October 2017 #6

[PingusMistress]

Hope this works! A shiny new thread for our soon-to-arrive shiny new babies.

Attempt to link to the spreadsheet:
go.mumsnet.com/?xs=1&id=470X1554755&url=docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pa8LZMKMLvREYH4kFiNqn1dD7aTb053cT_KHvghwvSM/edit?usp=sharing

Baby is having a real wiggle in tonight. Getting lots of stabby cervix pains too which are not pleasant and don't remember them from when I had my little boy. Still loosing plug since last sweep on Friday. I was supposed to be going for another tomorrow with the midwife but I feel like I've just gave up all hope!

No plug or waters but I'm definitely having contractions. Baby is meant to stay in until next week! Got DSIL's wedding this weekend!

Ooh exciting Bobbie! Good luck!

@pingusmistress I was having them yesterday when I went in for reduced movements but managed to get to sleep and had nothing today until about 6pm. Thinking I should try and get some sleep in case things start ramping up.

Hey ladies just checking in to see how you’re all getting on. Good luck @Bobbiepin, all sounds hopeful!

Back in hospital for Dexter and me since Sat sadly, they’ve been treating him for a possible infection but it’s looking positive that he didn’t have one in the first place and that we’ll be discharged tomorrow. He also had jaundice which I didn’t really know about so when your LOs arrive keep them really well fed to avoid it if you can.

You’ll be on the other side soon I promise!!

Good luck bobbiepin! Hope you're home soon gimble. Ds had bad jaundice and it made him too sleepy to feed which just made it worse as they need the milk to flush their system. I didn't realise at the time but looking at his newborn photos he looks like he'd just spent summer in the med! Very tanned looking!

With perfect timing dh and ds have come down with a bad cold. So I'm playing nurse. I really don't want to catch it too if I have a section in the next few days. Coughing and sneezing after one is not a good idea!

I’m still waiting, booked for induction on Monday so end is in sight. I was meant to have a sweep on Thursday but when I rang the gp surgery for appointment this morning they said Midwife is fully booked. I presume not having a sweep won’t alter my induction date?

Shouldn't do @gracey1 - I'm booked in for sweep number 4 tomorrow (!) and then induction on Friday and the induction is scheduled whether I choose to have sweeps or not. I'm trying to stay positive that I might just go into labour naturally before then, but I have the odd dark moment where I feel so upset at the thought I might not be able to give birth where I want to through no fault of my own.

It has made me realise that we are told so often about how a completely normal time for pregnancy to last is anywhere from 37-42 weeks and that pregnancy can continue a little beyond 42 weeks and be completely safe as some people just take a bit longer to grow their babies... or maybe the due date wasn't calculated accurately... BUT anyone who goes over that rigid 40 week goalpost is penalised against- dare to get to 42 weeks by your inaccurate due date standards and you can't give birth outside of a consultant ward even if there's no difference whatsoever between your baby at 41+6 and 42+0 weeks... and the latest you can start maternity leave is your due date, so for those of us who take a little longer we are forced out of time with our little ones at the other end... sorry! Rant over!! 🙈🙈

Oh @gimble hope you and the little man are home soon. Keep feeding him up!

@tippety nothing happened. They calmed down when i went to bed and nothing much since!

Hi all
Thread gone quiet now there can’t be many of us left. All hanging on in there
So jealous some have babies already on the other hand abit sad not to ever do this again (this is my third so defo no more)
Mumma you’ve got to be next...i will feel such relief for you when your buba here
Gracey not long for you now either
I always thought I wouldn’t be cross with people messaging asking if any signs but already 6 days till due date I’ve had enough of them already. No no baby is here and I will let you all know eventually!!!
Funny how everyone wants to be your best friend when your near the end I guess it’s coz everyone loves a newborn 👶

It has made me realise that we are told so often about how a completely normal time for pregnancy to last is anywhere from 37-42 weeks and that pregnancy can continue a little beyond 42 weeks and be completely safe as some people just take a bit longer to grow their babies... or maybe the due date wasn't calculated accurately... BUT anyone who goes over that rigid 40 week goalpost is penalised against- dare to get to 42 weeks by your inaccurate due date standards and you can't give birth outside of a consultant ward even if there's no difference whatsoever between your baby at 41+6 and 42+0 weeks...

[stands up and applauds @mummabubs]
[mummabubs for PM]

I could not agree more. DS was born covered in vernix with dodgy breathing. Yes it was my decision to agree to CS at 39w but the moment they saw him they said "sure you got your dates right?"

My granny had six children. Certainly the last three came out at 42w+.

My mother had me at 42w.

My daughter was born at 42w.

Were it not for my rigid fear of unintentionally harming DS I'd have stood firm to have an ELCS at 42w; but due to a previous CS that fractionally raised the risk of stillbirth so I agreed to 39w.

This overly rambling post can be cut down to "I wish medics would support women in their decisions about their health and that of their babies - support us, don't dictate".

👍👍👌👌👌@mummabubs well said.

My emotions are all over the place aswell but the end is near, really hope not to be in consultant ward and in Midwife led unit (more so as I want hubby to be with me every step of the way)

I’m also getting sick of the is he here yet questions.. desperately trying not to send sarcastic replied back!

Lovely to see people still being so supportive thank you !!! 👍😋

@mummabubs I just read your post properly. You are so right! The due date malarky is such bs, mine changed 2 and a half weeks from midwife to scan but when we went in on Sunday the midwife seemed to think we wouldn't make it to the end of the week. The important thing is to get baby out safely, lets focus on that.

Morning.... I've built up the courage to go and maybe have my 4th sweep this morning . I'm tired of being prodded but I just want baby out and ideally would like to avoid the section we have booked next Wednesday. Starting to get extremely anxious about the birth and fee like I should have just had section at 39 weeks- the more overdue I go the more I feel like it will be the birth of my little boy. I just wanted the opportunity to have a "nicer" birth as get that would help me a lot with his birth if that makes sense?! Now I just think I've been a bloody martyr and should have had a earlier planned section! Agh! Hope everyone is doing ok and not driving themselves mad!

Sorry it all calmed down bobbiepin but hopefully not long to go now.

40+5 today and no sign of anything. Hospital haven't contacted me so I guess I'm not having the section tomorrow as I'd have to go in today for pre meds and swabs etc (if I remember rightly from my last section). So possibly Friday or Monday. Monday would be 40+10 so at least I'd feel like I'd been given a chance to go naturally. They'd only let me go to 40+12 anyway. I just wish my body would get going! I'm starting to feel irrationally annoyed with myself. Last time my baby was breech, this time she doesn't want to come out... maybe I'm just not built for having babies. The fact it took over a year and two miscarriages to conceive each time points to that. And I couldn't breastfeed. Bah. Not feeling great today. And like legend mentioned I'm getting worried about slightly higher risk of stillbirth. Baby has been quieter the last day or so though still moving and she always has had quieter days. Who knows what's going on in there.

Good luck @asilikeit, fingers crossed this one does the job.

@tippety don't call to remind them! Get as much time as possible out of them!

Thank you ladies, I got a bit teary reading your echoes of agreement this morning (as I went for my 3rd wee of the night!)

@asilikeit I could literally have written your last post! I've also got sweep number 4 booked in for today and whilst the first two didn't hurt at all the last one definitely did and I had quite a bit of bleeding afterwards... wasn't pleasant at all but I'm so desperate to try and convince Bubbabean to come out I'm still going for it today. Maybe number 4 will be the lucky charm for us both! 🙈 Hope yours isn't too uncomfortable. I also know exactly what you mean about wanting to avoid the "plan B" birth route. We were told at one stage we'd have to have a c section at 39 weeks and now I can't believe how anti- that I felt compared to our current situation!

I've decided I'll definitely turn down the induction that's scheduled for Friday for the same feeling that you have @gracey1 - I've fought so hard to keep myself midwifery-led throughout the pregnancy and technically as long as I go into labour before 11:59pm on Friday night I can still pursue that plan! Whereas if they call me in and induce me on Friday morning as is currently the plan then I think I'd always be wondering 'what if I was always going to go naturally on Friday afternoon and I changed my whole birth for no good reason'. Our hospital is the same- if I end up CLU it means staying in for the first stage of labour as opposed to going through that at home, being on a shared ward with strict visiting hours so no DH until things start happening, reduced ability to have an active labour, no birth pool and then DH has to leave again once baby has arrived! Obviously if that's what it comes to then nothing I can do but really hoping it doesn't!

So I was having a fun morning cleaning up the bucket of water ds decided to pour over the kitchen floor when dh rang to say midwife has a wrong number for me (despite me correcting it last time I was there) and if I'm to have a c section on Monday I need to go to the hospital before 12 today for all the pre checks. Except I have no car and it takes 2.5 hrs to get there on public transport (it's 10am when they called) and I have to bring ds with me. And now their number is engaged so I can't even call to say I'm not going to be able to get there by 12. Good job this giving birth thing is so straightforward and stress free.

I've had years this morning with husband! I feel ridiculous. I know babies come after their due date- my last was 2 weeks late- I just really wanted a different experience this time. The thought of a section also petrifies me but I'm absolutely not going through induction again on the drip. I just feel that if my body needs a synthetic hormone to get it to do something then a section is definitely the preferable option- going from my past experience. I think the recovery of a section last time would without a doubt have been preferable to the physical, emotional and mental recovery from the traumatic birth I ended up with.

I'm currently sat waiting for sweep now, gah! My last one also hurt the most ( last Friday) and I've been loosing bloody mucous since then , maybe this time she might break my waters by accident and then I know it's all systems go!

Gah so I finally got through and it's 12 tomorrow not today. Midwife got it wrong!! And breathe...

Does anyone know if wedding rings etc need to be removed before a section? I'm sure mine did last time but I've just tried now and my finger is too swollen to get it off.

Good luck mummabubs and asilikeit. I really hope we all go soon. Now section looks like being Monday I can go to my sweep with the midwife on Friday and hope it kicks things off over the weekend. If she can even do it, hopefully it'll be more amenable than it was in Monday at the consultant!

Phew, glad that's been cleared up Tippety, definitely not what you needed!!

I'm now housebound as I called the hospital to check what's happening as they couldn't confirm on Monday whether today would be at the hospital or community- turns out they had me down for neither! 🙈 I'm now on the community list but they said they literally can't say when I'll be visited other than "between 8:00-4:30" and there's no way to get any inkling of a time! I've run the dog round the block so he's done his business and now I'm trying to occupy myself and have cancelled my afternoon meet up with a friend.

@asilikeit being my first child I haven't had to go through birth before but I have the same reservations in being chemically forced to do something my body doesn't seem to be ready for... so at Saturday's sweep I was told to ask for a consultant appointment on Monday so that I could discuss the risks and benefits of opting for an ELCS if it comes to that... then on Monday they wouldn't even make me an appointment or let me discuss it as they said I "have to" go through induction first, and then if at 48 hours post induction I fail to progress then it'll be an unplanned c-section. So much for patient choice!! 🙈 (Probably another part of what spurred my rant last night!)

Oh dear, reading these posts it doesn’t seem like the communications process with expectant mothers is working very well! Not what you need at one of the most important and stressful points of your life.

I’m pretty sure the midwife said you need to remove everything metal before a section. Nail varnish too. I managed to get my wedding ring off last week when I had cold hands, thought I had better just in case (really don’t want a section though!)

This sounds a bit morbid, but I started worrying yesterday about what would happen to DH and DD if the worst happened to me during childbirth and they were left on their own. I have a will but I tend to be the one that looks after the finances and the business, he would be clueless about that side of things. So I think I need to make him a little list of “just in case” details. Does anyone else worry about these things or is it just me being pessimistic?

@PingusMistress

First time round I slipped in an "in the event of my death" note into my maternity notes. No joke. Seems dramatic but I was going to to do it again this time and realised none of my wishes had changed. Maybe it's because I've been raised on too much Morrissey (nearly DS' middle name - that would have given mum a coronary) but I just felt the need.

Before a CS you need to wear no make up no nail polish and no body oil. Oil stops heart monitor odd sticking, nail discolouration can be an early giveaway of lack of oxygen and make up hides natural pallor.

KEEP YOUR RINGS AT HOME. My chum had her rings pinched when at UCLH.

Aww ladies sounds as if we all at a loss as to what’s going on.
This is the worst bit all the waiting and uncertainty, hopefully the last few days for all of us.
Hope your 4th sweeps work today just think you know you will have your babies early part of next week.
With my first I was absolutely convinced I was going to die in labour so never actually visualised myself with the baby...obviously I didn’t and went on to have a second and now expecting third any day now. I always have that horrible thought that something could go wrong and now I would be leaving my family as I pushed my luck (so to speak) but women have done this forever and we are very lucky to have the care we have even though sometimes hcp make us cross.
I’ve been having lightning bolts today sharp shooting pains through my cervix that take my breath away, baby feels so low now that I am definitely waddling about. Don’t see Midwife until next Wednesday when I’ll be over due so wish I could have a check up everyday

I'm staying very calm...

I've waited in for 5 fricking hours, as we're talking the midwife asks if I've had any stretch and sweeps already- I say with a laugh that this is number 4 and she instantly says that policy is not to give more than 3 so I should never have been booked for this one and she can't do it 😩😩😩 Booooooooooooooooooooooooooo. I work in the NHS and I really do know that communication isn't always grand, but this just takes the *+%\€{+]$ !!!! Now off to take my poor dog out on a proper walk so I can cry in the woods somewhere and hope this brings on labour 😂🙈