Due SEPTEMBER thread 11 - nearly there!

[pooka]

New thread

I really don't mind having lots of visitors at first, as all family and friends know that they have to make their own drinks (and mine) and get themselves food. Anyone expecting me to do anything would get very thirsty and hungry. As for cooking, well dh is perfectly capable of managing for a while and will have to be feeding the older two anyway, the menu might get repetitive but as he'll have two weeks off and then my Mum will stay it should be three weeks before I have to cook anything.

WELCOME HOME MOSCHOPS! Looking forward to hearing the full story when you're up to it!

Andif - I have the same hypnobirthing CDs as Franch.

we have called him Lemuel Bonham...........Lemmy for short and Bonham after Daddy moschops favourite drummer!

currently having the night from hell............the poor mite has trapped wind and no matter what we do we can't shift it. can hear it rumbling round his belly and it won't shift in either direction. his cries have finally become too much for me so daddy is looking after him while i have a break. finding it a bit hard to cope at the moment but will explain in detail when i'm not falling asleep at the keyboard!!

Hang in there Moschops - and when you figure out how to get stubborn wind to move, pass on the tips!!

RE visitors after the birth - my parents aren't coming over from NZ, so that takes them out of the equation, and my MIL has told me to call her when I would like her to come, bless her. Am more worried about FIL, who is likely to turn up on the doorstep like the prodigal son and expect to be looked after. Mental note to self - talk to DH about this asap (has only just occurred to me!). Friends all work, so unlikely to just show up...

Am planning on spending my first week on maternity leave cooking up some meals to put in the freezer (a couple of lasagnes cut into 1 meal sizes and a few other things) so can just whip them out as required. DH isn't a gourmet chef, but he's quite handy with a jar of Lloyd Grossman curry sauce and a bit of rice, so we shouldn't starve - although have heard a rumour about not eating curry when you're breastfeeding - can anyone confirm this??

Hey Moschops! the only thing we found worked was Woodwards Gripewater (we gave about 1 or 2mls at a couple of weeks old). Resulted in a HUGE fart or burp, and a much happier baby.

Hope everything is well otherwise

Hee hee. I thought I was the only fruitloop cooking up meals to stick in the freezer... my husband is looking at me like I need to be restrained.

I've heard about the spicy food / breastfeeding thing, but I don't know that it's definite. On another message board, I saw a query recently on behalf of a Muslim woman who had been told by her community elders to eat a bland diet whilst breastfeeding - and I've also heard that if your baby has reflux, you should eat as though you have reflux yourself (which would involve cutting out chilli). However, I figure I'll just see how it goes. I've been eating chillis in quantity throughout the pregnancy. Does a trace of this taint the amnion, I wonder...?

RZ - am impressed that you've started cooking already!! I'm just making ambitious plans at this point. Unfortunately we don't have the world's largest freezer, so shall have to exercise some restraint... Hopefully will get a chance to sit down this weekend and peruse my recipe books for some freezer friendly recipes... Fruit loop? Moi??? Quite possibly...

Have just come back from seeing the midwife and blood pressure normal . It was at this stage with DS that I started being hospitalised due to high BP so I am very happy to be "normal".

Only slight problem is that this baby is breech at the moment - I think DS had settled down by now (34+5). At my next appointment in two weeks time we'll see how things are going and if still breech I will have a scan. Have decided not to worry about the breech position yet, but will talk to baby and ask it nicely to turn .

On the cooking food front, I am to admit that DH does virtually all the cooking in the house anyway. I am not a cooking person, and DH is so it is better to do things that way round. I am intending to cook some things for DS and freeze them (although I have been saying that for a while ) rather than resorting to jars on too many occasions...

Nesting going well; might even have bags packed soon.

DS and I are going to see my mum and dad in Liverpool tomorrow until Sunday (DH joining us on Friday night) - I suppose I ought to at least take my notes with me... It would be very odd to have my baby up there rather than here, although possible I suppose.

Good news about your blood pressure Piccadilly Circus - am a bit worried about mine when I go next week, as my ankles swell up like balloons over the course of the day. Most attractive . I have taken to bringing my notes to work with me everyday, just in case (Moschops put the frighteners up me!!).

Just realised that we haven't heard from Singleteenagemum for ages - hope it's just because she doesn't have access to a PC now that she's on maternity leave...

kiwifruit, i had the same thought about stm too, but she mentioned her sisters wedding is in a few weeks so maybe she's just helping her out. i hope thats all anyway. got a mw appt this afternoon and am looking forward to hearing the heartbeat. was having slight contractions last night, and got really scared. they certainly felt like the real thing anyway. god i'm mard!!!

Moschops, good to hear you are home. My ds1 was very colicky. Infacol is fantastic stuff so may be worth a try. Would also REALLY recommend trying a cranial osteopath if funds will stretch to it - definitely works. I got to the stage when ds1 slept on his front during the day - either on me or next to me in the pram so I could keep an eye, as it was the only position he was comfortable in.

I would LOVE to have this baby soon!! Finished shopping for hospital bag this morning - with 2 boys in tow, bribed by MacDonalds!!!
Last night heartburn was so bad that I was sick so ended up not eating dinner as couldn't face it coming back!
Must order a hypnobirth CD - thanks for all the info.

Andif - have you tried any homeopathic remedies for your heartburn? I just got some Nux Vomica for my [ahem] piles (pregnancy is soooo glamorous. Not.), and the box says that it is for 'digestive orders associated with excessive eating and drinking'. Lovely. It was listed on several websites as being useful for heartburn as well. Might be worth a try?

Am impressed with you having finished your hospital bag - think I nearly have everything, but it's not all in one place yet. Picked up bargain PJs at Mothercare for £8.80 on Sunday, which I was rather pleased about.

Mosschops - baby wind is the WORST, isn't it? My mother always said that winding babies was a dark art - something only grannies seem to be able to do. DD had bad colic too, and apparently it's more prevalent in smaller babies (she was 6 10) as their gut is more immature. I found gripewater, letting her sleep upright on my chest after a feed as much as possible, bouncing up and down stairs helped a bit. Also, maybe lie him on his back and kind of pump his legs up and down (sounds perverse). If you have stomach pain you tend to get into a foetalish position, and the same applies for babies. Baby massage might help too. Get some cream/oil and imagine that he has an enormous 50p piece on his tummy and sort of rub/apply pressure to each "face" of the coin or do largish circular motions on his abdomen.
Infacol didn't work for me because faffing around with bottles (as was breastfeeding) was a pain. In the end, as he grows, his gut will get more mature, and hopefully the problem will resolve itself - question of time, I'm afraid. Other options - cranial osteopathy; colief (over the counter from pharmacy, very expensive, but apparently a miracle drug). GOOD LUCK!

moschops - glad all is well with you - except the tiredness and wind! pooka is right baby massage is good for trapped wind. I'd also recommend laying baby flat on back- and stroke out a square over his tummy area starting from his right to left - then with the palm of one hand stroke down for five and repeat - it works on some - I remember getting covered in pooh (nice and yellow!) when doing this to my ds - so take nappy off but place underneath! Otherwise Infolcol is fantastic too!

Five babies came to antinatal today (with their mums!!) from 3-8 weeks old - so excited wanted to take them all home - then one cried and I changed my mind!!! Still can't grasp that my big tummy = small baby soon - which is crazy as I've done it before - still seems unreal!!

Doing lots of cleaning - between icecream breaks!!

moschops, you have all my sympathy - DD's colic drove me to very nearly throw myself (and/or her) out of the window. I didn't find any solutions - tried infacol etc etc - but will try some of the suggestions here if it happens again this time (please god no!). In the meantime, a big hug to you - it really does test your sanity when you can't comfort your little one.

Not much time to post (one week left at work and they give me two new clients??? Whose bright idea was that?) but just wanted to say Piccadilly Circus - mine was breech until fairly recently and showing no inclination to move, but I had a big bounce on my gym ball at the weekend, huge amounts of movement from baby and she's now head down - could be a complete coincidence but might be worth a try.

just back from my 36 weeks check at mw, all well but very worried as my next check isnt until 3 days after my due date ive to wait another month!! Is this normal with anyone else? Its new here but the its now the protocol with mums whom have had other babies, i still feel like im doing this for the first although its my second, why do they consider it safer 2nd time around?

d77 - glad to hear all's well. Personally I prefer less checking but surely you can just book yourself in for an extra check if that's what you want?

d77 - we're down to every two weeks here, even if you have already had children, but I agree with Franch, the less the better for me. Thats ironic at the moment as with the apparent lack of growth of baby I've got one booked every week for the next couple of weeks - but better safe than sorry.

Hi there all!
Just back from a day out with DD at a childrens farm - now bits of straw everywhere! Very tiring though, chasing her about the place. It never ceases to amaze me how some parents will let their children run riot and even bully other little ones when they're only a few feet away.
Oh moschops - the dreaded colic! DD suffered from it for a while even though she was BF and they're supposed to be less prone to it. DH eventually suggested that we weren't winding her for long enough - sometimes we'd have to wind for an hour or more before we got a burp. Very tiring but at least it meant that we got a couple of peaceful hours between feeds. Try laying him face down along your forearm (palm under his chest and his legs straddling your elbow or over your knee whilst winding. HTH.
Lemuel sounds lovely, though I've never come across it before.
Just in case any of you are as disorganised as me, mothercare online are offering 10% off until 21st Aug (quote AN5 at checkout). I know they're expensive anyway, but if you've still got to get anything big it might be worth a go.

franch - had to laugh at your comment about wanting to throw yourself and baby out of the window due to colic - that was all I said to dh for the first 2 days - luckily dh was calm and collected - I'm embarrased to remember that - but we are all human - and a tiny baby could and will try anyones patients!!!

Diane77 - my mw said she did not need to see me until I was overdue!!! (I'm 35 weeks) I took no notice and booked an appointment next week (3 weeks since last app) - I now have swelly feet and hands and want to keep bp and urine checks regularly! Bedford hospital are skint and busy cutting all services - my anti-natal class is one of just two running in the whole town! They have even shut two bays of the maternity ward this week - despite being busier than ever! I try not to worry about it!

It was the first name of Gulliver, wasn't it? As in 'Gulliver's Travels'.

I was just thinking that today about other peoples' children running riot. Some small boy in M&S was bouncing a beach ball down the food aisles: it hit me, bounced off my shoulder and headed towards two old ladies. Ok - so it's not like being taken out by a bowling ball... but it's not very social.

Kiwifruit: see - I said I was a fruitloop... I think I've got three portions of bolognese sauce, two of puttanesca sauce and three vegetable dhals at the mo. I'm gearing up to some chicken bakes as well. Every now and again, when I'm cooking, I just make great vats of things. (Maybe I can use it as leverage for a bigger freezer... ). I thought I'd pick up some Lime Tree pies at the farmers' market too: pretty good and the 8 inch does us for four portions, with vegetables.

I'm being seen every week now until - well until d-day, I suppose. on't know whether that's because I'm aiming for home birth or not, but I personally rather like the midwife visits as chance to listen in and make sure all is well. They will deliver all the equipment on Monday, including Syntocin for fridge storage as I'm having a managed third stage (think that you get a different injection depending upon whether you're rh negative or not - I am).

Other peoples Unsociable kids !!!

I find it impossible to believe how some folks drag their kids up with no respect for others!

In early May - me, dh and ds went for a pub lunch in a pub garden locally - there were signs every where 'no ball games' but 3 young teenagers started playing around with a football - at first they kept the ball low (their parents ignored them - very interested in their pints!) After several minutes the ball was flying past peoples ears etc, (people were doing a very British tut!) and still the parents ignored it. I was tucking into my chips!! when I caught the full force of the ball on the nose, I lost lots of blood, ds was very upset, the pub staff really helped sort me out - but the kids and the parents offered no appology nothing, in fact they laughed at me - I was very upset as obviously pregnant - I cryed and my nose bleed for 5 hours after!!! I'd like to add - whats the country coming too (ahhh I'm turning into my Dad!!) I'm know our children will be angelic!

I'm sure that DD and DD2/DS will be far from angelic but I'd like to think that I would at least TRY to keep them under control and apologise to others when they are not. I know children will be children and often don't know any better, but their parents do!
Pooka - does having all the "bits" delivered make it all seem a bit more real?