Due Sept 08: Come on babies, 'cause we are running out of space.

[kiskidee]

New thread here.

Daft name cause we only have 4 more before we hit 1000.

Oooh I got distracted by nappies and forgot to update you on the most exciting development today. I went to the ante-natal back clinic with the physio at York hospital after being referred by my midwife. There were five of us there, but we can have a one-to-one follow up if we want. The tips were sooooo useful, about how to get in and out of bed and the car, how to roll over, how to sit, exercises to do etc. Its all about building stomach muscle strength (HA HA HA!!) and not putting extra pressure on the pelvic area. I was also given a support belt although only time will tell if it actually helps. The most useful bit was about labour though. The phsio explained why my birth partner must remind the midwife that I have spd. She said a few days before I'm due I must measure how far apart I can comfortably part my legs, so that during examinations, delivery, being put in stirrups for stitching etc, that distance is not exceeded. Chances are during labour I won't feel the spd pain, so its a way of protecting against further damage. She showed good positions for delivery (genearlly being on all fours and taking weight on the upper body) and said the pool is excellent

So, I'm still in agony, but feeling a bit more empowered!

kiskidee I only have motherease and lollipop wraps, and I've found them to be excellent. I've never bought LL nappies, only been given them, but I think someone who bought them got a wrap per nappy anyway so changing them wasn't an issue. Not sure if that's standard, sorry! But yes, I love the motherease wraps.

kiskidee have a look at bumgenius and wonderoo...appeal far more to my lazy ways and the nappy of choice in our house for all but overnight.

MW apt today,measuring 31cm at 32 weeks, head down and top of head is engaged. Should I worry that is too early?? When I told my mum she said 'pack your bag'! eek

Sassafras that's my birthday! So your little girl will be in good company!

Potxola and others who have gone for the 'big bed' option - how do/ did they get in and out of bed? I can imagine DD getting out safely because she can get off our bed backwards but she can't climb onto the bed yet.

Goody, i already have motherease wraps from dd1. I will give LL ones a try too.

I am also having spd. i go to hydrotherapy on Fridays. If you search the old threads in pregnancy and childbirth, you will find useful links and info about managing spd in pg and labour. There is info you could print off and put in your hospital bag for your birth partner and to remind yourself and mws.

no, i will stop looking at nappies. I already have a sling addiction. dh might kill me. If this dd2 is anything like dd1 she won't be a heavy wetter and once she got to 12 - 14 wks was pooing infrequently. Until she was taking solids which was nearer to 1 year she was pooing once every 6 days.

ooo! new thread!

after all this nappy talk it's got me thinking a bit more about reusables now.

Today had my women only NCT day. Was very interesting and really good being in a smaller group with the ladies. Had a talk from the local breast feeding counsellor. She said that my hospital have a policy to 'encourage breastfeeding' whereby they don't stock any formula if for some reason your having trouble breastfeeding, yet haven't properly trained the midwives to deal with women unable to breastfeed. So if you're having problems, they send your partner out to the shops to buy some formula. How is that helpful?

I'll be on the breastfeeding threads if I encounter any problems.

Has anyone successfully co-slept with their baby and managed to breastfeed whilst partially asleep? Hoping this is the answer to 2 hourly night feeds.

I'm so glad I discovered mumsnet, I've learnt so much from you lot...it's better than reading a load of stuffy books. Thank you!

digital The not stocking formula is part of a larger policy to attain baby friendly status.

If it is there, it is tempting for mw's to offer it and for mums to request it before persevering. One of the inevitable 'fallouts' of a midwife giving you a certain type of formula in the hospital or saying, 'go with this' is that we inherently trust mws to know about these things. so though they are not being paid by the marketing arm of a formula company, it is very common for mums to stick with a certain formula because that is what they got in hospital. So that 'choice' made by the mother is a form of promotion as midwives and nurses are heavily marketed to in trade journals.

I can see the tension with not having the mw's all trained up but remember that as a part of the larger bottle feeding culture we live in, it is a long hard road to change a lifetime of expectations from mums and mw's so they have to start somewhere and noses will be put out of joint now and then, whenever change occur.

I am sure there are more informative ways of putting this across but this is my laywoman's sort of understanding.

I learnt to bf lying down and sleeping. It is like learning any new skill, it takes a bit of getting used to and practice. there has to be some give and take mostly from you because babies don't get this concept. Also with an open mind to persevere and to think outside the box a bit - good practice for motherhood in general - and a big dollop of confidence that you can do this and no, you won't roll over and squash your baby.

sorry, off on a geeky tangent now.

I've just posted a couple of photos to my profile (at long last!). One is of DD in France and the other is one of my 4D scan photos.

notcitrus Hope your hospital can be a lot more flexible with you and your DH visiting. How can it help them having such strict visiting hours for partners? It only means the midwives have to do twice as much work.

starlight I never knew that you could only have a set amount of gas and air for a home birth . 20 minutes doesn't sound like nearly enough.

I have just eaten too much at Wagamama's and I might just explode. I figured it may be my last evening out for a while so made the most of it. 34 weeks this friday so getting uncomfortably close to the big day. I have no idea how I will control DS when the baby arrives. He is adorable, but a huge handful and does tend to run riot. Me and DP were chatting last night and he noticed that DS does play up for me these days now I have a huge bump slowing me down . Maybe once I'm recovered and fighting fit again he will know I'm boss.

eandz don't worry, everyone says I'm big too. Everyone laughs when I tell them I still have 6 weeks to go . To be fair that's what everyone said when I was pregnant with DS and he turned up at 37 weeks so they may well be right. Everyone has guessed the sex of my baby with both pregnancies too, I'm obviously very easy to read.

Had nap and am feeling a lot better - and MrNC has bought me a 65cm birthing ball as the one I got was 75cm and just too big. So I should be able to sit in comfort soon - I almost had to wake him up this morning as I got stuck on the sofa!

I'm now back to being sure the hospital security will have other people to worry about - the joys of South London! But will talk to the community midwife next week.

Had our NCT class on breastfeeding yesterday, and it was better than expected - the tutor used the phrase "randomised controlled trial" three times as well as referring to some of the dodgier studies that purport to prove various things. I had been rather sceptical of the idea that practically all women could breastfeed with the right support, but she did explain that the whole culture would need to change a lot to provide that support, saying "Have you seen women breastfeeding every day of your lives, walking down the street, etc? No? Exactly - you don't have the cultural experience and knowledge people in other countries do." Which sounded like a good way of preventing you feeling like a failure if you phone all the helplines and still can't manage.

Georges got its baby-friendly award a couple years ago so the midwives should be up to speed - they've certainly spent effort at each appt to convince me. The last one was surprised when I assured her I'd already read the page of advantages given in my notes, agreed with all of it, and she could sign it off. She also gave me a fridge magnet with bf helpline details which may be handy, and a key ring with same details, which I suspect won't be - I can't imagine that printing off a photo of my baby and putting it into a key fob is going to be a priority in the first week of his life!

Builders and girders arriving en masse tomorrow. Allegedly...

Digitalgirl, I breastfeed while mostly asleep on my side for ages once I had recovered from my c-section. It was handy, but it gave me a dreadful backache. This time, I think I'll just get up and sit in my comfy chair to breastfeed. My main problem though was that when dd was close to a year old she'd gotten so used to it that she would only fall asleep when fed.

Has anyone had to do the glucose tolerance test? I have to call my local pathology department tomorrow to book one and I'm quite curious as to what you have to do. It seems that they must get the results very quickly at least as I have been instructed to make an appointment at the fetal health unit the same day to discuss the results.

DD was telling me today about what she will do when baby Katie arrives. It was really sweet. She explained how she would hold her and sing to her and even share her teddies with her.

NC have you and your MW discussed the needs your hearing impairment will bring to the labour ward? the ones you ahve mentioned here?

If you were in a private room, they ought to put a sign on your door.

I was in the High Dependency Unit for over 24 hrs and the fecking Bounty Lady just barged in. She was lucky I couldn't get out of bed and had no energy to shout or I would have chased her ass back out myself. Cow.

Mel - I'm sure I've read that just because the head engages, it doesn't necessarily mean labour will come early. But maybe it's a sign to make sure you are packed and ready!

Talking about formula - apparently at my local hospital, 50% of bf babies are being topped up with formula within 12hrs!!! They're obviously not interested in being bf friendly.

Anyway, my consultant is going with the anaesthetist, as they don't even have cardiologists on call out of hours at my hospital, so I've chosen to be referred to Kings - now have to wait to hear from them, and then see if it's possible to go to their MLU - anyone local have info on their policies?

Starlight - sorry you're having such a hard time getting your hb, instead of finding support for the birth you want

kiskidee - they don't discuss anything to do with birth until your appt with the hospital midwives at 36 weeks, but I'm making a list of all my questions for it!

The midwives have been very clueful so far, although the combination of deaf and expert in relevant biology is clearly a new one on them (my doctorate was on development of embryos/fetuses and breast development in pregnancy/breastfeeding, so from one angle I know way more than the medics about pregnancy. From the point of view of being on the outside of a fetus and having to give birth to it, I know diddly! I've also had to learn enough about drugs I've taken to know more than the midwives...)

Do these Bounty Ladies do anything useful or should I just ignore them? I got the pregnancy pack and the midwife said I'd find the only useful bit is the plastic wallet it comes in, for keeping my notes clean. She was right!

Jearund
Just reading this quicky before I go to bed.You just need one. It looks like a elastic band that you put under the mattress and in each side has a clip that you then attach to the duvet cover in each side. It is very easy. One the most practical things I have bought.
Lovely daughter! And handsome little man too!

I don't think the bounty people have a single use in this world.

She barged in and all 'official-like' asked for my address. I said if she did not already know then she had no right to know and by the way who are you? I told her i wasn't interested but she left the pack anyway.

When I got bored on the PN ward and I opened it, there wasn't even 3 minutes worth of reading in it. Just useless bumpf for things you child will never need and just a way of separating you from your money. It all went into the bin.

it is marketing, marketing, marketing.

i am glad we agree on the important things, starlight.

baby jumping on my bladder and pelvic floor tonight as well as giving me achiness at ribcage.

I feel like eating a pile of junk but fear heartburn too much to proceed.

should go to bed instead.

MelT - I have no idea if becoming engaged means imminent labour but I'd get your bag packed just in case, I'm sure if you stick a post in the 'pregnancy' or 'childbirth' forums you'll get some accurate answers.

I had a bottle of limeade last night, and the hearburn was ridiculous in the extreme. I really didn't think it through, as my heartburn hasn't been too horrendous, but this was bloody agony!

Am trying to prepare my 'bugger off' speech should the bounty lady attempt more than a polite hello to me - wish I could guarantee she'd only come when DP was there and he could tell her to go away!

I hope my MWs don't pressure me to do any topping up with formula - I can totally see how tempting it would be to go with the 'professional' opinion when knackered from labour and just wanting the best thing for new baby. I think I need some facts to wave in their faces should they try!

Was also really surprised to hear yesterday that both of my colleagues gave up BF by 6 weeks, because 'it's too much hassle'. I'm so glad I've got MN to support me, and to reinforce all the benefits of it should I be tempted to stop for the sake of convenience! (Please note, no judgement intended here of people who choose not to BF, I still have no idea if I'll actually achieve it, I was just surprised at quite how common it is to just abandon it having fought through the difficult times)

Good morning all,

Thank you Kiskidee for starting a new thread, it took so long for the other one to load on my computer.

STARLIGHT - I had my last child in Edgware Birth Centre, what a lovely experience. I had 2 mw looking after me they both stayed with me, the place is spotless they even looked after my husband and brought him dinner.(to the room) I went home that evening but i did have the option of staying there with my husband for the night.

I'm having this baby there and my husband can't wait.

Sassafrass I had the glucose test at 28 weeks. It goes like this Fast from night before, Blood test, drink sugary drink,( Doesn't taste great) wait 2 hours, another blood test. Finished. Good luck.