First-timers due December - new thread!

[mopsytop]

Had to start a new thread, as our old one got too big to post anymore.
yay figgy - your scan sounds great! A wee boy - now you only have to think about boy names. Woohoo.

That thread is great Oi- I'm saving all the ones that are tips for first time parents/what do you wish you'd known, or bought, or done, or avoided, etc. Make great reads and so useful hearing from other parents in a totally non-you MUST do this way...which is great, because I don't know about anyone else but when someone tells me I 'have' to do something I do the opposite, deliberately [hblush]

That sounds awful lala. Terrifying how these things can happen just out of the blue.

Now then, on the great 'doddle' versus 'doozy' debate...

Well the nct classes... didn't learn anything new, but other people there seemed to know nothing, so it made me feel more confident. OH thought it was aimed at nagging at the men... obviously missed the point they were just explaining how much support we will actually need! He annoyed me when he didn't join in on practising massage, as he said 'well you're having an epidural and I won't be at home when you first go in to labour"... wish he would understand it'd be very helpful for him to do it now too!

lala that sounds awful. (But it may have been related to Spooks, because that kind of thing happens all the time - people are always being taken out because they are international terrorists and want to take over the world - from London - and so they are assassinated by the good guys, and the press are given an innocent "normal" stabbing type story.) ...ok, I'll stop now. I'm just a little bit in love with Spooks. Dimitri is rather beautiful, but DH says that we can't call Gingerbaby "Harry Dimitri Ashworth". :(
We went to our NHS Parentcraft class last night. It was really very nice. The midwives were lovely. I didn't really learn a lot, but enjoyed it. DH did too. I don't know whether the other couples knew nothing, or were just being very quiet. I've never had a problem with speaking - and I 'spose being older adds to the confidence, so I asked lots of questions. [hgrin]

We're hoping to get to our NHS antenatal class next month (one night the 1st & 2nd week of the month only), MW has badgered me into going (and DH has promised me a lovely present if I go)!

OiMissus, thanks for the link! Really helpful.

Belated Happy Birthday Northen!
How weird does it feel knowing it's your last birthday without children?! T'was my birthday too last week, DH wrote me an 'IOU a day out once baby is here' voucher as I've been feeling v.shitty recently (daytime tv has lost its appeal, how I'll amuse myself once LO is here I have no idea)!

In other news, I've gained 10lbs (total 30lbs so far!) and now my maternity jeans won't fit [hblush] have ordered some more online, but I can't go out until they get here as NOTHING fits!!!

Hope everyone is having a good day?

Happy Birthday for last week AHWCH! How strange - last birthday without children. And what a shame I haven't got it in me to do something wildly exciting to celebrate it (mine's coming up soon).
CBA with very much actually. Just want my Mat leave and my baby to play with now. :)
Maybe I'll just spend the whole day eating cake. That sounds positively dreamlike. Cream cakes, and then crumbles with custard, and then more cream cakes. [hgrin]

AHWCH i am too scared to weigh myself now but yup my mat trousers are starting to feel not tight but that they fit am refusing to buy more with only 7 weeks to go. I did buy a stripey dress and a nursing dress from jojomamanbebe today see what they look like on arrival. I expect i am at around the 30lbs mark too eek!!

I have been a bit disappointed with the nhs classes too i think i ruined it for myself by reading so much on here or in books its not telling me anything new, the MW is nice and all that but we quite a small group and noone in the group is particularly lively or talky (apart from me and DH and then we feel like we should keep quiet and not dominate).

Funnily enough i have gone from being horrified by the idea of PG and childbirth and desperately wanting a C section, to wanting an epidural the minute i get through the hospital doors to thinking i might just stick to the gas and air so i can get out again asap. There are so many unknowns i think my birth plan will be very annoying for the MW's - gas and air until i wuss out and want an epidural please

I think there were about 15 couples in our class, but they were all v quiet - but it was only week 1, and we were the last to arrive. whoops. Must do better next week.
before I became pg, I was determined I would do as all the frenchies do and have an epidural - no one has pain in childbirth there, it would appear, and they are shocked to hear that anyone does it without an epidural. This made sense to me.
Since becoming pg, I know a little bit more, and hate the idea of being flat on my back. So went down the natural path - with the idea of a pool to help with pain relief, and keeping mobile. Until last night, I was open to the idea that I could resort to the epidural if things became tough.
Now, having heard about the use of a catheter and being on a drip with an epidural, and knowing that you'd have to stay in longer, I am quite determined to go without.
Plus, I didn't know that if you give birth in the Birth Suite at Bolton (for a no-interference birth), you can stay in your room overnight normally, with a double bed, and DH can stay too. Which, if I have to stay in, sounds just about perfect for some quiet bonding time. :)

Oh, and there are a few "private" rooms at Bolton too - but not doubles - and they cost only £35 - which again, if one was free, and I had to stay overnight, isn't at all bad.

Oi, thanks! I thought I'd be spending these last few months seeing friends, baking cakes & batch cooking stuff. In reality I'm watching Homes under the Hammer (series linked! The shame of it) & hobbling to the loo every 15mins.
I'm terribly bored of looking at baby stuff now, just want the baby tbh!

figgy, I'm starting to look at nursing stuff too. I've gone from being someone who has morning of just throwing on whatever's clean to desperatley wanting my pre-pg figure just so I can go clothes shopping!

Looking at the stats for home births, it looks like (if I get one) I'll be in a very, very small minority of women who've opted for it; I would like to have a natural birth with no pain relief (just to know I can do it)..but I think I'll probably be at you hospital/birth unit people with your epidurals & fancy pain relief when the time comes!

Epidurals are poop... you forgot to add 'very likely need an assisted delivery and episiotemy ' oi I'm very jealous of everyone that can give water births a go :-(

Just been to see the anethatist regarding my early Epidural... didn't seem much point. As she said 'your consultant said you need one, but if we are busy on the day we may not get around to you!' Hmmmpf

Oh yes, forgot those bits kristy. Yikes.

Gives you complete faith in the NHS, doesn't it??!!

Izzit hometime yet? Yawn.

Happy belated birthday too AHWCH! You know, I'd not thought about it being my last birthday without kids at all- it just hadn't occurred. He'll be 10 months at my next one which is an odd thought.

Having just got my head around the fact that I'm pregnant (and that took about six months) I'm now starting to both be really impatient for baby to arrive, and going back into that state of disbelief that very shortly I'll have an actual baby. That me and DP have made. That I have somehow grown. And that we will look after for 18 years/rest of his life. Wibble [hconfused]. Cake definitely sounds like the answer Oi.

The birth options do seem a bit pants once you consider them- you can either be pain-free with an epidural, but that's only if you actually get one and you'll be stuck on your back, OR you can go for the other more moveable methods but may end up in serious pain and/or needing lots of pain meds for further interventions.

What are the deciding factors for you AHWCH ref getting your homebirth? I know HLC's was dependent on her placenta being in the right place, is it similar for you? Or is it midwife availability?

Happy belated birthday AHWCH! I feel the same about the bump/general podge, just want to get back to normal and go shopping, or even wear some nice pre-pregnancy clothes, I am craving wearing a nice neat tailored shirt for example! Sick of wearing the same pregnancy jeans and tops all the time. BORING. Feel like such a frump!

Baby is kick kick kicking at the moment. Don't mind it so much, in fact, I like the reassurance, unless it's my ribs - ow! But have realised it is making me feel anxious in bed. I think that's it. Unless I just am feeling anxious, which is very possible. But you know the way it feels a bit like you've driven over a hump-backed bridge really fast when it kicks? That might be contributing to the feeling anxious.

Karen Millen is celebrating its 30th Birthday today and if you go to the Trafford Centre and shop tonight, everything is 20% off. It makes me weep. All those lovely, tailored, fine fitting, structured clothes. [hsad]

Frump, frump, frump.

Happy birthday "AHWCH* I had my last birthday without child a while ago... but soon they will be grown up, leave home and we will have our birthdays alone again [hsad]

Oi You mean you aren't wearing Karen Millen during your pregnancy? I look like a fashion model every day [they need a sarcasm smiley]

Can't believe rooms cost £35... as mentioned at my hospital it is £200 for a pvt room and £470 if I want DH to stay. Hence my new found love for the idea of natural childbirth. I'd rather use the £470 on treats for myself!!!

Anyone going to any Halloween parties? I am going to one next weekend... DH is going as Wolverine AKA Hugh OMG you are so friggen hot, I want you Jackman. However I am still without ideas... possibilities are
-preggo nun

• alien growing out of bump

thoughts????

Hallowe'en - if I can be bothered going to my sister's party, it may be as a Mummy (To Be) or a pumpkin. :)
Last year we did faye wray and king kong - great costume - a ripped pink dress and a massive gorlilla hand wrapped around me - bought online, and DH had a gorilla costume. Not so scary, but good fun. The year before I was a "Strichnine Come Dancing" zombie, and DH was ...the scary bloke from the League of gentlemen... said Dave a lot, and had a pocket full of pegs... have posted a photo.)
Really CBA this year!

Oh there was a brilliant costume a couple of years ago, a jelly fish. The girl just wore white, she had one of those transparent umbrellas which she had draped with lots of long strips of material and fairy lights reaching the floor. It looked very effective in the dark room. Very pretty. Not so scary, perhaps, but relatively easy to do, and you can hide underneath it scoffing the contents of the buffet with no one knowing. :)

hmmm... I figure it would be "interesting" to go to a halloween party when I am not drinking :)

My friend has halloween parties every year and am gutted cant go this year, it is also her bday party and we have done them for the last few years. I have a fab cruella de ville costume from last year i wore to my works halloween party very upset i cant wear it this year, not that i am going to the party this year as dont want to be the only person sober......god i miss drinking!!

[henvy] at the women who fit into Karen Millen, infact I may go into Bluewater & 'accidently' babybump a few women down the escalators (if I can fit around the stupid anti-pram plinths), that'll teach them.

Northen, 10mo at your next birthday...means you've got time to have another inbetween
My placenta & MW are ok for homebirth (hurrah!), it just depends on my blood pressure & iron levels, which should be ok as they've been on the cusp of normal for the entire pg.

lala, no Halloween parties for me but if Dh is going as Wolverine, you should go as Professor X as at least you'll have a seat the entire night! Preggo nun sounds fun!
Like Oi's idea of a pumpkin too...hmm

Actually AWCH that is a brilliant idea... coz frankly I don't think I would last all night without a seat!!! Now all I have to do is knock over someone in a wheelchair and steal it! [hshock] I am horrible [hgrin]

Figgy I miss drinking too... but I have found it isn't too bad going out sober... it deffo better than being at home alone thinking about all the fun everyone else is having. Plus this way when my friends pity me for not being able to drink... I can be one of the "smug marrieds" and be like so where is your life going... met anyone lately... [hgrin]

I love being horrid!!!

yup im going as a pumpkin lol because im a frump with a belly anyway :) not a great costume, no effort is going in to it, usually i make a real big effort, this year its just an orange vest top, with the "face on my belly", then i have made a hat and a necklace with leaves on...

LOL lala "so where is your life going?" ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!
(I was 34 when I got together with DH, so I suppose a bit of smug is ok now.)

lala, I'm sure someone in a wheelchair will understand...you're having a bayyybeeeeee!! Just give 'em a biscuit or something. [hgrin]
Talking of wheelchairs & babies, is it just a Sarf London certain kind of mother who won't put her buggy down for wheelchair users on the bus? I don't think I've seen someone fold a buggy on a bus for about 5 years...

My God you all have better social lives than me- don't think I've ever been to a Halloween party. I tend to make the household retire to one of the back bedrooms and turn all the lights off, cos round here it's less 'trick or treat' and more 'demanding money with menaces'.

I love bonfire night though, looking forward to that.

Big yes to the fitted clothes and alcohol- can't wait to get back to those. My OH owes me big time for the fact that he got to drink his way round Bruges last month, and have told him my one aim is to enjoy a couple of drinks on NYE, and he can look after sprog.

Feeling seriously pregnant today, and tired, and I've got a five hour car journey to look forward to. We've got my friend's wedding on Sunday in the absolute middle of nowhere in Lancashire, and I have bought an extravagantly massive hat to balance out the bump...I shall scorn the fascinators!

Glad all is looking promising AHWCH, although if you keep on making scary comments like 'time to fit another one in' I shall not speak to you! [hgrin]