Pregnancy after LT TTC #11

Thanks mitf and Londonmiss re not to worry about bubs being affected by this cold. I knew I had to be careful around my DH's daughter (from 1st marriage) who was sick, as I am on steroids, too, which suppress my body's immune system so as to not reject the babies as foreign beings. Being just shy of 9 weeks, though, do you think the placenta has kicked in enough to protect them yet?

Gee you make me laugh, Londonmiss! Love the bit about your DH having a cold and it's like his leg is falling off. So true of males, hey?

Hi to all the other lovely ladies. Hope you are all doing well.

Just popping in to say "hi". Had my follow up BT to check HCG and Progesterone levels. Will post more after have the results!

Hope you are all progressing well . . .

Kitkat72

PS. Brunette, damn that's a lot of meds they have you on -- you poor thing!

I swear to God, a baby could not be more troublesome than a man with "flu". I've never heard so much moaning in all my life, and it seems that tissues are quite out of fashion. (I should add that I otherwise adore my husband ;))

Anyway, exciting news of the day is that Little Miss G has turned I think! She's been lying straight across my belly for weeks, head on the left. Now there's something big and hard at the bottom, and the kicks are more at the top and front which they never have been before, ever. So maybe she's getting into place. All of a sudden I've got back ache, which I seem to have had only at the same level as I did pre-pregnancy.

I've been nesting madly this week (supposed to be studying) even did some gardening yesterday. Happy happiness. ha ha she just did a kick so big it nearly knocked the laptop from its somewhat precarious balance on a cushion on my belly - that must be a hello :)

Brunette - you poor thing having to pop all those pills! (I am a fellow rattler, tho I promise I'll never whinge about my 20 tablets a day again after reading your list!) Just wanted to let you know my doc said to me don't worry if you get a cold, as other ladies have said. If you do unfortunately end up with a chest or a sinus infection, there are antibiotics that are totally safe to take during pregnancy. Not that you'd want to take any more tablets, you poor chook!

LondonMiss - was laughing at your post, I too have a man who suffers terribly from the "man flu" when he gets a cold! They're something else, aren't they?! Heaven help him if he caught the real flu... heaven help me, more like it! Hehe :)

Have a great day everyone.

Wow, so much action in here!!

Londonmiss - glad that Little Miss has turned for you! I think I must be have the laziest baby in history - the Chicklet has basically been in the heads down bum up position since conception, and although I can feel him moving, judging by the pressure he's exerting on my bladder with his head he's not moving much which i'm taking as a good sign...!!

KitKat - hope your results come soon xx

Brunette - and I used to whinge about taking Elevit, B12 and an antihistamine every day, you poor thing honey! I wouldn't worry about your cold or the other drugs though, I know my GP is very strict about what I can/cannot take so they wouldn't be advising anything for you that's not okay. Hope you feel better soon, i've come down with a cold myself so am sharing your pain... Also - I had my NTS done at 13w2d, but I know you can have your bloods down earlier which speeds the results up significantly - is that an option for you if you're concerned about the timing?

Leabie - there must be something going around with all of us having colds, perhaps we're spreading it by osmosis!! Hope you're feeling better.

S'rose - oh i'm so jealous you're going to NY!! DH and I really wanted to fit in some east cost USA on our trip later this year to Canada but we just can't afford any longer than the 4 weeks we're taking and we can't fit it in. I'll be hoping for a full report complete with photos on a daily basis ;)

Paula - yay, only a couple of days till your scan!!!

Loula - don't be a stranger, come share with us how you're going too!

Mitf - massage itself was just lovely, I just LOVED being able to lie flat on my tummy. I'd seriously consider buying a pregnancy massage table for my next pregnancy so I could sleep like that every night, hehehe!! The whole experience though and the atmosphere, well, not quite as good, but I probably would go back again...

Well we had our last antenatal class this week and it was really quite funny! The midwife went through what to expect AFTER the baby is born - including warning all the males not to get too excited if they have boys if they look very well endowed... as we all probably know, baby's genitals can be quite swollen and enlarged when they're born but reduce to normal size soon after. Apparently she's seen many many males get terribly excited and proud when they first lay eyes on their newborn son's genitals ... :rolleyes: All the girls had a big chuckle when she said that and all the guys looked a bit sheepish, hehehe!

Otherwise, thought perhaps i'd start packing my hospital bags soon so i'm all ready. I feel a little ridiculous being ready so early, but everything else is all ready for the Chicklet - i've even washed all his clothes/sheets etc, so nothing else really to do...

Anyway, i'm off to research new computers as i've been whingeing long enough about this one. Hope everyone is having a lovely Thursday xx

Gees, I go out of town for a week and then it takes me an hour (on my boss' time, of course) to catch up on everything!

Firstly, congrats and welcome to KitKat, Loula, Leabie & S'Rose!!! (S'Rose, I LOVE your enthusiasm and excitement!)

Renee - happy belated birthday for the other day, hope you enjoyed yourself.

Miss K - the Wesley DOES sound good, but Nth West is less than a 5 minute drive from my house so I figure that I'll probably be at home when I go into labour and that will be quite handy. I currently work 5 minutes away from the Wesley so if I was working right through to the date then I might consider going with Wesley.

KitKat, regarding EDD - when I went for my first scan and we got the photo printout of little munchkin, the EDD in the bottom corner said 19th December, and that I was 6w3d. If I go back to date of last period, I was actually 7weeks on that day, and therefore in my signature I've put the date that I have worked out - 15th December.

Brunette - I am so pleased that your health insurance got sorted out and that you escaped in the crazy wheelchair for a few hours! Did you manage to fit in any baby shopping? How much of a tease are those catalogues that have turned up in the junk mail lately! BabiesRUs (ToysRUs) had some great prices, so I'll be sure to jump onto bubs.com.au and pramwarehouse and compare. I bought a Baba Sling from Ebay the other day ($26 plus postage, hardly used) and the lady I bought it off used it for her twins so I thought of you and wondered if you had worked out how you're going to carry your pair around? The Sling is the only thing I've bought so far as am waiting for 12weeks to hit (my birthday!) and I am still wearing those horseshoe earrings for us both.

Lise - a boy! Imagine how simple the 'facts of life' talk is gonna be ;-)

Mitf - my hubby proposed to me at the base of Mt Fuji. I absolutely fell in love with Japan and we'd love to go back once bub is born and a bit bigger. Where did you go? Would love to hear about your experiences over there.

Mift, LondonMiss & Lise - when did you need to book your hospital? Do I have plenty of time, or is this something that should be booked as early as possible?

So pregnancy yoga - when should I start it, and Glenny & Brunette & MissK, did you want to sign up together? I'm not much of an exerciser much to my gym junkie DH's dismay. Also, re the classes at the hospital, did we want to do that as well. I was talking to someone at the wedding that I just went to up north and he said (the father of the baby) that classes were a waste of time, so I'm in two minds about it. [B]LondonMiss[B] - did you do them, any good?

Glenny - I think I'm resigned to the fact that I'll stay with Titiz, I've got the scan on Monday arvo which would be 10 and a half weeks (by my count, or 10 weeks by FS count). Should hear the heartbeat. I feel like such a ditz, because at our first scan he turned on the doppler and there was a heartbeat. So Dirk and I turned to each other and had a lovey dovey moment. It was only about a fortnight ago that I was talking to Kris next door to Titiz and she informed me that it would have been MY heartbeat - DOH!! Would have really appreciated him telling us that what we were hearing was not our baby's heartbeat.

So, at 10 weeks I've not put on any weight. I've found that my appetite hasn't been that great, I don't feel like cooking so have been relying on convenience meals (and a lot of deep fried stuff), so I'm a bit worried that I'm not giving the baby the best start in life especially at this really crucial stage. In WTEWYE, there's a pregnancy diet but there's just so much on there that I need to be eating, and I just can't do it.
LondonMiss - I think it was you that was saying that there's been zero or one case of listeria which makes me feel heaps better as I've avoided salad (in pre-made sandwiches) like the plague, hence I'm not really getting many greens in my diet as I'm too tired at night to prepare something myself. DH and I ordered and antipasto plate the other day and I didn't eat the cold meat, salami, fetta etc. I ended up with roast capsicum and artichoke hearts - lucky me ;-)

Oh, regarding the baby book debate, my WTEWYE is the Aussie edition and I got it for $15 at Aldi, so it wasn't much to outlay. Hanging out though for another week and then the next book in the True Blood series is released (WaaaHooo!) and then I can read something other than baby baby baby!).

So much has happened so I've probably missed some vital things that have happened in everyone's life for the last week, sorry!

Take care everyone, don't work too hard ;-)

Chrissy xx

Hi Chrissy. Question answers ....

a) booking a hospital. I think I did it about 12 weeks and then felt offended that no one saw me until I was about 18 weeks. I felt totally rejected after going through IUI and seeing a doc practically everyday! So don't feel offended.... it's just a sign the docs think you are 'normal' which is a very new and odd feeling!
b) yoga - as soon as possible for maximum benefit. I did it for two reasons: one, firstly the physical side - lots of squats and so on are shown to be really good in labour and the special focus on preg stops you doing anything too dramatic that might damage your ligaments. Secondly, the mental side. I have grand plans of avoiding pain medication well, other than a bit of gas and air and I hardly think that counts in the scheme of things : ) and yoga is really good for helping you read your body and get used to the constant adjustments you'll do in labour. And thirdly, just thought, I've met three ladies the same week as me, so it's a good network thing... I mean, you can't really ask your workmates, "Did your nipples change colour this week?" can you. So useful to meet other preg people in the area.
c) classes, yes I'm definitely finding them useful. There is obviously a problem in getting it at the right level - two people in our class seem to know more about child birth than the midwife and are insanely irritating with it; some people ask questions like "is that actually when the babies born then?" when she's been explain pushing and crowning for an hour... yeesh.... For me, a couple of tips that she's given us have made it worthwhile (even though I am a good girl and have studied my books comprehensively!) so for example one of the things she said that really struck me, was no matter how good your birth partner and or your husband is, and your medical team; ultimately this is a journey you are making on your own. You are pushing a baby out of your body. And to make sure that you do it the way you want it, and make sure you are number one, and if you can, take time on the journey to be on your own even for a few minutes. I think this was rather empowering (at the risk of sounding mushy) and made me think that it's not anyone else's strength you are going to rely on, but your own. The other thing she told us a lot about were the hormones in birth. In this instance, adrenalin is the enemy and can slow things down and is basically caused by fear. So a lot of what she talked about was identifying your fears, and working out ways to deal with them, and so on. For me, a key part is recognising that pain is not the same as fear. Personally, I think the "birth is like a butterfly landing on your fanny" school of hippy childbirth is a dangerous lie. Far better from my headspace, to accept that pain is inevitable and not part of some evil plan God has for my perineum. So, a long winded answer to your question but there's also many practical reasons to go - e.g. breastfeeding info, parking info (5 min contractions not the time to find out that the machine only takes 20c pieces or something), when to come to hospital (this bit was particularly useful) and a few stories of 'births I have seen' which were really interesting.
d) Listeria. Had a really long chat with my auntie over the weeknd. She's a food hygeine specialist with what used to be the Ministry of Agriculture in the UK. She said that listeria was once a very high cause of still births but that this was primarily in Europe where farmers were making soft cheese using wooden moulds that were first made in about 1250, then turning them by hand, on shelves that were last cleaned about the time Napoleon was invading Russia. She has a very high opinion of properly cleaned metal shelves and automated cheese turning technology that she has checked is used in most australian fromageries (I didn't ask her to check this, she just did it herself ha ha). So whilst she's certainly not advocating that we all go out and start scoffing the brie, it really depends on what sort of cheese you are eating. She says a baked (bubbling) cheese is completely fine (which was lucky as DH and I had just eaten a baked brie for dinner : ). Her main advice on whatever you are eating - cook it correctly, and eat things that are either hot or cold and never lukewarm esp when you are out.
e) Nutrition. I'm pretty useless on this... my new rule is that one meal a day has to have good nutrition... three is too difficult to organise. If the rest is chocolate well, baby will just have to survive on that!! Perhaps try a watercress salad with your dinner? I sneak good nutrition in - like tip half a punnet of raspberries on my cereal or something. Aunty told me that with most brands, there's as much nutrition in frozen berries as fresh ones and about quarter of the price.
f) heartbeats... ha ha I did exactly the same thing. The doc explained it to me on the last visit - there's three things to listen for: your own heartbeat, the blood in the placenta which sounds a bit like a water swoosh, and the babies heart beat which is much quicker and quite staccato, a bit like marching music if you know what I'm on about!

Sorry, that's a really long and waffley answer to your questions. Hope it helps, feel free to disregard some/ all of it!!

The good news is that DH has worked at home today and I haven't yet killed him, although I have glanced to check the size of the patio a couple of times just in case.... I hope you are all travelling well x

just popping in to say a big hello.been mia for a while now but have been thinking of you all and i sure hope you are all going great.will catch up on all your post very soon,take care all and cant wait to start hearing some ba

Wow! So much to read through!!! Sorry I don't have more personals today. I promise I will come back and fix that when I have some time!

Chrissy- Yeah, I'm pretty set with Titiz as well. I still think he could use some work on his bedside manner but I think technically he knows what he is doing (well it worked with me...) and I've found that if you ask questions he is very honest. Problem is that he doesn't think to offer the info before you ask and as you'd know- first time round you don't know what questions to ask!

Yoga and classes sound brilliant! I was starting to look around for pregnancy yoga on the northside. I would love to start as soon as possible. It would be great if Brunette and MissK want to come too. We could have our own little posse!!!

Also guys bookwise- I just bought one that seems pretty good (although what would I know- first time mum!) It's called "Pregnancy- the complete Australian guide to planning and birth" by Heather Welford. It has a month by month as well as sections on everything from morning sickness to birth plans. Seems good to me but I like books with concise information and pictures.

I hope all you girls are doing well and looking forward to the next step in this amazing trip!!!

Glenys

Hello ladies!

Well after deciding yesterday that I was going to 'look' at computers I of course had to go out and buy one - I think DH is a bit cross at me...! But I was so tired of having to wait forever for the computer to do the simplest task (like turning on!) and i'm having lots of fun playing with the new one, though I have to admit i'm getting a little frustrated - I bought a Mac and i've never had one before so i'm not quite sure what i'm doing really...!

Anyway, welcome back smithy, it's been a while! Hope the move went well and you're all settled in now.

Chrissy - I didn't get a choice when I booked into hospital - at my first OB visit (which was about 12 or 13 weeks) they asked me to fill in the paperwork and they sent it all off for me.

Hope everyone else is going well xx

Hi all

Just a really quick post to keep in touch, i haven't been out of bed the last couple of days. I definatley opened my mouth too soon when i said i was starting to feel better!!!! The last couple of days have been rough, i haven't even been able to eat which to me is just as awful as i kind of love my food!!!

I also have a question - I have only in the last couple of days been getting a sore belly button, i have a really big innie and at the end of that it is quite sore. Has anyone else had a similar thing, i realise it is probably muscles stretching but just curious.

Anyway hope everyone is great! I will hopefully catch up soon.

Hello girls.I apologise for neing MIA lately.I have been reading your posts but just cant keep up,especially with all the newbies.I keep forgetting who wrote what as you all seem to be early on in your pregnancies.I hope you are all doing well.
Londonmiss,Lise,Paula~ Hope your plodding along nicely. I have cancelled my fb account as i was being hormonal and moody and disagreed with my brother over an issue so i clicked..deactivate account. :)

Well im having a whinge today.Im hoping someone can help me by reading this....

I had my antenatal app yesterday and much to my dismay,i was told that my baby is now too small for 29 weeks!! My fundal height was 28 which wasnt too bad but after the routine scan which we have every visit,prof said she is small.I now have to have a growth scan done in 2.5 weeks and see him in 3.As i was born 6.5 pounds,he says its probably (90%) chance that she is just genetiically small.
I am only 160cm and weighed 47 kg before pregnancy.
He said depending on the scan,if she continues to grow along the lowere percentile,she is just a small baby BUT if she shows no more growth over the next few weeks,i will need to have a caesarean to deliver her early!!!!!!
I havnt slept lastnight and am just in shock.At my 19/20 week scan she was average sized now she is too small. The worry of it all is making me sick.I know i cant stress as that is bad for her and i am going to eat more to hopefully build her up.
I have been eating healthier this pregnancy and am hoping that its only food that i need and nothing more seriuos like placental insufficiency.
The good thing he said was that babies that are 'growth retarded' usually have low amniotic fluid levels.Mine were perfect which he said could indicate she is just little because she is built that way.

Does the worry EVER end.I was sooooo happy to get to the 28 weeks mark as she would be big enough to come early but now im worried all over again.
If she comes early she wont be coming at least until 3-4 from now but it doesnt make it easier.

Does anyone know of someone who has had to have a growth scan done??
Any advice would be great!!!

Hugs,Alicia.x

Wantbaby - a good friend had a growth scan and turned out the baby was just a little small. Like you my friend is petite so her baby just took after her. The baby was also lying really far back so my friend's tummy looked small but was all okay. I know you're probably completely stressed by it all but I think continuing on as normal and eating up big (now is a great time to order DH to the shops each night for ice cream!!) is the best you can do xx

Thankyou Lise.Did your friend have her baby?if so how big was he/she? If not,did her dr want to deliver early? I have just been reading other peoples stories on various forums and that has calmed me a little.Im definately going to eat what i want from now on.Lastnight i had maccas and a hot apple pie.So far today...cereal,2 pieces toast,apple,2 glasses of juice.For lunch im thinking chocolate and for diinner...well,maybe chocolate.LOL.(if i dont laugh i will cry) LOL LOL LOL LOL...blah.

She had a little girl, 10 days early but weighed 6 pounds somethingand absolutely perfect! She's now a very active healthy toddler :-)

Hi ladies

Hope you're all doing well and fighting fit!

Just a quick post for Renee - sorry to hear you're feeling so lousy babe, have you ever tried the acupressure wrist bands for travel sickness/nausea? I have some and think they're brilliant. Most chemists stock them, if you don't have them and wanted to try them. I've got elasticised ones and velcro ones - I'd go the elasticised, as the velcro tends to cut off the movement/circulation! Even my darling sceptic DH swears by them (he gets bad seasickness). Another tip for nausea is eating outside, or with a breeze blowing on your face (eg fan) so you can't smell the food so much.

Hope this helps?

PS Wantbaby - hope you're doing OK sweetie, it must be a stressful time. She sounds like she's petite like her mum! :crossfingers: for you, and enjoy eating up big!

Renee, have you tried acupuncture for your MS? I know everyone on here is probably tired of me harping on about it, but I truly think that my fortnightly acupuncture throughout has been one of the reasons why i've had a very easy pregnancy (touching wood now so not to jinx myself!!) without any MS or other major symptoms. As for your belly button, I vaguely recall maybe LondonMiss having a similar problem??? No doubt she'll let you know ;)

Hi again ladies!

Just trying out my new ticker - I opted for something a bit silly, so please please PLEASE let me know if it offends anyone!

I forgot to mention in previous post, my results are back from Tuesday's BT - apparently my HCG levels are "within the expected range for my dates". They didn't actually give me the number, a bit frustrating, but hey, its good news!

Have a good weekend everyone.