November 1014 - thread 5 - the rainbow collective romping (and limping) into 2nd trimester!

[weeonion]

hi folks - thought we should have a new thread!

Tea, am thoroughly impressed that you knit well enough to consider attempting something like that, let alone it being quick! Clever lady

Wombat, I hadn't started a baby wish list, but I have now. Thanks for the idea! Hopefully it will minimise the unwanted gift pile, though of course we are grateful for everybody's generosity in wanting to buy us stuff. But my sister, for example, is going overboard and she's into really foofy, fancy newborn baby stuff from Cath Kidston etc. Let's be honest, Bean is just going to pee/poo/puke on or in it. It would never get used!

Definitely think I'm heading into bump territory - usually when I'm bloated my belly feels kind of big but squashy. Today the skin above the bumpy bit, sort of from my ribs down over my top pair of abdominal muscles, feels really tight and my belly feels kind of taut too, even though it's pooched out. Gah, so hard to know!

Probably still just wind!

Oh, and Thisis, will you let me know how you get on with the Doppler please?

Twiglet yes, of course I will. And ditto the bump thing - mine has been really squishy til now but it's feeling much tauter round the top - feeling a bit less of a fraud

My doppler was a brilliant idea Twiglet I really recommend it. I find it easily everytime and have since 12-13 weeks, but it's slowly gotten higher over the weeks. I've found it reassuring and fun :) I find it within a minute of putting it on usually. Sometimes I literally put it on my skin and it's there :P I can also hear clear movements so even if I can't find the heartbeat straight away I know not to worry.
Unless you have anterior placenta or are very overweight I think it should be easy to find, but I think if it starts to worry you if you can't find it then the midwife will probably be able to show you some techniques to find it quicker or check that things are ok :)

Alita it was your positivity and excitement about it that tipped me over the precipice of indecision and sent me tripping off to Amazon. I am really quite excited!

Hi impossible I'm here! Lurking more than anything at the moment, few things going on here with hassle from the ex husband being a nasty shit about the pg to my daughter so been moaning about it on the Facebook group but didn't really want to air all the laundry on the boards here. No doubt his obsessive whore will be trying to find what forum I'm on as usual so the less I post about that evil violent lying twunt the better. But I'm still here, still doing ok, so tired lately and have my consultant in an hour so will try to catch up and update properly later! Hope you're all ok!

Sorry for the language on the t-shirt girls, I don't wish to offend anyone, but I have been nosing around for bump protection after having my tummy gratuitously groped non-stop yesterday by well-meaning (but slightly rude IMHO) friends. I know some people don't seem to mind it but I really struggle with my tummy suddenly becoming public property. This one made me giggle

slightly stronger than usual hands off the bump t-shirt

Great news random and lovely to see you again! Glad you're ok, but sorry to hear about the ex

Yes, very sorry to hear about the ex :/

Thisis, that's genius. I'm ordering one as we speak!

Alita, I've read that it can be quite easy to confuse other sounds for the HB. Did you have this problem at all? I haven't actually heard the HB yet as haven't had a MW use a Doppler at all so far, so am a bit worried I wouldn't be listening for the right thing! Is it quite distinctive?

Random, sorry to hear your ex is being a shit, a particularly smelly and offensive specimen too if he's involving your DD in his issues. Hope your consultant appointment goes well and you're getting plenty of rest to combat the tiredness!

Yay Thisisimpossible :D It sounds silly but make sure you know what you're looking for before you use it to avoid confusion- there's some videos on youtube of women using their dopplers, so that will show you what it sounds like :) You will also hear movements (when it sounds like you've moved or touched the doppler when you haven't, it's quite a 'wet' sound), the slower 'swoosh' of the placenta, your own heart beat which is slower and quieter and a sound like wind in the trees. Baby will sound like a 'wub, wub wub' or if you get it perfect, if babies chest is right up close to where you put the doppler, you can hear it clear and it sounds like a train, if you're even closer then it sounds like a horse galloping as you hear two sounds, the actual pumping of the heart (which you don't always hear) and the sound of the blood coming out when the heart pumps (or at least this is the explanation I read online anyway :p).

But again, even though it's super easy for me to find doesn't mean everyone will find there's quickly for whatever reason, so don't panic if it's not as easy as I say, not being able to find it doesn't mean it's not there!

Sorry Twiglet didn't see your post before I posted but I think I've answered those questions in that post to Thisisimpossible :)

Random I said what I think on fb and I feel even more strongly after thinking about it, what you do with her in your share of the custody, in your time, is up to you providing you do not prevent her coming to harm when possible, neglect her or abuse her and you ensure she attends school. So do whatever you want and ignore him- he can seriously fuck off!

Thanks Alita that's really useful stuff. I'll have a look on YouTube.

Hmph there is a baby show in my town, on the 29th of November, I will have had Ninja by then -.- I want to go to one soon! :(

Hello all... I retired from this thread last month because I was getting really really anxious about miscarriages and bad scans and found ready mumsnet was making it worse. I've now had my 12 week scan, got low odds on my combined test and been slightly re-dated (13 weeks today, due 26th November). I'm finally allowing myself to get excited about having a baby!

Hope everyone is well!

I'm hugely glad i got my Doppler as this morning I had my antenatal appt and the doctor couldn't find the heartbeat for ages!

I was quite calm as I knew baby was alive from my own Doppler over the past week. But if I didn't have it I'd honestly have been shitting it. You're in the dark for so much of pregnancy.

She found it eventually and said "thats it there" and I felt like saying No Shit Sherlock as now I'm such a baby heartbeat expert, lol!

Also got referred the physio for belts etc., and also a letter excusing me from night duty - WOOHOO!!!

And possibly the best bit - am now transferred to the Midwives Clinic as I'm now officially low-risk. DH (being a big ol hippy) is especially pleased to be away from Doctors, whilst I'm happy to be still within the environs of a hospital Maternity Dept but with much shorter queues in the waiting room!

Yay carmine that's great news, welcome again!!

I'm having a great time on holiday in Portugal. The weather has been pretty crap tbh and we've barely left the villa the last two days but at least the sun is shining now (although 50kph gusts of wind!). Am starting to feel properly pregnant as am talking about it a lot with SIL :-) my bump is starting to look less like flab as I've been doing a bit more exercise and eating less choc / cake due to not being at work! (Although I still think to a stranger I wouldn't look pregnant). During the day i am peeing every half hour which is so annoying, but get blissful respite at night when baby/uterus stops sitting on it quite so heavily. Best of all I'm not feeling tired as I'm getting loads of sleep so really hope this continues once I get home!

I LOVE the hungry caterpillar stuff on te previous page! The first thing I bought for baby was a VHC onesie from tesco :-) I might try and crochet the red beanie... I have nothing to do but read and knit on holiday so I've nearly finished a cute blue cardigan for baby, then have a shrug type thing in bright red to make next, thought that'd be good for Christmas :-)

Hope everyone is feeling that second trimester glow now ;-)

I'm also starting to finally enjoy it (16+2). I have a sweet little hard bump which is pretty identifiable and am getting loads of nice comments.

Also have had spectacularly good skin since getting pregnant, and am apparently looking very "well" in general so thats nice. Basically, am starting to feel kinda body confident and mentally calm after three months of body yukkiness and emotional raggedness.

Sickness is gone, heartburn has started but no biggie so far, and peeing has abated somewhat. Amourousness has also improved.......a bit!

By the way, does skin supposedly indicate gender? Cos i know some of you have gone the other way and gotten spots? I wonder if it means anything?

Yeah carmine - great to have you back.
Moggle - enjoy yr hols and can't wait to see your handiwork!!

I now have 4 VHC sets for the bumpkin - plus quite a few bits from DD. We have a sleeping bag of it as well.
Annarose - glad you are feeling goooood , in many ways ;-)

Twiglet It's an Amazon wish list for me rather than anyone else. Started it as soon as I found out I was pregnant, to stop me buying stuff! Will probably transfer the fun stuff to the proper baby list they do after the 20 week scan, but I don't really need much. It's mostly filled with disposable stuff or things I would have chucked (breast pads, Lansinoh, sponge bath insert, bibs) things that wasn't around 6 years ago or I didn't know about that I think will be useful (buggy lock, buggy hook, nightgown) or stuff for our holidays (UV buggy covers, nursing cover for US trip)

Annarose, I don't know about skin, but I was very spotty last time with DS and I'm not this time at all. Wouldn't say I was glowing though! DP is convinced this one is a girl.

I tried to find the heartbeat yesterday, but couldn't. I wouldn't be too worried but I found it ok at 11 weeks so why not now?! Don't want to try again, but might... Can't wait till 16 week appointment next week.

gosh Wombat and here's me convinced its a boy!

I had a worrying Doppler hunt one night, couldn't find it for a full 10 minutes. It ended up being in a different spot, waaaaay further south, and even on the right spot I could only hear it with the thing tilted. Straight on - nothing! So try both positions with it, upright and leaning tower of Pisa.

Oh and today? She found it under my right ribs. Go figure.

Grrrrr! Such a waste of flaming time! 2 hours I was at the hospital apparently to see my consultant who is not even in today so saw 3 different midwives and a junior doctor who just had me going over and over old ground, told me nothing new, pressured me to go VBAC which I have absolutely no intention of even considering for even a second but they kept on, had an argument with the parking guys and now they want me back in tomorrow at 8am to test for diabetes when I can tell you now I do not have diabetes and they didn't give me any information but looking it up now I can't eat after midnight till the end of the test which will be about 11am and by then I'm going to feel like shit for nothing! I do not have bloody diabetes! What a waste of everyone's time, resources and money to turn me into a pin cushion for nothing. All because DD was big. Well no shit sherlock, have you seen the size of me and my ex husband and everyone in both families?? We ARE big and have always had big babies. This is not a concern, it is logic ffs. Grrrrr!

Thought I'd try again with the Doppler while DS is at Beavers and found it, thank goodness. It wasn't very clear, and could only hear it in one awkward spot with my heart beating louder over the top, but it was definitely there. Phew. I think this one is going to be trouble!

Random, maybe contact the hospital's PALS department about the lack of information? It really would have been a waste of time if you'd turned up unknowingly had a big breakfast! I would also be tempted to cancel postpone the appointment until you get a second opinion. I'm normally the first person to say do the tests/get the vacs just in case, but for something like this, a weeks delay isn't going to cause any harm. Also it's more likely to appear after 28 weeks, and the test is usually done at 24-28 weeks anyway, so why are they testing now?

She said she was testing for normal non gestational diabetes. I don't have any of the smptoms (well I do but due to other stuff, not diabetes) and it's just a load of fuss farting over nothing. It's all because DD was big apparently it's all hands on deck this time round which is just silly! DD was big because both ex husband and I are superhuge freaks of nature, and this one's father is even bigger again. I was 5 weeks early and 6lbs 10oz despite being very poorly & deaded! We just make them big in my family. It's logical, not concerning.

Oh random it sounds like you're having a hard time at the mo, have you got anything relaxing coming up over the weekend? Maybe hiding in the garden from all negativity! Poor you!

I have a 'lovely' itchy rash on my thighs today which is annoying but going to wait until I see midwife next week to ask about it.
We have a possible slapped cheek incident at school, more no than yes but after MUCH googling the rash seems to be separate from anything and harmless! Will still mention childhood disease risk to midwife too. How do you nurses cope?! I'd be constantly worried!