April 2011 - nearly there, all set for dropping Mofo C bombs in the delivery room

[SnapFrakkleAndPop]

Executive decision that at 987 posts we're moving over!

New challenge - can we fill up 1000 posts before the first babies arrive, given that we managed to keep our legs crossed all through the last one?!

First babies are due, officially, next month but are there any in such a hurry to see the world that they can beat our chatting?

Jaylar Eden is a beautiful name.

I love Ned and Rufus, they were both on our boy list. We've settled on our name, but we're not telling until he's born.

Glad people like my girls names, please feel free to use them because I'm never going to - unless I get some new pets!

Ooh JKS we've chosen George too :)

LittleMilla I love Ned.. If we hadn't decided on George I'd be pushing for Ned! Though I have to say my dog was called Rufus.. it's still a lovely name though :) and I don't think these associations really matter to be honest. Anyone that knows your DS which surely just associate the name with him instead?

I know a little Imogen and she's a lovely little girl so no tarty connotations for me too. Also, BB's Imogen might be in 'celeb' mags now but by the time Imogen starts school she'll be totally unknown and she's got the name for the rest of her life!

Petal I love the name Tabitha but DH vetoed it from our list as our surname begins with T and he thinks it's too much. Don't think any name decision will be made until Prawn actually arrives and we know what it is.

On the nips front I am now leaking out of both. Glamour once more.

We are calling this DC Imogen if they are a girl!

Struggling a bit more with boys name, Thomas is the leading contender atm and we would shorten to Tom. William was on the list prior to the royal wedding being announced, I would hate people to think we were naming our child after the royal family!!

I lost part of my mucus plug last night!! Freaked me out massively but no more has come away overnight so hopefully it isn't a sign that things are starting just yet!!

milla we?re getting that in stone/black too. They?d better send us the right colour or I will cry very hard. I won?t have time to send it back and I need the light colour!

Imogen is lovely! Mary and George are fab too although ROFL at you not being a Royalist and choosing them JKS? I think I read they were top picks for Kate?n?Wills, who will probably buck all trends and go for something super non-traditional.

We have long, long lists. Girls was posted in baby names weeks back ? I?m liking Melisande and Adeline best. Boys I think we?ve decided on the first half but we?re having international ishoos. DH suggested Constantin last night....

Ali baby?s just jealous that Jo beat you to it!

Jaylar Eden was on our girls list before we found out it was a blue one! We also had Lena, Phoebe, Isabel and Isla for anyone looking for inspiration!

MrsWajs I know what you mean about Mary from Still Game! Although I think about Mary Doll from Rab C Nesbit!

Boys I thought we were sorted with months ago with Thomas (after my Grandad) but there have been some family ishoos recently, and I don't want him thinking all is well because we named the baby after him (stroppy cow emoticon!). So we went back to our short/long list of Fraser, Struan, Blair and Gregor and I can now announce the winner is ............. Drum roll please!

Blair! I'm having a Blair! Final answer, not I don't want to think about it, positively absolutely, etc etc! Took us a long time to get here, I'm not changing!! Just need to think about a middle name. Think we might go for George too after DH dad. Did think about Alan after my dad and brother but poor baby's initals would be BAM!

JKS I have experience with piles pre-pregnancy though. Dr did something clever with twine or something and they fell off. I'm sure there was a thread on here a while ago about someone doing d DIY pilectomy. I'll try and find it, not as a recommendation of course, but I think it was quite funny!

BRB!

Found it!

Snap I really like Constantin but then my daughters have very classical names in the same vein so I am perhaps biaised! We've sorted names I think but we're not announcing until the baby has arrived as both of us have a strange paranoia about it. Something to do with keeping our name choices with the girls a secret and they were born healthy and well in the end after all the dramas.

Saw my consultant this morning and discussed my VBAC thoughts. He was lovely - basically said that he preferred continual monitoring as he was a pessimist and it was his job to worry about the worse-case scenario and protect me from it, but that it was my choice and about what I was happiest with. He could only advise. He said that he really wanted me to have the best birth possible after last time. So I'm feeling very bouyed and happy about it all. I'm then off to see the midwives this afternoon to tour the ward and talk through everything, which is rather exciting. I'll get to see where I'm going to have the baby (gulp) and it's all beginning to feel a bit real.

Consultant also told me to get an epi-no (www.epi-no.co.uk/default.asp). £90 so not exactly a snip but I figured I could use it for pelvic floor toning afterwards. Christ there is no dignity in any of this is there?!

Oh and I've made a list of cakes I'm going to bake (and eat!!). It's quite long but writing it made me feel very, very happy....

I've just put my trainers on the wrong feet. It's quite difficult at the minute to do them up

Will have to have and before reattempting

Hello April Family

WOW only been gone a fortnight........new baby and thread! BTW why the new name, what does it mean, I haven't had chance to catch up on the old thread yet let alone this one!

Well a few days ago I had my 34 week appoint & Anti D jabs The MW that I've had the last 4 time who I can't stand wasn't there my own MW was, which cheered me up as she's training new staff so not around so much! After a natter and a cuppa (I love rural hospitals it's so laid back 1 hour appointment lol) Anyway she has arranged for me to meet a consultant and have a couple of hours electronic monitoring of baby's heart after said 'nasty' MW wrote that baby's heart rate was erratic on last TWO visits and didn't even tell me [hrmm]

My MW says she can't hear anything wrong, that I've been measured wrong as baby is not a whopper 10lb as I've been told to expect but more likely 7-8lb and that I have loads of fluid. Then the shocker:

She went through the whole of my notes double checking everything, asked how I felt my treatment has been to date and then informed me that 'nasty MW' is no longer employed as a MW!

SO this and next week I go through lots of checks, tests and scans to double check everything and I'm assigned to three MW's (two I know well) one of which will deliver baby, so I'm very happy now

Have everything sorted, packed, plans in place to make life easier when things get started.

Oh almost forgot, have been arranging flowers and personalised cup cakes via post to be sent out as soon as baby is born. We have ordered the cupcakes in lemon and white glitter icing with 'I love (then, sisters, Great Grand Parents, Grand Parents, Aunts and Uncles etc. It so much fun organising things don't you think

I'm sending a cinema for 2 voucher to all the staff to say thanks for putting up with a hormonal director for several months. I think because DH and myself are so laid back it makes it more like a family at work which is really nice, I did laugh when I found out they have a sweep stake for the birth date, apparently 8th & 13th are the most sort after!

Hope everyone is good hi to any newbies and I'll catch up over the weekend.

Kit I would like one of your cakes, all this talk of cakes is making me want cake. So.

Lis Blair is gorgeous, love it.

Um Ali I'm a first timer, how do you know you only lost part of it....?

Milla I love Rufus but other half said its a dogs name....my current boy fav is Nathaniel - Nat for shorters, fella vetoed grrr, what its got to do with him after 32 weeks of aching and trumping I don't know!

On the nip front, I had a good old twiddle with mine and nothing, cept a bit of a red face when my fella came in and also, I'm wondering ans sorry if TMI but I don't have huge long sticking out an inch ones - I do so want them though - but does it matter for successful BF'ing??

Meh, mine are pretty flat sarah I take the view that there's less chance they'll choke the baby and get sandpapered against the roof of their mouth.

I've been wondering about an epi-no, kits, after the big head prediction but I'm not entirely sure how it all works?!

salted at your MW experience! It's good that they're rechecking everything and we knew she was a bit of a bitch but it must have been scary to hear that she was 'no longer' a MW. Sounds v ominous.

Ooooh, getting reeeally excited about all of this names chatter. Given me lots of new inspiration - Sarah I also like Nathanial (Nat) and Sebastian (Seb). You can prob tell I have a thing for shortening names.

I like to think that I have pretty regular sized nips that don't look much like a tommy tippy teat. So I am sure that mother nature will make sure ours are all up to the job!

Lis I know a very lovely scottish chap at work called Blair. Good name choice - are you Scottish?

Hadn't even considered the nature route. Our brilliant hippy friends have got two girls called Arcadia and Indigo. Everyone went when forst was born but now it's great and their names suit them perfectly.

Sarah - it's first time for me too in terms of anything like this happening. With DS I had no show, not a twinge or a niggle and went 12 days over and was induced.
The reason I'm assuming it's only part of it, is that I rang my Mum immediately who is a GP and she has done loads of antenatal and obs. stuff over the years. I told her what the size of the blob was and she said it was only some of it!

Lis hahahaha re piles, and ouch! And i did laugh at the laces. someone was asking me earlier if i can still get my own shoes on.

Kits Thats good re doc. Glad it went well.

Salted Clearly you werent the only one who thought that MW was shit. Hurrah to a fab outcome. And i love your cupcakes idea :)

Hi Frakk hows all those long afternoons of cocktails on the beach doing for you I've just come back be already heading to travel agents this afternoon for an October getaway lol.

Yes, strange isn't it, obviously they won't say anything other than she's not a MW but it begs a lot of questions! I asked if she was still employed by the hospital and I was told that I'm now under the care of the 3 MW's now so lets look to the future bla, bla, fob me off with baby talk (it worked until I left and then realised I didn't get a straight answer)lol but baby talk is such a great distraction la la la!

Breast feeding: Almost every size and shape of bust and nipple will do the job fine, if your worried ask to see a lactation specialist in the post natal ward if not before. There is one in every hospital! As for the nipple scrubbing I've just been shocked to read, DON'T DO IT! You won't get sore if you learn how to get baby to latch on properly, my two I never had as much as an ouch never mind cracked or sore!

I think baby is taking after DH and has already got it's ice axe and crampons in the womb ready, I don't think feet in the ribs have every felt so painful Right heading off as the washer has finished which means more tiny clothes to play with put away, it's nice to be back catching up on everyone's news xx

Back to nappies is there a specific brand for the nature care? Is it the huggies ones?

Oh Lis, you're so not alone. Doing up my shoes is such a mammoth task now. DP has stepped up and said he'll take over whenever I need him to

DP had horrendous day at work yesterday but is hoping to do some of our kitchen today. Did I mention he ripped the whole this out the day before yesterday and we're living off a kettle, microwave and takeaways?

Am counting down the hours at work, the commute's been horrendous the past couple of days. It's been so packed I've been nowhere near the seats and it's just too stressful to even contemplate trying to squeeze past everyone to ask for one.

A lovely lady shouted at people pushing me from behind yesterday and at the the next stop I was ushered to a seat by a few people, which was super lovely of them.

Then, on my final train home (I take three) I got a seat but the young men opposite me were loudly giggling that while they'd managed to sit down 'I bet some old lady or pregnant person will come over and demand a seat'. There was an awkward silence as they clocked my presence. I raised an eyebrow to be told 'But of course I would have given my seat because you need it more than me, obviously'. I just giggled with them about it.

But (TMI) I get yellowish crustiness - is gentle abrasion with a flannel okay? It doesn't seem to make them sore but I do want them to be clean and water isn't doing the trick!

I would happily swap my hot weather at the moment. It's horrible - can't stand being outside more than 5 minutes or you end up detached in sweat and sunburnt, the humidity's getting worse by the day and there's no freaking breeze at all.

What tossers cycle great timing on your part! Can you get a first class free upgrade? National express do it.

Snap, that's not TMI, my previous post was
I reckon a flannel would be ok.

Oh and to whoever asked about flat nipples, I too share your affliction. At my antenatal class they had pictures of various nipple types and the midwife made a point of saying that flat ones were not to be worried about! She said most people start off like that until they've breastfed for the first time.

On the subject of nips/feeding no leakage from me despite a bit of er, breast massage and tweaking. If you're planning to breastfeed and haven't read I'd really recomment 'The food of love' as a breastfeeding book. It's very lighthearted (written by a cartoonist) and quite fun to read. She comes from a quite specific 'feed on demand/co-sleeping/baby wearing' perspective but is quite upfront about it. It's a good book anyway :)

Interesting about your MW experience salted! I haven't had much experience of the NHS before being pregnant and I'm definitely coming to the conclusion that there is some 'variation' in the quality of the staff you encounter!!

Had banana and coconut yoghurt for breakfast and it was bloody delicious so thank you for the coconut yoghurt idea yesterday!

Last request, if anyone has some spare time could they post a recipe to the cake made with almonds you were talking about above? it sounds lovely!

Getting crustiness off with a flannel is fine Frakk, what we mean is don't scrub your nipples with a nail brush (or the like) as it doesn't toughen your nips up and will not help toward bf'ing success!

For those of you worrying about flat nipples, you just wait Once you've started bf'ing you'll never believe that they can get so long.

How many weeks commute left Cycle? I bet you can't wait. Getting 3 trains must be grim.

Welcome home SP, glad to hear the useless/bitch MW is no longer on your team. It's just a shame that you and others have had to received shocking care from her.

Christ i hope my nips dont get any longer