IVF/FET Pregnancies due Oct 2024

[2mumlife]

Hi, thought I'd start of thread for those of us who have been through fertility treatment and are due in October 2024 :-)

I'm 6 weeks today after FET. This was our first try for a sibling (also a FET pregnancy).

Nausea is kicking my butt this time around. How is everyone else feeling?

How is everyone feeling about their early pregnancy scans?

@IVF23 Brilliant! I still haven’t got one and I’m nearly 17 weeks.. going on holiday in 4 weeks and I’m not sure about a swimming costume (think I will wait until the week before and see). Is anyone still feeling sick and vomiting? I can’t really remember what it feels like to be not nauseous 🤣

@peardeer I’ve got to say this pregnancy feels quite different than with DD as I trust my
body a lot more this time. Breastfeeding is a funny one as I feel the journey is very different for everyone. In many ways I was very lucky as I never found breastfeeding painful really (other than the odd teething-related biting incident and being pregnant) and never had mastitis, and never felt aversions until I got pregnant, which are issues for others. It’s one of the reasons we kept breastfeeding for so long, as once I stopped bothering with trying to feed from both sides and DD was putting on weight it was actually really easy. Always refer to breastfeeding as having the superpower to cure everything - baby hungry? Thirsty? Tired? Ill? Grouchy? Anxious? Teething? Boob solves everything 😂 it’s also just really fascinating really when you think about it

@IVF23 Time to find the maternity wear! I’m definitely feeling larger but just look like I’ve put on weight rather than having a defined bump here 😂

@TheYorkshirePudding mine seems to have popped out of nowhere as before this weekend it wasn’t very noticeable, so you may be the same! I am still getting nausea but it’s been a lot less frequent since about 16 weeks, but no vomiting since first trimester thankfully. Sorry to hear you’re still struggling with it.

@2mumlife yes! I’ve caved and bought a pair of maternity work trousers from H&M and some maternity leggings.

@IVF23 I lived in M&S maternity leggings last time 😂

16 week midwife appointment done. Was a bit disappointed as there was no check on baby heartbeat or anything, and I'd been really looking forward to hopefully getting to hear babies heartbeat. Instead my appointment was all about birth and feeding plan. Was good though, as got a bit more info about homebirths so we've now officially planning a home birth so been pencilled in for their on-call planning etc. Also had a midwife with a similar view of being anti-induction which was nice, as found out (not that surprised) that consultant as noted he advises induction at due date (because of IVF pregnancy). I declined induction and sweeps with DD as I didn't agree with inducing just because its an IVF pregnancy and there was no reason to, so said to midwife I wouldn't be doing this time either unless there was an actual issue/reason to do so and she agreed wholeheartedly 😂

Anyone else got appointments this week?

@2mumlife oh wow a home birth! I’m glad you’re seeing eye-to-eye with midwife, makes things a lot easier if they understand your point of view. I didn’t realise until recently that you can decline sweeps. It’s all very medicalised when you think about it..

I know there's a high chance of birth plans not going to 'plan'. But unless there's a clear medical need I'll be requesting midwife led plan with no intervention. I had a tour of my hospital's midwife birthing centre and it's really nice. The rooms are huge and have birth pools, medicine balls, different seats etc.

If anything goes wrong you're a few floors away from the labour ward and there's a neonatal suite next door.

@LuxeBiscuit That sounds great. How did you organise a visit?

The hospital has monthly visits of the birthing centre. I'm not sure if it's the same at every trust but might be worth checking with your midwife.

@TheYorkshirePudding forgot to @ you. There was a link to book your place on their website.

@TheYorkshirePudding Your body your choice, you can decline any interventions you want. Being pregnant does not make you the property of the medical establishment 😊I declined being induced and having a sweep with DD, very much believed labour goes better if you let your body tell you when it’s time to go (obviously would have accepted interventions if there was any indication me or baby were at risk). I chose a birth at the alongside midwifery unit last time, as I felt too nervous about how I would handle labour etc to do a home birth last time (very much like @LuxeBiscuit my hospital has a midwife-led unit acrually on one side of the corridor and the typical hospital bed labour unit on the other side 😂). Laboured in the birthing pool until I had some meconium and had to get out, then due to long pushing stage and concerns DD was facing the wrong way got taken to theatre for non-emergency forceps delivery. I found getting to hospital really disruptive to labour, and had a bad experience having to go up walk up to the labour ward then being told to walk back down to triage and generally just took ages to actually get to the labour room even though I was 7cm dilated. I’d rather just skip all that hassle this time if I can. It’s not guaranteed though, midwife did warn me that because 2 midwives come to your home and 1 of them will come from the labour ward, that if the labour ward is short staffed I will be told no one can attend and advised to come to the labour ward instead. So we’ll just have to see on the day really

I have my 16w appt next Thursday. I wasn't sure what it would cover but assumed just a chat and urine sample. I've not been on a tour yet of the hospital (our local hospital no longer has an open maternity unit for births - they just use it for antenatal and postnatal stuff - so it's the next closest hospital we'd be needing to go to). For me, the most logical choice is the normal labour unit in case of any emergencies, but they do have a midwife led unit upstairs apparently.

@Custard7891 Its worth looking at the midwife led unit, particularly if its in the same building as can offer the best of both worlds - e.g. more active birthing options (water births, stools, peanut balls, massive bean bags etc etc all a lot more comfortable than a traditional hospital bed), but with all the medical options available if you were to need them. It was totally seamless experience when I needed to move from mid-wife led care to doctor-led care for the forceps delivery x

Ok thanks @2mumlife definitely going to look at it, just gut feel is the main unit at the moment.

@Custard7891 I think going with your gut is often a good choice. Also I don’t think you can have an epidural for example on the midwife led unit (I think that’s correct?) so those kind of considerations matter x

Hi everyone!

I am a complete newbie and I hope it's ok for me to join this thread? I already posted on the generic October babies thread, but I do feel like there is something slightly different about IVF pregnancies; reading past posts here I see that many of us share the same anxieties/difficulty in believing that things are going well!

Quick introduction--I am currently 16w1d pregnant with a little IVF miracle, after two years of trying and a miscarriage, with a due date estimated between 11-19 October. I've had scans at 6 weeks (heartbeat/viability), 8 weeks (let's call it an "anxiety scan" because of persistent cramping), and 14 weeks (official first trimester scan), and things seem to be evolving well, although my brain refuses to believe it.

I moved to a developing country in Asia for work when I was 5 weeks, while my husband stayed behind in France. Going through most of the first trimester alone, on a new continent, with a new challenging job, in a country with very poor food/hygiene/healthcare standards and where I have no friends or support has been hard. Thankfully I've been able to go back to France for the 14w scan, but otherwise I have little medical support here.

I'd be very curious to hear about the advice you are getting from your respective clinics/GPs--much better than doom-googling at 2am every time I have the slightest twinge or cramp!

@Melian Hi! Welcome to the group! I joined a general due date group with DD and also think there are some differences with assisted babies, but also just those groups become way to big I feel and also a bit filled so try drama in my experience! I’m so impressed you handled new job during first trimester - I felt way to unwell to have managed that! Superwoman! No advice from my consultant now other than to stay healthy really 😂

Aww thanks! To say I "handled" it is probably an over-statement; a more accurate description would be "survived"! I am pretty sure all the people in my team (all older men) think their new boss is a fragile white woman with an irrational fear of mosquitoes! Thankfully it means I've escaped dengue/zika/malaria so far😅

@Melian in relation to your twinges and cramps, I’ve had lots and I think I’ve put it down to growth..there’s lots going on in there and at some point you have to think logically - if there isn’t any blood, you don’t instinctively feel there is something wrong and the cramps aren’t getting worse and more frequently then it’s probably just normal growth. This might sound strange but sometimes my womb feels tired, a bit like a muscle ache. I think it gets a little bit easier the further along you get and when you can feel baby move xx

@Melian Still think you’ve done amazing. Will you go back to France for all your antenatal care? Also agree it gets easier further along you are

@TheYorkshirePudding I still haven’t had proper baby movements (some feelings of pressure but that’s it) and it’s driving me demented 😂

Hello, please may I join? Currently 12.5 weeks with my second IVF baby following an FET in February. Feeling horrendous with nausea, but also so so lucky to have got pregnant first time with both our embryo transfers.

Can I ask when people stopped progesterone supplementation? My clinic says stop at 12 weeks, but I feel like that's earlier than most. I also have plenty of pessaries left, so tempted to keep going, but also considering they may be making my nausea worse.

Thank you so much for this! I keep reading that "period-like" cramps are normal, but it really isn't the same as the weird pulling and pinching that I've had on and off since week 7 or so, and I'm freaking myself out reading about possible MMC after 12 weeks. It's good to know that I'm not alone!

Unfortunately, I will only be able to go back to France at 28 weeks, and then stay there until the delivery. I'll do the 20 week scan somewhere in the region; I guess maybe in Singapore? Or Thailand?

There is a local private hospital that's supposed to follow Japanese standards, but I am doubtful, as all doctors are locally trained... Also for all of you IVFers who have had their fair share of vaginal ultrasounds--did you know that in Japanese hospitals, you get put on an automatic swivel chair that turns, puts the lower half of your body behind a curtain (where the doctor, nurses, etc are) and yanks your legs open mechanically while your torso is hanging out on the other side of the curtain and you can't see anything!? It's the most unsettling experience!

@2mumlife hope you feel baby move soon! I can only feel them if I sing loudly or my husband speaks to the bump or when I’m really still. Otherwise I just get on with my day and can’t tell unless it’s a big tugging feeling or a somersault.

@muddlingthrou I started weaning at 11 weeks. It’s really uneventful. And if you’re unlucky like me it didn’t make a bit of difference to my nausea, vomiting and exhaustion which has continued (now 17 weeks). Hopefully yours will ease

@Melian Pulling and tugging just like there’s an invisible hook inside and the odd sharp stab is what I can feel too.

I just can’t get over this mechanical chair!!!!!

@muddlingthrou Stopping at 12 weeks is the norm. I know it feels scary but it will be absolutely fine - the placenta takes over producing progesterone weeks before this.

@Melian At least it is not too long before you are back in France for care. That Japanese chair… wtf?? Sounds awful

@TheYorkshirePudding Yeah I think I’ve felt summersaults. Just so frustrating when they say you feel movements a lot earlier second time. I look massive. I feel like I should be feeling it 😂