July 2015 (thread 10) - the one where the bumps are huge, feet become unreachable and nesting seriously kicks in.

[Fattycow]

Welcome, welcome, to the 10th thread for babies expected in July 2015.
We are all counting the days and might even see the arrival of the first babies on this thread!

Here is the stats list, please keep your own entry up to date:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1p3idkH2TaQYAy22I_N73k1_-G6Ezq67lAdhQvDjQkU0/edit?pli=1#gid=0

must they monitor babies hb once every 15 mins at my mlu anyway so no different to a home birth.

Nature I had my dd and ds on the high dependency watd, dd was constant monitoring due to drip, da was monitored for 30 mins after AROM but nothing else until he arrived? I'm phoning SOM at some point this afternoon and asking to transfer my care to another midwife, this one has been nothing but a pain in the arse since booking.

15 min once in established labour is the standard for heart rate monitoring if you are having a low risk birth with no epidural etc. so that is home or hospital. It is because labour stresses a baby and in listening in through s contraction regularly, you ard more likely to pick up signs of distress which may indicate that you need more close / continuous monitoring, transfer to hospital, to get out of the pool etc. as things may not be running as smoothly as hoped.

Morning ladies,

For all of those who aren't happy with the frequency of seeing their MWs I would just call the midwife and let them know.

If you are not happy / sure about anything they are there to assist and I am sure they won't mind squeezing in a couple of extra short appointments

I have to see mine weekly, she is sick of the sight of me no doubt ha!

Hi everyone! Sorry to hear some of you aren't happy with your mw appointments- mine is really good but always seems overworked and running late, and my 34wk appointment has been pushed back to 35wks as clinic was fully booked. My NHS antenatal class on the other hand has been brought forward a week for some reason, now DH can't make it due to work (he'd booked the original date off) so I'll be going alone!
On a much brighter note, growth scan today has shown my placenta has moved up to a better position. Relief! Baby's still a bit on the big side though

loopy I'm envious you have a home birth appointment booked. I've had such trouble making an appointment - even getting to actually speak to someone about it has been tough. The bottom line seems to be they are so busy and understaffed they can only really fit me in at short notice when they are not already dealing with higher priority stuff like post natal visits and home births. We've finally agreed they will call on the Monday I start my maternity leave and hopefully offer me something that week, maybe that day. Never mind poor DH who may or may not have enough notice to attend! In my mind it is crucial he is there as he would have to totally support a home birth if we plan for that so it's important he gets to ask his questions. I know he is a bit fearful of some aspects (and I don't blame him), and that would not be a helpful vibe for me as a lady in labour.

Could someone enlighten me as to why you need a home visit if you want a home birth?

Fatty do they not just mean home visit as in Midwife present for birth?

fatty they come by to talk about where in your home is good to deliver, ideas you may have, positions, when to call the midwife, what will happen. Sometimes they drop off a delivery bundle with some of the equipment they will need. That sort of stuff. Also so the midwife knows where your home is (some are really hard to find) where to park/ parking restrictions/ can an ambulance get up (I used to live on a street with a fire barrier on it) etc etc

Hope all are well. Good midwife / nhs expectation convo's. I had three different midwives in my first three visits, so was a bit like where's the continuity of care. But had the same one since then and she is fine.

Would love a home birth but just too much of wuss for being a first timer! Did talk it through with my midwife. Plus our local mlu is lovely. Maybe for any future babies though...

Update from me: Think I may have lost a tiny bit of mucus plug last night. How much was yours in volume fatty??? Mine was bout a half grape size. Def had no gelatinous stretchy mucus so far. So I assume it could be that, then I Googled mucus plug images as I was intrigued as a first timer what I should be looking out for (and basically urrrrggghhhh!!!!!).

So like fatty I'm not too worried as maybe just the little bit is a small sign of cervix ripening? Although I'm 34wk today and must be 37 term to go mlu, so do hope it's a slow and gradual ripening over many more weeks!! Plus my b.hicks are increasing some days lots of them now when they were rather sporadic few weeks ago. it's interesting how body starts preparing but want to stay cooking for 21 more days at least yet!

MrsF I didn't see the same midwife more than once throughout my first pregnancy. They were entirely honest from the start that 'continuity of care' just meant that id be seen by the same midwife team. It wasn't an issue for me personally, they were all perfectly nice.
This time I saw 2 different ones for my booking in and 16 week appt (same area as last time) but have since moved and in this area have the same one (bar annual leave, sickness etc). Luckily she's nice too, id hate to be stuck with the same one all the way through if i didn't gel with her!

I haven't seen the same midwife once yet during this pregnancy and it was similar last time. I don't mind too much as at least you don't get stuck with one you don't like but in some ways it would be nice to build up some trust with one.
I saw the midwife yesterday for my 34 week appointment and she sent me for a growth scan as I measured about 3cm small compared to 1cm at the last appointment. She also couldn't tell the position of the baby. It turns out the baby is spot on average for measurements, but is currently breech. I know it is early days though so anything could happen at this stage. The last one never turned though....

jmojo, thanks for explaining. As home births are so common over here, the midwifes know the area really well and will know how to get to your house. Especially ours, as we live in an area with LOADS of babies! Seriously, there are 24 houses in our street and this year we've had 3 babies already. Then on the street around the corner, another 3 have been born this year. And both me and a neighbour are due next month!
Anywhere in your home is considered fine for labour here, as long as it is a maximum of one flight of stairs up. But that is more for the sake of an emergency, as getting you down two flights is too much hassle if things need to hurry. Also, if you weigh to much, you cannot go upstairs at all. Again, this is in case of an emergency. Ambulance people can only lift a certain amount of weight, so if you are too heavy they would need extra support to get you down. Of course they would in an absolute emergency, but as delivery is expected, you can accommodate them by staying on the ground floor.

hi ladies whats the name of the facebook group/page xxx

Linseyd it is a closed group so you need to pm misseskimo or natanotherone I think and they can add you.

Has anyone picked some music or sounds for birthing? I've been experimenting with rain, birds, storm, sea tracks - in fact, they are marked as natural white noise for babies, but I've found mummy likes them too! This morning though it's raining and thundery so no need for a fake sound track! They go really well with breathing and keeping relaxed. Interested to hear what others are planning?

Small we're using a mix of the music played during our wedding ceremony and other relaxing music, although I suspect we'll be having the TV on for background noise at some point as I found that helped with both previous labours :)

I was thinking about downloading a few short comedy shows to watch during early labour, not too much mental energy but distracting. I'm not sure re music, I listen to a lot of podcasts so I'm looking for something classical, plus I have a dance music one I love to energise me if/when I get tired, plus some talking/chat shows to keep my mind off stuff. I've been listening to the chat shows for years so I find the presenters' voices really soothing - I listen to them when I can't sleep, e.g. on long flights so I'm hoping they do their job during labour! So not "relaxing" music per se!

I haven't planned on any music. I'm not really a music person anyway and the music I do like is not what people would consider soothing and calming.

DP is a DJ and has put some mixes together for labour, not sure how appropriate they are but hey ho, it's made him happy!

And if they are shite, you can always turn them off!

Also, today I'm 36 weeks pregnant... Where has the time gone? How can I be due in 4 weeks? How can I be term next week?

Stinkylinky that's a great idea getting him involved!
Rave up at the hospital for you ha!

I am having a GA, but I am going to ask for some of my favourite songs to be played whilst they set up and they put me asleep, just to keep me calm really!

Even if it's just through my headphones for a few minutes, otherwise I am likely to have a panic attack and run naked through the hospital looking for the exit (well not naked, but you know, butt crack showing through the sexy surgery gown)
In fact, I can't even run, my SPD is far too painful.

Meh.

number, if you do run around naked, you will be entertaining a lot of people, so it's all for a good cause! Too bad about the spd though, that means they will catch you awfully quickly!
Still, I do like the image of a very heavily pregnant lady running around the hallways with just an operation 'dress' on.

Hi all, just wanted to drop a line in case this is useful - I was in the April group and have my six-week-old babba snoozing on my chest right now. So first of all want to say all the aches and pains are worth it! And second of all, I've started a blog on preparing for the baby, why newborn life is much better than everyone says, and packing a hospital bag (the things I had/wish I'd had) - it's at runoutofwomb.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/the-one-thing-i-wish-id-packed-in-my.html if you want to look and I'd love any feedback (or contributions!)