Due April 2009 - Chapter 24: Pulling the Plug on the April babies!!!

[BabyBolat]

Here we go again....

LOL puzzle I was thinking the same thing - she struggled to even put a sentence together and the mouth black-haired one wont last long, I didn't like the manager but thought the black haired one was a bit too gobby for her own good!!!

Oh the black haired one was awful too. With her frosted pink lipstick and her dog's jaw. She reckoned she was well 'ard. Silly cow.

She did have VERY VERY bad make up on!!!

Good morning all...loving the Apprentice too

My bet is on Sunday for Springy. I have a sweep booked (good times) but not till the 8th (bad times) but lovely MW said 'I don't think you'll be needing it though' (utter cr*p no doubt bt made me feel better....

rofl Puzzle at him being 'penfold-like' - so true...

Morning MM -

I have a 40 week appt monday and a hospital appt on the thursday to discuss options - do you think they will give me a sweep then (at hosp) or do you have to book in for one?

usually given at home and therefore have to book.

Oh well my MW is coming to the house on Monday so maybe I will get one then... [fingers crossed emoticon]!!

Hello

Pub visit went well, but DH very stressed this morning when I told him I had been having contractions all night, so his BP zoomed up again. I am not having any contractions now though, but baby is very low. DH sloped off to work a little reluctantly it has to be said.

Been quite busy this morning. Washing machine and tumble dryer have died again, same fault. I rang John Lewis and said enough was enough, and in the circumstances I would appreciate it if they gave me new machines. And they said yes!!! They are delivering new ones on Saturday morning. I am very impressed and will buy even more at John Lewis now. Love those people.

Gas is leaking after the boiler installation so the man is here checking it all over. Apparently he found a small leak and has fixed it and we will now definitely have hot water for the birth! He was impressed I had smelled it as his gauge barely registered it, but we put it down to pg supernose, which is like a superhuman power for most of us ladies, let's face it, detecting small odours at 1000 paces. We reckoned they should carry pg women on gas engineers' vans, to act as canaries.

Been to chiropractor this morning again, and she has properly offered to come out to the house for free to tweak me during the birth, and check the baby over when he arrives, if she gets there on time. How nice is that? And brave - she's never had kids herself. I reassured her the graphic stuff would all be underwater so she would be spared any really yukky experiences hopefully.

Nesting instinct pretty much gone here too - think I wore myself out during wks 37/38 when I thought I would be early...idiot!

Kali - hi there! I remember you from that other thread too. Very at plug-type activities. Have had a teensy bit of (tmi) snotty discharge but was a few days ago and nothing more since...

Some great news Boff, so pleased for you you deserved a bit of good karma. (I did NOT send you bad things even though you would not marry me..because I am above such trifles..)

arggggggggggggggggh SMART targets WHY?!!!!

Good luck with all baby turning.

Auld, how are you today?

I have passed the Home Birth audition - I was expecting someone to come and audition my house as well, but no. They are very cool about it, pretty much said, "why not?"

So now I have to work out what I need and... get it.

a. Do I want WB? pros? cons?
b. If so, should I try to put the pool on the same floor as the bathroom / loo? I am not sure it will fit upstairs. Will this matter?
c. Can you use TENS at the same time as g&a? (I have worked out not at the same time as water.)
d. How much space do you need to labour in?
e. Do you need to cover everything with plastic, like you envisage some kind of Tarantino scenario, or do you just kind of prepare a plastic covered area and imagine sticking to it?
f. Mum says "what can I send you". What can she send me?
g. How much room does the MW need?

Oh, Boff, sounds as if your DH will be as relieved as you (and the rest of us!) once your baby is born.
After being of the pub, I am now of you having John Lewis. How sad am I???
And what a lovely chiropractor.

Think the baby is pressing on my sciatic nerve; I keep getting shooting pains up the side and back of my right thigh/buttock, which cause me to hop up and down in a clownish manner. But then when I was walking to school to get DS for lunch, the baby kept jiggling around and seemed to be causing pains in my groin as well. It was all highly undignified, as I winced and tried not to reveal to all and sundry that I was experiencing serious pain in between my legs.

There have been viewers/agents to visit the house every day this week. I waited in for one this morning, who didn't come. Now an estate agent wants to come and take photos this afternoon. DS is getting v p'd off: while yesterday's lot were here he was on the phone to my mum, and said v loudly, "There are more silly old people visiting our house, it's no fun."
No one wants to buy this and put us out of our misery, do they?

Ginger - I think yes to WB, or at least yes to getting pool - if you don't use it you've lost nothing, but would be awful to not have one and wish you had. I convinced myself that I would not do HB without a pool in the end, as so many people have said how good the water is for pain relief, even though I was initially completely horrified by WB!

I'm having pool in living room (like you it wouldn't fit upstairs!). Emptying might be more difficult from upstairs? Plus, I figure I bit of mooching up and down the stairs when I need the loo all helps to get things on the move.

Yes to TENS and G&A together.

Re: space - dunno? I imagined I'd just be wandering all over the place and mooing wherever I felt like it!

Have got big roll of some kind of plastic builders sheet, but am just going to put it on living room floor. And possibly some draped across TV/ stereo area, in case things get a bit splashy!

I think Mum should send you chocolate/ biscuits/ casseroles and the like for easy heating up (or are you talking in the post - best not to post casserole I suppose), maybe some homeopathy stuff or nice smelly oils (clary sage and the like). Wine/ champers.

Midwife room - no idea! Imagine just enough to lie you down with an anglepoise and stitch you up if needed. I have heard of the midwife popping upstairs for a kip in the early stages if things are progressing steadily, so I've got to tidy the spare room just in case!

Get cheap towels (the legendary Wilkinsons Maroon Bathsheet seems a popular option), which can just be binned afterwards if really yucky.

Boff - Sounds like a good morning. I love John Lewis too. And how wonderful of your chiropractor. It will be most enlightening for you.

Ginger - Hooray for your homebirth approval. Isn't it exciting? I have bought 3.5m sq of plastic sheeting for the livng room floor. Cushions and sofas that you may sit on can be covered with bin liners and then a towel. I have also pruchased some dirt cheap towels and bed sheets than can be thrown away after. You might also need an anglepoise lamp for the midwife in case of any necessary stitching.

The midwife will need one clear surface for her equipment, eg ktchen counter, large coffee table. Other than that all she will need is access to tea and biscuits.

Ginger, glad you're getting your HB so easily. Afraid I can't answer any of the questions, but I'm sure Boff and others can.

I am OK today, thanks for asking, despite very little sleep. DS woke up at 4:30 and came to say he'd had a bad dream, then neither he nor I got back to sleep again. He is now napping upstairs before the bl**dy estate agents arrive and demand that they be allowed to take photos of everything.
I am debating whether to finish the huge mountain of ironing, which is now all DH's things, or lie down with a cup of tea and catch up on the the Archers (saddo emoticon!).

Auld I want your house...but DH says no.

Oh, my midwife also asked if I had a digital thermometer.

Ginger:

a. Do I want WB? pros? cons?

Pros = Half the pain, mess all in one place. There are no cons IMO, apart from a bit of minor hassle setting the thing up intially, and tripping over it for a week or so while you wait for labour to start.

b. If so, should I try to put the pool on the same floor as the bathroom / loo? I am not sure it will fit upstairs. Will this matter?

Assuming you have not knocked out any supporting walls in your home without building regs permission, just buy a long hosepipe and a universal tap adaptor, and put it where you like. I am having mine in the dining room downstairs.

c. Can you use TENS at the same time as g&a? (I have worked out not at the same time as water.)

Yes. Make sure you have the TENS on for several hours though - it takes 5 hours for maximum effect apparently (although every little helps). A bit of pre-birth practice with the TENS machine helps your body acclimatise a bit to the process, I have found.

d. How much space do you need to labour in?

Depends what you feel like doing. Most HB people just potter around the house/flat strangely as normal for quite a while, and then leap in the pool or hang off the sofa or bed later on. My sister spent a considerable amount of time clinging onto a door frame for some reason. Each to her own.

e. Do you need to cover everything with plastic, like you envisage some kind of Tarantino scenario, or do you just kind of prepare a plastic covered area and imagine sticking to it?

There's a lot less mess than you think because you potter around with a pad on to start with, and then generally eventually settle in one spot you feel comfortable in before stripping off. We have a couple of waterproof sheets we put down with towels on top, but I have really rolled the boat out this time and invested in a roll of bubble wrap of the type people use to insulate greenhouses, because towels on top of that will apparently be less slippy. However that's more to stop water dripping onto the carpets than because we envisage a Tarantino experience.

f. Mum says "what can I send you". What can she send me?

A PhysioMed TPN200+ hospital grade TENS machine with an extra set of pads and a spare 9v battery. here. A large marroon bath sheet for afterwards. Some Neal's Yard massage oil suitable for pg and labour.

g. How much room does the MW need?
Just enough so she can get at you from both sides, or walk around the birthing pool.

I forgot to say I dreamed about you lot last night. Well it wasn't about you lot bu caused by you.
Lying with two other pregnant people chatting with our legs int he air and I was teaching them about finding your cervix (mm !!) we could see each other but not them doing it though so it wasnt grim in that way just very odd.

AM all all your planned wb. Do we have more home wbs planned on this thread than hospital births?

MM: the ad omits to mention the drug dealers out on the square, and the fact that it's only got North-facing windows, so is really gloomy between October and March. The water heater needs replacing, the central heating needs upgrading and the laminate flooring between the bedrooms was put down without any soundproofing or insulating layer between it and the creaky floorboards. And the wiring keeps blowing. Oh, and if you don't want half the neighbourhood kids or potential burglars climbing onto the terrace, the outside wall needs plastering and painting.
But it is charmant.

ha ha bronze, I would not call whatever I am going to be doing "planned"! I hope it works out, I haven't prepared anything at all so far.
But I am on leave from next Monday.

WOOO! On leave from Monday! I can't quite get that registered in my head actually.

DP says, "what will you do when you are on leave?"

typical schedule:

9 am: breakfast with mn open on laptop.
9.30 shower and cervix rummage
9.45 perineal massage
10.00 order things on the internet at random
10.45 click dubious links provided by mn-ers
10.47 hastily close browser window
10.50 back to the ordering of stuff with gay abandon

etc

Bronze - I will be at home but no birth pool for me. I may hang off a door frame like Boff's sister. I imagine I will look like this. Or this

Puzzle - !

Ginger - have you been spying on me? That is almost exactly my day! Except I have only just had a shower. And no cervical rummaging.

Ginger - you forgot the most important bit - EAT CAKE.