December 2013 - waddling slowly onwards

[LadyMedea]

Our new thread!

Morning all

Feather I get breathless just doing the school run in a slo mo waddle. My iron levels are fine too so have to assume it's just where the baby is lying that does it. Having said that I think he has dropped or turned around or something as it doesn't seem as bad as before. And my bump feels a bit lower but more firm if that makes sense?

Although, and this may be TMI and over sharing BUT I think if I have had a big poo it's better too! Honestly, I get a bit bunged up for a few days, all breathless and flustered etc then have 2 big poos in one day and feel loads better breathing wise? How very bizarre lol.

Have started eating dried apricots every day which is helping with the poo issues too.

Just had gas and electric meters swapped over from pre pay to credit meters. I got pissed off 2 years ago with DP just putting heating on randomly and also buying one of those expensive to run electric fan heaters. As a result we got a huge gas and elecrtic bill for the winter so I paid that and then switched to pre pay meters so we could keep an eye on what we spend. Which has worked well but with baby coming I don't want to be having to leg it to shops to top cards up or it running out on us. So now on a normal tariff.

Got to shop around for cheapest deal though. So that will be fun lol.

Glad you are all finishing soon for your maternity leave. Don't know how you have managed to keep going! I'm fooked just pottering around working from home. I've got shit loads of paperwork and returns to do for our business today, plus my tax return for last year. Really CBA though lol.

Norty baby! At least you're getting another go, mrs

A great substitute for the forward inversion is the downward facing dog. It's not as effective but easier to get in and out of. Another great pose is the cow pose to create space in your rib cage and abdominal cavity. www.yogajournal.com/poses/689

Anything that relieves heartburn should relieve the kind of breathlessness you get from having a baby in your ribs

bohemian definitely yell and throw things. And cry. Everyone feels bad if they make a pregnant lady cry.

feather I hear you about having a tall, solid 2yo. My constant refrain has been 'does he look fat?!'. I hate how obsessed HCPs can be with charts.

bohemian I feel for you - I had a really horrible day at work yesterday and ended up coming home and just crying. Didn't help that I had naff all sleep on Monday night so went into London feeling knackered, only to have a series of meetings which were just more bad news after more bad news, and I just don't have the energy or motivation to be the one to do all the fire-fighting to smooth stuff over. I totally snapped at someone in my team as well, which was possibly unfair but she was being a complete numpty and doing my nut in. Still, I have worked out that after today, I only have 13 working days left, and only 6 of those involve trekking down to London with my heavy laptop bag and paperwork, so the end is in sight - bring on November 7th!!

I am working from home today and am going to do the necessary work stuff, but also use any 'spare' time to get on with some batch cooking so that our freezer is stocked up. I also have my flu jab at 11am so am bracing myself for that!

Is anyone else taking Spatone sachets for iron levels? DH bought some for me yesterday as my 28wk bloods showed I am anaemic with low iron (10.6). Anyway, these spatone things are pricey - over £10 for 28 sachets, and according to the packet pregnant women should be taking 2 per day! That means the box only lasts 2 weeks! £10 for two weeks seems a lot for a supplement.

Is anyone else taking them, and do you really stick to the 2 sachets recommendation? So far I have just had one - was weird, tasted of apple which is apparently 'natural' but it was like chemicals or hubba bubba bubblegum!

Bohemian and others suffering at work- just think not long now. I've only got three more weeks after this one!
I actully have the day off today as I had some annual leave to use and had a growth scan this morning (Little one measuring bang on 50% centile - phew) and didn't want to have to back to work afterwards.
I also ended up seeing the doctor afterwards to discuss options for labour and was told that there's no way I'll be allowed to go to the birth centre as I had a third degree tear last time. I guess I understand the reasons and its better to be safe than sorry but I did have my heart set on the birth centre. I didn't get the chance last time because it was full on the day. The doctor also said that I can ask for a cs at any point leading up to my due date because of the tear. Did any of you have a 3rd or 4th degree tear with your first? What did you do/what are you planning on doing this time? I'm very confused

Hi all. Haven't caught up yet but just thought I'd share that I had a really good mw appointment this morning.. It was all so positive told me I'm doing really well do is baby... I was so apprehensive this morning after attending the ante-natal class last night (I got home and said to dp that dd can stay in my tummy.. I was so so scared about birth)

But mw put my mind at ease about being hypermobile and labour and tearing (really scared about that)
And im scared that no one will listen to me when I'm in labour etc... Sorry bit long winded... But feeling more positive now. :)

Now sat with a hot chocolate watching it pour down outside! Yuk
Hope everyone is ok.. X

More sorting and packing for me today. It's fulfilling my nesting urges quite nicely and feels great to be getting rid of all the tat that's been building up. I get really annoyed about the amount of stuff we have that we don't use but still want to keep; well it's all getting packed away separately and not being opened again when we move.

Went to the doctor yesterday for a check up on the pain under my ribs and back. It was a waste of time as the surgery was running half an hour late and so I basically had to miss my appointment in order to catch the last bus home. Made a new one appointment today and insisted on it being at the village surgery so time won't be such an issue. Baby has started to kick quite strongly on the top of my bump now so it's making the pain worse. Flipped out a bit last night with frustration but have calmed down again today.

Thanks for sharing froubylou, I'm having these issues too. Being all victorian lady about it in front of dp though. I am quite clearly taking mild laxatives but refer to them as my 'medicine to ease digestion'. I know it's silly but I'm just trying to hold on to some sense of dignity/feeling nice about myself.

Hope everyone's jabs aren't causing them too much trouble and you're all feeling much better now.
The weather is awful, definitely a lazy-day day

Oops. Just standing at the empty bus stop waiting for bus to take me to doctor's for flu jab. Let out fairly quiet but obvious fart. Then turned round and bus stop not empty after all, there's a guy standing right behind me.

Woke up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep for 3 hours, grr! Still, finished the new Bridget Jones so that's one thing.

Hope all are well!

Well I have had some good news!

I am S/E and have been for 4 years. I have a little business I run from home and earn between £200 & £400 a month depending on how busy I am. Anyhows, when I looked into claiming maternity allowance I thought it wouldn't be worthwhile as I hadn't paid class 2 NI contributions for some reason and thought I would be able to claim a maximum of 90% of last 13 weeks earning or whatever. So decided to not bother claiming and just continue working but do it around the baby.

My money is 'extra's' anyway, I use it for pony stuff and shows during the summer. But I read a thread on here about MA and stuff and after making some phone calls I can claim the flat rate (which is about £137 per week) for 39 weeks. All I have to do is pay my Class 2's (error at HMRC when I registered to be S/E that they didnt register me for my class 2's as well, which are optional) from April of this year (which will work out at about £80 I think) then I can claim the full MA.

How bloody good is that! I felt a bit funny about it at first until I spoke to the MA adviser bloke and he assured me that it wasn't dodgy or unfair, that there were qualifying criteria and as I qualified I could and should claim it.

So it will take a few weeks to sort out. I need to fill in some forms and get my MAT certificate from docs and so on, but hopefully it should all be sorted by the time baby gets here and I can relax about work!

But spent the afternoon going through paperwork and now I have found loads of stuff I have to do before I can finish lol. But at least I now know that I will have an income and can have a bit of time off. I don't do a lot, about 1 day a week in total but it will be nice to have 'official' maternity leave lol.

Thats brilliant news frouby :)

Hey lisba 10.5 is the anemia cut off in 2nd and 3rd trimester so you are borderline... Maybe you can get away with one sachet? Also Spatone is only £6.59 on amazons with free delivery www.amazon.co.uk/Nelsons-Spatone-Natural-Supplement-28-Sachets/dp/B0019M7OCA/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Ah thanks ladymedea - the Dr didn't seem too fussed when I had the follow up appt for the results last week, and I haven't been feeling particularly rough, so I wasn't too worried about the results, so it's good to know I am not 'officially' anaemic.

I will stick to one sachet for now, and will definitely ditch Holland Barrett for amazon next time!!

I had the longest most boring work conference call earlier - 2hrs of utter drivel. But as I am working from home I managed to do my batch cooking while it was going on so I now have two ice cream tubs of chicken casserole for the freezer, along with two tubs of chilli! Feeling quite pleased with my multi-tasking...

Hey Lisa- I'm taking spa tone too. My Hb was 10.8 but I felt a bit rubbish so thought would be worth treating even tho only "borderline". Pharmacist I saw said she took 1 sachet a day in pregnancy and was plenty- it got her levels up. Other thing she advised was to have it half glass of orange juice as the vit C helps absorption. Apparently caffeine inhibits absorption so I have it at a separate time of day to tea/coffee etc. it was flipin dear in boots so ill be getting my next lot from amazon too!

Bohemian- pls tell me to bugger off if its too nosy but how did the tear affect you? It's one of my biggest fears.. How long before you felt back to normal down there and did it affect your continence? Sorry if I'm prying..

Stom- glad you had a good appt.. Makes such a difference to how you're feeling doesn't it?

So- just finished my last day. Feeling oddly sad- prob cos everyone's so nice when you leave.. Got lovely bunch of flowers and cards and gifts so getting out of the hosp with them
In my arms took another hour of goodbyes.. Now, what do I do with myself tomorrow?? Lol.

Im really scared about tearing too!

Mildred Yea it does make you feel better... I was so apprehensive.. I still am but not as much...

I'd have a day of pampering yourself!

Whisper, did your care parcel arrive?

Mildred I was the one who posted about tearing. Sorry didn't mean to scare anybody. It was also my biggest fear prior to childbirth but I didn't even feel it at the time. Also despite having quite a serious tear I recovered really well with no incontinence issues at all. My first poo was a bit scary (sorry tmi) but apart from that and being a bit sore for a week or two (which I think you get with any vaginal birth) I was fine. I guess I was lucky. I would definitely recommend pelvic floor exercises as I think having done them through pregnancy helped afterwards.

btw - congrats on finishing work

Congratulations to everyone finishing work. I'm working up until 13th December so seems forever away yet. Is there any

Oops! Is there anyone else with a long time to go yet? Hoping I haven't been over ambitious!

Mildred I don't think that was me - I'm on my first, I've never 'torn' - was I the right person? (I'm scared of tearing though - had been religiously pelvic floor-ing)

Better afternoon today - ignored evil colleague and didn't burst into tears, just stayed quiet and carried on working. She apologised later.

Chief midwife rang me back today and confirmed that she HAD recommend me for the MLU on the proviso that I remained low-risk (obviously if anything goes wrong then it's doctors-and-delivery all the way) and I now have an appointment with Head Midwife of MLU to confirm that I should be treated there. She also said that I had every reason to by upset by Monday's appt which made me feel good.

qumquat I'm working until 6th Nov - couldn't do much more than that.

Good new frouby

qumquat I'm working until the 21st November and I'll be 36&4days by then, I'm slightly concerned I've been overly optimistic especially with commuting to London but then work is just sitting at a desk so not bad once I'm there!

bohemian glad the head midwifes said that to you, fingers crossed you can have the birth you want

Just been to parents evening for my 4yo and glowing report academically then she dropped the bombshell that he's been hitting other kids. I am so upset. I asked him why and he said because he doesn't like them! Sorry I know a lot of you don't have kids yet but I just need to vent- didn't help that DH has been so insensitive to my bouts of crying about it (he has many good qualities but he struggles to know how to react to women crying!!) so I'm just feeling so miserable. Like I'm a failure. He has been more aggressive at home and a handful but I put it down to the big change of going go school and tiredness.

All in all a shit day (started off exhasted and feeling sick)

Why am I having another child if I can't even control the ones I have??.....fuck it all

I tore with my first,not badly,i think i just needed a couple of stitches,afaik its more to do with pushing the baby out too quickly and not doing the panting thing when the heads crowning than pelvic floors.ds just kind of shot out....It wasnt too bad but its definitely easier when you dont tear,i felt really normal after the others in comparison,was up and about in no time.

Mumoftwo dont worry about it,it sounds like its something hes not really done before?if the school are aware of it and so are you,then hopefully its just a phase and he will learn not to do it if hes pulled up on it enough.Almost all kids take a bit of time to settle in,my eldest is in y1 and i would say it took him until about April to actually get to the point where he was enjoying school and didnt seem tired out by it all,they all react in different ways.

Good news Bohemian!

Mum, you are not a failure. School is a big change for such little people, I'm sure your ds will settle down soon, as ringarosy says its probably just a phase. Have a hug and some

qumquat, I'm going to work for as long as I can, so we'll see how far I get!

Qumquat - I have until Dec 8th at work (my due date) - and am staying at uni' until absolutely necessary (have asked if I give birth in a lecture theatre if me and my child get free eduction - it's only fair).

My last two were late anyway - so I'm not expecting this one to come any time before 8/12

My last scheduled class is 19/12! I doubt I'll make it there I'll be 39wks by then.

I think baby has gone head down today and I wish I'd taken a before/after photo just between this morning and now! I've ballooned!

Re: tearing I had a 2nd degree year with DS. I wish I had ignored the MW. My body was doing its own pushing thing anyway and I think by trying to extend the pushing like eye was telling me too contributed to tearing. Or it might have been that he was back to back. Either way I highly recommend a local anaesthetic injection before any embroidery is done on your bits.

mum I get you. DS went through a phase if hitting at nursery and I just dissolved because I felt I had no business being pregnant when I was clearly a failure a parenting. I'm not, you're not. We can't control our kids but now you know about it you can help give him strategies to manage his emotions and react better in situations. I'd be pusses that the teacher didn't tell you about it beforehand!

Well done on finishing mildred Make the most of being able to rest up.