TTC & Pregnancy

[CatiaR]

Hi ladies,

the other thread is full now!

I will try and add everyone back in but please check if I’ve missed anyone.

@Ncl31 really hope that this is a sticky bean 🥰

@Huriya hiya lovely! 20 weeks already! Time goes fast and a baby boy how exciting. Thank you only 5 and half weeks now so still feels unreal!

@Hotmalibu94 , @Hollie1802 , @etaketak1991 , @ginny93 hopefully you ladies are all doing well?

@Roseberry22, @EK37 , @Myna13 , @NLmum4 @thejollytrolleydolly good luck for this cycle!

@EK37 Thank you! And I'm sure it'll all go well, and it'll be so worth it the second you see your little one. It's always nerve-wracking when the reality starts to set in though.

@CatiaR Aw not long now! I know that feeling though 😂 The to do list never ends.

@Camia Best of luck!! 🤞
@EK37 Have you tried hypnobirthing? Honestly it did wonders in helping me feel more prepared for birth, I was totally in denial until I did the course. Positive birth company have got an amazing offer on at the moment if it's still going.
@CatiaR Not long now, lovely 🥰 Hope 3rd trimester is treating you well!

I'm 37 weeks now so full term 🎉 I had a blip of high blood pressure over the weekend but thankfully it's gone right back down and no protein in my urine, so 🤞🤞🤞 Ready to get this baby out soon 😂 I'm actually really looking forward to labour again. Hopefully I get my water birth this time!

@Hollie18 How are you doing? Hope you're keeping well ❤️

@etaketak1991 full term! Exciting and not long left!

honestly can’t complain too much as it’s just normal stuff, baby has been head down for a while which is perfect but obviously the bladder kicks and rib kicks are not particularly fun but part of the process. Just need to finish packing hospital bag and at least that stuff is sorted just house stuff in general there’s so much to do that I don’t think I got enough time for. And need to handover in work and finish my apprenticeship assignment! Which I’m quite behind on but no stress loool 🤣

Glad all is well and hope you get the labour you want! We only have 2 birthing pools at the hospital so who knows if I’ll get lucky! Next week we talk about birthing plans and I’ll start giving a go at expressing colostrum so that’s all new and exciting too

@CatiaR Baby's current favourite move is using my ribs as a springboard to headbutt my cervix, so I feel you there 😂

Good luck on finishing up work! I've got one more week 🎉 I've also been expressing colostrum since the weekend, I was surprised how quickly the muscle memory came back! I've just got some freezer meal prep to finish off and then I think we might be ready 🙈

@etaketak1991 oh gosh sounds pleasant lol

im quite mad and only finishing at 39 weeks with my last being AL but my cover is on AL some of next week and after so only have 2 weeks proper handover unless baby of course has other plans 🤣

@etaketak1991 i haven’t looked into doing the course but I have started to listen to some podcasts on it, I am a bit of a control freak and I think the thought of not knowing what is going to happen or what it’s going to feel like as it’s my first is really scaring me 😂 also doesn’t help I have two really close friends who have given birth in the last few weeks who have had some not very nice experiences. I know everyone is different but it’s just really freaked me out. I have found myself worrying about silly things like if it hurts to get an epidural or if it hurts to get checked to see how dialated you are! Deffo spiralling 🌀

@EK37 If it helps, I had my daughter by using a tens machine for the first 6cms dilation, then a dose of co-codamol for the rest. Honestly I can't remember it hurting when they checked dilation, and I had a sweep done at 6cm that I also can't remember feeling 😂
Look up positive birth stories on YouTube or follow the positive birth company on Instagram, the stories are amazing. I found the Emma Willis documentary series really useful too!
Lots of people say epidurals are magic ❤️ Fear of the unknown is the hardest part, I think.

@etaketak1991 i hired a tens machine too so hopefully that will help! Quite open to trying all other pain relief before an epidural and what I like about the hospital I’ll be in is that it has alongside midwife unit so don’t have to go far if I can’t cope! I like it gives me all the options should all go smoothly and if not hospital is right there. Only been there once ever to be monitored and all midwives were lovely so hoping it will be a good experience and very excited to know what little one I have if it’s a boy or a girl! All of that I think makes me feel less stressed about it

I don't know if it helps anyone worrying about labor, and of course everyone's experience is different, but I didn't feel the need for an epidural for either of my labors, and I think my anxiety over it was worse than labor itself. They were both very intense and exhausting, but as far as the level of pain itself I think I built it up so much in my head worrying beforehand that the actual experience wasn't as bad as I convinced myself it would be. I tried a lot of other methods of pain relief too and some of them were fantastic. I'm a little bit of a control freak too so did tons of research before my first and wanted to have a very detailed plan to cover every single thing, and that did help me feel calm and in control early on so I didn't panic and feel unprepared when labor first started, but ultimately in the moment just letting myself go along with however I felt contraction by contraction and being flexible to try a lot of different things helped the most.

@etaketak1991 yes I am going to hire a tens machine as I’ve heard really good things about them and try and do as much at home as I can so I am in my own environment! I am sure when I am in it I will be okay but the fear of the unknown is horrible 😂 I hadn’t really thought about it tbh up until the last week or so, I am 27 weeks on Sunday and my midwife told me to have stuff set up by 35 weeks just incase she makes an early arrival and it’s hit me that that is in 8 weeks 😂

Hello everyone!

Sorry it's been a while, little man is here! He arrived last Wednesday via emergency c section.

I ended up with pre eclampsia at 41+ 3 and so was taken in for an induction, cue 3 days of pessarys and labour before my waters being broken and 16 hours of pitocin however sadly baby had his head caught at a funny angle and was back to back and so I wasn't progressing and at that point was physically exhausted and was taken for the section. It turns out it was a good thing as he had managed to get himself so wedged that they actually had to cut me vertically and horizontally and TMI but someone had to put their hand up me to dislodge his head!! I lost a lot of blood and have had to have iron infusions and all sorts but hopefully will soon be off the meds and back to normal 🤞🏼

His name is George and is he doing fab!

Good luck to all of you coming up to term now! How exciting 😊 I have also heard great things about tens machines and actually had one but didn't end up using it!

Oh @Hollie18 sounds like a right ordeal! Glad you both are good now! Such a lovely name! Enjoy your time with your new little family, won’t be long till @etaketak1991 and I join you guys hopefully 😊

@Hollie18 I hope your partner is treating you like a queen after that, and that your recovery is going okay! If you'd ever like someone to talk to about it, my DMs are always open, that sounds like a lot to go through. ❤️

I'm so glad baby George is doing well, congratulations on your snuggly new addition 🥰

@Hollie18 oh bless you you are superwomen!!! Hope you are doing okay, enjoy the baby bubble!

@Hollie18 oh wow it really sounds like you went through everything, glad to hear George is here safe and you’re both doing ok, I hope you’re recovery isn’t too long, enjoy all the baby cuddles!

@Hollie18 im pleased to hear you and George and safe and well. Despite the ordeal it sounds that you had to get him here.
i hope you’re enjoying every second of baby cuddles and being well looked after.

@Hollie18 I'm so glad you're both ok! Sounds like little George got himself into a right pickle ❤️
Hope the recovery is going ok for you ❤️

@Hollie18 Congratulations on baby George, and I'm so glad you're both safe. It sounds like you've been through a lot, I hope you recover quickly and can get plenty of rest and baby snuggles.

I've had just the most fantastic day. I fell and fractured my foot, and now it seems my period is starting. It's only been a few days since I got my implant removed so was not expecting it to show up this soon, but at least now I can start to get an idea of what my cycle is like.

@Camia oh bless that’s not great! Hope you’re not in too much pain!

good if your period already returned tho!

@CatiaR I won't lie, I was holding onto the little bit of hope that maybe I'd get really lucky, not have to deal with a period at all, and test in 6 weeks and get a positive 😂 I get brutal cramps and I haven't missed them. But I'm excited to start tracking things and not feel like I'm just in limbo waiting to actually start TTC. My partner gets stressed out by the idea of all the ovulation tests and timing things so we agreed to be more casual about it for the first cycle or 2 and see what happens. So I'll be tracking for my own sake but not testing for ovulation or anything yet, so we'll see how that works out.

My foot is pretty painful but I'm managing. I'm honestly more annoyed than anything now because all I did was trip over a toy and hit my foot just wrong as I fell. Now I'm stuck in a boot and limping around the house 🙄

Aww bless. My DH was fairly similar in terms of not wanting to stress. He wanted when it happened happened but I had never been off the pill for like nearly 15 years so I wanted to know if my body was doing what it was supposed to do so I just did that on my own and didn’t bother him with it. 5 months later we were successful.

fingers crossed it won’t take too long for you 😊

Can I ask another question- day 10 of cycle. Started testing ovulation on clear blue digital and circles yesterday and today straight to still face. On cheapie ovulation using app 0.75 which seems lower than my usual peak. Which one would be accurate 🧐

@NLmum4 clearblue can usually peak a day before standard strip tests. I got my solid smile on Friday evening and peak on Saturday morning with the standard LH, bbt confirmed ovulation as Sunday. Hope this helps, both are likely to be accurate the strip tests just get it right before x

@Roseberry22 that is really helpful - thank you

@Hollie18 how are you and George? ❤️

Who's due next? 😍 So excited for more babies in the group. How are all the mamas-to-be holding up?

@Ncl31 @Camia @NLmum4 how are you guys getting on?