Charters Anonymous Graduates Volume 2! – No more temping!

[Iwish]

A nice cosy place to accommodate our growing bumps and little wrigglers.

Spilt am sure its fine. Remember my experience with being measured? It is bollocks and they are just acting in the cautious side. But definitely have monitoring if you are worried about movement. And you are far enough along for baby to be fine now if it had to be born.

How was hypnobirthing, Getdown?

Ouch, Pip. Haven't had any of those thankfully.

Had consultant today. As blood sugar has been stable for 2 days they are giving me more time to go into labour naturally. So induction booked for due date on 24th. Having monitoring and sweeps twice a week until then. Will have blood sugar done every hour in labour, if too high will have to go on drip. If not should be pretty natural. If I go into labour on my own I might even be allowed the pool. So send me some natural labour vibes, please! Oh, and baby is 8lb 12oz now if estimate is correct!

Oh spilt I don't know much about this, but surely if the baby has moved down, it would make the fundal height lower? And terrys is totally right that if they were worried they would be sending you off straight away.

There is natural variation in the size of babies anyway. My friend had her gorgeous little boy at full term (40 weeks) and he was 5lbs. No explanation for why he was small, but he's a strapping bouncing little 18 month old now and you'd never know he'd been so tiny at birth.

Please try not to worry, baby spilt is wriggling around and so am sure is fighting fit. Get your doppler out as well to remind you of her good strong heart beat. Lots of love xxx

Good news! I am being scanned tomorrow morning. Feel much happier knowing I don't have long to wait. She's still moving, so I am going to be obsessively checking that all afternoon/night. Will let you know how we get on tomorrow. Fingers crossed it's just the crappy tape measure method and all will be fine. PMA!

Glad you've got a bit of breathing space Lady before induction, fingers crossed your labour kicks off soon. At my course last night they were talking about ways to get labour going, and one I hadn't heard was getting someone to rub up the inside of your legs (and back down the outside). So put something on the telly and stand infront of DP and get him to give your legs a good rub for a while. Apparently it has to be upwards strokes and on the inside. Also effective at kick starting a stalling labour too we were told.

spilt thinking of you but as everyone else has said, stay calm. Maybe you are naturally going to have this baby sooner than you expect and it's dropping down getting ready for labour. You're 34 weeks? In another 3 weeks you are at full-term according to WHO (37-42 weeks is full-term).

Lady I really hope you get your natural birth. Start having sex daily (demand this from DH) and eating lots of fresh pineapple.
Have you considered acupuncture/reflexology to kick-start?

Am meeting a possible doula a week on Monday. Really hope we hit it off as she has 4 kids and has supported women with VBAC and HBAC.

Oh, and have a second anomoly scan next week (as they couldn't get all measurements from the first one least week) but I'm in Birmingham for a really important work meeting and can't cancel. All they could say is well we'll book another one but it could be another 2 weeks. Anyone know if having a 20 weeks scan at 24 weeks is a problem?!

Spilt and Lady am thinking of you both and saying a prayer x

34+4 MrsA, one of those so close and yet so far stages!

Hope it goes well with your doula. I guess the only thing with having a late anomaly scan is that all of their reference data will relate to the 18-22 week window so maybe your baby's measurements will be harder to compare to the "standard". Don't know really.

Thanks pippa, I appreciate it x

oh spilt.... :( am sure everything will be just fine my lovely. measurements are a right load of old bollocks...if they were really worried they would have sent you for an immediate scan,..??? She was probably just curled up like a snail :) try not to fret.. although saying that i know you will be!!!

Lady.. How are the feet doing?

Have decided against doula this time. She was lovley but she was a bit on the spiritual wacky side for me.... when she started to go on about FATE and things happen for a reason, and not having pain relief i just thought no!!
I can get that from my sister or my mum if i ask for it and whilst she was really lovely i thought it wasnt for me....!! and tbh when i reasessed our finances wiht being on mat leave and payng for two households i realised we just couldnt afford it! I do feel we are going into it wiht more open eyes this time.. and stealing some ideas from spilts birth plan will help (hpoe you dont mind honey!!!)

And on another note,,, people keep telling me that sperm taken orally helps with natural labour must be a man who wrote that

Did DU suggest that, Nix by any chance?

Gau, should read DH. Stupid phone.

Good luck for scan today spilt. X

We're back from the hospital and everything is fine
She's measuring about 35 weeks, and about 5lb 9 for now and definitely head down (so far down I have gel in my pubes from when they were trying to measure her head )
Plenty of fluid etc
We saw her "breathing" and blinking which was lovely

I'm feeling sooo much happier and completely knackered now.

Thanks all for your handholding yesterday.

Fair enough on the doula nix, if her approach isn't yours then it just wouldn't work. It must be hard actually to get a good match between mum and doula. Out of interest, what were you planning on pinching from my birth plan?

I can't see how swallowing sperm is going to help. I thought the whole point was that the prostagladins in the semen acted on the cervix (just like the prostin gels they use in inductions). Having it in your stomach seems a bit pointless!

I found stretch marks on the underside of my breasts

So relieved and happy for you spilt have been thinking about you all morning.

Just goes to show that as Lady has said, those tape measured over the bump are a complete load of b**locks.

Had my second hypnobirthing session last night, it was really good! Lots of exercises to practise with DH re. breathing and scripts to read out. Also I get to have light touch massage every day as DH has to practise it of course

Did stuff about bonding with baby which involved imagining I was the baby and what kind of life I would like to come in to i.e. do I feel welcomed, do I feel loved etc. Sounds a bit weird, but was actually quite comforting and lovely.

Hope everyone else is doing ok. Nix that's vomit city re. taking in semen orally. That is never going to happen in this house ... I do have another embarrassing topic though - nipple stimulation. Is this really bad if DH does this at the moment (I am 31 weeks)? Should I stop him? and

Getdown I asked that question on my antenatal thread as DP is a boob man and my sex drive is through the roof (always is when pg)

The answer from seasoned ladies was that some women can bf up to labour onset, so it's fine. It can start labour but only when your body is ready for it anyway, so it's recommended as something to try from 37 weeks if you don;t already. It won't start labour early unless it was always going to IYSWIM.

Spilt yayayay. Fundal height manual feels are really inaccurate. With DD they predicted a 10lber through feeling the fundal height (cue lots of sucking teeth and cats arse mouths) but DD was 7lb 15!
Relax and enjoy your last few weeks of freedom to shower and use the loo whenever you want!

Yep I reckon I must just be growing a little contortionist if she can compact herself at 35 weeks grown into the space of a 29 weeker. Wish I was that bendy.

Absolutely your DH needs to practise the massage GetDown, enjoy it! I am looking forward to the several hour back massage I shall get in labour, it was really good last time. I've packed the body moisturiser ready for it
Re the nipple stimulation - it's supposed to increase oxytocin isn't it? I would have thought it's fine for now, because it's the same effect as clitoral stimulation/orgasm and that's fine unless you've been specifically told sex is a no-no. Maybe if you are worried about early labour or having really violent BH I would avoid it, but ordinarily I would think it's fine.

Anyone else getting occasional leaks? About once a week my left boob has an excitable moment! Only the left one though...

x-posts with MrsA - breasts are fair game it would seem!

Argh I am getting a bit worried about my mum post birth...
She is wibbling about accepting a day invitation to a wedding 7 days after my due date incase I have the baby that day and she won't be able to see it straight away. "Of course I'm dying to see the baby when it's only a few hours old"... erm. I might not be accepting visitors! It might be outside visiting hours. "Oh but that doesn't matter, you were born after visiting hours but they still let the grandparents in, they'll be flexible..." I bloody hope they won't!!
"You'll want lots of support on day 3/4 when the baby blues hit", no mum, I will want everyone to sod off so I can cry in peace.
Oh dear.
I have at least responded with my opinions every time, just trying to drip feed the idea that we will have visitors When We Are Ready.

No way is DH allowed to phone anyone when I go into labour, it will be top secret

Oooo glad to hear the consensus seems to be that nipple fiddling is ok.... Had this scary thought that I might induce premature labour or something...

Oh spilt I am with you re. annoying mums. One of my fears is that mum will be hanging around after baby is born, and she has to stay as they don't live very near. Just desperate for some privacy in my own home after baby arrives. Glad to hear you are ready to stick to your guns about visitors. And she needs to know that includes HER!!

Arg! I have just typed a post, just to have MN lose it. Here goes a re-type!

Love reading this thread as the posts are so long and lovely.

Spilt I missed your rollercoaster of a few days but so glad all is well that ends well. What a worry, but good to store up for future for me that measurements can be a load of crap! Can't believe how far on you are now.

Loved your birth plan and Terrys. Feel very priviledged to have read them and didn't really know what a birth plan actually contained so great to see these for some eventual inspiration. Terrys my tea almost came out my nose with your comment at the end about telling your DH and MW to F.O when they reminded you that you didn't want to be lying on your back. Love it !

Getdown great to see you back and glad you had a lovely hols. And to hear that hypnobirthing is a good experience. Still very much considering it, but will wait to see if they thing I will likely have a c-section or not. Also worried a bit about money now and it is expensive isn't it. Actually wondering how I am going to survive through mat leave without much to any income for so much of it. Hoping to take a year off and should work out all the numbers to see what we need to do to make tha possible.

Lady wow it will be a birth annoucement soon! Sending you tonnnes of labour vibes.

Nix I hear you on the doula front. That wouldn't be me either if she was overly spiritual. You have to do what is comfortable for you or it might lead to more stress I would think.

Things are going ok over here, well no outward suggestions of anything being wrong anyway. I am 11+5 now, so not long to go to the magic 12 week mark. Do you think that is a milestone in itself, or is it rather a successful 12 week scan, or getting to the 2nd tri - which isn't til 14 weeks is it?

I keep glancing at myself and think occasioanlly I may be showing. So early I know but with 2 in there I am thinking it could be poss. I also know I have been eating like a horse and been on holiday where did nothing but laze around and eat so I am sure I would have put weight on anyway. Also I don't think the 'bump' is in the right place, more where my stomach is - just under my belly button, than where my womb is - which is just behind bikini line, right?? When did your bumps emerge and in what form?

Wish me luck for my scan next week!

xx

Hi raven !! Glad to hear all seems well so far, I will indeed be sending you good thoughts and wishes for your 12 week scan! How exciting that you've got two in there. I don't think it's at all implausible that you could be showing a little bump already!

In terms of when you reach the "magic" mark... well, as you can see from on here, I don't think any of us ever stop worrying, no matter what stage, but I think that given you have got to 11+5 the odds are much more in your favour now that all will be fine, than the risk of things not being fine, IYSWIM? It's true that the vast majority of pregnancies are healthy and normal, although of course the tragedies are no less significant for those of us that suffer them.

Let us know how you get on

Yay, excellent news spilt! Big sigh of relief. My MW has not yet used a tape measure, is it something they start later or is she perhaps just taking a more relaxed approach?

I am also worried about my mum, she told me that when she had me her mum came to stay for two weeks and she would be happy to do the same. Er, thanks mum but no chance@

Stupid phone, posted before I had finished!

raven, glad to hear things are going well. I was showing by about 10 weeks although i don't know if it was baby bump or just other internal organs being squashed upwards. Good luck for scan.

Giving up now as incompetent with typing on this thing!