August 2016 number 5 - waddling towards the third trimester!

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For the August 2016 ladies and babies!

Congrats Christine! Sounds like it was definitely the right decision. I am in a lot of pain too, but managing with rests and can't imagine having to do any kind of physical work like you were doing! Enjoy your holiday and leave :-)

No birth plan here yet as such. I thought I was all set for giving birth in our local MLU (seems relaxed, nice midwives, have heard good things from mums who've delivered there before) but now I'm not so sure as an emergency transfer to the hospital would take 45 minutes at the very quickest and I keep reading horror stories (I know). The other option is to give birth at the hospital or its alongside MLU which would realistically take us an hour to get to from home but I keep thinking that's quite a way - what if I ended up giving birth in the car if they told me to wait at home too long?! Anybody else got similar distances to consider? I don't know if I'm just being paranoid.

Also been meaning to post to say JW glad to see that you're back, and hello to the new folks too!
Christine that's fab that you're done now, congratulations! Get yer feet up!

Congrats on finishing work Christine. You will enjoy the resting now I'm sure and will be all ready for the baby to come. It's better not to push yourself for the sake of a few weeks.

Interesting to read the birth plans. Crunchy are you closer to the hospital at home than at the mlu? If so could you consider a home birth? My friend did this as she lives closer to the hospital than the mlu and thoughts she would actually be able to get to hospital quicker from her house if necessary. All went well, so was not necessary.

Saw the midwife today. Listened to the heart beat again, so lovely! Was 148, 158 last time. Do we think boy or girl with that?

Hi everyone, can I join please? I'm 26wks today with baby number 3. Due 24 August with a wee girl, which is lovely as I have two boys already. I've just been reading the thread about how accurate scans are for predicting sex though, and now I feel worried that my girl will be another boy, but the sonographer seemed quite sure.

crunchy my nearest hospital with any maternity facilities is about 45 minutes away, and I am worried too, especially as this is DC3 so likely to be a bit speedier! When I had DS2 it took the ambulance nearly 2 hours to turn up (we had no other way to get there and were told by the midwives to call them to arrange an ambulance when things started up) as they kept getting diverted to other calls. That was okay as DS2 took a while to arrive, but I'm worried this time that it will all happen much faster.

Sorry for all of you in pain. I keep getting sore stitches in my side when I walk any distance at all, but okay apart from that. I'm just soooooo tired. DS2 still wakes most nights, and I can't get comfy and keep needing to pee in the night.

Wow MrsS congrats!! You did it, massive well done!! Short hair actually really suits you too
Oh and re sore bump - I find if baby is in an awkward spot and pushing his bum out it can get really sore & tender where the skin is being stretched - could it be that maybe??
Christine congrats on finishing work! Enjoy this time off, make the absolute most of it before the crazy new-baby days hit us all! I finished at 37 weeks with DD and honestly wish I'd spent those 3 weeks just laid on the sofa watching telly and doing absolutely nothing.
fizzy and longtime fingers crossed for you both that things go smoothly and you both get the births you want. FWIW an ELCS is a very different prospect to an EMCS - the experience, the recovery time, the associated emotions.
Owl I think girl! Did it sound like a train or a galloping horse? That's supposed to be a sign of girl/boy too, although I can't remember which is which so that's not very helpful!
Welcome AA2 and Flap, good to have you here

No birth plan here. Never had one last time either, just booked for a homebirth, thought we'd see how it went and it all turned out OK. Will be doing pretty much the same again - I might hire a birth pool though, purely because of the pelvic pain this time round. Think the pool will make movement easier and take the pressure off my hips. Couldn't be bothered to organise it last time but it'll be worth it I think. Provided I stay low risk etc of course.
A horrible, grey, grim day here. DD has preschool this afternoon and I have so much I should be doing (moving day a week today!) but we were out at the farm park all day yesterday and I feel like I've earned an afternoon of chill time. Won't be able to do it for long so may as well make the most of it!

Thank you everyone. I feel like it's a waste and like I've failed a bit being done so early. I'm 28 weeks tomorrow but maternity doesn't officially start until I'm 34 weeks so atleast technically I'm not wasting that yet. Can't wait for our room to be finished, I won't relax until then and that will be a few weeks but atleast this way il be here to overlook everything. Before this I wasn't going to be able to pick the carpet colour! Picked the colour for the feature wall the other day (chic shadow dulux) for anyone interested

christine if you have a UTI could you have got the GP to sign you off for a week and save a weeks holiday? Just w thought.

I'm going to be working until the summer holidays which is 5 weeks to go woohoo!

28 week appointment today - owl mine was 142 last time and I'm having a girl. I'll see what it is today though.

four not long until moving! Are you getting packers into help? At least you still have plenty of time before baby arrives.

Welcome newcomers! waves

Had anybod heard from lily recently? Wondering how her rest is going.

I did think about it, but after the last time I tried and being told "pregnancy is not an illness" I just thought it's not worth being pissed off again

No birth plan here. I didn't have one either with the first 2, other than me and baby being healthy at the end! There's no MLU in my area and as a medical professional I tend to focus a bit too much on the 'what ifs' so the idea of a home birth is not for me. I think I might try and see if I can use the birthing pool but other than that I plan to go with the flow and see how it goes!

bearhuggy no, I left Wilmslow to go to uni and my parents have since moved too - we have relatives still in Cheshire though, it is a lovely part of the country.

christine hope you are enjoying your first day off! I'm planning on working quite late, but frankly it's more restful at work than at home in the school holidays with a 5 and nearly 8 year old!

Anybody else dying suffering with PGP? I've had it since 16 weeks, and I'm now 26.
I've been fitted for the support band thing, but it doesn't help at all! I'm on 30mg/500g co-codamol and have been for about 2 weeks. These helped at first, but now they're barely touching the pain, and just making me drowsy.
The pain is all the way to my knees, and feels like I've been stabbed in the 'downstairs area'. I can't walk for more than 20 paces without wanting to cry
How is anybody else coping with this?! I thought I had a high pain threshold, having gone through a natural labour and birth no problem, and having gallbladder problems (that were worse than labour, just a btw )
I'm really struggling, and thanking my lucky stars I have a DH who's not working atm to look after our DS

That sounds awful erica. I have a bit of PGP this time, but not as bad as that. Mine is mainly at the public symphysis and worst at night time. I have been really limiting my walking and bending - DH has been really good about stopping me doing too much especially after one of the school mums told him a horror story about her friend who had extremely bad PGP. (I thanked her the next time I saw her!)

Erica have you seen a physio? It might be worth another trip to the GP as I'm sure they must have something else they can offer you. I've been getting a bit of pain but nowhere near that bad!

I've just had my first meeting with my lactation consultant. She was really nice and actually listened to me talk about what happened last time round and gave me some good ideas about why. It's really helped me sort things out into stuff I can do something about, things that happened last time but that might not happen again so not to worry about them and things that were specific to what happened last time and so are unlikely to happen again this time. She said there is a link between PCOS and finding it hard to establish bf which nobody ever told me before! Apparently it can effect your milk flow which can have knock on effects on feeding. She also had some good advice for how to get feeding established after a section. She is going to come back after I've had the baby to help me get everything right. I think I've decided that establishing good breastfeeding is more important to me than a vbac. And after my experience last time I don't think I care about it enough to go into having a new baby feeling like a zombie (I had a very long labour followed by an awful, long stay in hospital). So I think it might be an elective for me! I have a thread talking about my last birth here if you want to see it, but I don't want to scare anyone so if you don't want to know then don't look! I'm going to write my birth plan for a section now and I suppose I need to talk to my mw if i can find her about getting booked in for the elective... I'm actually looking forward to having a date now!

Christine have you enjoyed your first day off? Sounds like it was the right decision for you. x

PickleBot and LotsofDots - I sadly can't do physio as I have fibromyalgia! The stretching, pulling and manipulating isn't worth the discomfort I have afterwards. Just feel a bit lost!
Anyone else feel like, because you're pregnant there's no real help for pain? I'm 99.9% sure people would be taking themselves to A&E if they had anything like this without pregnancy!
The GP I saw was lovely, and much more helpful than my Midwife, although she did scare me a little, as she said I was at risk of snapping my pelvic muscle?! (Or something to that effect, I was kind of in deep shock after hearing the word 'snap' )

Longtime lurker checking in!

I've got a DS who's 3 (4 in August) and I'm due my DD in August 6th!!!

I've got the beginnings of it Erica but it doesn't sound anywhere near as bad :-( spent two hours at doctors today- had to see midwife to get blood tests done (she was late) then casually mentioned I'd been getting awful leg cramps and she said I should see the GP today in case it was DVT. Waited another hour to see him, got prodded and poked (the closest I've been to any action since being on pelvic rest!) and he's established I've got toght hamstrings because of how I'm having to walk due to pelvic pain. He then pondered how I could manage hamstring stretches with bump in the way! I'm feeling utterly fed up. I teach in various schools so am constantly on my feet or getting buses/walking between places and it's so uncomfortable :-( will be teaching pretty much till end of term and there's no way to get out of it as my freelance colleague/maternity cover is on holiday in July. I just feel so, so tired.

Sophia1984 - Oh god that sounds awful I'm so lucky in the fact I'm a SAHM and my DH has been able to leave work until well after DS2 is here. Don't know what I'd do without him!
It's very hard having all these medical people tell you to take it easy, it's not as simple as it sounds!
I've invested in Birkenstock sandals, which do seem to help as they support my feet and legs properly when I have to walk or stand ( cooking and dish washing mainly!)
I just feel useless! I'm only 22! Feel like a 90 year old in need of a hip replacement!
Hopefully it'll get a little better for you, make sure you're wearing proper shoes and get as much rest and sitting as you can!

I've been wearing my Birkenstocks too and they definitely help. Also, no laces or buckles!

I went to a group physio session and really it wasn't about any exercises per se, just pelvic floor ones and then advice on what to do and not do. So, no lifting toddlers, no emptying washing machines or dishwashers - because of the way you stand up from the position required. Advice about how to lie in bed (build a pillow fort) and suggestions to maybe try sitting on a Swiss ball.

PGP sympathy and pain here too. My physio appt last week was more realistic in that she recognised that there are times when I have to carry DS. If I do, then carry him front on, rather than on my hip.
I've also put a cushion in the car which helps with driving (changing gear was agonising before that). She gave me exercises to do and a tighter tubigrip to wear.
She was also of the opinion that women are often given crutches too late and rather than waiting until walking is near impossible, crutches can be used from time to time (like when doing lots of walking or particularly sore) to help prevent things getting worse. What she said made sense, but I still hope to avoid needing them at all!

Sorry to hear so many people are in pain. Must be awful, hope things ease up soon.

Pickle, sounds like you had a rough time last time, so sorry to hear. I'm going for an elcs, and I did with my son. The recovery was longer than the natural birth, but because you are not so physically exhausted as after an emcs you will probably find it much easier. Good luck with the bf advice too, knowledge is power as they say.

Not sure that was totally clear, sorry. What I meant was the recovery after an elcs is probably quicker than after an emcs.

Glenco I feel this baby is a girl, all the evidence points to a girl. Almost certainly a boy then!

Just had my 28 week mw appointment and measured 29cm. Her head is still down, back along the side of my belly and feet up at my ribs. She's so ready to come out I know it! Is 29cm big? She literally just said a number, wrote it down and nothing else. I asked when I'd start getting a weight for her and she said that at this stage they're usually 3 or 4 pounds. That seems huge?!

Hi Christine.

At my 28-week appointment (which was done at 27 weeks I measured 27 cm. The midwife said that was bang in the middle of the range and put a cross on the 50th percentile line in the growth chart. Do you have a growth chart in your notes? That should help clarifying things.

As for the weight, I don't know how much my baby weighs, but according to various apps and websites they are around 1 kg at 28 weeks (just over 2 pounds).

Well she was 1lb 10oz at 24weeks 3 days so she's definitely more than average! Il attach a picture of growth chart, the cross is above the line but I assume she thought that was okay

My midwife told me yesterday that the rule of thumb is a 1:1 correspondence between bump size in cm and how many weeks pregnant so 28 cm at 28 weeks, but that 3cm either side of that is considered to be within the average range.

I measured 28cm at 26weeks so was 2cm bigger than expected but still fine.

Hope that helps?