Due May 2010...the final thread??....unless the thread bursts before we all do!!!!

[AnAngelWithin]

Hope you don't mind ladies, the last thread kept jamming up on me!!! We are a chatty bunch!!!

THE NEW ARRIVALS

11 April LuckyC, GIRL MATILDA, 14.47, weight?, first baby
15 April ForcesSweetheart, GIRL, MOLLY, 10.27, 7lbs 6ozs, 2nd DD
16 April Littleowls, BOY JOEL, 14.40, 4lb 8oz, first baby
16 April Memorylapse, GIRL, OLIVIA GRACE, 6.17pm, 6lbs 11.5ozs
27 April Brightredballoon, GIRL, ?, 10am, 7lb 12oz

THE WAITING LOUNGE

27 April (just brought forward a week)- Pagen, 36 #1 (unknown), G&A & water birth (I hope) Bulford, Wiltshire
03 May - hormonalmum, 33,#3
03 May - Lizzie9442, 23, #4 GIRL
04 May - Squirtsmum, 27 #1, Belfast NI
05 May - Sweetkitty, 34, #4 3DDs, BOY, Lanarkshire (nr Glasgow)
06 May - DorotheaPlenticlew, 35, #2, GIRL, Edinburgh
07 May - hobnobfanatic, 38, #2 GIRL, Wye Valley/Forest of Dean
08 May - Sassles, 31, #1, BOY, Nr Glasgow
08 May - LittleOneMum, 36, #2, GIRL, planned CS, central London
08 May - Asparagusaddict, ? , #1
09 May - alexw, 37, #2
10 May - Sophie2008, 28 #2 & #3 (TWINS!) BOY & GIRL
10 May - Gils, 28, #2, ?, Falkirk (Central Scotland)
11 May - Itshappenedagain, 26, #2 GIRL liverpool
11 May - MarquiseDeMerteuil, 33, #1, South London
12 May - pamelat, 31, #2 BOY Nottinghamshire
12 May - Katnkittens 30, #4, GIRL
12 May - Haribolicious 36, #2, BOY
12 May - Mustbemadno3 35, #3
12 May - LivsHannah 27, #2, BOY
12 May - slipperthief 34, #2, BOY, Cambs
13 May - Cith, 30, #1
13 May - Wibblela, 36, #1, GIRL?, Huddersfield
13 May - TinyVeins, 29, #1
13 May - Mummymunchkins, 40, #3, BOY
14 May - MinnieMummy, 37, #3, ??
14 May - Fiveisanawfullybignumber, 37 #5 GIRL
14 May - Carikube, 36 #2 ?, Southampton
14 May - JamesAndTheGiantBanana, 28, #2 GIRL
14 May - CornishSAMum, 33, #1, ?, Cornwall
14 May - TomlinTowers, 31 #2, GIRL, York
15 May - LuckyMiller, 33, #1
16 May - MoggMum, 38, #1
16 May - schipo 40, #1, BOY
16 May - Vicky204, 34, #1
16 May - Rachelfruitloop 35, #2 BOY, Chilterns Bucks (NW London area)
17 May - newmomma, 31, #2 GIRL Reading, Berks
17 May - TwentiethCenturyHeffa, 26, #2 Devon
17 May - Morph2 36 #1
17 May - KaffaCakes, ? , #1
18 May - 30ish, 31, #2 BOY, cs booked 11th May, Bolton
19 May - Pigleychez, 28, #2 West Sussex
19 May - cupcakefairy, 25, #1
20 May - LolaAnn, 22, #1, BOY
20 May - Aim, ?, #2, BOY
21 May - Suey2, 39, no2, GIRL
21 May - Sweetpeasmum, 38, #2
21 May - Mumofeag, 34, #3 BOY
22 May - Mollybob, 37 #3, Gender unknown, Bangor, Northern Ireland
23 May - RacquelWelsh, 38,#1 BOY
23 May - Nimk, 30, #1
23 May - myfirstbump, 26, #1, Shrewsbury
24 May - AnAngelWithin #5
24 May - Yorky, 31, #3
24 May - peakyispreggers, 27, #1 BOY
25 May - Den26, 26, #1 BOY Inverness, Scottish Highlands
26 May - booboomonster, 35, #2 GIRL, SW London
26 May - kateyjane, 32, #4, Halifax, West Yorkshire
26 May - AliMouse, 40, #3 BOY
26 May - Glastocchick, 34, #1
31 May - Hollyoaks, 28, #2

alle..he sounds a bit like dd..she would do the same..have you tried tickling his chin,tumy etc or blowing..very,very gently on his cheek..sometimes they get tired breastfeeding as they have to work harder at it..sorry your midwife isnt being much help..have you tried contacting the la leche league?

Leche League

oops that didnt work

Try again

www.laleche.org.uk/

Hi All

Loads to catch up, so apologies in advance if I miss anyone...

Alex - many congrats on the arrival of Julia - lovely name again! So glad that your waters going didn't end up in any infections etc and you're home safe.

SK - sorry to hear about Jacob's jaundice. Hope that it clears up soon and you enjoy snuggling with him!

Memory - the fact that you are managing to have relaxing baths every night gives me hope!

Kateyjane/30ish - good luck for tomorrow!!

Pigley - at your mum's attitude. Did she think that she would only be needed between the hours of 10 - 4 in the day?! I hate having to rely on other people, because I always seem to end up in situations like this, but sometimes you can't help it. Hope you manage to get something sorted out soon.

James - hope you get the spd sorted out soon after birth. SK - has your SPD calmed down now?

itshappened - your reflexology sounds brill. I have never had reflexology, but I did have a maternity massage at the spa as a present from my mum before DS1's birth and it was amazing!!

Pamelat - congrats on your uni essay. Your concentration is impressive!! Maybe your LO has been waiting for you to get finished and will now feel able to put in an appearance...

Whoever was asking about holidays - with DS1 it was 4 months before we felt confident enough to stay away from home for one night at my MILs - but then I am a total wimp and like to be in control at all times! With this one, we have family holiday booked for end of July when this one will be between 6 - 9 weeks old depending on when she puts in an appearance. However, we are going with my parents and my sis and BIL, and only to Northumberland. We have booked Center Parcs for October before the half term for the four of us to get away. Although it's expensive, the swimming etc is fab for DS1 and it is just so set up for kids it makes the holiday really easy. Will probably try and get back to Brittany next year....but we'll see how it goes!

Schipo - your questions 1) No idea but if you find a good one send her round! 2) teats depend on your LO's sucking action. Generally I think they advise start on the slow flow teats (smaller hole than fast flow teats) as if milk comes too fast out of bottle then will flood LO and may choke/splutter. We used slow flow teats to begin with, but didn't buy too many so we could change up when DS1 got the hang of suckling.

Alle - sorry to hear you are having a hard time of it. If Oscar seems happy to suckle on you and isn't screaming with hunger then he probably is getting enough milk. The colostrum is really thick as well, so that may be why you cannot express much. You can tell if LO is happily suckling because their entire jaw right up to their ear bone is moving and they are happy - if he wasn't getting anything then he would soon tell you! Hang on in there - it is really difficult in the first few days. I would also say that if you are giving Oscar formula, then you still need to make sure you are putting him to the breast every two hours because otherwise your milk will not be stimulated enough. However, most important thing to remember is that whatever you hope will happen with the feeding, it is more important that your LO is fed and happy. My DS1 had formula from 6 weeks, and he is a strapping 3 year old with not one allergy, no eczema, no feeding problems etc - not telling you to give up, but just hoping that that will make you feel better whatever happens. Best of luck!

My news - went to MW today, all well, BP up slightly again but MW now thinks it is because my BP is "buggering around" as a sign of imminent labour. Made appt for next Monday for stretch and sweep, but MW said 90% sure I won't be there for next weeks' appt because I'll have had LO, and if I am then she will give me a "right good stretch to get that baby out of there" - not sure I am liking the sound of that, having visions of me lying rigid on the couch whilst she pulls my bits to bits!! Am now even more anxious that the LO puts in an appearance before she gets her hands on me!!

Sorry x-post with your update alle - took me ages to type the post! My DS1 used to do the same - MW told me to strip him off before feeding to try and make him more alert, and also to try nipple shields as they make the teat bigger and may make it easier for him to latch?? I found the NCT BF support tel line very helpful but I think you may have to be a member. Try La Leche as recommended by ML - I always think it's best to get specialist advice rather than general advice from MW (no offence to any MWs who read this!) Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Hello ladies!

I've been composing this post all day, so it has gotten very long, as usual!

30ish GOOD LUCK with your CS tomorrow, can't wait to hear all about your baby, and hope you have a speedy recovery!

KateyJane hope your induction goes well and is quick! I'm pleased that you're finding my two-window method of replying useful! That made me very happy!

Alex CONGRATULATIONS on the birth of Julia! Another lovely name! Hope your experience at hospital was OK and you are both settling well at home now!

MDM it figures that the "exciting" development at work would happen as soon as you went on leave, it's big news in the US as well, seems all my family and friends in the states have mentioned the incident to me! About baby passports, I'm going to try to get this one's passports asap (my kids get British and American passports) just so it's taken care of. With my DS, we registered his birth 18 days after he was born (21 June 07), sent the forms for his British passport right away, and got the passport in the post on 14th July 2007, so it didn't take too long. Hopefully that will be the case for your LO as well! Had to wait until late September for the appointment at American consulate for his American passport. Took ages! I just got a quilt in the post that my mum handmade for my baby, it's lovely to have something like that for the LO! Well done for DIY!! I've managed to pin the pieces of gingham fabric together for the nursery curtains but haven't started sewing yet. I'll be using the machine!

Sassles I am also wondering what the gossip is at work, but just keep getting asked if I've had the baby!

Angel, I'm not due for another week, so not looking forward to the questioning to potentially go on for the rest of the month if the baby is late! Also with being so freakin' HUGE now, absolutely everyone I see comments, strangers and friends alike.

SK my DS was a very sucky baby, so he'd often drink too much and be sick and wanted to be on the breast all night. I found a dummy to be the answer to that in the first few weeks. Hope it's working well for Jacob. My DS also was jaundiced, hope you get some sunshine you can sit in with him for a bit, I found that always helped my mood, too!

Mustbemad I hope you and Lillia are having a better time of it now that your milk has come in. Sorry you've been having trouble with your DS, I hope things improve soon. That is so lovely that you felt your mum's presence there with you and Lillia when you were in hospital. I have my iPod packed and ready to go for labour! Have my Natal Hypnotherapy loaded on it, too Cupcake! Pigley I'm with you on the super huge movements from baby, I also don't remember having so much movement from DS at this stage! Your video is great, looks familiar! Sorry you didn't get the playhouse up over the weekend! Also about your Mum's lack of support, talk about bad timing! So sorry you have that weighing on your mind now as well!

Gils hope your DD is feeling better and that you managed to get some rest on Saturday night! Sorry about Falkirk being relegated! Hopefully the sweep will do something to get labour started. I am getting texts now too and not due until Sunday, I feel like saying don't you think I'd have told you if I'd had it yet! I'll be shouting it from the rooftops!

Squirtsmum it sure sounds like the MW is trying to get you off their books! Don't let them bully you! Hope you have a good scan on Friday if you don't have Squirt by then!

Pamelat the idea of trying to write a uni assignment at this stage of pregnancy is commendable! I can't even imagine attempting anything like that! LOL at your DH wanting to take a pic of your boobs - I am also normally an A cup, got measured for nursing bras last week and they gave me an E cup! My DH says too bad they're dwarfed by my massive belly! Mumsnet due date calculator said I am due on 19th May, all the others said the 21st, dating scan said 16th, baby says ...

Tomlin I would be a bit wary of the sort of stretch and sweep your MW was describing, too! I totally agree with you that with a newborn, forcing yourself to get dressed (and showered if at all possible) really helps in lifting the spirits! Even just putting the baby in the pram and taking a walk around the block really helped improve my mood with DS.

ML so sorry your family hasn't been round to visit! It must be difficult to have some of your loved-ones being so blase about the event when it is so major for you. I bet it doesn't matter how many babies you have, each one will be very special and quite an experience bringing them into the world!

30ish LOL about the trapped wind, it sounds like my situation! I keep having pains but I swear it must just be constipation, though since yesterday the Braxton Hicks have been back, so who knows if something is brewing (other than gas!)

BRB I will take those maternity pads off your hands if you still have them! (my email is blind_lisa at yahoo dot com if you want to email me) I know so many other ladies having babies in the very near future that I'm sure they will get used up! I know how difficult it can be when you don't have much family around, it is so lovely having my MIL here, I know when it's time for her to go I'm going to be so sad! Please tell us about it when you have your glass of wine so I can live vicariously through you!

Peaky so sorry about you being weighed, I think it's cruel to be weighed so close to your due date! I understand about them needing to know for anaesthetic purposes, but I'm sure you'll be considerably lighter once you deliver the baby, all the fluid and placenta and don't have the extra blood volume of the baby going around in your system! I've not been weighed since 12 weeks and I think if they want to weigh me I will ask them not to tell me how much I weigh cos I know it would upset me.

Angel your household activities never cease to amaze me!! Glad you're admitting defeat and hope you get some rest!

James and Katnkankles I've been waking up in the middle of the night sweating, thought it might be due to my mountain of pillows, though! James, so sorry you're in pain and uncomfortable and have a pushy landlord to contend with!

Alle glad to hear that you and Oscar are at home now! Well done on labouring for so long and pushing him out! I'm glad to hear you say you feel proud of yourself because you worked really hard, well done!! I hope the BF comes along soon, took me 6 weeks last time to get the BF really established, so try to be patient and don't get too discouraged. It's not easy at first.

Hollyoaks sorry you've been feeling poorly. We get a red book for the baby after the birth in my area as well. I really think that fundus height measurements are no indication of the size of the baby at all, and hearing about others' experience with this only proves it to me more! I've accepted your FB friend request

Carikube I'm so sorry that your MIL isn't being very helpful. It's day 3 with mine and she's been an absolute star! I am one seriously lucky lady. So sorry about your washing machine too!!!

LuckyC those long feeds and sleepless nights are so soul shattering at first, just keep in mind that it will pass!

I have been feeling similar things as some of you, the tightenings and cramping, and a bit of a nauseous feeling. Had a lovely pedicure from MIL yesterday! Now just trying to rest and enjoy the last few days/weeks before the arrival! Time for bed now I think! Hope all is well with the rest of you!

Rachael..your posts put me to shame!..how on earth do you remember everything?? I can barely remember my own name..hence my rather short posts!
I chuckled at your FB status..and couldnt resist putting my comment

Morning, woke up to a few new friends

Had a great nights sleep thankfully and the weather looks a little better here today. Hopefully get some washing out today as its piled up again. Back at work this afternoon and then full days till Friday but it's my last week eventually. Exhausted is not the word but hopefully I will manage to leave my GCSE classes having taught the whole syllabus before the exam next week and my BTEC kids will have completed the majority of their homework. Maybe then I will relax enough to have the baby.

Rachel - how do you find the time to write posts like that? Maybe that will put you into labour

Tomlin - where are you off to in Northumberland? We're going with my dsis and bil and parents when lo is 6 weeks old to centre parcs, couldn't do it without the help and my dad's van to carry all the equipment needed for four kids!!!!

Gils - hope you got a good nights sleep

Kaffa - naughty cat {shock], hope the show means something in happening.

Red books - thanks for the info, wonder why ours are yellow , they used to be red. HV was here for an hour!!!! She asked loads of awkward questions too, which I suppose they have too, it was like the booking in appointment with the mw.

BF - loads of good info and tips of bf from many people so thankyou for that. Will be attempting it again and hope to last a bit longer than last time, but have an open mind and if it doesn't go according to plan then so be it.

Can't wait for more announcements today.

Morning all!
Looking forward to more birth announcements today. At about 1am this morning I would have said that I might have been among them as I woke up with some very severe pains that didn't go away when I got up and moved around. Fortunately I didn't wake up DH as they seem to have gone again now. I'm not technically overdue yet so I shouldn't be getting frustrated yet but I really would like this one to turn up now!
Hollyoaks I'm impressed that you have already seen your HV - mine won't come round until after I have been signed off by the MW so probably about 10 days after the birth. I'm with you on the bf as well - I only managed 6 weeks with DD and I really want it to go better this time so am determined to have a good crack at it.

Congratulations to new mummies - and a quick post from a new mum herself!

Baby Hobnob was born in the early hours of MOnday. Got to the hospital just before midnight, and she was born just over three hours later. Very strong, effective contractions - where the mw, again, as with my first, didn't realise how much pain I was in and how quickly I was dilating, so was left without any pain relief for ages. Had to beg for gas and air - was just left in a room for ages, told someone would come and assess me, but no one did! When she did eventually come, after much nagging from me, the mw was a cow, who refused me an epidural - because there were no labour rooms free, or the anaesthetist was in theatre, or, finally, there's no point, as 'you're so close now'!

Baby got in distress from the speed of it all and there was meconium in the water, but no decels. A whopper, as predicted - half an ounce off 9lb, If she hadn't pooed in the womb, she'd have been over! 1st-degree tear and some grazes, but no stitches. Got discharged 10 hours later - and spent the first night with her last night - she fed ALLLLLLLL night!

Afterpains much worse than with my first DD - but we're all just so happy that it's over, finally, and we're smitten.

Will keep following the thread when I can - sorry for the lack of personals - busy, busy, busy and knackered! Good luck to those still waiting - I'm so excited for oyu all. It's sooooooo wonderful to see and hold your baby after waiting so long!

Congratulations Hobnob sounds like a really speedy birth & can't believe you're home already. Well done

Well done Hobnob that's fab news - does Baby Hobnob have a name yet? 9lb is a good, solid weight. at your treatment though - your hospital sounds like mine where they will put off giving you epidurals etc to keep their stats for natural births looking good. And to be left without even gas and air is really not good! Just glad it all went well in the end, and the fact that you're home now is brilliant!

congrats hobnob!!!!!, but sorry to hear your mw was such a cow, look at the bright side: your baby is here!!!!

thank you all for your tips and encouragement in my bf, certainly will try the nipple shield, (my nipples are too flat apparently), and going to bf support group on thursday, real mums will know better than the midwife, and they will be happy to finally see oscar(i joined before the birth),... will be calling la leche league too, thanks for the link. it is really good to see that this happen to more people and is nothing wrong, at least with the formula on top he is well fed and the jaundice is going now,... he was getting dehydratated, he will be weighted today to see he is ok...i will keep trying, maybe in a few weeks we can drop the bottle, or at least will be breast milk, when i can express,...

re: cat, my cat is being fantastic, i didn't see him the first day, but dh let him smell oscar's dirty clothes while we were in hospital, so now cat is just looking from a small distance quite puzzled at oscar, cat is now back to his normal routine of sleeping by the window or under cot, not bother if ds is on it, so working quite all right in that front

Congratulations hobnob! Wonderful news but to the midwife!

rachel you are just so lovely with your personal posts I too am so sick of the texts/calls already and I still have 8 days til due date!! Even dh said he felt like smashing my phone when I got a 'any news?' text last night from a really close friend...as you said, does she really think I wouldn't tell her??
Hooray for the hypnotherapy. I need to listen to it again today keep forgetting!

MDM sorry to hear you have to wait ages to register baby hope it goes through quickly though. And happy due date!!

Good luck to kateyjane today too!

Lovely to hear updates on the new babies too- alle keep at it! Hope the support group helps I've heard they're fab.

We finally had a tour of the MLU last night which is brand new in our local hospital and AMAZING. The rooms are huuuuge with big birthing pools, tv screens, ensuite showers etc and the rooms you stay in after are like a posh hotel! So hope we can stay on that unit!

Ooh, and the mw who gave us the tour asked my blood group & when I told her A Positive she said that group seem to have faster labours! Seemed a bit random to me but she said it's a theory they've had for a while now and it seems to work...so I'm quite encouraged!

Congratulations hobnob! Although at the pain relief situation. You'd have thought the MW would take a second-time Mum more seriously.

The NCT breasfeedibg counsellors will come and see you even if you're not a member alle01 and two ladies from my group have found them really helpful.

Two days until D day but after some excitement on Sunday it's all gone quiet. Working my way through the old wives tales in hope as both DH and I are ready to meet her. Even got my chiropractor to see if she could persuade the LO out but she didn't think the head had engaged yet. How much lower can this baby get?! Does the head have to engage first for first-time Mums?

Have been on maternity leave for a week now and starting to feel like a fraud as there's no baby!

I am astounded at the number of posts from yesterday evening!

Congratulations Hobnob !!

Schipo - in answer to your question about bottles and steriliser, I can't s peak from personal experience, but my DSis is currently using a medela swing pump with TT bottles and steriliser (the TT microwave steriliser is currently on half price offer in Boots for £10, and includes a newborn bottle). She just decants the milk from the pump into storage bags or direct into the TT bottles. The breastfeeding adviser for my NCT group said that if you're expressing and bottle-feeding a newborn you should, as a rule, start with slow-flow teats as they are closer to the speed of flow that the LO will get from the breast (although still much faster than breast-feeding).

Kateyjane - hope the induction's going well today.

alle - I hope things improve for you soon with the breastfeeding, and that the support group and Leche league are a big help. I can't offer any advice - others on here have already shared their experiences - but I can tell you an optimistic story about a good friend of mine, which should give you some hope. She really struggled with feeding at first, but, like you, really wanted to make it work. So she persevered, with top-ups from formula and expressed breast milk, and just as she was on the verge of giving up at about 8 weeks, her baby suddenly got the hang of it! Her baby is now 12 weeks old, and breastfeeding happily.
Glad to hear things are going well with the cat!

Gils - hope you had a good night's sleep after your day yesterday, which sounded very tiring! I don't mind all the texts and messages from friends and family, I think it's nice that they're thinking of us. Although ours have all been quite subtle and not gone so far as to actually ask if anything's happening / happened, they just say 'hello, hope you're ok, hope you're not getting too impatient', things like that.

Tomlin - your MW sounds a bit brutal! Hope it's just a figure of speech, but equally hope that your LO arrives naturally before you have to find out!

Rachel - glad to hear your MIL's visit is living up to expectations. Very envious of the pedicure.

Hollyoaks - glad it's your last week at work at long last! I hope you get some time to relax before LO arrives.

Cupcake - your MLU sounds amazing!

Tinyveins - my DSis's waters broke 12 hours after her mw told that her baby's head wasn't engaged, and she had her baby 9 hours after that!

Oh, forgot to post about me! Having a quiet day so far today, wondering if each little twinge could be something happening.

Cleaner came this morning, so house is nice and clean . I popped out to the post office to get out of her way, and while I was out managed to trip over an uneven paving stone on the high street and fell over . I don't think any damage was done as I didn't really hurt myself. It was all very slow-motion, and I managed to turn and fall so that I sort of crumpled gradually into a heap, landing on my outer thigh, as opposed to properly going flying. About 3 people came running over to see if I was ok I actually heard one of them gasp as I was falling ! It was a bit of a shock!

Since then the LO has been really active and I've felt quite a bit of pressure low down, so maybe I've managed to inadvertently find a way to speed things up a bit!

Oh my goodness MDM Hope that you are ok? That must have been scary. Glad that everything seems to be fine. I normally fall over a lot and am really clumsy, but my balance seems to have gotten better the more pregnant I am. Last trip was in October when I was in Rome and fell over nothing.

I was weighing myself on Wii Fit yesterday and for the first time ever got perfect 50% 50% balance! I have never seen anyone get that. How odd!

I am still here, overdue, getting bored. No signs of anything at all! Trying to keep up on my feet about the house, still don't think head is engaged.

When I lie down on my side at night, I think I feel sort of tightenings in my abdomen and then start to think that I feel a bit of pain down below, but think it is this LO wee head moving about as not engaged and stretching my stomach muscles and pain is just needing to move from resting on my hip.

Must be too darn comfy in there. I have sweep on Friday, but no induction day yet. Will be a week overdue on Friday.

hobnob congrats - you make it sound very exciting, i'm quite jealous!

who else is on today - kateyjane, 30ish? Good luck!

Hope things move soon for the overdue ladies!

thanks to everyone for advice on bottles and teats. It seems like overkill to buy a full steriliser if you plan (or at least hope) to breast feed mainly, but I don't have a microwave and buying one specifically to sterilize bottles seems like overkill too. I do have a dishwasher, but I'm sure I read that dishwasher won't make the bottles sterile enough for the first six months. I think I may yet wait to see how the breast feeding goes for me - and then decide on how much to invest on the kit.

thanks also for comments re hiring a 'mothers help'. With four and at least two at home with you sweetkitty I think you should have one too. In fact anyone with more than one should have one by default by the sounds of it. To be honest SK I keep expecting to hear your DM has caved in and spun around to meet her new grandchild and offer you all sorts of help. Fingers crossed for that.

mdm - sorry to hear about your fall but I fear if we get an announcement from you in the next couple of days we'll all start diving onto pavements

hollyoaks - i'm a bit upset that I haven't been invited to be your fb friend !

alle - i love the idea of your dh introducing your cat to baby by his dirty clothes. Hope the BF gets easier btw

Tomlin- your mw's idea of a sweep makes me shudder

I really MUST do some more work

Hobnob - congratulations Well done on coping with no pain relief though it wasn't your intention.

MDM - glad your ok, hope it kicks things off.

Schipo - a friend request has been sent, I went through the list of names on the discussion topic of who we all are so I can put MN names to faces and must have missed you off.

Alle - keep persevering. I used nipple shields too but found that caused them to crack. Not sure if it was I was positioning the shield or if you can indeed even position them correctly? Just watch for that, but I imagine someone from your bf group will have experience of that to help you out.

Well, meant to be at work but had to email in that I couldn't make it as dd burnt her fingers this morning and was quite distressed. She crept up behind me when I was straightening my hair and tried to grab it. Didn't know she was there but still felt like complete s**t afterwards, had to choke back the tears when I rang the gp's office. Anyway, the nurse bandaged it as best she could as her fingers were too small for the dressings they normally use and said it was superficial and shouldn't scar or swell up. Thank goodness it was minor, I had visions of huge blisters and scarring. Now that the burns are covered dd is much more settled too as she can't get to them which must have been hurting her.

KateyJane hope your induction goes well it may be happening already.

30ish good luck too.

MDM glad you are ok, your poor thing.

I have been shopping today as realised I had some jeans to return and that if I didn't do it pre baby I never would!! The woman in GAP asked when I was due and was a bit shocked when I said either today or tomorrow!! Depending on hospital or doc dates!

Had big lunch with my mum at pizza express with a BOGOF voucher, lovely. Ate lots.

Now shattered and achey from walking around all morning, so off to bed for an hour before collecting DD. Maternity leave is great on nursery days

I think this little one is going to make an appearance on Friday, which is a slight worry as none of my childcare options are free on Friday!! Its the only day that

sorry

Its the only day that I dont have anyone to look after DD.

Various neighbours have kindly offered to help but we dont know them really. In an emergency would take them up on it but really hoping that labour hangs on and doesnt occur between 9am and 4pm on Friday!

schipo I plan to BF (hopefully!) but have bought a breast pump and steriliser too. We don't have a microwave either but the TT Steam Steriliser is currently half price at Boots (£20) and comes with a couple of bottles so is quite good value. I was originally going to use the dishwasher but had also heard that this was not advisable for the first 6 months. Hope you manage to get some extra help when LO arrives - I'm lucky that I have family nearby although my parents are also in their 70's (& my Dad has Parkinsons) so not sure how much I can rely on them. As I plan to do some work from home throughout my maternity leave I'll need to sort something soon.

MDM glad you're ok - must have been bit of a

alle must try the baby clothes/cat thing too. Had to boot one of ours out of the Moses basket again today

Hope everyone else is ok. I'm feeling physically much better today although rather emotional and worry that DH is going to be in for a hard time tonight!

Congrats to Alex and Hobnob

No news here, no twinges, no show, no waters breaking, BH's have tailed off and LO movements aren't as big (but still there) - looks like I'm destined to be pregnant forever!! Resigned my myself to big baby and a section nxt monday.

Now 41wks and feel fecking rubbish and a bit of a failure tbh... not sure why.

Good luck to all those due soon/having a section/being induced

xxxx