October 2013, anomaly scans, boy, girls and little surprises :-)

[Natalieand]

Welcome to thread number 7 (of many) of the October bus xxx

Yeah Natalie with you on the knitting front! I'm so rubbish at home crafts. I told our cleaner quite early on about my pregnancy, and last week she came armed with a lovely white blanket she had knitted for us, bless her, she's now started on hats and cardigans for us....how lovely is that....

The ladies who are having nurseries olive green with white furniture, great minds think alike, I think it looks lovely and great if you aren't finding out the sex...

I have some oral gel that I use when I get oral thrush (about once a month usually, a long term side effect of radiotherapy) I asked the gp and she said it was fine to still use in pregnancy (she must have been at least 80 and I'm not sure she even really knew what it was) but having looked at the leaflet it says it is not adviced during pregnancy and should only be used if the doctor thinks there is no alternative treatment. however, if u need this gel for a stomach infection then the dosage is 2 table spoons swallowed at a time. I only dab a bit in the corner of my lips. I shouldn't really worry about using it should I? my lips are so sore and won't get better without it. dp thinks its fine, but id rather have your reassurance too Haha!!

Jelly thanks for that advice. So far everyone has told me different things. Exercise. Don't exercise.dont/ Take pain killers. Will/won't last till end. So I don't trust medics either.
Where in the world are u jelly? If you don't want to put it here PM me as I'd like a recommendation for Physio.
I'm in west London.

I think it's probably fine roofio usually they say something like if the benefit to the mother outweighs the risk to the baby then its fine. They can't really test drugs on pregnant ladies so its always a bit difficult. It does say its ok if no other alternative so I think you are ok. You could always ring nhs direct if still not sure?
Useful item instead of baby blankets.....a morckk! They are fleeced things that loop through car seat straps and pushchair straps, then you wrap over baby and ta da baby is snug and warm and it won't fall off like blankets tend to do. Blankets great for Moses baskets and prams that lie flat though. Sorry dont mean to put you all off knitting but just found that we had hundreds of gorgeous hand knitted blankets that were too hot to use at night (massive fear of overheating baby and causing cot death!) and just fell off when he was in car seat. Once I discovered a morckk I never looked back!

Caught up more.

Those worried about SPd (I'm also hypermobile) research the SPd tips n start following now to reduce risk. Also look into aquafit classes. Those helped me last time.

Rocking chairs folks. I tried one and I felt very unsteady. So really try before you buy. In mothercare changing rooms they have feeding chairs to try out. They are padded. But very expensive. Only issue I have is if bf was successful I'd be upset at the expense.
If you but traditional wooden one make sure you buy cushions. Noway will you b able to sit on the hard seat for at least a few weeks

Also milk comes out of several tiny holes. Having seen it come out (with the pump) I still can't work out where the holes are!

GT I am also hyper mobile hence SPD pain.

I am in West of Scotland so a bit far for you to travel. Look up physios on Internet that specialise in women's issues and lower back pain. NHS Scotland guidelines are that physios not allowed hands on treatment thankfully though private physios can still manipulate.

Take care and take paracetamol x

Wow, what an amazingly good week for positive news! I'm so incredibly happy for MoN, Soup, flyer, Pea, nat and Umf (and anyone who I missed -very sorry!)! Fantastic, I've the biggest grin! More of this :D

Nat Glad you are feeling better about having a boy. Although I'd be happy for either, I have a preference towards a girl as its how I've always imagined life to go and I want to ensure I have both sexes (though we want 4). I know if I find out its another boy my heart will momentarily sink, not because I wouldn't love another little boy too, it's just not the picture I have and will take some getting used to.

Roofio as others have said milk comes from all over the nipple.

I think a rocking chair should perhaps be seen as a comfy place in babies room rather than 'feeding chair', you will still love it for middle of the night cuddles, bottles and stories. (Sorry on phone and forgot who said it).

Well what a week we've had! I had my first MW appointment which ended up in being sent straight to hospital to see consultant regarding my bp. She decided not to medicate right now as bp is just spiking it seems, and medication would make it generally low which is worse for me and the way ill feel. But she has me signed off work for the duration of my pregnancy, I'm 18 weeks today, and a 28 week extra growth scan. Then DS was rushed from my Drs surgery by ambulance for respitory distress (first time in his lifetime it's not been me to take him to drs!). He is fine for now, thank god, but is prone to respitory problems linked to his excema. This is the boy that only gave up his last breastfeed last week at 2 years (almost) 3 months - so those that have formula guilt DON'T! Happy mummy, happy baby!

I also have joint hyper mobility syndrome, SPD started at 10 weeks. I was recomended physio and a pregnancy water excercise class. Def no yoga etc. I will also say, the only noise I made through the duration of my labour, which scared the MW half to death was the most piercing scream when she lifted my leg (I was on left side) during pushing stage. She dropped it pretty sharply haha I've since read to tie a ribbon around your legs to you maximum movement ability in labour to prevent this.

An essay! Sorry, but had to say it all as its been so long since I posted.

GT for SPD do take paracetamol if you need to, water excercise is fab but no froggy swimming (keep those knees together!), limit all other excercise, def no stretching! My SPD and I think most cases lasted till the end, but I was pretty much fully recovered straight after labour - though the very very unlucky tiny percent it can be life from then on. I used to go to a lovely physio in SW London when I was living in the UK. How West are you?

Tarlia that sounds like the week from hell!l I hope you and your son are better now. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of work do you do and was the BP the reason you were signed off?

We went shopping today, and did proper pregnant things! We looked at prams at Mamas & Papas and John Lewis and activated my Boots parenting club. Then we went home and bought a Mamas & Papas Sola on the Boots website with £60 off and got £23 worth of advantage points! We're still not sure what we're doing about car seats though.

I work near Kingston. So travel quite close to SW.
Strangely tho I'm more comfy on my back then side. Usually always sleep on my side.

Thanks everybody!!
As life goes in here I came home from Tesco and ds came to help and tripped over the front lawn and fell awfully close to a concrete wall. My heart stopped for those seconds and immediately afterwards the baby moved.
Ds is ok with his pride hurt and all is well.
What a day!!!

My DH has said that he is hoping for a girl this time. He asked me "if this ones a boy, could we try again for a girl?" I don't think I could handle a 5th pregnancy!

tarlia, what a week! Hope everything goes ok.

I would love a rocking chair but I'm 100% sure that I would squash a cat paw or tail under the rocker. He has to be in everything so he would be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I didn't know the milk came from all over the nipple, I have a lot to learn. Can anyone recommend any breast feeding books or websites? I'd really like to give it a good go but am clueless.

notsoold, very glad you felt movement again, and that DS is OK

Tarlia what a week! How do you feel about being signed off?

My goddaughters christening went well yesterday. It was nice to show off my bump and get congratulations in person from friends I haven't seen recently. I was suprised all of them would opt for epidurals when talk of birth came up. my doctor friend also advised against too much strenuous exercise as baby cant regulate its temperature well which goes against everything else i have heard and doesnt help my motivation to get moving more!

Off for a brunch this morning then picking up my sister and her family who are coming to live with us for a while while they find a house.

My sleeping through the night was a fluke and it seems I am back to waking at 1 then 5 and not going back to sleep boo. Hoping its just because hotel room is too hot and will sleep better at home.

orange that's what I've been told about exercise. It's ok to continue with exercise you're used to, but dial down the intensity. You should always be able to hold a conversation.

Soup, I just lol at your comment about the cats paw or tail and a rocking chair, I'd do the same...

Has anyone here any tips for introducing your baby to your dog, I have a bichon frise who to put it mildly is spoilt rotten, she sleeps with us, and is like our baby so not sure how dogs that are spoilt take to a new addition who is going to take her number 1 spot...any tips would be great.

notsoold poor DS, glad he is ok.

GT the physio was in Barnes and called Physio on the river. It was a few years ago now but they were lovely.

Soup sorry no books to recommend but have heard Ina May (I think) is well worth a read, even if it verges on the alternative hippy side. I was incredibly lucky in the fact that here it's almost abnormal to bottle feed as the on going support for bf is amazing and they are happy to keep you in hospital until feeding is established. My personal bf tips are; if you really want to do it, you can but its a bumpy ride. Take support from where ever you can - I'm no expert but bf for a long time and am happy to answer any questions either here or private message. Seek out local breastfeeding cafes/support groups and find out your local LLL number and emal as they can even visit if required.

Thanks folks, he is much better now. We just cannot understand what triggered it as it usually happen when he gets a cold, but no cold this time. However I caught the cold from hell yesterday.

ana yes, mostly BP but also SPD. Though I think what's really tipped it is my bp started almost from checking in and has got increasingly worse to the extent I now get migraines, dizzy spells and blurring mixed with I had preeclampsia last pregnancy.
orange feeling a bit up and down about it as I've not worked since October 2010 (kept DS home for 2 years) and was looking forward to a few months work before I had baby. Still, it's a relief as I have been feeling rottin and will focus on staying as calm and rested as possible to make sure this baby grows as it should as high bp stunts growth and can cause all sorts of problems including still birth. Hope you enjoy your brunch.

Hope you all have a lovely day and have sunshine like we do.

soup if you are going to do nct antenatal classes they do a whole session on breastfeeding which I found really useful. Also once you've had the baby the midwives will help you and our hospital had special dedicated feeding ones who will spend time with you to help establish it- I was glad to be in for 4 days as got loads of help . And then when you get home try the Breastmates people as you should have someone in your area who will be able to help if you're struggling.
flyer we have a spoilt pooch too. We let him into the babys nursery to have a good sniff of all his things and when baby arrived DH carried him in so I could give the dog a good cuddle then we let him have a sniff of ds. He was so nonplussed! I used to get my mil to sit with ds for an hour when he was a newborn so I could take the dog out too which helped him feel not so left out. Dog and baby are now pretty happy with each other baby happier with the dog than the other way around but once he can stroke and play properly I think te dog will come round!
Gorgeous and sunny here, just waiting for ds to finish his lunchtime nap and then we need to get to the park before they run out of ice cream! Have a great day everyone

I fully intend to use the midwives with bf knowledge to help as dd was ff so its all new to me. Also watch some vids on YouTube regarding positions and latch.

got the day to myself so I'm watching "what to expect when you're expecting!" loving it!! I just can't wait for this little one to arrive now!!

Natalie. Don't be put off knitting a chunky baby blanket. Honestly. If you buy a nice think wool/yarn. You can just use the same stitch all the way through. Someone on my post natal group has done this and it looks fab.

Think I may start a Facebook group for us. Just to share pictures/scans etc. obviously keep this as our main form of communication. Anyone fancy joining? Going to look into it now as I want to make it a secret group. As its not public on FB yet.

Soup. I've been recommended "art of breast feeding" thinks an old book. But many have recommended. Over heard a MW recommended Bump to breast video on you tube. Look up
Breast feeding org. Also kellymom site is good for advice.

Speak to your mw n find out how they support BF. do they have specialist etc.

For those who choose to formula feed there is a web site "fearless formula formula" which is great as its difficult to get good advice about FF. I would maybe look at ff guidelines and instructions before JUST in case BF doesn't go to plan. From personal experience it was really stressful trying to make the ff correctly/quickly enough for a screaming baby.

I'm in the middle of "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" now. It is good, and full of useful information about latch and positions and what's normal as the baby gets older. I think I will try attending a lll meeting before I have the baby (assuming you can do that here, it's a US book) and get an idea of what it's like. It sounds like they can be a good resource.

I will warn everyone that this book is very stongly pro-bf and anti-ff, and I'm not sure if I would find some of it a bit upsetting if I'd already ff a baby. It also advocates things like unmedicated birth, babywearing and cosleeping which at not be everyone's parenting style although I plan to give them a try and I do believe they can help with bf. It does however still give practical info for mums post-c section and for mixed feeding.

Tarlia take care of yourself. I don't know much about pre eclampsia but I do hope you can stay as healthy as possible this time.

I am currently facing a dilemma. I bought a pound of strawberries yesterday, and I want to eat them all, even though some were meant to go in the fruit salad for a shared picnic tomorrow. It's a healthy craving, right? And no one will notice the lack of strawberries if there is lots of melon and pineapple? I had a small portion hoping to satisfy myself but it didn't work.

gt I'm up for a Facebook group :-) secret is better tho so friends can't be nosey

I am absolutely exhausted we live right near Bognor butlins and they were doing entry for £2 so spent the day there and my back my well and truly done in