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?

I got my perineal gel from Mothercare, near the nipple cream,etc, bought with a couple of other bits and its in a nice pink box.

We googled massage teqniques, this lady has a huge vajayjay to demonstrate, DP found it quite amusing:

or written instructions as follows:

Place one or two thumbs (or fingers if you can't reach) about 1 inch (2-3cms) inside your vagina. Press downwards and to the sides at the same time. Gently and firmly keep stretching until you feel a slight burning, tingling or stinging sensation.
Hold the pressure steady at that point with your thumbs for about 2 minutes until the area becomes a little numb and you don't feel the tingling as much.
Keep pressing with your thumbs. Slowly and gently massage back and forth over the lower half of your vagina. Do this for 3-4 minutes. Remember to avoid the urinary opening. You can start with very gentle massage, increasing the pressure as sensitivity is reduced.
As you massage, pull gently outwards (forwards) on the lower part of the vagina with your thumb(s) hooked inside. This helps stretch the skin as the baby's head will stretch it during birth.

I bought a Epi No which is like a contraption with a balloony thing on the end that you use to insert & stretch your bits (sorry for TMI)

Should arrive this week ! As you can tell, i really, really dont want to tear and anything to help with lessening the pain, im up for trying !

Sorry, should have clarified on OBEM!

It's not that it was particularly traumatic, in fact although one of the family's had a very sad back story, their outcome was rather uplifting.

It was just that because they were both elective CSs it brought home the implications of my personal birth options. I'm sure I'll feel better when I've actually had the appt. I've already decided that if I don't feel I've been assessed properly I'll throw a wobbly!

Good tip Caramello I need more sheets!

I've bought some beautiful swaddling muslins. They're lovely and soft and if baby isn't a keen swaddler they have dozens of other practical uses so it's win-win.

Thanks for your missed appt stories, I feel less of a tit now!

I made it to the MW this morning She told me my blood pressure is slightly low, iron levels are a bit low, sugar is on the high side, there?s protein in my urine and bump is measuring 38cm at 34+4 - oh dear, I think I am just going to go back to bed this afternoon.

Re sheets: Caramello speaks wise words, they always poo or vom just after you?ve made them a nice fresh bed. I?ve heard it suggested on here that you can use a pillow case as a moses basket sheet if you run out. I also invested in 2 of these for the cotbed, which also made life much easier as I could just sling everything in the washing machine and there was no faffing around spongeing the mattress down in the middle of the night.

Re perennial massage: I bought the stuff from Mothercare. When it arrived, I realised I could no longer reach my lady bits and just couldn?t face asking DH to do it (there is so little dignity in childbirth, I had to hang on to the tiny bit I had left!). OTH, my sister dutifully massaged herself for weeks, then ended up having an EMCS - she is, understandably, still bitter about it!

Apologies for poo talkin' at lunchtime but thanks for that JKS I've googled and you might be right, talked to Midwife and she says we'll chat after my scan on Thursday as gallstone/liver conditions could be the cause, am a bit scared but thankful for lovely April ladies helping me out with wet trump advice!

I definately can't reach my lady massage bits, have been reliably informed today that I am massive - joys.

Also, can no longer stand a two hour meeting, can't sit on ass long enough before it goes numb - this morning was in one with low lights and a projector and had to leave in the end as was worried I might shame self by falling asleep!

Last night worse than sunday, seemed to spend whole night humphing 'massive' whale like body about from one side to the next, blowing constantly blocked up nose, going for weees and then having little wails about having to get up and put in a whole day. Am tired and grumpy today, cheering self up reading the thread, love MN.

Hi ladies, just checking in as STILL in hospital with my problem blood pressure. It's looking better but they want me here for another 24 hours to keep an eye on me. I've been back over in High Dependency once since the birth and almost twice. It's a right old ball ache!

On the plus side, Conor is doing really well, he's a week old today!! He's out of the incubator for the first time this morning, which is a huge step. He's still teeny weeny but the breathing is going brilliantly. I'm getting lots of cuddles and doing the Kangaroo Care (I can't remember who suggested that but it's ace).

Hope you're all well. It's so strange thinking that you're all still preggers! I am still getting emails through saying 'this week you are 33 weeks, your baby is... Etc'. It's very amusing.

Cycle, if you have any questions on c-section I can happily help. I thought it was amazing, not the birth experience I had been planning but it was actually pretty cool. Recovery is a doddle, I'm virtually back to normal now, a week later. The atmosphere is theatre was quite jovial and that was with them in full emergency mode.

Good luck everyone and catch up again soon.

Oh Jo that is the greatest news, we've all so been rooting for you, kisses to that gorgeous boy and hope you keep improving so can get him home soon xx

Jo that is lovely news! Fingers crossed they let you take him home before too long :)

Fab news Jo, just need to get your BP under control!

Thanks for the bedding advice everyone. Took the liberty to go shopping again today, so I now have 3 cellular blankets (they say pram on them but they are quite big. 4 moses basket sheets and a 4 pack of white pillow cases as a back up, and 2 cot bed sheets. I'll get more cot sheets later as I plan to have him in the moses basket for as long as possible. In the goodies mum brought down at the weekend there were 2 knitted shawls and a pack of swaddling blankets so I think I might just be sorted there now.

MW appointment today. BP fine, the trace of protien that was there last week has gone, sugars fine and I'm measuring 33cm. So if baby is as big as the scan is suggesting he's hiding something somewhere.

I muted the idea of perennial massage to DH along with mentioning that my lady garden needs tending. He doesn't seem convinced! I might need to get him drunk first!!

Went to Aldi on the way home from shopping to stock up on yummy sweets fruit and veg and they had yoda balls for £3.99 in different colours and sizes for any of you who are still to get one!

The forces is not strong with me! That should be yoga balls.

:o

I forgot to put that link in, didn't I? Sorry, pg head. I meant to say I invested in 2 waterproof mattress protectors for the cot bed: tinyurl.com/6gjfvef

Ooh

Happy St Davids day to any Welsh ladies!

Jo Great news to hear that Conor is doing well and that you are recovering ok too :) Do you have any news about when you might be allowed home?

jaylar re perineal massage, you can get various nice smelling 'perineal massage' oils but apparently olive oil is just as good? I've bought some of the smelly stuff but haven't so far uncapped the bottle. Funnily enough I just never seem to be in the mood to do it.. but I will regret it if I don't!

alibaba I didn't find OBEM traumatic last night - it's a fab program :) The sad story had a happy outcome on the day just to make that clear! I found it harder watching the c-sections but I think it's good to (if you're like me, that is) because I like to be able to visualise what's going to happen, so in the event that I did end up having a section for whatever reason I'd know what was happening.

I had my 34 week appointment, at home this time so mw could talk about homebirthing with me and DP. She was lovely :) I mentioned earlier in the thread that she didn't seem that keen but I must have misread her because she was very enthusiastic today and said she hoped she'd be on duty when the time came :)

On the not so good news front, there was sugar in my wee sample - she marked it as negative on my notes but wants to keep an eye on it at my next appointment. Also fundal height is still a little on the large side. Only between 1-2cm over and it's been 1-2cm over since first measured at 25 weeks so I don't think it's anything to worry about but I think combination of the two means she wants to keep an eye on it. Obviously if I have developed GC or if I have a large baby then it's a no to a homebirth which would be disappointing but it's too early to start worrying yet! So the plan is to eat low gi for the next couple of weeks and stop indulging with the sticky toffee pudding and hope for the best.

also baby is head down and 2/5 engaged... yeah! :)

JoEW great to hear that all is going so well with Conor, fab news for you all. Sorry that you're still being checked but I hope you'll all be home before you know it.

Jaylar OBEM last night had me in floods of tears within about 30 seconds.. so that's my warning to you. Also, on the perineal front, olive oil is meant to be perfectly good to use, but I'm going for the Boots standard one so that my cooking oil is not associated with the more private areas of my body! And I'll be getting DH to help I'm afraid.. going to have to accept that my dignity is on its way out...

Aussie great vid link & info, thanks. Please let us know how the EpiNo does!

LisMcA I think I'd like to get myself a Yoda ball.. the force could get us through labour!?

Had quite a good class with physio from our hospital this morning. She was really helpful on relaxation & breathing techniques for 1st stage, but the thing I liked the most is that she emphasised not putting pressure on ourselves for the type of labour we felt we 'should' have... and that she disliked OBEM because it doesn't reflect active labour or how calm labour can be if good support is given.. maybe that wouldn't make good TV!!!

Then had appointment with my consultant this afternoon (actually met him for the 1st time, rather than his junior doctors who've seen me in all previous appointments) and he told me to make sure I take my pregnacare everyday to help iron deficiency and I've not got to take aspirin daily as well due to kidney problem. More things to remember. AND midwife saw me and proclaimed that baby is back to back so I should get gardening & stay on my knees. Joy. Just what I feel like doing.

Jo - fab to hear from you, Conor sounds like a star, hope you both get to go home soon. Kangaroo care is meant to be fab, keep it up. as well as helping him, it will help you bond & help your hormones with milk supply :)

Lucieloo - a close friend has had 3 HBs with GD...just so you know it's possible. Hopefully you won't have it though anyway.

Some 'friends' have been less than reassuring about piles, still suffering with them up to 8 years later :( but others have told me theirs went. I must ring the docs tomorrow for a prescription. When i think too much about them i just want to cry though :(

On a cheerier note, a lovely friend today told me it wasn't the absolute worst thing that could happen, her mum had vulval piles......made me feel marginally better

Not suffering apart from when i need to go

Bring on the baby I say, so far it's all moans & groans from me, in the hope it's therapeutic, or at least makes some of you feel better I'm going to list all my pg complaints:

• SPD (not as bad as with DS2...yet)
• achy hips
• can't get comfy sleeping
• really achy under-bump 'muscles'
• breathlessness
• feeling like i'm going to be sick whenever i bend down, or burp
• excessive burpiness/wind
• piles
• general light-headedness every now and then (i tend to get low BP when pg)
• sore back
• dry skin
• spots
• broken fingernails

oh yes, i'm 'glowing'....

Great to hear from you Jo and fab Conor is doing so well!
I've had a crap day. Had an intruder at work and he distracted me then stole my I phone. Very stressful and upsetting afternoon talking to police, t mobile and my insurers. Grrr.

Glad to hear things are going well Jo, and that life does continue after birth! I can't imagine that yet...

Big hugs Kitty, must be awful - I know it's only a phone, but that kind of thing can make you feel quite exposed.

After my painful BH last night, they finally settled down around 9 pm. They started up again this afternoon (about the same time as yesterday) and were quite painful on the way home, but seem to have settled since I got home.

Regarding sheets, I think we've only got 2 pram/carrycot sheets, but I made sure to buy a few more flat sheets that could be multi-use. Any suggestions of where to get waterproof crib/carry-cot sheets? I haven't been able to find any.

Sadly, I woke up this morning to find that I've turned 30! But my lovely work colleagues surprised me with balloons and glittery cards, and the kids were all pretty lovely too (lots of singing - I think it was all a ploy to do no work!).

I met a colleague's 2 week old daughter today - all sweet and snuggly! Lovely!

Happy Birthday Petalouda! Does 30 hurt? I get there in August and not really looking forward to it! Consolation is I'll have a baby to distract me!!

I've posted on the pregnancy topic, but I know some of you take ranitidine here. I've got heartburn today for the first time since starting the ranitidine, can I take a Rennie or Gaviscon to zap it away along with the ranitidine? I've just drunk 2 pints of milk to calm it down in the meantime, but I know as soon as I lie down tonight it will flare up again.

Happy birthday petal I loved 30 and am loving my 30's... Will be 36 in august. X

Good to hear from you Jo, sounds like Conor is doing well, hopefully he'll be home soon. Also good to hear your cs experience was ok despite it nit being what you expected or wanted x

Kitty that sucks! I hate thieves,

I had a pretty crappy and stressful day at work but I've got group physio tomorrow morning so am only in for half the day, thens it's just Thursday and Friday and it's over

Way embarrassing tube journey home, had to stand again and went a bit woozy, fellow standee tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I needed to sit. Went all English and flustered, said I was fine but he insisted and asked the guy in the priority seat to get up. What a hero.

Jo really glad things are going well. Great to hear yoru update.

I have had the day from hell as my daughters have been appallingly behaved all day - tantrums, fighting, squabbling - I was exhausted and extremely tearful by the time my husband got home. It's just a day though and thankfully quite rare now, but I could do without it. Tantrumming four year olds and 35 weeks pregnancy do not mix.

Apparently my epi-no has arrived at work so at least I can cheer myself up with that when I'm in tomorrow. Not! Actually, that implies a) that my postroom have opened it (and fainted) - they haven't, I just got an email telling me I had a parcel so it must be that, and b) that I'm going to use it at work - I'm not!! Consultant has told me to start from 36 weeks so I've got a week to faff around with it and see how it works.

Right, off to lie on the sofa for a while. On my left hand side obviously...

Following on from Iliketo and Petals chat about BH and real contractions. I couldn't tell the difference

With DS I had an appointment at 40+1 with the Day Assessment Clinic for my regular twice weekly BP and Fetal Heart monitoring appointment. This was at 11.30 in the morning. I was getting period like pains, mentioned this to the midwife who was doing my monitoring and she told me it was BH. I'd never had them before. If I ever felt any sharp twinges I assumed it was just the baby moving around.

I spent the rest of the day with my "Braxton Hicks", By around 11pm DH had persuaded me that despite the fact I had been told it was BH 12 hours ago it was quite likely I had now progressed to being in labour . I had a slight show at midnight so phoned the hospital. They were very busy and advised me to stay at home if I felt I could. I eventually went into hospital at 3.30am after a 2nd show and was 4cms dilated.

Jo so pleased to hear that you and Conor are doing well. I think you were having him at Kingston Hospital which is where I spent most of Monday afternoon downstairs in the outpatient maternity unit.

I have finally started my maternity leave (will be 36 weeks on thursday) so instead of just lurking I will start posting a bit more. It will be lovely to have a few weeks without having to leave home at 6.30am, travel on London public transport, and spend all day on my feet looking after patients.

Unfortunately my baby is still breech and measured 33 weeks with the tape by the consultant so I'm booked in for a growth scan and repeat position check next monday. Hoping to avoid an ECV, but think the head is stubbornly positioned under my ribs and unlikely to move. At least if I need an elective C-section I'll know when to expect the big arrival!

Happy Birthday Petal My 30th year was fab. The painful years I think are the +1s. Or maybe that's just me failing to realise that the aging process doesn't stop at the big milestones.

Thanks for the OBEM, thrush and perineal massage advice everyone.

My midwife hates OBEM as she thinks it's been edited to show everyone screaming and carrying on and they are always strapped down in the pushing stages. Which I guess it has to do because showing someone is a zenned out trance deep breathging quietly is hardly going to boost the ratings.

I think you are only supposed to start massaging your whatsit when you hit 36 weeks as it can bring on labour. So I don't care how grim it is. Assuming I can still reach my fanny in 2 weeks time I'll be enforcing a strict regime. Recovering from my episiotomy was much worse than getting over what was a fairly easy labour so I'll try anything. But I agree, the thought of giving myself a good going over with the extra virgin (irony?) from the kitchen does not appeal so will invest in something a bit more tailored for the job.

Kitty much sympathy. My iphone has my life on it. And it's horrible feeling you've been duped.

Right as I'm not brave enough to watch OBEM I'm off for my fix of Biggest Loser US version.

Lovely to hear from you Jo, I hope you bp settles down soon so you and your darling boy can go home.

Happy 30th for yesterday petalouda . I also meant to mention that BH can be brought on by dehydration and UTI, so keep an eye on your fluid intake. But of course sometimes you get them just because!