June 2014

I'm definitely not relaxed!:D

26 weeks this week and SPD definitely feels a good bit worse and am getting a little bit of swelling each day on my feet which is nice and attractive:D

We went to Derren Brown last night and I didn't use the bathroom at the interval cause I felt ok but by the end of the show (if you leave you can't get back in) I was in agony from needing to wee (my bladder seems to have shrunk in the past month or so) and my fiance had to help me hobble to the bathroom and back to the car after and help me out of the car I was in so much pain, even after going! It eased off but really wasn't nice! Show was excellent though!

MissFire wrote: »

I've had those pains in bladder too.. Also my bowels can feel weird, like spasms after going loo too, have you ever had that? I'm assuming it's cause they're squashed up more now.. I always joke its baba doing it cause it's got more room to disco dance in there lol..

All going OK for me.. Tiredness is finally starting to kick in after months of people asking me about it, also I've got a lot slower, which to be honest is kinda bugging me, everyone else is delighted cause they can finally keep up with me while walking along with me lol

Had my 28 week check up at hospital yesterday and all is good thankfully.. Got my glucose results from last weeks tests and they were fine so I had a chocolate muffin to celebrate..

Have any of ye started getting your hospital bags ready yet?

Hope you're all doing well and are enjoying your kicks

I find now that when I need to go, any wind or anything kills me and my system feels really sluggish which doesn't help, really trying to avoid being constipated!

Congrats on the GTT test mine is the 28th so I'm trying to be saintly for the few weeks up to it but there's so much hidden sugar in everything I'm probably still being a bit rubbish! I plan to celebrate with a big slice of cake if I'm ok:D

dustie1 wrote: »

Hi all, I've my GTT next thursday and not looking forward to it at all! fasting overnight and 3 blood samples in 3 hours before food. Without my morning tea and toast, i'll be like a demon in the end! I'm 27+3 now and the kicks have gotten so strong of late, even DH was shocked feeling one of them. He's delighted as he thinks he's getting some super ninja baby!!!

Hope your GTT goes well, not looking forward to it either just because I'm always difficult to get blood out of so three blood tests in the one morning will probably be torture! Mine is at 8 though so at least we'll get started early and then I'll have a big brek in town somewhere afterwards!

I agree with MissFire, it’s not as bad as I expected. I don’t like Lucozade at the best of times so I was dreading it, but it’s actually grand. You have to drink 410ml of Lucozade, but you’re given 5-10 mins to drink it so it’s not like you have to knock it back. I only had to have two blood tests, one before, one after. It seems to vary from hospital to hospital. I had my 28 week check up and got the whooping cough vaccine while I was waiting. Getting my results on Friday so hopefully they will be ok. I am a major sugar junkie so I am a little worried.

MissFire wrote: »

I'm terrible, I haven't looked into the whooping cough vaccine yet and GP asked me to look into it at my last appointment... Did you get the flu jab too?

I got the flu jab way back at my first appointment, I think I was only 6 or 7 weeks! I know some people choose not to get the whooping cough vaccine, but I am a believer in getting whatever is on offer! It protects the baby until he/she is old enough to get the vaccine and apparently whooping cough is making a comeback. I had no ill effects from it and it was free, although I have heard of some women being charged. It's strange as I was charged for the flu vaccine and some pregnant women aren't. Like a lot of pregnancy matters, there seems to be no consistency with this.

xxlauraxxox wrote: »

im preggers on my 1st and all my bloods have come back normal due on due 5th so im 28weeks tomorrow ive had it plain sailing i have to say no sickness just heartburn and tiredness.does everyone need a glucose test nothing was said to me i just have a normal 30week check up on the 26th of this month which is bloods and my scan the following week. should i be ringing looking for one as dibeties runs in the family and my doc has alerted the hospital of this
cheers ladies sorry just a little slow on these things

Hi Laura, welcome and congrats! The glucose test isn't standard, I needed it because I had PCOS and apparently that can increase the chances of getting gestational diabetes. I think you should definitely be getting one done if there is diabetes in your family.

I just got mine done in my GP’s and didn’t need a referral or anything, although the midwife had written a note in my file at the 12 week check up that I was to have it done at 27-30 weeks. I would contact your hospital and ask them about it, they will probably be able to do it in conjunction with your 32 week check up, but you would need prior warning as you have to fast from 10pm the previous night.

Hanracar wrote: »

Hey there, i am just joining this thread. So glad to have found it. I am Irish but living in the US this past year. I am almost 25 weeks along, So far so good no real complaints just tiredness. I have nothing organized and flip flop between wanted everything done and thinking its too early to do anything ! Everyone i know here has the nurseries done and tons bought !

Wherabouts in the US are you Hanracar? What is the ante natal care like there, do you require a lot of insurance? I personally don’t have much done, I am lucky in that people around me are doing stuff for me! I am getting the cot, crib and travel system from my sister so collecting that when I am babysitting for her at the end of the month. My sister in law gave me bags of neutral baby stuff at Christmas which I only got round to looking at last week, there is tons of stuff! She must have given me 30 vests, 20 babygros, a couple of grobags, hats, cardi, muslin cloths still in their packet and that’s just the 0-3 bag! I won’t have to buy a thing which is great. All I really need to buy is some cellular blankets and I may buy some more muslin cloths as I’ve heard you can never have too many. The only thing I have actually bought so far is a starter pack of Avent bottles in case the breastfeeding doesn’t pan out. My sister is also giving me her steriliser.

I am on a FB page with June ’14 mothers to be and a lot of them are super organised, they have all their hospital stuff bought and a lot of them have bags packed. I will probably try and do that in the next couple of weeks, I aim to have it done by 32 weeks! I am not going to stress about stuff, we still have loads of time and it’s not like we are giving birth in a hut in the woods – I am in CUMH which is right across from a large Penny’s so if worse comes to worse and I’ve forgotten something, I can send the hubby over.

Hi Hanracar! I'm also having a baby in the US. I'm actually due Sept 2014 but I like lurking on these earlier threads to see what is ahead of me Thought I'd reply with my two cents as we are in the same boat.

Re the baby shower, I'm kind of dreading that myself. The minute I told my close american friends here, the girls were all on about the baby shower and it made me a bit uncomfortable. (I work with a lot of guys and other foreigners, so I doubt there will be a work one). It feels like it is just an excuse to squeeze presents out of your friends! (of course I didn't say that to them, I think they'd be a bit insulted). And I guess I'm kind of from a place where we don't make too big of a fuss about baby things before the baby actually arrives. Pregnancy, yeah fine but not baby stuff till close to the end, who knows what will happen. An american friend of mine here who lived in dublin for a few years and encountered this idea thinks it is a weird, morbid superstition. I can see that it seems like a weird thing from the outside but it is a hard feeling to shake off all the same. I reckon I won't get away with not having a baby shower, especially now that some of my friends have taken it into their heads to show the foreigner how its done . We are here on our own so I guess I shouldn't be refusing help. And this is an american baby so I might as well! Embrace the shower, you might get some useful baby gear out of it!

Re the parents/family coming over. Yeah, that's going to be interesting. My parents are already saying they want to come over both before the birth and after. Not sure why they want to come over before, it might not work out well, it gets very hot and humid here at that time and I'll be stressed to get finished up in work. I'm hoping to convince them to come over about 2-3 weeks after the birth. That way we get a few weeks of the baby to ourselves and try get ourselves sorted out. Then, if we are completely frazzled after a couple of weeks of no sleep and screaming (us and/or baby), at least my Mum can help out a little while they are here (she would be a good help/advice person, my dad would be one of those negative-helping people, as in he makes situations worse). The other side won't be coming over, maybe after a year. That's another story!

One thing, will they be staying with you or in a hotel? We've always had visitors stay with us, but I don't think I could handle that and a small baby too. We live in the city, it is a bit pricy but I've found a couple of places that might do. Also, it might sound bad, but I'm afraid that it might be all a bit much with new baby and visitors staying too long, so if they are paying for a hotel they may not over-stay

Some people that I work with, especially chinese and indian people, their parents come for 6 months at a time. Literally 6 months! One side comes for 6 months, then the other side comes for 6 months. Living with them :eek: I think there is a 6 month visa or something. I could not handle that!

As you said, once you have good insurance you are grand. I haven't had to pay for anything so far, between insurance and also I work in the university attached to the hospital so I get a special deal. I can't even start to think about any unfortunate women who dont have insurance. It is so unfair and wrong. For all the issues with the Irish system, at least everyone gets looked after.

I was a bit concerned with over-medicalisation too, the docs here will do anything and everything just to cover their asses and not get sued. I don't fancy getting a c-section for the wrong reasons. But a friend of mine, who would be similarily concerned, just had a baby in the same hospital and she found the whole thing to be fine which was really reassuring.

Hope everything goes well for you and come June you'll have a bouncing yankee baby!

Happy Paddy's Day!

Interesting you say about the Indians etc my husband is Turkish and they are the same so he thinks i am odd to want privacy!

When are you planning on finishing up work, some weeks i feel gung ho that i will work to the end and then others i think i would love a few weeks to myself to destress and get organized.[/quote]

That is interesting, I didn't know the Turkish culture had that too.

I don't get a lot of leave, so I'm hoping to work right up to the end. I work in a lab and i'm hoping that by that point my experiments will be finished and I can just work from home on the analysis. I wouldn't be able to relax if I'd time off before the birth, I think I'd stress myself outmore. who knows what will actually happen though!

29 weeks today and still feeling pretty good. Although I am finding it a bit more difficult to get comfy in bed. I have a little wedge shaped pillow which helps a bit but I am only ever really comfortable on my back and that starts to hurt after a while!

Does anyone else feel huuuuuuge! Here's a fun test I picked up on another forum, get a roll of loo roll and wrap it round your belly at the biggest point... how many sheets? I was nine on Friday but I reckon I've progressed to ten over the weekend!

SmokeyEyes wrote: »

Oh god I'd prob be too embarassed to say how many sheets I've got through!:o Will try it though!!

I've been sleeping badly for a month or so with SPD but I figure it's good training for when he arrives:D Delighted you're still feeling good at 29 weeks, the longer we can feel ourselves the better!

What exactly is SPD? I've heard a lot of people say they are suffering with it. I've had a bit of groin pain, but it feels more muscular than anything. Thankfully it's not too bad and I actually find walking helps. I'm trying to keep as active as possible, though there are days I just don't want to get out of bed!

SmokeyEyes wrote: »

It's pelvis problems which effect 1 in 8 caused by the hormones released during pregnancy to relax your muscles and pelvis for childbirth, they can be a bugger my leg muscles cramp awfully at night from being still and my groin is really sore a lot of the time like someone's given me an awful kick, can be sore to lift my legs sometimes and snuggle time has to accommodate I can't have any weight on my pelvis at all anymore!

Some people have it a lot worse so I keep as active as I can and find I'm ok but night time once I'm still is the worst!

Oh that sounds awful. Must be a nightmare to get comfy in bed. I think this is the babies way of preparing us for the sleepless nights ahead!

I'm 29+1 and 9 sheets of toilet roll haha!
Really suffering with spd some days, it's horrible especially when I'm on my feet all day.
Have an appointment in rotunda (public) next week, anyone know if I get a mini scan?

So it sounds like I'm 1 sheet of toilet paper behind the average - maybe I'm going through a growth spurt at the moment and that is the reason for the sudden hunger. I woke at 4am this morning and had to get up and have a little cereal! I've never experienced anything like this before!

Fair play to you for the middle of the night cereal, I'm loving cereal at the moment too with loads of ice cold milk, yum!

Hey January, yep the scan will depend on who you're seeing I think, I've gotten scans every time I've seen the consultant or doctor (I'm semi private) but if I've just nipped into the midwife they don't have scanners in the room!

Hope you get one though, we're in with the consultant tonight and I always feel reassured and so much calmer when we see the little man in good form!

Trying to write my lists of things for midwife to ask, one of my feet is always more swollen than the other so I need to ask her about that, I know that can be normal but can also indicate a clot and she had said from my blood test results ages so my platelets were just a couple of points over normal, nothing to worry about but meant I was ever so slightly more lightly to clot!

dustie1 wrote: »

Had my GTT today.. not as awful as I'd thought it would be. Popped into Penneys during one of the hour waits and bought a few super cute baby gros. We're having a girl but I'm not a pink person so i've been buying mostly neutral colours which Penneys had great range of Had scan too and babys almost 3lbs! Makes sense as the kicks have gotten so strong recently.

Glad to hear you can have a mooch around inbetween...I want to pick up a load of boys stuff in pennys too may have a look when I have mine on Weds!

Were you in the Rotunda? Do you get comfy seats for the time you're waiting around?

Hi ladies hope alls well with everyone! Had my 30 week check up in rotunda today all is well thank god, baby's head is down and had a little mini scan and baby size is good. How's everyone doing?

contrary_mary wrote: »

I measured myself using toilet paper again this morning and am still 8 sheets exactly. I thought I would have expanded a little in the last 11 days. I'm kind of freaked out as baby has been slowly falling behind size-wise on the scans and at 29+4 was measuring a full week behind. The doctor said it was within normal ranges and it will probably just be a small baby, but I can't help but worry. My next appointment isn't until the week after next. Grow baby grow!

I wouldn't worry too much sure who wants a 12lb baby! Probably just petite

Sarah Bear wrote: »

It's too quiet in here!! :P

Very quiet!

I'm 33 weeks tomorrow and getting more anxious as the days go on. I cried at the antenatal class when she told us about the checks they do on baby after the birth - I just worry so much about having a healthy baby. Otherwise I'm pretty good - still walking and yoga-ing and working away without any issues - only 5 weeks left in work and 3 of them are 4 day weeks because of bank holidays/Good Friday! They still haven't even advertised for my replacement and are scheduling me in for pretty serious projects in my last few weeks which I won't possibly be able to see through - so they're definitely in denial! I'm finding I'm tired in the evenings and it's an all-consuming exhaustion rather than my usual tiredness after a long day.

I'm finally starting to get a few bits sorted for baby's hospital bag - I'm going to try to finish it by next weekend. I have my own stuff sorted.

Hey girls nice to see a bit of activity in this thread!

I think I'm 31 weeks tomorrow (lose track all the time:D) and everything good so far, was getting some rotten ligament pains last week in pelvis and some annoying period type aches that come and go but apart from that all good.

Not in with the consultant again until the end of the month where I need a bigger scan done again as my fluid levels around baby are high normal and his kidneys are slightly higher in fluid levels, they don't think anything wrong but I appreciate they keep such a close eye on you and schedule extras when needed!

Fiance off for two weeks now (he's primary school teacher) so we're going to try get everything ready and bought now!

I had a quick scan at my last appointment 30 weeks.. Not sure if it's Every time tho!

MissFire wrote: »

Oh I hope there is! Want to see this little Kung Fu artist again..

Hey does any of your little ones seem to be lying more to one side a lot? Mine is on my left side nearly always now.. It makes it difficult to lie on left side at night to be honest so I'm just going with what's comfortable now at this stage..

Yes my little one likes to snuggle right at the edge on my side, sometimes feels like he or she is trying to get around my back!