Due March 2007 - No. 3

[novadandypowder]

Ahem - allow me....

Thanks for the welcome everyone

Onilly-my local hospital is Heatherwood too,I was born there lol,we live in Bracknell.
We had the first scan at Heatherwood and the sonographer was quite nice but the birth will be at Royal Berks as we decided against Wexham Park.

fat fox, no I don't think it is online, I could try and copy it for you and send it to you if you would like.
Sorry, not been on for a while, feeling like I have blamange for brains and can't keep up with anything. I'll come back again when I have a functioning brain cell and better humour
Hope everyone is well.
14+3

its the middle of the night sigh. dd keeps waking so I've given up trying to sleep for now.
Feel anxious about everyone hating the nhs in case you don't vote for it in future.
I lived in southern Ireland for a bit and it was horrendous having to pay loads everytime anyone got sick. Its ok if you are on benefits but if not... if you call an ambulance you get a bill for 100euros. Its 50 euros to see a dr and same again depending on prescription. If one child gets sick after another you are cleaned out. And taxes are not lower either.
Since then I am so gratefull for the nhs even though theres plenty of room for improvement.
I am reading from here to maternity by mel giedroyc. Its so funny and she tells it like it is. I think she has written another one- must find it.
Think I'll go back to bed with book. I am going to be a zombie with tiredness tomorrow.

I was referred to Harris Birthright Trust (on NHS) as they had picked up a heart defect in dd1 on her 20 week scan. Dd1 was given a fetal cardiac scan by a fab cardiologist who then told us exactly what sort of heart defect she had - very serious but repairable ( compared to what the local hosp. thought it was.)

I was then also given ultrasounds by an obstetrician using their very high tec equipment - as dd1's heart defect is a hard marker for down syndrome. Even surprised by the fetal cardiologist who did not push me to have an amnio even when it was pretty clear that dd1 would have down syndrome. I told him it would not make a difference to the outcome and he was very supportive and said then there was no point in putting myself through it - I was ready for a fight knowing that some people would have pushed me towards an amnio.

We were lucky with the NHS - our GP midwife was fab ( until she moved but then I was under hosp and consultant care so it didn't matter) the local hospital was fab, the emergency c-section I had was great, dd1's care in ICU and SCBU was beyond compare, her cardiac surgery was okay and her general care was fine - a bit bumpy but none of the horror stories you read about filthy hospitals and the such like.

I was given an amenity room when dd1 was born - my own room with an ensuite - brilliant - meant I did not have to sit on a ward with lots of mothers and their babies coming and going when my babe was in ICU. They did all my post natal check ups at the hospital since dd1 was still in.

We have really been looked after with her outpatient care and so - I guess we have just been lucky.

Sorry for the ramble.

13+2 ( and 38 today )

Happy Birthday Eidsvold!! Hope you have a good one. Its good to hear of your experience with dd1.

dollyp - "some places in the UK will only offer you a nuchal scan if you are over 35 or 37. Other places will offer you a nuchal whatever" - and in some places they not only don't offer nuchal scans at all, but even the normal 12 week scan is now being cut out. Oh, and no such thing here as an EPU as you often read about on mumsnet - the approach is "if you are going to miscarry you are going to miscarry and a scan won't make any difference".

Fortunately we were able to pay for the nuchal scan to be done privately as I couldn't stand not knowing until 20 weeks, after m/c at 11 weeks last time.

Happy birthday Eidsvold!! Hope you are spoilt today

Rosylily... we have the same 'user pays' system in NZ as you had in SIreland. I don't know which I prefer. At home, we certainly didn't go to the doctors for any old thing because it cost. Maternity care is free although the main difference is you choose your own midwife who goes all the way through with you. I know the NHS is variable but here, in East London, I am lucky if I can get an appointment if I am ill. It's usually two or three days away.

I have finally caught up with everything i think. Its took me 3 days to catch up.

Firstly Dolly P. Glad you're dad is on the mend. My dad had a stroke on August 4th With the same after effects. Slurred speech & slight right hand immobility. Just to say that he suffered fits & looked bleak but he went home after 2 weeks & his speech improves every day. He lives on his own so it is a big worry for me as i am next of kin & no other rellies apart from a sis. But its amazing how they recover a little every day. Chin up.

I have had a catalogue of bad events. Couldn't see my friend get married in Cyprus due to dads stroke then DPS van broke into & sat nav nicked, Central heating broke ,microwave bust and now me bloody garden has collaped into next doors garden 4 foot down!! & the cow of a loss assessor sat for half an hour drinking my tea before announcing it will cost 3-4k to put right but your not going to get paid by your freaking insurance!!! i burst into a hormonal flood of tears and she scurried off. Sorry for the drone but maybe this explains why I've been feeling low. Needed to get that all off me chest. & thanx Diva for making me feel normal about feeling low. Feeling better the last few days.

Sassi- thanx for the boxer advise. I will have a look. But i have a feeling i'll be going for the Theblonde's jo jo thong maternity styly. More me.

SPD - ahhh. I'm not sure who mentioned this but whoever said he sounds like a gunshot when you turn over in bed made me have a eureka moment because that is exactly what it sounded like (& incidently felt like i'd been shot too). And its come back to me how it would take 10 mins or more to get out of bed. With DS still waking in the night (know how you feel rosy) i'm not looking forward to this.

i definately definately felt movement Friday night. Exactly 14 weeks i was. So it is true you feel it earlier second time.

I have bin outbid on every lot of maternity clothes I've bid for on ebay. Are we all bigging against each other i wonder!!

The triple test will be soon won't it? What exactly do they test for & what if there are any dodgy results?

sorry to go on & on but i don't get the opportunity to get be here that often so have to blurt it all out!!!

14+2 EDD 23/3/07

Gosh Anna what a lot of bad luck at once, hopefully it'll be much better from now on

www.arc-uk.org/ is good for info on antenatal testing I think

hello everybody.

happy birthday eidsvold
i too am greatful for the nhs,i think they are overstretched and under-funded but do the best they can.dd2 was taken into hospital at 11 days,which was fine while i was at my excellent local hospital,but she had to be transferred to the picu at leeds general(250 miles away) cos that was the nearest hospital with a bed available.the staff on icu were brilliant,but the normal childrens ward was awful,as was the maternity ward(i had to go there to get my bp checked).it wasnt the staffs fault,there clearly werent enough of them and they were rushed off their feet.

fatfox-at the bloody inland revenue!dp got a letter from them yesterday,saying he had been overpaid when he was with his ex!it even had the bitches name on it!i feel like going into the tax office 2morro and having a hormonal rant at somebody.but i would probably end up getting arrested

i felt the baby move again this morning,i think(?)it was very low down though.strange.

15+4

fatfox- I too like a night out in Tescos, its become quite a highlight for me. (mostly food based) Their salt and vinager chipstick crisps have 6grams of salt in one bag. That's all your recommended daily intake......having said that maybe nobody will be surpirsed to learn ..... I have got Piles!!
I have never had them before, and I drink loads of water and eat fruit everyday.
Sitting down has now become a sore subject. Its not scale ten piles its about a Four. I will not go to doctors, instead I will try to home remedy myself..if anyones got any good ideas they would be welcomed!

eidsvold- Happy Bday

Do you all (well all those of you who work and are uk based anyway) realise that by having babies due in March we're only going to be entitled to 6 months paid SMP, whereas anyone with a due date of 1st April 2007 or later will get 9 months? Doesn't even matter if they're late and born in April we'd still only get the 6 months. Great timing or what?

I knew changes were in the pipeline, I will get Maternity allowance from being self employed, but I think even that is only 6 months too.
that is bad timing!

Yes been on website, your right Thats more annoying than piles.

Hi everyone

Happy birthday Eidsvold - hope it's a good one.

Anna, thanks for your kind wishes. It sounds as though you have had such a tough time of it lately as well. I am so sorry. How is your dad now? Let me know if there is anything I can do to help, or if you just want to rant, go ahead!

LunarSea, I am sorry to hear about your scan experience. I didn't realise that in some places the first time you get a scan is 20 weeks . We are lucky in SE London in that you get a nuchal as a matter of course. I think the lack of EPU is tough too. Whilst I agree that there is little you can do to stop a miscarriage, if you have an ectopic pg then early treatment could save your tube and your fertility. In addition, I think that you are more likely to have another ectopic if you have already had one, so early scans etc would be very beneficial. Seems very harsh that so much turns on where you happen to live.

Diva, you made me laugh about getting arrested for your rant . Don't get me started on the Revenue, as I can bore for Britain on my awful experiences with them. Grrrr!

Penny - have you tried Fybogel? Not a pile treatment per se but makes it easy and relatively pain free to go. For the heavy duty stuff, I'd recommend Anusol suppositories. Keep a straight face when you ask for them though- I get very childish with that sort of thing. Also as a tight bugger I think I'd get the GP to prescribe them, and then they'd be free. I got 60 sachets of Fybogel on prescription last week, ensuring weeks of happy pooing and saving ££££. Worth doing IMO, esp as we all are having our babies that little bit too early for the extra 3 months of SMP.....

Hope everyone has had a good Sunday. DD has been a nightmare today. Hope she is on better form tomorrow.

XX

i tend to get piles later on,i find anusol is the best thing.i always found fybogel made 'going' even more difficult-im on my 3rd bottle of prescription lactulose solution for that kind of thing!

Pennypiles - ouch, you poor thing . I've had piles in both previous pregnancies and am up to my eyeballs in lactulose this time trying to avoid it. Piles are really painful and when they bleed its very alarming as you are never sure where the blood is emanating from.

Have you tried germaloid? You can get it on prescription and it is realy cool and soothing. I had my piles zapped after my second pregnancy and they completely went then, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel (no pun intended).

I agree the NHS can be brilliant too - I had DD a West Middlesex's midwife led maternity unit and they were fabulous; had my own provate room and they didn't charge me 'cos the V didn't work Also gave me fab BF support. The Harris Birthright Trust a King's are also awe inspiringly fantastic. The trouble is its a "postcode lottery" - great fot some and appaling for others.

Lunar I had the same experience as you - wouldn't scan me when I bled with DD; I got my GP to refer me to a gynea as he thought I had cervical erosion and the gynea first refused to examine me (said he wanted to "chat" instead, patronising git - he was only about 18 as well }- then when he did, he mis-diagnosed me. Spent the whole pregnancy bleeding and waiting to mis-carry only to find out at the birth that it had been cervical erosion after all. Grrrr

Eids - happy birhday and hope you had a great day

Kittywits - Oi! Get off that other thread and come back here to chat

Morning everyone. Have woken up feeling very sorry for myself. We have had such a hectic weekend and I feel absolutely knackered. We have an investment holiday home in Padstow Cornwall which we are currently renovating - we are used to driving up and down there in a day to check in with our builders - usually on a Sunday....we split the driving and manage the project ourselves - leave at 5am and get home really late.... This I can do no more.. Its so hard to explain this tiredness, because I think its really PG specific - I certainly havent ever felt so tired.
I have put off going to work til later this am and will continue to research the "triple test" and "amnio" options from home. This will only serve to make a very busy Monday at work only stretch to 8 or 9pm tonight - oh well....

Anyway our Sunday jaunt was combined with a very busy Saturday and the eardrilling I have got from Mum and DH about the bloody testing and screening obsession I have got (that MW really has got up my nose) - we really seem to have a divided view on this, and my bloody mum is siding with my hubby.... geez...

The only good news I have is that our building project in Cornwall has halted DH's Grand Designs plans for our home - which would have over run with the birth... I had visions of coming home to a building site. I dont know about you but this has brought out a big princess tantrum.

Wow ladies - I love our chattiness !!!

Penny / Fatfox - Tesco's...... heh-heh a great night out ! I have a friend who genuinely met her hubby in the aisles of Tesco's (fondly called Teskies)

Eids - Happy Birthday

Anna - It can only get better...

Shanks - morning neighbour ! Why Royal Berks and not Heatherwood ? If I can ask a personal question....

PILES - NO !! tell me it isnt so.... I now must warn further woman off this PG lark. I thought the vomiting, faintness, feeling buggered, growing obsese, moodiness, going off sex, losing the plot and general wobbliness was bad enough.. I was reserving piles for my old age.. damn!

Sorry - long one. I'll stop chatting now.

Morning everyone

I haven't got piles YET but I do tend to. My dd age3 has them though! Poor wee so and so. I would use tcp ointment. It smells really strongly tcpish though so I use it at night.
My right hip is playing up again so I'm hobbling about like a 99 year old. I need to get my banger insured and into action.
Am feeling movement a bit nowadays which is great.
16 wks 1

Rosylily - poor LO I though piles were only suffered by old people and ladies with pot bellies.

Actually, my dad used to get them from cycling a lot . Proof IMO that excercise is not good for you!

Good morning everyone.
golly hard keeping up when you take a few days off here!
hope aeveryoen is keeping well and the blooming is taking over after the grim early pregnancy symptoms.
Piles
Suffered with dd, am trying very hard to prevent it this time, water, veges fruit, prune juice!
I'm ok 36 today... Got a cold starting up, sore throat and sinuses all ago
Aside from that all is fine!

Hi all and thanks for the piles advice.
dollyp- I'm off to the GPs, your right its better to get NHS free while I can.
fatfox- I'll ask my doctor about Lactulose, its got to be better than eating prunes (this is my current plan)
Rosylily- is your hip affected by the cold/damp weather? my back is.
Feeling rubbish today.
Having trouble with my belly button, can't usually touch it as it makes me feel sick, but now its being pushed out and touches my clothes....errr feeling sick just typing about it.

it is your bday Piffle? Happy Bday