Due September 2022 (Thread 5!)

[IzzyLeigh]

Continuing on from thread 4!

My 20w scan isn't for another 3 weeks (I'll be almost 21 weeks) and I'm feeling so anxious. I've been googling and finding horror stories of terminations and it's really worried me.

Have some of you had your 20 week scans now? How have they gone?

I'm 18w today, 20w scan on 27 April.

@Carebear99 I think it’s very normal to feel worried about this. To me, it feels like the last big hurdle before they’re viable a few weeks later, so it’s an understandable stress, especially now we’re bonded to our bumps and are so far in. Mine is a week today, so also feeling the nerves a bit.

@madeleine85 thank you. And good luck next week.

@Carebear99 you really need to step away from
Google!! Lol!! Youv had the NiPT and scans so why do you have reason to believe your 20 week scan will be awful? I'm sure all will be fine, relax.

Snap @MOLWI with the anterior placenta!

@Famii oh yeah! Had it last pregnancy too. Coughing and sneezing hurt. It's the ligaments stretching. Totally normal! Sometimes help me to walk about and stretch for few minutes.

Shocking read the posts where people have been asked was baby planned!! Omg piss off!!! Work are not supposed to be so judgemental! It's against the law lol

@TotoAnnihiliation congrats on the news of your little girl! It really does seem like so many of us are having girls in here!

@annlee3817 so glad you’re starting to feel much better. Hopefully that’s a sign that you’ll finally test negative really really soon

@Peauela congrats on the negative GD test!

@PrettyTulip sorry you’re feeling unwell I don’t know if this is just me, but the hard skin part of bagels have always simultaneously scratched and soothed my sore throats. While bagels work best for me, I’ve found that any crusty bread tends to get the job done. But like I said, I might just be weird haha

@stimpyyouidiot congrats on the kicking! That’s so exciting!

@Poppypip1 I agree, that’s super rude for people to ask if your baby was planned or not. Honestly, some people just have no common sense about what’s okay and what’s not okay to say. Sorry you’re having to deal with that. Luckily, I don’t leave my house much so I haven’t had to experience that yet. But I know I’d be super annoyed if someone who wasn’t a close friend asked me the same.

Welcome @Famii! I’m 15+6 today. While I haven’t had any cramping, I have had really bizarre feelings over the past few days. I know it’s not the same as what you described but maybe it’ll make you feel better to know there’s a range of weird things that can be felt at this stage? Beyond the really painful round ligament pain when I laugh or sneeze, I’ve been getting sudden shocks of pain deep in my pelvis, like almost in my vagina but definitely feeling behind that, like in the bone. It happened randomly a couple times and then goes away for hours and hours. Pregnancy is just bizarre haha

@veryberrie congrats on your flutters!!

@annlee3817 you hit the nail on the head. Throat LFT shown a positive. God dammit 😐 luckily it's only cold like symptoms so I think I can live with that 🤞🏻🤞🏻

@PrettyTulip ah sorry, always hope to be wrong, I was similar in that I had cold symptoms, hope it clears quicky for you

@annlee3817 how far along were you when you had covid? Just hoping it has no impact on little bean x

Lovely that more people are stating to feel movement :)

@famii also experience similar pains, some days stronger than others, convinced it ties into when I have a growth spurt on the bump :)

@PrettyTulip I had Covid with just cold symptoms. It wasn't so bad :)

Went to my 16-week appt today and got to hear my little one’s heartbeat again! Always so reassuring. This was my first time hearing it through the doppler. Does it normally sound very faint and far away for everyone or do you think that’s just because of my anterior placenta? I have no idea how these things work.

Also found out I gained more weight than I would have liked to by now but was shocked to see that they had raised by BMI by 9 points! Luckily, they had just made an error on the paperwork. But still, it was certainly quite a scare!
I’ve been eating really well this whole time and have been trying to be careful of my caloric intake, but I think I’ve gained too much. I barely even have a bump to show for all these extra pounds! I think I’m going to need to be even better about it if I have any hopes of making it through this pregnancy in the normal weight gain range. Such a bummer. Wouldn’t it be lovely if the whole eating for two thing were true? A girl can dream.

@IzzyLeigh I always found the heartbeat to be a bit weird! I mean really I guess you're listening to it through your stomach and amniotic fluid haha

With weight gain don't worry too much (says me!!) because you will gain it. Do they have to weigh you? I would really struggle with that. I think everyone gains differently at different rates and also, your bmi absolutely will go up because you're growing a whole ass human! X

@IzzyLeigh it is interesting what different doctors tell you/don't. My doctor writes the weight on notes that they put on their portal, but I have no clue what my BMI is as they've never mentioned it. Pregnancy weight gain veries so wildly. I will say that my last pregnancy (and I look similar this time), I gained weight generally and it went a bit of everywhere at the start, I just look a bit round all over right now. This time my boobs are huge and have definitely increased to feeding size last time, so things like that all add up. The placenta is also huge! When you birth that you are like oh wow, that was an actual organ. It is like a liver or heart or something pops out of you at the end, so again that causes weight gain (and should). After the first half/ to 2/3 of pregnancy, my weight started coming off my body, thighs etc and started going onto the actual bump, hoping for the same this time, but we will see. Basically everyone is completely different. Your body is creating a literal person, it is a huge undertaking, so if it feels like it needs more nutrients, feed it, and know that weight comes off breastfeeding, and you lose usually 10-15lbs or more the day you give birth. I can't wait for that just to get some strain off my feet :)

Also like @stimpyyouidiot mentions,you shouldn't feel like you have to be weight checked. I have asked my doctor to not tell me my weight as I know I will obsess over it, and it can cause negative tendancies on my part. When I get on the scales each month, I simply avert my eyes, i've also heard of people doing it backwards so they can't see. I've asked them to only tell me if it is a metric that is causing concern to them. Just an option out there in case people ever don't want to know. Fortunately a lot of doctors/nurses nowadays are very understanding and sympathetic to this!

Omg yes @madeleine85 I was genuinely SHOCKED at how huge and heavy the placenta was. It literally dropped out of me and I will never ever forget that bit, I was running on that 'I did it!!!!' High and I remember saying to the midwife 'bloody hell that's huge!!!'

Thanks @stimpyyouidiot and @madeleine85! Yes, at the moment they weigh me at every appt. In regard to actual appts, is it the same in the UK as it is here? Once a month and then eventually twice a month and then weekly as you get closer to your due date?
They don’t actually tell me my BMI, but it’s on the visit summary paperwork they give me when I leave. Hence my shock when they hadn’t mentioned that apparently I had gone up 9 points and therefore skipped right over the overweight category and was well into the obesity range within 4 weeks! I went back in to ask about it and thankfully they had just messed up (had my height listed as 52" instead of 62") and so in reality my BMI had only gone up 1 point. Phew! Still gave me quite the panic for a moment there though. Talk about weight gain!
And @madeleine85, I totally considered asking them to stop telling me after I read a previous post of yours where you had mentioned that you asked them not to tell you. It’s weird though. I don’t want to know and yet I feel like I need to know? I think I’m more scared not to know and then one day find out it’s so much higher than expected. It’s probably some sort of weird control thing I’ve got going on.

hahah you two also have me imagining the placenta just dropping out with a big comical thud now! Like I can almost hear what it would sound like when they lift it up and plop it into that pan thing haha

It literally did thud haha. I'd just given birth to dd on the sofa, my h took her to get her dressed and they said you may as well stand up and I did and they literally caught it in a tray haha.

They don't weigh you after the first appointment usually here.

In the US I am the same as @IzzyLeigh where they weigh every apt, being once a month till I think the 3rd trimester when it is once every 2 weeks, then once a week once its the final stretch. I also get the weird "I want to know vs don't" part, and I think i've settled on not knowing except my starting weight, and birth weight, as I want to know what is a healthy weight to try to lose after. They also weigh at the 3 week post pardum checkup here, so that is a good knowledge point for me. Ultimately, the check for me is, do my knees hurt when running, and is my back giving me sciatica/the balls of my feet hurting to walk on, which right now i'm attributing all to weight gain. Once those points go away, I'm moderately happy i'm in the clear again, as it would be nice to not be in physical pain :)

Re. the placenta @stimpyyouidiot I got my husband to stay at the head/shoulder last birth so that he would see DD but not the actual birth, which we successfully managed, but then I forgot to warn him about the placenta. He was rather taken back when that came plopping on out! It was absolutely massive!

Jeez they weigh postpartum?? I think I'd have had a breakdown if they did that to me. I was a mess after dd.

On another note I managed 20 mins of strength training today and 10 mins walking :)

@stimpyyouidiot @madeleine85 thank you both for sharing your placenta stories! They made me laugh out loud and also feel relieved. I kind of imagined having to push it out and being like childbirth round 2! I love the idea of just standing up and it plopping out!

Aww thank you to everyone who replied. Reading all your experiences has been so useful.

@madeleine85 I spoke to my doctor today, he's said the same thing about not being concerned if there's no bleeding. Thankfully they're very helpful, would've thought they'd get sick of all my calls by now 😅 sorry about the pains you're experiencing, I felt the same and have noticed getting up really slowly helps most of the time x

@ShiningStarz thank you for the tip! Will definitely try this next time ☺️

@IzzyLeigh It does help, thank you. The shocking pain is something I also experienced and called my doctor about too 😅 it's reassuring being on here and learning we're all going through the same

@annlee3817 Now that you mention the growth spurt, it makes more sense. The pains intensify as I approach the next week of pregnancy. Thank you

@IzzyLeigh that is shocking you were weighed and weight shamed. I'm overweight but I was not weiged at my 8 or 16 week midwife appointments.

@shiningStarz thank you, I think I'm getting myself all worried and worked up about the 20w scan. I looked at rye conditions the nhs look for, they are all quite rare. I'm worried as at ly 12w scan the sonographer was looking for ages at something, I think the baby had its hand to its face and she kept trying to get it to move. I'm worried she may have seen something but not told me.

I never thought about the placenta, I had an emergency c section before. I'm still undecided how I'll give birth this time.

@PrettyTulip I'm just over 19 weeks, not testing negative yet. Tested positive at 18 weeks. Midwife assured me that they're very well protected in their and to them it's not different to a cold virus. Let your midwife know though, I was contacted by a covid midwife every few days to check on how I was feeling, was good to be able to ask questions.

I didn't look at the placenta, had the I injection to help get it out, my Mum had a good nose at it though, husband wasn't keen, but glanced I think and she said it looked like a massive piece of steak, and the midwife was showing her how it was intact and what they look for, I was happy to ignore