Due April 2008 - Spring Lambs and April Fools

[PortAndLemon]

Previous thread here.

Sorry need to vent about pre-labour.... I am so fed up, had show last week, contractions on and off nothing significant but annoying,can't get comfortable, feet sore and swollen, even managed to rip a sock trying to squeeze my foot into it today!!!!! I have had that nesting instinct going crazy and just feeling generally yuk! Arrrgggg, I have had enough. At 36+6 I think it is time this baby came out!

welcome aussiediva the more the merrier

Pinapples, curries, walking, sex, bouncing on gym ball - goodluck rainbowdays

Hey aussiediva - welcome to the thread we're an all-inclusive bunch so don't worry about the late arrival

DSD woke us up at 6.30 this morning wanting to invite us to her teddy bear's wedding. And then when we said, no, not at 6.30 in the morning she went into her room and 'played' her guitar and sang loudly. She is lucky to still be alive.
Is not like her really - she usually is quite sensible and leaves us til we wake up at weekends, which is only about 8.30. Think this may have been a bit of attention-seeking as we went on a 'labour ward tour' yesterday and there was a lot of baby talk. Still, this is NOT the way to express it. She knows it now too [mean step-mummy emoticon]

RD know the feeling, have been there a few weeks (38 weeks today, although scan on Thursday suggested EDD of 28th).

P8neapples- you'd need to eat 7, apaprently. gym ball makes this one feel low down when i use it,a nd got him from transverse into ceph PDQ. DS3 is a 4th generation rhubarb baby! Seriously- tis the family remedy, i'm one meself.

Crumbs rainbowdays! Has anyone given you any indication of how long they'll let you go on like that?

I'm sooooooo tired today. I had about 11 hours sleep last night so have no reason to be . Must go out and get some fresh air soon.

PFJ - our antenatal teacher told us that the "right" time for your waters to go are just before birth. As a rule they can go anytime but if you went through a text book labour, that's how it would go. So that might account for the stats?

On car seats, we have isofix but only because non isofix just don't work in our car. It has moulded seats (it's a laguna) and anything non isofix is completely unsafe as it doesn't sit firmly on the seat.

Toast - you might have to keep that in mind if you go for non isofix then get a new car after.

I vouch for the base being the best invention ever (not necessarily isofix - just any base). It's so quick to get the infant seat in and out.

Also, I personally think isofix is a bit of a rip off. It's meant to be safer which is fair enough (although saying that, non isofix is safe too as long as it's properly fitted) but you have to buy a new base for the bigger seat which makes it very expensive. You'd think they could make a single base that the various seats fit into!!

Welcome Aussie btw

My waters never gone before labour- when they go I know I have less than 20 minutes left to go. had a small show 4 weeksbefore ds3 but that replenished and I tend to get that well into labour as well. Have ahd many discussions with MW about right time to call her out- I have to as soon as contractions are regular, then she'll call her colleague out when needed (she's anticipating fast progress- I'm not so sure). Everyone at the hospital seems to be looking forwards to this HB. But DH still ahsn't put that crib together . Everything else ready- even (organic LOL- won it in MN comp at Christmas) champagne in fridge... but no bed. Seems to bea abed theme going on here, ds1 wrecked something like his 4th bed last night - how does a lightweight, shortarsed 8 year old manage that?

I look terrible this morning- really ill, but feel fine, just puffy. Know its nothing dangerous (had all the tests Thursday when i looked the same) but a balaclava would be well advised atm!

Oh and have had final meeting with Doula pre-deliver- gulp!

Car seats- infant carriers get far too heavy ridiculously quickly imo, we pop ours in the car and then it doesn't come out again until we upgrade to the next size! Unless we had a travel system I wouldn't bother about ease of removal tbh.

Hi AussieDiva - I live a LONG way away in Aberdeen but know Chiswick and Putney very well. I was a rower in my past life so have spent many years up and down the road for events - in fact it was the head of the river race this weekend!! Connecting you two together .

On waters breaking, of course the number of people who have text book labour/birth is probably tiny too. In fact I've heard of lots of people who've gone around for days and even weeks with their waters broken before labour starts.

The car seat/buggy thing is so difficult I think. You almost need a couple of months to work out how you're going to use your stuff, then you can decide what's best for you. Of course - you don't get that!

We had a travel system but never used it, however we did have DD's car seat in and out of the house a lot. It saved us waking her when she fell asleep in the car - it was easier to transfer her the short distance from seat to bed once it was in the house iyswim.

Hey PortandLemon, great to see you're in Putney, not far at all must check out the West London group. Know what you mean about tired - I'm getting so little sleep at the moment with baby being so active. I even started googling to see whether there was anything to be concerned about if baby is "too" active, yikes. Hi RainbowDays...it's this myth about having a show that causes all the bloody trouble. Some women go into labour with hours of a show and some are stuck waiting for weeks. I had unexpected bleeding last Tuesday with what looked like a clot, and the hospital could give me no explanation...so I stupidly convinced myself it was a bloody show and ever since have been on my toes with every braxton hicks, expecting to go into labour imminently. Ha! With my first I ate pineapple every day, drank raspberry leaf tea constantly (yuk), had a vindaloo or two, tried having sex (now that was funny!)and still went two weeks overdue. It was having two sweeps in a three days that finally got the little cutie to come out. Really hope you don't have to wait too long, it's these last few weeks that seem to take the longest to pass.
As for waters breaking, I literally popped mine myself as I was pushing baby out - I felt what I thought was the baby's head and it was a massive bubble...

The West London group hangs out on Mumsnet Local for Richmond, if you can track that down .

Hmm... O&C boat race will be 29 March this year... wonder if I'll make it?

Me too - I watched from the banks of The White Hart last year, beer in hand...suspect not this time round!

Oh I've never been to the O&C boat race - it's just too far to travel just to watch. I bet it's amazing on the banks though. I had a friend who was in the Cambridge/Goldie crew a few times.

There are a few Aberdeen crews racing in the veteran head today too.

NEMummy, I was in Aberdeen for only a few days back in 1999 when I was going out with a lovely Scottish boy called Charlie. (Hmm, still have a soft spot for that one.) Loved the old part of town, but it was, perhaps unsurprisingly, freezing! Being from Oz there is only so much cold I can stand! I alsways liked the idea of being a rower, but think the early mornings would kill me. I love watching the boats on the river tho.

We're only in Putney because DH used to be a rower, so was looking for a good rowing area to move to fifteen years ago. Then work promptly got in the way and he's not done any rowing since long before I met him . Maybe the DCs will get into it and he can take it up again as a veteran...

Hi Assiediva - welcome

Shame so many of us suffering these last few weeks, although part of me is glad that I am not alone in it, as it makes me feel less bad about whinging about it!

Car seats - we don't have posh car with isofix, so that means less options for us anyway. But have to put up with travel system baby seat for first nine months before my dd is old and big enough to move into booster seat like her older brother, and then baby can have the forward facing seat then. Still at least I am not having to go out and buy new carseats

Waters breaking - with my ds had long slow labour culminating in epidural and they decided to break the waters manually to try to speed things up a bit. But with dd it was literally a couple of minutes before she crowned and I was pushing that I felt the waters go. I hope that it happens again this time for me. But I have put a protective sheet on the bed this time just in case, as it is a brand new bed!

Peachy - what does rhubarb do?!!?!

Northeastmummy - I had 5 days of pre-labour with my dd, before she finally made a move, but it can go on for weeks ...... I hope not for any of us this time!

Welcome AussieDiva! I'm in SW London so not that far.

I'm 36 weeks today and feeling ok probably as I slept 10 hours (although I did have to get up about 5 times- damn achy hips!)

Chipmonkey:I know what you mean about thinking you couldn't love your own more than your niece. I adore my niece and nephew and still find it hard to think that I will love my own even more although by all accounts that's exactly what will happen!

Rainbow: Sounds like you're having a tough day! You're term in just a few days so you can start eating and drinking all the things that can help bring on labour!

Your waters can actually never break and the baby can come out nicely padded and they break them then. If there is no reason to break them before they don't have to. It(s rare though because if they suspect there is meconium in the waters or anything like that they will break them before.

RD rhubarb seems to bring on labour, I think probably in the same way as an enema LOL

Rhubarb? Will rhubarb and custard sweets do or do I have to eat a lot of it?

PAL Did you know something about expressing colustrum if you have GD?
Misdee wants some advice here

I'm 36 weeks today and so I've started on raspberry leaf tea. not the nicest tea I've even taster

You can get capsules instead...

I'm confused - thought you were supposed to start on the raspberry leaf tea/pills at 34 weeks? I've got the pills and was planning on starting them tomorrow - but I don't want to be taking them too early, so if someone could let me know when is the best time to start taking, that would be great!

Welcome, Aussiediva!
Agree with Molly, Hate raspberry leaf tea and with a planned CS have no intention of drinking it!
LOL at pineapple, my work colleague went mad for it when she was pg and she went well-overdue so didn't seem to work for her!

Mum2b, research says any time after 32- 24 weeks, building up to 3 doses a day- i'm on the holland and barratt capsules! drink really does taste yeech. Think even if you just had it at end though it would be worth it, with ds3 I was a week late and started taking capsules then- baby with us in 24 hpurs.