**April Bunnies 2015**

[Dini]

Bean I feel for you. You have to be exhausted and it's just not fair at all to you. DH is being really selfish right now. This is the time he should step it up. Hugs!!

Maggz, it does seem like a lot. I just can't decide. And I can't seem to find the gift receipts. One of them came from my babies r us registry. Maybe they will just give me a credit for it. I can use it toward something else.

 

[sharnw]

Bean

 

[Beanonorder]

Doctor went well. Baby is going to be a big guy. Estimated weight is already 2.7kg/6lbs with long legs. He is still head up and feet down. Doctor actually showed me his feet bouncing on my bladder.
I'm concerned he's run out of room to turn but I'll keep trying the exercises anyway.

I got home earlier than expected from the doctor so I tried to have a nap before the nanny left. I didn't really get to sleep but it was nice to at least be able to lie down and relax for a while.

 

[AmeliePoulain]

Doctor went well. Baby is going to be a big guy. Estimated weight is already 2.7kg/6lbs with long legs. He is still head up and feet down. Doctor actually showed me his feet bouncing on my bladder.
I'm concerned he's run out of room to turn but I'll keep trying the exercises anyway.

I got home earlier than expected from the doctor so I tried to have a nap before the nanny left. I didn't really get to sleep but it was nice to at least be able to lie down and relax for a while.

How much did your daughter weigh Bean?

If he came on time I guess he would be about 8.5-9lb?

 

[Beanonorder]

She only weighed 3.25kg/7lbs 2oz but she was also really short. Only 48cm/19in.
I agree he is going to weigh around there full term. And the fact that my cervix is still so high and firmly closed I don't think there is any chance of him coming early.

 

[AmeliePoulain]

There can be a big difference between siblings - my second was 7lb 7oz whereas the true birthweight of my eldest was probably around 6lb 2oz, because she was soooooooooooo bloated on fluids as id been on a drip for 24 hours.

My younger daughter is a lot bigger than her sister as the same age, mainly tall though with it.

 

[RebeccaR19]

Dini- I am so sorry your carpal tunnel is getting so bad! I do hope you can find some relief!
Also, the boppy lounger is fantastic! I never wanted one last time and just about kicked myself after I found out how much babies love them and they are especially loved by many babies with reflux because it puts them at a good angle. I found this out when I was working in a daycare and all the babies just LOVED those pillows. It was a must-have for me this time. My husband got me one back in October. As for the other boppy pillows, I think your idea of giving one to your MIL and having one in your car sounds good! Since I have lived far away from my family, my mom had a boppy at her house, and it was nice to not have to pack mine when I went there.
I am so glad that you had a great shower and that you got the pack and play you wanted!

Bean- Was your daughter born on her due date? You may have said before, but I can't remember.
I also think you need to expect more of your husband. Could you just take her over there and drop her off and make him deal?

35 weeks today for me! That last week just flew by! I'm eager to get to week 36 and then I think I will breathe a ton easier at week 37 because I'll be full term then.

 

[GreyGirl]

Sorry for being mia again. I'm only the facebook group mostly - still having massive computer trouble. Hubby spent an hour or more last night trying to get it to turn on!
How are you all? I've got 2 weeks left at work, finally feeling like the home stretch is just around the corner!

 

[Beanonorder]

Rebecca she was born at 40+6.
And as for dh.... This is going to sound bad but I don't even know where he lives. I just haven't found the time to go round to his place to see it. Dropping her off wouldn't work out because for one we have different days off and for two I know he smokes in his apartment and I don't want her exposed to that. The pollution here is bad enough!

I forgot to say yesterday that I was 35 weeks. I've decided I'm telling the school I'm finishing work at 37 weeks (well 37+2) and that I want the other teacher to start helping me out now. This seems to be the only area of my life I can control so I don't see why I should keep pushing myself so hard.

 

[Perplexed]

Bean: I'm so sorry that you're struggling. I wish I knew what to say. I really hope things get easier for you and your dh helps out more. happy 35 weeks and it's great you can finish work in 2 weeks, you'd get some rest at least!

Dini: I'm sorry about your carpal tunnel. I hope you get some relief. I forgot to ask if it was brought on by pregnancy or if you've had it before? On a completely different note, have you tried raspberry leaf tea yet?

Rebecca: happy 35 weeks!

I've reached 34 weeks yesterday. I'll be at 36 weeks at my next appointment. Planning to have the hospital bags completely packed soon. I've ordered a my brest friend pillow that I plan to pack as well once it gets here. And some luggage cubes that go inside the bags just so I could feel organized and not struggle to find things. I could not even find my hairbrush in my bag last time.

I second keeping a feeding pillow at every house that you plan to feed at. I have 2 boppy pillows from last time (both are monogrammed with dd's name), they were okay but I'm really hoping the other pillow works better. I found that I needed other pillows under the boppy and dd kept slipping towards me, lol, but I'll probably still use the ones I have too.

A friend gave me a tip to start using nipple balm from now until I have the baby. I dunno if it would help but I've just started today.

 

[Scottish]

That's great you got some rest bean x I hope they get the teacher in asap to take some work of your shoulders. At least you can relax a bit for a couple of weeks before baby comes.

My maternity leave starts next Tuesday! I worked Monday and on annual leave rest of week then working next Monday and that's me for a year! I am lucky though as I work with the nurse bank it means I can decide when and where I work so I am not contracted hours so have only been working a minimum which has been great. So glad I work with nurse bank and not in a proper contracted job! Xxx

 

[AmeliePoulain]

I've got 3 more hours of work tomorrow 1pm-4pm, 5 weeks of leave, then mat leave starts on 14 April and a whole year of freedom!!!!

 

[Beanonorder]

I'm so jealous of you guys who get a whole year off! I know that I'm lucky my maternity leave runs into my summer holidays so at least I get almost 5 months off, which is better than some... But wow, a whole year must be so amazing!

It's 3am here and I'm sitting on bnb! I was sleeping really well until my stupid cat woke me up. She is really causing a problem at the moment. She has started peeing all over the house and I could hear her scratching around my room and I just knew she was going to pee on something! So I threw her out the room but she proceeded to meow for over an hour non-stop! Now I'm wide awake. I have to do something about her because she started doing this same just before dd was born. And everytime a baby thing was around she'd pee on it - the playmat, the bouncer chair, the clothes, in the crib... I ended up having to throw the bouncer chair away. I just can't handle that all over again. Never knowing if it's OK to put the baby down! Plus the way the house smelled. I feel like a horrible person but I'm so stuck.

 

[stripeycat5]

Amelie that is fab about work - I have got two weeks left and I can't wait to finish! The practice manager came to see me this morning and said I could use the tv in the waiting room to call my patients through if I wanted rather than get and up and call them through myself. I must be looking more walrusy that I thought lol!!

Bean - I hope you will manage to get some rest if you finish at 37 weeks. Your DH needs a good kick up the arse - it takes two to make a baby and he has nearly got two he needs to help you to look after! I am sorry about the cat situation she causes you a lot of bother but as a fellow cat person it is so hard to know what to do.

I went to see the midwife today and everything is great. Hb was 149 and sounded fabulous. My bump has also grown quite a bit since last time and is now measuring on the 90th centile! My bump measured slightly on the small side last time and the midwife said the fact that the baby has grown that much is good. Next appointment is birth plan with my midwife at home which is scary!

Hope everyone is ok x

 

[AmeliePoulain]

I know I am really lucky, I hugely appreciate it. As soon as I found out I was pregnant I stopped taking leave except if my girls were ill and then I worked a lot over Christmas to get extra hours.

The last 3 months of the leave will be unpaid but fortunately we own our house now instead of renting so we plan on taking a mortgage holiday.

It makes sense financially to go back in April 2016 at my second daughter will be old enough for funded childcare then (all kids in the UK get 15 hours free childcare the term after the 3rd birthday) My wage would be negated by paying for any childcare for the baby and also my DD2.

I am also lucky with the way our leave year runs at work, the leave renews in April so I am taking some of my leave from the next financial year before mat leave.

 

[RebeccaR19]

Amelie- Congrats on your leave!

Stripeycat- I'm glad that your appointment went well and that your belly has grown! That is a concern of mine for my next appointment. So reassuring when you get a good measurement. How exciting to be getting things together for your home birth.

Bean- You seem to have a lot of stress, and the cat surely isn't helping. Is this your cat? Or was it a cat you and your husband got together? Maybe that's at least one responsibility he could take. If I were in your situation and I could, I'd have the cat go live with him. I agree with Stripeycat. It takes two to make a child, and he shouldn't be able to just let everything fall on you. I had to give my dog to my in-laws after my son was born because I just couldn't keep up with both and she was getting to be too much. She has been 100% better since then. I miss her, but she was causing extra stresses at the time. What I take comfort in is that at least I know where she is and I can see her when I'm there.

AFM- I have been compulsively nesting all week. I took it a little bit easier today. Yesterday, I was just beyond exhausted because I just worked all day and hadn't slept well the night before. I couldn't stop though. There were just things that HAD to get done. Getting them done brings such relief and helps me relax. My husband hasn't said anything about it at all except that he thought I should not push myself so hard today and take a nap. I did do both of those. I've seriously been completely crazy about it, and I think sometimes he might be wondering when I'll be done with all this. I know he appreciates things being so clean at least. I just HAVE to make room for baby Holly. She doesn't have a space that is just hers, so I feel like I must create the space. I wasn't like this with my son because he had his own room. While I was gone for my baby shower, my husband did some organizing of his own. We don't have a pantry here. So, he bought a shelving unit to put up in our laundry room to create a pantry. While he did that, though, he took extra things that were in the laundry room and just shoved them in the spare bedroom closet. So now, the spare bedroom closet isn't even a useful space. I think I'm going to have to ask him to fix it this weekend because I feel like I need to use that closet. I'm so tempted to do it myself but there is a lot of big stuff in there, and I probably shouldn't be doing it myself.

 

[Scottish]

Amelie your leave has all come together nicely! I to will have 3 months unpaid maternity leave but I done it with my ds and it was fine so doing it again. And yes I agree we are very lucky here getting 1 year off and I to appreciate it a lot!

Bean I rehomed my cat when I was pregnant with my son as it drove me mad constantly in the baby stuff and hairs everywhere And I was always angry with it so thought what's the point in having it here when it can be loved somewhere else without the stress from a baby. You have so much stress going on I think maybe do as Rebecca suggested And give to dh or consider rehoming? Xxx

Glad appointment went well stripey!

 

[wanting2010]

I can't believe we're all so close to the end now! We're all in the final home stretch. Time seems to be passing so, so quickly now, too. These precious little ones will be in our arms before we know it.

I'm also jealous of you ladies who get such a generous maternity leave!! I get 12 weeks- I'll have 6-7 weeks of PTO and sick time saved up to use, 2 weeks of short term disability at 60% (we have a 4 week waiting period for STD), and the remainder will be unpaid. This is the reason I'm planning on working up to my due date as I did with DS- but these last few weeks are getting harder and harder!

Bean, I feel for you being so exhausted and your DH not stepping up to help you out. You are in a really hard situation, especially being at the tail end of a pregnancy! Something's gotta give at some point, though. It seems like you can't keep carrying on this way!

Dini, I found that I couldn't get my positioning as good with the Boppy and preferred to use multiple regular pillows. Maybe open one and see how you like it, then you can decide whether the others are worth keeping in multiple locations or you're better off returning them to get something else? I'm sorry to hear how miserable the carpal tunnel is making you. That sounds so painful! I hope you're able to work as long as you're hoping to make the most of your time with baby after birth. It's so tough when you only have those few short weeks!!

Rebecca, I wish my nesting instinct would start to take over! I have a lot I need to do but no drive to actually do it. My house needs a good deep cleaning and organizing! And I desperately need to work on the closet in the "nursery" since it will be shared by DS and DD...need to make room for DD's stuff.

I had my follow up ultrasound with BPP yesterday. My fluid has gone up a bit, from 23.7 last time to 24.5 yesterday, so I have another ultrasound next week. From what I understand, we will continue this weekly if my AFI doesn't go back down to a more normal level. She is also still measuring quite large with an estimated weight of over 7 lbs and in the 97th percentile at this point.

 

[Perplexed]

Scottish: that sounds great!

Amelie: sounds amazing congrats!

Bean: im sorry about your cat. I wish I had words of advice. My old cat (who now belongs to my mom as she wouldn't let me take her when I moved out lol) was very stressed when dd was born. I stayed with my mom for a few weeks and the cat stopped eating and seemed really anxious. I was always in my room with dd with the door closed. Whenever dd cried our cat would run and stand at the door. It took a while for her to go back to her normal self, and she became really aggressive to strangers too that just never went away. I know she likes dd/understands that this is a child but gets terrified if dd makes a loud noise so I haven't been letting her get close just in case. Not sure what I would do once the baby comes, I don't want her to go through that stress again. We're staying with my mom again probably for longer if dh has to take the course. We haven't heard back yet. I'm hoping that's good news.

Stripeycat: good luck with your birth plan! Do you know what your preferences are?

Rebecca: definitely get your dh to help with the big stuff! I understand what you mean though about feeling better the more you get things ready!

Wanting: you're right, it's so fast! Where are the weeks going?!

 

[stripeycat5]

Perplexed - I want to this birth to be as natural as possible. Because last time everything the could go wrong did go wrong I am quite looking forward to being able to have a bit more control this time (all being well!). I think I want to try the pool this time - they have only just got one at the mlu and it is very popular hoping nobody is going to using it when I go into labour! Gas and air and Pethidine are my only pain options so will take them if I need them. I want to avoid an epidural this time if I do have to go to a bigger hospital as I feel that everything took a turn for the worst after that last time. I know birth plans go out of the window when you do actually go into labour but my main mission this time is to try and enjoy the experience and get on with it as naturally as possible. We shall see lol!

Rebecca - I have also started to nest I think. I went mad with the cleaning the other day and definitely felt it the next day! I have had so little energy a lot of the third trimester when I do feel ok I like to try and get as much done as possible. It is so difficult when I know there is so much to do but at the same time I hate accepting help from anyone. My mother in law keeps on offering to do washing etc but I am so stubborn - I don't know what I am trying to prove!

Amelie - I am going to take the years annual leave as well. I did last time and my annual leave is useful as runs from May to May so having a baby at this time of year is good timing! We have paid our mortgage off but when we did have one we found mortgage holidays really useful.

Re the cat situation we have two cats which apart from a few altercations between my cat and DS when he started being able to chase her have been fine. It is the two dogs that worry me though. I don't have any time for them and don't feel any affection for them at all they are just a nuisance. All they do is make a mess and I can only see this getting worse when the baby comes. I would feel terrible re-homing them as we took them in and before children this was fine but now I just can't cope with them anymore. I just wish DH would do more with them as he is the one that wanted them in the first place. I had hoped that as DS got older I would tolerate them more but I just can't deal with them and a 21 month old running around at home so I just stick them in the garden for most of the day. Think we will have to make some sort of decision in the summer as it isn't fair on them not getting any attention and I can't see myself suddenly deciding I like them after all