TTC 6 mths+ GRADS THREAD

[Biscuitsandtea]

Afternoon.

I thought I'd start a Grads thread for those of us previously on the TTC 6 mths+ thread. I've been lurking on the ttc thread recently to see how everyone is getting on (having only very recently qualified to move off it!) and a few people were saying what a nice idea it would be if there was a grads thread so we don't lose each other.

Anyway, would be lovely to hear from other lovely ladies that were on that thread - or even if you were never on the ttc thread but had a sticky time of it getting your bfp then come and settle down with a decaf cuppa for a chat.

Ah that's good news! so no clots to worry about or anything like that

Nope just a very wriggly baby!

Hi Ladies, Gosh it's good to catch up with you (thank you mini for the link). Just logged on before I toddle off to bed, so not had a chance to read any of the previous posts yet, but wanted to say hello anyway.

We're all down with colds and on top of the morning afternoon and evening sickness (the morning is the only time I actually feel okay), I'm feeling pretty rough at the moment, so off to bed for an early night.

Had an early scan yesterday. Baby measured 7 weeks and is doing fine. Got a heartbeat which was wonderful to see. DH and I are still stressing but I guess that's normal. I will feel much better about this once the 12 week scan shows all is well.

Anyway, big wave to everyone and I'm glad I've found you again.

Evening ladies,

izzy thank goodness. It?s been such a rollercoaster for you hasn?t it. Hope the bleeding is settling down now?

mini Yep I have had all kinds of digestive problems, at first it was more like the runs, now it is the other way, with loads of terrible wind as well never experienced anything like it! Poor DH! I?ve swapped my museli for a big bowl of bran flakes and that seems to be helping to keep things regular so I?m going to keep on with that although it can be a difficult to force it down in the mornings sometimes. Never expected the tummy trouble to be so immediate or severe!

You sound like you?ve had a rollercoaster too, but it is great that you have seen your little bean :)

It?s funny how it affects everyone differently isn?t it. My skin is normally bad but since I?ve been preg I haven?t had any spots at all, really weird.

My midwife appointment isn?t a booking in appointment, it is what the receptionist called an ?early bird? appointment which I guess is for lunatics people that find out early?! I?m not too sure what the point is really, as it is only 15 min long, but I?ll update tomorrow when I get back.

Hi whatmess! Very excited you are here, how are your tummy troubles? (not that I am obsessed or anything!) So jealous of all the scans ? I?m definitely going to book in for an early one this week. Am starting to really feel like I need to check that there is something in there and I'm not imagining it!

glad to hear it's not just me with the terrible wind!

at your skin improving in pg - oh well, maybe in the second trimester I'll get that fab skin and glow I've been told about... meanwhile I am chugging down water to try to help flush the hormones through, it seems to help a bit (and helps with regularity too!)

Ah ok, that makes sense about your midwife appt. Maybe it's like the appt I had with the GP - just went through things like folic acid and what not to eat/drink.

whatmess that's interesting that you feel best in the mornings. I've not got bad nausea but it's definitely worst in the evenings - can only face really plain food.

izzy are you also having a 12 week scan or does your scan yesterday count as that?

That was my 12 week scan mini so hopefully things will go smoothly from now!

That's great news izzy. I've just got my 12 week antenatal clinic booking appt and scan come through for the 7th of June. It seems ages away. Hopefully will pass quickly. I still haven't had the booking appt with the midwife yet, we're set for next Tues and I have lots of questions about what it means to me under consultant care. I've no idea what to expect.

Tummy troubles have settled down Kitty. My op wounds are completely healed and my dodgy tummy has stopped. Unfortunately I still get cramps low down in my belly and the odd pain higher up but the sonographer couldn't find any reason for this so I'm trying not to worry about it. I had a weird muscle twitch low on my left side yesterday which I had with the last pregnancy. A bit like an eye spasm. Off I went to google it to see if it's normal . It's really hard not to compare every symptom to the last pregnancy and wonder if it's a sign things have gone wrong. So I have started talking to sticky bean. I tell him or her myself that everything is fine and come December we'll have a perfect baby. Bit of positive thinking which helps to calm me down a bit.

Mini The sickness just gets progressively worse all day. I had to cook a lasagne the other day and only managed it by popping out of the kitchen every couple of mins for some fresh air. I have lost a couple of kgs in the past 4 weeks, but I'm not too concerned as I am eating healthier than I usually do and considering babies size, I'm sure they are getting enough. I would just leave on bread and jacket potatoes with cheese, but after feeding dd chicken nuggets for 4 days in a row because I couldn't bare the smell of anything else, I decided to cook a big pot of mince and split it into a lasagne and cottage pie. Should last a few days.

Well, off to get dressed. 10.30am and dd and I are still in our pjs. We are both home with bad colds, but I am beginning to feel a bit better so should really make an effort to tidy house today.

Wave to everyone I've missed. Hope all the bumps are behaving themselves.

Babies, they ... good heavens there is only one in there. And my spelling is atrocious. Think it's time I dug the glasses I'm supposed to wear all day out of the bag they've been buried in for the past two days.

Glasses! That reminds me, I need to get new glasses before any sproglet arrives. I am incredibly short sighted and wear contact lenses all day, but can't be popping them in and out all night if I'm up with a DC.

by the way your spelling looks fine to me

I've been eating a lot of beige starchy food in the evenings too, trying to force down protein and veg too but the protein is quite hard. I've been taking some scarily huge pregnancy vitamins though, so hoping that they will make up for my diet.

This is probably a silly question, and sorry if I've forgotten something obvious, but why will you be under consultant care? What sort of questions are you planning to ask... I have my booking in appt next Friday and my list of questions is quite short at the moment (unusual for me ) so wondering what I've missed out.

izzy yay, fantastic that you are past the 12 week scan hurdle! The statistics look so good from that point - you are having an Actual Baby!

Apparently if you have PCOS, you are at increased risk of gestational diabetes. I am not surprised as I have always had episodes of the shakes and fainting, but all the fasting glucose tests I've had have come back normal.
The midwife said the PCOS history was the deciding factor in putting me under consultant care but she may also have been influenced by my previous MC and probs getting pregnant.

With the midwife care, if it's your first or they are particularly concerned they have a set no of visits with you (can't quite remember but I think it's monthly and then fortnightly towards the end). I read a comment on the December thread that suggested that consultant care means more visits and more scans. This is really what I want to ask about.

Also, the sonographer mentioned I would be attending their antenatal clinic, presumably to see the consultant or a member of her team. Again, I'm guessing and want to ask what this means. It could just be a routine check of bloods/urine, weight, heart beat by a nurse.

I did have the letter through this morning for my 12 week scan and booking appt in June. Odd as I am having a booking appt with the midwife on Tuesday.

Only other topic I have for the midwife is that towards the end of my pregnancy with dd, I was being monitored for pre-eclampsia. My blood pressure is normally fairly low at about 110/60, but it went up to what is considered normal for most but not for me. I had to go into hospital and have it monitored over a day, and was advised that I may be on the cusp of pre-eclampsia. dd came a week later at 36 weeks, so problem solved, but I would like to discuss it with midwife and see if there is anything we need to do.

Oh gosh, I didn't know that. I have PCOS and hypothyroid, so guess I might end up consultant led too... I will ask. For me the more scans/tests the better tbh, I like feeling like someone knows what's going on and it gives me more to google. On the other hand I would quite like to try for a water birth in the mw unit so hope that wouldn't be off the cards.

That is a bit odd about your double booking appointment!

I guess for pre eclampsia it would be lots and lots of monitoring. I think I have seen strips you can wee on at home to see if there is protein in your urine? No idea if there is anything you can do to prevent it though.

Afternoon everyone. I've been so tired recently I've barely managed any mumsnet time. Just about managing to read, but this thread had dropped off my list. I've just reached the 8 week mark, and have my booking in appointment and scan for later this month. Can't wait to get there - time seems to be going by so slowly. I've been feeling mostly ok with everything recently, still a bit nauseous, but it's only mild. I've found fresh lemon (or the bottled stuff you put on pancakes) and water to be amazing - really helps with the sickness, and has very little sugar etc in, so great to just drink all day. I'm drinking litres of it..

Izzy sorry to hear you had another scare, but very glad everything is fine.

whatmess I hope you get answers to your questions, sounds like the consultant led care is a good thing for you. More monitoring can't be bad really.

mini I hope the tummy issues settle soon. Lots of liquids and fibre for you.

Kitty how did your midwife appointment go? I'm still yet to see one, but not too long now.

Hey ladies,

mini Despite the relative lack of spots I definitely don?t have a pregnant glow. In fact this morning I looked a lot like I?d just been dug up from somewhere

whatmess hope you and your DD had a good day at home and you are both feeling a bit better.

stacks great news that you have reached the 8 week mark and that?s a good tip about the lemon water.

Waves to izzy and fatima

Well I had that midwife appointment and it was a total waste of time. I could?ve just self referred directly to the hospital, she literally just filled a form in. Also I was a bit peed off because we were discussing the two nearest hospitals, and I asked her if there were any major differences between the services they provided, and she just gave me this massive lecture about how she wasn?t allowed to make recommendations and it was like asking her to tell me what school to send my children to . She was very unhelpful. So now I wait for a letter with the dates of my scan and booking in appointment.

In other news I have booked an appointment next week with a hypnotherapist/CBT person who specialises in anxiety. At vast expense of course! I seem to have quite a lot of ishoos around the medical side of pregnancy and I had this sudden realisation that they?re not just going to magically go away so I thought I'd better do something about it.

I am going for a private scan tomorrow, eeeeeek. Very very nervous and hoping that I haven?t imagined the whole pregnancy thing.

Hope you are all having nice evenings. I am home alone so catching up on some very undemanding TV!

Kitty When I had dd the hospital had a visit day, where you could look round the midwife led unit. Something like that might help you to decide.

Just had my scan, all was well and I definitely haven't imagined it! There was a little 7+3 bean with a nice strong heartbeat. :) :) :) me and DH very chuffed.

Hope you are all well today. Thanks for the tip whatmess, I'll definitely look into that.

kitty yay! lovely news. rock on little kittybean! Is 7+3 what you expected?

Hi mini thanks for that, am still feeling absurdly pleased with my kittybean! 7+3 was exactly what I'd worked my dates out at so that was good. Still can't get over hearing the heartbeat!

Hi - I was on 10+ TTC thread too and just spied this thread so thought i'd say hello. I'm 23 weeks now and STILL can't quite believe that we made it to here and that things are going well. Funny how things like longer-than-average TTC affects you for such a long time afterwards. Anyway, glad everyone is doing well!

Hi everyone, just had my booking in appt with the midwife and now know a bit more about the care I'll receive.

Not sure why its called consultant led care. As far as I can tell I have 3 extra appts (incld tests) with the consultant but all the usual ones with the midwife. It looks very similar to what I had with my first baby except a couple of the appts in which I would see the mw are with the consultant instead.

I'm quite happy with this as I doubt I will have the same continuity of care with the consultant as I will with the mw. So a good combo.

Now throwing up 3-4 times every evening and cannot bear the thought of cooking, so DH has taken over the kitchen. Cold is still here and as a result I'm shattered. I really hope this passes soon.

Hope everyone is doing well.

whatmess glad your booking in appointment went well. Will you get any extra scans or anything too?

city I remember you, glad things are going well for you. 23 weeks already, seems like such a long way away for me!

I'm just 9 weeks today and doing ok. Waiting impatiently for my appointments to come through.

Hi all, had my booking in appt yesterday.

whatmess I have the same thing - a few appointments with the specialists (due to my thyroid) but all the usual midwife appointments otherwise.

city hello, always nice to hear of a long term ttcer getting so far!

Stacks hope your appointments come through soon - have you still not had your booking in appointment through?

Just popping in to see how you are all doing?? Anyone still lurking here?

Hi izzy! How are you getting on, hope all well? Have you had your 20 week scan yet?

I am still lurking in various places. Had 12 week scan last week, baby turned out to be measuring 12+6 when I was expecting 12+2 so a little further along than I anticipated! Was nice to see the baby, it seemed quite sleepy but had a little shuffle about when the sonographer poked my tummy, which was cute. I've been thinking about maternity leave this week and when I might go off, which is making it all feel a bit more real

How is everyone else?

Hi kitty good to hear from you.

I have my scan booked for 26th June. I'm 18weeks just now. Keeping well with a bit of a bump already but it is number 2.

How ru feeling? Past the magic 12 weeks is fab! When is ur due date?

Hi everyone!!

A bit of a bump izzy mine's huge! It's grown two inches in two weeks

I'm 17 weeks tomorrow. Seems to be dragging at the moment. I heard the heard the heartbeat last week but I don't think I've felt any movement yet. I have an anterior placenta though so that could be why.

20 week scan is 3rd July. Can't wait

I've been suffering a bit from SPD/PGP, seeing how it goes to see if I need referral.

How's everyone else?