September 2020 6 - we are (almost) ready babies!

[ChipsAreLife]

New thread. Crazy to think we will have some babies arrive on this one 🥳🍾

I'm pleased it's not just me who's living in chaos!

Decorator, joiner and (hopefully) carpet fitter this week and then I can start building nursery furniture! And my own bed! I can't wait to be back in my own bed 😁

@MooseWL your nursery is lovely. We're setting our nursery furniture up this week. I think it's going to feel real when we have the baby's bedroom sorted.

@sianyflewog I hope you sleep better tonight. I'm also struggling to sleep properly and I feel like I'm squashing the baby on my side. I suppose the positive is I'm beginning to wake up early which is good training for when the baby arrives...

@LatteLover12 so many of us have got home Improvements going on!! We are good at picking the wrong time hahaha!!
I never got nursery furniture, i plan on ordering that in Jan.
just need to get next to me, downstairs snug bed and the car seat etc unpacked!! Don't even think we'll unpack peak until we have little one home as we won't be using it for a while anyway, not until our first outdoor outing!!
For all you mums that have been here before, how soon did you take you NB outside??

30 September 2020 ❤️💛💚💙

Can anyone else not sleep? I’ve not slept properly for weeks just cannot get comfy, legs ache and often get heartburn, so tired but sat here watching Netflix, maybe I’ll get so tired that I’ll just fall asleep! I’ve even been looking at getting a new mattress, wondering if that will help!

@Emmy2020 I recommend the Emma mattress. We just bought one for my little boy and it’s so comfortable. Key workers are entitled to 35% discount until the end of this month - happy to share my code if you wanted to buy one x

(I’m also clearly not sleeping well tonight!)

@Emmy2020 your talking about a new mattress for yourself!! Have you tried a couple of pillows under your legs at night. I have terrible calf cramps and this does help.

So I spent the night in hospital last night - contractions kicked off at around 10pm last night and became regular (every 5 mins or so) and lasting around 50 seconds. I’m 36 weeks so they said to come in, did a scan (where also learned baby breech!) and then kept me in for observations. The contractions seem to have stopped (fingers crossed) really
Hope I can carry on for another week or so! Hospital is Definitely very strange with no men folk here ! Supposed to still have another week of work yet and only finished packing the hospital bag yesterday!!! (And nothing else is ready yet !!)

@ShiningStarz we took him out the day after we first got him for a walk (then every day for walks after that).

@MostlyAmbridgeandcoffee I hope you are ok, will they keep you in now or will they let you go home? What happens when baby is breech and Youv has contractions? Hope you are ok. Can't believe your partner still isn't allowed in, they are in NI. Hugs xx

Thanks. Think they will keep me in for obs and if things stay calm they will send me home to hopefully hang on for a bit. If things get going again then they’ll get the section going I think (I was thinking of having one anyway as had one last time but the breech will take away that choice). They said they’ll also do a growth scan to check for GD and because of the breech issue so it’s a bit of a wait and see !

Aww bless you @MostlyAmbridgeandcoffee! Hope you are ok! Must be very odd to think things are potentially all starting and then it suddenly stop. Fingers crossed baby will cook a little longer though!

@MostlyAmbridgeandcoffee ah bless you. Are you feeling tired? That's good they've stopped for now and that you're being looked after. I had some contractions sat night and it seems they can come off and on for weeks 🥵

Hope the scan and GD test goes ok 🤞try not worry about being prepared. As long as baby has somewhere to sleep and a car seat to go home in the rest can wait for a bit. Although I know it's nice to have it all ready!

I had a busy day yesterday, went out for lunch at 12 and didn't get home till 9. Was lovely though as kids played all day with our friends who we haven't seen since Feb. They then slept till 8 so I've had an amazing sleep!

Mat leave has started although still doing some small bits but nothing client facing which is main thing!!

I'm jealous of all these naps! I find I have no time.

@Lilice did your self employed stuff get sorted? My braxton hicks are high up in my bump and it goes really solid. I tend to get them if I've been too active or not enough! Contractions for me at start in my back and radiate around to under my bump. They don't seem to stop when I change position and some on sat I couldn't talk through!

@MooseWL looking lovely, well done!!

@sianyflewog ive been really hormonal. I had so much rage at DH the other day he actually said 'what is wrong with you? I can't do anything without being told off today' 🤭

@OrDis well done on the cleaning!! So nice to nest!!!

@ShiningStarz yeah it is nice but I'll never get that exciting moment of going into labour (unless I do!) which I feel sad about. But practically it's good.

@UrsulaSings 💯 on symptom spotting. I had a load of discharge yesterday and wondered if something was happening. I'm driving myself crazy googling, I need to relax and accept I've no control!

I’ve woken up with an upset stomach this morning and panicking slightly that it’s a sign of early labour 🙈

@sianyflewog Ooh, when’s your due date?

Ah thanks so much for that offer, think I may have to go with a cheaper mattress at the moment as so much I need to buy. But thanks again 😊

Hi all. I just had my 34 week appointment today and the bump is measuring small so they referred me for an urgent growth scan. The midwife said it was common and usually the baby is fine but I wondered if anyone else had experience of this? I’m just waiting for someone to call me to book the scan in...

So DP and I aren't married and so he is technically not my next of kin. He'll be my birth partner though and is totally the person I want making decisions and giving consent if I can't during labour. Does anyone know how that works? Is it automatic that the person you bring in as birth partner has those rights or do we need to cover ourselves with some kind of legal document?

Gosh all these early signs of labour and symptom watching is making me feel very unprepared. I really should pack my hospital bag just in case! It's all getting very exciting on the baby watch front :)

We don't have builders in doing work but we have spent the last several months decorating our house ourselves. We are finally painting the last room and I am so ready to be able to put up storage and sort out the chaos of boxes that are still around the house (we moved in Feb). My MIL was horrified that I spent this weekend up a ladder painting the living room this far along! I told her it was all good for getting baby in a good birthing position

@pangolin84 no personally experience but I have several friends who had small/large bump measurements followed by growth scans where baby was perfectly sized. I have read online it is very common as tape measuring outside of the belly isn't the most scientific way of telling baby's size! So hopefully it is all good and you just get a bonus chance to see baby before they arrive :)

@NeuroMama I don't think there's any legal document for that. You could maybe write it on your birth plan if you have one, or just tell the midwife when you arrive.

@ChipsAreLife My MA claim is driving me mad and nothing is sorted out yet. They are taking ages to transfer the 39 quid from self assessment to NI contributions, and their system hasn't updated yet so at the moment their decision hasn't changed. I've been on the phone all morning talking to various departments, apparently the wheels are in motion and I just have to wait. It's so stressful when there's no transparency. So im going to delay my maternity leave until its all sorted out because I'm so scared they'll start the payments with the low rate. It's mad to think I'm being penalised because I paid my tax bill early! Im glad it's all sorted out for you.

@MostlyAmbridgeandcoffee how are you? Are you still in or did you get to go home?

@NeuroMama Me and my OH weren't married when we had our first and we didn't have to sign anything, but maybe ring your local maternity ward to check in case x

@pangolin84 I agree with @NeuroMama and find the way they measure the bump quite odd. Hopefully you will get an appointment very quickly so that you can put your mind to rest.

@neuromama I still haven't packed either 🙈 I have all the stuff though, just a matter of putting the things into the bags

Thanks all. Still here but am going home soon! Contractions seem to have settled but doctor said that they can come back and that some women are just in and out a lot ! Hope I can just hold on another couple of weeks !

Growth scan also has baby measuring big so another glucose test tomorrow morning (will be very unsurprised if I pass that given my gd history!) sigh! Just got to think that it won’t be too long now ... it’s just such an anxious period!

@pangolin84 don't worry. My consultant says the tummy growth measurements are useless!! I'v had scans every 2 weeks since 28 weeks due to GD diagnosis, my bump is small and little one is on the smaller side but it's the growth that happens at each check that's important. As long as you follow the curve. I'm sure you do xx

@MostlyAmbridgeandcoffee hugs. Hope you are ok, great you can go home. I'm totally taking it easy now and just waiting !!! It is a very anxious time and glad we all have each other for support 💜

@MostlyAmbridgeandcoffee did you suspect your baby was breech or was it a total surprise? My midwife said mine is head down but i keep feeling a hard lump next to my ribs. I feel all movement up or on the sides.