IVF Pregnancy Club- spring/summer 2026

[pastelheart]

Wanted to start a thread for anyone expecting after IVF and due next spring/summer

I am finding it quite daunting after infertility for 4 years and then a round of IVF to now be FINALLY expecting in June 2026, can hopefully chat with anyone else in the same boat

@backtotheicsi🩷

It’s a……

GIRL 💕💕💕💕

@babycoconut awh lovely ! Congratulations 🩷🩷

Congratulations @babycoconut- lovely news 💕

Welcome and congratulations @Applewisp- what wonderful news after such a long journey ❤️

@AmberRose26also extremely itchy here but don’t think I have a rash that isn’t self inflicted redness from my scratching! I’m also on 150mg aspirin due to age (also 43) and having hypertension
How amazing to hear your story, very exciting!

Like @CloudyIvy55feeling anxious about the 20 week scan (trying to ignore its other name) on NYE and very keen to feel some movement soon.. looking forward to getting confirmation on the gender then too as we were just told it’s 80% likely to be a girl at a 14 week scan.

very much hope the bronchitis has turned a corner in time for Christmas @magpie234

we’re having fake Christmas at my sister’s house today with my two nephews so looking forward to that

Congratulations @babycoconut!

And welcome in @Applewisp!

@pastelheart - YY, I love that we're all at different stages. It's really helpful. I went down to see my brother and his wife, and they have a little toddler - I got a ton of advice about pregnancy that I'd totally forgotten! It's been nearly 15 years since I was last pregnant. I feel weirdly more nervous now as I never got this far and I am a bit anxious about that 20-week scan.

I had my flu jab on Thursday and it really hit me. I had my last day working on Friday, and by the end of it I was so absolutely shattered I had to sleep. I think I got through the actual work ok but it's a garden where I work alongside the owner so I was trying to be really bouncy and can-do when I really just wanted to sit with a cup of hot tea!

Congratulations @babycoconut!!

@SarahAndQuack I had my flu and whooping cough jab at the same time, it definitely wiped me out and my arms were so sore to sleep on!

I'm still not sure if I'm feeling anything. I THINK I'm feeling some light flutters but finding it difficult to know for sure.

One thing I have started this week that others might find helpful are positive pregnancy affirmations. Before TTC I would of rolled my eyes if anyone suggested affirmations to me but I'm actually enjoying them. My brain has been so set on negative thoughts around ttc and pregnancy for years now, so I'm now forcing it to think positively for a few minutes each day and it feels really refreshing!

@CloudyIvy55 how do you find the aspirin ? Does it irritate your stomach at all ? Also hopefully you’ll get some movement feeling soon, my friend was around 20 weeks before she felt anything as turns out she had an anterior placenta, where her placenta was sitting at the front of her uterus where her tummy is and made it harder for her to feel the movements in the earlier times, baby was fine etc but yeh i do remember her saying she wasn’t feeling anything then .. boom .. she was defo feeling all the feels ☺️

@babycoconut Yay another gal! Congrats! 💓

@CloudyIvy55 Me too with the affirmations. I have an app called Stardust which is quite fun and gives me a new one every day. I think we all deserve to lean into the hope and joy and positivity after our journeys to get here.

@SarahAndQuack Gardening while pregnant sounds exhausting! Sounds like you are smashing it though. I had my whooping cough jab the other day bang in the middle of fighting off this bronchitis which I am sure has not helped. My poor body honestly…! Feeling a little better today but have had to modify my Christmas plans and miss out on a few things sadly. Hey ho.

@MintOwl Thanks and enjoy fake Christmas! I bet that will be fun with your nephews.

Hope you are feeling better this morning @magpie234. It sounds like you're having a rough time!

Hope you had a lovely family day, @MintOwl!

I have my consultant appointment today. Hope I can get there past the crowds of late-Christmas shoppers! There isn't really a good bus route to the hospital that I can find, which seems stupid (I have looked quite hard!).

@SarahAndQuack Thanks! Still quite terrible but tbh this is such a predictable ending to a rough 2025 🥲. Is a bummer but I am just grateful that I can head into 2026 full of much more joy and positivity and hope than I have felt in years 😊.

I hope your appointment goes well. I would be interested to hear what it involved after as I have one on NYE and not sure why (assume just on account of it being an IVF preg) so it would be nice to have some idea! Good luck with the traffic…

@babycoconut I still LOVE the name but again, o had already considered the nickname and knew I would just be saying that’s not his name… obviously my partner isn’t as smart as me and has only thought of that now… 4 years later!
congratulations on your baby girl! So lovely 🩷🩷

@magpie234 it won’t let me edit my first post to add it 😓😭

@AmberRose26 so similar to me! It was my sons 12th birthday yesterday and I just can’t believe it honestly

@MintOwlhope you had a lovely day with your sister and nephews x

@SarahAndQuack it will be okay! When is your 20 week scan again? Mine is 15th Jan! Hope your appt today goes okay!

@CloudyIvy55 yay for flutters! So exciting

we are going out shopping today so my son can spend his birthday money and vouchers, he’s minted atm lol and the. Got to do Xmas food shop… have asked my partner to come so he can ‘help with the bags’… but really it’s so ‘he pays for it all’ not sure if he has figured that out yet lol 😂 xx

Hi ladies,

Sorry been rubbish at keeping up with everyone so I am probably missing updates! Sorry to hear all the people who have been feeling ill, hope you all manage to enjoy christmas day still!

Congrats and welcome @Applewisp and how exciting to know @babycoconut . We decided not to find out but sometimes I think it would be nice to know - but equally enjoy the suspense and felt like it was a way of getting something back after the over medicalised experience of conceiving via ivf.

I can't remember who asked about the aspirin but I am also on 150mg. I was on 75mg from the clinic until 12 weeks and then midwife has put me on 150 because of risk factors for pre eclampsia (and now I have the single uterine artery, that increases it so it was definitely a good thing I am on it). I havent had any side effects or stomach issues with it. There is some evidence that it is more effective taken in the eve so I usually take it just before bed. I am also on clexane until 6 weeks post birth - I have a few risk factors for blood clots but didn't quite meet the nhs threshold but really didn't want to come off it as obviously the pregnancy was sticking for the first time so the consultant agreed he was happy to keep me on which was a relief.

Good luck with the consultant @SarahAndQuack - I have found mine nothing but helpful so far and he booked me in for extra growth scans because it was IVF and because I think he could see how anxious I was.

@pastelheart and good luck with the food shop - i imagine its carnage out there today! I have a few more bits to get but think I will go and do a late night shop to miss the crowds.

We went pram shopping on Saturday which felt like a huge step for us. Not buying just yet (may do if there are Jan sales) but was super helpful to work out what we liked. I was deadset on the icandy peach but after trying some out, found I much preferred the uppababy vista so think that's what we will likely go for.

Had some friends round yday so feeling knackered today- almost feel hungover which is very unfair as I didn't touch a drop 🤣 do any of you guys have the odd drink while pregnant? I know lots of people do and I don't think realistically it would cause any harm but my anxiety is too high to make it worthwhile for me.

@magpie234 totally hear you about heading into 2026 feeling happy and hopeful for the first time in years. Such a nice feeling to actually feel positive and not just depressed at christmas and the new year. My partner said to me the other day that I am a million times nicer since getting pregnant and he thought with mood swings, he would be in for a rough ride 🤣 I said it's likely because I am not longer depressed and as stressed and having the cocktails of ivf hormones and the emotional rollercoaster that brings!

@FancyGoose hello! Food shop actually wasn’t too bad, wasn’t as busy as I thought so was very successful

we have looked at prams too I also thought I would choose the peach or the egg… but I fell in love the the silver cross cove 😍😍😍😍 we are going to order in January I think

i I will have a look at the pram you love now too, I bloody love looking at prawns xx

lol not prawns… prams 😂😂😂😂

Sorry you're still feeling so rough.

It was pretty routine TBH - just repeating what my midwife had asked or said. He checked I understood my placenta might conk out early (which is an age thing, not an IVF thing), and ran me through a few other bits. But basically it was a lot of confirming details I'd already done with the midwife. He did also go over my bloods and so on.

Like @FancyGoose I have extra growth scans (sorry you're feeling and anxious, @FancyGoose!), but mine are just par for the course because I'm 41.

I liked him, and I felt looked after.

Oh, sorry - @pastelheart, my 20 week scan is late January (20th?). I am nervous about it, but just trying not to think too much!

Hi all, just catching up - welcome to all the new ladies!

I’ve been busy trying to get everything sorted in work, finished up today for maternity leave 😁😁

Have been getting a lot of back and hip pain the last few days, driving me mad.

Had my 36 week check up last week, all looking good. They prescribed something for the heartburn and it’s being a god send.

@CloudyIvy55My wife was the same. Thought she could feel something but wasn’t quite sure. 20 week scan confirmed anteria placenta. Few weeks later and baby now wakes her up every night at 2am with the kicking or my wife wakes up and because she’s awake then baby kicks. She’s not quite sure which way round it is. :)

@pastelheartWe love the cove as well. Just make sure you order in plenty of time as certain colours are on back order. We got the damson from a site that had some immediate availability. But when we ordered in mid November, a lot of places were out of stock and silver cross were predicting late Feb delivery timeline.

@dubkitten Did you get Omeprazole? Because I was prescribed that the other day and it has completely changed my life. Kicking myself for not asking for it earlier!

Exciting that some of you are pram shopping. Got our John Lewis appt next week which I am excited for! No idea what we will go for yet but hoping to get most bits in the Jan sales. The Cove does look gorgeous - is it for city or countryside or both?

I also have an anterior placenta btw but have still started feeling baby somersaults mostly when I lay down to go to sleep! First felt them just before 20 weeks I think it was (am 21.5 now).

My bronchitis is finally on the mend but the fatigue is crazy so have modified our Christmas plans to be at home more. In a way it is prob better for me tbh as I often find the constant socialising overwhelming anyway. So trying not to be too Scrooge about it all. Looking forward to feeling better though!

@FancyGoose thanks for replying re aspirin, yes I have been taking in the evening also as heard it’s best to take then do far no issues for me 🧡, although my blood results came back and were normal so no risk of clotting but consultant still wants me to take them and she also mentioned I will probably be put on blood thinners a bit later on in the pregnancy after 20 weeks I might start due to my father and his father both having strokes, but if my bloods all come back fine and no risk of clotting issues not sure why they were wanting me on blood thinners later down the line ? I might just ask for a repeat test before going on them so see if there is any change to blood platelets at that point.

Did they say you are to stop a few weeks before delivery and start again after birth? Or do you continue right though as I have read blood thinners can cause excess bleeding in birth so I wasn’t sure about taking so close to birth ? Did they say it was safe to continue around the birth time ? I feel there is so much conflicting evidence and advice 🥴
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@SarahAndQuackoh lovely, I am sure everything will be fine and you will love seeing baby again. Ours is on the 15th so a few days before you. Have also got my 16 week midwife appt on the 31st (that is actually at 18 weeks, but I guess this is okay?) I am on annual leave all of Xmas but due to currently having to step up I do need to log on for a few hours on a few days for approvals and sign offs etc… which is annoying but alas. I haven’t had any real time off since July so I was really looking forward to two weeks of not worrying about work but that’s not going to be the case.

@dubkitten yay for maternity leave! How are you feeling start mat leave??

@FirstTimeDadNoIdeaWhatImDoingyeah the shop we looked at said a delay in delivery but hopefully if we order Jan or will be here by June! I am hoping we order the champagne colour way

@magpie234 we live in the city but we do have lots of parks that we like to visit but majority have paths. I just loved how lightweight the cove was and also the adjustable carry cot and seat, I had the oyster with my son and I remember it always felt so low down as I am quite tall so really liked that you could move baby closer and it didn’t make you feel like a giant! Also as baby is a summer baby, all the ventilation and extendable hood on the carry cot to was a must (and it’s beautiful 😍) glad you are feeling better 🩷 we have had to change some of our plans as my dad has shingles and my partners mum has a weakened immune system so my dad now can’t visit (PIL are staying with us) but I am still going to visit him on Xmas day xx

@AmberRose26 with the clexane they told me to take it up until birth (and six weeks after) but to stop with any signs of labour. My understanding is that you can't have an epidural if you have had the blood thinner within 24 hours so if you needed an unplanned CS and hadn't managed to wait the 24 hours they would have to do it under general anaesthetic.

I have actually had mixed messages on the aspirin - my midwife said to take it until birth and my consultant said to stop at I think 36 weeks so who knows on that one - will have to query it a bit nearer the time!

Good idea to ask for the repeat test so you know if it's actually going to be beneficial or not.

@magpie234 we had the John Lewis appointment too and it was so helpful! We tried out quite a few and with some we couldn't really put our finger on why we liked them or didn't like them but just gives you such a good feel for what suits you. So many lovely prams on the market though, it is hard to choose!

@pastelheart i love looking at prams too so off to google the cove! We looked at a couple of silver cross but can't remember which models so not sure if that was one of them.

@dubkitten how exciting you have started mat leave! How far along are you now?

@FancyGoose yes it’s confusing when each person tells you a slightly different thing, I think I would rather stop them both nearer to birth and if I have to restart I can after that, as you say it’s a query to have nearer that time when it comes. Enjoy the pram hunting

Yea that’s the one, I am the same should have asked earlier instead of near the end 😂😂

I was on 75mg of Asprin from 12 weeks and stopped at 36 weeks

I’m glad to be finished, technically should be working today but got it all done yesterday so told my boss I wasn’t logging in today 😂😂 my maternity leave officially starts on 1st Jan but office closes today for Christmas break