September 2014 - Holding hands and 20 week scans...

[BexBoo12]

New thread for our chatty bunch :-) x

Bex

I hadn't even thought of what my two cats might do if I was in labour, haha. Considering they run for the hills everytime I switch the vacuum cleaner on I'm pretty sure they would be unimpressed with Labour noises. Wouldn't put it past one of my cats to eat a placenta though, he eats literally anything!

Anyone else feeling bloated? I keep waking up in the morning feeling a bit bloated/full up, which is unusual for me. I guess my stomach is getting squished by my ever expanding uterus now.

Supportive birth partner

Felt like baby had hiccups this morning.

Had the same 'hit' repeatedly in the same place for around a min or so! Becoming very real now lol

Aw how cute weebairn. (And your cat too ) Hehe. Are you actually in labour in that photo?!

Yes it was about 20 hours in!! Dropping off between contractions...

I didn't see a pic with your post before weebairn!
It was just text!
Very supportive indeed

There aren't any photos of the last few hours

haha my cat would freak out. think we'll go hospital birth since is our first but would be up for home next time (ha planning ahead)

I've posted before that I had a home water birth with my first, and it was a wonderful experience. I'm happy to talk about it in more detail if anyone has questions. Obviously it's not something I'd be able to do this time, with twins.

Not to make a big issue of it, but comments to those who have had/are planning home births that it's somehow not safe are both incorrect and offensive. Most medical issues that would cause problems during a home birth would be picked up beforehand and you wouldn't be permitted to attempt one. If you have a low-risk pregnancy and live reasonably close to a hospital, there is generally no reason why it wouldn't be safe (that being said, I wouldn't attempt it if I lived, say, 40 minutes from the hospital. As it was, I knew if I needed to transfer, I would be there in 10 minutes). In fact, I think I had greater one-on-one attention than I would have in hospital; in fact for the last couple of hours I had the undivided attention of two midwives and a student midwife.

I found this website really helpful when considering my home birth: www.homebirth.org.uk. In particular, the 'But what if...' section helped me understand what would happen in specific medical situations.

I think there are just two types of people; those who feel safer being in hospital, and those who feel more comfortable labouring/giving birth in their own home. But that doesn't mean that those in the latter category are doing something unsafe, and it's unhelpful (and as I said, can come across as offensive) to suggest that.

weebairn that is so sweet! What an amazing birth partner.

Is anybody else getting stretching/muscular pains this week? I'm 16+5 and feel like I've pulled a muscle in my right side stretching from just above groin to just below ribs

weebairn I think your cat just had that placenta in his sight from the get go! The thought of seeing him getting the placenta, I would have had a heart attack! Though I can see the appeal from a cat's perspective...
I love how chilled out he looked too lol.

I'm quite worried about how my dog is going to deal with a new arrival. I feel she may get jealous as she is very spoiled and showered with attention now. Sometimes she sits next to me on the sofa and if I stop stroking her she will cry or tap me with her paw, and if she is awake and wants me to get up she will sit on my bed and growl at me lol. I read somewhere that once you have a baby "the dog becomes just a dog" but I do not believe this!

kicks Sorry if I said anything offensive re home births, if I did it completely wasn't intended.

inbl00m I've had some similar pains the last couple of weeks - from what i've read it's likely to be round ligament pain, due to the growing and stretching and nothing to worry about!

Of course, if you asked the idiot consultant I saw (yes, i'm still angry about it) she would say it could be a UTI even though she had just checked a urine sample and could see I did not have one...

As I've said before I think home births are lovely but it would probably make me feel less anxious to know that strong pain relief is within minutes waiting time rather than around the 30 to 40 mins it would take to drive to hospital. I would consider a home birth for baby no.2 if I find I cope ok with the labour of no.1. I know, I am sounding like a bit of a wimp!

Went to look at prams again today and seem to have changed my mind again! Deary me.

I dont think anyone was trying to offend anyone else but rather just expressing their views on it
hb are wonderful but im 100% glad I did not go for it 1st time and I know 2nd and 3rd time they would just say no
if you have a straightforward pregnancy doesn't necessarily mean birth will be straightforward too and if vice versa.

Top I absolutely looooovvveee my quinny buzz.

I have seen the Quinny prams isitme they look great, very modern. My DH is very reluctant to buy a pricey travel system though as I quote, 'baby won't actually be in it for very long'. I do see his point, more so with baby car seats anyway. But I think you do get what you pay for more often than not. Ah well, I just spent £200 on next maternity clothes muhaha

Topmammy we've gone for the bugaboo buffalo, it is quite expensive, however after spending 2 hours in mothercare today with DH taking it apart several times, pushing it round the shop and generally playing with it he now agrees it's worth the money and it will last for a long while too.

I quite fancy the Quinny Buzz, nice to hear of someone who has one and likes it isitme

I had a look at the bugaboo ones Bex, very nice but no chance of them fitting in my car boot lol. Also I do want one that can turn into both a lie flat carry cot and upright. I'm trying to convince DH that we should get the Mothercare Orb, I think it looks good quality and also a reasonable price at 400. Although we would need to buy a car seat aswell. DH wants Mothercare Xpedior as it's cheaper and comes with a car seat. Lol men!

I have a baby jogger city mini which folds up very easily with one hand (I live in a flat so this is great!) and does lying flat for naps/young babies and also more upright. It's been nice and sturdy and practical. £200.

I didn't use it much until DD was 6 months - she was happier in a sling when little and it was much more convenient for me too.

I've even done some running with it now and again. It's pretty robust.

I'm hoping she will be out of it by the time I need it for the new baby so I don't have to buy anything else!

Most people I know who bought a travel system regretted it, I think because they are so bulky and hard to take apart etc. So we just bought a standard car seat. And for what it's worth my DD is still in her newborn car seat at 18 months...

No, I assume people were not trying to be offensive, but I wanted to point out that it can come across as offensive - and very discouraging - to those considering a home birth (especially first time mums). People are of course entitled to their views, but there's a difference between deciding something is not for you, and saying/implying that it is unsafe/unwise for others to do so.

It's not an issue for me, as I've been there, done that, and can't do it this time, but I remember what it felt like the first time around when I was considering a home birth, and would hate for anyone in here to decided against it because of flippant remarks from others.

I know what you are trying to say kicksandgiggles. It is just as safe to have your baby at home if you are low risk as it is to be in hospital, this has been looked at with a very large study. So I didn't feel particularly "brave" for doing it. It just seemed like a reasonable thing to do if that's what I wanted, with some advantages over hospital and some disadvantages. But it's not a safety issue. This always comes up whenever you talk about home births, even from health care professionals in some places (not round where I live, they positively encourage them!)

Everyone has to transfer to hospital at some point so if something comes up in a home birth and they have to go in - well they would have had to do that if they weren't having a home birth anyway - and they'll have a midwife with them. Problems are generally picked up early, it's not usually an emergency situation. You certainly get more dedicated one-on-one care at home (this was one of my main reasons for doing it). And even factoring in rare emergencies the outcomes have not been shown to be any worse if you start at home.

But I don't think anyone was trying to be offensive.

Are you hoping for a vaginal delivery with your twins?

Thanks weebairn. I'm not trying to lecture, and I know that those who commented probably didn't mean anything by it, but that's often not how it comes across to women who chose home birth. I can't tell you how many times I've been told things like "you were brave", "you were lucky", "there is no way I would have done it at home", "I would never forgive myself if something happened", etc. It can be very disheartening, especially on top of the constant judgment for our decisions that we all face as mothers - choices we make about feeding, sleeping, weaning, nappies, dummies, etc.

I am hoping for a vaginal delivery, which I've been told I should be able to attempt if twin 1 is head down at the time of birth. But there is no way of knowing until the end what position they will be in, whether there will be other complications, whether they might need to come out early, etc. So I will follow medical advice for whatever happens.

Yes it must seem a bit of a lottery - though I suppose all childbirth is! But particularly so with twins. I guess you are in a better position to try for a vaginal delivery after having had one straightforward one already? But obviously position dependent etc.

Eeek so exciting!!

Missingcaff not sure if you are around, just read your last post an was amazed, everything you say, every single thing, is the same as me, exactly the same! Just replace 34 with 36 in my case, and I could have written that post, even with 3 times :) very interesting, feels good to find sb so similar xx

I am in Dublin for a long weekend ( first time in Ireland); it is absolutely amazing here, but not a city break I recommend for when ur pg, amazing pubs and amazing drinks which I can only taste rather than drink! Amazing night life which I get too tired being up so late, out and about; even some of best museums have to do with booze and offer them free! I don't regret the trip as Irish people are super friendly and I am having a lot of fun, but it would have been even better before being pg!!

Can anybody tell me about nct classes? Have you tried them before? Would you go? My concern is money and time, but as first time mum I don't want to miss out on something that could be really helpful...