Due in May: the 2nd trimester, more glowing and less throwing

[Yorky]

Before the other thread bursts!
Thanks Miko for the title!

Just back from picking DS1 up from school early with an upset tummy :( cbeebies it is for the afternoon then! Good news on head down already, this one was too last appt, but MW did say they can still move but obviously less as they grow. She wanted to weigh me too but as DS2 was having a cling monster attack she's going to do it next time, I know I've put on weight cos I can see it in my face but we don't even own a set of bathroom scales so I have no idea how much. Am now on iron tablets as my hb levels were borderline, being obsessive about taking them with orange juice and having shred dies for breakfast and so far the side effects haven't been too bad. Names - not doing too well here, if it's a girl it has a definite middle name, a boy hasn't even got that much sorted. My laptop is supposed to be coming back today, don't get on with MN on DHs beloved iPad! New threads are normally when we overfill the previous one at 1000posts, but no one will mind if we start a countdown thread! Time to start thinking of titles then....

hello!!!

had mw appointment yesterday and baby is head down too. i still need to get DP to blow up my bouncing ball though.... maybe on sunday...
life is pretty hectic atm so i am super tired and trying to do a million things at the same time... i have started liquid iron supplement in the hope it will help me gain so energy. i have to say my diet is not great, im a bit off meat atm.
on weight gain,i think i must have put on 15kgs already.... but im on health kick now and for the past few days i have eaten relatively well (ie limited snacking)

names: we still argue about them... but i believe that since i am the one who is going to give birth i am entitled to pick whatever name i want...!!!!

ive been to the gp EVERY single day this week bc Both DS have had bad eye infections and treatment is not working and i got it as well etc... fed up with the gp now!!

hope everybody is doing well xxx

tostaky after weeks of nagging dh finally got my gym ball down from loft yest & blew it up.. I just had a little swivel on it & it was lovely! :)

charles I have a dream gennii pillow & absolutely love it..hives just the right support for my back & bump..it doesn't stop me sometimes rolling onto my back though. I also didn't find it worked well as a bfeeding pillow last time, I just used to use it to prop up my back and use a seperate cushion for baby.. this time I've bought a widgey or whatever they're called for breastfeeding.

I'm at how little weight loads of you are putting on .. jealous!! I started at 10st2 and this morning was 12st7.. have no idea how but it just seems to pile on! Or I'm having one giant baby. Meh.

Hello ladies.

I'm in a VILE mood today because I got myself all psyched up to take my driving test and then went to the wrong test centre, so that's blown! Unless I can get a cancellation in the next two weeks it will have to wait a while, we are supposed to be moving to London on the 24th.

cupcakefairy, I've gone from 10st 5lb to 12st 5lb by week 32, so you aren't alone.

tostaky I only manage a couple of minutes a night on my ball, must try harder...

Names - we have a list and we have a favourite of the moment, which we are 'trying out' with her, but we've stopped telling people when they ask because of a few comments that have put us off. My favourite being my Dad's when I said we like the the name Beatrice - "What, like the ginger princess in the stupid 'at" (imagine said in strong Cockney accent).

Midwife - I saw mine yesterday, only the 2nd time I've seen my actual allocated midwife as he is normally out on a home birth and I end up seeing someone else. Anyway, I'm not massively impressed with him as after a few minutes of my moaning about my SPD he poked me so hard in the pelvis while measuring my bump and made me cry! Brilliant. He was mortified obviously, but I was a bit traumatised wondering what on earth is going to happen in the labour suite if just one medical professional can forget THAT quickly.

He recommended a water birth, which is looking more and more likely to go on my birth plan. I'm spending an awful lot of time in the bath lately, when I never used to really enjoy baths that much, but it does seem to soothe the SPD a bit and make me feel more comfortable (and I'm not comfortable often these days).

Any suggestions for a new thread name? So far all I can think of is 'May be Babies - The Third Trimester'.

silly question maybe but what size balls have you got?! mine's not blown up yet but i think i might need a bigger one?

Hello all

Names - No idea here. Dh is really annoying about names and never likes anything until the last minute. Well that's how it went last time. We have a couple of possibles but no firm favourites. sheesh.

No Dream Genii here but always liked the idea of them. Do have the v shaped pillow which I tend to stuff between my legs and sort off in front of bump. Not sure how it helps apart from comfort. I have never worried too much about positioning though, so hard to control when you are asleep and as someone else said if you were in a bad position you'd no doubt feel it and shift naturally.

Head down babies - My 28 week appointment also found baby was head down however I am not putting too much stock in it just yet. With ds he was head down then head up at 32 (ish weeks) then happily head down (and stayed down) at 35 weeks!

Weight - I've not put on much really, I never seem to in pregnancy (sorry, don't mean to sound like some breezy skinny arse, I am naturally on the curvy side and yoyo plenty usually!) On Monday (29 weeks) I had gained 5kg. But everyone is so different with this, I remember my poor sister in law, so skinny, size 6/8, horrified to put on about 3 stone or more, she couldn't seem to control it. She lost it all though, probably within about 6 months. Whereas I stubbornly remain a size 12.

SirCharles - I saw those articles, follow various doulas on facebook because of my training and they linked to them, haven't read through yet but I can understand the sentiment behind them! Let me know what your hypnobirthing CD is like, I can't find mine and to be honest I wasn't loving it anyway so I may buy something else after 32 week scan.

Thanks limeflower, I can't wait to have some pampering. I had a look and the treatments v expensive generally but a half hour scalp massage I can probably book without feeling too guilty. Also, my neighbour - I have just discovered - is a hairdresser and she has just gone out on her own (renting a chair). Anyway she is giving March discounts and I can just go to hers for a cut/dye, rather than the town she works in 12 miles away! Plus can go early evening and leave kids with dh. So come Monday about 9pm I should be sleeker, shinier and blonder. For a little while at least.

Just wondering how your allotment is ballroompink? Sorry if I am remembering the wrong person! I have lots of trays of bits in the dining room and hoping this weekend the weather will hold for dh to clear all the beds so I can move some of it outside.

Not much else to report here, quiet evening just me (not forgetting sleeping children) as dh is working late and then staying in town, he is kindly picking me up a friend's sewing machine as mine is acting up.

Btw when I say 'trays of bits' (huh?) I mean seedlings and so on!

Hello all

ooooh names.... we're slowly getting there I think! I think we have around 3 of each which we are both happy with now. we have also started getting some of our bits, terrifying and exciting!

Poor mikocat with your driving test! that's just horrible. big hugs.

yep weight gain happening here too, 10kg in total now so plenty more to go i guess!!! and I am now finding that by the evening meal my stomach seems to get to a feeling of being uncomortbly full quickly-even if I'm still hungry, which is very annoying! I get very uncomfortable trying to move at all after meals now as well, and get braxton hicks with it. Nice! [eating pizza and ice cream tonight was maybe not the best plan for that...]

big hugs all

Evening! Well we had our check up and another scan today. B is HUGE! Gawd help me.... Supposed to be 29+5 but some measurements are at 31 or even 33 week proportions! Dr even said "someone in your family has a big round head" (my dad, my brothers, DH nephew and half brother & DH is rugby type build)..... Keep reminding myself that they often get these things wrong.... I have had friends told to expect 10lbers only to actually have a 6lbs long thin baby! Fingers crossed.... My mum said she always measured ahead in all 4 of her pregnancies - can it be genetic?! Am fretting now about how It is going to get out. He said it already weighs 1.7kg which is about 250g more than what he would expect....
Every time I go for a check up the computer takes 6 days off the EDD although they won't alter it in my notes as the EDD is dictated by the your last period but the difference is about 2 weeks now...... .

We shall see - trying not to worry about it as we are off to Cape Town in the morning for a few days.
Hope everyone else is doing well, sorry for the ramble. mikocat so sorry about the test. Fingers crossed you can fill in for a cancellation soon. Btw have you found somewhere ti rent in London? I am back in 3 weeks, 33 wks pregnant & homeless- must start looking for a place too! Any tips for hunting?!

SirCharles just want to reassure you - my daughter was 10lbs 5oz, fully expected as DH and I both 6ft tall. I took good pain relief (and don't get me wrong, I couldn't have done it without it!), but I do think my DD was big and strong enough to do a little of the pushing herself. Don't worry! :)
All the best with the house hunt.

Apologies all mummies to be - haven't been posting much but have been reading. This has been a little haven of reassurance for me in these 'wobbly' days, pardon the pun.
All well here, getting big but not too uncomfortable yet, except achy hips, pelvis at night. Baby measuring big but not too worried as DD was same.
Baby due 8th May, finishing work 4th April and so busy trying to tie up loose ends. Weird that I have conversations about baby with everyone I meet , every single day, and have yet to give new arrival some real thought!
Names - got two of each but DH and I are having difficulties picking one. He got to pick middle name for DD, and now wants his own middle name for no 2 if it's a boy. Problem is I don't really like it. Discussions to be had.
No antenatal classes for me, instead got offered a DVD to watch "at our leisure" - had to laugh at that, as it goes through the birth process and pain relief as well as tour of hospital. :)
Hoping you are all well and approaching Trimester 3 with excitement as much as anything else.
Liked May be Babies for new thread title! Very witty for this stage of pregnancy, well done. :)

Hi all,
I second the request to put the list in the 2nd post rather than the first, just for those of us who regularly lurk on our phones rather than use laptops/pc etc.

Have to say I'm feeling a bit jealous of those who measure big but go on to say 'midwife not worried though'. I feel like I'm constantly battling to remind my HCPs that it's quite likely that this baby will be on the big side purely through genetics, and despite my good sugar control with the whole gestational diabetes thing. Can feel myself getting stressed about it because I have a appointment with the OB who measured me as enormous last time (MW in next two appts measured me spot on for dates). And I expect I'll be having a couple more growth scans to contend with between now and term. Hey ho. On the weight front, I actually weigh about 11lb less now than I did at booking in, which I guess is the low GI/diabetes diet. Everyone is v happy about the lack of weight gain, no one is worried about the loss and it definitely isn't affecting the baby's growth.
I'm on iron supplements now, but they don't seem to be doing much good yet, walking uphill or up stairs kills my legs and I just don't seem to the strength I had. Hope it all kicks in soon.

Hope everyone is looking forward to the final countdown (d'na naa naa, d'na na na naa), we've just managed to get hold of some more chests of drawers etc, much needed in a house with v little built in storage, so am now going to make a huge effort to sort through all the remaining boxes to get a better idea of what newborn and 0-3 size stuff we've got.

Have now got a bed for the baby, and think the car seat and bassinet attachment for our buggy are being taken care of by grandparents on either side, so the major stuff is largely sorted. Hoorah!

My hypno cd arrived a while ago, but haven't actually listened to it! MUST get on to that.

pelvic floor

Oh re the pelvic floor apparently some new research has found they aren't that useful (or so one of the doula teachers said). They do exercise them but not in the best way keeping them shorter and tighter.

Apparently the thing to do is squat... not squat as in nothing but the exercise variety. Just try and squat in everyday life as much as poss, you know taking washing out of the machine, bending down to pick up toys, etc, etc.

I'm going to give it a go anyway!

LadyMaybe - What CD have you got? Any good? I need advice!

(Oh re the squatting, it apparently helps strengthen and lengthen or something...)

Hello all!

I'm another one who has been reading but not posting - I mostly end up catching up with this thread during the early hours of the morning but then always forget to actually write anything!

I'm pleased to hear about the squatting - I end up squatting in my classroom as it's much easier than bending down to talk to the children - will have to keep doing that then!

Thanks for the reminder LadyMaybe about hypno CD - I ordered mine ages ago and had forgotten about it - will get listening to that this weekend. LittleSarah I've ordered this one - My auntie recommended it to me and played a bit so I could have a listen. It sounds very useful and relaxing!

I'm very jealous of all of you with names sorted, or very short shortlists! DH and I have got a huge list of girl's names that we like but are really struggling with boy's names. So sod's law, we're going to be having a boy who will end up nameless!

I think 3rd trimester tiredness has kicked in big time again now, I just have no energy at the moment. By the end of a week of work, I'm like a sloth on the sofa! Fell asleep at 5pm yesterday and only woke up when DH got back from work. Whoops! Really want to be getting on with house bits that need doing (DH is starting to paint the baby's room today :D ) and also planting up things for the garden, but don't seem to be able to move off the sofa!

I too like the sound of a May be Babies thread - and also about having the stats list on the second post as I mostly read on my phone.

Hello everyone...
Hope you are all ok.. So much to catch up on..

Finally had to give in and go on early ML my SPD is so bad now I can hardly walk. Finally got my referral to the physio I just have to give them a call and book it. Didn't want to go on ML until 38 weeks which is what I did with DD 1 but it wasn't meant to be.

I moved house yesterday, luckily we are in an army quarter so they moved us and even did the packing which was good and a lot less stress than my move 6 months ago

We've chosen a name for DD2 although my DH has sworn me to secrecy, he won't even tell DD1 because she will tell everyone haha

Do any of you live Hampshire/Surrey ??

I was interested to read what the midwife said about waking up on your back. I seem to do that most mornings and I flap a little bit. I didn't dare ask mine she's pretty scary haha

Any of you having an ELCS ?? I get my date on the 12th April when I see the consultant again

newtothisstuff oh you poor poor thing! I really feel for you. fingers crossed seeing your physio will help you - mine did, she taught me some relly good exercises and I can now function well - the pain does come back if I push myself though so have to be very careful (no more hoovering, oh no!). I don't live in H-shire/Surrey but used to live in Surrey & know the place well, i now only live on the other side of the border. Might end up with ceasarian due to low lying placenta, am having another scan at 36 weeks to find out if its decided to move or not.

I flap about finding myself on my back too - dp thought it was so dangerous he kept on waking me up when he found me on my back, but we've reached the conclusion it's prob ok as I seem safe & sound still!!

Hoovering ... I did something very very naughty this morning... I bought one of those expensive (£250) I robot vaccum cleaner in the hope I won't have to do anymore vacuuming... And I didn't tell my dp. I'm not sure he would have agree on the price tag.... So that's a bit naughty of me!!
I have to Hoover every other day and it kills my back (not mentioning all the time it takes me...)
Maybe I'll tell DP i bought myself an early mother day present.... And hope it doesn't check the bank statement!!!

Other than that, I tell people I'm due in 2 months bc I'm so big (I'm really due in 2.5 months)...
Mmhh... I don't tell a lot of fibs though despite those two!!

Missed my osteopath appointment last thu so reported it to wed.. Can't wait for it!!!
Enjoy the sun today everybody!!

Newtothisstuff I also have an appt on 12th April to find out when my ELCS will be- perhaps we'll have our CS on the same day too! I think I've been so focused on having a date for the ELCS that it only recently crossed my mind that baby could show up early! I'm 32 weeks today so in a couple of weeks I'll pack my hospital bag and a bag of things for DS in case he has to get dropped off with a friend!

Newtothisstuff, sorry to hear about the SPD and the early ML - hope you can take things a bit easier now though :)

dreamingofanallotment, I'm feeling exactly the same after a week of work! Only three full weeks left for me thank goodness, and then a couple of odd days near the beginning of April...

tostaky, the robot vacuum cleaner sounds wonderful. I have friends who have them who swear by them! Very jealous...

I'm another one who lurks a lot and doesn't post much- sorry! Very much looking forward to the next three weeks of school being over, and then just having admin bits and some work from home to do before I can fully relax.

All a bit mad here - not just because of the working, but also because of an imminent house move! Currently at the stage of signing contracts, but no completion date as of yet. Don't know whether we'll be moving before or after the baby arrives yet, so it's all a bit bizarre...!

Hi everyone, just been enjoying catching up on all your news, as my phone's been out of action since thurs, while switching to a new network/ porting my phone number across etc. And I'm another one who mainly does my mn checking and posting via my phone.

Those of you who were asking about hypnobirthing CDs, (I think you were one littlesarah), I am using the Effective Birth prep one which someone else posted a link to. I used this in my two previous pregnancies. Can't vouch fully for its effectiveness, as first time round I ended up with an ELCS due to dd1 being breech. So didn't get to put it into practice that time! With dd2 i didn't listen to it as much as I was too busy looking after dd1. But I think it did help me a bit, seeing as I got to 8cms on my own in the hospital, without a birth partner or midwife around to support me, or gas and air, and I didn't go into a total panic. I think I kind of went into my own internal zone, and it might be that listening to the cd a few times beforehand helped me mentally. Anyway, I've only managed to listen to it twice this time, but I'm planning to use it some more over the coming weeks. If nothing else it is relaxing - and as I've started waking up in the night and not getting back to sleep for an hour or two, I've found listening to it ony iPod does help me get back to sleep when I'm desperate!

Re: the names thing... Still no decision here, despite only having to come up with a girls name! I'm finding it quite frustrating, I really wish we could just settle on one name now, and love it. I'd love to start thinking about the baby by her name. But dh doesn't like some of my preferences and I think he's only going to really focus on our short list when we get right up to the birth date. He's not as fixated on deciding on a name as i am, so I'm not forcing the conversation every day. But he does still have opinions on my name suggestions so I'm not going to get free rein to pick anything I want! It just feels like such a big responsibility, getting the name right for the child, and whether it will affect how they are perceived in life, as well as choosing something we will love for years to come!

luckynumber you're so right, men don't seem to feel the urgency of the name as much as us! I always feel bad bringing it up with dh as he seems to hate talking about it.. think we've settled on ours but we don't have back ups which worries me in case I go off the names when I see the baby! Hate the idea of a baby with no name. Hope u can settle on one soon :) it definitely is a big pressure.
With ds we had decided on his name & then a few weeks before some friends named their ds the same thing..was gutted but still went with it as we loved it.. so I'm just holding my breath now for the same thing to happen again as we have a few friends due in next couple of weeks!

I also have the effective birth preparation cds, keep meaning to get the accompanying book. Think it did help me relax a bit in labour, I had hideous contractions all in my lower back but managed on gas & air and quite calm til the very end (forceps) I remember fallig asleep to the cds loads during my ML last time so if nothing else can recommend them for that! :o

Sorry i seem to have dropped off a bit - have been having a busy couple of weeks!

LittleSarah plans for what we're going to be growing this year are afoot, we should be getting that sorted in the next couple of weeks. Yesterday DH went down with one of our friends and dug/rotivated it all so it's ready to start planting when we get some stuff bought :)

It's a good thing pelvic floor exercises may not be that useful as I keep forgetting about them!

Everything is fine over here. Starting to feel more tired now and for the past couple of weeks Baby has been wriggling like crazy in the evenings. S/he was breech at my 28 week appointment and I don't have another check-up until 34 weeks now.

We bought our pushchair today so I'm glad to have that out of the way with. Very pleased with it!

Also jealous of those who have names sorted. We have a boy's name and middle name fully decided on but nothing for a girl yet. Argh!

Have just been having a quick catch up on the thread. Sorry to those of you with horrible SPD - I've been more or less clear this time, after having it both times before. I really think my Osteopath has seen it off, as I went to see her as soon as I got any twinges this time. Pity it isn't on the NHS, as it is £40 per session, but at least I only have to see her once a month, so really it's less than the price of a take away pizza once a week!!!

Pillows - I have a small wedge shaped one (probably from the baby catalogue or Mothercare - can't remember which as I've had it since pg with DD1). It's quite good for SPD as stuck between the knees it stopped that "crushed" feeling in my pelvis. As a wedge, it's also good for shoving behind your back to stop you rolling over!

Weight - I've put on 10kg, most of it in the first trimester when all I could tolerate was chips and pies, and other really unhealthy stuff. I was on the Dukan diet, and had lost 10kg before getting pg, so am back where I started from now - and a bit gutted!

Feeling really down at the moment, as my GTT came back as 7.8. A measurement of 7.8 or above is what they count as GD. I argued with 4 people (including the most charmless, rude, jobsworth midwife I have evver encountered) to get retested, as on a borderline measurement, there is no way I'm accepting that as a diagnosis (I wouldn't accept anything that borderline without a recount). The consultant agreed to retest me, so I have to do the whole horrible test again on Wednesday. The only reason I was tested was because of my BMI, not because of any symptoms, and the fasting result was fine. My BMI was the same in my previous 2 pregnancies, but I was never tested then because it is only in the last 2 years or so that the guidelines have been changed. I don't have any other risk factors (no family history, previous children "normal" sizes etc). No medical person that I've spoken to can explain to me what magically happens at 7.8 that makes the risk any different to those of someone with a measurement of 7.7. They just expect me to accept it and go running off to their clinic (an hour and a half round trip on the one day I have DD2 on her own, for the last 10 weeks she is probably ever going to get me to herself!). What was more annoying was that the hospital gave me the wrong instructions for the time I was supposed to fast, and in the intervening period I did eat something.... I will have to wait and see what happens this week with the test, and decide what to do if it comes out the same or worse this time.

I then had a growth scan (another "torture the fatties" measure they have seen fit to introduce since DD2 was born 2 years ago), which came out exactly on the 50th centile. When I pointed out that this hardly bore out their theory that I would have a "large" or "small" baby, they booked me in for another scan and said they wanted to make sure the growth didn't acccelerate up the chart. Irritatingly, they were also supposed to check the position of the placenta (it had been low) but no-one bothered to tell me I needed a full bladder, so I went to the loo, then got the stroppy treatment from the sonographer, because she couldn't see the placenta well enough (sorry, didn't realise I was meant to read minds now too.).

Frankly, I am sick of being judged on the basis of charts (for BMI, GD, growth), where someone has drawn a line, and said that that represents "normal". Any more of that, and I'm tempted to tell them to stick their antenatal care.

Sorry for the massive rant.