Due November 2022 Thread 3

[NotAdultingToday]

Hi everyone! I looked but couldn't see a thread, if there is one ill ask to get this one deleted. I hope everyone is ok!

Should say *not allowing you to get to 40 weeks

@Anna783426 I know the mucus plug can start to come away weeks before baby turns up. Fingers crossed you get to 37 weeks, not long now. Sorry you've had such a hard time with covid.

@TFMinx glad you went and had baby checked, always worth going if you aren't sure. Glad you are feeling better too.

@NotAdultingToday sounds like you are run off your feet. Oddly I have been experiencing groin strain/pain for the first time today. Definitely didn't have it last time.

@Feb85 I hate it when they point out things without explaining. As others have said it just sounds like baby has a large head but they can be fine even if the different measurements aren't all in ratio. My son had a big abdomen according to measurements but was fine when born. Fingers crossed baby moves round for you, you do still have some time. Do you have a birth ball?

@Circe22 I would certainly be challenging their reason for induction if baby is healthy. Even the growth scans aren't that accurate. They seem so keen on induction for certain things without much back up. Personally I would ask for more detail or monitoring rather than induction for the sake of it. You are allowed to say no but I would certainly weigh up the options.

I had my scan Friday and they said the fluid around the baby seemed more than Wednesday which was a relief. I am back on Wednesday this coming week for more of those checks plus growth scan to compare to 2 weeks ago. At this rate I will go from thinking baby is coming early now to him being late, whatever will be will be! Although I am feeling so uncomfortable already and unfit. Just walking home earlier was not fun. In good news following our car being written off we got another one today, so glad to get that sorted. We have got to the stage with the house where we've sorted some things but lots is a mess while we finish it off. The pram bassinet covers and liner, blankets and clothes are washed so if he does come early at least he would have somewhere to sleep and something to wear!

@Feb85, if they aren't worried then it's likely nothing to worry about. My bub is breech too and they've had such a hard time getting good stomach measurements, it's just a difficult position to get a good reading. My baby was measuring 85-90th% for head and around 60th% for belly. Please don't stress, higher end of normal is still normal!
I've been reading up on the ECV procedure to turn baby and, if my fluid levels pick up, I'm hoping to try it. Seems about a 50/50 success rate from the studies I read. I don't think I have enough fight in me to push for a breech VB... 10 years ago I would have (my current youngest is 9 and was a homebirth), but I'm 38yo and tired now. For the next week til my next scan, it's rest, spinning babies exercises, and drinking as much water as I can!

@OtiMama that's great there's more fluid! Did you do anything different to encourage that?

How it feels getting out of bed at 35 weeks pregnant 😭🤣

😂😂 yes this is very accurate haha

Thank you so much everybody for your replies. Yes @greenerfingers this is our first child we are expecting a baby girl 😊 so it’s all so new and extremely exciting but also can be so scary & worrying.
With the measurements it has put me at so much ease to read your comments that this is all fine and so many of you have been told & experienced the exact same thing from doctors about measurements, if they would just take a minute and realise this is knew sometimes to people and explain things they say that little bit better it may help stop people worrying so much.
With bubba been breech yes exactly @ALittleBitofVitriol they have said it’s 50/50 chance the ECV will work so we feel it’s worth a try for us however I will definitely be trying some exercises over the next few days, I have ordered a birthing’s ball that some of you have suggested and it has just arrived so going to get that inflated and start the spinning babies exercises also fingers crossed these may work.
Thank you so much again ladies for your help as I said this is our first & we don’t have any family near by so it’s so nice and reassuring to be able to come on here and get some help & advice from real peoples experience & knowledge . Hope you all have a lovely Sunday xx

Hope everyone is doing well today. I'm been getting cramps, mainly in my lower back and sides. Just wondering if this is normal, or whether I should get it checked out?

@TFMinx im glad you are feeling better 😊 god that sounds hard i dont know how you do it! (Though id struggle to teach not pregnant 😂)

@greenerfingers it is! Im not made to work and keep house 😂
Oh god that sounds so hard is there anything you can do for it?

@Beanniebaby22 i bet you cant wait! I know i cant

@OtiMama it has been a mental few weeks i am
Hoping we are coming out the otherside! How are you doing now?

@roobearbaby 😂😂 that is def me!

@Elle1709 i have been getting that too plus in my tummy, i just figured it my body doing its thing for labour. I guess keep an eye and if they get stronger or more painful contact your midwife?

I had a lovely trip to dau today as some twat went into the back of me while i was stationary in the queue for the car wash. It wasnt fast and it was more like being hit by dodgems but i thought i should get check out and they told me to come in.
Poor ds was with me and there was no one to have him and we were closer to the hospital than home.
He was so good sitting colouring and a bit confused by all the machines.
It was hard as he was asking questions and got tetchy towards the end and i couldnt relax i ended up crying because i have had enough now of holding everything together all the time and want someone to look after me!
The midwives were lovely though and all is ok number 2 is a tough nut bless him

I've just had a message to say that lots of people went off sick on Friday with Covid and flu-like symptoms. Guess I'll be covering yet more classes around school. Ten days left...

C section booked for 31.10.22! I've had a tough pregnancy and am counting down the days.

Good luck @hayu19 you'll possibly be the first one on the board!

@hayu19 I would love bubs to have this birthday 😍 exciting you know when your baba will be here, 36+3 and counting down the days. Tired of being pregnant now…. Belly is so big I walked into a door today 🙈

@ALittleBitofVitriol I now understand when they measure the fluid it's from 4 quarters, so set areas, so if baby is lying funny it could be in the middle and not included and then shifts around to give a different measurement as baby moves. Which potentially is what mine did but will know for sure when measured again. I hadn't realised the fluid replenishes and the consultant said drinking lots of water can help, although obviously that isn't in all cases if you have a leak. I hadn't really thought about the fact it isn't the same water sat in there the whole time, although that would be kinda gross.

@hayu19 ah halloween baby, how exciting to have a date. It will come round so fast.

@TFMinx not what you want covering lots of people, I would be counting the days down too. Hope it isnt too difficult for you. I technically have 3 weeks left but have already cut down my hours due to doing so much overtime in September.

@NotAdultingToday ah what bad luck. I know how that feels after our accident the other week. Glad all is fine with baby. I also took my toddler with me to the hospital when I had to have checks, I was amazed at how calm and well behaved he was.

@Elle1709 they sound normal to me. Personally I wouldn't check it out but I always say if you aren't sure there is no harm in calling and checking in with the midwife.

I had my flu jab today and then felt really odd and unwell when I got home. Have no idea if it was related but had to go to bed for a couple of hours. Feeling a bit better now which is a relief.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Hi everyone

Hope everyone is ok, not had chance to read through all the previous posts yet.

Got my growth scan appointment through for Tuesday as I’m a on the large side! Baby deffo feels big and very heavy. PGP has definitely worsened, I’m not having pain in my inner thighs and knees and randomly my joints in my wrists and elbows are so sore.

Started packing my hospital bag, just need to get the baby’s bag sorted.

Started packing my hospital bag(s) today. I’m doing a small holdall of things to carry in whilst in labour and then a cabin suitcase shoved in the boot in case I have to stay. Last time I was 10cm when I arrived, so I was only in hospital 9/10 hours in total so barely used anything, but you never know. This time I guess I will need to go in earlier as I will have my DD in my house being looked after (hopefully) by my parents so won’t fancy labouring in front of them.

What’s everyone else doing about older children/childcare? It’s so hard to know how early to bring my parents down, I guess I need to as soon as I’m sure they’re contractions as they are 2 hours away. I wish births could be planned more 😂

It’s so hard isn’t it? My husband has a 3 hour drive commute to work, he works all around the country. I’m panicking thinking what if I go into labour and he has to drive 3 hours home (without any traffic) and he doesn’t get there in time.

I’ve got my mum on standby for my 6 year old, she only lives a few roads away but she knows to take her phone to bed now and turn it off silent (she never answers the phone!).

My bag is chocka. I ended up being in hospital for 6 days in total due to complications, so have packed everything but the kitchen sink this time.

So glad your car is sorted @OtiMama ! I just have a sigh of relief for you. Also brilliant about the fluid levels. And I never thought the water might change too lol!! Does sound much nicer knowing it's not the same stagnant water for 9 months.

I'm having massage for it @NotAdultingToday but I've such a physically taxing job that I just undo the massage within a day or two. Hopefully this week will be a calm one!

Congratulations on the date @hayu19. Not long to go now! Im due 28th nov and it feels sooo long.

Hope you're feeling better @TFMinx

Regards to childcare, I wish I knew too when I might be due or what to do. I'm really hoping I have an evening baby so my little one is asleep at home and not disrupted too much. Want to labour as much as possible at home and send hubby home when baby is born to be with toddler or try and have a homebirth if all goes well.

@OtiMama , yeah from what I understand the fluid level number they use is the measurement of the 'deepest well' ie, the biggest pocket they could find. Where my baby is positioned they could hardly find any pockets at all 🙄, when I spoke to the doctor she said that sometimes baby take a big drink right before the ultrasound so it looks even less! After a couple of hours of monitoring they rescanned and found a well of 7cm, the cut off for officially low fluid is 5cm. Average is about 15cm, from what I read.

Luckily we have kids old enough to babysit so childcare isn't an issue for us. Dh getting home in time/getting to the hospital in time might be more of an issue! If this stubborn boy stays breech that might be solved for us with a planned section anyway...

@OtiMama I found out this pregnancy that amniotic fluid is almost entirely featus wee. So the way it replenishes is through the placenta and umbilical cord. So I think more gross than just sitting there the whole time.
I'm feeling allright. I feel like baby has had a growth spurt. I'm 36+1. Until a couple of nights ago my ribs were ok but now they get a bit of a battering. Also, I spotted in the mirror I have my first stretch marks. I'm one of those annoying people first time round I got one stretch mark on my lower level abdomen, not much longer than a fingernail. I don't use any creams or oils. First time my waters broke at 36+3. I have 4 stretch marks suddenly appear, one almost ontop of my original old one and the rest in the same area, lower left of my abdomen. None on my right side. Very strange. Baby has settled in the same position as first pregnancy. Head down, bum to the right, limbs to the left.

Got antenatal class today and growth scan tommorrow.

How is everyone keeping busy? I have 7 or so weeks left and am sat twiddling my thumbs now. I've done everything and more! I've no appointments for a while yet and have spent so much time with family, working, going out, playing with DS. I wasn't at this stage with DS till 37 weeks  not sure how I'll last!

I'm also so big that people keep having a shock when they hear I'm not due in 2 weeks. Just this weekend SEVEN people asked and were beyond surprised. Some tried hiding it, others outright shouted YOU'RE HUGE! It's getting old now and on my nerves as I really feel it and struggle to walk. Terrified how big I'll be when I deliver and the scans are showing a small baby 😭🤧.

Also had zero stretch marks first time @Bramblecrumble22. This time I have sooo many! But then again my stomach is a train this time round.

@hhayu19 Ive also just have my c section date booked in for 1st November, the day after you 🙂 are you doing anything to prepare? I have no idea what to expect! @Bramblecrumble22 36+3 and I've also just noticed some stretch marks on my tummy all around my belly button. I think I'm prone to them anyway as I got some on the bum and chest when I was a teenager. I'm trying not to worry about it and just focus on how amazing our bodies are to grow a baby 👶
Thanks for everyone's advice on cramps, they are not too bad just a bit like period cramps, so ill just monitor.

Gosh I'm behind again!

To everyone with breech babies, babies can even turn IN labour, long labours and early Braxton Hicks are designed to help baby move into position. As @greenerfingers has suggested lots check out spinning babies online to encourage!

@Circe22 GD I would highly recommend the midwives cauldron podcast, it explains about the studies they base everything off of (being largely useless and poorly designed and basically nothing to do with GD and more to do with undiagnosed type 2 which they can't tell until afterwards so play safe). If you're diet controlled and baby is fine then that's great!

Remember you don't HAVE to do anything you don't want to do. You don't HAVE to be induced, it's not their choice, it's YOURS, only their recommendation and I think sometimes health care professionals forget that they can only offer recommendations and they don't get the final say in your choices of care.. Obviously this can lead to coercion and they may try to guilt you or your partner into doing things their way but considering so many recommendations they do as a blanket are absolute rubbish make sure you get informed and stand your ground.

I'm so sorry I can't remember every point by username 🙈

Mucus plugs and waters can replenish, if you have a water leak earlier than 36 or so weeks they'll just send you home and tell you to take your temperature and drink lots as they know the waters can reseal. Any later and they just hurry you along their conveyor belt 🙄

@greenerfingers

Gah toddler.

So if anyone is being advised on inducing and you DON'T want it you don't have to take it. You don't have to have the antibiotics for strep B and so much more.

Before you agree to intervention make sure you know the risks of the intervention and the not having it and compare to what they're basing their advice on! And before you accept you can ask for final checks, checks for strep, checks for breech etc etc. A breech baby at 36 weeks doesn't necessarily mean a breech baby a month later. ❤️