Due August 2020 Thread 2

[cannotmakemymindup]

Hello ladies new thread here for all of us been chatting on thread 1 due in August with our babies!

@WorriedButterfly they should be doing a random glucose blood test, something like hbac1 test that should have been done with your 28 week tests.

I actually got asked by mum today if I was preparing for the lack of sleep... yes I’m purposefully not sleeping in preparation for August?? Not sure it works like that.

@WorriedButterfly Mine skipped the test! I just assumed because i was a certain weight i didn't need it?! I did wonder if i should have had it though.

@WorriedButterfly I’m not sure if I got one either. She only mentioned iron levels etc, never said anything about glucose.

I suppose if they were concerned they would be seeing a high amount of glucose in your urine dips therefore would carry the test out then?

Glad I'm not the only one getting irritated by the sleep thing.

I don't think I got glucose test either, the midwife didn't actually tell me what blood tests she was doing the other day just that I had to get bloods and then spent 10 minutes trying to find a vein that would give her the blood.

It’s really odd that they would skip the glucose test challenge, you should definately call and ask, no matter what your weight/background is, you can still develop diabetes during pregnancy..

@WorriedButterfly I wasn't offered the Glucose test either - just Iron and antibodies.

I am classed as low risk, but measuring large. When I had a growth scan, the measurements came back the same as my friends baby who did actually have gestational diabetes.

I thought they tested for glucose in your urine and only if they detected sugars they would blood test you. My midwife commented that I had some sugar showing in my urine sample on one of my earlier appointments and said she would have to refer me for bloods if she saw it again but thankfully I’ve had nothing since.

I had the random hbac1 test with all my blood tests but that's what our trust has switched to for all pregnant women, as it looks at blood sugar over months doesn't it? The midwife said she preferred this test. This was at my week 28 appointment.

I do wish there was some consistency for us all. Can't believe how many of you haven't had the test at all.

Oh and that's without sugars in my urine at any point.

Everybody should have their glucose test!!! If you develop gestational diabetes and have no symptoms it can be really problematic for baby and it can stunt their growth massively!
I would contact your midwife because if they tested your urine and it had no sugars in one day, they next time you did it could of had a lot in.

I honestly wouldn’t miss out any test or apppintment etc They are so so important and for somebody to tell you that only certai. People are entitled to them for example if they had sugar in their urine is very wrong... but I feel I’m just a paranoid because it’s my first 🙈🙈

Shit, we are meant to wash our hands?! Is it too late to start now?
People love to have something to say! I'm glad I've not seen anyone since March!

I've not had glucose test, they are testing my urine and will do the test based on those results. I'm low risk but my medication puts me at a slightly higher risk of gestational diabetes and diabetes in general so I asked about it.

Yes that's what I thought the urine test was for, checking for glucose. And also protein. I had my GTT test the other week, again I think I am lucky that my trust are keeping everything running normally, maternity wise. When I was in for reduced movements a week later, they did a urine sample (as I hadn't seen the midwife for a few weeks, so they did blood pressure, bump measurement, urine checks) and she said there was some glucose in it. I asked the midwife the following week if I needed to worry about it and she said no, because I'd passed the GTT test. She told me that if I had had glucose in my wee at that appointment, she'd have told me to come back in a week for a retest and if there was still glucose present then I would be sent for further testing (GTT in my area but I guess a blood test in trusts where they have stopped doing the GTT). Having a one-off presence of glucose isn't a worry and can be explained by other factors (e.g. having eaten something sugary shortly before)

We had our first NCT class last night - I loved it, all the other couples seemed really nice and I found it really informative. My husband was a bit of a misery guts throughout though, which I have to say I was a bit annoyed at him for. He will admit he hates socialising and I know it's a bit weird over Zoom but I did think he could have tried a bit harder, he literally said one thing right at the start and then nothing else (admittedly it was the girls who did a lot of the talking, but all the other men did join in more than he did). I hardly ever ask him to do social stuff with me as I know he doesn't enjoy it so I guess I was just a bit upset because I felt like he couldn't even be bothered to make the effort for just one session (due to his shift work he is missing most of the other sessions). He even said (before we'd started!) 'I don't want to be friends with these people' - he's never had a lot of friends but its like he can't see how important it is to me to have some mummy friends with babies of a similar age and that occasionally it might be nice if the daddies met up too. He also moaned at me because I told him it finished at 9 and it ended up finishing much later than that so he 'didn't get any of the evening to himself'. He can be a bit of a man-child sometimes and I suppose I thought he might just make the effort, as this is to do with something fairly important i.e. our baby! Mind you, he has always been like this so in a way I think I should have seen it coming and I set myself up to be disappointed by thinking he'd act differently. Don't get me wrong, he is really excited about the baby and I have no doubt he will be a really hands on dad and love the baby to bits. Just needed a bit of a moan! At least the next session is women only!!

I didn't get a GTT test either, I assumed they only did it if you had certain risk factors. I'll ask at my 32 week appointment next week.

I had my breastfeeding NCT class last night, was good and definitely feel better prepared for breastfeeding - will see if I remember everything when the time comes though!!

I thought the GTT test was only if you had certain risk factors too?.....i was told at my booking in appt that I'd need one as my bmi was over 30.
When I had my consultants appt at 28 weeks, I mentioned it to them and they just did my full 28 week blood tests and hbac1 test there and then (saved the midwife a job the following week).
Other than that, I've actually also been doing some of those home urine test strips once a week just to keep my anxiety at bay.

@mable88 @2020Aug can i ask, was it just couples at your NCT classes? Were there any women on their own?

@mable88 I've replied to this like 3 times, so apologies if this comes through 3 times!

My OH is the same, no hope I'd get him signed up to classes, in person or zoom. I would've done in person ones but am not a zoom kinda person. OH has a small group of friends and he doesn't want anymore than that, even then he rarely sees them, he's happy enough in his own wee bubble. I''ve tried sending him articles to read but he has no interest, says he'll just wing it once baby arrives, learn on the job. He's super excited about being a dad (he was always the one out of us asking for kids, I had no interest until I turned 30). but if I had done classes and he'd come along and been a grump most of it i'd have been annoyed too, My friend said her husband fell asleep at most of their in person classes last year though so it's maybe quite a common thing.

I had my GTT at 16 weeks because of risk factors but because of the virus most are cancelled because you have to be at the hospital for 2 hours + the hba1c isn’t as accurate because it covers 3 months and GD is progressive which is why most are tested at 28 weeks. If you are worried ask your team, some will allow you to test at home if you have symptoms. The vast majority of people don’t develop GD.

I've not had that test this time and I didn't have it with my last either. I presumed you only have it if you have any other risks or your urine starts containing things it shouldn't.

@sel2223 It was all couples at our class, the next session is women only. The instructor also said that at the start of one of the sessions she will just have the men for a bit, to talk them through how they can be supportive during labour, I think. However, I will be 'going' to a few of the sessions on my own as my husband is a shift worker and therefore is at work when some of the classes are on. I don't think its a problem, and surely they cannot discriminate against any potential single parents that might want to join? They are quite responsive to emails so it might be worth pinging one off to ask?

@JMill13 Thanks for your reply - I am glad I'm not the only one with a reluctant other half! To be fair to him, he said he would happily sit down and watch the online NSH classes with me (which are pre-recorded), so it is only the socialising factor that he isn't a fan of, he's not opposed to learning about baby stuff. He did say that he found the slides on labour useful so at least he learned something

@mable88 oh there's pre-recorded videos? Now that I might actually be able to get him to watch. He doesn't read except twitter/reddit/news and wouldn't like the social aspect of classes but he's always watching videos on things, so these might be super helpful. I think Labour is the one thing I'd like him to look into so that he can help when/if I freak out or forget how to breath or something.

@JMill13 I'm sure this is another thing that might vary from trust to trust, but at my last appointment the midwife gave me a weblink to the online NHS antenatal class, which obviously aren't running at the moment in person. Worth asking at your next midwife appointment if you've got one coming up or failing that I can give you the link I was sent (disclaimer, I haven't actually watched any yet!)

@mable88 I think I could do with that link. I haven't been given any yet from midwife about any classes or had anything mentioned since my booking in appointment at 8 weeks.

www.justonenorfolk.nhs.uk/our-services/pathway-to-parenting-p2p

Hope its helpful, I will probably give it a couple of weeks until hubby has calmed down from last night's debacle before I try and make him watch with me!

@mable88 oh amazing, next appointment is the 24th so will ask then, I've seen that many midwives over the course of the pregnancy so far no one has mentioned anything about classes or actually much of anything.

Thank you @mable88
I agree @JMill13 it's half the problem all the different midwives. I have seen three all together. Hoping I get the same one in a week odds time but I know it's not guaranteed.