Due Jan 2008 - Jingle Belles and Boys are on their way

[susiemj]

Hello!

Well done Lolo - love the name!

ooo - MrsMc - forgot to answer other questions - I like LAvender but I'm no expert. AND I bought the Angelcare digital monitor. Not sure about the movement sensor that it has but you can turn it off. Apparently it's importnat to get the digital one as the old-style one makes a lot of unnecessary noise.

Ok. Someone else better post here now, or I'm going to be embarrassed.

hello to new thread, love the name

mrsmc (& others with cats) - we have 2 too and we had great plans for kicking them out before ds was born but it never happened.
they got used to ds and hope they will get used to number 2 being in our room for a bit. (not long tho ds was 10 weeks, planning less time for this one!). whenever he cried they left the room!
and listening to them howling from the kitchen means sleepless nights anyway

um - wearing a long t-shirt during labour, too much of a prude to wear nothing , even in the pool, just change every now and then for a fresh dry one.

aromatherapy - don't know much about it tbh, sounds good tho.

monitors - keeping the one from last time, mental blank can't remember name, has lights that show how loud baby is crying.

been swimming this morning - has anyone actually tried swimming breaststroke with front crawl legs??????? it's bloomin hard work, and i felt like a fool who doesn't know how to swim!

ever have those days where you just don't feel you are achieving anything? that's me today..gone 12 and i haven't done any work yet, been queuing at PO, sitting in traffic, and playing on here, lol.

hello all

yay! new thread. I love the new name too )

MrsMcJnr - yes, the moffii is assembled (we assembled it... it's currently hanging in the living room until this weekend when DH is going to install a hook from the bedroom ceiling from which it will be hung - it looks great, we're so pleased with it

re: your questions...

1. what are you planning to wear in labour itself?

I'm staying at home so no real drama with this... probably tracky pants and a t-shirt to start off with, and then I specifically got a preggo tankini so that I can keep at least the top half on once I hop into the pool (in a possibly vain attempt at dignity!)

2. Anyone into aromatherapy and if so, what are you using/trying?

Yes, we're really getting into it! We bought a beginners kit from a website called Oils4Life or something like that (let me know if you're interested and I'll get the proper link) and have been making up massage oils, bath oils and 'special brews' to put on the oil burner... has been lots of fun and I've been surprised at how effective it can be in terms of both energising and relaxing us. We did a pregnancy massage class beforehand where we learned about what oils were good/bad for pregnancy and/or labour - I think it's important to make sure you're using the right kinds of oils to get the effect you're after. It's loads of fun though, I'd recommend it

3. What baby monitors are you buying?

Not certain yet but I saw one the other day that had the room temperature integrated into the handset, which I'm pretty keen on as the temperature difference between upstairs and downstairs in our house can be pretty extreme. Will need to keep an eye on that and this seems like a good way. I think it might have been a Tommy Tippy one? Does that sound right?

Eh. I am still trying to get through all this work before I can go swimming... getting closer though, despite distracting myself with MN on a regular basis ;)

oooh, the other exciting thing I did today was to organise a nappy service. We're going to try using reusable nappies from the get go, but we're having a laundry service look after all the washing and drying. Booked in for a month to try it out - I bet it will be great. And much less expensive than I'd expected too.

next major thing to do is to finally decide on a birthpool and confirm a booking for that. Then I think we may have all the major 'things to do' out of the way!

Lovely new thread and title. Have mw at 1.30. Still tightening regularly. Also (sorry if tmi) had a massively upset tummy this morning. Got ds to school tho and am trying to potter around to keep fit and active.

(ow ow ow)

MrsMc - re your questions:

1. what are you planning to wear in labour itself? I had/have old t-shirt in labour bag. When i went in tho I had a hosptial one, much freer(sp) to move in, allows easy access and i dont have to wash it.

2. Anyone into aromatherapy and if so, what are you using/trying? Interested but not looked into, tbh I am prob not going to either now.

3. What baby monitors are you buying? Prob BT one but very disorganised.

Big tip with labour bag.. the lip salve was/is a complete life saver. Really cracked lips with all the brething and heat. Also lots of knickers and loose comfy socks.

Sent dp back to work as dont want him having the tiem off before lo arrives.

Hugs to all. xx

Oh Awen your very brave! dh says your very dedicated too sounds like your close. Ooh cant wait for mine to get going now.

1. What will I be wearing in labour? Nighty to start off while Im trotting round the labour ward then nothing once Im in the pool. 2) Anyone into aromatherapy ? No Im afraid not sorry
2. Didnt need a monitor as we live in a flat andcan hear baby very well as the rooms are close together. Sorry that wasnt alot of help was it?

Poor you Awen keep hanging on in there sounds like little one doesn't know what he wants

Your right Madmouse but in reality although i finish on 21st i only have 8 days of work left then i can get full xmas hol pay rather that starting mat pay. But your right don't want to be exhausted just need to try and rest on my two days off.

8 days Mrs Mc how you finding it ? I same as Sabinar a bikini top in the birth pool and have some maternity nighties for afterwards.
The only oils i ever used were tea tree oil after the birth have to recommend if anyone ends up with stitches use to sit in the beedee in the hospital with water and that in and it was brill and healed them very quickly (sorry if bit tmi) but hey least of our dignity problems soon!

DP was looking quite at the sieve that arrived with the birth pool

lilyloo - dh swears that the sieve never got used last time - i try to believe him! but i'm not 100% sure..... well we kept it so i suppoe that's proof enough.....hmm

awen - good to see you, hope your little man gives you less trouble when he finally makes an appearance. don't worry about your body not doing it right, you are coping admirably i would say. good luck at the m/w later.

sab - do post the link re the oils, i'm interested enough to have a play.
have you looked at poolinabox yet?
i must get round to ordering a new liner at some point.
2 if i want to have a test play first

Hello !!! Thanks for starting new thread, susie, I'm very flattered you liked my name ...
At work just now, trying to eat a salad roll with coleslaw without sluttering it all down my shirt.... and type at the same time... not very sucessfull i think!
Only 7 days left at work after this one (and i've got m/wife and dentist tomorrow so not really here all day) which doesn't sound too bad but it still seems like a long time!
Mrs McJ - yup, i'll text you next week with some suggestions for meeting up? In the meantime....
What to wear during the big event... dh's Mickey Mouse shirt, as it's huge, buttons up the front for easy access / skin to skin etc, and is the softest thing i've ever snuggled up to... and yeah, i did tell him, he claims that it's ok but not sure he got much choice!
aromatherapy, nope, sorry... rather have lots of drugs for labour!!! (not sure whether i'm kidding or not, but although i love candles and oils and stuff at home not sure labour is really the time for me to get into it...!)
Baby monitor, last time bought a Phillips one (i think! i'll check when i go home!) which is fairly basic but does the job. Didn't want the movement monitor one as i have heard stories that they just freak you out and don't always work.. the one i have has a volume control, lights when there's noise in baby's room, a "talkback" function and parent unit can be battery operated so you can walk about with it. Not sure what else you might need with one!
Anyway, lots of work to do, so will have to go and pretend to do some!
I'll try to check in later, lolo x

just remembered that i thought the monitors with videos were a tad ott when i was shopping for ds but i'd love one now to see what he's getting up to when we put him to bed!
so not so much a baby thing as a toddler thing really.

merrykatyt1 - this is where we got our aromatherapy kit - we got the 'beginners' kit with 11 oils (and we added a few extra oils that we wanted). Very glad we got it, has been great

I think we're going to go for a heated birthpool so that we can swim around it it for a while before/after the birth... we have visions of watching DVDs over Christmas whilst sitting in the nice warm birthpool. So, that rules the 'in a box' options out for us I'm afraid... I know they're much cheaper, but DH is v keen on the heated pool and who am I to argue ;) (don't even want to think about what the sieve is for though!)

ok. I'm about to go off for a swim for the first time in ages. Feeling a bit nervous but bet it will be amazing once I'm in! Wonder if I'll be extra bouyant now!

Fabulous name for thread Ayreshire Loo!

DD is having nap and I hope to go soon too. Have just been to a playgroup session for 2 and 1/2 hrs and have painted some ceramic plates with dd. AM EXHAUSTED.

Awen - good to see you're back. That tummy upset was something I had 2 days before going into labour last time. Its the body getting itself ready I've heard. I had contractions last night from 9 till 10pm - every 6 mins, lasting 45 seconds. Just practise ones but i was beginning to wonder!

Answers to MrsMcJ's questions:
Last time I wore my jogging bottoms and t-shirt in labour and did not have time unfortunately to remove either before dd appeared (well the bottoms were whipped off in the last minute). Took ages to get the meconium off the clothes with the vanish bar! Seriously! I plan on wearing my tankini top like the others on here if I get the birth pool (fingers crossed!).

I have the cheapest monitor from Mothercare. It does the job - but i do like my mates ones with the flashing lights.

Amani - I do think its a good idea to keep dd in nursery for a bit. Is she doing a few mornings when LO arrives? I'm exhausted looking after my toddler and think its a little unfair on her when I'm shattered.

Anyway - my bed is calling me. Must speak soon.xx

And one more thing - just been on facebook -need to befriend you all!

Awen - just spotted you have the same birthday as my dh - what a coincidence.

Byyyeeee

Afternoon all, how's things going?

Been adding another couple of coats of paint to the nursery (and my face - it is impossible to paint a ceiling without getting yourself COVERED in paint!). I reckon one more of white, then the blue can go on I'm also going to buy a set of glow in the dark stars to put on the ceiling - I had them when I was a kid, and absolutely loved them!

So far we've had the cats out of our room for two nights, and to be fair they didn't seem too fussed. It was nice to get as good a night's sleep as I can these days as well - not that it was great with achey hips, and like someone else had (sorry can't remember who!) stabbing pains in my bump when I turn over.

I'm currently going through the "should I buy stuff now or later" debate, particulary with the pushchair - we're going to get a Quinny Buzz, and originally they were in most places for about £300, mothercare for £330, and a few places on t'internet for £270 - now I can only find two places on the internet now selling it for £270 - everywhere else has put their prices up. Is it worth holding out for a good deal, or should I take the plunge and get it for £270 while I can? I wish money wasn't so tight - argh!

As to what to wear in labour, I have no idea to be honest! I'm not particularly prudish, so don't mind being in the nudd - with all the action downstairs, I doubt people gawping at my norks is going to be the greatest of my worries! Having said that, it would be nice to have some kind of button-up vest or similar to try and retain a shred of dignity! I can be a bit funny about fabric touching my skin though - when I was suffering with my gall bladder pain, I didn't want anything touching my skin at all, so I may just rip it all off anyway...

Baby monitors - a bit of a contentious issue. DH is (at the moment anyway) set against them. He doesn't see why we'd need one, as we'd be able to hear the baby crying if there's a problem, and if we don't hear anything, then either the baby's asleep, or it's too late. I hate to think like that, but I do see his point to some extent. However, having lived with him for 8 years now, I'm pretty sure he'll capitulate and we'll get a baby monitor . Not a clue what sort to get though!

Can I ask a daft question? We got these curtains www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/10107717 from Ikea, and I absolutely love them, but they don't do a good job of keeping the light out, especially as the room is south-east facing, so gets the early morning sun. What's the best way of converting them to blackout curtains, bear in mind I have the sewing prowess of a brick. Would it be easier to take them to somewhere that does alterations etc and get them to do it?

Right, that's enough blathering for me - need to go back and paint all the fiddly bits (around the lightswitch etc...)

Speak to you all later!

Hey to all....

Hope everyone is well.

I have skim read, but my eyes hurt and I am in the internet cafe.

In answer to MrsMcJnr - I started off wearing the hospital gown and quite pleased as already said I then didnt have to wash it. When I got into the pool I had intended on wearing an old tshirt as I was really worried about being completely naked, but something just came over me and I just whipped it all off and jumped in.

No aromotherapy here I am afraid, but I have the Tommee Tippee monitor I think, or it is at least a pretty basic one anyway and does the job.

Ante natal class on BF today, was really good, and we went off tangent and taked abotu loads of stuff.

Tonight off to a TENS demo at the hospital. DH moaning about coming and doesnt understand why when there is epidural available you wouldnt just have it automatically. Makes me laugh.

Anyway just a quick one as my time is running out.

Speak soon ladies.

Right ok, firstly lets answer MrsMc's questions

1. what are you planning to wear in labour itself?

I'm going to charity shops to get a nice big shirt so that I can retain a little dignity but also allow for skin to skin once baby is born. - Or I might just steal one of DP's lol.

2. Anyone into aromatherapy and if so, what are you using/trying? = nope nothing I'm afraid.

3. What baby monitors are you buying? - I've got a tommee tippee one off ebay for 99p (plus £5 postage)

Been to see my friend this morning and she's just been laughing at my bump - which I honestly didnt' think was that big! maybe it is.

Washing machine is still broke so it's taking me hours to do washing! DP is going to get me a dryer for xmas! yey!!

MW tomorrow - Gonna harass her about home birth or at least early discharge from hospital.

Awen - Keep your chin up, I hope it's all sorted soon for you hunny!!

Everyone else - sorry for not being so indepth but hope your all ok.

Hello

Had BF class last night, which went on for hours. I didn't know there was so much to talk about! This morning was ladies-only session and we watched a video of a home birth - I swear, there are some things I would just rather not know . It was enough to put me off my lunch - almost !

I'm heading towards wanting a waterbirth, though there are only 2 pools at the hospital and it's a first come first served basis so can't get too set on the idea. But I was wondering what to wear too, so your ideas have been great. Think I'll do the tankini thing.

We're not getting a monitor, pretty much for the same reasons that Naetha's dp has come up with. It's a modern house and you can pretty much hear everything that goes on wherever you are, but we'll see how we go.

Naetha - if your curtains have got the tape stuff on the back you can just get black out curtains from John Lewis which you then hook up to the tape. If not, have you thought about about a black out blind?

just back from swimming.... oooh, that's good. I could have kept going for hours... that is definitely going on my list of things to do every couple of days. Now I need a nap

Does anyone know how much swimming you can do after the birth? I want to make sure I can lose weight (not religiously obviously) and think it would be nice to take the LO swimming but not sure how often I can or for how long.

Lucky - I was just wondering a similar thing.

As I was changing to go for a swim a woman came in with her six month old baby (who was completely chilled out and apparently a big fan of swimming). I was thinking it was a great thing to do with a baby, but then, as I was swimming, I was wondering whether you'd actually get any swimming done with a LO... or would it be more like floating about and playing with LO? (which would be v fun, but probably not conducive to weight loss!)

No prob not gonna help with the weightloss but it would be nice I spose. I'm hoping that I'll get a bit of swimming done and then the walk there and back (with the buggy) should do the weightloss thing! lol

sabinar i went swimming today too, there were lots of babies in the smaller pool, very sweet!

Mrsmcjnr - Homebirth, so probably t shirt or something? I have some lavender oil too, but going to rely on the gas and air and tens i think? I have a Tomy digital monitor..luckliy a pressie from my best mate

Im sat here with bad period pain and braxton hicks....happened last Tuesday too...maybe babybel dosnt like tuesdays?

Naetha - any chance of putting black out blinds under them? Or defeating the object of the curtains?

Beller - Is there a programme you watch on a Tuesdays that maybe the themetune or something is wriling the baby?

Well done Susiemj for the new thread.

Mrs McJnr - hello to you to Am wearing Dh old t-shirt for labour which covers my bits. We've got the Angelcare babymonitor from when DD was born, so will be using that again for LO.

Battymama - keeping DD in nursery Tue-Thur AM and then parent and toddler groups on Mon and Fri. I think we would both go mad if she was to stay at home.

On FB - Someone has requested an invitation in. Initials are SP - is this any of you?