Due May 2014 the Maybies are IN THE DROPZONE!!

[ClearlyMoo]

All welcome if you baby is due to make an appearance in and around May 2014! We've had a few already! Congrats to all. Hang on tight everyone the next few weeks are going to roll...

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If you're new do not fear come along and introduce yourselves!

Had our HV around this week and she really did spout a load of nonsense I could t wIt fir her to leave! She told me I wouldn't be allowed to breastfeed of I didn't take vitamins ?!? And that I fed my DD for 14 months which was too long so i wouldn't want to do that again. - it felt like she did t believe if bf and especially past. 6 months.

She was also very concerned about contraception - I know they need to check but I have managed for nearly 18 years before my two kids!

And that, McBaby, is why I declined my antenatal HV visit! They have a bad rep in our area (not least cos they give you a 3 hour time slot which they may turn up in) and me and DH do not deal well with cackhanded advice. We are both extremely capable of using the sources of information available to us to find out anything we need to know, and anything medical I will be turning to my mum and dad (pharmacist and extremely senior nurse).

Morning all - humongous congrats to the new arrivals, all sorts of encouraging pushy downwards vibes to those who are in progress and tea and cake to the rest of us!

We are off to the first of our NCT classes soon. Just have to try to get the birthing ball in the car, as there is no way I can do six hours today and six hours tomorrow on a hard chair!

Oh and - 38 weeks today! Where did the last nine months go?!

mcbaby that's shocking. I've heard all kinds of stories about health visitors. I'm very surprised some are in the positions they are! I was very lucky with ds, my hv was more like a friend, she was basically my cheerleader. And this time around, I had an antenatal visit and she also seemed lovely.

One thing I've noticed about the area I'm living in now is, the health visitors, doctors, midwives etc all seem to be singing from the same hymn sheet. If you asked them a question, they'd all give an identical answer, probably straight off the NHS website. Makes things less confusing!

Anyway, Morning! I had period pains all night, and the baby was doing a jig all night as well. Some of the pains woke me up! But, still not in fecking labour.
Hope you all have a nice bank holiday weekend! (ribena)

Oh in getting emotional that we are Coming to the end of our ante natal journey and so begins our post natal journey!!

Come on maybes!! Your mummies want squidyness!!!

Hope all you ladies are doing well and we start seeing more babies soon!

I've posted over in the post natal thread but think all of the experienced ladies might be able to help...

Looking to see what everyone thinks...so Olivia point blank refuses to sleep anywhere other than on my/OH's chest at night. She can be sound asleep after a feed, put her down into the Moses basket and screams bloody murder, lay her on our chest and out cold again. This is the only way we've managed to get sleep since she's been home. I'm now considering getting one of the co sleeper cots as she seems to be keen on plenty contact when she's sleeping. Does anyone have any experience with the cots? My OH parents have very kindly said they will buy it for us (and ANYTHING else we want...first grandchild ) so just wondering whether it's worth it or not.

mummy I don't have experience personally but the same thing happened to my DSis and the co-sleeper cot seemed to work for them.

moomin nice one! I have struggled to remember basic words this pregnancy so I don't know how you can write essays!

I've been awake since 5am because I felt A PAIN!!! Just one strong, long period pain so of course I lay there waiting to see what happened next. They were roughly each 20mins after that until I gave up on sleep and now they've stopped. I'm quite glad because I have last minute shopping to do today!

Hi mummytobe that's really common and I can't help with cots but you could try a couple of tricks before giving up on the Moses basket. Sometimes the move from lovely warm chest to cool bed wakes them. Try getting the mattress to body heat before putting her in. Also, try putting something in the bed with yours/dps scent on it.

It is a tough one x

Mummy have you tried swaddling? She's still use to being snug in your tummy her own movements may startle her. Newborns are use to listening to heartbeats so that's probably why she is comforted on your chest. X

Hello! Echoing Kally's delight in squishy newborns that have arrived and pushy thoughts to others that are on the way. Another ok night (so thankful) I thought I might not have a good one as I'd had a big nap yesterday but actually it was ok. Not napping does seem to be the answer to sleeping better, but then I like a nap and if I've slept badly I need one IYSWIM!?

Started today with a pineapple stalk smoothie! Then played with the three sets of washable nappies we've been given... All toys of a suitable size in the house are now wearing nappies and I'm amazed by how easy they are to use - though admittedly Shaun the sheep toy doesn't wriggle like a new born

Then I did what I've been putting off for WEEKS! I cleaned the bathroom really well. Cue lots of kneeling/stretching/ scrubbing floor on all fours. Come on baby I did floor scrubbing - you have to arrive now! Then went for a swim! Only 15 lengths but still not bad for a lazy preggo!

We have left over pizza from last night for lunch now. YUM!

39 weeks today

Mummytobe we have had the same problem with mini mcbaby. She is happy in her basket in the day but at night only likes to sleep on me. It does seem to be getting slightly better each night I put her down after each feed on her basket and see how she goes the no of attempts is reflected by how tired I am. But she does seem to settle better if DP puts her in her basket not me.

Fed up!!!! I want to take Callie back home next weekend; we'll both have finished uni for the summer, there's so many family friends who want to meet her, I need a haircut and the only hairdressers I really trust are back home (I know I need to find a new one soon ), my sister really wants me to go and watch her play football, it's her last game of the season and I haven't been to see her since September, but now OH is working all weekend.

I wouldn't be annoyed because he's taken two weeks off to get adjusted to having a baby, but he's been more than happy to ask for a weekend off to do a show with his family in July, which he wants Callie to be a part of so we can't do our own thing that weekend, and to do some casual work with them in August, which means three weekends off work. I asked him when he reckons we can take her back just for a weekend? He doesn't know because of work. And I doubt he'd be happy with me taking her home on the bus, or my mum coming to pick us both up and us spending a weekend without him. :(

Moomin he can't have it all!! Your family are entitled
To meet her too !! Just let your mum come get u and enjoy the weekend.

Moomin, if not this weekend then one weekend soon you'll have to take Celyn home so you can show her off. Is it entirely practical to have a baby at a busy show, perhaps you could see your family that weekend.

I've had backache ALL day. I just trialled TENS machine. I quite liked it! I've got a headache now tho - do you think it could've been TENS? I've taken it off and now back aches and I've got a headache. Trying to distract self pottering round house but

Mummytobe my first was like that too. We co-slept to make life easier and then put the cot next to the bed with one side off it so it was like a co sleeper. It is just a regular ikea cot. I put the mattress level with our bed by drilling extra holes in the cot. I learned how to bf on my left side for both breasts so I didn't have to move her out of the cot for the other breast iyswim. The cot is tight between the wall and our bed so doesn't move anywhere. I liked it better than co sleeping as I could move away and have my own space to sleep. But for months before we sorted that out, she was just tucked in next to me in our bed.

I don't know if I explained this well.

I did the same again for DD2 and will for this DD3. I got more sleep as I would doze while she fed and get back to sleep very easily when i never really had to get out of bed or even upright to see to her.

clearly I hope it wasn't the tens that gave you an extra ache! Did you put it on your head?

moomin I echo what ohdear said.

So I am still getting these pains! They're scaring me if I'm honest. They're making me tense and shaky even though they're far apart so I'm not timing them. If I'm lying down the backache that goes with it is agony. I thought things were supposed to start off gentle!? is this going to go on for days?

I am so out of touch!!!!!

It's been a while ladies and took me a while to find the new threads. I bet sooooo much has happened. When I last checked in, no-one had had their LO and now I see there is talk of bambinos! So the big question is, who can get me up to speed? Who has had their LO ? Boy or girl? Early or over due? Gosh, I've got so much catching up to do.

I'm currently 37+1 and due to start maternity next Friday. Work has been mental. I cannot wait! Still don't know if its blue or pink so very excited to meet him/her. I'm booked in on 23rd for CS at 40 weeks so hoping baba will make an early appearance.

Thanks for the advice ladies! I have tried the heating up of the Moses basket trick and also putting something of mine in with her but still not happy with that. Think she's just a wee chancer!!

My OH's mum ran around today trying to get the Chicco next2me but was sold out everywhere so we are now the proud owners of a snüzpod! Going to set it up tomorrow do will keep you posted on how it goes!

samba hope this is the start for you and you get to meet your LO soon!!

Hi everyone,

I'm back, and I'm a mammy.
So last time I posted on here it was Wednesday, my due date, and I'd woken up with a few pains but convinced that I was still ages away from going into labour. When in fact Sebastian Alexander my AMAZING DS1 was born at 1:20am on Thursday 1st May.

I've caught up on this thread over the past few days, and congrats to everyone else with new arrivals.

So My birth story - I woke up at 7:30 to a few pains - nothing worse than usual period pains. I thought they were probably braxton hicks as I had a few 8 minutes apart, but then when I got up and started getting ready they were quite irregular, and weren't getting any more intense.

I went to my parents for lunch, and we did a 2 mile walk which we
already had planned. During the walk I thought i'd got rid of the pains all together, as I hadn't noticed them, and then I headed to my
friends for tea. When I was there the started to get more painful, and I left hers about 7pm, when I found that I was getting a bit distracted by them.

Got home and stuck on my TENS machine, and me and DH started
to consider that it might actually be the real thing. I loved the TENS
machine. I found that the boost function really distracted me from the contractions.

Then it started to go pretty fast, I was having pains every 3 minutes so we headed to the hospital for about 10:30.

When I arrived I was checked over and found to be 7cm, I got straight in the pool, and got on the gas and air which I loved. Poor DH was devastated though because at this point the contractions were far too close together to give him a go on the gas and air, so he didn't get a try.

Baby born after about 3 hours in the
birthing centre in the pool, which was amazing. We had a cuddle in the pool and I was feeling fine, walked out of the pool, not in too much pain, but I was checked over and found to have a 3rd degree tear, and whisked off to theatre to have a spinal block to stitch it up. Leaving DH and baby Sebastian by themselves for an hour or so which was so hard.

I've freaked myself out reading about 3rd degree tears online, but I'm trying not to take too much notice of the horror stories as I feel like I'm recovering pretty well.

I'm loving being a mum. Baby is feeding really well and it's been relatively easy so far (I know that isn't going to last).

Hope that everyone else is well? Bush is your DH arriving today? You must be so excited to see him!

Morning all. Lovely birth story impatiently. Good to know that you're feeling ok after the third degree tear too, though it must have been hard having to be taken down to theatre at the point when you think it's all over and done with! Definitely sensible not to read scare stories and just to focus on how you feel yourself.

Samba, how are you feeling today? Hope it was the start of something for you and we have more baby news soon!

I've been awake since 5am, was starving so had a bowl of cereal but still can't get back to sleep. Gahhhh!

Morning, congrats impatiently- lovely birth story apart from the tear of course.

Jodey- we are booked in for cs on same date! 2 weeks and 5 days to go. I also don't mind if baby comes a bit earlier but not till next Sunday as have a wedding next sat that I really want to go to! Also have a bit more nesting to do this week. Am going to put the waterproof cover on the mattress when I change the sheets today though as at a kids birthday party yesterday, everyone commented on the fact they didn't think I would go to 23rd!
Slept better last night than have for a while and think baby has dropped which is making it more comfortable. However ds woke at 6.20 so we are currently cuddled up watching cbeebies. Going swimming this morning. Have a good Sunday everyone.

Huge congratulations Impatientlywaiting, apart from the tear, that sounds like the perfect birth to me, so quick. I love the name Sebastien too, it was one of my top two choices with DS1. Best wishes with becoming a mommy and I look forward to reading all about his development. Soooo exciting with all the baby news.

Bezzabelle, it's great to have a CS buddy on the same day. Will you be 39 weeks at this point? I really struggled with making the decision about an elective. I had such a nightmare experience first time round which ended in an Emergency one and my sister has ended up with two so, in the end I thought I would try and have some control, especially with a 3 and a half year old to consider too. I have now accepted that it's booked and we don't all manage to achieve our 'perfect birth plan' and that it really doesn't matter how they make their entrance as long as they arrive safely. We are so excited to have a new addition but a little nervous too of going back to the initial few months. Hope I remember everything .

Do we have a group FB page yet?

Hey all

Great birth story impatiently..sounds like you did amazing! Hope the tear heals well. Glad the feeding has started well...that's a great sign.

Spent yesterday at home with friends and had a BBQ. It was such lovely weather here and our first proper 'do' in our garden since we moved in last autumn. Great fun but I'm knackered today. Going to keep walking as I'm sure that helped get me ready for labour and kicked it off last time.

Feeling a bit worried about the amount of time DH is going to be travelling with work next week and the week after. 2 days next week he'll be a 3.5 hour drive away :( Have said to him that I am worried as first baby was born in 10 hours and midwife said as a rule they assume second baby will be half the time on average (assuming another text book delivery). My mum could come round to be with me but I'm still concerned. Just generally feel as if DH hasn't got his head around the fact that this baby is imminent!! He drank far too much yesterday and after everyone had gone I did say to him...let's hope I don't go into labour tonight since you can't drive anywhere!! Doesn't seem to have sunk in. Makes me feel a bit lonely. Argh. Anyone else feeling vulnerable or am I being pathetic!??

Anyway, less of my moaning. Congrats to our recent arrivals. We are now well into May and I can't wait to hear how this goes for us all and how our new arrivals are doing.

LTT...great to hear that Ds2 feels easier than Ds1. I'm hoping that the feeding is better for us this time. BF DS1 for about 4 months but it was a real battle and I combine bF and expressed which wasn't much fun!

Happy BH weekend, chops 39 weeks tomorrow OMFG!!

Jodey, I'll be 38+6 on 23rd although ds arrived 38+4. I also had a traumatic birth ending with crash cs and a general last time round and so this time also wanted a bit of control and to be awake when this baby was born and dh allowed in room with us so totally understand what you mean.

Sounds scary Bezzabelle. Do you know what you're having?

Congrats impatiently, lovely birth story, tear excluded!

Choppa hope your dh gets his arse into gear soon, men really don't get it at times do they?! Should have faked some really strong bh to freak him out ;)

Jodey there is a Facebook page, it's a secret group so you need to temporarily add one of us as a friend. I'll send you a pm.