Due in May 2005 part 7 - the one where we drop (hopefully)

[fisil]

Here it is ladies. Shall we start with a roll call like the efficient ladies over on April 2005?

Oh nogger, that's terrible. Name and shame your trust (if want to). I wasn't treated at all like that in Epsom. In fact when she came round to show me how to bath she asked if I wanted to do it if if she should do it and show me. I said she could do it. By the look on her face, I don't think that was the preferred respond. But, I never really followed her instructions anyway.

well its my last day atr work tomorrow and i feel so emotional already!! Aren't pregnancy hormones great???
I can't believe that we are all due very soon! It seems like many moons ago this thread was started. When we have had our babies, we ought to post a thread to keep in touch.. this thread has been a god send for me and very reassuring to hear others going through the same thing

well its my last day atr work tomorrow and i feel so emotional already!! Aren't pregnancy hormones great???
I can't believe that we are all due very soon! It seems like many moons ago this thread was started. When we have had our babies, we ought to post a thread to keep in touch.. this thread has been a god send for me and very reassuring to hear others going through the same thing

well its my last day atr work tomorrow and i feel so emotional already!! Aren't pregnancy hormones great???
I can't believe that we are all due very soon! It seems like many moons ago this thread was started. When we have had our babies, we ought to post a thread to keep in touch.. this thread has been a god send for me and very reassuring to hear others going through the same thing

Noggermum, we can't fault our local hospital at all at the moment (keeping our fingers crossed it continues for labour & baby's birth etc). We have had parentcraft classes which have been quite useful and show you the basics ie bathing a baby and breastfeeding but apparently once you have had baby they will also show you the basic's again on the ward but this time with baby ! They help you to bath baby, change baby's nappy and have even advised us that if we need to have time to ourselves ie to shower and to get ourselves "sorted" they will even look after baby! However not all mums want this help so it's up to the individual how much help they accept.
Personally I thought their attitude would be " well you have had the baby so you look after it" as it was in my mums day but they have assured us that this is not the case and whatever help we need they will do their best. But....we will see how it goes once baby is here.!

I'm glad everyone else's Trust policy seems better than ours - Leeds, there - named and shamed. You should see what they wrote in my notes about me refusing formula milk too - it was practically a rant about me being evil and starving the baby to death (she wasn't interested in feeding for the first 24 hours, but at 9lbs 4 born I wasn't unduly concerned, and boy, did she make up for it later!)

Here's to an uncomplicated delivery and 6 hour discharge this time....

oooh yes, here's to an uncomplicated delivery and 6 hour stay
Hope everyone's healthy and happy, I'm exhausted, went to the baby shop today to get a few bits and came away with just a stage 3 carseat for ds. I am definately in denial this week.

Northstar sounds like you could be even less organised than me! Lucky lady having a definite date. Saw midwife yesterday who in passing told me 'next week we'll start doing sweeps every 2 days'. Mmmm, says I, I'm not so sure about that. So have made an appointment for the actual due date Thurs 5 and will maybe have made my mind up by then. Anyone know anything re the pros/cons of sweeps????
B*** cleaning company failed to appear yesterday - grrrr, but got another bunch coming tomorrow now. The carpet cleaning manny is busy at it in the hall just now.
Fisil where are you?

Good thing I packed my hospital bag early, girls. Had a bad fall yesterday chasing after ds and spent half the night in hospital. I had to be monitored in Heatherwood for a couple of hours and see a Registrar who then transferred me to Wexham Park because my BP was very high and I was having lots of contractions. Spent another couple of hours in Wexham having exactly the same tests done before they sent me home. Got to go back today for more monitoring. Baby is fine but I ate half my labour snacks. Scary bit is that my contractions were anywhere between 2 mins apart and 12 mins apart but fairly continuous! Can't be long now.

I'm here Cab - still in there. Bit quiet today, though .... Things are picking up on the job front though, so I'd quite like another week to be able to go through the negotiations (have 2 very attractive possibilities now!).

You lucky people with dates and midwives trying to get them out! I think after going 11 days over last time everyone is just assuming that I do 41+ week pregnancies! We're still holding out for next Thursday cos the date's so cool!

I had a sweep and it had absolutely no effect. A bit uncomfortable, so maybe it's a good practice for what's about to come ... otherwise I don't know any good or bad about them.

Hi cab,
My experience with the sweep is that they are bloody painful. You might want to post a thread. You will get many responses and varying opinions. Some people find they are just a bit of "discomfort". I on the other hand now consider "discomfort" to be a euphamism for bloody painful. I remember a thread on this very topic a while ago. And, if I remember correctly, people who were near ready to go into labour (cervix soft and begining to efface/dialate) founf them to be not so painful. And people who were showing no signs of impending labour 1- found them quite painful and 2- it didn't work anyway. So, my recommendation would be if you are pretty much ready to go into labour the sweep might set it off. But, if you are not almost ready then the sweep will be quite painful and probably won't work anyway.

My cervix was sodt but had not begun to efface dialate at all. I would not let anyone do a sweep on me again (if I wanted to have a natural delivery). Obviously since I'm planning for caesarean, there wouldn't be any point to me having a sweep this time.

Logic, glad you are ok ... sounds like it wont be long now;
Fis, you are right hold out for the 05/05/05 ....
my girls are both born on the 11 so they want me to wait until the 11 ... not sure I want to oblige though, everytime I bend down I feel like my meal will come back up ... went to the reflexologist yesterday,and she asked me if I wanted to start things up, and I chickened out, and made another appointment for next week ... felt like I still had tonnes of things to do .... I'm obviously in denial

Message withdrawn

Cab at parentcraft class last night our midwife discussed sweeps. She said they weren't 100% successful but its a process they have to try first (Me thinks why??!!). Apparently it can be uncomfortable as at this stage the cervix is tipped right back and at an angle so it can be hard to reach thus making it uncomfortable. She suggested sitting on your fists to try and raise your bottom slightly. At the end of the day everyone experiences pain differently and you shouldn't really be put off by what people say, sometimes not knowing is the best way forward Good luck and I hope it works.

She told you "they have to try [a sweep] first". Have to???? Oh, I don't think so. It is YOUR choice whether or not you want one. I think it depends on how badly you want to get things moving, and your pain threshhold. I wouldn't rate my self as a complete wimp, but I certainly wouldn't ever consider a drug free natural childbirth either, so I guess I would rate myself somewhere on middle ground.

The reason why it hurt was because the consultant stuck her finger(s) up there and rotated them around to literally rip the membranes away from the cervix. This separation is what will hopefully get things moving. Sorry, but I'm a bit skeptical of tilted cervix theory. Perhaps she wants you to sit on your fists so that they aren't available for punching her????

Logic, sorry to hear about your accident, hope everything is ok now.

Well everyone seems to be getting contractions and twinges apart from me. All I got yesterday was an almighty kick which had be doubled over to which my 7 year old nephew responded "duck, she's going to blow"

Didn't know wether to laugh or cry

Sounds like lots of us are getting close now. Brighteyes, I'm like you, no twinges or anything yet, although head is 2/5 engaged - which is exciting. Off to hospital tour this evening too. Today is my last day at work and as I post from my work computer I may not be on for a while - don't have a home one yet, so I will rely on friends or see if I can get on at the library - so I may not be on for a while, just wanted to wish everyone well - hope we all have good labours and lovely healthy babies. Good luck everyone

Agree that you don't have to have a sweep. I was offered one at 41 weeks and declined. My labour started naturally 2 days later.

Good luck LittleB!

Haven't been on for ages and need to catch up!! Just wanted to wish LittleB well though and look forward to hearing your news

Hi all - hope everyone is feeling OK (or as OK as we can be waddling like penguins!) Glad to see from stats list that there a 4 of us all due on the 29th - was panicking I am going to be left til last!

I haven't had any twinges or anything really just pressure pain from baby's bottom being so high up (I'm guessing that means she's either very long or not engaged at all but am seeing MW next wed to find out!) Did jump(!) out of bed this morning with an agonising stabbing pain low down in my groin though. Don't have a clue what that would be??

Still very uncomfortable generally but reminding myself how lucky we are. Friend confided in me last night she had a MC 3 years ago and she and her dh have been trying ever since. She said she's bought a PG test every month for 3 years. Got me very choked up and I'm willing babydust her way.

Bag is now packed except for snacks - any suggestions for those? Hospital just said glucose tabs! Methinks I won't make a long delivery just on those. Have also packed unisex babygro just in case they got it wrong at the scan!

Anyway good luck all those ladies who are on the way. Looking forward to reading positive birth stories from everyone and getting very impatient!

There was a thread about 3 weeks ago about membrane sweeps. I added to it as 'It hurt a bloody lot'! However, some people feel nothing more than discomfort. My membranes ruptured 4 days before I was due last time, but I didn't have any labour, so the following day I went in for an induction, which is when they also did this sweep. I have heard it can hurt more if your waters have already gone, but it best you are prepared, because I would have rather known that it hurt, as it felt like it was being done too hard - but apparently, that's the norm

Logic, sounds like things are starting to happen. No more flinging your self around!!

I'm getting a lot of stitch pains too, on the upper right side. I sit watching TV in the evening with my hands behind my head to ease the discomfort.

Good afternoon everyone

Logic - I'm so glad you're okay after your fall, but doesn't it just p!$s you off when they transfer you elsewhere only to have the same tests done?

LittleB - bet you're really glad today is your last day at work! I hope it's not too long before we hear from you again.

Uwila - I'm pleased you have sorted out how to get to hospital. Have you got your appointment to discuss a c section with your consultant? I'm hoping you get what you want, it will be a lot less stressfull and worrying for you.

Well I'm 38 weeks today according to scan dates, but from my LMP our little one would be due today! That has made me realise just how close we are now and has made me get off my fat arse and wash all the baby clothes. Knowing my luck I will go past my due date, haven't had ANY twinges or anything yet!

Littleb & Brighteyes i'm the same as you 2. I'm due 15th May but as of yet have had no twinges. I have been having BH's since about 24 weeks and these are v uncomfortable but nothing else regarding signs that baby is ready! Last mw apmt I was told baby still hasn't engaged although they assured me that this may not happen till i'm in labour (?) Lots of different pains/twinges down below & up under by bust so maybe baby is trying to get ready..who knows.! Doing all I can though to make sure she arrives on or around 15th.

Anyway as it's been said before this time next month must of us will be with our own little bundle. That keeps me going.

Oh and good luck Littleb.

Holly, tbh, I couldn't stand the thought of food during labour, it's just afterwards that you are starving and all you get offered is a slice of toast!

Well, I've just got back from the hospital for monitoring and although everything is fine, they want me to go back again tomorrow for the same thing! I might as well move in!

No twinges here either. But as I'm hoping not to go into labour that's a good thing. Although, I still have one month (exactly) until due date. So it would be a bit soon for twinges -- I think.

My consultant appointment is on Thursday (05 May). I will also be having a scan that day to check placenta location, as it was a bit low at 21 weeks. Send me good vibes for an easily persuadable consultant.

BEst of luck Little B. I'll look forward to a happy announcement.

Wash baby clothes? Oh blimey, I knew I was slacking off on something. My 2to do2 list for the weekend includes sorting his clothes, but I didn't even think about washing them. My brain is mush. Just call me mashed potato head.