Veggie I'm so so sorry for your loss Take it easy, and as kayz says, remember we're all here for you.
Hatty if the baby is facing your back (as in, his/her back faces your belly button rather than his/her back on the same side as your back) then that is good! That's anterior, and the 'optimal' position for labour. PD here and here are those links to the sites about optimal foetal positioning for you. I made a note of them just in case Bisoubub decided to go posterior on me. I'm now 38 weeks but he's not engaged yet and head down with back to my side (LOT - left occipital transverse) so he could turn either way. Here's hoping for a nice 'LOA' birth! SL don't worry about not being engaged either - the midwife today said some women don't engage till just before labour starts, and that they even sometimes have seen women go into labour without being engaged! My sister said her 1st wasn't engaged till labour started either, so I've decided not to worry about it being 'normal' or an indicator of when bubs will decide it's time to come out
kayz well done with getting the ring off! If it makes you feel any better, I haven't worn mine for months. If people want to think of me as a 'loose woman' then they can go right ahead - bugger em! Nothing wrong with being unmarried and pregnant anyway these days I say. I've got them in a box somewhere safe as I can't be trusted not to lose them if I wear them any other way (I lost my original engagement ring... a long story for another time though!)
WG and Jam I'm sorry if the mattress wrapping info has worried you - I was the one that posted that link. I only came across it by chance, and it concerned me too which is why I posted it to encourage discussion about mattresses and what is safe etc. I can't remember the specific site that was 'out of date' but I remember there being quite a few hits about it when I googled, some of which were probably more recent if you want to have a look. FWIW I'm not 'wrapping' mine as such, but I do have a new mattress for the cot. It is actually just a piece of Dunlop mattress foam cut to shape, and it's anti bacterial & fungal etc and it cost me a grand total of $40 (which is only £17). I'm making fitted waterproof mattress sheets to go over it (x2 so I always have a clean one) but you can buy these too, you don't have to custom make them. For me, it's a small price to pay for peace of mind if nothing else. Mattresses don't have to cost a fortune if you have a piece of proper mattress foam cut to size like I did (they cost at least 2-3 times more for a 'shop bought' one). Also if you are buying direct from a foam manufacturer, they can cut anything to size - including curved shapes for moses cribs etc if you want. Anyway just thought I'd mention it because it might be something people hadn't thought of as an option if you're holding off buying a new mattress because of the expense.
trace can I pre-order some of your colostrum hair conditioner? I don't think I've got enough of my own to do a full wash yet
kayz have you already tried sleeping with a pillow between your legs? I was having awful pelvic pain till I started doing that, then it really eased up.
katie if you already mentioned the name as a choice to your friend previously, then she's the one who has been cheeky by nicking it first. I wouldn't worry about it too much at this stage - I'd just wait to see what happens when you have your bub and hopefully you'll know what you want to call him/her - either that name or something different. I've heard of so many people having a name lined up, and then deciding after meeting the baby that it wasn't quite right anyway! So either way, don't let it dissuade you from using whatever name you really love when you meet your baby.
Beans I think I might be opting for the oral vitamin K dose too like Turnip - I read something somewhere about it that said that way the baby's system just takes in as much as it needs, and discards the rest (as we do when we take vitamins) rather than it's body having no option but to take a specific injected amount. I think there are pros & cons with both options though, but I know it's definitely something that's highly recommended that babies have. On a related note, the midwife today asked me about whether I wanted the baby to have a hepatitis B injection too, and I didn't know that it was something they offered. I'll have to do some more research on it - do any of you have any thoughts/knowledge about it?
PD - you had to pester your midwife for both a urine test and a strep B test? That's outrageous! I thought strep B was offered as a standard - at least it is here. I came back positive for my test so I'm really glad I did it. My mum was a midwife for 8 years and during that time saw a baby die from strep B, so for me it's just a risk that's too scary to take. Prevention treatment is just an injection of antibiotics at least 1hr (preferably 4) before giving birth. And it takes only a minute supposedly. My midwife said they can do a butterfly needle rather than cannula if preferred (supposedly a cannula can be a bit uncomfortable in your hand if you're active birthing and on hands and knees). I don't know about the urine test vs swab, sorry (I had the swab).
And lastly, kays - my sister said it was just as painful birthing her 7lb daughter as it was her 9lb son! So try not to worry too much about size, as he will be the 'perfect' baby size, and I know you will do fabulously well!