January 2012 - Thread 4

[shonnomanom]

Can believe we are on Thread 4 already! We must chat too much

ghost - that thing about adrenaline versus endorphins is exactly what hypnobirthing is all about.

hello all, well i had a productive morning printing out all the stuff i have to use and getting my head round what needs filliing in by when and sent off to who, then a busy afternoon with a string of (pregnant) visitors. Still got a LONG way to go yet, it's so hard to get my head round wearing two very similar but totally different hats as it were.

I have also found an aquanatal class, I'm so chuffed. I get £20 off the course because I have introduced two friends so it's only going to cost me £5 for 6 weeks :)

Saw the NHS pregnancy weight management woman today too, my weight is bang on target and I have gained 9lb throught my entire pregnancy so far.

mia I'm so sorry about your appointment, I am here for hand holding, encouragement and cheering you on. Consultant sounds like a twat, you can request another one. Did you have any PND from your first birthing experience, my psychiatric nurse (wellbeing practitioner) has been invaluable to me. Your midwife may well write a letter on your behalf if you think it will be beneficial. Good luck, you have my whole hearted sympathy.

redhead I am soo happy for you getting to finally wave at your baybeee. All boxes ticked, hurrah for the big team blue boys! Brilliant news after everything you have been through just to get one.

Oh dear Mia are there any exercises you can do to turn a baby breech
Congrats on the healthy boy redhead
Bit of TMI question here................I feel a bit weird "down below" and the only way I describe it is it feels like I have been having lots of sex!! (which I most certainly havn't!) As a third timer I should not be having another appointment until 28 weeks, which is 5 weeks away! Should I go see someone do you think? How the hell would I say what it feels like without saying ehat I just said to the midwife?!

I know what you mean worm, sort of. i guess it's just pressure from above as it were :)

I'd tell the midwife and enjoy her toe curling reaction, but then thats me, i have totally no shame.

Congrats on all the scans :-)
mia sorry to hear about your stressful appointment. Hopefully things will sot themselves out and you'll get it the way you want ((hugs)).

Nursery now plastered, just need to decorate and get new carpet before the the furniture (well a chest of drawers) is delivered at the end of the month. We're slowly getting there.

On the boo side I now appear to have picked up a cold. Took DH a while to figure out he was getting mince for super rather than bints.

mia i second ghost's advise on getting a second opinion. My sister was told at the twin clinic by her consultant that under no circumstnaces would the steralise her at the birth. She saw another consultant at her next visit who said it was fine to do as long as the situation of the birth allowed it to. So what Im saying is, if you feel strongly enough about it, challenge it. Good luck x

Oh trubble and everyone else feeling under the weather. Get well soon xx

kelli Gz ont he 20wks. Did you want to find out and the blighter was being awkward?

miamama oh no! (((hugs))) Was looking an hypnobirthing posters in triage thisevening. Stockport/Greater Mancs. PCT actually has free courses on it and by the looks of it they're popular. Will come to how I ended up in triage in a few. Might be worth a go!

redhead Go piglet! Blue Piglet! Congrats!

fish congrats on the productivity.

worm Can't helo you out there, but I bet the MW won't bat a eyelid when you mention it.

trubble LOL! Men eh! Hope you get over your cold soon though. They aren't half a drag whilst pg. Also, good work on the nursery.

Re: triage...
So, I actually got some sleep lastnight. Abi didn't wake me up at 4am for her usual kick about. So, when I woke, I thought I was just soo bloody knackered I slept through.
Nothing throughout the morning, but that's not unusual. BUT then nothing post-lunchtime either (she usually gives me a few nudges)...and then nothing by 3...so I had a sob in the toilets and managed to just rationalise it all. Then, come 5 (still at work), I just felt 'wrong'. Still no movements. So, rang triage looking for a polite "oh, 1st time mum with anterior placenta, don't worry, get some sleep blah, blah, blah" and instead got a: "It's been over 12h of nothing, come in asap and we'll hook you up"....oh....I was expecting you to tell me to stop worrying...
...rang DH to come get me...found duty manager and explained what was going on...he panics asking if I need an ambulance (bless), no...
...he then has to explain to my 2 sections (multi-tasking again) what's going on. Meanwhile I'm trying to tidy all my stuff away, get my uniform off and clothes on, and get my maternity notes etc...whilst staying sane and trying not to crumble in front of people I don't want knowing my business.
We get there, see loads of mahoosive bumps that make my apparently massive bump look like a pimple and get seen (hense the posters) very quickly really. MW comes along with doppler and pokes about...good heartbeat (sounded like a mental dog with a sore throat barking rather than a train or whatever), and then the Abi kicks...a lot. Kept pusing the doppler away...and she's been booting ever since....bloody typical. VERY relieved though. And super-tired.

Anyway, I will leave you all in peace (well, I'll try). And will also try to go to bed...
NN MNers!

OMG Worm,I am so glad you've said that-I've been feeling that for at least the last couple of weeks and wanting to say something,but thought people might think I was completely mad! It just feels like I've been having a lot of very vigorous sex...and well...i certainly have not...enough (considering my current low energy levels) ,but not lots !!! I wonder why it feels like that!?

Sorry to cross-post Oeisha.Glad everything ok now.x

ag not to worry... Fizzy-bits is def. more interesting.

Have been looking at the "Count the Kicks Campaign" though. It says to try and record kicks from as early as possible, but take into account that it's still early for us Jan mums, so patterns may evolve. Any worries/changes though, get yourself in for monitoring.

Oooh, ooh, yeah. They have downloadable freebie kick-charts and the likes.

Really am off now.
NNxxx

ARGH! MN ate my GIANT post. to recap:

oeisha that sounds so scary. really glad they took you seriously - I guess by this stage the bubs are treated as proper little babies and not just pregnancies. really reassuring to know and so glad all's ok.

I'm feeling quite smug right now as have had a properly productive evening, the culmination of which was making a fitted oval sheet for our crib - it went really well and looks perfect, plus it only cost £7.50 instead of £25 for a sheet from the manufacturer! Will be making more of these I think!

Oiesha-scary business for you-my dd did exactly the same to me once when I was expecting her. Got rushed in-they gave me the clicker thing to count the kicks and strapped a monitor on me-the minute I lay down she started to kick like a mule and continued to do so, I felt such a prat but the triage team were superb about it-they would much rather that than let you stay worried.

oh oeisha that is so stressful!!!! sorry you had to go through all that, what a nightmare. so glad everything's fine. maybe we should all do the count the kicks thing and help each other out with it. I'll go and have a look now, seeing as my BABY BOY (hee hee ) keeps waking me up in the middle of the night....

on the subject of kicks now, having seen more clearly on the scan what's going on I definitely know what a kick feels like now. was beginning to get worried that he was a slow lazy baby or had something wrong, but since yesterday it's all made more sense. He was SO WRIGGLY the sonographer kept chasing him around my belly so I guess I just haven't interpreted the feelings correctly til now. Still, it's not regular enough yet to actually count I don't think....

also can I ask cat owners a question - I've had cats before but this one is a mahusive food stealer, ie stealing OUR food, and it's a bit annoying... have tried to train her out of it but it's not working. Have also tried feeding her more in case she was thieving out of hunger. Is this unusual for cats? I don't remember any of my other cats doing it, but then I haven't had cats since i was a kid.... any advice on how to tackle it or should i just accept that's what they do?

well done ghost on your sheet skills! you should set up a MN sheet making business for prospective mums....

by the way I found this page on baby movements - it kind of says the opposite of the count the kicks campaign, not that usefully, but it has some pointers that might be really good for us all to look out for.

ag123 well at least I'm not going mad!
It got quite painful last night so I sought Dr Google's advice and that came up with SPD, which I know a couple of others on here. It says to try to keep our legs together. I know I have been "akimbo" alot, (and not in a sexy way) due to having a low bump and not wanting to squash it when I bend down etc. I am getting worried now as I have read it can get bad......... dammit!!!
Ah oisha glad they took you seriously at the clinic and were able to re-assure you, I keep trying to tell myself that when baby isnt moving it it simply sleeping. I have rented a doppler and it always get the baby moving, like the noise of it wakes baby up or something!

worm I was going to suggest PGP yesterday when I read your post but I was on my phone and my post was eaten. Mine started with similar sensations - I went to the physio yesterday and she gave me some really good tips to manage it. It mainly involves not twisting as you get up/down and engaging your pelvic floor muscles when you do it (and for the first few steps as you start moving).

shonno posted a really good leaflet link on this thread somewhere which might help you work out if that is what it is. I'll see if I can find it.

red - my cats are terrible scroungers. Caught one on the counter the other day gnawing a hole in the top of my lasagne - I can't leave any food lying around, because they will steal it - even loaves of bread (the same size as the cat, but this doesn't stop them dragging it off the counter to savage) and dishes of peas, ffs! What cat wants to eat peas???

The only answer is to not let them have access to the food. Tupperware boxes, cupboards, microwave, back in the oven or just shut the kitchen - if you have a greedy naughty cat then prevention is the only cure - and I have TWO!

Sorry not to offer more comfort, but loud noises and spraying with water only works to a point, ie: when they can see you're around. They'll just get sneaky and steal when you're not there.

In other news I definitely have a cold. Woke up this morning with sore throat and ear ache as well as snuffles. Could do without it.

On the plus side I'm wearing a new sweater dress (thank you Primark) which looks really pretty and has lots of room for the bump still. Oh - and I forgot to say, the bump has a name of its own, separate to Sproglet's real name. It got christened by my friend's boyfriend when we were in Stockholm.
My bump is called Gladys.

I snuffle in sympathy with all those who have colds. My dreams at the moment consist of dreaming that I can't breathe (and need a pee), and then waking up to find I can't breathe (and need a pee). And then of course can't get back to sleep... And am so hungry I have to go and get food. Had breakfast at 5 am this morning.

Having a month or so ago authoritatively denied the existence of 2nd-trimester zing I am now being possessed by the stuff to a terrifying, uncontrollable extent that can only end in carcrash...
I blitzed the house on Saturday, made dinner both days on the weekend (has never happened before), am doing ironing every evening, and worst of all volunteered for DD2's class parents' committee last night at parents' evening. This includes duties such as helping out in the changing rooms at swimming lessons, chaperoning on school trips, and organising class social events such as swearing-in (mid-Oct.), St Andrew's Night party (end Nov) and St Nicholas Day presents (early Dec.). I have booked the whole family's weekends up from dusk on Friday till dawn on Monday for the next 6 weeks and I have no idea where this is all going to end. I'm outta control, I tell ya!

PS Makes cakes: glad you stressed that is separate from sproglet's real name . My friends called their bump Gordon, Gordi for short, and even announced directly post-birth that the poor child's name really was Gordon, but luckily it proved to be crazy hormones and he now has a different name.

I know - can you imagine a baby actually called Gladys? Or, I don't know, Phyllis?

Oh jeez, I hope noone is calling their baby those.

I do quite like Elsie as a name, though, and that's pretty old fashioned, isn't it?

butterfly i know waht you mean about nervous energy-I am positively manic at the moment. I did take a moment to ponder my mental health considering last week I was in a blue funk but No i'm quite happy, I just can't bloody stop.

The problem is i'm not doing anything particularly proactive with it-I should be focusing my energy on my paperwork but finding myself faffing about looking at wall stickers, ebaying and shopping for winter boots. I could either be doing paperwork or the house, both have equal priority. I really want to blitz the house though very soon, every room is looking well cluttered and scruffy right now.

Crikey, you lot have been busy since I last checked in!

red - congratulations! Worth the wait, eh?

oiesha - glad everything's ok, but it's reassuring to know they take it seriously. Keep kicking Abi!

makescakes - oo, like the sound of your sweater dress. I tried on a skirt in H&M yesterday which was my size, but wouldn't got above my knees! That was depressing. Also went in specifically to buy a black vest top and came out with a white one and several pairs of tights. I mustn't be allowed into shops on my own any more, clearly.

well done ghost! You should make a load extra and sell them -you get a nice little cottage industry going.

butterfly - crumbs, good luck with those. Sounds foolhardy to me, but my 2nd trimester energy has yet to kick in. I barely manage to put a load of washing on before flaking out in front of the tv!

Got my first item for G2 - some muslins, some of which turn out to be purple and spotty. If it's a boy, those will be saved for home use! The only reason I got them was so I could bump up my Kiddicare order (duvet for DD) to get free delivery! Obviously it would have been cheaper to skip the muslins and just pay for the delivery, but I always get suckered in to "free" stuff. Sigh.

at butterfly flitting around like crazy. I've had a good 2nd tri so far too, apart from some crazy emotional outbursts which are really unlike me. Good job too as I have lots of work and other commitments until the end of Oct.

redhead you have no idea how proud of myself I am about the sheet. It actually worked! Am a bit cack-handed usually with crafty things and am a bit lacking in patience with fiddly things, so the leap into sewing stuff has been a bit trial and error. My original longer post (eaten by MN) did however acknowledge that I know I won't have time for any of this kind of thing with subsequent DC!

We're having lovely autumn weather here at the moment - blue skies and a bit cold, but warm in the sunshine. Yesterday was my first day with the heater on at work though (old building) which sadly heralds the beginning of hot water bottles, feet on heaters under the desk, fingerless gloves for typing, and the warmest clothes I can find to sit at my desk in. Hopefully this winter I will be a bit warmer due to the presence of my very own baby-shaped hot water bottle attached to my front

I can recommend socks made from real wool, by the way gjost - expensive, but totally worth it. The temp in our flat fell to 9 degrees one day last winter and I was so grateful for my wool from top-to-toe outfit!

The sweater dress is still available last time I looked, slightly fitted and short sleeves, so good for this in between weather, mine is a pretty grey-blue, but there's a taupe colour too.

2nd Tri has been mostly good, though this cold has tired me out a bit - I'm just glad to know what it is that's been knocking my energy levels flat recently.

I freak out a bit about energy levels and tiredness because I had chronic fatigue syndrome (or ME) for 8 years and it played real havoc with my life - still is in some ways. It's more of a bother to me than the weight gain, which is what I thought would be the pregnancy-related issue that affected me.

I just want to be a good mum, but I feel like I'm already struggling to find the energy to do everything I need to and am terrified I'll relapse once sproglet is here.