Due August 2021 - the final countdown!

[Daffodil21]

Continuation of the previous thread.

All newcomers welcome!

Not long now!!!

@wimbler What's MRSA, sorry? I've never heard of it?

They gave me tablets to take pre-section already at my 36 weeks appt and said the pre-op will take place the day before over the phone and that I will need a covid swab 2-3 days before - apparently they'll ring me for that as well, but if not, I'm supposed to call the hospital and come in. I assume a more detailed schedule will be discussed the day before over the phone...I hope so!

Also I had strep B swabs just in case privately and I'm negative. I know theoretically the results may change at any point and with the section it's irrelevant anyway, but I did it just in case I have an early quick labour. It has given me a bit of reassurance for the next fortnight before the section. xx

@PurplePansy05 my earlier Midwife appointments were all over the place but I have an appointment at 34, 36, 38 and she said she assumes she won’t see me at 40 weeks cos baby will be here but one gets booked in. C section pre op is meant to be a few days before with the anti sickness and anti acid tablets I think. Hopefully midwife will book you in.

Had the best morning, massage and pedicure! Honestly I feel so relaxed I could sleep…

MRSA is a superbug you can catch from hospitals, quite rare though I think - I guess they swab as a precaution?

I got the phone call about my GBS test being negative on the day I found out about him being breech, it just made me laugh! Oh well :)

Yes MRSA is a bug that you can catch in hospitals but you can also have it and spread it without knowing i think. I was swabbed to see if I had it. If I had it, they would have given me a special shower gel to shower with before coming into hospital. Not sure if that’s standard procedure in every hospital but it was a quick nasal and groin swab (not internal)

Oooh OK, I'll email my MW to ask about that, I had no idea. Thanks girls.

My feet are really swollen, wish this heatwave went away. I only fit in flip flops and one pair of sandals, all my pumps are too small now. Crazy. I put my feet in a bowl of cold water last night but it didn't make a major difference. Might try elevating them after I finish work. I get up at least once an hour and wander around but nothing much seems to be helping. Will they likely remain swollen for a period of time after the section? If so I'm going to order some extra wide ballet pumps I think xx

I’ve been told that the swelling can get worse for 2 weeks after a c section, I bought flip flops in the size up as I figured I probably won’t be walking too far. There’s also meant to be another heatwave early august, so I reckon ordering a wide pair is a good idea.

The ice water doesn’t work that great for me, though it’s just pleasant in this heat, the elevation is much better but I get such terrible pins and needles after about 10 minutes.

How are everyone’s partner’s feeling on impending due dates? Mine is a bit worried because work is so busy, I think stepping away for paternity leave is stressing him out. He’s also not in a position to wind down before hand and is really doing some horribley long hours. Anyone else’s OH in a similar position?

@Inmypjsagain that's a good shout. I'm a 4-4.5 shoes wise, I've just ordered some extra wide pumps in size 5 from Evans. Never shopped there before, hope they're comfy. I also got a lovely new leather pair of flat mules that arrived today and only one foot fits atm I hope to still wear them this summer...

Please not another heatwave 😫😫😫

My DH is busy but wfh before the section to minimise covid risk, and slowly winding down. His boss knows he might take an extra week off if my recovery is slow, so that's pretty much August written off. So he's not taking any new work on atm until he's back, that's what they've agreed. He discussed with his team in advance too so the work is being distributed between them on a temporary basis. xx

So growth scan today at 36+2 and baby weighing 6lb 15oz 😳😳

Also my ankles are massive and having to wear work boots isn't helping👋🏼

@Inmypjsagain DH works away from home quite often (usually 2-4 nights a week at the moment) so we're just more hoping that baby doesn't decide to make an appearance while he's away 😂 which is a bit stressful - but the flip side is that he doesn't bring work home so luckily his leave won't affect his workload at all, so that's something less to worry about. Because of covid he's also having to take some unpaid leave and it worked out well that he could do that in August, so hopefully will be here and have a decent amount of time with baby before work starts again.

DH is feeling more conflicted as he has to handover before he leaves and is feeling in limbo about things so is tempted to just take the next couple of weeks off as holiday! Problem is we have plans for his parental leave + holiday to take us through until Christmas and leaving 2/3 weeks early will mess up that plan. Although we can still change and transfer an extra month back to him from me. It wouldn't cost us that much really.

I was told to wear the compression stockings they put on me for surgery for 10 days (the same duration as the thinner injections) so that helped with the swelling. I gave up by day 7 though as they were so hot so not sure I’d bother in the summer. It’s what the injections are for anyway so I wasn’t sure why I was told to wear them. They only gave me one pair too so washing them and drying them became a problem when I was only supposed to have a 30 minute break from wearing them!

I hope I don’t sound like a know it all by the way?! C sections are literally the only contribution I seem to have 🙈

Just had my 36 week app and I saw a different midwife who said she didn’t agree the baby was breech (what I was told at 34 weeks) so must have moved- just been for a presentation scan to confirm and he’s not his head is down and he is right where he needs to be- tried to get double confirmation he’s a boy but his legs were crossed haha but she said if we were told the gender at 20 weeks it’s very unlikely to be wrong!
We caught him mid yawn abs trying to chew his toe 🤣
He looks like his dad already!
So exciting xx

Great news @Caz1226.
I really hope that what I am sure is a head up in my lungs, is in fact a bum and baby is head down. Although, she’s definitely still
Moving about a lot and quite frequently seems to be transverse!

Weird sensation for me last night, I rolled onto my back twice in my sleep and woke up short of breath, anyone else experienced this?

@BertieBotts good to hear you have a bit of a plan even though it could go different ways! You will have to keep me updated as to whether baby turns.

When I saw the consultant she said they would not recommend vaginal breech birth with me having anti phospholipid syndrome and that she probably wouldn’t recommend ECV in my circumstances either. So essentially I will either be induced on 10 august, or, if the baby hasn’t turned by a week on Monday, I will have c section at 38 weeks. The consultant mentioned that they would probably want me to have steroids if the baby is to be born by section before 39 weeks. I will have to look into this a bit more because I thought by 38 weeks would be ok without steroids but we’ll see.

I will have to continue on clexane injections for six weeks after the birth if c section or induction so that wouldn’t change either way. I have been on them since I was six weeks pregnant so whilst I can’t wait to stop another six weeks won’t really make much difference!

@HopefulB Sort of - I've woken up catching my breath before while laying on my side.

Just had an online feeding class with my midwife. No one else joined (it was v last minute) so it was 1:1!

[quote Daffodil21]@HopefulB Sort of - I've woken up catching my breath before while laying on my side.

Just had an online feeding class with my midwife. No one else joined (it was v last minute) so it was 1:1! [/quote]
Personal service! Hope it was useful :)

Has anyone else’s fingers swollen quite a lot? I’ve had to take off my wedding and engagement ring :( does anyone know when this might go back to normal?

On shoes, I’ve worn sandals and flip flops only for weeks!

@wimbler They didn't tell me any of that! No one has fully gone through it with me. I read some bits online on the NHS website, leaflets I was given and a bit on MN, but I have a feeling I don't even know half of it tbh. I'm not too worried, but I like to know the practicalities like you've just mentioned, especially in this heat! It will help me brace myself a bit better mentally for some more discomfort xx

So I'm very grateful for your practical tips, that's what I was getting at! 😊 xx

@RandomCatGenerator wedding rings have been off for a while!!!

No it's very helpful! :)

Agree no rings here - fingers have been swollen for a while. They'll go back to normal after the birth but with the heat/humidity maybe not immediately.

I’m also very grateful for any c section advice/tips given it wasn’t something I had considered previously and is now a distinct possibility! I haven’t had my rings on for a while now, do miss wearing them but scared they’ll get stuck!

@BertieBotts

No it's very helpful! :)

Agree no rings here - fingers have been swollen for a while. They'll go back to normal after the birth but with the heat/humidity maybe not immediately.

Do they? How fast? I was worried they might stay swollen until end of breast feeding

@RandomCatGenerator I'm still wearing my rings, but on really hot days or after I've been for a walk a don't think I could take them off! Today I've been camped out 2 feet from the fan ALL DAY and so they're fitting nicely 😂

Last day of work tomorrow!!! I'm so excited - though feeling weirdly guilty for both stopping at a really busy time and also because I'm taking time off when DH isn't - I think because baby isn't here yet I have an odd feeling of it being cheating to be not working, despite being constantly knackered and in pain. Has anyone else found that? Maybe the start of mum guilt - getting in there early...

@biscuitcat I've been on maternity since mid-may (boss was a twat so I resigned and took maternity ASAP) - I did feel a little guilty to start with, mainly because I took it so early. But I soon got over it and now I don't feel guilty at all 😂 we've had to deal with the actual pregnancy - our partners haven't! Enjoy!!!!!