"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!!!

Thanks for starting the new thread!

I have another OB appt tomorrow. Thursday is my revised due date, but nothing is happening at the moment (other than being a bit grumpy then floods of tears when Greece scored their last minute penalty in the game tonight - the INJUSTICE!!) I am predicting a weekend baby; the hospital I am at is in the middle of the Toronto Pride Parade which will shut most of the roads in the downtown core on Saturday and Sunday. Pretty much guaranteed, isn't it?

I am having a sweep tomorrow, which I'm a bit nervous about - didn't have one last time. It was booked for my 40wk appointment which ended up being the day I delivered...

Looking forward to lots of happy announcements in the next little while - best of luck to all!

hayley fingers crossed your fast asleep! I've a friend who swears by sage oil so should really get some! Glad home birth assessment all went well

zing useful to know positions to minimise pain I tend to lean on chair/sofa/bed/ball and get dh to rub back. Really helps distract if nothing else. ..

plate sorry to hear about interview can only imagine how frustrating that must be! Just hoping that you can find a way to get what you can done and handover/delegate the rest. You can only do so much...

auntie my friends lent me some nursing bras- don't think that they will fit but for some reason can't even bring myself to try them on. Never had a non wired non padded bra and I actually stood crying looking at them earlier. Who knows what I will end up wearing think I will just buy new and hope that the lovely shop assistants help?

ipsum rest rest rest- listen to your body. If babies imminent then you need to rest. Even if not sounds like you are pushing yourself too much. I know that frustrating feeling but try and rest.

Urgh 3.30am hips agony, too hot, feel sick, baby kicking, braxton hicks. Trying to look forward to catching up with work friends on Friday for baby shower but I'm just shattered right now. Made the mistake of offering to help a friend tomorrow and now think they may expect me to do more than I will be able to... will see.

Not heard from health visitor yet which am expecting soon surely? (38 weeks now) am looking forward to water birth workshop tonight if only to be able to know where everything is in hospital/feel a bit more ready for the hospital part of labour.

So tired must give sleep a try...

Third wake up of the night. I think the baby is training me, they always seem to be around the same time.

plate your colleague sounds really frustrating. With 3 days to go before I leave, I've had to resign myself to the fact I can only get so much done - they only found someone for me to handover my work on the project to at the beginning of the week, and because we're all so busy I've got to squeeze the handover chat into 45 minutes this morning. Trying to leave enough detailed notes that it won't be a complete mystery to them when they do take over, but that alongside trying to finish off some of the work so there's less to actually download is a fine balance! Only so much we can do, but I really wanted to be feeling in 'wind down' mode at this poibt, not 'juggle all the things!'

Rant over. Feeling like I'm struggling a bit with the idea that next week I won't be commuting or working (or earning!) - despite my username and the fact I've been really looking forward to maternity leave and the chance to relax - silly woman! Big change of identity I guess.

hayley and ickle I hope you're sleeping better than me right now :)

lemonpoppyseed good luck with the sweep!

Download = do

Stupid auto correct.

ismarah yes it's v difficult to weigh up the ELCS knowns against the VB unknowns. In terms of my specific issues, I think we should know whether those will be a problem in advance - either the baby will engage or it won't. If it doesn't it's ELCS anyway, if it does I think my chance of a 'good' birth are about the same as anyone else's.

So I think I'm resolved to take it one step at a time: I've had a good read up on ECV and am satisfied it is safe and worth a try. Will think about next step after that.

Sorry for prattling on about me when I know I'm not the only one making similar choices but writing it down is really helpful to clarify in my own mind what I'm thinking.

IABOH absolutely sympathise on the work front. Had plans to get a load of work done yesterday evening but ended up having long chat to DH about birth options then fell asleep on sofa. So now have impossible amount to get done today in prep for maternity cover starting tomorrow.

its feel exactly the same about maternity leave. Very odd not working (especially pre baby) I'm hoping will get used to it/baby will come soon so no time to think about it!

Felt sick all night- wonder if it is baby position squashing something? Not happy!

Fox

that is reassuring that you can have an ASAP section, of needed/wanted.
honestly, that's brilliant.

if it comes to that the most important thing is for you to not panic and if given contradictory advice there which overwhelms you please say that you need 5 mins to think about it (if there's time).
you know, you don't want to feel pushed into making a decision!

Auntie

people managed without bf bras fir centuries so if you don't feel you need them don't spend money on them!
I hate bras and when home I let the girls swing freely, but if I'm out and have to bf or have company (especially males!)I feel more "composed" in a bf bra.
so perhaps keep one pair of bf bra for that reason.
what do you think?

(sorry I always multi-post, honestly not hogging thread, but on phone so have to step out to read back as brain capacity is limited and I only ever remember two, max three things!)

ickle I always seem to wake up with acid reflux now and am sick every morning til lunch - this is despite bump having dropped - so I reckon its still entirely possible for them to be squashing stomach etc (though being a shortie theres not much room for baby to take up anyway!)

Going to take it easy today eyes up unfinished hallway nervously. DH made me promise to stay off my elephant sized cankles for the day. Thankfully Braxton Hicks finally stopped last night. Have a midwife app today and need to relax so that my bp hopefully stays in acceptable range and I dont get sent for monitoring again.

Have a good day ladies - will pop back later for a read

I invested in a maternity bra a while ago and it's been the most comfortable, non slippy, non annoying bra ever just whilst pregnant. I really struggled to find a comfortable one and although I fear this one will be too small by the time milk comes in, it was worth it. Oddly, it is underwired. But then I was quite sizeable before pregnancy and am into clown territory right now.

Foxtrot and Plate all that matters is that you are happy with your choices. The baby will come out, apparently there's no avoiding that... and then you go home with the baby that you brought? Is this how it works?

1.45am and I'm awake! Was hungry so got some cereal and now my back aches. Baby has moved position but no idea if it's a bum or a head I can feel so none the wiser until midwife on Thursday. And she'll probably go back to transverse by morning as that's been her fun trick the last couple of days. I'd better try to get back to sleep. Catch up later!

Hope that everyone who has to make decisions about birth has good support and feels ok. It's a tough one.

My baby has finally stopped moving for a bit. Has been so active over the last 24 hours that I feel kind of bruised. I think baby's no longer breech, as there's not a hard lump shoving up into my ribs, so maybe we're now transverse and halfway around to being head down. MW tomorrow so will find out then.

I had agonizing PGP again last night - thanks to DH not being here and me having had to do everything.
took me over a minute to climb up the stairs, bending in half.
in fact it was more like slithering.

I really hate that hortiblte stabbing cramping pain.
I felt it coming and rested as much as I could between jobs, but had to carry DD upstairs (who just wouldn't sleep and cried and cried and finally fell asleep on the sofa at 11pm) and lifting her into her cot was the final blow.

whoever asked about how this can be done so many times - if this had been my first pg there's no way we would have had 7 kids!

I must say I'm glad I had the opportunity to start having babies when I was 26.
I think as the years went by my body certainly got more and more worn out and less able to cope.

I have absolutely no criticism of women waiting till 35 or 40 to start TTC, if anything I completely appreciate people's choices and circumstances.
But personally I'm happy that as I'll be 40 in August and also be done with this malarkey.

Another thing - no matter how much you suffer while pg your brain does block some of it out and when you get broody it's like your memory is wiped clean.
even if you remember how bad it was it's easy to dismiss the negatives, wanting another baby can be such a strong desire that it simply beats anything else and you just dive in and tell yourself that you got through one pg, you'll get through the next, you'll just cope somehow, no matter what.
At least that's how it was for me each time.

hth

Hope you got back to sleep ok nancy

ismarah what bra is it? Been looking online and m&s have some padded nursing bras that may look at because its the lack of shape that most upsets me- not that I think I will need padding. Can't find any underwired nursing bras so guess there is a reason for that...

ipsum also a shortie here so no room for anything do find gaviscon helps some times! Hope you do manage to rest- I should be sanding garden furniture however no motivation at the moment and am sitting with feet up at the moment. ..

Ickle it was this one from Soma which is a US chain. It's a little on the small side now but will do, at least until proven otherwise. Sorry if I got you excited about something you might not be able to get ahold of :-(

Ickle I got measured at Debenhams and bought a couple of nursing bras last week but have to say they are very depressing - and these were the ones that got great reviews online too. They're just shapeless and no underwire is grim, my boobs are now too big for that! They were a cup size up to allow for milk coming in so I'm hoping that at least when they are full they may look fractionally better...

Ladies about to finish work, I shared your worries about getting everything finished despite no one really being interested in a handover. I spent most nights in my last three wks at work awake for hours worrying about it. But honestly now that I've finished work already seems much less important and I know once the baby arrives it will be such a million miles away. I've always been very career minded with fairly high pressure roles, so this is a massive change of viewpoint for me.

Spent 1.5 hrs cleaning this morning so now off to sit in the garden with my book for a bit

Afternoon all, well I did manage to get some sleep last night thankfully despite the heat though had the fan on in the bedroom all night. Had a lovely morning in the park with DM, DSD and DS...so nice to have someone else to push the swings and pick up/carry all of the sticks DS collects when we go for a walk! Plus DM cooked last night and will tonight and tomorrow as well which is a huge blessing!

Re. Nursing bras, I still miss my under wired shape giving bras though strangely have now been in soft cups since I was pregnant with DS, so October 2011, and when I did try on a wired bra in between pregnancies it felt very strange! I have found the Miriam Stoppard nursing bras from debenhams the best to feed from and most supportive. Yes they're not the most attractive (although there are some nice patterned ones) but when your milk comes in and your breasts are swollen heavy what you want is good support and easy access :) The reason they don't recommend wired bras for maternity or nursing (especially nursing) is that the wire can dig in to the breast (since size changes rapidly as you fill and empty the breast of milk and you can suddenly get engorged if little one does a smaller feed) and if the wire digs in then you are at risk of getting a blocked duct and mastitis...which I can tell you from experience is well worth avoiding. Mastitis can make you feel very ill and comes on very quickly.

Hope all is well with those who've got appointments today and that lemon your sweep is ok too.

It's nap time here so i'm going to try and get a bit of rest before DSD and I look through all my birth pool stuff to figure it all out...hopefully while DS still asleep!

None of the comfort bras, like EmmaJane or similar are large enough for me. I'm only a size 12-14 but have huge boobs. I've tried a few different ones but none so far have worked. I can get ones that go around me easily enough but ones that are big enough for the boobs are much too large around my ribs. Bra hanging off you is not really that useful to be honest...

I even looked at hotmilk lingerie and was less than thrilled that their sleepwear / comfort bras didn't come large enough for me (at the time). I found that ridiculous for a maternity lingerie specialist! Might just go back to my beloved ShockAbsorbers. At least they work, despite the name.

ismarah I've just bought some 36F in readiness for milk coming in. They do up to a 40h though...I've generally got the 2 packs rather than the single ones with padding...oh and there's a sale on too Miriam Stoppard bras at Debenhams

ickle I was awake until after 4am :(.

As predicted, baby gone back to transverse this morning.

I'm in a bad mood!

Just realised that today may be the last day ever I spend by myself. DM arrives tomorrow and staying until tuesday, technically the baby could still not be here then but still.

Feel a little sad about it as love my own company so much (and havent spent the day eating crap, online shopping and perving watching michael fassbender films at all, oh no)...

Sorry to hear baby has gone back to transverse nancy. I think I may pop into the midwife unit tomorrow for my 39 week check as I havent got one booked anywhere and I am worrying baby has shifted again too.

Liquid that sounds like you've really made the most / best use of your day possible. drools at Michael Fassbender

Nancy grumpy here too.

Mainly because tomorrow I have my pre-op appointment but also because the last of my to-do list is all annoying things, like going to the post office, and bra buying. Hate bra buying. My solution was to have a two hour nap this afternoon, which one can do when one does not have children. is it too late to change my mind?

ismarah the bra I got is a Royce bra - they sell them in John lewis and loads of places online and they do up to a k cup I think...

I am back in hospital after bp was really high at consultant appointment this afternoon looking at being induced... DP has gone home to get my bag (good job I checked it this morning!) He's fine but I keep crying... A month ago we were all organised and had a few things left to do... now there is loads we haven't done!

It is too late but with one you can still nap... I am thinking it is going to be more tricky though with a three year old and a newborn...

Oh Auntie. It is such an emotional process at the best of times let alone when you have all sorts of other things going on as well. Have a cry but make sure you drink lots as I keep dehydrating myself when I breakdown and then feel even worse. Hope DP is back with you soon to give you a big hug. And don't worry about there being lots to do. The baby won't know and your DP can do some whilst you are feeding/sleeping.

Am 38 weeks today. Been feeling better the last couple of days. Dh is away this evening and DS is in bed and it is quite nice having the remote! Will be exhausted by the weekend though and have 2 big family parties. Eek. Luckily dh has next week off.

Hope everyone doing ok

Auntie honestly don't worry the baby will not miss anything you haven't done! Do take care and try not to worry too much, try and keep your happy hormone levels up.

I can feel my baby's bum under my ribcage, does this mean the baby is back to back? head still down. Worrying now so may go to hospital tomorrow to get it checked. I haven't managed to book a 39 week check anywhere so its the best option I think?