Due March 2007 - No. 3

[novadandypowder]

Ahem - allow me....

Onilly - why don't you to the FMC and get their non-invasive tests done? There equipment is far beter than any you'll find in an NHS hospital and each member of staff has been trained by Kypros Nicholaides, who is just about the world expert on scans, chromosnal abnormalities etc. (invented the nuchal, nasal bone scan and CVS) Can't do the link but its fetalmedicine.com

And if you do go for an invasive test, Proff Nicholaides does them all himself so your risk of MC would be much lower than with the crap old NHS.

Dolly - lovely to hear from you XXXX Fingers crossed for your Dad's recovery

fatfox-i am with accent north west(it used to be called bradford and northern).i dont think they get abusive customers in their office,cos they are all efficiant and the housing is all of a high standard(unlike the local council).

evenhope,is ur dh being serious?when i was expecting ds1,somebody at my ante-natal class told me about an african tribe,where the custom when a woman is in labour is for the babies father to lay on top of the hut with a string tied around his man-bits,and every time the woman has a contraction she pulls on the string

i forget exactly where it was (ds1 is nearly 9 now) but perhaps ur dh would like u to give birth there?

Diva - !!!!!

Fatfox, thanks am on it....have found website and is the very place my friend went to.

DollyP - very good to hear from you and that things are looking better? Sorry to hear you are feeling a bit blue, understandable really....

Diva - I gotto get me one of them string numbers!

Yes gang - we have got to hang in there through our weird and wobbly moments. Its the sanity check that the books and other world dont give.

I have a huge consignment of maternity gear arriving today - did my late night shopping on the web, Next, Blooming Marvellous and JoJo - this may be my last goodbye as DH will probably throw the computer away when he sees the bill !! Listen, if a girl cant get a new wardrobe out of this then something is wrong.

Onilly - FMC is brilliant honest. A million miles away from the incompetence you get in the NHS.

Am of your maternity parcel's pending arrival. I can't afford loads of new gear this time, but my JoJo clothes are still in good shape form 3 and 6 years ago. In fact my maternity clothes are nicer than my civilian clothes !!

I love being PG as its the only time I don't have to hold my stomach in

i must have gone wrong somehere with maternity clothes...ah yes,it was the throwing them out after i'd given birth saying'hehe,never again!!!'.doh.
i think ill just invest in a couple of t-shirts cos this really is my last time.

dollyp,glad to hear ur dads on the mend.

hope everyone is enjoying the weekend

Hi everyone

The NHS isn't all bad... honest During all of my pregnancies - I have had great and supportive interactions . I guess the frustrating thing is that the service isn't consistently good and as with ANY organisation you will meet good and bad workers.

Sorry to hear about your FIL Eids and Dolly P - hope your dad is regaining some speech. It can be a slow and frustrating process.

I am going to stay on my dads farm from Sun-Weds and the kids are chuffed as there is a new born calf for them to see. My dad is very herbal and organic so should be very relaxing.

Fatfox - I'm with Kitty on the Homebirth thing... go for it. My last one was fab. You get so much more individual attention. During mine I had a midwife and a midwifery student there for the whole of labour. The student gave me an aromatherapy massage and then the third midwife arrived with about 20 minutes to spare. It was a really great experience - which - If i have this baby in the UK I would want to do again. Also - there isn't THAT much mess.. - the midwifes cleared it up and I just threw one old sheet in the washing machine afterwards. Clearning up after the kids is more ardous !!

Will catch up on Weds - and having scan on Thursday Going out for a picnic on the beach - IS this really late September in England ????

Yep, home births are fab! I will hopefully be having my 4th hb this time and truly wouldn't want it any other way!

omg... I haven't been around for a couple of days and there are soooo many messages to read through. You lot are a busy bunch You have me thinking about a homebirth now too. I had planned to go to hospital this time - we came home straight after with dd and remember feeling overwhelmed about what we should do!! So, I had intended to stay in hospital for as long as I could get away with and get as much rest and help as possible while there.

I think I am going to invest in some maternity clothes too. Mine are feeling snug and I'm enjoying being pregnant. I have no idea if I'll ever need them again - it took 10 years to concieve this one so I'll be too old if it takes that long again.

Love to all... hope you are enjoying your weekends.

Hi everyone,

Im actually on the February thread as my due date was originally 26th Feb but since my scan they put me back to 6th March.

This is our much wanted first baby,we had been TTC for over 2 years after a m/c.

Pregnancy seems to be going very well,got another 3 weeks till my 19 week scan.

I havent seen a doctor or midwife since I was 8 weeks as each time I call my GP is ether not doing ante natal or is on holiday.
I finally got an appointment on 2nd October,along with scan on 12th,consultant on 17th and midwife on 31st.

I look forward to hearing more about you guys and joinng in

16+5

Welcome Shanks .

Very envious of new clothes. Am going to have to get on Ebay to see what I can find. Hennes is also very good for maternity kit and very cheap. My normal clothes have still got a bit of room left in them at the moment, as I lost some weight due to being sick all the time. However, once the appetite comes back, I'll resemble a weeble very shortly. A tall weeble but a weeble nonetheless.

I am just wondering about feeling movement. I am 14 weeks on Monday and can feel a few wind like pains in my tummy (without the wind to follow through, so to speak ). Could this be the baby this early? I know that you are supposed to feel it earlier second time round, but is it possible as early as this? I felt DD at aout 16 weeks so my babies do seem to get going quite early doors. Any thoughts appreciated.

Feeling less sick today. And less tired. Perhaps I will bloom again, like I did for the day last week! I really thought I had cracked it sickness wise and was gutted when it came back. Fingers crossed that it goes away for good shortly. Hope that all the other ladies who have been feeling under par are on the mend and hope everyone is enjoying the weekend and getting to put their feet up.

XXXX

BTW, I would second the Fetal Medicine Centre Onilly if you are considering invasive testing. Their scanning machines are brilliant and you can see loads. Allthe scans are done by obstetricians and the great man himself does any scary procedure required. I had a brilliant expereice there and would heartily recommend it.

XXX

hello and welcome shanks.

dollyp-i felt ds1 move at 11 weeks,dd1 at 15 weeks,ds2 at 14 weeks and dd2 at 16 weeks so i dont think 14 weeks is early.im sure i felt this one last weeks but havent felt anything since.
i am jealous of all u women who can shop wherever u want-the town i live in is pretty small and there arent many shops atall.the nearest city is over 50 miles away and i dont have a car,and i cant order stuff online as i dont have a credit/debit card(not allowed thanks to xh ).i may have a look on ebay later,i got a skirt off there last time.trouble is i got it when i was 11 wks and still a size 12.by the time i was ready for maternity clothes i needed a size 16

15+3

oh, divastrop, sometimes we take it for granted how lucky we are! Good luck finding what you need on Ebay

Hiya Shannks... I was the other way around, lurking here before my scan put my due date at 26 Feb!!

Would somebody please explain what / where the Fetal Medicine Centre is? I can sort of understand what they offer but is it a private option to NHS services?

FMC is private and I think it's on Harley St in London

The Fetal Medicine Centre is the private arm of the Fetal Medicine Foundation, a charity set up by Prof Nicolaides for research into fetal abnormality detection and treatment. The FMC on Harley St exists to fund the work of the FMF.

What you get on the NHS is a bit of a lottery depending on where you live, how old you are and what your perceived risk is (for eg, 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, some routinely suggest to older mothers (37+ in many places) that they consider invasive testing etc etc).

If you are not getting what you want to have on the NHS, then the FMC is an option if you can afford it and want to have a particular test. I am pants at links but will try. This is the website www.fetalmedicine.com , complete with details of the testing they can do and the price list.

All scans are done by obstretricians trained by Prof Nicolaides who work part time at the FMC and part time at Kings (the Harris Birthright trust, to which you can get NHS referrals, although I don't know how). The invasive procedures are done by the Prof himself. I would definitely recommend it as it gave me huge peace of mind being an older bird but a lot would depend on what you were hoping to find out from the scans, tests etc and what you would do if you didn't hear the news you were hoping for.

Hope this helps. X

kiwi-i got loads of great maternity clothes last yr when i was visiting my mum(who lives just outside london)but i got rid of them all,and i cant go to my mums anymore as she doesnt have the space to accomodate 4 children.so ive only got myself to blame
i was kind of hoping i would just be able to do my jeans up under my bump like the skinny celebs do,but ive put 4lb on in the last week so its just not going to happen

Shanks - Hi and welcome Congrats on your pregnancy and I'm really chuffed for you - I had a MC last year and its made me a bit nervous this PGcy, but like you all is going well. I'm due somewhere between 26 Feb and 3 March

Dolly - I felt movement at 14 weeks but it went at 15 weeks and I think has re-appeared again in the last 48 hours. When they're that small I think you can probably feel it when they get into certain positions. Last two PGcies, I didn't feel anything until 20 weeks, but think this is an extra long baby

16+6

thanks dolly... and, you made the link!!

Evening all, welcome to Shanks! Hows everyone been feeling?

Penny - I've done nothing all day - slept all morning (was soo tired), popped into see a friend this arvo for tea and cake and was looking forward to a night out in Tesco's but was too knackered to go, so ordered on-line.

Received a letter from Tax Credits claiming they've overpaid us by £4.5k , so the kids will be living on bread'n'spit for the next 10 years

Weather was good though - what have you been up to today?

evening all, thankyou thankyou loads DollyP and FatFox for the Fetal Medicine info. I am going to call on Monday and discuss options. DH and Mum both still a bit vocal on the subject (we are a slightly bossy family at the best of times) but I have never been known to shut up and put up either, and a bit of research on the sly...

DollyP - glad you're feeling a bit better Thanks for the advise.

Parcels of matty gear arrived, hurrah - Christmas has come early and I can now survive without my embarrassing elastic bands! I feel like a princess, and looking at my loot I did'nt really get much I have rooted through my wardrobe to see what can maybe survive a bit longer. Afraid its not rich pickings... I seem to have grown quite alot around the tum, thankfully nothing much on arse or legs yet.

Hmm, yes I am surprised at NHS, my closest hospital is Heatherwood in Ascot as we are in Windsor and they have been ok (except for very antisocial sonographer) - its my midwife/s (never seen the same person twice) at my GP practise whom have been truly dire. Saying that though, the service from GP has never been great.... so maybe my trashing of the WHOLE of the NHS is a bit rough...... I have also found out that Berkshire as a whole are quite stingy on maternity care.

Shanks - welcome

Fatfox - time now to slag off the Inland Revenue geez.... now THAT is another whole SoapBox of mine! Sorry, what a bugger

Grrrr