December 2010, where we waft about in mat gear eating icecream

[Miffster]

Yo December 2010 ladies, here we go - the mid-point of our pregnancies...and beyond!

Had scan and saw a professor this afternoon. I had my results for the nuchal different to what they had so because the echogenic bowel increases the risk of down's syndrome by 3 times the risk would be 1:2000, which is excellent considering my age is 1:700. He said it was definitely echogenic and gave some reasons that could be which we already knew.

Now we just have to wait. Blood test for infection should be back by Friday and for CF the week after. If those are clear then we go for a growth scan at 30 and at 36 weeks, if it isn't then we go back to discuss. I'll be seen by consultant before then due to previous early waters breaking and prem labour as well so I'll be spending a lot of time there I think!

I feel better knowing we have a plan but it will be long term before we find anything out for sure it seems :(

Feeling exhausted and drained now though and planning for court on Friday.

Hope everyone's had a good day. I'll have a read through news.

C&G it must be so stressful for you
Just wanted to sympathise and hope everything turns out ok.

reshape sorry to hear about the hose situation, hopes something better turns up soon

cheryl that sounds awful! Can't you use your exemption at your private dentist? I only ask as my dentist is private but they accept my exemption certificate. And you should complain - what happened to you might highlight a serious failing in practice that other people have experienced but if no-one says anything, the dentist will get away with it.

Thanks for the support! Am trying to regroup and thikn again about the whole situation but it's still too raw. I know it was daft of us, but we'd got to the stage where we were starting to draw up a list of any extra bits of furniture we'd need for the new house...

Am interested in the possibility of using my exemption cert at a private dentist, maxpxower! How does that work - do you get a discount? Surely not entirely free treatment? I'm with a private dentist at the moment, though thinking I should register with an NHS one instead, and I wonder if I could save some money...

Cheryl I am appalled at the treatment you received that is shocking!

I recently registered with a nhs dentist, had my free first appointment and was told I needed a filling, metal ones free on the NHS or pay £110 for a white one. I ended up paying as I didn't want a metal one. They also said that anesthetic is ok in the second trimester.

Reshape So sorry about the house, years ago we were negotiating on a house I was in love with and DP was being really tough on our offer, we lost the house and I was so gutted but 3 weeks later we found the best house ever and we're still here 4 years later. I know the situation is different but I think everything happens for a reason, your perfect house is on it's way

Wholelottalove I love the idea of adding boy/girl to the stats thread, what do other people think?

I can start, I had a great scan today, twinnies growing well, DP couldn't be there but they could tell the sex so we did the envelope!

We are having 2 identical twin girls I'm so excited!

Hello all,

Wish I hadn't looked at this thread now as am due at the Dentist for a filling in an hour, poor you cheryl hope you are going to complain.

C&G sorry you are none the wiser, it must be awful having to wait. I will also be seeing the consultant a lot, just had my appointments through for 22, 26, 28, 32, 36,38 and 40 weeks!

Reshape sorry about the house, hope you get something sorted soon.

Wholelotta good idea about the boy/girl/surprise list, perhaps we could add it to the stats.
Have also been working out what to buy, my list is much greater than yours though,
Pram, carseat, carseat base, cosy toes, change mat, are all due to arrive Thurs from Mothercare, then I need cot, sheets, sleeping bags and swaddle wraps, nappies and accessories, vests and a few more sleepsuits, possibly a nappy bag, I will prob think of more. We are borrowing a moses basket and stand and have a bouncy chair, I have also bought baby bundlers mostly from Ebay.

Quick question, do babies enjoy swinging? We've never had a baby swing before but most people I know have them and PIL have offered to buy us one but I'm not convinced we need one and the money would be better spent elsewhere.

Bit gutted have had notice my Tax credits will be stopping, I was expecting it and we only got £40 a month, but as I have no wages of my own coming in now it would have been nice.

Lavita Congratulations on identical girls(one each)

Oh and am really enjoying The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, can't remember who I was chatting with about it but I am half way through and finding it hard to put down.
Really am going now, think I should read my posts before I post them.

notso I have heard the Amby things are good, like a hammock for a baby. My Mum's boyfriend is making us a swinging crib but I've also got a moses basket from ebay for downstairs as the crib will go next to our bed.

We bought a Quinny Buzz yesterday, not sure if someone here said they were a bit rickety? Ah well, DH decided to take advantage of the Mothercare discount and we collect it on Thursday. This is after watching several prams/pushchairs on ebay and losing out.

cheryl the whole dentist thing sounds awful. I am hoping after the 25 week midwife visit I will get my exemption form and will be able to see a dentist.

Reshape Arrggghhh about the house stuff, how awful for you :(

Lavitabellissima hurrah for twin girls I have started calling my bump 'him' and 'he' because DH is so adament that it's a boy. Can't wait to see his face if it turns out to be a girl!

Hi everyone
cheryl that sounds awful. NHS dentists can be the pits. Last time DP went to one it was awful - he had a chip out of one of his eye teeth and the dentist wanted to pull it. DP said no, so the dentist said 'ok I know what I can do' then proceeded to drill the tooth down to a tiny stub! DP furious. ALso one tooth needed a filling and while drilling it the dentist managed to accidentally drill into the tooth next to it. DP now needs root canal treatment on the eye tooth and had to have the accidentally drilled tooth pulled! he swears he will never ever visit an nhs dentist again.

reshape argh on house woes! Can't offer any advice as I've never bought a house.

reshape my private dentist accepts my expemtion in full. I just have a form to sign when I go but then I don't pay anything. Touch wood I haven't had to have any actual treatment (only check-ups) but they have been completely free.

DF you're already entitled to your exemption certificate - my GP gave me the form to send off when I very first told her I was pg. You don't have to wait for the MATB1 form which you'll get from the midwife.

notso I finshed GWTDT yesterday and started the next one this morning! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

lavita congrats on the scan

Argh, just tucking into an M&S cheese and celery sandwich and I swallowed something a bit sharp which I thought was celery then in the next bite was a massive bit of plastic.
I'm so annoyed it's taken me ages to trust pre-made food again after several unpleasant experiences and now I'll end up being back to square one.
Should I take it back and complain do you think?

Pleased to report no problems at the dentist, he even did a white filling for free as I am pregnant, which I wasn't expecting.

DF thanks, the kind of thing they are thinking of is more like a seat I think the ones wth a mobile attached and music. I am putting myself off it with that description, I wish they would buy an Amby instead.
MIL wants to wait until we have the baby so she can get appropriate colour, I am imagining a bright pink monstrosity in my tasteful sitting room.

maxpower I persuaded my Mum to buy the next two! The rate I'm going I'll be catching you up!

Ah notso I get you. The presents we might get are already scaring me!

I would take the Sarnie back if you have time, M&S are quite good with refunds/replacements I think.

Lavita CONGRATS!!! Wow.... all my hands hairs (which are getting too long due to pregnancy) are standing! Two identical cute girls!!! lucky you!!! Maybe we can get together in the future for my girl to play with yours... lol... Now you can go all pink!!!

Sorry for your difficulties C&G... Hope this Friday at least everything goes for you. All the best wishes for you sweetheart!

My GP didn't give me any exemption certificate or anything!!! I wouldn't mind not paying for my dentist and am due to go for a check up! What do I do? Call GP and ask for one??

I went crazy last night and did a huge Mothercare online shopping and used the voucher! Thank to all of you who provided the voucher I saved 20% on top of the already reduced prices - thank you!

I bought a babybjorn with a winter cover and a whole themed bath and bedroom set. Now I need cot, cot mattress and push chair. I am leaning towards the bugaboo bee as said before but isn't it just too expensive for a plasticy pushchair??? Thanks to Strix I checked MacLaren XT too and it does say that new born can use it but the seat doesn't seem to go flat so need to go to the store and check how this is possible?!

PJen I haven't had my exempt cert yet either, I think the MW mentioned I would get it at the next appointment. I just told the receptionist I was pregnant but hadn't had the certificate through and she gave me a form to sign.

If you really want the Bee I would get the TreasuRED one from Mothercare, it is about £250 with the code and when you consider that second hand Bees go for that if not more on Ebay then you will make back the money.
I am tempted to get one for my Parents and PIL to use as the Cameleon we have ordered will prob be to hard for them to use (they are not old just dumb when it comes to these things!)

My midwife did the form for the Mat Exemption. The form gets sent off and then it usually comes straight to you - the GP/MW can't actually issue them afaik.

My dentist doesn't do any NHS work so they don't take them though. I prefer to pay than go back to an awful NHS dentist!

I got my excemption form from midwife at my 18week ish midwife appt - mind you that was also my booking in appt as I hadn't registered with them before then. I've since received my actual exemption notice so dentist here i come! My private dentist takes it too so its all free .

I had an amby with DS2 and really liked it. The only negative thing was that I felt he started to outgrow it by month 5. He was quite a long baby anyway, but it was more that he seemed to want more movement and started to sleep better during the day in his cot. I sold it in the end - but they have very good re-sale value so you could get good use out of it for under £100 in the end. It also converts to a bouncer if you want one of those.

I never had a swing for the babies. I saw a friends LO in a battery operated swing which was flinging her around at a pretty fast pace. Honestly it made me dizzy just looking at her in it!! I'm sure the more manual swings are good but I've always been happy with quite basic bouncy chair without loads of gadgets. Some of them just look too over-stimulating for tiny babies.

notso - Definately take it bakc if you can be bothered...So will you be back to making your own again?

Lavit - Great scan news! You must be so thrilled all is well and you can start planning now. . I bet DH wishes he could have been there.

Thank you notso for the tip. I checked the differences btwn bee 2009 and 2010 and one of the main differences is that the seat of 2010 can get longer when the LO gets long and due to DH being a giant I prefer to have the option of lengthening the seat. Although I am not sure if it is worth the extra £200!

Hello All!

Cheryl, what a horrific story, even for the NHS. Imagine saying "let me know if it hurts" and then ignoring obvious cries of pain. People like that shouldn't be practising! Definitely complain.

Lavita, yippee... twin girls! I was thinking, since you are so close to me, let me know if you need anything in the hospital. I can bring you foos or anything else you need. I'll still be weeks away from birth when you have yours so wouldn't be a problem at all.

PJEN, you should get a demo on how the car seats fits into MacLaren. It looks very fiddly, and is what put me off and over to the Bee. I am leaning strongly towards the Bee. I know it costs much more.... but I just want it! And since I don't have to buy much else, am thinking that justifies the splurge on the Bee.

Everyone I am so sorry. I have totally slacked off on the stats thread updates. But, if you want me to add gender, update the stats thread in the usual way (by copying your information and not by copying everyone's information) and I'll update it.

Lavita, PJen, and anyone else who wants to join us, was great to meet you and would definitely like to do another one... maybe in late September? Dinner might be nice.

Forgot to say...

There was a form for my mat exemption in the packet I got from the midwife at my booking appt. I sent it off, and back came my certificate. Was easy peasy. Anyone who doesn't have one should probably pester the midwife for the form to send off.

And sometime fairly soon I thin we can get the £120 or whatever it is for our pregnancy bonus whatever it's called.

I'm a bit HMMM about the exemption cert then as my midwife didn't mention it when I went to see her at about 17 weeks. Infact she did very little and then forgot to give me a bottle for a urine sample she said I should bring next time.
I am thinking if she has to send off for it at the 24/5 week appointment it may be a while before I get mine?

Well I just wanted to pop in and say how sorry I am to hear how tough things have been for some of you.

I have just had me and the youngest DC off to the dentist thankfully without incident!

DF sounds like you're going to have to do all the work to get that form, I'm sure mine was given to me at my booking in at the hospital after I had notified the GP.

I haven't got any baby stuff yet, I am waiting till the kids are back at school and I can go shopping in peace. I do already have a cot bed from last time though, it just needs some mending.

I am having a dispute with my DH about building works we have planned- if it all goes well the work could be finished in time for December but there is a real chance that it won't. He is being blindly optimistic about it and I am thinking I do want at least a couple of weeks of the house to myself before baby is due, and we might have to start the project in the new year instead. It also could scupper my home birth plans. I am not being melodramatic thinking this could affect mine and the baby's health?

I have updated on the stats thread.

Is everyone feeling the baby kicking quite high now- I'd be interested to see if there are any tall babies who have got to your ribs yet?

I was quite worried that the midwifes/doctors don't seem to bother with you much these days until after 26 weeks- that seems quite late if you are not sure about where to give birth or have any health concerns. So it is really only the baby wriggling about that is keeping me reassured atm. (And mumsnet of course!)

You need form FW8. I would pester the GP / midwife (whichever one is more responsive).

www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/953.aspx?CategoryID=54&SubCategoryID=138

Another shocking day at work, feel so tired. I can't wait for this week to be over TBH. DD is being a pain as well, not wanting to stay in bed which is very annoying.

frakenfanny I'm mostly getting kicks very low down which is not great on my bladder! At scan baby was breech so hope it isn't planning to settle in that position...

lavita congrats on your twin girls! I am a twin with non-identical sister.

stix thanks re stats - I'll pop mine on the stats. I think you get the healthy maternity at about 25 weeks or so.

Yay - just picked up the moses basket and stand I won on ebay for under £13 and it's great, really great condition. I am starting to have vague thoughts of 'doing the nursery' which I always thought I would leave until the baby was older - perhaps I am getting that nesting thing early.