September 2014 - we're over half way there!

[HippyJess]

Shiny noo thread with only 4 full months to go! Where did the time go??

fairy we had similar comments from people before we found out what we were having, cos we've got two boys already all people kept saying was 'lets hope for pink for you' etc, really annoyed me especially as all im praying for is a healthy baby. People should just keep their negative comments to themselves, I don't think they realise how hurtful they can be xx

I have an anterior placenta and still haven't felt anything, I'm 20 weeks tomorrow. I've had my scan though, so baby was seen moving last Friday. I thought I felt a kick high up deep in the middle of my abdomen once a couple of weeks ago, and I do get weird sharp pains lasting only seconds that take my breath away in random places across tummy maybe every other day or so. First pregnancy so no idea if this is normal or not. Any ideas?
strawberry it was so early that if it had caused damage I'm sure you wouldn't have got to this stage. I'm sure this time tomorrow you'll be sharing your good news :)
LH that's right about other countries in Europe eating loads of everything the UK tells us not too. I honestly wouldn't worry about the small quantity you've had.
Hippy I have new little stretch marks at the bottom of my tummy. I stupid jumped off the bed quickly the other day, got a sudden sharp pain (think it's my stretched abs being pathetic) and looked at where the pain was, and I had two stretch marks!!!!!! I think it runs in our family to get them. My body is turning into a wreck!
Didn't sleep well last night - so tired today. Was wide awake last night. Can't explain it. Thank goodness I've got my energy back though generally. I was constantly knackered up until about 18 weeks.

Fairy I'm in the same boat, but opposite - I have two boys. Finding out the gender of this little one on Saturday at a private scan but I have a feeling it's another boy and quite frankly that's fine with me!
But, getting so annoyed with people commenting - had it all: 'going for the girl then?', 'hope it's a pink one', etc etc - even my sister-in-law said that my little niece asked 'please can I have a girl?'. It's sooo irritating, and puts a weird pressure on me that I find quite stressful. Plus if it is a boy I feel like people will be feeling sorry for me and thinking I must be really disappointed.

One of the mums at my boys' school just had her third boy and there were comments from other mums like 'oh well, at least he's healthy' - wtf??!!

Thanks Ella! I meant to say that I'd been having quite definite movements as well until a couple of days ago. All been very quiet since then but she was moving loads durint the scan

Evening everyone, some of the recent scan pics are so clear! I've just added all our stats onto an excel

sheet...docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TDshLRZfN5Td59BvZqRdc5e_DO1qaPmd9FH8X7rzcxc/edit

Not sure how to make the link easy for people to click on though! or if it will even work!

Hows everyone doing? Thanks for the new thread, can't believe were half way there now, it's going so fast! I look so huge though I feel I should be due at least July not September!

Hello all, hope everyone is ok.
Agree about getting annoyed over negative comments on gender news. Just remember that any upsetting remarks you get from people are just a reflection of how they would feel about it, and therefore their opinion really doesn't matter.

Getting stabbing pains in my boobs and have started leaking colostrum already- I guess fourth time around my bosoms are well practiced!

Hiccups again tonight, bizarrely in exactly the same place as Tuesday night. DP is home tonight & although he can't feel them he can see them which is the first time he's seen any movement. He's a bit scared about touching the baby, partly because he doesn't want to hurt him but also because he thinks it's like an alien!

Ella I have a high anterior placenta. I'm 21+4 and it's my 4th pregnancy and I hardly feel any movement at all! A few kicks down low every so often, and I've had a couple of kicks high up, but I might only feel one a day if that. I've had my scan and the baby was very wriggly, and when I saw my midwife last week it took her ages to get the heartbeat as the baby was moving so much - we could hear all the kicks :) - despite this I didn't feel a thing though. It's really different to my last 3 pregnancies as I always felt a lot with them, my midwife said that it will likely cushion the movements for quite a long time and that some women don't feel much until really late. She did say they can move though as you get bigger. Can be really worrying though, really want to feel the kicks!

I just dug out my maternity notes for ds3 and looks like my appointments were the same as the list in the front for routine appointments, but my midwife also wrote in an extra one at 22 weeks as she said the gap was too big otherwise - guessing its just a bit of a lottery as to where you live and who you get unfortunately. I was with a group of friends the other day and they were saying how silly it was that midwives here (NZ) only see you every 4 weeks (until 28 weeks and then its every 2 weeks, then every week from 36 weeks - I was so shocked when they told me!) and that it is too long. They couldn't believe it when I told them how often I saw a midwife in the UK. The system here is very different though as you choose a private midwife at the beginning of your pregnancy who does the whole of your care and also the birth (it is still all free though).

If anyone is nervous I'd always ring a midwife though, or just book an extra appointment, especially between that huge gap between 16 and 28 weeks.

Thanks for the support everyone, I'm usually not so panicky about it but every so often I have a bit of a wobble.

I felt proper little kicks tonight, before it has just been little movements so it was lovely to feel.

Has anyone got SPD? I do and it has already started to really hurt, I was walking with a limp today. Also, the baby brain has been just awful, I'm forgetting everything at the moment. I forgot about my driving lesson tonight until my instructor told me he was outside my house but I was away at the shops looking at double buggies

*That should be ds2 not ds3! (maybe that's a Freudian slip )

Hi Strawberry yes I have SPD (for the 4th time ) I got it really bad with dc1, not too bad with 2 and 3, but it has started really early this time - I definitely emphasise. I find sleeping on my side with a pregnancy pillow really helps and trying to sit down as much as possible (which is obviously almost impossible!) also walking leaning on something, I always take the pushchair out with us to lean on, with dc1 I had crutches which I used when I had to walk a long way. Have you asked for a referral to physio? They were pretty good with dc1 and gave me a belt to wear to help as well different exercises etc. I've asked for a referral again this time (in fact I've just missed a call from the hospital about it!).

I was told they don't give belts out anymore, do they help? I may try and get one online. I was on crutches when I was pregnant with dc2, this time I've just been leaning on the buggy which seems to be working, but tonight we went out without it and I had to hold on to dp to help me walk. I'm not too sure what a physio could do to help, when I spoke to the consultant she agreed with me too so I've just been getting by on my own but this week I've got a lot worse.

Does anyone have some good holiday suggestions for around 5-6 months pregnant? I'm looking for one week away with OH, end of June, shortish flight, relaxation in beautiful surroundings. Don't want anywhere extremely hot or hilly, and prefer places that aren't rammed with the typical british tourist. OH would say our budget is tight, I would say we will find the money as this is potentially our last ever holiday just the two of us for a long long time!

I had only been feeling slight movements but thisnmorning was woken up by a strong kick it was weird and amazing away to be woken up. Now I wish I could stay home all day.
Sorry to read some of you having trouble with which trusts for what. I'm in Scotland and when I mentioned going to a different hospital to the usual in Edinburgh but still in Nhs Lothian because it is much more convenient they were very supportive but think if had said nhs borders or something would have been fine too.

Is anyone else here a Scottish mum to be?
6 days till scan now feels so long!!!

missingcaffiene you might like northern Spain, we've been to Cantabria, near Santander (the place not the bank! Lol) it's very beautiful, not touristy, very Spanish! And the summers are not too hot, but certainly not usually a wash out like ours

*don't mean Scottish just in Scotland....

I am going to protaras in Cyprus next week not sure howntouristy it is but we got a great deal for all inclusive and I don't plan to go very far except a lounger with my kindle

Missingcaffeine DH and I went to Skiathos in June (about 10 years ago though!) and that was really beautiful, fantastic beaches, really pretty and didn't seem too touristy.

strawberry the belt helps take some of the weight of your bump off your pelvis which I find helps - I can feel mine moving apart at the back and clicking, yuk - I didn't know they didn't give them out in the UK anymore, it was my midwife here that suggested getting one at the physio. I know some people find them uncomfortable but my midwife said that if you haven't got a choice about walking then they are worthwhile. I've arranged my physio appointment here for Tuesday morning so I'll let you know what they say.

A couple of people have told me that you need to get a physio that knows about SPD and they can be amazing about manipulating the pelvis to really help if you go regularly, the physio I saw 6 years ago didn't really do anything, I'm hoping this one is better. I'd say it was definitely worth looking into though. I'm exactly the same with the buggy, if I'm leaning on it I can just about survive, without it I'm really struggling!

Redtooth thanks a lot, that is really interesting... You know the midwife lady told me clearly it is about pay, she said all the money available to support the pregnancy/delivery will go directly to the hospital you chose to deliver in; she even said they have sent our hospital an official letter saying they will not provide services to us...
Obviously it would be so good to have local midwifes services, if is a few min walk to our local midwife centre and 25min drive to hospital...
I would like to complain about this, but don't really know to who...

Fairy I quite understand what you say, why don't you just ignore them altogether ? They clearly don't have a clue how a mother feels...

Missing Does it have to be in another country? There's some lovely places in Kent that only tend to get busy in the half terms like Whitstable and always has a lot going on plus save money on flights. Matagorda in Lanzarote wasn't as touristy and lovely compared to the busier part we went to (Puerto Del Carmen) and it's always quite windy so never feels too hot.

LH1981 Urgh, the gender thing does my head in, people are so frickin rude I'm tempted to use pregnancy hormones as an excuse to wollop them over the head! Everyone knows I only want two DC, I already have DS aged 4 and this is my last and we found out early April this is also a boy. All i've had is, "Are that's a shame!" or, "Oh well. At least the baby is ok!" I don't know why people don't get we try for a BABY, not a specific gender!

dontevenlink they still do the belts here so must vary from trust to trust. I've had quite bad pain this time so am thinking of mentioning it to the midwife next time I see her. Bit of a pain as I'm working and my job is a lot of walkimg up and down so it is the worst in the day.

RE: the anterior placenta thing, I wouldn't worry abot it, I know it's easier said than done but it's really fine! I had it with DS1 and didn't feel kicks till about 20 weeks and I have an anterior placenta again but have felt them strong all over since about 17 weeks and flutters before. I think with the first it's always harder to tell what's a kick and what isn't but I've found second time round the placenta hasn't effected anything and it's defintely anterior high as I could see on the scan!

Dazed - I'm also in Scotland

I had my booking late at 13w, then saw MW at 17w and seeing her at 22w. Strange how it varies so much. My local health centre only has 2 MWs so always see the same one. I'm never sure when people say to phone the MW if any worries if they mean the community ones at health centre or the ones at the hospital. It's very confusing!

Yeah acorncat it does seem to be quite different up here.
I now just see my community midwife and there is just one who comes to my GP(sounds like im in a village not the capital city haha). I have a number for her so I think would try her first rather than the hospital.

Hehe, it is 9pm here, DH has gone out for the evening, DC are in bed (touch wood!) and I am in sat in bed watching TV with a huge bag of reduced Easter chocolate I bought today - bliss and I am ignoring all the calories guilt!

Missing - We're going to Tuscany for a week in June. It will be nice & warm and there will be lots of nice food to enjoy. We've got an apartment with a shared pool so planning on spending most of my time round that. We booked it 4 days before I got BFP. DP said we should cancel & save money, but like you I said we could find the money for our last holiday as a couple so it's all finalised & I'm now on count down.

Just got back from our 20 week scan, and found out we're team pink!!! Don't get me wrong, would have been thrilled either way, but it's so amazing to actually know now and it just makes the whole thing seem so real! DH was so happy he had tears in his eyes for half an hour afterwards! Baby wasn't lying in the best position, (right at bottom of womb, and kept throwing her head back!), so although sonographer tried her best (even getting me to bounce up and down on the table and then go outside for a 15 minute walk!), she couldn't do the head / skull check. Am going back therefore for a 2nd scan on the 14th just to check the head (if baby co-operates this time)! Everything else was checked and looked fine though. I don't really mind having to go back for a second time though, will actually be nice to see her again. :)