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

[Yorky]

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

catsy am on phone so sorry response won't be that worst but wanted to send you a ..that is seriously crappy & I'd be angry in your position too. So unfair, esp as you've had 2 previous healthy pregnancies & babies. Well done u for fighting them, keep at it.

ballroom congrats on the pushchair! :) we finally got our city mini double last wk, i love it! Can't wait to try it out may have to borrow a friends baby!

Am now starting to think about packing hospital bags & bag for ds which is scaring me loads!! Where did the weeks go??

Incidentally, wondering if people are happy to stick in antenatal until everyone has delivered their babies then move to postnatal.. just think its harsh on the ones due at the end of the month if everyone has buggered off to talk about their babies on another thread.. but if people are happy to keep up with 2 threads that's fine too :)

catsy that should have said wordy not worst!

catsycat - well done for fighting them! How horrible for you. Stay strong!

I have a little rant of my own. DP and I have just attended our 1st NCT class and we are so disappointed. In the 4 hrs we were there, neither of us really learnt anything, other than the fact that it was clear the 'teacher' clearly wanted to convert us to homebirth. Kept of being told everything we were told was 'evidenced based' but no evidence was ever presented to support said arguments. Just random facts like C section rates in Brazil are 90%, and that is a terrible thing. Some pictures of baby during different stages of labour. The effect of hormones during labour...The class was big - 10 couples - and no proper group exercises like ice-breakers to get people to know each other - we were just asked if one of us would volunteer to email those that were interested to organised at least 2 socials beofore the end of the month. No plan for what we would cover in the session we attended, or any future sessions, was presented. Other than being told that it was really really important that the men attended the breastfeedeing session. and that pain relief would be covered in the next one (but for 4 hours...?) We were asked what we were loking for, we made a list, and lots of things raised weere ignored - real practical things like when you get to the hospital, what do you do about paying for parking as you don't know how long you'll be?! and what happens if you suddenly go into labour not near your hospital and have to end up somewhere else? I can't but help feel that the teacher is not up to the job - I have paid close to £200 for this, and I am really worried I won't learn anything much. As for the social side, we'll just have to see. But basically it feels like I am paying money to possibly meet people, which seems really crazy!! I know a few others here have attended classes - how were yours? Are they worthwhile? Have I been really unlucky?

Thanks cupcake and Basse. Sorry for being such a stroppy old bat!!!

cupcake I always seem to have enough bags to move into the hospital... I'm not looking forward to packing mine. The thing is once you pack cotton wool, nappies and a dressing gown, that's 3/4 of bag already isn't it? Last time, I packed the wrong size nappies (newborn), and all the clothes were too small for DD2 - the sight of them trying to squeeze a newborn hat onto her head (practically bracing with their feet!!!) was quite funny. That and the work experience girl (yes, really, from school!!!!) fainting during my section, to be caught just in time by my Doula.... aahhh the happy memories!!!!

Basse sorry your NCT class was a let down. I did them with DD1, and they were fantastic, so good I asked the teacher to be our Doula with DD2, and we are still good friends with the other 4 couples from the class. I'd agree men need to attend the BF session, but as a plan for the course, that does lack detail! Our teacher was very pro-natural birth, and pro-home birth for those who wanted it, but she also did a lot of work on induction, CS etc, which was really vital (4 out of 5 of us ended up with a CS in that class!). I would call her on the "evidence based" thing - ask her what the evidence is - she should know. And ask her when the points you raised will be answered, because you need to know they will be covered, an ask for a course outline. If she can't come up with the goods (or won't), I suggest you phone the president of your local NCT branch, and discuss your concerns with her. She should then be able to tell your teacher to pull her finger out. I think you have been unlucky, but you never know, she might be able to turn things around with a bit of prodding.... When is the next class, and how long is the course?

Basse - we attended NCT classes first time round and a few months after DS arrived, decided it was well worth the money just to have that group of friends locally all going through the same thing at the same time. DH in particular valued having a new group of boys to hang out with and nearly 3 yrs on, we still routinely have girls' nights, boys nights and full get togethers. I have to say though that our classes themselves sound very different to yours. We had hour long evening sessions over about 8 weeks, there was 6 couples and we did break into groups a lot for discussion / games.

catsy - that's rubbish Well done for speaking out and getting a re-test. Funnily enough I had my test this morning so FX!

I'm another one reading this thread all the time but not posting

catsy I would be as pissed off as you are! Have had my GTT test (because of BMI being 1 point over them "limit") but not had result back yet so we'll see!

I'm feeling pressure in my pelvis now and it feels constantly like I have a full bladder when I don't. Back getting sore and I've developed a bit of a waddle...!

cupcake we're the same, thinking about getting a bag ready soon but it's so daunting... makes it all seem so close to happening! where is the time going?

Hope everyone carries on doing well and babies are all growing nicely!

Catsy - Grrrr on your behalf! Honestly testing has gone a leeeetle mad I rather think. I was actually reading the AIMS (Association for Improving Maternity Services) Journal and they had a whole theme of 'high risk' (really interesting case study of a woman who went to 43+6 for first, 43 for second and 41+4 for third) which had a lot of info/research on overweight/obese pregnant mothers. I am so cross as I can't bloomin' well find the issue to tell you more but the vibe seemed to be weight is such a constant issue within medical profession/press these days and they don't really know exactly how it really affects all sorts and they don't know what to do so are going really overboard esp with regards to pregnancy. I was also reading about whether they should really test everyone for GD as they seem to now, no matter the 'risk' factor, and whether it is at all helpful. I'm not sure!

Basse - Sorry to hear your NCT class was off putting, very frustrating when you've paid so much. I had good NCT classes when pregnant with dd, lessons good but no socialising or anything sadly. I'm not much of a joiner though, I still don't chat much at ds's toddler group!

Cupcake - I figure we just hang out in antenatal until all babies arrive. Think that's what happened when I had ds and think it is simpler really.

Had my hair done today! So fab to feel even slightly glam. Don't know if I mentioned but found out my neighbour is hairdresser so we just did it at hers and she gave me a great discount.

Got my maternity allowance okay on Saturday. Very annoying though you can't claim (send off the form they've included, already completed first form) until you have stopped working, so you send it the day after you finish or something. I thought you'd be able to just tell them when you'll be giving up work. Argh. Also I was planning on taking the last of my holidays at the end of April, therefore I'll be off from end of April but technically still working(?) so I won't be able to send off form until the week before I am due. No big deal I just like to get things finalised!

Hello everyone!

i had my consultant appointment today, had traces of blood in urine so they got sent off - consultant suspects UTI but didn't seem too worried he just said the lab will check the samples and they will let me know if i need antibiotics or anything...

I also had a growth scan (because of BMI). He doesn't give much away! (the consultant) but he did the whole scan thingy, didn't say a word, put data in his computer then turned around and said "it's all fine! baby measures 4 lb 10oz which is average for age so no problems!" I also asked him if he had anything against me going for a water birth (because ofthen going on about my heart problem, BMI etc) and he said nope, he's happy for me to go for whatever i fancy really! so that's good news :) then he said he'll see me at 40+4.. i said i hope not!

Catsycat that sounds absolutely horrible!!! They have put me onto consultant care since the very beginning because of my fairly high BMI but after everything came back normal at the GTT and they never found anything in my urine (apart from today) he doesn't even want to see me again unless i go overdue so it seems really unfair that a similar situation would get treated so differently!

Basse We're going to Antenatal classes locally - free ones from children's centre and apart from a very annoying dvd with a super slim blonde american mum of 7 breastfeeding guru thingy, they've been alright! we had the whole introduction with other couples, the role of a health visitor and the last session was about breastfeeding. Wednesday should be midwife but they did warn us they can't really say in which order the classes will run as certain people get called out etc! (BF session was meant to be active birthing!)

Oh, and our little one will be called Isabel Helen (we're 99.9 she's a girl!) if not, the back-up plan is Sam for a boy :)

hope you're all doing alright and not too uncomfortable!!

Hello, hope everyone is doing well. Quick update that DH work have agreed he can take paternity leave when Sophia comes home :) yay!! Thanks wriggle

Sophia is doing well. We had a bad week last week with suspected meningitis and also a test for cystic fibrosis but she has perked up a little bit now, the NNU is a huge roller coaster but she is beautiful and it's so exciting to see her develop. Have had loads of cuddles, spent an hour yesterday with her asleep on me, it was so amazing and I can't wait til I can cuddle her without waiting for the nurses to 'let me'.

Glad Sophia is doing well LittleLamb, sorry last week was scary but a whole hour of her asleep on you sounds great, can't wait!

Well done for resisting being labelled as high risk, I was relieved when my MW let me opt out of the GTT without too much hassle, I had one in my 1st pg but no concerns in the next 2 so I couldn't see the point. Although I have put myself on iron tablets as my levels were borderline, will ask her to do blood again next week.

Pleased to say I still fit through our loft hatch as the boiler needed the pressure topping up as we had no hot water this morning, not that DD was happy seeing me disappear through the ceiling - she has chickenpox and is struggling with me being a separate person which makes putting the washing on tricky! She's not too bad, except at night, and her back is a mess. Just waiting for DS2 to come out in spots - probably tomorrow morning just in time to miss his nursery session

Your NCT class sounds disappointing, I hope they improve, I found them useful more for social than information, but we moved when DS1 was 6months so haven't seen much of everyone since then.

miko hope you'll get your ticket very soon.

Catsy good for standing up for yourself.I don't like the way of being treated like a complete ignorant without being told anything or them assuming that i either don't need to know or know something already.
How comes the newborn size nappies are wrong???I haven't got any other size,got pampers no 1 as it says its for the babies 2-5 kg weight range.Should I get another ones?

Basse can't you not complain somewhere?If you're paying for the class how they can ignore your wishes?
I've got mine class tomorrow night but it's led by local mw's and it's free.They said that there's some things they were going to tell us about but they also asked us what we wanted/needed to know.The notes were made in points and each point is being talked about.The dowside thing is that there's just 3 meeting altogether,they are lateish in the evening so there's no time to get to know each other better.

mythical lovely names.I'm a bit confused for choosing the name just in case the baby doesn't look like this name.

LittleLamb glad your wee one is doing well and the paternity leave sorted out the way you wanted.

Yorky my DP would freak out seeing me up in the loft-keep repeating that I'm not ill but there's no way to convince him.Bloody boiler has packed in (again) so had to light the fire to warm up the house.I think in the absence of DP I might be tempted to fix it with a hammer,it will save DP buying tha spare parts for it(again) thus spending the amount that would pay for the new one already.Grrrrr.

LittleSarah what's growing in your trays?I'll sow my tomatoes at the end of March.

Still have to buy a few things including blankets and muslin clothes.Was wondering whether buy new ones or used ones.Had a look on ebay and some online offers and will probably go for used ones.
Have to make a list what do I need but can't get round doing it.

Went for a walk today and pulled a few weeds out of raised beds(DP promised to help with planting this year).Any other garden enthusiasts here?I grow mainly veg and some flowers.
Another day of running like headless chicken tomorrow and on Thursday.I can't wait until all this fuss is over and will be able to sit on my backside and relax.

catsy yes! I found it so hard to pack 'light' last time.. I ended up with one medium-sized labour/immediately after birth bag, and one small suitcase for a longer stay, dh had a rucksack for him...plus my dream genii pillow of course!

basse That is so disappointing about your nct class. I remember after our first one feeling a massive sense of relief and excitement about it all and meeting new people..
Do you have all day sessions? We had 2 saturdays which were great for getting to know the couples as we had shared lunches. I would definitely voice your concerns to the teacher if you're not happy after the next class or call the area co-ordinator as someone else suggested. They need your feedback it's really important. I would gently suggest to the teacher that you would all really appreciate a thorough talk-through of all birth options, not just a non-medicalised home birth (as after all, intervention is sometimes inevitable - I was 100% for a natural no-pain-relief birth and ended up with a spinal and forceps delivery) I think I've said before that nct can be very biased/propaganda-like in its views about pain relief and the like so you may just have to grit your teeth through some of her comments and discuss with your dp what you think would work best for you.
On a practical note, I would definitely encourage you to be pro-active with the other couples. Ask for mobile numbers and email addresses, tell them how keen you are to meet up after etc otherwise you'll just lose touch. 10 couples is a lot of people, but on the plus side there's bound to be at least a couple you really get on with so make sure you do organise those socials! We had a girls' night & boys' night before the babies were born, as well as an entire group meal out and it was brilliant...will be much harder to all meet up once babies come so get to know them now!
Once we all had the babies, us mums had a regular date of Wednesday afternoons in the park for coffee/walk and whoever could make it went each week...saved a lot of hassle of trying to text everyone to arrange a different placeday to meet every week.

Anyway, sorry for that massive essay but would just hate you to miss out on what could potentially be friendships that really help you through those first months and years..it is totally invaluable to have friends with dc the same age. I consider some of my nct mums very close friends now.

littlelamb gorgeous that you got a proper cuddle with Sophia...I am so in awe of how strong you sound about it all. Fantastic news about your dp getting proper paternity leave too, you can all start afresh when she's home :)

Oh and basse- we also worried about parking at the hospital sadly you do end up paying a fortune if you're in for a while! But what we did was wrote out on an a4 sheet of paper 'Wife in labour will return to move car please call [dh's mobile number]' and put it in the glove compartment in case of absolute emergency where we had to leave car in an unauthorised spot... we didn't need to use that thankfully.
Otherwise, just put in for a few hours and dp can always go out to top it up...I would assume most hospitals are pay-on-exit anyway so it's not really an issue.

Thanks for the support everyone - was beginning to feel I'd gone mad!!!! LittleSarah, sounds like the article you mention echoes a lot of my concerns. I'm being tested again tomorrow, so just sneaking in a final cup of tea now... I hope everyone else whose waiting for GTT results have them back OK.

mythical, glad your appointment went well - your consultant sounds really nice! Lovely names you've picked too. Hoping I can sway DH to my choice - he was muttering about 3 "Z" names being too much, but I have had a name in mind for months now and am quite attached to it... reckon as it's my 3rd CS I should get the deciding vote

Limeflower, don't worry, the newborn nappies aren't wrong! DD2 was 9lb10oz (she was 15 days late, so on the 78th centile when adjusted for that). Her bum was too big for the newborn nappies, so they were a bit of a squeeze and just kept leaking! I had to get my mum to pick up size 1 nappies for us, which fitted much better.

Yorky I'm hoping I can still fit in the loft in a few weeks - we need to get the baby stuff down, but haven't got anywhere to store it till we decorate the nursery, so it'll have to stay up there for now. Not sure DH will be able to find everything we need!

littlelamb, it took me a while to catch on that you had actually had your baby already, as I was not up to date on the thread for a while . So, belated congratulations! I'm glad you had a nice long cuddle with Sophia - what a lovely name too. Hope this week is all positive after your stressful time last week.

Mythical - Glad to hear everything is measuring within 'normal' range , funny you should mention it as I was reading one of my pregnancy books and in the next four weeks my wee man should be going up from 2Ib to 4 and half or something mad like that! I also love your names, I suggested Sam for this one but no from dh, he is far too hard to please.

LittleLamb - So lovely to hear about all your cuddles!

Limeflower - Definitely a keen if inept gardener here! One thing I sowed today were tomatoes, also basil, cosmos and cheyenne pepper. Currently also growing indoor in trays is sunflower, amaranthus, antirrihinum, chives, broad beans, peas, onions (from sets in modules), cleome and cobaea scandens. Have even put some sweet pea seedlings and shallots (again from sets in modules - Monty Don tip) outside in the cold frame! Dh has cleared three of our raised beds, two more to go, so come the end of March I can start sowing some of the hardier stuff direct. I was reading Gardeners' World mag the other day and I ripped out a page about building your own cold frame using an old glass window or door. The very next day I walked past the house next door which is being renovated and saw an old window lying in the front garden! It is now in our front garden and dh has been told about his new project. Sadly he does not seem as excited about it as I am.

Good luck with your test tomorrow catsy! I cleared out a big drawer for baby stuff but its already full of all sorts, muslins, nappies, blankets, etc. All the clothes are still in boxes inside the wardrobe awaiting a final wash. I will find room somewhere...

Not much to report here today, same old same old really! Dd had her hair cut (v cute now but will no doubt be a straggly mess in no time) and we are all looking forward to her big dance show this weekend, she will be doing some ballet and flamenco. It is a bit of a palaver as we have to go and stay in town (her classes are there, as that's where she has always gone plus her dad pays for them and he lives in town!) and it goes on for two days with dress rehearsals and so on. Basically it will be manic. All worth it for the ten minutes we will actually get to watch her dance and grin manically in proud parent mode of course! At least it will keep my mind off Monday's scan!

LittleSarah you're so lucky to have a flamenco teacher near you! DH and I used to do it (very badly) when we lived in Croydon, but there is no-one round here who teaches it. I asked DD1's ballet/freestyle teacher and he doesn't know anyone either. Pity, as flamenco would be ideally suited to DD1's temperament (and I used to make flamenco skirts so could save money on dance clothes ). Hope your DD's show goes really well, and that the palaver is all in a good way - how old is she? DD1 has her first ever dance show on 31st March, doing a bit of ballet and then dancing to the Birdie Song dressed as a duck!!!!!

myweeangel just read your post - 10lbs 5oz OMG!!!!!!! I am only 5'3 & a 1/2 (the 1/2 clearly v important to me!) so I am hoping 8lbs tops..... Not bloody likely if we go full term though based on Births of DH half bro & nephews..... I can hope but I can see hypnobirthing might be compromised if B is big... Will have to wait & see & not obsess.

Good luck to all those having GTT tests. Here in SA the doc was not interested in testing based on my monthly urine sample he said there is no need. Funny as in the UK I imagine they would insist based on my BMI & both my parents being diabetic (Mum type 1, dad type 2) & of course B measuring big. I do hate how the UK system is so stuck to its charts rather than using their own mdically informed common sense.

Catsycat - The flamenco teacher (in Edinburgh) is the one who actually taught me as a teenager 15 years ago. I'd love to go back and do it myself but there aren't adult classes at the weekend and it's a lot to drive into town (an hour each way) for just an hour's class on a weekday evening. Of course nothing in any of the local towns, I can't even find an adult ballet class. I can't believe you used to make flamenco skirts! My granny made mine (wish I still had it, it wouldn't fit now of course, but was gorgeous) but she is no longer with us and I'm no good at sewing clothes. My ex just ordered dd's from Spain! I am hoping to do more dressmaking in the next year or so so perhaps I can make her next one. Dd is nearly eight so this is her third big show (they only do them every two years) and I do love seeing her on stage! How old is your dd? Bit younger I guess? I'm bet you can't wait for her show!

Littlelamb so pleased you got the paternity leave sorted, must be a relief. Sounds like Sophia is doing really well and you'll be able to get more cuddles soon.

Basse our hospital does a weekly parking ticket for the price of parking there twice, we found it great for DH visiting when I was in the postnatal ward with DS. We'll be saving our pound coins to get another this time .

Hello - hope everybody is doing well.
Are you also preparing overnight/daytime bags for the older siblings?
I'm thinking of having some in the car just in case....

I've got a funny sensation as if the baby had dropped and was banging his head on my pelvis... I wonder if the osteopath session this morning did something...
It just feel very un comfy for me now to bend over. I have to squat. I'm sure it's a bit too early for that sensation?
Next midwife appt is on 18th April but seeing Gp on Friday. Do u think a regular Gp would be able to tell if the baby's head is engaged?
No contractions yet just a bit paranoid!!!

toasaky my B feels v low too. Bending, without careful planning & taking it slow, has not been an option for a while now so if we are in a hurry DH has to put my shoes on! B is head down but not that low yet.
I am also getting discomfort when not doing a lot. I wonder if it is the ligaments stretching....

Your GP and your MW can take educated guesses by feeling but most of my friends said the guesses were a load of bollox! So just ask and see what they say - put your mind at rest anyway.

Sometimes my bump is really hard but at other times it is not.... Any ideas why?

tostaky I've just this week started to not be able to bend over too & driving & sitting in one position for too long has become uncomfortable as baby seems wedged behind my right ribs.. ds was exactly the same. Yes I will be packing small bag for ds just a change of clothes nappies & couple of toys in case we take him to a friends..am hoping someone will be able to look after him here though. Would be most convenient if baby arrived on a weekend so my mum could come! (shes a teacher)

tostaky i find it almost impossible to bend over normally too and like cupcakefairy I have a lot of rib pain. Also developing serious back pain between the shoulders, esp. painful when driving. A certain pair of something has been growing lots again lately (developing strectch marks in the process aaarggh) so it might be their fault!! Will have to get new better bra.

Thanks everyone for thoughts & comments re NCT, hoping this week's class improves - if not, I will talk to the teacher.

LittleSarah, I used to love looking round all the flamenco/feria dress shops in Seville (when we had no kids and could afford to go over there). I had a dressmaking business before having DD1, hence the skirts! DD1 is 4 1/2 - she did her princess medal at the end of last year, and is going to be entered for preliminary (I think?) ballet in May. I am looking forward to seeing her show, she also has 4 or 5 other shows booked throughout spring/early summer, at various local festivals. I hope we can make it to all of them with the new baby!

Just to sympathise with those in various discomforts / not being able to bend, I bent down in Costa earlier to pick up my friend's DD's water cup, and got wedged between the table and chair. Sooooo embarrassing. And I got stuck behind the sofa yesterday picking up some toys, one leg in the air, desperately trying not to bang my head on the floor, but finding it very difficult to right myself. The shame.

Had the GTT again today. Should have the results tomorrow morning. The HCA was really nice - she was basically willing the test to come back lower than the last one. Unfortunately, it took 3 goes to get the second blood test out, but tbh that's better than a lot of people manage! The whole testing thing gets even more bizarre too. Another woman was having her test redone today at the same time as me. She had her first one done in Warwickshire like I did (I'm booked to have DD3 in Warwick even though I live in Worcs), but she is booked to have her baby in Worcestershire. Worcestershire would not accept the Warwickshire test result, because the drink used in Warks is PolyCal and Worcs use Lucozade. But the idea is the drink is the same amount of glucose, whatever brand it is!!!! Kind of reduces my confidence in the test even more....

GTT update! Had a nice message from the surgery saying "you'll be really happy, the GTT has come back normal!" I don't know what the specific "score" was this time - will probably find out from the mw on Monday. So relieved, and kind of feeling a bit vindicated over the whole thing - glad I asked for a retest. :)