Due in June and entering the home stretch - keep the creme eggs rolling!

[makecakesnotwar]

And the Revels, the Greek Yogurt and the curly fries....

Morning all
No medical students for me on D Day, but I don't mind them in appointments. Hopefully I'll be at home anyway so shouldn't be an issue.

Am going to the doc tomorrow as I think I may be anaemic - feeling knackered constantly and DH says the blood keeps draining from my face

Nettiehay - re the Buzz, I did stupid amounts of research before going for the Britax Vigour.
Not only is the Vigour cheaper (it's RRP is £249 but that site is the cheapest I could find), but it comes with
(a) raincover
(b) generous shopping basket
(c) decent sized hood - the one on the buzz seems nominal at best

All these cost extra on the buzz from what I understand.

It also has...
(d) single rather than double swivelling front wheel (DH says double wheels mean double the parts to go wrong, which I think is a good point)
(e) bigger wheels (good for off road)

If you want more comparison, have a look at these two sets of reviews...
quinny buzz
britaz vigour

I originally thought I'd get the quinny speedi as it's more off roady than the buzz (and the vigour too) but I kept reading reviews of quinny parts breaking, and of the brakes getting stuck, and it put me right off the brand altogether.

I think the Vigour has won a few mag awards as well since it came out. I'll let you know what I think of ours when it arrives in about two weeks. Very excited .
If you do buy one, make sure you get all the bits from the same year as the 2007 and 2008 frames are not compatible with each other iykwim. The 2008 model is the Vigour+ and we went for this one as, although the 07 pushchair is cheaper it's impossible to get the matching carrycot any more.

DH so not interested in it btw - so funny, as he'll be doing all the pushing when I go back to work and he stays home!

Haven't posted for ages as I've been having a complete nightmare of a week. To cut a long story short my ds picked up a nasty/evil mother of all viruses that has made him really poorly for the last week. Poor little thing has had temps of over 40 C and has hardly eaten anything for the last 8 days. He's finally picking up in himself but his appetite is far from normal so he is looking super skinny (he's always been pretty lean). My dh also came down with the virus last Tuesday but being the saint mug that he is he carried on going into work all week, feeling worse each day until he finally came home on Friday with a temp of 40.5C ( the fact that he somehow managed to drive home scares me but I try not to think about that). So after a long week looking after my poorly ds I then had a v poorly dh on my hands too. The end result was multiple night wakings to look after ds and dh oh and 3 trips to the doctors on Friday!!! I've had to forget being pregnant for the last week and just devote myself to nursing everyone. The only upside is that somehow I didn't come down with this evil lurgy but now I am shattered and my boss is over from the states so I am having to try and pretend that I am with it and on top of everything. Not easy when I had to take most of last week off to look after my ds and now I have to cover all the meetings I postponed from last week on top of my normal work. Oh well, I am at least learning the art of blagging!!!! Roll on Easter and next week as I have a short working week, a midwife appointment and another scan, so can start to remember that I am pregnant again

Anyway, rant over. Sounds like loads has happened as always must go and catch up with the posts.

We had multiple birthdays at work so lots of cake available. Does 2 doughnuts, a cupcake, a snack bar and fruisli bar sound like I was being greedy? Or can I put it down to building myself up after my tough week of nursing duties????

Hiya Josie - many sympathies - there are definitely a lot of lurgies going around at the moment and they appear to be hitting the men folk. On one hand its good you didn't get anything, but on the other, you are the one doing the Florence Nightingale bit as well as holding down a job (well blagging it, but that takes energy!).

Definitely think that carb food stuffs is required - you wouldn't want to let your energy levels drop, would you.

On pram matters, am really wanting to get a Phil and Ted becuase will have 2 under 2 and need a double buggy that will go through doors easily. Trouble is the expense, even second hand with all the gear, they're about £250. Frightening how expensive these things are.

Crikey no-one got any work to do today

Only kidding obviously! I also love my job but recently have started counting the days, not till the birth, but till my leave . Still seriously considering starting my mat leave a week earlier so that I can free up a week's holiday and start working 4 days a week at the end of this month when my mat cover starts.

On the subject of medical students, naturally I haven't thought about it at all but I did have a fairly upsetting experience with a student at my GPs last year. I was visiting my GP post- 2nd miscarriage, all very upsetting and got a medical student foisted on my pre-gp chat. He asked me at length about my medical history which involved having to go over (again) my mc problems and then proceeded to get very excited about an illness I had when I was younger. (Ok, so none of you know me but to preserve anonymity I wont go into that here). Suffice to say its not a common illness and I nearly died. I'm always quite happy to allow med students etc in my gp appointments but really, do you subject an emotionally charged woman to a consultation with a student (without gp supervision)??? After this consultation, he then 'presented' my medical condition to my gp. He was really detached and you'd think I wasn't in the room (his bedside manner still needs some work). I was in floods of tears by this point and thankfully my gp stopped him.

Neenz - I have to say that I found being told to push really helped. I was getting 3 or 4 pushes out of every contraction and if I had been left to it with no encouragement I probably would have only managed 2 each time. It's very tiring and easy to give a couple of good pushes and then ride out the rest of the contraction. But if you really want to make the most of each contraction then a bit of encouragement really helps. I can't say I always wanted the encouragement at the time, I do remember wimpering 'I can't, it hurts' but I did obey the midwife and push and it was definitely worth it when my ds arrived!

Phil & Ted's buggies are great and well worth the money. I know lots of people who have bought multiple other buggies and wish they had bought this first off. With all the new P&T models out perhaps there will be some discounts on the older models????

Forgot to say that although I haven't felt any hiccups yet I can see my belly move now when I get big kicks!

I saw some belly movements today. Too cute. The baby was very very active when I woke up this morning. DH could also feel it really clearly which was nice. He thought the baby was trying to tell its very lazy parents to get their asses out of bed!

Josie, sorry to hear about your week - keep eating the sugary carbs to get your strength up .

Josie - the price I mentioned was for an old model!! Absolutely crazy out there.

My stomach is making great big movements at the moment - does this child never sleep?

I also really appreciated getting 'coached' to push by my DH and I'm convinced that his encouragement was the only thing that got me through without interventions! He went hoarse from the yelling and it really kept me going. He was being given instructions from the midwife and relaying them to me as I'd stopped listening to anyone else and it helped me to focus in solely on his voice and not worry about anything or anyone else.

Anyways, I think what we need in labour is all very individual. For me the tens machine was brilliant and I definitely want it again, but I've heard other people who didn't get anything out of theirs. Neenz, thanks for sharing all this though as I was thinking of getting a hypnobirthing CD and now I don't think I will since my experiences were the exact opposite of what the author claims!

Josie, sorry about your crappy week - just think it can only get better!

Thanks Greenfairy - those reviews are really interesting - I think I am definitely veering towards the britax - it just seems a more sensible option (not to mention the price!)

I'd honestly not thought about medical students previously - but I think all of the points here are very valid. A friend at work said that she was asked if she would mind a male midwife student at her birth - he hadn't seen one, becuase no mothers wanted men in there with them - I figure that I could have a male doctor, so I don't think I would mind. But the points about them being too detached and needing to work on their bedside manners is very pertinent... I've had a couple of dodgy student nurses at my GP practice who practically ignored the fact that I was a human being!

If anyone has read or heard of a way to let the baby come out naturally rather than push please let me know. DD2 came out with such a force due to my mega pushing that she had a really swollen and bruised face and totally blood shot eyes, she was tested for heamophillia as they were so bad, she was also slightly jaundiced and also plethoric(I think that's correct) so was quite multi coloured! I didn't feel as if I could stop myself pushing but would like to take it more slowly if possible this time round.

I had a terrible student midwife in the room with DD1. He walked in as I was pushing, went straight over to the sink and his first words were 'I am a student midwfe and I'm going to deliver your baby' my only word to him was a very loud 'NO'. The cheeky man didn't even introduce himself to me or anything! He left the room straight away!

Hi everyone, I think there's something cosmic going on, we all seem to be having problems of one sort or another at the moment! Hope everyone is feeling ok, and getting through it all.

Can't decide whether to go for the natal hypnotherapy or not. I swing between thinking I'll get through it, women have been doing it for thousands of years, it will be fine, to thinking I should ask for as many drugs as possible the moment the first contraction begins.

Anyway, I'm going to stop scaring myself stupid with birth stories, and resume that lovely head in sand position. Fill up what's left of brain with prams//pushchairs and planning shopping for me and son and heir. Oh and Molton Brown, bitofadramaqueen, yes, it is lovely. Much nicer position to be in!

I was looking at the Quinny Buzz too (Grandma is buying) as we already have a maxi cosi car seat that will fit it. We live in a flat, and I'm thinking I can lift off the car seat or the carrycot bit and leave the frame in the boot of the car. Am slightly put off by the fact that quinny is ye olde English word for fanjo tho.... Fanny Buzz doesn't have quite the same 'tone' somehow.

LOL goingforthree - the hynobirthing doesn't say you don't have to push, it just says you will know when to push without someone shouting at you. Aberdeen - I'd still recommend the hypnobirthing book, I have only read a few pages so couldn't say whether it is the opposite to what you experienced, but for £15 I'd say it is worth taking the chance that it will give you something. I have been practising positive thinking when in pain (when, say, I have a cramp or a baby in my rib) and I have to say it is suprisingly effective. I know labour pains are nothing like cramps though!

I too am wondering about students cos with twin birth I am sure there will be lots of interested parties. I think I will allow it but then if I feel overwhelmed by it I can always ask them to leave. I think the labour room will be quite full anyway cos apparently there will be three midwives, an obs and two paediatricians there.

G43 - no tips on slowing things down, I was the opposite as I had to have a drip to speed up my contractions as they were getting slower and weaker! I do remember someone saying that if things are going too quick then you should try and pant rather than push. The other thing is to try and work against gravity???? They say standing up speeds things up so perhaps if you adopt the traditional lying on the bed this might help. At the end of the day I think these babies have a mind of their own - even at this stage!!

On the subject of midwife students - I had a wonderful one who stayed with me the entire time and wrote up a wonderful summary of what happened - she even congratulated my husband on being supportive in my notes BUt she did have the advantage that she was already a nurse and retraining to be a midwife and she was the sister of one of the girls I work with - not that I had met her before. I will be saying yes to students this time as it is one way of ensuring that you get more one on one attention as they stay with you during the whole labour and are usually only assigned to one mum. However, if I don't like them dh will be on strict instructions to get rid of them

The tens machine didn't work for me either it just annoyed me as I wanted to be mobile and I kept forgetting to pick it up off the bed so it kept falling on the floor. For some reason (????? maybe something to do with pregnancy and labour hormones this absolutely infuriated me so I gave up with it. I'm not against trying one again this time if they have any available at the hospital but I don't think I will go to the bother of hiring one. Check out your local birthing centres to see if they will loan you one as my bc rents them out for £5 a month which is a bit of a bargain!

Mellymell - sorry the prices are soo steep for P&T!

HI everyone, can you tell the boys are off school and I'm not 1st on here at 7.00 am? Got up at 9.00 today - lovely. Just been shopping with my Mum but couldn't get to see the pushchair I want irl so will have to order it online now - she's paying!!

Makecakes - lovely photo - you look very happy with yourself!

Re students, I had a male student in with ds1's labour, by that point I would have agreed to a bus load of strangers as long as baby came out quickly. I delivered him on all fours - most elegant.

Neenz, you will certainly have a full room! I don't mind people being in the room as long as they don't talk to me or touch me. DP kept reading stories from the newspaper when I was in labour with dd2 and it really peed me off. I think it was so intense I couldn't stand to have any extra stimulation though once I was pushing I was happy to chat inbetween pushing!

Josie, I was semi up right on a bed with dd1 and it took about 20 mins to push her out which was probably just about right. WIth dd2 I was flat on my back and she still came out in four pushes!

Oh dear G43, the only other thing I have heard people mention is that sometimes midwives will put a hand on the babies head to slow the progress if they think it is going too quick. In many respects this doesn't seem right but if it prevents severe tears and the baby isn't in distress that ig might be a good idea.

Poor dd2 suffered so much more than I did, thankfully I didn't need any stitches which was probably down to her not being my first and I was also very rlexed.

G43 - four pushes - I am in awe of you! It took me 3 hours to push my ds out so I am hoping this one will be quicker

Buggies - we have the P&T got it off Kiddicare.com and price also included a travel cot which is very handy for us.

laura - sorry a medical request and TMI warning, I have had a cough for the past 2 weeks which is driving me insane waking up in night beacuse of it, and my pelvic floor seems to have vanished so leaking badly everytime I do cough, is there anything I can take as I am fed up with feeling like an incontinent bag lady. MW who I saw today, not my usual lovely one, was particularly unhelpful.

hi all. busy day!! the osteopath i went to is now my hero. the proof is in the pudding we'll se how long it lasts but i feel like i lost 2 stone because it's so much easier to move!! it was not cheap (£65) but if it stays feeling this wonderful it was worth every cent.

i managed to shop all afternoon and am still feeling pretty good. h&m mama was rubbish compared to usual but still managed to get a few cute things. plus one or two baby outfits.

the sort of premise of hypnobirthing is that a lot of what we do 'naturally' is actually brainwashed into us (laying flat on our backs, surrounded by bright lights and people you don't know in an unknown environment, pushing, etc.) and that if you take it back to the, um, animal instinct (finding dark, safe corner somewhere and just getting on with it) i guess you could say, your body will expel the baby when it's ready to come out and that's that. it's about working with your body instead of against it, especially the muscles (there are two sets - an outer set with muscles that go around and an inner set with muscles that go up and down). women in a coma have given birth, our hypnobirthing instructor was keen to tell us several times! there's a lot more to it than that but it's def worth a read - it could change the way you think about giving birth.

sorry that was such a novel!!

Hi everyone and welcome Laura

Just been trying to catch up, nothing very exciting happening here, beinging to feeling really fed up big and usless, had to get DH to get my boots off today which made me feel even less capable than my 2yo. I wish we would get some nice weather for slipping sandles on instead of snow humph!

I had a student at my DDs birth it was his first birth and he just stood in the corner I said some awful things and I remember him blushing while gripping onto the wall, afterwards though he was in tears and couldnt thank me enough bless him(I still wonder if his mother new he was out that late) This difference is though I wont be likely to ever see him again and even if I didnt I wouldnt remember though im sure he wont forget me!!!

Im having a big milkyway craving this week.

I phoned for my new blood results and said Iron level was 112 but the MW said if it was over 12 I was ok I dont understand will have to phone her but will keep taking Iron in the mean time.

Sophie - re pelvic floor - my antenatal physio said pelvic floor exercises are the only answer, but you can buy, ahem, devices to help stimulate it - have a look here
Good luck!

Blimey there are a lot of posts today!

Welcome Laura

Goingfor3 - the main reason I am using a doula and hypnosis is becuase I would love to breathe the baby out, rather than push. I think my pelvic floor would thank me for it too!

Neenz - the doula I'm using is a lady called Jenni who teaches yoga at LWH. I'll e-mail her details if you want. Will the paediatricians be in the delivery room whilst you're in labour? I'm interested because I had a paed in the room when DD was born and afterwards the community midwife asked why she (the paed) couldn't have been just outside the door rather than watching me scream. Then I'd have had more privacy for delivering DD, but the paed could still have seen DD within seconds of delivery. I can see that the same argument wouldn't apply whilst you're delivering the 2nd twin though!

Sophie - I have the same problem . Hideous isn't it?

Whinegums - won't be able to look at a Quinny again without smirking!

The easter hat parade went well, although DS2 had removed all the decorations from his hat and given them away as gifts. And DD had a meltdown and ripped the chicks off her hat, leaving yellow fluff behind so it looked like a roadkill bonnet!