Due December 2023 part 4

[wannabemum38]

Part 4 thread ladies

@RG84 I'm with you on the pelvic pain, sorry you are suffering. I ended up on crutches by the end of my first pregnancy which I'm desperately hoping to avoid this time as won't be easy with DD.

I'd echo what @NoodleQueen90 says, try and avoid having your legs too far apart or any twisting motions. Sleeping with a pillow between your legs at night might help, and try and roll out of bed. A plastic bag under your bum in the car can help get out as you can then swizzle round with both legs together until they are out of the car rather than having to do one at a time and twisting your hips/pelvis. Lie down as much as you can. Hope the wait for the physio isn't too long, they may give you a support belt as well.

I was going to post today about pelvic pain 🙈 unbearable and just came on today 😭😭
I'm 25 weeks and hope this isn't going be this painful till birth 🤦🏽‍♀️
I was suffering with hip pain at night and was getting through the night recently by having a warm bath before bed and it's not been so bad.
This pelvic pain feel like someone just kicked me so hard down below.
Maybe try warm bath see if that helps you x

Pelvic pain will be here to stay I'm afraid.
Good news is that it seems to disappear as soon as baby is born or maybe I thought this due to stitches.
My last pregnancy it was from 25 weeks and it was pretty much 24/7.
This time it started for me at around 16 weeks but only if I sit still for too long.
I know everyone can get it differently and for me, I had a pillow behind my back when I slept with helped mine a little.
Walking helped a little but it was a balance because going to far would make it worse.
For me it was the start of my waddle a the rest of my body tried to compensate.
However I don't remember thinking about it when I was in labour. Gas and air is a beauty thing! But then I did ask for stirrups from the minute they said to push. Xx

I was hoping not as never had any of this in my previous pregnancy 🤦🏽‍♀️

I have had pelvic girdle pain for the last few weeks, and asked my midwife to refer me to the specialist pelvic physio (aka womens health physio) at the local hospital, so awaiting an appointment there in about 3 weeks time. In the meantime i have been following this advice which has helped reduce the impact of it:
https://thepogp.co.uk/_userfiles/pages/files/resources/23697pogppelvic_girdle_pain.pdf

I've also started with the pelvic girdle pain 😭and to echo @Clucket87 it's likely here to stay. I also had it really bad with my first DD (along with horrible sciatica, which I'm hoping doesn't come back), and it got progressively worse until she was born. Luckily the pain went almost immediately after she was born! I went to see a specialist physio last time and he gave me some gentle stretches/exercises, but to be honest it didn't make much difference. The two things that seemed to help were:

1. Pillow between knees when sleeping
2. Folding up a soft blanket and putting it under the fitted sheet on my bed, so it created a bit of a softer buffer between hips and the mattress

Oh and making sure you keep your knees together when getting out of bed. I remember feeling like a beached whale rolling out of bed last time 😂pregnancy is truly a humbling experience.

Thanks ladies regarding your suggestions on the pelvic pain and sorry some of you are going through this. Gosh it's painful hey! I had a little pain in my first pregnancy but nothing compared to this. Hopefully the appointment won't be too long now.

23 weeks today! Hope you are all doing well.

I've got a bit of pain just below bump feels like my bits have been knocked not cramp but uncomfortable and started yesterday after came back from shopping. Thought it was cos I have been bit constipated but it's still there today and feel like I'm waddling more is this pelvic pain and just growing pains. MW didn't seem worried about it when I mentioned it to her today?

@wannabemum38 not sure exactly how many weeks you are but around 23 weeks our babies are having big growing spurts so could be growing pains
should be fine as mw isn’t worried. So many new sensations to get used to

@SMG1992 im 24 +3 days my leg has been playing up today aswell feels like sciatic pain hope its not and I just overdid it walking yesterday don't want to be hobbling down the aisle at weekend!

@wannabemum38 ive been getting some nerve pain in my leg which comes and goes too. I’m going to bring it up to mw tomorrow but don’t think there is anything she can do.
how exciting it’s your wedding at the weekend! I’m sure you’ll be fine and not hobbling!
ill keep my fingers crossed the sunny weather continues for you! X

Does anyone know how much weight they’ve gained? I know the answer is ‘stop weighing yourself’ but I did this morning as I feel huge, and I’ve only gained about 5/6 pounds at 21 weeks.

From googling this seems not enough. I’ve been eating normally and haven’t had morning sickness or anything.

Should I be worried do you think? Baby measurements were fine at 20 week scan.

(the only time I’ve ever been concerned I’ve not gained enough weight!!)

@Mushroo I'd imagine as long as measurements were fine, there's nothing to be worried about at the moment. Your midwife should start paying more attention to growth of your bump and weight gain from 28 weeks onwards.
I've put on 2st at 23+6 😩hoping a lot of it is fluid etc but I have an extra chin that never used to be there as well!
Maybe mention it to your midwife if you're worrying but I think everyone is just different when it comes to weight gain and it might not be linear...midwife will know best and be able to advise if you need to try to eat more etc.

I never weigh myself but on my booking appointment on the 31st May, I weighted 70kg and then I got weighed by the midwife on the 16th August and I weighed 68kg (2 different hospitals) so I have no idea if the scales were wrong or if I have not gained any weight.

I've put on about 1.5 stone at 23+6!
I was very active before pregnancy and ran at least 30 miles a week, walking and swimming isn't having the same impact!
I've also got a ridiculous sweet tooth and feel sick and grumpy as soon as I'm the slightest bit hungry.... I think I actually have more of an appetite now too as used to drink a lot of black coffee.
I only weighed myself at the weekend as was curious and it's made me worried I've put on too much - I need to moderate the chocolate and be as active as is healthy!

@SMG1992 I was very similar to you pre-pregnancy...very active with a sweet tooth and never let myself get hungry! I wouldn't say I've over-indulged but I've definitely just let myself eat what I feel like which has involved the odd extra takeaway here and there. Even walking had tailed off a bit for the last few weeks though as it's been so wet here 😕will need to pick it back up a bit whilst I still can!
I'm not going to get too worried about the weight gain...I did lose weight very easily before so I'm hoping this is just my body putting away what it needs in reserve for feeding the baby once it arrives. I've put it on steadily pretty much since the moment I fell pregnant despite not really changing my diet that much.

@NoodleQueen90 That sounds exactly like me I haven't really changed my diet, hopefully the gain will tail off a bit towards the end as I don't want to be in any extra discomfort.
The extra body fat should help for breastfeeding and it's only short term so as long as MW isn't worried I'm going to try and not get too worked up about it.

@RG84 glad it’s not just me…

I might mention it to my midwife. Based on when she weighed me at 8 weeks I’ve only gained 2 pounds. I was the upper end of healthy BMI to start with.

This is going to sound like a humble brag but it’s honestly stressing me out a bit. I’m definitely eating loads so I can’t figure out where it’s going?!? Eg yesterday was:

• porridge with berries and seeds
• soup and toast
• babybel
• pack of popcorn
• Cooked sushi platter and mochi balls.

The above is fairly healthy but on Sunday I had a premier inn buffet breakfast, 2 large slices of cake, chicken burger and wedges then rice pudding! Definitely been having more takeaways as well.

Literally never had this problem before 😂 I thought my scales might be broken but my DH says he’s gained loads, so they can’t be wrong both ways!

@Mushroo I've gained 11lbs but I've become very inactive, and have been eating chocolate, cake and full fat coke 🙈 I think it's probably mostly what I'm eating. If you're a healthy person who is fairly active I'm sure it's nothing to worry about! I did find a calculator online that gives you a "normal" weight gain range week by week. I took a screenshot of it at the time but I'll try find the website

I weigh once per week and track my weight on an app and it plots it against an "expected minimum and maximum". I did this in my first pregnancy as for some reason I found it fascinating (I am a little strange!) Some weeks I could put on 3-4 pounds in just one week without changing my diet, whereas other times my weight didn't budge!

I put on 2 and a half stone, weighed the day after I got back from hospital (so 3 days after birth) and I'd lost nearly 2 stone of that! The rest all except 3 pounds fell off without me dieting over the next few weeks.

Don't worry if you've only gained a little bit, or feel that you've gained too much. Some people put on nothing until the third trimester, others put on stones right at the start and then their weight gain stops or they even lose weight towards the end of pregnancy. As long as baby is growing ok, don't worry! If you do gain weight, it can all come off again when baby is here.

Additionally, the whole "pound a week" weight gain isn't anything that you can really expect as everyone is different, every pregnancy is different. Sometimes is just down to genetics and there's nothing that you can do to stop weight gain! Also you'll have spurts of weight gain and other times not.

@Pitstop1986 whats the app? I think I’ll start tracking and just keep an eye on it. I’m thinking because im definitely eating loads it might just be the way im built.

I gained nothing up to 20 weeks and have put on 4lbs since, at almost 24 weeks. I’m a bigger girl anyway so wasn’t really expecting to put much on early on. But according my pregnancy app, baby weighs about 1lb already so I imagine with the fluid and placenta etc, most of what we’ve all put on will just be because of that

Excess fluids, extra blood volume, placenta, heavier uterus, extra breast tissue... Plus extra poop and water weight in your bowels as your digestive system is much slower, especially if you've got constipation! So much weight is due to factors other than baby!

I'd tell you to eat as healthily as you can so that you are ensuring that both yourself and baby are receiving lots of good nutrients, but I have a sweet tooth at the moment so my usual afternoon snack of fruit is now a chocolate bar or two! I'm hardly taking my own advice! Haha (although my main meals are pretty healthy in my defense!)

Heya @Mushroo I've put on about 4lb if that. I feel like I've actually lost weight in myself but bump has got bigger which is where the weights coming from for sure! And I am actually eating more than I used too.

I know baby will be doing just fine though. And our midwives will start monitoring us as and when they need too.

The reason I know my baby is fine - My sister was very poorly with her first and lost weight in her pregnancy but baby was fine and ended up an 8lb healthy baby. They'll take from us and our body will give them everything they need, to our detriment, if you're healthy, not overly exhausted and not letting yourself go hungry (I mean like starving) then you and baby will be fine. If you're constantly getting hungry or you're always exhausted/sick then you may need to eat a tiny bit more for yourself, but would be worth speaking with your midwife to check.