quote:Originally posted by herbs: And where's London, to share her words of wisdom of having a boy come out of her fanjo, and not in the usual way.
I'm only just catching up with TMO so I've only just seen this, but CONGRATULATIONS! That's so awesome, I'm really happy for you. As for having a boy, while it's true that girls' clothes are way nicer than boys' clothes (all that blue and grey! ugh!), the consolation is that you can think to yourself that here's your opportunity to help create a human male who is NOT A DICK. Also you can always just be really strict and say 'No blue clothes please, just red, black and green and other gender-neutral colours thanks Mother'. And you can direct them to, say, the baby clothes department of American Apparel, which does cute onesies and hoodies in minature versions in all kinds of non-traditional colours.
As for giving birth... I gave birth in Sweden with the help of three lovely midwives, one of whom was (gasp) a MAN but he was really nice too and frankly, once it gets going you don't really notice or care. That's the problem really - you can want control of your labour, and write the nicest birth plan there is, but once it gets going there is no control - you're just in World Of Pain, with the cognitive level of a racooon with its leg caught in a trap. You don't feel human any more, you're just this crazed thing, instinctive dumb animal, in the grip of terror and agony and breaking apart.
But then, I had to be induced because he was two weeks overdue, and inductions make the contractions be overwhelmingly fast and close together. Maybe it's different if you're not induced.
Next time, if there is a next time, I'm definitely doing it at home. The thing with home birth, from what I've read, is that if it looks dodgy you go to hospital anyway. And even at home you can get gas and air and pethedine, so you don't have to be completely drug-free. But then they say second births are easier as you know what's going to happen, whereas the first one is all HOLY FUCK WHAT IS THIS MAKE IT STOP, which is why you want to go to hospital for the fisrt one.
Anyway, congratulations again. And I'm so up for BabyMeat 2010 or whenever it is. Can we make it happen? It can't be any more nauseating than the CouplesMeat that Rick J engendered all those years ago.
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Heyyy... thanks for the congrats. I'm now 23 weeks! And blooming. Feel really well, have pleasingly large belly - and absolutely massive norks - and can feel him indoors move about all over the shop.
As for clothes, in my fingering forays into shops, I'm already dismayed that as soon as they pop out of the womb, they seem to categorised into sickly pink 'daddy's princess', or sludgy blue 'I'm a right little shit', with their soft little arms being forced into scratchy army type stuff. What happened to wearing orange babygros until the age of three, like in my day. I have already discovered the delights of American Apparel, along with European sites like Nordic Kids. Still, at 3 in the morning, with one hand, any old horror will no doubt do. It's only going to get covered in shit anyway.
I'm not thinking about labour. The back portions of my books remain unthumbed. I'm signed up to the obligatory NCT classes, which don't start until May (he's due in June), so will think about it then. Something of a Hobsons choice between Homerton and Whipps Cross.
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Some of the best advice I got was not to focus too much on the labour / delivery part of things, as it'll soon be over and then you're into the OMG WE ACTUALLY HAVE A BABY part. I was really fixated on it but after 12 hours of agony it's done and you're onto the next bit. Also, I've probably got lots of baby clothes I can pass on to you if you want?
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That's kind of the way I'm rolling. Any birth that leaves us both alive, and me continent, counts as a success in my book, and I can then get on with the 'Christ, what do I do now' aspect, rather than 'grieving for my inauthentic experience'. By all accounts it's the bit after the birth, when they leave you alone in a filthy bed and feed the baby cow's milk from a plastic cup down the corridor even though you want to breastfeed, that's the bit to worry about.
Oh! And yes please to baby clothes! He'll be the collest baby in the hood. My maternity pay is utterly shit, so I'm having to get everything second hand or, preferably, free. Sadly, I'm currently fixated on the most expensive pushchair on the market, so will have to steal one of those.
quote:Originally posted by herbs: By all accounts it's the bit after the birth, when they leave you alone in a filthy bed and feed the baby cow's milk from a plastic cup down the corridor even though you want to breastfeed, that's the bit to worry about.
Rooster and I had a similar experience to this with our first (they decided her blood sugar was 'borderline' and gave formula, despite her being a healthy 10 pounder), so with our second we assigned post-delivery roles. Essentially, I was to never allow the baby to leave my sight whenever they said she had to go to the nursery for tests or whatever. I also had to state and restate to each and every nurse that the baby 'is not to receive supplemental feeding under any circumstances'. It worked in the end, though it was more than a little annoying to know that if we had given directions in advance, the nurses or doctors on call would likely have disregarded our wishes as soon as we turned our backs.
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Oh, and we should seriously consider picking a date (month even) for this 2010 kidmeat. Rooster and I have been talking for a while about a trip to see her relatives, and we could just as easily plan the trip around the date of said meet. Just a thought.
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quote:Originally posted by herbs: I'm not thinking about labour. The back portions of my books remain unthumbed. I'm signed up to the obligatory NCT classes, which don't start until May (he's due in June), so will think about it then. Something of a Hobsons choice between Homerton and Whipps Cross.
We never went to those classes. I felt plenty informed by the books and accounts on my mommy boards. I would suggest you read that chapter in April maybe, and the one other thing I could recommend you start doing in April is having daily orgasms (seriously, treat it like brushing your teeth...that religiously). I credit these for my body's unbelievable freakish 'ripening' ability.
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quote:Originally posted by rooster: accounts on my mommy boards
Which mommy boards did you frequent, rooster? Mrs. ralph is involved in a handful of them...be kind of funny (to me of course, probably not to anyone else) if you two had crossed paths...
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As for an August babymeat, the Herblet will still be v small. But hopefully entering the cute phase, rather than looking like Winston Churchill in a babygro. So, I'm game. Unless I've got a prolapse.
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Also, watch out for the 6 week BABY ACNE phase. Don't let anyone meet the baby for the first time then, or they will have the TEMERITY to believe that your first born is NOT the most delicious attractive yumnacious baby that ever did live. KILL THOSE PEOPLE. Apart from that, whenevs is good, 'specially after 3 months. BUT WE CAN'T WAIT THAT LONG HERBS. August! August!
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August might be a bit tricky for us though. Being that we'll be in the middle of a cross-country move and such. But airfares are absurdly cheap at the time being, so you never know.
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