"hey Mummy! Ready or not, here I come! ;-)" - July 2014 thread

[ZingWhale]

Some of us has weeks to go, some just days and of course another massive Congratulations to all who have already given birth!

pack your pads, tiaras, nappies & Vaseline -HERE WE GO!!!

due fri, no signs of anything starting. every little thing bugging me at the mo. very jealous of all these babies arriving

zing I'm with you on the illness thing. Mine never get ill at the same time, they catch things one after the other so it goes on for weeks. Glad you've got the name sorted and hope you manage to get the other stuff sorted too.

Congratulations to those of you who have had babies and good luck to those of you in early labour.

I'm doing ok, had 2 busy days yesterday and Monday so trying to take it easy today. Completely forgot DS3's dentist appointment yesterday so need to phone them up and grovel.

ellie

I don't forget things anymore as they just pass me by and I'm simply unaware of inset days, leavers' service, disco, sports day....until kids tell me in the last minute.

which results in panic, shouting and me feeling more sick.

I just want this bloody school year to finish so we can all take a break, no rushing, just enjoying baby and the summer.
I will need a PA next year though.
my brain cell is very weak.

and glad you are doing ok. good to hear!

I'm really struggling today. DS hasn't slept for longer than about half an hour since about midnight and dp is off sorting out his mum's stuff. I'm going to try the top trick blue mentioned but how the he'll do I put him down and get him to sleep? It's not that he's necessarily hungry.

auntie will he sleep snuggled onto you, just not in his crib? If so could you get comfy somewhere and just let him do that for today so you can also rest? We used our babybjorn bouncer chair for daytime naps a lot almost certainly more than we should've but meant we could gently bounce DS off to sleep which worked well. Another reason why he may not want to sleep (other than I want to snuggle on Mummy only!) is wind-does he need to burp/fart? We found infacol brilliant for helping DS get his wind up. Another option is to pop him in his car seat and go for a drive (temp solution to give you a break) or in his pushchair and go for a walk-the motion can help. A temp fix for today will help you get a break and then look at longer term solutions. Hope some of that waffle makes sense/is helpful?!

My MW rang back earlier and said that everything that was happening sounded perfectly normal and that she often has ladies who will labour for a couple of hours each day over a week and then boom it'll all suddenly start happening and fast! She said no point doing an internal to check progress as even if I was 2cm it could be a matter of hours or days to go still!

One thing though was she said make sure I have bread and honey in as toast with honey is best in labour snack for energy plus sports drinks in the fridge.

Managed a lovely walk and the sun even came out for me!

zing so sorry about illness in the house-can imagine that being v v tough especially at the moment when you need to rest.

Ellie glad you are ok - I saw your other thread and was so sorry to read of labour/birth difficulties-been thinking of you.

mummy sorry you're feeling fed up - think that's a prime symptom of being 39+ weeks pregnant- the waiting/wondering when is v tiresome!

auntie of course the other not so easy option is to pop him down and if he cries leave him to cry for a few mins and see if he settles himself? Oh and one other thought is a pacifier- I vowed I'd never use one but bought one on day 3 as it really helped DS settle in the daytime. Hth

Well ladies still going went to see a friend who had her little one on Sunday it's her 2nd so very calm and baby feeding lots! So nice to sit in the shade. Had a few contractions but got worse when got up/moving round at home. Come on baby time to get a wriggle on. Lots of low pressure from baby head at the moment!

blue hope things start getting a wriggle on still time to come on due date! I was also wondering if worth going in/calling to see if starting to dilate but sounds like not worth it!

zing hope not long to go until end of term and then you can enjoy the summer with all your kiddies/new baby!

mummy fingers crossed baby gets a wriggle on!

its any news?

Are they coming regularly now ickle ? Also can't remember if it was you or its whose plug has gone? Mine hasn't yet which could've affected the response I got from the MW. Is baby still moving lots too? Since your DH going to be further away tomorrow it might be worth dropping in/calling this evening just for peace of mind but be aware you may get a grumpy MW like its did!

Auntie

go for a walk, but not too far.
if you have a garden just walk up and down in it.
he might fall asleep in pushchair then back home quickly, leave him in pushchair near you and have a rest.

or just let him cry.
I know it sounds cruel but sometimes there's not much you can do (stuck in traffic, out on school run, wait at till or doctor's) and they just have to cry until so exhausted they fall asleep.
if you can't bear the sound (not many people do) I recommend earplugs.
you will still hear him but it takes the edge off and help you remain calm-ish

but please first look up Priscilla Dunstan Baby Language on Oprah Show on YouTube.
please watch what she says and try and listen to how baby cries so you can figure out what he wants.

I watched the same thing with DD and it made a massive difference.
I watched the same clip over and over again till I got it.

I can't link it but it's easy to find.

ickle

fx this is it!

blue no sadly plug nor waters gone, still not regular...so difficult to think this might be it when not getting closer together. In a lot of pain though so at least something is happening!

Also slightly less movement this afternoon where as before in between contractions baby going a bit mental....normal or should I worry?

Auntie I used to snuggle DS on my chest and he used to wriggle up under my chin and then I used to wiggle his bum so he had some movement and he used to pass out. Just make sure you are comfy and don't need the loo! Unless once sound asleep you can transfer to basket... Shush pat used to help too. Think it was the combination of noise and patting him gently to mimic my heart rate. But sometimes as Zing said, babies just cry.

Finally tracked down a midwife who said to book in again to see panicking one next Tuesday when I will be 40+6 and she will do a sweep then. Would have preferred one a bit earlier but thinking it may give DH a wake up call doing a 1/2 IM on Sunday and realising just how utterly ridiculous doing the thing in its entirety is (evil face and laugh!)

Thanks ladies. Yes for some reason today is a mummy only day and I don't want to fall asleep with him on me as the drugs I'm taking make me sleep heavily. I've got that link ready to watch zing as you linked to it earlier thank you.

I haven't been out since we got home at the weekend so feel like I've gone from being trapped inside one place to another and I'm really nervous about being left on my own when dp goes back to work next week.

Hi everyone! Sorry to not post much - I have been reading though! Big congratulations to all those with babies already here, and good luck to those that seem to be on the way.

37+4 here and nothing to report yet.

I have been made admin on the Facebook page, so if anyone wants to be added let me know! It's lovely to see those newborn photos

Feeling massively homesick today. My great-auntie died last night. Feeling grateful she met DD1 a couple of times but sad she won't meet DD2. Times like this are when I wish we were in England.

nancy so sorry to hear your news, it's not easy being away from family at these times.

auntie I'd DP going to be around again tomorrow? If so then maybe try and get out the house together so you can get a feel for how the pushchair, car seat etc works a bit better... Even if all you do is drive to somewhere, have a coffee and cake and drive home again.

ickle I've got reduced movement too but think that baby has wriggled so low that it can't move v much now anyway. Although I'm still getting little feet trying to get out the side of my bump, just not as often as was happening.

Any news from its hope all's ok?!

inca love the slightly evil laugh from you re the IM on Sunday...have you got other cover in case anything happens re by coming on that day! DH really would have a shock if he was doing the comp all day and then up all night with you in labour on Sunday night!!

Another evening of ball bouncing and watching football tonight. DM was wondering what we'll do if I'm in active/advanced labour during the World Cup final on Sunday...my response was that basically DH would not be watching it and that it would be recorded :)

Well I got worried about very little movements so went in to be monitored. Baby is moving but I'm probably not feeling it because of pain in contractions. They don't seem to think it will be long before I'm back but happy to come home and rest tonight anyway!

nancy so sorry to hear your news

blue I will be telling dh exactly the same if baby isn't here before Sunday...no chance!

thank you for all the BF advice. I am persevering, although I wish I knew how hard it was. BF for 40 mins last night and then the baby started to really cry. Knew my milk had finished as it does in about 35 mins when I express with the electric breat pump. So I had to top up with 2 oz of formula and he slept so peacefully afterwards. Hope I am not doing anything wrong and that it wouldn't affect the milk supply?? I am trying never to skip a BF but supplement it with a formula instead.

ismarah sounds like we are in the same boat

good luck for all the imminent labour pains well done brave ladies....I am eagerly reading posts but always seem to have the baby in my arms so finding it difficult to post. But my thoughts and prayers are with you all for a smooth birth you wishes for.

Maggie I keep / kept thinking there was no way bean was still hungry after all the time I spend feeding her but she is. And if she is, she won't settle. Breastfed babies are hungrier / need feeding more often as your milk supply builds up.

At the moment, I spend about 6hrs a day feeding her but every feed is supplemented with formula, so my milk is only about 20-40% of her nutrition - it's hard to estimate how much I can produce as I've not expressed at all. As I get better I'm hoping the ratio will become better but if it doesn't, it doesn't.

I've had my stitches out today (they were left in extra long because reasons) and been discharged from the community midwives. I've been doing laundry, cleaning the house and picking up bean for days without any problems although I do have to pace myself and kind of think about how I do things. After turning into a complete couch potato (by necessity) by the end of my pregnancy, this feels remarkable. My SPD symptoms disappeared as soon as the spinal wore off - which I was NOT expecting and I am a happy camper.

Good luck everyone with twinges and aches and sleeps and so on! It's fascinating to watch from my end, I don't think I realised how stop-start labour could be.

Hiya, quick question as my eyes are falling out my head.
How long between loosing your plug & labour starting have those of you with babies had to wait?

Went to the loo this evening and lost a big chunk of clear jelly - lovely!
With DS I lost my jelly then waters broke the following evening.

Saw the consultant today and had a scan and baby was 3/5th engaged so a bit disappointing - though with 2nd ones they can engage during labour so I guess it doesn't mean much.
Now I'm organised I'd like things to get going. Feeling too sleepy today but tomorrow early evening would be a nice time for things to start.
Currently in bed with a bowl of clary sage in hot water next to me. No idea if it works but it definitely is relaxing and I'm enjoying the smell.
See you at 3am for a proper chat cx

ismarah the spd thing is amazing isn't it? Feel so much better - I had forgotten what my body could do and how active and stuff I was after the first couple of days (I developed a lot of water retention in my legs/thighs in hospital during the few days being induced so could barely walk at first!) My good side developed a strange stabbing pain during labour though which I was using gas and air for during pushing despite the epidural!

Can you talk me through exactly what you do when you put baby down at night?