October Baby Bus - Part 5

[happymummytobe]

Another thread!

P.S. Trying to find out as much info about c sections as I can so I can be fully prepared just in case I do have to go down that route so would be interested to hear about anyone's experience of this - the good and the bad please!

Pink, it did hurt - the bottom of my bump got very pressed and stretched, and I'm still feeling bruised a couple of days later. (When the midwives were doing their check yesterday afternoon for the position of her head, it was not fun!) But it only took a few minutes, and they said that if I'd indicated that it was too much, they'd have stopped. I think because the doctors were talking to each other about how far round she was getting, it gave me the motivation to breathe deeply and keep quiet about it being sore! And her heart rate was absolutely fine after both attempts, so it didn't seem to distress her at all (touch wood!)

Cheshire, thank you for your birth story - bilblio's right, it does sound like it was a good birth all in all, even if it wasn't exactly as envisaged. And Poppy is a wee cutie!

sassy, is that for your sweep? Fingers crossed for you (and milk the excuse to scoff down the ice cream in the meantime! )

Just wondering - those of you who are cooking and freezing things in advance, do you all have microwaves for quick defrosting, or will you just take them out the day before?

Hi all,

me and DS are all home. Will catch up proper later

:)

Updating... baby boy no name yet, born 0624 weighing 8lb 5.5oz.

We're both good, except I'm very sore and tired.

Will update more later, hopefully my bp has now regulated and they'll let us home.

Reminder to all... make sure you pack stuff like spare pants socks tshirts toothbrush deodo for your DH's... we did not, has cost a fortune lol.

XXX

Congratulations PA and Wobbles! Looking forward to the updates

Cheshire that is a fantastic birth story, even if you didn't give birth at home in the pool it sounds amazing, you did sooooo well And the pictures of Poppy are just gorgeous. Reminds me of DD when fresh

BabC we have a microwave. Not sure if I'll be able to cope with forethought as well as newborn and DD

pink at your aunt!

Edward any news? Fingers crossed for you. LOL at the tan I looked awful in all DD's birth photos, as I knew I would.

sassy I hope you have eaten your body weight in chocolate ice cream How did appt go?

I've been reading (yet another) book on childbirth, I wish I'd read this one before having DD. I can't recall if someone on this thread recommended it but well done if so It's called Birth Skills by Juju Sundin and although I'm only halfway through, I can see that if I managed to use the techniques in labour, it would hopefully be more bearable.

Got a bit carried away with the smileys there

38+4

Cheshire lovely birth Story and I know the end part was slightly unplanned but you really did an amazing job to get as far as you did! And poppy is adorable - well done you!

Mpops how goes the feeding today? Forgot to ask has your milk come in yet? You may have said so sorry if so!

Edward any progress?

Nice bump bilblio also love dd's name - very unusual but gorgeous xx

sassy i feel for you. With ds I was the first one due on our antenatal thread and after 15 bloody babies came before ds I was getting more and more irritated every time another gorgeous little bubba popped out . It will happen soon and then you'll have some lovely non pg time with all your gorgeous kids xxx

cheshire I do think they get EDD wrong some times as it's based in average sizes at 12 week scan not necessarily menstrual dates and cycles - they moved me forward with ds and he came on my date and was over on theirs.

Shelley congratulations and welcome to the world Dominic xx

pink I was miserable when they told me I was likely to have a cs but I really enjoyed the process. Apart from the slightly horrible emergency part with the call out going out over the whole hospital and then them setting up for 'what if's while I was in the room (although you wouldn't have that with non emergency ones) it was fine. I very much enjoyed the numbness spinal does hurt a bit but nothing compared to labour . We chatted and laughed throughout the whole thing until we heard the first cry which was amazing.

I was really worried about bfing and not having skin to skin straight away but they bought both girls swaddled up to me and we had face skin to skin and as soon as I was sewn up the girls were tucked into bed with me to be wheeled back. They were weighed and measured then were in the boob and fed straight away, no problem at all.

Post cs was less comfy as I got feeling back and wanted to be up and about but they said I couldn't until 12 hours post op (stupid hospital policy IMO) and I hated being sat in my own gunk buy as soon as I was up and showered I felt great. Have only had one-two days of major pain because I did too much but am virtually healed 3 weeks gone so I have nothing but praise for the while thing considering how anti I was.

penguin yay for home coming. Enjoy xxx

wobbles yaaaaay for baby boy! Good call on dh things (with ds he was able to stay so it was automatically packed but you forget when that's not the case!). Can't wait for birth Story and name (when you decide). Glad the boys are starting to appear and challenge the girls now!

Hi scones x

Right think that's me caught up - having an organising afternoon while ds is at nursery but sure I've done enough for today. I'll go do the food shop later but the rest of the gigantic list can wait until later in the week!

Girls colds are all better thankfully and got a fairly good nights sleep so feeling more sane today!

Hope everyone is ok xxx

Hi all, think I was having BH last night again! Damn false
Labour, was at MW today and she has booked me for a sweep on Tuesday and induction on 29th if I haven't gone by then.
Really hoping I don't need to be induced as have a christening on 30th and DH is godfather.
Didn't need induced with DS so am counting on going before then.

I WILL clean this house today!

Congrats to new arrivals!

congrats to chesire (you did so well) and wobbles plus anyone else

I had a few twinges Monday evening, but thought it was related to his movement. Got to sleep at 1am (normal) and woken just before 3:30. Got out laptop and used contraction timer. I never went more than 5 mins but they weren't lasting long. Once they had been at 2-3 mins for an hour I figured it had started. Got through to 7am when DD and DH got up and rang the labour ward they said to go in. Got DD dressed, fed etc. couldn't get hold of my mum! Initially got sent up the MLU they said they'd so an assessment but were doubtful so was surprised to find I was 4cm. Because of previous tear and asthma I then got sent back down to normal labour ward. About 9:30 at this point. MW had just come on shift and I sent DH out with DD to get to run around somewhere. DM had been got hold of at this point and was on her way up.

Initially tried tens after an hour, but that was horrible so figured give GnA a go. I think by not relying on too much and my asthma being better to start I found a technique to keep my breathing OK. DH came in at 11:40 and I was assessed to be 9cm. Waters still hadn't gone so MW broke them. DS made an appearance at 12:54. They decided to do a small episiotomy as they were worried about me tearing along my previous one, for which they brought a Dr in at the last minute to do and she delivered him. In order to reduce tearing chance they pushed him up which meant the top of my fanjo hurt more than I was expected.

Stitching was interesting, MW thought she had done it but then decided it didn't look right. Another one came in, undid it all and started again. Stitching was much better under spinal last time . About 90 mins later I was on a chair and feeding DS. Shortly followed by a shower. I cannot believe how much more mobile I am this time, didn't realise the extent of previous trauma (had no frame of reference). For instance it was a long time before I could communicate to rump that it needed to move. MW happily let the cord stop pulsating before clamping and DH cut the cord.

I think thats it. DS has fed loads but latch is still not right, mostly there and looks good but it's also feels obviously wrong and I have two red lines.

Loving reading all the birth tales and advice from 2nd/3rd/4th timers.

I'm in a ranty mood. Feels like LO is enormaous and taking up all my space. Bump has been really uncomfortable today, slept terribly last night, heartburn seems to have returned with avengeance and it's been raining all day (though that actually makes me feel better about hiding inside!). Managed a waddle to the postbox today but that was it.

39+1 and not sure I want to wait much longer! Come on baby!

(okay, rant over)

actually feeling sick- that never ever happens. was getting ice cream from tesco and spotted a wheat free cake in reduced pile. a victoria sponge for 90p. it said serves 6, but said to my mum- we'll see! had a quarter of it........

well appointment changed everything. she wanted to do the sweep but i saud no. she said that in her opinion, i was pushing it a bit with a vbac at this late stage as the baby is quite big now. 8lbs 8oz on estimate. she is still supportive though and said it was still my decision. she said i can book you a c section and you can still decline if you want to. i said when would you book it for, she said 39 weeks. ie, next week. my need to not be pregnant anymore was to strong.

anyway its booked for next fri- 21/10/11. we agreed that if i go into labour in the meantime, i would try for vb.

Congratulations to the new arrivals

pink my c-section story. Sorry for the epic post...

I was given antacids to take beforehand and wasn't allowed anything to eat from midnight the night before or drink after 6am on the day. We arrived at hospital at 7am and they were ready to go at 8.30. They gave me a robe to wear with scrubs for DH and wheeled me in for a spinal. I found this quite uncomfortable - they gave me a small anaesthetic to numb the area before putting the bigger needle in but it didn't take so they had to do it again. I got nervous and a bit shaky so they lay me down on my side and did it that way which was absolutely fine. Couldn't feel it at all.

They then ran ice up and down to check how much I could feel (nothing!) then took us into theatre. There were loads of people in there but they were all really relaxed and chatty - it's obviously all in a day's work for them so it was a bit surreal with it all being so 'normal'. They propped me up slightly on one side and put a screen up. DH sat on a stool by my head so we could talk but he could also look over the screen. It took about 10 minutes for them to deliver Lara. I didn't feel much but could feel them pushing down on the top of my tummy when she came out. I was quite excited!

When she came out they asked DH to tell me the sex then they lifted her up above the screen. She was crying right away, loads so they wrapped her up as she was (covered in vernix - I assume because none had rubbed off coming through the birth canal) and DH held her close so I could see her. They did her newborn checks in a little cot by my bed so she was never out of my sight while they were putting me back together. They also gave me pain relief in my drip and put a suppository up my bum for extra too.

Once it was all finished we stayed in recovery for about an hour. I was really thirsty but felt sick as soon as I drank even a sip so they put an anti-emetic (sp?) in my drip and it stopped pretty much straight away. I was shaky for a while so couldn't feed her but they put her next to me in the bed and lowered my gown so we had skin to skin to go back to the ward.

We were back around 11am and they got me some food and water that I could eat slowly during the afternoon. They kicked DH out at 12.30 when visiting hours finished but kept me well stocked with meds, checked I had a drink, made sure we were okay, changed Lara's nappies etc so I didn't actually mind. If I felt any pain between tablets I could ring the buzzer for oramorph every two hours so I did this and kept on top of it.

I also didn't like the idea of being in my own mess but they were brilliant - they gave me a bed bath, kept changing my pads and mats, and encouraged me to put some pants on and go for a walk to change my own pad later on in the day, taking my catheter with me. Very glamorous! Getting out of bed was a bit scary but felt good and you can soon stand a little straighter even if you're walking in a rather shuffly way!

They removed my catheter at 5am and I had to do three 400ml wees during that day before I could go home. The consultant came to check on my at 7am ish followed by the hearing test lady, sight test person and physio a little later. I then had a shower which felt great and they let me go home around 4pm.

The worst bit was walking from the ward to the car, getting into the car and clamping a pillow to my stomach for the drive home. I also hated not being able to sleep on my side - I fashioned a hospital style bed folding up loads of pillows and a duvet behind my back and sleeping half sat up for a few nights.

My top tips would be get up as soon as you can, keep taking your meds so the pain doesn't get a look in, be careful how you get in and out of bed etc, don't twist round to pick things up, cover your scar with a maternity pad to give yourself a little extra security.

Phew!

congrats wobble

penguin did you tell us his name? sorry if you did, just cant think! sounds like a good experience. was it you who had a horrible time last time and was worried about tearing? i did read the thread about it, but still cant remember!

just to make it clear...... i had the cake WITH the chocolate ice cream.

Well that's a good compromise sassy and come next week if you decide otherwise I'm sure you can let them know midweek although I'm sure by that point either lo will be here or you'll be dying for them to come out!!!

engel I hear chocolate is good for rattiness and bringing on baby

Rantiness not rattiness x

oh and sassy that makes complete sense - the cake would be too dry without the ice cream xxx

bb3 if that were true, i would be an angel in disguise and the baby woukd have been born by now! i eat a lot of chocolate. and i dont waste my time buying individual bars either.

i have never tried to induce labour before, so this weekend i will be having sex, eating pineapple and a curry, drinking raspberry leaf tea, going for a walk and making dp drive fast over any bumps. have i missed anything out?

yeah it was me with the third degree tear last time and name is Lewis William

i didn't think 8lbs 8oz classed as that big? but good luck with inducing labour

Engelsmeisje Feeling very similar to you today. Heartburn returned this evening..hasn't been this bad throughout entire pregnancy!

Went to Tesco with DH and thought I was going to collapse, my legs just wouldn't work. Had to go wait outside while DH finished up. Everyhting is a big effort now.

Which makes it even more annoying the fact that the nursing bras I ordered from Bravissamo for delivery (didn't have the colour I wanted in store) have been delayed until well after due date. Now going to have to go into town and either buy the one in the other colour (if they have my size any more in it) or go somewhere else to buy one. Hmmm. really annoyed, can't be doing with it to be honest!

Great to hear birth stories, and also how you are all doing.

BB3 Can't believe that you are finding the time to update on here and keep track of everyone's progress - impressive lady!

Right, going to eat the massive chocolate sundae bought this afternoon.

39+1

oh and he was 6lbs 10 3/4oz

thought it was you. glad it went much better this time penguin congrats on lewis william. if my dp agrees on isaac (if its a boy) i think we will have william as his middle name- it was my grandads name. other choices are andrew (my brother) daniel (his brother) or joseph (his other grandad) but ive already decided i prefer william.

its not that 8lb 8oz is massive, its just that baby is putting on a pound every 2 weeks and if i get to 40 weeks that will make it 9lbs 8oz and thats quite a big baby to be pushing out when i have a increased chance of scar rupturing cos i have had 2 sections already. iyswim.,

Quickly typing from hospital bed, will update properly later:
DS is here, could not have beenore different from lovely relaxed planned homebirth! After 30 hours of labour he was born via emergency section, now has an infection and we'll be here for about another week while he has IV antibiotics.
The whole thing was and is pretty traumatic, will post in detail later. He surprised the life out of me by being 10lb - nothing to predict that! I'm a size 4-6 and normally weigh 7 stone, no wonder he couldn't come out on his own! He's beautiful though :)

Hi all
penguin shelley and wobbles congratulations on your new arrivals
Fleecy thanks for birth story sounds like c section wasn't too scary.
sassy I think you can never have too much chocolate! Also nipple tweaking is the only other thing I can think of to help start things off.
Bb3 glad girls are better.
Edward hope things start for you soon.
Engels sympathise with you have been a real grumpy bum today.
I had MW appointment today with different midwife as mine was ill, she said my bp slightly raised and I was flushed so thought might be signs of early labour. Then told me nothing was imminent and booked me for induction on 21st just in case
Had a stretch and sweep and am 1cm dilated but cervix still quite long but soft, she wants me to see another MW for BP check up and another sweep on Friday if nothing happened before then. Not sure if this means I'm imminent or will still be waddling round at the weekend. Am very grumpy and tired though so bath and bed are only things on agenda now.
I also seem to have doubled in size overnight!
40+3

Ooh Moly congratulations! Sorry it didn't go as planned and wow think you've won prize for biggest baby so far
Hope you and DS are ok xx