February 2014 - We've got big bumps and we cannot lie...

[DawnOfTheDee]

You other mothers can't deny,
When a girl walks in with an ever expanding waist
And a round thing in your face
You....'d better give her some cake....

etc, etc,

New thread! Enjoy!

misskat mine goes through stages of lying really high too, it's like her spine is pressed against the top of my uterus. I also don't feel like she'll be wanting to come out any time soon!

Am another one who is very worried about cat and baby. Our cat sleeps on our bed at the moment but we are still in the guest room because our bedroom still needs work since the dry rot fiasco so I figure once we return to the bedroom we'll start shutting him away in the kitchen at night.

I can't imagine a cat trying to suffocate a baby intentionally but certainly mine likes cozying up to people to sleep so I'm going to have to be very vigilant about not leaving them unattended together.

Speaking of sleeping, is anyone else still on their back? I go to sleep on my side but often wake up on back. I know it's not recommended at this point but I figure if my body is doing it naturally then maybe it's not that bad..

Marzi I know exactly what you mean at how buying the pram and other bigger items was absolutely fine, but that first time around I found it utterly freaky going into Tesco at around 34 weeks to buy nappies, cotton wool and those bits. I clearly remember looking around to check I wasn't going to be spotted by someone I know and feeling like a weird fraud for buying nappies when I didn't yet have a baby! Even this time I felt a bit freaked in Boots when I threw a pack of newborn nappies into my basket the other week!

MissKat great that you've bought your birth pool, which one did you go for? Mine is a birth pool in a box eco mini...

Awww marzi I wish I could still sleep on my back. I found I could until a couple of weeks ago and now it definitely feels really horrible to do so. Id say don't worry if you're feeling okay with it as I'm sure you're body will tell you if there's a problem.

I hadn't thought about the cats being a problem around the baby - I reckon they'll try and sleep in empty Moses basket/cot etc but they're such scaredy cats I'm sure they'll run a mile when there's an actual baby in there. I bloody hope so anyway.

Cubano - it's dates we should be knocking back (6 a day apparently). Raspberry leaf tea - I've found some conflicting info but most stuff says teas okay from 32 weeks (1 cup a day increasing to 3 cups by the end) and capsules from 36 weeks. Some places mentioned the chance of early labour but there is no evidence for it at all - it just apparently can help tone the uterus and help labour progress more quickly (I think). I've been drinking the tea for a few weeks now (35) and am going to start having two bags a day I think. Then will start capsules next week too I reckon. Must remember to eat the dates too as I bought loads before Christmas.

Wow baby is super active tonight and is having a right old wriggle! I've been having a chat and encouraging her to get her head down

marzi I wake up frequently on my back too.

Thanks misskat, will be buying dates and raspberry leaf tea tomorrow then...

My cats are just so laid back and friendly, I can see them being all over baby (in a good way).

Ugh, just had huge leakage from left boob, didn't even notice until I got up to answer the door... Hmm, may have to start wearing the pads I got yesterday!

Our 2 cats spend most of their day shut in the kitchen/breakfast room/dining room which means living room and bedrooms are cat free. They only come in the rest of the house when DH & I are there to supervise. So nothing will change when baby is here - they are used to it already.

This GD blood monitoring is a rollercoaster. Xmas dinner, xmas pud, cream, chocolates all fine. Tonight's homemade curry, rice, bhajis and Sainsbo's peshwari naan saw my first ever reading 2.5 above the limit! Can only assume it was the coconut milk in the curry plus the naan and bhajis. Back to healthy eating again tomorrow. Salmon and steamed veg for dinner (actually quite looking forward to it after all the xmas stodge).

I used my Boots points today to buy some extra toiletries for my hospital bag today - miniature shampoo, conditioner, Vaseline, new hairbrush, facewipes etc. All feeling real now.

marzi I am the same - go to sleep on my side with pillow between legs and wake up on my back. I'm 33wks today, hoping it's not doing too much damage. Seeing MW again on 8th Jan so will ask her then.

cubano I might have remembered wrong, but I think misskat has been having raspberry leaf tea for a couple of weeks now? This article suggests ok from 32wks starting with 1 cup a day and increasing gradually to 3. Also lists some risk factors for certain women who shouldn't drink it at all..

Oops, cross post!

The funny thing is I never slept on my back before until I got pregnant.

I keep getting stabbing pains in my fanjo, it's been pretty continuous after getting lots of BH at church. Does anyone know what causes it? It's most uncomfortable!

Lovesto - I think ours is the birth pool in a box Eco regular. I need to sort out a courier for it but all in should hopefully be around £100 so I'm chuffed although I would very much have liked to hire the fancy heated one I found!

Is the stabbing at the top near your cervix Eeyore? I get pains like I'm being stabbed with knitting needles in the cervix sometimes - I think it's either baby booting it or the cervix starting to get itself ready. Is it occasional or happening a lot? I usually find I get a few and then try to jiggle baby around a bit to move and it stops.

It feels like it's at the top of my cervix. I've had it occasionally, and usually it's just a few pokes and then it goes. Tonight it's been a bit more continuous.

Baby is probably just using my cervix as a trampoline

Ooh, is that lightening pains?

I wake up on my back a lot too despite being wedged between pillows. Figure if it isn't good then my body is doing pretty well to wake me so I can shift...there's nothing more I can do so hoping it's all fine. What I would really really live is to sleep on my stomach again ahhh the bliss

misskat only 5 trips I'm the same but when did it become the norm? All good practice I guess

Maybe julietee, much though I'd like baby to be early, I hope it stays in another few weeks! I'm only 35 weeks today.

jazzcat I skipped 90% of puddings over Christmas, but have: one box of After Eights, one box of cherry liquor chocolates, one Christmas pudding, one chocolate orange, a bottle of Buck's Fizz and a Cadbury's selection pack for when I can eat sugar. Not all at once, probably

Not to mention, if this doesn't appear once Bean arrives I'm jolly well buying one myself: Hotel Chocolat baby hamper
(It's the "trainee chocolatier" bib I'm really after, honestly)

Wow gnitting that hamper looks amazing!!

Has anyone tasted raspberry leaf tea before? I took the tablets last time but tempted to try the tea this time round and just wondered if it was tasty? Wishful thinking:)

I rang the MLU in tears yesterday (my first preggo call for help I promise, I'm not a hypochondriac) because I am only comfortable sleeping on my back and googled it and the first thing that came up was about still birth risks, anywho she told me that I needn't worry and if it was the only way I could get comfy then to slightly prop one side up with my mat pillow to take pressure off the spine.

oh wow that hamper... just sent a link to my friend
my stomach is keeping me awake... sucking on a rennie. Hate heart burn.

Shrops aw, sometimes I think the internet exists just to scare and worry people. Trust your MW, and try the tilted sleeping thing, or blocking your back with lots of cushions / pillows so it's difficult to roll over.

Another question: who is attempting perineal massage? Just had a lovely lavender bath and made an attempt afterwards with some sweet almond oil... Not a resounding success. Not even sure I can reach! DH has offered, but am feeling generally a little tender, so not sure. Anyone had any success?

I tried it yesterday with olive oil. Not sure if it did any good! Had to contort myself quite a bit but managed.

Shrops - I'm also a back sleeper at the moment. Otherwise my legs both go into cramp

Artisticme - Raspberry leaf tea just tasted like raspberry fruit tea to me. I'm not a huge fan of hot drinks other than coffee, so I'm on the capsules. But it tasted good to me.

Eeyoreish those stabby pains are the bane of my life right now. I've done a lot of research and it suggests it's caused by baby dropping down lower, using cervix/bladder as a trampoline and cervix getting ready. Mine are always relieved by sitting down or laying down and are brought on by walking

I found a tip that said doing pelvic floor exercises when they first come on can help. I tried yesterday and it definitely worked

Cat people, my 2 were my babies before DS arrived and I was really worried but there were absolutely no problems at all. They accepted him immediately and seemed very respectful of his personal space and his belongings. My girl cat didn't like it when he cried (she would miaow round my feet and appear distressed) but aside from that no ill effects at all (even though they basically got no attention for the first year )