December 2012, 'Christmas rush' has a different meaning for us this year!

[StaceymReadyForNumber3]

Thought we should have a shiny new thread.

seconds you asked about my levels - they've been 3.5-4 fasting and 5.0-5.8 after meals. However the last 3 days I've had a 7.2, 7.3 and 8.1 after tea think I've just been being a pig at teatime and eating too much. Diabetes clinic tomorrow, looking forward to the scan, hope they give me my induction date.

Am I the only one cringing at the thought of hand expressing? I can't picture how you would do it! In my head it involves twiddling your nipples like a radio dial

willyou it's more like massaging the boob than nipple tweaking. DH is grossed out by it though! Lol he was agog at the small amount I got this evening. When I told him 2ml is loads he couldn't get his head around it. So far today 4.5 ml though. I'm really pleased esp as I had a lump removed from my right breast 3 yrs ago and they weren't sure I'd be a ke to feed on that side due to the scarring. But it's working ok so I'm a happy bunny.

Come on baby, let's be having ya!

willyou thank you - yours have been generally lower than mine. My fasting has been 4.7-4.8. Hope you get your induction date soon!

nutella we're having people come to us for Christmas (my sister is VERY kindly doing the cooking). Everyone's been saying "but can you handle having us all here" but the thing is, I know I will feel massively disinclined to trek across to the other side of London, plus I want a big family Christmas at home. Could you perhaps go to your in laws for a bit, but not for the whole day, or could they come to you for a short visit?

stacey I am incredibly impressed with your expressing. Thus far I've produced nada, apart from a drop while in the bath that may or may not have just been a bit of soapy water.

Talking of nipple tweaking - as you do - Dash pulled off the boob at his feed earlier, reached out his hand and gave my nipple a proper 'honk'. Could not believe it!

We've had a sad day - our hamster who was nearly 2 and was my first valentines prezzie from dh had to be put to sleep today. Absolutely gutted :( it's prob stupid being so upset over a hamster but he was such a lovely cuddly ball of fur!

stacey re other halves being grossed out by expressing, a friend suggested that it might help things along if my husband were to suckle ... Which freaked us out and made us laugh like drains in equal measure.

That's great stacey my nipples have remained bone dry. They've been itching like mad today though so maybe something's starting to happen

Thanks Seconds

Wow that's great stacey, I think I might nn you Daisy
My friend is lending me her pump so thought I would give it a try- got nearly a ML in five mins from my left boob! DP was mortified and really quite disturbed, which I was surprised about, he really didnt like it.
Sad about your hamster honey
Whoever said about the full moon- let's hope it works for one of us! Is it technically tonight when they say the 28th or do they mean tomorrow night?
Ahh on my phone and forgotten everything I had to say
MW tomorrow..

I'm really not feeling the while sleep thing tonight. In so tired until it comes to turning out the light then I'm wide awake again

This stupid bed in SCBU is so uncomfortable. It's got a really soft mattress and it's just making my whole back and shoulders ache to buggery

Oh you poor thing Spotty, I bet you just want your own bed now. How's Felix doing today?

He's ok thanks. Still not in proper feeds just colostrum as and when. Had to put the glucose drip back up. Still in the incubator. There was a sign of infection in his blood result, they said its 24 hours behind so could be nothing but want to do a lumbar puncture tomorrow to be on the safe side.

Oh no, how scary. hopefully everything's okay. Try and get some sleep so you can get some more colostrum into him tomorrow. Night

Oh spotty that doesn't sound much fun. I hope he picks up soon, bloody diabetes.

Thanks cookie I just snorted with laughter at 'Daisy ' and woke DH up! Lol

second letting anyone but a baby 'suckle is completely your mate is odd!

willyou I don't remember being able to get anything with the other dcs. God knows why they've decided to work now.

I did try my pump but it didn't get a lot, hand expressing def worked better.

Ow ow - I think I might be havin my first proper BH - woke me up, feels like period pain but right over the bump, I'm now sat on the loo (too much info, sorry!) as it also makes me feel like needing a poo but I don't think I do. Any suggestions for what I should do? Not sure I can sleep like this. And please don't say this is the start Of labour as I'm not quite ready!

Bean is though - we had a scan yesterday and the baby is strong and active at 37w3d - apparently it was doing lots of breathing movements which were affecting the Doppler of the cord blood flow as I had to go in again for her to take another look. It's all fine. Estimated current weight is 7lb4 which is average but seems big to me! It's probably being skewed upwards due to long thigh and upper arm bones - what a surprise 5ft8 me and 6ft3 husband might have a tall baby!

We also got some amazing 3D views of its face - surprising how affected both of us were by that. Couldn't stop talking about and I couldn't wipe the grin off my face afterwards.

Ok, so it's now an hour later and these might be pootractions. Not conducive to a good nights sleep! I have to be up for work in 2 hours... :( hello to all the other night owls out there.

mamapo that sounds exactly the way my mum's first and second labours started ... just saying.

Amazing work expressing everyone. I was always terrible at it, lucky DD was a good sucker and I never really needed to. Definitely a bonus if you can though - especially if you want to go out and leave Lo with someone for more than a few hours!

Feeling a bit . Ob has booked me in for an induction next thursday as baby is looking so big . Broke down in tears when I told DH as am now totally panicked about getting her out.

Walnut I was so scared about pushing Felix out especially as dd was a forceps delivery but seriously it was not difficult at all. A few pushes and he was out and that was with me on my back with legs in stirrups so had I been on all fours or something I reckon it would have been even quicker. You will have this baby and you'll be amazed at how your body just remembers how to do it also bigger babies are easier to get out

Thanks v much spotty. I know I have to try to be calm about it, and just get on with it but still a bit teary. So wish I was better at this.

How are you this morning? And how was Felix overnight? I hope the infection turns out as nothing, poor babe. I agree with what the others said about going home - definitely better for everyone's sake if you are a bit more comfortable and you can't do any more than you are doing at the hospital.

It has taken me all night to catch up, I can't remember most of the topics of conversations

If you are diabetic and have not been given a sharps container, you need to demand one from your GP, it is dangerous to dispose of your lancets any other way and the GP has been negligent in not providing one. You do not need to replace the cap on your lancet either, sharps bins are handled and disposed of in such a way there is no risk of injury once the box is sealed. There are more needle stick injuries among professionals from attempting to re sheath a needle than any other injury.

Honey my hamster died about a month ago, feel really guilty as I had suggested he might like to die before the baby comes as I had nowhere safe from cats to put him, so he died :(

Daisy made me giggle, I can get a few drops from each boob, but they hurt if I keep trying, so I'll be proud of my drops!

Woken by DH horrible snoring (he needs to loose weight) and my cold which is giving me a scanky cough. Very emotional yesterday from general exhaustion, feeling ill, fed up of being pregnant (can hardly walk anywhere with out horrible lower bump cramps) and DH being a know it all around my mother. Hope today will be a better day.

I'm 26 and thought I was young to remember The Shoe People, DH is 29 and remembers it better. I preferred The Podington Peas!

Hi spotty - hope you get to go home soon. Being in hospital is so grim, isn't it? When I was admitted to a&e halfway through the pregnancy because my blood pressure went nuts, my aunt rang and spoke to me and said "this is a good chance to have a good rest".
A good rest, my arse! With people being noisy all around, lights on, a horrible bed, and being woken up for the day at 5am?!

It sounds like Felix is in safe hands being closely monitored, which is great - hope you have good news about the next lot of blood results.

mamapo I'm jealous that you got good face pictures. We've barely seen our little guy's face as he's pretty much been face down in the placenta throughout. Which is why I won't be thrilled if he's now turned back to back, which the midwives keep saying he might have.

walnut good luck with your induction - not long to go now. I haven't done this before but others have told me that it's much more about baby positioning than about baby size, so I am sure you will do brilliantly. At least that's what I keep telling myself although I may be in a state of
blissful ignorance like an innocent, having not done this yet.

Right I must try to get back to sleep given the chance that I might be admitted later today.

Oh dear spotty sorry to hear about Felix. Hope he recovers soon and you both get to go home over the next few days.

walnut try not to worry - easier said than done i know (boy do i know!) but at the mo youre in a bit of shock, once you start to get your head around it and can focus on that day telling your self positive stuff plus you will get to meet your little one!! And size really doesnt seem to matter from what i csn tell about the balzillion babies being born around me!

Ditto secondsop re position - keep doing all those things that help walnut.

Mamapo thats amazing that you saw those pics, how lovely! It really could be pootractions or also what my midwife decribed as fixing pains - gradual contractions getting baby more engaged. Theres a load of ligaments suporting the uterus and it all starts shifting and being stretched again. It took me til 39 weeks to make head nor tail of that spinning babies website but some of the positions / exercises
do help take the pressure of the ligaments etc while helping to position baby. Not that im at all religiously doing them but have found some moves helpful in middle of night all fours groaning slump pelvic tilts and the over the edge of the bed thing (tho sofa easier!)

www.spinningbabies.com/techniques/the-inversion this was what I meant but it has to be read quite carefully re when not to do it.

On the other hand mama, might be labour !

Ooo MaMaPo it sounds hopeful to me!

Thanks I'm a bit annoyed because the nurse said that he was crying from 8-10 and was quite unsettled but they didn't come and get me think I will go home today but we live a nearly 40 minute drive away so we'll only be able to visit once a day.

spotty you are bound to feel guilty, you're a mother. But honestly, he is safe and warm and fed. There's nothing more you can do for him by staying there when it's draining you of energy and making you feel shit. Just remember this is only a very very short period of his life, all will be 'normal' soon and you will have your gorgeous little boy home. Huge unmumsnetty hugs for you.

Well I woke at 1.30 (and posted on here but then went back to sleep) and didn't wake again until 6! I feel amazing! It's great what a bit of sleep can do!

mama that doesn't sound like a fun night!

walnut honestly try and relax. Yes it will hurt but millions of women do it without pain relief and it works. I was SO scared of labour with dd (was only 17) and it made the pain so much worse because I fought it rather than 'going with it'. With ds it was so much easier as I didn't fight the pain. I hope everything goes smoothly for you!

second oooo you could have your baby today/tomorrow!! Eeeek!

I think it was a false alarm! I slept for another hour and a half and been up for another hour, and now am about to get dressed for work. Tell me, am I a bit bonkers, or completely bonkers?

Clarella, what you describe as fixing pains seems quite accurate - this morning I felt my bump might be a little lower than yesterday. I also had a little bit of fresh blood spotting - no show, though, and very little amount so I am assuming all is fine.

Spotty, I don't think I ever said a bit hearty congratulations on your son. It's rubbish that your time with him now is so patchy and not what you want, but thank goodness he is in the right place getting all the checks he needs so he can swan off home with you soon with nary a backwards glance.

Walnut, sorry to hear you're so upset about your news, but I am also excited for you! Soon you'll have your little one and you'll forget all about the faff of how she came. When I hear things like inductions I tend to feel quite positive, as I think about all the women who came before us who struggled unnecessarily with difficult labours because the medical help they needed just didn't exist. Enjoy your last week!