Due Dec 08 - Braxton hicks, baby kicks and leaking nips!

[Veggiemummy]

that was Disenchanted's idea for a great title not mine

Hi all, I have been reading though but it is always so long to catch up that I forget who said what!

To the people having brain freeze - don't worry, the other day I walked to the car to go to work still in my slippers..... I went to B&Q and left again as I couldn't remember what I went there for (and it's not like I go there often!) and the other night I microwaved NOTHING for 8 minutes (with the food sitting right infront) and nearly started a fire!!!

To the C-Sections out there - sorry to hear if you're going to have one and don't choose it. I'm one of the electives and v happy about having one, but a friend of mine has had 2 and admittedly, in the US - but they offered her this subcutaneous slow relelase pain killer which is in a little bag with a tube going into the wound, and she didn't feel a thing for 5 days! Only danger is NOT resting cause you feel so great! I'm getting it here in the UK - ask the consultant about it - sounds like heaven. Another friend in Aust is getting ready for her 2nd CS in a couple of weeks - she tells me the pain after wasn't a big deal for her, but it was more coming down off the morphine which made her very ill that was the problem. I know everyone if different and has different experiences, but hopefully we will all have good ones! Fingers crossed for you all that deliveries are smooth and method that you want! My biggest fear is the epidural since I'm terrified of needles - every time I have blood work done I have to take steps to avoid passing out, but I'm better at it now since i know how to manage it - however I still will torture myslef and watch child birth programmes with epidural visuals (while lying down sweating and squinting!) in an effort to flood myself with the subject!

morning all, have woken up feeling very stuffed up and shattered. feel like i lay down last night and woke up this morning but didnt actually get any rest from the sleep i had in between. On top of this i am completely stupid at the moment, i don't seem to be able to engage my brain at the moment. I decided to ae bread in our breadmaker last night using the delay timer so it would be ready when i woke up this morning. I haven't used this function for a while so had to check the instructions. remembered when i last used it (over 7months ago) it was quite easy to understand and i worked it out straight away. But last night it took three readings of the instructions to get it and even then i wasn't definite that i had it right.

Just now also i decided to make a coffee for myself with the caffertier i got the plunger out to plunge it but couldn't remember if i had just poured the water in or if it had been in a few minutes or even if i had actually let the kettle boil and put hot water in, it was like i had lost 5minutes of my morning. Luckily this morning we got a package in the post from my mum (that was supposed to be here for DS's birthday 2 months ago, bloody postal service) so DS has been happily playing with his toys from Nanna Pippy and hasn't noticed that his mother has turned into a zombi. I think i may have gone a bit hard with the nesting earlier in the week and have shattered myself. Not as bad as what your dealing with though Verso at least i have just the one DC to look after not employees. Glad i got my assessment done earlier in the week.

Veggie: rest and CBeebies for you today I think

Snot (mine), non sleeping child (also mine...trade anyone?)

Hope you are all keeping well. The baby seems to have discovered elbows and keeps poking me

Hello everyone,

Rosmerta Hope you feel a bit brighter today

Hatty How stressful for you. Sounds like there are many mixed messages from midwives/consultants etc about whether there is a good chance it will move. It sounds like a good sign that you haven't had any bleeding and hopefully it will shift out of the way in good time.

veggie kmp I am having similar brain freezes, entering rooms and forgetting what I've gone in there for, putting things in the wrong cupboards etc. I've tried to leave the house in my slippers too!

beans I'm getting loads of movement at the moment too. It feels like there is a party going on in there sometimes!

Has everyone who knows they are having a section been given a date? The consultant told me it would be sometime the week before my due date but that's it! I hope it is early in the week or else I might still be in there at Christmas

Hello...oh Indith, you sound like you're under the weather a bit!
Hatty, I have no experience but sending a hug!
Veggie...that all sounds like you are perfectly normal to me!!!!!!
Rosemerta..chin up chicken...ring me if you fancy meeting up or just a chat...

Only 2 1/2 days of poo poo work left!!! They have written me off pretty much now so doing such s*t work it is making me cross but hey ho!

Verso...your job sounds a nightmare!! Feel guilty for being quiet and bored! What is it that you do? I am intrigued!

hi Jolly - yes got my date back at the 20 week mark but it was just penciled in and had it confirmed yesterday with the proper form etc at my 30 week blood appointment, but I know some people don't get it until much later. Don't think it really matters as the docs don't even do their lists until the week of or week before apparently

thanks Olipop, and hooray you are nearly finished work.

Unfortunately DS has gymnastics this afternoon so have to take him along to that, and also need to buy him some goggles for swimming tomorrow. He has his dads chinese eyes but my families long eyelashes and while it makes him look gorgeous, it also mean that when he puts his head underwater the water gets kind of trapped in his eyes poor thing and he is getting really intrigued about looking around underwater.

Indith mine seems also to have skipped past finger poking and gone straight to elbowing.

Oh veggie...I had missed that your son was half chinese!! DH and I have some very good friends from Hong Kong and their kids are the most beautiful ever!! There is something about Chinese babies! We were having (joking of course) discussions about getting a 'ahem' donation from one or other of them so that we could have a half Chinese baby!!!!!

Thanks Kmp! hat's reassuring, I'll have to be patient.

Actually I have another question now... has everyone got stuff through about NHS ante-natal classes? I haven't heard a peep and wondered if it was worth chasing it up or whether I'll just get a letter or something.

One of our neighbours is playing music really loud, she's an OAP for God's sake! I wouldn't mind if she played something decent, anything but Celine Dion!!

JB: I had to ask about mine last time round, not a peep this time so will ask again. They weren;t that much use TBH apart from the hospital tour, so doubt I'll go unless they've changed the format radically.

My midwife gave me a leaflet about the ante natal classes at my 22 week check up, just had a number for the local hospital though so you could just try ringing them.

I'm doing NCT for what it's worth. Bloody expensive in credit crunch though. Ouch.

One of my sisters is such a doom-mongerer, honestly. If i'd only listened to her, I'd never have a child. I know it's going to be tough and am prepared, but all she does is go on about how lonely I'm going to be and how hard it is etc. It's rare she mentions the pleasures of it. Gets me down a bit.

Also, I opted out, but midwife offered me the NHS ones at the 12 week check - they were run at the hospital, so might be worth enquiring where you're having the baby for NHS courses?

Not doing any classes, was meant to be going on a weekend course, and then DH's dad died so we couldn't go (well I did go to one day, on my own). That was ages ago, no idea what I am doing, not so worried about the childbirth more worried about what to do with the sproggie afterwards!!!
will have to survive with books and internet! how hard can it be......oh gawd

beans I know what you mean about the doom-mongering people, all "hahaha, you'll never cope"....they can SOD OFF!

I was too late to get on the NHS ones or the NCT ones when we couldn't go to the other weekend one, never mind!!

I'm not doing NCT classes either. Agreed far too expensive. Would sooner spend the money on baby stuff. These days we have the library, internet and MN and generally people are well informed.

I am doing the tour of the maternity unit with DH in Nov so that it isn't quite so scary. I've never been in a hospital bed before. (biting nails). DH works 6 days a week and the NHS parenting classes on on Sat mornings he has had to book leave for the tour but I will go to the other two classes on my own. One is about breastfeeding guessing the other is about labour. Prob best that DH isn't there as he is terribly squeemish and can't even look at someone having blood taken. Not sure he is going to make the best birthing partner

Yeah NCT too expensive and when I asked about NHS they were all booked up!! My hospital does 5 x 3hr classes of their own which I was booked for but only going to 3 of them since 2 only relate to Natural births - so basically I'm doing the BF one and have done a general parenting which was mostly about nappies! and then a common intervention and that's about it - so basically hoping to wing it with help from Mum and the Hubby (who seems to know way more than me anyway!

I went to my one and only class this Tuesday - and DH nearly chewed half his jumper off every time injections or body parts and blood were mentioned. I kept laughing at him, but I'm quite worried about him being a useless birth partner now, just like you emma!

I was pretty miffed we only get one class to cover everything, but as we live on the border between 2 primary care trusts I can also go to the classes in the other area (all 5 of them, much better!) I definitely want to go to the 'life with a newborn' one - and also I'm planning on stealing my god duaghters favourite doll for a while so I can practise nappies!

beans not had any doom mongers, but my colleague has spent all week saying things like "you've got all this to come", "you've missed your chance for a good nights sleep
" etc. Now I'm quite sure it'll be a shock to the system, but he knows we wanted this baby and so surely we must have thought about this. Tut to all people like that.

jb/kmp I've also got to work in my slippers once as well - now have a pair of shoes in my car at all times, just in case I do it again!

Another quick post from manic work:

Hatty - sorry to hear about your placenta. Please keep faith that it can and will move. I know a few friends who had it low down on tehir cervix at 20 weeks and up high by due date .

Rosmerta - big hugs to you .

Re NCT classes - I did them two years ago for DD1 and I made such a good group of friends from my neighbourhood who were all like minded and all having babies at the same time. It was a life saver while on maternity leave as the NCT are quite militant about ensuring you start meeting up regularly etc. We were a real support to one another and still have joint b'days for the kids etc. I would recommend them for the social side alone.

News from here is that I am shattered and suffering from insomnia which I never, ever suffer from. I just can't get to sleep and then once I am asleep I need a wee every few hours and it takes about an hour to fall asleep after each wee. Very annoying. Otherwise all is well so I should not complain. I get the results of the protein investigation tomorrow - so fingers crossed for that.

when my colleagues make doom-mongering comments, I am really tempted to counter with "Well at least I won't have to see you lot every day"

I am also fed up of people saying to me "Make sure you go out for lots of meals and enjoy it while it lasts as you won't be able go out for AGES afterwards"...I don't know why it annoys me as it's good advice, but it's kind of obvious advice and so many people have said it to me, and all of them think they are being so wise and worldly advising me!!! I think I'm just grumpy!

Zoe yeah I'm the same as DH - I went late to my first class and walked straight into a demonstration with a syringe and a baby doll showing where the vitamin K needle goes! Got all woozey since i'm so bad with needles and even that's enough to set me off! had to sit down fast and think happy thoughts! I'm so bad, I'm half considering ordering Ametop off the internet so i can secretly slap some on before the IV gets set up (however I'm sure the hospital won't approved if they see that come out of my pocket on the day!

We were booked in to NCT classes but they got cancelled on us but as we're being helped out at the birth by a doula she's covering huge amounts of info as part of the preparation. Plus I've just picked up a book in Oxfam called Babies for beginners which has very handy step-by-step pics of things like "here's how to change a nappy" and "here's how to wind a baby" so no shame in admitting we don't have a clue!

Doom mongers can just sod right off, frankly. If it was all that dreadful the human race would have died out ages ago and we're still battling on so I reckon we'll all be fine!

Can you tell the sunshine's got me in a good mood?

SL you missed a treat at yoga yesterday, she was telling us all about how to do perineal massage. There are 5 girls at 38 weeks plus so next couple of weeks the class is going to be decimated

oops i meant the same as "your DH" not mine!

I did NCT and thought they were great (particularly for meeting people which, as was mentioned earlier is a godsend when on mat leave). I also met Rosemerta so that was pretty good too!!!!

I'm getting all the 'oh you thought it was hard the first time...wait til you have two to look after' comments. It's a bit frustrating and I'm sure they wouldn't say it if it wasn't true but I DON'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT. I WANNA BE AN OSTRICH!!!!!