The March-ers 2019 - #9 Meet the Babies

[Angelmiracle]

Thread 9 wow 🤗

All being well a lot more birth announcements this thread 👣🍼🤰🏿🤰🤰🏾🤰🏼

Check-in mamas ✔

Checking in x thanks for the new thread!

34 weeks, stabby cervix & a mixed bag here, bloody hormones - I hear you @AssumeItWasSomethingClever and @melissa112 ..!!

@Sictransitgloria @Gronk27 me three, went over in the shower in empty house on Wed & ended up crawling out covered in soap / conditioner bleeding from gory razor cut to get to phone so I could get DM to call an ambo if I couldn't get it together - seems linked to BP slightly out of control but - worryingly - normal for this stage!

Birth plan feels light years away 🤷 I want to plan either a perfect, minimally drugged, intervention free vaginal delivery or a booked caesarean for week 39 🙈

Those who are having growth scans - have you booked them privately? We can pay I think £80 locally for a scan as late as week 36 - will that be helpful does anyone know?

Thinking of @thewanderlust & @wineandchoccy good luck to both x

Our scans are all NHS because of a previous small baby and Low PAPP-A. Not sure I would have bothered otherwise - they will scan you if they are concerned about baby's size from your bump measurements (though even growth scans are a bit of guess work and can be way out!)

I won't go in the shower without someone else in the house now for that very reason @passtheaftereights. I'm accident prone anyway and my phone is barely a metre away from the shower usually, but I would probably knock myself unconscious or something equally helpful.

Your hoped birth is ultimately pretty much what I planned and got last time ish. They gave me the induction drugs whilst on labour to speed things up but was drug free and other than a threat of forceps we didn't need them (thankfully). The bits more to think about from my experience are whether you want to lay back on the bed if being monitored or if you want to be up if possible (I managed the latter for most of labour) and what drugs you are willing to consider. Oh and have a "I really mean this darling" word for when you really decide mid labour your want the epidural you have ruled out all along and you don't want people just thinking you're in transition (when you are most likely to say you can't do it and you want drugs you don't really want). If you have that trigger word and your partner knows (and it's written down if possible) then you can make those decisions with confidence that people might actually listen to you!

@passtheaftereights I've tried upping my calories or at least frequency of eating and liquids and vit d to see if it helps. My nails, skin and hair have gone crappy and my beauty therapist said she'll be zapping everything from you now, wonder if there's truth to that? What I'm not managing now is any kind of naps/lie ins which I really should try for. Feeling a little woozy today, midwife was only concerned if it was in conjunction with other symptoms, e.g. headaches, vision problems. Said maybe go to GP. My BP is always fine when it's checked.

Baby has gone from being 4/5 engaged (I think she said) to bouncing right back up to the top of my tummy! I can't work out what position she's in, would not surprise me if she's traverse, the tinker! So back to the horrendous heart burn, bump and back ache. I wonder if Yoga made her have a little shimmy around!

I've tumble dried all the newborn and 0-1 and looks alright to me. Think I'll hang the 0-3 on the line simply because it's such a nice day. Saying that it's a lot of pegs haha!

I can't remember who said about batch cooking so far I've done chilli, bolognese and veggie curry. Think fish/cottage pie next. Not very exciting but we'll be glad of it when the time comes I think!

@wineandchoccy all the best! And anyone else who is having any scans, sweeps or getting close. I'm determined to get these hospital bags packed tomorrow. OH and I going on for lunch on Sunday as a last hurrah.

We tried the perineal massage last night. It feels very odd! I can quite understand the burning sensation they describe and it's good to have an idea of both the area and sensation. It wasn't pleasant but neither was it horrendous. OH said the area definitely softened even on that first try so seems worth it.

Hope you all had nice Valentine's evenings. We had crappy freezer food and watched the Lego Movie then the above-and they say romance is dead!

Thanks @SquirtlesMumAgain I think I will call if it gets any worse! A trigger word is a great idea, going to do this with DP!

@PassTheAfterEights sorry to hear about your fall! Our growth scans are NHS as he is measuring big. Don't think I would have paid privately as they should be able to tell if you need them from measurements xx

@PassTheAfterEights my growth scans have been due to issues with the baby discovered at the 20 week scan. I didn’t have any extra scans with dd and probably wouldn’t pay out at that stage you don’t get to see an awful lot as there isn’t much room.

@passtheaftereights forgot to say sorry about your fall! Doesn’t sound very nice at all! I feel like things have suddenly changed for me (36+2). I have two spots on my face-so random, something hormonal must be afoot!

@passtheafterrights I've had everything on the NHS too due to pre existing medical conditions and have had them all booked in since week 12 all of the way through to week 38. As the others have said, I wouldn't pay for them because at this stage as the baby is simply too big for you to "see" anything beyond like a bum, a leg or whatever on the screen and it looks like if they were at all concerned about weight they'd give you one anyway, from the experiences of people here. Is there a particular reason why you're concerned? Cab you discuss it with your midwife and see what they say?

Speaking of appointments, does anyone else feel they've had too many? I was auto classified as high risk from before conception and have followed a set pathway in my trust basically resulting in at least one appointment per week. Yet my pregnancy has actually been completely fine (other than ICP diagnosis) so feel like I'm wasting everyone's time by going in SO often but I don't want to just cancel appointments then get called out for risk taking, particularly now I've got so far... It's more an observation.

Fortunately my work are very understanding and I can have all the time I need off without questions, and they've been like this since my condition was diagnosed but if I were a teacher, doctor or someone where they'd need to arrange for advance cover for all of the appointments then I can see how it quickly would get annoying, or likewise if I perhaps had a lower skilled job where they were begrudgingly paying me minimum wage for all the hours I've wasted waiting for appointments that are running late.

We are nearly finished with NCT and whilst I knew I've had more appointments, I hadn't quite appreciated how few you get on the NHS in a low risk standard pregnancy even as a first time mum.

Ouch @passtheaftereights !!

I thibk it was the way my baby was positioned, haven’t had it since. Now been having diarrhoea and lower back pain (bit like period pain) but nothing cyclical so not worrying. Just think i’m getting the aches and pains and starting to struggle to do my job. Today I lugged heavy equipment up to a first floor flat 🤦🏻‍♀️ think it’s done me in! Can’t wait for the next 2 weeks to go by now. I am feeling the need to nest and my house being in complete disarray is bothering me! Packing my hospital bag this weekend too.

@cardboard33 I'm shared care this time around and actually like the extra appointments and scans. I haven't found them over the top as usually have a 2 week gap with no appointment. I just have to make the midwife appointments when I've a gap in consultant appointments. And yes the NHS appointments as a FTM are so few I thought but when you can't compare it to a previous experience it's hard to know if there's anything you're missing out on. I found it harder to advocate for myself also as in just done as I was told. I suppose having experienced the birth of a child I hope I can be more confident with questions and making decisions.

@cardboard33 I feel like I have had a ridiculous amount of appointments since Christmas but it's as a result of complications rather than routine.

I hope everyone going through falls, inductions and other things requiring attention are ok. Fingers crossed all is well for you all.

I'm still having BH contractions that are causing me problems. That's 2 days of what I would call easy to think of as early labour but they don't last all day. Going to see what happens tomorrow and possibly call hospital on Sunday if still happening to see whether they think it's worth being checked.

@PassTheAfterEights oh thats terrible!! Hope you feel better.

@Sictransitgloria really need to pack. Preached on about being so prepared but because I know I've bought everything I got lazy about putting it in a bag! Though weekends were busy with DS recently.

Has anyone bought nursing vest tops? I'm not sure of the best place to buy them from I didn't have any last time.

Definitely worth a call @HidCat you could be in very early labour and dilated slightly!

The h&m nursing vests are good @Angelmiracle. Pretty supportive even for my 32Ks. Talking of which I might throw one in my hospital bag as they are comfy!

Lots of bump pain today. Definitely didn't have this last time. I think if I hadn't spent so much time at the hospital already I might have called triage but it is so expensive to be seen that I don't know if it's worth it. I keep reading things where it just shouldn't be painful, but the pain isn't really just under my ribs which is the concern area for pre-eclampsia (which I am at risk of).

I second the H & M nursing vests or a nursing bra and Primark vest top in a bigger size worked well last time

@angelmiracle I still need to buy pads etc to put in there. And something to wear in labour which will be god knows what. I did get my packing cubes delivered this week tho. Still not sure if it is a genius idea or a just tat I won’t use 😂

@SquirtlesMumAgain hope you are ok and the pain goes away

@SquirtlesMumAgain @Wineandchoccy thank you must get ordering!

How do you feel finishing work @Wineandchoccy?

Hope the bump pain eases for you @SquirtlesMumAgain that can't be nice.

Haha @Sictransitgloria yeah you never know! I'm waiting on few pieces coming from Oz my sis is sending over should have them next week. But will make a start packing tomorrow!

Pain has eased a bit - thank you for asking. Still not feeling right so may take some Paracetamol if I can't sleep.

@Angelmiracle relieved but still can’t believe I have 1 day off before going in. DH is taking dd out after he has finished work and I can rest because I can’t seem to sleep at night.

Just remembered a top tip about vest tops some tops are lower at the back so wear them backwards so if you do one up one down it still covers your stomach but easy access to boobs.

@cardboard33 I'm mixed care but consultant led and I feel like I've had a good amount of appointments. Probably one every 2/3 weeks. I'm a FTM and can't believe how few appointments there are for a low risk pregnancy. I think I'd feel quite vulnerable not seeing anyone for weeks, sometimes a month at a time.

@HidCat I think it's worth a call if you're still feeling the same today! Everyone says to me 'you'll know when you're in labour' but I'm not sure 🤔 surely the early stages are different for everyone..

@Wineandchoccy are you glad to only have one day off? It seems very quick but I know loads of people who get so bored on their mat leave!

It's not even 7am yet and I'm awake with some more god knows what leaking, period pains and Ive stood on DPs phone (haven't told him yet as he's asleep) 🙄 feel like it's just going to be one of them days already! Have lovely Saturdays everyone xx

@CaseofEllen are you sure you're not leaking amniotic fluid? I'd go and get them to check.

Early stages definitely vary for everyone but they have to give some kind of advice I guess. I know one other person who has experienced BH the way I have and remember sitting with her at a party whilst she was dealing with them. She disappeared with her husband for half an hour they were so painful and then stopped. Baby arrived a fortnight later! I think that's why I'm not too paranoid.

@HidCat I did go in last Sunday and they checked and said it didn't look like waters had gone but I think it's getting worse so will phone in again!

Yeah that is true, there has to be guidelines and I guess that's why they say to phone if you're at all unsure of anything. My hospital have been fab at reassuring me I'm not wasting their time! Even though they are all rushed off their feet whenever I go in, bless the NHS 💙 xx

@CaseofEllen put a pad in your knickers so you can show the midwife if you they ask you to come in to hospital. I think they should - it sounds like it needs investigating again. Especially with the period pains. Good luck!

@Gronk27 my toenails (which have always been strong) have been really weak and easily broken from early on in this pregnancy, but strangely my fingernails haven't so I don't know if it's pregnancy related?! I did think maybe because I was also pregnant Feb - April last year my body was just a bit sapped.

@badbadbeans my nails were growing like mad but have gone rubbish as had my hair. So much going on in our bodies!