Due in October 2012 Part 6 - Third Trimester Trials and Tribulations

[YompingJo]

Shiny new thread!

Ready?
Steady?
Go!

Hello all!
Less hot here today to my relief, but still struggling with work - did 8am till 6.30 today and just utterly exhausted. So relieved not to be doing 5 days a week any more just don't think I could.
Summoned up the courage to phone midwife who is seeing me tomorrow to listen in again. Hoping all will be back to normal.
Sorry not to name check but just too tired at the moment, am thinking of you all

Well it's super super quiet around the office this week, which is a nice change. Boss is away on holidays. Nobody in the lunch room so i'm taking my time to catch up.

midgetm I set my alarm 40 minutes earlier than i have to each morning just so that I have proper poo time! lol.

re: parents after the birth - I have told my parents they are more than welcome to come and stay over at our house, provided they bring their camper (caravan??) and don't actually stay IN our house. lol. My in laws live close enough that they could just go home after a visit. I'm going to have more than enough help with BF as MIL is an LC, but will have to get over the fact that my MIL wil see my boobies! hahahahaha. She did offer the help of one of her LC friends if I felt more comfortable with that, but MIL will be much much more convenient. SIL is coming to stay for 2 weeks in DEC, but will likely stay at IL's. If they want more time with baby i will suggest we go stay at THIER house so that I don't have to worry about cleaning or hosting. Will certainly be nice to have the help.

Oh i also saw a printable to put on your door/fridge for visiting house guests. II don't know if I could find it again, but basically it said. "While we are getting used to the change and this very busy new schedule we would really appreciate some help with:" and a bunch of lines for you to fill in things like Cleaning the Bathroom, cooking dinner, checking the mail, putting on laundry. It gives you a way to communicate to your guests that you need help without having to specify what they should do. If you are busy with baby they can look at the list and just pick something.

re: comments....
MIL comments specifically... the last 2 gooders were:
while being viewed from behind* "lift up your shirt.... hmmmmm you really HAVE gotten wider from the back end"
also... while seen eating.... "cows graze for a reason"
Comments from Mother:
Hmmmm can't really tell your are pregnant from the back, except when you walk you waddle.

squid re: bump painting.... OK i'm a geek and I thought... hey I could paint my belly like the death star from STAR WARS.... but maybe that doesn't have such a happy sunny connotation to that. hmmmmmmmmmmm

Ok... it's back to the grind stone for me!!

haha midget, loved your story about freaking out the wolf whistlers. I had a similar experience earlier on in my pregnancy - i was walking along and this guy kept trying to get my attention and i was ignoring him until eventually i turned around and pointed at my 'baby on board' badge, and he scuttled off quick as could be :)

hi all! I am so rubbish at posting as am on my phone, but so enjoy all of your updates. It is such a comfort to know it is not just me going through all these worries and emotions!

I had a bit of a low week last week-won't bore you all with it, but lots of family crap going on and trying to support a very disheartened DH who loathes his job and was extremely disappointed not to get a job he went for. He is working even longer hours at the moment and since I am off work and my Mum doesn't need to look after DS, she is working full time too so not really seeing her either. So lots of time on my own with ds or just on my own which is not good for me. I just brood and worry. So this week I have made a real effort to use the time productively and to meet up with loads of friends. It has cheered me up loads but has also totally tired me out with all the walking and lifting DS in and out of the car. last night my (already bad) back just gave out on me and I couldn't walk. I ended up with my cankles in ice cold water with a hot water bottle on my back at the same time! Such a weird sensation! It is a bit better today, thank goodness.

I wanted to comment generally on the discussion about Mothers and family 'helping out' immediately. At the risk of sounding like an irritating know-it-all again, which I sincerely hope I don't, I want to really urge you first timers not to let yourself get persuaded into having anyone to stay during that first period (unless you want to obviously.) It is such a precious time for your little family to bond, such a hard time when you are getting to grips with it all including breastfeeding which my be hard at first, feeling sore and hideously hormonal and generally in need of a bit of space to bond with your baby as a family. The help you will need is someone to cook for you, or take some washing away and bring it back clean, to make coffees for all the well wishers who will overwhelm you with gifts and enthusiasm, not a guest in the house all the time. So, my advice is to be firm with all MIL's etc that are in any way trying to be around-theor co pany is not what you need!
squid LOVED the tummy painting! If I didn't have rubbish stretch marks from last pg I would be so up for that!
My dh has just got in from work (at last!!) so I am going to go and give him a massive hug and finish this later xx

Hi all,

I do not have the energy to reread with a pen and namecheck, but thanks for all the sharing .

On the family invasion - let me tell you what happened with DS.
My waters broke on a Tuesday night, I knew what had happened but it's not like Eastenders - anyway I had an appointment with my ObGyn the following morning. He admitted me to hospital, and then nothing happened........ As DH and I were so excited we switched off our phones. I was induced Thursday evening about 6pm and DS was born about 9/10 o' clock. DH switched on his phone to take a picture and it immediately rang . He saw it was my mum and answered it - it is one of my regrets that we had to start telling a 3rd party at such a personal family time - and by family I mean the 3 of us!

For people struggling to establish boundaries could you do it the opposite way around. Instead of staying 'don't come for long visit', 'say please come for a short visit and admire baby - we expect to be overwhelmed with the whole experience and we can have a longer visit later'. In RL is that like Dr. Phil/Oprah nonsense? and wouldn't work??

I had an appointment with ObGyn today - I see a consultant as I am going privately here in Ireland (More common that in UK). Everything was fine but I asked him for a cert to take the next 3 weeks off work. I actually have booked AL (Annual Leave=holidays) for 2 weeks but my manager made me take AL in my childcare crises. My GP had offered to give me certs to take whatever amount off I wanted. (He has been my GP since childhood and aside from IVF/pregnancy stuff he has NEVER had to give me a cert).He was just going to certify me off for July but several of my colleagues were already on hols and I did not want to leave the service high and dry. I wanted to take 1 day a week sick as I had that long commute but my boss said my childcare issues were not my employers problem, so insisted I took AL. Anyway, right now I feel really wretched, knackered, out of control heartburn, frequent puking (morning sickness my eye)
DH is in London working, DS is asleep and I am going to bed after this.
Tomorrow I will cancel the AL and send in my sick certs. I feel a bit naughty but also immensely relieved.
If anyone thinks I'm being naughty feel free to say, I won't take it as mean.
Nurse took bloods, clever girl, she is the first person who inquired about my iron levels and she spoke about diet. Results will be back next week.
Good news is bean is fine

No progress on the AP front.

Slightly embarrassed to say this, but I'm feeling so well and energetic this week, it's scary. Was really suffering with migraines during the second trimester - I came off my migraine med because of pregnancy - but neurologist said I could restart it now the baby is fully formed. It is SO wonderful not to be nauseous and weak and unable to concentrate properly most of the time. (No one understands how, but the migraines make my MS symptoms flare up too.) And tonight I did something I haven't done since DD (3.3) was born. I went to a PARTY on a work night without her, and it wasn't work-related. Wow. I get invited to a lot of evening events because of my job and try to do one a week - so I never feel I can justify another evening away from DD because I already work four days a week. Anyway, I only stayed an hour because it was nearly an hour's journey home on the DLR and tube and I didn't want to miss DD's bedtime with DH away in New York, but it was fun.

Sympathies to everyone suffering with hip pain, reflux, the heat, awful commutes, etc etc. I know this can't last!

30 weeks today - or 75% downloaded, as I think of it

So. Hot. Can't. Type... and it's forecast to be 40 here tomorrow.

Love Sweaty Smorgs x

PS lol at 75% 'downloaded' Elpis!!

Anyone worried about going to the Olympics don't. Pregnant women get treated like queens. I got a golf buggy to the Olympic park and as leaving the stadium got asked if I wanted a special bus which dropped me right off at the station. No queuing, hardly any walking, result. Was all really easy despite the heat.

Lovely to hear you are feeling so chipper Elpis you are A light at the end of a tunnel of constipation and exhaustion, in 3 weeks I could be feeling like you.

Ok I am drip posting as I wind back from Stratford to highbury...

beeble I love the idea of painting the deathstar on a bump. If that is wrong then I am wrong too. I am not creative enough so it's down to you. DO IT.

If any of you fellow first-timers have those annoying friends and colleagues constantly bringing you down by saying 'Enjoy a good night's sleep while you still can...' 'Enjoy having a social life while you still can' that make you want to scream 'I'M PREGNANT, NOT TERMINALLY ILL'... have a look at this thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/pregnancy/1525989-We-cant-wait-Tell-all-the-great-things-about-being-a-mum It's rather touching.

Hey ladies! Let the great catch up begin! :o

London I had a quiet day yesterday too and was a bit worried. Bit more squirming and jumping today though. Wish she would just stay in a routine, she seems to sleep for longer now. Also those threads are heartwarming, read one quite early on which made me feel a bit more cheerful about the lifechangingness!

Crazy I look forward to increased jabbing and squirming based on your prior experience!

yomping definitely do NOT give up the chocolate under ANY circumstances! Good excuse to eat it at breakfast I reckon, to avoid middle-of-night heartburn :o Your dress is beyootiful btw and I actually quite liked the picture of it all tied up - not normally a girlie type so blaming hormones :o Did laugh at the shorts story :o Some days it feels like poor DH can do nothing right.

Squid your bump was gorgeous! On the hip pain thing - did you try the duvet under sheet / pillows between legs stuff? It has really helped mine. Also not lying in bed when you're awake if that makes sense - I find I lie very rigid when I do that and hip gets sore fast. When I'm asleep I'm obviously all floppy and relaxed. Likewise Beccus / huffle / Kyrria - really feeling your pain re sleeping. I'm still probably getting 6-7 hours a night but seem to wake up for no reason (bean moving?) or with heartburn. Cherry drink that Gaviscon like it's going out of fashion and if your parents can't send any I will - cannot bear to imagine your agony!

Loopy hope the triplets are okay, I'm sure they are getting the best of care!

Planktonette / TheartistformerlyknownasZoePlankton - I like both the names but new one is cute too! :o Definitely give up work as soon as you possibly can. I'm only functioning because I've been off for nearly 4 weeks

Smorgs that's a good tip about the gynae soap stuff, thanks. Might try it for CS incision. People keep telling me to use tea tree on it too.

Lisbeth hope you get an au pair sorted - a Mary Poppins will appear for you when you least expect it...!

smiley the smoke thing would drive me batshit! I hope everything goes well with midwife and everything sounds good

Cwest / Fjord / Elpis sorry to hear about cocknobberness from DHs / DPs. You need them supporting you :( And Elpis go on your holiday for sure - that's not an excuse for your DH to bugger off in the week you are due! Glad you're feeling energetic though! :) And Fjord hope your holiday is going well!

Livvy glad you are back on your feet :o

midget that sounds like 5 star service at Olympics - no more than you deserve as a bean incubator! :o

WantanOrange I can understand how frustrating that is with LLs etc. Hope you get something sorted housewise - it is infuriating. A lot of first time buyers are in the same boat now too which is really annoying - I bought at a good time here when it was easy to get a mortgage and mortgage was about half what I would have had to pay in rent! Guess some LLs have been stung before and are ultra cautious.

Bella / Beeble / anyone with mad parents or ILs - all food for thought re staying. I am really torn about the whole thing. On the one hand with having CS it would be good to have some extra help for the first couple of weeks. Otoh my parents and ILs live really far away so would have to come up and stay with us. I don't want to end up having rows over who is holding the baby - I do want to get that time to bond with her, especially as DH will only have the two weeks off paternity leave. Might be better to get them to stay when he goes back to work.

I feel a great sense of achievement having caught up :o Have a lovely day ladies!

Hi all,

Sorry to hear you're suffering in the heat. It's about 35 here, with around 75% humidity and it will be throughout August and probably most of September, BUT at least I have air con inside. Unfortunately, I do a lot of walking outside between jobs and public transport etc so I'm just taking it slow and drinking lots of water.

Other than that, I, like Elpis, am feeling surprisingly well and sprightly these days. I keep waiting for it all to hit me, but so far so good. Maybe karma will come back and bite me, in the form of a really difficult baby!

Thanks for all the concern about my Gaviscon shortage. I'm happy to report that I have had a fairly heartburn free couple of days!!! I'm sure it'll be back soon, and there's no rhyme nor reason to it - no change in diet or eating habits or anything. I've never been able to figure out what sets it off, nothing specific like dairy/chocolate/spicy food - just food in general it seems. Anyway, I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

Loved your painted bump Squid! Don't be envious of being "leggy", (I tend to say "lanky") I always wished I was curvy and more feminine. I guess the grass is always greener...
Is tomorrow your last day? Enjoy!

Yomping, the dress is lovely, think I would prefer it let down too. You'll look great in it. You'll have to post some photos for us. I loved your shorts story, very amusing, and reminded me of someone...like maybe myself!

Lisbeth, I don't think you're being naughty at all, they forced your hand somewhat so you didn't have much choice. Enjoy your time off guilt free!

Sorry you had a crap week last week Bella, hope your back is better soon. I climbed a big hill/small mountain on Sunday to see a waterfall and my legs have only just recovered. I seem to pull a muscle as soon as I get a whiff of any physical activity these days.

Would have loved to have seen your son's face Wantan, I still remember my first visit to Hamleys when I was about four. Parents said I could choose something (within reason) but I was so overwhelmed with it all that I couldn't decide and we had to leave so I just ended up grabbing a packet of stickers on the way out! Hopefully he'll remember his trip for as long.
Also, I have never felt your posts are gloomy and self absorbed at all. Don't worry!

Loopy, great tights idea! Since living here, I've developed a few cunning tricks of my own to deal with the heat and the, err, sweat but haven't tried that yet.
And definitely "bollocks" to the weight gain!! Had my once-a-fortnight check yesterday and she told me off again for putting on more than the allotted 1kg per fortnight, even though I only put on 0.2kgs the fortnight before. So it seems I'm not even supposed to average it! Anyway, this time I decided I didn't care, I don't feel fat or anything so she can bugger off. But then I preceded to see stick-thin, basketball-up-the-top type pregnant women everywhere I looked....

Fjord, I'm sure when you and DH are parenting as a team and he feels like he has more control and influence (rather than just being a weekend dad, I mean) he'll be fine. And of course you'll be in a position to pick him up on any mistakes, unlike now when you have to bite your tongue. You never know, once he sees it all working on your little one he might try it out on the step daughters. I don't think that makes much sense, sorry

Seems I haven't quite got the hang of less is more and posting more frequently etc, and this has turned out even more epic than usual (didn't know that would be possible), so I won't name check any more and I'll save my after-the-birth visitors stories for next time. But suffice it to say, I also have a mother with "issues", and a friend who didn't feel the need to check dates with me before booking flights. And of course, all live on the other side of the world so no chance of kicking them out after a quick cuppa.

Hope you're all blooming today!

I loved the death star bump idea ("that's no baby!!!") and googled Bump paintings - Mr Bump made me !

FFS. Just wrote a long post and it got deleted. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!
hey everyone. I am thinking of you all I promise, I'm just so tired, especially in this heat.

Squid the belly painting looks great!!! So jealous :(

Midgetm Thanks for sharing your olympic experience. I am going to watch the basketball at the basketball arena on Saturday and I am literally dreading the experience. The idea of walking...sitting...travelling...queueing... I'm finding it hard to walk/stand for more than an hour at a time without pain from pelvis/waist/hips. DP has even offered to travel up with me (live about an hour away on the train) and then go back when I have met my friend.. Bless. Any tips? And also my friend only sent me my free railcard... and no accompanying event ticket. Can I not use my railcard now? It says I have to have the ticket with it to use it... :(

I say I am dreading it but really and truly I am quite excited. Even got a union jack "hands off the bump" print t-shirt to wear for it :o and its my 21st birthday party on sunday (which DP has gone to extreme lengths to pay for and organise for me. He is being so overly nice at the moment.. [sympathies to those with nobbers at the moment] I nearly cried when I arrived home to find flowers in a vase in our bedroom for me :) Is it normal to still be so hormonal?! I thought it just went crazy in the first trimester!!!!

I'm 25 weeks today. I have 15 weeks left. Terrified. But things are slowly coming together :]

Sympathy on the IL's everyone. MIL is in a home so it won't be a problem.. FIL is just a complete gentleman (is a retired hardworking farmer, salt of the earth!) and so don't think we will have any problems.. Except I did get a bit stressed when SIL announced that she would be arriving from Australia two/three weeks after the baby was born. With husband in tow. Becuase she wants to see "her" baby. She can't have children so I know this means alot to her.. and the gesture is lovely as I know she will be a wonderful help. I just thought she may wait a few more weeks!!!
Thankfully my Grandma then came up trumps and is going to rent us her other property and so we are moving out of the family home in September (ONE MONTH TO GO HOORAY!!!!!) and so we will have our own space and they can come and go when I say they can. Not when they feel like it.

Anyway.. thats my post for the day. Must get into the habit of reading more frequently.. then I won't fall asleep when trying to read 10 pages!!! and forget to post at the end!!!

Love to you all. Hope it cools down soon- Yomping I will join your melted puddle on the floor- I AM DRIPPING. Glad we found a fan!!!

Hi ladies

Am I the only one who is enjoying this weather and dreading the return of the rain?!

Well the move to my parents went very well, we are all settled and all the stuff from the flat has gone into storage.

On the bad side of things I missed an obstetrician app on tues, but in my defence we were moving! Oh and the &%$% gghffh vendors of the house we were buying pulled out today :-( :-( :-( :-( the estate agents said they had a strop because they couldn't find a house to buy in the week theirs has been on the market so they just changed their minds gggrrrrrrr. We are just GUTTED as we completely fell in love with it. On the upside I guess its certain we will still be at mums when bean arrives so we should be able to save some money whilst we are here. Still gutted though.

Oh gutted for you CWest, that sounds so frustrating. But you sound like you're being very calm and rational about it. Not at all like me, who broke down in tears today when our estate agent called to say we cannot extend our tenancy until the end of August and have to be out by the 16th. The new place isn't ready until Sept 1. So all our stuff has to go into storage. And in between we have a week's holiday booked, DH is going on a Tour de France style ride with his mates (and me in 'support' vehicle) and I have a friend's wedding in the UK. Meaning a packing nightmare. I'm feeling very 'woe is me' just because I'm going to be homeless for a couple of weeks, which is nothing really isn't it? Man up Smorgs.

Mickey Happy Birthday for Sunday! Great news you have a place to yourselves. Grannies are great aren't they?

Cherrychopsticks Sympathies on the heat front. It has been late 30s here again today, which isn't too bad considering 40 was forecast. Last night was the worst though, I could not sleep at all.

Londonmrss LOVE that thread! Totally worth reading thanks! At one point I was getting so fed up with people telling me how 'life will change so much' and I'll 'never sleep again' etc. etc. Nobody ever seems to say: "Congratulations on getting pregnant, you will love being a parent, kids are challenging but great and change your life for the better", which is what I'd really like.

Oh and re the parents/in laws coming to stay, my lovely mum will be coming out soon after the birth to help, which will be great as she is just generally amazing. She's going to book Ryanair flights once the baby has arrived. My in laws have also sweetly offered to come out too and want to book flights for early November.... which would be fine if baby arrives on due date, but if its late means they'll arrive when mum has only been here a few days meaning she will have to go home as we can't have them all to stay...

Just a quick note to say Londonmrss well done on directing us to that lovely lovely thread!!! Had me in tears in work today!!! Got DH to read some too, bliss. Good to keep us thinking of the loveliness again instead of all the giving off!!!! Oh I cannot wait to meet our darling darling baby!!

Goodnight all, heat = even more tired! But not moaning!!!! X

Can I be self indulgent for a moment and confess that I'm really struggling today? I feel huge and lumbering and cumbersome and so, so unattractive. Nothing fits properly anymore, nothing is comfortable, I can't even do up shoes easily. The tights thing worked (thank you to whoever suggested it) so today I wore a skirt and my thighs didn't rub together but I just felt ashamed and embarrassed to be wearing cut off tights to stop my thighs rubbing together .

I can't look at myself naked and see anything other than a fat girl with a huge, unattractive, out-of-proportion bump and massive, sagging breasts when they used to be pert . I haven't put on that much weight but because I haven't been anywhere near as active as I was, my shape has changed and my legs and hips (which were muscly) are bigger and flabby and I have bags of cellulite now and clothes that used to fit on the legs are uncomfortable if I do anything other than stand up straight in them.

I was meant to be going to the gym tonight with DH and our friends because DH and the friend are training for a triathlon and the friend's wife is pregnant and we said we'd both go (these are the IVF couple, who we were so worried about telling we were pg, and who then told us a few weeks ago that they were too), and I told DH 2 hours before they were due to pick us up that I didn't want to go because I would only swim for half an hour and didn't want to sit in the cafe for over an hour talking to friend's wife - but the real reason, which I couldn't even bring myself to tell him but secretly hoped he'd work out for himself, is that I couldn't face being seen in a swimsuit by our friends, or changing in a changing room with someone I know, I am too ashamed of how I look. It's making me so sad . Not being psychic, DH didn't work out the real reason and was a bit cross with me for not going and for letting the friends down (she was prob. only going as I said I would too) so now as well as feeling unattractive and huge and like a lumbering whale, I feel like DH is cross with me.

I don't know how to find my pregnant shape attractive and I feel awful about that and I feel like I'm somehow letting the baby down by not liking how I look as it grows bigger and I feel more than awful about that. I can't stop crying about it all tonight, and I know it's only going to get worse as I get bigger and bigger, and I still have 10 more weeks of this to go .

Oh Yomping, great big HUG and and lots of love - don't be hard on yourself, it's OK to be freaked by such big body changes. I'm hating my big, saggy boobs at the moment and can't imagine being in a swimming cozzie in front of friends (weirdly it's OK when I don't know anyone). Don't beat yourself up my lovely, it doesn't mean you're a bad person or don't love the baby. Would DH understand if you tried to explain?

Hugs xx

Oh Yomping... HUGS HUGS HUGS! It's ok. Please keep in mind that we are our own worst critic and other people probably don't see us the same way as we see ourselves. PLUS it's only a short amount of time and our bodies will pep back up again! I totally hear you on the legs not fitting in the trousers unless standing. I have 1 pair of mat trousers that i have not worn for 2 weeks since being on holidays, wore them on Tues and was massivly uncomfortable. My thighs have definately gotten larger... but I'm just thinking of it as food for the baby.... :) Wish me luck... agreed to go to yoga with one of the fit girls from work... i best go. I've never been to yoga before and she is a pro so this should be quite amusing.

Cwest I also love the weather but I am struggling with it at the moment as I also have a stinking cold. Feel once cold goes I will love it a lot more. I bloody well better

yomping just wanted to give you a huge hug. I suddenly caught sight of myself today and it terrified me. I think your feelings are totally normal. To not always feel great about your changing shape is no way a reflection of how much you love the end results of pregnancy. I've had so many miscarriages I should embrace every bit of pregnancy but it doesn't stop me sometimes hating the way I look, or feeling really insecure. I think we all go there at some stage in our pregnancy. Have a good cry and tell DH why you didn't want to go to the gym. He won't love you any less for it. Just don't be so hard on yourself. Or I'll come round and bump slap you.

DH buggered off to the GB match so I am in charge of dog and DD, totally knackered. Bump seems to have trebled in size, I may be growing a big un.

oh yomping that is such a shame-poor you feeling so down today. It is very difficult accepting a different body shape especially when you are someone who clearly takes pride in their appearance and figure. But I bet that these changes you are seeing are nowhere near as glaring or unpleasant as you are imagining. I bet your DH thinks you look wonderful, which is why he didn't work out what was really wrong. I think you should come clean with him and then give your pregnant friend a call tomorrow and explain it to her. If she is pregnant too, she is bound to understand how you are feeling. Sadly, the whole pregnancy/birth thing is riddled with changes to your body, embarrassing ailments and showing parts of yourself you would never normally reveal to any number of medical professionals! But as you have all been saying, the end prize is so so worth it and that is what we have to keep remembering. My body is not quite the landscape it was pre-baby,(not that I was ever Elle MacPhereson!) nor do I get as much time to shop or beautify myself but that honestly, honestly isn't the end of the world when you consider the sheer joy your baby will bring to your life. I think it was Smorgs who said that she wished people would be more positive about the joys of children, so I want to say a great big IT IS THE BEST THING EVER! Yes it is very hard and involves a lot of sacrifices but it is the most fun, rewarding and amazing thing in the world to share your life with a little person. As I said in my last post, it is just me and my DS all day every day at the moment and although I am knackered I am just loving his company. He cracks me up every day and seeing him learning and exploring and finding such pleasure in loads of the things that adults take for granted is so wonderful. We all have so much fun in store!

I am not sure that stream of consciousness will be any help to you Yomping! I just wanted to say that it will be worth it in the end. Plus, I have a feeling you will be one of those yummy mummies who are super slim again in no time. Big hugs to you just now- don't beat yourself up at all. Arrangements get cancelled, it isn't the end of the world. And tomorrow your hormones will have re-arranged themselves and you will hopefully feel more optimistic about your bumpilicious body xxx

Oh yomping you need lots of hugs. ((((((((((x))))))))
As said, we are our own worst critics and you are without a doubt beautiful, all pregnant women are beautiful. Your body is doing a wondrous thing and supporting growth of new life. I am sure none of us look how we did 6 months ago and in another 6 will be different again!!! Have a good cry, tis essential!! Hormones make everything more dramatic! Make sure and tell DH the real reason, he will not work it out otherwise and will give u proper hugs!!

cross posted there-great advice from midgetm. I think she is quite right that feeling weird about your body shape has no relation to your love for your baby. You are so hard on yourself, but you are doing such a great job.

cherry thanks for the back sympathy! I say my midwife this morning and she said that the baby is lying completely on my
right hand side which may explain why that side is under so much pressure. Hope you are surviving the heat! You are so lovely and upbeat all the time! I am glad your heartburn has eased off a bit too. The offer of emergency postal gaviscon is always there if you need it.

cwest so sorry about your house-what a disappointment for you. I hope something even better comes along soon.

smorgs your situation sounds very difficult too, I can totally see why you are stressed and upset about it. What a busy time you are going to be having-I hope you have people around to help?

Well I am 28 weeks today. Hello 3rd trimester! Wahoo! Measurements etc all good today so am really chuffed! So tired but cant be bothered to go to bed for more tossing and turning and feeling uncomfortable. Bah!