Due Sept 08: The one where we pack our bags and write our birth plan.

[mamamufin]

I thought I would be brave

I didn't even know helicopters could fly upside down!

Thanks for the thoughts debi and mama2bee

Hopefully depending on what line you're on, either head to Waterloo and walk West along South Bank, or Westminster and walk across bridge. You want the North Wing and the DAU is on either the 7th or 8th floor.

Hopefully depending on what line you're on, either head to Waterloo and walk West along South Bank, or Westminster and walk across bridge. You want the North Wing and the DAU is on either the 7th or 8th floor.

starlight and others thank for all your interesting thoughts on the birth plans. As a first-timer I'm a bit loathe to go into too much detail, but the more I read the more I'd like to put down. But I've heard that midwives/doctors can be a bit dismissive of birth plans... is this true? If that's the case then maybe a short list of simple bullet points would be a better way to go hmmm....

sunshinemummy my heart goes out to you I sincerely hope your run of bad luck comes to an end right now. You are surely due for some happier times Also big hugs to all those suffering with their aches and pains.

Had a bit of a panic in the night as was having abdominal pain and hadn't felt baby move at all for ages. Got up and had some cold milk and it seems I just disturbed lo from a restful sleep - naughty mummy. Today lo kicked me high up so hard that my boob moved up and down

starlight - thanks for the reassurance. My NCT tutor told us about women in comas giving birth naturally too (eg Abigail Wichalls who was nearly murdered in Surrey a few years ago), which I found rather reassuring.

Last NCT class had the tutor talking about Braxton Hicks and all the other women nodded sagely and compared theirs, and I just went "er...no?" and felt like a twit.
But I think they've started today - well, what feels like intermittent mild period pain, which must be BH, right?
Thinking about it, actual period pain used to make me fall unconscious for most of 48 hours - maybe there's a chance of sleeping through labour after all?

hopefully - I'm sure your colleagues won't have noticed any stain on your clothes at all. People are very gormless!

LittleConnie - first time round I had an ace midwife and she DID read my birth plan. What's more when I was begging for an epidural she talked me out of it and came up with several other options to try because that was closer to my birth plan. In the end I had the epidural anyway (dd1 was posterior and I was failing to dilate and had been in labour for about 2 days etc!) but the fact that she'd read my birth plan and tried all the other stuff first made me come away from the labour feeling really positive, rather than disappointed that it wasn't the 'intervention free' birth I'd dreamed of.

So definitely worth doing. But I agree - brevity is good. As is flexibility!

hey ladies, does anyone know a miracle cure for lower back pain?

dazedemma The cat position in yoga is supposed to be good for that. Get on all fours, Breath in and arch your back towards the floor and look up, Breath out and pull up your pelvic floors and arch your back towards the ceiling and tuck your chin into chest.

starlight that's what I was hoping! but my NCT teacher didn't say whether BH meant a shorter labour! I was thinking that with all this involuntary muscle flexing my womb is doing that it would be well toned come September.

hopefully hope the leakage stops. if it's any consolation I've had very heavy watery discharge for a while now, but I stopped worrying after seeing some of it actually drip down my leg (at home, thankfully) it's milky white as opposed to 'straw coloured' which is what amniotic fluid is supposed to be. Doesn't stop me having damp knickers though, would rather change them than wear a pad - with this humid summer I don't want to encourage thrush with an extra hot fanjo!

thanks digitalgirl - will wait till mum comes round later though as i'll never get myself up from that haha

Ugh re: pads - hate having to wear them with their stupid wings as if am 12 again.

But can't bear feeling of wet pants so am having to even though I feel like I'm wearing a nappy and at the end of the day the back end of the pad is always all mashed up and coming apart (TMI but it makes me larf/grr) - what is happening down there while I'm innocently sitting at the PC!?

eandz I've actually moved out of North London into Hertfordshire now. Not very far out of London though really, just beyond the M25.
Whereabouts are you? I'm working in Bloomsbury.

jenbot,
i used to live on dukes rd in bloomsbury...it was my favorite dwelling of all time. (the house behind st pancras church). now we live in st johns wood.

i'm just curious so that maybe if the londoners wanted to meet up we could sometime sooner than later.

eandz
There's at least one positive thing then in that that you're so close to your hospital with all the worries you've been having.

Wasn't there a vague date mooted a while ago for a London meet up in late July?

I don't have anything on I can't get out of this month apart from my ante natal classes on Wednesday afternoons, as far as my pregnant-brain remembers at the moment!

sunshine Sorry to hear about your dad...maybe somebreathing space is what you need x

hopefully Would you like me to come and sort your colleague out for you? >> I am really in the mood to shout at someone today

starlight What you said about natural third stage was really interesting....I had the injeciton last time and had retained placenta for which I had to have antibiotics (and I bled for 3 months!) Is it really painful delivering the placenta without the syntocin?

Hope everyone else is OK x

...anyone NOT getting leakage from their boobs (the famous nipple cheese!) Getting concerened because so manh of you are and all the books say I should have had some by now

Hello everyone, just had a skim read of the last two days posts...

I can testify that the urge to push is the single strongest physical feeling I've ever had in my entire life, to the point that the first words I said after dd was born were 'I told you I needed to push'. They had just measured me and I was 7cm, and then my waters broke with the next contraction and she shot down. I knew you shouldn't push against an incompletely dialated cervix, and I thought I was still only 7cm, so was trying to resist the urge to push, but the urge was too strong so I was screaming for an epidural to make the feeling of needing to push go away. They only believed me when I pooed coz that's a sign of the baby's head squeezing things out of you as it comes down the birth canal! So the most minging aspect of birth was actually the most useful! Going with the pushing was an incredible sensation, really doing something with the contractions at last.
So yes, you'll know when to push is what I'm trying to say!!

Had my 28wk appointment yesterday, I was worried coz I'm so big but the baby is measuring fine so that's good. The midwife described my stomach muscles as being 'under some considerable strain'. Cheeky mare! Thankfully she's someone I know and like!! She's referred me for physio for my leg/back pain too which is great. She straight away pointed out an aspect of my posture which is wrong, so I look forward to being given more tips and exercises by the physio.

becaroo - no nipples cheese here as same as in my first pg....my friends was leaking from 4 months till she gave birth.

wombfor1more Cameron is a great name, that's my ds's name!

Midwife appoint was fine and I am allowed to fly (assuming they don't say tomorrow that i can't because my letter is from midwife and not doctor!). My iron was quite low but not quite low enough for drugs so have been told to take vitamin tablets with iron in them.
I am measuring big still. 2 weeks ago I was 1cm bigger than number of weeks and today I was 2cm bigger! I am expecting this one to be big though as ds was 9lb 1oz. Also my whole bump is sticking out the front so that might make it measure bigger.

Collected and then tried on the dress I've hired for the wedding. I didn't think it looked as good as in the shop but maybe that was just because I was in a bad mood anyway (tired and stressed and ds was being a pain at the time). It makes my bump look totally enormous and it's shorter than it was 2 weeks ago too, is just above the knee at the front, hope that's not too short for a wedding.

Ina May Gaskin says 3rd stage is nothing like 1st and 2nd because there are no bones in the placenta.

Jenbot,Lollyheart and all others who may be interested:

yeah, i was suggesting the 12th of july for a london mumsnet meet up, but i think that may be a little too soon now....how bout next friday/saturday? or someone can suggest a day? i think the area we were looking at meeting up was around market st?

on a side note: where have charitygirl/lollipopmother gone?