August 2016 number 5 - waddling towards the third trimester!

[Mslg]

For the August 2016 ladies and babies!

Salene I think it's for when your waters break. There were six of us in our NCT group and we all had the same conversation with the midwives once our waters broke. "Are you sure you haven't just pee'd yourself? Let me have a look.."
Apparently the losing control of your bladder and thinking it's your waters thing happens a lot

They also laughed at the Boots light pads I'd bought with me and said "I'll go get you something more substantial". I also needed the thicker ones after the birth for a few days but I had quite heavy blood loss (needed a transfusion), so not sure if the lighter ones would still suit most people post birth..

Lansinoh breast pads are brilliant (even though they come with a ridiculous amount of packaging...)

I needed proper maternity pads for 2-3 wks I think, then continued to bleed in a less ferocious way for another 4-6 wks - def hadn't stopped at my 6wk check. I think Tesco/Boots standard issue maternity pads were fine.

As for confusing pee with waters - yes. My waters went in the bath with DS. I had to get out to work out if I was peeing or not (but as it just kept coming I decided not!)

Oh right I see yeah the hospital gave me there own pad to use when they thought my waters had broke

I only used my own ones after the birth.

Having such a terrible day already! Could really do with a cuddle and decent sleep. Was up early hours throwing up non stop for a good hour, my throat felt like it was on fire! Then coughing up blood this morning (I'm guessing because of my sore throat) such a chesty cough and head is banging, plus despite the antibiotics the discharge seems to be getting worse (and still lime green!) midwife appointment at 12 and haven't even moved towards getting ready for it. Really don't want to go, I just feel like il be asked how I am, say how shit I feel and it'll just be brushed off as per. How can a pregnant woman have green discharge for what..2/3 months? And no one give her an answer, the doctor took a swab the other day but it was just after I gave her a urine sample, so had wiped everything away and don't feel like they'll find anything

Oh that sounds rough Christine :-( I hope the midwife gave you some answers. I'm sure if she sees the discharge she will make sure you get tested again.

Oh dear sounds rough, hopefully you get some answers

I'm finding my heartburn almost unbearable now, anytime I try to sleep I get woke with the feeling of my stomach acid coming into my mouth I wake up just on time as it fills my mouth with bile/sick

Then I'm left with what can only be described as the feeling of drinking bleach

I'd been prescribed mucogel which I had been taking but it stopped working

Not they have given me Zantac but after a bit of digging it says mucogel shouldn't really be taken more than 2 weeks

Zantac crosses the placenta

And neither are thought to effect baby but no evidence to suggest either way

So now I'm like shit I don't even want to take the Zantac incase it harms baby

I've no idea what to do but it's making my life pretty miserable

With first pregnacy I never got the bile coming to mouth until near end it got so bad it burnt my nose lining and I was waking up with a face covered with blood from bleeding noses

But this pregnacy it's started a lot sooner and I've still 8 weeks to go 😥

Sorry you are feeling so unwell christine, def speak to your midwife about the discharge and refuse to leave until you have had some answers / advice. If it's been going on for that long then they really should be doing something about it...unless they can tell you with 100% certainty that it's nothing to worry about. Push them for help, they have a duty of care to look after you.

salene that sounds so awful you poor thing. Do you know what position baby is in? Sometimes breech can push onto the diaphragm more and make it uncomfortable so you could look to use a swiss ball or do some swimming to try to get babe to move position. The only other things I have read about that can prevent / help are diet related. Eat small meals often and give yourself some time after eating before bed for the food to digest and have your main meal of the day at lunchtime so you body has more time to process.

Things like rich, spicy, fatty, friend foods and also fizzy drinks, meat and sugar can make it worse and aggravate it, so I would stay clear of these if you are not already and make sure you are drinking enough water throughout the day. Have you tried fennel tea??

I would also recommend acupuncture if you haven't tried that, can be very beneficial for digestive issues. Really hope you get some relief soon from it

We had our first couples antenatal class last night, was rather amusing with all the husbands getting into deep breathing with sounds, back massages and looking at pictures of how the baby makes its exit (there were some shocked/confused faces!!)...looking forward to the next 6 weeks and learning lots of practical things!

No I've not tried fennel tea but I do have some is that meant to help..??

I'm not going to AN classes this time, last time we paid for NCT classes over 2 days
Me and my husband were bored to death so never bothered going back on second day as it was awful

We wished we had just gone to the local nhs one you get offered instead of wasting money on NCT

Yes fennel is a great for the digestive system, give it a try. Also ginger is another one as it contains gingerol which works as an anti nausea and antispasmodic so can help with acid reflux.

We're not doing the NCT course either, it was expensive, only on a Saturday and very over subscribed in the part of London we live, so are doing an active birth course alongside yoga which I have been doing for the past 8 weeks with a group of local girls all due around the same time. It's much more practical and is a nice group, so I am pleased we chose this route.

She was helpful for once! Got another swab and sent it off and should hear back in a few days, she thinks it's BV (so do I) baby is still head down and still measuring a week ahead. Hopefully this means it won't be long until we meet her!

That's great your getting somewhere CD. Hopefully it all gets sorted soon

Had some fennel and it has helped a lot , think I will try going down the route of self help rather than tablets etc hopefully if I don't eat much and after 3pm it might help the nights

salene can you be prescribed Omeprazole? Several of my friends have been prescribed it in third trimester - take one a day and they said it was life changing.

Thats great salene glad it helped a little! I would def give the self / natural help route a good go before you dose up on goodness knows what from the doctors. With things like heartburn and acid reflux, diet plays a huge part so hopefully you can treat it at home!

christine great you have made some progress too, hope you can sort it out once and for all.

Sorry you are suffering christine and salene. I find chocolate often gives me heart burn, do you eat much of that? I've been finding my asthma is much worse at night at the moment, so I'm seeing the asthma nurse tomorrow, hoping for a better inhaler! Never easy this pg lark!

Feeling your pain on the heartburn/acid reflux salene :-( Worse than the morning sickness IMO - I can't eat anything, and it's waking me up in the middle of the night too. Going to make a GP appointment before I give all my money to Mr Gaviscon!

Sophia you get gaviscon free from chemist on minor aliments clinic when pregnant , just ask for it and say you want it on minor alments.

Alfie I'd rather take the Zantac before omeprazole as it has effects on baby I reading it's a higher classed drug. But my whole thing is I'm nervous to take any prescription drugs for HB due to the fact they all cross placenta

Sophia sorry looks like you only get minor aliments clinic in Scotland so not sure where you live. If you live in Scotland you will get your gaviscon free

Sophia, I have had to take omeprazole my whole pregnancy due to having a hiatus hernia. They prescribe it all the time in the maternity visits, and they prescribe it for babies too. It put my mind at rest, especially at this stage, as if it is safe for the baby once she is born, I don't see how it could damage her now.

Oddly, try avoiding tomatoes as well as fatty or rich foods, and chocolate does make me so much worse.

Oops, sorry, meant Salene

I get horrible reflux and ibs all the time not just when pregnant so I did some research while ttc. Ormeprozole and renetidine (sp?) are both safe for use during pregnancy, Ormeprozole is class C which is the lowest and considered a routine drug for pregnant women. It been around forever and so has a proven track record of over 30 years for use in pregnancy. Renetidine is class B which is still safe, but not so much is known about how it works in pregnant women so it's a second line drug (it's the same class as over the counter hayfever meds). Also in the 3rd trimester there is more leniency about which drugs can be used as the vast majority of fetal development is completed so birth defects are not likely to result from drugs taken by the mother even if they do cross the placenta. You can also get gaviscon on prescription from your mw and that is completely safe and quite effective.

If you want to avoid drugs then some of the tips my consultant gave me are to prop the head of your bed up about 5cm with books or blocks under the legs. Extra pillows aren't as good because they make you slump. Ideally you want your digestive tract from neck to bum straight and elevated at the head end. A pillow under your bump can also help if you are laying on your side as the weight of the bump can distort the digestive tract making reflux and indigestion more likely. Don't eat for 2 hours before going to bed, gentle exercise helps, some things like running or aerobics can make it worse because of the bouncing! Don't ingnore the urge to go to the loo as that can cause everything to get a bit backed up meaning the gas starts escaping upwards instead of downwards.

Common triggers are dairy (especially milk), gluten and sugary foods including fruit and juices, coffee, fizzy drinks, garlic and onions even in processed foods and sauces, beans, green leafy vegetables and bananas are a bastard!

I am watching the reflux topic with interest. Been getting it quite bad and stupidly just ate a curry. At 9.30pm. Wish me luck ladies...

I'm up at 2 or 3 every morning with reflux so bad that it causes me to vomit for an hour. It's literally unbearable, I'm leant over the toilet every morning thinking "I can't do this anymore. I quit. I need a hospital" then can't get back to sleep which is making my cold and cough worse. Vicious circle!

So this is first night I've not had bad reflux

I had my last bit of food at 3pm and only ate some small amounts yesterday and had some fennel tea then just before bed I had some burning and had Camoline tea.

So I'm thinking I was causing it, my diet and eating habits

If it becomes unbearable I will take the tables given to me by GP but if I can self help I will try to do that first.

Good to hear Salene :-) Going to buy some fennel tea today.

Does anyone know if all midwife appointments are at the same place? I've heard nothing that tells me otherwise but I'm just wondering about how some people look around birth suites and hospitals, is it with anti natal classes? In their own time? Or via your midwife?