Due September 2022 (Thread 7!)

[HaresHoping]

Hiya everyone,

Just starting a new thread for when we need it as thread 6 is almost full! ☺️

How exciting @madeleine85 !

Brilliant @madeleine85 so glad you got sorted!! My gosh your little baba will be here in 4 sleeps!!!

Thanks everyone, i'm suddenly like OMG I must clean this house, re-pack my hospital bags, check there is sufficient food in the house and re check what my short self won't be able to stretch to reach after the C section and move it lower down!! Oh and wrap up my work. 4 days suddenly doesn't seem so long! 😂

That's great @madeleine85 ! Hope it all goes smoothly. Enjoy meeting your new little one.

I'm hoping to get a date for induction/ C-section (still wobbling about which to go for though starting to feel more positive about induction) on Monday, when I next have a growth scan. Unless baby's been really packing on the pounds (which is possible - I'm sure my bump is bigger, but that could just be cake) they'll want them out end of next week/ beginning of the week after I believe.

@LaddieCthulu I've had lots of problems with my bladder/ urethra during this pregnancy. After being fobbed off multiple times by the maternity department they scanned by bladder and realised that I'm not emptying properly. I'm going to have to have surgery after the baby is born. I hope you don't have the same issue as me, I would wish it on anyone, but just giving it you as a suggestion.

@madeleine85 I am excited for you! Not long to go at all!

Eeek @madeleine85 that's so exciting! Not long now at all 🥰 try to take it a bit easy if you can... can you delegate any of these jobs, it sounds like you have a lot on!

@110APiccadilly how many weeks will you be when they are planning the induction/surgery? What I was told is that growth restricted babies generally do better with C Sections than with Inductions, as inductions can stress them out. Is this your first? My doctor kept saying that because i'd had one natural birth that a second one the same would be easier and the induction would likely take better than for first time mums, even though earlier than 39 weeks. I definitely feel bigger now, and with the baby and fluid suddenly supposedly going up at 36 weeks, i'm guessing anything is possible and some babies just grow when they grow (after mentally torturing us)! When is the next growth scan? Hoping soon for you! Everyone is different, and if an induction appeals more to you, you should go with your gut. I'd have done a second one via induction happily were he not bum first! Though trying it at 37 weeks was a bit daunting to think of vs later on when things are more "ready".

@HaresHoping I'm a weirdo that thrives on the distraction of random tasks to occupy my time/nervous energy😅. I'm either running around like a headless chicken or napping... I'm sort of dreading this weekend, as I know my husband will want me to be sitting around doing nothing and keeping this child in, while watching piles of mess accumulate around our 2 year old and dog! Maybe this hospital stay will be good for my OCD haha

@awwbiscuits and @TurquoiseDreamCatcher thank you for your words! MAU haven't checked me for urine retention yet... The consultant said she didn't think it sounded like it but to come back if it persists or gets worse. I sense another weekend at the hospital coming up! Fingers crossed it isn't. What sort of surgery are you having, do you know?

Wishing you both an easing of your symptoms!!

@madeleine85 I'll be 36 weeks. It's my second. My first was also almost certainly growth restricted but no one noticed so she was born without any special fuss and then they realised she was tiny! She thrived though, no need for special care or anything, which is encouraging for how this one may do.

However, she was born by EMCS due to failure to progress, so I've not given birth vaginally before. Will be discussing with the consultant on Monday. The info they've given me suggests that if I can give birth vaginally then there's actually a reduced chance of baby having respiratory distress after birth. The two things that bother me are the potential for scar rupture, particularly as it won't quite have been 2 years since my daughter was born, and whether I'll actually manage to give birth vaginally anyway - I suspect there's a high chance if I do go for induction that I'll end up with a section anyway!

@madeleine85 so pleased you have you date! 4 days eeeek!! How exciting!

I've woke up today actually feeling a bit better, I've been feeling very winded lately. Like the slightest bit of effort and the winds knocked out of me and I have to sit down and catch my breath it's been horrible. Especially running around after a 2 year old and a 7 year old aswell, but today I feel like I have my energy back a bit

@LaddieCthulu I need to have surgery to stretch and dilate my urethra. I've had it done before but the pressure of pregnancy has caused it to tighten again. So frustrating bursting for a wee and a tiny dribble comes out!

@LittlemissMama67 can I ask do you plan on breast feeding? I struggled with my first born, she'll be 2 when this baby is born! Would love to try it again and if it works I'm just wondering how my little 2 year old will feel seeing me and baby feeding which could be a lot!!

No I don't, I went through a phase of thinking I might but I have decided against it. After weighing the pros and cons (one being my sons school run takes me an hour and a half) and I'm not comfortable feeding in public I just decided it wasn't for me, which is a shame because part of me still wants to

@LittlemissMama67 you have a lot on your plate with a NB thrown into the mix! It's all
Hard work but super worth it :)

Finally have a date for my elcs today! Feeling much better seeing it on paper and knowing that she shouldn't be arriving any later than 16/9 😍

Hope everyone is having a good weekend so far and staying cool. I'm trying to see the silver lining to the hot weather (yep I'm a wimp) and thinking of all the stuff I can wash and dry outside. I really ought to get the pram and car seat washed and put back together...but can I be arsed?

@TurquoiseDreamCatcher that must be driving you mad! I feel so sorry for you! I feel like my abdomen is just refusing to stretch anymore and so baby is just being crushed into my organs as they grow. I know there are women having so many worse complications of pregnancy than me, so I feel like a right moaner but I cannot imagine waiting another four weeks like this... I feel like I'll turn inside out!

When is everyone's actual due dates?

mine is the 23rd of September, elcs on the 16th

@LaddieCthulu im 1% on the growth scale, 4.5lbs ish and almost 37 weeks, but I feel like he is crushing me from the inside. I genuinely don’t know how people go 42 weeks with normal or large babies. So you genuinely have my sympathies!

I tried to harvest colostrum today in advance of Mondays section and started some pink discharge, so Im now drinking water, resting and I think it’s stopped and I guess I won’t be doing that again 🤦‍♀️. Damn you preterm labour risks. But if anyone gets to full term and needs a way to start things, I can recommend harvesting colostrum!

Oh flip @madeleine85 yeah I read somewhere that starting to attempt to collect colostrum can bring on labour!!
I have a c section planned in few weeks time (early sept) and won't be trying this time! Last time I didn't get anything anyway until after birth.My baby and bump is small! I was the same last pregnancy. Hats off to anyone who is proper pregnant huge! Just had dinner and so much movement 😍

Hello ladies!

Sorry for going awol after telling you of the little one's arrival on Thursday. It's been a rollercoaster of a few days.

As some of you know I had Vasa Previa and placenta accreta during my pregnancy although the accreta was suspected but could not be confirmed even with an MRI. I'd been a planned inpatient in hospital since 30weeks and was due to remain in hospital until my planned section at 33+6. In the early hours of Thursday, I woke up to a gush of blood. Upon examination, the registrar saw that one of my placentas was starting to come through my cervix. I was rushed to theatre as a cat 1 section at 32+1. My son was monitored throughout and the staff were absolutely amazing! Due to the potential accreta, I had very much prepared myself for the fact that this could potentially be our last baby and as I was under general anaesthetic for the delivery of my first born, I was keen to be awake for the delivery of this baby if it was safe for me to do so. The team agreed that they would also prefer for me to be awake as a spinal carries less risk than general anaesthetic. After 2 attempts, they were able to put in a spinal. My bleed was at 4:35am and my son was delivered at 5:10am. The surgery took longer than expected as my placenta was indeed attached to my cervix and to previous scar tissue. Unfortunately not all of it could be removed therefore they have had to leave fragments in. I'm being treated with antibiotics due to the risk of infection but with planned management and regular review to check that the fragments of placenta have been absorbed. If not, I'm likely to require further surgery. My son is doing as well as he can be for his gestation. He is requiring help with breathing but is only on high flow rather ventilation. We are on day 3 and he has already improved massively! I hope this continues and that we can be reunited on the transitional care unit soon. I genuinely cannot fault the care that I have received. I don't know whether I've simply been fortunate with the wonderful midwives, doctors and nurses that have been involved in our care but the whole experience has been made so much less traumatic as a result of the people around me. I'm feeling so grateful as the complications I've had with my pregnancy could have been fatal if I wasn't in the right place at the right time with the right care team. ♥️

@handbagsandholidays oh bless you, such an ordeal for you all, so glad he's doing well, how are you feeling re pain etc?

Oh my word @handbagsandholidays that sounds like a really tough pregnancy! I am so glad that you were in hospital when the bleeding started and that your little boy is out and being taken care of. I hope you are resting up, and that your body absorbs the placenta so that you don't need further surgery. Sorry you had to go through this, but well done, and congratulations on your little one x

Oh wow @handbagsandholidays - what an experience. I'm so glad you are being well looked after at the hospital. I will keep you in my thoughts 💕

Thank you @TurquoiseDreamCatcher @madeleine85 @annlee3817

I'm doing surprisingly well re:pain. The first 24 hers were great and in fact all I had was paracetamol, however the 24-36 hr mark was ridiculously painful and at that point I asked for something a little stronger. I moved to dihydracodeine which has been wonderful. I've kept on top of my pain relief since and feel so much better for it. I also started arnica yesterday which may or may not be a coincidence. I've been much more mobile and able to walk down to the NICU which is a fair distance away. My husband (who has been incredible) has been walking along side me with a wheelchair just in case I didn't feel well enough to do the entire journey. I'm trying to express which is another journey within itself! I formula fed pretty early on with my first so a lot of this feels alien to me. If anybody has any tips for improving supply or anything breastfeeding related, please do share .

Talking of which, my dear husband popped to primark yesterday and purchased some wonderful c-section/breast feeding friendly button down pjs. I can highly recommend and have had lots of compliments from the midwives, nurses and other patients too! X

xxx