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.

i had a growth scan at 29 weeks, baby measured 33+4. every mw app baby has continued to be a few weeks in front.feel lots of kicks in ribs but also pain down below. other babies been very small, and lived in babygros but this a whole new experience for me, they estimate a 9lb baby, how on earth will i get that out!

Potxola...i cant find the website link for the arnica tabs that you ordered from....can u please link it again....thanks

Kiskidee - Of course ironing baby clothes is obsessive, it's totally unnecissary! It's still totally lush when it's done though!

EandZ - Stick to your guns, ironing baby clothes is for the clinically insane! Run away whilst you can!

I have a couple of outfits here ready to go, but they're for 'best', when we're at home she'll just be in a babygro, don't see any point in dressing up for no reason, it's a baby not a doll!

Biglips - Did you have a scan to determine the weight? I asked my MW at the last appt if she could tell what sort of weight I'd be likely to be having and she just measured my bump and said 'a little above average, but certainly not a monster!'

yes i had a scan last week.

lollipop they have no idea when i was pregnant with ds was quite small and she kept telling me that he would be a really tiny baby about 5lbs... he was 7lbs 5oz

with dd they said she would be bigger than ds and she was 7lbs exactly so they can;t really predict it unfortunately

iam convince that this one is going to be huge though fpr the first time have stretch marks before baby is born on my hips though

Pidge and mustsleep my NCT tutor said that potassium and calcium can help prevent cramps. I've had hardly any and DP makes me a banana milkshake every morning so why don't you give that a try?

My main problems at night are the needing to wee as baby has definitely moved down recently - also SPD pain has gotten more severe but it's still fairly manageable but all related to the downwards movement I think - and the acid indisgestion which is just awful. I tend to get it constantly during the day when I need to eat but it's much worse at night. I've been having Gaviscon before I go to bed (yuk yuk yuk) and Rennie when I wake up in the night, but it's not great.

The other thing that's happened is I had a MW appointment yesterday and BP has risen to 136/90. This is what happened in my last pregnancy at 36 weeks, so not unexpected, but still a blow as it contributed to horrible experience last time (led to induction). I've been asked to go to the DAU on Friday for another check and baby monitoring but they're already making noises about putting me onto methal-dopa, which I hated last time. They don't think it's a sign of PE, and neither do I, but I had bloods an urine sent off just in case. I really don't want to get into the spiral of spending every other day at the hospital again, which is what happened last time.

DP thinks it's more to do with stress than anything else. I haven't posted on this for a while, but dad is still full-on drinking and is being regularly arrested for being abusive. I've been trying to distance myself but got a really guilt-tripping message off him yesterday about how I haven't spoken to him for weeks (3). I just can't bear the lying and the self pity I get from him!

Also, am stressing about the fact that we are so not ready for this baby it's untrue. The decorator was supposed to start this week but it doesn't look like that will happen now and he goes on holiday next week! I really can't face coming out of hospital and having to deal with the upheaval of decorating!

Anyway, moan moan whinge whinge, am finally starting to enjoy being off work. Am trying to catch up on sleep and get at least one job a day out of the way. Trouble is list of jobs seems to be endless!

Anyway, congrats to Jenpet and Clara. Welcome to new joiners and hello to everyone else. Hope to post a more upbeat update next time!

scans, measuring fundal height, palpation, can all be grossly wrong by 15% (sometimes 2lbs!) or so lulumama has said.

women grow babies that their bodies can accommodate.

Afternoon all. Drinking tonic water eases cramp - its the quinine that does it. Potassium in bananas also good. And remember to flex your foot, not point it when it hurts!

Feeling less miserable today - don't think I'm on the slippery slope to depression, and realise that although I'm not the best mother in the world, I'm not that bad. Thank you for all your lovely and encouraging words
Dh has also cheered me up immensely by saying we can go change bag shopping on Saturday, followed by a starbucks, before we leave for holiday at lunch time. Its my perfect day!! Apart from the 4 hour journey in the car with a toddler...

Thank you for your lovely offer mama, I've facebooked you

I contacted my old osteopath asking if she can recommend a colleague in York to treat my SPD and she's going to get back to me, so I feel like although nothing is better yet, I've taken some action that might improve things.

I have to confess to being a total non-ironer (when some friends visited in May to go to a wedding they needed to iron their clothes, but we discovered the iron had no fuse . It had last been used the previous August ) but I do have those little in-draw boxes for ultra organisation of vests according to sleeve length!

Hi all, hope you're well and that those on mat leave already are enjoying themselves and busy nesting! I finish tomorrow, can't wait...

I have some groin / pelvic muscular pain but it improves when I rest - I am presuming that I will know if it is SPD on the basis that it will be constant and much more painful - anyone got experience? ta v much

sycbs SPD varies in strength in my experience. Mine is intermitent and tends to come along if I'm sat in one place for a long time or walking around too much. Mine is quite a mild case though and pretty much bearable.

Eating my fave sandwich which I haven't made for ages - pesto chicken, red onion, avocado and pea shoots on poopy seed bread. So yummy! I couldn't eat it during the first trimester as I totally went off anything that had mayo in it and since then I've been too tired to make it. Now I'm off I've made a big batch of the chicken, chopped up some onion and popped it all in the fridge for instant sandwich gratification.

sunshinemummy & carrieon - thanks for that. I already start the day with a banana - sliced into natural yogurt in my case!! But I could try the tonic water - shame it can't have a gin with it . I've had cramp in my other pregnancies too, but my brain can't recall what if anything I did about it before. it's very boring being woken up by it. I need my snooze these days.

surely - the main advice for SPD and other pelvic pain is to rest. I'm hardly in pain at all as long as I don't leave the house. Unfortunately when I do, I'm then in lots of pain for days, and lying on my back and other positions are excruciating. I'm supposed to potter around the house rather than stay in any one position - as when I sit for too long I get a bit stuck!

Probably worth a look at The Pelvic Partnership and other sites to get an idea of what movements to avoid - believe me you don't want SPD to get worse if you can help it!

carrieon - glad you're feeling perkier. MrNC and I realised recently neither of us have ironed anything since moving into this house nearly 3 years ago, so I doubt I'll start with baby clothes!

sunshine and notcitrus thanks so much for your comments. Find it hard to think i have SPD as I am still totally mobile, but having read a few descriptions of where the pain is mine does seem to tally...guess I should speak to the midwives about it to be on the safe side....

Thanks for advice and pelvic partnership ref.

sycbs I'm totally mobile too. As I said there are real degrees of it and a lot of women tend to get a mild version of it near the end as the baby descends somewhat.

I have a potentially dim question... I understand that newborns should lie flat as much as possible for various health reasons. therefore not spend too long in car seats and have a lie flat pram etc. But what do 'they' mean exactly by lie flat?

I'm choosing a pram/pushchair at the mo and the bugaboo bee does 'lie flat' but not completely flat as per a traditional carry cot. There is a slight contour to the surface even when fully reclined. Is this sufficient? Anyone got info on this?

Thanks v much

sunshine I feel as though baby is lower than it has been and so this could be the reason. I'll be able to rest a lot more once I finish work (tomorrow!). What I don't get is whether there are major implications (other than my own discomfort)or am i being naive? i.e. provided I rest and the pain doesn't increase this won't be a problem?

Sunshine - I'm now reading 'effects of SPD' on the pelvic partnership website, so answering my own questions! but good to hear your thoughts as well.

I had it last time in a mild form and it disappeared as soon as DS was born. It can affect positions you use to give birth if you're looking to have an active birth but again depends on degrees. It can also get worse of course and some people on this thread have had some horrendous problems with it. I believe a pelvic band can help although I've never needed one. You can get these from the NCT.

Hi guys

I am tottally shattered! Been at a local play day with ds all afternoon. Had a get together with my hyno birthing expert friend this morning. Ive got a phone number to call to arrange a professional hypnotism to see if I am compatible? (I hope I am!) Open mind and all that .
As for the ongoing ironing debate I am pleased to say that I have had ironing lady for nearly 4 years now. She has a key to the garage comes every monday to pick up basket of ironing and its delivered back to the garage on tuesday. Its my only help I get as I have no family local and dh needs a new shirt everyday.
surely that pram is fine even though they say flat a little elevation is actually quite beneficial. In fact I believe it can help in reflux or colicy babies and help them not get a flat head. I used to place a folded towel under the matress of our moses basket and pram.

surely - I understand most women get some pain or stretchy sensation in their pelvis - all part of your pelvic joints changing shape so that the baby can get out. Some of us have just got more rickety than others!

The midwives still have me down as a nice low-risk birth who should be allowed to use the birthing pool if one's available, just with a huge warning on my notes that I mustn't be made to lie on my back or spread my legs or do anything that makes them hurt. I'm trying to spend more time kneeling leaning on my birthing ball as it's more comfy than sitting, but impractical to do much like that and there's nothing to watch on telly.

Time for another nap before I fall over. But very pleased as have just saved £350 on car insurance renewal by getting a quote from moneysupermarket.com and phoning old insurer and going "Oi! Match this!" and they double-checked and said "No problem."

Carrion - Oh my God, I didn't think anyone else would have the boxes! They're bloody great though, I want to write little tags to put on each box so that I know what each box is for, but I know already as I've spent enough time arranging the clothes into colours to know each box by heart!

hi ladies,

nelly I live in Muswell Hill and am hoping to one day get to one of those aqua natal classes again, but I went early on in pg and was so put off by the stench of chlorine (over sensitive pregnant nose) that I never went back. let me know how you get on and I'll try and come along in a couple of weeks time.

Sunshine so sorry to hear your dad's been at it again. it's terribly difficult to distance yourself from things like that, but it's the only thing you can do. I empathise with the unprepared feelings...had a small scare this morning when I thought 'i can't have the baby today' we still haven't bought the moses basket stand and I'm wearing my 'going home' clothes that are supposed to be in the hospital bag.

had a routine appt with mw this morning, and for the first time my BP was up slightly and there was protein in my urine. then I mentioned I seemed to be quite 'damp' down below and wasn't sure if it was waters leaking or just lots of watery mucus due to the hot weather. so all that got me packed off to the hospital for a thorough check with an obstetrician.

had the babys hb monitored for about 30 minutes...text book perfect apparently. had my BP checked again, was fine. had an internal examination with a speculum (really uncomfortable, did not like that at all), and cervix was all fine, nothing leaking at all. so I've probably just been a bit sweaty .

i think my BP was up because I've been stressing about money. Turns out I haven't saved enough money for my tax bill, which means that I've got to use some of my maternity leave savings. Which means we'll have to really change the way we've been living for the next 6 months. Currently looking at all the ways we can save money, feeling depressed at the thought of going back to living like a scrounging student just at the point where I was proud of myself for being so financially independent and giving my baby a good start in life. Can't face working beyond the end of this month, was really hoping to stop at 37 weeks, but I guess we'll have to see how I feel nearer the time. Another two weeks pay would make a huge huge difference. Then I'll have no choice but to go back to work when the baby is 6 months as I'll have absolutely nothing left in the bank and DH doesn't earn enough to cover all the bills.

And a truly awful thing which I didn't want to mention on this thread but can't really ignore now is that DH's father is very ill. We're waiting to find out if he has cancer. He's old (late 80s), so if it is cancer then he could go so quickly he might not be around to see the baby born.

Does seem like everything happens at once doesn't it?

At least the baby's ok. Head down, good size, happy heartbeat, nice and active. I am ever so grateful for that.

digitalgirl just to encourage you the first month of dd's life we actually saved money - and everyone tells you how expensive children are! We didn't/couldn't go out, lived a very simple low-key life at home getting to know our new family, we were given clothes for dd, and she was bf at that time so her food was free. We found it a financial shock at about 6 months when weaning hit, and also the next stage of toys and equipment, and generally getting out and about a bit more (i.e. further than to the park to feed the ducks again). I guess what I'm trying to say is that while it is really worrying, don't listen to the voices that tell you how expensive children are, coz little babies need not be.

sycbs my SPD was like yours for weeks and weeks and weeks...and then suddenly PAIN struck. So I'd read up on it now and look after yourself and hopefully you'll be ok!

Lots of sympathy being sent to all those of you suffering with various things, there's too many of you to list but at least you can all come on here and vent a bit and hopefully that'll help.

My pelvis gets quite sore too esp in the evenings but I don't think its anything abnormal and I can still heave myself up and walk although I wouldn't want to go far. I haven't mentioned it to midwife though as figured there's not a lot anyone can do. I'm just hoping it doesn't get worse.

I had ds in babygros mostly for at least the first 3 or 4 months I think. And any proper clothes he wore were bought by other people. I agree with carrieon in that he really didn't cost us much money at all until after he was 1 probably apart from in food which isn't a lot and nappies. He was 8 months old at Christmas which was perfect as he was at the stage where he was running out of clothes given when he was born and was needing more toys so we still didn't need to spend a lot as luckily have quite a generous family who are good at giving presents that are needed and useful.