Due December 2024 - thread 2

[CatCaretaker]

Follow on from the first thread here:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/pregnancy/5032929-due-december-2024?page=40

Thank youu, fingers crossed 🤞🤞🤞

Quick update - appointment went good.

Baby is head down, tucked right in "Very close to exit" and weighing just under 7lbs. All good to deliver whenever.

I'm doing good too. BP been behaving.

Back at usual midwife on Wednesday for standard appointment.

36+3 weeks and I'm done. Baby is ready. I'm ready. Get out now lol.

I feel exactly the same. Baby is also very low according to midwife and I feel so ready. Also 36+3. No mucus plug or anything though. Just want baby here so I don't have to go to work tomorrow!

Great news!!
excited for you! ♥️

Weird one. Baby has always always been head down, she just seems to like it. I've just now felt hiccups higher up, about halfway up my bump. I hope she hasn't flipped now at 35 weeks!

Don’t worry! She can flip again if she has.. mine has been moving around like crazy up until just recently (39 weeks today!)

also.. more TMI… more mucus ..this stuff just won’t quit!!
and the urge to get the hell out the house kicked in.. felt like I was suffocating and reality hitting me that I won’t be leaving home for a while once baby arrives 😂

Hello all - 23/12 baby due here 🤍
Been for my 36 week appt today and baby is lying breech and measuring 3 weeks behind. Awaiting a scan at the local hospital at some point this week and then hoping for ECV as opposed to ECS. Anyone else experiencing anything similar or have done before? xx

Thank you for that Video! That was super helpful. I was doing it as I was watching and to my surprise actually got a few pearls on my nipple. But they were just like blobs.. not drops? Not even to drop into a sterile cup? Is that normal?
Also in the video, she advises against women having an elective csection doing it ... which I am. My midwife never mentioned this, but it now has me worried? Should I be trying?
Also in regard to the syringes, am I ok to keep using the same syringe over different days to fill a syringe. Or will I need a new one every single time? Only because if I don't produce much, they'll be next to nothing in it... maybe when I finish work I'll have a go throughout a day/evening when I have more time on my hands.

@HelterSkelter224 I finish work on Wednesday .. and I'm so ready too! I've come home from work today and my ankles have doubled in size!! Being on my feet all day isn't doing me any favours anymore (37 weeks today) and I'm also, over it ! I'm even fed up of having to engage in pointless conversations when I feel exhausted 😂 two more days!!

@OnNaturesCourse sounding exciting!! Sounds like baby could be here anytime now!! 🤞🏼 glad to hear your BP has dropped back down again too!

At 36 weeks my baby was footling breech, feet engaged in the pelvis. My consultant advised against EVC for my case which was fine as thankfully I'd opted for a ELCS, I think because of his positioning, and he's been breech the whole duration of my pregnancy. There is still time for them to move though, if you have a read further down there has been some conversation with some helpful tips/advice as to how you can help that happen at home too xxxx

Also no sign of mucus plug here!
Lots of discharge still. But nothing that resembles mucus plug. From reading your comments I'm guessing it'll be pretty obvious when it does?? X

@Lunamoon23

You need these teeny tiny syringes to collect it

She'll be recommending you don't do it because there is a theory it can bring on labour, which I have never understood because there are women who breastfeed throughout pregnancy and that is perfectly safe

I have got some teeny tiny syringes, my midwife gave them too me. Am I able to collect it in the same syringe several times aslong as I fridge it inbetween each try or does it have to be a one and done job? Seems wasteful? X

@Lunamoon23 yes you can!

A great page if you're on instagram is Olivia Hinge, she's got loads of highlights with advice on breastfeeding and harvesting colostrum

Even if it's over several days??
Oh thank you - I'll take a look at the tomorrow! To exhausted to retain the information tonight haha.

@Lunamoon23 I'm wondering the same thing, I've seen somewhere that you can store it in the fridge for 24h before having to freeze, topping up over the day, so that's what I'm going to do for now and then will check for sure at my midwife appt on Monday :) I've found this too "Colostrum can be collected two to three times each day in the same syringe/container. You will need to store the capped collection container in the fridge between uses. If you are using a syringe for collection, make sure it is no more than ¾ full as milk expands when frozen"

I've also seen somewhere that it's only good for 2 weeks in the freezer, anyone know if that's true? I'm 37 weeks tomorrow so it'd mean I might have to throw this away before baby comes...

I've never heard the 2 week freeze thing - is that true? Anyone know? I'll ask my midwife on Wednesday. I have some the freezer from about 2 weeks ago already.

@OnNaturesCourse @GammaTheGecko @Lunamoon23 I haven't heard that 2-week rule either, and they do encourage collection from 37w. This link is pretty useful, doesn't say anything about it only lasting a few weeks:

www.nth.nhs.uk/resources/colostrum-harvesting/

My breastfeeding antenatal class covered colostrum harvesting, and this is the note I made at the time: 'Harvest every few hours - use same tube for 6 sessions (if twice a day, that's 3 days before having to freeze)'.

I’ve not heard of the 2 week rule either. I collected at 37 weeks last time and we gave some to DS when he was a few months old as he was poorly and it had been in the freezer. Pretty sure it can be treated like frozen breast milk.

@Lunamoon23 best way to describe it is it looks like a huge snot 😂🤮

@GammaTheGecko @OnNaturesCourse @HelterSkelter224 in that video that was shared she mentioned about freezing. I believe if it's 'deep freezer' which in our freezers I assume it would be considering we can freeze meat in them, they last a lot longer. You'd have thought this would be something our midwifes would have gone into more detail with us all about really, considering it's something they encourage too!

Handy to know regarding using the same syringe though. I'll give it a real go on Saturday I think as I'm home all day and evening. See how much I can get. Hoping it's not a pittiful amount. 🤞🏼 but I know it'll be what it'll be. Can all but try my best.
My nipples have done that thing again I spoke about earlier in my pregnancy, where they feel almost scaley. Visibly they look normal but to touch they feel like they're dry.. odd. Started about two days ago.

@Twinkletwinklelil haha - it sounds delightful. The joys of pregnancy am I right? And if I see that, does that mean labour is nearing? Or can it happen quite a while before labour or sometimes not at all?

Just had a Google and this came up. Which I thought might be useful.

Also this link :

www.jpaget.nhs.uk/media/367596

It does seem the information Varys slightly from sight to sight which is super helpful 😂

So I did an NCT class and they said loss of a mucus plug is not necessarily a sign of labour... It can be a sign that you're nearing the end though... Which is always a positive!

Also I was told not to harvest any colostrum until 37 weeks... Have people been told differently?