Due November 2023 - chapter 6

[Spareincoming]

Definitely missed people but hopefully they find the post…
Please tag anyone else!

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

And even my legs too xx

I've been swollen for a couple weeks now. Primarily my ankles. I wake up in the morning and my hands and feet are swollen, then during the day as I'm up the fluid redistributes with gravity and my hands go down and feet get bigger.

It's a sign to keep an eye on. They aren't worried about mine as my blood pressure is still low and I have no other signs of pre-eclampsia. Mention it to your midwife, urgently if you have other possible signs of pre-eclampsia.

@FlyingHighFlyingLow

I will do my blood pressure has been fine at my last appointment, I have midwife tomorrow so will mention it , it's literally just my legs & feet no where else but I will keep an eye on it xx

@LeeanneD11 i find toward the evening my feet and lower legs look a little swollen, not massively swollen but enough to see a difference. My blood pressure has been good throughout pregnancy and gp reckons it’s down to being on feet all day.
try keep them elevated when resting, I find this helps a bit.

Hope you and your little girl are getting on okay @Psqueak87 !

I woke up with cramps in the night last night, they were what I’d describe as ‘disorganised’ 😂 I didn’t expect them to really come to anything but I am excited to see if any more happens tonight! It’s funny not know if this’ll go on for a week or two or if birth is close. 38+4 but feeling far more birthy at this gestation than I was with my first.

Had our 10 day midwife visit today and baby boy has lost 10% of his birth weight, after losing only 5% on day 5.
I am gutted, as I really thought he had gained and we had slow weight gain problems with DD2 which were very stressful.
I have spoken to the breastfeeding team from the hospital and have been told to make sure he takes both breasts at each feed, even if it means stripping him to wake him up in between and waking him if he goes longer than 3 hours between feeds, which he doesn’t tend to anyway.

He is being reweighed on Sunday and then potentially readmitted to hospital if he is continuing to drop weight. He was identified as having a slight tongue tie before we were discharged from hospital, so this could be the cause of his weight loss, even though he appears to have a good latch and I have no pain on feeding. So I will be requesting a referral to the tongue tie clinic if he hasn’t gained by Sunday.
I really thought we had missed any weight issues after he had such a small loss at day 5, compared to DD2’s 10% loss on day 5.

Has anyone gone past 40 weeks and feel nothing? I’m 40+4 and I doubt the baby will be here anytime soon.
I’m starting to feel increasingly frustrated, I really don’t want to be induced, arghhh why do my babies want to stay in so long?! If it wasn’t such a big deal going past 40 or 41 weeks I wouldn’t be bothered but now I’m just stressing about being induced. I’ve declined my first induction date and the consultant was cool, just offered me to come in for a ctg every 2 days and I will. The next induction date is on Tuesday when I’m 41+1 and I feel like I’ll have to go with that unless the baby has arrived- which I can’t see..
I think I just needed a rant. Hope everyone is doing ok!

Hi all, I'm joining this thread late but better late than never :) I'm just wondering if anyone is in week 41 and frustrated at baby not being here yet. After a very traumatic first birth experience triggered by an early induction, I definitely don't want to be induced again but I'm losing hope especially as I'm hoping for a vbac. Anyone else in the same position? I have declined an induction at 41+5 and the hospital have accepted especially now that I know they can't coerce me into having one (unlike my first time).

@Travellingislife I just noticed your post after writing mine. I'm a bit ahead of you time wise and am having intense braxton hicks contractions but no baby! I'm feeling very frustrated too! I wish this baby would just come!

Hey all, almost half way through the due month! Who’s turn is it next!

Being totally honest here in case anyone else needs to read the reality, its been a rough few days here, my anxiety is really playing up. I’ve a face to face doctors appointment next week, following a phone call today to have a frank discussion about re-medicating to avoid a horrible spiral like last time.
My google searches for stuff like “post c-section infection without symptoms” “headache c-section infection” “red lochia, 3 weeks postpartum” “has my baby got torticollis” “3 week old poo still runny” and spending a long time reading around each search shows I’m not being totally rational as I know the answers to these searches without needing to make them but am craving reassurance that google can’t give!

I’ve totally over done things today and yesterday to keep my brain from thinking; and am paying for it now.
3 weeks postpartum tomorrow. Will be attempting to drive as I’m desperate to attend Remembrance Day with my Dads regiment as it’s likely to be the last as “the lads” are very few now.

On the plus side, new baby’s In utero diagnosis looks to be less severe than expected according to the specialist so fingers crossed the necessary treatments can start sooner rather than later.

@Spareincoming Sorry to hear that you are feeling anxious. You are doing the right thing and being proactive about talking to a doctor so well done! You have had a lot to deal with so it would be surprising if you weren't anxious!

I don't think I'll be next. Nothing has changed here except an emotional phase which has passed. I haven't even had the phone call with the c section date yet. One of the major factors on my pro c section list was having a calm experience with a date and I am starting to get worried about the baby coming before the c section date!

@Taybz My son came at 42 weeks after an emergency c section, I want to try a vbac as well. I was 38 when I had him so didn’t get as much pressure being induced then. Now I’m 41 and 40 seems to be the magic limit for an early induction. I’m very fit and healthy though so I don’t see my age as a problem.
I hope your little one comes on its own soon 😊

@Crazybrowncow congratulations!!

I'm still waiting almost 39wks & got sweeps booked for this coming week so hopefully they kick things off, did in my last pregnancy. But have a chest infection also so feel real crap, hoping it clears before the sweeps or I maybe push them back a day or so.
Good luck to everyone else waiting !

@Spareincoming it's good your aware of any anxiety this time & can see the signs it creeping in. Hopefully the doctor is as proactive.
Post partum is rough.. I am dreading the emotional & mental side of it this time, def not in as good a place as my last pregnancies. Hats off to you for being on top of it all & getting help sooner.

@LilmissCa i also have a sweep booked next Thursday. I’ll be 39+3, how many sweeps did it take last time to help get things moving for you?

@TMI2000 the first I lost my mucas plug then took one more I think it was 3 days after the first.
About 2/3 hours after the 2nd sweep I started mild contractions. Little one was born next day at lunch time.

@Spareincoming sorry to hear about what you are going through. Your self awareness is great and is great you are being proactive. I'm also under mental health team and the normal midwife team have been great and have said I can even have every other day visits. I hope you are managing to rest too. I find days when I have physically overdone it the worse on my mental health.

On another note, baby has been making grunting and clearing throat noises alot at night and it's getting progressively worse. Her hiccups are also excessive. After a feed she is hard to settle and I've noticed when I put her next to me on my pillow she settles straight away. Could this be the start of silent reflux? My previous DC had it too. I'm wondering whether to change her milk from Kendamil to SMA comfort ... Also does anyone know who best to ask advice about this? Is it midwife, health visitor or GP?

Can anyone tell me the difference between early labour contractions and braxton hicks please? All last night and today, they've been pretty intense at 20 minute intervals and I've had to focus and breathe through them. I don't remember braxton hicks contraction being so strong with my first. Also, I had an emcs in the end so have nothing to compare the later stages to. I'm so confused!

@Taybz I was told by my midwife that if they take away my breath (and I need to breathe through them), they are contractions. How are you getting on now?

@Taybz braxton hicks are tightenings with no pattern to them, they shouldn’t hurt or last long but just be slightly uncomfortable. X

@JoyApple Thank you for your kind words; postpartum mental health is rough!

With regards to your little girls noises etc, it could be the onset of reflux - mine have all had it in varying degrees of severity and new baby is looking to be the same - can you raise the head of her bed slightly and see if that helps? A book under the head end legs maybe? I’m keeping baby upright for 30 minutes after a feed and that’s helping but I think we’ll end up going down the gaviscon and omeprazole route with this one too.

Kendamil was recommended to me to use by the GP and HV last time over the SMA/cow and gate comforts as it doesn’t contain the same stuff and is meant to be gentler if it is coming back up.

Anyone that’s gone into labour naturally or near their due date now, did you suddenly become really tired and have no energy before the end? I’ve been fine and not needed any naps but last 2 days I’m knackered! 😴 I’ve heard it could be the body saving its energy for labour.

@JoyApple they have been taking my breath away but I can technically talk through them hence why I thought they were braxton hicks.

@Mrsrobinsonx I can feel pain in my lower back and front when they occur - wondering if that means it's not braxton hicks then?

@Spareincoming that's really useful to know re Kendamil, thank you!

How are you keeping baby upright at night? We've got the crib on a slight slant but maybe I can do more. She seems most comfortable on my soft pillow though. I know that's against the guidelines but it was the only way my previous DC would settle.

Last time round the pediatrician gave us lansoprazole which worked wonders. We had a different baby within a week. I'm just hoping we don't need to go down that route.

@JoyApple I’ve been sitting up in bed with baby or using the bouncer in a slightly more upright position than you’d use for a newborn; both are tactics we’ve used with the other DC to help.
We’ve only ever been prescribed omeprazole which takes 3-4 weeks to be truly effective, so it’s useful to know about lansoprazole - thanks for that! Ranitidine was the best but it’s no longer prescribed due to a very low carcinogenic risk!

@Taybz when you look at the definition the difference is that Braxton Hicks don’t result in a birth! They are uterine contractions at whatever gestation you have them.

What you’ve been feeling could ramp up and turn into established labour or it could be latent labour that comes and goes for a few days and it’s just your body getting baby into the best position for birth.

I had quite aggressive Braxton hicks that woke me up in the night a few days ago and had to breathe through them but they weren’t very organised and they didn’t really come to anything. Atleast I am still pregnant 😂