Due Jan 2008 - Ahhh getting close now!!!!

[mixedmama]

Helloooooo????

Morning,
Lurking away as usual - not much to add. NCT classes going okay, though it is making me realise I know absolutely nothing about babies. Quite scary.
Still not bought much, but as I'm due towards the end of Jan, it still seems like ages away, and plenty of time to get organised yet.
As for birth plans, I'm going down the general guidance path rather than being totally prescriptive. I'd rather stay off medication but having seen a friend at the weekend who had wanted a totally natural birth but ended up with a 48-hour labour, followed by c-section it brought it home that no matter what you wish for, you can't predict how it will turn out.

We've got a couple of names but I'm a bit too superstitious to put them down in writing .

mrs mc - no anal exam here

oh and def put down allergy to penicillin, never know what might happen and best they know - shd be on your notes too?

Mrs McJnr - I had an epsiotomy, but I was so high on g&a that even if they did an examination I wasn't aware of it. Defo state in your birth plan you are allergic to penicillin. Your birth plan sounds good, but I just don't take to pain well and will be on the g&A as soon as it gets too much or if I need an internal (the staff just couldn't do it without getting me high).

oh and you don't 'need' the syntometrine injection (see earlier post re placenta)...

Thanks Lilyloo - fingers crossed my 2nd will be like yours...!!

Btw, I didn't mean to be overly negative about birth plans...I'm really hoping to go the gas-and-air, birthing pool route this time but just not going to get involved with writing down the detail regarding use of syntocin, cutting cord etc, on the grounds that if everything is under control then DH and I will get to say what we want and if it isn't then it doesn't matter anyway I had gas and air for about 8 hours last time and it's marvellous stuff

So far my notes say 'Birth centre if poss' (my hospital has a separate birthing centre and labour ward) and 'No pethidine'. I can't think of anything else to add without getting into detail...!

Itchy nipples - yes. Leaking - no, but I keep getting the burning 'let down' feeling, so probably not long to go!

Gingeme - not had a chance to look at buggies yet but will let you know hon Glad you like the Gaviscon tablets - I think they're fab

Barristermum - hope your dad is recovering well?

MrsMcJnr/Ayrshirelolo/Angel - I'm definitely in Glasgow on 27th now (if my doctor lets me travel....) so how about Grassroots at 4pm? Its about the only place I know and its about 10 mins walk from my office!!

I have definitely done something horrid to my back, it was killing all night long and DH got really grumpy with me cos I kept waking him up by trying to get comfy. Physio has given me a back brace thing and a load of excercises to do, hopefully it will ease up soon. Otherwise I'm going to have to start think about stopping work a bit earlier than 39.5....sent a note to HR this morning saying it might be 38.5...

MM and everyone else - I'd love to do a joint trip to London Zoo, but I might need to wait until I'm at the 'coming with 2' rather than '1 plus bump' stage...so maybe in the spring?

MM - how are you feeling today?

Mrs Mc i never had any anal examinations either not sure why they would need to do that and i had plenty of stitches with ds

Mrs Mc i with you on finding things a strain and am beginning to wonder whether 21st Dec is a bit too close to the time.

Interesting point about the syntometrine jag Katyt ? I wouldn?t be having it if it weren?t for my consultant?s advice that I need it due to the drug thinning drugs I?ve had to take throughout my pregnancy. I am hoping for no drugs during the birth and it is annoying that I have to then have drugs afterwards for this which can give you a stinking headache but hey ho Beanie is healthy and well as a result of the heparin I have been taking as am I (fingers crossed that continues!) so it?s a small price to pay. My middle name is Kathryn by the way, no one can ever spell it! did I tell you that my friends had a baby girl last week, very pretty names but the initials are ARS oh dear!

Lilyloo ?poor you, hope you are feeling better DH and I really liked an idea that they gave us at NCT on Sunday which was to have a glass of bubbly and sing happy birthday to the baby after it is born (not immediately obviously) guess that would be a major advantage of a home birth

Gingeme ? love Adam my twin bro (died at birth ) was called Adam, I?d love to use it but feel I can?t ? my parents have never even told me about Adam, they just pretend it never happened

Madmouse ? all sounding very sensible

Feeling inadequate ? no nipple itching here!

MrsB ? hello

Thanks for the advice on the anal exams I read that tears can happen in the wall between passages hence the need to check.

Meet up sounds great I?ll find out where Grassroots is, don?t know it. I think there is another central Scottish lady too ? is it Batou? Batou ? can you join us?

Hi! I'm due 9th Feb and am a first timer. I've been lucky in pregnancy so far (touch wood). The main pain has been trying to find clothes that I can afford so I don't feel like a hippo!

Naetha, you mentioned West Midlands, where are you based? I am sitting behind my desk in Birmingham city centre, just wondering how near me you are

Mrs mc sounds like you are best having the jab then. no-one spells kathryn right or katy tbh, i'm always changed to a katie

very sad about your brother even worse that your parents don't talk about it. i would think it would be lovely to carry on the name, and it's a good name too.

def like the champagne idea, we had some ready for last time but ended up shattered about 3am so left it for the next day. hope i will get to have a sip sooner this time

hello emma don't get me started on clothes, grrr, nothing fits, nothing's comfy and nice at the same time, hmph!

madmouse - you're near me, just outside b'ham

Hubby works in b'ham city centre

Morning - just - all.

Very interesting discussions RE birth plan. Haven't done mine yet but hoping for birth pool, gas and air,can monitor when they want, few internal exams, baby to me. Quite minimal but most of it they do as a matter of policy anyway. I'm a total water baby so was really glad when I found out they had a birth pool. Going to try and be fairly flexible anyway.

I did hear a tip that another woman put in her birth plan which I thought was good. I would prefer not to have pethedine and so did this woman. She put in her birth plan, and made sure her DH knew, that if she asked for pethedine, to wait 20 minutes and then ask her again, in case she asked for it in the grip of a painful contraction and then regretted it. I'm going to put that in.

MrsMc - obviously that one's not for you . I'm going for the 5 minute thing to. It's supposed to be much better for you to stay at home as much as possible. Let's hope we get what we want. Spoke to my osteopath the other day though, who totally didn't get what she wanted but was perfectly happy!

Naetha - hope you enjoy gig. Love names! We're trying to squeeze in a Welsh one. Maybe Mair as a second name. 6.45 start! gulp! Hope you're still awake!

Mixedmama - over birthing babies in the December thread! I want to meet mine but I'm not quite ready yet!

Barristermum - I'm with you on the last minute freedom but haven't actually got round to it yet. I got dizzy in town yesterday and one helpful person told me I shouldn't be walking around at my stage. I'm 32+5! Wjhat am I going to do? Sit on the sofa for two months! Sorry you're feeling it a strain. Yesterday was the first time i felt it was a bit much and I'm on maternity leave! Lots of sympathy!

Fluffy - I hear you on the birth plan - Iknow lots of ladies who really 'knew' what it was going to be like - they've been really traumatised by their births. that they didn't read you birth plan though (was that you ?)

Nicky - I did a supermarket sweep on the internet the other day - kiddicare and John lewis (had vouchers left over from wedding) mainly. It was fun having all the stuff arriving without the shop-schlep.

Awen nice name- are you sure there's no Welsh in you?!
Amani - hope your busy day is going well.

Lilyloo- hello!

Gingeme - nice name too.

BTW John lewis sleep suits are cute! they have scratch mitts attached to the sleeves so the bub can't discard them. Best quality I've found have been Tesco. IMO don't even bother with Mothercare clothes!

See you all later!

Lol When are you due Katy?

Oh! Katy!! Didn't mean to forget you. I have SPD. Tip no.1. don't google it like I did!!! It does sound like SPD but could be something else, like varicose vein. Avoid twisting movements like crossing your legs. It totally killed if I sat on a chair with one leg under my bum, so if you're brave you could test that way but I wouldn't recommend it!

There's a thread with great advice on here called 'SPD What to expect'. I would recommend seeing a physio and doing that rolling out of bed manouevre recommended to preggie ladies religiously! A support belt from the physio helped loads. Spookily mine seems to have got better of recent weeks, which makes no sense.

P.s. my physio said she has seen 1 woman in 19 years with any kind serious escalation of the problem in 19 years. Just in case you were unwise and DID google it!

Hello Emma!

thanks susie - i thought someone on here had it. i'm really worried i have it now as i looked on the pelvic partnership site and the symptoms. had a quick try sitting like that and it was ok but not comfy, but then nothing is!
it's the weird click/grind noise that freaks me out!
have got number for m/w to try and chat to here sometime soon. sounds like you are coping fine tho so i shouldn't panic!

emma - officially 22nd jan, there is a list on here somewhere of everyone's dates. cut & paste it and add yourself in, when are you due?

9 weeks left - still feels like ages when i think of aches and pains, but not long in terms of omg how will i cope with 2!

Susiemj ? just out of interest, if you can?t have a water birth, what other positions/locations have you considered? I was kind of thinking about that when I did my hospital tour last week ? the whole room looks so uncomfy I think I might like to lean over my birth ball on a mat on the floor or on my big cushion folded up ? I can just see me arriving with my ball, my yoga mat and my big pillow ? I?ll get some funny looks!! MW told us this week that they don?t really give pethedine up here anymore as it makes you too sleepy and doesn?t help the pain that much, just makes you less able to complain about it, diamorphine is often offered here now instead. I don?t like the idea of the increase in need for resuscitation of the baby though or the fact that it might not be able to feed properly for a few days so have asked DH to remind me of those things if I ask for it!

Welcome Emma ? lovely to have you with us and you are welcome. There is a due in Feb thread too, you might find that an interesting place to look at too

Hi Susie! I'm due 9th Feb. You're due the day after my birthday!
Good luck with two, I'm nervous enough about one! How do some people have huge families?! My dad and his wife had twins- they are lovely but a lot of work. They are 4 in April.

Hi Emma, welcome

You are very optimistic posting on the January thread with a first baby due in February, are you expecting an early escape

Oh well, I am a first timer due on 30 January, so I will probably be here past the end of January, and so will a few others.

Madmouse - I'm in Leeds / Bradford area, but currently working on a job where the development's in Lichfield, hence the review of my lovely RSS 11

This is by far the worst part of my job - I enjoy a lot of the project management stuff and general environmental stuff, but when it comes to analysing policies written by planners (scum of the earth I tell you!) my brain starts to melt!

Hence spending so much time on mumsnet - I've been rather voyeuristic and been reading some of the post-natal threads to try and get an idea of what to expect in the first few weeks after the birth. That and the parenting threads - really makes you realise what you're in for, especially as a first timer!

Thanks MrsMcJnr, I'll have a look now :-)

MrsMcJnr I think by now they are quite used to seeing people come in with all sorts of things, and who cares what they think anyway. I would take the whole hog if I were you. After all what I like about birthing in my living room is having birth ball, sofa, cushions, dining chair, all the props I could possibly fancy. Why should you not have the same just because you need to be in hospital!

I've just had my lunch and my stomach feels like it's so close to bursting that it actually aches....... my fault for eating so much!