August 2021 - Scans and booking in!

[BertieBotts]

Continuation of August 2021 thread :)

@BananaHammock23 I really wouldn't worry too much. I'm not a huge follower of that list the NHS passes out. According to that list you can't have a beautifully prepared & cooked medium rare steak from a restaurant but you can eat a kebab from a dodgy street vendor.
I still drink raw milk as we have a dairy farm and eat whatever cured meats, tins of tuna & salmon as I fancy. As long as I'm confident in its source, storage and prep then I'm happy x

@biscuitcat mmmm toasted baguette with Brie and red onion chutney 😍🤤

@biscuitcat I'm with you, I'm a big fan of brie. But I have to say baked camembert has totally hit the spot for me, it did make me a tad burpy (sorry TMI) but it was SO worth it! I also choose Red Leicester over cheddar these days, very random!

@biscuitcat I can leave Brie alone for sure but counting down the days til baby is here and I can have a medium steak 😍 might ask DH to make that for my first meal home after hospital 😂

@Alittlexmasmagic I would love to live on a dairy farm 😍😍 that sounds so much fun.

My little bump has started to show (nearly 14 weeks with my 2nd) I thought it was bloat but it 100% doesn’t suck in! Makes it all very exciting!

Baby has been making itself known today with lots of flutters, it’s so lovely. He/she must be doing back flips!

Here is a piccy of my brewing bump ❤️

Thanks for the reassurance all! I don't feel as anxious now.

@Alittlexmasmagic that makes me feel so much better! The cheese was from a lovely local dairy farm, I went to the farmers market this morning and couldn't resist!

Wow @Jessicapebbles so lovely to see your bump! I believe you show quicker when it's not your first. I've got quite a round tummy as it is so I'm struggling to see if it's bump or I've put on weight! It's definitely feeling harder and looks a bit rounder but I can't really tell.

And I had no idea you could feel flutters at 14 weeks, something to look forward to!

@Jessicapebbles thanks, it definitely has its moments but middle of winter ain't one of them. Neither is post C-Section. I know my place and it's way behind the cows 😂 x

@MrsB2019x I've got a steak in the fridge waiting for me to be bothered cooking it. Whilst a good vet might not be able to revive it when done, a MW would certainly slap my wrists for it x

@BananaHammock23 I know you can feel them a little sooner with your second baby - I think maybe because you know what it feels like? It was 16 weeks with my DD!

X

Yes don't worry if you don't feel movement yet as most people feel it much later! My DH thinks I'm imagining things :o

However he does now admit I have a bump. It's 80% air, but it is 20% bump. I still haven't told a huge load of people IRL so if I bump into people they are going to be like

Hi all

Hope all been well- good to see so many scans and growing bumps!

Been a bit quiet , I’ve officially got HG, spent 2 days in hospital last week and am now signed off work until end of next week. Scrolling on the phone has been making me feel very sick!

Thanks for all your comments about my odd midwife call earlier in thread- I’ve been referred to another midwife who I’ve only spoken to once but already seems 10x better. You were right, they’re investigating rhesus negative and means I’ll need another blood test and If I am I need a few injections, so panic over. Think they’ll do that at my scan which is a week on Weds (finally!)

Insomnia has taken over now- am practically nocturnal now but pressure is off while I’m not working!

Hope everyone is well, impressed so many of you are still managing cheese!

Sorry I’ve been a bit quite as well everyone! On the note of feeding, I would love to breastfeed: with DS I breastfed for around 5 weeks. I don’t know where we were going wrong but I just couldn’t DO IT. Well, technically I could as he put on weight and the midwife was really happy. But it used to take me hours to do one feed as we really struggled with the latch.

After 5 weeks I decided to express some of my DH could help. This turned into exclusively pumping for 7 whole months. It was in all honestly awful. I don’t know why I did it to myself, I thought I owed it to my DS as I blamed myself a lot for not being able too.

My milk supply was plentiful so I was lucky in that respect. But the constant feeding with the bottle, then washing, then pumping for at least half an hour to do it all again in half an hour’s time was exhausting. I would not recommend and don’t plan on doing it again. Hoping breastfeeding is more successful this time around but won’t be putting the pressure on myself like the first time around.

On the topic of cheese I had no idea we could have Camembert if it’s cooked?! I will be buying some with crusty bread ASAP! Also countdown to my 12 week scan which is this Friday!

@Magik01 Yes we can, it just needs to be thoroughly cooked in hot temp to make sure the nasty bacteria don't survive 😊

Aw @thisisbananas3 I'm sorry to hear this, I can't imagine HG. Must be hard. Are you managing any food/drinks at all? And insomnia on top, I feel for you. Glad to hear that at least you have a better MW now xx

Have any of you got any recommendations for pregnancy pillows by the way? I got quite a cheap one of Amazon with my first and I have used it every single day since (including when not pregnant) as they are just so comfy.

I’ve been looking into the bbhugme pregnancy pillow and I really want one but the price is eye watering does anyone know if it’s actually worth the money?!

@PurplePansy05 not fun but makes me feel like I’m not being as dramatic as I thought! Food wise- toast and croissants only pretty much. Drinks flat lemonade only or fizzy water with squash, water still tastes like rusty nails! Hopefully all the systems will pass soon, I’m 13 weeks today so should be clearing up soon...

Pillows wise I want the bbhugme but I can’t justify the cost! My friend has recommended the dreamgenii but I have no experience to say if it’s any good. They all seem quite a lot, can’t we just a big pillow from IKEA 😂

Symptoms not systems. Sorry lack of sleep getting to me evidently...!

@Thisisbananas3 sorry to hear you’ve been so poorly, but glad you got and update from your tests and what sounds like a more promising start with a new midwife

Loving the bump and scan pics. Good luck to those with scans this week. I’m feeling a bit angsty again as my energy levels seem to have come back up and less nauseous.

Dairy farmers daughter here. Loving the cheese comments! Early on I definitely couldn’t have faced it, especially the smell of melted cheese, but now I can enjoy it again. In an attempt to recreate an apres ski feel when it snowed I ordered some raclette! Was quite surprised it is pasteurised, but as it gets cooked wasn’t too worried.
Has anyone else read Expecting Better by Emily Oster? she’s an economist and pulls together the data on various ‘recommendations’ in pregnancy. I found it very reassuring re food, and at least feel
like I’m making an informed choice if I have something of the NHS forbidden list.

After all the breastfeeding talk I have signed myself up to the library to get reading.

Very jealous of everyone's bumps alresdy and feeling flutters! I'm 11+2 weeks with my second and not a hint of a bump! I thought last week it had grown slightly but I just keep losing weight so nothing much else seems to be happening down there. You'd think losing a stone since becoming pregnant would make it more obvious but nope!

@Magik01 also on countdown to my scan which is a week today. Eeek 😬

@HopefulB I heard very good things about this book! Thanks for reminding me about it. I will order some books if everything goes OK this week. Also raclette is possibly my favourite food in the world...one of my closest friends os French-Belgian and the raclettes she makes are out of this world. What a coincidence, I spoke to her about missing our racletts parties on Saturday! 😊

@Thisisbananas3 I looked at exactly the same pillows and concluded that I'll go with the u-shaped Kally pillow. It looks expensive but it includes a spare cover which normally costs £14-£20 extra, cotton covers, free delivery in the UK and you can return within 14 days if it doesn't suit you. You pay for the return but they don't go to landfill, you send them to a women's charity, Marylebone. All this was quite important for me. I spent hours last week reading about the pillows and chose the U-shape one because it provides the best lower back support - and that's my big problem already. It also appears to be the most effective in preventing from rolling onto your back later in pregnsncy and can be used as a BF pillow. So what I would say is think: 1. what do you need to be supported, this will determine the shape, 2. what your usual sleeping positions are and 3. how do you want to use it, only throughout pregnancy, multifunctional etc. Obviously another point are materials used, whether the covers are removable and machine washable, firm/medium etc (firmer tend to support more but provide lesser flexibility depending on the shape) etc. All in all, I've concluded my back is really worth the investment and I'll be using it for a long time hopefully.

FWIW the Genie put me off because of the poor back support and comments on the JL website suggest it is too firm and because of it's shape at the back it is too narrow for some women. I want one thing from it and that's comfort when I sleep!

Anyway, that was an essay! I'm waiting for scans and results first before I buy so I'll report back if my choice was any good 😊

Sorry you have been so poorly @Thisisbananas3, hopefully it will ease off soon!

@HopefulB Raclette sounds incredible 🤤

Thrown up this morning for the first time in the whole pregnancy. What’s with that. 🙄

Morning ladies!! I hope you're well?? I was also wondering about pregnancy pillows and need to research...I actually weirdly sleep cuddling a pillow already.
I had my booking in bloods on Friday and got a call first thing yesterday to say the doctor wants to speak to me about my results on Tuesday...I am trying not to worry and can only think maybe it's low iron?!

@HopefulB oh raclette, I would adore some raclette right now!! My in laws live in Switzerland and we always have it when we visit them but obviously that's not been so frequent recently - you've got me craving that too!

@PurplePansy05 that's such useful advice, thank you. I worry about my lower back and my hips too so it sounds like a U shaped pillow might be the best decision.

@Thisisbananas3 you poor thing, sorry to hear you're feeling so unwell. Like others have said, I really hope it eases off for you. At least with being signed off work you don't need to worry about being productive as well as being ill which I hope takes a pressure off - but no fun at all I imagine.

@biscuitcat no worries 😊 If this us your concern too then I'd also look into buying a smaller under the knee pillow, I got one from Amazon and it releases pressure from your lower back and hips when you sleep on your side. Added bonus, you can travel with it easily because it's small. DH and I remain hopeful for a short break in the UK maybe in May/June...but we'll see how it goes. xx

The U-shape will do all of the above though, it's just a lot bigger so less practical to travel with xx

As for pregnancy pillows I just bought a normal V shaped pillow when I was pregnant with DS and used it for sleeping with then used it for breastfeeding ! Multi use