General chatter while we wait (and commentary on the "pull out method")

[Jezika]

Also I’ve legit put on almost 50lbs

 

[PrettyInInk42]

Jez - We've had some decent name talks. My first thought when I found out I was pg was Victoria. I mentioned that to SO and he was kinda meh about it. We read though a list of like 500 names. One of the ones he said he liked was Evelyn. I looked up the meaning (cuz I'm into that) and it means "desired child" and thought that was perfect. When I brought it up with him again, he was suddenly meh on Evelyn. Last thing his said was he tends to like unisex names and his top 2 picks right now are probably Carrie and Riley. Really don't like Carrie, but I looked into Riley. One of it's meanings in "valiant" and Riley is also my favorite Busby girl from Outdaughtered. So, presently, I'm ok with Riley. But let's see how our next name discussion goes. lol
Alex - 39w5d
Matthew- 41w0d
Zoey - 41w3d
Every pregnancy is different though. My mom was very late with me and sorta early with my sister. Curious to see when I'll deliver too. And ya, you mentioned he was gonna be Miles.

Here's my bump from a couple weeks ago, lol...

 

[DobbyForever]

Love the bump pics!

Being a teacher ruins so many names. I have an Evelyn rn, gorgeous kid with so much potential. Just failed a science test because she was too busy flirting to bother doing her test. In 4th grade. Ffs. I gave her three opportunities to do it! Ugh. But I love the endless nickname. Love every Riley I’ve had though! Carrie does also take me to horror movie but most Carrie’s I know irl are stuck up lmfao. Can’t wait to see where you land!

Jez so glad you popped in! Can’t comment on the physio but love how you describe it haha. As long as you know where babg is sleeping meh everything else is fine haha. Can’t believe we’re on baby watch!

 

[PrettyInInk42]

Dobby - Ya, when SO mentioned he liked Carrie, it was via WhatsApp and accompanied it with a pic of Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia. I countered with a gif from the original Carrie movie where the blood gets dumped on her. He said "either way, no one will mess with her." lol.
Have you seen a lot of different spellings of Riley for girl? Rylee, Raleigh, Rylie, etc? Always interesting to talk to teachers and see how many kids with the same names they encounter. Like, what the trends are. SO's cousin is a postnatal nurse, so she probably sees the same thing.

 

[DobbyForever]

Most often I see Rylee. Riley next. Can’t say I’ve seen Raleigh.

 

[Jezika]

Lovely bump pic, Pretty. And I like the name Riley. Matilda has a Riley in her class and one in her after-school club. I believe one is spelt Rylee and one is a girl and the other a boy but I’m not sure which way around. The Carrie gif text sounds hilarious. Im ashamed to say I only really think of Sex And the City when I hear Carrie. I do also like unisex names. I have such a long list of girl names still that I’m sad I’ll never get to use. I really liked Elliette, Tenley, Marlow and Juniper… and a dozen others.

Dobs I always thought that about teachers and names. I’m the kind of person who would be very unlikely to give my child the same name as pretty much anyone I’ve ever met, so that already eliminates a lot. Not because I want it to be unique, I just can’t disentangle the name from the person I know. Mind you I did work with a Miles in my early twenties in London. He was hot and successful. Hmm that might explain the positive association.

Oh so I let the physio do the perineal massage today. It was fine. But it was a little embarrassing because I told her I did get a chance to practice it on my own at home and she asked if I’d used lube and I said no, and she said she’s never heard of anyone doing it without lube before. And the truth is I’d been feeling a surge of rare pregnancy horniness at the time and thought I’d kill two birds with one stone and incorporate some perineal massage while I was down there, so obviously I was already well lubricated. Except I didn’t reveal that, and instead found myself explaining that I’m generally quite “dischargey” down there, which is arguably way worse (not that self-pleasure is bad anyway?!).

In other news I just finished watching One Day on Netflix. The actor Leo what’s-his-face is soooo hot. He was also in White Lotus but had such a different accent and character. Anyway, the show was a bit of a slow burner but so emotional towards the end. I feel so raw lol.

K sorry for the ramblings.

 

[Jezika]

Oh in case it’s of interest, other names of M’s classmates include Evelyn, Katelyn, Aliyah, Lillian, Lily, Mya, Avery, Sabrina, Lynnae, Spencer, Tarajii and Skye. I kind of like Spencer for a girl.

 

[DobbyForever]

HAHAHA just don't tell Hubs about the Miles connection. or do ahahha. Interestingly I've only ever had one Aiden, and it was after I had A. And he was also a mixed black kid with curly hair and ADHD! I had a huge soft spot for him because of it. But yeah definitely a lot of names taken off the list. Or other short runner was Ethan, and I had an Ethan that I really adored. He had a single mom and we just bonded over our lack of dads. Sweet totally misunderstood kid. Dylan was the other name and same thing. I ADORED the one Dylan I had hahaha. But lots of names I'm just good not saying for while hahaha.

ALSO O.M.F.G. you're amazing. I cannot even. That is the best thing I've heard ever. ohhh didn't see either of those.

AFM got told today I'm teaching a 4/5 combo. My teammate is changing to 3rd grade for the lower class size. The vet he wanted to move to 4th is changing schools. Another 3rd grade teacher I like is also leaving the school. So I have no idea who is going to teach the two 4th grade classes and I'm assuming the two 5th grade teachers will stay the same. But yeah. This'll be interesting lol. AND I went to the DMV and the lady was like... how have you had your license for 20 years and never been asked to fill out a statement of fact that you have an eye condition? And I'm like idk I just show up and get my license lol. So now I have to go to the optometrist, who is booked until freaking MAY! to get a letter saying I'm fit to drive... while I continue to drive....

 

[DobbyForever]

Oh interesting girl names A’s new bff is Rosalinda after a family member. Her parents said Rose is too common a nickname so they went with Indie from the IND in her name.

I’m still team Rylee. So haha

 

[Jezika]

Oh I like that less obvious nickname. Indie reminds me of one of the characters in Bluey. My (real) name actually has a very good nickname option contained in it that I’ve never ever ever used and tbh for some reason had never even been on my radar (my name isn’t wildly exotic but it’s quite uncommon so I’ve only ever come across one other person with the name - online). And I’ve recently felt like it’s a lost opportunity. I’ve briefly entertained changing my name to it in Facebook to get to indulge a little but primarily to have some anonymity in case clients search for me, but then i feel like everyone who knows me will be like who the heck is (new name). Anyway, not sure how I made this about me, sorry.

The schooo stuff sounds logistically very anxiety provoking even for me as a spectator. Idk how schools sort that stuff out. Do they get a bunch of supplies? Is it harder teaching mixed grades? I assume it must be.

Re: DMV lol yeah like what do you want me to say?! YOU guys said it’s fine; it’s not my bloody job to give you what you don’t even ask for.

In other news I finally got feedback on my dissertation from my supervisory committee. One member commended me for a “high quality product” and the other basically ripped it to shreds and then shat on it. Funnily enough, the second person made the most scathing remarks about parts that my research supervisor insisted i include and that our statistical consultant advised me to do. How I’ll navigate all these conflicting opinions, let alone make such major revisions, all before popping this baby out (who’s due in exactly 3 weeks btw) is anyone’s guess. But my personal guess is that it’s physically, mentally and practically impossible. So yeah let’s just say I cried a lot.

Also found out I tested positive for group B strep in the ol’ vagina and rectum (or maybe one or the other, since it’s the same swab), which I also cried over despite knowing it’s common. I was taking crazily expensive probiotics specifically to avoid this, which id believed had worked in my first pregnancy coz I’d tested negative. Anyway, it seems the standard protocol is to treat with IV antibiotics during delivery and to make sure at least two doses are administered 4 hours apart in order to protect the baby. Wasn’t wild about that but had accepted it after doing extensive googling and forum scouring. Except then I had a midwife appt and she said that I don’t have to treat it if I don’t want to or only to treat if I have “other risk factors” and said it was my decision but seemed to give plenty of reasons for NOT treating it at all, which confused and annoyed me. I told her that my stepsister’s friend in the UK had a baby who sadly passed away a few days after birth due to strep B (they don’t test in the UK) and she seemed quite dismissive of that and insisted the parents must’ve missed the symptoms (my stepsister later confirmed that was NOT the case). Also I expressed concern over not having time to get two doses at the hospital if labour goes fast but she seemed to dismiss that as well and repeatedly insist that I shouldn’t even page them until I’m in active labour, even though Matilda already came super fast and second babies typically come even faster. I’ve heard from others local to me that these midwives can be dismissive of fast labours and that it’s resulted in some very dicey circumstances, which makes me worried because I’m not the best at advocating for myself in the face of someone who appears to have authority/is more assertive/might be angry with me. Argh sorry I’m so tired and rambling again.

 

[DobbyForever]

Oh man yeah trying to change a nickname as an adult must be a challenge haha. Good point about privacy. My brother is doing child psych rotation rn, and he’s thinking he wants to do pysch. Weird tangent lol don’t know how I got there

Omg I’m so sorry!!! You’re just getting conflicting info on both ends! I say go with what you and hubby think is best. That’s so frustrating though. I’d cry too!

The combo? Actually 4/5 is a super east combo. Most schools offset the challenge by: offering a part time aide, lowering class size, and offering an additional prep period. They also usually only put low needs, low behavior kids who are independent works and at or above grade level already.
Academically, the reading skills are the same just 5th grade does it with harder texts and themes. Math just expands on fourth grade with more general versions or standard algorithm. Like fourth only works with denominators 2,4,8 whereas 5th branches out into other numbers. Writing is just more fine tuning and elevation. Science is totally different but the 5th grade teacher is open to taking my 5th graders for science . It’s a lot of planning and logistics but honestly you get the easiest kids ri work with because they don’t need intervention or ELD or behavior. So some teachers actually looove taking combos.

 

[shaescott]

Jez oh geez re: group B strep. During my L&D orientation for float pool, I worked with a nurse who was super crunchy and wouldn’t give vaccines or even rhogam (due to the adjuncts), she’d grab another nurse to give it for her because she was morally opposed to administering something she thought was unsafe. She carried the vitamin K insert with black box warning in her POCKET. All that said, when I asked why antibiotics were needed for group b strep when it’s so darn common, she said “cuz it can kill the baby”. She didn’t believe in vaccines, and yet she emphasized the importance of antibiotics in group b strep. Soooo from that, I would gather that it is indeed important.

Also, you referencing your real name and me promptly going to that video you sent us the link to ages ago of Tilly and the cat and you telling her no definitely not a common name in North America or Western Europe. Is your family Eastern European?

 

[shaescott]

Dobs which grade are you currently teaching? I always forget lol. I’m glad that it sounds like you’ll get an easy group of students next year!

It’s funny how my name choices have changed over time. When I was in middle school, I insisted that I’d name my first 2 girls Abigail Rose and Isabelle Grace. Now neither of those first names are on my list the only first names that DH and I have officially agreed on are Ellie Joy (possibly full name Eleanor, possibly just Ellie, we can’t decide), and Charlotte. Daisy is a good contender as well. Grace and Rose are possible middle name contenders. For boys, the current agreed upon name is Theodore James. Other good contenders include Benjamin and Jacob. Also Levi, purely because it’s a biblical name literally meaning son of (my name). It also means attached, but whatever. His best friend and brother said they’d call the kid “jeans” or “denim”, so that name may not pan out lol. DH practiced yelling full names in the car and that’s a major reason we might do Eleanor instead of Ellie

Also ever since 2dpo my nipples have been quite sensitive to the touch, it’s very rude of them. No full deposit during fertile period though, so it’s likely nothing.

Also, no guarantee that October TTC is actually going to happen. DH is still studying for that potential job, it’s a lot more material than he expected, and he’s also doing the house tending duties (trips to the dump, grocery store, dishes, cooking dinner most nights, etc). We can’t TTC until he gets both hired and placed (the company places you with a tech company). That can take a few months of training after hire, and he’s not ready to take their hiring test yet. Sigh. Eventually.

 

[DobbyForever]

Omg the "try it out by yelling the full name" method. Tried and true hahaha. Definitely been there. I never really picked out boy names, but I always knew I wanted my son's middle name to be my dad's name. That was never negotiable. I do think if I had a daughter and the dad agreed, I would have kept with Aria (I really wanted Ariabella but everyone said it was too long and pretentious) or that it should be Arabella not Ariabella. I was deep into Kairi (thanks animes hahaha) for a long time though.

I always get excited when you post Shae it's like Jez and Pretty have us on baby watch but I love being on poas watch with you. I know tech officially TTC is october (I think it was oct) but yeah. A girl can send baby dust vibes hahahhaha

That's too bad that the test is proving more challenging than expected. Hopefully he's ready soon and that next chapter comes soon.

I teach 4th. I student taught in Kinder then I taught 1*, 5*, 2*, 2, 5*, 5, 5*, 2* (pandemic starts), 5* (online), 5, 4*, 4, and then next year with be the 4/5. Any grade with an * means I had to set up a classroom hahaha either because I changed schools or changed grades within a school that required a room change. Like how crazy that next year with be my 13th year teaching yet I've only had 5 years where I wasn't changing classrooms hahaha. My school is undergoing construction so in two years I'll have to move again

Happy Resurrection Day/Easter to those that celebrate! My brother is getting pressured to look at buying a 1 bedroom condo, so I went to a couple open houses with him this weekend. I'm totally against it. I think he needs to wait a year or two, but the stepdad is trying to push him out. I think he misses his freedom to have women over frankly because he's pushing him to make bad investments. His girlfriend is trying to push him out of his financial comfort zone. The one we looked at today was 680 but really his budget should be 500-550. A had a lovely Easter. We did the usual. Baked cupcakes with sermon on, egg hunt, and dyed eggs. Forgot my allergy pill so I'm miserable lol. I also hurt my knee doing Persian dancing for a NY assembly a parent did and it's still giving me trouble today =/

 

[shaescott]

Dobs I like Aria as well, DH shot it down but honestly at this point I’m just happy he liked any names on my list.

Happy Easter/Resurrection Day!

 

[PrettyInInk42]

Hey ladies. Apparently I missed a bunch of posts again. Will catch up properly later, but just wanted to comment on group b strep...

I've had it with all 3 kids so far. With Alex, I was told by the OB subbing in that day that I tested negative. When I got to the hospital, they said my paperwork said I was positive. So, clearly the OB got the paperwork mixed up or something. My water had broken around 8am and, apparently, you need to deliver within 24 hours to prevent the bacteria getting to the baby. So, I got at least a couple bags of the antibiotics and delivered Alex with minutes to spare.
With Matthew, the MW got an IV going as soon as she got to my house (around 2pm). Was able to get 2 full bags of meds before I delivered him. And my water was only broken for 20-30 mins before I had him. So, very low risk at that point.
With Zoey, I was well into active labour when the MW arrived and you need an hour for the drugs to get into your system. The MW didn't think I'd have that much time, so we skipped it since my water hadn't broken yet. I delivered her within 40 mins or less of my water breaking and just monitored for signs of infection, but she was fine.
I'm fully expecting to test positive again. And won't wait as long to call the MWs this time. It's mildly annoying to be hooked up while in labour, but very worth it to end up with a healthy baby.

 

[shaescott]

I am having beef with my body.



I am 12dpo, I’ve been spotting nonstop since 6dpo, my progesterone level actually rose significantly today, and pregnancy test is negative. Based on past cycles (thanks FF cycle statistics!), I usually get my period anywhere from 12dpo-14dpo (11-13 day luteal phase), so it could come at any time now, but so far it’s just the spotting and a high closed cervix. I am in confusion, mostly as to the progesterone rise. I have limited data on how my progesterone acts in the last couple days surrounding my period, so I’m trying to test through it this time so I have a good reference as to my normal. But regardless, the spotting with normal progesterone drives me bonkers, because it doesn’t make sense.

 

[shaescott]

So last night of course I was greeted with some clotty bright blood lol. This morning progesterone dropped to 10, which is still not a pre-ovulation level, but idk. Maybe my urine progesterone has a bit of a delay lol. Definitely not full flow yet, but I’m quite sure I’m not pregnant, so I’m really just focusing on trending these numbers so I have realistic expectations in the future on what they’re going to do when not pregnant.

 

[gigglebox]

Ok brief message time…
Pregnant ladies, how are you feeling?

I’m with dobs, I am also excited for pee sticks!

Shae — I just want to shake your husband!!! You can tell him our story — we took a $40,000 loan against our house so hubby could (along with two other guys) open a mechanic shop. It opened literally the same month I had baby #3. In fact we were in his shop right before the grand opening giving some family members the tour when I went into labor. It was a scary time, being a SAHM on one income anyway and now with a ton of debt backed by our home and then adding a baby on top…but guess what? It all worked out. We made it work because that’s what humans do. God provides and we figure it out as needed.

But what God can’t do is give you time back. He can’t fix the regret of not starting sooner. Now y’all are young and still have time but just how far back is SO going to keep pushing ttc?? What would you have done if that pregnancy stuck a few months back?

Just my two cents.

 

[DobbyForever]

^ solid words

Also I feel like y’all be out here on baby watch leaving us a wondering if your silence means baby