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

[Ineedmorechocolatenow]

Here it is!

Daisy I'm due June 22 but likely to be induced at some point before that due to high blood pressure

Just popped back in, but no news of babies yet it seems!! Have all my fingers crossed!

I am getting really excited every time I look at this post as who knows what news could be here any moment now?!

Just looked at FB and Effie says "Hi All. No news, but still on and getting bored! I just have to grin and bear it- till squiggles born! I or mark will keep you updated xxxxxx Enjoy the sunshine and have a glass of vino for me xxxx" So no news from her either!

Just got back from the MW who took one look at me waddling in SPD-induced pain and said, 'I'll do a sweep for you right now, even though I'm not supposed to'.

So she did! Cervix is still long, but 'soft' and dilated enough so she could feel baby's head! She said, though it didn't feel imminent, it wouldn't be long. She's also booked me in for next Tuesday to see the consultant to be induced on my due date (next Friday).

She said that I wouldn't even need to have the pessary when induced, and they'd probably just break my waters for me.

I feel so much better now. So... cross fingers the stretch and sweep (boak at the name for it) worked girls xx

Lucky you Ineed - after 10 days of pain and lack of sleep, the atrocious midwife I saw this morning wouldn't even check to see if I was dilated at all. Said she wasn't allowed to unless I was contracting. Then said I should go to hospital when in pain. I pointed out that in 2 mins she could tell me if I was dilated, while going to hospital might take hours and with a toddler it would be hell.

She said it would not be 'natural' to check if I was dilated.

She was truly the worst midwife I have come across. She said 'you shouldn't be in that much pain' (I said I didn't get to the point of tears but it hurt) and also that 'it shouldn't be as painful as last time'. Thankfully because of all of you sharing how you feel, I was able to point out that second time around it did appear to be more painful in prelabour for the majority of women and that most women were in quite a lot of pain at times.

Really, I was pretty unimpressed - she was young and clearly didn't have children. How could she say such rubbish!!!

Report her daisy.

The one that is reiterated every time I meet with a MW or have one of my classes is if a MW is rude or tells you something you don't agree with or you just have a personality clash with them? Tell someone and be assigned a different MW. Even in the middle of labour.

Oh choccie so at your free cleaning assistance!! I had heard something similar but with childcare help while on mat leave in France, June please feel free to correct me

ineed wow! How exciting!!!! Yay for you!!! Keep us posted Could you tell me what a pessary is?

bunny I do the same, keep popping in just to see if the first LO has appeared

daisy thanks for the updated list

silk that was some good info, DH and I are planning on getting him life insurance as soon as LO arrives I had also heard about smoking and SIDS, fortunately we have never smoked, ever ever...

Hi ermin!!

june My dad stopped smoking as soon as my mum got pg with my youngest brother because my mum felt absolutely sick because of the smell. I don't have much advice, but maybe a chat with your DH could be the right start. You're an ex-smoker so you're the best example he has

mrsmc at your MIL not taking enough medication!! Oh my!! Bipolar disorder is not something to be taken lightly, I'm glad she decided to go back.

llynn hope you enjoy your lie in Don't feel guilty, woman, in a few days/weeks you'll have your hands full

laura so sorry to hear your night was so bad... so many trips to the loo, poor lamb Hope you got a nice nap

I've taken so long to write this I'm sure by the time I post I'll have more msgs to catch up with LOL.

Aquanatal was nice, we got home, had lunch and after that took a nap, only to be woken up by my dad He keeps doing that whenever he doesn't see my mum online... He felt so bad, poor him

Oh, I got a message from effie

Hi Nat.

We are ok- but back in hosp- again! The same probs were happening and I now have to stay put til LO out! They may let me out for a few hours if things settle- but have to be back overnight.

I'm really touched with all the well wishes from you and the other juners and a big hug and thanks to you all xxxxx
Keep me posted of anyone who pops xxx
Lots of love xxxxx

bigcar thinking of you! xx

Hello to the rest of the juners!!!

(((waves)))

daisy at your MW's lack of everything!!! Soooo for you! Can you get a different one? Or get checked by someone else soon? Grrrrr....

Ineed - Yay for you! Sounds like you - more than anyone - need that lo out asp and now we could be getting somewhere!

Choccie and ermin - we used to have cats at my dad's house and so often got dead mice presents. Urgh. One time one of the cats brought in a bird, still alive, that my dad had to chase - with much squawking - out the house!

Ermin - Think I am coming round to your point of view with the cleaning. The place is pretty clean generally and to be honest if I want to get anything out of the way it is this research work! (Also could leave some for dh, he is on paternity leave from the 3rd and he actually said if we have no baby it would give him a chance to 'get things done'... [evil cackle])

MrsMcJnr and llynnn - Yup very much hope busy-ness helps keep things moving quickly!

Well done on your birth plans Mrs, now we just have to hope they actually go to plan!

Silk - Yes me and dh must must must do wills and get life insurance. I promise to do so over the summer! (So depressing to think about but I know, so important!)

Bunny - I have been drinking RLT for weeks and no sign of baby honest! But I am holding off on drinking the strong stuff until after this ball. I don't think it does make baby come any earlier, but it is supposed to - possibly - make uterus stronger for good contractions.

Lovely time getting hair and nails done, what with my new hot milk set I feel almost sexy again!

Right, research here I come!

Ineed - great news, glad you got a good, helpful midwife today!! must be great to know its really not going to be long!!

Daisy - i agree with Tee, you should report her, what a horrid midwife, especially at this stage when everything is so uncertain we need to be able to rely on these midwifes for support and understanding. for you

littlesarah - good luck with your research! glad you had a good bit of pampering!

Naat - thanks for passing on the message about effie, bless her, must be hard for her

Daisy - What a bloody awful bitch of a midwife . She sounds like the witch one I had when I was pregnant with DS. How dare she talk to you like that?! How many weeks are you? I think the reason she was so willing to do it is because I'm 39 weeks tomorrow.

Naat - I think the pessary is something they insert into the vagina to soften the cervix so that it becomes 'favourable' for induction. My cervix was 'favourable' when she checked today and was 1cm dilated already so I won't need to have it and hopefully just have my waters broken when/if they induce me.

Feel a bit achey and sore from the examination, but it was nowhere near as bad as my friend's who said it was so painful it bought tears to her eyes. I thought it was just like a smear test really.....

I completely forgot my exciting news! We got our pram today! Its still in pieces in boxes, but its in the flat!! {grin]

Also, DH and I were goofing about baby names and I went through the alphabet and picked a girls name for each letter. I finally got to Zoe...and we both love it! Now I just need to find a middle name.

So it looks like it will be Adam Jacob or Zoe...something.

mrsmcJ I am much better today, thanks. No more cramps and had a good nap to make up for my bad night.

silk wills are on the way to be completed, including guardianship info for LO. God, I feel so grown up. We still need to sort life insurance.

Ineed how exciting! The babies should start coming fast and furious now!!

choccie about your cleaner. I keep finding things around here to be cleaned. I just have so little energy!

Well, must go start cooking dinner and watching Great British Menu!

Daisy- Sorry to hear about your hideous MW, what a nightmare! I agree that you should complain, who needs that kind of attitude?

evening all

Thanks for updating on effie's progress

daisy what a horrible mw like tee said report her!

ineed you must be happy being told it shouldn't be much longer till baby arrives

tee on getting your pram, was it a quinny buzz 3 you got? I got the quinny buzz 4 and it looks fab can't wait to use it

littlesarah glad you enojoyed getting pampered today you must be looking forward to your ball

Will catch up with everyone else i promise.

Not had a good day here unfortunately cramps have came back around 2pm and they have been coming and going all afternoon not regular tho. Think i am going to go in a bath and if the cramps are still there will be calling the hospital, I have also been feeling very nausious (sp?) tired and heavy on the legs I have my midwife appointment tomorrow at 9am but not sure whether i should wait for appointment or just phone.

tee yay on the pram!!! Zoe is in DH's list LOL, he loved it and I like it too

laura nope, don't wait if cramps continue after a relaxing bath. Just give them a call to be sure, it'll do no harm

ineed thanks for the explanation

Thanks everyone. It did cross my mind. She was well out of order and had such an aggressive attitude for a midwife. My usual one is very nice but can't always be there.

I might go to the other clinic tomorrow morning if I'm in the mood, but was looking forward to a long walk in the sunshine with dd.

daisy, your mw sounds dreadful-agree that nice midwives say the horrible ones should be reported. what if she rocks up at hospital? could you ask your doc to arrange another mw? bet you are not the first to moan about her. I changed mw during aftercare at hospital- had young mw who was clearly hated by her co workers- she never lost an opp to be nasty my dh got fed up with me crying and her comments and told her to leave me alone -she had to swap with someone else. she was even rude about ds1!

had surprise baby shower yesterday, and the girls bought me pressies for baby and ds1! so he did;t feel left out.

cleaned fridge out today-most unlike me dh getting quite excited. dh is also ill (chest infection) and so is ds1- temperature, wonlt eat, crying. am v worried about next week or SOONER! as need everyone well to take care of me and new baby (selfish....)

hope effie is ok and her baby comes soon.

Hey girls just wanted to come and tell you about my horrible, scary afternoon don?t know if I mentioned the other day but my hay fever has been a nightmare this week (I?m allergic to grass) and there was a day earlier in the week when I felt that my throat was swelling up and my airway was getting smaller. It wasn?t nice, lasted about 5 hours and then thankfully went away. This afternoon a similar thing happened, I?d just had a roll for lunch (lovely German bread) and then my throat started to swell and I could hardly talk. I was also struggling to breathe so went to lie down for a while. Was salivating tones too, it was strange. Anyway thought I was well enough to accompany both Grandmas and DS to his swimming but clearly not I was sick all the way there and then when I got there my hands started to swell and itch followed by all areas where there are glands. I looked like I?d been bitten by a 1000 mozies. Almost the same reaction as I get with my Penicillin allergy without the extreme heat. All the while I kept being sick and my throat felt the same. My Mum started to panic and wanted to drop me at the hospital but my gut feeling was that if I came home, had a cold shower, went to bed and rested for a bit things would get better. So that?s what I did and now the rash has gone and the swelling is going down. Throat still sore but not as bad. I?m sure it was the bread ? maybe some kind of wheat germ or something?! I have to admit, I am now wondering if labour is just round the corner so am going to take it very easy tonight. Baby is still moving and kicking nicely so I don?t feel that I took any risks not going to the hospital, I will go if I get worse again.

Goodness me mrsmcjnr what a terrible and scary afternoon you've had! I am happy things have calmed down now and that baby is still kicking away happily. Here's hoping the swelling doesn't come back but if it does you should follow your mum's advice and go back to hospital

Take it easy mrs hugs and wishes xx

I know this may seem a tad naive but I can't believe how many people have suffered bad experiences with rotten midwives. Surely the profession requires people with some level of understanding of what a prgt woman is feeling/going through. If they can't be nice they should so something else!!aaaarrrggghhh.

My dh is still not back from work. He is working late a lot which is adding to my anxiety about going into early labour. Bit disappointed tonight as we had decided to get a takeaway. Then he calls at 6pm to say he will be working late so I had a fish finger sandwich for my dins tonight.

Still no news on Bigcar then?! I also have to keep popping on to see if there is any news. Thinking about it though, when I have my baby it will probably be a few days before I get access to a laptop to have a chat with you all. I feel like we have all come such a long way through our pregnancies together that there will be great excitement in of each of us sharing our good news with each other

I also will want to hear everyones details....the lot. I find it all intriguing.

Bigcar ? thinking of you!

Oh SweetBroody you are due tomorrow!

Ineed ? wow!! You are on your way too then hope the sweep works, I had 3 with DS and the last one did I think. Not comfy but I wouldn?t say they were too painful, I more felt ?disarranged? afterwards if you know what I mean. Hope things start happening for you soon and your SPD disappears quickly.

Daisy what a ridiculous MW do report her, who does she think she is being so bloody condescending? Can you make another appointment with another one? Hassle I know

Naat ? hey you

Littlesarah ? bags now in the hall, just in case!

Tee ? nice names yay for the buggy arriving!

Laura ? how are things with you now? Thanks for your lovely comments x

Effie ? hang in there hon

Blueberry ? hope your boys get better soon, I know exactly how you are feeling, that was me last week!

Hey Choccie

Daisy hear hear about the horrid MW - why on earth go into a 'caring' profession and act like such a cow? Possibly covering for her lack of experience/knowledge/confidence? Still no excuse.

Glad your MW was nice Ineed. At 9 days overdue with DS I had a 'supermarket sweep' as DH called it (not that Dale Winton was ever likely to get his fingers near my cervix, in any circumstances I could imagine ) and had DS about 24 hrs later. Like your friend, I found it absolutely excruciating, worse than labour. But worth it because it got things going.

Tee those are all lovely names. lol @ getting to Z

Naat thanks for effie update - she must be really fed up now, but at least the babe is being well-monitored.

MrsMc gosh, that sounds like a horrendous allergic reaction. Was there grass in the bread?! German breads often use rye or linseed, might be worth checking if you're allergic to them or something like them. Glad you're feeling better, but do take care of yourself.

lauraloo no harm in phoning, even if just for reassurance. Pre-labour symptoms can go on for ages but it's still good to chat to someone if you're worried.

Right, I'm off for a soak in the bath - bliss!

Oh my!

mrsmc what a scare! Poor poor you! Hope all of it is easing down now, if not, don't doubt and go to the hospital. Glad to hear LO is moving and kicking, that's always important. HOw's your DH? Fully recovered?

ermin I keep hearing some women say sweeps were the worst pain they felt and others who say what ineed and mrsmc said, that it was uncomfortable but not painful... I guess it depends on how sensitive the cervix is at that moment? Glad in your case at least it got things going right away after that first attempt

choccie sorry to hear your DH is working late these days... Mine sometimes has times like that I also feel what you describe, that we've shared so much on a daily basis (and some of you have been on the thread since the beginning!) that I feel really excited about all LOs arriving!

blue oh, so nice you had a surprise baby shower yesterday!! So sweet that they brought things for DS as well

daisy hope you can pop in at the clinic tomorrow and have better luck. I'm still very at your "MW".

littleS how was the pampering??? Ready for the ball tomorrow???

Right, really excited and sad about the last episode of ER (I think someone's DH was mentioned today waiting for the episode as well). I'm recording it as we're watching last night's episode of the apprentice now.

I'll be in deep trouble as of Sat, as I won't have internet until probably the following Friday (thanks to DH's memory)!!! I'll use my phone, but from experience, posting on MN from the blackberry is not that easy I'll die!!! I'm internet dependent!!!

Hope to hear from bigcar soon!!

(((waves)))

MrsMc - God that sounds so awful. You sounded as though you were so calm - I'd be freaking out! I hope you feel better x