Due March 2008-We're nearly halfway there!

[turtle23]

New thread for you!

Hello all. I've been keeping an eye on the thread over the past few weeks but never have time to post anything. Has anyone else got a time monster eating away precious minutes? It's probably because all I seem to do is work, eat and sleep.

Anyway thought I would add on my baby flavour - another girl for the thread. I'm 19 + 2 and had our scan this morning. Everything was fine and the midwife said it's 85% a girl, which I'm guessing must be good odds. It's our first so we're just pleased it's healthy, but I think DH secretly wanted a boy, so he could take him to rugby!

Good luck to all those having scans in the next couple of weeks - I just wish I'd looked forward to it now instead of all those sleepness nights of worry!

Is anyone else going to do hypnobirthing/gentle birth method/any other sort of hypnosis/relaxation technique? Must start looking into these things and finding it a bit overwhelming choosing where to go.

turtle good luck for scan tomorrow, im busy winding myself up. will everything be ok? will ii have yet another girl? didnt think i was all that bothered about what we got but now feel quite desperate that its a boy. bit horrid really as im panicing ill be disapointed if its not im sure it'll be fine and i know ill be happy as long as its fine.

mom -my ds risk was put at 1:1200 (ish) for my age. im 27, i havent had any tests so thats an average for 27 year olds. when i wad having my last child at 25 years old they said it was about 1:1500. is your risk from blood tests etc

I think I should just stay in bed too!! I did today, had the day off work as was sick this morning and just felt that I deserved a day off!

MOBTK I would definitely speak to your midwife as it is worrying you. Or post a new thread under pregnancy and ask about other peoples experiences? I'm sure it's probably fairly normal, babies are short and tall just like adults.

Good luck for scans tomorrow!

spugs...you too! Yo're so lucky having yours in the morning, I am winding myself up terribly knowing that I have to wait til 230! Have been concentrating on the boy/girl thing to stop myself thinking about anything else going wrong, but now that it's tomorrow the fear is creeping in...

hands up for natal hypnotherapy again for this birth turtle. very good stuff. will talk more another (less busy day) sorry so brief everyone

xxxxxxx

best of luck spugs and turtle, I hope you both enjoy your scans.

I have no idea what I'm doing for pain relief. I haven't even really thought about it. I asked the midwife when I went for my scan and she said there was no reason to have decided in advance, that I could just see how my labour was progressing and then see if I wanted to do home from home or use a labour ward.

Of course, if you're having a home birth I guess it's different.

Anyone else thinking of having someone there other than their DH? Mine sounds quite freaked out by the whole idea and although he has said he'll be there and I think he wants to be, I'm not sure he'd be much use. I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to ask my Mom to be there too, as she will be more calm and helpful, having been through it 3 times herself.

What do you guys reckon? Would that just be weird? I really struggle with imagining how this is all going to go. I guess it's one of those things you really have to experience for yourself.

Hi all.
When I had DD I had exh and my best mate there (who was then childless). She was amazing and it meant that each got a bit of time off. I sent them to the pub for last orders when the epidural went in. I would definitely recommend it. My friend was a star and thought of things like cleaning stuff to bring so that I could have a CLEAN bath (ugggh, the pubes) in labour as birthing pool was already taken. I couldn't have done it without her, tbh. Exh was a little useless.

ooh, Turtle, I started hypnobirthing class tonight! Got 4 x 3 hr sessions over the course of the month and very impressed with the first one so far! We saw a couple of examples of births on video - amazingly not a sound out of the 2 example mothers apart from breathing a bit heavily. We get to do a birthing plan in week 3 so it'll be ready before i have to discuss with the midwife. Also, the woman leading the class had 2 natural hypno-births, her 2nd was born at 42+4 but she wasn't bored waiting for him to pop out

I'm not quite sure what sort of birth I want, although I know I don't want to be on the bed on my back with my legs in stirrups (not sure why I have this image of childbirth in my head!).

I'm on the waiting list for my local Active Birth Centre classes (should be starting end of this month). I can fully imagine that I will want to give birth standing in a corner, or bouncing on a ball, or floating in a pool - anywhere but flat on my back on bed! However, I'm quite interested in the hypnobirthing idea as I tend to do best in stressful situations by getting very very focussed and trying to block out external things. Does this sound like hypnobirthing would suit me, and do you think it's compatible with a more active birth approach or is it more about just being very still and quiet?

Confused first-timer xx

Good luck spugs and turtle - and good news on another girl baby aprilfool!!!

So much to say this morning - sorry!

Skidoodle - i'm going to have DH there. He wants to be there and I will definitely need his encouragement. However he is really crap with gore - hates hospital dramas, is even a bit squeamish about raw meat etc. I also think I don't want him to have to do anything except focus on me (he will be by my head, holding my hand, telling me how much he loves me and mopping my fevered brow...) It wouldn't be practical to have my mum there, as she lives 200 miles away and works, and my best friend will have an 8 week old baby at the time.

So I'm wondering if I should hire a doula to be the more practical person who can help him as well as me. Anyone had any experience of this - I'll probably post on one of the boards about it, but just wondered if anyone on here has had a doula before.

yes hq - getting focussed in is very much the HB thing. Not staying still, you are still active as you need to be: the point is that shutting out extraneous noise and input lets you read what you're body is up to and get on with what it needs. Worked a treat with me for 36 hours of induction, synoticin contractions!

Got dehydrated and tired at 36-40 hours, had an epi for 12 hours, let it wear off for birth. Used HB for dealing with epi, dealing with second stage labour, dealing with stitches. Can't recommend highly enough. Never panicked. Clearly good for both 'natural' births and managing assisted births.

Didn't do the classes (was doing far too long work hours at the time). Used the CDs.

dp was with me. excellent with me, less so with hospital staff. needed more backbone to say no to some of the daftness, but not being used to nhs, responded with their in charge, they know best a bit too often. came thru when really needed though. would like a doula plus him this time, but have left it too late i think.

Hello all..my dad (who lives in Canada and doesn't have my work number) rang me at work this morning sounding very serious and due to my nervousness about the scan I just burst into tears and assumed he was going to tell me someone had died. Turns out that he has just been told that he's getting the Order or Canada. Prob wont mean much to most of you, but it's a bit like an OBE!Let's hope the news keeps being good for my family today!! 5 hours to go!
(ps Glammama...I don't know how i found the time, they're all sitting playing nicely!!)

hiya everyone, im going to celebrate today, im officially halfway there (can you tell how much i hate this pregnancy malarky!) but am just sitting with crossed fingers waiting for scan at 1pm.

I think we will be finding out but keeping it a secret. I dont want mil and all her friends to know (she wants to so she can buy clothes in the jan sales lol) but would quite like to think up a name as dd was a week old before she was named and everyone drove me mad complaining!

I had a good birth with dd so am hoping to just return to the birth centre for a similar experience. I had a very long latent stage of regular contractions (from mon to wed night) so i did actually give birth lying down as i was tired but on a beanbag as the birth centre doesnt have beds, on my left side which is the most 'active birth' friendly but still restful. I think it is important to stay moving, i was walking laps near where we lived up a hill and calm then just go with your body.

Wow- congrats to your dad turtle! You must be v. proud

i just typed a long post but it all disappeared when i pressed post, so here is a condensed version:

my scan is at 1pm today and am very excited! getting back ache now and there is a def bump but nobody notices so i must just appear pudgy!

i think it important when choosing antenatal classes etc. and writing birth plans not to be to rigid. So many people get upset and disapointed as they build up high expectataions then feel they failed somehow as things changed in labour.

I had a lovely birth with dd so am returning to the same birth centre in the hope of a similar experience!

my dh decided he didnt want to be at the birth early in pregnancy but changed his mind and was there, he was even disapointed i kept him firmly at the head end and wouldnt let him watch the actual birth as i was scared he might freak out!

or oops, i thought it had gone but have just posted the same stuff written differently twice!

just back from scan, everything fine and the lady who did it was absoloutly lovely and spent ages showing us all the bits.

found out that were having another girl, which were both happy baout. its going to make room sharing easier and i kept loads of dd2s stuff. good luck for everyone else with scans today

ah see the girls are sprouting up through the mass of boys now

congrats spugs, good that the sonographer was friendly, some people have had horrible experiences

Hope you are all recovering from your injuries. Congrats on the scans since last Thursday and good luck for the ones coming up

Just back from Hungary visiting my parents. None of my friends and family could keep their hands off my bump. Hope I did not put the girls off pregnancy. My bump is enormous with another 4 months to go. LO seems to enjoy his swimming pool / playground though . Never stops playing when I am sitting. I think he is waving at you now

As far as birth partners are concerned, I prepared to be alone. I never even liked my Mom being there when I had minor, but rather painful, operations in my childhood. I always told the doctors she does not want to come in (she is eternally grateful). But my DH might support me during birth as long as he can. I told him that he can go out any time, as it is too distressing / dsitracting for me if he feels uncomfortable.

an obvious first-timer

Congrats on another girlie spugs!

I keep changing between wanting a boy or a girl, so desperate to find out now! To think at one point I thought I'd wait and get a surprise. Pffft!

Have a crappy networking event tonight which I could do without. The conference and events industry is just full of complete pissheads! I'll be the only remotely sober person in the room. Rubbish!!!

Will this day never end? Am waiting around for my scan and have done 4 million things to waste time but it doesn't get any later...

turtle i know how you feel- i spent two days before my scan trying to find jobs to do rather than worry/get too excited/carried away etc