Thread #4 - TTC#1 the one where Stark joins the grads!!!!

[Runner05]

Welcome to another riveting instalment of TTC#1 grads.

We've got new grads POAS every day just to make sure, 1st Trimesters wondering if they will be hit by the dreaded morning sickness or not, those approaching the hollowed promised land of the second trimester where all is good and the glowing will prevail... Those who have reached the second trimester and are thoroughly miffed at the lack of glowing.
We have scan photos, bizarre symptoms and the joys of baby shopping, and very importantly we now have Stark!

All are welcome on the wild gas powered ride that is TTC#1 grads

Mattress pad is basically a mattress topper - m.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/art/30152884/

I thought an extra layer might protect the mattress a bit more from poonami situations...

Morning all, how are you all doing today?

Nearly time for a new Fred! I'll sort it out this evening.

This is officially the longest week ever! It seems to have dragged and dragged but finally my 20 week scan is tomorrow (when I'll be practically 21 weeks ) excited and bricking it in equal measures.

Pink I think I'm going to make up my hospital bag early. The guidance is to have it ready from about 34 weeks but as Potato is being monitored from 28 and may be early I want to get it ready from then.

Leonie that is an impressive list!
I have a similar one with most of that stuff on it.
Because we're moving I'm delaying all the nursery stuff... The baby won't actually need it until he moves to his own room at about 6 months anyway. And I'll be buying clothes in 0-3 months to start with... Not too many as my family tend to do extremes with babies, they're either teeny or monsters!
I'm also not going to bother with toys, bouncers etc. until the baby is here as I don't think he'll need it for the first couple of week and I'd like to get to know him a bit before buying random goodies

Stark glad you had a good experience with your midwife
Regarding headaches, you probably are dehydrated, you really do have to chain drink fluids when you're pregnant.
Don't bother getting your eyes tested as believe it or not, pregnancy effects your eyesight makes you blind as a bat! so if you get them done now your prescription will probably change after you have the baby.

Morning!

Sorry not been around, work has been a bastard this week.

Stark I got headaches, it's usually hormone related, lots of my friends got them too. I tried avoiding paracetamol until 12 weeks, and keeping hydrated etc.

Runner sorry to read about your mum, incredibly difficult.

Scan tomorrow eeeekkkkkk!

X

Starky great news about having a good midwife, also good she's down with the hypnobirthing- I've read a book and want to do a course on it for the birth. I second Potato on the dehydration and eyesight, I noticed it for the first time yesterday, my right eye has completely changed and my normal glasses for reading make me feel blind. I'm better not wearing any at the mo.

Potato so exciting for tomorrow, fingers crossed Potato plays along so you can find out if your boy hunch is right

Thanks, so excited about the scan tomorrow. I'm just sat at my desk trying not to jump up and down.

Glad you're feeling better Miley, great news about the screening results too!

Thanks so much for the list Leonie, I've copied and pasted too!

Fx for the scan tomorrow Potato. We are moving too in the next few weeks-I was really hoping it would be before 10 weeks so I could register and book in at the new GP (different area), but looks like I will have to book in in the old area and probably have the scan there too, it's about 2 hours from my job now so will have to take a whole day off so annoying!

Morning all!

I'm so so scared for my scan tomorrow. Did the stupid thing of reading all the stories of MMC online and now I'm panicking. Need to calm myself down. My scan is at 10am lillian - sorry you have to wait until afternoon for yours. Hopefully they won't be running late for you. We'll be fine I'm sure! I'm excited as well as terrified. Hope today goes quickly for us all! Excited to see all the pics up tomorrow from everyone's scans, and to find out sexes from our 20week ladies!

I'm another one in the process of selling my house and moving to a totally different area (and country! England - Wales). Elle I'm booked in and getting scanned here, and am told they'll just transfer my notes over when I move, though something tells me it might not be quite so straightforward.

Love that list leonie.

Glad your first midwife appointment went well Stark.

Hugs Lara for the scan tomorrow. The risk of MMC is very low but it's impossible not to worry. How are you feeling now?

I think that's what I'll have to do too with booking in. It's probably not as big a deal as I'm making it! It is just annoying when it takes longer than you hoped.

lara try not to worry too much (easier said than done I know!) But everything will be absolutely fine I'm sure! Good luck to everyone having their 20 week scans tomorrow!

starky I've been getting awful headaches since about 8 weeks I think! They're a bugger.

3rd morning of no vomiting so either morning sickness is going away or these tablets are magic. I do still feel sick though and still have no appetite.

Morning all. Good luck to all those having scans tomorrow, can't wait to hear about it.
Starky do you get the same midwife the whole way through? That's great if so.

Just wondering, and sorry if it sounds an awful question, but is 12 weeks the first time that you are told for sure that there is a baby live and wriggling unless you pay for a private scan?

Thanks everyone. Feeling calmer now.

miley I'm so glad you're finally feeling a bit better! Everything crossed it continues!

I understand why you're a bit stressed by having to move midway through your care elle. It's just extra hassle and uncertainty you could do without.

flash, yes unless you get an early scan the 12 week scan is the first time you get to see baby and heartbeat etc. and they confirm pregnancy. How are you doing now? Has the bleeding stopped?

I thought it had yesterday until the evening when I had a little bit. And then today a little bit. But its still brownish (sorry, TMI) and very small amounts. I'm trying not to worry, and just assume it will all be fine as I don't want to spend the next 12 weeks in a state of panic. I've got a GP appointment to get everything underway re midfwife appointments etc, didn't realise I would need to see the GP but apparently I do, so I think I'll feel better when I speak to them.

I'm hoping that my increasing sore boobs, tiredness and subtle warning rumblings of nausea are good signs though.

Jane Muum anyone? Found a brilliant deal on the Muum + micro + koos (including iso fix base) travel system, reviews sound fantastic and it's lovely. Only problem is I can't find a stockist near me to try out and don't want to order just to find its awkward for me. It's down to £535 from £740 and I'm so tempted just to go for it

www.samueljohnston.com/Mobile/MobileModels.aspx?ModelID=2965&gclid=CNjclOPnjcwCFZUW0wodvFoGVg&utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=UnitedKingdom

Here's the link just in case anyone else fancies it! It's still £740 altogether in mothercare but typically it's a bloody online exclusive

Been chugging water today to see if it makes a difference, I'm going to be weeing for England!

flash if all goes well, ill probably see her at my 16 week appointment and then for the home visits. If there are no issues and I'm signed off for home birth then she will be one of the midwives who attend. All scans are at the hospital up the road. We've decided if I go into labour then ill do it just after dinner, abiut an hour of pushing and home in time for tea! She's barking, but ace! First thing she said was "oh you've brought Dad with you so it's probably not the milkmans!"

Thinking positive, calming thoughts for you lara

Haha, Starky well at least your appointments won't be boring! Did you always plan to have a home birth? I think my preference would be for the midwife led birthing unit (attached to the hospital) but I think I'd prefer a home birth to a labour ward.

Does anyone else have a negative blood type btw? I know that this can be something they need to deal with but don't know much about it.

flash The plan is homebirth, but whether I get that is a different matter! My absolute preference would be at home. But it will depend entirely on Little T/my body behaving! If there are medical issues etc then I'll do what's safest. I'll do the hypobirthing stuff regardless because I've got to get my mind into a safe place so whatever happens I'm not letting my anxiety get the better of me. If all goes well I still don't believe I'm going to get a baby, that's my anxiety talking then ill order the books/cds later into it, but I'm trying to do mindfulness and calming thinking now.

Midwife said blood tests done at 12 weeks will cover it all with the tests and the rhesus etc.

Starky your midwife sounds fab. How close are you to the hospital btw? I'd love a home birth (I think) but we're 30mins from the hospital and it feels like it may be too far if something was wrong. DH has said he's not comfortable with it for our first as a few friends who've recently had babies have needed to be in hospital either for Mum or baby for safety. No signs previously that this would be the case. I definitely want to be midwife led and waterbirth, but it may be wiser to go to a unit this time and think about homebirth for the next one if all is well.

On a totally unrelated note... I've developed an unhealthy obsession with the AIBU board. Cannot stop reading it. Please tell me I'm not the only one reading it. It's like a more middle class version of Jeremy Kyle and I am utterly hooked.

miley that pram looks good! Can't you pop into a mothercare to try before you order? I know what you mean about wanting to test it out first, seen a few nice ones online

irregular we're really very lucky. We've got 2 hospitals within a 5/10 minute radius and another within about 15 minutes. Plus a couple of stand alone midwife led units in the vicinity. Our MLU have the same pain relief/monitors as a home birth and it would take more or less the same time for me to be transferred and prepped if something did go wrong than if I was in the MLU in the first place. My biggest fear is that it will be busy and I will be left to get on with it in hospital. But like I say, these fears are only because it's such a busy city, I know the chances of the MLU/hospital being understaffed is a massive possibility and I'm scared to take the chance on it. However, this could all be a pipe dream and they say absolutely not you have a mangled placenta and you're having a c-section lol. There's so much time left for things to change yet.

I love AIBU

Counting down for us now lara! I know what you mean about the heady mix of excitement and terror - will keep an eye out for your news tomorrow I know it will give me some comfort! just my luck work has been busy so I can keep my mind off it for the most part until I get home and it's all I think about!

stark did they take your blood pressure? I'd been experiencing some dizziness + headaches between 6-8 weeks and apparently my blood pressure is quite low so she suggests making sure I eat throughout the day to keep my blood sugar levels up.

that's a great list leonie!

She did lil and it was spot on, but if there's one thing I've never had problems with its my blood pressure.

I'll be honest, I'm completely freaked out still, I'm waiting even day for something to go wrong with this. Especially since I seem to be sailing through when other people are suffering so badly. I'm still mentally expecting to start bleeding. I want to enjoy it but I can't. Did anybody else feel like this or am I the only weirdo?

Oh lovely, lovely Starky, you do make me smile! The midwife at the early group I went to earlier this week spoke to a woman who must have been about 5-6 weeks pregnant and was saying she wasn't sure she was pregnant as she had barely any symptoms and just couldn't quite believe it.** She looked really sheepish. The midwife asked if she'd taken a test and was it positive -yes- then asked so why are you trying to convince yourself you're not? She said to accept you are pregnant if your tests are positive until you are told otherwise. Apparently the risk of a mmc is quite rare if you have no symptoms like bleeding or cramping. That was what I was worried about- I knew I was pregnant but I was just imagining going for a scan and them saying there's nothing there anymore. Since hearing the midwife say that on Tuesday, I felt like a bit of a plonker for being so worried. Guess what Starky, you're pregnant! We should both be about 8 weeks now and that is pretty freaking awesome. Go and celebrate with a cup of tea :)

Checking in after a few days of spreading our good news. No social media announcement for me so getting round everyone takes a little time. Downs, Edwards and Patau risk came back by post in 5 days and were far lower risk than I could have imagined so very happy with that. Now just busy trying to figure out the angle of the dangle!

Starky, time to accept it and relax. Fretting about something going wrong is not going to stop it happening if it is going to and you need to enjoy any symptom free time you can get!

Anyone else found M&S maternity tights extrodinarily short in the leg???