Due in June 2009: The final quarter - packing our bags and remembering to squuueeeeeeezzeeeee!..

[Ineedmorechocolatenow]

Here it is!

wow everyone...this thread is flying......

Just a quick post to say hi. Pal of mine had baby girl today.9lbs 5oz My little sis is still hanging in waiting for her baba to arrive. She is 6 days overdue.

What a gorgeous day we had here today.Summer seems to finally be here

choccie - Your poor sister! Fingers crossed this one is early like the last..

I must go a purchase a new bra or two tomorrow, this one is getting really uncomfy!

evening all

i started to try and catch up but no luck

I am so tired tonight, was in the garden today doing some digging, wish I didnt start now I am in agony, esp my hips over the past few nights I haven't slept due to pain in my hips and only way I am not sore is when I lie on my back and I have been told this is a no no...here's hoping I get sleep tonight back at work tomorrow after 2 weeks off only positive thing about tomorrow is if I am able to drag myself to work I can confirm about moving my annual leave and mat leave dates being moved forward

I saw someone mentioning spots, well I have had a terrible complexion since day one started to use wipes designed to clear skin so here's hoping it starts to work I can't handle these spots anymore!!

Sorry for the me post - just feeling sorry for myself being in pain and the thought of work, suppose its not work itself that is getting me down its the bloody people I cannot stand anymore, I hope to find another job before the end of my mat leave so I dont have to go back there

Evening all!

I would like to make two suggestions...feel free to tell me to shut up.

1.) Everyone stop apologizing for not being able to keep up! No one can keep up! Its okay to not respond to each and every person!

2.) Everyone stop apologizing for complaining about how bad they feel! We all sympathize! We all feel bad! Bitch away!

Okay?

ok tee i'll not apologise anymore...promise

cool TEE.
No more apologising from me

Well, tonight was rather graphic at AN class . It wasn?t Eduardo but Marta his very straight talking (and drawing ) side kick. I now know more than I ever wanted to about the colour and texture of the mucous plug and was a little disturbed by her pausing the video just as we got to a full frontal of someone?s fanjo did learn some interesting things though ? she said the rule of thumb for 1st time Mums is to think about heading to the hospital when you are getting 3-5 contractions every 10 mins for an hour and for those of us with babies already to think about it when we have 1 contraction every 10 mins. Apparently the average 2nd birth lasts 8 hours. I did ask how that sits with my need to have Abs and she said that if I don?t get all I need in time the baby will get them when she?s born

Daisy ? thanks for your kind words and thoughts about my situation here I am on the Costa del Sol and I know that my hospital (the Costa del Sol) has a very good reputation for maternity matters and I have never heard anything bad to be honest but most of the stories begin ?they were great, I got an epidural as soon as I got there..? which is exactly what I don?t want, I guess I am just worried about the intervention levels that ladies seem to like here. Melanie Griffith had her baby in my hospital (is that a claim to fame?) they don?t let us visit the maternity bit for fear of germs but we saw a so-called promotional video tonight at AN classes (was very odd, more like someone?s home movie with a grinning skinny woman showing you different birthing positions on the various bits of equipment in the labour room ). I?m sorry to be so pathetic with my fears I am sure I?ll get more comfy as time goes on, I just feel a bit scared at the mo.

Insy ? read about depression in your book last night, scary stuff, must be awful. My MIL spent a large proportion of DH?s early life in and out of institutions as a result of PND. I had a client once who murdered her 2nd child (smothered her with wet washing in the laundry basket because she wouldn?t stop crying) she certainly wasn?t in control of her faculties at the time but the case has really haunted me, the eldest child kept asking where the baby was too re UK tests they just say immune or not to Rubella not the level like here (I am learning that that is very typical!) good thing is hardly anyone?s kids won?t have had the MMR as you don?t appear to get any choice with things like that here.

Naat ? what gorgeous photos sweet, sweet baby and you look exactly like I expected you to! It?s great that your DH can stay with you that was one thing I was sad about last time, I felt that DS and I had bonded so much that first night and that DH had missed out. This time he is expected to stay so that will be a lovely first for us your advice to me is very wise I have to say, I think it is an occupational hazard, I panic and stress and study everything in advance and then am fully prepared on the day ? just like appearing in court

Littlesarah ? hope you had a lovely time at the museum with DD and glad the MW appointment went well, hope your bloods come back clear for GD.

Ermintrude ? sorry to hear you are still feeling off do you think my DS is old enough to benefit from any of the books you mentioned to Daisy? He?s 14 months but does love books and stories. Interesting about the rubella immunity, I purposely checked mine out before I started TTC last time and was told it was fine. I was worried that DH wouldn?t find things in my bag last time so subdivided it all into clear plastic bags and clearly marked them maybe I should have kept that to myself, I am a bit OTT about things aren?t it?

June ? I hope your friend gets the all clear from her CVS, worrying times.

Chin up Laura hope work goes ok x

Hello and welcome Welshsurprise I didn?t have many BH at all with my DS but have been having lots this time round for quite a while now.

Help ? I hope you feel better soon x

Sweetbroody ? sorry to hear about your BP, must have been pretty high! what?s the plan now? Is your Dad ok hon? They don?t routinely check for Strep B in the UK, only if there are risk factors but here they check everyone. I have been given an antibiotic called Zinnat which is Cefuroxima. So far I?ve had a little bit of a bad stomach but nothing else thankfully.

Bigcar ? shocking behaviour by your MW!

Tee ? I just laugh at people who say things like that to me, I just tell them I?ll be a whole lot bigger before then! LOL like your rules.

Bunnymother ? do you think us moving will satisfy our nesting urges?? I doubt it!!

I saw a gorgeous 3 day old baby girl today she looked so tiny but was the same weight as my DS was (7lb8) I can hardly believe he was that size not so long ago.

Hello all!

Well in the spirit of Tee's post, I'm not even going to attempt to keep up!

I had my last working day yesterday. It did feel a little strange, I think it'll feel stranger when DH returns to work after the Easter hols when I'm at home on a Tuesday. Another teacher had organised for all the classes on the floor I was teaching at the end of the day to line the corridor and they all gave me a 'hundred pupil salute' as I walked out of the classroom and down the corridor. It was so sweet. I managed not to cry, though I was very close ! I got lovely flowers, and my Y11 'criminal group' were gorgeous (for a change) and had clubbed together to buy a card and all write little messages. Scott, one of the naughtiest had organised it 'it's from Waitrose miss' (looking very proud)! So lovely! We all played Scategories all lesson, which they love. A lovely end to the day!

DS seems to be getting better. He's not spiking anymore (he has convulsions, so it's always a bit of a worry) and his snotty nose is drying up a bit. He even managed half a bowl of Shreddies this morning, he hasn't eaten for three days so it feels good that he's got something in his tum.

Actually slept last night (though up for my obligatory toilet breaks every 2 hours). This little one is moving quite painfully now, kicking me in the ribs, and 'down below' , if you know what I mean! Had some bizarre dreams last night....

Might brave town today, I'll see how DS is. The sky is blue and the sun is shining... roll on Summer!

Morning all!

Up twice in the night. So much fun!

I, personally, am feeling huge!

I'm with you Ineed on the painful kicks, especially when aimed down! I am also very that you are now off work. I still have about 6 weeks left until I go off.

Everyone have a nice day!

mrsmcj I had PND with ds1 and think I mostly cried through that chapter in book as was scared it would happened again, its not a period a remember much about which I think is really sad as I missed out on ds when he was a baby, but was fine with ds2, I think I still struggled but we recognised the ?warning? signs better and I?d already set up more support, I hoping everything is fine with this baby too. That?s so sad about lady who killed her own baby, I?m not sure how you could recover from that

I read your whole post, ds2 is 15 months (same age as ds1 was when I was expecting) and we have this book there are no words only pictures you can talk about so you can make it really their level and they both like just flicking through it. Both have been fascinated at that age with pictures of themselves as babies so we?ve had the albums out at bed time too and talked to them about the new baby when ds2 really enjoys and he shouts ?baba? and does baby sign which is lovely.

I always find the differences in care and antenatal testing really strange, it confuses me what other countries decide on as important when others don?t, like the GBSS, I followed the link you posted and now am a little worried about it, not sure if I should get the private test, its only £32 and I know its been found before when I was having swabs done at fertility clinic, was given antibiotics at time and told it was nothing to worry about but now wondering if it could have come back, I?ve not had any problems with ds?s birth and worried I wouldn?t be able to have home birth if it was positive?.

ineed also of your last day at work, tee I finish on 14th May so I think the same time as you ineed glad to hear ds is having a better day, my lo has decided to lie sideways now which is a new one as both ds?s where head down already, prob so much space now that its just swimming around! I occasionally get the uncomfortable kicks down below but not vey often luckily

Morning all

Baby has also been kicking my down below which is sore

Quick question back at work and again the fainting spells are happening what could be causing these, blood results came back normal, so dont have anemia, as did BP starting to get worried about it

Good morning, Juners!

Ineed glad to hear your DS is feeling better... maybe you can even go to town today and enjoy the sun! Here it's really cloudy just like yesterday, let's see if it changes. Congrats on your freedom! Enjoy!!!

Tee at your post yesterday haha, it's true, every time we come and whine we apologise first

Insy you're not getting LOW kicks... those are killers, ladies! And they come when you least expect them, so you give a little jolt hahaha.

MrsMc I can relate to you at that level... I'm a really rational/structured/control-freak person That's why I felt that maybe that advice could apply to you as that was what would make me feel more reassured. I must say that HB has helped a lot since I started it, before that I was literally PANICKING about it all. But of course your situation is different as you're finding it tricky to get used to Spain's healthcare system... Don't worry, honey, you still have time to get ready. I'm more than sure you will. your DH can stay with you this time! (Remember to tell me if you need help with the BPlan).

Laura good luck on your day back to work. Take it easy, and don't pay attention to those nasty colleagues. I really don't know what may be causing those fainting spells, hon... Try to stay calm and if you don't feel well, please call your MW, don't hesitate.

Choccie congrats to your friend! And fingers crossed for your sister's LO to come soon

LittleSarah I have to write a commentary as that is part of my dissertation. There I have to justify all the choices I've made for the translation and the tricky features of both languages backed by theory. It's a translation + commentary and I hate that last part!

Today DH is working from home in the morning as we have a scan at 11.45am I'm soooooo excited to see the baby again! After that I have to see the consultant and make ask him/her to let me have only the MW as my primary carer and so be able to give birth at the BC. (They put me in mixed care at the beginning as they said I had low BMI and, as I suffered from anorexia in my teens, that rung all the bells for them ). So now if the baby is the right size and weight I can ask them to "leave me alone", my MW said . Cross your fingers for me, please!!! I'll tell you about it when I come back.

Have a lovely morning, ladies! (waves)

Morning all

Still got that pain but feel like I have a bit more energy today. I'm trying to be pleased about the fact I'm not up to eating much - that'll keep the weight down - but would rather have a healthy appetite, no nausea, no digestive problems and a bit of extra fat .

MrsMc I think the books I mentioned wouldn't be much use to a 14 month old at the moment but those series - and the Alfie ones which someone mentioned - are lovely right up to around age 5 and beyond as the sibling relationships develop. insy's suggestion - and some of the other books in Amazon's 'people who bought this also bought this' section - look good and more age-appropriate. At that age the most you can do is prepare them for feeling happy and positive about the new addition - and then keeping an eye on them once LO arrives (a friend aged 16 months was left with her newborn bro for 2 mins and when their mum returned she was sitting on him reading a book. He was unharmed! And my sis found her 18 month old DD feeding raisins into the mouth of her sleeping 1 month old sister.. well meant but a bit dangerous).

Ineed I'd have cried at that send-off - how sweet of them to do that for you

lauraloo do you move around less at work, or is your chair in an uncomfortable position with baby weighing on your back? Wonder if there are physical differences between how you behave in and out of the office which are temporarily lowering your blood pressure and causing fainting. Maybe getting outside and taking a little walk every couple of hours would help? Hope you stay vertical today...

Naat hope you get accepted at the BC. I had my DD at a BC and found it the perfect halfway house for a first birth.

Morning everyone

ermin - glad to hear you have a bit more energy today. I also feel more that way lately although I cannot stop eating!!!!!!!!!I am eating far too much chocolate and bad stuff and really need to try and cut down as the more weight I gian the more pain I could possibly suffer from this SPD.

Naat - good luck with your scan.Lucky you I also have scan on Firday with OB but its always a very quick one just to check measurements and fluid levels.
Good Luck also with the commentary part of your dissertation.

Sis still not delivered 7 days late now.

For those of you that have suffered from PND I too believe that I have before but I never got it checked out. I kind of just got on with things and when I look but I realise how difficult things were and that I was like a different person sometimes.Maybe just a mild form of PND. It takes me about 18 months to feel like myself again after delivering. I'm hoping I will bounce back a lot sooner than that this time.

Laura - sorry to hear you are fainting again. Do you have a stressful job? I would call the MW again as it must be very hard for you to relax and concentrate on anything when you are feeling so unwell.

Hi Insy, Ineed and Tee. Mrsmc - your ante natel class sounds... well different. I have also heard really good things about that hospital so I am sure that once you are in labour and doing the business everything will work out fine.

My baby has started to give me some good jabs in the tummy as well lately. Nothing down below as yet thank goodness as that sounds painful.

29 weeks today

choccie has your sister had a cervical sweep yet? I had one at 9 days late and labour started with a massive show (turn away if you don't want tmi: It was like what you'd find in the tissue if an elephant had blown it nose) 20 hours later, and the baby arrived 5.5 hours after that. The sweep was extremely painful because my cervix was very 'ripe', but it definitely got things moving and avoided inducction. The MW said that if the baby is big and pressing down - and my DS was 9lb7oz and had been engaged for weeks - the cervix can actually become swollen, which is why it was painful, and that can hold things up.

morning all

Yes sir tee sir no apologising! I'm also huge, people look quite surprised when I say I'm due in June!

I've totally lost confidence with my hospital now and am starting to feel quite down about it, I have no trust in them. Unfortunately all the local hospitals rate least well performing in sw London so there is no point changing. Link for anyone interested.

naat, have fingers crossed for today, enjoy seeing your lo again

MrsMcJnr, I have nothing but admiration for someone that organised, just wish I was half that sorted!

Glad you're feeling a little better ermintrude

laura Is your office stuffy or do you have air conditioning? Maybe it is down to stress and you should do less or stop working? (Did you look into sick leave anymore?)

bigcar mine is least well performing as well and so are most local ones (North London). I think the birth centre fares better so as long as there are no complications it'll be fine.
The problem is that if there are complications and I need to be transferred I am worried about the hospital I will be transferred to. And that's when I'll panick, probably the worst time!
The nct host said if we're not comfortable with the hospital we should really look around and find somewhere we're happy with.
Someone we know also told me "you are due very soon now, aren't you" and looked a bit surprised when I said "yup, 2 months to go".
Some tops make me looks very pregnant though compared to others.

mrsmc lol @ your graphic AN class, the worst we've had so far is a drawing of a fanjo and the host saying how you should put your fingers in your vagina to do perineal massage. (at nhs an class). No videos yet.
What makes me laugh is dh going white at the mention of blood, mucus and all the gory bits of childbirth. I really think he's going to faint on d-day.

The baby has been turning around and kicking loads last night, between that and the time it takes to get back to sleep I have probably managed 4 hours sleep altogether.
.

june I know my DH will faint on D-day! The man can't even really handle puke or pooh...yeah, he's gonna be fun with a baby in the house!

laura try elevating your feet, even if its just on a thick book or a stack of them.

insy sorry completely forget you asked about your portrait photography session. Have you spoken to him? When are you doing it? I would suggest choosing three or four 'looks' that you think you would like and trying those. He will probably have some ideas too.

I found the most atmospheric photos where using just one light, and I was talking to my lecturer last night about this and she felt the same way. Just one side light (personally I thought the soft box had the nicest effect) softens the look of your body, casts beautiful shadows and makes curves look lovely. It's kind to your flaws and you can face anywhere from completely sideways to almost front on. You could try this out at home. Stand in front of a full length mirror (naked or near naked), get a small desk lamp and place it 1-3 metres away to the side/front. Turn the main light off. Now face the front and then turn slowly around stopping to see what effect you like. Try different positions etc. It will at least give you some idea. The shadows will define the shape.

To me, the absolute front on pictures did not work, the ones lying flat on her back didn't work so well either. I would like to experiment more with lying down photos. Lots of lovely curves and a lovely voluptuous look. But the really lovely pregnant bump seems to look best when standing - although again, try in front of the mirror and see what appeals.

You could go for 'glamour' - the pregnant body is after all the result of rampant sex as well as love. Lovely underwear (lacey?), makeup, moisturiser, hair lovely, maybe drape a pashmina around some part of yourself or have it hanging down your back.

I wanted to do a fun photo with the antenatal scan picture taped to her tummy, but forgot to do it and tried to superimpose a baby in the womb, which didn't look so great.

You could write a message in lipstick on your tummy.
Maybe you could be perched on a high stool, lovingly holding some booties or a babygrow.
Maybe smiling and proud.
Decide if you want black & white or colour or both.
Do you want to look at the bump, at the camera or to the side?
Cradle, stroke or do nothing to the bump
Partner hugging you from behind?

The most important thing I think is using just one light, or only two if he wants to have subtle backlighting too.

Here are some of the suggestions the others made:
See Diane Keaton's pic in the film The Family Stone, beautiful, black and white, natural, just fab.
I really liked Demi Moore?s photos - ANNIE LEIBOVITZ
a message saying 'Let Me Out!'
... a big daisy or a sunflower with a "make love not war" slogan
A few suggested sitting cross legged.

Go to this site and put in the words Pregnant Bump. On the toolbar go to Results per page and change to 120 and scroll through for ideas.

Good luck from the Long Post Lady

hiya all thanks for your replies re my fainting. I'm still at work which is good that I've survived the fainting. not sure what caused the fainting the room was stuffy but as soon as I came in this morning i opened the windows and the offices isn't particularly stressful just the people. I might have been lack of sugar (even tho I had my usual breakie) I was just bringin up the water I was drinking so I got some Irn Bru (full calorie) and thats seems to have helped for now...my heart feels like its pounding so hard

The next couple of weeks in here are really busy and my time would fly in (hopefulyl)and now not sure now whether I should just work on to my original leaving dates (i would have 21 working days left or whether to still leave early...oh decisions decisions

My Dh is the same as yours tee he's trying to say he will survive the labour but I know for a fact he is going to faint...doesn't like blood or needles so he's going to be a great support partner

Just a quickie for those whose OHs get queasy - I'm sure you wouldn't pressurise them into doing too much at the business end anyway, but quite often MWs ask if 'daddy would like to cut the cord' which sounds very unproblematic - HOWEVER, my DH was horrified at how he had to practically saw through our DS's thick, slimy, bloody, veiny umbilical cord and has said nevermore . He wasn't too squeamish before that but now has a thing about umbilical cords!

I agree with ermintrude lol we'd put on birth plan that dh DIDN'T want to cut the cord and with ds1 they must of asked him about 3 or 4 times if he was sure, the final time he did turn around and say 'no, I think thats what you are here to do' he said he felt really rude saying it but they just didn't believe that he didn't want to, our mw somehow reckoned it would be amazing bonding experience but dh stayed stictly at the the head end
I also had a look at placenta afterwards as was fascinated by this extra organ I'd grown, I was amazed by ublical cord too, I expeted it to be pink, looks like something off a jelly fish!

daisy thanks, I haven't spoken to him yet, off to check the site out, will have more questions later! I want something that has me in it but not looking diretly at camera, think black and white and love idea of flattering lighting - I guess I'll do some shots that he might want too, especially as its for his portfolio, I'm just a little nervous about it as not a fan of having my photo taken which is why I guess I want to do this as I have no piccies of me preg with ds's and I'm lucky I don't mind my body at mo and would love to have lasting reminder, I want a really lovely small b&w photo for my bedroom wall, I'd love to do it naked (with hands/arms over appropriate places!) but not sure I'm brave enough!

wow daisy what a great site for ideas - I like ones with measuring tape and think bare bump is way forward but now not so sure about having boobs out... loads to think about, great thing about free sitting is if I don't like it I can try somewhere else

Ermin - yes sis had a sweep done last Saturday and is due another today.I have not however been able to ocntact her so she is either out and about or in labour

My DH is also quite squeamish over blood and gore so when we were due DS1 I told him to keep up my end of things and under no circumstances to go down to the business end! So along came labour day and there was DH down the "Business" end of things getting completely involved. He was mesmarised by the whole thing. I couldn't believe it. He did however say no to cutting the cord. I think that was 1 step too far for him.
When DS2 was arriving DH was asleep in a chair and I had to wake him in time for the delivery as I started to push. Once again he had a good look at baby coming into the world. Not really what I wanted and have heard stories of some men being out off sex fore a while after recovery etc due to the gore of it all... Didn't affect things here

choccie fortunately I was upright (once in a birthing pool and once kneeling on the floor by the bed) for both previous deliveries so DH was spared the sight of crowning etc. So I think he thought he'd got away with it until they handed him the scissors and the huge scary cord. Not much time to wallow in his queasiness though, since then the MWs handed DS to his daddy while I delivered the placenta, and our new son pooed meconium all over his father's arm .