April 2011 - towards motherhood boucing on yoda balls, eating coc pops and riding frozen surfboards we are

[SnapFrakkleAndPop]

Raspberry leaf and all round.

Continuation from here. No Mofo C bombs yet been dropped in the delivery room although our first 2 babies have arrived. Congrats to gormers and Jo, we hope your little ones are still doing great.

Congratulations Beetle and welcome baby Sam!! That was one of our favourites for a boy too!

Well I just feel super fed up today, feeling uncomfortable all the time, can't get comfy sitting anywhere and a little bit teary too. DP comes home today but tbh I'm a bit p**sed off with him too. He was out last night celebrating the birthday of one of the guys he is working with and when he hadn't phoned me by midnight I rang him but his battery died almost immediately so I couldn't get in touch with him at all. Just as well it wasn't an emergency. Stupid man. This led to a crappy nights sleep and a grumpy MrsWajs this morning......hmmmph!! :(

Sorry very memememe

I sympathise mrsw I phoned and shouted at dh a few weeks ago for being incommunicado when out on the piss and its done the trick. He was out test for his 30th but was in touch much more often. Give him what for when he gets home!

Congratulations Beetle and welcome to the Little Insect!

What fab weather we're having.. am scaring the neighbours sitting outside in my underwear and a rather sheer top catching a bit of sun and thinking about how nice it is having nothing to do! Having said that, met my other NCT ladies for tea and cake yesterday and 2 brought their very new little babies.. Put me just in the mood for having a baby despite the birth horror stories!

Congratulations Beetle on the arrival of baby Samuel. I think you're my due date buddy (6th)?

Still nothing at this end so I'm now two days overdue. I had a wobble this morning - very tearful about the looming c section as I feel it's just hanging over me like a threat if I don't give birth by Wednesday next week. How am I supposed to relax into this with that metaphorical ticking clock/egg timer running through? However, I had a good wallow in a hot bath which made me feel a bit better and since then I've had a show/lost my mucus plug over the course of this morning. Although there have been no contractions yet I have been having period pain so I guess that's a good sign. What do you think? I've been lying in the garden in my bikini (girls at park with their au pair thank goodness) - a true beached whale - trying to relax. Feeling very sorry for my little girls as they've got a truly useless mother at the moment and they're being so good about it. I shouted at them earlier too as they were arguing about all manner of trivial things and have been feeling dreadful and wracked with remorse since. I can't wait to have this baby so that I can be a bit more on form for them and less of a grumpy, hormonal old bat.

God I hope something happens in the next couple of days at least. The show is a good sign isn't it?

Beetle - congratulations!! :)

Had MW visit at home today, she is lovely :)

All well with baby and Caramel i wanted to share something she said specifically with you.
When she was listening for the heartbeat on my right side, said oh think baby is rotating. Found hb in the middle & explained that often babies tend to stay on our right sides through pg, then rotate to the left side. Obv this means they are back to back for a bit. That may explain your OP & give you hope it's not a permanent position just a movement from right to left. :)

Anyway she said this rotation may have caused all the extra BHs/ctx yesterday and that things may be moving along. Wouldn't give me a timescale though

Definitely something changing here though, no show or anything yet but getting hopeful....

Kits - i'm being hopeful even without a show!

DS1, had my show, then waters broke, then ctx started, all pretty much within a few hours.
DS2 show, then ctx started but slowly and waters never went - as he was breech.

Once i get a show with this one i won't be leaving the house lol!

Thanks for the encouragement everyone and congrats Beetle.

H is currently napping in naught but a nappy on my bare chest after a successful latch I had to start him with a bit of formula but once he was less starving he was willing to sample some less plentiful boob milk.

Hang in there Jen, it'll all be worth it!

Kits a show is a good thing! :o

I've just had a thought, do labour wards work on less staff over Easter like they do at Christmas??

Sorry posted too soon!

Congrats Beetle, and little insect Sam! Yay! We are good at names here! I saw someone looking for advice on Ptolomy on the names board recently .

Justkeep that's good to know. I think the show is a good sign at least that the cervix is doing something stretchy. God I hope so. My husband is bored of waiting, I'm bored of waiting, my daughters are bored of waiting...

Oh, another good book recommendation. The Paperchase by Marcel Theroux (brother of Louis) - excellent and very funny. Well worth a read. It's one of my faves and I've just picked it off my bookshelf this morning for a re-read in the Great Wait.

Congrats Beetle, baby news has cheered me up as well as what you said JKS. Thanks. Hopefully the baby was just on it's way turning into the perfect position for easy birth . It sure was going mental on the moving front last night, bits protruding all over the place. Proper Alien style.

Cycle the image of you holding a nearly naked newbown on your chest has cheered me too and excellent news on the latch.

kits hope the show is a good sign for you and you're not waiting much longer. If I get any grumpier in the lead up to the birth I think my DS will be happy for the break from me when I go into hospital .

Afternoon All on this glorious sunny day and my last day at work !!! woo hoo

LisMcA I had finished all my baby washing and then a friend said he is bringing 2 garbage bags of babys clothes from his niece tonight, dont know what im meant to do with so much clothes but feel so rude saying i dont need them, so means more washing this weekend, well of anything cute anyway, i think the rest might just go in the charity bin !
Im also very jealous of a whole nights sleep, I would kill for just 1 nights whole sleep ! Also I had a right chuckle at your enjoyment of a sausage sandwich after the mention of marital relations, yes, yes i got a dirty mind and its been to long !!
PS I made lasagne and didnt bake before freezing, hope thats ok as I've never frozen one before.

Now for all of those having these marital relations, what position are you having them in if thats not to personal a questions as i really dont know how we would do it comfortably and so i still feel a bit sexy !

NotAnother Congratulation to you and welcome little Rosina

Cycle You had us all waiting in anticipation, Congrat to you and little baby Henry, sounds like a nice smooth running labour.

Puss Congratulations to you and baby Yaseen

Beetlebaby Huge Congratulations to you and little baby Sam (my favourite name as same as mine !! he he) Also good to hear such a great review on using the birthing pool as Im planning a water birth, so Thank You !

So many babies, Hooray, just brightens up your day, hearing about them !!

Jenat Thank You for the Nigel Slater banana cake idea, I googled and made with some ripe bananas I was keeping for a cake. I didnt use the hazelnuts or choc chips as wanted it a just fruit and i dont like nuts and it is soooo yummy, kept a couple of slices for eating and the rest has been sliced and put in the freezer for after little-un's arrival to enjoy.

Caramello I grew up in "The Shire" but I did move here 12 years ago so most of adulthood spent in London ! How long have you been here ? Everytime I see your name i hear the commercial playing in my head "They call me Caramello.... Koala" and then I crave one !

Iliketomove Good tip for feeding station !

Well its finally my last day and im in a great mood despite barely sleeping last night, the sun is shining, all my colleagues got me gifts and lovely cards and im really glad ive kept working till so late as i now only have to wait 3 more days till my EDD so im super excited too.

As she's more then likely going to be late, ive booked waxing for tomorrow for everywhere as its been a while plus eyebrow threading, Monday a haircut, Tuesday EDD if no arrival going to get a mani & pedi and Wednesday a pregnancy massage where they do some sort of pressure points to help encourage labour so keeping busy but relaxed busy so i dont have to wait to long for babies arrival.

Also received a huge bunch of white roses from DP and bump saying she cant wait to meet me, delivered to work !! How sweets that !!

Hope to hear somemore baby news over the weekend !! Enjoy All

Many many congratulations Beetle, great name choice but I may be a rather bias about that as I am the female equivalent

All good signs in my book Kits - keep the faith in you and your body, not easy I know when you feel like you've got a threat hanging over your head.

I was in a foul mood this morning as well, consequently ds bared some of that brunt as well, poor chap. Luckily having the coffee morning at mine was just what was needed. DS had some playmates to run around with in the garden and I got a chance to sit back and gossip.

I've just had an hours kip but it was one of those sleeps that actually leaves you feeling fuzzy rather than refreshed

{{{Caramel}}} - I bet it was hard to hear about being OP but it really doesn't mean a thing until you know what position the baby is in until you go into labour. Some people carry LOA/ROA all during their pregnancy then during labour the baby decides to turn OP, and vice versa. Either way, it does NOT mean this labour will be a re-run of your last one. I think you will be surprised at how much better this one will be compared to your ds.

Enjoy your last day Aussie, it's a beautiful day to remember it by.

A good sex position is with you sort of half on your side and half on your back. If in doubt, try every-which-way and get your dp to do the manouvering. It's possible, you just have to a bit inventive. Saying that, my libido has been a lot lower at the end of this pregnancy than my others, probably because I'm knackered looking after ds.

That's given me a thought - KITS - get shagging later on, if you're getting a few niggles that might move things along.

Been having a lovely sunbathe/sleepy afternoon so hopefully I'll feel energised this evening as am intending to start operation Curry And A Cuddle to encourage baby to make an appearance sooner rather than later! Due on Sunday so no rush yet but don't want to end up being induced in a couple of weeks as bye-bye homebirth.

Aussie your last day sounds really lovely I am very impressed that you have worked until 3 days before your due date! I finished 3 weeks ago (it's gone so fast) and felt even then that I'd left it late! Hopefully you'll get a chance to put your feet up over the weekend before the baby gets here.. Your DP sounds lovely by the way, those roses sound like a really lovely idea!

kits definitely sounds like things are starting for you.. will be watching with interest! :)

Next question.. was thinking about getting a cleaner in to give the house a going over before the baby gets here as the nesting instinct seems to be passing me by altogether (and Lis's mum still hasn't knocked on my door..) Anyway just phoned a company for a price and they reckon it would be about £200 to do a light clean on the place (4 bedrooms/3 bathrooms/kitchen/lounge/conservatory) Does that sound about right??

Well there are broken waters here in West Lothian......

I sadly report they are not mine but my friends. She was due on Monday and was expecting the dreaded induction! She is having a DD so we have already married Buster and her DD off! Hopefully will have more news in the morning! Babies! And this one is nearby for a cuddle until my little man pops out! :o

I've just had a bath, dyed my hair, shaved my legs and moisturised myself within an inch of my life. My back is aching again. But the sun is shining so I'm going to sit in the garden until DH comes home. It's not roasting so I won't be copying Kits in her bikini! Chances are someone would try to return me to the sea if I did!

I'm embarrassed to report the lasange did not get made yesterday. The box of sheets in my cupbord were use by July 2010 so I just batched up the ragu for the freezer instead! Along with some regular mince in gravy.

Grand National tomorrow ladies! My horse.....Dont Push It :o!

Lucie How many hours would it take you to do your whole house? Cleaners here are about £8-£10 per hour. Not sure if that would be the going rate with you too. But for my house 4 bed 2 bath kitchen lounge dining room man room(soon to be play room) 20 hours would be over kill I think. Cleaning companies will probably be more expensive than a self employed cleaner. Maybe check your small ads in the paper?

My mum is trying to get round everyone on the thread, but unfortunatly Santa won't share his time travelling secret!!

yeah it's a pretty normal size house so 20 odd hours seemed a bit ott to me especially as it's generally ok I would just like someone else to give it a once over instead of me! Good idea about looking in the small adds rather than the big companies - will check that out - Thanks!

Right I'm going to have a shag later! Lucky husband, who gets to have marital relations with the human whale. Also, he's running home from work tonight (8 miles) so being greeted by a fat, hormonal mess demanding he performs is probably very low on his agenda. I don't care. There's a time and a place for duty and this is it!

Aussiemum without wishing to sear the following unpleasant image onto your brain, my favoured position in my advanced state of humungousness is me on top. Anything else is just either physically impossible or bound to give me cystitis.

Cycle sorry to hear the feeding is a bit tricky. Don't beat yourself up about formula. Whatever it takes in these early days and it honestly doesn't matter in the long run. Just keep with the feeding. I think the idea of giving him little formula top ups before each breast feed is an excellent one. It's enough to pique his interest and get him in the swing of things. Also, it might be worth getting hold of some alfalfa tincture from the Organic Pharmacy (they can probably get it to you within a couple of days). It did wonders for my milk supply after my hideous caesarean.

www.theorganicpharmacy.com/shop/tinctures/alfalfa_co_milk_tonic_tincture

Failing that, send your husband to Holland and Barratt or a health food shop and get him to pick up some fennel tea and/or fenugreek tablets. Both taste pretty vile but they're really good for milk supply also.

Oh, and I rang my consultant earlier today and said that I didn't want a c-section on Wednesday as this whole '41 weeks' thing was hanging over me and stressing me out. He was cool about it and said that was fine - my choice, etc. I honestly think he'll be glad to see the back of me. However, I already feel much happier for not having this hanging over me.

Will keep you all informed of developments. I hope to God something happens this weekend or my head might blow off with rage/frustration!

Kits this is why I love MN. We know your DH is getting lucky tonight even beofre he does! Poor man won't know whats hit him!

Aaah kits you sound miserable, poor old you. Good for removing the threat of 41 weeks, though, and I'm sure a show and a shag must be good news?!

Beetle -woohoo and congrats. Babies everywhere. So exciting!

Aussie congrats on last day at work - I huffed and puffed away on top of DP for a while last week but to be honest it did not much for me (can't get the angle right with my giant belly). If you have one of those beany maternity support pillows (I have the Theraline Big V) they are quite good for assisting you to get in a comfy position, especially when bent over from behind!

Ladies, just popped on to say consider me a cautionary tale. Got all carried away this morning and decided to give myself a leg-and-lady-garden wax. It was not pretty. I actually made my bikini line bleed . Yes, I can it (just) but not with the right angles or with both hands to enable me to pull the skin taut. Which resulted in me half-heartedly yanking, tugging rather than ripping, and much blood and pain. And a very poorly trimmed muff. Boyfriend looked critically at it afterwards and asked "so did you actually get any off then?" (actually there is quite a lot less there than there was, but it's still a forest... ) So I'm here to advise that if you must prune at this late stage then call the professionals in. Step away from the Veet strips ....

Just popping in to say congrats to cycle, puss and beetle

My friends broken waters have resulted in Baby Darcy coming into the world at 7.22 this evening 9lb2ozs! 4 hours of labour! How do you get one of those!!

Woop! Lis - congrats to your friend!

Good luck for everyone planning on 'relations' tonight - I'd finally agreed to it on the sunday night that I actually went into labour. I did apologise to DH in the morning for not following through. He was fine with it, given that he'd just witnessed my tear first hand!

Frak - Thanks for the LilyPadz advice - if they're good enough for French women, they're good enough for me! I've read some good reviews and bought some from Amazon. I'll let you know how they go (whether you want to know or not!).

Next observation/question is on the topic of the surprising fat-content of breast milk, leading to persistant grease stains on tops/bras after washing. Who knew?! Any suggestions for washing? I suppose the ideal would be some kind of more camoflaging fabric/patterns, but I'm a jeans & t-shirt girl, and the plain cotton's not faring well!

Hope to see more babies tomorrow! (Back to the perma-feeder!)