July - we’re half way (thread 3)

[PeanutButterFalcon]

Spotted the last thread was almost full so started this one.

Happy 30 weeks for tomorrow @TiredAlreadyOhDear!

I am now 31+2

I am really sore today, have reached the point where walking any distance (hello school run) triggers a lovely case of fanny daggers

I’ve also had an appointment for the health visitor. Also got my 34 and 36 week appointments booked in.
It’s going so quickly now, doing touch ups on the house to get things up together a bit

@THATbasicSNOWFLAKE thanks I can’t actually believe I’ll be 30 weeks tomorrow....no idea where the last 30 weeks has gone!

Oh god I bet the school run is hard work - how’s your new pram suiting you? Won’t be long before you’re converting it into the double!!!

@PeanutButterFalcon arghhh loads of appointments booked in! 36 week one means you’re almost there!!!

We finished the decorating for the baby’s room and built the cot and drawers this weekend - just need to sort things into the drawers now 😂🤣

Oh I've not heard anything about HV yet... I'm 30+1. Will ask at my next midwife apt next week.

Time is going scarily fast! 6 weeks left of work... Feel like I have so much left to buy! Mostly small stuff now but still!

Odd question I've suddenly thought about...
Our car insurance renews in June... Do you have to mention you're pregnant or do you call them and update that you've got a child when they're born?
what about maternity leave? Do you still count as employed?

@Luckyelephant1 I’m the same I feel like I have loads left to get - but it’s mostly just little things - and anything I don’t have I can get after he/she is here.

@b1990 I’ve not thought if we need to tell our insurance...we should still be classed as employed though I believe....might need to check if we need to tell them.

Going swimming for the first time tonight since being pregnant....I used to go a fair bit but because of lockdown I’d not been able to - I’m wondering how difficult it’s going to be 😂🙈

@TiredAlreadyOhDear we haven’t even started in the nursery. I’m hoping I’ve got all the bits I need for when baby is here. Planning to use my mat leave to put everything away then.
Enjoy swimming.

@b1990 were still employed. Mines due the same time as the baby so I will just add them on in advance

@PeanutButterFalcon they’re not in their own room anyway for a good while are they....I just thought I’d start prepping stuff while I have a bit free time. I’m starting to get really nervous for the birth now though - I just wish I knew what to expect - but then maybe it’s a blessing I don’t 😂

@TiredAlreadyOhDear how funny I went swimming for the first time since getting pregnant the other day too! Oh it felt amazing, your bump suddenly feels weightless. I did have to take more breaks between laps than I usually would but this could also be because I haven't been swimming for over a year and a half anyway lol.

@b1990 in a salaried job you're definitely still employed and you should be entitled to all benefits and annual leave etc that you'd usually be entitled to otherwise it's seen as discrimination. I was very pleasantly surprised to learn I will still be getting one of my taxable benefits paid throughout mat leave even though technically I have no need for it. Also I think most companies offer 'keeping in touch' days where you can come back to work for a day or two during your mat leave to keep updated, and you get paid in full for these. Defo check with your HR on all of this, I work for a big international company so it may be different for smaller companies.

With regards to keep in touch days i will add its worth being aware that you can do 10 of these, but going in for an hour for a meeting say would count as a full day but if you get paid by the hour they only need to pay you for that hour!

I had my 31 week midwife appointment this week where i was made to feel VERY unorganised when mw started asking about the bed i had set up for my baby ......

We have a big bedroom switch around planned which i need to work out how and where to start ....

@TiredAlreadyOhDear i am getting on well with the pram thanks, unfortunatley we live somewhere with lots of hills and school runs are KILLING me atm!

@Luckyelephant1 I’m
Excited to swim now hopefully I’ll feel really nice and light! I weighed myself yesterday and have put on 18lb so far - which I don’t think is bad but I don’t really have anything to compare against!

@THATbasicSNOWFLAKE can’t believe you should have the baby’s sleep place set up at 31 weeks - we have a Moses basket for the side of the bed but it’s not set up yet 😂 I mean I was thinking we’d do it when we got home with the baby - it’s only a stand to put together! I bet the hills are a killer - more so the further on you’re getting!

We do technically have the babies set up already, but that's only because DS has only recently gone into his own room in a floor bed so I didn't bother taking his cot down from our room. I suppose it's one thing ticked off the list though.

I still haven't got a pram, although I've seen one online that I think might work, I also need to get DS a new car seat so the baby can go into the 360 spin one we have. I found the spin function a life saver after birth when my back was in pieces.

I did clear out space in my room for the baby's stuff though so I'm feeling organised about that. Washed and put away all the old baby clothes in drawers and turned the desk into a changing area with all the accessories in the drawers.

I'm surprised at all the HV meetings before the baby is born, it sounds like a great idea but I've never had that. They always just showed up a while after the babies came home. I wonder if it's regional?

I'm just counting down until my 32 week scan now, I'm only 28 weeks so it feels like a long wait, then at least I'll know if I'm having a c-section or if I can go to the plush birthing centre. Then I can start planning my hospital bag which always makes me feel more prepared.

I think they started doing the before baby hv visit here about 5 years ago. I was offered but refused in my last two pregnancies. Would have been useful for dc1 but these days i dont have time

@Warrickdaviesasplates do you have the low lying placenta too? Is that why you’re having a 32 week scan? I’ve got mine on the 20th May to see if it’s moved or not- I just want to know either way now!
You sound so organised!! Maybe I need to get a move on - going to start buying things for my hospital bag this weekend I think - anyone got any must have tips? X

I always get both types of maternity pads. The big thick ones and those with wings. In early days i layer these, help to prevent leaks

@TiredAlreadyOhDear definitely pack more pyjamas/loungewear for after the birth than you think you’ll need, I remember with my first I took a couple of pairs of pyjamas in for afterwards and bled through them within an hours, I had no idea how much I would bleed afterwards!

Also incontinence pads instead of maternity/period pads, you can even buy the disposable incontinence underwear, I haven’t tried them but I know some who swore by them for the first day or two after giving birth.

Is anyone else having a home birth? I’m booked in for one, I’ve had two home births before but last time my waters went and nothing happened so had to go in to have oxytocin drip to start labour.... also was the first time I’ve not had a water birth and I hated it hoping to stay at home and give birth in the pool this time 🤞🏼

@TiredAlreadyOhDear yeah the scan is for low lying placenta, I've had something annoying about the placenta in all three of my dcs. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed it will have moved. My scans not until the 3rd of July. Which I suppose isn't that far away but it does feel it.

Oh I'm definitely not organised, I'm just so disorganised about getting rid of DS (2 years old) stuff that it's become handy for this (surprise) baby.

My friend did a great hospital bag list for when she had her baby a few weeks ago, I think I'll ask her to send it to me so I can copy.

My main things I know I need to remember is pjs and 2 nighties, last time I only had one nightie and my waters went all over it! So I ended up sleeping in my clothes. Also lucozade orange sport drink! The gas and air makes your mouth so dry and I couldn't stomach anything fizzy but needed sugar. Also sports bottles mean you can drink them in any position without spilling.

@Foxglovesandlilacs I was interested in a home birth but I'm not sure if I'm too high risk even if the placenta moves. How do you go about sorting that out?

You just tell your midwife you want a home birth and go from there really, there’s certain things that would make a home birth riskier than others but at the end of the day it’s your choice where you have the baby.

@Foxglovesandlilacs I'm thinking about a home birth, but I've got a scan at 32 weeks to check my low lying placenta has moved so it depends on that. I'm also a first time Mum so weighing up a homebirth vs birth centre as I know you're more likely to be transferred to hospital if it's your first baby. Have you had all your babies at home?

Feeling quite disorganised and time's moving really quickly now 🙈 We've ordered the pushchair but nothing else yet other than newborn clothes so best get a move on!

I like the concept of home birth and being in familiar surroundings etc but in reality I think I'd hate it. I know what I'm like and I'd be stressing about all the mess, whether something will drastically go wrong, if neighbours can hear, should I be offering the midwives tea and snacks etc lol. I'd probably end up less focused on the labour and more worried about that stuff. Also I want that experience of coming home for the first time with a little bundle that will change your life.

I guess the good thing is that if you want a water birth then you will definitely get one with a home birth as you hire your own pool. I'm planning to give birth in the midwife led birthing centre, they have 2 pools so I'm just hoping I can snag one on the day 🤞

The closer I get to the birth the more anxious I’m getting about it....I’m trying all my hypnobirthing things to keep me calm but I am really nervous! Anyone else terrified or is it just me?

I’m also really worried how I’ll feel after the birth like physically I think maybe it the unknown but like I’m nervous for how much blood I’ll loose,the first time on the toilet after - am I overthinking loads? Or is it normal to be nervous over it?

Completely normal to have all those questions!

I bought an online hypnobirthing course but havent had time to look at it yet

My worry with this birth is what to do if baby isn't out by due date and is looking large, i had a bad experience with a sweep last time which makes me not want to do anything to make my body try and do what it isn't ready for but i also know that the longer baby cooks the bigger he will get and the more chance of that causing issues

I think its really helpful to be aware of the different stages and feelings women often have while going through them. When i had my first i knew nothing about the transition stage, i now know its completely normal to want to go home / pull the baby out etc at this point and also it means the end is near

@MillyJS no not all of them, only the 4th, 5th and 6th. They were really lovely but so were my hospital births, I had really straightforward births that were relatively quick (between an hour and 3 hours long) and the reasons for a home birth were more for practical reasons but I did love getting into my own bed afterwards.

@Luckyelephant1 all of that was DHs job! He actually preferred the home births because he had more jobs, looking after the midwife, making sure the pool temperature was right, it gave him something to do. I know what you mean about bringing the baby home lol, it’s definitely a special moment.

@THATbasicSNOWFLAKE yeah I’ve found the antenatal class useful for the stages and things and also all the info on pain relief as well.

I worry about having a sweep, I’ve heard it’s really not nice and to be fair I’m expecting to be overdue just because It’s my first and I know they’re typically late.

Some people have said that by the time I’m full term I’ll be so fed up with being pregnant that I won’t be worried about birth haha but I’m not so sure!

I think I need to remeber as well that not everyone’s horror stories are mine —abs everyone’s birth experience is different so try not to fixate too much on people saying how awful it is!

Have your babies got progressively bigger each time - my mum and dad had five of us - and my dad was saying we were all bigger/heavier so the eldest was smallest and the youngest was biggest - dono if that was just a weird coincidence or if it’s a regular pattern x