Still Brewing a March Baby!

[Carlitawantsababy]

Shiny new thread!

I packed my hospital bag yesterday!! I spoke to my sister about hers and what she wore for birth (as in the old, open fronted nightie thing) and she said that although she'd packed a few, in fact, she took her trousers off when she got to hospital but left her bra and vest top on. So I'm thinking that I may do the same.

Has anyone else's baby's movements changed in the last few weeks? Mine seems to have stepped up the activity!! I thought it would be diminishing with it's size but it seems to be having a little party in there every day! I love it

Knitterati - hope you're not too achey after your fall. It's pretty crazy what these babies do to your centre of gravity / gracefulness etc, isn't it?!

Carlita- massive congrats on your house move. How exciting! Have you got any plans to change anything or is it pretty much just ready to live in? (From a few posts ago, but loved your poop deck idea too!)

Broody- movements have been so variable for me. Last few days the baby has being going nutso but then when it's been super hot days it gets really lazy and just seems to sleep.

Last Monday I had a bit of a scare. Had been on a nestathon in the morning and at Waitangi Day celebrations all afternoon and it'd been around 29 degrees, maybe 30, and in hindsight I think I just got too hot and bothered. At the time though, I was sure I was going into labour. Had poorly tummy, did projectile vomiting off the deck (TMI- sorry!), had squeezy pains at the bottom of my back, walloping Braxtons at the top of the bump, went all shakey. Really panicked, thinking the baby was coming early. Got husband to call midwife who said it might just be a tummy bug or baby reacting badly to the heat and to call her back if it we were worried later. Anyways, turned out to be nothing but it made me do a mad panicked pack of the hospital bag, so all wasn't lost. Felt very silly though

Well done broody!
Glad you're okay bee, sounds a bit scary! We have a huge amount to do to the house, it is very, very far from 'just move in', every ceiling is artexed, the kitchen is beige as is the bathroom, we have mirrored wardrobes (no, not the modern kind) and the living room/ dining room is half mint, half lilac with a floral border and a dark green carpet! we're also going to put in a downstairs loo and need to re fence the garden as doggy has full access to several currently! it's what we wanted though, to be forced to do it so we have somewhere we can put our own stamp on. We plan on staying for 10 years minimum so it will be worth our time!
Been reading up on the benefits of evening primrose oil this morning if anyone is interested and started taking it this morning after reading these instead of waiting till 36 weeks as I had originally planned.
www.maternitycorner.com/mcmag/articles/preg0007.html and www.pregnanthealth.com/evening-primrose-oil/
Disclaimer: there are also sites that say no studies have been done to test safety so best to avoid.

Hey ladies.
Meant to say carlita congrats on the house!! Amazing times ahead for you
Have any of you packed/planning to pack/use bachs original rescue remedy for the labour? I've checked online and it looks as though it's safe to use so was thinking I'd pack it in case. I had bought it for taking when I compete (dressage) to keep me calm so pass on good feelings to the horse during our test but never did get round to using it as I forgot to pack it in my bag then found out I was pregnant so wasn't sure whether to take it early on.

Sounds like the house will keep you busy for a while, Carlita! I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun doing it up. I'm still sorting out the bedroom- have got a bit perfectionist with the window frames- stripping & sanding them/ filling & several coats etc- which is all brilliant, except that no one other than me will ever notice once they're done! Now I'm thinking I should do the floor... Just making more work for myself, really.

I'd not thought of using evening primrose oil or Bachs rescue remedy- I'll have to look into those. Regularly drinking the raspberry leaf tea, though.

NCT class begins on Weds evening & health visitor coming on Thursday, so it's all beginning to feel a bit close, now.

The water birth book does mention using rescue remedy too broody, good idea, certainly won't hurt.
kiki I'd notice the windows, knowing where you live and by the sounds of what you've been doing they must be beautiful sash ones? They deserve to be looked after. I have PVC ones in my 1879 built house NCT this week? That'll be exciting, such a shame I'm just missing it!

Ooh, Carlita- I should say that the yoga class starts it's next 6 week cycle a week today. As I've done one cycle of six already the tutor has said that I can just sign up to 3 in the next set- I don't know if that's something you'd be interested in, or if it's too much right on top of the move and with the SPD..?

I'd love to kiki but have been advised to avoid yoga during pregnancy because of my hypermobility, too much of a risk I will injure myself! Going to go to 'bumps for lunch' at the bridge next week, do you go to that?

No, you should be careful. I haven't been to 'Bumps for lunch'- I'm a bit rubbish at that kind of thing- and there's so much to do to get the house in shape that I've become a bit of a hermit...

Oh girls. I've had a right up and down day As I've said before, my placenta was low lying at the 20 week scan so had my scan today to see if it had moved - if it hadn't, it would've been defo c section. It has moved. Happy days.

But the sonographer, who was lovely, decided to show us our baby a bit more and do some measurements (not normal in one of these scans, especially at week 35). Head - normal, femur length - normal, abdominal - fatty fatty tum tum, amniotic fluid - more than there should be This normally points to the development of gestational diabetes, so trickier birth, prob not water birth, big paediatric team in attendance (they will need to put a tube down baby's throat immediately to check fluid in lungs) and generally the kind of circus I do not want when introducing baby to the world. I am so worried and upset now. I've been so careful with my eating since discovering I was pregnant and the diabetes tests I had six weeks ago came back clear so gutted really that it could be coming to this.

The only positive in it all was that we got to see our baby's little face and it was confirmed he/she is in the eviction position ;)

oh broody I'm sorry to hear that, it must be awful to have your choices taken away from you. Glad baby is okay and in position and you don't have to have a c section but I'm sure it must be hard right now.

Sorry, Broody- that must feel disappointing. A school friend of mine had GD and just gave birth to her daughter about a week ago- I think that all went fine, no complications as far as I know, so hopefully it won't be as obtrusive as you fear. Could you use the pool in the early stages of labour, even if not for the actual birth? It may be worth consulting with your MW to discuss the possibilities? Try not to feel guilty about the GD, too- sometimes it just happens. At least you have a little while to prepare, and you know your baby will be well monitored & looked after. Must have been lovely to see it's face today. X

Ah broody that sucks.

There are definitely some positives to take away - the Drs know about the GD and can take extra precautions to ensure the safety of you and baby.

• you still might be able to use the MLU (suggest you talk to the MW about this) so you get a relaxed as possible setting.
• baby is in position and ready to go! (so no worries about breech etc)

-you weren't to know about the GD, so please don't feel guilty. You can be a healthy eater, doing exercise and still get GD. It's just one of those things.

Chin up duck and a big un-MNetty hug.

Broody - really sorry to hear about that. Do you know for definite that it is GD or could it be speculation? We had a growth scan 2 weeks ago and the head was around the 50th centile, femur was big (I think about 80th) and tummy was 85th centile. So whilst ours is going to most likely be a big baby they weren't worried about GD...think it's only when it's on or over that 97th centile that they start thinking that way. Did you get to see the graph that they plot those points on?

If it does turn out to be GD, at least they knew about it and can keep the baby really nice and safe. It would also mean you get the best possible care...so whilst it may not be what you wanted there are some nice positives? Also, wicked news that the placenta has moved and that bubs is in the right place of entry into the world!

Kiki - I'd defo notice the window frames. Do you do jobs and then sit and stare at them and feel all content/smiley only for husband to not notice any difference? That's the way it is here. Ah well, little things getting done make me happy.

Had my midwife appt this morning. Couldn't pee on the stick and my pulse was racing after doing 4 trips up our stupidly steep drive to take out all the recycling bins and then rushing to get there. Must've looked like a right idiot. Oh well, no change there.

37 weeks today. Eek!

My midwife did ask about how I felt about a student midwife joining her. Would really appreciate your input. So, student midwife is 40 and from Christchurch (so I already feel a bit bad if I say no as they've had a right tough run of things down there over the last year or so), she has 3 kids and I've read her resume thingy and she seems nice. I just really don't want more people than necessary at the birth. I'm quite private and really don't want someone I've not built up a relationship with staring up my foofoo (you only get one midwife here for every appointment from checking in, to birth to postpartum, so I've built up a good rapport with mine since last 7 months or so). I said I'd be fine with studentMW at the weekly antenatal checks and during the checks that go on for 6 weeks postpartum but I feel really uncomfortable with her being at the birth. I feel bad as I know she'll learn most from 'doing' and when I was teacher training I was obviously let loose on groups of kids to learn how to teach, so I do feel somewhat hypocritical. It's just with this being our first baby and it being such an unknown.
Any thoughts very gratefully received.

Hmm, that's a tricky one, Bee. I guess you'll just have to go with your gut instinct- especially if you think it will cause you to feel anxious during your labour. I've seen the same community midwife for all my appointments, but she won't be at the birth- it'll be someone I've never met- or probably a number of different midwives, as shifts will change etc so there will be handovers... I think that's standard in the UK.

I've had quite a lot of medical stuff over the years and have always felt I've been treated very well and so have been very accommodating with students etc- however, I had a very badly handled intrusive procedure a couple of years ago which really shook me up, and when a very nice nurse asked me if I would mind if she was observed performing my last smear test- which was completely unrelated- I did say no. Normally I wouldn't have been bothered at all, but it felt too much at the time. Remember the very last thing they would want is to make you feel stressed and worried about it. X

Personally I'd say no bee, the most important aspect of giving birth is staying relaxed and I wouldn't be the least but surprised if your one midwife system leads to fewer surgical births etc. interesting though, how do they do it? Are the midwives never able to plan a day off or a family holiday? Birthing is so unpredictable...when is 'term' for you? 37-42 weeks here.

Kiki & Carlita - thank you for the reassurance. My gut instinct is to decline her there for the birth but it's hard to say no to requests, isn't it? Think I'll explain that it's nothing against her, it's just I want the birth as private and low key as possible. Like you said, it's about cutting any unnecessary stress.

Term is 37 - 42 here too. So term as of today . Can't say I feel near yet although I noticed on the dog walk the baby is definitely feeling even lower in my pelvis today.
With midwives here when you're first pregnant you get a list of all the ones working in your area and each has a little blurb about their philosophy, if they do home births, if they do homeopathy, aromatherapy, hypnobirthing, waterbirthing, the pink pack etc as part of their practice. You then ring up the one you like the look of best and if they have space when you're due you arrange to meet up. If you like them after chatting, asking questions and all that (it's a bit like a date) then they book you in. You can swap midwives later if you want but I've never heard of anyone doing that. Basically they won't take you on if their workload around the time of your EDD is too high or if they have a holiday booked. They usually work in pairs too, so one will cover the other for 2 days a week. My MW's partner has been at most of my appointments and is really good too, so if I go into labour when my lead MW is on her 2 day leave, I'm more than happy for the back up MW to deliver the baby. I feel I know both equally well and trust them both. It seems like a really cool system. Both my LMC and her backup are actually both originally from the UK.
It does seem like more money is thrown at maternity services here. Not sure if it's because they want the population to grow more or something but I'm not complaining. Mind you, maternity pay is rubbish, so double edged sword!

Carlita - is tomorrow the day of the big move? All sorted and organised? Bet you're so excited!

Getting there bee, just having a quick [coffee] break then back to it!

Thought that would give the coffee pic, what does then? [drink]

Nope...

Good luck with the move today, Carlita! And a happy Friday to everyone else. X

thanks kiki! The removal men are here and are working away already!

Hi all, thank you so much for your lovely, kind messages. It's been a really emotional week, with feelings of guilt and stress about something I've done or could've done better
I've been to see the MW this morning so can update you a bit more. Blood tests came back negative for GD so I'm pleased and relieved with that. But the condition I have is called polyhydramnios - don't google it as it's sure to scare you even if you don't have it!! It's basically too much fluid around baby and tummy is big because it may not be getting rid of it effectively (so swallowing but not weeing it out). This could point towards an abnormality with baby's ability to swallow which is now another worry for me, even though MW said this is v rare (of course, that's not much consolation for me as a superstar worrier!) I will be scanned in three weeks to see if the fluid has increased - if it has, I'll likely be induced (I'll be 38 weeks though so term). Water birth is not ruled out - hooray!! - but because they will need to put a tube into baby as soon as he/she arrives, it defo has to be in a hospital. Also, even though baby is in its eviction position now, because there's more fluid around him/her, there's more possibility of it wriggling about and swapping position.
Blimey, I didn't ever expect pregnancy to be totally clear cut but I didn't think it'd be this difficult!!
carlita hope the moves goes smoothly today xx

The move went brilliantly thanks and we're settling in really well, feels like home already despite the horrendous decor! lots to do again today, I like having the 5 week timescale though, good for getting things done!

Glad you're all moved and starting to settle in

These next few weeks will fly by!