn-sized cloth diaper covers have a "scoop" for the umbilical cord, but I have no idea which brands aside from Thirsties (the x-small size). Is there maybe a way to fold down and fasten the front so it's clear of the healing cord stump?

I'm pregnant with my first baby and want to use cloth from the get-go, but am in the same boat of needing to resolve the issue of the cord stump. I'm registered for a 6-pack of Real Nappies newborn-sized covers, but looking at them now, they don't have a scoop or cutout for the cord. Which seems stupid; you'd think all newborn sized covers would accommodate it.

yawnie
Jul 29, 2003
lollerz.
Lil Joeys are an AIO that have a snap-down for the cord stump.

Brennanite
Feb 14, 2009
Someone please tell me the weird pregnancy dreams go away immediately after giving birth. They're really starting to freak me out. Last week I was attacked by Clifford, the big red dog, after my grandfather tried to force me to eat a Norwegian elkhound as punishment for...visiting? And that was the most normal dream in the last month by far. :(

Revenant77
Aug 28, 2004

Not so sweet

Brennanite posted:

Someone please tell me the weird pregnancy dreams go away immediately after giving birth. They're really starting to freak me out. Last week I was attacked by Clifford, the big red dog, after my grandfather tried to force me to eat a Norwegian elkhound as punishment for...visiting? And that was the most normal dream in the last month by far. :(

The first couple months after Natalie was born were crazy dream free. Then out of the blue I had a few in a row that were just like my pregnancy dreams. It scared the crap out of me because I thought, oh god don't let me be pregnant already. So far, they seem to have gone away.

Bodnoirbabe
Apr 30, 2007

I'm quite enjoying the pregnancy dreams in a very WTF kind of way. But then, none of them have been scary so far. Mostly just weird and extremely vivid.

Tesla Insanely Coil
Jul 23, 2006

Ask me why I'm not squatting.
I've been having the "warm and cuddly animals" dreams but the animals are dead or dying so the dreams are more like nightmares.

Ben Davis
Apr 17, 2003

I'm as clumsy as I am beautiful
We had a 14 week ultrasound today and the ultrasound tech confirmed that I was seeing a little boy! I think it's ridiculously clear, but my doctor SIL is refusing to believe it's possible to find out so early, and I'm getting a little frustrated about it. It looks a little alienish, but you can see two semi-transparent leg bones on either side and then a penis in the middle, right?
edit: it's huge, what did I do, my poor ghoul baby

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MoCookies
Apr 22, 2005

Ben Davis posted:



I think I see what you mean - the two vertical white marks would be the femurs, and there's a bright white bit in between them, in what could be the crotchal region? Not sure I'd be buying blue baby clothes just yet, but I'm guessing the tech knows what to look for.

More baby penis all up in this thread! Here's my fetus a few weeks ago from our level II ultrasound, around 23 weeks. I'm keeping this thread classy with a straight up crotch shot.


baby penis - 23 weeks by TXQuebec, on Flickr

yawnie
Jul 29, 2003
lollerz.
It's definitely possible to tell so early, if the ultrasound tech is skilled at being able to discern the "angle of the dangle" - Before the genitals are fully developed, girls can still have a nub that looks like a penis, but there are slight differences between a boy nub and a girl nub if you know what to look for. We were able to tell our baby boy's gender at 15 weeks. He was eager to show us. I have no less than 5 different crotch shots in my CD of pics from that ultrasound because every time the tech would move on and try to get some face shots, he'd flip around and say LOOK AT MY PENIS SOME MORE!!

Randomity
Feb 25, 2007

Careful what you wish,
You may regret it!
We were able to tell that I was having a boy at 14 weeks because he was totally into showing off his junk during that ultrasound. The tech told us we were having a boy, even zoomed in on and printed out the penis shots with "it's a boy!" typed on them. When we went in the next month, the same tech came to get us for the gender ultrasound after my checkup and I told her "I'd love to get another look, but you already showed us that we are having a boy!" She insisted that she would not have been able to make that distinction at 14 weeks and would have never told us that. :confused: Whatever, I got penis pics to prove it (not currently with me or I'd post em).

Idonie
Jun 5, 2011

Randomity posted:

We were able to tell that I was having a boy at 14 weeks because he was totally into showing off his junk during that ultrasound. The tech told us we were having a boy, even zoomed in on and printed out the penis shots with "it's a boy!" typed on them. When we went in the next month, the same tech came to get us for the gender ultrasound after my checkup and I told her "I'd love to get another look, but you already showed us that we are having a boy!" She insisted that she would not have been able to make that distinction at 14 weeks and would have never told us that. :confused: Whatever, I got penis pics to prove it (not currently with me or I'd post em).

Maybe she got yelled at? Our tech told us we were definitely having a girl (and she was right!) but she also told us that she wasn't supposed to say anything about it so early.

Prolonged Shame
Sep 5, 2004

Idonie posted:

Maybe she got yelled at? Our tech told us we were definitely having a girl (and she was right!) but she also told us that she wasn't supposed to say anything about it so early.

Even if they can tell they are not 'supposed' to tell people that early. There tend to be a lot of mistaken 'it's a girl!' diagnoses. My sister in law was told she was having a girl at 15 weeks, proceeded to go nuts shopping, and then found out at 20 weeks that it was actually a boy.
I found out the sex at my 20 week ultrasound. There was no doubt he is a boy - the second the tech turned on the machine there was a visible penis. As she moved around to get measurements, look at other parts, he moved around and got his penis into every shot. We ended up with two profile shots, a blurry foot, and four shots of his junk, one of which shows a crystal clear penis and nutsack.

Fire In The Disco
Oct 4, 2007
I cannot change the gender of my unborn child and shouldn't waste my time or energy pretending he won't exist
Hahaha, yeah, my daughter gave us the money shot literally the second the ultrasound wand was on my stomach. My reading prior to the ultrasound told me that the baby's genitalia are jokingly called 'hot dog' or 'hamburger' (because a vagina looks like 3 lines on an ultrasound), and the second our ultrasound started, I yelled "It's a hamburger! It's a girl!" The tech got a kick out of that.

bilabial trill
Dec 25, 2008

not just a B
Hahaha the ultrasound doctor we went to called it "the third leg".

FretforyourLatte
Sep 16, 2010

Put you in my oven!
I am so glad to hear you all could tell so early, I'm getting my ultrasound on Thursday and I'm 18 weeks. I was a little worried we wouldn't be able to tell yet. So that's good, it just depends if the little one cooperates. I suspect it's a boy (just a hunch) and I've heard that the boys are all about showing off the goods. :)

Ben Davis
Apr 17, 2003

I'm as clumsy as I am beautiful
Thanks for all the support! I started bleeding again this morning from the subchorionic hematoma mentioned way back and had to go in for an ultrasound. I have to go in for more testing after lunch, but the baby is completely healthy and VERY MALE! And the aforementioned sister-in-law apologized for doubting. So we're having a little male skeleton baby. :)

Doom Catcher
Sep 11, 2001

Sometimes, I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion!

Ben Davis posted:

Thanks for all the support! I started bleeding again this morning from the subchorionic hematoma mentioned way back and had to go in for an ultrasound. I have to go in for more testing after lunch, but the baby is completely healthy and VERY MALE! And the aforementioned sister-in-law apologized for doubting. So we're having a little male skeleton baby. :)

FWIW, I have always heard that boys are USUALLY easier to see earlier. Apparently both of my stepkiddos had a very obvious penis at 16 and 19 weeks, respectively.

The girls in my family (that were born fairly recently) were both confirmed after 20.

I go for my ultrasound on 9/6 and I will be 19 weeks. I'm excited and hoping we can tell!

It's my first and I would like a girl since I have two stepsons and I'd like to add a girl but I'll be thrilled with either :)

Wafer
Sep 3, 2002

Anyone have any experience with preterm birth and NICU?

Maya was born on Friday at 34 weeks. My wife's water broke at 33 weeks, and they kept her in the hospital until she gave birth. 2 horrible days of MgSO4 and steroids, followed by a week of waiting. On Friday, they tried to induce but labor was too intense for the baby, and did a C-section.

Maya weighed 3lb, 12oz. She's doing good now, but I still worry. She's at a good NICU, and off her IV, but still on a feeding tube. Doctors being doctors, hedge their prognostications, saying it could be a week to another 6 weeks or more.

Also, any advice on managing a 4 year old who still wants Mommy to pick him up? This whole thing has been rough on our son.

Idonie
Jun 5, 2011

Wafer posted:

Maya weighed 3lb, 12oz. She's doing good now, but I still worry. She's at a good NICU, and off her IV, but still on a feeding tube. Doctors being doctors, hedge their prognostications, saying it could be a week to another 6 weeks or more.

Also, any advice on managing a 4 year old who still wants Mommy to pick him up? This whole thing has been rough on our son.

Sorry to hear about all the stress around Maya, and I'm really glad she's doing well now. I don't have any particular insights into her situation, except to say that I know plenty of other kids who started in similar places and they ended up absolutely fine. Hang in there.

As to the 4 year old, it seems completely normal to me that he wants Mommy to pick him up! Poor guy, it must be really hard not just adding a sibling but having all of the confusion & fear around her premature birth. It sounds like he's looking for Mommy comfort -- do they have any rituals she can do without picking him up, like story time or cuddle time or songs or whatever? And if he's verbal encourage him to brainstorm ideas for what he could do with Mommy instead of being picked up -- something that can be just his (which should be easier with such a huge age difference.)

I could go on & on with the advice about your son, but I'd need lots more details first, and I don't want to wall-of-text.

Randomity
Feb 25, 2007

Careful what you wish,
You may regret it!

Idonie posted:

Maybe she got yelled at? Our tech told us we were definitely having a girl (and she was right!) but she also told us that she wasn't supposed to say anything about it so early.

I assume it was because the doctor was with us at the time, and she wasn't allowed to tell so early and was trying to save face in front of him, yeah.

Main Wife
Oct 25, 2005

Dont fuck with me

Wafer posted:

Anyone have any experience with preterm birth and NICU?

Maya was born on Friday at 34 weeks. My wife's water broke at 33 weeks, and they kept her in the hospital until she gave birth. 2 horrible days of MgSO4 and steroids, followed by a week of waiting. On Friday, they tried to induce but labor was too intense for the baby, and did a C-section.

Maya weighed 3lb, 12oz. She's doing good now, but I still worry. She's at a good NICU, and off her IV, but still on a feeding tube. Doctors being doctors, hedge their prognostications, saying it could be a week to another 6 weeks or more.

Also, any advice on managing a 4 year old who still wants Mommy to pick him up? This whole thing has been rough on our son.

I can answer this - first, congrats! 34-weekers have an excellent prognosis but I know you won't feel better until Maya is home with you. Also, on average, girls fare better than boys.

1) Read her chart. There should be a daily sheet where they log poops, pees, eating, heart rate, and any "events" which include things like apnea, bradycardia, or desats (collectively called ABD's but can happen individually). Apnea is a period of not breathing which you are probably past, bradycardia is a slower heart rate and can seriously happen on a big poop (as can apnea), and desats is a lower O2 saturation. Reading her chart every day (and it should be accessible to you) will give you a feel for this stuff and her patterns. There will also be sections for all of her labs, x-rays, and any occupational therapy. They will probably weigh her daily and measure her length weekly (that's how my NICU did it). Be involved, ask questions, and speak up. You will spot patterns faster than nurses and docs who rotate every few days.

2) A speech therapist will probably come once she starts eating. And as the speech therapist told me when I was ready to explode "If feeding preemies was easy, I wouldn't have a job." They have to learn suck-swallow-breathe. If there is physical therapy, ask them to teach you what they are doing and leave a mat so you can do it as well on days they don't come. Babies get stiff laying all the time, especially in the hips. They also sometimes get a little stiff on one side of their necks from laying one way that's easier for right-handed nurses to access them and change diapers. The PT/OT should notice but ask them to change position every week or so if you feel it will help.

3) babies usually go home, as a rule, around their due date. Mine went home about 4 weeks later because he couldn't get the hang of eating. Be prepared for her to hit 5 lbs and for everyone to assume she gets to go home RIGHT THEN. To go home she has to regulate her own body temp, eat her prescribed amount and frequency over a few days, and be able to sit in a car seat without her head collapsing and obstructing her airway - this is called the car seat test. The hospital may require you to take an infant CPR class as well - mine did. Since they required it my insurance paid for it, though.

4) Does she have the little beanbag thing they use to position her head? They sent those home with us to be laundered and a nurse told me to keep them - I have 2 or 3 still. They're wonderful for holding in pacifiers (she'll spit them out for a while until she learns to hold it in). They are also good as a soother - Alex is 1 and I still lay his on his tummy at bedtime. Also - steal hospital blankets, they are awesome.

5) Facebook is your friend. The character limit on statuses limited me (I'm wordy, can you tell?) so I would post a photo every single day with an update - no character limit on photos. It was a great way of allowing people to support us and love on my boy, and a good way to vent, or joke, or just get important news out. My rule was I would give big news to immediate family before posting, so my mom wouldn't call asking why she had to hear about X on FB. PM me and I'll send you the link to my album, I had to make it accessible to everyone because people were sharing with their friends and so on. I got messages from 3 degrees of separation strangers wishing us well. The pics were like crack and I would get phone calls if I didn't post them quickly enough.

6) Your son will need extra love and attention, but since my older one was nearly 10 when Alex was born we were past the need to hold. Your wife can't pick him up but can he sit in her lap if he is very careful about her owie? Explain things honestly but age-appropriately, and don't make all the attention in relation to the baby. Yes, he will be the best big brother, but as I told the 10yo (and she needed to hear it too), he will always be your FIRST baby.

7) Once she seems like she is close to ready and maybe before, every day you go home without your baby will me more and more demoralizing. Make a conscious effort to understand this in each other and to be kind to each other.

PM me if you'd like to chat or have more specific, offline questions, I'll be here if you need it.

Main Wife fucked around with this message at 03:42 on Aug 18, 2011

Ben Davis
Apr 17, 2003

I'm as clumsy as I am beautiful
Trivial question, now. I've found the perfect sized maternity jeans at Target, but even sized down, it feels like the crotch rides just a little bit low. I'm only in my 2nd trimester, but they have what's supposed to be a 3-tri folding panel. Is saggy crotch par for the course until my belly gets huge?

Doom Catcher
Sep 11, 2001

Sometimes, I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion!

Ben Davis posted:

Trivial question, now. I've found the perfect sized maternity jeans at Target, but even sized down, it feels like the crotch rides just a little bit low. I'm only in my 2nd trimester, but they have what's supposed to be a 3-tri folding panel. Is saggy crotch par for the course until my belly gets huge?

I have a pair of jeans that do this. They're the most comfortable pair, minus the sag-crotch and that they fall down a lot on the second wear.

All of my other maternity pants are great though, so I'm not sure. I'm hoping that once I pop some more, they'll fit better because I love them lol.

Twatty Seahag
Dec 30, 2007
I just wore tunic tops bc even when my waist was like 60 inches I had sag.

Tesla Insanely Coil
Jul 23, 2006

Ask me why I'm not squatting.
You know what's been fascinating recently? Watching my belly button get shallower and shallower. I'm at 20 weeks so my uterus has almost reached my belly button and I think it will go from an innie to an outie.

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Doom Catcher
Sep 11, 2001

Sometimes, I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion!
My vision has gotten worse. I already wear contacts/glasses. I can see but I've degraded to where I'm not 20/20 with them anymore. I can't wear my glasses at all or I get a headache - at least with my contacts that doesn't happen.

Everyone, including my midwife and the internets tell me it will go back to normal once the baby is born (in FIVE MONTHS LOL) and that it can fluctuate through the entire pregnancy so getting a new script for. The duration is pointless.

However I work at a computer all day and it's freaking annoying.

Any suggestions, words of wisdoms or even some suck it up preggos?

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