Due October 08 - The Final Countdown!

[CantSleepWontSleep]

Here we go again then ladies....

29th Sept perkypopsy first baby Surprise North Herts (Ware)
29th Sept WombFor1More 2 ds's 1 dd Boy
30th Sept Aubergenie first baby Surprise
30th Sept sambrads 1 ds Girl
1st CantSleepWontSleep 1 dd Boy North Herts
1st accessorizequeen 2 ds's Twins - one of each
1st loulou33 1 ds Surprise Southern Scotland
2nd snowymum first baby Boy Near Oxford
2nd 1sttimer80 first baby Surprise. Hydronephrosis discovered. Extra scan at 28 weeks (7th July) planned. Edgware (Royal Free, Hampstead)
2nd FranMum2B first baby Surprise Kingston
2nd my3honeypies 2 dd's Boy
4th minervaitalica first baby Surprise (unintentionally!)
4th hedgepig 1 ds Surprise
4th pistachio 1 dc Secret
4th annwoo 2 dc Surprise
5th myjobismum 1 ds Surprise Poole, Dorset
5th rosebury 3 ds's 2 dd's Boy Bristol
6th Bethoo 1 ds Girl Salisbury
6th iuseantiageingstuff 2 ds's 1 dd Boy
6th ronshar 2 dd's Surprise (with dangly bits ) West Sussex
6th hoff first baby Boy Spain
7th belgo 2 dd's
8th kookiegoddess first baby Surprise
8th Alexa808 first baby
8th Ksal first baby Surprise Hitchin
10th Lozza70 first baby Surprise NE London (Woodford)
10th emkay 1 dd Surprise West London (Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea)
10th pepperrabbit 2 ds's Surprise
11th staceylouisex first baby Girl
12th milfakamonkeymonkeymoomoo 1 dd Boy Salisbury
12th star6 first baby Boy Surbiton
14th tedmundo 1 ds Surprise Bristol (Southmead)
14th twinklytoes 2 dd's Boy
15th mum2jakeyroo 2 ds's Surprise Near Lancaster
16th moodywren 1 dd 2 ds's Boy Lincolnshire (nr Spalding)
16th bigmouthstrikesagain 1 ds 1 dd Girl Mid-Beds
16th WheresTheAuPair 1 ds Boy
19th MrsTittleMouse 1 dd Girl
19th rach010 1 ds Surprise (but dp knows!) Lincolnshire
20th 07mumstheword 1 dd Surprise Bristol
20th AandMsmum 2 dd's Surprise Bristol
20th KnickersOnMaHead 1 dd Boy
20th jenwa 1 dd Girl Worcestershire
20th firsttimer08 first baby Boy. Dilated renal pelvis - rescan at 34 weeks. Greenwich
21st hansnava 1 dd Surprise Luton
21st rowanmac 1 ds Surprise North Scotland
21st caramelbunny 1 dd Surprise Manchester
21st jess1996 first baby Surprise
21st GirlWithTheMouseyHair first baby Surprise (but written down in case of moment of weakness!) SW London (St Thomas)
21st lilbitmum 1 dc
22nd SmudgeyDoodle 1 ds Surprise Newcastle (Gateshead)
22nd wombleprincess 1 dd
23rd Sallypuss first baby Probably girl Herts/Essex border
23rd Emmsy1 3 ds's 1 dd Girl The Wirral
24th sparklesandnowinefor9months 3 ds's 1 dd Surprise
24th Personanna 1 ds Boy Peru
25th Flum 2 dd's 5th June Wiltshire
26th oliviaelanasmum/4andnotout 3 dd's Girl
26th mariekg 3 dc Girl
27th Rhian82 Boy
29th Ekka 1 dd Surprise
30th Jambers99 1 ds Girl NW London (Hillingdon)
?? mybabysinthegarden 1 dd

hey girls, been away for a week soaking up the sun and attention in France at my mum's - 35degrees everyday and glad to say I didn't suffer at all (makes a difference when you're on holiday!)...baby is kicking like a trouper and keeps getting wedged in uncomfortable positions but manages to wriggles back out of them with a bit of nudging from me!

snowymum that really sucks about the house, you must be gutted - am really surprised, did you call citizens advice?

yummum welcome! what a story!! I'm hoping for a HB, but this is my first so not entirely sure what to expect - also the right community midwives have to have space so I'm going to ask at my appt this week

back at work and it's going sooooooo slowly...8weeks til maternity leave starts!

csws.... arnica cream? Bruising? What? Someone should write a book... "All of the realities of childbirth that people don't tell you"
Ok, so there's tearing (or cutting), then stitching, then loads of bleeding, then bruising too? What else? Someone who has been there before... just lay it all out there please. Don't be gentle about it

there's a very scary thread about all that on the childbirth section star6...have sworn myself off it thinking actually there are things I would rather not know!

there's a very scary thread about all that on the childbirth section star6...have sworn myself off it thinking actually there are things I would rather not know!

Thanks, maybe I'll post the message there... I'm the kind of person who wants to be prepared for everything and know what is going to happen... I know, I know, not the best mindset for having a child

Star6.. I know exactly what you mean.. I'm nmore likely to be a basket case if I don't know than if I do!!

Let me know when you find that thread!

Star - arnica isn't a cream - it's a tablet, so far less faff and mess. It's sort of homeopathic, but great stuff. Jockeys take it a lot to stop bruising from falling off horses! I think it's only to be expected that you're going to be a bit sore down there for a few weeks after the birth, given that you'll have just pushed something the size of, err, another person, out of your fanjo! Best not to look down there for a while if you're squeamish . But arnica is great, and get some lavender oil in to put in your baths afterwards too, as that all helps the healing. Also keep a bottle/jug of water next to your loo, so that you can pour/squirt a bit on yourself whilst weeing, to stop it from stinging, especially if you have stitches, as that's where it really hurt me last time.

Hi hansnava - we took our DD (she'll be 3 in November) to the dentist the other week. When she'd come with me on my appointment before that she was very clingy and disturbed by the whole thing and wouldn't really let me get checked out but she went with DP on his and was absolutely fine, sat in a chair eating raisins throughout. For her appointment she refused to open her mouth once! But I figure it doesn't really matter because, as the dentist pointed out, we would notice if there were a significant problem when brushing her teeth and it's more about just getting used to going.

Thanks for the arnica tip CSWS - didn't realise you're meant to start taking it in the days before which might explain why it didn't really do anything for me last time! Will try again.

Does anyone know when you can start drinking raspberry leaf tea? Meant to be good for strengthening / toning the uterus...

evening all.

bethoo - sure will send you some clothes. we're about to decorate the nursery so expect to get the bags down from loft next week sometime. oh, pretty name choice too! wish we could come up with a name.

emkay - think its 36wks. saw a suggestion on another thread that drinking it cold over ice makes it taste nicer. i prefer it hot with honey.

am on 2wk apt now with midwife tomorrow (30wks) and see consultant at 32wks for scan and hopefully the placenta will have moved.

Wow new thread and so many posts to catch up with. Have been dealing with getting a bigger car for us all to fit in. To think 3 years ago there were only two of us, now soon to be 5!

csws belated happy bday. Good news on the baby turning.

yummum not a nice experience - have you considered hiring a doula? Have decided to expect the least from midwives and that way, not disappointed. Although I really do think they are overworked and have been demoralised with all the cuts they have had to put up with. But still no excuse for your experience. Good luck in getting what you want.

bethoo - lovely name. re: question on bfing son (ages ago it seems on other thread) he had no probs in latching on, soreness due to his suction power and just unprepared for how hard a babys gums can and that initial clench...... on what seems the same spot each time.

If you want to use anything on baby's skin to moisturise, almond oil is natural and has no smell.

Something to add to your list for hospital - food! High energy for you and your partner.

Can anyone help? Especially CSWS as I know you have experience in this area.

I have had results of my glucose tolerance test today and the nurse says I'm "glucose tolerance impaired" if I wasn't PG they would just monitor me to ensure it didn't tip over to diabeties but as I am PG they may want to treat me as if I'm diabetic.

The nurse said she didn't know much more and that I should discuss it with my MW at my appointment on Weds.

I was wondering if anyone can enlighten me before Weds? Do you think I'd be wise to make a GP appointment? I think I'm worried as my MW is on holiday so I don't know who I'm seeing.

Anyway enough for now any advice much appreciated.

07MTW - I'm not sure about "tolerance impaired" but I've had mild gestational diabetes twice and controlling it by diet is irritating but not hideous, it's a case of eating sensibly, a low sugar diet got me through with DS1, with DS2 it was a bit worse and I had to think about low GI foods - ie changing the savoury stuff as well.
We have a thread on GD in "pregnancy" topic - I'll have to work out how to do a link unless CSWS gets here sharpish!
Monitoring is usualy a fingerprick test a set amount of time after eating and they give you a range of scores to stay within. You soon work out what food is your particular achilles heel (I dream of toast and marmalade - sigh!)
Don't worry too much, it'll probably mean just less biscuits and fruit at this stage.
Hope that helps - I'll be back with a link, she promises hopefully.....

Did she tell you what the result actually was mtw? 7.8 is the usual threshold - mine was 7.9 when I had my GTT. You will probably be asked to take your own blood sugar (simple finger prick test) 4 times a day for a few days so that they can see what your blood sugars are doing normally, before they reach any conclusions. I'm not sure what, if anything, the difference between having GD and have impaired glucose tolerance is, but tbh I think the terms are just used interchangeably. I suspect that IGT is used to distinguish the fact that you are still producing insulin, but that your body can't utilise it well enough, as opposed to not producing insulin at all, which is the case for a type 1 diabetic.

Anyway, in simple terms, if you have either condition, you will be advised to control it through diet, and would only need insulin injections if you failed to do so. This will mean no sugary snacks, and good unrefined carbs. If you want to know any more then hop over to the GD support thread. There aren't many of us on it at the moment, but discussion may help lurkers too, and it will save us from boring the guys on here with the minutae of diabetes! Will link the thread for you in a tick.

GD support thread.

hi
Just checking in. Thanks for the advice for feeding number two, managed to 11 months first time but then got bitten once too often and yes it can take an hour to start with but pretty quick when they're bigger. I suspect having a large pile of books and the TV remote along with the pint glass of water each time I feed will be the answer. I'd like to try a sling as that sounds very uber efficient yummy mummy.

Pelvis has now officialy disintegrated, MW referred me to physio 2 weeks ago, am apparently at top of physio WL and will here about appt this week. Had a good cry today as really hurts can't sleep and the nausea/ vomiting has started up again which I suspect is 2nd to being tired. If I don't get anywhere I'll try pregnancy pelvis or whatever the link was on previous thread. Talk about the high life I'm now on a bed time cocktail of paracetamol with a gaviscon chaser repeated about 3am.

Bean still feels breech but not panicking yet. Thankfully contractions appear to have settled, a bit like beating your head against a brick wall don't realise how sore it is until they stop.

See, I knew she'd be here!

rowanmac, that sounds pretty miserable - do you have help at home? it can be tiring enough with a little one without the exhaustion of constant pain.
Thinking of you.

Thank you Pepperrabbit & CSWS Your responses are very helpful and I'm now going over to have a look at the GD thread

Rowanmac That sounds awful, I was moaning about a backache after a couple of hours shopping today, it certainly makes me feel bad when I hear what you are going through. Take care.

rowanmac thats awful hope you feel better soon i to have been to the physio they cant do much when your pregnant but glad someone actually takes notice that you are in pain

feeling so heavy and tired today and have really restless legs and feet its driving me mad !!

i thought witch hazel was very good after having ds i kept it in the fridge and it was lovely and cool . i never had stitches but lots of bruising and a few grazes and i oured a small amount on my pad and felt instant relief when i sat down

8 weeks to go tomoorow oh my god cant believe it its scary

Evening ladies could I just point out that there is little or no mess involved in a homebirth very few ladies actually give birth in a bed it is often on the floor which you cover with some sort of thin matress plastic sheet old sheeting towel of similar and the whole lot is simply bagged up and taken away by the midwife. Bonding with the baby is fantastic both you and your dp can take as much time as you wish having skin to skin contact with your new baby shower and settle to bed it is so calming and natural. I could go on and on but time to go.

Welcome to our new mn.

Evening ladies could I just point out that there is little or no mess involved in a homebirth very few ladies actually give birth in a bed it is often on the floor which you cover with some sort of thin matress plastic sheet old sheeting towel of similar and the whole lot is simply bagged up and taken away by the midwife. Bonding with the baby is fantastic both you and your dp can take as much time as you wish having skin to skin contact with your new baby shower and settle to bed it is so calming and natural. I could go on and on but time to go.

Welcome to our new mn.

Poor you rowanmac - I feel very fortunate to have (so far) avoided all the horrid pregnancy side effects such as heartburn, vomiting & pelvic pain. Must be dreadful to have all 3 at once.

I've got a question for all you ladies with children already - are you buying your older child(ren) a present from the baby? and if so, what are you getting? My son will be 21 months when the baby comes and everyone says you should buy him a present from the baby so he's not too jealous, but I'm not sure what to get. He's quite obsessed by pushchairs at the moment, so I'm tempted to buy him a pushchair / doll so he can play with his 'baby' while I deal with the newborn, but DH isn't sure about his son playing with dolls!

jambers - we bought dd1 a talking fifi which was at hosp when dd2 arrived. she was 2.5 at the time. DH also took dd1 to ELC on the way to hosp and she chose a lamb rattle for dd2. She remembers all this happening - to the point of asking (quite regularly at the moment) will she be getting a pressie from the baby this time.

we haven't given a definitive answer yet but will get them something but will give at home rather than on first visit in hospital.

our family were also pre-warned to not ignore dd1 when they arrived to visit for first time and it was suggested that they asked dd1 to show them the baby.

we also hid anything that the second one would need that was still out so dd1 had "forgotten" it was hers. but she still got jealous over things like changing mats - I bought a second one in the end.

Jambers - dd's present from ds arrived this week. She's getting this.

for all of your aches and pains rowanmac.