Due in Jan 2009 - 3 have popped, Christmas is coming and we're all fed up with this pregnancy malarky, bring on the babies!!

[LenniEd]

right its 1am and i am sat in here in turmoil. think i am in labour as having very regular contractions but as you can tell by my internet presence not that strong. have rung labour ward as just 37 weeks and complications and they have said come in. BUT dh not home (work doo but on his way) and ds in bed fast asleep. dad has last day at work tomorrow as he is retiring so don't want to ring them and ruin it as know he will be straight here and not go if he thinks i am in labour.
coping fine just too tired to give birth but can't sleep! just finished packing hospital bag though incase have to make a dash for it.
off to look at labour pages to see if it is real. worst thing is i want to vomit but can't. if it is labour completely different from last time....

qumps, you still around? how are you?

qumps - I'm sending you good birthing vibes / lovely sleep vibes depending on what is happening!

Not a fun night here, ds up lots, still high temp & cough, and screamy-shouting a lot - we just haven't known what to do, nothing seems to console him. DH is trying to rock him to sleep now, my bump has been really hard since about 4ish because of all the carrying and rocking and being jumped on & pummelled by the unhappy little cat.

I really really really want this baby to stay put until s/he is due - the idea of having a newborn now is terrifying. gah. mws have said s/he is more likely to be early as ds was (2 weeks) and both my bro and I were (2 & 3 weeks). That is just a wild guess isn't it?

Yep Spink, its a wild guess. Hope DS sleeping now, there are so many bugs around. DD is going down with something and she has the immune system of a small country so things must be bad.

Qumps - are you still here? Hope you are ok. Perhaps all those labour inducing things worked. I hope you got hold of someone.

You ladies have been busy! Hope everyone is well.

still feeling like Grot! Although, have managed to regain SOME hearing... both ears are really blocked up, but i can hear a bit now, thanks to my friend bringing me some "hopi Ear Candles" Oh my goodness they are amazing, and even if you ears aren't blocked, they are amazing for clearing sinuses, congested nose, and generally relaxing you. Going to pick some more up today- as am venturing out of the house! If i wrap up super warm i think the fresh air might do me good!!!

Midwife appointment yesterday was good, on the whole. But it was a visiting midwife or something, not one of the birthing centre team, and perhaps i have come to expect alot, but she didnm't leave me feeling nearly as reassured. For the first time ever i went in with a list of Questions, to which i was met with pretty Dead pan "matter of fact" answers.

1. Puffy fingers- previous midwifes have always said to mention fingers or face puffyness this if occours- and ignore feet, part of preg. But when i did, she was literally like, yeah, And.....

1. Itchyness- like i mentioned to you guys, its been better, but still bit itchy, to which she simply said, oh well your skin will just be stretching. No mention of bloods or anything!? Hmm....

1. Weight gain - ok so i expected her to be a bit unimpressed when i said i was concerned just how much weight i had gained.

1. Lastly, she must have said about FIVE times, Well you sure have alot of Growing to do, and that the baby was "by no means a whopper."

I think i'm just being WAY to harsh, because the usual birthing centre staff are so enthusiastic, and always so positive and encouraging, but i went away thinking that, well mainly worrying that i have a small baby. That said, shes written in my notes, "no concerns" So.............. i think i should just Shhhhhhhhhhhh

Am off to meet friend at bluewater today, don't think i will be there long, as it will be super busy & firs time venturing out of house for a while! sniffle sniffle.

Lenni sorry been slack about reading the posts, but i assume you arent in labour? How are you feeling?

Qumps if your still around, please update us.. if your in labour/hospitial... Lots and lots of good labouring vibes!

Xmasbooks Lol at confussion RE: piano playing!!

Tink Sorry to hear transverse. Lots of Birthing ball, sitting on chair backwards, etc for you then! Don't worry.... there is still time for turning, don't know how they find the space... but esp Second time round its more than possible i hear!. Good luck! Oh.... Reflexology is suposed to be a good shout?!

Oh, forgot to say, MW didn't say anything about head engaging, and i forgot to ask, but notes says Brim rather than NE before, so i guess that is a move in the right direction?!

Wow- Very long post for me! Sorry ladies!

mm sorry to hear about all the confusion for you

Quamps i hope you are ok?

Spink i hope your ds feels better this morning and that you are feeling ok.

It's all doom and gloom isn't it at the moment. I wake up with what feels like mestral cramps and then they disapear by lunchtime. Am fed up with thinking is this it?

DD is at nursery today and it's her last day until January so this will be my last Friday of freedom. By the time she goes back the baby should be born. The thing is i feel crappy this morning and don't want to do a great deal but i always think i am wasting a day if i do nothing especially as i have the option to get out and about childless (so much easier!)

i think i meant menstral cramps!

Ok rrrayray that is really freaky. I had never heard of ear candles in my life before until Tuesday when someone mentioned them. I went and bought some on Wednesday because i liked the idea of them. I told my friends about them and they had heard of them and now you mention them. It's wierd how you have never heard of something then it's mentioned lots in the space of a few days? Mine say not to use whilst pregnant though, i am not sure why?

morning

mm - poor u with ear and toothache again!!
looks like we are both having awkward babys.
i am seeing midwife on tues for a scan
eppm- cheers for link
len- glad all well keep those legs crossed
qumps - hope all well
spink- sorry for bad nite
rray-candles sound good hope you feel better soon, glad mw went well
ms s - sorry that u feel ill

Marking you guys for later when i can catch up!

can you phone midwife or hosp hope all ok

GTDACB you must phone delievry suite now, they will talk you through what you need to do.

They will probably want you to come in tbh. Have you got some childcare? Don't wait for dh. I am sure it is all fine but better to check.

Morning,

Just like last time the toothache just suddenly stopped of its own accord, just left with sinus pain and earache now which I can handle.

So much for going to bed early. Was up till gone midnight last night putting together teachers presents for the boys as DH refused to get them off the top of the wardrobe till 10.30 as he was 'busy' drawing christmas cards for his friends (flipping creative types!). Slept really heavily, but woke up feeling more tired than ever.

Have almost packed my hospital bag, just the baby clothes any my undies to go in there now, so that's a load off my mind.

Also have all the washed baby clothes ready to put away in the chest of drawers so that will feel more organised as well.

Feel quite nesty today and want to get loads of stuff done, but my legs feel like they are full of lead. I have to get the downstairs done at the very least though as ILs coming to have DS2 while I fetch DS1 this afternoon.

Have decided not to think about delivery again until Monday's appointment and will then try to put it out of my mind till after Christmas. I don't want it to spoil Christmas with the boys and once the decision's been made there will be no point in stressing about it anyway.

LenniEd Don't think the ball is going to do much for DH's core strength judging by the way he is using it! Has already bounced himself across the room twice and knocked everything flying. Is also using it to bounce the children until they feel sick - it'll be a miracle if it doesn't pop! I gave him the non-pg exercise guide that came with it yesterday and he just said 'nah - can't do any of that' and chucked it over his shoulder!

Have a list of questions for Monday but am pretty sure will go for a cs at the local hospital really, unless she manages to turn that is. DH will be off for the first week after delivery and then has booked half days for another week so that he can take and collect the boys from school. Mum will also be about and only lives 5 mins away if I need her. So will have plenty of support afterwards, still don't relish the idea of not being able to just get on with some stuff myself but am becoming resigned to it.

qumps any news? Sending you loads of positive vibes. x

gtdacp make sure you have got your feet up while you are waiting for MW to call. Could you try a warm hot water bottle, some paracetamol and a lie down to see if it eases off at all?

Let us know how it goes, am thinking of you.

tree just got round to reading your post on the other thread. Sorry to hear about all your money/redundancy woes. Hope you manage to sort out the payroll and maternity pay people.

I don't know how you are managing to get through the day what with all the stress and nightshifts to boot. I feel like such a wimp by comparison.

When are you due to start your mat leave?

Make sure you take plenty of time for yourself as soon as you possibly can.

Can you tell I'm avoiding the housework? Really must get going now or I will be having another embarassing episode when the ILs turn up later.

Morning ladies, sorry to hear about all of the illness hope you are wrapped up warm and getting some rest.
qumps hope everything OK
tink and moosemamma hope those babies turn!

I have a question - in a 'textbook' labour, ie waters still intact, not prem etc, at what point would you think of going to hospital if it is a 5 min drive away? I had a vague idea it was when you were getting contractions every 5-6 mins but my mum just laughed when I said this and said I would be in long before that. Obviously even just looking over your posts over the past few days the chances of it actually being textbook (if there is such a thing) are pretty slim, but i'm just trying to get a rough idea. As a first timer am very naive but please just humour me

Went to office xmas party last night and just got v fed up that I couldn't drink, dance, wear high heels or generally make merry in to the wee hours, so left at 10. It sounds so pathetic but I feel really vulnerable now when i'm out without dh and i'm usually so independent, plus trying to negotiate a packed bar with a bump is tricky. Guess I just don't want to stray too far away from my cave.

hi miss hs

with dd1 we went into birthing centre when i had had 5 lots of 5 min contractions, birthing centre was were i was planning on giving birth is 10 mins away.

I hadn't noticed this thread for several days.

MissHairspray, 5 mins fits with what I've been told at antenatal classes etc - I was induced first time round so don't know firsthand, as you get given a time to come in and it's all a bit different.

Treedelivery, I'm sorry you've got so many stresses. Why are they worrying about your BMI at this stage in pregnancy though? I mean, all the BMI calclculators I've seen online say they shouldn't be used in relation to pregnant or breastfeeding women, and I was annoyed for that reason at having my horribly high sounding figure written in at booking in.

DS has been awake very early or for a long time in the middle of the night for 4 of the last 5 nights. dp getting pretty cross about it too, and I can't get back to sleep when he does finally go, or not until it's actually time I got up!

in my first pg my contractions were 5 mins apart straight away. I went in then they were 3 mins apart and was only 3cm dilated... so everyone is different I guess...I think the guidance is 3-5 minutes....

ps - re the textbook labour bit(!!)

there were these lovely diagrams in our NCT class of contractions starting small mild and far apart and gradually getting stronger, longer and closer togeteher - well mine never really varied in the 24 hours - they did get stronger and longer but they were 3-5 mins apart nearly from start to finish!