Due February 2025 - Thread 4

[UrbanSquirrel]

Just creating this so that we have somewhere to continue when Thread 3 fills up. If you're due to have a baby in February 2025 (or late January or early March, as we have a wide spread!), come join us for support, advice and (at present) some really useful Black Friday recommendations! Big welcoming hugs to all the usual suspects coming over from Thread 3 🤗

I'm definitely having the RSV vaccine. Baby's big sister brings home everything from nursery, so she'll need all the protection she can get!

Another one taking up the offer of the RSV vaccine but I might try and hold out until closer to week 32 for it as that seems to be when most other countries recommend it. Wonder if the NHS says from 28 weeks to try and fit us all in with staff shortages and waiting times.

The 4D photos are amazing apple your baby looks very sweet!

Busytiger I would walk the pram in or use a baby carrier to get to the car. Your DP could bring it in from the car just before you leave. Hospitals might like you to use an infant car seat but remember it’s your baby and you can walk out with them in your arms if you so wish!

Anyone else’s baby putting them through their paces with kicks and rolls?

@BusyTiger I've also bought a fixed car seat. Was planning on just carrying the baby out in my arms.

Another one getting the RSV vaccine, booked in a couple of weeks.

As to fixed car seat, we have one but we also got given a carry one to take to the hospital when bringing baby home. As when I had my last 2 they won't let you just carry baby out in your arms?
That was a while ago though so things could of changed

@herewegoagain123456 What do you mean by 'they don't let you'? I don't see how anyone could prevent you from leaving a hospital with your own baby? 🤔

Meaning they actually wouldn't let me just carry the baby, I wasn't even allowed to around the hospital. And I had a straight forward birth. Always had to be in his wheeler cot thing and then in a car seat or pram to go out the hospital.
A safety thing I guess?
Might just be my hospital though and like I say it was a while ago xx

@herewegoagain123456 I'm imagining a midwife blocking the exit like a bouncer. 😂

I won't have a pram or a portable car seat - might have to exit via the vents, Die Hard style.

@QuantumPanic 🤣🤣 be a nice fun challenge after giving birth 🤣🙈

30 weeks today and just got back from an extra growth scan (one of the few advantages of gestational diabetes 😂).

MiniSquirrel is currently 3lb 11oz (that's 1.7kg in new money), which I'm finding slightly mind-boggling because I was born at 3lb 14oz (at 32 weeks admittedly). They say that if you double the weight at 30 weeks, that gives you a rough idea of birth weight, so I guess we're looking at somewhere over 7lb?

She has long legs too - I'm blaming 6' 8" Mr Squirrel for all of this 😂

But crucially she looks healthy and happy, and for once she wasn't being awkward in a scan! Really relieved to have seen that all is in good order - and, since she's on the 93rd percentile now, they've booked me in for scans at 34 and 36 weeks too to keep an eye on things...

@UrbanSquirrel exciting news! Glad she performed for the scan! Remember growth scans are notoriously inaccurate so take it with a pinch of salt (although I had a growth scan at 34 with my daughter and they predicted her birth weight perfectly!).

Had my RSV vaccine today and wow it stung! I don’t normally even really feel them but this one hurt! Worth it of course but just a warning!

Oh yes @retrievermum absolutely right about the pinch of salt! But, whatever the actual weight, it seems to mean she's a happy little chonkster, and that's great ☺️ Just hoping she doesn't take after her dad, who was considerably over 9lb when he was born 😧

I'm so sorry to hear about your stinging arm! Hopefully it won't last long 🤞🏻 But maybe, in the meantime, drop heavy hints to your other half about chocolate being a known cure for post-vaccination discomfort? x

@UrbanSquirrel apparently dads birth weight is usually quite similar to the baby! DH was 10lb 6oz so I swerved it last time (although DD was a chunk!), so I’ll inevitably have an 11lb-er this time haha!

Oh good lord, we're doomed! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Thank you!! @Kumquat89 @superj21 @UrbanSquirrel

The reason he may be looking full term already is because he's measuring 3 weeks ahead and was 3lb6oz at my 28w growth scan 🤣🤣 chunky boy. Have my glucose test Friday 🙈 we will see what happens x

Hi all 27 weeks here, love this thread!
Anyone else just absolutely shattered. I've had all the tests to check my energy and iron but I'm just so tired, almost feels chronic now. I've got two other children 8 and 5 and my DH is convinced that the tiredness it's just part of the process. I didn't feel like this with the first two pregnancies I feel like there's something wrong with me but all tests show I'm fine. I'm not really a lie down or nap person but maybe this pregnancy is forcing me to stop. I've stopped working for now, is it just me!?! Mini rant 😅

So a question...

Is everyone counting kicks?

Like I'm still feeling baby, but not as much and this happens every so often. I keep putting it down to baby moving positions so I can't feel as many on the kicks.

But when's the point you ring up for reduced movement?

I think if it's worrying you it's worth phoning up. We have quieter days but still have movements at similar times of day etc...

Definitely don't hesitate about phoning the assessment unit if you are worried about reduced movement, @herewegoagain123456.

To add to what @elb1504 said, I definitely have quieter days, but when I do, there is a certain pattern to those too. So on a 'quiet day' for me I still probably feel him quite a bit before getting up (so lying in for 30 mins is essential on a daily basis now - alas, what hardship!). I will also still get a few movements during the day. And he'll still move for an extended period in the evening at some point after 9pm. I think I'm beginning to accept this as a sort of pattern in itself but it doesn't mean I don't spend quiet days being really quite worried until he puts my mind at rest by wriggling enough in the evening!

I've started counting movements more methodically now. I was just going by vague memory, but I've found it more reassuring to keep a chart. There's a Kick Counter app, but having another app on my phone seemed a bit counterproductive when usually what I need to do is relax more. I'd be intrigued to know if the app does anything more sophisticated than counting - I'm just giving baby ticks on a bit of paper.

Just to reassure you, @SunshineMummy2, I have been knackered the whole darn time - that much-vaunted second-trimester glow never turned up - and am having naps most afternoons at the moment. Enormously grateful that I have a very understanding boss, and that work is fortunately winding down at the moment. Two full weeks left to go, and then I'm on mat leave / annual leave from 13 December. Hurrah!

Regarding the kicks question, @CarrotySnack @elb1504 @herewegoagain123456, I'm now feeling MiniSquirrel a bit but, thanks to the anterior placenta business, it isn't clear enough to really count or get any sense of a pattern - so I'm not recording or monitoring in any real sense. (Just to reassure anyone else in a similarly awkwardly-placentaed position.)

For example, when we were at our scan yesterday, the sonographer said that baby was moving around nicely. Could I feel it? Nada. Did she perform what seemed to be a spontaneous steel drum solo in the depths of my abdomen the other day? Yes. All very random. So am trying not to worry.

But essentially, as others have said, I guess you just have to compare to what's normal for you. And yes, yes, yes, call the triage line if you're worried. That's what they're there for! 🤗 x

PS In an exciting gestational diabetes update (yes, my life has come to this), I can confirm that shredded wheat (despite being recommended for diabetics online) is even more the Food of the Devil than Weetabix was 🥣 👿 🔥

On the bright side, it tasted like wet cardboard anyway 🤷🏻‍♀️

I had one day a couple weeks ago where I was pretty concerned due to lack of movements, but I had a scan the following day anyway so I thought I'd just hold fire. I saw the midwife after the scan and she said always to call if worried. He was wriggling on the scan but I have an anterior placenta and couldn't feel it. Since then, l feel relatively little movement throughout the day (the odd kick here or there) while I'm working etc but he's got a pattern of movement in the morning while I'm still in bed and when I lie down for a rest 😊. I like wfh days as I can spend a little time at lunch time lying down to feel him!

I am amazed by the quality of your scan @apple67cherry !! And the fact that MiniSquirrel is over 3lbs @UrbanSquirrel ! I’m still waiting for them to book me in for an extra growth scan, getting very excited to see the baby again. 20 weeks was a LONG time ago!

@UrbanSquirrel your baby is growing nicely and looks like her dad!!! Mine was 1.2kg in "new money" as you said (made me smile the expression) and I thought she was big (last week at 28weeks). Maybe yours is going to come out fully dressed as a growth revel teenager at this speed. 😉🤣😂 Btw, glad to hear she performed well this time and was cooperative! That's good news.

I had the RVS last week and I take all they gave me. I think if it's good for my baby I'll have it.

Talking about car seats. My eldest brother gave me the pram they used for their kids and the "car seat" is actually having your baby lying down (up to 6 months or X kgs). So is not a car seat seat, but has all the security stuff for cars and the labels and so on. So it works as a cocoon and car seat at the same time. The only thing is that I barely have seen any other systems similar to thia. I feel a little bit uneasy with it. So I'm tempted to buy a proper car seat up to 6 months and leave that one as a normal pram. (see image) what do you think?

Finally, has anyone been on antenatal classes? I've tried to book but everything is on weekdays right in the middle of the day and it's very annoying for me as I work and I'm taking some time for the growth scans and midwife appointments and so on. I don't want to push it more. Are they worth it? Is there an online alternative?

Oh gosh @Piluka I hope she doesn't emerge as a fully-grown teenager! I was hoping for a decade or so of cuteness before the attitude develops... 😣

We had our first antenatal class last night (NCT). There are four sessions, each one on a Monday night, and each lasts 6:30-9:30pm. Three hours is a bit too long for me, but there does seem to be a lot of info to take in, and we did both feel it was worth it. There were six other couples there, all of whom live relatively locally, and it was nice because there was a real spread of birth plans, perspectives and so on. Crucially I didn't feel that the course leader was going to be pushing the 'natural birth' philosophy at the expense of everything else, which I'd been nervous about beforehand.

There are various options - NCT, Bump to Baby (I think?), and your hospital will probably run sessions too - are none of them doable? There must be some kind of online resource too but I don't know of one yet. If our NCT leader shares links to useful websites, I'm very happy to share them here too (assuming they're open access).

As for the car seat, yours does look flatter than others I've seen, but not a million miles different. Here's a picture of ours - essentially a carrycot which clips into the holder. I think the first six month ones do tend to be like this rather than the 'sit up' ones, because the baby can't support its head and sit properly yet, and I presume it's safer. Can you find out what people online have said about the model your brother has offered you? x

I've not seen a carseat like that @Piluka but agree with @UrbanSquirrel flatter can be better for newborns. I'd suggest you look for the safety labels and marks - R129 is the current standard. If it meets them, there will be a sticker or something.

I've been doing bump & baby antenatal. Unfortunately none of the couples live remotely near us, which is a bit of a shame and seems to defeat the point to an extent, but I have been really impressed with the course itself so far. That said, it's not said much I haven't gathered from a few books and mumsnet, so if it's not convenient then I wouldn't feel you're really missing anything essential.