Jue in June - Part 5

[milliemuffin]

2nd trimesters here we come...

Sooo tired today, that'll teach me for making silly lists then going to bed and reading my books and magazines some more and being rudely woken up by Argos texting me, just after I'd got to sleep, at 3am to remind me my washing machine was being delivered today!!

jasmine you're more than welcome to a copy, if I could figure out how to send it on here I would do. It's not fancy, more copied and pasted bits of posts from various threads on here about what you actually need rather than the lists you get in books! What does your DH do out in Iraq out of interest? Tell me to sod off if I'm being nosy!

TTL / Bprincess the silver cross offer seems to have disappeared off the mothercare website today although my friend recommended a look round Kiddicare today, not sure if you've ventured that way TTL but it's in Peterborough and is apparently massive. I don't think my old 206 has isofix points (Y reg) from a bit of research on my lunch today which has worried me a bit. I had to do some sort of spreadsheet, I was getting a bit overwhelmed with random browsing and coudldn't get my head round what we needed and what we really didn't!

jinglebells do you know which silver cross it is? And whereabouts is she? Just wondering how far awy from here etc.

Supersunny same, same, same on the midwife led waterbirth (can't wait to go look round) but like you I'm taking it all with a pinch of salt and seeing what comes my way!

Clarkiee stairs are my nemesis too at the moment!

sasamaxx carry on with the sling ramblings, I'm intrigued and want to know more and you sound like the knowledgeable one when I have the time to sit down and read properly :)

Goodvibrations I've got a meeting with HR later this week to push my mat leave BACK! I'm off from 36 weeks at the moment including holiday but am going to put it back to 38 I think and try and cut down to 4 day weeks. Has anyone else clocked how our timings worked out well with all the April/May bank holidays, there's not many 5 day working weeks left come mid April! Sorry to those who shift work I don't mean to sound like I'm gloating, I have been there too, promise!

Nurse I had my flu jab last week and been fine since, no side effects so I'm happy and trying not to think about the bad press. I forgot to take my urine sample to my last mw appt and she said not to worry, just to take one next time which bothered me a bit, I did say offer to go and "get" one!

Cep!! lovely to see you :) Here's to a fab 2011 full of everything you want.

oh fecking hell who made "New Parents - the must have list" a discussion of the day?! Must not add to list...must not add to list....

Great news gv so glad all was well and nurse too.

Lisa I'm with your friend on that one. Like Kara I was also too late for an epidural. There is only one hospital here that offers water births so I'd be pretty lucky to get it if I did decide to go for that option and home births were illegal here till fairly recently . I am not sure I'd go for either as for me I just want it over and done with as quickly as possible and to meet my hopefully healthy baby at the end of it.

Jasmine I hope your DH comes round. I did notice that mine got much more serious about work than he had been when DS was due and arrived as though he saw it as more important that he was able to provide for him properly. Fortunately for us they still have a travel ban on (cost cutting) so he's around most of the time even if working long hours means he doesn't see much of DS in the week.

Jasmine - I hope your DH sees sense and cancels his work trip!! I'd be absolutely livid if DH did that!

Cep - glad to hear you are okay. Good luck withe the TTCing!

Nurse - I'm having my flu jab this morning.

GV - lol @ at your awkward baby! Glad scan went well!

I will be working up until my due date. Joys of being self-employed :(

Just wanted to say hi to cep and thanks so much for dropping in. Good luck ttcing!

Grumpy about not being able to get the flu jab because it has run out everywhere I try and no shop will give it to a pregnant woman. DH appears to be coming down with something, too, and is on his way home from work (he NEVER takes a day off) ...

banana lovin the list making - keep going and we'll find a way of distributing it. I looked at muslin squares today...felt a bit naughty so I went to look at nursery curtains instead, doh!

DH is a paramedic and he works in Iraq teaching various medical stuff to Iraqi and expat groups. Its pretty interesting stuff and suits him well....but it doesnt excuse his lack of interest in getting to know his new ds when he arrives. To add to the story he has 2 dds from a previous marriage nearly 20 year ago and has never even seen the younger of the 2 because he left to go and pursue a new career before she was born...thats what adds to the paranoia! Have now briefed friends who talk to him on skype to lay it on thick about what it means not to be here.

Totally agree with the breathless thing - was on my list to speak to MW about. Ive gone from being able to cycle 25 miles before breakfast with no probs to puffing up my stairs, its quite disconcerting.

Have a good day everyone
x

Jasmine at your DH not seeing his youngest dd :(
Definitely agree with your friends, lay it on thick. However if he was not present for the birth of his 2 dds the chances are he won't see why you need him there with you

Thanks Sasamaxx - I'll have a look at those sites, all this shopping is pretty exciting. We got a heap of John Lewis vouchers for our wedding and are pretty much sorted with crockery etc, so have decided to spend some of it on baby things. We're getting a lot from BIL but its amazing how all of the sheets, blankets, change mat, etc add up!

Goodvibrations 17 weeks to go - ahh! That makes it sounds so soon!

I'm with you on the out of breath thing, although my most awful symptom is official hair!! My belly rather than being a glowing bump has become a hairy mess, not just around my belly button but all over. My DH luckily thinks its hilarious rather than gross but I'm pretty mortified. I might have to wax it! Please tell me I'm not the only one?

hi all, just a quick one to say scan went really well was a really nice lady scanning me and got a couple of lovely pics everything looks as it shud be and very healthy

i asked wot we were having at the end and she sed oops i didnt look ill check but the baby had its legs really close together, the two people in the room both said they think they can see boy bits and reckon its a boy but if i buy blue to keep the reciepts

hope eveyone else is well just gettin ready for work, will catch up properly later

Yay jingle well done, nice way to start the day. Glad everything is well

Great so now my fil is in hospital being tested for possible swine flu and meningitus. Depending on what is results come back with I may have to get the ruddy flu jab as we were only there a week ago.

Ohh ohh while I was writing that my maternity clothes arrived. I'm now sitting here with my trousers done up feeling comfortable!! Even with the elastic pulled right in the jeans feel (and look) oddly baggy around the bum, but I just have to remember that once my bump turns into a real bump I'll be very pleased to have all that space :)

Thanks for dropping by Cep it's always lovely to hear from those who had to leave us.

And congrats on the scans to those who had them (sorry a bit distracted this morning so not so good on the catch up front)

Hi all, just trying to catch up with everyone whilst on hold to a bunch of wankers banks in work... .

Happy New Year to all, especially to cep, lovely to hear from you. I sat down on Monday evening and wrote a massive long post, which my computer then lost as soon as I tried to post it , and I just did not have the energy to write it all again!

Anyway, congratulations to all of you having boys - boys are great fun! I'm sure girls are too, but don't have much experience of that yet! Wouldn't mind a girl-flavoured one this time, but am not looking forward to being swamped with baby pink presents if we do!

Lisascat very good point; I totally agree with you. I think a natural birth is wonderful and positive if it works out that way for you, but let's face it, some women have complications, some most women just simply have a painful time of it, and we should not be made to feel a failure or weak for taking the more medicalised route. I have a friend (no children yet), who takes great pleasure in telling everyone that her Mum, who has had four, tells her that childbirth is no more painful than the worst of period pains!!! . I feel like giving her a good old shake every time she says it in front of me! Maybe it is like that for some, but not for all!

There was also a woman in my ante-natal group when I had ds who put her and her child's life at risk because she refused to go into hospital and have any intervention after being in labour at home for about 2 -3 days, and running into complications. She was very proud about the fact that she stuck to her guns, even in the face of various midwives, her partner and her mother begging her to go into hospital . In the end they were rushed in in an ambulance and an emergency caesarian was performed, and her little one was very poorly in NICU for quite some time. It seems she would rather have put her baby's life at risk than give up her dream of a drug-free home birth, which I really cannot gte my head around.

I would love to give a drug-free home-birth a go, but sadly I can't because of a high strep-B risk, but I know that if things started looking hairy I would be straight into hospital. Also, I am going to try for a water birth at the hospital; being in water really did help me with the contractions last time.

Slings - we had two for ds - I had a stretchy fabric one which was really comfortable once it was on, but a pain in the ass to get used to putting on, so I just used to use it for long walks or around the house. For short trips to the shops (and for dp, because he refused to wear my "hippy" sling ) we used a Babybjorn number, which was really easy to use and easy to get little man in and out of.

Still feeling a bit un-goddess like, more like a zombie with a chip on my shoulder at the moment! Baby is moving more now so feels a lot more real, but still wish I had the time to enjoy this pg more. Whoever it was that was asking if anyone enjoys being pregnant way back in the mists of time on this thread, I really enjoyed most of my first pregnancy, and am hoping I manage to get in the swing with this one too. One thing I do love is my changing body, which sounds weird I know, but I love watching my tummy grow and get ready for what it is going to experience in the next year or so Just wish I loved my changing hormones as much... was sobbing and wailing in the kitchen the other day just listening to The XX's album whilst cooking dinner! .

Hope your fil is ok nomorechoc

misshoohaa - you are not the only one! I took a photo of my bump yesterday (I'm planning to do one a week so that I have a record of how it grew) and the hair was very obvious in the photo! Definitely not a photo to share with friends and family! I read that hair often goes darker during pregnancy and then goes back to normal afterwards so fingers crossed that's true. I wasn't planning to be flashing my stomach over the next few months anyway so I'll just put up with it.

Congrats jingle! Lots of people seem to be having boys on this thread!

nomorechoc I hope your FIL is okay. How worrying ... I can't get the flu jab at the moment as my GP is all out and I thought DH might be coming down with something this morning, though he's still at work so I guess he's okay. At my mum's birthday party on the 30th loads of people kept coming up to me and saying 'oh I've just visited so-and-so who's got swine flu' and then breathing all over me (but only once they'd groped my belly without asking). It feels so hard to escape it! Anyway, I hope your FIL is well and that you don't have to worry for him or for you ...

Sorry for the sobbing 8rd :)

Wanted to ask a question: today I felt a funny feeling in my tummy, almost like when you have a trapped nerve in your eyelid and it sort of throbs and wobbles - but a little fainter. Do you think that could be the baby? (It's probably a fart )

Hi everyone..

Sorry have been reading but haven't had chance to post recently.

Congrats on all the gender scans. I agree ttl we do seem to have more boys than girls on this thread at the moment :)

I am going to have my flu jab today.. the doctor actually phoned me and asked if I would like to have it. Also have my 16 week MW apt on Friday.. I'm really hoping to hear the heartbeat then as I feel I need some more reassurance! I was feeling quite a few flutters then nothing for a while and then today I think I felt it again for a few seconds! ttl the feelings I have been having are exactly how you describe them.

We put a deposit down on a pushchair yesterday - eeeek!! Felt really weird doing it but it was on offer and we wanted to make sure we got the deal! After much deliberation I finally decided on one - blimey it was becoming a huge decision and I even started to dream about it

ttl sounds like your baby is making it's first kicks! When I was pregnant with ds I called my Mum when I felt something similar to ask her if she thought it was the baby, and she said it felt like a butterfly in her stomach when she was pg with me. I agree with her, but also think it feels like popping early on as well. How lovely!

Thanks 8rd! I hope it's that :) No more since the first flutter though, and I'm only 15 1/2 weeks with my first so I might be wrong ... neenewps it sounds like you're having them too ... :)

Hope I get them again soon!

TTL that sounds like baby movements to me!
How exciting neenewps - what pushchair are you getting?
Bananarama I would talk about slings all day - I just love them, and getting a good one can really make a massive difference to your life - particularly when you have a baby that won't let you put them down. I have had a LOT of slings (I have about 8 at the moment) - it's not as bad as it sounds - a lot of these are still suitable for carrying my 2.5 year old
I am really excited about picking out a new sling for the baby - maybe a cashmere blend wrap or something

I really liked the iCandy cherry and then stumbled across the Sola/Glide in Mamas & Papas and I really couldn't see the difference in them apart from the price!

Managed to compare them side by side in one of the Pram centre shops and they are so similar it is unreal. Maybe the build/chassis quality is slightly different but it can only be marginal!

Soooo, we have gone for the Glide as they have an offer on. Very excited :)

Question: I am really hoping that I will be able to breastfeed our little one. Will I also need to buy bottles and a sterilizer? I'm thinking maybe if I don't get on with breastfeeding then I have them there? Am just trying to get an idea of the things I will absolutely need! Have even started a list which luckily at the moment doesn't seem to be TOO long!!!

Neenewps and TTL feeling baby moving, how exciting . neenewps I was like you, felt lots of movement then all went quite. Last night I had a good prod in the bath (that sounds soo dodgey!) and got my little one moving . It totally justifies my still being unable to cope with raw meat.

Pushchairs and slings feeling very jealous about all that. Need to sort out our living shit-uation before we can think about that stuff seriously.

I'm also another one keen on using slings this time as ds is still reliant on the buggy but wont be for too long hopefully by the time baby is born so I don't want to get a double pram. I'm so confused about all the different types but my friend recently told me there is a slings group at my local surestart centre so going to check it out as feel I would be more confident making a choice after seeing some in the flesh rather than reading about them.

I'm also being taken over by hair, sorry can't remember who said they were. I was last time too when preg with ds so I've a feeling it will be another boy but happy to be proven wrong if it isn't. Dh says he hopes it's a girl just to prove me wrong as I'm so convinced he's a he!

NMCB I have tried prodding too but doesn't seem to spur my LO into action. Maybe I am prodding the wrong place

Only able to put the deposit down as my Mum is very kindly buying us the pushchair. And my MIL is giving us a moses basket which has been in the family since my DH was a baby! She will put all new fabric on it and a new mattress.

Our living situ, I have a feeling, is about to become a nightmare. Our landlady has decided that she is selling the flat that we live in. We were going to look at moving anyway as we need somewhere bigger but we may now have to move sooner than we wanted to! :(

Am v jealous of all you feeling movement, still got another few weeks to go before I do I think.

Neenewps I am hoping to breastfeed but am buying breast pump, bottles etc and my friend is giving me her steriliser, because A I might not get on with breastfeeding, B I might decide to express ocassionally and will need something to express it into and C I'm not going to bf forever, I will eventually switch to bottles so might as well buy everything now for when I do need it.

Sorry about your flat :( Though I'd say better to move sooner than later, you don't want the hassle when you're 8 months pregnant!

8rd that story of the woman risking a home birth reminded me of an example my friend gave of a woman who was expecting twins but was adamant she wanted a home birth. Now I know that those of you expecting twins will do a marvellous job and remain as cool as a cucumber at all times, but if it was me, I'd want as many professionals close by as possible, because surely there's a lot going on - you need someone tending to the first baby once it pops out, and someone else keeping tabs on the heartrate of the second one, and someone else down there looking out for its head, not forgetting birth partner's hand to squeeze (break the bones of). Anyway, suffice to say she got her way but will spend the rest of her life regretting her decision. I just can't understand why she chose to ignore the advice of every medical professional. It's bonkers.

(Those twin carriers out there - you know you'll be fine, right? I hope I haven't scared you. You all sound like sensible ladies, and I have no doubt that it will all come off without a hitch.)

Anyhoo, on a lighter note, wrt the pushchair/pram research, I had some gutting news t'other day, which hopefully some of you can learn from. We had a Mamas & Papas travel system last time (second hand... d'you think I've got money to throw around?!?!?!?), including the baby car seat, which sat in a plastic base positioned on the seat of the car. After the monkey moved up to a bigger car seat I threw the baby one away because it was, by then, seriously manky, with bits of food, dribble and sick in places that couldn't be accessed to wash. I also threw away the plastic base, assuming that if we bought another one to use with the wheeled pushchair unit, it would come with another plastic base.

Fast forward 3 years. I went to the M&P shop the other day to look at replacement car seats. Nice lady in there confirmed that their fittings are still the same universal size, so car seats from them will still fit in the base. Hurrah (I think to myself quietly, but don't say aloud because I don't want to look cheap in M&Ps where, if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it!). So she tells me the replacement car seat will be £150. OK, that bit I was ready for. But then she asks if I've still got the base...... "Why no" says I, "I thought that came with it." Oh no, that's an additional £100.

So I can either spend £250 on a replacement car seat for the first 9 months, just so I can continue to use it with the slightly tattered old base and pushchair attachments or, for about 50 quid more, I can get myself to Mothercare and buy a whole new travel system WITH baby car seat.

Sod off Mamas & Papas (is quite frankly all I can say on the matter).