*March & April 2021*

[doggylover]

How is everyone? Any more babies showing up?!

 

[sunnydee]

@alex_22 wow that is an amazing head of hair! Beautiful!

@doggylover no baby here yet, only 11 days until due date though! Starting to feel very heavy at the bottom of my bump and definitely some pressure on my cervix when I'm walking. So apart from feeling a bit uncomfortable and not sleeping very well I think this baby will be taking her time!
How have you been feeling?

 

[doggylover]

@alex_22 wow that is an amazing head of hair! Beautiful!

@doggylover no baby here yet, only 11 days until due date though! Starting to feel very heavy at the bottom of my bump and definitely some pressure on my cervix when I'm walking. So apart from feeling a bit uncomfortable and not sleeping very well I think this baby will be taking her time!
How have you been feeling?

I think I said last week was rough, but feeling so much better today. Both my older kids are now back at school and my mum very kindly took the little one to her house so I’ve been able to move at my speed today. Got a few bits done that would take forever when running round after the kids, and even got to sit down for half an hour by myself!!

Sorry you aren’t sleeping well, being tired and big and heavy is just so hard in the final few weeks. You’re really on the countdown now!

 

[MrsKatie]

Omg @sunnydee 11 days?!? That’s crazy!

@doggylover so glad you’re feeling better!

i am mostly focused on house projects and decluttering I want to get done before baby. In a few weeks I’ll wash baby clothes and get the gear out. The hospital bag is packed except for baby clothes, and I have arrangements for childcare (my parents are fully vaccinated against Covid now so they’ll come up when I’m 39 weeks and stay until baby is born and hopefully for a bit after).

my insomnia got so bad I quit caffeine 100% (no chocolate either, just a decaf coffee sometimes) and I’m shocked to say I feel 1000x better without it. My mood and energy are so much higher and I don’t feel like I need daytime naps anymore. Day 9 without it now, I can’t believe I did it!

 

[doggylover]

Omg @sunnydee 11 days?!? That’s crazy!

@doggylover so glad you’re feeling better!

i am mostly focused on house projects and decluttering I want to get done before baby. In a few weeks I’ll wash baby clothes and get the gear out. The hospital bag is packed except for baby clothes, and I have arrangements for childcare (my parents are fully vaccinated against Covid now so they’ll come up when I’m 39 weeks and stay until baby is born and hopefully for a bit after).

my insomnia got so bad I quit caffeine 100% (no chocolate either, just a decaf coffee sometimes) and I’m shocked to say I feel 1000x better without it. My mood and energy are so much higher and I don’t feel like I need daytime naps anymore. Day 9 without it now, I can’t believe I did it!

That’s great that your parents will be able to stay with you and help out before and after birth. Great peace of mind to know they’ll be there for when you’re ready to go.
Also fabulous that you feel better without the caffeine. I don’t drink coffee, and I go off tea in pregnancy, but I do eat a lot of chocolate I assume you won’t go back to it knowing you feel better now?

 

[MrsKatie]

@doggylover i definitely plan on having chocolate again after baby is born and maybe tea sometimes after a particularly bad night but no. I can’t imagine going back now. I had no idea I’d feel this much better.

 

[sunnydee]

That's amazing @MrsKatie that giving up caffeine had such a good affect on your energy and sleep! Perfect timing for you to catch up on some sleep before baby arrives. I don't drink coffee but I still need my daily tea or I actually get a headache! Did you get any headaches when you stopped?
And yes chocolate will definitely be needed when baby is here! Hehe

@doggylover it's great that the kids are back and you can have a little bit of a break during the day. Mine are back too and even just the 3 hours while little one is at preschool is amazing, I've decided not to even do much housework and just relax.

I get so out of breath these days, I don't remember ever feeling this way with my other pregnancies, but even going up the stairs I need to sit down to catch my breath after!

 

[MrsKatie]

Do you guys feel like this last stretch is flying by or dragging? I actually feel like it’s going so fast and i have so much to do and organize and want to potty train my youngest... it goes on and on and I am SO out of breath and everything is SO hard and so much work! I’m sure time will slow way down when I hit 39-40 weeks (I’m pretty much sure to go overdue)...

@sunnydee oh god yes the headaches were awful at first. I’ve tried going cold Turkey before and the headaches were so bad I couldn’t do it. This time I weaned off slowly and the headaches were sucky but not debilitating.

 

[Nixnax]

Hi ladies, ugh last week was nightmare. I posted on weds that everything was looking better and I was being induced at 39 weeks. The next day I had a routine MW appt and the blood in my urine was sky high again. So was sent to the hospital again. I was told that I most likely had an underlying kidney condition which will be investigated after the birth. My BMI has gone up so I now have to give myself daily blood thinner injections. Huff.

My next MW appt is Thursday at 4pm. So I can pretty much guarantee that I'll be up the hospital all evening. With the stress of the appts and hospital visits I decided to finish work earlier that planned. I finished yesterday... yay!! It feels so good knowing I don't have to work now.

I'm starting to really feel everything now, always out of breath, waddling around, restless legs all the time. I'm ready for her to come now. Just 26 ish days to go now

 

[sunnydee]

@MrsKatie I felt like it was flying by so fast until I got to about 37 weeks and now everyday feels so long! Don't pressure yourself to do so much, I remember potty training my eldest before #2 was born and he regressed pretty bad a few months after she was born I wished I had just waited lol

@Nixnax so sorry things have been so crazy for you this week, it must be a relief to be finished work now and you can focus on your appointments and getting ready for your little arrival!

Is it normal for weight gain to just stop suddenly at the end? I thought it just slows down but I seem to be around the same weight for at least the last 3 weeks?

 

[doggylover]

@Nixnax you have had such a stressful few weeks, you poor thing. It’s great you’ve finished work early, that’s hopefully a weight off your mind and allows you to rest a bit.

@MrsKatie i can’t decide how time is going tbh! On one hand the weeks seem to be flying in and I’m constantly going “is it Monday again?” And then on the other hand I’m thinking “HOW HAVE I STILL GOT 4 WEEKS TO GO?!”

@sunnydee i dunno about the weight gain. They say baby gains half a pound per week at this stage, so I would assume a small amount of weight gain would be normal for you. But if your hcp are happy baby is still growing as they should, then I wouldn’t worry that you haven’t added any extra.

 

[Nixnax]

It feels so good to finish. I'm getting the house up together and washing anything that isn't nailed to the floor. We're having new carpets laid on the 10th April, I cant wait. We have a vile emerald green carpet at the moment. It needs to go.

I dont check my weight regularly and my mw has only weighed me twice. I'll weigh myself the day I have her so I know how much I'll have to lose, when the time is right.

 

[Nixnax]

Another MW appt today and another hospital visit... blood in urine. This is so silly. Why go to midwife first then hospital, I may as well just have it done at the hospital. I get sent there everytime anyway. Today's MW appt wasn't until 4pm so it's now nearly 10pm and I'm being sent home in a min. I'm so angry and frustrated. I tried to tell the doctor that this plan is silly and it's not the best use of everyone's time, but they just won't listen. I was basically told that u have 3 weeks left and to suck it up.... grrrr I could cry

 

[doggylover]

@Nixnax youd think they’d be happy to just get you in one place rather than two, with the whole covid thing and then absolutely bloody desperate to keep people out of health care places. It is absolutely ridiculous what they are doing, you must be knackered. What is it they do at the hospital that takes so bloody long? I’m sorry you’re having such a stressful end to your pregnancy. Hardly the relaxing maternity leave you had envisaged, I imagine.

Just realised my section is in 26 days, which doesn’t sound very long, and I should maybe think about getting some baby things sorted then part of me is all “it’s fine, do it the weekend before”

 

[Nixnax]

@doggylover they do a urine PCR test, a blood test and hook me up to a monitor for 30-60mins to check her movements. Then we wait for the results. Today when I got there app the beds were full and there was 6 other ladies in the waiting room. When this all started I was just going to the hospital for it, but for some reason they won't do that now. Really silly. Only 25 days left..... I just need to grit my teeth

 

[MrsKatie]

@sunnydee my weight stalls out at the end for sure. Thank goodness cause I sur gain a ton before then!

@Nixnax omg how absurd!! I am so sorry, how are you feeling today?

@doggylover i’m the same. I’ve washed baby clothes and gotten baby stuff set up early in the past and it just makes the end drag worse for me. I’ll likely go to 41+ weeks so I’m forcing myself to wait to do the fun baby stuff until like 39 weeks at the earliest. I do have MY stuff in a hospital bag and that’s already hard enough to look at every day!!

here I was yesterday at 35+5

 

[doggylover]

@doggylover they do a urine PCR test, a blood test and hook me up to a monitor for 30-60mins to check her movements. Then we wait for the results. Today when I got there app the beds were full and there was 6 other ladies in the waiting room. When this all started I was just going to the hospital for it, but for some reason they won't do that now. Really silly. Only 25 days left..... I just need to grit my teeth

Crazy that they are so busy as well and you have to wait so long because of it. Do you still have to go every Mon/Thurs until your induction?

@MrsKatie i don’t even have any stuff for me yet I need maternity pads just I suppose, I have a nightie (although maybe need another...) and that’s it’s really. Oh and my snacks! Especially since I can’t have visitors who normally bring me food!

 

[MrsKatie]

Oh shoot snacks! I have to get those I totally forgot haha

 

[sunnydee]

Ooh yeah what's some good options for snacks? I already have a huge chocolate bar packed hehe.
I have everything ready since like maybe 34 weeks and you're right, it has just made the last month drag by! I haven't set up the cosleeper or anything yet though I figured that only takes a few minutes!

@Nixnax that sounds crazy that you would need to do that every week, sometimes protocols make absolutely no sense!

@MrsKatie that's good to know, I was kinda worried cause I have gained so much and then for it to just stop! I don't get weighed at any appointments since my 1st appointment so I was just tracking it myself.

I've had so many comments the last few weeks like that baby will come early and I can't believe you're still pregnant sorta thing, it is so strange! Like I haven't even reached my due date? I'm feeling good and happy to be pregnant for another week at least!

 

[doggylover]

Ooh yeah what's some good options for snacks? I already have a huge chocolate bar packed hehe.
I have everything ready since like maybe 34 weeks and you're right, it has just made the last month drag by! I haven't set up the cosleeper or anything yet though I figured that only takes a few minutes!

@Nixnax that sounds crazy that you would need to do that every week, sometimes protocols make absolutely no sense!

@MrsKatie that's good to know, I was kinda worried cause I have gained so much and then for it to just stop! I don't get weighed at any appointments since my 1st appointment so I was just tracking it myself.

I've had so many comments the last few weeks like that baby will come early and I can't believe you're still pregnant sorta thing, it is so strange! Like I haven't even reached my due date? I'm feeling good and happy to be pregnant for another week at least!

Snack wise I like things like dried fruit, cereal type bars that are easy to grab and eat easily, I’m not sure what else tbh, I’m not used to having to bring my own snacks! I actually try to steer clear of sweets etc (which is highly unusual for me as I am an absolute sugar fiend!) but I find they make me feel just ugh when I already feel rubbish! But then I’m only going for snacks for after my section, some good sugar boosts for during labour are a different story!