Late July Due Date #2

[amysara24]

Hi everyone, I thought we were close to filling our first thread so have made another one for when we need it! 💗

@hairsprayBabe I feel the same, I feel guilty for feeling bad but I am just not enjoying being pregnant because I am constantly waiting for something bad to happen. I am not feeling much movement either which is making me very anxious. Do you have any more scans etc booked? X

Next appointment is Weds I dont have any other scans booked in, I feel movements evenings and early morning mainly.

I know loads of people have it much worse I just feel crap, the run up to my wedding was a similar series of disasters that I don't look back on fondly at all. I don't feel like I have had a good day in ages.

I have done none of the "normal" stuff and I don't feel excited. This baby was a shock and we had a good long chat about pregnancy choices because we weren't in the best position financially or work wise with DH, we had originally planned to start a family over the summer so we thought fuck it it's only 9 months anyway let's just do it... I am spiralling a bit and for the last week I have been thinking at least once a day we didn't make the right choice...

I will speak to midwife on weds about it because I feel worse every day.

Just got a call from the Drs my midwife appointment has been changed to a phone consultation hope everyone else is doing ok

I have an appointment with my midwife tomorrow on the phone (the one I was meant to have on 27th march).
Managed, after a lot of hassle to get my maternity leave request stuff in on Friday, hard to be able to talk to anyone in HR at the moment!

I work for the NHS and you can choose to spread your pay, I wasn't going to bother but now I'm seeing it might reduce my tax payments if I spread it. Does anyone else have experience of this? I'm planning on taking 50 weeks (using the other 2 as shared parental leave so my partner can have 4 weeks off after the birth).

I'm good, day off today which is nice. Baked some more bread, now a national pastime I think!

My next appointment is 21st (I think) and it’s just to have bloods taken, then again a week later for anti-d injection so I’m not sure if they’ll reschedule or what because they can’t be done by phone!
Sadly can’t help with maternity leave or pay @LucyLucyT because my contract finishes at the end of June so I won’t qualify!
I’m so surprised at how poor some paternity benefits are! I can’t believe 2 weeks is standard, it seems like nothing! DH gets 4weeks paternity but is planning to tack some holiday on either end too.
Has anyone picked a name yet? We’ve been tortured by my mother who just wants to talk names all the time.. am I strange for not? Though was speaking to my SIL, her boyfriends sister is due at a similar time, and they’ve apparently picked a name and it is absolutely atrocious.. I was tired and expressed my disgust in a Group FaceTime call and it got a bit awkward haha!

@amysara24 haha like the name facetime story! Not always possible to hide your feelings 😁
We have thought about girls names but yet to look at boys. I find it very hard!

Luckily my partner's company are paying him full pay for all 4 weeks which is better than a lot of places I think.

My next face to face appointment is a growth scan, glucose tolerance and review on 20th April. I'm a bit nervous about going in but I know they are trying to space everyone out as much as possible.

We have picked names, I love our boys name and I am ok with our girls name, I wanted Felicity all time dream baby name but DH didn't like it at all. We have agreed on Francesca, the more I think about it the less I like it though 🤦‍♀️😕 DH also liked Imogen which I think is alright as well...

Sooo might have to tell DH it's back to square one for girls names oopsy.

@hairspraybabe glad you're appointment is still going ahead, even if it's by phone. My next midwife appointment has been 'postponed' by 2 months... that's not postponed it's just cancelled :p. Hope your appointment goes well.

@amysara that's funny! What was the name? We have one or two in mind.

Anyone feeling increasingly anxious given the current climate? I'm really feeling for the mums giving birth right now and only having their husbands around for active labour and no visits until discharged. It's my first pregnancy and this definitely hasn't been the special feeling I was hoping, I'm sure I'm not alone. Sad we won't be able to have the babymoon, babyshower, or even birth I had been dreaming of. But then I feel guilty because I feel I'm sorry lucky to even feel pregnant and then it makes me feel worse

@HairsprayBabe I love all those girls names! A friend called her DD Imogen, I think it’s such a sweet name.
We’ve definitely got a few front runners but nothing we have decided 100% on. We actually fell out about it last week - I’ve always said if I had a boy I’d want his middle name to be after my Granda, and it just so happens that his name is also DH, FIL and FIL’s fathers name... great coincidence you’d think? Nope. I honestly can’t stand my fil, he’s a textbook narcissist and has been abusive & violent as long as I’ve known him. I just know if we choose that name he will forever claim it’s because of his family, his father etc when it’s absolutely not. I know maybe it’s my hormones playing up but it has seriously bothered me because I have said this is the name since I was a little girl and I feel like it’s tainted now, and like I don’t want him having anything to do with baby’s name whether intentionally or not.. DH said I was being ridiculous and selfish (though he agrees with my assessment of his father)..
and after all that baby will probably be a girl!! Haha!
@LittleMrsMama yeah I would definitely say that’s cancelled rather than postponed! I know what you mean about pregnancy not being as you’d planned but feel exactly the same, I’m just grateful to have gotten to this stage (even if it does overlap with a pandemic!). Regarding the hospital restrictions it’s something else I k ow I’m being totally irrational about but DH and I have discussed just not going to hospital when labour starts, and either leaving it so long that paramedics have to deliver in the house or calling our close friend (a paediatric consultant) and neighbour (a paramedic) to guide DH through what to do.. I know it’s completely bonkers to be even considering it but I have serious anxiety especially around things like this, and it’s slowly becoming a more serious plan - I know I’m being ridiculous (I’m blaming hormones again!)
The name.. well I’m reluctant to say just incase it turns out she is on the thread as she’s due a similar time (though I think I asked before and she wasn’t but you never know!) but it sounds far too much like anus for me especially in their liking. The teacher in me was screaming “that kid is going to be bullied” as well as knowing if he acts up in class, the staff room will develop new anus based names for him too.. they like to be different, and sometimes try a bit too hard.. I just feel sorry for kids with names like that, that are unavoidably like something rude!

I really hope your SIL calls her baby anus 😂😂😂😂😂 I am howling here @amysara24

My midwife was supposed to call at 9.45 and I still haven't heard anything 😕

I am convinced I am having a boy so I am glad I am happy with our boys name... Although DH came up with a second suggestion the other day I was like lalalala noooooo don't put doubt into my brain 😂

Oscar Falcon for a boy
Francesca Hazel for a girl (supposing I don't change my mind)

@hairspraybabe honest to god I couldn’t believe when they said it - because it sounds so similar! Still convinced they’re maybe on a windup...
Ahh loooove those names! Both of them!! You didn’t find out though did you? I was convinced we’re having a girl until the past few weeks - all the old wives tales are telling me boy 😂 our top 2 names at the minute would probably be Emilia and Harris, though that’s subject to change daily!!
Hopefully the midwife phones soon, have you found in general their timekeeping is terrible? Haha they always seem to be running really behind schedule!

No we didn't find out, I don't know why I am so confident it's a boy, I am never normally a woo intuition type person!

I'll call the GP in a bit if I still haven't heard, I would have thought they couldn't be that far behind in the morning but I guess not! Problem is I can't sit around waiting for a call all day I am WFH so supposed to be available on the phone 🤷

Lovely names ladies 😊! We are still undecided on our names. My 25 week midwife appointment went ahead which was good and my growth scan at 28 weeks is still happening but my partner can’t come (which was to be expected anyway) I am still anxious that at my next scan they will tell me something is wrong with the baby but fingers crossed it will all be fine. The growth scan apparently is to check baby is growing properly because I have low Pappa!
How is the shopping going on? I am still yet to buy any of the big nursery items x

@missdrifter ahh I’m so glad it all went ahead - that’s very reassuring! My midwife phoned today just to say they were working in teams now so it may not be her I see, but the appointments are still going ahead so fingers crossed.
Hopefully you’ll feel more reassured after the growth scan, it’s good they’re keeping a close eye! I have one at 32 weeks to check placenta positioning.
Well we pretty much have everything! Nursery furniture thankfully arrived the week before lockdown started (as the shop has shut now so we wouldn’t have got it anytime soon!) and we had pretty much everything else. We’re trying to decide on paint colours this week to give us something to do! It’s much harder than I thought it would be...

@amysara24 wow you are very organised and sound very prepared. Well done you. I think we need to start getting bits now and hope that we can still get deliveries 🤷🏻‍♀️! I am really looking forward to decorating the nursery. Let me know what colour you decide on.
That’s good that the appointments at your hospital are still going ahead too even if it means having a different midwife.

@missdrifter thanks, everyone in the family thought I was a bit nuts getting it so early! I just like to be organised as much as I can. That said, nursery-to-be is currently DH’s home office so not much is actually getting done! I think a lot of online shops are still doing deliveries, if you’ve not already got them, the bounty & emmas diary apps sometimes have deals and offers especially with the online4baby website!
I’m quite liking the idea of a pale sage-grey colour, as the furniture is white, and if it’s a girl we can add blush pink accents or navy if it’s a boy..
Just met our new neighbours (through the fence!) and they have a 3 month old DS, he is so so content! How do I order one like that? Haha

@amysara24 that made me laugh so much! Don't worry I'm not your SIL but imagine it could be Amos. I did know an Amos a while ago and never realised how close it is to Anus! I know I could be wrong!

Such lovely names from everyone! It's so hard to pick a name that's unique but not too strange

@amysara24 I'm really not surprised you're thinking that and going to those lengths. It's sad but i imagine a lot of mums will be thinking the same. I'm still planning to head to my hospital but will stay in labour at home for as long as possible so I'm in 'active labour' when I get to the hospital and DH can come in with me. We have some health problems with the baby so need to be in for doctors to monitor and treat where needed.

I'm sad other people are struggling with this all too but comforting to hear I'm not alone. Our babies are going to be extra special coming into this world after such challenge, and hopefully by July the restrictions will be lifted and meeting friends and family will he even more special.

@missdrifter I've got a nursery set, buggy, car seat and a few baby grows. Just the absolute essentials in case she arrives early. I've got friends who have had very premature babies and also with shops closing because of Coronavirus I quickly ordered what I needed online to be prepared. It's also nice to have a bit of excitement during a difficult time.

@hairspraybabe did you get a call from the midwife in the end? That's really frustrating you've had to sit around waiting for one. I do think sometimes people don't appreciate that working from home still means commitments and meetings etc too! My friends don't work in office jobs and often just 'drop by' on days off etc when I'm working :p

Hope you're all having a good day! So pleased to have this support group

@LittleMrsMama that’s the name! Though when they said it in their accent it was more “Amus”, and I couldn’t un hear it!
I do feel ridiculous for even thinking it, and I know if it came to it that hand on heart I would probably still go to hospital as it’s safer for baby, but the thought of being alone & hormonal straight after birth terrifies me.
You are right though, I hope we are coming out the other side by July and our little ones get to have all of the excited family & friends visiting and telling them how special they are 💗

@amysara24 I thought that might be the name! The person I know with it is pronounced A-Moss but might be an accent thing!

You're not ridiculous at all for thinking it. I think we're all feeling scared at the moment and mixed with hormones it just doesn't help at all. Some of my friends and family try to be nice and say things like 'a friend of a friend of a friend gave birth last week and her husband was allowed to visit after' I don't want to be rude by saying 'great for her but my hospital has a strict rule and have made it very clear there's no visitors on the ward.'

I've also had people say 'but think about how empowering it will be and how strong you'll feel and then the bonds you'll make with just the mums on the ward after with no disruptions, it'll be incredible' - tbh not really. I'd much rather DH bonds with the baby and supports me than I bond with some strangers. As I say things will hopefully change by July but definitely the fear is the unknown with not knowing when this will end or if the restrictions will get even worse.

How's everyone else feeling about it all?

Just catching up with posts after moving house. Sooooo tired now. The house is a building site and stressing me out. The only safe havens are the bedrooms as they are done so just hanging out on my bed, well we were too tired to put it up last night so just mattress on the floor here right now 🙈

I phoned my GP as hadn't heard anything regarding my midwife appointment on Tue and apparently it's going ahead but at the fertility unit at the hospital instead!!!! It'll be VERY surreal going back there with a bump! I'm not too happy about it being at the hosp but hey ho.

Little bean is moving around lots so that's nice and reassuring. Size of an aubergine now apparently!!!

I like A-Moss but yeah it's def a regional thing whether it's said Amos or Amus 🙈🙈🙈

We've got our name, Well DH is 100% on it and I'm 95%. The name we've had for YEARS is going to be her middle name now which makes me a little sad but at least we're still using it.

@squirrelnutkins1 hope the move went well and things improve with the house in a building site! Not the best environment when you're 6 months pregnant and in isolation!

I was at the hospital last week and it was very strange. Empty and very eery, but felt much safer with fewer people in the waiting room I'm sure they wouldn't risk yours or your Midwife's health bringing you in if they were worried about Coronavirus vs wanting to see you but get that it will feel scary. I'm also at the hospital again this week for an appointment but feel a bit better after going once before.

That's great you're 95% sorted with the name and can still use the one you had in mind as a middle name. Anything could change in a few weeks and you and DH could change your mind and go back to the original option. I wonder how many people change their baby name when they arrive!

@LittleMrsMama ah thank you. It'll get there. The worst jobs are mainly done like plastering, electrics etc. Just need OH to crack on installing the kitchen so I don't have to have a camping style set up to cook 😂

It's weird being so eerily quiet at the hospital isn't it. I had to pop into the foyer a few days ago to connect up my work laptop and it's normally crazy busy but only a couple of people passed me. There's direct access to the fertility unit from outside so that makes me feel a little better. How did your appointments go? How many weeks are you now?

Well since writing that a friend has had their baby and unbelievably used my fave name as her first name ☹️☹️☹️ it's a fairly unusual name too so it'll have to stay her middle name now. OH isn't bothered but I'm secretly gutted cus I thought I could maybe convince him back to the original plan. But in the grand scheme of things it's not really a big deal compared to all the chaos in the world right now (this is what I'm trying to tell myself anyway!)

We put in an offer on a property on the 5 of march hopefully moving by mid June 😬🤞

Anyone feeling too small in the bump department? I watched a few YouTube "bump-date" vids for a bit of normalcy and I am worried baby is really small.

I am 25+4 now baby is moving about a lot I just thought I would be more bumpy by now... I am 5ft 6 and a size 10/12.