Due December 2023 Part 5

[Nclktnntt]

Starting Due December 2023 Part 5

Congratulations @17caterpillars1mouse ! That's fantastic news! Another baby in the group 😍

@17caterpillars1mouse congratulations to you. I hope you are both doing well.

It was officially my last working day today, woohoooo!!! Feeling exhausted so glad I'm off now.

Huge congratulations @17caterpillars1mouse on the arrival of your little boy 💙
It's exciting to hear about all the arrivals!

I finished at work today and I'm looking forward to doing stuff around the house - let the nesting begin 😄

Congratulations @17caterpillars1mouse so happy for you!

Congratulations @NoodleQueen90 @17caterpillars1mouse more babies how beautiful.

Huge congrats @Undercoverunicorn @NoodleQueen90 and @17caterpillars1mouse ! Hope you're all recovering well and enjoying those first precious moments with your little bundles of joy! 🥰

I've not posted for a while as it's been hectic recently with wrapping up work (finding it super difficult to let go!) and preparing to meet my little girl. I am starting to worry about what the postnatal period will bring and how my whole life is about to change.... Slightly terrified by all the unknown unknowns! Anyone else feeling like their whole identity is about to change and finding the idea unsettling?

Congratulations @17caterpillars1mouse and @NoodleQueen90

Hope everyone is doing well. I've been home since Wednesday night; but feeling super emotional and like the joy of the pregnancy has been stolen away. I need to continue in the meds I've started until baby is born, after which he will need close monitoring in hospital. At this stage no one knows if the SVT will affect him once born or if he will be ok.
Also worried about labour/delivery and if babys heart rate becomes high.
Have now stopped work earlier than planned but feel that I need the time to process and that I probably wouldn't be very focused at work anyway!

@Flowers90 glad you are home.
just try and relax for the next few weeks, the hospital will have your notes for labour so I’m sure they will have a plan if anything happens with the heart rate.

@Flowers90 Like SMG said the hospital will monitor the heart rate and have plan for what to do. My son had issue with his heart rate during labour which they monitor as standard and it did change things but it was fine in the end. Hope you can relax and sorry things haven’t gone smoothly.

So glad to hear you're home @Flowers90 but also so sorry to hear how you're feeling. Totally get that though, I would feel the same.

Baby seems really quiet today and hasn't done their morning breakout attempt yet, they haven't really moved much this morning so I think I'll be heading in to get them checked out for the second time. First time they were just having a lazy day and didn't try escaping that morning (every morning feels like they're trying to escape but can't figure out the exit yet 😂) I've had a couple shuffles but no proper moves yet 😢

Went shopping yesterday and brought some bits for the hospital bag so feeling a little closer to being ready for their arrival 😊

@joyjoy23 Completely! Had my baby shower yesterday and now feeling pretty terrified. I have no friends with babies or pregnant and mostly single so my life feels like it’s about to take such a drastic left turn! Nervous about how life will change and also relationship with hubby will change but I guess it’s all part of the process and a learning curve?!?!

Just catching up.
Hope you are ok @Flowers90
Congratulations @17caterpillars1mouse and @NoodleQueen90 !

I am booked for an induction at 39 weeks as my BMI has just tipped over a certain point meaning they suggest it so will be meeting baby soon! I am prepared for it to be a long process.

I've been having tightening and random sharp pains too, the nausea is back too..😭

Haven't been active since August on any threads but my baby arrived safely today. He was 9 days early

Haven't posted in ages on here, sorry! Hope everyone is okay. Congratulations to everyone on their arrivals, can't believe how quick it has come around! Currently 37+1 here, still haven't packed the hospital stuff!!

Congratulations @Landsmen I hope you are both doing well!
@Flowers90 I'm 36+5 and have almost finished my hospital bags (3 of them in total 😅) I have a couple of bits being delivered and want some more snacks but am otherwise there.
I think reading about people going into labour early on this thread gave me a bit of a scare into getting all of that prepared.

I'm planning on getting everything finished this weekend so that come next Friday when my mat leave starts I can relax.

Has anyone started harvesting colostrum? I have given it a few goes but am getting hardly anything! I got 0.2ml over 3 goes in 24 hours at the weekend.

@Landsmen congratulations, another baby in the group 🥰 hope your both home and well.

@Flower35214 @SMG1992 what list have you worked off to get your bags together? I'm 35 weeks tomorrow and I started getting bits the weekend but the list I have is quite vague and wondering if there might be a better one tbh.

Ended up in triage last night - baby and me are totally fine, they were having a very lazy day and wasn't impressed with the pads the put on to check they're all ok - kept kicking the monitors and moving out the way of them 😂 as this is the second time though, they're going to do a scan, I should get a call today to book us in as it was around midnight that we left triage last night.

I washed, boiled and sterilised all their bottles yesterday, they'll need sterilising again but the initial clean is all done so when baby decides to start making an appearance, I'll put some of them on again. Just need to get changing mat and everything for that area and a few more vests and some swaddles and I'll feel ready enough I think. I'm starting to get excited now, labouring part aside 😂

@Nclktnntt I used this one as a guide and we also put one together in our NCT classes which had a few more "nice to haves" eg. fancy toiletries so the first shower makes you feel extra good and some nice new pjs, as well as earplugs/eye mask as the wards can be quite noisy apparently.

https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/labour-and-birth/preparing-for-the-birth/pack-your-bag-for-labour/
The NHS one doesn't have anything for partners either, but I just packed enough for my husband for one night (hopeful) as we live close to the hospital

Glad everything was ok at hospital for you, I think they are running out of room a bit as mine is less kicking and more kind of squirming now.
I'm also so excited but just the one small part of actually giving birth to get through first!!

Anyone else starting to get scared about labour ? 🙈

I think because I've done it three times before, I know how much it bloody hurts! So am worrying a bit now !

@SMG1992 that's awesome thank you.

@TulipVictory I'm am scared of it but also trying not to think too much about it because apparently that fear makes us tense up more which prolongs Labour and makes for a more painful labour (apparently). So I'm going with the mindset of, I'll deal with it at the time and until then trust my body knows what its doing 😂

I am the same @Nclktnntt, I know that worrying won’t help so trying not to but at the same time I want to feel prepared for what is coming 🙈. Saying that I don’t think there is a way of being fully prepared (especially as this is my first) so I should probably just try to relax and enjoy these last few weeks. I just hate all of the unknowns! 😬

Congratulations to everyone on the new babies 👶 🥰 it’s so exciting!

I had my consultant appointment this morning 36+5 today and the midwife advised me to tell them exactly how I’m feeling regarding pelvic gain, swelling and blood pressure was deemed quite high. I felt like the midwife couldn’t have been nicer about the whole thing whereas the consultant was like we don’t induce before 37 weeks and kind of dismissed me. This was bearing in mind I didn’t ask to be induced I just answered her when she asked how I was feeling. I got scanned anyway and turns out baby has put on 3lb in 2 weeks (since my last appointment) roughly around 7lb 5 she said and jumped from 60th centilr to 86th. This seemed to worry her a bit more so I’m back now in 2 weeks and if the growth continues she mentioned a sweep and early induction.

I haven’t even thought of a birth plan and they’re already mentioning inductions I’m left very confused by the whole process!

@Srs12 I don't think we can be fully prepared to be honest. I've seen a lot of pain coping mechanisms are transferring the pain somewhere else - like a tens machine or the comb in hand method. No idea if these work but our midwife mentioned keeping your shoulders relaxed and jaw unclenched as this helps the flow of the bodies natural pain relief - when tensed it blocks it. This is my first too and I think sometimes we can try and be too prepared and send ourselves into a frenzy, especially on the day trying to remember everything.

@GingerJanee we did my birthing plan last visit at my 34 week one and now I see them every 2 weeks until 38 weeks then it's weekly from there I think. But we went through everything, have you got an app your trust uses where you can start a birthing plan convo?maybe ask them them if you can go through your birthing plan as I purposely put I want more info on pretty much everything so we could discuss and mark each one knowing the facts. On measuring my uterus one midwife (in training I think) measured me at 35cm and the other double checked and got 36cm - this means baby has had a growth spurt as they were straight down the line up until this point, and is sitting around 85th centileish if at 35 or over 90th if at 36 - she marked them as 35 on the graph but said nothing to me about the size and didn't seem concerned in the slightest. Due to being at triage yesterday I have a growth scan this week, so will be interesting to find out what that says. It could be because I want to be on the midwife lead birthing suite and have a birthing pool, but things might not go to plan. I believe they rarely do.

@Nclktnntt No unfortunately no app I just book my next appointment when I’m in. I thought today may have been the birth plan discussion, like you I was open to everything and kind of would liked more information before making any sort of definite decisions. (Not that we’re guaranteed any of these decisions but would have been nice to have something in writing at least!) I’ve measured 90+ centile on all my fundal height measurements with the midwives so my last few appointments I’ve been midwife and then into the consultant for scans to confirm. Today the midwife didn’t even measure me just took blood pressure, carbon dioxide/monoxide (whichever one it was 😂), my weight and checked my urine and then the consultant done the chatting and scanned me. So the big jump is between my growth scan 2 weeks ago and today! I’m not due until 14th December so if the logic of 3lb every 2 weeks stands they’re be expecting an 11lb baby by 40 weeks, delightful news lol

@Nclktnntt I’ve also looked at these techniques and I’m also thinking about a water birth on the midwife led unit 😊 but also very open to other options as I don’t know how I’ll cope on the day or how it will go.

I haven’t discussed a birth plan with my midwife yet either @GingerJanee (36 +2 today), I heard that some places don’t do it in an appointment any more and you can just do one yourself but I feel an appointment would be a lot more useful! My midwife appointments so far have all been about 10 mins and the only real discussion that I’ve had was about feeding, she just asked what my plan was and if I knew about the benefits of breast feeding and that was it really. The midwifes I have seen have all been lovely, I just feel the appointments are quite rushed as there’s always a long queue to get through.