due in november - part 4.........

[saralou100]

we are here!!

hi all
did any of you try using almond oil/olive oil on your bits before the delivery to stop tearing

eeyoreuk

Eeyore, I didn't, because I didn't know about it, but DS had a large head, and came out with his arm up next to his head (like superman!!) within 15 minutes, and I didn't tear. I put it solely down to the midwife telling me when to push and when to pant, I am hoping I get as lucky this time!!

I did need stitches inside because his nails had scratched me quite badly, but that was all.

You can tell we are getting closer now. All this talk of hospital bags, stitches and maternity pads is making it feel very real. Most of us probably have about 10-12 weeks left to go don't we? Or should I expect people to start giving birth at 37 weeks rather than 40? I would much prefer to think of having 7 weeks to go rather than 10, but then I'd spend the last few weeks getting very impatient. It will be so exciting when our thread gets its first baby!

HC - I saw that Friends episode last night, and was thinking exactly the same thing! Where's the placenta??? Where's the mess?? Rachel looked almost back to normal shape straight afterwards too. If only it could be like that.....
Have any other 1st time mums been reading up on the actual baby part (and not just the antenatal part)?? I spent quite a lot of time in the middle of the night worrying about breastfeeding and sleep routines etc etc while baby happily kicked my insides around. Maybe reading The Baby Whisperer isn't such a good idea just now....

Hopingcat - The belt is now in the bin ! DP spend three hours with me last night adjusting and re-adjusting the bloody thing, making me walk round the lounge to see if it would fall down, once that had been mastered I tried to sit with it on and it cut me in half ! So it's ok to use if I never want to sit down, It does give great support walking around but I need to sit ...ALOT !

hi all
kaybee i have been reading pg and birth magazine and last night was reading how to bath a baby

i start my parentcraft classes next week my husband is not joining me but a lady that works in another dept is going on the same course so at least i will know somebody
hopefully they will fill in the gaps that i have not thought about

hc as for it suddenly feeling real i know what you mean - about two weeks ago i suddenly sat at home and though omg what have i done

speak later eeyoreuk

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wow mygirllolipop, 4 kids, I can't even imagine what that would be like! I think maybe I am doing more harm reading all this stuff, perhaps should just try to be a bit more relaxed about it all and chill out

Oh i havent read anything on the baby afterwards, all ive read is about pregnancy and i have read stuff about giving birth in the last few months but i do start feeling a bit faint if i read too much at one time (thats not good is it cos i wont have that option on the day!) i think i have naievely assumed that i will read up on that after he is born but thinking about it im now wondering when i will get time??? opps maybe id better get some books quick!

I've read books on pregnancy and birth and get a magazine, but nothing has told me about the afterwards bit where the baby will be in my house and I won't know what to do with it! I'm hoping my friend who is due 6th Sept will be able to show me a lot when I'm on mat leave. She will be able to tell me about the practical things like feeding and sleeping plus I've got parentcraft classes too in October.

I do sometimes read the Childbirth threads on here, but that often scares me so I wouldn't advise it if anyone is easily frightened! I do think that it is best to be prepared. Surely birth will be more managable if I have some idea what could happen. It's better than going in blind.

I know it is easy for me to sit here and say don't worry too much about the bathing, changing feeding etc. but honestly try not to.

When I had DS, me and DH had just moved to a new town, so knew no one, his mum was 200 miles north of us, I wasn't talking at all to my mum (thankfully we got it sorted now and we are best friends!) but between me and DH we'd never once looked after a baby even for a few minutes! The hospital (Kettering General) were useless, no one showed us how to change a nappy (although it really isn't difficult, we just had no 'tricks of the trade'!) no one showed us how to bath the baby, in fact, under the hospitals regs, we weren't allowed to bath him for the first few days, I caught an infection so when the midwife made her visits at home in the first 10 days she was much more interested in how I was, and that I was coping, which was great, but not overly helpfull, HV was useless, and on top of all of that I was too bloody stubburn to ask for the help anyway, being 18 and obviously thought of as 'another teenage mum' even though I was married and all the rest of it, made me feel like I HAD to do it on my own, well of course with DH's help!

Anyway the point is, we had no official know-it-all telling us how to do everything, all we could go on was instinct and common sense, and TBH we still do even with DS now! You will find that within even a couple of days of having your baby at home, there is so much more to worry about than if the nappy is on straight! There, doesn't that make you feel better??!!!!

HC, birth is better done whilst you are deaf, dumb and blind!! LOL (No offence intended to anyone!)

I'm choosing to ignore the fact I'm due to be in alot of pain in a couple of months, I'm refusing to think about at the moment LOL !!!!

I for one do definatly feel better now thanx NJ. It sounded as though you didnt have it too eay but you got through and really im quite lucky, my mum is going to shut her shop for the first week and come and stay or drive up each day whichever i prefer - im a bit worried about arguing with her tho cos of everything cos i feel so guilty if we argue, but i know i could ask her to do anything including scrubbing the toilet and she would be more than happy. Hopefully daddy will have paternity leave for 2 weeks too and im hoping and praying my hv will be some help.

Hopingcat - I was going to look on that thread but not so sure now! I also buy pregnancy and birth every month but ive just realised that when it comes to an article about after the birth i always skim it or dont bother at all, i think this is mainly down to the fact that all i am focused on is the due date its kind of like my life ends there (not litterally obviously) but i cant think of anything beyond that one day its madness!

LOL Debz, that is the route I am going down, I am getting prepared for it as in getting the bits and pieces together for the hospital, but not actually thinking about the birth itself!

LeBe, we didn't have the easiest time of it, but then who does with a new born? And to be honest, as much as I love my mum, it would have driven me crackers to have anyone else in the house at that time. By the time DH was due back at work, I was begging him to go, I just wanted more than anything to get into our routine, and for everyone to sod off and leave me to it! LOL I am the same this time, Mum has offered to come up from down south to stay for a week or whatever, but I know the very last thing I will want to deal with is trying to make sure she is OK and worrying even more about making sure the house is spot on, not that she would care a jot if it wasn't but I just couldn't relax with anyone here!

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I'm off now. Hope everyone has a great bank holiday weekend. Dh and I have got next week off to decorate and shop so I won't be on here. We will have broadband at home by October apparently but it's not happened yet.

Byeee!

LOL MyGirl, FIL's aren't normally too bad, it is the MIL's that we have to watch out for (can't stand the thought that I am very likely to be a MIL in the future!!)

Have a good week HC, don't over do it!! TC xxx

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Evening girls, tonight im getting some quite strong, painfull braxton hicks! ouch! The pains nothing compared to real labour but still enough to make me wince!
Im going to have some dinner and a bth and hope they go away.

The end of my bellybutton is in sight so i think it's going to pop out soon! i never got that big with ds although my sister's has popped out with all 3 of her kids.

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Lol MGLP were you slim beofre you fell pg? i think mine may have taken longer becuase i wasnt really, i wasnt hugley over wieght but i wasnt exactly slim! (sorry to anyones who hasnt im not suggesting your fat!)

Hi all. Move took longer than planned (we were still shifting boxes on my birthday). Internet took a while to set up as well as they tried to connect us before the phone line went in.
More or less in now - still lots to sort and my sister has brought the baby stuff over.
Hope the wedding is a good one Staceym! It's raining a little here, hopefully it's sunnier else where. Had to get rid of some of our pet birds (we had a mini aviary) we've allowed ourselves one each (the easiest to look after - with the nicest personality) but the others had to go as we have slightly less space then before and I can't see DP building another aviary for a while. Speaking of pets... anyone with pets got any advice what to do when baby turns up (we have a cat) - the cat is already banned from the upstairs and is not allowed on the beds. What experiences have others had? Baby is moving loads and yesterday I felt baby's head through my belly as baby changed position. It seemed to be about the size of my fist and a very exciting moment... DP is getting kicked loads at night and the cat has started to realise that sitting on my lap has occasional negatives... Anyhow - speak to you soon.
LA

have a fantasticaly wonderfull day today stacey!!!

hello everyone!!!!

reading through all the lists of hospital bag stuff!! i think taking so much into hospital prepares you for all the luggage you have to cart round for the first few months of their little lives, you'll never travel light after that day again!!! i do reccomend taking a seperate bags in with you, one for labour, one for stayiing in and one with going home stuff... i found that way i had everything to hand as and when i needed it... also take dp on a guided tour of your's and baby stuff before hand so they know where everything is if you need them to get you anything...

ladyanne, my sister has 2 cats and they got on just fine when baby came home, she did buy a cat net for moses basket/pram for when he was small and she didn't let them in the room when he was tiny but her cats are scaredy cats anyway and really weren't interested - they just walked around with their noses in the air!!

anyone who has a dog though i would recomend sending one of baby's first blankets home with their smell on it for the dog, we did this with our boy and their wasn't any issue bringing ds home the first time he took one sniff, rather than constantly sniffing which is what he would normally do, then got all protective over him!! thank god!!

nataliejane, i have to ask but did you give birth to a lion cub last time... how long were your ds' nails if you needed stitching as a result?? i am clenching my pelvic floor at the very thought of it!!