Due Sept 07...The first thing I will do is....... eat Brie, Parma Ham, drink wine and anything else banned... then, I will tie MY OWN shoelaces!'

[MrsFish]

Ok folks here is the new thread. I have put it into ante natal again for now, we can always start a new one in the post natal forum once we have all popped.

:D Could have used that for a thread title.... Once you pop you just can't stop

emj23 - i've done the long walk today too. hasn't worked yet though, have been having achy period pains on and off, but nothing else. Have had raspberry leaf tea, apparently it doesn't necesserily induce labour, just makes your contractions more productive and stronger. its deffo made my braxton hicks stronger.

must get myself some pineapple tomorrow. come on baby out you come!!!

38+6

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT

Holly delivered her gorgeous baby boy this morning at 11.27am weighing 7lbs 4oz. Mum and baby both well, name to follow!

Congrats Holly!

Congratulations Holly! Hope everyone is doing well got more sleep last night so feel much better today but Alex has been asleep most of the day so i'm sure i'm in for a difficult night!

DP is being a bit difficult! He was away for work last night, out with friends tonight, away for work tomorrow night, dj-ing sat pm and i heard him making arrangements to meet a friend sun! MIL is here with me at the moment so i'm ok but i think it's still unreasonable with a 4 day old baby! I just hope he's better next week when MIL is gone and i've got the 2 DS to juggle!

Evening all!

Congratulations Toadstool: that labour sounds suspiciously like my last one (with DD) nice when they go like that isn't it?! Well, done you!

Hayley2u: aw bless, sounds like we'll be calling ours Lucy Erin too, DD is adamant that this LO's name is Lucy but our first choice has been Erin for months now! Oh well, at the very least you and I don't live close to one another eh?!

Mmoomar: Aw that's so sweet about your DH, set me off just reading it, can't wait for my first skin to skin either now!

Hammerheadshark: It's good that they actually let you go of your own accord then! And good that you're making time for the other LO's, I'm a bit nervous as far as my first days will go when DH goes back to work after the birth, as I know DD is a good girl but she's very very cuddly atm so could be a little jealousy at some point to deal with.

Lou: Good advice on the water bottle! Never thought of that with DD, but then never really had too many problems with her, but at least now there's another option if I can't get this one down to sleep

Sophus: Aw that's so sweet! I still do that sort of thing with DD now and she's 2!! Can't help thinking of Linus from Snoopy, but he was a cutey too!

Diddle: You are definitely not the only one left LOL I'm still here (until Sunday anyway )
I've even been resorting to drinking cider the past couple of days as the local barman informed me they send women down from the hospital to his pub to try and get their labour going again if it stops I've been watering it down something chronic though!

Congratulations to Holly!

Chattyhan: Good luck with your DP next week, maybe he just needs a gentle nudge that you still need to rely on him

Well, finally I've managed to catch up now it's the me bit (I'm good at this bit!)
Had MW appointment today, no sweep due to GBS but she's booked me in for an induction on Sunday (I have to phone the ward half an hour before just to check they're not too busy as they've got like 5 induction's on the Saturday, if so I'll be deferred to Monday morning) So I'm now very very happy and we've sorted plans for DD for the weekend and all's looking like it's actually going to go ahead (as opposed to me staying pregnant for the rest of my life!)

So, all baby has to do now is sit tight until Sunday and we'll be sorted
Oh you know it's going to start kicking off again and try and muck up our plans but I'm going to ignore it

I had another bout of contractions last night, decided to get up and do some clock watching, got to 2am, contractions started to get very regular very quickly and I decided that actually I was too bored of all this malarkey! So, told baby that I was tired of it playing me for a fool and that I was going to bed! Think it heard me, as soon as I was back into bed the contractions settled down again! Finally, I'm showing it who's boss!!

MW said I did the right thing, if I don't believe it and it still doesn't go away then to start clock watching but unless they get very very close then not to worry LOL (Hey I could end up still having LO at home if I don't believe I'm in labour until right at the last minute LOL That would be fun eh?!)

So, DH has just one day left at work, he's got the weekend off and then he's on paternity leave (finally! He's really starting to struggle at work, his boss is getting stupid with his demands, the guy just shouldn't be a manager if he can't manage And to top things off, DH actually got a security call out at 2am last night, he's still on the system as being on paternity leave from last week!! I answered the phone, as I was up, and just let them know that I was having contractions, the poor girl on the other end was a little flustered and "let me get on with it" LOL)
Am in two minds as to whether I should interfere with DH's work or not, should I phone his boss and just give him a few pointers on how to keep his staff?! LOL I mean, really, it's retail! DH can work just about anywhere, the simple fact is he likes where he works just the boss is getting a bit over-demanding, he doesn't have any commitments outside of work and is one fo those types that is totally married to the job and, obviously expects everyone else to be the same!

Anywhoop, rant over footy's on and the other team have just equalised so I should go and console my DH LOL
Night all, have a good one
Kyala
xxx
41+1

Morning all.

Well, I've had a bit of a restless night. Up from 10pm until about 4.30am with contractions every 10 minutes. Not really painful, but enough to stop me sleeping most of that time. Now they've completely vanished, though, so I guess they must just have been BHs . I haven't had (or at least felt) any BHs until now - is it normal for them to come this close together?? I was convinced I was going to be off to hospital this morning, so feeling a bit cross. Still, at least my body seems to have finally realised that it's supposed to be getting its act together, and that this baby's not coming out by magic!

Hope everyone else is doing ok. Big congratulations to Holly - look forward to hearing more details. Kyala, sorry your DH is having troubles with work - let's just hope they at least leave him alone while he's on his pat leave! Chatty, your DP does sound like he's being pretty unreasonable - perhaps you (or MIL??) could have a bit of a quiet word? On the positive side, at least it shows he's quite relaxed and confident about the new LO, maybe because it's second time around - I think my DH will be too terrified to let any of us out of the house for at least a week!!

Right, I'm back off to bed to try and get a bit of sleep.

41+4

CONGRATULATIONS Holly

MrsBumblebee, I really hope things are happening for you, all these things are positive signs and will be having a positive effect on preparing your body for birth, 'tuning up' I can empathise with how frustrating it can be when you are not sure if it is starting, things seem to get going and then stop. I have had period cramps for over a week now with no other signs - I'm not sure if contractions feel like period cramps or whether they should also be accompanied by a tightening of the uterus and happen in waves - sorry, not much help!!
Wishing you all the very best

40 weeks

Congratulations to Holly and to all the other busy mums who have been birthing whilst I have been away - what fabulous news, all these wonderful babies that have entered the world

Why do I feel like I'm going to be the last women standing will someone please still also be around so I can share the news, I really don't want to have to join the October baby thread!!

Can people also share what early contractions feel like and any DIY induction techniques that have worked for you.

40 weeks

Ok, here is a list of DIY induction techniques that I am aware of - please add anything else that you have heard of! Do I sound desperate?

Pineapple - apparently it's something to do with the enzymes in it.

Spicy Food - helps you body have a good clear out which helps baby have a clear exit path.

Reflexology - there is a point on your foot that they can apply treatment to that stimulates labour - I'm trying to book a session but still waiting for the reflexologist to call me back.

Raspeberry Leaf tea - helps tone your uterus and makes you contratction more effective when they arrive I think - don't think it makes you go into labour though, one of my books says from 38 weeks you should drink 4 cups a day, you'd need to be permanently sat on the loo wouldn't you?

A sweep - enough said!

Having sex - although I think you have to actually enjoy it because it's all about the oxytocin hormone that is released that is the same hormone released during labour

Caster oil - to address any constipation issues

A good brisk walk, bouncing down stairs

Relaxing your body - very hard to do when you are desperate to get baby out!

Ok, that's my list - please let me know if there is anything else!

What about creating a list for reasons to be cheerful about still being pregnant? Hmmm, gonna need help on this one!

Come on baby, time to come out now, mummy's all ready for you......

Morning all
Congrats Holly - we were supposed to be same day I think so very
willjo I am 4 days behind you and don't feel like baby in any rush so defo think I could be joining October ladies no offense to them but just about had enough
chatty - I agree with Bumble that maybe mil could have a little word before she goes. Has she mentioned if she thinks he's being unreasonable?
Meeting up with my ante-natal girls this aft and even they are deserting the last stragglers as they have their babies - surely it'll happen soon!!!

Hello, I will be last woman standing too, due on the 30th, but I have also been on the Oct thread all along too. Saying that about 4/5 Oct women have already had theirs too

omg - no way!!!!!!!!!That really isn't fair. Don't you just hate queue jumpers

yes

Congratulations Holly, so happy for you

Sending everyone else birthing vibes.

Have to admit, it does seem unfair those of you left over here.... come on babies, out you come!!!

Talking of which, mine's just woken up!

x x x

Ooh, MrsF, you two-timer, you .

Willjo, no good ideas to add to your list, I'm afraid - except to say that I think the reason sex works is because semen contains prostaglandin, the hormone that triggers labour. So I'm afraid you don't have to enjoy it at all, as long as he does . Oh, and also my MW strongly advised against castor oil - apparently the results can be rather 'violent'.

i know how you feel kyala. i wanted lucy all way through until last couple of weeks.my partner was admantlike urs it lucy it was really decided at birth the mid wife said are you going with lucy and just agreed ha. i cant register her until2nd october as no spaces so got few days to decide x

Hi everyone, I haven't been on for ages, been so busy I haven't even had time to eat properly. Oh well, all helps the weight loss!!

congratulations to all the new arrivals, there's some really lovely names on here!

Kelmcd - you totally have my sympathies re the day/night thing. I have exactly the same problem. I really don't want to get in to routines at the moment, poor Luca is only a week old, but I want to try and get him to understand when to sleep. during the day he goes down for naps with no problems, but a night he's really restless.

I'm going to try a dummy just until he's able to get himself to sleep, cos last night he fell asleep sucking on my little finger! It's been really hard but I'm enforcing a rule from now on, now more letting him fall asleep on my chest. Is that cruel? It was just so easy to get him to fall asleep on my chest, but he's never going to be able to get himself off to sleep if I keep letting him do that, so I thought a dummy for a couple of months might help him settle himself. He's a real sucker, he'll suck anything, his hand, my fingers, his sleeves, so I figured a dummy might help. Have you tried a dummy yet? I was so desperate last night I was trying to read the baby whisperer book by the dim light in the bedroom during a night feed! Oh dear, should have done my reading beforehand!

Just had a midwife visit and she told me off for having him take his nap this afternoon in his moses basket in our bedroom with the curtains drawn. She said he should be in the same room as us, but I really want him to understand that his cot and and the bedroom are places for sleep. I hope that'll make night times easier.

Another problem I've had is that I had a little infection in my caesarian wound site, nothing serious but the gp has put my on a short course of anti biotics, and they give Luca diarrhoea so I'm having to change him every 2 hours, and up my feeding too. I'm doing demand feeding at the moment, but he's needing to feed every 2 hours cos it's going straight through him. Hopefully things will settle down a bit when I'm off them cos he seems really uncomfortable at times.

Is anyone else getting totally confused by all the mixed advice? I'm reading lots of books about getting routines established early (sounds a bit too harsh for me, not too keen on getting too bogged in to routines for a few weeks yet), my mum keeps saying follow your instincts, but as far as feeding and sleeping go I don't think I have any. One midwife said I must to demand feeding completely, ie wait until he cries for food, and another said I must wake him if he's still asleep and hasn't had a feed for four hours. Surely that's not demand feeding? Oh it's all so confusing! I just hope it'll all settle down soon!

Sorry this has all been a bit me me me. After my initial smugness at his 6 hour sleep one night, I'm now a bit confused and think I'm making a bit of a balls up. I hope everyone else is doing better, will try and do a proper catch up soon and be a little less whingey!

Take care everyone xxx

Willjo, I was told to have a hot bath followed by a hot curry, followed by hot sex! That should do it!

About pineapple, I read on another thread here somewhere that you'd have to have about 80 of them in one sitting to have any affect.

My waters broke 5 weeks early. I've been trying to figure out what triggered it. Well it might be the huge row I was having with dh at the time. Or I've been pondering has it anything to have with the massive pile of chinese crispy duck pancakes I had just before, in particular I wonder if the hoisin (?sp) sauce had anything to do with it.

So you could go with the hot option , 80 pineapples or crispy duck pancakes. I know which one I'd go for.

Congratulations to Holly! Hi to everyone else. Mrs F, got some thoughts for you, but have to tend to Liam just know, I'll come back later.

Sorry ladies meant Mrs M not F! Baby brain

Just had my first show! (God, what does it say about being pregnant that that's the kind of thing I get excited about these days ?)

Come on, LO, you CAN beat that induction deadline!!

Hi guys - I am home at last have been in hospital with my unstable lie for 3 weeks then induction on Tuesday - was going really well until baby turned again despite painful contractions so was whisked of the theatre for a caesarean. Alls well that ends well though and little Amy was born at 6.26 on Tuesday afternoon. I will attempt to catch up on all the news on here now but I expect a lot has happened in the last 3 1/2 weeks so a general congratulations to those with babies and good luck to those still waiting.

Hi Nettee, nice to have you back! Big congratulations on the birth of Amy, and hope you're recovering well from your cs. And you're right - everyone's been popping like corks around here!

Mrs M, totally agree with you about not encouraging the lo's fall asleep on the boob. Most of the time we don't have that option, because Liam poops every time he feeds. So I always have to change him afterwards anyway. Liam is also very 'sucky' so we've given him a dummy a few times too.

About sleeping in the bedroom during the day: I tend not to do that, in the hope that he will associate 'bedroom, basket and darkness' with long nighttime sleeps. As opposed to shorter daytime naps downstairs in his little rocker chair. I've absolutely no idea if there is method in my madness, never mind success, its just what I've always done. It also fits in with my post cs philosophy of not going up and down the stairs unnecessarily in the early weeks.

Sorry to hear about your infection. Hopefully the ab's clear it up quickly.

About routines and advice etc, I think your mum has said the best thing: follow your instincts. You might not think you have any yet, but I bet you have. Can I share something with you? My mum died 12 years ago, and 8 years ago when I was expecting ds1 I was petrified as to how I would cope without her, as I was the first of my friends to have kids, and don't have any close older relatives/friends who I could lean on / cry on / refer to / or generally keep asking advice. After getting down about it for a while, I gave myself a stern talking to. I decided I was a product of millions of generations of women before me all of whom have had to deal with motherhood. After all these generations some sort of instinct must have become ingrained into our pysche. You just have to look to nature to see it. Animals just know how to look after their young. So probably do we. Coming to terms with this thought is what gave me the confidence to get by in the early days without my mum. I'm not a brilliant mum, I don't know hardly any answers, but I get by. (And even if I don't, at least I can say I did what I thought was best.) That wise old midwife I spoke about before told me this as well: when people offer you advice on how to look after your baby, smile sweetly and thank them for their advice and as soon as their back is turned, forget it, then do what you think is best. She would say enigmatically 'you were given this child for a reason'. So you see, your clever mum is right, follow your instincts.

But to answer your question, I do get confused about what to do, but try not to let it bother me too much. Incidentally I was advised by SCBU nurses to not let Liam go longer than 3 hours (4 hours at night) between feeds, based on his birthweight and gestation, until he reaches 'about 7lb'. Yesterday he weighed 6lb 15.5oz!!! I was wondering about letting him decide now when he wants feeding. I might try it for a bit and see how we go. Its all trial and error, there's no right and wrong.

Finally, feel free to smile sweetly at any 'advice' I give, and then forget it! You really do know best.

Hello, not really been posting as found being pregnant still very depressing. Huge congratulations though to all that have had their lovely babies - all such sweet and nice names too.

I am now 41 + 2 and booked for an induction on Monday. Feeling quite low as birth is looking to be the complete opposite of the home birth I had planned.

I hope everyone still pg is finding it ok and those who have their lovely babies are enjoying motherhood!

Hi everyone. Congratulations to all those who have had babies.

Our bundle of joy arrived on 18th, 11 days late and weighing 8lb 7oz, little girl Katie. Was actually only in hospital for 30 mins when she arrived and had about 3 sucks of gas and air. Unfortunately I have quite a few stiches. Bowels haven't opened yet and dreading it to say the least - any advice?

Did anyone else try breast feeding and not suceed. My breasts are now so sore and nipples very cracked. Katies never seemed to be getting enough milk, I was constantly feeding and she was still hungry and had to get several top ups. She is on formula now and is now settling and we are all a lot happier