July 2016 Babies (9) - let the babies commence!

[Ellizardo]

Nearly there folks.

Cookiesandcoffee my last pregnancy I had a 3 day induction at hospital. Some of it was because they were so short staffed they left me over a day in the the triage and couldn’t progress things on the labour ward (no beds) it was pretty awful and ended in forceps and a blood transfusion. Its something I just really want to avoid again at all costs as I would much rather the alternative this time which is a birthing centre.

BeauticianNotMagician81 hope you start to feel better soon!

tams13 leg cramps are the worst. I used to always wake in the night with them.

dats hats off to you on all the house projects you got going on

SpeakNoWords great news!

HopesAndDreams15 rest up and take care of yourself!

39+0

hopesanddreams - good luck and hope that everything is ok. I will be keeping my fingers crossed that everything is ok. Hope you are having a relaxing evening.
beautician - the bug sounds very nasty. I don't know how you cope with all your boys and then to have a big on top. The responsibility of parenthood is slowly dawning on me. I have huge respect for all you mothers.
anna - congratulations on the exchange! Woo hoo, champagne bottles are popping. It is so hard, i am never going to move again but then again with Brexit I won't be able to sell!
I hope your mum has some good night sleeps and the chemo improves things. I have been thinking of your family loads. It must be so hard.
dats - the house rennovations sound impressive at this stage of pregnancy. You will have to share pics. Your OH sounds like a real multi tasker!
bluebell- Your MIL sounds great. I am lucky with mine too.
Becks - congratulations!!! What a lovely little boy. How are you both doing?
referendum gutted absolutely gutted. I didn't sort my proxy out, so insisted that I went and voted in person. That is how passionately I feel. My OH wants to immigrate. I am Scottish but lived in london for donkey years. I am dusting of my Scottish credentials and birth certificate. I have never been pro Scottish independence but I am now!
photographer - I teasing OH that his futures holidays are going to be spent in peppa pig world! It is a great pic of your DD. I am Very jealous of the ice-cream. I quite fancy one now.
speak - I really hope you are home. How are things? Send more pics!

Sorry to start a pity party, but I feel down about it all. I have to keep upbeat for my OH because he is so down and needs me to be the positive one. I am just desperate to get our girl home. Progress has been slow. I have told Oh to go to work next week and save his patneruty it leave for when she is out. He is speaking to his boss tomorrow. I am likely to be discharged on Monday and can't face going home without her. It breaks my heart. I feel very naive about how things would be post birth and feel very guilty as it was my complications that meant the placenta failed. I know that I will feel much better tomorrow. Apologies for the rant.

Yep, we're home! Didn't think we'd make it tonight but we managed to persuade the doctors that he was feeding well enough, which he has continued at home. Feeling very relaxed and happy - about to have Chinese takeaway which sounds like nirvana compared to the weird hospital food I've been enduring!

Welcome home speak. It's so nice to sleep in your own bed and have your own things around you.

Oh, Thom, just read your post. Please don't feel guilty about anything that happened - sometimes things just happen for no reason, nothing anyone could have done to change things. Just random chance. You did everything you could do, and your baby is here and making progress.

Can your OH get any compassionate leave, even if unpaid?

Being discharged without your baby is the hardest thing, but I'm sure it won't be long before you're back with her in transitional care.

speak - thank you, and you are right. my OH and I had a really good conversation with my MW this evening who encouraged us to talk honestly about how we are feeling. I though that OH would find it ridiculius but he was really in to it. I am really pleased. We are both worried about bonding as we visit her rather than feeling like her actual parents. It was reassuring that we are both feeling this way and can talk. I am going to focus my energy on her getting better rather than feeling sorry for myself! New positive thinking... Xx

Speak sounds like bliss, so happy you are home and all is going ok!

Thom what a rollercoaster - you've been amazing, you can't help what happened. It's probably all still a bit of a shock so it's no wonder you feel up and down. Try not to look too far ahead and just take each day at a time. Leaving hospital without her will be terribly hard, but you'll adjust and things will get better day by day. Glad you feel a bit better after your chat with the midwife. Definitely key to get stuff out in the open - don't feel pressured to be strong for DH, you need support too and he'll probably surprise you. Sending a big hug!

Hopes you've been through it too! Hope you're doing ok at home and can continue to hang in there until at least 37w.

Sending quality sleep vibes out to you all
xx

speak - so pleased you're home enjoying a chinese (and netflix?!)..totally with you on the whole appreciating being surrounded by your own things! I remember they discharged me and Ted at about 11pm on a Monday night last year and I was crying with gratitude to be in my own bed etc.

thom - i am so pleased you are talking to each other after your totally understandable but unfounded guilt. it must be so so hard - these early days unfold so slowly - BUT you'll be amazed at how they become subsumed so quickly into 'normal life' and in a month or so you'll be tripping along and focusing on other things like nappy rash and colic and first smiles etc!

beautician - hope you're feeling better? can you keep anything down at the moment?

Had my 38 week appointment yesterday. She's turned, sounding happy heart rate wise and is no longer breech but I have protein in my urine. The midwife said my BP isn't high so she said not to worry?! Hmmm. I will keep an eye out for any signs especially after hearing your dramatic news hopes, you poor thing,

how you doing? that can't have been fun to be wrenched suddenly into this situation.

We're attempting Bluewater today. Just to see if the sales throw up anything interesting house/baby wise. Can't believe we're going voluntarily?!

How are you feeling beautician ?? I hope the sickness has subsided.

thom I can't imagine how hard it must be but you absolutely can't blame yourself. Really glad you and DH are talking about how you feel about it all, and totally have permission to rant ( I didn't even think you were ranting at all) These things happen for no reason what so ever , out of our control

photographer that does sound rough, completely understand you feeling that way. I didn't realise there was an option to use a birthing centre (after establishing how close we live to one another!). Having said, it would be too far for me to travel given the length of my labours. I'm already anxious as it is about getting to hospital. Especially given I had a bad PPH after dd1.
Hope baby comes before for you.

Welcome home speak that sounds great. Hope you enjoyed a night in your bed. I do love coming home and comforts of your own bed etc. Mmm Chinese.

hopes thinking of you. Hope you had an ok day on DAU, and that they can hold on til 37 if needs be. You're so close though that I'm sure everything will be ok with baby if he does need to make an appearance. Good luck on your bloods

elliz hope everything is ok with your blood pressure. I think you're sensible to look out for anything but I think sometimes you can just have protein? Great news on the turning baba! And hats off to you for your shopping adventure- did you get any good bits? I went to two shops earlier and was hobbling back to the car after that.

I had some dodgy pains last night but luckily didn't amount to anything in the end. At one point was starting to worry. Nothing similar has returned today, however still feeling very crampy and walking is a bit of a hobble. Having a mad panic extra nest just incase.

38+6

Speak - glad you're home! Here's hoping for a quiet night!

Thom - good to hear that you and DH had productive talk with the MW. I'm sure your wee one will be home with you soon.

Just finished spray painting the chairs. I'll post pictures tomorrow once I touch up the spots I missed. In the meantime, it's time of a nap!

36+3

Thom just wanted to add something about bonding when you get to be with your baby. It does come, and gradually you stop feeling like visitors and start feeling in charge. I've found the time in transitional care really good for that process, both this time and with DC1. Eventually you get to the point where they're having no interventions at all, and are just on an apnoea mat. Then you can do all the usual stuff yourself, like change and dress them. Feeding is a big challenge, and can be a stressful process. I've found I've had to compromise and accept bottle feeding to get discharged, and we'll work on latching on and breastfeeding at home. It's less stressful than trying to do it in hospital when you're under pressure to get them feeding well. It took 8 weeks or so with DC1 to get to 100% breastfeeding, and you could of course do combination feeding too.

Anyway, you'll get there soon, even though it seems like such a long time now.

Hello everyone!

Have some good news to share, my son Jacob was born this morning at 8.30am!

Was meant to be induced but they broke my waters and I laboured naturally within 2 hours without having to go on the drip. So bloody painful but worth it!

On the post natal ward, it's awful but hopefully will leave with baby tomorrow. Totally exhausted so going to take a nap and catch up with some sleep so will read through posts later. Hope everyone else is doing ok x

Ah Jem, congrats! Lovely picture! Hope all went as well as it could!

Thom, hope you're feeling a bit better about everything it must be so difficult for you.

Speak it just be lovely to be home! Hope you're all settling nicely.

37 weeks tomorrow, eek! Feet and still huge and heartburn beginning to set in again! Eaten way too much cake in the last few weeks

Cookiesandcoffee Hampshire has some great options, only reason they are letting me go to the birthing centre is because most my pregnancy I was in the new forest. Salisbury has a pretty terrible hospital alternative so if we have any more I am not sure if I have any option besides a home birth.

Jem01 Congrats! Sorry to hear that the post ward is awful, just hot, busy and gross bathrooms? That tends to be the theme of most post wards :/

Is being bitchy a side of pre-labour as I am so grumpy today to everyone. I am just snappy to the DH and napping most the afternoon. Hot curry is bubbling away though. :)

39+0

speak congratulations for making it home! Must be lovely to be in a familiar place.

thom I'm sorry you're struggling at the moment. It's good that you and your dh have managed to talk about it though. As difficult as it is, you will get out. I was prem and was in hospital for five weeks before I got to go home (and then was back in for a week soon after that). I'm really close to both my parents and definitely have a bond with them. It will be there. Your baby still knows and recognises you, your smell, your heartbeat. You are her mum and she will have a bond with you. Just keep ploughing away and looking forward to a time when you can all go home together.

jem congratulations! Jacob looks so peaceful. Hope you get home soon.

hopes how are things going?

jem congrats! Dh has been fighting for that name the whole way through this pregnancy if we have a boy - another well named baby for the july group!

I think baby has fully engaged - its felt low for a while but today its felt like it could actually fall out! Also tmi - had diarrhoea earlier.... hoping its a sign for me (probably not!)

Hows everyone else doing? Anybody else still not sure how they will get to hospital when the time comes? 38+0

Congratulations jem, Jacob is beautiful! Hope you get to leave the post natal ward soon and get home.

Hopes was it better news today? Really hope you manage to get to the 37 weeks. I'm sure the stress of going back & forth to hospital isn't helping.

Jem huge congratulations he's so beautiful. What did he weigh? Makes me want mine now as we were due the same day.

Thank you so much to everyone asking after me. Sorry I've not replied much but my brain isn't working I'll reply properly tomorrow. I'm managing to keep food down now but I've hardly eaten all weekend. I feel sick & uncomfortable after eating. I might try starving it out tomorrow and just having water. I've felt uncomfortable all weekend. I just don't know what to do with myself. I'm really grumpy and agitated. I've never felt like this towards the end before so can only think it was the bug.

38+2

Aw jem he's wonderful! Good on you for getting through it without the drip. Mat5 is a nightmare isn't it?! What did he weigh? Looks healthy! Sleep well; sending you both happy vibes from SE10!

Jem yay!!! Congrats - he looks gorgeous! Hope you managed some sleep. Excellent news

Elliz are you mental, Bluewater on a Sunday while heavily duffed?! Actually I'm probably just jealous! Boo to protein - fingers crossed its nothing. I had some at a consultant appt a few weeks ago but no other dodgy symptoms and at my next midwife appt, she asked if I'd been dehydrated which I absolutely had. She said its v common, in case that helps?? Did you buy anything today?

Beaut I really feel for you, my lovely - really hope it hurries up and buggers off, it's just not what you need right now

I think baby has moved lower as when I got in the car yesterday, my bump was uncomfortably on my thighs. And it hadn't been the day before. My undercarriage is swollen and itchy and driving me mad today, too. Although I still have indigestion, go figure. And I accidentally did some hoovering so I feel like I've been kicked in the foof by a ruddy Shire horse. But I still don't want to have this baby yet. Although I do have an inflated birth pool in my sitting room...what the actuuuuualll fuuuucccckkk am I doooooooiinng???

dats 37w (but listen, kiddo - just because you're now officially cooked doesn't mean you're coming out yet, ya get me?!)

Aww jem congratulations, he's gorgeous and another lovely lovely name.

Sorry to heat you still aren't feeling great beaut . So unfair!

photographer I don't really have an option unfortunately. It sounds absolutely lovely at the birthing centre so I really hope you get your wish. At least I quite like the hospital.

Slight concern in my labour plan- I think I lost a bit of my plug just now. Wasn't the whole thing but big enough to spy in the loo ( sorry too much information) I blame the crazy nesting I did earlier. I'm on edge big time. It wasn't straight after I lost it last time but still can't help but be worried. DH won't be contactable tomorrow if something happens

Congratulations and well done Jem!! He's very cute, love the name. I was so happy to get home even though the post natal ward was fine (just baking hot!!!) it's great to be with your own things and your own bed.

Cookies shiiiit! Sit down! Put your feet up. Really high! You can't argue with gravity! Hope it all calms down xx

My little one is now 3 days old!!!! How did that go so quick!? Still no name for him. I'm holding out for Samuel!

I don't think I'm doing to bad. The fair is in town and yesterday afternoon we took DD down and I ended up in the 'house of fun' and I couldn't find my way out after putting DD down the slide. I don't recommend this 2 days after giving birth!!!

Got little one weighed today. He's only lost 50g and they were happy with him. Next see midwife on tues when they do the heel prick test.

Dats, that made me laugh! Reality is starting to set in feel like I've got loads to do before little one arrives!