September crew - baby bumps are appearing and we're emerging as team blue, pink or yellow! Thread 8 :)

[Treaclepie19]

Stats sheet here

Seen the consultant today! She is happy for us to go for natural birth. She suggested epidural straight away though to deal with the vaginismus pain but going to see another midwife who is a specialist in the problem.
No section for us though!

Well done treacle!

bonzo I'm the opposite - I wanted her to sneak into August to get into the earlier school year!! I spent far too much time getting into trouble at school when I was bored and waiting for the others to catch up.

I've just spent this morning being monitored again - routine midwife appointment found my blood pressure to be somewhat higher than yesterday's consultant appointment had it! Now have to get it measured somewhere official every couple of days. No other signs of pre-eclampsia though so hopefully they'll not over-react too much (and hopefully it'll be back by Friday morning)

Toffeegurl39 if you private message me your Facebook name I can add you to the group (I think). It gets a huge amount of posts compared to the mumsnet page x

the whole school starting thing is such an unknown quantity. I was the youngest in the year (end of september birthday but was a year ahead of where I should have been). Really suffered socially all the way through till I left. Academically I was fine. But it's such an individual thing, and depends a bit on the personality of the child. DB2 is an end of August baby and did not suffer the way I did.

Ditzzy how did they take your BP? I heard a piece on BBC Radio4 (inside health) that said that the automatic machines are far more accurate than the manual method (with a stethoscope). The latter tends to underestimate your BP.

treaclepie it's great that you have access to a MW who understands your condition. I had a small tear down there, noone knew how it had got there, it was pre-DC. The MWs first time round were a bit dismissive of the problem, and I was pleased that it ended up in an EMCS for all sorts of reasons, and this was one of them.

deladion double check as I may well be wrong, but I think 3/5 engaged means the opposite of what I originally thought it meant. i.e. it means that 3/5 of the baby's head is still palpable above the pelvic rim. And until they are fully engaged the head is still "balotable", i.e. it can float up again.

We tried all the machines bonzo! Manual, automatic, big cuffs, little cuffs... They all said pretty much the same at 160/104 ish. I have a very understanding midwife who's been happy to give me a few readings every time, but even I had to admit it was beyond exaggeration to get the 104 below the required 90!! It was my own fault, bad time of day for my BP and I hadn't had breakfast which never helps - I guess I was feeling a little too cocky after yesterday's consultant appointment

You're right on the school thing of course, every child will take it differently!

Wow ditzzy, that's not a good reading, that must be a shock. Are you on aspirin? It might be worth it but I'm not sure if you can take it if you're close to birthing. Are you being monitored now? Over 140/90 you are supposed to be checked again after 4 hours, but over 150/100 you are supposed to go in, most likely for medication. Even with no other signs of PE.

Sorry if you know all this - it's just been drilled into me because I am at risk and wasn't given proper care with DC1. My BP went to 170/130 in delivery which caused considerable panic from the MWs. It was 'just' hypertension though, not PE, it is possible.

If you're being checked again on Fri I suggest no caffeine, no salt, have a decent meal before as it lowers your BP, and make sure you have had a wee. Also, get there early and sit quietly (lie on your left side if you can!) none of these would mask a serious problem but might help it come down a bit.

I was advised by various consultants that in pregnancy a manual BP should always be taken - the machines run high and apparently don't always adjust for extra blood volume in pg. certainly when I have been monitored or have seen my consultant, they have taken it manually.

I had a MW appt this week and my BP was at 123/62 - about 20 points lower than booking in! Either the aspirin is working or I am a medical marvel...

Oh and bonzo yes I think normally 3/5 means '3/5 palpable, 2/5 engaged', but apparently some MWs write it the other way too!

Shoot don't worry, I know it's not good!! But my booking BP was 145/85 which is roughly what I've been ever since heart surgery 12 years ago, so they've been working on the principle of not letting the numbers (either of them) increase by more than 10 since booking. Until today I've managed to keep it fairly consistent by doing exactly those things you suggest (great excuse for a carby lunch and a snooze just before appointments).

Not on aspirin - they considered starting it at 12 weeks but there's a family history of ulcers and when I was on it for just 6 weeks previously I had to come off due to stomach pain, so they decided I wouldn't be able to keep it up for long enough to have an effect.

They said they would need to see a second day of readings at today's level to need to take action but have moved me from 'borderline' to mild/moderate hypertensive in one go.

P.S. Shoot I think I'd pass out if mine was as low as 123/62 - from the shock as well as from the low BP

It must have been scary for you when you're shot up that fast though? At least as I've always known mine is high I've been kind of expecting it.

Ah, you're all over it then . With your medical history I suppose the baselines are all different. I actually bought a BP monitor this time so I can check at home which puts my mind at rest. The 123/62 was more like my non-pg readings, I just seem to have an odd form of gestational hypertension. I'm assuming the aspirin and diet changes are working this time though, yey!

Actually with my first DC I had borderline high BP from booking but they assumed I had essential hypertension (I don't). So my readings gradually went up but the MW was always able to get at least one reading which was just below 150/100. So we thought all was ok and I went to the MW unit in labour. At the pushing stage it shot up so there were panic alarms and transfers etc - I didn't really care as I was otherwise occupied .

I ended up staying in for 6 days as my BP was all over the place and the doctors were tinkering with my meds which led to crashing and soaring BP and headaches. In hindsight of course I'm glad it wasn't PE but it wasn't the finest start to parenting really!

Anyway I hope it comes down for you and at least they can try medication before baby needs to come out, and hopefully it's not PE for you either

Thanks Shoot! All positive vibes welcomed

Hearing that yours is under control this time helps too - gives me hope for the next one

Eep, anyone else suffering from lots of braxton hicks?
Ended up phoning triage last night as I had them from about 8pm til nearly 4am and from 12 they ramped up in intensity and were coming every 5 mins and lasting up to 4 minutes.
Worn out today!
I thought little one was coming early :p

How exciting treacle! Your little one must have heard your consultant yesterday giving you the all clear for natural birth!!

The machine I was on yesterday was apparently showing a few BHs (maybe three decent sized ones an hour?) but I didn't really feel a thing, I thought baby was just kicking the sensor

I have them a lot, treacle, all the way through, though not quite at the intensity you mention. About 7-10 days before DC1 arrived I remember having very rhythmic BHs, decreasing in interval and increasing in length. They were very realistic and I ended up tracking them on my app, but they didn't lead anywhere at that stage. They were indeed very like my pattern with contractions ended up being, but from the very first contraction, full blown labour was very different for me.

It's a really good sign that your body is gearing up and knows what to do in established labour! You're a good way off due though aren't you? Hope it means you won't go too overdue

This lunchtime I was out for a work lunch - at one point my whole team was staring at my bump as it was shifting and lurching all over the place. It was a bit gruesome!

Haha that's what I said dittzy!

Ive been having them a lot but last night was just crazy.
Yeah shoot I'm not due til the 19th!
My mom keeps saying he will come early though as she only did 8 month pregnancies with me and my sisters. However I was an emcs and my sisters were twins :p

Looks like I might get my August baby after all... BP has just spiked again so I've been admitted to hospital. No other preeclampsia signs but they're going to spend the weekend trying to get my BP under control in order to start induction on Monday!!! With a warning that induction might take most of the week due to only being 37 weeks today... Sounds like I'm in for a fun few days

Gosh ditzzy that makes it all seem very imminent! Have they suggested how long they might keep you in afterwards in the event they do induce? There's an increase in PE risk at 3-4 days post partum so with me they kept me in for a while. Hope you have someone supplying you with entertainment!

And if they do induce I hope it goes well. Great that you got to 37 weeks plus, though!!

Yes - I was a bit taken by surprise when they suddenly said Monday!!

I think it depends which and how many drugs I end up on for how long they'll keep me in afterwards. So far they've put me in a quiet room and fed me to see if that brings it down a bit. That's the sort of treatment I can handle

Oh but the really cute doctor in charge of the ward this evening really isn't helping my BP... He even has the same surname as an ex of mine as well as the same character.

Hope all is ok dittzy!
At least the cute doctor and peace and quiet may help a little.

How are you doing today ditzzy?

Still hanging around the hospital - have had a dose of methyldopa so far which hasn't made a scrap of difference to my BP. The doc I saw this morning seemed surprised if already been booked in for Monday as she would have preferred to try to delay by trying more drugs first, but as far as I'm concerned the docs I saw yesterday had the right idea; they said I'd have to stay in now until post-delivery anyway and as my BP is all over the place the risk of damage to the placenta or from drugging my baby outweighs the risks of a 37-weeker.... Although yesterday's docs were men and today's was a woman, and she emphasised that induction at 37 weeks really is from a standing start....

Anyway, not really much changed here yet, the drugs have made me feel better (I was starting to feel permanently sick and lightheaded) so I'm sure they're doing something! Baby has also been far more active today than I've ever known her to be, so it might be good for her too!!

How's everyone else? I do feel as though I've been a bit of a drama queen on here lately!

Oh dittzy :( Must be awkward with the differing opinions.
Hope you're on the mend soon.

You're not being a drama queen!
I'm being a drama queen, I'm having pain in my stomach, mainly when I move and I've been stressing about it all day.
It's probably a muscle :p

Oh ditzzy . Have you thought about asking for a section? It seems like in this sort of case it might be less stressful on your body, and the baby's, than an induction. Just a thought (one of the key proponents of active birth, Michel Odent recommends CS rather than induction if there is enough risk to begin induction).

And I have two friends who had boys born at 35 weeks - both over 6lbs and both home within 24 hours, perfectly healthy. I hope your baby is a good weight too!

All ok here at 35 weeks, except for considerable pelvic pain and the return of evening nausea .