Is he mad?

I've just caught Dave sitting watching Thomas the Tank Engine on TV -
and singing along to the songs! He claimed that he was only singing
because the words were on the screen with a bouncing ball moving along
them. But when the channel was changed he carried on - and knew the
next line.
He's been secretly watching children's TV. Help!
Is he mad, or just more ready for this baby than he says?

A tough day

Yesterday was quite a tough day - not hard work, just tough. I didn't
have a good night's sleep on Saturday night and then when I woke up
(before the alarm) yesterday morning, I was having more pains than
before. I've been having Braxton Hicks for a few days now, but these
were a bit stronger. Not totally regular, but about every 5 minutes
when they were.

Dave was at Scout camp - only 15 minutes down the road - and was due
back in the afternoon, but I wanted him home. I wasn't really
convinced anything was happening, but just didn't want to be on my
own. So I phoned him, gave him permission to pack the tent up, and
then he came.

In the meantime I'd phoned Dawn who told me it could go either way -
it could be pains because of the head engaging more with Braxton
Hicks, or it could be the start of labour. She said to take a couple
of paracetamol to take the edge off, have a warm bath, rest just in
case and give her a ring if things "started to hot up".

I had a nice long bath, with more pains going on, and then felt really
tired, so laid down for an hour or so sleep. And that's about it. The
pains continued on and off during the day, and I couldn't really
settle - I think Dave got a bit frustrated with me fidgeting on the
sofa when we were watching telly! Neither of us wanted to cook tea and
Dave suggested going out to a pub, but I just wanted to be at home -
so takeaway pizza it was!

So it was tough in terms of not feeling right, not settling and being
frustrating that nothing came of it. I know that labour will be
tougher in terms of pain and hard work, but at least I'll know
something is happening then!

Nappies

We're going to use reusable nappies as much as we can (although the
midwife has advised us we'll have better things to do in the first few
days!) so today a lovely lady came round to show us all the different
types. We'd looked on the internet but were bamboozled by all the
information and just couldn't make a decision. So it was good to
actually see them in real life and discuss advantages and
disadvantages of the different types.

Terry squares that need folding, shaped ones, pocket ones and
all-in-ones, and that's before you start thinking about different
sizes v one size fits all, the type of fastening, cotton v bamboo etc
etc. Argh!

Anyway, we've made a decision - cotton shaped nappies with separate
covers, which we felt were a good compromise between bulkiness, ease
of use and cost.

So they're on order and should be here in a week or two - we can use
disposables (albeit the biodegradable ones) to start with if we need
to.

Are we really ready?

I (D) don't know if I'm ready for Bubble to arrive yet, however C has got the urge to clean. Not just wiping the kitchen surfaces, but cleaning the windows, under the microwave, inside it, the cupboard doors etc etc. She has said she's not going so far as to take everything out of the cupboards and clean the shelves, but she's been doing everything but... !

People have said the this 'nesting' is an indication of an imminent arrival, so we shall wait and see. If it arrives soon, we will cope, but I don't feel as prepared as I could be. I don't know what more knowledge I want/need, but I just don't quite feel ready yet!

Nesting

Today I've had a cleaning frenzy in the kitchen today. Not the usual
quick wipe of surfaces, but a full-blown scrub of doors, surfaces etc.
Not quite emptied the cupboards to clean the shelves, but I did think
about it. Is this what they call "nesting"?
Only problem is that I'm now knackered!

Labour Preparations

I went to pick up the birthing pool yesterday from the Hospital. We got a phone call earlier in the week to say it was ready, and it dawned on me that it is all getting very close now!

We had a practise at inflating it, and C just sat there (and laughed) as I tried using the manual pump it came with. The electric pump that came with our inflatable mattress fitted in the vales on the pool and was much easier and quicker. It did run out of power when there was any back pressure, so the manual pump came out again to finish it off.

We forgot to time how long it took to inflate, but we think it was about 30mins(ish). Deflating it took 15 mins from pulling the plug to getting it back into its bag.

We're not going to fill it before it's needed as we've been told it takes 4-6 tanks full of hot water to fill it to the right level!

The TENS machine also arrived yesterday, so we need to practise with that at some point soon too.

Midwife visit

Dawn has been this morning to deliver the home birth pack and for my
latest antenatal check. All seems well. Head is engaging (2/5 above
the brim), baby lying to the side so not back-to-back and heart beat
strong. My blood pressure's fine, a bit of protein in the urine but
nothing to worry about, and I look "sickeningly healthy"!

She read through my birth plan and offered a few comments here and
there, but no real discussion about anything. In her words "It's your
birth, I'm just here to support you". Hurrah!

Birth plan

Although the midwife came the other week to talk about the "medical"
bits of my birth plan (ie monitoring, pain relief etc) I decided to
sit down and type it up, adding the "social" and "emotional" bits this
afternoon.
It's been good for me to write down things that I've been thinking
about over the last few weeks, such as Dave not being sent home if I
have to transfer and stay in hospital. And Dave's read through it as
well, so I guess it's helped him to get some things clear.
Dawn is coming tomorrow morning, so she can read through it and we can
discuss anything that needs it. I particularly want her comments on
the tone of it - although I'm clear about what I want (and the birth
plan does include the "what-ifs" of transferring etc) I don't want it
to become dictatorial and am keen that it works with the midwives, not
against them.

A busy week

It's all happening! I thought I was supposed to be resting now I'm on maternity leave. Fat chance!

I've just been to the osteopath. My last appointment was before Christmas, when she said everything seemed to be OK but she wanted to see me about now to check everything was still OK for the last few weeks and the birth. Today everything is still OK - the curve in my back is not bad, my spine is well spaced and even, and she says everything seems to be ready for the big event. She doesn't want to see me again before the birth - unless I have a problem - but suggests I go back with Bubble to check us both out two weeks or so afterwards.

I've made an appointment for a massage on Thursday. Dave's Dad gave me some money for Christmas to go and have one, and now seems like a good time. So I'm looking forward to that. It's for an hour at 11.30, so then Dave and I can go out for lunch (well, it is Valentine's Day)
which should make for a really nice day.

Dawn, my midwife, is coming on Thursday morning. It'll give Dave a chance to meet her, and she's also going to bring the home birth pack with her. Not sure exactly what is in the pack, but I've been told it's not that exciting - cotton wool, incontinence pads and some drugs!

Thursday evening is our second NCT antenatal class as well. Last week's was OK - a lot of the same stuff we covered when we went to Olivia's active birth workshop, but this week she's going to cover the intervention stuff, which hopefully we won't need to know about, but
at least if things don't work out we'll have information to allow us to make the right decisions.

And then I've just had a phone call from the community office at the maternity hospital to say they've got a pool ready for me to pick up. So that's a job for Friday (as well as picking up the pethidine that I want to have available "just in case").

So it's all very exciting - everything seems to be getting sorted out and then it'll just be a case of waiting for Bubble to decide when he wants to arrive

Maternity leave

I've now finished work - pharmacy on Wednesday, and then school
yesterday. It's a bit weird really - I don't know what I'm going to do
with all my time, but I'm sure I'll manage to fill it! Banking up some
sleep has got to be high on the list of priorities, and I reckon I
might have to "do lunch" with friends while I can! Yes, there's stuff
still to sort out before Bubble arrives - we've got no nappies and
we've got a few bits we need to get together for the birth. I've been
told to make the most of the next few days/weeks until Bubble arrives,
and to do something for me every day, so I guess I'll just have to
listen to the advice!

All change!

Well, I've finally changed my midwife. A lot has happened over the
last couple of weeks - and I just haven't had chance to blog all the
instalments - but suffice to say that I now have a new midwife, Dawn,
who is very pro home-birth, very supportive and (most importantly) who
I feel is giving me the support that I want and deserve! Hurrah!

I did see my old midwife on Tuesday - I had an appointment anyway, and
things hadn't officially changed over, and Dawn was on holiday - and
everything was fine. Bubble was head down, curled to my left with feet
under my ribs, heart beat strong and still wriggling!

So, I'm a whole load happier about everything - well, most things! -
now. I've only got one more week at work and then "freedom" until
Bubble arrives. OK, so I know it's not really freedom - there are
plenty of things I need to do, including going and buying a nice first
outfit for Bubble, having a massage (Christmas present from Dave's
Dad!) and going out for lunch with Mel - but I'm guessing it's freedom
compared to "after-Bubble"!