Due June 08 - Creme egg season is over, summer is now here, so time to tidy the ladygarden before the big day

[bitofadramaqueen]

I wonder how quickly we'll get through this thread?!?!?!?!

Guests from tomorrow until Monday morning, which is good, paying for holiday.

Hello! I'm having a rare moment of me time
After a crappy few days with this cold, DD is at nursery this am (she goes 2 ams/week) and for the first time I am not swimming/ running around a DIY store/ cleaning the house.

Feels nice to sit around and catch up with all the posts... keep wondering what I really ought to be doing!

Gemmalou- could you be one of the first to hold your babe. V envious, good choice of names BTW. I have a friend who's diabetic and she's fed up with all the monitoring etc. She's PG with baby 2 now, 1st babe is a toddler, so it's not got in her way!

Deb- hope goes well and you get a nice few days away- good idea.

LOL about vertical stripes Ernest. It will be a jelly belly summer here too- esp as I've eaten way more than a 7-8lb baby can justify!! Always wanted to be invited to a wedding around the 7th month of PG so I could buy a posh dress and not have to suck anything in. Went to Australia 2 months after DD1 was born and look really round bellied in all the photos.

Question about BF tops- anyone tried/ bought any nice ones? I did buy one after DD1 but sent it back as the fabric was quite thin on top and the "slits" underneath just highlighted my swollen boobs better than any beacon could have done. Not the effect I was looking for!
Essie3 let me know what you find...

ktpie - what type of science are you in? I'm working in the ocean sciences in a government laboratory.

10.5 more days of work to go for me! (Ignoring how much I need to get done before then...)

oh and josey - what a pain about the fog! I hope it clears later on this afternoon and your DH gets a window to get off. For my DH last week it was a mechanical breakdown of the chopper - it's so frustrating when they say they're coming home and then they can't!

HI everyone

Still awake - just!! Drs appointment went OK, but I do miss the Midwives in the UK, the gynae is so uninterested really, he does the basic medical stuff, checked position of cervix, scanned baby, estimated weight at moment about 6lbs and that was it, no chat, no discussion about the birth, etc... So the next step for me is to turn up at the hospital 2 weeks before my due date, wait for someone to see me and that's it - no registering beforehand. I asked what to do if I went into labour beforehand - just go to the hospital was his reply.

BUT - he did say there was no reason for us to go away next week, he could see no sign of imminent birth, so better book somewhere now!!

Off for an ice cream now - hot here today too.

Hope everyone's OK

deb - great that you can get your vacation in at least! My midwife never does internal checks - last time I went my whole pregnancy without one. Has anyone else had any here in the UK?

I'm under 30 too! (only just though!)still born in the 70s.... [disco emoticon]

16 more days of work for me

DH starting to be more panicked than me, he asked me three times yesterday if I'd packed my bag yet (no) and twice if I thought my lower back pain was labour (no)! Think he's feeling guilty because he's going to a conference in Sweden for the weekend and leaving me at home!

They seem very keen on internal checks here, but the chairs with the stirrups are tricky when you're so big and unwieldy.

under 30 - hah , nearly 40!!

I've not even seen the stirrups (except in movies )... no internal checks here (yet)

none here either! routine check in my neck of the woods is BP, doppler for foetal heart beat, palpation of foetal position and measuring length.

Hi

Debs, flashing your lady garden in chair with stirrups! Have fun sorting your holiday!

I had no internal checks last time until the end (the rationale is infection control). THey try and avoid doing too many of them in labour as well, though I was talking to my doula this morning and we agreed that I needed to have them as I managed to dilate from 1 cm to 10 cm without anyone noticing. (Epidural)

ooh, I can hear an ice-cream van going down the road!

Josey, sorry your husband's having trouble getting back

No internals, apart from when I went to the hospital last week with cramping pains. ['Do they feel like contractions?' 'How the *&%$ would I know!!]
Hair is looking good today (didn't yesterday) and am going to go out, buy an ice cream (flake cornetto thing), flash my bump in the sunshine. Not feeling so bad about bigness today (thanks for positive comments, folks), but I'm wearing a different top so don't look like a tank. (It clings a lot to my bum which DH says is still 'extremely pert', and I don't give a toss if he's lying because for once bottom is smaller than belly...)
Peartart - went to a wedding last weekend. Not ideal, because I wore clingy for the first time in ages, kept doing double takes at mirrors, and was jealous of all the slinky dresses. And the shoooooes - couldn't even manage a pair of decent heels with my cankles! Didn't help that I'm too poor {stingy} to buy a dress. I'm mainly wearing tesco and secondhand.
And extra extra large after the ice cream...

my birth plan asks for more internal checks during labour - I want to know how I'm going so that i can decide about pain relief... I think it might also be a dignity thing - but I really didn't care about that last time!

Hello, quick post before I head off to the exam. It's not for ages but I haven't driven to the place before so I'd rather get there in plenty of time and have a cuppa/ice lolly.

Dont get me started on fat feet again. Mine were HUGE last night. They were ok-ish when I woke up this morning but expanding already. However, I must have been leaning on the foot of my chair as there is now a huge dent in one foot . It looks very very odd.

I actually dont know what shoes I'll be able to wear to go back to work in tomorrow . I finish two weeks on Friday, but only 10 days work in total (not counting 2.5 days of time off for ante-natal classes/appointments). OMG I'm nearly finished work for 9 months. Eeek!

Hello all, what with Debs and Gemma chatting away in the early hours no wonder it takes forever to catch up!!!

H&M - have a set of 2 basic b/f tops for £15, one black, one white - picked those up last week. Nowt fancy, but thought they would do the trick, and could also wear in hospital with jammy bottoms - they're sleeveless, and I'm expecting the hospital to be boiling!

Oh, and I finally got some nighties that aren't too frou frou, have cartoon characters, etc etc - Mothercare of all places, don't know why I just didn't go there first! Pack of two, button fronts - here

Loving the weather but was too hot yesterday! Dressed slightly more appropriately today, but horrified at myself to be wearing sandals without any polish on my toes!!!! Can't reach to do them, so have booked a pedicure for this afternoon.

And now the sun's out, I feel Frappucinos, with cream of course, are very much justified.

Haven't had any internal checks either, not complaining about the lack of them - I'm sure my nethers will be getting inspected quite enough in a few weeks time by complete strangers....

no word from Neenz on how she got on with her appt yesterday.... wonder if she's produced the twins yet?!

DQ - Good luck with the exam!

Aberdeen - I work in biopharmaceutical research so pretty different to what you do I guess. Glad there is another scientist on here!

Whinegums - I got my DH to paint my toenails, I can just about reach them but can't stay in the right position for long enough to paint them, he did a surprisingly good job!

I've just had internals when I went to the hospital with bleeding. Stirrups would have been useful then, they didn't seem to have any equipment other than a speculum and a torch!

So far, fingers crossed, my feet have remained their normal size, now I've said that they are sure to blow up like balloons this afternoon!

Yes, Neenz is missing! She might be in labour!! Is she the first here?
Glad I'm not the only one with feet issues. Like DQ (hope it goes well, btw), mine were already going up this morning. Internet said have them higher than your heart, but can't see the TV or type like that... DH massaged, with Sanctuary foot souffle, and we've put it in the fridge for later too. (Looks like there's double meaning there but my main excitement these days is eating icecream and, er, having a good poo.) Toes already looking like little chippolatas! At least I had a ped last week.
Whinegums - those nighties are nice!

Scientists - pah. I'm a medieval historian. Anyone else? We can then talk about medieval preg and birth, and the wonderful medieval season on BBC 4.

Just having a look at maternity/nursing nightwear, why oh why do they make them with Disney characters on the front? Who buys them? (sorry to anyone who has a winnie the pooh nightie)

Essie - what sort of medieval history do you do? Do you teach as well or solely research? I have a history degree and DH used to be a medieval historian

Splodgesmum - I'm going to do the private test for GBS as soon as I've worked up the courage/energy to do my 3 nights of garlic pessaries . Otherwise the hospital will assume I have GBS and whilst I don't mind having the antibiotics if I need them I really don't want to have them if I don't have GBS. I find the whole NHS policy on GBS very inconsistent and illogical, I must say. It seems to be finance/policy driven rather than anything more clinically reassuring.

I have entered the Father Jack stage of my pregnancy - where I want to grouch and swear at everyone. The doula came round today and made me feel so much more relaxed and happy. The "deal" with her is that she does 2 ante natal visits but she's coming every week at the moment - I'm so pleased I've booked her.

AberdeenH - my birth plan is the opposite - it says no VEs to assess progress.

I'm hoping to use the birthing pool and stupidly rather setting my heart on it. I've wanted to try each time and never managed to.
DS1 - induced so not allowed
DS2 - got to hospital minutes before baby arrived so no time
DD - induced

essie - ohhh - medieval history sounds so interesting. I love my science but I'm well aware of it's power to lull others to sleep! (Even my DH has never read any of my publications). Bring on the stories about medieval births!

whinegums - I've bought the same nighties from mothercare! I ordered them on the internet and they should arrive today hopefully along with the last bits and bobs for my hospital bag.

Hi Rolf,
I specialize in medieval Welsh lit and history, in particular law (I have a book out). I'm a lecturer at Bangor, currently in the Welsh dept but having major problems and basically I've left!! So currently doing research but actually doing more on mumsnet...!!

Re GBS - I'm also well confused on this one. Where can I get the test, and is it worth it (gut instinct is yes, because I want a healthy baby and no complications). What's with the garlic pessaries?

PearTart
I think my baby wont be long now growing at the rate she is ! Thanks I think paige is a nice different name. Yes it is a lot of monitoring it drives you nuts I have to check my blood sugar 6 times a day! That?s good to know diabetes has not stopped her having children and that that is peace of mind I keep worrying incase it is affecting my baby!

A lot of you mention swollen body parts I have not had this happen. I do seem to be coming out in a rash but im wondering if that?s the heat due to it being so warm the past few days..

Question for everyone if I have not done a birth plan and I go to give birth will they just ask me my preferences there and then??

Oh about the under 30 thing i am in this im 22

Rolf - garlic pessaries - interesting! The GBS thing does my head in. At our hospital if your waters have broken and you don't go into labour within 18 hours, they give you IV antibiotics anyway - can't say I'd be too pleased about that. If it's as dangerous as the hospital want to make me believe, then why don't they screen for it, rather than just dishing out the abs?

I want to use the birthing pool too, but am keeping my expectations low - there's only one so it's first come first served - I'm fully expecting it to be in use, and going to try not to be too disappointed.

Aberdeen, I've also ordered a few other bits from Mothercare - feeling v prepared now. God, am I really going to have a baby soon ??!!! Still haven't completely got my head around it all....