May be Babies - The Third Trimester

[SirCharles]

A new thread as the other one was ready to burst!
Thanks *Mikocat" for the new name.

LittleSarah- lovely birth story, must get round to writing mine.
Bodeccia - good luck for tomorrow
Interesting about the hot compresses, hadn't heard that one, but DH had to press really hard on the bottom of my spine during contractions - so hard that I had back ache for 2 days afterwards!
Sorry - who had after pains? They've got worse after each child I'm sorry to say, and because BFing helps your uterus contract they do not make the first few days of feeding a relaxing experience!
I am half way through my solo week and even remembered to put the recycling bin out today! Still dreading DH being away overnight most of next week as DD1 isn't a reliably good sleeper, although she's much better than she was, and if I have 2 of them awake then it could all go horribly wrong :(

bodeccia my induction was really positive and resulted in a simpler birth than DD where I ended up starting naturally at 40+10, 2 days before I was booked for induction. Just one midwife, no further intervention.
The MW reminded me that even on the drip once your body starts labouring it produces it's own oxytocin and takes over naturally. I found it a really great birth.
The whole pessary (I had tablet as 2nd birth) thing was a faff, but then I was induced far earlier. 'Be active', 'oh best rest up', we must have trekked miles over 3 days (outside of hospital was fine) only to be told to go to sleep on return. I think giving the pessaries at night might be better as for me things kept starting around 8-9pm and they'd say oh well best rest til morning by which time it would have gone off again.
Try and stay relaxed and positive, question things so you're comfortable and I'm sure it will be fine. You'll be meeting your LO there's an incentive

thanks for posting your story littlesarah - iit sounds like a great birth!!

good luck bodeccia - you're going to have your baby very soon!! birth is over-rated anyway!

after-pains - never felt any with DC2 so i am assuming they wont be too bad with DC3

life after paternity leave - we've hired a nanny to help me 3 evenings a week with cooking/feeding/bathing/general tidy up because im no superwoman and DP works late hours. Mrning should be fine as no DC is at school yet, so it will be. matter of get breakfast, get dressed and get to the park (i'll be the first mummy in the park, deseperatly waiting for the small coffee shop to open to get a cuppa!). im hoping it will be so intense, i will forget to eat cake a d get back in my pre-DC jeans in no times!! :)

it will be fine, it will be fine, it will be fine....( self hypnosis method)

MW app this morning, currently 38+2 and LO still free moving and not engaged at all! In fact all it did was kick the MW as she tried to feel where/how he or she was positioned! Cheeky little thing!! It really doesn't like being disturbed at all! Managed to get a prescription for my gaviscon addition which is good as I am still necking an awful lot of the stuff, oh and i may have another uti! All fun!! Starting to get a little impatient to get things moving now and the first of our NCT girls has just had her DD so it's all starting to feel another level of real ness again!

Hope everyone is well?

Hi my due dates today so I went for a sweep. So disappointed, my cervix isn't ready/ripe/its too high up something like that so she was unable to do the sweep, she was however able to feel the babies head. This is my first and I know I'm bound to go over my dates but sometimes you can't help but get caught up in the excitement and think what if ...

Anyway she said I might get a show in the next day or 2, which would be a step in the right direction. I'm booked in for another sweep next week and booked to be induced the 29th.

Soo I'm down in the dumps, I'm gonna go for a nap and hopefully I'll wake up feeling more positive. DP also started 2 week paternity leave today, his work wouldn't budge on dates, so I really hope I go earlier so his paternity leave isn't wasted.

Imissbrie - I'm only 39+1 and had a sweep as well today but like you the midwife said my cervix was too posterior... Oh well, at least I know that baby isn't likely to come out soon and I can enjoy my weekend with DP...

tostaky sorry to hear that, so you couldn't have the sweep either? Hope you get a lovely weekend with dp, with maybe a baby Sunday night to round it off nicely!

I've been walking briskly up & down hills pushing ds in the buggy today..felt like it was doing something cos could feel dull aches but nothing now & just tired out!! More walking this weekend..come on baby!

Sorry some of you had disappointing sweeps. Cervixes can change quite a lot in a short time though, and I think a bit of poking about helps even if it isn't a proper sweep, so don't be downhearted.

Blue your kicky baby sounds like DD2 - she used to kick the doppler off when the mw tried to listen in! Glad you can enjoy the great taste of Gaviscon for free now

cupcake a good friend swears a brisk walk from her house to a friends and back again (quite a long way across town, taking in a few hills!) was what started her second labour - she only just made it to hospital in the end!

Hello everyone. I've been reading avidly every day but haven't got round to posting in ages! The thread moves so fast but congratulations to ALL of the mums who have had their babies, it is so exciting!

I'm 40+2 and all I do is sleep. Seriously. This is the luxury of it being the first baby I suppose! Nap after breakfast and a nap before dinner.. both naps lasting about 2 hours!

So I had a sweep today. Baby is 2/5ths into the pelvis, 3/5ths still above.

posterior, soft cervix measuring 2.5cm long (this is gobbledygook!) but she only managed to just about squeeze a finger up and do a "very light" sweep in her words, so as she predicted it didn't do anything. No discharge or bleeding or cramps. Have another sweep in 5 days time.

The sweep was so sore! I had to do my deep breathing and was joking to DH after I hope labour isn't that painful I found it very uncomfy, not "just like a smear" at all!

imissbrie I know how you feel, when I knew I was getting a sweep you let your imagination run away a bit and think ooooh maybe. Then it's disappointing when there is nothing. I'm due to be induced on the 25th just two days before you. I hope your sweep next week is more favourable.

Good luck to everyone who is still waiting. I love reading this thread for updates!

No babies overnight? :)
it is funny how they come by wave.
heidi - sorry your sweep wasnt effective either. My midwife said that only 1 in 7 sweep are working....

cupcake - thank you :) would be great to have baby on sunday evening!! Nothing planned on sunday afternoon so i will take DP for super long walk whatever the weather !!! the midwife also said i should be scrubbing my floor.... i am tempted to do that today - although i dont need my floors need scrubbing???

Hey everyone, how is everyone doing ?
Finally got home yesterday afternoon after 2 emotional nights in the hospital, how anyone is supposed to recover in those places is beyond me, it's far too hot, the nurses are just rude and noisy and Jesus Christ this poor woman with twins in the bed next to me had her work cut out for her, 20 minutes sleep I got the first night thanks to her 2 bundles of "joy"
Jessikah is really really good, compared to her sister she is so calm and relaxed, wakes up a couple of times in the night for feeds but is really good long may it continue !
My section compared to the last time (spinal failed and ended up with ga) was absolutely amazing, they made it such a lovely experience, really looked after me, one of the nurses took our camera and took absolutely loads of pictures for us.

I also looked in to see who'd popped next, and what??? no-one????

I just got back from having my pre-op blood tests done at hospital. Completely humiliated myself by slightly bumping into a bin in the very cramped waiting room when I was called through for the test. Unfortunately, the bin was partly hidden behind a pillar and unknown to me some muppet was using it to hold a cup of coffee (yes, that's what bins are for ), and of course the ceramic cup and saucer did fall off onto the floor and smash loudly, splashing the drink and broken bits of cup everywhere. And, yes, it was really crowded, and everyone stared at the hugely pregnant whale-woman knocking stuff over . Fortunately, the drink missed it's owner (so no injuries!) and DH was there so I just asked him to deal with it and ran off with the phlebotomist (who very kindly said it was a stupid place to leave a drink, and asked if I was OK, because I was nearly crying with embarrassment!!!!) Not feeling too great anyway, as I'm full of snot and phlegm, coughing loads, and hoping it all goes away by Monday, as I can't even contemplate a huge coughing fit after a CS - or even worse during the CS (noooo)!!!! Haven't been sleeping well due to congestion / coughing either. Grrrrrr - bit stroppy this morning!!!!!

On the good side, the to do list is pretty much history!!! Just the birth announcement cards to make (but that's fun rather than a chore), and then just the everyday stuff that I do anyway :) The blocked drain is also fixed, which is a massive relief! Also, have had lots of lovely kind comments from people in shops etc who've asked when I'm due, and even loads of nice messages from eBay buyers who have bought stuff from me last week. Nursery offered to open at 7am for us on monday (normally they will agree a 7.30 start as the earliest they do) in case we needed to drop the DDs off then (of course the parents are now coming instead!), but it was really kind of them to offer. Quite touched at how nice people can be :) so it's not all bad. Will try not to be so grumpy for the rest of the day!

Looks as though we have a little lull in births...though I do know that manda who hasn't been v active on this thread is currently in hospital, went in yesterday, so think there's at least some 'thread activity' if that makes sense. I have some of my NCT class coming over this afternoon and we have had one birth so far, one currently overdue and then I'm next on the list I think...but as we all know the list could prove irrelevant if our LO's decide they are comfy and happy tucked up inside or want to make an early bid for freedom

I tried some raspberry leaf tea yesterday - actually was quite nice though it did have bad heartburn side-effects so not sure how useful it will be. And I have a nice pineapple ripening up at the moment so will tuck in to that over the weekend though there's probably no point with either of these things seeing as LO is still happily swimming around in there and not even engaged yet

catsy as typical as life is my heartburn actually hasn't been so bad the last couple of nights - which is typical since I now have my prescription!! Glad to hear that everyone is being supportive re. your other DC's and to you as well! Hope your cold/cough pass v soon though!

new glad you are home safe and well and can now catch up on some sleep (hopefully!) after your sleepless time on the ward! Surprised they didn't put the lady with twins in a separate room!!

Sorry to hear that sweeps aren't being very effective for people. My MW was chasing me for my birth plan yesterday so I will try and get on with that again later...though finding it really hard to do as I'm fairly sure that 'what will be will be' to a certain extent so spending ages writing up my ideal scenario might just lead to disappointment if I have to go a different way...hmmm...DH also wants me to do it though so I guess I ought to make some notes at least! Think my bags are pretty much packed though which is good.

Blue the gaviscon must be having preventative effects - amazing! I quite liked the raspberry leaf tea too, though not sure it did much! You've reminded me, I suppose I should write a birth plan even though I'm having ELCS, just so I can make my preferences re. feeding, vit K etc known.

new glad you're both OK, and had a good experience this time. When I had DD1 I was just leaving the ward to go home, when they wheeled in a woman with twins. I did feel quite grateful to be leaving, as being on a ward with single babies was bad enough at night (why can they not all cry at the same time, rather than taking it in turns, like a baby relay team???).

Where do u buy your raspberry leaf tea from? Went to holland &bartlett yesterday and couldn't find any...

I'm surprised at no more announcements too, but then some posters have gone quiet (limeflower?) so we'll probably get a flurry over the weekend! I'm certainly hoping to go over the weekend, come on baby!!

catsy I did lol in sympathy at the coffee cup moment...it's exactly the kind of thing I would do, especially since being pregnant I've just been sooo clumsy! Love that you ran off & left dh to it though
Well done on the to-do list... mine now just has 'photocopy preg notes' on it which I really must do tomorrow before they whip them away from me at the hospital!

Good luck with birth plan blue...rather than seeing it as an ideal scenario thing that you prob won't end up following, just make sure the things you do want are clear on there. Eg mine says I want dh to cut cord and tell me baby's sex, that I ideally want to avoid epidural, that I'd like immediate skin-to-skin and breastfeed, that sort of thing. I wrote it in v clear bullet points and clipped it in the front of my preg notes file last time and I was actually surprised that everyone did read it so I think it's worth doing.

tostaky my dh bought me raspberry leaf tea in Holland & Barrett..he said it was on offer though so maybe they'd run out when you went in!!

new great news that you're home and that you had such a great experience.

Who's having curry this weekend then??

cupcake at what point do they take your notes as I want to copy mine as well? Is it before you leave the hospital or at your 6 week check post birth? Thanks for the pointers on the birth plan...DH now home this evening which is nice but to do list will have to resume tomorrow now!

tostaky a friend gave me the tea - no idea where she got it from and it's not branded so can't tell from the box

Think curry will be on the menu v soon!

blue I'm not actually sure..I think the midwife might have them with her when she does your home visits for first couple of weeks so you can ask for them then to copy them; it will have all your birth notes in at that point too (which is the bit I really want to read from my previous notes but never asked for them; you have to pay to get them back once you're signed out of care)
I just want to copy them now to make sure I def have some of it anyway, will be useful if/when I fall pregnant again.

hi all, a brief catch up while there's a lull. My notes were taken at the hospital when I was discharged. They give you a summary of the the birth and any highlights as a precis for the MW but the main lot will be gone so copy them before you go in. I forgot with both of mine.
Have a great weekend all. Did I imagine there's a post natal thread already?

cupcake I thought the coffee cup was something I should delegate... glad you approve . I just made curry for dinner - never has any effect on me, so thought it wouldn't affect plans for Monday!

I've always bought raspberry leaf tea from Holland & Barrett too tostaky - think it's made by Heath & Heather or something?

Have written my birth plan now - very brief, given the ELCS.

I paid for my notes the last two times, I know I should photocopy them - will see if I can be bothered . My antenatal notes vanished round about the birth last the previous 2 times (from memory), and I went home with separate postnatal notes, possibly one set for me and one for the DC. The mw then sends them away for filing after she discharges you and passes you onto the HV round here - it probably varies depending on where you go. DD2's got sent to Worcester rather than Warwick though, and effectively got lost, so I never managed to get a copy of those postnatal ones. On second thoughts, will try to copy them tomorrow, and do the postnatal ones before the mw takes them!!!! They are definitely useful to have when you get pg again, or if you have any queries about the birth. The other thing is, both times I've paid for the notes, they've come to me completely out of order and messed up, and it's taken an hour or so to sort them out each time! Some pages came back illegible from bad copying with DD1, and I had to ask for them to be redone. Yes, will definitely do it myself this time!!!!

Cant believe your thinking about another pregnancy before this ones over Cupcake
Littlesarah glad your ds is okay with the new baby. Fergus is coping really well as well although there are some moments when they are both screaming at the same time and I have no idea who to sort out first. Hope you have a good time at cinema, I will have to try and do that this time too.
Went to visit my sister in law who lives an hour away on wed and managed to get both kids out the house by 9. Was so tough tho that I am very glad I have no school/nursery run to do. The house looked like a bomb had hit it. I second harecares advise about getting out the house, its what keeps me sane, accept all offers of help and any invitations out. I try to arrange to meet someone every day although its eraly days yet. Cant believe this weather we are having though, its so miserable it make life seem much harder.
I used the raspberry leaf tablets which I just got in local chemists because it easier to get around to taking them as my tea always gets cold before I have a chance to drink it.
My afterpains were much much worse this time round, didnt even notice them last time. A hot water bottles helps but make sure and get plenty of painkillers in for after the birth, apparently ibuprofens best if your bf as less comes through into the milk.
Finlay is doing fine, his sleep is okay, he tends to go about three hours in the night before he wants fed, burping him takes ages though and if I dont do it properly he is squirming about and waking up all the time. He has had a few bad nights when he has been really windy but generally he is ok. still totally wrecked though esp as ds1 seens to be dropping his nap! ahh bad timing for that one. Feeding is going okay although I seem to have too much milk quite often and Finn keeps getting drowned by it poor wee thing.
Looking foward to hearing some more birth stories soon and seeing how everyone else is coping with the babies, its funny being almost first! :)

cupcake sorry to disappoint you,still here and still 2 in 1 :P

dreaming congratulations on your baby,lovely name

LittleSarah sounds like you had an easy labour(if any labour's easy)

BlueCrane correct me if i'm wrong but i think you might have got the same buggy as me-M&P Zoom?I asked DH to give me a tutorial on it and he refused saying that "i have plenty of time".I'm not too bothered now as I can't bend over at all,but would like to get to know my new set of wheels :) sorry about your heartburn,mine one disappeared a while ago.

I still haven't got any birth plan written,i don't know what to write How many of you had a birth plan?

I've got next appointment on Thursday,will be bang on 40 weeks.Just wondering whether mw will "offer" a sweep and if so whether to go for it.

Having lots of patronising words from so called "friends" e.g.you haven't dropped yet?I dropped month before the labour.

Any news?any news?any news?grrrrr,text and mail so plonked the mobile somewhere on silent and trying to stay away from the mail.Especially FIL and his hellish lovely wife who had no interest in us at all and rubbing our noses with hertheir perfect faaaaaamly

Gosh,i started to be the same nervous as at the beginning of pg when i was afraid of mc-checking pants and paper all the time.Also about "when is the right time to go to the hospital"-living 40 mins away and terrified that i'll go too early and they will tell me to go back.Not to mention some wards being closed because of norovirus outbreak

I'm with you on the after pains Goodname I never noticed them last time either, I was in agony the first couple of days, I thought it was just down to the c section until the midwife explained it to me (silly me)

next time I will ASK a shop assistant in holland & Bartlett!!! In my defence, it was a very small one (bond st) so they may not have it anyway.

I dreamt I had a baby.... He had lots of curly hair (just like DP) and beautiful blue eyes (like my mum) and he didn't want to feed... I also dreamt that they gave me a general anaesthetic to make me sleep so I wouldn't have any memories of labour.... a bit odd really!!!

Enjoying A lie-in this morning as the DCs are at my mums

Hope everybody is having a good w-end, lots of labour vibes to everybody