June 2013 thread 2 - Are your jeans feeling snug yet?

[PseudoBadger]

New thread for June 2013 :)

Many congrats pinkapples- also glad that your morning sickness is beginning to ease. Have my 15 week appointment tomorrow, so looking forward to hearing baby's heartbeat too!

by the way, does anybody here have any tips on minimising stretchmarks? I've bought some Bio oil but have heard mixed reviews on its effectiveness. Thankfully no sign of stretchmarks yet, but my bump feels so tight, it can only be a matter of time! Any advice would be much appreciated.

In case I don't manage to log on before, all the very best for Thursday, dreamy

Thanks lexilexi I've been using bio oil since 9 weeks and have also heard mixed reviews but had some in the bathroom so thought I might as well use it up currently have what looks like 2 tiny marks but so far they are small fingers crossed am so scared I'm going to turn into the purple stretch mark queen

Do you always get to listen to heartbeat at 15 week appointment?worried the midwife wouldn't be able to with me i am well cushioned lol got my appointment Thursday x x

lexi I used bio-oil last time, every day throughout pregnancy and didn't get stretchmarks. But... I don't necessarily think it is a magic cure. I think some people are more inclined to get them than others. My mum didn't get them, my sister only got them on her boobs. Saying that there's no harm in using bio-oil and at least you'll have nice soft skin! Plus if your other half is anything like mine, he'll be more than happy to help with the application!

My MW said they would try to listen at my next appt if I like (between 16-18 weeks) but said it isn't always possible to hear it.

I don't think I'll ask, as I don't want to worry if they can't find it!

I need to start moisturising bump and boobs. Got achey stretchy pain today :-(

Oh I'm hoping I get to hear at my 15wk appointment now! (It will be 16 weeks)

I didn't ask she just did it and said they can't always find it... I'm well cushioned to hehe still in the fat not pregnant stage (although it is getting harder) but she still managed to find it about 2/3 inches below belly button took her about 5-7 minutes x finger crossed you get to hear it mine was in the 140 I know the old wives tale is a load if rubbish but kinda hoping its a boy :-) only 5 weeks till we Start finding out

I feel like I'm a bit behind everyone but got my Nuchal test results through today am low risk 1 in 22000

Congrats sparkly - now you can relax over Christmas!

Congrats sparkly x

EVening everyone - how are you feeling suzy ? and great news sparkly

I have been feeling truly awful the past couple of days, no energy and nauseous. DH suggested I was overdoing things not that he has picked up the slack as such, last night DD slept well and DH saw to her when she woke at 5am, and then today I had a vat large serving of pasta at lunchtime, and then a really good dinner early with DD. I feel so much better, maybe baby is having a growth spurt?!

Great news, Sparkly. Am hoping to receive mine in the next few days

That's great news sparkly! I have my nuchal scan on thurs- decided to pay to have it done privately after all- so will probably get results in new year.
Good luck for thurs dreamy x

How exciting hearing heartbeat! Such a lovely sound!

I used bio oil and palmers stretch mark cream last time but really on off so got quite a few on my lower tummy. It was quite a shock a week or so after birth as I hadn't been able to see that part of my tummy while pregnant so thought I'd gotten away with it until I saw my belly minus my bump they've faded to next to nothing now tho so don't worry even if you do get them!

Have to apologise too- I read the thread on my phone then go to post reply and halfway through I forget who said what as my short term memory is non existent at the moment! so I'm sorry if I get the wrong names!

Glad people are starting to feel better too

Fantastic news, Sparkly :-)

I've just started to use cocoa butter on my bump. Maybe a bit late, but better late than never. DH will be applying it during his usual evening chat with the baby! Bless him; he spends a lot of time talking to it. It's very sweet.

Morning all

I'm fine thanks redwelly, busy busy busy with the run up to Christmas, think I'm starting to feel the baby moving around a bit. Because I have an anterior placenta it's not as defined as my last pregnancies but is very reassuring!

Great news sparkly and such a nice early christmas present.

On the stretch marks thing I'm sure I read that a lot of it is genetic, not that bio oil will tell you that!

Ah MrsBri your dh sounds lovely. I do a stupid voice sometimes and pretend the baby's answering

xx

Good morning everyone, and congratulations on our pregnancies and much love to those of us who have suffered losses.
I'm making my first appearance on this thread today, looking for a bit of reassurance. I'm due on the 20th of June, it is baby #2 and I'm 38.
I'm 13+5 today and had the results from my NHS triple test and Nuchal fold measurements through yesterday. They show a 1:318 risk of Downs and, I was surprised to see, no numbers for Pateau's or Edwards' (as you would get with an OSCAR). The Nuchal measurement were "within the normal range" and a nasal bone was clearly visible.
I am freaking out about the 1:318 and can't decide whether I'm being ridiculous or am just surprised as I tested 1:6000 in my OSCAR with DD just 3 years ago, aged 35, and secretly thought I'd be similarly blessed this time .
Before we started TTC I decided I wanted a diagnostic test on account of being 38, but now DP doesn't want to risk it as he is satisfied with the results representing a "low risk" according to the NHS and he doesn't want us to have a procedure which carries a risk of miscarriage. I feel kind of let down by his change of heart. I also found out that diagnostic tests are no longer offered as routine for women over 35 by my local NHS trust, but that I will need to pay £962 at a local private hospital for the privelege if I decide to go ahead anyway. I did find a thread about Harmony testing last night, and am looking into that this morning, but again, it is costly and we are not near London.
Oh boy, am I being ridiculous or would anyone else be tempted to undergo further screening with these figures?

NINE HUNDRED AND SIXTY TWO POUNDS? Good grief.

That cost is awful! How can they charge such an amount?! Feels like they are preying on people when they are feeling vulnerable enough!
I think that if you have the means to do it and you need to for your peace of mind then I completely understand. I know what you mean about being told that you're low risk but the numbers still scare you- I was 30 having DS and had just the blood test as nt scan wasn't available. Mine came back 1 in 516. Average for my age was 1in 800 so I panicked a bit at the time and was banned from reading up on anything pregnancy related by DH.
I think ( and I'm not a professional) that the nuchal measurement and nasal bone are positive signs and the risk you've been given is good- my statistician mates thought I was crazy for panicking with those numbers last time.
I think the most important thing here is your peace of mind and how you'll feel and stress or not if you do/ don't have the test done. What would you do with the results either way? Not that you need to tell us- just things for you to think about.
We're all here to support you either way. I'm sure someone with more experience will be along in a moment x

Bleurgh... Yep, £962. Thank you for your kind words AmI . Feeling a tiny bit better now, I spoke to one of the sonographers at the ante-natal clinic who was so very lovely. She talked me through the results and emphasised the low risk angle, saying that my age alone would have lowered the ratio significantly, regardless of bloods or measurements (apparently my age-related ratio would be 1:150). She was so sweet, the way she spoke about my baby when looking at the scanning images over the phone, all cheerful and positive, made me feel like it was all going to be OK. She did stress that others might whoop for joy at these numbers, so I do apologise if I have sounded a tad ungracious and upset someone who felt happy with similar results. Good luck everyone who are waiting for test results in the coming weeks.

Hi peaceful sorry if this is a long reply. I was recently given a 1 i 70 risk for downs so I understand the stress you feel about this. I've tried to give you a list of things to consider below but please feel free to PM me if you want to talk things through....

1. Have you confirmed that a CVS would be as expensive as an amnio, they're a similar proceedure but it could be worth checking.

1. The Fetal Medicine Centre in London (the absolute top place for private ante-natal care in the UK) do a new test called the Harmony test which is non-invaisve and checks for the baby's dna in the mother's blood. As they are trialling it in the UK at the moment I believe it's about a £180 which would give you enough left over to have a nice weekend in London. The results take a couple of weeks as they go to the US. There is lots more info about this on the ante-natal results and choices board and I believe alohamoma is going to have this done soon so she might be able to help you more.

1. I'm going to be 38 when I have this one and I believe that our risk starts at 1 in 150 which means that your result is likely to be higher as a starting point. Not sure if that helps but I found a lot of the statistics worrying (I work with data scientists handily so they did help calm me down a bit though they waned to see the algorythm!) and though it sounds a bit trite you have a 99.6% chance of having a baby without down's.

1. There is a really helpful website and charity called Ante-natal results and choices, they have people to talk through the results available and though I didn't speak to them myself I heard from someone I was chatting to on another board that they were brilliant.

1. The risk of miscarriage for an amino is around 1 in 100 but it's worth baring in mind that you can ask for the statistics for anyone at the hosiptal where you have the proceedure, this might help your husband to feel better about the risk if you do decide to go down the amnio route. My consultant for example did over 50 proceedures a year for the last 5 years and in that time only 2 had resulted in miscarriages and of those 1 had had significant chormomosonal disorder.

1. Finally the proceedure (though I had a CVS) wasn't painful but the process and waiting for results was incredibly stressful, this is a risk assessment only you can really make.

1. My hospital had a screening midwife that dealt with this whole process, you can ask to speak to yours as a first port of call as they might be able to put your mind at ease a little bit.

I hope all this helps, give yourself a little bit of time as it sounds like this was quite a shock to you.

Suzy xx

Suzy, that's a great response and I think it's helpful for all of us who have received or are waiting for results for the combined test. Peaceful, I'm sorry to hear you are worried. I can completely relate as I'm waiting on results at the moment and am 40 so know my risk on age alone is 1:100. For what its worth, I think I'd be reassured by the results you've got. X

thanks sunbeam it really is amazing what an "expert" you become when you go through something in pregnancy or with your children!

Good luck for your results. I can't remember when you had your scan but I got my high risk back within two days and they said if don't hear anything within 3 working days by phone then your result will be coming back as low risk, don't know if this is the same in your area but hth

xx

Thanks, Suzy - the scan was last Wednesday so fingers crossed that no news so far is good news xx

Hi peaceful and welcome. Sorry to hear you're feeling stressed about the test. I just wanted to clarify what suzy said, I'm not actually having the Harmony test. I live in the US, so have been told by my doctor that if the blood test came back with a high probability of Downs (however they class 'high') then I would automatically have the Harmony test, which they now do here instead of amnio. I hadn't heard of it before so was asking about what it was, but someone pointed me to the very helpful thread here where quite a few people have taken the test and talk about their experiences.

Sorry aloha, misrepresenting you x