IVF Graduates - A place for pregnancy menkulling

[BeetlingAbout]

A chat thread for those who have conceived via assisted conception.

Come and join me egg buddies!

I've had a lot of discussions about wee vs discharge vs waters! The things we talk about. If I do things (which isn't often) then I always finish the day a bit damp, but I've had lots of scans showing a very nicely sealed water sac so it's not that.

Euro great news on you still hanging onto little centime. Every day makes such a difference. How many weeks are you now?

And congrats on the weeing nobeer! I have often had to have a catheter in hospital, and I remember having to pass a 'pee' test to leave the hospital. I was never so keen to pee on demand!

I'm also peeing all the time, and finding not a lot there, plus I have to learn forward to get started. I assume it will only get worse.

As for me, I'm 27 weeks today and moving along ok. I'm at home on modified bedrest (ie allowed to potter around, but no major activity like going out). My cervix is thinning quite quickly, although it has stabilized recently. I'm on fortnightly scans, with advice that I need to be prepared for hospital bedrest if things get any worse. I'm still working from home but will finish up next week which I can't wait for. It's uncomfortable to try to work on the laptop while lying down, and I'm finding it quite stressful. Only 6 more working days which is great. (Mind you chatting on Facebook seems to possible without too much worry!)

The bedrest was a bit of a shock to start with, but I've just realised I have been here for 5 weeks already. I'm looking forward now to 28 weeks as my next milestone. Still looking at a 34-36 week gestation probably.

Time glad to hear you are not getting too much cabin fever on bed rest. It sounds positive that whilst your cervix is thinning you are not in hospital yet. You've come so far.

Whilst we are on oversharing and embarrassing symptoms....my boobs are so itchy I could take sand paper to them. I use my regular toilet trips to whip my bra off and have a good scratch!! Was on the train home and was nearly in tears they were so itchy. I don't think it is skin stretching as the haven't noticeably grown. I moisturise loads. Don't have any issue with this any my bump.

Gosh ~ lots of people with tricky times at the moment. My biggest stress is going up to a 32G bra! I'm not even 11 weeks yet. Can't tell you how great it feels to have a properly fitting bra again after weeks of denial. Was scared to buy anything 'pregnancy related' until after 12 weeks. Lady in John Lewis did look confused when I declined the nursing bra (that does just feel way too soon).

Apart from trying to hide drinking at various work events (work summer party next week day before 12 week scan) - just daily menkulling about what will happen at 12 week scan.

Xx

val emotional rollercoaster is spot on. It's so hard at the moment. Today is a fairly good day as yesterday's scan showed the blood flow issue is stable. However, I still literally have nightmares about the section. I can't get the image of the scalpel cutting into me out of my head (sorry if I'm freaking out anyone else).

time I'm 32+6 today. Really hoping I can get to 34 as that would likely mean a shorter NICU/SCBU stay. Time is moving really slowly for me, and it must be for you too. I would be going a bit stir crazy, but it sounds like you are doing brilliantly.

thoughtful I still haven't bought a nursing bra. I was told that the size changes a lot when the milk comes in at 3-5 days post-birth so you really need one that fits at that point. It'll be an online order as I'll be a few days post-section with a hospitalised baby, so pottering round the shops won't be an option!

Hi all,

Sorry for the recent absence, I'm nearing the end and every day is abit of an emotional mess as the discomfort, lack of sleep and general claustrophobia and impatience takes over.

Today I am 37+2 weeks and have my c section booked for 39 weeks.. So really only just under a fortnight to go, but my god it feels like a marathon. I have tried not to wish this pregnancy away even at the darkest times when I was on bed rest and bleeding because we've worked too hard not to enjoy this time right? But now I'm exhausted, sleep deprived and suffering constant braxton hicks etc... I can't help just wanting it to be over. I'll regret it when it is!

Sorry to those of you who are still having a hard time. Euro, you are doing so well... 32+6 is great already, but I have done the milestones like you... 24, 28, 32, 34, 37... Get out! Every day truly is a bonus right now so take heart that your wee one has had great cooking time.

Itchy boobs, yeah I had that... Thank god I wasn't at work or in public, so I could have a mild scratch, but taking my bra off at the end of the day was still my favourite activity.

Re: the constant weeing at 14+4, could just be hormones/blood flow still, but just keep an eye out for UTIs ... I had several in my 2nd trimester and am still on proactive antibiotics until my c sec to prevent them coming back, nasty little swines they are.

Ferrero - even thought we have fought hard to get this far, doesn't mean we have to love every moment!

I have good and bad days at home. Mostly I think I'm ok, but I do get very irritable sometimes and easily annoyed. I need to ensure I try to get out into the garden as much as possible as it really clears my head and feels less claustrophobic.

My bras are holding up oddly enough. I have massive boobs anyway, and I had comfy bras fitted properly a few years ago. I think they went down a bit when I lost weight, but even taking that into account I expected to have to get new ones. I have used bra extender things, and for the moment that seem fine.

Good luck to us all! Getting closer and closer everyday.

Hi Val, I don't mind - ask away! The catheter was attached to a bag which I could detach and then empty it in the loo. I just went to my local health centre to get it removed which was quick and painless. Sometimes what they do is they retrain your bladder, which means you clamp the catheter and empty it at timed intervals so your bladder gets used to the feeling of being full then empty iyswim. And I've got more discharge too, and I think I'm only 3 weeks ahead of you - so try not to worry! I've got itchy boobs, and belly too, but not sure if it's seasonal eczema which of course I can't use steroid creams on [annoyed emoticon]

euro have you spoken to the midwife or dr about your fears of the c section? There may even be some kind of counselling or hypnotherapy to help. But to be honest, what you're feeling sounds completely rational and normal!

time good luck for 28 weeks! Will they give you a scan to reassure everything's ok?

thoughtful I'm impressed with your bra size. I thought I was doing quite well growing up to a C cup but according to the Style and Beauty bra interventions I've been wearing the wrong size for years

ferrero good luck, and I think feeling fed up is normal for any woman (never mind what we've been through) at your stage of the pregnancy. Please come back and let us know how ou and little one are doing.

Hi bears, beetle and anyone I've missed out.

I will have another scan. I get a cervical scan every two weeks.

I have a horrible day next Wednesday. 9am GTT with the last test at 12. Then 12.40 growth scan (doctor thinks the baby is a bit big). 4.15 cervical scan at the prem clinic and 4.30 doctor appointment to discuss the growth scan.

Prem clinic always runs massively late so I've no idea how it will all work. All I know is I'm stuck there all day! Not sure how this goes with my bed rest. And phones/internet don't work in the hospital. Not looking forward to it.

Ooh time that sounds like a crap day! I hope all the appointments are in the same hospital! I had the GTT a few weeks ago. As you've got the scan so soon after make sure you take something to eat and drink with you for when you finish the GTT because you'll probably be hungry AND thirsty. I think that's where my UTI problems started because before that I was being really good at drinking plenty throughout the day but then didn't drink for about 4 hours and just got a bit out of routine. Take a book too! Good luck and I hope everything goes ok.

Time that does sound pants. Can you explain the bed rest so at least you can lie down whilst you wait?

I have an appointment with the consultant today. Only because it is an IVF pregnancy. Anyone else have this? I can't possibly imagine what he can say? Seems pointless. Never had this with DS.

time my bestie's waters went at 30 weeks with her twins and she was prescribed bedrest... with daily monitoring at a hospital a trek across London. It does seem counter-intuitive.

nobeer I definitely want some counselling afterwards. I'm not sure that there is time to sort anything beforehand at this point. The consultant who will be doing the op knows of my fears and probably thinks I am completely mental . He's very nice and I trust him. If someone has to do it, I'd rather it be him than whoever is on duty at my local NHS hospital. It helps me that it is a known individual who I have met. He has the surgeon arrogance thing going on, which normally irritates me but in this case gives me confidence in his abilities.

I hope the monitoring is going as well as it can Euro.

Time you don't need to hear it from me but you are doing so, so well.

I had my consultant appt yesterday which was a non-event - my favourite sort of appt!! They even checked the heartbeat which i wasn't expecting and fabulous to hear.

A whole back I won a maternity pillow, something I didn't bother with when PG with DS and all I can say is fan-bloody-tastic!! It is such a comfy way to sleep! It's a Theraline one if anyone is interested.

Hiya, euro glad to hear you are hanging on in there, and time2deal glad you are slowly but surely counting down the days of bed rest.

We had our 20 week scan last week and everything looks good. Still feeling good although have a horrendous cold this week with awful congestion and feel like my head is going to explode :-( constant coughing is testing my pelvic floor too...

Feeling a bit sad because my brother and SIL are preparing for their first IVF cycle at the moment. If it works first time for them it will be so lovely as our children will be only 6 or 7m apart. But knowing part of what they are going through is so heartbreaking; plus SIL is quite a lot older than me and I don't think they are going into it feeling very optimistic. They don't want to talk about it to anyone at all so we are just sending them good thoughts.

Just wanted to bump this up and see how everyone is doing, especially euro and time. And anyone struggling in the heat! I've never been so glad for work air con.

All good here :)

Just had my 16 week appointment. Lovely to hear her heartbeat again

I am just about OK in the heat but the 2nd tri energy boost is yet to find me...spending my entire time exhausted and irritable Oh, and all my hair is falling out....this happened with DS so I am not quite as worried as I was then but it is still a bit

Moggle - do you know how your SILs cycle is going? I'm not looking forward to doing that again (which we will probably at some stage). So stressful.

I'm doing ok. I wish I was at work for the aircon! My house has a beautiful skylight extension, but clearly it is not good on days like this. There was a great storm last night and I came out to check the doors were closed and the noise on the glass roof was amazing. Reminded me of storms at home in Sydney.

But things are going well for me medically. I had a big day at hospital on Wednesday. GTT (passed), growth scan for suspected large baby (came back normal) and a cervical scan (all stable). The prematurity clinic actually discharged me as if the baby came now it probably wouldn't go into NICU, which is their focus. So all good news! I'm now under normal consultant led care... which is good in one way, but the staff there haven't exactly filled me with confidence. At least my notes have written on the front that the baby is to be delivered by the senior consultant which is reassuring.

They did diagnose me with a UTI so I'm on antibiotics, but other than that all is calm.

Just a waiting game now. We can start to really believe we will have a baby, and today's my last work day so from next week I will be able to plan properly for his arrival. Hard to believe really. :)

Hello fellow IVF ers. Please can I join? I'm 14 weeks today after IVF and I have been stressing like mad about miscarriage/screening tests etc etc exactly because it was so hard to get here. I actually still can't believe this is real and and still feel like a fake when I tell people I'm pregnant. When is it safe to believe this might actually be happening? I'm holding off telling work for fear it might go wrong. I've also had a million scans already, and the thought of waiting til 20 weeks for the next one does not seem doable- what if something goes Wrong in between?! ... Am I mental?

Me again- just one more thing- google is not helping in my anxiety at a
All. I just found an article saying it's 'not uncommon" to miscarry at 14 weeks after IVF because IVF pregnancies are "high risk" and full of "complications"....great. I need to stop looking online! ;(

time that's all sounding really good! Brilliant that the hospital feels you are lower risk now wrt prematurity. The storm last night was insane, I had windows closed, ear plugs in and eye mask on and I was still woken by it!

Hi chatty!! I told work after the 12 weeks scan personally... Started to believe it might actually be happening around that time too, although not 100% until I started getting a bump and feeling the baby move- I find that very reassuring as I'm not constantly thinking the worst. I don't think ivf pregnancies are necessarily full of complications although the reason for infertility might cause complications to pregnancy as well as to getting pregnant in the first place. I just had plain old unexplained infertility but have been very lucky and not had any further issues at all since getting my bfp. Step away from google!!

Congratulations chattycat! I also found it hard to say the p word at the start. It just sounded like I was making something up, as there was no way this was really true...

I'm 28+2 now and really only just accepting that soon we will have a long longed for baby. We tried for 4 years and I can't believe we are nearly there. It's like we are normal people!!

You should tell people when you feel up to it though. It was a really wonderful experience for me, lots of people knew about our problems and the genuine happiness for me was very sweet.

Great news time! How did it go getting to all the appointments on time?

Welcome chatty and congratulations! I told work at 12 weeks and they eere delighted for me. And it was a bit weird, as soon as I told them my bump seemed to show more!

Afm I'm now 18 weeks. Can't feel any movement yet do bit disappointed and trying not to worry. Got 20 week scan 2 weeks tomorrow. Apart from that I'm feeling quite tired and still nauseous every now and then.

Have a great weekend everyone. And hope you're nit suffering from the heat too much.

Was fine in the end. Mainly cause I had them all wrong in my head anyway! GTT took from 9-12ish and actually was lovely sitting outside in the shade doing since people watching. Remember I'm stuck at home so it was nice to just be out.

Then scan at 12.40, and the afternoon appointments were at 2.15 and 2.40. Got to the second just on time, which was great. I think I may have mixed up 1415 and 4.15 pm. Baby brain!!

Glad all went well Time and that you enjoyed your day release

Catty you sound as mental as me AWESOME!! I have had a multitude of scans to reassure me and my lovely MW told me yesterday I can make an appointment whenever I like (well, any Friday they are there!) to have a HB listen.

Ha! Thanks for the welcome all and vallinna - you may be right! I keep telling myself that after the next hurdle I will relax, but when the next hurdle arrives, I find a new one! Your mw sounds ace- I really don't think mine would agree to that - she s very blunt and no nonsense!

The stress stays around! I also thought getting pregnant was the hard part but it's only the start. I woke up at five and couldn't get back to sleep as the baby was so quiet. I've been reading about reduced fetal movement so it was on my mind. I ended up walking around and putting some music on to wake him so I could wake him and get a good kick!

Worked in the end and finally got back to sleep on the sofa. Funny how I can't sleep now without a kick in the tummy. :)