First timers due in Octoberish

[Kittiwake]

Hi this thread is for any first timers or anyone really who wants to chat about their imminent arrival and general lack of idea of what to expect!

I realise that there is already an October thread but there seems to be quite a few people who have come a bit late to join in the discussion on there. Hope this doesn't offend anyone

I would be winging too primi! How frustrating to have contractions on and off like that. I would get all excited only to have it go nowhere. One positive thought for you - I have heard that if you get a lot of practice contractions when it comes to the real deal your birth is easier and faster. It's like you've been in training. Keep us posted if it moves on!

I had another bad night - stressed and sore. The guest has gone to work and I have no idea if he is coming back tonight or not. His stuff is still here though. DH does want him gone but is finding it hard and last night he was so tired I didn't want to drag it up and cause a fight.

We are in a similar situation to you Miss B. DH has just gone to college. He will be working part time. I don't have a job so it's going to be really hard for money - it's a worry.

I have my 38 week appointment tomorrow too - I am looking forward to it.

You're right, Stefka. I'll try to keep to remember that all of my practice contractions are going to make the real thing easier. I was so excited on Saturday, I really thought that he was going to be here by today at the latest but here I am come Monday morning and I'm still having contractions.

I do hope that your guest will find a new place to stay now that he's got some work. It's hard the financial thing when one partner is studying. I finished my degree at the end of last year but have only been able to get temporary work this year so we've been effectively living on one income for couple of years now so at least it won't be such a change for us with me staying at home looking after the lo.

Hope your appointment goes well tomorrow, Stefka.

Hi ladies

Thanks for all your kind words! I am aprehensive about being in a foreign country away from my friends and family but it does have its benefits!

Stefka - your tiredness and general yuckiness could be down to your back (although the house guest must be a big factor too)! I've a slight spinal curvature anyway and its been really sore & painfull for the last few weeks now. After seeing the doc on Friday I've been told to attend physio sessions every day. I felt yucky all last week but now have more energy and am feeling OK again - just one issue though as I've been told to limit my time on the computer to 30 mins a day which is a bit annoying as its how I keep in touch with everyone!

Bras - I'm obsessed at the best of times and its worse now as I just can't get a decent one(all the ex-pat women in Bangkok are underwear obsessed as we can't get it to fit!!). I know where every women (including the boss's wife) buys their undies - hilarious!!

Welcome Mandler - I only joined this thread the other day too (only joined mumsnet last week).

Right, better get on as the times ticking on my 30 mins internet countdown!

Have a good day everyone

Jo
x

Morning everyone.

What a horrid grey rainy day. Hope the appts go well Stfka and MissB mines not 'til wednesday.

Sounds dissapointing Primi hope things speed up for you if that's what you want.

Stefka The guest situation sounds unbearable to me maybe you should have a hormonal freak out at him even if it is in another language maybe he will get the idea

We had been managing on one income for a year due to DH studying but DH now has a full-time job thanks goodness but it is really hard on one income anyway let alone with a baby so I really sympathise.

Had a really nice day yesterday we were invited to lunch by one of DH's work colleagues they have an 18 month old and they gave us loads of stuff including, re-usable nappies and one of those big blow up ball things. We haven't lived around here that long so it's been really nice to get to know some people with children. Was a little scared about the thought of post baby sitting in house all day by myself going bonkers so it's reassuring that people have been so friendly.

Morning everyone,

Well, I've finally managed to get myself booked onto an antenatal class today. I'm off to the hospital in a minute for my last antenatal check up (can't believe there won't be any more until the baby comes!), then I need to kill a few hours in town before antenatal class starts at 4pm.

Stefka, hopefully the guest will have got the message now. Fingers crossed he'll start earning enough money to move out and rent somewhere of his own. So your DP's studying too? I'm really pleased that my DP's on this course and I know it will be good for us in the long run, it just seems like really bad timing for us right now. Both financially and in terms of how much of his time is taken up with the course.

Primi - hope the contractions aren't too uncomfortable. Sounds like a sign that the baby's coming sooner rather than later though! I haven't had any practice contractions at all.

MrsJoJo - lol at all the ex-pats obssessing over where to get bras from! I can imagine it's pretty hard in Thailand. Can't you all order online if you know your size?

Kitti - I'm glad you've met some other people with young kids nearby. I know what you mean about worrying about post-birth sanity! I've been worrying the same thing...I have visions of me just living in my dressing gown and going slowly crazy!

Hope you all have a good day

Morning all

I'm having bad nights now too with achey hips mainly. When I saw the GP last week, he didn't say if LO is engaged, but is certainly head down still - phew! Midwife on Wednesday, so hopefully she'll be able to tell me if s/he's engaging. Generally feeling a bit more tired and achey, so I hope so!

Also, I want to ask for a suggestion of size...one of my NCT friends has been told to expect 10-11lbs...!!!

Have a good day!

That is a good thing to ask WMWG - I will add that to my list of things I hope to find out tomorrow.

I hope to have another go at discussing a birth plan. I hope I can be a bit more assertive.

I spent the afternoon making a couple of lasagnes for the freezer. The freezer is full of food now so I feel that's another things sorted

Oh well done!

I have done - erm - nothing today...

I tell a lie - I have had a bath and written my birth plan...

I think it's the weather that's so demotivating. I have no energy or will power to do anything. And I do have stuff I want and need to do...

Last NCT tonight - perhaps tomorrow will be different...

Hi,

I'm impressed by your cooking and freezing Stefka. I've been meaning to do that but I've just been too exhausted (or lazy?!) to even cook myself dinner recently, let alone cook healthy meals for after baby's born. Maybe I'll try and do some cooking later in the week.

Everything was fine with midwife except she thinks the baby might have gone back-to-back which is meant to lead to a much more painful labour I'm going to have to do some research on good ways of getting it back into the right position.

WMWG, I asked about size a while ago and she was very reluctant to tell me but she eventually said she'd be surprised if it was more than 7lb. Phew! She wasn't offering any guarantees though unfortunately. Definitely a good thing to ask.

BTW, antenatal classes were good. I'm pleased I went even though it meant hanging around in town for hours getting wet and cold. I'm really impressed with everything I've heard about the birthing centre I'm hoping to go to. They've got 1 midwife to each labouring woman which is much better than in normal labour wards. The birthing pool sounds great too. I just hope it's not busy when I go into labour. Their policy is to send you home after 6 hours unless there's a problem. Is that the same at all of your hospitals?

Oh, also I asked about students. Apparently it'd be one student midwife rather than a gaggle of onlookers! I also asked about the delivery of the placenta and I'm certain that I want to deliver it naturally rather than with an injection. Not so sure about Vitamin K though. I don't understand the pros and cons of oral vs injection. Do any of you know anything about this?

Sorry, turning into v long post. I'm off to have hot bath and some raspberry leaf tea

Good luck sleeping tonight!

Morning ladies!

Hope you all managed to sleep well. I did although I think DH is suffering in sympathy - he's been complaining of back ache & sleepless nights. I have the back ache but seem to be able to grab sleep only waking up for trips to the loo.

We met with our doula last night - she may not be there at the birth as she's out of the country from 13th Oct - 4th Nov. I had another meltdown as we went through our birthplan - not because I'm scared of actually giving birth but because I'm worried DH won't be able to support me and make decisions if I'm unable to do so. I've asked that he accompany the baby if s/he needs emergency treatment and all he could say was 'well, what good can I do?' - I don't think he understands that I don't want the LO left alone no matter how many times I tell him.

Its a tricky one as I don't want to put pressure on my friends here and my mum in the UK is not easily contactable during the daytime as the college she teaches at is a black hole in terms of mobile coverage.

I've been filling the freezer for a few weeks now - cooking a large lasange, eating two portions & freezing the rest. There's not much more room in there now.

MissB - hope you are able to use the pool. The people I've spoken to who have used them say how good they are and how everything is a little more gentle. As for getting the baby in position - spending time on your hands & knees is supposed to help!

Stefka - hope your guest gets the message soon. I second the 'hormonal' outburst, in fact, I think I'd have boiled over already and I'm usually a pretty calm person.

Primi - how are the contractions?? Have you spoken to the mid-wife? What are they saying to you?

WMWG - My doula is worried I am getting fixated on the size of the baby (I think s/he is possibly going to push 9lbs). At the end of it all its not the weight but the size of LO's head that makes the difference - its not as if I've got another birth experience to compare this to.

Kitti - have you stayed in contact with anyone from your antenatal class? I've met more people with kids (and with whom I have lots in common) since I've been pregnant than I have in the last few years I've been in Thailand - including a year when I worked!

Right - post is too long already & probably been online far too long!!

Have a good day everyone

Jo
x

Morning all.

That place sounds great Miss B. I am hoping to have a chat about the placenta issue today.
I don't know about vitamin K - I will see if they know about it at NCT.

I slept until four then couldn't get back to sleep because of hip pain and feeling stressed. My husband knew I was sad this morning. I hope he doesn't get grumpy with me but I can't pretend to be happy when I am not.

I can't believe your Doula is not going to be around for you - isn't she meant to be on call to help you? I am not confident my DH will be assertive enough for me if I need him to be.

Any word from Primi? Maybe she's gone in!

Before I forget a tip I got from the NCT teacher on Sunday which I thought was really good.

We were talking about forceps and I had picked up from one of the hospital classes that you only get a certain amount of time to push (not sure if that is the same everywhere) before they bring the forceps in to action. NCT teacher said what you can do is when the midwife asks you if you want to push don't automatically say yes as then the clock starts ticking. What you can do is just say you are not sure and that you feel a bit confused. If you do get threatened with the forceps you can ask first of all if it is an emergency and if it isn't then ask if you can just try a different position and have a bit more time.

Thought that was pretty useful.

Morning all, still no baby. The practice contractions have died down now. Stefka and WMWG, your hip pains sound like mine, do your hips make clicky noises too? My midwife said that they were the beginning of SPD, but not to worry as they will go away once the baby is born.

MissBumpy, my baby was back-to-back two weeks ago and the midwife suggested crawling, scrubbing floors on my hands and knees, sitting leaning forward on a birthing ball, and swimming on my stomach. Well, these suggestions all worked as my baby has now turned around (it was funny when he was half turned around, I was all asymmetrical), however, I think that all the scrubbing the floors (mine hadn't been scrubbed before) might have brought on my practice contractions. A good website for more info on posterior babies is www.spinningbabies.com or something like that.

MrsJojo, I really hope that your husband will be able to be there. It's one of my biggest fears that DH won't make the it to the birth.

Have a good day everyone! I'm off to cuddle the babies of two of my friends from ante-natal class.

Morning!

Yes - scrubbing the floors is the old wives tale for turning a baby, whether breech or back to back, but it is actually a recommended exercise position, if it's breech! So these old wives are more canny than we give them credit for!

Vitamin K is given to help blood clotting. It can be given by injection or orally. Babies at higer risk from bleeding are those who are born with interventions; those who have breathing difficulties; premature babies or babies whose mothers are on anti-coagulants or other drugs.

Have a look at this: www.womens-health.co.uk/vitk.asp

We're saying that if there are no interventions and if the baby has no trouble breathing, we'll go with oral administration, but if there is intervention or breathing difficulties, we'll have the injection.

Right - feeling more energised today...tidying up and then off to Sainsbury's this afternoon while the cleaner's here!

Morning everyone,

I got a bit more sleep last night so I'm feeling more human today.

Primi - I've got sore hips too...that's worrying that it's the start of SPD. I'll look up the spinning babies website in a mo. Thanks for that.

WMWG - Thanks for the info on Vit K. I just don't know whether it's better to go with oral or injection. At the hospital yesterday they gave me the impression that the jab was better because it's just one dose and you know that the baby's got it all whereas the oral dose has to be given in 3 doses and it tastes foul so the baby spits a lot of it back out and then you don't know how much it's actually had. I don't like the idea of my newborn baby having a jab though. Seems a bit mean!

Stefka - good luck with midwife appointment today. I hope you get all of your questions answered. Good luck with the house guest situation too.

MrsJoJo - I know what you mean about worrying how supportive your DP will be. They just don't seem to get it do they?! My DP turned up half an hour late to the antenatal class yesterday, having missed all of the important stuff! I was so angry and embarrassed. He's always late for everything and I have visions of him being late when I'm in labour! He's also quite easily distracted by his stomach so I can imagine him leaving me on my own in labour while he goes to find a snack! Shame your doula might not be around. Can you find a different doula? I would have thought the whole point of having a doula is to make sure you've got someone supportive with you on the big day.

Anyway, I'm off to do a whole load of boring errands like a few loads of washing and a trip to the post office. Hope you all have a good day

PS. Just had a look at that spinning babies website Primi. Thanks for that. It looks really useful. There's loads of info on there so I'll have to have a proper read of it later on when I've got more time.

DP saw the thing about scrubbing the floor on my hands and knees and thought that was a brilliant piece of advice !

Miss B - take a bag of food to the hospital with you - don't forget - you'll be ravenous when it's all over and it'll keep dh occupied too!!!

Hi ladies

Glad everyone seems to be having a better day!! I have been too - had a brief chat with my closest friend here this morning and she is getting her hubby to have strong words with my DH (in a discreet way). She's also agreed to meet with my doula and be my back-up birth partner...

I feel relieved but also a little bad as she's the one with lots of guests staying. When I mentioned this to her she brushed it aside and said they are all adults and can look after themselves! Bangkok's not as scary as it seems and they all have mobiles so can get hold of her hubby if they have problems.

Your all correct in assuming doulas should be available 24/7 from 2 weeks before your due date! In Bangkok there are 3 doulas working with us international mums2b - unfortunately for me, one had twins in August, the other gave birth last month (I'm not sure what she had yet as she went home to the US for the birth) - this leaves the grand total of one who has been planning her trip back home all year. The timing's awful but there's little I can do about it.

On the plus side I've confirmed my medical insurance today and got pre-authorisation so won't have to settle our bills on credit card any more. I've also selected a pediatrician (this is important as some of them here take your baby away for 4-6 hours after birth to be 'monitored') - he's a lovely guy who trained in Edinburgh and has practised in the UK.

Now I'm about to get some dinner - DH has conference calls with the UK tonight so I'll be curling up with a movie soon.

Jo
x

Had my appointment. My baby is the wrong way around - I feel worried about that. It is head down but she thought the back was in the wrong position. I won't get another appointment for two weeks now so I won't know if it has turned. I guess it's lots of crawling around for me over the next few days.

Glad you got some sleep Miss B and glad that you have a back up birth partner Miss Jo Jo.

It's weird to think that we could all be any day now.

Stefka, I could feel my baby moving around when he changed from posterior to anterior, you might also notice that the your belly doesn't have a slight dip in it anymore and that your bellybutton pops out further. Good luck with the crawling, it's uncomfortable and undignified but it works.

Ooh Stefka you're in the same boat as me. I've been really worried since the midwife told me she thinks baby's back to back. She wasn't 100% sure though and I don't have a dip in my bump and my belly button is still sticking right out. Check out that spinning babies website that primi recommended. It's got lots of tips.

I don't know if I can face crawling around but I'm going to try to do all the other things (leaning forward, sitting upright, walking lots). I think my baby's moving around quite a bit, even though it's well engaged, so hopefully it's got time to move into a better position.

MrsJoJo, that's good that your friend's offering to help. It's really important that you've got a good support network around you...especially if you're not sure your DH is up to the job! Sounds like things are v different in Thailand. Maybe you should look into training as a doula...it sounds like they're in great demand out there!

Morning -- hope everyone slept well.

Does your belly button have to be popped out to show the baby is in the right position? I am not sure what you guys mean by a dip. My belly button has never popped right out.

Hi ladies

I had a good sleep again last night - I'm being thankful for every night I get as I know I could enter the twilight zone any time now (and will for sure once LO arrives!).

I've been to Boots (yes, we have Boots, Tesco, Next & M&S in Bangkok) today to purchase some clary sage oil to help bring on labour. Not planning to use it yet but I will do from the week I'm due - you can't always get these things here so I bought it because it was in stock!! Couldn't get Lavender oil though which I use all the time (for relaxation, sleep, mozzie bites etc etc) - have to keep an eye out now as I want some to use in labour.

I wondered if any of you plan to take raspberry leaf tea tablets? I've got some coming from the UK in 10 days time and will start to take them straight away (as I will be 38 weeks by then). I've also got arnica tablets coming to use post birth to help with healing - these are excellent and really helped when I broke a bone in my ankle a few years back.

Hope to log on tomorrow but I've got a busy day - a Bumps 'n' Babies group in the morning, lunch with the ladies from the Bumps side and then physio... If not, I'll see you on Friday!!

Jo
x

Hi everyone

Had a busy few days, glad everyone still okay sorry MissB and Stefka that you are having to try and turn your babes sounds like hard work at this point!

Had my ante-natal appt this morning all fine and baby is 2/5 engaged now so ready to go according to midwife. She could feel babies bum said it was a boney one (how rude!) but not much of head as now deep in pelvis - feels like it too! She thought position was good just hope that it stays there now

Next appt is on due date

Hi MrsJoJo I remember visiting the Habitat in Bangkok when we were there for some reason, just to see if it was the same I think!!!! Haven't been taking any rasberry leaf tea or anything but I do have some Arnica cream which is very good.

Stefka, don't worry if your belly-button hasn't popped out. I just noticed that mine was sticking out a bit more after my baby turned round but it could just be me and mine still hasn't popped out completely.

MrsJoJo, I've started drinking raspberry leaf tea and found it really nice, but I was given it by a friend who didn't like it. I've got some arnica cream which will hopefully help. I might have to look into some clary sage oil if this baby doesn't come soon, I'm still getting irregular practice contractions.

Kittiwake, glad your appointment went well and your baby is in a good position.

Hope everyone manages to get a decent night's sleep tonight!