November 2011 babies

Oh must change my ticker too - only 8/9 weeks according to MW!
Due about 12th November

Morning [:)]

Sorry you're sick sjp_red! That is no fun, especially on the weekend. I'd say no to echinacea. I don't think there is a lot of evidence that it actually does anything anyway. Just stick to your fluids and lots of rest. Your baby is tucked away safe and sound, don't worry about that [:)]
The flu shot is recommended AND free for us?? Maybe I'll get it. Can't be too safe I say.

Feel better !!

We have our first scan and midwife appointment on Tues. I am a bit apprehensive to be honest. I haven't had a lot of symptoms and feel totally fine. I guess I'm just worried something has happened to the Bean and I'll be really upset if nothing shows up. Is this normal?? I'm probably just being a freak ...[:o]

Happy Sunday all [:)]

Morning!!

Quick question - are any of you ladies drinking coffee?

I was a big coffee drinker, but stopped as soon as I found out I was pregnant. A pregnant girl at my work is still drinking one a day.

Thoughts???

xxx

FYI ...sjb_red = squirtsmum (having user login issues :-)

Thanks bun_mum and nikau99 for the feedback. Going to see the doc on Monday and will come back with the advice he offers. Have two girlfriends in the UK - one preggy and the other preggy last year - both had the vac and both recommend it. Hmmm .

nikau99 ... will look into getting that Nutralife Ester C today ...Ive been taking a Nutralife C + Echniacea high dosage combo but got all nervous overnight about echinacea so am stopping that now.   Thanks for the tip.

Poppy ....I have one decent (flat white or espresso) cup of coffee a day (advice is no more than 1 of these or two filter / plunger cups) and anything else after that is decaf although they also recommend limiting decaf as there are still small amounts of caf in it. I need my one cup of coffee a day to feel human .... giving up that AND wine ...I'd go positively mental :-)

Hi squirts mum! was wondering who sjb-red was :-)
here is some info I came across looking for that latest results of studies

"Mercury is known to cause serious harm, especially to fetuses and children because of their smaller size," said Lisa Sykes, president of the Coalition for Mercury-free Drugs (CoMeD), a non-profit group dedicated to removing mercury from medicine. "Why remove Thimerosal from pediatric vaccines only to inject it into pregnant women and children with recommended flu shots? They removed Thimerosal from other vaccines, so it should also be removed from flu shots."

Several other recent studies confirm the numerous dangers posed by mercury, including one recently published in the Folia Neuropathologica that links the toxin directly to autism (http://www.naturalnews.com/031678_m...). Mercury is also known to disrupt proper immune function, damage DNA, inhibit healthy embryonic development, and cause cancer.

The following is my opinion:
Lots of different pharmaceutical companies use different preservatives and fillers. It is always good to know exactly what you are putting into your body. From the research I've done I think I'll be going for Fluvax brand. See my research below with some links for further info. From my research below I couldn't find any ingredients that sounded like thiomersal type preservative in this year's NZ subsidised (free for us) flu vacs.

edited to add: I'm not getting the flu jab until 12 weeks on the recomendation of my nurse, GP and MW...I was so glad that all three had the same advice.

The following is research starting with the NZ MOH website and following links: (website included below)

MOH website links to inlfuenza.org.nz fr 2011 flu vac details which says "Fluvax® (CSL Biotherapies); Fluarix® (GlaxoSmithKline) are the two influenza vaccines that will be subsidised for the 2011 season."

Medsafe.govt.nz has details on each of these vaccines

FLUVAX says:

USE IN PREGNANCY: CATEGORY B2
"It is recommended that influenza immunisation be offered in advance to women planning a pregnancy, and to pregnant women who will be in the second or third trimester during the influenza season, including those in the first trimester at the time of vaccination.
An animal reproduction study has been conducted with CSL Influenza Vaccine. This study did not demonstrate any maternal or developmental toxicity."

Fluarix says:

"Adequate human data on use during pregnancy and adequate animal reproduction studies are not available. However, as with all inactivated viral vaccines, the risks to the
fetus are considered to be negligible. FLUARIX should be used during pregnancy only when clearly needed.
Adequate human data on use during lactation and adequate animal reproduction studies are not available. There is no known contraindication in the use of FLUARIX during
lactation."

MOH website info
Influenza.org.nz
FLUVAX medsafe info
Fluarix medsafe info

Edited by squizzy

Good on you for doing the research squizzy As far as I was aware the Thimerisol was in last years H1N1 vaccine, which was the one all Preg women were advised to have by MOH.

All Doctors seem to follow the MOH guidelines

Thanks Nikau. Researching and risk assessing are fundamental parts of what I do so research is one of the easiest ways for me to make an informed decision.

Bum_mum thanks for you comments. I totally agree that having babies the most natural thing in the world and being pregnant is a healthy condition however there are a lot more decisions too make in the modern world and a lot of opinion and studies that show various things for and against all of them. Personally (as a researcher) I can't "relax" with information feed to me by a couple of qualified people.

At the end of the day we are the only ones who can make the final D on things like immunisation. We can take onboard the advice of our doctors and midwives but it's us who decides in the end and it can be a very difficult D when there is so much information out there.

Also immunisation is a very personal moral issue. Personally I am pro-immunisation and my sister is totally against it. I totally respect her D on that as she respects mine but it does lead to some great heated conversations.

BTW Ladies ...have updated the spreadsheet with columns for a few more fun and random facts to share between now and appointments!

I was also given Up The Duff as a gift. It's very refreshing and funny but probably not a complete text for me (see my need for info in my last two posts). I like that it's inclusive of everyone (it doesn't assume that you have a husband by your side either which is refreshing). I really do enjoy reading it and do recommend it to others but it's not something I would have purchased myself.

I bought What to Expect When You're Expecting (NZ/AUS version) on recommendation from my sister-in-law and love it. It has heaps of info presented in an easy to read question and answer format. This mean you can read the question and if it doesn't apply to you, you can skip the answer part. However it sometimes uses non-everyday terms which means google sometimes has to be consulted.