September 2024 - Thread 8!

[SpicyMoth]

Continuation from thread 7 over here; https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/pregnancy/5070517-september-2024-thread-7?page=40

Can't believe we filled the last thread up already feels like it wasn't even made that long ago, gosh time is absolutely flying by!!

@WinsandSam - I'll have to ask about CBT for sure, thanks so much for the recommendation - maybe I'll actually get some help seeing as I'm pregnant!

I've been trying to get mental health support for... Well to be honest since teen-hood and realising my daily crying was not in fact "just my period/puberty" as every doctor told me it was (all males ofc, typical 🙄) so I don't hold out much hope if I'm being honest.
I originally wanted to wait until my MH was sorted before ttc, but after over a decade I was running out of fertile time frankly, so here I am still with crazy anxiety and emotional dysregulation, but what can ya do?! 😅

@HRP1990 Mine’s my first but my sister had a c-section with her second while her other daughter was 3. She coped well enough - got the 3 year old to help out with things like fetching and carrying, laying out the baby clothes, getting the nappies ready etc. Obviously not as helpful as an extra adult but every little helps I suppose! She was lucky that her toddler also really liked holding the baby, so she could literally use her as an extra pair of hands to hold her while she got other bits done (obviously always in the same room and only while sitting down - she wouldn’t let her carry her).

@HRP1990 @malimoon I'm definitely starting to get nervous about the reality of the fourth trimester too.

The plan is for me to do the first 9 months of shared leave and for DP to take the last 3 months so in my head I've been thinking about how wonderfully egalitarian all this child rearing is going to be 😅... but he only gets two weeks paternity leave at the start and the thought of being in sole charge of a three week old baby with no-one to tag in all day every day until Christmas is pretty alarming!

The grandparents all work full time too so I think the contrast between all the enthusiastic helpers at the weekend and the long weeks is going to take some getting used to.

On the other hand I've just ordered a kindle and am having fun compiling a list of tv shows to binge watch when hunkered down in the early days so trying to be proactive about seeing the positives and leaning in to that phase!

@longingtobe23 Yes exactly! And also when you, yourself are poorly 🙈 3 days childcare is great! My daughter goes 1.5 days and her nursery is at capacity, but I’m going to put her name down to extra hours and see if anything opens up.

@malimoon that’s great, it’ll be so helpful if he’s at home with you! My partner can work from home occasionally so perhaps I’ll see if he’s able to do that at the very least a day or so a week. 🤞🏻

@Lillers aww that’s so nice! My daughter only turned 2 in March so I don’t think she’ll be as helpful as that in the early days, but I do want to involve her as much as possible so she’s not feeling left out 💔

@PoppingUp I found a WhatsApp group with all the girls I met in my Antenatal class, a god send, now but especially in the first few weeks when my partner went back to work. We met weekly, but having them to chat to during the day (and night) was great. They definitely kept me sane! It was so reassuring to talk about what all the babies were going through and giving each other advice. I’m going to miss that this time around!

@HRP1990 we had that with our first as we did NCT - the WhatsApp group afterwards was a godsend, we still chat probably weekly now or whenever someone encounters a new parenting hurdle 😂 definitely going to miss it this time round.

I feel okay this time about the days home alone when DD is at nursery and DH goes back to work… those days lying on the sofa binging Netflix with a snoozing baby on my chest were some of my absolute favourites!

Yes same!! I’d totally be up for it now with everyone here if they fancied it 🫶🏼

Omg yes! Bridgerton reminds me of the newborn stage - my daughter was born a few days before it was released and I saved it especially to watch once we were home - I binged it within days lol 🥰

@Xur sorry you had such a bad experience. My midwife is cold, rude and seems so uninterested in anything I say. Just seems like box ticking!

@RosiePH thanks! I need to get another one so will pop to Tesco this week. Did get a couple in the newlook sale too

@TripleESept24 we took our girl to see them last Sunday! 😂 hopefully making her have good taste

@mrsbgb still got an innie so far, have a bit more to go 😂

My belly button is getting ready to leave the chat! I’m 28+3 and suddenly bump has really grown. I have a ridiculously deep belly button so lord knows what it’s going to look like when it pops out. Yesterday I could still get a finger in it but today it’s turned into a penny slot 😂

You’ve all made me feel a lot better about the rapid departure of my belly button, thanks all 😂😂

Shameless belly button pic - dodging the rain! I have/had a super inny!! It's almost all out now I think, looking rather odd - 33 weeks tomorrow!

@Xur you must push for that consultant appointment next week. Hopefully they'll give you all the answers you need and advise on how and if you can move hospitals 🤞🏼also really hope little man turns for you these next 6 weeks or so.

@Honeyandsunshine1 he totally understands why I won't have any contact with her. He speaks/messages with her every now and again I think but he was super low to no contact when we met. I just hate drama, anything for an easy life, that's me.

@HRP1990 me! It's been my constant niggle through the whole of the pregnancy if i'm honest. All my family still work or are off doing their own thing, DH will be there for birth and maybe one day but it'll be middle of harvest for us so that's about it. I really really do not want a c section.

@MudandMoet we had our 32 week growth scan yesterday and our babes are measuring almost the same, crazy there’s a 4lb something in the belly haha

Feel like I’m picking apart the growth scan results, and worrying I have gestational diabetes. Her ac was on the 70th percentile and the rest was on the 30th. They also said my deepest pool was 7.5cm which is on the high end. I’ve got my consultant appointment tomorrow so I’ll ask her. But wouldn’t they say something if they suspected anything? Is it just me being paranoid

Talking about belly buttons-mine is not popping yet but, I knew I had a birthmark inside my belly button, that I discovered some 10 years ago in a random shower sesh. (I am one of those people with many birthmarks, I inherited it from my dad) and now when my belly is growing this birthmark is becoming visible, it’s part outside now. To my surprise it’s in the shape of a heart 🤣 as the belly is growing the birthmark gets exposed more.

I bought some stuff for the hospital bag. I bought incontinence mats/pads, I bought birthing dress (??Im not sure if that’s the correct term?). Basically a dress that has buttons at the back and at the shoulders.

My friend who gave birth in February she said they didn’t provide with a medical gown, she was basically naked on the table with like a type of a sheet over her.
I also bought bras, so I don’t like the nursing bras found in shops, I had been staring at them and thought they don’t have any hold. Pretty much all nursing bras I had seen are like cheap Primark bras that sag the boob. I don’t want to end up with potato sacks so I found these ones on Amazon that caught my eye, they looked sturdy and they open/close at the front, with 4-5 hooks.
They also open at the shoulder (turns out). They arrived today and I am impressed, they are soft, but sturdy. If you don’t like bras that “pretend-hold” the breasts like myself, then this might be for you: www.amazon.co.uk/Delimira-Natrelax-Fastening-Posture-Wireless/dp/B0D4Z3K99X

Aww mannnn. I want an outtie 😂😂😂 my belly button is an actual cave, so pregnancy, even at the very end stages with a giant baby pushing against it, has never been enough push the deep chasm into an outtie ☹️

For the hospital bag I have so far-
-Frida disposable postpartum undies
-Maternity pads
-A cooling pad/insert
-witch hazel pad liners (this is going to be a proper sandwich I feel 🥪)
-spritz for bits
-the birthing dress, I have an another one on the way that is practical for skin to skin and breastfeeding
-a light cotton bathrobe
-rubber slippers/slides

I am actually not sure if I will need to buy anything more, the rest of the stuff I have laying around at home like
towels, mini shower gel, small toothpaste.
one thing I can think about is a handheld fan that I could purchase.
I am not sure if I will have pjs with trousers with me because the idea of putting any trousers (even if they’re pjs) over my massive diaper undie sandwich is just giving me the shivers.
I won’t be needing any power banks or book or whatever because when I’m worried/stressed/bothered I rather stare at the wall and wait for it to be over. I also don’t sit on phone when in bus/train, I look out the window, so yeah-oldschool vibes here.
For the baby hospital bag bit I still need diapers, I’ve not got any diapers, the rest I think I have. If I don’t then I don’t know I need it yet.

how is everyone else doing with their hospital bags? 🧳

@Emmaev funny you should say that, at my private the lady measured my fluid and said 8 is top range and mine was 8.25 - I had not a clue what she was on about 🙈😂 I only went to see little ones face! So I was furiously googling this weekend !
Certainly mention at next appointment, I will be and I will get my NHS scan at 32 weeks to check it when I have my placenta measured 😂

@Emmaev I do hope all is okay though - and from what I did find under 8 is okay?!
but I owe you a thanks as I really need to keeep an eye on that 🤞🏻 x

@Emmaev ahh it'll be interesting when we have them to see what they do weigh and measure. I haven't looked further into the measurements because I've got no idea what I'm looking at/for and think like you say surely they would mention it if something was amiss, hope you get answers tomorrow xx

@Xur I'll go through my bits tomorrow. I seem to be accumulating hospital bag bits in the nursery, our room and the bathroom. Definitely, if I do nowt else tomorrow I want to get organised and see what I've missed. Also looking forward to choosing coming home outfit for baby xx

@Xur My hospital bag prep so far… I have the bag itself, and I have a selection of zip-lock bags in various sizes so I can put each thing in a little bag and label it. Then DH will actually pack the bag itself so he can easily find anything as and when I need it.

All I need to do now is get the stuff to go in the bags 😂

@MudandMoet I’ve been thinking about the first outfit and I don’t know what I want for him, none of the ones I have are like “this is gonna be the first outfit”
I also have a hospital bag corner..well…I have this one boots bag I keep throwing stuff into. I was laughing with my friend today should so just put it all into a Tesco bag and pull up with that 🤣

@Lillers I’m planning to try to roll them and fasten with rubbers, like sets.
I have a lot of Shein bags that so could use for the sets but I think I can pack more in a small space if they’re rolled.

Has anyone developed a cough? I've had one now for about 6 weeks. It comes randomly when I'm talking it is like something is caught in my throat and I have to try and clear it which sometimes sounds like I'm choking and sometimes makes me throw up. It also happens after eating. I don't know how else to explain it. I'll speak to midwife on Monday anyway but just wondering is it pregnancy related.

Started on my bag - everything is just thrown in the cot though. I've been looking for an all in one pram suit for baby and noticed Tesco have started bringing their Autumn clothes out today so hopefully other shops will follow suit soon.

@longingtobe23 its mainly because I had such a bad experience with our first born, that I’m so on edge and examining everything closely so I don’t miss anything. I think the range for waters is 2cm-8cm , and a large abdominal circumference with the extra waters can be a sign of GD. I will ask my consultant tomorrow and see if I’m being paranoid or not haha

@Emmaev our ac measurement is 97th centile. Head is 70th and legs 13th, And I have polyhydramnios. I've got an appointment for fetal medicine next week so hopefuly they explain more as I thought it may just be kidney related? Xx

Just another random update! We are officially on twin watch! I'm 32 weeks, from next week I will be monitored weekly by my consultant and the girls will be here by the end of the month.
It's so strange, my due date isn't technically until 3rd of Sept so I've had a little less time to prepare!
My bags are packed and waiting to go. I've ordered a new mattress for the cotbed that they will be sharing (I went with a pocket spring mattress as it's more breathable). We have the names picked and it's starting to be very real. The likelihood of nicu is very high so I'm also preparing for that. Their weights are currently 3.11 and 4.05 which combined is heavy enough on my back! 😅
I'd say my next update with be my birth story 💖

Amazing @Martibum wishing you the very best of luck ☺️ I’m a twin born at 36 weeks 😇 x