The final *JULY 2014* The one where we ALL move to post-natal

[justhayley]

Hiya so this will probably be our last ante natal thread Really hope that our postnatal thread is as busy.
You ladies have been a great support, and it's been fab going through pregnancy with you all. I honestly don't know how I would have got through the last 6 weeks of 4am wakings without you.

I'm not due till 24th and have no signs baby is still coming early so will probably be the last one one here - don't forget me!

Anyway will love you and leave you - actually will now pop back onto our regular thread for a chat

Happy birthing

Wow well done mrsa jealous of your going out for walks already. I think I have the opposite problem breastfeeding it doesn't bother me, will cover up so don't embarrass others but still. Dh brother refused to be in the room when I was feeding yesterday- even covered up!

blue do try and get some rest, can dh take ds and perhaps dd to the park straight aftera feed so you can sleep?

I get emotional about 8.30 most eve as worry about being able to cope in the night. I know I will but still every night tiredness hits and fear sets in. Theo has been so good today anc latched well although breasts feel full (engouraged?) So had cabbage leaves in my bra- did actually help!

Congratulations ipsum, mummy and anyone else I may have missed!

And welcome home ruth - glad your stay in hospital wasn't extended!

Thanks for the vest top tips blue might try that tomorrow!

After being fairly kind to us on the sleep front DS is now waking more for feeds. Last night he fed at 2am, then from 5.30 in the morning to 7.30 and then woke again for more at 8.30. There may have been some tears on my part around 6am. I don't deal with sleep deprivation very well, which does make me wonder why I went in for this parenting thing... :)

Tomorrow I'm going to brave going into town on public transport. Terrified. It may just end up with me hobbling back home from halfway to the tube station. Going to try doing it in the sling rather than a pram as can't face trying to lift a pram down the steps at the station.

And oh dear, just realised I've been feeding on and off since 1am :(

I'm impressed with you braving public transport Its. Hope it goes well. The good thing is that newborns get away with murder because they look so cute - my DD started to cry in a coffee shop yesterday and everyone was just smiling at her except me

Ickle I find the last evening feed (10.30) so hard too, the middle of the night is easier because I've been woken for it??

Feeding again. Had a challenge getting her to settle last night, fed/cuddled/smoothed her from 10 to midnight. Got 3.5 hrs sleep though and fingers crossed for more after this feed. My 4am feed tends to take well over an hour though.

Weird, just changed little ones nappy after feeding from one side and had uncontrollable, violent shivers for about two or three minutes?

mrsa I'm not sure smothering is advised hope things settle down a bit- theo is feeding every 2h but quite unsettled in his sleep not sure why. Totally agree middle of the night feed easier than 10.30/11pm and 5am seems like morning!

more don't say that your meant to keep up the illusion that all pain is forgotten with dc2! Hope this is it and you meey ypur little one spoon!

Oh also its public transport already. ..goodness me your brave! I can't face walking 10 mins into town -going to have to build up to it! Also need to get sling out and have a play/learn how it works!

Hiya, well DTD on Saturday night didn't help I thought things were kicking off yesterday lunch time, was sitting in the garden and started to get a few pains but after 20-30 mins they had all gone. DP got incredibly excited and proud thinking that he had brought on labour lol. sometimes I wonder if he stopped maturing at 15
DP had to go back to work Sunday evening so I have no chance of trying that method again this week. His bet is for a Tuesday birth - I'd quite like that, I found out I was pregnant on the 22nd (Mine & DPs 9 year anniversary) and it means DD would share her birthday with Prince her future husband George ..... If July 22nd was a good enough date for Kate to push it's good enough for me lol.
He's really hoping that it's before the weekend though as if not he has to work Saturday doing a parade in full military uniform which will be super hot and uncomfortable. A few of his soldiers have been passing out during rehearsals for it and he's hoping he'l have a good reason to get out of doing it on the day.

With regards to keeping husbands at the top end, I was so so paranoid about this. Pre labour we had agreed DP was strictly on hand holding duty but come the day he kept peeping, I hated it & didn't want him to see me all yucky for the things that be seen reason. He did see baby coming out from business end was his response was "fucking hell, oh fuck, shit it's coming out, fuck" - lovely language for baby to hear coming into the world lol. I had him swearing & my mum praying MW must have thought we were nuts.
This time round he's more worried about MW asking him to fish anything out from the birthing pool lol.

My actual due date is Thursday - although by LMP it's today. Thinking of getting a sweep at 40 week check.
What exactly do they do? Didn't even have a conversation about them with DS as he was so early. Iv heard 1st ones don't really do anything but 2nd ones usually start things off? surely that's just because by the 2nd sweep you would already be 41 + weeks and more than ready?
Do they really hurt? And do you think it's worth going for it or just holding out?

Gosh I'm not looking forward to newborn night feeds. I remember feeling like I was dying with DS. It does get easier ladies, I promise you will feel human again soon.

It's Good luck with the public transport. I got an over ground train with DS about 9 days in and ended up crying as I thought DS was too small to be on the train and thought people were looking at me badly etc etc - I just had a general hormonal meltdown lol.

Good luck moresnow really hope it's starting properly for you now and we get some lovely baby news in a few hours

hayley I haven't got a sweep booked in 'til I'm 8 days over - they said it'd be more likely to work then (although I also suspect that appointment availability was a factor ). I've heard v mixed reports about pain - everything from mild discomfort to agony - I think it depends on you/person doing the sweep!

So it is officially EDD for me today but I'm pretty sure the baby isn't operating to schedule - my guess is I'll be needing that sweep in 8 days' time.

More that sounds very positive!

Love your husband's birth announcement swearing Hayley.

Owww my nipples hurt this morning. I let some really poor latches go in exchange for the hope of sleep last night. Need to stop doing that, but it does seem much easier for me to be in pain Vs a frantic baby sometimes.

My sweeps x3 varied from uncomfortable to pretty painful. From what I worked out they will only really tip you into labour if things are pretty favourable anyway - you could have the exam first and ask to decline tbe sweep if the cervix is high and hasn't thinned?

I took them all as wanted to avoid induction so thought it worth a try. As it was none worked for me!

mrsa I did exactly the same and suffered for it because your both so tired and baby screaming but not worth it,

Can babies struggle to latch if boobs too full? Think that must be what happened last night, persevered and much better today!

Come on babyhayley babyplate and babymore we are all waiting now!

snow Hope this is it for you.

MrsA That all sounds like a bit of an ordeal. But it seems like you're recovering well - especially being out and about.

Hayley DH said something similar to me yesterday about DTD. They never do grow up.

Re seeing the unseeable: DH recommends staying up at the head end until baby crowns and then having a look, because apparently that's pretty amazing. And making sure that DHs/DPs cut the cord because they'll really regret it if they don't. You don't have to see anything when you cut the cord, and it's a pretty amazing thing. I cut my little sister's cord when I was 15 and it was cool.

I think everything has properly stopped for me now, despite MW's assurances, so I am going back to being a woman waiting for her due date. Unless this whole stop/start thing continues.

Thanks for the good luck messages. I'm not sure if it's brave or foolhardy, but it's my only chance to see some friends who are in town for a few hours. As the furthest I've been on foot is 10 minutes to a local cafe, we'll see how it goes!

Wishing good luck to all those awaiting arrivals!

PS DH doesn't seem as freaked out at seeing things from the business end during labour as I thought he would - he keeps saying how amazing seeing the baby's head was!

Oh and ickle I've definitely had some moments where Leo's struggled to latch because of things being too full. Wearing cabbage leaves between feeds for 20 mins or expressing for a bit before latching seems to help. Well done for perservering - I'm definitely finding it harder to be patient when we hit little snags like that in the night. All seems much easier in light of day!

Oh kiwi sorry you've got the stop/start thing too!

moresnow hope it all happens for you soon!

plate, mupperoon, Nancy, Hayley and others waiting hang on there

I can't quite believe I was in labour this time last week and wondering whether DD would ever arrive given how slowly I was dilating!

Those talking of sweeps, I found internal exam uncomfortable but not too bad, though sweep v v painful but I found it very difficult to fully relax so had totally tensed up which probably didn't help!

So we had a better night, less feeds, more sleep. Though I did wake up at 5am with DD asleep on my chest...I seem to think I was trying to get her to feed (I was v full) at around 2.30am...think I must've failed no we both fell fast asleep!

I may have overdone it this morning, we took DS and DD out for a short walk across the park to the library to take books back and for DH to pick up his bike from the bike shop. This was the first outing with the tank Phil and teds pushchair and it went well except that I pushed it for a while and then had to wheel dh's bike home while he pushed...with two children in it is v heavy! But I can see it is going to be very useful if still a small tank I will definitely still be using my M&P if I don't have DS with me or if he can definitely walk though! But think I may have walked too far as I jugs ache everywhere!

its hope your venture onto the tube is going well.

Would love a lie down/sleep while DS naps but have a feeling that DD has other plans since she slept all morning in the pushchair! Have currently laid her on the bed next to me so will see!

Glad to see that I'm not on my own finding the nights hard... its not so much the feeds that make me cry its trying to get DS back in his crib to sleep without him waking so I can go back to sleep! There must be some knack to it that I'm not getting!

DS is gorgeous though still can't quite believe he's mine and that a month ago I was waiting for DP to come back from france.

The time flies too fast auntie ! I must confess that either DS was just much easier to settle back in his Moses basket or I was happier to leave him to cry for a bit BUT am finding it v hard with DD and have co-slept more with her in a week than I have in nearly 26 months with DS!!

Anyone else find that their bleeding seems to vary in intensity from day to day? TMI but thought it was tailing off, not much overnight, nothing this morning and then when feeding this aft I could feel it gushing out to the extent I cut feed short to go to the loo as I thought was about to overflow the pad-which was right!! I know feeding triggers it but am bit stunned by just how much gushed all of a sudden!

We survived! I am very very tired now :)

maggie I really don't have the knack of putting DS down without him waking! I think I'm just too clumsy - all I have to do is get him from my side of the bed to the co-sleeper cot which is a matter of inches.

blue yes, definitely finding bleeding varies day to day.

One thing I don't understand: given I am exhausted at the moment by such minor exertions as climbing the stairs, how will I ever summon enough energy to push this baby out?

TMI post alert:
How much plug did everyone lose? Iv thought iv been losing little bits for the last 2 weeks but today iv lost absolutely loads and it's not totally clear in colour - has a very slight yellow tint to it. It's coming out on the tissue everytime I go to the loo in the last few hours. Length wise probably about the palm of your hand, thickness half the size of a baby finger perhaps. Is this all sounding normal?
With DS I lost a 2 pence sized bit of clear jelly and then my waters broke the following day. Don't no if I had more plug come out in labour or maybe I missed it but this is very different.

plate your body is pretty amazing and will find unknown reserves of energy during labour- plus tbh once it gets going it's relentless so even when totally knackered you just keep going iyswim! And if you do get to point of utter exhaustion/struggling with the pain then gas+air/epidural etc come in v handy :)

its well done!! Make sure you rest now!

Hayley I lost all mine this time with no knowledge of it going at all! Last time I remember a glob of pinky tinged mucous. So, think it can vary but sounds promising for you!