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February 2020 babies club

RebelScorned

I genuinely can't believe I am starting this thread...

just back from holidays late last night and was expecting Aunt Flo to arrive when I was over there. Did a pregnancy test this morning and 2 big dark red lines came up after less than a minute. Did another home test to be sure, same two lines.

We literally just decided to start trying for a baby weeks ago and have gotten pregnant on our first month of trying. I know it sounds mad but I thought I would have a few months to get my head around it. My head is swimming. By my calculation, I'm about 5w + 2 - still early. We just moved late last year so I don't have a doctor in this area yet and I feel very poorly researched on what I should and should not be doing at this stage. This just feels very big and scary rn.

I haven't told himself yet (probably because I am still reeling from shock) - I know he'll be chuffed as he was broodier than I was - I'm hoping I can hold out until Sunday (Father's Day) and surprise him...

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RebelScorned

Hey there, I hit 28weeks last Sunday - i remember thinking that 28 sounds like such a big number but still 12 more weeks to go! Sorry to hear you need B12 shots Paulers06- is that to help with fatigue?

I don't think the physical symptoms associated with third trimester have hit me at all yet - no indigestion or heartburn or fatigue or back pain etc. Will probably hit me like a ton of bricks when it does land. I got quite a sharp pain in lower left side a few weeks back but it passed after a few hours and no sign since - I put it down to round ligament pain (thanks Google). Peanut is still fluttering around and kicking like crazy - the external ones out the front of me are cute and encouraging but the internal ones against my organs are not the most pleasant. Peanut is also a night owl so I guess we can say goodbye to normal sleeping hours in this house for a while come next February

I'm getting married this Friday - cannot believe the day is finally upon us but I'm looking forward to officially sealing the deal after 10 odd years with himself.

I've also been doing loads of shopping and ordering of baby bits over last few weeks and made a great dent - keeping an eye out on Black Friday/Cyber Weekend deals for various shops too.

Chelle_C

RebelScorned - you throw that in there so casually, as if getting married is like popping out for a pedicure haha!
That is such exciting news, congratulations!
What a lovely few months this is for you; marriage, Christmas, a baby

I’m am 27 weeks tomorrow and I’m definitely feeling the second trimester glow fading away. Which is a shame as it’s been so lovely.

I’m tired due to needing to pee every hour during the night.
My skin was fabulous for ages but has now gone a bit crap, which I’m sure is due to the weather/central heating etc.
I’ve booked a facial at Monica Tolan’s next week so hopefully that will help.

Today my feet/ankles decided it would be great craic to swell up so hideously that a work colleague noticed. I feel disgusting. Plus my bump has really grown in the past 2 weeks so I feel obese as well as knackered.

And still 13 weeks to go! The joys...

On a positive note I am loving the strong kicking, I will never tire of feeling them move. It’s amazing how much love you can have for a teeny little thing you haven’t even met yet.

And due to taking early maternity leave, I only have 9 workings days left...so whilst I’m dreading the third trimester, at least I won’t have to worry about going to work!

Cole30

Huge congrats @RebelScorned I hope you have a wonderful day on Friday! Such an exciting and special time!

I was 27 weeks yesterday and my bump has also grown so much in 2 weeks it's still quite low but it has doubled in size! So has my appetite ðŸ™ˆðŸ™ˆ

Feeling ok most of the time I am getting anxious my job gets VERY busy over the next 4 weeks on the lead up to Xmas so I am just hoping I'll manage. Other than rib pain through the day I'm keeping quite well. When I think of how sick I was at the start I can't believe the difference!!!

Movements are so definite I am also really enjoying them I just can't imagine what it will be like to not feel them kick inside! We got a 3d scan last week it actually wasn't supposed to be 3d but she did it anyway and it was really amazing. I'd really recommend the girls at ultrascan.ie in ballymount they were so nice and it really was brilliant so clear!!!

Hope everyone is keeping well!! ♥️

shesty

You do feel phantom kicks for a few weeks after giving birth!Then you have to remind yourself that the kicker is in your arms!

clarnimhurchu

RebelScorned wrote: »

I'm getting married this Friday

Congratulation RebelScorned, I hope you had a wonderful day! It must be a very exciting time for you with all the new changes!

I hope everyone else is feeling well still!

I had an antenatal visit in my house on Friday, to sign the homebirth consent forms. It's beginning to feel more real now, especially since I can regularly feel baby kicking away. I am 28+5 weeks now. I am going to France for Christmas, as my partner is French, so hopefully things will stay well over the next few weeks.

I have no sugar problems, but I'm really finding it hard to stay away from sweets and cake, especially as there seems to be so much of it in the office at this time of year! I need to find a lot of willpower for the coming season!

RebelScorned

Thanks all for all the good messages - happy to report that I am now officially a married woman and we had a lovely day. Can't say life feels too different yet in all honesty (and wasn't really expecting it to!) but glad that we've finally made it official before Peanut arrives.

Hope everybody is getting on well - I hit wk 30 on Sunday and that felt kind of like a milestone in itself - and it's great to finally be down to single week numbers on the countdown on my Ovia app. I feel like the weeks are flying now and I am sure they will only whizz by after Christmas.

Thankfully I'm still feeling ok generally - not too tired yet but I do have days where I am just waiting to fall into the bed, so far baby weight is just going on bump so I don't feel too uncomfortable yet (though I really really miss sleeping on my front!) and I'm not really experiencing shortness of breath or any other physical discomfort like swollen feet. I woke up with this burning sensation in my chest at 3am last night for the first time ever but I took a Rennie and it was pretty much instant relief so I guess that was heartburn. Peanut still squirming and kicking away, sometimes when i am lying down I can clearly make out outline of its little back and body, wasn't sure whether I was poking its head or bum but midwife confirmed this morning that baby is currently head down so turns out i've been poking baby's bottom the whole time:) She said today baby seems happy out, has a nice healthy heartbeat and bump is measuring perfectly and honestly I don't know if it's hormones or what but I could have burst with happiness in that minute. I'm getting more excited by the day to see and hold our baby, we have set up baby's room and stocked up on loads of baby bits and I've washed all the babygrows, bodysuits, blankets, towels already - is this what they call nesting? Even though I hope baby stays put for another few weeks yet, I am getting giddy at the thought of just cuddling my little munchkin. I don't know how I will cope if I go the full 2 weeks over. I don't know where the nerves and suspense of the great unknown i.e. motherhood has gone over the last fortnight or so, I'm just feeling excited and impatient at the minute.

Himself still does not know the gender - somehow I have managed to conceal all non-neutral clothes and bits that I've gotten so far and none of my family let it slip at the wedding so he is still none the wiser. He actually has asked me a few times to put him out of his misery and spill the beans but I'm holding out for now.

We have an antenatal class in the Coombe on Saturday - well class is in Ballyfermot but is run by the Coombe. Not really sure what to expect - we opted to do the one day course instead of the five evenings or whatever the other alternative is. Has anybody else done one of these to shed some light on what to expect?

Also I had been kicking myself for not signing up to some sort of breastfeeding class before now as I've decided I want to give it my 100% best effort and I realised that I will be personally disappointed if it does not work out for us (and so many of my female work colleagues and relatives have expressed how it was much harder than they thought it would be and that it didn't work out for them for one reason or another) BUT the midwife today said that there are extra sessions with a lactation consultant that usually happen around wk 37/38 that can be availed of if needed and that everything else is pointing towards a good outcome for me (no thyroid issues, under 35 and boobs have gotten bigger in pregnancy). I mean if it doesn't work, I won't beat myself up about it, but I'd like to be able to say I gave it the best shot I could.

Would love to hear all of your news and updates - have been learning so much from this thread already! I'm on some FB groups too but I don't find any of them useful tbh - they all seem to be US based groups obsessed with baby showers and maternity shoots and horror stories!

clarnimhurchu

Congratulations again RebelScorned!

Re breastfeeding, it can be difficult at the start, and I think that knowing what to expect really helps us to keep going. A brilliant source of information (and always evidence based) is https://kellymom.com/. The first few weeks are usually very intense, and the baby will likely feed almost all the time. This is natural, and it brings in your supply. I found that it was better to get new information myself, because our generation of mothers (probably in their 50's or older) only breastfed for about 6 weeks, if at all, and were often given incorrect information which didn't help their 6 week journey! For example, they might have been told to feed on a strict schedule, rather than feed on demand. This could lead to a decrease in supply, and inevitably, formula topups, which could decrease your supply further, and you might be ready to stop by the time baby is 6 weeks old.

I found Cuidiu breastfeeding groups very helpful. They were informal, and there was a breastfeeding counsellor there, as well as mothers and babies at all different stages. Many women went in their last few weeks of pregnancy to see what to expect. You can check your local Cuidiu for information. I think it's better to get the information closer to the time, so it's fresh in your mind, and also you know who to call if you need help. Also, my daughter had tongue tie (so the intense all-the-time feeding didn't really taper out), and I hired a private lactation consultant (IBCLC) when she was 4 or 5 months to see what was going on. I would recommend to call one sooner, if you have any doubt, as midwives aren't as well trained with breastfeeding issues, and I got different conflicting advice from each midwife that saw me in the first few days. Another thing, I got these silver nipple cups, called Breastangels, which aid in fast healing and probably enabled me to go so long before asking for help. They are expensive, but amazing!

shesty

I would also really, really recommend finding a breastfeeding group in your area, because it is great to have other mums for advice, support and as a shoulder to cry on!And there is a good sticky in the newborn and toddlers page where you can post for advice if needed.

Another piece of advice would be to do loads of batch cooking and fill your freezer so you have good food in the house (breastfeeding is RAVENOUS work!) And you don't need to worry about cooking dinner during cluster feeds!

__teenie__

Echoing the above, breastfeeding isnt a natural talent, it takes practice (and probably a few tears) remember both you and peanut are learning something new together. I got a lactation consult 3 weeks in with my first and it was well worth it to see what holds work with the baby and you.

Ca_va

Congratulations on the wedding RebelScorned! I had a my antenatal class from the Coombe on Saturday as well in the centre on Cork St. How did you find it? I thought it was pretty good. Lots of stuff I knew already but definitely some new info for me, and my husband found it useful. The midwife also said that they were open to some gentle birth practices if you ask for them, which is reassuring should I have to transfer to hospital. I managed get a spot on a breastfeeding class that the Coombe are running in February, so no harm getting on touch with the parent education team to see if they have something available if you think it'd be helpful.

I'm all confirmed for a home birth now as well clarnimhurchu, I'm delighted. It all seems to be working out quite well so far, and I love my midwife. It's so nice having antenatal visits at home.

I was home in Ireland for the weekend and really missed my pregnancy pillow! But otherwise I'm feeling pretty well and am still enjoying yoga and swimming. Hope all the rest of you are doing well and will get a chance to chill over Christmas.

RebelScorned

Thanks again everybody for the good wishes and especially all the helpful BF tips, I really appreciate them. It sounds like it should be the most natural and easiest thing in the world but it's definitely not an exact science and I think a lot of it is just down to luck and a co-operative baby!

I went to the 1 day antenatal course organised by the Coombe at the weekend but it was on in grounds of Cherry Orchard Hospital in Ballyfermot - the midwife at the morning session was great and we got exactly what we wanted out of it (and then some as himself would attest to!

) Re signs that childbirth is brewing, when to go to hospital, how long to wait at home, different changes to look out for, pain relief options, birth plan options etc. I had read a lot about it already but the midwife talking through it was great as she had first hand experience of what to expect in the Coombe in particular. I was comforted to learn that the midwives in the Coombe will really take your birth plan into account (insofar as they can obviously!), I did not realise that they practice delayed cord clamping and it was good to hear about what kind of support will be provided on the postnatal ward. We were also joined by an anaesthetist who explained all things epidural to us - the procedure, timelines and associated risks - I know it's easy for me to say now having never birthed a child before but I hope I won't need an epidural because I really don't like the thought of losing mobility even for a short window - completely reserve the right to change my mind however!

The afternoon session was run by two public health nurses and in my opinion, this part of the day was very poor - got the impression that the two nurses wanted to get in and out asap as they don't usually work weekends and neither of us learned that much from the session - they barely touched on breastfeeding at all and I was really hoping that they might give an indication on when baby is hungry, tips for a good latch, positions etc. It was meant to be a 3 hour session but they finished up within an hour and during the Q&A, they weren't very aligned in their responses and both gave different answers so it was about as clear as mud.

I had mentioned at an antenatal appointment last week that I was interested in learning more about breastfeeding so I've signed up for an extra breastfeeding specific class in the Coombe in mid January (a 2 hour morning session) and I am definitely going to attend a few Cuidiu groups in a nearby town after Christmas, I didn't realise that you even could attend them before baby comes to be honest. I've exhausted many forums and stocked up on recommended bf supplies like nipple shields and compresses and pumps and I've just started the Positive Breastfeeding Book. I'll definitely look into lining up a lactation consultant as soon as I can after Peanut arrives. I know there is only so much I can do, and a lot of it will be down to baby too, but I just want to arm myself with as much knowledge as possible in advance and continue hoping for the best.

In other news, I've given my formal maternity leave notice to work and have sent away the MB1/MB2 forms - it's getting so real and so close now. Will be finishing up work on 31 January - I'd work right up until EDD if I could for a distraction but have to take at least two weeks off before EDD. I'll prob spend the two weeks fluffing about, nesting some more and batch cooking. I'd love if Peanut made an appearance a little earlier than EDD but that's out of my hands, I'll just be doing my 'figure of 8' on my birthing ball from 34 wks on to make sure baby is engaged in the right position and stays there until their big entrance.

I've also discovered that Peanut is a massive George Michael fan like me, we went to see Last Christmas in the cinema at the weekend and baby was twirling and kicking and moving like crazy all through the film and for 2 days and nights afterwards - I mean crazy movement, kicks clearly visible through my clothes and it was relentless! Now I turn George on full blast in the car and the house when himself is not around and Peanut and I have a bit of a singalong and jump about.

@ciarnimhurchu and @Ca_va - very exciting that you have opted for home births - one of my work colleagues had all 3 babies at home and was very supportive of it and her experience sounded amazing. Hopefully it will go just as smoothly for you both and I'll look forward to hearing how you got on - must be great to do your antenatal appointments in your own home too. And I am very much looking forward to the Christmas break - back in June when we found out we were pregnant, Christmas seemed so far away and the last hardle before baby comes and now it's nearly upon us. I've said all along the weeks have just flown by since the dating scan - took an eternity to get to the 12 week scan and I've literally just realised that was 20 weeks ago today - madness!

keg

So you are now 30-34 weeks pregnant. Congratulations. What would you really love for Xmas from your loved one?

RebelScorned

Just popping on to wish you all a very happy new year - will be a busy one for us! Hard to believe vast majority of the February 2020 babies from this here thread will be arriving next month :eek:

paulers06

RebelScorned wrote: »

Just popping on to wish you all a very happy new year - will be a busy one for us! Hard to believe vast majority of the February 2020 babies from this here thread will be arriving next month :eek:

Happy New Year! I can’t believe how close we are but feels so far away at the same time! Packed my hospital bags over Christmas so feeling very real now. Have you all picked your names yet? We’re struggling to agree on one. I think we’ll end up with a name that neither of us love but both think is ok.

Cole30

Happy New year ladies hope everyone is feeling well after the festive period. 5 weeks today I finish up in work! I can't believe it!

tiredcity

I'm 36 weeks tomorrow, finished up yesterday. Feels very weird. Hope you're all well!

red petal

Happy New Year all! Finishing up in 5+1/2 weeks - not due until the very end of Feb but looking forward to finishing but a little nervous too! We also can't decide on a name and think we will end up going with one we don't love but both think is ok! I find it so hard to choose.

Chelle_C

Hi all.
I’m 32+4 now and luckily am on maternity leave already.
I am so tired I could cry...I just can’t get a full nights sleep, I wake every hour at least and then properly wake around 5.30am every morning.

Thank God I’ve finished work as I couldn’t go in like this!

RebelScorned

I'm not finishing up until very end of this month - trying to hold out as long as I can so I can get as much time as possible with baby. I can work from home a lot which helps massively - would be much harder to keep going if I had to commute into the office 5 days a week I'm sure.

Re the great name debate, I know the gender but himself doesn't yet so we haven't really had much of a names conversation - I've looked at the lists online etc. but I genuinely haven't a clue what to go for, nothing has really stood out for the right or wrong reasons. I imagine I will probably come up with some sort of shortlist and decide once we actually see Peanut's little face.

Over the Christmas break we finished up the baby's room and got all the final bits and pieces incl. car seat and travel system. I've put stuff aside for hospital bags (but haven't packed those hospital bags yet) and also on the recommendation of my other boardsies on this thread, I've joined a local Cuidiu group and hope to pop along to a few meetups before baby comes. Everything is slowly but surely coming together and it really has helped massively mentally, just the feeling of preparedness and ticking things off the list, I really highly recommend listing everything out and ticking it off when complete because I remember panicking a few months' back about how overwhelming I perceived it all to be at the time - breaking it down into micro tasks like assembling the cot, washing/folding all the baby clothes, collecting and installing car seat etc. has made it all so much more manageable. I've also started batch cooking meals and freezing portions for the first few weeks with baby, it's so easy to double/triple/quadruple quantities as I cook most nights anyway and I know future me will be grateful to not have to worry about cooking for the first few weeks with baby.

I think I'm also reaching peak nesting mode and I'm dying to take the Christmas decorations down (i'm not allowed to touch as much as a bauble until Jan 7th at the earliest), do a massive declutter and deep clean every single room of the house from top to bottom. Hopefully this next month will fly by fingers crossed and as soon as I finish up work, I will be doing every trick in the book to try to move Peanut's arrival along as much as possible, I have this sneaking fear/suspicion that Peanut is so comfortable at the moment that I'll end up going the full 10 days over and need to be induced! :eek:

Redser87

I'm on leave now too Chelle! Today was my first official day off... got downstairs tidied and dusted to within an inch of its life, and plan on doing upstairs tomorrow! Am definitely in nesting mode too and have started batch cooking - some great freezable recipes on BBC good food. The ones in the links are full of veg.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1094667/italian-vegetable-soup?utm_source=app
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/775646/vegetable-curry-for-a-crowd?utm_source=app

Good luck with the last few weeks of work RebelScorned, fair play for holding on as long as you can.

clarnimhurchu

Happy New Year everyone! Wow, it is next month that most of us will be welcoming our babies!

It sounds like everyone is getting super organised already. I still have another month in work until maternity leave, but I am getting very uncomfortable. The tiredness was killing me, so I've moved my bedtime forward by 1 hour, and it's helping. I am not too organised yet, and have a few weekend outings planned through January to have done before baby makes an appearance, so I'm really hoping I will have the time. I have a gigantic box with all the old clothes from my daughter when she was born up to about 18 months old, so I have to sort through it and see what I can take. The idea of it is filling me with dread, but I'll get around to it one of these days (or evenings). Hopefully I'll have time for batch cooking after I'm on maternity leave, too.

__teenie__

I'm holding on till the end of the month too, only is this sciatica buggers off though. With names we had oo get our top three each and then decide from them. It did help matters to have the selection narrowed down. I've a toddler here too so my meal prep will probably be just for her! Last time I lived off flapjacks,

RebelScorned

Just back from the antenatal class on breastfeeding in the Wisdom Centre run by the Coombe this morning - was well worth attending IMO and am delighted to have gone to it. It was 2 hours focused solely on breastfeeding baby - covered everything from breast care to feeding cues, what makes a good and bad latch, feeding positions, techniques for hand expressing, where to go for additional support, common baby issues e.g. tongue tie and so on.

I feel much better about embarking on a bf journey after it so if your hospital is offering a similar class and you're on the fence about whether to attend or not, I would highly highly recommend it.

paulers06

We did a full day antenatal class on Sunday and the midwife gave us this link to breastfeeding groups/supports in each county. Like PP, she also recommended going ahead of the birth. Will be a nice way to meet other moms locally as well that will be off at the same time.

https://www2.hse.ie/services/breastfeeding-support-search/

Ca_va

RebelScorned wrote: »

Just back from the antenatal class on breastfeeding in the Wisdom Centre run by the Coombe this morning - was well worth attending IMO and am delighted to have gone to it. It was 2 hours focused solely on breastfeeding baby - covered everything from breast care to feeding cues, what makes a good and bad latch, feeding positions, techniques for hand expressing, where to go for additional support, common baby issues e.g. tongue tie and so on.

I feel much better about embarking on a bf journey after it so if your hospital is offering a similar class and you're on the fence about whether to attend or not, I would highly highly recommend it.

That's great to hear RebelScorned, I'm booked in for that class next month so looking forward to it now.

I'm moving back to Ireland in two weeks when I finish work so all of my attention has been focused on the move and I have nothing sorted for baby yet - hopefully it'll all fall into place once I'm home!

paulers06

Had a gp appointment this morning and doctor was encouraging me to think about finishing up at work. I’m 34+4 at the moment and have been feeling pretty good. Don’t get me wrong, I’m tired and my back is sore a lot of the time but I guess that’s par for the course. I’ll be back in with the gp in two weeks (36+2) and he said we should talk again then about finishing up. He was saying that the baby will be growing a lot over the next couple of weeks so while I might be feeling ok now, he thinks that will change. He’s also quite focused on the mental health side and making sure that I have time to prepare and relax ahead of the baby coming. The baby is quite big and he also pointed out that I should be thinking about the possibility of baby arriving at 38 or 39 weeks.

I had been planning to work until 38 weeks but am beginning to rethink that now. As my brother says, nobody will remember or thank me when I go back to work in 9 months time for working up until the end. On the other side, it feels wrong getting signed off when I can still manage fine and plough through the tiredness. What are the rest of you ladies doing/thinking?

Redser87

I've been off since the start of January because of how my leave works. It's been great to relax and get the house ready. I haven't been sleeping great at night so I can now nap during the day. No back problems and only a small amount of nausea. If you can gain 2 weeks now without having to come back 2 weeks early at the end, I would absolutely go for it if I were you.

clarnimhurchu

I'm due on a Wedensday (26th Feb), so legally I have to finish work two Fridays before (14th Feb). This is how I planned it on my first, but my daughter was unexpectedly just over two weeks early. So, I was in work on Monday, due to finish up Friday of that week, then that night my waters broke and I had to go to hospital, and the next afternoon I had a baby. Completely overwhelming (I was also trying to finalise our house buying) and I was not relaxed or ready at all, and very worried about what work thought. So this time, I have planned my maternity leave to start one week earlier, on 7th Feb. I wouldn't ask for sick leave if I was feeling fine, but if I knew that my own or baby's health was in any way at risk, I would have no qualms about taking it. It definitely would have been nice to have a bit more time to prepare for number 1 though!

paulers06

Thanks ladies. I’ll see how I get on next week. Finding that I feel great on Monday/Tuesday and start going downhill from there until the weekend as sleepless nights take effect and I’m less able to handle the back pain. Feel refreshed again after a weekend of not sitting at my desk.

Rockiemalt

Hello, hope you are all doing well.

I disappeared from this group for a few months as I got distracted by working and trying to sort baby things and gestational diabetes!

Still not sorted but finished work now.

Having trouble coming up with boy names, its so difficult!

Also did a aqua natal class yesterday which was lovely to do as I felt light for first time in months!