Chelli - I wanted to get a doppler but hubby wouldn't let me because he said if I couldn't find the heartbeat it would make me worry more. I think they're a great idea but it's quite a short space of time that you would be able to have a good chance of finding the heartbeat, until when you can feel the baby moving. My midwife wouldn't check for the heartbeat at my 16 week appointment because she said they can't always find it at that stage, and then my baby actually kicked my hand at 16+2

Thanks Rowan You may find Martha's naps increase again when she becomes more active walking etc. Fin has been having one nap a day for ages now but it lasts 1.5 to 2 hours. I'll be gutted if he drops it completely!

I'm actually not nervous about how I'll get on with our new arrival at all... maybe I should be! Fin sleeps thru every night at least 12 hours, and hubby is only at work 18 hours a week (3 x 6 hour days) so I don't really have that long to 'cope' on my own. My mum and dad usually come over on one of those 3 days as well, so most weeks I'll only have 2 x 7 hour stretches on my own (very lucky!). I wanted to get Fin potty trained before the baby came, but he just isn't ready. He will sit on the potty now, but he still prefers to wee in the bath! I even tried bribing him with chocolate!!!

I had a doppler (angelsounds) with my first pregnancy and loved it - I would have recommended it to anyone to put their mind at rest between 10 weeks and first kicks (I had an anterior placenta so I didn't feel flutters / kicks until way after everyone else).

However, with my second pregnancy that ended in mmc, I was still hearing the heartbeat up until the day before the scan at 11 weeks where they told me there was no hb, and it definitely lulled me into a false sense of security. Obviously the mmc would have happened anyway so it's not as if I could have prevented it, but it meant I was confident enough that everything was fine to go to the scan alone. Had I not heard (or thought I heard) that heartbeat I'd have taken DH with me on that day.

I sold mine on ebay and now am happier without one, just thinking that, at least in the early stages what will be, will be.

Wow, FIn sleeps LOADS (jealous!). Stan sleeps 7:45pm - 5:30 (with usually a little wake-up at about 2:30) and has started dropping his daytime nap too. I was the same when little, apparently, and used to wake up in the middle of the night "bored"! Although apparently my mum used to indulge me with hot chocolate and a story so no wonder really! I would LOVE a child who slept!!

Dan-o I'm really glad to hear bubs is growing well and you're starting to feel more confident

Rowan - I've been having little wobbles about coping too. I'm sure its perfectly normal. My main concern is how Maia will take to sharing me with another baby. At the moment although she loves babies she hates it when I give them a cuddle and cries until I hand them back to their mummies. I'm planning to get her on board as a helper as much as possible. I hope that this way rather than feeling pushed out she will feel like I need her more than ever. Of course she'll get lots of one on one time when baby's sleeping too.

Hinky - I sympathise with the sleep thing. I was lucky that Maia started sleeping through early on but since she hit one year old she's had what feels like sleep regression after sleep regression. She's started night waking and refusing to nap during the day again in the past week and I'm soo tired I could do with match sticks to keep my eyes open.

Chelli - I used a Doppler (angel sounds) with Maia but found I couldn't find her heartbeat until quite late on and didn't bother even trying once I could feel her kick. I haven't used it this time around at all as I found it scary when I couldn't get a heartbeat and only got about a months use out of it last time, once I could actually find Maia's. My sister on the other hand has found her beans heartbeat really early both pregnancies and has been really happy with her Doppler so I guess it's different for different people.

Speaking of my sister she has had another hospital appointment and they are letting her go to 39 weeks

She is booked in December 30th and they will break her waters to see if that kick starts labour so she will even have chance to try for a Vbac if labour doesn't start it will be a csection without any attempts at drug based induction x

I love our doppler - we listen every night - not as obsessed as we were with Martha tho lol!

re naps thanks I hope so! but at least the 30 mins is in her cot so I can get something done! shes walking already not like running around yet but she can do about 10 steps in a row very cute!!! v proud mammy!

Hi ladies, just want to tell you about my midwife appointment today, it was my 34 week appt although I'm not quite there yet. So, baby's fine and that of course is the main thing, but he's being a little monkey...

He's been transverse for a long time now. Today, he was head down when I first got examined by the midwife. She thought he might be breach though... his bum is apparently bony and feels like a head!! My other midwife checked the position and decided the bony thing sticking out was indeed his bum, but while she was checking he moved his head back over to my hip and into a transverse position

My midwife booked my next appt for 19th December when I will be 36+4. She said normally if baby is still transverse at that point they would offer an ECV to move the baby into correct position BUT she doesn't think they can do that with me because I'm on blood thinners so have an increased risk of bleeding internally She said there's no way I can attempt a vaginal delivery if baby is transverse and I would need to have a C section, something I really don't want.

I am hopefully worrying about nothing, but baby does seem to favour the transverse position... I just hope he moves again before my next appointment. He's transverse again now, I can feel him attacking my hip with his head

Sorry for my long post, but did any of you have transverse or breach baby at 34 week appt? And if so, did baby move to head down by the next appt? I'm also not sure what will happen if baby is still transverse at my next appt, if they decide I can't have an ECV will they book me in for a C section or will they still give time for the baby to move? Any ideas ladies?

I was transverse at 32 weeks, and looked into it quite extensively! I used to do 'inversions' twice a day, which as I recall involved somehow hanging upside-down off the sofa for several minutes at a time (I found videos online to demonstrate the method but can't remember where I found them). There is also something called moxibustion which is apparently really effective, and it involves incence sticks being burned inbetween your toes - no idea how it works but it does have really good success rates - I think it is Chinese herbalism or something like that!

I think that by my 34 week appt he had turned head down. It sounds as though your bubba is still quite able to turn easily so with any luck he will still have enough space to move around to the right position for a few more weeks yet. I know it's hard not to worry and I certainly felt like I needed to do something positive.

Good luck and will be sending you head down thoughts x

Thanks Hinky, I'll have to look up these 'inversions', not sure I fancy hanging upside down but that's got to be better than being forced into a C section.

Yes, weirdly baby does seem to have a lot of room in there. I say weirdly because he measured big and long at my 30 week scan. My fundal height measurement today was 32cm so a little under what it should be, although perhaps that's just because I skipped lunch today x

Wow Everything, you're nearly there already

I hope your baby turns for you.

I can't help with your query but if it makes you feel any better at least you know your baby is transverse and can hang upside down or whatever it takes to turn him.

When I was pregnant with Maia I was told by the community midwife that she was head down and ready to come out but when I was examined in labour they found out that this wasn't the case and she wasn't a position where she could come down the birth canal. This is one of the reasons I needed an emergency section as although they let me labour until I was 9 centimetres dilated she never did get in position to come out naturally and she became distressed so they thought it was best to do a section to get her out quickly.

If it helps, I know you really don't want a section (as I didn't) but even as an emergency it wasn't that bad for me. Unfortuately you can't have immediate skin to skin for obvious reasons (but your DH can if you both want him too) but as soon as I was taken to the recovery room I could have skin to skin and feed Maia. Although when the epidural wears off your scar is painful at first for me my recovery was quicker than expected and my scar is very neat and barely visable now.

A csection probably isn't the ideal way to give birth but to me having one got my baby girl here safe and I'm happy about that x

Wow hope the baby cooperates and turns head down, what a little monkey!

Sid was always back to back, and even came out that way, so I really cant help.
I remember when my mum was pregnant with my sister (I was 15 at the time) she was always transverse, but she had a emcs at 35w anyway due to placenta previa, so that's no help to you either!

I think you still have plenty of time left for baby to rearrange himself, fingers crossed!