November 2011. Bumps, kicks and less feeling sick.

[Missyraines]

Thought I'd take the plunge and go for it.

Hi everyone, nothing exciting to add other than a further well done on scans, and poppet its so nice of you to spend the time looking into what you can do for your friend.

Oh though saying that, been sat here this evening poking rubbing my belly, and can feel a hard lump at the bottom to my left... wandering if it's part of baby, or if it's too early (14+3) to feel anything like that. If not, not sure what it is???!!!

mashpot I started yoga last week and the place I go said there is no advised time to start - just whenever. I'm the "youngest" pregnancy in the class @ 14 weeks.

I'm getting the "Fat Girl" appointment through soon - also got emo issues with food when my dad died unexpectedly at 19 - spent 3 years indoors eating crap, and bolstering myself with fat - then have never managed to loose it all since. I am hoping that DP, who's lost 8 stone since last May, will help motivate me once Sprout is out.

Also went to Boots today - can't even use Olbas oil for my cold!!! Boo!

As for knitting - does anybody fancy a knit-a-long? I'm wanting to do a sampled baby blanket, but need the motivatoin to get on with it!

staceroo I felt a hard lump just above my pelvic bone at 13+ so it might just be the bean!

Goldmaple - I have had two births with very little in the way of medication - in my first I had a TENs machine followed by no success with gas and air as I wasn't using it properly, then one shot of pethadine and pushing for 10 mins. My second birth I managed with visualisation - of having a beer on our favourite beach in Portugal, hubby rubbing my back and yogic breathing. After that birth which was a lot shorter with no pushing at all - ds just popped himself out bless him (small head) I felt amazing, empowered, about 10 feet tall and just wonderful - there was a real rush of feel good hormones. I still love to think of the birth.

I really believe that the words DON'T PANIC applied in my case. I think that birth is so overwhelming and so different from anything you have ever experienced that it is really easy to panic. Then I think you can lose control over how the birth goes - that is if it's a straightforward birth, obviously there are all sorts of complications that are outside of the woman's control. My other mantra to myself was It's only one day and this will all be over. Because it can seem like it is going on forever.

Mashpot I have this DVD: www.amazon.co.uk/Simple-Yoga-Pregnancy-Eryl-Holt/dp/B0002VKZSY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1305667721&sr=8-1
I did it every night with my two other pregnancies and it really is a simple stretching and relaxing programme of about 30-40 minutes and it just chills you out and makes you breathe and stretch ready for a good night's sleep. I would really recommend it to anyone as it is so easy to do.

I am also going to try this one as it has some good reviews:

www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B0012KSDG0/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Mix them up for a bit of variety.

Congratulations on all the good scans and good luck for today's scanees :)

I not have a noticeable bump now, which I can no longer suck in. Also felt my bump and it's very hard. After a lot of googling, I found that this is apparently my uterus, so I am very happy :)

Morning all,

Cali, a knit-along sounds good, what sort of sampler did you have in mind? I'm on ravelry which is great for patterns etc.

I definitely have a bump, the girls at work are already commenting on it . Unfortunately I also have a horrible cold sore which I dont think I can really treat

Good luck for the scanners today!!!

cali I know how you feel, my 1st pg I had the flu and was unable to take anything except paracetamol (& after speaking to gp & mw was told small dose codiene was ok as they wouldn't let me use ibuprofen then). If you are 14+ weeks you can safely use ibuprofen now during 2nd trimester!! Hope you are feeling better soon x x

gold my 1st I used TENS with great effect (though would recommend your birth partner is also familiar with it beforehand- I got 2 really big shocks from my mum pressing the wrong button!!). Gas&air didn't work for me, I did have pethidine but more as I was so tired I was starting to feel out of control with the pain & the mw suggested the peth would help me get some sleep which it did. By the time DS was delivered I had nothing in my system & it was wonderful just using breathing to get over the last few bits!!

stac I have been able to feel a hard lump which is my uterus since about 12 weeks, definitely feel it distinctly now (at 15+). DP was able to feel it too at 13+ (when I told him where to prod) which freaked him just before the scan. His words were "I didn't think I'd be able to feel the baby at all whilst you we're pg". Think it made it more real for him, along with the scan!!

So glad to hear some great appt news :). Though as a word of caution, by all means be assertive with what yoU want but listen to the healthcare professionals as well & ensure your assertiveness is not coming accross as rude. It is correct that you can refuse treatment etc but if they feel you don't understand the risks or are putting babies life at risk there are things they can do. I'm not trying to scre anyone just want to make sure we all have good pg & happy babies, I found getting along with my mw in my 1st pg extremely beneficial even when I went against advice as she know I understood!

Morning all! Thanks for starting the new thread Missy! My thoughts are with you Caz and Poppet. PamSco how confusing, hope you stabilise soon! goldmable I am exactly the same don't even like taking Neurofen if I can help it but guess I will need something for the impending pain!

Well my 12 week scan went really well yesterday, we actually have a little baby in there! It's real! Baby was scrunched up in a little ball to start with but soon moved about, I couldn't see the screen very well and everytime I tried to look baby disappeared but got some good photos and all the measurements were good. Got a very thin nuchal measurement so fingers crossed for the bloods.

It has been wonderful telling people, we have got a lot of 'when are you getting married then' comments though- didn't think that mattered to people so much now adays!??

I'm off to get a yoga DVD!

Yey sunshine good scan news. Nice and well behaved. I can empathise about the marriage question. MiL who I think is great is a bit older than my mam is seriously nagging OH to make an honest woman of me. He keeps saying the joint mortgage was our wedding cert - and I agree with him. Though a nice square cut emerald set with 2 diamonds in platinum would not be turned down lol.

I'm off sick today, woke up with a very raw throat and swollen tonsil area. Damn it. Hot lemon, sleep, and water prescribed by me.

Hi ladies, nice new thread and lovely to hear more good scan news.

Poppet so sorry for your friend's loss and hope she is getting as much support as possible with her family so far away. It sounds like you are being a very good friend to her.

Caz hope today is an 'easier' day for you and that Bow is providing some comfort for you and Mr Caz.

I'm seriously considering a water birth as the maternity unit at my hospital has quite new rooms, with most having pools. I know we do have to take a sieve but I cannot imagine them making you clean the pool afterwards! I think it's a reasonable request as you can just throw it away once it's been used.

Am also booked in for a GTT as my BMI is just a shade over 30. My midwife said when she told me they would want to do a GTT 'I don't feel as if I am looking at an obese person when I look at you' bless her. I'm a size 16 and 5'7'' so I think I pull it off ok, although I know I'm not a skinny minnie! I've not put on any weight yet either, but having been so sick (no sign of it going away either!) I think that's just balancing out any baby / bump weight gain.

Sorry some of you are getting hassle on being made 'honest women' form your families We've had it the other way round as have been married for 4 years and DH's family in particular had come to the conclusion that we were never having children as we've been married 'for so long' without taking the plunge. He spoke to his Aunt on the phone on Sunday and she actually said, 'Oh I was only talking about this yesterday and telling a friend that you were never having any children' - she was very shocked with our announcement!

Hope everyone is enjoying their Wednesday, halfway to the weekend!

caliphora I'm currently knitting a blanket on square 7 or 67 so quite a way to go yet!

gold I'm still absolutely shattered, and doing the bare minimum. My husband swears blind that I have so much more energy that in my other pregnancies, but I still feel so tired and frusterated as there is so much I want to do, but my body is like "but reading in bed would be so much nicer, wouldn't it?".

As for non-medicated births, I've done it three times - once in hospital, twice at home. Not even gas and air for most of the first and all of the other two (I can't stand it, it just did not work for me) and mostly get through with the knowledge that this too shall pass and going with my body's flow. I think you'll find what you need in labour - some women like a lot of comfort and supportive interactions from others to help them through while there are others like me who could just go curl up in a dark, quiet place and want everyone else to leave 'em alone (unless bringing snacks and drinks to help me keep up my energy, then they can leave again ).

I'm considering a water birth this time. I tried getting in the water with the previous ones, but it seems I get in too early and can't stay comfortable and it was suggested to me just to get in for the pushing stage. For those who have had water births, how did it work for you?

Caz I too hope things are easier today - you have been through so much. Hugs.

poppet what terrible news about your friend, I am so sorry. I hope things 'work out' (if that's the right phrase) and she gets the support she needs.

bumpandisaac you make some valid points about listening to the mws and consultants and you are right in that they have lots of experience and skills and the majority are excellent HCPs. Sadly though, a small minority are perhaps not as committed to giving women the choices they deserve and they are too focussed on statistics, numbers and occasionally what makes life easier for them rather than the woman.
For example, I felt bullied and pressured into a c-section with DD at a very vulnerable time during labour. I subsequently found out they were very busy that night and could really do with a labour room being freed up. I also found out that I could have asked to labour for a few more hours to see if things progressed but as a first time mum I did not know these things at the time.

This time round I have done extensive research (the yahoo groups are excellent and are populated by midwives and other experienced homebirthers) and feel the risk to me of being in a hospital environment without 121 care is much greater than 121 care at home.
I also feel that unnecessary quite invasive tests such as the GTT are due to most hospitals having very risk-averse policies and rather than assess every woman individually, it is far easier to apply worst case scenario to all women. That is where we come in - we need to know our own bodies and do our homework, IMO.
But perhaps this comes with hindsight.

With every test/procedure suggested I am asking 'is this hospital policy or is this case specific?' and then making a judgement. Case specific means I will listen much more carefully.

Sorry to bang on about this but I am passionate about women's rights to get the birth they want, be that at home, in hospital or in a mw led centre. the more women that ask for their choices means more pressure is put on the government to improve services across the board.

And sorry again for being on my high horse and I don't wish to argue on such a lovely thread but the only thing I take exception to is your comment about 'there are things they can do'.
Sorry but unless you are so reckless or uncaring that social services would have to get involved once the baby is born (eg drug addict, abusive personality, abuse of other children etc etc) or you have such bad mental health that they would consider sectioning you, then there is nothing at all they can do to force you to have tests or procedures. Unless they have a legal document, it is classed as assault and they know it.
I'm not trying to be 'woman on a mission' but I've had direct experience of HCPs who use their position to lie or frighten women into thinking they cannot say no, just to keep litigation risks to the hospital to a minimum.

Sorry for me banging on - I'll now go and shut up!! :)

mrsa sorry if my post came across in the wrong manner...you are absolutely right to go for what you want and believ in and in no way did I mean not to fight for what you want and challenge the reasons behind the suggestions of health care workers (some as you rightly say are not suggesting things for your best interests but rather that of the institution). What I meant to come across was more the way in which it is approached as there are people I know who alienated themselves from the mw...this in turn lead to battles & a poor pg and birth experience. It is important that we all have good pg & birth memories

I'm a control freak by nature and I also research everything to the nth degree from restaurants to hotels to this whole giving birth malarky. I see the mws as my oracles - they have the experience. Get to know them ask the right questions and be specific about what you want to know.

Yesterday I asked the lovely lady at the fat girls appt about if worse came to the worst and I had to have a C then how would it be done - where, what angle, how would it heal given my body shape. SHe was open and honest, short of showing me her scar I came away very much more informed. It doesn't mean I am going to go into a C willingly - fingers crossed.

I would love to crawl behind a bush do it all myself as nature evolved me but after my wee sis lost her baby at 8 mths pregnant I'm not taking risks. No reason to believe I will have the same experience but with a good mw relationship I can minimise risks.

Poppet, so sorry to hear about your friend's baby. If it's any comfort, I know a little boy who was born at 25 weeks and he is a very clever little boy indeed with no health problems whatsoever.

Caz, that must have been so hard for you. I only have experience of losing my Dad but it was so hard when the headstone went up, so final and I felt it didn't say enough, IYKWIM. Take care of yourself xX

Thanks for all the non-med birth stories. For so many of you to have done it in our small group is really encouraging. of course i will still research the options so that I can make informed desicions if I find the pain too much (not going to try and be a hero - just like natural)

sunshine glad your scan went well!

I have a little bump now (look fat in regular clothes and not preggo at all in mat clothes) but love it.

Getting my hair done for the first time since feb:) very excited... long over due!

goldmaple a bit late with my story but i did my labour with just gas and air. I was in a birth pool (was never told to take a sieve ) until near the end, when i thought i'd had enough and asked for a pethadine injection i got out and discovered i was 10 cm's so too late. i was really chuffed i managed on just g&a, as i am a complete wuss.

glad scans have gone well. i'm too fat for a bump yet and to be honest won't show to others for months and months.

Had to have today off work asnearly threw up just taking the kids to nursery and as I haven't actually been sick with MS figured there was more to it. Came home lay rigidly still and managed not to be sick then fell asleep for about another 3.5 hours - lovely :-)

Also had MW 16 week appt - highlight of which was her saying gosh your uterus is all the way up here which hopefully explains why I'm so big already. BP, urine, heartbeat all good and she is going to see every 4 weeks after 20 week scan but alternate with my growth scans so I'll be on fortnightly appointments from end of June which will reassure my paraniod head. So just waiting for the kicks to well kick in I guess.

I went to active birth classes for last 2 and loved them - I felt that the approach was really balanced and sensible - loads of information on pretty much every possible outcome, the skills (breathing, visualisation etc) to cope with a natural delivery should you have the 'golden ticket' but also the skills to feel empowered and in control and ask the right questions should your birth go off plan! Mine certainly did with an emergency CS but definitely the right thing for me and DS as he needed out urgently and I never felt a sense of panic or being pushed into things.

Apart from the breathing (is it 4-6 breathing?) the 2 best bits of advice were asking the question "am I coping right now" ie not can I do this for the next 6, 12 ,24 hours etc and the idea of us being able to access different versions of ourselves during labour "little girl" was never going to be a useful one to call upon - so at times when I thought it was too hard or I might crumple I told myelf I needed to be a lioness - sounds a bit nuts writing it but it worked for me

Hello new thread! Goldmaple, I had an entirely drug free home birth in water last time. i SAY entirely drug free, on the second and third day of four days of false (false my arse) labour before "true" labour began, I did have a couple of paracetamol. Dont think it made the difference to be fair! I did use tens, and then I was in the birth pool for about ten hours, so warm water, and a bit of help with gravity! Though I hopped out the pool for the birth, the midwife felt I was getting exhausted in the warm water. My labour went on FOREVER. I was, at stages, pretty sure it was in fact going to be actually forever. But no drugs. It hurt. A lot. A lot a lot a lot. But I made it through, and here I am planning to do the same again if I can. My partner was amazing though - well, if by amazing you mean capable of not going for a pee for a very long time and making it between the stove where he was heating water for the pool and the edge of the pool to hold my hands in the time it takes for a late stage contraction to hit. But in the circumstance, precisely what I needed. Oh, and yes, there was a sieve involved. Seriously no big deal though. Some things kind of go out the window. I was talking about pride and dignity there, not the contents of the sieve.

TwoJackRussellsandabean I'm on Ravlery, too!

Will gaze at patterns tonight and make suggestions :)

I am also averse to taking medication, and I managed the first 24 hours or so of my first labour with just gas and air. After that, I must admit my principles went out the window, as it was all so terrifying and overwhelming. But I'm reasonably confident (I say reasonably, because who really knows?!) that if I'd had a 'normal' , 'straightforward' birth, then I could probably have managed ok on gas and air. What I'm really trying to say is that if things are progressing ok, you can cope with a lot, much more than you probably think yourself capable of. In my case, I only began to feel I was unable to cope with the pain when I no longer felt in control......

Juststarting, sorry just giggled at the window comment!

Congrats on scans and I just wanted to add how sorry I was to hear about the rough times some people are experiencing/have experienced.

Good to hear about some good birth stuff too.

I have a bumpright at the top of my stomach, it is deffo there in the morning and deffo there last thing at night so think it is just that am carrying very high at the mo! Never mind, I like the bump and OH, dd and a couple of work colleagues are very mesmerised with the size of it! Have a hard bit across where my bellybutton is which is also where sonographer found the baby for the scan.

Looking forward to seeing the mw next week and hoping she has a listen and doesnt just take more blood and send me on my way!

Am seriously thinking of changing to the bigger maternity service available at a larger hospital near me than the mw unit. Going to chat to mw next week and discuss a waterbirth etc and see what she suggests. Am quite happy to be led on things like that but really want to have a bit more control than I feel that I have had in my earlier pg's. So many things to consider isnt there?