November 2018 #3

[olderthanyouthink]

Ante-natal thread for babies due this November, continued...

Stats spreadsheet is here - add and update yourself as needed!

@MeredithShepherd @Saraswati My midwife said I could just take vitamin D once I've had the 12 week scan. I've got a couple of pregnacare pre conception left that I'm just going to take and use up and then might swap to the vitamin D spray (I heard it's absorbed best this way) and my normal veggie multi vitamin. She didn't mention about tongue tie risk.... I think I'll read up on it.

I'm 11 weeks tomorrow and it's getting harder and harder to hide this bump. I'm so scared I'm going to get huge again. I weighed myself this morning and I've not actually put on any weight yet... my boobs are definitely bigger and this stomach! Has anyone got any reassuring words that I won't become humongous? I put on about 3 stone in my last pregnancy and I really struggled towards the end 😭.

@MeredithShepherd me too! I bought a good deal on Amazon with lots to se me through!

Just read this and I’m still confused why midwives give different advice? Surely there is an NHS/NICE guideline that they stick to? I’ve still got some pregnacare left anyway, might call my midwife team when they run out and see what they say.

And this

My MW has also advised to keep taking at least Folic Acid and Vitamin D all the way through!

@Nightmanagerfan thanks for the advice will look for some of that!

Yes I do feel better, more ‘normal’, was hoping it wasn’t a bad sign but someone said the placenta starts taking over and that’s why we feel better.

Oh my goodness, it's a minefield of advice out there isn't it?! I follow someone on Twitter who is very anti folic acid through pregnancy because of various reasons, but mainly because it affects vitamin B12 levels, and a deficiency of that has many many impacts for baby. (@sallyB12movie if anyone is interested) Some studies also show that a lot of synthetic folic acid just ends up gathering in the umbilical cord. I've also heard folate is better, but I struggled to find it when trying to conceive, so just went on the standard vits. Despite knowing all the various risks to either way, as a first time mum I'm scared to do anything not recommended by the health service, and they've told me vitamins all they way through. But people have been having healthy babies for millennia, vitamins supplements are only a recent invention! Arg, information overload!

Oh I didn't know about the link between folic acid and tongue tie. DC2 had a 100% front tie that was a nightmare to sort. I'll have to look into that.

Finally told all the family about DC3. Some mixed responses! Especially as I started a new job this week. Then when I explained it was all fine and I'd told them at interview, a few grumps that work had known first can't win!

Also we told the DCs after the scan and they are both totally over the moon. DD is nearly 4 and baby obsessed. She is constantly kissing my belly . The only thing is that now they know and are so excited, I'm feeling much more anxious about something going wrong because they would be devastated.

I'm now utterly confused!!!! Nevertheless thanks everyone I'm kinda glad it isn't just me being daft! The nhs guidance said up to 12w last time and the same this time online re folic acid on their page online, and my midwife backed that up that I didn't need to beyond 12w, but I'm so confused why it seems so inconsistent everywhere!! Seems like people are told so many different things. My midwife asked me about my diet and said vitamin d is optional at booking because it is summer but I'm wondering whether that advice is location specific (I'm South?!). I didn't take it with DD either but I'm not sure that advice was around 4+ yrs ago although my memory is foggy! I wouldn't thought it would differ that much across regions of the UK, surely it should be consistent, but who knows!! The nhs guideline online said you may wish to consider vitamin d but not that it is necessarily essential. Ugh. I've not taken it all I'm now thinking perhaps I should have but my midwife didn't seem bothered and said it's my choice, and only worried that I was on folic acid. How is something so simple so complicated?!!!!!

I think the main thing with folic acid is to protect against neural tube defects (spina bifida, anencephaly). The tube actually closes early in the first trimester. The advice about 12 weeks may well be to cover uncertainty about dates (as this times with the dating scan).

Otherwise, do you need a multivitamin or folic acid in later pregnancy? I'm not really sure about evidence for that. Might also look into the tongue tie thing. There is a lot of nonsense online about everything, though.

Folate/folic acid can cause neurological problems if given to a person severely deficient in B12, who would be very likely to have an abnormal FBC (checked at your booking bloods) as a result - mainly applies to the extremely malnourished (think anorexia and alcoholics). Don't think average pregnant woman needs to worry about that.

There is emerging evidence about a link between low vitamin D exposure in childhood and increased risk of MS. Vitamin D deficiency is very common in the British population because if our northern latitude. It can cause tiredness and increases the risk of osteoporosis in later life. And you can't overdose on it (our bodies produce the stuff from sun exposure) so I can see no harm in everybody (including pregnant women) taking it all of the time, or definitely over the winter months. I've always meant to do this myself but haven't actually gotten around to it except for one winter when I took it consistently!

Sorry correction, folate is actually the other name for vitamin B12. Its different from folic acid.

Hmm the vitamin advice is so confusing. I couldn’t stomach pregnacare so have just taken folic acid (stopped now at 12 weeks) and will continue with high strength vitamin D for the rest of the pregnancy- I take this anyway all year round as I’m pale skinned, hate the sun and never sit out in it even in summer.

@meredith thanks so much for the bump pic! Look just like mine and I can’t tell you how encouraging that is for me. I’ve been finding the body changes more difficult than I expected and like you am scared of gaining lots of weight. I have been underweight to normal weight all my adult life and am not enjoying the prospect of being heavier! It’s completely irrational as there’s a very good reason for it, but even so.

Enjoy the sunshine today all. I wanted to say how much I appreciate this group

• we havent told many people yet (waiting for scan tomorrow), so it’s been invaluable to be able to share it, and all my questions, with you all.

@Nightmanagerfan

I find the idea of my body changing a lot really creepy. I feel like I'm already fatter (probably due to eating 80% carbs if the last few weeks) but keep reminding myself a lot of it is bloat too. At times my belly is huge and not a nice shape, more like a beer belly. I have resisted the urge to track my weight. Do like the large round boobs though!

@Nightmanagerfan

Omg also scan tomorrow so exciting! Good luck!

@Shrimpi Ahh, that helps explain why folic acid affects B12 - if it's the synthetic form? Still, it's so confusing and just proves that we have a lot to learn about how the body works. I'm hoping to get back to the healthy eating regime soon, although I still feel sick I'm actually craving healthier stuff now which is nice. So in that case I might just go down to the cheap vit D tablets.

I too am a bit weirded out by the body changes, and I know there's a lot more to come. I've loads of spider veins just under my boobs, which is the first 'ahhh crap!' moment for me! I haven't put on any weight but I'm so bloated I look like I have. Again, fingers crossed I can cut the carbs back soon!

I had to get up at 5am this morning because I was hungry, so made myself a bacon and cream cheese bagel. I felt rubbish last night so went to bed really early, so unsurprising that I got hungry!

@Mayah, could it be hunger causing your sickness after naps? I have to eat every 2 hours in order to stop the nausea, and as mentioned, sleep often gets in the way! I delayed breakfast yesterday whilst DH went to the shops and ended up being horribly sick, even though I'd had a banana an hour previous. Obviously my stomach needed something more substantial!

While we're on the subject of big bumps and body changes... the first photo is my bump today at just 11+4 or so. The second is me last year when I was 32 weeks pregnant. Something tells me I'm going to be bigger this time!

My bump at 13 + 2 is definitely the same type of size as when I was around 24 weeks with DC1. I know this because with DC1 I bought a maternity dress for work that looked silly until 24 weeks because it had space for a bump and I hardly had one. I tried it on last week and it fit really well! I remember being bigger quickly with DC2 but this is even quicker.

This bump feels a lot less firm than previously but I did have quite a "pouch" since DC2.

Having said that, when the sonographer did the scan she had to go high up because baby seems higher than average so some of it is baby rather than crisps.

@pipsqueak126

I actually confused myself and was right the first time! It is Vitamin B9 that is known as folate (and can be supplemented with the folic acid which your body just turns into folate) and Vitamin B12 is a different B vitamin. Then there's also thiamine (Vitamin B1) and many others!

Not exactly. It's not so much about any difference between "synthetic" or natural - fundamentally these vitamins are just ingredients for your body to do stuff with, and their biochemical structure is what it is.

But your body uses a a combination of B vitamins to make things like your brain and spinal cord work properly, to produce red blood cells... If you were malnourished and very deficient in some vitamin B groups it would be important for doctors to replace the vitamins in the right order. But that isn't really relevant to normal pregnant women so you noone here needs to fret about it!

The only thing I would say is it's very difficult to get vitamin B12 in a strict vegan diet.

So sad to hear your news @Tinypaws , and @Toasterstrudle , glad you are enjoying your cider now and looking after yourselves.

Lovely news @NoCatsHere , glad your worries were unfounded and the reassurance scan went well 

Lovely scan pictures! Mine is on Wednesday, can’t wait! Got the 4 year olds birthday done and dusted, and the first bbq of the year – just earmarking next week to go and get some more maternity stuff, mine is just not cutting it anymore – need some maternity leggings at the very least!

@MeredithShepherd I’ve had random sex dreams too mostly including exes from about 12-15 years ago, and certainly none that I’ve ever had an awake thought about! Obviously in dreams they are sex gods though, not complete assholes Also a rather unsolicited dream about Philip Schofield the naughty silver haired fox

Found out that I now have Group B Strep too, not sure what to do or how to go on from here – think it just involves a load of antibiotics in labour but can’t be sure! 12 weeks yesterday, so hopefully should be towards the safety zone now – can’t wait until the scan

I’m taking the Tesco brand pregnancy multivitamin, which does have folic acid in but its only £3.50 for 30 rather than £9 odd!

Awful first day of holiday, I had a huge gush of blood when we left the apartment this morning which was terrifying. We went to the hospital and had a scan (vaginal, first time for me) baby was bobbing around and heard the heartbeat, such a relief. The doctor thankfully spoke some English, he thinks the bleeding is from the placenta attaching. I was given a progesterone injection and have suppositries to take for 10 days and 3 more injections once every 3 days that dp has to give me. I'm still bleeding but it's much less. I have to be on bed rest for 3 days (not much of a holiday but of course I'll do what I need to). I'm so scared this pregnancy is going tits up now but I'm hopeful that we saw a heartbeat.

I called my mum and cried down the phone, I hadn't told her yet, not really how I wanted to spill the beans! All I can do now is rest and keep my fingers crossed that this little one sticks around

@Saraswati

Oh no how awful and frightening for you. Fingers crossed things turn out okay for you. Just remember whatever has happened doesn't at the moment seem to have affected little one at all (on the scan) x

@saraswati that sounds so scary - are you in the EU?

Yeah in sicily, went straight in and saw a gynaecologist (didn't have to go to a&e first) no waiting and only had to pay 16 euros for my prescription. Really great healthcare, very impressed! Bloody brexit will screw that up!

Fingers crossed all will continue to be fine @Saraswati. Glad you were able to be seen and sorted while away, I always worry about what if anything were to happen abroad!

@Saraswati how scary for you, hope things calm down and have a lovely holiday x