35+ TTC #1 Graduates!

[Kescilly]

This thread is for those of us over 35 who are pregnant with our first! It’s a continuation of a great group of people from the TTC thread. Doesn’t matter how far along you are, come on in!

@Weathergirl1 the gas is manageable for now. Maybe cutting out the sugar helped. Drinking a cup of warm/hot water an hour after eating helps a lot.

I had the 28 week appointment yesterday. Glucose test was fine as was everything else, except for iron level which was borderline, and I was recommended to take liquid iron. OH has picked up a box of Spatone. I'll try it with some apple juice later... not looking forward to it with my taste being off already.

Sorry to hear you're on the lactulose again. Are you taking extra iron supplements which would be causing it?
Good to hear the new osteopath helped.
I remember the sore arm after the vaccination at 16 weeks... I'd take that again over the gas! :)

I need to fill out the letter of engagement with the doula and return it!

Is anyone else going to use cloth nappies? I think I've got enough for the first couple of months now but it's becoming an obsession! The midwife is still convinced I'm having a 10lb baby as I'm measuring right at the top of the graph but at the growth scan the baby was 75th percentile (which should be 8-8 1/2lbs) so I've not bought any tiny nappies/clothes, it's all just guess work.

@Weathergirl I'm also suffering if I miss my afternoon nap, I'm yawning by three o'clock!

@birdbybird do it! 👍

I restarted with the Wilko pregnacare low dose iron. I now have prescription strength ones but so far have only been taking one tablet per day (half dose) while I get the constipation under control. I'm not sure it really correlates to the iron tablets though - apparently iron can cause diarrhoea too so 🤷

@pinkywoo yes yes we are!! I did the nappy lady questionnaire a few weeks ago but haven't yet done any purchasing. I quite like the idea of Little Lamb bamboo for overnight but she didn't recommend those ones for us - argh! From reading around it looks like folded terry/muslins are the best for newborns as a lot of the birth + ones are too big at first. My feeling is that the muslins are the way to go for us as we can use them for mopping up other stuff too once shaped nappies start to fit. I guess you could always get a few in hand just incase the baby isn't as large as the midwife predicts? Which ones have you gone for so far?

My arm has now got a red sore patch on it where one of the jabs went in - think it must be the Whooping cough one... Feeling a bit sorry for myself!

@Weathergirl1 I've got a mixture of the bamboo little lamb, bamboozles, and six bimbles from my cousin which fitted her 6lb premie, plus little lamb, milovia newborn and petit lulu wraps, oh and one precious airflow xs, again from my lovely cousin!

@Pinkywoo @Weathergirl1 I'm quite keen on cloth nappies too. So the info in your posts is very useful. As is the nappy lady site which I'd not heard of!

@Weathergirl1 BTW despite my susceptibility to constipation, I think puy green lentils have kept me regular so far. I have had them as part of at least one meal each day since the nausea subsided. Thought I had a bout of constipation recently, and it was during a couple of days when I took a break from the lentils. Started on them again and back to being regular.

@birdbybird there are apparently numerous Facebook groups with tips about cloth nappies but I haven't started to investigate those yet!

Thanks for the lentil tip. I might try that 👍

@Weathergirl1 @birdbybird I'm on the nappy lady buying and selling Facebook group, and the nappy lady pregnancy, baby and parenting group, they're great for bargains and advice.

@Pinkywoo I will investigate 👍

How is everyone doing? Especially you @pinkywoo - you must be close to your EDD now? Bump has definitely made its appearance now... No hiding it. Properly outed myself at a reunion dinner at the weekend which was the first time I'd really spoken about it with anyone not in my inner circle of friends. General opinion was that they were shocked I was nearly 32 weeks from the size of the bump!

It's becoming a bit of a slog now - I'm finding I'm getting a really low down stitch feeling if I walk too quickly. I went to the gym this afternoon and didn't even bother to get on the elliptical trainer - I stuck to the treadmill. Though I did cycle out and back to the hospital this morning for an appointment with the consultant midwife so I'm not feeling too lazy today. She said that the stitch feeling is likely to be just the baby getting itself into position. I wasn't sure if it was Braxton Hicks or not, because I can't really tell if the bump goes hard - it feels pretty solid all the time to be honest!

We finished the Positive Birth Company digital pack at the weekend so now just need to start practicing... And we've been on the Spinning Babies website this evening. I'm going to start looking at doing some of the exercises from there to help ensure the baby gets into the right position! I think my aerobic exercise days are numbered so I want to concentrate on strength and posture.

Still a bit overwhelmed with nappies. Have to unsubscribe from the Facebook groups as my newsfeed was full of nappies 🤣🤣

Yes I'm 37 weeks now @Weathergirl1, 2 weeks until the c section! I'm struggling to do anything much now, my bump is just so heavy I can't stand for long so looking forward to meeting the baby.

@Pinkywoo ah exciting times! I hope you're being waited on hand and foot in the run in to B-day :-)

Sorry delayed response as my phone died but now I have a shiny new one! @Weathergirl1 I'm not quite being waited on (yet!) but DH is being very helpful, and has been cooking all afternoon so I don't have to for the next few days

@Pinkywoo ah glad to hear it. Did I see on another thread that your section is this Friday?

Yes 5 days to go! I'm up at stupid o'clock having Braxton Hicks at the moment but he has to wait (preferably until Friday) as I've got my driving test this afternoon. Fortunately my head is too full of baby stuff to be nervous so hopefully it'll be fine!

How far along is everyone now? Time seems to be going very quickly all of a sudden

@Pinkywoo I hear ya! I've been sleeping horrifically for the last couple of weeks (33+6 today) and I keep getting low down crampiness which the midwife reckons are Braxton Hicks. Bump feels quite hard most of the time anyway so I'm not really noticing specific tightenings. But I'm also struggling to walk any distance now as I get a low down stitch pain if I go too fast (and I'm usually a really fast walker), but thankfully I am still able to cycle everywhere. I'm up most nights around 3-5am ish and am trying to be productive when i'm up...

We went to my parents last week with a small van load of stuff for them to store for us and I've now got a cold (think I must have picked it up here before we left). My sinuses are draining down my throat and making me cough - coughing without straining my abs is proving difficult :-( Oh and I noticed last night that my right foot is now swollen which I'm not that happy about - I'm going to have to put the bike back on the turbo training and start turning my legs over to try and shift it.

Good luck for the driving test later today!

How is everyone else doing? @birdbybird @LauraLooDerby? And those whose babies are growing fast? @Kescilly @Blondcat

@Oxted2018 @Seren1979 Apologies for missing you both off my post - haven't heard from you for a while - hope you're both well too?

@weathergirl1 thanks for thinking about me 😊. We are good thanks DD is 4 and a half months now 😮 not sure where the time has gone. We've made it through all the first jabs relatively unscathed just got our first cold which is horrible to see but she is coping relatively well. Me less so 😴🤧😷.
She is really starting to develop a little personality she is quite a happy baby smiling and we had our first proper giggle at the weekend while dh was playing with her. She is determined to sit up stand up and wants to be on the go.

Glad to hear you are all doing well it is nice to get an update on how everyone is getting on. Not long until you have that little baby in your arms now. The final part is knackering so rest a much as you can you need your strength for labor and the first month at least, take any offers of help too and don't be afraid to ask for help it is hard. I struggled with asking and accepting help as am quite determined to be independent but that is no good when you are beyond tired.

Looking forward to hearing about everyone's new arrivals soon x

Oh yeah at good luck with with the driving test I am sure you will do great x

@weathergirl1 things are moving along. Am 32+1 today. Am continuing weekly gym, yoga, tennis once or twice. Wish I'd kept up cycling as not comfortable starting now with a bump.
Ante-natal classes started yesterday. And have the 32 week GP appointment today. Will see if I can get a flu jab at the same time. Still need to book in to take advantage of the free dental check up.
Breathing is not easy even while sitting, let alone after a workout, but am hoping to keep active right up to the birth if possible.
I suffer from Iliotibial Band Syndrome (leg). Did some stretches today which helped. Now keeping leg rested and elevated. Surprised how much better it feels.
Had the first appointment with the doula and we've booked in a second in November.
Have you read that eating dates daily from 36 weeks onwards can help with the labour?

@Pinkywoo hope all went well with the driving test. Wishing you all the best with the c-section.

@Blondcat nice to hear from you. Thank you for the helpful tips as always!

Meet Michael, he weighs 7lb 9 (so not the giant everyone predicted) and has taken to breastfeeding like a star. ♥️

Congratulations @pinkywoo he is so cute. It is amazing how quickly they grow so you forget how dinky they can be. DD was weighted on Thursday at 20 weeks exactly and she was 14lb 5oz 😊

Have been thinking about you @pinkywoo ... congratulations!! He is gorgeous!

Ah congratulations @pinkywoo ! How are you doing? Hope the recovery is going well! And less importantly, how was the driving test?

@birdbybird I can empathise with the ITB issue - I have tight hip flexors... We had a doula meeting this morning and she's given us some exercises to do to try and loosen them up - tight psoas muscles isn't helpful in labour apparently.

Midwife on Wednesday wasn't 100% that it's head down (I've not been convinced all along due to where the twitches have been), but I've got a placenta scan next week so should find out then. Our doula is fully on board with dealing with it if it is breech - she's trained with the Spinning Babies stuff.

@Weathergirl1 hope your scan goes well next week.

Feel like time is absolutely dragging these days.

Cannot wait to have my appetite back.

@birdbybird thanks - it's been brought forward to at least tomorrow but may be today... bit of an update from me - i'm on the antenatal ward currently as I'm trickling waters - erk! It's just been confirmed this morning and we're waiting to see a consultant when they do their rounds this morning. Currently don't feel there's an emergency as my obs are all fine and the baby is moving as usual. No idea why this has happened - the only risk factor I have is being over 35 so looks like it's just one of those random things. It's been fantastic having a doula though as we've been able to chat things through with her and she's being really supportive (even though she's not yet officially on call for us for another 3 weeks!). Just turned 35 weeks today (am nearly 36 weeks if you go off their dating scan measurements!) so I'm not actually too stressed about the thought of delivery happening soon, other than the fact we're not exactly feeling ready ourselves - we've had to experdite sorting out names...

@Pinkywoo how are you getting on? Have you made it home yet?