April 2016 babies - 20-week scans, growing bumps and little kicks!

[suffolkblonde29]

Hi all,

I've started a new thread to take us up to the third trimester.

Hope you are all feeling well. I feel like my bump is a little small and I'm not feeling lots of movement (but this may be due to an anterior placenta). Got my 20-week scan tomorrow so not long to wait to see if everything's ok - it's actually nearly 22 weeks though as baby really wasn't playing ball when we went last week and was hiding with its back to the scanner.

Getting excited that I'm halfway there though...

Five miles a day does sound like a lot crumbly and I guess if you're walking to and from work you probably walk more quickly than you would if you were just going out walking for enjoyment so it must be quite tiring. When were you planning to start your leave? Do you have any annual leave that might allow you to start leave earlier or even reduce the number of days each week you work nearer to your due date?

Hope everything goes well with your growth scan.

I was planning on starting at 35 weeks Knits but may have to go sooner than that. Have a couple of weeks holiday to tack on so it's not all bad. It is tiring but I'm just trying to save ad much as I can before leave or I won't get to take the full year.
Thanks for well wishes. Got my fingers crossed that they'll tell me if they wanna induce me early or not at that point too.

knits I made it $10 as that is what a beer costs here. We are at over $300 already.

Walking 5 miles a day in your third trimester is an awful lot. I would be leaving work early too! I'm lucky that my employer are very understanding. I'm able to use a car service to get to and from work or just work from home if I have an appointment.

I'm thinking of finishing at around 35 weeks too. It's so difficult to decide as I want to have as much time off as I can with the baby, but on the other hand I found the first days back at work this week quite difficult and I'm not sure how late I'll feel well enough to carry on working. My commute isn't too bad (especially compared to your long walk crumbly) but sitting at a desk / in meetings for 7 hours a day is making my back really sore and I'm already feeling pretty exhausted so not sure how long I'll have the energy to keep working.

want2b, I love the idea of using the cost of a beer as yardstick for setting how much your DS has to pay into a swear box. He'll regret all the money it cost him when he turns 21 and realises how many beers be could afford if only he'd watched his language when he was younger!

Hi everyone
I'm 24 weeks today - Time seems to be speeding up! Struggling to sleep - I'm using a long sausage type pillow atm but wondering if anyone has any good recommendations for a cheapish pregnancy pillow? First week back at work is killing me this week (with added lack of sleep!) just trying to get to Friday pm!

knits I'm at work for 10-12 hours a day, much of it sitting. You need to plan your day out so every hour or so you get up and walk. I walk down and back up 3 floors of my clients office. Drink lots of water, I have a 20oz refillable container on my desk, and when you go to the bathroom do figure 8s with your hips. When you get home get your roller out and do 5 mins on your lower back. I got my roller with my first pregnancy and I've used it ever since. I got it from my chiropractor and it's the TRX massage roller, although a regular foam roller works just as well and costs a lot less.

I'm exhausted because my DH has taken to snoring. It's 4am and I've been up for an hour. At home I sleep on the sofa but my dad is on there now so I'm stuck waiting for the kids to wake up. Dh has been signed up for an appointment with a weight loss doctor in 2 weeks. He is about 100lbs over his top BMI weight hence the snoring.

Sorry wait I would try sleeping on the sofa propped up via the corner. I've tried all sorts of pillows and they have all not worked as well as sleeping sitting up on the sofa.

I feel like I want to go early on maternity too, but I want to hold out until 36 weeks as before then I can take sick leave when needed (which is paid) and not lose the leave for after the baby is here.

Come Have you got holiday to add on at all? I'm hoping to have two or three weeks I can use alongside leaving early.
Knits I've really been struggling too so you're not alone. Remember they have to accommodate you for breaks and just stretching your legs and back out every so often. I'm sat on a stool for the majority of my shift and my back is in bits by the end.

Thanks for the advice crumbly and want2b. I'll definitely try those suggestions when I'm back at work. I'm still off at the moment with this stupid UTI which is making me feel rubbish. I'm drinking as much water as I can manage and just hoping the antibiotics will start to work and make me feel better soon.

wait, I've got a DreamGenii pillow and I'd definitely recommend it. They're not cheap but I managed to get mine from Mamas & Papas where it was on sale. I think it's on sale there again now. Also, if you're not already on their mailing list then they'll give you a £5 voucher for signing up so that helps bring the cost down a bit too.

Hope you manage to get a better night's sleep tonight want2b.

Hello everyone, sorry I've been a bit quiet! And sorry to hear lots of you are suffering now - my SPD has also been flaring up but I'm still feeling relatively positive as it's much better than it was at the same time last pregnancy.

I have a theraline pregnancy pillow which I would definitely recommend - I like that it's long so I can arrange it in lots of ways and run it all the way down to my feet (I'm quite tall), and is quite fat. Some of them were quite thin and I found didnt relieve the pressure on my hips.

I'm in awe of the ladies planning on working til 38 weeks plus! I just couldn't hack it - I'm totally exhausted already despite the break over Xmas. I'm going off at 34+1 but using annual leave until mat leave kicks in at 39 weeks. I went off about the same time with DD1 so it was easier to plan this time. I can't even blame difficult working conditions or a bad commute for me being desperate to finish - I'm just tired and can't be arsed! I really feel for all of you with hard jobs being on your feet or wince on a stool (!!!!)

crumbly sadly no, used all but half a day up and the new holiday year begins in April, so won't help as I'll be off before then. A stool doesn't sound good at all, they are meant to do a risk assessment and accommodate you when you're pregnant - can you change duties at all?

I had some weird pain last night, but I think it was digestive. A bit like constipation pains, but I'm not constipated at all. Managed to soothe it by lying on side on pillow and with extra pillow between legs. I feel achy like very mild period pain but this is coming after my bump aching a lot anyway so I think my muscles/ligaments are tired and I'm growing a lot. My bump support belt arrives today with any luck that will help.

Come don't get me started on half the things wrong where I work! I'm lucky to have a stool, they don't like me using it and move it out of reach sometimes. DP doesn't want me returning after mat leave and if I wasn't pregnant I would be looking for something new asap.

So sorry you're working somewhere where people are so mean :( You and baby come first, it's definitely worth thinking about getting signed off (if you'd get sick pay) or starting mat leave a bit earlier.

Thanks Come, I'm not overly bothered I suppose as I only took the job to give us some spare money for this baby and was actually pregnant when I started so feel a bit guilty making a stink about it. If I feel too bad I will look to be signed off. I'm just hoping to get as much put into savings so I can stay at home for as long as possible. It dawned on me the other day there's only three full paychecks before maternity pay so I'm going into saving overdrive.

Let me know if your support belt helps at all, my friend who recently gave birth swore by hers! Hoping it helps you.

Am I too late too hop on here. I'm terrible at keeping up. I'm 27 weeks today.

And just to prove I have been reading, I'll be starting official maternity leave on week 39, but taking 3 weeks of annual leave before that so guess will be off from week 36.

Well this is the plan and so far so good as I'm not feeling too bad but then I am also in a job that I can do from home anyway with a very supportive company/boss. I'm sorry to see this hasn't been the case for some :(

Anyone from Hampshire?

crumbly I can't remember if you said this is your first pregnancy or not. If it is your first pregnancy I would say that based on my experience, you don't know how you will feel after having your baby about returning to work. Everyone is different and for me personally I felt a strong urge to go back to work, probably because I had a girl 1st and DH was a dick about parenting at first (I was fed up of Mr Mom comments coming from a Dane who is supposed to be enlightened). I thought it was important that our daughter grow up seeing both mummy and daddy have their own work because of DHs behavior.

If it is your second ignore me!

want2 This is my second. I didn't go back to work after DD1 and was a SAHM for a year. I probably would have gone back after the year's leave if work would have done flexible shifts but have to work around OH's demanding job so struggled to find something suitable. Hoping to go and retrain after having this baby and get out of retail.

Retail is so tough, especially when you have DC. Def a good idea to use leave this as an opportunity to retrain. I started retraining when I got married. We were not trying when DD came along. It has set me back in terms of progression but overall it's been so worth it. I don't plan to stay in my field anyway but set up my own business once I have enough management experience.

crumbly your scan is same day as mine, I will be 28+6 but mine is due to having big babies. Am looking forward to seeing baby again though.

Sympathies to all of you struggling with work issues, feel very lucky that isn't an issue I have had to face. Dh work and shifts, rota support and on call nature of his work has meant it wasn't practical for our family.

Even without working I am feeling shattered but my sleeping is crap, I also have a snoring husband, makes me murderous and that combined with my restless legs, itchy skin from eczema and dd bed hopping... Plus needing to get up for a wee... Equals not much sleep.

How is the weather with everyone Btw,have any of UK based among us been affected by floods? We aren't flood affected but Omg the rain today, good job we all have waterproofs, trousers, coats etc for school run and today's two mile to school cycle was in a downpour and so windy as well. Thankfully my waterproof trousers are adjustable waist and fitting still and my coat just did up, two friends have loaned me size 16 coats for once mine won't do up so I don't have to buy one as a decent waterproof and windproof coat is not cheap.

I am currently due to be leaving work from 37 weeks, as it's my first I have no idea how realistic it is. My work is office based but I do have lots of long travel which does take its toll. The above suggestions all sound like a good ideas.

I'm feeling OK at the moment, I am sleeping OK but am definitely eating far too much. I can't really seem to stop and tend to go to bed at about 9pm

crumbly your walk does sound very long indeed for one that you have to do every day :(

5madthings - oh I do have restless legs also actually! It's horrid- the most annoying thing. I dont really find anything helps other than getting up and walking around, which isn't so practical in the middle of the night!

Your work sound awful crumbly. Hope you manage to get some money saved before the baby arrives, and then good luck with retraining for a better job afterwards. Ages ago I had a boss who wouldn't allow us to sit down at work (also in retail), though of course he could always spend most of the day sat on his lazy arse in the office. Used to make me so angry, there's just no need for employers to treat their staff like that.

Welcome back dizzy.

madthings, we've been quite lucky with the weather, just had quite a lot of rain. It's barely stopped raining today here. Your cycle in the rain can't have been much fun, makes me glad I only had to venture out as far as the corner shop this morning! I've been super grateful for a maternity coat a friend loaned me as I think I'd have frozen without it over the last couple of weeks.

Devon, I'm definitely eating too much as well. I feel hungry all the time and although I'm trying to stick to healthy snacks like fruit sometimes I just can't resist crisps and chocolate etc.

crumbly, makes sense it's retail. Retail is terrible with stuff like this! They treat everyone as interchangeable units :(

My support belt has arrived! It's very comfortable on and walking around in it, today it gets the full commute experience so I'll see if it helps me hold up. It's this one: www.amazon.co.uk/Fleetmedica-Pregnancy-Maternity-Support-Colour/dp/B00NVL6YBO/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8 a bit weird to put on as all the part are separate but that does mean it's easier to make it fit me right.

I won't be going back after maternity leave - this commute has been killing me for a while. Our whole department is up for redundancy so I'm hoping to be able to get a voluntary severance deal, but as that's not that likely to happen I may end up just leaving. I'll have to think of a new more suitable career!

Ta Knits. Turns out despite a web based job, I am terrible at keeping up with forums. They are winding my work down a bit though so

My husband brought me a load of chocolate for Christmas, which never happens. It fills an entire kitchen shelf. I can't not eat it, but am trying to 'dispose' of it as slowly as possible.

I think my appetite is beginning to wind down again as I roll into third trimester and increased size - I'm 27 weeks and feel like a small asteroid and especially so at the end of the day thanks to digestive bloating! I usually wake up starving and running for the kitchen, but after lunch and beyond I only need a little food to make me feel food.

Did I see something about their being a facebook group?