Feb Babies - Come on Down!

[tyaca]

'ere we go, guys!

Congrats Slacker!! I knew you must be birthing as you were not around for a while!

Gingermumi - do you have any tips on giving birth after a long gap? I am worried that my body has forgotten how to do it!

PK - Good luck and keep strong.

Rozzy - good luck - sounds like things are happening!

Feeling better after a lazy day - just had a curry but I don;t think it was hot enough!

Evening all! Ahhhhh, you're all lovely and have made me really welcome! Turns out there is one other lady left in Jan, she goes for an induction on Monday so it looks like i'll be left to lock up and turn the lights out myself, but only for a day!!
Congratulations Slacker!!!! what a totally laid back birth announcement... can we have some more details please?? sorry it didn't go quite as planned for you, but sounds nice and quick!
PK, hope you are cuddling a lovely wee one as i type and that everything is ok, look forward to your news!
Oh the sleep depravation thing... not to be underestimated but so hard to see it getting better when you're in the middle of it, isn't it? Have to say i'm not looking forward to it, but as i was completely unable to breast feed dd (not a drop of milk or colostrum, either expressing or trying to feed... never came in at all... still waiting!)and i imagine it will be the same tis time round it's easier. I agree with Egg, if you're breast feeding it's much harder to sleep, but there is no answer to it really! Hope it's better soon though.
Anyway, got dh an "ok" card today, so that's another thing done! then had a stupid phone call from my mother... "are you really not feeling ANY contractions dear?? This baby's really taking it's time, isn't it?" .... Grrrr!!!! I have resigned myself to the induction on Tuesday anyway, plan on being home and drinking champagne by tea time! (ha! if only!!) then i get to sleep on my tummy...... wooohooo!!!!i'm easily pleased!!! take care all, lolo x

slacker, loads of congrats. you always talk so postively about births and labour and that was v reflected in your announcement! sounds like it all went well - well done you, welcome to your new boy! look forwad to seeing a pic.

rozzy and pk -- fingers crossed that your next posts will include baby news. pk, preparing a having-a-baby playlist is exactly the kind of thing my DH would do in response to the imminence of labour.

had a really nice couple of days. my parents came up for dinner last night and it was so nice to see them. my mum has been buying a pack of nappies/ babywipes everytime she's been in tescos and turned up with two enormous boxes full! plus lots of other lovely stuff, which is so generous of them. they are really excited and its so nice to see them so happy.

then MIL up today, she is a star, am really lucky. sends me really nice texts and then apologies to my DH cause she worries about being an interfering MIL . cooked for her which is nice cause she's ceoaliacs (Sp?)) and cant eat dairy either so i like the challenge!

long walk with MIL (what a nice day) and curry last night with my mob, feel ever so slightly nearer having a baby. bump seems to have dropped and def feels harder. my sister is coming over tomo to help me pack bag... tho' DH keeps reminding me that he has over 40 exam papers still to mark and that i should really try to hold out til half term week after next!

whatsmore, i've had my eye on DH's nice bag he uses for football as my hospital bag. turns out he wants to use it for his hospital bag. this will apparently include "magazines, beer and pies"

best news of all - two (that's right two) threads i started have made discussions of the day on MN homepage [proud emotcion]... call me sad, but since stopping work, i'm looking for recognition and achievement wherever i can find it!

Hiya ladies!!! Just a quickie to say that i'm having fairly strong contractions about 6 mins apart... (yipee and ouch! ) so hope i've got news soon, thanks for all the vibes, fingers crossed this is it and not a false alarm (hope not....i've just woken my mother to get her to drive 20 miles to look after dd!!) lolo xx

I'm with you lolo!
I've not slept in 2 nights and I've been having contractions for EVER, well since about 6am yesterday morning! They were 7 mins apart for the ENTIRE afternoon, evening and ALL NIGHT long.
We have now progressed to 6 minutes apart!
Thanks for all the thoughts guys.
Hopefully it's not going to be too long now 'cause I'm knackered!

oooh oooh, it's a PK and Lolo race! Really good luck girls, fingers crossed it happens soon for you both. Go Go Go .

Babies slept well last night. I lay awake for an hour staring into space .

DH miserable and grumpy. Apparently he only got six hours sleep . I have only ONCE got 6 six hours in the last month.

Talking of months, did I mention my babies are ONE MONTH OLD TODAY [proud].

Good luck PK and Lolo - hope you don't have too much longer to wait and things go smoothly!

Well, after having my very very spicy curry last night (vindaloo ) had no cramps or contractions all night so had a really good sleep. Since I got up I've had a bloody discharge (so much so that I've had to put a pad on) and am feeling crampy again. So looks like things might be progressing for me.

My due date was only yesterday so I'm happy that I don't think I'll go too far past it after all these twinges and the bleeding starting. I am however feeling a bit nervous and impatient waiting for true labour to kick in. My mum still has the boys so she's going to bring them back tonight as they have nursery tomorrow and she'll stay here in case anything happens. Luckily she's taken this week off work so she could help us out like this if the baby came.

Take care all - think I'll go and have a bounce on my ball!

Hi everyone,

Sorry have been off air for ages but had another DS, Conor Christian, weighing in at 7lb 1oz on 4th Feb by CS. Baby developed an irregular heartbeat towards the end and it was suggested that induction or CS would be the best way of keeping an eye on the heartbeat during delivery, so I opted for CS in the end and it went like a dream.

Was just discharged from hospital after 4 nights on Friday and it's great to be home with my scrumptious little newborn.

Belly pretty sore and still on the painkillers although stitches are now out and am very impressed with skill of surgeon - scar looks like it's going to heal very well.

Breastfeeding going OK although I hate the udder look of my boobs - Jordan it ain't and baby is fussing a bit before latching on. Maybe I'm being a bit of a bully with him and he doesn't like it but I'm absolutely desperate to empty the boobs all the time. Midwife called yesterday and Conor is still the same weight he was at birth 5 days later so I must be doing something right. Mine seems to sleep tons and tons - I can't remember DS1 being so sleepy but I won't complain ... I'm sure the wakefulness will kick in soon.

I will try and catch up on the thread properly soon but hope everyone is doing well.

Although Conor sleeping really well especially at night, I am more wakeful and find myself stirring every couple of hours to check he's breathing. Sound familiar anyone?

xx

PK - sorry it's a long one - just think of all those endorphins you've got by now!! You can do it!!!!

Lolo - great news - go go go!!

Rozzy - hope it kicks in soon!

Tyaca - love the idea of DH having a hospital bag full of beers and magazines! - don't forget energy bars & fruit & juice for you!

Egg - Poor DH only 6 hours sleep!!! I month birthday is very exciting!

Mutha2be congratulations!!

Hi there all

Another one here with a fairly sleepless night - was awake from midnight to 5am with cramps then fell asleep for hour or so at 5 and things have eased off!!

Made DP go out for the morning (not that he was awake at ALL through the cramping!) and have been for a long walk as it is so beautiful outside and am trying to keep as active as possible.

Well one mutha, I love the name

Good luck PK, Lolo and Rozzy - how exciting!!! very envious as you seem to be streets ahead of my crampy stage, but I am not due til next Sat so I need to squash the impatience. Can't wait to hear how things are going though - many many positive labour vibes to all of you!!

Oops meant well done mutha!!

Hi all,

I can not believe how busy this place has been since I last logged on!!

Mega Congrats to all who have hatched!! and good luck to PK, lolo & Rozzy!! I hope all is progressing well!

Egg - LOL at PK at Lolo race not sure who I should put my money on!!

Well,

I have been on MAT leave for 1 week - I thought I would be lounging round the house and that - but I have been soooo busy!! I feel like I should get out and shop while I still have the time - but I don't really have the energy!! Still, I have combatted this by ensuring I stop regularly at Costa for decaf skinny Latte's!! - got to keep your fluids up - and the skimmed milk is an excelent source of calcium - just thinking of my health!......... oooooh and they have killer cakes!!

I can't remember who was talking about slings - but I ordered one from Freedom Slings. I was V. Impressed at the speed of delivery and the instruction DVD that came with it - all I need now is a baby to put in it!!

Well,

I had better get back to cooking Sunday dinner for Darling Partner and Darling Step Daughter. Roast Chicken - Yummy.

oooh and well done Mutha!!

Well done mutha2be! Guess you will have to change your MN name now . Glad everything worked out well must have been scary with the irregular heartbeat. Conor is a lovely name. Still more BOYS!

Wonder who is winning the race?

Have FINALLY caught up! been reading all week but never caught the front of the thread up. PILs been here over the weekend helping out so have a pm with the PC and thought I'd pop in and say hi.

Congratulations to all those with new babies - too many to remember I'm afraid but a lot of them seem to have come out VERY fast. Lucky girls .

Nice to see the Feb 07 link - thank dontcallmeyummy if you're still here.

For those that haven't yet dropped I'm already jealous of the tiny newborns you're going to experience. My wee man's been growing so fast he's already too big for his first sets of clothes and his little face is all chubby and dimpled.

I can honestly say that if you're expecting your first nothing can prepare you for what you're going to go through in the next few weeks! It's so intensely emotional - you fall madly in love with this tiny little person and yet feel so helpless to protect them from all those things you will worry about. Added to that is the despair of sitting up all night with no sleep and then all the feeding worries - I seem to be constantly worrying - feeding too much or too litle? Should I be supplemnting with formula or not? Am I using a bottle too much and will he forget how to suckle on a breast? and so on and on and on endlessly.

Feeding has probably been 90% of my problems - took a long time to get established and even then the PAIN - second only to being in labour. I thought I was fairly well prepared but in reality was completely clueless.

my top tips to protect your nips:

1. Get a b/f counsellor or adviser sorted before you go into labour and see if they can come to the hospital. I had a lot of support in hospital but looking back it wasn't enough and was contradictory at times - it would help so much to have the same person seeing you for a while.

2. Get a tube of lansinoh. My nipples were bleeding within 24 hours of giving birth. it is completely magic and will repair ragged cracked and bleeding nipples almost immediately.

3. Have a pump ready for when you get home so that if you come home already "chewed" you can still express milk, keep your supply going and avoid formula. Even two weeks later had one really bad night - sitting up in bed at 1, 3, 5 and 7am crying cause I couldn't bring myself to put those angry chomping sharp little gums near my poor nipples, just holding him hovering there steeling myself for it before jacking it in and grabbing the pump (admittedly almost certainly due to poor latching but when you've been shown so many times and it's still not working what can you do?)

4. Don't stress it at night. Things are much much harder when you're on your 4th feed of the night with less than an hour's sleep in between, not got your contacts in and got the lights turned low to aviod disturbing dp. You really do need to see what you're doing! Things are SO much easier in the morning just do whatever your cheat is (expressing or formula)

5. What To Expect When You're Breastfeeding is really worth reading as the author covers all the issues and lots of case studies although like all manuals some statements aqre made which haven't applied to me.

OK sorry for such a strange rambling posting as you can guess this is quit cathartic will try and get on and finish off but wee man is squeaking and need a wee before I feed him and before anyone worries about me we are getting there and he hasn't drawn blood or tears for at least 48 hours

ps good luck PK xx

Gill79 - ouch ouch ouch!!!! I can really feel those sore nips! Hope all is better now.

I have reconciled myself to waiting patiently for LO (mymissus if you pop before me it's NOT FAIR!!!)

Am going to ring hospital tomorrow and put off the tuesday induction. I really think 40 + 6 is too early for an induction. Humpf!

Just spoke to my darling sister in South Africa who has 2 little sons - she gave me 3 websites to check out...

yuckymummy.com (a funny Australian blog)

www.kellymom.com (breastfeeding help)

www.parenthacks.com (parenting tips)

Great - thanks for the links OMY - really helpful

Kellymom is a brilliant site if you are b/feeding.

good luck lolo, pk and rozzy.
omy-go for it 6 days is not much you're right.
gill-really glad you're doing so well.
congratulations mutha2beagain, good name
happy 1month egg glad they gave you a bit of p and q last night.
tyaca, i finally beat you to it with the hospital bag.
had to go to a drinks party with dh on thursday. we had to leave after half an hour as was having really strong bh which were getting painful (and realised i'd had them on and off all day). came home and ransacked the bin liners full of baby clothes for anything suitable. prob. just the strain of moving in and trying to get the house sorted that did it. we finally stopped eating at the caf on friday lunchtime-lo made it a meal to remember by falling on her face off her chair. her day got worse when my friend's 2yr old took all her toys away from her, pushed her, shouted at her and was generally horrid for the next 2 hours. really vile to watch and can't believe my friend practically said nothing .
have spent yet another day being pretty grumpy to dh . i just feel completely unbalanced/unhinged. i've done 3 loads of washing of baby stuff, still a bit more to do. have had dh clearing room upstairs so looks a bit like a room for a baby-still long way to go.
best thing of all is having our cats back-they are ginormous after 4 months at cattery and can only just get through cat flap. lo, us and neighbours all thrilled to have them home and purring-on vvv strict diet!
sorry for long post

quick q-how long did everyone get the really strong bh's for before dday. is it one of those how longs a piece of string things? my obstetrician is a bit monosyllabic and reluctant to make predictions but will ask him on tuesday at apt.

PK - Lots of luck for Monday.

Tyaca - Pleased to hear you've got such supportive parents and mil. It does make a big difference.

Gill - Have put Lansinoh in my hospital bag. All I have to do is pack it properly. At the moment its mostly piled on top of an overnight case!

DH has been at home since Wednesday with a sore throat virus. Luckily, we have a spare bedroom so he's been in there. I totally don't want to be ill at 37 weeks! He spent nearly 3 days in bed, which is not like him at all. He's much better now - but SIL and BIL turned up at 10 pm last night cos they were worried about him. Thing was, i wasn't expecting them, i hadn't check my BP yet and cos they were anxious, i got anxious and my BP rose! It's come down now but i could have done without my SIL saying "check on him every few hours cos people can deteriorate quickly"! They are lovely people who only want to help but slightly panicked on this occasion.

PrincessIllama - DH and I wish you lots of luck and happiness in your new house.

Not surprised you feel a bit out of sorts: heavily pregnant, a child to look after, a new home to organise and a badly-behaved child. It would tax the patience of a saint.

I don't feel tolerant of anything at the moment. Probably cos i'm getting nervous about giving birth. My friend rang me on Friday am asking me if i could go to the butcher for her and get her chicken for dinner. She has a 1 year old and 2 1/2 year old. I told her no - not going anywhere near butcher and have to go to Tesco so DH and I have dinner. She said its just around the corner by car - she doesn't have a car. After telling her no again, i rang her back and politely told her to get organised! Felt a lot better afterwards. Got back from Tesco and DH (who had woken up by now), pointed out that driving now is a bit hazardous cos not a lot of space between my bump and the steering wheel in case i have to brake suddenly. Probably just as well that i stop driving: totally forgot where i parked car at Tesco (good thing my car is bright green) and left credit card when buying petrol (other customer ran after me).