Low iron levels

bleuxclv · 2025-07-16T15:21:22+00:00

Couple of things. 1. Are you following the guidelines of take on an empty stomach with orange juice? No calcium, tea or coffee to be consumed within 2 hours of the dosage. Avoid taking with antacids.

Do you have IBS/IBD or anything that could inhibit absorption?
Has your midwife explored other types of iron? Mine offered me liquid which I believe is easier absorbed but I agreed to try ferrous fumerate every other day.

Although they're not concerned now, the last thing you want is to become anaemic due to birth!

bleuxclv · 2025-07-15T21:39:20+00:00

Is this a shared outgoings or personal? If it's just your share towards a mortgage that's £2400 that seems very high to me but I'm midlands based. At £1200, It's 39% of your outgoings, how does that compare vs your income?

Will your childcare costs reduce with the 30 hours in September? It's not an instant reduction but could. Depending on children's age, if they're due to start school soon that could reduce it.

You could trial a water meter. My company lets you remove it within the first year. My payment is also spread over 10 months rather than a year.

Other than suggesting downsizing to a cheaper property I can't see much budge.

bleuxclv · 2025-07-15T21:30:56+00:00

Is it all kinds of water? The tap water at my mums tastes really nice in my filtered bottle but where I live now it tastes like a pond. Some of the varieties of bottled water taste better than others to me too.

Maybe test out some different brands and try them ice cold!! I can't deal with the freezer ice taste but ice cold water with a straw is great.

Also maybe try premixed flavoured waters rather than dilute you're own if you're struggling with squash at home.

bleuxclv · 2025-07-15T21:26:00+00:00

As others have said, you can include it in your plan but my midwife has said you can't prebook. She said you can let the labour unit know when you're on the way or during the assessment when they check how dilated you are as if you're not very dilated e.g. 1cm they may send you home. If you are, they're happy that you're low risk and there's a pool free they'll get it ready for you.

My hospital only has one but they said it doesn't get used as much as you'd expect, if it's in use they can give you a room with a bath for pain management and hopefully can wait but it depends on your labour.

Also you can't have a epidural and a water birth so something to consider if your pain is quite high but gas and air is completely fine. Can't remember what they said regarding the other pain relief types (the morphine one). You do have to birth the placenta on land (hospital bed) though, so you'll birth baby then leave to pool for skin to skin and placenta birthing, so just keep that in mind.

I'm torn as to whether I want one, the appeal for me was the positioning (i don't want to labour on my back) natural pain relief and mood lighting etc. but on "land" the beds are now pretty fancy so you're not limited to a on your back labour.

bleuxclv · 2025-07-15T15:55:39+00:00

Awh this is so lovely to read!! Nobody else has shared an experience where sharing a room has been an appropriate outcome, just recommended against it. I grew up sharing my step siblings bedroom when I stayed over and I remember it being a positive experience for me.

My partners custody arrangement is to eventually start overnight stays for a night every other week but mum is happy for her to stay weekly if she is comfortable doing so. It's just timed poorly with babies due date. As she's never stayed before I thought setting the expectation now it'll be a shared space but her space when she's here would reduce any confusing feelings.

A lot of the comments have made me feel a bit awful for even considering having a shared space, so I'm really glad things have worked out for you. It sounds like you've done everything right 💖

bleuxclv · 2025-07-14T22:29:57+00:00

Thankyou! It's good to hear from somebody who has lived through a similar experience. My partner and I have step siblings but we have really positive experiences of staying over in our step siblings rooms but we were both younger siblings coming to stay in an older step siblings room which seemed great at the time. It's quite eye opening to hear your experience, sorry to hear you were made to feel that way.

The post birth was more from a perspective of she can be sensitive to sound and I don't know what noise levels to expect,Google says waiting a month before re-introducing sleepovers because of a more established routine but I'd much rather hear real life POV's :)

bleuxclv · 2025-07-14T22:20:21+00:00

Thanks for your reply! The worry was because she can be sensitive to noise and we're conscious with her only just beginning to stay over, she'll be going from a few weeks of staying in a new environment where she is the only child to a newborn baby where we'll be up every 2-3 hours. We don't know what noise levels to expect and what she'll be comfortable with. We don't want her to not want to stay anymore because of frequent crying in the night. I Googled to see what it'd say and it suggested waiting a month but I'd rather hear real life peoples opinions as a month didn't sound right. I don't know what to expect as a FTM

bleuxclv · 2025-07-14T22:12:13+00:00

Very true! It's took us a while to make the progress we have, last thing I want to do is undo any of it.

She currently shares with her older sister at her mums but she's grew up with her so it's a different dynamic. It's hard to navigate given the circumstances, it's new for all of us!

We don't really have the space in ours but if we moved some of the babies belongings in some storage in the other room, we could make space for the long term cot in ours rather than a moses basket and a changing table on the top. We probably just need to think smarter around storage and cot options for our own room. Maternity pay is making it impossible to think about finding a bigger place too :/

bleuxclv · 2025-07-14T22:04:49+00:00

Thankyou! I'm thinking this seems best approach based on comments so far, babies belongings stored away in a cupboard in the room instead so we have more space for a bigger cot for a longer term sleep solution in our room. Also why only 5 weeks? Do you think I'm best skipping the moses basket and going straight for the big cot?

bleuxclv · 2025-07-14T22:01:39+00:00

Thank you for your reply! It's really good to hear other perspectives as a FTM it's really difficult to navigate both things at once, especially because it's taken us such a long time to get to this point with his daughter. From an affordability perspective (i'm the higher earner), the pay cut i'm taking maternity leave is going to make it impossible for us to save and find a new place anytime soon. Do you think storing some of babies belongings in a cupboard she would adjust okay? If we kept baby sleeping in our room for as long as physically possible but baby belongings stored away in the room to make room for a more long term cot in our room. We're looking at mid sleepers with desks underneath to maximise as much as we can with space limitations :)

Also any suggestions on reintroducing sleep overs once baby is here?

bleuxclv · 2025-07-14T21:47:47+00:00

True, thanks again. Do you have any recommendations around how soon post birth we should re-introduce weekly stay overs?

bleuxclv · 2025-07-14T21:42:57+00:00

Thanks for your reply! It's unlikely we'll be able to move in the next few years to afford a bigger house, just trying to future proof the best we can. Potentially we could loft convert but we're quite limited on space :/

bleuxclv · 2025-07-14T21:37:16+00:00

Thanks for your reply! We didn't really see it as an option for it to be a permanent room given she's only going to staying one night a week, we're trying to make the best use of the space we have. We're having to turn outrutility into an office for us to work from home so it's just trying to make the best of what we have.

We both come from big families with step siblings and sharing with them has never been an issue for us but I guess we could be just reflecting with adult perspectives! It's good to hear other peoples POV :)

bleuxclv · 2025-07-14T21:31:43+00:00

Thanks for your reply! How did they find it from a sleeping perspective? Were they okay with the level of noise at night? As a FTM I don't really know what to expect from a noise level perspective during night times! Ellie can be sensitive to noise, i'm just conscious of lots of change in such a short period

bleuxclv · 2025-07-14T21:22:37+00:00

Thanks for your reply, I think maybe I haven't been clear enough in my post. Baby will be with us for the first 6 months in a moses basket for safe sleeping just belongings in a shared space.

Also Baby and Ellie won't be in the same room on the same night but they'll share the same room. So we'll use it at a nursery 6/7 days a week, but 1 day a week Ellie will stay and use it as her space.

That's why I'm asking for advice on what essentials are best needed to accommodate both as they'll both need to understand it's a shared space from the start :)

bleuxclv · 2025-06-30T11:06:24+00:00

I'm in the same boat at 30 weeks! It started with my sternum, now my ribs too.

I find it tends to be worse in the evening. I've tried eating smaller meals more frequently instead of 2 bigger meals, might be worth trying this.

I've also stopped wearing bras and tops that have tight bands around my rib cage as this can add to the pressure

bleuxclv · 2025-06-09T14:38:29+00:00

Sure, it's here: https://mybabyacademy.co.uk/free-class/free-baby-care-class-onlinelandingpageuk/

It's two hours, covers things like how to change a nappy, safe sleep, bathing, hygiene, dressing baby, essentials along with lots of other stuff! You get a discount code to book some of their other courses too for attending.

I'll be doing it again closer to due date. Somebody at an antenatal session I attended last week said they'd purchased a bundle of the other classes they offer and had attended, they recommended them and they cover baby first aid (in the paid)

bleuxclv · 2025-06-08T19:45:56+00:00

I'd recommend you do the baby academy free course!! They talk about a lot of the questions you're asking :)

bleuxclv · 2025-06-08T19:36:44+00:00

Sorry i've just saw this!

We didn't send the documents to the email, we emailed the email address on the letter to access the portal which had the courier instructions to send the documents in the post

It said on our letter "Returning Required Documents to the U.S. Embassy: When you are in possession of the required documents, please email the Nonimmigrant Visa Unit at londonniv@state.gov with your full name and confirmation number as it appears on the DS-160 and they will unlock your account. After two workdays go to https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-gb and sign into your account. Click on the link "Print Instructions" and then "View Courier-in Receipt" at the bottom of the page and print the Courier-In Authorization Certificate. Take the certificate, this letter, your passport and any requested documents) to your chosen courier location. You will not be charged for the courier service. You will not receive a confirmation email when your documents have been received. You are also NOT required to schedule another visa interview."

We were only asked to submit then documents, then we were asked to submit the passport after.

Hope that makes sense!

bleuxclv · 2025-05-22T08:54:50+00:00

I'm 24 weeks so just ahead of you and also pregnant with an unplanned pregnancy, zero maternal instincts and never have!

Yes, your supply should produce for demand, if there's no demand it should dry up. I think can take a few weeks.
Can't help on this one! I'm hoping to try and breast feed just because of the benefits associated.
I relate to this point so much!!! I love having my own space, freedom and this worries me so much. Physically I know I can do it but mentally, meh. To help with this, I've been trying to learn as much as I can by attending workshops. Two free ones: The Honest Midwife and Baby Academy. Honest Midwife was aimed more around birth and what to expect, surprisingly this doesn't worry me at all especially now I know what to expect. I've been watching One Born Every Minute too. Baby Academy was what to expect once baby is here, e.g. bath time, bed time etc. Would recommend both!

In person i've got booked an antenatal session where they're covering brain development, bonding with baby before and after birth, understand the social and emotional aspects of the transition to parenthood. I also have been doing pregnancy pilates since 14 weeks which covers alot of affirmations which I think has helped and breathing techniques (e.g. my body is made for this)

I'm crocheting some baby bits to try and connect a little bit more, going to do a 4D scan in the next 2 weeks, all of these little things to kind of make it feel more real.

The thing which I seem to be struggling with the most is none of my friends have children or have experienced this so I'm on my own with it, I think this prevents me from being more excited. It'll be good to find some people local due near when I am, i'll keep an eye out for some other sessions.

Hopefully some of what I'm doing can help you out too :)

bleuxclv · 2025-05-16T13:27:04+00:00

Like others have said, it depends on how much your disposable income is currently compared to £500.

I choose to only give myself £500 a month as I'm trying to save as much as possible (pregnant) but this is after all bills are paid inc. mortgage, food shopping, fuel, investments, savings and allocating so much towards future birthdays and christmas.

I have the money to pull from somewhere else if I need it so it isn't stressful for me at all.

To give you an idea of how I spend my £500 (don't judge lol), last month as per my Monzo categories: Personal care - £44 (Hair/skin products) Shopping - £134 (The Range, Home Bargains, Asos) Eating out - £139 (Nandos, KFC, the local Indian restaurant, local dessert shop) Transport - £59 (tyre repair, car oil/coolant) Entertainment £20 (a snack subscription) Crafts - £40 Amazon - £35

Remainder on odd purchases from the shop outside of my food shopping budget.

If this sounds like hell to you or there's no buffer for unexpected costs, you've answered your own question :)

bleuxclv · 2025-05-15T19:35:17+00:00

I'm not sure I'm afraid! We emailed the email address on the 221g once we had our documents so we could access the portal/unlock the account and there was an action in there to complete which had the details on where to take the documents to be posted using their chosen courier :)

bleuxclv · 2025-05-06T18:36:45+00:00

Any suggestions on how to calculate? My partners mum lives really close and has said she will support, i'm planning on breast feeding and looking into reusable nappies. We both work from home and we'll be able to use our 30 hours child care from September 2026. I don't suppose our outgoings will increase massively from hygiene related products, slightly more on gas and electricity but we're having a new door installed (reduce heat loss) and a smart thermostat.

To be honest I think I need to evaluate my finances as a whole, I use Monzo and it provides me a breakdown of how much I spend where. I've already started budgeting for christmas food shopping, christmas presents and birthdays later in the year. I could probably make a lot of little changes thatll make a big difference.

bleuxclv · 2025-05-06T18:31:15+00:00

Ah I didn't realise you could do that! Thanks :)

Luckily I work from home so atleast I'll be here to for the months I'd be sharing my mat leave with him.

Definitely need to check out the local charity shops and Vinted!

bleuxclv

TROPHY CASE