The waiting is the worst part...

Thinking of you both!

Fingers crossed you won't have to wait too long. Love to S

god luck pops.

"god luck"?

ok, i meant "good luck", but i'll say godspeed too then.

heh, thanks guys

Dude, this is absolutely the last time you'll be able to do irresponsible non-daddy stuff. Go and drive really fast while eating a scotch egg and smoking bifters or something.

...or not.

Anyway, yeah, much love to the two...no, three of you and here's to a short labour!

Thats my normal commute then :D

Thanks Rich, I promise to inform moblog almost first, when there is news.

ooooooooooh exciting!!! time has really flown by!

hope everything goes smoothly and we get to see piccys sooon! xx

Hope it all goes well and starts soon. Like Rich said, this is the last bit of peace and quiet you're going to get for a long time.

Edit: You know there *are* things you can do to help it all get started.....!!

You're both going to be in my brain all day, Im pumping out awesome 'easy delivery' vibes to shoes, and 'stay strong big daddy' vibes to you

Twiggers: thanks :), the list of things people have told me is huge, and varied from curries, to bumpy roads, to sex :D

Yeah good luck and hope the sun shines.

good grief, where did the time go - all the best for you and the little archer.

I remember this phase ... I was down at an Indian restaurant buying curry to induce labour when I got the call that labour had started. Good luck to you both. It really is a special time.

Good luck Shoes....

Joe, get some sleep while you can :D

SWMBO and I are thinking of you..

I'm sure it'll all be fun - good luck Shoes and Joe.. take it easy
:D

Sleep? wassat then? is that what insomnia robs me of? :)

thank you all for your support, you all rock.

You're very welcome Mr Blogs, good luck to you and especially Mrs Blogs.

Ooh, good luck!

ohhh - good luck!

That's definitely the "still waiting" face.

I've been checking moblog every day for the last week for news, so the wait is killing me too!

Good luck to both/all of you. What an exciting time! Apart from the waiting, waiting is not exciting, especially when you can't get up off the sofa without help....

-excited- fingers crossed -ready with an extra pair of hands-


-itchy-

my friend duane's baby's due today too so the race is on..
bxxx

Huge good luck to you all, it'll be worth the wait I can guarantee!! Just think of Del Boy in teh window with baby Damien, it's a truly magical feeling :)

*so that's why all the little-540s are called Damien*

Raspberry leaf tea, apparantly, can help get the party started. Send out for some.
Or if any mobloggers fancy a challenge, get some to Joe & Shoes.

Shoes, being the hippy, alternative therapy type, has some already :). I might start giving it I.V. if it doesn't arrive soon though.

we're all walking the floor, waiting for ninjababe.

thinking of shoes, although joe may not survive at this level for long.

any contractions yet?

Fingers crossed for you all!

No contractions yet, or at least not that I know of, I'm at work :)

You do realise 1st babies usually come late. The blonde kid was 9 days late overall (ending it all with 72 and half hours of labour) so not to be a killjoy but get yourself a good book - you may be waiting a little longer yet!

Yes, I know, in fact statistically first babies are on average 10 days late. But I'm the most impatient person alive :)

awwww....time really has flown , it will all be over before you know it....exciting times, all the best to you both but especially to shoes ( she is doing most of the hard work ) :-)

OJ, our secret is out ;)

Good luck man, my fingers are crossed for you both : )

72 and a haLf HOURS!?

Ooh! Nearly there now. Good luck! Insomnia was just made for times like these. You'll be needing all the insomnia you can manage! :) Thinking of you all.

Mmmmmm, bumpy road curry sex...

Thinking of the three of you Archers! Good luck!

Jasmine and Dylan were both 9 days late - when Mrs H finally went into labour with Jasmine it was still almost 24 hours till the baby appeared. Have patience, your child will be with you presently. God Bless.

Here's to a very short wait! Sleep while you can, man.

oh dear - poor you and poor shoes who has to have the baby as well as wait! :)

this is going to blow your mind Joe - don't know how you are going to contain yourself - it's just the most amazing thing to happen to anyone and hope you don't have to wait much longer

She'll be here soon! Good luck!

Just checking in. No news yet then?

Not yet, but she does have awful backache which is a common sign of things starting...

@ joe - impatient - PAH!! Enjoy teh quiet and get a good nights sleep while it lasts, It'll be th last you get for a while!!

@Alfie - yup 72.5 hours it was pure hell!! i'm not going into it here will scare poor Joe half to death!! (although I know others who have been through worse and for longer!)

Joe, maybe you should let Shoes sit down now rather than getting her to finish all the ironing before she goes in :D

You could update your side bar while you are waiting. I don't think you have a week to wait now..

Ironing? she's tiling the bathroom floor mate :)

She's a good'un..

:D

I predict Saturday ..... both of mine were given the due date of a Wednesday, both were born on the following Saturday at 7.15 pm and 7.27 pm (two years apart) .... thinking of you both, hoping the labour and birth are hassle free and that you will be delivered of an abounding bundle of joy :)

isthereababyyet? isthereababyyet? isthereababyyet?

:)

thinking of you and hope it all goes well!

I've not actually given birth myself but from speaking to my gezillion friends who have, I'm not sure they'd agree with you!
Good luck for a short wait though and the safe arrival of your wee bundle.

Agree with me? what about?

That the waiting is the worst part....the labour smarted a bit as well they tell me!

Ah, well, I was speaking from my point of view, I'm pretty sure the waiting won't be the worst part for Shoes :)

I wish her all the pain-relief she wants!

Thanks :) though we're having it at home, so pain relief options are limited =/

bring on the laughing gas

On reflection would have loved to have had mine at home .... both were easy labours, we were all laughing and joking in the labour rooms, until the actual births, then there was the usual cursing and swearing, pushing and heavy breathing, but once the father was calmed down all went well .....

Hehe, I'm only acknowledging birth stories like yours at the moment Maggie...no horror stories.
I'm getting bored with moving around at the pace of a 90yr old and cant wait to meet baby.
Thanks for all the well-wishing everyone, all helps in keeping in a positive frame of mind about the big event xx

Shoes, have you finished tiling & grouting the bathroom floor yet?...

Joe, tip for you, when Shoes grabs your hand, interlock the fingers, she won't be able to crush your hand and it will hurt you far less...

Hope it all goes well when it happens

thinking of you guys..

home birth you say?? You going to moblog it (live)

;-)

I have 5 cameras and several mics set up, the BBC have agreed to stream the event live.

Hello Shoes! Definitely still wishing you well. Is it going to be a surprise too, or do you already know the gender?

It's interesting that a nurse would opt for a home birth. I'm glad that you've had the confidence to make that choice - it should be much cosier for you.

Let me know when you have a twinge and I'll switch on the live web stream, scramble the news chopper* and generally hit the big red button.

*Okay, I don't really have access to a news chopper.

:D I don't know the gender really OJ, various people have given me their opinion about it...even someone in the street via an open car window! The poll appears to be even stevens.

Yeh, the homebirth decision is really about comfort and relaxation, and a desire ofr things to be as natural as poss...as although I'm in nursing there's a complementary therapist in there trying to get out really...er, no pun intended.
I am open minded about hospitalisation if required though, I wont be stubborn about it, baby's safety is paramount obviously, and any probs can be picked up pretty early and we're only 10mins from the LGI.
I'm grateful for my nursing background though as I dont find the hospital environment daunting in the slightest and dont feel the 'power imbalance' that alot of patients can find difficult..I'll argue with Drs with the best of them if I dont agree with them or haven't had adequate explanation etc. ... It's poor Joe that goes pale and sweaty at the mere wiff of hospital gowns....

Whatever the baby's gender, I think it'll inherit Joe's comedy hair.

it's great to hear how pragmatic you are about it Suzi
:)

(yay!!!)

Oh, I've been wondering when the baby is/was due. I'm thinking of you both and will keep checking in for news! Good luck you two/three. :)

As soon as I got in I came to check .....

Crickson's latest comment made me smile :)

A baby with Joe's hair will be the cutest thing ever. Good luck Archers! :)

It's my birthday today - would love to share it with baby Archer : )

Com'om!

We've not got all day you know.....

*taps foot impatiently

:D

Eeeeee! So excited! Come on baby!

I've already bought him/her a present...

Aww :) we're trying everything we can think of!

Heh, it'll come when its good and ready I guess.

Curry and jerky lifts as well as a bit of the other should help things along a bit.

I have to admit i was spared this, i had both mine early (by 4 weeks, and 10 days).

Joe haired baby would be funny!

Enjoy!

Good grief, still no news?

My Daughter was born at 26 weeks so I'm not used to this kind of wait :/

SWMBO and I are installed in our hotel in Ireland so we'll just have to keep checking I guess..

nope, no news I'm afraid but it isn't unusual at all for a first baby. SFG and SWMBO enjoy Ireland :) i'll update as soon as things happen

Ah well, if it makes it to July s/he should be safe from ever having to sit an exam on her/his birthday. Which is very important.

Helen has a point, summer vacation birthdays are good as you don't have to sit through classes on your birthday or have cheezy grade school joint parties inflicted on you! :)

.. just popped back to check. Sending you all the good wishes I can..

me too

so glad I opted for not holding my breath!

*drums fingers on desk...

Where is this baby?

popping back... again

more good wishes to you both

The baby is still hiding, it must be comfortable. We have an acupuncturist coming to offer her help tomorrow afternoon. I've pulled most of my hair out

And that's BEFORE the baby's born. Hopefully this means it's a snoozy, lazy baby that won't bother with crying much and likes to sleep all night long.

I was a lazy baby too, two weeks late... I reckon it shows initative :)

I keep going out of my way to check back - the fact that it's taking its time means I'm going to be away when the big day does come. Thinking of you both. Happy relaxed baby vibes to both of you!