The Graduates of TTC after pregnancy loss thread #3 🐧🐧The Penguin Huddle 🐧🐧

[InDreamland]

New thread as the last one is nearing the max number of posts.

This is a supportive and safe space for ladies from the TTC after pregnancy loss thread who've had a BFP and now negotiating the scary rollercoaster world of pregnancy after loss.

If you weren't on the original thread though and have suffered a loss and are anxious about your new pregnancy please feel free to join the huddle 🐧

So ladies, I hope you are all here for the long haul until our 🌈 are delivered (and beyond if you fancy sticking around).

Let's pull on our positive pants and nerves of steel.

I'll start the roll call of EDD from the last thread:
@Melpops3638 - EDD 5/12/2019
@Beaglemum93 - 25 - EDD 22/12/19
@Amanda81 - 38 - EDD 27/12/19
@MyHeartIsBrokeButIHaveSomeGlue - 36 - EDD 3/01/20 but having an elective section so likely to be 27/12/19
@theAntsareMyFriends - 35 - EDD 04/02/2020
@Laney79 - 40 - EDD 6/1/2020 (but elective section so likely to be 30/12/19)
@Bluebelltulip - 29 - EDD 9/1/2020 likely induction 2 weeks earlier
@moonpeace - 37 - EDD 23/01/20
@KnitKitty- 31 - EDD 29/01/20
@Newbie21 - 38 - EDD 6/2/2020 (if c-section circa. 31/1/2020)
@Zznorth - 29 - EDD 17/02/20
@InDreamland- 39 - EDD 18/02/20
@Tinatsarina - 29 - EDD 26/02/20
@Frillyfarmer - 29 - EDD 29/02/20
@duvetcaterpillar - 34 - EDD 27/03/2020

Also tagging: @rubyroot @sadtoday21 @Catconfusion @boboelephant @Yukka @Russkispy @VenusStarr @Beaglemum93 @Squiff70 @Navy123 @Bellasblankexpression

So sorry if I've missed anyone. I've tried to include as many as I could.

Gosh this thread is speeding along! Sorry not to tag everyone - but I am totally with you on the feeling like my own pregnancy is dragging yet everyone elses seems to fly, and the constant munching to help relieve the nausea! I thought my nausea was improving but I really gagged on opening the fridge this morning.

@Mistymeow congratulations on the scan!

@fnej01 good luck for your test results

@janey15 being a teacher and feeling nauseous must be really tough. I work in healthcare so its difficult for me too to eat or take a breather at a whim. I have found just having snacks stashed nearby helps, so even if I get a minute in between I can shove something in my face and keep the blood sugar levels from crashing. Other than that, I have been doing the old plain cracker trick in the mornings to help with the morning nausea and make breakfast seem more achievable.

@sadtoday21 best of luck for your scan, I have been thinking of you as I think our due dates will be very similar! Based on LMP mine is 12 March.

@Yukka lovely to hear you and your little one are doing well, and thank you for the positive and inspiring birth story!

I'm waiting for my dating scan to join the roll call, scan is next Thursday. I'm feeling overall more positive than before my last scan but I can feel the anxiety creeping in as the date draws nearer. Just need to keep busy and distracted - work certainly has been doing that, I'm exhausted!

I'm more bloated at night, I'm kidding myself that my belly not changed much as trying to hide it at work. I still have a bit of excess belly from my c section 20 months ago so it's not perfectly flat anyhow

@fnej01 I'm on pred and was on enoxaparin but stopped taking it due to bleeding. I find the side effects surprisingly fine!

@sadtoday21 I'll let you know how the pregnancy massage goes after I've tried it! I think the main difference is it is done lying on your side and possibly some areas are avoided.

@Mistymeow I've had good results with oil cleansing. It's counter intuitive if you have oily/combination skin but worked really well for me. People use all sorts of oil mixtures but I've been using pure jojoba oil which seems to work well.

@fnej01thanks for the suggestion, I’ll have a look at that one. Sorry you had a bad experience at the fetal medicine centre- that’s where we are looking at for the harmony. We also had a bad experience when our first mmc was discovered (cold and clinical sonographer). When it happened a second time I was in a private setting and she was very kind but I just wanted to get out of there. Hopefully we will all continue to have good news.
@tinypaws thanks I’ll check it out!

@MyHeartIsBrokeButIHaveSomeGlue I might order those sweets. DH bought me some Lidl's ginger cookies and they do seem to help even though I was sure they wouldn't!

@Navy123 I'm worried they'll think I'm making a fuss because I haven't actually been sick but my dr is lovely so I might give it a try.

@fnej01 I'm eating loads too and have already put on weight. After my holiday, two weeks of sitting on my arse stuffing my face and with this bloating I'm feeling quite fat I have only done my jeans up when I've needed to go out!

@mistymeow I've struggled with acne on off my whole life and it's never recovered from the fertility treatments. The only thing that works is salicylic acid. I use the Paula's choice liquid one which is pricey but used to use the la Roche posay effaclar duo one in boots. It's literally worked miracles xx

@strawberrye I'm going to have to talk to our new head because eating while teaching is really not done, same for leaving mid lesson... not sure what she'll say but there's not really anything else I can do?!? good luck with your scan x

Well I had a couple of hours nausea free after dinner and managed a short dog walk. Now in bed and feeling crap again. It's so debilitating even though I'm not actually sick.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better! Xxx

Evening ladies - I have been absent for a few days and there is sooooooooo much to catch up on!

Horses escaping in thunderstorm last night has temporarily shifted my anxieties and it's been a welcome change to worrying about this pregnancy. I'm 13+5 and the bloat has been replaced by a very solid feeling little bump. Glad the temperatures have cooled down and this weeks trip to London have been cancelled 🥂 GTT on Friday - 12 hours nil by mouth is very cruel for a lady who is still struggling along with the sickness!

hahaha @rubyroot yes, it definitely is greedy bastard symptom! I'm usually fairly slim and don't have a huge appetite, but I've got a nice little belly now. I can't tell whether it's more bloat or bump - a bit hard and not squishy, but feels too early as I don't have any kids yet. Oh well! I don't care at all, just want a healthy baby. Bring on the bump/bloat!

Thanks @TinyPaws, I'll be curious to hear your experience with it!

@Mistymeow I had terrible acne in my first pregnancy that ended in MMC (it was a partial molar, so I think it was because of high hcg levels). Really bad, cystic chin acne from about 6 weeks until 12 weeks, then even worse after my d&c (again, hormonal changes too quickly, I think). I had to go on antibiotics to clear it up in the end. So I really feel your pain! I usually have perfectly clear skin, but the pregnancy hormones really mess with mine. It's hard, particularly if you are already feeling not great :/.

This time I've only had some minor outbreaks here and there, but I do have one on my chin now that's getting me down! I use bentonite clay as a mask - it's all natural and helps clear up the toxins from your skin. Then I moisturise with coconut oil - again, all natural and has antibacterial properties. Agree with you @fnej01, it's all glamour - not! Hopefully the pregnancy "glow" kicks in soon.

@strawberrye I didn't realise we were so close in due dates, yay bump buddies! My EDD based on LMP is 14 March. Are you having your 12 week scan soon?

@sadtoday21 it's in a weeks time when I'll be 13 weeks by LMP.

Has anyone been waking up at night to go for a wee and then have that symptom stop? Seems to have read off around 11.5 weeks for me and I'm finding it a bit unnerving.

@strawberrye yes I believe this happens. At 10 weeks and 2 days I'm getting up less often and less desperate. As you progress your organs move up which leaves more room for bladder and less need for toilet. This definitely happened for me about the same time in my successful pregnancy so don't worry. x

This explains how your organs move at end of first trimester and help put your mind at ease. Totally normal

www.google.com/amp/s/sg.theasianparent.com/how-fetus-grows-visual-guide/amp

On a different note, today I am 10 weeks 4 and yesterday was really weird, I could have sworn twice that I felt movement. Last time I had anterior and started feeling popping at 15, this time I have posterior.

Sureky I must be imagining it so early. Anyone experienced similar in any of their pregnancies. Perhaps it's wind. 😂

@rubyroot thanks that puts my mind at rest. Can't help you much with the movements as I've never got far enough to feel them before, but I do have IBS symptoms normally and can get popping sensations with that so could just be gas?

Aaarrrggghhhhh typed out a whole message but lost it. Stupid internet.

Will try remember what I wrote............

This thread is moving fast which is a good sign for us as a group. Long may it continue and that those who join don't have to leave .........unless they want to because their rainbows are 10 years old.

Thanks for all the advice on sleeping on your back. Definitely food for thought, I guess it's my anxieties and I believe the NHS website which concurs with Tommy's. Have attached the screenshot from the NHS.

@rubyroot I don't really have any experience yet of movements as whilst this is pregnancy no.3 as you know the last 2 were first tri losses. It could be movements though? They do say if it's not your first you show and feel movements earlier.

@strawberrye I found that whilst I still wake up a lot every night I don't need to actually get up to pee. It started to ease off around the time I went into second trimester. Something to do with uterus moving upwards so baby not sitting on your bladder .....until 3rd trimester apparently.

@Mistymeow I normally have clear skin on my face but pregnancy makes me spotty. I find a tiny dab of antiseptic cream helps it go down faster. Pregnancy is so glam isn't it. I'm still waiting for that famous "pregnancy glow".

@Frillyfarmer that sounds like you've had an eventful time with the horses. I hope they're okay now.

Sorry not to respond to everyone I'm struggling to keep up then I read all the posts and forget who wrote what. Brain is so not working properly.

I booked in a quick reassurance scan tomorrow after work and I'm super anxious about it. Typical scanxiety. I just need to know what is going on in there before this holiday and I'm so worried baby has died since scan 3 weeks ago at the fetal medicine centre when everything was looking good.

@strawberrye it's normal for the having to get up in the middle of the night to pee symptom to disappear at that time. It's a combination of hormone levels changing when the placenta takes over and the position of your uterus moving. As @InDreamland says, it's meant to come back in the third trimester but I've had it back since about 20 weeks! The baby likes kicking my bladder though which doesn't help.

Sorry about your horses escaping @Frillyfarmer! That sounds so stressful! Good luck for your GTT test, nil by mouth for 12 hours is a bit rubbish especially if you're still feeling sick.

Good luck for your scan tomorrow @InDreamland, it's more likely that everything is still ok than not but I completely understand your scanxiety.

I have my next midwife appointment today, I don't really know what to expect. I hope she'll check his heartbeat because she didn't at the 16 week appointment. I'm not too worried for a change though because he's been pretty active this morning.

Thanks for the comments on routines ladies, my friend gave me a book by Gina Ford and my god the routine she promotes would be like military school for babies. I told dh what it said and he actually threw it in the bin 😂

@fnej01 I would expect the consultants goal will be to keep baby in for as long as possible, but they should offer 4weekly growth scans and what they call 'uterine dopplers' where the measure blood flow through to placenta and through umbilical chord starting at 24w as you'll have routine checks at 12,16 and 20w. Re induction, at birth we discovered baby didn't grow or gain weight after my 36w check (she came naturally at 38.4) so likely placenta was struggling - but - a lot of babies stop growing then but continue to gain weight, that's the difference. Discuss it with them, they may prefer a managed birth anyway as you are high risk. Some decisions like this can't be made until you have a view of how well baby is growing but they will put in your red notes that you are keen for induction. I had heard of aps babies being induced at 32w and incubated due to placental failure, so I prepared just in case ie early antenatal classes at 24w and hypnobirthing xx

I just went on a walk for a couple of hours pushing DD in the pram. Got home and had some brownish coloured cm when I wiped :( not sure what to do..... Has some of this at very start of pregnancy but not had any for a few weeks now. :(

Brown spotting can be ok @ChikiTIKI. How far along are you? Is it just when wiping?

Yeah @Beaglemum93 it's just the colour of the usual cm is different. Would it be tmi to include a pic :( probably lol.

I am between 8 and 9 weeks. Phone broke this morning so can't call anyone about it until DH gets home anyway.

It's likely just some old blood mixed in with normal discharge, I had some of that. It stopped at 10.5 weeks. Call the midwife when you can and hopefully they'll be able to book you a scan for reassurance. Have you had any cramping?

@Mistymeow yay! So glad everything is okay:)
The dates seem to be a few days out out quite often before the 12 week scan.

I'm doing okay but it's early days. 5 weeks tomorrow and got the clear blue digital 3+ this morning, so not much more I can do now but wait. I don't think we can self refer to the local EPU so I phoned the GP reception to to see whether they can offer me any additional early reassurance scans because of the recurring miscarriages - the midwife is going to call next week to see what she can do. Although last time everything was okay at 7 weeks anyway, but it can't hurt to have an early scan.

No significant symptoms or anything yet. How about you? In terms of acne, I've always suffered with hormonal spots and find it best to be gentle to avoid activating it and making it worse. I use micellar water in the morning and night and then liz Earle hot cloth cleanser at night.

@Beaglemum93 not really... I have had some discomfort on my left side but trying to tell myself it's just stretching etc. I haven't had a midwife appt yet so don't know their number. Got one in a couple of weeks.

My referral from my GP for an early scan hasn't come through yet. I have a feeling it never will. I will definitely call up the hospital before the booking in appointment though. No way am I sitting through a full 2 hour appointment talking about the extremely traumatic birth of my DD and my miscarriage unless I've had a scan and know I am actually pregnant.

@ChikiTIKI if you're having spotting and it's causing you anxiety the GP might arrange for a reassurance scan. Could be worth asking? But like others have said, if it's brown then there's a good chance everything is fine🤞

@ChikiTIKI bits of brown blood after exercise is fairly common in early pregnancy so likely nothing to worry about. You could try and chase the early scan incase it does get it sorted sooner.

I've got my 20 week scan tomorrow and feeling more and more nervous. Trying to distract myself with sorting things out for holiday but this holiday was also booked when we thought it would be DD2's first holiday so feeling sad about that too.

Thanks @Bluebelltulip
I'm sorry you're feeling anxious and sad. I hope the scan goes great and your holiday gives you a chance to feel refreshed and positive about your pregnancy.

I do think I might have overdone it a bit today. I normally sit down all day in an office. Had a bit of a nap and I feel absolutely awful now. Just went around the supermarket too. Will be an early night for me.

Let us know how your scan goes. Will be thinking of you xxxx

Thanks @Dimblebimble I think that might be the type of scan the doctor has already requested but I will phone up the hospital and check where it's up to. The waiting is awful. Don't think I can wait 4 more weeks for a scan :(