Due in June 2009 – let the eviction process begin!!

[lauraloo09]

I hope I've done this right - here is the new thread...and hopefully the last in ante-natal

morning everyone...hope at this time most of you are still in a (kinda) deep sleep

Unfortunately for me I have not been able to sleep properly since my 'visitors' (piles) showed up. Everything I use creams and ointments (anusol) doesn't seem to be helping at the pain and itch is just too much too bear that it is keeping me awake at night, I am scratching soooooo much that my skin is starting to cut can anyone recommend anything i can try to stop this. I am going to go into mothercare and buy feme pads to see if that helps. I can't face this for another week and a half as midwifes say they will put me down for ultrasound treatment once baby arrives...take it they wouldn't induce me even if i tell them how much agony i am in?? I am getting desperate i'll try anything to stop the pain and itch...Sorry for TMI so early in the morning

naat shame your cramps and ctx haven't developed into something more and my heart goes out to your friend what a nightmare situation to be in so soon after the birth of their beautiful baby at a time when they should be enjoying having her now they will be full of worry...please tell them they have all my prayers going to them as well as hugs for both them and their baby x

littlesarah here's hoping the BF advice you have been given helps you

Morning ladies,

littlesarah - sorry to hear about the engorgement. Ermintrude's advice sounds excellent though, I might try releasing a bit beforehand when I am bf'ing. Sorry to hear about your MIL making life difficult. I hope it all turned out ok.

naat - hello, fellow contractor. I don't take them seriously anymore either.

mrsmcjnr - I see what you mean. Your ds has more suicidal instincts than TV head instincts!!! You almost need a 'soft play' room of your own, where he can bounce off the walls and ceilings without doing himself any harm....while you nap .

choccie - oh no...your ds1 is being a right royal challenge isn't he. Do you think it's mainly because of the imminent baby (afraid of the unknown and something he can't see and therefore deal with) and is there is a possibility that he might actually 'improve' when the baby comes along because it isn't 'that bad after all' and he actually might be quite curious and interested? My dd has always hated the idea of a baby but thanks to one of those great books, she is keen on the idea that know she will be 'even more special' because not only will she be the older one who can run, play, have great friends, eat pizza, be adored by mummy and daddy etc, but now also she will be super special because she will be a Big Sister too. [Please ignore all this if completely irrelevant to your situation ] Lovely to hear about the birthday party - I bet she had a fab time.

ermintrude - thanks for TV reassurance. I was a child who spent all my time playing outside so I hate being cooped up too much inside with dd. After I posted yesterday my neighbour knocked on the door with some magazines and was off on a walk, so dd (with her trusy scooter) and I joined her. DD got lots of exercise and it invigorated me

lynn - I hope the baby comes soon

doris - look forward to hearing your story.

laura - poor you honey. It sounds like you are in agony.

It is now three weeks that I have been having either contractions or strong pre labour symptoms, I am now 40+5 and am utterly exhausted and a basket case who hates going to bed at night, just to be kept awake by contractions/active baby that result in nothing. On top of this dh will now have to go away next week on business for a couple of days and so I am utterly desperate to have this baby now. I am thinking I will head down to the hospital this morning to beg for a sweep. My mw wouldn't give me one, but the hospital should be able to. I wish sometimes I was better at turning on the tears. I always sound far too calm and rational and they don't take me seriously!!!

Hello all.

So sorry to hear about your friend's little girl Naat - the thought of heart surgery on such a little bundle makes me cry. I don't care how much paediatric surgeons get paid, but it's not enough! Hope she comes through it okay, and they can start to learn how to cope with her needs.

Lauraloo - Sorry to hear about your 'friends'. I was induced early due to pain from SPD, so there's no reason why you couldn't be induced for your piles. Both as debilitating and painful, I'd say. Go to your midwife and ask her for a referral. Even if they say no, at least you've tried.

Daisy - My MW gave me a sweep at 38+6 (even though she said she wasn't supposed to) as she could see how shattered I was due to lack of sleep from SPD. She also got me a consultant referral to be induced so it's worth badgering / begging her for a sweep again. It can be done!

Hello to all you other Juners and all you 'contracting' ladies.

Had a good night with Emily. Despite having slept all day, she still slept last night! My boobs are settling a bit (cabbage leaves helped me out a lot LittleSarah) though my nipples are a bit sore still, they're toughening up. Lathering on the Lansinoh cream is helping loads. I was also recommended their breast pads and they're brilliant too. I remember last time having to shower off my breast pads as they were so bloody from my nipples. Yuck! Such a different experience this time round!

Forgot to say that the one thing I had not bought, that I wish I had was sleeping nursing bras. I got a couple from Mothercare yesterday and they're really comfy to sleep in and keep the pads in place. (Get one size up from your normal clothes size as I'm normally a safe 12 and my 'Pammies' wouldn't fit in!)

I also feel so much better knowing that there was absolutely nothing I could have done to BF DS longer as, despite knowing now that it was down to his jaw being damaged from the forceps, I still had lots of guilt. I'm doing everything the same with Emily and it seems to be working! Hooray!

Anyway, off for a feed and a sleep. Sending you all some labour-inducing vibes from the chocolate household.

Morning all!

naat much prayers out to your friend's little girl.

daisy do ask for a sweep. Its horrible to be in such agony!

hello everyone else! No babies overnight?

Today is my last full day home alone for the next, oh, 18 years or so!! DH is off tomorrow so we can do some things in the morning and then I head to hospital to be admitted around 2:00.

I keep meaning to say, the best way to see our announcement would be to friend my DH on Facebook. You can find his name under my profile. He is crap at updating it, but has promised to put a birth announcement up there as soon as possible!

I will be offline from around 1 tomorrow until sometime Sunday!

Let's have lots of babies!!

Heya,

Really hoping the lo shows up before Sunday as I'm worried about having a sweep.
I'm comparing it to some kind of smear test and I hate them, the nurse always ends up saying "You need to RELAX!!" and I always end up in pain and in tears, and spotting for days. (Eeek and I'm about to give birth, I'd better get over it!)

The baby HAS to come out, right!

Dh is definitely nesting more than me, he was cleaning the windows yesterday (never ever done that before).

Off to eat some pineapple and bounce on my gym ball!

oooh Tee, how exciting!!
I requested your dh as a friend so as to see the announcement.

naat So sorry about your friend's lo. It must be such a shock. Did they have any kind of screening beforehand?

Laura Ouch! I hope the mw can do something for you.

Ineed Good to know cabbage leaves are doing the trick. Are lansinoh breast pads different to other ones? I think there are some (like, 2) for free in a pg mag at the moment (together with a book by "supernanny").
I've only got 1 nursing bra so far, some kind of tanktop/bra thingy (but probably the wrong size) and a couple more coming in the post.
Which reminds me I really need to get myself some kind of nursing tops that are not pyjamas or nighties....(and I thought I was ready!)

Any recommendations for nursing tops?

morning juners so no overnight babies then

tee you must be getting excited to meeting your LO do you know what you're having? I will request to see your DH's profile dont want to miss your announcement

june here's hoping something happens before your sweep keep eating that pineapple and bouncing on the birthing ball

ineed thats good that Emily slept most of the night esp when she slept all day yesterday you must feel a bit better having had a bit of a sleep now

Well called midwife regarding the piles and she has recommended things I should do like ice packs, moistured toilet paper, prune juice (yuck) etc so think I will go and buy those feme pads from mothercare and use them, just grudge paying £17 for them but suppose they could help after the birth. I told her my fears of this continuing for another week and a half and she fully understands but there was no mention of being induced which is a shame but maybe when i see them on friday this may be discussed if piles pain/itch hasn't eased by then...at least I know I'm def getting ultrasound treatment for them straight after the birth

Morning ladies!

You know how it goes w me - no baby and no real symptoms. Had a couple of nice practice contractions last night (I think - I am crap at knowing what is what!! ) but nothing since.

Have been laying low, being lazy carefully conserving my energy, as is DH (well, that's how he explained why he slept half of the weekend away w'out being hungover!!). Mum told me this morning that I was 6 days late, so maybe Thurs is the day?!

Naat - oh dear, what crushing news for your friends. They must be absolutely devastated. Did they have any idea their LO had health issues?

Laura - oh, you poor thing w those nasty piles!! I think this Friday it might be time to pull out the tears and possibly enhance your description of the pain...

June - def think that you and your DH should only decide together on him attending once your LO has landed.

So it seems there are quite a few of us in the "waiting lounge" w expired entry tickets, nervously waiting to board the baby train!

Doris, Ineed, Bigcar and LittleSarah - great to read of your experiences w your darling little bundles! Think its helping keeping those of us in the waiting room semi-cheered and motivated. And, in my case, more informed of what happens post-labour!

I was feeling a bit drab yesterday, too. When is she going to arrive, am sick of being so big and heavy, plus am worried about venturing out far and then going into labour etc. Maybe today I bite the bullet and go to H&M in search of more nursing bras... God, what a selfish me me me I am today!

Hoping the rest of you lovely Juners have enjoyable days - even though I haven't named you all, am thinking of you!

Gosh, lots to catch up with and I'm nowhere near as good as MrsMc at doing this but will try: I'll start by getting at MrsMc's mother and the b/f comments. What's with that generation and their desire to interfer? I wonder if it's a mixture of jealous and guilt - they weren't encouraged to b/f but nowadays we know the science behind the benefits and maybe they feel like today's mothers are implicitly criticising 'their' way of doing things. In any case, I wish they'd stop, good for you for just sticking to your guns, lady.

Lauraloo I got piles last week and used Germaloids ointment - I find ointments hang around longer than creams, and you can squirt some up and gently rub some on external piles. But I felt awful irritation inside my labia as well, from pressure I think, although who knows, it could have been varicosities as well (didn't dare look ). So even though I'm not getting discharge or any other symptoms, I put a little bit of thrush cream on there and it really eased it. After 5 days using both there's no sign of anything, although the pressure from baby's head is still there but at least it's not sore or itchy. TBH, being induced with piles might increase the pain you feel down there so if you can ease them before the birth that would help. Hope you get some relief soon, they are awful.

Choccie and Insy there are such big gaps between my DC - 4yrs 6mth and now 6yrs 9mth - that it's been pretty easy, always being able to concentrate on the baby while the older one/s is at school or elsewhere. But there are loads of close-together 3-DC families round here who seem to get through it in a good-natured, chaotic, loving way, so I'm sure your broods will each end up being fond of their new LO even if they do need reassurance - who doesn't?! When my youngest starts school my eldest will be in the first yr of her A levels and I'll be 102, whereas you'll still both be young and energetic, so there are pros and cons either way.

daisy sorry you're feeling low and fed-up, and hope things move for you soon.

Ineed so glad the b/f is going well this time, and that you've not got all that worry to deal with.

Naat Hope your friend's LO does well in surgery, poor little scrap

June I didn't like nursing tops where you had to poke your norks through special slits - felt a bit weird. I found stuffing the babe under whatever tee-shirt or top I was wearing worked best - so nothing too tight or figure-hugging but no need to buy special things - or if you undo any shirt buttons and feel rather exposed you can always cover your chest, and the baby's head, with a muslin.

Tee Have a lovely relaxing day

Hi to everyone else, I'm now off to MW for blood pressure and wee check...

hello all - lots of lovely posts to read but I'm too tired to respond.

Dd seemed to be replaced last night by a cheeky chattery monkey! She didn't stop talking in her cot from 7pm til 2am

Didn't affect dh's sleep but I was awake most of the night and then she was up at 7am. Have kept her home from nursery thinking she'd go down for a nap but she hasn't - think she was too excited at watchignt he plumber sort the radiator out.

Just dropped her to nursery and hoping for some zzzzzzzs (if the plumber is not too noisy)

Oh and meant to get the new car today but just discovered after turning the house upside down that dh has taken the car key with him to work silly man

Morning ladies back from my monitoring and consultant?s appointment. All fine with the baby no sign of any contractions though and Dr told me to do all I could to get the baby to come on her own..I am trying..! Anyway that failing, induction booked for 17/6 which is later than I could have hoped for as I?ll be 40+13 so I consider that to be a good thing but am still worried that nothing is happening on its own.

Can we make a list of all the ways to make these babies arrive?

The ones I know of are:

1. Fresh pineapple ? lots of
2. Very hot curry to put your bowel in a spasm!
3. Castor oil again to put your bowel in a spasm!
4. Walking ? lots of
5. Sex ? prostaglandins help soften the cervix
6. Nipple stimulation ? tones of
7. Lots of fluids

Any more??

MrsMcJnr - does Raspberry Leaf Tea help? Must admit to being a bit scared of numbers 3 and 6, esp 3. Perhaps I better put the kettle on and break into that RLT stash!

Sorry just hijacking the thread to say a big Congrats to Doris Love your DD3's name too
(also had good news here- LO does not have CF- phew!!) Love to you 5! Will email soon xxx

Just got back from my MW appt - she and her colleague love home births so one of them was insisting I do it Fr night when she's on duty, and the other asking for Sun. Chance would be a fine thing!

I was talking to them about ways of bringing on labour and they said it's all hokum except for having a cervical sweep on a cervix which is already somewhat effaced. To efface it you need to keep active by walking a bit every day. The real RLT can help a uterus contract better during labour but doesn't bring in on earlier (can cause miscarriage in v early preg) and over-straining - heavy lifting or strenous exercise - can bring on labour but is not advised because it's essentially a traumatic response.

Last year they made up a rumour that 2 kiwi fruit a day for the last 6 weeks would do the trick. Absolute nonsense, but all their patients' bowels were working perfectly and with all that vitamin C there were far fewer colds around .

Choccie ? thanks for the compliment I rarely do short posts sorry to hear that your DS1?s behaviour is trying at the mo, maybe he is just sensing change and reacting to it? My DS needs to wind down before he sleeps and it can take up to an hour! Glad to hear that your neighbour?s DD is coming along better than expected, they must be so relieved it?s hard trying to be active when you are this tired isn?t it?

Insy ? my consultant did advise me to have a managed 3rd stage last time because of my blood clotting disorder and my increased risk of haemorrhage but on the day my MW disagreed and said that that was more of a reason not to have the injection in case of the uterus clamping down too quickly so I took her advice. I have to admit that even though I am only on my 2nd, I too am dwelling a lot on how I am going to cope when I have 2. I think it is the fact that we are physically limited at the moment and not as resourceful as usual. DH keeps saying to me that if I am struggling now we can?t have more I think that?s a bit harsh as it?s only been the last few weeks which I have found really hard and I think that is pretty understandable isn?t it?

Doris ? lovely to hear from you hope you are enjoying your little Miss and that the after pains die down soon

How are things today Littlesarah ? day 3 isn?t it? Have you got a Breast Nurse by the way (gel pads you can make hot and cold) I think I got mine from Boots and they were really useful.

Naat ? I really thought you?d have had your baby by now (sorry if that is irritating ) I don?t think they would give me a sweep here even if I asked for one. There is a risk that it could increase the risks of the baby getting GBSS. So sorry to hear about your friend?s baby I hope she gets through the surgery and is on the road to recovery very soon poor little mite

Laura ? poor, poor you, you sound in so much pain and miserable. I have no experience so can?t help but I hope someone can suggest something for you soon.

Daisy ? LOL I like the idea of the soft play room for DS ! My NCT teacher suggested that we do DIY sweeps not quite sure how you?d do it and whether it?s actually wise but she did say there was no reason why we couldn?t do it ourselves. You sound as fed up as me; we have to get these babies moving!! The Dr told me this morning to do lots of walking, which I do, far more than ever before in my life and still nothing!!

Ineed ? has the SPD disappeared yet or are you still in pain? Those Lansinoh breast pads are fad aren?t they? Glad to hear that Emily is sleeping and eating well fabulous! I have been sleeping in my sleep nursing bras all pregnancy, they are really comfy. Can?t remember what it feels like to be without a bra for more than 30 mins or so!

Tee ? wow! all the very, very best and we can?t wait to hear your news hon!

June ? in my experience, although sweeps are not comfy, they are somehow not as bad as a smear. I always feel a bit scratched and sore after a smear but I didn?t feel like that after my sweeps, in fact I didn?t feel sore or anything afterwards, just a bit uncomfy at the time. Hope it?s the same for you if you need one. I?d almost welcome a sweep, they seem to go from doing nothing at all to full induction here the lansinoh breast pads are a lot bigger and thinner than other makes, they are also a lot more absorbent and don?t seem to stick to you the way other makes do. I have nursing tops from JoJoMamanBebe which are good, they are like cross over t-shirts. I did buy some Bamboo ones from the NCT but they are actually far too hot to wear in most climates because they have so many layers. A tip someone gave me last time was to wear 2 vest tops so that when you feed in public you can pull one up and one down and therefore cover your tummy. I thought that was great advice as I didn?t want to see my tummy myself never mind let anyone else see it A lot of people just wear shirts and other button down tops. As Ermintrude says, muslins are great for covering up too.

Bunnymother ? I?m torn between trying to conserve my energy and walking for miles or swimming 100 lengths to see if it would make things happen!! Hope you have a better day not sure that the RLT helps bring on labour, it more makes your contractions more efficient when they do happen so still worth guzzling it in my opinion even if I have no real contractions to speak of! I am reluctant to try 2) and 3) can?t think of anything worse than a bowel spasming in labour! And 6) well, not really my thing and after the damage I did with my breast pump before I had DS I am leaving well alone. That said, I have been softening them up with some Lanisnoh after bathing to prepare them.

Ermintrude ? thanks for being cross with my Mum too I think you are right, I know my mother thinks that our generation give far too much of ourselves to our children. She is always criticizing my sister and me for that. My own feeling is that it is the most natural thing in the world for a child?s mother to love it totally selflessly. LOL at the year your youngest starts school

Silkcushion ? what a chatterbox I hope you managed to get her down for a rest!

MrsMcJnr how do you define a 'tone' of nipple stimulation? Sounds fun anyhoo!

Erintrude ? interesting what the MWs said about DIY induction. With DS I had a gentle sweep at 40+2 and was told that my cervix had effaced to 1cm (from 3cm) and I was 1cm dilated. I did have a few shows after that but I don?t think the sweep worked as nothing then happened until 40+9 which is the day DS was born.

Loouise - you know what I meant! I remember hearing about one MNetter who on her due date made a large G&T and ran a lovely bath and fiddled for a couple of hours and swore that it brought labour on for her more than once!

Hi girls,
very quick check in. Absolutely nothing happening here, bubs is now completely transverse, refusing to budge and I am an emotional, tired mess. Whoever said about the 38week miseries was right!
Car back at mechanic for 3rd time in 2 weeks, hopefully this time it might be fixed properly .

Would also just love an uninterrupted sleep!

naat thinking of your friend's LO. Those paediatric surgeons are quite amazing, so i hope you hear some good news soon.

Hi to everyone, sending baby arrival wishes to you. Everyone from my antenatal group here has had their babies! . Off to take soup and cake for one of the lovely new mums tom morning.

MrsMac my midwives say stay away from castor oil!

Sorry for that crap me post, will try and catch up properly tomorrow, after I deal with the car (and get lovely newborn cuddles!)

mrsMcJnr lol@ the woman diddling about with herself in the bath . There are worse ways of whiling away an hour or two I guess .

My sweep when DS was 9 days overdue was excruciating - much worse pain than labour - but the MW said my cervix was v ripe and in fact was swollen which could have been holding up dilation (he was 9lb 7oz and had been engaged for weeks so lots of pressure). Less than 24 hours later, feeling very aware of my sore cervix. I lost all of my mucus plug and gave birth 5.5 hrs after that so I'm sure that was the trigger - but the cervix has to be at a certain stage for it to work, and maybe that doesn't happen until you're more than a week or so overdue. Really hoping I don't need to do anything to bring it on - DD came 3 days after due date of her own accord so hoping for that again!

x-post snowwombat. My LO was still transverse at 33wks and I spent some time (3 times a day for a couple of days) leaning over the stairs - kneeling at the top with legs apart and 'walking' my hands down until they rested on the lowest (and same) step I could manage to bear my weight up on safely - if you have a little flight of stairs this is less worrying a position! You have to keep your body 'centred' to encourage the baby to get its spine in line with yours as it 'hangs free', which also encourages it to lie with its back facing outwards.

Of course I don't know whether that's what did the trick but by my 34 wk appt baby was head down and is now firmly engaged.

Bloody hell Ermintrude your sweep sounds horrific. I'm booked in for a week Monday when I'll be 41 +1. I was going to turn it down, due to a horrible experience I had two years ago when a male consultant made me scream in agony during a cervical biopsy. I remember shouting tearfully to him ' how would like me to cut the end of your knob without anaesthetic! '

Anyway, if you look at the childbirth thread, a surprising number of women report that a large G&T administrated by a sympathetic midwife brought on labour. So my strategy will be to have large G&T 20 mins BEFORE sweep. Ah ha! That may also help you to RELAX, June.

Sorry loooouise didn't mean to give you the heebie jeebies about sweeps. I was just so shocked by it - but it did bring on labour, I avoided induction, and now it's just a distant memory - so I'd do it again, for sure.

But a large G&T sounds like a MUCH better idea - before, during or instead of a sweep {grin]

Would it be evil to convince DH that MNetters swear by a large, ice cold G&T to bring on labour right, my Mum has taken my DS away for 1 1/2 hours - let the house work commence

hello all
very quick post as am in middle of very hectic day and have just put dinner on!!
Been to consultant this morning and am being induced at 7.30pm on fri which means no.4 should be here by sat tea time at the latest going by experience..all a bit weird and feel scared now as memories of labour coming back!! Also had a sweep while I was there to see if that helps, back pains still going and now getting sore underneath but just think it will help things open up for friday..lol

hope everyone is ok and not too fed up!