October 2017 #5!

[GimbleInTheWabe]

Hope no one minds me setting up a new thread- we were getting full up on the other one!

Here is the link to the deets sheet, feel free to add or edit your details as you please:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pa8LZMKMLvREYH4kFiNqn1dD7aTb053cT_KHvghwvSM/edit?usp=sharing

Bring on the third trimester aches, midwife appointments and birth plan chat!

I never had Braxton Hicks the first time round, but it does sound like it? I found Labour pains are much more in the lower back region.

Haven't been here for a while but have read through and am so excited to hear of all the babies getting in position, birth plans being decided and new people joining too! I even thought there might be one or two early arrivals by now but am glad they are all avoiding scaring us like that.

I've been having a change of birth plan every few days it seems. First my low placenta moved up just enough at the 36 week scan for a normal delivery, so I asked about home birth which was my original plan but had been off the cards until then. That had to go via the consultant midwife as I'd had a retained placenta and borderline post partum haemorrhage two years before. They phoned to give the approval just as I was in a taxi going to hospital with a small bleed and I was kept in overnight for monitoring as they couldn't find the source but luckily discharged next day and confirmed still ok for the home birth unless any more bleeding occurred, in which case they said I'd be induced unless they could detect the source. I had a great visit from the community midwife to plan the home birth and went upstairs to look out old sheets and towels etc to add to my crate of stuff to use on the day or go in a bag for hospital and then I had another bleed. Another overnight monitoring and consultant advised against home birth but didn't want to induce immediately and says I'm fine for the birth centre, and to use water if I want, as it's located within a hospital. That was a relief as a cannula is my single labour fear (such a big one that it blocks out anything else) and they don't use them in the birth centre. It's where I laboured with my son, and it is nice there.

My mum is good at birth stories. She had some difficulties that could potentially make for good horror stories (It almost certainly wouldn't happen now but I was a 42 week breech baby delivered vaginally under a failed epidural and she then carried two stone of amniotic fluid with my brother) but tells them in such a positive, happy way and about how she got through the difficulties, parts she enjoyed and the humour she found in some of it even at the time, that it made me look forward to having my son and that was exactly how I felt at the time too; even as things were really not going how I had hoped, I knew something positive was happening and also felt that I could look back on it as the start of something amazing and also maybe quite a funny experience.

Anyone picked up a Bounty Mother to Be pack? I got mine from Asda and got these things, had option to go to Tesco and Superdrug too so wondered how much they differed!

Hi to the new people!

Sorry to hear you won't get your home birth cineraria, but hopefully the birth centre will still be a good compromise!

Not sure about bh butterflygem. Can't remember if I had any with ds and never went into labour with him (planned cs) so I'm completely clueless! Everything official I read says they're not meant to hurt but I've read posts on here where people say they can. I sometimes get a really intense feeling of pressure and tightness but not sure if it's bh as it's only in the bottom third of my bump and lasts 5 minutes so doesn't really match the descriptions I've read!

Just had 36 week scan, another head down baby here, hurrah. Sonographer said head was really really low (too low to measure head size) which is interesting! Seeing midwife soon so maybe she can check if baby is engaged? And baby is estimated to be 7lb 3oz already. Yikes! I might pack some 0-3m clothes in my hospital bag... Oh and I completely forgot to ask if she could double check the sex. Not sure why but I keep thinking maybe they got it wrong at 20 week scan. Just another random thing I've decided to worry about.

I've had another scan today (36+3) due to reduced movements. They also said baby's head was very low down but yesterday the midwife said I was only 4/5 so unsure. Baby was fine and sucking away on thumb which was so clear you could see it swallowing and the tongue and lips moving! Was amazing. They estimated baby to be about 5.11 at the moment too which I think I can deal with!

I did have some crazy painful sharp pains today whilst walking and midwife thought it could have been baby moving down. My little boy was 2 weeks overdue and induced so I'm hoping so much that I don't have the same this time!

I'm a FTM so have no prior experience but I remember reading that contractions are much more painful than BH and more like period pains, but no idea if this is right @ButterflyGem!

@TippetyTapWriter I got our mw to double check the sex hah there's no doubting that I'm having a boy..!!

@asilikeit 4/5 engaged sounds like a lot to me? Is there a difference between head down and engaged? I have no idea

@tippety, my sonographer couldn't measure the head either as it was right up against my bladder 😬 don't I know it 😂.

@Gimble, once baby is head down the head had to burrow even deeper so that it's right up against the cervix ready for when you deliver. It is measured in 5ths, but can stay there for weeks sometimes. It isn't necessarily a sign that labour is near. First babies are more likely to engage around 36 weeks, subsequent babies may not engage until you go into labour, because the uterus has already stretched.

I'm a ftm too, but do a lot of research 😊

Ooh thanks @doomkittycleo. Good knowledge! My mw/the sonographer haven't mentioned about my lil guy being engaged so should I assume he isn't yet? He's been head down from 28weeks I think and I'm now 38+1 so he better engage soon cos I wanna meet him!

Gimble- the way the midwife explained it was that the numbers describe how much head they can feel that is not in the pelvis so in my case I took that to mean only 1/5 was in the pelvis and the rest out. I'm a 2nd timer so she also said it was more common for baby to not drop and engage right until labour

@ButterflyGem my contractions felt just like period pains, but they were regular. It took a couple of hours to realise they were coming and going and then I timed them and realised they were every 8 minutes. They got stronger and quicker from then on. If yours have stopped then maybe it was BH.

@SophieGiroux that is a good haul of bounty goodies. I've lost track of which freebies I've got and which I still need to collect, I got a full pack of Tesco nappies in one but never a vest.

I have a midwife appointment today, and a sneaky suspicion that this little monkey has turned head up again

butterflygem my Braxton hicks are usually just tightening without pain but for the past week or so they often come with a bit of cramping, have been getting increasingly strong over the past 2 days (I'm 38+2), but not regular or frequent. My first labour began (tmi) feeling like I really needed a poo, stomach bug type cramps, but they came regularly, were very intense and then were joined by lower back/bum period pain getting steadily closer and stronger. The second time I did have a day of early labour first which felt like strong BH with period pain but very regular, I could keep going about my normal day but they got progressively more frequent and painful through the day, proper labour started in the evening. You can't really miss established labour contractions but strong BH and early labour can feel similar ime, it's just about whether they build or ease off again!

Lost some of my plug last night and more this morning, I know it doesn't necessarily mean labour is imminent but I can't help getting excited! DS2 was born by this gestation so I'm getting impatient!

@Gimbleinthewabe, aren't you at Kings too? If you look at the online notes it will tell you how engaged you were at each appointment in the antenatal visits section of the health record. Oddly mine shows up in the Lie column not the Eng column.

I'm a second timer so the baby can bob in and out as he pleases due to the womb being more stretchy. He likes sticking out the front more because he is so nosy about lights and noise, I think.

Oh yay thanks @Cineraria!! I keep forgetting about the BadgerNet site had to reset my password, oops. So turns out he was 4/5ths engaged at my last appt. seemed like he was digging for freedom last night so wouldn't be surprised if he'd burrowed down further since then.

Good luck today @PingusMistress, let's hope the gymnastic little thing has stayed head down!

Any other signs/symptoms @thepotatoesofdefiance? Loosing your plug seems positive though since it's your second, how far a long are you?

Oh and thank you @asilikeit, I googled the 5ths thing and it made a bit more sense... that D grade I got in gcse maths is always coming back to haunt me...

Morning all. 35+4 today but woke up with stomach and back ache which has now transformed into mostly back ache. Got the hot water bottle out (thankfully I pre-booked the day off work today so been lying on the sofa.) Feel a bit queasy, baby wriggling around as usual. Can't tell if it's getting worse or staying the same, but it's been a couple of hours now. I guess I just wait to see how it plays out. Haven't had any period type pains all throughout my pregnancy.

Usually they mean how much they can still feel and so they normally would say 1/5 palpable which is more engaged than 4/5, as 1/5 means there is barely any head that they can feel, whereas 4/5 means they can feel 4/5 of the baby's head still. But I've heard there are a few midwives who like to confuse matters so you're best to double check their terminology!

Midwife confirmed my suspicions that he is breech. Little rascal! She said it is okay for now but will check again in two weeks.

Ahh shucks @PingusMistress, although as you know from my experience the little tinkers can definitely flip back down! Hope yours decides to! I had a little panic at aquanatal yesterday when I felt baby move massively and suddenly couldn't feel the head anymore (as if they go transverse again I have to go straight to hospital). My midwife is on annual leave for two weeks and I haven't been given contact details for another midwife so in the end I approached the lovely midwife running the aqua class and she very kindly examined me on the bench in the middle of the changing room with all the other mums around me (still in my swimming cossie!) Thankfully little one is still head down, phew. 😬

Sounds like everyone is having a day of it. Sorry to revel in it but its reassuring that i'm not the only one thats having a day of it!

Had some pain in my bump earlier, midwife said it sounds like a pulled muscle rather than anything more pressing but since then my back has started hurting too. Baby is wiggling around plenty so at least I know she is ok but I am worried I might go in to labour soon. Might be time to stuck the hospital bag in the car.

If that wasn't enough, we're having our kitchen done so the builders have taken our fridge freezer but not actually ordered the new one so they've just left all the food on the side! I'm off out to buy paint (!) so its looking like kfc for dinner before NCT!

Just popping in to say sorry to hear of all the woes and to add my own.

NEVER EVER EVER ATTEMPT TO MOVE HOUSE WHILE 8 MONTHS PREGNANT. DO NOT DO IT!!!!! JUST DON'T. Especially when having to deal with a shit of a landlord, a dodgy estate agent demanding extra fees to move out (not even a hint of this on the contract) then taking huge amounts of the rather hefty deposit for quite frankly ridiculous reasons, sofas getting stuck in the old flat due to landlord changing the door after we moved in, him then refusing to offer any solution except 'just leave it for the next tenants' (ummmm, ok, but doesn't solve problem of us having no sofa and new Ines are bloody expensive, not sure why we have to pay for a new one for something that is his fault?!). Oh and having a dp who doesn't get home consistently until about 9pm, essentially meaning I have had to do everything myself - so much for not lifting anything and taking it easy eh? Oh and not to mention new house is miles way from any shops/reliable transport links etc and I don't have a bloody car as dp has it for work.

That is all. Rant over.

Sorry.

Oh dear @boxesoffrogs .  and sympathy. What a nightmare!

Hope you have found somewhere to store your fridge contents @Bobbiepin

Glad all is okay @mummabubs and baby is still behaving. Sounds like a bit of a weird situation to be in, having a midwife examination in your cossie!

When the midwife was feeling my bump today she said I was having a Braxton Hicks. I couldn't really feel it until she put my hand on my tummy. So i might have been having them for ages and just not known about it!

Sorry to hear everyone is having a tough day.

I'm not feeling too fab myself. Baby is happily dancing away, but I constantly feel like I need a wee, but not much happens (? A bit dehydrated), feel really hot (but according to thermometer don't have a fever), DP has a cold so perhaps I'm starting with that too), feel really bloated and can't finish my dinner and my ribs are sore.

DP has also been irritating me today as he keeps going out and doing jobs and when I ask him to do things he's "too busy".

To add insult to injury I had planned to go to aquanatal as I saw a poster for it at the Drs, tried to call this morning to check it was on and there was no answer (called about 5 times), took a chance and showed up only to be told they don't do it anymore. Plus it was a 25 minute drive away .

Sorry this has become a rant, but I'm just in a sh!tty mood today.

Sorry to everyone having a rubbish day. Hope those with aches and pains feel better, and sending head down vibes to you pingus.

boxes your post made me feel stressed just reading it! Sounds like a nightmare. Hope the rest of the move goes well and you're all settled soon.

for everyone having a shite day.

boxes I thought moving at 20 weeks was bad enough, you're a trooper! Hope you get a nice comfy couch in soon.

doomkitty that would piss me off no end about the aquanatal. I once cried in the street because I was too late to get into my pregnancy yoga due to a late train.

I'm afraid I'm going to add to the shite day/week stories. Had dinner with a friend last night, thought we were just going to have a nice wee time but she told me, in graphic detail, her horrible birth story. This one had everything, it was like Nightmare on fucking Elm Street. After that I went home and cried all over DH.

Had midwife this morning and mentioned I was itchy so she did a liver function test and they want me back in tomorrow because liver function is elevated and they think it might be obstetric cholestasis. That gave me a real fright but we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Late pregnancy solidarity to everyone.

Isn't it shit that we can't drink when it sounds like we could all do with a glass (or 6) of wine! Hope you all have a better day tomorrow