Dear Mumsnet please could we have a 'Larger Families' section?

Oh LTH i kinda know how you felt having db no4. I always felt so lucky having my 2 ds's,really blessed you know?

Then i was even luckier having dd2 with no traumas,and got another perfect baby.

Then we got pg with db4 and i was convinced this would end in a MC or would die during the birth. So when the MW suspected vasa previa i was sure it was all over for my db. I just couldn't understand why my DH and i were able to have 4 perfect wonderful dc when some people can't have any iyswim?

Anyhow we now can't have anymore,god knows what kind of state i'd be in with a no5!!

Told you, didn't I??

Magnolia IS a babe!!

My births have been ok.

Ds1 26 hr labour but quick birth. Swallowed loads of meconium so needed suctioned etc but was fine.Was born on his due date.

Ds2 waters broke in local shop on the Thursday and had niggles till late Sat night,off to hosp and born 2 hrs later. Born day before due date.

Dd1 Waters went Thursday morning,niggles till ate Friday night and born midday Saturday.Born exactly 1 week late.

Dd2 Was meant to be born at home.Had birth pool set up ,entinox delivered etc. Had sweep on Friday and nowt happened. had sweep Monday and MW sent us to hosp as i had a poss vasa previa(fatal for baby). Ended up with a consultants huuuge hands up my nether regions for ages/scans etc. Prepped for emergency section and taken to theatre to have my membranes ruptured. Luckily all was well and i was allowed to labour and had dd2 after 2 and a bit hours.Born exactly 1 week late.

Feel really sad to never be having another db

Thank you

The black and white one is a staff and the tan and white one is a staff cross springer spaniel. They are lovely but hard work

Wow Magnolia, LTH was right!!

You are indeed a babe

Magnolia lovely pics! If i looked that good naked i would dispense with clothes forever!!
Lovely dogs too are they Staffs?

After reading all of your birth stories, I will do a quick run - down of mine.

Ds1 was born 6 days late in hospital, after a 6 and a half hour labour - all very straight forward

dd1 was a day late. A home birth, and she was back to back. The midwife came round to do a check up and I was having severe back pain (but no comtractions) She examined me and I was 7 cms I then had 5 contractions and dd was born

ds2 was something you would see on a comedy show A pipe had burst under my bath the previous day, and the kitchen ceiling collapsed, and I had no running water upstairs. At 37+5 he was born 40mins after the first twinge, with only dh with me at home. just as he was born, there was a knock on the door, and thinking it was the mw we yelled come in, but it was the plumber!

ds3 was a lovely straightforward hb, after a 2 and a half hour labour at 3am and none of the kids woke up!

dd2 was born on her due date, in our bath! I had a very quick labour and she was back to back, so only had back and leg pains (which were actually pretty horrendous) mw arrived and dh went to let her in and Molly was born just as they were walking back upstairs

all in all I have been very lucky

I love being pg and giving birth, and it makes me to think I will probably never do it again

Ok I have uploaded a pic of the magazine pic

Lth, I felt the same I was convinced that because 1 in 4 or 5 pg's end in miscarraige I had 4 healthy children so maybe it was my turn Then with the polacent previa they said I could end up very badly ill and losing me, baby or both if I lost too much blood I shit myself even more.

It was thanks to Marslady on here that I was so calm and ready for the c section

Wow LTH tht really is sad.

So pleased you were both okay in the end.

With ds1 our marriage only just survived due to my antenatal depression. We only spoke about it when ds1 was 2yo. Then we decided to have ds2 and things are back the way they should be now, but it was hell whilst it lasted.

It carried over past the birth for me.

I knew something wasn't quite right but it wasn't until the HV asked if I'd bonded that I suddenly said "no I don't think so, I can take or leave him actually".

The guilt I have from that time is awful to acknowledge

Even now, I still have trouble saying/typing the actual word, It still scares me.

t was exactly that psyhco, i washed the black cloud away in the delvery room with the 90,000,000,000 billiongallons of water that shot out when his bady came out. Th MW sai dit was like a firemans hose!!
She was soaked from her chest down!!!

feeling very at the thought of feeling confident enough while pregnant to pose for a magazine nude!!!!

LTH.....thats really sad how badly you felt.

yes, I think you may be right in that you had some type of antenatal depression. I felt really quite similar to that while carrying DD3......and all I can describe is that almost straight after we came home from hospital with ehr I felt as tho I had walked out of a huge black cloud.....and yet, while pregnant didn;t say anything as I hadn;t honestly realised I was feeling that bad IYGWIM.

I too was convinced something would go wrong, altho it kind of did in that she was born with chicken pox as I had never had it and then DD2 had it when I was 38wks pregnant!!!

I guess I felt like that as I had two gorgeous girls already and so by manner of odds/detuction/fate, I was in line for something bad.........illogical I know, but then, hormones are never normally logical anyway going on how I am with PMT.

I saw Magnolias magazine photos. Shes a babe!!!

This might be long. Its a long story....

Nothing out of the ordinary happened, as births go it wasn't any harder physically then the others but thoughout the whole PG I was convinced something was going to go wrong.
Ds4 was completely inplanned, from the moment that PG test showed +ve my mind went into freefall, so by the 12 wk scan I was sure I'd miscarried. I hadn't. Then I had a bleed at 14 weeks again convinced I lost the baby. All ok. 20 wk scan I was sure something would be wrong, all fine again.

Literally every day I felt like something bad was going to happen. It wasn't the normal level of worry you do when Pg, I was frantic. There were lots of little problems but nothing that unusual but in my mind hey were massive problems.

So, as the birth got closer and nothing bad had happen the only thing that could happen was the worst possible outcome. I'd come home without a baby. I was utterly utterly convinced that he wouldn't make it. I couldn't (and didn't) tell anyone what was going on in my head because I thought if I did then I;d make it happen. I couldn't even type it out on here. I talked about in a raound about way on a few threads but never actually siad the words.
I was terrified during the labour and thought the MW was lying to me when she said she could see the head. All I could think was I had kept him inside so he;d stay alive...if I let go and he was born he wouldn't make it.

My body was making me give birth but my head was telling it to keep him inside.

As his head was born, he cried immediatly (with just his head sticking out) and it felt like he was telling me he was ok, he;d made it and I could do the rest without any worry. It was a very surreal moment.

I was looking at a photo of us both when we'd just got home from hospital teh other day and I can so vividly remeber the feeling off complete and utter relief that he was there in my arms. It made me cry.

So thats it. Nothing physically/medically bad happened it was all in my head. In hind sight I think I had antenatal depression....There was no way anyone could have known or helped me because I just couldn't say it out loud and that now tells me its not normal.

did you really? which magazine?

very impressed! did you keep a copy of the photo?

Needed to add I will never have a c section wound drain in ever again The pain of them removing it was worse than any labour!!!

Well each pregnancy makes me look healthier and in better shape. I was terribley skinny before children 6.5 stone!!! But skinny minnies run in my family. I am now 8st 4lb after 5 kids and do look better for it. My tummy is still a bit squishy though

No shocking births here but had dd1 within 1/2 hour of my waters breaking, twins at 35 weeks agin very quick easy labour, dd4 was born at 33 weeks by emergency c section due to placenta abrubtion. Scary having her in scbu but she is a huge 4 year old now
Ds1 was born at 37 weeks by elective c section due to grade 4 placenta previa, consultant said I would probably lose lots of blood and need transfusion ect.... but it went smootly

I am a real life Demi in the fact that I posed for a magazine when pg with ds1

Afterpains for the normal births were not too bad a bit period pain like but even with the twins I wasn't too bad.

What happened during your fourth LTH?

I'm in teh same size clothes as pre-children(10-12) but after ds4 my shape totally cahnged if that makes sense.

Havne't got time to read all the posts o sorry if I miss any important bits out.

Psycho, that was a bloody rough ride you had. I can't beliove some MW's...bet she idn't have children!!

Sorky, My worst afterpains were with ds3. I literally couldn't walk 10 paces without almpst collapsing. I couldn't even breath through them they were so bad. Ds3 was my fastest birth -2hr 16 mins according to my notes, so I think thats why, TBH it felt like some had beaten the living daylights out of me.

Ds4, who took 4hrs 21 mins, didn't give me any afterpains. The actual birth was horrific, easily the scariest experinece of my life (mentally not physically) so I think if I had of had afterpains I really wouldn't have noticed or cared, I was just glad it was over.

kitty.......am intrigued by the vibrating PF floor excerciser.........tell me more please.

prolapse seems to run in my family, and after my endo op (and fibroids/cysts/laser/yacky surgery), they told me I had a slight one then and they would refer me for proper PF physio. I was then told not bad enough and left, but I do get a heavy dragging feeling during periods that is more than I used to get, so am feeling the need to start something better than just the oldtype ones I do anyway since babies IYGWIM.

BUT......DH reckons I have a bony bum, and when the kiddies babysitter comes round, or grandma, or SIL, they reckon they are more comfy to cuddle as they are 'more padded'!!!

oh, and the boys.........they love nothing better than bigger boobs to rest their heads upon, and even used to fall asleep on one babysitter citing her boobs as the reason.........definately will be 'boob-men' as adults

Talking of pelvic floors. A few weeks ago after having had a horrible cough fro at least a month I was convinced that i was having a prolapse. it all felt like it was falling out. I went to the dr and she had a good poke around but said all was fine.

THANK THE LORD

Anyhoo, I wasn't going to take a chance and since i can't remember to do the exercises I bought one of those electrical vibrating PF exercisers, rather pleasant it is too