July 2010: Our babes are due! Within the month, they'll all début.

[Chulita]

Thanks to spirael for the title, hopefully we'll all pop before this thread ends!

chulita I totally sympathise - I'm in the same boat - constant bh, never really developing into anything - get a bit more painful in the evening and I think - maybe tonight is the night, go to bed everything stops. I'm worried that I'm focusing on going into labour so much thats' why its not happening - need to chill out, but I'm so desperate to have this baby - I ache, I can't walk anywhere fast, and I'm still getting bigger!

dh's birthday next weekend and we have planA for if the baby is here, planB for if we're still waiting and the cancel everything planC for if we find I'm actually in labour!

With dd I was expecting to go over, it being my first, so I was quite chilled and pleasently surprised when she arrived early. This time I was expecting to be early and well due today I'm going crazy.

DH poor you - first 6 weeks are the hardest. With dd I tried to not stimulate at all at night - fed in the dark, used nightlights for nappy change - was very boring but worked. I only changed pooy nappies, but she pretty much pooed every feed, can't remember when that settled down. Are you breastfeeding? I worked out how to feed lieing down and that was a real sanity saver, I could doze while dd fed, it wasn't the best quality sleep, but enabled me to function. Best thing we got was our bedside cot, actually getting out of bed more than a couple of times a night was a killer. MILC is very right - it is just a phase, it will get better. If all else fails see if you can get someone to take him away for an hour or so so you can sleep - is amazing how an hours sleep can make you feel so much better when you are that shattered.

great advice mlic. dh is he taking a lot when he's awake for them feeds all the time? also i dont know what your plans are for dummies but maybe he might likke one when he's just lying there up til 2am and it might save you having to hold him. its very tough not getting the sleep and everything is so much worse when your tired. i cant give much advise on the feeding because im bottle feeding.
great news here this morning!................i done a poo! first one since monday and i was dreading it! oh and huge advise for anyone with stitches-salt and bread soda bath. i was having the baths with tea tree oil and lavender oil before last night and was getting no relief from them but had the salt and soda bath last night and got great relief from it.was actually able to get out of the bed no problem to get my little missy for her feeds.for anyone wanting to try it i put about a tablespoon of salt in and half a cup of bread soda
well weird but good night last night. she didnt wake until quarter to 10 for heer quarter to 9 feed and she took 6 oz!!! we gave her a bath then (in her tummytub which she loved!) and then didnt really sleep but was just lying awake looking around her and cried a little a couple of times but the dummie settled her and she was kind of in and out of sleep. so then she went til quarter to 2 when she took 3 oz and straight back down.then didnt wake til quarter past 6 and then half 10 this morn! so she's going for longer than 4 hours and she's not taking as much food during the night so i dont know what that means. i'll just be happy i suppose.
no word from dee yet! hope this means its all over her now.
chulita you poor thing i'd say your head is just gone mad at this stage. really hope its not too much longer for you because its really not fair.

dh dd was a nightmare sleeper for a looooong time. I kept a sleep diary at one point to prove to the health visitor that I was up 10-12 times a night with her. Makes for a depressing read...it does get better though, I promise. It took 4 months for dd to whittle her wakings/feedings down to 5 a night and then til 10 months before I forced her to drop night feeds all together. We're there now though and the first few months are a dim memory. It's horrible when you're going through it but your LO will settle at some point, just hold onto that!

kkfairy what's bread soda? is that like bicarb?

mlic do you reckon the second will adapt to night/day quicker cos there's more stimulation during the day with a toddler running around? [hopeful]

And finally AAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHH! Just needed to get that out of my system.

aw chulita and wonder you's must be so fed up waiting. Towards the end i was so pee'd off i cried at least once a day. Not be long now

dh Rileigh's was like that last night and it was because we had the light on. As the others say don't change at every feed. Could you not express so dp can do a feed for you? Or even so someone can watch him for an hour. Dp takes lo in the morning so i can sleep then.

kk ellie may sounds fab, rileigh is good like that but the wind she was suffering has knocked her routine. Hows dp with her? Mine is besotted. Well done on poo

Hey viksam anything happening your end? Hope your ok

mlic hows ds1 with william? My ds is great but then forgets who mum is lol

Well mw came today to discharge us to hv, who hasnt met us yet lol. Mw was happy with lo but my blood pressure was way to high so i was sent to hospital, luckily it came back down. They want to keep an eue on it x

chulita if you're first was a nightmare sleeper you get an angel baby second time round - it is the law surely (clinging on to the hope I won't have 2 years of broken sleep this time around). stac glad it's not just me sobbing - evenings are the worst, I just can't get comfy. I'm bored of hearing myself saying I want this baby out!

stac nothing doing this end, thanks for asking. Had a lovely day out yesterday dog walking with friends and had a lovely day out with DH today at a car show, so just trying to stay busy, 3 days over at the moment and trying to stay positive.........I cant believe u have been discharged from the MW already and we havent even had our babies!! Not fair!!
DH It sucks that things are difficult for u, if you put him down how long does he moan for? Is it bad to let him moan at this young? Im sorry i cant give any advice as im a newby but it sounds like the others are giving good advice. I really hope things improve for u soon. Do u have a dunelm mill by you as i know they do reasonably priced black out blinds to help u catch a sleep in the day or u could get an eye mask, i dont know just some thoughts??
kk well done for poo, i bet it feels better!! What IS soda bread???I thought it was a bread? What ever it is its good that its worked.
So do u old pros recon its a good idea to keep lo awake often during the day? Im sure i have read somewhere not to wake a sleeping new born??

WHEN WILL ME BABY COME??

He doesnt seem to feed for very long thats why I change his nappy to wake him up a bit on mw advice. He'll only feed for 5 mins then fall asleep at the breast.
I will try with the light off (its only a very dim light) tonight and see how we go, also he kicks covers off so think he may wake up due to being cold.
DP watches him while I sleep for an hour or so in the late afternoon but I wont have that next week when he goes back to work.

Ill report back in the morning to let you know how tonight goes, fingers crossed its better, he has had better nights than this so I know he can do it.

becky-hope things are happening for you today!

chulita-join the club, had regular pains last night, every 15 mins from 7.30-4am but when I woke up at 8, nothing. getting very despondant now and feeling a bit depressed.

wonderstuff-I feel just the same, I too expected to go over with ds1(10 days) ds2 ended up 4 days late, now at 40+6 and feeling like its never going to come out.

Please let this be over soon, pleeeeeaseeee

vik and chulita i presume you can get bread soda in england. it comes in a bag and its really cheap,like 80 cent or something so probably 40 or 50p and i think you get it in the section you'd get flour and that kind of thing. dont think its the same as bicarb but not sure. its great for lots of things. a big thing its good for is if anyone or their partner suffers from smelly feet,a sprinkle in your shoes every day gets rid of it!
vik going from our expereience so far (which is only 6 days!) if they want to sleep they're going to sleep. i suppose try and stimulate them more during the day as mlic said and try and just do everything in half light and quiet at night time. but unless you've been specifically told not to for any reason, i wouldnt wake them as they're just getting their own little routine.
stac dp is just besotted by her.he's really surprised himself by how obsessed he is and everybody is praising him to the last because he's so good. he's back to work tomorrow though but then its great cos i have her all to myself!
chulita scream all you like !its good to get it out of the system
its after taking me over an hour to write that as ellie had a feed in between so theres probably loads more posts that ive missed!

dh i've my fingers and toes crossed that you get a better night tonight.im wondering is it a bit of a growth spurt?xx

Desperate some babies need 5 minutes, some half an hour as long as Dylan puts on weight there is no need to wake him. Both my DD and DS eat very quickly ;)
The beginnings are difficult and I agree with other comments. If there is a poo - I change Frank's nappy using street lights and let him settle next to me in bed and then put him back in his moses basket. He wakes up 3 or more times a night. Sometimes I manage to put him back. But if he moans I let him stay and fall asleep next to me. I am absolutely knackered too and today at the zoo with DD was sleep walking My back is killing me from carrying him and bending down whilst breastfeeding... But the good news is that it will get better! Anyway my advice - unless he is malnourished no "perking him up", lights and stimulation at night. Babies at this age are fine with a full wee nappy during the night and they are better off being left to sleep. xx

Just googled - bread soda is also known as baking soda aka bicarbonate of soda - isn't google fab.

glastonbury I'm bouncing on my ball - one of us has to have a baby soon.

Sorry it's been a few days..been busy with visitors etc etc

All well here, would recommend lavender and teatree oil, 3 drops of each into bath water directly. Had no probs with stiches either time...though the salt and bread bath sounds interesting!

dh My dd1 was a very fast drinker and only took 5 min-10 min but always slept for 3 hours. However with both dd and ds I have had to wake them up by stroking cheek, tickling feet, tapping on the bottom, undressing and similar. I have managed to extend feeds that way and then they take more milk. I would also recommend swaddling and a dummy. I know dummies are controversial, but if you get rid of it before 6 months then it doesn't cause problems. dd had one till 3 months to help her settle at nap time. DS is not keen on one and rarely takes it! grr.

I think you should be able to get 3 hours feed-free from the baby, have you got a sort of schedule so you know when you fed last, so you can extend him through with dummy or something? Just a suggestion....this worked for me.....may not be your cup of tea!

Hoping for all you in the waiting room to start soon xxx

dh - I was advised to try swaddling and a dummy with dd who did similar. Was driving me nuts having no sleep, but it did the trick. When she was using me as a dummy, she fed better and slept longer.

Can;t remember who's lo's are suffering with wind, but if you are bf'ing could be what you are eating (approx 12 hrs b4 the feed causing wind). DD used to suffer terribly during the night, and turned out to be my lunchtime cheese sarnie. Thought I was eating the right kinda thing, keeping my calcium up, but as soon as I changed to something else, we stopped having 2 hrs of screaming in the middle of the night.

good luck glasto, wonderstuff, viksam & chulita. Hope something happens for you all soon.

Thought everything was starting here again today. Really uncomfortable contractions last night and this morning, not overly regular, but I wasn't particularly last time. Stopped around lunchtime then kicked off again early afternoon for an hour or so. Then stopped again. Getting the odd one now, and been having 'show' all day and last night, so hoping things are progressing. DD really unsettled and worried about DH not picking her up from nursery tomorrow . Don't know if she has heard people offering to pick her up if he can't collect her... Am sooooo fed up of all these false starts (3rd within a week) and of people asking if I have had the baby yet - you think they would know that I will let people know when I've had it. That's what facebook is for!!!!! of all those who have met their lo's yet, but not of the constant feeding.

dh one of the best things i have bought for dd is the baby sleeping bag, this stops her kicking the covers off and keeps her cosy. They are bout £8 from matalan

viksam i know how frustrating it is waiting for lo, my first was overdue its hard hun. Best to keep as active as possible, easier said than done when your aching and tired i know. When you back at mw?

kk i'm lucky dp is off for another 10 days, wish it was longer hes been fab.

Hope these pains come to something ladies, looking forward to hearing about new lo's. I put more pics on of Rileigh if anyone fancies a look x

dh i agree with melissa try swaddling, remember hes had very little space to move for last few months so it could unsettle him, today its been warmer here so i didnt take a blanket out to swaddle him and he only fed for 5 mins, got home wrapped him up and he did 4oz, they feel safer wrapped up
mlic dont feel guilty sbout breast feeding i couldnt due to medication i have to take, but you have got the initial 1st week or so done so baby has had all the colostrum from you which is most important, well done you for giving it a go

think Lyndon is a bit constipated tonight he keeps going red and crying out for a split second, i feel his pain but at i feel bad as i cant explain its ok, going to give him a massage before bed to try and sort him out!

seems like lo has colic, argh!! Any suggestions! X

stac try Infacol or gripe water. Infacol worked pretty well with DD's colic.

tsc woke up wondering about you! Hope something gets shifting soon.

dh we swaddled DD for about 8 weeks and it helped her sleep, I agree with melissa and memphis, they're not used to being able to stretch!

I was awake for hours last night with tightenings and really painful back cramps. Still here though so it's just my body trying to drive me crazy.

Thanks everyone for your advice, Ive taken it all on board

I am planning to use a baby sleeping bag but when he is a little bit older.
We've got that gro egg thermometer in our room and its saying 23 degrees at night which is a little on the warm side so worried swaddling him would make him too hot.

I only changed poo nappies last night and he fed every 2ish hours so not AS bad but still could be better. I fed him with the blanket round him so he was still warm when I put him in his moses basket which seemed to help. Also only turned on a dim light to change nappies and get him latched on then turned it off when I put him down. I think this helped me sleep more than anything.

Wrt dummies Im trying to not use them til at least 6 weeks, Ive heard they can disrupt breastfeeding and Dylan really isnt a cryer, he moans and if I really leave him he'll let out little wails but no full on screaming.

dh if you want to swaddle and its a bit warm you can swaddle with a sheet under his arms just for his comfort. also like what tsc sats try a bit if baby massage, Lyndon hates being just in nappy but i massage him before bed and he really has chilled out with being naked.
chulita i really feel for you i hope something happens soon!
mw just been round, luckily his constipation cleard at midnight last night, he didnt cry at heel prick test and peed all over himself on the scales!!! he has put on 4oz!! but got to take him doctors in an hour as he had a cord infection!!!
sending out positive birth vibes to ladies still expecting!!!

Hi all - still nothing but bh from me! Dh was a star at the weekend and did loads of housework so not much that needs to be done here. I went back to bed this morning and slept till 10, just building up the energy for a shower - I feel so lazy, feel really guilty that dh is doing so much, I'm just so tired all the time, and I ache so much, at the pacing around stage. I guess it will probably even out when the baby comes and I am doing all the nightfeeds

Just want this baby out now. Took some pics of bump yesterday - if I can work out how I'll upload later