Due Sept '08: We're halfway there part 2....

[LittleConnie]

Come on over!

Ive had a great weekend and the sun is still shining

im of to wellie park this pm so the kids can have a good run around and enjoy the sun.

this naming thing is really hard we cant think of anything we like.

cant believe how lovely the weather is, summer is here yay!! just been to drs who signed me off for another week, thank god, I get breathless just walking up the stairs, don't know how I would cope with a 13hour shft. luckily he was sympathethetic, puts your faith back in the health service love to all LO kicking away... aw cute!!

i think i'm carrying a baby octopus.

Hi all - adding myself to the latest list. Must also add myself to the sex list at some point with my little girl.

It's funny we've already started calling her by her chosen name - can't wait to meet her. I realy hope the scanner got it right as it will be a total shock now if it's a boy. Got the 4d scan in a few weeks though so we can check then.

I had quite bad birth experience last time so have decided to go for CS this time.

Also the infection that kept me off work for so long seems to be coming back! I'm supposed to try and spit in a bottle and take it to the hospital so they can study it, but I'm having problems getting the phlegm off the back of my throat (sorry if tmi).

I'm also having back problems and leg cramping in the night. Back problem is from a car accident I had 10 years ago but which flares up occasionally. I can usually get rid of the pain via pilates exercises but these involve bending double so can't do those at the moment.

Finally - I know this is a marathon post - re. NCT. I've contact my local branch and they are currently contacting the teachers to determine when my course will be. They've got my registration form though and I'm on the list.

Womb - Home
Mustsleep - Home (hopefully)
LouiseAnn - hospital
Carrieon - hospital (waterbirth if pool is free)
EandZ - Hospital (with lots of drugs).
Sassafrass - Hospital either vbac or c-section
Ellideb- Home and waterbirth
Lollyheart - hospital waterbirth (gbs)
Barnpot - hospital waterbirth NO EPIDURAL!!
Splishsplosh - prefer MLU at hospital, but bet have to do general labour ward. Hope no epidural
Meglet - planned c-section (but would have home birth if cervix wasn't broken!)
slinkie - hospital, no epidural. NO CFM please!
LittleConnie - Birth Centre, hopefully with access to birthing pool
Talia1 - birth centre with birth pool
izzybiz- Hospital, would love waterbirth!
Lollipopmother - Hospital (first baby)
jearund - Hospital (planned c-section unless consultant talks me into a VBAC!)
DebitheScot- hospital, no pethadin
digitalgirl - hospital, waterbirth if poss
Gracie14 - Birth centre with pool (hopefully)
Sunshinemummy - hospital birth, Elective CS

ok so everyone who is getting signed off work what are you saying when you go to the doc? do ask for how long you want to be signed off

i am going tomorrow i think unless work surprises me which i sincerely doubt
and i am always scared to ask for a sick note becuase i feel for some stupid reason like i am lying or trying to skive must go back to beong at school or something!!

Ooh, a list I can add myself to!

For anyone who is wavering about home birth vs hospital birth. If you are interested in drug free birth, you're much more likely to achieve it by staying away from hospital. Just by going in your risk of intervention goes up massively. One way of looking at it is, that the recommendation is to stay at home as long as possible anyway, and if all is going well you can just stay put. And if you need intervention you can be whisked into hospital anyway.

Obviously it's not an option for everyone, and also not what everyone would want, and if you're after drugs - good for you for knowing your own mind!!! But for me I wish I'd thought about it a bit more seriously first time round (had dd1 in hospital, dd2 at home).

Still two and a half weeks till my scan and the next and probably final chance to glimpse pidge junior before september/october. What a thought!

Womb - Home
Mustsleep - Home (hopefully)
LouiseAnn - hospital
Carrieon - hospital (waterbirth if pool is free)
EandZ - Hospital (with lots of drugs).
Sassafrass - Hospital either vbac or c-section
Ellideb- Home and waterbirth
Lollyheart - hospital waterbirth (gbs)
Barnpot - hospital waterbirth NO EPIDURAL!!
Splishsplosh - prefer MLU at hospital, but bet have to do general labour ward. Hope no epidural
Meglet - planned c-section (but would have home birth if cervix wasn't broken!)
slinkie - hospital, no epidural. NO CFM please!
LittleConnie - Birth Centre, hopefully with access to birthing pool
Talia1 - birth centre with birth pool
izzybiz- Hospital, would love waterbirth!
Lollipopmother - Hospital (first baby)
jearund - Hospital (planned c-section unless consultant talks me into a VBAC!)
DebitheScot- hospital, no pethadin
digitalgirl - hospital, waterbirth if poss
Gracie14 - Birth centre with pool (hopefully)
Sunshinemummy - hospital birth, Elective CS
pidge - home waterbirth

Hello ladies! The bank holiday went well for me, I now have the nursery all set up apart from the cot, which Parcel Force managed to send back to Ikea even though they hadn't held it for the allotted 2 weeks. But the rest of it is all ready now, I painted 2 weeks ago, this weekend the curtains and boarder went up, my partner made the furniture and all the teddies etc have been put on their respective shelves! Now I just want that ruddy cot and it's all done! I've been buying all sorts off ebay for the nursery, all in Zeddy and Parsnip (which is why it's coming off ebay and not direct from Mamas and Papas - i'm not made of money!!).

My mum came round and of course had to do the 'ohhhh you're brave, I couldn't get anything ready because I would jinx it' and the 'I hope you've kept the receipts'. As if we'd just send all the furniture back because something went wrong with the pregnancy, surely just shutting the door on the nursery until the next time would be a better tactic, stupid woman.

Oh and when I say 'drug free' you do of course have gas and air at home - unless you're like me and call the midwives too late second time round and they don't get time to open up the cannister!

lol pidge

i hated the g and a with ds just made me feel like i was drunk and in pain which was awful although i think that things were just generally easier the 2 nd time arounf anyway

Would love to have home birth but not allowed cos of family history (high bp and ges diabetes)

20wk scan tomorrow though, so v exciting!

I'm getting knots of cramps in my tummy when I turn over in bed (a bit like leg cramps). Assume this is nothing to worry about & just ligament pain? (No other symptoms)

Womb - Home
Mustsleep - Home (hopefully)
LouiseAnn - hospital
Carrieon - hospital (waterbirth if pool is free)
EandZ - Hospital (with lots of drugs).
Sassafrass - Hospital either vbac or c-section
Ellideb- Home and waterbirth
Lollyheart - hospital waterbirth (gbs)
Barnpot - hospital waterbirth NO EPIDURAL!!
Splishsplosh - prefer MLU at hospital, but bet have to do general labour ward. Hope no epidural
Meglet - planned c-section (but would have home birth if cervix wasn't broken!)
slinkie - hospital, no epidural. NO CFM please!
LittleConnie - Birth Centre, hopefully with access to birthing pool
Talia1 - birth centre with birth pool
izzybiz- Hospital, would love waterbirth!
Lollipopmother - Hospital (first baby)
jearund - Hospital (planned c-section unless consultant talks me into a VBAC!)
DebitheScot- hospital, no pethadin
digitalgirl - hospital, waterbirth if poss
Gracie14 - Birth centre with pool (hopefully)
Sunshinemummy - hospital birth, Elective CS
pidge - home waterbirth
imoscarsmum - hospital, waterbirth if pool free. Hoping for active birth & avoid epidural.

Re: the baby having hiccups, what does that feel like exactly, just lots of kicks in quick succession?

lollipop they feel like lots of little 'pulses', my bumps' hiccups are about 15 seconds apart and last for a few minutes.

mine is getting hiccups too. I hadn't twigged what it was until meglet mentioned then yest. Pulses is a good way to describe it

Are the pulses strong or quite weak?

quite strong and quite low down in the middle (but that'll be more about the way it's lying)

lollipop - it's very obvious when it happens - regular little pulses is a good description. There can be a few seconds in between. It's also a good chance for your partner to feel the baby, as you can bet on another 'hiccup' coming along soon!

pidge thats a good point about if you're near the drugs you're more likely to use them so I'll try and tell myself they're not there! For us, we don't have any money to spend on things the nhs provides, and I really want a waterbirth so rather than hire a pool that would fill our rather small house, we're heading to hospital to use theirs like I did last time. (and as previously mentioned the blood soaked bed sheets can be their problem ). The room with the pool in is very different from a normal delivery suite, so if I can persuade myself I'm at home then perhaps I won't want drugs (except the glory that is g&a). I only screamed for an epidural last time coz they wouldn't let me push; once they realised the baby really was coming I didn't have the epidural, and I absolutely loved pushing dd out. It was amazing to do something positive with the contractions and work with them and feel her coming down the birth canal and delivering her. The memory of that will hopefully be my motivation to stay clear of an epidural this time if I think its all getting a bit much.

It is so gloriously sunny here, I have the washing out for the first time this year which gives me a lovely happy feeling which is ridiculous but perhaps just proves that SAHM really was the best career choice. Just need to persuade someone to give me some maternity leave and money

Mine gets lots of hiccups too. I really like it.

oooh ooooh ooooh our phil and teds arrives tomorrow and i think my new swimsuit might arrive today!! toooooo exciting!

sorry that thing about 'not having the money to buy what the nhs provides' was not meant to be a dig - we don't have the cash (probably due to buying a phil and teds...), but equally I don't want a homebirth anyway! One of my friends is saving up for a private midwife and water homebirth so I know how important it can be.

carrieon - I think it's much easier to resist second time round when you know what's going on and what your body is likely to do. The pool room sounds lovely. And that's a very good point about hiring the pool. It's so expensive isn't it? I'm lucky that I think we can do it - also I think my homebirth team have one, but it may not be free and I want to be absolutely sure I get to leap in the water like I did last time. Though again I left it far too late, fooled by my first labour into thinking I probably had days left to go!!!

Do the hospital allow first timers to do water births? I quite like the sound of it.

lollipopmother - yes definitely. There are some guidelines about not getting in too early, but otherwise, definitely an option. And I can't recommend it enough - whether it's just for labouring, or for the birth as well.

Afternoon all... just wondered if the first-timers had spotted this great thread for hot tips on birth and immediately after