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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

What is more exhausting: Late pregnancy or new motherhood?

52 replies

Romilly70 · 14/09/2010 18:48

Genuine question...
I am 32 weeks pg with DC1, and I just feel knackered practically all the time.

I am wondering if my age is something to do with it - 40 in a few days, also huge fibroid means I have suffered from palpitations, heartburn and just the general hefting my bump around means even turning over in bed or standing to cook dinner is a huge effort.

I am due to have a planned C-section and I just can't imagine being even more tired than this when my DS arrives. Or am I just being extremely naive...?

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LizzyG44 · 14/09/2010 20:33

Late pregnancy was the worst for me, so difficult to get comfortable. Hormones and adrenalin are sky high during the first couple of weeks with newborn baba which keep you going and you sleep whenever and wherever you can!

notnowbernard · 14/09/2010 20:35

For me (particularly with DC3), late pregnancy was without question the most tiring thing

In fact, the entire pregnancy was knackering. I am still riding the wave of absolute relief that I am no longer up the duff

superv1xen · 14/09/2010 21:06

notnow i too had the wave of relief which you describe about no longer being pregnant once babys here!! great init :o

Allegrogirl · 14/09/2010 21:13

Two weeks in with DD2 with nearly 3 year old DD1 and despite the night feeds it is still way, way better than late pregnancy. Hooray for not being pregnant anymore. It's a different tired once baby arrives. More purposeful I guess.

notnowbernard · 14/09/2010 21:15

It helps a bit that I am head-over-heels in love with DS

But I agree, it's a totally different tiredness

I can walk now, for instance...

CardyMow · 14/09/2010 23:51

Late pregnancy the tiredness is definately worse. New baby just eats sleeps and poops. And the more babies you have, the earlier in the pregnancy the extreme tiredness kicks in. I'm 22+2 with DC4, and bugger me I'm permanantly shattered. It didn't hit till 30 weeks with the others!

preghead · 14/09/2010 23:55

late pg is worse i reckon - at least after the baby is born you can physically move properly and get out and go for a walk etc and when you do sleep it is soundly

Xavielli · 15/09/2010 08:51

Late Pregnancy tiredness is definitely worse!

Faaamily · 15/09/2010 08:54

Depends.

With my first child I didn't think it could get worse than late pregnancy but by God it did. DS was a shit sleeper, though, and the first six months are a blur of extreme exhaustion and grumpiness.

No.2 was different. I felt on a high after the birth (much better birth experience this time around) and she was a great sleeper from day one, so I got enough rest.

Kathyjelly · 15/09/2010 08:59

I guess everyone's different, but for me, it was when ds was two - six weeks old. Feeding every two hours, day and night.

Poledra · 15/09/2010 09:03

With DD1, new motherhood was more tiring than late pg - at least when I was pg, I could sleep in the afternoon on the weekends and go to bed early.

However, with my subsequent 2 DDs, late pg was worse, as I still had the other child(ren) to look after so couldn't rest when I wanted to.

I was pretty healthy during my pgs though, no other issues like you have.

margherita76 · 15/09/2010 09:40

I don't think you are being naive- I similarly questioned how much more knackering it could possibly get. I had mobility problems with late pregnancy and so hardly did anything - I was just so tired though. And couldn't get comfortable. I was beside myself at times. People used to say 'enjoy your time now' or 'you wait' and I couldn't understand how I was supposed to enjoy myself when i was an itching, rolling, moaning, waddling, crying, tired mess. And as for the 'you wait', well that is just mean. Anyway - in spite of the birth related issues I am recovering from, it's so different. My daughter is a fairly good sleeper - i wake up with her in the night but it's a different kind of tiredness, that I don't really notice. And I just fall asleep now as opposed to lying awake for hours thinking about how uncomfortable I am. So I say - you will cope much better with baby than pregnancy. Just out of interest - are you anaemic? I was and the iron tablets made me feel a lot better.

Hermya321 · 15/09/2010 10:06

I can't imagine anything more exhausting than pregnancy, I ache all the time, my hips feel like they're about to pop, I can't get comfy and the baby keeps bouncing on my bladder. I walk everywhere huffing and puffing like a tired train and I just don't sleep at all and I have migraines.

I can't imagine how a newborn can be worse than this, at the very least I'll be able to sleep on my tummy and give the baby to my DH for ten minutes whilst I escape the house.

giddywithglee · 15/09/2010 10:37

I'm with Hermya!

Having spent all of last night wide awake because I was so uncomfortable and now feeling like crap, I can't wait to at least be able to lie on my back or my front!

Plus I've got really bad heartburn, massively swollen feet and another 9 weeks till I finish work (I'm going up to 37 weeks but really regretting it already).

And I'm fully aware that I've just moved into my third trimester so it's only going to get worse - joy!

At least when the baby is born I will a) have a lovely new baby to cuddle and b) be able to have a bath in comfort while DH looks after him (did I mention that I can't sit in the bath for very long cos my back hurts? Sob!).

preghead · 15/09/2010 10:43

I think you will find it easier after all the physical discomfort is gone ( apart from a residual bit in the boob area maybe! ), then it is just normal, if extreme sometimes, tiredness. I always found that easier to cope with once i felt physically better ( as you will a few weeks after the c section hopefully ). I too am nearly 40, third pg, 36 weeks now and i am sure thi one has been much harder. Also found iron tablets helped with the exhauation that kicked in at about your stage. Not long to go, its all worth it in the end! ( i keep having to remind myself )

Original poster

Romilly70 · 15/09/2010 12:47

thanks for all your replies.

I have been taking some floradix (iron supplements) sporadically, but my obstetrician sent me for a blood test as he thought I was looking pale; results sent to me seem to indicate slightly low haemoglobin, but I need to see him to see if he will give me something "stronger"....!

I guess we have had pretty hectic summer, we live in france so have had lots of visitors, which probably hasn't helped and stress in general (DSC visiting - whole other story...!) took a lot out of me.

i am just planning to get maximum sleep and some moderate exercise in the next 5 weeks. (I am just shocked at how unfit I have got - even going upstairs leaves me breathless.)

I think once my DS arrives, there will be a point to all this and other friends have said that the adrenaline carries you through the first few weeks. It's just with the complication of the c-section, I am wondering how long it will take me to recover from that - but I have a week in hospital and won't skimp on my meds or overdo it as I don't want to risk an infection.

OP posts:

mama2mooandbabymoo · 15/09/2010 12:58

Late pregnancy.

Once you have the baby you can sleep when he/she does. When you are pg you cant have a break from the problems you have!

Haliborange · 15/09/2010 19:26

I think you're probably breathless because of the whole extra blood/ baby squashing your innards bit rather than a lack of fitness!

Do they sell Spatone in France? I preferred it to Floradix and if you take it twice a day with orange juice I reckon it does the job pretty quickly.

Hopefully a week in hospital should be good and restful. As it's a planned section at least you won't have hours of labour to get over too!

Good luck

Hopefully · 15/09/2010 20:22

Late pregnancy was waaaay easier for me, but I had an insanely easy pregnancy (after the first trimester), loads of annual leave to use up before baby came, and a newborn that didn't sleep. For weeks. [haggard]

I think I had an extreme version though - most people are so bloody knackered/sore by the end of pregnancy that there's at least some relief in giving birth!

AppleAndBlackberry · 15/09/2010 20:57

I found the end of pregnancy worse because I had to get up every hour in the night to go to the toilet which was a lot worse than even 3 or 4 night feeds.

doozle · 15/09/2010 21:04

Well I felt exactly like you did and I was anaemic. What was your low haemoglobin count? You could mention this to your GP asap and see if they think you need to be on more iron now. Floradix is fairly low in elemental iron and if you're only taking it sporadically won't be adding a great amount.

Original poster

Romilly70 · 17/09/2010 18:03

My Dad (doctor) is over here for a visit; read my haemoglobin results and said my iron levels weren't too low - they tend to be lower in women, so he just said up the floradix and eat some more red meat(!!)

I will however see whether I can get spatone and double check with my obstetrician, as they are so ultra cautious here in france.

Just trying to maximise the amount of sleep i get at the moment really seems to help....!

Also swigging gaviscon for heartburn, but my bladder can't seem to manage for more than 2.5 hours without needing emptying - i can't remember what it feels like to sleep through the night and I guess it will be some months more before I ever will!

OP posts:

preghead · 17/09/2010 18:08

the heartburn and waking all the time to go to the toilet is THE worse thing and why I say that this stage is as hard as it gets - all that goes away after the birth and so you just have the tiredness to cope with IYSWIM. If it is any consolation, I have this and also have bad SPD so I can't walk at night as everything has seized up so I have to literally crawl along the hall to the loo - I hate waking up and realising I have to do this - am seriously considering getting one of those jugs under the bed they used to have in victorian times

gingerkirsty · 17/09/2010 18:11

IME the first few weeks of having DD were insane but I was absolutely amazed by how little sleep I could function on and still be a happy person!

I think all the hormones coursing through your body are there to keep you on a high and keep you ticking over.

It does get better around the 6 week mark and some babies are far better sleepers than mine in any case!

Good luck with the birth and congratulations in advance on your DC!

DonDons · 17/09/2010 18:19

personally i would LOVE to be able to go 2.5 hours without needing the toilet - last night I was up and down every 15 minutes for 2 hours! On the upside, I only have 10 days to go. End of pregnancy is definately worse than newborn - especially with a 2 year old to run around after. I'm even looking forward to a couple of days in hospital so that I can have a rest!

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