Summer, summer, summer PESH: Get in your birthing pools, it's going to be a hot one

[LadyGoneGaga]

BESH BAYBEES

dontrythisathome, girl born March 25.
Cheggers, twinz girlz, born April.
FannyPriceless, boy, born June 8.
CurlyCasper, girl, born June 24.
CUNextTuesday, boy, born June 29.
AlpinePony, boy, born 1 July.
Carrots, boy, born July.
IggyPiggy, girl, born July.
Cosmosis, boy, born Sept 5.
Backinthebox, boy, born Sept 7.
Skatergrrrl, girl, born Sept 10.
VAG, boy, born Oct 2.
Silversky, boy, born Nov 1.
SomethingSuitablyWitty, girl born Nov 2.
okiecokie, girl, born Nov 12.
Honeymoo, boy, born Nov 11.
ReginaMonologue, boy, born Nov 13.
Maswera, boy, born Dec 24.
PollyPoo, girl, born Jan 5.
MrsFC, boy, born Jan 7.
ChoChoSan, girl, born 6 Feb.
Ginhag, boy born 11 Feb.
Muser, girl, born 15 Feb.
CluckyKate, boy, born 18 Feb.
Perfect Dromedary, boy, born 23rd February.
Casserole, girl born 19th March
Medee, girl, born 26th March.
Scorpette, boy, born 21st May.
Rocketleaf, girl, born 23rd May.

UPDIFFED

Laurielou, the unmarried hussy with the "surprise" diff, due 31 May (ish).
TwinkleToes, supergluing her fanjo shut, due 20 June.
Orchid, hoping for a zen like child, due 1st July.
Ginfox, loving the new mega-boobs, due 12th July.
LadyGoneGaga, No, it's not fucking twins, due 24 July.
Ivegotmrbitey, appears to have eaten posh spice, due 27th July.
Macaroonmum, eating for 7, due Aug 6th.
Owlbooty, suddenly weeble-shaped, due 7th August.
Ocarina, there's a what in there?! due late August.
Mountie, too shy to shine, due Autumn.
Truffkin, growing a padawan, due 17th November.

how many sticks now? Also, it's true about the oompa loompas, I read it in take a break.

Not planning a section but you never know. I have the fear a bit, not because of the surgery itself but because I am so wet I faint at the dentist! I am worried that the drop in bp will be dangerous on the operating table although seeing as I will be lying down anyway not sure what the problem is! I also know that I am not the first shithouse sensitive soul they will have come across!

Any news from solicitor G.Unit? Fuckers!

Oh well that's good I've wet myself twice this week already puking. I'm more than happy to pass on the vom crown now - it's boring. My mum had the pukes bad too - I think there is some genetic element to it.

Lovely news from Lozza. Am glad to hear that C section makes no difference and that you are all doing well.

Not heard anything yet . But on plus side am off work today and tomorrow. Have taken MiniG to nursery and going to laze around today . Been to Mothercare and bought a 0-3 month taking home outfit in case baby is too big for all the newborn stuff! And some new maternity leggings as mine were so stretched it had become obscene and they were starting to go crotchless. I have grown out of a good proportion of my maternity clothes

Keeping fingers crossed for you LGG.

Fuck me! Just caught up with Alps update. Bloody brilliant news. If I can stamp on your foot in congrats will that reinstate my ESH DHB status?

LadyG sorry things aren't going to plan at the moment. Hope you manage to have a great day lazing.

BB sorry about the pukes but tis ace to see you here.

How can 1 little person take up so much time? Normal service shall resume shortly. Well hopefully some time before Bug is 18

loz it's not the only fab news - there's a revelation on fb for the ESH event!

Will we be able to tempt her into the Deli, do you think?

yey for lozzer and the Bug. You sounds so loved up :o and you looked bloody fabulous mate. Really wish I had thought to take some pics straight after my birth as apparently I looked ok but things went swiftly down hill after that so there are none til I get home.

And bloody amazing news from the ESHmeet, how did it take me so long to get onto that.

Tis lovely to see you back and sounding so loved up Lozza, and it's very reassuring to know that it really is all worth it, even if things don't go the way you planned.

And a huge welcome to Brownie, sending many sticky vibes your way and hoping that the nausea a) is a good sign, but b) doesn't develop to rival our expert pukers. You've probably said already, but have you had/do you get any early scans to check all is well?

I've been amused by a mixture of reactions to my bump today, starting with 'are you really????' from someone who'd just heard (I'm really not that small....) to simultaneous 'oh you've got ages' and 'that's really soon' from different people when hearing my due date. I'm sticking with the 'oh you've got ages'....

Current pregnancy irritation is reflux, particularly at night. Any suggestions on prevention/dealing with? I know it's exceedingly minor in the scheme of things that PESHes have had to deal with, but figured it was worth asking for any wisdom.

Oh, and does anyone have any good suggestions of baby books to read? - I'm nearly at the end of WTEWYE and am realising I may now know lots about pregnancy but I still don't have a clue about babies. My general strategy in life is to acquire as much info as possible, so I should probably get on with it..... My sister says she'll burn Gina Ford if I buy it (she's a midwife and has seen too much misery from people trying to follow it rigidly and failing, but I do know there's at least one CRESH out there who swears by it), but any other suggestions for useful ones gratefully received.

I bought the Wonder Weeks ocers Its not really a 'baby manual' or about telling you how to raise your child but more telling you what is going on with their development so you can understand why they are acting they way they are. Interesting concept.

pone have you collected enough sticks to build this yet? I am thinking you need to raise the bar from ladys xmas tree concept.

link fail, forgot to re C&P. ski I mean to say can you build this ?

The book I like best is out of print I think but I like anything by the Sears me Ocks.

I found it - and look you can get a second hand copy for 1p! natural baby

I read it when smallboo was about 3 days old. It's lovely.

Rocket - I couldn't see that.. something about it being forbidden? Was it something just for Alps?!

Nice to meet you Ocar - and of course... you're only seven months - no? That's loads of time yet..

ohh, not that i know of brownie it was only along the lines of this

I have WTE the first year. It is comprehensive but not as user friendly as ...expecting. I have a copy of Wonder weeks on its way from amazon, borrowed a copy and found it very interesting

I have ordered that natural baby 2nd hand boo I suppose I'd better start figuring out what to do with Sprout other than freak out about feeding her and weep over my bleeding nipples :o

I largely think that parenting books often serve to make you feel like a shit parent and that your child doesn't measure up, Occy. GF and Babay Whisperer etc are very much like that. On the other hand, like Boo, I do like the Sears approach if you're prone to a bit of AP stuff. We sort of ended up there by virtue of having a high needs baby! And I also like WTE for a good reference of stuff. Also liked this Sue Gerhard.

Will St Mary's be doing a nuchal scan, Brownie? We had to go private for our nuchal scan anyway which might be a more timely way of getting a scan. They may be super efficient and get you a scan really quickly but would be unusual for NHS.

Occers re. the reflux - I recommend swigging gaviscon out of the bottle. It is a miracle cure and stopped me barfing up acid the night before last.

I have now officially bought all the shit I need for Owlet plus all the obligatory padding to stop postnatal leakage from all orifices. This weekend, I Pack The Bag. Hoorah!

BB I'm doing pelvic floor exercises like they are going out of fashion and I tell you, they make absolutely no fucking difference to the accidental pissing. I wish people wouldn't make me laugh. Or cough. Or sneeze. Etc.

I have the Mumsnet Babies book on my Kindle, also the No Cry Sleep Solution - bought to try and solve the daytime nap situation. Unfortunately I am too lazy to do much about it.

I also have this, which I found very useful for making sense of the first crazy weeks and realise what the hell I did all day and was feeling bad about never doing housework: What Mothers Do, Especially When It Looks Like Nothing

Thanks for all the book suggestions - I've ordered a selection (the ones I could get cheap!) and will look out for the others next time I'm in a bookshop. I realise they may just make me feel like I'm an awful parent, but I think on balance I'd rather have more info and be able to pick and choose than feel like I have no clue. I suspect I'll still feel like I have no clue, but books make me feel better. And you all have permission to shout at me if I start complaining my baby's not doing what the book says s/he should.....

Hooray for the heartbeat Brownie. I can see why you've booked yourself another scan. When it came to my booking appointment it was only a few days before my first scan so it might not be as late as you fear, but round here they go for booking it all at once so they can make sure things get done in the right order. I thought my booking appt would be about 8 weeks but it was more like 10, and then only because between us TH and I were away for about 3 weeks and so they needed to get the scan in before that if they wanted to do the nuchal fold test thing. We then decided not to have that anyway, but were glad to have the scan. So here's hoping they get their act together with yours.

Hooray for the buying of stuff Owlie. I'm feeling reassured by having more baby things in the house, despite the fact that I have no clue what to do with half of it. Not even thinking about bag packing yet though....

I'm currently reading What Mothers Do, as kindly donated to me, and it is very good.

I'd be happy to lend out my copy of What Mothers Do. I think it's one to read post-birth though. Not sure it would make as much of an impact beforehand.

boo No pic here either - but I do remember LadyG's! Not sure why I've felt the need to POAS*5 this time. Last time I did it only once and was very confident in the result. I think I'm done now.

brownie I had my dating scan done at 9+6 and it was tummycam despite having a tum. Didn't get dildo'd at all during the pregnancy.

Ocarina I'm a big fan of the "Practical Parenting Magazine" guides - 1st year - there's info without being patronising. I planned to read it during my maternity leave but as I didn't get any leave I kind of learned on the job. I dip in to it now and then to check that he's reached all his "milestones". I think you need to have a little pep talk with yourself. You will not kill the baybee, your instincts are right, common sense is king.

Second timers - what did you do about NF scans? We chose not to have any scans 1st time around because we knew we wanted the baby "no matter what". This time we're worried about "time" implications of having a SN child. I know that the scans check for actually very little SN-wise and I'm still not sure I'd terminate for Down's. But, the one which scares the bejebus out of me is Edwards - I'm not sure I could cope with leaving that "unknown" - of course there is no happy ending with that. :( A few weeks to think about it all yet of course.

I had the NT test done. But not because I think I would def terminate - but I like to be forewarned of things and wanted the reassurance really. Also you do have to think about your first child - you're not going to live forever and it would be the first child who had to carry any burdens after you are gone. Would have needed to debate that with myself. I wanted the NT test done at 12 weeks as think that gives you more time to get your head round things than relying on the triple test at 18 weeks or whatever. But is a matter of personal choice in the end.

Well done on the buying stuff, Owlie. Sounding very organised now. How is your house stuff going?

I got the little carseat down from loft yesterday, just in case of early labour shenanigans. Was filthy! I don't think I ever washed it in the 16 months MiniG was in it (I soooo deserve crap ham). But handwashed and scrubbed it all and has come up lovely

I second Gaviscon swigging, Occy. And you can get chewable tablets for your bag when out and about too.

Going to take the boy to soft play today . But he can jolly well run round by himself as I can't chase him. He scared the shit out of me yesterday as he ran across a side road without looking - thank fuck nothing was coming. I ran after him but I'm so lumbering and fucking useless I wouldn't have been able to prevent my own child from getting killed. Floods of tears from me and a very confused MiniG. And SPD now killing me from attempting to run. He said this morning, "Mummy can't bend". Am sooo looking forward to being mobile and fit again.