Due in May - W/c 21/05/07 We're not impatient at all, no not us...

[twelveyeargap]

Morning.

Lwatkins - bloody well done getting your work done. You should be really proud of yourself. Re: the itching. Try putting lots of Bicarbonate of soda into a luke-warm bath (as cool as is comfortable to sit in) and bathe your belly with the water. It should hopefully take a good bit of the itch out.

Also try using something acidic on your skin, like a vinegar/ water mixture, or if you can't bear the smell, perhaps lemon juice and water?

Not sure if it worked for Megglevache - she was wondering what to try last week, but since recommending it to her, I've seen the bicarb treatment on a pregnancy website.

Scratchmits aren't a bad idea you know...

Whoops, cross-posted with the link, so will post it here again!

Here we go again:

Have been awake since 6.30 having had a crap nights sleep. Now waiting for the gasman to arrive.

Any sign of Tams baby yet?

Mine is still high, so I think it'll stay put till the end of the week at least. Only 4 days now till DH gets home, so it can all kick off the minute he arrives as far as I'm concerned.

Well done LW on the Essay. I don't think I even have the energy to write my name at the minute.

TYG - Have you been listening to your HB CD's?

Anyone else got any "signs" of arrival?

ok. out of my antenatal class group of 9... 4 have had babies now. and all before due date. only one is overdue at moment...and still waiting. im due on wednesday. i wanna be next...pls pls...
ok another thing. if boy our LO is gonna be called Freddie (after daddy's later father Fred who died last year). we never spoke about names in the classes but the last LO to be born has been named Freddie. I know its only an aquaintance but do you think it would " look bad" if we call our little one Freddie now? assuming i have a boy.....hubby says it doesnt matter as he convinced baby is girl but i reckon baby is boy.
or am i getting knickers in a twist about nothing??
still bloody cleaning....

Madeindevon - you've already chosen the name and it means something to you, so no, don't change it. It won't look bad.

For me, there are a couple of "off-limits" names, like say, my good friend, who has two boys and would love a little girl has always, ever since I've known her, had a girls name picked out. I love the name too, but I'd never use it as it's kind of "reserved". Likewise, her two boys have names I love and even though they live in Ireland and the kids would never really be together much, I wouldn't use "her" names.

What you describe is completely different and like you say, these people are aquaintances, not good friends.

Bummer about the cleaner, btw. If you're not feeling up to doing much, perhaps you could see if a cleaning agency works in your area and get a one off clean done? I use agencies sometimes and have always been pleased with the result, even if it's a bit more expensive.

Juicylucy - the "still high" thing. In your case I know it's better for the baby not to come yet. I got loads of "you're still very high" comments at the weekend, yet every time my midwife has been here int he last three weeks, she's said every time, "Oh, you've dropped a bit more, that's good." TBH, I think babies often don't come until you're ready (and they are, obviously) so I'm sure yours will wait until DH is home.

Morning

TYG what are you and Jonahb talking about..... v intrigued (or just plain nosy)

Sumsey really hope you go in to labour naturally, the sweep should do the trick Everything crossed for you.

MKG and LULU.....mad mad mad.

Cinamontam is that baby popping out of you as i type i wander? Lots of luck to you, im very jealous you have Mars with you. Hoping to hear soon

8 days late today! Im off to toddlers this morning and see the midwife at 12 for my last sweep. Have been having on off pains all night that have woken me sometimes. DH really didnt want to go to work, but i just feel like it's tempting fate to let him stay home.

DD with me today although she seems fine and will be back to school tomorrow. She can catch the baby and look after Hugo if necessary She is a very capable\bossy 6 year old you know

Maidindevon forgot to say keep the name Freddie, you may not even be in touch in a couple of years. It wont look bad and your LO will have his name for the rest of his life. Also nightmare with the cleaner, it is no fun doing it. Dont go mad or you will be too tired for labour!

'Legging it'.....PMSL

@ LG&T's DD. Wait til she's 12! It's S's birthday today. So far it doesn't look like she'll be sharing it with her sister. Am going to bake her birthday cake this morning though... Just in case!

Jonah and I were talking about a chat thread called "how dirty are you?" You filled in a questionnaire and got "fined" on how duuuurrrty you are/ were. One of those "have you ever..." things. Anyway, last time I looked I was in the lead by about £70. Filthy b'tch apparently!

Good luck with the sweep chicky. I really, really hope she finds you 4cm dilated or summat. I'll be slightly , but I'll have to let you away with it, since I'm only 40+2 today. You get first dibs on today as birth day. Although, since I've given birth once before on 21/05, does that mean I have "rights" over it?

Madeindevon - Keep the name. A friend of mine gave "shared" a name with someone from her antinatal group and it was fine. In fact the girls shared their first birthday party. The other couple will understand I'm sure - especially with the meaning the name has for you.

TYG and LG&T - well both of you are welcome to today! Hope it turns out to be "the day" for at least one of you!

lgandt. good look with the sweep. hope it does the trick!
12yrgap - baking cake. sounds marginally better than cleaning (can u tell im sulking!) im getting there tho......just taking regular 5 mins breaks to ease the backache!

going back to names....im due on wednesday which some of you may know is champions league final night. dh is a MAD liverpool fan. and i mean mad....semi final night my dad and brother in law were here and i think were shocked at how dh is when watching.....shouting jumping about yelling going outside yelling....i mean ffs...it was 10 at night or something and kids are sleeping round here etc etc...going nuts....anyway if baby arrives on due date aka final night he reckons hes gonna saddle it with lots of liverpool players names...hmmmmm Freddie stevie carra rafa pepe xabi dirk.....
maybe he is right and baby is a girl after all! if hes anything like he was on semi night he will send me into labour anyway.....

Hey Tam thats great news - hope you are holding little bubba!

LG&T hope you sweep goes well and that you are not too far behind Tam! Would like to have seen you 'leg it'

MadeinDevon keep the name! Freddie is a lovely choice and especially as it has a sepcial meaning for you.

MrsJB hope today goes well with A being back at work. Are your M&D around just in case? Hope you had a good night.

to the rest of the crew and hopes that it isnt too long before they cross over to the other side

haha with the footie names my dp is the same a huge West Ham fan and he would like to call our baby carlos tevas - WTF!!

Tam am soo excited for you hope you have your LO looking forward to news.

LG&T and TYG am sending you big get out of there baby thoughts.

Well have done the whole shebang this weekend to try get things going my end had curry been out dancing did some decorating had a few nipple tweaks even let my DP climb onboard, and nothing so far.

LW huge big sigh of relief for you finishing that essay.

Juicy shall we try meet up this week will drop you a text later.

Morning,

Good Luck with your sweep today lg&t, those pains could be the start, Mine started like that on the Tuesday evening, it took til 5pm on the Wednesday for me to believe it was it. I had been woken throughout the night on and off with them. Really hope it is, fingers crossed for you hunny. xxx

Happy Birthday to S TYG. Baby will arrive in two days. 23rd, 2 days after S's birthday. Jorja was 2 days after mine so could be a pattern. Mother - daughter, daughter- sister etc.... There is some logic in my stupidity somewhere!

Wonder how tam's getting on?

Madeindevon, I agree, keep your name, it's lovely and it means something to you, so it's important to keep it.

(zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz) Tired!

School run chaos....Hugs runs off all the time, when i catch him he just says "funny". Not bloody funny says mummy as she wheezes after him.

Still all but 2 at school now so hoping for peaceful rest of day as long as dd doesnt manhandle Hugs too much. It drives him crazy.

My mother phoned right before i left, was changing Hugs poo nappy, tryin to dress him, shoutin at Jonah to get his shoes on....there she is all calm on the phone with a "so, any signs?" FFS Already had one text this morning too, grrrrrrr

I am actually an elephant

Hey, difficult to post one handed, but wanted to say good luck Tam, hope it all goes/went smoothly

C'mon LG&T, you're lagging behind! Good luck with the sweep..

Well done LW on the essay writing, sorry bout the itching sounds horrendous.

Made - stick with freddie, its what you want, I'm sure your friend won't mind.

We are starting to feel sleep deprived in this house, but its worth it...I really don't miss the bump, turning over in bed is sooooo much easier

MW due any minute, then off to a shopping centre to buy baby boy clothes that we really don't need but can't resist! Plus I need some humongous drawstring waist trousers to keep me going until I am back to my usual svelte figure .

Have a lovely day

Huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to S too TYG. Hope she has a lovely day! Like the idea of the norty thread, link it for me to do later when im not giving birth.

MrsJB hope all goes well today, im sure it will be fine. Just do the bare minimum, no cleaning, cooking etc.... Pate on toast for lunch

Well, if baby hasn't arrived by Weds (23rd) MrsJB, then m/w is doing a sweep at 9am... SO, you could be right!

M/w has been off the last few days, is back on Tues & Weds and going on hols on Thurs so perhaps the baby is waiting til she can attend?

Hello gorgeous girls - still here!!!

Had mild contractions every 10-12 mins till about 2am then kept falling asleep trying to count them and now getting 1 every now and then. Very determined not to go into hospital until things are chugging along as they will only start poking and prodding and inducing etc...because my waters went last night. Bean is still moving as normal and I feel pretty good. Going to go to ASDA and do a gentle shop and keep working on Bean's curtains.

Will keep you posted. Was pretty scared at first but now feeling up for the challenge

Hi everyone

Just thought I'd pop in whilst DH is feeding (I tried the bf and failed) Alexa and say hi to everyone. Its certainly been a roller coaster of emotions so far.

Thanks for all your lovely wishes and especially leading up to the section in my serious state of terror.

We went in at 8am (on the photographs I look like a whale) and I was absolutely petrified. Thankfully all the staff in surgery and recovery were wonderful. The spinal didn't hurt a bit, I think the drip going into my arm hurt more. Anyway, it took a little while to get me all numbed up and then DH came in doing his best George Clooney impression.

To be honest, whilst I was in surgery, I was just in a complete state of bewilderment as things are 'done to you'. The surgeon took 10 minutes to get to her and she was born at 10.11am. DH was going, 'she's here, she's here, its a baby!'. And between sobs I was going, 'is she ok, is it a girl' etc etc. She was shown to me, which was just the best moment of my life, followed by some lovely cries. We were all then wheeled off to recovery.

I only stayed in hospital until Saturday because, quite frankly, the midwives were vile, but I'll save those stories for another day.

She's absolutely beautiful, and daddy is besotted with her. I was really confident in hospital, but seem to have lost my nerve a little bit since we came home, which I'm hoping is normal practice.

The only difficulty is that due to her being breech for such a long time, she has congenital hip dislocation, which was a bit of a shock to be honest. Anyway, we need to go to Alder Hey this week for an appointment to see how it can be treated and the severity of it. I'm trying not to freak out! Can't wait to hear from you all.

Just gatecrashing and lurking from the June thread. Any more babies coming soon???

And congratulations Pinkjenny. Hope all is well with you and baby ("its a baby" )

pinkjenny. both my sister and i were both born with dislocated hips. and we are both fit as fiddles (well she is megafit p.e. teacher!! i do my best....) i know its easy to say but dont worry. we were both in splint for a while as babies (dont know how long as dont remember it!) this was over 30 years ago too by the ways so things prob come along more medically by now....

Yay! Well done pinkjenny. Your DH sounds very sweet. I'm sorry to hear the midwives weren't nice and about the baby's hip. FWIW, I think lots of babies are born with hip problems. More than you might realise. I don't know how many are breech-presentation related, but I suspect that the worst you can expect is that she might need to wear a brace between her ankles to straighten the hips - which is awkward for you, but won't hurt her at all. Better still, some babies, I believe, wear a sort of "double nappy" to keep the hips straight. She'll be just fine. I know a couple of people who've had this with their babies. Let us know how you get on at Alder Hey.

So glad you are back and little Alexa is doing well PJ. She sounds like a real cutie, and your dh sounds sweet too. Im sure the hip problem is nothing too major to be honest and ditto what TYG says. I have seen babies recover very quickly from it. Good luck at Alder Hay. Dont worry about the BF either, it is not for everyone you have NOT failed

Toddlers did nothing, Hugs moaned and dd wanted to come home at 11 so here we are. Waiting for 11.30 when i pick dh up from work and we see the midwife. I have some lower back ache and thats it!

Cam good to see you are getting some pains and things are ticking along. Very good idea to stay at home till you really need to go in, you dont need any unecessary prodding. Lots of love to you!