August 2010: August is here, our babes are near!

[vitapulchra]

LIST
In Sweet Memory Of Belle, Daughter Of CazEM. Our First August Angel Was Born Asleep 21.6.10 at 00:08, 4lbs 5oz

ARRIVED
2 July (due 29 July) CherryPie - #3 BOY, Corey Owen, born 08:11, 8lbs 4oz.
18 July (due 25 July) Emster - #1 BOY, James, born 18:37, 9lbs 4oz
23 July (due 20 July) Aussie - #1 BOY, James (Jamie), born 02:50 and weight?
23 July (due 22 July) Chulita - #2 BOY, Samson William, born 01:15, 8lbs 3oz.
25 July (due 29 July) BouncingBlueberries - #2 BOY, Glenn, born 02:02, 7lbs 3oz.
25 July (due 4 August) Girlsyearapart - #3 GIRL, Matilda Queenie (Tilly), born 11:05, 8lb 10oz.
28 July (due 4 August) Kcoffin - #3 GIRL, Ruby Mae, born 14:49, 6lb 11oz.

WAITING ROOM
26 July - Anifersgirl, #1, age 33 South Bucks, 33week scan extended breech GIRL
28 July - CazzyBabs #4, Cambridge , SURPRISE
31 July - Missus84, #1, Bristol . Age 26 BOY
01 Aug - Nikalah, #1, Dorset . Age 35, GIRL
01 Aug - Bumblingaround #4, SURPRISE
02 Aug - Dibbydab, #1, Devon . Age 34 SURPRISE
02 Aug - summerymummy, #2, age 29, Berkshire , SURPRISE
02 Aug - JamieJay, #1, Cardiff . Age 29 - GIRL
03 Aug - fuzzybunny, #2, age27, Somerset SURPRISE
03 Aug - carolondon #1 North London age 37, BOY
05 Aug - RachelParker #1, age 26, Wandsworth ( London ), GIRL
06 Aug - YummymummyKJulie, #1, NW London , GIRL
07 Aug - NichyNoo, #1. Brussels . Age 30 - BOY
07 Aug - Weehector #1, Largs. Age 36.. BOY
08 Aug ? ElusiveMoose #2 Kent 33 BOY
08 Aug - DriedApricots #2, Surrey, SURPRISE
09 Aug - possiblenewmum #1, Guildford , age 31, GIRL
09 Aug ? Alice #2 Suffolk age 25, BOY
09 Aug - thecoffeelady #2, Fleet, Hants, age 32, SURPRISE
11 Aug ? CellyD #1, Walthamstow, SURPRISE
10 Aug ? SayAnything #1, Brussels , age 33, BOY
12 Aug - tunise, #4, Suffolk , age 31. GIRL
13 Aug ? Neenz #3 Liverpool (32) - SURPRISE
14 Aug - LCRLCR #1, Brighton , age 34, SURPRISE
14 Aug - Burkoid, #2 SURPRISE
14 Aug ? babyducky #2, Brighton , age 24, SURPRISE
15 Aug ? LizzieA #1 Wirral, 33, scan ok BOY
15 Aug - thedogwalker #1, age 37, Germany (originally from Halifax), BOY
16 Aug - parkgirl #1, 20wk scan fine - GIRL
16 Aug - Tah2 #3, South Wales . SURPRISE
16 Aug - Vix206 #1, Leicester , 32, BOY
16 Aug ? cakeywakey, #2, age 32, GIRL
17 Aug - Doodleydoo #2 Kent still just 34, SURPRISE
18 Aug ? Isheisnthe #3 Camberley, FPH, Age 33, BOY
18 Aug - biddysmama #2, Lancashire , BOY
19 Aug - marzipananimal #1, York , age 24 SURPRISE
19 Aug ? Bubbabear #1, Reading/Berks age 30, BOY
20 Aug - JessieEssex #1, age 33, SURPRISE
20 Aug - USMum27 #1, age 26, Wandsworth. GIRL
21 Aug - CrunchieNutterII #2, age 34, Devon , SURPRISE
22 Aug - Poncherello #2, North London , SURPRISE
23 Aug - chickieno1 #1, SURPRISE
23 Aug ? loobyt #2, age 34, Devon, SURPRISE
24 Aug ? JaysFourth #4, age 38, GIRL
24 Aug - growingbump2, #2, age 25, Isle of Man , SURPRISE
25 Aug - Sal321, #1, age 31, Essex SURPRISE
25 Aug - Sam86 #2 Liverpool , GIRL
25 Aug ? aendr #2, Huntingdonshire, 33, GIRL
25 Aug - Joey30, #1, Halifax - West Yorkshire , age 30., BOY
25 Aug - Soontobefatnat #1 SE London Age 30, BOY
26 Aug - pamplem0usse, age 26, #1, Herts SURPRISE
27 Aug - Jamiki #3, SURPRISE
28 Aug - LittleMissSnowShine, #1, age 26, Belfast, SURPRISE
29 Aug - Hildainstant #1, Sunderland , age 30, SURPRISE
29 Aug - Foxyjbro #3, age 30, Shropshire, SURPRISE
29 Aug - LilyPad72 #1, age 37, Berkshire , BOY
29 Aug - starshaker #2 & 3 Ayrshire Age 29 VIOLET TWINS
30 Aug - Sparkle #1, age 31, Kent SURPRISE
31 Aug ? vitapulchra, #4, Guernsey , 32, BOY
02 Sept - MrsZaC, #1, Glasgow , age 26 SURPRISE
08 Sept - ronx, #2, London , age 37, SURPRISE

BABY COUNT
Boys - 22
Girls - 17
Surprises - 30

TOTAL - 69

marzipananimal - Yes, also going slowly mad with boredom, completely sympathise!! When you're having a sneaky duvet day or nursing a hangover, lying on the sofa watching tv and reading magazines seems like fun. But when you're just feeling a bit lethargic and claustrophobic all you want is for LO to arrive, even tho that's when the sleepless nights really begin!!

pample - good to hear from you, glad you're still hanging on in there :D I don't have another appt until 27th Aug when I will be 39+6. Grr! Hoping LO will be here by then tho!!

Congrats Cornona!

weehector - That's def a sign!! Start covering your sofas with bin bags because...drip, drip, drip...sounds like your waters are about to break

cazzybabs - the bottom number on my blood pressure has been raised a few times. Prob the stress of waiting for LO to arrive!

CazEm - lovely post and lovely way of remembering your beautiful daughter

caz what a beautiful day you made for Belle. Your daughter cannot be in any doubt looking down on you just how much she is loved and what wonderful parents you and your DH are. I'm glad you found some peace in the day and how amazing you are to find the strength to post on here and wish us well.

Vita and Chulita thanks - I feel better now. I'm not sure which I'm most impressed with: chulita's 6 days or vita's 50 minutes!

Neenz - j fed ver well about an hour after he was born but then also did not feed for about 36 hours. That was quite worrying - would have been so easy to give a bottle and I was just so glad I had the experience of that first really good feed to help me "keep the faith"

Cruelly I've been quite amused at some of your outpourings of frustration ( those of you who are getting fed up of waiting) it is just your expressions /turn of phrase though- I am full of sympathy at the discomfort & lack of sleep etc - this too shall pass

Hi Ladies,

Congratulations to everyone on the arrived list!

I joined the thread when I first found out I was pregnant and posted a couple of times but pretty quickly my life became a mix of work and sleep so I dropped off, since starting maternity leave 4 weeks ago I have become an addict checking the thread several times a day but have been reading everyone's posts and news rather than adding my own!

Now I need to call on your experience - I have been having small leaks of water since Saturday but thought it was just be watery discharge - I finally had more of a gush this morning so went to the hospital this afternoon and they confirmed my waters have broken and unless labour begins naturally I am being induced at 8am tomorrow morning, having seen some of your views on induction and the impact it has on labour what do you think I should do?

I am concerned as looking back it must have bbeen waters on Saturday and as I was desperate to try and get Baby to come out (due date was 4th August) had sex with my OH, which is a no-no when your waters have broken. I didnt tell the midwife about the prevous leaks or sex and am no really worried I could have put my LO at risk.

So over to you all, any advice would be greatly appreciated - I will share my stash of homemade baked goods with you all!!!

Apologies for the typos - no spell checking on my phone!

Corona congratulations! Can't wait to hear more.

CazEm thanks so much for sharing the story of Belle's day. It sounds beautiful .

Cazzybabs I've just spoken to my sister and asked her a bit more about her BP experience. Basically, they told her that lots of people's BP goes down a little while after the birth, but that hers was less likely to because we have a bit of a family history of it (well, my dad has high BP - my mum and I have never had it). They initially started her on beta blockers, though she can't remember which ones exactly. She said that the issue of the medication interfering with the bf'ing was never mentioned to her at any time, so she never thought it might be a problem. The beta blockers suited her quite well, apparently, though some people don't like them. They have a couple of side effects which she quite liked - the main one was that they reduce stress, anxiety and panic attacks, which she suffered from badly after the birth (having never experienced anything like it before). The other is that they make you quite cold, which she liked because she tended to feel overheated when she got anxious. Re her giving up bf'ing, it wasn't linked at all to the medication, but it was linked in a way to the high BP - in the sense that the baby wasn't feeding terribly well and was taking a very long time to feed, and because of her already anxious state, she was finding it all more stressful than she would otherwise have done.

Another couple of things. They took her off the beta blockers after a while, but eventually put her back on them again (and that's what she's still on now) because they suit her well and reduce her anxiety levels. Also, she asked whether your MW or GP has suggested you try a 24 hour BP monitor. With my sister, they suspected she had 'white coat syndrome', where your BP goes up just because you're stressed about having your BP taken. When they gave her the 24 hour monitor to take home, her levels were considerably lower (though still raised).

Sorry for the long post, but hope it helps . Let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know - I'm only too happy to ask.

Anna sorry, I didn't mean to ignore your post. I'm feeling a bit bad now about being down on induction - I only really meant before that it's probably not a terribly sensible thing to opt for if it's just because you're a bit impatient to meet your baby - obviously if there's a good medical reason to induce then that's a completely different matter. And if your waters have already broken, then it sounds like your body is pretty ready for labour anyway, so hopefully induction is just the last little nudge it needs (rather than starting everything from scratch) . Re being worried about infection, I really don't have any knowledge on this, I'm afraid. Except to say that Saturday is not that long ago, so it's not like your waters have been broken for weeks - plus it still might have been watery discharge that you had before, and just a coincidence that you then had a bigger gush today? Probably is worth mentioning the leaks (and the sex) to your MW tomorrow morning, though. I doubt they'll do much different, TBH - they're likely to monitor you quite closely anyway if you're being induced - but they might just want to do a couple of extra checks or something??

Anyway, I'm sure everything is fine - best of luck for tomorrow, and can't wait to hear how you get on!!

cazEM lovely to hear from you, I'm so pleased your keeping in touch, think about you and your little Belle all the time. Your day sounds lovely, and a very fitting memory to your lovely daughter.

anna lovely to hear from you, do they have to induce or can they give you antibiotics? So far as I know if they take care of possible infection you can delay being induced.

vix I hope so, but not looking good, just put an ad on gumtree for short term let so hopefully someone will take the bait.

Just been for my AMAZING massage at the Aveda salon in Glasgow, facial, leg and foot massage, tummy mask, and shoulder and neck massage, blissful!

x

oops x posted

The problem I hear about induction is that it artifically starts of something which the body will do naturally, so it depends on your birth preferences and how bothered you are about intervention? Good advice from elusive :) Best of luck tomorrow :)

forgot to say congrats to corona! excellent news :D

hi all

quick one just to update.

Came into hospital today for a EVC (turning of the baby as she is breech) discovered her to be an 'unstable lie' which means shes bobbing about all over the place. They took fluid measurements which measured of the charts, along with all other baby measurements....
Main concern is that if my waters were to break, there is no telling what part of the baby might pop out first and it potentially could be fatal say if it was the umbilical cord.. so the upshot of it is, they have admitted me to hospital for the foreseeable future and are hoping she stabilizes head down when they could then do a controlled rupture of membranes ( which involves some invasive stuff..) and induce me a little earlier.

Hope everyone is doing ok I am not being ignorant of others posting, but its been a bit of a week of turmoil and now this, i am feeling totally out of control and i hate it! :(

congrats on all the safe arrivals

owh jays sorry to hear about your baby troubles, I'm sure little one will be fine. Best of luck sweetie :)

Evening

Caz lovely to hear from you. What a special day for Belle.

Congrats Corona

Hospital was a bit of a waste of time but DH and i got to have a quick lunch at Nandos

Couldn't get a sweep done, way too uncomfortable. She was literally up to her elbow and still couldn't reach my cervix. She didn't believe me when i said i am in early labour. Yes i am, it could go on for a week yet, but i assure you i am. Period pain and contractions? Tried to explain that i had to have pethidine at 2cms last time and then my waters went and i had full on cx, G&A then an epidural by 3cms. Obviously i am a wuss.

Anyhow, i am home and had a second wallow in the bath, had a pimms and thinking about taking my next lot of paracetamol. Still having bad period pains and cx

Jays, poor you, sounds rubbish . I really hope they manage to stabilise the lie for you. Do keep us posted if you can.

Alice you are not a wuss. Early labour can be a bitch. Was going to post this earlier, actually, for all of you saying things like 'I'm finding the BHs really hard, god knows how I'm going to cope with labour'. Personally I found early labour a lot harder to cope with than established labour, last time, because somehow you're more aware of it. Once things really kick off, you kind of zone in and it becomes more bearable. That's my experience anyway. (Alice I know you're a second timer so you know all this anyway, but I thought it might be helpful for first-timers. Oh, and re your experience last time, surely much better to have an epidural early, if you want/need one, than to leave it late and not be able to have it at all, which has happened to so many people I know.)

Forgot I was coming on here with a question. Only just noticed from looking at my notes, that at my MW appt today, my fundal measurement was still 37cm, which it has been for the last 4 weeks (I'm now 40+3). I also don't feel any bigger and haven't really put any weight on during that time. My MW didn't say anything about it, and I generally trust her as she seems excellent, but now I'm a bit about it. Has anyone else had this experience?

Also........ thought I would pass on a good tip from her. She said that currently the baby is lying to one side (his back is quite far over to my RHS, which DS1 always was as well). She said that although that's fine, I should make sure I lean forwards as much as possible during labour (e.g. on bedhead or birthing ball) to stop him from slipping round and turning back to back.

hi all, I joined a while ago but didn't manage to keep up with the threads :(, i'm now a week overdue and I don't think the baby has even dropped yet, I've been offered a sweep tomorrow morning - has anyone else had one and did it work?

I completely agree with elusive, the early part of labour was a bitch with DD and I had 2 1/2 of it. The actual 'busy' bit, all the pushing and sweaty bit was fine, I enjoyed having something to focus on after SO many hours of waiting to fully dilate. I actually got a twisted pleasure out of giving birth, the overwhelming sense of achievement even after nearly 80 hours of no sleep, 72 of which I was in labour for was amazing. Most of my friends think I am weird for thinking this way but believe me it is the only thing that is keeping me going at the moment.

I am on the struggle bus in every other way though, mainly about how much me possibly disappearing in the middle of the night will affect my 2 year old, I worry about her feeling pushed out. If I think about it too much I just cry - I am a complete emotional wreck

elusive Yes, same here last week - measured 38weeks for last 2 checks. I queried & was told that it was perfectly normal as they are measuring the height of the uterus, the baby gets bigger but the height remains the same as the baby drops into the pelvis.

CazEm What a lovely day you had for Belle & what great parents you are to her. It makes me so annoyed to think what a wonderful life she'd have had with you when there are parents out there for whom their kids are a nuisance not a blessing...I'm rooting for every happiness for you and your DH...and hoping that you've got to the bottom of his medical issues too?

mrszac If my MW can't do a sweep tomorrow I'm going to try & get myself to Aveda (the one down from George Sq I think) for that treatment..had a quick swizz on t'internet & it looks fab.

Congrats to corona & positive thoughts to jaysforth (sounds like you're getting the monitoring you need & how lucky you hadn't gone into labour).

Banana bread & hugs for the Angry Overdue & Emotional Ladies..sadly too many too many of us to remember by name these days when on iPhone...:(

weehector do it! was brilliant. It's on hanover st just off george square, it's worth it just to lie in that bed for over an hour! shame I couldn't have just stayed there.

As I suspected though, my massage seems like a long time ago, as I've now been to ikea to get, well nothing really! just trying to stop myself painting the 2nd coat but it only delayed the inevitable and I have just this minute finished! woo hoo, naughty me has also moved all the nursery furniture to it's final resting place without waiting for help - woops! I think I'm definetely heading into nesting mode, the whole flat looks minging to me at the moment apart from my lovely freshly painted & hoovered nursery of course, most of which normally wouldn't bug me so much. I wouldn't mind doing a mass cleaning sesh but I've got lots to do tomorrow and fear I'm going to knacker myself out.

going to try and get myself to bed now, but I'll probably start doing another job!

RachelParker I'm 41+3. I had a sweep at 40+5 & another one yesterday.

I found it a little uncomfortable but not too horrendous at all. The first one didn't do anything really, but after yesterdays the 'tightenings' are a lot more regular and things are a little more uncomfortable down below in pelvis area - so at least I feel I am getting somewhere.

They'll tell you whether or not the baby has dropped, positioning etc. before they do the sweep.

Morning

Coffee i think you and i are both going through the same worries. I have even considered leaving DH with DD while i go to hosp alone. Luckily we have spoken to DD about it and packed her a 'sleepover' bag so i think she gets it now. Still worrying me though.

Rachel i tried to have a sweep done yesterday, but despite early labour signs (period pain, irregular cx etc) my cervix was too far back and it was painful. So, no sweep. TBH though, they have struggled to do a smear on me and had no chance of getting a coil fitted a few years ago when it was attempted, so think i am possibly abnormal!

Well apparently paracetamol and pimms is a good combo. Slept really well, only woke at 2.40am and 5.20 for a wee. Feel much better, still got the period pain though. Trying to think of nice things to do to make the most of the days but tbh i really don't feel like leaving the house alone with a toddler atm.

Coffeelady what arrangements have you made for your DD while you're in labour? Hopefully, as long as she can stay with someone she knows and likes, and she knows in advance what's going to happen, she'll be fine. I've got my parents coming down, and TBH DS is more excited about granny and grandad coming to stay than he is about the baby arriving . My only worry on that count is that they're over an hour away, so not sure what we'll do if it's a proper emergency. I suspect DS might be a bit upset if we farmed him out to a friend unexpectedly, so I'm also considering leaving DH here and going in alone if it's a proper emergency. It's not fun being alone while you're in labour (I was for a while the first time round), but equally it would be bad if I was trying to focus on labour but unable to stop worrying about DS...

Thanks for asking about DH Weehector

Things are still the same as they were. He's continued to get worse and worse and his hands are more or less useless now. e.g. He can no longer play on his Xbox cuz he can't use the controller, eating is a nightmare, needs me to help him get dressed by doing up buttons. He's basically lost all fine motor skills now and can't feel anything at all texture wise now, but can still feel if things are hot or cold. He's very frustrated and often loses his temper with himself/the object when trying to do something.

He's still coping at work but only just - everything is taking him so much longer. If he gets any worse he'll end up on the sick, which neither of us want because a) he only just got back to work last week as he's needed the last 7 weeks off for Belle - he tried going back earlier but it was a disaster and b)he's been asked to apply for a promotional job opening....

He's had an MRI scan the same day Belle was born (it was v late afternoon, we didn't want to cancel it because he'd waited so long for it, so Mum stayed with me until I was discharged and my bro took him), and thankfully that has all come back fine so at least we know there is no worries with brain swellings or the like. He has an appointment with the neurologist today in fact so we'll see if they have anything else to say, and then we're still waiting for him to see the orthopedic consultant as well to have nerve conductance tests- hopefully early September.

Just keeping our fingers crossed they can sort him our soon. I hope they can fix whatever it is...

Hope you're all feeling well today.

Coffeelady try not to worry about your DD. The DTs are 2 as well and I was a bit worried but they have been brilliant with Daniel. I think as long as you act like everything is OK/normal your DD will pick up on that. As far as your DD knows getting a new baby in the house when you turn two is just what happens in life! Hope labour kicks in soon, I know you are getting fed up from you fb statuses!

Alice, you are not a wuss. This coming from me who is a supposed natural birth enthusiast I would never criticise a woman for having an epidural! I was in quite a bit of pain at 3cm and even worse later on and I think I would have had one if I'd been able (but was at home so couldn't!). And my baby wasn't even back to back or any of those other things they say make labour mor painful. I think you have to go into it thinking you will probably be able to cope but then if not go for the pain relief.

Rachel, I had a sweep with the twins and it didn't work but it wasn't too uncomfortable. I would have gone for it this time if I'd gone overdue.

Daniel is now three days old and last night slept pretty well, as long as he was on our bed . The midwives keep asking 'he's not sleeping in bed with you is he?' and I say 'mmm, no...' . Well you have to do what gets you through the night at this stage and him sleeping on our bed if I am lying properly for co-sleeping (with my legs and arm out to the side so I can't roll on him) is much better than me falling asleep sat up cuddling him (which is what happened night before last). That is a sure-fire way to end up dropping your baby on the floor .

Hi Caz, I forgot to say how moving I found your post about your day for Belle. I hope you are feeling a bit stronger now and feel able to move on a little bit. You will never forget Belle of course, it must be so difficult to carry on with life . But please focus on the future and think about the day you will have your next baby because it will happen before you know it . Sorry your DH is still struggling so much with his hands, that is the last thing he needs right now isn't it. It must be a very tough time for you both in so many ways so be kind to yourself and each other. Take care x

Neenz it sounds like you're doing great. Why are your MWs so down on co-sleeping? Mine actually volunteered to show me how to do it while I was in hospital, so that DS and I could sleep better (they were probably fed up with him shrieking all night ). Definitely better than falling asleep while holding him, as you say.

CazEm to be perfectly honest I'd sort of forgotten that it was you who was going through all this with your DH . God, it must be so hard for you on top of everything else you've been going through. I really hope the appointment this afternoon turns up something useful. And I'm so glad the MRI was clear .

Elusive there are poster campaigns etc in our area saying dont co-sleep. the stats show more babies die in parents bed/sofa but they dont distinguish between safe cosleeping and not. if it's done proprly it shouldnt be dangerous and what the hcps don't realise is that sometimes its the only way baby will sleep! so its not a straight choice between cot and bed. what tips did the mws give you? afaik you should give baby own blanket so it doesn't overheat and lie in a way that you dont roll on them. also no drinking, smoking or drugs and make sure there are no cracks the baby could roll down or anything that could cover its head. and def no sofa sharing!

sorry for typing, feeding baby!