Due January 2024 - Part 8

[PartRadish]

Couldn't see a new one yet :)

@Dannic2018 I had a scan at 32+1 and he was 4lb 14oz which was 80ish centile. His head and femur were actually measuring a few days behind but his tummy was 2 weeks ahead 🙈 I make big 9/10lb babies though so completely expected here.

I have another growth scan on Thursday and will hopefully get my csection date. The aim was 38 weeks but they wanted to see the notes from my previous section and decide whether they need to do it earlier or not because this will be section #4 for me.

@Dannic2018 whats the weight in kg?

@Mummyme87 2.15kg

@Salamander91 I had 7lb 9oz then 9lb 3 then 8lb 11 so I thought she’d be more petite like her big sister at 7lb but maybe she’s going to be 8lb. I definitely don’t want any bigger or I’ll probably won’t be able to have her naturally due to two shoulder dystopia 😩

@Dannic2018 I'm not sure how accurate it is but this calculator says she's around 53rd centile so pretty average. It said 80th centile for my measurements so it seems pretty accurate.

https://www.perinatology.com/calculators/Fetal%20Biometry%203.0.html

I bought the boots tens machine last time they had a deal.

And DD is at nursery 2 days and in laws 1 day currently. Definitely keeping her nursery days but in laws I’ll probably see what the week has been like/what we have planned. They live 15 mins away and will expect me to drop her off and pick her up and sometimes I just can’t be bothered for that drive 😂

i’ll be keeping nursery days the same this time. My eldest is in school so feels mean to cut down the nursery days for the other. He goes 4 days but term time only, so I still get loads of time with them both.

I did cut it down last time to 3 days (DS1 was a week off 2 when DS2 was born) and whilst it was okay I think he missed that extra day. But it’s difficult to compare to ‘normal’ times as 10 weeks in Covid hit so we couldn’t do farm parks/soft play etc on the Monday he now had with me anymore, and actually clung to his three nursery days for the different faces and company.

@1992H yes I think that's it, I'm worried he will be bored at home and miss his friends and all the activities they do together. But each extra day costs another £300 a month, so it'd be nice to have that saving!

@Hummusanddipdip I really don't know but I'm so sorry

Good to hear yer scans are all good.

Im absolutely wrecked. 2 weeks been waking up between 6am and 7am and not gone to bed until midnight or so. Yesterday left the house at 4am, i had to drive 5 and a half hours for one way to just give my fingerprints for my passport, that ended up being 7hours because i was so tired and had to take 2 naps in the car. When things were done i dropped teenagers to shopping centre and slept at back seat for an hour lol and then 6 hours drive back. This is the time i wish my DH would be here 😞

Thanks for all the input on the tens machine ladies, I’ve bought one :)

@Lilothblos which one did you go for? I've been debating getting one too so might join you if there's a deal!

@Onedayatatime24 I got the boots one! Down from £46 to £37 and you get an extra 10% off with your advantage card making it £33.

@Lilothblos ah great - think I’ll also make the order! You’ve all convinced me!

@LittleAlien24 thats a lot of driving, no wonder you’re tired. I’m exhausted because its taking me forever to get to sleep at night because of SPD, I slept sitting up last night 🥴

yes for the TENS ladies! Fill that tool bag up!! I also recommend a cheap diffuser with a nice oil (lavender, eucalyptus) to take with you. I got one for £11 on Amazon recently that also changes colour light, need to get some battery tea lights also

Oh and the birthing comb (or just any comb). Not tried that before but read a lot so why not give it a go!!

@Mummyme87 do you attend csections as well at work?

It's probably the tiredness speaking but i want to let a roar at the lads working in the house and want to cry at the same time. They been working on something for 2 hours that should be maybe a 20 minute job. Im never gonna get rid of this dust if they "work" like this 😩 that what happens if their supervisor is not here

My 3 year old son will be doing more hours in January, he’s currently doing 4 mornings but from Jan he will do 2 6 hour days and 2 mornings. We will still have 2 afternoons and a Monday and weekend together and I think it’s important for me to have some time with Rosie too.

I have looked on marketplace for a tens machine to try, have a comb in my Amazon basket and red raspberry leaf tea too. Might buy a cheap diffuser as mine is more of a ornamental type and I’ll get some music sorted x

@LittleAlien24 I’m a labour ward co-ordinator, so tend to do more being in charge of labour ward but definitely done and still see many CS in my time

@Mummyme87 it's just that im getting really anxious about my coming csection but my ob doesn't seem to understand how much my previous experience affected me and keeps just telling it be fine. My second was elective csection. The whole thing was bad experience for me. Starting with epidural but the most terrifying part was when i was on the table. When they cut into me i felt like i was going to die. Numbers on the screen went bad i recon because nurse was standing there with a needle ready to go and was getting worried and said something to the doctor but was told I'll be fine. I kept telling im not feeling good that I really feel like im gonna go and all i got back from doctor or whoever she was that stop complaining, you'll be fine you here to give birth. I think im just looking for assurance that my body's reaction to cut was normal or is there anything i could do etc because i don't really want to get this feeling again, it was horrifying.

@Mummyme87 I'm going to try sleeping sitting up/propped up as well. I tried literally everything last night - sleeping on left with a pillow between legs, same on right (but of course had to wake up to flip over and reposition everything while trying not to whimper too much from right hip/buttock cramping, and then I needed a wee because i'd woken up), hot water bottle against hip. Literally nothing worked and sleeping on my left for too long made my chest feel tight. I'm most comfortable sitting up in my desk chair, equal weight on both sides and the only way I think I can achieve that is to sleep propped up since it is forbidden to sleep on back.

Midwife recommended a belt and exercises they have on the app so I've ordered the former and also a ball to do the latter. If it's still bad at my next appt on 1 Dec they will refer me to the pelvic physio people.

@LittleAlien24 i suspect it was an issue with your anaesthetic, maybe not working aswell as it should be, and you shouldn’t have been ignored. You should be totally unaware of the incision, you can usually feel rummaging around and pulling which isn’t nice but not painful. If your observations significantly changed at that time it cannot have been working. I’m sorry you were ignored at the time. Will you be having a pre op and meeting an anaesthetist in the days before your CS? You should be and will hopefully be able to have a good conversation with them about what happened and how you felt. You could request a debrief with anaesthetist in advance, not sure how it works over there.
my EMCS was all fine until baby was out then they rummage around making sure placenta is all out and clearing clots etc, I found it incredibly painful so they gave me a massive dose of fentanyl which then made me very sleepy, but I couldn’t sleep as my oxygen levels plummet every time I closed my eyes. It’s really tough when things like that happen unexpectedly.

@Gremlin84 yeah sitting up is definitely better I think. Like you say it’s the even pressure on your pelvis I think as opposed to one side, which was fine until this last week…no amount of pillows between my knees will help!! I’ve got physio next Friday, don’t expect they will wave a magic wand but have to try, my referral took a month

@Mummyme87 i didn't feel any pain, just felt like im gonna go. The minute they got baby out it went better. They said i should be able to meet my anaesthetist beforehand. They said they'll get me in the hospital in the morning, then do the prep and section should be around lunch time.

Sorry to hear some of you are having horrific pain stopping you sleeping. Sleep is so precious when you can get it isn't it (mine is mostly heartburn/nausea as well as obviously going to the toilet). Hope the physio helps x

I've realised one thing I'm completely clueless about is whether/when/under what circumstances you can ask for an induction. For example, baby is measuring normal weight but with a stonking great head and the idea of going over full term (or even to 40 weeks) with that is starting to freak me out. Can you ask to be induced early/around your delivery date/ever? Or do you just have to wait for them to tell you they want to?

Also confused as some friends have wanted to avoid induction at all costs and others have actively wanted one.

@LittleAlien24 its an unusual reaction to feel that bad, it does still sound like an anaesthetic issue, maybe to high a spinal which always eases as baby comes out. Definitely tell the anaesthetist when you meet them.

@WitcheryDivine you can request an IOL early, if everything is normal and no risk factors, you will be routinely offered at 41weeks. I would mention it to your midwife 34/36weeks as needs to be discussed and agreed with a consultant if no medical indication. Inductions are tricky. If your body isn’t ready it can be long, drawn out and fail, this is more likely the earlier you do it. They can often be a cascade of intervention and do have risk factors, such as severe perineal trauma (3rd/4th degree tear), increased risk of CS/instrumental birth, shoulder dystocia, infection, postpartum haemorrhage and fetal distress. They certainly have their place in the right situation however. Unfortunately IOL have gone up massively in the last few years as have EMCS (with no improved outcomes), there is a significant correlation. Sara Wickham talks a lot about IOL, definitely have a look at her work.

I’ve had two IOL, first for Reduced movements and decelerations of baby’s HR on CTG at 41+ weeks, ended in CS at 9cm for infection mainly (baby was super sick in the end), and second time IOL at 39+ for likely late onset GDM (polyhydramnios and big baby).. had a successful VBAC but bled alot and 3rd degree tear. Planning another IOL at 39weeks to avoid another massive baby (prev were 10lb5 and 10lb).

have just been sorting baby stuff out, putting it in drawers and starting to put bits in baby hospital bag. Need to write lists for hospital bags, can’t remember what I need 😂😂😂

@Mummyme87 im not surprised that you say that. You know when doctors say oh it's rare only this this amount of people might get it... Well that's me lol i always laugh that i don't go by the books medical people have studied from 😁. With the same cs i had another weird thing. When i was in recovery room they checked my feet to see that im starting to get feeling back. So they asked while epidural thing is still in do i want painkiller through it that i still will gain the feeling back in my feet but it will take the pain away from the cut so i said yes. Well after they gave me the painkillers through it my legs went numb again and i could feel the pain in my cut lol so the head surgeon came down to see me because he said he's never seen anything like this in his career.

@LittleAlien24 there’s always one 😂 hopefully this one will be nice and smooth for you. I tend to just try to do all the things in the text book, tick as many boxes as possible 😬