Thread 3 for us classed as more mature pregnant ladies

[Frazzlerock]

Morning all. Here's our fresh new thread with updated list

Hopefully all are correct, feel free to change anything that's wrong. There are lots who don't seem to post, not sure if they're still reading so will leave everyone on for now. If anyone wants in to the FB group then drop me a PM

Happy Thread No3!

@Liveforholidays 40. Due 01/06/20 - Baby boy born 4th June 💙
@Ethellsmum 38. 💝
@fool11 45, 💙
@PregnantPorcupine, 38, due 29/07/20 DC1
@AliasGrape 40 Due 30/07/20 DC1 (little girl)
@stairgates Age 43 💙
@Dufferedup 42. Due Sep DC3 (Little girl)
@Realladymarmalade Age? Due:29/08/20 DC3 (Little boy)
@Ferrylass 45. Due Oct? DC2
@3isthemagicnumber3 40. Due 16/10/20 DC3
@Brightonmaman 41. Due 19 Oct DC2
@LittleMiss7 38. Due 20/10/20 DC1&2.. TWINS!
@crispaddict99 40. Due 9/11/20 DC1
@NaomiB79. 40. Due 13/11/20 DC1
@Sheera1 41. Due 20/11/20 ds10
@onlyreadingneverposting8 44. Due 24/11/20 DC (darling child)?
@Frazzlerock age 41. Due 26/11/20 DC3 - 7th pregnancy
@EveningReflection 38. Due 04/12/2020 DC1
@MariaDingbat 40. Due 07/12/20 & FTM dc3
@jalu47 38. Due 13/12/20 FTM
@AuntLucy 44. Due Dec
@passthemustard Age? Due Dec DC5
@sunlight81 Age? Due Dec DC2 & 3 TWINS!
@countingblessings 40 Due 21/12/20 DC2
@LJEva 42. Due 25/12/20 DC2
@Liese27 38 Due 9/01/21 DC2
@Clarkel1 39 Due 10/01/21
@footprintsintheslow 40 Due 10/01/21 dC3
@pinklillie 39. Due Jan DC1
@sk283 40. Due 21/01/21 DC2
@Antihop 42. Due 21/01/21 DC2
@mlctobe 41. Due 21/01/21 DC2
@Mummymilla Age? Due 24/01/21 DC3
@Viennoise 38 Due 26/01/21 DC1
@Louscarlet 39 Due 30/01/21 DC1
@MaryShelley1818 Due 09/02/2021 DC2
@gilljill1980 40. Due 16/02/21 DC2
@BuffaloMozzerella 40. Due end of 02/21 DC2
@Chickoletta Due End of March DC3?

@onlyreadingneverposting8 wow you have an awful lot going on! Good luck with everything!
I also have an invincible 18 year old. Great aren't they sorry to hear about his flare up though, hope he's ok x

Oh no @onlyreadingneverposting8 what a nightmare. You will just want to get to the new place. What is the hold up? Blooming lawyers?? That is worrying on your son but think them off school is totally the right thing and remote learning. I am meeting up with a home ed family outdoors but her other son is in a massive high school which has had covid cases so starting to think we need to just not till baby is here. Will be hard on DS though.

I am totally with you on the worry of baby in these last weeks and how it is inside there. I don't know why. Just keep thinking about placenta and being old and the devastation of a stillbirth. Making me very anxious too. I am ot ready for baby and don't want it to come out premature but also just want her/him here safe and me safe and so these final weeks are seeming to drag a little now.

We are in the home stretch but it is an uncomfortable time. @Frazzle that must be hard sleeping like that and the breathing must be difficult too. I do that too and go lie in bed with the big pillow as I am so uncomfy sitting up on the couch down low.

I have my section date as the 16th which is 39 +2. Have a scan on 29th Oct. Wondering whether I should ask it to come forward but I guess if no medical reason and scan shows baby is fine they won't. It is only my anxiety thinking that.

@onlyreadingneverposting8 sorry to hear about your son, I hope the new medication makes him feel better. You've got so much going on just now hope you manage to relax a bit too!

I hear you all in the being uncomfortable and finding the final stretch quite difficult!

I'm due five weeks tomorrow yikes! Feeling pretty organised, the hospital bag is packed, baby clothes are all washed and the car seat is fitted! I had to go to triage yesterday to get checked for reduced movements and sudden excessive swelling in my feet but all is fine with the baby thank goodness. My blood pressure is a bit high but they don't think it's preeclampsia so just got to try and take it easy.

Also got a consultant's appointment tomorrow where we will likely make a plan for the birth. My baby is measuring big and I'm 41 so there are a few risk factors that will be taken into account. They may suggest I get induced early or have a section will know more tomorrow x

@onlyreadingneverposting8 lovely names. I a bit in love with Greece and worked their for two summer seasons and then volunteered on a organic small holding for a couple of weeks too.

@BuffaloMozzerella I've had that coccyx pain too and I had an over the phone physio appointment and they sorted me out.

@footprintsintheslow That's interesting. What kind of thing did they get you to do?

I'm sure the fact I'm spending most of the day sitting down isn't helping. My posture is terrible.

@NaomiB79 I would laugh if someone got upset over something like that. Who does she think she is? The owner of names and any names that sound alike? Lolol at your SIL.

@DufferedUp I agree that recovery took ages when I was an older mam compared to when I was 19. I don't think I left the bedroom for the first three weeks and that was a normal and quite easy birth.

@Sheera1 not long to go now, are you off work so can relax?

@NaomiB79 I've got a big baby too. Off the scale in fact and I'm going to attach pictures of the notes from my scan this week.

Also they now say my placenta is anterior low so looking at c sections. They are going to keep an eye on me now.

@BuffaloMozzerella I worked as a Scuba Dive master for two seasons in Corfu and also picking fruit and cleaning out animals on Evia. Bloody hard work in the heat but a great experience for me and my daughter who came with me. She was 5 the first time, then 8 and finally about 14 on the farm.

Hi everyone!

How are you all? Not been on for a wee while so just been catching up. A few of you are getting really close to your dates now aren't you? Exciting that there will be more new arrivals on the thread soon. Cant wait to hear your news!

Sorry to hear about your troubles with your partner @sheera1 but glad he's pulling his socks up now. They really are like big toddlers sometimes aren't they?

I'm with you girls on feeling uncomfortable. I still have 9 weeks to go and I feel huge, slow and always puffed out. I'm sitting all day because of work and my coccyx is killing me too! Any tips gratefully received. Got a proper office chair but using a dining table so it's not the best set up but it's all we've got just now. And when I lie in bed at night (on my left side) my right bum cheek feels like it goes into a cramp?! Its so weird. But not long to go and then sleep and work will be a thing of the past anyway

I have a 32wk appointment at the end of this month and was wondering if I would get my section date then but from what you guys are saying it sounds unlikely? I have another appointment at 37 weeks. Is it more likely then? And do they give you any choice or just tell you the date? I'd quite like to be taken at 38+6 rather than 39+2 (39 weeks is over a weekend for me) just because I'm due so close to christmas. I know that sounds ridiculous and the most important thing is that baby is strong enough to come out but I'd love her birthday to be just that wee bit further away from Santa if you know what I mean?!

Hope everyone stays well and all the men folk stay on their best behaviour

@onlyreadingneverposting8 sorry to hear about your delayed move and ask about your son. I've got Crohn's and been on immunosuppressants (azathioprine) for about 10 years and am also on biologic infusions every 8 weeks. COVID has been interesting to navigate (especially with pregnancy and asthma on top!) but my gastro team have been amazing. They kept reiterating it's better to have a healthy gut and be on medication rather than flaring, with COVID, I really hope it gets under better control soon, it's a pesky old disease!

@jalu47 it's Azathioprine he's about to start (tomorrow). This is his 2nd flare since his initial flare and dx - initial flare lasted over 2 months and he was dx in hospital in Jan (close to collapse at this point) like you say the gastro team reiterate the importance of keeping him in remission without almost continual steroids. He was also initially on Octasa but now on Mezavant. We are hoping that the Azathioprine will do the trick but his consult has said he has unfortunately got a severe case as is typical when dx at his age.

So my consultant phoned me today because my blood pressure was elevated last night when I went to triage and that with the severe swelling can be signs of preeclampsia (although the urine test said I didn’t have it).

She wants my bp checked regularly from now as she thinks preeclampsia is more likely than not to develop in the next few weeks!

If I get any more symptoms before Monday when I get it checked again I need to go straight down.

I discussed my birth with her and she said if my bp is normal when they check it and I stay well then they will only induce me a few days before my due date at the earliest. She said a big baby wasn’t a reason to be induced early or have a section, so I would need to try and deliver naturally then if I needed assistance as things progressed that would be decided at that point. I get the feeling that my consultant is not a fan of sections!

I'm thinking I might ask my boss if I can finish up a week tomorrow instead of in two weeks.

@Countingblessings I totally understand. We are due 10th Jan but with a massive baby that might be induced early and i was hoping to get further away from Christmas not nearer it!

@NaomiB79 how do you feel about the prospect of giving birth to a big baby then? I was reading up on it all last night and wished I hadn't now. I've always been very keen that vaginal is the way forward for all concerned but that's before I knew I had a baby elephant in there. I feel differently now.

@NaomiB79 sorry to hear preeclampsia maybe starting. I had it in my first pregnancy - was induced at 39 weeks. For this reason I have a BP monitor at home (upper arm cuff one - they're more accurate) and take my BP myself in between appointments - consultant thought this was a really good idea. Mine is always lower at home because I'm prone to white coat syndrome (where my BP spikes due to anxiety). As soon as my BP went up I was told to rest so you may want to think about taking sick leave. I didn't get any swelling but had a headache that didn't go away despite painkillers - it wasn't a bad headache just annoying and continuous. Hope you BP comes down again! Xxx

Hi @countingblessings oh getting so close for us all. I have a office chair but with you on the pain low down. I find even the couch doesn't help. I need to lie down. DP is behaving well now. Ridiculous it takes me to get to 34 weeks for him to get the fact I am pregnant, but he is on board now.

@naomiB79 I am glad they called you back and going to monitor you. I have not been impressed with the care up here tbh. Make sure you rest lots and call them if you need too. Fingers crossed it isn't pre-eclampsia but good to get the extra monitoring. If you go off work with pregnancy related illness at this stage I am pretty sure most work polices will trigger the start of mat leave and you can finish up. The BP home machine is a good idea if you can.

@footprintsintheslow I am still working but from home since Feb. I don't finish up till 13th Nov and section on the 16th! Starting to think I should take more time off but they are doing a handover to me cover in 2 weeks so I won't be doing very much. Plan to sit on the couch with my work phone. I want to stay off for a year and have hardly taken any hols this year so that I can tag them all on at the end and not come back till after Christmas next year. I am due back 6th Jan 2022 at the moment so any days brought forward will have me working Xmas week which very selfishly of me would suck! If I had a different job or had to commute I think I would be off from now.

@onlyreadingneverposting8 it's a tough thing to deal with at a young age, I was diagnosed at 15.. was very very severe and just narrowly avoided having a resection. I was in hospital for a month and off school for 4 months but since then (23 years!) I have fingers crossed been very well controlled with just a couple of flares. The progress they have made with biologics is really ground breaking too and there is such a good array of drugs now. I remember when I started on aza I was very nervous as it seems such a 'serious' drug but it worked very well for me with no side effects, although appreciate everyone is different. Wishing you and your son well! I can recommend seeking information from/ joining Crohn's and colitis UK, they are a fantastic resource.

I am just so paranoid about movments. Ytday baby had been quiet and only seemed to move when I gave a poke. Ended up lying down for an hour and counting kicks. Everything was fine and he/she was very active later evening. I just can't help feeling so anxious now we are so close.

5 weeks on Monday for my section. I partly want to bring it forward but also terrified of going into labour before 37 weeks.

That registrar has really made me worry with all her talk about not having a section when it was agreed yonks ago. I really don't want a vaginal birth after DS as he nearly died and worry now if I went into early labour then would make me try naturally rather than just getting me into theatre.

I want a nice calm c section with calm aneathetist who won't mess up my back again. Holding on strongly to that hope.

With DS I never worried about a thing. Would love that blissful ignorance back.

@footprintsintheslow I am still concerned about having a big baby esp since the consultant was pretty adamant about a vaginal birth. My sister tried to give birth naturally for 30 hours then ended up with a section because they finally decided her pelvis was too small to deliver a baby and it took her ages to recover so I suppose I just don't want a situation like that. I do feel worried that I'll labour for ages and end up with a section anyway if I can't deliver. It might be fine though, millions of people have given birth to big babies with no problems I'm sure!

@onlyreadingneverposting8 they said if my bp is up on Monday I'll prob be sent home with a monitor from the hospital that I can use at home. If not I might buy one anyway just for reassurance. I never get headaches but actually have one today!

@Sheera1 I think my care has been great up until now, all my appointments have been face to face with my midwife and she's come to my house for all my appointments but the closer I get to birth and now with these potential complications it does worry me a bit if they'll be on top of everything. They always seem so busy at the hospital and there are prob things not happening that normally would due to Covid

@Sheera1 me too! Thought baby had been quieter yesterday too. Had plenty of movement already today though. I spend time up in the night every night worrying about movements etc. When I had my first few counting the kicks wasn't a thing and I know it's a good thing that they've made mums aware but it has its down side too. Saying baby should have a pattern of kicks - well none of mine have! They move and then they don't for a bit. A bit more guidance wouldn't go amiss because I think the medics are feeding the natural anxiety pregnant women have already and those of us who are prone to higher levels of anxiety for whatever reason are actually suffering to the point of it having a really negative impact on our health - probably on the baby too!

@NaomiB79 if you have a headache you should call triage back - just to be safe. If you're concerned about having a big baby/emcs due to induction then push your case - are you and your sister similar builds? Have you told your consultant that she was unable to deliver her baby vaginally due to a small pelvis?

@NaomiB79 @footprintsintheslow I'm worried about having a big baby too and although a natural birth is my preference, the closer I get to birth the more I start to consider a section!
My first was 9lb 3 and at that time I was a
Tiny size 8 so his size was a surprise but I had no problems with the birth.
My second was born two weeks early due to her heart rate being low so was smaller. My third was perfectly average at 7 lb 7.
This baby is with a new partner who is taller and bigger than my ex so I'm worried again. Especially as my brother was over 11lbs!!! Makes me shudder the thought of that!

@Sheera1 I also worry about my placenta and everything else you mention! Wish I could chill out!!

@@onlyreadingneverposting8 my worry time is first thing in the morning esp on the odd occasion I have slept passed a 4am pee and the baby doesn't move for ages.

It definitely was not as active most of the afternoon yesterday and lay down a d counting the number of kicks in an hour. Was active after that and has been very active all day today like normal. It is a total panic but you don't want to keep calling in and the last time I did when the pattern changed they didn't want to see me or interested in the slightest.

@naomiB79 that is great on your care. There is only one person I have seen twice which is my midwife and every other appointment it is a new person and they know nothing about me. I didn't see anyone till my 12 week scan then no-one again till 20 week scan which was just the sonographer. No-one seems to know what is going on and midwife in particular seems really scary. Still waiting more healthy start vitamins and iron she ordered for me at 22 weeks and they have never appeared. Not important I know but it doesn't fill you with confidence.

Can I ask about Strep B? I have it and got a letter saying a antibiotics are needed before birth, but then the registrar women said that I didn't as having a c section? Is this right? I thought it meant it would be present on my skin not just in my lady bits or am I wrong? I had an emergency section with DS so not a vaginal birth and he ended up on an a antibiotic drip for 3 days due to the strep b and he didn't come out my lady bits. His blood count was off showing signs of infection.

Honestly at this point I don't believe a thing they tell me!

@mumof3almost4 I WISH I could chill out too. I am not anxious all of the time but when it isn't moving about I get so worried and in the mornings if it doesn't give me a wee nudge on me waking I worry it died in the night! It is horrible. So close though. Keep hanging in there xx

@Sheera1 I wake at 3:30am almost on the dot and have been known to get the Doppler out if she hasn't given me a kick after a few minutes!! Then I'm wide awake or to nauseous to get back to sleep!

Googled the Strep B answer. It says antibiotics not needed for elective section where waters and not broken and no labour started. Chance of transmission is not impossible but very low.

If waters have gone or in labour as I was with the first then yes they should give antibiotics if then having a section

Glad you've got the answer and hopefully you won't need anything @Sheera1

Terrible night been had here. Woke at 1am had to eat as too nauseous to sleep and then again at 3:45 am when I was awake until 6:30am - thankful it's Saturday and I could sleep until 8ish. Honestly had to eat ready salted crisps at 4am to help the nausea, which woke the husband up 🤣🤣

@Sheera1 how do you know you have strep b? Is that a long standing thing or have you been tested routinely? I read a little about it and wondered how I would know, somewhere said they don't test routinely and if you wanted to be sure you could pay for a private test? Has anyone else been tested?