Due July 2024 - part 3

[Oatmilktea]

I noticed the other thread was full and have started a new one.

Lovely to hear of everyone’s 20 week scans. Thanks to those of you who gave me a list of baby essentials, very helpful!

Hope you’re all doing well!

@ExpectantEs
Hmm did they make you walk around, etc to get the measurements? Usually when I'm hungry baby tends to kick more!

Yes absolutely, very surreal. I was able to record one of the movements today. Clearly seen on camera.
Not sure about where the kicks vs punches might be, I've been feeling them all over, left, right and middle. 😊

@Oatmilktea
Yes I imagine so! I have a posterior placenta. I can't remember when the flutters turned into proper kicks. I think week 16/17.

@MixedCouple
I see what you mean! I hope this one cooperates during my anomaly scan. I'm not looking forward to the night time kicks for sure.. 😅 hope you're getting enough rest..

@wannabe123 - I had the starry/kaleidoscope vision and migraine headache over the weekend too. Have my appointment with fetal medicine tomorrow morning now (they’ve just moved it again) so going to have them double check everything but keeping fingers crossed my BP and urine come back ok as well. Think like you I was overdoing it, Late night then got up and sorted the horse out before a longer than anticipated dog walk (weather was nice and my husband is a disaster for “just a bit further” at the best of times) ended up spending the rest of Sunday in bed but my 3yo was with his grandparents then DH took him out for the afternoon, much harder to manage when you’re on your own with them!

@Morningcoffeeaddict it was a bit scary being on my own with my son when it happened. I rang my mum and said I just want to talk to you in case I go really weird. Then everything on Google just points to pre-eclampsia and NHS says it can start from 20 weeks so I rang triage. So thankful I could take my little boy with me and not have to wait for childcare to arrive and the midwives were so lovely and reassuring.

I had my 20 week scan today. It was great to know baby is growing well as I still cannot feel definite kicks just some flutters and bumps.
The sonographer couldn't clearly see gender so they couldn't be definite. She said she thought it was a girl from the little she could see, but I should ask them to check again at my next growth scan.
I had to wiggle, jump and empty my bladder twice so they could get the measurements but she managed to in the end.

Picked up a secondhand Snuzpod 4 today so it's all getting little more real!

@wannabe123 - glad the midwives were reassuring. I get migraines anyway triggered hormonally, and I wonder if the light this weekend with the sudden spring sunshine where we are was a trigger as well.

I have mentioned to my midwife and consultant that migraine symptoms and preeclampsia symptoms being the same doesn’t help with my preeclampsia history.

They seemed to suggest that the headache lasts longer for preeclampsia and you’d also probably have swelling and have the pain under your right ribs however they agreed it’s better to just ring triage and get checked to be on the safe side as they’d rather check you over than make the assumption it’s just a migraine

@Morningcoffeeaddict I think in the end it was a migraine for me. Must be a worry for you having a history of both. The midwife asked if I'd still been feeling movements and because I wasn't sure I had (even at 22 weeks) that was enough of a reason to get checked. They were really good and got me in at my community midwife so I didn't have to go through to the main hospital.
My little boy thought the whole thing was great. He got stickers and listened to his baby brother's heart beat. He did ask me on the way home (as I was driving) if I had been in an ambulance and then told his dad I'd had a sleep in the bed so I do worry what nursery will think when he's back in tomorrow 😂

@wannabe123 - good that they were on the ball with checking on you and your little boy enjoyed himself. My little boy loved hearing baby brothers heartbeat when we took him along to the scan at the weekend - so adorable.
It’s hilarious what they come out with - my son told his nursery teacher that he’d seen “a golden nose in the tummy” which was his description of the 4D scan they showed us for a minute! Luckily I was there to clarify at the time.

Has anyone been given a MATB1 form yet? Work has asked me for it but I wasn't given one today as I just saw the sonographer.

@Nocoffeenotalkie I was told I'll be given it at my 24 week appointment. Fairly sure it was the same last time too.

I tried to request one from my gp and they told me I need to contact the midwives office as they only distribute them. My friend said they used to give them to you at the 20 week appointment but they don't have them anymore - useful I know! I'm gona give my midwives office a call as my next appointment isn't until 24 +3

Hello ladies,
I'm a bit confused. I want to do a maternity photoshoot. Where I plan to do it, it's going to be really hot, it's also by the beach so I'm planning an early morning shoot to avoid a heat stroke.
The real confusion is about when to do it. I want to avoid mid May because that's the hottest 2 weeks. So the choices are first weekend of May or first weekend of June.
I'll be 27+4 on the first Saturday of May and 31+4 on the first Saturday of June.
I'm due on July 31st but you know how things can happen earlier!
I don't want to risk doing the shoot too late into the pregnancy, at the same time I don't want to do it too early because obviously we need a big bump and I don't know how big I'll be at 27+4.
I also don't want to get sick or tired because it'll be a 5 hour photoshoot with different outfits etc, so I was leaning towards the 27+4 option. Can anyone provide suggestions, please?

PS: I'll also have to sit through maybe an hour or two of hair and make up prior to the early shoot so from 3am maybe.

@Nocoffeenotalkie I emailed my midwife and asked for it and was told they were sent out automatically at 21 weeks. It turned up in the post last week. I'm self employed so wanted to get my maternity pay set up early as I remember it took ages to sort out last time!

Thank you, @BananaHammock23 I hoped that would be the case. My next community midwife appointment isn't until 28 weeks and I think work would have a problem with that!

We don't get ours until the 28 week appointment.

My midwife has given me her work email and just said to email once I'm 20 weeks and she will get it sorted so I can collect it from them 😊
Going to wait until after my scan though, when I'm 20+4

Last time I had to repeatedly ask my midwife for this (first asked GP, sent me to midwife, who sent me to GP, who sent me to midwife, and then she forgot two appointments in a row). In the end she just whipped one out of a desk drawer at a check-in and it was fixed really easily.

This time is harder for me as I live in two places and don't have a specific midwife clinic I visit regularly, so it looks like I need to pay a private GP to sort it out for me. I've been told they can do this via online consultation after my 20 week scan, if I provide them with my 20-week appointment info.

Oh hello fellow self employed! I am so glad I have read this, I'll get onto it this week! I think I owe some more NI contributions to qualify which I am slightly scared about but I was under the impression they reset the rules recently. It won't be much at all but it really is a different ball game being self employed and navigating maternity pay 😊

@Jess725 my NI contributions were only £70 to top up last time. I had a scare mongering letter saying I was only entitled to £28 a week and then I called them in a panic and they said 'oh you can just top up your NI', which I did and then got the full amount! How are you feeling about mat leave? Last time I had more savings (because I didn't have a child to pay for probably!) but this time I think I'll only be able to take about 6 weeks off 😔

Had my 20 week scan finally, baby boy is doing great 🩵. Got some lovely pictures (although he kept trying to hide behind hands and feet) and one beautiful shot of his eyeball 😂

Lovely photos @Samszie the face on ones are always slightly unusual. My 17 week one made my baby look like Voldemort 😄

@Nocoffeenotalkie haha I immediately thought Jack Skellington, for some reason it has become my favorite picture of him (so far).

@BananaHammock23
I assumed they would do something like that, its newrly the new tax year and it’s never quite how it seems with NI 😂thank you for the info

Is there anyway you can swindle more than 6 weeks? I really hope so!
I plan on a couple of months but pretty sure by Autumn I will be working, eeek. Deff going to be getting by on minimum but trying to enjoy the process regardless 😊

yay - glad it was good news @Samszie !

mine is tomorrow and I am majorly anxious - struggling to switch off and go to sleep 🥺xx

@Hoping4amiracle I was pretty stressed too, didn't sleep very well, but thankfully all was good. Fingers crossed for yours, I bet everything will be good! So hard not to worry even when we know the majority of pregnancies are in the "normal/healthy" range.

Self employed ladies @Jess725 @BananaHammock23 - do you have any guidance for self employed dads? DH just took the two weeks unpaid last time around but wasn’t sure if there was some sort of parental leave he could also claim?