Fab Feb 2009: holy shit, this is it

[chilledmama]

Cause Swampster has a dirty mouth
Wouldn't hear me speaking that way...much
How do we delete threads????

Yes, I was wondering if we'll need to wear badges with MN & RL names on! I have enough trouble with names at the best of times but the combination of pregnant brain and aliases makes it very hard.

Who else is coming then? What about you Questionkid, you're not far away? MsLucy? Herbgarden? Catstar?eejaykay? Or will be be a gathering of quality, not quantity?

Dinky- I said goodbye to my pelvic floor a long time ago! Thankfully I don't suffer too badly but lots of sneezing and blowing of nose over weekend makes me think about buying some tena!!

kazza-sorry about Winston. Saw your post on Facebook. Loosing a member of the family is upsaetting any time it happens. At least he went peacefully in his sleep. I would have wrapped him up too...its just the right thing to do!

Lbb-glad you are feeling better, sorry about crap NHS. YANBU!

Lardy- The raspberry leaf tea is a good one but don't be tempted to buy actual tea. Pop into a Health Food Shop like Holland and Barrat and get their tablets then start of gently from as early as 35 weeks (it takes time for the effects to build up), by 37 weeks you want to be taking loads!

Onward- happy birthday

LBB sorry still too early for me to start anything next wednesday as will still be only 35 weeks then......... If only I could!!!

I am hoping to come on monday THOM, but will depend on my pelvis!!! It hasn't been too bad today and i am seeing physio on Wednesday so really hoping that it will be fine.

Right I am off now for an early night, thanks for all your kindness today and will catch up with you all tomorrow....

X-post lardy...see there is something you can start next week...I'll start with you as I'm 35 weeks next week!!

would love to come next week but will be at work until next Friday!!!
That means you all have to have a nice chunk of cake for me...none of this virtual crap!!!

Think Nkweto, Pluto and Nadsss and America are all London/near London based too - are any of you lovely ladies up for the meet up?

everybody is going quiet on here...is it bedtime or something????

chilled I think you should inform work that you have an ante natal apppointment on Monday. It's not stretching the truth too far...

Kazza sorry about your cat - i have two cats and two dogs and would be very very sad to lose any of them.

Yeah chilled just tell a little white one and come along too!

Yes and I bet she hasn't had any time off for ante natal classes. It is ante natal and if we arrange a time and place to meet it is technically an appointment. So there!

I'm still here! Sorry about silence, been mad busy at work trying to get things sorted before I leave (it's still 4 weeks away but there is a mountain to climb, not assisted by pre-Xmas slacking).

I can't make it on monday, very sadly - i have this growth scan tomorrow then ante-natal consultant follow-up on Monday (very badly organised but I can't complain that they don't see me, they just give me oodles of appointments!). Have a brilliant time and I shall think of you while sitting for my usual one and a half hour wait in the clinic!

DH is stomping off to bed as we just tried to sit down and write birth plan and somehow we've ended up in strops with each other, I really can't tell how or why. Dammit. Don't really want to go to bed now but am knackered. Eurgh. Time to get calm head back on...

Hope you feel better soon Dinky, take it easy you wonderwoman type you. No need to go all Rachida Dati on us! Hello and hugs to everyone else too.

You lot can talk! I thought I?d better catch up before I have most of the week where I can?t get on.

Apparently we are equal with January for births so far!

MS, I don?t swear and I hate asterisks, I think it?s a bit insulting, we know what it says asterisking out certain letters doesn?t change that. Not getting at whoever started the other thread it?s going along with the ?right? thing.

LBB, it could be your plug. I started losing mine Christmas day and it was a week before I went into proper labour. I had a proper show too during labour. I think you?re right BTW; it has to be 7 whole pineapples to work. Prostaglandins are good for induction, sex works but they?re best ingested!

That reminds me, do we have any Muslims or veggies in the group? Don?t let them use the pessary induction (forget the name) it?s made of pig?s semen!

Oh and don?t do castor oil, most natural induction works by moving your bowels but castor oil will move them too much?

O&U, my physio recommends the pillows too, it does help! I use a single quilt and wrap it around me as I need it. Happy birthday

Rosie, do write a birth plan. With a straightforward section you can take your baby straight away, they shouldn?t ever with any normal birth take them away and wash them. Your OH can still cut the cord. You can have the drapes lowered as the baby is born. You could ask that they don?t mention the sex before you see the baby. You can ask for biological nurturing or however you want to initiate breastfeeding (if you plan to). ?Natural sections? aren?t commonplace yet so you may not be able to get one of those!

Tink is doing well. We didn?t tell the CM that she has tonsillitis but she is on 4 doses of AB a day so Dad had to drop a syringe in. We told him to just say she was a bit chesty over the weekend so they put her on AB to be safe because of how brittle her asthma is. She is still croaky, but has been for weeks now, but seems to be getting better.

Sîan is a little angel I left her today as it is TBD?s birthday on Thursday and our friends yesterday. I was expressing in the hospital to be ready for tonight and Wednesday when we have the funeral. My parents gave her a syringe and she wasn?t happy, she woke at 9pm and was fed, she grizzled for two hours then till I got home. I?m worried about the funeral now! She had a really long feed off me when I got in and I?m still leaking! I went home for a little bit today and got my old Mini Electric but it?s not working. I?ll have to buy a new pump tomorrow.

morning all, hope everyone managed a little sleep.

O & U, belated birthday greetings, sorry missed that one yesterday amongst all the aches and pains etc.

MS, good luck for your consultants appointment this morning and hope you manage to make the right decision for you.

TBM, glad Tink is a bit better and so pleased Sian is being a good little girl for her mum. Hope the funeral isn't too bad (you know what I mean)

Off for a scan this morning to check LO's growth is ok for the CS 3 weeks early. I've had this awful panic that they will suddenly decide that its a girl after all not a boy (it happens quite often in Saudi) Particularly as I've just bought TONS of blue stuff. Watch this space ....

Missed 2 days and missed loads, as the time is ridiculous o clock cant realy take it all in!

Had my friend and her 5 month old daughter staying from spain (not seen her for a year and a half!)so nice to have a baby around and get a bit of practice in!

Dont know why i cant sleep, just anxious about stupid stuff i think. Everyone keeps saying get the rest while you can know coz once the baby is here you wont get any! But when i wake up my brain just goes mad and cant sleep.

Has anyone tried TENS machine was thinking of getting one maybe off ebay for before i get in the pool. Some one mentioned good for early labour? If she stays in for 2 more weeks im allowed my home birth so started to get prepared. Got a fitness ball(quite comfy for now actually) and birth pool in a box. Just need few bits now anyone had home birth before feel free to make suggestions.

xxx

Another busy day today so 'Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee' No doubt it will still take me ages to find this marker.

Went to Active birth last night and I was the only 2nd timer It was really good though and made me swing once again in favour of VBAC, just hope the MW tells me baby is head down on Thursday. Not holding too much hope.

Anyway have a good day and hopefully I'll catch up properly later. x

Kazza i just read back and saw your thing on maybe not being able to take hubbys phone onto Hazel ward - did you have your little one there? Its nice isnt it? Hazel is both ante natal and post ( at opposite ends ) and when i went in for that norovirus sickness thingy i was on there just before Christmas and i used DH's iphone then and nothing was said. I have a feeling though thats because i was in my own room, they are a little more lax now about using mobile phones as i saw quite a few women using them but i think its more about common courtesy thing than equiptment safety. I have requested an amenity room anyway and Great Western have loads so should be ok for one - like i said patientline there doesnt have the internet and i will be bored stupid without for 4 days.

Got my lo's growth scan today - this will be the last one before he is here so even though i know they can be a bit hit and miss i am going to be interested to see how he is doing and he feels pretty big now!

TBM i am going to do a birth plan - didnt know that DH can cut the cord either but i dont know if he will because he is scared of seeing anything if he goes around that side - not sure if he will be into the screen being lowered either as he is really isnt that great with blood and stuff.

Morning! Just a quickie as I have tonnes to dobefore I go to MW this AM but LittleSez I managed my first labour entirely with TENS machine. Someone has been kind enough to lend me one this time but last time I hired one. Not massivley cheaper than buying but you do get the right kind - some are not man enough for the job. You can hire them from Mothercare I think and some websites.

Happy Birthday for yesterday O and U. Hope you had a good one .

I am still sitting in my pyjamas , pondering on what I want to do today vs. what I need to do today. My list of things I actually need to d today is quite small but my nesting list is really getting quite out of control. Eg. Do I really need to touch up the paintwork around the doors before the baby arrives. Such important questions ?

Rosie - good luck with the growth scan - I wonder how much they will guestimate him as ?

Spotty - get on those hands and knees girl and get that baby head down. Someone told me that going down the stairs headfirst was meant to be helpful, but it sounds awfully dangerous at this stage !! Maybe a bit of light skirting board cleaning ?

Littlesez, you really don't need much for a home birth. Make sure you've got some snacks in for the midwifes, (they ate me out of house and home with DS2 - tea and biscuits are fine.) Also something to give birth on that you don't mind getting a bit messy (although not that messy e.g. an old duvet cover or sheets. Dark colour better) You don't need to be too bothered about plastic sheeting in my experience, someone told me on another thread that their DH missed the birth of their child as he was busy cutting up bubble wrap to size to cover their bed !! You need a nice warm towel for the baby and I found that some waterproof bed mats are useful, for sitting down after you've given birth when you might still be a bit, erm, messy. As for the tens machine - some people love them and some hate them, I found it invaluable when labouring with DS2, but didn't get the chance to get it on with DS3.

Good luck to everyone else with appointments coming up this week. Hope babies all facing in the right direction !

Morning all

My list of things to do is getting ever longer, but very little of it is actually getting done

Dinky - hope you are staying at home today and taking it easy?

I only got up 3 times last night and actually slept quite well.....but I'm still knackered....

I don't think I would have survived without my TENS when DS2 was born - I used it for several days before my waters broke (two weeks late!) then for 24 hours of one VERY painful and looooong contraction every half-hour pre-CS. It was only when I had to take it off for whatever reason that I realised just how effective it was.

Morning all,

It's snowing here in Spain so I am sitting at the desk watching big fat snowflakes falling. Although beautiful, it does actually scare me as we had very heavy snow on Friday and I ended up in a car crash. I was totally fine but was in shock and car is crunched. Was scarey at the time.

TBM - glad Sian is doing well. Am so happy for you.

Littlesez - have loads of towels too. People say old ones, but I used our normal ones and they all washed up fine afterwards. Also washable cushions are v useful because if you're crouching or kneeling it's nice to have something comfy under your knees. I don't agree with laidback on the plastic sheeting front! I had DS2 in our front room. I was standing (he was massive!) and the plastic sheeting and towels moved just at the critical moment. The blood destroyed our living room carpet and we ended up replacing the whole thing.

Oooh, I'm so nesty. Baby clothes in wash. House tidied. I cleared out a book shelf this morning that I'd been meaning to do for a year! Can't believe I'm 37+4!

Morning all. Temperature has gone for now (touch wood) and aches are subsiding and shock horror, actually have some work to do today, so have hauled my enormous arse into work via the antenatal clinic (where I got to see yet another different midwife who kindly confirmed that my bloods were all ok and Squiglet is head down - hurrah - but took my 34 week bloods and managed to leave me with blood spurting everywhere - not so hurrah) - thank you all though for your very kind get well wishes, made me feel very loved

TBM - I have to admit, it was me and not Chilled who originally came up with the asterisk and the title - our firewall at work blocks all swear words in emails (and even the word arse is blocked!) so is second nature to me to put asterisks in swear words nowadays - apologies to you, Swampster and Markstretch for raising your blood pressure that way. Glad Sian being an angel (she clearly prefers the good stuff straight from the source by the sounds of your post) and hope Tink is on the mend - good luck with your night out (you certainly deserve one after all you've been through recently) and hope the funeral is the perfect sending off for TBD's nan.

Eejaykay and Rosie - hope all goes well at your scans today and things have settled down with your DH Eejaykay (suspect he's probably in denial abit and sitting down doing birth plan made it all abit too real for him - know my DH was like that abit with DS).

LittleSez - you sound just like me when I was pregnant with DS - at 38 weeks pregnant I was wide awake in the middle of the night worrying about first foods for my unborn baby!! In hindsight, my advice is to make "take one day at a time" your new mantra when you get woken up in the night with your mind racing and find a nice meditation download or CD you can pop on your ipod and pop it on when your mind is going crazy in the middle of the night and that will help you at least relax and perhaps sleep. As Laidback said, some people love TENS machines, others dont - have to admit I dont think the TENS did much for me last time but that was because I kept forgetting to boost it when a contraction started; some of my friends have used just a TENS machine for their entire labour and swear by them. This time round, am going to rely on DH doing light touch massage constantly for early labour (similar effect on release of feel good endorphins but wont have to worry about boosting DH).

Spotty - glad you enjoyed your course last night, despite being so tired. Hope little one decides to flip round for you if you do want to VBAC.

Markstretch - did you decide on what you want to do in the end re VBAC/Csec?

Oh Mamagoose - xpost; god, how scary to be in a car crash! We had a minor one earlier on in my pregnancy and know how shaken up it leaves you - I really hope you are ok. Is the car a total write off? Definitely stay in and nest away!