Due October 2006, PART THREE!

[Gemmitygem]

Thought I'd start a new one..

But will make sure no-one's left on the old one.

Hope everyone is blooming and not too hot!

ok thanks! what bout you? I've been getting really bad leg cramps at night though! Keep waking up bout 3am & not getting back to sleep! tonic water seems to help though & i've been doing leg exercises before bed.
How many wks are you now?

its treating me pretty well too. the only thing thats a little annoying is a litle bit of lower back ache when im trying to get to sleep or when i wake up in the morning. but things could be worse so im trying not to gripe lol

im 29 weeks today

Yeah lol i feel really lucky, its all been so easy! So far! maybe I shouldn't speak 2 soon though! Hee Hee!

is this your first baby then?

Yeah this is my 1st! Its yours too isn't it?

yep, and eventhough im scared senseless...i cant wait

Yep me 2! I'm so excited but sooooooooo scared! Its gettin closer & closer now! It seems to be going really quickly 2me!

same here...its mad really..we are in our third trimester...oh god, and the decorating for the lounge, kitchen and babys room still isnt finished lol

Oh yeah! 3rd trimester! only just realised!!! ooh scary! I'm feelin quite organised now though! Room almost done & have bought nearly everything, only really the pushchair 2 get now!

Got a question for u- have u or are you going to wash all the clothes you've got? I've heard a few people mention that you should wash stuff before the baby wears it? Is that right?

ive heard about that one too...think i probably will wash all of the babys clothes (when i get them, lol) before the baby arrives...i think its meant to softn them up of something to that effect...

well, i must be off now..i have cleaning to do [grouchy emoticon]lol, been lovely chatting to you tho and will catch you later xox

ok then! Have fun cleaning! bye! :0

Meeting up: I have the 21st in my diary, any suggestions as to where and when? Or should I start a new Meet Up thread?

feeling glum this afternoon. have been having lots of contractions (which I didn't have at all with dd) so went to see midwife. she says they're having a small effect on the cervix so I need to take it easy from now on. - like you can do that with a 2 yr old to take care of!!
Am really gutted because I was suppose to go to London this weekend for my brother's engagement party but I've been told it wouldn't be a great idea to fly - or take any other form of transport for that matter - so that's the end of that. I was soooo looking forward to it.

Hi Swizzler. Was thinking about the meet up on Sunday when I bought a realy nice vest top from car boot sale and thought 'ooh this would look nice with my new trousers, might wear it on the meet up,. No idea where though. Think we'll leave it up to you like last time.
Ive washed all my baby clothes Ive bought. Even the stuff donated to me by friends and family.Dont know why they are very clean people but I think they need to be soft and smell nice. I bought 3 realy nice sturdy nursing bras last week from Matalan. One was a pack of 2 for £9 and a single one for£7. Got some last time from Mothercare and I think I got 1 for that price. Gonna get some more bit nearer the time.
Im starting to leak milk which realy suprised me cause I didnt with any of my past 3 pregnancies till my milk actualy 'come in'. Not sure about the Braxton Hicks either. Been getting a few tightenings but I just think thats baby shifting his weight about.
A quick question who has used a tens machine and are they any good? Apart from hopefuly a water birth again I realy want to try my last labour with no pain relief but wondered if it was worth trying a tens for the first part of labour.

I used a TENS machine last time, and to be honest didn't really notice if it helped or not. In fact when it was turned up higher it was really quite unpleasant feeling! However, it does give you something to focus on during the earlier stages of labour [although I kept forgetting to turn mine off so that may give you some indication of its effectiveness for me!] Having said that, some people swear by them and I've heard that some are easier to use than others....so it may be worth shopping around [they hire them from Boots and on the net] and then giving it a go!

Sorry to hear you're throwing the towel in after this one, Gingeme.

I don't think Braxton Hicks contractions are compulsory. I had some at about 24 weeks (during a big O ) and nothing since.

Have any of the other first-timers out there got their head around being someone's mum? I'm getting ready for the baby in lots of ways, but I can't imagine what it's going to be like to be someone's mum (apart from my dog of course, but that's an entirely different thing.)

Why do you say that Dogmum? Do you not think 4 boys is enough then? If I had the room and money I would love to have more. Think I have my aunts genes they both had 9 children. All my pregnancies have been totaly different so I take it with a pinch of salt when people say' oh your carrying like this so it must be a...' or 'oh you didnt have that last time so it sure to be a....' etc etc. But no I think 4 is about my limit. Dh is going for the snip when this little bean is born. I was going to see about getting sterilised but decided no for 2 reasons. One I had my appendix out when dh 3 was 5 weeks old so I didnt want to go through another op and 2 two of my cousins have been sterilised both to go on and have 2 more children each . Thanks for the tip on Tens machines. Maybe I wont bother. Think Ill just stick to the water and see what happens. How many do you think youll stop at then Dogmum? Youll notice it more when your child starts school because then youll be known as so and sos mum instead of your name. Then their friends will say' hello .... Mum' when they see you on the street or after school. Takes some getting used to but it is lovely when it first happens. You puff out your chest and say oooh Im his/her Mum/.

I did use a tens machine and think it was helpful - I held on to the boost button for dear life when I had a contraction and it gave me something to focus on. Was also quite amusing (not!) when the wires disconnected from the pads and I had little electric shocks up my back - dh had to plug me back in. I am booking one for this time as well just in case it did make a difference the last time.

p.s. I didnt notice braxton hicks last time but there must have been something going on as I was 3cms dilated when I went in to be induced. I couldnt say I've noticed them this time either.

Hi all!
Haven't been on for a while. Been feeling pretty crappy (again! Feel like pregnancy has turned me in to such a winger!). Blood pressure's been dropping suddenly again so have passed out twice since last week. That's ten times now since the beginning. I am 31 weeks though now and it feels good to be in the 30's! I leave work 5 weeks tomorrow and can't wait!! How's everyone else? Nowanearlynicemum, hope you're feeling a bit brighter today..

NNNM - sorry to hear that you had to skip the trip you had planned...how are u feeling now?

dogsmum - i know what u mean re getting your head around being someones mum...its been something thats on my mind constantly, and in a way is a little intimidating lol.

so is anyone being brave enough to think about birth?? im seriously thinking of going for a waterbirth if i can

oh, and luboo, know how you feel...these last few weeks ive been a right grump lol...im sat here like one of the old gits wishing for rain lol

Well if you were in London Wuzzle your wish would be granted! Raining here at last

Sorry to hear people are feeling grim again - take it easy Luboo and NNNM. Not long to go now. I agree that it feels good to be in the 30s - 31 weeks tomorrow.

I'm thinking of a waterbirth as well, if one of the pools is free. I'm going to try for an active birth, but not ruling anything out if things don't work out the way I've planned. That reminds me: must find out the times of the antenatal classes...

swizzler - im in south wales...unfortunatly its sun sun sun here [miserable grouch emoticon] lol

im 29+1 so almost in the 30's...god, we've got soooo much to do.

hope that every1 is feeling ok

hi all!

I'm back in Europe, well, Belgium anyway..

Had scan yesterday at 30 w4 d, all was fine though they said the head was a bit big (yikes!).

It is breech, which also scared me a lot, so have spent loads of time on my hands and knees, although the baby book says it doesn't necessarily go head down till 34 weeks or even later..

won't be able to make the meet up as flying to Italy on 20th for 10 days (hopefully baby won't make an early appearance, though I suppose the hospital food there is probably quite good . then back to UK, and then will come over to belgium again in mid Sept to wait for D Day!

Is anyone else worrying about the birth nearly all the time? SHould be worrying about being a mum, looking after the kid for the next 20 years, the massive change to my life etc, but although I'm looking forward to meeting the baby my predominant feeling is waiting for 1 or 2 days of torture and feeling terrified! Have all the reassuring books, e.g. Birthing from Within, but it doesn't help...

swizzler and wuzzle, I'm also really interested in water birth, cos have only heard good things about them.. and I like the idea of being in your own little bubble of space where people can't get at you too much. the Belgian hospital has the pool and a good chance of getting it, but 60% of the women giving birth there have the epi and I get the feeling they kind of push you towards that for their own convenience (as you need much less support during labour). so might go and chat to the midwives again..

right, enough worrying, off to catch the eurostar back home!

hope everyone's appreciating the lovely cool weather!

hi gemmity, did you find out what the sex of the baby is??

im with you on the feeling sh*t scared of the birth thing...i really do try my best not to think of it, but its not working.
i hope that you have a nice time in Italy