October 2017 #5!

[GimbleInTheWabe]

Hope no one minds me setting up a new thread- we were getting full up on the other one!

Here is the link to the deets sheet, feel free to add or edit your details as you please:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pa8LZMKMLvREYH4kFiNqn1dD7aTb053cT_KHvghwvSM/edit?usp=sharing

Bring on the third trimester aches, midwife appointments and birth plan chat!

Gimble they said that it takes about 24 working days to process the claim, not sure why it takes that long as I'm sure it never took that long in the past (i was self emp when I had both boys )

Wonder if there will be more babies here by morning?

Congratulations @BumblingBee89 , he is totally gorgeous!

Good luck and hope things are progressing @ButterflyGem and @Nessalina .and glad you made it to your mat allowance date @Loopyaboutmy2boys .

I think that statistically over half of us will go beyond our due dates. It feels like there are lots of early babies on here but I'm sure it will even out as the month progresses.

Congratulations, potatoes and bumbling. So glad to hear of your new arrivals and hoping both you and the the babies are doing well.

In the end, I did give birth to Alexander just two hours short of a week's worth of induction but only six hours off labour!

Full Inc some gory details
Yesterday I didn't feel great in the morning, couldn't sit down, didn't feel like showering or tidying my hospital bay then around lunch time I could feel regular pressures on my pelvis (I don't feel the contractions properly, which is one reason they didn't want me going into labour at home in case it caused a big bleed after the for little ones) they monitored me and found I was having more than four contractions in ten minutes, so moved me to a labour room, where Alexander turned up after five hours and just four pushes. He weighed eight and a half pounds.

My placenta was stubborn (no surprise there as I'd never escaped a pregnancy, successful or unsuccessful, without an ERPC) but one of the doctors tugged and then it came out. When I was checked though, there were clots and bits of tissue remaining so I had a spinal block and an ERPC after all.

We are both doing well and are very comfortable and should go home tomorrow. His big brother liked the look of him but preferred to focus on removing mummy's hospital wrist name tag.

Forgot photo:

Well, this'll teach me to get it on with the husband after no fun for weeks...

Woke up about an hour ago to my water breaking (glad I have wooden floors and not carpets! ) Rang the hospital. Had the option of going in now or waiting until 6.30am so opted for the latter. We shall see what happens! 37 + 3 today.

Congrats @Cineraria , he's gorgeous!

Good luck @KitKatSplat !

Morning! Well after my last post it was less than 6hrs until she arrived! Megan Elizabeth, 7lb 3oz, just after 9pm.
I had a nap, and things started moving when I woke up at 6pm. Went from a contraction every 8mins to every 2mins within an hour, then made the mad dash to hospital, arriving at 8pm ish. Quick exam, 3cm, but as I was making a fair bit of noise soon after exam, they sent me straight round to the birth ward and had my pool being filled up whilst I huffed on some gas & air. Into the pool about 8:45 and straight away had the urge to push. She made her way down in 7 or 8 contractions I guess, and that was that! All so speedy, I couldn't believe it!
Delayed cord clamping, and once I was out I had the injection to speed along the placenta, which was no trouble. Alas, I had torn, and after an uncomfortable exam by two midwives, and a check up the rear, they were worried that it was 3rd degree, so I had to hang about for an age for a doctor to check me out. More uncomfortable exams later it turned out to be not as bad as they had thought, so I was stitched up by a midwife. By this time she had latched on like a pro, so I had a shower and then they let us head home. Now in my own bed giving her about her 10th feed

Gorgeous picture Cineraria! Well done you!

Wow, more babies!

Congrats nessalina, and another beautiful name...

cineraria gorgeous pic!

Good luck kitkat!

Wow they are coming thick and fast now!! Congrats @Nessalina !

I'm so jealous of you all; come on baby!!!

Wow huge congratulations cineraria and nessalina! Amazing work! Lovely names and a very cute picture.

Good luck kitkat! So the old wives tale might be true!

Seems like a baby boom but I guess pingusmistress is right and it'll settle down. We can't all go early... I'm still a week and a half from my due date and almost everyone I know was a few days over. So I'm telling myself not to expect anything for 2 weeks. Not really believing myself but I am trying...

Wow wow!! More babies!! Congrats @Nessalina and @Cineraria!
Can’t believe how quick you were in and out @Nessalina, well and your little one too! 7 or 8 pushes and out she came.

@Cineraria he’s totally gorgeous and love the name too. I bet you can’t wait to get home now with your little one.

Positive vibes to you @KitKatSplat. Think I’ll be trying your method on my DP today haha!

Bold fail

Congratulations everyone!

For anyone whose waters went before they started contractions- I'm 38+2 and got out of bed this morning and had a heavy trickle of something down my leg- enough to reach my ankles but not enough to be sure its waters. So I'm debating wether it is waters leaking or I'm just a sweaty/ pissy mess who no longer has control of her own body?! will call the midwife but just wondered about others experience , thank you xx

Thanks everyone and congratulations Nessalina! Great story and lovely name.

@asilikeit. My waters went before I was aware labour started with DS1 and it was a small burst that I could hold in with a pelvic floor exercise until I got to the loo but quite obviously waters. You do need to get checked as there is risk of infection if it does and you might need some antibiotics if the baby isn't out within a day or so. I thought it might have gone as a trickle with this one but also thought I might have taken in a bit of water from the shower and dribbled it out. They did a test like a swab which I think they called amnioshow and told me it hadn't.

Great thanks . I've called them up and I need to call back in an hour or so, I've put a pad on but I'm unsure if that's helping me work out if I'm trickling and feel damp or I'm just sweaty

If the pad is making you sweaty, maybe try some kitchen roll instead if it's not much water. Pads are usually synthetic and make you hotter.

Crikey, you are all making it seem so easy! Another 2 babies popped out just like that! Slightly biased but love the name cineraria! Congratulations and sounds like you won’t be much longer kitkatsplat.

Re waters breaking, can’t help, mine went with ds1 when I was having an afternoon nap, I woke up and there was no mistaking they had broken! Definitely best to go to the hospital to get checked as it’s too risky if they have gone and you wait too long.

Good luck @asilikeit, sounds like your waters to me. I think I read something about the mws wanting to see the pad that you think your waters are on so maybe keep hold of it (joys of pregnancy hey ha).

So all you lucky ladies who have had your babies - any words to the wise to the uninitiated? Anything you wish you’d bought with you or done differently?

So many babies!

I’m 37 weeks today and on the first day of 2 weeks annual leave before my maternity starts - trying to get everything organised but so excited!
Seeing everyone else’s babies makes me impatient to meet my own!

I can't help with the waters issue, both my two were born with their sac intact, they had to be unwrapped on their way out! Very unusual apparently, and we totally failed to get a picture both times

For those who are heading for their first, I would honestly say, just don't be scared. Trust your body and what it's telling you, and don't run from the pain, just embrace it and what it is achieving! I'm just in awe of the female body and its ability to push out babies 😍 BREATHE.
I'd also really recommend delayed cord clamping if you can (10-15mins after birth) but then having the injection to help the placenta along. After pushing out a baby the last thing you want to do is push any more, and it's so quick with the jab.
If you're wanting a water birth, take a big fluffy towel with you. The hospital ones are like hand towels

Hospital seem happy for me
To only go in if I'm convinced it was waters and get any more. I'm not getting any more at the minute so now I jut feel like a total daffy!

Lie down on your side asilikeit - maybe even have a nap.

Then see if you get another decent "run" down your leg.

Baby's head plugs the gap when waters break which is why it's rare to get a spontaneous niagra falls and common to get weird trickles.

Carrier bags, @Gimbleinthewabe! You can never have enough! Better still some normal ones and some that don't have safety holes in. I love having a carrier bag bin, laundry basket and cloth nappy bin in my bay and also use them for sending things home with DH when he visits, taking stuff to the bathroom, dividing stuff in my carrier bag, wrapping open snacks and lots more. I'm also wishing I had my woven wrap baby carrier so I could go and get my own water and go to the loo without leaving the baby, so if you have some kind of baby carrier/sling type thing that is newborn friendly, maybe that would be handy. I did pack mine but it fell out of the bag into the boot.

I agree about the breathing. I found it difficult this time and asked for an empty gas and air mouthpiece and that felt really good as I like biting down during pain and if I'm feeling scared, so that way I could bite and breathe at the same time. Also I wanted to remain in a good birth position but rest my head when I was tired, so I liked kneeling with my head on the bed raised to its highest level and and had brought in floor mats for that/DH to sleep on if there were no recliners/DH to kneel on if I could bear to take my TENS machine off and was able to have a water birth. They are the foam jigsaw kind that we used when DS started crawling.

God yes, gas and air is the best for biting down on. And for getting very high on