I'm going to an info session tomorrow and they'll be giving me a pricker thing (don't know what they're called) and then I have to keep a diary each day. Thursday I have to go to the specialist at the hospital for a check up, then up to the ante natal clinic just to make sure I've been told everything and know what I'm doing.

Personally, aside from the monitoring, I think I know most of the stuff I need to know now about diet and moderate exercise and when to eat what sorts of foods, but I'll go along anyway. It never hurts to make sure.

Better late than never, so....CONGRATULATIONS! I mean on the news of the gender of the baby. :)

When we were on the ward today a presumably deaf Grandma-type was talking loudly about my great-nephews.

That one is so tiny! Oh look! What a tiny baby!
and then after a while:
There's another one! OMG there's another on in the same cot! Look, two tiny ones!

By this time I was holding Liam and turned and smiled at her. She then told me everything she had been saying previously (hence my assumption that she was hard of hearing). I explained that as they were twins they were premature, but they were both healthy. At which point she told me proudly that her first grandchild was carried to term and weighed in at 8lbs. Fair enough, love - you weren't carrying her. But she did win me round by exclaiming that this was her first grandchild [again] and it was a girl. She'd had boys. I thought anyone that pleased with a grand-daughter might be tactless but can't be all bad.

How does your Dad feel Ali?
Pleased to have a Princess in the family, or weighing up how much use she'd be farming? ;)

Oh he's pretty excited. He loves his grandkids much more than the ones that were the direct fruit of his loins (or so it seems to me and my brother at times lol)! Like a lot of grandparents, he seems to have had a bit of a rethink about where he might have gone wrong as a parent and does things a little differently with the grandies (as he calls them). Of course, not having to deal with them day to day makes a big difference too. ;)

My Mum has a magnet on the fridge that says, "If I knew how much fun grandchildren were, I'd have had them first" :)

that is pure gold!

Lately I've been having these flashes of feelings that are really bothering me. Sometimes I feel like this baby inside me is some kind of alien and it's killing me. I know in my logical mind it's just a baby growing, but these feelings are really intense. It's really weird. I feel so invaded or something. I know other women feel like their body is not their own anymore when they're pregnant, and I have felt that way with the other three too, but this is a bit different. It's like I feel really distressed and on the verge of a panic attack now and then. Not too often, but often enough to make me wonder if my mind is going soft on me again...and this time, before I even give birth. I know they were worried that I might have ante natal depression earlier on, but mostly I've been ok, so haven't worried about counselling or medication, but I'm wondering if maybe I should have taken up the hospital's offer.

Can anyone tell me if this is normal? Please?

Having never been pregnant myself, feel free to completely disregard my opinions, BUT -

Post pardum runs pretty heavily in my family (although I don't think anyone was officially diagnosed because they had their babies so long ago) ... what you're describing sounds a lot like the story my grandmother tells about my mom as a baby.

My mom was baby #3 in 3 years for my grandmother so I'm guessing by this point she was probably pretty overwhelmed being that she got married and then pregnant at 18, 19, and 20. She claims that when she was pregnant with my mom, she felt that god didn't want her to have the baby and that she needed to get rid of it...she even tried to toss herself down the stairs at one point. I would say if the feelings are intense like a panic attack and you're worried enough to ask us about it, you should probably speak to your doctor. When my mom was born she was awful to everyone except my grandmother...they bonded instantly and they're still the closest of all the kids...hormones do weird stuff.

PS my grandmother is not, and has never been, a particularly religious person...so this was unusual in all regards for her to be thinking

Today marks the 36th week for this baby. Last week I had a scan and she's pretty large. She's a reasonable birth weight already, and likely to put on another 2 lbs before she's born if she's allowed to stay in the full term. I have an appointment on wednesday with the clinic, so I suspect they might pick a date for her to be born. Hopefully soon. Any time after next week will be just fine by me. I'm so over this.

It just keeps getting more and more exciting. By "they might pick a date", do you mean the doctors might choose when the baby will be born, and not the baby? I find that kind of backwards. Or upside downunder or something. But seriously, not joking about your pregnancy. You're the boss, not me. I'm just very curious.

If they decide to induce (or section) then they choose the date.

No point in keeping the baby in if she is fully developed and increased weight will cause more birth trauma for mother and daughter.

And you do have the two week window as discussed in the other thread.

really? in all cases? Glad my docs disagreed.

I can't say about all cases because I only heard from new Mums who were going to be induced - making us aware they would need to pick up carseats and other items early. In many cases it was because the baby would be large enough to cause a difficult birth if left.

Women who carried past their official due date didn't need to contact us in the shop.
So I admit my experience is biased.

My brother was nearly two weeks overdue and over 10lbs. Oof! Then again, he was her third. He was close to crowning by the time she arrived at the hospital, they skipped the maternity ward and took her straight to the birthing room.

37 and a half weeks now. They said last week that they wouldn't induce till the 39th week unless something happened such as my BP going sky high. Guess what, it has gone up. 140/100 last night. That'll probably be enough for them to consider it in any case. I think it'd depend how busy the birthing unit is.

I think she's on her way over the next few days anyway. My bowels have been what you might refer to as 'loose' over the last couple of days. I can feel her down pretty low now. I can breath again (which is great) and the indigestion has lessened somewhat. I've had a few minor contractions, but nothing to write home about and my lower back is aching and I've had small bits of the mucous plug coming out.

All pretty classic signs which can mean imminent labour. Those things can go on for weeks though. They'll probably do an internal today and find out if my cervix is dilated at all. That will be a better indication, although still wont confirm anything much.

Over here, when you're considered a high risk pregnancy - which I am because of my age, the GDM, previous issues with pregnancy related depression and hypertension - many hospitals will choose to induce at somewhere between 37 and 38 weeks. The one I'm going to this time prefers not to induce which is fine, but I'd still like her out sooner rather than later. Preferably today. :)

eta: As the patient, unless you're considered mentally unfit, you do have the choice to decline induction. It's a tough decision really, because it is usually only considered if it's in the best interest of the mother and child, so you would have to agree to other strategies such as bed rest etc if the hospital considers your choice to be wrong. Often the choice to decline will mean the hospital will want to give you drugs of one form or another to help with symptoms of whatever it is that's causing you to be high risk, but induction means taking drugs to get you started on labour anyway, so it really comes down to personal choice and weighing up your options and pros vs cons.

Good Luck.

"fully developed" ??? a human baby isn't fully developed in the womb. They're born just before their heads can't fit through the birth canal. being able to survive outside the womb is one definition of "fully developed", but not the most helpful one. I think in most cases, the baby / mother "know" when it's time to be born, and OF COURSE this has been the most successful method for countless generations before doctors with tee times were involved in the process.

I don't know about downunda, but here in the US, there's an alarming rise in the number of c-sections, and frankly, the evidence for the medical necessity of the increase was less than the evidence for the convenience of the doctor or the mother etc. Not always what is best for the baby. The jab about tee times is not all snark.

I just want the best for Aliantha and her baby. If that means induction, or natural birth or c-section, whatever. Some would say not having a womb disqualifies me for an opinion, but I have one anyway. Lots of them, strong ones, ones I hold deeply inside myself.

Opinions that is.

"...preferably today"

Best of luck Ali! You can do it. :D

Well, after about 5 hours at the hospital they let me go home. I have to go back for another ecg on the baby's heart on Sunday just to make sure it's not under duress. she was fine today though, so that's good. They did a scan also to confirm that her head is down now which is a relief, so the chances of a natural delivery just went up by about 200%. To use the doctors words, 'the head is firmly in place and unlikely to pop out again', so the signs for a spontaneous labour are looking good. All my bloods and urine are good. They are still concerned about my BP though, so when I go back next Wednesday if she hasn't come naturally, they want to discuss induction.

I think she'll be here in the next few days though.

All the best, Ali ... sending good wishes and positive thoughts for you and the baby, hoping all happens naturally and goes well in the next few days.

Nature doesn't always get it right though. Especially in these days where mothers and babies are heavier and better nourished than when we evolved.

Childbirth is still a gamble for mother and baby, even in the West, let alone globally. I understand that you are saying it should not be done for convenience sake, but there are many C-sections and inductions done for the health and the safety of mother and baby. Countless generations only succeeded in passing on their genes by having a large amount of children and/ or marrying a second time. That's nature.

Leaving a baby in the womb until natural childbirth occurs is not always feasible. My great nephews for example. And yet many women do carry twins to term.

Sorry, forgot to say - all the best Ali and babba!
I expect that the next time I read a post from you it will have a photo attached.

Evolution gets us to the point where the increased intelligence of giant-headed babies is enough of an advantage that it offsets the increased deaths in childbirth. I'm all for using those giant heads to find ways to decrease birth complications.

Of course, medical procedures can have unintended consequences, but that hardly distinguishes them from nature's way.

Best of luck, however you do it, Aliantha!

Well, I'm still here, and no pics. Sorry Sundae. ;)

Going to test drive a new (second hand) car today. Maybe the excitement will have benefits. lol

Please take these Pics with the Humor intended ;)

A hard, calcified heart, and a baby teething in the womb! That's a scary Halloween costume!

Witches and wizards are born with a full set of teeth.

Now THAT would be scary.

Any news, Ali?

Nope. :( She feels like she's moved even lower though, and I've lost a few chunks of gunk, so things are progressing, albeit slowly.

How low can you go, baby...

Mum's thinking of you too (you two?) and sends her love.

Tell your Mum thanks Sundae. :) It's very kind of her to think of us. xxx

Had to go to the hospital again yesterday for another checkup. They want to see me bi-weekly now because of my issues. Anyway, still a few concerns about the baby's heart rate. Yesterday it was pretty low. Around 115 at the lowest point, then up pretty high, about 175 at the highest. They're not sure why it's doing that, but both readings fall in the normal category, but at the extremes, so not quite bad enough to panic, but enough to be concerned. I imagine there'll be quite a few tests after she's born just to make sure everything's working ok. It's possibly just related to her sleeping or being active, coupled with my BP and sugar issues, on top of me being tired and irritable as all expectant mothers are by this stage.

So anyway, I have to go again on Wednesday. They want to talk about induction then. Hopefully if she's not here by then, it'll be on Thursday. Dazza has to go away in the first week of October, so it'd be nice if he had at least one week before he has to leave.

Mama Cass and Twiggy were born on 19 September.
Not a bad birthday to share for mini-Ali!

I'm hoping for the 16th/17th. :)

Rosh Hashanah on the 17th.
You can ask Sheldon to be her fairy godfather.

Hahaha...I'm sure Sheldon would be a great FGF, but he's a bit far away to do much real good.

Anyway, we're nearly half way into the 17th and not even looking like joy, so you'll have to look something up for the 18th I think mate. ;)

Good luck Ali!

Thanks Griff. 38 weeks today. I feel like I need some luck or something. lol I really thought she'd be here by now.

If you hang on for another week, you'll have to call her monster.....

haha...she is already referred to as 'the little monster' from time to time.

then you're all set. monster it is. proceed with the birthing at your leisure.

But 23 is also a prime number, a great date to be born on. 19 is acceptable, but shared with my niece.

I might wait till the 19th, but if she's not here by the 23rd I'm going to kill myself. lol

19th and you'll have to call her Oral i mean Orla. Her name is Orla.

Well, I don't like that name either V!

Just checked my cervix and it's finally starting to dilate, so who knows. Maybe tonight! :)

far be it from me to argue with a woman in labor, so, I withdraw the remarks!

I'm very excited for you and the baby!

Push! Puuuuuush!

jumping jacks!

lol...I think pushing is frowned upon at this stage considering I haven't have a contraction yet. Well not one worth noting anyway. Just a few tightenings. Things could stay this way for days yet. I'm not getting my hopes up, but I may do a few squats later on. ;)

Have a hot curry!

Or sex.
Or both!

Well, the good news is that I had contractions for about 4 hours last night. Probably 2 dozen of them or so. The bad news is, they never really intensified to hurt much more than the cramps you get when you've got the runs, so pretty sad. Then they just petered out.

Maybe some time today they'll make a return visit.

Geez will you Drop this Kid all ready !!!!!!!! ;)
Good luck

Half a pound of tuppeny rice
A nice T-bone of panther
That the way the money goes
and pop goes Aliantha.

haha...I'd like to pop. My cervix is at about 2cm now, so not much improvement. I'm going to make a cake with Max soon. Maybe that will help? lol It can be quite trying cooking with a 3yr old you know.

Make it chocolate -the smell might tempt her out. Hebe's pretty sure she was born to eat chocolate.

Well the cake is good, and the baby is still not here. :( We did put chocolate sprinkles on it, and I just ate a piece. Maybe that will help. :)

Come on, baby!

Let's do the twist! .... or not, but still, COME ON, BABY!

Are we nearly there yet?

Nope. :'(