Some news...

[feral chile]

Kat, bunique - I saw this and thought of you.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/21/cat-photos-illustrate-pregnancy_n_5697921.html

[Katster]

Lol. I really have been quite lucky. Ive had a few bad days and a few whinge/grump days but generally speaking i am good. At 33 weeks now and still not particularly big. Managing small shopping trips still and still doing most of the cooking/cleaning at home. I even managed to help Dan today with painting the nursery. My main issue is how active it is. Its not so bad if I'm not too tired but when i don't sleep and its squirming about its the least restful thing in the whole world and i hate it (the squirming, not the baby itself lol). Oh well, 7 weeks to go now. Eek. I will try and post a piccy...

[bunique]

Ha! I'm thankfully nowhere near uncomfortable size just yet! I have heard through the grapevine that our local maternity is due to close the day before my due date, which poses some interesting questions!

[Katster]

I had a slight scare last night when my feet, hands and face swelled up. Unplanned appointment with midwife this morning confirmed raised blood pressure but not currently worryingly so and apart from being left with cankles the majority of the swelling has subsided. 6 weeks to go. Eek.

[bunique]

Put those feet up!

[Katster]

Aye, they are. I had them up in bed last night which is why I was so worried as they were still so swollen in morning. I have to go back to midwife on Monday to check blood pressure again :-/

[Katster]

Is there anything else I can do to get rid of these cankles? I am sitting with legs raised (even sleeping with them raised too!) drinking lots of water and resting as much as possible...

[bunique]

I don't think so - am guessing they'll keep ypu close watch from here on in (which is a good thing!) but will see what I can dig out. Are you friends with greenfairy on Facebook? She may have some advice!

[Katster]

Ah yes, I am, well remembered! They do seem to be going down just very very slowly. I am back at the midwife Monday so can ask then too. Cheers Bunique, how are you getting on? How many weeks are you now?

[bunique]

20 weeks tomorrow - had scan today and all is well. My back is playing up but think I am doing too much (decorated 3 rooms in the house this week between 4 of us!) so need to remember to take it a bit easy. Have a consultant appt on Tuesday which I'm hoping will see me discharged back to midwifery-led care and then I'm going to have a chat with my midwife about home birth, eek!

[Katster]

Glad all is well. My hips were bad in the beginning but like you I struggled remembering to take it easy as I felt so well and without huge bump at that point it's easy to forget you are even pregnant! I still do it now to be honest but I've always been a do-er, I find it difficult to do nothing. I AM resting lots in between jobs though, I think that's the key. Do some dusting, sit down with a brew, clean the bathroom, have half hour kip, wash the pots, read a book. The hardest for me is work, I want to carry on as normal (my job is not physically demanding) but people keep ordering me to do other tasks. Bit annoying but I know they mean well. Anyway, glad all was good with the 20 week scan and from my experience you will probably be encouraged to do the home birth thing so if it suits you then go for it! I would feel more stressed in my own home personally but might change my mind if I end up stuck in hospital for ages waiting around for this one. I'm really not bothered, as long as it comes out lol. How's your insomnia?

[bunique]

Err... *checks time stamp on post* ...insomnia is going great!! I did have some assistance from a three year old barreling into the room half an hour ago though!

I wouldn't have contemplated a home birth first time around, but if the consultant lead bit of the hospital closes before baby arrives, I'm as well to stay at home as go to the midwifery lead bit - at least I'm (apparently) guaranteed two midwives at home, we only had one in hospital, and any problems I'd be in an ambulance up to be next nearest hospital wherever I started. Bit concerned about getting snowed in too (we almost got snowed in to the hospital with my first who was a December baby!) so at least with a planned home birth I'd have the gas and air (lovely, lovely gas and air...) already in the house!

When are you finishing work? I've 16 weeks left and am trying not to start counting down but my job is so bloody stressful at the moment it's hard not to take pleasure in the fact I soon won't be there for a looooong time!

[Katster]

In theory i am working until 3rd Oct. I am due on 12th.

Having never been here before (in a pregnancy situation) i decided to go with a see what happens attitude. If i cant cope over the next 5 weeks i guess i will have to see about finishing sooner but for now i am doing fine and hoping that by working as late as i can it will mean i get to enjoy more time off with my baby once it arrives. I can only afford to be off for 9 months which sucks but its better than nothing. The nursery where i will be taking baba accepts babies as young as three weeks old, even now before its even here i cannot imagine having to leave it at such a young age in the care of someone other than family

[bunique]

I had 9 months last time and it was great (although they definitely get more fun and interactive around 6-9 months so it was a bit of a wrench!) but I was lucky to be able to go back on slightly reduced hours until she was 2 when I went back full time. This time I'm hoping to take a year as my big girl starts school next September so we'll have 3-4 months with no child care costs which is a big part of our outgoings! Finding a nursery you're happy with is half the battle, it definitely helps make the separation less painful!

I worked to 36 weeks last time, then used annual leave up to my due date. I'm going to aim for 36 weeks again this time, using annual leave up to week before due date, and maybe save some days to do 4-day weeks through December when I'm whale-esque. 12 October doesn't seem very long away at all!!!

[Ed209]

Haha. Ooops. Wrong news thread!

Everything fine over here though. 10 weeks to go

Edited August 30, 2014 by Ed209

[Katster]

As i work in a college on a term time contract i unfortunately cant use annual leave as a way to finish early. I can, however, by miraculous timing have 9 months off on maternity leave, go back into work for a week or two, then have 4.5 weeks off for the summer holidays

Lots of people at work are convinced i timed it especially. In honesty, it happened far more quickly than we'd thought. Ha.

[Katster]

And 12th Oct isn't far off. Six weeks to go! (Potentially 8/potentially zero). I still haven't packed my hospital bag...

Yeah yeah, I'm doing it today! (Or tomorrow).

[Katster]

First antenatal or 'parent craft' as they now call it this evening. All i learnt was that when in labour we dont really need to contact or get to the hospital until i am having around three strong contractions every ten minutes and have done so for about the past hour. Other than that it was mostly common sense or stuff we have already informed ourselves about. Next week is pain relief options, I'm hoping not to need any but we will go along for the class. Its free and only up the road but i dont think any of it will be any greater use than the internet has been so far. Some interesting characters there which was nice, i thought they would all be kids...

[bunique]

My contractions never became regular. Started at 1am, started timing them about 5am, phoned hospital at 6am and was told to have paracetamol and a bath as I was still able to speak to them on the phone, then couldn't get out the bath Was told to come in at 7 and arrived at hospital 10cm and ready to push (expecting them to say I was 4cm and send me home!). So expect the unexpected, I guess! I swore I wouldn't do it again, but I'm actually quite looking forward to it. Mostly for the gas and air and the ridiculous endorphin rush!! Oh, and the baby at the end if it

Did they tell you to phone if your waters break? We went in the evening before as waters went, but they did a quick exam and sent us away to see what happened.

[feral chile]

I've had 4 and my waters never broke on any of them. Though they were extremely rapid births.

[bunique]

Did you do the impressive waters all over the midwife move feral??

[Katster]

Yeah. Well, they certainly said to phone if waters break. I am ok expecting the unexpected it's just the one bit I've not been too clued up on until now. I thought you phoned them as soon as it all started and they'd keep monitoring me over the phone. Yes, naive.

[bunique]

Not naive at all! I think in the past they did whip you in early but now they know most people labour better at home in the early stages so seem content to let you get on with it. There was a tipping point in my labour where I felt I couldn't cope anymore, and that was where they said to come in. You'll know when it's time, but don't be afraid to go in sooner if you feel the need!

[Katster]

That plus NHS cuts?

Either way I am glad, I just hope I don't end up like my pal who just had her second baby last Friday. She went to the hospital at 11.30pm as her waters had broken but they sent her home...she went back at 12.30pm and she had

him at 1.30am. What the frig was the point in sending her home for an hour?

I am hoping to be like my mum who laboured all day without realising, turned up at the hospital at 7pm and had me at 9pm. I was her 2nd though, she had pre eclampsia with my bro and was in hospital for 6 weeks before having him!

[bunique]

I think that's part of it, but I think it's also a small step away from the over-medicalisation of birth, which is not necessarily a bad thing - we're pregnant, not sick!

I was told that we labour like our mothers, but mine was the opposite way around - she had contractions that went on for hours and hours, but a very short pushing phase. I had 6 hours of contractions, and pushed for what seemed like hours (because I was crap at it). My mum managed twins on gas and air though, so I think she's a little bit weird Eee, I love birth stories! For something that is generally speaking the same for everyone, they're always completely unique!