February 2019 babies. The third trimester: it's all starting to feel very real now!

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Here we are again ladies with another new thread..... maybe some of these babies may make an appearance on this one!

Can't believe how late some of you guys are working, I had planned on working until 38 weeks but really glad I'm stopping at 36. Maybe I will regret it if DD is late but I'm so tired and feel like there is still a load of stuff to sort which I'm not managing while working. I'm really not sure how you manage with other young children. This pregnancy has been pretty unpleasant and I'm starting to think maybe having one only wouldn't be awful.

Thick question here - but I have this horrible acid-y burning in my throat / asophagus. Is that what you call reflux? Or heartburn? And what can I do to fix it? It's horrible and making me feel so sick 😭

@detachablehoof Not a thick question, I had never had heartburn until I became pregnant! Heartburn I would describe as being a burning feeling but further down than throat as in high chest or quite low down if oesophogas but sounds like indigestion/reflux/heartburn

Try Rennie tablets or Gaviscon and see if that helps

Also try not to lie down straight after eating. If you do, it can help to have more pillows to prop yourself up so gravity is on your side

I finish my main job on the 24th Jan and also have 2 of my psychotherapy clients to finish up with over the next 2-3 weeks. I also have a load of uni work that I was planning to finish up, but my concentration and procrastination is 1000 times worse with so many baby things to distract myself with.

Finding it really hard to find the balance between trying to keep getting out and keeping active and the accompanying (and increasing) pain and fatigue levels. Back to work on Thursday and not entirely sure how I'll manage to keep up with it all until the end of Jan!

On the plus side we found a load of foreign currency from various holidays around the house and so I cashed it all in (they even have these amazing note/coin machines in London where you can exchange even out of circulation notes and coins - we got £16 for a random old Danish note!). It was enough to pay for a Cowshed pregnancy massage so I'm booked in for next week. I AM SO BLOOMING EXCITED.

Hospital bag is half packed. Not sure what to give birth in, I don't own any nighties. I also don't own button down pyjamas that would be good for BF as my boobs are too big/I'm too wriggly to make them comfortable. I don't really want to buy any more things but guess nursing pyjamas/loungewear is going to pay for itself pretty quickly! La Redoute have a sale on at the moment so I'm currently checking that out.

@alicerr thanks so much for replying. I've noticed that it's worse when I'm sitting hunched or if I bend down to pick something up. Everything must be getting so squished inside!! I really can't wait to have my un-pregnant body back - suddenly realising how much I took my healthy body for granted.

Very grateful to have a healthy pregnancy too, of course. Five weeks to gooooo!!!

@detachablehoof I know how you feel. I talk about my PGP or heartburn or backache and then feel guilty as most important thing is a healthy baby! We are human though 😊

I think it is everything getting squashed and pushed up. My heartburn is getting worse but probably don’t have it as bad as some

5 weeks and 5 days to due date for me although my Mum is convinced baby will arrive by end of Jan!

@AliceRR and @Rowse I have the medela. I had the tommee tippee one but didn't get on with it so bought it after a recommendation from a friend. It was brilliant.

They also have a good re-sale value if you wanted to pass on after this one- you can sterilise all the parts so people don't seem to mind second hand ones. I kept mine for this one though.

Also, it isn't recommended to express for 6 weeks-offering a bottle before can make breast feeding harder work as the baby can get confused between breast and bottle and it's easier to get milk out of a bottle so some babies end up preferring it. If you need to give expressed before 6 weeks it's better to use a cup or syringe if you want to breast feed.

They also say to wait till supply is established before pumping so it's not over stimulating you so there's no harm in waiting to get one- unless you see a bargain. Our local children's centre rent them out too if you got desperate before!

I have a totally gross question and can't remember who was talking about this (I did didn't I? Not just me??).

Scabby nipples and breast feeding - How's that going to work? I wasn't planning on bf long term but thought I would try for the first 'good stuff' - not sure how though?? (Sorry if anyone is eating etc) xxx

@emalady my DD was the full 2 weeks late so finishing early seemed silly for me as I have a feeling this one will go over also.

I also wanted to drag it out as long as possible to get the full months pay

@AliceRR and @Avoidingmarking Thanks for that. I think I will go for the Medela. I have seen the offer on boots, it’s less than £100 with some bottles and stuff, which seems quite good so think I will get it so that I have it.

I feel like I have a lot to pay for this month - still need to pay for pram (owe about £850!) and buy my crib (snuzpod or Cozee) and then bits like this which all adds up, although my Mum said she would pay for the crib

@MrsY87 I've just PM'd you about being added to the Facebook group!

Last night my DH suggested putting some Gaviscon on ice as a nice pregnancy alternative to a New Year’s Baileys 🤣 I was genuinely almost tempted!

@Rowse I have gestational diabetes so if you need any help/advice please let me know.

I should think they're testing this way as it's quite late on, so rather than having to do GTT, then potentially a week until the appointment you're now having they'd rather just get it started asap should it be GD.

You will be fine to eat as normal for your appointment. The diabetic team will just be teaching you how to use your blood monitor and going over a few bits and bobs, nothing major.

@Rowse @clairehr that's interesting. I've been told I'll be referred for another GTT at 36 weeks alongside a growth scan if I'm still measuring big (very likely). Maybe the second GTT rather than regular testing is because I've already had one negative one.

@Yakadee by scabby nipples do you mean scabby having bled? I mentioned that mine were in tatters last time. Originally I was advised just to keep feeding as normal but they got so bad that I was told to stop and express while they healed. Nipple shields were also mentioned but by that point it was too late for me unfortunately. Dd was only four days old when I was told by the midwife to stop feeding her. I don't think the advice I got was particularly good though to be honest and contributed to me not being able to start again. Part of my issue was dd not wanting to be anywhere near my breasts and pushing away from then while screaming. This is what they didn't deal well with. I want to bf this time but worried I won't be able to again. It's my biggest worry alongside how to manage a toddler and newborn because I know I'll put pressure on myself.

@yakadee - lots of lansinoh, breast pads and bras that aren’t too small. They do get a little sore initially but if you have a good latch then it should ease off quickly.

Re pump. I pumped in hospital as DD was on oxygen and tube fed initially, but then moved to syringe and then BF entirely. I’m planning on trying a bottle earlier than 6 weeks purely because of bottle refusing issues with DD but I will defintely EBF. Have a manual pump which I used with ease last time - big baby = zero supply issues 😂 so not planning to invest in anything more unless it becomes a hassle.

I’m with you @emalady I’m knackered and my commute is horrendous. I wouldn’t work any later than 36 weeks as my section is booked for 38 +6 and I want some time with DD where I’m actually still fun - so can’t be bothered going back for a week! I stopped at just over 35 last time. Easier for me though as I have a date rather than wonder if I’ll go late again I suppose!

It makes me so sad @lanalawr when I hear that people had such bad advice. I got such great support in hospital last time when it was super tough. It can be v hard at the beginning but so worth it in my opinion - if only to remove the hassle of bottles / washing / prep etc... and how easy night feeds are! Really hoping we have an easier ride of it this time but at least I know I got there in the end last time so I will persevere again.

@lanalawr Oh, interesting! Could be something to do with individual hospital policies too? Either way, as long as baby is being monitored all is good 😊

@Yakadee I slathered on lanisoh - slathered With my first and they didn't really scab. Letting the air get to them is meant to be good also and putting breast milk on them apparently.

@AliceRR it’s not a silly question at all; i’ve never had reflux before and suffered for a good week before researching what it was and realising rennies were such an easy fix.
In addition to the rennies have also found that standing after meals (doing the washing up) and then sitting on my yoga ball helps. I think it’s becayse they both mean my bump isn’t so compressed and doesn’t push up against my ribs so much.

@Since2016 me too. I still beat myself up over it and struggle not to. After I had to stop (dd wouldn't get close enough to latch and pump eventually drew nothing) I was reading the Kelly Mom website. The advice there was the complete opposite and sat better with me but it was too late. I realise that my experience is probably quite extreme though in that the damage had started before I left the hospital when dd was less than 24 hours old. The support I had in hospital was awful and lazy. I'm sure that's not the case everywhere though. I'm not just going to look to nhs for advice this time - although dragging a 2.5yo to bf support sessions doesn't sound quite as helpful as going alone. 😂

Lansinoh was good but if you're really really struggling then ask your midwife about it. One lovely community midwife gave me something else (I can't remember the name but it was a gauze with some sort of gel on it that is supposed to promote healing).

@clairehr thank you, that's so helpful! My midwife tends to talk super fast and I wasn't sure I'd taken in everything she was saying properly.

I wondered if it was because it's later on, I'm 35 weeks now and they do the diabetes clinic once a week so have to wait a week from my midwife appointment until the diabetes clinic appointment too.

@surprisedmom was that meant for me 😉
Thanks for the tips. Will get rennies tomorrow. I was already wondering if I might need to invest in a yoga ball so perhaps I should try that!

@lanalawr don’t beat yourself up. I was v lucky In the support I had - and it was from the NICU team and one nurse in particular. The wards are totally understaffed. I’d recommend asking re latch and support at the v beginning - agree re bf sessions although if you have NCT groups near you then they’re fab and lots of peer support. Fx for a much better experience this time. I loved BF!

@yakadee I breastfed my first son for three months.. constant pain for that time ☹️

My son would throw up blood from me, very disconcerting until I realised it wasn’t his! (Even then.... ew)

The only thing that worked was stopping feeding 🤷🏻‍♀️😕

@hayley013 The pain and the braxton hicks didn't seem to be related, it was just a dull ache that was happening continuously and a tightening every 10 minutes or so. But the ache stopped (think it was just baby had moved lower) and the BH slowed down/stopped after awhile and I was able to sleep more. The BH have come and gone throughout the day, but aren't painful just uncomfortable. If it is painful tomorrow though I'll give them a call.

@Powkin I was at a dinner party a few weeks ago and several guests decided to do shots. I had eaten too much and thankfully the host had recently had a baby, so I was able to join in with a shot of Gaviscon