Feb 2011 - The home stretch! Let's see more of those babies :-)

[WanderingInAWinterWonderland]

A shiny new thread for a shiny new year.

I meant flu jab!

The NHS will strip varicose veins for you, especially if they are particularly unsightly and uncomfortable. I got some awful bulgy veins running down one leg when I was pregnant the 1st time (I was only 25!) and asked to see a specialist who examined me and said the choice was mine, that I could have them removed but if I was planning on having more children then I might get some more so I decided it was best to wait until I had finished having my family and get them all done then. In the meantime they recommended wearing support stockings. Lovely!

As for getting LO a pram I have a bit of a collection going on too however this time around I am treating myself to a brand new Ergo sling. I bought one for DS 2nd hand when he was around 9mths old last time and found it fantastic so I can't wait for my new one to arrive! It's grey with silver stars on it! I know everyone is different but I really love carrying my babies in a sling!

Oh I want a new sling, I have a baby bjorn carrier but want one I can bf in without my fil having a coronary and leaving the room! Can you feed baby in the ergo sling?

Morning all...!

OMG how hard was it to drag my butt out of bed this morning, I'm just so tried. Full on respect to those who already have other children..!! I was able to get 6 hours straight last night, but this is only as I've moved into the spare room.

I have a horrid head cold so I think that's not helping the old sleep pattern. Seeing the MW tomorrow so going to ask for the flu jab..! Had a melt down yesterday evening burst into floods of tears..poor DH looked shocked and upset. Whist he pisses the shit out of me with that dam x-box he's really quite lovely. Starting to feel very overwhelmed by this baby..! I know we will be fine but christ alive I'm shitting myself scared. I wish I could be brave but I'm just so feed up of being brave..and everyone thinking I'm so strong, I'm not Truth be told I'm just a big chicken and I'm very much controlled by my emotions. Drives DH mad as he's so chilled about life.. already said if he could he'd rather have the baby...I agree!

MW and consultant have already marked me down as having a high risk of PND..how can they tell??

God sorry everyone rant over...

I've washed all the new born and 0-3 months baby grows etc..hanging up now on the dryer! My god they look so cute and tiny! I have a frog it has sweet little froggy feet with eye..

How is everyone feeling today...I take it new further Baba's overnight????

xxx

Tarlia I had very high blood pressure with my last pregnancy and after 2 weeks of daily trips to have it checked I was hospitalised at 40+ weeks and not allowed to leave the ward. Mine was not bad enough for medication but if it gets very high that is an option. Unfortunately for me the hospital was very busy and I could not be induced until 42 weeks. I had to stay in for an extra night (2 nights in total) to be monitored after the birth then was checked daily by midwife at home for 2 weeks by which point all was back to normal.

They've already marked you down as high risk? Have you had mental health problems in the past? I don't know if I was marked down as high risk or not but I've had mental health problems before so I think they kept an eye on me.

I wouldn't worry too much about when the baby arrives, there's no way to tell how it's going to be so my advice would be to go with the flow, do what feels right to you and don't be afraid to tell people to bugger off if they visit for too long or give you loads of unwanted advice Or is it just the labour you're scared of? It does seem scary but it won't last long.

Don't be worried about feeling over-emotional, we are all knackered with hormones flying around everywhere, that's just pregnancy for some women. Not long now!

Happy New year Everyone!
So fab to read post about us being due nexrt month - am gonna try it out today next time someone comments on my size
Had a crap xmas - spent most of it weeping under duvet - must be lack of alcohol

knitamerri I had a c-section last time - was awake and DH was there sat by my head the whole time - was really glad cos I was a bit freaked out by being in an operating theatre - was all so quick that I think I went a bit funny and started to hyperventilate. He only went to other side of curtain after she was out to look at her on the scale - I think he took a photo but I was too spaced out to know. I got loads of great drugs too - codeine and something else and morphine while I was in - they just kept coming back with it everytime I asked
Getting scared to see hozzy bags are being packed - I have done nothing except convert the bugaboo to cot mode - so DD doesn't get jealous if we do it when LO born.
Been to midwife today - gotta go for liver tests cos have itchy feet - thank god it was the good one today as the last midwife said not to worry
Better go get some work done

Nope no mental health problems...I'm just an emotional person...!!! I'm not very good at dealing with 'things' stress out about life quite a lot.

hormones flying you got that right

Highland I mentioned on a previous post about energy tablets (like the Locozade ones) which was recommended to me by my hypnotherapist - she said to eat 2-3 packs a day to help replace the energy consumed by depleting hormoes in the days after birth which also help avoid. I dont know how much truth was in it but our NCT teacher had previously said that 2 out of the 8 of us in the class would go on to get PND (statistically) When I recounted this to the hypnotherapost she was really annoyed because she said when people bandy the stats about like that it can become a self fulfilling prophecy - I guess becuase of her work she was a great believer in positive thinking and the effects on the sub-concious. Anyway, get lots of those tablets (they are like really sugary sweets) and dont listen to the MW - keep telling yourself you will be fine and that you are going to make an excellent mother. Dont let them convince you otherwise!

Sorry, 'avoid PND'

And sorry for million typos

40Weeks- Ergos are really brill as you can use them from birth (with a newborn insert) up until child is too heavy for you too carry them. I still carry DS who is 27mths and weighs over 2stone on my back quite happily. That's the other thing, you can use an Ergo to carry your child on your front (up to a certain weight) then swap over onto your back and this is a god send as you can get on with the house work and they can quite happily nap on your back. They are also incredibly comfortable as they distribute the weight over your pelvis and don't leave your shoulders crying out for mercy. They also support the baby in the correct anatomical position and don't 'crotch dangle' which unfortunately some of the more 'popular' slings do.

I have tried out a few slings including wraps and crotch danglers and the Ergo is by far the best IMHO but as for breastfeeding? I really cannot answer that one as I have never tried it in the sling! I would hazard a guess that it is not as easy in an Ergo as it might be in another type of sling as the Ergo positions the baby upright in the middle of your chest. HTH.

DH is refusing to go to 1st NCT class tomorrow night :( :( :(
Stubborn git says we have done it once before and therefore we have nothing left to learn I said it was a nice social thing as well and we can make friends with people who will have DC the same age as ours but he wasn't having any of it :( Ah well, will go alone and look like a single mum!
Bloody husbands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ggrrrr PDR, have you arranged baby sitter? Why not suggest it as a chance to go out together as H&W rather than being Mum and Dad all the time and try and grab dinner together just before/after?

Thanks Breastmilk, will have a look, have seen the KoochyRoo ring slings, they look gorgeous! But want something I can feed in so that DS2 doesnt get too excluded and can get on with stuff and/or be discreet when people start popping gaskets everytime I feed the baby. I wouldnt mind if I took my top off or something but am alwasy so discreet anyway and do it under a muslin so I dont know why they get tetchy! Its not like they can see anything, just looks like I am having a cuddle.

Thanks plum, I'm ok now with him not being there, I think, although he has said that if in the moment I ask him to he will do it, just won't look on the other side of curtain, fair enough.
PDR at least your DH went to all the ones last time? mine is going to the first one and he 'will see' if he can go to the others. To be honest they are a pit of a pain, quite far and durign the day, which he will have to take off, but still...
Gosh am making him sound awful!

Oh, sling-wise, I am getting a Hoppediz, good for breastfeeding apparently, and so are any of the wrap ones I think.

Oh (part 2), just bought my first bit of true baby furniture: "a bouncer www.inglesina.com/en/collection/mhome/rocking-chair-loft"

In red, very very excited!

knitta yes he did come to the first ones but they were during the day and he still got paid to attend so perhaps that had something to do with it?! These ones are in the evening....

40 yes my DMum is going to babysit and as the class doesn't start until 1930 and DH finishes work at 1640 we would in theory have time to go out for dinner beforehand... Not sure I even want to bring the subject up again TBH it made me cry last night :( I thought he could just come to the first one at least as his shifts change so he might not even be able to make the other classes.

God I love the way fellas just refuse point blank to do stuff. My friend just got married and is due about 3 weeks after me. Her new DH wont even drive! He can drive, as in he has passed his test, but he wont do it. Just refuses to. So she takes him out and about and then goes over to her Mums until he is ready for picking up. ARRRRGGGGGHHH I want to shake her! He said when teh baby comes he will just call an ambulance but what about when she needs to send him out for supplies? And he already has a child, ffs, grow a pair!

Anyway rant over. That is slightly more extreme than your DP PDR....but still, what would happen if we just refused to do stuff - like clean or hoover or GIVE BIRTH! Ha ha.

highlandgirl please don't worry, it is crazy for the first few weeks with a newborn. This will be dc4 for us. My way of coping is to seriously concentrate on taking one day at a time. I always find that the first six weeks go by and the 'mist' starts to clear.

We'll all be supporting each other and no doubt recounting some funny new baby stories.

I'm now focusing on enjoying the last 7 or so weeks left as this will be our last. It is very strange when the little wriggly creature is out. I always miss my bump at first and the blobby belly is no substitute!

Thanks 40Weeks I'll look into the Locozade tables.!

We start NTC next week, not really looking forward to 'learning' about birth..errr yuck.. but hopefully we'll meet some nice new people. I'm only 28 but have a funny feeling most of the mums will be older than me. At the hospital I was the youngest women they had seen all day...by 10 years!!

PDR bloody men..if anything it's about meeting people..and I think for guys it's good to meet other men who are at the same stage! Fingers he'll come round.

justonemorepleasee You are right - I have been thinking the same - this is likely to be my last baby so I need to have a word with myself and try and enjoy the next 6/7 weeks - have been so bloody grumpy am starting to hate myself!

You are also right aboit the first couple of weeks/months with a new baby - it is all so new and shocking you don't know your arse from your elbow so highlandgirl my advice is do whatever you need to do to survive (mine was having a large glass of rioja in my local with DD feeding under my jumper - felt so naughty and un-mum-like was bliss!)
And when all the other mums you meet go on about how wonderful it all is just remember they are all probably too scared to admit that it is also really hard work...oh and keep a supply of mini marsbars on you at all times

Yes I remember the final admittance between some of my closest Mum friends thats actually the Calvin Kelin adverts with a beautiful family on the beach are not a true replica of life with a new baby/kids! But you muddle through. I was only 28 with my first (now 32) and the NCT group's age ranged across about 12 years. But 6 of us are still really brilliant friends and see each other all the time. None of my old/original friends had kids (some of them still dont) so the NCT gang saved my skin or I would have gone mad! And up until recenly none of DH's friends had kids so it was nice for him to make friends with other dads. Hope it all goes well anyway.

Ah yes all of you talking about ante-natal classes, I had one between Christmas and new year and the second one is next week, and that's all we get here (normal NHS ones though, not NCT). Yikes! First one as fine though, but am in a flux about what approach I would like to take to the birth.

I had previously thought, I'll see how it goes, probably yes to pain relief including epidural, not going for the natural earth mother pain is character-building type of thing. But then at the class she talked a lot about water birth and how nice it was, and now I'm seriously considering that, which would rule out an epidural. So after thinking I would be saying yes to any drugs available to get me through it, I am now re-considering. They do more on 'interventions' (including pain relief) next time so more time to think about it.

Anyone else having similar dilemmas?

D

Hello Ladies,
So glad a new thread has been started, I got ocmpletely lost trying to follow the other one!

I'm due on Feb 20th. So just 6.5 weeks to go!
Still lodas to do as just got back from Christmas hols and was working full time up until we went away.

Had a bit of an online splurge last night to get a few more items I knew I wanted before the VAT increase.

Halfway through clearing out the spare room which will become the nursery. Then it's getting the painters in and a trip to John Lewis to get new curtains for our room and blackout blinds for the nursery.

Lots still to organise and praying she doesn't come early so we get finished in time.

I'm starting to struggle now as its becoming rather uncomfortable with such a big bump. I'm quite little normally so really feeling the size adjustment a lot to cope with.
I've put on 14kg - how much has everyone put on?

Can't wait to get back to my pre pregnancy shape and size although will do it sensibly and not indulge as much as i have been over the last 8 months.

Longing for a nice glass of shiraz or rjoca.

How is everyone holding up?

Lou
x