November 2008 mommies, come join the fun!!!

[KathleenP]

Hi Sophie,

I'm glad your best friend was able to put your mind at ease. It's very handy that she's a GP.
Thanks so much for all the information. It's nice to have an idea of what to expect at each upcoming appt. Now I am really excited for next Wednesday.
The name of that book would be great. I've started reading What to Expect When You're Expecting. I find it very informative too.

Have a good weekend!
Kathleen

[Xrayem]

Hey Sophie,

Just to give you the Aussie and Uk perspective on the xrays - we will not xray anyone who is pregnant unless it is life threatening or urgent medical treatment is needed based on the outcome of the xray. Any amount of radiation has the potential to alter cells causing leukemia, birth defects and misscarriage. Radiation is most effective on fast dividing cells, which is why it is so benefitial in cancer tmt and so dangerous in pregnancy.

We once obtained a copy of the American guidlines for safe radiation exposure while pregnant and it failed the UK radiation protection board spectacularly.

As a radiographer, I would recomend you avoid all non urgent xrays espically any of the spine, pelvis and abdomen. Even be cautious of having your extremities done (hands, feet etc) unless you are sure you have fractured them and then insist on being covered by a lead gown to protect the foetus.

Ultrasound does not use ionising radiation, rather it uses high frequency sound waves to obtain images and to this day there is no evidence that repeated scanning will cause any effects. Thats a good thing because I was constantly peeking at my boys while I was pregnant!

I had a scan today at work (transvaginally) as I have been having a lot of low back cramping and a right sided pain (over my ovary). We finally saw a sac in the uterus which was measuring 5 weeks 1 day. I have to have some bloods done and rescan in a week to rule out an ectopic pregancy. What usually happens is that you develop an empty sac in the uterus but then another sac containg the foetus grows outside the uterus and its not seen until 6-12 weeks depending where it is (tube, abdomen, ovary). So we are not out of the woods yet.

They are being extra cauious with me as they think that my infertility stems from the cilia (tiny hairs inside the fallopian tubes) don't function properly and puts me at a greater risk of ectopic pregnacies. I didn't have all this aches and pains with the boys, and hope its just that I only had a caesarian 9 months ago!

Other than that I have sore boobs which I am very excited about as I had no breast changes with the twins and my milk didn't come in at all so I couldn't breastfeed. hopefully i will be able to with this one.

Ok. I am rambling. I really need some sleep.

Em

[PMApsy]

Good morning guys,

Hi Kathleen! By the way, my name is Sophie, not Sofie! I'm really glad that you're excited about Wednesday; it's an important day indeed! Try to get ultrasound pictures! (it's really easy; they just have to freeze the screen and print the image, no big deal). I'll sure ask for at least one; that way I can frame it and stare at it as much as I want... and share it! The author of the book is Lesley Regan; my book is in French of course, but given her English name, I guess you can find an English version.

Emma, hi! First of all, I'm truly sorry to hear that your pregnancy already gives you that much concern. I hear you completely; having biletaral hydrosalpinx as the result of my fallopian/ovarian abscesses, I would have been at very high risk of ectopic pregnancy had I conceived naturally. As you said, the pain might not suggest 100% chances of an ectopic pregnancy. I really hope you won't have to wait too long to know which way this is all going. I'll be on pins and needles waiting with you for your blood test results and next scan...

On another note, thank you so very much for your comments about X-rays. I am a Ph.D. in onco-psychology, so I am very familiar with cancer treatments. The information I posted on the board, though, was exclusively taken from the book I'm reading, which was written by an ob-gyn! She is a Professor at the Imperial College in London, UK. I, too, didn't want to go through X-rays at all, or only in a matter of life and death... but that book had reassured me that I could at least make a dentist apt and not worry about taking x-rays of my mouth. It is not a surprise to see that American and European or Oceanic standards are different, but I am surprised that the US failed so spectacularly. And I am surprised, given what you just said, that an ob-gyn from the UK would state that 8 X-rays are harmless during the first trimester if UK norms are so severe... Here in Quebec, there are warnings everywhere in radiology departements, reminding women to inform the staff if they think they might be pregnant or of they are. But I don't know what they recommend after a woman informs them of her state. I'll have to ask around.

Other than that, ladies, I hope you are doing well. The board is relatively quiet these days! Nobody commented on the list; shall we keep it or get rid of it? Is it useful?

Take care ladies!

Sophie xxox

[KathleenP]

Hi Ladies,

I think the list looks great Sophie. Sorry I spelled your name wrong, you'd think I would have gotten it right considering it's in my top 2 names if we have a girl. Oops...

I bet there will be more activity once everyone starts having their u/s. For now I've been reading the October Mommies board to get an idea of what's to come.

It's raining like crazy here in New Jersey today. I'm snuggled up in my blanket reading and just taking it easy. My new bed time is 8pm. Yikes. I try to make til nine, but lately it's a real struggle.
xoxo
Kathleen

[lbg18]

Hey girls,

So good to read all of the good info. I appreciate all of those Martha Stewart recipes-thanks for that! As anal as she is, she sure has some great ideas and I trust her recipes. Sorry I have been a little inactive. I have a case of OHSS and I am short of breath, nauseated/vomiting, etc. I am going to try to go to work Monday, but we will see how that goes.

Speaking of x-rays, b/c my shortness of breath got so bad, my RE was afraid I had a pulmonary emboli and sent me to the hospital to have a CT scan....well.....when I got there they wanted me to sign a waiver saying that I am putting my fetus as risk for childhood cancer, miscarriage, microcephalic (small head), and low birth weight. I ABSOLUTELY refused and left within a couple of minutes. I was positive I didn't have an pulmonary embolus, but I was going to do it if it was safe. Also, the tech told me that a CT scan is equivalent to 100 chest x-rays. YIKES!

Anyway, my symptonms are very bloated, nausea, vomiting, sore and enlarged boobs (don't mind this one and fatigue. I think those are all pretty normal and I almost welcome them b/c it makes me feel pregnant!! BTW, I have some friends who did IVF and had two healthy girls a couple of weeks ago. They just found out yesterday that they are identical! Isn't that crazy!?! The ob/gyn knew b/c they only had one placenta. She was very close to have triplets...you never know!

Hope everyone is doing well! Will write again soon.
Laurel

Anyway,

[mzpotter]

Hey ladies is it too late to join your group?
My name is Jennifer, I live in Washington DC. My husband and I have been trying to concieve for the past three years. After finding out that I have diseased tubes the RE told us that IVF was our only option. I fought with making a decision for a while and we decided to give it a go in January. I transferred two grade 2AB blasts on February 22nd and had my first Beta on the 5th of March. The first beta came back at 594 and the second beta was yesterday came back at 1188. I dont care whether its one or two in there, so long as they are healthy. I am glad that a board like this exists and I look forward to "speaking" with all of you.

[PMApsy]

Hi guys!!

Nothing on TV, there's another snowstorn simply raging outside, and I'm too tired to continue packing boxes for the big move... so I thought I'd drop by!

Just to make something clear... I didn't mean to sound like I was accusing anyone when I said the board was quiet, lol, it was just a comment! Please don't feel guilty!!! I was just observing! Hey, over the next 8 months or so, something tells me that there will be quiet periods!

Kathleen: thanks for your comments on the list. Depending on the other's opinion, we'll see if it's useful or not to keep it. Don't fret about my name; I just wanted to point it out to you. In fact, there are many ways to write Sophie; I'm willing to bet that, in some parts of the world, people spell it the way you did. If you want the French version of my name, though, you should stick with Sophie. What's the other name at the top of your list??? It's great to hear that you have names already. In my family, each time there was a baby coming, we had a LOT of fun trying to pair names with the family name... and we would laugh so much at some matches! But so far, my husband and I like Viviane if it's a girl, with Camille as a second choice. For boys, it's far more difficult. We agreed on Nathan. I LOVE Daniel, but my husband hates it. Plus he absolutely wants to name our children with names that do not remind him of anybody he knows. That takes a lot of names off the list right away! Geez! Your blanket solution sounds good... mmmh... I think I'll snuggle up with my new cross-stitch project (a super cute teddy bear lifting its shirt and showing its belly, which has a heart on it).

Hi Laurel! Nice to see you! Yup, Martha is quite anal, but gee... my hairdresser gave me her Halloween 2007 edition because I just couldn't get over it... it's one of my favorite holidays and there were tons of amazing ideas in there. I subscribed to her magazine... Martha Stewart Living. I like to do crafts and embellish my home the best I can. I also like to have friends and family members over for dinner or something like that because it gives me an occasion to try recipes I don't normally do, think of ways to decorate the table, and so on. Poor thing with the OHSS... geeez, the vomiting really means that you got it bad... when I had it, I was told it would only last like 3 weeks after the pregnancy test, so I guess you don't have long before the symptoms go away. Yikes, I'm truly sorry about your experience at the hospital. Sounds like you stumbled on Dr House!!!! LOL I hear you about the enlarged breasts... I had a little phase on Thursday... couldn't stop looking at them because I felt so snug in my bra, for the first time in my life! Though it's getting really painful... I got up this morning and that first gravity pull really woke me up, ouch!! And I also noticed I can't run up or down the stairs without grabbing them!

Hi Jennifer! :D:D Of course it's not too late to join the group! We're delighted to have you here: the more the merrier! Thank you for sharing your story with us. So if I understand you well, you became pregnant with your first IVF? Congratulations my dear, this is amazing news! Your numbers are fantastic! Wouldn't be surprised if it was a little crowded in there! But I'm like you. As long as everything is okay in there... I don't set my mind on one or two or three. I'm also looking forward to speaking with you, and I wish you a healthy and uneventful pregnancy my dear!

Take care ladies!

Sophie

[joanie74]

PMApsy

What a cute list. I loved the way you put it together. I have been sleeping a lot during the week. I come and check on the board at work and by the time I get home I just want to sleep.

I am so happy that I got a lot of sleep this weekend and I have decided to not work any Saturday's during this pregnancy.

Congrats to everyone. I will keep all in my prayers.

Joanie

[Xrayem]

Hi guys,

Laurel - well done you for refusing your CT. I do CT as my main job and I am amazed at the number of doctors that refer patients for CTPA's (pulmonary angiogram) so readily. The radiographer you spoke to was correct it is the equivalent of 100 chest xrays. The other concern is the contrast (xray dye) that we use to highlight the blood vessels in the lungs has been shown to cross the placenta and can also put the baby at risk. A recent paper highlighted that a CTPA in a woman under 40 will increase her risk of breast cancer by a third. Its scary.

Having said all that, a pumlonary embolism is life threatening so if there was serious concern that the mother had it, it would be waranted. But in my experience, people with PE's can hardly breathe, are in excrucitaing pain and are dangerously ill. No one knows your body like you do and if you didn't feel you were that bad and since then the symptoms have gone, then you have absolutely made the right decision in refusing the scan and protecting your baby. well done you for having the courage to make that decision....I wish more of my patients did.

Welcome Jennifer! I also got pregnant on my go with IVF. I had 3 failed IUI's beofre that and 5 years of no luck on our own. Now I am pregant naturally which is so amazing. I almost feel like a fraud doing IVF in the first place, but apparently this seems to happen very often. Congrats again.

Sophie - The other thing to consider is that an xray of the finger is a tiny dose in comparison to a lumbar spine xray. Also an xray series of a chest involves 2 views whereas one of the lumbar spine involves 5 views. When the author says 8 xrays, does she give a particular body region and take in to consideration the number of views? I can only speak from my experiences working in the UK and here in Oz but it is our practice to refuse to xray all pregnant women unless it is life threatening. It is a risk just not worth taking. I refused to scan a woman's sinuses the other day as she was pregnant on the grounds that yes she may have an infection, but they won't give her antibiotics anyway so what was a scan going to prove? She had all the classic syptoms of sinusitis, but the management of her case was not going to alter on the outcome of the scan so why risk it?

Anyway. I need an afternoon nap. I have got the headaches starting and the constant feeling of a hangover. I had morning sickness the whole way through my twin pregnancy and I am hoping I don't have it this time!

Em

[KathleenP]

Hi Ladies,

I hope everyone is doing well today.

Jenn, Welcome to the boards. That's great that you got pregnant on your first cycle. I have PCOS too. Are you on a special diet because of it? I never had a weight problem, but my RE put me on the South Beach Diet while trying to conceive. I'm actually following it through my pregnancy with a few adjustments. I was told we have a greater chance of developing gestational diabetes if we are not careful with what we eat.

Sophie, Love your baby names. For girls I really like Sarah and Sophie, My husband really likes Claire. He's from England so we pronounce Sarah differently and he doesn't want our daughter to get confused. For boys, we like Samuel and Noah. When did your doctor say you could start dancing again?

Laurel, Sound like you've been suffering a lot lately. I hope you start feeling better soon.

Emma, I can't imagine how tired you must be being pregnant plus having young twins to take care. Do you have a good support system?

I can't tell you all how nice it has be to just relax this weekend. We had bad storms here last night. The power went out from 8:30pm to 3am. It was a good excuse to go to bed early. Not that I need one these days. LOL

xoxo
Kathleen

[Xrayem]

Hi girls,

Kathleen, yeah I do get tired! My sister has moved back from the UK and is staying with us until she gets a job/house/car etc and she has been a great help. I am also working 3 days a week and my mum comes up and looks after the boys those days. We pay her as a nanny and it is a strict buisness agreement so there can be no jealousy or funniness from other family members. The perks are that she earns more money with us then at her old job and she gets to be an active role in the boys life. The perks for us is that she costs less than sending them to a daycare centre, Mum will lokk after them even if they are sick and she does some cooking and cleaning for us! Its a win win situation for everyone.

I still feel ok, just a slight grogginess like a hangover. I fell asleep on the lounge last night and got told to go to bed as I was snoring!

Em

[mzpotter]

Hey Ladies-
Thanks for the warm welcome. I am glad to be amongst positivity. I joined another board in Dec, for cycle buddies for this round of IVF and as I got my positive, many of the ladies have not and I feel guilty sharing my good news as they may not want to hear it.

Sophie-
Yep. IVF worked on the first go round. I feel really blessed that it did. I am hoping that its two in there, but my husband keeps making fun of me saying that it could be one huge Shaq baby developing in there. Now, I am having dreams that I have a Shaq sized baby who cant fit on the scale or in the bed once I deliver. Its so crazy.

Xrayem-
When you got pregnant with your first IVF, did you have a singleton or twins. Do you remember your beta numbers?

Kathleen-
My RE didnt put me on any diet prior to IVF. I wish that he would have though, while I was taking those stims I gained a lot of weight, then because of OHSS the weight stayed on. So I looked pregnant before I even knew I was pregnant.

Has anyone had their first ultrasounds yet? How did they turn out? I am a little nervous about my first one. The RE doesn't do them until you are six weeks along which means that my first u/s will be Monday.

[PMApsy]

Hello ladies!

How are you doing? I'm at work right now, and I thought I deserved a little break!

Joanie: thanks for your comments on the list; I'll post it once per page and update it. So you feel sleepy a lot? Do you have other symptoms? I'm glad that you took the decision not to work on Saturdays. I just talked to my boss and decided that I would not accept taking charge of another research project, or only under certain conditions. The doctors in that department are... crazy, and I don't want to add extra stress. He understood right away (I have a super sweet boss); but it's amazing how becoming pregnant changes your outlook on certain things. I'm not sure I would have given it a second thought before...

Hi Emma! How are you today? Has the cramping and pain subsided? I hope so... you said that you would have another u/s this week, but you didn't say when. I'm anxious to know! As for the X-rays, no, alas... the author didn't give any specifications. She just talked about X-rays in general. Given that many books recommend to have a dentist's apt during the pregnancy (because the pregnancy hormones increase the risk of gingivitis and cavities), what would you say about X-rays of the mouth at the dentist's? I also hope you won't have too much MS during this pregnancy! *hugs* I have the headaches too... they come and go. LOL about the snoring! My doctor told me that I could dance again next week depending on the u/s. If I have one baby and it's well implanted, that the heart is beating well, then I could go back. If I have two, or if the implantation is iffy... I really have no idea whatsoever. We'll see. We had very bad storms on our side, too... the worst snowstorm I had seen in many years. It was almost scary at times. Power went out from 8pm to 9:30pm... we started a fire and we played cards in the candlelight... it was SO relaxing! I was almost disappointed when the power came back! And now I'll have fun removing wax from the tablecloth with an iron tonight... I'm glad you like our baby names!

Hi Jennifer! Congratulations again! You got lucky and we're happy about it! What is a Shaq baby??? Oh, and if you want to know who has their ultrasounds and when, check the list! I'll update it in a minute. I understand the anxiety... I can't wait to have mine, not so much to see how many babies I have, but I can't wait to see a little heart beat in there! To me, it will be so reassuring! And by the way, that's why your doctor makes you wait. Before 6 weeks, there are chances that your doctor could miss a sac and tell you there's one when in fact you're expecting twins... plus there's the fact that, after 6 weeks, you can see the heartbeat... which is a nice thing, no?

Kathleen: oh, I LOVE Claire, especially the English version! hehehe I realized how pretty that version is when I started watching Lost...

Okay, let's get personal! I'm okay, had a tiring weekend despite the fact that I tried not to do too much. Waves of fatigue hit me several times a day. The nausea has subsided since my acupuncture treatment, so have the headaches. Still there, but not as intense. The fatigue is another story. And when I first get up in the morning, LOL! Man, gravity really hurts!

Today, I made an apt with the ob-gyn who will do the follow-up during my pregnancy. I didn't really care who the doctor was, as long as I got in. Indeed, I was told that their clinic didn't take any new patients... but there was a cancellation and I could have an apt for April 10th. yay! I read his scores on "rate your doctor" and most people were very satisfied and liked him a lot. So far so good! It was hillarious to stumble on this website (I just typed his name in Google), because my father and his wife are doctors! It was funny to read what people had to say about them! (both their ratings were very high, though people commented on how my father appears cold and serious... lol!).

Still having the occasionnal spotting... never bleeding per se, so the worrying doesn't last more than a few minutes. But I'll mention it to my doctor, see what he has to say about that.

I also told my boss about my pregnancy. I was supposed to have a student in the fall for a year, but of course I would not have been able to complete her practicuum. So he had to know right away. He was really happy, but we have a little baby boom among the psychologists in the hospital. I made a few phone calls, trying to know what papers I have to send, and to whom... apparently, I can take up to 2 years of parental leave, plus the maternity leave I'm allowed. My boss convinced me to leave at the beginning of September (and not two weeks prior to my due date as I first intended); I didn't argue! Once I have the propre documents and info, I'll make some calculations with my husband and plan that leave correctly. I really have no idea how this works; it's so new to me!

Okay, enough babbling! Gotta do that list, write an evolution note for a patient and keep working!

Hugs,

Sophie xxox

[PMApsy]

Due dates

Emma is due November 3rd!
Sage is due November 3rd!
Amy is due November 4th!
Pincushion is due November 4th!
Ana is due November 5th!
Joanie is due November 5th!
Laurel is due November 5th!
Sophie is due November 9th!
Kathleen is due November 10th!
Lola is due ???
Jennifer is due ???

Ultrasounds and medical appointments

Sage ultrasound on March 11th
Kathleen ultrasound on March 13th
Joanie ultrasound on March 24th, 4th beta on March 13th
Amy ultrasound on March 14th
Jennifer ultrasound on March 17th, 3rd beta March 10th!
Laurel ultrasound on March 18th
Ana ultrasound on March 18th
Lola ultrasound on March 18th
Sophie ultrasound on March 18th.
Emma ultrasound on March 24th
Pincushion ultrasound on March 25th

Hunches and wishes
Emma thinks she is having one baby girl!
Sophie thinks she is having one baby... human!
Who else?

[PMApsy]

Okay ladies, about the list:

Lola: as soon as you confirm your due date, let us know!

Jennifer: do you know your due date? If you had ET on Feb 22nd and they were around 3-4 days, then your due date should be close to mine.

Kathleen: when is your ultrasound?

Emma: whenever you can, please confirm your ultrasound date.

Thanks girls!

Sophie

PS I will try to keep the list up-to-date and highlight the upcoming events in RED so we can all encourage the people involved.