Graduated elderberries - 30+ and looking forward to DC1! (Thread 5)

[Alexandra6]

Hi everyone, hope you had good wkends, I'm looking forward to my holiday next Saturday (although won't be the usual sunbathing with wine flowing!), still can't wait just to relax especially as I'm feeling a bit rough and sick today! Work are piling on the pressure ahead of my hols but who cares, in one week I will be off for two weeks woop!

Just wondered when the really preggers people started to get lightning crotch/cervix pangs? So I can be prepared and not go into cervix panic!

I will second that brave - tis brilliant news alex. Bring on the holiday!

Oh and Alex I'm not just watching box sets - have been doing so much since I started maternity leave - has been harder than working! Bloody loft conversion. However getting there now so am hoping next week is box-set-tastic!

I won the biggest bump competition didn't I? oh well, I did know I was enormous, my back had been telling me long enough! Janey your bump is lovely too everyone else apart from me seems to look in proportion, i blame my stupid hobbit genes.

Saw new consultant this am, seems very nice and much more flexible than last one. Had an internal exam which I wasn't expecting (un-groomed doesn't even cover it, bye bye dignity) and cervix is still posterior so no imminent arrival in the purple household. Their plan is to get my midwife to give me as many sweeps as possible before I see the consultant again next Friday to try to urge things along naturally rather than inducing me when my body isn't ready for it and risking the induction failing and leading to a section which I'd really like to avoid if possible.

So all in all, aside from a bit of mild embarrassment (midwife merrily threw back the sheet totally exposing my wild and woolly nether regions to the air and in front of my mother too! Good job I'm not shy eh!) and discomfort it was a very positive appointment and feel much more comfortable with the new hospital and their policies than the old one.

Glad your appt went well Alex, hopefully you can relax and enjoy your holiday now.

So pleased for you alex!

We find out the gender tomorrow, I am so excited! Any predictions?

alex great news and indeed it's very exciting mother. Do you have a preference? I'm sure you'll love either the same, but you can tell us here.

Oh how exciting Mother! I have to say I think that was my best/most exciting bit of pregnancy so far, do you or DP have a preference?

Purple - that really made me laugh (sorry )! I would be mortified if someone did that in front of my mum! In front of doctors, nurses, midwives etc i have no shame at all. And DP obv. But anyone else in the world there to see and I'd be bright red! So glad this consultant was more flexible though, sounds like you've absolutely done the right thing.

Re induction - and please tell me to mind my own - but I've kind of decided that if they say no to elcs upfront, but still want to get the baby out soonish (what they're still saying) I think I'd be happy with sweeps, waters, pessary etc. But if none of that was working, and my cervix were still hard closed and posterior, I think I'd ask for an elcs at that point (that was actually a suggestion from our NCT leader). Not sure I fancy the drip really... Although that's just me - know it works very well for lots of people so really not trying to put you off!

Oooh and how exciting mother!! Do you have any inclination what it might be?

I will always forever be grateful to the friend who told me that her 12 week scan ended up as an internal because her DS wasn't playing ball - meant that I'd had a precautionary groom ahead of both scans... which was lucky as they pulled the dildocam routine on me at 20 weeks.

I would have been mortified in your shoes! Least it seems they're sensible and listening, which is something.

Good luck for tomorrow Mother - what does your instinct say?

That's great that you like your new consultant Purple. Let's hope the change gives you the relaxed experience you want. And I wouldn't worry too much about unkempt nethers, I'm sure they've seen worse. But if they're sweeping you regularly for the next few weeks it might be worth having a go with some hedge trimmers or something.

Woo hoo for longer cervix and therefore more relaxed holiday Alex. It's only a shame we can't all have a

www.babycentre.co.uk/x1048142/can-nipple-stimulation-bring-on-labour

Trouble is, I can't even see my lady garden so how am I supposed to perform topiary hmm? I did try with a mirror a few weeks ago but nearly did myself an injury both trying to get in a position to see and with having sharps in sensitive places. Do I blindly veet and hope for the best or seek professional help? Luckily I've never been shy around my Mum and she said she didn't look anyway!

At my care trust they use a pessary rather than a drip for induction Janey which isn't supposed to be as bad. My main fear is being in hospital for a few days so the idea of a section holds far more fear for me than induction (even if they do eventually have to resort to the drip) because of recovery time though I'm aware I run the risk of having to go through both! Hopefully all the prodding will work anyway and they said my cervix is soft (wonder if that's the raspberry leaf working?) but posterior so too tilted for them to do a proper sweep. That's why they want me to keep going back as often as possible so as soon as it moves they can get to it and have a good old rummage.

If it's soft already that's v good news purple. You hear of people a week or so overdue who haven't reached that point so hopefully that's a sign you're already heading in the right direction. Certainly got everything crossed for you.

Oh one thing, Alex and I have a friend who just had an elcs and was home within 24 hours. I know this is relatively unusual but I guess it's nice to know in the back if your mind that it could happen if anyone has to have a c section but wasn't planning it...

Oh and also heard the pessaries are much nicer!

That's very reassuring to know Janey, thanks, I don't know quite why I've got my head in such a pickle over staying in hospital anyway, I'm not too nervous about the actual birth but I've for this real thing in my head about wanting to bugger off home as soon as I can once I've actually had the baby. Might change my mind when knackered having just given birth and they're trying to turf me out though hey?

I don't know, I'm stressing too and want to be home ASAP. Also keep worrying about poor DP being home alone - god knows why, he'll just be having lots of lovely sleep!

I couldn't give a flying squirrel about him being home alone its all about me me me I just want him suffering with me holding my hand I don't play nicely with others (only child) so being on a ward full of strangers sounds very bad to me.

I don't like hospitals but thinking that it might actually be quite nice to stay for a few days and have all possible help and assistance available. After all, I have no idea really what to do with the baby..

See that is a very sensible and logical reaction Hazle, whereas I fully expect to be incompetent but rather than wanting help, don't want anyone to see that I'm a useless bumbling idiot and want to muck it up figure it out on my own without witnesses rolling their eyes at my utter stupidity. I am very aware that it doesn't make any sense at all!

I am hoping to stay in hospital until I've seen the BF Consultant and got BF established so hopefully just one night. I told DH that our Maternity Unit are trialing allowing fathers to stay over and the cheeky bastard actually looked gutted at the prospect of having to sleep in a chair rather than coming home to our nice comfy bed. He is however not stupid and could see I was clocking his expression and was about to start on a rant about what I am about to go through, so he tried to pretend that he wants to stay, which is a blatant lie but I don't really care, he's staying anyway. I'm not bothered at the thought of staying in alone but I would much rather ask him to do things for me rather than pestering the Nurses and I think after growing him a baby and then birthing it I will deserve a skivvy.

Hmmm Purple, yes that is a quandary if you can't see and mirror not working. I think I would either book in for a wax at a Salon or Veet it all off so you don't need to worry about where you're putting the Veet. This reminds me of the story of the woman who was going for a smear so she had a shower, tidied herself up and finished it off with some Femfresh Spray. When she got there she assumed the position and the Nurse said, 'Oh there's no need to have gone to this much trouble!' She looked down and had picked up her teenage daughter's glitter spray instead of the Femfresh.

Im pretty sure my OH will be little use in the hospital, my mum would probably be a better bet. I've always been happy enough on my own, fingers crossed I cope ok. Its annoying that my best friend works in a different hospital, Id feel better knowing she would be looking in on me.

I kind of want a girl, only because I thought from the start that it might be a girl, so have that in my mind, my OH wants a boy though so we will be chuffed either way

So exciting you find out tomorrow mother!

I'm glad I'm not the only one turning up unkempt for these scans purple! I'm sure they see 70s style bushes all the time haha! Mine isn't that bad really but def looking forward to my pre-holiday wax on Sat! I'm sticking to salon waxing when pregnant as weirdly I shaved my legs a couple of times and my legs really hurt afterwards?! And like you say, it's tricky to manage yourself when the bump gets bigger, and I'm not a fan of Veet.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who won't have a clue what they're doing with a newborn baby! Someone told me not to worry, so much of it just comes to you as instinct. I think she meant you stumble along until you get it right but was too nice to say!

Good luck today mother - let us know his you get on!
Finally feeling better from this bug, but had yet another terrible night's sleep. My bump is getting really sore now, it seems to ache all the time now. Felt like I had really bad period pains in the night, and this morning I have shooting muscular pains across it. I can see now why people moan so much about this stage now...

I'm still here. Working, actually have some meetings today and office is more or less airconditioned. Asked DH to drive me though, so I don't have to get into a car that has been standing in the sun the whole day.

The Blackberry was acting up yesterday, some emails came through only a couple of hours later - and of course there has been total panic here that I'm probably in the hospital, as I didn't reply in an hour .

Janey I have read that many women's first sign of labour is period-type pains, which ordinarily would be good news but maybe not if you want it to hold off until ELCS! It would be sod's law for you to go into natural labour when you don't want it while we're all desperate for it!

I hate to boast, but I managed 9.5 hours sleep last night with 2 loo trips. [

Hooray for air conditioned offices Hazle. A sunny 23 degrees here and it's way too hot for me so I can't even imagine the pain of ten degrees higher.