October 14. thread 11?! Will be see any babies in this thread?

[mrsb87]

Plonk your bums down ladies!

Really feel u guys struggling and still having 3 weeks or more to go to maternity, i stopped a month early due to spd, but i think if i didnt have that i would have been struggling anyway with just tiredness & lack of motivation ..,

fedup ... I really feel your pain i moved house in july and just couldnt handle the enormity of what needed done before i felt settled, i was crying off & on for weeks, just take it one day at a time and get as much help as possible, i really feel for you

Me Kirsti! Sorry it took a while to get back to you, I asked for an invite and then went on holiday

Sooooo that was an interesting bank holiday Monday I've just spent a few hours in delivery triage as I was getting a little concerned over the change in movements. I'd gone from gagnam style moves to not much. Delighted to report all good after traces done but I am now ever so slightly FREAKED out with their fundal height measurement of 43cm. Given this time last week I had a scan and all was good plus a midwife appointment a few days ago which had my fundal height at 35cm, who is measuring what wrong??? The first midwife measured me at 47cm (??!) and then another midwife made it 43cm. Scans are being booked, random blood sugar done. I've been testing my blood sugar 3 times a day and they've crept up a little with only one at 8.1. Otherwise they've been within limits. On the one hand they don't seem fussed and on the other the midwife was talking about too much fluid, not being allowed beyond 37 weeks due to risk of various things ......
Blimey - I go in to be reassured about one thing and leave stressing about another. Can a fundal height or scan be completely and utterly wrong?

Crumble yes both can be utterly misleading about baby's size. I had fundal height measurements and a scan on J two days before his (unexpected) birth and despite being warned he was off the charts from the scan, and measuring 3+ weeks ahead from fundal height actually he was between 66th and 75th centile. When my waters went it was epic though!

mrscrumble sorry you are stressed! yellow is right both can be wrong annoying as that is! However scans are more accurate at measuring amniotic fluid levels and if all was well last week and you do not have Gd then I wouldn't worry. In fact the nice guidelines advise that in the absence of gd or concerns re fluid volume scans should not be carried out for increased fundal measurment as in a low risk pregnancy it is not recommended to induce early for "large" baby.

mrsbad if there was no sign of polyhydramnios last week at the scan I cant imagine its suddenly appeared. I would trust your scan more than fundal height according to my fundal height im weeks behind but I know shes fine from the scans.
Are they inducing you at 39 weeks?

Sparkle - I've never seen the same midwife twice. The last one I saw said 'we met right at the beginning'.. I knew I hadn't. Then she looked at my notes and said 'oh no, my mistake'. In fact the only person I've seen twice has been one of the consultants.

I'd do three days a week if boyfriend had a different job. At the moment his fixed term contract finishes 5 months after I would have to sign a new part time contract. We can survive on my 4-day-a-week salary if he didn't get anything else in time (with him as full time childcare), but not my 3 day a week one. Shame, but there's just no guarantee for his job.

Goats it's awful you didn't get your own midwife have they discussed who will come and visit you after the baby arrives? It should be your midwife who then hands over to the HV. But as you don't have one what's going to happen?
Did you ever get your maternity exemption card?

Haha, no exemption card, nope. I'd totally forgotten about that too.

No idea who does what afterwards. I'm guessing the midwives at the local surgery, but I've not met them yet. I did try to, but couldn't get an appointment until this coming Friday. So... this Friday it is.

Just finished bedtime. On the hundredth repetition of 'The Snail and the Whale', 'Where the wild things are', and 'I know a Rhino' baby was doing some batshit interpretive dance. Or perhaps he/she was trying to persuade their big bro to pleeeeeease request a different story.

I've not seen the same MW twice either. Our GP surgery has 3 community MWs attached. And now I've been assigned to the diabetes clinic at the hospital I'm in the care of MWs there. I imagine after birth I'll see a random assortment of community MWs. On the island which was a much more old fashioned style of care I still saw a pool of 3 MWs for appointments ante and post natally, and had 2 different MWs to those I'd previously met who stayed with me the entire time I was in labour. Although it wasn't one MW the continuity of care was perfect - this time (maybe its a second pregnancy thing) I don't feel anyone has a good view of my care needs or wishes.

yellow,me, and gunwalloe - thank you for your messages. It has made me feel a bit more reassured. To have changed so dramatically in a week defies logic. I am high risk due to age (40) and increased BMI so would not be allowed to go beyond due date. I suppose with my slightly increased blood glucose readings gd could be rearing its' head. In addition with the minor placenta previa I will more than likely have an elcs at 39 weeks. However midwife said baby felt low down (not engaged but 3/5 whatever that means) so a natural delivery might be possible. Talk about mixed messages
On another note I've been thoroughly unimpressed with a supposedly Ofsted outstanding kindergarten which my dd is attending. Bullying, behaviour changes, attitude, teachers who can't spell or even get her sex right in a report...... The list goes on. I am veering more towards a cm option.
Gosh long message - sorry

Hi ladies. I've started having cramps like I'm getting my period - up for a couple of hours in the night with them and now they're kicking in again. It's not super sore but it does make me go "ouch!" and hold my breath, and everything feels heavy down there... I'm 34 weeks and I'm a first timer so I don't know if I should worry. Any advice?

Badger I have no advice, but I would always say ring your midwife/the hospital triage at this time of night. If they think you should come in to be checked then they know best. Or they will ask more specific questions to help you. Don't panic, but do ring, that is what that number is for.
Hope all is well soon x

badger I would ring. When I phoned my hospitals maternity helpline today they were so helpful. I think they would rather you call than not.

Badger I would phone them for advice but then again I came on here to say the same thing and I haven't yet phoned! I'm feeling quite crampy, lower back pain and what feels like period pain. Not sure whether to be worried or not?

Thanks all. I'm going to drink some water and lie down for an hour and if it doesn't stop I'll ring them. It's been quite a busy day so maybe I've just overdone it on the nesting. Hope yours calms down, SweetPeaPods

Evening all, badger am sure it's just Braxton hicks I had the same yesterday for about half an hour after exercise, cleaning the house and then deciding to paint the lounge think it was my body's way of saying sit down love.

Three weeks left at work here but feels forever :-( just want to sit and nest now, work is just an Inconvenience at the moment.

I can't imagine going back to work full time but we can't afford for me to do anything less than four days and don't think company would agree to even that to be honest. This is reason we are thinking of moving away to get the right work life balance and not just work to pay childcare.

I start NCT next week, has anyone started yet and what do you think of it? Looking forward to talking about giving birth since I've had loads of appointments with completely different midwives and consultants and no one has mentioned anything to me about giving birth!

Badger and sweet you probably have just overdone it! Take some paracetamol and relax as planned call if it continues despite rest.

Badcrumble yes both measurements can be wrong.
You are very likely to get an inaccurate fundal height measurement as it depends on who takes it, so a different mw each visit won't help for example, and babies position.
Doesn't mean I don't worry when baby has only grown 1cm in 3 weeks but deep down I know its a different mw or change of position etc.

Oh, I've had the period pain feeling for awhile - not done anything about it, just figured it was growing pains or stretching pains.. also has been worse since the baby finally moved head down, so thought it might be a head rattling against my pelvis. I only had a break from the period pain for about 8 - 10 weeks in the middle though to be honest.

School starts a week today, and I've done NOTHING towards going back - it's only for 3 weeks, I might wing it a bit. Been totally fixated on doing the house - we now have two whole rooms (out of 11) that are finished enough to be comfortable, and hopefully by this time next week we'll have a bathroom. If I get 5 weeks (being induced at 41), then we should be completely finished upstairs by the time the baby arrives, which would be great. The downstairs hasn't even started yet, and is being completely redone, so I've no hope of having a finished house. Want the baby to arrive quicker, just because I've had enough, but also need the house time.

When I went into labour last time it wasn't preceded by any period type pains or niggles and my contractions really didn't resemble period pains either. My pains were much more rhythmic than period pains and instantly recognisable as different. But that could have been because it was back to back. I know a few folks whose second or third labours began that way though. I'm sure lots of labours might begin that way.

Second / third / fourth timers - did you have any hints labour was coming? I had a loss of cervical mucus (slightly pink but not a bloody show by any means) and a big bowel clear out (nice!) in the 4 days before my waters broke, an intensification of nesting / reluctance to leave the house but no niggly period pains or indeed any pains until two hours after my waters broke.

I'm a 5th timer and the only pregnancy that I had a signal on was the first and that was my waters going which triggered contractions.
Second labour I didn't realise I was in labour it was during the day and I didn't realise until late and had a rush to the hospital 3rd and 4th I woke up in pain in the night and instantly knew. This time it's a planned c section so hopefully I won't go into labour.

Goats ask the midwife for the form on Friday it lasts for a year post birth to so you may get some use from it

I had no signs before labour last time around except that i wanted to keep moving/stay on my feet and my bh were getting more regular but never painful. When contractions started (whilst I was asleep) it was clear by the second one that it was labour and for me they felt nothing like a period pain.

Flaming Braxton hicks keeping me awake someone tell my body it's wasting its time