March 2016 Babies #9 - we're on the final countdown!!

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Thread 9!!

My consultant said baby was 3/5s in pelvis but not engaged- how can that be? Maybe he'll be out sooner than section date. I'm 36 weeks tomorrow. No BH or false labour pains though.

I think that it's only counted as actually engaged when they get to 5/5 Rhubarb - but in my notes my midwife has written 1/5 engaged so I expect it's just a terminology thing!

Ah that makes sense Me. Hope your breathing gets easier soon. Heading in the right direction.

Probably fine, Me, I just found the maternity mattresses pads a bit narrow immediately after birth.

Wow, how antisocial, Suz. What was he thinking? Did you exact any revenge?

thanks Dobby!
Ooh, is that Coombe Martin? DS would love it. I'll check out their website, thanks for the tip!

Rhu, my friend had a c-sec and says it was fantastic!

Jeez that's shoddy, scared! Get to your GP asap and say exactly what you've said here. They've referred you for a reason, they can't refuse without even meeting you!

Sher "indom, you've got me thinking about gussets like never before!" glad to be of service!

Ooh, MrsBen, that sounds annoying/uncomfortable. I had tons of BHs in my first pg (from 20 weeks, from midday to 8pm, every 5 minutes), but only the odd one here and there this time (so far).

My lack of sleep is starting to catch up with me. Need to get to bed properly-early tonight. Just about to try to convince DS to go to bed early too!

Yay for having a date Rhubarb - although it makes the countdown all the more scary I think!

Monitoring went fine on Monday & today, so baby should be staying put til induction on Saturday. IF I don't somehow go into natural labour before then - last night I definitely lost at least some of my mucus plug, and whilst on the monitor today the midwives were ooohing about regular tightenings (most of which I couldn't feel) and seemed to think it could be things starting I'm glad my body and the baby have at least got the memo about everything needing to happen early, as it'll hopefully mean I'm more receptive to the induction process and baby will be a bit prepared for what's happening.

36 Weeks tomorrow which sounds a lot closer to term than 35, so lets hope I make it!!

Yes combe martin indom. Dd loves it there. They've got a massive soft play now too which is fantastic in the low season. My sister has taken dd quite a bit as it's much more reasonably priced than any of the other places locally. Out of the two of them I'm not sure who enjoys it more. We took her for the october locals weekend and they had offers on hot food too which was lovely.

Think we're going to invest in a season ticket to Watermouth Castle this year once bump arrives.

I haven't been there for about 10 years! Will deffo look into it (especially now we've got phenergen for DSs travel sickness - the road north was a total write off!)

Not been to the castle. I'll look that up too.

Thanks!

V exciting Mrsben and rhubarb :)

Missi really hope Zach can come home!

scared that isn't right at all, they are utterly fobbing you off. You need and deserve treatment for your anxiety. I would go back to your midwife and be prepared to be stroppy. I love our NHS but sometimes if you want things done you have got to be assertive. I know it's really hard when you feel fragile though.

Am awake at this stupid hour with heartburn and what I suspect is a uti - really hurts when I pee and general feeling of bleugh. Have midwife appt on Friday so if I can't flush it out with water by then I suppose it'll be antibiotics for me!

Feeling v depressed about the amount of weight I've gained - weighed myself yesterday stupidly and it's 3 St. I did my inches too and I've put on a couple of inches on my thighs and one on my arms, but not loads tbh so seems like it's all bump and boobs. Really feeling over prospect of what post baby body will look like, especially tummy. Don't mind a little bit of wobble as never had a flat tum anyway but certainly don't want to still look pregnant in a year! Any tips from second time mums, apart from breastfeeding?

Morning maybe, hope you've got back to sleep.

I went to bed early, but managed to wake up equally early!

See, this is why I'm not planning on weighing myself. There's nothing I'm going to be able to do about it in the next couple of months, so why worry? After this one is born, I plan on continuing with my diet-ethic of eating largely what I want when I want (but that's a 'normal' balanced diet with whatever snacks I need to survive with no emotional attachment to them!). And after a few weeks I'll get into some regular abdominal training and hope to run a bit too. I've got to fit in my work trousers by July! Last time I remember doing Beach Body's 10 minute trainer for the summer with DH, which helped get everything back... not quite to how it was before, but close enough! I'm thinking about belly binding this time too, but can't seem to find much in the way of impartial evidence/advice.

Oh, and maybe, I think you should ring the doc about your uti this morning, another 24 hours could be bad news for your kidneys and could trigger early labour. See them today!

Oh gosh really? I get utis all the time (literally all the time) and can usually get rid of them with water. Actually feel a lot better now so I'll see how it goes. My gp is miles away now I'm on mat leave as they're next to work so I'd rather not have a tube trip! Also can never get an appointment ever.

But I will see how I feel by the afternoon - if no joy I'll go, I promise

Yeah I really shouldn't have weighed myself - was utterly pointless!!!

I'm awake too! Getting so angry with that fact...

maybe one of my friends put on 3-4 stone in each of her pregnancies. She didn't breastfeed but followed Weightwatchers and the weight seemed to drop off... if that's your kind of thing?!

36+2 now and I feel further away from D Day than ever. Just want my girl!

I had yet another normal scan yesterday and the consultant didn't turn up to my appointment so the midwife is sorting out a home birth assessment for me. Yay! I've got another scan on the 24th when I'm supposed to be getting my induction date. Really hope I can hold off and just want wait to go into labour at home but it scares me how impatient I am to meet this baby!

Pug I can't believe things are going to be happening soon, it's so exciting! And 36 weeks is a great gestation :)

maybe I got weighed and measured at my 36 week appointment yesterday - had no idea they were going to do that but apparently they need to check BMI again?! Oh and hope your bladder feels better soon

Ah they can fuck off if they think they're going to give me a lecture about bmi, I may refuse to be weighed!!!

I'm not bothered about losing the weight particularly as I know from past experience I can do it fairly easily through sensible diet and exercise, it's excess skin I'm more bothered about!

I am planning on breastfeeding so hopefully that will help.

Beautiful fx you get your home birth!!

I had to get weighed at my pre-op and I was surprised to see I had gained 2st. I am not entirely sure where it has gone, as most of the clothes I am wearing are my non-maternity size 10 things (admittedly stretchy or baggy things, not jeans!)

I have been a size smaller after each child, which I put down to breastfeeding and having one/two (very soon three) children to chase!

maybe, don't forget a lot of that weight will be the baby, placenta, fluids etc - about two stone of it by 40 weeks so must be close to that now. I found that breastfeeding really sucked any weight off me, but also did a lot of walking with the pram which helped - I didn't have my own car last time so walked to everything, and the baby only napped on the move so I used to get him out for at least one walk every day. I wouldn't worry too much about immediately after the birth either - looking back I still looked pregnant for days, but as I was so much smaller than when 40 weeks pregnant i felt ever so skinny!

Slept all night last night, am not too smug, I still feel like I haven't slept! Working from home today though as I have a midwife appointment, so I'm not dressed yet and just sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea

I was back in CSC last night my own fault really, DH and I were out for dinner and I ate far too much too late and had awful heartburn! Managed to get to sleep eventually propped up but then kept waking myself up with a bit of sick in my throat, bleugh!

The only reason I decided to weigh myself the other day was because I thought the midwife would at my 36 week appointment and I wanted to be prepared - but she didn't after all that! I know how you feel though maybe, I care about my weight even though there's absolutely nothing we can do about it at this stage! (Also, I don't actually care enough to start eating less - I'm denying myself absolutely nothing at the moment!!)

I'm also a little bit worried about excess skin maybe. I don't know why as I didn't really get it with DD but feel so much bigger and stretched this time.

Like Suz, I found I lost weight without trying after having DD through a combination of breastfeeding and the fact she never slept unless moving, so I used to go for a walk everyday, and I tried to walk to any baby events I could. The main piece of advice I would give is to do some (proper postnatal) abdominal work. Make sure it's designed for postnatal though as if you have muscle separation (very common) then normal abs work can make it worse. this year I have invested in the MuTu system DVD as it was on sale on Black Friday. Last time I didn't really know much about abdominal separation until I went to my first postnatal yoga class at 10 weeks and my yoga teacher explained how to check it and I realised my muscles were quite badly separated . I really struggled to close the gap and never did properly close it - got down to 1cm though which is good going. since my midwife commented yesterday on my stomach muscles having separated a lot, I'm expecting to have to do a lot of work post baby so planning to start rehab as early as possible and then baby will be another sleep refuser and all my plans will go out the window

I weighed myself yesterday and weight has stayed steady from my 34 week appointment - baby has grown quite a bit though, as at my 34 week appt I was measuring nearly 2cm under and this week was bang on 36cm!

two days left of work! my mum and stepdad are coming to visit this weekend and we're going to go out for a meal with DD (to wagamamas - which I can wholeheartedly recommend with small children), so going to take that as my celebration of the beginning of maternity leave

Another one in CSC last night. Dropped off really easily, but was woken at midnight by an ambulance right outside our house that was there for ages. Something must have happened with the elderly couple opposite . I couldn't sleep after and felt really ill. At least am working from home today so can take it easy.

I was weighed yesterday but they do it in kg and that means nothing to me (although I know I have put on a lot). I didn't breast feed DS for long but the weight did drop off quite steadily and in pics of him a few months old I look back to normal. Stupidly though I got complacent and put some weight back on, so did the Couch to 5K programme which was really good.

This time round I'm like Me and not denying myself anything. My plan is to recover from the birth and hopefully enjoy the summer months with nice, light, fresh foods and lots of walks and growing veggies in the garden. If they doesn't do the trick, i'll join a slimming world club / start the running again. There are some clothes I never got back into after having DS, so my challenge this time round is to do just that. I do find it easier to be healthy and exercise more over the summer months.

I can fully recommend BuggyFit for after the birth. It's actually quite a tough workout and as it's aimed at postnatal there's some focus on separated muscles and pelvic floor.

My skin feels more stretched this time too marmite, I've got stretch marks this time! I'm also bigger I think.

I was categorically told by my midwife that stretch marks were a genetic thing. My mum only has four in total - one from each pregnancy - so I was happily expecting none or very few. That theory is out of the window - my lower belly is covered in them! I have a few old ones on my thighs and boobs though which have pretty much faded into nothingness so hopefully the same will happen to my tum.

Thanks for all the weight loss recommendations, I am trying to be positive about the whole thing :)

I had a look and it says nowhere in the NICE guidelines or NHS website for 36 week antenatal appointments that you should be weighed. I'm going to refuse if they try .

Growth scan this afternoon - but after all the stories I've read on the internet about how inaccurate they are I think I'll be taking it all with a pinch of salt.

I was told the same maybe, and I didn't get any last time, but this time I have! Only small ones though and I'm not too bothered as I never get my stomach out anyway. Just worried it means my skin is stretching more and I'll get more of a mum tum!

I'd quite like to be weighed at my appointment today. I like how they do it in kg which I have no real concept of. Means I can look at it objectively, come home and Google 'pregnancy weight gain in kg', and tell if I'm above or below normal without having to hear I've gained three stone!

my mum had no stretch marks with four kids.. whereas me and my sister both got horrendous stretch marks! and we have different dads, so it's definitely not all genetics - I expect my mum was lucky (and she had kids young and was skinny - me and my sister not so lucky). With DD my entire stomach was covered by the end. they did fade though and I honestly didn't really give a shit about them. have happily worn a bikini for eg. and I do have a lot of stretchmarks - right up over my belly button! this time round I don't think I've got any new ones but I can't really tell - I can't see under my bump for starters haha! tried to trim my lady bits at the weekend and that was a bit of a mission!

maybe I would definitely take the growth scan with a pinch of salt. think I mentioned this in a post earlier this week but a mum from my yoga class was repeatedly told/warned that she was going to have a big baby, she wasn't allowed to birth in MLU etc and the baby was only 8 pounds!

I was also a visitor of CSC last night. I seem to have gotten the fun return of pregnancy insomnia. I actually sleep alright during the night but wake up early at 5ish and toss and turn. my nose seems really congested at night even though I don't have a cold, and I'm constantly thirsty and my throat is store. I am soooo done with being pregnant... less than a week till I'm full term!

I got my stretch marks when I piled weight on in my early 20s after quitting competitive martial arts and developing a World of Warcraft addiction. They had long since faded to very pale/almost invisible, I've actually had to point out to my DH (who I met after losing all the weight) that they exist. I've had nothing new since being pregnant (34+4 now) and haven't done much to prevent them (Bio-Oil when I remember, that's about it), it's almost like my body is just stretching back into my old skin! I'm still around 16kg below my previous high weight though.

DH is heading back to Ireland for the weekend, lazy weekend incoming! I feel like I should do something useful with it, but the urge to sit and drink tea, eat chocolate and watch rugby is too damn strong.

I don't have any stretch marks yet although I have heard people say they can suddenly appear in the final couple of weeks! I had them on my thighs as a teenager when I had a big growth spurt but they are barely visible now. DH has awful stretch marks on his belly from when he piled on weight very quickly, they don't bother me at all so I'm not going to be ashamed if I do get any!

How will I know if my stomach muscles have separated? Is it very obvious? My midwife said that I had good stomach muscles at my last appointment so it doesn't sound as if they have yet, but can it happen during the birth?