Pregnancy #63

[Vmanxx]

My first midwife appointment was ok. It was so long (despite me having meticulously filled in the pre appointment form) and a bit disjointed because my named midwife is herself going on maternity leave and they don’t know who will take over from her, and I was seen by a student midwife which was fine and she was lovely but because I brought up my mental health everything became a little bit protracted. They were both really nice and although my BMI puts me in the high risk category, which I was expecting, they were super nice about it and I felt comfortable.

They gave me iron tablets because apparently fly everyone gets them but I don’t know if I want to take them? I do have my own iron tablet supplements which I get on ok with so maybe I’ll try those and see if that’s enough? It all became very convoluted that I had to take the iron tablets every other day with orange juice and not have any coffee for ages and this was all told to me at the end of the appointment when my head was spinning. I don’t drink orange juice every morning but my one and only coffee that I allow myself is my morning coffee and the threat of this being taken away is about ending me not to be overly dramatic or anything….

Ah that’s frustrating about the lack of continuity, I hate that!
Don’t worry about the iron tablets, I’ve never taken them in any pregnancy and been just fine. If you’re bloods come back showing low iron or you start to get symptoms of it then sure but as a precaution? Nah. Would rather not duck up my digestion also, coffee is all good. I still drink lots of it, doubt I’d survive the day otherwise
Midwifes are lovely for the most part but take everything with a pinch of salt, you don’t have to do or agree to anything and everything x

 

[anything at all]

My first midwife appointment was ok. It was so long (despite me having meticulously filled in the pre appointment form) and a bit disjointed because my named midwife is herself going on maternity leave and they don’t know who will take over from her, and I was seen by a student midwife which was fine and she was lovely but because I brought up my mental health everything became a little bit protracted. They were both really nice and although my BMI puts me in the high risk category, which I was expecting, they were super nice about it and I felt comfortable.

They gave me iron tablets because apparently everyone gets them but I don’t know if I want to take them? I do have my own iron tablet supplements which I get on ok with so maybe I’ll try those and see if that’s enough? It all became very convoluted that I had to take the iron tablets every other day with orange juice and not have any coffee for ages and this was all told to me at the end of the appointment when my head was spinning. I don’t drink orange juice every morning but my one and only coffee that I allow myself is my morning coffee and the threat of this being taken away is about ending me not to be overly dramatic or anything….

I also remain confused about whether I am supposed to take the high strength folic acid AND the normal strength folic acid. I was asked what I was taking so I said high strength (as recommended by the fertility clinic I had started to engage with) and then I was asked if I was taking both and I said no, should I, and they said no, it’s fine, then I was given a bottle of pregnant lady multivitamins I am supposed to take which has folic acid in them. Honestly, I don’t know how something with a lower concentration span handles that booking in appointment. It was A LOT.

I’m not sure about other areas but with my first I quite often saw different community midwives rarely ever the named one on my notes. This baby I did see the same one more often than not - and so grateful for that as she’s been the best with all the hurdles I had through the pregnancy

That’s odd about the iron tablets, I got some about midway through as my iron was borderline on blood tests, they did make me feel a lot better when I took them though. I’m not sure they’re worth taking if you don’t actually need them though

 

[Greencatfysh]

My first midwife appointment was ok. It was so long (despite me having meticulously filled in the pre appointment form) and a bit disjointed because my named midwife is herself going on maternity leave and they don’t know who will take over from her, and I was seen by a student midwife which was fine and she was lovely but because I brought up my mental health everything became a little bit protracted. They were both really nice and although my BMI puts me in the high risk category, which I was expecting, they were super nice about it and I felt comfortable.

They gave me iron tablets because apparently everyone gets them but I don’t know if I want to take them? I do have my own iron tablet supplements which I get on ok with so maybe I’ll try those and see if that’s enough? It all became very convoluted that I had to take the iron tablets every other day with orange juice and not have any coffee for ages and this was all told to me at the end of the appointment when my head was spinning. I don’t drink orange juice every morning but my one and only coffee that I allow myself is my morning coffee and the threat of this being taken away is about ending me not to be overly dramatic or anything….

I also remain confused about whether I am supposed to take the high strength folic acid AND the normal strength folic acid. I was asked what I was taking so I said high strength (as recommended by the fertility clinic I had started to engage with) and then I was asked if I was taking both and I said no, should I, and they said no, it’s fine, then I was given a bottle of pregnant lady multivitamins I am supposed to take which has folic acid in them. Honestly, I don’t know how something with a lower concentration span handles that booking in appointment. It was A LOT.

I also saw a range of midwives and when giving birth probably saw 10-12 different midwives and nurses, it was mind boggling, my advice would be just to keep track of your notes and your birth plan yourself and don’t expect too much continuity. They work super hard but I found it quite shambolic!

I wouldn’t take iron tablets unless you need them (have they based that on a blood test result?) as they can play havoc with your tummy. Also don’t take them with orange juice as it’s so sugary it can risk you higher for GD. I take mine with a bog standard vitamin C tablet.

Your body will get rid of any excess folic acid you don’t need and the high strength stuff will be because of BMI (I was the same). Personally id not bother with the mixed supplement and just take your folic acid and vitamin D. I found with pregnancy nausea, constipation and/or the runs the fewer tablets you can take the better!

 

[RoseyThorney]

My first midwife appointment was ok. It was so long (despite me having meticulously filled in the pre appointment form) and a bit disjointed because my named midwife is herself going on maternity leave and they don’t know who will take over from her, and I was seen by a student midwife which was fine and she was lovely but because I brought up my mental health everything became a little bit protracted. They were both really nice and although my BMI puts me in the high risk category, which I was expecting, they were super nice about it and I felt comfortable.

They gave me iron tablets because apparently everyone gets them but I don’t know if I want to take them? I do have my own iron tablet supplements which I get on ok with so maybe I’ll try those and see if that’s enough? It all became very convoluted that I had to take the iron tablets every other day with orange juice and not have any coffee for ages and this was all told to me at the end of the appointment when my head was spinning. I don’t drink orange juice every morning but my one and only coffee that I allow myself is my morning coffee and the threat of this being taken away is about ending me not to be overly dramatic or anything….

I also remain confused about whether I am supposed to take the high strength folic acid AND the normal strength folic acid. I was asked what I was taking so I said high strength (as recommended by the fertility clinic I had started to engage with) and then I was asked if I was taking both and I said no, should I, and they said no, it’s fine, then I was given a bottle of pregnant lady multivitamins I am supposed to take which has folic acid in them. Honestly, I don’t know how something with a lower concentration span handles that booking in appointment. It was A LOT.

You’re better off taking the iron tablet with some water and eating an actual orange with it. I was also advised to take iron with orange juice and it sent my blood sugars wacky to the point they thought I’d developed late GD (I hadn’t but I had to prove it by monitoring blood sugars for a few days). The diabetic midwife said the consultant might as well have told me to drink liquid sugar. I’m still feral over it, as you can tell. I also took the iron tablet first thing in the morning and then had a coffee an hour later, and everything was fine.

I’m very grateful I took my iron tablets in the end as I lost a lot of blood during birth.

I suppose this is a good time to announce that Baby Rosey arrived. She arrived via planned c-section due to being breech on the 11th weighing 9lb 12oz. Overall the experience was very positive despite my fear of having a section. There are some minor things I’d like a debrief on and also that baby Rosey suffered a birth injury as they cut her thigh while cutting into me. They’ve said it won’t scar but it makes me very emotional to look at.

 

[ThisIsMyDragName]

Thanks ladies. We use an app in my health authority so my notes are all on my phone basically! They’ve put down the horrible GP that was horrible to me whilst TTC as my named doctor, so I’ll get that changed to the nice doctor who has been supportive of me at my next appointment.
MrDragName comes from a different part of the UK to where we live and he came to appointment and said he found it bewildering how quickly both women spoke and how the student midwife mumbled a lot. I didn’t really notice this but thought it was interesting. I had to buzz to get into the unit for my appointment then there was no clues on what to do when I arrived there and had to ring a bell for someone even though everyone was knocking about in a staff room and one of them had clearly answered the intercom and let me in anyway. Was a weird start! Not looking forward to puffing up the flight of stairs to get to the unit when I get more pregnant, that’s for sure

 

[Bubblesandflowers]

I am still in awe of feeling the baby kick me. It keeps waking me up and I can't go back to sleep cause I am enjoying it so much.

 

[littlepup]

Rosey suffered a birth injury as they cut her thigh while cutting into me. They’ve said it won’t scar but it makes me very emotional to look at.

Massive congratulations!
Littlest pup got cut on the back but it healed up super fast and there were no signs of it after, hopefully baby Rosey is just the same too 🩷

 

[calabazarock]

My first midwife appointment was ok. It was so long (despite me having meticulously filled in the pre appointment form) and a bit disjointed because my named midwife is herself going on maternity leave and they don’t know who will take over from her, and I was seen by a student midwife which was fine and she was lovely but because I brought up my mental health everything became a little bit protracted. They were both really nice and although my BMI puts me in the high risk category, which I was expecting, they were super nice about it and I felt comfortable.

They gave me iron tablets because apparently everyone gets them but I don’t know if I want to take them? I do have my own iron tablet supplements which I get on ok with so maybe I’ll try those and see if that’s enough? It all became very convoluted that I had to take the iron tablets every other day with orange juice and not have any coffee for ages and this was all told to me at the end of the appointment when my head was spinning. I don’t drink orange juice every morning but my one and only coffee that I allow myself is my morning coffee and the threat of this being taken away is about ending me not to be overly dramatic or anything….

I also remain confused about whether I am supposed to take the high strength folic acid AND the normal strength folic acid. I was asked what I was taking so I said high strength (as recommended by the fertility clinic I had started to engage with) and then I was asked if I was taking both and I said no, should I, and they said no, it’s fine, then I was given a bottle of pregnant lady multivitamins I am supposed to take which has folic acid in them. Honestly, I don’t know how something with a lower concentration span handles that booking in appointment. It was A LOT.

I was given a lot of supplements. I decided to have the iron one 2 hours after my morning coffee.
I could argue with how many supplements I was given, but sincerely my obgyn took extra exams and gave me extra supplements when going through ivf. Since I think it was part of having a successful cycle, I'll follow her advice.

 

[Shinythings]

No one has told me to take any iron supplements, just your regular prenatals. Am I meant to be taking iron?

 

[clmay]

I’ve not been given any supplements either. Just taking my prenatals. Assume you’re only given them if your bloods show low iron??

 

[indeedjoy]

No one has told me to take any iron supplements, just your regular prenatals. Am I meant to be taking iron?

No they should do a blood test at your first screening and only take iron if it’s low - too much iron is not good for you
I’d get it checked personally before taking it

 

[ThisIsMyDragName]

Yeah, I had most of my blood removed for various tests but they have no idea whether my iron levels are low or not until it’s been tested, so I’m swerving the iron tablets they gave me until the blood results are back, though I might try my own supplements to see if they help with my fatigue/energy once I’ve read up about strengths and recommended doses etc. I’ve been someone who took, no word of a lie, about 23 supplement tablets a day whilst TTC so I’m no stranger to pill swallowing. Anything that someone said had worked for them, I stuffed them into my massive pill box. But now I’m a lot more ‘I will take everything I need and absolutely nothing else’ because I have no idea if all those supplements were helping or bleeping me right up but I didn’t mind the risk when it was just me, now there’s me and JuniorDragName so I’m way more cautious. I was fortunate not to need to go fully down the IVF/assisted fertility route, I only got as far as it being recommended I had the higher level folic acid as a result of our combined assessment.

 

[101d]

Got my c section date 🥹 One week today! Scary!

 

[Spencerskates]

I’ve got thrush for the second time since I’ve been pregnant. Never had it before and now had it twice in two months

 

[Shinythings]

My area is apparently really hot on consistent midwife care. First appointment was with my named midwife, second one was someone covering for her whilst she was sick, third one was covering for her as she has now gone on mat leave and my next one is meant to be with my new named midwife but we will see. I know things can't be helped but it's been completely inconsistent so far.

 

[RoseyThorney]

Massive congratulations!
Littlest pup got cut on the back but it healed up super fast and there were no signs of it after, hopefully baby Rosey is just the same too 🩷

Thank you, this gives me a lot of reassurance.

 

[ThisIsMyDragName]

Meh. The nasal decongestion is ruining me and I’m snottering my way through the day and at night. Thought I’d pop into a pharmacy to see if there was anything I could take. I mean anything. One of those Vicks things you honk up your nose even. Tried Boots, huge queues. Went to a small local pharmacy instead,empty. Explain to girl on the counter and she asks me to fill in the Pharmacy First form, sure thing. She then shouts about how I’m pregnant (there are now people in the pharmacy, this is my work city and nobody knows I’m pregnant) and I have a ‘blocked nose’. She goes back to see the pharmacist who can’t even be bothered to see me so sends her back with the message of ‘stick your head over a bowl of hot water. Have a hot shower’. I feel like a complete fool and walk out about to cry. Google suggests I could stick one of those Vicks things up my hooter but I was scared to do anything without asking a pharmacist and the pharmacist was a fool who couldn’t be arsed to come talk to me themselves.
I think my hormones might be ramping up, haha. I had a complete outage last night over my inability to flip an omelette in a pan. add in insomnia and my snotters and I’m a total mess.

 

[clmay]

My pharmacist recommended a Vicks stick thing so just go for it!

 

[LittleMissMuffet]

I’m currently 9 weeks according to my app. STILL have 3 weeks until my first ever scan. I can’t believe that I’ve felt so tired, tender bloated (the only way in and describe it) and queasy for weeks and I don’t even know if baby is even a baby or ok etc.

 

[ThisIsMyDragName]

I’m currently 9 weeks according to my app. STILL have 3 weeks until my first ever scan. I can’t believe that I’ve felt so tired, tender bloated (the only way in and describe it) and queasy for weeks and I don’t even know if baby is even a baby or ok etc.

Having an early private scan was a benefit for me! I don’t even have a date for the NHS scan and they said there’s a massive backlog where I am and I might need to chase them up. So exhausting!