Anyone due in April 2004 - part 2

[Fennel]

here we are, new thread so we can keep up to date with all the labour pains.

Morning all, that news on chocolate is great
Dot, in that book I mentioned earlier on this thread, "Labour Pain", it talks about the power of our minds and says: "It is striking how many people go into labour spontaneously when in hospital and booked for induction the following morning". Has anybody mentioned nipple or breast stimulation to get labour going? Apparently you should "Roll your nipples for 15 minutes or more several times a day, or gently massage your breasts for 3 hours a day (!) spread over 2 to 3 sessions. This has been shown to increase cervical ripening."

Morning/afternoon all
sneezing I can confirm is a dead end for bring on labour as well
just got a stuffy nose etc , re internals , yuk , yuk , yuk , I think that I go with the 'mental ' thing for bringing on labour , the mind is a v strange and wonderful thing , so it may well be ??
re chocolate did anyone watch fern and phil this morning , ? there was some bloke trying to convince us to give it up ?? potty

Oh dear! that's s good enough reason not to watch Fern and Phil. No chocolate?
I have just had a snickers bar and a packet of buttons based solely on the information supplied by todays Gaurdian (although dh did ask if it was sponsored by Nestle - very cynical you know).
Now Ladies, it doesn't matter if we don't drop til after Easter. We have the perfect excuse to eat loads of eggs!!!!!
I have a Giant mini eggs egg hiding under the stairs for dh!

Hello all, been keeping up-to-date by reading this thread lots, just haven't posted as nothing new to report. Just had my appt with midwife, head still not engaged not at all dilated or effaced. I am 38+1 so something should be moving. Anyway I am booked in for a c-section a week tomorrow, midwife said it's easier if head not engaged so that's something positive. Roll on next Thursday.

Can I just moan for a bit as I am feeling like s**t, the baby is so high it's squashing my lungs and I have a horrible cold, I just have to cope with 8 more days, however it seems like forever !!

I hope things get moving for you before Sunday Dot1

Having seen that article, I think this baby will be the hapiest most active baby as I eat one of those huge bars of chocolate every week, not counting the chocolate biscuits, twix's etc

Another one with a cold - sorry to hear that Debbiethemum - hope you and dolbear recover soon!
Interesting theory re chocolate announcement being sponsored by choc manufacturers - it hadn't occurred to me that it's so well timed what with Easter and everything... oh well, I'm not going to worry about that now

ooh - getting a bit excited now and apologies.. .GORY BITS COMING UP SO DON'T READ IF YOU'RE EATING - EVEN CHOCOLATE!!

Feeling strange this morning - lots of period-type pain and backache, and the last 2 times I've been to the loo there's been lots of mucus stuff!! Am thinking it's my plug coming out - which can only be a good sign??!!! Also I've had the runs this morning - another good sign! Now I know this doesn't mean baby's going to pop out immediately, but the pain's not going away and I just feel different.. (I know, I'm going mad...). HD - I agree with you re: positive thinking - I really think that since getting my fears re: internals off my chest I've been able to start relaxing a bit more and thinking positively - that I can do it - must help?!

Having said all this, I have just managed to have a 2 hour sleep, so I'm not in that much pain..! But I'm hoping this is the start of v. early labour and I might find myself getting proper contractions tomorrow/Friday???

afternoon all,

still no labour so i'm on pineapple no 2 at the moment. Am suspicious that the pineapple advice may just have been a ploy by the midwife to keep my mind occupied. but what great news on the chocolate front !

May have to be curry for tea - food obsessed or what !

Dot 1

getting excited for you ! sounds promising !

Great news Dot - Hopefully this it for you! Will keep my fingers crossed for you

Gosh Dot1, I am so excited for you.
This is very interesting news. Mucus stuff definately sounds like a show - is it brownish?
I wish I felt different.
Can you send me some of those vibes please?
Do keep posting... this is the most interesting thing that has happened all day.
All the very best xxx

Oh Dot, i'm so pleased. Of course as another firt timer i have no real idea whether or not this is IT for you but I really hope so.

I'm sure you're right about the positive thinking. i keep telling myself that of course i don;t have a clue how to birth this baby but my body does. In the same way as i don't know how a baby develops in the womb but its all just happened, without my doing anything or really understanding what's happening( if you know what i mean!!).

During my 6th and 7th months my DSS was critically ill and we spent weeks in hospital at his bedside or in PICU and I just sort of forgot about the baby and the pregnancy (sorry if that sounds terrible). When i DID think about the baby i was almost shocked to realise that my thinking and worrying about the baby most of the time (as i had in early preg) made absolutely no difference to the baby at all.

Does this make sense??? Now before anyone tells me, I AM aware of the research that show that chronic stress is NOt a good thing in preg. But we had no choice. i'm just saying that our bodies kind of get on with it. And i'm hoping that will happen in labour too!

Lesley, I think you're right. When I was in labour with ds (but didn't know for sure that I was in labour), I was instinctively leaning over dining room chairs etc. My body did seem to know what to do.
Sorry to hear about what happened with your ds. Has he fully recovered now?

The completely non exciting news from here is that I STILL have nothing happening, though shouldn't be complaining as i have 10 days til my EDD. GP at antenatal says I'm one fifth engaged ie that's how much of the baby's head is in the pelvis. But just to confuse you they write ceph4/5 in your notes, so you think you are 4/5 engaged.

All period type pains etc have stopped , so am assuming it could now be weeks. Mrs D, i've found your experinces very enlightening and am resolved to not take anything too seriously.

Am also extremely encouraged to see how many of you seem to have the same worries as me ( eg pooing, losing control, being naked and helpless, pain, internals, smears) . This makes me feel much less weird and more accepting that its Ok to feel like that - I'm not just a big wimp Or maybe i am but there are lots of other big wimps out there as well

I think we must be officially the Thread of Wimps.
Other threads seem full of people enjoying the idea of Active Birth and Taking Control of their Labour.

Dot that does sound quite hopeful as though things might be happening for you.

All I have on the hopeful signs front is the occasional very gentle twinge.

I got so so excited by Dots news that I decided to go for a long walk with the dog in an effort to clear my mind and feeel those vibes.
Heart burn has not been so bad today, but then I haven't spent so much time on the computer today.
It's been a lovely mild sunny day today,good for positive thoughts.
My bowels have been very active today and I was hoping that may be a sign but I suspect it might be the pineapple from yesterday!!! (Sorry ladies, I am sure you didn't really wish to know that)
Anyway, I shall toddle off now and prepare myself to meet dh. I sent him a link to the Guardian article this morning - hopefully he's got the hint

Hmm, the pineapple thing does not work - nothing does except baby being ready. I am now a week late and the little bugger is still not ready, I am so fed up and miserable, my mil is still here and leaving on Friday so that is probably when he is going to arrive. If not then I am booked in for induction on Tuesday - and here I thought the second was supposed to be earlier than the first, bah humbug.

Good man!! He came home with cadbury cream eggs! I have rationalised my indulgence by telling myself this is one of the few times in my life when I can get away with it.
No word from dot1. Hope everything is going well for her

Cp - sos to hear that you are having such a tough time
Dot - oooo , v exciting ! sounds v hopeful !
i went to one of those 'earth mother ' active birth places for a massage that my dh had treated my to v scarey place man !
I don't mind being a wimp ! i am not into showing emotion or pain in public is all , even when hit by a plank of 2 by 4 at 30 mph ( long story ) , refused to show it hurt so this is v hard to contemplate
dot do keep us informed ! u r flyongour flag

HURRAH!! My waters broke this afternoon - half an hour after I last posted! So I had to go in to get checked out, but as I'm not having regular contractions yet I'm back home. Have to go in tomorrow afternoon to be induced if the contractions don't kick in properly - so send me painful vibes tonight please, as I'd much rather it all started to happen of its own accord..! I am getting contractions now - v. different to BH's - much more painful! But they're not at all regular... Even so I've got my TENS machine on - weird feeling!

Was completely embarrassed at hospital - kept thinking I'd wet myself - my waters haven't been gushing, but are just this horrible steady flow - I spent the whole time apologising to the midwife - especially when she had to change all the sheets 'cos I wasn't on the padded bit..!

So have already lost all dignity and am expecting much worse along the way, but at least it's happening now - should be a baby by Friday at the latest??!

Oh Dot I'm so pleased for you! I do hope you make progress tonight and get the labour and birth you want & you and baby are safe and well. Please remember to let us know how its going.Hugs to you, your DP and DS

ooo dot
sooo pleased for you , hope all goes well
will try to transfer all positive vibes to you
tonight
all the best

thanks! Anyone still awake? I'm getting contractions every 10 minutes - hurrah! Hoping that they'll speed up a bit over tonight - have already given up all hope of sleeping, but have ordered dp to get some sleep - millions of extra brownie points for me...! Can confirm that TENS machines are fab - at the moment anyway - particularly the boost button when the contraction's at its strongest. Stroppy me also refused a VE at the hospital this afternoon by the way - the midwife offered to do a sweep, which I thought was really weird as my waters had broken - so I said no thanks and she was fine. I'm hoping by the time I go in tomorrow/today - whatever time that is - I'll be past caring!

Good luck Dot1 - you'll soon have your little one with you - can't wait to hear all about it

good morning peeps
perhaps in sympathy with dot , got no sleep last night , have been down watching telly since six, its this stupid cold ,it was hard enough b4 , now can not breathe and keep waking myself up snoring ! any ideas on how to reduce sound levels ?

have you tried propping yourself up a bit in bed dolbear?
excited about dot now - can't wait to hear news...