Due in October 2012 Part 7 - towards the finish line, going for Gold!

[Planktonette]

On your marks...
Get set...

GO!

We didn't really use a baby bath with dd1 - to be honest found it much more comfortable and secure feeling when one of us just had a bath with her,and it was really lovely too.
I haven't been weighed since booking in appt either (and don't think I want to be either, quite happy not knowing!) and think so long as you at measuring alright then it really doesn't matter, even if you weren't they'd just scan you to try and get a better idea, but in the end it's all fairly unreliable!
Depends very much on your baby how many sleep suits you need I think - if sicky then lots more, we used to get through anything up to 10 a day! But they are easy and cheap enough to buy after if you need them, just add on to supermarket shop!

londonmrsS and smiley I haven't been weighed by professionals either but I am a smidge obsessive about my weight and weigh myself every week (I used to weigh myself every day before I was pregnant, so this is quite a concession). I have a little graph of expansion and that was my way of accepting that I have to get heavier as part of this process. ANYWAY all was fine until I stopped gaining weight. humn. I am seeing GP on weds for a 32 wk check up so hopefully they'll measure and all will be fine. I debated trying to measure the bump myself but figured I'd just get it wrong and stress myself out.

Another re. sleepsuits/babygros, I found, and a lot of my NCT friends found the same, that their babies were out of 0-3m clothes at about 5-6 wks. So definitely don't buy too many tiny baby ones! DH and I are tall, but my other NCT friends who had the same problem aren't. So I think 0-3m babygros are just small. Some brands are smaller than others too - DS was given some John Lewis ones which were SO cute, but really small.

Really wiped out today. Don't feel liike I can do anything.

Had reasonably busy weekend - went wandering around antique shops to find a new bookcase, went to an outdoor art show with my mum, went round more antique shops failing to find a rocking chair, went for a couple of small walks with the boyfriend - but find I can only do half a day of activity at the moment, then am so tired and heavy and achy have to lie down. Boyfriend says this is to be expected and I am doing brilliantly, but I feel so slow and just not myself at all. Everyone says I look really small and can't believe I'm due in 3 weeks... I feel like a mountain. don't want to weigh myself.

Today I am really really hormonal, crying at everything - not all bad crying - I cried for about half an hour earlier thinking about baby being born and wonderful it will be - and reading The Food of Love, a hippyish cartoon book about breastfeeding -that's making me cry too. Cried at the thought of baby dying and how could I go back to work or ever speak to anyone again if that happened, lay on the sofa and felt kicks for a bit. Went to the market and bought some fruit and veg. This has become a workout. I feel like I've lost myself...

I mean it's not been a bad day, even had some nice sex with boyfriend before he went to work though I've become selfconscious in bed which sucks... I'm just really tired. I think I'm just going to pull the curtains and try and sleep a bit with lots of pillows. Was supposed to be doing more cleaning but it's not urgent.

37 weeks tomorrow and maybe this is the end-of-pregnancy bit people talk about... or maybe it's just one day. Cant believe most people still work at this point, I can last about 4 hours on my feet at the moment and the thought of the wards is like Mount Everest.

Hey ladies

Had planned huge catch up but like squid am having a bit of a blah day. Can't seem to get anything done :( Supposed to be doing edits this morning and have ended up spending an hour and a half dithering over whether to send flowers or champagne as a gift to someone, then sending a vile bunch of flowers that I don't even like Why? Because my brain is like fecking cotton wool that's why

Squid hang in there dude! I was so tired on Saturday I cried just out of sheer exhaustion at everything I had to do. Had a nap for an hour and felt better but I get really irritable easily at the minute - not nice :( You'll probably find it's going to be a roller-coaster of a bad day, followed by a few days feeling 'human' again. Try and rest - you are being sensible only doing a 'half-day' of activity and you need to keep some strength in reserve for the bean's arrival

Fjord I've been told to keep BS from 3.5-5.5 pre-meal and under 8 1 hour after meals. Jabbing finger between 5 and 7 times a day and running out of finger :( I started a thread about GD this morning so have a look - getting some good advice from people. Hang in there - I am already getting so bored of baked beans!!!

Zara and Planktonette - good luck with any potential huge moves!

Yomping and London don't feel bad about occasional rage at bean. I called her everything under the sun on Sat night when she danced maniacally on my bladder at the very end of a long car journey. Was convinced we were going to need a new car seat but just made it in time. I told her I was going to 'get her' when she got out :o DH pissed himself laughing afterwards but I was literally screeching in agony with every movement by the end Ha, he didn't laugh at the time - wouldn't have dared!!!

Huffle I just bought about 8000 vests, wish I had read your top tip before then :o My sister and sister in law have been keeping me right with what to buy, didn't even know what 'vests' were.

livvy are you due another scan / AN appt any time soon? It is worth mentioning to someone as it was my first clue about GD. I'm sure you're fine but I was losing weight while bump and bean kept getting bigger. You're probably just eating really sensibly.

Hello to everyone else. I have got to stop procrastinating and do some fecking work here :(

Have looked at the mumsnet guide and the NHS guide to what to take to hospital.

Apparently, I'll be needing a pack-mule!

Was feeling positive, now totally daunted. By a BAG.

And my brain - truly - said to me 'well, at least when you've got the bag packed, that's the hard bit out of the way...' not bloody likely!

Yomping, thank you for the links! Yes, that is what we call onesies and sleepers. I may just sew some scratch mits into the sleepers I already have, I don't imaging that would be too difficult.

Re: weight concerns.. I think that sounds fairly normal. At my 32 week apt I had LOST a kilo and a half, when I was spupposedly supposed to habe gained tnat much, so really overall seems loke a 2.5 kilo loss... But Dr measured the bump and all is well there, so she said as long as that measurement stayed normal they were not too worried. If I keep losing weight, they will snd me for an extra scan to check bean.

Re sleep. Omg last night was so bad I wanted to cry. Bloody heartburn/reflux something awful. Apparently vegetable soup for dinner before 7pm is also now off the list. Alxo no liquids past that time and I wake up soooooo thirsty. I thing my esopogeal sphincter (iv that is a rwal thing - squid?) Just doesn.t work anymore. I have to stay all proppec up on mounds of pillowx to keep the acid down. Even then a well placed kick by little one sends the bile shooting up into my nose/mouth. Yuck! Keep panicking that I.m going to choke in my sleep.

Last night startec napping in the couch, moved to bed, then moved to recliner, then back to couch number one, and then couch number two with exercise ball propping up my leg that hung off the side as my spd keeps me from keeping my legs close togetner. Ugh. So will be really grumpy today I tjink.

Swuid, I.m 4 weeks behind you and can.t do more than 2 hours activity without being exhausted... And I.m no hero in the bedroom either... You go get em tiger!!! Hahaha. J will live vicariously through you.

Again sorry for my spellung everyone, the lag of moving cursor for corrections in mobile to a UK site is dreadful, and I.m pretty sure you all catch my drift.

Hapoy BH to me today! Yay for 3 day weekends.

Squid it's normal to be slowing down love. We had a long walk yesterday and just felt so slow and heavy.
I'm a bit self conscious in the bedroom too. It's not actually about the way I look (I'm lucky, I have a hubby who constantly lies to me tells me I'm gorgeous), but it just requires a bit more thought and I'm constantly thinking 'Oh no, if he's headed in that direction, I'm going to need some pillows to prop me up' and 'I'd really like to move on top, but then I'd have to ask him to help me get there because I'm feeling a bit stuck, would that kill the mood?'
My fella asked me to sit on his face (sorry to be so graphic) the other day and when I obliged, he immediately said I was squishing him and we'd have to think again. It's not exactly as spontaneous and fun as it used to be, but I'm hoping we'll get that back when I feel like less of a beached whale normal again.
Angelico you sound like you're coping brilliantly with the GD, really.

Re the scratch mitts, I didn't know what they were at first and like you LondonLivvy I was looking at packets of babygrows that said with inclusive scratch mitts, thinking "but they're not in there!" I bought a few babygrows from eBay and then discovered how the fold over scratch mitts work.

Smiley, thank you, I feel so much better today after a better night's sleep. I think DH is relieved too as I was a nightmare yesterday, crying at EVERYTHING. Including his triathlon performance which was amazing and I didn't know whether I was more proud of him for being brilliant or jealous as I would have liked to be doing it too!

LondonMrs I know what you mean about feeling like you need to buy everrything in advance! I read somewhere that 14 sleepsuits and 14 vests was a good starting number.

Huffle, but if they don't wear a vest, will they be warm enough? I know they have to have a layer more than us so 2 layers most of the time, especially in winter. Worried baby will be too cold if they don't have a vest under a sleepsuit. Gah. So many things to worry about!

Sympathy to Beeble for baby-kicking-induced bile. That's not funny. Hope that stops very soon for you.

Well, first NCT ante-natal class was interesting. Teacher started by saying this was not going to be airy fairy, the caesarian rate here is 30% so lots of us will be having caesarians and had better get used the the idea! Up went my hackles instantly, I am planning a calm homebirth thank you very much, I want none of your caesarian doom and gloom! (with apologies to anyone who has an ELCS booked, please don't think I mean any offence, just that I want to avoid it by staying calm and relaxed and not getting into the sort of panic that means everything slows down, interventions are mentioned and then things are taking too long and bang, caesarian. I might be being hopelessly naive here in which case let me live in blissful ignorance someone put me straight!). But it got better.

Most, um, interesting practical nugget was that the massive maternity pads don't even cut it at the start, you might need 2 at a time and they don't stay in place, and actual Tena padded pants are much better - like these. Sexy, no? Apparently much more comfortable than cheap massive knickers with 2 pads in, will cushion any scars, will give lots of protection as with the pads, stuff can leak around the sides, and more practical as can just be thrown away and out comes a new pair, rather than having to negotiate taking out pads, binning them and putting new ones in. We were like this: . I might get some and get DH to draw pictures on them to decorate them and make them less scary . I might also buy them on line rather than in person in a supermarket! DH gets to try the TENS machine next time and also has to put a nappy on a pretend baby. He's either going to love it or threaten never to go back!

LondonMrs, cross posted but just wanted to say I know what you mean with the lack of spontaneity. I was nearly in tears last time we had sex as it was just so undignified. Lovely DH tried all sorts of things to keep me comfortable, like suggesting different positions, but I just felt like a burden, like I was making it difficult, and it made me feel so, so unsexy. And in some positions now I catch a glimpse of my thighs and am disgusted and that's an instant turn off too. I've never been a lights-off sort of person but think that might start being a necessity!

Yomping... Yay Diapers for us AND baby!

Yes my friend said she wished someone told her about the amount if clotting that falls out after. She said xhunks as big as golf balls were normal. Nurses didn.t wznt to see it unless it was any bigger than that.

Eurgh........... 4.30 and only in. Busiest day off EVER. I am so tired i wish to cry. Might just do it. Just been to work at end of all my mad list of things to do to check on my replacement. She seems to be managing. But she is not me..... And i 'helped' a few people while in. MUST NOT PANIC ABOUT WORK, IT IS TOO LATE!!!!!!!! She will be grand, I am just a control freak........

Mammoth cleaning session iver wknd was great, but i was supposed to finish today. And pack hospital bag today. Well at least I wrote a LIST for hospital bag last night. All for the hospital hat considers your discharge from 6 hrs........ They will probably shoo my hospital bag back out the door on arrival...........!

Need to go make some lentil soup for dinner and for freezer. Might cry in to the soup, extra salt!!

Oh and weight? I only weigh 6 kilos more than I did before preg. Bump may look small on my tall frame but still measures 34 exactly. MW today more than happy with, said not to worry. They do not want to weigh me and hav nit done since 1st apt, when I was 4 kg lighter than normal due to first trimester sickness. She said to be glad not to have loads to lose post birth and to ignore the shocked reactions of "Only 6 weeks to go? Are you sure??" Gonna punch next shocked expression right out of next mouth who says it..........!!!!

Right, off to cry in to soup, just because I can!!!!

Xx

Yomping this advice on vests only applies to first few days when u are at home or in hospital and is hopefully nice and warm. Cord stump falls off in 7-10 days apparently and more air it gets, fster it falls off. But yes, as i said, she did say, temperature and cleanliness allowing. I think it makes sense but i kniw what you mean. Guess it all depends where u are.

Soup!!

Hello everyone! I am finally in the new house and not going anywhere for a very, very long time. We moved our stuff out of storage at our friends place on Thursday and had an interesting time negotiating with people who didn't believe the Mairie had given us a road closure. Wasted so much time that in the end we over ran the road closure and ended up with a ticket from the police... Which could be for anything up to ?1500 [terrified face emoticon]. Flew back to Heathrow on Friday then drove to Lincolnshire that night for wedding Saturday then back to Heathrow Sunday and arrived back home at midnight. Phew. Suffice to say my back is in agony. I have come to realize the pregnant lady waddle is nothing to do with weight/bump and everything to do with back pain/sciatica/spd. It seems to have spread to my pubic bone too, is that what you spd sufferers get? Is there anything I can do? It hurts to move my right leg too, only at the top at the back, or bottom of my back.

I'm meant to be unpacking the house today but I don't know where to start. Anyway it's really nice and I'm glad we changed to this one - still no news on whether we get our money back for the other one though.

Sorry not to catch up with everyone individually but I've been off the board so long it would take forever. Turning over a new leaf from now... Now where's that nesting instinct when you need it?!

Smorgs, 32, 33+6, DC1

PS Someone mentioned sex a while back, now it's funny the word is familiar but i can't for the life of me remember what it is?

Hey squid if you're 37 weeks tomorrow that means home birth is on any time from then - is that right? If so, very exciting! Hope you've had a bit of rest this afternoon and are feeling a bit more human. I am 34w and a teeny bit and worn out - absolutely dreading a full day at work tomorrow AND the next day. Though may be more restful than today with dd - which has been lovely but so far has involved dismantling and rebuilding all her Lego, cooking frittata and making raspberry lemonade for lunch, going to the park for a walk, making necklaces... And now sitting in front of the tv with her to watch rio. Shamefully, in an example of how not to parent, I have bribed her with 50p to do this instead of getting out the craft box and engaging in a lovely creative activity thwt will inevitably involve the kitchen being redecorated with random bits of glitter, pom poms, pipe cleaners, glue, just couldn't face it! Sometimes, the tv rocks!
yomping hold the positive birth mindset! It's one thing to be prepared for a section, but I think birth is a good example of a situation where you should sort of prepare for the worst but hope for the best and spend as much time as possible thinking about th best case scenario! Everyone going into this knows they might need a section / other intervention - what you're doing is preparing and staying as relaxed as possible so that you're in the best possible place to have your lovely calm home birth - and if it doesn't happen then you'll be in a good place to deal with thwt. Don't know if that made any sense!
As for sex - ha! Maybe next year...... Cuddles are good anyway.
Maternity pads - well, not sure there is a really comfy option, I got by with big pads and massive granny pants in multipacks from supermarket last time. But it is messy.

RE MATERNITY PADS

I wish someone had told me last time what happens after you have a baby, I had no idea whatsoever, and so had to send mum out for emergency supplies of granny pants and maternity pads whilst I was still in hospital.

You will bleed afterwards. Probably quite a bit. I bled continuosly for 5 WEEKS. Then I had a period. It sucks.

Oh, and if you have unprotected sex in the first 6 weeks after giving birth, (and I think even before you have that first post-birth period - yes you CAN get pregnant again. If it wasn't for a casual chat with my sister the morning after the night before, I wouldn't have rushed off to Boots with my 6 week old son, for the morning-after pill, and would probably be on DC3 now instead of DC2!

Haha, just wanted to help people out if they didn't know! x

Londonmrss I found the baby bath to be a real pain last time round, used it once then realised it is much easier to just use the bath!

Had a lovely afternoon at the park with DH and DS but am knackered now and sleeping on matress on the floor for the next 2 nights!

2 more sleeps til will move , thank goodness it's finally over.

I'm off to bath DS and put him to bed, then fall into bed myself!

Argh just read through all these posts and have been nodding and making mental notes about things that have struck a chord with me. Where are the fecking mental notes now?? Feck knows.

To those who are exhausted and feeling heavy and useless, a big yes from me. I do remember this from last time, and finding it just overwhelming and horrifying. It doesn't last long, at least. On Sat DH was working and I had DS, again, and when he went down for his nap I just went to bed and cried and cried and cried. Saturday was a Bad Day. Today has been a good day - I've felt reasonably energetic (this is all relative - I'd say the energy levels of an asthmatic 80 year old, maybe) and DS and I have had fun together. Tomorrow is a whole new day and I just need to remember to take it as it comes.

About lochia - gawd I am not looking forward to that again. My biggest clot was the size of a small plum probably and I rang the delivery suite in a panic and the midwife actually laughed at me. I hate that fecking hospital, they sent me home to have one of teh most terrifying experiences of my life and then they laughed at me. Um, but back to the lochia - I used natracare maternity pads, or Sainsburys - I found Boots ones awful. Doubled up initially, and god they're horrid thick things. But yes the blood loss is biblical. I had plastic sheets and towels down everywhere in case of leaks initially. Getting in and out of shower/bath is exciting and involves lots of cleaning up.

Don't forget something to pour over your bits when you wee too - a squirty sports bottle will do - and maybe with a few drops of tea tree/witch hazel/lavendar oil to promote healing. Weeing stings like nothing you've experienced after birth. Oh and prunes or lactulose or something - first poo = unholy terror.

Hmm, on that note I'd better get dinner out of the oven

Just popping back to add a woe-is-me on the weight gain - I have officially graduated to elephant status. I'm off the top of the recommended weight gain for the whole pg at 35wks. I've never struggled with my weight in my life, or been overweight, and I went swimming with DS on the weekend -caught a glimpse of myself in a full-length mirror (we don't have any at home) and nearly cried and went home. I felt awful the whole time we were there.

I. Am. A. Whale.

Thanks ladies for your graphic and frank descriptions of post-natal bleeding!! No seriously, I mean it. I had visions of day of bad heavy stuff like u describe but then just a heavy period for week or so...... Hav bought exactly 2 packs of Always night time winged towels. Guess I better expand that collection!!!!!

Oh the naïveté .......

huffle things like Always aren't recommended as the mesh/dry weave thingummy can get caught up in your stitches. Pads designed for maternity use are the best... I go for Sainsburys or these pads are great

sorry to keep posting in dribs and drabs, but expect to be getting through 10-15+ pads a day in the early days - you can only be pleasantly surprised...

10-15 a DAY?!?! Crikey, I have 6 packs of 10 and I thought that'd be ok for a couple of weeks.... time to stockpile more then

Thank u Crazy! See, someone else told me to stick with always cos wings help stay put and they more comfy, but actually u make perfect sense!!!!! And I did not quite expect the er, volume! maternity pads on next shop in sainsburys at wknd it is then!!!! And they were on offer the other week and I breezed past......! Might even look at the Tena stuff.

This is why we love mumsnet ladies!!
Thank you so much!! Xx xx

Just marking spot - DH away. Tiiired day