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sheri
Dec 30, 2002

I have my normal yearly girl checkup in the near future. My husband and I planning on starting to try to have children about a year after when I will see my doctor. Is it too early to inform her that we're planning to start trying in a year? What sort of questions should I ask to make sure that her idea of pregnancy and delivery mesh somewhat well with mine (as natural as possible, little intervention, etc).

Should I not worry about it yet? I am generally very healthy, so this will probably be the last time I see her between now and when we start trying to have kids.

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sheri
Dec 30, 2002

I have a friend who is about 8 months pregnant with her first child. Her and her husband are very intent on doing things naturally, which I find great. My only concern is that they are planning a home birth. I know some (lots of?) people here have had home births, and I have nothing against them. My reason for concern here is that this is her first child and no one really knows what the delivery will be like being that she hasn't been through one before. I'm not going to try to talk her into or out of any decision, but is there any advice or anything I can offer them to make sure both mom and baby are healthy?

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

starshine posted:

The advice I'd give you would be to trust in your friend and her midwife. Your concern here should probably be more focused on educating yourself about home birth than on trying to do anything for your friend. I just had my first child at home a couple of months ago, and anything negative that my friends and family said to me was just irritating. People make a lot of assumptions about the relative safety of home vs. hospital births without doing any research.

If you wanted to do something nice, you could pick her up a birthing ball - I'm average height and used a 65cm one during late pregnancy and early labor. You could also offer yourself to prepare a meal for your friends if you're into that... it would have been awesome to call a friend the day I went into labor and have a meal delivered for myself/my husband/my midwives after my baby was born.

I hope I didn't come across as thinking home births were unsafe. I have done research into them (but not a lot as I am not planning on having children for a couple years) and I for whatever reason misremembered some things-- I thought home births were recommended only for 2nd+ pregnancies.

But yeah, I have been nothing but supportive of her so far, and her pregnancy has been super uneventful and smooth. Thanks for the suggestion on the ball/meal. Both are good ideas. :)

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

So is there a general consensus as to how long you should be off the pill before starting to try to get pregnant. Say you want to start trying in January, should you just go off the pill in January? Sometime before then? What else should you make sure you do beforehand? Do you schedule an appointment with your Dr.? What questions should you ask in determining where you want/who you want to have to deliver your baby?

Is it normal to be really excited about starting the process of trying to have children, but at the same time terrified?

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

fosborb posted:

There used to be a great compiled guide in these threads about diapering. Does anyone have a link to it?

It's in the third post of this thread.

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Can anyone point me to some good information on how much vitamin a is safe during pregnancy? I eat a lot of fruits and veggies that have vitamin a every day, and the prenatal supplement I have has vitamin a in it as well. I'm trying to find a reputable source that talks about how much is too much and I haven't been having any luck...

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Ok, any prenatal supplements that don't have vitamin a in them? I haven't been able to find one...

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

My prenatal vitamins have "Contains Soy" on the bottle. Is this for allergy information only, or is there something I need to be concerned about with soy now?

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

I like this site...

http://dogsandbabies.wordpress.com/

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

I'm going to jump (tentatively) into this thread. I am very early on in my pregnancy-- 4 weeks. We just super confirmed I was pregnant this morning after a flurry of peeing on things on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and finally this morning (yes, they were all positive).

So, where do I start? When did you all set up your first appointment with your doctor? What are some good week by week books to read? What is a good site or source of information that tells you the things you really should avoid doing/eating/using and stuff like that?

For example-- my husband and I are closing on a house in 2 weeks. We'd like to paint some rooms and obviously have some furniture to move. Can I help with the painting and lifting of heavy furniture? I am not planning on telling anyone other than the internet and maybe a close friend, (including not telling our parents), until 12 weeks or so (because as soon as my mom finds out the world will regardless of me telling her otherwise).

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

How long/many weeks pregnant were all of you before you started to "feel" pregnant?

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

How many weeks were you when you started vomit-fest? :)

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

What's the current recommendation for folic acid in the first trimester, the prenatal I have been taking has 800 mcg (or whatever that unit is). The nurse I talked to said the big research hospital in the are was now recommending 5000 mcg every day for the first trimester.

Does anyone have any info showing support for this or any info on how much folic is too much if there is such a thing!

sheri
Dec 30, 2002


Hrm, that is interesting. So I do not fall into any of the at risk categories. Does anyone know if there are any potential complications with taking a crapload of folic acid?

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Any tips or tricks as to how I can make my skin not revert to its 14 year old teenage girl zit land?

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Is a little bit of brown spotting anything I should be overly concerned with? I am about 6 weeks pregnant, and this morning I have had some slight spotting going on. Nothing bright red, and not a lot. Hopefully it ends soon. I don't have any other issues going on as far as cramping, etc at this point.

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Thoughts about whether or not to get a flu shot in very early pregnancy/while TTC?

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Yeah, I am signed up for a flu shot on Thursday. I am currently 4 weeks pregnant-- so I'll be 4 weeks 2 days on Thursday. My last pregnancy over this past summer ended in a miscarriage at around 6 weeks, so now I am just super paranoid about doing anything that may impact development.

I can find a lot of things that specifically call out the benefits of getting them, but nothing that says anything about any potential drawbacks in the very early stages of pregnancy.

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Any good websites that have a master list of foods to avoid during pregnancy? Obviously I know too much mercury, caffeine, etc, but if there was a list (put together by a reputable source) that had other things, I'd like to know.

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Yeah, I was doing some random googling today and came up with all sorts of weird stuff that is "bad during pregnancy" or "could cause miscarriages"-- such as eggplant, cayenne pepper, and other completely off the wall things. I haven't been able to find anything like that on a normal (not crazy) website though. I'm going to go ahead at this point and assume if Mayo Clinic doesn't have it on their list of things to avoid that it is fine.

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

What is the range of 'normal' for fetal heart rate at 5 weeks 6 days-- or rather what is the low end?

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Ceridwen posted:

At 6 weeks 2 days or earlier normal is anything over 100, and from 6 weeks 3 days to 7 weeks normal is 120 or higher.

Numbers lower than 100 at 6w2d and earlier are associated with a higher chance of miscarriage but it's still far from a given. The higher is is, the lower the risk tends to be. And when you start to get under 6 weeks it's actually difficult to say what normal is because it's not very common to see a heart beat that early so you don't have a very large data set to compare to.

Thanks. :)

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Random question ladies.... Since Saturday evening I have been having sharp pulling pains in my lower left and right abdominal areas. It isn't constant, but it does happen frequently and the pain is quite sharp. I am 7 weeks 5 days. This is my only issue. I had an early ultrasound so I know it is not an ectopic situation. Any idea what could be the cause of this?

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

hookerbot 5000 posted:

Ligaments stretching :)

I got it too, worst seemed to be when I stood up after sitting down for a while.

I was wondering if that is what it was. I called my doctor before making the post and she didn't seem super concerned, told me to take some tylenol if I wanted to, drink a lot of water, and give her a call if it didn't get better within a couple hours. Well, of course the couple hours after that I didn't notice it nearly as much, but now I'm starting to notice it more again (I didn't take tylenol).

I didn't realize that could happen so early on (although google leads me to a lot of similar stories). Most people say it happens when they move quick or stand up or cough or exercise or what not. Mine sometimes happens if I'm just sitting not doing anything. I'm assuming it could still be that?


Edit: And is this something I should expect from here on out? :)

sheri fucked around with this message at 23:19 on Nov 5, 2012

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

So when is cause for concern with the pains in my right side? Apologize for dwelling on it, but Sat even- Monday afternoonish I had some pains in my right and left lower abdomen. Then, they went away for a couple days and since yesterday late morning they are back with a vengeance! The pain is now only in my right lower abdomen, and man does it hurt! Very sharp, shooting pains-- sometimes when I move, sometimes when I roll over in bed, sometimes if I am just sitting there.

I don't have any bleeding or anything like that (and hoping it stays that way!)-- just wanted to know if I should be concerned about the sharp pains. I talked to my doctor about it (before the more sharp pains started yesterday of course) and she said that they wouldn't be concerned unless the pain didn't go away with rest and/or tylenol. I have been trying to rest as much as possible, but I haven't taken any tylenol yet.

So, any similar experiences? I can handle the pain if I only knew everything was going well in there, its only the pain combined with the unknown that is driving me crazy.

Also, is tylenol really safe to take in pregnancy?

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Well, I did call my doctor and I went in and talked about the pain with him. Couldn't find a reason for the pain, other than he found a pocket of fluid somewhere (outside of uterus) that he said could have been the leftover result of a cyst rupturing, so that may have been the cause of my pain. Said nothing to be concerned with at all with respect to that.

On the plus side, while using the portable ultrasound machine to look at things, baby apparently looks really good and I got to see the little guy shimmying about. Super cute. :)

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Solace....you aren't going to make everyone happy all of the time, so as long as you and your doctors are comfortable with it, feel free to make whatever decision you want.


So, NT scans/screenings... Who has all had them? What was your experience?

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Anyone use a fetal Doppler in the first trimester? I have been close to driving myself crazy with "is everything ok" thoughts since I don't really have any pregnancy symptoms at all. Now I'm trying to decide if getting one would help ease my worries or lead me to freak out more if I can't find the hb on my own.

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

So, I'm between 10 and 11 weeks. I haven't really had any pregnancy symptoms aside from my nipples being a little more sore than normal. I have heard that the soreness does get better in the late first trimester and/or early second trimester. When did you ladies notice an improvement? Mine haven't been as sore today as they have been in the past and I'm wondering if it is something I should be concerned with or something that is to be expected as I get further along.

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Seven for a Secret posted:

Thank you for the reassurance about the cramps! After sneaking glances at the pregnancy test all day it's starting to feel a little bit less imaginary. I've got a blood test on Monday to find out for sure.

Does anyone know how they calculate how far along you are if you have irregular cycles? My last period was seven weeks ago, but I think I only ovulated like two weeks ago, so... am I four weeks pregnant or seven?

You'd be four. The pregnancy dating based on your last period assumes you ovulate on day 14 of your cycle. So, technically, based on pregnancy dating, at the time of ovulation/conception you are two weeks pregnant.

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

So, I had my NT scan today. It was fun to see baby in there. I have a random question though.. I had an ultrasound at 5 weeks 6 days were they determined that 5 weeks 6 days is indeed how far along I was. This matched up with what I expected based on charting and the fertility/ovulation strips I had been using when we conceived. So, since their information and my information matched up, I figured it was pretty close to correct.

Today (11 weeks 6 days) at the NT scan, I was told that the baby's CRL was measuring as if I was about 9 days further along-- about 13 weeks and 1 day. The CRL was 6.7 or 6.8 centimeters.

So, what gives? The doctor seemed to think this new ultrasound was more correct, but based on all my charting and fertility strip information I do not think there is any chance that we conceived over a week earlier than we did, especially based on what we saw at the first ultrasound. Is it just a law of averages thing? Why would I be measuring so much further along than I actually am.

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Hastings posted:

Funny story though, the doctor told me I can only do desk type of work from now until delivery, and the HR department at my job has been telling pregnant women that they refuse to honor the physicians notes. I'm awaiting to hear from HR about my phone call and fax I sent them about my doctors' visit, so this will be interesting.

Seems to me it isn't legal to not honor your medical restrictions, but if you (like me) are in the US our worker protections are crap so what do I know!

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Why do you have to tell anyone else? Who cares what your "labels" are as long as you are taking care of yourself appropriately.

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

I am in my late 20's and coming up on 13 weeks on Wed and have had normal pap smears for the past forever since I've been getting them (around 18 or so).

I know that guidelines say if you have x amount of normal ones in a row you can skip a year or go to every other year. My last one was 2011. Do I need to get one this year? Are there any risks with getting pap smears/ pelvic exams during the first trimester?

Asking since I am a little super paranoid since I had a miscarriage earlier this year.

sheri fucked around with this message at 18:01 on Dec 10, 2012

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

How do I gracefully refuse my pap exam tomorrow. I'm (probably irrationally) worried that they'll give me crap about it since, according to the care sheet I have during my first appointment after 12 weeks they do a pelvic and pap smear so I'm sure they have scheduled in the time for that but since my last pap was in 2011, and all of mine over the past 10-12 years (going yearly) have been normal, I'm not interested in having either of them done at this point.

Any refusal lines that are nice but get the point across?

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Told a lot of our family this weekend-- my mom I'm afraid is soon going to shift into "crazy grandmother overdrive" mode.

Are there any good books or resources I can point her to that nicely convey "yes, I know you are excited about becoming a grandma after you have been nagging me about having kids for the past 8 years, but your daughter and her husband have their own ideas about how to care for and raise their child and you need to be supportive of that".

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Congrats! You have absolutely no reason to disclose you are pregnant to any employers or potential employers. I would not if I was in your position, especially at this stage.

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

The facility I go to has 9 different OB's/ Dr.'s

I know a couple already and I just plan to have a different doctor at each of my next appointments until I find one I like. The one I had at my 12 week appointment I didn't really click with and she strongly pushed me to do something I wasn't comfortable with (which I didn't do) even though she agreed it wasn't medically necessary.

So at my 16 week appointment I'll try a different one until I find one I like.

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Here is a dumb question... I am a little over 14 weeks (14.2). I have always been a stomach sleeper. When should I make a conscious effort to stop sleeping on my stomach? Or will I be too big to want to do that before it makes much of a difference.

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sheri
Dec 30, 2002

When did you all start showing with your first one?

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