Dec19/Jan20 IVF Graduates - Thread 2

[Chooklass]

New thread for us all to keep in touch. Think we're all nearing the end of the first trimester or dipping our toes into the second ... how far we've come since the days of agonising over stims!

Link to old thread:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/birth_clubs/3812203-Dec19-Jan20-IVF-Graduates

@Lily999 glad to hear you got the reassurance!

@Wimbledon1 placenta does travel up especially when your belly is growing, I wouldn't worry about it's position right now, it's way too early for that. Glad to hear you are feeling the kicks! I feel them only in my lower belly with the anterior placenta.

I announced at work and got so many recommendations from mummies and even a free pram! It's all feeling much more real now and this last scan .. I'm falling in love with this baby! Knitting another cardigan now 😊😊😊

I also noticed oxytocin kicking in sometimes when I'm happy, especially if I laugh or sit in the sun for a minute it feels like I am drunk! Have you had this? Also occasionally feeling really dizzy after food and when sitting down on a chair. Low blood pressure. I hope you all enjoying your day today!

Oh good @Lily999 - glad you've been in and got the extra reassurance. To be honest I didn't actually understand what the low fragments etc meant or how to respond to that as I didn't have any similar tests. But it definitely sounds like a fairly standard testing error and that baby is still doing well in there! Hurrah. When did you say your scan was?

Thanks @FlapJackered yes it is nice to feel the kicks. Occasionally alarming. I got a really massive slam against something the other day while I was on a work zoom call and jumped a foot in the air. No idea how very professional women who present at conferences and things in pregnancy manage 😂

@Viletta your message really made me smile. Lots of positivity. The other day lurking on here I found a thread for early October babies and scrolled through. It felt quite different to this thread - really all just people chattering about how excited they are about x/y/z and no-one really worried it seems! Don't get me wrong, I'd be wildly out of place over there and find here very comforting. But it is nice when you bring our metaphorical rays of sunshine, thank you! ☀️

They've just called!!! Everything is ok, the second tube was totally fine and all came back clear, lowest probability for all of them.

I am so happy and relieved! This is the best day ever! :)

Yayyyy @Lily999 that's amazing news. What a relief!!!

@Lily999 fantastic news! Congratulations!

@Wimbledon1 I lurked there too briefly at the time when all of them were worried about 12w scan. I think it's normal to be worried. I'm really enjoying my pregnancy though:)

Just received an email from NCT, the online course if £198 bloody hell! And this is with their 10% discount. Was it as expensive for you too? This one is 7 sessions with other couples.

I started nesting and feel like I need so many things, new fridge, dishwasher, a fitted shelf to store all DH crap hobby stuff. Also repaint the walls..

Oh brilliant, great to hear that @Lily999, bet you are so relieved! 💓

@Viletta - no, my NCT was bloody £290 with the discount. I now feel I've been robbed!! London premium maybe?! It's also for 7 sessions. 😬

@Wimbledon1 Indeed, I bet it's London prices! I'm in South West! Made me feel better about my £198, sorry 😂😂

@Lily999 that is great news!! Will you still get the official results (and sex!) on Friday?

@Viletta @Wimbledon1 I paid £215 for 2.5?sessions! I am in the south west too. 🤔
How long are each of your 7 sessions?
Mine are from 9.45am-4pm so maybe they are more intensive ones?!
Just a warning - my sister mentioned the breastfeeding information through NCT is rubbish and she wasn't prepared at all, so advised I did my own research/learning.

@FlapJackered Yes yours look like more intense ones! Mine are 1,5 or 2h and I think a lot of it is chatting with other couples. When is yours? Mine is July and I'm wondering whether August-September would have been better..

Thank you for all of you, we are both super happy and relieved! @FlapJackered I did receive the official results via email and the confirmation of the gender, now he is definitely a he (as I don't have XY chromosomes haha) :)

@Viletta our course up in Scotland was also £198, I saw London was even more. This includes 6sessions during pregnancy plus one reunion once the babies are here, in total 16.5 hours including the reunion. Ours start on the 9th of September and finishes on the , everything before that was online and I was still hoping back then this craziness will end by then and we can do it face to face.

Thanks for the tip @flapJackered I am not going primarily for the knowledge, but more to meet other couples in my area, so obviously would prefer the face to face one, but it did say depending on the situation and guidelines they might need to change it to online then we will get 15% of the money back.

I don't mind the online one but a friend said if I want to be in the group with similar due dates it's best to jump to an earlier group.. don't think this makes a difference 🤔

Yes, you have to put in your due date and the courses come up based on that. We had 2options to pick from: one that finishes at the end of August (for due dates late Sep/early Oct) or this one starting at the beginning of Sep (for due dates late Oct/early Nov) so we went for the second option as our EDD is 20.10.20, but I also think people register to different ones once the earlier/later courses get full so it is a bit of a gamble.

Great news @Lily999!! Glad you didn't have to wait another two weeks for your results :)

I did my first pregnancy yoga class (online) last night. It was sooo good. Lots of breathing and relaxation as well as yoga positions - I slept really well afterwards. We had to do some visualisation exercises to help us bond with our babies, felt a bit weird at first but was really lovely. I think that will be useful to get me to look forwards to actually having a baby, rather than just constantly worrying about 'if' I end up with a baby, if you see what I mean? I did yoga regularly until before xmas and was shocked how little strength I now have in my legs and arms! Something to work on!

Thank you @Chooklass, well done! It means you are exactly one yoga class ahead of me, all I do is my daily walks, should really do yoga. But I am doing the PF exercises now every day, so that's a progress. I agree with you, once we have the 20week scan we should start working on actually believing this is happening and really start enjoying it!

DH put his ear on my belly yesterday and tried to listen to the baby, said he heard bubbles so then I listened to his belly and concluded he is also probably pregnant. x)

Congratulations @Lily999 glad to hear all is well!

I remember thinking that the NCT course was bloody expensive when we did it 4 years ago (Surrey prices!) but (I think I said it to you all before) it was worth every penny for our best friends! I tell them they were expensive so we’re getting our money’s worth!

The breastfeeding session (sorry I can’t remember who said it) was crap looking back but if I’m totally honest I don’t really know how you can be taught it any better. It’s really something that it’s so hard to explain to someone who hasn’t done it or imagine if you haven’t. I found it so painful and my nipples bled awfully but I found the answer in nipple shields. The HVs don’t like them but they were the only way I could persevere, apart from a feed taking longer there was no difference to my DS, he was still EBF as I wanted to do and after 6 weeks or so I weaned him (and me) back onto the boob and it was plain sailing from there on!

For anyone questioning what dates to choose, in our group there was one couple who were due a whole month after the rest of us. We all found that we didn’t bond with her as well as the others because when we were all going through sleepless nights etc she was still pregnant. I was due in the middle and was last to have mine (except for the one mentioned above). I would recommend you choose one where you will be due in the middle or at the end but not long after (if that makes sense!) I would have hated to have been the first!

Hope this advice is useful, sorry for not tagging!

Also, being nearly 20 weeks I’m so excited that soon we’ll be counting down rather than counting up! How crazy is that?!!

Oh oh oh, sorry, one more thing! Those who were worrying about not feeling any movement yet, I’m second pregnancy (apparently meant to be easier to identify this time 🤣) and not feeling any movement yet (I don’t think) but midwife said that some don’t til 22/23 weeks...

Sorry, one more one-more-thing actually as a little reminder to myself as much as anything! Not sure if any of you have heard of or know about testing for Group B Strep, I wouldn’t unless a friend told me. It’s not offered on the NHS but is really important to be done some time between weeks 35 & 37. I think it only cost about £30 for the home test kit (a swab up the bum!)! Read more here: www.nhs.uk/conditions/group-b-strep/ and stick a reminder in your phone! xx

Thanks @DobbieFreeElf - I'd never heard of that either but have just put in my diary for mid September to think about. There is so much!

And yes, we are halfway through (tomorrow for me) where is time going? I would love after the scan to do what you're suggesting @Chooklass and start properly accepting. DH and I have literally named the foetus 'If' since very early days of 'if there is a baby then we'd need to change cars.' Now we've started half discussing names, I can't actually imagine it having another name than If. Bet they'd be the only one in their class 😂 But yes, perhaps time for a new perceptive from next week!

I've gone for the NCT which makes me one of the late ones rather than first. There were limited options and I couldn't have been in the middle, so as @DobbieFreeElf said, worked on the basis I wouldn't want to be first!! So mine are mostly in July. Really not long away!

@DobbieFreeElf oh wow, I didn't know nhs would not test for streptococcus! Are they going to do any swabs at all, do you know? I'll ask my midwife too. A friend was not allowed water birth when they found it so I though they did test for it. There should also be antibiotic therapy for the baby to make sure they don't catch it on the skin from what I remember working in a clinic. Very good advice on NCT due dates! I'll ask before booking!

@Wimbledon1 I found it feels so real after 20w scan. We though about names from the beginning as I didn't allow myself to think about being pregnant or having kids when ttc so when we did get pregnant I decided sod it, life's too short, I'll enjoy every minute. Our first IVF we were very weary of the chances and prepared for failure and our second we were very optimistic, happy, hoping and planning. Both failed but surprisingly we felt better mentally after the second fail. So decided to allow ourselves to be happy in the moment and be positive. I know people are different and this may not work equally for all. But I think we deserve to be happy now.

Has anyone looked at diy felt mobiles? My god they look so cute! And easy enough to make I think.

@FlapJackered good luck for today! Let us know how the scan goes.

Excellent advice about the strep swab. Have also put it in the diary.

Let us know how the scan goes!!

@Viletta I keep looking at mobiles and thinking i could possibly make one! There are some gorgeous ones on notonthehighstreet but they are sooo expensive. I might try myself......!

My midwife told me at 16wk appointment that the blood tests they took at booking appointment showed I was negative for Strep B. I'd never heard of it (and hadn't realised I'd been tested for it!)! I wonder if they need to test again nearer birth? 🤔

Yes to mobiles!! I've been eyeing up this pattern for a knitted duck one, but felt ones are lovely too!

Hey ladies just on the Strep B, it is one of those bacteria that live in the body and I think 20% of women carry it. It causes risk to a very small percentage of babies, hence not being routinely tested. If you do test positive however you are likely to have the option of anywhere other than hospital taken away from you as you are strongly advised to have a large dose of anti biotics as soon as your waters break. There is a lot to weigh up and as I say many women in this country have it without knowing and there is no risk to their bub.

@WorriedButterfly it’s been said in this group before, both by myself and by others, that it’s best to control the controllables. For me, knowing that I have something that could be life threatening to my baby and mitigating that risk by having IV antibiotics during labour outweighs the ignorance of not knowing when there is a cheap and easy way to identify a potential problem.

@Chooklass my understanding of why to do it between 35 & 37 weeks was to be as close to delivery as possible because you can pick it up (unknowingly) during pregnancy. I told a pregnant friend about it last year and she found our age was carrying it so she had antibiotics during birth.

I had my video consultant appointment today, all good, just one thing that she did mention was that due to it being an IVF pregnancy and my borderline low Papp-a they are unlikely to let me go beyond 40 weeks unless I really really want to. So I think this supports what someone else was saying which none of us had heard of that they don’t like overdue ivf pregnancies (@October2020 was it you? I can’t remember and can’t look back without losing this post 🤣)

@FlapJackered I hope your scan goes well!

In other news, I’m holding it together right now as my 15 year old dog (which I bought myself as a rebellious 18 year old) is looking very poorly and I think weight have to say goodbye ☹️ Hormones are not helping!!!

@DobbieFreeElf wasn't me (although I definitely won't be allowed to go overdue due to other problems) but I guess it makes sense - with IVF you KNOW your dates are right.

I absolutely will be getting the strep b test - I totally agree, controlling the controllables is a good anxiety management technique. Agree with you though @WorriedButterfly, the risk is thankfully very small.

Talking of small risks - are any of you buying a seatbelt adaptor? I fell down an internet rabbit hole and feel like I should... but not sure if they're worth it?