The Pregnancy Chat Thread!

greine

Great thread, makes good reading! i'm 14 weeks pregnant, 2nd time round with a 16 year gap inbetween! Rearing my children one at a time!! Had 1st scan 2 weeks ago, all well TG. There's great excitement in the house! Roll on April 21st!!:D

silja

I went to my GP today as I am having a bit of a cold. Bad news is she recommends not using any cold medicine, as many of the ingredients are not proven to be safe; also, apparently colds take longer when pregnant as your mucus membranes are swollen anyway, so getting rid of any cold takes a long time. Good news is that I can use strepsils for my sore throat, and she said she'd write me a sick cert if I wanted, now or later in pregnancy. Don't need one right now, as the cold seems worst in the evening, but it's good to know that when I get too big and tired I can just ask her for a cert rather than use up maternity leave. Also, I got to hear the babies heartbeat for the first time! That was really cool; I've seen them on u/s so many times but never heard them before. Gained 13 kilo since the beginning of the pregnancy, good weight gain for a twin pregnancy.

Love2love

Well just had DS 's 1st birthday today and I'm now feeling very broody again, hope to be joining you gals soon on the pregnancy thread!

silja

Hi girls,
only 23 weeks 2 days today, but I have had my first "urgh this sucks" type pregnancy day. I couldn't sleep last night, got up and tried to sleep some more later, got about 4 hours overall. My right side hurt all day, not just a little in the ribs the way it has on and off for the last few weeks, but the whole right side. Not sure what Wilbur is doing in there! Then had a crap day at work- noting I couldn't normally handle, but between the big unwieldy bump and hormones I just found it so difficult to cope. Got home, felt really anti-social, burst into tears at my poor DH because the phone rang and he wanted me to answer it! I hope tomorrow is better... I have next week off, but am working till Sunday... so if I can make it till then, I have a week off to look forward to. Starting to wonder how long I'll be able to work full-time during this pregnancy.

Urgh... anyway there is no reason for this post really, just needed to tell someone.

flyz

Hi Silja, I had one of those weeks; 2 weeks ago. I know how you feel. DH didn't know whether I was going to attempt murder or burst into tears.
Last week I focused on getting as much sleep as possible and that seems to have helped things along.

I talked to my midwife about it yesterday too and she suggested taking Fish Oil tablets to help regulate some of the hormones. So hopefully that'll help stabilize things.
I used to take Evening primrose oil pre pregnancy for mild PMS however they're not so suitable for taking now unless you want to help bring on labour


Hope you feel better soon!

silja

Hi Flyz- thanks for the fish oil tablets tip. I've bought a box a couple of weeks ago and started taking them every 2-3 days, so now I am taking them every day, hopefully it'll help.

Had a good night's sleep, which made all the difference, feel much more human now. DH and I went to our first ante-natal class today. It was interesting, though purely focused on singletons of course. I am looking forward to the special twin's class at my hospital on the 16th November. One thing they did highly recommend is getting an excercise ball; you can get them for 8 euro from Argos and they help with posture, pelvic pain, leg cramps and also early stages labour. So went and got one on the way home, now we just need to find a pump to blow it up!

I have a few of the 3D pics of my twins up on the web. I am not sure we'll get the DVD on YouTube, it seems to be a strange file format, but DH managed to copy the DVD onto his computer and then burn copies onto DVD-Rs, so we can send a copy of the "movie" to our parents that way.

Wilbur and Robyn in 3D: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/silja/The%20twins/3DWilburandRobyn23weeks.jpg
Robyn's face and Wilbur's feet in 3D: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/silja/The%20twins/3DRobynandWilbursfeet23weeks.jpg
Wilbur in 3D: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/silja/The%20twins/3DWilbur23weeks.jpg
Robyn in 3D: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/silja/The%20twins/3DRobyn23weeksE.jpg

flyz

Love the 3D pics of the twins!

I sat on an exercise ball last year at work when I had back / sciatica problems. It was a life saver.
I since moved jobs/cities so haven't had the opportunity to bring it into this job yet. It'll be coming out soon though

bea2200

I had my 22 week scan yesterday at holles St. It went well, and i have now two pictures of my baby boy. It is all very exciting but it also makes me feel impatience, Im only half way. DD 5th march

silja

I had two appointments today: twin study ultrasound followed by second ante-natal class.

The u/s went well as always. The babies put on lots of weight in the last four weeks, and overall are about 11 days head of average singleton development, though individual measurements are starting to vary:

- Robyn is now 1 pound 11.3 ounces. She has very long femurs right now for her gestational age, so hopefully she is going to have shapely legs, like my grandmother, who was proud of her nice legs even when in her 80s. She's also got a very well rounded tummy. She is still transverse, though her legs are starting to point up.

- Wilbur is 1 pound 9.2 ounces. He's got a big head already ) (for his gestational age). His position is still cephalic (head down), and that is unlikely to change at this stage.

The bloodflow in their hearts, heads and umbilical cords are all excellent, as is the placental weight and position, and there is plenty of fluid around the babies. We are now gong to bi-weekly ultrasounds, not because anything is wrong, just because the research needs to know when twins start to become different weights so will be monitored closely from now on.

Ante-natal class was about recognising the difference between practise/ Braxton-hix contractions, real contractions and labour (it's only labour when you're dilating, apparently). We also talked about the first stage of labour (got a copy of the chart they use during labour, so we'll know what it loks like and what the things the midwives write in it means) and pain management during labour, and lastly discussed the standard hospital policies at the NMH, such as breaking the waters, encouraging you to walk, what they usually do when the labour isn't progressing etc. Today's midwife, who we'll also have for next week's session (on 2nd and 3rd stages of labour) was very funny. You could sort of tell she'd been using the same jokes in her ante-natal classes for the last 20 years, but they were still funny

-Leelo-

Hi all u fellow preggers

Sorry if this has already been discussed (too lazy to read through all the old posts) but just wondering if anyone has been having weird cravings? I've heard of people saying they craved weird stuff before but I always thought they were talking through their backsides. I'm 27 weeks pregnant and for the last 4 weeks or so I've been craving a sponge. I don't eat it, just chew it, but it simply has to be washed with Dove soap first. I feel like a weirdo

silja

Leelo- no strange cravings here, though early in pregnancy I was big on apple juice and green beans.

I had three pregnancy appointments this week; the third standard ante-natal class on Wednesday (on second and third stage of labour), consultant's appointment yesterday (all is well, he said physically I am still able for work but if I felt I wanted to stop, to just ring his secretary and he'll do a quick exam any day and write me off sick. As the urine sample was clear, we are not going to do the glucose test till 29 weeks, ie after my next consultant appointment), and lastly the special twin ante-natal class this morning. There were 14 twin mommies-to-be there! They only do the class once every two months but that still seems a lot. Got some interesting info on third trimester with twins and labour and delivery. They encourage everyone to try for a vaginal birth (with 18%, H** St** has the lowest overall c-section rate of all irish hospitals), which is nice, though about 55% of twins end up in c-sections (a lot of these are scheduled though, because the mom wants it or because of previous c-sections, so hopefully I can still go vaginally!).
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RIRI

Leelo - that's a mad old craving to have - but I do remember being mad for the texture of talcum powder - used to go around with a little ziploc bag full of it! I never tried to eat it though - lol
Funny that you mention apple juice Silja, I was mad for raw cooking apples the whole way through my pregnancy (then again I was mad for ANYTHING edible - seriously!!)

Glad to hear bumps are all doing well

flyz

I'm not starting my Antenatal classes until after Xmas. I had them booked before I found out I was carrying 2 babies.
I'll be 38 weeks for my last class I think so we'll see how that goes I think DH is happy with them being so late though as it's longer before he has to face up to the experience of childbirth

Everything is going well so far. My last Obs appointment was at 23 weeks and I'm not going back until the 28week mark when I'll get another scan, as I'm now in the 'normal twin pregnancy' classification where everything is developing as expected.

Silja, are there 'multiple birth clubs' in Ireland? They're quite common in New Zealand and to be honest I don't remember them being in Ireland at all.
We'll be doing 2 twin antenatal evening through them as well as the 'normal' classes.
Also the overall c-section rate in the hospital I'm going to is 30% which is ridiculously high. I'm hoping for a natural birth as well.

As for cravings, I went mad on fruit for the first trimester. Chips as well but that was more for the salt I think. I'm finding my appetite is slowly reducing as well as my stomach gets more squashed.

Sponge is a weird one Leelo! Are you still craving it?

silja

I only see my ObGyn every 4 weeks too, though I believe after my 28 week appointment it goes to every 2 weeks. I get a detailed scan every 2 weeks now, but that is because I am taking part in research.

I am not sure about your hospital flyz, but 38 weeks may be too late for that last class. I know here they consider twins term at 37-38 weeks, so you may well go earlier. You could talk to them about doubling up classes, ie going twice a week to get them done quicker?

They do have a twins and multiple birth association here: http://www.imba.ie/

Nevyn

Wow it looks like we will be needing a bouncing baby thread with the rateall you ladies are progressing.

Oh and another tip, have a think abuot cutting your nails and filing them to soft rounds,
in the week or so before your due date. Babies skin is so soft and delicate and the last thing you want to do is accidentally scratch your bouncing bundle in the first few days as you get to grips with each other.

flyz

Yeah I know I'm taking a risk with the lateness of my classes. Full term is considered the same here.
However I didn't feel like me or hubbie would be mentally ready to start going to classes before Christmas.
Between the 2 sets of classes I'm hoping we'll get everything covered before the babies decide to come. Also my mum is coming to stay with us for 6 weeks around the time of the birth so another safety net

Good tip Thaedydal, I'll keep that in mind

silja

Went to the GP today for a pregnancy check up. Been having trouble sleeping and have just general twin pregnancy uncomfortableness (I meassure full term in belly size and weight). She greeted me at her door with "So, are you ready to stop work now?". Lol- apparently she expected me to come in much earlier to be written off sick. I had been considering asking her about it anyway, at least get a few days off to sleep, but she said I should stop work and to be honest, I wasn't fighting her. So, off work from tomorrow till the beginning of my maternity leave, which is 9 weeks- lucky to have fully paid sick leave here in work! Feels a bit odd- I am not usually sick and to be off work without being in bed dying with the flu or something is weird to me. But, the babies need to come first and I can definitely do with the rest.

silja

Hi girls,
just a quick note to say my sick leave was needed quicker than I thought. I had some bleeding yesterday and was admited to hospital for 24 hours observation. Fortunately it stopped quickly, the babies have strong, consistent heartbeats and are active, the placentas are still high, towards the back and firmly attached, and I don't have any of the hormone that signals labour is imminent. Home again now and all seems well, they do not know where the bleeding came from, but think it was a fluke (maybe due to baby's wieght pressing on the placenta and causing something akin to a minor nosebleed), and there is no reason I cannot carry the twins to term. Just in case it is more serious though, I have been given steroids to develop the twin's lungs.

embee

silja wrote: »

Hi girls,
just a quick note to say my sick leave was needed quicker than I thought. I had some bleeding yesterday and was admited to hospital for 24 hours observation. Fortunately it stopped quickly, the babies have strong, consistent heartbeats and are active, the placentas are still high, towards the back and firmly attached, and I don't have any of the hormone that signals labour is imminent. Home again now and all seems well, they do not know where the bleeding came from, but think it was a fluke (maybe due to baby's wieght pressing on the placenta and causing something akin to a minor nosebleed), and there is no reason I cannot carry the twins to term. Just in case it is more serious though, I have been given steroids to develop the twin's lungs.

Hi silja,

Wow, it is funny to think you are 27 weeks already... it seems like only last week you had just announced your pregnancy!!! You are going well to work for so long into your pregnancy - it can't be easy being 27 weeks and measuring term!!! But you are doing the right thing now resting up between now and your babies arrive - the best thing for you and your little ones is for you to reserve your strength - you will certainly need it when they come along!!! Glad to hear also that the bleeding wasn't anything serious too - it can be a real worry when things like that happen.

Must dash- just wanted to wish you and all of our other expectant boardsies a lovely Christmas season

flyz

Hey Silja, firstly that's great that you can get the 9 weeks paid sick leave.
Also it's good to hear you and the twins are ok after your wee hospital visit. At least with the steroids for the lungs taken now if they do decide to come early all will be well.
I'm sure it was your bodys way of telling you to start taking things more slowly.

Suaimhneach

Just read the whole thread. God I'm only 21 and I cant wait to have kids (Hope the other half doesnt see this post, tho he knows I want them, just not now). Anyway, thanks for sharing your experiences, lovely to read.

Congrats to all of you.

Shelli

Girls, I'm getting serious bump envy and getting very very broody! Good thing I got the Mirena, otherwise my hormones could have gotten the better of me!

I really miss being pregnant, never ever thought I would. Some days I wish he was all safe and secure back inside again.....weird, but you technically have your baby and yet you can keep it so safe and not have to worry your doing something wrong!

Anyway girls, dont wish your pregnancy away, cherish every moment of it!

It'll be at least 4 years before I seriously consider another baby, purely financial really. If I win the lotto I'd have another in the morning!! LOL

littlebug

Hi bumppeople:D,


for some reason trinity1 has come in to my mind over the last few days.... have I missed an announcement somewhere along the line? She was due before now wasn't she?

Edit: I just had a look back ... her c section was booked for October 2nd. Has anyone heard from her? I hope everything's ok.

embee

Shelli wrote: »

If I win the lotto I'd have another in the morning!! LOL

Haha Shelli, you could have spoke my very thoughts out loud!!! My wee one is 2 in February and I'd love a wee brother or sister for her before she gets to school-going age.

Padraig Mor

This thread seems to be a male-free zone but hopefully the best place for my query (mods please move if appropriate)!

My wife became pregnant in late October and is now 'officially' about eight weeks pregnant (due July 23rd) - we're delighted! So she went to her GP a few weeks ago, he confirmed the pregnancy and sent out a list of private Obs consultants a few days later (she has BUPA). A week or so later, I rang a few of them. Turns out that several of the numbers were out of date and no longer worked; I got through to one, but only got an answering machine. Didn't think much of it at the time. We were away in the meantime, so today I finally got to ring around again today. I got one of two answers in every case:

1: "Sorry, he/she is only doing repeat patients"

or

2: "Sorry, we're all booked up for her dates - you should have rang a few weeks ago"

Are things normally this busy?!

So it looks like we may have to go public. Now, we have no problem with using a public consultant etc but we were really hoping to have the birth with her as a private patient - after all, what are we paying her BUPA for? However, her friend has told her that you cannot go into hospital as a private patient if you have a public consultant. Is this true? Hospital will be the Cork Univ Maternity. Is public treatment just as good as private and are our fears unjustified? These are probably silly questions but it's our first time so we really have no clue what we're doing!

Thanks for the help.

Shelli

Have you tried to book into the hospital as a semi-private patient? I think (depending on hospital) that semi-private patients have the option of paying extra for a private room at the end. Ringing the hospital would be your best bet.

RAFC

I have had 4 kids, I have VHI but had all babies throught the public system. From what I could see, there was no difference other than private patients were very lonely in their private rooms.

Even if you are a private patient, you cannot be certain of having your Gynae present at the birth of your baby. The maternity staff are fabulous (Erinville were anyway).

Best of luck with your search, but private or public the baby is coming, and once he/she pops out it won't matter if its private or public.;)

silja

Yeah I rang consultants at my chosen hospital when I was 4 weeks 5 days, and several were already booked up! You can only go private (ie get private room) if you are with a private consultant. However, even with BUPA/ VHI, you'll still pay 3000- 4000 euro for the privilege, some of which you can get back at the end of the tax year. As to whether private is worth it... wel, it depends on who you ask. Certainly, if there is an emergency, a consultant will always be on hand, public or private. And some people prefer to only have a midwife at the birth, not a consultant. We decided to go private for the extra visits and ultrasounds (we were very anxious about the pregnancy as it was conceived via fertility treatment), and also the private room after birth, as I am not one of these ladies who enjoys chatting to much with others while in hospital. I do also think that when you are private, your consultant will spend more time with you answering questions and listening to you in terms of what birth you want. Additionally, when I had a scare last week and was in hospital, my private consultant came to see me three times in the 24 hours I was there, put a rush on blood results and just kept on top of things. I cannot say it made any difference to my care for sure, but it was certainly re-assuring, especially considering there were other ladies on the ward who hadn't seen a doctor, other than on rounds, in 3 days.


If you think it will be a normal pregnancy and bith, you might consider the midwife led unit/ Domino scheme, where mother and baby go home within 12-24 hours after birth.

Padraig Mor

Thanks for the replies folks. We're not so much concerned with getting a 'private' room in the hospital - in fact, she'd probably prefer to be in with someone; it's more to do with having the same consultant all the way through (I am right in thinking that you just get whoever is on duty on the particular day if going public am I?). That, and having arranged BUPA for her specifically for this purpose! Tried around again today - nothing doing.

silja

Well, if Cork is similar to Dublin, you'll get a day, rather than a consultant. So if your partner's apointments are on a Tuesday, she'll be on "Team Tuesday", which means she'll see one of 2-3 consultants who work that day, and midwifes. Most of her care will be with the midwives (and GP if doing combined care). Semi-private might be the way to go, it means a shared but smaller (usually 3-4 bed) ward when in hospital, plus you usually get the ame consultant at appointments, though this is not guaranteed, and you may not get that consultant at the birth.