Graduated Elderberries (numero 3)

[BraveLilBear]

Welcome back oh graduated elderberries. Let us discuss the delights of being over-30 first-timers with google obsessions

Mine have been pretty inconspicuous to date until they decided to reveal themselves in all their fully-functional glory last night. They even lulled me into a false sense of security by refusing to grow at all, making me think they probably wouldn't even work when the appropriate time came.

As a result I have also been looking at waterproof mattress protectors. If they leak now what are they going to be like afterwards so I figure it's probably wise to get one. And I don't want to ruin the mattress if my waters go in bed. They seem to be around £40 for a decent one which doesn't rustle. Having a baby is soooo expensive!

a friend recommended the disposable changing mats instead of waterproof covers for this purpose. If you leak, you can just throw them away and don't have to strip the whole bed and wash the waterproof cover.

So these Braxton hicks thingies, what do they feel like and how painful are they? I've had this funny pain on and off all day but its getting pretty bad (doubled over on the sofa whenever I'm confident OH can't see me, he'd only fuss) is this just another pregnancy nasty I should get used to or should I be worried? I never know what's proportionate as I'm not one for making a fuss unless I think I'm actually dying and it's not THAT bad!

hm sorry no personal experience, as I'm not sure I had any, but according to google, they should not last the whole day or make you double over in pain. Can you call your midwife just in case, or that NHS non-emergency number?

What does it feel like exactly? Are you ok? Mine have been more uncomfortable than painful...

Arse Purple, you really are going through the mill in this pregnancy!

I have no idea if it's BH I've been having, but I would describe mine as tightenings rather than pain at the moment. I've had a few random shooting pains though but not that many. My Sister said her BH were mega painful towards the end.

I'm no expert but if I had pains like yours I'd probably text my MW or give NHS Direct a ring to see what they think. I get what you're saying about not making a fuss and it's probably nothing, but it's probably wise to ask a professional opinion bearing in mind you're waiting on test results for other issues which may or may not be related.

I'm ok, It's not that painful all the time, only thing I can relate it to is period pain so it's like a dull ache most of the time with occasional flares of stronger pain but they don't last too long. It's not like I'm writhing round in agony just when it's bad it's making me catch my breath and clutch my stomach for a few seconds (well not really stomach, lower down under bump) but then it settles down again. I'm sure it's nothing, just wondered if anyone else had had similar.

Ah right, well in that case I have had very dull period type aches for my whole pregnancy so far. They are very dull and not painful, although I am aware of them. Maybe just see how they are over the next few days then?

Well apparently I wasn't managing to groan on the sofa quite as quietly as I thought and I got caught so OH got all naggy and fussy and phoned the midwife. They're not too worried and said it 'could be anything' and to take some paracetamol and ring back if it gets more painful/frequent so you see, I was right not to fret.

On a completely unrelated note, the days of my tummy button being an 'innie' are numbered, it,a definitely on the way to being an outie, I have to admit I'm slightly freaked out by this and keep trying to poke it back in even though I know it's completely futile

I think I'm a teensy bit jealous purple - mine is just getting deeper, wider and more cavernous. Not what I expected?!

Hope that the pains are indeed nothing and easing off a bit now. You're having more than your fair share of rotten luck pregnancy wise!

Like my arse everything else, my belly button is just getting wider as well.

I'm now getting worried about not having braxtons, as apparently those are practice contractions. Why isn't my uterus practising??

I'm not sure my uterus is practicing either Hazle, midwife wondered if achy pain was pgp related and stabby pain was baby pressing a nerve, she didn't think it was BH. How come my button is turning inside out then? No fair! Mine got wider and more shallow but now is poking out a bit at the top, maybe it's because my torso is so stupidly short that the baby is having to poke outwards as there's no bloody room anywhere else.

Mine is still an innie but getting more and more shallow so I can see that it will probably be an outie before 40 weeks. My friend's has been an outie since about 15 weeks so shouldn't complain really although I inevitably will, and will also moan like hell when the first stretch mark appears.

Hazle you're probably are having them but can't feel them. Some women can't apparently. Mine are barely noticeable and I'm not even sure that's what they are. My uterus might not be practicing but my boobs definitely are.

Had an anesthesiologist appointment this morning. The French really like to use the health insurance money in full - appointment consisted of me filling in a health questionnaire and then the anesthesiologist asking me the same questions again . I could have just sent the form in.

He got DH absolutely convinced that of course, everybody takes an epidural, no reason not to! True, about 70% of French women do, but he also claimed that there's no higher rate of interventions and epidural does not slow the labour down - well, not exactly correct according to most studies I've read.

We will go see the maternity ward in a few weeks, will ask if they actually have statistics about their epidural and intervention rates.

Interesting, we're told here that it can slow labour down, and that it does lead to a higher risk of forceps/ventouse because you can't feel where/how to push exactly? I was actually looking up NHS stats last week for a friend, and was looking up what proportion of women in NHS hospitals get the pain relief they ask for. In the hospital I'm going to it's 81% (vs the other hospitals near me where it's consistently a worrying 60-odd percent) but scarily that still means that one in five women can't have the pain relief they'd like. Argh! Guess it all depends on what happens on the day and if they're too busy to give you an epidural. So I think here at least, you can plan on what you want, but always need to be flexible as to what might happen on the day....

All starting to get very real now. Keep hearing too many stories about people who give birth at 30 weeks and realising how disorganised we are! Just bought some nappies, lanisoh, cotton wool etc in my next ocado shop - but then realised that even though we'll now have nappies, we still won't have a roof! Here's hoping this all goes to plan and baby stays put for some time yet.

Have to say I'm not loving his/her new habit of kicking/hitting my cervix. Doesn't feel lovely tbh. I do, however, love feeling movement in general. Went to see a beautiful three week old baby yesterday, and the whole time I was holding it the baby was kicking. Made it feel very real suddenly!

Wow, they really do seem to be rather...thorough over there Hazle!
Well whatever was going on yesterday seems to have magically disappeared today, if only all unpleasant pregnancy symptoms were so easy to get rid of no dull throbbing ache, no stabbing make you gasp pains, nothing! (well, I say nothing, aside from the hips, the itching, the heartburn that feels like it is actually melting my chest, ya know, the usual!) so perhaps the midwife was right and the baby was just leaning on something she shouldn't have been and has kindly decided to move? Whatever reason from the 'it could be ANYTHING' midwife diagnosis, I'm most pleased that it has stopped.

You're still more organised than me Janey if it's any consolation, we have no nappies (or anything else much!) AND we're living in a building site. I don't know how your loft conversion is going but since you have actual real builders I guess it is actually going...whereas, in our house there seems to be an awful lot of chin scratching and measuring and not a whole lot of action! And I have the added drama of possibly being induced early, the poor mite could end up sleeping in a drawer wrapped in one of my jumpers at this rate!

At least he said that they do the mobile epidural here, where you can still walk around. I'm pretty sure I would not want one if it meant I would have to stay in bed and have the baby flat on my back - gravity is there for a reason.

Yeah they do mobile epidurals at my local hospital too - they're supposed to be sooo much better (if you can get one in the UK that is!)

Purple - glad you're feeling better In terms of our loft, we had steels, wood etc delivered the first week. Work began the following week, so have had two weeks of proper work. Was up there at the weekend - the stairs are now in, the floor, and the wires for all the electric sockets and lights, the pipes for the plumbing etc. The roof is being felted this week, and the windows going in this week, and plastering starting at the end of this week or start of next apparently! He's adamant they'll definitely be finished by 17th May but seems to think they may well be done sooner. Am sure there's lots of chin scratching going on in our absence but have to say that so far I'm very impressed with the rate of progress. Fingers crossed it carries on going this smoothly!

You have stairs! I'm so jealous! I've got steels, uprights and about three floor joists hung at the moment, no windows, floor, stairs, walls, electrics, insulation, plumbing...plastering seems like a very distant dream indeed! I think mine will be done by May as well, May 2014

I have to say, I also don't like the idea of being stuck flat on my back giving birth, it just doesn't seem natural somehow. I'm still holding out hope for my water birth as that's also supposed to help if you've got PGP so fingers crossed.

Afternoon all from birthday towers

Soooo.... round up: Don't ask me why I did, but I squeezed my nipples a week/ten days ago and some liquid seeped out. Was very and at the same time! But proud to say, the puppies are playing nicely and only misbehaving on demand as yet

Belly button is a flatty sometimes, and a bit outie on others. I think the position the baby's in has a big impact - when baby's back is facing belly, button goes out from the pressure, I believe.

Personally I like playing with my belly button at the moment, because it doesn't hurt anymore! I have a very sensitive belly button usually, although it is colured blue most of the time these days, like a bruise.

Have realised that I usually don't feel BH - just occasionally I notice everything goes rock hard. The times when I've felt them, I think they're more likely dehydration pains or ligament pains. The dehydration ones are very very sore - Purple make sure you're getting enough fluid just in case that's what caught you the other day!

Another plus one who hates getting kicked in the cervix, bowel and bladder - I think Baby Bear actually kicked a pocket of trapped wind this morning. Ouch!

Also... nearly had a nasty fall yesterday. Came in from the garden and stumbled on a doorframe or something or other. Lost balance and started tumbling forward. Usually, my self-righting mechanism would take over, but I was literally being dragged down my heavy belly and I very nearly ended up going head first into a kitchen cupboard if not the flooor. Took me fully 5 metres to regain my balance. The weirdest feeling ever. And quite scary. I must have looked like a drunk T Rex.

Impressed at the prep work going on - we've started a full-scale attack on the garden in a bizarrely procrastinatory move...

at drunken T-rex comment, but at near miss. Glad you're OK.

And HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY brave!

I second the dehydration pains - ouchy - and I drink a whole pint of squash every morning before I leave for work now, just in case I have a busy morning and somehow don't drink enough. Have learned from experience that it's not worth it!

Happy Birthday T-Rex!

Happy Birthday! I'm TRYING not to laugh about your inebriated T-Rex impression, honestly I am, I'm sure if you'd actually hurt yourself I wouldn't be sniggering so that makes it ok right? Have a low alcohol from me as a birthday treat.
Thanks for the tip, don't think it's likely to be dehydration with me, I drink enough to swim in most days but I'll definitely keep an eye on it just in case. Think I spend more time in the ladies than at my desk sometimes but I must be very well hydrated