July 2010: Still getting bigger, gone are the days when we had a figure

[stac14]

July is getting closer and we're all still gabbing. Feel free to join in

anifers we are so alike!!!

We don't have anything really, but are refusing to buy anything until we move (no sense making more work for ourselves ) which is only 5 days before EDD!

We didn't have anything for DS. It was fine. He slept in our bed for the first few days (shhhh! don't tell the midwife) until we got a cot set up. We were inundated with clothes and nappies and muslins and blankets etc... whilst still in hospital.

Babies don't need anything for a few weeks except mummy and daddy. You'll be fine.

Memphis hysterectomy seems a bit extreme!! You know there are other things you can do - miracoil, endometriol(sp?) oblation, tubes tied....

Hysterectomy can properly mess with your hormones, and is best avoided at all costs. I don't just mean moody, but your risks of cancers, osteoperosis, arthritis and all sorts of other nasties increases.

wow anifers and gracie you are both very laid back i would be panicking, to be honest theres things others are buying me and i'm worried they wont be here in time. Good on you both being relaxed.

wonder hope everythings ok with fil and mil. You must be worried bout dh and everything which will be making you more emotional. I hope things get better for you soon

Sorry i missed a few posts while typing that last one lol x

stac your poor ds its probably grief from milo that has caught up with im and i think he deserves a long weekend!! i had a spritzer on my birthday in january but i couldnt face drinking it, ive been craving port and lemonade for weeks may have a little one at some point (yes i am 27 not 72 )
gracie it does sound extreme for a hysterectomy but i cant have sterilsation or coil of anysort as i have a tilted womb as do all women in my family so all of them who had them coil it just falls out and sterilsed ones all had to have their wombs out due to problems later, because of my blood disorder i can only have a small amount of things on offer one of which was injection but after 5 years on it family planning stopped me having it! my mum and sister both had wombs out in early 30's mum only started menopause at 50 due to keeping their ovaries, i was on the pill when i fell pregnant so that didnt work for me either! if all else fails i will purchase a chastity belt and a cattle prod

I will quite willingly conceide that I am extremely over-organised. To the point where I probably don't need half the stuff I've prepped!

However in my defence, none of my friends have any children and given that the majority didn't remember my birthday this year (I wasn't that fussed - it's a dull year and I was away at the Baby Show) then I'm not expecting too much in terms of them turning up with any supplies after LO arrives! Though if I need anything urgently (during reasonable hours) I'm sure they'd help out if asked.

This is the first child born into my family for a generation too, so I really have no idea what to expect from aunts/uncles, though some have mentioned sending clothes so I've held off getting too many. My parents and parents-in-law have already contributed the pram and cot respectively, and SIL is organising a nappy bag. (If 'D'B gets me anything... I'll eat my hat.)

However, all my family live hours away! They're planning on staying nearby and visiting during the first few weeks, but we may not have anyone in immediate reach for when LO appears, able to be sent out on errands. So I wanted to make sure everything DH and I might need is within easy reach, so we can cope with most things that LO can throw at us during the first week or two.

Last thing I want to do is have to send poor DH out to a 24 hour supermarket in the middle of the night to find baby milk/bottles/nappies/medicine/etc when he might have had no sleep and be in a worry over me and LO. If I can just tell him to go and get the pre-chosen and purchased article from the shelf in the nursery, it'll be much easier and more relaxing for the pair of us!

Or, at least, that's what I'm hoping.

stac LOL sex therapist! Yeah we usually do it from behind but I thought Id give it a go on top to make a change but lasted all of 10 secs!

Ive just had a thought, we are all so close now, in fact when it comes to making another new thread, some of us could have had our babies! ARGH its terrifying, I weirdly thought Id be pregnant for such a long time, I know Ive still got 9 weeks more or less to go so its not like its tomorrow but its going to go so fast.
Im SO SO SO looking forward to meeting my LO

memphis a tilted womb shouldn't preclude you from an ablation (which is what I'm going for).

Basically you keep all your organs, so no HRT required, but they use a laser or boiling water to scar the inside of the uterus (sorry if TMI) which prevents you from ever being able carry a pregnancy again and you'll never have another bleed/cramp

Meanwhile, you will still have all the hormone cycle associated with a period, which means your body doesn't need to make any adjustments and you don't need any medication.

You can have the surgery done in a day, go home that evening, and because you are under anaesthesia for such a short time, the side effects are for a few short days.

Voila! Sterile, no medication, no long term issues.

Check it out with your dr. Mine had never heard of it (a friend in the states suggested it) but she looked it up and was amazed. Not that many hospitals in the UK do it, but if you don't mind to travel, there are quite a few that do, and you can have it on the NHS if you have a medical reason.

gracie that sounds amazing!! i had never heard of it! i will be looking into that as soon as i have LO thanks for the link! sounds like the perfect answer, even if i had to go private i really wouldnt mind i would say its a present to myself (dh uses that excuse a lot!!)

Well Ive made a list for what I need to pack in my hospital bag for me and baby. Quite alot of the things I already have its just getting them together and packed which Ill do in a few weeks time.

My friend has bought us a blue changing mat that Ive been waiting to come back in stock, she called me today to say they had it so looking forward to getting that

Hi - I have a question about braxton Hicks. I've been having the tightening of the uterus feeling around the belly button area for a couple of weeks but then last night I had sharp pains in my lower abdomen for about 40 mins. They went but have come back again today and have been on and off for a few hours. I called the midwife and she said it sounded like Braxton Hicks and just to have a bath but if it got worse over the weekend to go to the hospital.
Now who else has been having BH and what have they felt like? just a tightening or sharp pains also? I'm not in agony or anything - mostly uncomfortable but with sharp pains now and then.
I thought BH were not supposed to hurt!

I find Braxton Hicks painful - which could be because I'm a wimp, or could be because I have adhesions.

If you're not sure and the midwife isn't listening, I'd just call the maternity unit at the hospital you are going to. They can fit one of those monitor things and measure you for a couple hours to decide if it's early labour or not.

Remember early labour can go on for weeks though, so don't stress too much if they send you home anyway!! If it's really early they might want to give you steroid injections to speed up lung development, but other than that they are generally not too bothered I'm afraid.

Memphis that's how I felt when I found out about it! Why on earth hasn't my professional gynaecologist who I've been seeing since I was 17 ever mentioned this????

Truth is, although it's common practice in the US it is still fairly new to the UK. Might be worth treating yourself to a holiday if you want a really nice present along with your surgery and getting a surgeon who does it routinely.

TMI ALERT In the states they do it by inserting a small balloon in you and filling it with boiling water to scald the uterus, rather than a laser, and apparently it heals faster. I've only heard of it done with a laperoscopy (small incision, tiny camera and tools) and laser in the UK, so it's slightly more invasive and you will need one or two stitches. They go through your belly button and then pretty low down in your pubic hairline, so there isn't much scarring, but they do pump you full of gas, so they can see what they are doing, which is uncomfortable for the next week or two as you release it

gracie i read up about the baloon in the states, shame they have to do a laperoscopy as over 2 weeks after mine one of my wounds have doubled in size as its infected and im on antibiotics but i suppose they would go in the same scars so no need for extra ones!!! just spoke to dh about it and he agrees that its a serious option he knows my body wouldnt cope with carrying a baby again! and the pumping you full of gas is bad, i had a load above the baby for about a week but luckily i was very sick as i woke up and got rid of most of it then (sorry if tmi!!)

were off to watch iron man 2 tonight, i hope i can sit still for film were having vip seats so at least i will have room to move

Guys this is awful . I know it makes sense if you need to do it, but we are about to have babies here!!! I'm in the bringing a new life, tiny little clothes, hugging, cooing and loving etc mode. Not burning the hell out of your uterus - sorry Although completely understand and respect that this is something you need to consider and discuss. It just makes me go eeeeek when I read about it.

I have 6 and a half weeks to go and have a serious nesting need I am thinking about the elective, how am I going to cope, how quickly I will recover etc...

memphis just a word of warning, my LO went crazy through that film, wouldnt keep still! It is quite loud in places lol. Enjoy your evening

jojo not long for you to go then! Ive got my scan in 4 weeks Im really excited

Its a lovely feeling not having to cook tonight. Ive got a real craving for a mcd's milkshake so will get one of those tonight with my meal I think.

Must say ladies it sounds sore. Can i ask you mention that you wouldnt be able to carry another baby but could you still fall pregnant and obviously end in miscarraige? Also why not just get sterilised my friend got it done and they sniped her tubes so far harder to reverse

kapars i've had sharp pains too i just put it down to bh or lo moving stuff she shouldnt. Hope your ok

dh and memphis have a great night.

jojo i keep thinking bout how quick i'l be up and about, what i need to avoid doing after the section. But have heard you recover quicker after an elective than an emergency. I just cant wait till she's here x

stac I need the surgery for endometreosis. It's not because I want to be sterile. I feel very blessed to have been able to have 2 children naturally.

I agree, tubes tied probably is the less extreme option.

I didn't like to mention the 'M' word, but yes, technically (depending on when you consider it a pregnancy) the sperm and egg would meet, but have nowhere to implant, so it would never develop into anything beyond about 4 cells. You have this much more regularly than you realise as it would be over long before you tested positive and doesn't give you any symptoms of pg.

As a Christian I do feel quite strongly about it and would continue to use a condom after surgery, but plenty of people don't. It's actually no different to using a coil, which is also designed to prevent implantation rather than conception.

Memphis have you ever had a lap without being pg? I'm pretty sure being pg would have made it much more difficult. I recovered from mine fairly quickly and my scars are barely visible.

was just curious bout the procedure not judging gracie hope you didnt think i was. As i've never heard of it i was just wondering what the implications were. Wasnt trying to offend x

I'm not offended at all Stac.

It's something DH and I have discussed a lot, but I need the surgery, and needed it before I even knew I could have children. It's not really an option, so a condom is the best way I can see to get around my moral dilemma.

It was GP who pointed out it was no more a miscarriage than using a coil. I told her I wasn't comfortable with that either.

Each to their own though.

jojo i do feel truely blessed to be having our LO, its the baby i always thought i would never be able to have, my body wouldnt cope with another pregnancy and i wouldnt be able to do that to a child with his mum being ill for 9 months so i just want to assess my options so i can concentrate on being the best mummy i can be.
gracie never had a lap b4, even with the gross looking wound i have recovered from it quickly, its not like im in a position to have my belly out every weekend at the mo
dh oh boy that film was amazing but im done with the cinema til he is out in the big wide world! he moved the whole way through and as it got to the end i think he got tired so slowed down but every bang he jumped which made me jump out my seat!!!
dh is off to a stag day today going out at 10, all day so my sister is taking me to mothercare and then going to my mums for the night so i dont get woke up by a group of drunk men at 4am!! hope you all have a good day

Hi Guys

gracie you make me feel better! I'm sure I'll get organised as some point, I'm quite an obsessively organised person as it goes - have to be in my job with 6 shows on the go at once -but that sort of means I prioritise, and two months still seems like a long way off.. This is also the first baby in both our families spireal - there will be three sets of gps and 9 new aunts/uncles, not to mention great aunts/uncles, cousins etc, so we've agreed not to buy anything apart from essential clothes, knowing that we'll get inundated once lo arrives.

stac I started getting really bad pain in my hip when doing spoons, and I've never been fond of doggy style, as it just seems so impersonal to me. Maybe it's worth trying dh on top again with him carrying his weight. I was eyeing up the kitchen worktop the other day wondering if I sat on there it might be the right height...

I've also been way more lax with food over the last few weeks, mainly because I was travelling and getting fed up with not being able to eat anything on the menu. I've been drinking since 12 weeks - not masses obviously - but I was a pretty heavy drinker before (media darling) so one glass of wine a night is practically tee-total for me.

Had the midwife yesterday and turns out I'm rhesus negative - irritatingly I 'fell through the gaps' so there was lots of panicked calls to the hospital to organise Anti D injections and stuff. I was in a whirl - I've spent the last 7 months playing the odds - you know - only 25% of miscarriage, it'll be fine; only 2% of Downs, it'll be fine, and on and on, but there was only 15% chance of this, and I've got it, suddenly things look like they may not all be OK after all. And all I've been about since I got pg is protecting my LO, and until I get that anti D injection my body could be a danger to the little smidglet. I know the chance of that is miniscule, but I'm thinking twice about going and digging up the vegetable patch incase I get injured and my blood starts producing the dangerous anitgens.

It probably doesn't help that being so late into work yesterday meant I was still there at 8pm and DH was out on the town. By the time I got home I felt too tired to organise food, but knew I had to, so sat slumped in front of the TV until 10, trying to stir myself to venture to the kitchen, and when I finally did I just made rounds and rounds of gypsytoast which I ate in front of Supernany reruns - hardly a balanced meal.

anifers we did manage it with dp on top, but its still a bit impersonal as its hard to kiss etc. What we tried to do is lots of nice stuff before the event so we feel closer (sex therapist hat on again, bearing in mind i can hardly be arsed at the mo) try not to worry bout the rhesus negative thing, your body has coped fine with lo up till now. When you getting the injection?

memphis think your right to go to your mums i have had a few nights were dp came in drunk and was head doing lol

Wow mlic wish i was even a little bit organised like that. Enjoy the hairdressers, i love getting my hair done

Going with mil to get the cotbed today, will make sil and bil get their asses in gear to get my decorating finished. What are you all up to today? X

MyLifeIsChaotic - Gypsytoast, also known as eggybread - just bread dipped in egg and milk and fried...

Sorry stac - injection is Tuesday, so not long to wait for it.