Due in March 07 - in the immortal words of "Europe": It's the final countdown....!

[boredwithwaitingforminiMOSSY]

NEW THREAD!!!! Could this be the last one before we all start to drop???

kitty-i wash my hair in the bath.that is the hair on my head before anybody makes any comments.my bathroom tends to get invaded by small people so i cant remember the last time i did anything 'fun' whilst in the bath

well i know i can bottle-feed and text at the same time ,but ive never attempted typing.i'm sure if it's possible,dp will find out before i do.

still no word off amie...i'm wondering if they kept her in after her scan?

rosy-my feet have been swollen for the last week,its horrible.i think we should be allowed to sit with our feet up for the next 3 weeks.

my fingers are swollen today as well though,and my heads hurting,my bp is probably high at the thought of half term.im really narky and fed up today,and i get annoyed that ds and dd1's father is such a useless piece of c**p,especially when i see weekend dads out with their kids

sorry for ranting

36+3

sponge-x posts.so you also have a mother like that?i used to clean like a madwoman when my mum was visiting cos i knew she'd comment,but now i just say if its not upto her standards then she's welcome to clean if she wishes

Yeah, I wonder what's happened to Amie. She could well have been kept in I suppose.Hope she signs in soon.

Good idea Diva! When people come to visit us I open the door to welcome them and say "the house is a tip, but hey.....". They can take it or leave it

Muppet - I got my BF pillow from JoJoMamanBebe. (can't do links) I think as long as its banana shaped it curls round your body and you can lay LO on it - mine really saved my back. I remember wrestling with hospital pillows to feed her after I had DD, so will defo take my BF pillow in this time.

They also have a hadle so you can hang it from your buggy when you go out and come in all kinds of funky patterns and colours

WEll I had 5 MN-ers arrive at 11am with books and the last one left at 3.30pm. I almost cancelled the bookswap during the week, as I was so tired, but (thanks to my 7 hours sleep last night) it was great fun. Usually on Satyrdays I do feck all as DH works, so it was good to do something.

The weather has been fantastic here today - watm and sunny

I've got one of those little widgey shaped pillows too, they are great for breatsfeeding and laying babes in as well when they get to about erm 4-6 weks I think (yes I've had two children before but you do forget, maybe that's why we keep having more )

Nothing stunning to report here, a better nights sleep, although punctuated with braxton hicks forcing my bladder into action about 3-4 x. I had no insomnia per se and get back to sleep ok
Had dreadful indigestion at bedtime though - think it was the choc pud I had earlier in the evening. So curries are out, puddings are out...
Grrrr

Well we've been to Mothercare World in Croydon having the car-seat and my maternity bras fitted. The woman did a face when I told her I was a 32 back before pregnancy.

Although the painting is still not finished and there's still crap all over the flat, DH has decided to go for a haircut. Sigh. Sometimes I just want to...

What a lot of wank talk on the thread. Can't say it's something that bothers me. It's a good way to get to sleep, and we've got a very firm matress .

Hi Dolly .

EDD 3/3
37+6
Boy

just back from tour of hospital, fire alarm was on there for ages, hope it's not like that normally - not v relaxing! the birth pool room was really nice, the others were a bit pokey tbh - hard to imagine they could really fit in the birth balls/mats/rocking chairs etc they said they had to use. the worst bit is that after the baby is born, your dh has to go home and you go up to antenatal by yourself. visiting hours only, even for dh
it's quite exciting - all seems a bit real now - so I really will be having this baby after all

Am I missing the firm mattress/ wanking connection ?

hi diva- yes, my mum is one of those! But today she surpassed herself! I have been getting braxton hicks very strongly and when i had a few when they were here today, she said " I didn't have those in my day. its just indigestion and its not that bad" am afraid I snapped and swore at her. dp froze and stared at her-she carried on eating her cake, lalala! -when I was first prgnt she informed me that morning sickness was "put on" and attention seeking behaviour

my dad insisted on trying my birthing ball,then said paternity leave for men is ridiculous and real men didn't need to do that or want to !!!!!!!(dp had gone to work by then) and then shouted at me when I was reversing the car "bloody f*k women drivers etc etc" undoing all the good (he was deprived of smoking in the house though, needless to say mum smoked through all her prgncs-never did you any harm etc etc)

won;t even begin to let you know what she said about the planned water birth, tens...but you can guess

grrrr......

Means I cam drift off to sleep undisturbed while he gets on with it, unlike Mossy.

Haven't read all the msgs...

but Boo - we were in Mothercareworld today too!
Didn't buy anything though, was trying to get a stairgate and a bedguard

Sponge - so your parents are sensitive to your feelings then?

I reckon you should get a video made of your birth, with you in your birthday suit in the pool and send it to them to watch afterwards. They'd be sooo !! LOL

Evening everyone,

Spongecake - sorry to hear you are having grief from your Mum, just when you need the support - she probably just can't remember what it was like 'in her day' (I can't remember much about being pg with dd and that was only 7 years ago!!)

RANT ALERT!

Well, things here are going from bad to worse, the pressure has really been stepped up re my wish for a home birth

When my community midwife asked my consultant for some form of advice / plan for my birth (as the consultant sent me away on Tuesday with no instructions other than 'come back in 3 weeks (at 39 weeks) and we'll do a plan then (after your next growth scan/checking your blood sugar control' ) the consultant sent my midwife a letter stating that she doesn't feel that I am a suitable candidate for home birth and they are concerned and want me to start taking insulin to control my gd - wtf??

She didn't say this to me on Tuesday during my appointment, although the diabetologist did say that he suggested that I started on insulin as I had had 3 high sugar results, but I said no, so they just accepted that and told me to come back in three weeks.

If they were that worried surely they would have asked me to come in again sooner than 39 weeks?

I have now got my midwife and her supervisor coming around to see me next wed, to 'discuss my options' - I am soo fed up and stressed

I expected them to step up the pressure near the end when I was more vulnerable to their suggestions that if I proceed with a homebirth I am being irresponsible with both mine and my babies safety/health. Now, I'm feeling very unsure of myself, and don't know what to do....

Magpie, sorry you are stressed. My midwife and her supervisor are coming round next week too.I have only agreed because I like my midwife and I don't want her to get an earbashing from her supervisor. They have to offer this visit, but you don't have to accept it.
Could you have someone supportive with you?
Have you contacted 'AIMS' they are very good to talk to regarding hb.

Do you know WHAT it is they are worried about? Are they saying you DO have GB or not? It would be a good idea to find out all the potential probs before they visit you so that you can counter their objections without feeling overwhelmed.

Yes they will try and pressure you into going to hospital, however, knowledge is power, so get researching .

Duh, didn't mean GB meant GD (silly woman)

reading through the posts and noticing your "before" and "after" your parents visit, Spongecake... I would say BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!! Your Mum sounds great though .

Glad you had a great day with the book girls Fox. It's always nice when things are better than you expect - especially since you were going to cancel.

Hahahahahahahaha Diva - how is your dp going to know about breastfeeding and typing??? I can picture him at the puter with baby and a bottle balanced in its mouth .

Magpie ... fight on girl. If you feel comfortable about giving it a go as well as surrendering if you can't manage at home. It's a shame that they didn't discuss it with you in person... but you have a couple of days to decide your options in your own mind before Wednesday.

We had a mammoth shopping trip today - only for a few things but it seemed to take forever. I had to listen in to a Mummy's "because he was old enough to know now" conversation with her son over lunch. Poor thing (although he must have been Year 6) was told that the tooth fairy didn't want his teeth any more - he was too old - and that Santa is a folk story for little children. I was stuck between feeling sorry for the loss of childhood and how naive he must be

and this cute email was in my box

The Middle Wife

By an Anonymous
2nd grade teacher

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second-grade classroom.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show- and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater. She holds up a snapshot of an infant.

"This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday. First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord."

[She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.]

"Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, oh, oh, oh!' " [Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans.] "She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!'

[Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.]

"My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this."

[Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.]

"And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!"

[This kid has her legs spread and with her little hands are miming water flowing away. It was too much!]

"Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe.' They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff, they all said it was from Mom's play-centre!, so there must be a lot of stuff inside there."

[Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, if it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another Erica comes along.]

spongecake - mind you, my mum has a tendency towards those kind of statements as well, also how low birthweight my kids are compared to hers (ds1 was 6.10 but at 37 weeks and I had pre eclampsia so that's actually quite good) anyhow, just what you want to hear after birth drama
i suggest you buy a very 'earthy' pate after the birth, invite them round for dinner and then tell them afterwards that it was placenta pate and you are so proud of your mother earth credentials

magpie - sorry to hear people are not being upfront with you about their concerns - i expect the letter is just to cover their backs but it shouldn't be done that way. hope the home visit goes ok. the midwives are probably more sympathetic to hb in general than the obs/gyns

glad your day went so well, fox, you sound more energetic than me. I'm very antisocial these days.

Bloody DP is asleep watching tv, god its hard work going out down the pub till gone 12 and then having a kebab and stinking the house out!! just have to try and resist throwing something at him!!
i'm 34 weeks today!! oh it's getting closer!! so hope he comes 2 weeks early like DS! my back is killing me!! don't know how long i can carry this lump around! and they say they put the most weight on in last weeks!! Well as his measuring 35 weeks surely he should be at least a week early??!!

piffle-widgey shaped pillow????i want one!

kiwi-i am planning to bottle-feed,if dp could bf then he'd be most welcome to,in fact i've lost count of the times ive said(about my painfully large,heavy breasts)'if you like them that much then ill have them removed and sewn onto you'.

spongecake-sorry your parents visit wasnt a relaxing experience.of course they just got on with pregnancy in their day,i bet they never complained once,eh?!

note to self-get a firm mattress

Diva... he hasn't been tempted then!

Magpie - that is so undermining isn't it? Its as though they're all discussing you with each other but don't have the courtesy to discuss it with you

Agree you should arm yourself with reserach - why don't you start a thread and discuss wit with some mums who've been through the same issue re. suspected GD and home births?

kiwi-im not going to tell you what he says about that...

magpie-i agree with foxy,start a thread and see if any other mums have had the same problems,get as much info as possible before you see the mw.

just used a boomerang pillow for feeding no2 and have one for no3. With dd1 had a boppy pillow I think they are called.

boppy pillow Think I got mine from John Lewis. As dd1 ended up being tube and then bottle fed - can't say how effective it was but the boomerang one was fine - great if one has had a c-section too - no pressure on scar or stomach.

Thanks for all your replies (weak )

I do have gd, but have been controlling it so far by adjusting my diet.

I don't know if it's just that I've got this far planning to have a homebirth (I hate the whole idea of hospitals, and am not really sure why, I just feel that once they have got you in hospital it's a worsening cycle of interventions and lack of control) and now the birth is imminent I am starting to doubt myself.

I know that they are worried about shoulder dystocia and about the baby having hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) after the birth, but none of them will tell me what the actual risks of these happening are just that they can happen...