TTC 6 mths+ GRADS THREAD

[Biscuitsandtea]

Afternoon.

I thought I'd start a Grads thread for those of us previously on the TTC 6 mths+ thread. I've been lurking on the ttc thread recently to see how everyone is getting on (having only very recently qualified to move off it!) and a few people were saying what a nice idea it would be if there was a grads thread so we don't lose each other.

Anyway, would be lovely to hear from other lovely ladies that were on that thread - or even if you were never on the ttc thread but had a sticky time of it getting your bfp then come and settle down with a decaf cuppa for a chat.

Hi teu goodness it starts to fly once you get past 20 weeks doesn't it. Hard to be so far from home at this time. Amazon sometimes do free delivery as well.

ele any news? hope all is well.
Everyone has been quiet for the last week!
I have a week of leave starting in 10 days and am hanging for this - am working this weekend - and it might just break me! I do have Monday off though - but think any sunshine will be gone by then..
Otherwise, am just getting bigger and bigger, it is quite extraordinary isn't it!
32+5 now. Only 5 more weeks of work, not that anyone is counting

and for a TMI moment, but I had some milk production after sex this morning which was a bit of a surprise! Anyone else?
Kind of relieved and ! but did give us a giggle..not sure it'll do much for our sex life in the next 8 weeks?!*!

Hello!

Yes, has been very quiet - but then so many of us have so much going on, squeezing in posting time can be hard :-)

I had a sweep on Wednesday past - found it quite sore (but it doesn't last long) and was a bit achy afterwards but no contractions or anything and cervix wasn't overly favourable (BISHOP score was 3 - it's when it gets to 8 that it's looking good :-)

I've got a BP/urine check tommorow at home, and then booked for an induction on Wednesday (I'll be 40+1) so should have a baby at the end of next week! Eeek! Funny how you're pregnant for 9 months but the idea of you actually getting a baby at the end of it is still a bit of a shock!

Had a lovely day out at the beach today (weather was so nice! So glad we took our sun tent - who'd have thought we needed one in Scotland in May!?) and apart from feeling exhausted and needing to wee a lot, I feel great although the bad taste in my mouth I had during my morning sickness has been back the last week or so (be so glad to see the back of that - and the heartburn!)

mellow so impressed you're still having sex :-D

I found time dragged until week 30 (but then I was sick a lot until week 26/27) but has totally flown by since then. I'd also managed not to get any other stretch marks - until this week (week 39 - what a bugger!) I'll be a fully fledged 'tiger' by the time this bean is born!

teuchter I can imagine the bouts of homesickness, especially when NZ is virtually as far away as you can get - but I'm sure it'll pass - and as I said above, for me time sped up so much at week 30 - you'll barely have time to think of it (hopefully!)

Well off to watch a DVD (while we still can!)

Waves and good luck to everyone!

E.

Hi all

yep quiet on here, I guess we are all busy! I'm hoping some of the recent grads from the main fred will pop in and join us or it's going to be like the Marie Celeste in here very soon . I've just had a week off with an old friend, it was great to be away and spend some time with her as we don't live near each other, but am struggling to drag my head back into work mode now I'm home.

Wow Eleth, induction tomorrow, hope all goes well! Yes totally the idea of getting a baby seems like a shock. I've only just got used to being pregnant and soon it'll be on to the next thing...

Teu I'm also getting my head around things now the bump is getting bigger and we are having to plan practical stuff but still struggling with the idea I'm going to have an actual baby. My fears are starting to move on from the giving birth bit - that's happening whether I want it to or not - to the being responsible for a baby bit. Seriously haven't a clue. I've got about 9 weeks left at work depending on how efficient I am but my head is in another place now and I'm really just muddling through. I'm sorry about the homesickness. It is tough being away from family especially at Christmas. My brother has lived overseas for about 15 years now but it's still hard for all of us sometimes.

Sex, MrsM? what's that? You have my respect. No leaking boobage here yet, in fact they're the only part of my anatomy below the neck that stubbornly refuse to grow .

Princess how are you doing?

Hope everyone is well. We've had a productive weekend spending money on baby stuff which makes me feel a bit . We went to buy a cot bed on Saturday at the M&Ps factory shop and ended up getting a whole furniture set without a mark on it for less than half price. It's the one i really wanted rather than the one we could afford so I'm . Only problem is they have to deliver this week and we have nowhere to put it... I need to shift some stuff out of my office sharpish to create space for it to get in my way for the next two months, in between dealing with clients' unreasonable demands (though anything anyone asks me to do seems unreasonable now!)

With that I had better go and get on with it. Hope everyone is well and happy x

Hope all goes well tomorrow ele
M&S factory shop sounds fab, tell me more!
So over work this week, had 'antenatal' rage today for no real reason, need to bottle it tomorrow!

Oh, m&p not m&s makes more sense
Takes self off to bed

Hi ladies
Just a quick check in from me :) Glad you're all doing well. I'm having a duvet day. Have been enjoying maternity although have been helping at the house somedays and I'm feeling exhausted today.

Ele GOOD LUCK! I can't believe today's the day! It's all come so quickly!! Thinking of you lots :)

Art nursery stuff sounds great!

MrsM and at boob spray! Ive heard of that but haven't had it myself. I have instead what looks like dried milky deposits on my nips. Sort of a bit scabby. The pregnant body is a strange thing!!!

So, 38 + 2, saw the midwife yesterday but not my usual nice one and the first thing she said to me was "so you've had 2 miscarriages?" This is relevant how?? I'm practically ready to drop; this has no bearing on my current health; and was totally irrelevant! Stupid women. We both looked at her like this and then she went on to tell us her opinions on Hypnobirthing (not great) and show us how to breast feed with a knitted boob in the most patronising fashion ever!!! Everything with me and baby is fine but I woke up crying after a horrific nightmare about miscarrying this morning. I'm very at that stoopid women.

In other news. We have a nearly functioning bathroom and the kitchen is getting there. We're unlikely to be in on time but we're just a few weeks away now rather than months.

Lots of loves to all. I'm going back to Phil Spencer Secret Agent now :)

Yay Gin welcome! I'm so pleased for you.
Heart been out here a little over 6 years now. Mr Teu has been here 8, met him when I came travelling. Well done on having some names, we have no idea MrTeu vetoed the ones I suggested. I have added it to the To Do list on the kitchen board, along with things like guardianship, cleaning the carpet, and whether to import a Poang.
Art well done on the furniture deal. I agree with the being responsible for a baby bit, very scary. Still can't do my own life sometimes. Oh well, I'm sure it will all be fine...
princess midwife, how bizarre!?! Had our first hypno class, one couple are on their second, it's interesting to get their view on the 'process'.

We are dealing with FILs increasing illness and impending end. MrTeu is going to have to head back to the UK, he's just working through leave availability, flights etc. I have no idea how to support him and am probably going to stuff my foot in it shortly big time. Anyway, as a result I've chosen a second just in case, and am trying not to think too far ahead.
Has eleth had her baby? Hope all went well.

Welcome Gin! You are not a fraud but a bona fide preggo! You have the 12 week scan to prove it! Such amazing news. BTW it took me until about 20ish weeks to actually believe I was diffed. So glad to see you here YAY!

Teu I at your putting the choosing of name on the to do list... Buy tomatoes, clean kitchen, choose name for PFB, sort post, hang up washing... You'll have to keep the list as a memento for your baby! Sorry you are homesick and that your DHs Dad is so ill. That must be very stressful and upsetting. Sending hugs your way and thinking of you both xx

Heart fab that your NCT group is lovely and understanding of TTC issues too. It really makes you wonder just how common they are. I think when you go through it, it can seem so isolating. Sorry about the strep b diagnosis. I'm not sure I've been tested? I've had a google and it seems easily manageable and very common. It's always crap to have any sort of result though Big hugs.

So, 39 weeks today (can't believe it's only a week til due date !). I had what felt like light period pains yesterday and bump went rock solid a few times, so I think I've finally had some braxton hicks. Baby was moving around like a crazy thing so not convinced he's coming just yet but it felt like he was trying to get down even more into exit position yesterday. We're now starting to get the rellie / friend calls and texts for updates. Everyone 's getting "feelings in their waters" (i wonder if it has anything to do with being a week from the due date ) I think that I may have had a teeny tiny bit of a show but I mean absolute smidgen. I'm feeling super tired at the moment so taking it really easy and doing everything really slowly. As we haven't really done anything exciting recently and don't have any photos, DH took some of bump last night as we think arrival could be later this week and it would be sad not to be able to show baby what he looked liked en tummy / sad for me not to be able to look back at bump. I'm actually very proud of my bump in a way I never thought I would be, especially as it's a lovely round defined shape and doesn't have any stretch marks. I never thought I would have a good one, have never liked my tummy before and I don't think it will look nice when it's deflated! I'm enjoying it whilst I can!!! On another note DHs friend sent him a pic from a party we went to 6 years ago of him and his friend. I was sat on the arm of a chair in a tres skimpy dress but you couldn't see my head. I recognised the dress and went "oh look that's me!" DH admitted last night that when he saw the picture he wondered who the hot girl was and then went "oh no bad thought" and was then very relieved it was me. I didn't know how to feel!! Flattered definitely, annoyed that he didn't recognise me, but sad that I'm never going to be my 25 year old hot self again and although it was me, it feels like he was looking at another hot women! Not his massive wife with swollen ankles, fat face and soon to be deflated saggy belly and massive tired bags! Is it wrong to be so vain? Or just normal at 9 months pregnant? It does feel a bit self indulgent to have such thoughts! Anyway, I'm waffling. it's a beautiful day. Time to get some washing on and think about heading into the garden to top up the vit D's

Luffs to you all :) especially Ele - hope all went well and your snuggle new born is gorgeous and well behaved xxx

hello everyone!

Well, had my baby boy on Friday night at 7:58pm - he weighted 8lbs 4oz and we've called him Hamish :-)

I was induced on the drip, but had a really really positive birth experience, in fact am going to post the details of it here (it's long) just because I think there tends to be a lot of scaremongering when it comes to induction (and lots of horrible tales out there) and I think it's good to hear some positive stories of how, even if your birth appears to be totally medicalised you can still be in control and still do well :-)

Apologies if you think this is too long, but well I feel so good about it all - and (shock horror) I managed the whole thing with no pain relief at all, not even so much as a paracetamol (not something I was planning to do, just the way it happened, I felt so much in control and so relaxed I just didn't need it - never thought I'd hear myself say that!)

As I'd mentioend before, I'd read the natal hypnotherapy book a couple of times, and while I didn't follow it (I never did get roundt o listening to the CD though, or following what they suggest in terms of preparing my own script etc) I took what I needed from it and decided that music would be the best thing for me to get through (proper upbeat catchy stuff I could sing along to!) I have a terrible voice but love singing along to stuff!
.
So, was scheduled for admittance at 2:30pm on Wed 29th May - this was delayed slightly to 6pm that night as they were busy.

Pessary (to ripen cervix) was put in at 8pm - had some mild tigthenings, but nothing else so was due to go to labour suite at 8pm on Thursday 30th May to be induced by having my waters broken followed by the syntocinon drip.

However, there was a delay due to emergencies and I didn't get the okay to go to labour ward until 6am friday 31st May, and my waters weren't broke until 8:20am that day.

I found the stay in hospital hard due to really missing DS (and of course no-one can sleep in a ward - well I can't!)

Agreed with consultant that I would have CTG band on constantly, that I would have 2 hours after my waters were broke to try labouring naturally, but if nothing happened then would go on the drip. Was also agreed that I would be able to stand, dance, use birth ball etc within the confines of the 'leads' and wires i was attached to.

My midwife allocated to me from 8am to 8pm was absolutely fabulous and totally took on board what I wanted and I give her all the credit for my BS being so positive.

The drip started at about 10:50 (delayed slightly as I fainted after they put in the cannula!) and (unlike last time) it began with just mild tightening sensations that were totally bearable (in fact negligible!)

I sang songs, chatted to DH and midwife and had a proper giggle for about 8 hours of my labour - the tightenings changed to contractions, and got more intense and more regular, but I found I could 'sing' my way through them and once they passed, I got the lull of 'no pain' in between, it felt to me like natural labour pains, increasing in intensity as the hours passed.
I was examined at 3pm and was 4cm dilated. At this point I agreed to them cranking up the syntocinon to speed up the labour. My midwife did this as 'gently' as possible, which again, meant the intensity of the contractions seemed to increase naturally over time, enabling me to deal with them.

When I got to 6pm, the contractions started getting heavy - I could still sing through most of them, but some required focused breathing and as time went on, I started disengaging from DH and the midwife and was closing my eyes and breathing hard through them.

I was offered pain relief regularly, but I still felt in control and able to 'ride' the contractions so wasn't tempted.

At 7pm to about 7:20pm I was focusing really hard on my breathing and found each contraction hard to 'ride' but I knew I'd get the 'calm' once they'd finished and was feeling quite internally focused so didn't want any external influence (like discussions about pain relief).

I vomited about 7:20 (the body 'empties' to prepare for birth - but no sneaky poohs which was great :-) and started to feel proper 'bearing down' pain in the contractions. I mentioned this to midwife who examined me and I was fully dilated. The medical team wanted to double check this, so they also examined me and reached the same conclusion (having an internal exam at this point was really hard as the last position I wanted to be in was on my back - it was so painful!)

Once the docs left, midwife said just to do what I wanted in terms of position/pushing - and just to listen to what my body was telling me - this was fabulous (if a little scary!).

So, I gave birth on hands and knees on the bed and pushed when I wanted to (not when coached by health staff) was really freeing, and while I found the pushing stage hard and painful (last time I was out of it on diamorphine at this point) it was amazing pushing him out myself (although I totally got the 'burning ring of fire' sensation this time, it doesn't last forever and does motivate you to follow through with the pushing).

My DS2 arrived at 7:58pm and I had a 2nd degree tear (again, even with no pain relief this time, I can honestly say you just don't feel the tear at all, all you feel are the contractions and you have the effort of pushing the baby out, so didn't know I had a tear at all until afterwards).

I had to have an active third stage (due to the syntocinon) but this time the placenta came out in two minutes (last time it took an hour!).

Overally, I just felt that I had a lovely birth experience, which was hard at the end, but seemed such a natural build up I was able to cope with the increase in pain at each stage and got great support and understanding from the midwife which made me feel really quite empowered as I really felt listened to.

So, was on the drip for about 9 hours in total, felt really tired (and hungry!) at the end of it, and was totally missing DS1 - but so so pleased that my last experience of childbirth was so positive.

princess think you'll be next with the birth announcement - so will be looking forward to that eagerly.

My little man is currently in his moses basket, but I can hear him licking his lips so reckon I'll be feeding him soon (nipples are sore after a couple of days of him feeding continually, but milk came in early this morning so things should ease up soon).

Sorry for not name checking everyone, will try and do that in next post!

I'd like to thank all you ladies on here for all your support (on this board and the previous one) I never thought I'd get here at all and I feel so blessed.

Will be monitoring this board for all your birth announcements in the months to come!

Ah Ele huge huge huge congratulations and thank you so much for sharing your amazing birth story. I'm so glad it went well for you. Great name for baby BTW! You've actually made me all teary as I sit here in the sun waiting for baby princess :)

I'd also like to thank you for your support too. You've given me so much hope and positivity and helped reduce my fears of intervention and tearing over the past few months. As well as great support and advice with all the other shot going on in my life alonside the pregnancy.

Do pop in from time to time and keep us updated :)

Lots of love Princess xxx

Shit not shot damn autocorrect on iphone !!!

Thanks ladies!

A massive congrats to eleth and her beautiful baby boy! Such good news. I too teared up at your description of the birth. It was also really handy to read a non-horror story re induction. I hope you are enjoying these first few special days.

Oooo princess, you are so near now! I'd love to see those of you I've met with your baby bumps :) Princess, I have bump envy of yours already.

teu sounds like you and mr T are having a hard time at the mo. It must be tough being so far from home.

Did any of you suffer with MS? If so, can you remember when it went? I was promised 12 weeks and it's still here, as bad as ever!

Congratulations ele I'm sitting here crying at your birth story thank you do much for sharing. Hamish is a great name and actually on our list! I hope you're enjoying getting to know him as a family, such lovely times x

princess you are next and heart goodness! Hope for more positive stories, fingers crossed!!

Welcome gin fab news, so pleased for you. Those first 12 weeks are the longest, it'll be much more fun now !

34 weeks here, still feeling good apart from early morning insomnia- haven't had more than 5 hrs sleep a night for ages and am tired. I do like hearing the birds in the morning,but really!! Think it's related to a big project that is just finishing - off to Italy tomorrow for a few days so hope it will all settle down then.

Look forward to hearing more news soon

Congrats to eleth and thanks for the tale. Hope all going well.
Gin I avoided the worst of MS - wasn't vomiting - but felt pretty crappy all day every day up to about wk13. Then it started getting a bit better. I think I was about 16wks before it went totally. Princess did hard yards on the MS front.
Because Mum MC late (very rare), I didn't really 'trust' I was preggo until about 27 wks (I'm 29 now ). Kept expecting to find it wasn't real, even though it obviously was and had been wriggling around since 16wks.
mrsm I hear you on the early morning insomnia. I wake about 4am and it's all over. Generally get back to sleep shortly before the alarm goes off. Absolutely shattered and pretty much useless at work.

MrTeu flies on Friday. Ticket is for 2 weeks but we'll see. Feeling rather vulnerable. Haven't spent much more than a night apart in the last 6 years. Hey ho. His mum will be relieved to have him home.

Hello all, ah it's nice to see it busier here! I'm having a sorty out day. Bed linen on the washing line, final list of things to do written up, Ocado order done, birthday and father's day pressies for my dad ordered, plan of action for moving in on Saturday under way - yes MOVING INTO OUR HOUSE - whoooop - hold on baby - if you can just stay in a few more days (due date Monday) we could be going home! Mr P is being somewhat non-committal as I don't think he wants to disappoint but the kitchen and bathroom should be finished by the end of this week and there is no reason why we can't get the bedroom clean tidy and ready. Mattress arrives on Friday. I am on full systems go go go for getting in.

Gin I have had the bad bad MS. I had rotten MS until about 19 weeks (nausea and daily vomiting). It did calm down after this point, no more nausea, but I have been sick sporadically on average once a week throughout with a reprieve of 4 weeks between weeks 24 and 28. I was sick on the kitchen floor just this Saturday gone - we'd taken the bucket from under the bed as we thought I was over it and near the end so we could make space in our room by removing the sick bucket. Sadly, I didn't make it to the loo in time. Poor Mr P was mopping up my puke whilst I threw up down the toilet making some god awful noises. It tends to be if I haven't eaten - say if I've had an earlyish dinner, no snack before bedtime and then haven't had an early morning breakfast. Lots of water in the morning or cleaning my teeth before eating does it too. So I try to eat little (well somedays a lot) and often constantly and keep hydrated by sipping rather than gulping water through the night. I often find I'm waking in the night and starving so will have a small piece of fruit, yoghurt, cereal bar or sometimes bowl of cereal or toast. It does get easier but unfortunately for many people the "MN disappears at 12 weeks" line is a big fat lie. Most of my friends who've suffered tended to stop being ill at the 15 week mark. I have been unlucky - although thankfully it hasn't been a case of anti nausea tablets / hyperemesis for me. I just think I'm allergic to my own hormones and any fluctuations make me puke. I've always been quite a sicky person anyway (bad smells make me wretch - I'm no good around mouldy bathroom curtains or stagnant water or drinking lots of booze )

Anyway, I promise it will ease off and be more manageable, I can't promise from my experience that it will go altogether though. I must admit apart from the puking and a couple of minor injuries, 2 mild colds and the occasional bout of constipation, the gestational diabetes scare and somedays of being totally wiped out by tiredness I've had a really smooth pregnancy and I would take the sickness over lots of other ailments any day. Oh and ignore ignore ignore any fucker who tells you that ginger biscuits are your saviour. They are not. They didn't make a blind bit of difference to me. In fact, I found lots of sugar to be one of the things that triggered the sickness in the bad MS phase (the most spectacular projectile vom I did was New Years Eve when I had lemon drizzle birthday cake and blackberries for breakfast - if I'd have done the sick up a white wall I would have been a contender for the Turner Prize and possibly hailed the new Jackson Pollock!)

Teu I'm sorry Mr T is going to be away from you for two weeks. I would struggle with that too. We are one of those couples who don't really spend any length of time apart. Well we see friends and go out for days / evenings on our own or I have occasionally been to stay with family for a few days without him but I really miss him when he's not there. Do you have lots of good friends around you in NZ? I can't believe you are already in the 3rd trimester. Time seems to fly when pregnant!

MrsM I'm sooooooo that you are going to Italy but you totally deserve a break! I hope you have a really wonderful time. How have you found settling back into life in the UK? When do you start maternity leave? I'd lost track of where everyone was in their pregnancies, the last few weeks have flown for me and I can't believe how soon all the babies are due! I think Frannie is due shortly after me, so there's a big old brood of 10+ babies on the horizon!

Artemis hope you are a-ok at the moment?

Waves and loves to all (and any 10 + lurkers). I've done all of my chores now so I'm cooking a bean burger and heading out to the garden with my kindle and sunnies. Yay for sunshiney weather and mat leave :)

Thank you everyone for all your good wishes - little man is doing well just now (but sleeping lots today, which is filling me with alarm regarding how little he's clearly going to sleep tonight :-)

Gin (so good to see you here, been lurking on the 10+ board since I left and I love it when people 'join up' here - I just hope everyone waiting there, gets their chance to 'graduate' we've got lots of room!).

Like Princess, I also suffered with MS for far longer than the 12 weeks, in fact I was able to go to work until week 11 at which point it became completely unbearable (couldn't walk for being sick) so ended up off work for 8 weeks as I was unable to function at all, so for me, it was 12 weeks when it started to crank up, not when it got better.

I was sick until week 26, i think, but the nausea (which was the worst bit for me) lasted until week 30. However, from week 30 I felt great (apart from the heartburn etc :-). I suffered the same when I was pregnant with DS1 - so figure I'm just unlucky, and certainly most people I know who have been pregnant were much much better than me. I remember the Docs first time round, mentioning 16 weeks rather than 12 weeks as a point of improvement, but to be honest I think they were just stringing me along!

You can get special medication for the nausea from your GP if you feel its unbearable - in hindsight I probably should have tried some, but you're so paranoid about medication in pregnancy, and some of the reviews I read suggested that it stopped you vomiting, but didn't necessarily stop the nausea, and that was the most debilitating bit for me. However, definitely worth having a discussion about options with your GP if it goes on for much longer and shows no signs of getting better.

princess - fantastic news on the house front - after all the work and worrying how fabulous would it be if you got to move in before baby P arrived? Totally keeping my fingers crossed the last few bits go to plan (mind you, since you're so close, even if you have to wait a few days once the baby is born before you move in, it won't be for long - and it'll feel so good being in your own space).

teuchter sorry you'll be missing Mr T for the next 2 weeks, but maybe you'll enjoy the extra time to just focus on you (and stretch out and take up all of the bed!) while he's gone. Hard time to be alone though when you're full of pregnancy hormones - hope all your friends make sure you're spoiled while he's away.

Well, I'm being beckoned! speak soon, E.

Hi all

Congratulations Eleth! What fantastic news, that's really brightened my day. And thank you so much for taking the time to write about your labour experience, I found it really helpful, you are right, there are a lot of negative stories about induction so it was great to read a positive one. How long did they keep you in hospital - were you out straight away? I hope you have a straightforward recovery from the tear and enjoy getting to know your little one. Love the name .

Heart I'm sure the strep thing won't be a problem and hope you get your water birth. Glad you enjoyed NCT, we had our first class this week and it was really good. 4 couples, a few of the others were there to meet people too, and it was just good to talk to people at the same stage as us and feel normal! I've not encountered the knitted boob yet either but the NCT teacher did have a knitted uterus. It had a big frayed hole in it. Can you darn a uterus? About time she had a new one. I might get my mother on the case and away from mass production of beige matinee jackets . Well done on agreeing names! We're still stuck for boys' names, haven't discussed it for a few weeks, i think we're both hoping inspiration will strike

Princess wowee one week to go and nearly in the house! I have every faith you'll be taking your new baby back to your new abode . I hear you on the vanity thing. I don't think it's self indulgent at all. I am wondering a) how much bigger I can possibly get (lots) and b) what the hell my body is going to look like afterwards. I was quite fit and toned before pregnancy and now i don't feel feminine or 'womanly' or sexy or any of those things you're meant to feel, I'm just huge and ungainly. But like you I am fond of the bump and very aware of it when I'm out and about. i was on a busy train yesterday and just wanted a big exclusion zone around me!

Mellow I'm having the early morning insomnia too, 4 or 5am each day. i'm sick of it now! We've bought some blackout curtain liners which I hope will help, will get them up at the weekend. I think some of mine is work related too. I just want to stop now but that's not going to happen. Hope you enjoy your time in Italy, that sounds lovely, a bit of sunshine and gelato will be great

Teu I'm really sorry about Mr Teu's dad and him being away from you. I'm sure you are being a great support for him. I lost my dad nearly 10 years ago now and really the only thing you can do is be there, there's nothing specific you should be doing or saying, it's a shitty time and everyone deals with it in their own way. I'm sure the fortnight will be over before you know it but some time with his family will hopefully help him to grieve. It will be a difficult and emotional time for you both but you will get through it and I'm sure the prospect of the baby will help him to think positively about the future.

Gin lovely to see you over here and hurrah for the positive scan! I didn't have any ms at all , i did get nauseous but soon learned that I could keep sickness at bay by eating. I ate a lot. I craved citrus fruit and sweet things, which combine perfectly in the form of lemon drizzle cake and might explain why my butt has grown at about the same rate as the bump. There are some experts on here though! I haven't been told anything specific about induction but I do have a consultant appointment in a couple of weeks. The midwife said that's because IVF pregnancies are higher risk but when i asked her to specify she didn't seem to know much about what the risks actually are . She mentioned 'growth retardation', but they will keep an eye on growth through your scans and later by measuring the bump, and also mentioned a higher risk of stillbirth if you go overdue but didn't have any info on how big or small that risk actually is. I would expect the consultant to take all factors into account, including things like age, state of health during pregnancy etc, before making a recommendation about induction or any other form of intervention. I'm going to go armed with questions and will report back.

AFM I am fine, just getting very tired now at 30+5. I had no idea how exhausted I would be, it's a whole new level of tiredness that has kicked in very recently, and I'm finding work hard going. I had a trip to triage at the end of last week when I hadn't felt the baby moving all day and after I'd tried all the standard prompts (iced water, loud noise, lying down etc) I started to get anxious. I rang them up and they told me to go in for monitoring, which they did with a heartbeat monitor strapped over my bump and another that picked up the baby's movements as a kind of swooshing sound. It was swooshing away merrily and everything was fine - I didn't understand why I still couldn't feel it but the mw said that the uterine wall thickens considerably from about 29/30 weeks so they see a lot of worried women around that time because the movements feel less or different, and if the baby had got comfortable with its back to my belly and was kicking against my back i wouldn't have felt it. I was a bit embarrassed but the mw was great, said i had done the right thing and should do the same if it happened again. She said they'd rather have a dozen false alarms than have someone not go in and later find out there was something wrong. So it was reassuring. But she did tell me in no uncertain terms that i should slow down, cut back on work and finish sooner than I'd planned. I've currently got 3 clients who all want to get as much as they can out of me before I finish so I'm currently trying to fathom how i deal with that . Any advice welcome!

Hope everyone is feeling good and looking forward to more birth announcements in the near future!

Morning all,
Well no baby news from me yet, I'm 40 + 3 and feeling rather large and full! It can't be long now!! We thought it was all kicking off on Monday as I leaked some waters in the night and had some intermittent contractions. Got all excited called the midwife, was called in because of the leak, turns out it was some 'hind' water and that I 'm just continuing to be in the latent phase of labour so have been instructed to rest and sleep as much as poss, get a little exercise, eat small and regular meals and to keep calm and relaxed. We're on a sex ban because of the possibility of a very small risk of infection. For those of you who haven't heard of hind waters (I hadn't!!) it's amniotic fluid behind the babies head that leaks out because the babies head isn't forming a plug with the cervix. The membrane can then repair itself and that's that. It looks like I've got a bit of thrush too, which I've never had before but I don't have any it itching so they're not worried about it. The midwives in triage on the labour ward were lovely and made me feel very relaxed and happy about the hospital birth we've opted for. So now we're doing all we can to stay calm and tempt this baby out! Had massive amounts if hot hot curry at Mr Ps fave restaurant last night.

The other news is that we're in our house!! We did it by the skin of our teeth. It's amazing and I'm loving having my own space, privacy, new organic comfy bed, standy up shower... Long way to go to finish but at least we can live here now. Mr P is so relieved too and is resting easy. He looks 10 years younger already and not waking up in cold sweats shaking with the stress of it. We are so ready for our mini princess to arrive :)

Art glad mini art is ok, no movement must have been scary, glad they were nice to you. Sorry that work is so tough and you're not getting a break. I couldn't have coped with that at your stage.

Sorry for not name checking properly...on phone so it's quite hard!

Luffs to all :) oh and please send welcoming come outta there vibes to my baby please! I really want to meet him or her now!! Xxx

Ooh Princess i've been thinking about you loads (not in a stalkery way ) and wondering if littl'un was here yet... I hadn't heard of hind waters, or the latent phase of labour either, but I'm glad you got good treatment from the midwives & are feeling relaxed about the hospital and the birth. Keep eating the curries! and the pineapple chaser and the raspberry leaf tea... And woo hoo for being in your house! That's terrific news.

OK here still but have had yet another little scare... at my midwife appointment this week the baby's growth was static from a fortnight ago and had dropped below the 10th percentile line so she arranged a growth scan. The first appointment she could get was over a week away but after a stressful night worrying about it I rang this morning and was lucky to get a lovely nurse who understood my anxiety and somehow managed to produce an appointment for lunchtime today. Everything looks normal thankfully, I have another scan in 2.5 weeks to check how things are going, so I'm glad I rang and so grateful to that nurse for saving me from a week of anxiety. But it's going to be my excuse to scale my work right back. I'm also slightly anaemic, which might explain why I've been so knackered lately. I've got iron supplements and it'll be spinach and orange juice at every meal from now on.

Sending love to everyone and a special get-born-soon tail-feather dance to Mini Princess. I can understand the impatience, I just want the next 8 weeks to be over as soon as possible

Ooh princess congrats at getting into the house. Such a good feeling. Have you tried acupuncture to tempt the mini one out? I know a couple of people who swear by it.
Aretmis how scary. Glad you got a scan though. I have a couple of the nurses/physios at work strongly suggesting I rethink my leave date. For no reason other than getting lots of rest before. I wouldn't have a clue how this one is growing or how much weight I've gained (all baby). Moving differently now but it's space is diminishing. Still transverse.

7 weeks left at work - I'm definitely counting. They still haven't given me a system I can document so I really hope we find my replacement next week. MrTeu is looking forward to flying home on Tuesday. Been a bit stressful dealing with his siblings. Funeral is on Monday.

waves to all.

Wow - 40+3 princess how time flies! (My little one put in an appearance at exactly 40+3 (with some induction help to be fair) but hopefully you won't have too long to wait (esp with some leaking water and latent labour).

I did laugh at your current 'sex ban' - poor Mr E hasn't had any since I got my BFP! (I'm lucky he loves me so much!!! :-D

And many many congratulations on being back home in your own house - that is fantastic news and what brilliant timing (and how nice of baby princess to hang on until you managed to move back in - now that's a considerate baby :-)

Sorry about the scare Art but so pleased you managed to get a scan today to put your mind at rest. It's just so terrifying this pregnancy business, you just want to fast forward to the end result so you can get your baby in your arms (well, I did anyway) 8 weeks isn't long to wait though (although probably still seems like an eternity to you) and I did feel better in the third trimester than at any other time, although if you're feeling swamped by work that won't be helping. Hoping you can get things scaled back so you feel better.

Teu how did you cope without Mr T? Were you okay? You must be really looking forward to him coming home!

Things are fine here, Baby E is now 2 weeks and 1 day old and is piling on the ounces (He was born at 8lb 4oz, went down to 7lb 12oz (all babies (esp bfed) lose weight after their born as colustrum has enough in it to keep them going but not to gain weight, and they're allowed to safely lose 10% of their birthweight in this time).

Anyway, from a low of 7lb 12oz, he's made up for it since my milk came in and yesterday was weighed at a good 8lb 10oz - so feeling really good about bfeeding (even though nipples are tender and my milk let down is still painful for the first 10-20 seconds or so), I feel amazed that he's growing so well and it's all down to my milk (sad, I know, but I do find it really uplifting!)

Hope everyone else on the Board is doing well!

Will be watching for your news princess :-D

Well we're still waiting... I'm exhausted as have spent the last 36 hours in latent labour; I was having contractions all yesterday some pretty full on but not enough to go to hospital. They want 2 hours of 1 in 3, which is a contraction lasting 1 minute in every 3 minutes. I was up to 1 in 5 before midnight and did 30 mins of 1 in 3 before falling asleep in a chair at 1.30am. No contractions this morning. I can't lie down cos my back hurts - so bed is outta the question. My waters haven't gone yet. I haven't slept properly for 2 nights now and I can't hold down any food. I'm feeling better this morning and hoping for a miracle later today but right now I'm just trying to get some rest. The hypno breathing and meditations really help get through the contractions. It just seems to be taking sooooo long and I'm getting a bit fed up now.

Right back to relaxation. Happy Sunday all :)

Sorry for moan, just needed to get that out xxx