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

Im more Dawn French than Demi Moore! I was a size 8 before dd1 and im a 22 now oh well at least there is plenty of me to love

Yes please add my vote for larger families section for those with 4+ kids. Would be very useful to share tips not relevant for more "normal" people

oh, erm then yes I still look the same as before pg, but I might not after no.4 just remember Demi had $130,000 of plastic surgery to look like she does. She was hardly a mingmong before tho'

Might I add that my pelvic floor shuts like a trap door, because I work it hard after each birth.

I'm so frightened of wetting myself at inappropriate moments

I don't have stretchmarks either, but I do think that's hereditary, noone in my mum's family has them.

My fanjo has taken a bit of a bashing it has to be said, but I don't look down there too often so not bothered as long as it doesn't heal over

As I said, no.4 might change all that

no sorky wasn't thinking of that LOL! Just that I remember thinking that her before and after pictures for 4 children were annoyingly similar

Agree on the fridge - it can never be quite big enough. And that futility room is overflowing with wellies, trainers etc... mine only have one pair of each but it still looks like a charity shop

We have a mahoosive fridge, it's fab

How do mean Demi? Whether you posed naked pg?

psychomum, thanks for the ideas. Our fridge is waaaaaaaaay too small. I would LOVE a big American stylie one

eeek for the births, and am with you on all the fiddling the pinches re-fanjo pain versus labour pain, but I am so sorry for this...........PMSL @ your DH discussing the view with the midwife

My DH has had some pretty hairy moments too...

Our hospital here is a 'cottage' hosp so they can deal with normal births, but anything complicated gets referred to the mainland. And the helicopter is called for emergencies.

ds2 was 10 days late - and when I was finally in labour his heart rate was really dropping with every contraction. So they stretchered me onto a snowy field at 5am to get into a Sea King (lovely crew ) and I was flat on my back with drugs to stop the contractions til we got to the hosp. DH meanwhile was discussing the fab view with the midwife

At the hosp they had to get a monitor into the top of ds2's head to measure his blood oxygen. Doctor was completely incompetent, kept missing and it hurt like hell. Labour pain is somehow another level - I know I can take it - but some idiot fumbling around and clamping the wrong bits of my fanjo with cold steel instruments was excrutiating.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, ds2 was fine, and born a few hours later normally, but the placenta again wouldn't give in gracefully so I again lost loads of blood and met the same consultant (as for #3) in the op room for the scrape.

I don't think my body could take another one... but can't persuade DH to have the snip

Thanks...

Feeling almost famous now.

don;t feel foolish...I feel sure at times that some people think I over dramatise how bad it was!!!!!!

I don't....in fact, DH says it was much worse, altho he was watching the woman he adores , and their baby going thro hell, and thinking about all the other children at home. All I remember is the pain the evil MW telling me I wans;t as bad as I knew I was......since when was she in my skin and knowing how I felt.

in fact, had she been, she would have given the strongest pain stuff in the world!!!!

still.....all;s well now and altho it seems to have a small repucussion in DS2 and his bowel, I am just glad that we are all still in one piece IYGWIM.

p.s have just read further down cos I was skimming before - OMG Psycho that sounds awful. I was only referring to what you said on your 'list' post IYSWIM - feel a bit foolish now!

psychomum - me
paulayatesbiggestfan - who started this fab idea
peachy is very soon to join if bubba hurries up
LTH
neversaynever
padilia
tortoise
liaghen
evenhope
cargirl
suedonim
tickle
tiggywinkle
jes74
cupsoftea
marslady
snorris
cazbody
magnolia74
idobelieveinfairies
kitty
waggledancer
swedes
conniedescending
oliviaelanasmum
sorky (by the fact that she is trying for #4)
ceolas
slacker
ggglimp
lisalisa
tiredmumof4
lucewheel
pollyanna
stopfighting
duchy
har man
diva
bythesea
tooticky
maoui

and to add

Spidermama
137wallis
lljkk
zephrycat
heronsfly
PPH
morespamthanglam
bigcar
aGalchangedhername

CADMUM

you are now

am sure there are other 'demi's' here !!!!

intrigued by the helicopter birth/ride.......spill please

I just noticed that I am not on 'the list'... Maybe I have already been asked to leave?

After a really stressful 18months in Austria I actually weigh less than when I was first pg with DS1 but I am not sure that it is a good thing. I also suspect that I shall start to pack it all back on now that I am much happier in Switzerland and surrounded in yummy chocolate.

So Psycho gets a Demi award Or maybe she is Demi?? Relieved to hear you're not up to trampolining though...

My scrapes were also done under GA - we live on a small island and it was just luck there was a gynae consultant there for a meeting for #3, and she did it... otherwise I would have been on the helicopter half an hour after giving birth

Was on the helicopter in labour with #4, but that's another story

oh yeah...forgot to add......all kiddies are mine and DH's.

we got married when I was 20 and am now 35.(at the age of me!)

plus.....we met when I was 16 on a blind date, so have now been together a whole life-time for me IYGWIM!!!!

I am not sure that I dare add this post BUT it might make sorkycake feel somewhat hopeful so here goes:

I have never experienced a single afterpain. I bf as well but never experienced any pain. Relatively quick deliveries here as well though longish labours.

Psychomum5: Your story about the retained placenta has reminded me of why I need to stop at 4... I had similar with my second BUT once they actually believed that something was really wrong at least the op went smoothly and despite the pain and awful anti-biotics for ages, I recovered quickly. Your poor DH. I can only imagine what it must be like to stand and watch it all unfold whilst being able to do nothing to help. about DS2's liver and bowel. Very stressful this parenting lark...

All four of mine are DHs as well. I fall in the same camp as previous posters that think a DNA test might be needed to prove that I am the biological mother. They all look very much like their dad and each other. In fact, DH has a brother with 5 children and when they are all together it is impossible to tell who are siblings and who are cousins.

tickle....they missed mine for so ong that mine were done under general anaesthetic, which altho hideous, far far safer for the midwife.

not gonna say how well my body held up otherwise cos I will be forced out (altho my pelvic floor was punished)

psycho - just read your #5 there. I had retained placenta with both #3 and #4 Horrible isn't it? They realised, but the pain of the midwife trying to get it out - OMG I nearly punched the poor woman.

How are everyone's bodies standing up to lots of pregnancies then? Any Demi Moores can leave the thread now...

sorky - I had bad after pains with dd1 (1st baby) - and a scarey recurrence of them when she was 5wks old and we were staying with PILs in blimmin Switzerland

But no recollection of anything bad with the subsequent ones, so it got easier for me

We were doing really well on the Easter eggs in this house, til we went down to DH's parents Now they are piling up... but not 30, thank goodness

Well,afterpains........ bloody hell fire
By the time I got to number 5 I thankfully had a midwife with the good sense to tell me to take paracetamol and ibuprofen 2 hourly no matter what I was feeling like. It saved me. I just took them religiously for the first few days post baby.
With number 4 I had no such advice and the after pains were as bad as labour except they shot through my legs as well,

thanks

Has peachy delivered yet?

ok.....after pains for me....

#1, none at all, altho I did hemorrage (sp?) after so had lots of drugs to make my uterus shrink quickly!

#2, no bleed, easy very quick birth (5cms to birth in 10mins), and after pains eased by paracetmol. BUT, I did make baby wait for a feed on day 2 so that the pills good kick in first as BF made them 100x worse.

#3, fell 5day before birth so suffered traumatic SPD and was on pain meds for that anyway, so afterpains were dealt with by using a tens machine and hot water bottle and paracetomol. lovely.

#4, car accident at 30wks, broken ribs, on codiene anyway so after pains (altho really hideous) covered by those drugs!

#5, retained placenta which they missed, passing out with the pain, MW's evil, yada yada.....hell all round

In my view, tens machine and hot water bottle and paracetomol was the best form of pain relief.

I had a homebirth this time (baby no.4, 6 months). Just because I felt more comfortable being at home and like I knew what I was doing. It was quicker overall. But best bit was definitely getting into your own bed afterwards (own bath and toilet too!).

Afterpains were no worse for me than the previous 3.