MSE Pregnancy Club 24

Miss_Money

fluffnutter wrote: »

Right then, I'm trying to get together bits and pieces for my hospital bag, so I'm off to Boots to take advantage of their 3 for 2 offer and buy some maternity pads and some maternity mats for the bed. We've not long had our new bed and we both love it to bits. I'm a bit horrified at the thought of my waters breaking in bed and soaking the mattress!

me too! im sleeping on a shower curtain with a throw on top

fluffnutter

Miss_Money wrote: »

me too! im sleeping on a shower curtain with a throw on top

That has made me LOL

BB1984

fluffnutter wrote: »

http://www.londonacupuncture.co.uk/showCondition.asp?ArticleID=4

I'm far too much of a sceptic to believe this kind of thing, but each to their own

Haha me too! But figured that anything's worth a try!

Miss Money, I will write a birth plan even if I have a planned c-section, but I'll wait to see what happens at my scan. No point in wasting time thinking too much about water births etc before I know what the situation is!

BB x

fluffnutter

BB1984 wrote: »

Haha me too! But figured that anything's worth a try!

I go to pregnancy pilates (run by a midwife) and she says there are a few specific exercises that can help turn the baby. Might be hocus-pocus too but perhaps worth googling?

BB1984

fluffnutter wrote: »

I go to pregnancy pilates (run by a midwife) and she says there are a few specific exercises that can help turn the baby. Might be hocus-pocus too but perhaps worth googling?

Yeah there are - seem mainly to consist of kneeling on the floor with your head on the ground and @rse in the air... easier said than done! :rotfl:

fluffnutter

BB1984 wrote: »

Yeah there are - seem mainly to consist of kneeling on the floor with your head on the ground and @rse in the air... easier said than done! :rotfl:

Pregnancy's so dignified, isn't it?

MrsManda

As Miss_Money said, heavy duty normal pads just won't hold it. Every antenatal appointment/class I've been to have made the point that women who come in with standard all night super absorbent pads rather than pads developed specifically for maternity use ALWAYS make a mess, feel terribly icky and uncomfortable and have to send someone out for maternity pads.
My friend ended up staying in hospital unexpectedly so went through her 24 pads and ended up using the hospital ones which she described as being like bricks and STILL needed to use two at a time.
This pregnancy/labour malarky is very icky

I talk to inanimate objects all the time - I thank the cash point, automatic doors, tell the kettle to hurry up etc... I think it's perfectly sane and polite - the problem comes when you hear them replying

BB sorry baby is in breech
One of the things which was mentioned in my antenatal classes is that there's a theory that more babies are breech these days due to our posture and lack of physical housework. The midwife suggested trying to lean forward when sitting down rather than slouching, bouncing on or leaning on an exercise ball and if you're feeling up to it moving around on your hands and knees as if you're scrubbing the floor in order to help gravity move your baby around.
Not sure how much use this is likely to be but could be worth a try.
I'd still probably write a birth plan if you want to as a lot can happen in a week and there's no harm in writing it providing you're flexible.

22 degrees! that's really warm. Our house is rarely more than 18 degrees - the maternity unit makes me feel really stressed because it's 25 degrees on the ward so I feel overly warm even doing nothing. The NHS website suggests a room temperature between 16 and 20 though I think my midwife just said to keep an eye on baby and if they feel hot remove a layer, if they feel cold add a layer. The other suggestion was that baby should have one layer more than you.

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1955.aspx

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/getting-baby-to-sleep.aspx

LittleMoog

MrsManda, thanks for your detailed reply re: complaining to the hospital. We're seeing my FIL on Monday, who's recently retired as the medical director of a large hospital in the same county. I'm going to ask him what the right channel for complaints is, and then put together a letter. It's now probably too late to prevent any damage done to our baby (consultant wouldn't commit to whether there'd been enough of a problem for this to have happened though ) but there should be a standard maternity procedure (and I think it ought to follow the national NHS guidelines which my GP ignored) so I will definitely complain to improve the service for future patients.

MissMonkeyMoo

fluffnutter wrote: »

I appreciate I'm better at regulating my own temperature but central heating's only been common since the 60s or 70s (and fires stopped being used in bedrooms way before then) so entire generations have slept in unheated bedrooms without dying.

Yes! That's what I keep telling the OH! I remember reading a post on MSE (different forum) where a chap was saying that he and his wife don't have central heating, were brought up that way and they manage fine - they just put on another jumper to keep warm! I drives me mad if I go round to someones house in winter and their place is red hot and they are walking round in a short sleeve tshirt! Such a waste of energy and money! Sorry, rant over!

Thanks to all on advice about maternity pads - hadn't given that much thought yet; to be honest, I am kind of grossed out by it now but I knew it wasn't going to be picnic after the birth for a while! Lol.

janninew

I found the Asda Little Angels maternity pads to be very good after having my daughter, normal pads will not be absorbent enough to contain the blood. I had a section and my bleeding wasn't as bad according to the midwife, but I was still changing my pad every 2 hours or so. I remember my husband wheeling me down to the NICU in a wheelchair to see my daughter and when I stood up the wheelchair was covered in blood (sorry for the TMI!) but there really is no dignity in childbirth and the aftermath! I also had a good supply of disposable knickers from Boots, these were a godsend after my section as they were very soft and didn't cut into my scar.