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!

DF I'd love to have a meet. I think there are a couple of others down here in the Westcountry but can't remember who. I'm definitely going to Glastonbury next year. I went every year from 1997 to 2008 but have missed a couple now. I'm curious as to how different it will be with a small person.

MrsS You need one of these!

Everyone keeps telling me to SUE SUE SUE! Only problem is I made the glass smoothie myself and I'd give myself rubbish compensation! I checked all the ingredients and equipment I used and no idea how it got in there

PJen I hope everything is ok with work, what a ortifying thing to happen. Hopefully no one will take it seriously enough to make things difficult for you.

Gosh Wholelottalove I wouldn't want my mum at the birth and I am close to mine. I think it's quite odd for people to request to be there to be honest.

GreenGeekGirl yay for another Glastonbury veteran. I am gutted that we'll be missing next year's. I think it'll be a whole different kind of festival with a baby/small child. I definitely found it different when I went this year and I was only 16 weeks or so pregnant. Lack of cider was not a high point

C&G good luck today - you will be absolutely fine.

Laughing at GGG - yes, sadly I don't think that it would be advisable to sue yourself. Have you checked your smoothie maker to make sure there are no chips in the glass? That to me would be the obvious source. Very strange.

PJen hope things are OK for you at work

Well, its Friday at long last and the working day is a short one (POETS day here). So decaf coffees and bacon sarnies all round, I think. See you all at the breakfast bar!

C&G Just wanted to say good luck for today.

I'm off shopping today with DP as it's his birthday (I know, Friday the 13th) going to look at prams and nursery stuff, I'm so excited

C&G Good Luck for today
WWSB POETS day for me to - bacon sarnies mmm!
Lavitabellisima Does your DH know he's getting a pram as a birthday present ? At least you remembered - I forgot DH last birthday (for a whole week) i was away and only remembered when I got home and saw all the cards from his family - yes he has forgiven me and yes he did forget mine once so now we are even Oh and we both forgot our wedding anniversary this year
Pjen so what happened?
Wholelottalove My mum came to the hospital the first time round when I was having DD - didn't really want her there but she insisted - she ended up sleeping in the BF room and the visitors room until after DD was born as I didn't want her in there with me then she went back to our house. This time it will just be me, DH and MW if she is required. I have considered a Doula but need to see consultant first about whether he will consider a HB or not.
GGG The trailer looks fab but think if I ask DH to undertake another project before Rosey the Caravan is restored then I would be a single parent! I will try and put a photo of Rosey on at the weekend when I get home. Rosey is a 1970's vintage Cheltenham Oribi currently stripped to her bare bones and sat on our drive waiting to be put back together with some new bits to make her a bit more sturdy. she was supposed to have been ready at the end of May but pregnancy took us by surprise! Oh well she may be ready by the time the baby is born - good job she is a 4 berth

Busy morning at work but another "issue" resolved - hopefully all will be sorted next week so I can have the following week on leave.

We have got an appt booked at a house with OT to see if it is suitable on Tuesday next week so may have some good news!

C&G thinking of you today- hope it goes as well as it can.

Mrs Snaplegs love your trike- it is fab! Don't overdo things!

Strix, PJen and Lavita glad you all enjoyed your meet up last weekend- definitely keen to join you next time if we're not away.

Ticking on okay here- have my scan on Monday-will be 21 weeks- looking forward to it but also a bit apprehensive. We've decided not to find out the flavour. Back pain is still quite bad but have found a physio who does pregnancy massage so have an appointment booked in for tomorrow- yay

Best get back to some work, take care everyone and enjoy the weekend.

C&G hope it all goes well today.

Well, back home now. Thanks for the messages everyone. The judge ordered supervised contact, which is the best we could have got at the moment apparently so we're really pleased about that. His side went in wanting contact at his house, cafcass recommended supported contact but we managed to get supervised which means 1 to 1 and all reports go back to the court. This also means that if the children say no and refuse to either get out the car, go in to see ex, then it'll be noted and also sent to the court.

This is all dependant on Monday's assessment as if they say no contact then it's back to court to work something else out. I'm pleased as it puts no real pressure on the children, they can refuse contact, and then the judge will order a full report. As it stands it's supposed to start next Sat for 3 sat's at 2 hours a time (which ex has to pay for too) and then back to court to see how the contact went and a report etc. Also his anger issues came up and will be addressed at the next hearing.

I managed to get to the court but couldn't face being in chambers so I stayed out and spoke to cafcass and my solicitor in the interim periods. I'm glad I made it there though but towards the end I started really shaking, feeling sick, dizzy and confused, really ill. Even sat there crying, which was odd. Luckily the judge called my solicitor in and 5 mins later the order was made, then had a quick chat and we left. I would have had to leave before if it hadn't been so quick so I was thankful. Definitely very stressful day but glad it's over and we got a good result for the children.

The children are upset about it but we've explained it to them and tried to reassure them. The ex denied everything and tried to blame it all on me because he has a girlfriend lol and then tried to say I wanted more money (more? Only just got csa sorted!)
and when he said no I stopped contact, they dismissed all this and apparently his girlfriend is "no more", according to the woman from cafcass. Doesn't make a blind bit of difference to me either way.

My solicitor said he looked very detached and leaning back in chair while they read out the allegations which I suppose didn't look good for him either. We both have to do statements now too but we already have most of the info needed.

Phew, can kind of relax now I guess!

Got the infection results back too and it's negative which is brilliant!

Have a scan on Thursday to check water levels as I was in hospital until 9pm last night with leaking (suspected broken membranes) and high bp so it's all happening at once! Have a drs note saying to avoid stress (lol) and rest as much as possible which lasts until the baby is born so I'll be taking it easy with court etc from now on, I don't think I could do another day like today.

Now to see what happens on Monday...

C&G so pleased for you re court and infection - hope the leaking was a one off. I think you were really brave going along today and hopefully during the supervised contact the court will get to see the truth of the situation. I really hope that takes some of the pressure off for you all and you can now concentrate on your pregnancy with a little less stress.

Glad things went well for you and the kids C&G and hope you are able to relax a bit now, until monday and then again until Thursday. All sounds like so much to have to go through but really hoping things get better from now on.

We just collected our Quinny pushchair and I think I have worked out how it all works. We're definitely going to have to move things around in our hallway if we ever want to bring it in the house though, as it's quite wide. I would take it outside and see how rickety it is but I think I would feel like a bit of an idiot so will wait until DH can do it perhaps.

Mothercare gave us a free goodie bag because of a mixup with the collection and so we now have a manual breast pump, dummy, baby on board sticker thing and some bottles. To be honest I don't like baby on board signs so won't use it, and I am not planning on using a dummy but the bottles may come in handy for expressed breastmilk later on

C&G Glad today was ok in court but you do need to try and rest some, good news about no infection - just try to take it a little easier

Home with family for weekend so trying to rest and chill out as well.

24 weeks today! LO is getting very active although didn't help when DD decided it would be fun to belly flop onto Mummy's tummy this evening

Have a nice weekend all!

c&g - glad all went ok today and hope you get some rest and look after yourself.

df / ggg Bristol isn't far from me by train so I'd be up for a meet up. I've been to Glastonbury a couple of times, but not for a few years. Can't quite imagine it sober/with DD in tow!

Hope everyone else is ok and looking forward to the weekend.

Thanks, definitely feeling a lot better and more relieved now. Obviously no contact would have been ideal but as it stands the children can refuse and I'm not breaking any orders as long as I make them available ie as long as I get them there in the car. If they won't get out there isn't a great deal I can do about it as I can't exactly drag them in kicking and screaming.

maxpower Definitely going to try and focus on this little girl inside me now, she needs me just as much!

Dueling Lol, have you got dh to have a go with it yet? I didn't realise they were quite wide, always appeared pretty average but I guess it's hard to tell unless they're actually in the house or compared to something you know. Good news about the goody bag. I won't be using a dummy either or the sign hehe.

MrsS I know, I can feel I need to rest more, have a busy week ahead but I feel so much better it's unreal. The stress is almost gone now today is over with. Taking one day at a time now I think. 24 weeks! Can't wait to get there, I'm 21+1 today.

Wholelotta Thanks :) Hope you're doing well.

C&G glad it went well yesterday for you and the children.

Sorry I've not been on much, I have read most of the thread, but brain is far too mushy to even contmplate replying to you all. I'm a little f*&^ed up at the moment, I'm sure pregnancy hormones are adding to that, but I can't seem to function, really need to get my re-referral for counselling sorted, I'm really not coping without it.

Money (or lack thereof) is getting me down (rent due today and £350 short ). Plus have no idea of what I'm going to do when baby is here re work. My no1 option is not an option as we cannot survive with only one of us working, so I have to go to work rather than college/uni. I feel really crap about pretty much everything, on the positive side, and I'm incredibly thankful for it as so many people don't have it is that my family life is just about as close to perfect as you could get.

On the pregnancy front, I really never realised how hard pregnancy was. I'm feeling sick again, probably not helped by the fact I can't afford to buy 'nibbly' type food until the boys are back at school. I'm struggling to move, went swimming a couple of days ago and my god did that hurt! I've now got a bad back pain, think baby has plonked itself on a nerve. I had a couple of days where I didn't feel baby move, so was starting to get a bit worried, especially as I could pretty much set my watch by LOs movements. Yesterday morning, woke up to that familiar kick, but was laying on my belly, something I haven't been able to do since about 6 or 7 weeks. When I got up I noticed my bump has halved in size, I'm now smaller than I was at 10weeks! Baby has definitely upped and moved as heartburn has gone, hooray! and now I cna see my belly moving! DP and ds1 saw lumps coming out of my belly yesterday which was really good, and baby made up for the last 2 days as he/she doesn't seem to have stopped moving for the last 24hrs.

I've been awake since about 3, so hopefully I'll get the chance to go to bed this afternoon.

Sorry for self indulgent post, need to 'talk', hope you're all well and hopefully when school starts I'll be able to keep more up to date with you all.

Morning all,

There is definitely a lot going on at the moment!

Cheeseandgherkins you have obviously been through a hell of a lot recently. I do hope you can try and relax this weekend now one big hurdle is out of the way.

Cheryl money worries are horrendous. A few months ago I too was very worried about money and getting down about it all, as I'd just left a secure but v stressful job to become self employed. The support on here was fab. I remember someone suggested I go for a long walk - it didn't put any money in my bank account but it did make me feel a lot calmer, more relaxed and slightly more in control. Thankfully, several months on and things are back on track and I'm hoping to take a short break when the baby is born and fit my work round him. My work is such that I can do it anywhere, any time and all I need is a computer and phone so I am (perhaps unrealistically) thinking I'll fit it around naps (please don't shatter my hilarious illusion those of you already with DCs!).

I've been fairly frugal in buying stuff for the baby - I won ten babygrows on ebay the other day for 2.20 - or 22p each! Also I won a very snuggly looking blue snowsuit for 2 pounds. We are umming and ahing about whether to buy a cot or wait until he is older. My SIL bought us a Moses basket and we're thinking he'll sleep in our room at least for the first few months. So the only big expenses I think are pram (which my mum is giving us 200 pounds for) and a car seat, which the health in pg grant should easily cover. Have I forgotten anything big?

MrsS I think it's really admirable you're not succumbing to your illness - although you shouldn't feel bad if you do need to leave.

I was thinking - Cheryl and MrsS - do you fancy a Portsmouth meet up? I've been inspired by the London lot! I'm fairly flexible on times as I work from home. We could go somewhere for a cuppa and compare bumps. What do you think?

cheryl hope you are ok? I feel so lucky in that I have had a smooth pregnancy so far.
I second Chloe on all the money saving tips, though I know if you're struggling already it must be more difficult :( Hope you get the Counselling sorted, it's definitely worth chasing it up.

We've been lucky too because so many of our friends have children who have just grown out of cots etc so we've been given almost everything but the pram which we bought ourselves and I've been buying bundles of baby clothes on ebay too.

Morning Cheryl, don't apologise about your post, that's what mumsnet is for! I would speak to your doctor about your back pain, he might be able to refer you to a physio.

I'm in a much better financial situation now but when I first moved to London I got myself into a fair amount of debt. I'm sure you heard of it but I found www.moneysavingexpert.com a real help. Sounds like you have a lovely family life, and things will improve with your finances.

There is another thread today about how pregnancy is harder than having a newborn, that's made me feel a lot better about my constant illness and complaining. Also a little less stressed and scared of having newborns

Having twins is such an expense though, 2 car seats, 2 cots, 2 moses baskets, double pram. So expensive!!! I think I'm going to ask close family if they'd like to donate to my fund rather than buying presents once born, do you think that's cheeky?

chloesbaby would like to try and arrange a meet up but I work FT and go home on a Friday afternoon to N London. Could make something like a Friday lunchtime near the Hard?! There's a couple of places there we could get a cuppa. Hopefully when we get a house I will have more time!

I second the moneysaving expert website - DH lost his business a few years ago and we were trying to survive on my money alone whilst I was paying off debts my Ex H had built up. The forum debt free wannabee is excellent, the guys and girls on there will go through your monthly spends and give really good advice for cheap meals and money saving tips. Nibbles don't have to be too expensive - esp if you make them yourself with the children - shortbread or cheese straws are both easy and reasonably cheap to make, also making your own bread is much cheaper than buying a loaf - even without a breadmaker. Try Freecycle for things you need (like a breadmaker)before you look at buying something new - we have had beds and all sorts off there (just invested in a new matteress so DD could use it!)

And you don't really need to be buying anything for the baby yet (sorry all you shopaholics on here!) it's still early days. Join Freecycle and start looking out for people offerng bags of clothes, baby items etc - go and pick them up, sort through what you want and anything your don't want put back on Freecycle so someone else can have it. Also look at the freeads in the local paper - always stuff in there that is cheap or sometimes free.

Get your kids to help you sort stuff for a Car boot sale - will cost about £6 or £7 for the pitch but you will always make more than that. See if there are things you don't want and sell them in the free ads. Sorry I could go on for hours on this stuff!! CherylAnnTweedy you have my email if you want to talk off line just drop me a quick email. Happy to help where I can - wish I had a spare £350 for your rent for you

Money worries can get better - from barely surviving on my wages alone (because of debt) we now cope with few problems on 1 wage

DF and GGG - was at glastonbury this year too - planning on next year too! i live near glastonbury so would be keen for a catch up at some point. i am pretty rubbish at keeping up to date on this tho!!

hope everyone all good?

20 week scan a couple of weeks ago, have to go back tho as i have an awkward baby who was curled up in a ball, despite me jumping around outside like a mad thing (builders seemed to enjoy it!) so they couldnt do some measurements. everything else seemed ok, so not too worried, plus get to see twiglet again!

been having back ache on and off this week. have started going to a pregnancy yoga class - its fab!

back to the housework - have been banished upstairs as husband is taking down ceilings and walls in the kitchen todat - eek!

hi all, just back from borough market - bought what could possibly be the most delicious chocolate brownies ever!!

DD hasn't been on her best behaviour the last few days - can't quite work out if she's a bit under the weather or short on sleep. Either way, it's trying, especially as I'm under a lot of pressure at work at the moment and I'm generally exhausted.

sorry to hear about the money worries cheryl

c&g glad you are feeling a bit better about things. hope the upcoming appts go well too.

my boobs started leaking today :( i was in work and i felt so uncomfortable the rest of the day.

also thinking of starting some yoga or aqua-natal classes. i'm on my wii fit most days so not really for fitnes, but think i need to be getting out and about a bit more tbh. i'm turning into a hermit!

Hi
I'm new to this thread, seems like some of you have been here for a while. Its my first pregnancy, due December 12th.

Have been a bit low this week, had to miss work and had to go to hospital with quite bad pains on weds at 5am. Not much fun, especially as DH was away for week. Lots of comfort from reading so much good advice on here though. Seems like a really nice thread :)

Button Welcome,sorry to here about your bad week last week. Hopefully this week will be better for you. Please feel free to join in the fun on here - we don't bite

I had my 20 week scan on Friday and everything is fine.

I now know that I am going to have a daughter which is what both my Mother and I had a dream about last weekend!! Spooky.

I am now hungry all the time and seem to eat an amazing amount of cheese on toast. I even take supplies to work.

We (DH and I) seem to like a lot of girls names which I suppose is better than stressing about it. Jasmine seems to be #1 choice at the moment - certainly not Vera which is MIL's favourite

Morning all. We got a new puppy yesterday :o He sounds like a chicken or duck when he whines lol, he's currently sleeping, again. Our dog is getting on really well with him and the kids love him. We're having a lovely relaxing weekend, hoping to sort the garden out later if it's dry and then paint the dining room tomorrow.

Dp's mum and sisters are coming up on Wednesday until Friday (staying in hotel) so we'll be out and about a bit then. I have a scan booked for Thur morning to check my water levels which hopefully will be normal. Have the psych assessment tomorrow for dd but we all need to be there too. Hopefully that'll go well.

Cheryl sorry to hear about money worries, definitely have a look at money saving expert, lots of great tips on there. You can talk as much as you want/need to :) Hope you're feeling a bit better today.

chloe I need to buy some babygrows and snowsuits too, want to get things out the way long before I need to!

Dueling I've also looked on ebay, it's really great what you can find and most baby clothes are in such great condition as they've barely been worn.

Lavita I think that's a great idea, far better to get people to contribute to what yoo actually need rather than the millionth babygrow and I'm sure your family will want to do whatever you want if they're buying anyway.

MrsS In my area there is a sale board on facebook too so maybe that would be the same in other places as well. Cheese straws are yummy, I love them, anything with cheese in I'll eat!

kiwi Hope the scan goes better next time! How is the yoga? I've thought about doing one but I haven't done any proper excercise (other than walking) for years!

mawpower I love chocolate brownies, I make some quite nice ones, kids love them anyway hehe.

mumatron thanks, trying to get my head round it but still far less stressed now I know what to expect even though we're back to court in a month. Might be worth keeping soem breast pads in your bag? I had to use them when breastfeeding as I had a good supply and leaked all the time. I love our wii fit, it's nice to use it but also be able to sit down whenever you need to.

button welcome :)

pitter glad your scan went well. Second you on the cheese on toast, although dp made some tortillas with cheese in and they were amazing, lightly fried I think with cheese in the middle. I like Jasmine. We're still thinking about Scarlett, Noelle or Niamh/Neve.