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'm currently 4lb heavier than I was pre-pregnancy at 31 weeks 🙈 I did lose 16lb at the beginning with 'morning' sickness though 😂. I weighed less at my 20 week scan than at my booking appointment still!

People think well it was just morning sickness (never HG as I could keep liquid down), but depending on how much I put on in this last couple months I could well end up lighter than pre-pregnancy once baby etc is out. Not to dismiss people with actual HG because I know how much mine sucked so I can't imagine people being even worse!

I'll be off 37+4, using holidays to go part time for two weeks before. DC1 didn't make it past 37 weeks, so we'll see how that goes!

Don't forget, in the UK any pregnancy related sickness from 36w will automatically trigger maternity leave. Use that to your advantage if it helps!

@GreenAventurinee Really pleased to hear you’re feeling well enough to go back to work!
I’m seeing head consultant tomorrow; hopefully I’ll get a confirmed date for the section. I’m suspecting 5 weeks tomorrow as they don’t like to schedule sections for a Monday! Eek!

How exciting! My consultant won’t give me my section date yet because it really is how long is a piece of string haha🙂. I’m thinking mine will be the week of the 23rd October.

@GreenAventurinee Before I was released last time I made the consultant team promise they would give me a best case/scenario date, I think I need a date in my head to settle myself.
5 weeks would see me in for the same week - the 23rd onwards.
Eeeek!

I start my leave at 38 weeks exactly so my last day is 37+5.

This is my last full time week though 😁 From next week I have every Wednesday off.

Though for my first day off I’m driving an hour to collect a car seat and get it fitted 🤦🏻‍♀️ We managed to find a rear facing one that will (hopefully) fit behind the driver for DS who’s 2. Then new baby can go behind the passenger. We have had such a faff trying to figure out car seats! Our car isn’t even small but the back seats don’t have that much room.

Amazing harvest @Psqueak87 !! When does it start to get cold where you are?

How interesting to hear about the dates and raspberry leaf tea. I've just ordered some from H&B! Worth a go.

I'm 33 weeks now and starting to feel the exhaustion. I am loving the big kicks though, as I had been worried when baby was quieter a month or so ago.

I had a consult today about a VBAC and was given about a 40% chance of success because my last labour was a failure to progress. We shall see. Keeping my mind open!

The consultant also brought up perineal massage. Ugh, I had totally forgotten about that. I don't think I even bothered last time but I feel like I should if it may increase the chances of a VBAC...

@FlyingHighFlyingLow I lost 8lb in the first trimester, so if you take my weight from week 13 I’ve actually put on over 40lb 🥴. I had a wedding to attend last week and my mum was like “why are you buying a new dress, you have loads of dresses” and I was like “errrr IM 35LB HEAVIER THAN LAST YEAR”.

im starting to get very worried about how I’m going to lose it all. People say it drops off quickly, but does it really? I can only blame myself as I’ve been eating whatever I want since my first trimester nausea ended. My cellulite has gone through the roof too! I’m hoping I get some sort of miracle and it somewhat reduces. Although I’ve always had some.

@PinkPlantCase today is the last day above 20 degrees 😭. We have great summers here, 30c most days this summer. But by January it could be MINUS 40! Not looking forward to that. We have a -2c coming up too! Winter is coming quick, but for once I don’t care cause it means baby girl is getting closer ☺️

@PinkPlantCase we have an SUV, and we still can’t put the drivers seat all the way back with our car seat either. And both me and my partner drive with the drivers seat fully back. So we will have to move it onto the passenger side before baby is born.

@Alloveragain3 absolutely zero experience here as I’m a FTM. But I’m doing everything possible that I’ve heard, old wives tale or not, for easy labour. These are the things I’ve read about and am doing:

• eating 6 dates per day
• eating pineapple daily
• drinking red raspberry leaf tea daily
• evening primrose tablet by mouth daily
• evening primrose tablet with a pin prick in; into the hoohaa every night
• about to start the perineal massage, put it off cause I’m lazy, been meaning to do it for weeks!

@Psqueak87 In the where now?! You are dedicated to the cause my friend. I think I can tolerate the primrose oil by mouth, but that's about it.
God, the things we women do...

@PinkPlantCase which rear facing seat have you gone for?
I’m waiting on a new baby seat before I try three across the back; I think it might work!

Remember, took 10 months to change your body, can expect it to take that to work back again. Your body is growing your baby, even if my weight hasn't changed I know my body is going to look and feel very different. I've read you do lose a lot straight away as baby, placenta, fluid, extra blood volume, fluid retention etc all weigh a fair bit! After that who knows, some people swear they lost loads breastfeeding, other friends said they didn't lose any weight until they stopped feeding then loads dropped off. Others bottlefed from get go and some lost weight quick, others struggled, one thought she was struggling until she found out she was 5 months along with baby number 2 at 8 months postpartum 🙈.

I know probably easy for me to say but I've had so many complications I'm just accepting my body doing what it needs to do to get my baby grown and out healthy and the rest I'll deal with later. The stretch marks, whatever weight gain or damage to my teeth from puking etc may be physical changes but I can do something about them later and they're nothing compared to the anxiety and fear every time I've had a bleed and the wait while I'm in the car to the hosptial before I hear his heartbeat on the doppler.

I've also always had cellulite and I'm just not looking for it to see if its changed. Definitely have a lot more grey hairs but I can decide if I want to colour them later 😂.

@FlyingHighFlyingLow yeah you’re right, I should count myself lucky that the worst thing this pregnancy has been the weight gain. I’m lucky everything else has been straight forward so far.

Oh grey hairs have been with me since I was 18 😵‍💫, my dr said I was still good to do my home box dye whenever I want so I’ve been doing it every couple of months still.

Anybody struggling with sleep? I’m exhausted but the last few days I’m wide awake from 4am & cannot get back to sleep for the rest of the day 😩

34+5 today. It’s going so quickly! My baby shower this weekend & I think I’ll be asleep for the occasion 😅

@Psqueak87 breastfeeding really helped me loose the weight. I reached a point where I couldn’t eat eat enough to maintain my normal weight 🙈 but DS always very into his milk.

@Spareincoming The britax maxway plus, I think they’ve stopped making them now as they’ve brought out a newer (much more expensive model) so not many places have them in stock but I’m pretty sure it’s the most compact one that goes up to 25kg. DS has been in a maxicosi pear pro on an iso fix base since he grew out of the the infant carrier. We’ve been happy with it but it won’t fit behind the driver and he’s already 15kg so it won’t be long until he’s too heavy for it anyway. Atleast then we can use the isofix for the infant carrier again.

@PinkPlantCase We have Maxway pluses! That’s reassuring that they’re still the most compact; although one we expect to only use for another 6-8 months before DC will be too tall for it. Forward facing after this long is a bit frightening!

Well after a 3 hour wait to see my consultant unfortunately it wasn't as positive of an appointment as I was hoping for. Bubs growth has dropped again for the 4th apt in a row and is now under 10th centile, her fluid is also low. There doesn't seem to be any obvious reason for it but I'm being brought back to fetal med next week to be scanned by the consultant so she can investigate further. So seems pretty probably I'll also be joining the October delivery crew, which was definitely not expected as my EDD isn't until 25th November! Just have to take it day by day I guess.

Personally I’m not messing about with any supplements or herbal remedies that aim to induce or change labour. I want baby to come when they’re ready, when my body is ready and when baby is in the best position for birth. I have confidence that my body and baby will work this out.

Please be especially careful with evening primrose oil, it can thin the blood so could make a post birth bleed worse.

Perineal massage I’m on the fence about. Tbh from what I’ve seen anecdotally the biggest impact on whether someone gets a severe tear or an episiotomy is whether or not they have an assisted delivery and that’s very much down to the circumstances in which you give birth. Whether you are induced, able to move about during labour, if pushing is coached, how much time you are given and how scissor happy the doctor/midwife is.

If you don’t mind perineal massage then sure carry on but I always found it pretty unpleasant. I have friends that bought lots of gadgets like the epino and used them every day only to be very annoyed that they had episiotomies anyway.

1st and 2nd degree perineal tearing is a pretty normal part of birth especially first time around and most people heal very well. Tbh I’m pretty sure it’s part of the reason why we have a perineum.

@Spareincoming erf car seats seem to be getting bigger not smaller! 🙈 there’s a few that go up to 36kg now.

It was a close call between the britax and an axkid one but I’m pretty sure the britax is smaller. I’ll find out next Wednesday if it actually fits!

@PinkPlantCase despite my tank of a car being Swedish like the axkid, the Axkid range just doesn’t fit as well as the Britax range always has; so we’ve always had Britax in some form. I’m waiting on the newest Britax infant lie flat seat arriving to see if we can get the swivel base in as well as the maxways.

I’d whole heartedly recommend the Maxway. It is super easy to install, my top tip is if you’re likely to be swapping cars often, buy the extra tether straps and leave them in each car. Ours go in DH’s truck maybe twice weekly at the most but having the tethers already in there make it an easy swap.
We have a couple of two way elites which are limited stockist and they’re pretty slimline, used to be Rear and Forward facing to 25kg but now it’s FF to 18kg, RF to 25kg so not as useful for us!

I have got 5 weeks left at work and it can't come quick enough! I will be 36+4 when I finish but taking some annual leave at the start so maternity leave kicks in at 38+3.

Sorry to hear about your consultant appointment @JD90 It must be really worrying especially having to wait until next week now but you are in good hands and I am sure they will make sure she arrives safe and sound!

Sleep hasn't been too bad, I get some nights that I wake up at 3-4am and then can't get back to sleep but am still getting up 4-5 times a night to pee and then switch sides I am sleeping on.

I have got quite bad pelvis pain at the moment which is then making me struggle to walk so that is fun! and rib pain on my right side keeps coming and going which is uncomfortable but plodding along and taking it day by day!

I can't quite believe that we are going to be in October on Sunday and be able to finally say that are due next month!! :) Or in October if some of us come early!

@Shaker21 I'm oddly calm about it to be honest, I completely trust my consultant and her team and I've already been through the same sort of scenario with my first. However that was 14 years ago and she ended up showing up on her due date. Things are obviously a lot different now and it seems to be more significant this time but we shall just have to see what happens.

Just had my second growth scan and baby boy has accelerated in growth from the 50th centile to the 83rd centile so I have to repeat my glucose test on Friday and the growth scan in two weeks 😣feeling a little bit deflated and emotional about it for some reason 😂