Charters Anonymous Graduates Volume 2! – No more temping!

[Iwish]

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

jaggy great that things are going ok. I remember the time to 12 wks really dragged and since then, it's flown by, especially the past 8wks. Seems like yesterday I was on my hols at 18 wks. I'm now 29 wks! Have to say, can't wait for Nov to arrive. Having lots of stress from nhs so considering a private midwife. May have to sell the cat to fund tho!

I also saw digi on the Apr 2012 ante natal thread. Hope it's 5th time lucky for her!

Getdown the final few weeks really drag don't they?

Hello everyone

Wow GetDown you are so close now, I hope you and DH are working through that 25 point list at some speed!

What's happened with your NHS care MrsA? Sounds pretty bad if you're considering going private.

I'm missing my MN time. I'm still reading (during feeds) but never seem to get a chance to post now, but love reading how you're all getting on.

Looking forward to hearing more baby news soon

Hello ladies, sorry for making the thread feel lonely, i havent had a minute to myself to sit with the craptop... What with juggling two (we are now back up north so at least DS1 is in preschool) and having to mint the house for the estate agents, we are looking at moving from the extortionally priced rental flat in poole to move to a house, but poss buying one.. so have all that to get on with too.... GAH! We are good though... DS1 behaviour seems to have settled someone although he did regress with his pooing and uses that to attention seek... :( DS2 is very settled and thriving. is now more than 11pounds having gained over 3lbs in 4 weeks. [chunk] Hes gorgeously dark like his brother and has cerulean blue eyes at the minute (veyr dark blue) so wondering if they are going to change to brown soon? If not i willl have two beautiful brunette boys with ladykiller blue eyes surrounded in extremely long eyelashes god am i going to have trouble when they are both older if they are anything like their daddy was DS1 already tells me he loves girls.....hes three!

Anyhoo... spilt lovely story, xx so glad she is here safely and feeding well,. Shes a real beauty! How are the nights? Hope she feeds and settles easily. Mine are rough... my own fault for having a curry and garlic bread the other day... affecting little man no end through my milk... up every blardy hour last night! Feeding 2 hourly in the day and every sodding hour at night, my norks are falling off...!!! #HV told me to feed 2 hourly in day to try and spin him on his head and limit the night waking but last night i think was for comfort, with tummy ache.

Lady how are you getting on? All good i hope!

Gettdown - not long to go now., lovely bump btw.... Hope you are feeling better now and in answer to your question. I have expressed and also topped DS2 up with F on one or two occasions but only 1oz or so. We have slung baby!!! I bought a mei tai wrap for use in the house and its great (sleep in seconds when in it) and a BECO sling for walks which is much more sturdy - so much better cos it means my arms are free for DS1 (who likes to run off occasionally!) and i can get things done.

MRSA not long now.... How are you feeling? Still working FT? are you pooped? It takes it out of you!!

~How are all you other lovelies doing? Iwish, Mrs P, Jaggy and anyone else ive missed???? (sorry if i have!)

Love to everyone xxx

MrsA yes these weeks to drag at the end! But like you I found the middle bit really whizzed by once I'd got through those initial 12 weeks. What's happening with NHS ?? Sorry to hear you are having stress over it all. How much is an independent MW?

Hope digi gets on ok this time.

spilt I loooooove your FB pic. It is so gorgeous. You look beautiful, so natural with your new little one. Glad to hear that things are going well, how is the feeding now? We have worked through the most important of our 25 point to-do list, the other things are "nice to have done, but not essential"

nix thanks for comment re. my bump!! Feel mahoosive now. Have got a definite waddle going on! Your little one is gaining well, that;s fantastic. I really hope I have a good gainer this time. DD was such a scrap for ages - I found it really stressful with the HVs scrutinising her weight each time. So you're back ooop north? And thinking of moving again? I salute you, and your resilience!

We are having major wobbles over names.... thought we had definitely decided. But now I am sooo not sure, and have thrown new ones into the mix that not even considered before

Thank you GetDown. It's one of the very few pics of me and her that I could put up... most have me topless/boob exposed

The feeding is going a lot better now - at least from DD's point of view! She's feeding on demand and putting on weight well, was 7lb11 on day 9 which is 4oz up on her birthweight, and her jaundice has gone. My nipples are feeling very sorry for themselves. I'm doing my best to fix them, with rubbed in breastmilk and lansinoh and being strict on the latch, but I think they just need to toughen up

I seem to have a erm, enthusiastic supply, and am flying through the breast pads. Having a bath or shower results in pouring milk everywhere whilst scrabbling for bra and pads and trying not to soak the bra whilst putting it on. When I feed her she tends to get one shoulder drenched too! DH finds this hugely entertaining but for me the novelty is wearing off somewhat.

nix I have made a mental note to avoid curry and garlic bread! Poor you, every hour sounds a nightmare. The nights here could be a lot worse tbh. She tends to have me up from about 10.30pm-12.00, then 2.30-4am and then 7am onwards. To be fair, each feed is only about 20 mins of actual feeding, but what with her faffing at the breast, a couple of nappy changes (she has the knack of doing gigantic poos 5 mins after a new nappy goes on), winding and settling and then nipple repair it takes flipping ages!
It sounds like your little one is going fantastically well to have grown so much. I got a bit tearful yesterday as DD has outgrown her first item of clothing. She already seems to be growing and changing so much.

Any of the other new mums struggling with night sweats? I have sweat running off of me for half the night and have to keep flipping the duvet and pillows to find a dry(er) patch. Tis horrid, and am hoping my hormones settle down soon. It was like this after Bobbie, but I can't remember how long for. Vile. Overall I seem to be doing a good line in producing bodily fluids!

Ooh and much to our consternation we found DD was lactating today . I knew about the swollen genitals etc but hadn't realised that new babies could sometimes lactate too Hormones have a lot to answer for.

We took DD to visit her big sister today for the first time. I found myself having to decide whether it was more acceptable to sit in a cemetery breastfeeding or to let baby scream. I decided to feed her, but wasn't very well dressed for it so it was a rather exposed session Don't think anyone noticed but I felt a bit unsure as to whether it might be seen as disrespectful to have a boob hanging out in that setting.

Right, sleep beckons, so goodnight all xx

Antenatal was really good thanks getdown. We all hit it off quite well so I hope that we stay in touch cos like you say I think it will be good to have some friends with children the same age.

Glad you're feeling better now.

MrsA that doesn't sound good, what has happened with the NHS? That's a stress that you could do without really.

nix sounds like you are getting on so well and glad that DS1 seems to have settled down a bit.

spilt, I have to agree with GD, your FB photo is beautiful, you are glowing! Glad that DD is feeding well and gaining weight.

My wriggly baby has got to the size now that a lot of her movements are quite painful! Just over 7 weeks to EDD, I can't wait to meet her! And only 20 more days of having to get up and go to work, whoop!

Hope everyone else is good.

Spilt, the milk running down the leg is the worst..... and splattering the shower walls oh the indignity!!

More later x

My last message was a giant whinge and then I didn't get on here for a few days so apologies all-I'm not normally such a martyr I do get on to read more than I post but tend to be on my phone which isn't conducive to clarity, and I also find I read everything, go to reply and then because I can't see the messages above like on a PC I promptly forget all the things I wanted to say! So hope everyone's ok-have enjoyed the baby stories v much ( at the milk flying everywhere!) and sending positive vibes to everyone who's due soon. I'm 37 weeks tomorrow so am trying not to get my hopes up it will be soon and failing miserably! Am apparently 2/5 engaged but don't feel any different so am a bit sceptical. We shall see!

Hope the nipples firm up soon spilt Ouch! You sound like you are doing great.

Glad your class was good MrsP, wow only 7 weeks to go now for you! Will be a great feeling when you finish work too.

nix - milk running down the leg?? Wow you must have a great supply going there! I have a question: once you've got into a pattern with breast feeding and you've been going at it for quite a few months, does the leakiness / squirtiness resolve? Do you still have to wear breast pads, or can you ditch them after a while? Just wondering whether people switch to washable breast pads or whether you just don't need them after a while?!

Hi there pippa no need to apologise, didn't think you;d whinged anyway! Must be nice for you to not be starting back at school this september! You can gloat to all your teacher friends! 37 weeks tomorrow - yay! That's fab! 2/5 engaged is good. I've got MW appt tomorrow, will be interesting to see what she says re. baby being engaged.

I am 38+4 today. I had DD at 38+5! Somehow I think this one will be later.... I did have a big gloop of mucus earlier (sorry ) but there was no pinky blood so I don't think it was a show....

Ooh Gd sounds like your plug! I lost tons of mucasy waters when my waters started to go that was pinky! F x xx

Yes when milk comes in it's fast! Dribbles down my tummy if I don't v quickly pull up a pad! I ventured out to a farm park with ds1&2 and gma in tow.. Minus breast pads and spent the day with a sopping top so yes the right one is def more milkier than the left! Ds2 hates the right one too;( he's Tongue tied and the flow is too fast for him!

The mothercare breast pads stink btw like parrafin ;( skanky! The babies r us ones are much better but intrigued- washable ones??? Pray tell!!!

washable breast pads nix - may work out cheaper? If you are bunging loads of washing on anyway can't think these would be any extra bother?

Don't think it was my plug TBH....

Oh to be plagued with too much milk (dreams of the day......)

I'm having nhs hassle ladies but I don't expect you to 'get' me as I'm finding my approach and wishes are very much in the minority.

Basically, I believe strongly that babies are birthed best when left to nature and after over-medicalisation with DD I am after a HB. I am high risk (BMI, previous c-section) and now my oral GTT has come back with mildly raised levels. However, it seems that different trusts have different policies and if i lived in, say, Lincoln, my levels would not be classed as high at all. That led me to research and find out that many doctors don't view gestational diabetes as an issue at all (backed up by proper clinical trials) and that unless I'm spilling lots of sugar in my urine and my blood sugar levels are pretty much uncontrolled, then there is nowt to worry about. Higher blood sugar levels are a normal part of many pregnancies, especially when carrying a boy. True gestational diabetes only affects about 2% of pregnancies and is often characterised with ketones and sugar in urine well before 18 weeks and is a result of someone being an undiagnosed diabetic before getting pg, or being pg has pushed them into full-blown diabetes.

So......I have refused any further testing unless i spill sugar and that hasn't gone down very well. I'm now on the verge of not trusting my mw and DP is looking into funding an independent mw (probably can't afford). I just need to grow a pair and stop reverting into a school girl when I meet HCPs!!

I know I'm unusual and have gone all hippyish

I'm still using breast pads. I've tried disposables and cotton washables but my favourite are made of merino wool from New Zealand. They're about £10 a pair but I only needed one pair. They hardly need washing! sounds gross but it's true. If you're leaking a lot wash them every three days, if leaking a little wash every few weeks. Hand wash in wool detergent and cold water and they dry really fast. They're so soft (I stopped using the lansinoh), warm and breathable. As you can tell I love 'em!

Split CONGRATULATIONS on the birth of your beautiful daughter Freya! She's gorgeous and such a lovely name. The birth sounds fantastic, well done for coping so well through a long labour. You also sound like you're doing duck to water style motherhood!

I found BFing possibly the most challenging experience of my life! The beginning was such a struggle I could have easily given up if someone had given me an easy way out but thankfully my DH, MW and hospital staff all helped me keep going. When I got thrush in my breasts in wk2 I was crying with pain so I started using nipple shields to get through each feed, and I never stopped. They also fixed Seth's gape cos they made him open his mouth wider, so it just made feeding easier and less painful. At first I was beating myself up about using them but after my hormones calmed down and I was getting more sleep it stopped being such a big deal. Seth was thriving and MWs kept saying "whatever you're doing is working, so keep doing it". I wouldn't recommend anyone using shields unless desperate like I was but if it keeps BFing going they're a good last resort.

There are a lot of BFing drop-in clinics in my area so I made use of them in the early weeks.

I used to walk around with a muslin tied around my neck (draping over boobs) to stop the warm milk splashing down my legs!

Enjoy your special time xx

MrsA I completely agree with you that birthing naturally is preferable where possible. I don't know much about your risk factors, but I'd have thought that given about a quarter of home births get transferred to hospital anyway for various reason, if it would be fairly easy to get you there in emergency then there's no logical reason why you shouldn't be allowed one? I guess if they wanted you on constant monitoring from the beginning (which I'd hate - and fight!) that would scupper it but otherwise... Really I think everyone should be allowed a home birth. And my NCT teacher said they are statistically safer than hospital births now, with less intervention, less unnecessary c-sections, less distress for mum and baby... I would love to have one but unfortunately we live on the third floor up very tight, steep and rickety stairs, and in emergency they couldn't get a stretcher/chair up or down them, so I'm not allowed :( Gutted by geography!!

Getdown how are you doing today? Am excited for you!

Pippa we live about 25 mins from hospital (probably 15 with 'blues an twos'), so I'm not anxious. Even a true 'crash' c-section can take about 30mins to prep theatre, so they could be doing that whilst I'm in the ambulance.

And my birth plans states that if i do labour in hospital, I do not consent in any way to constant fetal monitoring. They can come and do it by handheld every 15/20mins. With DD I was strapped to a bed unable to move for hours, just so they could pop the machine on and bugger off for ages. Never again.

Then I think they're being very unreasonable to put up a fight. Stand firm!

stupid question alert

So...having sex is supposedly a way of bringing on labour because of hormones/chemicals/something scientific in sperm hitting your cervix right? And it might work but might also be an old wives' tale according to NCT...

We're not yet at the stage of trying 'home remedies' for induction (only 37 weeks) so if we were hypothetically to be in the mood for the first time in months would we need to worry about it enough to warrant using a condom? I.e. To avoid said 'induction' before Bean's ready to make an appearance?

pippa I wondered that but apparently you should be fine. Sex will only trigger labour if your body was just getting started anyway (i.e. the cervix starting to become more favourable and considering starting some thinning and effacing). If labour was not inevitable within a couple of days then the sex should make no difference.
I was positively encouraged by the MW to go home and shag DH once she'd examined me and found I was 2-3cm, as it would have help kick me into active labour. I couldn't face it what with the contractions and all, but each to their own!

Phew - good to know! I can't see it being much fun with contractions going on though...but then I seem to have suddenly rediscovered my sex drive after it being missing in action for the past 5 months so who knows!!

Am very pippa My sex drive never goes away when I'm pg, in fact it ramps up a huge amount - would have been nice to feel this up for it when TTC!
Sadly, DP does not share such enthusiasm (feeling he has done his bit thanks!) and so I am one frustrated lady.
However, I have heard that one good remedy when at 37 weeks is to, ahem, have an orgasm everyday with or without DP....if you catch my drift......
It is something I shall be trying, having got a bit of experience in this area in the past few months due to DP's lack of enthusiasm!

Hi newyears great to hear that you persevered with the b/feeding and it's working out now. It can be so tough in the beginning. I really hope I can stick it out this time without going completely insane. Also the wool breast pads sound good. Are they not itchy? I find wool really makes me itch, but perhaps they are backed with something?

MrsA sorry about your probs with NHS. Hope you manage to get your home birth. I agree that in most cases it is better if the mother and baby can be looked after at home. I'm just too scared to risk it, because I heamorraged last time, and am at least 20 minutes away from the nearest hospital. It's your own individual choice though, no one has the right to take that choice away from you.

pip as spilt said I think sex at this stage (actually at any stage!) is absolutely fine! And it will only "kick things off" if your body is ready. So, go for it I say!! I would say that during pregnancy I have been slightly more in the mood for it than pre-pregnancy. It's getting less appealing as the bump gets bigger though . May have to try that option though if I go on for much longer. 39 weeks today!

MrsA heh heh, will bear that in mind! Poor DH has been soooo understanding and lovely while I have felt like a whale (and also paranoid because last time we did it I bled a little bit) so he was delighted I seem to have 'switched back on' as it were...!

Getdown 39 weeks! How do you feel? Any indications of things kicking off? (Did you conclude it wasn't your plug the other day?)

Hi pippa don't think it was my plug the other day... it was a jelly ish lump, but not LOADS and there was no blood streak or anything. Think it was just part of the usual increased discharge - gross I know!

I feel ok thanks, apart from the occasional dig in the internal organs Had MW on monday and she seemed to think baby was back to back So have been sitting on the ball, leaning forward lots and trying to crawl around when I can, but it really hurts my wrists! I'm not entirely sure she was right though, I'm pretty sure the baby is lying down my left side, as it's very firm all down the left, and I only get little kicks on the right which I assume is where the feet are

Have been reading about belly mapping on Spinning babies - to try and work out how it is lying. Very interesting!!

How are you? Are you enjoying being off school?

LOVING being off school! And officially on maternity leave (finally) so had a great moment where I dramatically turned off the email function on my phone before having a celebratory cup of tea

If crawling hurts have you tried kneeling in front of and leaning forward on the ball? (Crossed arms, head down on them?) I found that more comfortable when I was trying to get Bean to turn round, though I don't know if it has the same affect on back to back babies?

I know what you mean about the discharge (ugh!) - it's so gross isn't it. On a similarly gross note, the other morning I thought my waters had gone. Nope, just now lacking bladder control