due oct 2006 part 2

[totallyfloaty35]

Well lets fill this one up too

Congrats sassy. All the best. Marriage v good fun although am currently not talking to DH. His mate was over this evening and after he'd gone DH said he'd been admiring a photo of me from 4 years ago and then he came out with a classic "Daniel says he didn't recognise you...but I guess that was because it was so long ago and you were much younger and skinnier then". I reckon that's worth two days of cold shoulder at least.

My first birth was a nightmare but I won't go into too many details wih first-timers in the room, but one thing I will say is that I had the very very worst experience and was not able to have any pain relief because they gave me too much oxytocin (so there were no breaks between contractions) but even with all of this the whole expereince wasn't toooooooo bad. And bits of it were very very funny.

BUT if I were to advise any first timers I would say (1) don't have your first in a MW-unit miles from hospital - you have no idea if you'll need an epidural or worse and better safe than sorry even if hossie unit is grubby relative to comforts of unit, and (2) read up on pithadine before deciding to opt for it - the drug crosses to the baby and I think greatly increases riask of assisted delivery. But don't know enough of details to lay it on thick - maybe an idea to ask Midwife?

This time round may have to have an elective (thanks to outcome of last delivery) but waiting to discuss with consultant. if I can go au-nat will be diving into water pool at first opportunity. And won't bother to take the homeopathic kit to hospital this time round! Nor the glucose tablets. LOL the things you get told to take.... it will be a carrier bag full of water, ice & chocolate this time round

My only advice to 1st timers is have a plan but be prepared to be flexible, I also found the tens machine worked really well for the first half of my labour.

As far as buying anything I have a list but can't bring myself to buy anything yet! Perhaps I will soon.

hi all
just spent weekend with m-in-law. she is recovering from a hysterectome 27 years after everything was destroyed by the birth of my dh! she helpfully got out her nct notes from his birth which gave 3 pages of blow by blow account of the horror. although haven't dared admit it to m-i-l, has made me more happy about decision to go to st john and st elizabeth which is a private hospital with strong natural emphasis but epidural as soon as you want it. (yes, i know they don't have a neonatal icu but i still think it's a wonderful place and am happy with decision-everyone has been going on about it). i had to have 3 operations on my back last year and 1 gyni op for pre-cancerous cell changes so we decided to go private where you have your midwife throughout. i am worried that the epidural would flare up my back injury so i am hoping for water birth but will opt for epidural if need it. have booked in for hypnotherapy for birth classes after recomendation from another mother who said it really helped and her midwife was astonished how well she coped.-you never know, might help.
have been reading 2 books which i think are quite helpful in reducing panic re birth-yehudi gordon's birth and beyond and gowri motha gentle birth method. i think that was the one someone read about in the article-she talks about avoiding too much wheat etc.-not sure but giving it a try.
i feel the stretching some days as if i'm about to burst. i think it goes through growth spurts then you accomodate them and then they do it again.
sassy,i have had loads of pg patients with underactive thyroid and the meds don't seem to affect their babies at all.
on a v. different note, i'm embarrassed to ask but is anyone else finding sex uncomfortable? it's fine for a bit and then suddenly feels not right at all. tried asking my obstetrician but think was too embarrassed to explain how unpleasant it feels. i end up getting worried about harming the baby and that everything must be in the wrong place. obviously, worried about this carrying on for next 4 months. dh keeps saying i thought you were meant to be really keen now.

Sassy congrats re wedding
Martham,i had my last child there it was very nice,are you under mw or consultant care?
Just had mw apt ,was lovely,very relaxed,listened to babys heartbeat,had a chat...much better than the scary local hospital midwives who seem to try and frighten you with all the things that can go wrong.Also re the sex,try and vary positions,some go lots deeper and can feel unpleasant,but if your really not enjoying penetration theres loads of other stuff to keep you both smiling

marthahm I am soooo jealous.

I used to live in London and fell totally in love with st John & Lizzy, but then we moved to the sticks. They're right next door to A&E anyway so you're fine - where we live the MW units are all at about 15 miles by ambulance from the nearest emergency theatres/neo-natal units. Nutty or what? If I still lived in London I'd be at John & Lizzies in an instant and blow the cost.

I used hypnotherapy and can't say whether it really worked or not as had nothing to compare it to, but it certainly didn't do any harm. Mind you makes me laugh - I read the Yehudi book, did the yoga, learnt the breathing, had the hypnotherapy, and the reflexology, took the NCT classes, came to hospital with all the homeopathic stuff, and the aromatherpay stuff and the birthplan that insisted on natural birth in a water pool.....and I STILL ended up flat on my back on the bed strapped up to a dozen machines with my legs in stirrups hahahahahahaha The god of births does like a laugh sometimes.

Oh and I am exactly the same on the sx thing - fine for a short while then suddenly I completely stop enjoying it (in fact absolutely hate it). This also happened in first pg so I think it's a physical change of some kind. It doesn't last though - I remember last time that the third trim was some of the best sx I ever had - thunderous OG's that had my baby spinning for hours afterwards

In meantime lubricant might help...

Glad to hear that others aren't completely kitted out yet!

Re birth options, our mw unit is in the hospital and next door to the labour ward, so hopefully I can scoot across if I need to! Must chat with mw re options at my next appointment - I need to know that I can change my mind re an epidural if I really need one.

I thought I wasn't showing too much, but just caught sight of self sideways in mirror (don't - it's scary) and I'm HUGE. Bump growing more every day and skin getting v itchy and stretched. Hope it will settle down soon. Haven't weighed myself for a few weeks and may not until after givng birth (no scales in flat, luckily ).

BTW, there's a useful thread on what to take to hospital in the Pregnancy section - hadn't thought about Flash wipes but what a good idea.

One thing that is worrying me (sorry for long post) is how to GET to the hospital. OH doesn't drive and we don't have a car (living in London) but the hospital is a couple of miles away. We usually go by bus (even then there's a walk - Homerton is not easy to get to). Will any taxi firm take a woman in labour? Is it acceptable to ring for an ambulance, or will they tell you to get lost? Should I start walking as soon as labour starts ?

If your waters break you will find bus or walk the most embarassing experience of your life, no question...the waters continue to run during the first stage... I was mortified just getting from the hospital carpark to Maternity with my first pg. splashing about everywhere, I was.

Surely you're entitled to an ambulance? I'd check with midwife but can't imagine they'd deny you. Or you could get DH to do the emotional overload thing and call the local police station for 'advice'. That'd get a police car round and you both to hossie in no time.

glad i'm not the only one whiffy. i'll tell dh about the 3rd trimester, that might cheer him up a little. i can really see myself ending up strapped to all the monitors etc after having done all the holistic stuff, hopefully i'll still be able to laugh.
i'm sure you could get a taxi as long as you didn't let on you were in labour (if that's possible). otherwise what about kind next door neighbours/family?

Marthahm: our nearest family is 100 miles away, and living in London doesn't make for close relations with neighbours! I'll ask the mw - there may be a taxi service that's used by the hospital. There must be SOME way of doing it - Homerton has no parking spaces so I'm sure we're not alone.

I can also see the monitors, stirrups thing despite best intentions and active birth positions! S'pose you just see what happens and do what's best for the baby.

I had an ambulance to take me the first 2 ds but my ex didnt drive and we lived about 15 miles from the hospital. My 3rd ds we went in the car while looking at the clock above the radio counting the mins in between contractions. Im 16 weeks today and have been told by 2 different people that I dont look that pregnant! Pretty good considering I showed nearly as soon as I found out I was pregnant the last time. Had a realy good day yesterday. Painted our living room with the help of our 2year old ds. He was covered but realy enjoyed himself!!

congrats on engagement, Sassy!

Swizzler, my MIL has already bought 4 big boxes of clothes, a car seat and a Moses basket, and 3 snowsuits! Luckily all the stuff is in the UK and we are in Kazakhstan. I know she means well but I'm still only 18 and a half weeks pg! Anyone else having this problem of wellmeaning relatives buying stuff?

martha, was thinking of john and lizzie's, but we have no base in London and thought it would be weird staying with friends or in a hotel and waiting to go into labour! So going for the Belgium idea cos in laws have a spare flat..

re sex, have the same issue: painful and odd-feeling. have you tried lubricant? There is certainly something different about it, that's for sure (and this is BEFORE the birth!!)

18 w 5 days and still no absolutely definite movement, (though the odd squirmy feeling), so hoping for something soon!

Gemmity, the odd squirmy feeling IS the baby

Aha!

Well the reason I was confused is that pretty much everyone describes the first movements as either 'bubbles' or 'butterflies' or 'fluttering', and I haven't felt anything like that, more a crampy squirming but nothing you can locate exactly.. and also only happens when I feel stressed, just ate some sugar or have just gone to lie down..

Also now in the throes of a craving for fermented horse milk, which is luckily on sale in all Kazakh supermarkets. DH can't even bear to watch me drink it

Just been made to feel as big as a bus went to see a client and his eyes were popping out as he said your pregnant!

hiya girls :) hope that everyone is doing ok

well i cant say I'm craving fermented horse milk (lol!!) but i am craving cows milk which is a little wierd for me as i cant stand milk on its own normally.

looking forward to the next scan now. isnt the 20 week scan meant to be clearer?? im 17+1 at the mo, with a little bump

Oh poor you sunshine! How rude can people get? Funny thats what Im craving is the cows milk.Dont know if I like the sound of fermented horses milk. Doesnt conjur up good images of how you actualy milk a horse Feeling realy realy bloated today. Quite painfuly so actualy. Realy felt a prominent kick last night just as I was setteling down to sleep. Got straight up again to tell DH. He just thinks Im lovely . Yes the 20 week scan is alot clearer than the 12 week one. Thats why they usualy wait till then to tell the sex of baby.

sunshine-at least we are now at the stage where people notice we are preggars and not just bit podgy!

kicks are getting stronger. v.different to dd as was still just feeling tickling, squriming whatever you call it at this stage. Gemmity-I tend to feel it after eating and lying down which I think is common,

I am impressed the rest of you are managing to get jiggy with it. DH has been out of luck for the last six weeks or so as I am so paranoid something will go wrong because of it. Shame as I remember it being great fun last time.

good job we're over the really nasty sickness stage gemmity because the mere mention of fermented horses milk is enough to make we want to spew all over my screen quite frankly!!! didn't know such a horror existed!! :o

Mine feels a bit like a popping sensation - can be (just) felt outside as well.

Feeling pretty huge, but weighed myself at the gym today and have only put on 3/4 stone - not bad for 2 dress sizes (and counting ). I do look pg now, though, which is a relief.

We have a few baby things, as OH sometimes brings stuff back (prob result of a panicked raid on the baby shop!). So we have some Tesco babygros and a couple of jumpers, all blue. If this baby is a girl it will be v. confused.

sorry about horse milk!

But it is really nice (or seems so at the moment)! God only knows how they milk the horse: hadn't really thought of that..

It was already 30 degrees walking to work just now, so dreading the full summer.

Does anyone else get slightly peed off with every passer by staring at your stomach.?. guess I'll have to get used to it but it's a bit annoying!

sorry about horse milk!

But it is really nice (or seems so at the moment)! God only knows how they milk the horse: hadn't really thought of that..

It was already 30 degrees walking to work just now, so dreading the full summer.

Does anyone else get slightly peed off with every passer by staring at your stomach.?. guess I'll have to get used to it but it's a bit annoying!

Hi long time again sorry hope everyone is ok.
Had scan yesterday everything fine 21weeks and 4th baby is a boy! which is what we thought, no ideas on name yet.

Thats good to hear 3kids. Cant wait till my 20 week scan. Gonna find out the sex too. Hope its a girl as we already have 5 boys between us! Thats nothing Gemmitygem you wait till your a bit bigger and complete strangers come and touch your tummy. Now thats realy annoying. Or when babys in its pram/buggy and people stare into it and talk stupid talk to it. Or even worse when you have a beautiful little baby boy dressed in dungarees and a little cap and blue t shirt and some bright spark says 'ah isnt SHE lovely!'. You just have to keep smiling through gritted teeth Im afraid.

great news about your scan 3kids!
had gynae appt yesterday afternoon and she did a quick little scan to check heart beat and everything - wasn't expecting it but it's always so good to see the little wriggler on the screen :o I definitely don't want to know the sex in advance so whe didn't go anywhere near that department :)
off to do my stint at playgroup this afternoon...hope it's not a rowdy lot!!

i find the weirdest thing is when you meet up with people you know and they greet you with eyes steadily fixed on your abdomen before they do eye contact and say hello. my mum has cancelled on the paris trip for pg clothes for wedding so i am dragging dh to toulouse in the middle of our holiday nearby. anyone know any good french maternity clothes shops?