Due in February 2017...thread #2!

[SkyLucy]

A thread for all of us who have very recently discovered we're upduffed, with a due date of the achingly-long-away February 2017. It's early days for us all so there's lots of good news, sad news, sage advice and never-too-silly questions.

Second thread already! First is here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/antenatal_clubs/2642653-Due-in-February-2017?

jojo that is exactly how I felt in my last pregnancy and fully expect to feel soon. You have all my sympathy.
The CVS is a more intrusive way of determining chromosome abnormalities but it gives you a 100% certain answer. It's only done if you get a high risk in your initial screening. The initial screening measures the nuchal fold at the back of your baby's neck at the 12 week scan and also involves a blood test. Together with age and family history they come up with a risk factor. Last time mine was around 1:2000 so low risk. Of course it doesn't mean that there's not an issue, just a low probability of one. If you get high risk (1:150 or more I think) you go for further screening like a CVS or amino or some places offer a Harmony test. Hope that makes sense!

Thanks friendly and sweetpea. I do like exercising but it's the last thing on my mind at the mo. Last night's dinner was 3 kinds of garlic bread! DH thinks the baby might be French

I think re the screening I'll fall into the "at risk" category, being ancient at 37 so will try and ask for it at midwife appointment on Tuesday.

jojo the only reason I can even think about it is because I've been signed off work- I thought I would use the time to try and build my strength up! If I was working full time I would be crawling home and making DH feed me garlic bread.

jojo, there's a small (very small) risk of miscarriage from a cvs test or amniocentesis test. The risk is less than the outdated 1 in 200 statistic that's usually quoted, but it was enough to make me decide not to have additional testing last time. I decided I'd wait to see what the nuchal translucency test at the 12 week scan said, and then if that came up with a high risk (e.g. less than 1 in 150) then I'd consider additional testing. I think my risk came out at about 1 in 4,500 so I decided not to take the risk of any more invasive testing. I think most people wait until after the first scan for that reason.

scary I work out regularly (spin classes, running, pilates and yoga). I read that in the first trimester you should overheat as its linked to some fairly nasty outcomes so instead of spinning I have been doing the rowing machine and the elliptical at a slow enough pace that I could have a conversation still. I've also started walking more (hitting over 10,000 steps a day) and doing more yoga and pilates than before to make up for the lack of spinning class. After the first trimester I might start doing higher intensity cardio again as apparently the risks to the baby of overheating are greatest in the first trimester.

Kimmy do you mean the tests for Downs? I plan to get all of the screening for the same reasons the others have said.

jojo hope youre okay!! im the same with the smoke :(

Haz maybe just something not at strenuous, if you havent done it for a few weeks, but im sure if you speak to a PT they will help :)
Also with the doppler it may be early, MW wont use it until 16 weeks and says then they might not hear anything, maybe wait until around scan time?

jojo im not doing any exercise just now, just work all day home and sleep but only want to start so i dont gain too much weight as i cant afford to gain much! im already quite big

xx

jojo if you want to know you can get NIPT testing done (either Harmony or Panorama). You may have to pay for it but it is 100% accurate with zero risk of miscarriage. Just wanted to let you know there are other options.

that should have read you should not* overheat ....

Jojo although age is a factor it doesn't automatically mean you are high risk. One of my friends got 1/10000 at 37.

I've got a scan tomorrow morning at the epu. I'm freaking out a bit but at least I'll know definitively if the shoulder pain is something to worry about.

Haz I got a doppler last time and used it from about 10 weeks. Not everyone can find the heartbeat consistently so early as it's all to do with positioning. Some people find that they cause more stress because finding the heartbeat can be inconsistent. Personally it worked for me and calmed me down a lot until I could feel her moving.

london that's really helpful to know! My plan is to just do the squats and cool down routines to keep it really easy for the first trimester, and then see how I'm feeling after that. I would just feel good to do something to make me feel stronger!

jojo, age is definitely not the only factor in it, I know plenty of women closer to 40 who had very low risk for trisomies on their nuchal screening. I think mine was something like 1:8000 last time, so definitely didn't opt for further tests. I will say, however, that there is still that ONE who will end up with a trisomy (whether Down's, Patau's, or Edward's) despite the low risk. My cousin's wife had a low risk result of something like 1:10000, but their baby ended up having Down's Syndrome. He's absolutely fine, just has some heart problems relating to the Down's. I don't want to scare anyone, though, it's just something to keep in mind.

Good luck with your scan tomorrow Spin
I've got mine in the morning too - I feel sick with nerves !

Well done to everyone still regularly exercising - I barely had the energy to run for the bus today!

scary I'm sure spinning would be fine for some but my class gets really hot and I have a hard time not keeping up in a group so I don't trust myself to take it easy. I'm too competitive!

I think my instructor is annoyed though. I'll explain once I'm further along why I've ditched his class!

Only exercise I'm getting is normal walking, but I'm still managing 15k steps most days, so feel that's enough. I end up hitting a wall of exhaustion by 2pm, though!

Maybe a silly question, is the testing for the risk of trisomies done at the 12 week scan? Or is it something that is done separate?

sienna they measure the nuchal folds at the 12 week scan, and use the blood test taken for your booking bloods to screen for chromosomal abnormalities. Then at the 20 week scan they measure in more detail and check again for any indication for abnormalities.

London it's the nuchal folds measurement scary explains above.

I've got a really silly question for you all that DH & I were discussing last night -

9 months is roughly 36 weeks so how come we're pregnant for 40 weeks - surely that's 10 months of pregnancy??

Thanks Scary, that's good to know. My first pregnancy so I don't know a lot at this stage,

I had the scan... They found the sac and dated it between 5 and 6 weeks. So that sounds about right. Unfortunately, the sac is near the bottom of my uterus and there is a "sizable" clot above it. They said that if that clot comes away, it will take the baby with it. I'm still not sure what to make of the CBD result though. Urine based tests are pretty inaccurate anyway so there is a chance that baby is still ok for now but is at risk from the clot sitting above it... or it has recently stopped developing but this won't be picked up until my scan next week. God knows....

Did they say what had caused the clot Flying ? Really hope you get good news next week, will be a nervous wait I'm sure.

sienna have you registered with the NHS online pregnancy page? I found it so helpful for explaining each stage! It is all such a mystery when you start.

flying today, you are pregnant. I'm so sorry it wasn't a more positive scan, but I'm also so happy that they could see the sac and it was measuring approximately the right dates. I hope the next week goes quickly for you

Oh Flying - really good to hear from you, I've been thinking about you. I would take the CBD with a pinch of salt but I am sorry to hear about the clot. Good that you have a scan next week - I hope the time passes quickly and calmly for you and you stay well in the meantime.

High - not a stupid question at all. I think it works like this...

9 months isn't 36 weeks. It's 39.1 weeks! (For the maths geeks...anyone??):
365 / 12 = 30.4
30.4 x 9 = 273.7
273.7 / 7 = 39.1

Then of course, you need to add on the cheeky two weeks between start of LMP and ovulation. So yeah...40-41 weeks does (sort of) equal nine months. Rachel Riley eat your heart out.

High I think its partly because the average month is not 4 weeks (28 days) but 30-31 days. If you take the total number of days in typical 9 month span and divide it by 7, you get just over 38-39 weeks (depending on start date). So most women (including the two weeks pre-conception after last LMP) are pregnant for just around 9 months.