Due August 2011, the waiting is nearly over, who will be the first to pop?!?!?

[KLou111]

On the final stretch ladies, the waiting is nearly over for the arrival of our beautiful bundles of joy :)

Rehune how weird that he went home early because of the stress!!! Sounds like a bit of a wuss to me.

Wishwales - how gorgeous she is! Congrats on getting her home at last.

Klou well done on your 'purchase'! I seem to be spending a lot of time on ebay at the moment - it's brilliant! Recently bought, wardrobe door knobs, nursery rug and nursing nightie for giving birth in - all new and bargainous!

I felt rubbish yesterday afternoon. I started seeing stars and had a really bad headache all afternoon. Panicked about pre-eclampsia so started some frenzied googling, but I didn't have high blood pressure or any swelling. I now think maybe it was a pregnancy migraine (although never had one before) as light also hurt my eyes. Could have also been that I'd just been doing too much! I'm certainly starting to feel big now (think I'm having another growth spurt) and the back ache is kicking in with a vengence. So easily worn out it's ridiculous. Not long now though! . I hope everyone else is feeling well and coping with all the extra weight! [hgrin] (glad to see Harry Potter has hit MN towers too!)

rugby sounds like low blood pressure thing that I had. Cold glass of water helps. I'm knackered too I'm trying to get 40 mins walk/ swim or gym in most days but it drains me!

wishwales she be beautiful :)

Annie hope you're ok. Take care of yourself

Oh, forgot to mention, I called the midwife about the mucous plug and she said just to keep an eye on it, but that it will probably be fine.

Hello ladies,
Anyone else feel like they have constant Braxton hicks? Late pregnancy is not nice.
Well I have 19 days until my due date and I'm praying I'm early but I'm expecting to go over again.
Unfortunatley as I have done this before I know that the baby is not imminent as I don't feel like ive got a bowling bowl between my legs!
On the up side we had dd's 2nd bday party yesterday and it was Lovley. She's now at my mums over night and as I've finished work I have 24 hours of freedom! I'm going to indulge in the gym and have a bikini wax (horror emotion)!
tmi allert Does anyone else get really bad bearing down / period pains when they go for a poo? I can't remember it from last time but been feeling it yesterday and today

Hi Mrs V, I've had exactly the same pain the last 2 times I've been to the loo!! How bizarre! Hopefully someone will come along and tell us why soon

MrsV I have had the bowling ball feeling fairly constantly for the last two weeks but still no sign of baby :(

Hi everyone. Hope you're all not too shattered, not much longer now although these last weeks do go sooooo slowly!

I had good news earlier in the week - the friend of mine that had a missed MC back in February (and would have been due next month too) is now 3 months pg and all is well. So pleased.

My bump has really grown in the last few weeks, I'm suddenly pretty big after being quite small throughout. Measure according to dates though. DS2 has also had a growth spurt, he'll be 2 on 7th August (day before my ELCS) and suddenly he seems to have shot up, got much heavier and is chattering away with new words every day. I remember changing his nappy when he was newborn and then changing DS1's nappy (who was 23months old when DS2 was born) and thinking how massive DS1's bottom suddenly seemed! I'm sure the same will happen again!

I am well and truly nesting. Have written my 'to do' list of jobs that I want to have done in the next 3 weeks and getting on pretty well with it. Spare room finally looking a bit like a nursery too so feeling a bit more organised.

Wish I could store up sleep for the coming months though.... children getting up a bit too early for my liking at the moment and it takes me a while to switch off my brain at night, too much to think about so already feeling a bit tired, not looking forward to sleep deprivation again but it's all worth it in the long run. Hope this baby is more like DS1 than DS2 in his/her sleep habits.

I haven't been sleeping that well either lozza - between the cats harassing me in the night, the constant needing to wee, the bizarre and foreboding dreams, the achy hip making me turn over and then the worry that I'm lying on my right hand side and omg what if something bad happens...oh, and DS getting in our bed every night

We've done some organising this weekend too - got car seat out, put up cot etc. DS has been very unhappy and grouchy today, think he's realised that having a new baby sister is going to mean lots of change. We have tried to reassure him that he is still loved and important, but it's hard to know how much he really understands. Oh well, lots of extra cuddles with him is fine by me, even if he does try and jump on my belly all the time!

Oh dear astar! We have had to buy a bed for the spare room (didn't have one as only moved in earlier this year) in preparation for those nights when we may have little visitors.... DS2 lies sideways in bed so pushes both of us onto the edge, even though we have a kingsize bed... and I plan to bf this baby so could really do with some space in the bed for lying down feeds. DH also has somewhere to escape to if necessary!

Can't wait for the birth announcements to start rolling in on here, some of you must be in the final two weeks now, how exciting!

Yes, I anticipate DH ending up in DS's bed fairly frequently while DS snores next to me and the baby I know we should be trying to put him back in his own bed, but he's only little and is clearly feeling unsettled by things...and I like having a 3am snuggle

I'll be 38 weeks tomorrow So near and yet potentially so far (at least that's what it feels like).

Hi everyone. I'm 37+5 now and struggling with looking after DS1 and the fact that I wake up at 4.30am with SPD pain. Must be getting close though. I cleaned the front of my kitchen units yesterday which is unusual. I didn't get that urge last time as was in hospital. I also brought my floor coverings in ready for the birth and got the changing table ready. Must go and sort spare bedrooms out now. Take care everyoneXXXX

Hello Ladies,

Well I have had my first lie in on my first day of maternity leave- I woke at 8.30am- the longest lie in in nearly 2 years (courtsey of my mum having dd on a Sunday overnight)- I feel brilliant!

I'm going to have breakfast then go to the gym- in my own time- which is very unusal for me. Ususally I have to do EVERYTHING on a strict time frame around child care/ work.

I had a good nights sleep last night and think it was due to the fact I ate tea quite late and stayed up watching the apprentice till 10.30pm- late for me but it helped me switch off!

I can sympathise with others who have small children- when you are knackered you do wonder how you will survive the day.

Hi all, it's all getting close isn't it???
Am 36+4, and 'full term' as of Thursday, and am quite happy for bubs to come any time after then!

Nearly there with the house now, DH will hopefully have laid our new lounge floor by the end of the week, so bar the little things like skirting etc, we're ready for our arrival!
I put the first freezer meal in at the weekend, so need to make a few more, although DH told me he'll do the cooking so I don't have to bother with freezer stuff
Struggling to sleep properly at the mo, and am up constantly all day and night going to the loo, and really uncomfy in bed.
No BH here either yet, although am getting pains which I am putting down to growing, not hard like, just a stretching feeling .

Oooooooooooh it is SO exciting to hear that we're all nearly there!! It still feels only about a month ago that we were all getting excited about our first scans and stuff.

Can't remember who asked about BHs - I'm getting them a lot and they have become much tighter than they were and do just about stop me in my tracks now. I seem to have got over my not-sleeping-at-night thing and, aside from a 4am wee, I am sleeping through the night... until 10:30 this morning, bliss!

Nursery is just about done now except that I won 2 cots on ebay (Cosatto Hogarth ones) and finally got the second one yesterday and it isn't a Hogarth - stupid seller woman had falsely advertised it. So now I need to start the hunt again! Don't need it for ages though as we have an arms-reach co-sleeper for the early months.

2 weeks today for me! I can't believe it is so soooooon but 2 weeks still feels like an age away. Scan on Friday went well - both babies are head down (not that it matters since I'm having a CS anyway), and my consultant estimated they were about 4.5lbs now and should be about 6lbs when they arrive. Fingers crossed they'll be biffer babies!!

Hi All! - Been away for a couple of days - I couldnt get into the chat section as it said mumsnet was performing some maintainance work - but you lot seemed to have got in to post messages! Wierd!!

Anyways Im 37+3 today and bubba is classified as 'full term' now so ready to meet him now :) Have no BH, or any other labour like feelings as yet! We finished out AN course as well yesterday. Hospital bag all packed too! I have a feeling though that bubba is very comfortable inside and might be late!

Struggling to sleep though still - wake to wee a millon times at night and when im not doing that just plain uncomfortable!

Thanks to all for the nursing bra advise - Im in the same boat as some of you - Ive just gone up 1 cup size througout my pregnancy and dont have massive breasts! I dont think ill increase any more - I was 34B and now im 34C! I havent grown anywhere else besides my stomach actually! Stomach is big and everything else is more or less pre pregnancy size! Though i wonder how and where ive packed in 13 kgs!!

hi all im feeling pretty washed out at mo, just been for a weekend to a haven park in Wales where it absoloutly poured down the whole time and was so windy it was awful, in the end i was glad we had to come home a day early as dp had to work today, kids liked it though in the amusments spending tons of money! glad to be home, its the start of the school hols and i really dont know how im going to get through these final weeks with dd off and ds at home most of the time, they usually fight and argue 75% of the time!! got tons of nesting to do but i cant keep my eyes off them for a second so its quite fustrating!

started on the raspberry leaf tea capsules today, ive used them both times before and although i was v overdue with both i pushed them out v quickly so i do believe it does tone the muscles etc for birth!

right going to go and look through all my baby stuff and write a list of what i still need to get while ds recharges his batterys on the couch!!

Argh, due date is 1 month today! Don't feel ready at all....
My mum's visiting this week which will be great, and hopefully I'll get the opportunity to pop to Boots and get the last bits for my hospital bag. Once she's gone then we can fold up the futon in the nursery and get the cot out of the loft, that will make it feel like this is really going to happen

I'm still 5 weeks away @ 35+1. So tired and so really feel for those of you who have little ones to run around after too!

I'm off to a baby resuscitation course this afternoon and then an NHS course tonight - as if NCT wasn't enough! Hoping to learn lots though.

It did that to me the other day Anu with the maintenance thing, very odd!

If any of you want miniatures of stuff like shampoo etc for your bags, I was in Tesco the other day and they had little miniatures of everything, toothpaste, shampoo (pantene, tresemme etc), shower gel £1 each so quite expensive I thought (and they were on special!!) but they were 5 for £4. I was gutted as I'd been keeping bottles aside to put stuff in. It was on the end of the aisle, so no wonder I hadn't seen them!

Not long for you now MrsS :) Stupid woman and cot, hope you got your money back.

I will get my money back or she'll have hell to pay...... don't mess with an angry, heavily pregnant lady!

Random Q to ask I know, but is anyone else trying to stock up their freezer with meals? I have been having a bit of a cookathon to get some healthy meals in the freezer for when I can't be arsed to cook after babies arrive. I am (semi) vegetarian (I eat chicken, nothing else) but DH is a meat eater so I have to make 2 versions of most meals. Stuff I have made so far:
Spag Bol
Chilli
Falafel mixture
Chicken and lentil casserole

Any other suggestions on stuff that I can do in advance? Muchos gracias!

Any baby book first timer recommendations??

klou - my MIL bought me the 'baby book' by Dr William Sears and Martha Sears. It is the size of a brick but seems to cover EVERYTHING!! I can't vouch for if any of it actual helps with parenting etc but it looks like it will be a good reference guide for illnesses and stuff too.

For the freezer I would recommend soup, soup and more soup - you can do so many veggie varieties and they freeze really well. Plus you can put them in a cup and drink them with only one hand :o . My favourites are leek and potato, tomato, carrot and corriander etc. I also do a really chunky minestrone-like soup with beans/chickpeas, whatever veg I have in the house (peas, sweetcorn, etc), a couple of tins of toms, some broken spaghetti etc - yum.

Oh, and I forgot to mention some nice rolls/baguette or whatever to go with - also frozen. I also made loads of fruit flapjack for when I was breastfeeding and ravenous