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?

How is everyone doing?

My little girl, Isla Willow, arrived safely on the 19th 🩷

@IVF23 Ahhhh!!!!! Congratulations!! I’d just been thinking this morning there should be some babies starting to arrive! Hope you’re all settling into your new little family life well.

@peardeer My scan went really well - estimates have gone back to the centile we’d be following before, so consultant thinks last scan was just an overestimate which is a relief as now back on track for a similar sized baby to DD. Have a (hopefully last) scan next week just before I reach 40 weeks to keep consultant happy. Felt confident enough to go away for the weekend (we had a wee caravan holiday booked before we knew we were expecting). Was really nice actually to have a final little holiday just the 3 of us. Trying to get through my list of jobs to feel prepared but still feeling I’ve got loads left to get ready which is slightly daunting when midwives officially went “on call” for my home birth on Sunday! They’ll stay on call now until baby comes / the 18th Oct. All feeling very real. Definitely having little bouts of insomnia now. I’ve mentally been telling baby I need this week and next week to get my shit sorted out, and to please wait until due date or after 😂🤞

How is everyone else getting on?

@IVF23 congratulations on your little girl! How are getting on?

Thank you @LuxeBiscuit @2mumlife ! We are loving it all 🥰🥰 She had quite bad tongue tie which has impacted her feeding and unfortunately made it a bit of a stressful experience for us both! But we had the procedure yesterday to separate and hoping things will gradually improve from here. It all still feels surreal though that’s she actually here!

@IVF23 congratulations! Incredible news. So glad she is here safely. Such a beautiful name! I hope your feeding journey is smooth sailing from here. Sending love

@IVF23 Congratulations! My baby boy also is here safely via C section. We had a rocky BF start with blood blisters and damaged nipples alongside milk coming in a day late so he lost weight and we were advised to supplement with formula. All very stressful making me feel inadequate. However we have silver cups for healing and nipple shields because he’s used to a bottle now with mixed feeding/protect my nips. Kept my milk supply with hospital grade pump. Also had his tongue tie divided. Recovery from a C is hard because you can’t really get out of bed on your own without a hand or pulling your wound 🫣 Also I’m starving with this BF…I keep thinking of eating the nursing pillow! How is everyone else getting on? I’m starting to forget I ever had IVF which is unbelievable really xx

@IVF23 Sorry to hear you've been dealing with tongue tie issues. Its fantastic they've been able to do the release so quickly - I've heard of people waiting months. Hope its helped improve feeding. I had a hard time with DD not regaining her birth weight at first and it is really stressful x

@TheYorkshirePudding Congratulations!!!! Sorry to hear you've also had some feeding issues - stock up on lots of lanolin cream as well if you haven't already. My DD also didn't regain her birth weight at first, and we also supplemented with formula for awhile. I also felt how you're feeling, so know how hard it is and how emotional it can be supplementing. Just to say you're doing amazing to keep up the mixed feeding. And some hope for the future - by 4 months, I'd moved DD back to exclusively breastfeeding using 1 boob only. We kept breastfeeding up until milk went when got pregnant again. So, you can get back there if that's what you want to do, but give yourself time to heal from the c section and everything first, as I found I needed to be in a better physical and head space before I could tackle ditching the top-up formula x

My NHS due date is tomorrow (actual IVF due date on Wednesday) so getting close here. I got changed consultants and don't particularly like new one - unlike my old consultant who understood my preferences for no interventions and has been supportive given uncomplicated pregnancies both times and spontaneous labour last time, this new consultant is very pushy to intervene. I've fallen out with her as said I would consider perhaps doing a sweep at 41 weeks if no sign of labour, but she kept trying to push it to be earlier and has made an appointment for next week for a sweep when I said I didn't want one next week.

Other than that just physically finding end of pregnancy way more challenging than last time - I'm tired and uncomfortable this time around which I never really got last time, seem to have developed sciatica so having pains in my legs and back, and I've got a cold/cough so feeling run down. DD also has hand, foot and mouth so I'm currently hoping baby gives us a few more days for everyone to rest up and get well, as at the moment I don't feel like I have the energy for labour which is making me feel nervous. DD arrived few days after her IVF due date though, so I'm hoping towards the end of next week we'll have a baby and that should be time to get the energy up to be ready!

Hoe is everyone else getting on with the final wait?

Congratulations to everyone with babies now in their arms. What a journey we have all been on.
I am almost 39weeks and can’t wait to see the end. I am so uncomfortable and really struggling with normal day to day tasks. Days and nights are rolling into one with the main aim… trying to get comfortable. And now to top it off, I have a cold 🤦🏻‍♀️. I’m now worried that I’m going to struggle with labour even more as I have zero energy. Trying not to moan because I’m go grateful… but this last bit is awful! I have agreed to a sweep on Monday… so hoping that does something. Anyone have any advise on surviving the last couple of weeks?😬

@Sammyma Sorry you're in the same boat with the cold and feeling uncomfortable. I have no advice - last time I felt absolutely fine and never hit the 'I'm really over this' point with DD, so I'm not sure how to navigate this.

When you go into labour though, weird instincts do kind of kick in (or they did for me with DD) so I'm just hoping / relying on that. I also am a big believer that you can kind of tell your body when you're ready - felt last time that once I was consistently saying to baby 'ok, you can come anytime you're ready now' that things started moving.

@2mumlife I hope so. I’ve been so active during this pregnancy and thought I was doing okay. And then now, I can’t manage to a walk around the block with the dog. I think it’s pelvis pain, but too late to get any help 🤷🏻‍♀️. Let’s hope for the burst of energy when it gets going 🙌🏻 thank you for your reply😊

@Sammyma Sounds similar here - was very active with DD and kept on being able to be active (went to the gym and walked on a treadmill whilst DP did a gym class the day I went into labour 😂). This time though totally different story. I saw midwife on Thursday and said about leg pain I was having I think is sciatica and just referred me to some NHS self-help site as said that obviously too late now for a physio referral, but they hopefully everything should go post-birth. Definitely feeling like bodies are only designed to actually do this once 😂

Morning Ladies. Just having a bit of a panic! I am approaching my due date (Monday) and still no sign. My midwife is giving me a third sweep on Tuesday and if that fails will book me in to be induced a week later. Question for you all… should an IVF pregnancy go to 41weeks? I have been reading online and the opinion is that it should not go over 40 due to potential placenta issues.
I have just gone 39yrs old🤷🏻‍♀️. What has everyone else been recommended?

@Sammyma With DD I declined all sweeps and stuck to my guns that I didn’t want any interventions and wanted a spontaneous delivery with minimal pain relief. Faced a lot of pressure, but as I kept telling consultant there was zero indication other than method of conception for any intervention (early 30s, no medical issues, growth perfect etc etc). Consultant scheduled in additional scans to continue to monitor baby and placenta. My NHS due date was earlier than my IVF due date. I went into labour spontaneously at 40+6 (by NHS due date) / 40+3 (by IVF due date) and used TENS, gas&air and birth pool during labour and DD was born via forceps after a long pushing stage at 41 weeks. I was very happy with my decision to stand my ground on my birth choices.

Im currently 40+6 (NHS / 40+3 IVF dates) with this pregnancy and again trying to stand my ground that I do not want intervention. I had a midwife appointment yesterday to check baby heartbeat and all fine and an extra scan scheduled on Monday to check placenta blood flow etc. I have tentatively agreed to them scheduling a sweep on Tuesday as I’m aiming for a home birth and they will start getting very twitchy about home birth soon (the on call period ends on 41+5). I have allowed them to book an induction at 42 weeks, but honestly not sure even at that point whether I would go for it.

But things look like they might be moving this morning and writing this having contractions so fairly certain I’m in early labour. DP has taken DD out so I can have some quiet time to hopefully get into established labour 🤞🤞🤞

With DD I had NO signs of labour until day I went into labour. Had a bloody show around 5pm and early labour around 10pm. This time around I had a small bit of a bloody show on Tuesday but nothing happened. I’ve had a bit more of a bloody show this morning and intermittent contractions all morning. So just because you’ve had no signs yet, doesn’t mean you won’t go into labour tomorrow

Like everything it depends on how much risk you like to take, your own wishes about your labour and your personal risk factors. There are VERY small increases risks as pregnancy continues post-dates. You might find this article helpful on due dates: https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-on-due-dates/

And this article on induction:
https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-on-inducing-labor-for-going-past-your-due-date/

All I would say is to remind you that it’s your body, your choice. Your consent is paramount in your maternity care. Do what you feel is right for you and your own circumstances x

Thank you for this @2mumlife I will have a good read of the links. Your story has made me feel a lot better, so thank you again. The last thing I want is to be induced. My IVF due date is a few days after my NHS one, so I’ve got a couple of days lean way. Because of the journey we have all been on to get to this position… it’s hard not to still worry about everything!
Well it sounds like you may not be far away with that bit of a show. I hope you get the home birth you want 💕. I will just keep bouncing on my ball😬.

Baby boy born yesterday evening at home :) really pleased with our home-birth experience despite a short period of time where I was needing to push and midwives hadn’t arrived yet, and my wife was preparing to deliver baby 😬 In the end midwives arrived just in time and baby was out within 15mins or so after their arrival. Very different experience to my first birth and was amazing to be in my own bed last night. DD is rather smitten with him so far and has been absolutely amazing (she ended up witnessing the entire birth)

I was literally thinking of you and I took my phone to see where you were at and I found this news! Congratulations!so so happy for you It seems like it was very fast delivery?

I still have 3 weeks to get to my due date but we had to book an induction passed the due date because I have GD and the obstetrician doesn't want me to go passed 41weeks. I hope Labour starts naturally before than because I really don't want to have an induction. We have agreed that of we get to that point we'll do only step 1 and if labour doesn't start I will go for a C-section. I have a lot of braxton hicks contractions and pain in the pube so hopefully these are all good signs that baby is getting ready and I can give birth at the birth centre

Congratulations @2mumlife fantastic news. I’m so pleased you managed to get that home birth and what an experience for your wife. Enjoy 💕

@Francesmalin Was faster than with my daughter. I always find these things hard to gage- had some early labour contractions from like 3am and all morning. Regular from about 2pm and waters went at 7:15. Baby was born just after 9pm. Wasn’t pushing for long but was almost kind of waiting for a midwife 😬 so when they turned up I’d been crowning for a bit so just talked me through the last pushes really. Never got in the birthing pool in the end as didn’t want to get in without gas & air, as at least out the pool I could use the TENS machine. So only got gas&air for the last 20mins or so. Never been so pleased to see the gas & air 😂

@Francesmalin Sounds a sensible plan to see how induction is going rather than committing yourself. Hopefully you go into spontaneous labour before then 🤞

Congratulations @TheYorkshirePudding and @2mumlife on your baby boys 💙💙

@2mumlife glad you were able to have a positive home birth experience

@TheYorkshirePudding sorry to hear you’ve also had feeding difficulties, I hope things have improved now.

We unfortunately have had continued feeding issues and it turned out she still had significant tongue tie and also had lip tie. She had another procedure to correct them last week with a laser. So we’ve had a little one in pain which has been tough, but hoping things will improve now 🤞🏻

@IVF23 Oh gosh, I’m so sorry to hear you’re having such an ordeal with tongue and lip ties. It’s very stressful to see them in pain when they’re so little, and also any difficulty with feeding is incredibly stressful. Are you receiving lots of good support from a trained lactation consultant? Hope your otherwise all doing ok x

Happy to report my DD made it safely in to the world at 39 weeks following a really positive induction experience. After a bit of a difficult and anxious pregnancy my labour was fairly quick and dare I say I enjoyed the experience! Loving being at home in our bubble with our little miracle 😍

@confuzzzzzled Congratulations!! So pleased to hear you had such a positive birth experience, I’ve really noticed how much it’s made a difference to me this time around. Enjoy all the lazy newborn cuddles 🥰

My girl arrived on the 16th via planned c sec 🤍 I can't believe we made it, I still cannot believe she is mine. I have a lot of first time mum worries and sleep is the main one.

I think I am just as attached as she is but she will not sleep at night if put down, she will not sleep in the Moses basket, next to me or crib. In the day she sleeps in a sleepyhead lounger with me basically staring at her the whole time. I know it's good for her to be put down but I have to fight the urge to pick her up. But at night, she will not settle unless held. We are currently taking it in 2hr shifts each over night so that we can both get some sleep. She will get windmill arms and cry so much when put down, it's horrible. My husband can get her down for approx 10 mins before she realises and has the same reaction. I can't even get her out of my arms into the Moses basket without her crying. I think my c sec makes this difficult right now

so far we have tried a hot water bottle in the basket before she goes in so that it's not cold, 5 different types of dummy's- she likes them all but her windmill arms knock them out, white noise, heartbeat noise and swaddling. My husband goes back to work next week and we will no longer be able to do shifts and I'm anxious at how il manage safely. Any tips? Anything that works for you and your babies?