Due September thread 10 - On the downhill slope...

[Kiwifruit]

Here's the new thread ladies - may it be as chatty as the last 9!!

[Sallie]

Have been told that once Strep B positive, always strep B positive so need to book in to see a consultant and have to have baby at hospital. My new midwives haven't been exactly helpful over all this and just told me to arrange a consultant appointment. Sad because this will be my last baby (I would like one more but dh doesn't) and desperately wanted a homebirth - had two previously uncomplicated births and had I not had a smear test after no 2, I would have been none the wiser about the strep B as they don't routinely test. Seems very unfair but at the end of the day, don't want to put baby at risk so will do what am advised. Looks like I will be having the baby at QMC in Nottingham. Had a 3 hour labour with dd (no2) so need to go to nearest hospital.....anyone had their baby there and have any feedback?

[milward]

Sallie - I've had strepb as well. Have my check up next week & was going to ask if this means that I'll it this time as well. Would suggest you ask your doc what happens if you don't get the full course of antibiotics whilst in labour. I had a short labour & this happened to me. My dd had to have antibiotic injections for a few days afterwards.

[Sallie]

Thanks Milward. Apparently at Nottingham they don't routinely give the antibiotics but just observe the baby for a while. But will definitely ask the consultant once I see him/her. Getting very depressed about the whole thing. We have moved house and are still living out of boxes and will be doing when the baby arrives as we have mice in our kitchen and can't get the kitchen done until October . Have nothing new for the baby, won't even have a decorated room or anything. And really wanted to avoid the agonising ride to hospital and give birth in the calm of home. But never mind - will stop feeling sorry for myself now.....

[andif]

Sallie, I also have strep B, and after feeling very much like you, now feel fortunate that it has been diagnosed and quite angry that I had never heard of it until this (3rd) pg. I had set my heart on a water birth, but that is not poss now and not keen on baby starting life full of antibiotics, but guess must just trust that the hosp know what they're doing! My homeopath seems to think she can 'treat' it - not sure if she actually thinks she can make me negative, but if so I could ask for a retest nearer the time. Will report back when I see her next week.

[PiccadillyCircus]

I have Strep B as well, or at least I did when DS was born. I didn't have any antibiotics in labour as the results from the swab test didn't come back until after he was born, so DS was observed for the couple of days we were in hospital after the birth.

I've got an appointment to see the Consultant on 25th July (where I'll also be discussing my PPH last time, although hopefully not any high blood pressure (pre-eclampsia last time).

Have made an appointment to see the midwife this afternoon as although my BP was OK 2 weeks ago, I don't want to go to the hopsital appointment thinking I am OK and then being kept in (as kept happening last time).

[Redhelen]

PiccadillyCircus - great empathy on the sleep front.My sleep is a very unpredictable & My son is waking eary too - must be the heat. Lets hope we get some cooler weather soon! Not managed any ironing yet!!!

[PiccadillyCircus]

My ironing is still there. I am hoping that by ignoring it, it will disappear .

But sadly it will grow as I have done yet more washing. I have asked both DS and DH to wear fewer clothes - seeing as DS is clad in only a nappy at the moment (or at least I hope he is in a nappy as he is in his cot asleep) he seems to have been listening.

And I know I could be ironing now but it is TOO hot. And I might burn the bump of course.

[sarahhal]

Hope we are all well - Sallie, sorry to hear that you won't get the home birth you wanted.

Well my summer is going haywire. We were due to have a builder starting our extension in two weeks but that's gone out of the window and looks like it won't start now until mid September - great timing!!! Not sure how it'll be with a newborn, Ds at 2 and a half and a house full of builders. At least they are building outside the house and not actually in here to start with.

So I have a lovely bank account full of money to pay a builder and have given in to temptation and spent some of it on a holiday!!!! We decided that we really needed a good break before the baby comes so we have booked a cottage in Devon for a week and I CAN'T WAIT!!!! Only three days to work next week then I finish ...I can't wait for that either!!

[zubb]

sarahhal - the holiday sounds good!
I'm in exactly the same position with the builders, looks like they might start mid-August now and it will take 10 weeks (or so they say). The first 4 are outside, then as they said 'you might want to move out' I haven't told them I am having this baby at home yet as then they'll never start and I definately won't tell them that it is likely to be very quick and they'll need to be on a 10 minute warning to get out or they may end up helping!!

[PiccadillyCircus]

DS has woken up finally (nice babbling noises) so I shall get him up, hoping that the nappy will still be on him. Also need to wee into my small tube but the amount of water I have drunk should mean there will at least be lots of it (hopefully won't go all over my hand). Or should I take a jug up with me? .

Really hope all will be well at midwifes.

No real reason for thinking it won't be, just natural pregnant paranoia .

[Redhelen]

Went to see the midwife too this afternoon - also had great difficulty weeing into small pot - I don't remember it being so hard 2 weeks ago! Perhaps its because I can no longer see the pot too well sorry (tmi)!! All was well at the mv's.

I really wish it would rain - had a dream it was snowing - still no sign of Brad Pitt!

[jessysmummy]

Don't you just love those little happy babbling noises they make!
Hope all well at MW, PC.
I'm going to get some blood taken on Mon for routine iron test. Usually wouldn't bother me but last time they had to do it from my hand - v painful - with a phlebotamist (spelt wrong I'm sure) nicknamed Buffy (the vampire slayer) who can apparently get blood out of anything!
Have worked out I've only got 17working days left before mat leave...hurray! Unfortunately they are spread out over 6 weeks...booh!
Actually bought a tandem pushchair on ebay last week. The Jane Powertwin as we already have the single powertrack and will be able to use the same car seat with it. It's secondhand but saved ourselves £120. Couldn't justify brand new when we will probably only need it for a year or so. Didn't think it was fair to expect DD (20mths at EDD) to walk everywhere. My sister has done this with her 3 yo and he really does struggle to keep up.
Other than that, the only other preparation I've made is to buy some pads (breast and maternity) and lurvely disposable knickers for my hospital bag. One thing that I need to do pretty soon is sort out hiring a tens machine. Don't know if it helped much last time or whether the twiddling with it distracted me but I made nearly all the way through with just that.

[RedZuleika]

We've really ploughed ahead with ordering stuff this week. There's a part of me that still thinks it's all too early - but on the other hand, I don't want to be in the position of finding that something is out of stock when I do want to order it (the cot, for instance...). Where are most people putting the little people to sleep when they turn up? We're going for a bedside cot. And on a related subject, does anyone have previous experience with monitors? After a brief perusal, I can't help feeling that some would exacerbate one's worries rather than alleviate them.

[andif]

RZ - we are also thinking about monitors. The BT digital ones are meant to be good, I think and you can get them new on ebay for about £40. A friend has one with a pressure pad that the baby sleeps on and it beeps if the baby stops breathing - I think this would make me a nervous wreck, but wonder if I'm being too blase and should consider it... Quite a lot of friends don't bother at all, but I guess it depends how big your house is as to whether you would hear them.

[Piccalilli]

We went for the BT digital monitor in the end as a friend has one and the sound quality is really good - my view is if we're going to have one I don't want to be straining to work out whether that noise was something to worry about or not. I don't like the idea of the breathing monitor - I think just having it would actually make me more neurotic.

We've got virtually everything we need now - the cot and buggy turn up next week and we spent practically our life savings in Mothercare World last week. My mum told me it was 'too early' but I think if you follow that logic you wouldn't buy anything til the baby's born which is clearly ludicrous.

[LadyLazarus]

Picalilli - I agree, I felt that perhaps it was 'too early' to buy everything, but I don't want to leave it til the last minute when I might be too big to be bothered with faffing about shopping and you never know how soon baby might come! I do feel better for having got most of the stuff in now tho. Definitely seems more real!!

[PiccadillyCircus]

Midwife was fine and DS was very content to wait in the waiting room for over half an hour. Think this may have contributed to my blood pressure being at a lovely low level .

And DS is in cot [fingers crossed emoticon] and didn't scream for too long. I am thinking of switching off the monitor (Tomy Walkabout Classic which works very well for us) so I stop wondering about whether he has actually gone to sleep or not. Anything is an improvement on the past three nights hour or so of screaming anyway.

Then I suppose I should tidy up a bit and maybe even contmeplate the dreaded I word, as somehow it didn't disappear of its own accord .

[andif]

PC, glad to hear all well at midwife. We are meant to be going away tomorrow to friends in Norfolk - lovely long journey in air conditioned car , so I must do ironing too. Contemplating rewashing it all and doing some creative folding just before it's dry instead!!!!
Gosh, 2 s in one post - doesn't reflect my now stinking cold at all!!

[Redhelen]

PiccadillyCircus - I'd go and lay down some where cool if I were you - read a magazine, watch some telly.

Creased clothes are the big thing this season - I only iron twice a year (honest - I'm that much of a slob - hot bodies soon drop out the creases!!)& dry clothes carefully to avoid the dreaded iron!

[PiccadillyCircus]

Well, DH is out and so I think I should do something relaxing really. Although I will tidy up as I don't want him to fall over things when he comes in .

I think DS really has gone to sleep .Maybe he will stay asleep for a nice long time. And so will I once I go to bed .

There may well be a few pink pigs flying past the window of course.

[zubb]

RZ - we have a moses basket for the baby for the first few weeks, and then I'm not sure what we'll do as at the moment ds1 is in the bed from a cotbed and ds2 is in a cot. I think we'll buy bunkbeds and let ds1 in the bottom for a while, and convert his bed back to a cot for the baby.
As for monitors we bought a cheap one with ds1 but hardly ever used it - I forgot to turn it on most of the time anyway and its not like we live in a palace! Didn't use it at all for ds2 and shouldn't think I will with this one either.

[milward]

RZ - will co-sleep so no need for a cot. I intend to use a babysling & strong arms! in the day to carry around ds4 as I did for the others.

[Boompi]

Are using a hammock in our room. Considering the BT monitor too to allow us to go outside. Bought most of stuff we are going to now. Got the Diktad change tble from Ikea. Nursery still a tip though!

My random blood glucose from wed came back high too so have to have full GTT this am. Unable to have anything but water since midnight and will not be able to eat till after test which takes three hours - I am starving already.

[KiwiKate]

Thanks for all the welcomes! Sorry for long delay in replying. Had a BAD week with SPD pain excruciating. Feeling a bit better now.

I am in Wellington, New Zealand (to answer Kiwifruit).

Franch - I've now updated the stats thread.

Milward - how did you do mobile BF? Did you have baby in a sling? With ds1 it never ocurred to me that you could do it on the move (but then he fed every two hours of more often for the first 6 weeks, so I was pretty much too exhausted to move around anyway).

LOL at the post (can't remember whose) about suddenly thinking that this baby is REALLY on its way and omg what have I done? I said exactly the same thing to DH today.

For those with more than one already, how did you keep no 1 busy when you BF no2? Somehow I don't think "go and play" is going to cut it?

[KiwiKate]

Is it irrational to be concerned that no2 will somehow detract from my great relationship with ds1?