Due March 2010 - One Born Every Five Posts

[Arcadie]

Welcome to the thread, before the thread, before the final thread where I give birth.

And in case you're needing it here is the Post-natal thread

Thanks for that link MummyElk, interesting. My DH won't examine my cervix now, he says it would feel wrong (?), but he'll do it if I'm in labour as it's then necessary so that we don't go to hospital too early... Ok whatever.

Hahaha, it's worth a try for sure!

Yes ASK is normally good here too, I guess they were just having a mental day.

Pacific wasn't allowed out to play - it was Pocket Dictator what said 'no'

No way would I let my DH anywhere near my cervix - not with his hands anyway , but I applaud all your sense of adventure and exploration !!

Have a good night

arcadie you've gone very quiet we are all raising hell on the street corner.....

re Self-Cervix checking - i was utterly surprised when DH actually agreed to do it tbh! so don't blame your dhs at all, not the finest moment in the wonderful world of Coupledom!
annamamma not sure on the mucus plug thing, i'm sure it must get dislodged, surely? i had a couple in the hospital and the mucus plug decided to emerge a few hours later...was surprised how much of it there was actually...

DH made an amazing shepherd's pie this evening, so nice mother's day in all, DD was a bit tricksy but we had a lovely hour with her before she went to bed so that made up for it. She is SO mumsy at the moment.... i'm enjoying our cuddles but feel like i could be in for a rough ride when baby arrives....

pixie i'm not sure I like the sound of your Monday?!! ...surely ina may would say stress slows down labour?! gawd knows. sheets are changed in nooky corner if you'd rather just jump on DH......(your DH, not mine, he's willing to help most people but i'm not sure he'd agree to that)

Loubudd I sympathise about the not being able to walk. I seem to have developed that problem since I went to do the food shop on Friday and pushed a trolley around. I am OK in the morning, but by late afternoon I struggle to walk due to pain in the pubis/groin area.

I made brownies today too! And choc truffles with cacao and mascarpone.

annamama Good question about the mucous plug ... no answer though! p.s. Happy due date eve!

Not in labour. All BHs have tailed off. Back home after babysitting and WANT TO KNOW WHAT MY CERVIX LOOKS LIKE! ( Never thought I'd type that sentence) Is it all squished shut? Is it thinning and effacing is it actually 5 cm dilated and I'll have a baby in the morning.....?

I loathe this waiting part and I'm not even due for another 12 days.

Where's the [selfobsessed emoticon] when you need it?

Thanks for coming out to play friends. See you tomorrow.

When i went for my sweep, the midwife said i was 1cm dilated and it was 1cm long and soft. When i said what does that mean, she said it was a good sign.
annamama, re mucus plug, mine has been coming away since my sweep on Friday. A new experience for me as it didn't happen with my other pregnancies.

I had 2 sweeps last pg. First didn't dislodge the mucus plug but with the 2nd it started coming away in a matter of hours and DS was born about 48 hrs later.

So no Mothers Day babies then?? That we know about anyway.....

stretch marks............
last time i got them at 36 weeks. this time the old ones have been doing a good job of, er, restretching...
just noticed a couple of newbies!!!!!!!! WHY?!!! AT 39 WEEKS?!!!! IT'S....JUST.....RUUUUDDDDEEEEEEEEE

Hello folks!

Sorry I missed all the fun and brownies last night, but I was too busy becoming a fully paid-up member of the Stop-Start Brigade. Budge up, loubudd, I am totally feeling your pain right now. Had irregular but some quite strong contractions most of the morning and afternoon, and a visit to the labour ward because it suddenly occurred to me that I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt baby move. They monitored me for a while, everything was fine, and they agreed with me that I wasn't yet in established labour, so sent me home again with some painkillers. I took a couple of co-codamol and tried to have a doze on the sofa cos I was already quite knackered. By the time I woke up again everything had begun to tail off...even a brisk few laps of the block didn't get things going again. DD was with her GPs by now so we went round there in the evening to see her and have some grub. Have still had some pains during the night but managed to sleep really soundly in between times (to the extent I gave myself a dead leg because I didn't move from one position for four hours!)

Sooo, have had one or two more pains this morning, but still no mucus plug or waters and my show is still a no-show.

Made the (possible) mistake of informing my parents yesterday and they jumped on the next plane from NI, so they could be closer to the action. This is what I didn't really want, as it was the same when DD was born - me contracting for about 3 days while an array of relatives waited on the sidelines for me to GET ON WITH IT. However, there was no dissuading my mum who just wants to be 'on the same side of the water'. DH is off to work as he's got to help some kids get through their exams today. This is so weird - it's a strange kind of limbo where you know things are happening but also nothing is happening.

And I was shocked just how anxious I felt yesterday. Same kind of thing as you lou - a bit teary and I just remembered how bloody hard it was last time and I kept thinking 'I can't DO this again' - exactly the kind of attitude I was hoping to avoid! I've been mocking the saps on OBEM who've spent their labour weeping and wailing...now I think I might do exactly the same thing . Found it hard to stay positive and remind myself there'd be a lovely new baby at the end of it all.

Anyway, I'm writing an essay here. Will try and keep you all in the loop but, as I say, a lot of parents and ILs will be hanging around today and DH will think I'm bonkers if I start chatting to you chaps in between contractions, so don't panic if I go a bit quiet for a while! On the other hand...I think this LO may keep me waiting for a little while longer - maybe a St Patrick's Day baby...?

Hi everyone.

Jealous of your mother's day treats.

No movement here yet. Going to spend today trying to get excited about the baby again rather than just fed up with the waiting.

Someone asked about my mucus plug (it was gone when I had the first sweep). No I hadn't noticed it going at all!!! Mustbe lying around the house somewhere . Have been producing more "pluggy" like mucus though and heard that your body can keep re-producing it so it doesn't necessarily mean anything.

Great .

hecklephone I feel your pain...soooo frustrating. And while I know your folks mean well by coming over, I'm not even allowing my mother to text me at the moment!!!

Caitni I hope you are ok. I will be thinking of you today and when I go in for my "induction" tonight. Hoping for expectant management instead.

Happy due date to me! And Shroomer too.

Arcadie - I'm also looking for the [self obsessed emoticon] where is it?!

Oh Heckle - I thought that wasn't supposed to happen to second timers, I thought it was only first labours that could go on for days etc. Ahhh, hope you get some real action soon!

MummyElk - that's not fair about the stretch marks... gah.

Thanks for your answers re sweep and mucus plug. I'm having a sweep on Wed if nothing has happened.

Oh, as I type this I'm feeling an ever so slight crampy pain low down. Is it labour or do I just need to poo?

Good luck with the latest round of sweeps inductions and orgies attempts at sex ;-o Things seem to have slowed down here: with all your talk of nookie and brownies, ther's not one born every five posts but every fifty

me again.
heckle and lou i hope things start happening for you both SOOOONNNNNN it's so frustrating!! Poor you.
donttry also thinking of you, have a nice quiet day and hope it goes well tonight, and that you don't spend all day thinking Is This It/What's That Twinge?!

Anyone had any thoughts about third stage management? I'm not sure we've talked much about it on here? I had managed 3rd stage last time, so syntocinon injection and cord cut quickly etc etc. It was fine and DD is fine. Just that the more I read about it, the more I wonder if it might be better (if possible) to leave the cord till it's stopped pulsating.... Does it really matter? There's a couple of warbling threads about it but no-one really makes an argument either way. Just wondering your thoughts really, ladies.

Happy Due Dates anna and shroomer and, er, not sure anna, you know me and poo, it's ALWAYS going to be poo with me?!!!

Mummyelk Had a stab at the list with due dates on FB - but it needs someone more on the ball than me to update some missing bits of info. It's a start anyway!

No mothers' day baby here! 40 + 2 now... actually don't mind too much. Slightly relieved this morning when I woke up with waters intact, no contractions, twinges or anything (I'm sure this will change over the next few days). Not feeling teary or particularly grumpy or anything, so am guessing I'm still miles off. Have been having a LOT of discharge, including a massive snot like heap this morning (sorry TMI!) but not bloody at all, so not very excited about it.

I have an appointment Friday, which seems a long time away! I think I get offered a sweep and an ultrasound to check baby is okay.

Caitni I'm thinking of you, hope all is well and that things have started naturally so that you get your home birth.

Also you, donttry good luck for tonight and I hope that things get going naturally sometime today.

And sending good labour vibes Heckle and Loubud.

Sorry if I've forgotten anyone. Mummyelk that's so unfair re the stretchmarks!

My placenta was born 1 minute after DD was born, according to the notes. I think the Dr who did the ventouse & episiotomy just stuck his hand up there and grabbed it...? As for cutting the cord I don't know and we can't remember even though DH cut it, so surely it must have taken him a little while to get ready for it. This time I'd like to make sure it is left to pulsate for at least a couple of minutes or so, as it's supposed to be good for the baby.

I'd planned a natural 3rd stage this time (after a managed one last time). Even wrote it into my birth plan. But birthplan never made it out of the bag and when the midwife asked me, just as DD was about to emerge, if I wanted the wotsitsname injection, I said (or more probably moaned), "Yes, I just want it over with". I regret that a bit now. If there was to be a third one (pretty sure there won't be!) I think I'd go for an active 3rd stage and make sure DH was properly appraised of the fact.

Good luck donttry and (if you're reading) Caitni. And thinking of you Heckle: over-impatient grandparents - just what you want at this stage.

Anna - don't forget to let us know if the niggles turn into anything!

Of course you lot would be the first to know if anything is happening... I'd like to write for example "another mucus plug bites the dust!".

I thought the good thing about having the wotsitsname injection was to minimise blood loss or something, apart from just getting it over with. What's the advantage about having a natural placenta birth Sariska?

Yeah I'm thinking of you too Caitni if you're still lurking!

And good luck Don't Try!

Good luck all of you with long latent phase - how frustrating! But hopefully every contraction/tightening will be doing something and bring you a little bit closer to meeting your LO.

anna, actively managed 3rd stage (with synto inj in your thigh) is to minimise blood loss. Advantage of a physiological 3rd stage (no inj) is that you can let placenta and baby connected a bit longer until chord stops pulsating and baby gets a bit more blood.
I was never that bothered however was told if I'd had a nice calm water birth the 3rd stage would be managed physiologically - but you'd have to get out of the pool with baby still attached to placenta inside you ; sounded really awkward to me...

Arcadie, I have snail- and e-mailed you .

So, NO Mother's Day babies at all?? How disappointing! I had been half hoping for one...

Have a nice Monday, all! Hoping for more news...

4 pages to go through
donttry - good for you -argument not least is that with intervention, it usually produces MORE intervention
Schroomer - no bath!!! hope you've got a shower
heckle & loubud - I was same teary beforehand - but when actually went into labour just deal with it because you know something is happening - you have contractions to think about then baby to push out....then we don't care cos babys here...

have had second haircut to sort first one out, so now just got to wait for it to grow.
sorry rant alert - feel free to skip...
Am fed up with people commenting on my neat bump which means I have just got more stretch marks to add to my spiders web-no kidding.
Am also fed up with the so you don't know what you're having comments and having to explain myself IM HAVING A BABY if i dont want to know why does everyone else have to know why...
...oh and the well it looks ready to come - they've been saying that for the last 3 weeks and ive still got 2 weeks to go to scan dates - 3 to mine...I know.. i know do you have to keep reminding me its still in there...as if I didnt know....sorry rant over that feels better, now gotta collect ds

Hey ladies

Happy belated mother's day to everyone! Bump fronted up with a card (including a comedy drawing of baby still in my tummy - thanks DH!) and a voucher for a shop I love...and where I spotted a mosaic mirror I'd love for the baby's room! Clever baby...

Donttry sorry to see you're still here too, but it's a good idea to try and get back into a positive frame of mind. We can still have amazing births, just in a very different way from we'd imagined iykwim. Stick to your guns re the expectant management and I really hope things go well for you - your little girl will be worth the wait . I spent a fair bit of time this morning doing some hypnobirthing breathing, visualisation, relaxation etc and am feeling quite a lot more upbeat. I had a great weekend, but definitely punctuated with a fair few emotional outbursts - lots of phone calls with family, and while it's super exciting that we're going to leave our house this evening and come back with our baby, it's also terribly nerve-wracking...Anyway, had some v nice nookie with DH (inspired by all the sheet-changing going on in the nookie corner on here ) this morning and have been pottering about doing things like repacking my hospital bag and bossing instructing DH to do things like dust and hoover . Still, today is going to be loooong...

Heckle and Lou how frustrating for you both - sending you both positive labour vibes and really hope your babies show up soon!

Anna & Shroomer happy due date to you both .

Anna my mucous plug came out after my second sweep - (way TMI alert!) but it was like brown bloody snot and there was loads of it when I wiped (over about 5 toilet visits). I was quite fascinated by it to be honest! A few more bits came away over the weekend.

Pixie you sound like you're doing incredibly well as things must be so uncomfortable for you now - when's your next appointment? I really can't wait to hear of your little girls' arrival

Big waves to everyone I've not named - I'm heading offline (well, that's the plan anyway) as am currently a bit obsessed with trying to work out if my bishop's score has improved since last wed...so am stepping away from the laptop!

But first I'm off to finally finish and print off my birth plan

PS on the third stage, I'm still planning to have the cord uncut until it stops pulsing and a natural delivery of the placenta. With the cord, it just seems logical to let the baby get all the blood it needs and with the placenta, it seems like a way to ensure some calm skin-to-skin time straight after birth...and the injection can still be administered at any point if nature needs a helping hand.

And don't even get me started on stretch marks - mine have been getting increasingly awful since about 34 weeks - angry red lines from the bottom of my bump right up to either side of my belly button...and, while at the moment I can't really see them, I'm not looking forward to checking out my newly deflated tum after birth and realising just how bad they are!