Nymph liked that thread. Also, glad things are looking up for you.
Wow, the number of babies we know are coming is mounting. How exciting. Still six weeks to go for me. (fx)
Well I had another scan this morning, and I saw my baby's face 
- it was awesome, and I have the picture too. This is obviously quite a new thing from the way the sonographer was talking, but she highlighted the baby's head and then flipped to 4D view. I can't describe how I felt looking at him or her. The pictures really remind me of DS at a few months old. DP usually hates scans and even pics because he finds it all a bit weird but he took one look at the picture when I came back and said 'the baby is beautiful'. He's the type who would say 'how ugly' even about his own child if he thought it, so I know it was a genuine reaction. I was amazed.
It was a good thing I had that, as everything has changed for my birth plan now. Home birth is out of the question, and to be honest it looks like I'm going to have to be consultant-led with constant monitoring. The consultant is lovely, but she was sort of sounding a warning saying how no-one knows why DS has CP and obviously it could have happened during birth, although I still incline to the view that the show I had the week before he was born was the actual event that caused CP and he was born early because of it. I was monitored all the way through his birth after all and there was never any cause for intervention. However, she was very open about the pros and cons of everything, saying with intermittent monitoring there is the chance you miss something, but that with constant monitoring there is also quite a high false positive rate, where they think oh better deliver the baby now either with forceps or CS, and actually it wasn't necessary, but there are of course the times when it is. She is also a bit concerned about my platelet level, which has actually gone up rather than down, so great, but as I have always had a lower than average platelet count she thinks I may have something which is caused by an immune response, and wants to see me at an ante-natal haemotology clinic with herself (who by sheer chance does this sort of thing anyway) and the haemotologist a week on Tuesday. She noted my previously expressed desire to go to MLU and has arranged for the consultant midwife who runs the MLU to be present too to try and work out the best thing to do. Something which did cheer me up a bit is that there is actually a birthing pool (only one though) on the consultant unit which you can use even if you are being constantly monitored, so that's a possibility if it's free on the day, of course. The rooms are the same ones I was in with DS which I couldn't see the other day, and I actually thought they were quite pleasant at the time (and they at least have windows, unlike the one I saw on MLU!). I'm trying to be positive about this and remember there are people (aren't there??) who are consultant led but have natural deliveries without intervention. I was one of them last time, so it is possible. The baby is the most important thing, and there's no reason I suppose that I can't stay calm and relaxed in that environment if I am mentally prepared for it. That's the pep talk I gave myself on the way home from hospital anyway! And on the bright side, at least I didn't buy the hospital bag in vain...
. I must complete packing it. It's more or less ready to go for me but not baby.
Seashells hope you get people sorted for DS. Overcome your reserve - my mum is not as far but still about 40 minutes and there's no way I'm calling her in the middle of the night to come if she's not here anyway as I'd spend the entire time worrying about her arriving (as in something happening to her because of tiredness and worry, not being late!). My lovely neighbours have agreed to come in at night (well, one of them) if that's when it happens (did last time), then they can call my mum from say 7 or so.
Lilmiss my reaction was EXACTLY the same as Nymph's!!! You are one good mummy.
No word from Moonstorm?? Are you still with us???