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

[Ellizardo]

Nearly there folks.

P.S. Cookies - George is gorgeous!!!

Anna - you are being so strong and amazing. Glad you got some time. Visiting can be exhausting and it's so important to recharge. Still thinking of you and sending love x

Elliz , what a beautiful name. So classy and elegant.

Must have posted at same time Eliz - Claudia is a lovely name, lovely lovely x

Hi guys, not going to be a very thorough reply here as I am a bit knackered (not from labour, don't get excited), but I will do my best!

Ellizardo WOOOHOOOOO and congratulations! Claudia is utterly beautiful, and you look so gorgeous and contented! Hope the bowel movement went okay... Bit scary to take laxatives if you're not feeling very mobile!

dats fricking loved the idea of you being overlooked by an aeroplane full of people whilst birthing your child... How mean of you to hang curtains and cut off their potential entertainment! Also, your day today sounds ace. Good efforts on the relaxation front, gold star for you.

Beaut my goodness, how is this baby of yours not out yet?!

Cookies omigosh, George is a cutie. Is the tongue tie sorted now?

KayTee really sorry to hear about the diarrhoea - possibly better than constipation? That's the only silver lining I can think of for that particular cloud... Stop worrying about getting things done around the house! If you can't manage it, you can't manage it. Is there anyone who can help you out a bit?

Indians oh no, that sounds rather stressful! How come you were in hospital? My induction is booked for Sunday too - perhaps we will be induction buddies!

photographer if you're worried about reduced movement again, just go in. Particularly as you're overdue now - they won't mind, they'd rather see you and have the baby start moving than have you not come in and potentially miss something!

Cheery ooooOOOooo I hope the jippy tummy turns into something exciting!

So I've had a fun day. Was kind of conscious all night that the baby wasn't moving as much as usual when I got up for a wee, but was so sleepy that I just waited for him to kick and then went back to sleep again each time. When I woke up at 6.30am, though, I couldn't make him move at all. I had a massive freak-out, woke up DH, and within five minutes we were dressed and on our way to the hospital!

I had a trace for about an hour, and after a mug of hot chocolate and a round of toast he did start moving lots, but the midwives weren't totally happy about his heart rate - they didn't think it was varying enough when he moved.

I then got sent for a growth scan because my bump is 4cm under - that was actually quite lovely because the sonographer was just gorgeously kind and made a special point of getting an image of his little face up on the screen for us - I couldn't believe how clear it was. All measurements are fine, so they think that my funny bump size is just to do with the way baby is lying / my body shape.

Then back onto the trace for another 45 minutes, and they still weren't happy, so I got sent off to a different hospital which has a consultant led unit for a second opinion! Another hour on the trace and this time, baby behaved himself, so I got a stretch & sweep (HOORAH!) and was discharged, with induction booked for Sunday if nothing happens before then.

For those who haven't had sweeps yet, can I just say... take a panty liner to put in afterwards, just in case! I didn't, and good GOD was I shocked by the state of my knickers when I went to the toilet in a coffee shop an hour later! I didn't dare sit properly on the chair in the coffee shop afterwards in case I bled through my dress onto the seat... I just sort of gingerly perched the very very edge of my arse on the very very edge of the chair and had the world's most uncomfortable cappuccino! And then discreetly wiped the seat with a serviette afterwards just in case (DH thought I was being a complete mentalist at this point).

Anyhow! Home now, and feeling pleasingly period-y (how funny it is to be pleased by mild discomfort...) So I hope that something happens before Sunday. Fingers crossed!

Aw what a day Bluebell! Glad all ok - to be fair, I always perk up after hot choc and toast too

Really hope sweep does it's thing and you get to meet your baby very soon x

Beautiful name elliz.

Got everything crossed that your bouncing is productive cheery. Hope your tummy settles down soon too.

Sounds like a busy and stressful day bluebell. Ooh maybe this will be the start of it after your sweep!

Eek elliz an upset tummy after abdominal surgery is hell from what I remember so hopefully the laxatives they've given you aren't too harsh.

jem so good to hear you're getting on well with feeding and Jake is gaining weight.

mascara it must be so strange and exciting to have your date. Try and have a bit of a pamper this weekend too and relax. I've been treating myself to lots of lovely baths etc. Hair tomorrow & nails, toenails and eyebrows on Tuesday - makes me feel a bit better and more in control.

hopes glad it was only a short stint for the jaundice, did they have him under a uv lamp (is that what they actually do?)

pulpi glad baby is going in the right direction for you!!

Haha dats no one has mentioned my perineum to me yet.

beaut I bet your husband will be very happy with his lot tomorrow - he probably won't be expecting anything organised considering how pregnant you are.

cheery I have backache too but it feels like everything (lower back, pelvis & hips) are loose and that's why it's sore.

bluebell sending you baby vibes! Tbf my husband would do the housework when he gets in from work or at the weekend but he also has the garden to do and I feel ridiculously guilty if I don't feel like I've had a productive day. Yesterday I didn't get up until 9.45 and felt really guilty - no idea why and I'm sure it's a bit mental.

Thanks for all the commiserations on horrible iron tablets that are needed for equally horrible anaemia! I've luckily never really suffered from constipation so don't know what would be worse. I didn't get any sleep today but got some stuff done around the house and made a lovely (if I say so myself) chilli for dinner which bil was round for and sent some up the road to mil too (hopefully she thinks it's up to scratch as she's a good cook).

Lovely name, Elliz! One of my closest friends is Claudia; sometimes we call her Cloud for short (even though we don't pronounce Claudia like Cloudia)... otherwise she gets her full name, which is so lovely.

Thanks Cheery, tams and KayTee! KayTee, I do know what you mean about feeling the need to be productive, but really, I do think we all need to listen to our bodies as well and rest while we have the chance to!

So I just need to share my evening's tale with you. DH and I went for a long walk after dinner to try and bring labour on. Halfway along, DH spied a little gate and a public footpath leading through a field, and suggested we wander across. I wasn't massively sure about this as I was in flip-flops (the most wondrous footwear in existence because you don't have to bend to put them on) and there was a sign on the gate saying 'Sheep and lambs - please keep your dogs on a lead'. I was thinking sheep poo and mostly bare feet don't mix well.

Anyway, despite my misgivings, we entered the field, with me diligently and delicately side-stepping all the lumps of sheep shit. So focused, in fact, was I on not stepping in sheep poo, that I didn't notice the eff-off great ram with bollocks the size of party balloons, until it started approaching us... At which point I stepped behind DH pretty damn quickly (I'm so brave and self-sacrificing).

So I'm panicking and semi hyperventilating (thinking - holy shit, I actually CANNOT run if this horned thing attacks us), and DH is telling me not to worry and is talking gently to the ram and rubbing its nose... So I'm thinking maybe I'm just being a massive wuss and there is no danger here. And then DH suggests I walk back the way we came while he keeps the ram distracted...

It was only after we got out of the field that DH told me that his mind had been working overtime trying to work out how the hell he was going to take the ram out if it tried to charge me! He works a lot with farmers, and he knows of some grown men who've been pretty smashed up by rams. (In case you're interested, if the ram backed away to get a run-up, DH planned to follow it so that it didn't have any space, then try and wrestle it onto its back. Not totally sure what he was going to do once he had it on its back mind you...!)

Now, what do we think? Will the stress and adrenaline rush of a potential ram-attack bring on labour, or will it set me back a couple of days?!?!

Indians me too just had quite a bit of blood I showed DH haha

Good luck Bluebell (cracked up laughing at your ram story, sorry!), Indians and Beautician! How exciting

Go Indians & beaut! Race to the finish!

Thanks Liz re name! We like it too. Helene (with accents!) is my mothers name so mixing old with new etc.

Wind after csection is a phenomenon that I can't describe with words. Most painful bit so far and I'm sadly not even joking. Hope to be discharged tmw, love to be outside in the sunshine after being cooped up. I'd even risk a ram infested field..bluebell you are one brave lady..like a kind of flip flopped summery Withnail & I

Indians - sleep (/rest)! You will need all your energy v soon (and eat something now if you can).

Live birth thread wooo how exciting!

Sleep, Indians, sleep! While you can... Best of luck! And you too, Beaut.

Elliz - such an elegant name

Bluebell - crikey, what a story! Love the idea of your DH wrestling a ram into its back hilarious!

Ooh it's all kicking off on here this evening!!!

Beaut and Indians I was hoping for some more live labour posts! I can't believe you have other things to think about! Hope you're both ok and mooing in the zone.

Beaut in case you do have to do the nursery run tomor, yes I am driving her - but is because it's too far to walk (nursery is near my work about 3 miles away rather than in the village). I'd be more worried about going into labour on foot!!

Bluebell as someone who has a probably irrational anxiety about being trampled by a cow, I can well imagine how that felt, oh my goodness!!!! But I'm loving your hero DH, what a legend protecting his girl like that - swoon! And all that after your drama-filled day! So glad all is ok and you seem pretty chilled about it all, which is great.

Elliz Claudia Helene is a beautiful name! Is Helene pronounced 'El-ENN'? Or like that but with an H? Or neither?! I need to know these things!!! Lovely that it's your mum's name, too. Did you mean that people kept thinking she was a boy because she was in blue?? I get annoyed at the whole gendered clothes thing, it really winds me up! DD wears far more blue than pink and she's often referred to as a he! Poor child! Hope your pain and your poo is manageable and you get to go home tomor!

You may not want to read this if you're freaking out about tearing/stitches
My perineum (am now thinking about that Friends episode with Ross and his sandwich...) so I was talking to my regular(ish) middo about feeling anxious about tearing again. Specifically it's more about the aftermath of the stitches because, to be fair, I've sort of never felt the same since being stitched up (pardon the pun) last time. Tampons are now an arse, sex was awks from a geometry perspective - how I conceived another child I'll never know turkey baster kidding. Don't get me wrong, it's not ruined my life or anything, I just wanted to bring it up - and also because there was a delay in me being sutured, I lost a lot of blood - which is another reason I had to have a discussion about it - to ascertain from my notes where the bleeding originated from, in case it precluded a homebirth. Well that was a beautifully constructed sentence paragraph Anyway, my birth plan now has two points, as opposed to the one it had before: 1. No pethidine thankyouplease 2. Make me put my hand down to feel baby crowning at crucial bit or do whatever you need to try and make me not push. Because I remember distinctly that part of the birth - not because it was horrific, but it was textbook: little breaths, don't push, if no one appears with a warm face cloth for your perineum, ask for one. Midwife was duly there with warm cloth, told me to pant; I pushed. It was an overwhelming urge. So the tip about putting your hand down to the crowning head I think is a brilliant one - I hope it will kind of connect me with what my body is doing and make me find the urge easier to manage. My regular midwife had vaguely mentioned something about having a chat with a supervisory midwife so that was why she rang me, but she also just wanted to check I'd got what I needed for homebirth and had thought about childcare for DD etc. She was nice, we had a good chat.

The End

dats, 38+5+corpse feet

Dats I need more info please! Why aren't you supposed to push at that point? Is it pushing then that makes you tear? Did you / would you have an epidural (and does that make a difference to the pushing and/or the tearing)? Why no pethidine? (not that I'm planning to have it, but am curious to understand your reasoning.) There's so much that I don't know - wah! Thank you very much!

Does anyone else find it strange when medical professionals refer to your lady-parts as "down there"? e.g. "Do you have any pain down there?" Seems fine in normal society (especially if you're trying to be polite no need for it here then) but I expect medical professionals to use language that's a bit more, well, medical and professional...

Booked a dentist appointment today. Free dental care until a year after birth, so I was keen to get the timing lined up so that I can sneak a final free appointment in just before my year is up...

Anyone else awake and bored?

38+3

Any news???

So im going to set up a postnatal group for us on here - i dont have facebook and also have very few mum friends (1!) So have really appreciated the advice from some of you more experienced ladies over the last couple of days.... also want to keep in touch with people on here and see how our tiny little beans back in october develop! Will post a link to it in the morning

Annie has just had her first pooplosion all over the bed as i was too lazy to get the change mat first - she must have known....

In hospital contracting away. Indians my due date is today

I hope it happens quick I'm in a nice room with a pool but not in it yet hoping I can get in soon

GO BEAUT!

I will elaborate on the pushing thing when I've had some sleep, currently it's indigestion 3 - 0 ranitidine, Gaviscon, Rennie - oof, do one, stomach acid

xxx

Now I want to stay awake but I neeeeeed sleeeeep! Beaut, I'm cheering you on! Yay for nice rooms! back rub xx

primary postnatal group = good plan; no changing mat = not so much!