April 2014 Thread 4 - We're almost in Trimester 3!

[LeeHandy]

Here's to fantastic 20 week scans, feeling baby move and other exciting milestones and best of all, the end of sickness!

sad day the family dog passed away suddenly unexpectedly devastated and hormones don't help with crying. he was 9 the craziest most loving labrador called zeus. All ny crying has made baby move a lot it makes me a bit sad he won't get to meet the dog sounds silly but I was looking forward to zeusy sniffing him trying to get a lick in when he knows not to. he lived with parents but was my dog gunna really miss him

Vikki sorry to hear about your dog. it's very sad when anyone loses their dog, but unexpectedly sort of makes it worse. hope you feel better soon.

churros your ds sounds adorable, I like the name options! blessed it's great that your boss was understanding and let you go early. hope you can relax for a while now.
pretty I was told about the vaccine at my first appointment but after that no one reminded me. I was told anytime between 28 and 34 weeks. the vaccine combines whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus so is a pretty useful one to get.
light I always start by thinking "what's the worst that can happen?" and work my way up from there.

vikki sorry about your dad. That really sucks.
churros don't ask i intend to clean the house till it begs for mercy. We moved in a little over a year ago and i have not got to putting pics on the wall yet. Then baby clothes,lots to do,i need to wash,iron and pack them in the drawer which DD was using so have to move her clothes to her closet. Then the rest of my time shall be spent on MN, the most important thing in my opinion.
pretty your midwife is crazy. You give birth where you feel comfortable most. If she wants a homebirth the she can get pregnant and have one herself. Cheeky woman!!!WRG to the vaccine we don't get it here in Norway. It is not offered. I got the flu vaccine though.
lee thanks. I intend to use my relaxing time wisely, on Mn

thanks guys I kinda needed to vent earlier. I think dogs become such important family members for a decade its really hard to lose them even though you know they won't be around forever. hope everyone else is ok today

Really sorry about your dog Vicki! They are definitely part of your family. I've grown up with cats and dogs and the love they bring is worth the pain they leave when they go

My cat Benz that id had since I was 17 died in November suddenly of a stroke and he was in perfect health, I'd had visions of DS1 growing up with him (he'd been so lovely and gentle with him) and I was looking forward to seeing how DS2 got on with him.

We had him cremated and I had some of his ashes put into a ring I wear everyday (this might sound odd to some but I don't mind!)

Vikki so sorry about your dog. We lost our family dog last year and I was very upset, and he was very old and it wasn't at all unexpected so I can imagine how sad you must feel about it coming out of the blue . Hope you are ok and being gentle on yourself.

pretty I think some midwives can be very pro natural birth (others less so!) but also I think if you are low-risk and all is going well they feel obliged to let you know that there are other options other than a hospital birth. Totally up to you whether you want to explore them or not though.

blessed glad you have plenty to keep you busy over the next couple of months

Had my 28 week midwife this morning. All well (apart from DS is going through a very 'helpful' phase and wanted to 'help' with my urine sample, blood pressure and blood tests ) They said I could get my whooping cough vaccine there and then but then when I went to get it the nurse said she didn't want to give it as I'm not actually 28 weeks til tomorrow . It doesn't matter, I'll just nip in and get it sometime in the next few weeks.

vikki i just realised my ipad changed dog to dad, i have no idea why..

churros you are so lucky. My DD has gone from ' i love you mummy,you are the mummy ever' to ' mummy i hate you and you are stupid' All words learned in kindergaten and i miss my cuddly happy go little girl. She is lovely to her dad and just about everyone, only not me.

Sometimes when i go to fetch her from daycare she does not run to me happily like before,she will ask if i brought a surprise first, if i say yes then fine,if no then it would an hour before i finally leave the daycare..makes me very but i know it is because she has been my everything and now i am pregnant,can not carry her and play on the floor with her,being involved in her boring games with faked enthusiasm as before. I am too tired most of the time and she hates all that. However she is so thrilled that she is getting a brother and even when she is mad or throwing a tantrum, she is always quick to tell me that she has no problem with the baby, which she calls JJ but just mad at me.. I feel for her and try to be patient but sometimes i lose it..Gosh, that was long, sorry all, just wanted to offload.

The best mummy ever

blessed it sounds very frustrating and upsetting. I used to work in a nursery and lots of the children went through similar issues we tended to ask the parents if we could help ib anyway one mum constantly brought surprises for the child but it can make life difficult longer term. The nursery may be able to help with the going home and she can get the message is the same from mummy and nursery. just an idea ignore if not applicable

vikki i work in a nursery as well so totally agree with you, that is why she does not get a surprise anymore. I can not raise her to think if she does not get her own way then i have to pay for it somehow. I just tell her i am ready when she is then sits patiently ignoring the tantrum. Works all the time. It is just frustrating. I kept her home with me today and played her games with her, she was ok, no tantrum whatsoever. She actually got bored because i did not know the rules to the game so she wants to go to nursery tomorrow..great. Even bed time was great but i understand that being in daycare from 8-3 is tiresome. Here in Norway kids go for long walks whether it rains or it is sunny. They are in the snow outside for ages and they get tired. I hate it for the small kids..

blessed ut does sound a long day for litte uns I bet they are super tired which will not help temper tantrums. keep doing what your doing sounds like it's working well despite being bloody frustrating at times.
I have a 3rd scan tomorrow at 11am excited ti see baby again hes been kicking loads this evening especially late at night belly wiggles loads so for a standard scan I think and hope all is well im curious to see if baby is big in size or uf in just fat eek
30 + 2 weeks as it's past midnight

I had scan all is well he's apprantly approx 3lbs 7 already at 30 + 2 or 4 weeks. The woman put me back onto + 4. also got a surprise 3d look at him which was awesome he was shy though and was hiding behind umblical cord chewing it and playing. saw him swallow. definitely a boy could see that clearly and he's now head down as I though due to kicks under my ribs
30 + 2 or 4

blessed sounds like you have to do some tough balancing there... good luck!
Vikki that's so precious! it's amazing you could see all of that. dh and I went to Costco today to buy nappies and went completely overboard. we ended up spending more than 400 pounds. that place is dangerous!

Ooh... Puffy ankles! But that's ok/normal in the evenings right? Haven't noticed it before, but have been standing a lot today.

28 week MW appt today. GTT was all clear last week and bloods all came back fine (iron levels etc)

28+2
(4 shifts left at work!)

blessed that sounds tough. How old is she? I think it is tough going from being an only child to having to share mum and dad. My DS is only 2.5 so I don't think he really understands.

Vikki scan sounds lovely nice to get another peek at your baby boy.

Light I've never suffered too much with puffiness but it is normal, especially if on your feet a lot. Make sure you elevate them in the evening and maybe do some circling and flexing.

Cannot good luck with MW, and glad bloods and GTT were ok. Yay for finishing work soon too!

Feeling sorry for myself today as have bad lower back pain. It's a long-term problem that flares up every now and then but all the best ways I normally stretch it out don't work very well with a bump in the way. Moving hurts! Hoping it just loosens off soon otherwise I might have to get it seen to.

28 + 3

churros I've been suffering with my back too usually when I've been to work.
I know what you mean about not being able to stretch in the usual way.
I have found heat really helpful though. Ive invested in a wheat bag which you can heat in the microwave and spent many an evening with that on my lower back.
Also for times when I cant use the wheat bag ive found those heat patches are great esp when I'm working. You stick them on, they warm up and last for 12 hours you can buy them off the shelf in big supermarkets.
Obviously no 2 lots of back pain are the same so it may not work for everyone but its worth a go and is safe for baby as no medication is involved.
I had horrible lower back pain yesterday morning after my night shift but after an evening with my wheat bag and a night with a heated patch I feel like a new woman
31+1

Churros, sorry to hear your back is bad again. My physio has given me some "pregnancy alterntives" to normal exercises etc. as I have had similar recurrent back flare ups.

E.g. for cat stretch, although it is not recommended to do it on all fours like normal (because of the weight of the bump), you can do it standing up (just arch backwards - need to make sure you have a door frame or something to hang on to in case you lose stability!) That one feels nice.

The other one I like is an arm opening stretch. You basically lie on your side in recovery position with your arms in front of you, and then stretch the top arm over your body and behind you (so right over the top - only as far as is comfy) - gives a nice stretch across the middle.

Hope you feel better soon!

churros I have recurrent back problems too and my osteopath said the best stretch for lower back pain is actually to the side - so bend to each side and feel the vertebrae unclicking. I love it! Also recommend wheat bag.

vikki aww! what a lovely scan description. So you're ahead of me now then? I've got a final scan next Friday to check placenta position. Never had such a late one so will be interesting to see what we can see. Hopefully she's head down by now...

Does anyone else not feel particularly huge? I'm nearly 31wks but sometimes feel like bump isn't that prominent then I look in the mirror mind you, I remember getting to 36wks or so last time and being incredulous that I could get any bigger, as indeed I did!

Suppose I better source a birth pool if that's what I want. Still trying to decide on crib options at the moment. Picking up the double pushchair tomorrow and quite excited :)

30+5

Thanks for sympathy and suggestions patsy, light and misty. I've been trying a few different stretches but can't quite get it to full satisfaction! It's not really my back I suppose, it is more my bum (top of ITB) so back stretches don't really get it. I'm sure I've got a wheat bag somewhere though, hadn't thought of that - I'll dig it out!

misty, no, don't feel that big either. I keep trying to squeeze through spaces and realise I don't fit though! Mind you, that could be my terrible spatial awareness

Do you get sciatic pain with it too Churros? I always find once that gets going there is not much that can stop it ... just rest until the muscle stops twinging it (to use the technical term )

Quite hard to mix with stretching. When I first saw my physio she said not to do stretches if they were hurting the sciatic nerve, as you don't want to irritate it more (so even if you are helping the muscle long term, if you are irritating the nerve hold off and try something different). E.g. my hamstrings are very tight, but when I first put my back out hamstring stretches would really jangle the sciatic nerve - so she advised me to hold off until that stopped happening.

Once the initial spasm is over (which I use ice on for the first few days if the muscle feels hot), I also find a hot shower is very soothing. I actually think a hot shower in the evening tends to make my nausea a bit better too, although I can't imagine why that would be!!

I've also been bumping into things... have to get used to the idea that I am not much (if any!) narrower sideways any more!!

Decorator started this morning. Reckon he is going to be here most of the rest of the month (he is doing 4 rooms, so quite a lot to get through - eek!) But will be lovely to get it done.

LT

misty I think Dr will keep me at the same one as he said before he'll stick with the 12 week scan as it's most accurate. I'll find out if I need more scans in Friday when I'll be 31 + 2 weeks from original dates as I have a sneaking suspicion that he's gunna say that I have gestational diabetes baby is bigger than should be and wants me to have rigid diet and checks booo I hate being told what I can and cannot eat esp as my only craving has been for mozerella cheese and ice cream with chocolate sauce. I haven't had any ice cream tbh but I really want some.
30 + 5 wks

churros when i have back aches there are two or three things that help, a massage, warm water,i stand in the shower and let the water run on my back for as long as i can endure and that heat thingy pantsy told you about. The pain is normally right above my bum so it feels like the bone wants to break when i get these aches. Thank God i have been ok for a while now.
WRG to DD, she is gonna be 4 when the baby comes and knows he is coming around the same time as her birthday.
lee thanks. I need all the luck i can get.
vikki luckily for DD i have always hated kids being in nursery for such a long time. I had to quit my job and became a temp at a nursing home because it is 5min walk from our house. That means Dh could drop her 8.30 and i could fetch her at 3. If i had not quit then i would have only managed to fetch her a few min before 5 and that is horrible.
Believe it or not some parents drop off kids at7.30 and pick up 5. Sad sad.
32 weeks today. Time is moving ladies...