Due Oct ~sow's a'roasting!

[j20baby]

Hellllllllllllllllllooooooooooooooo..............here i am, sorry but waited for ages for somone else to do it and i can't find it if they have!

Hi unicorn - my daughters are 8.5 and 5.5. Actually dd1 was much better last year. When she was in Year 1 she became really sarcastic; we were watching a video of her on her 6th birthday the other day and she was such a little madam! It looks as if dd2 is going the same way as she has a sarky answer for everything at the moment. My eldest daughter really grew up in Y3 so I hope it continues although a summer of Hannah Montana and High School Musical means she now thinks she's an American teen at the moment!

Ooops just re-read your post unicorn - you mean this time round as in this pregnancy not this school year don't you? Bloody hormones turning my brain to cabbage!!

Thankfully dd1 was an angel when her sister was born but she's always been in a hurry to grow up. DD2 likes being the baby of the family though so I'm not sure how she's going to cope - andI keep reading horrible things about middle child syndrome.

Just got back from meeting my community midwife for the first time...I'm still in a sweat!.. There was I thinking "oh, LO is finally having a bit of sleep after 2 days of doing the hula hula in there" and she is getting the doppler out and saying "and how many movements have you felt today?" and I reply honestly "well after the last 2 days of frenetic movement I've not been counting, but a few wriggles this morning and all has been peaceful since lunch time"... she puts the doppler on and gets nothing..and palpates me..and gets nothing..makes me get up and walk..and gets nothing...repeats steps 1 & 2 again..then finally she changes the battery and gets the heart beat!
She was very nice and all that, but scared the living daylights out of me! (herself too I think )and sent me off to rest and if I don't get 10 movements before 7pm to call the hospital and go in for monitoring....which I don't think will be necessary as LO is now thoroughly awake and from the feel of it in a crabby bad temper!!!
Got to go teach now..will catch up with everyone later (just had to get that off my chest!)

Oh no! Poor you Floria - although that made me laugh Don't you just love modern technology...

lisa How did your dd's day go, did she enjoy it?

Floria Blimey, what a panic for those few minutes, glad all is well though

Well I have had a tough day, its been a battle of wills with ds since the moment he got up at 6.50 this morning. He has started refusing dinner that I have cooked for him, he only wants to eat toasted teacakes or crumpets, which I can't let him get away with grin So he was asking for lunch at 11.30 so I heated up some chicken casserole that I made last night (he usually loves it) but he refused it, so I got him down from the table and refused him everything else. Cue much crying because he was hungry, but refusing the food every time I offered it during the course of the afternoon. He finally caved in and ate it at 3.30 this afternoon, but boy those 4 hours in between were a nightmare, very draining on my patience. I suppose it hasn't helped that he hasn't had a sleep today, due to friends turning up later than expected, and knowing if I put him down he would have a good couple of hours, being grumpy if I woke him up after anything less, so perhaps only have myself to blame. He has been so tired though bless him he was asking to go to bed at 5pm, managed to hold him out till 6.20, put him down and he was asleep in less than 5 mins. I just hope he isn't up at the crack of dawn tomorrow now

Spoke to DH and he got his dates wrong on when he was coming home, he told me it would be late sunday, but he will actually be home Saturday evening which is great

Well I had better go get something to eat, managed to miss lunch through timings of visitors etc..... after this Braxton Hicks episode though... breathe....
Contact the poster See this person's profile Contact mumsnet about this post By kyala on Wed 05-Sep-07 16:53:57

hi all, have been reading the posts throughout the day, but forgive me, i can't remember who said what.

i am getting period type pains again and terrifyed that i'm going to have to go in, so i'm going to try and get some sleep just in case.

have written my birth plan, i wonder if you can all scan it and see what you think.

hugs to all that need them

Birth partner
I am hoping that my mum and/or my friend are going to be my birthing partners.

Labour
I wish to be able to move around and change position at will throughout labour, with the support of my birth partner(s) or attending midwife.
I would like to be able to have fluids by mouth throughout the first stage of labour.
I would like the lights in the room to be kept low during my labour.
I may want to use a music CD during the labour.

Anesthesia/Pain Medication
Before considering an epidural, and if the situation warrants, I would like to try gas and air and other methods of pain relief if available.

Cesarean
Unless absolutely necessary, I would like to avoid a Cesarean.

Episiotomy
I would prefer not to have an episiotomy unless absolutely required for the baby's safety.

Delivery
I would like to be allowed to choose the position in which I give birth.
I would like to try to deliver in a hands-and-knees position.
Even if I am fully dilated, and assuming the baby is not in distress, I would like to try to wait until I feel the urge to push before beginning the pushing phase.
I would appreciate having the room lights turned low for the actual delivery.
I would like to have the baby placed on my stomach/chest immediately after delivery if at the time this is what I want, or I may want the baby to be cleaned up before I hold her, it will depend on how tired I am and how I feel.

Immediately After Delivery
I would like to cut the cord myself or by one of my birth partners if possible.
I would prefer that the umbilical cord stop pulsating before it is cut.
I would like to hold the baby while I deliver the placenta and any tissue repairs are made if possible, although I may change my mind about this immediately after the birth.
After the birth, I would prefer to be given a few moments of privacy to urinate on my own before being catheterised, I would like to avoid being catheterised at all costs.

Breastfeeding
I plan to breastfeed and would like to begin nursing very shortly after birth.
Unless medically necessary, I do not wish to have any bottles given to the baby (including glucose water or plain water).

Other
My support people are my mum and my friend and I would like them to be present during labor and delivery.
I am happy for Vitamin K to be administered.
I would like my other child to be able to visit me in the hospital.

This birth plan is not exhaustive and while I hope it can be kept to during the labour and birth I understand that this is not always possible.

BRAVO Mrs Fish!!!!!
I wish my s-i-l had been as patient and determined as you with her sons over their food...it only takes for you to give in once or twice and that is it, you are stuck with a kid that refuses to eat anything but junk...the nephews drive me bats! M-i-l flogs herself to death preparing a Saturday night dinner most weeks for 8 -10 people then has to cook two separate different dishes for the kids...I've told her that when it comes to it ours eats what the adults eat or nothing at all...Good for you sticking to your guns and holding on to your temper..Sorry he got over tired too but you should get a good nights sleep out of him tonight Great news about Dh too...I know how hard it is when they are away..mine is unexpectedly home this week but goes on a stag weekend in Cologne on Friday, comes back on Sunday night to fly out to Sweden on Monday until Thursday...to say I was not a happy bunny when I heard that would be an understatement!
Inzi well done on the wallpaper stripping.. and enjoy the meal out
Colly I the maternity pay too...self employment has its draw backs ..the last time I worked permanently for a company they gave us a hard time over a payrise one year so we negotiated better terms and conditions instead; one of which was maternity pay ... they gave us 10 weeks full and 10 weeks half pay if you had worked there less than 5 yrs and 15 weeks full 15 weeks half if you had worked there longer...5 girls of the 17 of us were pregnant within 6 months!!!...I wish I was still there now!

Ok, am about to post the longest message in MN history!!

Lisa ? hope Tanisha?s first day went well ? Rhydian started yesterday with a full day too ? I wanted to be able to look to see what he was doing!

Hiya buffy ? please be careful! I had my appointment with the anaesthetist today, and I asked about codeine dependency ? he said that the risks with any of these drugs are theoretical rather than proven ? ethics prevents research on pg women ? more of this appointment later!
Sounds like the rest of your appt was really positive though.
Take it easy with these contractions! Mind you, 37-42 weeks is considered full-term ?

Apricott ? hiya ? sorry to hear you?re suffering with the pelvic pain too ? yes I am having lo in the Heath - but the MLU is new (only 2 years old), and has had a major refurbishment? (Goodness knows it needed it!) I actually had ds in Llandough ? but it?s now a stand-alone MLU ? and with my history, they wouldn?t let me even look around!
at you and your kitchen cupboards ? the state of my oven is really getting me down, but I can?t get down there to sort it out ? we bought a box of oven pride about 6 months ago ? and have done nothing with it ? think I may have to educate dh as to the finer points of oven cleaning!

Karlou ? I have had a major clean out of stuff too ? it just never happened when I was pg with ds ? but this time it coincided with decorating both our room as well as the room for lo. Hasn?t meant that madam has turned up any earlier though!
at your pg brain ? I am also completely unable to retain information at the moment!

Collywobbles ? when will you know whether your placenta is high enough to go for a normal delivery? It must be horrible having to have 2 completely different scenarios going on!
I am also about your maternity pay ? but I?m not so badly off ? 4 weeks 100%, 2 weeks 90%, 12 weeks 50% - then on to SMP ? at least we get something coming in!

Unicorn ? hiya ? have no idea how many of us there are in total ? we do have a stats thread, but many of the people on there haven?t been around much ? so we don?t know how many of them are still with us (if you get me!)

Floria ? ? you must have been beside yourself!!
about the maternity pay where you used to work ?

MrsFish ? somebody once described the toddler years as ?prolonged psychological warfare? ? think your ds experience today definitely counts as that! We went through a ?picky? stage with ds really early on ? from about 11 months ?til about 18 months, he would only eat yogurt and peas (I kid you not!!), but we came out of it the other side, and he eats the same as us (most of the time ? he gets a choice of tea on a Friday as it?s our curry night!) ? if asked what his favourite dinner is now, he will tell you that it?s roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, peas, beans and tomato ketchup (I despair over the ketchup, but that?s the way we ?persuade? him to try new foods )

Great news that dh will be home earlier than expected!

Inzi ? congratulations on winning the war against woodchip ? I don?t think we?ll ever take off the stuff we have in out house ? if we paint it enough, I figure it?ll go flat eventually! In all te houses around here, the walls are held together with this disgusting black mortar (has coal dust in it!) ? so you take woodchip and anything else like that off only if it?s really bad!

J20 ? your birth plan looks great ? mine is really short this time ? I went for it last time, but this time I?ve just put on things that are really important to me ? in fact over half of it is saying things like ? I am allergic to latex (in bright red!) ? I am allergic to NSAIDs ? I am asthmatic ? I have coccydinia ? I have SPD ? and giving a bit more info on how to deal with me!

Well, today has been a real marathon for me ? I had hydro this morning, which went well, although I couldn?t do a lot of the exercises as I was in a lot of pain ? Gill (the physio) just got me doing cycling movements in the deepest bit, which really helped.
After that, I had a 3 hour wait until the appointment with the anaesthetist ? but there was no point coming hom, just to drive back again, so I had gone prepared for the wait (I?m making a jumper for ds) ? but I thought I?d just phone the MLU to see if the pool was free so that I could check if I could get in and out ? and it was ? so I went up, and Delyth (mw) talked me through the whole using the pool scenario, and I got in and then out again ? unaided ? so that?s another thing ticked off my list!
She?s written that in my notes, so that everybody knows! We then had a chat about the fact that the consultant hadn?t been there yesterday, and she?s let me know that?s basically a formality ? it?s more a courtesy to inform him that that?s what?s happening ? and if he?s not there again next week, I can simply write a letter removing myself from Consultant-led care! She has said that I?m booked in to deliver in the MLU ? they?ve even put together a latex-free kit to use when I?m in labour!
We talked about the fact I was going to go and find somewhere to wait for the anaesthetist appointment, and she offered me the sitting room, so I spent a couple of hours curled up on the sofa in there ? I was sooooo glad!

Then I had the appointment downstairs with the anaesthetist ? they were running behind schedule (when do they not?), so I had to wait an hour, but when I got in there I explained the situation to the guy I saw, who told me that the fact that I throw up my pain meds is more to do with the meds themselves (and their side effects), and the fact that I have a severe reaction to general anaesthesia is linked in to this. Anyway, he?s written me up for some hefty pain medication to help me sleep - and he?s written me up for a TENS machine! Am going to go to the TENS clinic tomorrow to get one ? they don?t usually give them out until 38 weeks ? oh, if only I?d had this appointment weeks ago when it should have been sorted out, but never mind!)

Anyway, after that marathon ? pharmacy had a delay on of 30 minutes, more sitting on uncomfortable chairs, and a long drive home (took 45 minutes to do a journey that should take 20 ? I?d hit rush hour by then) ? I took a dose of the new pain meds, and, although I feel a bit sick, I haven?t thrown them up ? success! I also feel slightly drunk ? and will be going to bed early! Dh reckons he?s going to take advantage of my tipsy state ? I?d like to see him try !

Probably won?t post much until next week now ? I?m in work tomorrow and Friday, then we?re going to a wedding on Saturday down in the wilds of West Wales (well, near Fishguard ? but that?s a long way west!)

Take care all ? apologies for a mammoth post!

Good Eveningggggggggggggggggggg

How is everyone????

Today was ds's 2nd day back at school and I have had a cry of joy as I have been told he has been promoted into yr 6 for litracey. I was kept in the dark that he was in the talented and gifted childrens group for the last 3 years. Now he works with yr 6 to do this subject WAHEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Ok cheerful dancing over lolol

Hope y'all ok xxxxxxxxxxxx

Just a quick one from me. Have cold that seems like it might be turning into flu That'll be my body telling me I really shouldn't have given in to all those nesting instincts.

DH is taking laptop away with him for 5 days (great timing if this flu continues!) so won't be able to post.

HUGE good luck for tomorrow, Dal.

Colly - I have low lying placenta too, so do keep me updated. I have a scan next Weds to see where it is lying. Really, really hoping that it has moved.

Have a good 5 days, all. Hopefully not too many aches and pains, and good luck with all those nesting plans

Wow, you were'nt kidding ejt glad you are starting to get things sorted though. Have a good weekend

hello all!

not much to report from me. still working and frantically decorating our house/ finishing DIY from our extension (which STILL hasn't finished!). ............so, havent thought about baby too much yet! not at all organised but i am fully expecting to reach my due date as i always have in the past! so i still have 3 1/2 wks to go!

kezza - i was only thinking about you the other day (is that odd!!!???) so i wont be hearing anyone screaming how crap hypnobirthing is from the next delivery suite to me then?!!! if you are having your section on 24th we could easily be in hospital at the same time cos you will prob stay in for a few dyas wont you? i think we should both wear red carnations so we can recognise each other in the post natal ward!!!

morning everyone. hope you all had a good night's sleep and that you're feeling a bit better orange. I hear you with your point about our bodies telling us to rest! we're bound to regret not doing so in a few weeks time!

mrsfish - I share your frustration with DS! Mine has had really bad asthma over the last few days which means lots of sitting with him through the night (which is fine) but then one mega grouchy toddler the next day. My patience was in tatters yesterday - we've been so lucky cause he's not a tantrum thrower at all but has started this whingy thing which drives me mad! got quite concerned yestreday at how much patience I'll have when this LO comes....sure it'll be fine. everyone says you overcompensate for the first and ignore the next ones (depends on whether that noise continues though I think )

floria - sorry about your scare -that happened with me a few times with DS1 and it is really worrying isn't it - glad your LO is somersaulting again though.

LES - great news about the literacy group. you must be so proud.

J20 - birth plan looks good- very similar to my first one. this time round I know I'm having an elective so it's a bit different. Floria I was thinking of you too, cause I know you may be induced and this is one thing that I just didn't read up on or discuss with anyone last time and it was a bit of a shock - wish I'd been a bit more prepared for it. Just thought I'd pass that on - not in a scary way, but in a things I wish I had known way!!

ejt - you really seem to be going through it with all these apps! hope you're feeling ok today.

lisa - hope you're ok today and the 2nd day at school is less teary. Can't imagine how hard it is...

dal - really thinking of you tomorrow. swollen fingers crossed!

sorry if I have forgotten anyone else - pregnancy brain is really setting in now. I'm ok - had excrutiating pain last night; baby is breech and I had no idea how uncomfortable that would be! But managed to get some sleep between DS and that. Also, DH has been at home yesterday (he wasn't well which wasn't great for him but an absolute godsend for me!) so that was lovely. Altho, we heard that the 4 day break we thought he was getting between this job and his next one will now actually only be a weekend I am concerned that he is just so knackered and all the driving he has to do is a real worry (hour and a half each way before and after a 12 hour day - long!) But can't really dwell on that cause there is nothing we can do.

thanks to everyone for the food diaries too! very interesting and glad that someone else shares my ice cream dependency!
right better get on - have a great day everyone.

Hi everyone.

Ejt - brilliant news! I'm really pleased it all went well for you.

Orangecat - hope flu gets better. Poor you! and laptop deprived as well!

Greedy - I wish I was in nesting mode. I suspect I'm too lazy! My excuse is work - it's really taking all my energy.

J20, thanks for posting a birthing plan. I'd never have thought of half of those things!

Floria, hope things are okay with you. And Unicorn. And Muppet - you've been quiet? Lisa- have the contractions completely stopped? And Alice, have you had a good night's sleep?

Inzi - any news from your grandparents?

Mrs Fish, hope DS is okay today. Good news about DH coming back on Saturday!

I'm working at home today (I say, while writing this...!). DH has a big work day and we got almost no sleep what with him worrying and me tossing and turning with lo. Never mind. Tomorrow he paints lo's room and it's going to start to feel really real.

Still getting the oddest 'bump' comments. Some people are now saying 'you're big!' or 'ooh it's really big now' and others saying 'you're so small'. It's funny. Oh and mainly people keep trying to touch it at work - I find that a bit odd - don't particularly want to be groped as I pretend to be professional! I wonder why a pregnant body seems to belong to the world not to the woman.

Hope all the children are enjoying their first week at school! And that you're all fine too.

Nellie, we crossposted - sorry about the sleep thing. I find just the bump is a sleep-hinderer, so a breech bump further along the line must be a real mare!

Oh and I forgot to say to Floria, am surprised your blood pressure wasnt through the roof at that mw apptment!

Morning all.

Well ds is going to be great today... he is at nursery till 5.30, just dropped him off I already feel at a bit of a loss though, I've never been without him a whole day whilst at home, I ought to make the most of it and get some things sorted out, I've got a couple of hours before my mw appt. Lo was very active and wriggly last night, but I am still not sure what position he is in. To me it feels like his back is lying across the top of my bump and legs hanging down as I am not feeling any kicks just big wriggles, whereas with ds1 I could distinctly tell when his feet/hands were pushing out. Oh well, will find out soon.

Morning all

Saw Tanisha off to school again today but Darren took her in, but i had to get out of bed to do her hair. (hoping bugs arent as bad at this school as it was at nursery)
I have to pick her up this afternoon. Problem with the school is its a 10 mintue walk uphill so am having to drive until crutches and wheelchair are out of use.

Contractions are still going but not so close together now and they are better the more i rest. Saw another MW yesterday and she is saying def not a huge baby she reckons about 6-6.5lb if i get to term

Im bored at home, especially quiet without Tani here. I shouldnt complain, I'll get no rest when this little one arrives.

Floria: I think i would have hit the MW Very scarcy, poor you but glad all a false alarm.

J20: good birth plan, I dont have one. I was forced into writing one by my midwife last time. i told her i didnt want to as if i didnt get it i would be upset. You guessed it I got everything i didnt want. So not writing one, I will see how i feel on the day

Buffy make sure you take it easy LOL at me giving the advice i dont take

Hope those that have or about to start Mat leave are enjoying the break.

Right off to stick myself with my needle, and hope i dont labour today otherwise im in trouble

Lisa

Hi Greedy, I cat'd you ages ago, did you get it? Typical isnt it, both me and Dal do hypnobirthing and end up with elective sections.

you will know me as I will have a giant baby called Ella or Leo and shall be wearing black Next maternity pyjamas fresh out of the packet

how funny if we meet each other in there.

Good luck tomorrow Dal and hi to everyone else.

morning all - just about to go to TENS clinic - had a better night's sleep last night - although still up every 2 minutes! (that's what it felt like anyway!)

Here's my birth plan - you'll notice that not much of it is actual plan, but ...

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

? I am allergic to latex.
? I am also allergic to NSAIDs, Aspirin, and all its derivatives. I suffer an angio-oedema reaction to these drugs.
? I am asthmatic. It is well-controlled, but sometimes, if I get panicky, I need reminding to use my salbutamol inhaler, as I use it so infrequently.
? I suffer with chronic coccyx pain, and have done for the past 5 years. I find it excruciatingly painful to sit for any length of time on my coccyx, and find that if I am in any one position for any length of time, that I seize up and have difficulty moving. I would appreciate your help to make sure that this doesn?t happen.
? I have been suffering with spd throughout this pregnancy. Please make sure that I am the person to move my legs. I am very aware of my pain-free range.

MY WISHES FOR THE BIRTH
I have only written down things that are very important to me. My greatest wish is to be treated as an intelligent woman, and not patronised. The birth of my son was an incredibly traumatic experience, and I do not wish to suffer the same nightmares and flashbacks after this birth as I did with my son.

Positions
? I need to stay as active as possible due to spd. However, if I do decide that I need to lie down, I need to lie on my side.

Pain relief
? I wish to use TENS, water (the pool), and Entonox. Please do not offer me pethidine: it makes me incredibly sick.

Second stage
? Please do not feel you have to shout at me to push. This happened during the birth of my son, and has been a recurring nightmare since.

Third stage
? I wish to have a physiological third stage. Please do not inject me with Syntometrine unless there is an obvious bleeding problem.
? I would like for the cord to stop pulsating before it is cut.

Can I just ask a quick question... I've seen it mentioned a few times now. What is the difference between having the cord cut before or after it has stopped pulsating?

I have a reference doc given to me by my hypnobirthing teacher who has string views on the cord being cut too early, but it is a PDF doc so Im not sure how to link it or best put it on here without copying 4 pages of it which I dont really want to do! If anyone know how I can link it let me know and I will do.

Great birth plan ejt - sounds like you had a horrific battleaxe of a mw last time. I had a really long labour (30+ hrs) with dd1 and so kept experiencing differents mw's. I really didn't like the one who delivered my daughter - she was patronising and bossy and kept holding my leg up even though I had SPD and kept saying it hurt for her to do that. And then after Lorna was born she told me she had talipes and might need physio later. This was complete rubbish, she never had any problems, I just wish I could have taken her in to see the woman again when she started walking at nine and a half months!
Thankfully dd2's labour was only 5 hours and the mw was lovely.
This time around I'm booked in for a homebirth and I really like the community mw's so fingers crossed!
On the subject of waiting until the cord has stopped pulsating, I konw that it is believed that the baby benefits because it gets extra oxygen-rich blood and this may help prevent anaemia later. This article here is quite helpful it explaining it further.

Hello ladies, totally shattered yesterday so went to bed pretty much as soon as ds was asleep and we?d had our tea! Physio session yesterday was great with loads of helpful advice and I have a support belt too which really helps. Has made me question my decision to have an elective section though ? may start another thread on this later if I have a chance to see what people think?.

MrsFish ? glad you like Adam! Probably not going to have a middle name as ds1 doesn?t have one (it was hard enough finding the one we both liked!). If we do it will be Ben as that?s the only other name we both like but not great with our surname on its own.(makes BenT)
Sounds like you have been having some tricky times with your ds recently ? guess this is the terrible 2?s for you. Sure you will have a few more battles before all calms down though! Not looking forward to ds hitting that stage but I will know who to come to for advice when it happens!

Dal ? glad you have such a supportive midwife. Totally know what you mean about it being easier to know what is happening. I am finding having the choice a totally daunting prospect. Will be thinking of you tomorrow ? good luck x

Ejt ? Fantastic news about all of your appointments with the mlu and anaesthetist. Sounds like a lot of weights off your mind all in one go. Nice one.
Great birth plan too. You have all the important stuff in clear simple terms so can?t be misunderstood! Also not filling it up with loads of stuff that isn?t that important to you means the important things not diluted.

Inzi ? hope you had a lovely wedding anniversary

Buffy ? sorry to hear you?re going through the mill a bit honey. Thinking of you?.

Apricott ? sorry to hear spd is getting troublesome too? Agree Adam wouldn?t be right for you! I love Eve though ? good luck with deciding?.

Floria!! That must have been terrifying when she couldn?t find a heartbeat esp as it sounds like it was obvious she was worried! Fingers crossed all well since?.

J20 ? nice one on your birth plan. All your points are made very clearly and you have also made it clear that you are open to change depending on circumstance. Think its great.

Karlou ? I was told ds had talipes too which was also b*llocks! Wish they?d paid more attention to his tongue tie which made it incredibly painful to breast feed!

Well just going to grab my lunch now then may be back or I might go to sleep?..

Link to my debate about section / vbac... www.mumsnet.com/Talk/1365/383812