November 2017 #4: Bump botherers, nesting and maternity leave!

[GingerHanna]

In which we swat away unwanted hands, perform military operations every night to roll over in our sleep, clean the kitchen cupboards for the eleventy billionth time and count down the days to our maternity leave!

Previous thread here.

Click here for The List.

I can't believe some of you are planning on moving house so close to due date! We swapped a couple of rooms around a few weeks ago & that was exhausting enough!

Is anyone else lactating yet? I seem to remember I started producing tiny bits of milk surprisingly early last time too but 30w seems ridiculously early! I'm going to have to look up how long it can be stored for. Last time I ordered some sterile syringes with caps from eBay & hand-expressed into them & froze them in case I couldn't feed him straight away. I ended up with enough to keep him going for the first day or 2, I think! I'll probably do that again this time but I'm not getting enough out yet for it to be worth trying to catch it. I've got to order my postnatal bath herbs too & gather home birthing supplies, while I'm in lentil-weaving mode!

@redfragglebiker Are you living/moving in Manchester or just nearby? I'm based in Trafford.

We went to the Baby & Toddler Show before DD was born. Some things were being sold with alright discounts and there are some fun "I never knew I needed that" stands. Wouldn't go again as we have everything we need and not sure the other stuff (lectures etc.) are worth the trip.

Moving house at 28 weeks was hard; very tiring. Good luck to those of you completing closer to their due dates, you mad bastards!

Happy birthday @sock!

@Ginger you look beautiful, many congratulations! I feel you on the acid reflux, just woke up with it now bleugh!

I am the same as most of you I think, diagonal baby here, although it does seem to roll around a bit and sometimes just lays straight across the middle of my tummy! It's so weird, baby's movements move my belly button in and out; gross! But strangely nice to watch 🙈😄

Hope everyone is doing ok. I'm getting truly uncomfortable in bed now, the noises I make turning over are just not normal!

@Hazandduck also cannot move in bed without lots of effort, moaning and groaning!! Also not sleeping still :-(

@AGnu what post-natal Bath herbs do you use? That sounds interesting. No milk here yet.

I heard about a soothing spray for down there post-partum but don't know what it's called or where to buy?!

33 wks today and not organised much at all! Not moving house tho just sorting out spare room as a nursery.

@zampa we're in Sheffield so not a million miles away. Tbh.i think we're only going cos it's free and to gave a nosey about!!!

@lydiangel83, I've heard of one called Spritz for Bitz! Think I'm going to try and locate some

I had some of this to use to prepare for the birth of DD;

loveboo.com/stretchmarks/perineum-massage-oil.html

You're supposed to use it from 34 weeks but as DD arrived at 33 weeks (same gestation as you now @lydiangel83!) I never got the opportunity.

I've found Spritz for Bits here @NiceCuppaTeaAndASitDown. Sounds awesome - good recommendation;

myexpertmidwife.com/products/spritz-for-bits

@NiceCuppaTeaAndASitDown this is it I think myexpertmidwife.com/products/spritz-for-bits I may get some!!

Cross post thanks @Zampa ;)

Just catching up.

I don't know about everyone else but I am completely exhausted! I have dropped the number of horses I am riding a day to 4 but come 8pm I just can't keep my eyes open. I am such a morning person and I am crawling out of bed.

It probably doesn't help that I am having difficulty sleeping. I remember this from last time, but forgot how it makes you feel. I am a poor sleeper anyway, but at the moment I am really struggling. I've been taking Bachs Rescue Remedy Night but now that doesn't seem to be helping anymore Any suggestions?

At the weekend we bought a pram, Moses basket, car seat, bedding etc so we can now start getting the nursery ready. Well, once it's painted!

I'm just starting to get a bit stressed now as I had my daughter at 37 weeks and now 32 weeks.

@DuRezidal also not sleeping and also knackered - so frustrating! Usually ok in mornings but feel rubbish now and it lasts all day!

@Zampa @NiceCuppaTeaAndASitDown just bought one of both - will be taking the spritz in my hospital bag I think!!

@AGnu I am leaking a bit of milk now too. Nipples are super sore and sensitive!

Still working on this gestational diabetes diet. I haven't eaten any sugar since last Monday and am now seriously craving cake, biscuits and hot chocolate. I have my first GD hospital appointment on Thursday so we'll see what they say.

Treated myself to a new baby carrier yesterday - it's a close caboo in a lovely print.

I'm thinking of getting a new carrier @butterybollocks. I used the babybjorn loads with DS, really handy for nipping to the shops etc but he hated a sling when he was first born, a friend lent me one & he wasn't having any of it. Think it will be really useful to have something that she can go in from birth particularly if I'm out with the two of them by myself or even just round the house. Might give the local sling library a go before I buy one though just in case she doesn't take to it.

Definitely not for your bits but I can highly recommend having a cooling leg gel / spray & handheld fan in your hospital bag. It gets so hot in the hospital & you get even hotter with the contractions. DP sprayed my feet & legs every 30 minutes or so once I'd had an epidural & was lovely, really helped cool me down. Much better than a damp flannel that he was also trying to stick on my head.

@topsyloulou we have a babybjorn from when DD was a baby too and we used it loads. She is little, so she couldn't go in it until she was at least a month old and I'm thinking I need something from birth this time as I'll need to do the school run and be able to look after DD, so I have gone for the caboo.

I have some perinium oil but I want to get the Spritz for Bits too, it has rave reviews!

And thank you all for reminding me to go sling shopping! There is so much to think about I have written twenty million lists already 😬

Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes yesterday. I had a lovely day, husband made a fuss of me :)

I haven't had any sign of milk here yet, although I've become paranoid about where light coloured tops in case I suddenly spring a leak!

Asda has a baby event on at the moment, I am planning to pootle along to it later to see if there is anything I can invest in.

I'm planning to go to local sling library once baby is born and borrow one as well as buy a baby Bjorne type thing for when a little older x

Sorry ladies - have been a little quite following a bit of a drama over the weekend.

Firstly happy belated bday to you @theotherendofthesockportal. Oh and on the milk front, no leaks here yet either and currently 30+1.

So I'll explain what happened as I do have a question for you ladies at the end of it. From Friday pm to Saturday morning I hadn't felt baby at all, I tried different positions , cold drinks, normal Coke for sugars and caffeine but nothing so we went into hospital got monitored and it seemed baby was moving just not enough to tell me. Also my uti was back again sigh so back on antibiotics I went and was asked to come back for a scan and to make sure I dropped another pot of pee off when I'd completed the tablets.

Scan happened on Monday and in that they found baby to be small (on the 8th percentile and weighing just 2lbs 3 currently) so they have done a blood tox screen in case my placenta isn't behaving and have booked me in for more scans(because of this I've told work I need to cut the hours I work and finish earlier at 36weeks so I make sure to chill as I am a workaholic and it's hard to change a habit of a lifetime even now).

My question is, at on or around 30weeks did any of you find your baby to be 8th percentile/ measuring small, what did you do to try and encourage bubs to grow?

Hi @izzibee29 sorry for your drama that doesn't sound like much fun. I know probably doesn't help and certainly not scientific advice but my mum (experienced nurse) keeps telling me to rest and sleep as that is when baby grows. So I think finishing work early is the right thing to do. Fingers crossed for you xx

When are you all planning on packing your hospital bags?

I am 31 + 5

@DuRezidal this week (I'm 33 wks today). Think I have most things except some cheap nighties. What does one actually wear during labour?! I was thinking nighties / hospital gown?!

31 weeks here and thinking I'll pack a bag in a few weeks - need to gp shopping first and I don't feel ready for that yet! I need big pants and a big nightie (oh the glamour!).

Izzibee hope you're OK - look after yourself, let yourself rest and eat well. I can't imagine there's anything more you can do really. I do think it's important to remember that all the centiles are within the range of 'normal'. DD is tiny - she gradually slipped down the centiles from birth and probably is about on the 5th now at 5 years old, so I've had to spend plenty of time reassuring myself that it's all within normal and we are all different sizes!

Had a letter informing me the health visitor is coming to visit in October. I'm a little cynical about health visitors so that will be a treat to look forward to (with DD they were very sniffy about her being around dogs and horses).

I'm 30 weeks tomorrow and have most of the essentials but they're not packed. As far as giving birth goes I got a couple of cheap oversized nightshirts in Primark. They were about 8 quid!.

Still hoping to move in time for my Maternity leave. Also hoping to take my driving test next month!

I've mostly packed the baby's bag, just got to get nappies & a few other little bits. I've got a comprehensive list for my bag but not packed much yet other than a couple of travel bottles of shampoo/conditioner, spare toothpaste/brush. I forgot about what to wear during labour! I'm planning a home birth so hopefully packing a bag will all be irrelevant anyway but I suppose I'll need something to wear wherever I am! I'll likely end up taking everything off anyway but I probably won't want to be completely naked from the first contraction! Plus, I'll need clothes to hand in case I have to transfer in. I probably won't actually pack much until labour actually starts anyway - most of the stuff I want to take with me is stuff I use regularly. I'll just make sure I actually own everything on my list & keep the list with the bag so I/DH can gather everything when labour starts.

Re: the postnatal bath herbs, I'm still trying to decide what to get. Last time I spent waaay too much on herbs that probably all did similar things anyway so this time I'm trying to cut down my list to 6-8 herbs. It's currently at 13! You can get pre-made bath teabags but I like to choose exactly what I want. I tend to make up a batch of tea by filling my slow-cooker with water & about a cupful of mixed herbs when labour starts & leaving it on low for a few hours. My labours tend to be about 8hrs so it works out that it's ready by the time baby comes &, in theory, if I don't have to transfer in, DH can strain the liquid & run me a bath while we're weighing the baby/doing the first feed etc. & it can all be ready for when I'm ready to be clean. I use about a cupful at a time in a shallow-ish bath & the rest can keep in the fridge for a couple of days. It's a bit weird getting into a murky green bath but it smells amazing & feels sooo good that I tend to have at least 2 baths a day for the first few days & then one bath a day until I've run out of herbs. I think this method is more economical than the pre-made teabags which is handy given how many baths I like to have!