British Bun in the Oven

[TracyTN 237]

Did not know this thread existed, but here to announce that we too have a Brit "bun in the oven"!

Just passed 20 weeks today and been through nausea hell for 14 weeks . The doctor keeps telling us that as long as mum is sick, baby is fine. Well baby must REALLY be healthy then! Thankfully though, we think we are finally coming out of that phase (we hope!!!).

Our ultrasound at 17 weeks revealed that we are - without a shadow of a doubt - having a boy!

Due date is Jan 30 and with everything else, we are still waiting on our I-751 approval as we got an RFE (ugh). Response due any day now. Complicating things further, we decided the house we were in was too large, so we entered a contract back in July to build a smaller house. Problems with the permits though means that the new house won't be ready now till early Feb weather permitting - right when baby is due. And further still, we ended up selling out existing house too fast (19 days) and now we have to move into an apartment.

I, as Daddy to be, am trying to balance all this so that mom to be doesn't stress, but I think I'll have earned every single grey hair I'll get from this.

Welcome to the thread, daddy to be! Looks like we may be neighbors too. Feel free to message me any time about local docs, hospitals, etc.

A lot of women feel better during the second trimester, so I hope things will level out for your wife soon. Is she at least not quite as tired as she was? Is this the first child for both of you or?

There is just never a good time to do everything you want to do prior to the sprog making his appearance, is there? I'm sure you guys will figure something out though - I bet your friends and family will help out as much as they can.

Congratulations on your healthy little boy! Nice to have some new babies cooking in this thread. Sorry to hear she's been so unwell. I hope it dying down a bit now means she can have a break.

So I just got back from my ultrasound and everything is good! Saw the baby straight away where it should be, and it has a heartbeat of 160bpm which she said was bang in the middle of the normal range. My husband was holding my hand the whole time as I was so nervous, and I actually cried when I saw my little gummy bear on the screen- was just so emotional, I never expected to do that. I asked if everything looked normal and she said she's not a doctor so can't comment, but on the quiet, "nothing looks drastic". She gave us two pictures to take home. And the ultrasound itself really wasn't that bad. Just uncomfortable when she moved around in there. I go back on Monday to meet my midwife and have the first full prenatal visit.

ETA: Oh, and I'm measuring 8 weeks tomorrow, so I'm a few days further than I realised.

SO happy to hear everything is right on track for you, Gemmie! I always found it emotional to see her moving around on the screen - don't think hubby ever really got over that, and I'll never forget his face after that first ultrasound.

I'm also enjoying the new babies coming into the thread. Yay for Ameri-Brits. :D

[Empress of Groovy 373]

So I just got back from my ultrasound and everything is good! Saw the baby straight away where it should be, and it has a heartbeat of 160bpm which she said was bang in the middle of the normal range. My husband was holding my hand the whole time as I was so nervous, and I actually cried when I saw my little gummy bear on the screen- was just so emotional, I never expected to do that. I asked if everything looked normal and she said she's not a doctor so can't comment, but on the quiet, "nothing looks drastic". She gave us two pictures to take home. And the ultrasound itself really wasn't that bad. Just uncomfortable when she moved around in there. I go back on Monday to meet my midwife and have the first full prenatal visit.

ETA: Oh, and I'm measuring 8 weeks tomorrow, so I'm a few days further than I realised.

Great news! That's so sweet that you cried. I got a little emotional too, but later. At the time, I was feeling really unwell and was just focusing on getting out of the doctor's office and into the fresh air. I have a distinct memory of getting into my car and thinking, "Holy $#it, it's really happening!" How are you feeling, by the way?

[Empress of Groovy 373]

Did not know this thread existed, but here to announce that we too have a Brit "bun in the oven"!

Just passed 20 weeks today and been through nausea hell for 14 weeks . The doctor keeps telling us that as long as mum is sick, baby is fine. Well baby must REALLY be healthy then! Thankfully though, we think we are finally coming out of that phase (we hope!!!).

Our ultrasound at 17 weeks revealed that we are - without a shadow of a doubt - having a boy!

Due date is Jan 30 and with everything else, we are still waiting on our I-751 approval as we got an RFE (ugh). Response due any day now. Complicating things further, we decided the house we were in was too large, so we entered a contract back in July to build a smaller house. Problems with the permits though means that the new house won't be ready now till early Feb weather permitting - right when baby is due. And further still, we ended up selling out existing house too fast (19 days) and now we have to move into an apartment.

I, as Daddy to be, am trying to balance all this so that mom to be doesn't stress, but I think I'll have earned every single grey hair I'll get from this.

Welcome!

[Gemmie 142]

Did you have a terrible time during the first few months?

For being in the first trimester, I'm doing good. I've still got a bad head cold so dealing with congestion, headaches, general unpleasantness from the sinuses. Very short of breath. I get nauseous now and then, but nothing too bad there. The worst I've had is dry-heaving (when feeling slightly sick, looking at the cat litter does the trick). Just tired mostly. It sounds like I have a lot going on, but compared to what other women report, I feel very lucky.

I know exactly what you mean with the 'this is happening'- I've been looking at my pics ALL day and can't believe that it's growing inside me. Just looking at the head, seeing the start of the mouth/forehead/neck, and thinking 'we MADE that'- I can't imagine what it's like to actually give birth and see your baby for the first time! The lady doing the ultrasound wasn't very personable. She just wanted to get in there, get the measurements and get out. I had to ask her how big it was, and how things looked, she stayed quiet for most of the scan- she didn't even give us a due date. But I can't possibly feel annoyed today, I'm just in love with my husband's constant smile. He hadn't slept in 30 hours because he came straight from his night shift, but he was on such a high that he was wide awake and took me out to lunch.

[Empress of Groovy 373]

Did you have a terrible time during the first few months?

For being in the first trimester, I'm doing good. I've still got a bad head cold so dealing with congestion, headaches, general unpleasantness from the sinuses. Very short of breath. I get nauseous now and then, but nothing too bad there. The worst I've had is dry-heaving (when feeling slightly sick, looking at the cat litter does the trick). Just tired mostly. It sounds like I have a lot going on, but compared to what other women report, I feel very lucky.

I know exactly what you mean with the 'this is happening'- I've been looking at my pics ALL day and can't believe that it's growing inside me. Just looking at the head, seeing the start of the mouth/forehead/neck, and thinking 'we MADE that'- I can't imagine what it's like to actually give birth and see your baby for the first time! The lady doing the ultrasound wasn't very personable. She just wanted to get in there, get the measurements and get out. I had to ask her how big it was, and how things looked, she stayed quiet for most of the scan- she didn't even give us a due date. But I can't possibly feel annoyed today, I'm just in love with my husband's constant smile. He hadn't slept in 30 hours because he came straight from his night shift, but he was on such a high that he was wide awake and took me out to lunch.

Yeah, I felt pretty awful until about halfway through the second trimester. The nausea never went away completely, although the worst part was 7-14 weeks, and within that, 9-11 weeks had the highest number of debilitating days w/ migraines, fatigue, & nausea.

That's very sweet about your husband (and Tracy's and Rachel's too). I'm a little envious. Jon was in disbelief for much of the pregnancy, and then disbelief turned to worry. He's a great dad, but he wasn't one of those excited expectant fathers.

[TracyTN 237]

I didn't really have it bad early on. I was nauseous until week 14, and of course DEAD tired during the first trimester but after that, I seemed to have an uptick in everything - energy, no nausea, etc. I got some heartburn around my 6th month which never really went away, and slightly swollen ankles at the same time. Other than that, I really did have a 'text book' pregnancy - though I am not one of those women who enjoys being pregnant. I'm just not into people making me out to be an invalid.

[Empress of Groovy 373]

Oh yeah, heartburn! That was a weird one because I have bad acid reflux (I actually had an endoscopy when I was 25 and was told, "Yes! You have heartburn!" Thanks!), and during the first 2/3 of the pregnancy, it was greatly improved. It did get bad in the third trimester, but it was nothing out of the ordinary for me. Perhaps I should shift the conversation to nice side effects of pregnancy: starting around 14 weeks(?), my skin was soft, zit-free, and crystal clear, and my hair was lovely and nongreasy. I only had to wash it about every three days (if I washed it more often, it would get dry), and almost none of it came out in the shower.

My sis is about 10 weeks along and is doing a lot better than I was at that stage. She has her ups and downs, and her main symptoms are food aversions and fatigue. She said she can stave off major nausea by eating frequently, which was about the only thing that worked for me too. She's still getting up and going to work every day and working out at night (after a 2-hour nap).

[Gemmie 142]

Oh man, I feel so bad for you two. I couldn't stand being sicky for a few days, I have no idea how you handled it for weeks on end. And heartburn... I'm still not sure I know how that feels, but I probably will in the coming months.

My skin completely broke out this weekend, it was AWFUL. I read that I'm not allowed to use anything with certain ingredients in it (read: everything that works) so I just had to deal. But I found a Tea Tree Oil face mask that I bought from the Body Shop in England about SIX YEARS AGO, and it actually dried out of all the break-outs and 'froze' them, and it's gotten a lot better. I've read so much stuff online about pregnancy acne means you're having a girl, or not having much morning sickness means you're having a boy- I don't think there's anything in those old tales, but did they work for you and your experiences?

[Empress of Groovy 373]

Oh man, I feel so bad for you two. I couldn't stand being sicky for a few days, I have no idea how you handled it for weeks on end. And heartburn... I'm still not sure I know how that feels, but I probably will in the coming months.

My skin completely broke out this weekend, it was AWFUL. I read that I'm not allowed to use anything with certain ingredients in it (read: everything that works) so I just had to deal. But I found a Tea Tree Oil face mask that I bought from the Body Shop in England about SIX YEARS AGO, and it actually dried out of all the break-outs and 'froze' them, and it's gotten a lot better. I've read so much stuff online about pregnancy acne means you're having a girl, or not having much morning sickness means you're having a boy- I don't think there's anything in those old tales, but did they work for you and your experiences?

I think I had some zits & oily skin early on, similar to what I'd have occasionally w/ PMS, but nothing terrible. Maybe that's an advantage of being an old pregnant lady.

I read somewhere that there is a slight association between the really bad sickness (hyperemesis gravidarum) and having a girl--that is, a slightly higher percentage of women who had HE were pregnant with girls. The NP at my OB's office said something like, "Girls are so hard on their moms!" Of course, she was kind of a dingbat.

[TracyTN 237]

LOL at the Dingbat comment!!

I heard that old wives tale that girls take the 'beauty' out of their mothers so they're all haggard and zitty looking. I didn't have bad acne and I don't THINK I looked haggard most days - so I don't know about that. Oh and also that Chinese calendar thing has been right for every one of my coworkers, but it was wrong for me. I think I'm just an odd ball.

[Gemmie 142]

Yeah, apparently the extreme sickness is due to higher levels of HGC (pregnancy hormone) which scientifically, is higher when carrying females. The others are just myths, but it is fun to guess.

The Chinese calender says I'm having a boy, so I guess I can't argue with that.

[Empress of Groovy 373]

I think the Chinese thing was correct for me. I also did another questionnaire-type thing that was pretty funny. It said that she would arrive on a stormy Saturday and have firey red hair, hazel eyes, and two teeth, and weigh something like 12 pounds.

[*Snowdrop* 603]

The Chinese calendar was correct for me too.

But as for morning sickness - I didn't have one day of it and I had a girl.

Also how long does the looking haggard with a girl thing last. She's two now and I'm still looking worse for wear!

[Empress of Groovy 373]

The Chinese calendar was correct for me too.

But as for morning sickness - I didn't have one day of it and I had a girl.

Also how long does the looking haggard with a girl thing last. She's two now and I'm still looking worse for wear!

I think I've aged about 10 years in the last two!

[Empress of Groovy 373]

My sister's NT scan is this Friday. I'm getting anxious already. She's not really allowing herself to get excited until she has this screening, and I'm holding my excitement too. So far so good, though. She's still feeling quite unwell off and on.

What's new, ever-buddy?

Here's a recent picture of Mad-Ag. Making the Jon Face.