Born Oct/Nov 2015

Hi Ladies,

Sorry for being so quiet, AWESOME to see and read about all your progress! I also suffer with about a gazillion allergies and having to come off my daily meds has been NASTY, I'm just trying to battle thru it, nasal sprays dry my nose out and that hurts...;-( my Dr said if I absolutely HAVE to take a antihistamine I can take a polenthyme (pure loratdaine) but only sparingly after I've passed the 1st trimester, he said they are "safe" but he'd prefer I don't take any drugs during pregnancy.. BUT if I really really really cant handle it then I can but under no circumstances can it be a repeat daily thing...so far I'm winning the battle...haven't taken anything since I found out 7 weeks ago, lol I feel like an AA person..."I've been clean for 7 weeks now" but I cry and sneeze 24/7...

We had our 12 week scan yesterday, Oh my word I don't think I have ever been so nervous and excited at the same time...anyway so far so good, the bean was doing summersaults initially so Dr couldn't get any measurements, then it calmed down and he got the NT, which was 2.34..which he said that under 3.5 is good...I opted to have blood tests which I had straight after the scan so I have to wait a few days for those results then we'll decide on amnio or not, which is also kinda scary...

Anyway my morning sickness isn't nearly as bad as it was but I'm still exhausted... cant wait for the 2nd trimester and to be able to feel kicks!

I wanted to ask, does/has anyone here got one of those Foetal heart monitors? The one that you can listen to beans heart beat, its meant to be a little thing you can put on your belly? A fried said you can get them form baby city, or online, I haven't done much looking, just thought I'd ask here 1st?

if I don't check back before the weekend, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

xx

Hi Girls....

AWWWWW THANK you, I am seeing my gynae on Monday, will have a chat to her. You really really made my day!

Good morning ladies

@Clueless and @HVDB: I too am a chronic allergy sufferer. Early on I made the decision to continue taking an antihistamine. Although I probably should have confirmed details in medical journals, I did some quick checks and saw that most of your common antihistamines are considered to be safe (risk:benefit). ALL of them say that safety in pregnancy has not been determined, but gynaes generally prescribe Efferflu C for pregnant moms (paracetamol, vitamin C and chlorpheniramine). Chlorpheniramine is the active ingredient in Allergex, I've been taking one tablet (instead of one three times a day) every single day along with my folic acid, etc. When my sinuses get clogged up it's a nightmare – headaches, sinus infection and sometimes going into a chest infection. I'd rather try manage it than risk getting sick every other month.

My gynae is aware of it and has no problem. Cetirizine (Texa, Allecet, Zyrtec) is also considered safe if it's needed. I hope that helps you somewhat

Morning Ladies,

@ pillpusher, your little one is EXTREMELY cute!! It is so noce once you have reached this stage and actually feel pregnant and the scans show some detail. I am in a hurry for ours to show us more of Shrimp (or is it Shrimpette now?) other than just a vague outline...

HVDB, I have the same issue, and living in JHB definitely makes it worse. Also, I tend to develop a nasal drip which then escalates into bronchitis the moment my system is down, and I fear that will not be pleasant during pregnancy, as well as dangerous to baby. What does really work for me is a nasal spray like Nasonex (generic Nexomist), that contains some steroids, but because it is a spray, the steroids remain topical and is not assimilated in the system, and therefore safe during pregnancy. I have been on this for months, checked with my GP and my gynae, who is VERY cautious on use of medications, and they both say it's fine. The only down side is that it is not a quick fix, you need to use it daily for 2 weeks before seeing results, and then it only keeps working if you use it daily on a continuous basis. But it helps immensely for my allergic rhinitis. Maybe give your dr a call about it? For Nasonex you need a script, but the generic, Nexomist, you can buy over the counter without a script. Not sure why, maybe pillpusher can give us some info?

AFM, I have just found out that a friend is pregnant after her second IVF attempt, SO happy for them!! The first blood test was positive and the second test showed that the numbers had doubled. So it is very early still and she is quite worried, as the first IVF attempt also showed positive blood tests, but at the 6 weeks sonar they couldn't find anything. So they are stressing, especially since work for her will be extremely hectic in the next two weeks, very little sleep and lots of stress, and she is worried about it harming the pregnancy. And no option at all of changing her schedule or taking leave now... So if anyone here has any info, please let me know? I have quite a number of friends who did IVF, but no personal experience...

Have a lovely day, ladies, and stay healthy!!

Hi All... welcome back Clueless, @Pillpusher, love the pics, your little one looks like my little one (giegiegiegiegie) I put our last pic on our fridge, so I look at it all the time and you can also see the little nose... I adore it so much already.

We have not yet bought or gotten anything for Jellybean, decided that we will start buying and so forth after the wedding... can't believe that I will be marring my dream man in little over three weeks...

Then... I need some advise from any of you... I have always been battling with hay fever ever since I can remember, was apparently (think I still am) allergic to almost everything. Now with Jellybean on the way, I obviously cannot drink any of my anti-histamines and is really really struggling. I have been told to use saline nose spray but it does absolutely nothing for me. I am constantly sneezing... (specially when I wake up during the night, I sneeze about 7 times before I can try to go back to sleep). I go through a box of tissues a week... Do you know if there are any other products that I can use that will not be harmful to my little one... but I honestly cannot carry on like this...what am I to do????? I don't even want to think about the wedding day.... I will have a big red schnoze like Rudolph the red nose Reindeer even before I walk down the isle... the makeup will never last!


PLEASE tell me that you know of something else that I can use.... I mean there MUST be something I can take!

Hope to hear from you soon!

Hi again ladies

@Clueless: so glad your scan went well! Next big one at 20 weeks! Things also seem to be low risk for me

Scan was great on Monday, could see little one moving her hands around (making me giggle as I watched her). She had her legs crossed(again) so made it a little tricky to see gender, but doctor THINKS it's a girl. She's not prepared to put her head on a block that we'll definitely have a little girl, but at the moment that would be her guess. On my card the note says xx?

So if that educated guess is right then my intuition was wrong, but as long as little one is healthy, that's all I'm really worried about. Although we'd had a boy's name decided on and now DH and I are back to name discussions.





That cute little nose!




Being a good girl, assuming gender guess is right



Mom's bump as of today. Along with a harmony ball sent to me by my sister-in-law. It's got little bells inside that chime when you move around, she said it's supposed to stimulate the baby, but when I read about them it said that it's creates a familiar sound for LO that can be comforting after birth.



And the cot arrived yesterday. Despite having a migraine, excited daddy set it up and put Winnie (and blanket) that he'd bought already into it. We're wanting to put up images from the classic Winnie the Pooh stories on the walls, but won't get away from Disney for toys... and the cot is just so cute! Although it will be in our bedroom while LO is still small and sleeping with us, she can have it in her room when she's bigger (and it serves as a playpen).

Feeling very blessed because my brother and SIL sent so much stuff for us when my parents came back from visiting them. Including a body pillow which is quite comfy and helping me to not roll onto my back.

Hi Ladies!!

Sorry for having been so quiet, I have missed you guys but haven't had a free moment to reply.

Welcome to the new ladies, this is an awesome little chat community we have going here

We went for our 12 week scan yesterday, and the gynae has also received the results of the Panorama genetic tests and were able to discuss with us. It was nerve wracking!!! So... All low risk (WHOOHOOO!! ). And we are having another little girl!!

I found it very interesting so here are some specifics: In the sample of my blood drawn, a fetal fraction of 13% was detected, which means, as I understand it, that 13% of the DNA sample was that of the baby (the rest is obviously mine). Average is about 10%, so this means it gives them a sufficient sample to do an accurate test. So for all the conditions tested (Downs, Trisomy 18, 13 and Triploidy, sex chromosome abnormalities and microdeletions) the result came back "Low Risk" so they need not do any more screenings and I dont have to do an amnio.

The ultrasound was also very nice, but luckily uneventful. Little girl is growing well and it was a relief to see her again.

Im also on the "very few symptoms" wagon at the moment. Sometimes I forget I'm pregnant Not showing much as yet and the little nausea I had have mostly disappeared.

At the gynae yesterday there was a lady expecting TRIPLETS , that were due to be born yesterday at 34 weeks. I'm really thankful it is not me, imagine everything you would worry about!!

All of the best for the rest of the week, let us know how your scans go!!