November 2014 Thread 8 - Bottoms up, we're heading for the big push!

[TwigletFiend]

Afternoon, ladies. Hop, flop or otherwise clamber aboard!

Morning all!! How you doing?

Twiglet - have you written out yr birth plan? Would yr dp be more receptive to reading it? Maybe outline what you really need from him?

Raspberryleaf tea - i am,clanking down that tea. Will start on capsules through the week. Have started on my 1000mg of evening primrose oil as well.
I was on the RLT last time. Afaik it doesn't induce labour but helps with 2nd and 3rd stage. Not gonna automatically assume the connection butlast time - i didn't consciously push. My body suddenly started to do it, i just went along with it. Lasted 30 minutes from that really flip from upwards sensations to downwards til she was out. Placebl,maybe but willing to go with that.

Scan yesterday - still transverse but had a chat with my homebirth midwife who was on holiday last week. She helped straighten my,head a bit. I am Not going to hospital appointment on Thursday for possible admission. I will be seeing,my homebirth midwife every 5 days at home til,labour starts and if baby is still transverse at that Point -- then a journey to hospital bur csection but in meantime focus on prep for a vaginal homebirth and being relaxed / chilled. I could have hugged her.

37 weeks now so ...... Full term!!!!!!!!!!

WeeOnion glad you're feeling more positive mentally. Your hb midwife sounds very sensible.
I've been drinking RLT and having DH do perineal massage for about 10 days now. I can't honestly say whether I know what BH feel like so can't comment on uplift. My friend reckons the tea made her labour intense but short which would be fine by me so I'll keep on with it. (I also have loads and loads so may as well use it up!)

So glad to hear that news weeoinion, she sounds v sensible!
Another one here who doesn't think rlt makes labour start any more on time than it otherwise would (went 12 days over last time,) but better/shorter 2nd and 3rd stage. I had a 6-hour labour and my body did the pushing for me really..

My body did the pushing for me too last time, but I hadn't bothered drinking RLT .

With DS1 I had been drinking RLT for weeks but despite 2 hours of pushing he wasn't coming out. Turns out that he was is a very poor position and wouldn't ever have come out other than by c/sec.

Wee onion, your MW sounds lovely and very level headed. Good to hear you sounding much more upbeat.

Weeonion that's great news, sounds like your midwife knows what she is about!

My bump is so low and I'm having crampy BH all day long. Another 7 weeks of this

35 weeks today and 1st day of mat leave (well, AL but who cares? not in work) Off to see colleague who had b/g twins about a month ago following TTC nightmare then IVF. Can't wait to have tiny baby cuddles - they were 4 lb each. Will report back. (body clock obvs not aware no work today)

urgh sickness bug when your 35+6 and your bump already feels like its going to rip open is not fun. DS started last night and stopped at 3, I then took over from him, poor DP slept on the sofa. He's luckily not come down with it yet. Feel so weak

On the positive im 36 weeks tomorrow. it makes me so happy to say that

Oh no Winterlover! Can you send DP to the chemist for some Dioralyte? I remember when I had gastroenteritis and I felt so weak and that stuff was like a magic bullet. I'm a bit obsessed with it now.

weeonion very relieved you have such a rock of common sense in your corner!

I received my Star Wrap today - OMG so snugggggly! Made me a bit sentimental picturing baba all bundled up in it. DH immediately asked if they came in adult sizes, lol.

36 weeks today! I am HUUUUUGE. To the extent that people are shocked I still have 4 weeks to go. Its all in my bump still, so I look like a cartoon. And Baby feels enormous - very long and very strong - so I'm a wee bit concerned I'm gonna have a 10 pounder.

I have my midwife appt on Wednesday & am a bit nervous. I was totally average at 32 weeks, but I don't know what feels normal at this stage. Thankfully when Googling baby bumps at 36 weeks everyone looks the same as me, so maybe its meant to be this way? My bump is literally a big shelf under my boobs now!

36 weeks yesterday.
I think it is starting to seem more real to DH too now I'm not at work. He has finally made a start on sorting out the previously-spare room that will be DD's new room so we can decorate it for her. We have ordered the Moses basket mattress, so now probably (hopefully) have most things we need. He even started considering names last night, but I showed him my shortlist which is 5 boys' names and 5 girls' names and he wasn't very enthusiastic about any of them. I will wait and see what he comes up with. He had one suggestion but it sounds extremely similar to DD's name.
DD and I went shopping today to buy one new outift for the baby (we already have mountains of neutral baby clothes from when DD and her cousins were born but wanted it to have something new too), a cuddly mouse which is a present for it from DD and a couple of bottles just in case breastfeeding doesn't work out (most of the packs of bottles are half price in Mothercare if anyone is interested). Annoyingly, we only went to Mothercare because I had been given a giftcard, but the till would not process giftcards today. It wasn't much fun trekking to town in the pouring rain with a 3yr old so I slightly wish I hadn't bothered. Tomorrow while she is at pre-school I need to sort out all the piles of junk in our bedroom so we have room to fit the baby stuff in, and pack some bags. Each night I go to sleep, worrying that I will go into labour in the night and have nothing ready!

Weeonion Your midwife sounds very sensible. It's great that she is on your side.

Winterlover What a nightmare! Hope you are feeling better soon.

Now, after that long post, I am being called to go and play with play-doh, lucky me!!

Yay to bump-shelf. I've always wanted one and finally have it. I'm wearing a top I've not worn before today though and don't think I look huge but that could just be acclimatisation.
Sorry to hear you're poorly WinterLover, logically though you should be better before D-day with enough time to build your strength back up. Make DH do everything if possible.

anna you star thankyou I totally forgot about that. Im sure there is some in the cupboard. So far ive kept 2 plain pieces of toast down since half 10 so going to attempt some soup.

Had a scary realisation last night, in 2 days time is when I had DS. Really hope to keep this one in a bit longer to avoid the stay in hospital this time

Anna - I also suddenly grew into a whale at 36 weeks and I too now keep getting the : what? You still have so long to go comments! It's so rude

I am now wishing this baby makes his entrance sooner rather than later

Winterlover - I am so delighted you are hitting that milestone of 36 weeks. Been wishing and hoping for you. Xxx

Winter, I'm thrilled for you too, especially after the scare a couple of weeks ago. Fantastic news! Keep cooking, WinterBaby! Hope your bug passes soon and DH manages to dodge the vomit bullet.

weeonion, am also really pleased for you that the hb MW is firmly on your side. It sounded like you were feeling a bit embattled by the medical world, so am crossing fingers for you that her common sense helps to win the day. It must be nice to see her willing to fight your corner too, she sounds like she's very reliable and sensible.

Excuse my ignorance, but is the Star Wrap a swaddling cloth? I don't want to look it up in case I impulse-buy one...!

Anna, I am 34 weeks now and I have genuinely nearly doubled in size in the last 2 weeks. If I do the same again at 36 weeks, I am going to look like I swallowed a beach ball! At my last appointment FH measurement put Bean on about the 40th centile for size, but I am also living in fear of growing a monster baby.

happy, somehow I managed to read both Anna's and your posts and my imagination did a little brain fart and now I have an image of play-doh boobs in my head

On the four week countdown for finishing work now. Have a long weekend booked for mine and DP's birthday next weekend, we are going down to Swansea to the caravan for a last couples' away before Bean arrives. Must remember to pack my notes!

Greetings Everyone!

Stayed away for a while as I had a horrid last week at work, which I still haven't got my head around. I had the handover from hell as no one was around to takeover/assist. My team pretty much forgot it was my last week and they all had annual leave booked. Just did as much as I could and left notes for those that matter. I didn't even get a card, that shows how much they were fussed! Thank God I'm not going back ignore my venting

First official day of mat leave and being SAHM in training, but I'm too tired to do anything. I think the fact I'm having a baby in 5+ weeks has finally hit me and driven me into a panic. My anxiety is at an all time high as I'm worried about the birth. I'm going to mention it to my consultant on Friday.

Ended up in the Maternity Assessment Unit this morning as I was worried about an increase in Jellybean's movements. He had a 10-15 minute burst of super strong kicks which is unusual, then nothing for over an hour. I called the midwives who asked me to come in for monitoring. After 30 minutes of monitoring all is fine and he went back to his usual pattern of movement. The midwife was absolutely lovely and said I might have to start coming in twice a week for monitoring from now on due to my medical history.

This mornings antics have given me a kick up the ass to get myself together. Hospital bag is now 90% packed, bar some items I've washed that need to dry. Good thing is that my mum also came round on Saturday and finished emptying the nursery of crap. So now I can take my time sorting the last few bits out.

Congrats Winter, I hope your LO keeps cooking!

Fingers crossed Twiglet. At least you're sounding a lot more positive.

Hope the rest of you are doing well!!

Had lovely newborn cuddles with my colleague 's twins. They're 5 weeks old and still only 5.5lb each so probably smaller than my bean is already which is super weird! I was balancing baby, bump and plate of cake at one point. My bean /bump was kicking her newborn, also very weird!

Mat leave makes it all seem so close now. 2 weeks til "term" at 37. Aaaaaaarrrgh!

Twiglet they're fleecy wrap things to wear instead of a snowsuit, by a brand called Tuppence & Crumble. They're ADORABLE. And I was a bit worried baby would overheat in a snowsuit, particularly with the mild weather so far this year.

WorkFree give yourself a week to recover from work, your head will still be going a hundred miles an hour. It took me a good week or two to subconsciously realise I was outta there and I started to get lovely and comfy at home.

And definately remember that the purpose of mat leave is for your body to chill out. You are not supposed to be doing housework all day to justify being off! I was very productive this morning but then I got quite tired and went back to bed fully clothed this afternoon and watched YouTube videos. Feel much better for it!

Hope everyone's okay today, and glad that your MW is on your side weeonion.

First day of proper mat leave today (as opposed to AL) and we've spent it prepping the nursery for decorating and a Consultant Appt about the monitoring issue. We've reached a compromise so I'll have an initial 15 minutes trace then if there's nothing untoward I'll have another 15 minutes every 3 hours.

Hi everyone
I've not posted for a few months. .finishing exams and moving house..plus I'm on my own and ex works away so I rarely get chance to post! Is there a fb group for you guys?
Fb is so much easier for me to navigate than MN.
I came on to see if I had any pics from DS as people are saying I'm not as big as I was with him. I'm pretty concerned about the size of this one as DS was 9lb 12oz and suffered with shoulder dystocia so hoping to avoid that happening with this one..I have a growth scan next week so will hopefully be being induced at around 38 weeks.
I've been really suffering with heartburn and rib flare the past few days, I also realised I've not been to the loo for a few days too which is probably a major factor to it, waking a lot through the night in pain so I know its already quite a big baby.

will try to make more of an effort to get on and read what everyone is posting!
34+3

Twiglet I laughed at the comment about play-doh boobs. That probably comes after the birth when I am forced to play with play-doh while attempting to breastfeed a tiny baby at the same time. I also laughed at your comment about not googling star wrap in case of impulse buying. I foolishly ignored that, googled it anyway and now really want one! They are lovely, fleecy, wraps but like a coat rather than for carrying the baby, you can use them with a 5 point harness too apparently.

I have also had several people in the past couple of weeks commenting on how big my bump (the joys of working with the public, they've all got something to say about your pregnancy), but at my antenatal appointment last Friday it measured exactly the right size.

I had hoped I would be less tired now I'm not at work, but getting comfortable at night to sleep is difficult and I'm waking up about a million times in the night, then waking much earlier than I need to in the morning too. This did not happen last time. I don't remember any problems sleeping when I was pregnant before, and I could just nap if wanted to then as well.

Crazybit, I think the main FB group was closed to new members a little while ago (before I got my butt into gear to get on there) :-( but a poster called (I think) gingerelle (something related to ginger anyway!) mentioned some pages back that she was going to set up a second FB page, so maybe have a search for that.

We really need to start getting organised. I so want to get the nursery finished - I know it's not even needed for a while, but I think it's just a symbol for me that we're ready! And I'd like to be able to dump all the second hand stuff we've been given in there instead of throughout other rooms. We have been given So. Much. Stuff. It's insane. I have literally a whole bin bag of just plain white shortsleeve vests, from 0 to 12 months. plus another bin bag of newborn stuff and a big bag of cardigans of various sizes. Plus a buggy, a car seat, a swing, a sling, a bouncer, 6 snowsuits, a travel cot, a glider chair (that is amazing!) ... really grateful, honest, but where's it going to go!

More important than the nursery is probably sorting my hospital bag. Argh. Again, stuff is just randomly dumped round the house. I felt like I had so much time left but now it is creeping up so fast!! Can't believe babies are starting to get in position, November due dates are starting to hit full term... blimey!

And relax...

Damn it.

I Googled. They're gorgeous!

I have purchased.

Guiltily tucks purse away.

MOGGLE my feelings exactly. Almost too much stuff and very little space. Spare room has DH sleeping in it and I'll probably keep him there through the first few weeks of night feeds etc as the main moses basket

Is set up in our room.

New mattresses finally arrived today about 2 weeks after ordering but they were worth the wait. They fit perfectly as were made to measure and not even much more money than off the peg. Put clean sheets, blanket etc on upstairs one. Cute cute cute can't wait!!!!
I'd recommend www.babymattressesonline.co.uk if you've not got yours sorted yet.