June 08 - 79 days (and counting) til Christmas, has Deb started her shopping yet?!

[KnittingisbetterthanTherapy]

Thought we should update the thread!

Spider he sounds like a twat- if someone had said that to me I would have decked them.

Sounds like good advice on other thread but do get someone else allocated as your state of mind not going to be helped by having dr patronising ma on watch .

Ooh, he sounds like the one I came across. (Sounds strange but Liverpool and here can be the same for some purposes!) Who also said the same thing to me about too much knowledge.
Can you describe him? (Physically, not the one-word term that H&S has accurately used.)

He left here in disgrace, and went to Liverpool. Then I got a fabulous Egyptian obstetrician who came across from Manchester for the clinic.

Thanks Rolf and H&S. I will call my MW in the morning and make some waves. It's not really my style TBH, but needs must.

Dewin he's a bit foreign. Sorry - don't want to be racist, but that was the most distinctive thing about him. I would guess North African or Middle Eastern, and in his 40's probably.

Ah, see now, I thought I'd leave that to you because my first attempt sounded racist. Mine was Asian (Indian or Pakistani), with a short name.
Funnily enough, I've been thinking about him a lot recently because he has the same name as a case I had to learn for criminal law.

Dewin

Off to bed now...

Oh Spider, he sounds awful. You've had some great advice on your thread, how are you feeling about it this morning?

Deb - I am quite angry that someone in a position of authority is able to dish out medical pronouncements that are dubious or even wrong. What if I didn't know too much and just accepted it? It's knocked my confidence in the hospital which generally I think is very good. I am going to seek out a second opinion later on if only to feel happier about having this baby there.

Spider - he sounds rubbish, hope you manage to get someone else who is more supportive, and who knows what they are talking about.

Deb - at topcashback, I've had over £400 from them in the past few years, too much internet shopping

Sybil - how are you feeling today? What a horrible thing to happen.

The boys are having a sleep and I am trying to summon up some energy to go and do some more painting. My mission to do pretty much all the woodwork in the house may have been a bit ambitious. Watching the miner footage instead, I hope they get them all out OK.

We are being brave and are going to go and buy a bed for J this evening. I'm a bit worried it may be a big mistake as he often complains and tries to jump out of his cot when I put him down for a nap then 5 minutes later is fast asleep.

Spider the man is a total prat. You should definitely have strong words about this to both your midwife, and the hospital team.

Thanks for sympathies about my car incident yesterday. I actually feel a bit more composed about it now, although I did check the car was in neutral about 3 times before starting the engine this morning and I had strapped J in very firmly before that. DH agrees with Dewin that what ifs are not helpful in this kind of situation and he has also promised to never leave the car that way again.

Spider - what an awful experience for you. Am very for you. I don't really know anything about VBAC but you should definitely get a second opinion.

I think ktpie got me on to topcashback a while ago! I was a bit rubbish at using it, but I have started using it again recently for all my online Christmas shopping. It's particularly good if you're thinking of changing providers for phone, fuel, banks etc (sadly, I didn't know about topcashback last time I organised all our providers).

If anyone is feeling festive please come and post on my presents from Santa thread

(Please ignore my schoolboy error )

Just a quick post as at work but just wanted to offer my sympathies to spider. What a dreadful experience to have so close to your due date. I second what others have said about a second opinion and ensuring that this man is not looking after you when you're in labour.

I hope you get to speak to someone this week to help put your mind at rest.

sybil, your experience sounds very frightening - I'm glad you're feeling better about it now and that your dh was understanding.

Hi to everyone else.

That's just reminded me Sybil - I was really sorry to read about your car experience. It must have been terrifying and glad you're feeling a bit better about it now.

DH is a bugger for leaving the car in 1st gear - I'm always complaining to him about it. We have full length windows in the living room which are thankfully protected at the bottom by a metal grill thing, which is a good thing as I once lurched straight into it because DH had left the car in 1st gear and parked really close to the window.

DH leaves the car in gear too. In his defence he learnt to drive when he was still living at his parents' house and they have a very steep drive so leaving the car in gear is kind of essential in case the handbrake goes. I'm not even trying to train him out of that habit though: far too many others that bother me more....

Called the mw this morning, but she was with someeone and I am still waiting for the return call.

Spider, some good advice there on your thread. I don't know the consultant cos not been to Women's myself but he sounds like an idiot. Hope you get your VBAC! FWIW I would stay at home as long as poss and insist on intermittent monitoring. Being hooked up to machines is not going to help you. Being mobile will. I was told I would have to have an epidural with the twins - it is standard - but I didn't.

Sybil, what a nightmare, how scary for you. I bet you were pretty mad at DH altho it was really no one's fault. These things do happen and thankfully it worked out fine. My sis told me about her FIL whose 3yo opened the bedroom window and he found her sat out on the ledge .

I don't really know what we are going to do with the whole Santa thing cos I think it is so to lie to kids! I know it is just fun but I would hate for them to think 'lying bastards!' when they get older. I remember when I was little just working out that it wasn't real, and it took a while to realise properly cos I really didn't think my parents would trick me like that! I think we will just say 'santa's coming' etc and all the presents will be from us but we sent them to santa so he could deliver them. That's what my parents did for us.

I am feeling busy busy busy atm cos it just feels like non-stop all the time. Obv it is going to with 3 kids under 3 but there's just always a nappy to change, a mouth to feed, tidying up, washing, ironing, bathtime etc! I don;t know what I would do if Daniel wasn't more settled. He hardly gives me any trouble during the day and sleeps all night from about 11.30pm. I have to wake him at 7.30am! But with the twins in beds now they don't have a 2hr nap (more like 60-90mins before they get so rowdy I have to let them out) so I don't get that lovely break to recharge the batteries. They are upstair now throwing things around and making an awful racket so must go and release them. I can't complain though cos it could be a lot worse!

Oh Neenz, the whole Santa thing is just magical though when they get to 3 and 4, and really believe.

I hav to agree with Deb Neenz, it is so lovely when they believe in Santa and makes christmas just more magical for them. DS1 (9) told us last year that he knew the presents were from us and we just told him he was part of the grown-up team now and he could help keep it special for his little sister which he actually really liked. She has been told in the playground this year that Santa doesn't exist and is fine about it too, now they are both enthusiastic about creating the myth for J.

Just a quick post before I pack up the computer - I'm coming to London for a few days. (Bit short notice but if anyone is around...)

Sybil - yes, best not dwell on what ifs. (I'm not sure that was my advice - I'm saying this rather than steal all the credit for being wiser than I am!) In fact best not even think about it any more - it's horrid.

Neenz at your FIL and the window sill! My dad isn't great at being responsible. He refuses to be left alone with Iestyn (that's alone in the house with nobody else home, obv, not anything bizarre!) but he's really lax at letting Iestyn run outside etc and not doing anything. But he is obsessed with locking the front door (my parents have a v. busy road at the front of the house and so the door either has to be locked so that Iestyn can't get out, or the gates have to be closed). He knows his limitations though. (Well, ish.)
Santa - hadn't really thought about it, but my Mum has! She says we must take Iestyn to Lapland (or Norway actually) to meet Santa. I was all very surprised by this random eagerness, but I think tbh it's something she really wanted to do with us but it wasn't really the thing and we had no money. And she loves little children getting excited about Christmas and things like that.

Spider any news from the MW? I was thinking about this last night and wondering what you could do. Not many conclusions, but as long as you're sure the baby is ok (waters haven't broken etc etc) nobody needs to know you're in labour for a while so just stay at home. But obviously you're going to be anxious because P wasn't straightforward (and I don't mean presentation!) and you don't want to do anything to put your baby at risk.

Right, off to pack.

Oh god, Neenz, you must let your children believe in Santa - it is amazing and magical and I don't remember feeling one ounce of resentment at my parents for 'lying' to me! I would have been far more upset if they hadn't let me believe!

On the gear thing, I was always taught to leave the car in gear in case the handbrake isn't engaged properly . I'm clearly in a minority .

(My sister's car got written off in a car park a few years back cos someone had parked her jag at the top of a hill and left the handbrake off. The car rolled down the hill and totalled my sister's Fiesta).

Sorry to be so strident about Santa, I'm just a big fan!

I did an Advanced Driving course and was taught then to always leave the car in gear when parked, in case handbrake fails. It feels insecure not to do it now. And my mum's family in Norway were horrified at the idea of leaving the car in neutral - but I guess they have to park on frozen hills a lot of the time so every little extra bit of stopping power helps!

Neenz I'm with the others, Santa isn't lying to children, it's part of the magic of childhood! Last Christmas Liam didn't want to go to bed and we have photos of him tucked in trying to sleep under a stocking next to the chimney to wait for Santa . We don't have all the presents coming from Santa though, just the stocking ones. I ran into trouble with my SIL on that front asking the wrong question to my nephew ('what did you get from Nanny and Grandad' rather than everything being 'from Santa' - oops!).

I'm with everyone else about Santa . It makes Christmas so magical when they believe,

I can't remember ever believing in Santa. I always knew the pressies were from my mum and dad and we liked to try and catch them coming in the bedroom but we never did! I am from a grim part of Hackney though (for non Londoners think Bronx!) and I'm not sure if Santa dared to stop there for fear of being mugged!!

Oh and question for you (especially Neenz). I am having some thoughts about getting rid of the cats. I do love them and wuld miss them loads but when I have two newborns and a 2.7 year old I'm not sure if they will be too much to look after. They make 80% of the mess in the house (fur, cat litter, general crap) and without them the place would be a million times less messy. Oh I just don't know...