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 🤗

Oh my gosh @OnePinkSloth, good luck with everything! Keep us posted and let us know how you get on. Massive hugs and sending lots of good vibes xxx

@Lunalovegod Please do let us know what the midwife says about your pains. It's confusing being a first-timer, because obviously we have no idea what we're looking for... I haven't had period pain-style discomfort, like you describe, but I have had a real heaviness around that band of muscle under my bump, and I've had what feels like really sharp trapped wind in the same area. Fortunately it eases if I lie down, so I've just been lounging around like the Queen of Sheba for the last few days... But not comfortable...

Like someone else said, I hope the baby doesn't have any funny ideas about rocking up early. She just has to sit tight for one more week until C-section Day...

Good luck @OnePinkSloth can't wait to hear how it all went 😍

Update is a little confusing tbh as I'm not sure what to make of it! I asked to be checked to see if I'm dilating but was told that could cause infection, so they put me on the monitor. The monitor showed I am having quite strong "uterine activity", so they left me on for a while longer, then finally checked me. I'm 1cm dilated, but my cervix isn't forward enough or soft enough, so I've been told I'm not in labour.
The toco numbers on the monitor showed tightenings to go as high as 60% - as strong as if I were in labour! But they certainly do not feel that strong to me. They offered me pain medication, which I declined, as I'm not in actual pain with them (although they've really increased in frequency and slightly more in intensity since).

So I'm a bit confused. I'm not in labour but I am having contractions. Back to the waiting game I suppose and try all the tricks to soften my cervix!

@Lunalovegod I had similar pains in my first pregnancy and also got monitored (I had a period of being monitored daily); my toco numbers got into the 90s and I wasn’t feeling anything! This was at about 36 weeks and DD arrived at 40+5 so for me, it didn’t mean anything (and they didn’t seem too concerned by it). I don’t even think they got into the 90s when I was in actual labour 😂

This time, I went in for reduced movements a couple of weeks ago and toco numbers were around 40ish, which made them ask me if I was feeling anything (I wasn’t) and for a urine sample, as it can be something like a UTI that causes it. I didn’t have a UTI and never heard anything else about it!

I know, I'm very disappointed tbh! I've done a lot of googling since posting my update and can see that it's quite common to reach those numbers when nothing is really happening, and that you can stay at 1cm for weeks. I was really hoping that I would find more anecdotal stories to indicate labour would come on soon but no 😔 this last part of pregnancy is so difficult not knowing when it will happen! I just want to meet my baby now, I definitely got my hopes up there!

That's good you were checked out. I know they say not to fixate on numbers but 1cm is great! It's such a funny time when you're this close to the end, second guessing everything. But good that you had your hospital appointment today x

@Lunalovegod i know, every morning you wake up thinking “will today be the day?” and every night you go to bed disappointed! 1cm is nothing to be sniffed at though, it’s progress!

Hopefully little one won’t keep you waiting much longer! It’s all made worse by the fact that as soon as you start stressing about it, the oxytocin starts drying up and you talk yourself out of labour anyway haha!

Who would have kids? 🤦🏽‍♀️

Thanks for all the well wishes, just playing the patience game at the mo!
Will be checked again at 2am to see how I've progressed.

On the whole dilating vs not dilating, to add an anecdote for anyone not dilated when it comes to due date or having a sweep etc…

I had a midwife appointment on my due date with my first baby and was offered a sweep. The midwife could barely reach my cervix as it was so high still, and she was unable to do a sweep as my cervix was totally closed and firm. She said I was nowhere near labour and I was so disheartened after having read loads of people on my pregnancy forums at the time starting to dilate and losing their mucus plugs etc.

My waters went 12 hours after that midwife appointment and I went straight into labour 😅

On the other hand, one of my friends just had a home birth (second baby) and had a bloody show at 36 weeks, followed by nightly contractions that fizzled out every morning (exhausting!). She didn’t give birth until 39+6 weeks!

I go back tomorrow for my bp etc given they are worried about pre-eclampsia.
35+0 tomorrow and worried they’ll be pulling forward my section date tomorrow. My scan was fine but my PGIF blood wasn’t great.
Anyone on anything for bp other than labetalol - which I can’t have a beta blocker?

Any wise words of wisdom this early?

Good luck @OnePinkSloth hope things progress quickly and with ease. 😊

All the best of luck @OnePinkSloth ❤️

@UrbanSquirrel I’m having really similar pains/ feelings to the ones you describe! Thinking it must be normal?!

This waiting game is awful 😂

Sorry to hear that they are worried about you having/developing pre eclampsia. I developed severe early onset pre e at 22 weeks in my first pregnancy so get your worry. (I have currently made it to 36+5 pre-eclampsia free this time).

Nifedipene is another common BP drug used in pregnancy. There is also methyldopa but it is less commonly used now as you have to stop taking it after birth as there is a link with post natal depression (that's what I was told anyway when I was on it). I ended up on all three of these drugs at the same time to control my BP 😐

What was your colour rating/score for the PLGF test?

Great news that the scan was all fine and baby doing okay with the blood flow to the placenta.

My pre e delivery was 25 weeks so can't comment on experiences of a 35 week delivery except to say from what I have been told most babies do very well at this stage as they are very nearly term! I imagine they will let baby cook for as long as they can and deliver if you or baby show signs of deteriorating. It gets to a point where they are safer out than in I guess.

Hang in there. Sounds like you are being well looked after ❤️

Morning all! Getting to the stage where it’s all happening isn’t it?! And/or it’s not and people are starting to feel it 😂

Im 36 weeks today but spent last night in hospital as my normally lively baby in the evening went all quiet on me. CTG was OK and have a growth scan today so agreed to go home as the midwives / doctors were happy for me to. Still find myself being really anxious though when they say “go home if you’re happy” and I’m never quite sure if I am!

Baby seems livelier this morning so that’s good. Does anyone else have a baby that doesn’t move much overnight once asleep? Maybe that’s his normal but I find it disconcerting when get up for loo and can’t feel or get him to move without a lot of effort!

It sure is! I can't believe it's nearly crunch time lol.

My boy definitely has quieter spells and I've noticed less movement when I wake up in the night now than I used to, but he's compensating by being SUPER active in the evenings so I've not been too concerned. My partner speaking to the bump tends to get him moving which is very sweet, failing which I'll prod him til he kicks back 🤣

@Cheeseandcrackers123 funny you should say that, I wasn't thinking the exact same thing when I was awake at 3am (pregnancy insomnia) that I've noticed baby doesn't really move much overnight. She's lively during the day so not too worried, but it's a bit weird!

@Cheeseandcrackers123 Mine is definitely moving less, but then I've never really noticed much of a pattern. A week and half or so ago there were about 48h where I don't think she stopped for more than a couple of minutes. Now she seems to be sleeping a lot and I get a few vigorous stretches every few hours or so. All quiet when I get up in the night.

It's definitely making me paranoid, but when she's moving, the movement is strong enough to reassure me, if that makes sense.

Agreed @Cheeseandcrackers123 there are long periods where she doesn't do much, both during the day and at night. I'm hoping that means she's learning to sleep! 😂 But there's often a spate of activity when we're watching TV on the sofa round about 8pm, or sometimes first thing in the morning.

It's hard to judge. I haven't felt much all the way through due to the anterior placenta, so I'm some ways I'm feeling her smaller movements much more clearly now - but I'm also becoming more conscious of the gaps. I think the key thing is to follow your gut, as you have, and get it checked out if you're worried.

MiniSquirrel wasn't doing much last night, so MrSquirrel and I were both talking to her and trying to poke her (gently), and then she gave me an absolutely massive kick, which I interpreted as 'Sod off and leave me alone, I'm trying to sleep' 😉

@EastLondonCoffeeFiend Oh, I'm glad to hear that what I'm feeling appears to be normal too - though less glad, of course, that you're suffering the pains too! 🤗 x

We haven't heard any more from @OnePinkSloth yet have we? Every time I come on here there seems to be a plethora of new messages and I keep worrying that I've missed something.

How strange, I literally didn't sleep last night due to being worried about movement. Fortunately, he's moved quite a bit this morning. I thought I was the only person worried about movements. It's nearly all I think about. Not long to go xx

They do say that baby should keep moving normally up to (and during!) labour but anecdotally I’ve found with both pregnancies, it slowed down a little towards the end. It tended to be bigger movements less often, but neither of mine have ever bothered to get into a pattern. MiniRetriever2 is currently battering my rib cage despite not feeling movement since yesterday evening. I’ve found I can kind of manually move them (it’s had its bum under one side of my ribs and its feet under the other for a while now) by pushing on my belly, which normally gets a protest kick!

Definitely still worth getting checked out if you’re at ALL unsure though!

Hope everyone having pains is okay; I’ve had what feels like cramps in my vagina for a couple of days, but with no rhyme or reason, and based on how high up my bump has suddenly gone, I don’t think it’s anything to
do with how engaged baby is, so I’m hoping it’s my cervix doing something!

I also hope everyone is okay playing the waiting game (whether it be planned section or waiting for spont labour!); with my first I was desperate for her to get the hell out, and every day felt like an insult when she didn’t! This time I’m finding it easier as I’m trying to make the most of the time I’ve got with just DD, but I know the waiting is horrible!

Is anyone planning anything special for their due date/before baby is born? I’m meant to be going to a wedding on Friday (I’ll be 38+6!), and we have a (refundable!) spa day booked for my due date (1st Feb), which we did last time too. The masseuse’s face was a picture when she asked when I was due!

Wow @retrievermum your spa day sounds like a lovely idea, but I'm not sure I would have the guts to book it on the due date! 😂 Also massive kudos on getting through a wedding so close to D Day. I genuinely am getting to the point where I'm not leaving the house: can't decide whether it's an extreme nesting instinct or my innate introversion relishing an excuse to run riot 😂

Have an amazing time!!! x

Just seen the midwife for my last appointment before baby is here 37+2 and baby is 0/5 not engaged at all yet but at the brink of it and is in my pelvis so he's close to starting! Induction booked for 39+0.
Is anyone else's baby not engaged yet? Want to meet my little man already 🥹