October 2013 - may our labours move as fast as our threads!

[PseudoBadger]

New thread!

Welcome train.

Kiwi sorry the scan was not more positive. I was born in 10th percentile, my sister in 5th. No problems with either of us, though we are both about 5'3" as adults. Someone has to be in each percentile. Happy growing, don't feel bad about work, your baby is your priority he and no one would expect any different.

Read everything in bits over the evening but hard to keep up now lots of people are on maternity leave. Will have to try and look at bum in mirror when I go to bed in a minute (!) though I had to get DH to put my socks on for me for the first time this morning so not sure I will be able to twist enough!

Had sex and a curry today. Hopefully they aren't that effective as my baby is not quite cooked yet!

I keep getting a very flushed face in random patches like one cheek and an ear. Presume its a hormonal thing.

Oh and I am always starting sentences with 'someone on mumsnet' to DH too!

Woah.. Just had a shower and decided to check my bum crack.. There's a purple line ALL the way from top to bottom (literally) so, if I'm to believe dr. Google then I should be 10cm dilated haha!

Obliged to report that my bum crack looks perfectly normal. Shall be checking regularly though. [

kiwii my DS was 6lb 8oz when he was born - so on 9th percentile and it is normal weight. He was perfectly healthy and strong and got 10/10 on the Apgar score (the rating they use to assess newborns right after they are born). Then he fed like crazy and was on 75 percentile within 3-4 months and stayed there. He is now 5, quite big for his age and I can't remember the last time he was sick. So please don't torture yourself! The doctors always try to be cautious, just in case, but a lot of what they do is also only an intelligent guess. You haven't failed anyone and there are lots of people on this thread who have problems. I guess the best thing about his smaller size is that he should still have lots of room to turn head down?

umlaf LOL - I think you've just redefined the meaning of convenience / take away food
Glad you enjoyed your free pizza though!

I'm loving the first day of my maternity leave... I feel so much more rested and fresher and had a lovely 1 hour nap this afternoon. Life feels good

Glad to have found the thread-lol on the ward at the thought of everyone running off to check their butts. With the lack of mirrors at appropriate heights here I think I may have to take a photo to check mine.

sc (just) at 36+5.
thanks for all those asking after me-been an exhausting couple of days with labile bp hitting 170s and hourly obs (I guess thats the lack of sleep practice there then) but fingers crossed that its a bit more settled.

re waxing (was that you clapham)- I had planned to go last wed (at 36w) along with dentist, optician, manicure and massage. Had to cancel all the appointments as I ended up being admitter. Now trying to do the contortionist thing with a razor blade and crutches in an nhs shower (not hugely successfully!)

Hope those at work are reaching the home stretch towards mat leave and the rest are enjoying a well earnt break in front of the tv

Just said to dh 'some one on my mumsnet forum has found some research that says if u have a purple bumcrack it means your starting to dialate' ..... Thinking he would screw his face up at me like I'm talking nonsense but he actually said 'bend over then ill have a look'

He does make me chuckle sometimes

Kiwi- do you work at the dhbs or am I making that up. Regardless work will cope-its not like you are wanted to go off early and mess up rotas or anything. You need to put you and baba first as hard as it is to do that sometimes.

PS. orange DP had to put on my socks and shoes last weekend! I somehow struggled to do it myself today

tarlia I've also had a lot of BH today... totally painless. And this baby is so active all the time. I think he wants to get out...! can't imagine him staying in for 5 more weeks (or is it just my wishful thinking?)

Umlauf I don't know, we haven't tried it yet. DH came home and said "something smells nice" and was most put out to discover we were having fishcakes

Orange I am getting that too!! I assumed it was just me - I have very pale skin and go red very easily (which my Dad delights in drawing attention to ) so I though it was just an extension of that. Weirdly, it's only on the right side of my face.

Ok ladies be honest: do you stop at four doses of gaviscon in a day? I've been very lucky up to now and don't even have an antacid on prescription but I've been suffering for the last few days. According to the gaviscon bottle the max is 4 doses per day but I need more than that today. It's pretty low risk to take more than that isn't it?

terrified good to see you! do they take your BP every hour? this sounds like a nightmare... what's the plan then? do they have any or just waiting to see how things develop? sorry if you've already told us before...and yes, it was me asking about it. I guess your experience proves you never know... planning to do it next week now so also at 36 weeks.

ana I saw the GP and he confirmed that its pretty inert stuff, so not too much of a risk. Have you spotted any patterns to what sets it off? I can't eat cheese or chocolate anymore except when the chocolate is on hobnobs because its just not worth it. Spicy food is apparently a big trigger as well.

I tend not to take it unless I need it, so not automatically. Would that help? Oh, and get it on prescription, it must be costing you a fortune. Peptac/Gaviscon advance are on prescription and are a bit more heavy duty.

was talking about bikini wax by the way

mrsH my DP came home to pasta with broccoli so yours shouldn't complain. No idea what mine thought but didn't complain about lack of meat today and it's good for him so u don't care

meant - I don't care!! gosh my brain has already gone mash!!

No they dont usually check hourly-it was more to check it was all heading the right way. Back to 4 times a day with daily Ctgs again for me now. Plan is induce next week but if bloods worsen or symtoms evolve then deliver sooner. Baby kicking away and lovely normal ctgs at the moment so he seems happy for now :) as am I as im tucking into a fresh supply of macaroons from patisserie valerie (I love my friends and family and the endless supply of food to make up for hospital slop :) )

Sorry I just realised I cross posted with u terrified good to no they r keeping such a close eye on u. And hopefully not too much longer before its all over for u xx

Dh and I were just looking on eBay at nappy cakes for me to buy for a friends baby shower this weekend to which he then comments 'shame your not having a baby shower for someone to buy you one' to which I was dying to say errr atchly my suprise one is sept 28th at 2pm but I actually said 'I'm sure we'll get some lovely presents when he's born' lol

I'm just having weekly shaving trims in the bath to try and keep it tame I'm not bothered about having everything perfect as long as it doesn't look like the rain forest down there I'm not too bothered for now .... Especially when u see the blurred lady areas of some women birthing on tv programmes it looks like they possibly haven't shaved ever never mind recently (sorry if I cause any offence to anyone not into shaving)

umlauf very jelous of your free junk food, everything's better when its free :-)

ana I wouldn't stop at 4 doses a day then again I don't even measure a dose I just have a swig out of the bottle. Obviously if it was excessive like 10x doses a day for an extended period I wouldn't but I don't think every now and then hurts. If your concerned have u tried taking 8 half doses instead to see if that helps?

Clapham-i'm a bit of a magnet for trouble though so should have known better than to book everything for one day! I hadn't even packed my hoapital bag-dh emptied baby's bag into a bin liner and packed my stuff into it. I then had visions of the cleaner throwing the bin liner with baby's things in the bin so sent dh home to rescue it!

Any tips re nursing bras? I was planning on getting re-measured at 37w but cant now. I have one elle mcpherson one that fits at the moment and 2 of the bravissimo large ones. I known I will be kept in for a few days post natally. Think I can get by with those 3 until I can get fitted? Im tempted to order more of the bravissimo ones as they cover a fair few cup sizes otherwise...

Terrified - hope you get some rest and BP doesn't get any higher

Karma - did you get checked to see how dilated at your appointment today

Kiwee- please rest it's what your body and baby need you to do

Welcome train

No Clapham you were right the first time, I don't care .

He came home and made noises about it being ever of me to make a mess the day before the cleaner was due, which I got cross about, interpreting it as a dig at me.

Feeling pretty fed up tonight. My sprained ankle is throbbing and is basically covered in a bruise the same shape and size of a long sock - seriously, it's dark purple, halfway up my calf and down to my toes - and I'm sick of limping and hobbling everywhere, particularly up and down stairs (we have 3 storeys). Baby won't sit still and my belly feels like its literally going to burst.

Thanks Mrs HN and natalie. I was sure I'd heard other pregnant ladies say they were having lots of gaviscon. I've been using up to 3 doses a week up till now, but some weeks, like last week, I haven't used any antacid at all. DH uses more than me. That's why I haven't bothered with a prescription. I know I've been lucky but I think I'm now reaching a stage where it's bothering me more.

And shire I just want to say there's no excuse for how you're being treated. Community mw care seems to be a real postcode lottery. I've moved from central Manchester to Prestwich and I can see a difference in what they offer but not as extreme as your care has been. If they can't offer you a home birth assessment in time for 37 weeks than they can't really offer it, can they? I hope you can push for what you want and get it but I'm really sorry that it's been this hard.

I wouldn't worry about OD-ing on Gaviscon. I've literally been swigging a huge mouthful from the bottle two or three times a night. I'm still standing.

Oh and shire I have to cross my legs at 37 weeks too because DH will be in France and I don't have an alternative birth partner. One of the basic requirements of home birth is that someone is with you.

jelly how are you feeling this evening?
terrified sorry to hear yesterday was tough :( What meds do they have you on?
clapham mine were not painful, but uncomfortable and persistent. Just an hours nap? That's not enough! :P
Re waxing - I just can't face it. I'm going to try and trim but i figure they've seen worse , and DH shaved my legs again last night and promises to do it Friday.
I don't even dare looking at my crack with haemorrhoids present. Sob

Ana - we're going to do the tour of the MLU at Wythenshawe on Wed eve, and I'll see if I can raise it with the mw then too.
Truth is, I doubt we're in much danger of an early arrival and I'm also fairly phlegmatic about it all: if I do go into labour before 38 weeks, and the MLU is nice enough (which I've heard it is) then we'll just go there. It's a gamble, but there are worse things that could happen than a natural labour in MLU.
Getting upset with the poor provision earlier in this pregnancy caused me quite a lot of upset/stress. It's not worth the angst.
I've been saying to myself for a while: by the end of October, we'll be at home with a baby.

And that makes everything seem ok

Thanks for all the messages of support. The scan was otherwise good (apart from falling off the centiles) so I'll try and behave myself quietly at home and catch up on reading, dvds I won't have chance to do soon! Must resist the urge to go and weed the garden.

terrifiednewbie yes I'm at the dhbs in Dunedin...if work can't sort out the roster it's really their own fault as they haven't arranged a locum at all and were hoping to make it to December change over relying on people picking up additional shifts. Was it you who'd worked in Auckland? Re. nursing bras I've ordered some from the bravado website (they have ones on there that do bigger cup sizes than those elsewhere). I've also found some of the bravissimo girls really good at fitting advice by email if you can't get in to see them for a while. Hope you're not getting too bored in the hospital.