DECEMBER 2011 the final countdown (in honour of OI)

[kri5ty]

Sorry for the new thread and crap name but i needed to start one oi how are you doing good luck xxx

I have fallen off the face of MN for a week or so and have loadsss to catch up on! I have been busy doing coursework and seriously nesting!!

PGP is awful, to the point of making me cry, finally got a pyshio app, but not for another 2 weeks :( doesnt seem much point. OH continues not to even attempt a massage if i ask and rolls his eyes.

Been having really bad shooting pains that take my breath away, but seems as though baby is head down (and very low) im guessing its a nerve he is on.

Very strange and TMI... but earlier (when i went to the toilet) i could feel what felt like the head bulging on the outside, through my lady garden lol... freaked me out!!

Good luck oi !! Fingers crossed

tye glad you took the sick advice!!

What a relief mopsy, glad tests came back ok. Shows it's definitely best to get checked out though.

cheep I was a birth partner to my lovely friend who had a nearly 11 lber and the lovely midwife just emphasised that my friend stay upright and mobile. She advised that gravity helped things along. There are positions if shoulders are stuck even for home birthers so it doesn't necessarily mean that you need a cut.

hawthers As your birth partner, DH should really be prepared to be the one to ensure that your wishes are met. I have told DH his only job during birth is to be my advocate and to be quite bolshy if needed.

Tyel Credit to your mum she has really pulled through. It's great if the birth of her grandchild only puts her issues to rest.

Can a breech baby get engaged? I have the most awful pressure down below like my insides are about to fall out and horrible lower back pain today. Can't get comfortable what ever position either, it's starting to really piss me off.

tyel that is great!

cheese there is some interesting reading on large babies and shoulder dystocia on the www.homebirth.org.uk site, relevant to how a possible large baby's birth is managed wherever you are that I thought you might find interesting, as it is well referenced and seems to contradict what you have been told. If it reassures you, a friend gave birth a few months ago and had a 'true' shoulder dystocia (caused by her baby managing to present ear first!) and had the McRoberts manouvre (knees to shoulder) her baby was born in the next contraction with only a graze.

I've had a mad afternoon with DD1's friend round, we have had dragon school and a very long game of dragon explorers going on all over the house! Both DDs are ow exhausted, so am I!

Thanks ms buggy, although not sure if i have misunderstood but doesnt that website confirm what i said? Bit confused now!

Tyelperion, what a lovely story about your mother's conversion. It hardly seems real, as she seems to have done everything you dreamed. But then, when you said "she has come through for me right when I needed her (when she never has before!!!)", it did kind of make sense, as this is a very serious point, at which she could have really lost you and your trust for years. I'm quite moved by the justness of her stopping just there and turning onto the right path...

Bloody hell, cheeptrick, of course you're not a turkey!

Hawthers, keep that baby in there! Good going!

mmm I think the bits I had focused on when reading it are that the main risks for shoulder dystocia are maternal morbid obesity and diabetes not expected size of baby and the section on how accurate fetal weight estimating is.

Ah i see. Although i am worried that dh has very very wide shoulders and has to get suitsnfrom high and mighty!

My main concern is that i am 100% sure i want an epidural as i had such a traumatic birth last time (forceps with no pain relief and no episiotomy) but obviously this massively cuts down my ability to get into the right position and stay upright. If i have a very big baby and an epidural then i assume this must greatly increase my risk of another instrumental delivery, tearing and complications like shoulder dystocia. Also i dont think it helps that i have been in bedrest for so long and am therefore very weak and unfit. I dont wantnanc section either if possible but im not even sure this would be an option for me anyway, as consuktant seems quite dismissive of my previous trauma despite the fact that i am in tears at every appointment.

Sorry to sound so negative but i am struggling to envisage a scenario which isntntraumatic/doesnt result in lots of damage.

cheese was your last birth with a big baby as well? As far as I understood it, having an instrumental is greatly reduced with your second as your body has done it already. I guess it depends on whether there is a great deal of difference in the size of your two babies.

No he was 3 lbs 10 as he was premature!

Sorry I should have remembered, I really have no idea then. It's not on that your consultant is being unhelpful. Could you ask to see someone else?

is NOT being helpful

Morrning girls: Squeeze!!!

Off to help at an NCT Nearly New Sale this morning. Top Tip: check with your local branch if they'd like more helpers for your local NCT sale (it's about 2-3 hours help normally: you don't have to be a member to help). They are usually very happy for more volunteers and as a helper you usually get first dibs on all the goods for sale. Bargain-tastic!! (go for box sales rather than tabletop sales as the latter are less easy to compare bargains at for buyers. I used to run my local one so have experience!) am hoping I can find DS a BabyBjorn sling as he finds my Mobywrap too "girly".

Morning! aethel hope you get some good bargains!

Off for our usual swim in a few minutes, but the main job this weekend is filling the freezer. Already done two lots of chilli, doing pasta sauce and sausage casserole in between other stuff today. Then we're spending all day tomorrow cooking!

Morning all! I am on maternity leave. Yeah!

Had a hectic week trying to tidy up everything for hand over so just catching up here now and there was sooo much to catch up on - it was great.

I wish I had knowledgeable words of comfort for those worried about big babies but really don't know enough being a naive first timer - just thinking of you and hoping you're not too stressed. I also have big d/h - he's 6'10 - but m/w hasn't measured me once at my appointments. Everytime I ask about size she tells me the baby 'looks' spot on size-wise. Last time, I had any measurements was 20 week scan and think baby was about average in measurements then. So I am worryingly blissfully ignorant about what to expect.

Tyel reading back through the thread, I had worked myself up to point of righteous anger so was just wonderful to come to the conversion story. I am so pleased your mum turned up for appnt and is on side. Made me quite emotional.

Speaking of which, we received a letter welcoming us from our new neighbour the other day. He's a 91 year old pensioner and wrote the most beautiful letter telling us all about his family. He then explained that his wife had had Alzheimers for the last 7 years and was now in care, saying 'the resultant pain was beyond expression'. He had even included a b/w photo of them together in 1949. Even though it was upbeat towards the end, I cried for about half an hour after!

Cooking - must get onto that....

Morning!

msbuggy you're far too productive for how early it still is!

aethel hope you get some bargains.

My mum has helpfully predicted that the baby will come this weekend. I'm 34+4 today, hopefully she'll be wrong. My guess is 36-37 weeks.

Bluebells Enjoy the mat leave :)

Well, I had a 50% increase in the amount of sleep I got last night! 3 whole hours from 11-2 :( Would have managed a bit more early this morning, but DD randomly woke very early and wouldn't settle on her own so I had to bring her in bed with me. If she's in our bed she will only settle if she pokes at my face, pullls my hair, climbs on me and uses my head for a pillow. She leaves DH alone whilst I get no sleep at all! Absolutely exhausted so will get DH to take DD somewhere later on today so that I can try and nap

Morning all. Feeling much better today but I suppose I should considering I spent most of yesterday asleep on the sofa & had a lie in this morning Didn't mean to as I had loads of work to do but sat down for a minute & slept about 5 hours!

When DP came in last night he said he'd decided that I can't work right up to the birth & I have to go on ML early...clearly I'm not looking my best these days :) He wanted me to start at the end of next week but I've negotiated an extra week as I'm pretty convinced I'll go overdue so I will be on ML from 39wks! Really excited now & feeling much less stressed about my big to do list.

Is anyone here self employed & already taking maternity allowance? Any idea how long they take to make your first payment? I've sent my forms in but I have to let them know when I want it to start & I can't really tell them now I've decided in case LO comes early.

Had a thought this morning...isn't all this insomnia supposed to prepare you for having a newborn wake you throughout the night? If so, I am totally unprepared...DP says not to worry; according to MIL he slept through the night from day 1 Is it just me or does that sound like she refused to get up or slept through his cries from day 1?

Some people luck out Honey The rest of us suffer and seethe in silence

Been to exchange some humbug stuff today. Pondering a coffee then home for a nap. The parasitic octopus is very active this morning. Was yesterday too. Not amused, it hurts:(

Might look for a purse first though. Need a new one.

Morning all, too much productivity for my liking! But then, I barely slept at all. Couldn't get comfy, then the bump was itchy, then I had lots of horrid vivid daydreams about crazed men with knives wanting to kill me and eat GingerBaby. Most unpleasant.
Sleeping through from day one - as a naive first timer, I read that if they don't wake, you should wake them as they need feeding every 3 hrs minimum, even at night. This would be my plan, but I guess experienced mums would cry out not to be so daft and take every bit of sleep you can...
Got to find a nice Silver Anniversary present today. My best friend celebrates 25 yrs of marriage - her son is almost 25, she was marched up the aisle at 16. And here's me just starting out at 39.

Oi I obviously fall in to the "naive first timer" category too as I was thinking the same thing. MIL isn't the tiniest bit maternal though

If you want to bf you'll need to be feeding (or at least expressing) every 3 hours to keep up your milk supply. I think if you ff it its ok to let baby go longer as long as they're still meeting their milk requirements during their waking hours (after the first couple of weeks anyway).

I was really sick this morning, only the second time throughout my pregnancy other than when I had a stomach bug. I've also had a couple of twinges in my bump and haven't had much appetite for the last couple of days.

They could all be taken as indicators seven or just symptoms of a cold. Got to love the human body

I have, while sat here drinking coffee, ordered another Christmas present and been given an idea for another one. Damn festive season! Might order my crib and car seat while I am comfy.

Honey I presumed DD would wake up for a feed the first night - she didn't and when MW asked how long she slept (maybe was about 6 hours) I got very much scolded for not waking her as its apparently quite dangerous not to, as at that age, they need to feed every three hours. So you are all actually clued up first timers!

seven I've been feeling like that for the past 10 days or so, so doesn't necessarily mean its all going to kick off soon. I am quite comforted by all the posts elsewhere complaining of BH, pains, pressure etc for weeks before labour starts. 34 + 1 today so just a few days behind you.

LO not moving as much as normal today. Have eaten some chocolate (good excuse) and going to give it a couple of hours before panicking.