November 2012 - reaching the six-month mark

[StuntNun]

Previous thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/antenatal_clubs/1518656-November-2012-baby-shopping-time-has-really-taken-off

Stats list: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/antenatal_clubs/1485512-November-2012-Stats-List

I got our dog last November, as much as I would love a puppy, I don't have the time to give a puppy for training etc.

I got our dog from a rescue centre, and she is the best thing I ever got! Such a lovely dog, so calm, and loving. Very humanised! She is a golden lab, but probably not a pedigree, but she looks exactly like a lab should.

She was only in the rescue centre because her owners didn't have time for her, and were subsequently overfeeding her, just leaving her with bowls of food all the time. She was massively overweight when we got her, but with in 4 months she had lost all the weight, and is now the picture of health! When we got her she couldn't even get up the stairs, or on the sofa, or in the car! Was a nightmare! Now she has lost weight she can do everything again!

I love my dog, she is an absolute joy! Even if her smelly breath makes me feel sick!

Have you considered rehoming an older dog?? :)

Ignore my post! Didn't notice the fact you already have an older dog

Stunt DH promised me a puppy on valentine's day - an IOU pressie if you like. Apparently I can't redeem it whenever I like as despite the fact I mostly worked from home, he's now put his foot down and said wait 3 years. Hmmph :-(

Can I share my first draft of my birth plan to discuss with my midwife? would be good to get some opinions.

Birth Plan
Birth Partner
? My Husband, is to be with me at all times
? My Sister, * may attend depending on my anxiety levels

Medical Conditions
? Previous panics attacks/health anxiety ? to reduce this I will labour as much as possible at home and give birth at Birth Centre. I will be reading hypnobirthing. If my anxiety is at increased levels, my sister will attend the birth.
? Previous coccyx injury has troubled me through this pregnancy with PGP in my sacrum and sacroiliac joints because of this I do not wish to labour on my back

Labour/Pain Relief
? I want an active birth and will labour in any position I feel comfortable apart from on my back (see above)
? I will labour as much as possible at home using TENs, warm baths and paracetamol
? In hospital I wish to use massage, TENs and gas and air for pain relief, I am open to the use of other pain relief and will request as required
? I will use a birthing pool for pain management and hopefully give birth in water
? I will allow intermittent auscultation, preferably remaining in the pool.
? I DO NOT consent to continuous electronic fetal monitoring

Delivery
? Please explain to my husband and I and obtain my consent to any interventions including episiotomy , ventouse or forceps at the time.
? I wish to have skin to skin contact
? My husband is to be the first to find out our baby?s sex and to cut the cord if he wants to
? I consent to active management of the third stage

After Delivery
? I consent to oral Vitamin K to be administered to my baby if the birth was normal or the injection if the birth was traumatic.
? I DO NOT wish to be placed on a postnatal ward. I would like to remain in my room and discharged as soon as possible if the birth was normal.
? I would like to try breastfeed, however I am not against bottle feeding if the situation arises

Induction
? I DO NOT consent to induction at 40 weeks for reasons of ?precious pregnancy?
? I will allow expectant management
? I will consider intervention IF there is medical evidence of risk e.g. a scan showing placental degradation
? I MAY revisit this decision at 40+7weeks
? If induction is carried out, I DO NOT consent to continuous electronic fetal monitoring once a normal trace has been determined

Lol Valium and Pass, I got a puppy three months before DS1 was born but I think it would be easier this time as I have a bit more idea what I'm doing and apparently it's easier when you already have a dog as the pup tends to copy the adult dog.

DH21 my MIL's mum lost a sibling to a cat sitting on the baby and smothering her so it does happen but I'm not sure how common it is.

Detective I wouldn't consider getting an older dog with my children at the age they are because I think it would be harder to train and might be more likely to behave unexpectedly. There's also the fact that my dog is completely used to having her ears pulled and children trying to ride her like a horse so they will probably do that to any other dog coming into the house.

DS2 has already named the new dog Toby. I haven't even started looking for one yet, it was only an idea!

TheDetective That paint sounds crap. We bought some crown paint that said 32sqm, we bought two as two coats of the nursery would be around 32sqm and we didn't want to only just have enough. Anyway, we managed three coats with one tine with a bit to spare. Definately complain, i'd go to B&Q first and if nothing go to dulux.

VQ I've been reading the ikea thread and making my list

Liliana This is the ball I got

I want a puppy. Our neighbours have 4 great dogs who come to our back gate to see us. I think we might get one once i'm at home more often

Sounds good to me fatima!

We've got big dog (5) and terrorist (8mths). Both were mental as puppies, I'm not convinced having an older makes it any easier lol but I don't find two dogs twice the work.

Terrorist dog is going through the 'I will not be clean overnight' trick at the moment after being a dream to toilet train. She also likes to chew the clothes you are wearing. She hyper slavates too which I'm currently finding incredibly irritating but that I think is just pregnancy as it makes me feel sick. It never has in the past!!

But I love both their curly hearts and wouldn't be without them 99% of the time. I think I'd just be weary with a 10 year old as they are slowing down at that age. However now is prob the best time if you have the time etc to invest before baby comes along.

I've not coughed for 40mins!! That is a record today :)

I just got a ball from Tesco for a fiver, it worked fine with DS1.

Xx

I love pets. I grew up with cats, guinea pigs and rabbits. I am wary of dogs due to the horrendous behaviour of relatives with their dog. However, I am prone to a wee ear massage if a friendly doggy is around

My cat is awesome. She is little and sooky. She has most definitely been our fur baby. We have a plan for when baby comes to ensure both baby is safe and cat is reassured. We are confident she will not go in the cot - she won't put her face in semi-closed doors, doesn't jump up places and is easily scared by sudden movements or noises. However, we will still ensure baby and kitty don't sleep in the same room un-policed. I am not sure how it would work with a new cat - we know ours inside out and can guess her responses to things. There are plenty of local kitties I wouldn't trust where there was a wee warm, milky smelling body to cuddle in to.

Horsey I'm glad you havn't got a PE. It must have been very worrying.

Dectecive, perhaps you should wait until after the baby is born, young dogs are ALOT of work. If I were you, I'd wait till after the baby is born and try and get a young dog not a puppy from the local charity pound.

The baby washing saga, I hung outside this morning hoping the rain would stave off. It has and I have a huge load of whites to put away. My DP ordered a new dryer, as he got fed up with it too. YAY! So his answer to balancing the books sell the old dryer. I really don't think anyone will buy it, I've tryed to reason with him, but he won't listen.

Ive also been to work today, and felt breathless walking up and down the ward, I had to slow down :( one of the drs let me see my blood test result. I have a slightly low iron level.
Also from work I have a lovely blister from work too.

Tomorrow I have to get my rh- jab. Yay me.. :(
Evil

Ugh I have I have my rh- jab on the 21st evil so you will have to let me know how you get on with yours. I don't usually mind injections...so hopefully it'll be fine. Good news about the dryer! My boss sold me a newish hotpoint one for £40 when she downsized recently, wouldn't have got it if it was just me and DP but with baby on the way felt it would be a good addition!

I love my puppy to bits. It took us a year to conceive this baby and we got him at a time I was really down about it and thinking it would never happen. He has bundles and bundles of energy though and I know it will be really hard work with a newborn and a puppy. I love that the baby will grow up with a dog around though especially as I'm not keen on giving him a sibling for a long time.

fatima, do you mind me asking why you wouldn't want fetal monitoring? Is it because you'd have to be lying down? I'm just curious. My last birth DS's heart rate kept dropping, I was monitored throughout and was best lying on my side so meant I was lying down the whole time. Hoping it might be different this time!

madam i have have started noticing DH breath, it stinks. he is constantly brushing his teeth, and is getting really paranoid constantly chewing gum, but i don't like it

fatima can i ask why you are against electronic fetal monitoring? just wondering as i don't have a clue what to write on mine. need to look into the vitamin k thing as well.

not sure if i want to write a birth plan, as i dont know what i want! part of me is just thinking - go with the flow.

part of me is like just stick epidural in me ASAP, other is, i would like to try a birthing pool and see how i feel.

DH has no idea if he wants to cut cord or not.
i want to hold the baby asap, but not if its too yucky lol, watched 'the midwife' last night and didn't really like the idea of a pooy baby.

has anyone got experience of tesco baby clothes. i saw some cute body suits and they are only 5 for £6 online, just wondering what the quality is like?
also body suits, some have arms some dont. seeing as its a autumn/winter baby should i go for with arms? OMG so many things i haven't even thought about.

think im going to have a restless night thinking about this stuff

Re; birth plans - I didn't really have one with my DD & it worked out ok, although, to be fair, I wasn't asked about much either, so even if I'd had one, it wouldn't have been referred to without me being very proactive. This time, being much more specific. I kept my options open re pain relief first time, but this time, want to avoid all medical assistance if at all possible. Position, breathing, visualizations & water are the stuff for me!! :)

Vitamin K is, it seems to me, somewhat controversial on MN. I was not aware of this at the time. I read the leaflet the NHS/MW gave me & just went for it for DD. In my understanding, the risks in having it were much much smaller & rarer than the risks if DD hadn't had it. I have no qualms about DC2 having the injection, as its a lot less faff than having the oral...

Tesco clothes are reasonable quality. Not fantastic, but last the course for DD.

Don't have pets and don't intend too - enough work keeping the house clean & tidy with DH & DD!!! So I think you're bonkers for getting a puppy

Going to bed, but last point - I didn't want a yucky baby on me with DD but I feel a bit like I missed out & skin-to-skin wasn't an option, as she wouldn't cry so was dumped under a heat lamp. This time, I want skin to skin ASAP if poss, regardless. Think its really important in establishing breastfeeding too. Might even ask to cut the cord myself too... :)

26 weeks today

I'm having my RH- stabbing at 28 weeks when I next see the midwife.

I also need to call the GP, after turning 25 in march, I've had 4 letters requesting me for a smear test, I've told them over and over that I can't atm, the last letter I got yesterday was quite snotty though so I'm going to complain I think.

Does anyone have any thoughts on dummies?

stunt how awful I def won't be getting a cat while the baby is under 6 months then.

We didn't have a dummy with ds because he was breastfed he wasn't interested (he used me a a human dummy but that's another story )
Tbh I'd rather not use dummies if I can help it, I think ds is alot calmer for not having one and I have friends whose children constantly ask for their dummy and at what age do you take it away?

WRT electronic monitoring, that's just because I don't want to be on my back or lying down really. Also, I think if I'm not able to move about that might impact on my anxiety so it's mainly for that. Obviously if there was something seriously wrong with the baby I wouldn't refuse but I think for a normal birth or induction it would hinder me more than it would help.

With vit K I'm not fully researched so I've just put that for now and I may change it.

I'm not sure how much use my birth plan will be, I mainly wanted to do it to get my point across on induction and my anxiety. I want it to be as calm and as panic free as possible as I think that way there's less chance of my mental health relapsing and suffering from PND

I've also put skin-to-skin but I'm secretly worried about a yucky messy baby I'm hoping I won't be bothered when it comes to it.
DH is also unsure about cutting the cord, I think he'll probably let someone else do it.
I also want to research physiological third stage a bit more, but at the moment I just want to get it over and done with and get out of hospital ASAP

Anyway, I've only a 2.5hr day at work today as I have my midwife appointment. Looking forward to ikea tonight and lots of meatballs
And DH has a job interview tomorrow!

General guide for clothing is one layer more than you, usually solved by a vest with poppas at the groin. I would get vests, ie sleeveless body suits, then long sleeves for next layer unless you live in a cold house and will have baby in a cardi most of the time Short sleeve stuff for summer, but I had a couple of long sleeve vests if sleeves were required, and just put tshirt or dress over them. It will depend a lot on your baby, and how you live, but layers are the answer, especially when small as overheating is a risk. I prefer to go with natural fibres.

With girls, do not bother with socks as they will not stay on. I used tights or bodysuits with feet. A lot easier. I did get some sock-ons but even with tiny feet they did not last long, I was concerned about circulation, kept losing them and they were a faff to put on. Plus socks always lose their pair in this house. If you do buy them, get lots that match.

I did birth plans with both mine, and they were ignored both times. I will just be more demanding this time. I will have skin it skin with my last baby!

Neither of mine had dummies, largely due to BF and being finger or thumb suckers. Looking back I wish they had used dummies as you can take a dummy away! DD still sucks her fingers at 6. There is an advantage to dummies in relation to cot death too, as it reduces risk apparently.

By the way detective I forgive you!

3rd night in nappy and again no leaks. DD did not want a disposable on, and went and got a washable and tried to put it on herself. I was a bit concerned though as the soak bit under the wrap was wet including right around the hips, so she would have had wee next to her skin as the fleece liner does not extend that far. Her skin was fine though, and she was not bothered, just a bit pongy.

I tried to give DS a dummy at about a month old. It actually disturbed me to see this tiny baby with a big plastic thing in his gob! He didn't take to it anyway, and started sucking his thumb at about 7 weeks. I thought this was great as he could control it himself unlike a dummy, but don't know how we'll ever stop him! I'd prob try and do without but be open to using one if it seemed necessary!

Most of DS's clothes were from Sainsburys or Tesco, I think they're fine. With tiny one, I'd go with short sleeve vest with poppers, and long sleeve sleep suit/babygro over. Then add cardi if v cold. I used long sleeve vest under babygro for DS on really cold nights once he was in sleeping bag to keep his arms warm, but he wasn't in that until 8 weeks+.

Oh and I kind of had a birth plan last time, but nobody ever asked to see it. I was pretty happy to go with tge flow anyway, and ended up being induced so probably wouldn't have followed it anyway. I think it's fine not to have one if you don't have strong feelings about any particular aspects.

I prefer Asda and Sainsburys over Tesco clothing as I find the sizing is a bit off with Tesco, and the quality is not so good IMO.