PMA Grads Thread :-)

[Dollydaydream2829]

Hey ladies,
We've finally made it to the other side and are journeying through the unknown territory of pregnancy! Here to share our stories, our worries and keep that all important PMA!
This is a thread for our PMA TTC Grads and for any women expecting their babies and feel like injecting a bit of positivity into their pregnancy journeys and the gang!
Feel free to join and introduce yourselves below :-)

How has everyone's day been?

Had a meeting about DS starting preschool in January, hard to believe he's 3 at the end of the year :) Looks nice and handy as just at the end of our road.

Just checking in. Have been very absent the past couple of weeks. Had some sad news, one of my cats went missing and has sadly been killed in a rta. I'm heartbroken and trying very hard to rein it in.

So sorry to hear about your cat Sophsta, must be awful, especially when pregnant. Hope you're otherwise doing well.

Oh no Sophsta sorry to hear about your cat. 😞😞

aww no @Sophsta i'm so so sorry to hear that. sending you big hugs! hope you are keeping well otherwise xx

iv had a bad few days with a tummy upset, not been pleasant at all! had my 16wk midwife/consultant appt today. CUBS results low risk and we will have a more detailed scan than normal for 20wk appt to focus on facial abnormalities due to paternal grandfathers cleft lip and palette. they weren't concerned enough to warrant this but as they mentioned it was available i asked for it and they agreed. gender scan next wed which i am super excited about.

hope you're all keeping well. xx

Glad your appointment went well today Bella and good they're able to offer more detailed scan based on family history. Exciting for you that you'll know this time next week whether you're having a boy or girl :)

Sorry about your cat Sophs, loosing a pet is so hard:( I still randomly cry about my dog that died over a year ago. They are such special little souls x

Great news about your scans Anna and Amanda, I hope you are able to relax a bit more now. Ive been much happier since my 10 week scan, got my 12 week on weds and I'm 12 weeks tomorrow, whoop

Bella I bought a very similar snowsuit, it was reduced in tkmaxx, wudve been rude not to. cant wait to find out what your having, I'm still thinking girl.

Evening ladies,

How's everyone doing, any plans for weekend? I've got an Indian head massage booked for tomorrow morning, a birthday present from my mam, which I'm looking forward to. Other than that no plans other than housework, looking after DS and getting some exercise in. Yoga hasn't really worked out with DH's shifts, but should be able to go along next week - at least the lady lets you attend one off sessions, but you pay a premium.

Has anyone else found they have a very dry/funny taste in their mouth? I had taste changes earlier in pregnancy and know I'm drinking plenty (getting through 3-4 litres a day, which is usual for me and no tea/coffee/sugary drinks that could dry my mouth). Initially I thought it might have been after the scale and polish I had last month, but don't remember that from previous and has stayed with me. Just down to hormone changes I guess. Any other new/strange symptoms from anyone else?

Hi everyone! Tfi Friday Fri-yay!!

@Soph I am so sorry to hear about your cat. It is so heartbreaking to loose a pet. Look up the rainbow bridge poem - it's a lovely wee sentiment xo

Fab scan pics @Anna and @Amanda - very reassuring for you both 😊

@Bella you are so organised!! I love the silver cross prams and if you'd asked me a few weeks ago that's what I wanted but for some reason i am now on the mamas and papas ocarro - we went to mamas and papas on Sunday and they were so helpful. The colour I want is not available in the UK for 2 weeks so will hold out until I see it before ordering and hope that it's as nice in real life as it is in pictures!

It's very surreal "baby shopping" isn't it?!?

What's everyone's weekend plans? We're having dinner with my friend and her husband tomorrow night. She finished work today and is due in 3 weeks!! Very excited for her! So tomorrow night will be full on baby talk and I can't wait!!

Is everyone getting the whooping cough jab? I just thought it was the done thing but friend who has children has not put some doubt in my mind!!

Also antenatal classes - has anyone booked? When do u do them in your area? I think it's 32 weeks in my area which seems v late to me!!

@Baking - that's very strange about the taste in your mouth. I think I read somewhere that taste changes are hormone related so could be just normal but hopefully it doesn't linger for too long!!

@Dolly how are you doing? 18 weeks today since our bfps and 18 weeks left to go!! 😮😀

Thanks Moo, enjoy your dinner meet up and baby talk :)

Definitely getting the whooping cough jab, did last time. Since it's introduction no evidence of adverse effects to mum or baby, so doesn't seem worth taking the risk when whooping cough can kill tiny ones :( Think I read there is only about 60% take up of vaccine, so there are still quite a lot of mums to be who don't have the jab.

We did free antenatal classes provided by our local NHS trust. Found the 5 sessions useful, discussed signs and stages of labour, pain relief options, monitoring during birth, as well as a bit on feeding, safe sleep guidelines and bathing baby. Also attended a separate breastfeeding workshop they ran. Won't be doing the antenatal classes this time round, as the info is still fairly fresh and timing isn't particularly easy with DS's bedtime routine, but going to do the breastfeeding class again. Even though I'm still trying to wean DS at 30 months (nearly there though, usually just bedtime feed now, yey!), his latch was never good, which got worse every time he teethed, so want to make sure we try to get it right this time round. Have a sneaky feeling he has undiagnosed posterior tongue tie, so maybe nothing I could have done differently, but never hurts to get a refresher.

Enjoy your day everyone!

good morning lovely mummies to be 🤰🏼

i don't feel organised at all @Moo31. i'm
normally organising lists for my lists and ticking things off daily but the only thing i'm doing daily is clocking up more and more sleep! when does this shift guys? i was hoping to see a wee energy boost by now but everything is such a struggle! even my appetite has gone again. suppose that could lead to lack of energy so i best address that!

my friend has her gender scan this morning and i'm sooo excited for her. can't wait to hear her news!

we are catching up with housework today. how very rock and roll! 🤘🏼

tomorrow MIL is wanting to go nursery furniture shopping so i best wear comfy shoes as she loves to shop!

@bakingmad83 i had the strange metallic taste as 1 of my pre-BFP symptoms and it lasted a couple of weeks. was horrible. constantly had mints and mouthwash to hand. hope it doesn't last too long for you. mine even made me paranoid my breath was smelly but DH assured me it wasn't (after winding me up about it right enough).

anyone watching big brother? i don't normally but my old hairdresser is in it, scottish guy Andy! he just went in last week. i watched him go in and it was so surreal as he did my hair for years and i got to know
him really well. might watch some on catch up today to see how he's been doing. he's got a fun personality so hope that comes across.

hope you all have a lovely weekend 😊 only 4 sleeps til my gender scan 💙💗 buzzing

ill definitely be looking up the antenatal classes btw. iv had a total crisis of confidence since being pregnant that i all of a sudden don't even know how to hold a baby!

and will opt for the whooping cough vaccination too. i also get the flu jab so any1 getting that? iv never had it before!

my cousins baby developed a virus after her boosters at about a year old and the virus attacked her pancreas causing it to shut down and she was then diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as 14 months old. she's a healthy 10yo now but my cousin is now so anti-vaccination that i'm always sceptical about her views. i know it comes from a genuine place of fear because of her daughter but clearly that's an isolated case otherwise there would be a study further into it. xx

Thanks Bella, not even sure how to describe the taste, just not very pleasant. Hopefully it'll shift soon.

Will be getting the flu jab this time round again. Last time was one in each arm, no issues with either jab, apart from maybe a mildly sore arm for a day or two. Had previously had flu jab when worked for NHS.

Sorry to hear about your cousin's little girl, but glad to hear she's doing ok. My parents' neighbour's daughter developed autism, which they put down to mmr vaccine, but that link has now been discredited. It's obviously awful when these things seemingly happen around the time of vaccines, but could have happened anyway. They'd withdraw the vaccines if there was a definite risk, for me the benefits far outweigh the risks.

agreed @bakingmad83 a virus etc could have happened anyway, in my cousins case. i try not to contradict her when she voices her opinion as it's so personal to her. the diabetes is a life long struggle for them but is it coincidence? we'll never know for sure x

i could only describe the taste i had as metallic, iron rich, almost blood like. SOZ minging i know x

Ladies - thanks for sharing. Very unfortunate for your parents neighbours daughter @Baking and cousins little one @Bella. You can see why they are anti vaccine. My friend was telling me about the risks but I did some googling last night and i think the benefits far outweigh the risks.

I also get the flu jab every year as I am asthmatic (anyone else here have asthma?). Although I developed a very bad cold / fever after i got it last year and said I wasn't getting it again but I can't risk it so I will get it! Don't really like jabs so the one in each arm at the same time sounds good to me @baking!!

@baking thanks for the info on the classes - think we'll do the free nhs ones too. They sound like they cover everything that I don't know and the b/f one sounds good too! Can you remember when you did them? Was it late on? My community m/w told me she'll give me info at a later appt and I'll have a choice of 2 locations/times but then the sonographer at my 20 so scan at the hospital was shocked we hadn't got classes booked and gave me a number to call to book the hospital's classes - I imagine they are both cover the same things but the health service in NI doesn't seem to know it's arse from its elbow!

Re your tiredness I'm still wrecked all the time - combination of heat, the extra weight and the interrupted night's sleep to pee! Maybe look up some high energy foods to see if that helps? I say sleep as much as you can now though as we'll probably get much less chance to sleep in a few months!!!

@Bella we're going to see MIL on Sunday and she's buying our nursery furniture too so has told me to come armed with info on what I want so she can get it ordered ... eek! I am so indecisive and there's too much choice. I know I want white furniture but that's it! So fill me in on your thoughts after today please to steer me in the right direction! 😁

I don't watch bb but I used to - hopefully they portray him properly as the person you know!! :)

Have a lovely Saturday everyone!! 😀

Moo, think I was 27 weeks when I started the NHS antenatal classes. Was a few people behind most people there, but if I'd done the next lot of classes, would have been 39 weeks when did last one and knew too many people who'd given birth at 36/37 weeks, so wanted to be prepared. As it happened DS arrived a few days after due date :) We didn't have to book on ours, as not much of a population round here, so don't think they must ever get busy. I think exactly what's covered/number of sessions you get varies from trust to trust, but they'll all cover the basics. Was about 30 weeks when did the breastfeeding class. Not sure if everywhere offers one of these, but even if they don't have one near you, maybe pop in to a local breastfeeding group once you're on mat leave to chat to the local supporters and other mums who are breastfeeding. Don't know if there's an NCT group near you, but they also offer antenatal classes - at a hefty price tag mind! There's a group about 30mins drive away, but at the time they weren't doing the classes, though tbh don't think we'd have paid for them if they had. Some people like them as get to know other parents to be in your area, but you can do this once you start going to baby groups.

now iv caught up with some big brother i can confirm that the glaswegian accent is by far the most cringe-worthy of them all on TV (i'm allowed to say this as a weegie myself - why do we say "de-faaaaan-etly" and "like" all the bloody time??). god love andrew he really has such a sweet soul but when he opens his mouth i want to bite off my own fingernails and poke myself in the eye with them! he is a fantastic hairdresser though lol

so does a kinder bueno and a strong cuppa count as a nutritious breakfast 🙈 i am so failing at eating these days! although did have a baked potato, corn on the cob and salad for dinner (courtesy of DH on the bbq). i ate the salad and corn and left most of the potato. still not winning at this haha

DH had some red wine last night. it was a malbec and he opened it to breath in the kitchen and i could smell it all the way in the living room! it was calling me i swear to god! when he eventually brought it through i could literally taste it (and the medium steak that i would have had with it). i lifted it to have a big sniff and DH almost slapped it out my hand... as if i would jeezo. abstinence is my only saviour, i couldn't do this "a little sip" attitude that some preggo women have as i have no self control whatsoever!

anyway pointless rant over #bellatalksshite

offski to look at furniture today. good luck to you too @Moo31. the set i like is in a place called Jan Stewart in East Kilbride. i'm not sure if the store is a chain or not so don't know if they'll have them anywhere else. ill also check out mammas and pappas and mothercare. best take some measurements before i go as my spatial awareness is terrible. ill end up having to move house to fit it all in if i don't lol

ladies what's everyone's plans for mat leave? i know it's early yet but if you know could you share please?

my EDD is 20/12 so i have tentatively planned to finish work on 01/12, have 2 weeks off from my annual leave entitlement then official maternity leave starts 18/12. obviously that's in an ideal world, i know it might not go exactly like that.

iv just read a few maternity leave stories online and all the women, bar 1, finished up work around 33-35 weeks. am i leaving it too late? xx

I'm wondering the same thing Bella. I plan to finish 22nd December ( last day of term) with my die date being 4th Jan but my sister-in-law thinks that's really late! Now not sure what to do! Enjoy furniture shopping.

Hi all! Bella you make me laugh! 😂 I asked my mum what Andy was like in bb and she said "a bit annoying!" Lol - but then you have to be to get on the show so they get viewers!

Had a lovely evening at my friends last night. Lots of baby talk, saw her nursery and had a mild panic that she's so organised (then reminded myself she's due in 18 days and I've got 18 weeks!), played cards against humanity (omg! 😮) and had some non alcoholic cocktails which were delish! Was lovely for the men to chat too (mainly about how clueless they are and how they are shitting themselves!)

Did some pram shopping with mum yesterday also - my shortlist is 1. Mamas and papas ocarro 2. Silver cross pioneer 3. Silver cross wayfarer. I think we're gonna go for ocarro as it takes a maxi cosi car seat so I can buy a maxi cosi isofix base which can then fit the next size car seat (maxi cosi 2 way pearl) which does up to 4 years so that will save buying 2 bases ...

Re mat leave my edd is 10 November. I think I'm going to officially start mat leave 2 weeks prior (27 Oct) and if I need it I'll take a week of annual leave from 20 Oct but hoping not to so that I can take it at the other end. Everyone I've mentioned to had said that sounds about right. My friend finished on Fri and is due 27th so 3 weeks. So I think your plans are fine @Bella!

Oh and I knew that you accumulate your annual leave when on mat leave but my friend said last night that it's come in in the past few years that you also accumulate your stat leave allowance which I didn't realise! So I was planning on taking 9 mths until smp stops - i only get stat mat pay - but thinking I could stretch out another month, fully paid, with the accumulated annual and stat leave. Or maybe phase myself back in with 3 day weeks building up to 4 day weeks. I'm hoping they agree to let me come back on a 4 day a week basis!

@Soph I also think your plans make sense - it's a natural break (well.timed!) And hopefully that last week wont be too crazy for you anyway!