See you all on the new thread

New thread for when this one is full

I'm pretending I'm still useful

Lovely to hear that Rosa.

We'll need a new thread soon won't we, is there a limit of 1000 posts or did I make that up?

Rosa great news on your scan and congratulations on making it past the 12 week mark

LadyEm I hope all is well, things are improving and you have some hands to hold. Thinking of you and sending you lots of luck.

I had my 12 scan today and all is well and we saw one very active baby with kicking legs and waving hands. I feel reassured and as if a grumpy and sad weight has been taken off my shoulders. Sigh, happy sigh.

Oops just stopped DH going off to Ikea this evening due to pains starting in region of cervix, back ache and generally feeling a bit off. Which then of course stopped completely.

Oh Alana how annoying. Is it worth putting in a call to the Supervisor of Midwifery at your hospital, explaining the position you find yourself in and asking her to intervene to ensure you get continuity of care? Are you pleased with your new haircut? Nice to have some pampering just for you before all the focus turns to your newborn in a short while eh!

Scarlotti good luck with your MW appt tomorrow.

LadyEm still thinking of you and hope you get encouraging blood test results tomorrow. Hang in there and look after yourself.

LadyEm sorry to hear your situation. Rest up and keeping everything crossed for you.

alana I'll have my DD (15 and always looking quite glam) next to me in photos so don't stand a chance!!
Very annoying re mw and postcode lottery. Good news on the appt though - I have my 38 week one tomorrow and hoping she'll shed some light on Sunday's shenanigans.

Scarlotti know what you mean about photos - every one taken of me with DS1&2 were hideous. Now I will be pictured next to 2 pretty boys as well as a baby it will only make me look more haggard .

Had haircut this morning which DH thinks is tempting fate as it won't be looking so good after a few hours of labour.

Midwife appt fine, baby is now starting to engage and she could only feel about half the head. Now just a little annoyed that it turns out my community midwife is only "allowed" to do post-natal visits up the the next street along. We are apparently the one road that is still in the borough, but with a postcode for the next area along IYSWIM, so we get visited by midwives from a completely different hospital. So even though I have managed to see the same midwife for the whole pg she is not allowed to do my post-natal care. Mad !

Thinking of you LadyEm how awful for you.

Oh LadyEm goodness poor you. Really sorry to hear you're having such a time of it. Look after yourself today - plenty of water and juice to drink - and nice nourishing food. Put yourself back to bed and rest up today. Thinking of you and sending you sticky vibes. <<hug>>

Yesterday lunchtime I got rushed to hospital, by a friend because I was gettting some pinky blood along side the cramps and backache.

Well I've just got back from the hospital. I was kept in overnight because they are concerned that Im having an eptopic pregnancy. It took them 14 attempts to draw blood, they ended up getting the anethatist to do it, and it still took him 3 attempts. Anyhow they got blood in the end. The results came back this morning that my HCG levels are lower than they should be, they think that Im either not as far gone as I should be for my dates or that the pregnancy is failing again. They've let me out, but if the pain increases or I get some more bleeding then I have to go back. They still havent ruled out eptopic, but said it would be too early to tell, as possibly to early for a scan. I have to go back 2moro morning for more blood tests and possibly a scan next week. DH couldnt get a flight back from Spain last night, but is coming back tonight so I'll have his hand to squeeze.

Dont really know what to think or do, just hopeful that 2moro brings some positive news..

alana yes, nice to have a trivial thing to think about ... although am probably thinking about it too much. Tempted to just pack something but would also like to feel halfway decent in the photos and when leaving the hospital! How was your mw appt?

It's more that I only have a limited amount of stuff and so don't want something nice sitting in a bag now for 2 weeks!

Not a twinge since Sunday so think I'm back to waiting for 2 weeks. Trying to at least think that way otherwise I'll be going insane by the end of the week!!

blondie glad you're feeling better. The second trimester is the nicest as you feel more energised, look pregnant but can still get on with everything as normal. Enjoy!

Morning all

Feeling loads better today thanks Scarlotti - pretty much slept straight through last night (only one bathroom break at nearly 5am) and it's amazing the difference a proper sleep makes! Sounds like your night was a bit more eventful though well it's a sign things are heading in the right direction eh!

Re going home clothes I am aiming at wearing my maternity jeans - the over the bump panel folds over to make them almost "normal" jeans so they should be kinda flexible for whatever shape I end up after BlondieBump has made his/her appearance. Am going to wear them with a lovely soft jersey b/f top and a nice cosy cardi. I want to be warm and comfy - and have come to the conclusion that people will be looking at the baby not me! I got this as a nice treat for my post birth shower at the hospital with my advantage card points.

Hope all are well and the ladies going through those worrying first few weeks are all hanging in there - sending you all sticky bean vibes

Scarlotti having exactly the same dilemma about going home clothes. Actually it's quite nice to have something silly to worry about for a change. I wonder if the under bump jeans will stay up again when I only have a wedge of flab rather than a massive hard bump.

Also having lots of twinges - yesterday felt like one big BH with lots of pressure on the cervix, which I keep trying to tell myself is just very early preparation but of course 'tis impossible not to hope it's a bit more than that. MW visit this afternoon and really hoping it's the last one I need.

LadyEm sorry to hear you're having a worrying time. The first 12 weeks really are the toughest and you're half way through now so try and stay positive.

alana great news for your sister, loving DS2's reaction!!

blondie hope you're feeling better now, rubbish to be ill normally but much worse when pg and lemsips are banned.

suze lovely to hear from you. Glad you've found a feeding routine that works for you and Mahala. Am feeling much better now thanks.

All good here. Had some false contractions the other night but it seems it was just to get him further down as opposed to anything else. Has eased the heartburn a little but now he sits on my cervix/bladder, so yet another pg joy with the sharp pains that brings! 2.5 weeks left to go here so I guess it could be anytime now really.
Bag all packed except I keep changing the 'comfy going home clothes' - can't decide whether to put in the ones I never wear and come home looking like a frump, or risk waiting until the day and putting in something that looks half decent.
Any suggestions ladies?

LadyEm hang in there, I had cramping on and off from weeks 5-11. It's a worrying time during those first few weeks. I had some spotting with it too, and was convinced I was going to MC again - but BlondieBump held on and is now 28 weeks. Take care of yourself and hope all is well.

Suze I'm not sure that particular book recommendation was me - but VERY glad to hear that you and Mahala have worked out the feeding. I always think that combination feeding is a really good way of keeping DH involved as well. Hope MrSyd's filming assignments aren't taking him too far away at the moment? Saw the Stephen Fry thing about Blue Whales last night and it reminded me of all those months ago when he was off with the narwhals!

alana aaah fabulous news and I bet your DS's will be very cute with teh new arrival.

No buggy shopping in the end this weekend - had rotten head cold. DH concluded I must've been ill as I didn't want to go shopping

Hope all are well

I had them Ladyem with all 3 pgs, so certainly normal for me. Felt like a period every time. Sorry you're having such a worrying time.

Please tell me somebody that it is totally normal to have lower back aches and mild cramping at 5 weeks?

Morning all had a very happy weekend as my sister finally had her first. DCs are overjoyed to have a cousin at last, and got to see what the likely reaction will be when this baby arrives.

DS1 - held him beautifully, lots of gentle talking and hair stroking. Is now asking me if he can change little brother's / sister's nappies sometimes .

DS2 - stand with face about 2 cm away from the baby's and cackle demonically . Useful reminder that babies can sleep through lots of noise.

Just a quick 'pop-in' to say congrats to Lal

Well done - have not had a chance to check out your birth story, hope you had a good labour. Maia is a lovely name too, hope all's going well.

Congrats also Lola - gosh you and I have such similar stories always! I've had a nightmare with recalcitrant nipples too and could only feed through shields for a while, Mahala was also losing too much weight despite hourly feeds day and night (hence no posts!) so we have now switched to combined feeding - she is thriving now and I have got over my formula-phobia. As long as I can breast feed too and she is happy then it's ok for us

Welcome all newbies - early scans are nerve-wracking but so important for KCs I think, good luck with yours LadyEm!

Sorry to hear you've been ill Scarlotti - hope all's better now.

Tamlin which hospital did you eventually plump for? Hope you're feeling ok as the birth approaches.

Blondie have been meaning to say thanks so much for the tip on the Claire Byam Cook breatfeeding book - saved my sanity after 4 or 5 nights of no sleep with bleeding nipples and a hungry baby, and (most importantly) is small enough to hold in one hand and flick through while feeding!

Waves and hugs to everyone else - you will get there and it is all worth it

Mahala was 4 weeks old on Friday - can't believe it! Still wake up fretting if she's ok and annoy the living daylights out of her checking if she's too warm / too cold / needs a new nappy / still alive etc etc

Rosa333 Good luck for wednesday. Hope it all goes wonderfully well for you.

I went to see my GP today to let them know about PG. They have said they are looking at doing an early scan from the 27th onwards. Kinda reassuring that I get one, just hope the next week my body plays ball. Having lots of cramps at the mo, which I know for 5 weeks is expected but its so un-nerving. I keep expecting to go to the loo and be greeted with AF. And Im feeling miserable as a result of worrying. Im probably just being silly...

Ciara good to hear from you and that baby is doing well. As alana said, you have plenty of time for baby to turn ... but being on all fours is the position if you're wanting to try and help things along!

Rosa good luck for Wed, am sure everything will be fine.

Doing ok this end. After feeling like I thought things would happen early, now I'm not so sure! Think I was just feeling the pressure of still having work to finish. Now it feels like a weight has been lifted - there are things I'd like to get done now but none are necessities so trying to stay zen like and chilled about it all

Ah Rosa poor you, definately have extra biscuit to build yourself back up again. Keep us posted as to how you get on eh? Once you get through those scary early few weeks it's amazing how quickly the time starts to fly by but it's great to have the other knicker-checkers to hand hold with

Lal oh congratulations hunny, well done! Welcome to Maia

Mahobbit Yay great news about the scan! It's so lovely seeing them on screen isn't it and makes it all seem a bit more real!

Ciara great to "see" you! Glad the 28 week check went well, should have mine next week but consultant is away. BlondieBump is in the same position as yours, how odd! Have been doing antenatal yoga on Wednesday nights in a bid to help with "optimum fetal positioning". Time spent on all fours is supposed to help as is kneeling forwards towards a birthing ball - am doing all that but still getting kicks in the same place so I'm guessing he or she is comfy in the current position, hey ho. As Alana says plenty of time for them to turn still. Did you find out at your 20 week scan what you're having? They don't tell you in our area so we're having a surprise. Know what you mean about the internet - ours is with BT (unbundled exchange ) but our village is a bit of a "notspot" so we have all sorts of crap with low speeds/dropped connections etc. Good to see you on the list now btw, keep us posted with your news eh?

Crunch hehe, glad you understand!

Scarlotti hope you're enjoying your mat leave now that last bit of work is sorted... how's things?

Alana oh dear they're not really the sort of sweet nothings you want to be woken up by eh?! Hope things get moving for you soon - will you be trying a Suze style mission of pineapple-eating and long walks etc etc to get things moving?

Me and DH are going to look at prams etc this weekend i think - so much choice out there, it's utterly bewildering.... eek!

Hello after a little time away.

There has been so much news and congratulations to all !! It is great to catch up on what has been going on.

Mahobbit, I am glad your scan went well and welcome to Ladyemmalou - I think we 3 are the later ones.

I have got my 12 week scan on Wed and am very excited/nervous about it. I have been feeling suitably pregnant of late but then had an awesome bout of food poisoning these past two days which has been quite something.

Now I am worried again...fingers crossed though. I think they have been permanently crossed since August.

Counting the days...

Now off for another cup of tea and a few biscuits - I think the hours of vomiting have meant I can eat that extra few more today !!

Congratulations Ciara, I don't think you need to worry about position just yet though as there's still lots of room for moving around at 28 weeks and your baby should sort themselves out.

Had my 28 week midwife checkup this morning and fingers crossed all seems ok, although he is laying across me at the moment, with head on left hand side and feet kicking me under the ribs on my right hand side.

So i suppose i need to try and move him round, any ideas ladies

Apart from that and having to have blood taking twice as i hadnt drunk enough this morning, all seems ok, so i am braving it and putting myself on the list

GUSSET PATROL GRADUATES

Cricri - 1st November - GIRL- Elise Vivienne
LackaDAISYcal - 6th November - BOY - Finlay
barbareebaa - 24th November -BOY - William
Jackstini - 10th December – BOY- Harvey
KD73 - 20th December - BOY - Aidan George
downbutnotout – 3rd February BOY
dan39 – 10th February GIRL - Rose
winemakesmummyclever - 17 February - BOY - Isaac Alexander
Bunnyinheadlights - 23 February - GIRL - Carys
Wheelybug - 12th March - GIRL - Lara Florence
TSOM - 17th March - BOY - Seth
Grinningbee – 4th April – GIRL –Amy Florence
Daisy J – 1st April – GIRL – Maya Celine
Scotlass - 17th April - BOY - Nathan James
Swaliswan - 20th April - GIRL
LoobyLou36,- 23rd April GIRL - Matilda Rose
Ladyhelen2 - 2nd May - BOY - Rufus Daniel
Divedaisy - 2nd May - GIRL - Sofiah Rose
Aquababe - 6th May - BOY - Ethan
Youknownothingofthecrunch - 8th May - GIRL - Polly Anwen
Ses - 9th May - BOY - Owen
SparkyMalarky - 10th May - GIRL – Evie
Cece - 23rd May – BOY - Tom
Mumface - 19th June - BOY - Connor Ellis
herbaceous - 8 July - BOY - Samuel
nattythomasandellen -
cornflakegirl - - BOY -
Ashleighbeee - 18th Aug - BOY - James Peter
HerNameWasLola - 28th Aug? GIRL - Tahlia
blogqueen -
sydneysuze - 18th Sept - GIRL - Mahala

CURRENT CONCEIVED-AIR PASSENGERS

lal123 - 25th October
alana39 - 30th October
Tamlin - 5th November
scarlotti - 6th November
Tink08 - 24th November
Fairywing - 11th December
Ciara - 5th January
Blondieminx - 18th January
HappyBump - 28th January

Hope all is going well with everyone else

xx

alana at your DS! I tend to get the 'mummy I need you' call from down the stairs ... lovely start to the day

Admittedly my nipples are fine but I did wake up 6 times last night even without a baby. Luckily DS2 has now learnt that when he gets up at 6am to whisper "I need to do a poo" into someone's ear it is best to say it to DH.

2 weeks early just means sleepless nights and sore nipples 2 weeks earlier! Had mw visit this am - everything fine, she said she can't believe I just had a baby on Tuesday - if she'd seen dp and Iat 4am this am with a screaming baby she'd have believed it! Off to eat cakes.

lal

Sorry, meant to say, as I had to read over two pages of posts I've forgotten any specifics from page 36 so please don't think I'm ignoring anyone!

Illness has finally gone here (thanks for the well wishes) and I finally handed over that last little piece of work yesterday so brain is now free to do baby stuff! Haven't ventured to the childbirth thread as yet (alana you're very brave!) and hoping that I have at least a week or so now to chill and do some last minute tidying/sorting out at home!

I suspect it will be more like sitting on mn with my feet up though

Morning ladies

Finally sorted out at home with a laptop again so able to log on whenever now!

Congratulations lal and a big welcome to little Maia. A bit here at the 2 weeks early too!!

Glad everyone's news is postitive at the moment with growth scans and symptoms etc. Hope all the newbies (welcome!!) are coping ok with the early stages.

Crunch lovely to hear from you. Do miss our chats from when we both had more time on our hands but so glad to hear you're all doing well. How's the situation with DH these days?

alana that's just you, me and tamlin in the waiting room now then. Another biccie?!

Brilliant news lal congratulations! And pleased (and maybe a bit ) you are feeling great!!!

Right, any tips for getting this baby out 2 weeks early too?

lal! Wow! So of you having her early (since Polly was 2 weeks late ), but even more happy for you. Welcome Maia! So glad you're feeling so happy. and some more!

evening! Just to let you know that Maia Jo arrived safely last night at 8.45 - 2 weeks before due date. Short birth story in October antenatal club thread if you want a peek! Will be back to tell more when not so tired! Feeling great!

alana Oops, yup 'tis Crunch here, sporting my hallowe'en name

Ciara are you on the list yet? Fancy braving it? Not long to go now!

Mahobbit that's great news

blondie that's right, it's all-important research. How else would we cope with motherhood?

Hi Blondie and everyone else
Good to hear all the news of births and all our newbies
Hope all you newbies have sticky beans.

Im doing ok, cant believe that i am now 28+1 weeks, seems like yesterday that we were all struggling and worying through the first trimester, doesnt it?

Sorry not been on here much but been bit chaotic and work and internet at home has died

Im doing ok, although now think that i should be giving up work earlier as am very jealous of you all. I dont finish until 23rd Dec and then due on 5 Jan, hmmmm me thinks that might be a bit close, but we shall see

So how are you doing blondie? Coping ok?

Well best do some work

((((Hugs to all))))

Scan was fine. Sprout the 2nd had a little wiggle and a bit of chill out time.

13+4 so growth bang on compared with previous scans.

time on MN is never wasted... it's crucial pregnancy/health/childcare research Ah brilliant, stocking up the freezer. Lots of casseroles and soups and stuff?

Oh forgot to say earlier, HR chat was v good, the HR lady is really nice (it's just my line manager I sometimes have issues with but hey ho!) and they've confirmed everything is as I thought it would be and I can start my leave on the day I want, hurrah!

Crunch? Can't see the full name but it must be with that number of grins

Lola so nice to hear your story. What a lovely name. DS1 had very similar latching problems, he never succeeded (except for a couple of times with a shield) and I ended up expressing what I could for a few months and mix feeding (which was miserable as I felt such a failure). So well done you for succeeding in the face of it! I know how awful it can be when they just won't do what seems to come so naturally to everyone else.

It was only when ds2 came along and latched on within 5 minutes of being born that I realised it really wasn't my fault! I had blamed myself for so long and now here I was finding the whole thing effortless, having not done half of what I did to get ds1 to feed.

Ladyemmalou welcome I hope you have a long stay. Wishing you sticky thoughts

alana lal tamlin and scarlotti! You're all so huge and uncomfortable and I'm sympathetic but ridiculously excited for you all as well. Make sure you bookmark the Postnatal thread and join us on there when you can (baring in mind it gets about one post a month )

scarlotti so much of my journey was spent chatting to you when you were in your early days and I was in my final days, and now here we are in your last bit!

I'm getting all emotional

<Waves to everyone>

I'll be back!

Yes I've been packed for a few weeks now Blondie. And I am amazed by just how much time I am wasting on MN instead of doing anything remotely useful. I do have 3 pots of different food on the go ready to freeze some though, so I suppose that counts as nesting .

Thanks Alana well I will report back when we've chosen! So, is your hospital bag all packed and ready to go?

scarlotti hope your tummy settles soon, peppermint tea is always soothing to rough tummies so that might be worth a go? Hope you get a couple of days to enjoy being on proper mat leave at least before the big day

Ladyemmalou congratulations, and welcome . Sending you sticky bean vibes and I hope your stay on this thread is a long and happy one. There are a couple of other ladies at the beginning on here too so I'm sure they'll be really pleased to have you along as well . There is a list as to where people are but we tend to only update it either when there's a birth or as and when you feel ready/comfortable/confident to add yourself to it.

Has anyone seen Tamlin or Ciara about? Just wondered how they're getting on these days.

Oh, before I go... *BARGAIN ALERT*

Free £30 pampers hamper if you sign up to Pampers/Tesco baby clubs via this link

Hi ladyemmalou welcome to the thread and congratulations. The early weeks are hideous and I was very glad of the support I found here (and all the encouraging stories of people actually having babies ).

Know what you mean Scarlotti, I know I should just be enjoying having the school day to myself instead of wishing the baby here, but it would be so much easier to be able to unstrap all the extra weight and put it in a moses basket! Literally had a physical battle to get DS2 dressed today, as he wanted to go to school in his PJs, and I'm sure I have pulled about 10 muscles as a result.

Blondie 9 weeks will fly by. Good luck with the pushchair hunt, even with some experience I have found that the most difficult decision to make this time (months of indecision before ending up with the same one I had for DS1 6 years ago which did not impress DH).

Hello, Im wondering if may join this thread please? I found out today that Im expecting. Since june I have had 2mc, one right after the other, and straight away again Im PG. Am very nervous as its very early days but line looks nice and strong. Going to hold for about 2 weeks before going to the doctors.

Very exciting but very scary all at the same time...

Ooh, exciting news about lal

Get to hand over the last piece of work I'm doing tomorrow so can finally shut off that part of my brain!
Earache has now become manageable but still have the dicky tum so wondering now if it's the infamous clearing out mechanism. That would be just my luck as I finally ditch all work and am on maternity mentally too!

Good louck for your scan mahobbit*

*blondie hope the chat with HR went well

Hi all*

*Mahobbit ooh hope all goes wonderfully at the scan tomorrow, looking forward to hearing all about it. If you tummy is growing the baby must be too, that's a very good sign.

Scarlotti awh no poor you being poorly there are lots of nasty bugs around at the moment, hope you're keeping dosed up on vitamins etc to help support your system eh? Can't believe how quickly the time is going! How's the list coming on today? If it's any consolation not much has been ticked off mine recently either, have started to feel very tired of an evening all of a sudden which is annoying (like, need to be in bed by 9pm tired). Hoping to go and look at prams/pushchairs/buggies over the wekeend though which is nice

Alana Were your other DC's early? Wonder if you've got that inkling for a reason - is your bag all packed etc?

I've got my maternity meeting with HR today to formalise dates and figures etc. I can't believe how quickly the time is going now. I'm hoping to pack up the Friday before Christmas week so that means about 9 weeks left at work... eeek!

Just been over to the childbirth threads (starting to worry myself now) and seen lal's waters broke last night so hopefully some more news soon!

alana have convinced myself that this one will be early (3.5 weeks to go for me) - stupid as I'll be really fed up if I go full term or over. Keep thinking I've got preparation signs going on but I think it's probably just a tummy bug

lal sitting here looking at the list I made last week and realising how little has been ticked off.

Ds is 4 on Nov 11th and we've arranged a party for the 15th - must get on and order the bits for that otherwise it will be another thing on the list that doesn't get done ... beats cleaning the fridge though eh?!

lal glad to hear you have the basket, we found the day that DS1 came home from hospital that our lovely gliding crib had instructions and screws missing. I know it should have been up already, but DH had planned to do the morning after I ended up in hospital a few days early. Luckily had a carry cot for the pushchair for first few days.

Scarlotti sorry to hear you've been ill, bizarrely I've been the only one in the house to escape nasty virus that even kept DH off work (almost unheard of) and DS2 was almost ill enough to cancel his birthday party yesterday. Luckily maximum doses of calpol just about got him through. Have mixed feelings about whether I should feel guilty as he's probably now infected his best friends, or not as he picked it up at school so they'll probably get it anyway.

Had terrible aching low down in pelvis yesterday and started to get quite hopeful something might happen. Now gone and although I feel more comfortable I have really had enough (and feeling guilty about that as well after all the worry trying to get through the first 4 months intact!).

Really need to stop thinking the baby might arrive early (2.5 weeks to go now).

Had a bit of a wake up call yesterday - thought I'd had the start of a show in the morning and realised just how much we still have to do. OK- in my preg brain it seemed like a lot!!! SO finally got round to sorting out a t shirt to give birth in, washed a load of baby clothes that had been in the loft and got DP to get the cot from his Mums. He was starting to put it together when he realised a) the screws have all gone AWOL and b) he's brought a mixture of cot and DDs first bed.... THank goodness DD2 will be in a moses basket for a while!

Going to go get a baby bath this pm - we were planning on just using the ordinary bath, but I've just remembered what a bad back that gave me with DD1. By the time we get to the shops I'll have persuaded myself that a top and tail bowl is another necessity...

lal glad to hear you're all sorted now

maHobbit I think the trick is definitely to keep your brain occupied so you can't think through all eventualities (or at least limit the amount of time dwelling on them!)

Doing ok here, been quite poorly over the weekend with some virus and chronic earache. On the mend now though with 3.5 weeks left to go, although I have a sneaky feeling he might turn up earlier than planned!

Think there's a few of us on the home stretch now ... *alana, lal* and tamlin if my memory serves me correctly (a rarity these days mind!)

Congratulations Lola.

Looks like it really will be me and you Rosa!

If it helps any, I had spotting early on with sprout and then 2 days of proper bleeding, and the bleed could be seen on the scan at 6 weeks. Everything settled and he wasa full term healthy baby.

I have my dating scan on Weds. Sometimes feel really confident (all this lard can't JUST be pies can it?) and sometimes tempted to prepare myself for the worst. Old habits die hard!!

Anyway, sprout is a great help in taking my mind off things. Somehow for me it's been emotionally easier this time cos I don't actually have any thinking time.

Hi all. Had good news at mw appointment yesterday - blood pressure down again, so now OK to go to midwife unit and have a waterbirth if I want one. Still getting weekly bp checks, but fingers crossed! Scary to think that I've only got a couple of weeks to go - don't feel at all organised. But got the essential car seat adapters today - so ready to go!!

Lola/Nemo wonderful news, so glad all is going well for you now. Have already told my osteopath that she'll be seeing my boy once he's arrived
Great to hear from you - enjoy Thalia xx

Aaaah Lola congratulations, Thalia is a gorgeous name. Hope you're recovering well and thanks for the tip on the cranial osteopath!

Congratulations Lola Syd had said she'd seen news of you on another thread. Thalia is a beautiful name and glad to hear you've both doing well. Don't spend too long looking for news, try to get some sleep

Hello ladies, it's HerNameWasLola here, but I'm in disguise, hope you like it! I've been meaning to log on and post my birth story for ages, for any of you who remember me! Our little girl arrives safe and sound 2 days after her due date, on 28th August. I can't believe she is already 6 weeks, the time has flown by. Despite the sleep deprivation and the fact that she appears to have somewhat destroyed my body, I love her to bits. To all of you in the early days, going through that hideous time, YOU WILL GET THERE - it will feel like a lifetime, but once they're here you won't be able to imagine life without them. I'll never forget the babies we lost, especially our little boy, but if it wasn't for him we wouldn't have had Thalia, so we will forever be grateful to him for giving us her. Here's my birth story:

I went for a sweep on Thursday 27th at 40+1 and was told I was 3cm dilated already. Niggly pains from then onwards, progressing to "proper" contractions by about 2330. They were about 5 mins apart and lasting anything up to 45 secs pretty much straight away. Phoned the hospital at about midnight and was told to go away as they were very busy...! Went in just after 1am anyway and discovered when I got there I was 7cm (told them I was in labour!!)
In the pool & on g&a til about 3.30ish then conned into getting out to be examined and told I should stay out of the water and off the g&a to help me push more efficiently...

Thalia Grace was born at 0519 weighing in at a whopping 8lbs 9oz (ouch!) The mw was optimistic that I "only" had a 1st or possibly a 2nd degree tear, but turned out it was a 3A so I had to go off to theatre for a spinal to be stitched up. Typical - no pain relief for the birth, then half a ton afterwards.

BF was something of a nightmare right from the start, Thalia just wouldn't/couldn't latch on. We took her to a cranial osteopath when she was 6 days old and she was like a different baby afterwards, honestly it was amazing. We're now getting by on a mixture of bf with nipple shields (not ideal but necessary for her to be able to latch on), expressing and feeding EBM from a bottle and the odd top of of formula as she's a hungry little thing.

She's changed our lives, and I've never been happier (or more exhausted ). Sorry haven't been keeping up with the thread, but thought I'd seize the chance to post while she's sleeping. Will now go and search for news of Ash Syd et al... Love to all xx

Thanks ladies. Loved the detail there Alana hehe! I'd love to go to a birthing centre but was told at my booking in appt that as they've classified me as high risk I have to have the baby in hospital, hey ho. Have you been for a tour there yet?

I want to talk about birth plans sooner rather than later as I have a number of complications...Apparently I have an oddly placed cervix so am wondering if that will affect my chances of normal delivery. Also crappy low blood pressure that they've been monitoring. Plus the thyroid problem that led me to have consultant-led care in the first place. Oh and the baby is lying breech. Apart from that, it's all fine....

Scarlotti that was my plan, to do some bullet points for them. But before I do that I want to know how they intend to manage me!

Lal yep you're sooo right there!

<<waves>> to everyone, hope you're all ok

Personally I'm asking for the 'go to sleep and be handed my baby when I wake up' option ... thought it might be worth a try

Have the mw today so will speak to her about it, but I suspect it will just be a few bullet points along the lines of:
I want him delivered on to my chest and for him to try and latch on asap
I want the injection for the placenta
I want the crowning bit to be done slowly so I don't tear (this is a hindsight one from DS)

To be honest, I think if they have too much to read through you might not get any of it. A few bullet points should be doable.

we worry about them not staying in at the beginning and then worry about them not coming out near the end.........

My birth plan is pretty much "see how it goes"

Blondie my mw only wanted to talk birth plan yesterday at 36 weeks plus. Worth thinking about whenever you like, but I think that they don't really allocate the time until then because if you go into labour earlier you are likely to have less choice (birthing centres generally only take you from term i.e. 37 weeks), more monitoring etc, and any plan is more likely to be torn up.

FWIW my birth plan was to go to the birthing unit, see what happens and stay in for 1 night so there is no risk of DS2 throwing a strop and insisting I do everything for him with DH not allowed to even hand him a drink which is the usual state of affairs when we're both here. How's that for detail?

Sorry Rosa x-posted with you earlier - had started a post and got called away and so didn't see yours before I posted. Glad the scan went well. From talking to others on these boards it seems it's really common to get bleeding in early pg, particularly around the time your period would have been due. The consensus seemed to be that browny blood = stuff that's not needed anymore so not to worry but any fresh red blood should be checked out immediately. Sorry if TMI! Oh and I am due middle of January so will be sticking around for a while yet

Alana glad to hear the baby is lying the right way for you.

Quick question for those who are nearer the delivery date than me... when did your consultant/midwife talk to you about a birth plan?

Hello all

Glad to hear everyone seems to be doing well, and some lovely positive scan news.

Been trying to finish off a little potential work this end but have now decided that I'll give it a few more days then all it quits as my head is in neither work space or prepare for baby space properly, and am starting to fret!
Two ladies on my ante-natal thread have had their babies (at 35+1 and 36+2) so the reality of this is starting to sink in ... and the reality of actually giving birth
Feeling ok in myself though so that's nice and have even managed 2 full night's sleep - long may that continue!!

Rosa know what you mean, all the books I read gave causes for bleeding - but none of them said there might be no obvious cause. Depending on what you read, I've come across stats like up to 1/4 of women have some bleeding and most go on to have normal pgs. Anyway it's good to hear you've had another scan that was fine!

I had an interesting mw appointment yesterday as she couldn't tell which way up the baby was. I have had a big hard lump at the top, and she could feel that but not a similar lump at the bottom. She wasn't sure if it was just a case of the head being so well tucked in and at the back that she just couldn't feel it, but got packed off to the hospital for a presentation scan.

Of course after a short journey where I had completely accepted the inevitable c section.....and was even thinking it might be a good thing got there to see the baby is indeed head down. Anyway despite the mw saying you wouldn't get to see anything at such a late scan, got a fantastic view of the baby's profile as s/he sucked thumb and had a drink of fluid so was well worth it (even the car park fee for a 10 minute visit)

Still have to push them out then

MaHobbit and Alana hope your mw appointments went well

Lal congrats on starting your leave, must be bliss!

Scarlotti how are you doing?

Hope everyone is doing ok and still hanging in there.

BlondieBump had hiccups for the first time while in bed the other night - the cat's face was a picture as she stared at my wobbly tummy (though hubby slept through it all!)

Good to hear all the news !

Suze, I had a similar predicament with feeding little B and tried for what seemed like ages to breastfeed but then in the end settled for a bottle/breast combo and it worked a treat - a little bit of this, a little bit of that and no problems for anyone.

On the update I am ok though am up to scan 3 in 10 weeks with actual 12 week scan still 2 weeks away.

The last scan was the midwife's idea at my booking in appt as there had been a little bleeding and cramping that morning. All well on the scan and bleeding and cramping stopped so I feel much better again.

Apparently bleeding and cramping is not uncommon in the first trimester yet I have read no mention of it in any of the pregnancy literature other than to say SEE YOUR DOCTOR warning warning etc.

Hmmmm, the gyn said she did not know why it happened only that it did happen and was not uncommon.

Question : where are all the women due btw Jan and May ? Soon it is just going to be Mahobbit and me left here

Glad everyone's well. I had a few days of complete calm. Convinced all was well. Even got brave enough to go to a home birth info session!
Today is a bit more wobbly. Sprout had me up for hours in the night, with full on screaming. Now I'm an overtired emotional wreck. Still no scan date but I do have my booking appointment tomorrow.

Really sorry I haven't been in - need a spare hour or so to get caught up with everyone!! Am now 37+1, on annual leave with maty leave starting in a couple of weeks. Spending some time with DD1 - which is lovely.

STILL not really believing that in a few weeks we'll have a wee baby in the house - really looking forward to meeting her.

ANyway - DP needs computer to do some work - will try to get caught up soonxx

lal

suze good to hear from you and glad you're not beating yourself up about the bf. Sometimes it works and other times not, Mahala is thriving and that's all that matters

blondie great news on your bargains!!

alana hope you've sorted out help for tomorrow.

All good here, had the IL's down for the weekend which was really nice. Finally got the bag out to start packing for hospital so should get that done this week. Baby has moved downwards so feeling a little less breathless which is nice.

Waves to everyone and hopes the newbies are coping ok in the first few months of worry.

Lovely to hear things are getting better Syd. Hopefully with a bit more sleep you'll be on the mend more quickly.

Blondie 4 hours in car is not really what you need is it? I spent yesterday with pg sister (39 weeks) complaining about having to wait half an hour at 1 mw appointment just as well she doesn't live where I do, have one tomorrow at 2.30 and almost certainly won't make it to school pick up on time so have to sort out help to collect!

Awh Suze great to "see" you! Glad to hear Mahala is thriving - at the end of the day you gave feeding your very best shot but sometimes these things don't work out quite as planned but you sound like you've dealt with it all really really well. Hope the antibiotics are doing the trick and you're feeling better.

Over the weekend I went to the NCT sale with DH and picked up lots of bargains. Went to visit grouchy FIL yesterday (a 4 hour round trip - not really how I wanted to spend my Sunday!) so will be spending this evening laundering/dettol-ing my bargains! <<happily nesting emoticon>>

Hi All and welcome Rosa and Mahobbit

Sorry to be AWOL but LittleSyd and I have been having a real tough time with the breastfeeding - long story involving a baby with a small mouth, inverted nipples (who knew???) and a uterine infection resulting in antibiotics for me which affected her ....

She started losing weight despite me feeding her through cracked and bleeding nipples round the clock every hour. No sleep obviously!
So we have had to go for mixed feeding (some breast, some expressed, some formula). I was devastated at first but have now given myself a good talkiing to and realised it is the best thing for her - and she is now thriving.

Plus as I can now sleep for more than 20 mins at a time I can do things like check in with you guys!

Scarlotti you lost Ashleigh on your list - plus I've heard news of Lola/Nemo on another thread .....

GUSSET PATROL GRADUATES

Cricri - 1st November - GIRL- Elise Vivienne
LackaDAISYcal - 6th November - BOY - Finlay
barbareebaa - 24th November -BOY - William
Jackstini - 10th December – BOY- Harvey
KD73 - 20th December - BOY - Aidan George
downbutnotout – 3rd February BOY
dan39 – 10th February GIRL - Rose
winemakesmummyclever - 17 February - BOY - Isaac Alexander
Bunnyinheadlights - 23 February - GIRL - Carys
Wheelybug - 12th March - GIRL - Lara Florence
TSOM - 17th March - BOY - Seth
Grinningbee – 4th April – GIRL –Amy Florence
Daisy J – 1st April – GIRL – Maya Celine
Scotlass - 17th April - BOY - Nathan James
Swaliswan - 20th April - GIRL
LoobyLou36,- 23rd April GIRL - Matilda Rose
Ladyhelen2 - 2nd May - BOY - Rufus Daniel
Divedaisy - 2nd May - GIRL - Sofiah Rose
Aquababe - 6th May - BOY - Ethan
Youknownothingofthecrunch - 8th May - GIRL - Polly Anwen
Ses - 9th May - BOY - Owen
SparkyMalarky - 10th May - GIRL – Evie
Cece - 23rd May – BOY - Tom
Mumface - 19th June - BOY - Connor Ellis
herbaceous - 8 July - BOY - Samuel
nattythomasandellen -
cornflakegirl - - BOY -
Ashleighbeee - 18th Aug - BOY - James Peter
HerNameWasLola - 28th Aug? GIRL - Tahlia
blogqueen -
sydneysuze - 18th Sept - GIRL - Mahala

CURRENT CONCEIVED-AIR PASSENGERS

lal123 - 25th October
alana39 - 30th October
Tamlin - 5th November
scarlotti - 6th November
Tink08 - 24th November
Fairywing - 11th December
Blondieminx - 18th January
HappyBump - 28th January

So Lal is next!

WI'll scoot through for a quick read of all your news now and pop back on later for a check up. Fingers crossed for all of you, esp newbies, and cannot tell you how happy I am to be baby gazing right now

Oh, this time around I am a lot less worried about going overdue - I've told everyone from my family to my doula to expect this kid in mid-November. I think last time I just couldn't WAIT to go into labour and get my baby on the outside, and well, this time around any day I'm not in labour or recovering seems like a pretty good day. I am not really in a huge rush to get this kid out, as uncomfortable as I am - the only thing is that I will probably have to get on a trans-Atlantic flight some time in January, and I'd like stitches and bleeding etc to be all healed up by then...

Just popping in to say congratulations to Sydneysuze - glad all went well (and quickly !). Beautiful name .

Oh Tamlin hope things don't drag on as long for you this time. Have you started on the raspberry leaf tea/pineapple/long walks/frolicking yet?!

And oh that's so true, the early weeks are definately the worst. Once you've had a couple of scans and started getting kicks it's definately easier to relax and enjoy being pregnant .

Alana I must go on that site soon and see what it says. Will be interested to hear how you get on, please pop back and tell me in a few weeks eh?

Rosa hi, glad to see you're hanging in there

Scarlotti was it today you had your physio appt? Hope they've eased things a bit for you.

I had my 25 week check yesterday and despite everyone telling me I've got a big bump so far it's actually measuring at 24 weeks... So maybe I'm not too huge just yet! It was so nice to hear the heartbeat again. Also got my MAT B1 form and she signed my Health in Pregnancy grant form - have now got to see HR and formalise that I'll pack up for maternity leave on Friday 18th December, yipee!

Have really lovely weekends everyone

That sounds like my kind of coping strategy Tamlin hope you don't have to go through the same thing this time.

Alana, I woke up every day for nine days and WEPT angrily because I hadn't gone into labour over night and my baby was STILL on the inside. Poor DH, I really was getting a bit mental over it all...

Is it actually one of those really easy things then Rosa but just sounds scary to someone who has only used disposables before?

Actually I think my real problem might be that DS2 went to sleep sucking a muslin for nearly 4 years, so perhaps I just can't get my head round using them at the other end . Although when he went for a nap shortly after something chocolatey for pudding at lunch time it looked pretty grim anyway.

Well, it is great from this standpoint, once again, to hear all of your wise words.

I think this first bit is a rough time - sure is for me as I may have said once of twice - and I am thinking of all the other first trimesters posters out there who are still at the kicker checking stage too! No harm in it I guess but it does not make for a relaxing trip to the loo.

Anyway, re cloth nappies I went for Bambino Mios size one which I never actualy got around to using but later one when little B was about 5 months or so I got into the folding muslin ones with outer pants and really liked them

Hear hear Tamlin and Scarlotti. Now just on the look out for a show!

Tamlin I'm so bored already how on earth do you cope with going more than a couple of days overdue? It's not than I'm desperate to have the baby right now - but very happy for it to arrive next Friday when I'll be 37 weeks and allowed to use the birthing centre - but feel I'm pretty much at the limit of putting up with being uncomfortable.

Actually DH would probably dispute that I am putting up with it at all.

Tam you're right. I remember in the early days wondering if I'd ever go to the loo again without scrutinising my pants. I agree that the first half really is the most stressful. Hopefully this thread will prove to be the support for our newbies that it was for me, certainly was a lifeline for the early months for me.

Alana, I hear you on the bobbing up-and-down bit! At my midwife appointment, the baby was 3/5ths engaged, I could finally breathe but could hardly walk. Now he seems to be up under my ribs again!

I am not holding my breath on beating any of you three to the punch. With DS arriving ten days late by LMP (fourteen by my count), I do not think this one will be showing up early! Am making plans for Guy Fawkes so I don't sit around on my due date sulking...

It's funny, I was thinking about this thread the other day as I realized it's been months since I went to the loo with that horrible feeling of suspense, waiting to see more blood. To the posters still trying to get through the first half of the pregnancy, I'd honestly (and sympathetically) say that you're going through the worst of it now - no matter how uncomfortable things get, nothing is harder than those early weeks.

alana I was told about folding muslins etc. too but thought that was a step too far for me!
I've been lent 20 little lamb first size and have picked up a few more along the way so will see how I feel when he's here I think. Not ruling it out and wasn't planning on for the first few weeks either so who knows.

How are you feeling? Struggling a bit with heartburn still here and the spd, but have suddenly realised it's not actually that far away now is it?! [terror emoticon!]
Worked out if this one arrives the same time as DD, then he'll be here a week Monday!!!

Impressed by 2 teeth at 5 months Scotlass both mine took nearly a year to get any!

Blondie I did what I was told by the NappyLady adviser, and bought totbot wraps and teddy nappies as they dry really quickly (no tumble dryer here). Well, almost did as I was told, she suggested getting muslins and folding until the baby is 18lb as it's much cheaper then buying the first size nappies, but that sounded like just a bit too much work.

Scarlotti you don't have to make a decision now anyway, luckily we've been given several packs of the 1st size disposables as I'm not going to use the cloth ones immediately. Definitely sounds wise not to give yourself more things to worry about, but hopefully things will be very different this time.

I was thinking I'd have a few weeks before the baby was big enough for the 1st nappies (start from 10lb I think) then DH kindly reminded me that as the first 2 were 8'3" and 9'3" this one may well be big enough from birth.

scotlass lovely to see you popping in - gosh, 5 months already! Exciting times for you with the sitting and rolling ... he'll be crawling before you know it and then he'll be everywhere Fun food times now too.

Can't believe I missed the announcement of littlesyd's arrival. Congratulations suze and mrsuze wishing you many happy moments with your beautiful Mahala (haven't seen her but am sure she is gorgeous )

How exciting there's so many nearly ready to graduate - good luck

And all the early pg girls, hang in there it's a rollercoaster but time and this thread will get you to the end of what I found was the longest 9.5mths of my life.

My baby boy is just over 5mths now, sitting and rolling, has his 2 bottom teeth and time is going far too fast now

^crunch* did I beat you on the s??

alana well done on the cloth nappies - I'm starting to have a change of heart as trying not to overload myself with good intentions. Not the best reason to use disposables I know but am desperate to escape pnd this time if I can as struggled badly with it last time around.

Excellent, which ones did you choose in the end?

Very excited to have ordered my cloth nappies. Had to tell someone .

have you started on the flapjacks yet? Might help with the energy, well, that'd be my excuse anyway Have you started to pack your bag yet?

How lovely to be on your mat leave... lucky you! I do sympathise about the weeing thing - BlondieBump seems to enjoy dancing on my bladder and I have to go every hour, sometimes more often. Drives me mad but at least it's a pg symptom to cling onto that everything is still ticking along in there!

Ooh that's nice Blondie.

I think I am now pretty much on maternity leave (officially starts 1 October but have done all my contracted days already) and DS2 had his first full day of school yesterday, so am having a lovely time here. Wasting time reading MN mainly, absolutely not nesting (just picking up the same old crap that is left lying around every morning before school and then being too tired to actually do something useful).

Also thinking back to happy days of 1st pg when the baby seemed to engage and stay there - instead of bobbing up and down giving me alternate days of raging heartburn and trips to the toilet every 20 minutes. Not sure which is worse.

Ah Scarlotti thanks for updating the list, well done! And great news that you finally got your physio appt, hurrah! Hope she manages to ease things for you.

Rosa and Mahobbit when is your scan booked for? Keep us posted eh. Do add yourselves to the list as and when you feel ready to

Alana ah I was hitching up a pair of combats which didn't seem to want to stay up with a bump band on Saturday - but hey we're preggers so can't be expected to look a minx all the time eh ? Today I have this on with black opaques and black heels with grey/black/white beads. I'm going to the NCT nearly new sales in our 2 nearest towns this weekend so am hoping to pick up some more maternity clothes for not very much money - along with kit for BlondieBump of course !

Hi Cornflake, how's it going?

Seems strange to think that some of the first posters are now coming up to baby's first birthday!!

Am doing ok this end, apart from feeling like my arm has been cut off as I have no laptop. Spare room pc has to be hard fought against teenage dd and just isn't as comfy as the sofa!

Have physio for spd on Friday so hopefully she can help with that. Heartburn seems to have eased a little which is good, although I think he's running out of room already as I'm getting a bruised bit at the top of my bump as though it's getting pushed too hard from the inside! As I'm only 5'2" I'm not surprised - DS was born with bent feet as he'd run out of room!

Hope all you ladies in the first 12 weeks are doing ok, it's a tough time.

crunch nice to see you - hopefully will be on the post natal thread soon

Thought I'd dig out the list - please update what's not correct and/or add yourself on when you feel ready

GUSSET PATROL GRADUATES

Cricri - 1st November - GIRL- Elise Vivienne
LackaDAISYcal - 6th November - BOY - Finlay
barbareebaa - 24th November -BOY - William
Jackstini - 10th December – BOY- Harvey
KD73 - 20th December - BOY - Aidan George
downbutnotout – 3rd February BOY
dan39 – 10th February GIRL - Rose
winemakesmummyclever - 17 February - BOY - Isaac Alexander
Bunnyinheadlights - 23 February - GIRL - Carys
Wheelybug - 12th March - GIRL - Lara Florence
TSOM - 17th March - BOY - Seth
Grinningbee – 4th April – GIRL –Amy Florence
Daisy J – 1st April – GIRL – Maya Celine
Scotlass - 17th April - BOY - Nathan James
Swaliswan - 20th April - GIRL
LoobyLou36,- 23rd April GIRL - Matilda Rose
Ladyhelen2 - 2nd May - BOY - Rufus Daniel
Divedaisy - 2nd May - GIRL - Sofiah Rose
Aquababe - 6th May - BOY - Ethan
Youknownothingofthecrunch - 8th May - GIRL - Polly Anwen
Ses - 9th May - BOY - Owen
SparkyMalarky - 10th May - GIRL – Evie
Cece - 23rd May – BOY - Tom
Mumface - 19th June - BOY - Connor Ellis
herbaceous - 8 July - BOY - Samuel
nattythomasandellen -
cornflakegirl - - BOY -
Ashleighbeee -
HerNameWasLola -
blogqueen -
sydneysuze - - GIRL - Mahala

CURRENT CONCEIVED-AIR PASSENGERS

lal123 - 25th October
alana39 - 30th October
Tamlin - 5th November
scarlotti - 6th November
Tink08 - 24th November
Fairywing - 11th December
Blondieminx - 18th January
HappyBump - 28th January

Oh, it is asterisks not speech marks to make words bold...!

Congratulations "Syd" ! That is a lovely birth story, so good to read positive ones. I hope the breastfeeding is coming right - it did take B (son) and I a while to figure it out.

"MaHobbit", welcome to the slightly paranoid corner !! I think I am Princess Paranoia at the moment (feel free to be Queen !)

I can only imagine it wears off as time goes by and hopefully the 12 week scan is a huge reassurance

And Tamlin and Scarlotti due about a week later so could be anyone of 4 next
[panic how did it come round so soon emoticon]

Blondie like the outfit, sounds very glam compared to the hitching up jeans every 30 seconds look I'm working.

Just in case I haven't added enough, here's another one...

Syd how did I miss this?

That sounds so wonderful

Mahala is such a beautiful name. I am so pleased for you all.

There really isn't much more to say

So <peers at list> lal and alana you're next! It's a race to the finish

Welcome MaHobbit congratulations and welcome to the thread. Do you have a scan booked in for next week, it seems a bit more real once you've seen it on the scan somehow.

Hi all. Bit of a watershed day for me today - first time I've worn an outfit made up entirely of maternity clothes to work, up till now I've always had something from my "normal wardrobe" on! Am wearing a black pencil skirt from South, with a fine knit grey top from Mothercare and Mothercare cerise pink tights to brighten up what is a rather dull Monday here in the City . Have got my 25 week check up on Thursday, can't wait to hear the heartbeat again .

Sending happy, sticky bean vibes to all.

Syd congratulations, that sounds like as good an experience of birth as you could have and Mahala is a beautiful name. I'm sure the feeding will come right, it took us a couple of weeks to feel comfortable with it first time round and had some great support from midwife and the hospital's own BF counsellor. I'm so happy for you

Welcome to MaHobbit know how you feel about the paranoia, you're in the right place as we've all been there (and probably still are!). Hope everything continues to go smoothly for you.

Syd congratulations!! Welcome to Mahala wonderful labour story too, nice and quick at the hospital is what we want.

cornflake thanks so much for my parcel, you are an angel.

Apologies for not being online, my laptop has died (feels like my arm has been cut off tbh) and so am fighting DD (15) for the house pc up in the spare room.
Laptop is work one too though so now desperately trying to work out how to get at all the data I have on it! I know what my day tomorrow will be spent doing.

Will catch up properly again soon - waves to everyone...

Congratulations Syd.

Newbie asking if I can join? First pregnancy was a mmc, second had a bleed at 6 weeks (evident on scan) but the little 'un hung on is now 18months old. Am 11 weeks if all OK but to be honest am still paranoid.

Oh Syd, that is one of the nicest birth stories I've ever read - I'm so glad for you! Congratulations on your little Mahala.

Oh Suze that is wonderful news - well done, it sounds like you did brilliantly. Congratulations to you and MrSyd! I was welling up reading your post, am so glad she arrived safely and Mahala is a really lovely name. Are you getting help with the feeding? I know the NCT has a breastfeeding helpline which is 0300 33 00 771. You will come back and post here won't you and keep us updated on your news eh? I understand there's a KC's postnatal thread so with any luck I will "see" you over there in January

Rosa sorry to hear you had a scare but glad they were able to reassure you and show little one is still going strong in there. Suze's news is proof that it does come good in the end - even if we worry ourselves silly along the way

Have fab weekends all

Hurray! Congrats suze and Mahala - beautiful name! Happy 1 week birthday! And how wonderfully straightforward.

Are you getting good help with the feeding?

So on Thurs 17th Sept I woke up feeling like I was having period cramps and I just thought – aha! Maybe this is it! They got stronger through the day, helped along by all the techniques in our arsenal (pineapple, bouncing on birth ball, RL tea, burning clary sage, lavender in bath, hot sex with MrSyd, long walks in hills/forest/dale with very happy DogSyd. And I just knew through the day that something was happening. I figured this was the very beginning of pre-labour as I was having mild, increasingly regular cramps, and feeling really energetic.

From about 8pm on Thurs I felt they were becoming regular and I had my first proper contraction – more painful but not enough to stop me sitting down to a full chicken dinner with my family (?)
Not much gets between me and food

So at about 9pm MrSyd and I drove back to ours, figuring things were going to start properly happening over the next 24hrs or so. I got into a lavender bath, and our friend who’s a retired midwife came over to hang out with us. She confirmed I was having proper contractions and I got out of the bath, strapped on the TENS, and sat bouncing on my ball to watch a Woody Allen movie .

Rang the hospital when my cx were about 3 mins apart, they said ‘stay home, you sound like you’re e coping’ plus they told me someone else had just gone in their only birth pool so I was not keen on moving. MrSyd and I lay on the bed to rest, then my cx increased to the point where I started making low noises, and I had a bit of a show. I told our friend I was getting the shakes so she said we should go in and rang the hospital.

In the car the cx were increasing and I was thinking ‘oh I hope I’m 5 or 6cm so they won’t send me home again and I won’t have too long to go’. I was in quite a bit of pain by now but could talk between cx.
We have a parking ticket that shows we arrived at the hospital at 2.06 on Fri 18th Sept. LittleSyd arrived at 2.52!!!!!

So basically I arrived at the delivery suite, said ‘I think I’m going to throw up’ – but didn’t, took one look at an open delivery room, lunging in there, knelt on the floor grabbing a chair and MrSyd, and had my baby! There wasn’t even enough time to process any paperwork and as for my birth plan ....

I had gas and air and needed a few stitches but that was it. She was born healthy and with a great Apgar score, she was on my breast by 3am. I can’t help thinking that this easy labour was like a gift from my poor boy who was induced as this made it more like a second child than a first.

LittleSyd’s name is Mahala (it was my great-aunt’s middle name and means ‘tenderness’ in old Arabic/Hebrew) and she weighed 6lb 12. She is, of course, the most perfect child that ever existed

Sorry not to post sooner but have been in fog! We are doing well but having trouble with the feeding. Hope all’s well with all of you and will have a proper read of everyone’s news as soon as I can.

I cannot thank everyone on this thread enough for all your support. I really don't know how I would have made this journey without you all

Oh Rosa that must have been awful, glad to hear you were able to get another scan and everything's ok. It sounds like you have a good set up where you live.

I know what you mean about turning into a worrier, I now seem to invent things to worry about when nothing is actually going wrong

Hi, I am still here and ok.

I had a bit of scare yesterday as I had started bleeding the night before which continued into the morning. I freaked out a bit and got an appointment for another early scan.

I felt a bit silly when I turned up as the bleeding had stopped and I was feeling ok but the nurses, who are sooooo nice, said I should go ahead and reassure myself, which I did and things are fine and the little creature is still alive and well with a strong heartbeat.

Hooray. What a day though. Prior to all this business I was not worrier but now...hmmmm.

Anyway, it great to read others posts and it is so exciting that so many of you are so near !!

hurray!

I'm going to Mothercare on Sunday so am planning to ask them about it as I understand they stock a few different ones....

Hope all is well with Suze, can't wait to hear all about it!

Blondie the belt would be no good for that, it's thinner at the back so doesn't go anywhere near the coccyx area. But - hurray - it is tight enough to hold my jeans up.

Alana thanks. It is for the back pain (cocycx area) and tbh if the Carriwell adds to the pressure on your bladder I'll be giving it a wide berth - am still weeing every 5 minutes and several times in the night the only way I'm coping with it is to think that BlondieBump is obviously still firing on all cylinders if he/she is sending its waste to me at all hours! Went to pregnancy yoga last night for the first time and that has helped a bit, as is regular back massages from DH!

Lal good to see you, how nice to only have a couple of days left. Have you had a nice time nesting? I heard that as the baby grows it has less space to move so that slows the rate of movement down apparently...

Scarlotti how are you doing, how's the heartburn?

hope all and especially the newbies are doing well

cornflake sorry, have emailed now. Ended up falling asleep earlier

lal good to see you - hope you're keeping well and looking forward to mat leave. Looks like you, alana and I are around the same due dates - very exciting!!

(scarlotti - have you emailed yet? i haven't received anything - it's not an addy we use much, so not sure if it's working okay...)

evening all - and welcome to all our newcomers - here's hoping the next few weeks fly in for you and that everything goes well. Just to warn you though - the worry never goes - I'm 35+3 just now, and worrying that baby's not moving as much as she was...
I'm another one who's peeved that I'm having to buy a pair of maty trousers this late on - am down to either 2 pairs of work trousers or one pair of jeans (which constantly fall down!)

Now only 2 days left at work - busy clearing my desk for the last few days - very weird feeling!

Its only been over hte last few says when I've started feeling really uncomfortable, and started to feel excited about meeting our new daughter - still don't believe she'll be here in 4 or 5 weeks!!!!!

Thanks Scarlotti, was nice to be in work but very pleased to be able to say goodbye and see you in October 2010 as I left

Blondie I bought the Carriwell support thingy - wore it to work today and it is very, well, supportive. By the end of the day was actually a bit of a relief to take it off as I think once I'd filled up with food and drink it was putting a bit of very unnecessary pressure on bladder. Can't remember if you wanted it mainly for your back - can definitely say it's good for the aching feeling you can get under your bump, but having had a miraculous escape from back pain this pg (spent a month hardly able to walk when pg with DS2) I don't know if it would do anything for that.

cornflake - don't worry, am amazed you're getting on here at all with a newborn! Will email you details.
Hope you're managing to catch up on sleep during the day, not easy with other dc's I'm sure.

alana hope your last day at work went well. My heartburn has just stepped up a notch so am warmed by your tales of it going around the 35 week mark - no doubt now my little one will stay firmly under my ribs for the next 6 weeks
Hooray for more flapjacks

scarlotti - apologies, had a couple of not so good nights, so haven't been on. don't have cat - email me on purchase dot manager at ntlworld dot com (DH's random email address!) with your address and i'll send you the belt.

Scarlotti you're in Brighton aren't you? Might it be worth posting on here to see if there are other pg women who might want to meet up? Or trying <<whispers>> local board on another similarly named but very different website?

I seem to have got over 3 weeks of hideous heartburn (got through 2 large bottles of Gaviscon, luckily I love the flavour ) but now up much more at night so guessing there's been a slight drop in the baby's position. Generally very uncomfortable though, it's horrible isn't it. Sat in the antenatal class with a very uncomfortable feeling in pelvis and back, actually getting a bit worried at one point - I think I was having lots of BH and wondered if your cervix starts effacing from round about now (just coming up to 35 weeks, anyone know?) because that's where the feeling seemed to be.

Also had a day of absolutely mental baby action - honestly having had lots of muffled movements due to this anterior placenta, yesterday it seemed to have no sleep and spent most of the afternoon and evening kicking me in the ribs, so again guessing it's moved down a bit and has created a bit more room at the top. Not getting the melon between the legs feeling yet though so can't be too far down . Now just have to work out a way to spend 5 weeks not thinking that every twinge is early labour and then probably going 2 weeks overdue!

Anyway, last day of work today so feeling very happy (and only 2 more days of school before DS2 actually gets to stay for the whole day, and I get more time to put my feet up and eat flapjacks).

Scarlotti in our area the NCT runs something called Bumps & Babies which runs on alternate Fridays and is for expectant mums and mums with little babies of up to 12 months who are too young to go to toddler group. They have a resident breastfeeding adviser on hand too. I've been once as part of my scheduled antenatal classes and it was nice - had a cuppa and a biscuit and learnt about making "treasure baskets" of objects for littlies to play with. It's only £2 a session. Is it worth seeing if the NCT out your way runs a similar group? Also in our area someone publishes something called the Baby Book (they leave stacks of copies at the antenatal clinic at the hospital) and it has a directory of baby/toddler groups, there's something on pretty much every day and I think they all only cost a few pounds to attend - could you ask your MW if there's a similar book in your area? And good luck with the physio, hope they bump you and your bump up the list a bit

Suze also hoping all went well and looking forward to hearing your news!

Hi to all the newbies also, do keep us all updated on your news. Wonder how Littleonemum got on with the scan on Monday?

blondie thanks for the link, there is a refresher course but it's over my due date!! Think maybe I've left it a bit late. Anyway, it's £105 so I think I'll have to find a cheaper way to meet some other mums.
Physio appt is late next week so still a while to go. No joy with bringing it forward at all, although I might have another go today.

suze you are noticably absent now so really hoping that means you're baby gazing Hope all went well. Look forward to hearing your news soon.

alana how are you keeping? You're a week ahead of me I think ... are you getting uncomfortable? Know physically things for me are getting more difficult as the weeks pass. The last two nights have seen me wake up with heartburn - I forsee yet another delight on the horizon

Hope the newbies are all doing ok and staying sane whilst waiting for the magic 12 week mark

Hi all*

*Scarlotti I know the NCT run refresher courses in our area, is it worth looking online to see if they do out your way too? You can search for courses in your area here Any news on your physio appt? I got DH to massage the bottom of my back as per the Gentle Birth manual and I have to say it made a huge difference. Worth borrowing a copy from your local library and giving that a whirl too?

hi Alana I just popped on hoping for news from Suze too! How's things with you?

Rosa welcome, congratulations and you are in the right place for handholding! Hope your stay here is long and uneventful! We have a couple of ladies on here who are in that scary wait time until the 12 week scan. I think Littleonemum was going for her first scan yesterday actually...

Am wondering if this little one might be a girl - it was like there was a disco going on in there on Saturday night when I was watching Casino Royale... maybe BlondieBump likes Daniel Craig too!

Scarlotti it's one run by the hospital - they don't let you go on the proper active birth courses unless you're a first timer but they run a women's only 3 hour refresher. Was reasonably useful but no good for meeting other people as it was a one-off, too crowded and they were mostly from the far side of the hospital's catchment area as far as I could tell.

Thanks !

It is reassuring to find you all here.

I am sure in a few weeks time the anxiety will pass and then I can get on and enjoy this pg, just like the last successful one. I have one son who is just over 2.

alana where did you find your refresher class? Have been wondering if I need one, but also thought it might be a nice way to meet a few mums too.

Hi everyone and welcome Rosa - just popped on to see if there was any news from Suze but nothing since Thursday!

Have antenatal refresher class tomorrow, so my approach of blocking out any thought of giving birth has about 18 hours left to run then I can spend the next 6 weeks worrying that it won't be any quicker or easier this time.

Rosa welcome to the thread and congratulations
A heartbeat at that stage is really good news as the chances of m/c after that drop to about 3%, then drop again at about 10 weeks.
It's a tough time until you get past the previous point, but there are plenty of us here who've been in the same situation so air any concerns you have.
I had 2 m/c before finally getting pg with #3 and I'm now 33+3 so there's light at the end of the tunnel

Hi, I had an MMC in late May at 13 weeks after not feeling pregnant at all for the whole time but not knowing such a thing as a MMC existed ??! Found out at the 12 week and was shocked and sad.

Now I am pg again - 8+1 - and feeling nauseous and very grumpy and weepy which is good / bad I suppose. Still do not feel like it is real and keeping it all very quiet. I want to be excited but am not letting myself.

I did have an early scan at 7+5 which was reassuring as we saw the heartbeat. But roll on the 12 week scan again.

Am keen to hand-old too to be honest !

Good luck everyone !

cornflake - that would be great if you don't mind. It's still 2 weeks until my appointment so anything I can do earlier would be good.
Lol at the possibility of my non-pg bits being slim ... but I could kiss you for writing that they might be

Can you CAT me so I can give you my email address, and also a way to get the postage costs to you?

scarlotti - i have an spd belt you can have if you want? my physio basically told me to put my feet down on the floor before pulling my torso up when gettong out of bed, and gave me a belt and some bumf. so i'm happy to pass it on if you want it. (it's a three part elastic and velcro affair - looks like it would cover a fair range of sizes, although if your non-preg bits are very slim it might not go small enough.)

hi to everyone else - looking forward to suze's news!

I've asked to be put on the cancellation list - apparently the obstetric physio is always booked up in advance and people then don't turn up I might give your idea a try next week though, maybe just phone and say the pain has got much worse and see what happens.

Had a lovely day today with DS, went to a local farm with some friends and spent most of the day there. 2-4-1 vouchers from the muller yoghurt packs and a picnic meant we only spent £6 for the whole day. Kids got tractor rides too - an idyllic day really and really cheered me up

suze hope you're labouring or baby gazing as we speak

blondie I've heard a few people speak about arnica and how good it is for after labour. Great that you're starting to show properly too - nice to feel you look properly pregnant

awh Scarlotti that's rotten, can you ring them and say "I'm x weeks and have a referral for physio for SPD, I understand under NHS guidelines this should be considered urgent and therefore a 2 week delay isn't really on, please can you help me with an appointment for early next week?" I can well understand that if everytime you move it hurts that you won't want to be getting on with sorting stuff out. Good luck with getting your appointment.

Suze hope all is progressing well with you and that you won't have to be eating any more pineapple for a while

So apparently my my bump is getting bigger - 3 people at work have said to me today "ahhh look at you - when are you starting your maternity leave?". It's all out the front, haven't puffed up anywhere else yet thank god Have been to Holland & Barrett earlier, this recommends arnica tablets for cocycx/back pain so I thought I'd try that. Have also now got letter from GP to give to work, so they can't argue with that!

Hello ladies

welcome to LOM*

*Suze how exciting!! It does sound as though things could be starting for you so fingers crossed

Blondie glad all is going well

waves to Crunch and Tamlin

Not much happening here really, spd still there and increasing a little. Got the physio referral but now have to wait 2 weeks for an appointment I'll have had the baby at this rate!

Finding it hard some days to motivate myself now I'm home. It's as if the due date is just that little too far in the future to spur me into getting stuff sorted.
Remind me of what a lazy slattern I've been when I'm on here in a few weeks moaning I don't have enough time to get everything ready!!

oooooh how exciting Suze, will be thinking of you and keeping my fingers crossed all goes to plan for you for LittleSyd's arrival!

PS - PSML at "Maison de Regard Nu"!

Still here I'm afraid! You might be waiting a while for your birth story Crunch!

However, after an early morning of MrSyd activity followed by a breakfast of half a pineapple (will never, ever be able to eat them again at this rate) washed down with RL tea while burning clarysage and bouncing on birth ball ....

I think things may be starting to happen...

Been having consistent period-type pains all day, had a bit more - TMI alert - muccous, and feel bizarrely energized (trust me, have not felt this buzzy in a loooooong time).

Tamlin lovely to see you again and glad you're taking positive steps to focus on this baby's birth

LOM welcome to the thread - fingers crossed for your 7 week scan.

Alana I feel your pain re maternity trousers esp. I got some good 34" long mat jeans from topshop but even those fall down now. I ended up living in ordinary New Look and White Stuff long length trousers and just sized up - still doing that now at 40+ weeks, although it is all a bit builders' bum from behind if I don't wear a bump band

Mine are from NewLook Maison de Regard Nu too Scarlotti!

Hooray for bumpy kicks Blondie they do make you feel all is well with the world don't they?

Right, off to walk DogSyd again (she really thinks all her Christmasses have come, it's going to be such a shock when the baby comes after all the walking she's had lately!).

Will keep you all posted ....

oooh hopefully you might have a chance of seeing a heartbeat around the seven week-ish mark, fingers crossed for you. I had my early scan at almost eight weeks and it was so reassuring to see it flickering away! Let us know how you get on please!

Actually, the early scan is on Monday - when I'll be 7 weeks exactly I think. Hope that's far enough along to tell me something or other...

Welcome LittleOne congratulations on your BFP and I hope you have a peaceful stay on the thread too! Are you being looked after by your EPU and sent for an early scan at 8 weeks?

<<hopes that the reason we haven't heard from Suze today is that things have started happening >>

Crunch thanks, well I'm taking it all one day at a time and trying not to let the bastards awkward sods get me down!

Alana sorry to hear you had such a nightmare shopping trip. It does seem that all the best stuff (even from high st shops) is online... worth a browse later on?

Hi to all (especially the newbies), hope everyone is doing well today.

Congratulations LittleOneMum and welcome, you're in the right place

Hello Can I join too? Had a MC in August and appear to be pg again (6 weeks I reckon). Can I hand-hold? (waves at coffee ).

alana oh dear. I lived in yoga trousers the last couple of months month (made me feel one step up from tracksuit bottoms ). On the plus side I just bought myself a pair of size 12 jeans (accepting that I won't be a size 10 again any time soon) and they fit! I'm finally feeling me-shaped again (albeit a bit lumpier), as with all things maternity jeans too will pass. Glad you're being allowed a girl, I had a bit of trouble persuading my boys it would be a good idea, I kept pushing the "she won't want to steal all your stuff if she's a girl" ... of course I neglected to tell them that their mother was a complete tomboy and was far more like to be found playing with cars in the mud than with a barbie

coffee welcome. We all know exactly how you feel! Congratulations on your BFP I hope you have a long and uneventful stay

blondie hope you sort things with work soon. Lovely to hear you talking about bump kicking

syd great news about the scan. Stupid MWs panicking you in the first place Time to get out the clarysage and raspberry leaf.

scarlotti only 8 weeks! That's fantastic! Oh, I can't wait to read all your birth stories, makes me all smiley.

Tamlin you sound good and organised. There's something about week 32 in the developmental stage that makes the success rate of premies leap up (maybe that's when the lungs mature enough). Not long now.

alana sorry to hear it was so frustrating - I do sympathise though. I went and bought some leggings the other day as I'm starting to get cold where the under bump trousers and t-shirts no longer meet
Am hoping I can use them under long jumpers or dresses as my thighs are not for public viewing that's for sure!
Bought some bump bands from new look for £10 and they really do keep my midriff warm - handy for breastfeeding too I'm told.

Do you have a Brantano nearby? I got a great pair of hush puppies in there in a ballerina style with a velcro strap. Very comfy and expand with my swollen feet

Rant alert.
Just spent the morning shopping - very depressing because
1. I don't really want to buy any more clothes now but down to 1 pair of trousers that don't need hitching up every sodding minute
2. I last wore leggings in about 1985, thought they might be a good option but it turns out my legs are now all lumpy
3. Tried on a pair of ballet pumps in Clarks thinking they might be comfortable as well as nice, and when I said I didn't want them (after they had brought me a 7 although I asked for an 8, in fact seemed surprised anyone could be asking for an 8 - but I'm 5'10, if I had size 5s I'd probably fall over) the very young man directed me to a section of granny lace ups suggesting they might be more comfortable

So now an exhausted owner of yet another pair of maternity jeans, albeit over the bump ones which are grim but might stay up.

Going for a bit of a lie down now!

ah Suze hurrah, that is great news about LittleSyd and your bag so um, more vigourous activity for you then?! Nice sunny day for a walk today eh.

Coffee welcome to the thread, hang in there, I hope the next few weeks are uneventful and go quickly for you.

Tamlin would deffo recommend a book called Your Birth Rights by Pat Thomas - is excellent. I'm currently working my way through thisbut am finding it slightly too alternative, especially the strict diet rules but the massage section looks good so will be pressing DH into service for my poor back tonight! Are you using the same hospital and if so will they give you a debrief on what happened the first time around?

Hope all are well and life is peaceful.

Bargains to be had that I've been sent today - if you order the Mamas & Papas catalogue online they send it out to you with a £5 voucher. Also there are vouchers for money off in the special baby catalogue available instore at Argos. Finally get 30% off at Gap and BabyGap here

Have drafted to the point email to HR with a copy to manager about antenatal appts. It does seem that with a lot of things in life at the moment (work, banks etc) what they are supposed to do and what they try and get away with are 2 very different things! Ah well as long as Bump is kicking away I am a happy girlie and I won't let any of it get to me

Great news Suze

Sydney, I'm so glad that the baby is growing well! (Good news about your handbag too!)

I'm thirty-three weeks now, and finally relaxing about this baby's prospects a bit. I've had friends who had premies, so I know that from this point, his odds are pretty good - I think that the sucking reflex arrives next week..? I'm mostly just trying to focus on relaxing about the looming prospect of childbirth, which isn't easy when just thinking about DS's delivery is enough to make me start crying. I've got hypnotherapy CDs and a growing collection of '..and then my second birth was TERRIFIC!' birth stories to bolster me, and I'm seeing the doula again tonight.

Suze hooray! Glad everything went so well and brilliant news on your handbag. All is now coming together and soon littleSyd will be here too!

coffeee welcome to the thread and hope your stay with us is a long one. When is your 8 week mark?

Mich5lle hope the docs went ok.

Alana glad DS sayd it's now ok if she's a girl!!

waves to Crunch - I'll be joining you in about 8 weeks time too hopefully

Hi all - I'm very tentatively going to join you. I'm still feeling more as though I'm waiting to miscarry rather than pregnant, but hopefully, once I've passed the 8 week mark (the time I MCed in May) it'll start getting a little easier. Fingers very very tightly crossed till May 2010 though!

We are back from growth scan and all is - lovely word - normal

No problems re size (LittleSyd appears to be 6 pounds 14, so not huge but well within range). If she's anything like parents she'll be skinny but long. Am slightly alarmed at the news she has a big head (ouch) but relieved she was not, in fact, spine-to-spine. Her head is fully engaged too which explains smaller bump.

Placenta funtioning fine, anterior but still high up, fluid fine - in fact they didn't even suggest a sweep yet. Hoorah! So it's back to the natural methods for me and MrSyd and the pineapples, hopefully she'll make an appearance during the next few days

And in further heart-warming news a lovely man and his son found my handbag in some bushes and brought it round to my house (driver's licence still inside, plus phone, make-up, sunglasses etc, just not cash, cards or diary) so my faith in the world has been restored.

Hope everyone else is doing ok, welcome to Mich5lle, you're in fine company here. You are fully entitled to all midwife and doctor type appts Blondie don't let your work bully you. Love the sound of Cornflakeboy-bigbum and thanks so much for that comprehensive list Scarlotti, just in time for me to doublecheck my bags. Lal DD5?? Will this be your 6th baby then? Wow! V.impressive. And Alana do you think you're having a girl? What's your gut feeling?

Crunch and Wheely lovely to see you. Can't wait to join you on the Nappy Checkers' thread

Well Crunch I am finally allowed to have a girl, apparently. DS2 has been crying and all sorts whenever it was mentioned as a possibility, but a few days ago announced it would be ok if the baby was a sister (as long as she only likes Fifi and not Barbie, but I'm quite happy with that!). Big relief . Still don't know what we're having though.

Hope visit to the doctor's went well, Mich5lle.

syd any news? I'm eagerly waiting minisyd's arrival! on your behalf at the git who stole your handbag! Grr. My fundal measurements were always average and Pol was 75th centile, my MW never measured in the last month (as once baby has descended you are usually smaller than before).

mich5lle another one with few symptoms here, and the source of all my worries is currently fast asleep on my front. So hope everything goes well for you.

<waves to everyone> I'll never keep up with all your news!

scarlotti not long now! You're due just after ds2's birthday (a very good time IMO) - although he was due to be born when lal and alana are due!

Looking at the list there's been a run of boys lately. About time we had a few more girls.

Thanks girls

Im off to the doctors tonight and promise to tell him everything and how im feeling. Fingers crossed

M x

Aren't they all

Hmm yes cute from a distance

alana yes, it's a list and a half I think! Doubt I'll take that much along with me.
Your ds' are very cute

Oh Suze that really should have got things going shouldn't it! Glad to hear you've got everything changed etc so quickly, and any day now you will have someone else to distract you

Hi Mich5lle welcome to the thread, and as Scarlotti said try not to worry too much about the symptoms, I had lots when I had a mmc last year but this time (now 33+ weeks) symptoms didn't really kick in until 8 weeks. Then started vomiting at work like something out of a horror film .

Scarlotti that's an impressive list, I am slowly filling my bag but today's landmark was the arrival of a moses basket which DSs are very impressed with and spent a while stuffing their soft toys into "so the baby has something to play with".

Hope everyone else is well.

Thanks Scarlotti I shouldn't need to tell them what I'm entitled to - I work for a law firm. Grr. Anyhoo am off to doc's tonight so am getting them to do me a letter (have been posting on the employment board, god I love MN!). Hurrah for new clothes shopping! I've found that most maternity wear is only available online even if it's from normal high street shops. Plus there's good old ebay, I got a great white M&P shirt from there for only £9, this seasons and would have been £45 new!

Welcome mich5lle congratulations and I hope your stay here is a long and happy one. Someone said to me ages ago that it's common to not feel that many symptoms when pg after a mc as your brain is too occupied with worrying to register them. I know it feels like an absolute age when you've just had your bfp but if you can hang on till 7 and a bit weeks and get a scan then hopefully they should be able to show you the heartbeat and once that is there it's so reassuring. Also apparently after 8 weeks your risk of mc drops to 2%. Look after yourself and good luck! We have all been through it on here so we understand.

Hi mich5lle and congratulations on your bfp. It's really hard being pg again after a mc as you are constantly worried something will go wrong.
Symptoms aren't a good indicator of pg, we have ladies on here who only had symptoms when they then had a mc and others for whom symptoms were an everyday thing and the pg went well.
Try and take each day as it comes. Speak to your doctor about your worries and they may be able to arrange an early scan for you around the 7 week mark - a heartbeat at that scan is a very positive sign.

And feel free to come on here and air your worries, we've all been there so understand how you are feeling.

Hi ladies

I thought i would add a message as im in real need of support/advice. Yes im pregnant (and approx 5ish weeks), should be confirmed tomorrow at the doctors. I had a mmc in march and was found at my 12week scan. Throughout that pregnancy i did not have any symptons and did not feel pregnant.Unfortunatley during the early part of the pregnancy i developed a bladder infection and was put on antibiotics. During this time i had bad cramping but nothing else and nothing that made me think i was miscarriaging. This may or may not have been a reason for the mmc.This time i have no symptons (i crave to feel nauseous). My boobs were slightly sore last week but nothing now. I am just so scared that it is happening again to me. Can anyone advise?
Thanks
M x

Oh suze sorry to hear that, what a pain for you and an unneccesary expense with the locks.
Your mum sounds like mine

blondie your work are supposed to let you have time off (paid) for all maternity appointments so they can't actually stop you going. Might be worth reminding them of that.

Just been into town to pick up some leggings and longer sleeve tops as weather has started to drop and my bump is getting cold! Typically Dotty P have got rid of their maternity section as Burton have moved in New look had a few bits and I've bought a few Primark bits in a bigger size - not the most fitted and attractive of things in there though...

Oh Suze v sorry to hear that. What utter scumbags! I had my purse pinched once and although they nicked the cash etc it was found and handed into a police station and made its way back to me. Which is a long winded way of saying with any luck your bag will come back even if you lose a bit of cash - a pain I know but probably not as bad as losing your diary etc permanently...

Hope the cleaning gets things moving for you! Have autoglass been round yet? We had our car broken into at the station 3 years ago and autoglass replaced the window but even though they hoovered they didn't do a very thorough job.... if cleaning the fridge doesn't start things off then workth giving the car a second going over with the hoover and moving all the car seats about etc to make sure all the little bits of glass have gone....

Hope your Monday gets a lot better from here on!

Huge Grrs all round really - my work are being ars*y about me having time off for a class my midwife has recommended. Might post on the employment board as I don't think they're allowed to quibble this.

Hi All

Still here, LittleSyd still very much inside....

Am hopping in fact as during an early evening dog-walk yesterday evening (following some MrSyd action and a cup of raspberry leaf tea) some GIT smashed the window of our car and stole my handbag!!!!!!!!!!

I went into melt-down but DH was brilliant and sorted police, auto-glass etc. Not the best of times to be without one's mobile, purse, credit cards or diary though eh? At least now our house locks have been changed (as keys and driver's licence also in there) so we would be safe to leave the house if I do go into labour...

Can you believe the shock didn't even set me off? Not a quiver. LittleSyd is clearly quite happy to stay put. Am now scrubbing inside of fridge - let's see if that has any effect.

And thinking up all manner of curses for the low-life who did this to us, plus a couple of sidelong dark thoughts for my mother who said 'Oh you shouldn't have left your bag in the car' on hearing the news. No kidding mum!

Even the call centre bank guys and the police managed 'Sorry to hear that' and 'Are you alright?' as a first reation

Apologies for memememe post.....

Talking of heartburn tablets - I have an unused packet of Zantac if anyone can use them? CAT me and I'll post them.

Just checking in - hi all*

*Suze excellent report from Sydney Towers over the weekend! Sounds like you've made several members of the family very happy this weekend and LittleSyd must just be cosy in there and will come out when good and ready I guess! I like the idea of booking an expensive lovely meal but second Alana I hope you get to enjoy your pudding before anything starts! What about booking in some pampering over the coming week - a nice pregnancy massage to ease your back etc? Will be thinking of you!

Hope everyone else and bumps are all well. We went to a family wedding over the weekend so had lots of people coming up to have a look at the bump so that was nice!

Lal there was a thread a while back on packing hospital bags, a tip I remember is to pack a smaller bag of stuff for the baby (couple of babygros and nappies as apparently the hospital don't give you nappies) and also to pack a smaller bag of stuff for your partner e.g. snacks. Keeping the stuff separate makes it easier to find what you need. Oh and the yummy mummy survivial guide says glucose tablets and heartburn tablets are well worth packing!

lal good to hear from you again and that all is well. How many weeks are you now then if you're nearing mat leave? I can imagine how tired you are - I've had an enforced early leaving from work and am finding the extra time to rest and get ready has been a real silver lining to a bit of a shitty situation.

Here's a list from my ante-natal thread - it's very comprehensive!!

dh's Bag:
1 nightdress
1 bf sleep bra
pack of kotex nightime pads (these are cheap & great)
couple of pairs big cheap cotton knickers
2 cereal bars
2 newborn vests & sleepsuits
1 pack disposable nappies
camera
1 ringsling

My Bag:
2 dark bf nightdresses (and there are spares at home)
2 bf sleep bras
breastpads
9 pairs big cotton knickers (more at home)
1 pack kotex nightime pads (more at home)
Surgical tape (to put kotex pads over my cs scar to stop rubbing)
Washbag
Arnica tablets
Multivit tablets
Separate washbag with only a pad, knickers, anti bac wipes for the loo and antibac handwash
Hairbrush with mirror
Lipstick (for visitors / photos - vain I know but I look really pale anyway, let alone after giving birth)
Flipflops for the shower (very messy places...)
Slippers (crocs in my case)
Dark dressing gown
2 large dark towels (more at home)
Tuck box (with healthy, full of fibre snacks)
Eye mask and earplugs for daytime naps
1 pack bodyform nightime pads (more at home)
2 books
bible
puzzles magazine & pen
pad of paper (if I think of something I need when dh isn't there, baby brain makes me forgetful)
cd player & cds (not worth someone stealing)
alarm clock (won't make me popular but ds missed night feeds because staff wouldn't wake me, and he got dehydrated)
straws
feeding pillow
handbag hook (to hang pillow on)

Baby's Bag
5 changes of clothes
2 hats
5 pairs socks (to use as scratch mitts, they stay on better)
Wrap sling
pack of nappies
pack of sensitive wipes (for nightime changes - cs means I won't be able to get water easily)
cotton wool pads for daytime changes
nappy bags

Am not sure how you're supposed to store all that at the hospital tbh, and if you're planning a 6hr birth to home I'm not sure you'd use it all!!

Suze very impressed by the amount of energy you must still have. If I can still be bothered to cut up a pineapple the day before my due date I will be very pleased. Hope the waters don't go in the restaurant until after you've had pudding

hello ladies!

SS - so sorry to hear that you are still going through the mill. You'd think after all us knickercheckers have been through the least we could expect is a straighforward birth!

Scary to see myself nearing the top of the list! Still can't believe we've made it this far! I've been really lucky so far (touch wood!) with nothing too exciting to report - apart from slightly high blood pressure and funny measurements all the time! Two weeks left at work, starting to find it pretty hard going - almost asleep by 3.30 and then having to deal with DD5 until Daddy gets home.

This will have been done to death - but what are/did all you ladies put in your labour bag - so far I've just got a pair of jammies and some big sanitary towels (weird that they are ones which have been lurking in cupboard after last mc - now being put to a happy use!)

tc allxx

Wheely no rush, whenever you can manage would be wonderful

Just popping in to say - Scarlotti - I haven't posted the bags yet. Sorry. Can't do tomorrow either but will do on tues !

Sydney - in my first pregnancy I measured bang on for dates on FH and my dd1 had IUGR and was born 4 lbs 9 oz. With L I was bang on too, or a bit over and she was 7lbs 1 oz - 25th centile. So was not an accurate measure of size in my case and to be honest, I don't think ever is.

Suze glad to see the humour is still strong

DD came early after a day's vigorous cleaning and DS came after my bending over to pick up the post off the mat.

Maybe some vigorous stretching and bending? Any old aerobic dvd's you have that you could get out?!!

Won't be long now I'm sure

Thanks everyone! It really does help to read your messages of support - and lovely to see you dropping back in Scotlass!

OK, update from Raunch Boudoir Sydney Towers.

Hot sex - check (MrSyd very happy thank you)
Enormous pineapple consumption - check
Gym ball actually decreasing in size due to over-use - check
Expensive French restaurant meal booked tonight to tempt fate re waters going in public etc - check
Evening Primrose supplements - check
Long walks - check (DogSyd also very happy)
Raspberry leaf tea - start tomorrow as midwife told me to stay away from that until EDD
Trip to M&S (does Simply Food count?) also poss for tomorrow...

So far nada except backache, periody feeling and the usual Branston Pickles.

Come on LittleSyd!!!! You can do it!

Quick post, just wanted to try and give suze some positive vibes.

Firstly second Alana about getting on all fours as much as you can to try to turn baby, bouncing on exercise ball or leaning over it i found most comfy.

Secondly, they didn't even do fundal measurements on me through my whole pg as they can be so unreliable. As I was such a worrier I did my own and they were always smaller than dates. I was completely paranoid about my size so in the end the mw sent me for a growth scan about 37wks only to be told we were on the 91st centile and he was actually going to be a big baby . Sometimes the measurements aren't wrong, the measurer is. DS was 8lbs 3ozs

Thirdly if your baby is well engaged which it sounds as if is the case this will definately affect the measurement.

I take it your still feeling movements and the fetal heart beat was all right so try not stress too much - the MW would've got you in sooner if she was really worried I reckon.

Now long walks, hot curry, hot sex and plenty of bouncing on the ball for you my girl - this baby is coming soon

Suze sorry to hear you're going through worry. I'd second what alana has said, my mw gave be a +/- 3cm for margin of error and it's certainly not a foolproof method. 2/5 engaged is also nearly halfway and if you think of the depth of a baby's head then that also accounts for different measurements.
For the back to back, get on all fours and wiggle about to try and turn the baby. I'd also see if you can do something vigorous (walking, housework etc.) as that's been known to bring things on.
As alana says though, littlesyd is now full term so worst case scenario is that she comes next week and not quite according to your initial plans. Nature likes to throw most of our best laid plans awry if she can!

Oh Suze you are having a hard time of it. First you're right, if LittleSyd is now well engaged it would cause the fundal height to fall, and anyway the margin of error is +/- 2cm so add that to the change caused by the head moving down and you've got a completely innocent reason for some of the difference.

I'm 5'10" too and have had quite a bit of variation in fundal height (currently back to just about what's expected, but over 3 pgs have been too big / too small at various times and produced largeish babies even when measuring less than number of weeks with DS2 - he was 9'3").

Not sure how helpful any of that is, but measuring small is not necessarily an indication of the baby's size. I know you won't be able to just stop worrying, but try to keep in mind that at least you're now at term so even if it impacts on getting the birth you had planned, LittleSyd is ready to come out and meet you

Oh help am feeling quite anxious and

Had a midwife appt this am - Me and LittleSyd are 39.3 today. She measured me at 34 cms (that's LESS than I was last week) and said I need to go for a growth scan next Tues which is my due date. I'm worried now that either the placenta is becoming inefficient or that my baby has stopped growing.

She did also say that as LS is now only 2/5 palpable the smaller measurements could be because she's really engaged, also thinks back-to-back again (sigh) and this could be causing my smaller bump but I of course am a bit worried. I am tall (5 feet 10) with a long body so quite a bit of room in there.

As Tues is a consultant appt they may want to sweep and or induce if they are worried about my baby's size

And there was me foolishly thinking that I'd got past the worrying stage!!!!!

So I guess I'd better start planning a romantic weekend with MrSyd to try and get things happening naturally before any interventions from Tues?????

CAT sent Scarlotti ! Hope you get it.

Sorry Alana, crossed posts! As Scarlotti said TT stuff is on offer in Tesco at the mo, if there is a store that delivers to you might be worth a look?

Thanks for sharing your experiences, hmm well if mini-Blondie is as stubborn as it's mother then we could be in for a fun time.... I am hoping that if I introduce a bottle early the bubba will be happy to take both but if it doesn't work out, then we will come up with a plan B!

Tbh there are signs this baby is doing things its own way already - currently lying acrossways. Plenty of time yet for him/her to turn though and am doing chiropractor cat stretch excercises most nights so Suze you're not the only KC waving her butt in the air of an evening have also got one of those gym ball thingies and they're supposed to help....

Hiya Wheely, awh what beautiful smiling girls!

Suze oh well done for tidying up the list. Ummm, apparently going for long walks is supposed to help. And apparently there's something in ahem man juice which softens the cervix in readiness so you could try that! Moving swiftly on, is bouncing up and down on the spot in M&S also worth a go, apparently they give you a load of stuff if you go into labour in one of their stores?! If nothing else it might be worth it for the looks you'd get from other shoppers Anyway good luck over the next few days, hope LittleSyd arrives safely and doesn't cause you too much pain on the way out....Will be thinking of you!

Goodness, I hope the newbies do feel comfortable to add themselves to the list, I'm almost the last one! I think some of the others I conceieved at about the same time as are over on the 4 weeks and bricking it lounge instead but I've always found the advice of KC's who are a bit further on than me so reassuring so stuck with this one!

PS cornflake thank you for the ice-cube tray tip, ingenious!

I've bought bags for milk in mothercare before - think they were Avent ones. Not sure why you couldn't just use normal strong freezer bags, I think it's just that the proper ones have marks to show how much etc. but if you've expressed into a bottle you could see and write that on the bag anyway.

Blondie agree with Cornflake and Scarlotti it might be worth waiting a bit if you can. I never had the chance to use any of the milk I expressed with DS1 as he refused a bottle point blank until the week before I went back to work. DS2 started to have 1 bottle of expressed milk as his last feed in the evening from about 5 weeks, then after a while moved this one onto formula in the vain hope it would help him sleep longer. It did mean that when I stopped BF (actually he just decided at 6 months he wasn't going to do it anymore, and has been a stroppy little bugger ever since ) he took to formula in bottles with no problem.

Found the nice slim Tommee Tippee breast pads at last, none of the local chemists stock and have been on a mission as I remember horrible small thick soggy ones before I found the TT ones!

Hi Wheely, think I've set it to receive CAT messages now, would you mind giving it another go?
Thanks

Hi Scarlotti - I have tried to CAT you but you're set to not receive them. If you don't mind putting your email on here then I'll email you !

Hi Wheely - 6 months already!! Glad she's doing so well.

I'd be grateful of any spare bags you have, but don't have CAT so can you CAT me if I don't have it? If not then I'll give you my email. Thanks

ooh and Lola !

ooh and good luck Suze !

<pokes head round door> remember me ? Not been in for a while so not said congrats Cornflake and Ash ! Good to see some more graduates.
I see a coupe of you are after freezer bags for expressed milk - I have some which I won't use (never really got on with expressing). Whoever wants them can have thewm - CAT me and I'll post them (or I can CAT as I have it)

As for me - Lara is 6 month on saturday . A few recentish photos on profile. All going fine - she is on solids, almost off the boob, just about sitting, rolling like mad and trying to crawl. Wah ! Where's my bsby gone ? Still doesn't sleep very well though., grrrrrr....

Just flicking through I see a postnatal thread has started - will come and find it !

Hi All!

Lovely to see you all confidently discussing breast-feeding, pads etc - isn't it amazing to be able to think about after the birth rather than just in terms of oh my god we're never going to make it????

I am so stunned still to be at a stage where I'm now chomping at the bit to meet LittleSyd! Terrified about pain/anguish/trauma of birth of course but also excited to finally have an actual real-live baby to hold

Have had a couple of false starts with minor cramping (more like strong period pains than Branston Pickles) and nausea in the middle of the night, but as yet it has tailed off and come to nothing. All suggestions on getting labour started welcome ladies ...

I've decided to do a bit of list tidying so I have graduated both Cornflake and Ash - well done ladies, you are now fully paid up members of the Graduates List

And what a run of boys we've been having eh?

GUSSET PATROL GRADUATES

Cricri - 1st November - GIRL- Elise Vivienne
LackaDAISYcal - 6th November - BOY - Finlay
barbareebaa - 24th November -BOY - William
Jackstini - 10th December – BOY- Harvey
KD73 - 20th December - BOY - Aidan George
downbutnotout – 3rd February BOY
dan39 – 10th February GIRL - Rose
winemakesmummyclever - 17 February - BOY - Isaac Alexander
Bunnyinheadlights - 23 February - GIRL - Carys
Wheelybug - 12th March - GIRL - Lara Florence
TSOM - 17th March - BOY - Seth
Grinningbee – 4th April – GIRL –Amy Florence
Daisy J – 1st April – GIRL – Maya Celine
Scotlass - 17th April - BOY - Nathan James
Swaliswan - 20th April - GIRL
LoobyLou36,- 23rd April GIRL - Matilda Rose
Ladyhelen2 - 2nd May - BOY - Rufus Daniel
Divedaisy - 2nd May - GIRL - Sofiah Rose
Aquababe - 6th May - BOY - Ethan
Youknownothingofthecrunch - 8th May - GIRL - Polly Anwen
Ses - 9th May - BOY - Owen
SparkyMalarky - 10th May - GIRL – Evie
Cece - 23rd May – BOY - Tom
Mumface - 19th June - BOY - Connor Ellis
herbaceous - 8 July - BOY - Samuel
Ashleighbeee - 18th August - BOY - James
cornflakegirl - 20th August - BOY

CURRENT CONCEIVED-AIR PASSENGERS

HerNameWasLola - 26th August
blogqueen - 31st August
sydneysuze - 15th September
lal123 - 25th October
alana39 - 30th October
Tamlin - 5th November
scarlotti - 6th November
Tink08 - 24th November
Fairywing - 11th December
Blondieminx - 18th January
HappyBump - 28th January

Newbies feel free to add yourselves (or not - no pressure) whenever you're ready. I always love looking at all the graduates and flicking back through the threads to read their stories - there's always someone who's been through a similar situation to you and it's so comforting to see they have emerged from the miscarriage grief to have a baby

the other option with freezing is to freeze in ice cube trays and then transfer the cubes to plastic bags. think it's then okay to use normal bags as the milk is frozen so won't absorb the plasticiser (please check that as it's been a while). ice cubes are useful as they give you more flexibility over the size of the feed you defrost.

i know what you mean about wanting other people to feed - i found it great to express so that dh could do the 10pm feed so i could sleep!

I will keep my eyes peeled for those then too and let you know if I spot any, and in which supermarket (I rotate between Tesco/Asda/Sainsbury and when it opens near us later this month am hoping to give Waitrose a try occaisionally too!)

Yes, Lasinoh do some but I haven't managed to find them yet in supermarkets. Will let you know when I hunt them down!

ah great stuff, result on the steriliser then! I read somewhere that you have to have special freezer bags for breast milk, if that's true can you let us know which ones you choose?

I am going to give combined feeding a try after the first week I think, really want DH to be able to give the bubbba its bottle and for others (eg the grandma's) to be able to feed, especially for when I go back to work. Will see what the baby makes of it all and take it from there I think...

Lovely mattressy softness is good, waddling as you can't quite put your legs together is not so good!!

My understanding is similar to cornflake, think you need to wait a little longer than 3 weeks to introduce anything 'fake'. 5 or 6 weeks should be ok though and would be in time for your wedding Blondie. I've even read that a dummy can mess things up - I've used one with both of my dc's, one fed beautifully and the other didn't so not sure on that one.
Definitely wait until your milk is established though before skipping any feeds. Expressing will help that though.

I managed to get the electric one in Tesco and I've bought the manual pump too so fingers crossed now I'm ready to go. Just need some freezer bags!

Thanks Cornflake, I am working up to joining a thread on the feeding board! . Like Scarlotti I'm hoping that using the TT Closer to Nature range will minimise any nipple confusion (I know that phrase shouldn't make a 30 year old snigger but I can't help i...1)

Why are you all dissing maternity pads? Lovely mattressy softness on your traumatised bits - what's not to like?!

blondie - would suggest you get some advice on the feeding boards if you're planning to introduce bottles that early. BW is fab, but she wasn't quite so hot on her breastfeeding knowledge. (My understanding is that there could be a couple of issues that early, nipple confusion because bottles are easier to suck from and require a different technique, and also that your milk wouldn't be established, and without frequent feeding it could dry up. But I'm not an expert.)

Free tummy butter samplehere girls!

I do think NCT was worth joining (£39 for 2 of us for a year's not bad isn it!), as me and DH are first time parents we're doing the classes. I like the newsletter too and they organise lots of events as well.

We're hoping to do mixed feeding too (have also chosen TT Closer to Nature!) but our Tesco only had the microwave steriliser and I wanted the electric one - but I picked it up in Asda and got a £5 off the £35 tag with a Bounty voucher, result! According to the Baby Whisperer (current train book!) as long as you establish mixed feeding before the bubba is 3 weeks old it should be fine. Have got to talk to my MW about putting my name down to borrow an electric pump (which frankly sounds grim) but at least then I'll have a bit more freedom to go out. Oh and apparently you can freeze your milk, which I never knew before - but it has to be defrosted in a bowl of warm water and never in the micro (apparently that does something weird to the proteins in it!). We have a wedding to go to 6 weeks after our due date so am hoping one of the nana's will have the baby for us!

Blondie there's a nearly new sale near me on the 20th so I'm thinking of heading over to that. Not a member though so don't get the first pick - do you think it was worth joining?

Funny actually as I've been researching a little more about DS' birth, as I was monitored due to meconium in my waters. With hindsight though, I don't think there was much in there at all (I didn't know the water itself is slightly yellow) and all the facts point to him never being distressed. I tore as his heartbeat dropped at the end and I was told to 'just get him out'! It turns out that all babies' heartbeats drop when being pushed out and so was probably perfectly natural. Had I not been strapped to a machine it would have been a much more controlled pushing stage, and I'd have been able to remain mobile the whole time.

Anyhoo, hopefully this time the pool will be free and I'll just loll about in there

Went for the Tommee Tippee Closer to nature one, as decided to use those bottles too for any mixed feeding. Apparently they are designed to minimise any nipple/teat confusion. Will wait and see if that actually proves to be true

Alana in our area there is an NCT newsletter which is delivered to members, and it has a small ads section at the back... If you go on the NCT website you can also see when the next nearly new sales are in your area. Apparently you have to get there early, bring cash only and get your elbows ready. I'm going to one on 3rd October so will report back!

Scarlotti I know this isn't your first bubba but if you get a chance do read Pat Thomas's book Your Birth Rights, its very informative and talks about the pro's and cons of each drug and intervention. Basically a lot of what she says is that "active management" should be avoided in favour of supporting the mother progressing through labour at her own speed as many studies have shown that the more drugs/instruments used in a birth, the more liklihood there is of complications for both the mum (tearing etc <<scared witless emoticon>>) and to the bubba (side effects of drugs etc). Reading it has made me feel much calmer about the birth. Interesting about the towels thing. Isn't it so unfair that we basically get 9 months worth of period all at once after our poor fanjo's have just gone through such a traumatic event? So, which steriliser did you go for, and well done on the bargain!

Thinking of Suze and hoping all is well.

Hi to all!

Yeah, they're not slim that's for sure! I've bought a pack of 12 and think I'll just use those for the first few days then move on to slimmer ones. Haven't had any problems with using normal pads in the past and let's face it, they're much mreo comfortable!

Am hoping that all the stories of waterbirths that avoided tears will come true and I'll be much more comfortable than last time ... I can but dream!

Scarlotti paper pants are horrible (memories of slight rustling and worrying they might tear and fall down after 1st birth) but if they're free it sounds like a good emergency supply.

I was wondering the same thing about maternity pads last week - still a shock to see how big they are - and looked on the childbirth section. Saw various comments about normal slim pads being too effective and sucking every last drop of moisture away from wounds which isn't great, plus many of the pads containing bleach and other chemicals which apparently maternity pads are relative free of. Don't know if any of the comments are backed up by fact but it does sound reasonable.

I've been given some spare paper pants from a friend but not sure i'll use them, can't be nice surely?!
Bought some mattressess maternity pads yesterday for the first bit before normal towels. I read somewhere that the normal towels can inhibit healing due to the layer on top of the pad - anyone got any info on this?

Lucked out at Tesco yesterday as the steriliser I've been thinking about was half price

alana might be worth checking the NCT website for where there nearly new sales are - they're supposed to be very good.
Am feeling a bit better about the enforced time off, more acceptance than anything I think. Hoping to get the house sorted so that my last few weeks can be more restful!

No don't worry not actually buying them, they're just the most depressing thing about the whole baby experience! Have ended up with far too many maternity pants which I don't ever want to wear again, so will be using them up. Granny pants sound useful too though - contraception after the event?

Have ordered my sling - thanks Cornflake you gave me the final push towards the Moby which a few other people have recommended to me.

Scarlotti hope the budget worries can take a back seat now and you can try to "enjoy" the next few weeks!

Blondie where are NCT small ads then? Would quite like to buy some second hand stuff but I haven't had much luck on ebay so need alternatives.

cornflake not sure I'll actually manage feeding in the sling either, but thought it might save my aching arms!

I bought some cheap pants from George (Asda) last time and they're much more comfy than paper ones.

Hi all*

*Scarlotti oh that's great news, glad you've got things a bit more sorted. Its such a relief to know what you'll be doing eh. And congrats also on your bargain sling! . Am thrilled with the basket - the woman also added some sheets as she said she wouldn't be using those again. Hurrah for NCT small ads and Ebay!!

Alana I read on one of those "what shall I pack in my hospital bags" threads that matalan/primark/supermarket knicks work out about the same price as paper ones so you can happily throw them away but that they are much more comfy than the paper ones. Worth taking a look next time you're in town?

Suze hope all is well with you, can't believe how quickly you've gotten to 39 weeks - fingers crossed all goes smoothly for you hun

Oooh Tamlin long time no see - hope all is well with you and bump?

<<waves to any lurkers and hopes that all is well out there with everyone and their bumps>>

alana - you can't really be planning paper pants, surely?! a cheap pack of supermarket granny pants would be so much kinder to your ravaged body...

scarlotti - allegedly you can feed in the moby too, but as this relies on a) holes in your clothes at nipple height and b) having sensibly sized boobs that a baby can stay latched to whilst in motion, i'm pretty sure the whole "discreet feeding whilst doing the school run" scenario won't be happening for us! tbh, wearing the sling does slightly complicate feeding, as have to hoik clothes from under wrap to get boob out. but it's worth it for the freedom the rest of the time.

Oops, meant to say blondie great find on the moses basket

Ash woohoo!!! and a huge warm welcome to little James (my brother's name, great choice) am so pleased for you and tears are now plopping on my keyboard
Sounds like a bit of an ordeal for you but also sounds like you were a proper trooper throughout it all.
Hope you're all settled in nicely in your new home now and it's a wonderful start to the new chapter in your lives.

crunch and scotlass lovely to hear from you and glad all is going so well, if so quickly!

cornflake I've just got a BabaSling on eBay for half price which has only been used 4 times so am thrilled. Apparently you can feed with it so am hoping it helps build my confidence to feed whilst out. Hope your little one is still doing well
Budgeting has been done and things will be tight but we should be ok.
Feeling much better today as managed a full night's sleep last night - amazing the difference it's made!

Suze 39 weeks?! Hope you're all prepared and taking it easy during your last little wait. Not long now

Am nearly 32 weeks here and just trying to use the surprise free time now to sort the house out. Figure if I make plans too for stuff at home, some work is bound to turn up!

Will echo everyone else too, this thread has been a lifeline for me and I certainly couldn't have got through the first 20 weeks without all your support

Ash congratulations glad to hear you are all well and I hope you can now relax and enjoy being a mum.

Thanks for suggesting a wrap Cornflake is on my list to look at so will have a look at the Moby one now (was about to do very boring shop for paper pants and pads etc and any excuse to look at something that will make me think "baby" rather than "pain and unpleasantness" very welcome).

Ash, well done you! I like the name, too - James will be the middle name for this one.

Sydney, I can't believe you're that far along - where has the time gone?!

Yay Ash !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratualtions! You’ve made me blub all over my keyboard, well done you and welcome to little JamesBee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sounds like quite a dramatic delivery, well done you for getting through it so positively and for the breast-feeding. Am hoping for the same myself! Also feel exactly the same about all you KnickerChecking friends, this thread is a lifeline and no mistake.

Now (gulp) I’m 39 weeks tomorrow so looks like I’m next up (I'm pretty sure Nemo/Lola will be on here in a few days with a birth story too) ....

Hugs to all of you

Ash - fab news - congratulations! Beautiful name. Hope you're feeling okay - I'm finally starting to feel human again, although still have some residual spd symptoms.

Preggo - saw your question about bloating - I was really bloated in the early weeks - lost half a stone because I just couldn't eat normal amounts (could plenty afford to lose the weught so not a concern). Anyway, it didn't last long - and from the searches I did on here, it seems pretty normal.

Blondie - well done on the moses basket - hope it's lovely.

scarlotti - hope the budget review wasn't too unpleasant, and that you're feeling less rubbish.

Would like to recommend the Moby wrap to all of you. DS2 looks so cosy in it and it is really handy to have both hands free to eat cake and suchlike.

ash fantastic news, many many congrats. xx

Lovely name too (my boys middle name). Time goes so slowly in pg after mc but so quickly when you're snuggling into your little bubba. 5 months has flown by!!

Sorry to hear you had a bit of a time during the section but glad everything going well now.

Oh Ash that is fabulous news, well done and congratulations on the safe arrival of James Peter (lovely name!).

Sorry to hear about the reaction to the anaesthetic, might be worth having a debrief about that as it may be the pre-med stuff they gave you that made you vom (have had this before when I had an eye operation...) Anyhoo, wishing you a speedy recovery!

Such good news that he arrived ok! Lovely news like that keeps the rest of us hopeful that this time it will work out <<not counting chickens but quietly hopeful emoticon>> and seconded, the ladies on here are the best !

Crunch <<waves>> hope all is well with you, good to "see" you!

ash hurray! Welcome James! So glad to hear of your safe arrival. Poor you, ash, having a reaction to the drugs, but it sounds like everything else is going so well

So good to hear. And I second everything you say about this thread. I couldn't have gotten through the last year without you all, and I miss having the time to talk to you all so much.

xxx

Hey all!!!

OH MY GOODNESS!! I am so sorry for the lack of update, we've JUST got round to getting the internet put into the new place so i am now going to do the birth story....

James Peter was born on 18th August at 12:02 weighing 7lbs 6oz... He was born by C Section after he remained breech. Unfortunately they couldnt get a spinal block in so I was operated on under epidural only, was a strange sensation but after lots of tugging and splattering he arrived and was gorgeous, the anesthetic reacted badly and I was sick a lot during the operation and fell asleep pretty much straight after he came. Spent two nights in hospital and now we're all settled in and tomorrow he will be 3 WHOLE weeks old.. he is exclusively breast fed and has already put on a lot of weight, never dropped any, we're very lucky.

I just wanted to say to all of you ladies that I wouldnt have managed to get through the past 10 months without you all... you were all absolutely fantastic and all of you just beginning your journey, please stick with the knickercheckers, its fantastic support and you were the best virtual friends i could have asked for, I really mean that.

I wish all of you the best and will update again when I can.

Thank you all xxxxxx

ah thanks Alana, I've just voted in the poll which closes at midnight tonight!

Hope all are well and that everyone has a good week with nothing worrying

Still nesting here... am picking up my moses basket and stand tonight, saw lovely M&P one advertised in the local NCT mag, rang the girl and it was still available hurrah! Immaculate condition apparently and only £30!

Just seen this page about the DM column somewhere else on MN, haven't read in detail yet but there is a survey

yes Scarlotti this will be my 3rd too. Glad to hear you're feeling a bit better.

Blondie pg brain means I can't remember any of the detail, but after that Mail article appeared there was a big thread about it and I seem to remember someone from MNHQ saying the journalist hadn't asked them, that was the risk of posting on a public forum etc.

Have a lovely weekend everyone

alana guess it's almost home time, your last for a while

blondie am feeling a bit better today thanks. Been out with DS to meet up with my old nct gang and we had a lovely day. those times make me appreciate the silver lining of being let off early. Planning to do a big budget review with dh this weekend and hopefully that will put my mind at rest a little as at least then I'll know where I stand.

suze hope all is good with you.

Ash hope you're good too and just too busy to post

Ooh Alana lucky you, must be so nice to be packing up. I can't believe that I'm over half way through already, so that last 8 weeks will fly by. Nice to see so many KC's graduating or nearly ready to graduate!

Scarlotti hello, hope you've had a chat with DH now and are feeling a bit perkier today? You do definately matter and I'm sure your DH appreciates that you are thinking about budgets etc even if he hasn't actually said that he does...

Suze sorry I didn't see your post yesterday - think I must've starting writing mine just as you posted or something! LOVED the Daily Mail link, briliant. I spotted someone on another thread the other day with the marvellous username of "fuckoffdailymail" I do love Mumsnet but can't help feeling a leetle bit disappointed its associating itself with that paper! So, into your 38th week! How are you feeling now?

Hi to everyone else, hope the newbies are hanging in there and that no news is good news from KC's who are further along!

alana do you have any dc's already? I have two but am with you on the mixed feelings. Can't wait for him to arrive but know the routine we're all in will have to change - and I don't know to what yet!
As for getting bigger, am only 30 weeks today so am with you on that one. Am alredy big enough to make things uncomfortable!

Scarlotti it's surprised me how I still have slightly mixed feelings about how much my life has to change, even more so this time I think because it has been much harder getting to this point. Don't know about you, but even going past 31 weeks it still feels like there's forever to go before the baby arrives and I can't quite imagine getting bigger and more tired and irritable for another 8 weeks.

Blondie great news, we had the same thing with "down there" on the scan - DH thinks he saw something but they obviously didn't want to leave the picture on screen.

Suze thanks for that link has made my day - will be leaving it on so I can check out a new headline every time I come out of class.

Last day on proper work today - still have some odds and ends but they can be done from home.

bluegrey glad you're feeling better about things, a heartbeat is always a really good sign.

blondie great news on the scan

suze great that you're reached 38 weeks, just the hard physical bit left now then Am sure all will go well.

preggo had definite bloating here in the early stages so don't despair!

alana hope all is well with you.

Doing ok here, feeling a bit more irritable than usual and a bit inconsequential, as though I don't matter. Am sure it's just the hormones but don't feel as though I'm getting much support from dh either. Part of it is the work thing I think, and also feel like I'm the one working out where we can cut costs now while dh carries on as normal - although the logical bit of me knows it's not quite that black and white.
Looking forward to being able to get the real me back when this baby is born!

Afternoon all

Had my 20 week scan this morning and am very happy to say all is fine - which is a real relief as I'd been worrying about the Relenza I took at the 14-15 week mark. Sonographer was a really lovely lady and she gave us loads of lovely pictures too. No idea as to whether it's a boy or girl - it's PCT policy not to tell and everytime she got near "that" area she moved the scanner thingy quickly so we couldn't see for ourselves. But she did say "oh look he's waving"... but then corrected herself to say "oh I call all babies 'he'!" Can't stop grinning this afternoon, am so pleased that so far it's all ok this time

Hope all the other bumps (and any lurking graduates!) are doing well!

Cross posts Alana how are you doing? How is MIL induced grief? Forgot to mention I have a friend with a similarly nightmare from hell challenging MIL and her trick is to deliberately give her a later due date, to stop her turning up to 'help' or anything during the birth or early days.

Good idea huh?

I also wanted to post this completely irrelevant Daily Mail link just because it makes me laugh

Hi All just dropping in to check for news of Ashleighbee and CaptainNemo and any new arrivals ....

What's going on ladies? Hope all ok with you, esp you Ash as we have not heard - hope you're just too busy holding a squidgy bum to post

I'm a lot more positive now LittleSyd and I have made it past the end of Aug and into 38 weeks. Thanks for all your support as always KCs

Cramps have now calmed back down to normal Branstons again so I'll probably now end up overdue!

Blondie hope your scan goes well, when is it?

Scarlotti fingers crossed your work situation will turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

<<<<<<<<<<<waves>>>>>>>>>>>>> to everyone else esp all the newbies in the pre-12 week nerve-zone. You will get through it

bluegrey that's great news that you have heard the heartbeat, sounds like whatever is causing the bleeding isn't affecting the baby. that's what the thread is here for - I remember calming down massively when I finally got round to posting first time.

I have now read the other comments about spotting too - thank you all - really supportive!

Alana39, thank you so much for your reply which is massively helpful. I have been trying to block the situation out for a few days so have only just logged back on as there has now been a greater quantity of bleeding and it's also now darker brown which somehow feels more worrying. However, reading what you say, I think I believe in my heart of hearts that it probably is ok as there do seem to be so many people with unexplained bleeding. I heard the heartbeat at the GPs and she's agreed to try again later this week for extra reassurance and she doesn't think I need to go to EPU as she said if there was a placental abrasion for example, then I'd have pain as well and thankfully I still am not having cramps. Thanks again for sharing your situation.

Thanks for your welcoming messages

I am 8 weeks pregnant today yay!

I keep thinking just 4 more weeks to go and then i am past the worst of it.

A friend of mine is also trying to get pregnant at the moment but i lost one, then she was pregnant and lost hers at 5 weeks, then she got pregant again and lost hers again at 10 weeks, now im pregnat, fingers crossed, it would be so nice for there to be a baby at last and it would give one of us hope that this difficult time will not always end in misery

Just wanted to ask if around this time anybody else experienced severe bloating? I am overweight any way but i look like im 6 months pregant because every night after i have finished work i come home and my stomach bloats like a balloon, im using rennies practically everynight cos i read on the packet that they are safe during pregnancy but i just hope its normal

Gosh Suze what a terrible time for you, I know it's totally normal to worry but in a couple of weeks you'll be sitting there feeding littlesyd

My MIL is a 7 hour flight away - but uses that flight rather more than I would like. Feel bad really as the DCs do love to see her (DH rather less positive!) and I'm sure she has been on a guilt trip as has left a very useful cheque to go towards baby stuff. Would really like to be able to get on with her but she is just so unreasonable Anyway, it won't be long before she is back again - 31 1/2 weeks now and she is planning to be back for the arrival (to "help"?)

Scarlotti with you on being knackered - already feeling it can't get any worse ha ha. Still, school nearly back

Hi to Preggo and everyone else

Hi blondie nice to have you back and lovely to see that all is so positive now.

Contract wise, I work on short fixed term contracts and whilst I'd been told I'd get an extension nothing is binding until the paperwork gets signed. Am hoping I can pick up some work somewhere over the next few weeks as it will just reduce the amount of time I can stay off after baby comes.

welcome preggo hope your stay with us is a long and successful one how many weeks are you now? The first 12 weeks is the hardest so hang in there. Feel free to air any worries or concerns on here, it's been a lifeline to so many of us.

All good here baby wise, 31 weeks on Friday so on the home stretch now. Going to ask for a referral for some physio as the spd is getting a little worse so hoping to nip it in the bud if possible.
Hoping that he might come early too if I can't get work - dd was born at 36+3 so an outside chance maybe? DS was at 40+5 though...

Hey, im a newbie to this site.

Im due in April, on the 14th to be precise!

Its taken me ages to get pregnant after losing my little one last november at 10weeks but finally it looks as though im gonna have a baby, yay!

Really nice to hear that other mummies to be are being just as obsessive as me, just hope that the knicker checking will be over soon as wont have anything to worry about.

I am feeling sick most days (which i guess is a good thing) and everything tastes like crap. so i guess thats good too.

Hope everyone stays happy and healthy and has successful pregnancies!

PS hiiii to anyone I missed!

Hello all

Just popping in to say hi, have still got internet probs at home (grr BT!) and was away in Devon with DH's family last week which was really lovely, have come home well rested and a little heavier after all those cream teas/bits of fudge!

Conflake congratulations, it's so nice to hear a lovely birth story, and welcome to CornflakeBoy hope he is sleeping as well as feeding well for you!

Suze oh my goodness poor you, what a weekend. The hospital wouldn't have let you go home if they weren't happy (but hey you wouldn't be a knicker checker if you couldn't worry for England/Australia) - but to put your mind at rest, would your midwife book you in for doppler appts every few days for the next few weeks? And how's the attempts to turn the baby going?

Scarlotti Had you only been given a verbal assurance about the contract being rolled over? Is it worth asking someone on the Employment board? Hope something does turn up for you!

Bluegrey hi, hope the spotting has stopped now? Apparently it's quite common at the times you would have been having a period if you weren't pg. I had it around the 8 week mark but as I write this I'm now just over 21 weeks!

Ciara glad all was well on the scan, we've got ours this week (cos we were away last week). My friend was told to expect a big baby in the region of 10lbs but when he arrived just a week early he was seven and a half pounds!

Alana at your MIL, and what does her friend theink she's doing rining a pg woman at 1.30am, that's so unreasonable. Hope your DH is supporting you and giving you plenty of backrubs etc. PS I sympathise with the weeing thing, am still up 2 or 3 times in the night!

Ash hope all is well with you?

Lola/Nemo ooooh you next eh! Be thinking of you, good luck and I hope this time it all works out at last. Be very interested to hear about the acupuncture btw!

Oh, before I go I have to recommend these 2 books (am loving my library card these days - a great way of trying baby books before you buy!):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Birth-Rights-Guide-Getting-Possible/dp/0704347105/ref=sr11?ie=UT F8&s=books&qid=1251821821&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-World-Working-Mother/dp/009192423 5/ref=sr11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251821853&sr=1-1

Lola? Any news?

Cornflake congratulations! I'm so happy for you.

<Waves to everyone>

Any sign of Ash?

I will be back soon, I promise.

Another plug for the Postnatal thread for all you new graduates (when you get 5 mins )

Postnatal thread for Knicker Checkers!

welcome bluegrey another one who had spotting here too and am now 31 weeks. Brown blood is old blood and can be caused by cervical erosion - common cause of that is a bit of loving!!

alana hope you're managing to keep MIL at arms length!

suze gosh, what a weekend you've had. Am so glad all is well, esp given the date you ended up being checked out. 38 weeks is considered full term so there's no problem now if littlesyd decides to come early. 2 weeks!!! Gosh. Great that you now have a bag packed and a room ready.

Been up at the in-laws for the weekend which was nice although a little tiring as lots of friends up there to catch up with.
No sign of work here still so am now off this week. Popped into town to get some bits and ended up collapsing on the sofa when I got home - am only 30+3 so still a way to go yet, shouldn't be exhuasted at this stage

Hi everyone!

Welcome Bluegrey - spotting is always stressful, I'd call the midwife for a chat if I were you. Brown blood is usually not a cause for concern, let us know how you get on.

LolaNemo am strangely conflicted about your name change! Must be the hormones ... hope you're still the same person. Also hope you're having a lovely birth as we speak. Nice to have you back on.

Alana sounds like you need to put some MIL Powder down before you sleep at night at the mo. I am soooooooooooooooo lucky as mine lives a 9 hour flight away (bliss) and in fact is a good egg so I shouldn't really be implying otherwise

I am 38 weeks tomorrow (eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek) and have had a rough old week, period-type cramping, nausea and (TMI alert) loss of plug on Weds led me to believe early-ish labour was on the way

Was verrrrry worried, then on Friday midwife was concerned about LittleSyd's heart rate so sent me in to hospital for a CTG (half an hour on the heart / contraction monitor print out thing). I was distraught esp as Aug 29th was when my poor beautiful lost boy was induced at 24 weeks last year due to an undeveloped heart and of course I had visions of history repeating itself. Same hospital of course.

DH was filming and couldn't be reached so my poor mum (quite a nervous person) had to come with me. All ok in the end thank god and cramps have calmed down to normal Branston Pickles again, but I have a feeling I'm going to pop before 40 weeks are up..... have now replaced fear of miscarriage with terror of stillbirth / something going wrong during labour.

On the bright side (now!) at least I have finally packed my hospital bag and arranged the spare room to be a baby's room, two things I was very superstitious about doing!

Hope you are loving being blissed up with your new boy Cornflake and love and hugs to the rest of you - I for one am very glad to get this particular bank holiday out of the way.

Hope everyone has been doing exciting things for the bank holiday weekend (maybe even having babies, Lola???).

Trying to avoid MIL by looking like I have some urgent work to do!

Bluegrey I had almost the same thing happen just after my 12 week scan - it's awful isn't it just when you think things are going ok. Lots of people on here have had bleeding, some of them much more than spotting I think so it is common and isn't necessarily serious. Especially as, once you've seen the heartbeat at 12 weeks the risk of miscarriage is very low (can't remember the stats but I'm sure someone else will).

When I called my midwife she said that they wouldn't do anything unless the bleeding got worse, or was accompanied by pain or cramping, but how you are treated really varies from area to area so if you it's always worth asking (if you have a nearby EPU they may see you). Mine carried on (on and off) for about 4 weeks, and I happened to have a hospital appointment towards the end of that period where they scanned me again and couldn't see anything - the registrar said sometimes you get bleeding from one of the blood vessels on the edge of the placenta at around that time as the uterus stretches. It could also be an erosion on the cervix which is harmless.

I know it's hard not to worry, so I wouldn't go to A&E yet but do give your midwife a call as they will know how the system works. Good luck.

Hello, I'm new and thought this thread could answer my current worries about what I suppose is called spotting. I had my 12 week scan this week and should be 13 weeks tomorrow but the very day after my scan, there was a light pink colour to my discharge and one little thread of brown. This happened yesterday and at the same time today, I've had a 2nd appearance - not of pink so far, but a couple of very small traces of brown in my discharge. Should I be going to A and E or is that a total over-reaction. Has anyone ever got their GP to check the heartbeat at this early stage? I've been told they wouldn't have a powerful enough doppler, but if some of you are using yours at home from 10 weeks then surely?? Points of view warmly welcomed, thank you.

Good to hear your news Ciara - second what others have said about size, neither of mine have been what was expected at term following measurements on scan.

Lol at big bottom Cornflake if only my problem was size of nappies .

Not getting much sleep at the moment and really struggling at work - combination of bad dreams (about other DCs rather than the baby for a change) and trips to toilet, and last night after a horrible visit from MIL that resulted in a big bust up and one of her friends making a really nasty phone call to us at 1.30am which really wound me up so I couldn't get back to sleep. Can't wait for the end of next week - end of work, end of school holidays, hopefully it will get better then.

daisy - cake and parks sounds fantastic - hope you're planning to ease back into work gently!

ciara - that's great news about your scan. Don't worry about a 10lb baby - it turns out that 10lb is actually still really small. I couldn't believe that DS2 was a whole pound bigger than DS1's birthweight because he looked so tiny! And with a bigger baby you do have the benefit that there's a bit more of them to hold on to when you're trying to feed and stuff.

We started using our cloth nappies yesterday. Cornflakeboy's bottom is now bigger than his head

scarlotti - am with you on the shoestring - DH is normally a SAHD, and I only get SMP so we need him to find some work while I'm on mat leave. I'm in denial about the situation for now!

Ciara great news on your scan and don't worry about what they've said about size, a lot can change in 20 weeks.

Have plenty to do over the enforced break, it's just the money side that's the issue. Am hoping something comes up though.
Trying to see it as an opportunity to get the nursery sorted etc. and just trying to cut down on all spending.

Will have to learn to streamline and live on a shoestring

Hi all

Congratulations Cornflake it sounds like the birth wasnt too bad and has given me hope for my labour.

I went for my 20 week scan yesterday (i am actually 21+1) and found out that the LO is most likely to be a 10lb baby. Apart from that everything else was fine, which is good news and i am starting to worry a bit less

Sorry to hear about your job Scarlotti hopefully you find something to do for the next 6 weeks.

((((Big hugs to everyone else on here))))

cornflake what a lovely birth story, and gives me hope as I had a nasty tear with DS who was 8lbs 10. Am definitely going for the slow and easy out route this time with the aim of the odd graze for my troubles!
Am a dummy user this end too so all for that gaining a few extra hours sleep

Contract market is so-so at the moment but as I only have about 6 weeks of work left, I'll be hard pushed to get one that short. Most are 3 months at least. Am hoping one of my contacts can find me some work, even if it's just odd days here and there. Anything to try and up the pot of money! On a course this week so brain is ignoring the lack of work for next week!!

Mmm, champagne ...

Hello lovely laydeez. The thread just popped up on Active Conversations so thought I'd pop in to say hi. Congratulations to cornflake - sounds like a lovely birth too. And lol about perineal massage - can't say I fancied it myself, either.

Thinking of you Nemo - hope all goes really well, and will check back later.

Maya is 5 months now, and I'm going back to work in a month! We've had the most lovely summer mostly sitting in various parks and eating cake .

Hugs to all, and I hope bumps and bubbas are doing really well.

xx

Hopefully with a 1 or 2 page summary that has just a couple of suggested solutions?

I think perineal massage is definitely a bloke invention. "For 3 or 4 weeks before the birth, we will permit you daily to simulate the pain of passing a baby's head out of your vagina." Thanks, but I think I can live with doing that just the once...

Am going to go and drink some champagne to make up for all that I should have consumed before the birth.

Yes it's from the questionnaire that I got a 7 page email of advice . Motherease wraps were mentioned actually so that's good to know, thanks.

I think the champagne thing is probably just a myth that works in women's favour for a change, rather than some of the others which are obviously made up by blokes.

alana - how come nobody told me about the champagne option? I feel robbed!

Did you do the questionnaire on the nappy lady website? I found it really helpful for navigating the minefield of information. Also, while different people rave about different nappy combinations, I've never heard anyone badmouth Totsbots nappies with Motherease wraps, so that might be a good place to start.

Pressy-wise - how about some body lotion or similar - something small to pamper her? Just tell her that she'll get the proper pressie when the baby's here, and don't worry about what her MIL's friends think!

Cornflake that sounds lovely, and great that you're even getting some decent sleep now.

Lola how exciting that there's another baby almost here. When you get sick of pineapple try the champagne option - surely the least probably suggestion for bringing on labour but the only one I've ever fancied following.........

I finally went onto the nappylady website to see the advice - can't believe how detailed it is. Now feeling overwhelmed with all the information and wondering how on earth to decide what to buy. Somehow it has made the baby feel even more real though.

By the way, my sister's MIL is American and has arranged a baby shower for her (sister finding it a big cringey but on the other hand lots of MIL's friends who sound like good present givers ) - any ideas about presents? Don't want to look too tight but I was planning on getting a really nice present when she has the baby as it's her first, so I don't want to go overboard just yet (vague realisation that another year without proper pay starts shortly).

scarlotti - that's crap news about work. Hope you manage to sort it out - what's the contract market like at the moment?

lola - hope you're feeling a bit cheerier today? Any signs yet? Much easier to feel positive when you feel like something's actually going to happen soon!

I'm feeling much more human today, thankfully. Cornflakeboy is very sucky in the early hours, and I finally resorted to a dummy last night, so actually got a decent amount of sleep. Wasn't sure if it was going to be a really bad idea, but talked to a breastfeeding counsellor today who reckoned that because he is feeding really well the rest of the time it should be okay, which made me feel better.

Brief birth story: it was a really positive experience, which was great, because with DS1 it was an unpleasantly protracted affair. Things started about 3am on Thursday morning, with established labour starting about 12 hours later. I went into hospital about 5pm and after a couple of hours labouring over a birthing ball with entonox, DS2 made his entrance. The midwives were brilliant - just let me get on with things except for the bits where I wasn't handling the pain well and needed calming down. And my bits escaped with nothing more than a labial graze, despite DS2 being 10lb1oz. We had lovely skin to skin, and he started feeding within about 20 minutes of being born. Couldn't really have gone better. And as previously mentioned, he is beautiful!

popping in to check up on you lot that are about to pop and yay for cornflake. CONGRATS!!! boys are just lovely . I can't believe mine is 4mths now, favourite new past time rolling over, it's magical!

Fingers crossed for news from ash soon.

Lola what you're feeling is completely natural. I honestly was a nervous wreck right up until he was born and in my arms with wide eyes and definate breath sounds! Then I could hardly sleep for checking on him constantly in case of cot death. Slowly the joy of being a mum to this beautiful little person has taken over the worrying. Won't be long for you now <<hugs>>

am so embarrassed! Yes am Lola, had totally forgotten I'd name changed! So sorry! Bloody pregnancy brain...

Thanks for the reassurance cornflake & Scarlotti, I figure it's only natural, and I'm managing to keep the worrying to a manageable level at least. Scarlotti yes, am definitely an elephant, you should see the state of me! Hope work sorts itself out for you, it's rubbish worrying about money, one of my main preoccupations when not worrying about the baby...

Brilliant news cornflake! Congratulations! Hope everything went well and can't wait to hear the details..

Nemo Lola? Very exciting time for you now then, it's only natural to be anxious about what might happen. After all, that's been the nature of it for the last 9 months given the previous histories.
Raspberry leaf tea is supposed to help, as well as the one that the blokes love!
Try and stay positive and keep focussing on that healthy baby that you'll be holding soon.

67 weeks - does that make you an elephant?!

cornflake hope you're not too exhausted

Bit of a blip here ... I work on a contract basis and was due to get an extension this week to cover my last 6 weeks of working. Looks like it's not going to happen now - hoping I can get some more work to fill in the deficit otherwise it's going to be goodbye savings and only 3 months mat leave. Not what I'd hoped but I guess it could be worse, am sure some folk are out of work with no savings at all.

Nemo - are you Lola? Know what you mean about stillbirth worries, they became really real for me at the end. Do keep trying to think positive.

Will post more when less sleep deprived - off to bed now. Thanks for all the congratulations!

Afternoon all just poppsed in hoping for news of Ash & Cornflake and seen the FANTASTC post from CornflakeMummy!! Congratulations Cornflake am really thrilled for you and looking forward to hearing the gorey details!!

So assuming Ash had her section on 18th does that make me top of the list??? Crikey! Hope I'm not there for tooooo long though, already feels like I've been pg forever and due date isn't til wed. Am going for some acupuncture this aft, and considering having a sweep at mw app on thursday, so fingers crossed. Oh, and started on the pineapple this morning! I worked out the other day that over the 3 pregnancies it's taken to get us to this stage I've now been pg for over 67 weeks!!! Surely I deserve to have a baby soon?!?

Big love to all, and welcome to all the newbies, sorry for the mememe post, as you can probably tell I'm not very good company atm It's lovely to pop in & see so many familiar faces as well though, hopefully I'll be back before too long with some good news for you all! Though (of course) worries about mc have now just been replaced by worries about still birth/birth complications/etc etc etc... Have to keep reminding myself that the most likely outcome is that everything will be fine, but am finding it really hard to believe there will be a healthy baby at the end of this... am trying though!

Back soon (hopefully in a better/less hormonal mood!) xx

Hooray, congratulations Cornflake

Yay!!!! Congratulations Cornflake on the arrival of your CornflakeBoy!!!!!



Can't wait to hear all about it - wishing you all the best <<<<<<<<<hugs>>>>>>>>>>>

PS will macrame him a special hemp and woad dreamcatcher as soon as you let us know his name

Wow, Congratulations cornflake and look forward to hearing all about it when you're back online

Really quick post as my parents have just arrived - but we had a little boy on the evening of 20 August. He is beautiful!

thanks scarlotti

Bella that's fantastic news!! Great news on your scan and you will start to feel less tired soon now you've passed the 12 weeks. It won't be long either before you get more of a bump and start to feel better. We went on hols when I was 20 weeks and I definitely looked pregnant then.

Hope that you're managing to relax and enjoy things a little more now

hello everyone!!

i am so excited to say i am now 12+1, we had our scan last week and everything was perfect! like you carrie, i also have a doppler and found the heartbeat at 10 weeks, and have been checking twice a week to hear little bub beating away, its so nice. I am wearing my old maternity jeans as my jeans dont fit me anymore. though i have to say i am feeling rather down about my appearance atm, just feeling fat and remembering how long it took me to get back to my normal weight. nevermind must not moan!!

i am still having morning sickness and am so tired, hoping it will pass soon.

i'm so excited for those of you who are about to pop/have popped! its such an amazing time, i can't believe that will be me beginning of march.

i see some of you are trying real nappies, i used them for about 6 months and wish i had carried on, i think it is probably easier when they are older and their poos are more solid, much easier to clean then sticky poos! alana, you will need to wash them several times before you use them so that they are absorbent enough, so might want to factor that in when you decide to buy them.

Hee hee - thanks guys! Am trying to figure out how much all-fours bum-wiggling I can get away with as my brother-in-law is staying with us at the moment

Poor guy - am sure DH and I have already managed to put him off kids for life and LittleSyd isn't even here yet! Ah well, you stay with a heavily pregnant woman you take your chances I reckon!

Any news of Ash or Cornflake?????

Fingers crossed ladies!

suze lovely to hear from you 3/5 engaged just means that she's all settled in the right position and moving downwards slowly. She can stay like that for weeks!
Back to back isn't ideal but not the worst, she could be breech!
Try spending time on all fours with your bum in the air wiggling your hips from side to side. You're trying to get gravity to help turn her inside you - her bum and back is heavier than her limbs out front, so if you are on all fours for long enough, then gravity will eventually spin her around. It might take a little longer as she is engaged, but she might also un-engage then re-engage from time to time too.

Phew, long blurb!

alana with you on not reaching the table ... or my desk at work .. what is next, the steering wheel no doubt

Suze I think they can feel the back if it's out front, and probably the other lumps if they're at the front, but as you say doesn't mean they won't turn. Keep leaning forward etc as I suspect it's harder for them to turn once the head is fully engaged.

My first was back to back at about a month to go, but did turn and I wasn't even that good about using the birthing ball.

Now waiting for my new one to arrive (why did I give so much stuff away???) as I can't sit close enough to my plate at either a table or on a tray on my lap, so hoping having a ball to lean forward on will make eating less messy [food down chin and top emoticon]

Morning favourite Knickercheckers!

How are you all?

Glad you had a good holiday Alana try and keep hold of that relaxed feeling

Waytooslow it's crap to have the same sonographer/scan room or similar isn't it? However, hopefully the bonus is you don't have to explain your obs history every time. Congrats on a good 20 week scan and your blue-flavoured news

Wonder if Ash has had her baby????

And how are things over in your world Cornflake? Hope all's going well - and any day now for Lola too isn't it?

Scarlotti I am so grateful to your advice on monster meconium poos - am def going to go disposables for the first week then washables at home after that, prob take eco-friendly disposables on outings.

Blondie how are you feeling now? All better from the dreaded lurgies and back at work? I tell you what this Mat Leave stuff is a great invention. Am loving it!

Went swimming with some of my NCT class yesterday and you should have seen the faces of the small girls in the pool when 5 heavily pregnant women came walking down to the shallow end - I so wished we were allowed to jump in I would have dive-bombed right next to them and probably put them off sex until at least their 21st birthdays

Had my 36 week appt this morning and all was well. She said LittleSyd is head down and 3/5 engaged - does this mean things are happening?????? Unfortunately she also thinks back-to-back which doesn't thrill me but will get on with my yoga to try and get her to swivel. I am unsure how accurate the midwives can be with the position though - any thoughts?

My DS was highly amused by that exact thing from my nephew a few months back! He still mentions the yellow poo every time we mention Owen's name
He thought it hysterical, my DB just kept having to get a fresh nappy out after each pause for breath and my SIL just bemoaned the amount of nappies DB managed to get through!!

Life with a newborn eh?! What are we doing!

Looking forward to some news from Ash and Cornflake
Suze hope you're chilling on your mat leave and resting lots.

No, I haven't told her about the tube of toothpaste effect that DS2 frequently continued just after I'd opened a dirty nappy to change it. Not sure why I am finding it so amusing at the moment either, I'm sure I just used to cry

I assume Ash is still in hospital cuddling a baby - and are you still there, Cornflake???

Good for you, stick to your guns. I was given a set of 20 little lamb size 1's so I can try them without having spent out any money. I've also bought a few other types to try out. I think I'm just going to see how I go and when he's a few weeks old, decide then.
I got bad pnd after DS so am trying to make sure I'm not putting any more on my plate than I need to in the hope that I won't get it this time.

Lol at your sister - the naivety (sp?) of the first baby is quite a nice period when you look back I think - let's face it, you'd never believe so much poo could come out of someone so small until you've seen it!!

thanks Scarlotti, I am definitely going to buy some because I know I'm basically lazy and I'm worried that having made the decision to use them this time, I might chicken out after the baby's here - if I've spent money on them already I will have to stick to it on principle. Luckily one of my husband's colleagues has loads of newborn disposables they haven't used which we are getting - makes up for the vast number in various sizes that I have given away in the past! Know what you mean about meconium, I was trying to explain it to my sister who's expecting her first and I don't think she believes you can get tar out of a baby's bottom

alana I think anything you can do before is helpful, but maybe don't buy too many until you can work out which ones you like/baby likes etc.
I've already bought some pampers for the first couple of weeks, no way I'm trying to wash meconium nappies!

Am also starting to dither with the real nappies option too I really like the idea but am starting to wonder now whether I'll actually keep up with all the washing etc.
Think I'll see how we're getting on and just play it by ear.

Carrie I have had had some nice things from Mothercare this time (very surprised, hated all their stuff 5 and 6 years ago so perhaps I am getting old - and they have longish trousers if you need that. Not sure what their autumn/ winter stuff will be like. H&M can be good or awful, same with Red Herring if you have a big Debenhams near you, or New Look. My main problem has been that you just need loads of time to try stuff on because the sizing is all bizarre (my trousers range from size 12 in Mothercare to having to try on a size 20 for one pair in H&M and even that was tight under the bump band - and I am normally a 14!). I found a winter pregnancy easier because you really just need maternity bottoms and maybe basic long vests etc, but can often wear normal jumpers / cardigans and have much more choice at lower prices.

Now just worried because I can see that only my 2 pairs of yoga pants (I have never done yoga in my life but they must be the best invention ever for pregnancy) will still fit me after about 3 more weeks, so will be destined to wear nothing else for the last 2 months.

Real nappy experts, how soon do you think I should be buying them - 30 weeks tomorrow, haven't even read the detailed advice from the nappy lady yet but suddenly realised I'll need to wash them and everything so should I get them a few weeks before due do you think?

Hello all

crunch lovely to see you again, hope Polly and the boys are keeping you busy and H is behaving.

carrie sounds like you've done really well to keep the paranoia at bay. Keeping busy is definitely the way. Am sure your scan will go smoothly and hopefully then you'll feel a weight lift off you.

Maternity clothes wise, I've tended to use Dorothy Perkins and Next for bottoms as they are the only ones on the high st that do petite sizes (am 5'2"). Quality is good for repeated washing, some of mine are from my last pg. Also funmum.com is pretty good and have some good sales.
There are some good ranges in topshop and red herring (debenhams) but they're only online which annoyed me as it's hard to judge sizing.

eBay is also a good bet!

Hello all you lovely ladies!

I've popped in to say hi after a long break as I wanted cool down a bit on all the symptom checking and constant thinking of nothing but pg - and worrying basically.

Anyway all is well, am 11 weeks now and the 12-week scan is less than a week away. Being the panic queen that I am, I have invested in a doppler (I know - very mixed opinions about this one) and have heard my baby twice already (times when I don't hear her don't worry me).

I hope all of you who are/were due, Cornflake, Ash, Lola and everyone else, are doing well and and that all goes well!

I can only say that keeping busy seems to be the thing - days fly by! Mind, deadlines are even more effective as I have no idea how we got to Thursday already..

Anyway, good luck and all the best for your pgs!

Carrie

P.S. Oh and what affordable maternity clothes ranges would you recommend?

Just checking in to see news from ash and cornflake <peers about a bit>

ash was thinking about you yesterday and sending soothing vibes x

cornflake you've gone very quiet

waytooslow when I went for one scan and was put in the same room with the same lady I burst into tears. I got a lovely warm "what are you so upset for... well that's no reason to cry" Glad you had good news (just like I did). Boys are great

scarlotti hope you're SPD isn't too bad. I wish I'd been more assertive about mine. All I got were crutches, no real help at all. I really should have gone to an osteopath but I was so afraid of it getting any worse (looking back I can ask "how could it have been worse!"). By the end I was crippled by the pain and unable to leave the house - although it did ease off in the last couple of weeks (I wonder if the head descending stabilised the joints a bit). So, my message is Make a Noise! Make sure you get help if you need it, because it's miserable not being mobile and people do not get how much it hurts.

syd enjoy your mat leave! Hurray!

Love to everyone else

waytooslow that's great news about your scan and congrats on expecting a son!!

Hope last weekend wasn't too tough for you.

You're halfway now!!

Hi all

An update from me - just been to my 20 week scan. Was a little bit taken aback when the lady doing the scan was the same lady who had diagnosed my miscarriage back in January. Brought back bad memories, especially since the due date for the lost baby was last weekend.

Anyway - all went fine - it's a boy! And everything looks great - heart, spine and so on. He was moving round like crazy. I have a low lying placenta so have to go back at 34 weeks for another scan to check it's shifted out of the way.

blondie thanks for the link, some really good advice on there.

alana glad you had a good holiday.

I went to see the mw last week and got my first fundal measurement taken - she said that they are happy with 3cm either side, although I was only 0.5 cm over the 'right' measurement. Not sure whether she meant that the 3cm allows for dodgy measuring, or whether they're ok if you're 3cm bigger, but I felt better knowing they don't have to have it spot on.
Surely there must be some leeway for people who start out larger than others too? I certainly wasn't a skinny minny when I fell pg!

Hormones are on the rage again, seem to go through a rollercoaster of emotions most evenings these days. Sigh.

scarlotti - bad luck on the spd - it's crap, isn't it?! Have you been referred to a physio? Mine didn't do loads, but did give me a belt, which helped a bit and also taught me a better way to get into bed. If it's any consolation, my spd has been much improved the last few weeks - think Crunch said the same thing happened for her.

think Ash's section date is the 18th - so good luck for tomorrow Ash (assuming the baby has moved, and on the offchance you're still reading).

congrats on the mat leave suze - try not to do anything too sensible with it! I'm doing lots of reading - trying to do lots of sleeping, but my hips still aren't really cooperating, despite the pillow mountains! Bought a pineapple the other day - I know the amount I've eaten so far will make absolutely no difference, but thought I ought to show willing. Am currently relying on the fact that we've booked DS in for a week of daily swimming lessons to drive the baby out.

oooh SydneySuze you lucky thing. Hope you get to relax and enjoy a last month at home!

this is for Scarlotti and Alana, is a link to a thread about SPD with tips for coping.

All is well here so far this week!

Hello everyone, finally back from holiday . Has been kind of relaxing apart from DS2 refusing to eat most food (3 weeks on sausages, bread, apple and ice cream doesn't seem to have done him any harm though) and a too soft bed playing havoc with my hips.

Haven't really had time to catch up properly, only skimmed through - but I gather no appearances from little ones for cornflake and ash yet!

Hello to all the new ladies, sorry too many for me to remember you all by name.

Scarlotti I saw your post about infrequent midwife visits - know how you feel, I felt like I was wasting her time when I wanted MatB1 and a blood pressure check before holiday, so decided to just make another one for when I got back as well even though she would have waited longer.

Lola thanks for the information about the size thing - at our 20 week scan the baby was on the 50th centile (hoping desperately they stay there rather than turning into big headed monster baby like DS2) but by 26 weeks was measuring 2 weeks larger than dates, so more inclined to disbelieve the fundal height thing for some peace of mind. Won't be able to do anything about it when it comes to giving birth, but don't really want to spend 10 weeks thinking about a big baby again!

suze congrats on reaching your mat leave - am so very
Looks like I've spd, not really badly but enough to know about it. Would love to finish work soon but still have 9 weeks to go [pouting emoticon]

Hi All!

Just popping in to check for news of Ash and Cornflake - hope all's going well ladies !

Am now officially on MATERNITY LEAVE!!!!!!!!!! So 4 weeks to due date. Eek!

Hi blondie - gosh, 18 weeks already?! Time flies. You must be getting excited about your next scan now, are you going to find out what you're having?

mw appt was fine, get the blood results back next tues but managed to get my huge list of questions dealt with. I get seen a bit more regularly now as I'm in the 3rd trimester which is nice. Know I've done it before, but 12 weeks between mw appointments is a bit long imo!

Mentioned again to the mw that I want to stay in hosp and get feeding established, to which she agreed. Am hoping if I say it enough then they'll be expecting me for at least a night. Getting the bf cracked is just one aspect of it, am in no rush to head back to the chaos of dh and another 2 dc's if I've managed to get a room in hosp with no noise!!

hi all

Just popping in for a quick hi!

Cornflake hope your bubba makes an appearance soon so you can get comfy together!

Ash thinking of you hope all is well

Scarlotti how was your lucozade test/hosi appt? Hope all went well. I'm 18 weeks now and reading loads of baby books in the hope of gaining some clue as to what to do when he/she arrives!

ahem...thanks for your offers ladies but I think I've sorted out my skirting board frenzy for now haha!

Hi to any newbies who are lurking - do update us all with your news!

Ash if I remember correctly you were meant to be going in for a c-section yesterday if your little one hadn't turned.
Hopefully you are now happily ensconsed in your hospital bed baby gazing Hope all went well and you're feeling ok.
Looking forward to hearing from you when you're up and about again.

cornflake great to hear from you although not so great you're feeling rubbish. the last week or two is indeed a PITA and to be endured. Can you pad your bed up with lots of pillows so you're more diagonal than horizontal? Might ease the pressure on your hips.
Lol at the patience comment - let's hope this lo doesn't keep you waiting too long

blondie lovely to hear from you. Glad all is going so well, how far along are you now? Plenty of skirting boards here that need attention if you run out of your own

Have my 28 week appointment tomorrow with the lucozade test. Hoping I pass it this time as didn't with DS and had to do some awful fasting thing. Not good as I love my food!!

hi guys - no news yet. I am tired and hot and grumpy. Need more sleep, but lying down makes my hips hurt. DH still being fab - I don't know how people cope with having to look after small children as well - I have no patience!

blondie - glad you're getting the flutters - they really help, don't they? Although I think scrubbing skirting boards may indicate that you need more professional help

hello all

Just a quick hi from me, was wondering if there was any news from Cornflake too!

Hope all is well with all! Suze psml too at your earrings, they sound great

still no internet at home cos of crappy BT (stern letter has been sent!) .... starting to feel a few little flutters now which is really lovely, but can't wait for 20 week scan (which will be a bit late cos of my hols) to check all is ok after I took that Relenza stuff for the swine flu. Still nesting like a mad thing - decided on Sunday morning I had to scrub my skirting boards <<losing the plot emoticon>>

welcome to chynah hope your stay on this thread is a long and happy one!

ash hope you're enjoying your mat leave so far!

Just popping in to see if there's any news from cornflake ...
Ash and Lola hope you're coping ok with the last few weeks too. Won't be long before we have 3 new arrivals to get excited over!!

welcome chynah and feel free to air your worries here, we all know what you're going through.

mumface sounds like you're up to your eyes in it!! Hope Connor is ok, am sure all will be well.

Hi guys just popping back,to get a little buzz from seeing Connors name on graduates listHe's 7 weeks now.
I am hanging about on the cloth nappy threads these days as all I seem do is change nappies all day!
Connor is being seen by pediatrician at hospital in a few weeks as he has a massive umbilical hernia and a hydra-something fluid pocket on his testicle which needs to be looked at.

Hi Ladies - was wondering if I might join this thread also?

I have just had a BFP so 4+2 and am now worried to death about mc as I had one prior to my pregnancy with DS.

Evening ladies

cornflake congrats on your last day at work!! I'm not at all .... much!!! Annoying re the consultant but glad to see you don't seem overly bothered. Frustrating when you have to wait around though. Looks like you're next then?!?!

suze I have the most wonderful pair of shoes made by hush puppies - black soft leather with padding underfoot and a velcro thin strap across the top that keeps them on. They are bliss and expand nicely with my feet

*Lola, Ash* wonder which of you will be first?!

Ash here is the link to the article about calmer, more natural, skin-to-skin C-sections, if that's any use to you.

Ciara re movements - I've got an anterior placenta and didn't really feel much more than the odd flutter before 20 weeks. Now it's like a Kids from Fame rehearsal's going on in there some of the time, then there's the days when I'm gripped by panic 'cause she doesn't seem to be doping much at all! I think the upshot is that like so many signs and symptoms baby movements are both a blessing and a curse after an MC.

PMSL suze - can you do me some too, please?

lal - no didn't ask. Had worked out at the first consultant appointment that they were going to be fairly useless when the registrar (different one), having not said anything particularly useful during the appointment, asked at the end of the session whether we'd had trouble conceiving, as we'd been assigned to the fertility consultant - clearly hadn't read far enough in the notes to see that I'd had 3 miscarriages. Haphazard sums it all up nicely.

But I don't care because soon it will all be over and I will have a screaming, puking baby.

Right, am just back from midwife and all seems well, hoorah

34 weeks (eek!) so another does of Anti-D for me, and I was also told I'm measuring a bit small. B**ocks to that I say - I could tell the midwife (not my usual one - she has had the nerve to go on holiday ) was not measuring from far enough down the fly of my jeans. It felt sooooooooooo good to be able to think logically and calmly and not fly into a 'ohmygodwillthebabybealright' type panic. Big thanks to Ash and Lola for posting so reassuringly on the measurements thing. Slowly we knicker-checkers regain our balance (just in time for the BIRTH )

Crunch yup - 6 weeks to go. Mad isn't it? And you have been there every step of the way for me! Huuuuuuuuuuge thanks for that! Hope all's going well for you and your brood, and that things work out this time with DH.

Gently I have spied you on other threads - hope all's well with you too, ditto Lola*

*Ash any chance of a turn now? Are you able to feel positive about C-section? I read an article in the Times fairly recently about natural Caesars (where they have low-lighting, immediate skin-to-skin, music playing etc). Will try and dig it out for you.

Hope you're enjoying nesting in your lovely new home.

Cornflake am just pausing in my afternoon's activity of knitting some Birkentock-shaped earrings out of hemp fibre and seaweed to sympathise with you about crap from consultants - all my early consultant appointments were quite rushed and haphazard seeming, I much preferred the normal midwives. And according to the list - you're next!!!!!!!!!!

Enjoy your Mat Leave! I'll be joining you in a week, woo-hoo!

Scarlotti embrace the slip-on shoes - you know you want to! I got knackered again after about 28 weeks too. Just nap whenever you can, even 10 minutes helps!

Am about to order my pram! Have decided to go for a Phil and Teds in the end as the Nipper Single didn't have a firm enough support for a newborn's spine. Then I just need to start thinking about a car seat .....

Morning All - thought it might be a good time to re-post the list as I for one am getting confused about who's up next and who's due for scans etc .....

GUSSET PATROL GRADUATES

Cricri - 1st November - GIRL- Elise Vivienne
LackaDAISYcal - 6th November - BOY - Finlay
barbareebaa - 24th November -BOY - William
Jackstini - 10th December – BOY- Harvey
KD73 - 20th December - BOY - Aidan George
downbutnotout – 3rd February BOY
dan39 – 10th February GIRL - Rose
winemakesmummyclever - 17 February - BOY - Isaac Alexander
Bunnyinheadlights - 23 February - GIRL - Carys
Wheelybug - 12th March - GIRL - Lara Florence
TSOM - 17th March - BOY - Seth
Grinningbee – 4th April – GIRL –Amy Florence
Daisy J – 1st April – GIRL – Maya Celine
Scotlass - 17th April - BOY - Nathan James
Swaliswan - 20th April - GIRL
LoobyLou36,- 23rd April GIRL - Matilda Rose
Ladyhelen2 - 2nd May - BOY - Rufus Daniel
Divedaisy - 2nd May - GIRL - Sofiah Rose
Aquababe - 6th May - BOY - Ethan
Youknownothingofthecrunch - 8th May - GIRL - Polly Anwen
Ses - 9th May - BOY - Owen
SparkyMalarky - 10th May - GIRL – Evie
Cece - 23rd May – BOY - Tom
Mumface - 19th June - BOY - Connor Ellis
herbaceous - 8 July - BOY - Samuel

CURRENT CONCEIVED-AIR PASSENGERS

nattythomasandellen - 16th July
cornflakegirl - 15th August
Ashleighbeee - 23rd/25th August
HerNameWasLola - 26th August
blogqueen - 31st August
sydneysuze - 15th September
lal123 - 25th October
alana39 - 30th October
Tamlin - 5th November
scarlotti - 6th November
Tink08 - 24th November
Fairywing - 11th December
Blondieminx - 18th January
HappyBump - 28th January

Cornflake - I understand your frustration! However, when your consultant asked you to make an appointment, didn't you ask what for?

Hi everyone - just coming on for a whinge! Had a 39wk consultant appointment today - after waiting around for three quarters of an hour, the registrar shows up and asks what the appointment is for. How am I supposed to know?! I just made it because the consultant told me to! I was hoping the people with the medical training would have some idea about what should be achieved! In keeping with my other two consultant / registrar appointments, they did nothing more than a normal midwife appointment. What exactly was the point?!

Rant over

It did nicely waste this morning for me - last day of work today - am about to go out to lunch with my team. Have possibly just enough motivation left to achieve the 3 things left on my to do list this afternoon, and then I can go home and sleep till the baby arrives. Hurrah!

Hi all

Just to check in to say that I had the heartbeat checked on Monday and all is well. I'm trying to release myself from anxiety and so took the plunge and bought some maternity clothes, the first thing I've bought to acknowledge I'm preggo! Next check is 20 week scan on 18th Aug.

I send a big "hang in there" to all those struggling to keep motivated at work - it must be the hardest thing ever - I know what it's like trying to keep motivated the week before a 2 week holiday, so it must be terrible working while waiting for the nipper to come along. Try to keep busy - the days will go by more quickly.

A

Morning all. Had mw appointment yesterday and bump still measuring big - though mw seems more concerned than I am. I'm about 28+4 and measuring 32. Given the 2cm each way thing I reckon that I could only be about 1.5cm big - and given the fact that pre preg I probably measured about 10 weeks(!!) I'm not too concerned. She's asked me back in 2 weeks, and will send me for a scan at 32 weeks if still big (though I can't see how she's going ot get any smaller?). BP was a bit higher too - so they're going to keep an eye on it.

Had some v strong bhs last night - tummy was like a basketball! DD was away on a sleepover so was half waiting for a call to pick her up, Motorbikes roaring up and down a nearby road, terrible heartburn so all in all not a good night and I could do with going back to bed!

sydney 6 weeks! Wow! When did that happen?

Tamlin I agree about Rhodri, very nice name (but I might be biased...)

ash you've got one determined baby there. I reckon she's been holding on to you so tightly for the past 9 months that she daren't let go even to turn around. I hope you feel ok about the c-sec. I think I might be the only one who felt I either wanted a completely natural birth with no drugs at all or a c-sec (so either complete control or none at all). But I'm a bit odd. Can't believe you're going to be holding your LO so soon Can't wait to hear your news x

cornflake hope you're not letting the worries get to you - keep sharing them all, it really does help to know that we're all (enormous inverted commas needed) '*normal*'

lal I know exactly how you feel, am about 27 weeks now and just starting to feel the tiredness return and just feeling big and waddly. Couldn't buckle my shoes the other day! Ditto with the pelvic pressure too at times.

ash good to hear from you and glad the move is all done now. Hope lo turns, but if not at least you now have a date and can get yourself prepared. You'll be going in on the same day as my lucozade test so I'll think of you - think I've got the easier appointment!

ciara it can be anything up until 22 weeks before you feel movement, especially if it's a first baby as the earlier movements can just feel like wind. cornflake has made some good points too re placenta and mw checks.

Bella I know you won't relax until after your next scan, but it's such a postive sign that baby has grown in line with the dates. Our early scans were at 6+3 and then 8+4 and the measurements at each were spot on dates wise .. as were the 12 and 20 weeks scans too

hello ladies, thought i would pop on again and see how everyone was doing. I have been keeping away from the net in some attempt to keep myself from looking too much into things!! Anyway had another scan this morning and all is fine with bean, measuring 9+3 so 1 day ahead of my calculations. Am relieved but still cant seem to completely relax. I got my dating scan through which is in 2 weeks, seems silly as Ill only be 11 weeks, but will be nice to see that everything is OK again. I swear i'll have to start dying my hair at the end of this pregnancy with the number of grey hairs I've grown!!

I've been getting a lot of pulling/cramping pains if I lift my DD up throughout the day, she's only about 25lbs, and I have been trying to limit lifting/carrying her, am I just overreacting??

Ash - good to hear from you - glad your silence is just due to lack of internet. How's the house? Sorry the ECV didn't work for you - are you okay in your head with the idea of a section?

Ciara - I didn't feel movements that I was sure were movements (iyswim) until 19 or 20 weeks. Sonographer said I had an anterior placenta, so should expect to feel less. If it's stressing you, can you convince your midwife to let you go in for some extra appointments to hear the heartbeat, until you get the reassurance of definite movements?

Ash - fingers crossed LO turnsxxxx

Ciara - I felt wee fluttery movements at about 18 weeks - but nothing that felt like a baby til about 21 weeks? Now my tummy is like something from Alien...

hello ladies,

I am awfully sorry that i have not posted for ages, we've moved and have no internet yet... I am working on it! And since I am no longer at work my time on the internet is very very limited. Just at my mum's at the moment.

Thought i'd update you all... we're still breech and booked in for a CSection 1 week and 6 days from now, so 18th August 2009 is the day our baby will be born, thats if he doesnt magically turn himself beforehand (FINGERS CROSSED). We went for an ECV (what they call it when they try and turn the baby) and he was not having any of it, the consultant said she'd never dealt with a more stubborn baby... so now we're just hoping he heads south by himself...

How is everyone? I hope you're all doing well and I thank you all for being there every step of my pregnancy x

lal I know exactly what you mean, i hardly post on here, cause busy at work (but i now have internet at home, so hopefully should become more frequent) and then its all about the worry that i have.

Im like you, constantly worried cause of previous mc and have a scan, stop worrying for 2 mins and then worry again

Im now 18+1 weeks and am not due for the next scan until end of august and cause i havent felt the lo move

So ladies, when did you first feel movements to try and put my mind at rest before i start panicking even more.

Hope everyone else is doing well with their bumps and welcome to the newbies