July 2014 - Thread 4! Moving into the 2nd trimester and starting to glow.

[talulahbelle]

Didn't see one started, as our last thread looks full. Let's hope we are all kicking the early pregnancy sickness and starting to glow :)

Ickle: some friends of ours like to joke that they bought friends through the nct! Very excited about classes starting although you've reminded me to book (I'd forgotten). You are really organised!

Blue: the poor little bean! Does he remember what triggered it?

home no idea what set it off :( it's happened before but v rarely and this time was by far the worst! Alas he's not talking enough yet to explain what was wrong either.

mummy ours didn't even mention finding out the gender but asked after she'd done the scan if we had any questions. We're not finding out so my only question was which direction was baby currently (upside down facing forward) as I still haven't really felt anything except wind

Got my scan changed to next wed when I'll be 21wks rather than being 22wks the follow week. Feeling lots of what can only be described as "flicks" & strong enough for OH :)
Happy only 7 more days to wait & fingers crossed all will be ok

ismarah hope for your sake the guy doing the echocardiogram just had terrible bedside manner. Fingers crossed all us OK!

Plate I don't think so. I saw the images and as this isn't my first rodeo I'm pretty clued up. It would be nice to have a nice surprise though as worst case scenario is pretty damn bad, and best case scenario is not awesome but manageable. Well, both are manageable, but one more so.

All I can think is how do I break it to DH. My poor DH has already sat with me through two surgeries and three serious diagnoses, albeit all of manageable things. And I want to be a healthy mummy to bean!

ismarah

I'm sorry to be dumb, but I don't understand - is there a problem with your heart or baby's?

either crap, but what do you think is wrong?

oh, I'm guessing it's you.

I'm sorry to hear, whatever it is, previous surgeries and things do sound scary!

do you think a C-section might be the way to go or would that put more stress on you & your heart?

I do hope they were wrong and it's the lesser problem.
(will be praying for you)

ismarah thinking of you, sounds very worrying for you

Ismarah, sounds really scary, you poor thing. Do try to tell someone in real life if you can, even if not DH yet, as it sounds like you need a hug. Hope you get your results asap and it's better than you are thinking.

Zing what great news after the initial extra stress. Congratulations.

Had to pop to my GP today as was on antibiotics for a urine infection which didn't seem to have shifted, thankfully it isn't that any more and he thinks it's either a bit of thrush (have some lovely cream now) or just pregnancy aches and pains. My GP is so lovely, it must be two yrs since I saw him last (previous appointment was a locum) and he was genuinely thrilled about my 'perfect' bump.

Good to know he is nice as I'm sure with a newborn I'll be visiting a bit more often soon!

Problem is with me. It is however probably part of a genetic thing. I've been referred for all sorts of tests by a rheumatologist it took me 5years to get to see, i.e. get past my GP. The echo was one of them and if I've read it right it looks like I have mitral regurgitation at the least. I've previously been diagnosed with left ventricular hypertrophy as a consequence of a previous (now resolved) illness, so that could also be a factor.

And yes, if this is confirmed then I don't think there will be anything else going on than a c section. Am trying to stay cool and groovy until Friday at the very least but hopefully till Monday and 20w scan.

Oh, and as it is hereditary, so bean is at risk of inheriting it from me. I've been telling myself that it (if confirmed) clearly hasn't had a huge impact on me as during the last 5 years (since last medical problem was resolved) I've spent an inordinate amount of time running swimming jumping climbing trees etc, but I hate the idea of having thoughtlessly put bean at risk. Am so cross with doctors who don't listen and with myself right now. And still wondering how the hell I can tell DH.

Fuck it. Tests are for Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. No point in being coy.

ismarah sending you hugs and hoping its not the bad news you're expecting.

ismarah if it helps to know...a lot of my people in my family carry mitral valve defect and a subsequent mitral regurgitation and they've all lived nice long healthy lives .

Thanks Coco that does help. I'm maybe a bit extra worried because I had the same test in 2009 and there were no signs of this then - this is new.

At that point there was a slight echo and a slight left ventricular hypertrophy but at the time my BP was 150/100 on average and 215/165 at the time I was admitted. That finally led to a diagnosis and a cure. My BP now is 120/70 and has been for the last 5 years without any medication.

Thanks for all the good thoughts. This is one of the things I hate about being an expat, no IRL cuddles unless I tell DH. I did tell a friend via FB because she understands pretty much everything ever, which helped greatly.

The thing is, I don't think there's any way of reading the images any differently. It's in colour and the colours aren't supposed to mix in situ. I think the question is only the level of severity and what can or needs to be done about it. And if bean will be affected.

ismarah Me, DH, DS1, DS2 and DS3 have ehlers danlos syndrome. DS4 is showing symptoms of it too but too young to tell yet. We have type 3 (hypermobility type) though and I'm assuming with the heart scans you are being tested for type 4 or 5 (can't remember which one is the heart one). If you've got any questions feel free to shout. It sounds awful when I say we all have it but DS1 in particular has it very mildly.

Thanks Ellie I'm not sure they have a particular type inind but I have a genetic test at the end of the month which ahould confirm. As far as I know, nobody in the family has it but I'm not sure about my biological father's family or my grandparents. I'd come to be OK about probably having EDS and didn't really worry about bean having it as I'm 36 and it's only just being discussed now. Clearly it's not affected me too badly so I just wanted it confirmed or not and then to get on with things.

The echocardiogram was supposed to be a complete routine no-brainer and the fact that this has come up has completely blindsided me. I will keep it together until Monday. #mantra #allwillbewell

Ismarah - sending good luck thoughts your way.

Hope you can get some answers and put your mind at rest on Friday, Ismarah.

Sending some virtual hugs your way ismarah

Gosh what a shock ismarah I hope you get some more definite answers soon and that you can tell your dh however hard it might be I'm sure he doesn't want you to go through it alone.

The curse of the 3am wake up call hit again here :-( so unimpressed but never mind plenty to do today so might aw well get on with it!

Another blinking night of DH snorting, snuffling, coughing, snoring, groaning and teeth grinding. All but the last because he has a horrible cold, but still impossible to sleep through. I decamped to the sofa at 3.30am and managed to get a couple of hours.

Good practise for sleepless nights with a newborn I guess. They are noisy sleepers I've been told.

ismarah I know nothing about EDS, but hopefully if you've got to 36 with no major problems then things don't look too bad. I'm thinking positive thoughts for you.

So I went to a hypnobirthing taster last night - I definitely think I could get very useful out of the techniques but the whole thing was a bit too evangelical for me. Too much feeding us the belief that the power to have a perfect birth (and a perfect contented baby) is entirely within our control.

There was a discussion about what our perfect birthing environment would look like which was all about the fact we are mammals and should replicate the way other mammals behave and want peace and privacy and how this was compromised by HCPs. I stepped out of line a bit by saying it was important for me to feel safe and for me part of feeling safe was being under the watchful eye of HCPs!

Course is a couple of hundred so I'm glad I've had a little taster now as I've still got loads of time to consider - I think I'll read around a bit and see if I can find a trainer or an approach which is more 'preparing you for whatever labour throws at you' rather than feeding you the perfect birth line.

Fingers crossed it is not as bad as you think Ismarah.

I did hypnobirthing classes before having my DS and found that it greatly reduced my fear of the birth and gave me a greater feeling of control. I didn't agree with everything but there was enough to make it worthwhile for me.

I was induced with a pessary in the end and managed to get to fully dilated with just my tens machine despite the fact DS was back to back so I definitely think there was some benefit for me.

Ismarah Fingers crossed for you, I hope it works out.

Plateofcrumbs Sounds like a plan - although am sorely tempted to make a nest made of moss joke at their idea of replicating the way other mammals give birth...:)

ismarah sending you a big hug!

For those who liked the GAP Paddington Bear range I've just seen an email giving 30% off children's and baby styles with code HAPPYGAP and 25% off maternity with code MUMGAP! happy shopping!

I've also discovered that if I get overtired I turn into a hormonal wreck at the moment-spent an hour this morning in tears as I couldn't work out what to do with DS this morning we went to a friends in the end but my late night last night seems to have taken it's toll!