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

[Natalieand]

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

shire I'm angry for you about your midwife. At my 16wk she did The Doppler and said if I was ever concerned and wanted the Doppler again she's here every Friday morning and its no problem. I'm not trying to rub it in I just want you to realise there are brilliant mws out where and if your not happy or receiving the care you should then something had to be done!

I'm 5'4" and a 14/16. Definite bump here at 16+1 and had a little spurt last two weeks.

No pets here! Also back at work now boo!

shire that sounds awful :( you are entitled to change mw if your not happy xxx

I need a bit of advice from others on here who are choosing to Formula Feed how have you coped with the docs and mw telling you your not giving the best if you don't breast feed. I find it really difficult as Ds was ff not through choice but is so happy and healthy :(

When I had my first, we had a Newfoundland (huge dog). When we bought dd home from hospital, we introduced them to each other and let the dog smell the baby. We obviously watched him but he just accepted the baby and there was never a problem. He was fine with numbers 2 and 3 as well. My 3rd loved the dog so much that if the dog was asleep on the floor, my ds would crawl over and fall asleep on the dogs tummy. It was very cute.

We now have 4 cats so I am a little worried that one of them may try and nap with the baby. We will all have to be extra vigilant about where the cats are.

Soup......will you find out the sex? We did when we had an amino with our 2nd (now a strapping lad of almost 13).

Shire.......does your drs surgery have a midwife there at all that you can try to visit? My drs has one visit every Wednesday afternoon. Maybe it's worth calling your drs surgery?

Do you all have your notes with you? At my booking in (12 weeks) I filled in some of the bits and left it with them for the blood results etc to be out into it. I done get it back until next week when I have my next checkup (18 weeks). It feels like I haven't seen a midwife in ages! I am hoping to hear the heart beat and finally pick up my notes!

Falcon.......tell them that your mental health is just as important as the physical health of the baby. Don't let any tell you how you should be feeding your own baby

Haylebop my MW said the exact same thing to me. She was completely willing in every way to reassure me should I have any concerns. Shire I know you said that they are a pain to get through to, but I think it might be worthwhile to challenge them and hopefully they will offer you a doppler.

Bowlfull I read your post and immediately downloaded a stethoscope app and ran to the office toilets to test it. Unfortunately there is a fan in the toilets that doesn't turn off and that was all it seemed to pick up! Will have a try later when I can get some peace and quiet at home. Is there any particular app you would recommend?

Slippy I am a bit jealous of your shopping spree! So far I have a huge list and loads of stuff I am watching on eBay... Roll on the 14th May when I will be ready to get shopping!

Millions of babies are formula fed and are very healthy.

I breast fed my 3 and am hoping to Breast feed this one too. My dd has allergies, my 2nd has always suffered with ear problems and my youngest is asthmatic.

So don't let any tell you that breast fed babies are healthier than formula fed babies!

Glad everything went well soup. Rest as much as you can.

Oh the midwife stories are making me angry on here now! grrr. Def be pushy shire, it's your pregnancy, your baby and don't let them treat you like a number to process.

slippy we have a black labrador who was my original baby so I really wanted her not to feel left out when ds1 was born.Your dog will know at this stage that you are pregnant....they can sense the hormone changes. My dog knew before I did this time as she got super clingy and kept lying with her head on my stomach. She also knew when my waters were about to break with ds1 as she stuck to me like glue and was acting really strangely when all of a sudden they went!

We just really included her from the start. DH brought a baby blanket home from the hospital with the scent of DS so when we got home she had a quick sniff and then walked off. I refused to push her away at any stage when she was showing an interest but for the most part she ignored him. Now she really likes ds but is having to get used to him stealing her toys! She is really gentle round him. Obviously I don't leave them alone but his wee face lights up when he sees her and she just acts like he's always been there. I have made a real effort to still walk her on my own and spend time with her though obviously it's hard as I don't have much time! DH has been a big help but I still feel guilty. Hoping dc2 will love her as much. Dogs are so good for children, as long as they are good natured ones!

Sorry for the ramble!

I managed to BF so didn't have to deal with that, so don't have any advice as such falcon, other then to tell them to bog off. I think you just have to be firm and confident about your decisions and then they get the message. I went to talk to HV about early weaning with DS, and they told me I couldn't, no solids until 6 months, proper lecture. I smiled nicely and said thanks for the advice, but I have researched and made my decision, so could they give me some inofrmaiton on how to do so safely

Thanks wickedgirl I will keep that in mind when i see the consultant tomorrow. XXX

posted too early...

and then they were fine and answered all my questions. It's entirely up to you how you look after your baby, and you are not harming your baby by FF

I think this is were the NHS lets us all down I know they have a duty to tow the company line and promote bf but lots cant do it and there is not a lot of info on how to do formula feeding safely either from them now 4 years ago when i had Ds there was a lot more and they did not seem as pushy as they can be now!
I will try to stand my ground as i have valid reasons HCP are not always understanding or as nice as you would expect xx

bowlfull you seem like a strong woman i need to harden up really

Roxvox I think it was this one but can't remember itunes.apple.com/gb/app/istethoscope-pro/id322110006?mt=8.

Do it when you are home and laid down in the quiet. It can take a while to find, and also make sure you are getting the baby's and not your's or the placenta - should be very fast and sound like a galloping horse! Unfortunately neither me or DP now have an iphone and can't find one for blackberry or andriod .

Hmm, I think petulant may be a more suitable adjective. I get even more determined when I am told what to do. Downside is DS seems to have inherited this problem with authority - my mother keeps citing karma and laughing

Thanks bowlfull I will check it out! And will try not to get too impatient if I cannot find it

My parents have 2 dogs (both soppy as anything golden retrievers who wouldn't harm a fly) and we will be staying with them for a couple of weeks after the birth (they live approximately 200 miles closer to my hospital of choice than we currently do!) so I too will need to work on getting the dogs used to the idea of a baby. The only thing I might be cautious of with them is that they sometimes paw to get attention, and I wouldn't want them trying to paw the baby (obviously I am not going to leave baby lying around on the floor for them to paw or anything stupid). I reckon they will love him/her when he/she is a toddler though! A person at their own height will be super exciting for them I reckon.

My mum said the same as soon as we found out bump was a girl. I t was oh well your getting all the trouble you caused your mum back then

I have just agreed to buy a silver cross 3d second hand has anyone had one? I am a bit impulsive but its in good condition and only £45 could not pass it up really :)

Just wanted to say thanks again, everyone. Much calmer now, 2hr sleep nap helped.

I'll chat to DH tonight and monitor the discomfort. See how we are in a couple of days.

We have a dog too (had two, but my beloved greyhound passed away last May). I am a bit worried about our collie-x. He's a rescue, initially we fostered him for the RSPCA because they were desperate and thought he may needed to be put to sleep - we were his last chance at rehabilitation. He was such a damaged soul, rescued at 8kg (he's 21kg now) and unable to move. As he regained his muscle and strength, he became manic and stressed, which is when he came to us.
He's unrecognisable from that broken scrap of a thing we took in nearly two years ago. But he is very (possibly too) attached to us and still gets stressed by change. And he's noise sensitive.
You see my concerns....

I am 80% sure he'll be ok. We've worked so hard with him and he trusts us. I think he'll just glue himself to my ankle and follow me and DC everywhere, glad I'm around more! But we'll have to manage it carefully. Biggest thing is the calmer we are, the more settled he is, so if we're calm* and relaxed with the new arrival, he should hopefully take his lead from us.

We'll have to see how it goes, though. However, it's interesting that I would have been 99.99% sure the greyhound would have been fine - nothing phased her at all.

*today's episode is not a good example of me doing this

Ok i have not bought it grr rage she is now selling it to someone else who can pick it up tonight hate people like that :(

slippy the dog is on my mind constantly! We got him as a rescue puppy, coupled with the fact he's a border collie, he has a few issues...he can be very anxious in unfamiliar situations, he hates new items turning up in the house and detests wheels! We're buying our pram early so he can get used to it...

Having said all this, he is a wonderfully loving and playful dog, and as long as he is allowed to adjust to the changes in his own time, he will be fine e.g. when new people come to the house, we always advise them to ignore him - he hates being greeted and smothered and will come to them in his own sweet time!

We don't spoil him but it really feels like he's the eldest child, waiting for a sibling to arrive and turn his life upside down. He really doesn't know what's coming...

hahaha - my mum said the same and my dad went a bit further saying "hopefully, it's another boy". How should one take this....???!! They did have two difficult girls though. Bless them.

Judging how I've been feeing the last few days though, I'm convinced this one is a girl. Only a woman could be so nasty to another woman :-) My little boy gave me nothing bad for the entire 9 months - making up for it now though... So adorable but a little monster.

ps. thanks for helping me get through this boring day at work! Chatting about bumps is definitely better than talking about "synergies", "objectives", "planning" or, the worst of them, "leveraging"... nausea is back

shire just read your post - your dog sounds very similar to ours. I think collies are prone to anxiety anyway, but when they've had a bad start in life, it just exasperates it. We've had ours for nearly three years now (since he was 9 weeks) and he still won't go straight for his food bowl, for fear of being bullied away. He was definitely the runt, and had been kept in a shed for the first 8 weeks of his life.

The farmer had no use for him, and I assumed he'd managed to sell the other pups on as working dogs. He was just skin and bones when he came to us, so when you see him having a good day, chasing a ball or howling in excitement as he waits for me to put shoes on to take him for a walk, it feels it was all worth it.

serious there is lots in common, isn't there?
I swear the greyhound had a fundamental role in helping him get better - she was a zen master in the art of chilling and he tried to copy her
It's been so hard not to get another, especially with each disappointment ttc or mc, but one slightly damaged collie +baby will be easier to cope with than a whole pack of hounds.

Talking of pets - our dog was fine with dd1, but the cat was so funny! He didn't really bother when she was asleep, but if she was crying, he had to jump up and lie next to her - he just couldn't help himself. The interesting thing was that obviously when dd was tiny I had to keep putting him out of the room - plays havoc with trying to do nappy changes! But as she got older, maybe 6 months plus, the cat would soothe her by lying next to her (not allowed in the cot, but if getting her dressed or changing or something).

I have a doppler. About £20 from Amazon and I love it. Some people advise not to get one as it might stress you out if you don't here heartbeat but I've found it every time I've tried since I got it at 11 weeks.