Due January 2023 ❤️

[Swale]

I know this is very early but I wanted to start a thread for those with a January 2023 due date.

I got my BFP 2 days ago and am about 4 weeks pregnant today. I already have a little boy born in November 2020 and I’m super excited for him to get a sibling but I know it’s early days and have had 2 early miscarriages in the past so slightly nervous too!

@41andtryingforfirst yeah I think that's what most places do or let you self refer to midwives, just mine being awkward 😅 it was the same when I was pregnant with my son but they definitely didn't specify it had to be FMU then! Going to have to leave it a week til I'm off work. Never mind, still got time I suppose ☺️x

@brogan12 ah not too long to wait!🤞🏻 I had one 6+6 with my son and saw a little bean with a strong heartbeat. I have one booked for 6+3 myself next week before we go on holiday 😊

I am not coping!! So tired and I'm sure it's more lack of caffeine than an actual symptom right now! 😂

I slept for ten hours last night and still have been yawning all day 😂 also struggling with food at the moment, the nausea isn't too bad but the thought or smell of most food just repulses me. But I'm hungry and eating generally helps 🙈

@Nyxxie It's horrible isn't it? Like, in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter but in the moment when you just want to feel regularly 'with it', it is such a pain!

@Sassy144 I've got the same thing. Nothing really appeals but I am hungry a lot of the time. I never noticed how much food advertising there is until now! Walking along seeing pictures of pizza everywhere when you're feeling 🤢 is so grim! Haha!

I wish my appetite would reduce, I feel hungry all the time at the moment 😂

Hello. I’m 4 weeks 5 days today and had a blood hcg done because I feel like my pregnancy symptoms are lessening. Hcg is 2900. Last time I was this far along my hcg was 5200. Can each pregnancy give different hcg numbers at the same point? I’m getting another draw in two days but I’m worried since my first pregnancy ended up turning into a MMC.

@freckles503 Every pregnancy is different 🙂. I know that's a bit of a catch all phrase but it is true. I'll keep everything crossed for a positive result for your next test that shows the numbers going in the right direction! 🍀💖

@fancyfrogs that's so weird that the GP won't just refer you to a hospital that you choose, which is the normal process, or so I thought.

Hi @babyjellyfish yes I was tracking my ovulations. Mainly it's pretty regular still, sometimes a couple of days later than usual. Maybe I'll just wait and see rather than paying for a private consultation. Then if I do start spotting the new guidelines mean my GP/ obs should give me the progesterone.

@Ronnyrambler I think it is, anywhere but here! My NHS trust don't seem to accept self referrals to maternity either which a know a lot do. Behind the times 😅 can't grumble too much because they're pretty good otherwise I suppose

@Waitin I'm using one called Naturelo bc I was following advice from the book It Starts with the Egg which recommended it partly bc it contains methylfolate rather than folic acid which is a more natural form and for some women is better absorbed. I ditched Pregnacare, but that was when TTC when I was trying to improve egg quality. I'm not sure it's the best but it's probably fine.

@Peonies94 I contacted my GP on the day of my positive pregnancy test.
I'm waiting until 8 weeks to do a private early scan. Last time mc was at 7.5 weeks so I want to get past that at least.

What was your luteal phase typically like?

@alvaryder if you have had an mc and are bleeding in another pregnancy then new guidelines say that you should be prescribed progesterone. Some countries seem to give it for other reasons as well so given my 'advanced maternal age' (!) so I was looking into it. Seems like private obs will give it to you if you cough up a few hundred for a consultation. It's not a given that it will prevent miscarriage which is more likely to happen bc of chromosomal abnormalities, so now I'm thinking I may just wait and see and then if any bleeding request it urgently.

Yeah, the odds for our age group are pretty grim aren't they? Since mc in October I followed all the recommendations in the book It Starts With the Egg - took all kids of supplements, removed all toxins from the home and have been pretty good with diet, so am hoping this has helped. Hoping all goes well for you.

Hi @freckles503 I had bloods done at 4+2 and was only at 175! Remember it’s doubling every 48-72hrs at this stage so if you’d had that done even a day or so later you’d probably be almost the same as your last pregnancy. The threshold to get a 3+ (so 5w) on a digi is like 2500 so sounds like a v normal level for your stage.

@babyjellyfish my luteal phase was slightly shortening from around 14/15 days to 13.

@Ronnyrambler I feel like I've gone into this so blind. I didn't even think about it since mmc and didn't take supps etc as I turned 43 and thought it was game over. Now I'm panicking! But what will be will be I guess

@alvaryder I was mainly taking them to improve egg quality so that I could get pregnant. Now it's done the only thing to focus on is being healthy now - there are supplements apart from a prenatal that you can take e.g. vitamin d, prenatal DHA, choline. I recommend a book by the same author as the one I read while TTC called Brain Health from Birth. The book for TTC also has lots of good info about reducing exposure to toxins ie using non BPA products, avoiding plastic and perfumed household and personal care products as these contain pthalates - all relevant for pregnancy as well. The author is Rebecca Fett.

@pangolin84I have a ds the same age ❤ I'd say you ov/implanted later. Best thing is that there's a little heart beating away

@MummamanffI've heard that can be really common after sex

@Cb31glad everything is okay!

@Hana89I've been having diet coke or a cup of tea as I can't stomach coffee. Still a bit of caffeine so less tired and I can stomach it

I phoned my midwife and got told to phone back when I'm 8 weeks and I can just pop in to do my appointment. That's small town life for you 😂 I lived somewhere else last time and got told off for phoning late at 6 weeks. Cannot keep up

My symptoms are coming and going atm so struggling to believe I am pregnant 😬

@LemonZestDribbles I am having a tea as we speak, and as long as I don't put milk in it, and drink it very slowly, we seem to be having success! 😁

Also, we had our viability scan this morning: everything was perfect. Little one is measuring at precisely 7weeks - so a day or two behind where my tracker app suggested but that's no problem at all. Their heartbeat was strong and steady and there were no concerns at all.

My heart feels so full of gratitude right now. I was so prepared for bad news that when they showed me the monitor I burst into tears! We're still classed as high risk, and I know not to be too over excited but this is the furthest we've ever got and today I want to celebrate that 🎊

That's still pretty decent, longer than mine has ever been. On that basis I'd say you're probably producing enough progesterone and the success of your pregnancy is likely to be down to the whether the embryo is genetically healthy or not.

Congratulations @Hana89 what a relief.

I am feeling a bit dizzy today which was my first long-term first trimester symptom with my first. I hope it doesn’t last as long as I think it will. Feel like I’m on a boat constantly. 😞

So I thought I would switch over from the Seven Seas 'trying for a baby' vitamins to the pregnancy ones. I've just opened them and they are huge!! 😧 What is everyone else taking?

I asked my IVF clinic if I needed a specific pre-natal vitamin and they told me no. I've been taking high dose folic acid and a low dose of vitamin D for years so that's all I'm taking other than my usual meds.

I was looking at books today - anyone have any recommendations? I found one that looks good - it's Irish and was written by a well-known obstetrician here which is great because most information out there is English/American which doesn't always translate. I'm wondering are there other good ones out there that might be helpful? I might buy a second one if it's recommended - What to Expect When You're Expecting or one of them!