October 2011 Baby Bus ... part 3

[elgoldenflower]

A place for all the mums due in October 2011

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Also thinking of you Sassy and Pebble.

I have been getting BHs for weeks (at least 4) and I'm 30 weeks. I hope that doesn't mean anything! Can't wait to get through the next few weeks and get past the point when I had my ds early.

Ok - need reassurance on another matter. My husband in a completely out of character moment has bought me an ipad for our anniversary. I'd been saying how much I'd love one and how good it would be for entertaining ds when stuck out bf-ing the new baby etc (and how good it would be for MN!). It's currently sitting in its packet as we are trying to decide if we should keep it or take it back (in a sensible, we don't have that much money moment, and we will be v skint when I am on maternity pay). Please tell me we should open it! Especially anyone who has one and can tell me how great it is (and worth every penny)...

I could easily finish right now, but I think that's more to do with the fact that I hate my job than the pregnancy tbh I'm gonna spend mat leave finding a better one hopefully.
I'm due to finish on 23rd sept, I'll be 35+4 and as much as I hate going in right now I'd like as much time at the other end as possible.

cheeky you absolutely must MUST open it as enjoy every second of it! That's an MN must! Don't even consider taking it back and give DH a massive pat on the back for thinking of it!

Edward it's tough we only get statutory mat pay at work which is just awful so money will definitely be a worry when I'm off. Thankfully DH has a good contract up until Xmas which takes the pressure off!

DS virtually slept through last night. Its his first week in his own room and we had just one little wake at 12 but straight back to sleep then up at 6. After the past few nights if him waking a lot I was beginning to give up hope but now feel better after a good nights sleep. Now just to work on DH's wiggling and snoring....

Achey legs are my new pregnancy hate! Literally feel like weights down there but then I guess you have to expect it carrying this much weight around

Hope everyone has nice plans for today. I'm working from home and have drs this morning then going to sit at my laptop for work with my legs up ALL day!!! And then i am doing the rest of my baby shopping online! I trekked to covent garden yesterday at lunch (about a 20 minute waddle from the office each way) only to find they didn't have my bag in stock - serves me right for being too tight to pay postage!!

Anyway best get off. Have a great day everyone! BB

Hi all,
Have been away for a while as busy with work, then it was my birthday and our first wedding anniversary last weekend, and DH took me to Paris as a present, and a last hurrah before baby! We had such a lovely time and it was great just being the two of us...bless him!

Just caught up on all the news..sassy and others, thanks for lists: v helpful! We are ordering buggy and cot today, and already been given moses basket and sling from friends. We have a few muslins and some baby grows from family too, but need to start shopping in earnest I think!

Emmazed and Cheshire I am really keen on hypnobirthing, and a friend recommended some classes she used which are nearby, but the course is over £200...have you got any experience of classes vs. books/CDs?

Confused...are you medical? I am having similar issues about birth plans, but can I share something v important with you all which has come from the lead consultant at Chelsea and Westminster Hosp via a friend of mine who delivered there?

Some of you may know this already, but apparently it is really important to ensure you pee every hour during labour. If you can't, get the mws to pop in a temporary catheter (called an "in-out catheter": just stays in until bladder empty, then taken out), and also vital that you are not pushing for more than 90 mins...apparently it is these two things which can avoid serious tearing....

Anyone else doing the perineal massage thing? Can't quite get my head round it since NCT sent me the instructions...!!
xx

TBH i think i'd rather tear than need a catheter. but that could just be me?!
i tore with DS and didn't even notice, stitches were slightly painful when getting put in and about 7-10days after birth but still think id rather that than a catheter.

BB3 it must be tough on SMP i get pretty good mat benefits in comparison to most places (6months full pay then 3 months SMP)
but i'm in a call centre and so not a great salary but used to get really good bonus/commision since the beginning of the year the company have made a number of changes to T&Cs of bonus to the detriment of c. £800 per month, so i'm now expected to meet new higher targets (which are completely unacheivable BTW) for little/no commision, on top of that we work with a number of different PC systems/processes and if we make any mistakes at all get charged for each mistake, so this month i haven't made the new target so don't qualify for bonus (despite having over 100 sales in the month) but i have also made system errors meaning i owe the company £20 for coming to work this month
generally take a lot of crap from customers (complaints dept) and i just feel its not worth the hassle, and i could do something so much more worthwhile with my life.

any career ideas anyone has would be greatly received, i have no useful qualifications and only experience in call centre/ retail, although wouldn't want to work in either of these now due to poor pay.

Edward I am totally that your company can fine you for making mistakes... Surely not?! I very much hope for your sake you can find something else to do after mat leave, that sounds like it totally sucks.

rebel I don't think I peed at all during my 7 hour labour which is very, very unlike me, I'm usually a once-an-hour merchant (and more when pregnant ). I thought I would just pee in the pool but I didn't feel the urge... strange. And I did tear.

BB3 hurrah for DS sleeping through! How old is he? DD (17 months) still only sleeps through occasionally. Everyone is bored of me going on about how tired I am...

cheeky you should definitely keep the ipad!

I've been getting BH for weeks too (I'm 27w), I hardly got any last pg, so I guess each pg is different. I've also developed lower back ache which I can't seem to shift, I didn't get back-ache last time either

Sorry to hear of your grannies sassy and Pebble.

Because our commission is paid separately to salary, it comes off ur commission rather than salary but as I haven't made target this month I'll start next month as a minus.
I'm so tempted to out the company as the press would have a field day with it but sadly need my job ATM.
All these cuts after they announced 20% increase in profits, I'd at least understand if they were damaged by the recession but they aren't!

Scones He was two in April. We've just built a house on the side of my parents so he was sleeping in our room while our old house was rented out and we were building the new one so he's a bit later than most I think but he's doing ok and we are just taking it one day at a time.

Edward it is a bit shocking but still at least you get your basic for that long and can use the time to find something else while you snuggle your LO!

I am very have found the perfect changing bag - £63 on amazon BUT £55 on Mothercare AND in the buy one get one half price offer and the bloody thing is out of stock! Mothercare of ALL places should know how important it is for things to be in stock when pregnant ladies need them! GRRRRRRR

I feel your anger BB3. With my reluctance to buy the buggy, we've missed out on a great offer for the one we are after and everything is now out of stock. Arrrgh!

Oh mpops how annoying! I have just spoken to their customer service team to get an idea of when it might be in stock and apparently it's discontinued and they no longer sell it (apparently for the last two months) so it saying 'temporarily out of stock' on the current website is just a BIG FAT LIE!! So have ordered off Amazon instead!

What buggy are you looking at?

Evening ladies :)

Cheeky def keep the iPad (and this is from someone who thinks Apple is an evil brand). I bought DH one for Christmas and I do think it's really good actually, much better than my laptop and because he must regularly charge it you only need to pick it up and it's on pretty much straight away. My laptop would probably take about 5 minutes to come on. The only downside is I prefer to type with a keyboard.

I too am outraged that the tie backs I want are out of stock EVERYWHERE.

Edward I am just on count down too, my work is not great at the moment, I will only get SMP after 6 weeks but my sanity is worth more and I have a professional job.

Rebel I signed up for the course which was £195 for 4 sessions (2.5 hours each) and a private session to do our birth plan. We got the Marie Mongan Hypnobirthing book (she is the founder) and a CD called Rainbow Relaxation. I agree it's not cheap but I have never done any kind of relaxation/hypno type stuff before and would def not be able to do it without the teacher. The book is good but for me I need the teacher and the class sessions to go through stuff and for her to make suggestions. I am NOT a suggestible person but it is even starting to work a bit for me and because I would really love a home birth I am willing to put the effort in and keep practising between now and October. So far I would recommend it (although you might want to ask me again after I have delivered Porgey!)

To check for someone in your area the link is:-

hypnobirthing.com/england.htm

Edward I had an in-out catheter every hour during my last labour. The MW's did tell me they were doing it but I barely even noticed, so don't worry about it being uncomfortable. I just felt the relief afterwards. I did still tear badly though.
I actually asked if I needed an episiotomy rather than tearing but they said "if you tear you tear", I guess their thinking was that I might not, but if they cut me I'd definitely need stitches.

Also that's a fantastic OMP Edward, (depending on what your basic pay actually is) it's better than I get and I work for the NHS. We get full pay for 8 weeks, then it's half+SMP for 4 months, then just SMP for 3 months. I'm not on a great wage so half+SMP works out about the same as full pay to me.
It's still rubbish about your bonuses though. I'd definitely be hunting elsewhere. I did customer complaints for years but I always refused to get into the sales side. I've switched jobs quite a lot and good customer service skills are really valuable in loads of roles so don't feel you're limited.

I've filled all my forms in today and handed in my MatB1 for both jobs. I start mat leave for one of them in 2 weeks! Although I've been off for 6 already on annual leave. :) I'll be doing the other job until the end of September. I suspect I'll have loads of annual leave to carry over though as I'm so busy I keep cancelling holidays to get work done. I really love it though and it's not stressful... well it is, but only because I don't want to let people down if I don't get things finished. There's no one else who can do my job and we don't know yet if they'll employ maternity cover.
I've also booked myself onto a course 3 weeks before the baby is due.... I may be cancelling it but it was too good an opportunity to miss :o

Hi Rebel, I've been going to hypnobirthing classes.. its my last this Saturday, and we paid about £180 for the 4*3 hour classes. I've been debating myself as to whether the classes were worth it over just going with the book and CD, and I came to the conclusion that for us it has been. I don't think I would have been practising all the various techniques regularly, and doing the daily affirmations, etc if we hadn't been shown them in class and given 'homework', etc.. I just wouldnt have had the self motivation I guess.. Though the biggest bonus has been getting DP on board.. He was initially very flippant and sceptical about the whole thing, whereas now he is 100% into it, and also helps by nagging me to do the techniques, and getting involved in all his tasks, etc.. which has also made such a huge difference..

My salary is £17000 for 34 hours so half + smp wouldn't be much different anyway.
Just really don't want to answer phones all my life but don't really know where to start looking for a job. I've been in mycurrent job for 6 yrs now.

I have to share this because of all our rants about stuff being out of stock:-

yesterday 1.06pm - ordered little rocking horse
yesterday 1.20pm - tracking email sent to me saying it has been dispatched
today - got home - rocking horse left with neighbour as has been delivered

Now THIS service I am impressed about :)

Was that kiddicare by any chance they're service is the best Iv ever used

Evening all, and thanks for the iPad encouragement. Am now happily typing on my new toy, although it did take me til 3 pm to dare open it. And that was after deciding that I would forgo buying the tumble dryer I was insistent that I needed last week. I'm sure this will bring me much more joy, and much disapproval from the MIL who was excited on my behalf about the dryer!

Edward - sorry to hear about the nightmare job. Not sure what to suggest as alternative career, other than doing something similar but for a nice company. Will be something to think about other than baby in the next few months - do you have any business ideas?

bB3 - great news about the sleeping ds! Life is so much easier after a good night's sleep. Long may it last. Or at least until October!

All this talk of tearing is giving me flashbacks I had an episiotomy and still tore horrifically last time - it took an hour and a half to stitch me up, and that was after a 4lb baby, so god knows what wd happen with a full term one. Another reason for my ELCS choice. If it was first time round though I'd def go to hypno-birthing - feeling completely out of control was one of the reasons for my having PND so badly last time, so from what I've heard it is great for helping with the control issue.

Morning all!
cheekydino your iPad I WANT one! [stamps feet]
Edward I am shocked at your work deducting money for mistakes...there will be other companies that could use your cs skills with much better employment packages (although your maternity is good) what about a nice Internet company selling baby things then you could get a discount?
I'm 29+4 today an Tiny has started doing Mexican waves across my tummy. Anyone else got a very visibly mobile baby? It's so cute but very distracting .
Thank you all for thoughts on my nana. Xx

Yes my tummy is doing ripples now too, and it's v distracting
I've also started getting bits of baby stuck under my ribs which can be uncomfortable!

Yep I've got ripples and really painful movements but the worst thing is 'baby stuck in pelvis' position so every time it moves it's head I get shooting pains in my fandango and when you get up suddenly it feels like it's about to fall out!!!

Keep getting really bad tummy aches - like period pain - they are very different to the BH's I had with DS (they were more like actual contraction pains and tightening rather than period pain itself!) umph!

Kiddicare is amazing, although I have to say that I don't think there is as much on the site as their used to be, although they do have the price match which is good!

Also got very visible movements from LO, and it gets hiccups lots too. People at work keep laughing at me for telling it off, but it's very distracting and keeps making me jump! In revenge it puts up great protests at night depending on how I'm laid. I'm so tired because if I'm comfy, LO isn't, and lets me know in no uncertain terms, but when I get in a position it likes I'm uncomfy! Plus DD was having nightmares last night so kept waking up crying.

I'm beginning to think this one may actually be a girl... like it's big sister... and me. DD and I are very alike in temprement, very laid back and calm most of the time, but very stubborn when we aren't getting our own way! :o I pity DH.

Edward yes, that's roughly the wage I'm on too. It was very tough until DD was born, but tax credits have helped us out hugely!
Why not look for something customer service related but face-to-face, or for the council or NHS (some are still taking on.) The pay would be better and people tend to be nicer face-to-face. It's nicer just knowing you're helping people too.
It took me months after packing in my last customer complaints job to stop swearing at any phone every time it rang :o

Edward it wasn't Kiddicare actually it was a company called Precious Little Ones. Although yes from previous experience Kiddicare are usually a very good price and efficient with the delivery.

I am off to see the midwife now to get my tummy measured for the first time (30 weeks today), I think it's huge let's see what she thinks!

Cheshire, I'm 30 weeks today too. Due on 5th October, are you?

Good luck with the measurement. I can't believe it's going to be the first time you're having that. How can things like that differ so much for town to town? I've had mine measured at least 5 times now.

BB3, we've decided to get a Maclaren Techno XT and an Ergo carrier and see how that works. I'll be in and out of public transport all day so we wanted to keep it all light!

Well, here's the thing mpops DH is in charge of all the NHS bookings and he is the one who put the weeks on the calendar.

When he came home tonight I quizzed him and yes it is a week out, I am 29 weeks. Porgey is due 12th October so that would fit in with your 5th Oct being 30 weeks. Calendar now updated :)

The measurement was 28cm and Midwife said they allow 3cm either side, plus I am pretty sure it's not an exact science anyway!

It is odd how different parts of the country seem to differ so much my friend is in Derby and got another free pack (beside Bountys) and a free NCT screen automatically - whereas our GP had to tell us about it and we had to pay for it. I have heard some ladies say they did not hear the heartbeat at their midwife appointments until ages later too where's we heard ours from the first appointment.

I've been travelling for the past four weeks so have largely ignored the fact I'm pregnant. It's weird being back and everything has moved forward one month. Luckily we don't have scales anymore.

I'm sorry but I won't probably back read and just take it from here if you don't mind. Think I'm now 28 weeks (due 14th Oct).

We have nothing yet and doubt I will anytime soon. Have a few bits from DD but as she'll only be 18 months she still need things like cot etc. We move back to the UK next week and I guess it could be a month before we have somewhere to live and I can't register with a GP or MW until I have a local address. Am seeing obst. here tomorrow so that's just before I leave.

As for measurements I measured a bit small as DD hid out at the back from around 30 weeks, they just sent me for a couple of growth scans which confirmed she was still growing even though bump stopped growing. I think it took until 30 weeks for difference between no of weeks and no of cm to start diverging although when I went to AnE at 6/7 months they were surprised that I was as far along as I was.