June Just around the corner now...

[petitech]

Will this be the final thread?!? I somehow think not, with more and more people starting on maternity leave, we have time for a good few more methinks!

Morning all

Sorry I haven't posted for ages, and as usual very hard to keep up with all the goings on, but it seems we do really need a baby announcement soon! Ain't gonna be me I don't think, despite 4 days to due date - no contractions, no show, no nothing, not even a twinge I don't think. And when I saw midwife on Tuesday she said, 'Oh no, you don't look nearly fed up enough for baby to be imminent. You look far too well!' Hmmph! Apparently women just about to go into labour have a 'look' that she knows. Of desperation, frustration, total fed-upness. I'm sure I have that sometimes, just not every second of the day..!

Talking of negative people (lovely post Barbie), I posted a week or two back, on Childbirth, asking how soon you feel 'normal' again after birth. And didn't half get some moany glass half empty responses. Never. Your life will never be the same. Your body is changed forever, you won't be you again for another 18 years... Blimey, I was only asking about hip ache, back ache and general heaviness! Some people seem to revel in delivering gloom and doom, but no idea why.

Kara sounds like things are starting for you, though slowly. I for one am keeping an eye on your progress!

So, in the interests of positivity I won't bang on about my rubbish sleeping and tiredness, but tell you that my hunch was right and midwife was wrong week before last. Bump is NOT back to back at all, just as she always has been, slightly to the side, ie back on the right handside, so nothing at all to worry about. Phew. Good luck to everyone else having positioning worries.

Moufflon lovely to hear from you and glad things going well.

What's everybody up to today?

I have lots planned today, got to do some shopping and then I really need to weed the garden - hopefully that'll encourage baby into the right position, like you, BPrincess, she is lying on her side, her spine is on my left, and her legs and arms are pointing right. So neither OP or OA at the moment, but at least she won't have far to turn to become OA.

This morning we're waiting in for an emergency plumber. Just after I got out the shower I heard water pouring down behind the bath from the shower unit, so much so that 5 mins later the kitchen units were covered including the microwave. Not the first time my shower has gone wrong whilst heavily pregnant, I had to shower at the PILs the morning my waters went with DS as our shower had packed up!

Glad your hunch was right BP xx

millie what a pain! hope they come and fix it soon.

barbie I also had a good old blub at your post. It's funny, I haven't been on here for a few days but was telling my DH last night how bored I am with hearing negative stories, particularly from the NCT instructors (we always seem to leave the sessions a little shell shocked!!). Glad I'm not alone and will try my best to keep them in perspective.

So far since I've started maternity leave I've rushed around everyday and been doing chores, my uni work etc - today I just can't be arsed, so after I've popped to the hospital for a blood test I think I'm going to "waste" the rest of the day on the sofa... After all, if the gloom merchants are to be believed there won't be a chance after the birth !!

Have a good day ladies xx

ps jasmine - your lasagnes reminded me of that friends episode where Rachel makes cottage pie but the pages of the recipe book are stuck together and she makes half cottage pie and half trifle!! Hope you can convince someone to eat it.. I think my DH would, in the name of an experiment..

Morning all!

The only thing you need to remember when facing the difficult times with a newborn is that despite how tired you are you wouldn't change it for the world. As Barbie says, you have no idea how much love you can have for someone until your baby is born (although don't panic if it doesn't happen straight away, it took me a few weeks with dd, think I was in shock at being a parent!). Becoming a parent is fab, even with the hard times :)

BPrincess The joy of bitterness at never having the body you once did . It took me probably 8/9 months to get back to what it was after dd, but I didn't put too much effort into it. After ds a different story and was still pretending to shift things 4 years later! I think this time will be even harder but then it's my 3rd and I'm older

TTL I would go above that person's head and get others involved. Stand your ground and fight your corner, there seems to be no reason for the supposed 'logic' behind the decision.

Jasmine I'm just impressed that you've been batch cooking . . . . .I keep meaning to but then find something far more important to do . . .like read a book!

DH did ask the other night when I thought I might start nesting . . . . I informed him I didn't with the other 2 so there's no chance with this one

Hope those of you feeling rough with various ailments are feeling a bit better today.

Oh and come on out babybanana, we want to 'meet' you

LOL Thornykate that's so funny - totally know what you mean by "when someone looks at me 'knowingly' with raised eyebrows & says "is this your 1st?" ,ready to impart their (uninvited) wisdom on me" - they are so smug aren't they?

Kara I'm with you on the long latent phase, but at the next bit being so fast. Never tried anbesol - need to give that a shot this time.

Well I sorted out my ladygarden last night with a razor. I sort of straddled the side of the bath and balanced a mirror on the bath rim. It was hard work and is a bit stubbly and patchy, but I'm relieved it's done now, and as moomin said, it's probably better than getting dried blood and other birth-juices caught in the mess.
The good news is that the mirror showed me there are no external piles there just at the moment, but I know they are just a bowel movement/birth experience away.
I still have a tube of proctosedyl ointment which works pretty well - prob very similar to anusol hydrocortisone Kara
Totally agree - moist toilet tissue (AKA Kandoos) an absolute necessity. You can't flush baby wipes down the toilet so they are no use, in case anyone was wondering.

Sainsbo's pineapple is no longer on special so I had to pay full price for some this morning

Louey Sorry you're having such a stressful time of it :( Fingers crossed that things start to improve for you and baby. Thinking of you.

Morning everyone...well it's been and action packed time both here in RL and in the Jue in June living room!

:o at jasmine's cooking...sounds delightful!
Barbie thanks for the dose of positive birth story - I think people who had a difficult time of it want to feel like that's normal and so they go around telling everyone, which means that people who didn't have a terrible time feel like they got off easy and didn't work hard enough for their babies so they won't say anything. Like with MS, I assumed that everyone got it, just that some people didn't complain about it - apparently that's not true after all!

Supersunny congrats on the house - and good luck with the move! I don't you that at all - I hate moving at the best of times!

So news from chez Joannezipan... Had my last NCT class on Tuesday evening, as usual it was very good. We talked about looking after babies and what to do when they cry and all sorts of good stuff. I have to say I have thoroughly enjoyed the course. I found it very informative and unbiased. My only criticism is we didn't get to talking about induction as we ran out of time, but I can learn about that myself so it doesn't really matter.

Wednesday morning we went for the presentation scan. The baby is head down with its spine to my right and a bit engaged by not much. It was very cute as it was sucking it's thumb when she was checking to see where the head was. Then last night we had the breastfeeding bit of the NCT class with the bf councillor. Not so good, she talked to all the Dad's as if they were about 8! DH was not impressed with that at all. And one of the others asked, quite reasonably given we are all 1st timers, if it isn't working should you miss a feed or use a bottle and she wouldn't answer the question! I mean we all know you can't let a baby go hungry but she wouldn't say give the bottle and try again next time! Then when someone else asked how long your milk stays for if you can't breastfeed, she wouldn't answer and said you should keep trying to "put the baby to the breast". I did feel she was incredibly biased and not very pragmatic...and in fact I feel a bit less confident about bf now than I did before I went :( Oh well. Then this morning I woke up with a horrible cough, and as one of the guys at work has had a chest infection (which the antibiotics haven't cleared) I went to the doctors. It is always a nightmare to get an appointment but "I'm 37 weeks and I think I have a chest infection" got the receptionist to magic me one out of thin air! Anyway the doctor said my chest is clear and i don't have a temperature so either I'm right at the beginning of it or it is "just" a viral infection in my throat. He wouldn't sign me off and he wouldn't give me any antibiotics "because I might not need them and we don't know what the effects on the baby might be". Right I'll come back at 38 weeks when I can't breathe then shall I? Or should I cough through the contractions? Oh and he wouldn't sign me off as I have to self certify for the first 7 days! Anyway I called work and told them what he said and that I wasn't coming in because I couldn't risk getting sicker or run down this late in the pg. Lucky for me my line manager's wife is 24weeks pg with twins so he is very understanding. And I don't have to start my ML early because they want me to come in for a hand over meeting on Tuesday so that's good.

Gosh this has become a bit epic, I might have to go and have a nap! :o

Morning. Two posts in 2 days, must be a record

Millie what a nightmare. Hope the plumber comes quickly and fixes it for you (and doesn't charge the earth for it). I love the newborn stage too, just the smell of them sets me off. I could sniff a babies head all day.

sunny hope your LO stays put for a while longer. Well done on exchanging contracts, you must be so relieved!!!

kara weeding sounds far too energetic to me! Mind you its raining at the moment so even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be out there. Hope your mini contractions turn into something more soon. I did at your DH hoping that he got out of his budget meeting.

merlion yay for being on maternity leave!! Is that everyone finished now, or are some people still working. Enjoy your first day as a lady of leisure.

BP glad you were right and LO is in the right place.

banana any news from bananababy??

thorny due date today - wow! Think its a very good idea to be vague about when it actually is though, hopefully you will have stopped the million phone calls because people think it is actually going to arrive on the day... Hope you haven't got to wait too much longer.

jasmine love the lasagne story , it sounds like a unique taste combination...

I must go and look up the newborn thread that seems to have caused so much grief. TTL - it sounds as though everyone on here has (hopefully) put your mind at rest. My DH was very ambivalent about having children but this morning, we were in bed with our two boys, one of whom kept giving him kisses, and he was like the cat that got the cream. Yes its hard work (and one of ours has SN) but neither of us would change it for the world.

All ok here, baby seems to be moving ok, scan is not until 4pm and DH is coming with me for moral support (he hasn't been to many appts, just the 12 and 20 wk scans). And now I'm off to tidy my study and do lots of shredding. How exciting....

X-post joanne poor you. I'm very glad you are not going into work and that work are being so reasonable about it. Bloody Drs sometimes make me

That's great BPrincess about your baby not being OP
What a nightmare Milliemuffin - hope it all gets fixed and cleared up for you.

DH's car wouldn't start this morning - it's ready for the scrap heap tbh, but could have done without this right now. So he's taken my car to work and I will prob be carless now for a while - blinking typical. Will have to walk everywhere with the pram, dragging a 5 year old, when I'm waddling and cramping, have sore pelvis, sore back and am knackered - fantastic!

Jasmine - that made me laugh out loud!

Nurse - try not to worry about the lack of sleep - I was on my own a lot when I had my DD and actually, in comparison to the time when her Dad was there, I found it easier being on my own. You don't even have to bother getting dressed if you don't want to and can laze a round and sleep at any opportunity when baby is without having to consider the needs of a DP.

8rd gosh that does seem a bit much to expect you to stay in hospital for all that time. Fingers crossed things change over the next few days.

Barbie - I loved your post and I completely agree with you :)

Louey - good luck for today :)

Oh my feet are swollen up like huge horrible elephant feet - lovely.

Midwife tomorrow - hoping baby has moved from back to back to a better position but I am not optimistic to be honest.

Only 13 miore working hours to go!

Thanks Thorny, yes all fine here now

Barbie and millie lovely posts, really nice to hear that perspective.

TTL DP and I have decided to spare ourselves stress in the present and go with the attitude that we're looking forward to the birth and that it will be fun. If I post this what d'you think would happen?

Oh no, what is a latent phase?

louey actually I enjoyed the other thread and 90% of it was absolutely fine and people were constructive with their tips about the rough times and happy to share good and bad. I think I got off pretty lightly. It's just the odd bizarre comment on there, and the general gloominess of some people in RL ... I think if people have had really trying or difficult times they should be allowed to talk about them (and I'm glad of the advice, etc, since I may have a really difficult time myself and it's good to be prepared for all eventualities). It's just the knowing glint in their eye as they cannot WAIT to tell you how bad things will be and how much you're going to hate your baby, yourself, and your partner ...

notoast oh dear. Dear oh dear . You really need to manage your expectations. You don't know what you're in for. Your life is over and to be honest it's a bit silly of you to try to think positively and I can tell you that if you do that, you're going to get egg on your face

awwwww confessions mucho cuteness :)

merlion I'm sure that's absolutely right about every baby being different and each time round it being different - a lot of people said that on the other thread and it sounds like you're due an easier ride this time :) Congrats on last day at work!

millie and kara I'm with you on the heartburn. I absolutely hate Gaviscon, even the mint one, but I've caved in to it now.

joanne I can't believe that about the doctor! Glad your line manager has more medical sense than your GP! And at the breastfeeding class - I've got mine tonight at NCT. Am I right in thinking you're in Cambridge too? Hmmmm ..... better go prepared.

Brilliant baby is not back to back bp

Dammit for false alarm kara! And where's banana? Methinks she must be getting busy! Where are all the babies?!

TTL she was called Helen so if that's who you've got be prepared! She did seem to know what she was talking about, but didn't have the stats at her fingertips which we have all got used to and she was just a bit odd (and a bit rubbish at talking to people) and very biased. In a room full of science/programmers/engineers and general tech people it didn't go down to well when she got slightly airyfairy!

Banana must have had her baby by now :)

Millie - oh no, has the plumber arrived yet? Do you have a dehumidifier or know someone who has one? That will help dry things out quite quickly. I think you can hire them as well.

Joanne - that BFC sounded very unhelpful... but... and I realise that this maybe a sticking point for some people, the vast majority of women CAN breastfeed. In cultures where bfing is the norm, they don't have the questions about how much am I producing, what happens if the baby doesn't latch on etc. It is taken for granted that baby will be fed from the breast.
You do need to have some faith in yourself but you also need to be able to shout for help as well when you need it or get your DH to. The reason such cultures are successful at breastfeeding is because it is all around them, they have expert advice (i.e mums/sisters/cousins/aunties) feeding all around them ready to step in and help. Sadly we don't always have that. As long as there are no physiological problems with you or the baby, and that you feed every time the baby signals for it (by rooting or sucking fingers or smacking lips) you WILL make enough milk. And as long as after about day 5-6, baby is producing 6-8 wet nappies a day, then you can be assured baby IS getting enough. So don't try to time your feeds!

TTL - latent phase is when you are getting irregular contractions that only dilate the cervix a tiny amount (up to about 2-3cm). Some people hardly have one some people have long ones. It is the period before you are in established labour.

Great bfig post Kara
Maybe the bfing counsellor didn't want to talk about ffing in case she thought it would set you up to fail, as going into bfing thinking if this happens or that happens, might make self-fulfilling prophesies.

Woah ladies, I thought things were kicking off for me today as I started getting intense pains in the bump, but after resting for a bit I feel a bit as I realised I must have just been pushing myself too much hoovering the whole house with my very powerful industrial strength hoover. It really is a strong hoover so gives you a bit of a workout but it gave me a little scare today so no more hoovering for me I think. I'm 37 weeks tomorrow, so is that considered term then, I've noticed a few of you ladies mention that? Due date still seems quite far away though.

Has anyone got any ideas for cooking that freezes well, don't think I'm interested in jasmines christmas spiced lasagne though! I've got prawn and chorizo jambalaya, pork goulash and dumplings, fish pie, lasagne, shepherds pie, thai salmon and prawn curry and moussaka, although apart from the thai curry it is all quite winter-y so I might not actually feel like eating it after the baby is born if the weather improves. I probably have more than enough there for the first fortnight, supplemented with the odd takeaway or something salady but as I need to cook and eat anyway I don't see it to be any more difficult to double up the quantity so I have some portions for the freezer.

bananababy, are you here yet?

Sassamax - that is it, it is a self-fulfilling prophesy and there are many signals around us, both obvious and subliminal which DO set us up to fail.

Crumble - yes I wondered if I have also been overdoing it a bit!

What you have in your freezer sounds lovely. I had lots of ready meals DH acquired from work... all sausage based

We have just had the most terrific downpour, like stair rods (plus a rumble of thunder!), just had to run outside to rescue the washing and got absolutely drenched!

Yup 37 weeks is term crumble which is ME today!! Whoooo
MW says she's still hovering on the brim though so things probably aren't imminent quite yet :(

Joanne I really recommend reading the food of love for any breastfeeding worries or questions.

Crumble please will you come and cook all those amazing sounding things for me?! I've got lasagne, chilli and chicken curry plus lots of sausages in my freezer. Not muchos imaginative!

millie hope the plumber gets your shower fixed nice and quickly. What a nightmare!

Right, Waitrose birthday cakes - nice, but definitely not £18 of nice! The children at nursery loved it, but 1/4 of it came home, so DP and I got to try some, and yeah, what can I say? It was alright, but not amazing. Feeling very ripped off. And you were all witnesses, Mother has volunteered to make all cakes for all future events!!!!

Oh and to TTL, regarding stories of how brilliant babies are, my contribution concerns the actual birth aspect. Because it's my second time, several people have brought up the subject of labour, and the pain, and this idea that women forget. Well what I say is that's a big fat lie, you don't forget. It does bloody hurt, and you will probably remember just how much it hurt for a long time. BUT, the reason we go and do it again, and the human race doesn't cease to exist is because the prize we get for that pain is incredible. You end up looking at that fabulous little thing in your arms and knowing that you would gladly go through all that pain again, because it's worth it. And then the next time the pain just becomes something you're willing to endure. Like marathon runners (the psycho ones who run a marathon every fortnight) - they know that around 20 miles their body will be in agony, but they also know that it's worth it for the end goal (even though normal people would disagree that their end goal is worth it). The prize we get for our pain is definitely much much better than a silver foil cloak and a certificate.

Wouldn't mind a silver foil cloak anyway though...