Due December 07 - The end is in sight, or is it just the beginning!

[Wizzska]

Hello everyone. Will you come and join me?

Morning all

Just checking in.

Skid - good luck with your scan.

Thanks everyone for your good wishes. Decided to come in this morning to try and take my mind off it but instead have been doing searches on the web on measuring small and scaring myself stupid!

beckle and chocolatepeanut - sounds like you are both very close - these could be the 'annoying' BHs that kitsilano talked of and that got her 5cm dilated! Hope so anyway!

thingmajig - what was your name before?

oh and hi again furry - good to see you're back on

Skid - I wouldn't do that - it will work you up.

I know - it's a ridiculous thing to do - am trying to restrain myself!

Morning all

oh no, feel the cold coming on - hope it passes quickly.

Skidaddle, thinking of you - hope the scan goes well. Perhaps baby is back to back which makes it hard for them to get an idea of accurate size.

Amani - that happened to me with a dress last Christmas and it was such a pain, sure the assistant thought I had just picked it up off the peg! This weekend we're visiting family and going to try and tidy the garden up a bit (weather permitting). We're going to put our Christmas tree up next Sat

Off to MW appt then to toddlers to tire DD out!

skid good luck for today- your LO may just be measuring smaller if you have engaged? when i looked at the comparison in my notes re fundal height it would appear that the fundal height increased by 5cm in 2 weeks- that is OBVIOUSLY ridiculous. Such an inaccurate measure and i am sure only used as a guideline at most these days.

between my scan 2 days ago and MW appointment yesterday my LO has now engaged 2/5. OMG! I thought i was zenning out for a couple more weeks yet (although i know i still may do) Did the typical woman about to give birth thing yesterday too- ran around like a mad thing and bought every essential still on my list. Will finally pack my hospital bag today and have reassembled the moses basket this morning after giving it a good clean. almost ready...!

mine's head is 2/5 engaged suey so that could make a bit of a difference but doesn't explain slow down in growth over the last 8 weeks..

re your baby's head engaging - dd's head was 3/5 engaged at 35 weeks, and 4/5 (i.e. 1/5 palpable) at 36 I think and the mw said ooh it won't be long now - well she was born at 42 weeks - it is awful when you think it will be soon and then you have to get through another two or three or four weeks. Hopefully yours will come soon but just a word of warning..

ok i am confused. I thought that 0/5 was fully engaged and 5/5 was fully unengaged? I discussed this with MW yesterday, but could have got it wrong. She certainly told me she could only palpate 2/5 of the baby's head.

suey you are right - when they write 0/5 it means they can't feel any of the baby's head so it is fully (i.e. 5/5) engaged - I think the confusion is because we talk about how engaged the head is but the mws write how much is palpable IFKWIM?

oh thanks- yes it is misleading when you are talking to pals- i am saying that the baby's head is 60% in the pelvis to avoid confusion! What time is your scan?

12 o'clock - leaving in a minute..
But have just read a really reassuring old thread about it in which loads of people have measured very small and have gone on to deliver perfectly healthy and big babies so am feeling much better about it
Evil google - must NOT do that again!

skid not sure if you'll still be around but DO NOT PANIC. Step away from Google, and take a deep breath- it is very unlikely that anything will be seriously wrong. I was just looking at the fundal height chart on my hand-held notes, and noticed that there's a pretty substantial grey area of 'normal' growth just as there is for everything else (and don't forget what our consultant said about it being very difficult to get an accurate size based on scanning +/- palpation at this stage) - you're due a week before me, so by the fundal height chart you could measure anything between 32 and just over 37 cm. Also, measurement techniques vary hugely from person to person- one midwife practically started the tape-measure on my belly button, another rammed it right under my pubic bone [ouch]. Anyway, sorry if this is too late/inappropriate, but I'm thinking of you and hope it goes well.

Skid don't worry about it, I have no idea how they expect fundal height to be accurate when then baby always moves around changing the shape and size of the bump. Glad I've not been measured now. LO is probably just very snug inside you.

Skid, I agree completely with Dundee, they seem to measure me from a different place each time! Also I was measuring a week ahead at 28 weeks but at 34 weeks was measuring a week behind! Good luck though today and STEP AWAY FROM EVIL GOOGLE!

Good luck though and hope it puts your mind at ease,

Suppose I'd better do the ironing now, been putting it off the last couple of days, I've been procrastinating too much.

Skiid - i think you have left but just wanted to say good luck. I am sure it is nothing. I was wondering whether it could just be that you had growth spurts up to 30 weeks where LO done most of its growing.

Hey to everyone, pleased all the problems seem to be ironing themsleves out.

Suey - I was completely engaged with DS at 38 week appointment and he was born 2 weeks later.

i am pretty chilled about when LO arrives TBH. It is just nice to feel like we have reached another landmark- even if it means nothing really. All of the girls in my NCT class have been engaged for the last 3 weeks and i was feeling a little left out! Any time in the next 4 weeks is fine as long as LO is ok

Claraq - Can i just ask, when you had your elective cs do you have a spinal or a epidural?
And is there a difference, i want whichever will mean i can get up on my feet quicker.
Or if anyone else can answer this id appreciate it

Had my MW appt this morning, nothing to tell from it although I will mention that both this time and with DD's pregnancy I have never been measured once with a tape measure! Up here they palpate your tummy and have a guage of how far up they should be able to feel your uterus at x amount wks pregnant.

fifi - my sister had an elective CS (baby was breech) and she had a spinal. When I went down to theatre to delivery DD they topped my epidural up to a spinal as there was chance I would need a CS.
No idea why the spinals though sorry.

Skid hope the scan is all ok, I know what a worry the small/static fundal height measurements are but even the consultant said to me that it rarely means anything-they just like to do the scans as a precaution. Let us know how you get on anyway

Hi everyone

Fifi - I had a spinal, I was not given a choice so I think that is standard for elective sections. I am not exactly sure what the difference is but I think it is because is numbs you totally from the waist down whereas an epi will only numb some parts of you (and when they are slicing open your belly you really want to make sure you can't feel a thing...). I don't think it can be topped up like an epidural though. I can't remember how long it lasted - not too long (a couple of hours until I could feel my legs again?) but you won't be able to get up for a while anyway. I had the operation at lunchtime and got up the following morning - would not have been able to do so that evening.

Skid - hope everything is ok, I am sure it will be but know it must be a worry. Hopefully by now you will have got the reassurance you need.

Hi,

Back from the scan and all is fine , thank God for that. Think I didn't realise quite how panicked I was until afterwards (managed to stop myself from bursting into tears - JUST). Mw had no explanation for why my fundal height was so small and said the baby already weighs 7lb7 at 37+3!! So now I might start worrying about my baby being too big instead . Thanks all for your support, will try not to get so panicked next time

it's very quiet on here today - wonder if everyone is too busy having their babies...

Great news Skid!

Wow it's quiet on here today - have just realised I have written the first message for a couple of hours.

Where are you all - off having babies??!!

I'll just talk to myself for a while. Had a terrible night last night as just couldn't get comfortable. Think it was because I took dd to soft play yesterday and ended up climbing up and down a few things I probably shouldn't have. Think I pulled a few muscles/ligaments and made my backache worse than ever.

Thinking of taking her to Waitrose this afternoon to have coffee and cake, then buy something nice for supper. Might as well treat myself while I can.

Oh and all those who are about to have their first - I agree with Suey2, enjoy the last few days/weeks of being childless. Doing things like going to the cinema is an excellent idea, and have a few romantic meals out.

It'll never be the same again!!!