Due March 2005 Part 3

[Leogaela]

..... the story so far - except that Misdee is going to jump the queue!

Preggiemum-22nd Feb-girl
girly-1st march-girl
pidge-2nd-surprise
shalaa-3rd-surprise
misdee-4th-girl
oceanmama-5th-girl
thedame71-7th-girl
popsycal-7th-surprise
jambot-10th-girl
leogaela-12th-surprise
munchkinsusie-13th-surprise
Kolakube 15th-girl
Cristina7-16th-girl
zoec-18th-girl
Babster-19th-Boy
sweeney-20th-surprise
bonym-25th-Girl

Hi all - didn't get a minute to log on today as dp has been laid up in bed with his cold virus thing, and I have been dashing around after dd. Was hoping to log on when I woke from a brief after lunch nap, as dd normally sleeps for 2 hours, but to my dismay, when I got up I could hear her singing "The Quartermaster's stores" loudly from her bedroom. Darn! So consoled myself by baking some smartie biscuits with her, and scoffing lots. 3Mummy - never fear - I'm more than getting my extra calories in!

We had a snow flurry here all morning, which rather impeded us going out. Finally went out anyway with dd to get some bread and we both looked like abominable snowwomen. Matters not helped by the fact that I have been too stingy to buy a maternity winter coat and mine finally really does not close over the bump!

For the first time I am truly fed up with being pregnant - can't bend over, or pick up dd and am grumpy as hell. Though this might be something to do with dp having been ill for 5 days, and me feeling sorry for myself being in sole charge of dd! So far though, at least I have avoided whatever it is he's got.

Misdee - great that you're home with Serena. I bet you feel like pregnancy was a lifetime ago already.

Girly - poor you - that baby is just messing around now! Do you think you would agree to an induction?

BoneyM - definitely just stick to your guns - if you say you're staying home when you're in labour they will miraculously produce a midwife from somewhere, believe me. I know a few people who that has happened to.

I just freaked myself out by watching the "Preparing for Waterbirth" video that came with my pool. What a dumb thing to do with 5 days to go to due date! Now I really can't believe that this is a good method of getting a baby out.

Ladies - thanks for your support on the homebirth front. Zoe - I have now been to the AIMS site which was extremely useful, thank you. I have taken their advice and written to the CE of the maternity unit to advise that I do not intend going into hospital and will hold them responsible if they do not send a midwife and anything untoward happens as result.
Pidge - sorry you had a rough day yesterday - hope things are better today. We are picking our pool up next weekend - maybe I shouldn't watch the video - don't want to scare myself silly!
Hope everyone else is doing ok today - still no news from Leogaela. preggiemum and Shalaa - hope they're all ok.

Hi BoneyM - good for you, stick to your guns. The video was quite moving really (well the births bit was), just a little overwhelming at this stage! I still can't quite believe dd came out naturally, as I had a full epidural and couldn't feel a thing. So although I'm sort of ok with the idea of handling contractions (did a lot of that last time) - the bit I'm really anxious about is the pushing and birth.

Anyway - am in a much better mood today - dp is finally up and about and conscious after 5 days. Hurrah!

And I really don't feel this baby is coming out soon. I know you can't really tell, but I just think I'm going to get some warning, and I reckon it's staying put for the time being. So I'd better just carry on enjoying my life of leisure.

Am off to scoff cookies in front of the rugby!

Bonym, well done for sticking to your guns! My m/w assures me that if things happens quickly you can phone 999 and they HAVE to send a m/w out to you! Make sure you have your tens and pool set up in the meantime for pain relief!

My induction is booked for next tuesday/wed and there should be no problems because the head is still fully engaged so am ripe for ARM. tbh it has taken all the pressure of 'when' and I feel 100% better, more relaxed and happy which can only be a good thing.

The other plus point is that exactly the same thing happened last time with no 2, they popped my waters after another trip to labour ward and he came out like a steam train, 4 hours start to finish and it was a dream labour (well not too bad!!) Exactly like misdee's one come to think about it.

This time round I am putting up with the contractions, they still come every day mostly for about 2-3hours on and off and they do really tire me, also been told not to drive or go too far away blah blah so am virtually housebound and in pain does not make a happy mummy, so I think I will be banging down the door by next week

I wonder how Shalaa and Leogola are doing they have not posted for a few days, I hope all is well with them?

I am jealous of all you homebirthers, I hope you all have wonderful relaxed and relativley painless labours. I can unofficially have mine but do not want to push my luck, unless of course i have no choice, can't wait for my 1st puff of G&A wonderful stuff. BRING IT ON!!!!!!

Girly - how exciting to have a date. At least you know the end is in sight. And the induction sounds ideal for a fully engaged baby. Hopefully this one will make a speedy exit too. Those contractions must be driving you crazy.

Me and dp are busy booking lots of social things for next week, in anticipation of the baby not coming just yet! Also we had to cancel a load of stuff when he was ill, so now we're slotting friends into our diary on a daily basis! Maybe all the excitement will prompt the babe to start thinking about putting in an appearance. Every morning dd says to me "Is the baby coming out today?" and I say "No, probably not today" to which she sighs and says "He's not ready yet".

I reckon Leogaela and Shalaa MUST be in possession of babies by now. I think Leogaela said that in Switzerland they routinely keep you in hospital for 5 days, so I guess she may not be around for a while.

Hi to all - just a quick note to let you know our little girl, Madeline Claire Elizabeth was born on Wednesday 23rd by planned Caesarean - all went well and we came home yesterday, having a wonderful time just feeding and snuggling with her (and trying to ignore the housework...)

Big congrats to all those that have had their babies, and good luck to those who are still waiting!

Many congratulations on Madeline's arrival. I love the names you chose (in fact two of them are on our shortlist for middle names). Will you be posting on the Birth anouncements about the birth? I realise you are busy with other things at the moment, though.

Well done. :0

Oceanmama, Congratulations , glad all went well for you. Enjoy the snuggling, they really do grow up too fast!! My Gran always said the housework can wait, there is nothing more important or precious than time you spend with your child.

Madeline is a really lovely name, and not used much these days, bet she's gorgeous!!

All the best to you and your family xx

Congratualtions oceanmama!!!
lovely names!

Big congratulations Oceanmama! Love the names you have chosen. Forget about housework - snuggles are much more important (anyway - you can't do housework for at LEAST 6 weeks if you've had a section

Hello everyone,

I have been off mumsnet since December. Not by choice. I hope you don't mind a bit of a longer post to update you. We went through a rotten time with our ds (aged 2) we moved him to a bed and he slept badly for about 2 months. We were so exhausted that I just managed to keep my head above water with daily life, and my mumsnet evenings went by the board. Then we had to wind up all we were doing to head back to the UK for the birth, so life was hectic.

Now we are finally back, staying with my parents, the baby is due on 14th March, and ds was 2 weeks late so we weren't expecting this one to be early, or even on time, but things have gone a bit wrong in the last few days.

They think I have something called obstetric colestasis, which is a liver condition of pregnancy whihc can cause stillbirth in the last few weeks. The solution is to induce early, before anything goes wrong. We are waiting for a phone call tomorrow from the hospital which will have the results of the last bloodtest, which will tell them definitely one way or the other if I have it, and if I have it, I'll probably be induced on Tuesday. A bit of a shock for the system, we hadn't even got all the baby stuff done form the attic yet as we thought the baby would take it's time, so we've spent the week end sorting and washing clothes.

The only nice spot is that we had to have a scan to look at the bloodflow in the placenta etc, and she was able to tell us if it was a boy or a girl, which we wanted to know, but I'm not telling!!!

My poor ds is doing very well, he hardly knows his grandparents, and he has settled down quite happily in their house, so that is a relief, not sure how he is going to take to the new baby though.

It is lovely to come back and see that some of the babes have arrived already, CONGRATULATIONS everyone!

well done oceanmam. yea forget about the housework. can you get a cleaner? i've just got one 2ce a week for 2 hours. £7an hour- so £28 a week has to be worth it!
welcome back steppemum, sorry to hear that things have gone a little awry. good luck with results.

we 've put a final offer in on a house in bath area and are waiting to hear back. i seemed to spend my days waiting ......... 3 weeks today til little baby arrives. sometimes i just can't wait to meet it. other times i feel full of fear and dread. the unknown is pretty scarey.

Hi steppemum - welcome back - sorry to hear about your recent problems. Hope the blood results are good news - let us know what happens.

Sweeney - good luck with the house. The imminent birth can be a bit scary can't it? Even though this is my 2nd, I am still finding it all a bit unreal - being pregnant and actually having a baby can sometimes seem totally unconnected (bizarre, I know!), I can't quite believe that by this time next month we will probably have another person in the house!

I have been finding sleep very difficult the last few nights - seem to be ok until about 4am and then my back and hips get so uncomfortable I am having to turn over every hour at least - I've also got a slight cold so am snoring a lot (apparently) so poor old dh isn't getting much sleep either. Bless him, he doesn't complain and has taken dd to school this morning so I could have a lie-in. I've got the reflexologist coming this morning so hopefully she can relieve some of the aches and pains!

thanks boneym. yes totally unconnected that's it. well put!
a reflexologist caller- nice work. hope she brings you relief.
my sleep is similar, i get sooooo bored in the night. i've accepted the fact that i have to turn over all the time at that my hips are in pain and i have to wee 2 or 3times in the night but i get so BORED. interesting coz i'd have thought i would feel more grumpy. still, that's sure to come, right?

CONGRATULATIONS oceanmama - brilliant news - definitely enjoy those snuggles with little madeleine and blow the house! We had my parents to stay for about 3 weeks after my dd was born and they did all the shopping, washing, cooking etc. It was marvellous!

And welcome back steppemum - sounds like you've been having a huge amount of upheaval. I hope the tests give you some good news - at least they have you closely monitored and will take good care of you. All a bit of a shock though. I too have been assuming that my baby will be late, because dd was. Mind you - looks like I will be right unless something drastic happens in the next 2 days!

BoneyM - I totally don't believe I'm having a baby either - I just think I'm going to be pregnant forever. And last time I remember thinking how bizarrely unconnected pregnancy and motherhood felt - almost like the pregnancy was nothing to do with the end product!

Sweeney - good luck with the house offer. We went through all that last summer, with an agonising "Will they, won't they exchange contracts" during my grim morning sickness phase. Frightful. I hope the offer gets accepted.

I've just been washing baby clothes too - little woollen cardigans and hats - my goodness they are cute! We inherited a load of stuff from a friend thank goodness, as dd was a July baby.

Managed another swim today, which was wonderful. Though the water was chilly chilly, which meant I didn't really fancy stopping and wallowing very much - just had to plough up and down in eager beaver manner!

Still no results, so I've got to go in tomorrow morning to see the registrar, but we're getting used to the idea that it will all happen this week.

I totally relate to the unreal pregnancy /motherhood connection. I've been out shopping for baby stuff, and keep getting distracted to the little boy stuff, because ds is a real person and the baby is still a bunch of wriggles! I remember last time thinking I was odd because all these mums had these deep and meaningful connection with their unborn, and for me that just didn't happen until I met him, and then I fell in love!

I had just washed a buch of newborn size when we had a scan on Friday and she told me this was another big one (ds was a 10 pounder) so I've had to root out all the 0-3 months again! It's a shame we've inherited some really cute newborn stuff that'll never get worn.

Steppemum - good luck for the registrar appointment today. Keep us posted.

I've bought nothing for this baby - but have inherited a load of clothes, and spent this morning sorting them into some kind of order.

Also went swimming again. I'm getting hooked. I just feel so fantastic in the water, and completely re-invigorated afterwards. Mind you I'm now using it as an excuse to scoff two enormous cookies whilst surfing mumsnet!

Had load of Braxton Hicks last night, but no sign of any baby action from me.

I have my weeekly midwife appointment in a few hours....have been feeling 'twingy' since the weekend. Lots and lots of braxton hicks....and keep waiting for them to turn into more....but they don't

Just trying to ignore them now! Will be interested to see what my BP is doing today!

Good luck to everyone (especially Girly who is having a sweep today )

Thank you all for the well-wishes - I got around to typing up a birth story on the announcements thread today

Good luck with the appointments today popsycal and steppemum - hope you get your results back and are a bit more sure of what's going to happen.

popsycal - hope the appointment went smoothly and the BP is still within the 'good' range!

I have company at home again, as dp is still off sick. He managed half a day at school before retiring to bed. So actually when I say I have company - he's not a bundle of entertainment tucked up under his duvet! He's now been ill for 10 days, and off work for a week. Oh well - another good reason for the baby to stay put for a while.

We're supposed to be having friends round for supper tonight, and dp reckons he'll be up to it, provided I do all the cooking! Normally when we host he does savoury and I do pud, so I better look lively and consult my cookbooks. I want to get most of the prep done before I pick up dd from the childminder.

Oceanmama - have just posted on your other thread. So brilliant to hear of Madeleine's safe arrival.

BP is still just in normal range....but midwife emphasised that if i feel at all ill I must go to hospital. Also she said that even though DS's birth could have been really quick due to induction, it is also possible that this baby will come quickly (I had been wondering whether it wuld have any bearing on it) so not to hang around and get to the hospital lol.

Hope you are all ok....let's get some more of these babies out soon please (form an orderly queue behind me )

have you not had taht baby yet popsy?

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

popsy - at least some of us have got to hang onto our babies till vaguely near our due date - there seem to to have been a flurry of early arrivals on this thread - that's what I'm saying anyway

Does anyone have any natural remedies for a stinking cold and horrid cough? Besides my heartburn and countless loo visits at night, I now can't breathe because of my cold! Really, don't wish that dd1 comes early really, but the old body is taking strain. My feet right now look just like pigs trotters!! Very attractive. Seeing the gynae tomorrow. Still hoping to get to my due date of the 13th without any intervention, but will all depend on the size of my giant daughter! Have visions of her toddling out of the hospital, she'll be so big. Have been told to forget the newborn clothes I bought. Silly me cut off all the labels. Went on our hospital tour last week. Most people who can afford it in South Africa are on private medical as our government hospitals make the NHS look fantastic. The local private hospital is a 2 minute drive and I get my own private room with bathroom and balcony, menu choice etc. Very spoilt I know, but not complaining.