April 2013 Part 8: Welcoming our Easter Chicks & as Alex & Evan hopefully go home!

[toobreathless]

Over here Ladies!

I hope you don't mind me starting this thread too.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/antenatal_clubs/1689714-April-2013-Part-7-As-our-miracle-Alex-continues-to-grow-the-one-that-sees-us-reach-TERM

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/antenatal_clubs/1560543-April-2013-stats-thread

Wonderful news for today as we welcome babycandy and little Charlotte and hoping that this thread sees little Alex and Evan home very soon.

How many more babies will this thread see?

trish he seriously is a scrummy looking baby, loving the hair, DD came out with a big mop of black curls, she's now got tons of blonde curls :) good luck with the breastfeeding, you can do it!

photochick three stone will disappear, SiL lost a stone in fluid alone in the first few days. You've also got the placenta and extra blood your carting about, let alone the baby and fluid.

Well I went for my almost 38 week scan to be sure the placenta is out the way and all can progress for a VB. We drove in separate cars, as DH works in Brizzle and the hospital is in the middle between home and work. We arrived to a queue of epic proportions for the car park, only just found a space in time to make my appointment. We were kept waiting over 2 hours, MW was rather confused as to why I was there. No need for a scan as placenta being 35mm from exit is plenty... yet a month ago they were worried as it should be 50mm... they said it's no problem and they've now classed me as low risk and advised I should make my way to the midwife led unit at the end of our road. Who won't take me as I'm high risk as their notes say 50mm needed and I have a high BMI [38] so need to go to Bath. Gah! can't bloody win. They did my Blood Pressure which is fine and urine which was +1 on glucose and protein. Hadn't eaten much or had time for a drink and sadly had a few of DD's Jelly Tots, received a bit of a lecture about not eating sweets and chocolate. Not sure what the repercussions are [any ideas?]. I had an internal exam, head is -1 station and cervix is soft but not dilated, consultant seems to think things will start soon [but how many times have I heard that now!] Parking was £6 each though, was not impressed by being kept waiting if they weren't planning to scan me as the midwife will be doing the same checks on me on Friday when I have a 38 week check up.

37+4

Thank u teapig, I hope so too! Can't wait to meet little one, am starting to get really nervous about everything now..

Too, yes I did tell midwife, she said its a 'sign' things may 'kick off soon'. It's not red blood (brown) and not very mucusy.. Still got cramps, but they are constant like dull period cramps.

Congrats on the birth of hunter trish, he sounds lovely! Unfortunately I'm not a member of facebook so can't see everyone's gorgeous newborns.. I probably should get round to joining one day

Hunter's blood sugar still dropping then getting better then dropping so he's got to have a long line put in so they can give bigger % of glucose. It did come back that he has an infection but they don't know if it's his cord or where it is. He's on antibiotics for that already. Don't know how long he will be in tbh. I've just spent the last couple hours crying :-( it just seems we are going round in circles

Really interesting to read about the reduced movements. I've had a really quiet baby all day, have had some movements but much softer. However, seems to have perked up now thankgod but really sobering reading trish's account. Congratulations again, Hunter has THE most exquisite little face. Absolutely gorgeous.

toobreathless I nearly choked laughing at your comment about your DD. Hope you're not too tired with the move. I'm a forces child so know the drill a little bit!

photochick a lot of the weight gain could be water. I haven't been weighed since the initial appointment and hope it stays that way!

Hi to everybody else

Off to catch up with 16 kids and counting now. Madness.

Thanks ladies for the lovely comments about our boy xx obviously we are biased and think he's a beauty xxx

X posts trish. Must be so worrying and upsetting but the main thing is that they're aware of it and dealing with it. Poor little chap really will be in good hands. I know from first hand experience that its all a bit surreal when things like this happen. Thinking of you

Thanks tictac. Xx I'm a planner and just hate not knowing things or not getting answers xx

trish congratulations! He is lovely. I hope the new line helps stabilise his blood sugars and you can take him home soon.

grow the spinals aren't that bad. I've had over 100 lumbar punctures in the past 10 years and I'd take the spinal needle over another midwife internal!! They use local first which is just like a jab for flu etc and you don't feel any pain then when they do the spinal needle.
I'm more worried about being awake while they fumble around inside me lol I've been awake for one op in the past and they had to heavily sedate me just to get my heart rate down. I'm hoping I'll be more excited than scared when its happening.

Still nothing happening baby wise :( I think she's given up trying to get out now and is waiting calmly for the cs. Although she likes to dance most of the day, mainly when it's noisy, and sleeps most of the night. I'm really hoping that carries on after she's born lol

Thanks fluff xx his sugars were better overnight however the challenge now comes to keeping his sugars good whilst reducing his glucose drip. X

Thanks fluffeh that's good to know. I know what you mean with the rummaging, I'm trying to visualise it in the hope it wont be too much of a shock! I guess it's like one giant tooth anaesthetic - where you can feel the dentist moving about in your mouth and the vibrations of the drill, but no pain. Thankfully that bit is supposed to be quick! I think 'll ask DH to distract me with chat about taking the baby in the campervan this summer.

Its good if your baby is waiting for the CS - I hope you can both take some time to chill and nap until the time comes.

Trish Hunter is in the best hands and the ABs should clear it all up. He'll be home with you in no time I'm sure.

Thanks grow xx I hope so xxx they just said it'll be a long process x

I'm utterly miserable and fed up

I've been up since 4am (after barely sleeping before that), in so much pain that my co-codomol isn't even touching.

Bloody cystitis, the AntiBs I had ran out last week and had worked brilliantly but it has come back with avengence and it hurts so much!

Just waiting for the Dr to call me in the hope that he will prescribe the AntiBs over the phone for me instead of me having to wait for an appointment. Not sure if they will though as they were originally prescribed by my consultant at the hospital and not through the GPs...Fingers crossed for me.

Also I am starving all the time at the moment and unable to eat any kind of meal at all. If I have anything over a few fork fulls I am in agony in my stomach. The food just feels like it is sitting there causing hideous indegestion pain

No time to rest though as I promised the DCs that we would go out and about today and have some fun...this is going to be a long day.

37+6

Jaq poor you, sounds like a 'mare! You could call the consultant's office and get them/a registrar to fax the original prescription through to speed things up for you...it might work.

Can you try something gentle to eat like plain rice, a bit of mash or baby rusks?

Take it easy today and don't over do it.

Grow your own - It is a bit odd but not at all unpleasant (the rummaging part) and only lasts a couple of minutes. Immediately after that you meet your baby then the whole thing is forgotten even tho you are lying there while they sew you up! For those 20 mins or so me, DH and DS were the only people in the world as far as we were concerned and I just remember repeating over and over 'he's perfect, he's perfect'. All the docs and nurses could have grown antlers as far as we were aware of their presence!!

That gives me something better to focus on, thanks BonaDea!

Can anyone advise on what a sweep is like? Painful? Uncomfortable?

Thanks

39+4!!!!!! So nearly there

bona thanks, I'm hoping to forget it straight away. I have the most delicate vomit reflex. I only have to think of something horrible and I'm fighting the urge to be sick. I'm dreading vomitting at the same moment as the baby is born.

jaq even though I have ranitidine, I still have to avoid meals and acid causing foods. I tend to eat little, not very often and mainly dairy or cereal. I find rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, fruit and tomato based foods the worst. I've been eating a lot of bran flakes lol
I hope you get the ab's :).

We found a garage who can fix the car and keep within our budget yay! So that's one less thing to worry about now. Sadly the house we've been offered isn't suitable. It has no back door, no garden and huge floor length windows. We need a garden so I can finally go on the waiting list for a guide dog and long windows are a no go as I don't see much I'd spend half my life walking in to them haha!
The guy we spoke to is hopeful of finding us somewhere more suitable, but with less than 3 weeks till the cs I'm thinking its going to mean bringing the baby back here for a while.

Marking my place, and hoping I make it on to this thread

Essex I had a sweep yesterday at 39+3. It wasn't painful for me, just like a smear test. Wear a pad as I did bleed a fair bit for a couple of hours and had some period pains.

The bleeding stopped at lunchtime but I'm having a bit more today. Don't think it's worked! I was 1cm dilated and 50 % effaced.

My waters went last night at 10.00, just settled on the sofa to watch some tv and felt a weird pop! Glad my partner knows what he's doing, he persuaded me to ring labour ward (I was convinced I had to wait for contractions). Went in, baby fine but will need to be induced tomorrow if labour doesn't start on its own due to risk of infection.

Apparently you need to stay in at least 12 hours after so baby can be checked for infection.. Anyone had any experience of being induced after waters have gone? No sign of any contractions yet..

Sneezy that's how I started yesterday, do u still have the pains? I'm getting some dull aches every now and then but I will 'know when it's labour' so people keep telling me

Went in the most amazing labour room last night though, so big with a birth pool. I don't think I can have my water birth though if I'm induced as long as baby is born healthy though, that's all that matters

Jo, that's what happened with me when having DS1, waters broke at home on the Sunday evening. Was induced Tuesday morning cos nothing had happened
I stayed in 48hrs after because I got an infection! DS was fine! Good luck

Jo very excited for you!

Yes, still having the pains but they don't feel like the contractions I had with DD (although I was on the synto drip so they started off strong and stayed that way). I know sweeps can take 48 hours but not convinced by this one!

Good luck!

There seems to be a lot happening for quite a few people on here - hopefully many more of you will be cuddling your babies very soon.

I am/would be 37 weeks today but have a sleeping 20 day old on my chest. He is currently resting after a busy half hour of feeding/poohing/burping! He looks very cute when he has wind and the DDs are sure he is smiling at them! I try to explain it is just wind but they know what they know! When he does start smiling, he is going to be a real charmer.

Trish I hope Hunter is maintaining his blood sugars today. The long lines are tough to think about and it is hard to see their tiny hands all wrapped up but it is the quickest way to get the glucose/dextrose in. Hopefully the ABs will sort out the infection and the tests will show up where it is.
How is the expressing going? Are you able to express next to/whilst holding Hunter? (I made the decision to BB Evan within his first week but his DSisters were both BF in NICU before moving on to mixed feeding). It is VERY hard work and you need to make sure you are getting the support you need.
Are they giving the colostrum down Hunter's NG tube or just dipping a cotton bud in it and putting it on his lips so he can get a taste if he cannot manage it in his tube yet?
Have you been given a copy of the Small Wonders DVD - NICU/SCBU units should give it out and may well have a portable player so you can watch it there. It has a lot of useful information about what you can be doing to care for Hunter and it helps to make sense of some things. (Evan was my 3rd DC to end up in NICU and I found watching the DVD this time really useful - we were involved in feedback forums for it when it was being produced!)
And as for crying - that is really normal too (and may well get 'worse' before it gets better). Even with (lots of) NICU/SCBU experience and an expectation that Evan would end up there, I still cried every single day for at least his first week. And I was talking to another NICU mum who had burst into tears just because she couldn't find her deodrant that morning! The NICU staff are VERY used to crying parents and always have tissues on hand...
And finally, you said your DH had had to go home and couldn't return until 10am? Is the visiting on NICU/SCBU more flexible? Here it is 24 hours a day for parents so you could always have DH visit with you there rather than have such a long time without him - if that would be useful/possible for you? (I find I need to have DP around to ask all the questions I want to ask but need a filter before coping with the answer IYKWIM). Good Luck to you and Hunter.

Nicky thanks for that info in that message!!!

I can express in my bed (they've given me a pump to use there) and I've got a pump near his cot in SCBU too x I just look at my pictures of him when I express and that helps too!!

Managed to get lots and lots of colostrum out (they are surprised how much considering its day 3 and he's not with me), they are freezing it at the moment but he's had a bit from me too.

Infection level wasn't high it's more the sugar we need stable xx they've been stable all day and he's on 15% glucose but the challenge will be when they reduce it gradually he will need to keep his sugar levels consistent! I heard them talking earlier saying they will hopefully start reducing the glucose later and start giving my colostrum in his feeding tube.

I wonder when the proper milk will come in!

Found out parents are allowed in SCBU 24/7 so hubby could have stayed! It's just the ward that has restricted hours!!
Will ask about that DVD xx

I just got back from mw appointment, so disappointed because when I booked it I was only 36 weeks and I remember saying to DH hopefully won't make it to that appointment as we'll have the baby by then as I'm 39+3 today but here I am still not had the baby and now I have an appointment for monday where they'll also book me for an induction really don't want to be induced as wanted to go to birthing centre not labour ward! but we decided to get a take away and watch a film tonight for DH birthday so I want the baby to hurry up and come but only after I've had my take away on the plus side it's half engaged so I guess I'll be spending more time on the ball to get it all the way down and keep hoping it comes by itself...