Due March 2005 part 2

[misdee]

here we go!!

Had midwife appointment today. trace of protein and lucites (??) in urine, so have to send another sameple off to path lab whilst visiting dh tomorrow to check whats going on. Blood pressure etc is all fine tho.

Also got Guys appointment tomorrow for fetal cardiac scan. This is one well checked on baby!

Hi,

I've got a cold as well, my nose is blocked and i'm snoring at night! Wish it would hurry and go as I've so much I want to do, need to finish stripping the nursery walls and then get some paint up. Typical i've left it to the last minute! We've brought just about everything for the baby including nappies, steriliser and various bottles! Guess I've gone a bit mad but i'd rather be prepared as I worry enough as it is.

Saw midwife and everything is ok, baby is head down and panic attacks seem to be under control!

Been to Guys today. very easy journey for once. Very detailed scan of babies heart was done, its all coreect size etc, and no signs of cardiomyopathy, but bubs does have a samll hole in heart, but its not somethingi am worrying about. have a form to give to gp at 6-8 week after birth, so they can just check everything over.
Afterwards i went shopping for bedding, new pillows etc, as dh needs to sleep upright when he leaves hospital and the ones we have here are well past it, also got matress protector as felt after spending a fortune on new bed dont want to ruin it if waters break when i'm in bed. And i got a starter pack of cottom bottom nappies as well.

Shalaa - sorry to hear you've got a cold, Not much fun!

I am feeling quite healthy, just tired this week, but I've been too absorbed in a book to go to sleep early enough!

Misdee - good news about the baby's heart! I heard that small holes are quite common and tend to close up. It happened to a friends baby (her dh is a paediatrician, that was what he said and he wasn't worried about it either). Guys is great for baby heart things. My nephew had a big heart operation there when he was a few weeks old.

Matress protector! OMG! we are getting a new matress and I never thought about that! Good idea! how likely is that to happen?

It is really exciting to hear everyone buying all the baby stuff already. I am trying - I went looking at baby stuff in the sale yesterday, but I just can't bring myself to buy anything. I just don't feel ready! I know i have to get nappies, but just can't quite understand that I am going to have to use them, or what the hell to do with them!
Is that normal????? Maybe when i get back from holiday i may feel more like it. dh & me need to find some time to go shopping together. maybe that will help!

well my waters broke with dd1 in bed, but didnt with dd2 till i was in delivery and pushing. so it can happen.

Oooh wow! Did they break while you were sleeping or were you aleady in labour? I guess they can go anytime?

whilst i was asleep. But i wasnt having contractiosn or anything. i was induced the following morning, but slept at home that night as i hate hospitals.

Popsycal, are you still with us?

I think I saw Popsycal on another thread at the end of last week.

Hope everyone is OK, seems a little quiet at the moment!

I had my check up this morning. the doc did a scan. it was really cool. we could really see all the ribs and spine. legs feet, hands - although some of it is difficult to work out what it is. Doctor also pointed out the nose but, couldn't see it myself but we are expecting baby to have big nose (!!!) so i believe the doctor could see it!

The baby is already in the correct position for the birth.

He measured my hips and pelvis with some strange old contraption.

He is the doctor that will come and check up on me during the birht. I am a bit worried that he is knife happy and will find a reason to do a c-section - well call me cynical but he gets a lot more money out of it if he does! ...maybe he was just telling us about all possibilities, I so much want to have a natural birth that even the mention of c-section puts me on edge.

Finally had to borrow a waterproof jacket from a friend because mine wouldn't shut over the bump this weekend! Fortunately my winter coat is in elephant size and still just about squeezes shut. Can't believe it's less than 8 weeks to go, though am merrily assuming the babe will be late like last time.

We are still totally dithering on names - we have a couple of girl options, but cannot agree on boys names at all. I dug out the baby names book again in search of further inspiration.

Leogaela - that scan sounds so exciting. I bet you get to see much more detail than in the early scans.

Misdee - heart news sounds good - have also heard that small holes are generally not of concern.

Boneym - did your water pool arrive? I've been looking at the site again and it does look excellent - I am really tempted. Am feeling even more indecisive than normal, must make up my mind!! If nothing else it would make the world's most delux paddling pool!

oh pants. my blood suger levels are up the creek this week. phoned the clinic this morning, have now got to test after each meal and go from there. just what i dont need!

The pools sound great! You could use them as plunge/swimmming pools in the garden afterwards. And..... I am absoluteyl convinced it is going to be fantastic weather this summer so the pools would be ideal! Much better value than hiring.

I have the same with names Pidge... we have a girls name but have drawn a complete blank on boys! There was a thread last week with people giving hundreds of ideas, but none of them seems right. The one name we really like (Maxim) someone reminded me is the name of a softporn mag in the UK!!!!
Are you still riding your bike this week?

Yes, the scan was good, the most amazing thing was seeing all the ribs and spine - it was really clear. the downside is that the doctor always does it so fast.... and explains everything in swiss german so I am always one step behind!

Misdee, you have to measure your blood sugar after every meal, but what can you do about it if the sugar level is too high? Do they give you advice on what to do?

ATm they are hoping that a sensible diet wil lcontrol it, and i havent been eating anything excessivly sugary, so if it carries on going higher then they may look at insulin, which i am dreading.

I also had to phone ante natel clinic as they hadnt booked me in for the 2nd anti-d jab. so i have that in 2 weeks time now.

uurgh! with only 8-ish weeks to go lets hope you can keep it enough under control. Also I heard some carbohydrates from refined flour - such as pasta, white bread etc. can also cause a problem.

yeah refined carbs can be a problem, but am cutting down/switching over atm. i am down to one suger in my tea this week, was on 2 b4.

Oh misdee - you are really having a tough time at the moment - sorry to hear your blood sugar is up - how is your dh? Is he home now?
Pidge - the pool was apparently shipped today so I should have it this week - will keep you posted! I can relate to your problem with boys names (and Leogaela's) - we couldn't agree on any boys names so were pleased when we found out that we were having a girl ( oh I do hope they weren't wrong - I bought 3 gorgeous little outfits in the sales last week!!). The problem we had with boys names is that the ones we liked were very popular and we didn't want to saddle a boy with something too unusual - I think it's easier to get away with something a bit different if it's a girl!

Boneym - would love to hear how the pool is when it arrives. I keep putting off making a decision but I really must do something or I will have no pool at all when the time comes!

We have exactly the same problem with boys names - all the ones we liked were very popular, and I want something unusual-ish yet simple. my dd's name is never in any of the lists!

Misdee - how boring to have your food restricted - I hope it works and you can avoid yet more jabs. Wasn't your dh due to come home around now?

Oooh - baby has currently got the hiccups. I'd forgotten how funny this feels!

Pidge - pool arrived today - we've not inflated it yet but have laid it out on the floor and it looks fine. Is slightly smaller than I imagined, but have just checked the dimensions against the ones that Splashdown hire - their inflatable pool is exactly the same internal dimensions (smaller externally) and 5 cms deeper - their rigid pools are actually shallower by 5cms and about the same diameter. As their cheapest is £220 for an inflatable, I don't reckon the extra 5 cms is worth the extra cost!
Went to my 1st aquanatal session today - it was great - felt really good to be in the water and there were only 5 of us in the class. It's run by a midwife and she came for a coffee with us afterwards - all very friendly and relaxed.
I have an antenatal check on Thursday - am hoping the midwife will tell me that baby is now head down - I'm feeling a lot of movement above my belly-button now so am hoping it's kicks and not punches!

boneym - I've been doing the same comparisons and also came to the conclusion that the inflatable pool you've got is about the same size as the Splashdown one, but at a fraction of the cost (they have a special offer on at the moment, but it's still £160 vs £50). I'm a bit surprised that the pools I've looked at so far aren't deeper, 65cm deep just doesn't sound very much to me. I had visions of me floating about up to my shoulders in water. But I guess the idea is that the water just covers the bump.

Are you going to get a pump and hose etc for inflating and filling the pool separately?

Hope the midwife finds the baby the right way up. I learned mine is head down, with back to one side at the front - which explains why my bump is completely lopsided! But my midwife said it's pretty meaningless that this stage as they can still somersault around. Still, it's a good start.

Looking forward to hearing if the baby is in the right position Bonym. It sounds as if it could be! I realised when mine turned as it was excessively active for a while, different to the usual activity and now there's no mistaking the kicks in my ribs! I thought if they were head down by 32 weeks they wouldn't turn head up again?

I am interested in what they teach you in the aquanatal session Bonym. I haven't seen any on offer here but hopefully will be able to discuss it with the midwife when we have our meeting.

WHere are all the other March mums????? Seems a while since we have heard from a few of them. Hope everyone is doing OK!

hi girls
been a while since i've checked in with you all due to christmas holidays etc.
i had a midwife appointment yesterday - and on the subject of baby position, mine is in pretty much the worst possible - breech with back to back!! since i'm hoping for a waterbirth they're going to book me in for a scan at 36 weeks to check which way up it is then. she said it's nothing to worry about at this stage because they can still move around alot - but i know the baby's been in this position for a while. so i guess if it's still in that position at 36 weeks they'll start to think about doing something about it. in the meantime i've been told to spend my time watching tv on all fours and draped over a gym ball - so just went to argos to buy one. apart from that all is well. i put on 6 pounds over the two weeks of christmas and new year - then lost half a pound this past week. so far i've put on 1 stone and 5.5 pounds which isn't too bad!
anyway, better get on. hope you're all doing well today.

Hi munchkinsusie - I read recently (I think on a mn thread) that quite a high proportion of babies are breech at 32 weeks, but only 5% or so at 40 weeks. So hopefully the draping yourself over a ball will flip the baby over. My midwife implied that the position of the baby at this point really doesn't matter, it's how they are at the 36 week mark.

There seem to be a number of us on this thread hoping for a homebirth. I have vowed to finally stop dithering and order the same inflatable pool as boneym .... will have to be tomorrow, as I can't bring myself to make that final move until I've discussed it with dp!! Do you think pregnancy hormones make decisions even harder than normal!!!

I'm also falling asleep at my desk - good job I don't have much work to do. In fact maybe that's part of the problem, my eyelids are quite literally drooping.

Anyone else with 1+ kid/s already wondering what to do with them for when you go into labour. Have been discussing it with dh, and he said he could stay home with the girls, but really he wants to be there and iwant him there as well. i have 2 back up birth partners, just in case dh is in hospital or at harefield for assessment, and MIL is on babysitting duties. My parents fly out of the country on the 24th to portugal for 1 week, so they may miss the big event. Just panicing really.

also wondering if i'd consider an induction, previously its something i would've avoided, but what with the gestational diabetes, its possible they may want to deliver early. I keep thinking it'd be nice to know when the baby would be arriving, but would i really want all the medical intervention. argh!! head spinning with it all.

I do really want to avoid caesarean at all costs, as i cant be taking long recovery periods due to dh health and 2 other kids.

Misdee - this is a big concern of mine. MIL is very keen to get involved, but because I'm hoping for a homebirth, the last thing I want is my MIL drifting about the house when I'm in labour! And I don't want her taking dd back to her place as it's an hour's drive away. My own parents live a 6 hour drive away, so not an option.

I have one friend locally with a little girl the same age as dd, and hopefully she will take my daughter. My only other local friend with kids is expecting a baby 5 weeks before me, so not really fair to lumber her with dd. We do have some other child-free friends nearby, but they're always out socialising!! (Those were the days!).

So - I guess I'm just hoping my friend will be free at the crucial moment. Or that the baby will conveniently arrive during the night whilst dd sleeps, or on one of the days she's at the childminder.

On the induction front - I know how you feel about wanting to avoid a CS. I met someone else with gestational diabetes recently and she's already been told that they want to induce her 2 weeks early, because the baby is very big. I'm sure there are other MNetters out there with experience of this ....