Due May 2009 - There's a bun in my oven and it's making me HOT! HOT! HOT!

[FiKelly]

Shiny new thread already!

chocobunnies I think you'll probably have the best antenatal class of all of us. 1-2-1 is always best. I didn't go to the NHS ones with my no2 because they'd stopped the daytime ones and the nightime ones were couples ones, with my dh working away I would have been one of the only single women there + I felt that ds's birth was still quite fresh and I didn't think they could tell me anything new!

re: baby clothes - I really wouldn't buy too much, you'll get loads of presents after the birth. I've bought 1 cute gift set with 1 of each and so far my mum has bought me a 5 pack of vests in size 0-3 + 4 newborn ones in the wrap style fi talked about, they're also my favourite for newborns because you don't have to pull them over floppy heads. They're not the easiest to find in the UK, but Verbaudet definitely does them. Work has also bought me a 3 pack of both vests and babygros in size 0-3 (I think everyone is eyeing up my bump and thinking that there's no way my baby will get any wear out of newborn stuff!) as a goodbye present. See, I've got loads clothes for presents already and the baby hasn't even been born yet!

llare enjoy your spa day. I've been trying to give hints to dh that I'd love one of those for a birthday/xmas/valentines present, but so far he's not caught on!

Well, today it is my first true day of freedom, so it will be spent cleaning out the chickens, ironing and then going to aquanatal. How exciting!

detsy you've got to post a picture of your lo in the cow suit. We're all very very nosy!

frazzled your mw doesn't sound the most supportive. Baby's got plenty of time to turn itself around. I think they suggest sitting in forward leaning positions (e.g. leaning on a birthing ball) or being on hands and knees for parts of the day (scrubbing the floor my previous mw used to say) to help baby turn around, but the evidence is only anectdotal. Still. Better than doing nothing at all.

frazzle you've plenty of time for lo to wriggle round yet.. my best friend who's gone back to NZ last 2 dc's didn't turn till she went into labour! mw's in my area are only comfortable with home births if as risk free as pos.. so i guess she's just thinking of the what ifs as pph needs hospital attention. i had a pph too and as you prob know it's not very common. my consultant said mine was most likely caused by my 3/4 day failed induction which wore my uterus out and loaded me with extra hormones so my womb then couldn't do its job. going to do everything i can to avoid the same scenario this time.. a normal natural labour or if nes a cs.. but def no messing about with inductions etc.

Thanks belgian. I thought forward leaning was probably a good thing to try. Not too concerned about it yet, although I am aware that it hasn't 'moved' as far as I am aware for quite a while. I mean, it kicks and punches me a lot but always in the same places and its bum has been lodged on my right side under my ribs for weeks now. It doesn't seem to do rolling around at all. Must give the kitchen floor a going over on hands and knees and see if that helps. Am sure my skirting boards could do with a wash too.

Yes and pic of cow suit is required.......come on detsy we're in suspense....

fi oh your labour sounds horrible, poor you. I had a 'normal' labour last time (not induced) but actually don't remember being told I'd had a PPh. I did feel terrible and totally exhausted for a while afterwards and was given iron tablets - maybe they did tell me and I was too out of it to take it in. Looking at photos of me after giving birth I look like death, but I reckon that's to be expected too. Don't know, it's all a bit of a blur unfortunately. Hoping to avoid the same scenario this time and sounds like you are too!
All I want is a quick, relatively pain free normal labour at home this time with a bit of gas and air and no complications......surely that's not setting my sights too high? [ahem]

re kimono vests.. green baby organic do them in short sleeve and long. the NCT website has an offer on if you buy 2 at a time.. la redoute do some too. i have links of more in colours if anyone wants them when i'm next on laptop instead of phone.

feeling quite rough at mo.. i think due to v early start and ds disturbed sleep sat/sun. ages since i've felt this nauseous so def going to be a pj's day today. postman just cheered me up though.. a parcel with my mama mio tummy butter cream

ooh fi mama mio is delicious. Loving mine. Go and slap some on, that'll cheer you up. And go have something decent to eat - you probably need some energy if you've been up for hours.

You know frazzled I've just been doing some writing about the 3rd stage of labour and I'm sure I read somewhere that you've actually got less chance to have a PPH when you have a hb, because you're more relaxed your body will be better at producing oxytocin, which makes your uterus contract. So I really hope your mw will come around.
Oh and talking about babies turning around. Only last week we had someone who was going to have a c/s for breech and when she got to theatre the baby had turned. I also met someone when I was pg with my dd who had the same thing happening. All to show that lo has got loads of time.

I was induced due to pre eclampsia at 38.5 wks.. no sign of that thankfully so far. frazzle was your normal labour a long one last time? ie v long first stage and v long second? that could have contributed to you having the pph? the exhaustion with the pph causing anemia is awful.. my post birth photos show me looking greyer than my pale grey pj's!

Thanks belgian. What happened to your el c/s lady whose baby had turned when they got to theatre? did they do it anyway or send her away to go into labour?
Fingers crossed for some big movements from the little man then.
And that's really interesting (and logical) about less PPh at home. Less intervention and stress and mucking about I guess. How are you getting on with your HB plans? All still set for you?

frazzled I think your birth expectations are entirely reasonable

Re turning babies, the AN tutor said to do the leaning forward/floor scrubbing etc when LO is awake otherwise it'll stay put snugly asleep. Obviously I don't know if this is true or not but it seems to make sense.

you're right about the food and tummy cream.. have had lots of stodgy soreen fruit loaf (ds too) some milk and applied cream copiously.. nausea gone. ds is being nice and calm.. tired too i think.. he's playing with his tents and tunnels set so far.

fi oh dear, pre-eclampsia must have been awful. No, mine was a 16 hr labour but the second stage was very short. As in, you're fully dilated now - stop pushing, haven't got gloves on (midwife), followed by DD coming out a minute later. So no, don't know why I had PPH. Who knows.
The worst thing I remember is feeling really pathetic afterward and not having any energy and thinking everyone would be thinking I was a rubbish mother for crying all the time and feeling so dreadful (sob). (My family and in-laws all seem to bounce back immediately so I felt a bit of a failure in comparison). Also my milk didn't come in for ages. Don't know if that is related at all.
God, looking back the whole thing was a nightmare.
[panics]

But DD is worth it though. Obviously.

fi glad you're feeling better now. Mmmm could really fancy some Soreen with butter on. Might have to nip out.

frazzle milk et all def because of the pph (well the anemia due to pph is the main culprit).. i was exactly the same. i wasn't so lucky with milk supply.. mine just vanished after colostrum..

frazzled Those c/s ladies both came strolling back up to the ward and went home 'to await events' Both happened in different hospitals. I know that the one who I met when I was pg with dd ended up having an normal delivery. Don't know about the lady last week though. My homebirth plans are still on track. No mws turning around having doubts or anything, on the contrary! I think the delay of your milk coming in would have been related to your PPH, we find that women who are anaemic often don't have the best milk supply. And of course anaemia would cause you to have a lack of energy, which in turn would have made you tearful, etc... Also could be that your superquick 2nd stage caused your PPH. Sometimes that sort of thing makes a uterus 'give up' and relax which causes bleeding. Almost as if it has used too much energy during the birth.

frazzled, I felt similar to you post birth last time. hoping for different this time.

I'm going to get a one to 1 with NCT (few 'perks' of my antenatal job) but it's only about 2-3 hours long. chocolatebunnies, yours does sound comprehensive and will be good.

hypatia, are you going into 'nesting' already? you sound busy!

Fi, I want to get some kimono vests but think I'll wait till someone asks what I need/what can they buy us and direct them to the places you've mentioned. I didn't know where we could find kimono style vests, thanks.

been to GP to get prescrip for new support socks (lovely) and decided against the thigh-high ones as I wear jeans constantly and those would never fit underneath jeans. also told her I was so worried about labour and PND but she said it's different this time since it's in my records and everyone (GP, MW, HV) is aware and ready to help. I did feel a little assured.

time to get to work. i should find out this week what mat pay I'm going to get and fingers crossed it will cover our food bills!

I agree was def worth it though

Morning!

I'm having a morning off as I've got to shlep up to Birmingham from south London for a conference later on today for a few days, and colleagues have told me to 'take it easy' (ie don't come in) as I was a bit hot and fainty and woozy yesterday..

chocolatebunnies - I read your bit about ice and thought immediately 'ooh that will be for a nice gin and tonic' - slap hands, little do I know! God, I miss a nice G&T. I've reduced my drinking (OBV!) to one or two glasses of wine a week - if that - SO glad baby is coming along in the summer - nothing nicer than mooching about on a nice summers evening with a G&T.

I'm not prepared AT ALL either. We're currently in my 2 bed tiny basement flat - 2nd room is my study - but we're moving up to dp's house in Hertfordshire (dahling) a month or so after LO comes along. Its currently being rented out, so when the tenants go, its going to have a deep clean (they've got a cat - am v allergic!) and a complete re-decorate - including the nursery! So until then, LO is going to be squished in with us in a moses basket and all her bits and bobs piled up on the bookshelves in the study (nb - PhD books get packed away after proposal deadline - 6th March - currently awaiting tutors comments of draft no 2...)

All this talk of spas.... dp - has offered to pay for a mummy indulgence thingy for me at the sanctuary this weekend... I said it was a waste of money. Think I regret saying that now... was going to do it after PhD thingy handed in, but I'll be nearly 29 weeks then, and the limit for their massages is 28 weeks... ah well, maybe I can do it this weekend. Who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?!

Dandy - hows things with the MIL?

Belgian - what's your opinion on epidurals? A Dr friend of mine who had a c/s last time, and is again this time said that if she wasn't having a section, she'd have an epidural... am wimpingly thinking its the way to go for me...

Just seen the time - oops better pack! Have a lovely few days ladies - will catch up at the weekend!

belgian that's interesting re fast second stage..

momino fingers crossed for your mat pay. the support socks sound like a bridget jones pants equivalent! are you more likely to get pnd if you've had it before?

sausagen I may be wrong but I think quite a lot of docs go for the epidural.......I know a few anyway. In fact my friend who is a consultant anaesthetist has just had an epidural for her labour and normal delivery. But then she doesnt think babies can come out if you're not in hospital and strapped to a bed and is APPALLED by the notion of a homebirth. Funny eh?

frazzled yes I think you're right, I get that impression too! Still, I spose I still have plenty of time to think about it...

RIGHT MUST PACK! Is very difficult, I don't have many 'smart' mat clothes suitable for conference wear!! Oops.

take it easy at the conference sausage don't wear yourself out. re epidurals.. I plan to go with the flow on the day.. no idea if i'll need one or not. going to see how i handle contractions with gas and air and tens first.

about PND, I'm not sure how likely to get it 2nd time around. I do know I don't feel like I've got over it from the 1st time (dd2's birth aug 07) and only started getting help last jul. I do know if one has AND, it's usually NOT related to getting PND and doesn't mean one's more likely to get PND. I'm hoping my hormones take a turn for the better after this birth .

about epidural - i defn want one. I had a water birth with gas & air last time only because no one was available to give me an epidural. this time, i'm going to demand one upon arrival and send dh searching through the labour ward for anyone resembling an anaesthetist (within reason). in any case, it's prob best to 'expect the unexpected' so Fi, you're right to go with the flow.