First Time Frolickers foray into 2011

[cherrycobbler]

New year, new babies and lots of new BFPS!!

Link to future grads here

ARRIVALS:

Fudgecat - In loving memory of Baby Elliot - Born asleep on Friday 17th September 2010

Fulhamgirl - EDD 30th May - DOB 9th Apr - Girl - Lily Ann - 4lb
Trying4Baby1 - EDD 25th Apr - DOB 6th May - Girl - Emily - 10lb 2.5oz
Pepperonipizza -EDD 24th May - DOB 28th May -Boy
CurlyCasper - EDD 21st July - DOB 24th June - Girl
Spirael - EDD 25th Jul - DOB 7th July - Girl - Miranda Jane - 8lb 3oz
DesperateHousewife21 - EDD 18th July - DOB 9th July - Boy - Dylan James
Sazziej - EDD 1st Sep- DOB 24th Aug - Girl - Evie - 7lb 8oz
Ozziegirly - EDD 24th Aug -DOB 25th Aug - Boy-Thomas - 7lb 1oz
NovemberAli - EDD 2nd Sep - DOB 8th Sept - Girl - Matilda - 8lb 6oz
WhiteRoses - EDD 15th September - DOB 19 September- Boy
Hobnob - EDD 26th Sep - DOB 21 September - Girl - Matilda 6lbs 6oz
Pixiestix - EDD 24th Sep - DOB 26 September - Girl - Tegan - 7lbs 7oz
Addie81 -EDD 7th Oct - DOB 19th October -Girl
Chancewouldbeafinething - EDD 10/10/10 - DOB 21st October - Boy - William James - 9lb 14.5oz
Hermya321 - EDD 24th Oct - DOB 24th October-Boy - Asher - 8lb 3oz
WorrisomeHeart - EDD 12th Oct -DOB 26th Oct Boy - Lochlan - 8lb
YorkshireTeaDrinker - EDD 6th Nov - DOB 5th Nov - Girl - Eleanor
Bunnygirl80 - - EDD 19th Nov- DOB 11th Nov -Boy-WIlliam - 7lb 2oz
Mumnerves - EDD 8th Dec - DOB 16 Dec Boy - Sean 8lb 2.5oz
Luckyseven - EDD 17th Dec - DOB 20th Dec Girl - Beth Elise 8lb 4oz
Oneof8 - BFP 18th May - EDD 17th Jan - DOB tbc - boy

CURRENT GRADUATES:

Capricorn76 - BFP 12th Apr - EDD 1st Jan 2011
Homebound - BFP 30th Apr - EDD 8th Jan
Seablue - BFP? - EDD 10th Jan
Aly323 - BFP? - EDD 31st Jan - Boy
Muser - BFP 22nd June - EDD 27 Feb
Superpenguin - BFP 1st July - EDD 4th March - Boy
Haloflo - BFP 22 July - EDD 20 March
SaorAlba - BFP 7 Aug - EDD 15th April
Kurlyvoice - BFP 1st September - EDD 16th April
MrsWajs - BFP 13 Aug - EDD 24th April - girl
stegasaurus - BFP 27 Aug - EDD 3rd May
Cherrycobbler - BFP 3rd September - EDD 11 May
Crazydays - BFP 4th September - EDD 13 May - twins - boy and girl!
crazybutterflylady - BFP 1st Sep - EDD 14 May
Bellaby -BFP 11th September - EDD 22nd May
Highheelsandequations - BFP 30th Oct - EDD 13th July
Slowshow - BFP 3rd Jan - EDD TBA
Roundtable - BFP 14 Jan - EDD TBA

Womanly that is great news that you are spot on for your dates and fab you got to see the heartbeat. Am sorry you have some spotting going on - but loads of ladies have had that and been fine - I think you have the right attitude of taking it a week at a time. It's a rocky road sadly and you wonder when you stop worrying?!

Empusa pleased it was just a panic and nothing worse than that!

I am fine thank you Empusa more importantly how are you?! :)

Robyn is great thanks Lanky, she's 18 weeks old now and is up to 13lb 9! Sleeping really well (thank god) and has the beginnings of her first tooth!! It's all going past so fast though, only feels like yesterday I was in conception and then ante-natal!! How are you doing?

A question for you guys, do you find it hard to get mat clothes in shops? I had to order the majority of mine online and wondered if it was just because of where I lived or if it was the case all over the country?

fab news on the scan womanly! sorry you are still getting spotting, hope it clears soon. Glad you got to hear the heartbeat too empusa and that it turned out just to be a scare :)

lanky I found mat work clothes a real nightmare, particularly suits. I ended up living in a pencil skirt and some wrap tops from Jojomaman (I found them easier to wear than the Isabella Oliver ones), some top shop black trousers, and some Gap trousers (from the big Gap next to Selfridges). And I didn't feel kicks till well after my 20 week scan, and movement was quite intermittent after that. Odd as babycherry is definitely a wriggler now out of the womb.

Great news about your scans womanly and empusa (although I am slightly disappointed that your psychic abilities were a little off )

I got my mat clothes for work off ebay, the number of months you end up wearing it for means that most of the stuff is nearly new. asos.com is also very good for mat stuff, I got my jeans from there. I was lucky that the size/shape of my bump meant I was also able to wear my normal clothes with a belly belt extender thingy right up until I gave birth. And floaty tops and maxi dresses were still fashionable, so managed to get away with buying non-mat clothes in a size bigger.

I'm good. Fed up of morning sickness though, been in bed all day and bored! DH is driving me mad fussing over me!

empusa hope you feel better soon. MS is so not fun.
mrswajs glad to hear about Robyn (what a pretty name :))
lanky hope you're having better luck with finding those mat suits.

I also got a letter yesteday - confirmed for maternity at Queen Charlotte which is where my clinic is too. It's for 20th September. Yesterday had ms all day which was not good.. today have tried to be tough..though I find eating something / anything frequently helps the situation..so am doing the rounds of nuts and a bit of fruit... I also just read a fantastic thread on hypothyroidism and pregnancy and now am all anxious about that - lol.. IE, I am on medication and my last blood test was a couple of months back but the GP did not say anything about increasing it - though the stuff on the NHS website say - definitely increase. So, that's that :D

Early days in the first trim...but am half way there..so fingers crossed for the rest of the half :)

Hi everyone, sorry for long absence although I have been lurking on and off. I did write a lengthy post about a month ago and then mumsnet went offline and I lost it all!

Welcome to all the new/or not so new BFP's. Good luck with everything and I hope your pregnancies are uneventful. Congratulations to those who have already met their babies. I hope everyone is keeping well.

Well I am 38 weeks tomorrow, been having lots of period type pains for the past week and a bit so I'm hoping things are kicking off soon. Going to have a curry tonight (even though I'm not a big fan), had a bath in clary sage oil and have been bouncing on my birthing ball.

I know it's a bit early but I have all sorts of gumph go on in this pregnancy and a medical condition as well as SPD/PGP so they've said that they won't let me go over bar more than a couple of days ( I think because the consultant doesn't work at the weekend!) I really don't want the drip induction so I'm trying to get things kicked off now. Fingers crossed.

Anyway, I hope everyone is alright and not feeling too sick or uncomfortable.

Round lovely to hear from you and not long for you now! Keeping everything crossed that the little one makes an appearance soon. Hope your SPD isn't crippling and been enjying mat leave.

womanly how is the ms? I found I had to eat my way through ms as well - but only certain very plain foods too. Pleased you have your care sorted as well. Don't panic too much about the thyroid...I read that too. You should just be having regular blood tests to monitor the levels. Have you got these booked in? I had to increas my dose my 25mcg but it seems to have stablised since that increase.

Thanks to all on advice about mat clothes and it's good to know it's not just me that has been frustrated. Mrswajs I found that most ranges were online too and unless you have a JoJo or Pretty Pregnant near you then it's seeing what H&M offer on the High Street. M&S, Next and DP are all online I think - which is a pain. Spend a fortune on delivery charges and then you are never in to receive them!
cherry I have done what you have too - got a few pencil skirts and some tops. I will try the GAP on Oxford Street at some point to. The IO stuff I ordered came through and it is really nice - just really pricey! Bunny I looked at asos and the current range doesn't look that great but will keep an eye on it.

I am impressed that someone gave me up there seat on the train this morning! Maybe I have passed the 'eaten too many pies or pregnant? phase' !

Aghhh - I hate Mondays!

womanly sorry to hear about morning sickness. I'm at 31 wks and I remember it well. It does get better from there:) I also had spotting, It was all brown but quite a bit at times but all was good so I hope its the same for you.

round FX for you. I am hoping that bubba will want to come anytime from 38-40 weeks.

empusa sad you aren't psychic:( had lots of questions I wanted answered...lol

mrswajs I think I was on a bus with you at one point (a long time ago)! Glad Robyn is doing well!

lanky sounds like you are feeling better and have a cute little bump:) Are you going to find out the gender or have a surprise?

@ goldmaple!

How's everyone doing?

We've got our dating scan on Tuesday, so I'm all excited to see how much bigger the baby is after the emergency scan the other day

MS is better lanky - I have found that post the bfp I've gone from a person who LOVED to eat to someone who struggles to eat anything -- I have a strong sense of smell and am just generally turned off food... so it's been hard nibblin frequently however that seems to work for me now. I went to see my GP today and she was happy to send me for a blood test for the thyroid after I told her that it would make me feel much better - lol

gold I think the spotting has gone away - though now I feel I am seeing spotting where none exists...

empusa best of luck with your upcoming scan :)

Thanks for that Lanky the reason I asked was, I got really frustrated when I was pg that I had to basically order all my mat clothes online, just to see if they fitted/I liked them etc etc, then spend a fortune on delivery costs and also on sending back things I didn't like. I wondered if it was just the shops in my area that didn't stock their maternity lines or if it was quite common place everwhere, including bigger cities. I was told in one shop that they were removing their (one rail) maternity section in favour of a petite section - just what you want to hear when you feel like a whale!!!

It has given me food for thought and an idea for a little business venture (maybe) so just wanted to canvass opinions on the subject from all over the country! Would be much obliged if any others could give me their opinions on mat clothes shopping? What would you like to see in shops, what brands etcetc and what the shops in your areas are like.

Thanks guys :)

Goldmaple Hi and congrats!! I do vaguely remember you, sorry that sounds terrible doesn't it!

MrsWajs We went round the whole high street the other day looking for maternity wear. We found one rail in one shop

Hi all. Good news on the scans womanly and empusa I hope the wait til the next ones doesn't drag too much.

mrsw I am in NW England and other than a small section in New Look I had to order all clothes online or travel to the Trafford Centre (not recommended at 22 weeks, in November, on a Saturday)

roundtable Hope your baby comes soon! Very exciting, I love newborns.

mrswajs very hurt that you don't have very vivid, fond memories of our bus ride together
I only bought mat clothes at a store specifically for maternity wear (Thyme Maternity, motherhood maternity) or else I found the selection was pretty horrible (but I am in Canada so I don't know if that helps much unless you expand your business quickly:))

womanly glad to hear the spotting stopped!

empusa very that you get to see your bean again. I won't see bubba until I meet her (unless I cave and get a 4D scan).

Has anyone got a 4D scan? For no reason, just to see their baby? Was it worth the $$?

mrsw I ordered most of my mat clothes online, nothing here at all. Took a trip to Edinburgh and couldn't believe how rubbish it was, about 3 shops with one rail of clothes in each. Think there are one or two specialist maternity shops there somewhere but high street brands impossible to find.

hello roundtable! hope you are snuggling your newborn very soon. I look at the little ones now in amazement that my hefty four month old was ever that small :)

mrsw I had one day of dragging myself around oxf circus/ regent street in London to buy some maternity staples, and was lucky enough to have a Jojo and good Hennes nearby for maternity stuff, but other than that it was all online. I remember being annoyed by how little there is around, particularly smart stuff for work.

womanly boo for the ms. I also struggled with it, hope it isn't too bad for you. It is the nicest thing when the nausea finally lifts and your appetite comes back and you start to enjoy food again!

gold we had a 4D scan. I was a bit skeptical about it, and generally find the pics of 4D babies a bit freaky but absolutely LOVED it, it was really special. I'd recommend it.

Afternoon all! Sorry for the radio silence, it's been a long couple of weeks involving two admissions to Day Case, hundreds of blood tests and a midwife and consultant who are determined to get me diagnosed with GD even though I clearly don't have it.

RE Maternity Allowance, I've had my form returned because I didn't include a piece of paperwork. That would be the piece of paperwork I told them I don't have because I've been made redundant Going to meet my old manager for coffee on Thurs to see if she has a number for someone I can contact to try and get one and if not they have a number I can call at considerable expense to point out that I have explained why that particular piece of paper is not there.

Had a growth scan this morning and Pumpkin is apparently massive. As such, and due to the fact the head has started to engage they've told me to get my bag packed and be ready to go in and have booked me for an induction at 39 weeks! Everyone seems to think I should be upset by this but to be honest I just want everything to be healthy and if this is what it takes then I'm happy to do it.

Hope all the first trimesterers are coping with the MS and stress and to everyone else, I promise to start coming back more regularly!

Hi everyone- massive wave

I dont know how many of you will remember me but just thought I would pop my head in to let you know I have got my BFP!!!!!!!

I have been awol as it got too hard to be on the boards see so many people come and go and then have their own babies.

Its taken two and a half years and almost passed out when I saw the test! For those that can remember we had been told we couldnt concieve naturally due to male factors and therefore we had lined up IVF appointments for March after our wedding. I have lost around 3 stones in weight, DP has reduced alcohol, massively reduced caffine and also lost some weight.

Still in a state of shock and cant quite believe it.

Zippys xxxx

Zippys !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fantastic news my dear - so bloody nice to hear your news. I bet you are over the moon!! Well done to both of you making all those changes - was worth it! How are you feeling? How far along are you? Really - such wonderful news that all the 'old timers are getting their bfp's finally. Lovely to have you here!

Toria - sounds like you have had an eventful few weeks. So I take it you don't have GD? I can't believe they were so adamant that you might have it? 39 weeks! So how long away is that for you??! I had a feeling MA allowance was not going to be easy to claim hence why I am going to try and start it as soon as I hit 26 weeks.

Gold not sure we are going to have a 4D scan. I have my 21 week scan next week then I have 3 growth scans booked in for 28, 32 and 26 weeks but will see how we get on. We don't plan to find out the sex actually - want it to be a surprise for thee first! How are you getting on?

MrsWajs your business idea sounds interesting! I do agree and hate the fact that the choice is so limited. The other thing that annoys me is that everything is in jersey (which is quite a cheap fabric in composition) and yet it is charged at the same price if not more sometimes as normal clothes! Keep us posted with you ideas.

Womanly how you getting on? I figured out towards the end of MS that all I fancied was biege foods (bread, pasta, potatoes!) bad I know but you do what you have to get through the day. Hope you are feeling better.

And Empusa how was the dating scan yesterday? All go well and got a confirmed EDD?

Hope everyone else is well!

Not much news here other than hitting 20 weeks today and bump is defo growing. Getting to grips with movements/kicks as well - although it seems to have no particular timings at the moment! We are really looking forward to the scan next week but have a lovely few days in Devon planned before that which will be nice. I think poor Mr Lanky has been feeling like he hasn't been getting much attention what with me feeling constantly crap for 3 months and am finally feeling so much better so trying to make the most of it! Has anyone else done pregnancy yoga? I started 4 weeks ago and loving it. I need to get my arse in gear and go swimming as well. Am doing tonnes of walking and yoga but don't feel like it's anything like the 3 spinning classes I was doing before I got pregnant!

Question for all you more experienced ladies - when did you feel like you had to start slowing down a bit? I was just wondering so I could plan for it a bit and try and get a good hit of seeing lots of people and doing lots of exercise.

ZIIIIPPY!!!!!!! Of course I remember you, and so so thrilled to hear you have your bfp!!! HUGE congrats and welcome to the grad board :) How far along are you?

lanky I felt really good in the second trimester and the beginning of the third, but started slowing down by about 34 weeks I think. I loved pregnancy yoga!!

Good to hear from you toria, I was induced at 40 weeks and was also just keen to be induced if there was any worry at all about the baby. So annoying about the maternity allowance.

zippy what fabulous news - congrats and fabulous job making all those changes :)
lanky thanks to ms I have considerably slowed down...barely able to hold down full days at work... but it's ok and not bad. Am thinking of pregnancy yoga and swimming but around 14 wks onwards.. btw have no cravings in particular..just feel queasy all day / eating often helps sometimes..but not all the time. can't get enough of sleep whenever I can..

zippys Course I remember you too. Congratulations! Wishing you a healthy pregnancy.

lanky I think I slowed down from week 4... but it was probably 30 plus weeks before I struggled to walk upstairs. I did aqua natal from 33 weeks which was lovely. Very relaxing.

womanly I was like that in the first trimester, just needed so many zzzz's. Hope you feel better soon.

empusa Hope the scan went ok?

toria Glad you are ok. When will you be 39 weeks? Maybe if pumpkin is a little on the large side he/she will come sooner...

Zippys I remember you too and was actually thinking about you when I read about empusas BFP, massive congratulations, that's brilliant news!!

Lanky think I started slowing down around the 34 weeks mark, pretty much when I left work!! Started to feel pretty heavy by then!!

As for my idea, I would love to give you the basic jist of it as long as everyone promises not to steal it.....!!

Well since I struggled to shop the high street for maternity wear I thought why not open a department like store (think debenhams/john lewis' but on a much smaller scale) that sells only maternity clothes but from high street retailers i.e Topshop, Next, GAP, Dorothy Perkins etc, basically any shop you would probably have to buy maternity wear from online as opposed to in store. That's about as basic as it gets, I have zero retail or business experience so really don't have the first clue as to whether that's do-able or not, has it been tried before or thought about and considered pointless?? Who knows, I just kinda had one of those dragon den moments but am clueless about how to proceed!! Anyway that's the bones of it, what do you all think?? :)

Hello lovely ladies, just saw zippys's news and had to stop by and say a huge congratulations! What a fabulous and inspirational story. Absolutely over the moon for you. Big waves to the rest of you lovelies, lots of love flick xx