July 2019 (thread 10) - the final furlong...maybe

[Kentishgal]

Thought we had better start a new thread - wonder if we'll see some (more) babies arriving on this thread...

@StargazyDrifter I hadn't even thought about the incision and placement for a breech baby. If I remember I will ask tomorrow as got my scan at 8.30am. If confirmed breech I will go onto the MAU ward to speak to a consultant on next steps. I did get some more full briefs from M&S today just in case...!

@Kentishgal my hospital does a free 30min colostrum class, perhaps check with your midwife? I went to one and was given a kit to do it. Going to start it next week once I've hit 37 weeks.

Seen another celebrity posting on social about feeling so great in the last trimester. I feel pregnancy gets so misrepresented on social sometimes. Yes many have a lovely time, but so many of us really struggle...

I haven't bought pumps yet. Not sure which one to get, so many options...!

It hadn't even occurred to me about the breech baby / c section cut position. I did ask my midwife previously whether baby's position matters much if I'm having an elcs and she just said it's helpful to know for removing her etc. Would be interested to find out - and yes please - any more colostrum tips appreciated. Ahh love the m and s big pants.

blueeyedviking that's really helpful to know - thanks - I'll ask my midwife next week.

I'm planning on doing colostrum collection. They spoke about it during the breastfeeding antenatal class I went to and said it can be beneficial particularly if you have a big baby (which it is looking likely I'll have!)
I asked my MW about it today and I just have to ring the maternity care assistant near to my 37 week mark and she will give me the kit needed.
I've already been leaking quite a lot and have done since about week 20 so fingers crossed I'll have some success.

@BeckyButterfly if you don't mind me asking , why is it better to collect if your due a big baby?

@TwinkleDay I don't actually know! 😂 They just handed out a leaflet that had reasons why people collect colostrum and it said that women who are predicted to have a big baby find it beneficial. Maybe because they take more filling so having a stock can be helpful if there are any issues with latching on etc in the beginning. That is just pure guess work though.
They did talk about how beneficial it is for women with GD because of baby's blood sugar levels being off but that's the only reason they actually explained.

@BeckyButterfly oh I see! I was told it was beneficial for women have c sections too as skin to skin may not be possible.

I haven't started yet, and haven't got anything to harvest it into.

38 weeks tommorow 😬

@TwinkleDay yeah, the leaflet mentioned c section births and inductions. If you have had to be induced or had a c section, sometimes your body isn't quite ready to start producing milk so having the colostrum stocked up just gives your body a bit of time to catch up. Also, hand expressing antenatally can begin to prepare your body to produce milk when baby does arrive. I read on the La Leche website that they recommend hand expressing for women wanting to breast feed who are booked in for c section or induction.

I found the leaflet that they showed us at the antenatal class online and it doesn't really explain why it is good for babies who are big. It says about blood sugar levels so it must just be that. It says for babies that are big or small, so just any baby really 😂

I'm going to give it a go but the MW said to me that not everyone manages to get anything out so we'll see.

Jxtina86 hope you get a nice glimpse of the baby at the scan! The incision thing is interesting though, they seem to strongly prefer doing "typical" ones for some reason and all the gel strips/scar recovery patches seem to be geared towards a horizontal scar. Interested to hear what they say (if you have time!) and I will also try and ask when I'm in tmrw, though I'm not there for a MW appt.

blueeyedviking totally agree on the pregnancy representation thing. I'm so miserable and exhausted and everywhere I look there seems to be a #blessed celebrity. Each to their own to a certain extent, but when it starts to shape public opinion and colleagues or others think "what's the big deal, most people do fine" that annoys me. It's almost a form of fake news!

beckybutterfly and twinkleday that's really interesting that they do recommend expressing if you've got a c section booked - I assumed I'd need to avoid it in case it brought on labour - but I'll definitely do some reading up now and give it a go (I couldn't get anything out beforehand last time but think I wasn't v good at it) so thank you. Yep annoying that it is represented that pregnancy is a certain way - last time it was good for me but this time I'm not doing as well - but I feel like people think I'm being a bit weak this time! It's just pot luck and unfortunately not everyone is "blessed"!

In was at pregnancy yoga this evening and one of the girls there mentioned her dancing so I said "oh what type of dancing do you do"...she said "I'm a podium dancer in nightclubs and stuff"....turns out she's still working!! Mind you she said she didn't feel any pregnancy symptoms whatsoever...but did confirm she's not "doing backflips" 😱 ...and there's me sat on a rubber ring whilst working at my laptop!

stargazydrifter how's the hyperemesis?

@StargazyDrifter Completely agree. It's almost tabu to admit that pregnancy is hard, it can make your life and health really challenging with all the pains, anxiety etc but noone seem to mention this..

@Kentishgal oh wow! How far along is she? That's impressive.

Expressing colostrum is recommended no matter the pregnancy and birth plan in my area. Its supposed to help you those first few days with feeds as the baby normally reacts so well to it.

Hyperemesis still hanging around, if I get tired beyond a certain point or wake up too early it's at its worst. I think I might have wrecked my teeth a bit with it all, and (tmi) GP says I've got some throat lining damage from all the throwing up so now a bit of heartburn or a sip of alcohol makes me cough, because they irritate those patches. I hope that gets better after birth!

I'm in awe of the no-backflips woman. Wow.

Btw was thinking the same on expressing and ELCS, thank you for the heads up.

@Kentishgal @BeckyButterfly @TwinkleDay I’m having a booked induction and midwife recommended I start with a manual pump from 37w to help prepare. I haven’t got a manual pump yet but found the tommee tipper freezer bags in Asda so I’ll give it a go.

I feel totally shite today on the pregnancy front. Couldn’t get comfortable at all last night, baby does what ever it wants, a small bout of constipation and just bloody exhausted! But, last day at work tomo.

Even worse, we have to put our poor old cat to sleep tonight. Of all the things to do when your full of hormones!!

I've woken up feeling pretty shitty today too 😩 my head is pounding. I didn't sleep well at all.

5 weeks and 2 days left at work! Not that I'm counting or anything...! Haha.

Aww yukka I'm so sorry to hear about your cat, that's awful, I feel for you.

I too thought you shouldn’t collect colostrum beforehand if having caesarean as can bring on early labour and that’s the last thing I want with my placenta. I’ll mention it to my midwife tomorrow x

Yukka sorry about the cat. 😞

Also feeling restless and out of sorts. Also somehow on edge, like I can't plan anything any more, even though ELCS isn't for 2 more weeks at least.

I have to admit I've caught myself feeling a bit grumpy at the baby's movements from time to time, can be so painful. Oh for those early bubble flutters!

Ok I did a bit of research on the breech / incision position and as far as I can tell it is still a low transverse scar with a breech baby. My scar is really low down - it seems far lower than some of the pics I've seen online - but consultant did say to me, without having seen scar, that he would go higher this time.

Oh @yukka, so sorry to hear about your cat 😟 we had to have my parents dog put to sleep when I was in the first trimester, just before Christmas. He was my 18th birthday present from my grandparents so he was my dog really. I went to the vets with my parents, they didn't know I was pregnant yet! It's not easy at the best of times but nevermind with all the pregnancy hormones and emotions.

Oh @yukka so sorry to hear about your cat. I would be in pieces if we had to put down ours.

@StargazyDrifter I can relate to the feeling of grumpyness. The baby loves kicking me when I'm sleeping on my left, sometimes I feel like I'm squashing him 🙈 I'm getting used to getting up every 2-3 hours now whether its toilet, baby kicking or the hiccups he seem to get at night... I
Although always a lovely feeling I think it just adds to the exhaustion we are all battling.

Does anyone else wake up with pain in their knuckles? I cant really grab things first thing in the morning anymore. So weird.

Morning all - just got back from the scan and baby is definitely head down. So either it always was and just has a bony arse or it flipped back over since Tuesday. Sonographer reckoned it won't move from this position now. Checked measurements and all on track and estimated current weight is 6.6lbs. Plus it has got so much hair already! Could see it all floating around!

@Yukka so sorry to hear about your cat. We had to do the same last year and it was devastating. Sending you lots of love.