Due Dec 08 -- Getting Ready for final push (in every sense!)

[Beans33]

Here's a new thread for us all lovely Dec Mums!

wg I would just be really straightforward and text back - "yes - I left you a voicemail. When shall we meet up?" Take control of the situation. I think it would be good to face up to her as the blog thing has really annoyed you - but then decide on the basis of how she behaves face-to-face whether or not to "divorce" her.

(I totally agree with Jam btw that sometimes you have to cut people out of your life.)

WG I am so sorry. I would cut her out of your life, if only for a while, you don't need the hassle at this time of your life. Make it clear to your DH that you're perfectly happy for him to remain friends with her's.

Hope you start to feel better about it soon.

btw I came here to post about the Bugaboo Cameleon DVD... not sure who was asking about it. Anyway I found mine and was inspired to watch it. It's free to a good home if anyone wants it as the useful content is pretty much nil! . Woman folding/unfolding/adding bits/taking bits off the frame... bit showing the different colours available (? you've already bought it by this point?!) etc.

wg I agree - she sounds like a game-playing loon. It's hard enough keeping up with "real" friends post-baby, best to toss the chaff now I say!

Unless she's got some marvellous hidden quality you cherish of course...

Had a very good MW appointment today - had got myself irrationally worried and convinced that something would be wrong - does anyone else do that? So it was lovely to find all was ok - except they evilly sprang a blood test on me, apparently MW forgot to do 28 week one. gr.

Oh Yeah my MW gave me the list of things that the hospital suggests you take with you.

For Mum
Personal Toiletries
Towels
Dressing gown
PJs or nightdresses
Slippers
Nursing Bras
Breast Pads
Old knickers/disposable ones
Maternity Pads
Money for phone

For Baby
3 vests
3 sleepuits
Bibs
Nappies
Hat, scratch mitts and socks

Its says to have going home outfit for you and baby at home where DH/DP knows where it is for him to bring in. No good for me as he can't drive and my Mum will be picking us up so I'll be taking mine with me.

Also it says if you are not breastfeeding you need to take your own bottles and formula.

it's also a good idea not to take your purse or any precious jewellry - sadly I know a couple of people who had valuables pinched while on hospital wards...

kmp: email was for if you wanted to join an email list for the thread, for those of us unabel to keep up once the sprogs are here! Also some people have offered to help re: breastfeeding and other issues, which is prob easier to do by email rather than the thread.

Jam: I like the area as well, we have friends in Chelmsford and DH does a fair amount of business in Colchester so it seemed like a good choice. We're both from Lincolnshire originally, so not phased by flatness .

WG: I'd ditch her, sounds like she wants to play things out for her own ends. No need to keep trying with someone like that, esp at the moment.

Scan tomorrow: why did I think an 8am appointment was a good idea? We have to bring DS along (or DH can't come, it's his day for looking after the boy) and getting us all out of the house in time will be interesting .

Kayz: I think your list looks pretty good, I would add pillows (none in my hospital, they all get nicked) and FOOD. They don't feed you once you get in until you have your baby tho most mw's will prob turn a blind eye to sweets or whatever you have stashed away. I had to interrupt a meeting today to plead for a lunchbreak and a sandwich - everyone else was a hardy retiree who was happy to until 3pm without food. They were very nice about it.

oh i want homemade coffee cake now.

i am the same TYV, today i was thinking about how i would explain it to DS if something happened to the baby, or if there was something wrong with him. Somewhere deep down though i know everything will be ok, i don't know if that is just because it is 2nd time around and have been through all this worry before. i think it is natural.

verso - it was me asking about the DVD - you are coming to the meet up in Clapham, aren't you? if so, you could bring it with so, i, too, can marvel at its uselessness.

thanks for the feedback re: the blogger. while i now know this is someone i am never going to trust/like/respect, i also feel somehow duty bound to tackle it head on once and for all. maybe i should abandon my quest to reach and stay on the moral high ground and just leave it... will keep you informed (or ignore if you are not bothered).

Good morning! Bet you thought I'd done a runner!!! I haven't caught up yet as I have been computerless fcor over a week. I hope that everyone is ok...new thread huh!!
I apologise if this is a me post but I don't know what any of you have been up to...intend to have a quick scan in a moment.

Quite excited as we have decided (99.9%) to have a homebirth! Midwives are coming round on Sunday to give us the chat. Our only concern is the usual one....if something goes wrong that could have been prevented or remedied if we were in hospital, how will we deal with the guilt. I don't suppose that there is much that can be said to calm that fear but I'm hoping the midwives can reassure us as I am pretty set on the idea now.

Been running around like a mad thing on the two days a week that I have my DS in nursery and now have as maternity leave. So much for resting!! I've been getting all those jobs done that are hard enough with one let alone two like eyetests and haircuts. I feel like I have lived in my car going from hospital to clinic to other errands!!! Soon...soon I will have some resting days!
I have nearly finished my Christmas shopping now and intend on doing some wrapping tonight! I'll feel great if I manage all that!

Right...off for a read.....speak again in a couple of weeks I think!!!! xxxxx

Morning, have been woken up by the most almighty contraction this morning, but only one so am assuming that it's Braxton Hicks, or sympathy contraction for my friend who is due today. Really hope so, otherwise I am going to have quite a prem baby on my hands.

Ohh Katie -that is exciting....are you ok? Any more???

kmp - we used the baby sleeping bag things with dd and she slept so much better - we got ours from Dunelm Mill - don't know if that's a national thing or a northern shop!

this group makes me realise how different London shops are!! All these shops that you talk about are completely unknown to me! Am feeling like a deprived Northener! I want posh maternity shops!
Can't remember who was asking about petite maternity wear but I have found Dorothy Perkins really useful.

EP - hope scan goes well this morning.

Nope, all gone quiet now thank goodness. But I am now off shopping to get last few bits for my hospital bag justin case!

katie hope you're ok and no more contractions yet?

effie good luck with the scan today

trace most of those companies do mail order - I've discovered York is pretty useless for maternity clothes - even H&M doesn't stock any!

Sleeping bags - I've heard they're not suitable for newborns, is that true?

Oh, and thanks for that hospital list kayz - looks quite manageable (bet I don't stick to it though and end up with 3 times that much!!!)

wg you will need to remind me re the DVD as I have no short-term memory whatsoever - but I'm very happy to bring it to the meet up.

katie how many weeks are you?! Have you had any more?

oli very exciting that you're planning a homebirth. I am sure the midwives will be able to reassure you. Until relatively recently everyone had homebirths as the norm, after all.

This week has gone very fast - and I'm not sure exactly what I've achieved apart from a few naps and having friends round for lunch. I want to make the most of the freedom, but I also feel slightly guilty/lazy for not rushing round at my usual speed. Somebody slap me!

P.S. Good luck for the scan. EP!

Morning all, have been struggling this week with tiredness & no energy hence lack of posting. But ds has gone to nursery now so will try & do a big catch up post!

pixsix how was your antenatal class?

zj the children's centre are really missing a trick not offering any kind of feeding support. Its the one thing most new mums struggle with, even those who bottle feed. Hopefully they'll realise and change their minds!

verso am on your behalf re work. Have you decided whether to see a lawyer or not?

effie fingers crossed you sell your flat quickly! You'll have to let us know what the Colchester house is like!

hatty lol at your falling down story, well done on not spilling anything!

kayz glad everything's ok & no gd. The hospital list looks good, would agree with Effie about snacks & drinks going in there as well.

summer I don't really know about small sizes as its something I've never really struggled with but maybe Jojo Maman Bebe?

Kimberley sorry the only large Boots I know of is near me in W. London. Btw, when I first moved to London we lived over your way in Leyton! Hope the uti test is clear today.

turnip we're also v happy with the rate cut. Surprisingly its our mortgage company saying they will pass on the cut in full , so far they haven't really impressed us until today.

Jam glad the baby started moving, even if you had to go to the mws to get them going! I remember ds doing the same, I swear the mws got fed up of seeing me!

veggie my mw is quite relaxed about me going over as well. Ds was a week late (going on the 40 week pregnancy!) and mw thinks this one will probably follow and be late as well. I've got appts booked in for 40 & 41 weeks but will try & put off induction until after 42 weeks (please don't be that late!).

indith good luck today!

kmp we used grobags with ds as well from about 3months though I think you can get them from birth now. They are definitely the way to go (until they learn how to unzip them!).

wg am for you re your 'friend'. I agree that you need to see her face to face & have a chat but maybe you will be better off without her. I once tried to hang onto a group of friends who basically used me but realised that I was much happier without them, I was so relieved when I deleted their numbers from my phone.

oli hello, nice to see you've made it back

katie are you ok? Was the contraction painful as I think BH don't hurt as such. Fingers crossed there's no more for a while!

Re mum & baby screenings, the Waterman's in Brentford have one on Thurs am, though a bit more arty. Also the Odeon in Richmond have one so think others may do as well.

Right, that's my catch up now, am off to get some breakfast!

And after that, I've x-posted with lots of you

Hi rosmerta, good to see you back, I hope you feel better and have a burst of energy today.

The antenatal class was really good (thanks for asking!) but I am getting very nervous about the birth now as it made it seem very real and imminent!

I got some reassurance about induction - the midwife leading the class said that you absolutely don't have to stay flat on your back even if you have an induction because you can still move around even with the monitor attached and they always try to give a mobile epidural if you request one (although she did say they can't guarantee that it will be mobile even if they try to make it so.) They seem very keen on active labours and she showed us lots of different positions to try and they provide birth balls and wall bars to lean on etc. We also had a tour of the home form home Birth Centre which seemed very nice and clean and private so that was reassuring too.

I'm still hoping that I won't need an induction but I'm trying to resign myself to the fact that I will probably need one and now I feel like it won't be the end of the world if I do need it.

Sorry for going on, I'm sure that wasn't really interesting for anyone!!

Hope you all have good days.

Oh, PS, she told us that 23% (I think, can't remember exactly) of women who give birth at Tommies do so with no pain relief at all !!

Morning,

Rosmerta That post was brilliant. I caught up with everything from that post.

Katie I hope it was just the one and you aren't going into labour.

I hope everyone is ok. I'm really not with it today. I'm not awake and just feel like a walking zombie.

pixsix: I was told at the Homerton that most women give birth with nothing or just G&A. Lots of 2nd, 3rd and x-timers though, which I reckon skews the figures. The family oppisite us have (I think) 10 children, their youngest is around DS's age and the oldest is at uni!

Scan went well, no probs with the growth, in fact the baby's weight is estimated at over 5lbs already and I'm only 32 weeks . Head measurements off the scale, abdomen pretty close to the top. Eek! DH cheerfully reminded me that he and his brother were 9 and 10lb respectively. DS was a bit bemused by the whole thing.

I'm feeling a bit grotty at the moment, rather sicky and tired for no apparant reason. Think the baby might be booting my stomach or something. Fingers have also started swelling so I've switvhed my wedding ring to my little finger, now paranoid about losing it!

Exciting news on the homebirth Oli, I'd be tempted if we had more space but DH would be very jittery.

I watched the kite runner - was great, but I didn't cry as much as I expected. Think I'm quite hard-hearted in that case! Weirdly, am not crying that much in this pregnancy!

So.... TODAY IS MY LAST DAY AT WORK! Hurray! Feeling very excited!

Had midwife appointment yesterday and she was MUCH nicer than ever before and we actually had quite a laugh together. She couldn't tell if the head was engaged or not because it tickled so much when she tried to feel that I laughed every time and tensed and she couldn't feel. Oops.

Effie - hope you're feeling ok. Poor you. I'm afraid my rings came off when I was 6 months!! Missing them terribly.

I got my letter notifying me of my payrise today, which starts next month and it's rubbish. Am actually really pissed off about it and am not sure whether to say something - think I might informally email my boss and ask him if there's any reason why it's so low!!! Is that a bad idea?

Oli - well done on homebirth - very exciting decision - I'm so not brave enough as want an epidural to be on hand!!!

WG - I am v impressed you were going to confront her - I'm afraid I'm a bit of a wetty like that and would probably just ignore her or send her an email. But good on you. She sounds like a total cow. Definitely take control and text her saying yes, I left a message, perhaps you could listen to it and come back to me!

Silly bint.