July 2014 - Here comes the 3rd trimester, hold on to your knickers! Thread 6

[ZingWatermelon]

hope you like the title!

Plate and Ickle, thank you for sharing your NCT experiences, it's really reassuring that you both had good experiences and that at no point were you encouraged to line your nests in the riverbank with moss!

Plate I'm sorry to hear it's still all go at work. It's hard to leave everything on the highest possible note isn't it? They're very lucky to have you, you're clearly a very dedicated employee!

Ickle Terrifying that two people have already had their babies! That said, I did (neurotically) look up Tommy's and a baby born at 28 weeks has a 86% chance of survival which is reassuring. Taking it week by week now, every week that passes makes the baby stronger.

MrsA2 Maybe she was muttering a blessing to help you all in labour ;)?

Drama honestly, the birth canal is brilliant. Slightly off-putting image of someone actually knitting the thing!

Ismarah I feel the same about NCT and am hoping for cynics, fingers crossed we accidentally end up in the same group! I'll find a way to use the term "mossy" so that you know it's me.

ickle how scary that they came so early. since I read your post I've been panicking about how unprepared I am if baby comes early!
I haven't even thought about hospital bag or birth plan. hmmmm...although similar to plate I'm also struggling to work out how I'm going to finish all my work before mat leave and prepping for two exams next week yuck! Hoping baby doesnt spend the three hours of the exams kicking my bladder else I'll never finish in time!!

I went to work, got in the building, sat down as was quite breathless. I felt terrible, the school nurse took my blood pressure. It was really, really low. I have had a lot of faints and dizzy spells. Phoned community midwife, then the assessment unit at hospital. I was sent home.
If I don't feel better by afternoon I've got to be admitted for assessment.
Feels like history repeating, this happened with dd and I ended up in premature labour.
Keeping fingers crossed I have asked for help early enough this time.

patchwork with two exams to prep for you definitely win! I'd rather do any amount of recruitment than do exams.

We did have a bit of a mossy breathing/visualisation session at the end of the NCT class. Which I actually don't mind at all but I get plenty of that at yoga + hypnotherapy CDs. I'd rather focus on more of the practical stuff.

We had a discussion of the differences between an MLU and standard labour ward and I could have done with a lot more detail really. It's probably the biggest birth decision we'll need to make before the event and the initial discussion was a bit basic - just passing round some pictures of what a room on the labour ward looks like vs a room on the MLU. I was quizzing the NCT lady on the practical differences (do you receive different levels of routine monitoring? what happens in the event of needing greater intervention? Is it possible to transfer from the MLU to labour ward mid-labour and what would be the barriers to that happening?) which felt a bit more important that what colour the curtains were! One useful thing I did find out is that on the MLU if you decide half way through 'sod this, I want an epidural', you really ain't going to get one.

drama thinking of you. Sounds awful. I nearly fainted down the stairs this morning, feel so rubbish today.

On a happier note we had an email with a cancellation availability for local NHS class so no need to do the NCT one. Was really not looking forward to 18 hours of it. NHS one is three eveings, 2 hours each. Fab.

drama you poor thing that sounds terrible. Hopefully, like you say, you've waved your flag early enough so that you can get the right help. Hardest thing to do (but most important thing) is don't worry, as that will only make it worse so try to take it easy if you can.

plate that's interesting about epidurals. I'd been given the impression you could change your mind but only if you tansfer to the labour ward...hmm will also interrogate. Cant see midwife at 31 wks due to stupid exams but am seeing her at 32 (scarily high number!!)
oh and if two exams sound bad they actually happen to be on the days of the tube strikes and I have an essay due the week after. Lol fishing for sympathy?!!!
"part time" post grad study? more like "spare time" study. yuck. I do not recommend it in the slightest, even when not pregnant it was bad!

I'm going to the normal labour ward due to medical issues but I know that the birth centre which is next door doesn't have beds and you need a bed for an epidural... you can be transferred from the birth centre if needed but that doesn't mean there will be room for you to do so when the time comes... I should be ok because I need to be monitored but we have been warned that the hospital has been really busy and it wouldn't be unusual to be sent somewhere else!

Just popping in to mark place on shiny new thread. Havent had a chance to read the whole way back yet.

Sorry to hear your having a tough time drama Here's hoping everything is ok.

Plate I am also panicking a bit regards the amount of work I still need to wade through before maternity leave starts. My cover is already in place (in part) because there are aspects of my job I can't do while pregnant but they have largely shown themselves to be unreliable at best and completely incapable at worst which is a worry because I am afraid if I don't get enough work done now I will end up coming back to a heap of stuff to do and a tight deadline for completion after leave

We're moving offices today and it's all going wrong! Could be without phone/internet next week which is pretty essential so could possibly be sent home til it's all sorted (fingers crossed). That said after today I only have two more weeks until my giant bout of annual leave to carry me to my due date. Half of that is taken up by exams, training days and antenatal appointments so should be a nice easy run in.

They haven't picked my cover yet, I must be pretty irreplaceable :)

Midwife hasn't mentioned any classes to me yet... I don't think I'd go anyway as it's DC2 and a ELCS. I can't have forgotten everything surely?

Hi all, haven't posted in a while, sorry to hear some of you suffering. I've been very lucky so far, through I'm waiting for a physio appointment for SPD. I feel for those of you with work worries, luckily most of my work is being reassigned over the next few weeks, but I have an exam 3 weeks before my due date that I'm panicking about - I have visions of going into labor half way through! We've decided not to bother with NCT classes as they clash with my exam prep time, and they sound a bit too woo for me and DH as we're both pretty cynical. May do NHS classes. Is anyone else struggling to find nice unisex clothes?

Becky yes I'm struggling to find unisex clothes! A lot of them are fairly one way or the other too I find (too girl/boyish)

I'm having a ragey moment - someone who doesn't know me and I don't speak to has been telling people they saw me at the mw the other day - why can't people mind their own business?!

On the MLU/epidural thing - I knew you couldn't get an epidural in the MLU, but I thought it might be possible to get transferred across to the labour ward for an epi if the going got too tough. However NCT lady was fairly adamant that wouldn't happen (at least at our hospital) - although thinking about it I wonder if she's one of these very anti-epidural types and was just trying to put us off the idea?

I was generally a bit concerned about the fact she said the MLUs are under a lot of pressure not to transfer women to the main delivery ward as it impacts their performance statistics. Which makes me worry that you could be at more risk if a MW is hesitant to transfer if things aren't going smoothly. Might start a thread about this in the main pregnancy section. I love the idea of active birth etc but don't want to compromise on level of care/monitoring.

Saw yet another midwife and another consultant, neither of which is keen on me having an ELCS. Reasoning seems to be based on principle rather than specifica as they apply to me - the consultant today didn't actually listen to me but jut repeated what I said.

Was very frustrated the whole thing as they're talking about VBs always as if nothing could possibly go wrong but with a section everything will. If you're trying to reassure me that I personally would be better off with a VB, despite my legitimate (to me) health concerns about it, bullying me into doing what you want me to do is not going to make me feel safe and taken care of. Especially, as I pointed out, 2/3 of my medical records are NOT in the UK. Nor is it going to endear you to me if you don't introduce yourself (!) and you comment about my personal choice without an examination or listening to me. When I said that I should only have non-dissolving stitches, she responded with 'oh yes that's fine we only use dissolving stitches'.)

Upshot is another consultant appointment for me to 'convince' the decision maker (as apparently the two I've seen are too junior to be allowed to decide) in 2 weeks to which I will be dragging DH. And if you think I'm stubborn, you haven't met my DH.

Who is now annoyed because the NCT person we'll be seeing is a homeopath. He's on the war path already about vaccinations and superstition rather than scientific thinking and reasoning. Sigh.

And regarding SPD / RLP, they can offer me drugs in case paracetamol isn't enough. Physio would be advisory only, most of which I know because I've been doing research.

FML.

Ismarah That's rubbish. On the NCT front, is it worth complaining to HQ? Ludicrous that they've employed someone that doesn't believe in actual medicine to talk to women about to give birth. Actually quite irresponsible on their part.

As for the ELCS, hold strong. What a pain the backside that they're making you jump through hoops. Utterly unfair. Write a letter to the hospital complaining and mentioning the specific times that they've not listening. Wishing you luck - fingers crossed for your next appointment!

plate i guess it would depend on the circumstances... some of our MLU aren't attached to labour wards so that would be more tricky. I don't think they would compromise on care/safety (if anything the two recent cases I know of where they started off in MLU then transferred they were overly cautious) but if you wanted to transfer in the middle of labour there may not be time or space to move you and get you an epidural

After 10 or so days blissfully free of heartburn, I got over ambitious last night and had a most delicious curry. Been back on the gaviscon ever since- oh well, should know my limits.

Also going to give lactulose a try cos fybogel is vile!

In better news, I'm sure I felt a foot outline today. Especially as it then moved and seemed to give me a bit of a kick, like "get off!"

Am glad I've got a midwife appointment in the diary as I think the MLU issue is something I'll need to quiz her on. Not that sure I'll be MLU-material anyway (last time I saw consultant she was talking about C-sections as I need an op anyway to remove endometrioma and she was seeing it as a potential 2-for-1!)

On a different topic - am I bonkers to agree to speak at a big conference 3 weeks before my due date? Theoretically it's on the first day of my mat leave! It's in London so as long as I can waddle to a podium and be coherent for 20 mins it should be OK

Plate will you be comfortable standing for 20 minutes? Could you ask for a seat? Less 'professional' but also less likely to make you feel utterly shit / faint..

ismarah - sorry if I missed this and this is a no-go, but would you be able to/have you been able to get some kind of referral from your physio to strengthen your case for an ELCS? A friend of mine also had to fight for one (her experience with the pushback from the NHS sounds v similar) and the physio's recommendation that a CS was the best thing for her long term health really helped swing things her way.

ismarah - sorry if I missed this and this is a no-go, but would you be able to/have you been able to get some kind of referral from your physio to strengthen your case for an ELCS? A friend of mine also had to fight for one (her experience with the pushback from the NHS sounds v similar) and the physio's recommendation that a CS was the best thing for her long term health really helped swing things her way.

Um. Not sure what that double post was about, sorry!

On the MLU front (and I'm going to keep chasing my midwife up to check this!) my understanding from my midwife is that at my hospital, you can transfer to the labour ward for an epidural, but there may be a bit of a wait if there isn't a room for you. It sounds from people who've started in the MLU at the same hospital that it's fairly straightforward to transfer, and that they will transfer you if needed.

Today and yesterday I am officially fed up with pregnancy. My ankle is still hurting and a week of my usual commuting into central London and back has not done it any good - I'm limping worse than I was on Tuesday! This weekend I'm going to firmly plant myself on the sofa and go nowhere.

Um. Not sure what that double post was about, sorry!

On the MLU front (and I'm going to keep chasing my midwife up to check this!) my understanding from my midwife is that at my hospital, you can transfer to the labour ward for an epidural, but there may be a bit of a wait if there isn't a room for you. It sounds from people who've started in the MLU at the same hospital that it's fairly straightforward to transfer, and that they will transfer you if needed.

Today and yesterday I am officially fed up with pregnancy. My ankle is still hurting and a week of my usual commuting into central London and back has not done it any good - I'm limping worse than I was on Tuesday! This weekend I'm going to firmly plant myself on the sofa and go nowhere.

Always sympathise with you about your ankle and back and your commute into London... I 'sprained' my ankle back in Dec (in London) and this week its been aching at night... I stopped going to London back in Jan cos I couldn't cope!

I've completely put myself off getting the bus with baby and buggy as the opinion seems to be I need to get off the bus if I can't fold it to make room for a wheelchair which I foresee could result in me having to do this several times and thus having to pay for several tickets

ismarah god only knows if I'll be able to stand for 20mins at 37 weeks. A couple of months back I thought I might feasibly be capable of going hill walking in the Lake District this weekend