Due February 07 - New Thread!!

[Tommy]

there we go...... that wasn't painful at all

Just thought I'd add a positive birth story! Friend of a friend went into labour at 7am Friday morning, 4 days after due date, felt the need to keep moving, so walked round town til about 3pm, went to hospital at 4pm, was offered pain relief and opted for gas and air, kept moving, got to 9cm by 6.45pm, tryed pushing and popped out a little girl at 7.02! All well, and home the next day! Lets all hope for one of these!

Haven't been on for ages - so much goss to catch up on! Don't know how you girls all manage to hit mumsnet so often, I am absolutely dead by evening and can just about manage to slumo in front of the tv for an hour or two before bed!

Whereabouts is everyone? Was just wondering if anyone wanted to try for a meet up early in the New Year just to compare bumps and whicge and get excited all together. Or maybe its a bit much? I am due end Feb so got ,bit more time than some of you I guess. We are in Kent anyway and very happy to host decaff coffee, herbal tea and lots of choccie bics!

very hospitable of you flowertot - I'm in Southampton and that's quite a long way to come for a cup of tea

I'm a SAHM so I have time on here during the day - on here far too much actually

and I do it to while away boring work days!

Hello. Bubblebell...haven't ever come across reliable way of inducing babies..not even medically! They seem to come when they are ready!!!! Sister is maybe a little optimistic at 38 weeks . I agree with the definate no to castor oil. Having diarrohea can occasionally stimulate a 'ready to go' uterus to start contracting, but too many risks to mother and baby and frankly not pleasant for anyone involved!!!! The rumours include fresh pineapple (not out of a tin!), raspberry leaf tea, spicy food (maybe a kinder castor oil substitute?!), champagne (obviously only within recommended drinking guidelines!!) and brisk walks. I believe sex has been struck off the list for now!!!
Just approaching 32 weeks now, still breech, still not comfy!!! Booked in for private fetal weelbeing scan on 14th so should be fun. Going to check femur length and soft markers for Downs again as our risk is on the higher side.

Forgot to ask...Tommy, how's the littleun?

thanks sally - he has 4 stitches but he's fine in himself.

thanks

i will be sure to pass it on. or get her to join mn too.

Hi all, Tommy hope your DS is recovering well.
Flowertot I'm in south london/ surrey and would be up for a meet up I mostly manage to post while my bath is running in the evening or in front of the TV!
Must apologise about the dreadful spelling in my last post I of course mean books about birth!!
I'll look for the best friends guide this week. My parets are here and we ar all of to see spama lot tomorrow .
I'll try to set up the tea and cakes early tomorrow so you can help yourselves if you pop in during the day!!

flowertot, peachygirl, I'm in south west london and wd be up for a meetup.

Hope all's well with everyone. Interesting reading about support or otherwise which people had immediately after birth. Nothing from my hospital - just expected to get on with it. Lovely woman who came round with the HV a few days after I got home showed us how to do the bathing but otherwise just had to figure it all out!

Good week to all.

I'd be up for getting together (we never did get the pre Christmas meet arranged!). I live in West Sussex, but commute to London on a daily basis. I think I am going off on maternity leave on 12 Jan (definitely no later) so it might not be quite so easy after that date ?
xxx

Oh nooo!!! (peachy runs in with bulging bags of cakes)
Help yourselves ladies virtual doughnuts, cookies, sponge cakes, chocolate cakes, those little pots of goodies from M and S,what every you want really
pringles doritos and dips...
Off to see Spamalot so can't stop will check in tomorrow

Hi everyone. Just finishing up with the moving by cleaning the old flat. Not got internet at new place yet so just having a cheeky catch up. Peachy, the cakes sounded lovely and was really looking forward to some when I was done but now there are none left? Who's eaten them all?
Hope everyone ok, I'll be back prob next week

Gosh, this thread moves on so quickly! Have had a long weekend off work which was lovely so have just read back on everything that's happened since my last post. Beginning to wish I'd booked NCT rather than NHS antenatal classes as there don't seem to be too many positive experiences of the NHS ones.

I have my 28-week midwife appointment on Friday. At my last one (3 weeks ago) there was 'trace' glucose in my urine and I was told if it's still there this time I'd have to have a random glucose blood test - I may look up the NICE guidelines on this though and refuse to have it if they're deemed useless and not to be relied upon. Also have to have routine blood test this time to check iron levels. My haemoglobin level was 12.8 at the last one so hopefully it will still e above the 10 minimum. Have been eating plenty of red meat and other iron-rich foods over the past week; my Sanatogen Pro-Natal vitamin tablets also contain 100% of the RDA for iron so hopefully should be OK. Found out the other day that baked beans are an incredibly good source of iron so planning to have jacket potatoes and baked beans on Thursday night before my appointment on Friday, washed down with a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice for maximum iron absorption! Am just a smidge worried about the glucose thing though. At my last appointment I'd been to a friend's for dinner the night before and had eaten a really rich, chocolate dessert (one of those Gu ones) and had a glass of wine - I don't normally eat desserts at all so maybe that was still in my system the following day.

I am a bit nervous too about the whole "hat to do with the baby once it arrives" thing - I've got no experience of babies at all and have absolutely no idea how to change a nappy, dress or bath a baby! It's going to be one hell of a steep learning curve ...

Bought a wardrobe and a chest of drawers for the baby's room at the weekend; now just need to order a cot and we're sorted as far as nursery furniture is concerned. Pram has been ordered and should hopefully be available for collection by the weekend. A friend has given us her baby bath as her LO is now 9 months and too big for it.

Also went for tours of three of our local nurseries on Monday, and have put the baby on the waiting list at one of them already! Seems crazy but even at this stage there's no guarantee of a place for next October/November!!

Babydriver, thanks for tip on calendula oil - sounds a bit scary!!

Had my 32 week check yesterday - everything going well. Growth apparently bang on target, and the GP was pretty certain that bubba was head down. She guessed where the heart would be if it was head down, and put the doppler right there and got a clear reading straightaway so I guess she was right. BP slightly high but GP and I agreed it was prob due to having to push (heavy) DS in (wonky) buggy onehanded whilst holding brolly in other hand in pouring rain and howling wind to nursery just beforehand. Never mind a maternity coat, find me a mac that fits!!!

Not meant to have another check till 36 wks but the GP said to come along at 34 wks as well as "it's nice to keep in regular touch from now on" - good to have an offer of some extra time from the NHS for once.

Peachygirl, thanks for the virtual doughnuts, v tasty . And let us know spamalot was - I'm thinking about getting tickets for my dad for Xmas.

Anyone heard from becs21? Hope you're doing OK if you're still out there somewhere.

Maybe we should have a virtual Christmas dinner with perhaps Jamie Oliver/ Nigel Slater/ Nigella sorting out the food and obviously no clearing up! I believe that cyber wine contains no alcohol so I'll bring the drinks. Who's bringing the crackers?
Currantbun...don't worry about trace of glucose, 'specially if eating sweet things short time previously. Just keep to savouries before next urine test. Your Hb level sounds exceedingly good... Sounds like you're doing everything you should, and you actually sound quite organised! How do you do it? You'll be fine by the way in the 'what to do with a newborn' business! They are pretty resiliant and will be getting to know you just as much as the other way round so slipping just short of perfection is allowed.
Starting to feel all festive now..any one want to join me in some carols?

Afternoon ladies!!

Had GTT on friday - got results back and they were higher than the cut-off point - so that is me on the merrygoround of weekly trips to the hospital, no sugar and daily testing of blood sugar levels - oh great - just what you need over xmas! Have told DH that if I can't have sugar than neither can he - will do him some good if you ask me!! I am not sure if he thought I was joking - I wasn't!!! Well I won;'t be buying cakes and biscuits with my hard earnings if I can't eat them!!!

Not sure how work will react when they realise I will be having hosp appts every week - two hours a go!!! They haven;t got much choice really but it wont stop them moaning! Only 8 more weeks in work left!!!

Hurrah!
Babysorky has turned round and is now head down!
My home water birth is officially back on, he's LOA btw.
Makes up for the fact that the little sod keeps kicking between 3-6am and I'm knackered.

Sorky, how far along are you? Am pretty sure from the position of the movements I'm feeling that BabyBun is feet down and need to know how late they can still turn (I'm 28+2).

Sallyally, thanks for that - have already decided to abstain from anything sweet from today until Friday to give myself the best chance of not showing any trace of glucose on Friday. Will also drink loads of water the night before the appointment and in the morning before I leave so will hopefully be nice and clear!

I suppose I am relatively organised although it doesn't feel like it! Still lots to get before the baby arrives but have decided to leave bedding, clothes etc. until the New Year. Wrote nearly all our Christmas cards last night and posted them off this morning - just family ones to get now. Have also done most of the Christmas shopping but not yet started the wrapping. We're going to my mum's for Christmas Day so at least I don't have to worry about food shopping!

Mine's a large glass of cyber wine - cheers!

Please could you do my Christmas cards too?!!!
I'm 32 weeks and baby is still breech, but really no need to worry much before 35 weeks. All but the stubborn few have turned by then!
Lovely lady in the Building society today asked me if I was overdue!!!! Arghhhh! Must have been wearing an unflattering scarf or something!

I saw the midwife today (I'm 29+4) and after all my fretting she says that BabyMoo is LOA so now I just have to keep her there! It was a huge relief as I was convinced she was OP. I said I could feel a lot of limbs poking forwards but she said that's because my muscles have separated and I can feel right through. Ick.

My haemaglobin levels are 10.4 (yours sound pretty good to me CB) which isn't too bad for me but mw was a little concerned and is going to check it again next time I see her (4 weeks), meanwhile I'll keep eating lots of steak poor me!

Hi MoosMa ......Aghhhh, all these midwives and their bloody Hb worries! 10.4 is fine for nearly 30 weeks, during pregnancy haemodilution occurs in your blood, that is you have a larger blood volume but the same ammount of WBC, RBC, platelets etc which is why pregnancy values are very different from those of a non pregnant woman, they will take the same ammount of blood to test but as the concentration of RBC is less because of haemodilution then the Hb will be lower! Ask your midwife what you MCV (mean cell volume) was (it should have been checked at the same time as your Hb) a normal MCV (76-96fl) with low Hb is typical of pregnancy. Lower than 76 then you could maybe think about iron supplementation, the best awy, as you will know, is through your diet, then natural forms of iron supplementation e.g. Spatone and Floradix, lastly Ferrous Sulphate as it is so poorly absorbed as it will take about 6 weeks to have any positive effect! How are you feeling? Any symptoms of anemia, it's not always easy to tell as when bump gets bigger you tend to get more breathess and tired anyway, any dizzyness? Hope this helps!

Andy - so do you have gestational diabetes or just high blood sugar? Did you have any symptoms? I have never had a sweet tooth before and now all I want is sugar! I am ashamed of the amount I sprinkle on my Ready Brek!!!!!!!!!

All well here, though still off work. Had Anti-D injection due to negative blood group and they took more blood (no idea why, they must have buckets at the hospital now) and having 30 week bloods next week with midwife.

Writing Christmas cards too and have been sneaking into John Lewis for their plain white sleepsuits, scratch mitts, booties etc. Very good value and lovely quality - were recommended by a friend. Have finally ordered buggy thanks to finance from FIL who doesn't understand what a travel system is! Managed to get a good deal on a new Quinny Buzz from ebay so awaiting arrival today/tomorrow. DH and I were expressing disgust at ourselves last night due to our increasingly sad shift in lifestyle - we'd rather stay in on a Saturday and watch tv and get super excited about buggies! Please tell us we're not alone for 30/31 year olds!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm gutted CB, I thought I was 32 weeks but I'm not, I'm 31+2, God it's getting longer, not shorter!
My bump has grown overnight as well.
My inny has definitely gone, probably to find my stomach muscles and will to live which left ages ago it feels

MoosMa, my Hb levels were 12.8 at my booking-in appointment at 13 weeks. Obviously I expect them to be lower now for the reasons explained by Snugglebum. I am showing no symptoms of low iron levels (I'm as energetic as ever) so I'm reasonably confident that they'll be OK. Will ask them to make sure they look at the MCV figure too as this seems to be more significant. How do you know if your stomach muscles have separated? Does this happen to all pregnant women?

Accidentally had some Christmas pudding at lunchtime - am now drinking water like it's going out of fashion to try and flush through all the sugar in my system! Appointment is at 10:30 tomorrow morning so hope there's time to get rid of the evidence! Will make sure I have nothing sweet for the rest of the day and will drink plenty of water all afternoon, this evening and tomorrow morning. Really don't want the hassle of a GTT just before Christmas as I have barely got enough time for everything I need to do as it is!

Sorky, my inny is on its way out too. The top half is poking out a bit; the bottom half is still intact. But it's probably just a matter of time ...

Plumpbump, we've opted for a Quinny Buzz too - although our order seems to be delayed so your post has prompted me to email for an update. And no - you're not alone in the shift in lifestyle: we are at home with a DVD most Saturday nights these days, and can identify almost any make and model of pram at 100 metres. We've been out for the odd meal but just wish the smoking ban was already in force in pubs - I wouldn't mind not being able to drink but do miss the social aspect of going to the pub with friends. I know we'll be social recluses once the baby's born (and am expecting that, initially at least) but it's a shame we have to start practising the hermit lifestyle already ...