March 2012 - buxom and blooming in the second trimester (we wish!)

[FlipFantasia]

Here you go ladies, somewhere for all soon-to-be March mums to share the ups and downs

Reallea FB group is called Mumsnet march 2012

Boobs here have gone from an E cup to a GG cup. Not amused. I'm going to save up for a breast reduction after baby no.2 arrives! Not sure if I would have the guts to risk a general anaesthetic for purely vanity reasons but have always been saddled with large knockers and would love to reduce them. As you get older they look less an less voluptuous and more like a matron from the Carry On films.....

Speaking of things getting bigger - my bump is now looking like a proper pregnancy bump - when I sit down I look down on it sticking out in front. Its enough to rest my cup of tea on!

Sorry to hear about work issues. Its not great to have these things to worry about at a time like this. But sometimes things happen for a reason. So much changes with the arrival of a baby that new opportunities can open up and leave you in a better place. Fingers crossed this happens for those of us who are being shafted by our workplaces.

Appetite - mine is of the little and often variety which is fine except that I managed to eat nearly 10 breadsticks with houmus today as well as a big portion of spicy shepherds pie for dinner. Have also eaten a mini Twirl, a mini Flake and a packet of mini chocolate buttons today. Can you see the crazy logic that made me buy a pack of mini cadbury treats half price after Halloween?

A brief catch-up from me as using the pc at work
Quite an exciting day for us as we have just been advised by our solicitors that we have now completed on our house purchase and the keys are ready to be collected. Dh and I are both at work all day today, so we shall have to wait a little while longer to get our grubby mitts on the keys! We are in a rented unmodernised cottage at the moment, which is very damp and cold and making us all feel miserable. We can't wait to get into a newer house with insulation, heating and electrics that don't go ping when you put the kettle on!

Is anyone still taking any pregnancy vitamins? I have stopped taking the multi ones, but am taking vitamin D as midwife said the new guidlines reccommend this due to the lack of sunshine in britain meaning we need a boost to help growing bones. Has anyone else been told this?

Dh said I looked lovely and definately blooming earlier this week, which was a nice compliment considering I feel a tad porky now...I just can't stop snacking!

Norfolk - I'm taking Vitamin D too. I started taking it when DD was about 9 months old as I went through a really low period and was tested for various things - iron, thyroid etc and it came out that I was very low in Vitamin D.

Living in Scotland I don't see an awful lot of sunshine even in the summer. Many adults are lacking in Vitamin D and don't realise it - this can be bad for your health. The advice for pregnant women has always been to take a vitamin D supplement but I have never received this advice from anyone in the medical profession during either pregnancy, despite the dept of health recommending it. Often people are confused about sources of Vitamin D. It is not found in milk or cheese. It is added as a supplement to some margarines (not many) and to Bran Flakes and can also be found in eggs but the best way to get enough is to spend at least 20 minutes outside without suncream between 11am and 2pm every day during the summer months. Not many of us manage this!

Whilst I'm on my hobby horse about this - I also make sure that DD is not covered in sunscreen all summer. Children now are not getting enough vitamin D due to sunscreen overuse. Its rarely strong enough UV to cause issues unless you are out all day without protection.

Anyway, I'm ranting now. Apologies!!! Good on your midwife for recognising that its a useful supplement. If you are low in in then breastmilk will also be low (formula milk is fortified with Vitamin D).

i thought vitamin D was one you had to be careful with ?? Not sure though think i'll google!

oooh i was wrong!! grabs D supplement!

Thanks for the info Santa, it sounds like good sense to me. I didn't know about the breast milk thing either, so I shall continue to take it after baby is born for sure. You are a mine of information!

Think its Vitamin A you have to be careful with, something to do with your liver??? Not sure what! Lovely sunny day here today and DH has taken DD to her dancing class so I'm home alone and looking forward to my ante-natal yoga at 11am. Looked at all the lovely bump and scan pics on Facebook this morning and will try to add mine if I can figure it out! Happy weekend to all.

Morning ladies

Santa enjoy yoga! I just went to my first pregnancy yoga class this morning and it was great. I went when pregnant with DS but this is a different teacher, so was worried I wouldn't like it as much but I do [relief].

NFC so sorry to hear about your FIL . What a stressful time you've had, can't believe how insensitive your work was . Hope you're feeling a bit better now.

Babydust ouch about the toe! Hope it's less painful now.

Interesting about the vitamins - I take a multivit anyway so during pregnancy I just take pregnacare throughout. I remember hearing that vitamins can help with a baby's birthweight but no idea of the research behind that. Vitamin A is the one you have to watch out for, but mainly cause it can cause birth defects in the early weeks (liver, including cod liver, is high in Vit A which is why you should avoid it). It's why you should stick to multivits designed for pregnancy. Vit D is hugely important and definitely starting to finally get the press it deserves. Santa am another one who keeps sun screen to a minimum (and DS has taken after me with his pale Irish colouring!).

I have no idea what size my boobs are - I'm just using the pregnancy bras and the feeding bras from DS and there's still plenty of space in them so reckon I've got some growing to do yet! On the appetite front, wish I could say I had no appetite . But I tend to have a decent appetite, though do get sugary cravings in the evenings (currently addicted to fun size milky ways ). But am only gaining weight at the recommended 1lb per week so not feeling too guilty!

Hope everyone has a great weekend. We're off the new Leonardo exhibition at the National Gallery today, and then we're watching the fireworks over the Thames from the Lord Mayor's show. Am glad it's not raining!

Wow Flip, the Leonardo exhibition! I am very jealous as the nearest we have got to great painting is starting on the sitting room walls of our new house this afternoon. Twas very boring for us and for dd who is only 4. We are borrowing a portable dvd player tomorrow to take with us so that she can have something to occupy her time other than hanging around trying not to kick over the tin of paint!

Oooh we have an Andy Warhol exhibition on by be atm might drag dp up there tomo. Off to a baby expo with my mum today so quite excited about bump now! hoping to play with some buggies! Will catch up proper later.

Morning all!

This week I am mostly filling my newly-found free time with all things Christmas . The MN Christmas board is my new favourite place to be! I've always been big on Christmas, so having time to make it even more poncetastic this year is like a dream come true! I spoke to DH on the phone earlier and told him some of my ideas. He reckons I need to see a doctor

As far as baby goes, the evil heartburn is kicking in now. My bump is really quite small, so I was surprised to discover baby now reaches my ribs and beyond! Still haven't bought much, although I'm reusing a lot of what I had from DS2 so I don't have any big purchases to make.

Hope Babydust and Dragon are feeling better too:)

Yay! Finally got a Dream Genii on Ebay. Apologies to Dragon if you are still trying.

Haha no I gave up ages ago got me a theraline plushy moon instead!
So the baby EXPO was pretty rubbish but never mind!
Gonna do IKEA in a few weeks (ikea virgin) and today is a thorough list writing day to scare myself as to how unorganised I am!

Hope everyone is having a not too horrendous Monday. Feeling fine now thanks but still coughing like I'm on 20 a day!

Im going back to work tomorrow. Toe is still sore but getting bored of the sofa!! Got another appointment on friday as it happened a week ago now and still bleeds every time the dressings are changed so the nurse thinks i might need some more anti-biotics.

Also got my 25 week midwife appointment on Thursday, has anyone had theirs yet?

Ive bought a bag for hospital over the weekend and been to boots today to get some toiletries and pads. Just been looking online at what else ill need to take with me.

Only 10 more weeks til i start maternity leave!!!

Ikea is great dragon theres a big one near us, the cafe is really good to and in the shop they sell really nice alcohol free pear cider :)

Ooooh pear cider sounds fab Babydust have suddenly got a taste for cider (tryin DP's at a party we went to a few weeks ago) which is exceptionally annoying!!
I had a quick look online at their stuff and its so cheap for bedding etc.

Meant to say earlier on the boobage front if anyone wants a laugh I tried on some maternity bras at the Expo yesterday and ended up being most comfortable in a 40J with bra extender!! UGH!!

Went shopping for 'party' clothes today and was totally unsuccessful either not being able to get my boobs in the top or looking like a drag queen!

Stressing out about Christmas now after realising it is only 6 weeks away and I haven't even thought about it!!!

Officially booked myself to go on maternity leave 10th Feb, all being well - the countdown has started!!!

Mmm. Pear cider sounds good!!

All's well here. Bought our friends bugaboo chameleon pushchair at the weekend! So pleased! It's 4 years old, but in really good condition, so we're really chuffed (and yes, we have brought it in the house - don't believe in old wives tales).

Really getting a bump now! DH can't keep his hands off it either so nice to have him stroking & hugging the bump. Although I'm concerned that my tummy button is going to pop out soon (I have quite a deep tummy button IYSWIM, so it's given me some idea of how much my bump has grown)!

Went to a 'real nappy fair' at the weekend and was hugely underwhelmed by it - there were 5 stands and no-one really wanted to talk to us or engage us in conversation, so I felt really lost, upset and ignored these lentil-weaving, earth mother, yummy mummy types (no offence), but that was definitely the genre of mums attending/hosting the fair. I'm probably going to see if I can get a home demo or something. What's everyone else doing on the poop-catching front? Re-usable nappies, biodegradables, pampers?

Also had my flu jab on Saturday - no ill-effects yet, just a bruise on my left arm, making it uncomfortable to sleep on it

Hmm. Sorry if I'm sounding a bit grumpy - the nappy thing really spoiled my Sunday and I think I'm still brooding about it.

Hope everyone else had better weekends?

We're def going for the landfill option, we are in a top floor flat with no central heating so drying clothes is bad enough as it is don't think I can cope with nappies as well!! There was a woman tryin to sell me reusable wipes at the Expo but I'm afraid I can't deal with that either!!

Also experienced a crazy woman tryin to sell me a sling that would carry a 4yo - no kidding!!! She was horrified when I said I would be exceptionally worried about a 4yo who couldn't walk wherever I needed to go!!

With dd we used disposables for the first 7 or 8 weeks thereabouts, then switched to 'real nappies'. We ketp going with them until about 8 months, then I found they were a bit of a challenge to deal with once weaning was under way and the change in what comes out at the other end! We then reverted back to disposables. We spoke to a lady from the local council promoting cloth nappies before dd was born and she suggested that it might be easier to use disposables at first, then graduate to cloth nappies once we had got over the initial shock, tiredness and adjustment that being a parent brings. I thought it was pretty good advice really, as due to various issues after the birth I definitely wouldn't have coped with extra laundry aswell....

It will be pampers/cheapo lidl nappies all the way for us. Plus a nappy disposal bin. Didn't get a bin last time as I thought it was the biggest waste of time EVER. But, once they are weaned the smell is pretty bad and I don't want to have to trek out to the garden bins every time there is a poo. I was very impressed by the disposal bins my friends had. I'm not really an eco-green type to be honest. I'm no Jeremy Clarkson either but I do think that disposable nappies are one of the great advances of our time. There is a great poem about a new baby which contains the line "wagging sanitary bunting" to describe the yards of washing lines covered with terry towelling nappies. Thank goodness those days are over. Must post that poem actually - its a good one. x

I must admit I have heard very very good things about Lidl nappies...

Yes, I'd heard that too. Something about them being repackaged brand name' ones

We tried the larger size Lidl nappies last time around and they were great. Very cheap too. I also tried some organic, biodegradable disposables and they kept coming unstuck, plus the runny newborn poo tended to leak out of the sides. Not good! For those interested in reusables - my neighbour uses Bum Genius and thinks they are fab.

Whilst we are on equipment chat - anyone know of a good crib on wheels that won't cost the earth? I want an NCT Bednest but they are £300!!!!! They seem to re-sell at a really high price on Ebay (£250 from what I've been watching) but I'm not sure I can risk the re-sale value as an excuse for buying (I think they are selling for more at the moment due to a shortage of new ones in stock). I like the idea that the Bednest can travel with you as my parents live quite far away and it would be great to take the crib with us. I don't want a wooden stand alone crib because I want to move it from room to room. Not keen on Moses basket - too "baskety" IYKWIM! Thought a cardboard crib might be good but they don't tend to be on wheels and I like the idea of wheeling the crib (in case of C-section). Last time we used my pram and just bought a decent mattress for the carry cot - but our bedroom isn't big enough these days. I guess my absolute ideal would be the crib that you get in the hospital - the plastic one one wheels. Not sure if you can buy these as a private buyer and it might look a little hospital/creepy in the home.

Anyone seen anything good???

Hey Santa, John Lewis seems to do some nice stuff and similar to what you were describing I think (link)

Thanks Kitty that looks lovely! I've also been recommended a Miyo Baby Hammock by a friend of mine. It seems a bit whacky but apparently the hammocks are great for newborns and they are handy for travel (although I'm imagining my mum having a fit at seeing the new baby suspended in a hammock from her door frame!!! LOL).