Baby Corner

[Anna C. 4]

@ Anya: bring your carseat, no matter whether you book a seat for him or not. If there is a free seat, they will give it to you and you can securely attach your infant seat to the airplane seat (most car seats are FFA approved, but check yours, it will tell you if it is). If there is no space, they will just gate check your car seat, it is free. I would want to use it in a cab, you never know what will happen, and it's easy enough to install those thingies. We took the car seat on planes with us and purchased a seat for Jona. This time, I will check the car seat and use the CARES harness, however a child has to weigh at least 22 pounds for it. check your airlines' website about travelling with kids and baggage allowances.

[chnst 6]

Anya: he is soo cute! I love the shirt in the first picture! so happy everything is working out for you! I would def bring a carseat, although it may be tricky to use in a cab in Thailand... I did the NYC cabs a few times with the baby on my lap and felt very very guilty, it is really pretty dangerous to have an infant on your lap. Is there a chance that you could rent a car in Thailand? I would probably get a cheap and lightweight seat that you can install quickly with a sealtbelt.

[chri'stina 190]

In India both times we went, Kavi didn't sit in a carseat in the taxis/cars there. They don't use them. It doesn't feel extremely safe but it's the norm there. We did bring the carseat last year for him to sit in on the plane.

[Staashi 371]

Enzo doesn't have his carseat for Argentina since my inlaws mostly travel by bus. If we had a car there then yes, we'd have a carseat for Enzo.

[anya-D 8]

Thanks for the input ladies. I problably going to bring one just so if we use my parents or sister's car, by that time he's problably heavy enough to use the CARES harness hehe

[MARM 7]

So I have an update:

I saw my OB/GYN yesterday (he is a great doctor btw, if anyone needs a recommendation in DuPage County, IL, ask me!). I had blood drawn as well for quantitative HCG, TSH, and Progesterone Serum. The doctor is happy with my results for the Progesterone (he wants at least a 10, mine is 12.3), my HCG is 6,300 but the doctor wants to do a beta-hCG tomorrow, right now he thinks I am between week 3 and 4, but he said the number should be more than double if that is the case, so that will be determined by the second test tomorrow. And he said my thyroid seems underactive according to the TSH results, but he wants me to come in for a thyroid profile tomorrow and then start me on thyroid medications. I am worried!

I researched about the underactive thyroid, and I keep finding out that it causes brain development problems and related cognitive deficiences. I didn't get a chance to ask the Dr. today regarding how concerned I should be. I will talk to him tomorrow when I go in for the B/W. hopefully he can give me my results on Saturday, but I doubt that...I would hate to wait until Tuesday!

Anyone have any ideas about underactive thyroid?

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

MARM, best advice is to not google or WebMD your pregnancy. Its very hard not to worry sick during pregnancy. I dont have any advice but im sure if it becomes an issue your OB will know exactly what to do for you.

p.s. I live in Cook County Your right up the way!

[Fandango 1,440]

MARM, best advice is to not google or WebMD your pregnancy. Its very hard not to worry sick during pregnancy. I dont have any advice but im sure if it becomes an issue your OB will know exactly what to do for you.

p.s. I live in Cook County Your right up the way!

I agree. My doc and nurses all roll their eyes when I say 'well, I was on the net. and...' and someone will turn around and say 'you need to stay off the internet'.

Although, saying that, I have learned quite a few things that I was able to discuss more or less intelligently with my doc about. It's just a very fine balance between reading the ####### that is on the net that will make you stay up all night long with worry, vs the proactive stuff that can actually make a difference.

But to ease your mind, I went a googling. Turns out this is pretty common in pregnancy. I would talk with your doc about natural remedies, if possible, but if you have to resort to meds, you're gonna be ok:

Since thyroid medications (particularly Levothyroxine) are essentially identical to the thyroid hormone made by the normal thyroid gland, a woman with an underactive thyroid gland can feel confident that it is perfectly safe to take thyroid hormone medication during pregnancy. There are no side effects for the mother or the baby as long as the proper dose is used. In the case where hypothyroidism in the mother is NOT detected, the thyroid will still develop normally in the baby.

http://www.endocrine.../pregnancy.html

eta - MARM, I also read somewhere that the cognitive problems are due to UNTREATED hypothyroidism. So, just breathe and wait to see what the doc says!

Edited September 3, 2010 by Happy Bunny

[Staashi 371]

MARM - as 26-year sufferer of hypothyroidism - yes, I was diagnosed when I was 10, I can tell you that thyroid issues are no joke in pregnancy and life in general. It is super important to be on thyroid hormone, namely levothyroxin. Your levels should be stablized to the point where you are back in the normal range. Thyroid issues run in my family, with both my mom, aunt and cousin afflicted with this. When your thyroid is out of whack the range of symptoms is mind-boggling: sluggishness, weight gain, extreme exhaustion, dry skin and hair, to name a few. One major issue though is that during pregnancy, women with hypothyroidism run the risk of premature labor, typically in the 2nd trimester. This situation happened to my cousin. Her first baby was born at 24 weeks. Through months and months at the NICU he thrived and made it - he is now a happy, healthy six-year old with no cognitive disorders. She was pregnant again a few years later and went in to preterm labor at 22 weeks. The baby lived for just 3 days. Not too long after her 2nd labor, there was a study published that stated that hypothyroidism in pregnancy can lead to premature births. The doctors began to look over her paperwork, test results and medical history. They realized that her TSH levels, which ran on the low side, encouraged her body to go into preterm labor both times.

With that knowledge during my pregnancy, my OB was very, very obsessed with my TSH levels. I must say that my aunt was hounding me all the time about them - with good reason. I had regular bloodwork each month to make sure that I was stable and to monitor any changes. Thankfully, my levels were within a good range the entire time and I had a normal pregnancy without any preterm labor symptoms.

I am not here to scare you - I am just advising you to be vigilant about monitoring your levels. Have your OB schedule regular monthly tests. I'd rather you err on the side of caution than throw it all to the wind. I hope you have an awesome pregnancy - may you be healthy and at peace the whole time.

[chnst 6]

MARM: it sounds like you're in very good hands with your doctor. wow I am actually really impressed! If they put you on levothyroxin they will most likely counsel you and tell you what to look out for. Taking thyroid replacements means that you also need to look out for symptoms of hyperthyroidism (in case you're taking too much)as well as hypothyroidism and potential (but rare) complications. They will tell you what you need to know and what to look out for. I agree, don't google too much, you may get some accurate information from some places but everyone is individual and has a different story. I always suggest asking your doctor where you can get more information, they have the experience and medical education, most people who post stuff on the internet do not.

I hope you have a great pregnancy, keep us posted.

So, we're on day 3 of jetlag... Ben passed out at 7pm last night and was up asking for breakfast at 4am. He used to sleep til 8am. I really hope he'll get back on track soon. He had no issues at all when we got to Germany.

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

Im sure he will be back to good in no time Stef. Even I had a HORRIBLE time adjusting everytime I went to Jordan. Wanting meals in the middle of the night and sleeping during the day. I would say it took about a week to be back to normal!

took the day off! Yay for a 4 day weekend!

[Autumnchik 6]

Lisa - Will be thinking about you on Monday. Can't wait to see pics! And let me just say about DDD .... I want to make SO many roadtrips to eateries I have seen on that show .... I'll come with you to Chicago to get that burger if we can stop by Hillbilly Hot Dogs in WV on the way (the place looks absolutely ridiculous which I love!!!)

Anya - He is such a cutie

Stef - Congrats on the job. personally, I would not disclose that you are pregnant right away. I would wait until you have been there a little while.

I am excited about my new job. Not sure of an exact start date, because the VA has to do background checks and a physical before I can start. What I am dreading though is having to get Declan up so much earlier in the morning. We will have to drive about 45 minutes to get to his new daycare and hubby needs to be at school/me at work an hour earlier than we normally drop Declan off. I am going to try to get him to bed earlier starting now so he will be used to waking up earlier in a month or so.

[MARM 7]

The support from all of you here gives me alot of strength! Thank you all so much!

It took an hour for my husband to explain to me why NOT to google anything the doctor tells me. I should actually be thankful to my doctor to begin with, as I know other doctors who are not willing to even see anyone less than 8 weeks pregnant. I guess my anxiety stems from all the horror stories of m/cs I have read online...I really should not be reading them. Thanks for the reassurance everyone, it really helps since all of this pregnancy stuff is brand new for me.

@ZaidsMommy: I lived in the city for 8 years, but was never a city girl. I enjoy visiting every once in a while, but my heart is content with the quiet suburbs here . Enjoy your 4 day weekend, I look forward to more updates!

@HappyBunny: Thinking about the wait in between the doctor telling me he wants a thyroid profile and the results and then what he prescribes was really getting to me yesterday. I had a good cry yesterday, I need to learn to take it one day at a time as hubby says. Thanks for the information too, I hope the issue is not a big one and that it can be easily treated. I will ask the doc today and let you know

@Staashi: I too hope my doctor decides to run tests every 4 weeks to keep my levels regulated. Speaking of the symptoms, I do feel sluggish and abnormally lethargic at times, and I thought it was because of the pregnancy...I also had the TSH test about 4 months ago and the doctor at that time (a different one) said everything was in normal range. So I am thinking, can pregnancy cause hypothyroidism? There's another question for my OB, thank god he is always willing to answer! I am really looking forward to my appointment in two hours!

@chnst: In regards to where to get information from my doctor, he actually recommended "What to Expect When You're Expecting" as a good source for first-timers, and I guess he wants me to ask him all the questions since he kept saying that he wants me to call him for everything and anything. After the initial appointment, I was having a hard time accepting the fact that this doctor really wants me to call him for everything and anything. I guess it's because all of my previous OB/GYN and other docs rarely spent more than 5 minutes with me and walked out. Today, he'll be put ot the test, because I do have a ton of questions for him!

[Eveline 9]

MARM - as 26-year sufferer of hypothyroidism - yes, I was diagnosed when I was 10, I can tell you that thyroid issues are no joke in pregnancy and life in general. It is super important to be on thyroid hormone, namely levothyroxin. Your levels should be stablized to the point where you are back in the normal range. Thyroid issues run in my family, with both my mom, aunt and cousin afflicted with this. When your thyroid is out of whack the range of symptoms is mind-boggling: sluggishness, weight gain, extreme exhaustion, dry skin and hair, to name a few. One major issue though is that during pregnancy, women with hypothyroidism run the risk of premature labor, typically in the 2nd trimester. This situation happened to my cousin. Her first baby was born at 24 weeks. Through months and months at the NICU he thrived and made it - he is now a happy, healthy six-year old with no cognitive disorders. She was pregnant again a few years later and went in to preterm labor at 22 weeks. The baby lived for just 3 days. Not too long after her 2nd labor, there was a study published that stated that hypothyroidism in pregnancy can lead to premature births. The doctors began to look over her paperwork, test results and medical history. They realized that her TSH levels, which ran on the low side, encouraged her body to go into preterm labor both times.

With that knowledge during my pregnancy, my OB was very, very obsessed with my TSH levels. I must say that my aunt was hounding me all the time about them - with good reason. I had regular bloodwork each month to make sure that I was stable and to monitor any changes. Thankfully, my levels were within a good range the entire time and I had a normal pregnancy without any preterm labor symptoms.

I am not here to scare you - I am just advising you to be vigilant about monitoring your levels. Have your OB schedule regular monthly tests. I'd rather you err on the side of caution than throw it all to the wind. I hope you have an awesome pregnancy - may you be healthy and at peace the whole time.

I've go to add MOOD SWINGS to that. My husband had Hypothyroidism (Hashimotos) and his thyroid was taken out shortly after it was diagnosed because the doctor found several nodules. Apparently his thyroid fell apart once they took it out. The doc said it looked like the thyroid of a 60 year old. Anyway while my husband is good about taking his pills, the home delivery system doesn't always work right and sometimes he's without pills for a few days and I'm telling you...he's no fun then. He'll snap at EVERYTHING and my usually very humouros husband turns into a diva that I can't get close to. It's like walking on eggshells with him, no fun.

[Rusti 0]

I have hypothyroidism. If I don't take my meds within about 5 hours of the regular time that I take them, I get really bad headaches. Mood swings yes. I have a hormone imbalance so we're not sure what causes them, but they can get really bad. Hubby and I have been married six years and no babies yet. I'm at the point where I think it will never happen for me, so I babysit whenever I can to get my baby fix. It is hard as I am 34 and not getting any younger. So i'm living vicariously through all you gals too!