October 2013 - wobbling and sweating through the last trimester

[roxvox]

Baby due dates/sexes/name choices here

cross post with legally! If I had a choice between episiotomy and forceps, I would definite opt for episiotomy. Forceps really scare me. More than CS I think. One thing I definitely want to avoid!

I kind of see the benefits roxvox, but still have that niggling feeling I am missing something . God, you've got me thinking about trying to stay awake during night feeds now. I have blocked out forgotten so much since DS.

I had a Epi as well slippy, different circumstances to legally though as was a ventouse following failed forceps as DS was in distress. Really didn't care what they were doing down there quite frankly, just wanted him out safe and sound!. Healing was fine, though don't have anything to compare to. As legally says, good hygiene and nice baths with tea tree, and was ok after a couple of weeks. DTD about 5 weeks post birth and was fine, maybe even a little tighter than before .

Ha, which has also reminded me - if you attempt to do any pelvic muscle exercises after birth and can't feel a thing don't panic. It was quite unnerving to have no control over those muscles at all, but it all comes back very quickly, just keep doing the exercises!

Oh yes! DTD 6 weeks post birth but asked DH to be v gentle as was still a little achy.

Another thing that I have been meaning to say all day, but keep forgetting, is thanks to everyone who offered advice re muslin cloths. I have ordered a pack of 8 from babies-r-us in their sale as it sounds as though they are handy to have around!

can't believe you DTD 5 or 6 weeks after birth! I completely went off it for about 3 months - the combination of new baby, lack of sleep, sore and leaking boobs etc... really put me off. Probably the only time I went off it in my life.

I had an episiotomy with my first as her heart was slowing and the midwives wanted her our fast. Healed quickly but was sore (obviously!). With the other 2, I didn't need either which also meant no stitches which was great.

I too am scared of forceps and ventouse and have written. Into my birth plan that they are not to be used under any circumstance. Since I am hopefully giving birth in a midwife led unit, it shouldn't be an issue.

Legally.......that reminds me of one of my friends. The first time she was intimate after the birth of her first baby, her husband was being very careful and a bit slower. My friend told him to just hurry up and that if she could fit a baby out of there.......why did he think he would even touch the sides anymore!

Haha Clapham, it was more an experiment to check everything still worked and, uh hum, fitted, rather then not being able to keep our hands off each other.

I expect this time around with a newborn AND a toddler in the middle of the terrible twos it may be a few more months, years weeks before we will be attempting it.

I have just seen an offer for 3 issues of Mother & Baby magazine including a Tomy Winnie the Pooh light shows for £3. It tries to set you up for a 6 month auto renewal (at £18 per 6 months), but I assume you can cancel it after you've received your 3 issues and night light thing. Not sure if anyone is interested, but here is the link

Speaking of which, I haven't bought anything 'fun' for my baby yet. All clothes/bottles etc, but no play mat or anything. I assumed that a newborn would be oblivious to all that sort of stuff and I wouldn't require it for a few months. Is that accurate or way off the mark?!

DTD 8 weeks post birth here. I was petrified but dh was getting needy lol so we booked a night away, had some celebratory champagne which relaxed me massively and then went to sleep by about 9pm Ours was more experimental than a night of wild passion too :)

bowlful dh was well pleased on the tightness front too! We had gone privately so our consultant did a great repair job! We're not this time so both me and dh worried about the potential aftermath! Not sure midwives are known for their stitching capabilities

Agree on the muslin front...the more the merrier. We had a very sicky baby so they were in constant demand!

Oh and for anyone else whose baby is breech (or just to do some general birth prep exercises), the website spinningbabies is fab :)

ooh, roxvox I missed the bit about bank holidays, tell me more!

My friend cane round with a play mat and a couple of bags of baby toys that her wee boy has outgrown so that's one less expense, and a friend if hers has offered a Moses basket.

I need to get the old double bed that's standing against the wall in our room chucked out and get Dp to build the cot bed up this weekend and you've all made me feel that I should wash all the baby clothes I've bought. I've never bothered before and with 6 of us in the house the washing basket is never empty.

Even though I've always had cesareans forceps were still used to get ds our as he was lodged u Der my pelvis.

Hope your appointment goes well tomorrow Falcon and there's nothing to worry about.

The most I've gone post birth without doing the deed is 1 week .

By the way, I was sort of hoping that if you tear a lot the first time round, you tear less or nothing the second time round... this is what I was secretly hoping for... although not based on any logic whatsoever and I'm not quite sure why I hope it would work this way! Does anyone who's already had at least two know? Also I've heard that water birth softens skin and minimises tearing. This is one of the reasons why I want to do water birth. Tearing is my worst memory of the birth I must say. I hated that pain. Contractions were much much worse of course but it was the pain I expect so could deal with it. I wasn't prepared for the tearing pain and sensation....

Well, sparkeleigh, because we will be on maternity leave when the bank holidays take place then we should get them in lieu. Obviously it only works if your work take bank holidays as leave (close down for the day), and you're only entitled to the ones remaining this year (and then you'll get any you miss next year as accrued holiday apparently). There are only 2 BH's left this year (not including the one in August which I will still be 'working' for), so I got to add those 2 days to the beginning of my leave

I can't find anything official on it, but here is a link to a bit of info!

I get the impression that it depends on the company you work for and how they run things, but from what I can tell, if you normally get paid for but don't work bank holidays then they should be allowed to be taken before your maternity leave, just like any annual leave.

U chatty lot ..

slippy an episiotomy was never even discussed during my labour/birth my paperwork says I had a small tear with no stitching required and dd was 8.8lbs hoping to have it this 'easy' second time round if that's what u can call it I was up and about in no time and although my body ached and was uncomfortable I wouldn't say painful unless my memory is just blurred

I cannot even remember how long after I have birth dh and I DTD but I don't re call it being anytime before the 6 week check mainly cos I was scared for no real reason that it would be rediculously painful lol

roxvox I think some of the 'fun' things are personal choice I already have a play mat and bouncer for bump mainly cow I used both from a few weeks old for dd as it can stimulate them especially when they start to have awake periods

In hypnobirthing they said it is better to tear than have an episiotomy, I'm not too sure on this really as I thought they cut you to prevent really severe tears as they can control where it goes better. They also tell you to start doing perenial massage at least a month before your due date apparently that and a water birth minimises the chance of tearing. Worth a go I guess.

On another note I thought I'd get some maternity bag stuff from Sainsbury's this afternoon so stocked up on Nipple cream, maternity pads, nipple pads etc and the bloody self service till kept breaking! Argh, had a huge queue behind me and had to keep calling the man over to help me out. Typically it happened on possibly the most embarrassing shop of my life.

Would I get arrested if I rip DP's balls off for using nearly all my gaviscon? Heartburn so bad today and my repeat prescription isn't ready until Wednesday :(

Thanks Warlin, more reading bookmarked!

MoN you never fail to !
Although there is only a 10 month gap between my nephews so I imagine my SIL was the same!

Make him buy u some pseudo!

claphammamma My local authority publish a monthly bulletin that covers all infectious diseases - it breaks it down into specific areas so i can get a good idea of whay is happening in my specific city. Also there is a doc that shows the different PCT's across the UK and how many pregnannt women have actually taken the vaccine - i think in the East it is about 29% uptake. Lost the link to that one though in cut and paste

Here is a link to the monthly bulletin - i figure i can monitor this for at least another month before I decide. I guess there should be similar docs for your areA???

www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1317138557514

I also read in the "what to expect book " that around 33 weeks the baby starts to develop an immune response so maybe I will consider taking the vaccine at around 36/37 weeks. Although orangeb I too have read of a few cases of stillbirths around the same time as vaccine which is what made me cautious in the first place.

For me what makes this a particularly difficult judgement call is the sheer lack of clear and definitive info. Eg I have been told by my GP surgery that this is not the same vaccine used in USA - apparently they have the single vaccine. But I really appreciate everyone discussing it as it opens me up to different viewpoints and knowledge which can only be a good thing. Am pretty sure tho that if this is a taste of parenting I am going to be exhausted by the endless crucial decisions that I will have to make and inevitably get wrong!

gaviscon has also re-entered my life after thinking I had passed that stage so yep looks like that sicky feeling is back girls, but I agree with pseudo it's not worth taking any risks at this stage and if it doesn't seem quite right get thee to the clinic ASAP.

We had 5 men on site today, normally just 1-2. The boss man just looked at my growing tummy when I queried it!!! Maybe they will finish before she comes......

Hello all. Having an achy day.

Orange if its not to much hassle can you share the leaflet. My physio was useless. Got a referral to women's health Physio now. Hoping the appointment will be soon.

I've hot my blanket out again. Got to get back to my crocheting. Although may take a break from the blanket to mk the giraffe. I think in future I should stick to small projects.

I had small tears with both of my DD's first time the midwife stitching wasn't happy with it so took it out and did it again, bloody ouch but I was glad she was taking a pride in her work! DD2 came out with her hand on her head, they debated just letting me heal but decided on a couple of stiches, wouldn't have needed if she hadn't had hand up! All healed really well, dtd after 6wk check both times, no complaints from DH!

I had a few 2nd verging on 3rd degree tears, I will warn you, the way they test this is a finger up the bum (wtf??), though by this point all self consciousness had flown out the window, not to be seen again until I left the hospital 6 days later. I was given lots of injections before the stitching started though. I didn't give birth in the UK though.

Pain wise afterwards, I was fine mostly, just had to be careful. Kept the area very clean by having a quick shower of the area every time at home or wet wipes if out.

falcon can only echo the others about getting checked, though if you have a way to check your bp and its fine then it's very unlikely to be pre eclampsia connected. Where is the headache and what sort of visual disturbance do you have? If in doubt def check it out.

Breastfeeding clothes, only buy those that work with pregnancy too. I was so hot afterwards last time (feb baby) that I couldn't layer, so loved breastfeeding tshirts. H&M do some which are a reasonable price and fit during pregnancy, though usually boring colours ie black and white only usually. Though you may have button down tshirts or blouses in your wardrobe which will also work, with a muslin over baby's head if you are self conscious.