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

Reshape lol, ds2 is always saying the baby has heartburn or is hungry or is "this big" and opens his arms really wide hehe. Glad the papmper evening went well, massage sounds lovely.

max 11 hours! I wish!

DF hope your last week at work goes well.

kitty Lots of BH's here, 4th baby but 10th pregnancy. Had them with all though, even my first. Mine often feel like early labour contractions and have even had midwives thinking I'm in labour plenty of times because of it.

notso any news on your lucky t-shirt? I've been nesting a little I think, seeing mess and wanting to clear up and clean, very unlike me :o Glad cooker is fixed now.

cheryl hope contractions have cooled off now. I wondered the same about the pool, wouldn't get time to fill it but the idea of a waterbirth sounds lovely to me, I guess a bath in early labour will have to suffice!

kelle sounds like you had a right faff at the hospital, did you come out of it happy with results or not? Did you watch a chick flick? I love chinese, hope you enjoyed it!

WLL took me ages to finally do it, I did it in stages; first got clothes from loft, left a while, sorted into sizes, left a while, washed, left a while etc you get the picture :o Seems more real now I have bags packed and ready to go. I'm getting waves of panic now and again when I think of things happening but I'm also very excited about meeting our little girl so I'm hoping to stay calm when things finially get going.

chooster hope DS1 is feeling better today. Do they know why your placenta got stuck? I've had a managed 3rd stage with all three of mine and intend on the same this time, hoping this makes a difference as I've not had problems so far, touch wood.

button 4 days!! I would have been so angry and upset. Hope he's made it up to you now.

93pjb lol, lots of little ones liking showing us up in public then :o My dcs are always coming out with something about the baby but can't think of anything right now.

japh really glad to hear you don't have PE, do keep an eye though just in case. Definitely ask for a different midwife if you get one you don't like, it's important that you're relxed and happy when you're in labour.

Hope everyone's well this morning. Got loads of Christmas shopping done yesterday, was nice to be out but all the walking made me quite uncomfortable, I had so many sharp, low, pains it was actually painful. I keep thinking on and off that she's breech but I have a feeling she might be moving about a lot still and changing positions.

Watched x-factor last night, looking forward to Cher and Katie both going tonight (I can hope!) :o and a couple more things we had on sky plus and then gto a good night's sleep.

Decided I'm making my mincemeat for Christmas next weekend (or maybe through the week) and Christmas puddings so they can mature between now and Christmas. Still looking online for more Christmas presents, need to get dh's, my parents and grandad and we're done. oh and a couple more things for mil as it's also her birthday in early Dec.

Nothing much going on here.

Hallelujah! I had a rare brainwave and have found my lucky T-shirt I can now give birth

C&G I have become a bit of clean freak too, also become unusually ruthless in decluttering rather than my normal 'put it in the cellar just in case' self!
I have some 'vintage' homemade mincemeat left over from the truckload I did last year do you reckon it will be matured or off

japh great news re PE, I also got the all clear, though still seeing stars and have headache.
That M/W sounds horrid. I saw a hateful one when I had a false alarm with DS, she told me not to waste anyones precious time and don't come to labour ward unless I couldn't move with pain, even though my consultant stressed that due to clexane I should go in at any sign of labour and this was agreed when I phoned ahead.
I was pleased it was a false alarm as would not have wanted her anywhere near me.
A girl who badly bullied me at school is a M/W where I will be giving birth, her DH works for my DH to make matters more complicated. I explained this to my Comm. M/W and she said it was fine for me to request she doesn't treat me.

Posted too soon, thought I heard DH coming in and wanted to look busy but it was next door

Does anyone have a recommendation for a cot mobile? I want one which isn't pastel or character, one that the baby will actually want to look at rather than one that looks pretty or has all singing all dancing features. Not much to ask for I know hehe!

Japhrimel - definitely ask for that MW not to be assigned to you. Imagine how stressful it would be if she walked through the door! Relieved to hear PE isn't an issue. Try to take it as easy as you can, do lots of relaxation/meditation and swimming - all great at getting BP down. Extra protein is excellent too. (This is all from my MW, since high BP can be an issue for me too.)

Just heard that the pamper evening made nearly £900 profit, after hall hire, wine costs etc! Wow. I am pretty chuffed about that. And talking of massages, I'm having a MW who specialises in aromatherapy massage come round this evening - I cannot wait! Two massages in 48 hours beats the last five years.

Re. Braxton Hickses, I've had them, and intensely, for months now. Well, suppose not because they're good for the uterus, but they can be quite painful now. It's a good opportunity to practice beathing through them! I have phases where they are frequent, and then a few days when I hardly have any, and I think they relate to tiredness, stress, and physical work. Yet another reason to stay on the sofa!

Have suddenly woken up after the house move and realised that I have nothing in hand for christmas. DS2 due on the 26th Dec, so it might be an unusual occasion anyway!

Because he might still be breech at term, an elective section is one of the options we're thinking about, and I'm having to supress a sneaking hankering after asking for one around the 17th or so... would be nice to have him here with us in good time for Christmas. DH finishes term then and theoretically then has 4 weeks to work at home, and could have his 2 weeks paternity leave after that. Yes, he'd have to go in some days but the advantages (the very few these days) of being a feckless academic are that you can spend a lot of time working at home during vacations. Which would be very useful if I weren't driving for 6 weeks! Anyway, it goes against most things I believe in about childbirth and I feel guilty about even thinking this way, but I suppose we do need to think seriously about a section if this baby still isn't turned, and he does seem on the large side.

notso we had a great one for DD from toysrus. It can be used as a cot moblie in the beginning, then the hanging part comes off and is a cot toy and it also converts into a baby gym then a piano for when they cann sit up. The toys hanging off the mobile bit can be taken off and played with too, it's all bright colours and lights that aren't too bright in a dim room. It was brilliant but we had to play it so much for DD to stay asleep for more than a few mins at night it broke but I'm planning on getting a new one for baby.

DF in our house it's me who like COD, DH does too but doesn't get a chance as I'm on it even though it's technically his xbox.

Notso - ooh! I know this one. Cot mobile - best EVER is the Wimmer Ferguson Infant Stim mobile. This one on ebay looks the cheapest available as there is free postage. I got mine from ebay 3 years ago and hung it above DS's changing table. He was absolutely mesmerised by it and continued to love it for months. All my friends changed their babies under the mobile when they came visiting and their babies fell under the spell too, so several of them bought one too. It's not that easy to find in shops (maybe John Lewis?) and is an American import, I think. Internet usually best bet. Second hand is fine but the plastic cards you slot together can split (selotape!). It doesn't spin, it doesn't play music, but it does have about 20 (reversible) images that appeal first to newborns and later to older babies.

Hello all, hope everyone ok and staying warm this chilly weekend.
notso the tiny love mobile is captivating for small babies - it bought me precious minutes on many an occasion. It is hideously bright with black and white spiral things, and after a while the music will drive you crazy, but it is the business as far as baby is concerned.

On the topic of mincemeat, I think you can use year old stuff, but Delia says that fresh is better. I did mine a couple of weeks ago and also made some of nigella's quincemeat, which I haven't tried before.

Am now on 3rd round of visitors in as many days. Family friends for lunch on Friday, friends to stay for two nights, now in laws here for lunch. So much for a rest!

Hi quick message as posting on my phone, will check in properly later on. Poll time from me...

1. Has your pain threshold changed? Mine has lowered a lot. Bashed my knuckle the other day and it hurt for about half an hour, made me cry and feel sick. This morning o scratched my arm and it still reallyhurts. It's only a tiny scratch that I would usually have forgotten about 30 seconds later.

1. Anyone else feeling utterly useless? Put some washing away today and then a load in the machine and had to rest for half an hour to get my breath back and stop my belly hurting. Just moving takes it out of me and I feel really useless that I can't do anything w8thout having to rest for ages afterwards.

93pjb my DD pulled down the front of my jeans to get a look at the bump and took my knickers too - she nearly flashed me in front if Dsis who was luckily looking the other way!

japh that's great you don't have PE but sorry to hear about nasty MW up at hospital. How ridiculous telling someone off for not wearing shoes!

C&G I think I am going to do mine this week. I can't believe it is only a few weeks away now, it seems crazy. I think mine is changing positions a lot. I can't work out at all what this one is doing other than all the limbs are out front and baby is pressing up against my back. Hoping MW gives me an idea when she sees me tomorrow.

I am jealous of your Christmas preparations too! I must get going on things.

For those with other DC have you bought/wrapped present from the baby for them yet and if so what did you get?

notso we got a fisher price jungle one for DD which she loved. It has black and white patterns on it and is a green and yellow colour.

Interesting to hear everyone's sleeping patterns. I wonder if my problem sleeping is stress/worry? I do have nights where baby keeps me up or bad heartburn but often it's restless legs or general worries. Last couple of nights I've come downstairs and slept on the sofa which is comfier as it supports my back.

cheryl - don't think pain threshold has changed, but I swear I am brusing more easily, maybe because of being anaemic. I have an amazing technicolour bruise on my leg where I walked into the stairgate.

And yes, definitely can feel a bit useless, especially if DD wants me to play lions with her and I'm not up to it, or I'm walking through the supermarket and I want to stride, not hobble. We just have to remember this is temporary, there is a reason our bodies are telling us to slow down and cut ourselves some slack I think.

Hi, just jumping on while DP drops my parents back home (we are borrowing their car during the week until we get ours)

re sleep: it completely varies from night to night. Some nights I wake every couple of hours for a wee, some nights getting straight back to sleep and others once 4am comes there's no hope. Other nights, like last night, I'm up almost every hour for a wee and the pain in my hip makes it really difficult to get back to sleep and others, like the night before I don't wake until 4.30 and then straight back to sleep.

Seriously Japh & notso what's wrong with these midwives? Can't believe they told you not to waste peoples precious time and not go in unless you're in agnoy. Grrrr. Having been told labour would be the most painful experience in my life I didn't go in for ages with ds1, I thought I was getting BH because I was in no pain, got into hospital because of the regularity of it, only to be examined and find I was 9cm dilated. So on her reasoning I should have stayed at home and had a baby without any medical care.

C&G agree with you there on X-Factor, but I want Wagner and Mary gone 1st. I don't get how you can have such strong feelings about some Cheryl wannabe on tv but I can't stand Cher, I have to put the remote control over the other side of the room otherwise it will be through the tv. Right from the 1st audition, and does she not realise the tattoo is on the wrong hand?!?!

Reshape congratulations on the pamper evening profit.

WLL, we're doing it the other way round, ds2 is really keen to by a present for when the baby is born, so the boys will just have a Christmas present from the baby.

Well our car is going on ebay tonight, having had a good look on there and autotrader yesterday I don't feel so bad aout the car. There are tons of Mondeos on there for spares/repairs and quite a lot of 03/53 plates, so a Y doesn't seem so bad. Still a waste of what is essentially a very good car, but hey ho!

Hospital bag is packed just in case, just need to get a few bits for the HB and when LO arrives, then we're all very ready here.

How crap in this weather? I keep thinking, right, I'm going to sort the baby's clothes out, then the mere thought of battling with the washing machine and finding somewhere to dry stuff just wears me out. I came downstairs this morning to find DH had 'liberated' some waterproof sheet things and a maternity pack from the ambulance station. My intial thought was god, he's being very forward thinking, quickly followed by hang on a minute, you do realise you are due next month I've really felt that this pg has dragged on but suddenly, it doesn't feel like there's that much longer to go. It's funny how differently I feel about stuff this time. Last pg, I sailed through it and was never in a desperate rush to actually give birth, even when I was 2 weeks overdue and everyone kept saying you must be really fed up now. This time round, I could have merrily given up work at least 6 weeks ago and wouldn't mind in the slightest if this one turned up a few weeks early.

Thank God my in laws have FINALLY left. I am a horrible ungrateful DIL as they have taken DD for a couple of days to give me a rest, but I really could have done without the extended visit today. They always start sentences with "you'll have to...[insert job you haven't done here]" which drives me crazy, particularly at the moment. MIL said "you'll have to get DD a jigsaw mat as her pieces are slipping on the wooden floor", which is admittedly not a major deal, and I had an unreasonable moment and snapped "no, actually, she's got enough cr*p", to which her response was "well, Slightly, you are in a bad mood today". Had one of those whispered kitchen arguments with DH in which he called me "high maintenance". Sigh. Perhaps I was in a particularly bad mood today but this weather is really getting me down and it is hard when my own parents are on the other side of the world.

Oh, and the sleep thing doesn't help. I was up 5 times last night needing a wee - luckily could get back to sleep afterwards but that doesn't always happen - it's quite usual for me to be awake between 2 and 4 or from 4am.

Sorry for grumbly post.

Hello to GGG, btw - nice to have you back.

WLL "the baby" bought DD (who is 3) a really tacky plush rocking horse which she will love. It makes neighing or clip clopping noises, depending on which ear you press, and has a mane and tail she can brush. We live in an area with lots of horses and we figured it would be cheaper than the real black one that she actually wants.

Maxpower - lol your dh 'liberated' a mat pack from the amb stn ! My dh today suggested he 'borrow' some inco sheets from his !! Told him I'd much rather a change mat ... have this horrible feeling he'll be bringing a mat pack home too though.

He's decided today that he's inviting his parents over for Christmas dinner too (as well as us hosting my family). Makes 9 adults and 3 lo's and baby. It's our turn this year (me my sis and mum take turns) and thought it'd be easier here than us uprooting newborn etc BUT wasn't planning on his parents too. I know mine will just get on with it and won't expect much of me or mind me feeding etc, but I'm already stressed at the thought of having them too.

Sorry, having a few bad days with hip pain, knackered and generally really weepy. I'm officially a miserable cow !!

P.s. I'm 37+3 and this is dc3. Due Dec 2nd. And getting really really nervous !

Polls and surveys...Im 37+4 and not getting or had any BH and Im sleeping like a log too waking up 2 times a night for a wee but getting to sleep straight away after.

My pain threshold hasnt changed I dont think, but it does hurt more when I pluck my eyebrows

shock are you going to try and cook christmas dinner for all those people AND look after the baby??

Im back breaking the mw rules and mucking out horses today and yesterday and tommorow as the girl that is loaning my horse is away on holiday cant believe how much Ive missed it!

snap maxpower, the other 2 pregnancies were so unbelievably easy, I wondered what all the fuss was about. Pregnancy was my favourite time, never felt better. Now I totally understand what all the fuss is about, I just want it over with now. 36+4 today, ideally I need baby to wait until Weds to get HB, but I don't really care, I just want it out of me. I'm in constant pain, breathless after just thinking about moving, I'm 14 stone and can't wait to start getting fit again. Right moan over, I can't wait to finally meet our little baby.

My pain threshold seems to be the same but I am having to sit down more between jobs.

I wondered what other people thought of this... Once you have had the baby and if it's a straightforward birth, what do people think about driving?

I might have to go to MIL's rented place for her birthday and for Christmas but don't really fancy being the designated driver just because I won't be drinking. Will I feel more tired given that I hope to breastfeed and will be up in the night etc? I just need to prepare myself for letting DH know that I won't be ferrying him or other people about and that he will have to stay sober.

Baby due on 11th Dec, birthday celebrations around 16th then Christmas day on 25th so unless the baby is really early I think at least one of those two events will have to be misses, what do you think?

I had my last NCT class today and still feel a little like I didn't gel very well with the other women. we are all going to meet up though so hopefully can get to know eachother better once our babies are born. I just find it really hard to mix with people when we are only bonded by the one thing we have in common - having a baby.

DF can't help on the driving front I'm afraid. Just because you're all parents-to-be doesn't mean you will automatically get on - still I'd encourage you to go to the meet up as some people take a while to warm up iykwim

shocknews I think it's heroic to even think about entertaining so many people - with a newborn or not!

lauren I think it's normal for your skin to be more sensitive, hence the plucking pain hehehe

cheryl hope your LO is listening and getting ready to make an arrival shortly after Weds you're so much ahead of me - I'm only 33+2. Moaning is entirely permitted by the way!

slightly I feel like I've been being really awkward about anything to do with my in laws at the moment, so I totally sympathise.

DF I was driving 12 hours after ds2 was born (no choice as no-one else to collect ds1 from school) but in the situation you describe I would explain to DH that he needs to not drink too. You'll be shattered adn your body will be adjusting to all the changes so the absolute last thing you need is to be taxi driver for the night with no-one else to fall back on if you don't feel up to it. AGree with maxpower about going to the nct meet up. You never know everyone may lighten up under less formal circumstances, I've been lucky when I've been to groups in the past that in a few there have been people I have clicked with really well, but I'm talking one person in 20 say.

Fun fun fun here, ds2's window has just fallen out! Pulled it a little too hard to close and it popped out with a crash of plaster from all around it. It hasn't been secured at all, was literally being held on by the plaster, so now I have th fun job of informing the landlord. Great. I want my own house, I hate renting!

DF, I can only go on my own experiences, but certainly for me the first few weeks were completely exhausting and passed in a sort of dream like state, really. I found - and so I think do a lot of people - that you really need to be in bed early to cope with the night feeds. If you've had stitches you might also have some trouble sitting down comfortably for a couple of weeks. So if I were you I would not be making any definite plans regarding ferrying people around or not ferrying them around, or indeed even going to either of these events. I definitely think your DH should assume that if he wants to drink or stay late then it will be a taxi home for him - the priority needs to be your needs, which in turn are of course determined by those of your baby. If I have done my maths correctly and baby is on time, you will have a two week old by Christmas Day. That is way, way too early for you to be putting yourself out for other people unless you feel like it at the time. I don't think you can judge it now. I can't stress it strongly enough - YOU are the priority for this time. You should call the shots.

On the NCT thing, I would give it a go in any case. Just because you only have the babies in common at the moment doesn't mean you have nothing else in common - it just might take some time to find out. Of my class of 6 girls, one of them has turned out to be a very good friend and I am eternally grateful to have met her. So it was totally worth it for me.

WLL DD is getting some play kitchen stuff from baby as she loves pretending to cook and I can get her to 'make' me things if I'm busy with baby and she wants me to play. DS is getting some cars and a megablocks percy if I can actually get one in the shops which will hopefully keep him busy. DD also chose a soft bunny rattle to give to the baby.

DF I can't drive but when both DC's were born I was exhausted for the first few weeks even though DH got up on the weekends, even if I could drive I don't think I would have trusted myself to. I agree with Cheryl and you need to tell your DH that he will have to drive as you will most likely not be safe behind the wheel (I'm not implying you're a bad driver by the way).

Cheryl I can't believe a window fell out, I'd be raging if I were you. Have you managed to cover the hole so it's not dangerous and cold.

Thank you for the answers :)

I think DH is going to be really disappointed and there's a real chance that he might end up going to both events on his own if the baby is here, or going (with me) but not drinking if it hasn't arrived yet. MIL has asked us to bring drinks and I feel like there's a massive weight of expectation on me to at least make Christmas day but the thought of lugging a baby and all the other stuff a baby needs even 30 minutes up the road is really stressful. Having the baby early seems to be the only way I will actually get to enjoy Christmas lunch.

DF it's tough when you feel that no-one is seeing things from your perspective. However, I had the most annoying control freakish FIL in the history of time - everything had to be his way, on his timescale, deviations from it for any reason was just utterly unacceptable as far as he was concerned. But when DD was born, he was immediately transformed. Nothing was a problem, if we had to do things differently, change plans or simply not attend something, he was suddenly the most understanding person on the planet from that perspective. So what I'm saying is that it's possible that once your LO arrives everyone around you has a reality check and realises that actually all the stuff they've been going on about isn't really that important.

OMG at the window Cheryl !

DF - as others have said, you shouldn't be making any promises and your family shouldn't keep trying to pin you down on plans - i.e bringing the drinks etc!!!! As long as you consistently say - "DH may be able to make it but I'll need to make a decison on the day depending on the baby" then they will get the message! Eventually.... . I had relatively good labours and so was able to drive fairly early on but I know I would have been resentful if I had to drive people around, especially if I just wanted to get home and to bed. I bet you'll be glad when xmas is over...

Shocked - Snap due date and mine is also DC3. Can't believe I'm going to be 38 weeks in a few days - gulp.... Will you have to do much of the cooking on xmas day?

My pain threshold is a about the same I think but I remember being in agony when I had a bikini wax just before DS2 was born... They did say my skin would be more sensitive but oh my God that experience was so sore. It all bruised up as well so maybe the person was a bit of a novice.... This time I'm going au naturel - no way I'm going to do that again .

Gosh, Christmas, christmas. I think I have resolved that when you're having a baby this close, with no idea when its going to come or how you're going to feel you need to just go with the flow for this year. Think it may not be humanly possible to do anything else
DF definitly prepare DP to be sober for a while. Just buy a lot of juice to take :)

...of course if i'm in having things poked up me to try to coax the baby out on the 24th/25th will probably be wishing I was at home poking things into a turkey instead! (sorry tmi)

Ow Cheryl not a nice thing to happen on a cold sunday in November! Hope you are ok

Pain threshold is terrible I think. I used my epilator yest and can barely do an inch at a time - and then ended up with a horrible raised rash on my leg. Also bashed my funny bone on car door earlier and cried: in carpark. That did make me feel a lot pathetic!