Bump anxiety

Hi. I have low PAPP-A and have been told to expect a small baby. I'm 22 weeks pregnant and still fitting into all my normal clothes. I'm so self conscious about the size of my bump being small (doesn't help when people comment on it!) and anxious about the growth of my baby. Everything looked fine at the 20 week scan and i know everyone's different but still gives me anxiety! Can anyone else relate to this and help ease my worry?!

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I can fit into my normal clothes. How has it changed so much in 2 weeks when the 20 week scan they didn’t pick up on anything? Xx

I can relate I had some issues felt like my bump took forever to come in I fit into my regular clothes my whole pregnancy pretty much there was a few items that almost didn’t fit me towards the end of my pregnancy well towards the end of my pregnancy I was told to expect a big baby because what he was weighing at his last ultrasound we were induced at 39weeks because of my gestational diabetes he was only 6 lb 2.8 oz at birth

I carried small but didn't have low papp-a. My bump was barely noticeable to other people until I was into my third trimester! Constantly had comments that I looked 'neat' and 'small'. I absolutely hated being told that, despite a normal growth scan. I wore form-fitting maternity wear to accentuate the bump as much as possible 😅

Do you have extra growth scans booked? Or nothing now?

Yeah i have a growth scan at 28 weeks then every 4 weeks from then so they are monitoring me closely. I just thought i would actually look pregnant by now! And people commenting on how small i am just sends my anxiety through the roof! I think i will be induced too, they said probably around 37 weeks

I didn’t have low PAPP-A with either of my pregnancies but I didn’t show w/ my first until the last month and I didn’t show until maybe a month and a half before due date with my second.

I got so annoyed with the “you don’t even look pregnant” and the “I couldn’t tell from behind” once I did start showing in the front. Especially the second time around when I’d hear it from people that were around for my first pregnancy🙄.

That being said, even though they always looked good in the scans and there wasn’t anything I needed to worry about I still got worried

Ah good you have scans booked. Do you think it would help your anxiety to have extra private scans or not really?

What sorts of people do you find are commenting? People you know well or not really? I told close friends and family how self conscious I was about the size of bump (actually I think my OH told a few of his family too to stop them mentioning it). It's trickier to stop the people you don't know well - I don't know why people feel it's okay to make a comment at all.

Well i got maternity uniform in work and I've been asked a few times why I'm not wearing it (i just don't need it yet) and family friends saying how "neat" and "small" i am. They don't mean anything by it and i know that! Just gets to you when you've heard it enough 😂

I've read it's not good to have too many ultrasounds so I didn't think it was a good idea!

What is it with the neat and small?! 😅 it really does get to you. I know what you mean.

Tbh when you're having scans every 4 weeks there's very little use of having them any more frequently, although you've got something like 6 weeks to wait until your next one. They are very safe in pregnancy but ofc it's your decision! Don't get more if you'll only worry about it.

I still fit into my normal clothes up until about 29 weeks then my bump popped and then only went up 1 size. I was always told I had a small bump and that it was cute. She’s now a very healthy nearly 11 month old

I had low papp-a with both my girls, I'm naturally small (size 6-8) anyway and was so nervous with my first but she was healthy and I was induced at 39 weeks exactly (she came out at 7.12 3 days later) and with my second I had my cesarean at 39+6 she was born at 8.3, both my babies are absolutely perfect and I bounced back quite quickly with the first (9 months I was back in my normal clothes) but with my second it was even quicker, she is 2 months and I'm already back into my old jeans. It's normal to be nervous ect but honestly don't panic every baby is different, I had a bump from 4 weeks with my first but it was so tiny that you would think I was just fat, it stayed that way for ages and then I dropped at 24 weeks and I had a bump, with my second I felt huge but everyone said when I was about to drop that you couldn't tell from the back 🤣 you get used to it and it becomes a compliment the more you hear it. I'm 25 had 2 babies and apart from the fact I have a weird pouch from my cesarean, I look great 🤣

in our community

Oh my God, oh my God I hope this is not true!!!! I’m kind of scared

I’ve been throwing up and taking a shit all night!!! I just hope that it’s not what I think it is

Small head reported following 20 week scan

Has anyone else had it flagged that their baby is in the bottom 5th percentile for head size?

They said everything was fine whilst we were in the scan and then I got a phone call the next day saying that it’s on the small side and we’re being referred to a paediatric specialist at St George’s. Has anyone else had this and how did things go??

Would you bring 9 week old to a family party of 35+ people?

These are also people who will want to pass the baby around and get a turn to hold him. He just got his 2 month shots two days ago

Exercise 6 weeks after c section

What movement did people start to introduce? I won’t do anything too vigorous until I’ve seen the pelvic physio as I don’t want to compromise anything that may have been extremely weakened through pregnancy! But just wondering what types of classes/movement people started off with?

It’s my birthday tomorrow.

Ok so I am going to be 35 years young. I can’t believe how much this life has thrown at me but it’s okay I’m a survivor. I am truly blessed to be alive. 🥳🧁🎂 The only downside is I won’t be celebrating my birthday because my man can’t take me out. So many emotions right now.

Induction experience

I just wanted to share my experience with being induced as I wasn’t sure what to expect and thought it may help others.

I opted for the foley balloon which was inserted at 8am Saturday morning, I had to stay in hospital due to hypertension and protein urine however usually you can just go home once this has been done. The insertion of the balloon was not painful, was slightly uncomfortable as there was slight pressure. I actually found having the cervix checked prior to be worse (again not painful at this point just uncomfortable) The balloon had little effect and after having it removed I was still only 1cm. Removal also was pain free and hardly even noticeable.

I then had my first dose of the gel and definitely noticed a difference, I started experiencing period like cramps almost immediately however they were light and manageable. After 6 hours I had another cervix check and although my cervix was soft it was still only 1cm and was only open at the front. I had another dose of the gel and felt an increase in pressure and more intense cramping where I now required pain relief (codeine). After another 6 hours I had another cervix check and I had now dilated to 2-3cm however was still quite difficult to get all the way through so a third gel was recommended which I agreed to.

Almost immediately I noticed the difference and was in considerable pain, I had paracetamol and codeine however the contractions had now become intense and a lot closer together (around 3 minutes apart). After a couple of hours I had my last cervix check and was 4cm and taken down to the Labour ward to have my waters broken and an epidural.

I had been in my room for approx 20minutes when my waters broke by themselves and I was now 10cm and actively pushing…. There was no time for the epidural and my beautiful girl arrived into the world within 2 minutes of pushing.

All in all I would say the cramps/contractions were manageable up until the third gel where it became pretty unbearable however it was for a very short time a gas and air helped take the edge off. The worst part about any of it was actually the later cervix checks where after stimulating the cervix my contractions were at their most painful.

If I had to be induced again I would skip the balloon and opt for the gels immediately as thy had a quicker effect and I would have been out a lot sooner if I had done this to begin with.

One more thing, I’ve never believed when people say “you forget the pain once they’re here” but I can honestly say this is true. It’s been 4 days and I would do it all again in a heartbeat.