October 2010 Ready or Not, Here We Come

[ILoveGregoryHouse]

You can't hide....

Congratulations to everyone who has had their babies - I make it 7 new arrivals so far. I have been trying to keep up with the posts but haven't managed to post myself. Been busy sorting out redundancy/holiday/generally getting ready.

It has been lovely hearing about the birth stories and seeing the pictures. Though I am a bit unnerved by how quick some of the births have been (esp 2nd or 3rd births!).

I am 37 weeks today and think I am ready - just one load of washing still to do. Sorry to hear so many of us are struggling with the last few weeks. I am OK apart from heartburn and hip pain at night. Still managing to walk DD to nursery and back, which given her short legs and my tortoise like speed take about an hour.

Very jealous to hear your belly is flat already Tyson - I made the mistake of weighing myself yesterday! Fingers crossed it is all baby. Alarmingly most people take one look at me and say you won't make it to 40 weeks - am not measuring big for dates but I think because I am short I look disproportionately large

Here's to some more babies arriving in the next few days

Oh yes

39 today.

Shieldbug your rash sounds hideous :( I hope the consultant can do something for you. Have you had your liver function checked out? Liver issues can cause an itchy rash, but it would be something they should be able to deal with fairly effectively!

Good luck on the hospital walk Dilly :)

tyson mine wasn't flat after 9 years, what hope have I got this time!

shieldbug Have they checked your liver about the itching?

I am having a bad day pain wise, lots of SPD aches, heartburn (I'm drinking water & eating ice FFS) and lots of pains in my stomach which could be SPD/UTI/baby moving/BH so fun all round.

Had another run in with dd1 this am over no school uniform as she hadn't looked properly and just had a call from xh telling me he has split from his gf. We were depending on them being stable whilst we aren't [argh] so dds will be upset over that too. Very much hoping he has moved on enough not to go off the rails again as he has been sorted for 6 + years now so hopefully he can stay that way.

Morning!
is everyone else suffering from seriously painful ribs. i can't remember it being this bad with my other two. only seems to be on the right hand side but it is agony. happens whenever i'm sitting down which doesn't help. can honestly say i'd rather be in labour - you know the end is in sight!!
anyway moan over!
on a positive note DD is at pre-school today until 3 so i actually have the day to myself ( i love mondays!) however we still have so much to do before we move next week i can't see myself getting much rest.
xx
36+2

Cheekymonkey Oh yeah, I've had that for a while. I found that moving around helps, heat pads and when it gets really bad co-codamol. Have you got a birthing ball, thats also been helping me as well.

Tyson Very on the flat tummy, but it gives me hope.

Shield Gosh your rash sounds awful, I hope they get it sorted.

Dilly Did the steaming work? Have you tried the aka Lee Evans?

I've had a call from the hospital, I've got a scan for tomorrow. I was panicking a bit this morning as they said they were looking at Wednesday or Thursday, all I could hear in my head was 'tick tick tick tick'. But tomorrow is a heck of a lot better (plus it fits in with the cosmic ordering I did earlier in my pregnancy ). Well we shall see.

Also on the labour bag front, don't forget to put a bag of loose change in their for parking and snack machines. I know what my DH is like, we'd have to stop off on the way to get change.

nymph and fingon yes, they have checked my liver (had blood test on Friday) but no result due until Tuesday. I don't think it's related to my liver because that usually produces itching but no rash, and I've most definitely got a rash (looks hideous!)

nymph sorry to hear about your xh. Hope he manages to keep it all together.

Dilly hope the walk helps with the puffiness.

Hermya glad to hear you have got a scan scheduled for tomorrow. Hope they find LO is in a good position and not breech after all. Good tip about the change!

cheeky your ribs sound awful if you'd rather be in labour! hope you enjoy your day to yourself today.

Hello all - sorry I've been quiet over the weekend.

So I didn't give birth on Saturday ! I was feeling really fed up and posted a post in pregnancy. The baby could really do with being born soon as the consultants will want to interfere when I reach my due date and I am worried I won't have the guts to refuse intervention. So different from last time when I would have given anything to be in this position, so I also feel a little selfish...

Anyway from hacing nothing, I have had a few major cramps overnight. Nothing to take my breath away or with regularity, but strong enough to need to move/ walk to help ease them. So hopefully things are starting to go in the right direction.

Congratulations to the new babies!!! (A generic congratulations for fear of missing someone).

Floozie - hope the feeding is going well. Definitely try to see a bf councillor - they would have more time than a midwife. Are you doing skin to skin? Keep your baby down your nightdress wearing only a nappy, thid in itself is surposed to help with weight gain. Also try to fight of the idea of feeding 4 hourly (if they are doing this) it would help if the baby can feed as often as possible (can you see I've done loads of reading since my time in SCBU). Expressing and cup feeding bm straight after a feed is also a very good idea - this is the fattiest milk and they can get too tired to drink this by the end of a feed.

Hope we get some more babies soon and we all start to feel better!!

Welcome, priscilla. The more the merrier!

Shield, hope your rash disappears quickly, and turns out to be nothing.

moonstorm, hope your baby arrives soon then, and you don't have the consultants on your back.

nymph, sorry your DD is playing up. Hope she is on her best behaviour when your new one arrives. And same for the exH! You do have a lot on your plate, don't you!

Thinking of Lizkin and hoping all is going smoothly there.

No news here. DH has been quite productive this weekend and made a good start on the hole in the ceiling, and I am impressed with what he's managed so far. I am NOT a natural at DIY, just not one of my strengths, so I am impressed when people can just make things happen. He's ever so proud of himself too, bless. And he put a new shelf up in the kitchen for my CD player, which means better surface space, and it looks better, so that's good. I think our baby has been staying inside knowing the house is a tip and it's better in than out right now!

Found out at the weekend that if you get induced, be it with the pessary or the drip, it's made from pig sperm. Off-putting, huh!

Oh, and 40 weeks exactly - due date today. I'm really not bothered, and as long as this baby is healthy (and me), I am happy to go on until the baby says it's time. Have been reading up on women going to 43 weeks/10 months, and it sounds normal. I do believe we intervene too often to fit the agenda of the HCPs rather than the mums and babies - it's not always easy to know though. Anyway, might not come to that, but for now I am chilled.

I'm off for a walk up Wimbledon Hill, get out and about. Though I am not sure anything really helps shift the baby, until it's ready!

OMG pig sperm now I'm even more anti-induction :o

I was talking to a Swedish friend last week who said that there they let you go up to 43 weeks before they start trying to persuade you to be induced. A friend of hers had a spontaneous labour at 43+4 and the docs were fine with it apparently. I'm going to try to read up on it to prepare support in case I go over and they start putting pressure on.

Hope you manage to jiggle the little one into action AbFabT :)

Yes, grossed me out too! Rank!

FtV, will you share any links you find re the overdueness, as I'd like to be well-armed too!

Here're two for starters:
www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/01/pregnant-for-10-months
and
www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/01/pregnant-for-10-months

Bother, sorry, second was the same as the first. This is what I meant:

www.homebirth.org.uk/overdue.htm

I've seen a few on here lately about being overdue. IN childbirth and pregnancy I think. Couple about expectant monitoring.

Hi ab fab- I've read the same guardian article and it's made me keener to avoid the sweep on thurs. Saw my mum and Sis over the weekend and it was good to chill the nerves. We all know it's going to be tough with childcare etc, but they all seem up for it, and it's so lovely to see ds relaxed with them.

Hi to everyone else a fleeting visit I'm afraid :) hope you are all ok xxx

40+2 but now believing in a edd window rather than day!!

well first day of maternity leave and I've done 3 loads of washing, cleaned the worktops and loaded the dishwasher and tided the living room whats next? I'll run out of things at this rate if I go over.

Congratulations tyson and sophie

Is it bad that i'm 37+2 and want to meet my lo NOW!!!!!!!!!

Hellooo! Back from hosp - 'steamed' DH before appt and he came with me (i.e. we had a right row and he was guilted into accompanying me which he wouldn't normally do) anyway, good job he did because he asked the mw about my iron levels which were low but not v low...she then went and looked at my notes more carefully and realised it's been steadily dropping over the last couple of months which would explain all the symptoms...hurray! So, a bit of dietary adjustment and some floradix should see me right. The walk back was a bit of a struggle as LO had his head right down and I had a strong period pain like feeling across my abdomen bring it on!!!

sorry for no name checks - lunch - more later...

hello all, too tired today to do a massive post. I think I may be carrying a baby elephant rather than a child, just can't believe how heavy and uncomfortable I feel at the minute. not helped by the scrabblings going on 'down there'. It feels like the baby/ elephant is trying to check out where the exit route is (but shows no sign of trying to use it any time soon!)

at pig sperm Abfab !! I didn't know that. Might redouble my efforts with the pineapple (and possibly DH) in the hope of avoiding it...

39+2

Am so exhausted today. Have been all weekend despite sleeping/napping twice as much as last week. Think (hope)my body is gathering strength. Just walked up garden with dh & sat down twice then came in. So frustrating as it's a tip & looked so nice before I was incapable. Dh is doing half an hour before the school run anyway

27 days to go - DS was born at this gestation... no such luck this time!

I'm very short of breath and my heart keeps racing. Ah well, it's a good enough excuse not to do the washing up right now, shame the same can't be done for the school run. I had better start walking now, so that if I have to have a sit down I won't be late.

Xav how are your iron levels (I will be obsessing about this now!) cos in all seriousness SOB and racing heart are signs of anaemia... worth checking...

Sorry for the very tiredy ones, I think I read somewhere that you do sleep more in the run up to labour.

And thanks to whoever recommended rusks for heart burn - they work!

tiredfeet I hear you - spent quite a lot of this w/e thinking my bump might actually fall off!

Abfab Just watching 'Lakes on a Plate' and it's all based around vegan/vegetarian receipes. Might be worth a lookie and ewwww pig sperm, that is disgusting.

Dilly Sending labouring thoughts your way.

Nymph Sorry you're feeling so tired.

hermyalakes on a plate this am was a HUGE slab of beef

Chaotic pick up from school. Dd2 has herfirst football gala on wed so had to speak to that teacher, spoke to dd1s re me going in hosp. Dh got grabbed by the head then I met someone from my work! Eventually got to the gate to have dd1 dragged away for tea by her friend! Nice to see people though

Nymph I was watching it on more4 +1, so I may have been a little off .

Was he cooking on the steamer?

nymph, listen to your body and rest as much as you can. Must be hard with DCs to look after! Xav, you take it easy too!

Roo, enjoy your first day of maternity leave.

Dilly, sending well wishes your way.

SeaShells, yeah, good article, and I am very keen to avoid the sweep too, would rather try alternatives, such as reflexology and acupuncture/pressure, pineapple and sex! LOL @ tf seemingly preferring pineapple to her DH's contributions! :)

Thanks for the TV tip, Hermya! And the put-off, nymph! :)

I'm back from my walk up and down the hill, no signs of this baby coming today. Been extra wriggly, I think though - is this a sign?! No, didn't think so! Oh well!

Bought some aromatherapy oil for use in labour, not sure they work but they can't hurt. Smell nice, anyway!