December 2010 - good-bye flat tummies (as if I had one... ha ha ha)

[Persnickety]

Right, I've done the honours. This is our new thread.

And don't forget the stats thread

Japhrimel I know your physio was re pro swimming, but I am a physio too, and I don't think it as a brilliant thing as some physio/GPs make it out to be. With your hypermobility probs, I would suggest more going into the pool and doing some gentle exercise, walking, floating, you can also do some good stability work, esp if pool has a woggle (long foam thing) and you can manage to sit on it. That's if you can face going back, if you don't want to go, then don't.

WalkTheDog - thanks for that. I'd wanted to try walking and doing exercises in the pool, but as it got deep pretty quick and they had lane barriers up, plus the shallow end was busy with kids, it just wasn't possible. I think we're going to look into joining one of the health clubs near us so I can go there. It'll be nicer, quieter and the pool will be more suitable for hydrotherapy-type stuff.

Chooster - hope you sort out whether and when to have the amnio. It's never an easy decision.

Jodie Stick around we're here to support each other! Hope you feel better soon and everything goes well

japhrimel the wedding will go fine but I know how you feel I was stuck on the M6 this weekend for 6 hours because they shut it cos some guy was going to jump off the bridge had to stop off to use the loo but ended up getting really dehydrated as couldn't drink for fear of not getting to a loo! I'm sure you'll be fine though once the ceremony is over you can drink and have access to a loo and enjoy yourself!
Finding it so hard to keep up with this thread! Moves so fast

oh Chooster really sorry to her that the Amnio didn't happen

Trawling the internet hs been a really bad decision for me so I am trying to keep away from it, though at the scan today they said my due date was 8th Dec which is clearly incorrect as it doesn't fit in with the IVF so now I have been googling big heads . Also the femur length is not as long asa it should be so it seems I have a baby with a huge head and very short legs!

oh chooster it must feel like a complete anti climax, how far are you now?

Oh no Chooster. I would be a mess (as if I'm not already). Can you get one privately? Whay about a cvs since the placenta is right there.

I know its really frustrasting... Am too late for a CVS as am 17+6... How far are you strix?

Am booked in for my 20 weeks scan and the amnio on the 12th july when I'll be 19+5, not ideal and i can always back out of the amnio but at least its booked in. I find the whole screening thing quite confusing really. I understand the principle but I dont know how it helps me make a decision... Consultant said given age I am given odds of 1:180 (slightly different from what I'd originally been told but hey ho) and the bloods actually brought my risk down to 1:202 - so marginal but still a reduction. So thats good right??? But thye said if I'd been a younger women who had better starting odds then my bloods would have increased the risk - so not good right??? I know the maths behind it but thats not really helping

Chooster & Strix - sorry you're having all this stress. Screening is stressful. I now understand more why women opt out of screening to avoid the stress.

DuelingFanjo - re your scan confusion...they measure CRL (Crown to Rump length) to date from a scan afaik, not head size. Plus if you're not as far on as they think, your foetus is probably still at the stage where the head is disproportionately large and the legs are disproportionately small. I know a recent update email I got sent said that the babies legs would now start to grow more so that it becomes proportioned more like it will be at full term (I'm 16 weeks tomorro fwiw). So if the CRL measurement was off, giving you a wrongly brought forward EDD, you'd expect the large head/short legs just because of what stage the foetus is at.

Thanks Japhrimel though I always thought that after a certain amount of weeks (13?) they measured the head as it's a more accurate way to do it? I've not had a crown to rump measurement since 9 weeks apart from the Nuchal scan. I'm 16 weeks +2 from egg collection(I think) though today they dated me as 16 +6 and put my due date forward to 8th Dec (was 15th, then 11th).

Ooops, yep you're right. Just looked it up. CRL isn't used after 14 weeks.

DF I'd not worry too much about the dates if you can help it (easier said than done) as only 5% of babies arrive on their due date anyway. From what I've read, the most important reason to get accurate dates is for the NT scan - after that, its less important and dates get less accurate as time goes on.

chooster - sorry to hear about your stress. Remember that 1 in 200 is still low odds - but awful for you to have got yourself psyched up for today.

japhrimel - have you tried front crawl? I've been told that you should try to stick to crawl as much as possible anyway, even when you're pregnant. Apparently, even pro swimmers whose specialism is breastroke will not warm up with it as it puts too much pressure on your knees, hips and back!

Also, remember that even the longest wedding service is generally not much more than 1h20 (I'm thinking of a large, full, Catholic mass - CoE services are 40mins with 3 hymns, 1hr with 4 hymns) and if you make sure you have an hour or so before the service where you don't gulp liquid, you know that you can last that long. I have a friend who went to see the dr as she peeed so often, and he made her realise that it was 80% psychological. By this stage also, our bladders should be under less pressure than in the 1st or 3rd trimester, so there isn't much physiological reason for needing to pee! And if you take a load of snacks to eat, you won't go hungry. IME caterers at weddings are really good if you explain to them that you need to eat in an emergency or could you have an extra piece of bread because you can't eat XY and Z.

Anyway, back on the bra topic - I got measured today and have gone up another three cup sizes! I now have proper page 3 statistics (well, apart from the lack of waist .

Strix - underwires keep your boobs in place which, if you're big busted anyway, is well worth any extra discomfort of the underwire. And if you have been measured properly (and no, M&S DOES NOT COUNT) then you should hardly feel it at all. But if you're happy in non-wired, then why go to the extra expense of getting wired - I wish I was like you on the bra front!

Right, off to try on my new clothes - hurray for having trousers I'll be able to do up again!

PS Sorry for the shouting - I feel VERY deeply about people in badly fitting bras, and sadly M&S is one of the worst culprits.

I just want to hve a moan so I can get it all out. Sorry to be so 'me me me'

I noticed today that my latest scan now has my Due date as 8th Dec and they think I am 16 +6 yet every online Calculator for IVF conception has me at 6 +1 and my due date as 13th Dec.

I know it's not much of a difference but it bugs me that I do know exactly when conception took plce and so they are completely wrong about my due date and how many weeks I am.

They think I am a bit further on than I am, almost 17 weeks, and so this means that when they measured the femur length they actually put me down as having a baby with shorter legs than expected at 17 weeks which has panicked me and sent me to google in search of answers.

I need to just accept that I am right and they are wrong and that by my dates I am actually measuring fine thank you very much.

It doesn't help though that short Femur Length is a soft marker for downs syndrome . Also it seems that everywhere I look I see reminders of Downs Syndrome and though I am not remotely superstitious I feel like it's some kind of sign . I just want the next few days to go by so I can know for sure. Plus I can't talk to one of my best friends about it as her reaction to me talking about having the ante-natal tests was really negative so I have been avoiding seeing her for the last month .

Right - I have got it all out, hopefully I can leave it there until the results come through. They did say it could be as soon as tomorrow but I should know by Friday.

Hiya, I'm struggling to keep up as ever!

Strix - (almost wrote Persnickety) that's great news. What a relief for you.

DF - keeping fingers crossed for you that you get good results too.

Chooster - what a let down that must have been for you. Would you be able to consider a private scan?

Jodie - stick around. These threads are here for the good and the bad. We're all going to have times when we need to let off steam and need a bit of support, that's what we're here for and the reason we all post on this thread. I haven't told that many people in RL about the pregnancy (mostly as there's no-one to tell), but I told my "Nov '05 mummies" on fb, and the one person I phone if I need to talk or cry or be happy etc is a lady that I met on the Nov 05 Post natal group. I went through a lot with them, and they were invaluable they really were.

Lavita - You lucky thing getting all these extra scans. Try not to worry about the extra risk. I found 1st time round that doctors and mw's seem to spring things on you in a really blase fashion and then you go off worrying so much about it when it's something that's perfectly normal. I went to school with a few identical twins. My boyfriend in infants was a paternal twin, but they had 5 younger sisters, 4 of whom were identical twins! I also really fancied a boy in the year below me at senior school who was an identical twin (strangely didn't fancy his brother)(and Luke was always my favourite in bros, fancied him much more than Matt!). DP's nan was an identical twin (I was really hoping it had been passed down, but identical twins are only on the mothers side) and ds1 used to go to nursery with identical twin girls (he could always tell the difference and would tell me off if I got it wrong!). Just trying to say that identical twins don't seem to be all that rare (or maybe it's just something in the water down here!)

I'm sorry I haven't posted to anyone else, I'm rubbish at keeping up.

I'm 17wks tomorrow and huge! And yes, I do still have a bump when I lay down.

at WhatWillSantaBring, I think when you were posting I was bashing out my rant

The reason I want them to get it right is partly to do with all the measurements but also because they will say I am more overdue than I am at the end and might try to induce me when I don't want to be induced.

DF So sorry that you're having to go through this. I've often wondered myself just how accurate the scan measurements are. I mean 1. there has to be some scope for how the baby is layinge etc, and 2. everyone is different, everyone grows and develops at different rates, surely this is the same for an unborn baby? I've never understood how every single baby at, say, 12+1 is exactly the same size, shape etc.

That's very unfair of your friend to be so unsupportive for you. Is there anyone else in RL you can speak to? Or of course, let off as much steam as you need to here.

Again, keeping everything crossed for you that it's good news and you get those results asap.

I do have another friend who talked me through the Amnio (she had one) and has been a real love. My first friend wasn't mean or anything but she just reacted as if the testing was totally unecessary and I felt a bit judged by it. Am sure once the results are through I will be able to talk to her about it, so long as the results are good that is.

DF, noone can induce you against your will. If I were you, I would keep all of the evidence to support my dates (ivf apointments, etc.)so when the time comes if they start talking induction you can wave your evidence and say "see you next week".

I think there is identical twin water where you live, Cheryl.

Oh, underwires are for the big busted ladies... well that would explain why I have no use for them.

jodieo hope you come back soon and are coping okay - sounds like such a lot to be going through and the messing around with your results is just not acceptable. Am thinking of you.

DF it's rotten when you get too much info and not enough at the same time. Later in pregnancy DD's femur length measured very short, barely on the 3rd centile - I worried for ages about her being born with flippers (really) but had missed the fact that it was the only length measurement that was being done and what it actually meant was that I had a very small but healthy baby! the baby's brain development is favoured so a baby that's just small would have a bigger head proportionately if that makes sense.

chooster really sorry to hear you're going to be putting up with more worry until the amnio. fingers very tightly crossed for you.

strix I am very flat chested and underwire really helps create the illusion that there's something there - not a particular concern currently!

I'm another one in the podgy when standing up and no bump lying down camp. Tbh, after hardly showing through my first pregnancy I'd be really freaked out by a big bump! Also being small meant I had no issues with mobility, back pain etc and was able to keep really active up till delivery which I think made things a lot easier. There are some benefits to mum at least from very small babies . Although on a serious note, if this one is also small then I might have to stay in hospital with it which would be a big issue as I've never spent a night away from DD yet at 2.5...

thank you 93pjb, that would make sense. My crown to rump measurement at the Nuchal scan was slightly smaller than the dates would suggest it should have been so maybe the baby is just small.

I was only 5 and a half pounds when I was born and most of my family are quite short, as are my DH's so perhaps it's just our genes

Sorry guys, been away working and haven't had time to catch up on the board! That's great news Strix hope everyone else has great news too.

Going to hosp again tomorrow. They said it was just for a checkup this time and not a scan, thats in three weeks time. Any idea what they will do? Every time I have been there before it was just for a scan.......

Hi Squistle,I think they just do blood pressure, have a feel? and check your urine. You can ask any questions you may have

Cheryl think you must have twin juice in the water! aparently identicals are 1 in 9000 births and are only 30% of twins, most are fraternal. Fraternal twins can be genetic as it's the woman producing double eggs each month, but with identicals it's just a fluke that the egg splits and could happen to anyone.

I had my scan at the fetal medicine dept at Queen Charlotte yesterday. Italian lady doctor did the scan and she was great, again outlined the risks (10% chance of losing one or both babies ) but said everything was looking good and to focus on the 90% positive, which I always do. Strange though, babies have grown so much that it's weird seeing them on screen in parts, head, back, arm etc. Where at 12 weeks you could see them in one go.

Doctor also said that that this morning she saw a lady who was pregnant with triplets, natural conception who already had a 14 month old dd. Can you imagine!

WhatWillSantaBring - we've been told that the service will be about 90 minutes (hymns, readings, special songs....) but we've sorted that we're going to go along early with everyone else and then pop to the pub that's 5 minutes drive away so we get back just before it all starts. And then after the ceremony we're going straight to the pub again if I need the loo and can then get back to the church in time for photos as the groom reckons they'll be 15 minutes of faffing before they sorted. It doesn't help that I have IBS and irritable bladder anyway - they've been stable for years but this pregnancy has brought them back. However, now we have a plan and know the score I'm a lot less stressed - I just knew that I couldn't last the 2.5 hours that most people will be there (plus it's a 30 minute drive there and back!).

I never really got to grips with front crawl - might have to relearn it. I think I'd be fine sculling on my back if the pool was quiet and not full of splashing kids.

Lol at page 3 boobs! My DH can't quite believe I now have FF cups. and yep, IME, Mothercare and M&S are shockingly bad.

DuelingFanjo - fingers crossed for you - and ignore the stupid doctors! It's not like you can be very off on conception dates when you have IVF! And as someone said, they can't force you to have an induction.

Glad you've got it all planned out for the wedding Japhrimel. At least now you'll be able to sit back and enjoy it more.

I love being pregnant, after ds1 I would have happily spent the rest of my life pregnant! However, I'm really struggling this time. I'm still loving the pregnancy (now the sickness is over), I'm happy, feel really healthy, and (mentally) have so much energy. Unfortunately, my body is not complying! I'm flipping huge, my skin cannot stretch any further it's under so much strain. I'm waddling already, and struggle to walk the couple of hundred yards to school and back (DP has gone to collect ds2 now). I have to collapse on the settee for 15 minutes to get my energy and strength back. I feel so heavy already too, I don't know what's going on. I think by the time the school holidays are here I'm going to need a wheelbarrow to transport me & lift me from a sitting position. Even with all these moans and gripes though I'm still loving it! The most comfortable position for me is driving! Although my belly is only a few inches from the wheel so it's not going to be long before that has to stop too.

To all those second (or more) timers out there - is anyone feeling a strange sensation around the pelvic floor area?

It seems to me that I can feel a heaviness there when I stand up, that was not there in the first pregnancy. I thought my muscles were in pretty good shape but perhaps I need to do some more exercises...