November 2023 babies - Thread 5

[Shaker21]

I couldn't find a new thread open as the old is now full.

Got a few of the usernames to tag, definitely missed people but hopefully they find the thread :)

@spareincoming @Pinkplantcase @leeanneD11 @LilmissCa @FlyingHighFlyingLow @Psqueak87 @spanglesj @BabyBabyBaby123 @Houseonthehills @GreenAventurine @reememberly @Cegbee @DollyGx @38andtrying @JD90 @travellingislife @mldn @sb86 @TMI2000

I tried the support belt but didn't work for me , I was recommended pregnancy tape , and it's helped me so much with my back , as you can have it on your back or stomach , I got given mine through the pharmacy xx

Ahh found the new thread!
27 weeks today and still generally feeling great (fingers crossed it continues) although slightly worries good pregnancy means bad labour/baby 😂
seeing midwife week after next, haven’t seen one in what will have been 13 weeks by then! X

glad you’re feeling great @Mrsrobinsonx !

to those feeling not so great thought I’d share - I had iron IV today after being referred by my consultant for low iron reserves . (I was given iv as cant stomach the tablets) Wouldn’t have known had I not have booked an earlier midwife appt as my levels were fine at 12 wk appt! So just a recommendation to anyone really struggling with energy to ask to get those iron levels checked . In case it helps anyone. I do feel a bit better . Xx

@spanglesj that's great to hear! How low was your heamoglobin?

I had two infusions as well in the past week or so. Mine dropped to 88 in less than a week from 94.

I've been getting pain in my abdomen area, especially more so at night but it's quite sharp and peeing alot too. The urine tests have been clear but they are doing extra tests as it's been on going for a week. I'm currently staying in overnight at hospital so I can be scanned tomorrow to rule out bladder and gallstones etc. There's a poor lady next door balling her eyes out very loudly, a reminder for me I should pack ear plugs for post labour and avoid hospital stays as far as possible!

Anyone else had a UTI? It's so hard to know what is normal frequency or not. I seem to feel the urge/pressure to go at least every 30 min when awake. Is that normal? Tbh I'm waking up in pain to empty bladder, is that normal?

I've also had a week of extreme exhaustion and muscle aches, feeling faint and I also fainted too 😌

As I'm writing this, I am feeling less like I am imagining things ...

@spanglesj the waitlist for an iron IV here is 3 months. So by the time my dr decided I needed one he said there was probably no point. He said they could give me one whilst I was in giving birth. My iron is currently 5 ug/l, he has me on some new iron tabs, but I don’t have much hope for them. I’ve yet to find ones that work, or don’t make me really nauseous.

Funnily enough, my mums friend is a dr in the UK and she showed her my iron results and her dr friend said my “iron wasn’t even that low” and that she wouldn’t be sending me for an IV either….I’m curious to know what your level was if you know it?

on another note. I just ate an entire white Ferrero rocher bar in under 10 mins. (550 calories) but it was so good!

@JoyApple that really does sound like a UTI! Not the usual pregnancy weeing that I’ve experienced this time or in my last pregnancy.

@PinkPlantCase thanks for sharing that! I'm feeling more and more convinced I have some form of infection. Tbh yday I was hesitant to take antibiotics without a real diagnosis, but I'm convinced now. I wish I listened more to my body and instincts as I knew something wasn't right for at least a week, and it wasn't just low heamoglobin as I'd been told as urine cultures had come back clear too.

Hi everyone. Just an update from me as I’m feeling a lot better today.

Saw a consultant, and she was so lovely. My liver function has gone down, which I’m so relieved about as with my first pregnancy it was very scary.

We also spoke about what type of birth I want in different scenarios to which I said a c section and she said that’s great and totally my choice.

Also, my partners mum who is in hospital after a bad stroke has had a next plan of care in place.

So a positive day! Hope you all had a similarly positive day x

@Psqueak87 wow three months . It’s so interesting how it’s different everywhere . The GP told me that I was borderline so may not get it . My reserves were 13 (normal 15-150) . The difference it has made is monumental, so borderline can still mean low enough to affect daily life quite a lot seemingly ! at least for me

@JoyApple i hope you feel better after your infusions . Have you got any clarity on whether you have an infex? X

@spanglesj glad to hear it made you feel better! My dr here told me I wouldn’t have normal energy levels till I got to atleast 60…but I’ve never had higher than 20 in the 3 years I’ve been seeing him. Now it’s at an all time low. God knows what my mums dr friend was on about with her saying 5 isn’t even that low. Seems like it can’t get much lower, lol. She also said that my dizziness shouldn’t be attributed to the iron levels….ermmm…I’m not a dr but I’m pretty sure that is literally what it’s attributed to. Anyways, he’s put it into my notes that I should be given an iron IV during labour, and he said I should just go private once I’m not pregnant.

@Psqueak87 I’d think carefully before agreeing to an IV during labour especially if there are alternatives. It could limit your ability to move around and get into the best position for birth.

And it’d be another uncomfortable thing an an already uncomfortable activity 😂

At the hospital waiting for my glucose test😐really hoping it’s not as bad as everyone says and that I can get through it

@PinkPlantCase ok thanks for the heads up on that, I’m clueless when it comes to it as I’ve not given birth before. I’ll just say no on the day; I’ll just pay for private once I’m no longer pregnant!

@TMI2000 it's definitely not, the hunger & boredom of the wait is the worst lol
I always be glad of a drink (even sugary glop lol) by the time the comes lol
Good luck!

@LilmissCa had the drink and it really wasn’t so bad. I thought it was going to be really thick but it wasn’t, just tasted like flat lucozade. Just the wait now which is longgggg!

@spanglesj thank you for asking 🙂 one doctor thought it is most likely an infection so prescribed general antibiotics. The other doctor came in the morning and said as my bloods all came back clear I definitely don't have an infection and if as I hadn't started on the antibiotics she recommended I don't have them, as then it may cause thrush! I was meant to have a scan yday at the hospital but the ward clerk messed up the booking and it's actually tomorrow. I was so extremely shattered after not being able to sleep in the hospital (beds are awful; and I was put on a ward with women getting inductions and being in labour and getting their waters broken in the middle of the nightmare) - it's awful, like a conveyor belt for inductions. I'm completely shattered and asked for home leave. They asked me to come in again today for monitoring and I refused to go as I physically and mentally just can't do it. Hoping the abdominal scan tomorrow will shed some light but the worst is waiting hours on end for a poor doctor to finally have some time to discharge you. It's crazy - one doctor at night to look after multiple wards and the delivery unit. The NHS is really falling apart and staff morale seems so low.

@Psqueak87 I can't believe your doctor said that to you! Did he mean a blood transfusion?

I wish I had known that it takes at least 2-4 weeks for an IV iron infusion to work and for the iron given to change to heamoglobin. I had one lot a week and a half go and another on Wed and I don't feel better and nor have my levels gone up just yet. I also felt absolutely shattered after both iron infusions (even though I've had many iron infusions before and never had side effects) so if you need it, definitely I would recommend getting it asap. The NHS and especially midwifery from what I've observed and told by staff too is short staffed and morale so low they will not do anything unless pushed (and it's exhausting pushing them!).

@TMI2000 I was expecting a glucose drink too, had mine earlier in the week. I was shocked when the nurse said you can go now after taking bloods. Apparently since covid our hospital stopped giving the drink and just does a blood test. I hope it's just as effective!

Found the new thread!!

27+1 today and just back from a 5 day staycation with the family and my god I am wrecked!
Was told at my 24 week appt my iron levels have dropped a wee bit (were 12.9 at my 12 week appt and dropped to 11 at 24) hoping galfor will get me through the next few weeks.
Thankfully ok otherwise!
Hope everyone is doing ok!! Cant believe we’re hitting the 3rd trimester already! Time is just flying by 😳🙈

@JoyApple I live in Canada so don’t deal with the NHS anymore, which mostly is a good thing, everything moves quicker here, apart from the iron IV apparently.

He said they could just give me a drip when I’m in the hospital giving birth and administer iron through that drip, instead of dealing with the wait list, which probably wouldn’t get me in before I give birth. But I can’t help but worry that at an iron level of 5 my baby could be missing something from me!

other than that my Canadian dr is great. It’s my mums NHS doctor friend (mum still lives back home in the UK) that said my iron “wasn’t even that low” and that she would not attribute my recent dizziness to low iron (I’ve fallen twice whilst gardening in the heat recently when losing my balance). I’m no doctor, but I’m pretty sure there are only 5 numbers lower than 5, lol, one being 0, so I’m pretty sure my iron couldn’t be much lower. I told my mum not to ask for her second opinion for anything again, I didn’t want it anyway, and now my mum just thinks I’m a drama queen because I was complaining about dizziness.

glad you managed to get the infusion, hopefully it’ll kick in soon for you! Let me know if you feel the difference when it does. I’ve never gotten my iron into normal range even when I wasn’t pregnant, I’d love to know what it feels like to not be exhausted 24/7 🥴

Evening ladies ☺️
just a quick one to see if this is somewhat normal and apologies if it’s TMI….
27+2 today and have just noticed my boobs are leaking slightly 🙈 I’ve never had this with previous pregnancies so was just wondering if it’s normal for it to happen, especially this early on anyway?!
thanks all ☺️

@Katiec1 I’m 27 weeks tomorrow and I noticed in the last few days that I’m starting to colostrum coloured nipple discharge, not enough to say leaky but it is there.

I only stopped breastfeeding my toddler about 2 months ago though so I don’t know if I ever really stopped making milk 🤣

When I was reading up on tandem feeding it said that colostrum type milk can start coming anytime after about 20 weeks so I guess it normal!