Due June - 'I can't remember my own name, let alone where I put the creme eggs...'

[PregnantPenguin]

For those of us with 3 months to go or less....

Morning everyone, Josey sorry to hear about your DH's gran, at least he was at home.

Debs - congratulations on the boy, at least you have some time to get used to the idea.

Libralady - I'll have to join you in having a banana today, was awake with cramp for what seemed like most of the night. Happy Birthday to your DS!

We had our first antenatal class yesterday as well, unlike you Nettie I have come away feeling a lot calmer and reassured about how they do things in our local hospitals. I think it helped that it was my midwife who took last nights class and I like her (so does baby, always kicks loads in the appointments and wouldn't stop last night while she was talking!). We went through labour, pain relief and the birth and next week it will be writing birth plans and looking after baby. It was all very interactive but in a good way and they involved the dads a lot, in fact they had to do most of the interacting! Plus most of the others were due in May or early June and looked massive compared to me, I had been feeling huge before but I guess I have some way to go.

I seem to have gone ebay mad after my success with the moses basket at the weekend, bought a bouncy chair thing yesterday and a breast pump and have bids on loads of things at the moment, I need to be moved away from the computer!

hey everyone, I think the dreaded cramp must be affecting most of us. I was woken up with cramp in my instep last night, it was so painful I was hopping around the room!

I also have the worst pregnancy brain. Yesterday I was looking in the fridge for at least ten minutes trying to find the eggs so I could make toad in the hole for the kids tea, and I eventually realised that I was holding the box in my hand having presumably removed it so that I could look behind for the eggs. What a numpty! Honestly, is everyone else as bad as this? Or is it just me?

Will catch up with messages later but just wanted to go somewhere I could vent off Baby is currently breach and so need to make sure he turns if I want my home birth!! I know he's got plenty of time to move but I seriously want my home birth and am worried this will stop it!!

Does anyone know if breach means you MUST have CS or can you still try for a natural birth?

Hello all, not posted for ages as have been working horrid shifts. Currenly working late evening shifts finishing at 1am so allow myself the luxury of staying in bed for most of the day, also spending a fortune on ebay!
I am also having the breech baby nightmare. At my last scan (28 weeks) baby was breech, so I had a chat with consultant with regards to options if he doesn't turn; they generally shy away from first timers having vaginal deliveries as "the pelvis is unproven". BUT if I were to come in to the unit in established term labour at least 5cm dilated, and baby was in favourable position (head tucked in) then the consultant would attempt vaginal delivery. If I was over term or not in favourable position its straight to c-section. They would also consider ECV (turning the baby) at 37 weeks, but its not always very sucessful.
On the positive side as I am now 30 weeks DH allowed us to go and spend ridiculous sums of money in mothercare at the weekend! so lots of goodies being delivered this week.

Looney - I have it in my head that if there is someone available at the hospital experienced at delivering breech then they will consider giving it a go, otherwise it would be a CS. Not sure where I picked up this info so could be wrong.
Do you have a birthing ball? They told us at the antenatal class last night to sit on one as much as possible to get the baby into the right position, and also to go up and down stairs sideways!

cross post with pyjamarama, I think you know what you are talking about far more than I do!

For optimum positioning I've been told to include being on your hands and knees for 30 minutes a night. DS is thrilled by the amount of time I'm willing to give him horsey rides each evening (better than scrubbing floors anyways).

I talked to my yoga/midwife instructor last week and she said that at 31 weeks there was tons of time for the baby to turn and I should stay hopeful so fingers crossed for all of us. I think my baby may have turned this week but I'm not sure and I'm seeing my midwife today (31w+6) and am very nervous to find out what position this baby is in!

KT and pyjamara - I think Ebay addiction is a pregnancy symptom...! Thanks to Greenfairy I jumped back on it to look at ecoballs and seem to be watching a lot of other items as well right now. (Dh seems to be under the impression we only need one changing bag, not the three I currently have thanks to Ebay...)

Didn't know about going upstairs sideways. MW wasn't concerned about where LO was sitting last week. In all honestly I don't think she could tell due to the extra creme egg padding , hopefully GP will be able to tell me at my next appointment on Thursday.

Mock at Aberdeenhiker - I've told DH that cleaning the floors are his responsibility now, because there's a danger if I go down there I'll never get back up again. (Getting out of the beanbag is a trauma every night, but it's the most comfy place to sit right now).

Having a wierd day today. Feeling quite 'floaty'. Working on autopilot, but feeling a bit spaced out. I wouldn't trust myself to make any big decisions right now...the best way to describe it is it's as if I'd come back from the pub after an overly boozy lunch. Quite enjoying the feeling actually...but DH is feeling the same plus headachey and sicky as is colleague so will enjoy it while I can and hope it doesn't turn into anything worse.

Re breech, I think babies do a lot of moving in the last ten weeks or so. DS was breech until 37 weeks when he turned round on his own. I'm afraid I didn't carry out any hands and knees action either ...

Well saw mw this morning and baby is head down so hopefully will stay that way! Heartrate was about 130 ish so if you go with the old tales it is a boy - but who knows. Ds's heartrate was on the high side so I was convinced he was a girl, so its probably all a load of rubbish.

Looney - friend of mine had a very successful natural birth with breech baby (her DH was most impressed with the size of testicals as they came out first she did also do hypnobirthing which she said helpd and be frim with people. Was a midwife delivery but in hospital. Also if you google Jean Sutton she has loads of positions to aid getting baby in right position and is very useful website for homebirths.

My halo is shining, have paid bills and done loads of paperwork this moening, jujst need half an hour to catch up on receipts and invoices on computer and then I am done. Phoned my MW this morning and she is going to get me a referral for a physio, very painful today and last night as had to walk in town for Dentist and f it up big time.

Hi everyone. Saw the midwife this morning and all seems to be well. Baby is head down - so let's just hope it stays that way! One question I have for you all - what has everyone's decision been on the Group B Strep thing? I really don't know enough about it at all, but the midwife says that it is entirely my decision and won't influence me either way, especially as the local health authority don't offer it as standard. It seems they will give the test to those that specifically ask for it or have specific concerns. Given we are planning a home birth, I would count that as a specific concern, and they would do the test (a swab or urine test) at 36 weeks - but if it comes up positive, they wouldn't allow a home birth and I would be given intra-venous antibiotics during the labour... but if we don't know and we continue with the home birth it doesn't seem that the outcome is guaranteed to be awful...?

Anyone else having this dilema, or indeed had the test... Or does anyone know any good sources of info I could check out... I would be gutted not to be able to have our planned home birth... x

claphamkitten the nhs test is unreliable, it's best to have the private test if you really want to know. www.gbss.org.uk/ should give you all of the info you need to know abut the testing. I was positive with dd1 but not dd2 (both NHS tests) but both girls were unwell after birth despite me having antibiotics in labour. If you are positive and are informed then at least you will know what symptoms to look out for in baby.

Josey, so sorry to hear about your dh's gran.

PP - good idea to put the ebay addiction down to the pregnancy, I just won a fold up change table thing, going to be useful as until we move we won't have much space. Just got to collect it now. I seem to have jumped into bidding on everything today rather than just watching, getting a little carried away!

I am fairly ignorant on the Group B Strep front so will also be interested if anyone finds any useful info out.

thanks for that goingfor3, will have a good look at that site.

Thanks Goingfor3, will check out that website...

I had the private test done last time (and was negative) and will do it again this time for peace of mind. You can do the test yourself so apart from the cost, it's no hassle. But I've always planned on a hospital birth so it wasn't an issue for me. Guess I need to start thinking about that soon - only 4 weeks until I need to do the test!

hi everyone

makecakes - thanks for the email, I'll log on and email you shortly!

josey - sorry about dh's gran but so glad he was home.

Group B strep - I agree that its ridiculous to have to pay. Discussed with my mw and was going to have it done privately but I had some kind of high vaginal swab (sorry if TMI) last year and she said that if I was likely to have GBS it would show up then.

Ebay - Am I the only person who never finds anything interesting on ebay? Am obviously doing something wrong. Contemplating learning a bit more about ebay so I can sell on mat clothes etc, but then part of me thinks that charity shops etc have really struggled with getting donations with the increase in popularity of ebay etc, so I like to do my bit and give stuff away rather than sell. I might change my mind once maternity pay kicks in though .

ktpie am interested in the foldaway changing table, do you know anywhere that actually sells them in the shops/online? After all my searching there wasn't anything suitable (at a reasonable price) that I can use on top of a set of drawers and dont have space for changing table so if anyone sees anything like that in the shops please let me know.

Re: scrubbing on all fours - according to my NCT teacher, women rarely had problems with positioning because they spent so much time doing hard labour housework i.e. on their knees scrubbing floors etc. I'm a bit obsessed about cleaning skirting boards so hopefully that will help keep the LO in the right position .

I'll do the private test too and if it comes back positive and I can't have my home birth, then I suppose it isn't the end of the world, I just don't want to take any chances.

Don't know what position mine is lying in at the moment. I guess I will ask next time I see the MW

Dramaqueen, the change table I am getting is a white steel folding frame with strong blue material stretched over the top (the frame locks so the material doesn't sag when you put the baby on it) and pockets at the side, not the most attractive thing but practical! As far as I know Ikea used to do them but have stopped selling them, I tried to find something similar online but had no luck. They come up on ebay fairly regularly but are heavy so are usually collection only, I've been looking for a while and eventually one came up locally, it's cost me £6.50. It might well be rubbish but it looked like it was worth a try with our limited space, hopefully will be picking it up in the next few days so will let you know what it looks like in the flesh!

Hi all,
Bug is also breech at the mo - or was at last mw appt. I've not felt any massive movements and am pretty sure there is a head forcing my ribs up, so will have to get GP to check on friday. I figure there is still quite a lot of time for him/her to move around, although not a lot of space!
Alos, I have just bought the pushchair and car seat - Britax Vigour 3+ - Thanks to whoever it was that recommended it - i wasn't even looking at it previously and now we own one (but have to wait for delivery)!

I had GBS last time and had IV antibiotics in labour. I have a big GBS sticker on my notes but I don't want to have ABs if there's a chance that I don't have GBS. I'll probably get the private test done and see what that says, although every time I've been tested in the past 7 years (about 5 times) I've been positive.

I think the advice is that if you've tested positive AND have no other risk factors (eg prolonged rupture of membranes, high temp in labour, premature labour) then you should merely be OFFERED antibiotics, not encouraged to have them. A quick, straightforward labour without lots of prodding around (all of which I'm hoping for) will reduce the risk further. So I'm really dithering about whether to have the ABs at all if the test comes back positive. Keep changing my mind.

Josey - I'm very sorry about your DH's grandmother.

Thanks for all your help/opinions... have been resaearching this Group B Strep business all morning. I have spoken to a friend of mine who is a doctor and she says that her advice would be not to have the test as Group B Strep comes
and goes. For eg, if your swab is positive at the 36 week test, it may actually be negative on day of delivery. And, as it takes about 3 days to process the swab,
even if you had it done on the day of labour you wouldn't have the results
back in time for delivery. However, as Rolf says, medical advice is that once you have tested positive once for group b strep you will always be treated as a
positive case, so that means hospital delivery and iv antibiotics for each and
every delivery you have even though it may be unnecessary for that birth.

Having read up about it, it does seem that neonatal Group B Strep infection is actually very rare, so - a lot to think about... and so many seemingly enormous decisions.

Anyway, hope all that helps people a bit... x

www.rcog.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=1400

Here's a link to a useful leaflet on the above...