Due May 2009 Hairy Mary!... We're on the final stretch!

[Belgianchocolates]

Thought I'd better start the new thread before it was too late. Here we go!

daisydoo i consider 8lbs normal too and a baby nearing 11lb to def be big.

really struggling to stay awake this afternoon. ds is full of beans and no one around to watch him for me.. made myself a caffeine cuppa tea... fingers crossed it helps.

I have lost my steam now and have officially crashed and burned lol! Am now tucking into a cup o tea (decaf of course) and a glutenfree kitkat!

I have just put up a for sale listing for lots of girls clothes, bedding, sleeping bags etc, I basically kept everything Madi had from newborn - 2 years and no long need it ;) but being such a huge task as you can imagine how much there must be, i just wondered if any of you ladies may be interested in any of it, before i start washing and taking pics??

Can someone give me the low down on pre-eclampsia please? Can't remember now who said they had it previously, sorry, faux pas I know, but how did you know you had it??

chocolatebunnies i had it last time.. but prob not the only one. i seemed perfectly normal up to 38.5 wks. i'd had some bad swelling for a while before that.. hands, feet, ankles etc my blood pressure and urine were also fine up till 38.5 wks. it was at that mw app that suddenly i had 3+'s of protein in my pee and v high blood pressure. my mw was v surprised and had just dropped round the home birth kit a few days before. she said the reason they test your pee at every app was to catch people exactly like me that had it appear out of the blue.. i had no other symptoms at all.

ooo and give us general run through what you're selling what month was madi born.. will her clothes be right season for the age of our LO's?

thanks fi so you were perfectly fine when the midwife told you that you had it? what happend next?? just curious as its in the back of my mind, i keep getting the 'fireworks' in front of my eyes, but its only when I stand up to quickly of move to fast, like if I bend down and stand up quickly i get it then, only for less than a minute though, i did get similar when i was pregnant first time round thouhg.

chocolatebunnies I also had pre-eclampsia last time. My blood pressure started to go up from about 34 weeks, then at 38 weeks they found protein in my urine. I didn't really have any other symptoms (no swelling etc) until after the birth when the condition got much worse and I could actually feel how high my bp was. I think the reason they monitor so carefully if they suspect it is because the mother can't always tell something is wrong.

it was all quite a shock to discover to both of us.. my dog was locked up in our kitchen as i didn't expect to be v long. my mum was out and dh was at work. my my called for an ambulance from the doctors surgery to take me asap the 20miles to bristol maternity hospital, phoned dh at work to tell him to meet me there(he works in bristol). she also took my house keys to give to our neighbour to let the dog out! i sobbed the whole way in the ambulance which did nothing to help my blood pressure! on arrival at hospital they popped me in a private room dh had arrived by then. checked my bp and pee again which was still high. popped a monitor on bump to check lo who was totally happy. they kept me in and decided as i was over 38wks and the only way to cure the PE was to have the baby i should be induced. they tried for 3days to get me going.. but ds was not for coming out.. even after the prostin gel my bishops score went down instead of up! so then had to have cs as hadn't dilated at all! things went a bit fubar at that point but no need for me to go into that here. so when i did go home it was with ds

I'm getting dizzy spells when I stand up this time.. but i've got low blood pressure at the mo so i'm just making sure i don't stand up too quick.

That's definitely the case with pre-eclampsia, you know, the feeling OK. It's a very very serious condition, but often women don't feel unwell until the condition has progressed and become very serious. One of my tutors at uni told us that she had it and despite being a mw and knowing all about it, she resented having to go into hospital, because she felt well.

Babies over 8lbs are larger than average (7 1/2 lbs), but not huge, IYKWIM. No one would deny that an 8lbs baby is not small! You get plenty of full term teeny weeny ones too and generally I can still pick out the 8lbs+ ones because they do look bigger when they're on the ward.

I get the flashes in front of my eyes when I bend down too. I think it's my BP being a bit low, rather than high. With pre-eclampsia the spots before your eyes wouldn't really have a trigger.

Well Madi was born at the end of September, so most will probably be out of season, but I have lots and lots and lots of basics, socks, vests, sleepsuits, various outfits and dresses, tops, trousers, jeans, skirts, jackets, all ages from newborn to 2, obviously all in good nick as they dont get used much before they're too small ! !I kept EVERYTHING! Also shoes, got some pink converses, patent black pram shoes. I have a couple of sleeping bags, and a girly duvet, its one that doesnt have a removable cover IYKWIM, its cotbed size, for use 12 months up, might come in handy for someone, we used it on the lounge floor for her to lie on and play on when she was small.

chocolatebunnies i had same prob when going through ds clothes for our pink one to come. DS was born in august and although his spring/autumn clothes were do-able there was no way lo would be wearing summery shorts etc in dec! Then of course some of his clothes just wouldn't look right on a girl IMO so sold those off too. I have one last huge batch to photograph and list but have been so busy with house hunting and now shattered i've just not got round to it. Hoping to do a mass photo fest on sunday when we're not looking at houses and get it on ebay next week.

Belgianchocs The pec debate is interesting me at the moment - I went to mw on Tues who found I had high bp and wanted me back today for another measurement today and it's still high so I am back again next Mon and Thurs next week - are they checking for pec? (no protein in wee at the mo but swollen hands and feet which are getting painful) or worried about the bp. I'm really hoping things settle down as I'd like a nice home birth. This is 3rd DC so I'm hoping the risks are really low.

Tummum If your mw is keeping a close eye on your bp then yes, I think she is worried about pre-eclampsia. Are you still working? Maybe being at home or if you're at home anyway, just resting and relaxing a bit more will help lower your bp a bit.

Back from hospital. No need for the bag in the end. Thanks for all the good luck messages!

BP seems ok. Its a tad higher than last time but nothing unusual so I saw a registrar for about 3 minutes - she listened to HB and I was on my way. My sausage fingers have gone down too. Maybe it was all psychosematic (sp?) or just due to being in a warm room this morning. Anyway, I clearly was worrying over nothing (so far). Check up in 2 weeks.

tummum this sounds exactly like what happened to me with DS. Which is why I am having my worries this time. At 36 weeks, my BP shot up. I was sent to hospital for monitoring, and then let home again. But the MW came every few days to check. I reckon my BP went up when I saw her come to the front door so every time I was sent in for monitoring. Must have happened 6 times in all. Apart from high BP and swelling,no ther symptoms and although it was irritating at the time, I am glad they were on top of it.

DS and I are going to Thomasland tomorrow with some pals. Hope the weather isn't as bad as todays has been! There will be a lot of standing around for me as I won't be able to go on any of the rides even though they are aimed at very little ones and aren't exactly scary! I don't think I'll fit in the cars half the time anyway!

belgianchocs and LadyH2 thanks for your advice. I figured it night be pec they are worrying about. Only a week left at work which I might try to get off sick to take it easy and get this bp down.

Ladies, whilst I was resting today I ventured into Mamas and Papas who are having a big sale on baby clothes. I went in for a lamp shade and came out with £190 of baby clothes for £60. Oops. . DH is going to kill me when he finds out ! They also have some stuff on the net in the sale too. It ends on 29th.

Jennster - thanks for telling me that bit of ear is the tragus. I also have the top of my ear pierced, but didn't find it painful!! Maybe if I get the tragus done by the same guy who did my 'other' he may freeze it also.

Sausage - Oh sorry to hear your news, but do appeal. What have you got to lose? And the comments about you being preg - what;s that about??

Chocolatebunnies - SNAP!!! Sore ribs and shortness of breath one minute, then BAM - energy surge!!

ladyhelen2 - how are you?? What did the hospital do???

EmmalinaC - so pleased to hear your friend's great news! Just think ladies, that'll be us in a few weeks time!!!

My legs tonight - what are they doing??? Every few minutes they jump all by themselves!!! They are very tingly. i have noticed my ankles are getting swollen, especially in the inside. Not only at night but also in the morning. And my boobs are exploding at the mo and itchy too!

Had physio this morning - nothing can be done for my neck at the moment. She didn't want to risk acupuncture. And as for pelvic pain, I got a new support belt and a pair of crutches. No hands on or acupuncture. Strange that some will provide acupuncture and others won't risk it....

Also had a good chat with the community mental health nurse. He reckons I had more than 'just' PND considering the horrendous visions & hallucinations etc I experienced. Anyway, he's gonna keep an eye on me and next chat is 20th April at my house. It was initially strange talkking to a guy, but it's his job, and he seems OK now I've had an inital chat. It was hard to talk over what I went through the last time, even though I have 'got over it' - I still cried! But I have learned from the experience and KNOW not to be scared/embarrassed etc. I feel safe and secure at the moment. I also told hm about this website and will be telling him to recommend it to other women - a bit of self-help annonymously does help! So thank you all.

OHHHHHH There go my bloody legs again!!!

Divedaisy. Sorry to hear that you're on crutches now too. I know what it's like, I'm in the same boat. It's still getting worse and today was one of the first days that I really needed them the whole time, which has been really annoying, because it's impossible to carry things while hobbling around on crutches. So I did leave them behind when I needed to carry something at home. Ds has been brilliant and carries everything for me when he's around and keeps saying 'don't do that mum. I'll pick that up' etc...
Anyway.This is what I found about acupuncture for PGP. After my osteopath did acupuncture on me I had a look around to see what the evidence was, because I was a bit dubious, though at no extra cost and knowing that if it didn't help at least it wouldn't do any harm I was happy to have a go. To my big surprise I really felt much better for about 2-3 days after I had the acupuncture. What is important, though, is that you've got to have someone who is experienced with pregnancy, which mine is. He told me that you can't use certain points on a pregnant woman and so only did as much as he could. If I were you I would try and have a look in your local area for a chiropractor or osteopath, because a lot of women find that very helpful. I looked for one after I found the NHS physio lacking. Crutches and a belt were all I got from her and I just felt that there must be something more that can be done. Also get in touch with the Pelvic Partnership, they've got really good information on their site and they sent me a really really good information booklet on treatment, help and how to cope with every day living.

Oh and Divedaisy, I had that thing with the legs too. I think it's just baby lying on a nerve somewhere. You mentioning it made me realise that it hasn't happened for about 2 weeks now, but before that I had it every night just as I wanted to sit down and relax. And it's impossible to relax while your leg is jumping about.

tummum That's exactly the sort of thing I do. That's why I've decided to stay away from shops from now on

ladyhelen Happy to hear your bp and swelling settled for a bit.

Dive ...but not all NHS physios are the same. My mate has just completed an acupuncture course, but is too inexperienced to work on pg women just now. I guess it's all to do with the patch work mish mash of what is available over the country. She was particularly impressed with post natal exercise class with baby massage and aqua natal classes available where I live which are run by NHS physiotherapists.

Evening!

Divedaisy - sorry to hear about your neck and pelvis, I really hope the next few weeks are manageable for you. No advice, I'm sorry, just best wishes. And aren't restless legs infuriating, I struggle at times too. Might be a coincidence, but I think it's worse if I haven't drunk enough water during the day (even when not pg I have problems with my knees if I'm dehydrated).

ladyhelen - glad all ok with you, and tummum - hope tthe monitoring over the next few days doesn't reveal anything. And at your shopping trip.

I had my 34 week appointment today (technically 34 weeks tomorrow, but today was the only day I could do). Anwyay, everything was fine, measuring 34cm, BP ok, and the mw and student mw are both sure that this one is head down...but that's what they said last time too and DD was undiagnosed breech.

Couple of questions, if anyone doesn't mind? On the 'presenting part' bit of my notes the MW has written 'brim' - is that different to 'free'? I can't remember from last time! I understand the numbers bit (4/5 etc) but haven't got the numbers, just brim.

And iron levels, please - when does it become low and require action? Mine has dropped from 12.6 at 12 weeks to 11.6 at 28. Now I know it's not low at the moment, but I don't want to miss out on my homebirth because of the iron. Should I start the spatone/floradix now just in case (can't take ferrous sulphate as it gives me really bad somach pains)? Will they test my blood again before the end? Thanks!

Evening ladies.

ladyhelen glad you are okay
tummum good luck with relaxing
emmalinac great news about your friend

Went to Infant Feeding Workshop today. Was very informative and hopefully helpful. Very anti bottle feeding but then I expected that. You are the spawn of the devil if you attempt to give your LO formula
I really really do want to give bf my best shot tho and have come away with lots of helpline numbers, a dvd showing latching on amongst other things. First time I'd ever seen a Knitted breast! this was used to show us how to hand express.

Also came away sterile pots and syringes so that I can express some colostrum and freeze it to take in with me when I go into labour. Apparently because of the gd the baby needs that little bit more when born cos its used to high sugar in the womb?

My gd readings are better today - I think? testing before meals today, Breakfast 4.5, lunch 4.3, dinner 3.7 just got to test b4 bed now.

Did anyone see that skinny pregnancy programme on ITV with Louise Redknapp? I was half watching it, not really impressed. LR seemed to be wanting reassurance that she was ok all the time - I know we all need that really, but to do it on TV?!

didn't see it flippineck thought it might depress me - not exactly skinny b4 pg

my bump issssoooooittttccccheeeeeee. (scratch, scratch, scratch) even my 3 year old has told me to stop that I'm going to make it worse - I must have said that to her re: her eczema , bless.

she's right. i've made it worse: i've scratched the red bumps to bleeding (yuck) and there is now a raised rash all over bump. am going to ask MW at my visit tomorrow what she recommends but I've already had good recommendations from here... i think the itch is here to stay. well, until baby arrives.

Looby I have those knitted breasts

flippineck Mine is in the brim. Got the impression it means they're heading the right way, but can still pop out. My Iron was 10.9 last reading. They like it to be 11 but was told as long as it's above 10.5 can still have a homebirth, but think again it could be a local decision.

Everybody else hope you are well.