Over 40 and pregnant chitter chatter

[pauli]

Good morning, hope everyone is doing ok.

Strawberry, I think everyone is different so if the time is right for you now, just go for it and get all the baby things needed. You are right to be organised just in case the baby comes early. My plan is to try to get all of the main / big things within the next 3 weeks (pram, car seat, changing table). We were given a cot from our nephew so just need to go to pick it up / assemble it at home. We did one trip to the shops a couple of weeks ago (we spent almost all day looking at different things), it was exhausting but we got loads of useful information. Now just doing a bit more online research. DH was really good, he “examined” different prams pointing out the good and not so good bits.

Still not tempted to find out the gender? ;-) Hope all is well. You must be around 28 weeks now, welcome to 3rd trimester!! Did you manage to sort out your whooping cough vaccine? Interesting about progesterone, as long as it helps, it is worthwhile taking. I have been taking baby aspirin since my FET. Clinic initially told me to stop at about 12 weeks, but I did not (I read it was beneficial to take during the whole pregnancy so I continued) and then at 24 week appointment with a Dr in a hospital I was advised to take it. 

Sorry to hear your trip to Scotland was cancelled, it is annoying but probably better to be cautious. It is difficult to fight the whole family and DH ;-)!

Ellis, how are you and the baby? Is she now head down? Are you managing your GD? Hope you are doing ok.   

I had a scan last week. While all seemed fine, baby is on the big side (bigger than 97%tile). Estimated weight was a few weeks ahead! So despite passing GTT a few weeks back, I was given a glucose blood monitor and I am now monitoring glucose levels 4 times a day! This week I already had a few readings outside the recommended upper limit (readings taken 1 hour after the main meal, readings 2 hours after the meals are fine), not sure what to make out of it. Ellis, you are probably doing this monitoring all the time, right? Once I finish 1 week monitoring, I need to get in touch with the diabetes midwife to see what they will recommend as the next step. Hopefully just to manage my diet better. I suspect the readings outside the interval are due to eating too much fruit with / after the main meal ... any thoughts are welcome!     
   
Otherwise all fine with us so far, at the moment looking for the maternity support belt as feeling like the bottom of the belly is going to fall off ;-) Do you use one?

Hope everyone is doing well xx

[FertilityFriends]

[StrawberrySundae]

Hi all, happy Saturday!

Pauli I hope all the monitoring goes well, best to have extra tests etc just to be safe. I’m sure you’ve got a lovely healthy baby in there. My consultant almost laughed when I asked about having the GD test and he said that’s the one test I probably don’t need, but I’d still rather have had it just in case! Getting whooping cough vaccine & anti D next week when I’ll be 29.5 wks. My feet were so swollen last week never seen them like that  I find it a bit hard to breathe sometimes in the evening too, but I guess the lungs are getting pushed out of the way a bit? I know how you feel with the belly needingcextra support, can’t imsgine what it will look like in another month, wow! I’ve got a support belt, it’s good if you’re standing up or walking about but I take it off when I’m sitting down.

Me and DH have decided to get our travel system this month too, I can’t wait!  Glad your DH is doing his homework! I ordered an electric breast pump too, although I didn’t realise it came with pink bottles, so if we have a boy we’ll just have to use those st home  I also ordered a baby bath padded insert thing which arrived pink instead of green, so that was weird! But no we’re still holding out unless any of the sonographers tell us the sex by accident! My nieces have guessed girl and boy respectively so one of them has to be right 

Ellis hope all is well! Claudia and anyone else hope you’re well too xx

[pauli]

Hi Strawberry, how are you? Sorry to hear about the swollen feet. It is a bit cooler weather, does it help?

I bought a pregnancy support belt, it was delivered only yesterday but so far I found it quite good. I bought a larger size so belly can grow over the next 2 months ;-) it has velcro straps so it can adjust to different sizes.   

Yes, breathing! I do not realise that but my “lovely” DH keeps reminding me that in my sleep I breathe really heavily. Thanks! A friend who lives in France told me her weight was being monitored very carefully when she was pregnant (a few years ago). She was putting more than recommended weight on, and she was told “not to eat for two, but to breathe for two” ;-)   

Have you decided on the travel system yet? We made one more trip to the shop last Saturday and made the decision. We are getting a pram with both a seat and a carrycot, also a car seat to fit the same frame / chassis, so a couple of big things ticked off the list.

Visiting in-laws this weekend to pick up a cot, it’s been used by their first grandchild, but should be in a good shape… they even bought a new mattress for it which is really nice of them. The next thing I want to sort is a changing table.

The deliveries of pink baby bath and pink bottles is very suspicious! Could it be a sign? ;-) I would not be able to wait for so long not knowing! I booked a private gender scan as soon as it was possible to see the gender ;-)   

What do you study? Are you going to finish the course before baby is born?

Ellis, Claudia, hope all is well with you xx       

[StrawberrySundae]

Hi Pauli 👋 hope you’re well! I definitely think the warm weather made feet worse, as they’ve been much better recently - I read somewhere we’re supposed to be having another mini heatwave this bank holiday (don’t know if it’s true?) so will see what they do 

Are you enjoying your support belt? I should wear mine more often! Probably will when I finish work! Not long to go happily  When do you finish? I still find breathing hard on & off, usually when walking or in a reclining position! So I have to sit more upright which is a shame.

We got our travel system last week, very pleased with it, it’s an all-terrain 3 wheeler and the car seat goes flat like a carry cot. Will be lovely to try it out  My mum & mother-in-law are both getting desperate to turn up and move in with the baby  I’ll be having a c section so hope they are both helpful! I’m giving them separate dates/schedules and going to ask my family to visit at the hospital separately so it’s not too overwhelming afterwards! I dread to think how hormonal or emotional I’m going to be! 

I’ve been doing a doctorate, handing it in this month. Then I never want to see the thesis ever again 

Anyway we’re both into the last month or 2 now which is great, hope you’re sleeping better than me!

Ellis, Claudia and anyone else, hope you’re enjoying your pregnancies and all’s well 

Strawberry xx

[pauli]

Hi Strawberry, It’s amazing you are managing to study for your doctorate and finishing before your baby is born! Hope you are not too stressed about handing in the thesis. What is the topic of your thesis? Do you have a deadline? I used to be a bit last minute person when it came to submitting any essays, reports and final thesis. I always worked through the last night finishing in the morning ;-) This would not work now when pregnant.       

Well done on getting travel system sorted. We also have an all-terrain type with suspension built into chassis. And a similar car seat which can go almost flat when outside the car.

That’s great that you have both your mom and MIL keen to come and help ;-). Different schedules seem quite sensible! Do you already have a date for your c section? Was it recommended by your Dr?

I am hoping for a natural birth but still have to wait to see about placenta moving up and what the recommendation from Dr will be. So far they only confirmed they would NOT let me go the full term. My parents are not around anymore, but my sister is flying from abroad. She is hoping the dates she booked are right ;-) PIL will also visit, but they will not just show up on the door step, they will wait for an invitation to come.       

All good with us, sleeping is still fine, no complaints. We made it past 32 weeks now, the little one seems to have strong limbs so it feels like a small octopus ;-) moving around in my tummy. He even developed a bit of attitude and kicks or pushes his hand against the scanner head / doppler when used by a Dr or a midwife. Apparently babies while inside can feel the high-frequency sound pulses travelling across their bodies, so he obviously does not like it! It is kind of funny ;-) Having a growth scan tomorrow, hopefully all is still well.       

Hope the warmer weather is not going to make your feet worse. Good luck with finishing your thesis!
XX

[StrawberrySundae]

Hi Pauli, so sweet hearing about your baby boy kicking like an octopus! 🐙 It’s amazing seeing lumps move about on your belly isn't it!  I hope your growth scan went well. I had one this week and it was nice to see everything on target. I’m coming up to 32 weeks too now, good to be preparing to tick off the last few weeks!

My doctorate is in psychology. Very popular subject these days! I handed my thesis in so that’s a relief, can concentrate on preparing for baby now  I’ve started packing my hospital bag just in case - well it’s turned into two, one for me & one for baby!  Hopefully won’t need it for at least another 6 weeks! Baby’s room is still a tip, will be glad to get on top of that and reorganise clothes etc! Speaking of which, I’ve got quite a few baby vests but now wondering what you put on the bottom half?! I think maybe all-in-ones might be easier? I’m really not used to dressing babies!

So lovely of your sister to fly out for the birth, how nice of her. It’s better to have a normal delivery if possible as you’ll recover much faster. I would have opted for that a few years ago. My c section will be about 10 days before my official due date, so we might even deliver at about the same time? Do you think they provide nappies and maternity pads in hospitals? Not sure if I should bring my own 🤔 Will have to ask my midwife.

Feet not too bad thanks so far, just had to spray the house with flea spray as me & DH had a few bites this week, ugh! I think it could be from when my dog caught a rabbit recently 

Hope you have a nice bank hol! Xx

[StrawberrySundae]

Any news from Ellis? I was wondering how she’s getting on, as she must have reached her due date by now! I can’t believe it’s the end of August!    If you get chance to come on Ellis, please let us know and I hope all’s going really well!

Xx

[pauli]

Hi Strawberry, how are you? Yes, it would be good to hear from Ellis, she probably had her baby girl by now so must be busy …

All was looking good on our latest growth scan, baby is still on the big side (97th percentile for head and tummy and 90th percentile for the estimated weight) so heading for an induction (unless baby decides to come early) before the due date. Dr. has not confirmed the date yet, but it is likely to be early Oct. Is it about the same time as your C section? I have one more growth scan & Dr Appointment in 2 weeks’ time when date should be confirmed.

Well done for submitting your thesis. When are you expecting to receive the official feedback?

I have started thinking what to pack in a hospital bag. I am sure I will have 2 bags like you ;-) As for the baby vests, I bought a few pairs of cotton joggers (or crawlers) to go with them. I guess it is easier as we know we are having a boy ;-)  I think hospital will probably have some stock of nappies and maternity pads, but I will pack both as do not want to rely on what they can provide.

I have my first pregnancy complaint, lower back pain. I am aware this is meant to be normal, but I struggle to walk. I am fine sitting and sleeping. I keep dragging myself around the house, every step is an agony. Sometimes I worry if I can get to the loo on quickly enough as I keep moving very slowly. It has been getting progressively worse since last week… I cannot imagine to be like that for another 4-5 weeks. It is quite debilitating. Any advice?

Hope all is well with you, and no more flea bites ;-)
xx

[StrawberrySundae]

Hi Pauli,

Good to hear you had a reassuring growth scan. Sounds nice and chubby!  I had another this week, got last one in 2 weeks I think. I’m not sure where my baby is percentile-wise, but on the graphs s/he has stayed pretty much in the middle, so seems ok. Around 5Lb in weight apparently. The tummy seems to be growing most! The legs seem the shortest out of the 3 measurements and most of my family has long legs, so that will be interesting 

My consultant talked about plans if I go into early labour (but he thought unlikely) and I could end up having a vaginal delivery after all if that happens, as you can’t have a spinal anaesthetic less than about 20 hrs after the tinziparin injections I’m on (and I don’t fancy a GA). So I’ll have to think about a few exercises & perineal massage maybe? Have you been doing any? This weekend we’re going to our NCT classes, so maybe the birthing part will be useful. I hope they talk about kinds of nappies too, as I’m still looking into that!

I think the examiners have about 6 wks to get back to me about the thesis, so maybe just before or after baby is born!  I always seem to leave things to the last minute!

Sorry to hear about your back, that sounds very painful. Some people see chiropractors & physio’s in pregnancy, maybe that’s an option? Have you seen your GP? Hope it eases up for you soon. I keep wondering how to get through another 4 weeks or so too!

Have a nice weekend xx

[StrawberrySundae]

Pauli just popping by to say hi and good luck, as you probably don’t have long left! I hope all goes really well, let me know when you’ve had your little one!

Exciting times ahead  xx