So I just had a call from my GP’s clinic saying my doctor wants to discuss something and can I make an appointment… I explained we are away and they booked me a phone consultation for [name_u]January[/name_u] 3rd. I have no idea what it’s about; whether it’s diabetes-related or baby-related, but now I just feel unsettled and anxious. 
I keep telling myself it can’t be too bad, because they wouldn’t let me wait a week if it was something really serious or awful, but I still feel like now I’ll be stressed all week until my appointment. 
Pregnancy is mentally exhausting.
@_thelittlefairywren - If it was something bad they tend to be more urgent about getting you in, so I think since they aren’t rushing the conversation you can breathe a bit easy. Easier said than done of course! I also think that because they are willing to do a phone call and not telling you to come into the office, that’s a good sign!
It could be absolutely nothing, or it could be any little benign thing they spotted on the ultrasound. There’s quite a few things they can find that they will tell you about that are perfectly “safe” and resolve before birth but they mention it anyway. Kind of like how my ultrasound report said Nuchal [name_m]Cord[/name_m], and my midwife was immediately annoyed that they even put it on there, she said they shouldn’t because it causes unnecessary panic.
All of that being said, I hope it’s absolutely nothing to be concerned about on your end, try to not worry too much 
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@Kibby Thank you for the encouragement. I’m hopeful that it’s nothing serious. I just need to keep my mind off it!
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I hope all is well and that you are finding good ways to relax!
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Not much to report here, I see my midwife next week and we discuss all those good mid pregnancy tests like GD screen and more blood work to check iron levels and such.
I’ve been hard at work on the art pieces for the nursery and I’m so pleased with how they are turning out so far. It feels good to be able to do something creative for the baby’s room myself, I’ve not really given myself the opportunity to design anything since I left my last design job, I’m finding joy in it again finally, and it’s got me thinking about diving back into the field on my own terms as the baby grows and gets more independent. The talk of finding daycares in here, and a similar discussion with my friend yesterday has me considering the future. I do not intend to return to the office life for the next 4 years, if ever. But if I could create things that I love, and potentially a small business based on that, I think I could be pretty happy, watching my girl grow up firsthand but still having an outlet and purpose for myself outside of her.
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@Kibby I hope your midwife appointment goes well! It’s so lovely you’ve been able to make art for your nursery - that’s so personal and special. Whenever I have time and motivation to sit down and do an art project, I remember how much and why I love it. 
Juggling work and mum-life is such a big thing to think about. I offen wonder how it’ll work out for us. I would love not to work and just pour all my time and attention into being a parent, but life is also expensive, so we’ll see if finances allow or not. [name_f]My[/name_f] hubby is very pro me being a SAHM and has already said he’ll just work extra hours, but I don’t want him to work so much that he feel like he has no life. I might end up doing a few hours here and there to help; we’ll see how it goes. I am so excited for baby to arrive and this new stage of life to begin though. 
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[name_u]Merry[/name_u] [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] (to those who celebrate) and happy new year! We are having a very lazy new years eve at home after a busy week in Mexico. I am going to cook us a nice dinner in a bit and make cinnamon rolls, and otherwise the day has been laid back with lots of unpacking and just cleaning up (and going through things, I am having a strong desire to get rid of things we just don’t need and don’t use, which is hard when my husband is a pack rat!). It was a nice time in Mexico with family and the weather was beautiful (high of like low 70s and sunny), but as predicted the rock-like beds and lack of hot water was a bummer. I also was quite careful about what I was eating, but still ended up pretty sick one day. It doesn’t seem to have had any impact on baby, fortunately, and I am feeling better now. I did think of letting my doctor know, but realistically I don’t think it will matter or have any real impact on anything.
@_thelittlefairywren I also found the picture of our baby’s feet very emotional! I am not sure why the little foot made me more emotional than other pictures! Also sorry you have been dealing with troublesome GD symptoms, and that you got that cryptic message from the doctor! That sounds stressful, even though if they had you wait this long I am sure it isn’t serious.
No colostrum leaking yet for me, but I have been wondering when that will start. I have been having some [name_u]Braxton[/name_u] hicks for probably about 3 weeks now, though, although mostly it is either when my bladder is full or I have just gone to the bathroom. Google tells me that is a normal BH trigger, but I do find it odd!
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Overall things are going well here! I’m almost to 15 weeks and have another appointment mid-January. Had thyroid retesting last week. [name_f]My[/name_f] levels are hovering on the low side of normal. I think my next step is requesting a referral to endocrinology to explore options.
Genetic testing looks good and based on the results baby is a [name_f]Girl[/name_f] I’m anxious for my next scan to confirm and hopeful everything is going as it should.
I hope you all are feeling well! We have a bright start to 2024 
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@Beort12 - So glad your trip went mostly well. I couldn’t imagine travelling right now, some days I feel great and others definitely not!
I haven’t experienced any [name_u]Braxton[/name_u] hicks yet, I’m curious what they’ll feel like!!
@ElsieWren - Yay!!! A girl is wonderful! It’s good to hear an update and that you are doing well. Hopefully an endocrinologist sheds some light on your situation!
@_thelittlefairywren - It’s so tough to say what will happen in the future, but it’s definitely interesting to speculate. I’m still operating on the assumption we’ll only have the one child but if there’s two I may need to return to work. He already works so hard as is and I worry about him missing out on watching our girl grow up. I know he puts a lot of pressure on himself to be the provider, and while he’s got a lot of pride about his ability to support his family, I definitely don’t want him to miss out on experiencing his family! I never honestly pictured the stay at home life, but I think, at least here in [name_f]Canada[/name_f], the pandemic really altered a lot of perspectives of how people really want to live their lives now.
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24 weeks on the first day of 2024!!! Viability week! [name_u]Baby[/name_u] girl has a good shot at survival if she’s born any time after now, especially because we have one of the best children’s hospitals in our city. It’s crazy to think that a baby this tiny and fragile could live, modern medicine is amazing. All that being said, I hope she stays in for at least another 13 weeks!
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@Kibby I haven’t found them to be painful, just a little uncomfortable. At first they sort of surprised me every time and I needed to actually touch my belly to be sure that was what was going on. They usually pass pretty quickly.
I would love to work part time, even just 4 days a week instead of 5, but I don’t know if that will be a possibility. Plus it is hard to find part-time daycare in our area, and it seems silly to pay for full time and only send the baby part time. If we are able to have more kids, especially close enough that we would need to pay for daycare for several at once, I think it is possible I will take a year or two off, but that is fairly far into the future.
And yay to viability!! That was a fun milestone to hit a couple weeks ago, and a relief. The NICU in our local research hospital is actually one of the most respected and successful hospitals for micro preemies, so they actually likely would pursue life-saving treatment as early as 23 or even 22 weeks here. I am very much hoping baby doesn’t come for a while so it isn’t a concern, but it is a comfort to know. Plus I am now into week 26, so that concern slowly gets smaller and smaller.
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I had my phone consult with my GP. She started with “so I wanted to talk about your morphology (anatomy) scan” and my heart just went “omg now what?!” 
Turns out my placenta is not only giving me diabetes, but also has developed a bit lopsided and has marginal cord placement - meaning that instead of the cord coming from the centre of the placenta, it’s coming from the edge. This creates a risk for poor blood flow and puts the baby at risk for growth restriction. Currently baby is fine and the morphology report says “baby is currently measuring average or above the expected size for gestation”, so everything is okay for the moment. [name_f]My[/name_f] GP advised that I should continue to go about life as per usual and I don’t need to do anything particular (“this is completely out of your control” were her words) and not to worry. She said to bring it up at my next midwifery appointment (Jan 16th), if they don’t mention it first, and see how they want to handle it. She said it will likely result in having a few more scans to check baby’s growth regularly, but that’s probably all. She also advised that plenty of wonky placentas still result in healthy babies, and the rest of the pregnancy may have zero complications, but I should just be aware in case anything comes up.
I don’t quite know how to feel about it. Obviously, it is what it is and I can’t do any more than I’m doing. At the same time, it feels like another thing to worry about. [name_f]May[/name_f] cannot get here fast enough! I just want baby to be on the outside where I can stop worrying about my body letting them down. 
We also briefly discussed my hip pain, and she advised seeing a physical therapist. She said it probably won’t go away until delivery, but they may be able to help lessen the pain and improve my mobility a bit, so I’m not hobbling around like a grandma for the next four months.
@Beort12 I’m sorry your holiday was a bit rough. That sounds like a trip I’d be glad to get home from, especially while pregnant. Getting sick sounds awful! I’m glad you don’t feel like there’s any long-term problems from it. I didn’t know you could get [name_u]Braxton[/name_u] Hicks this early; I thought it was a third trimester thing - is that what makes my lower belly feel tight sometimes?! It’s never painful, but I can feel the muscles tightening and then relaxing on and off and, like you say, it’s usually aftee going to the bathroom.
@ElsieWren How exciting that baby is a girl! I’m glad things are going well for you. I hope you are able to get helpful advise from the endocrinologist, and your thyroid doesn’t pose any long-term issues.
@Kibby I feel similarly about my hubby missing out on family time because he’s the sole income earner. I know he’s happy to do it, but I don’t want him to sacrifice life balance to keep the bills paid. I’d much rather work a few hours than sacrifice that. It’s true that covid really proved we don’t all have to be stuck in an office to get things done - I’ve loved seeing workplaces adopt a more balanced approach and let employees be flexible. And yay for viability week! That’s so exciting! I am counting down to that myself - obviously I want baby to stay put for a while yet, but hitting that milestone would help me breath easier just a bit!
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@_thelittlefairywren I’m so sorry to hear how much you’re going through in this pregnancy! It all sounds so tough. Hopefully the cord placement doesn’t end up giving any issues, but if it does… my first did have IUGR and it was so stressful but she made it to term and she’s now a totally happy, healthy 5 yr old.
[name_u]Loving[/name_u] seeing all the updates from everyone 
and yay for 2024!
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@Kiriko Thank you for the encouragement! I need it! Hearing success stories is very helpful. I know we’ll deal with whatever happens, but I just want everything to be okay so badly. 
[name_m]Just[/name_m] hopping on to say my 2nd had iugr concerns, was totally fine. And if you’re a youtube person, there’s a couple called [name_u]Taylor[/name_u] & [name_f]Soph[/name_f] and they just had a baby in december who had the same cord placement issue and they made it to 38 weeks I think, and their baby had no complications from it, they just had more monitoring.
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@LibelluleClaire Thank you for sharing! That’s so helpful to know!
[name_m]Just[/name_m] wanted to mention that due to the diabetes, I was given regular growth scans in the last trimester as they worried baby would be on the larger side. She wasn’t. She was my smallest at 7 lbs 1 oz, so it all worked out. Thought I would mention as they might already monitor growth due to the diabetes anyway, so monitoring to make sure for this new issue might not be too much different (as I understand anyway, I could be wrong of course). I’m sorry you’re dealing with so much. The diabetes, for me, was a huge headache (I needed insulin by the end and the diet made me miserable) and I can’t imagine what you’re going through.
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@_thelittlefairywren Thank you!
This sounds exactly like what I had last pregnancy. Despite cord placement being off, I had my son at 40+1, he was a little over 6lbs, and had a low intervention delivery. It’s still so stressful, but I’m hopeful it will only mean you get to see your baby more often 
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@LiliMorgana Thank you for sharing your experience. [name_f]My[/name_f] GP did say that I might not need extra check ups, as I am already having extra checks ups due to the GD; however, she also said it’s inevitably upto the midwife team as to how many check ups I end up getting and she was only speculating that it may not actually need to be more. I feel that it’s rather ironic that I am being monitored for excessive fetal weight gain and also not enough fetal weight gain simultaneously… 
So far, the diabetes hasn’t been too bad - I’m used to setting alarms for blood tests and stabbing myself multiple times a day now. I’m finding the diet a bit frustrating, especially while we’re on holidays - I usually eat a lot of fruit, bread, and potatoes, so cutting them out has been hard. We also enjoy fancy dining while we’re on holidays, and it’s a bit depressing to have to constantly skip the dessert menu! [name_f]My[/name_f] biggest frustration is the unpredictability of my glucose levels - I’ve literally eaten the same meal two days in a row and got different test results after. I wish the science was more exact, so I’d always know some foods are safe or not, rather than it feeling like a bit of a guessing game half the time. So far, I’m not on medication or insulin, but I guess we’ll see if that changes over time - my levels are within range most of the time. It’s only my fasting levels that are consistently high.
@ElsieWren Thank you for sharing! It’s encouraging to hear your baby arrived healthy and well. That’s a good way to focus on the silver lining of the situation - more baby pictures!!
Question for the group - my hubby also has a NB account (@abxnt41), and he asked if you [the group in general] would find it odd if he contributed to this group every now and then, if he feels like it. He was lurking last night and said he felt like him chipping in might seem intrusive in what is a predominantly female-lead conversation. I told him that I was sure it’d be fine, but that I’d ask whether you’d be comfortable with male input on occasion. If you let me know, I’ll pass it on.
In other news, I can feel baby getting stronger and movements are much more noticeable. It’s usually most noticeable in the evenings, once I’ve settled down for the day - I sit down to relax and apparently that’s baby’s cue to activate haha 
It’s funny how wriggly they are in the evening, because I so often don’t notice movements when I’m active during the day and then worry something is wrong. It’s like after dinner is their time to say “it’s okay, mum, I’m still here”.
Has anyone had the “what do you want to be called” conversation with their parents yet? (Moreso a conversation for first time grandparents, I suppose). [name_f]My[/name_f] Mum has forever said she doesn’t want to be Granny because “it sounds too old!”, she doesn’t like the traditional [name_m]Dutch[/name_m] name of [name_f]Oma[/name_f], and she doesn’t want to be [name_u]Nana[/name_u] because both my grandmothers are still alive and are both called [name_u]Nana[/name_u] and she thinks it’ll be too confusing. She said she’d have to think about it, but she likes alternative names (aka. when the baby tries to say [name_u]Nana[/name_u] and can’t, and comes up with their own word for it). We both jokingly said my Dad should be called Gramps, because he’s a bit of a rough, outdoorsy type and it seems to suit him. So far, I’m not sure what either of them will pick in the end.
I’ve bought a couple of cute baby things while we’ve been on holidays and it’s so nice and comforting to buy them for an actual baby who actually exists, and not just out of a tremendous amount of hope!
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All of the GD stuff sounds so frustrating! Also it is kind of funny that you’ll be monitored for both too much and too little growth, but hopefully it just means getting to see things progressing well more often.
I’m fine with your husband participating!
Re: grandparent names, my mom cannot decide what she wants. She brought it up to us first. We came up with something for her that she liked and then something punny for my dad if he wanted an idea, and I think he is likely to go with that even though she changed her mind. I think she really wants to be called what she called her favorite grandmother, but unfortunately that is Mom (it was supposed to be Bubbe, but kids do their own thing sometimes and thanks to my aunt Bubbe never caught on). I want to start as [name_f]Mama[/name_f] but eventually be Mom. She doesn’t want to be what what either of my grandmothers were called, which is weirdly a little sad for me, but I get why she wants to be what she called the grandparent she was closest to.
[name_f]My[/name_f] glucose test is coming up later this month and I am nervous on multiple fronts. I opted to do it at the midwife practice because you have more options of what to use (instead of just the glucose drink people keep saying is awful), but it means I take a gamble on whether they can get enough blood from me to test glucose and iron. [name_f]My[/name_f] veins can be tricky and last time I had to go elsewhere to have a phlebotomist do it since the CNM who they had take my blood because “she is really good at it” was not able to get enough from me. So anyway, nerves about that and nerves about the actual results.
Weight-related talk:
Summary
I also added tracking weight to the app I use for tracking symptoms and whether I took my prenatal yet, because the EHR system the practice uses is awful and I can’t look to see if I am in range after my visits (I don’t have a scale at home) and they think they can’t talk to me about weight since I explained that tracking food has led to obsessive-compulsive symptoms for me before. The app is a pregnancy-specific one and now it asks about weight every day because apparently the most important thing after taking your prenatal vitamin is daily weight logging? There is no evidence for that. It’s an awful feature imo. I just want to see that I am generally in range. It also compliments me for my low blood pressure that I put in after visits, even though it has actually been below normal healthy range when I haven’t taken my ADHD medication before having it checked.
(In case people are concerned. Yes, I have clearance from a doctor re: my ADHD medication. I even had a special consultation prior to ttc and I am participating in a database to support learning more about the impacts of my medication and medication in general in pregnancy.)
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