Fab Feb 2009: holy shit, this is it

[chilledmama]

Cause Swampster has a dirty mouth
Wouldn't hear me speaking that way...much
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and from babycentre...

I've heard that raspberry leaf tea in pregnancy can help to make labour easier. If so, when should I start taking it and how much should I take?

Wisty Hoyland answers:
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It contains a uterine tonic and, taken daily in the last six to eight weeks of pregnancy, it helps to prepare the uterine muscles for labour and thereby ease the process of childbirth.

In a study carried out in Sydney, Australia, 192 first-time mums were given at random either a 1.2g raspberry leaf tablet or a placebo twice a day from 32 weeks of pregnancy. The herb had no harmful effects on mother or baby, and those women who had taken raspberry leaf tablets were found to have a shorter second stage of labour and a lower rate of forceps delivery (19.3 per cent versus 30.4 per cent). However, far more research is needed to confirm these results.

It is very important not to use raspberry leaves until the last two months of pregnancy because of their stimulating effect on the uterus. Start with one cup of tea a day or one tablet and build up gradually to a maximum of four cups of tea or tablets daily. The tea can be sipped freely during labour, too.

You can buy raspberry leaf tablets from health food stores. However many women prefer to make a tea from the dried herb, which is available from some health shops and from herbal suppliers, such as Neal's Yard Remedies. It can also be obtained from a herbalist. To find a registered herbalist near you, contact the National Institute of Medical Herbalists. The tea, or infusion, can be made as follows: put 25g/1oz of the dried herb in a pot and pour on 600ml/1 pint of boiling water. Cover and infuse for 15 minutes. Alternatively, add 1 teaspoonful of the dried herb to a cup of boiling water.

Another herbal remedy that can be used in conjunction with raspberry leaves is squaw vine. Like raspberry leaves, it has traditionally been considered a useful aid to labour and childbirth. As its name suggests, North American Indian women regularly took it in the weeks leading up to childbirth. Like raspberry leaves, it is a uterine tonic which helps to ease labour and birth. There is no research about the effectiveness of squaw vine.

Squaw vine can be obtained from a herbalist in the form of a tincture. She will advise you of how much to take and how often. It should not be taken until the last few weeks of pregnancy.

TBM-Just remember that if you wan to keep the milk, you have to sterilise the shells. Have you tried cotton breast pads...I found them significantly cheaper than the usual ones. Although I had to put them back to back. The Lansinoh ones aren't water proof but felt really nice so I put them against my skin then I put one of the washable waterproof avent ones on the outside iykwim and that worked really well. The throw away ones were just soaked in seconds...if I went out I had to take loads with me!

Right...I was going to go to bed quite a while ago!!! Am going now! night night all.

Thanx for that cm maybe I wasn't taking enough last time as contractions only lasted 20 seconds, was pushing for 3 hours and ended up with a forcep delivery..........

I used to use shells when Tink was in the NNU. I'd swap and sterilise them when I pumped (every three hours) they'd ask me for my shells if they were a few mls off! I've been seriously considering washables, but I'm not sure as I'm not doing the washing. I always know when my pad is full as I can smell the milk.

My late evening check in! My growth scan was fine too - glad yours was Rosie. Fatso was 98th centile at 20 weeks and is now down to 77th which feels a bit more manageable!

Hello spotty, I'm 34 weeks today too and feeling woefully underprepared compared to the domestic goddesses on here - but it feels like there's ages yet. I got some loose leaf RLT from Neal's Yard on Friday and will start taking it tomorrow - I figure it won't hurt and might help so what's to lose?

Glad you're feeling better Dinky, sorry about mice though - you need a Magnificent Mouse Maiming Machine! You're right about DH. He's got very low - he hasn't worked for three years and now realises there's no way he's going to get a job before the baby arrives, so I think that he is feeling like a big failure, and is way more sensitive than usual to anything that can be construed as criticism. I feel for him and can see where this stems from but have to admit I really don't have the energy to deal with his self-esteem and depression issues right now, so patience gets a bit thin.

Mind you, had an hour's Thai massage this evening and have been floating about on a Zen cloud of wellbeing since!

Right, I need to work out nappies stuff next - Swampy, you will be hearing from me!!

PS: I should explain that Fatso is so-called after the wombat in (I think) The Flying Doctors. Nothing derogatory about my bump's size! Wish I'd thought of kung-fu panda first though!

morning all. It has taken me AGES to catch up! you can tell a lot of you are on maternity leave now. Hope I can remember everything I meant to say as I read through 3 pages of posts but if not, sorry if I've missed anything.

MS, good news about your appointment with your consultant, sounds positive and at least you have a date to work to now for CS.

LBB, isn't it a bit late for GTT? Thought they did them much earlier, around 28 weeks?

Rosie, HUGE BABY, CS definitely the way to go.

Dinky, bloody mice, we had them a few years ago (and sodding squirrels) in the roof. Kept getting rid of them but the little buggers kept coming back. Hoped that when we had the loft conversion done in the summer that would be it but the last few days we were back in the UK at christmas we could hear the little bastards in the tiny storage space we still had in the loft. Bloody pain. Hope you manage to get rid of them ok. We tried everything and one thing was plug in things that were supposed to make a noise to frighten them off but made no bloody difference.

to everyone else having aches and pains, I totally sympathise. Bloody SPD is killing me. Can't even walk normally anymore. The 5 min walk to DD's nursery now takes 20 mins (each way) This morning my DS (off school this morning due to mocks etc) took DD to nursery and took our houseboy to show him where/what to do etc in the hope that Zakir can help out a bit some mornings and take her. Fingers crossed.

Scan went well yesterday, little one (definitely a boy, insha'allah) is growing well and estimated at just under 5lb which isn't bad for 33+5.

Hope everyone has a good day x

Morning all,

Glad everyones scans went well yesterday,and congrats on having a boy confirmed MOS . eejaykay 77th percentile doesnt sound too bad My lo's head was above the 100th percentile now - lol am soooo glad im not doing this any other way than a section. I have an appt at the hospital this afternoon with diabetic consultant and obstetrician in the joint clinic so hopefully this might be my last one with her anyway till d day, not so sure though as still three weeks away.

Its really foggy here this morning, a real pea souper - glad i dont have to go out till this afternoon Is anyone else having weird dreams atm? Its every night or even when i take my morning naps ... very strange dreams and usually about stuff that i really havent been thinking about.

Thanks for TENS/ Homebirth advise ladies

Whats a red book?

Missed loads again, i have just had a scim through few pages now off to the pound to get my car, got towed yesterday as dont have tax! Its a long long story. the woman on the phone couldnt understand why i was so hysterical and i had to explain that i was not a crazy person just very pregnant and hormonal. After that she spent the rest of the conversation asking me to take deep breaths and seeing if i was ok! amusing now but not at 10pm last night

My babs had a growth spurt and is measuring big for dates but only from my belly measurement, i am thinking how accurate that is as i could just have lots of fluid? Estimated at over 6lbs i am 35+3 and someone told me they can put on a pound a week for last 4 weeks?

Oh im going to have a baby here in real life on 4 weeks (maybe 6) how strange. I think i will miss my bump though.

TBM got 2 books given to me from lady i got birth pool from, The water birth book and active birth book. Going to have a read today. Hows baby sian doing? hows life with the new arrival big hugs and kisses, love the new pics. I just melt when i see tiny babies on dads' chest, my hubby has been so cute this weekend with my friends baby i was just crying thinking about what he'll be like with our babs

love to all mums and bumps xxx

can i just say that if everyone goes on posting at this rate, this thread might not be "it" at all...

Morning all. Am home waiting for new window men to arrive to put long awaited double glazed windows in our bedroom - fingers crossed it will drastically reduce the noise levels in our bedroom from the street outside! Thanks for all the sympathies re the mouse - it just really annoys me that am now going to have to crawl around, again, with the bloody steel wool to block up all nooks and crannies - thought we got them last time, but obviously not... ho hum.

Eejaykay - 77th percentile sounds pretty good. DS was somewhere between 75th and 90th when he was born - and it is do-able! Am sure things will pick up for your DH when Fatso arrives - there's nothing like the total dependence of a little baby to make someone forget any other troubles they may have...

LittleSez - red book is the book they give you to chart your little ones injections, weight and height gain and other stuff like that. Dont get too scared by the charts at the back with the various percentiles - remember each baby is different, so doesnt really matter what line your baby is on as long as they are happy, healthy and thriving.

Chilled, TBM - I was a milk production machine too with DS when my milk came in - used breastshells at night and used to collect over 3oz (otherwise woke up in soggy patch of milk) and used to sleep on dressing gowns too to try to save the bed sheets! After lots of experimenting, I found the Tommee Tippee stick ons were the best/most discreet at sopping up milk escapes while out and about...

Morning all! Hope everyone is well. Lovely to hear the results of your scans - I would love to see this baby again! Oh well just a few more weeks and I will meet him/her in person! I will also miss my bump especially as this is my last one.

It's really foggy here too but have done the school run and now at home with DS for a quite day indoors. Anyone else feeling like staying at home all the time? I just have no inclination to go anywhere! Normally I'm out somewhere everyday! Oh well!

Speaking of dreams I dreamt that my freezer full of salmon defrosted last night - I don't have any salmon in my freezer !!!!!

Tis ok Onwards - have an idea for the next thread title (assuming we need one in a couple of weeks) - "Its Fab, its Feb, its 2009 - come on babies, form an orderly line!"

McDreamy, be VERY CAREFUL when you say this is the last one! I've said that twice before now and twice I've now had to buy all the baby equipment again as I kept giving it away! (note to self, keep the damm stuff next time then I'll be ok)

Morning all

Oh god, I was up in the night with food poisoning. Feel like soemone is playing a nasty trick on me - car accidents and food poisoning in the last few wks of pregnancy! Baby moving loads so presume it's ok - my body would go into labour if baby was threatened by it I guess?

ChilledMama - we're in Madrid so tricky on the language side. Was more challenging on that front then we'd anticipated which you wouldn't have to worry about in the States. But we are well located for cheap, quick flights so do have quite a few visitors which is great as people will come for a w/end. Loads more to say on the whole move logistically, culturally and emotionally - just ask if you want to know anything!

MoS I thought it was a bit late for GTT too, with only 4 weeks to go, surely it's a bit pointless? If they're concerned about baby being hypaglycemic(sp?) couldn't they just get him out?
Glad scan went well.
Walking like a cowboy here now!

littlesez The red book is like your babies personal medical record if you like. They keep a track of hearing tests and weight and height, injection records etc and is used up to the age of 5 I think. There are pages in there for you to mark off mile stone moments like when baby first smiles, first follows you across the room with eyes, when teeth come through etc.
I wouldn't worry too much about measuring big, don't think it's very accurate, they're measuring the size of your uterus so only gives an idea of baby size, bt take in to account placenta and fluid too.

I'm not going to miss my bump! I can't wait for it to not be there anymore! I can't wait to lay on my back and on my front, I want to be able to turn over in bed without holding on to the headboard, I want to be able to pick something off the floor.

MamaGoose You really aren't having a good time at the moment are you? You poor thing. Sure baby's fine if movement is still strong. I don't know anything about effects of food poisoning though.

Blood test was fine, have to call tomorrow am for results.
I had a really bad night last night, was waking roughly every half hour/40 mins cramping and it's been going on this morning, enough to make me stop and groan (!) the DAU asked if I wanted to pop to triage for examination to make sure this isn't the start but said no, don't think it is. I was told to make sure I call if they get worse today.
Ds slept in til just gone 8, isn't it funny how they only sleep in when you need to be up and out early! So lunch is on delay so will hopefully still get a nap.....

MamaGoose - poor you! Hope you're having lots of fluids and rest and hopefully you'll feel much better really soon. As your little one is moving lots, am sure he/she is ok - if you're worried though, do get it checked out.

LBB - sorry to hear about your cramping, does NOT sound like fun. Does a warm bath help shift them at all? Hope you get a good long lunch time nap soon.

lol tink..... those pancakes are practically egg free my lot would revolt if i didn't make mine with tonnes of eggs.... last nights batch were 6 eggs, just under 400g flour and enough milk to make it really liquid (bout 3/4 litre or slightly more)

it always amazes me how many differnat recipes there are for things we consider simple.... scrambled eggs are the same, i think everyone on the planet must do them slightly differantly yet they're one of the simplest food you can think of!

chilled... i leaked for months on end with dd, i couldn't feed her wthout a muslin shoved down the opposite side of my bra until about 5/6 months it was so bad but with ds i hardly leaked at all, a little in the first week or so but nothing serious. i used washable pads... avent were quite good but very visable through clothes, boots own brand cheaper and less visable but a bit less comfortable against the skin and the shiner backing made them slightly more prone to slipping about.

mamagoose.... poor you, what a horrible week you're having. hope your feeling a bit better now, i'm sure it won't have bothered lo too much, just be careful to keep your fluids up.

lbb, keep an eye on them, my contractions with both kids started really irregular and far apart and gradually gained momentum over the space of a couple of days... but it was labour.

of your ds sleeping til 8.... dp crashed about so much going out at 7am that he woke both kids and all 6 cats who all preceeded to jump on me repeatedly til i got up

can't remember who asked about the cumin tea.... it's supposed to actually bring on labour so more along the lines of castor oil than RLT which tones the uterus so i definitely wouldn't chance it til 37 weeks at least just in case it does work for you. it's a south american midwifery trick and traditionally a cube of raw potato is used to absorb the bitterness but i found a spoon of honey did the trick just fine and i'm convinced it tipped me over the edge into labour... i don't think it would work if you're not fairly imminent anyway but anything that hurries things along at the end is a good thing right?!

Hi all

You're distracting me from work - all the pancake talk yesterday is making me hungry (even though I have just scoffed 3 rounds of toast and marmalade as a pre-lunch snack-ette).

McDreamy - I'm going to be at Stoke Mandeville hosp too - see you there! Where are you? I'm on the Herts / Bucks border so I could choose SM or Watford (no contest there then). Actually I've gotta go in tomorrow to discuss possibility or not of epidural this time around.

MamaGoose - that's so unfair that you have been ill too - you deserve the rest of the week to be extra lovely.

Calico - I didn't realise you were close by. I'm in Halton, near Wendover. I have my appt on Monday to make a date for a section. Have you been to SM before? Is it a nice hospital? I am very new to this area!

sob.... the oils run out again was wondering why the house was so feckin cold!

have been really cheeky and run them and ordered more even though dp doesn't get paid til friday... they're very laidback and never mind me running in to pay after it's been delivered so shouldn't cause a problem and it's insane to wait til friday to order it in case the weather turns icey again.

hope he comes soon though... not looking forward to standing out in the storm and rain to de air the boiler!

McDreamy - you're just around the corner, well sort of. I'm in Aldbury nr Tring. Often go for walks in Wendover woods
(well to the nice cafe there to eat cake).

I had DS at Stoke Mandeville hosp in 2007. Staff were fantastic - I stayed a few weeks though as I had surgery on my spine after DS was born (handy really as SM is also the National Spinal Injuries centre too so I was in the right place!). The current antenatal building is temporary though and looks it, but don't be put off as the main maternity ward is fine. I think you can ask for a tour - I didn't bother before DS but it's nice to know where you need to go to when the time comes.

Most of my NCT group had their babies there and all said that the care was excellent. Try and get a private 'amenity' room on the maternity ward if you can though as it's v busy on the main ward and sleep can be hard to come by with all the newborns!

McDreamy - you definitely need take some flip flops for the showers though. They were the low point!

Well, ds got very close to sleep, but got a second wind and started jumping up and down in cot. He'd been in there for just over an hour, so finally had to accept that I'm not getting a sleep today
Going to chemist to collect my anti-b's now.