Due May 09 - patta cake, jaffa cake, bakers man bring me a baby as fast as you can!

[Momino]

Here we go....

grumpy I am nearer to Cambridge but know Ely a bit. The fens are quite a wierd place - so bleak but something strangely beautiful about some parts of it. Coming from hilly Wales, don't think I'll ever get used to it tbh, theres just a bit too much sky!

Sorry your dog's been a nightmare. Hope you find a replacement bunny.

Ooh and thanks for the touche description, may pop into town tomorrow and treat myself - given I can't buy clothes or shoes, my makeup bag has somewhat expanded in the latter stages of pgy

Looby as Fi says, don't feel guilty about formula, you are doing your best esp with coping with an infection and cough as well.

Also as a first timer, I think its important to hear all sorts of birth stories so don't feel like you can't post yours! (completely understand that others might feel differently tho!)

Belgian glad you're feeling better today. Can you get someone else to look for your wrap? My DH was going mad looking for some computer thingy last night, he gave up looking and I found it in 5mins! Mind you, I think he thinks I knew where it was all along!

Sorry - must stop doing '!' the time. It's very irritating

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Right, no more.

I meant 'all the time'.
Oh god, no brain cells left .

I've just had runny egg and chips - YUM! and it was a double-yoker!! Good old Gertie (cuckoo maran hen).

Just going to set up the milking machine while sipping a large mug of tea.

Have decided I am going to walk into town tomorrow with Matilda and pop in to show her off at work.
I have some money and thank you cards to pick up so I can kill two birds..
DH has said he will pick me up on his way home from work so I should be okay if I take it easy walking down

Ooh looby at your double yolker and chips. Sounds like a nice plan for tomorrow but make sure you take it easy - was talking to my mate in Edinburgh last night, she had a cs at easter and she said 5 weeks on she struggles pushing pram up the many hills there so make sure you do take it easy.

Been twinging all afternoon though now that I've typed it it probably won't come to anything.

Had a great morning at toddlers and DD was knackered and fell asleep straight after lunch. DH is here again because he cancelled work. I think he's more anxious for the baby to come than me. Still at least he's on hand to help with Anabel and is cracking on with the Bathroom. He's just putting the last few tiles on now and then can grout and put the loo and basin in. Then it will just be finishing the cupboard and painting which is non essential really.

DDs old childminder is coming for coffee and chat this afternoon with her mindee because they miss DD. I've made some banana loaf in their honour.

Looby I would love to hear you birth story. I agree that it is good to hear all stories as otherwise we would all be expecting 2 hour chilled our labours like some of the lucky may ladies have had and they aren't all like that. I also found it theraputic to talk about the birth after DD. I would have told the postman if he'd hung around long enough . Also please don't beat yourself up about the FF. You have had a rough time with CS and infection and FF does not equal bad mummy. M has had the all important first few weeks of milk and colostrem etc so you have done amazingly. Glad to hear your DH is being supportive.

Grumpy and about your naughty dog.

Detsy where are you???????

A friend of a friend has lent me her bibi swiss strolli to try out on my bugaboo chameleon as she's thinking of selling it. Off to try and figure out how to attach it... DS really likes the look of it so fingers crossed i can get it to work as would solve problem of ds needing somewhere to sit when lo is in the pram...

Well, they didn't have the pink rabbit so I bought her a toy dog instead. She'll be fine with it.

The dog was laid in the hallway when I got back, wagging her tail very politely. I swept past her imperiously but caved when she crept over for a cuddle. It's Kapok that does it - there is something about the smell, taste or texture that she cannot resist.

Cheered myself up by eating 2 pieces of the full of butter and golden syrup healthy fruit 'n' seed flapjacks I made earlier. I too have made banana cake/bread - that will be for later when I am enfeebled by an afternoon of childcare/putting away of endless mountains of clothes I washed yesterday.

Frazz we go to Redcar sometimes - tacky as anything and there is a huge powerstation on the horizon, but the beach is enormous, the girls get a really good run around and you can get lovely ice-creams there (and the girls love it for it's tackiness, naturally)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (just for you, I too am an overuser of exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! )

MW is coming tomorrow as they forgot to make an appointment for me - I was supposed to be seen last week apparently , my usual MW is on holiday and I don't like the one who is covering (not only because she didn't make me a bloody appt).

Congrats to jennster.

Things have calmed down here. DS and I are recovering from his stay in hospital, largely due to my mum having flown out to look after us - she took sick leave! Our outpatient visits going well, and the ear specialist is v happy with the progress. bring on n2.. though have only had a few mild pains at night, still more than I had last time.

belgian - you should feel better now milk is in - I found day 4/5 impossible and wept all the time, then it settled.

And looby don't worry about formula. yes BF is ace but sometimes it becomes more about BF then the baby if you see what I mean.

Huzzah for Jennster!!! Well done you, sounds fab!

Looby - no way are you a bad mum for giving Matilda formula milk - at the end of the day, you need to think what is best for you and your baby, and whatever makes you both comfy and happy.

Saw midwife earlier on - everything is tip top - baby's head is 2/5 engaged - eek! Asked about when they start doing sweeps etc - nothing until 10 days after the due date! Gah!

jennster, fab birth story, congrats again. did you need anti d with other DC? our 3 are all rh neg like me so didn't need.

emmabsmom, good luck!
who else is in the throes of labour? got my fingers crossed for all of you who are close.

grumpy, i wonder what is midway fom you to me in York. might be able to meet someday when older 2 at nursery. re:dog, they told us ours would start calming down when he turned 5. he's 5 in sep so we're hoping for a magical transformation to a calm house dog who sleeps in front of the fire (doesn't really sound like a border collie).

frazzled I didn't manage to sweep myself. Every time I felt for my cx I could only feel 1 edge and couldn't quite manage to get my fingers in. The only time I did manage to get in there was the day she was born and I suspect that was because that morning things were already changing and getting ready for later on that night! I did examine myself just before phoning the hospital, because I wanted my mw to come, but I kept thinking that after only 45 mins of contractions they would think I was mad, so I had a quick feel and was 3-4 cm effaced with a v. low head, so I felt less silly about phoning the hospital.

looby Don't feel bad about giving your dd formula. Like fi said, M wont mind where her milk came from, as long as she had some food in the end. Hopefully with regular expressing, you'll get to up your milk supply soon. Otherwise there's no harm in mix feeding what you can, at least she's getting some bm. Oh and I just remember. Looby, was it you who wanted my insulated bottle holder that I found spare with all my baby stuff? If you still want it let me know.

grumpy A destroyed favourite toy: every parent's nightmare. I couldn't imagine that happening to my dcs toys. Especially for my son it would be a disaster. Dd is less fussed, she tends to be attached to things for a short time, but ds has had his elephant (called Fafa) since babyhood and losing it/destruction would be more than I could cope with!

sweeps There seems to be so much difference between the different areas. Some of you are offered sweeps from quite early on and several of them. I was only offered one at 41 and they wouldn't do it earlier and now sausage doesn't get one at all.

Only DH is around to look for my wrap and there's no way he'd find it. He generally asks me to find things for him when he's staring at them. Only last week he was saying that it's a shame we didn't have any thermos flasks so he could take a flask of tea with him on a trip somewhere, while there were 2 flasks right in front of him !!

Well I'm back - after a whole night of 5 mins apart strong contractions at the hospital everything ground to a halt this lunchtime and they decided to send me home.
They are happy with the babys heartrate though and it remains strong throughout a good contraction so that is a huge worry off my mind.
last examintation still showed I am still only 1cm dialated but cervix is very ready and something has been happening.
Looks like I am in for the long haul though. Off to try and get some sleep now and hoping to labour longer at home now that hospital are happy with me.

Fantastic news Jennster Well done.
Good vibes to all those with movements and sweeps etc. here's hoping i'm the only slowcoach around here

alapala, hope you get rest and glad your mum is there to help.

lovely birth story jenn - congrats again

minimenace sorry to hear your contractions have stopped- hopefully it will all start up again soon (after you have had a nice rest of course)

My Mum has been visiting last two days and we have just been in to town where she has spoilt me by buying some supercute baby clothes, so am very happy (although a shop assistant did wipe the smile off my face by asking if I was expecting twins and then looking v. suprised when I told her there was only one baby in there!)

febes heres hoping your twinges develop into something more

Also can I join the touche eclat appreciation society- it's essential for hiding those dark circles, I feel it will be coming in very handy over the coming weeks maybe I should stock up...
also did somebody say raspberry leaf tea help reduce bleeding post birth, I never knew that- should I carry on with it after baby comes then?

minim at least something is happening hope you get a really good rest before everything kicks off again.

alapala your mum sounds fabby and just what you need atm

I'm really struggling to stay awake atm.. ds is full of beans and have resorted to cbeebies to occupy him. the strolli is great and he loved it.. so much so getting him off was quite tricky!

sophietom Don't worry about that shop assistant. I had random people, who probably don't know anything about pregnancy, commenting on my size. Some would say I was huge, funnily enough the majority said I was tiny at the end. I had a 9lbs 10oz baby, so I don't think I was all that tiny!

I'm in the process of uploading some more baby pics to f/b and my mn profile for those of you who can't get enough of cute babies!

Looby, at your egg and chips.

sophietom, I think it's meant to help the uterus contract more efficiently therefore shortening the 2nd stage of labour and reducing bleeding afterwards. That's my hope, anyway!

Had MW appt this morning and baby still 3/5 engaged, no problems. Booked for a sweep next Weds (at home which is nice) although my money is still on the arrival clashing with my birthday on Sunday - seems to be the case for a lot of us.

Really don't want to go over past my sweep - the MW said they can do another sweep at D+10 but that York like to induce at D+10 or D+12 - so, next Friday or Monday. I don't want to be induced at all - will refuse unless there's a medical imperative - so am now desperate for the baby to come out! Apparently if I say no to induction, they'll do a 2nd sweep and I'll have to have a consultant's appt at the end of next week where I assume they'll tell me I'm a bad person and remind me of the risks of going past 42 weeks.

[takes deep breath] am sure that it will all be fine, the baby will get a move on and arrive well before things start to get critical.

Although, did someone say these things are hereditary? I was nearly 3 weeks late and my mum had a nightmare birth. My little brother was also 2 weeks late. Maybe it runs in the family?

ReeBee My friend had a baby five weeks ago delivered at 43w4d, at home weighing 11lb 0.5oz with a shoulder dystocia (sorted by moving into the McRoberts position). If you're happy to go the distance, there's nothing that the midwives, consultants or anyone else can do to stop you!

lost my post earlier , can't remember what I typed.

Reebee, i agree with your induction refusal unless med necessary. good luck, maybe baby will come soon and you won't have to worry about it. i was 4 weeks early, DH was 2 weeks early but our DD2 and 3 were D+1 so maybe it's not hereditary (?).

minimen, hope you're doing as sophitom suggested and resting since the contrax slowed down. or maybe, as i type, your labour's re-started....

mini Oh I feel your pain. Things have slowed down on my end too Hope they pick up again for you soon!

Went for a walk in town to the italian market. Very cool. Spent more money there than on my weekly shop yesterday though...eeek. Think DH nearly fell over when I made him go to the atm twice!

Anyway, walking actually seemed to slow things down for me. I have just started getting pains again, but they are not really contractions I don't think. They are very uncomfortable and seem very close together but not like...oh god it hurts...yet lol Mostly it is my lower back and then it wraps around the front...then my belly goes all hard and tight and uncomfortable. Then I feel like I may be sick and then it all eases off and leaves me with lingering back pain. So does that sound promising or am I also in for the long haul????

What else can I do to speed things along?

Off to eat a magnum (full size...thats right you read right. FULL SIZE) lol

Also regarding the sweep conversation. I was told last week I would get one today (39+4). I went in and she said she would not do one today as they can't until your due date at least. I was all unhappy and asked if she could just have a poke and not a 'sweep' persay. She laughed and said she could only do it with her 2 fingers either way. I asked again if there was anything she could do as I really wanted to know if things were starting or not. She then said 'Are you asking me to do an unoffical sweep?' I said well I don't want you to do anything against your morals or rules, but yes that is what I want. So she said, if I do it I will not document it and it was never done. So I said ok whatever...and well she ended up doing one for me! May not have been the best way but I got what I wanted lol

blotted,, momino, thanks for the encouragement - appreciate it.

emmab, not sure whether to be or at your unofficial sweep - or even a bit !!

excellent, 3 emoticons in a row...

I've just witnessed one of the funniest things I've ever ever seen and I don't think I can share it with you lot because DH would never forgive me.

But srsly, I am still laughing so hard an hour later that I'm surprised I haven't accidentally broken my waters.