HI all,
Housebound with DD today as we live at the top of a hill which is very snowy with a treacherous layer of ice underneath - plus my wellies somehow ended up in the storage unit rather than here, where I need then... It's all very tiresome as neither DD or I are very good at being cooped up.
Consultants yesterday was pretty good - she was fairly brisk and efficient - especially when she realised I wouldn't actually be having my baby at the Whittington "Well you need to really be having this conversation with a consultant in Wimbledon..."
And, miracle of miracles, they actually had all my notes from the Homerton - which was great.
She was very obviously and a bit to read that I had been given Misoprostol for induction last time, and the gathered herself and said that it wasn;t ever used for induction at the Whit, and that she, personally would never prescribe it for that.
Anyway, she was quite elightening. Said that basically to have another third degree tear, (plus all the lacerations elsewhere I has last time) would Not Be A Good Thing. Not that it wouldn't heal, it would, but there is a possibility of nerve damage which can result in rectal incontinence . For life. Lovely.
So we talked it through and decided that any kind of induction for me is therefore quite a bad idea - as it's more likely to result in instrumental assistance and therefore tearing/episiotomy - espcaially if one is prone to having large babies...
That said, she siad it wasn't necessarily a good thing for me to be allowed to go much beyond 42 weeks, even with monitoring due to the increased size of the baby. Plus there are increased risks to the baby, obviously.
So, the hope is that I go into labour spontaneously, before 42 weeks. In which case I should ask to be prioritised for access to a water pool, again to try and do eveything to minimise damage. But she said although they'll do that at the Whit. for women with my kind of history, in some places it's simply first come first served, so how likely that is to happen at Kingston, I'll have to wait and see.
Then, if the worst happens and there is no sign of DD2 making an appearance, I would be well advised to consider an elective C-section. Which isn't what I want, necessarily, but have to agree it probably has a better long term prognosis for me than another difficut induction for an overdue, large baby....
So at least I feel a bit clearer about what I plan to do in any given scenario, which makes me feel a bit calmer.
So today I began the process of trying to transfer my care... I can already see it'll be a palarver.
The midwives said the best and easiest way was to self-refer to Kingston, but when I called them this morning they basically said they don't accept self-referrals, and I have to register with a GP locally and then get them to refer me. No ifs, buts or maybe
Spoke to the GP practice closest to my new house, and they said they couldn't register me until I was acually resident there and could come in for a full helaht check. However, when I explained that we did actually own the house and were paying council tax and utilities, and that I would be almost 35 weeks gone by the time we moved in, their receptionist basically said I could download all the relevant forms from ther website, attach covering note, address it to her directly and she'd make sure I was registered ASAP.
Then I can start going about getting a referral to Kingston, and hopefully a booking appointment... But it looks like its going to be a long old process and it's making me quite anxious, TBH.
Still, all I can do is get the ball rolling and keep on top of it, I suppose.
Re: fathers at the birth - while DH was that mcuh use in terms of back rubbing or whatever last time, I am very lucky in that he can be a bit of a pit-bull when he has to be, and he was soley responsible for getting me the help I needed when hyperstimulated, by basically being bullish and refusing to back down until a consultant had come to see me. I honestly don;t know what I woudl have done if he hadn't been there.
Course, he went and spoiled all his good work by exclaiming when DD was finally born after 51 hours to his exhasuted and emotional wife whi wanted to know if her DD was OK "SHE'S GOT A DEFORMED CHIN!!". She hadn't - she was just sucking her bottom lip. But a midwife slapped him and told me he was talking nonsense - but a little itty bit of me will never forgive him for that one!
So I'll be moe than happy to have him there again this time. He's bloody good in a crisis. Not that this one is going to be a crisis. Oh no. It's going to be a beautiful, enriching and calm experience. I Have Decided. .
As for my Mum - well, not so much. When, on my wedding day, the cab which was supposed to be taking me to the church failed to turn up and DH had to send some of his groomsmen in a people carrier to get me, Mum paced the floor wringing her hands and yelling hysterically "It's all ruined already! The dress will be wrecked! The vicar won't stay! It's all RUINED!!". Heaven knows what she'd have bene like last time I gave birth. Not Helpful, anyway...
Manda - that's a very very kind offer - thanks so much. It would be lovely to meet up once we're moved in and both on mat. leave - there were others in the are, weren't there? Maybe we could make up an SW posse?
We plan on putting, basically everyone we know within the M25 on standby to hot foot it down to Wimbledon at the first sign of a contraction. BUt mostly everyone works, so it's still not foolproof by any means... So you may find I end up taking you up on that offer (so feel free to retract at any point - espcailly when you realise you've basically agreed to babysit for a woman you barely know who has a history of ridicuously LONG labours... ). At least until my Mum can burn down the motorway from Norfolk...
Can't believe it's still snowing. What the hell I'm going to do tomorrow with regard to getting DD to nursery and myself to work I've no idea...
Hugs to all,
db
xx