Hospital bag advise!

I am only 28 weeks but want to start getting things gathered for my hospital bag! I have no idea where to start, can any one tell me the absolute essentials and things that people stay to bring but you don’t actually use (I hope that makes sense) this is for me and baby!

in our community

I’M SO SICK OF DUE DATES

They count 40w from your last period, adjust based off baby’s growth, and then call it a day.
Meanwhile it’s mentally so tough to approach your “due date” and mamas are getting pressured to be induced etc bc they’re past their “due date” and
WHAT ARE WE EVEN TALKING ABOUT??
As if babies in the womb know our schedule??

Imagine if we assigned due dates for babies to be walking by or crawling by. Or a due date for a mama to have healed by post-birth?
I guess we do actually do that, but is that ok?? Also ofc we can have hard lines of “this is no longer normal/safe” but that would be at like 43 weeks, NOT 40!!! So many ladies deliver between 40 and 41 weeks! Many even go 42!
Why are we making women feel like there’s a deadline when it’s actually not a deadline AND an unrealistic expectation? Why don’t we just have a safety “cut off” or something like with other milestones?

Does anyone get what I’m saying?? Does anyone agree???

C-section booked for after due date

I’m a ftm and elected for a c-section but they said there’s no slots in my 39th week so I’ve been booked in for the day after my due date 😳. This gives me a lot of anxiety and part of the reason I wanted a CS was to avoid the angst around going into labour etc and the CS being “emergency”/unplanned. Anyone else experienced this or known of this to happen?

SOS!!!

how do single mothers find the time and energy to workout ??

my husband is in the military (california) so it’s just me and my 2month old at home 24/7 (texas). i want to workout every day but find it hard since im overwhelmed as i’m parenting alone and no one can look after my baby:(

any tips and tricks would be appreciated♥️

Midwife issues

Hey girlies, I’m 22 weeks and I’ve met my ‘actual’ midwife once when I was 8 weeks.

Whenever ive text her, she takes like 4/5 days to reply- literally everytime! I know she has other patients of course and she has made me aware that her days are very busy as she was meant to call me one afternoon at 1pm (my work break) but actually called me at 5pm.

She doesn’t ask how im feeling or how baby is, nothing about my journey with her so far has felt personal or like she actually cares? I know it’s her job but as a FTM it would be nice to feel a bit more supported I guess?

I had a midwife appt at my drs a few weeks back and it was a different midwife, the experience was the same so I don’t know if this is just a midwife thing? Although my friends have had different/great experiences themselves.

For reference, I’m based in the UK and know the midwives are overworked in the NHS, so I don’t expect miracles.. just a bit more personalised care?

Am I mad????

20 week scan - anterior placenta

I had my 20 week scan yesterday and the guy sonographer was the least enthusiastic person ever. It was like he couldnt be bothered and it was very under whelming. I didnt feel comfortable asking questions and when I did, he was explaining it in medical terms that I obviously dont understand. When I got the results through later, it said that I have an anterior placenta. I didnt know what this meant so have googled it but also annoyed that he didnt explain this to us. I think ive felt some movement the last few days, but only some! Ive since read that if you have an anterior placenta then its normal to have delayed feelings of movements. I dont feel happy with the sonographer, has anyone requested a 2nd 20 week scan and is this even possible?

Is this labour?

If your waters didn’t break, were you sure you were in labour (when you actually were)?

Context: I’ve been having horrendous stomach cramps that come and go, together with diarrhoea. I don’t think it’s labour so just wonder if I’ll just ‘know’ when it is?!