welcome selina22, glad ur cerclage went well hun, i had the mcdonald done on thursday myself @ 16 weeks, pretty new to this myself so still learning...the ladies here are great n have alot of insight so stick around

Nhood- dont worry hun, if your water broke (they wont!) the stitch wouldnt hold it in, you d know! I kept having and still have sometimes nightmares about going to the loo and seeing blood...that s my worst fear...i think it is only natural hun but as the time passes the nightmares get a lil better and you ll be able to relax a little more.xo

Selina- as larockera said you put the stitch in at the best possible time in your pg! Now what ever your cervix does you can rest assured that the stitch is there and it can hold A LOT of weight so please dont worry. You will manage....actually with time it gets easier... I was put on bed rest at 12+4 and i every week i d think to myself "how am i going to manage this?" but i m 29w tomorrow, still on bed rest and it doesnt seem so terrifying anymore. Put small goals ahead of you and give yourself something to celebrate after each goalpost...soon you ll be more relaxed and will feel more confident. The ladies on this thread are an excellent support system so talk about all your fears and you ll get through. Xo

wow chistiana, bless ur heart for having to go on bedrest so early, i am already pulling out my hair n it hasnt even been a week!! can i ask why u had to go on bedrest early on? i am expecting at some point i may have too as well but i am hoping to at least get through 2nd tri. do most ladies have to go on bedrest at some point? my doc is checking me in 2 weeks, how often should i be seeing her?

Hi ladies

Selina, great to hear you got the stitch and the paranoia and anxiety is completely normal darlin'. Take things easy until you make it safely past 30wks and you'll be absolutely fine.

Nhood, to echo Christiana the stitch would not hold the waters in hun, and even if it were possible ou would definitely feel some symptoms before you got to the ruptured membranes stage anyway.

With twins I'd recommend resting as much as possible. I pretty much didn't move from around 10wks, mainly because I felt so grim if I did. The pressure down below was immense if I was upright for more than 5mins, so I took it as a sign to be horizontal for the duration. I didn't feel confidant enough to move again until 36wks, by which point I was so big and heavy, it was impossible anyway lol. The months of rest is worth it in the end for teo big healthy full termers tho xxx

SK - bed rest isn't a foregone conclusion with IC, but many ladies make the decision to do it because they are fearful not to. There is no hard evidence that it makes a huge difference, but it makes sense that lying down or atleast partial rest removes any additional strain and weight from an already weak cervix. I certainly believe it worked in combination with the stitch for me, but then I had the additional complication of carrying twins.

I don't know whether I will be lucky enough to have another pregnancy, but if I do and if it is a singleton I am hopeful that I won't need to rest quite so much as with the twins, and will be able to move around normally (taking care not to do anything strenuous like lifting, cleaning or prolonged periods on my feet). I'd recommend that you do the same as far as you can, and wait and see what the next scan reveals.

Be dictated by your cervix and baby Hun. If all looks ok with your usual activity levels, then It will probably be ok to carry on as before but cutting out any extar manual stuff. If your cervix is funneled and under strain, then it might be worth going onto partial rest at home. I'm sure your doctor will advise you about this depending on how things are going. Every woman and cervix is different, as is every pregnancy. Usually women do end up on some kind of bed rest at some point even with a stitch, but how much and for how long is debatable.

If you can I would rest anyway just to be on the safe side, but if you feel comfortable with a return to work and normal activities the. Just ensure you take things as easily as possible. I tend to be overly cautious but then my approach isn't for everyone, neither is it always necessary. Keep an open mind sweet, but be prepared for months of rest if need be. The time does pass, and the end result is so worth the few months of inactivity xxx

Bf - With you chicken

Love to everyone xxxxxxxx

Hi Ladies,
Hope you're all well, you all sound like you're doing amazingly.
Jessi- you have done so well to get to 26 weeks and have the steroid shots with baby's head low down. There must be some strength there, as Lizzie said, and the bed rest in hospital will hopefully gain you some cervical length. You are in the best place, as much as it is difficult to be there, and you seem so upbeat, which will really help you. Good luck.

Sunkiss- the most common times to be on bed rest are post stitch, and then during the mid 20's when the growing baby puts pressure on a weak cervix. However, with a preventative stitch, you have so much more hope going for you, and there have been many ladies on here with a stitch placed before any cervical changes have occurred, and have carried on with their pregnancies relatively normally. That said, it is important to rest up wherever possible, be horizontal as much as you can to take the weight off your cervix and allow the stitch to do it's job. Also, make sure that you drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration, which will prevent contractions and ward off dreaded uti's. You should be fine at work, but you must not be afraid to mention to your doctor if you feel uncomfortable being at work, both physically and psychologically, this is your baby and you need to fell supported. Couple that with the tvu's you will be getting, and you and bubs will be in safe hands.

Congrats on your sticth Selena. Just as I've said to sunkiss, you have done the best possible thing. Bed rest is hard work, but you can get through it, distraction is the key, tv, dvd's, magazines and lots of tlc. Good luck.

Kate- hope you're feeling better, not long now....how exciting!

Lizzie- oh I so feel for you, I am a terrible cook and I always stress that I've undercooked something, or given my DH something that was out of date. My children are used to me overcooking their food, as i'm terrified of poisoning them. I was obsessive about this during pregnancy, and then weaning Bella and previously Oliver, so I understand your worry. I have panicked myself to the point (whilst non-preggo) that I have made myself sick through worry, (not a way I'd advise to solve the problem!)Anyway, my logic agrees with Kate, you would have been sick by now if you were going to be, speaking from experience with seafood that I ate in a restaurant once, it didn't hang around long enough when it decided to make a reappearance! It was literally, the worst value for money meal I have even eaten as it only lasted 3 hours! DH wasn't impressed lol. Also, I have always thought that shellfish being ever so slightly put of date is the most likely to cause a stomach upset, and something like cod was not as risky, even if out of date. I don't know if I'm thinking about this too much, but that's the reason why some religions forbid foods like shellfish, as typically, in hotter climates, it is difficult to store without "going off" and posing a health risk. If it were truly unsuitable for eating, you would have been overcome by the smell, I'm sure. Good luck and don't panic.

Whew Christiana and Lizzie, you're the best. Lizzie you are right I feel a lot of pressure. Did you go on bedrest?If so, how long? I go back to work on april 10th and I don't know if my body can handle 8 hrs a day. I think I am going to request a reduce schedule.

Sunkiss- i really dont think all stitch ladies go on bed rest! I had very heavy bleeding at 12+4 which lasted for a good 5 weeks and given that i ve had 2 mcs plus a bicornuate uterus puts me at a much higher risk for preterm labor. If it wasnt for the bu i think i would still have stayed on bed rest until about 24 weeks but maybe i d be up by now. Now i m running out of space so the doc wont allow me to get off bed rest before birth! But many ladies ob this thread seem to just be on pelvic rest when there re no extra complications and obviously when you can put your feet up take the time to! Ow and i was being seen every 2 weeks too until recently...now it s every 3 weeks. Xo so glad you re feeling so good and everything is feeling right!

Lizzie-sorry hun, hadnt realised you were ill with food poisoning, are you feeling any better?

thank u so much for ur advice n wise words ladies i will def listen to my body, the min i feel uncomfortable i am back on bedrest, for the most part i am sitting in a non stressful environment at work but i am prepared to go on bedrest at any time.

Nhood - I did rest on the sofa downstairs from 10wks, only getting up to cook the occasional meal, shower and get the kids ready for school etc (after 16wks we decides even that was too much and had someone help with those tasks too). I'd say I was horizontal for 80% of the day for 7/8mths.

I'm glad in a way that it felt too scary to move because if I had felt normal, and had less pressure and aching I would have been tempted to do more. Doing more might have caused problems for me and the twins might have delivered early - something we'll never know for certain.

Because you don't have the worry of children to look after too, I'd try to reduce your daily hours/activities then when you get home lie down and rest as much as you can stand. So long as you're not lifting and carrying at work or home, and are seated or lying down most of the time, you should be fine.

The next few months are going to be frightening sweetie, but you will get the other side, and your much deserved day will come. You feel scared and alone for even a second honey, get immediately on here and ask for help to get through it - don't suffer alone

My lovely Helen, thanks for taking the time to write in response to last night's panic! I am ok, no signs of anything yet, but I'll only know for certain when the usual 24/48hr incubation period is up. With every passing hour tho I feel reassured I was so annoyed with myself, but atleast I hadn't fed the poor kids 2wk old rotting fish!! What a numptey (hee hee, iPad wanted to change that to 'nun prey' lol - how apt). Thanks for caring

C hun, not ill just worried that I might be after serving up rancid fish!! Xxx

chistiana, thank u hun, wow u ladies give me hope that all will be ok, u have been so blessed to make it n still going strong !! can i ask what is a bicornuate uterus? my doc told me last visit that my uterus is tilted back and that was at my 15th week appt, she doesnt seem worried about it but i wonder how that will affect things. she said as the baby grows later in pregnancy that it usually tilts in proper position, so she wasnt concerned. i also have another concern, my pap came back with low grade abnormal cells on my cervix, i had this like 20 yrs ago and it was treated n this is the first time it ever came back, i am assuming it is very mild because last yr july my pap was normal with last pregnancy. at first doc wanted me to have a colposcopy done to check it but she said its not treatable to after birth, however now she wants to hold off because of IC diagnosis...i just pray it stays low grade. she nor my reg gyn seems to be too concerned about it so i will leave it alone for now.