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 am so far away from being ready for this baby! Buying half of outstanding stuff after payday and the other half half next payday.

Need to finish making blinds for my bedroom and the spare bedroom so can then get wardrobe for nursery painted and boxes for bigger baby clothes sorted and muslins etc out away. So much still to do like buying peg board and baskets for changing station but will just have to wait and work through one thing at a time.

Currently 'working from home' as came back lunch yesterday with the lurgy. Nasty sore throat and knocked for six. Hope DH doesn't get it as he's only just recovered from chesty cold.

In better news my winter maternity coat arrived yesterday. I fiubahvr coat that does up over bump! It's big and warm and has a huge hood so I'm happy as a bug in a rug. Not that I'm leaving the house anytime soon!

Urgh. So many typos. Sorry, sick!

I am still not feeling much better. Had hoped the antibiotics would be kicking in by now but not much luck.

Re the pads, last time a good friend told me to get always nights as they are thin but longer and they were perfect! So just bought some for this time.

Sorry to hear you're not well still @DuRezidal seemed to take me ages to get over what was just a bad cold so can imagine it's pretty miserable.

Feel v disorganised, I'm 34 wks today! @GingerHanna what is peg board for changing station? And @Topsyloulou what is nappy stacker?

@Zampa I think I will get some of these pads from Boots will add to my long list of things still to buy!!

Oh DuRezidal that sucks. You must be very fed up.

@lydiangel83 pic attached. Basic hardware peg board but used for nappy stuff so easy to get to.

Hope you feel better soon @durezidal

Our ikea delivery of nursery furniture is coming today and DH is painting the bathroom. Once that's done the house is ready. I've got two weeks left at work and then I'm going to sort out all the baby things.

Went for a scan yesterday - baby is growing nicely and no concerns about excessive growth from the gestational diabetes. If anything he's slightly small. He weighs 4lb already which is crazy!

@GingerHanna - That looks gorgeous! I really love the idea of using the pegboard!
Hope you feel well soon @durezidal Being sick is no fun when you can't drug yourself up to the eyeballs to get through it :(

We're starting to get there in terms of ready. We now know what travel system, crib and car seat we want. Going to order at some point over the weekend. Nursery furniture also being delivered tomorrow even if we don't have a nursery to put it in yet!

House documents seem to be progressing okay so far so I'm still hopeful that we'll be in before she arrives. Driving lessons not going so well so I actually don't think I'll be ready to take my test before birth which is really disappointing as I'd hoped to be driving by the time she got here.

In other news I seem to have regressed back to the begininning in terms of hormones and mood swings and just feel fed up, grumpy and tearful all over again :(

@GingerHanna that is so cute and a great idea! Will show to DH :)

@lydiangel83 this is a nappy stacker. It's just someone to put all the nappies within handy reach of the changing station. You don't need one, it's just easier on the eye than a pack if nappies & it was easier for me to get the nappies from post my csection last time as I hang it on the back of the door so no bending.

@lydiangel83 this is a nappy stacker. It's just somewhere to put all the nappies within handy reach of the changing station. You don't need one, it's just easier on the eye than a pack if nappies & it was easier for me to get the nappies from post my csection last time as I hang it on the back of the door so no bending.

@redfragglebiker don't think I ever got out of the hormonal / emotional phase, DH says it's like 9 months PMT!!!

Just had midwife appt and have protein in wee but not enough to be of concern, anyone else had this? Obviously now am concerned! Also measuring big so got another scan

@lydiangel83 - Sounds like we got an easy ride then! I was okay for the middle bit. Just the start and the end that I monstered out. If one more person tells me I look big for how far along I am I will however hurt them today.

@lydiangel83 I have had that once, mine was coupled with high blood pressure so they sent off for further tests but nothing came of it. I think our kidneys are under strain a lot of the time anyway so it can sometimes happen without it being a worry.

@Topsyloulou understand now think I will get one!

That's good @butterybollocks I'm on a mega sugar binge today - I usually like a bit of chocolate but today going through strawberry Bon bons and icing (making a cake) like there's no tomorrow! Feel a bit sick now!

I'd never heard of a nappy stacker before but now I know of their existence, I will be buying two! IKEA sell a nice one for £4.50.

Hi sorry I've been a bit quiet, been keeping up with everyone's posts and it's so nice to hear your advice and that we are all going through the same things. I've been suffering very badly with my hiatus hernia and seem to only be able to keep my breakfast down now. I'm 33+1 today. On all the anti acid drugs and about a bottle of gaviscon a day :-( I'm having regularly growth scans though and he's measuring 38% average and 50th on my chart so his size is ok which is the most important thing.

I have severe eczema and psoriasis and finally had my dermatology appointment yesterday and they have decided I should have a c section because of it. Its my first and I'm so worried about how I will be after and what il be able to do, how long il be recovering for etc. I know some of you have had one before, is there any advice you can give? NCT and all advice talks about vaginal birth but not much about c sections.
Any info and tips would be amazing :-)

Sorry for the long post!! Xxx

@SarahS17 I had an EMCS with DD and will be having an ELCS this time around. I am hoping that things will be much smoother this time!

I think that the recovery times are over-egged although they are at pains to tell you it is major abdominal surgery. I was certainly painting the kitchen ceiling within 2-3 weeks of my first section. I was prescribed some decent painkillers and kept myself topped up so never experienced much pain. It's possible that I've forgotten all about it though!

Get some Upspring C-Panties, which have a silicon panel at scar level to promote healing (and be prepared to be a little shocked by what else appears in your Google search ...). They are pricey but worth investing in.

Be conscious of the likelihood of UTIs and get treated if you suspect you have one. I had two whilst recovering from my first CS.

As we discussed upthread, there may be some differences to what you pack in your hospital bag.

I am planning on getting OH and DPs to cart DD around for at least 3 weeks post surgery. She has delayed development so isn't walking yet and I don't want to risk damaging myself as she is around 22 lbs at the moment. I think lifting a small baby will be OK although we shall see ...

@Sarah17 I had an elcs with DD. Honestly the recovery was fine - far more comfortable than being massively pregnant!

How is everyone today? I am SOOOO tired. Struggled to get DD from school and entertain her!

I've got this funny shadow around my belly button and wondering if normal - any ideas? 34+2 today x

I'm exhausted. Had a total sobbing meltdown last night! DH's anxiety has been playing up & I've tried to be supportive but I've been freaking out about things too & it just all got a bit much! It's really difficult sometimes because, while I'm happy with our decision to home-ed our DC, that does mean we're completely financially dependent on DH. Fine in theory, he has a decent job that he finds interesting, if rather stressful at times & all money is "family money". The main issue is that he's been working towards professional accreditation for over a decade. Most people get there within the first few years but he gets really anxious thinking about the process & the exams he'll have to take so buries his head in the sand until I bring it up. It would mean a bonus and a salary increase if he got it which would mean we would actually have enough money to save for things like the new double glazing we desperately need. He agrees it would be good to have the extra money... but freaks out at the thought of actually doing it & there's not a thing I can do about it! I can't home-ed our DC and work - some people manage it but it wouldn't work for us. We could send the DC to school but by the time we'd paid for a childminder/after school clubs there probably wouldn't be much of my salary left & we'd end up with at least one child having regular meltdowns because he wouldn't cope well in the school environment!

After I cried for 3 hours solidly & only slept for less than 2 hours in half-hour blocks, DH agreed this morning not only to commit to taking the exams but also seeing a counsellor through his work to help with his anxiety & hopefully help him get into better working patterns. He's often agreed to take the exams before & started prepping for the following few days but he did actually call the counselling service today & arranged a few phone consultations so I'm cautiously optimistic that he might see it through this time! I could really do without all this stress when I'm already hormonal & generally exhausted anyway!

No idea about the shadow lydia, sorry!

Sounds stressful @AGnu. I can't understand what it must be like for you right now but can empathise in respect of having a partner with anxiety.

Found out a couple of days ago that OH hasn't renewed his prescription for a few months. Suddenly, his behaviour since July is explained! In a way it's a relief as now we can sort things out.

Please wish your DH good luck with his qualification. The reality will be nowhere as bad as what he has built up in his head. Counselling sounds like a great idea.

Morning everyone, hope everyone has nice weekend plans?

I've had a nasty letter from the NHS for a penalty charge for not producing my maternity exemption card when collecting a prescription. I most definitely have always shown the card. I've been trying to get through to the number on the letter to sort it out, the longer it takes the more upset I feel :(

@theotherendofthesockportal that letter sounds odd, I've never heard of that happening before and I worked in a pharmacy for 2 years. Does it look genuine??

It normally would be the pharmacist who would charge you if you didn't have the card, how would the NHS main offices know if someone hadn't paid/ presented a card.

I mislaid my mat exempt card and had to get a replacement. Had two scripts written and filled without using the card and I didn't have to pay, firstly because I obviously am pregnant when you look at me and secondly as they were issued from the maternity unit at the hospital which I pointed out to the pharmacist.

@izzibee29 thank you for your message. I finally managed to talk to someone, they apparently do spot checks. According to the person on the phone i received the letter because on my maternity exemption card my surname is hyphenated between the double barrelled surname, however on my medical records/ prescriptions it is.

Apparently it makes it look like I'm not the same person. The most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! So loads of upset for me for no real reason.

I'm taking myself off the local retail park to buy things for my hospital bag and have a costa coffee to cheer myself up.