Pregnancy #64

[littlepup]

I’m dreading my usual hay fever season as I normally survive on tablets, nasal spray and eyedrops all at once!

There are pregnancy safe antihistamines. My anti sickness tablets were actually antihistamine.

 

[littlepup]

This has been discussed before but for the love of god WHY does instagram insist on showing me stillbirth reels?!? (And miscarriage ones back in the 1st trimester while I was experiencing bleeding after my last pregnancy ended in miscarriage)

This morning’s one being weirdly specific, a woman who has 3 boys, pregnant with a girl who was then still born at 38 weeks. Guess who’s 38 weeks today with a girl after 3 boys…nice one insta

You can block phrases like baby loss, miscarriage, still born etc. I’ve also blocked things like childhood cancer, medical mom , terminal illness etc. I’m not uncaring, I just don’t have the mental bandwidth to deal with the anxiety it induces.

 

[ollieplimsolls]

Congratulations! Start taking pregnancy vitamins and stop drinking alcohol/smoking if you do either. Look online to refer yourself for pregnancy care in your local area and you’ll be contacted with a booking in appointment

Thank you! I can’t believe this is real, trying not to get ahead of myself.

 

[LittleMissMuffet]

Yep I really hate this.
I’m also finding my body is up for grabs….oh you’ve filled out in your face oh look you’ve got a ‘proper’ bump now
I had my first stranger tell me look you’re ready to pop and when I said I am due in August (they asked) they insisted I was ready to pop now FFS I just said oh do I look massive then what else am I meant to say

Yep I got “oh my gosh you are going to get so much bigger you’re only 21 weeks and since I saw you a few weeks ago compared to now!” Cheers that’s awesome.

 

[Spencerskates]

I formula fed our first and it was absolutely the right decision for us! I really struggled at first but figured out a few tips and tricks which I’m happy to share if anyone needs them.

Although I will say that while it’s true that some formula fed babies sleep through the night sooner, baby skates has done that a grand total of four times in his (almost) two years, and two of those times were for grandparents 🫠. That’s not to say he’s a bad sleeper at all, because he’s not! But we’re not a consistent 12 hours a night every night kind of guy.

 

[Spencerskates]

newborn and toddler was easy to a point for us … it felt like for the first 6 weeks all my baby did was sleep and rarely cried, after that hell broke loose it did get easier again at 12 weeks .. and we still have bad days but you figure things out to make things work and it does get easier again.

all babies are different of course but for 6 weeks I really thought what on earth have we done

I’ve suddenly lost the ability to read

 

[littlepup]

Anyone on here had to be prescribed iron tablets??? I don’t feel like mine are doing anything except make me constipated

You could try Spatone. It’s a different format so no constipation. It’ll be weaker than your tablets but alternate perhaps?

Re bodies after pregnancy, when it came to it I found that actually I didn’t mind the changes, partly too busy/tired to care, partly happy to accept the trade off, partly happy for the opportunity to have “an excuse”, and a little bit I quite enjoyed having a more “womanly”, stronger looking physique after always being pretty small. I found around 9 months my body started to “re-set” and at 12 months the squashy-ness from pregnancy had mostly gone down without any work but I don’t think it would have gone back until it was ready no matter how much work I put in. My figure/shape has changed and after 4 years almost constantly breastfeeding my boobs do look deflated but I feel like previously my body’s job was to look good - my concern was feeling attractive, now my concern is being healthy for my kids, having fed my babies, it’s a priority shift I didn’t know would come. I care far less about it than I ever thought I could.

I do wish I had my pre pregnancy boobs, I might look at doing something about it at some stage because this time breastfeeding has caused me to drop a lot of weight so it’s a double whammy, but then I think, in a bra you’d not notice and my OH still finds me attractive so can I really be arsed.

 

[LittleMissMuffet]

I’m not counting calories because I’m throwing up what I eat every second day so gimme the maccas chips.

 

[lilykestrel]

Hi folks

Careering onto the thread with no notice to say hello, I had a positive test yesterday morning. Because we'd sort of been informally TTC, I cannot remember what weekend my last period started, I know it was a Saturday but my mind is blank. I think I'm 5 weeks.

Whilst finding out just before a Bank Hol and some annual leave booked after is probably good, it might also be not ideal because my autistic anxious brain has been climbing the walls since yesterday, Googling every random thing I can think of

(Is my particular SNRI anti depressant ok?
Can I eat a high protein diet? How much protein is too much protein? Can I paint my nails? Can I dye my hair? Can I weed the garden? How much decaf coffee is too much decaf coffee? And so on)

Also today I just keep bursting into tears. Like a Dad carrying his toddler in B&Q, started crying. Looked at my cat and started sobbing about how cute he is.

Probably not helped by the fact this morning I blitzed through Allen Carr's Easyway for vaping book and threw all my vape stuff away including walking to the nearest battery disposal point shop to get rid of the battery segments. I'd cut down nicotine strength to the weakest since the New Year anyway and then went 0% yesterday as soon as I found out, but just decided to rip the bandaid off today and stop feeling rotten for it

 

[Shinythings]

Team Ocarro here as well!

 

[nolite]

Have my first scan in a couple of days, where I will be 8 weeks. Am nervous as I still don't feel any symptoms at all but over the last few days I’m definitely noticing a bloated stomach. Did another test last night to ease my mind and still very much pregnant. Just hope there is something in there and that all is well. I just keep having this reoccurring thought that she will say there’s nothing there and I’ll be like of course there isn’t, what did you expect sure you felt nothing! But I’m sure those thoughts are all normal

Exactly me last Thursday prior to my first scan, because I have been amazingly symptom free! I wouldn't even look at the monitor and just lay there studying the Consultant's face, convinced she was going to give bad news. We got good news thankfully and I am really hoping you do too! I'm already on to worrying now till the next one in a few weeks!

I really hadn't anticipated how constant the worry/anxiety is. It was so difficult and took so long for me to actually get pregnant (and came as a surprise as I was preparing for IVF) that I kind of hadn't even thought about what it would be like mentally if I actually got here. Bloody exhausting! It's like I can't fully relax and enjoy it/be excited at all.

 

[LittleMissMuffet]

I had a right hormonal wobble yesterday. I told some people at work my news and I read a bit too much into their facial expressions. I’ve not even been in my job a full year yet (but nearly) and the timing of my pregnancy isn’t brilliant from a work perspective, based on everything that’s going on there. However, babies don’t work like that, I get it. I am the ‘top of the hierarchy’ at work but I don’t think I’m some sort of essential person at all. There are probably better people than me who could lead the place. I just felt this weird pang of having let people down, let the organisation down, and being denied the chance to truly sink my teeth into the work that needs to be done. Which of course was immediately matched by feeling horrendous for thinking this way when the road to getting pregnant was a bit miserable a lot of the time and I’m so lucky to have fallen pregnant naturally and having a healthy pregnancy. So I cried quite a lot last night and I still feel shit today about absolutely all of it. My hormones don’t help, ofc. I don’t even really know how to resolve this one in my head. Next week I have to tell the rest of the staff (though I suspect I actually won’t have to because once enough people know, everyone knows!), and I’m dreading it anyway without thinking about my own reaction to this.

I guess this is coupled with feeling a bit overwhelmed about absolutely everything. Work is insane, I feel like there’s a crazy list of jobs at home and all I really want to do is have a nice cosy nap or ten.

I understand that. I used to have quite a high powered job and I felt like that. Until they utterly screwed me over and now I just think I won’t ever pour myself into a company (unless it’s one I own) ever again because ultimately I was just a drone and if a company ever needs to “save” money they don’t care. I miss the money

 

[LittleMissMuffet]

Have my first scan in a couple of days, where I will be 8 weeks. Am nervous as I still don't feel any symptoms at all but over the last few days I’m definitely noticing a bloated stomach. Did another test last night to ease my mind and still very much pregnant. Just hope there is something in there and that all is well. I just keep having this reoccurring thought that she will say there’s nothing there and I’ll be like of course there isn’t, what did you expect sure you felt nothing! But I’m sure those thoughts are all normal

I STILL get anxious before scans and I’m 21 weeks and I get days like today where I don’t “feel” my baby like all of a sudden my stomach muscles have come back and I can pull them in, also bump is slightly smaller and instead of appreciating a good day I just worry something has happened. Pregnancy is joyous….

 

[anything at all]

Yeah with my first I was wanting to be one of those who do the whole no pain relief, but after my waters broke early and for over 24h nothing was progressing I was put on the hormone drip, not long in I was asking for something think it was pethidine I had first? Then begging for and getting an epidural

 

[clmay]

34+1 and I’ve hit a wall today. I’m really hoping when people say newborn plus toddler is easier than pregnant plus toddler that they’re not lying! 4 more weeks at work to go and considering finishing earlier. I really want to maximise time with baby though and went 15 days overdue first time so not sure what to do

 

[LavaFlake]

I hope I didn’t mean to sound like I was bragging, I wasn’t. Just wanted to share my experiences as I remember how terrified I was first time around especially when people were sharing not great stories. I think I wrote in my first message I was lucky but to reiterate I really know I am, it’s no flex things just went my way in birth. I apologise for any upset caused. Xxxx

 

[Vmanxx]

Has anyone cracked the insomnia? It’s doing my head in. I’ve not had a full night’s sleep since my positive pregnancy test in January and I’m trying to pretend at work that I am a) a functioning adult capable of doing my job and b) not pregnant .

I wake up at least twice a night needing to wee. I’ve always had a pretty poor bladder but it’s worse since getting pregnant. But I often really struggle to get back to sleep at either of my wake ups, despite being tired. I have basically no choice but to crawl off to bed at 9pm because I’m shattered but then I’m sometimes awake with no chance of getting back to sleep by 4am and it’s dire. I have tried to stay up a bit longer to see if that helps but it hasnt helped. Beyond the general worries any pregnant person or person with quite a senior job in a charity in a funding and cost of living crisis would have, I’m not currently feeling under any particular additional stress. I’ve had a few flails but generally my anxiety has been quite good. This morning I’d have sold my soul for a day off in bed.
I realise sleeplessness is now part of the rest of my life through parenthood but whilst I’m in this germination phase it would be great to get some proper rest and no write off my weekends to napping.

Whatever you do, don’t check your phone. Not even to see what time it is. This applies during the newborn wake up phases as well!
Really makes a difference for me managing to get back to sleep

 

[Keera]

Question- we’re looking at the bedside cribs that attach to the bed but they seem to be suitable up to 6 months (presumably depending on the baby’s size and the crib size etc). What should I be looking for after that? I’m seeing that the baby is ideally in the same room as you for the first year. Am I just looking for a standard cot to be in our room, just not attached to the bed? We’re blessed with enough space for pretty much anything to go in the room. Thanks!

Yes standard cot after that in your room for however long you want!

A lot of cots also convert into toddler/kids beds etc too, so cost effective if you wanted to get matching nursery furniture etc x

(I’m not at that stage yet baby is only 4.5 months, but I will just mention a lot of the ladies on the new baby thread have moved their little ones into their own rooms at 6m as per the lullaby trust guidelines - babies are LOUD overnight snuffing and snorting - and I think ill be following suit)

 

[mashedbananapancakes]

Only 6 weeks here , I've nearly had an idea since 3 weeks that I was pregnant but this last week I've had zero symptoms...
I'm climbing the walls with anxiety

I was exactly the same - until 10 weeks hit and the nausea arrived and lasted until 25ish weeks!

I now have a beautiful 11 week old little girl

 

[lilykestrel]

I think the weirdest thing is it feels like my entire world has been turned upside down and shaken but then .... nothing has really happened. So I feel bad for not carrying on as normal and spending most of the past few days frantically Googling.

Also I feel quite unsettled because I am not jumping for joy happy. If anything I am feeling fucking terrified if not a little regretful and wanting to back out, which makes me feel even worse and like I'm defective

It doesn't help that I've had broken sleep since I found out and I've had nausea up to my ears for days and I am EXHAUSTED