It's Spring, and the Old Birds are nesting. First hatchlings coming soon!

[stubbornstains]

This started as a TTC thread about a year ago, which, as so many of us C'ed, kind of fizzled out . Since then, we've been joined by many other over-35ers to share the joys and grumbles of pregnancy in our decrepitude, and watch first our pubes, then our feet, disappearing from view.....

Bloody hell, how pretty are those, I had no idea! Thanks abs.

Well I used that code & ordered abednest, pram is getting ordered tomorrow. All of a sudden I feel like I'm running out of time! ESP as both pram & bed nest won't be here for 8 weeks & I'm due in9, oops.

Oh no! You'll have to put baby to sleep in a drawer!

I know!!! Stunning! It's a little sad how happy it made me wrapping DS's bum in those nappies! :)
If you have time, she occasionally has flash sales of her instock nappies, so you could wait for that (see her Etsy store). I don't work for her, honest!!! :)

You won't need a pram straight away, it won't matter if that is a little late. And yes, nothing wrong with sleeping in a drawer! Not quite the same, but when DS was little, I used to walk to the swimming pool with him, wheeling a suitcase with our stuff as it was a lot to carry if I was also carrying him. After swimming, once he was dry and dressed, the safest place for him while I got myself dry and dressed was laid in the suitcase, and sometimes he'd nod off in there! :) (Not a very child-friendly changing room!)

Ha! Brilliant. they will send bednest early at no charge apparently if u pop too soon and have 2 carriers if prams not here before him. So not too bothered but my control freakery is tearing its ugly head! I guess all we really need is the car seat.

I'm reading my hypnobirthing book now & started practicing last week.

I know what you mean. I am a bit control freaky. I don't feel organised yet, and now have just over six weeks til EDD! And of course, baby could be early!

I need to dig my hypnobirthing book out, probably should have started by now! (Still hoping that as I have done it before, this second baby will be a cinch compared to DS!)

I can vouch for the fact that baby number 2 is easier to get out than baby number 1 (though tbh I am just rubbish at childbirth so I might not be the best gauge of these things). I can definitely vouch for recovery from tearing being easier than from an epi - couldn't sit down for 2 weeks after DD1 (epi + forceps) whereas with DD2 I felt a lot more comfortable.

Another vote for cloth nappies here - had 2 DC in them at the same time and apart from having to do a wash every day, they were pretty easy to get used to. Due to major muck up on my part I started out with Bambino Mio though all my wraps disintegrated. Ended up buying some better re-sizeable wraps (forgotten which ones) and used the the bambino mio innards with them. Probably worth checking whether your local council does an incentive scheme to use them as some places give you a £50 voucher towards them or some such.

Am now only wearing loose-waisted dresses to work and will see how long I can keep that up for before moving in to maternity wear. Still no sign of a MW appt which I'm not best pleased about.

I found second time quicker and easier .... No tearing..... I think my body was so more prepared for birth, but I also only have little babies which makes it easier too.
Probably doing disposables as DD will be in nappies too, but like the idea just don't think I'm organised enough .

Another quick request for recommendations then- what are the hypnobirthing books you're reading?

I MUST start taking the whole birth thing more seriously- problem is, I was very focussed last time, and not going into labour- despite trying every holistic trick in the book- and then having a totally medicalised birth, pretty much like the one in the opening scenes of "The Meaning of Life" (except everyone involved was female) has just made me quite apathetic about the whole active birthing thing.

At the moment, my biggest hope is that our hospital has started giving out diamorphine to labouring women, like the one in OBEM, just so that, for once in my life, I have a legitimate reason to use the line "JUST GIVE ME THE FUCKING SMACK !".........see, that's really not the right attitude, is it?

For anybody who hasn't seen it.....

"Can I move around?" "Mind the machines!" Quite......

Thanks for that, Cari and Lola, am feeling ever more hopeful about a second birth. I didn't actually tear last time - possibly because we did perineal massage, possibly because I laboured so long in the pool so was softer, and also, DS was a dinky 6lb12, and long and slender, which must all have helped.

stubborn, I had this one www.amazon.co.uk/Hypnobirthing-Natural-Approach-Comfortable-Birthing/dp/0757302661/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426542893&sr=1-7&keywords=hypnobirthing, but I don't know if it really helped, in that childbirth was much harder than I imagined despite all my breathing and whatnot, BUT, he was back to back so maybe I'd have had an easier ride were he not, and felt that the hypnobirthing worked. Hard to tell. I did still manage to have him without intervention, so maybe it did!

Having a nightmare posting today, 4th attempt!

Ffs!!!! Still not working. Sophie fletcher mindful hypno birthing.

How odd! Hope you can post again ok now.

I have a twinge in my back. It's not so much agony as deep discomfort, and only really when I move. I've tried a hot water bottle, it helped a little, but not enough. Any tips? I don't know if it is pregnancy related, or what. I do still carry DS (4), which probably doesn't help.

How are you all?

Hi everyone finally received letter to say I'm low risk, result just over 1 in 2000 so I'm happy with that.
I don't really do much prep for labour, I just sort of go with the flow ... I'm open to all of options of pain relief and midwife advice but I do have extremely short labours last two just under an hour.
Hope your all well xx

Brilliantly news lola, congratulations.

All went very quiet on here, how's everyone? I started to but hospital bag stuff/basic rations, spent £100!!!!! And didn't even get everything!

ginger I stupidly brought bag which was lovely first only to find it was too small for all the bits

Think I'll need a suitcase! Checked out car seats today at john Lewis so beginning to feel organised. Happy weekend everyone.

Oh at last lola, hurrah! I've been quiet because I've been so tired....conversely, I've also had insomnia, so went on a bit of an early nights and screen ban regime.....Better now, but still exhausted- went out on various errands and skate park duty today, and was supposed to meet a friend for ice cream at the beach later, but was forced to cancel as I couldn't keep my eyes open...not like me at all . Then we came home and put bloodyFrozen on, which I slept through- again (I've slept through Frozen so many times by now!)

30 weeks tomorrow- I don't know how I'm going to get through the next 10 weeks without seizing up completely.

Great news lola
I've been buggered too, it was DD's 5th birthday this week, so had a cake to decorate, shit to get together & house to clean as it seems DP is incapable of doing any housework without me starting the process first. Then birthday day totally exhausted me, as I usually sleep in late afternoon for 2 hours due to having ME, but cos we had to have party after school I didn't sleep plus had my mother whittering at me for 4 hours which totally bends my head. So I was laid up in bed for a few days after. And - deep joy!- we have her party for her school friends at a play centre tomorrow.

You'll appreciate the cake, stubborn, it's Elsa's castle:

Wow, Hexy, that cake is amazing - well done!
How is your back?

I've not actually seen Frozen through yet. We took DS to the cinema for it when it came out, but he was done half way through, and I've not managed to see it since.

Glad you got your low risk letter, Lola, phew!

I am now 34 weeks, woo hoo! But not feeling ready with the house/storage at all. Feeling really frustrated actually; I want a small wardrobe purely for baby stuff. It is not ideal as our room is small, and it would block the radiator, but I'd really love all the baby's stuff neat and tidy in one place. DH wants me to make do with space in our wardrobe, some shelves above the radiator, and some boxes under the bed. I feel like I'll be all over the place like that - I want something tidy and together, easy access, and looking nice. But he has a point about the space, and the radiator being blocked is obviously far from ideal in the winter. Any bright ideas?!

Much better thanks abs. Still getting occasional pain but not relentless like it was. Have you thought of getting a height extendable clothes rail so you can make it higher than the radiator, so as not to block it come winter? Baby clothes for the first year aren't very long. It is loads easier having stuff in one place.

Congrats on missing out on Frozen. It is mind numbing by the 3rd viewing... Thankfully DD is obsessed with the characters & Let It Go song but not the whole film.

Hmmm.....how high is the radiator abs? What pops into my mind is a lovely wall mounted unit above the radiator, with a mix of open shelving, space for wicker baskets of stuff, and some cupboardy bits with doors.....could such a thing exist? Would you have to call a carpenter in? Boxes under the bed sound like a PITA.

That cake is amazing hexy! How did you do the turrets? Is it all made out of swiss rolls and ice cream cones? I'm so glad I don't have to do another DS birthday party for nearly a year- funnily enough, he announced he wanted a castle cake 2 days before his party, but I'd already bought the stuff to make him a lemur cake (his favourite animal). I will take notes in case this crops up for next year...Good luck, this time tomorrow it'll all be over!

Oh and I cheated with the cake, using plastic towers & figure rather than the hours of moulding sugar paste I usually do. Waaaaay too fucking pregnant for that malarkey this year :) just didn't want her to feel left out, cos her cakes are usually huge elaborate affairs full of moulded figures (I'll post a link on FB ).

I still have a niggle in my back, I can empathise better now! Glad you feel on the mend, HQ.

We do have one of those rails, currently houses DS's dressup outfits in his room, which he actually hardly ever uses. Just feels a bit makeshift.

Lol, I'd love to see it through - I need to see what the hype is all about!

ss, normal radiator height, not especially high. We could do the shelves above, www.diy.com/rooms/form-mixxit-white-cube-shelving-l737mm-d330mm/302405_BQ.prd?gclid=CjwKEAjwrbSoBRDok47Sv6Ci80wSJABFUszTtx9OpwdGtgH8Z_BsAyO9kD8EmM0HX9ynHrFf6tYwHhoC_hrw_wcB&ecamp=SEAPLA302405_BQ&ef_id=VLF4vwAABYH-nT5z:20150321205033:s type thing, but as above, just feels makeshift. And having bits here and there just feels crap to me. I know we can't always get what we want, I just feel a bit frustrated. I want an easy life!