Due April 2008

[Rainbowdays]

I am a little nervous about starting this thread as I was previously on the March 2008 thread but m/c'd. But I got my bfp this morning and although still faint it is clearly there.

Anyone else coming to nervously join me?

Hi guys,

Very nervous about posting this - you all sound like experts.
Been to the doctor this morning after doing a test on Tuesday evening and having a big fat pregnant sign blinking at me.

First timer. 33 years old. Dead nervous (am even thinking while I'm typingthis; am I tempting faith by "openly admitting" pregnancy?)
I've been feeling a littel nauseous. Minor cramps in lower left side of belly. lots of spots appeared (fun!).

Doctor seems to think i'm due 14
April - the 'online' calculations tell me 21 April. Help? how does one calculate a due date?

Also the doctor's visit was weird. I literally anounced I was pregnant - she said, congratulations and said someone from the hospital would be in touch about the 12 week scan (am I in week 2 or 4 or 5 at the moment?) and that was it... no weighing, bloodpressure, no tests.
Is thta normal.

I read some of you were discussing early scans - are thye useful? what can you see at what stage? How do you organise these (surely not at an NHS hospital?) and what does it generally cost?

lots of quesitons...
your thoughts much appreciated.

also - what's all the 6+6 etc stuff you guys talk about?
What doe sit mean?

you wont have all those tests (BP,etc) until you see MW.

early scan-you will haev to pay a private clinic, NHS early scan for people who have had previous mc's.

When was your LMP? you will be aroung 4-5 weeks pg this week.

i am 5+6 today...ie 5 weeks and six days pg.

ahaaaa - thta makes sense.
You start counting from the first day of your last period right?
In that case I am 4 + 3 - i feel so much better now!

yes, from first day of your last period. so that was 16 july?

LMP started 16 July - so I guess thta makes me 4 + 3.
Would I add 41 weeks to the LMP to get the right due date?

due date calculator

yep you are 4+3 and due 21 april

Scorpio - doctor didn't say anything about the midwife... she's assigned me one in the doctor's surgery but she didn't mention when to see her, she gave me a leaflet which says the first appointment would be at 16 weeks.
Does that sound right?
Do I get the 12 week scan before I see the midwife?

I wonder why there's so much difference between your GP's date and all the calculators. Normally there's only 1 day or so. I'd probably trust the calculators more than my GP! Do you have 'normal' 28-day cycles? They might adjust your dates after the 12 week scan too. I'd want to insist on getting as accurate a date as possible because otherwise they might start putting pressure on you to get induced if you go overdates. Not that you have to give in to that pressure, but I'd rather avoid any!

I reckon she just miscounted - the date the calculators give is exactly a week after hers...

different areas do things differently-i see my midwife twice before my scan, but others just have san and then midwife. its all fine!

Doc must have got confused or not done dates right-the 12 week scan will give you a proper date.

o really - cycle can affect your due date?
My cycle WAS (O, I liked saying that) 27 days.

I'm so excited and so nervous at the same time.
I want to scream it off the rooftops. So glad I can talk to you guys. So far only my mum and my best buddy (and the husband of course) know and am trying very hard to keep quiet for the next 8 weeks!

nervous about keeping this little worm inside and safe inside me. Trying not to obsess too much.

okay - one more.
do most of you use NHS hospitals or is it mostly private?
I have no idea what private would cost - but I bet its steep.

If I do want to have an early scan - say in 3/4 weeks time. would there be anything to see/hear yet?
Could I arrange this as a 'one off' with a private clinic and do the rest of the care with the NHS hospital I've been assigned?

NHS for me! they have always done me a good job!

you can do one-off scans privately, thats fine. in a few weeks you will see a heartbeat and a beany thing!

Thanks scorpio - that's helpful.
I will probably have a look into private scan...

I might go private, but with independent midwives rather than a hospital. I'd like to have a VBAC and my chances of a successful VBAC would be much higher that way. But even for midwife care it's a lot of money, and I think about what else we could do with it... but then I think that if I did avoid another c/s it would be worth it... but then I think what if we pay all that money and end up with a c/s anyway... and I go round and round in circles. Probably natural indolence will lead to my staying with the NHS anyway.

I was just reading up on the possibility of the independent midviwes.
What's a lot of money? £5K - £10K or are we talking even more than that?
I want to do NHS, but I had a really bad experience (not natal related so shouldn't judge) before at the hospital I was assigned - the alternative doesn't bear thinking about...

I just noticed my nipples are a little sensitive - I'm a little excited about that... well there's a first!

That's the broad range. I think the Birth Centre (independent midwives near me) are £7,900 for care from 8 weeks onwards -- goes down to £6,700 if they pick you up at 20 weeks, but obviously there's no guarantee that they won't be booked up if you leave it that long.

It's not bad value when you look at what you get, but still...

pmsl loisstella. Now go easy on those nipples before sensitive becomes painful!

Independent midwife would be around £3000. Excellent choice if you can afford it. I'm very hopeful with my community midwives at the moment as they seem quite supportive of my plans but I may still bite the bullet and go for an independent mw. Definitely the best chance to avoid a cs. Lemonaid, even those that end up in hospital or with a cs, say the IM has been worth the money. I don't think you'd regret it whatever the outcome once you decide to go for it. I also keep thinking all the things I could do with those £3000 but the memory of the birth will last you forever and whatever else you might spend that money on probably won't!

Private dating scans cost between £90 - £125, but there is somewhere in Kent that does it for £50 if you are close to that - Hope this helps!

£7900!! blimey that IS a lot of money. Where's that? London?

According to the IM website, the charges go from around £1800 to £4500 depending where you live. Some more FAQs there for anyone who's interested in the idea: www.independentmidwives.org.uk/?node=750

I just looked at the private scans - they do them for £100 at the 'Birth compnay'. I'm in London - which is a bugger - because I do think NHS hospitals here are 'worse' than elsewhere.
I think I'm going to try not get ahead of myself though (apart form this scan I would love to do in a few weeks - it's just that I have tio see it before I can really believe it), see the midwife at the local GPs at week 16 - I'll have experienced both my areas of support then and can decide then how I feel about this.
wise decision?