Right, someone convince me it's not long now...please!

[MidnightinMoscow]

I am 38+3 with DC2. Hoping for a VBAC after an EMCS for DC1 with who I got to 9cm's with.

I have had period cramps for over a week, two lots of plug coming away and last night lots of tight feelings high in my bump. The period like cramps are really painful and often are alongside sharp pains down below.

I have a week to go into labour, otherwise I am booked for a CS. I am so fed up of symptom spotting and being in this 'is it- is it not?' place. I went into labour at 38+4 with DC1.

So someone come along and tell me lie to me that todays the day.

Hello ladies

Mind if I join?

Have been lurking since Midnight started this thread, but thought I'd wait until today (officially my EDD) to spare you all my moaning until I couldn't stand it anymore . Am hoping for a vbac after a section with DS 2 years ago - induced at 42 weeks, immediately hyperstimulated, agonising back to back labour with no pain relief, fetal distress, crash section....I figure anything that happens this time is better than that!

[Waves to Fliss, my fellow March '10er]

Midnight congrats on your brand new DD but sorry to hear of problems BF. Recovering from an EMCS is A Big Deal, so you need as little stress as possible so please don't beat yourself up about it. If your hospital has a BF counsellor then you could try speaking to her. I had massive problems with DS (still have the scarred nipples to prove it!) but did find the initial support from the BF counsellor helpful. I also found calling helplines and getting advice useful (even if I mostly just cried ) - I've pasted some here for you:
NCT : 0300 330 0771 (7 days a week, 8am-10pm)
The Breastfeeding Network: 0300 100 0210 (9.30am-9.30pm every day)
Association of Breastfeeding Mothers: 08444 122949 (9.30am-10.30pm)
La Leche League Great Britain: 0845 120 2918
Government helpline manned by The Breastfeeding Network and Association of Breastfeeding Mothers: 0300 100 0212

The breastfeeding section on here is also a font of information and, more crucially, support. Oh and lansinoh - if you don't have any send someone out to get it asap. Can be a real nipple saver...

Gingersnap and theGauntlet congratulations! Am of your lovely babies!

Kenobi good luck today.

Feekery it was you who wrote the response to the "any news???" texts wasn't it? I must say I actually pissed myself a little bit laughed out loud at that. I'm now at the stage of getting them again...honestly, have these people forgotten my narkiness with these texts when I went to 42 weeks with DS? Am so tempted to reply saying "well, no show yet but cervix seems to be getting more favourable whenever I furtle around up there". But instead I'm sticking to my official line of "could be anytime between here and Easter".

Also yes to painful baby movements. Am also predicted a whopper (which I'm taking with a pinch of salt) and feels like she/he has no room left!

Also odd fanjo pain, sometimes enough to make me go "ooh" and stop walking. But not much in the way of BHs or twinges.

My odd paranoia that I'll just never go into labour naturally (luckily my DH assures me that this just isn't possible!). I was induced with DS for no reason other than getting to 42 weeks (and finally succumbing to the pressure to induce). Reckon I'm just a slow cooker, as babies in my family tend to go overdue. So this time I'm going for expectant management.

Anyway, have a hospital appointment today and am hoping for a sweep. Though have set my expectations to low - expecting to be told baby still posterior and free and that my cervix is impossible t reach, that way anything positive they tell me is a bonus!

OK, ramble over! Apologies for the essay

Sending labour vibes and chocolate to everyone!

Bloody hell Flip, today's your EDD? Having been pregnant through this one 'with' you that's brought it scarily close to home just how near mine I am...I've been working on another 4 weeks but it's actually less than 2 until mine.

Fuck!

Still here, still grumpy. Woke up to a cot full of sick from dd1. Joy for joy.....

Welcome Flip good luck at your apt today. 2 hours til my sweep (am 41 weeks today) and preparing to be demoralised.

40+6. Still here, still gestating. Still not the slightest twinge or spot of show.

Congratulations ginger and welcome flip.

Joygirl - sick is not a good start to any day, hope dd1 feels okay.

Good luck with the sweep Daydream. 48 hours since mine and it appears to have done bugger all...but then I never really thougth it would. Hope yours is more successful.

Right, off to stomp about the house, wincing and moaning.

Hello there pregnant ladies - I've been lurking on this thread for a while now but saw artifarti's name and had to say hello! Congratulations to all new arrivals! I'm due April 7th with my second ds - my first is 3.5. I've got a little while to go and typically absolutely no signs as yet, but the baby does feel very big , like a small whale rolling over inside me. DS was 40+3 so I'm hoping it will be something similar this time, though I keep being told that second babies can take longer to make an appearance...!? So sorry to hear about bfing problems the second time round. I was in real pain for about 3-4 weeks with DS, and have fingers crossed there won't be a repeat of that. I'm convinced it wasn't the latch, just that I found it painful to start with, as some women seem to but no one tells you! Good luck to all of us out there...

...and artifarti, so delighted to see your name - our parallel lives continue! Here's to painfree bfing, sleeping through the night by 6 weeks AT THE LATEST and no competitive early waking this time, hey?!

ps. For all those who are second timers, what have you vowed to do differently? For me:

1. Do not get into the habit of little one only managing to nap in moving sling / pushchair so that he never, ever naps in his cot, and you still have to take him outside for a nap until 2.5yrs when he finally stops needing one...

(that's just no.1, there's many, many more!)

averagemum for me I have promised myself that:

I will give myself more time with BF, and to call one of the helplines if I feel I could do with some reassurance.

I will trust my instincts - it WILL all be fine.

I will BF out and about and not force myself to sit on the sofa until I give up at 7 weeks because I feel like I'm cracking up.

fiss, yes! I think the trusting your instincts one is really important. Things DO always get better. I think I panicked a lot the first time round, and so maybe

2. Just try to take things as they come...!

Congratulations ginger :) ANd Midnight, I second giving the NCT a call. If you're not being supported in bfing it is rubbish, and very often the hospital staff just don't seem to have time for you.
Another night of no sleep for me and am 40+6. I've been very confident about my ability to give birth this time, after such a great birth with ds, but in these last few days I've let my mind run away with me and I'm beginning to scare myself with thoughts of what could go wrong. I still feel a bit achey, still gettign bits of show in dribs and drabs but tbh I don't want to try curry, pineapple will donothing, and the thought of sex is just comical and tragic. I've had a nice morning with my friend though, who's just been diagnosed with glandular fever so we wandered around together like pathetic whimpering women I don't even fancy my Ben and Jerrys. Ladies, I am defeated.

averagemum, I was v lucky, my dd napped in a sling only-maybe the odd 30 min catnap in her cot after 6 months or so- til 9 months, now naps in her cot fine- she's 18 months. You were unlucky!!!

lemele, we are so similar with our twins, except NO WAY am i being induced and risking tearing again, so I'm hoping desperately for a fast CS recovery!!! I have masses of aches and pains, a baby so low they can't scan his head and was nearly admitted for such regular strong braxton hicks they thought it was early labour... And yet i just know I'll just never go into labour... I hope you do, and by Monday too!!

feek, you sound suspiciously chirpy and nest-y to me, I predict a 3 hour labour and sneeze birth imminently. :-)

Chop chop with a cervix report daydream, I hope all is favourable at your sweep.

And congratulations ginger, another beautiful baby girl :-)

Oh, and midnight, I second all the posts about the bf. Chin up my lovely and seek some help pronto if you're keen to carry on. Am.impressed with all the numbers provided here

fuckity, you are not beaten. I had a little cry over how crap I feel and declining bringing my CS forward to next week last night but am temporarily happy its all going to be fine. None of these things really work that well surely or no-one would get induced. You are just having a well deserved day off the old wives tales and good moan

Cervix report, 1 cm dilated, still posterior (boo) medium (so not firm or soft cervix) baby 3/5ths engaged. Bishops score 5. So could be in next few days or I could need my induction date which they have set for next Friday at 42 weeks exactly. MW says she has a good track record with sweeps, bet I'll be the exception!

averagemum - I don't believe it! I wondered if you had braved DC2 yet! I am also having another DS so fully predict many more sleepless nights, as all my friend's DDs seem to sleep through immediately. DS1 actually started sleeping until 7am recently which was amazing but has pinged back to 6am now, but hey we're used to it by now

In terms of doing things differently, I am not leaving the hospital until baby has been properly checked for tongue tie, hence hopefully saving myself 10 weeks of agony. I also want to feed out and about more as I lost confidence the first time round because the tongue tie meant that DS1 thrashed about screaming so I tended not to feed in public. I also echo the comments about getting breastfeeding support - after being fobbed off my MWs, HVs and GPs, it was only because I managed to see a bf specialist that I got DS diagnosed and corrected - just wish it had happened a lot earlier.

Daydream - oooh, we have very similar cervixes!

fuckity - if anyone approached me with a pineapple, proferring sex, I know where the pineapple will end up. Last time, I did everything on the list and it did nothing. Tonight I am having a curry but I happen to love curry so that's no big sacrifice!

Lovely day here today - who would want to be in an over-heated hospital anyway?! Me me me.

Gorgeous day definitely. I've been up on the hills with my mum enjoying a nice albeit very painful short walk and a bit of a chat about everything EXCEPT labour/hospitals which was very nice. Of course, now I'm home again i'm back into the why oh why am I not in labour yet even though technically I'm still only 36 weeks vibe.

For what I will do differently... I decided very early on in my preg that one thing I will not do this time round is keep on with BF if it's terrible. I kept expecting my DS to get better but he never did, and it made me feel so rubbish SO much of the time that I hardly went anywhere except friends houses where I knew there'd be a good sofa for feeding on. So i'll give myself 6 weeks or so with the twins - at MOST - and if it still sucks I shall be onto the bottle!

Also, I won't be faffing about sleep like I did with my DS, who I spent rocking and comforting for far too long. Twins will be up in their cot for naps and that's that! She says...

Dreaming, I sound exactly the same as you in every way except the hospital hasn't personally witnessed my super-strong BHs. Hoping I'll differ though and go into labour but as the days count down I am doubting more and more... :( I'm only going to go for the most gentle induction too, and if it doesn't work then I'm going to accept defeat and have the CS. I don't really want to risk uterine rupture with powerful drugs...

yes i have had a chirpy active day today..... wll await the results tonight!!!which wil prob be nothing but hey ho!!!

I may resort to curry tomorrow. Lovely weather here too, I wish I could get more excited about planning something lovely to do tomorrow to make the most of it, but all I want to do is stay in and grump. I have constant period pain now, and sweep on Wednesday seems a world away. I know they work weekends so I may just cry down the phone at the midwife team tomorrow. I'm not sur ehow many more sleepless nights (Oh the irony) I can take. I just cannot get comfy, and I can't drop off and stay asleep. I'm getting about 5 minutes sleep an hour throughout the night and it's scrambling my brain.

Kenobi is hopefully holding her snuggly newborn now, she was having her section today.
Hi Arti my cervix twin

hi guys,
everyone sounding well and truly fed up again today.im not too bad.feeling a little positive about the sweep next week and know it cant be much longer til i meet my baby girl.
feeling abit "odd" in myself today though.this morning was very shivery even though its 21degrees here and the suns shining!this afternoon i feel like im on fire,my tummy is rock hard and achey and i feel a little sick :(

oh no fuckity that sounds pretty grim. supposed to be really nice weather all weekend so feeling like i should make the most of it as this in theory should be my last child free weekend, and also should be the last weekend of pregnancy for alot of us shouldn't it???

ughh- i've just noticed i have this dark patch of skin on my face that runs under my eye, over the bridge of my nose and under the other eye. looks like i haven't washed my face in months!! its getting darker by the day. wtf- another nice late pregnancy symptom to enjoy.

feekerry funny you should say bout the dark patch of skin.i have some just under each eye too.noticed it a few days ago.

fee it's called 'mask of pregnancy' should fade once baby is here.

Is anyone else off their food? I've only had (an admittedly giant) teacake all day, and that was at about 10. The thought of eating something is turning my stomach :(

I feel positively sick today. However as dd1 has had a vomit stomach bug, I guess it's not that surprising. Back aches, cramps, argh.....

Found comments on bf very interesting. Not being able to bf is one of my biggest fears for pregnancy, as I know it will be besty way to loose weight (put on 3 stone) and is good for baby. DD1 was a typical nightmare. Wouldn't feed at all initially as to jaundiced and sleepy. Then pain and slowfeeding for weeks and weeks.

I am so lucky in that I did find bf ok. I had advice from a peer supporter etc though, and after getting through the toe-curling bit was fine after about 4 weeks. Never gave a monkeys where I fed her- if she was hungry, I fed!!! I wasn't expecting that tbh as I'm quite prudish but I found it fine. A writhing, thrashing baby would have been different though.... Am determined to EBF these twins, til 3 months at least, and see one of my biggest challenges being the time it will take when I have an 18 month old.

fuckity, clearly, this is A Sign of impending labour. There will be no need to ring the weekend team (though if by any chance baby-fuckity isn't here, do it!) So that's the suspiciciously chirpy feek, you, and nauseous definitely not a bug joy for labour tonight! oooh, and maybe princess too!!

lemele, twas an accident that the hospital 'discovered' my super-strength braxton-hicks. I was having a freak-out about not feeling my transverse twin move and went in for reduced foetal movements, he turned to breech on the CTG and I could feel him but then they spotted 'contractions' and we had to go through the whole 'yes I can feel them. Yes I can see what you mean on the trace. No I don't think they're contractions, they're fairly static, no I don't need painkillers for them, yes, period pain with them but I'm sure they're just BH' to the point I was then freaking out about being admitted and how to make sure I wouldn't be!! Better than than movements though- be so glad when they're here and healthy, FX.

looking out for Kenobi's news