November 2023 babies - thread 4

[AngeloMysterioso]

Here you go!

Aww hopefully the cyst has gone on your on next scan , hopefully not long for you till your 28 week scan . I'm struggling myself to walk haha , I keep getting tightenings down there haha there is a name for jt but can't remember it lol 😂 I'm suffering with SPD too had that from 16 weeks . Glad your well tho and your trying to rest xx

@Mldn sorry to hear about your fall! That must have been scary. Do you have low BP?
I’ve been trying to do more exercise (not running for me - way too unfit for that) but been walking 7-8km every morning with my dog. It’s hot here at the moment though, around 30c so I do get light headed some times. My BP is still low though, around 82/52 I think it was last time I checked.

when is the best time to get 4d scan? I want to get the most from it, my next medical ultrasound isn’t until 35 weeks (ish) so I’d like to do one between now and then, currently 23+5.

added a photo of my pup today on our walk ☺️

Also thought I’d link two items i just received from shein maternity that I actually like.
Dress is so nice, and love the colour.
jeans fit well, although they make my arse look non existent which couldn’t be further from the truth, I got a lot of junk back there.

SHEIN Maternity Button Front Cami Dress
I odered a medium, I’m usually a size 10 UK
http://api-shein.shein.com/h5/sharejump/appjump?link=VcXjnjjGSie&localcountry=CA&url_from=GM7402162120838574080

SHEIN Maternity High Waist Ripped Skinny Jeans
Again ordered a medium, usually size 10 jeans but I feel like I’m deffo bigger than I was so maybe a size 12 these days
http://api-shein.shein.com/h5/sharejump/appjump?link=VcX4lCsaSKA&localcountry=CA&url_from=GM7402162317533843456

@Psqueak87 ahh cute pup!! Thank you. No, my blood pressure is in the normal range, so it’s a bit of a random thing to have happened! Just taking it easy this week as freaked me out a bit, but hopefully okay!
I read that the best time to get a 4D is between 26-32, there’s enough fat on the baby to look human & enough room for them not to look too squished in there x

@Psqueak87 you’re far more stylish than me 😂 the clothes look great!

I ordered some clothes from shein last week, mostly long sleeved tops as I’m thinking ahead to when I’ll be really huge! But also a swim suit so I can go swimming with my toddler. He was born in the summer so I have lots of summer maternity clothes but no winter ones! I also got some jumper dresses on eBay that have easy access for breastfeeding.

I’m a size 8/10 normally as was probably a maternity size 14 by the end last time, the bump has already grown out the maternity size 8 tops and jeans 😂 I still fit in some of my mums non maternity size 14 dresses though.

@Mldn thank you, I’ll get a 4d scan booked around the 30 week mark then ☺️. I hope you don’t have another scary episode, take it easy!

@PinkPlantCase haha not sure I’ve ever been called stylish before 🥴 shoulda seen what I wore on my walk today 😂 .
my bump / arse and thighs are well grown out of pre pregnancy size 10 jeans. I can still wear my leggings and stretchy dresses but I think my days are numbered.

Hi everyone, how's your weekend been? I hope quiet means everyone is doing OK and making the most of the second trimester.

Nearly time to tell employers formally about maternity leave. Has anyone decided their start date? I might do the same as first time: plan 2 weeks before and know that a sick day in the 4 weeks before will trigger early leave if I'm struggling.

@Thack I'll be starting at around 36 weeks, but that's for a number of reasons/complications (amd unfortunately also possible i won't even get that far). I let my employer know this a few weeks ago as sorting out mat cover for my role is unfortunately a long and drawn out process. It is also planned so that I've got the half term break off with my daughter so we can spend some time together before all our lives are thrown into chaos with a newborn, though she seems okay with it all I know it is a lot to adjust to as a teenager!

@Thack I’m going off from just before 38 weeks (the Friday before). But I’ll use annual leave to have Wednesdays off for about a month before that so I can have a rest.

Last time I went off at around 35/35 weeks but my job was much more stressful then, the hours were silly. The only way I could control not having to work until silly o’clock was to go on leave. Now I have a much nicer job! So hoping to be able to work a bit later.

I’ve already discussed with them when I plan to go on leave, I’ll have 9 months off and then I’ve asked for 3 day weeks until baby is 1, so I’ll go full time again in December 2024. Waiting to hear what they say about the part time working!

I see the midwife this week so should get my MatB1 form then

Feeling a bit mangled here, my nausea is back at 23 wks, and I’m suddenly huge! got a growth scan this week as baby is measuring big. Had some stress in my life this wk which has hit me harder that usual - I seem to find that happens while pregnant anyone else?
Hope everyone is ok. Anyone else got a scan coming up? x

@Thack I’m trying to start my maternity leave 10 days before due date, but I’ve used up a load of holiday days throughout October to get most of it off too. It’s only a couple weekend days I couldn’t get off as the holiday allocation was already used up in those days. So official maternity starting around 25 October, but I only work 5 days between October 7 and 25.

I work shift work schedule and high concentration / stress job which’ll be hard in the lead up which is why I’m using the vacation days.

@Thack I'm starting official maternity leave on my due date, but taking 10 days annual leave before hand so I finish 2 days before my cs. With winter fuel bills and mortgage I need my maternity pay to stretch into Jan as far as possible. Sadly SMP is not going to pay the bills.

When is everyone hoping to go back to work? I'm planning on going back in April, I with from home so pumping and such should be fine.

Finally had my consultant appointment last week, seeing them again at 28w, hopefully I'll get the official CS date then. Still didn't see my actual consultant, after having 3 appointments canceled due to her holidays and strikes, I wonder if she ever works at all 🤔

Midwife appointment on Wednesday, hopefully will get my matb1 🤞

@Thack Personally I've been having a really rough time at work with being the only administration for a very busy ward and extra work from different roles being added on to me so extra stress and pressure so I tried talking them into letting me work from home so that I could go on Maternity Leave on the 1st November but despite being an admin role they could not facilitate it and just due to the stress and sheer exhaustion i've decided to take Mat Leave from the first day I can which is 4th September, which sounds really quite pathetic compared to everyone else's dates!
I do however miss out on company mat pay by like 2 weeks so I will only be on SMP regardless and to be honest it just doesn't affect my financial situation enough to stay any longer like Occupational Mat Pay would.

Hi ladies! Hope everyone’s keeping well. I’m currently exhausted. Had a family holiday to Mallorca last week and now in Philadelphia for my cousin’s wedding. Can’t wait to get home to my own bed and big pillow! 😂

@GemmaJen If no complications and everything goes ok I plan to take maternity leave from my due date too with about a week of leave beforehand. I work for the NHS part time and have my own business so will take a full year of maternity from the NHS but go back to my business for 1 day a week after 2 months as that’s when my NHS full pay stops plus business needs to stay ticking over.

I have been planning on working up to my due date but baby may have other plans and it's been a rough week.

I found out the cause of all my bleeding could actually be that I have placenta previa in addition to the cervical ectropion. I'm still bleeding and had a couple larger bleeds than I'm used to which is terrifying. Baby doesn't seem to be bothered at the moment but I'm just terrified to use the bathroom in case I look down and see blood and clots again. One of the bad bleeds was on a day where I'd spent it mostly sat on the sofa and had a nap, yet I've had days running around like a chicken with its head cut off and had no bleeding at all. There's no rhyme or reason. Only thing I've noticed as coinciding sometimes is bowel movements, but safe to say that makes the toilet fear worse and pregnancy constipation also makes it harder as the bigger it is the more likely I seem to bleed (is 100% blood from vagina rather than haemorrhoid etc from back end).

I've not bought anything, family keep asking what we want but I can't bring myself to look, especially when I'm in hospital every couple days to check babies heartbeat because I've had yet another bleed. Baby also decides to go quiet when it happens then starts kicking up a storm as soon as we get home 😅. I know so many people who are pregnant and breezing through it, planning homebirths etc. I'm spending half my time desperately hoping baby will make it. Doctors have been clear that this early there is nothing they can do if baby does get affected, it's just to early.

Hi everyone, I’m hoping to go on my maternity leave after the October half term, that way half term counts as holidays rather than eating into my maternity.
So my last day of work will be 27th of October and I’ll be 36+6. I’m due 18th Nov.

I had my son 5 weeks early due to cholestasis in 2008 so fingers crossed this one goes more to plan. I have a feeling they will give my my C-section at 37 weeks ish.

Will my midwife have a matb1 form to hand when I see her next week at my 24 week app? Or should I give her a heads up.

Hi everyone ,

I'm looking for advise , so basically I had a emergency c section 5 years ago, and I've been advised I can have a VBAC , which terrifies me due to all the reasons and risks .

Has anyone had a VBAC? How was your birth and after pain. My only concern is tearing and my scar tbh .

My last natural birth was 6 years ago at home which was unplanned and would love another one but been advised I would need to have this baby in hospital instead to be monitored

I have another phone call a month before I give birth to speak about my options and what I want to do next

Thank you everyone . 💙🩷

I’m not sure how long to take off work.
originally me and husband had decided that he’d be a stay at home dad for the forseeable future, which made sense as I earn 3-4x his salary.

work will give me 100% pay for 4 months, then I go on the equivalent of the dole in Canada for up to another 8 months (which is actually quite decent out here, about $2000 per month / around £1150).

so original plan was to take off 6 months total and then go back to work, and he would quit work for a couple of years and stay home. However ladies at work have been telling me 6 months is difficult to come back to work if baby isn’t sleeping well, or if I need to pump during the day. Along with it being shift work, and a 90 minute daily commute I have a feeling they’re probably right.

so I stretched that to 9 months. But that would take me to July, and who wants to go back to work in July?! So now I’m thinking 11 months, lol. It escalated quick, but with it taking us 8 years to even get pregnant, and me being 35, there’s a chance it’ll be our only baby, so I suppose I should make the most of it. Work will allow me to take as long as I need off, but they’ll only pay me the first 4 months.

I plan to finish early nov / end of Oct depending on holidays left but not start actual maternity leave until as close to my due date as I can get (I need to be careful cuz if the baby comes early then my work kicks maternity off & apparently lose holidays as I can only carry over so many).

I plan on taking off as long as I can afford, I luckily get 6months full pay so hoping to stretch out another 6months. This is my last baby and want as long as possible off work.

@FlyingHighFlyingLow sorry to hear you are going through that, that sounds really tough and must be so scary for you. Great that baby seems to be none the wiser and just chilling but yeah that would really freak me out too! I get the no buying thing, I’ve only just started to have a look (not actually purchase) at anything now at 23 weeks as I’ve just been convinced something would happen (last pregnancy ended in MMC). Sending you all the good vibes right now 💕

in terms of mat leave, I’m planning on taking it from my due date but will keep 10 days/2 weeks holiday to take prior to that, so will finish up either late October/early nov. Can’t come quick enough I’m so fed up with work just now lol.

Anyone else suffering with heartburn/acid reflux? I’ve been awake on and off all night with it and just finished my only pack of rennies 🙃

@FlyingHighFlyingLow I am sorry you've been having such a hard time with this pregnancy, it is already such an worrying time without all the added stress. I cannot imagine what you must be feeling!

@DollyGx I have been getting heartburn/acid reflux on and off for the last 6 weeks or so. It is generally worse when I haven't eaten for a while though there has been quite a few nights where it has kept me up-but some nights when I get none! I manage it with the gaviscon drink which is awful and milk!

I’m self employed as a cake maker and it’s actually a lot harder than people think 😅 I’m on my feet all day, it’s a skilled job which I know is going to be hard when I’m quite big and my back/feet aching all day lol.
I’m planning to finish middle of October so I can have the October half term off with my other 2 girls and start planning for Christmas/birthdays before baby comes.

I will get SMP I believe and don’t plan on working again until baby is at least 1. Luckily my husband earns a lot more than me so he can provide for a while 🤣

@FlyingHighFlyingLow don't worry about buying everything. Babies are a huge industry and the pressure to buy and have all the gadgets is so bad!

Moses basket/somewhere to sleep, a basic change mat (we just put it on the footstool with newborn, not a big old change table), nappies and wipes of your choice, clothes and blankets and a car seat. That's all you need to start.
Pram can come later, toys come later, there's alway amazon and the supermarket for next day!

I am not specifying to work how long off, the policy doesn't say that I have to! Looking at 6-9months, want DH to tag in on SPL but I'm not sure he's keen.

Hi all, just joining this thread at 24 weeks today with my first baby. Loving feeling baby move now!

I’m finishing work in the second week in September; I’m due to be working with some pupils with violent outlooks from that date on and they would absolutely see me as a target. I was mulling it over when my boss made the suggestion; it’s easier all round for them and me!