Due March 2010 - I'm a baby get me out of here!

[annamama]

New ante-natal thread... the post-natal thread is here

MummyElk, think you may be spending too much time on this thread!

Well, I watched OBEM last night (missed Eastenders though). That waterbirth? WANT. And little baby Jack had me absolutely sobbing within minutes. DH had to come over and give me a hug! Was a bit at that awful husband, but I suppose he must have been tired and grumpy, and probably frustrated at watching his wife go through a protracted labour again. He could have been a bit more supportive/positive though

rebeccad glad everything is going so well for you! I'll have some of your 'come out now' vibes, please

On the subject of which, I have been soo bloody uncomfortable the past 2 nights. LO really squirmy and stretchy (definite shades of that scene in Alien), pushing little knees and feet out at my stomach, punching me in the bladder, and bumping/scraping my cervix, which is really quite painful/uncomfortable! I really hope she doesn't keep this up for the last remaining week(s), I'll go mad. Also makes me feel like I need to wee constantly (as opposed to every hour or so, which I'd almost gotten used to).

Oh my word! Giving birth dressed as Peppa Pig "Oh George! It's not funny" That is a seriously weird dream MummyElk!

Mawbroon nice to see you here...I have seen you on some other threads and was horrified when I heard about your ankle - must be agony and so uncomfortable, especially with the bump. Late pregnancy is really bad enough without having a broken ankle to contend with.

A friend, who says she can sometimes 'see things' (don't know how true it is, but am open minded), said the other day that when she saw me walking into a room with DD, for a few moments she also saw me carrying a carseat with my new baby! Somehow that's terribly reassuring And re-reading that sentence makes me want to burst into tears! Pregnancy hormones rather than a daft old bag, yes?!

I guess the thing about the pain is that it does go and you get the most wonderful, wonderful gift at the end of it. I panicked first time as the labour was so quick I was too late for anything other than G&A as pain relief (I had been planning to have as many drugs as required!), but actually G&A did help and it is of course all doable. To quote that daft fecking idiot on OBEM last night, "millions of women do this all the time...".

Lol at your dream last night mummyelk! What an active imagination you must have!!

I also enjoyed OBEM last night - so glad to see wee Jack improving and hear that he's fine now - I really admired his mum for being so good-humoured and honest. As for Darren - where DO they find these idiot husbands?? And what a water birth - she was so quiet. I'm definitely joining the queue for one of those.

As for a support thread for husbands, how about "what does your DW/DP say about you on Mumsnet?" which is what my DH is very keen to know these days. He's very keen to know if I'm telling you all how wonderful or awful he's being! So - keep quiet everyone!!

Congrats emlou - so glad all has worked out fine for your wee one, and love the name!

IWCAS thanks [sarcastic emoticon] for your description of Gaviscon - I'd never thought of it that way before - might be a bit more difficult to take my usual dose today...!
and at how badly you were treated by the comet guy - imagine leaving you without any essentials! I'd be so too.

Was at the MW yesterday and baby not at all engaged yet! I'm still just 38+5 so not v surprised, but good to know everything else is fine.

It's snowing here AGAIN, I'm so sick of snow!!! So it looks like a day of telly, MNing and chocolate for me. Oh and I suppose I should really sort some more baby stuff...

Wow, there was a woman on This Morning just now who's had 18 miscarriages. Yikes. She's got a baby girl now though, very cute.

Ok, the heartburn seems to be kicking in early today - I'm off to take some Gaviscon and try NOT to think of IWCAS's descriptions!

Yep, snowing here too, even the kids have had enough of the white stuff!

I gave up on sleep again @ half 4 this morning, had nice cup of fennel infusion , read a few pages of my book in the spare bed and went back to sleep. Come 7am I was of course totally unconscious and having to get up was horrible! Why, oh why?? What have I done to deserve this? And I hate the drivvel about 'oh, it's so you get used to getting up at night to look after the baby': I know I will have to do that, so please let me sleep just now, gah!!

BTW, Mothercare have a midseason sale on today, if anybody needs to know. Had to tear myself away from impossibly cute newborn outfits yesterday...

mummyelk, brilliant dream ! I cannot imagine oinking in labour being quite as satisfying as mooing though .

Welcome back, mawbroom, glad to hear you are a bit more comfortable. Only 5 days to go to having a March baby...
I declined induction on the 27.2. when expecting DS1 and almost 2 weeks overdue because I wanted a March baby thought things were beginning to happen... Had to come back with tail between my legs the following day to be induced but had DS1 on 1.3. - result!!

I am getting quite excited about the birth now. Had a nice long talk with my MW yesterday, she is so positive (not quite as barmy as Dominique though) and basically made it sound like the water is already running to fill the birthing pool for me !

Anyway, I am at work, as I was yesterday to finish off stuff. Taking DS3 for his Swine Flu vacc this afternoon - NOT looking forward to that, poor guy!

Have good one, everybody!

I watched OBEM last night, and I was surprised that I didn't feel emotional at all.

It was probably because 10 mins in, I saw a mouse run across the floor and out to the hall. DH went after it with my shoe and was ridiculously angry because there was a mouse. It's only a mouse FFS.

So perhaps being so annoyed with DH for being angry at a mouse took away my ability to empathise with the women on the programme.

And, he didn't catch the mouse either. I think he really thought he was going to be able to clobber it with a shoe.......

[Grin] Mawbroon at your mouse. Perhaps our dh's are related: mine once woke me with the sound of his efforts to kill a beetle with a shoe. I am a touchy feely do no harm person so we had a splendid row.

Sounds like some of us, noteably MummyElk (hee hee), had an interesting night. Now maybe I've just been watching too much OBEM but so did I. Woke up at 3am with contractions - but in my back. I wasn't timing them (more wishing them to go away as it Is Not Time Yet) but they seemed to come quite frequently, altho didn't last long. They weren't strong as I managed to go back to sleep until 5am when a certain toddler woke up. Grrr. By then I could feel them at the front (but low down, kind of where I remember them being as transition approached and not in early labour). Anyway, think it must have been nothing more than a warm up or an overactive imagination as they've settled down to an intermittent periody ache now and are definitely not contraction-like. But still weird cos not what I was expecting. Still good reminder for me that this labour lark won't necessarily run to the same script as last time.

rebeccacad, my ds was rather like your dd: would only sleep when held. We did some co-sleeping and my tips (apart from searching the MN archives) are:

-Make sure she can't get wedged between bed and wall or bed and furniture

-No pillows for you and keep duvet well away from her, say up to your hips only. Dress yourself warmly instead of covers

-Put her in a baby sleeping bag or swaddle so she can't slip under her own covers

-Don't co-sleep if either you or dh has been drinking, taking drugs (incl some prescription ones, I guess), is a smoker or are very tired (the last one always makes me smile wryly)

-And, very important, try and make sure you and dh each get a couple of hours sleep each day in your bed without the baby. Makes all the difference iirc!

Settling in the cot is a diff matter. We didn't manage that until ds was 7 mo but had some success with the amby before then. Tbh if co- sleeping works for now, I wouldn't fight it. Sorting out her sleep will be much easier when you are rested and recovered. However you could try White noise ( you can buy or download CDs or just tape your washing machine, vaccuum cleaner or hairdryer), warming the bed with a hot water bottle before putting her in (obv take it out before you put her in) or wedging her in with towels rolled up below her shoulders (meant to mimic the feeling of being held tightly). Don't worry, though; she and you will work it out in time.

Sorry for lengthy ramble.

HTH

angfirsttimer - yes I was also really annoyed that the water birth was shown so briefly and completely out of context - I suppose an easy lovely birth doesn;t make as good telly

rebecca - so good to hear (well ok, read) you sounding so happy in motherhood - we co-slept with DS and my HV did her research project on it and found that the best place for the baby to sleep is not inbetween parents but at the side of the bed against a wall (or with something to stop her falling out). This means you can keep the duvet right away from her and not worry about her getting too warm. Alternatively if you have a really huge bed, you can move your pillows down and leave her a space at the top of the bed (although less snuggly!). Above all, i would say don;t feel bad about co-sleeping - there is a lot of scaremongering out there and mothers and babies do it in most countries across the world so there must be a reason for that.

iwonka - how exciting! Keep us posted (Iwent into labour 1 day and 3 days after a show so it MIGHT be soon...)

mawbroon - hello again and eek at the mouse! I had mice in my house when I lived in Mexico and they freaked me out - I used to wake up in the middle of the night and see two little eyes shining at me - gaaah, makes me shiver just thinking about it...

great dream mummyelk!

rindercella - I also had birth fear first time I watched OBEM. It has now subsided as I get more and more pg - I reckon most of us do get to a point where we think, b*gger it, I don't care, I just need this baby out! BTW my DH has used the line 'millions of women do it ...' My usual retort is, well millions of women have also died in childbirth'

PD - I need to take my DC for the swine flu jab too but can't face it - is it definitely a good idea? [head-in-sand emotion]

Ohh, the old swine flu debate still going and I can't help saying that we decided for DD not to have it. Reasons being that I think she might have already had swine flu since she's been constantly ill all winter and also somewhere in my paranoid mind I'm not sure about it, although I hasten to point out she has had all her other jabs such as MMR etc.

Rebecca - I'm trying to remember what we did, I think I used to feed her to sleep in our bed, then transfer her to moses basket. And a bit later on she would settle in moses basket with dummy. Do whatever seems to work, remember nothing is forever...

Just been to MW and baby's head is engaged! The bad news is it's still "slightly back to back" but it will probably turn in labour if not before, she said. I'm off to crawl around the house on all fours, singing PEEEEPPA PIG, OINK!

Hi All -

Finally have had 2 hours to myself to catch up and watch OBEM and cry like a wee child at it and feel ready to post.

Siamese Went to London with DH as a final hurrah before DC3 arrives. Wonderful time watching Chicago, seeing sights, getting up late, having Starbucks breakfast BUT TOTALLY overdid it on the walking and was KNACKERED all the time. Very rude people in London who sit in priority tube seats and won't make eye contact. NO IDEA how you London commuters have coped. Life much more friendly/civilised in York [proud of adopted city emoticon]

LouBUdd Nice to see you on here again. I'm 35+5 and am guzzling RL tea and tablets, epxressing colostrum (supposed to help) and even having marital relations with DH again in the hope that this will bring on a baby on time.

Half term being over is nice. Have spent most of it trying to entertain the 2 DCs without being able to move owing to rib pain or raise much enthusiasm for pretending to be Penny to DS's Bolt, or Celia to DS's Mike Wazowski. (DS OBSESSED With Disney Pixar films). Got to crying point with DH as I felt like RUBBISH mummy who could only sit and let them watch TV. Top friend reminded me that a month of TV isn't so bad when you consider you're giving them another sibling ( which apparently I'd said to her on her 2nd pregnancy). Still feel rubbish at fobbing them off with Waybuloo....

Annamama Sorry that LO is still back to back. DS turned in labour so it's never too late. But ROFL at the Peppa Pig idea.

Mawbroon Nice to see you again.

4Littleducks welcome. Speak to Annamama about updating the list. [passes buck]

DrSkid So sorry you're overdue... You have my total sympathy ( which I'd like returning when I'm the only person left on Antenatal on April 15th)

OBEM Sobbed my heart out whislt they were resuscitating that precious little boy. Oh My Word.

Is there a link for a "Give yourself a stretch and sweep" website? Obv not going to try it at 35 weeks... but just wondering for 4 weeks time if it'd be possible....

Thanks Ang for the recipe link and everyone else for the useful recipe ideas. Now to find some energy to order the ingredients and get on with it.

Congrats to Emlou!! and goodluck Iwonka, sounds promising.

Got upset last night as I discovered the beginnings of some stretch marks on my belly - thought at 37.5 weeks, I had escaped unscathed but no. Seems a stupid thing to get upset about I know, but after having bad ones as a teenager, I thought I might be luckier in pregnancy.

Nothing much else happening here. Trying to work up the energy to do this perineal massage thing more often but after a couple of attempts, I'm finding it hard to work up the enthusiasm. I just keep thinking as I'm doing it ... this the labour thing is really going to hurt!! Someone told me that their midwife said that there was no evidence to show it helped much at all anyway

Anyone can update the list, just find the latest one, copy and paste and add yourself on... voila!

oh I forgot - welcome littleducks !

PS Arcadie, we Londoners sometimes have to cope with said rude people who sit in priority tube seats (with earphones in and eyes on floor), by approaching and waving hands/belly in front of his/her face and then demanding asking very nicely for said seat.

oh and also forgot IWCAS what a shitty time you've had with the whole heating and hot water thing. Made v angry just reading it, stupid repairmen. Can only commiserate, since being pregnant, we've had our fridge completely die on us (cue two weeks of trudging up to the shop daily for bags of ice), our washing machine blow up (cue three different but equally useless engineers try to fix it/forget the parts/forget to plug vital bits back in) and then our dryer conk out. Oh yeah and our central heating has now stopped working, so I'm online looking for a portable one as they are estimating that they will need a week to fix it (including ripping the whole boiler system out of the wall and replacing it). I have to say though, no hot water would seriously be my breaking point, I'm so glad that it's been fixed for you.

Booorrrred. I know I wouldn't really be going far even if it wasn't blizzard conditions, but looking out the window at the miserable weather is making me feel even more cooped up than usual.

Don't even have to get DD from nursery - FIL kindly obliging with that task today.

On the plus side, I did discover the joys of a nutella and banana sandwich today at lunchtime. mmmm...

This laptop is fast becoming my New Best Friend...

Erm... hello! I've been hanging out in Pregnancy and Childbirth for the last few months, and didn't realise you had all this going on over here! Would you mind terribly if I tagged along? I've added myself to your lovely list (can't believe there are so many March mamas!).

Now about this waxing... have those of you who've braved the salon gone for something nice and neat, or gone the whole way and had it all off? I'm starting mat leave next week and this is the first thing on my list of things to do - I can't bear knowing it's such a state down there and there's nowt I can do about it as I can't even reach it anymore; I'm tempted to just get it all taken off - or is that a bit drastic?

Will be checking in regularly now I know it's all going on over here! waves

Arrivals:

1. Evitas 6 February #1 Boy
2. pureeandpearls 17 February #2 Girl
3. rebeccacad 19 February #1 Girl
4. snowflakesarah&co 19 February #3 Boy Elliott Joseph

Waiting:

1. Mumbot 18 February #2 Boy c-section booked
2. DrSkid 22nd February #3 Boy
3. Smac 25 February #2 Surprise
4. mawbroon 27th February #2 Boy
5. Potpourri 1 March #4
6. Don?ttrythisathome 2 March #1 Girl
7. Tigresswoods 2 March #1 Boy
8. Caitni 2 March #1 Surprise
9. angfirsttimer 2 March #1 Boy

10. GemmaG88 2 March #1 Surprise 11. BlueyDragon 3 March #2 Boy 12. TakeLovingChances 5 March #1 Surprise 13. hecklephone 5 March #2 Girl 14. BusyMissIzzy 5 March #1 15. EmLouT 5 March boy #2 16. Grizzer 5 March #? Surprise 17. Dalrymps 6 March #2 Boy 18. Scooby26 6 March #1 Boy 19. Iwonka 6 March #1 Girl 20. Evitas 6 March #1 Boy 21. MandaHugNKiss 7 March #3 Boy 22. itwascertainlyasurprise 8 March #1 Boy 23. Ilovegreenbeans 9 March #2 Surprise 24. Sariska 9 March #2 Girl 25. JasHook 10 March #1 Boy 26. mumofsevenplusfour 10 or 13 March #8 27. Summmer2010 10 March #1 Boy 28. PacificDogwood 11 March #4 Boy 29. BulletProofMum 11 March #3 Surprise 30. Siamesecatwoman 11 March #1 Girl 31. Minicooper 11 March #2 Surprise 32. Swingsofglory 12 March #2 Girl 33. Walnut8 13 March #1 Girl 34. Annamama 15 March #2 Girl 35. Retromum 15 March #2 36. Shroomer 15 March #1 37. Scootergrrrl 17 March #3 Surprise 38. mumof2point5 17 March #3 Girl 39. PixieOnaLeaf 18 March #4&5 Girls 40. Kay1980 18 March #2 Girl 41. BelgianMummy 16th March #2 Boy 42. MummyElk 18 March #2 Surprise 43. designerbaby 19 March #2 Girl 44. LaTristesse 20 March #1 Boy 45. Rindercella 24 March #2 Girl 46. Arcadie 26 March #3 Surprise 47. Afribaby 26 March #1 48. Opalfruity #1 Surprise 49. Henrietta 29 March #4 50. Fleximum 2 April #3

hello ladies
Just checking in! I had an exciting disappointing evening. By 10pm last night I felt that things were definitely happening. I did lots of ball bouncing and by 2am reckoned I was having contractions every 5-7 minutes. Couldn't decide whether to phone MW or labour ward or try and get some sleep. Decided on the latter and went to bed but just couldn't get comfy so decided to call labour ward for advice as I'd been told not to wait too long at home this time round as I need IV anti-bs for Group B strep. MW said I could spend another hour at home or come in. I woke DH and said that I thought the baby was coming and he was his usual helpful self - I need a cup of tea, oh I'll just have some toast, let me brush my teeth. . . . it was almost an hour later before we actually left the house.
Anyway to cut a long story short my contractions were irregular and I was sent home. MW gave me VE and my cervix is still 2cm long and unfavourable. I'm so disappointed I really thought I was going to have my baby today. I've got a consultant appointment tomorrow to book an induction date but I really hope the real thing happens before then.
If I bounce and walk around I get contractions but if I lie down it all stops. I had to go back to bed when I came home from the hospital to get some rest as I was shattered having been up all night but I think I might just get back on the ball for some bouncing now that I've caught up here. Sorry for the me post I have read all your updates and siamese funny that I was trying to sell you a house in Scotland! Our nappy website was due to go live today but there appears to be a hiccup. I'll link to it when it's active - should be any day now.
Pleased to report hospital was nice and clean as I remembered it. The ward seemed very, very quiet!
I still have no urge to watch One Born Every Minute although I did watch EE, maybe that's why I rushed off to the hospital too early!!!!
Feel a bit silly having been sent home, you'd think as a second timer I'd know what was happening with my body but the consultant had scared me with the 'don't stay at home too long cos you need IV antibs'.
Pleased to report NO snow here.

Hi all,

Have just added myself back onto the list, as well as 4LittleDucks (hope I got your date right?!).

I went for a swim this morning and felt very proud of myself. Which is a bit wrong of me as I only did 6 lengths, which is barely a swim. Still, it involved revealing this monstrous body to the general public which is an achievement in itself!

Arrivals:

1. Evitas 6 February #1 Boy
2. pureeandpearls 17 February #2 Girl
3. rebeccacad 19 February #1 Girl
4. snowflakesarah&co 19 February #3 Boy Elliott Joseph

Waiting:

1. Mumbot 18 February #2 Boy c-section booked
2. DrSkid 22nd February #3 Boy
3. Smac 25 February #2 Surprise
4. mawbroon 27th February #2 Boy
5. Potpourri 1 March #4
6. Don?ttrythisathome 2 March #1 Girl
7. Tigresswoods 2 March #1 Boy
8. Caitni 2 March #1 Surprise
9. angfirsttimer 2 March #1 Boy

10. GemmaG88 2 March #1 Surprise 11. BlueyDragon 3 March #2 Boy 12. TakeLovingChances 5 March #1 Surprise 13. hecklephone 5 March #2 Girl 14. BusyMissIzzy 5 March #1 15. EmLouT 5 March boy #2 16. Grizzer 5 March #? Surprise 17. Dalrymps 6 March #2 Boy 18. Scooby26 6 March #1 Boy 19. 4LittleDucks 6 March #4 Girl 20. Iwonka 6 March #1 Girl 21. Evitas 6 March #1 Boy 22. MandaHugNKiss 7 March #3 Boy 23. itwascertainlyasurprise 8 March #1 Boy 24. Ilovegreenbeans 9 March #2 Surprise 25. Sariska 9 March #2 Girl 26. JasHook 10 March #1 Boy 27. mumofsevenplusfour 10 or 13 March #8 28. Summmer2010 10 March #1 Boy 29. Lisbapalea 10 March #1 Surprise 30. PacificDogwood 11 March #4 Boy 31. BulletProofMum 11 March #3 Surprise 32. Siamesecatwoman 11 March #1 Girl 33. Minicooper 11 March #2 Surprise 34. Swingsofglory 12 March #2 Girl 35. Walnut8 13 March #1 Girl 36. Annamama 15 March #2 Girl 37. Retromum 15 March #2 38. Shroomer 15 March #1 39. Scootergrrrl 17 March #3 Surprise 40. mumof2point5 17 March #3 Girl 41. PixieOnaLeaf 18 March #4&5 Girls 42. Kay1980 18 March #2 Girl 43. BelgianMummy 16th March #2 Boy 44. MummyElk 18 March #2 Surprise 45. designerbaby 19 March #2 Girl 46. LaTristesse 20 March #1 Boy 47. Rindercella 24 March #2 Girl 48. Arcadie 26 March #3 Surprise 49. Afribaby 26 March #1 50. Opalfruity #1 Surprise 51. Henrietta 29 March #4 52. Fleximum 2 April #3

Just corrected the list to include latest arrivals!

Arrivals:

1. Evitas 6 Feb #1 Boy
2. pureeandpearls 17 Feb #2 Girl Annabel Violet Grace
3. EmLouT 18 Feb #2 Boy Patrick Anthony
4. Mumbot 18 Feb Boy
5. rebeccacad 19 Feb #1 Girl Sofya Anne
6. snowflakesarah&co 19 Feb #3 Boy Elliott Joseph

Waiting:

1. DrSkid 22nd February #3 Boy
2. Smac 25 February #2 Surprise
3. mawbroon 27th February #2 Boy
4. Potpourri 1 March #4
5. Don?ttrythisathome 2 March #1 Girl
6. Tigresswoods 2 March #1 Boy
7. Caitni 2 March #1 Surprise
8. angfirsttimer 2 March #1 Boy
9. GemmaG88 2 March #1 Surprise

10. BlueyDragon 3 March #2 Boy 11. TakeLovingChances 5 March #1 Surprise 12. hecklephone 5 March #2 Girl 13. BusyMissIzzy 5 March #1 14. Grizzer 5 March #? Surprise 15. Dalrymps 6 March #2 Boy 16. Scooby26 6 March #1 Boy 17. FourLittleDucks 6 March #4 Girl 18. Iwonka 6 March #1 Girl 19. MandaHugNKiss 7 March #3 Boy 20. itwascertainlyasurprise 8 March #1 Boy 21. Ilovegreenbeans 9 March #2 Surprise 22. Sariska 9 March #2 Girl 23. JasHook 10 March #1 Boy 24. mumofsevenplusfour 10 or 13 March #8 25. Summmer2010 10 March #1 Boy 26. Lisbapalea 10 March #1 Surprise 27. PacificDogwood 11 March #4 Boy 28. BulletProofMum 11 March #3 Surprise 29. Siamesecatwoman 11 March #1 Girl 30. Minicooper 11 March #2 Surprise 31. Swingsofglory 12 March #2 Girl 32. Walnut8 13 March #1 Girl 33. Annamama 15 March #2 Girl 34. Retromum 15 March #2 35. Shroomer 15 March #1 36. Scootergrrrl 17 March #3 Surprise 37. mumof2point5 17 March #3 Girl 38. PixieOnaLeaf 18 March #4&5 Girls 39. Kay1980 18 March #2 Girl 40. BelgianMummy 16th March #2 Boy 41. MummyElk 18 March #2 Surprise 42. designerbaby 19 March #2 Girl 43. LaTristesse 20 March #1 Boy 44. Rindercella 24 March #2 Girl 45. Arcadie 26 March #3 Surprise 46. Afribaby 26 March #1 47. Opalfruity #1 Surprise 48. Henrietta 29 March #4 49. Fleximum 2 April #3

Afternoon ladies

So many posts to catch up on! And I checked the thread this morning too . I've caught up (I think!)

Mummyelk was absolutely ROFL at oyur dream . Must have been quite a night! Oink oink!

BusyMissIzzy Another OBEM watcher here...god, what a twunt the husband was though - with his level 5 management cert - when he was ranting at her at 2am I wanted to chuck something at the screen! Was also crying at the lovely mum Lisa and baby Jack - god, she was so refreshingly honest about her emotions and I'm just delighted that he's fully recovered.

4LittleDucks hello and welcome . Sorry to hear of the loss of your DD2 but do the eel free to come and join us in all the aches and pains of late pregnancy!

Iwonka exciting!! Wonder how your DH has coped at work today? Do keep us updated about how things progress

Ang also a bit annoyed that the normal water birth didn't get much air time but guess it doesn't make for dramatic telly

Pacific your MW sounds lovely! Dominique was lovely, but perhaps went into chirpy overdrive to compensate for the mother's fear/anxiety and father's terror/lack of support...anyway, hope your DS3 doesn't have a sore arm and hope you don't need to wrap up anything else at work (remember, you are on maternity leave now!)

Sariska sounds like an interesting night - warming up for the real thing!

DrSkid thanks for the co-sleeping advice (you too Sariska). We've got a co-sleeping cot, so baby will be right next to me, but in her/his own space (although I know in practice baby will end up in bed so good to get advice now!).

Anna yay for baby being engaged! Plenty of time for baby to turn [caitni virtually sings "turn, baby, turn" to the tune of of "Disco Inferno" to anna's bump ].

Arcadie what a lovely weekend! Though sounds like you did loads...I've only been on the tube once or twice since 37 weeks as can't be arsed with it. Although people did mostly get up for me - I would stare and stare in my most "how can you do this to a pregnant woman?" kind of way . Still tiresome though...

Walnut I have terrible stretch marks,,,still at the raging red stage and plenty of them...I also had bad ones on my lower back from growing as a child but I've decided it's a small price to pay for what has been a relatively uneventful pregnancy for me [positive thinking emoticon]. My midwife said there are studies to show massage helps reduce perineal trauma but I've no links to them. I've been doing it, and it's a bit of a hassle but it makes me feel like I'm "doing" something......

IWCAS thank god you have heating and hot water again! And fingers crossed for your cooker installation, part 4...bring some virtual scones on when you've baked them please (I now seriously want a scone/afternoon tea!). That's how I want to see A Single Man too...in fact, these days I pretty much only want to go to cinemas in London like that (sofas, nice snacks, alcohol, even if it just one drink for me at the moment). And I reckon once I'll need a baby sitter to go to the cinema it's the only way I'll really enjoy the cinema as a night out! Enjoy it btw, have heard great reviews from friends.

Pixie glad to see you're still here!

LaTristesse hello and welcome! Please do join in - the more the merrier . I'll leave your lady garden question to all the experts on here...as I'm far too lazy to care about an area I can't even see at the moment!

Smac ooooh exciting - don't worry too much about your cervix, as I've read it can change v v quickly, so it sounds like the ball has really started moving for you now! Do keep us updated (as any silence will be interpreted as labour starting properly ). And do post a link to your nappy business once it's live too - am sooo looking forward to trying out my nappies on my little baby

Lis hey, great list maintenance! Last week really was a busy one for this thread with all those babies arriving

Phew, I know I've missed people even doing my multi tab routine

Just had the midwife leave. I'm 39+1 and all is well. And baby is now engaged! And lying in a good position, so feeling like the ruddy ball (which I'm sick of!) has paid off . I had my second acupuncture session this morning and I swear I could feel the baby wriggling down...and then the midwife confirmed its now engaged and now all the movement seems quite a bit lower. Now I would just love if the next time I see the midwife isn't for next Wed's appointment but for labour instead