Nov 2011 - Feathering our nests and buying baby vests

[PamSco]

Taking liberties again as there are only 5 posts to go on old thread. Hope everyone is well this morning!

duh, not the youngest blond child, but the blond youngest child, that's what I meant....

poppet love the pics of willow! She is such a cutie!! So happy you are both doing so well - loved the pose:) seems we have 2 model babies already!

2nd timers - I have 3 nursing tops and other than that I was planning on wearing maternity clothes or 'before' clothes. Is this naive - are you all planning on going out a lot or is it hard to bf with a normal shirt? I don't have too much money to spend on clothes but I want to be comfortable (and not make bf any harder than it is).

33 weeks today! I am only comfortable at night!! During the day its back aches and feet/finger/leg aches... dreading the day when I can't get comfy at night either.

folic I have been feeling hiccups too... at least thats what i think the rhythmic twitches are.

H007 my boobs haven't grown too much this whole time. They are firmer with blue veins now.

gold with DS I brought a couple of normal tops a little larger for first couple of weeks BFing then into norm tops & used blanket to hide tummy & musiln to cover boob (sounds faffy but adapted really easy). This time will prob use the 2-top technique as it winter (vest top under to pull down that covers tummy & pull upper top up IYSWIM) or a similar technique as ast time. If you want to wear dresses etc worth looking at ease of access from above rather than below or going for feeding dresses. HTH xx

Actually, has anybody else been induced here?
I was told by a mw that I can't have a water birth if induced - but the NICE guidelines say I should be able to... Is this a corner to fight? Or am I going to hit a brick wall?

my cup size hasn't increased but the band has by 1 inch.

i've bought 1 bf top, i'm worried i'll end up not being able to carry on bfing again so would have wasted a load of money.

cali 4 weeks, good that they're doing something though. and you're not the only one who forgot to take wee, i've done it twice mw and consultant.

Have to admit I always forget a wee.... (hangs head in shame)

All this talk of bf tops and bras something I hadn't even considered... Note to self must add to list!

Not in Scotland myself either snoozle but also close enough to get the reference!
I have forgot to pee in a pot numerous times! I even took a bottle upstairs, put it on the side and looked at it whilst i peed and thought hmmm why's that there? Remembered when I was washing my hands! Durrrr!!
I have a very stressed ds. My stress levels are through the roof. The new school is causing him massive amounts of confusion and distress as he just cannot get what is going on cos it's changing so rapidly. I am going to have to demand a meeting this week. Argghh.
I have to admit I was that stressed I went and stood outside with a little glass of wine. Felt better and normal! Tired though, it's going to get messy when I actually have a full glass after the sprog is here.....
Going to go and lie quietly in a darkened room and wait for my 5 wake ups in the night. Night all x

Cali I was induced with my first, and it was constant monitoring the whole time, belt round my belly measuring heartbeat, contractions etc.and also had a drip in my arm, so obviously in a practical sense it would have been impossible to labour in water (although there was no option at my hospital to labour in water anyway, so that's irrelevant really!).

But, as for the constant monitoring, if thats not what you want, then yes, its worth querying. Is it Mrs A on this thread who always says to ask 'is this a general policy, or specific to me?'. At the time it never occurred to me to query it, I just thought it was the way things had to be, its only reading this thread that has made me realise that things might not be just so black and white. Hope you get what you want!

Oh, bf tops and dresses! I had loads for ds4 but I think they were mainly summer clothes! Also the type of tops recommended for kangaroo care are a bit different to those for discreetly bfing. With kangaroo care you should have as much skin uncovered as possilbe so baby can snuggle up against you whereas most bfing tops aim to show as little skin as possible.
My wrap dresses have been a godsend as they tick both boxes.

The other trick which can work out cheaper is to have two tops, a vest top underneath with thin straps and a loose top over it. Pull the outer top up and the inner top down and there you have it, discreet bfing!

My breasts did increase this time, more than on previous pregnancies, not sure if it's because she's a girl as the old wives tales suggest?

I like the two top idea. Plus you get lots of tops that have a few buttons on the front. I had shirts and loose tops that I'd wear over H&M Mama nursing vests. I really got lots of use out of those!

Tjuice you're a bad influence! I probably am ok to mention the lovely button up nursing top on Seraphine's website because its largely sold out (I think because Dani Minogue wore it!).

Cali I think it depends on the kind of induction. It's worth taking a copy of the NICE guidelines to your next appointment and asking. I think with most infections they prefer constant monitoring and if you're on the drip (syntocinon) then it's v unlikely they'll allow you far from a bed. If you just have your waters broken or something then that might be different altogether.

There's a MNer I know IRL who had 2 inductions at 38 weeks and all she had was the pessary and then quite active birth. Definitely worth asking about IMO.

Sorry to hear about your ds voodoo. I had to read your post twice because I thought you meant you'd stood outside the school with a glass of wine! Now that would improve the school run! I hope you get things sorted though. Stress is awful anyway but when you're pg you could do with as little of it as possible.

So DD has woken me up at 4am by shouting crap in her sleep. As she has done for the last week or more. So I'm MNing and playing guess-baby's-position whilst contemplating having the last bit of gaviscon.

PMA: 35 weeks today, have a lovely chiro appointment first thing & it's my last day in work for at least a year!

inductions not infections sorry (iPhone!)

Oh and over dinner last DH tells me he's got some weekend conference he has to attend in Wales. I asked when and he said "2 or 3 weeks". I said "oh when I'm 37-38 weeks then? Super!". He said it's only 2 hours drive away!

Who bets I go into labour while he's there? He did say go along with him but I think that's a bit risky, do you think I'm being OTT?

Cali shame about the sample. 19th October? That?s great! I am so

I just got back from my OB appointment. The little boy has turned breech again after somersaulting all of Tuesday. Anyway, OB reckons that this position is more comfortable for bubs, as my low lying placenta doesn?t allow enough space for the head. Fantastic! :(
He is starting to get a little worried about the placenta, as it hasn?t moved at all since the beginning of pregnancy. Grr, so we will see what happens in 3 weeks and go from there.

I still need to do my GTT, but always seem to be busy with work and as it?s only just over a week left I will do the test on my first day off. OB isn?t concerned really, as abdominal circumference is not excessive. Rather a little small. The head is large ish though on 98th centile

I got a couple of nursing dresses from Asos, but due to the heat here, I like the idea of clip-down vests and shall get investigating.

Breasts have grown by 2 cup sizes and about 2 inches round back. I call them my udders as they are so heavy (and I'm not even that large!)

Hope everyone is well.

And thoughts going out to Caz and Xander. Hope you are well!

voodoo sorry about DS. Hope it can be resolved.

Kelly of course you'll go into labour the moment he is not home. That is why my DH decided to cancel an important trip to Frankfurt when I'm 38 weeks :( I would have been happy for him to go, but sod's law would have probably meant me going into labour just as the plane doors close, which would mean a round trip of probably a day and a half :(

Sorry, brain is a sieve today! I wouldn't go. 2 hours is a long drive if you're in labout I reckon

Kelly personally I'd let him go I mean the chances of you going into labour at that specific time compared to the two weeks around that moment is pretty small. My OH has booked a couple of gigs around due date one about 40 miles away but I've just given him rules such as he has to drive, no alcohol and he must check his phone (one of the places has no signal so he's agreed to nip to the loo once every so often to check phone) plus his attendance will depend on how I'm feeling on the actual day.

voodoo sorry to hear about your son :(

It pay day tomorrow :) this means a Sunday shopping trip to get pram and car seat plus a couple of sheets and I think I'm finally organised. Well it's all in the house anyway haha then just need a trip to buy cheap nighties. OH bought a baby monitor the other day he is very proud of it haha we only got it as we have a 3 storey house and because of all the visiting around Christmas we'll be doing. This one has a room thermometer too which is pretty handy as I'm always hot which might not be the case for little bean in the middle of winter.

Morning Lovely Ladies. Ok I gave birth to 4 human kittens last night and they wouldn't breast feed, I had to express into saucers for them.

Folic that's why my nipples are purple - the string vests! Blaaahhhh you know what I mean! string strapped vests. I wear them with the straps not on my shoulders and the neck line under my bra. So much cheaper than belly bands :)

Kelly I'd let him go too - but I'd rather not have my OH in the house during the initial labour, he'd be fussing to go the hospital. It'll be a good few hours I'm sure (for me, being the first) before I need to make a move. We just spoke about booze bans though so he can drive. 2 hours away is ok isn't it? Gives you a bit of peace to get organised :)

Cali I'm sure your bab is perfect don't listen to all this "monster" "big" nonsense. My pal who is a wee slight lady about a size 8 I reckon, had a 11lber and a 13lber no problems at all - ok a tear or 2 but no drama. All her family have heavier babies - she was 12lb and she is tiny! (I know that isn't a scientific case study )

Is Caz still in the krankenhaus?

Haha pam I had that dream too without the feeding and I gave birth to 3 kittens.... How bizarre?!

Feeling rather sick this morning? I'm wondering if it's something to do with my weetabix and milk for breakie as thought my ms was coming back a few days back but the last two days have had toast and have been fine?!

The other day I dreamt that I'd lost my car, I'd driven somewhere and parked somewhere but couldn't remember where! I didn't even know which town I'd parked my car in haha

Morning all, just checking in and bookmarking... think we must all be on mat leave or showing no interest in our day jobs as getting v busy here!

Kelly I'd let him go, especially if I thought it might encourage baby to come a couple of weeks early! hehe! Just put him on a drink ban as the others suggest!

Haha! I don't think I have the power to stop him even if I wanted to - his boss doesn't let much get in the way of business and I like my DH having a job! . I am quite relaxed about it really. I was in labour with DD forever so two hours is nothing. I would be more concerned about being stuck in the house in labour alone with DD.

You're right about not going with him. Imagine labouring during a 2 hour car journey! DD in the back singing along with Mr Tumble and DH stressing next to me.

merlioness yes, a day and a half would be much worse than 2 hours! I can see why he cancelled.

Missed my chiro appointment this morning because of a jam on the motorway so I'm in a bit of a grump after a night of little sleep and navigating rush hour for nothing.

Loving the thought of maternity string vests. If you worked them right, you wouldn't even need to move them out of the way to breastfeed!

H007 we had a video baby monitor when DD was born. We used to pop her in her moses basket, settle down to watch a film or a bit of tv but end up just watching DD sleep instead. It was a bit ridiculous - us both going "ah, did you see that?".

On the ms front, it could be your stomach getting squashed. The baby kicked me somewhere right under the ribs last week and I actually thought I was going to be sick. Also, you know that weird taste in your mouth that some women get in the first trimester? Well I have that back again. It doesn't matter how many times I brush my teeth, it just won't go.

Any more news from Caz?

Haha! I can so imagine the car journey back with singing DD

Meh about chiro appointment :(

We have a two-way monitor with thermometer too. DH chose....

H007 I had that for days. Comes with stomach cramps and I am convinced is due to LO loving the squishy stomach and poking his bony bum further and further together with some well placed kicks. Now he has turned breech again, no issue at all! I was sick on Wednesday morning. Too keen this one... Only happened with cereal. I blame the milk

No news from Caz unfortunately. I really hope she is well

Pam They're factoring in other stuff too, like her pressing on blood vessels already and making me feel faint. All her measurements were over 90th percentile, and her abdominal was over 100th - not that it means she will be a "giant baby", or that it's a bad thing...
I'm a very short lady, and she's taking her father's proportions (6'6", 20st)...

They may turn around on the 19th and decide not to induce me, but the consultant also said he'd be surprised if I hadn't given birth naturally by then...

I'm more upset that I may have a tied down monitored birth - I'm going to fight my damn best not to!

Kelly I have that same annoying taste in mouth. Really irritating. Back onto salt and vinegar crisps for me.

My DH is travelling to USA beginning of Oct for a week. I am then confiscating his passport (he travels a lot with work) until after Xmas .

Hadn't really thought about clothes for after pregnancy. In the couple of weeks after birth I lived in my nightshirt with buttons down front to express. Would go out in between expressing but found it uncomfortable to walk too far as stitches ached. I would, of course, get properly dressed if we had visitors. We only had family visit at hospital and then after a couple of days at home. Friends and relatives ie cousins were after a couple of weeks when DD was in a vague routine and knew best time for visitors arrive.

Another tip if you need to express is to look at your baby whilst expressing as that helps your milk flow. Or a photo. DD used to fall asleep when I expressed (used to express after feed so would have next feed ready iyswim).

Ahh I see Cali - I had a mental image that you were tall :) You type tall.

Ask about telemetric monitoring. See the link below it is quite far down.

www.ebme.co.uk/arts/foetal/

When I wasn't bantering with that anaesthetist he said that our hospital has 2 telemetry machines which means you can walk around during labour and be constantly monitored.

Pam Nah, shorty short, always felt out of place in Sweden, they're all tall and blonde - I'm short and dark (mother originally Polish, father Spanish Romani)...
It's going to be interesting, though.