Hello! Hope everyone is well 🙂I've been enjoying not having to worry about going to work but was feeling a bit overwhelmed the other day by all the tidying I have to do before the baby arrives. I feel like if I had one more room in my house it would be so much easier, and it's amazing how many things we seem to have accumulated since moving into our house 5 years ago. I spent quite a few hours on Saturday tidying things in my bedroom and trying to find places to store things I had lying around. I'm going to take some things to my parents' house to store in my room there temporarily, to make room for baby stuff. In what will eventually be the baby's room, I've been using it as an office and we've just been piling things up as I've been buying it, but right now I don't really know where I'm going to put it all. We have quite a few bookcases full of books in this room as my husband is obsessed with buying books, and doesn't seem keen to move them when the baby needs to use this room, but they take up unnecessary space. He agreed to get rid of one of the bookcases so maybe we can fit a wardrobe there which would help. But I'd rather get rid of more of them because we'll have to find places to put her things as she gets older. It won't be ideal for her to grow up in a room full of books about politics and stoic philosophy, unless she's interested in that kind of thing of course! 😄 A few friends have also just given me a box and big bag of baby clothes, so I need to go through those and pick out what I like...it's really kind of them but I think I'll need to take some to charity because I have more than enough. I wouldn't have actually had to buy any newborn vests/sleepsuits as I have plenty now. I think I only bought 2 packs anyway so haven't gone too mad with buying the smaller sizes. I washed some of the tiny sleepsuits and vests yesterday and it was so cute to see them on the washing line 😊 At least the baby won't be in this room for at least 6 months so I still have some time to work it all out. I'll just need to keep doing a little bit every day. I'm glad I finished work when I did, because otherwise I don't know when I would have had time to do all this house preparation...I should've started earlier but with work and the usual routine of housework and other chores/errands, I never seemed to find the time!
I was reading about the Haakaa breast pump after my midwife suggested that I start trying to harvest some colostrum from 38 weeks I think? I'd like to breastfeed if I can but am not sure if it will work or not, it's all new to me so we'll see how it goes. I don't think I've really had any colostrum leaking yet and I'm not sure how easy it will be to get some, but I'll just need to try not to put too much pressure on myself and hopefully it will all come together in the end. I've bought some of those little syringes from Amazon, just incase I can get some. I read more about the Haakaa though and it sounds like it's useful for collecting milk from one breast while the baby is feeding from the other, so I'm not sure if it would be useful to harvest colostrum or not? Most things I've read talk about hand expressing so I'll need to do more research about that. I just feel so clueless about these things! I have an online breastfeeding Zoom class on Saturday so hopefully it will answer a lot of these things. I just have visions of the milk not coming and feeling stressed about it, but I know there's a lot of support available if needed so that's reassuring. Is anyone who is planning to breastfeed taking any of those pre-made formula starter packs (I think it's usually 6 bottles of 70mls in a pack) just incase you really need it? I've read mixed opinions, and some people say if you plan to breastfeed then absolutely don't take anything like that because it might stop you from trying as hard to breastfeed, and others say it's a good idea to have for an emergency because if the baby doesn't latch on at first and colostrum or milk takes a few days to come, I don't want her to be hungry so surely it would be better than nothing? I'm not sure if my hospital will have formula for situations like that, so I was thinking it might be best to go prepared just incase of any problems...and hopefully over time breastfeeding would then become established. If it goes well from the start though then that's great, but I was thinking that it might be good to take some of those starter bottles as a back up, but would only use them if I really needed to.
I've booked an online appointment with M&S for tomorrow aswell just for some advice on nursing bras and how to measure properly, etc...I was going to go into my local branch but they don't seem to do in person bra fitting there at the moment. Then I discovered they do virtual appointments so I'll see how that goes. I know that it's probably best to wait until the milk comes to determine my actual size, but I thought that a chat about it now wouldn't hurt, to get some advice and things.
When I saw my midwife last week she was talking about whether I would prefer to birth the placenta naturally or have an injection to move it along a bit faster...has anyone thought about that? Maybe it's just something you decide at the time. I'm not too sure but part of me feels like I would want to speed it along once the baby is born to get it all done, but I suppose there's no harm in it happening naturally aswell. I'll just need to see how things go, but having the injection seems like a bit less work as she said the midwives pull it out for you in that case, and I might be too tired to worry about it by that stage (even though pushing out a placenta would be much easier than pushing out a baby!).
@MollyRover I'm glad your husband had a word and I do hope she takes it on board this time. As you say doing a dry run now with DC1 will maybe help you to reassess the situation while you have time, before getting too close to the birth. I hope that whatever happens it all goes smoothly for you and that your husband can be there too, and yes if it happens during the school day if would be ideal! 😄
So far I've washed most of the baby clothes (sleepsuits/vests mainly) on 30 degrees, even though most labels say 40 degrees...I just figured it might be gentler but who knows! I used non-bio and a little bit of Fairy softener. Same with the crib sheets. I ended up getting my pram, car seat, bouncer, etc steam cleaned by a lady who doesn't live too far from here, she mainly cleans prams but does other things too. She put a special coating on aswell, which is supposed to make it easy to wipe off liquids, etc. She said she coated her whole sofa with it aswell to try to protect it from a messy toddler, so hopefully it will do what it's supposed to on my pram and things!
I will definitely need to have a practise with the Isofix base soon! Now that I've finished work I've emptied my boot of most things (I'm an occupational therapist so I provide equipment for people who struggle with things like getting off the toilet, in/out of the shower, bed, chair, etc so I always have bits and bobs in the car!) and can finally fold up my seats. I just have a Maxi Cosi Cabriofix so I'm hoping it won't be too awkward to put baby in and out, as it doesn't swivel. If it does get too difficult though I'll look into a swivel car seat, I imagine it would be a bit easier but I'll see how we get on!
@strawberrysummer19 I keep forgetting about a hot water bottle for my back or hip(s), I'll need to try that! Paracetamol is on hand too but doesn't always seem to help that much. @deliwoman1 Thank you, yeah I felt it seemed a bit like sciatica. I'm going to see how it goes as the first day I posted about it, it was really painful, and felt like it was shooting through my hip when I put weight on it. The next day it was still there but felt it had eased slightly, and it seems to be a similar story since then. It makes me limp and waddle a bit but I'm just hoping when the baby is born it will start feeling better. I had a rubbish sleep on Sunday night with the hip pain, I woke up at 1:30am and then just dozed until 4am, but tossed and turned all night, I just couldn't get comfy. But last night was a bit better and I only woke up twice during the night, so some nights seem better than others. I suppose it's just one of those things at this stage though! I know it's also probably the body's way of preparing me for what's to come, but at least when I have to get up to feed the baby during the night hopefully it will be less painful! 🙂
My parents seem to be doing ok, mum is on day 4 today and so far it seems like a bad cold, lethargic, etc. My dad thinks it will take a while to get back to full energy but they seem to be coping and gradually improving which is a relief. I just worry about the worst case scenario sometimes! And I've continued to test negative so hopefully I'll avoid covid at least until after the baby is born...I feel like we'll all end up getting it at some point 🙁
I'm sorry your ECV wasn't successful, but as you say at least you know you tried. Hmm it doesn't sound like it was very pleasant at all, and wow you were there for quite a long time. I've read too that the success rate isn't that great and it makes sense that it's more difficult for first time mums with everything being tighter. I suppose you have time to try again before your c-section if you want to, but sometimes I feel that if baby is not moving then maybe that's the way it's meant to be for a reason, and at least you have the c-section arranged if nothing changes. Oh I feel like I'll be the same, and able to still focus on the pain even with pain relief, but we'll see! It's nice to think that I could breathe my way through it with a TENS machine, paracetamol and gas and air, but I have no idea if I'll be able to until the time comes. I think I have quite a low pain threshold, so time will tell!
@strawberrysummer19 I'm glad you got some reassurance about the bump/belly button situation and hope you're feeling a bit better about it now.
@Lianna93 I also did the free labour class from the Honest Midwife, I really enjoyed it and agree it's one of the best ones I've done! I thought she was really knowledgeable and liked her sense of humour too. I want to sign up for more of her classes, there seems to be quite a few I'd like to do but then I've been unsure about whether to sign up for one of the bundles as it makes it a bit cheaper...I haven't yet though because it seems like so many classes to fit in before the baby is due! I might just end up signing up for a couple and learn what I can from those.
@missv556 I've bought the Aldi nappies so far, only because a friend told me they seem like one of the best ones and never leak...I suppose she has tried and tested a few different ones. I don't know any better so just went for those to start off with! I also got some Pampers in a few of my Emma's Diary/Bounty packs so will try those aswell. I hadn't thought too much about trying reusable ones but might do that too...my parents used reusable nappies with me and my sister but I think they said it was because we didn't like disposable nappies...we were fussy, haha. I suppose they are worth a try though and as you say would save a bit of money!
@MollyRover @KizboBaggins I haven't even thought about nursery yet, but maybe I should! You need to think so far ahead for these things! I'm pondering a childminder aswell for the first few years as a few friends use childminders instead of nursery and have had positive experiences, so I suppose I'll need to look into my options!
@annie1994 I hope your appointment goes well today and that all is ok with the baby's position, fingers crossed for you.
@CaptainCarp @Lianna93 Congratulations on your 37 weeks! Not long now...I can't believe that we are coming so close to the finish line, and meeting our babies! I'll be 37 weeks on Friday, I can't believe it. @NotAsOldAsIFeel Mums are amazing 🙂It must've been a shock to hear that next Tuesday is the day, but hopefully over the coming days you'll get your head around it more it's good to know that you're feeling more excited today. It's lovely that you'll meet your baby so soon. These last few weeks are probably the hardest with the physical toll pregnancy is taking on our bodies, but as others have said we are all doing amazingly well all things considered, and the reward at the end of it will be so worth it!