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

[scarletfingernail]

New thread.

I've had to deal with the horror of a Weetabix poo this morning! DH went out to work early this morning, I fell back to sleep and woke at 8.30 to hear DS shouting at the top of his lungs "wake up Mummy, it's morning now, I've done a poo poo!"

He was still laying in his bed (luckily with a nappy on) but goodness knows what time he'd actually done the poo. It was a typical Weetabix one (Ninja and Biscuits you'll know exactly what I mean) 10 minutes later I was still trying to scrape the crumbs off his bum. Grim. That'll teach me for falling back to sleep.

I made a lot of the Anabel Karmel meals a bit later on Biscuits. DS had (and still has) a really strong gag reflex so I was pureeing for a good couple of months. My freezer was full of loads of different fruit and veg ice cubes. He loved the watercress

Good to hear you're feeling a bit better musical

Morning preggos!

Wow you're all so good. I can't imagine regularly making, pureeing and freezing stuff into ice cubes. It all sounds far too much like hard work!! Our freezer is used pretty much exclusively for magnums and frozen pizza I think that's unlikely to change.

My strategy for after the birth will be the same as my exam-prep strategy: m&s microwave meals, takeaway, and DH cooking (i.e. pasta ). As for weaning, you can buy all the baby food you need right? Obviously I'll need to find good brands with low salt, sugar, etc. I won't be pureeing from scratch much if I can help it though!

Just got back from my GTT. In the end I only had 1hr 40 mins between my drink and my second blood test, so I'm a bit worried that will make my test result higher . Just have to call on Mon to find out.

p.s. Yay for musical feeling better!

At least you've got the test out of the way now Scream. Fingers crossed for a good result. If it does come back on the high side you'll have to mention that you didn't have the full 2 hour wait, but I'm sure it'll be fine.

You can buy some good pre-prepared baby food. We used to buy it for days out and weekends away etc. It is a good idea to get them used to real food as well though if you can when you're at home. Be it the same as what you eat with low salt content mashed up, or meals you've made especially to get them used to different flavours. A lot of pre-prepared baby food is very mild in flavour and taste similar to each other so it might be harder to get them to eat proper food later on if they're only used to having these IYSWIM. Plus it's UHT so not as nutritious. Goodness I've just realised I sound like a HV. You don't have to do loads of purees like I did though. (I was very PFB about it) There are easier ways, not that you need to worry about any of this just yet.

Grr, stupid car broke down and I missed my consultant appt this morning. We got a flat tyre, thought no bother, we'll change the tyre and be on our way. Only the stupid locking wheel nut wouldn't come off. Called the garage and they couldn't get it off either. Eventually the nice garage man gave us a lift home and organised a tow truck to take the car to the garage where they'll be able to try different tools. I phoned the hospital and it will be 2 weeks until I can get another appt, grr. At least the MW is coming out this afternoon. Why do these things not happen when you're only going to work or Tesco or something? And why do they happen on the coldest day of the winter so far?

Scream, I'm sure your GTT will be fine! No Brooking will prevail.

Am resolving to never feed Bean Weetabix until she's toilet trained after those stories!

Glad you're feeling better, Muscial.

Oh no Too how frustrating!!

Was it a 'routine' consultant appt or was there something specific to do today? Glad the mw is coming out anyway. Is she coming today?

Scream you don't need to worry about weaning yet . You'll have plenty of time to think about it. I agree though with Scarlet that a lot of the prepared stuff tastes / looks the same. And is all the same texture. But helpful for going out places. And as you say some brands are better than others.

It is honestly not that bad though doing the puréeing. Especially at first when it's just a matter of puréeing a carrot or two and bunging it in the freezer.

And I mean to say, good job on getting the GTT done and out of the way :)

As Scarlet says if it comes back a bit high they might be able to factor in that it was only 1h 40. It's not going to be a problem anyway - we're brooking no argument there!!

Oh Too that's so annoying and inconvenient.

Biscuits was DS's swimming lesson event free today?

DS and I have just been for a walk. I had no idea how cold it was until we got outside! There are actually tiny snowflakes falling now. I was trying to hurry DS up, I said "shall we go home now and have a rest?" He said "yes, go home, me have a rest and you make my lunch, egg on toast please" He's become such a bossy boots lately.

Yep - event fee swimming today which was great .

at your DS - mine is bossy too though. My only saving thought is that I'm sure toddler girls are bossier (based on no research or statistics etc)

I hope it doesn't snow until later - I'm half thinking of going to get ds's car seat later (we're probably giving up waiting for the black one we wanted and will just get another colour) and don't want to get stuck.

Hello everyone! I have been trying to kepp up but I never seem to get a chance to post and then, when I do get time, everyone has moved on! So I really hope everyone is ok.

Sorry to hear you've not been well musical, DD and I have had miserable colds here too, although they are (hopefully, fingers crossed) on the way out now.

Scream how are you getting on with your crutches?

And dream I hope the sleep gets better. I have no real advice. We had DD in bed with us at least 3 nights last week (i have lost count) and I started to panic about what we would do when there is a new baby and she can't do that, would it be like a double rejection etc and then I decided not to worry about it- if needs be she can sleep with DH and I will have the baby in the moses basket next to me.

One thing that did make a big difference to DD was that she told us she prefers to go to sleep with the door open so that it is a bit light and so that she hear us pottering about. Previously we had gone for lights out, door shut and as quite as possible.

Did any of you with DCs already do baby-led weaning? We ended up doing it because DD absolutely refused to open her mouth for a spoon. Luckily a friend with a DC a couple of months older had already ditched the purees and so I followed her lead and let DD get on with it. I think I would have gone a bit mad otherwise- with DD already being such a tiddler, I was already full of anxiety about how much she did or didn't eat and I think trying to force the spoon in three times a day would have driven DD and I over the edge! Funnily she will now (at 2.6) sometimes ask for us to feed her, mostly because I think she can't always be bothered to do it herself! Lazy monkey

Oh, and we have no problems with the Weetabix but DD is normally very careful not to sit in her poo!

Hi fishcake hope you're well . How many weeks are you now?

I have friends who did baby led weaning. We did a sort of mix of purées and then finger foods too. At first DS just looked totally blankly at the spoon when we started - none of the books mention what to do if they just look at it! (in the end we had to get him to smile and stick it in).

This time I'm anticipating a sort of mix of doing the purée type stuff but with finger food too. I think with DS eating too it'll sort f naturally happen that this baby will get the same sort of things we're eating etc. so I'll just bumble through I expect

DD can also be very bossy. I think she sometimes despairs of her indecisive mother .

Biscuits I hope you manage to get a plan for support organised before too long. I am in a similar boat. I mentioned before that we are moving. It looks like it will happen about 3 weeks post delivery, so I will still be v much recovering from the C-Section etc. And then DH will start his new job. So he is going to be totally pre-occupied with that and not able to take any time off and i will be surrounded by boxes that I shouldn't be lifting, looking after DD and the new baby! He suggested last night that our parents might be able to come and help out with unpacking etc but they are all 2-3 hours a way and don't exactly have great track records for being helpful. They are more likely to turn up and hold the baby and expect to be catered for and then put up for the night, rather than provide practical help, and then go home. So I am reluctant to ask for help because previous experience suggests that this might well create more work. But on the other hand we will definitely need some help.

Too how annoying to miss your appointment. Can your MW pull any strings to get the appointment rearranged sometime sooner?

I wanted to say thank you for all the suggestions about where I might go with DD and baby and the reassurances that I wasn't going to a mummy-no-mates! Because we are moving post-birth I can't go to NCT antenatal classes but I have found an NCT toddler and baby group, as well as lots of other groups on Netmums, and I will ask the health visitor about Sure Start centres once we are there. Looking for this info has actually been quite useful in helping us to determine where we will live- we are going to rent to begin and I am going to make sure we are in reasonable distance of at least two activities!

how sweet fishcake that she doens't sit in her poo! I wish my DD wouldn't... Speaking of whom, she was clearly so exhausted she slept ALL NIGHT with not a peep from her from about 9:15 to 7:30 ish . SHe's so erratic though, after a particularly dreadful night she often does a goog one to catch up on some kip, and is still so washed out from her antics today she fell asleep in the car on the way home from music group and I managed the risky car seat to buggy transfer so she's asleep in the hall. Probably brewing up for tonight...

I pureed everything.... As DD is so fussy now, I was pureeing the other night to make vegetables and chicken (well, her untouched chicken casserole really) into a smooth-as-you-like, you can't pick th healthy bits out pasta sauce. Jars and pouches of baby food are so bland, DD has always refused them. Its not hard though- I just bunged the veg and chicken and stock and tomatoes etc in a dish, oven cooked it, then after it was refused blended and froze in ice cube trays. And I'm a rubbish cook! I really want her to get good nutririous food though though we're both eating lots of party rings at the moment

ANyway, I want a quick rest before DD wakes up, must dash

sorry to all those I missed

(and oh too, what bad car luck...)

and also, bot my boys are hiccuping, at different times totally out of sync with each other, and it feels so wierd!!!

and my DD is very bossy already- i do think girls are bossier than boys biscuits!

Biscuits I think I will start with a mixed approach to weaning too. Hopefully the new baby will be less suspicious than DD! She just absolutely clamped her mouth shut. I am just glad she was fairly dextrous and could feed herself things.

I am 29 (and a half) weeks now. I can't quite believe it. I am going to try and get a c section date at my appointment with the consultant in a fortnight. It slightly terrifies me that there is so little time left and so much to do. At least the move means that I don't have to worry about getting a room ready or anything, I'll just have to remember not to pack the baby clothes!

I love party rings mmmm

Ahhhh, hiccups Dream can't imagine two sets of hiccups out of synch! I remember that with DS although no hiccups so far this time - either not a hiccupy baby or just can't feel them. In a bit wittier that this one is no longer head down - cant work out quite what it what but mvmts are definitely further down rather than being up too where they were when I was scanned last week. Everything seems to be in the middle and I can sometimes feel some sort of bum or back or something near the top which was where the feet were previously . Never mind, another scan in 3 weeks so we'll see where we are....

Gosh Fishcake you ate aboalitely going to have your work cut out there with the move etc, and a CS and DH starting a new job. I feel a lot moany now about my situation! I'm trying to think if there's anything you could arrange in advance to help ease the pressure. Can you get a cleaner or anything? Or pay the removals people to unpack as well as pack? I seem to recall this was something ours offered although we didn't take it up.

You're not moving near any of us are you? Of course you don't need to out yourself there!

Christ, that was a typing disaster!!! Too many errors to correct. Just ignore it all I think!!

Hello everyone. Just thought I would post as I get behind and already my brains is not retaining who I wanted to mention and what I was going to say!

I have been having a lovely time, my Dad is visiting and he brought my new pushchair which I am so chuffed about! I haven't taken it out yet but I hope to soon.

I can't believer how busy some of you are! Moving house, taking exams all just before the baby arrives! Sorry also for those who are worrying about Dhs and things, it is unfair :(

Oh I am officially on maternity leave now, since yesterday! Weird. I just need this baby to come in ooh threeish weeks so that I can have as much of my ML with him on the off chance I do go back to work... End of feb would be perfect actually. Scary thought though that I will have had the baby by end of next month!

I am going to do baby led weaning this time with the occasional jar possibly if I am out, although I find BLW is just as simple if not simpler. I did a mixture with Dd and it worked out really well, I didn't do the jars for long and she took to blw like a pro. The gag reflex is there so they can learn to eat solids safely, it can be scary though! The nhs/Hv are supposed to promote BLW weaning now not purees as it is better to do BLW, physiologically. So possibly purees will be very passe

Enjoy your rest Dream I do worry about your sleeping and if I was in your shoes I would just have Dd in bed with me, which is exactly what you don't want I know. :)

at Biscuits' baby brain! Glad it's not just me...

Fishcake that sounds like a mammoth task with the cs and move so close together, but I'm sure you'll have lots of support from family and at least it'll be at a time when everyone is still expecting you to be in full recovery mode. I imagine that at 6+ weeks you still might not feel 100% but by then people might be assuming you're absolutely fine and ready to muck in! I firmly believe it will all work out for you (but kudos!)

Dream I've heard that twins can sometimes be quite competitive. Any chance your boys are trying to outdo each other with the hiccups?

Thanks for asking about the crutches Scarlet. They're still taking a surprising amount of getting used to. This morning I found that I kept walking out of sync with them, which meant that at the end of the hospital trip my leg was still absolutely killing me. However I'm hopeful that once I get the hang of it it will really take the strain off.

Too all I can say is ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!! That sounds like such an annoying morning! Hope the mw appt goes well though and the new consultant appt will come round in no time!

I'm not worried about weaning yet, it's so far away, but can someone please give me the one-line version of what baby led weaning is? Apologies for being so clueless, but I didn't realise there were two different ways to wean your baby?

Baby led weaning = (roughly) giving them finger foods / what you're eating in small mouth size chunks pretty much, and letting them see how they get on. Baby led because you do it when they're ready I think, around the 6ish mths mark.

The 'other' way would be more to soon feed purées, starting with thinks like carrot, sweet potato, fruit etc, then gradually building up the complexity of flavours and texture.

Spoon feed, not soon feed, and things, not thinks.

Stupid fat fingers iPhone

Baby led weaning is basically letting your baby feed themselves. You follow normal guidelines- waiting until 6 months or thereabouts, and it is important that the baby can sit up in a chair- I think if they are still a bit wobbly choking becomes more of a hazard, but I presume that is the same with puree?

You put a selection of food down for them and they pick up bits and eat it. Works with most food, except soup although actually DD was a pretty good dipper. You need to watch salt content though- we have got used to not adding salt to anything anymore. And no whole nuts for ages because they haven't got molars to grind them. But like Purple said, the gag reflex, which is much further forward in babies and moves back as they get older, stops them from choking. The Ikea Antilop highchair is excellent for this because it has a large tray and is totally cleanable. A dog is also a useful accessory.

It works well for some, like my spoon-refusing DD, but others who are less dextrous/ more hungry or eager to eat do better with spoon feeding until they can shovel in more themselves (from my experience and those of friends).

Sorry, I think I went a bit over one line

Ah biscuits that was far more pithy.

I took baby-led to mean DD chose what she wanted to eat (from what I put down) and at her own pace.