OCTOBER 2024 BABIES :) THREAD 3

[CDD]

Welcome all expectant mothers of Oct 2024… This thread has been made as we are nearly getting to the end of the 2nd thread and that was made a little last time and people didn’t find it for a abit so making this one now so people can just add their names until the 2nd thread is full. Hope no one minds me doing this :)

@StarShipEnterprise1 the results of the tests for twins is still high >80% for NIPT, and the new test they do is supposed to be better! Oddly it looks like they’ve moved away from the Harmony (Roche) test and it’s now over £100 cheaper with a different provider.

For me I didn’t feel like it was a choice, it was always money I was spending so I was more informed. My partner and I both work and have good careers, and most importantly we both enjoy them (though I will enjoy a nice year maternity if I get there). Whilst having a child who is ill and diagnosed after its birth is something we will deal with if that happens, we were both clear we won’t proceed with the pregnancy if we find out something is wrong. I get my results in the next 10 days.

For me personally I’ve not seen it as a huge amount of money to spend, as thankfully I have the disposable income to afford it at the moment. For the money I felt like it was worth it to be informed sooner rather than later, if I needed to make the difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy as timing is really a big factor here.

As mrssunshinexxx said, it’s a personal decision to you.

Best of luck xxx

Argh yes sounds all too familiar. You are so close to end though, the placenta kicks in around week 10. First trimester can feel so overwhelming and then magically it all disappears. Most of the time.

Here is a story in case it helps!! My husband went skiing a few weeks back, when I was 9 weeks. I was home alone for 4 nights, during the week which helped as we have nursery for our 17 month old, although DS was missing him so much he woke 3/4 nights at 4am crying for him. It was also the first week of my promotion at work, so was quite stressed with it all and anxious about taking the promotion without telling them I'm pregnant. On top of symptoms.

But guess what..... 12 weeks today! Husband is long back from skiing, it's all a distant memory, DS is sleeping, I have energy! Went to the gym the past two days and have done bedtime routine! And I have become so excited about DC2 after our scan this week, I've started to make an impact in my role and now I couldn't care much for work whispering that will inevitably happen.... how long I've been back from mat leave, how soon after my promotion I will go again. My life, none of their business. I just couldn't see it before as first trimester is a whirlwind full of hormones and symptoms. You will come out the other side!!

Thanks @CluelessInLondon - my head is a little full with the screening options. Part of me wants to wait until the 12 week combined screening but then I start overthinking about false positivities and false negatives! Also I’m spending the weekend with my parents when I’ll be just over 13 weeks so would be lovely to share the news with them but would feel more comfortable doing it once I know everything is ok/results are all back. Yet another thing for me to overthink about!x

@OneSunnyFox how much did you pay for your test? And how long will the results take? My local tests are double the price (around £500) and 10 day results but if I go to Harley street they're £250 and 3 day results. I don't live a million miles away from Harley street but I won't have time to get there before I head on a long haul work trip from next week.

@mrssunshinexxx @OneSunnyFox thank you both so much for your thoughts on this. I agree it’s a personal decision and people will have different approaches based on circumstances, beliefs etc.

Where my concern is with twins is that you do not receive a result per twin…meaning the result could come back as high risk because just one twin is high - but there is no way of no knowing whether it is one or both from the result, or indeed which twin. I suppose I’m not sure how we would then manage that information.

@lpylou i paid £400 with ultrasound direct which included the scan! I did also confirm with them that if they scan and baby doesn’t have a healthy heartbeat you basically only have to pay for the scan and aren’t liable for the full amount. I used them as they have wide coverage over London and there is one right by the station I commute to and from and lots of spare appointments for last minute booking!

Morning everyone! Just place marking so I can follow the chat!

got my blood results back yesterday from my booking appointment and looks like my iron levels are very low. Has anyone had this? Found it funny that no one phoned to discuss with me just got sent a message a prescription is waiting at gp for iron supplement a🤷‍♀️ does make sense as I’m completely wiped at the moment so hopefully they will help!

@hopingforapeainapod I know how you feel regarding the nausea whilst in the classroom! I work with students too and having to hide that whilst constantly snacking is hard (also hiding it from colleagues presently!) make sure you have ginger sweets on you x sending hugs

@Oct24 oh bless you! I had a wedding yesterday too which involved a long journey and lots of foods! I ended up being sick and having to hide how nauseous I felt! I'm 9 weeks too xx

@IsLarryFromSomething I’m the same, I always feel like I desperately need a nap in the afternoon but I tend to feel so much worse after them! I used to love a 20 minute power snooze and now I feel so nauseous and groggy after them - another pleasure early pregnancy has taken away 😂

@JLT24 gosh struggling with early pregnancy on top of chronic fatigue sounds horrible, I hope you are getting lots of support! I had no idea how all-consuming this tiredness would be - it’s not even the kind of tiredness you can just push through because if I do I just feel worse / more nauseous! It’s also horrible cancelling on parties because no one knows and I don’t want to just look flaky!

@Bee49 yeah you’re right, it’s so hard to get excited when you feel rubbish plus I feel like I still don’t want to get my hopes up too much because of too many ‘what ifs’. I have a scan a week on Tuesday when I will be 9.5 weeks and I’m just trying to use that to motivate myself, but I really hope I’m like you and start to feel better soon 🤞

@lpylou thank you for sharing your story! I very much feel in the eye of the storm at the moment and it’s nice to know there is another side! And that’s definitely the right attitude to take with work - I think as women we put so much pressure on ourselves in these early stages so you have to do what is right for you!

@rachisamumtobe honestly how my students and colleagues haven’t clocked on yet 😂 I am literally eating every hour and chewing gum / sucking sweets (anything to get rid of the awful taste in my mouth!!) like my life depends on it! I’ve also had a serious case of brain fog a couple of times at school now with forgetting things, so who knows what they think!

@OneSunnyFox I have my NHS 12 week scan on Wednesday so might see if they will allow me to pay for the blood test and or find somewhere near there to have mine done. I had an 11 week scan this week due to spotting and symptoms disappearing so just need bloods and would like to know gender. Thanks for sharing.

Yay another twin mummy! Congratulations. And to @tryforbabynumber2 I agree, one of each would be amazing. We have a boy already so I would love a girl somewhere...

I have also read about twins becoming more common with age. I'm 33. I also had a miscarriage in December and I know there's a school of thought that twins can be more common after? This was my first cycle after the miscarriage at 10 weeks and we have no twins anywhere in the family. Definitely a gift and part of life's crazy and wonderful plan, although trying to work out how we can afford it all and make space!!! You'll have to let us know your due dates when you know. I actually think I'll be end of September if it's at 37 weeks.

@hopingforapeainapod i empathise a lot with your message. I’m only 7+3 and feel like it’s been the longest weeks of my life. I was also trying for over 2.5 years beforehand so feel very anxious and guilty for not just being more grateful. For me food aversion has been the hardest, I can pretty much only eat fruits and raw vegetables and occasionally some bland carbs so that’s not helping with the lack of energy. The fact that I struggle to get to sleep despite being so unbearably tired and then wake needing to pee once I actually manage it is really getting me down. I’ve never been good at cancelling on plans and feel a lot of guilt about it (I tend to go to a lot of things where we’ve paid for tickets) so I’m just not getting any time off and I just don’t know how to carry on.

@LiviaX I’m sorry to hear you are struggling too; do make sure you talk to someone if you’re finding things too much, it’s such a difficult and lonely time. I know what you mean about time going slowly - I found out super early, about 9DPO, and I swear these last 5 weeks or so have been the longest weeks of my life! And I think it’s okay to feel happy that you’re pregnant but also feel rubbish - there’s so much pressure to ‘enjoy’ pregnancy and I am definitely not enjoying it so far! I think we just have to hold onto the hope that this will pass and it will get better - so many women say they feel so much better in their second trimester. I’m at my parents’ house at the moment and I had a little cry to my mum and she showed me her pregnancy journal from when she had me and the difference between what she said during her first trimester and second trimester is night and day! That’s good you’re snacking on fruits and veggies though - I feel like all I have eaten for the last couple of weeks is carbs and cheese, plus fizzy sweets as they help to cover up the horrible metallic taste in my mouth…

@journeytomum I'm 29 (30 in October) so not sure if that's had any impact, but my mum has had fraternal twins twice (two sets) so I think I've got the gene haha! Xxx

@StarShipEnterprise1 Welcome and congratulations!! Another twin mama ❤️ I've been wondering about the NIPT with twins too, from what I've read online it can't specify which twin has an abnormality if one is detected so I'm unsure how I would feel about that and if it would offer any real reassurance aside from if everything came back normal xxx

@Oct24 thank you!! 🥰

@ttcchapter2 My main symptoms that make much more sense now that I know it's twins are that I'm already showing (and have been from about 6 weeks!) although this is my second pregnancy so like you, I had put it down to that! Also I have been soooooo fatigued. Like exhausted, since I found out I was pregnant at 3.5 weeks. I got a positive digital pregnancy test at 3+4 so an indicator that my HCG levels were higher. I've also been feeling the need to snack ALL the time xxx

@hopingforapeainapod oh bless you it's so hard isn't it when you're 'on show!' Let's hope the sickness calms down for both of us soon! X

@tryforbabynumber2 omg, my digitla test was showing a week ahead too and I was showing at around 6 weeks! Well guess i'll find out friday! Absolutely snap with the fatigue too, but so hard to compare it to last time because I didnt have a toddler then and it was also lockdown so wasnt working! Will let you know what happens at my scan :)

@journeytomum and @tryforbabynumber2 thank you for the warm welcome. My sonographer suggested my age may be why, as apparently you’re more likely to release more eggs as you get closer to menopause!

@journeytomum I’m so sorry for your loss last year …I agree it’s an absolute gift, after we left the hospital after finding out it was twins we saw a rainbow which made us quite emotional and feel like “this is meant to be”… and can’t really imagine it any other way now (after an initial panic about finances and practicalities!)
We haven’t had any official dating yet, but going by my LMP 37 weeks would take us to 19 Sept, so very similar dates to you!

@tryforbabynumber2 that is the exact concern I have about the NIPT now we know it’s twins, if the results weren’t what we hoped we wouldn’t do anything further because of not knowing whether it’s one twin or both twins. I think we’ll just wait until the NHS combined test which we have in 3 weeks x

To people finding it hard, especially first timers - honestly it's fine to feel rubbish. This is my third pregnancy and I hated both my last two, I'm not one of those women who glow and sail through pregnancy, it's just a grim means to an end for me. Obviously one that I think is totally, definitely worth it! But it's fine to feel that way. I didn't really feel better til about 20 weeks in my last two pregnancies but I was much more sick then so hoping it might be sooner this time.

Best of luck to all the twin mamas, lovely to read your stories although I'd be petrified if I'm it was me haha.

@StarShipEnterprise1 oh wow 💛 love that you saw a beautiful dainbow after getting the news!

To follow on from my last post, my scan showed the spotting was nothing to worried about. Baby measuring ahead at 11 weeks now.

Now I am worried about the NIPT and the dilemmas it may bring. Wondering if I should wait for the NHS test? I seem to always be thinking of the worse case scenario 😩. I am worried that NHS combined screening will miss something and so considering getting a NIPT either way. I'm then worried about false positives and amniocentesis causing miscarriage 🫣 I would rather know if there is something worry about but I can't decide what to do 😐 can't imagine how difficult this decision is for twin mums!

Oh my days.... full on feeling like garbage and DH is totally out of action on crutches now waiting for emergency surgery this week after a freak accident at home yesterday. Utterly exhausted trying to look after DH who literally can't move, DD who is 3 and has no comprehension and trying to take it easy/take care of myself.

Havent managed to do a nursery run with the sickness for weeks as i cant take the smell of nursery at all, so im really really dreading this week...

The only timing that could have been worse was if it had happened going into labour! No family around atm due to them all being abroad.

Just needed a rant. Being v stoic and cheery round DH and DD, whilst escaping frequently to puke and have a little cry.

Sending love to everyone x

@ButterflySkies poor you - when it rains it pours hey! Sounds really tough, especially with your family being away - have you got anyone else eg friends etc who could help with the nursery run? Last thing you need right now!

These twin stories as lovely 😍 I think I’ve always secretly wanted twins but equally I already have 3 children so I think my husband would have literally fainted and cried his eyes out 😂. I’ve seen so many twin homebirths on instagram…wow that would be the dream.

I am feeling the worst I’ve ever felt the last couple of days. I’m 10w3d and really hoping it passes soon 😭 I don’t remember feeling quite as bad with my other 3.

@ButterflySkies oh no ! Worst timing ever 😞 I really hope next week isn’t as bad as you're anticipating & your symptoms let up soon too.

The first trimester truly is the worst part of pregnancy 🤢 but it really does get better as time goes on for most and when out of this stage I really love being pregnant. I can’t wait to start feeling movements ❤️