May 2017 #11 Not long to go until the first baby shows!

[PeachIcedT]

It only took us two weeks to fill up the last thread!

Link to previous thread #10:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/antenatal_clubs/2875150-may-2017-10-to-be-prepared-or-not-prepared

Link to the May data sheet: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KVJO4NGD6JrcGRGQuYnx87mLaadV5ytrP4lDfdqLrUQ/edit#gid=0

Thanks for the tip on the pharamacist, I spoke to a local one who said as it's not that bad currently to see if the salt water bathing I've been doing will fix it and to just wear sandals (so I'm glad it's sort of spring out there!) hopefully I can get rid of it and not need any pharmaceutical treatment.

Ladies who have done this before, what does it feel like when the head is engaging? I feel like there's a lot of pressure at the bottom of my bump today, I expected it to be more 'between my legs' IYSWIM, but it's more pressure towards the front if that makes sense?

@dreamofhungarianlanterns love "your bumps are in the right place" quite a nice compliment once you process it!! 

@ShiniBerry I bought a tens machine from boots (got money off with parent club and wasn't too expensive) it has two modes, ongoing low level and a boost button for when the contractions come so will probably give it a go... even if I just have it for reassurance.

@lullaby23 Thanks for the link looks useful resource.

What... worse after pain?! My stitches hurt for pretty much two weeks after DD, I've psyched myself up for 2 weeks of the same.. who's bloody idea was it to have more than one!
I didn't even realise I was in pain until the morning after I got home from hospital, in hindsight I'm not really sure what I thought the medicine nurse was giving me!!
I alternated paracetamol and ibuprofen every 2 hours for the first few days.. (baby was very calm! ) then staggered them progressively further apart and by 2 weeks later I could walk around pretty normally and sit down properly without pain!

For nighttime bleeds post baby I used a couple of the cheap extra thick pads along the length of my knickers as I found even the maternity ones weren't long enough when sat up in bed feeding and slouching in some odd positions when we both fell asleep!
Plus a towel! And my mum squirrelled some of the bed pads they use in hospital which were fab. (I understand you can buy these now though!)

Does anyone know if it's safe to take arnica after the birth if breastfeeding? I did last time but now I'm not sure it's ok?
Also is anyone going to take/drink rasberry leaf tea and do you know when it's safe to start?

Good questions Peas - I was wondering the same. This is all very helpful to read through!

Rise those hot cross buns sound amazing!

Shini my sleep is also terrible. It's so frustrating because I'm so tired. But I'm generally just so uncomfortable

Peas arnica is safe, my NCT instructor has recommended it (a LOT!) there are bath soaks you can buy with arnica in too for afterwards.

Regarding RLT I think advice varies, I've started drinking it with the aim of slowly increasing the amount I drink over the next few weeks, my midwife said she thought 37 weeks was the recommended point to start, but didn't actually tell me to stop drinking it (only that I should stop if it gives me braxton hicks etc) so I've continued, I've got some teabags with lower dose and some with higher so I'm only drinking the lower ones currently and only 2 cups a day

Example bath soak with arnica:
www.boots.com/cussons-mum-and-me-new-mum-bath-soak-300ml-10140979

dream you're colleagues comments cracked me up!!!

Just an update incase any others are suffering low iron... I just used Solgar gentle iron 25mgs and feel like a new person!! Yay! Oh I am tucking into a massive beetroot salad right now and eat lots of veggie iron rich foods and no tea near food etc too. Thought it was just third trimester exhaustion so pleased I got to root of it :)

Had a nosey on Babycentre May group last night and at least 2 of them popped at the weekend

Thanks cinnamon, I'm going to try rasberry leaf tablets this time as the tea didn't go down too well last time. Have ordered some today along with arnica for after and those wipes thanks for that heads up savage 👍🏻 Have midwife tomorrow will see what she says about RLT.

@peasandquiet Erm what does raspberry leaf tea do?

@MrsJW15 they are, they're just a bit dangerous out the toaster because the bubbling toffee can stick to your fingers... definitely worth the risk though!

Ahh RLT, or as DH called it 'pink tea'. Drank tonnes of it last time, it was quite nice. It's meant to help tone your uterus I think?

Oh and dates, I did the dates thing last time, didn't work for me but worth a try if you like them anyway
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/21280989/

Wow! Busy thread today ladies!

@Badgerbird I did manage to crash out in the end thankfully. DH was very good and gave me a bit of a back rub ☺

Birchbox is a subscription thing where they send you 5 beauty products each month but it's kind of tailored to you. Generally sample sizes, but it's a nice little treat 😋

@Adventuregame I hope you managed to get back to sleep?

I'm really not looking forward to the return of the periods. I've always had a really odd cycle and before falling pregnant in August I hadn't had a period since late May.

@1004Rise it's been a worry of mine too. I sleep like a log and have had countless times when I have literally slept through an alarm and DH has had to physically shake me to wake me up 🙈

😳 at your 8kg gain too! You lucky mare! I've put on double that!

@dreamofhungarianlanterns 🙈😂🙈😂🙈😂🙈

@WishIWasSleeping a friend of mine found it just as cheap to buy puppy training pads to sit on around the house and have in the bed. They could at least be thrown away easily

@Badgerbird what's babycentre?

Rise it's meant to to be a gentle way of inducing labour. I drank pints of it last time when I was overdue and it did sod all. It's quite a nice drink though. If I remember, Clary sage oil is also meant to bring in contractions but again, burning that did nowt for me.

Cinnamon I don't remember it feeling any different when the head engaged. But people said I walked differently. By which I think they meant waddled more.

@peasandquiet I've been drinking a cup of RLT and taking the tablets too since 31 weeks. No idea if it's going to do anything but if the 5 pregnancies between my mum and sister the longest was 4 hours and both seem to swear by it so I feel the pressure to at least try it. My mum took it from 20 weeks! I think it is meant to reduce the length of the second stage of labour - if it has any genetic susceptibility it would make sense it would work for me (now I'll be the one with a 3 day labour...)

I've taken RLT before quite diligently but couldn't really say whether it helped or not! Not sure I can be bothered this time.

@BouncingBlueberry I bought what I didn't have yesterday for my hospital bag in two places - Superdrug and Primark. So I think you should find most of what you need in Boots. Plus I bought a holdall for £20 in Debenhams which will double up for our night away later this week.

I bought mothercare maternity pads which were expensive but I liked the wings and couldn't be bothered shopping around at that point. Only have 24 heavy flow ones though and that doesn't appear to be that many!

@newbieho you had a HV appointment? Did they contact you for it as I've not heard from anyone about one. Not heard about scrapping the red book scheme but not overly surprising I suppose.

Collecting my niece from school in a moment - seems like a novelty now but I guess not for much longer!

Badger, I was just thinking, we're 1/4 of the way through this thread, earliest babies are due 28th April I think, so 1 month away, and still nothing!!

5 weeks 1 day left for me, I'm convinced I will be early, which means I will be overdue and induced [rollseyes] Having said that, I have been having (I wouldn't say painful, but definitely uncomfortable) BH all evening yesterday, and a lot of today, period pain type, so who knows!!

@PeachIcedT I have got an invitation by post asking to call local HV centre and make an appointment. The letter stated HV centre was informed by the midwife so it may be worth to ask your midwife on your next appointment.

Ewwww dates @lullaby23 doesn't matter how overdue I get, I'm not eating dates!!! 

@1004Rise 🐕🐕❤❤

rise that picture is awesome!!!!

Oh Rise, that's such a gorgeous photo!! I'm so jealous that I can't take my boy on walks like that anymore :( Not that he cares about anything other then his tennis ball when we're out . I hope your DH appreciates that he can do that walk

@1004Rise I couldn't believe how much I've put on. I'm well aware some of it is me weight aswell as baby weight, although I don't look like 'I've' put a lot on. Dreading trying to get it off once she arrives! 😱

I thought 3 months for a birchbox was just enough seeing as I won't have time to pamper myself soon enough!

The pups look gorgeous hanging out up there! 🐶

Hi everyone,

Just checking in- lost you all for a while.
It sounds like you are all carrying. I've small bumps- I on the other hand have a whopper of a bump and don't know how I will make it to May! Not the best look.

Just sitting waiting for my Obstetric Cardiology appointment, only an hour behind so far. But has given me time to find the thread again. It moved too fast!

Hope everyone is well. Xx

Naughty baby has turned back to transverse so spd is back with avengance! ;(