August 2011 - 2nd trimester blooming - not us!

[KTisPG]

New thread for us August 11 ladies

good luck for your scan today yukana :) are you finding out gender or leaving it as a suprise?

i don't think its unrealistic to aim for just gas and air it should be fine. that's what aiming for too, i had epidural with my first but he was a bit difficult birth - wrong position, induced, wasn't able to be active etc, had to be forceps in the end, so i dont regret going for it with him, cos if you need it best to just have it but my 2nd i just stuck with gas and air and it was overall much easier and better. but if you want water birth gas and air should work well with that

i dont think you need your own pee pot, normally they give them to you if they need a sample?

Good luck with the scan Yukana. Did they tell you they need a pee sample? I didn't have to do one with either of my scans...

Good luck Yukana. Shame you don't have a pot to piss in lol..

Hope everything goes well today Yukana. When you get there, just ask for a pot and go to the loo, that's what I did last time (as long as you need to go lol!)

Got my scan tomorrow afternoon woohoo!!!

I am planning to BF MrsV, but have been told to stock up on bottles JIC I get kept in, or get sick etc and can't BF. The bottles I've got are the ones 'supposed' to be as close to BF-ing as poss. Also been told to get some Aptamil in as it's as close to breast milk as you can get. Just don't want to leave anything to chance, as you never know what could happen, and don't want DH to be chucked in at the deep end lol! :)

BTW Yukana I'm also hoping for a water birth and gas and air. Only one pool at our hospital, so will have to see if I get there first! Wanted all the drugs at first, but heard quite bad things about the epi and only to have it if absolutely necessary.

Klou please don't get formula in (just in case) if you plan to breastfeed.

It is really hard while you get it established. I lost count of the number of times I nearly cracked. Luckily we had nothing in (no formula, bottles tec) so couldn't. But if had had bottles and formula could have been a whole different story. As it was we had a happy breastfeeding experience that lasted for 2 and a half years! Just my twopence worth.

If it was a real emergency they do have formula and bottles available in the hospital and you can always send your DP out with a list!

Yukana I am hoping for a natural bith this time round. Was also last time...was meant to be a home waterbirth, got through whole labour including two hours of pushing with nothing but TENS machine and the water so is definitely possible. Sadly DS got stuck so had to transfer in where I had an epidural and ventouse delivery but really didn't care by that point. Definitely plan to do it naturally but aso be open to the possibility that things might change and you might need a bit more help. Just keep an open mind is all I'd say so you don't feel too disappointed if you do end up needing something else.

All my birth plan thoughts have been thrown out of the window since my low platelet result...I don't think I'll be able to make any plans until the very end.
I don't think there's anything they can do to raise the levels other than a platelet infusion which they will give just before labour if my levels are too low to labour safely. It's completely knocked me sideways though and made me feel very vulnerable (to the extent that I'm considering cancelling my Easter holiday and staying in the UK). I'm sure it's a huge over-reaction and I still have to wait for the second round of tests to come back but from the googling I shouldn't have done, low platelets mean no forceps, no ventouse, no epidurals and if I need an EMCS then I will need to be completely under...it's kind of wiped out any expectation of a nice stress free /relaxing lead up to the birth.
If any of you have experience of low platelets I'd love you to cone along and give me a slap!

Hello Yukana - Well I was planning to try to go for just gas and air, but I've just finished reading Mylene Klass' book about pregnancy and birth, which has changed my mind so now not sure...

She had a planned epidural and seemed to sleep through most of her labour which must be a massive bonus. I'm so scared of being so completely knackered I can't enjoy / care for the baby propertly, so this is sounding like an increasingly good option. It would be great to be able to sleep through a lot of the pain, then be more refreshed when it's time to go home!

Still quite pro the breathing / gas / air / natural route though, so unsure at the moment.

Thanks for the recommendation for bras wishwales -it's lovely. I bought one from this company and still love it. I need to go and get measured again before I can buy another though as they're growing at a rapid rate! Quite shocked at how my bump's starting to look now too - it's definitely noticable now - yay!

RugbyWidow7 what puts me right off an Epidural is the fact that you will probably need a Cathetar and also an assisted delivery (forceps or ventouse). I think you also have problems walking for up to 12 hours afterwards. Oh and apparently it also lengthens your labour. I'd have it if the experts recommended it, but I'd much rather have a natural birth (with gas & air, and also Pethidine). That's the hope anyway, who knows how it will all end up - eek!

i wouldn't just let your mind be changed by myleene klass! lol
maybe keep an open mind and see how you get on? fwiw i was much more knackered after the one i had with epidural, i suppose because it can be related to having longer labour, interventions etc which don't really help with the relaxed/refreshed aspect of it..
the one i had with just the g&a i felt so much more energetic and healthy afterwards but im sure it really varies with every person and labour
but thing is with a planned epi then you wouldn't know how you would have coped without it and might have got on okay?

Good luck with scans. Annie hope you get some clarity on the implications of low platelets. I am terrible for googling for info on things but sometimes definitely better not to.
I had gas and air with my first two and had my third in water which was lovely. Also used gas and air for him. Have to say I found the tens machine really helpful in early labour, as a distraction if nothing else.
Rugbywidow after having my daughter although I was tired I could not sleep-just kept staring at her. I remember the midwife telling me I must sleep but I think it must have been adrenaline keeping me awake after such a life changing experience.
Chicken pox are back in our house. My two year is covered head to toe. The joys.

Ok thanks Alibaba and Firawla - does sound a bit silly re. MK now I read it back! Just going to keep my mind open as you say Firawla - though what you've said has really helped. Feel a bit more informed and feel I have a lot more reading to do - though perhaps not just celeb birth books , but more based on medical fact!

I've managed two births with just G&A, both homebirths so if I'd wanted any other real pain relief I would have had to go into hospital. It is possible. But I think the key is to be flexible. My take is that I'd rather aim for as little as possible, but recognise that all labours are different so I'll chose the pain relief I feel I need at the time. I would try and avoid epidural because of all the interventions that it can lead to, and because I had a friend whose epi didn't work properly so she couldn't walk but didn't get the pain relief benefit . Mind you, thats hardly based on a proper risk assessment! There are other people I know who've had them and loved it .

KLou, if you are planning to breastfeed then I don't think its worth stocking up on bottles/formula. The hospital won't let baby starve if you are there (and they usually stock formula in the hospital shop if nowhere else) and the bottles are a nuisance to store. I didn't get on with expressing at all, so I barely used the bottles we got for that. And a lot of people don't buy second hand bottles so you won't necessarily get your money back by ebaying like other items. You can use the Tommee Tippee sippy cups from 4 months and my dc still use them for car journeys now (age 3.9 and 2.5) so they have been much better value for money

Majormoo - I used a tens machine for both mine as well, it was great at first, but after a few hours I found my skin got really sensitive to it and it was more painful than the contractions (luckily that was just about the time I got into the pool)

Epidurals dont necessarily cause the use of forceps or ventouse. The stats would suggest so, but certainly personally that wasnt the case. i had a ventouse because i wasnt catheterised and my labour was badly mismanaged and yet now i would fall into that stat.

Epidurals can slow labour down, didnt with me. I only relaxed AFTER mine had gone in.

My mum delivered 3 babies (1 breech) all under epidural and no forceps/ventouse or catheter.

You cannot possibly generalise with labour/delivery, every one seems to be different. An open mind is definately the way forward, and most would wish of course for a natural delivery, but it doesnt always work out like that!

Tens machine on the other hand i found to be incredibly rubbish - for me!

The key with TENS is to use them early on. So as soon as you think you might be in labour whack it on. Reason is as it works by building up endorphins gradually. So if you only put it on later on it wouldn't have much effect. Was good for me. I think definitely worth a go to see how you get on.

I think what Nix says makes sense. Often people have epis as the labour is a difficult one (that would need intervention anyway due to bad positioning or whetever)rather than the other way round IYSWIM. I'm hoping to manage without this time but really hoping I have a baby in a good position too and not trying to come out ear first, in transverse arrest like the last one!

I'm back from my scan, and thankfully they didn't actually need a sample of wee like stated on the letter so I didn't have to panic.

Scan was fine, baby is perfectly okay and was quite stubborn! I will be having a little girl. :) So I shall update the list sometime soon with this. Do we have a stats topic or shall I just post it here later?

Hadn't eaten this morning before the scan so felt very nauseous in the car on the way up, thankfully hopped into a cafe though and had the most glorious jacket potato I've ever tasted.

Very happy, slightly worn out though so time to put my feet up. :) Good luck with everyone elses scans!

Congratulations Yukana!!! A little pink bundle of joy, how lovely :)

Congrats on the pink Yukana :)
Jacket spuds are great aren't they??? I had 2 last night, all I fancied for some reason but tasted sooooo good!!

I so want to find out the flavour tomorrow at our scan, but DH is still refusing booooo!! I know it will be better in the long run as I really REALLY want the whole element of surprise, but I want to get buying him/her little clothes instead of white/cream/yellow :)

Congrats Yukana, what lovely news :) We have our scan this Friday so I've got your excited/nervous feeling now.

KLou you can use microfibre cloths as boosters. Aldi do them really cheap and apparently they're great in a nappy

Annie the low platelet thing sounds stressful :( I hope you can get some clarity from someone. Maybe start a thread on here if you have questions - I bet at least one other MNer has had the same thing and might have useful information.

Re. labour plans, I agree that the best thing is to have an idea of what you might like but keep an open mind. I had DS with just the TENS machine; had planned to use the pool/gas and air as extra pain relief, but the pool just made me sleepy and slowed my labour down, and the G&A was disappointingly crap (did nothing), neither of which I expected. This time around I'm hoping for another natural birth but you just never know what will happen. My friends' experiences range from 'planned a homebirth, ended up having epi/ventouse in hospital' to 'husband delivered baby at home after unexpected lightning-quick labour', and all of them say that looking back, all they care about is that the baby arrived safely for both of them.

The only thing I really don't want if possible is an epidural, as they terrify me, but I said last time and will again that if one becomes necessary I'll take it.

awww a girl, congrats yukana!

about the bf/ff in hospital don't they provide the milk for you if you have problems with feeding and need to top them up a bit? in my hospital with ds1 they just brought it and gave it to us, and provided a cup to feed with instead of bottles too. they gave the little ready made ones as it probably would be a pain to be trying to make up formula in the hospital in your little cubicle. but maybe ask midwife incase it varies from hosp to hosp?
i have got some new bottles in for this baby already though, avent starter set same as i have had for the others although hopefully will try to keep bf for a bit longer. it is true having the bottles and everything there makes it more tempting to just give them formula though, maybe i won't buy the formula in - will just have the bottles in the cupboard. tbh would be good if i don't end up using them for this one as then i could have a bottles free house and take them off my other 2 who are still using them for night time!

It was the MW that told me to buy the bottles (and formula JIC) Firawla, so that's what I've done. I know it would be tempting just to use formula if you've got it, but that's what I've been told to do, so I have just gone from what they said. Not got any formula as yet, but have got a bottle/steriliser kit.
Also asked them about combining the two (breast and bottle) with breast milk, as I would like DH to be able to feed little one too. I was told as long as DH gives the bottle, and in a different place to where I feed the baby, the baby won't get confused as to what he/she gets off who. ie if I am in nursery with breast, then DH should give baby bottle somewhere else, and I am NOT to give baby the bottle. Also been told to try to give bottle at about 3 weeks as baby will refuse if left too long. Totally confused by this as I was told not to express before 6 weeks
MY HEAD HURTS!!

Wow, everyone is posting loads on here, I can't keep up. I fully intend to read back through everything one day just not sure when lol
Congratulations Yukana :) thats the 3rd little girl i've heard about from scans today

Had a scare yesterday with bleeding and cramping and was 200 miles from home, luckily the local hospital there were really lovely and let me go in with my 3 yr old and helped entertain him. They couldn't find heartbeat for ages so scanned me and baby seems fine. Was rather scared though because they prepared me for the worst, had no problems finding heartbeat at 15 and 16 weeks so was sure something was wrong.

Got 20 weeks scan on friday so hopefully find out whether this is a he or she, couldn't tell yesterday which was probably good as OH was driving the 200 miles to collect us at the time and would've been upset to miss it.

Hi Yukana. Congrats on the little girl. We did not find out and now I'm half-envious! There's a dates thread here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/antenatal_clubs/1138953-August-2011-the-one-where-we-keep-our-dates. Poor you, NHAN - hope you're ok today.

oh okay, maybe I was just lucky to be given it free then. as for all this advice of what age to introduce bottles, express etc i think it will vary whoever gives it to you so you might aswel just follow theirs and see how it goes. I used to express before 6 weeks though because it helps if you get overly full of milk and the baby can't latch on cos boobs have gone so hard and huge!

oh nhan that must have been so scary! glad your baby is okay and atleast you get to have another look on friday