Due May 2023 - thread two

[Flowersflowers121]

Hiiii everyone. Thread two as the first one filled up :)

@EllieJayneB getting it in writing is a good idea!

I've triple checked with my employer (public sector) and they're fine with me carrying all my leave over, thankfully. Only planning on taking one or two days before I go off, if I can, and starting mat leave on the 12 may when I'm due on the 14th!

@AlwaysTryingToHelp that's such a shame they're making you take it before mat leave but equally I guess you'll be nice and relaxed and ready for everything!

I'm going off on 11 April (due 4 May). Annual leave for first two weeks. Work has been very stressful and I just want to cleanse myself of that hopefully before baby joins us. I already feeling like I just can't be bothered with it all, and 10 April is my birthday so the early finish is my present to myself. 😂

I also just have this feeling they're going to turn up on the early end (my mum only went to 37 wks with both me and brother), but even if they hang about until 41+2 and have to be induced, I don't feel worried about amusing myself for that long. Lots of pregnancy pilates and reading sounds like just the ticket to me.

I'm 28+1 today, so into the 3rd trimester! What a milestone.

I wanted to do this initially but recently I've had a few "bad days" where I've been exhausted and had hip pain etc. I'm thinking it's only going to get worse so I couldn't push my luck!

@RugbyGirl1 I’m due 8th May but expecting them to bring the baby the week before (c section), and I’m finishing 28th April. I’m only having 6 months off, and I want as much time with the baby as possible. I’m taking Christmas off and possibly a day or two here and there, but otherwise my leave would go unused, so my work are paying me it in lieu rather than making me take it, which I really appreciate.

Thats my plan. I'm due on 23rd May and have put that as my maternity start date. I want to use my annual leave at the end of my maternity leave and my leave year runs April to March. I'm hoping to take 6 months maternity leave, but only get paid for 18 weeks so going to use some annual leave and keep in touch days to top up my wage packet so I can take 6 months if that makes sense.

@RugbyGirl1 Yes I am, I’ve told my boss I will be working until I text them that I’m on the way to the hospital! I’m also going to tag my accrued A/L on to the end of my mat leave, remember we get the bank holidays as well :)

My first pregnancy I finished work a couple of weeks before my due date, then baby was a week late, I felt a bit bored during those weeks and didn’t really want to do anything / venture very far, so it ended up just feeling like a bit of a waste of time off, especially as DH and all my friends were at work so couldn’t hang out!

Has anyone got belly button pain? It’s only started since yesterday and it’s constant. Best way I can describe it is the whole area behind and around my belly button feels bruised and sensitive - even clothing on it is irritating it. I didn’t experience this in my last pregnancy. It’s not excruciating but I’m wondering if we think this is a normal thing or whether I should bring it up to a midwife? Would be impossible over the weekend but I have a growth scan on Monday I could ask the sonographer?

@Leostratts I’ve had belly button pain but it’s been fleeting and comes and goes - everything I’ve read says it’s quite common but another classic ‘nobody really knows what causes it.’ I’d bring it up if it’s worrying you though it can’t hurt to ask! Especially if it’s not going away I would mention it, do you have a 24/7 midwife phone number?

@ru53 this came on yesterday and hasn’t stopped. It’s hard knowing what’s considered normal and what should be called and spoken about right away, isn’t it! I don’t think my area has anything like that, it’s either midwives during the week or the labour and delivery ward out of hours but just doesn’t seem right to bother an L&D ward about this!

I've said I'll start my mat leave one week before my planned C section but I've also just spent a few days in hospital thanks to contractions! Fortunately all ok and not in labour but I'm not convinced I'm getting to the planned section date at this point.

A bit of a range then, interesting reads - thanks everyone! Think I'll keep with my plans to work as late as possible before the due date, health depending and as long as baby doesn't have other ideas!!

@raffika being paid time off in lieu is a good option actually, if my work offered that I'd definitely be thinking about it!

@Janch13 a yep the bank holidays add up too over a year, although we miss out on the extra one for the King's coronation this year 😉

@Myotherusernameisaferrari hope you're ok 💐 what do they think were causing the contractions?

@Leostratts if you're worried it's always worth ringing them - I really don't think they mind at all and would rather you rang than didn't, even for little things 🙃

@RugbyGirl1 thank you - touch wood all OK! Basically they think it's part of the joys of twins...

Has anyone got any advice for how the health visitor will feel about the dog when baby arrives?

Possibly sounds stupid but we have an open plan layout downstairs, so I can’t put our large dog anywhere when the health visitor will come over! She’s only 2 so whilst she’s very friendly, she’s also very enthusiastic and LOVES people! I’m not worried about her being around the baby at all (obviously they’d never be alone together anyway!) and we’re already leaving a few baby bits out to get her used to them, but I’m worried the health visitor will see our huge slobbery puppy and be horrified! She’s relatively well trained but like I say, she loves new people so although she is crate trained, I don’t want to lock her in her crate when there’s someone new here as she’d just bark and get riled up, and it doesn’t seem fair to lock her away?

Any help appreciated!

Could you try and take her out for a long walk before hand so she's all tired out and less bouncy? Although I appreciate that might not be possible

@Awkwardusername we are in the same boat! Love our dog but he's a bouncy one and absolutely loves new people! Super friendly but super bouncy and excitable

@OptimusPrime31 @wintersun21 I’m tempted to have my parents “coincidentally” be there at the same time so they can offer to take her out while we speak to the health visitor 🥴 I’m sure they see loads of families with dogs but I’ve fully got my knickers in a twist over it!

Has anyone had any crying spells during their pregnancy? I got upset about something yesterday, but it was something and nothing and was resolved within minutes. However, I physically couldn’t stop crying for at least an hour, and for the rest of the day I kept randomly crying, and even now when I think about it, I feel teary. I feel completely ridiculous!

Yep!! I just put it down to hormones as it feels so similar to how I usually feel a few days before my period, really fragile and teary & over emotional! Just be kind to yourself 💛

@Awkwardusername @OptimusPrime31 and @wintersun21 we’re in the same position, as we’ve got 2 labradors!

Ideas we’ve tried are:

• a kong toy, filled with cream cheese or peanut butter and frozen so they lie down and lick that, rather than coming on too strong with visitors!
• a decent long-lasting chew or antler, that will keep them busy
• section off some of your open plan area. We’ve got these pens (we use them as fences, not pens), some in the smaller size (medium) and some in the taller size (large), they both work. The smaller ones are a bit more stable but it depends on how big your dog(s) is/are and how much they jump up. You can either use them as a pen or as a straight fence, like we do. You just need to zig zag them slightly so they don’t fall over. They attach together, if you need a long fence line: We got them from meandmypets.com but that website doesn’t seem to be working today. I’ve found them on Amazon though. They are by far the cheapest way we’ve found, to section off any areas of the house….

www.amazon.co.uk/Me-My-Pets-Medium-Playpen/dp/B01LY6RM7L/ref=asc_df_B01LY6RM7L/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=237404336331&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17675992249009726039&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007249&hvtargid=pla-299789302680&psc=1

Hope that helps a bit. We still have some issues with the dogs getting overly excited and being too friendly with visitors but the things above have certainly made a big difference!

@raffika I definitely have bad crying spells too.
I know what you mean but please don’t feel ridiculous, I’d say it’s perfectly normal!
It’s probably better to get it all out, than bottle things up too.
Hope you’re ok.
Be kind to yourself.

We happened to go for a private scan on Sunday (as it’s been 8 weeks since our last NHS scan) and the baby is measuring small.
The private clinic called the hospital and we had to go straight there and be monitored and scanned. I’ve got to be scanned again in 2 weeks.

Is anyone else’s baby measuring small?
(I’m trying to stay calm but it is worrying!!)

@i83 our baby was a bit on the small side at the 20 week scan but they said they weren’t worried so we’re not having any extra scans. If it helps put your mind at ease, when our friends had their first baby she was measuring very small and they had to have loads of extra scans all the way through which was so worrying for them and in the end she was absolutely fine a perfectly healthy and happy baby. I don’t think she was even unusually small when she was born. It’s so hard not to worry I know but I think they are so careful these days so they do all the extra scans just to check it’s all okay.

Thank you ru53.

Hopefully all is well. I think it’s ok for them to be small, as long as they are growing at an ok rate so a lot will depend on the next scan. That will be a nerve-wrecking day!

Are you tempted to have any private scans?

Hope everyone is okay!

We ended up in hospital yesterday, I hadn't felt the baby move all morning and it got to around 12.30pm and after trying everything to get him to give me some movement (Eating, having a bath, lying on my tummy, all things that usually work) I ended up calling the hospital number on my notes and they told me to go in as soon as possible!

I was put on a monitor to measure his heartbeat, movements etc. but after just over an hour the doctor was still not happy with the results and I was rushed to have a scan. As soon as they started the scan I could feel him moving straight away and he did not stay still all the way through. There were many tears in the room from me and DH!

Everything in the scan looked great, they were really happy with his size, heart, cord and the placenta. The doctor discharged me, they weren't to sure why the monitor gave the results it did, but told me to go straight back if I have anymore problems!

If anyone is worried about anything please call the midwife team as soon as possible, honestly they were absolutely incredible with all 3 of us yesterday. They were so reassuring and they were wonderful with us!

Oh and he is certainly making up for it today, he has been moving all day 💕

I went in a few weeks ago too because I couldn't feel him. Everything was perfectly fine though, in fact he started moving when I was still in the waiting room. My midwife said that when you stress the baby tends to move less. Easy to say, I know, but everything is about relaxation.

@i83 my first DD was born on 3rd centile so was considered SGA. This was only picked up after being sent for a growth scan at 36 weeks so I’m having extra scans this time to see if it’ll be the same. She was completely healthy though with no issues at all. As someone else said, the main thing they care about will be the growth between scans (whether it’s consistent or trailing off)