Pregnancy after LT TTC #13

[juniper76]

My doc has told me that panadine is perfectly safe to take while pregnant cause it is paracetomol based, so if they get really bad there is an option.

I had a long chat with my GP about this a couple of weeks ago since I only had panadeine at home and not plain panadol. When he looked it up in the book, it is Category A (ie safe for pg), but there was a little star next to it. The problem is that codeine, being an opiate, can depress respiration and other systems. In early pg that's probably not a big deal, but later on it could be inadvisable. His conclusion was that it was okay to take sparingly, but that plain paracetamol was a better option. I'm not saying not to take it, especially if your doctor has said it's okay, I'm just suggesting you might want to keep their use to a minimum.

[Brunette]

Jaki and Juniper, I'm with Renee: count your blessings your hubbies are cleaning the house, esp the toilet! Just replace the bleach etc with something more friendly We have three toilets in our house, and even though I usually use only one, I am always cleaning them, replacing toilet rolls and the overflowing bins! Aaaaagh!

Airline, with the HcG level you had, is it possible you're having twins? (Can you tell I'm hoping other ladies are also having twins )

Ninah and Paula, thinking of you both. Ninah, hope the induction went well and Paula, hoping that not hearing from you is because you have Tiana in your arms.

Renee, how beautiful you finally felt your baby kick. It's a great sensation, isn't it? Sometimes it feels a bit weird when Twin 1 keeps constantly kicking, then Twin 2 chimes and kicks back! Nice that your hubby is doing the countdown now, instead of counting up the weeks. I just had a look at the list and freaked out a little because I'm only about 7th or 8th from the top!!! I'm not ready yet; enjoying how quiet the babies are in utero hee, hee.

Wantbaby, lovely to hear from you. Don't beat yourself up about stopping BF and using formula; you did your best and that's what makes you a good parent. Hugs and kisses to Ellie.

Maggie, I too had really weird dreams in my first trimester. They've stopped since hitting the second trimester. Thanks for the tip on feeding, changing and sleeping newborns being all they really need. I think I had worked myself into a tizz from reading this book and its regimented methods of what to do virtually every minute of the day! It's funny how you say you really wanted twins; I am suffering singleton envy thinking how lovely it would be to get the sporty three-wheel prams to go jogging in, how nice it would be to just feed one baby, change one baby, wash one baby etc etc. Of course, in saying that I wouldn't have it any other way because I already love them both so much. I'm just thinking of all the extra work involved in two!

Welcome and a H&H 9 months, Shelly!

Sweetie, we'll have to wait till your 7-week scan to see if you have one or two in there, hey? How exciting!

Re the discussion on soft cheeses, I would just like to add how everything these days seems to have soft cheese in it, or smoked salmon, or cold cuts of meat! At my best friend's wedding a week ago entree was a choice of smoked salmon and salad, or ricotta parcels in a tomato sauce. I was not happy, Jan. Had to settle for a bread roll with butter. I am over it and looking forward to the days where I can eat everything again


AFM, I have sore feet, slight swelling too I suspect from sock marks I'm getting, a sore back, a sore coccyx, sore shoulders from lying predominantly on my sides .... Aaaagh! I'm seeing my OB this afternoon and have a list of questions to ask, inc how I can reduce swelling/soreness in my feet. A recent BT showed a higher than normal cholesterol level, too. Has anyone else been tested for this recently and had a similar result?

[*Paula*]

Congratulations Dusty on the birth of your little girl Freya!
Brunette hope the swelling eases up but as long as your B/P is fine, Drs generally just tell you to keep your feet up as much as possible.
Welcome Sue & Shell and hope this pregnancy ride is a smooth one for you both.
Great news airline. Will be so exciting telling the parents.
Alicia great to hear Ellie is doing well xx
Juniper & Jaki you lucky ladies having your hubbies cleaning the bathrooms for you. As long as your not sniffing the bottles, you will be fine.
Renee kicks surely are a great part of pregnancy.

Well ladies, i am still here!!! Not feeling any different. Have lost my mucus plug but apparently that can happen up to 2 weeks before labour so doesnt really help me. Have my OB appointment in about an hour so will see what he has to say!

[juniper76]

Lol, while DH is good at swishing some domestos around the toilet bowl from time to time, I should point out that he only does the bowl itself, so the toilet isn't completely clean. The rest of the bathroom is also a mess because I haven't felt up to doing it. I normally do the shower regularly, but that exit mould stuff is overwhelming in a confined space so I haven't even done that recently. I just didn't want anyone feeling too jealous when the reality is that your bathrooms are probably cleaner than mine.

Paula, darn, I was hoping for different news! GL with the appointment. I hope it goes well. FX that your wait is almost over!

Brunette, I don't know if that was one of the (10,000) things on the b/t our OB ordered. I guess I'll find out at our next appt on Friday. FX your OB has some good advice for helping your feet feel better.

Renee, yay for feeling bub kick!

[Brunette]

Paula, I had my BP tested a week ago and it was the best it's been since falling PG: 120/75, so that's good. I'll try putting my feet up whenever I can GL with you appt this afternoon. If they do that sweep thing, I hope it doesn't hurt too much. Surely not long to go now!

Juniper, you made me laugh about DH cleaning only the bowl. Still a pretty good effort for a male, I reckon. If your OB ordered a number of BTs for you, no doubt one was a full blood count which should also check your cholesterol levels. If so, I'd be really interested to see if yours has been affected due to PG.

[MaggiePie]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the good advice on the philli issue. I seem to be addicted to philli on toast at the moment. And the morning sickness has kicked in big time (no vomiting FX) but seedy all day long. My DS wears cloth nappies but after nearly throwing up rinsing them off yesterday today I am using disposable and trying not to feel guilty.

Brunette - I remember for swelling with #1 (born Jan so bad towards the end in the heat) a daily dip in the pool was great to get the swelling down. Standing in water at neck height is the equivalent pressure of something like 2 compression bandages on your feet. So if you spend 20 minutes in there the swelling goes down heaps. It will come back of course but it does provide some nice relief. Check your socks too, they shouldn't have a tight band around the top. "all day socks" are good, you can get them at Kmart. Also make sure that your undies / waistband isn't tight anywhere as this can slow down circulation in the lower limbs and make it worse. And so can lying flat on your back for longer than 10 minutes, as this can also slow down the circulation and also decrease circulation to the baby. Elevation will definately help too, whenever you can. Hope some of these suggestions help you...

As for cholesterol don't know if it is a routine test, I asked my Dr to get it done as I needed a copy for work anyway. Didn't think pregnancy usually affected but unsure really. You would have known if you had cholesterol tested as you have to fast for 8 hours before the test.

Paula - hope the appointment goes well. Bub will come when ready, but so hard to be patient after nine months hey? The sweep thing sounds icky. With #1 they broke my waters and it felt awful and I would never get it done again (plus for me it didn't hurry things along at all). I had some friends who had it done and didn't mind though so its probably just me. Hoping they just let bub decide when to come???

Renee - glad you got to feel bub kick, how exciting!

Alicia - glad to hear Ellie going great, sounds like you are a natural.

On the whole cleaning issue - I can never stand the smell of all that strong cleaning stuff. We use ajax on the toilet and Enjo mits in the bathroom and kitchen. If we get slack and the shower is a bit out of control DH will use spray stuff which I feel is suffocating me! But he knows only to do it when I will be gone for a few hours! The way I am now I would probably throw up on him!

Hope everyone is having a great Monday!

[Renee]

Here is the most updated version!!!

Loula 19th Aug 2010 - it's a ???
Nix76 24th Aug 2010 - It's a ??? - Lil Bub

Emerald Star 26th Oct 2010 - It's a ??? - ???

Miss K 5th Nov 2010 - It's a ???

CK77 Dec 19th 2010 – it's a ??? - Munchkin
Brunette Dec 24th 2010 - it's a ??? - Double Trouble
Renee Dec 28th 2010 – it's a ??? - Little Bug

Glenny C Jan 5th 2011 - it's a ???
Leabie Jan 11th – it's a ???
KitKat Jan 19th - it's a ???
S’Rose Jan 20th – it's a ??? - Little Monkey

Juniper76 Feb 2nd - it's a ???
Maggie Feb 2nd -it's a ???
Worrywart Feb 7th - it's a ???
BJ*81
MissAma – LHB
Lairdoz Feb 24th - it's a ???

Lisa B Mar 5th - it's a ???
MaggiePie Mar 22nd - it's a ???
Jaki80 Mar 30th - Little Man
Airline Mar 30th - it's a ???


BABIES BORN

Paula---Welcome Tiana!!!
Sonyalouise--???
Dusty---Welcome Freya!!
Ninah---Welcome ???
Seachange---Welcome Thomas!!
Londonmiss --- Welcome Charlotte!!
Wantbaby#2 ---Welcome Ellie!!
Wishes --- Welcome Casey!!
Mitf --- Welcome Luke!!
Lise --- Welcome Finnian!!
Mrs Slyder welcome two lovely girls!
Persephone --- Welcome Archie!
Kyrawolfe--- Welcome Tristan!
LilMissHaveachat --- Welcome Ethan!
Sammiejam - Welcome Colt!
BOC - Welcome Jagger Dylan!
BDT---- Welcome Sophia & Aria!
Saph----Welcome Xavier!
Greenslw---- Welcome Lincoln!
Smithy---- Welcome Charlie!
Ella'sMum---- Welcome Emme!
Poppyfairy---- Welcome Robin!
Grub17---- Welcome Ashton!
Laniwantsababy---- Welcome Jett!
Bella55---- Welcome Jack & Samuel!
Miss Magpie---- Welcome Trent!
Murph01----Welcome Jasmine!
Neptune----Welcome Adam!
KellyD---Welcome Tara Rose!

Our thoughts and prayers go to those beautiful mothers whose precious babies have been taken too soon.
Much loved & wanted son of Frosty'sMum, Benjamin born sleeping @ 14 weeks 4days. Our thoughts are with you.
Much loved & wanted daughter of Hippy Mum & Hippy Dad, Georgia Ariela taken too early from this earth 12-03-09 @ 22wk 6d
Much loved and wanted son of Chez67 & her DH, Ryan Patrick, born sleeping 17-03-09 @ 18wk 1d

[juniper76]

Brunette, in my case, a high result would more likely be due to bad diet... It's been almost 4 years since it was last tested (we went to the GP a few months before we started TTC), so hard to know if any change would be due to the pg or if it happened before. I know DH's is very high (his life insurance application was rejected because of it, but mine was approved without testing).

ps My mind is totally not on my work today. I was trying to be good this morning, but now I'm looking for distractions, hence the repeated checking in...

[sunshine 11]

Hi Ladies,
It's hard to keep up in here at the moment! great to see some new ladies in here, welcome and hoping you have a h and h pregnancy

Paula – hoping you get some updates soon, but babies seem to arrive when they want to rather than when WE want them to.

Renee – great news you can feel the baby kicking – it’s such an amazing experience.

Dusty – congratulations on the birth of Freya!

Sweetie – If it helps at all, I have discovered that extremely high HCG levels DON'T necessarily mean you are having twins – although I know Brunette would love a twin buddy in here! My HCG levels were WAY above anything I could find on any website telling me anything other than I was having at least twins and easily triplets. I spent two weeks stressing about it (having a child already and then having twins was not the ideal) - but I only have one healthy little bubba in there. I only had one embryo replaced and with both pregnancies my HCG levels were way above any ‘normal’ levels and my due date hasn’t changed so they numbers just were ridiculously high all on their own! Make sure you are comparing the same dpo as people quote HCG levels without making any reference to their dpo which means you really can’t compare them.

Hi to everyone I have missed!

Drugs for headaches - Both Paracetamol and Codeine are class A, but like Juniper said, use codeine only when you need it and not long-term. I cannot stress enough that a GP is not the best person to ask about whether a drug is safe in pregnancy. In the past three months I have been prescribed three drugs from two different GP’s (one was a locum) and all are harmful during pregnancy, even though I told both I was pregnant. Doctors don’t generally know without looking up their ‘book’ which as I have discovered means they know not more than us. A specialist GP who deals with pregnancy, a midwife or OB is going to be much better than a GP but your pharmacist is the best person to give advice as it’s their job to know about the impacts of the pharmacy items they are dispensing. If it wasn’t for me asking the pharmacists to double check they are safe in pregnancy, all three drugs could have caused serious problems for me and the baby. I was talking about this on Saturday to one of my mother’s groups friends who is a lecturer in pharmacy and was horrified after talking to her that it is all too common for doctors to recommend in particular over the counter drugs that aren’t safe for pregnancy.

Soft cheeses –As Juniper says you CAN eat pasteurised soft cheeses including Brie and Camembert which we are all 'told' not to eat. The warning for soft cheeses is aimed at countries where cheeses aren’t pasteurised. You can read if a cheese is pasteurised on the ingredients as they clearly say pasteurised milk on them if they are made from it - which obviously you check if you are out at a party. I had a big discussion with my OB about this as I had food poisoning at 29 weeks from eating cooked fish with my DD which is the reason I know this. I still won’t eat cold meats, cold cooked or uncooked seafood or food at parties etc where I don’t know where they have been though, going back to using good old common sense

AFM – Had my scan last week and have one healthy bubba measuring the right size. I think it’s a boy but of course have absolutely no idea if it is! Still pretty sick but are starting to feel better which is VERY exciting.

[Renee]

Airline i added you to the list hope that is ok.

Also does anyone know SonyaLouise? Her name was on the list before i joined and there is no due date so not real sure if she has had her bub or not.

[Brunette]

Renee, sorry can't help you with Sonya Louise. I don't think she's posted since I've been on the thread.

Juniper, OMG I can't believe it's been 17 and a half years since you've been to the dentist. I'm my dentist's best friend (due to number of root canals and crowns) but she's just lovely. The best. If you want a good dentist, let me know and I'll PM you her details. GL for your appt tomorrow!

Airline, that's fantastic that you saw your baby's heartbeat. It is very emotional, isn't it? That's a really high stat that your OB gave you about 98% chance of a viable PG once you see a heartbeat. I wish my FS had told me the same thing at 5 weeks when we had bleeding and a pretty big blood clot (threatened miscarriage) because it would have been extremely reassuring. We had heaps of scans from 5 weeks to about 8 weeks and the heartbeats were seen each and every time! I was put on bed rest until 12 weeks and given virtually no reassurance as to what would happen. Aaaagh, doctors! Bet you can't wait to tell your parents the news this Thursday. Interesting, too, what your OB said about fatigue (as opposed to MS) being an indicator of a healthy PG.

Re the gestation versus EDD, I thought the gestation date indicated on US machines was effected by the size/measurement of the baby. In other words, it can be an earlier date than your EDD if the baby is going well in the growth stakes, and it can be a later date than your EDD if the baby is a little slower in the growth department. Is my understanding right in this? I'm confused now.

[juniper76]

Brunette, I suspect those percentages only apply when they see a heartbeat on a scan and no evidence of complications. In your case, I doubt the same statistic would have applied - it would be hard to apply the 98% success rate and the term "threatened miscarriage" at the same time. For what it's worth, I was told 95% at the first scan and 98% at the second (with everything looking normal).

[Brunette]

Juniper, you're right; makes no sense to be talking about a threatened miscarriage and giving a 98% chance of viability. I'm trying to remember now what odds he gave us, but placenta brain is playing havoc with my memory! .... No, I can't remember but I do remember it was higher before having another bleed and then he dropped the percentage again. Still, we have two little stickies inside and FX they stay put at least until 36-37 weeks.

Airline, I think we may have posted at the same time. Drat that you're not having twins! It's funny, though, how both DH and I both felt pretty sure we were having twins as soon as we got the initial HcG level, even though our FS wouldn't comment when we put it to him about possibly having twins. We just knew that we were. You've certainly got strong levels there for one bubba!

[MaggiePie]

Hi everyone,

Brunette, thanks for the info about finding out the sex. DH is really keen, he wants to see if he can work it out himself on the US! So we will probably find out just for something different, although I am still unsure. But then I don't want DH knowing if I don't either...

Worrywart - I did get one of those combs but now they are plastic and don't hurt at all. I do remember them from primary school. I can't remember getting nits alot but my cousins all had really long hair and they had them all the time. Checked again today and can't see any so FX.

Chrissie - your job sounds tedious, I hope that you aren't wearing yourself out too much. Maybe stretch every 15 minutes to keep the circulation going? How do you manage in the after lunch sleepy time?

Juniper - good luck at the dentist! I'm sure you will be fine.

Airline - fantastic news about the heartbeat, I am so happy for you! Your numbers were so high I am surprised you aren't having twins but there must be one strong bubba in there. Your OB sounds so good - eat what you want etc. What a great Dr to put you at ease. Great about the tiredness thing too, must mean I have a strong bub as well.

AFM - had long day a work today. Had a committment tonight but cancelled as just too tired to go. Feeling on verge of sinus thing again, just can't get it to go away completely. M/S has set in just about all day, especially at night. And if I wake up in the middle of the night feel so hungry it's insane! Anyway time to hit the lounge.

Take care everyone

[CK77]

% stats? I think at my blubbery 6w3d first scan (was due to be scanned a week later but due to the bleeding I panicked and rushed myself in) I was told about 75-80% or so, because of the bleeding.

Airline, your FS sounds awesome, is he also an OB that you'll go to once you are classed as an obstetrics patient, not an IVF patient (which I think was about 12 weeks or so).

Sorry Renee, Sonya Louise doesn't sound familiar - wonder if London Miss is lurking in one of the parenting threads and could tell you? I wonder how she's going with Charlotte? I sure do miss her wit.

So I've been meaning to get to the dentist for a clean, and I think I might have a hole or two as occassionally gets a bit sensitive - anyone know what is safe to get done?

Oh, I've been checking out Family Assistance etc and some of you might recall that I'll have a redundancy payment this year (end of November), well because I'm earning my salary plus getting my redundancy in this financial year I won't qualify for Family Assistance A or B. Thankfully the Baby Bonus is based on your earnings in the 6mths AFTER baby's birth (obviously I won't be earning anything then), so at least that's a little something for me. Oh, and the Paid Parental thingee that all the pollies are talking about - well you have to have (or adopt) your child on or after 1st Jan 2011. So Renee & Glenny, hopefully you can cook your buns a little longer and then you'll have that up your sleeve to help with costs.

Belly rubs to all, Chrissy.

[airline]

ok the m/s has not been as bad tonight,so I'm gonna do a bit of scrolling up and down so I can write some replies....then bed, for the 2nd time today;-)

brunette...yeh, I just realised we posted at the same time! Juniper's probably right though re. the %s being completely different for a singleton compared to twins, esp. if there were any complications like bleeding. The good news is though you're happy and healthy..all 3 of you! My girlfriend had twins (one boy one girl) this year with IVF. They got baptised on Sunday and it went well. She's doing a marvellous job and I'm very impressed with her capability. She goes to a multiple birth group, so that'll be something for you to look into at some point.

yeh, interesting what FS said re. m/s but I guess noone really knows what causes m/s. I can have it when I'm eating or just eaten, so it's not an empty tummy etc. My girlfriend had 3 pregnancies with 3 healthy bubs and no m/s whatsoever. I think we all complain of fatigue though ;-)

Maggiepie - you're right my new FS is a treasure. I would heartily recommend him to anyone, and his receptionist is a doll too, which when you freak out and phone up about extra BTs etc is really important. My last FS's receptionist was his wife, and although he was fine, we didn't take to her much.

I know just what you mean about being hungry in the middle of the night. Twice this week I've woken up and had a couple of slices of hard cheese, at midnight and 3am!.....I figured if I keep eating a dry biscuit everytime I'll be the size of a house before long. That reminds me, I must weigh myself tomorrow, I have no idea how much I weigh right now and I'd like to keep track.

CK77 - sadly cos he's in the city and we're northside, we've decided to go with a different OB. I just hope I like him as much, but I guess I could always change.

That family assistance malarky sounds pretty confusing. I know folk with kids who don't really know how it works. Am I right in thinking that the Paid Parental is instead of the baby bonus, not as well as?

Right off to bed now, sweet dreams ladies and bumps xx

[juniper76]

Still, we have two little stickies inside and FX they stay put at least until 36-37 weeks.

And this is far more important than any statistic!!

Chrissy, if you tell the dentist that you're pregnant, they'll know what they can and can't do (assuming they're a good dentist). At our first OB appointment, the midwife actually made quite a point of recommending a dental checkup. My sister also made me promise because she read a story about a woman losing her bub because she had untreated gum disease (the bacteria can spread throughout the body in the bloodstream). The hormones we've got going on now affect your gums the same way they affect your sinuses (can cause inflammation, etc).

airline, yes, if you're eligible for both baby bonus and PPL then you can choose which one you get, but you don't get both.

Lairdoz, that sucks. The PPL is the only good thing that the labor government have done for us, but even so we're still worse off overall (and my employer may end up cutting back on their employer-paid PPL entitlements because of the government scheme, so then I'll be worse off on the PPL front as well... ).

Hi to everyone else!!

Afm, I survived my trip to the dentist!! Yay! The bad news is that I need two fillings, but I need to wait until my gag reflex settles down a bit. She also recommended an xray after bub arrives to check for cavities she can't see. Really, after so long between visits, I don't think I can complain about 2 fillings! And the teeth that have been hurting when I eat/drink something hot or cold were all fine, so I just need some sensitive toothpaste for those.

On the government payment issue, I've done a lot of reading for that because I'm on the committee that wrote our parental leave policy. You can choose between either the baby bonus or paid parental leave (PPL) if you're eligible for both. There's supposed to be a calcultor on the Family Assistance website later (from October?) to tell you what you'd get for each. If you're only eligible for one of them, then obviously, you'd choose to get that one.

The baby bonus is means tested based on the family income in the 6 months following the birth. If the family has a taxable income of more than $75k in that 6 months then you don't get the bonus. There are also other requirements.

The PPL is means tested based on the individual's income in the 12 months prior to the birth. The primary care-giver claiming the PPL must have a taxable income of less that $150k in the 12 months prior to the birth. There are also work tests to be met (minimum number of hours/months of work completed in the 13 months prior to the birth) and other requirements. The interesting (and for some people, controversial) part of the PPL, is that you get paid the PPL (assuming you're eligible) if your baby is stillborn (ie from 20wks on, no matter what outcome). I find it particularly interesting since many of us wouldn't be able to take 18 weeks off work in that circumstance (my employer's policy allows for 3 weeks, which may be extended at their discretion, but they can choose not to), and once you return to work you stop getting the PPL.

Supposedly, those two means tests are meant to be "equivalent". Can anyone work that out? We'd romp in on one and (just barely) fail the other...

[airline]

Renee
cheers m'dear, that's great, v. happy to join such and esteemed list :-) I meant to write that but my bed was calling me!

Re. dentists, I used to be really bad at going, but now go every 6 months and sadly have a lot of fillings at back of mouth. I had pain for a while and had the first part of root canal done :-0 the same week as my transfer!! I had to tell the dentist about the IVF so he could pack the tooth to hopefully last the whole pregnancy, cos he didn't want me to have x rays whilst pregnant. I said to him, bet you didn't think you'd be talking about IVF at your work today!!

Lairdoz & juniper, he used the phrase due date so i'm guessing due date not gestational.

The other thing that was comforting about this FS/OB was his easy manner and relaxed attitude. He said eat and drink whatever you want, the baby will take what it needs from you at this stage, so due to nausea eat what you fancy. I immediately thought of pizza! Pleased with myself tonight though, had baked salmon - well only ate half and a roll with cheese and vegemite. Had a night off vegies.

Sorry Brunette....there was def. only one little heartbeat in there, but I'm sure someone will join us soon who will have two squirming away inside!

Ok, so 7wks and 6days eh?! That decision's been made, and very happy we are! Thank you Lairdoz for advice on that.xx