Due June 09: The final Countdown: RLT, BH, SPD, HB, EC, VBAC & no plans to TTC again!

[Ineedmorechocolatenow]

Here it is!

hello all,

not been on for a few days, turns out I'm in 'pre-labour/early labour' laura BH are random tighnings or practise contractions, the real thing is very regular even if a while apart, the kind you have and then think 'ohh should I be timing these?' anyway was at this stage with ds2 who then didn't turn up till 2 days before his due date so not worried although baby very low and have sore pelvis and its my first day of maternity leave so really need to get most things done today!

ds1 is 3 today, had a family get together for him on Saturday and a terrible night with him last night, eventually after crying for an hour from midnight he said he had sore ears and I dosed him up, god knows why he didn't say that to start with! anyway sent him to nursery as they are throwing him a birthday tea and he'd be gutted to miss it

anyway hope you're all ok - did I read effie was in labour! hope shes on line soon to keep us updated

LittleSarah - you look gorgeous in that IO top. If I was you, I would try and wear it every single day! I have been thinking about a nice maternity top, until I tell myself I am sooo close to the end that its stupid. Will have to get something from IO next time, then...

MrsMcJnr - sorry to hear your DH is so sick - terrible timing! Hope that he gets better soon, as it sounds like a nasty bug he has. Doesn't sound like your MIL is great "on the turps" and a bit of a worry that she has been drunk every night [shock. Although, perhaps that should be on my part .

Am thinking about Effie, too and hoping her LO stays put until they are "fully baked".

Lovely day here today, and am continuing to try and do all the things I wanted to before LO arrives (like you, June, mine is mainly tidying the spare room and dealing w paperwork [tedious emoticon]).

Went to Dr yesterday, only appointment wasn't in their books so am off again this morning. Can't wait to see Dr's face when I thrust my (newly painted) swollen feet at him and ask if this is normal! BP is fine, though, so am not worried.

Crossed posts w both Naat and Insy! Naat - am thinking of you w your Mum coming over soon. Hope you can stay happy and calm

Insy - ooh, pre-labour - wonder if you will be the next one "to go"? Sorry to hear about your little DS1 being sick. Poor little thing , hope he enjoys his party!

MrsMc I swear I didn't put a jinx on your DH! I'd have done something irritating, like piles, but nothing that required you to nurse him and look after DC . Hope you get some rest SOON and get him and his mother off the sauce. I mean, really!!

Insy I did a lot of pre-labour with DD but then with DS I got all the pressing down and 'cervix ripening' but nothing else. I had a (v painful!) cervical sweep at 9 days overdue and the MW said she could feel that my cervix was swollen from the pressure and that made it more difficult to thin out - but then the next day I had a show at 12 and he was born at 5.30 so the sweep did the trick.

Hope your DS isn't going to get ear trouble. .

Naat enjoy your aquanatal, and Tee enjoy the housework. Well OK then, just think about your lovely spa day tomorrow

bunny good luck with the paperwork, it has to get worse before it gets better: from one huge pile of mixed up stuff to loads of little piles strewn over every available spaces (that includes the keyboard) and hopefully end up in alphabetical order neatly in files. In a cardboard box. In the loft.

mrsmc Sorry to hear you're having a hard time, keep on coming here for support. (Don't worry about fb btw, as ppl said: not a chatting site.)

All this talk about labour and pre-labour and stuff is making me shudder.

naat mostly I'm catching up on housework, very slowly.

Oh and tomorrow I am spending the morning at the Day Spa. Waxing galore and nails nails nails!!!

morning everyone hope you are having a nice morning

sleep was ok last night, was up about 4 times tho for toilet trips, crampy pains etc so went back to sleep around 5 and slept till 11 feel thats all i have been doing since i started mat leave. the cotbed arrives tomorrow so better make space for it in the nursery

mrsmcjnr sorry to hear about your DH and the lack of sleep you have been having i hope he gets better soon x

tee how lovely to have a spa day tomorrow would love something like that before baby arrives

naat hope you enjoy aquanatal today, my class was this morning but for the past few weeks I have missed it due to sleeping in

insy oh pre-labour already how many weeks do you have left to go? There was a point last night where i thought i should have been timing the pains in my back...if the pains come back on today i will be timing them to see how regular/irregular they are

bunny i am the same as you about nice maternity tops, I have a few but it's always the same ones i wear. I have seen some lovely tops in new look but think whats the point only got 4 weeks to go

Been thinking of effie all night i hope she and LO is ok x

Oh forgot to mention i finally got my Health in Pregnancy Grant paid on Friday...spent £40 already buying DH a new pair of shoes...dont think thats what it is to be used for but nothing else to buy baby

Just posted on FB from effie

"Is still in hospital. Still the same. Second dose of steriods to stregthen babys lungs. Been told I have grp b strep and another infection, which maybe why I'm contracting. I'll keep you all posted. Bit scared but ok. THANKS for all the messages xxxxxxx"

Hi ladies

No news on Effie yet then. Hope she and lo are ok.

Mrsmc - Hope your dh gets better soon so he can start helping you out. Sounds like you have your hands full with himself and then MIL. I am also not a huge fan of FB so don't go on very often. Much prefer MN

Hey Insy - not long now then....

I also am having worries over being able to detect if I'm in real labour or not. I never really knew with the other 2. I had so many regular contraction with DS2 that lasted all day long and then just stopped. Then I woke in the middle of the night by 1 huge pain and I suppose I knew then, that was it. DS1 - Waters broke so was kept in hospital and pains were very very gradual. I wonder how this 1 will compare.

Tee - Enjoy your pampering tomorrow I am really looking forward to my pedicure. My feet are completely swollen and dry. .

Hi Bunnymother. Hope your appt goes well today.

Hi Lauraloo - thanks for posting about Effie. The poor thing sounds like she is having a hard time. At least she is being taken care of though. God Love her.

Naat - Enjoy your aquanatal class today I only attended 1 class weeks and weeks ago and it set my pelvis off I would have loved to have carried on but it was not to be. I have major plans to exercise, walk, diet etc once baby is a few months old and I have a bit more energy. This time I really must lose the baby weight.

I am getting quite tired in the afternoons again now so I have just gone and bought a load of ready made meals for the days that I can't face cooking. I did however cook Jamie Olivers Chilli Con Carne last night from scratch and it was yummy.

Hope everyone has a lovely day and not too many painful BH's!

I just saw that laura. Here's hoping everything works out okay. From my research, if they can keep baby in for even one more day, it will help!!

I have an antenatal appointment today followed by antenatal class! So I either dash home to eat the lovely chicken caccatorie that is in the slow cooker or eat hospital food while DH eats the lovely chicken caccatorie in the slow cooker.

Back from the hospital all fine and they understood why I wanted the baby not to arrive until DH was better but I have to go back next week for more assessment. The baby is big but only measuring 2 weeks ahead now instead of 3. They estimate her weight at 3.9kgs at the mo but that can be up to 500g out either way can?t it? Does anyone know how to read the Doppler monitor readings? I am sure the lower reading (which I think might be your contractions?) was much higher this time at between 25 and 35 rather than between 5 and 20 as it was last time. Any thoughts?

afternoon all

Hope effie and her lo are doing ok and hanging in there. Thanks to those posting about effie, I'm not on fb. I did think about it once but dd1 was mortified so thought it would be her thing rather than mine

tee, hope your appointment went well and you made it home for lunch, your day of pampering sounds lovely

insy, happy birthday to your ds1 My ds is 9 today!

MrsMcJnr, sorry to hear your dh isn't well, honestly, it wasn't us Hope your mil is just getting all her drinking out of the way before she comes to stay with you. Don't know an awful lot about those readings other than you want to be seeing nice big peaks when in labour. It must mean everything is progressing in the right direction if your uterus is tighter than it was! Dd2 had the cord wrapped round her neck when she was born, we didn't know in advance though, probably a good thing. She was absolutely fine (it was wrapped round once) a little blue for a short time but still came out screaming and apgar score was fine, just a small whiff oxygen was all she needed. That was my homebirth! It's one of the things they check for routinely during delivery and means you really do have to stop pushing when they tell you to, after your ds I'm sure you can appreciate how bloody hard easy that is

naat, hope everything goes well with your mum, I remember how stressed you were about her coming not that long ago

bras at night I think are a must if breastfeeding, I have memories of feeding one side and dripping like a tap from the other nice.

Well ladies, I was up at the hospital this morning and as you know, usually come back and have a right moan! I'm not going to today ok, I still had to wait an hour and a half and was in and out like a yoyo but saw a different doctor (again) and what a difference that made. She looked at me and at me when I walked in, commented on the amount of pain I was in with the spd and actually asked me how I was feeling I could have fallen off my chair! Everything with the baby was good so she said they'd see me next week and do an internal to see if they'd book me for a section or an induction (ARM) as they don't want me going over dates. It's half term next week and would have to find a babysitter or take them with me. Then before I could say anything she said I don't see any point in waiting we could do it now! Everything is looking good for a natural delivery which really wasn't what I was expecting, obviously there is no guarantee but I'm over the moon. Soooooo next thursday I'm booked in for induction! She did a sweep as well today which was a bit uncomfortable and left me desperate for a wee, so I really should get on and finish packing that hospital bag

bunny, hope your doctor appreciated your newly painted toes

waves to all

big - I'm amazed a hcp actually asked how you were feeling

MRSM - no idea/experience of any of yr 3 questions - sorry. Don't worry about he fb thing - it's not for chatting just for general nosiness and seeing what each other looks like. Or is that just me?

Bunny - if my rl name is on yr list then i have to say I love it now. When I was little I wanted a 'normal' name but changed my mind by the time I was a teen. Always gets shortened by everyone else other than family though.

PG stupidity alert - I've contacted MC on fb and added as a friend but I can't work out who she is.

Of to the hospital in a mo to see a consultant (first time this pg - apparently to see if I am suitable for hb)

DH and Dmum now beign a pain in the @rse about hb - don't think they support my decision. Also dh almost ridiculing me for doing my hypnobirthing. I am desperate to be serene and calm and get this baby out with no screaming/dramatics just to prove them wrong!!

Hello to evryone else - will check back in later

Oooh bigcar, induction next thursday!
This thread is moving forward

Right, I have worries about baby positioning, a lot of you seem to know where the baby is pointing and I feel left out.
Bit too that some of you know how big the baby is, no one's told me/measured me/had a guess.

I have an appointment with the mw on Thursday, 37w+4, so I am really hoping that she will have a feel around then and not fobb me off like she did last time.
Otherwise I'm seriously considering a private presentation scan with babybond.
In the "pg bible" they say that it's important to know around 32w so that you can do the exercises to encourage the baby to go the right way.
I can see the top of my belly move and feel pressure down there so I thought the baby would be the right way round but we used the doppler today and the heartbeat can be heard 1 or 2 inches over the belly button, so upper part of the belly, so now I'm confused.

Also the exercises to get the baby pointing the right way seem to be all the opposite of what I've been told to do like putting my feet up to reduce the swelling in my ankles, and not do breast stroke because it's bad for SPD.

Right well, I'm off to crouch down on my birthing ball...

Hi Juners!!

bigcar wow!!! That's great news!!! Thank God for such a sweet doctor!!! You absolutely deserve it after all you've been through Thanks for your kind words re. my mum.

Insy pre-labour, huh? I guess we'll have many Juners' LOs soon Happy bday to your DS and hope his ears are OK.

tee oh so nice to go to a spa! I'm sure you'll enjoy it fully!!! Hope you manage to eat proper food today and not hospital one. Let us know how the appt went.

Mrsmc no idea about those numbers, unfortunately, but glad to hear LO is fine and measuring not so big

choccie don't feel guilty about buying food instead of making it... if you're feeling tired these days then the least you need is to be thinking about spending loads of time in the kitchen mass-cooking.
Hope you can take a nap

laura sleep if you can, of course! No guilt! Yay, the cot is arriving tomorrow!

june hoping the paperwork is getting under control

Hi ermin! Can I bother you with something? I cannot find the link you gave us on reusable nappies I thought I had bookmarked the page but apparently I didn't... Do you mind posting it again?

bunny hope you have a good appt at the docs and that you got to show your nice toe-nails Thanks for your kind words

effie thinking of you and LO. xx

Right, no aquanatal today, poor girl overslept and only when I sent her a text asking her if she was ok did she wake up That shows we're all having a hard time sleeping

I'm so dumb! I started packing some books in a box and then of course I could not move it so now I cannot sit at my desk until DH comes home

Horrible weather here, reaaaaaaaaaaally hoping for it to get better soon!!

(((waves)))

How exciting bigcar!! I'm hoping this LO will stay put for another 2 weeks or so, just so I can get the clean laundry out of its cot (hey, at least its clean laundry), get the Amby Hammock delivered and buy some sheets!!

Off to my appointment now. No nap for Tee today.

x post silk and june

silk hope everything goes well at your appt and you can have the HB you want. So sorry to hear you're not getting much support with that or the hypnobirthing If that's what you want, then go ahead and, as you say, you'll prove them wrong This is about you and baby.

june yeah, I'm with you on that one, no one ever told me how big or small she was for certain but you MW SHOULD tell you what position the baby is in. ASK her and NAG!! Of course you should know in order to sit/lie in positions that can help get LO in the correct one should it not be. Hope you get these answers at your appt on Thursday

silk MC is choccie

Wow! Bigcar - that's so exciting!

Naat with you on the baby brain. It was at an all time high today. Had arranged last week to have a friend over this morning. I COMPLETELY FORGOT! Lucky she text at 9.50 to say she was going to be late and would be round at 10.30 instead. Gave me enough time to dash round, run up to Co-op for brownies and coffee and look calm and serene (?) by the time she arrived.....

I wouldn't mind, but pre-pregnancy I am an organisational DEMON so I feel like I've lost all my powers.... like superman and kryptonite....

Jeez.

Lots of cramps and pressure in the pelvis here.... grr... I wish I remembered what early labour was like with DS.....

Love to all xx

mrsmc glad the measurements are better, but can't help with the readings I'm afraid.

bigcar glad the appt went well and that you actually got them to do something! Hope the sweep helps, and so glad they are happy for you to labour naturally.

silk sorry you're not getting the right support from DH and mother. Why people think it helps to poke fun at the way mums want to do things is beyond me . I have a friend who swore by hypnobirthing because she was a first-time mum at 40 and v stressed about it. Her DH thought it was akin to witchcraft but never for a moment told her so, and went with whatever she wanted. That's the deal, surely?

June don't worry about not having a weight estimate; they're unreliable and only useful if something may be wrong with the growth rate. But knowing the baby's lie is important by now - there's still time to encourage it to move if it's not in pole position - so hope your MW will tell you this time.
It's true that the best positions for getting baby's head down are the opposite of the 'feet up and have a rest position' - but keeping your pelvis open and leaning forward is the best way of getting babe head-down.

Naat I don't think I sent an actual link, unless it was just an example of the info I found. All I know is that some local councils have a nappy scheme whereby you get cashback - up to 50% - if you buy washables. So the best thing is to google your local council and do a search on 'nappies', or look in the recycling/environmental sections of the website.

afternoon all will catch up later

went into town to meet DH for lunch and the fainting spells came back along with cramping just wish i knew what was causing this. not had cramping pain for around 1 hour so can't be anything important...can it? think i am just starting to worry over nothing.
Also been told today by my gran that i look very pale and my face is very puffy now...nothing but compliments from her today lol

Hi everyone I will try to catch up later with all that has happened since I was last online. I havent been very well with sickness and diarrhea bug and still feel the urge to run the loo every two minutes. I actually lost about 5lb in weight and couldnt keep anything down which was worrying but other than my Piles really hurting now (tmi sorry) I think Im very very slowly keeping little things inside now
My other news is that baby is breech Im at the hospital tomorrow again when I assume they will give me the choice of an ecv ie. they could try to turn baby or else book me for a c section in about 2 weeks. Ive been to see my midwife today who talked me through the ecv and Im not at all convinced I should go for it. I hope everyone else is feeling well and managing to avoid the dreaded lurgy thats about. I will catch up with everyones posts and post again later its hard to believe we all only have a few weeks left now

laura - have you spoken to a midwife yet? If not ring your midwife or a hospital midwife now. They are there to ring if you have any concerns and for your peace of mind, better to be looked at than not. Please ring.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR have come on here to vent about DH. I know he has not been well but he is being so grumpy and snappy with me and I have had enough some appreciation of my heavily pregnant state would be appreciated rather than him assuming that after every meal I will be the one to take DS out for hours to give him some peace (as I have been for the last 3 days) and then make food and drinks for him and give him sympathy