Pregnancy FAQs

**** These FAQs are from my first pregnancy. I will update as my second pregnancy continues******

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about my pregnancy

I'm reposting this from the blog I kept when I was pregnant the first time. 
On the message boards I frequent there are a lot of questions that get asked over and over. Understandable since new people probably haven’t seen all of the old posts. Because I am lazy, I am compiling my standard answers here so that I no longer have to generate them each time the question gets asked.

Should I get the NT screen/CVS/amniocentesis? Which and how much testing you should do is really an individual thing. Some people need to know with absolute certainty that there baby has no chromosomal issues and others don’t want to know anything at all. Frequently people say that it depends on if you would terminate. I don’t agree with that. I think there is a lot of benefit in knowing in advance that your baby will have issues even if you have no intentions of terminating, such a planning the appropriate hospital for the birth and research the disorder before you are overwhelmed by caring for a newborn. Like I said, it’s a personal choice.

Now reading that, you might assume that I had a lot of testing. I didn’t. Scott and I took it one step at a time. We had the NT screen and blood test that came back very good so we decided not to do the CVS. Had our risk been higher, we would have probably had more invasive testing. Likewise, had our AFP test or 18 week ultrasound shown any soft markers we probably would have had an amnio, they didn’t, so we didn’t.

Pregnancy number 2- Same situation. At both the NT scan and anatomy scan, everything looked great so we are moving forward with no further testing. 

When did you start showing/wearing maternity clothes? For comparison’s sake, I am 5’10” with a long torso and was unfortunately carrying about 20 extra pounds when I got knocked up.

Bump noticeable to DH and I:  14 weeks, PG#2- 12 weeks
Bump noticeable to those who knew I was pregnant and were looking: 18 weeks (PG#2- 15 weeks)
Bump noticeable to all others: My first stranger comment was a 22 weeks.(PG#2- 21 weeks)
I started wearing maternity clothes the majority of the time around 16 weeks(PG#2-14 weeks)

Are you getting the seasonal/ H1N1 flu vaccine? Yes and yes.

When did you start feeling the baby move? 16 weeks. Very tiny, light movements but by 18 weeks she was moving quite a bit.(Pg#2- about 15 weeks. This one has an anterior placenta, so I didn't feel as much movement in the early days.)

When could others feel the movement? DH felt it around 22 weeks. Babies have a delightful tendency to freeze up when anyone else’s hand is on your belly. (Same for PG#2)

When was your first OB appointment? My OB's office does the first prenatal appointment at 10 weeks. It seems like the average is somewhere in the 8-10 week range. It is an excruciatingly long wait when you are in the first trimester and wondering what is happening in there.

PG#2- because I had a miscarriage prior to this pregnancy, I got to go for my first appt at 7 weeks to confirm viability. This is the only good thing that comes from a miscarriage.


How often are your OB appointments? Every 4 weeks from weeks 10 to 30.Every 2 weeks from weeks 32 to 36 and then every week.

Does your doctor do anything different because you are AMA (advanced maternal age)? Nope. It never comes up. The only time my Dr mentioned it was when discussing screening testing options. I am on the same appointment schedule as a 26 year old would be. I don't get any more tests or U/S's than anyone else. Simply being over 35 doesn't make the pregnancy high risk.

When did you start getting internals? 36 weeks. I had to take my pants off for the Group B Strep swab so it just makes sense. 

When did your baby drop? Around 35 weeks. She was very low the whole time so it wasn't too obvious but I did feel more pressure in my pelvis and my fundal height stopped going up.
How far along were you when you delivered? 41weeks 5 days via c-section after 4 days of induction attempts. Left to her own devices, she would still be gestating.



That’s all I can think of for now. I’ll update as I think of more.