Jan 2014 THREAD 14 -- This will be the lucky one!

[TobyLerone]

We got Thread 13 out of the way without too many mishaps. Phew!

Now it's time to sit on our arses eating entire Chocolate Oranges really get to work on getting some more of these babies out.

Hello ladies. Cant sleep. Finding night times bit of a nightmare really. Used to love my bed but just cant get comfy at all anymore.
So understand how u feeling frying with the heavy bump feeling. Feels like I'm dragging mine along and need a crane to lift it at night for me to turn over!

Oh congratulations to quacko on arrival of sofia. Really love the name.

toby and book So any of you could end up in either mlu or main hospital at this rate then. I rly hope u both get what u want and dont have to be induced like me. I Still might go into natural labour b4 friday but doubt it.

Am in the stabby cervix, bumhole, and fanjo pain club. Ouch ouch. Touchwood though my kidney and bladder pains are bearable again atm and haven't had to have morphine in 2 days!!

Good luck with induction 2moro tarka keep us posted.

Hugs to you frizz Dont be hard on yourself hun. It will be ok. I remember feeling helpless with dd at first fearing I was doing it all wrong. Only natural. Hope her jaundice gets better v soon.

has anyone heard from tooth last i read she was in pain and had signs of labour. Hope all ok tooth

Hugs to you too another you've been thru so much

Good luck tomorrow tarka

Oh frizz don't be hard on yourself, you have done and continue to do a brilliant job. Also, fuck the midwives, she's your baby, you feed her how and when you want.
Jaundice is pretty common, I think. Nothing you did/didn't do. She will be grand, and you'll both be home soon, sailing through the next few milestones. Focus on that. And the fact that you are her mum, and you get to make decisions for your daughter. If you think they aren't doing their jobs properly, you have choices and options (complain, insist, discharge her and you, go up the ladder to more senior people etc). Don't feel powerless, you're not.

tarka massive good luck vibes for tomorrow, you will be ace! Hope all goes brilliantly.

choco also wide awake here. Not from stabby pains (for once), just insomnia. Hope you get some sleep soon.

frizz bless you Hun! You are doing an amazing job and there is no way you could sit and watch your little bubs cry with hunger, especially when no one is checking in when they should be! Stay strong! You are awesome!

tarka good luck for your induction! Really hope it all goes smoothly!

choco glad you are coping with the kidney stones pain....

Well I have been having what I can only describe as period pain Braxton hicks since around 11pm.... I tried going to bed at midnight but then had to keep going to the toilet. Also having some lower back pain. Have been timing these period pain tightenings since 3am and they have been lasting between 30 secs to 1 min and have been coming anything from every 5 mins to every 15 mins. Am assuming this could be early labour....??? I have told DH to get some sleep, but don't think I will be doing the same. Currently sitting on a towel on the sofa watching tv and timing the contractions.... Trying not to get too excited in case it all stops...

Am also wishing I had made the effort to wash my hair today rather than using dry shampoo.... Doh!

Thanks humpty
The nurses are all very nice but after being told by the midwife that I MUST make sure she feeds for at least 15 mins every 3 hours to get her weight up it is frustrating that I was told the nurse would wake me for feeds as they have a board but so far I have naturally woken up and done them and about 1hr or so later someone has mentioned a feed when they have come to take her temp. And as she is taking about 15-20 mins from each breast for every feed now I have not fed the expressed stuff but am not sure if I should be trying that too in case she isn't taking it properly from the breast. But I have been told to make sure I don't waste the expressed milk as it's obv v valuable stuff.
Also just had a dark poop and she had been having yellow which is good but now I am worried as I don't think she should have brown. Am hoping it's to do with the photo therapy as she has had the right colour at home but who knows anymore.
Each time I see a midwife I seem to get told something different or some additional info that would have been useful 4 days ago!

I hope your insomnia goes but hey at least it isn't heartburn/indigestion!

Thanks sultana
Fx this is the beginning of it all for you. Mine were all over the place time wise and then oops waters went and I was 6cm!
It was silly as they tell you to watch for regular contractions before calling (which I did) but it turns out mine weren't regular until I was already in full active labour and my waters had gone.
Try and enjoy watching the tv before they ramp up (really Fx they keep going for you)

frizz not being given consistent information is the most frustrating thing ever! Would have been useful for someone to tell you what to expect!!! I really hope someone gives you some reassurance soon! It definitely sounds as though you are doing a fab job and the fact you are keeping track of everything means you can give them a clear picture of what is happening which will be really helpful!

I know - several of my mates have only just made it to hospital in time....! These are definitely getting more intense and they are coming every 5-8 mins. I am surprised how frequently they seem to be coming already! Could really do with getting a bit of sleep. I napped for half an hour this afternoon! Wish I had napped for longer now!

Really want to wait until later this morning before calling someone so DH can get some sleep apart from anything else, but will have to see if they continue to come so frequently!

Definitely sounds like something is happening, sultana! How exciting!
The usual advice is to call when the contractions are regularly coming 3 in 10 minutes, but obviously that depends on how you're coping and how long it will take you to get to hospital. If I were you, I'd go for a bath/shower now. But that's only because I am insane :o

another, your story reminded me to have a chat with DH about consenting on my behalf for things if the worst happens and I can't consent for myself. Eg hysterectomy. Definite yes from me.
So thank you!

Hope you've managed a bit of rest, frizz. Demand some answers about all the things which are worrying you when the doctors do ward rounds this morning.

Hi all - apologies for the radio silence. Things seems to have been manic over Christmas and DD being off nursery means there is never a spare second in the day!

Congrats to everyone on all the new babies!! So exciting. Frizz, I would echo others who have said follow your instincts. DD was always super efficient and only ever fed for about 10 minutes or so at a time, but settled into a roughly 2-hourly routine after the first week or so and was piling on weight. I would say if she seems content and settled after a feed, then try not to worry too much (impossible I know!) you're doing a great job and feeding her the best way you can.

Choco I'm with you on the crane situation. Bedtime has suddenly become way more hard work. I feel like I'm suddenly peeing every half an hour day and night, and really restless in bed. Not helped by DD decide to wake up at 5.30am today when she normally needs dragging out of bed at half 7.

Sultana how exciting! This could be it. With DD my contractions were 5 mins apart right from the off. It still took 13hrs all told, so you may still have time to rest (ha!) or at least DH might. Good luck!!

Nothing to report here - 37weeks today, no signs of anything happening. To be honest another week under our belts would be good as the two couples who have offered to take DD while we go into hospital aren't back till after NYE, so would be much easier if she waited it out a bit more. I have a checkup tomorrow so will see what the state of play is then, but so far just the ever-present BH and some throbby lower back pains. I may be joining the 'pushing February' gang bringing up the rear!

Tones of good luck and best wishes to all those cradling newborns right now - I promise you it will all settle down and seem perfectly normal soon. You are all fantastic!

Toby! That's so weird as that's exactly what I have just done! Had a shower, shaved my pits, made myself look slightly presentable and got dressed just in case! DH woke up long enough to check I was ok and is now back snoring.....

Well, we shall see what happens!

Well, it seems you must be equally insane then, sultana :o

Fingers crossed for you!

Oh frizz, I hope you are okay and that you and Aurelia can get home soon. Don't let the midwives bully you, like humpty said she's your baby

sultana I'm so excited for you - good luck!

Good luck for the induction today tarka. We might have more new babies soon

Still nothing at all here. I'm the same as you with going to bed choco, my hip pain is so bad that I can only get 20 minutes on either side and it makes me cry when I turn over because I am a wuss. I can't hold anything or make a fist either because of carpal tunnel. It is all a bit rubbish here at the moment, although I know I've had a very easy pregnancy compared to lots of people.

NCT class yesterday was good, although one of the other couples had booked a table in a pub for dinner and I really wanted to go but DH didn't and huffed off to the car so I had to make our excuses and leave. Most of the point of going was to meet other people in town because we don't know anyone, so I'm a bit miffed about it all. Oh well, they've set up a fb group so hopefully there will be other chances to meet up.

Right, MOT today (the car, not me ), must get myself going!

Congratulations puggle another and fidget on the births of your babies. Things are really moving along!

another I hope that you are able to get some rest now DD is feeling a bit better and that you are able to grab some moments of peace. It sounds like your DH has been having a rough time too, is there anyone who can help out?

frizz don't stress, you are a star and honestly, establishing breastfeeding with DD was the hardest thing I have ever done and I really did think I was losing my mind at some points. DD managed to lose almost 25% of her birth weight before I cracked and ended up doing mixed feeding for a while but by 6 weeks DD was having none of it and refused the bottle. I didn't manage to wean her til she was two, and though I stressed about weight gain for ages I promise you that you will look back on this time as the hardest bit and that it does get so so so much easier. Also, I don't know if this was just me but I got really obsessed with tracking DD's weight and felt jealous and envious of any baby feeding well and gaining weight and was constantly comparing, which made things much much worse. Some babies take a bit longer to get going but Aurelia will get there and you are doing so well. x

sultana hope things are moving along for you! fx

good luck today tarka!

book those hip pains are a bitch, aren't they? I always have to turn over in the night but feel like I'm doing the pregnant woman equivalent of a 7 point turn to do it and sometimes have to make DH get out of bed to make space for me to roll out!

enormouse I really hope that your DP has bucked up his ideas. Sometimes I think they are worse than the toddlers when you get near the birth and start regressing big time. I had a meltdown on sat night at DH and while he is completely unrepentant he did manage to take me to the hospital, offer to buy me dinner so I didn't have to cook and get me a washing machine and a real bed on sunday, so I think I will have to employ this tactic more often!

I am so excited to have slept on an actual bed instead of a pull out futon thing for the first time in months. It is amazing the difference it makes! Also super excited to have a washing machine, but just hoping we will be able to plumb it in because there isn't a proper place for it.

Sorry for epic post. I save up to post when I can get on a laptop because the tablet/phone are too much for my fat fingers.

Saturday night I was convinced my waters had gone, so got super excited and had a shower, packed my hospital bag and slept til 10. I was in a really zen mood and convinced myself things were going to get moving, but apparently it was all just pregnajuice and so now I am feeling a bit silly. I was so sure this baby was going to be early, but I am now 39+4 so I guess that ship has sailed!

Good luck sultana, hopefully this is it!

ah, altered, been there! Fingers crossed it happens soon!

nothing here for me. Only got up once to pee last night which seems like a freaking miracle. I'm just so tired tho, so will message mil and ask if she can have Ethan for a bit today. I want to get the laundry done, I've ran out of clean knickers! Slattern that i am.

Congrats to Puggle and Fidget . Hope it's time Sultana and good luck!

Ooh I'm first on the list for induction today so heading into hospital now...

Although I was "first on the list" with dd and it still took them three days to find a midwife and room free to start the drip...

Sure it will be fine this time Tarka as they will have discharged loads of ladies over the weekend and in my hospital they tended only to induce ladies during the week so Monday should be a good day for it.

sultana that sounds very promising. I hope you have managed to get some rest now as if labour progresses you will be very tired.

toby very sensible idea to talk to your DP, it was only when I started reading about placenta accreta (condition I had) that I realised how quickly things can happen if they do go wrong.

altered hooray for a proper bed, I can't imagine sleeping on a futon into late pregnancy that must have been so uncomfortable.

Hope you had a better night with Aurelia frizz

Right I am off to the hospital to hopefully have the catheter removed if I can pee properly and my stitches. I will feel a bit more normal once that happens, wearing a wee bag tied to your leg is not particularly attractive!

Eeeek sultana so excited for you. Please update when u can.

I really ache this morning. Just from sleeping. I just cant get comfy and ouchy its worse this morning than ever. I was a v good girl yesterday and did all my ironing. 2day I need to sort out more xmas toys of the kids and baby room. Not yet though lol. Want a couple of hours chilling to prepare myself haha. Not like I can rly go anywhere. Weather evil here!

Well on the plus side I have my own room with ensuite including bath (and bidet!) so maybe not all bad. Probably more restful than at home with the terrible teething toddler.

Good luck tarka hope today goes well

Oh sultana sounds like things may have started for you so good luck too

Hope you are feeling ok today Frizz

Fx the catheter gets removed another

I'm in the sleeping badly club. Baby keeps deciding to wedge herself under my ribs at night which is really painful, and my stomach is so itchy it's driving me crazy.

Off to a sling library meet today, then going to order my new curtains and hopefully get the rest of the house sorted.

Good luck on getting the catheter removed!

mil has taken ds, who was very excited, and she's keeping him overnight too score!!

people keep asking if I've had the baby yet. Which is very frustrating

Ekkk tarka! Good luck!

another fingers firmly crossed they take your catheter out! What a relief that will be for you!

Well after contractions were coming every 5 mins, lasting for 50 secs at 7am, I then managed to fall asleep for two hours and they have eased right back. Still happening but the last gap was half an hour..... Really hoping things carry on and I am not gonna be joining the "stop/start" crew.... DH has just got up, so at least I can now put the tv on. Its so dark here with the pissing rain! Feel as though I should be bouncing on my ball, but don't feel I have the energy.... Will give it a go a bit later perhaps....

sultana, I hate to depress you, but this could go on for A Long Time. Rest while you can!

Am beginning to realise that Toby! Arghhhh! Ah well, at least am on the sofa watching tv. Could be worse!