Due Jan 2010 - we're all bump now !

[sazlocks]

Hi all - a new thread for all our new chat as teh old one is nearly full. No idea how to do a link though !

Loving the bump photos. Why is everyone's bump smaller than mine? I am now 25+4 and look bigger than you.

Well I always was quite petite, and haven't had any children previously - I know my sister was a lot bigger with her second. Mind you he did end up being 9lb 10oz! I would like a big baby actually, so hoping it's just all the wee man!
Your photos are brilliant, especially the one with felt tip drawn all over! It reminds me of a photo of my sister and I playing cowboys and indians - we had stuck a feather in our hair and drawn all over our torsos with felt tip. I was only about 3, but still remember how sore it was getting it scrubbed off!
Wow, I always thought the coal craving was a myth! Glad you have manged to find some snack sized pieces x

OMG just got to the bit in the Hypnobirthing book about nipple (and pos clitoral) stimulation during labour, call me a prude but no way am I effectively masturbating in front on the midwife while giving birth!

frao great pics. I haven't allowed any photos of me being pregnant, might have to get DH to take a few snaps as it's prob one of those things that you just have to bite the bullet on.

Anyone else getting a bit more abdominal discomort and tender points these days? I'm putting it down to ligament stretching and moving pelvis. Is this normal at 27+6 weeks or is it something I should talk to MW about?

Lol@coal and heartburn sockmonkey. Haven't been following the thread closely enough to know if your coal-eating is for real, but it's a good joke if not! It's called 'pica', isn't it, that kind of craving? I love that word.

Yeah, the nipple-stim and so on. I've also heard that that's good... that that kind of "sexy energy" put the baby in there, and can help to get it out. Because oxytocin is the thing that gets labour happening, and gets contractions going, and sex and intimacy increase oxytocin in the body, so help keep labour going, and your cervix opening. Apparently good midwives / doulas in hospitals can be sensiive to this, and will sometimes dim the lights and leave the room and subtly suggest you and your husband get intimate if contractions look like they're slowing down a bit. That's another reason to have a home birth, so that your partner and you can smooch and be loving to help keep things going, while the midwife tends to her paperwork or whatever in the other room!

In the throes of labour it's amazing what you'll do in front of the midwives. Shit yourself, for example. Not looking forward to that bit. Hopefully it'll all be going into the pool not onto a lovely clean bed this time.

...TMI? Sorry!

I also have that strange feeling londonlottie I looked so uncomfortable in the supermarket today dh asked if I wanted to sit in the trolley instead of ds - I wasn't joking when I said yes .

ampster - really made me laugh!

i have inhibitions when pregnant and go naked from the start - the animal inside comes out but I am yet to hump my partner in labour.

but you are right with techniques that got it there should also get baby out

because i am having a home birth, i will try that this time and you never know I may even have an orgasmic birth i have seen a few orgasmin births on you tube, made me laugh!

not sure what my dh will think of that, but you know men, they can never turn it down so we'll see!

Fraochsmum - arnica is a homeopathy remedy, see this link
www.helios.co.uk/mother&baby.html

I used this birth kit during mu second labour and it really helped. during transition stage i started to shake, took a remedy for shaking and it stopped, same when i got really emotional, took the remedy and got in control again. maybe its in the mind but seems to work for me. last year i had painful traped wind all day, drove me mad and was so painful. got this kit and out and took remedy for trapped wind and it stopped within 5 mins.

keep meaning to buy the family kit.

they also sell the whole kit in neals yard shop and most health shops.

doh - i have NO inhibitions when pregnant and go naked from the start - the animal inside comes out but I am yet to hump my partner in labour.

Thanks devotion, that's very helpful.

What a laugh at this thread now, I've just burst out laughing in the office! Funily enough no-one flinched
I just have a mental image of the mw who takes the course demonstarting this technique - she is an older, granny-type lady - the kind who would apologise profusely throughout a blood test or smear - and someone you couldn't imagine at all being sexual!

Thanks for the comments on the pics. I took them to show my wee sister who lives in Cardiff and I haven't seen her for a couple of months. She is just speculating as to how big I am at the moment, so I thought I would show her.

Somewhat, I too am having that discomfort when I stand up or bend over to put my socks etc on. I have been for a couple of weeks now and just put it down to pressure from within.

ampster - I never knew the craving had a name. I ate coal with my other two... and chalk, maybe a bit of plaster dust... sniffed a bit of coal tar. DH hates that I do, but I just can't help it.

Devotion - good luck with your birth plan

Heehee, I kind of love the image of the wierd cravings. My cravings were so boring with both pregnancies - mad orange juice desire with the first one, and also a bit of a craving for fruit and yoghurt. Not exactly wild or crazy, just healthy! I'm so boring.

Evening everyone! I had my 4D scan today and I have to say I was totally totally blown away by it. As soon as the sonographer switched the machine on, I exlaimed OMG, its a spit of DD! I have uploaded 2 pics to my profile - but we got 27 pictures on CDRom plus a 15 minute DVD, 7 printed photos including a large glossy one! Even though DH has insisted he does not want to know gender and I promised not to find out ( I was v naughty!!!

Won't say point blank on here as not fair when DH wont know til birth but I will say that my gut feeling has been totally wrong and I am absolutely delighted!!!! Tee hee.

Fraoch - you are TINY!! Not fair, but good to see a few more profile pics going up so we can put faces to names.

Off now to post my pics on Facebook, email and the like!

A very very very happy CTOFN tonight !!

LOL at sockmonkey and your cravings
somewhat - I have that book too and have to say it made no difference when I was trying to re start my contractions last time. On that note though, I have just re booked our lovely hypnobirthing tutor for a refresher.
CTOFN gald to hear you have happy news
Second the use of arnica after C section and calendula too - really helped me. Wish I had known to take in peppermint tea bags as to not put too finer point point on it, the trapped wind was hideous ! Why did no-one tell me I would be constipated for days afterwards ?!

Hi everyone CTOFN glad you enjoyed your scan.
I was at the hospital last night with DS as he has been ill for a few days and then he couldn't breathe last night - anyway they gave him some medicine and a prescription for some more to be given by an oxygen mask at home. Not sure what is wrong with him as the Doctor was talking superfast in Dutch and couldn't follow all of it but dh said it translated as dogs cough = not serious anyway something to do with an inflamed airway - I think.
So am so tired after the last few days I hope he feels better soon .
Anyway that was a bit miserable - sorry - am going to make banana bread as that's what he has requested.

Timette - that sounds like croup. Have you tried keeping the air damp? we've had a similar time this week. DS (2) had 2 attacks, the second resulting in a horrid blue light ambulance ride. not fun at the best of times, and especially at 25 wks pregnant with an almost unconscious child on your lap. he was given adrenalin, oxygen and oral steroids. Terrifying. Hope you are all better soon.

timmette hope your little one is better soon, can only imagine how much stress/fear that kind of thing causes. And don't forget to grab a nap when you can too.

sazlocks I find the book makes sense, although in short it says you need to break the conditioning (that for me has been there for 30+ yrs) which is a bit of a tall order! I have no preconceived ideas that it'll work, after all it's all theoretical. It'll be interesting to find out in a few months just how much it helped me and others on here.

timmette that sounds awful I hope he is on the mend soon

somewhat - I agree - I used the book and a hypnobirthing course last time and it worked wonders. That said I also made quite a concerted effort to stay away from peoples "helpful" birth stories so that I could get into and remain in a positive frame of mind. I also was very prescriptive in my birth plan about how I wanted the midwives to use language - not referring to pain etc . In hindsight they probably all thought I was bonkers but it worked for me

Hi all - im so glad you are getting what you really wanted CTOFN! SSSSSHHHHHHHH i wont say a thing!
i am so goin for a scan have to wait a while though 28- 30 weeks is the best time well so i read!
tb- is keeping me awake at all hours my gosh i so drained when i get up the next morning!
is anyone else getting weird and wacky dreams? i am and some r fine but some r scary! had one the other day and i woke up convinced it was real! first thing i did was touch my belly to see if my bump was still there!

Thanks everyone for the well wishes you were right helenabeth it is croup according to dh, but thanks for telling me in English - it was scary.

hello

haven't been on here in a while, more work dramas etc etc

having a flopping in front of tv eating chocolate ginger biscuits days and wondering why on earth marge simpson is on sky news?!

anyway yes, hope everyone is OK?
timmette that sounds horrible for you and ds, does sound like 'croup'- is he better now? helenabeth is your ds better too? nebulisers at home usually do the trick from what I have heard, scary though

so I went to mw yesterday, my GP midwife, not hospital. Haven't been there this pregnancy as did everything at the hospital but have now moved--- so she said she had nothing on her screen about the pregnancy, I told her my EDD by the scan and she said 'what scan? why have you had a scan?' I said 'er.. Ive had 2' thinking it was obvious, and she then said she thought I looked about 10 weeks pregnant, not 27...

weird, especially in light of my 2.5 stone gain and counting

She soon changed her mind when she felt my tummy and prodded baby, saying he is ''very big already''

bit scared- can they really tell how big a baby is? DD was 6lb 10oz but enormous babies do run in the family, my mother weighed 12lb! aaaagh having visions of a very painful delivery

londonlottie that poster is fab, how funny. Glad you have moved properly now, I think you would notice a contraction if they started, they can be back pain or abdominal or probably both, but they REALLY HURT so don't worry- you will know

PS - my little one is 2lb 4oz already (27 wks), which is bang on the 50th centile. So if all goes to plan and I deliver around 37 weeks, I reckon it will be around the 7lb mark - nice!

Really so excited about the scan yesterday. I hadn't really got excited at all about this at all because it was unplanned and even though have felt pretty rotten and had lots of movement, it wasn't real, IYKWIM. So after seeing proper little features and a little one that sooooo looks like my DD, its finally hit me that that is who is coming to meet us soon.

The technology is incredible though isn't it?

LOL at LondonLottie with support tights and Ikea trip !!!

londonlottie we are lucky living in the Dutch speaking part as they all speak English, and DH is Dutch but the doctor didn't know croup in English and dh had never heard of it in any language... I was up all night with ds but I guess it good prep for the newborn.

Crumpette where do you get chocolate ginger biscuits from - I love them and have only ever found them in selection boxes.

CTOFN - those pics are fab. (Is LO flipping the Vs in the first one though?)
timmette - hope DS feels better soon.Sounds like a very stressful event. Hope Banana bread is a good way to calm you all.