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!

chip yay! Sylvie-Rose! That is such great news!

Thanks for all the encouragement from other mums! I think once I get comfortable with everything I will be okay, but to be honest even changing a nappy at home seems odd now (my birth classes don't start until next Tuesday!) But I looked it up and we have 'stars & strollers' which is a movie every tuesday where mums and babies can go and bf and crying is fine:) But other than that - winter in Canada - we might not get out too much.
PMA- when bubba is 5-6 months it will be great weather and she will appreciate the zoo/park etc.. more (i hope)

just don't feel bad about getting tired fast! and 2 miles after a swim?! I couldn't have done it. I hope maternity leave is still a break even with two children (or this might be my only one:) ) already wondering how to make it through a pregnancy when you have a DC and life can't stop for the ms.

caz hope you had a yummy home-cooked meal.

I go on Mat leave next Friday! V Excited but now wondering if I should have stayed longer for financial reasons... oh well. Too late now. Might as well enjoy it!

cep I always save the take away boxes from chinese meals - they're excellent for the freezer. Also, IKEA do a cheapo set of plastic containers that we got (I use them to freeze my truffles...) here

Last night my students at the sewing course I'm doing gave me a Lush giftbox (it was our last night) - it's currently smelling out our whole house! I shall peruse it tonight and get in a looovely bubble bath :D

Oh F1 ladies, a couple of years ago I won some fancy Silverstone GP tickets and sold them & bought a dishwasher! It has brought me a lot of happiness though - F1 just not my thing (more a Wimbledon girl)

Caz so delighted you're home & Xander behaving so nicely - my DD's birthday is 10th so she'll be with you on the countdown - it feels v close to me as party nowhere near organised.

I just freeze sloppy stuff in freezer bags - not the most environmentally friendly I guess but nice and easy.

I am out babysitting tonight so will be treating myself to a fish and chip supper .-) such a better day today - DS on much better form and junior doing nice wiggles

But I hurt all over!
Lord what I would give for an evening on the sofa, DP bringing me some nice easy dinner and watching a movie. I love my son more than my life, but I swear we have some kind of osmotic calorie situation where he sucks mine out of my skin and expresses them in boundless energy while I crumple into the carpet. And can he not stop kicking his little sister! - who by the way is now definitely a girl. He clambers all over me saying "dont hurt your little sister" while he gets an elbow in here and a foot in there. Little ruffian.
I'm putting off going to chop potatoes. I WAS meant tobe feeding DS while DP made dinner (I dont cook - he does it all. I cook about once a year. But I DO chop if need be) but DS insisted "daddy do it!". He wasnt keen on "my feet, bump, back, groin, random place half way up my torso, appendix area, fanny, and general brain ache!" I dont know. 23 month olds. Selfish is what they are.
We've got one of those big double doored american style freezers, but I swear it has less freezer space in it that our last bottom freezer on the tall half and half fridge/freezers. It all seems to be wall.

Moosey its funny you should mention the flu jab, because I got home from work today to a letter from my GP inviting me to get the jab. I am going to take it - I must admit that a couple of years ago I wouldn't have, but I have a close friend who is a doctor herself, and married to another doctor, and she took the flu jab whilst pregnant, they were adamant that the risks from the flu in pregnancy far outweigh any minimal risks from the vaccine, and the fact that she backed it up with her own actions was enough for me.

Chip I'm so pleased that Sylvie-Rose is out of the incubator, you must be so excited. And relieved!

Now, who was swooning over David Coulthard? I can't resist throwing my opinion into the mix (I know, I know, I talk too much) but......I find him a bit creepy in a Rod Stewart sort of way. Has he not spent about the past 20 years getting engaged to lookalike blonde dollybirds and then trading them in for younger ones? Mind you, Merlioness if you do see him, can you report back for us on what height he is? I always think he looks tiny on TV.....with a disproportionately large head.

Disclaimer I am well aware that these things are subjective, so I'm willing to bet that someone who makes me swoon might make you all a bit icky too!

Clive Owen does it for me - I feel he's matured with me from Chancer to Closer

Tis me with the David Coulthard thang! Jake humphries by the way yes yes! Although Jake just doesn't cut it in the square jaw stakes! Jakes mega tall tho? 6'4 + at least. Yum :) god I so need to behave haha!

Phew - it's been a while ladies, so apologies for the length of post and sorry if I've missed anyone's news/questions.

flu jab I was wondering about that - might ring my GP.

Caz glad to hear the hospital are doing all they can to keep you and baby safe and sound. You sound much happier (though ouch on hospital parking charges!)

Good to hear about the progress of our 2 early arrivals too!

I've been dealing with alot of stuff, plus we've just been camping for 3 nights. Not the best of moves as I am 32 weeks and knackered, DD is challenging and poor DP was tearing his hair out. DD heard some new words she shouldn't too
but she did love it and it wasn't all bad and now I could sleep for a week!

Well, baby is head down now and kicking lovely. We think he is not back to back either.

It's been, to be frank, a hellish 3 or 4 weeks.
It's a bit awkward tbh, cos I know that kellykettle passed on the details of her IMW but sadly for me, this hasn't worked out. (Kelly I am sure she is perfect for you as I seem to recall you are low risk??)

I won't go into too much detail but we had a long meeting, discussed my situation and she agreed to take me on and she seemed really nice. We paid a deposit and all was set for the next time.
Sadly, I then got an email from her saying she felt unable to support me as she had no experience of higher risk/multiple risk women at home births. I was slightly panicked to say the least as I had also told my community midwife I had engaged a private mw and so no longer needed her care!
I was unhappy as I'd taken time to set out my risk factors and my feelings about them and what I wanted and kept repeating that she must tell me if she didn't feel able to support me, but she said all was fine but then seemed to get the wobbles due to her lack of high-risk homebirths and then emailed on the day of my 'booking' visit.

Anyway, long story short, I was able to find an amazing IMW who was willing to take me on at the same rate as agreed by the first one and, with hindsight, it's the best thing that has happened.
She is brilliant - has loads of experience of high risk homebirths, including VBAC at home and higher BMI women. She herself has had 4 kids, including No3 being a c-section and No4 a VBAC (back in the days when they were not routinely offered).
She did my urine test and said that as long as there was no sugar in my water, she was happy (if you remember there was some question mark about a slightly higher blood sugar reading after a very basic GTT). She has also done a home water birth at 35 weeks and also supported a lady who gave birth at 43 weeks
In short, totally on my wavelength - leave things alone unless there are actual emergency signs. Her best case scenario is one in which she is quite bored and sat around letting me get on with it (100% fine by me).
She is an advanced mw in some sort of 'baby emergencies at home' and is allowed to carry and use a green doctor's light on her car if needed (she lives over an hour from me). But she also said that she may well take a hotel room nearby around my due date !!
She will also deal with all paperwork and write to my consultant saying i am under her care now, no more appointments are to be sent and if we need specialist NHS care we will contact them.

As you might imagine, i am chuffed to bits!! With DD, the last 6/8 weeks it all went downhill and the hospital got more and more demanding and we ended up with total nightmare intervention but now all I have to do is relax and trust her, which I do. She is someone where if she said a transfer in is needed, I would trust her to mean it.
We also touched on the (hopefully unlikely) scenario of another section - she will come into theatre with me, ensure I see the baby being born, ensure the cord is allowed to stop pulsing before it's cut and ensure that I get immediate skin to skin as they stitch me up. As she is my mw, she will do the post-natal weighing etc of the baby, so no need to rush to do that.

If things go to plan, she can do everything after the birth, including Vit K injection and bf support 1to1 basis for 4-6 weeks after. She also has no NHS policies to follow, so we can take our time over things like birthing the placenta if we want to.

Sorry for banging on but I am chuffed to bits and just sad that this sort of care does not come as standard on the NHS leaving the consultants to deal with those who really need it.

I have been reading all the posts on my phone, just never got to post a message.

Hoping everyone is doing well and yes, it was me who said - ask if it's specific to you or general hospital policy. If it is just policy and doesn't feel right for you - refuse it!

Downton Abbey on Sky+ here I come with a ham and cheese toastie plus fresh figs and yoghurt for pud!!
I may even have a cheeky glass of red tomorrow night

Hugs to all

Not such a great day today.
Sylvie-Rose had an eye exam today and it seems she has first stage retinopathy of prematurity.

I didn't even know she had had an eye exam until I went to feed her and noticed her pupils were dilated. I was a bit annoyed as if I wasn't an optometrist I might not necessarily have noticed and no-one had mentioned to me.

I asked the nurse to check out the results and he couldn't find the "eye book" Then I mentioned it to another nurse and she managed to find it. I had a look and immediately recognised the signs of ROP the ophthalmologist had drawn on the chart. The nurse asked me if I knew what that meant and then walked off. I was very upset but was sitting there with Sylvie-Rose in my arms feeling desolate.

Then the nurse came back and started to talk about the results and with that I burst into tears. She was trying to reassure me, saying that they had seen much worse charts than that but I wanted her eyes to be 100% healthy. I was also mortified that I was crying in front of all the other parents.

Later another nurse came over and said it was unlikely that she would need laser treatment but tbh, I know they can't be sure about that. It would help if I could talk to the ophthalmologist but for that I would prefer to get a photocopy of the chart, which in my distress, I didn't get a copy of!

I pulled myself together, put Sylvie-Rose back to sleep, and set off down the stairs. I then met the lovely social worker who saw that I was upset and brought me in to her office for tea and biscuits. She was wonderful, I so owe her a bottle of wine!

I then went out to eat my lunch in the park, phoned dh and cried all over again. He was more matter-of-fact and said that surely if it were a severe problem, I would have been spoken to by the doctor, and not just told to see the ophthalmologist again in 2 weeks? And yes, I know that if it were more serious, she would have been transferred immediately to the childrens hospital for laser treatment but I am upset because ROP is not in my area of expertise and I really, really want to know what the risks are. I know that a lot of cases of stage 1 resolve themselves but also that some go on to develop a more serious problem and I want percentages dammit!
And two weeks now seems like an age!

Sorry for ranting on.

Ah, Chip, rough day. But when the initial impact subsides you'll feel more able to deal with things. I dont really know what retinopathy of prematurity is, but I do see that the way you were given, or rather not given, the information by staff was not appropriate at all and will have made things more difficult. But bless her, like any of us, she is going to have weak points. And she is going to have amazing strong points too.
And Mrs, I would just thank your stars she had the courage to backtrack and pull out when she did! The first midwife that is. I'm glad the second one is much more the right person for you.
My friend and I were comparing wierd crushes a while back. Or rather, just our very different crushes. And despite the fact I've always been the one who dips from thing to thing and wants to get out and experience new things and so on and she is more the homebody, who likes her familiarity an is content to experience the world through tv, my crushes seem to be on people I can imagine living with, whereas she goes for the one night stand excitement type of crush. Odd.

Cep I'm going to cook up some casseroles. My fave being beef and guiness. Shepherds pie is also good, bolognese sauce, massaman curry. Love autumn/winter food. Roll on colder weather and steamed pudding. Hmmmm.

I use Klip It to freeze food.

We also have a Cook Shop near where we live and a couple of friends got us vouchers for meals.

just you are right tbh, I just would have preferred not to have the anxiety and worry of having to find another IMW at short notice, knowing many won't negotiate on price (costing upwards of 3k) and there are not many left in my area. The first one I approached was full for the next 6 months, as was her business partner. Panic is an understatement - I did NOT want to have to go and grovel back to the comm mw!!

What I also discussed with her was that whilst the consultant has banged on about risk, no one has actually discussed the risks involved with major surgery ie another section. The consent you sign before surgery refers you to the risk of death! Also, what has never been highlighted to me is that my hb (hemoglobin - sp?) levels have come back as outstanding, like athelete levels. Great news that no one thought to mention.

chip I confess I have no idea about the eye condition but I'm keeping fingers crossed that all goes well and I can understand your reaction.

Hi all,
chip sorry its been a tough day and you have to wait now for more info. Can you request a copy of the chart in the meantime? Fab news that sylvie-rose is out of incubator now tho and fingers crossed home soon.
flu jab anyone had? I'm booked for it on 1st.
merlioness jealous over f1 too. Was in Singapore last year on honeymoon the week before gp and vowed to go back, although wouldn't fancy the heat this pregnant! Never been but would love to do Monaco and Singapore.
Travel system came today...just about worked it out I think! I swear my first car was smaller than all the bits tho!!!
caz glad you're home...fingers crossed for nice relaxing days until 11th.
Right off to watch idiot abroad now n try and find a position that makes it easier to breathe!!!

MrsA lovely to see you back here! I have PMed you.

Sorry for brief post. Have a manic day planned including s visit from my mother & step dad at 8:30am who I havent spoken to for 3 weeks - did I mention the falling out?

Very traumatic at time and now I have to vacuum at 7-bloody-30-am to tidy up.

Chip so sorry you had a bad day. Your professional training might be a mixed blessing and a curse in these circumstances, because obviously you know much better than anyone else the questions to ask etc, but then on the other hand, maybe with your knowledge you might be more likely to know about the worst case scenario too, whereas if it was me (for example) I would know nothing about the condition at all, so wouldn't know when I should be worrying? Does that make sense? I'm scratching away here, trying to find the silver lining to this particular cloud.... I'm sure its not what you needed at all, when the day before you had been on such a high with her move out of the incubator.....

kelly I'm on my phone so not able to read a pm atm but just wanted to say please do not blame yourself or feel bad. Totally not your fault it didn't work out with the IMW and tbh, had you not given me the details, I probably wouldn't have taken the plunge and ended up now with the perfect MW for me, so thanks for your 'getting me going'. Hope your family visit goes ok. My mum and I are not close, so I feel your pain.

kelly hope visit goes well.

chip so sorry yesterday was so stressful, don't really know about the eye condition i had a quick look on google. i hope it's something that sorts itself out and quickly.

Chip, hope you are ok, I have sent you a message.

MrsA, am pleased to hear you are sorted with a great independent. Kelly am sure a) it isnt your fault it didnt work out and b) the visit will go on regardless of whether you vacum at 7 bloody 30 am!! Hope it goes well anyways and you didnt wear yourself out too much!

I am just in the process of planning some slow cooker recipes. Easy enough for me as I am not a fussy eater but have 3 of them who like to be fed in this house! OH doesnt eat cream, cheese, butter as the dairy makes him ill. DS lives on sausages. DD doesnt EAT sausages.... Just to give you an example! OH only likes the white meat from chicken, doesnt like pork, will eat quite a bit of veg though. DS will only eat sausages... ARRGGHHHH. It never used to be like this, just since he turned about 10 :( So I am trying to find ways to increase our meal options on a limited budget and diet! Stress!

MrsA glad you are finally getting the care you are happy with. No parking charges here in Gwent healthcare hospitals so that is a bonus, but it will mean a lot of petrol over the next two weeks as its a 40 mile round trip. But its for such a short space of time, will keep me sane and baby as safe as possible so we'll just suck up those costs. It will all be worth it when Xander is here.

Nursery is being painted from pink to blue today. Such a bittersweet moment. Have had a little cry but I'm ready for it to be done. Time to start getting ready now.

chip love to you.

Hi All, another very chatty week in here!

Chip sounds like it's been a really mixed week for you, hope today is a good day and sending love x

Caz glad you are home and feeling like you want to be there! It sounds like you are getting a great level of care and that this is helping you to feel as relaxed and confident as possible. The 11th will be here before you know it and having Xander's bedroom ready will be a huge milestone. Hugs x

Regarding freezer stocking, I am definitely planning to do some of that. DH is away at a stag do in a couple of weeks and my Mom is coming to stay so we have a few practical things planned like getting mine and babies bags packed plus cooking a few things to store away. I was thinking of a beef stew, a chilli, a bolognese and maybe some meatballs, chicken casserole and possibly a curry too. Hopefully that will be enough for a couple of weeks when mixed in with a couple of takeaways, which will be a must I think at times plus my Mom will hopefully come to stay for a few days and would cook from scratch whilst she is here so it should tide us over for a decent period of time. I have lovely images of me baking and cooking during mat leave but can't imagine this will be in the first few weeks!!

I feel like we are getting more organised now, which is comforting. The moses basket and stand were delivered this week, so we now have a baby bed in our spare room! We've gone for this one although annoyingly it has been reduced today and we only got it on Thursday!

We have also bought a little fluffy all in one snow suit to bring baby home from hospital. I really wanted one but as we don't now the sex of the baby it seemed hard to find as they are all pink or blue (or beige / white) and I wanted a more interesting colour. We've gone for the muted leopard print one from Mothercare as it is super soft and has cute little ears on the hood plus paw prints on the feet!

I've also sorted out my maternity leave finally and it feels like a relief. We've recruited someone for my maternity cover and she starts on Monday as we have a big project kicking off the following Tuesday, that it makes sense for her to start rather than me handing over a couple of weeks in. I'll be finishing work on 28th October (when I have afternoon tea booked with my team and just have to chose somewhere to have it) and then have almost weeks holiday, before mat leave starts on my due date (18th). I've got a couple of days off in that time (one for a wedding and one for our parentcraft class) so actually now have 23 days left in the office - scary!

We're back up in Birmingham next weekend for my nephew's 3rd birthday and we'll be collecting the pram and car seat from my in-laws so we will be well and truly set then with all of the essentials. It still feels like a long way off (8 weeks yesterday to my due date) but am hoping these last weeks will go as quickly as the rest of the pregnancy has.

DH is off on a stag do this weekend too (so many weddings!) so I'm having some chill out time catching up with my Sky plus programmes! I might wander up the road this afternoon and get my nails done if I can muster the energy, otherwise it's a lovely pyjama day on the sofa for me

Hello my lovelies!

Chip Willow had her eye test on Thursday. We were warned she was having it - but couldn't be there because I needed to be with DS who had another bug (nasty cough) so was banned from the special care nursery again. I got told no results to be told of now but it'll be done again in two weeks - and it sounds like I was rather fobbed off so I'll have a look in her notes today. TBH it was one of the MWs I don't click quite so well with, she's young and businesslike and doesn't have kids of her own and it rather shows when she's dealing with parents. I rang recently to find out how Willow's doing and she said 'yeah she's gained weight but I don't know how much' which was a bit gutting because you like to know every ounce! And she didn't tell me the reason Willow was having lots of desats and mini bradys after the test when she was having kangaroo care on me - which is unheard of - was probably because she'd found the eye test so traumatic. It wasn't until I read how they did it, with clamps and things :( and saw how swollen her eyelids were the following day I realised it. And one of the nicer mws on the night shift also said it could be unsettling. I've got a good book on premature birth, called Premmies - and was just reading the section on ROP for Willow. From what you've said Sylvie-Rose has a 90 per cent chance of her eyesight resolving all on its own within three months. I can reread it and add more because it rather went over my head, but tbh with your background you'll be able to find out and understand a lot more than I do. I hope she's okay and the following test is handled better. Hugs.

Goodness, I turn my back for 1 day and there are 2 pages filled!

Chip, what a mixed bag, yay to Sylvie-Rose being out of her incubator, and fingers crossed that her eyes work themselves out. She's been such a fighter so far, you must be very proud.
Poppet, fingers crossed for you too, and keep badgering them for info, especially at those that are being dismissive.

Nothing much to report here. Saw my obs on Thursday, and Modom is looking quite big (about 5lb7oz at the mo - so probably going to be over 8lb when I.m induced - ouch - glad I'm not going to full term ). She's been wriggling and squirming like a squirrel the last couple of days, my tummy seems to be moving all the time. I also have been constantly hungry, and had quite bad stitches - I wonder if we're having a growth spurt..?

Also been trying to decide on batch meals for freezing, am thinking moussaka, lasagne, bolognaise, dahl and soups. Though DH is brewing lots of beer at the moment , though I will be able to have some after the baby's born - gonna be a very cheap date :o

I meant to ask if anyone else is experiencing milk in their breasts? I thought it was too early but have had this for a few weeks now. I have had very itchy and sometimes painful nipples through my pregnancy and sometimes massage them to help, but in the last few weeks I have had drops of both colostrum-type but also what looks like proper white / creamy milk. As it's only a few drops each time I have been just rubbing it into my nipples, which has really helped with the soreness so that's a bonus I suppose!

Just wondered if this is odd, or if it's quite normal at 32 weeks

I would say normal! Also sounds like you are doing the right thing using it as a moisturiser!

Truff I've been like that since 19 weeks. I wake up most mornings with wet patches where my boobs have been leaking colostrum/milk. Colour varies from clear, to a milky white, even drops of an orangey colour sometimes.