November 2008 mommies, come join the fun!!!

[brs888]

Hi, November mommies to be! I have just jumped on this thread as I have been too afraid to come over from the other side...afraid I would jinx myself I guess. Then I figured either way...if something awful would happen I would need you gals to help me through it anyway, right?!

My due date is Nov. 20th. I have had one ultrasound on which we saw a beautiful heartbeat, and my next one is this Friday the 18th. I can't wait! It feels like forever away. This is my second pregnancy (daughter born from IVF) and let me tell you about tummies expanding! It is happening so much quicker this time! I don't know how I am going to keep it a secret for 4 more weeks...baggy clothes I guess!

Iriecricket - I am praying for you and your little baby. It is very scary, but I have a good feeling that it will all work out for you.

Take care everyone!

[Xrayem]

Hi Guys,

Sorry, I've been quiet but both boys have tonsilitis and sleep has been scarce in our household. My Dad is ok and has gone back to work this week, much to my disgust. 2 weeks to recover from a heart attack is not long enough in my books, but he works on comission only, so no work= no money.

Lola, thanks for the list, it looks great.

Iriecricket - I am sorry to hear about your scare. I hope it is only that and you sail through this rough patch.

Brs888 - Hi, and welcome. Congrats on your first daughter - I also have twins from my first IVF attempt but this time round is natural.

Ana - glad to hear they have good strong heartbeats. All is sounding well with you.

Hi Deb.

Kristy - I hope your dream is just that and bubs has caught up. My bub was measuring 6 days behind and on my last scan had caught right up to where it should be. Just a slow starter. Big hugs.

Well, better head up and see how my boys are.

Em

[deblawson]

Firstly, Lola, thanks for the list (ps- my due date is Nov 1)
Iriecricket- let us know how things go tommorrow
br8888- yes, welcome- so cool you have a daughter from IVF
Hi jen8675309, doodah66 and anyone i forgot...

My husband and I did the CVS genetic test today. They took cells from the placenta through my cervix. I chose to do it rather than the "screen" which would only give results after the second trimester. We decided we'd rather have definitive results in 7-10 days about the baby's health. It is a bit freaky that i might have spotting in the next day...but we've all made it this far, so I'm positive!!!!

The upside- we'll know the gender in 7-10 days as well!!!!

Hugs, Deb

[iriecricket]

Hello everyone!

Em, I hope your boys and your father are all recovering well. Sounds like you've had a lot to worry about the last few weeks. You are a trouper.

Welcome to all the new mommies that have joined the thread!!

Lola - my due date is 11/11 if you want to update your graphic. Thanks a million for pulling it all together.

I had my last visit with the RE this morning and thankfully, it looks like things are getting better. The baby is still growing and healthy and the doctor was really pleased about my condition (the baby actually moved for us during the scan -- so cool!) The blood clot is still there and is the same size but the doctor didn't characterize my condition as "threatened miscarriage" this time and I'll take that as a good sign! I am finally off the progesterone shots too. Amen!!

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers this last week. God willing, it will be smooth sailing through November now. I go see my regular ob/gyn tomorrow and am looking forward to that visit.

How is everyone doing with morning sickness? There are some days where I think food is the most disgusting thing ever. Yesterday was a good day for me and I'm hoping today brings more of the same.

I hope everyone has continued good news with their scans.

[pincushion]

Hey everyone,

Just finally catching up on everyones emails, have been quite the busy one lately, and by the sounds of it all of you have been too, which i guess is good to keep our mind off things and get the countdown to November happennig quicker.
Xrayem- i soo hope your boys are getting better, you sound like you have been through such a rought time lately. some wishes your way for things to turn around and improve.
Deblawson- Hello, i was very interested to read about your recent tests. I am 30 but decided to have the screening test on the basis that i am still quite young, but because of the ivf, my mad dear hubby wanted us to have the screen to have a bit of a look and see what our ratio was for downs syndrome etc. It came back all good after the scan and the bloods, i have a one in 11900 chance, which i know is not 100% but put our minds at ease for the time being.
Has anyone else had this screening test.
It was soo hard to get into being that you can only have it done between 11-13 weeks and everywhere in Brisbane was booked out until May which was no good, so i had to drive down the Gold Coast to have it done.
Am due to go for first ob visit on Wednesday 23rd April.
Baby looked good on scan, 167 beats for heart and 4.9cm in length, was moving around a bit too---very exciting to see how far it has all worked out since the days of taking synarel nasal spray and having my eggs collected... thank goodness!!
well hitting week 12 for me tomorrow so a lot of relief, Looking like I am due November 2, a day earlier so that is all I have for now...
Hope everyone else is progressing well, and I hope the sickness is fading and you are coming out the other side of all of that now, I would love to keep hearing your stories that anyone has..
talk soon
Renee- pincushion

[lolajones]

DUE DATES


DEBLAWSON due Nov 1st
PINCUSHION due Nov 2nd
EMMA due Nov 3rd one little beanie!
SAGE due Nov 3rd
ANA due Nov 5th TWINS!
JOANIE due Nov 5th
LAUREL due Nov 5th
KRISTY due Nov 7th
KATHLEEN due Nov 10th TWINS!
JENNIFER due Nov 10th, one beanie
LOLA due Nov 11th, one beanie
IRIECRICKET due Nov 11th
JEN due Nov 26th TWINS!
LYN due Nov ??
KRIS due Nov ??


Ultrasounds and medical appointments
?


In our thoughts and prayers
Amy and Sophie - take care friends, love, hugs and good luck xxxxx

[lolajones]

Darn! I've lost the thingies!
Apologies for stark list - my gigi skills are not what they should be.

So hola mamas! How're you all going today?

Pincushion - good to see everything is going smoothly for you and little bean. My m/s seemed to be getting better but today was rough! I don't mind, is reassuring

iriecricket - so pleased all is well with the baby and you got to see it waving to you. Its so exciting now as we approach the magical 12 weeks

Deb - how're you doing since the test? Hope it all went well and you're not stressing about the results.

Em - you've had an ass time of it lately, this must mean that good things are around the corner..

Hi to all other november mums-to-be

Had my first midwife appointment today! She was lovely and very reassuring and understanding. Pretty on the ball too, within 2 hours I had an appointment at the foetal medicine unit to see a genetic counsellor (dh has chromosomal abnormality) on monday so I'm really pleased. So often lately with the NHS I've had to chase and chase things before they happened and I don't need that stress - you all know what a stress ball I am lately - WAH!
So I am the proud owner of my own Antenatal Record - I never thought I'd get here, I still can't believe its real - do you still feel like that?

A big wooo hooo!

Love, L-L-L-Lola
xx

[Xrayem]

Updating the list:


DEBLAWSON due Nov 1st
PINCUSHION due Nov 2nd
SAGE due Nov 3rd
ANA due Nov 5th TWINS!
JOANIE due Nov 5th
LAUREL due Nov 5th
EMMA due Nov 6th one little beanie!
KRISTY due Nov 7th
KATHLEEN due Nov 10th TWINS!
JENNIFER due Nov 10th, one beanie
LOLA due Nov 11th, one beanie
IRIECRICKET due Nov 11th
JEN due Nov 26th TWINS!
LYN due Nov ??
KRIS due Nov ??


Ultrasounds and medical appointments
1st May - Emma's Nuchal translucency scan.
6th May - Emma's Obstetrician appt.

In our thoughts and prayers
Amy and Sophie - take care friends, love, hugs and good luck xxxxx

[Xrayem]

Hi Girls,

Boys are asleep and I have time on my side tonight, so I can write a bit more. Thank you all so much for your good wishes and thouhts over the past month...it has been a little crazy/ But (touch wood) everyone is on the mend now and we are all happy.

My morning sickness is all but gone now and I am feeling less tired. I have to say, having had botha twin pregnancy and now a singeton one....it is so much easier with 1! Ana, Kathleen and Jen - rest as much as you need and eat whatever gets you through the morning sickness (for me it was potatoes!!!) If your m/s gets too bad, there are some safe anti-nausea drugs you can have and trust me they are so worth it! I feel for you girls but don't let it put you off ever doing it again, because I am finding this time round so much easier.

Renee - great news about your nuchal! Sorry that you had to go down to the Gold Coast. I work for QDI on the northside. If you ever have trouble getting a scan appointment again, PM me and I can see what I can do for you at work.

Lola- I know what you mean about not seeming really. I actually keep forgetting that I am pregnant. I am already showing as my tummy muscles still haven't recovered after the twins and I saw my profile in a shop window today and went "whoa! I'm pregnant!" With the twins, it was all I thought about. Guess I'm too busy this time. Glad that you feel comfortable with your midwife. Will she be with you all the way through to the birth?

Iriecricket - I am so pleased that your bub hung on and is growing for you. Perhaps its a girl and is going to be a drama-queen? Hope your obs appoitment went well today.

Deb - I hope you haven't had too much spotting to scare you today and how exciting that you will know the sex of your bub in a little over a week! Are you going to tell us? Are you going to tell everyone else? We are going to find out this time as we are stretched financially and if we can start buying stuff in the sales it will help. We won't tell anyone else but I will probably tell you guys because I will have to tell someone! The gentials are formed by 13-14 weeks and are visible on u/s then so my friend is going to scan me weekly from 13 weeks so we can tell. I would love a little girl to finish my family but another little boy will be fine.

Ah well. Best get off and check my other emails. Then some sleep would be good. I have to work tomorrow, crap.

Em

[iriecricket]

Hello everyone! I hope this finds you all well.

Em, I'm so happy to hear that your family is on the mend and happy.

Lola, Ana, Kathleen and Jen - How is your morning sickness doing? Mine seems to be getting worse every day. I am thankful to have it since I think it means everything is OK but I feel miserable most of the day now (initially, it was only from about 5 PM - 10 PM). I did some more reading about the condition and my case doesn't seem to come close to how badly some women suffer so I shouldn't complain.

Renee - Do you have the results from your CVS test yet? Did you experience any spotting from the procedure? I spoke with my doctor about my tests and we are only going to pursue an amnio or CVS if my initial tests come out positive. I will be 39 when I deliver so I know there's a lot of weight with my decision but I don't want to add any more risk to my situation. The doctor agreed that this seemed to be the best strategy. My husband and I are from completely different ethnic backgrounds (he's black Jamaican and I'm a fair Dutch/Czech). Hopefully, this will work in our favor.

Lola- Great news about your midwife. I'm glad you found someone you really like.

Em, keep us posted on your 13-week ultrasound news (if you want to share)!

My appointment with the regular ob/gyn last week went fairly well. My hematoma grew from Wednesday to Thursday, the time between seeing the RE and my regular doctor. It is now a skinny crescent-moon shape that wraps around 50% of the placenta. The top is more bulb-like and larger than the rest of it. The doctor still wants me to take it easy (no exercise, no intercourse, lots of rest) but didn't seem too worried that it had grown because it's so thin. I just keep praying that the baby continues to grow without issue. I am still spotting but it's old blood so I'll count my blessings.

Em, it's so funny about you saying it may be a girl (drama queen -- I hope not!!!) I've heard the girl theory from just about everyone. Thanks to everyone for their good thoughts. I'm anxious for the second trimester!!

Take care everyone and have a great week.

Lynn

[PMApsy]

Hello ladies!

It was great to catch up with you guys! Some of you have been through a lot and I send you big hugs! I'm afraid I would forget many details if I tried to send individual messages, but please know that I do have a little thought for you regularly, and I keep you in my prayers!

About the list: your list is very cute, Lola and Emma! If you want mine, you're welcome to have it. It's easy to use; you just change the information as you need among all the html tags; I would give you the basic structure. I'll have to send it by email though (even as a pm here, it would only show the list and not the codes). Let me know guys!

As for me, things are terribly hectic! But in a good way. We're deep in the renovations and we move in only 17 days! We'll make the house very livable by then however. For now, all our free time is spent at the house. Still about a week or so and our big rush will be over (wallpaper, paint jobs, tons of things to buy); our handymen will take care of those last steps before the move (hardwood floors/stairs, ceramic, lights).

The miscarriage happened in the nick of time, stopping me just before I took my first dose of the meds that would have caused me a lot of pain. Since I can't do anything the simple way (!), I'm still bleeding from the miscarriage. We've tried waiting, then Provera, then BCP, then two BCPs a day. That finally seems to be working. My hydrosalpinx, however (tubes swelled up with liquid) got even worse. They now fill my lower abdomen; I look like I'm just a little pregnant, no kidding. My doctor and I decided that it was time to get rid of that problem. The liquid leaks into my uterus, and I have that problem each time I take hormones. So that leaking prevents implantation, which might explain my failed IVFs. We don't want to waste our 7 embryos on a uterus like that, so I'm heading straight toward surgery #3. It might happen on May 30th; it will be confirmed tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to it. First, that big balloon in my abdomen is uncomfortable and it causes me pain, second, I've had that kind of surgery before so it doesn't scare me (C-section incision), and third, we'll be able to start an FET protocol one AF later with much better chances! Call me crazy, but I have that hunch that, in those new conditions, getting pregnant next time is almost just a formality! Plus I'll be reasonable this time and I'll take a month of sick leave for my post-op convalescence (I'm allowed to up to two). I'll have 80% of my salary and it will be in June, so I'll enjoy hanging around our new house and the nice weather!

There is a little scare, though. Given that everything is stuck in glue in my pelvis, my ovaries are at risk. I might lose one or both my ovaries during the surgery, if there is bleeding, if the tubes are too stuck against them, and so on. My surgeon wanted to warn me, and he was 100% honest, but he is rather optimistic about the surgery (PHEW!). We want to give it a go anyway, and feel that we don't have much of a choice because even if we empty my tubes with a needle (like during ER), the problem keeps coming back every single time. A new pregnancy would make them swell up like crazy again, and it would be very painful. So...

Sorry about the ramble guys, but it's good to talk about this to people who understand what it is to go through so much in order to become mommies!

So! I'll let you know how it goes, and I'll keep checking on you from time to time to see how you're doing!

GROUP HUG!

Sophie

[deblawson]

Iriecricket- glad to hear that your hematoma is getting thin and the doctor is positive. The CVS didn't cause any spotting, and we found out yesterday, it is a GIRL! Both dh & i were thinking boy. But most importantly, she has the right # of chromosomes (46) and they look good. Lola- based on your post, you're good to go right?

Sophie- sooo glad you are keeping in touch. given everything that went on, you sound wonderful. so proud of you. i have high hopes for your FET in the summer.

xrayem et al...my bf keeps telling me that the nasea & tiredness magically disappears at week 13, but i am nearing that point and my fatigue is as bad as ever. I work from home most of the time, so i sneak cat naps every day. I am very thankful i have that opportuniy.

Are any of you first timers showing? Xrayem, you said you were cause you haven't recovered from twins. I am browsing the maternity sites and bought some size 8 clothes (ususally 4-6) to buy time. My belly is pouchy and general midsection is puffy. Boobs have gone up a size too.

[Xrayem]

Hi Girls,

Sophie, so great to hear from you and fabulous news that you are having the surgery! It definately stands to reason that once they are sorted, you will have much better sucess with your future FET's (meaning one for each child you are having...7, right?) I am so sorry for you that you have had to go through all this due to a mistake made by a surgeon.

Thanks for your offer of the list, but best if someone else does it, as my computer skills only extend to "cut and paste". I also seem to never be able to get those codes to work. I've lost my ticker somewhere....

Deb - A GIRL!!!! well done you! So great to hear everything is ok, its just sit and wait for her to get well-baked now! About the ms and tiredness - I seem to have a resurgence and am back to napping all day. I have also been vomitting a lot more and getting awful headaches. I am thinking of buying a blood pressure machine as I had pre-eclampsia with the twins and had the same symptoms as this with it.

Lynn - excellent news that your haematoma seems to be resolving itself. What a turn around from "high misscarriage risk" to "doctor not worried"! Just goes to prove that sometimes luck is on the good peoples side.

Hi everyone else!

My house is healthy and happy again, apart from Dad had another episode of chest pain today and was taken to hospital. They did tests and said it was definately NOT another heart attack but a bit of angina. They have given him more meds to take and he is back home tonight. Feels funny saying my Dad has angina - I always picture 90 yr olds with it and Dad is only 56!

But other wise all is well. Its ANZAC day here today - we celebrate the Aussie and Kiwi's who have fought in wars and I have cried a thousand tears! 3 years ago, DH and I actually went to the ceremony held on the beach in Gallipoli (Turkey) where the spirit of the ANZACS was born in 1914 and to see where so many of my ancestors fought and died just makes me a blubbering mess.

So happy ANZAC day girls, here's a prayer to peace on earth.

Em

[pincushion]

hi girls!!!!

Good to read and catch up on some of your stories over the weekend.

Iriecricket- I had no spot bleeding with my nuchal as i only opted to go for the scan, and not pursue with any invasive testing as the result was such good odds for us. The doctors didnt really discuss the cvs/amnio as they did not think it was an option we needed to consider.

Deb- i was so excited when I read you were having a girl, congrats to you and your partner!!! that is such exciting news and now you can buy things and plan for when she arrives.

I had my first ob visit last wednesday and it was great to finally meet and see the face of my ob who will be looking after myself and baby through this journey, by the way i am a third of the way through now. How time is flying.!!
It was the usual kind of first visit, ask lots of medical history questions and get to know us, she gave us a quick scan so both of us could see, and baby already looks so much bigger than the last scan, he/she was sucking away and moving. Such a reassuring sight to see. Have booked my 19 week scan in now, and really cant wait to see if all is good on that one as with my youngest son now on his 19 week scan that is where they picked up a growth on his upper lung, Hence him having to go to theatre when he was just 6 days old and have the entire left upper lobe of his lungs removed. He is so healthy and full of beans now though and you wouldnt even know that he had been through such an ordeal, but i am holding my breath until they give us the all clear on the morphology scan, then i cant wait to ask the sex, i am dying to know.
my stomach is expanding fast, my work pants no longer fit and i have moved up a size, lot of pulling feeling going on right now, doc says the ligaments stretch which is what that feeling is, also been light headed and times, but morning sickness gone, i feel a bit more energy, except driving in the car lots makes me queasy.
well hope you all have some news this week if you have ob visits or scans, cant wait to read them..
pincushion

[LauraLou]

Em- I just wanted to drop by and see how you are doing. I'm so glad your morning sickness has resolved. I was so worried you'd have a repeat of your hyperemesis.

Glad to hear your boys are better. Nothing worse than sick twins, believe me I know!

Are you scanning yourself at work? I can't wait to hear if it's a girl this time.

Best wishes,

Laura