December 2010: Our Christmas Babies are growing but our energy levels are slowing!

[WhatWillSantaBring]

With thanks to the provider of the snappy title (it wasn't me - I think it was Strix)

Link to Stats thread (I hope)

Here

japh ah that makes sense, I totally agree. Had lots of CTG's myself, it's always really interesting watching everything, especially the accelerations when I get tightenings etc. Something to watch for the 45 mins I'm stuck on them at least. Fingers crossed everything will go OK for you both.

lauren that sounds scary! Glad you are ok.

DF Love the epic post! Yes, I had my mat leave pay breakdown and return date at about 28 weeks too. You really ought to have had yours by now. I'm so glad I am finishing a week tomorrow! (sorry to rub it in!) I am so tired and I'm not even in the office every day so manage to grab a nap on the days I am working at home.

I am feeling really uncomfortable at the moment. A lot of 'internal' back pain if that makes sense and I think baby may be pretty low in my pelvis as I need to wee all the time. PGP pain is not too bad if I don't overdo it, but I am suddenly finding myself just giant and cumbersome. And still six weeks to go (if I don't go over). Yikes.

Japh glad you are being looked after well with the OC and it sounds like you are feeling relaxed about your options.

OMG lauren that is so scary! And so unlucky! I am so glad everything is OK. I cannot believe they left a hole like that unprotected. How dim do you have to be? I'd be writing a letter to the council and I think I would even consider making them cough up some compensation for the distress.

DF all the info about mat pay etc is in our maternity policy which is on our intranet, so I had it all from day one. And we agreed a provisional return date about 4 weeks ago. I think they're leaving it a bit late in the day to tell you about the pay thing. On the return date - basically I think the way it works is that you have the right to take 12 months off and there are certain timelines around when you have to notify them of when you are planning to come back.

Japh sorry it's not going to turn out quite how you planned. Does that mean you will need to go into hospital as soon as you go into labour, rather than labouring at home till it gets intense?

C&G so glad the iron seems to be working. I have to say I have grown to love my Spatone - it is miracle water!!

slighly Ive already handed my council letter in, complete with a copy of the notes from the hospital visit and photographs of the offending hole, with a flourish at the offices I laid it on thick about emtional distress, stiffness in my back and went into wayyyy tmi about rupturing placentas...I hope its a man that gets the pleasure to read it!

You go girl

That sounds so dangerous lauren!, bless you. you should probably send a copy to the local paper as well if they don't get back to you or fix it asap.

DF i haven't had return date agreed or break down either. My boss has been a bit willy nilly about it.

He's just found out for me about my christmas days. Apparently I can have my C. day, b.day and NY.day before I go.
But... and this is silly, I didn't realise until yesterday that I would have to use most of my AL up before baby is born, and boss now doesn't want me to leave any earlier because he doesn't think that i'll fit everything in before I go, eek. So if baby is on time or early now could potentially loose quite a few days! Am trying to work out where taking them would work in the next 4 weeks!

Don't know if he should have made it more clear, or if its obvious and i'm just dense

Good on ya Lauren! I hope you didn't miss out a single detail.

Miffster, I got a waterproof mattress cover from Tesco for I think £1.50. Certainly less than £2 anyway. A friend who's had a home birth also said she found cheap shower curtains really good for the floor, she said you can get them for 99p in asda so I'll be looking for some of those.

C&G, nope! Nothing helps with the pain, the most comfortable position for me in bed is on my back as there's no pressure on my hips and shoulders but the weight on my lung means I can't breathe. I'm going to start taking co-codamol again before bed to see if that helps (can't take codeine because of asthma).

I'm utterly exhausted, went to watch the City fireworks, only a (non-pregnant) 20 minute walk away but DP decided to borrow my dads car (ours has died) and drive most of the way, so we parked up by the park, then all it is is a walk round the roundabout, under a subway and you're there. Still took me about 15mins! On the way back I literally just made it to the car, there is no way I would have made the walk to and from, so even though it felt silly driving such a short distance, I'm so glad DP suggested it (and forced me to get in the car!) Hopefully the tiredness will make me fall asleep easier tonight.

Going to sort the Guinea pigs some salad (they're very very spoilt!) then off the bed me thinks. Night all.

at sorting the guinea pigs some salad out cheryl

Button I dont think I'll go the local paper route, I always have a secret giggle at the people in the local paper looking all angry and righteous about something and having their photos took whilst pointing at a random offending obstacle...I dont want to be known as the girl that fell down the hole

probably for the best lauren :)

cheryl my guinea pigs were very partial to uncooked stir fry, exotic tastes!

Back from NCT! It was actually quite good and Mumsnet got a mention, though so did Netmums I wanted to do a quick look around the room to see if anyone else gave themselves away as a mumsnetter but left it too late.

There were seven couples all together and all seemed to be in their thirties (I felt like the oldest at 40!) and having a first baby. After introductions which included the husbands/partners giving the due dates and the women saying where they wanted to give birth we split into two groups (male and female) and had to write down on a piece of paper what we hoped to get out of the course and what things we specifically wanted to cover. I was quite worried at that point because it seemed like most of the other women hadn't really thought much about what they wanted and didn't seem to know much about anything to do with labour etc. Turned out though that most people were just holding back and actually knew more than they were letting on. Possibly no one wanted to be seen as the know-it-all of the group. Some very different ideas about birth and baby routines. A couple of the other women said they hadn't looked at any birth videos where as I have looked at loads but really I do think they are all pretty clued up about what they want from tehir birth experience but also probably wary about not getting it and so not keen to bang on about something which might change.

One weird thing was that I wrote down that I wanted to learn more about the choice between tearing or being cut. The course leader said we would cover that but probably not when the men were there, at which a few of us said 'oh but we want them to know'. It seemed odd that men would be left out just because it's not something they will be going through. She (course leader) also said similar things about Lochia, as if there was no need for the men to worry about that. Strange.

After a tea break and chat with some of the other couples we split into groups again and the men had to write down all their ideas for a romantic night in while we had to write down our ideas for our perfect birth, then we discussed the similarities, talked about the hormones released during birth and how they are the same as when you're having an orgasm and so on.

It was a very gentle introduction but useful and I liked all the other couples. Though it is strange meeting so many other people at the same time and being thrown together just because you are all due near the same time.

Out of all the couples only one have found out the sex of their baby so there are loads of us waiting for a surprise which is nice. Also most of them are due around my date, though unfortunately none of them live in the same area as me - most seeming to live on the other side of town so I don't know what kind of socialising we will do after the babies are here.

Tired now. Looking forward to Sunday's session.

DH seemed to really enjoy it and was typically jokey about the whole thing which broke the ice.

Lauren, local paper pictures are always the same. If anything goes wrong for me my dad always says "I'll phone at The News" or "Right, I'll call at Meridian". How embarrassing woul it be!

Button our Brown one (leave it to a 4 year old to name them adn they become 'Brown' and 'White'! The amount of times I've been on the phone to the vet saying "no, that is his name" when they keep on and on asking me for a name and they get really frustrated with me saying "Brown one" or "White One"!)

DF NCT class sounds really good. Agree that although it's not a pleasant part of it, the men should be informed about these things, especially the cut/tear because when it comes to it they could be your voice to express your wishes in labour.

I should have had an NHS parentcraft class last night, but cancelled due to taking the boys to the fireworks, so may or may not go next week. It's only a 2 week course, will depend on how DP feels.

I'd better get dressed so that we can go and get the food for ds2's birthday party, otherwise there's going to be a few hungry children on Saturday!

Morning all - more restful last night apart from leg cramps still, day off today and DD is at school and DH has gone to old house to pick up last little bits and Hoover before prep for move out routine. No sickness this am but weeing for Britain ! Sat with feet up watching daytime tv as one ankle a bit swollen. Need to sort nursery and pack bag today as my milk appears to have come in this morning. Not sure what timescale to work on, next MW appt on Monday but may phone and see if I can go and see them later! Too many signs. Thinking I may be earlier than thought

Yikes, you go awol for a few days and there's a whole new person arrived!!! Congratulations PJEN - great news and you sound so happy . Lovely that the c-section experience has been positive. Hope you are Sophia are enjoying these first few days .

Have been doing a bit of a catch up but not had a chance to read it all - its ben so busy, but am at you falling down that hole lauren!! Thats shocking that a hole like that was left open... That must have hurt too [ouch]....

DF - Glad that NCT class seems good - I'm still in touch with the girls from my class with DS1 (so 6 yrs ago now) and we all have a bond thats quite unique a nice. But it can feel funny at first being so open about bleeding, labour, breastfeeding, post-birth sex etc with strangers. Try not to stress too much about when junior will be her and visitors - its all so hard to predict, and you will definately have enough balls at the time to say what you want - i.e can we have a day or so without anyone around...

Eeeek, can't remember what anyone else has said! But great that you are in your new house MrsSnaplegs .

All is good here - baby is moving around a lot but am not convinced he is head down as the midwife suggested last time. She wasn't sure either as she found the heartbeat in a place she wasn't expecting... But we'll see... Am now 36wks so have got GP in 2 weeks time and then midwife at 40 wks. I visited a GP the other day for a swab for thrush and they are testing Group B strep at the same time. Thats another way to get the results if you dont want to pay (I remember reading something about that on here).

Am SO SO SO pleased am not working but I'm just so busy though - loads to do getting sorted (hadn't realised I'd been neglecting so many housey stuff)... And we've got a leaky roof and broken / leaky central heating, so its Brrrrrr - cold in the house til we can get the pipes fixed. BUT on the bright side, DH has got a new job (Hoooorrraaayyyy!) and finally there is progress on a dispute I'd been having with an estate agent. I'd contacted trading standards and now because so many other people have as well the case has been passed to the police for a fraud investigation so I may be able to get come of the money back thats owed to me! Phew.....

Right better crack on with things... My mum has taken to phoning me every day since I stopped work and she gets quite arsey if I forget to phone her back. I can see where she's coming from but I have so much to do and she only ever wants to talk about xmas presents and just waffle!!! I feel mean now.... Better give her a ring I guess...

Morning all,

Glad your NCT class went well DF- we had our first one this week too and I really enjoyed meeting the other couples. Sounds like we covered similar things (although we're def not in the same group!)

Bit of a moan from me this morning. Feeling super tired, like I've been drugged or something. My feet and ankles are so swollen-all I can wear is Ugg Boots- not the most professional look for my job- oh well, I am beyond caring now! Have also had to remove my rings as hands really swollen- took 30 minutes last night to get my rings off- very painful!

MrsSnapLegs- def sounds as though you might be having an early arrival!

Lauren do hope you're feeling much better after your fall- that sounded so horrible. Hope you hear back from the council.

Right, best get back to work- can hardly keep my eyes open.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

congrats on your DHs job chooster! sounds like things are looking up

All those having NCT classes they sound really good! Im not doing the NCT ones but am supposed to have my first government funded/surestart one today...I'll be going by myself seeing as everyone is still on holiday :(

SlightlyTired - we're still not quite sure whether we're supposed to go in as soon as I go into labour (if it happens naturally) or wait as per usual. Guess it may be a case of calling the DAU for advice but I really want to avoid trekking to & fro as it's a 45 minute journey each way! I'm hoping to find out more at our next OB appointment.

DF - glad the class went quite well, though I'm with you on wanting the OH there for the "ick" discussions. Seems quite old-fashioned to think we can only discuss our fanjos and bleeding without men there given it's an antenatal class!

I think I'm going to be the group know-it-all next week. We met a couple at Working Bumps last night who are starting on the same course as us on Tuesday and they hadn't considered whether or not they'd like to try a birth pool and loads of stuff we thought was quite basic & should've been discussed by now!

Had a really bad night with the itching. Think it's getting worse again.

DF glad the classes went well. I agree with you though, why do men have to be apart from knowing about the details of labour? You may well need them to speak for you during labour and make your wishes known.

MrsS Did you call the midwife in the end? Hope you're feeling OK.

Chooster I feel the same re baby's position. Sometimes they say head down when I can feel that she isn't! I have a growth scan at 36 weeks so we'll see then and take it from there as she moves a lot still. Heartburn is always worse when she's breech too and today has been a nightmare with it, feel sick a lot.

Emma how's your bp? Should keep an eye on the swelling as it can be a sign of PE.

japh hope you find out some more info soon about what you have to do when you go into labour, we're about a 20 min drive on clear roads from the hospital but in the mornings and rush hour it takes a good hour at times. I have visions of giving birth in the car! Do you still have your bloods tested for the OC? Does the fact that the itching is getting worse mean that the OC is?

My trace this morning was fine, baby was well and truely awake. 110 movements in 30 mins hehe. That's why I worry so much when I only feel a few in a whole day as usually that is the norm for her, moving a lot, so I can feel the absence when it's not there iyswim. My bile acids were 6 and they weren't going to retest until I nagged a bit and mentioned you japh! I didn't say someone from MN though I said a friend hehe. The registrar was quite insistent that because the results were fine that that was it and told me bile acids do not rise. I said that I'd read they did and that it can take a few weeks for blood results to show the OC but she still said they don't rise. That's when I mentioned that someone I know has OC and that her BA levels did in fact rise. She's agreed to retest me in 2 weeks when I get my GTT done so I'm happy with that but she did say to go back if anything changed or the itching got worse.
I don't think she knew that much about it as she also said it was only usuallly hands and feet that itch and not all over.

I'm quite tired today but been busy so it's to be expected, still feeling happy and upbeat though which is good :o

Didn't phone MW yet as they will want me to go in and I am on my own with DD as DH has had to go to old house to clean. As they have closed MLU I would have to get taxi to hospital which is miles away without car. Also realised DH had my bank card still from last week so had no cash on me - stupid!! I have spent day sleeping and eating! Managed to walk to school to get DD and then got home to find boiler broken so had to wait for man to fix it. DD finishing dinner then we are going for a bath!! Have now made friends with a mum over road who has DD in my DD class and she has said DD can go there if I have to go in at a rush. DH should be home in a couple of hours so should be ok till then. Sorry not catching up on anyone else's posts but still no Internet so on iPhone.

Hi all. MrsS hope all ok. How are you feeling now? Did you speak to MW in the end?

DF glad the NCT class went well. We considered going when pg with DD but in the end just went to the NHS one which was ok, but in hindsight not amazing.

Lauren hope you're feeling ok after your fall and not too bruised.

cheryl sorry you are still in pain. I also find it comfy on my back. I figure as long as I don't feel faint it is probably ok. I try and prop myself so I am a little bit upright and twisted to one side which does the trick.

emmaxmas sorry you're feeling uncomfy. Maybe you could hang your rings on a chain around your neck now? My hand are a bit puffy but I can still get rings on and off. I assume this isn't sudden swelling as I think that needs to get checked?

DD has come down with a cold and is really snuffly. I think I am getting it too - my chest feels very tight and burning a bit so I hope it isn't going to be a chest infection at this stage. Feel pretty wiped out though.

I have listened to natal hypnotherapy CD twice now and fallen asleep both times so it is good for helping me sleep if nothing else! Would be good to get past the first 10 minutes though.

MrsS hope things are OK now with you, how are you getting on? Typical about the boiler but at least it's fixed.

WLL Would the cd still work when you're asleep anyway? I'm sure I remember reading about cds that can work when you sleep by "speaking" to your subconscious. Not sure but you never know I guess! Depends how bad the swelling is I think. When I had PE with my first I was very puffy all over, my face was quite bad too, really everywhere just puffed up but I don't recall it happening overnight. The photos of me from a week before to a week after the birth are staggeringly different, the swelling went down very quickly.

My heartburn is killing me tonight argh! Trying not to take too many rennie tablets though as I'm sure I'll need them in the night as usual...DH is making toasted sandwiches yummy, beans and cheese I think.

How's everyone else getting on? I'm sure there must be a few lurkers that read and don't post much, it's always nice to hear from others in the same boat though so just jump in! :)

japh I'd say take at least 6 babygros/sleep suits and 16 nappies - it's much better to have some left over than be sranded in the middle of the night with no clean clothes (yes that did happen to us and while I was still bedbound so couldn't do anything about it . If you've got space in your car and your DH will be visiting most of the time if you stay in, get him to stick an extra few bits in the boot, that way you can top up on stocks before he goes home at night.

chooster congrats on your DH's job

emma swollen feet and hands can be a sign of pre-eclampsia - make sure your mw knows what's going on

good news on the trace C&G

Went to refresher antenatal class this morning. DH came and was only man there (bless him) I think he was a bit worried I'd turn pregzilla on him as he missed the consultant appt I'd wanted him to come with me to a few months ago. As it turned out, all the other mums are simply having their care transferred to my hospital from a neighbouring one which is closing its maternity service in Dec and they only really wanted to know where to come. Not sure why they didn't just attend one of the open evenings if they wanted to look round . I haven't seen the specialist mw yet but the mw who took the class this morning, said I'd have to have CFM and have a cannula sited - which was sooooo uncomfortable last time. I really don't understand why I have to have the cannula - it only takes a matter of seconds to put one in and the only reason you have it is for fluids in the event that you have an epidural. It's made me dread the whole vbac planning thing again. One good thing though was that DH and I had a good chat about planning and I feel a bit more reassured. He's also making sure he's free for the specialist mw appt.

MrsS how are you??dont leave us hanging it gets us worried!

Settled yesterday evening but going to MW this morning.

Good morning everyone. It's Friday - hurrah! Only 4 more days of work for me, thank goodness. Now, if I could only stop lying awake and thinking about all the mistakes I have potentially made that are certain to be discovered by the person taking over from me...

Have midwife appointment this afternoon, thank goodness. Will be good to see how she thinks baby is positioned. I am leaning toward the view that it has turned - at least, it doesn't feel like the head is under my ribs anymore.

MrsS how exciting - it certainly does sound like things were moving there for a while! That's fab that you've already met some people in your new neighbourhood, too. That's the great thing about already having a child - they are fantastic ice breakers! I have 3 neighbours on standby to look after DD if bubs should arrive before my parents do, since DH's family live so far away.

Totally agree on the NCT classes - the men should definitely be there to hear about all the gory bits. Not just for the benefit of their partners, but also for their own benefit - they need to understand what is going on when the midwife suddenly gets the scissors out! Also, they need to know so that they can fully understand what you're going through in terms of post-birth recovery, and give you the right support. In my NCT classes the only thing the men were not invited to was the breastfeeding demonstration class.

Hello everyone

Chooster congrats on your DH's job.
Mapxpower bummer about CFM and cannula - can you challenge it? You could maybe talk to AIMS (campaigning organisation re. improvements in maternity services, very helpful esp. re. challenging unwanted interventions if you want to get some free advice?

Good luck today MrsS and Slightly.

WholeLL , C&G, Japhrimel and emmaxmas sorry you are all so uncomfortable.:(

Thanks for letting me know about the NCT classes DF. We start ours this Sat - we have an all-dayer on Sat, and next Sat too, and then a 2 hour session on BF, which men are expected to attend. I think only meeting peopel over 2 days and 2 hours may mean we are less likely to bond than if we met every week after work for several weeks but it can't be helped as DH couldn't do the post-work classes as he works late. Some of the group are Jan babies and I think I might be the most pg one there, which is also a bit annoying.

Thanks very much for the info about mattress protecting pad things etc. I can get cheapo shower curtains easily and will grab some of the pads from the chemist or supermarket today.

Day 5 of maternity leave! Yesterday I had a lovely lunch with friends and a massage which really helped with painful neck and shoulders. Today I am attending a drop in to meet all the local HB community MW and then seeing my dad, who wants to buy me and Tiny a grandparental present and has no idea so I'm taking him to a little shop a few miles away that has lovely toys and blankets and things.

I think my sister has had a word with him, I was moaning to her about how useless most of my family have been. Not even a card of congrats at being pg from any of them, let alone flowers or a visit. Whereas my MiL has been excited and supportive all the way. (In a good way, not in an intruding, mad swivel-eyed loon way as per the usual MiL threads on here).