Hi Ladies
How are you all - I need to read back pages and pages.
Jo I hope everything is ok - it might just be a bit of leaking and if it is its no problem the amniotic fluid replaces itself so don't worry and keep drinking lots - with me I gushed - I couldn't have believed so much water was in me, my trousers yoga mat back of car seat and then in hospital i soaked through the sheets over and over whilst wearing monstrous pads, my bump halved in size by time I went into labour!!
Rachel sorry you're feeling sick but its all good, reminding you LO is in there, hopefully by xmas you'll be sickness free and can enjoy all the christmas food.
Lolly - I'm sure Livi will be along soon - she'll be getting nice and strong in there, I'm looking forward to logging on and hearing shes arrived!! I realised with me what I thought was Thalia kicking my cervix over and over the few days before my waters broke was actually my cervix starting to soften for birth, have you had any twinges like that?
Helen. I'm glad all is ok with you friend, what difficult situation, I'm crying thinking about what she's going through - I seem to cry a lot at mo!! I hope all is well with your bump - I need to have a proper read through rather than last two pages but I've only got a couple minutes - Thalia is having a brain scan this morning, its routine for all babies born under 32 weeks but I feel sick about it.
Lou, M2A, Em hope all is well with you ladies too and bumps are progressing well. MRs G, any sign of anything happening? Have they said you could be a little early too with your B/C uterus? I'll be looking out for you at Kingston - We'll be there till xmas and prob new year at least.
Dee - if you're reading hope all is okxx
Ladies I'm going to quickly tell you my birth story, it really was the best day of my life despite being 10 weeks early and the terror that came with it. I can't believe how I feel about Thalia - I never knew I could love someone so much.
So I was in my pregnancy yoga class and halfway through at 7.30 i felt some squirts in my underwear - I rushed to loo but there wasn't much there and I just thought normal discharge, at 8 just as we were about to lie down for 15 mins relaxing I gushed - everywhere, I leapt up and said to my friend Della, oh my god something's not right I've got to go, didn't tell anyone else - didn't want a scene. Ran out into the car and phoned Tim, crying and telling him to be at door with pregnancy notes, I leapt into back of car and he drove, poor Tim had to sit on seat soaked in fluid!! I rang hospital to tell them we were on way and they immediately calmed me, told me 29 weeks was no problem these days just relax. Erm, no, I was hysterical.
Anyway we got to hospital - waited an age while they checked me in, then got hooked up to all sorts - baby was fine, soon as I heard that I relaxed a bit. Anyway about 11pm I started getting contractions every 2 minutes - they told me they weren't contractions just tightenings. I said well if these aren't contractions I can't imagine how painful a real one must be. Eventually a consultant appeared- I did have to kick up a fuss for this who agreed I was having contractions and I was taken to a private room, put on a drip to slow them down and maybe stop them and given steroids to help Thalias lungs - I needed the contractions to slow down enough so that I could have another lots of steroids 12 hours later.
So Tim and I were up all wednesday night timing contractions - we heard different stories from each midwife and nurse that came in - some said I might stop contracting altogther and go home for 4 weeks, some said I'd have to stay in for a couple of weeks on the drip but at 6 am the consultant came back and said all that was nonsense and I'd be giving birth that day. The contractions never slowed down to less than 20 mins apart through the night.
I had the second steroid dose and at 12pm on thurs a doctor looked to see how dilated I was - 8 cm!!!! And they'd still been going on about tightenings and not taking it seriously - apart from the consultant who just appeared now and again and contradicted everyone else. Anyway all hell broke loose then with neonatal people coming in and setting up incubators. They did a scan to check Thalias position - she was fully engaged. By 1pm I was fully dilated and contractions were every 10/15 mins - I was off the drip but things were still a bit slow - bloody painful the contractions were. I started on the gas and air at 2, I thought she'd be born at 3 and Tim thought 3.45 - my mum had arrived by now and was in charge of brow mopping, Tim was there for hands to squeeze. I spent all the time up to last 10 mins kneeling on bed gripping the head board, It was how I was most comfy, and sucking on the
gas and air - they took that away once I started pushing - and I had to lie down as she was so small they needed to catch her, She was only just over 3 pounds but I really didn't think I was going to get her out - it took 4 lots of pushings till she appeared - best bit she was screaming. They'd said she wouldn't. She was whisked away so quickly I only got to see her for seconds.
So a lovely natural birth - no stitches, I was really worried as hadn't had any ante natal classes but midwives were amazing and talked me through it all, what breathing to do when etc. Oh God the night I lay there on the drip, the screams Tim and I were hearing from other rooms just put fear of God in us but when we heard the baby cry at the end of each it made us cry every time.
Horrid thing was my placenta didn't come out - so after no pain relief and no stitches I ended up with a spinal anaesthetic and stitches after they had to pull it out manually - they think the premature labour and placenta not coming away all to do with septate uterus. Its all such a blur but if I had my time again I'd do it he same way - just gas and air as I felt totally in control and you do forget about the pain after.
I've still got some placenta inside so being monitored for infections and got another scan in 2 weeks to hopefully find its disolved - otherwise I'm going to have to have an erpc to get it out!!
Anyway Thalia is doing well, she's having my milk only now and been breathing on her own since 2 days old, she's still not back to her birth weight yet but weigh in on thursday. I'm terrified about this brain scan but hopefully it will all be ok. Right I have to express milk - every 3 hours!!! It'll be about 2-3 weeks till they try her at the breast. Can't wait for that. I'm just living for the day she's out of that incubator and then the day we bring her home.
Thanks for reading - bloody long post xxxxxxxxxxxx
Don't worry, I felt the same when I set eyes on my pink Raleigh "Prima" racing bike AFTER unwrapping my Spectrum + 3 computer in 1987! What lucky girls we were. I did laugh out loud at the A-La-Carte kitchen analogy - I bloody loved that little red plastic kitchenette although all the food and pans seemed to be lost by New Year as I recall.
M2A - that must have freaked you out! have you always had bp on the lower side? 
- I reckon a due date birth for you!
