Due July 2008 thread - The Final Stretch!

[LikerabbitsBX]

Just thought I would start a new thread! x

If only isaidno if only

Last time I was still awake with acid reflux at 12ish, went downstairs at 1.05am (remember it well) to take some Gaviscon and milk, had first contraction in the kitchen, DP was down for the second and I was hanging over the dining room chair, he phoned MW. DD2 born at 4am dead on, DD1 slept through the whole thing, woke at 6.30am DP took her downstairs for milk then she came up and met her new sister (photo on profile).

Apparently if you are anxious about going into labour at a certain time your body won't let you until it feels you are ready, thats why most babies are born at night it's an old survival thing, less predators around at night. I am so hoping this one is born at night.

Well so much for having a whole bed to myself, a little person came in at 20 to 12 saying "Mummy can I sleep with you cos Daddy isn't here?" so that was that, other little person was crying at 6 this morning so she came in too and fell asleep.

Morning all,

Did way to much yesterday and paying for it now! Back is in bits! well moving beds is one thing a pregnant lady should not do i suppose!! At least rooms are now sorted..

I hope i go in the night, not looking like i will as i was induced with both DD.. DD1 labour was quicker than DD2!!

Sunshine here so off to hang out the washing.. tons of cloths today as i found sooooo much to wash yesterday..

sweetkitty that labour sounds lovely
my last labour was 31 hours from start to finish i have a problem i have the contractions but i do not dilate

childcare is non existent here when it happens to me i have no one at all my DH could be anywhere in the country so when ith happens il have to ring him and just wait all the DC will be with me to

i am booked for an elective c-section but tbh im not sure im going to get that far
i was carrying quite high but my bump is very low now and heavy

i am packing my bags this weekend just incase

isaidno my DH could be up to 8 hours away driving time ive got no chance of help
no parents no in laws well to put it easier no family whatsoever apart from my DC

sk and cilc

yes i guess these things are all related what we are suffering

last night it was so so painful i just cried in bed the pain at night is relentless and very sharp pain nothin eases it if i get stuck in the wrong position

i have a scan next week theres no way i can lie flat on the bed do you think they will let me half sit up im goig to feel sucha idiot if i get stuck on the bed as my right side just clickes whn lying flat immense pain and i cant move for ages

Pigleychez - I know, we're so lucky here to have a fantastic midwife unit where they even have 2 pools to hire out for homebirth. All the midwives are very experienced, very pro water and homebirth although will support you whatever your choice. Just got the b/f award status (sorry can't remember what it's called!)And this is the unit our PCT keep trying to close...hmmm.
SK - will be thinking of you and keeping everything crosse that your labour starts at the 'right time'! Nightmare.
clic - hope you are feeling better today...
right am going to try and drag myself off to get ready and go to toddler group with dd..

Disney - on the childcare, it just more worry to think about is'nt it and hoping it comes at the right time.. Explain in the hospital that you cant lie flat, i'm sure they can scan you semi flat

On childcare we should be ok as family is all around.. All the inlaws seem to have booked holidays near the time i am due but mum is 15 mins away so all good. Inlaws can stay gone as all they do is comment on kids, house, me, the whole lot!!

Anyone eles find there eating less???????

CiliC it all sounds very complicated and as if no one is really sure what goes on down there. There was one point where the physio said oh well it might just be ordinary pregnancy aches and I was, it's not an ache its a pain and it's a painful pain and I was sent here by the midwife not off my own bat. Whilst I might moan and whine to my DH all the time about being pregnent I only tend to mention things to professionals when I am actually in pain. This could lead into a rant about pregnancy being a wonderful and natural state but really if it was why the hell don't our bodies cope better with it? This is the 21st century you would have thought we would have devised a more civilised way of propagating the human race. *breathes. Anyway.

purplejennyrose - glad you have decided on a birth plan to suit you!

Minkus- "DS wasn't amazingly fast (4 hours from first contraction) " If I have a 4 hour labour I will be very very happy!!!

Butterfly/SK/DS - must be quite stressful not knowing what to do with DC during labour and stress is what you don't need. Hope you manage to find some suitable arrangements.

Minnie1 - not sure about eating less but seem to be eating less per meal/snack but think I have just upped the numbers of meal/snacks. Saying that I have only put 1lb on in the last 5 weeks (however I put on tons in the first 6 months!)

Sorry for you all with PGP.Just backache and general aches and pains bad enough.

A quick labour does sound good but maybe not after listening to some of your stories. I absolutely would have noone to look after DC's and DH could be non contactable for hours as has to turn his mobile off for several hours at a time at work. Parents and ILs 4 hours away. Trying not to panic too much.

What will you do Disney if DH can't get back in time? My first labour was LONG - 36 hours - which would give plenty of time. Just like you I cas contracting every but not dilating. 2nd labour 6 hours start to finish so anything could happen this time.

Had hospital tour yesterday. They are building a midwife led unit attached to hospital which was supposed to be finished 19th May. Perfect solutiona as more relaxed etc but in hospital in case of emergencies. Guess what - not finished yet! It may be by July but they don't know (ie it won't be) which means that the old maternity unit will have to do - but it is really busy and not exactly modern. Oh well!

Still - saw loads of brand new babies on post natal ward - I want one now! Gorgeous!

SK Butterfly Minkus - I am with you on fast labours and deliveries, it isn't as wonderful as people seem to think. I was 50 minutes start to finish last time with no warning or build up. Goimg for another growth scan tomorrow and if they think baby might come before planned HB time slot then I am going to ask to go in for induction - I would rather have this than deliver in car I live about 45 minutes from hospital but what if dh was at work and I would have to get childminder etc.....oh no way

Very jealous of waterbirths! I really want one but the hospital only has one pool so my chances are very slim. Apparently I may need to be continuously monitored for my BP anyway (although I intend to fight this since it seems a bit daft).

My back's really started hurting the last couple of days - doesn't feel terribly muscular though.

Minnie - my family have all booked holidays around the time of my labour too! Luckily my Mum and Dad have arranged theirs so they can get back in a couple of hours if anything happens. My PIL have arranged to come back in time and are still joking about moving on to our estate in their camper van. I think they imagine that they will be in the hospital with us. DH has been prepped to tell them 'no' it could be tricky.

Sounds like a lot of people are in pain at the moment

I will bow the superior knowledge of mothers that say fast labours are not fun but I think I still secretly would like one!

Heffa, our hospital only has one pool as well and as our hospital doesn't have a/c on the labour ward and it's going to be July I would have thought it will be a popular option - oh well just have to keep fingers crossed

I haven't really had a conversation with my parents about what they will be doing during my labour, it is a much wanted first grandchild for my mother and keeping her at home might be tricky, I am hoping that the suggestion she can come clean my house and do some gardening so the baby has a lovely place to come back to might keep her out of the hospital! However of course I am over the moon that both sets of parents are so enthusiastic having read some really horrible stories on here about parents and PIL. However I have already said there will be no staying over at my house after the baby, if they want to be nearer (both sets only live 35 minutes away anyway) there is a hotel 1 mile down the road. I have explained that I would rather they got good nights sleeps so they could support me during the day, there was a little frown from my mother but i think she got the message!

Just ordered my Tens machine - £27.50 rental from Tesco. I am getting excited now! Also I walked to Tesco (about 30mins walk) to get some exercise, so now I'm pooped! Had to eat a magnum on the way back for energy...

There is definitely no decrease in appetite here!

Just been into town to get last few things for hospital bag - arnica, lavender oil etc. Exhausted now. It really does take it out of you.

Hopefully no early labour here as DH off to France for a week. Better now than later and he needs to sort things out for the first guests in our holiday cottage out there. I wish I could go. It's frustrating not doing those last minute things myself.

Only one birthing pool in our hospital too. Fingers crossed for it.

Hi,

Just come back from the Breastfeeding workshop, it was very good, there was even a mum there who also had a 2.5 yesr ld, so it was nice to ask what she did with him while feeding the baby. Also advice on cracked nips and latching probs too. Was very informative. I then stopped for a macdonalds yum yum!!! first one in ages!

I'm lucky to have a midwife centre at my disposal too, I can only go between 37-42 weeks though, and they have 3 delivery rooms and each one has it's own birthing pool! DS's birth was so lovely and calming in the water I can't imagine it on 'dry land', although I'm sure I'll cope if I have too!

I've also ordered my Tens machine, I get it free from the hospital, I can pick it up from 39 weeks, but if I start early then they always keep 2 spare at the hospital, so I should be OK (although it didn't do much good last time as DS was OP, but willing to give it another go.) It's all so exciting, nearly there now!!!

DH has booked us a night away in Cheltenham aswell for 3 weeks time, so that will be lovely. Hope it's nice weather, PIL will have DS so we can relax! bless him. They are having him this coming Sat night as we have to go to some boring works do of DH, but it's in a nice hotel, so I might go up to bed at 10!!!!

My libido has come back with avengance , after being AWOL for quite some time, but haven't 'broached' it with DH yet, as the deed might be abit tricky and I don't look sexy so can't imagine any position being comfortable....

As for the weight and appetite thing, I've stayed the same weight for about 3 weeks now after a 2 stone gain through out! Thank god I've started to even up! Also my appitite is going, I eat little and often now, could get shares in Kellogs!

Sorry for long post. Off to collect DS from nursery.

Hope everyone else is OK....

I'm quite happy to have my parents around as soon after the birth as they like. I don't mind seeing PIL as soon as I'm sorted afterwards, but I really couldn't handle them 'living' nearby. Mum was going on about doing our laundry for a few weeks afterwards, which will be amazing.

The pool thing is a shame isn't it! The hospital maternity unit is brand new, and I'd have thought they would have put more in. I've heard such horror stories about it that I'm quite unhappy about going there at all tbh. I assume July is going to be very busy as well. I hope one of us gets a birthing pool anyway!

Getting nearer!!, DW had a madwife appt yesterday, was told that she sized at 37 weeks, but dating scan puts us at 35?

Any ideas?

Still feeling good anyway, I really am so proud of her (and you all). Thanks again for all the support and helpful / kind messages.

hubarb - could be a big baby, could be because measuring the fundal height is not an exact science!

Hi all,

Just returned from the midwife and BP wasnt high this time which is good as was prety high last week! Still getting high suagr levels even though the Glucose test was fine.
Seems baby is 2/5ths engaged... Anyone shed an light on to what exactly that means.

Hi hubarb, Id say the scan measurements are more predictable.
Sometimes i measure big (fundal height) then others its spot on.

Heffagooday
Hope you get waterbirth on the day, would be great to have the chance at it.. Dont think our hospital has a birthing pool must ask next time im in.. I think a long hot soak in the bath tonight as back is really giving in today..

Went to pick up some muslins today and got the Bambino Mio ones, there so much bigger than what i had last time.. Then i did a JODIEhavingababy and had McDonalds on the way home!! couldnt finish it though...

hi pigley the number is to do with how much of the baby's head is below the pelvic rim. Sometimes they talk about how much palpable it is. In your case 2/5 of your baby's head is under the rim (engaged) and they can feel (palpate) 3/5 of it.

There's an article on babycentre about baby's head engaging. It tends to happen earlier with first babies and later with second babies. My midwives have said that even if this one engages it might still move up again - probably to do with having had two pregnancies before and having looser stomach muscles!! Ds2's head was still 2/5 palpable at the start of labour.

hubarbspong the measurements the midwives do are very rough so the scan is probably more accurate. Even scan measurements have a fair bit of associated error.

sleepycat sorry to hear about your argument with dh, but glad things have settled down and you are enjoying reading all our chat.

EEC have you thought about Freecycle for more clothes? I put out a request about halfway through pregnancy and the two ladies who gave me their maternity clothes were very happy to get rid of them!! You could ask for maternity clothes a size bigger than your current ones, or normal clothes several sizes bigger than your usual pre-pregnancy size.

CilC sorry to hear you are in a wheelchair now . Gilly I am in awe of you still cycling. Mind you there was a woman at my antenatal yoga class today who was cycling, and she was about 38 weeks.

Libra thanks for posting the brownie recipe. It does seem yummy. I am surprised it is an AWT recipe as it doesn't look very low GI, unless the pecan nuts help to lower the GI significantly.

It annoys me when the docs/midwives talk about 'normal pregnancy pain' as if we should just put up with pain just because we are pregnant. I think I had spd in my first pregnancy, and I definitely did with my second, but I had been given the message that unless I really couldn't walk I should just put up with it. Well I could walk but it bloody hurt. And I think by carrying on doing everything I was doing then, I probably made it worse and that's why it took so long to go the second time around. This time I'm being far more careful.

purplejennyrose glad to hear you are having a home waterbirth, sounds ideal for you.

Who said about the body not progressing labour until you feel ready? I completely agree- waters broke in the middle of the night with ds2 but I didn't go into active labour until ds1 had gone off for breakfast with his aunt. After that it only took 1 1/2 hrs. In fact I've just checked the notes and my second stage was 8 mins . To be honest I would like to have another fast labour as then it could all happen without having to sort out someone to look after the boys. But the big proviso is that I'd want to make sure dp and the midwives were with me when it got going - and the boys were either asleep or at school.

sweetkitty I also had two boys in bed last night. In fact ds1 was in our bed before dp and I got up there. Dp moved him back into his own bed and he came back to ours again in the morning. Ds2 sneaked in at about 1 am.

oops long post again. lots of love and kind thoughts to all of you I haven't mentioned by mn name as well

Just took the dds swimming - was heavenly, so easy to lift the girls and play with them. D'you think they'd let me move into the local pool until this baby's born??

Afternoon laydeez (and hubarb)

Blimey think this will be a long post- so much to catch up on! So...

Minnie- lalalalala (puts fingers in ears) about your second labour being longer than your first

Purplejenny your midwife led unit sounds fantastic! Such a shame PCT is trying to get rid of it, sounds like it should be a jewel in their crown.

Disney, am I right in thinking that you've said your daughter is expecting too? How is she doing if so? Hope things are going smoothly for her.

Isaidno- do you know if you can rent TENS machines from tesco online? There isn't one within 20 miles of here but I couldn't find it on their website grr.

Jodie- what did the lady at bf workshop say about dealing with her 2.5 lo whilst feeding baby? Be interested to get some tips. Hope you enjoy Cheltenham, have you been there before? Can't remember where you are (are you one of the Dorset contingent ) It's lovely of your dp to book somewhere for the two of you to spend a bit of time together before the new baby arrives. It's not that far from us, I was there yesterday trying to do some shopping (got fed up after 1 hour though which is soooooo unlike me!) DH works there so if you need any recommendations on restaurants etc just ask.

EEC re: arnica- can I ask where did you get it from? The stuff I've seen in boots etc is only a dose of 30c and I thought we needed to get something a bit stronger (i.e. 200). But this might be balderdash! Any advice welcome

Lol hubarb at "madwife" visit- sounds about par for the course

Glad Pigley that your bp isn't as high. Sofa time must be working!

Mummypig and SK, ds came into our bed really early this morning too- it was light but only just- he fidgeted like mad so I went into his room and his bed is soooo comfy! Was v cute when I got up for a wee and saw dh and him all snuggled up sleeping soundly together

Kaz hope move is progressing well and that Tjuice you're enjoying your honeymoon

Anyone heard from PutThatInYourPipeAndSmokeIt? Not seen her on here for aaaaaaages.

Well I've had a lovely relaxing morning. Dropped ds off at nursery and went for a "swim" - oh god I'd forgotten how nice it is being in the water and feeling so much lighter- it was a bit of a shock when I got out of the pool and felt so heavy! I didn't do much swimming, just sort of swished around a bit but it was wonderful. And I got to have an uninterrupted shower afterwards (including hair conditioner which is such a luxury these days "mumeeeee where are youuuuu?" "DW do you know where my basketball socks are?" "Miaow purr feed me")

And then a quick lunch in sainsbo's with a pal who works nearby. Lovely.

Hello to all other folks whose news fell off the v short conveyor belt of my brain! Hope we all have lovely days x

xpost Poledra! It's amazing isn't it feeling so light and nimble again!

can we get back to the earlier thread when we all posted when we were due it seems ages ago we did it and i cant remember when all these babies are due apart from july of course
i got my growth scan next week im hoping my LO has turned and not breech still

minkus my daughter is 4 months now and gettin bigger by the day shes had no sickness at all and very happy

she cant believe im nearly there and is so envious i have to remind her we have all done our time we are just waiting now all comfortable bloated waddling ducks

im so impatient myself now i find myself talking to samuel my LO saying c,mon sam mummy wants a proper cuddle