We will have a serene, pain free, uneventful pregnancy and birth and will BROOK NO ARGUMENT on that.

[scarletfingernail]

New thread.

scream just looked at your link, great website! I love the scroll trees. More shopping on the horizon:)

scream, lovely stickers!! Dd has the 'guess how much I love you' in the spring, summer, Autumn and winter books and she's brought me one or other to read to her several times today (clearly cheering up!). Her room has no decorations, maybe i should get her some! Maybe when we're not haemorraging money on cars, cotbeds etc though... This weekend I have ordered a Boba 3G sling (also intend to carry a lot musical) ,finally decided on that over the Ergo and will have one baby bjorn active too which is less comfy for baby and parent imo, the easyfix base for the cabriofix seat we've been given, plus the 2 cotbed mattresses... eek!

wants, the easyfix goes in with isofix or seatbelt, but if you have no isofix (car handbook should say, our new minibus Alhambra has no labels on the seats but 3 out of 7 seats are isofix, its 2007) the easybase is a bit cheaper. The britax isofix base we've inherited is the same. Out of the britax and maxi cosi seats, I much prefer the maxicosi cabriofix. They crash test to 70 mph, britax only to minimum standard requirements of 30 and 40mph. Plus I think baby's position is better in the maxi cosi. Love the BeSafe baby seat scream liked but as we have two free seats and only one base to buy can't persuade dh. He agrees with my points on why britax is less good for baby's spine plus much less padded and probably less comfortable but just says they won't be in them long and only if they seem genuinely less happy in it can I change it once they're here. Doh. True enough.

Just got dd off to sleep again (cuddled and rocked...) after more coughing fits. All that sleep training that just seemed to be paying off down the pan!!!! (Not that i can do anything different now she's feeling rough) but should make the most of the reprieve and get to bed.

That's what I meant dream. Easybase. You explained it so much better than me

Hi all,

Nothing to report really, just wanted to say hello. :)

I can also add my 2 cents for the Medela Swing - I used it for about 6 months expresing at work. Also had the Closer to Nature bottles which DS was fine with.

Also have the Cabriofix with Easyfix base, loved being able to just click DS in and out instead of messing with seatbelts. We ended up with the Priorifix for his next seat. Need to get the covers on the Cabriofix washed sometime actually...

Off back to not achieving much at work now

Musical I can also recommend the Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature bottles. They're on offer at the moment in Mothercare £11.49 reduced from £26 for 6 bottles. I picked some up in Asda last week at the baby event for £15 for 6 bottles which is still a very good price.

afternoon, I've just had a call from my midwife as I had my blood platelets retested. They have come back low again so she has made me a consultant appointment for friday next week. Now she did say not to worry but youknow how easy that is to achieve! On top of that after a few days last week of feeling definite movement is has massively susided again. I KNOW the baby is v small so has probably just moved into a different position but its not making for a good feeling all round. Mind you on the plus side if they thought the platelet thing was serious I bet I would get an appointment sooner than a fortnight!

I already have some bottles at home as ds still likes milk in the morning but I think other than buying a couple of teats, I will find out where and when all the bf cafe's/ clinic type things are and list it so if I do have a problem I don't have to faff abut to find the information. Plus I can express in the meantime to keep supply up and dc fed. Far less stressful than last time!

Ninja sorry to hear you're a bit worried about the midwife's findings. As you said, I'm sure if it was serious they would have scheduled a follow up apppointment much more urgently. I will be No Brooking that you'll be able to put this out of your mind until the next appointment, at which point they will be able to reassure you. I'm afraid I'm a bit clueless on this issue though, what does low platelets indicate?

I've also had a quick look for bf support for after the birth, same as you, but unfortunately there isn't anything conveniently near me. Although obviously if I drive for a while I can get to a few places. There's one which is near my parents so I might pop along to that and use it as a weekly opportunity to check in with my Mum that I'm not doing anything horribly wrong! Luckily bf support is a big part of what my indep mw does postnatally, and she'll be around for at least 6 weeks after the birth, so that should get me properly set up with it all.

Jaggy thanks for the Medela comments, I'm feeling much more reassured about it thanks to you and Hawthers.

Dream that sounds like a highly successful weekend of baby shopping! You must be almost done? Have you packed your hospital bag yet or is it just too insanely early? I'm hopelessly paranoid (I'm now only 3 days away from when my friend had her baby - who is doing really well considering how early she was :) ) so I'm starting to think about packing mine just so I can put it in the car and forget about it.

In positive news, I am now officially signed off! I've handed over all my work, notified everyone I work with, and the doctor has signed the medical certificate. I am now officially off, which is such a relief. I'm also a little in love with my GP, he's referred me to an additional physio, one that does home visits, even though I'm seeing my private physio once a week. This means I can stop painfully hobbling to the private physio surgery, and it's also a big first step to getting some NHS crutches rather than having to hire them privately. So I'm really hopeful that my mobility will start to improve soon and I won't be stuck in the house for the rest of this pregnancy!

ninja brooking that everything is ok platelet wise. I'm sure you probably told us before but what are the implications of it all? I'm sure you're right though, if she was concerned about it you wouldn't be waiting 2 weeks for the consultant.

How many weeks are you now? It must be your 20 week scan soon?

Now, movement wise, I guess you're too early to go in for monitoring, but when I was 18 weeks I had a similar wobble. You know, no movements etc. so I phoned the MWs and explained that I was just concerned and they fitted me in to see a mw (not my usual one, but one that was doing a clinic at a different surgery to mine) and she did sort of an 'extra' appt for me. So just the same stuff as was done at my normal mw appts. She dopplered me and really put my mind at rest.

Is it worth seeing if you can get something like that? Did you get dopplered at your 16 week appt? For some reason I'm thinking not?

Hope they can offer you some reassurance xx

Low platelets is something to do with how your blood clots I think and I think its not that uncommon to get it during pregnancy. It wasn't hugely low last time (125000 i think when their threshold is 150000 or something like that) so I'm hoping it hasn't got any lower and maybe it just needs monitored? DP immediately started asking what we could do to increase it and could I not be eating the right food or something (bless him, he was also worried that dust may have caused ds to have his nosebleed at the weekend, I think he needs to be able to put a reason to things rather than accepting they might just happen).
With regard to movement biscuits no there was no dopplering at the 16 week appt but since I've posted I've either got gas bubbles all over the place after eating my lunch or the bean is making itself known. I'll be 18 weeks on weds but I think I shall leave off calling the mw as long as the squirming and bubbles continue. I seem to get very little at the front, its either at the side or down quite low so when I go to the 21 week scan on valentines day I shall ask where the placenta is. Biscuits did they tell you where yours was? (imagines biscuits with dotted magic marker line on tummy)

Oh Ninja, I also know what you mean about when they tell you not to worry. The more they insist you shouldn't worry, the more I think maybe I should be .

The mw and the sonographer etc were all so insistent that I shouldn't worry myself (and I wasn't excessively worried about it). It's just at the back of my mind in case they didn't want me to worry in case it made it worse iyswim?

Cross post with you Scream - yay for being signed off officially! And yay for a lovely doctor getting you home physio visits - that sounds super!

Does your independent mw know of any local bf support? Having her around though for 6 weeks will be awesome though! I'm sure you'll have it nailed in that time.

I have to say though I never ask my mum if I'm doing anything wrong - I'm sure she'd have a list as long as her arm for me at any given time currently on that list would be my completely reckless travel plans at 33 weeks - you know 3 hours to be with family who would look after us and DH who can drive back. Good lord, with DS I was still at work at least an hour away at 33 weeks. In fact, if anything had gone wrong I was going to work on the train so had anything happened at 33 weeks I'd have had to get myself home on public transport or wait for DH to come and get me. Anyway, that's irrelevant and I'm ranting again......

But I would say obviously I can't speak for your mother but lots of people have lots of opinions as to how things should be done. Trust yourself and your instincts (and your independent mw). I worried before DS that I wouldn't have any instincts but you do and you will.

More rambling. I'm off for a creme egg

ninja they told me where the placenta was on Friday - right in the middle pretty much behind my belly button. I wish I'd asked though at my 20 week scan, so try to remember to do that. I was distracted by seeing if everything was ok, and it never seemed that important when the bump was smaller but now the bump is bigger it is useful to know

Perhaps take your own magic marker?

mmmmmm creme egg. Why did you have to bring those up

And yay indeed for scream being officially free and a little in love with her GP (he sounds like a keeper).

Will try to pop back later but at work.

Hi, everyone. I will get DH to have another look in the daylight and fish out the manual. It looks like we have the fixings but the car is pre 2007 reg. I will plan a trip to the local halfords and see what they say.
I had a bit of a funny turn at work today, went to walk across the room and felt a bit faint. I had to sit down and a colleague bought me a drink and some grapes. She was a bit concerned as she said I felt really hot! After about 15 mins I felt ready to gt up again. I have been fine since, just a bit tired feeling.
scream just curious really, if you are signed off by a doctor for pregnancy related issues, does your maternity leave and pay have to automatically start?

Oh Ninja, I adore creme eggs. I actually wondered if DS might be born with the outside of a wotsit (only really liked then in that pg and they had to be M&S ones) and the inside of a creme egg.... Mind you he was v jaundiced .....

Wants good thing your colleague was on hand to look after you and glad you feel better now. Just take it steady

I thought with the signed off / maternity pay thing isn't there a date (in terms of a number of weeks) whereby if you're signed off after that point then it's automatic maternity leave start? Before tat it's normal sick pay rules? I think that's what our firm's policy was but can't be sure

Ninja I definitely second the magic marker idea for your next scan, sounds like a good plan. I would also mention though that your maternity notes should say on the 12 week scan report where your placenta is. Now that won't help you to pinpoint exactly where it is on your stomach, but it will tell you if it's anterior or not.

Biscuits my Mum is actually far more practical and less of a worrier than me, so she's a good dose of common sense when I need it! Rather than her picking holes in the way I'm parenting, I think she's much more likely to pooh-pooh any queries I have and to point out that she did some highly questionable things when she was a new Mum and all three of us survived the process!

Wants your employer can't automatically trigger your official maternity leave based on being sick for a pregnancy-related reason until you reach 34 weeks. Luckily for me I will be on sick leave for weeks 26 - 31, and on annual leave for weeks 32 - 36, so I can still start my official maternity leave at 37 weeks as planned. Also luckily for me my employer keeps you on full pay for the first 6 months of being signed off, so there won't be any financial penalties. My development partner at work has just sent me the sweetest message actually, saying she hopes I feel better soon now I'm not working. They really have been incredibly supportive all the way through this experience - who says big companies can't get it right?!

Mmmmmm creme eggs.... Must ring DH to get him to bring some home. I need to eat as many as I can before my GTT!

Ah, glad your mum is so practical Scream - I might come and visit her too of she's the reassuring sort?

My 12 week scan notes didn't say where my placenta was though.

Glad it all works out re the sick pay / maternity leave thing

Sorry! I thought all NHS scan reports would be similar, which was a silly assumption. Ninja and I are booked into the same hospital though, so her scan report might be like mine. Same hospital for the birth but different antenatal care centres, so it's not guaranteed to be the same.

My Mum is usually very reassuring in the sense that it makes me realise babies are not an exact science, but also extremely worrying when I hear about some of the things she did when she was a new Mum.... There are interesting stories... kind of explains a lot about how I turned out!

Thanks for the sick/ml answers. Not planning to use it but good to know where I stand if the need arises!
Started to feel a bit ropey again so hope I am not coming down with something!
Mmm! Creme eggs biscuits what have you started!

Oooh that's nice Scream, that you're booked in the same hospital. I guess you're not that far from each other?

And your mum sounds wry realistic an practical. Is she available for secondments? My mum is the total opposite. She thinks there is an exact science to babies, which involves feeding every four hours and having them sleep through the night from about 20 minutes old . She's forever banging on about mentioning this person or that who's baby won't sleep and it's 'all because they keep picking them up'.

I totally disagree with her for what it's worth - I think there's a huge dose of luck if your child sleeps easily or not and she just never had a baby that wouldn't sleep. And in addition I think that babies aren't just about getting them to sleep. Especially when you have another child too you have to work on their relationship too - I know already she won't approve if I let DS cuddle the baby . Anyway, I am ranting. I'm also probably not explaining where I disagree with her very well and there are lots of complicated examples. I think my in-laws have a much more realistic view having had a child that wouldn't sleep and thus understand a lot better how hard it can be.

I would just say to finish that the one thing I have learnt from DS is exactly hat your mum says Scream - that it isn't an exact science.

Sermon over.

As you were.

Oh, and wants I do hope you're not coming down with anything either. Can you get off home and get someone to look after you?

Sorry Scream, your mother probably isn't wry (she might be?), I meant she was very realistic etc

Btw the bump band lasted about an hour before I got too hot and the Velcro started irritating! They will be good for daytime though I think.

Wants, how are you feeling now? Could it be heat/hunger related? I was feeling sick and dizzy earlier and I think it was just too hot in the office and I hadn't had much breakfast. I felt fine after lunch as it was much cooler in the canteen.

Ninja, Brooking for increased platelets by the next appt! Am also loving the magic marker chat - have this vision of all No Brookers wandering around with black dotted lines across their tummies/backs.

On the bf front (as it were), I too am hoping to conquer the nerves and bf with impunity flashing random strangers in public. I don't imagine I'll really cross the threshold for about the first 6 weeks anyway, by which time I will hopefully have got the hang of things. Did anyone read Caitlin Moran's column in The Times on Saturday? She said she once opened the door to a tradesman with one boob hanging out, having totally forgotten to put it away after her DD went to sleep. I am more worried about exposing my wobbly stretchmarked tummy than I am my boobs hence shall be going for pulling my top down rather than up if at all possible. I think the hardest bit will be bf in front of male relatives, actually - strangers don't faze me; bf in front of my FIL does! I think I'll do the strategic scarf thing for those occasions.

Damn it, I want a Creme Egg!

My Mum is actually pretty wry Biscuits! My DH comes from a very gentle touchy-feely family and still isn't sure how to handle the high levels of sarcasm that my family uses all the time!

Wants I went through a dizzy period as well, which I think was partly hunger related but mostly my body adjusting to catch up with the pregnancy. Once my metabolism caught up with all the changes I started to feel much more normal! (At least that's what I imagine happened!) Hope this passes for you soon as well.

I think my dizziness might be a bit of what scream says, I haven't really slowed down at work much, just started another semester at uni and changed my diet to gluten free all in the last week. I suppose I need to except that I will have to start slowing down abit where I can. If it continues I will mention it to midwife at next appointment.