2011-2012 Expectant parent (cyclists) club!

the_fuggler

Just remembered something. Dunstan baby language programme. Available on Amazon for about 17 quid. We found it brilliant for understanding what type of cry our son was producing when he was a baby.

Even though there are only four or five options (tired, hungry, nappy, wind etc) it was really helpful when we were too frazzled to think straight!

tailwindhome

The Fuggler wrote:

Just remembered something. Dunstan baby language programme. Available on Amazon for about 17 quid. We found it brilliant for understanding what type of cry our son was producing when he was a baby.

Even though there are only four or five options (tired, hungry, nappy, wind etc) it was really helpful when we were too frazzled to think straight!

£17



sorry

the_fuggler

TailWindHome wrote:

The Fuggler wrote:

Just remembered something. Dunstan baby language programme. Available on Amazon for about 17 quid. We found it brilliant for understanding what type of cry our son was producing when he was a baby.

Even though there are only four or five options (tired, hungry, nappy, wind etc) it was really helpful when we were too frazzled to think straight!

£17



sorry

Exactly my initial reaction...

We borrowed ours from someone else, but I would quite happily have shelled out. It would have paid for itself after several nights of not being able to work out why we were being woken four times a night by a screaming 6 week old (colic as it turns out)...

And it's also available at the library...if any of them are still open...

bigmat

The Fuggler wrote:

TailWindHome wrote:

The Fuggler wrote:

Just remembered something. Dunstan baby language programme. Available on Amazon for about 17 quid. We found it brilliant for understanding what type of cry our son was producing when he was a baby.

Even though there are only four or five options (tired, hungry, nappy, wind etc) it was really helpful when we were too frazzled to think straight!

£17



sorry

Exactly my initial reaction...

We borrowed ours from someone else, but I would quite happily have shelled out. It would have paid for itself after several nights of not being able to work out why we were being woken four times a night by a screaming 6 week old (colic as it turns out)...

And it's also available at the library...if any of them are still open...

Could be handy to avoid mistakenly pumping them so full of milk that they vomit it back all over you. "OK, so maybe you weren't hungry..."

jfw

baby room painted: check

farmyard stickers stuck up: check

hospital bag kind of packed: kind of check

39 weeks: check

bike ride: check http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/56044634

eating curry: tried

eating pineapple: tried

oh well be here within 3 weeks by hook or by crook (but preferably without an actual hook or crook! :shock: )

tailwindhome

Are we there yet?????

rjsterry

TailWindHome wrote:

Are we there yet?????

I was wondering the same thing. Mind you first ones are often late. Got that sleep banked up yet DDD?

snooks

I was hoping there would be some baby action when we returned.

Ok so far we have.....

Been to all 4 Hypnobirthing classes, I'm converted, or maybe brainwashed
Started going to nct ante natal classes, normal people, yay!
A pram/travel system came with carry cot, car seat and other bigger seat thing, £250 on EBay...result
Fitted new inner tubes and pumped up the tyres, ready to go, having trouble keeping the cats out of it.
A cot bed, still flat packed in the box it came in. Box has claw marks.
A new mattress, which the cats haven't discovered yet
A half decorated nursery
A baby sling thing, tried testing it on the cats, not successful, scratches healing
A steriliser
Some bottles
And a rocking seat thing
And a 4D scan of the little one

Still got 2 1/2 months to go, I'm feeling that most of the big items are getting ticked off. Misplaced confidence?

rjsterry

snooks wrote:

I was hoping there would be some baby action when we returned.

Ok so far we have.....

Been to all 4 Hypnobirthing classes, I'm converted, or maybe brainwashed
Started going to nct ante natal classes, normal people, yay!
A pram/travel system came with carry cot, car seat and other bigger seat thing, £250 on EBay...result
Fitted new inner tubes and pumped up the tyres, ready to go, having trouble keeping the cats out of it.
A cot bed, still flat packed in the box it came in. Box has claw marks.
A new mattress, which the cats haven't discovered yet
A half decorated nursery
A baby sling thing, tried testing it on the cats, not successful, scratches healing
A steriliser
Some bottles
And a rocking seat thing
And a 4D scan of the little one


Still got 2 1/2 months to go, I'm feeling that most of the big items are getting ticked off. Misplaced confidence?

Do this one first. All the other stuff isn't essential from day one, but paint fumes for a nipper aren't great

snooks

rjsterry wrote:

Do this one first. All the other stuff isn't essential from day one, but paint fumes for a nipper aren't great

In hindsight we should have done this much earlier, as fumes for mummy aren't great either, so I'm doing it on my own at the mo...but still, there are a couple of months to let the vapours disappear.

lucus_j

Bored now: EDD+6 :roll:

Plus I've a massive chest cold and put my back out last week -> excruciating pain and no sleep..... NOT terribly impressed with the world at the moment.

DonDaddyD

11 days to go.

the_fuggler

8 days to go here. Mrs F also struggling with a cold. No fun being her at the moment.

EKE_38BPM

DonDaddyD wrote:

11 days to go.

I hope you've been banking sleep, bike rides, money and nights out with friends, as you won't be doing much of any of them for a while!

rjsterry

Re: Hypnobirthing (or any other slightly unusual thing that you might have planned) I would caution against becoming too set on this being a REALLY IMPORTANT THING. Great if you have the opportunity, but if circumstances dictate that things have to be done differently (sometimes at very short notice), it's important that this isn't seen as some sort of failure. In short, expect the unexpected.

Having said this, make sure you do discuss any preferences - particularly things you or Mrs you really don't want - with midwives as early as possible, so that you don't have to try remember to tell people when things are more hectic.

EKE_38BPM

rjsterry wrote:

Re: Hypnobirthing (or any other slightly unusual thing that you might have planned) I would caution against becoming too set on this being a REALLY IMPORTANT THING. Great if you have the opportunity, but if circumstances dictate that things have to be done differently (sometimes at very short notice), it's important that this isn't seen as some sort of failure. In short, expect the unexpected.

As the father of zero children, I have to say that I agree with rjsterry. I was visiting friends and their new nipper over the weekend and the dad said that the mum was all set for a home water birth, but baby was in a hurry and didn't want to wait for the pool to fill. Less than an hour from labour starting to baby being delivered, the dad said the doctor was more like a wicket keeper than a doctor. I think it best that you and the Mrs are prepared for things to change quickly.

For a sense of balance, I should say that the baby is a cute little fella. Future heartbreaker.

snooks

I think the midwife planted the seed of doubt that water birth at home might be more trouble than it's worth, a few choice expressions questions like "how good is your water pressure in the house?" "is your boiler up to it?" and finishing with "It's a lot quicker to run a bath and we're happy to deliver babies in the bath if we have to"

Hypnobirthing is more about ways of relaxing, and keeping calm and relaxed during labour, I don't see what's unusual (slightly or otherwise) about a natural birth, which is all hypnobirthing is really, it's called "natural" for a reason

OK, it's reliant on a natural birth being possible, which we both know might not be, but our midwives are great and we're taking it day by day.

rjsterry

snooks wrote:

I think the midwife planted the seed of doubt that water birth at home might be more trouble than it's worth, a few choice expressions questions like "how good is your water pressure in the house?" "is your boiler up to it?" and finishing with "It's a lot quicker to run a bath and we're happy to deliver babies in the bath if we have to"

Hypnobirthing is more about ways of relaxing, and keeping calm and relaxed during labour, I don't see what's unusual (slightly or otherwise) about a natural birth, which is all hypnobirthing is really, it's called "natural" for a reason

OK, it's reliant on a natural birth being possible, which we both know might not be, but our midwives are great and we're taking it day by day.

Unusual was probably not the best word: it was late and our 3 week old + 2 year old are taking their toll on my brain . I've just heard quite a few stories of mums who have got their minds set on a particular scenario, and then be really upset when that scenario is thrown on its head by one of any number of things that can happen. Also, just because you (or rather Mum) needs a bit of medical help, it doesn't mean that the birth isn't natural. I'm just aware of there being a lot of pressure on Mums, from both sides, to do things this way or that way, and I don't think much of it is very helpful.

London_Falcon

We had a very similar set of conversations around pain relief options. Our two were both born with the help of an epidural and gas n air. We had other friends who went in with a desire to avoid an epidural but then had a change of heart as the real pain kicked in.... by which time it was too late to adminsiter one. My advice would be to keep options open and really think though which preferences are material rather than a bit half hearted.

My boys are now 6 and 9

DonDaddyD

"Have a range of potential options be married to none."

Ms DDD has chosen the birthing pool room as water she believes will aid pain relief. She has the hypnobirth CD, you can play it in that room as well but I haven't figured how to do that yet. We have the option to be moved to a traditional delivery room and have available all the options in-between.

What type of birth you go for is a personal decision made between Mum and Dad. What type of birth you have is often dictated by the baby and circumstance.

London_Falcon

DDD - have you got an ipod and small speaker set? If yes why not rip the cd to the ipod and then make a playlist of the cd repeated over and over. Ipod and speakers go in "the bag" and you are all set. This also means that you avoid getting yelled at when the cd finishes at a crucial moment in preceedings.

DonDaddyD

Good idea!

asprilla

DonDaddyD wrote:

Ms DDD has chosen the birthing pool room as water she believes will aid pain relief.

Mate of mine did birthing yoga and then had a water birth at home. On both occasions her pain relief consisted of a couple of paracetamol.

Impressive stuff.

the_fuggler

My sister did birthing yoga and also gave birth with no pain relief. Utterly mad, but very impressive.

We had all sorts of plans that were cast to the four winds due to numerous complications. Good to have a plan, but be prepared to be flexible.

snooks

The Fuggler wrote:

My sister did birthing yoga and also gave birth with no pain relief. Utterly mad, but very impressive.

This is one of the key points of the hypnobirthing thing.......When did giving birth become painful?

It wasn't painful in the times when Socrates and Hippocrates were writing about it, or if it was they seem to have forgotten to mention it In the 1900s a doctor with a suitably comic name of Dr Grantly Dick-Read noticed that the women in the east end slums of London (i.e. those who were less educated with less wealthy) would be able to give birth calmly and quietly in a squalid dimly lit room, while his middle class patients would scream the place down in hospital. Many people in the developing world seem to manage to give birth without epidurals, pethidine etc. and the human race seemed to manage for thousands of years before the advent of hospitals, doctors, midwives and medical intervention.

We are after all, the only mammal on the planet that seeks artificial pain relief during birth.

Could it be all the horror stories, the "one born every minute" tv programmes, and bright clinical rooms scare the bejesus out of any mum to be, so they can't relax and give birth?

I'm not saying there is no place for hospitals, doctors, midwives and medical intervention when the time is right, but mother nature can't have been dumb enough to make humans the only species on the planet that needs artificial pain relief to give birth. Can she?

bigmat

Let's not overlook the massive fall in infant / maternal mortality due to medical advances, eh? I certainly wouldn't want my wife giving birth in third world conditions. I think those people do it like that through lack of choice. From what I have seen, child birth can be fecking painful. There are a lot of variables, and for each person who is fortunate enough to manage with a paracetamol there'll be somebody needing an emergency caesarian after 36 hours of labour...

rjsterry

snooks wrote:

The Fuggler wrote:

My sister did birthing yoga and also gave birth with no pain relief. Utterly mad, but very impressive.

This is one of the key points of the hypnobirthing thing.......When did giving birth become painful?

It wasn't painful in the times when Socrates and Hippocrates were writing about it, or if it was they seem to have forgotten to mention it In the 1900s a doctor with a suitably comic name of Dr Grantly Dick-Read noticed that the women in the east end slums of London (i.e. those who were less educated with less wealthy) would be able to give birth calmly and quietly in a squalid dimly lit room, while his middle class patients would scream the place down in hospital. Many people in the developing world seem to manage to give birth without epidurals, pethidine etc. and the human race seemed to manage for thousands of years before the advent of hospitals, doctors, midwives and medical intervention.

We are after all, the only mammal on the planet that seeks artificial pain relief during birth.

Could it be all the horror stories, the "one born every minute" tv programmes, and bright clinical rooms scare the bejesus out of any mum to be, so they can't relax and give birth?

I'm not saying there is no place for hospitals, doctors, midwives and medical intervention when the time is right, but mother nature can't have been dumb enough to make humans the only species on the planet that needs artificial pain relief to give birth. Can she?

Re. your earlier post: brainwashed, definitely. Tell me what you think in 2 1/2 months time. The NCT are really hot on this, but Mrs RJS and many others actually find a hospital environment (you can turn the lights down by the way) more reassuring and secure than being at home, and they shouldn't be made to feel bad about that any more than those who want to use hypnobirthing. As for the developing world/1900s London slums managing without pain relief, I think that's as much about availability as anything else, and without wanting to be too morbid, peri-natal (I think that's the right word) mortality is/was a lot higher too.

Regarding the argument that no other animal uses pain relief - I'll ask my parents about that (both vets) but I'm fairly sure it's no picnic for some of them either.

EDIT: Sorry, that all sounds a bit ranty. It's really not meant to be.

DonDaddyD

snooks wrote:

The Fuggler wrote:

My sister did birthing yoga and also gave birth with no pain relief. Utterly mad, but very impressive.

This is one of the key points of the hypnobirthing thing.......When did giving birth become painful?

It wasn't painful in the times when Socrates and Hippocrates were writing about it, or if it was they seem to have forgotten to mention it In the 1900s a doctor with a suitably comic name of Dr Grantly Dick-Read noticed that the women in the east end slums of London (i.e. those who were less educated with less wealthy) would be able to give birth calmly and quietly in a squalid dimly lit room, while his middle class patients would scream the place down in hospital. Many people in the developing world seem to manage to give birth without epidurals, pethidine etc. and the human race seemed to manage for thousands of years before the advent of hospitals, doctors, midwives and medical intervention.

We are after all, the only mammal on the planet that seeks artificial pain relief during birth.

Could it be all the horror stories, the "one born every minute" tv programmes, and bright clinical rooms scare the bejesus out of any mum to be, so they can't relax and give birth?

I'm not saying there is no place for hospitals, doctors, midwives and medical intervention when the time is right, but mother nature can't have been dumb enough to make humans the only species on the planet that needs artificial pain relief to give birth. Can she?

Pregnancy is painful. Pain varies from Woman to Woman and is based on a number of things such as: pain threshold, type of pregnancy, length of labor, general fitness, size of the baby, whether she pushes when she shouldn't, if she tears - amongst other things :roll: . The female body however, is designed to manage that pain as best it can

I do however, believe exactly the same thing as you have said about artificial pain relief too a point. It can be over done and I get irked by Women who have decided to have an epidural, Peth etc long before they've decided how and where they want to have the baby.

I was shocked at the notion that women should be given the choice of an elective caesarean beyond there being a justifiable medical need (my Mum had a much needed C-section with my brother and went into a coma before the grumble bums jump on me).

But I would NEVER repeat that view in public. Just not worth it.

rjsterry

DonDaddyD wrote:

But I would NEVER repeat that view in public. Just not worth it.

Errrr.....

DonDaddyD

rjsterry wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

But I would NEVER repeat that view in public. Just not worth it.

Errrr.....

I mean like the real World. Online no one can hear you scream....