PESH - winter specialiaties include undercooked pork and duty-free leftovers

[AlpinePony]

Tsk, can you believe Aries broke the fred?

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.
StiffyByng, girl, born 17th May
Scorpette, boy, born 21st May.
Rocketleaf, girl, born 23rd May.
TwinkleToes, girl, born 7th June.
Laurielou, boy, born 9th June.
Orchid, girl, born 24th June.Ginfox, loving the new mega-boobs, due 12th July.
LadyGoneGaga, No, it's not fucking twins, due 24 July.
Mrbitey, so hot right now, due 27th July.
Macaroonmum, thinking of calling baybee Vanilla Ice, due Aug 6th.
Owlbooty, sticking to a schedule, due 7th August.
Ocarina, there's a what in there?! due late August.

UPDIFFED

Mountie, too shy to shine, due Autumn.
Truffkin, growing a padawan, due 18th November
BarbiesBeaver, can't quite believe it, due Christmas Day
BrownB, Baybee passport-grabbing bitch, due 25th January 2012
AlpinePony, Greedy Double-Esh Baybee Grabbing Bitch, due 19th Feb 2012
KitandKat, INSERT COMMENT, due 12th April 2012

I'm really sorry for Orchid onwards for whom I'm afraid I don't have your actual births - please make sure you go on the next list!

JB felt this baybee move this morning. :)

Brownie De Nile is a luvverly place to be. I was in hospital, attractive surgical socks & gown on, arse hanging out, waitng for my caesar salad asking Mr Loz "Can you believe that we're going to have a baybee?"

I sometimes still look at him & wonder where he came from

I think laurie's birth plan is very realistic. Doesn't matter what your birth plan is, you'll (probably) still lose your dignity but gain a baybee.

Isabella Oliver are currently doing 20% off their sale items - I wish I could justify buying more maternity clothes but this time around my wardrobe is great. :(

truffs The chair is gorgeous although could be a bugger to clean. Mind you, if it's not your $$$, who cares?

ladyG 12 weeks? Did you invent a time machine or something?

No, t'is trufax, Alps. She weighs a whole stone! [hgrin] In fact exactly the amount of baby weight I have left. Have lost over three stone now . But as have another stone after the baby weight stone am not very svelte.

And...have done teh sechs. Only the once mind.

Truff I think the chair is beautiful - depends on how much they have to spend I guess. Much better to get something you want than a load of pink fluffy tat. I'm hoping to get vouchers for Mothercare or something when I go. Only 18 days actually at work to go, not that I'm counting down or anything.

As for birth plan, can you just list some bullet points about different aspects in the form of what your ideal scenario would be vs. if intervention happens then how you want that to go. And highlight anything really important to you or things that you have a definite opinion about.

Oh, and can I warn people about kiddisave.co.uk? I ordered my pushchair with them over a month ago "in stock, 3-5 working days delivery". Still no pushchair (since ordered and received from elsewhere) and no fucking refund either.

Am feeling a bit hormonal and blue about not moving house before baybee arrives. The idea was to be nearer friends and family and in a more sensible house, and am feeling a bit apprehensive about being on my own on maternity leave with no support massively near by.

barbie I was pretty much "on my own" for the birth of Bear - especially given he was a month early and nobody was ready. However, a new friend came in to the hospital to visit and made me laugh so hard I thought I'd burst my stitches. We subsequently became very good friends and yet I didn't see our friendship developing when I'd met her originally. Support comes from the most unexpected of places. Tbh, it was quite nice being able to enjoy Bear without loads of people in my face - but then we're a pair of miseries anyway.

The chair is lovely. We have a bright plastic vibrating version (but it doesn't play tunes - I wanted to avoid that at all costs) and it's v useful for sitting Peedie in when she's awake and we're trying to eat dinner/have a shower or whatever. She can watch the world go by and see us and it often keeps her happy for a while. Wipeable plastic is v useful when she pukes on it.

I think I googled birth plans, found one and adapted it. That gave me ideas of things to put in, but also to have thought about in advance so I had more idea what I would do if different things happened - I knew it wasn't about setting things in stone because they would inevitably change.

Barbie only 18 days left - how did that happen? Will Ken get paternity leave? Are there any other family members who might come and stay for a few days to lend a hand? I found it v helpful having a spare pair of hands in the first few weeks to cook dinner/hand me the TV remote/make me drinks while I was captive under a feeding baby. Beyond that I've been no good at asking for help that has been offered locally, but haven't really felt like I've needed it - we keep muddling along. But then I don't care about things like the state of the house which helps! And now we're getting out and starting to find groups to join to meet people - I have to keep reminding myself not to try and do too much and that a supermarket trip really is enough excitement for any one day.

18 days left BB? Bloody Hell. S'excitin' :)

Ah. No. 18 days of work left. Just realised Christmas is not in October

Off to bed with a bucket of gin...

Ha! Boo don't make me poo my big lady pants! No I'm taking some annual leave first and then mat leave before Christmas as we can only carry over so much from one leave year to the next. .

Occers Ken will indeed have two weeks paternity leave so that's great, and Alps we are miseries too - I like seeing people but don't enjoy having them stay in my house much. Our house is too tiny to stay out of each other's hair. It's not the immediate aftermath/birth bit I'm too worried about as I'll be fairly preoccupied/knackered then, it's more when I'm feeling a bit more human and up for leaving the house that I might feel a bit lonely. But like you said - good friends pop up when you least expect them, I've certainly found that while posting on internet forums....

Yay for paternity leave. I'm finding that I'm too busy keeping on top of life to be lonely, but have joined a couple of groups that will hopefully mean making friends. Too early to tell yet.

Brownie if you're looking for bargains have you looked to see if there are any NCT nearly new sales near you? We went to one just before Peedie was born (actually the day I went into labour) and got some bargains. There was loads of good stuff for not a huge amount of money. Hope the promised stuff is materialising.

I?m kind of judging by other people?s maternity-leaving gifts to base my spending amount on, but am going to go along the lines of ?I?d really like vouchers for M&P as we?d like to get this bouncy chair thing here, or for Boots as that is where we will be ordering the nursery furniture from when the time comes? that way, if they collect a pitiful amount of money (who knows how many people I?ve pissed off who just pretend to be nice to my face hey?) then I can have a few vouchers and if they get enough for the chair, they will know that is something I?d like. To be honest, I think it?s lovely that we do have collections and buy gifts for events and birthdays etc. as the last place I worked I didn?t get a card when we got married and none of the work colleagues who RSVPd to come to the evening do even turned up!

BrownB I?ve been loaned a lot of the maternity stuff I've been wearing and bought relatively minimal amounts really, although I couldn?t resist a few bargains like next mat jeans for a tenner in the sale and have bought a couple of formal dresses for weddings. Also, the only things we have spent money on have been the Moses basket and a couple of squee inducing outfits. We were lucky that my in-laws bought us the pram and car seat and I got things like a bath and changing mat from family members. TGB?s cousin has also offered to pass on to me some stuff she has either barely used or her baybee has finished with, so we?ve been able to get kitted out for minimal spends, which I am very grateful for.

Barbie the counting down is great isn?t it? I am a bit giddy this week as I have only 4.5 days left in the office now! I?m off on Friday as we?re at a wedding back in the motherland on Saturday so I?ve taken the day off to travel back and view some houses (not to mention book myself into the spa at the hotel we are staying in ) as I?m really wanting to be organised with somewhere to live once the baybee arrives. I?m off again on Tuesday to sort out my car service / MOT / bodywork repairs before it goes back to VW at the end of its? lease and then next Friday is my last day and we?re out for half a day having afternoon tea. As I?ve mentioned before, I?ve been worried about leaving but now I have started to hand over, it feels strange to not be included in so much of the day to day stuff and I?m really ready to go. I?m using 3 weeks annual leave then mat leave starts on my due date. We?re not supposed to carry over holiday either, but my director has agreed I can do if bab decides to arrive early (extremely doubtful if it takes after me at all) so I can tag it on at the end.

Right, so birth plan I think I?m going to go with the ?noting down my strong preferences? route, as I am totally open minded to the fact that things might go tits up and I?ll end up getting sun roofed rather than the calm, music-accompanied water birth I am hoping for. It?s really things like TGB telling me the sex of the baybee, not having opiates if possible, remaining as mobile as possible for as long as possible, using the active birthing equipment available (providing I get to use the birth centre) etc etc. All strongly caveated with the note that I want to make sure if things go off plan, I understand why and can make an informed choice (or TGB can, depending what?s happening with me) about what happens next.

This weekend is our last jaunt anywhere before my due date, so it feels a bit like a watershed moment. I?m 36 weeks so technically from next week bab could arrive at any time. I had my first bout of Branstons last night, which was a very strange experience and did wonders for focussing the mind. At least the baybee?s hospital bag is packed and most of my stuff is ready to get chucked into my cabin case when we get back from this weekend. I ordered a nursing bra online today too (after struggling to find anything in mahoosive boob size that didn?t look like my gran might wear it), which is the last ?thing? I need to get for the time being ? eek.

I have spent most of my day today looking at houses to rent online and making appointments for my viewings on Friday. I am very glad that the person covering my maternity leave started early as she has picked up my day to day work and I have time now to ?doss?plan the actual handover notes

Aaaaaaaaaaargh. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh. Aaaaaaaargh.

MW appointment yesterday where upon I handed over the results of my 20 week scan - "oooh no growth problems then". Because I am a fatty it's assumed my baybee will have problems. (Happened last time at 30 week growth scan too - the medics are amazed that my baybee hasn't grown a second head because I'm fat.)

Anyway, as a result of my BMI being 0.4 points over their "medical ceiling" I am being referred to the hospital for consultant-led care. Now despite the fact that nobody has ever put me on the scales in EITHER pregnancy so I could quite happily have lied, I am currently weighing less than I did at the start of the pregnancy and far less than I did this time last pregnancy. Now all of this is really irrelevant - I don't give a monkey's chuff - if they'll give me consultant-led care "fer free" I'm happy with that - I'll be monitored more closely and that suits me fine. I'm absolutely petrified about getting PE again despite the odds being against it. But what has pissed me off is that at 12 weeks I was getting upset and agitated because I wanted to speak to a consultant about getting an elcs and everyone was like "oooh that's not something you can discuss until 36 weeks" and I felt like banging my head against a wall because Bear came at 36 weeks last time. WHY didn't they FUCKING fucksy tell me THEN that I would be referred to the consultant at 24 weeks rather than the 30 I'd managed to negotiate because of my BMI at the BEGINNING of the pregnancy? aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh. Buggers are going to try really hard to pin GD on me too I'll wager.

And breaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaathe.

I'm off work did I tells ya? My work are psychopathic wankers so the company doctor has signed me off with stress.

brownie How are you doing pulling everything together on the cheap? Got any freecycle in your neck of the woods? cossie got a load of washable nappies from there.

kitekat Your patience with the terminally stupid astounds me. Here, have some pesto pasta I cooked earlier.

Truffs How did the househunting go? I think the birthplan wrt finding out the sex is a good one - for the rest make sure TGB knows what you want, but also make him aware that if tshtf then he may need to make choices himself. Jailbait had to sign the consent forms for the emcs as I was gone by that point. Which type of cheese do you have with your Branstons?

barbie I felt overwhelmed by it all - especially because he was premature. I just didn't want people in my small flat (we've since moved) - I felt very territorial. I was happy to go and meet friends for coffee type stuff - but my home is, and always has been, my sanctuary.

So...it's sort of good that you are getting consultant led care, just craptastic that they have made you sweat about it so much. Is the plan for sunroof again this time? Sounds like although they have handled it badly and done the usual medical thing of not actually telling you what will be happening it could work out ok? Rubbish being off work for stress, can you use the time to do some nice stuff with Bear before the new baby comes?

Baby has been shoving it's bum against my ribs the last fews days which has been pretty uncomfortable and the sicks have been coming back but other than that I'm not feeling too bad really. How's everyone else feeling? I'm 31 weeks Pone and have started getting a few things together for my hospital bag just in case - inspired by early arrivals like Bear.

Rubbish Alps just bloody rubbish. As a total fatty larger than average lady myself, why oh why do they never take other healthy factors into account. I can guarantee that I had a healthier, fitter pregnancy than some weight perfect people. That said, no-one ever mentioned my weight or age. I must have had my "don't fuck with me" face on the entire time.

Still, I suppose if you'd rather consultant led, its an unusual route to get there but meh, get there you did.

Your work sound like beauties too.

BB 31 weeks already! Woo hoo! Not long................ I shall be watching for news of the lay. I get vay excited by other peoples laying.

oh FFS, Alps, all round

Oh gawd, did not wish to sound like I was having a giant moan! Just a little exasperated that they could've said at booking in "don't worry fatty, you'll be seeing a consultant soon enough anyway so don't you go losing sleep over it". Gah.

Apparently it's new guidelines.

Although this may well work in my favour "so you think I'm fat then eh? Right, I'll be having an elcs". "I'm not fat enough to have an elcs? Can you tell me where the canteen is?".

barbie I would like the sunroof this time yes. My induction was so horrible, I was absolutely terrified, my insides felt like they were turning inside out and the monitors showed decelerations for both Bear and I. :( I was in a very bad way. If I could be 100% guaranteed that contractions/dilation would happen within a "normal" timescale I'd be happy to vbac as I have absolutely no qualms about actually pushing him out vaginally. I had 2 lots of gel and despite having contractions lasting over a minute with less than a minute's respite I never dilated more than 1cm. :(

Of course it might not go that way, our boxer was all set for a vbac at hospital and delivered on the bedroom floor - I would be happy with that. It really is the fear of being in uncontrolled labour for hours and hours with everyone slowly but surely dying. Don't forget, my placenta had just about shut down by this point anyway. Ugh.

laurie How are you feeling about exit options for #2?

kat Get the fuck out of the dinghy, we have a new sailor for De Nile!

ooooooooooooooooooooooo! Who Who?

Be gentle with her, she's still at the rabbit in the headlights stage I believe.

Bugs I believe that's the way you'll spend the next 9 months. Plus the first 4 months of baybees arrival .

Alps Exit options for not-yet-there-baybee. Well, I wouldn't be scared of a sunroof job again, it was a far better experience than I had ever thought it would be. In fact, it was so fine that I'd happily have a baybee tomorrow. BUT, don't ask me why, I sometimes feel I didn't do it quite right (I know, I know) & I should try for labour & a vbac. Strange, I don't think anyone else who has a sunroof "didn't do it right", & as Mr Loz says it was a medical reason. Maybe I just like to be tough on myself. Also, seeing as Bugboy's breech wasn't detected until 9 days overdue & crazy split afterbirth, these things concern me if they were detected during a vbac. So all in all I'd prolly opt for sunroof then spend the rest of my life beating myself up about it . Like you, if I could guarantee a "normal" vbac, I'd go for it. Your experience sounds very scary though.

Bugger huge congratumalations to you on your win, always wonderful to have more BESH moving in, no BESH left behind! I think I was making my way from BESH to PESH when you arrived so we may not have crossed paths before. I'm almost 33 and 37+1 with my first baybee (although trying to stay in De Nile about the imminence of giving birth)

Today I have been quite lazy and not done much at all apart from play with the hired TENs machine that arrived yesterday. I am liking it muchly and want to just keep it on as at the low setting it just feels like a nice massage. AM slightly more at the thought that the next time I wear it really, will probably be for The. Real. Thing. Eek.

I have also had a couple of moments where I've remembered I'm not at work next week and that has been a bit of a shock. I wonder how long it will take me to get used to it (probably just long enough to go into labour and my lovely relaxing, lazy world will be transitioning onwards)

Pone house hunting has been a mixed bag really. We decided that we didn't really need the size of house I was originally looking at and would be better off saving money on rent to have more in the deposit fund when we come to buy again next year. We have a flat in Brum that we rent out and ideally want to buy our new house without selling that. So, we went for one of the cheaper places but after accepting our offer to rent, the land lady decided that she didn't want to wait until December after all, so we were back to square one. We reviewed the second on the list and I think actually the only thing that put it second was that it was more expensive and they've dropped the price slightly. TGB is very taken with the idea of having a dishwasher and for me, it has one more bedroom so I think will feel more spacious, so best of both worlds. I'm going back for a second viewing on Tuesday and am hopeful that we can secure it if I still like it as much.

MiL is being a bit of a pain about it as she is clearly not 'taken' with the house, but isn't saying why. I suspect it's because she would like us closer (BiL and SiL live within 5 minutes walk of her house) but we think it is more than close enough. Could probably walk it in 20-30 mins, only 5 mins in the car and that's near enough for me as we're used to the distance and definitely want to keep to ourselves when we chose to.

Right, I seem to ramble on for hours when I get on here so will leave everyone to their infinitely more interesting weekend pursuits. This evening I shall mostly be watching Strictly and mourning the loss of Jimmy Saville

Hey - Congrats Buggs. That is most excellent news. Truffs - you're brave house hunting at this stage. We're going to need to move too, but the thought stresses me out so much that I can't think about it for more than a few moments before I go into palpitations. I realise that it's a difficult thing to move with a small babe, but it's going to have to wait.

Alps - pleased to hear about your getting the right result, and wish I could muster some sort of surprise about the shitty journey with the "computer says no" brigade. It's maddening isn't it. I used to want to be a doctor too you know... I have this idea that holistic care is the way forward though. I could rant and rant about this to be honest. You'll all be surprised to hear.

hello everyone! Nice to see you have poked your head around the door bugs

How did I get to be 16 weeks? Where did all that time go? What exactly have I been doing all that time (apart from dossing on the internet)? When do I need to do sensible stuff in preparation for having an acktual baybee? Will there be enough time?????? Aaargh!

truffs nice to see you are firmly in De Nile. Hope you do get to enjoy a little bit of your lazy non-working world first before it all happens though. Half an hour walk is plenty close enough to your MIL if you ask me.

alps Sympathy for you that the health service has been taken over by computers. Do they have a lower limit for bmi where you are? Here you have to be 35 not 30 to be classed as a proper fatty so I have just escaped that. Having shared care anyways though due to mutant blood. At least it will help you get what you want. I think opting for a sunroof job when you've already had a bad experience must save women the anxiety of worrying about a repeat nightmare birth. Anxiety is not good for you.