Due Jan 2010 - the final countdown and singing Auld Lang Syne to our bumps

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Last thread nearly full - so here goes - our last hurdle....

ampster no birth plan here! I wrote one last time and didn't show it to anyone as I felt so silly!

I then wrote one this time, which was ridiculously optimistic (no pain relief, let me move around, natural 3rd stage blabla) and was laughable so I left it on work computer!

If I show up with a bag and a bump and my notes if I can find them I will have done well..!

Bub's not really engaged - only about a fifth (1 day shy of 38) so need to sit on my exercise ball more tho MW did say that bubs is head down and more front than back so fingers crossed when it engages, it won't be back to back.

crumpette I found some here there is also one you can do in bed lying down where you lift one leg a few inches off the bed and try to take your toes as far backwards (towards you) as you can go - so just flexing them as much as possible.

Goodness I am glad I am not the only underprepared one: still have no buggy but have decided to take my time to decide on it. Our nursery still has all manners of crap in it... we're spending the next few days trying to find a sofabed that will fit in there (alongside the cotbed I want) before kitting the rest of the nursery out!

If you need bedding, Mamas&Papas are doing 3 for 2. Otherwise, Mothercare are doing buy 1 get 1 half price - but from what I understand I don't think you can mix... so you will need to buy 2 cellular blankets, 2 sets of fitted sheets, 2 sets of flat sheets etc in order to get that offer.

WMDO, I am sitting here with my jaw on the floor at your sister. How effing rude !

OMG, just realised it wasn't your sisters being so rude, it's your inlaws. That's even worse

crumpette "no pain relief, let me move around, natural 3rd stage blabla" - yeah, that's basically what mine is. am hoping that as i'm having a homebirth it might actually be possible... positive thinking and all that!

oh yeah, my hypnobirthing teacher told me to call it a 'wish list', which seems like a better name than birth plan. something so official in the word 'plan'... it just feels like tempting fate to even write it.

Just nipping on quickly to say that Thomas is home!! He's currently sleeping in the back room while DH watches telly and I express. Will post more details later - he was discharged quite suddenly in the end and I need to lay my hands on all his stuff I'd carefully packed away for January...

MMB Congrats! You must be so glad to have him home at last. Bet you must be running around trying to get things sorted so good luck with that!

MMJ Thats wonderful news that Thomas is home

Jacob has got the snuffles and a cough he's not fed well at all today

new thread anyone?!

merry christmas to all... ours is really just beginning because all manner of family descended/ing upon us for the next few days.

i have much admiration for all who are trying to establish bf at the mo. with my history which, comparatively speaking seems a doddle, i have very little intention of bf this time. (no.3).

was checking also for news on fpt...?

all the best for those who's babies - CTFN?- are imminent! really hope all babies arrive when expected /planned! really trying not to get 'hung up' on due date but dd1 was only 5days over; dd2 bang on time.

anyone else swelling on one side but not much on other??

moved dd2 (2y3m) into big bed last night - worked fine; but tonight she wanted to go back into her cot. cot no longer exists. nor does space for cot...

Hello all!

Hope you all had a fantastic xmas!

Can not believe how much I have to catch up on

MMB - so happy for you that you have your little boy at home. now you can all settle down together.

FPT & CTFN - thinking of you both, hope all is well x

Shiny - CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!! Hope you getting lots of rest when you can Enjoy x

I just got back tonight from staying with relatives, we had a lovely few days and I am much rounder due to far too much food. Things are definitely happening in my belly. Not sure if I came on here to tell you I had to go to hospital this week after my tummy pains and then back pain, they hooked me up to monitor and I had two contractions but they did not really hurt. They wanted to keep me in for 24 hours but I refused, everyone was coughing around me and I just wanted to get home.

Doc and mw said I was fully engaged like I knew and told me to take it easy so I could get to 37 weeks of I want my homebirth.

Since then get the odd twinges and lots of discharge - cant remember 1st pregnancy but last pregnancy I got quite a lot a couple of weeks before labour started so hopefully I have a couple of weeks left still (fingers crossed).

Because of being fully engaged, I cant walk anywhere and need to wee constantly especially if i lean forward to put shoes on etc.... So annoying! Plus I have to wear clean pair of trousers each day because I wee a bit on them - lovely .

must-do-pel-vic-floor-ex-er-cises...

Can not imagine another 4.5 weeks of this, I would be delighted to give birth in two weeks time.

SO excited about meeting this little baby and finding out if I have a boy or girl. Got both names now.

Hope everyone is well and not suffering from heart burn etc from all the xmas food.

Lots of hugs
x

Morning all

MMB - what lovely news! So glad little Thomas is home! Hooray!

Ali - hope Jacob is better soon, when they are little, stuffy noses can really impact their feeding, but they soon make up for it!

Devotion - wow, sounds as though you are nearly ready to go. I am 37 weeks today and at this stage with DS, I was in the theatre being prepped for csection. He was born at 8am. . I am totally ready for the baby to come now!! Come on little one!

Grumpallo - Hope the move from the cot to the bed goes ok. DS is the same age and still totally content in his cot. Fortunately his expands into a junior bed, so we have bought the baby the same cot in a different colour. Is your DD staying put in the bed once she is down? We are wondering at what stage to take the side of the cot down. But with no attempts to escape as of yet, we are staying as we are!

CTFN - how are you doing? Only a few days to go arent there?

ClaireDB - I dont have any advice, aside from saying please dont worry about topping up with formula. The baby is still deriving lots of benefits from the breastfeeds you are doing. I second the suggestion to maybe ask for more advice from local NCT/ la leche league...but I had to do what you are doing for the first 4 days DS was born and would have no issue doing the same again.

Crumpette - how is your BP/ Protein? when do you next need to go in. Sorry for the lack of presents on Christmas. Naughty DP! i totally dont have a birth plan. Last one ended up being the complete opposite!

FPT - no news?? Am heading over the childbirth in a mo to see if she has updated a thread she started there.

Hello to everyone else posting, sorry too many to respond to everyone! Hope everyone has a relaxing bank holiday. We finally ventured out yesterday, to John Lewis, never seen it so ridiculously rammed. But we picked up some pyjamas for DS and cuddly toys for baby, so was very nice!

MMJ So happy Thomas is at home with you now. Hurrah!!

Off Ooop North for a family buffet today. I am soooo looking forward to seeing my family, DSs are very excited too. I made LDC (thanks Marslady) last night and am planning on doing some mince crumbles this morning before we go.

I have been so hungry... anyone else? I just can't seem to stop grazing. Eating biscuits while I am actually cooking food cos I just can't wait.

3 weeks to go! (well with my track record probably 5 )

Morning ladies.

MMJ - how wonderful that Thomas is home - you must be delighted

Ali - poor Jacob. He's having a tough little time. Hopefully his snuffles will clear soon, I remember that stage so well, although its hard to believe it was 7 years ago!

Devotion - my pelvic floor has COMPLETELY gone! My sympathies with you... ...

AND AND AND - this time tomorrow, I rather hope I'll be in theatre!! I have to phone the hospital by 6am to check that there are no problems (ie delivery suite closed) and then be at the hospital by 8am latest. There are 3 electives planned tomorrow so I hope there arent too many emergencies that push my delivery back. Already concerned about lack of food and drink !!

I simply cannot wait now. Rather embarrasingly its not just to meet my little one but to put an end to quite an horrendous pregnancy. I'm only actually 38+4 today but movement is very difficult due to SPD (and being a complete cripple), sleeping is now difficult due to pain in hips/side and the swelling is ridiculous. That's only been for 2-3 days but horrid! DSD (16) arrived yesterday and proceeded to rub my feet for 45 minutes!!! The difference to my feet/ankles was incredible. Went to bed floating. Alas, this morning, the swelling is back in feet, ankles and hands (urgh).

Anyway lovely ladies, no doubt I will check in to this addictive site before I go to bed tonight and I will text MistletoeKisses tomorrow once we know the flavour, time of birth and weight!!

If it's a girl, we will be calling her Olivia Iris and if it's a boy, either Samuel or William... we are in the midst of changing our mind !

grumpallo I did read that you should let your MW know if you only get swelling in one side as it can be a sign of something else aswell. Nothing particularly bad, but I'd give MW a call just to check.

MMB good news about Thomas, congratulations.

Ctofn Oooh exciting about tomorrow, can't believe another arrival imminent.

I'm still spinning out, getting bored of it now. Trying not to move around too much as I crash into things so poor DH is running around doing absolutely everything and looking very worried, bless him, he's a star!

Wow, this thread is exciting now! All those pukey days and uncomfortable nights were worth it. We're not even in January yet and have so many arrivals!

Thanks for the comments. Mira was weighed today. She is now birth weight + 5% and gaining about 250g/ week and around 10 dirty/ wet nappies each day so it's all working well. I can stop worrying now.

Ctofn: Good luck for tomorrow!!

ClaireDB - I'm glad you can now feel you can relax. Sounds like you are doing a great job. They just need some time to get use to their life outside the womb and some babies take longer to get the hang of feeding then others.

My friends little boy did not get back to his birth weight until three weeks old and my friend was so stressed as hv's were really on her case but it was just a matter of time before her little boy worked out how to do it.

He is ff and now doing great.

Ctofn - goodluck for tomorrow. I am so sorry you have had such a rough ride with this pregnancy. I wish you a speedy recovery after, make sure you take some arnica before the op and every few hours after for a few days to help with healing.

Sockmonkey - enjoy your trip and meal up north

Got so much to do, my flat is a TIP! I feel like writing letters to toy companies telling them off about the waste of packaging on their toys - dh just had to go to the dump recycling section there was so much cardboard! I wont even start on the plastic!

Have a nice day everyone! x

flyingma thanks for the link and tips, why didn't I hink of googling it [doh] I haven't tried them yet but will do so this evening

Also thanks for advice on bedding offers! May have to do some online shopping live quite far from mothercare/mamas and papas so hopefully anything I order will arrive before baby !

MMB such great news that Thomas is home with you, yay!!!

alibobins hoping little Jacob gets over his sniffles soon and gets guzzling!

ctofn Can't believe tomorrow you will be snuggling your baby its the best feeling in the world x x

ClaireDB glad Mira has put on wait hopefully you can relax and just enjoy being a mummy.

Jacob is really struggling with his feeds today he is coughing quite a bit which in turn is making him sick the midwife is coming tommorow so hopefully she will have some advice and fingers crossed he has put some more weight on.

Hope everyone else is okay

Hi all.

All the best for tomorrow CTOFN, will be keeping things crossed they don't get lots of emergencies and delay you.

Great news about Thomas coming home, and Mira putting on weight; sorry Jacob has the sniffles; hope the midwife has some useful advice tomorrow.

WMDO, was astonised by your in-laws. In-laws really are something else, my MIL told me off a few days after dd was born because I hadn't yet sent thank you cards for things I'd been given.

I saw MW at home today; BP has gone up a bit, so that's good (it was a bit on the low side), but I need to get my iron levels up to more than 10 to be allowed my home birth. Still, it's not in my boots, only 9.5, so she seemed positive I would do it, as long as I keep taking the pills, and eat plenty of iron rich foods.

Got the list of things to get (when I told DP we needed plastic sheeting, bin liners and lots of paper towels he asked whether we shouldn't switch to hospital!), and have started to well up every time I think about it.

Baby was 3/5ths palpable, but she said not to worry that that meant birth was imminent, just getting in a good position.

Right, I have to go back to being a train carriage tootling round the house picking up all the cuddly toys (exhausting!) and then sorting out my dinner of red meat, potatoes with skins on, peas and broccoli...

ampster, I've called mine "birth preferences" - though as I'm going to a birth centre where they are all about natural deliveries it's pretty short and focuses on 3rd stage. Essentially "going to crowborough" is shorthand for my birth plan - active labour, waterbirth and chest crawl.

It has about 3 points:

• Physiological 3rd stage unless medically indicated otherwise
• Vit K to be injected
• If I end up in a transfer situation then the birth plan is I don't die and neither does baby. I don't care how we get there.

Hi Ladies Hope your all keeping well. I've not been on since the 18th Dec when I had my standard midwfie appt for 36 weeks - got rushed into antenatal unit with high blood pressure and found I was pre-eclamptic. I was induced the following Sunday - and got to 10cm dilated (I loved the epidural) before baby got distressed and I ended up with an emergency c-section under general so little Ellie arrived on the 22/12 weighing 5.5lbs.

I got let out of hospital yesterday with baby Ellie who weighed 5.5lbs (She'd then lost over 10% of her body weight with us struggling with breastfeeding). I'm now having to express and bottle feed to make sure she puts weight on which has saddened me quite a lot as I really wanted to breastfeed but we're really pleased she's arrived safely.

Congratulations Liskey, hopefully Ellie is making up for the horrid delivery

Liskey - congratulations on the birth of your little girl and sorry to hear you had to spend xmas in hospital, where you able to be together when you were there?

My friend had an emergency c-sec under a general with her first and had a speedy 2nd labour natural with just gas and air.

Dont beat yourself up about bf, the main thing is you are both safe and well and now you can concentrate on chubbing her up and getting to know each other.

So she weighed more than 5.5 at birth - thats great for 36 weeks isnt it? Hopefully you can put a pic up so we can see your little angel.

Take care xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Congratulations Liskey! Hope you are recovering well.