January 2014 (thread 9) Pregnancy half time is over. Fast growing bumps, braxton hicks and we thought we would worry less!

[Frizz1986]

Hope its ok me setting up a new thread.
Couldnt see one, but if I am just being blind please tell me.....

Well done another with your pee free sneezing!

And before you know it its monday again!!! Heres hoping for good weeks all round!

morning all!

I second all the calls for more pelvic floor exercises. I was woefully ignorant during pregnancy with DD and now I am, well...leaky. Didn't notice anything amiss until about a month ago and now I'm hoping that it's not completely too late. Tena lady for my bday it is! On the bright side, I noticed that here in france they offer six free "perineal re-education" sessions after the birth, which while they sound terrifying, seem like they might come in handy!

All this decorating and knitting is making me want to nest! However, as of this morning it seems we're still not completely bed bug free, so still holding off.

My wedding ring is getting a bit tight too, sarah. I feel like a blimp, and am running out of clothes because I'm too tight to buy a new wardrobe for three months' wear. I do feel like a tramp on the school run though. hmmm.

Question: All the cheap winter baby clothes I can find in the charity shops are a bit girly and I don't really have any money to spend. Should I just let baby get in touch with his feminine side, or fork out a bit to keep him looking sharp? I seem to remember the first few months with DD consisted of all clothes being sick coloured, but we're talking massive pink flowers and hearts, not just trim.

"Peri-anal re-education" eh? Ahh.. The joys of being a woman! And SQUEEZE
Hope everyone has had a good weekend?
Can't believe its October this week! Only 3 months to go, gulp! X

OMG 3 months.
My mum has warned me of the issues not doing pelvic floors. She said she is now paying for it but I am worried that I started too late and am not doing them enough!!

I plan on getting removable stickers for the nursery so hopefully should make life easier.

I know its still early but who has decided where to give birth??

I am low risk (so far) and its my first so am really not sure how I will cope with the birth etc.
I really don't want an epidural so my birth plan will involve the MWs putting off getting an epidural for as long as possible no matter how much I ask for it if they thing I can do it without one.
My local MW led unit is closer than the hospital and although I still need to book to look round both the hospital and the MW unit, I have heard that the hospital is pretty awful.
I like the idea of the MW unit but what if something goes wrong?? It is a 20 min ambulance ride to the hospital but the ambulance will obv have to come to pick me up so thats 40 minutes.
They don't have any consultants, doctors etc on site at the MW unit. All they have is the MW who are trained in basic resus for babies,
Apparently they only have to transfer about 20% of cases but would I be putting myself and baby at risk being that distance from doctors and NICU etc.
I only know 3 people who have given birth (i know so few) my sister was booked for a MW unit but baby was 5 1/2 weeks early so it was taken out of her hands, a colleague went to MW unit and had a lovely birth but then had placental abruption so was blue lighted to the hospital for emergency transfusion then my friend was induced so had no choice anyway but ended up that baby was breech and she had to have emergency cs...

I am a worrier normally so am I going to be stressing myself by being at a MW unit and worrying that something will go wrong therefore causing the labour to be worse and longer (I have read that labour is harder if you are stressed and worried) or will it be more relaxed?

I know I still have plenty of time to chose but really want to make a start thinking about it.
Oh and I don't intend to have a home birth so thats out.

I'm going for hospital frizz, it's closer to me than the MW led unit, but I think if the MW led unit had been closer then I would have gone there, especially as it's close to another hospital. Also if I'd gone for the MW led unit, they told me I'd have to go there for all my MW appointments, whereas with the hospital I can see the community MW at my GPs, which is much much closer. I am still keeping a home birth in the back of my mind, but i think the fact that we have neighbours each side and above and below our flat is putting me off; I don't want to have to hold back with the screaming! I'd definitely have one if we lived somewhere else and if DH was a bit keener! In terms of having to be blue-lighted, for me it's not so much of an issue as hospital is 5 mins away, but I can understand it is if hospital is further. There's also the weather and festive period to consider, and I'm not sure which is the best/ worst option taking into account potential ice/ snow and staff being on hols for Christmas. It's probably pointless to worry about that though...

3 months...scary, huh?

Glad you've all had productive weekends. I haven't! And I don't care :o
I think I will sort the wardrobes/drawers this week, though. We need to shift around the furniture in our room to try to accommodate the crib, so the fewer clothes in there the better!

I've been quite productive this morning, though. I've meal-planned and done the week's shopping, done 2 loads of laundry, cleaned the bathroom and bleached the kitchen sink. I need to sew a button back on DH's shirt, book the car in to be cleaned, re-vacuum the vacuum bags of baby clothes my sister gave me (I've taken out the most gender-neutral stuff, but the rest is either very boy-ish or is 'real' clothes which I don't plan on using for a very small baby), and go to my grandad's to change his bedlinen and do a quick clean of his house.

Hope you feel better today, nature

I don't know where I'll be giving birth because I have no idea what will happen yet. I have another scan booked at 36 weeks, and they'll check the fibroid currently blocking my cervix to see whether it's moved. Then they'll decide if I can have a VB or if I have to have an ELCS.

I really don't want a CS, but there is a high chance that my VB will turn into an EMCS, which I really want to avoid. So if they say there might be problems (fibroid could stop me dilating properly, baby could get stuck if it gets in the way, I could haemmorhage, etc), I will request an ELCS instead.

I wanted a home birth :( I don't even think they'll let me use the MLU even if the fibroid moves far enough away from the exit so that it's unlikely to cause any problems at all. And ridiculously, I'm sad that I might not get the excitement that you lot will get from not knowing when you'll go into labour, and what the labour will be like. I'm even missing the thought of the pain!

It's really annoying not knowing what will happen. I can't even really pack a labour/hospital bag until after 36 weeks because I'll need completely different stuff for a CS.

My wedding ring still fits, but I rarely remember to put it on I am completely useless at wearing it. And I rarely wear my engagement ring with it, even when I do remember.

altered, you've got plenty of time to keep perusing the charity shops to find more gender-neutral clothes. Or look for bundles on eBay -- they're usually great :)

Have a good week, all!

That sounds like a really busy morning toby! I'm watching Jeremy Kyle and trying to find the motivation to clean my looks-like-a-bomb-site-kitchen...

I'm planning a hospital birth, it's only 10 minutes away but we will be in Devon for Christmas, so she might be born there! I'm been teasing DH , we're traveling to our hometown at about 8 and a half months pregnant and then probably spending Christmas day at my aunts farm, surrounded by stables. Might end up recreating the nativity!

I've gone for hospital just because the thought of trying to clean up at home a) before & b) after is too much for my little brain to cope with!

I've also told all relatives that as far as Christmas goes they know where we live! No way I'm doing my usual 400 mile 3x Christmas this year, I shall sit at home on my fat bottom eating and frantically doing more pelvic floor excercises

frog the tidying up for the midwives arriving worries me far more than cleaning up after!

We're planning a home birth at the moment. However, our house move is delayed again, and we're spending xmas in Northumberland, coming back home (wherever that might be) at 38 weeks, in reality I have no earthly clue where I'll give birth.

I also have no idea what to do with DS while I'm in labour - the ideal is that he sleeps through it, or is at school, but that leaves quite a bit of time unaccounted for, and if I need to tranfer in I'd be on my own. Need a better plan I think!

Morning everyone!

I haven't even thought about doing anything at all in the nursery! But then the baby will be sleeping in our bedroom in the beginning, and the "nursery" is also our studio/office, so we can't completely turn it into baby's room - though the idea is tempting. Perhaps we can just decorate one corner though!

Why is everybody painting their nurseries? Purely aesthetic reasons? Good work everybody!!

DH and I went pram shopping today and found a model that seems to tick all our boxes, or most of them anyway. We won't be buying it until after Christmas as I'm not due until 24th Jan and my partner is a bit superstitious about buying stuff early. So I've had to hold back on all the baby shopping! Definitely good for our budget though...

Hi all, I'm just back from 4 lovely days in sunny Milan with my 4.5 year old who was GREAT company, despite needing to share a bed with him in a very humid room. Thanks for all pelvic floor reminders - they are ESSENTIAL. Two kids down and I have been religious about the ten quick ten slow, exercises in first two pgs, but this time I've been hopeless about remembering so currently squeezing as hard as I can!

altered a french friend of mine tells me these 're-education' classes consist of someone sticking a finger into your patonze and seeing if you can squeeze it. She said it felt so incredibly embarassing she'd rather practice wtih her husband thanks very much. So...good luck with those! . (Unless v fit physio?!)

REF where to give birth, I would agree in hindsight that a MW only unit would be scary as you have no idea if you're going to end up in theatre or not (I did with DC1 despite being the fittest calmest person I knew at the time). Hospital every time for me now. Apparently the mws tell the doctors to back off if they want to intervene - they do look after you and your interests despite being in a more clinical setting.

DC2 was born in a pool with no relief bar gas and air and it was AMAZING. He did get stuck though and had to be yanked out which was a bit alarming, so this time I'm going for a land birth. Hopefully not on the kitchen floor (we are 45 mins from hospital). Yikes.

Oh, and my pregnancy yoga teacher said yesterday that we should be doing around 100 squeezes a day! 100!!! I haven't been doing anywhere near that...

100! Jeepers. I've got some catching up to do.

100!!! OMG I have been doing like a set of 10 holding for 10 seconds twice a day...

100 a day!!! Oops.

Glad you had a good trip to milan mythree. Thanks for the heads up on the "re-education" sessions. They do sound terrifying, but maybe the thought will scare me into trying to do something before the birth!

I will check out ebay toby,thanks. I stopped using ebay about 5 years ago when I forgot my paypal password and have been too lazy to do anything about it since.

I'm sorry you have so much uncertainty about the birth. It's rubbish when things aren't how you'd wanted. It's totally different, but I have decided (DH isn't so sure) that we can't really afford more than two children if we want to educate them well, so I'm feeling a bit sad that I won't have the experience of having family around and being looked after again. I also got a bit teary putting away DD's summer dresses which won't be worn again.

frog I am completely with you re: homebirths and cleaning. I saw the state of the hospital bed after I had DD and the idea of cleaning it up has put me off for life.

Lalunya, don't forget to check here to see if your pram is any cheaper. Ours was much cheaper on that site than anywhere else, and it arrived in a couple of days.
Which one did you decide on?

Toby you have made up for the chilling out over the weekend me thinks with that little lot under your belt!

OMG 3 months! Ekkkk!

100 pelvic floors - Hmmmm, mine are more like 20 daily and ONLY when I see a post reminding me! Doh!

Frizz for all the reasons you mentioned, along with the potential for shite weather/snow, I will be going to hospital! There is a midwife led unit at the hospital, so if they want me to go there rather than the actual hospital unit I am happy to start there, as it's literally around the corner and if I need more drugs hopefully they will then let me transfer, and if anything were to go wrong they can just wheel me in my bed...

I would really like to try for a water birth - all depends of course on things going smoothly and also the pool being available.....

I haven't done anything else on the list (other than book the car in to be cleaned tomorrow), but that's because when I went to my grandad's to do his cleaning, my mum and my uncle were there clearing out his garage. I offered to take it to the dump because my mum had been on a night shift all night. So I got a bit waylaid and now I have lost all momentum

I have to meet DS in town at 4 to buy him a new phone and so he and DD can choose my birthday present. So I'm putting off doing much until then. Lazy arse.

Milan sounds lovely, mythree. I've only ever been to Milan airport, on a stopover on the way to Dubai. Glad you had a nice time :)

toby - thanks for the link! The guy in the shop we went to asked us to call him if we find the same pram for cheaper anywhere else, and he would beat that price. Not bad

We are probably going to go for the Uppababy Vista. Any views? What do you have?

The City Baby Select was a close second - it has this great way to double of for a second child - but since we're not planning a second for a while, we went for the Uppababy in the end...

Sultana my birth plan is same as yours - MW unit next door to hosp, so hoping to start in the unit and have a water birth, but prepared to be shunted into labour ward/theatre if necessary. DS got stuck and needed forceps and cone-head inducing suction thingy. Hoping DD won't be quite so massive and will just fall out.

By the way everyone - check out this book: Juju Sundin - Birth Skills. It's fab! Some is slightly new-agey but it's all about how to manage labour calmly your way, and how birth partners can help. Loads of pregnancy/birth books just have a chapter at the end about the main event - this is a whole book of skills. It's very reassuring!

We went for a Stokke Xplory. It was £200 cheaper from that site than from Kiddicare, which was a huge saving!

I know someone here has mentioned getting the Uppababy Vista.

toby Yes, we looked at the Stokke too! I can't get over how expensive prams are...

extra great tip - I am considering doing a birth prep workshop which includes doing different positions, breathing techniques and some hypnobirthing stuff...but maybe i can get the same results from a book though, and cheaper!

We got it out the library for free! (Last time and again to recap this time.) You can also get it as an e-book.

another I read that you were sneezing because of your cold knickers! I thought 1. Why are your knickers cold 2. Why would cold knickers make you sneeze!!

layluna we've gone for uppababy too. It does have a 2nd seat you can clip on but apparently it's not comfy enough for full time 2nd seat.

I'm another one aiming for water birth at midwife unit which is attached to hospital if needed. Midwife unit has had huge refurbishment while hospital still looks manky! Hope I can stay there with gas and air but first time so no idea really!