December 2011:Once we pop, we just can't stop

[OiMissus]

Here's the new thread!
Squee-eeze those muscles, or squee-ee-eeeze those babies out!

Congratulations bee sounds like it went brilliantly! Get the Lansinoh on, letting your nipples air dry after feeds as much as you can will help you heal too.

falala oh no! Hope you feel better soon.

Decent nights sleep, both DDs are bouncy again, all is well here! We had lots of deliveries yesterday so the Christmas wrapping is being done at the weekend.

Congrats Bee and Laura. Hope DD makes a full recovery soon Laura. Think 1st Dec is a great date Bee!

Falala hope you're feeling better soon.

Does anyone else feel like their life is a little 'on hold' until baby comes? I'm trying not to make plans too far in advance -maybe that's the problem. DH suggested this morning I phone to make some appnts for house viewings. Tmrw is my EDD and I think, what if I go into labour any day soon and those poor people run around cleaning and tidying for us to cancel at the last minute.

Fingers crossed Oi that you're one of the 5% who give birth on EDD!

Thanks for the hello hawthers, you're right, it's not the small weight/size per se that bothering them, it's the incredible shrinking baby syndrome that the data suggests. They can only work with what they have after all!
Here's hoping they resolve it today.
Congrats bee, sounds like a good (if slightly mortifying) birth. Well done you and I hope Hawwa gets used to feeding soon and your milk comes in.
oi, you are my birth date buddy (along with maybe honey, can't remember), wishing you all the best for today. If there's no babe for either of us then maybe we can relax a little while longer (trying to look on the bright side!)

Well done, BeeMyBaby! It's great to hear you ended up with so little grazing - sounds brilliant! I take it the new photo on the profile is Hawwa - what a little sweetie!

falalalababy, hope you are not feeling too bad today. Do you know how long the 'flu might have to run?

Good to hear the DDs are feeling better, msbaublestwinkle. If you have the same sort of weather we have (bright and dewy/frosty), they'll have a lovely day for a walk to clear the cobwebs away!

Sleighbells, you are quite right about the life on hold business! House viewings while awaiting a baby, indeed! Your DH is an idealist!

DH took DS to nursery this AM, for the first time, despite plans for him to take him once a week (leaving me to do the Monday commute). However, with the new preschool place sorted, we're in the countdown to finishing at that nursery, and no more over-20-mile round trip! I need to wrap presents, write Xmas cards, despatch some Antipodean things (last posting date for ANZ is Monday, 5 December!!!), buy up last bits, etc.

Have a good day, all!

Right, hope name change has worked- I would've just been NoelChinchilla, but MN doesn't appear to allow umlauts (for over the 'e') and I didn't want anyone to think I'd named myself after Oasis...

Thank-you for the collective snoring stories, I'm glad I'm not the only one. As I said to OH, I'm the biggest now I've ever been in my life, so it's not surprising! But didn't know about the increased fleshy-ness too.

Congratulations to bee and laura, and hope your baby's out of SCU soon; as she's progressed there from IC then it certainly looks like she's improving well.

The evolutionary changes have meant humans are- relative to the rest of the animal kingdom- pretty naff at birth. Getting upright, and more nutrition for bigger brains has had to be traded off with making birth more difficult, and all babies are born 'prem'. If human babies were born at the same level of development as other mammals (able to walk around, communicate, feed from the breast themselves) they'd be born at about 19 months! Makes a 10lb-er sound not so horrific !

lala that is really crap news, you poor thing. Rest, rest, rest, and remember the 'this too shall pass' motto.

Yes, that's right hoho, it's you, me and honey today - and possibly Tinselperion - or she's certainly not far behind... I think, can't remember. Fingers crossed!

Morning all

Congrats bee sounds like you had a nice fast birth!!! Very jealous. Dint know why but if I am going to poo myself id much rather do it in a pool than a bed

39 weeks today had a lovely Xmas works meal last night a very rich chocolate torte to finish off still stuffed this morning!! Everyone could see a big change in bump I've not been in since last Thursday and I feel much bigger in that time too.

Definitely feel life on hold and Ive got a horrible feeling baby going no where anytime soon I'm tall and long in body so baby not squashed or uncomfy so he will prob be happy staying put won't he

Are many of us still at work now? I wish I'd gone in this week now but I suppose you have to pull the plug eventually.

Congrats bee - hope you other due date ladies have a productive (in the baby appearing sense) day!!!

Just writing my birth plan, trying to keep it simple and in bullet points ...

Lovely pic of Hawwa, Bee. Soooo cute.
And just checked out cheep's photo too. Lovely cute chubby cheeks.

When we've all hatched, we should open a snapfish or photobox type account. Everyone should upload one photo of the baby, with our MN name, the baby's name, and DOB written on the photo. Then we could make a poster, or a little 6" x 4" book, for our nurseries/LO's. Any of us would be able to order them as we pleased. And we'd have a lovely souvenir of our MN friendships and the help and support that this thread has given to us. :)

Oi, that's a lovely idea, as long as it's by nicknames - it wouldn't be nice to leave out anyone who's afraid of being identified or even stalked (remember MsXStitch? ).

ChinChilla, 19 months?!?! I had no idea it was quite that extreme!

oi, that's an amazing idea! Totally up for it x

Congrats bee!

So exciting, the babies are really coming now :)
Thanks for all the good wishes guys! I am basically curled up in bed with. Y vile raspberry leaf tea, a box of tissues, Panadol and feeling horribly sorry for myself. I am hoping that I kick this thing in the next few days since I have been feeling symptoms since Monday!

slieghbells on hold is exactly how I feel at the mo! On one hand I feel like the baby's arrival is eminent then I remember that it could be another 4 weeks!!! (still only 37+5 today)

Omg 19 months! I reckon I would be ready to kills myself keeping a baby in there for that long!

plu whatever did happen to mrsxstich? I need gossip to keep me going

oi that is a fab idea!

Just popping in to wish you all good luck. I was on the December 2010 thread last year and can remember exactly how I felt once I reached December. Congratulations to all those who have popped already! Come on the December babies!

Thank you yuleingfanjo!

Serious nesting going on here this morning...I have only been up since 9am and have so far done washing, put everyone's clean washing away, made tonight's dinner, made sweet potato soup for lunch. I didn't even sit down to eat my breakfast, I ate while cooking! But why do my nesting impulses surround cooking? I could do with some cleaning related ones!

Who is having a baby today then? oi?

Oi I'm a day behind you 2nd Dec lot - though I have had some sharper contractions this morning though, so I'm bouncing on my ball, steeling myself to go out for a walk (very icy here this morning though the sunshine is glorious) which always seems to bring on more significant tightenings and pressure. And not answering the bloody phone!! I've had at least 10 texts and many phone calls - my poor MIL, I've hung up on her twice (also hung up on my own mother at least 6 times)...will have to give her a text today.

Picture book idea is great. Though would be up for a meet-up with people in/within striking distance of London if people don't mind revealing their identities. You lot are SO much more up my street than my NCT group, who are very nice but really not on my wavelength (I mentioned the evolution thing to them because I thought it was interesting and they rolled their eyes and one started sniggering ).

Sleighbells not only is my life on hold but DH's is as well - he's supposed to be taking the boys to an away match on Saturday which means he'd be gone from 11.30-7pm so he's asked if he can swap with another master who will be reffing a home match (using the fact that it's my EDD as leverage)...and then on Sunday he has another duty all afternoon which he is trying to swap as well in case I am in labour! Sod's law I will go 2 weeks over and all his colleagues will be annoyed at having to be ready to cover him at all times.

I'm also up for a meet up in the NY. I'll happily drive anywhere. :)
reet, off to see the MW, I hope she'll do a sweep.

Good luck with the contractions tinsel! Am so !! nothing haappening ere, no matter how hard I try!

I'm a bit far norf to manage meet ups, but I'll wave my digital pompoms:o

Congrats to Bee and Laura

My arms are going to be strapping with all this waving of pompoms

Congrats to Bee and Laura*. Hope DD is out of SCBU soon.

Oi That's a lovely idea

Just want to clarify what I meant when I said about resisting induction. Of course I was referring to whether or not it's truly necessary...which because hohoho's baby is estimated at 7lbs didn't seem to be the case?! I was induced with DD, but managed to resist for an extra day because we'd gone away and done our research. My waters broke and labour didn't start naturally. The hospital wanted to induce after 36 hours because they worry about infection. We had read up that waiting 72 hours was fine as long as both mother and baby are fine when monitored (which was our situation). We convinced them to give us 72 hours. In the end I was induced after 60 because I wanted them to start it all off in the morning after I'd had some sleep, rather than at the end of the day!

Why don't us northerners arrange a northern meet up then? There are quite a few of us within easy distance of Manchester.

We're off out after lunch to DD1's best friend's house, I intend to spend the afternoon sitting on the sofa chatting and drinking tea!

Thank you, YuleingFanjo, what a lovely mentoring thing to do! I'm sure you've got many better things to do than search out the antenatal groups!

Sorry your NCT lot were not interested in the evolution thing, Tinselperion. I was gagging for interesting conversation in the early months with my antenatal group, and was always very pleased when a conversational gambit succeeded! However, even when a gambit failed, no-one ever sniggered at me! That rather shows that person up, doesn't it? Bloody hell...
BTW, your DH's colleagues will be grateful enough when you are on mat leave and able to "cover" their deliveries, etc. - whether they have asked you beforehand or not!

LittleMissHumbuggery, I thought we'd already decided to have remote skype link-ins to any meet-up! Subtitles for msbuggy, too - surely drunken typing will be just the same as slurred speech!

Kate more sleep is an excellent reason! I also think empowering ourselves with knowledge an excellent strategy. I don't think midwives have it in for us to have medicalised births all at their convenience, there are generally good reasons. It's just understanding them that's key.
I am getting lots of period type pains at the mo but no show or waters so I am going to keep myself busy today.
Honey has not been on today, wondering if it's kicked off for her. If it has, I hope she has the amazing home and hypnobirth she has been preparing for :)

morning ladies!
huge congrats bee :)
everyone sounds nice and upbeat today mostly.
beautiful day up in the north east today too, sunny and frosty and fresh. i think when i pick DD up from nursery we will head to the park for a nice long walk, see if that gets anything moving!!!

my baby is playing silly buggars - after a few weeks of being engaged, 3/5 and 2/5, i was told at yestodays appointment that she could get her hands right round his head! (explains the reapperance of awful heartburn) also he is back to back. on a positive though my blood pressure is back to normal. im due on sunday, but midwife was unable to do a sweep, as they are not allowed to do them until 40+3.

wrt inductions, can i just say that they are not necessarily a bad thing to be avoided at all costs, i know there are a lot of horror stories on here, but they are not all bad, and 'natural' births can also require just as much intervention. as plu said, i would hate to think that anyone was beating themselves up about needing one.

i had an induction with my first birth at 42+1. i had the tablets inserted at tea time on sunday, contractions started after a hour or two mildly, and ramped up as the night got on. my waters broke on their own at around midnight. contractions painful but managable - i had no pain relief, just stayed active and concentrated on breathing. i was 9cm by 8am in the morning and had some gas and air. DD was born at 9am. I had mild grazing only. 1 midwife present, everything was lovely and calm and dd went straight to breast. I only had one internal examination.

hope that puts anyones mind at rest, that it is not always a nightmare :)

Oi Love the picture book idea am def up for that

Tinsel I am for a meet up, am only an hr & half away on south coast so can drive or catch the train

Baby is very low today, no tightenings tho baby hasn't moved much but does have hiccups!

Finished my Xmas shopping and decoration shopping this morning. I've done all my housework so currently watching Prison break with a cuppa

Brought some mint hot choc this morning using a tip from further down the tread.

Just back from MW. We had a chat first, and I was getting a bit tearful . And they were really sweet. There was a student present. The MW was happy to do a sweep, until I said that the head wasn't engaged. They can't do sweeps until you're engaged. Anyway, they examined me and said baby was at least 2/5ths. Hurrah! She performed a sweep and was grinning from ear to ear. My cervix was central and completely effaced (very thin), she put her fingers straight through it (!) - I'm about 2cm dilated. The head is right there, and my membranes are bulging, which means my waters are ready to go!
Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean that labour is imminent. But she thinks it's highly likely that I'll go soon. If for some reason I don't, I'm booked in for another sweep in Monday. and, if all this fails and I did get to the induction point, she doesn't think I'd need any hormones and that breaking the waters would be enough to get me motoring.
Hurrah hurrah hurrah!!!
So I'm much happier. I'm cancelling my running around Xmas shoppery plans for today, and going to do some nesting and preparation and get this house ready for a baby. :)
And I'll be up for any meet ups - North, South, East, West - you have been such great support to me through this pregnancy, I'd love to buy y'all a drink. :)
Oh honey - very quiet! She's either made it to her orthodontist appointment, or she's hopefully having her homebirth.