April 2015 Thread 11: The finish line is in sight as we get closer to maternity leave and our babies!

[BrixtonBunny]

Old thread getting full xx

Going against the grain here but I'm not convinced the tea works.

I'm proper tired now but stayed up to finish the left front side of DDs cardigan. (It's in a raspberry coloured wool) had BH all evening but I have been chasing after DD all afternoon and we went shopping too which seems to bring them on. I was pretty convinced baby had gone head down as I was getting rib kicks and pushes but now I'm getting big ones in a diagonal (left pelvis/hip to right rib) it's almost like a fast Mexican wave. Started taking my iron tablets today so let's hope that helps with the tiredness. Anyone know how long it takes to built your iron levels back up?

Sounds lovely Lauren - you're so good with your knitting. I think I can avoid it - my mum, DH's mum and my 93 year old grandma are all lining up offering!
31 weeks today

Lauren it normally takes a few weeks at least to build iron levels back up and you might need to continue the tablets longer to build up your back up stores if you see what I mean. Hope you're feeling better soon. Well done with your knitting! My gran has so far knitted 3 cardigans for baby and a hat! Think DH's auntie is knitting one too. I have packed one of them in the hospital bag thinking it will keep baby warm on the way home from hospital

Hope everyone has a good day. I've slept better - maybe because I remembered to take my piriton before bed. Baby was good absolutely crazy yesterday evening feet were sticking out of my right side under my ribs it was amazing but got so uncomfortable I had to keep moving position and getting up for a walk to try and settle baby!! DH thought it was hilarious. Good to know baby is ok though, it's back to little wiggles so far this morning.

Thanks Penguin. I'm really enjoying the knitting even if I do get confused with the patterns easily. DD kept telling me to knit her cardigan yesterday and every time I put it down she barked at me why I wasn't finishing her knitting.

Once I find some nice buttons for the little baby cardigan I'll be taking that in the hospital bag for baby to come home in too. April can be a bit chilly still especially for newborns.

Penguin mine's lurching about all over the place.

Ugh, feeling nauseous, heartburn, shivery, so tired... Dd unsettled at 1am and I got up and thought "oh I feel sick..." Nothing happened, got back to sleep, woke at almost 5 and couldn't settle. Got extra leggings on under trousers to keep warm but still feel rubbish. And it's my bloomin longest day of the week!!!

It feels like it's been a long week this week!

Daholster I always feel rubbish on a Wednesday which is my longest day. Not as long as yours but it is 9 & 1/2 hours which is long enough for me.

Never drunk raspberry leaf tea skyra13 as I was too scared but Holland and Barrett would be my first port of call.

Glad Dh is being helpful TheBooMonster!

Feel better soon daholster!!!

Mines the same PenguinPoser, feet poking out everywhere!

Saw 50 shades of grey last night, was a very good film. Well done and she seems to be a much atrong woman in the film than she was in the book, which irritated me when reading. Dh decided I would be pouncing on him when I got home so decided to preempt me! I'm getting so big now, bloody belly in the way all the time :( I'm so tired today!

Anyone buying Rasberry leaf tea - there is a higher percentage (50%) of Rasberry leaf in clipper tea bags (I got mine from Tesco's) than in the Holland and Barrett tea bags, which I was surprised to find had little Rasberry leaf in.

Wonder if this is why people have varying opinions on its usefulness?

If anyone does online shopping, I got my Clipper raspberry leaf tea from Ocado. Brewed for three minutes (no more!), and I think I might brew it for slightly less next time, just to give myself a slightly weaker starting dose...

We have an electrician coming this morning, a friend coming a bit later to discuss Slings, and then two nursery visits to do this afternoon. Thank goodness DH has taken the day off! (It also means I will get lots of cups of tea as I sit here doing this working from home lark. Honest.)

Don't know about RLT - planned section means i am staying well away!

Annia - I bloody love the constant tea of working from home. Bliss!

Daholster you poor thing. How are you feeling now?

Planning a bit of a jolly today - off with mum to use an afternoon tea voucher that's been lying around for ages the way these things do. Will be DD's first experience of mini sarnies and cakes and scones - I expect she will love the dinkiness.

Have realised that the ideal - if completely unattainable - scenario for looking after small children is two adults to one child. DD having a whale of a time trotting around after my mum while I read private eye and swig tea!

No idea what to do today, I have nothing planned! I realised last night the cotbed I wanted isn't stocked anymore.

I wanted the Boori Royale Sleigh one in teak, they only do it in white or a dark colour now. Which won't match the dresser argh!

Leaky boobs, tell me about it. Had late in my first pregnancy, just started again now!

I've started on the raspberry leaf tea - figure it's worth a try. My yoga teacher said it's fine to start any time from 28 weeks and after a lot of reading up online it seems there's no evidence it induces labour early so I started at 30 weeks, 1 cup a day. No adverse effects so far (am now 31+4) - not even increased Braxton Hicks. Going to up it to two cups a day from 32 weeks. Also bought some capsules to take to increase the dosage from 37 weeks. That's interesting Fingers about the strength of the tea - something I hadn't considered. Mine's from Holland and Barrett and is 30% raspberry leaf. When I run out I may buy Clipper for my next lot.

That's so annoying about your cotbed Siarie - I hate it when things get in the way of my plans! Are there any others by Boori that you like in the same wood?

I've got Monday and Tuesday off next week so just today to get through then a lovely 4 day weekend - can't wait! Had such a disrupted night's sleep last night, up every couple of hours for a wee/drink/new position.

I've been reading a Hypnobirthing book the last couple of days too. I can't justify the cost of a course on top of NCT and yoga but finding the book interesting reading and am going to try and practise some of the breathing/relaxation techniques in the run up to birth in the hope they will help keep me calm. It's nice to see considerable overlap between the breathing techniques I've learned in yoga and the ones recommended in the book. I don't necessarily buy into the whole other language Hypnobirthing advocates - e.g. "surges" rather than contractions; I don't see why you can't describe something in the usual more medical terms without approaching it with fear and tension - but I do think the approach as a whole is good in setting me up for labour and birth.

Banana I had a look last night and not really, having a proper little internal tantrum about it. I'm now thinking well maybe I should just order it in white and not have matching, the dresser is oak coloured.

I've sent off an email to Boori to ask if they have any old stock, so annoying! Mamas and Papas have their ocean cotbed but the price is a total rip off (given that the Boori one is the same as its solid wood).

I'm also going to try breathing techniques, I actually had no idea it was a thing until someone linked that birthing video. I tend to deal with pain by removing myself mentally if that makes sense? And last weeks antenatal class was all about not pushing. The midwife showed us the videos (graphic and not graphic - which by the way really was not very graphic!) and her daughter didn't push until the head out. She didn't tear, it meant that her skin was able to stretch slowly rather than being pushed out rapidly.

Must read up on raspberry leaf tea..... not very good with fruit and herbal teas so may be a non-starter!

Baby feels like they are searching for a way out through my tummy today....going to be fun if they keep going like this!

Very jealous smogsville, I have askedor afternoon tea the last two years for birthday/Christmas and never got it :( apparently it's too hard to decide what I want so no one does anything about it . Never had afternoon tea in my life! May just take ds2 one afternoon when it's just me and him!

That's what mine felt like last night Fi!

Have just attempted to paint my toenails... Fail! Might as well have just poured the nail polish from a great height. Hoping over the next couple of days all the bits round the edges will wash off and will end up looking ok!

thanks RL the teddies are what DH has won for me in Blackpool over the years and we just never got rid of them.
I got baby a tigger outfit from tesco, and Asda have blue dungarees with winnie the pooh on. Got a blanket for int he pram from asda too, but thats cream with whinnie and piglet on. I'm winnie fan ever since my nan bought me a collectors book when I was younger (only because we shared the same surname as the author lol)

Lauren re the iron i've been told by GP that for long term iron deficiency it can take 4-5 months for the body to regularly absorb, store and use what it needs. I've been on the Ferrous Fumerate tablets and after 3 weeks my second blood test has shown that my folate, iron, B12 and heamaglobin have all started to increase and i've also been told by a couple of colleagues that I look like I finally have my "pregnancy glow" so it must be starting to work.

Banana i've been reading my hypnobirthing book too (Marie Mongan one) and it's making me excited for birth. i am paying for private classes too but only because were not paying for any other classes (or much baby stuff) we splashed out. I personally like the alternative language. possibly due to my hospital fears i like that the hypno birthing language feels a lot more friendly and descriptive rather than medicalised and scary versions. Although my DH is still my birth partner not my "companion" lol some of them are a little silly but i think it might be because it's aimed at America who are way more medicalised than us!

Sairie we've been looking at the "breathing the baby out" techniques in hypnobirthing and it seems to make sense. watched a lovely video on Youtube of where she just breathes the baby out at the end (it's a long video just skip forward if you're interested). i'm gettting used to watching the birth videos now so it's making me a lot less scared and squeamish, and they are much nicer than some of the scary TV scenes like on one born!

penguin my toes are a mess too! I was so out of breath trying to reach them!!!

i also haven't bothered with the raspberry leaf tea, not sure i believe in it but it seems to work for some people. Although I do wonder how people know it works, as who's to say it wouldn't have gone the same way if the tea wasn't drank? I don't like fruity teas either Firaffe so i won't be trying it.

sorry for super long post, i haven't been getting emails notifications from MN so got behind. hope everyone's ok (and you're looking after yourself moomin)

Cinnamon if you're ever in London I'll have an afternoon tea with you, absolutely love them!

Very keen for the breathing baby out method, I'm also reading some hypno books and it makes a lot of sense. My draft birth plan says "please don't tell me to push"!

Totally knackered, was awake from around 3am and barely slept again afterwards. Feeling quite big and can't get comfy...

33+2

I will join for afternoon tea in London!

how about in the summer when we have more portable babies?

Also up for afternoon tea, I've never been!

Oh yes that sounds lovely, I'd actually be really up for a London meet-up in the flesh!

Me and my DH go for afternoon tea often, I'd be up for baby afternoon tea!