12 to 24 week pregnancy thread

mincepiemonster

Fran-O, we did NCT classes when I was having DD. Personally I really enjoyed them. The breastfeeding advice in particular was really helpful although I do think some of my friends felt there was a lot of "pressure" - for me it was great and I went on to BF until DD was almost 15 months (I stopped so I could get my periods back to try for this baby ... plus she became a bit cheeky and bit me so hard it drew blood :rotfl:) but there was a bit of a strong lean towards a natural, pain-relief-free birth and extended BF. I just took it with a bit of a pinch of salt as I know that's what the charity is about on the whole so they're bound to push that agenda a bit.

Our course also arranged a meet up for when the babies were about 6 weeks old. That was really lovely. We have all stayed in touch (in fact we were at a BBQ on Saturday with all 8 families) although as with anything there are some mums I'm closer to than others. On our course, there were 5 families within 3 miles of us and the other 2 families within 5 miles. I think it was the best money I spent in my pregnancy.

starshinning

hey all looks like I have a routine scan next friday will be a few days short of 20 weeks

fran-o

Thanks mince pie monster! Useful to have your perspective re NCT, i know that there are cheaper ways to do ante-natal but feel that it's going to be a worthwhile outlay. And suspect that there will be a 'hippy' approach to some things (in the nicest possible way) but that's fine for me!

Hi star shinning, hope you are feeling brighter x
Welcome to the thread jenni-fer

kerri_dfw

20w scan today, baby girl is all fine Glad we found out whether she was a boy/girl as it meant we focused purely on whether she had everything correct and present.

OH and I are fine again today, he doesn't like the lime green one bit though! He took me to Cr1bbs Cau5eway for some shopping and food, am exhausted now, as it's my birthday tomorrow. We bought baby her outfit to go home from the hospital in, it's a white onesie with teddy bears down the front from JL. Said £12 on the ticket but went through at £8something for some reason. Woman on the till asked if we wanted a gift receipt?!?!? I totally do not look pregnant, I wish I did as noone believes I'm 20w. Went to get measured for some bras and I'm now a lovely 32C instead of just about a 32A yay.

Hugs to those that need them xx

Birdie85

Happy birthday Kerri! Glad things are better now, shame that the lime green wasn't a hit (it's a bit of risky colour choice I must admit!). Great news that the scan went well. :T

I haven't even thought about NCT courses... when should I be thinking about signing up for ante-natal classes?! My OH works late all week so only gets the weekends to relax and spend time with me, can just imagine how thrilled he'd be to have to spend half a dozen Saturday mornings (or whatever it is) with a load of strangers learning all the gross things about babies and childbirth that he doesn't want to know!

amyloofoo

Well, we've just got back from our 20-week scan and all is well with baby measuring well within normal range, albeit on the slightly bigger side. Placenta also seems to no longer be too low, which is good. I'm really glad we opted to have a private gender scan though as baby was being really awkward and refusing to show off her girly bits to the sonographer, as well as looking directly at us rather than showing a nice profile for the images! Having the private scan a couple of weeks ago meant that we could relax and just enjoy her flailing about and annoying the poor sonographer who was trying to get her to stay in position for long enough to do all her checks. Eventually everything was seen and given the all clear, but if we'd been depending on the NHS scan we wouldn't now know the gender. I think the sonographer felt sorry for us as she wasn't co-operating and gave us some free pics and a really detailed show and talk through of all her body parts

I also had my latest consultant appointment today but there was very little new to come out of it, more waiting and seeing. My next appointment is at 28 weeks... feels ages away! I know I'll be seeing the midwife before then, but even that seems like it's waaaay off in the future. There is so much drama in my extended family at the moment, from the funeral yesterday to people hiding serious illnesses and certain relatives looking at potentially lengthy prison sentences.... :eek: It was nice to see them all, but I always come away from visits to the extended family absolutely exhausted and feeling a bit conflicted about things. I love them all very much but certain family members really need to sort out their lives and priorities (I know I sound horribly judgemental, but I'm just venting - honest!)

Kerri - Happy birthday, I hope you're being thoroughly spoilt and am so glad to hear that things are better between you and your OH now.

Birdie - Most midwives say that you should start thinking about antenatal classes around the 20-week mark, however I must admit I've had mine booked for aaages! I'm doing the NCT ones too, although if anyone's put off by the cost, we did also get a discount as I'm entitled to some disability benefit - I think they offer quite a lot of discounts for those with specific needs / low incomes, otherwise they can be quite pricey. They do have a very 'natural is best' approach, and are very pro-BFing and 'natural' birthing, but they're not too overbearing with it and will accept that not all women make the same choices or face the same circumstances. I also like the idea of making some friends locally and going to meet-ups following the birth.

Hope you're managing to get more sleep now, have you felt any more fluttering? (I just accidentally typed flattering, then fortunately caught it :rotfl:)

Star - Congrats, hope the scan goes well

Team Lowe - Hope things go smoothly with completion and moving, it must be lovely to be able to nest in your own place - I hope everything goes really well.

Welcome to Hungry Kitty, Jox and Jenni

ETA: Hope you're well Lily and thinking of you :grouphug:

amyloofoo

bigzippy wrote: »

I am around but lurking mostly my M.E/CFS seems to have flared up and I'm exhausted all the time and frustrated that a) nothing's getting done in the house/to prepare etc b) it's supposed to be the time we feel the best(!) c) it could very well put the kibosh on my hopes of a natural birth followed by 6 hr discharge home :cool: Scared of going through a C section because I'm too incapable of pushing - only to then be trapped in a hospital, without DH around 24/7 to help, trying to deal with my health conditions plus recovering from surgery, and a newborn on my own

Zippy, my original lost post was mostly in reply to this, so I'll try to say it again, but will probably make a mess of it I know you've lived with your condition(s) for a long time and know a lot more than me, so please feel free to disregard anything that's irrelevant or inappropriate - baby brain appears to have stolen my ability to phrase things properly, sorry Doctors have queried whether I have ME / CFS for a number of years after I never fully recovered from post-viral fatigue. Despite this, it was felt that my mental health issues were more important to diagnose and treat (and could well be a contributing factor) so I have never received a formal diagnosis, or any treatment beyond medication.

It must be awful to live with the exhaustion of ME / CFS, and during pregnancy I can only imagine how much this may be exacerbated. I can understand how frustrating it must be to feel that you're unable to do the things around the house that would help you to prepare, and to feel this continuing throughout the supposedly 'easy' second trimester. Having said that, I know that you're more aware than most of the amazing and exhausting work that your body is doing at the moment - and that even while you're resting, you're still doing some absolutely miraculous work. Everything else can wait, and even if it's not completed in the same day, week or even before BabyZee arrives; baby won't care about the cleaning, the decor, or even if there's any nursery furniture - for the first 6 months at least they'll just want you

**This is probably completely irrelevant, so feel free to tell me to shut up** I can understand why it may not be appropriate for your needs or circumstances, and why you may want to avoid it (and almost certainly already know all this) but have you considered approaching Adult Services at your local authority? If they could assess your needs and provide a personal budget then you could potentially employ a cleaner / decorator / gardener / PA / etc for when you're feeling unwell and this may help you to feel more prepared for the birth? It would give you the opportunity to tailor the help offered to your needs at the time, and could mean you get more support when it's most needed.

As for the birth, I can understand your fears. Having said that, nothing is yet certain and I've met many women postnatally who suffered with ME / CFS and felt they may struggle with labour, but found that they coped as a result of the adrenaline and sheer desire to meet their baby. Of course some women also need to have a CS, and I understand why you would want to avoid this, but it isn't necessarily as long and lonely a recovery as you imagine. Most hospitals (certainly every postnatal ward I've ever visited or worked on) will make exceptions for the partners of ladies who have chronic conditions or poorly babies and may require a little extra assistance or support. All postnatal wards should have private rooms and pull out beds available for special circumstances, and if you explain your fears to your consultant or midwife then I'm sure they'll make sure the postnatal staff are aware. Afterall, if they don't let your OH stay then there's a lot more work for the midwives

Of course I hope all this is completely pointless and you're now feeling much better and go on to have a quick and uncomplicated natural delivery followed by a 6 hour discharge of a happy mum and healthy baby. Sorry to waffle and I don't know if I've said anything even remotely helpful - as I said, feel free to disregard but I couldn't not reply when you sound so sad :grouphug:

Amy xx

Birdie85

amyloofoo wrote: »

Birdie - Most midwives say that you should start thinking about antenatal classes around the 20-week mark, however I must admit I've had mine booked for aaages! I'm doing the NCT ones too, although if anyone's put off by the cost, we did also get a discount as I'm entitled to some disability benefit - I think they offer quite a lot of discounts for those with specific needs / low incomes, otherwise they can be quite pricey. They do have a very 'natural is best' approach, and are very pro-BFing and 'natural' birthing, but they're not too overbearing with it and will accept that not all women make the same choices or face the same circumstances. I also like the idea of making some friends locally and going to meet-ups following the birth.

Hope you're managing to get more sleep now, have you felt any more fluttering? (I just accidentally typed flattering, then fortunately caught it :rotfl:)

I'll start looking at what's available in my area, it looks like I may have to travel though. I don't really like going to things with a load of strange people so not too sure how I feel about the classes... will have to research, like everything else!

I managed to sleep much better last night, no more fluttering keeping me awake, OH and I had stern words with baby and said that it was sleepy time which seemed to work! :rotfl: As lovely as it'll be feeling the baby move and kick once it gets bigger, I'd rather it didn't happen at night when I'm trying to sleep!

Glad your scan went well, even if your little girl is awkward!

KScarlet

Hi all

I wanted to go for the NCT classes last time but unfort their nearest classes were too far away so instead they sent a 'tutor' (is that the right word?) to my house who went through birth/ BFing/ having a newborn etc it was very beneficial to DH and I who didn't have a clue about becoming parents! I'm not bothering this time as I've still got all the info and feel a bit more confident after being a parent for 3 years. It is slightly hippy pro BF/ natural birth etc but good information and helped me to relax x

Happy birthday Kerri xx

starshinning

welcome to all the newbies

Does anyone have a family that our not supportive I am really struggling at the moment feel so alone