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.

Ah, DD is awake.

Hard to be a miserable cow when a pair of two year old chubby arms are wrapped round your neck and you hear the words 'I love snuggles'

Fliss you obviously have a comfortable uterus! Just because you went to 42 weeks last time doesn't mean you will again. I had ds at 40+2 and yet here I am at 40+5 with dd, I had convinced myself she would be early too. Pant snot is very encouraging, something is obviously happening down there (is it wrong that I'm jealous? ) . We will all have our babies very soon, we just need to relax and let it happen.

I know, I know, and I'm well aware I'm the one usually dishing out this advice as well which makes it even more bloody annoying

9 days is a long time before I have to start fending off the induction 'offers' and I am firm in my belief that it is not something I will accept anyway. Baby cannot stay in there forever, tis not possible so I have had my breakfast, sat with a miserable face on and am now dressed and have even bothered to trim and straighten my fringe and put my hair up so I look reasonable respectable apart from the newly acquired enormobags under my eyes, am going to have a prat about on MN for a bit and then get on with sorting job applications for DH and do some washing. May as well do something useful with my day and if the baby decides to come along it'll have to hope I have a spare minute

Sympathies Fliss, a few weeks ago I felt exactly the same and I did actually go into spontaneous labour at 40+13, the day before I was booked for induction. Are u still planning on expectant management if you get to 40+14?

Indeed I am.

This time it's a war of attrition and I will win

I have bigger balls this time than last, and fully intend to follow my head and just turn down any appointment made for induction. In fact, this time I shall make it perfectly clear that they are not to bother ringing me with one because I shall just not accept it.

But there's another 8 days, 1 hour and 10 minutes before I reach 42w yet. That's AAAAAAAAAAAAGES!

Saw my 42 weeker on sunday. Has been having expectant management, ctgs etc since + 12. Did a most thorough sweep. Baby 1.30am at home today. Result.

Ah Flisspaps (love the name lol) - poor you, hopefully the blue feeling was a sign that something is about to or has happened? Good luck to you all. Only a few hours and I will be hitting my 'due date' but I don't know many people that have had a baby on it's due date, wouldn't it be nice...:-)

fliss, typing one handed because of baby - just looked in to see how you were doing. chin up, and sending labour vibes your way... you are being a trouper.

Another one popping in to wave cheer-leading pom-poms of labour fliss. Fingers crossed it kicks off for you soon.

Any news Fliss?

My baby seems to have colic poor poppet gets so worked up for a few hours each morning and evening, it exhausts us both! Poor DD1 she's not once got cross with all the noise and disruption, bless her.
How's everyone else doing?

Hello.

Fliss, been thinking of you. Hope you are ok and not too uncomfortable.

Sorry to hear of the colic Dolly. I found cranial osteopathy very useful for DS, made such a difference after one session.

DD is pretty low maintainence. Long may this continue. It is refreshing after DS's allergies, colic etc. Famous last words I am sure though.

Hope everyone else is ok.

Hey Midnight good to hear from you and glad DD is slotting in nicely!
We have taken DD2 to a cranial osteopath, second session was yesterday and it really unsettled her but I hear that can be the case that it gets worse before it gets better. She is currently sweetly asleep and making me out to be a liar but from 8am to 12noon she
Just cluster feed or yelled at me, so I couldn't put her down at all in that time! Arrrgh! It will get better, it will get better, it will get better!!

I don't know how the other gals who have given birth have ANY time to be on here... or maybe it's just coz I've got twins... (It's not been too bad to be honest, but terrible TERRIBLE breastfeeding...no sleep, horrendous pain constantly, etc... but once I had the courage to 'give up' and express, my boobs have more or less healed up and I'm doing a bit of both now so we're all good. Dreaming - thinking of you re your last post.)

A bit late in the day but just a comment on induction - I was very lucky to get an epidural within half an hour or so of the midwife agreeing. I was the same as Dreaming in that I was not coping within about 3 hours or so, but thankfully didn't have to wait 5 hours!! I remember saying to the midwife that unless I was something like 8 or 9cm there was NO WAY I would get through it - and I was still 3cm, the same as I had been 4 hours previously! The joys of induction are that you don't seem to get into proper labour, i.e. where your body is actually doing it for itself, for a looong time. But in the meantime it's excruciating and you're basically not getting anywhere! (p.s. dreaming yes twins can turn that late, both of mine were back in head down position on the day. What were yours like in the end?)

Also. Would it be cruel, with other pregnant ladies around, for me to say I AM SOOOOOO GLAD TO NOT BE PREGNANT ANYMOOOOORE!

Thinking of all the new mums and those desperate to get their babies out

Sorry, thread fell off my active list for some reason...40+9

Sweep on Weds found me to be 2-3cm (woohoo!!), still getting clear snot - 2am today had the tiniest streak of blood in it which led to an actual 'Yes!' and fist pump. Still nothing more. Feel really miserable.

CTG on Sunday (which is fine by me, didn't get any monitoring on DD until I showed up for induction at 40+14 so it's a something I didn't get last time) and the Chat of Doom with the Consultant on Tuesday where I decline induction and basically get told what a silly woman I am .

Losing any hope of going into spontaneous labour, which is mad. I cannot stay pregnant forever. I trusted my body to conceive. It did. I trusted my body to grow my baby. It did. Why can't everyone (and me) trust my body to labour when it is ready?

It will happen fliss, stay strong in the Chat of Doom. 2-3 cm must mean something, eventually. And you can't stay pg forever!!

lemele, the constant bf is so painful and never-ending and I've got cracked, sore nipples from having no hands to sort out crap latches when tandem feeding at night as quietly as possible to not have DD wake up too... I can't make time to read threads on here most days, let alone post. Plus dh was admitted on medical wards day 2 post CS for us (with wierd muscle weakness so he couldn't do poppers on a babygrow, squeeze toothpaste-scarily weak scarily fast, diagnosis polymyositis), is improving but not right so very dependent on family help for DD and I'm stuck being outnumbered by the twins a lot. He's improving, so its improving, but I'm struggling with the no sleep exhaustion. I was right-mw and registrar said twin 2 was breech, I said head down, he came out head down!!!
I keep being told if I give the babies bottles of expressed milk now they won't go back on the boob- they're 9 days old today... True or total rubbish?! I had another hellish night last night, getting desperate!

Oh. And waiting for epidurals in our trust is common, not unlucky (its the one that keeps making national news for being on Red Alert for poor care, a red Alert area being maternity services). The anaesthetist covers intensive care, emergencies plus maternity. Not ideal. So if someone is very sick anywhere else there's no chance of one. Another reason I chose ELCS not induction. The CS was fine, but my stomach is ? irritated by the painkillers- vomiting by day 6 (total agony on the scar!) and still really nauseous etc now. But recovery otherwise far better than my last delivery so far!

flisspaps sending you labour vibes. My girl is now 17 days already! Can't believe I was the first response on this thread that many weeks ago, seems like an eternity ago.
Love to all waiting ladies and new born babies X

Fliss, sending you all my best wishes. My little boy is now, astonishingly, ten days old, and has gone to sleep for once, which is why I'm on here, while trying to express my apparently non-existent milk from slightly shredded nipples. Sympathies to everyone else with breast-feeding difficulties - it is just miserable.

I found my consultant unexpectedly sympathetic in the event, when I was in having the CTG and BPP at 40+10 - maybe yours will be more respectful of your views than you think, Fliss? I wish I could think of something more helpful to say, as you've been such a support to me all along through the horrors of overdueness. But will be thinking of you, and all other overdue people.

Aw dreaming, sending lots of virtual hugs, reading your post is like reading an autobiography...

I used to fully believe the thing about babies not going back to the boob if you give them bottles (especially since my DS1 had tremendous problems with boob vs bottle, because he was given bottles on day 1 by the hospital without actually asking me). But I was going insane, and after 11 days (and nights) of hell this time round I was finally persuaded by my husband (and a midwife, who was very concerned about my health both mentally and physically) to give up the breastfeeding. I am not the kind of person to give up anything - after all, I carried on BF my DS1 for 8 months despite it being awful, depressing, and making me never want to go out, cry in public, etc! - so it was quite a choice for me!

But anyway the thing is, despite being dreadful and one having a crack about a cm long and probably half a cm deep that just bled and scabbed and yuck, my boobs were almost back to normal within 3 days! This is with me expressing as well - I just began gently at first and now it's pain-free. I don't really feel mentally up to going back to BF full-time yet but I've tried the twins on the boob a few times each and they've been fine - latched on just as quickly (if not quicker) than they ever did, and also pain-free (only tried on the healthier boob as yet though, still a bit scared about the other one lol). I can't believe the difference having a few days off made.

Interestingly enough I've discovered that one twin feeds in a much more uncomfy way to the other one and I wonder if it was partly that that stopped me healing up. I'm sure all advice would say he's not latching properly but as far as I can tell he's the same as his bro... But anyway, maybe I'm just lucky that they seem to be able to both bottle and boob feed after only 11 days, but knowing what I've been through I encourage you to look after yourself as well as them! If you're expressing they still get your goodness too of course. I feel sane again, like almost normal person again. But even if the twins hadn't been able to do both bottle and boob I would still be glad I'd given up.

I'm amazed you're trying to tandem... I'd advise giving up tandem feeding for the moment because it is such a stress and you can't get them latched on properly etc. Does one twin sleep more easily than the other? Feed the wakey one first and let the other doze if possible. Or wake one first, or whatever. And I heartily sympathise with the threat of waking up your other child - so irritating isn't it! ...and you're scared of giving dummies for the same reasons.. :(

Anyhoo, hope some of this helps coz I well and truly know what you're going through!

HardCheese thank you think I just need a kick up the arse, this baby WILL come, clearly it's not finished up with whatever it's doing in there and is still preparing for a grand entrance

hi all, just popping in to check up on you all

yes the no co sleeping thing in hospital was apparently about babies falling out of beds. I was pretty anti cosleeping before this baby, but it's made my nights soooo much better - not been brave enough for lying-down feeding yet, just getting the hang of the 'normal' kind, although that is going well thankfully, my comedy boobs have gone right down - phew

anybody else struggling to remember what it was they did all day before every waking minute centred around feeding, wiping and cleaning up after a baby???

I do kinda love it though, and even though I'm missing sleep I'm getting a sense of how precious this time is and it'll be over so quickly really. We're already planning a second child but it wont be the same with a toddler about aswell...

DS born at 8am today, in hospital, forceps. 1500 ml PPH

Laboured at home for 25 hours with water and G&A s and transferred in an ambulance after an hour of pushing and no movement (well, not baby movement anyway )

Mind you, at 11lb 7 he wasn't going to be shifted easily.... no, not a typo. The growth scan was wrong...and not In a good way

Fliss WOW!

Congratulations on Your bouncing Baby Boy.

Have you named him?
No movement here at 40+4, first sweep tomorrow afternoon.

Hormonal is not the word.

fliss, omg - well done you!!!

Congratulations Fliss! Wow, what a big boy! Sorry it got a bit dramatic at the end by the sound of it but hurray for no induction.