December 2013 part 2.

[TakingTheStairs]

Just starting a new thread as we're starting to run out of room on the first. www.mumsnet.com/Talk/antenatal_clubs/a1716486-December-2013#38680515

I haven't put any on yet harry which I'm really quite surprised about. I lost a stone before getting pg (which I needed!) So I've still been weighing every week, but no change. And I've been eating loads! It'll all change soon though :)

About 8lbs.. 9+4wks xx

Bean all present and correct including heartbeat. So happy I burst into tears! Didn't even need a fanny scan, clever doctor managed to see it through my tummy. Only 6 weeks approx so they said they can't date it accurately yet. Thank fuck for that! :-)

Hoorah Holly that's fantastic! I've another scan today, looking forward to when they're external scans!

Does anyone know is the 12 week scan an external scan?

Harry I've put on 7lbs. I'm 9+2

Thanks guys :-) not sure about external scans, I would have thought 12 weeks would definitely be external. I might be wrong but think your weight can affect how easy it is to see. Don't quote me on this but think I read somewhere that being overweight makes it harder to see.

re munchies, get yourself really worked up about a tiny bit of blood, definitely curbed my appetite today! Seriously though, how about stocking up on munchy fruit like grapes and strawberries and other healthy crap and get rid of chocolate etc so you can eat away and not turn into a whale?!

Taking - 12 weeks is definitely external

Harry - banana chips work for me if I need something sweet to nibble, and I have pretzels for savoury. Not that I've been eating them, I prefer cheese n onion golden wonder crisps :)

I've noticed today that my boobs aren't sore at all any more, and I can't remember if thats normal? I'm 8+1 today.

Still haven't heard anything from midwives with booking in or scan date and getting a bit edgy now. Think ill chase it up if I've heard nothing by Wednesday as that'll be 4 weeks since I told gp and he said it may take 4 weeks.

I'd definitely chase that up Wee. Obviously all services are different but I got my appointment letter within 9 days of first seeing the GP. Stuff often gets mislaid in the weird and wonderful NHS...

Just told a colleague and had the most wonderful reaction. She's so excited and gave me about 5 massive hugs! It's so lovely to get that kind of reaction after my business partner's reaction (we've worked together for 10 years) who was distinctly meh about it all. In fairness she apologised about it yesterday which was lovely. She said it was because she'd had a bad experience in the past with a colleague who had 6 months off full pay and nearly bankrupted the practice. I've shown my scan pic to 3 people already! Really need to calm down, it's only 6 weeks, still got a looooong way to go.

Someone posted much earlier in the thread about statistics of the pregnancy continuing once you've seen a heartbeat, could that mysterious someone post that again please? Sorry, I'm sure if I read the whole thread twice I'll probably still miss it.

More healthy munchie ideas; rice crackers, dried fruit (high fibre), nuts. I buy my chocolate rations daily so I can't pig out too much.

So proud of myself for getting through last night and today without caving in and having a fag, particularly since I stopped using the nicotine patches on Wednesday. :-)

Yaay just booked my 12 wk scan (although I booked it got when I'll be 13wks) much prefer being able book it myself than having the appointment come through

Well done on staying off the fags Holly

I'm so excited, just had a scan (9+2) and the little jelly baby was waving his/her arms!! So wonderful to see, it made it a bit more real than see the heartbeat

Not been able to contribute this week with it being hectic at work and finally exchanged on the house today... Yey! Won't complete until end of may but at least it gives us something to look forward to in the coming months... And a massive project!

Still not really had many symptoms! If I get too hungry I lose my limited appetite... I have terrible wind when I eat (burping!) and still loads of cm... O and sore boobs and clothes too tight... Actually I guess that's quite a few!!!

Congratulations on the new bfps and seeing beans on scans...

Got my checking in appt on tues... And still not told a sole...

Congrats to new BFP's And all of you getting your scans how lovely

Must say im pretty relieved to see im not the only one who hasnt heard a peep from the midwives. Its been nearly two weeks since I saw the gp and she said it wouldnt take long.
I had a miscarriage prior to this and judging by the clear blue digital I took over 4 weeks ago im about ten weeks now. Although the gp said the midwife should get me in for a scan soon as theres a chande I never miscarried and she mentioned disapearing twin syndrome. So stressed out wish my appointment would just come.

I havent told anyone either just my mum and shes piling on the pressure to tell my sister (who is getting married in 3 weeks and will b v suspicious when I dont drink).

oh and ive put on a crap load of weight despite being unable to eat hardly anything feeling like shocking crap and being sick alllll the time. Booo ive had two kids already and never felt this bad, oh and 12 week scans are always on he tummy.

So my first MW appointment turned out to be a bit of a disappointing experience. It wasn't a booking appointment after all, just a pre-booking. The MW herself was lovely and gave me lots of info and my maternity notes, but my proper booking appointment won't be for another 3 weeks. I'll be 11+5 by then! And the worst bit is they won't even book me in for my first scan until I go to the booking appointment. So I'll be nearly 12 weeks before I even find out when my scan date is! It just seems like AGES and I got myself all worked up about it, thinking stuff that I know I shouldn't, like what if I'll be carrying around a silent bean for the next month without knowing it. Stupid, I know.

So I totally sympathise with those of you stressing out over lack of communication from midwives. Waiting for information is enough to drive you mad. It's so hard to know where the line lies between waiting a reasonable time before chasing them up and being a crazy obsessive pregnant lady harassing them!

Reading some of the positive stories on here about BFPs and beans keeps my spirits up though

Hi all, TMI / self-pity alert, sorry...!

I'm completely terrified. Yesterday had quite a bit of brown discharge. Today don't feel nauseous at all. Boobs don't hurt any more. I'm so scared the bean will have stopped growing or something. Yesterday DH tried to get me to tell him why I looked so glum, I blurted it all out and he was lovely and supportive but it felt like nothing he could say would make it better. Can't face idea of looking into early scans. Will just have to wait 20 more days until 12-week scan. Seems like an eternity.

Sigh.

Hi there,

can I join please? EDD Dec (?) I'm 7 weeks (this will be DC3)

Violet- I had something similar a few days ago and the next day didn't feel sick at all and got really worried. But now the nausea has returned a bit. Try not to worry- it's a horrid waiting game. OH doesn't understand why I don't want to tell anyone yet....I just need some sort or reassurance. I can't remember from prev pregnancies if you listen to the heartbeat at 1st mw apt? If not it's going to feel like an eternity till the 12 wk scan....

MW won't listen for heartbeat until 16weeks at least and many don't do so until 20 weeks.

Iris I had disappearing twin syndrome with DS. Had it not been for the thoroughness of the sobographer it probably wouldn't have been detected until much later. I would really push for a dating scan and if they won't do that then a series of quantitative HCG bloods to see what the rate of doubling is as that can be an indicator of length of pregnancy if you have a rough idea.

I'm guessing that all you people who have midwife appts before scan dates are given live in areas where they don't do the nuchal fold test? If not then they must get your scan dates out pretty quick!

I had my first bloods done yesterday (courtesy of the nice nurses on the paeds ward who saved me a trip to the lab) so know they know I'm upduffed Plus they came back with all the ward bloods so nice and quick! Another set tomorrow - I'm paranoid this is twins or my dates are out because my HCG is high.

Hey Holly- 'twas me.. Have hung onto this for reassurance during wobbly times.. From Miscarriage Assoc website:

If the scan does pick up a heartbeat and the baby appears to be the right size according to your dates, this can be very reassuring, even if you are still bleeding.

Research has shown that if you see a heartbeat at 6 weeks of pregnancy, the chances of the pregnancy continuing are 78%.

A heartbeat at 8 weeks increases the chance of a continuing pregnancy to 98% and at 10 weeks that goes up to 99.4%.

So things could still go wrong and sadly sometimes do, but as long as there is a heartbeat, the risk of miscarriage decreases as the weeks go by.

Hope it helps..

I'm really surprised by how crap some people's mws are being. It seems like 12 weeks is the absolute latest you should be having your first scan so taking that long to see you for the first seems really rubbish. The only reason they wait until 12 weeks to scan you is for cost reasons, i.e. most mcs happen before 12 weeks so it's just a cost saving exercise. There's no clinical reason to wait that long. The fact that I had an external scan today that showed a heartbeat and I'm barely 6 weeks kind of proves that really. I probably shouldn't say this and this is absolutely NOT what I did but if you were desperate enough for a scan and can't afford to go private, you could always say you'd had a bleed. I know that's probably a bit immoral and I'm not saying you should, it just occurred to me after today's carry on. I'd encourage anyone who hasn't heard anything to chase it up. I don't think that's unreasonable at all. I deal with the NHS all the time through work and it's astonishing how much correspondence never arrives at its intended destination.

That's not stupid at all Penguin, it's totally understandable. And not nice at all, it's what I was worried about last night and this morning. I chased mine after a week (!), the letter came the same day. I don't see anything wrong with keeping on top of them.

Sorry to hear that Violet, get yourself booked into the EPAU for an early scan if it'll set your mind at rest. All I had to do was phone the GP and she did everything else.

Nom, can you explain what you mean about the nuchal test? I've heard of it and know it's to do with Down's but not sure what you mean.

Harry, I am going to breastfeed and anyone who's got an issue with it can leave the room as far as I'm concerned. Since my friends have had babies and told me about it, I'm gobsmacked by how few people breastfeed and how weird people are about it. I've already played out the scenario in my head where some idiot in a pub or restaurant complains and I point out they're breaking the law in discriminating against me, make a big scene and strike a blow for feminism and breast feeding! Obviously this is just a fantasy, but all being well I will breast feed.

Thanks Mildred :-)

Hi all, hope you've all got nice peaceful bank hols planned.
Sorry for long post-
I do check thread everyday, will try and get better at posting. I've had to go back over all written since I last posted so I didn't miss anything!

ladymedea intrigued on sewing project, how did you do convert jeans?
Violetbean thanks for your comment, hope you're feeling a bit calmer, glad your DH was there for you. The wait is so hard, would you not consider a private scan if the wait is too long? Or contact EPAU if discharge continues. Thinking of you.
Holly1977 VERY impressed with smoking success. From your prev posts I also agree I'm a bit more 'windy' at the moment, but if you're on lactulose that's notorious for it. I am also craving salt/crisps/junk food even drank a glass of full fat coke the other day which I hardly ever do. Was laughing at 'fanny scan'! Pretty sure your GP meant 'intravaginal'. That's what I had, got a scan photo from it too- sure child will be delighted that its first photo was taken from that angle!
Nom,weechops , iris1 sorry you've been stressed with DC being poorly. Hope all better and you're getting some rest.
Quiet really hope your sickness settles down, yes I'm glad I'll be getting looked after closely
Michellephant hi! I'm sorry to hear about Poppy, hope you start to get somewhere with the extra support you were promised.
5ammy hope you've made some progress with maternity wear. I hate that 'tears in the changing room' situation. And I can't believe you have a doppler! Was it expensive?
readyornot lol at your MIL, they can be 'hilarious' sometimes. Glad you survived the visit.
Taking- scan sounds lovely, nice to be excited rather than nervous.
Yogafan thanks for kind words. I don't think any pregnancy is ever super easy or laid back, but having major surgery halfway through is definitely not something I was prepared for!
Feather glad interview was ok- when do you hear about job? I've carried on spotting, but they also saw a small haemorrhagic cyst on my scan so I'm guessing thats it. And was so sorry for you reading your 'bus' post. I know the feeling when you're just so cross/tired/fed up that all you can do is cry!
Queenofwhispers sorry you had scare, is everything calmer now?
froubylou- hi! I'll fight you for the last prawn cocktail crisp!
13loki ick at vomiting in hands. Hopefully that's the low point of your morning sickness.

Ok enough from me, will post update on my progress tomorrow. Am being distracted by Fox Mulder....

I'm another one with strong opinions on BFing. Heck I'm still feeding a 2yo! But I'm also a trainee BFC with the LLL so not exactly objective Tbh I wouldn't go for feeding EBM when out and about. Expressing is a faff and boobs are much easier. Once you get the hang of it BFing is very discreet. I've lost count of the number of times people have just not noticed I've been feeding in public. If you are worried what about a nursing cover?

The nuchal fold test is a measurement that they take at a scan which must be done before the end of the 13th week. It measures how much fluid there is in the baby's neck. After that 14 weeks fluid at the base of the skull is no longer reliably visible. A lot of fluid indicates an increased risk of Downs' syndrome. Ideally the test should be done at 11 weeks (because then if the little bugger doesn't cooperate DS that would be you you can rebook) but most Trust policies don't take that into account.

info fetalanomaly.screening.nhs.uk/testsabout

Thank you so much for the lovely messages! Evening relaxing in front of TV and then having a bath has made me feel a lot calmer.

Impressed by your individual messages music! I'm on the app and can't remember the names of the people who've posted (or the content!) once I'm writing a post! So tend to be a bit vague in my messages to others...

Oh and from experience family, if they're not supportive of BFing, are harder to BF in front of. My MIL makes passive aggressive comments about how she never had enough milk for her babies (subtext: don't you be denying my previous grandson anything). Even my mother who BF all 3 of us for what was a the time a really long time was a bit weird about me BFing in front of her. I found it easier just to retire when at home/other people's houses to feed. Friends are much easier to cope with!