Due Sept '07 - Loving this weather - yes WE WILL make it through the summer thanks!!!

[PurpleLostPrincess]

I did it (slightly adjusted the wording - is it OK?)!!! Now all we've got to do is a link from the old one to the new one - I'll leave that to somebody a bit more competent!

By the way, I just go laalalaalalaaa when you guys talk about epidurals/pain relief etc. I really didn't enjoy having one when I had DS but I had to as they had put me on a drip and all sorts and I had lots of complications. Ended up with even more severe migraines for years afterwards too. Didn't have one with DD1 and much preferred the whole experience. If I can get away with it this time, I'm going to try and avoid having one (obviously can't predict how things will go!). Gas & Air me up all the way!!!

PLP xxx

Just me again ,just to welcome Sophieandbelly.....hello!

Dal - sorry to disappoint you, but when I had ds I was expecting my tummy to go down enormously, it didn't I still looked pregnant for at least another week after It was good breastfeeding though and getting on the scales, I was losing a pound a day for about two weeks

MMooMar - I'm keeping everything crossed for your mum too!!!

Dal - I can't wait to get my body back too!!! The funny thing is that I'm rubbish at dieting, I love my food too much, but I am so desperate to be slim again, I'm so motivated. I can't wait!! One of the downsides of facing a poss cs is that I won't be leaping out of the hospital with a spring in my step, more like hobbling! Ho hum! Won't take me long... I feel a brisk 10k walk coming on as soon as possible!

Dal, I remember with both my previous sections that I saw an immediate difference - most of the bulk was gone. And when sensation came back it was an amazing feeling, almost surreal. I felt 'empty', almost like I missed my big bump, though I didn't, I'd much rather cuddle my little lump than have it in my belly. Beware of the first time you stand up and see yourself in the mirror (why do hospitals always have to put big mirrors in the shower rooms). Laying down I looked and felt much smaller, but stood up I didn't look much smaller at all for quite some time!

And yes, the relief is noticable straight away. No more pressure on your organs. And being able to sleep on my tummy again was bliss!

Good luck for your mum tomorrow, mmoomar.

MooMar - fingers crossed for your mum

mrsf - not at all expecting tummy to go down - am ready for blammange feeling! I just wondered whether there was immediate physical relief after getting the LO out?

Yeah kinki!!! am sure jelly tummy isnt great, but what the hey - will focus on bub instead.

Oh yes, tremendous physical relief. I remember having heartburn during labour but as soon as ds came out it went straight away

hi mooma when r u due??
does any1 whos had a baby already suggest a tens machine? been looking at new ones on ebay!

After DS was born i loved that i could curl up to go to sleep!

oh iam looking 4ward to sleeping on my front!!

Yes, huge relief for belly and lower parts (setting aside the sore perineum and the AARGH bowels - which wore off fast!). It was nice to be able to sleep without someone waking you up from inside, iyswim. I felt as if my tummy was mine again. Boobs felt good for a while too, despite assaults from tiny gums! Bump shape didn't go for about 2 weeks, but bf really helped - the sensation of the uterus contracting helps on that front, as you feel it all going down/in/wherever.

welcome sophieandbelly (love the name )

Great news Edie, you must be so pleased

dal - I had a cs with my twins but remember being gutted that my belly felt like an enormous marshmallow, really soft and floppy, and I still had to wear my maternity trousers for a week or so. My mum (bless her ) told me my tummy lookd huge after two weeks. It was heaven to be able to turn over in bed easily though...

BUT I was back in my regular jeans after 6 weeks of breastfeeding twins!! . Definitely the best diet out there!

chatty - I can't bear other children's excretions, so have total sympathy for you, what a way to say goodbye.

Checked out all of your photos and realised how bloody enormous I am, but I don't feel enormous IYKWIM? Scan on Monday should tell me a bit more about the size and position of this bubba.

Had a lovely day out for my birthday today, DH took the day off and we went to the Wetland Centre in Barnes - really nice day out and the weather cooperated - I feel so rested!

how long did you breastfeed for? is it easy to do both. breast and bottle? feel funny bout breast feeding in front of people or in public.

no more leg cramps, although I kept over balancing at first with the lack of baby weight lol. And my stomach felt empty, like it could finally stretch out again, and I could breathe and not need a wee all the time.....

Am now wishing i hadn't posted my bump photo as everyone else is so attractive and have nice bumps.

I bf'ed for 14 months overall, introduced a beaker (she always refused the bottle) at about 5 months - I reckon I was always a wimp with the bottle, so gave up each time; this time round, I'll make sure the baby can accept the bottle as it does help if you're knackered by all the night-time feeds. Advantages: incredibly easy, cheap, DD never had diarrhoea, unlike her bottle-fed friends. Disadvantages: leaky boobs, smelly clothes, I got mastitis once (easily overcome without weaning but defo not a pleasant experience). I never got bad reactions if I bf'ed in public, but I was pretty discreet (am currently looking into long cardis and wraps, but at the time a short zip-up cardi with enough bulk to hang over the baby's head was absolutely fine).

i am in between deciding to breast feed or bottle feed. originally i wanted to give it a go, then last few months gone of the idea. now last couple of days with me thinking about buying bottles, i'm thinking should i try it. dont know what to do.
i originaly only wanted to give baby the first few feeds on breast to get the nuttrients into her, but then i wanted to swop back to bottle feeds. do you think this is unfair to swop, or is a breast pump an option id be able to use. any advice fro you lovely ladies xxx

Soph, I never felt that brave about bfing in public either (ds1 about a year, ds2 about 18ths). So I didn't do it in public that often. It wasn't that hard to plan trips out around feeding, after a few weeks they would feed every 3-4hrs. If visiting people and I didn't want to feed in front of them (eg my elderly dad or fil) I would say something like, do you mind if I feed upstairs because ds is so easily distracted by noises. Invariably I wouldn't have to go upstairs, instead people would make themselves scarce while I fed.

I read a tip somewhere on mn recently about wearing a vest top under your shirt/blouse/top. You can lift your top up and pull the vest down, so that you don't expose expanses of tummy flesh. I'm definately going to try that this time round.

The reasons I feel a bit self conscious bf in public are because I leak a lot when feeding, my nipples are the size of satelite dishes and generally I'm not as pert as I used to be. Best overall to keep them covered up methinks.

Took me a while to get used to BF in public - for the first few weeks I used private rooms in Mothercare, Boots etc even in the car a few times. But as I got better at it, it became easier. I used cardis and muslins but to be honest, I don't think anyone ever noticed - they never said anything.

And it is so much easier than faffing around with bottles when you are out ;)

Hi ladies,

Hayley2u: Ooh exciting, I thought about having an elective C section but think I chickened out cos of the fear of Hospitals and would probably end up walking out before recovery period was over LOL
I bought six small ones and four medium size one's first time round, they did me fine, but I was BF so if you're bottle feeding you'll probably need more.

ECATLM: Wow! Russel and Bromley eh?! I can't even afford to look into their window let alone go in there LOL I know what you mean about the adult shoes, they're all just so pretty!! And with matching handbags too, it's so hard to say "NOOOOOO!" LOL
I feel for you hun, my ankles have started to swell the past couple of days, but do think I've done quite well this time round, last time was putting my feet up from about 12 weeks LOL

MrsMar: Crikey! £1000 per month eh?! I'd come and be your nanny for that if I weren't about to have another baby LOL Hope you had a nice evening last night.

Luck to AmyClaraMum, poor thing, feeling for her right now

Dal21: Did you go shopping today? I went into town and bougth lunch for myself, DD my friend and her DS, it was lovely, spoilt us a little though as I went to M&S instead of grotty ol' Tesco LOL
Agreeing with Hayley on the pic, did you copy and paste it off a maternity wear site?!! LOL Wish I could look that fit while pregannt I don't want to tell you that it's going to feel like you've got loads of room and you'll be able to touch your toes etc when LO is born but that's just me being jealous LOL, the first few days is mainly a spin cos of the pain and just generally feeling drained but, as you come round a bit more, you realise that your toes are green and your lady garden is more like some kind of swamp monster

FilBrit: Hello there in the lovely Philippines, am V jealous!! I love beautiful weather LOL Good luck with the dates of the C section, hope it all goes well for you too.

MrsFish: Ooh I might have to try not eating in the evening then, I've just been guzzling Gaviscon before going to bed! Glad you're feeling good from the haircut, may be inspired to do the same

Chattyhan: Wow!! What a day! Poo, eh?! That'll be something you'll just have to get used to all over again, only it'll be a beautiful shade of yellow
Aw your DS id just adorable BTW!!

CCpink: Sorry to hear your week's been rubbish, hope you feel better soon

Sophieandbelly: Welcome! Sorry to hear you've got SPD with baby1, that must suck! I had nothing with baby no1 but am on baby no2 (due 12th Sept) and have had just about everything going LOL
We had girl's name sorted from day 1 and couldn't decide boy's name, turned out to be a girl, this time round we're having trouble's with girl's names and it looks like a girl from the scan so I'm not hedging bets this time LOL Also ask your DP?DH what he thinks it is? They usually have a really good instinct where gender is concerned, I think it's down to the fact that they have a slightly less connected emotional view on the whole thing! Labour's a piece of cake LOL But I do have quite a high pain threshold (what with all the tatt's and piercings LOL)
Anywho, good luck with the scan

Toadstool: You've just reminded me that I need to get an inflatable ring for the birth (gave birth on/off the toilet last time because I didn't want to sit back down on baby's head when in last few mins of labour LOL)

Mmoomar: Good luck!!

Right, I think that'll do LOL it's getting late and I'm getting looks from the corner!! LOL Hope everyone has a good eve and morning tomorrow (yeah like I'm going to get up and greet you guys in the morning LOL I'll be busy making breakfast and catching This Morning LOL)

Anyone wanting to know, I bought some bed pads today from Boots, they don't do maternity ones any more but they do the "old people" one's for incontinence, only £2.99 so I got those (My next stop would've been the pet store for house training dog's LOL)

Good night my lovelies!!

thanks kyala,
the spd does suck,its ok as long as iam resting!! which in a way is nice every other day i can deal with that! but being a previously busy hairdresser feel bored and lazy, been able to keep up a few home clients,but iam getting a bit frustrted with,trisha and this morning!!! my sister starts maternity leave tomorrow so that will be nice! shes only 29 weeks but shes having her little girl at 37 weeks.
i should stop moaning and enjoy the last time in the next 18 years that i can just think of myself! p.s my boyfriend thinks junior is a girl!!! not sure if thats through want tho!! hes 60/40 would like a girl xxxx

Evening all. can't sleep at all had a really weird week. spent all weekend nesting/spring cleaning house top to bottom (although it looks a tip again now!) and then wishing i hadn't on monday as i felt so achy. got a pain low down as though it's behind my prev cs scar. it got gradually worse and on tues night was admitted. the doc explained it's where my womb is still trying to stretch but obv the scar tissue wont, and gave me stronger painkillers before letting me home (after much persuasion that i'm more likely to get rest/be comfortable at home than on a noisy hospital ward). tmi warning, upon self-examination earlier my cervix felt very soft, and i was wondering if anyone knew how long before labour starts this can happen? i know that a show can be up to a couple of weeks but always though that a soft cervix meant labour was pretty imminent. don't really know where i got that from as all the books i had from first time around are at the bottom of some cupboard or another and i can't really be bothered to dig them out.

mw also said yesterday that lo is engaged and it feels like i need the loo constantly, no exaggeration. just want this baby out now esp as i can no longer do anything with ds (18months). wasn't really expecting that until after section so feeling really guilty that i can't play with him much anymore already. i'm sure he's feeling it as the last few nights he's woken up distressed in the night.

hayley, last time i made sure i had enough bottles for a whole day plus a couple more, so that i only needed to sterilise them once a day. in the early days this was about 8 but soon reduced to 5/6. i also have bought some steri-bottles (ready sterilised disposables) just for the first few feeds when we get home to save rushing, and they're also useful in an emergency when lo decides they want an extra feed but you don't have any regular bottles ready. you can get them in asda/tesco/boots and they're about £2.50 for 4. if you do decide to bottle-feed then check out which formula your hospital stocks (they will supply you while you're in) so that you can get some of the same one for when you get home, it's not advised that you switch brands of formula with a very young baby.

hope everyone is ok xx

hi everyone

i haven't posted since the start of my preg but have been a regular reader of the thread. i'm due on 1st sept with my first little girl. i started maternity leave today so i will finally have time to start posting on mumsnet.... i hope you don't mind if i join in at this late stage?

sparks02

hi everyone and welcome sparks and sophiebelly!

as you can see i can't sleep. not sure what baby is doing but whatever it is, it's on my cervix and is not comfy!

LoopyLouLisa - hope you're feeling ok and getting some sleep now. from memory (books in bedroom and dont' want to wake dh up as he'll have to get up in the morning!) cervix softens and then dilates. what i don't know is how quckly one follows the other - but if you've had show and baby is engaged...well, let me just wish you lots of luck if things are happening! do let us know how you are getting on.

very envious of all your glamourous bump shots ladies!

on breast or bottle, i breast fed dd and it was hard to establish (i cannot tell a lie it hurt like hell!) but once we got going it was so blissfully easy and although i hardly used bottles at all, when i did i found them a right faff. as for feeding in public, it only bothered me on once, when dd was v small and i think i was just a bit overtired...after that i bf everywhere, cars, parks, shopping centres. standing up, sitting down, wandering around. it becomes second nature. and always v discrete - you'd be surprised. look in a mirror while you're feeding if you're worried.
i can understand why people are reluctant to feed in public though - but think it's a confidence thing so can build up to it.

and getting body back. i am a bit at how fab i felt straight after dd's birth. didn't even need a paracetamol. felt physically great, honestly, no pain or discomfort anywhere and yes, body back pretty quickly. if anything i went a bit thin in first weeks as breast feeding and concentrating on new baby and forgetting to eat - stern lecture from midwife! unfortunately i threw it all away over a year of mat leave when i got into habit of joining dh in his biscuit/cake breaks through the day! oh well! having said that when gp weighed me at start of this preg was same as start of last one...but not as fit and toned i fear!

bet this time i end up with the opposite and will really suffer afterwards!

gawd, nothing on telly...what shall i do now...ponder...i suppose i could iron..? oh, shame, basket in bedroom. better not! just thinking of dh you understand .

Morning everyone.

I bf ds1 for 5 months, this time I am only planning on doing it the first week or two. I hated feeding in public, lost count of the times I did it in the back of the car spent far too much time sitting feeding him, every two hours he wanted feeding for weeks and weeks, my life was not my own, I felt like a cow. Whenever I wanted to go out without ds I was that uncomfortable with rock hard boobs I had to take my expresser and a bottle out with me... rather spoilt the break I was having. It hurt like hell at the start took me perhaps a month for it to not hurt during which time I nearly gave up many times. My lifesaver were nipple shields from MOthercare.

This time round I can not imagine being able to spend so much time feeding with ds running around. If it turns out easy in those first couple of weeks I may carry on it all depends

Had awful cramp last night, first in my left calf, that was bloody agony, then in the top of my bump and then in my hips so had a fitful sleep

Sun is out here atm, wonder how long it will last. My friends wedding is tommorrow and they have forecast god awful weather all weekend, feel so sorry for them think I need to take my wellies as they are having a marquee in their field

Morning!

ECATLM - sorry you're having trouble sleeping! Once i'm asleep i tend to be fine thank god! - don't know how i'd function otherwise.

Thanks for all the kind words re: poo girl! Rest of day thankfully wasn't too bad and now no more! so i suppose officially it's maternity leave! only it's not really and i've got a couple of offers from a couple of families to watch their kids and give them a break over the next couple of weeks if i feel up to it! In an ideal world i'd say no but the money would be useful!

Hayley - i'd say try breastfeeding at first in hospital and if you really don't want to then switch to formula - anything lo gets is a bonus and you'll have tried which means you'll feel happier!

As for breastfeeding in public i never had any special tops just lifted up tshirt and fed anywhere - people could only see when lo was sytarting or finishing otherwise it looked like i was just cuddling!