July 2011 babies - second trimester here we come!

[MadAboutTheBoys]

I was just about to post to say sorry for starting the July thread and then disappearing, then saw that it was all full up! So I thought I would start us a new one.

Hello to all the many many ladies that have joined the July club - it's lovely to see so many of us here. I've been trying to read back through all the old posts, but there are so many, that's partly why it's taken me so long to get back! Have also been having some personal troubles, but that's another story.

Anyway, I'm 12 weeks today and slightly looking forward to my scan on Christmas Eve, but also nervous in case it's not good news. I'm looking forward to catching up with you all again and hearing how you and your bumps are going.

Fab I went from 34b to 38b with my first pregnancy, then back to a 34c after stopping breastfeeding. my under boob area definitely grew! This time I am already in d cups.
Nicola, we have a big hallway but the problem is the area I go walking - it has thin bits to stop motorbikes. The age gap will be 2.5 years so I'm hoping to make do with a buggy board on the back of my mountain buggy, along with a carry cot. But, even now my son is happy to snuggle down in his buggy and I do some pretty long walks. I think I will see how it goes and maybe invest in a double if I have to.

I got the swine flu jab yesterday and feel like rubbish today!! NEarly rang in sick this morning. Kind of wishing I hadn't had it now!!

Hey Fab - DH is getting 2 weeks leave. I was planning on moving over with him but I wasn't happy that the midwife attached to the GP surgery I would be using would not accept my obn recommendation that I am induced at 39wks. My back is hanging together by a thread and my pelvis is a wonky shape (darn car accident followed by no physical therapy due to 3 yr NHS waitlist). The obn here in the US has agreed to do everything possible to avoid a c-section. If I do need a c-section I def want someone from my obn group doing it as it would be an emergency one and they have seen me on a regular basis throughout the pregnancy.

I have set up a rota and family and friends are signing up to cover from wk 36 to day before D Day and four weeks after DH goes back to work. Quite a few friends want to visit New York before we leave.

The bit I like about the uppababy is that when the second one arrives I can get a skateboard or second seat attached. I would prefer to take my chances and only have one pram. I am also looking at all sorts of other baby stuff as most items are half the price here.

As to boobie expansion - I have gone from a 32/34B to a 36DD/E. I have boobies so big DH said Tesco might call when I get to England and ask me to supply them with milk!

cara - isn't it pretty late to be having the flu shot? Hope you feel better soon.

Wow Wanttobe now THAT'S what I call a growth spurt! I remember going from a 34B to a 32D only a last year - I had been determined not to have them measured for years after a snotty nosed M&S worker wrinkled her nose at me when I was 23 and said "Daaarling, they are barely on the brink of a B, in fact one of them is more than likely an A..." I was so mortified to go down a size and be called a wonky donkey at the same time! Thankfully a friend convinced me to go to Debenhams in Bond Street where I got remeasured and she immediately said it was wrong just by looking at me. I rang three friends from the shop I was so excited, I felt like a teenager!
Sounds like the NHS did a number on you with no physio after the accident. Sometimes i'm really impressed with the system but other times I can see huge holes. I think I am lucky with our postcode though - I had the flu jab before Christmas and I hear some people on here with delayed scans etc. Unfortunately though my Birthing Centre shut down recently and there's no guarantee it will re-open. Lack of midwives apparently so they shut down 2 centres in the area in an attempt to "funnel" us to one of the two hospitals left...all of this because of a baby boom in the area. I can't say I can see how it helps when the fairly new equipment is left not being used and everyone from the two towns with closed centres now have to travel appx 30mins by car to give birth! Madness.
I think you can get the board with the Bugaboo and iCandy too. Always handy to know, in case another pops along! Can't think that far ahead just yet though! Pea is already in Primary School sometimes when I get carried away in the days!
Glad you have lots of people to look after you. I'm sure a lot of people are looking forward to seeing you and get baby bits with you in NY before you leave! I hear A&D is better than Sudocream so stock up on that before coming over!
God I waffle on! Sorry again!

np fab - the A&D cream you are talking is about is what I call the nuclear edition. It is double the strength of sudocream which is why it works so well.

The NHS is great when it is a life and death situation. Unfortunatly maternity is viewed as being something completly natural which is why I think these is less focus on it. I think physio is another area which is quite badly underfunded. In my case it got so bad I couldn't walk down stairs and it took more than six months of daily physical therapy sessions here in the US to fix me. Our health insurance is great here and they have me seeing a chiropracter once a week. The obn said this will help a lot with the delivery. However, the best thing about the healthcare here is provision of care outside of working hours. All of my appointments are held before 8am with the chiropractor opening up half an hour so I am not late for work.

Gosh that sounds awful Want2b! Glad they seem to be doing lots to help things now though, hope it all goes well.
Cara I finally got my flu jag yesterday too - it is the combined one we get here and can only be administered at least in the 2nd trimester. I had quite a sore belly in the afternoon, but felt more like bad bloating and trapped wind than a side effect.
I am quite surprised to see my boobs on the move again too - went from 36B-34E with pg1 and have settled down after feeding (G!) to a 34E. God Fab what a cheecky cow! I would have been devastated with that remark! I was used to comments about being flat-chested, but they had mostly stopped by late teens .
Did you hear the hb nicola? I had a 16 wk app on Monday and was quite relieved to hear it strongly. In fact s/he kept shifting so mw had to keep moving the doppler! Still no feeling yet though. Deffo sounds like yours are though scotty! All my test things came back clear and my bloods were "excellent". I got my downs/sb bloods taken too (thankfully haven't got a call yet) - I wouldn't have an amnio, but the sb test seems straight forward and I would rather be prepared if anything is amiss. Oh, mw has also referred me to physio for my muscle pain. Wow SpannerPants what a waiting list!! I don't blame you for wanting to go private - that's almost 3 months of severe pain! I thought I had sciatica the last time, but thankfully turned out to be less serious. I hope you're getting some respite from it with your hectic schedule.
Enjoy your bath notnearly!

Has anybodies boobage not changed yet?? I was and still am a 36b (i think, i havent been measured ever fab because of those exact same reasons, so scared they will tell me i only need a trainig bra!!) I went to M&S yesterday and invested in my first non-underwired bra, had a good old rummage and managed to get non-underwired + padding - result!! I would never wear a non padded bra
19 weeks tomorrow and my scan is on Feb 15th, we cant decide whether on not to find out the sex - i dont want to but OH does.

Hope everyone is well x

Hey wolfcub I think lots of women stay the same or suddenly grow in the last trimester. I have to say I think it was a bad experience with M&S - I would'nt go back there. I now advocate Debenhams they were really lovely and I think measure differently to M&S. I went to JoJo Maman in Brighton at about 10 weeks looking for something stretchy and she measured me again at a 32/34 B but when I got it on she agreed it didn't fit and my suggestion of 34/36 D was much better. That's why I'd go to Debenhams, I think a lot of other places have the same bra fitting training as M&S!
Heard the heartbeat today! Very strong and quick to find so I feel very lucky and happy. Also surprised that they complimented me on strong tummy muscles! I had thought because I "popped" so early it meant my muscles weren't tight after reading stuff on line. Lovely midwife knows how to flatter I'm sure but it did make me feel smiley

Wolf - I am so jealous! I have gone through four bras already each costing $60. I am squeezed into the current parachute and plan to keep it that way until March. I will probably go back to my normal size evenutally so I am trying to limit the number of bras I end up with. It is a PITA handwashing my one bra every night.

I went up from 34b to 36c even while the pregnancy test was negative! Haven't changed since then though, so am hoping I won't as bras are expensive :)

Talking of expanding body parts, has anyone found their feet expanding? I read that this can happen, and over the last week I've really started to notice a particular pair of shoes getting tight!

I had the swine flu jab last summer and it made me (and DH) feel bad for a couple of days. But it soon wears off :)

Squirrel midwife asked me if I had swollen hands or feet today! I haven't had them but she said it is normal but also possibly a sign of fluid retention. I read somewhere that perversely drinking more water flushes the system and can help :)

HI all. Well after feeling ok I have caught a bug. Much sickness and visits ti the toilet with a bowl while I sit... much yukness. DS2 and DS3 have it too as does DH only his isn't very bad. DO we still have a lowered immune system at this point? I never normally get stomach stuff I was worried about the baby a bit hoping it was alright with all the upchucking and no food but have felt lots of little strokes today as if to say 'I'm ok'. (I know it's not that but still.. ) I've not got dehydrated which is the main worry I think.

Anyhoo with the boob talk; I went from 28G to 34G and back to 30f with ds1.
I got back to 32F after ds2 but grew to 32G after dd. I stayed the same after ds3 and right now I'm in a 32H, going on 34 I think now. They are very heavy and prbably the reason I was only just in the normal weight/height range. Which brings me to another moan.. why do they not seperate us into cupsizes when seeing if we are over/under weight on those daft charts. I bet if they allowed a stone or two for my boobs I'd be right there as normal.

I hope everyone is doing ok. I promise not to keep moaning as it is very and not at all like me.

Oh and finally I have a name in my head that I keep associating with the baby. It isn't one I'd have chosen for it but won't go away. I wonder if it means anything
Probably not, but I'll let you know if it does.

Oh Fab! Just wondering how you can drink water perversely probably one of those fetish fads that haven't reached our part of the world yet!
Squirrel my hands did expand later in my pg and I wore my rings on a necklace for sometime after DD was born too. My ankles also swelled up, but didn't notice till my belly disappeared and I could see they looked like a childs in comparison to what they were.
Sorry you haven't been well twit :( I think we do have a lowered immune system throughout the pg - I got a bad cut on my arm and it took a good few months to heal, same as bruising. Oh, and I definitely think they should take boobage weight into consideration!
Right it's blowing an absolute hooley here on the West coast so I've just had a lovely bath and will have an early night listening to the wind battering outside while I'm nice and cosy xxx

Twit - sorry to hear you are not well. Our immune system is lowered throughout the pregnancy and while breastfeeding. It is one of the reasons why taking prenatals are a great idea. I take select obn and find them wonderful. You should speak to your GP and see if they can give you something. The ones you buy over the counter are horrible and block you up.

Twit, I feel like I have been permanently ill with something since November! I think you're more susceptible when pg or in the months after child birth. I am normally so healthy, but after my LO was born, I had flu, food poisoning twice, bad colds etc.

Fraochsmum, yeah it does seem late to have it. The nurse said to me, are you sure you want it, its the end of The flu season you know? Grrr...I had dragged my son along, waited 30 mins in the waiting room, so I was like 'just stab me please.' my first pg I think I had two paracetomol the whole time and the most natural birth possible with no drugs, even a natural third stage. But this time i have had antibiotics, loads of paracetamol, treatment for a gum abbcess, flu jab....I just hope this baby is as healthy as my little boy.

My friend just had a baby 6 weeks early! She lives abroad so won't get to see her til summer. All is fine and the baby was nearly 6lb. FEel like I am next...

Hi Ladies,
I had my 16 week midwife apt today and heard the baby's heart beat, took the MW quite a while to find it (much longer than it takes me but i didnt tell her that or that i have my own doppler :o) and she thinks the placenta (she kept calling it the afterbirth - yuk - much prefer the term placenta) is at the front wall of my stomach. I sort of hope not as i think the kicks wont be felt as stongly although i am feeling flutters and movement already and have done for some time now (im 17 weeks tomorrow).
THe baby kept wriggling away from where she was pressing the doppler which i though was quite cute and funny. Must be a girl - knows what she likes/wants already! 4 weeks on Monday till my scan and i find out if im team blue or pink - really dont mind what i have - but cant wait to find out.

Got all my old maternity wear out, washed and ironed and i have 2 peices with the label funmom.com - im sure i didnt order on line, does anyone know where i might of bought these from as cant think for the life of me where i got them from. ive looked at the website and it pretty dear so cant see me ordering from them! very strange.

Hope everyone is feeling well and the flu jab ladies feel back to normal very soon,

suz xx

If you are not feeling well prenatals are worth a try. I had tonnes of side effects as I didn't start taking the prenatals until I was 9 weeks (I didn't believe in them). About a week after I started taking them the nausea went, my teeth sorted themselves out and I didn't feel so run down.

There are lots of different types. My obn gave me a shopping bag of samples to try and told me that they would give me supplies if they were beyond our budget. There were more than 10 different types and I kept going through them until I found the right one for me (had to be the second to last pack I tried). Since I found 'the one' I have been feeling great (touch wood as the constant nausea was something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy). I was also getting lots of colds, tummy bugs etc before and it sucked. I am now totally converted to taking these things everyday even though I hate taking tablets (so much so that I get the chewable version which is not covered by my health insurance plan so cost $40 a month).

Thanks Selina - I've had a look at Nathalie's website already as well, but it's great to have a recommendation :) I had my 16 wk MW appt today and mentioned that I was thinking of hiring a doula and she said it was a good idea and they generally work well with MWs, which was reassuring - all the MWs this time round have been so nice that it feels like an innate criticism to be thinking of hiring a doula, so it was good to know they wouldn't be stepping on each other's toes :)

I don't feel like I have much of a bump at all - I had a dream the other night that I got to 40 weeks and this was still it! - but pretty sure I am feeling lots of flutters now. Either that or the lentil spag bol DH made for dinner is playing havoc with my insides I had a really weird experience the other night when I woke up in the small hours, desperate for the loo (not weird so far!), and could feel a bit of baby poking out of me really hard, like you do towards the end when you find elbows and feet and things poking out of you - I don't understand how though if the baby is only 10 cm long?! Perhaps it was being squished out by my massive bladder The next morning I felt as though I dreamed it, except I got up and went to the loo, so can't have been that asleep. I then remembered I had exactly the same thing when I was pg with DD, though I can't remember when it was - quite early though I think. Odd.

Speaking of nighttime occurrences, my um vivid pregnancy dreams made a welcome return last week as well - definitely my favourite pregnancy symptom though it's not a crowded field to be fair.

I've been really hungry over the last couple of days so I guess my baby's growth spurt has kicked in :)

For those of you looking at double buggies, the Kolcraft Options Tandem was the one I had my eye on if we'd managed to get a small age gap. I bid on a Jane 3-wheeler today but didn't get it :( I'm pretty gutted because I thought I could just use my current M&P 3-wheeler and get a car seat to go on it, but I've checked and it seems like it's too old a model to be able to put a car seat on. Poop.

Hi all, sorry I've not been around a few days, the littlest has had gastro and ended up in hospital to rehydrate her. My parents had to rush off to Manchester because my grandma was taken ill just hours before she started being sick. I don't drive, OH is working away and I had the eldest to deal with too (I've been staying with my parents due to being a high risk pregnancy and them not wanting me on my own). So rather hectic week! OH had to rush back yesterday evening as my aunt picked the eldest up from school (before we knew we were going to hospital) and ended up taking her back to her house. They kept her in last night but kicked me out! I couldn't hide how much pain I was in and they said she was fine so go and get some sleep.

You know that job I got for Elstree? Do you think they'd let me write a character for them based on my life? Who needs babyswapping for drama!

Twit, I'm glad I'm not the only one, I look more than my 17 weeks, although I guess I'm not that far off 20 weeks so I probably look about a month ahead but this is pregnancy #5! Have you spoken to anyone about the PGP? There's not a lot that can be done during pregnancy but you could get a prescription for painkillers (even if it's paracetamol/ co-codamol it saves some money on what you'll need.

Scotty, definitely sounds like baby movement to me.

Fab, you're right the rib cage does expand. Be careful using bra extenders though as your back measurement will affect your cup size. I've never really gone up back sizes, before I started having children I was 34F I went up to 34J after the youngest but I'm now a mere 34GG (not gone up yet although breastfeeding is probably helping with that). Don't go to M&S for measurements! Sounds like they were using the old system of adding numbers on because it's unusual to be that small, even most men come up as an A or B now. Reading about your hand, I thought carpal tunnel before I saw your friend suggested it. You carry more fluid when pregnant and it can cause your wrist to swell putting pressure on the nerve. Definitely mention it to your GP/ MW/ Dr.

Supermum, I think it depends on where you are. My hospital are completely fab, but it is a maternity hospital so I guess they're more likely to be. Most places wouldn't have gone so far in diagnosing my multiple autoimmune diseases and they're so careful with me. If you're not in the UK, try ordering bras mail order from Bravissimo, my cousin's wife does and she said even with P&P it's cheaper than buying them locally.

Spannerpants, speak to your CMW or obstetrician. They may be able to get you seen in house which should be a lot faster, that's not on for a woman with PGP symptoms (sciatica is part of PGP)

Just to even things up a bit, any slingaholics? I make my own wraps and have ended up making them for friends too, I've even donated to an MNer as a surprise, who had had a premature baby. I'm thinking of making some to donate to the unit. As someone with longterm PGP (and fibro but I didn't know that before) I can't push a pushchair but I can walk for ages with the wrap on.

I have a Silver Cross 3D that's more been used for sleeping in and she's still in the carseat(!) although she has been out in it a few times.

My rib cage doesn't seem to have expanded yet, so far I've gone up from 32E to a 32F. Hoping I don't go through too many sizes because I don't want to spend a fortune on bras. I'm not surprised people have had trouble getting measured properly at M&S, I used to work there (just a saturday job years ago) and their training for bra fitters was rubbish.

Sounds like I'm at a similar stage to you Fraochsmum I heard a nice strong heartbeat at my 16 week appointment today but I haven't felt any movements yet.

I'm planning to get a sling as well as a pushchair confuddled. Don't really know what I'm looking for as it's my first baby, but I quite like the look of the stretchy wraps, maybe something like a Moby. Do you have any tips as a seasoned slingaholic?

I have a Moby wrap, Hefner. I absolutely loved it. So comfy for baby and for me. My DS loved it. We eneded up not using the buggy that much at all - they are brilliant for high needs babies that just want to be held all the time (like my DS was!)

Also had a pouch sling but found it a bit uncomfy. Going to get a ring sling for a lighter weight option as well. Any recommendations for ring slings, confuddled?

OOh confuddled I'd love to make a wrap, where can I find out how? You sound almost the same as me, big boobs, bad back (although mine is no where near as bad as yours ) I have found slings (the traditional type) not too great - is a wrap better?
Yup I'm 18 weeks and its my 5th so a big bump is to be expected really...

The bug has gone now so am able to eat a bit and have resumed taking my pregnacare. Just feel washed out now.

I'd quite like a doula, I need help slowing things down and it might be a good way of ensuring some-one is actually there this time... MW walked through the door to last time as ds3's head appeared. They (DH and MW) had been faffing around outside but soon came running in when they heard me shouting 'head'

morning all, lots to catch up on here!

Sues had my 16w appointment this week too and heard HB which was nice.

I have major problems with my boobs atm. they are really sore achy and terribly terribly itchy not sure what thats all about. Am going to get measureed tomorrow been wearing maternity bras from 4yr ago so prob no good. im wearing at 36d or dd really uncomfortable

Have been lurking for a while and enjoying all the news - helps you keep things in persepctive when you know there is a whole raft of others goingt hrough exactly the same symptoms as you - from boobs to feet!

I have another one though that threw me... am now 19 weeks and sister in laws birthday party last Saturday(while wearing a lovely slinky maternity top), my boobs started leaking!! Several people assumed i had spilt my drink - was really embarrassed!

Has this one come up before and i've missed it?

right just read back. Confuddled you've been through it? you must be shattered? hope your little one is soon much better.