November 2012 - a couple of early arrivals, please will the rest stay put!

[StuntNun]

Previous thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/antenatal_clubs/1538202-November-2012-into-the-third-trimester

Stats list: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/antenatal_clubs/1485512-November-2012-Stats-List

Are any of you ladies raising your babies to be bilingual? Do you have any tips or know of any good books to buy?

A lot of DP's family don't speak any English or very little and it is essential that our baby learns to speak his language fluently. I have read that it is now recommended that you expose them to both languages from birth which is why I'm looking into it now.

I had some stretch marks a few weeks ago, but my skin has stretched more which seems to have made them disappear. Does this mean they'll come back when my baby bump is gone?!

Had the GTT this morning. Really felt unwell at the end as it was almost 12 noon and I think asking a pregnant woman to not eat for hours and then drink tons of yukky Lucozade which I had to spend my hard earned pennies on is a bit much. Glad I'd put a banana in my bag which I'd eaten before I left the clinic!

Off to Weymouth this afternoon for DP's cousins wedding weekend. Quite looking forward to showing off my baby bump to his family that we don't see very often. Hope you all have a good weekend!

Bought a raincover for the PnT off eBay. I could smell it before I got it out of the inner bag, it is filthy, was damp and has pen marks on it, plus a seam is ripped. Not happy. Seller has 100% positive feedback, and does not accept returns. It is such a hit and miss. I have complained before I leave negative feedback.

Apple - I guess just keep trying! My friend at works son is spoken to in three or languages!! He's nearly 2 and I think is ok. He speaks a bit. He'll go to the different schools to keep it up.

Dh was bought up bi lingual but at 4 still refused to talk so they eventually gave up and just spoke English to him!

apples my DH speaks arabic and he tries hard to speak to the kids only in arabic but it is difficult because he speaks to me in english. Our kids can speak a little but understand a lot of arabic. We bought lots of arabic story books and DVD's. Relatives are great at bringing them over. Your DH should try just speaking to baby in his language (farsi?) and make sure he reads to the baby in his language. If it is arabic then al jazeera kids is available on Sky which is an arabic childrens channel. Online there is Baraem which is an arabic childrens channel which has loads of english kids programmes dubbed in arabic.

The best you can do is make sure that the second language is heard every day in different forms: CDs of songs, TV/DVD and DH reading and talking to them. Kids are sponges!

I am English, as is DH, but we live in Scotland. Both my kids speak with quite a distinct Scottish accent, and use the dialect, so we frequently have to translate for family. I have always been poor at languages, but from what I have heard, introducing both languages from the beginning will result in a bilingual child, which has got to be good!

Yes Brockle DP's first language is Farsi. He also speaks Arabic, French and Kurdish but I think that would be a bit much so we'll stick to Farsi and English

I can see how it can be tricky because I've told DP to speak to him in Farsi from the day he's born but like you we communicate with each other in English. However, when I go back to work next summer DP will be looking after the baby a lot of the time on his own so that will be good. I will have to find out where I can buy books, cds etc in Farsi or ask nicely if DP's mum can send some to us.

One of DP's brothers and SIL live in Belgium and despite both being Iranian their daughter only speaks French. I know it upsets his parents that they can't communicate with her properly because her Farsi is really poor and we promised when we had children that they would be able to speak the language fluently. So now the pressure is on!

Hi applepieinthesky. Our DD's are / will be both raised bilingual. I'm English and DH is Swedish. DD1 was born in Sweden, we only moved back to the UK in January. We use OPOL method (One Parent, One Language). DH speaks to DD1 in Swedish and I mainly in English (although I can also speak Swedish, I was there for 4 years). Its working already. DD1 is 14months and knows things like Itsy Bitsy Spider and Imse Vimse Spindle are the same song and uses the same actions. You just got to stick with it and, being young, children will pick it up and learn both.

DD1 is being brought up bilingual as well, will be the same for DD3 :) Just like Skoggy we do the OPOL method. When we still lived in Belgium DD's Dutch was better than now, living in UK, but she can still speak both. I asked her to speak Dutch to the little one as well from when it's born, so she will hear it from 2 people instead of just from me.

apple we are also raising DD to be bi-lingual - English/ Arabic - and are also using OPOL. It is hard, and like you DP and I speak t each other in English, but she does know some Arabic words alongside her English ones. We also have Arabic TV and books.

I would love for our child to be bilingual but unfortunately neither DH or myself are fluent enough in any other language. We have the possibility of moving abroad in a few years so with any luck they'll have the opportunity to experience another language and culture then.

Just got some very good news. A friend of mine was due the same week as me but unfortunately lost her baby at 13 weeks. She's just phoned me to tell me she's pregnant again because 'she had to tell someone!' I'm so happy for her so lots of crossed fingers ladies that everything goes well for her this time!!

We both speak like the Queen here, all very plummy! pip, pip and what ho type thing.

I have had a productive day today, I got woken up at 5am by a horrid nightmare, I couldn't get back to sleep so I got up, washed the dishes, put on washing/tumble drying and cleaned up after the bastard cats who had once again triple teamed the cat food dispenser to break it open all over the floor!
I did get chance to sit down with a nice cup of tea before everyone was awake though. :)

I have done washing, cooking, cleaning and sewing today, it's been very chilled and generally a good day.

Belly Dweller is as active as always, most certainly head down now and seems to much prefer the right hand side so I have a very lopsided bump. Anyone else's LO have a preference?

I have made muslins today, by made I mean, I had a huge roll of muslin cloth and some really thin cotton dinosaur cloth so I backed one to the other and hemmed them into nice big burp rags, this child apparently posset in style

Busy week for me next week, I have physio (Finally) getting up from sitting is becoming an issue, I got stuck on the kitchen floor earlier nearly had to wail at DP to come rescue me!
DS has a day surgery in London on Friday and they go back to school Thursday, I still need to get new plimsolls for them both.

We definitely want our kids to be bilingual, but neither of us has mother-tongue fluency in a foreign language. We did live in Germany for years and studied German in school and at uni, but are both rusty now after several years int he UK. We are, however, looking into German nurseries here in London.

Fingers crossed for your friend, missmummy.

tits you really should not be on the floor. I keep getting down on the floor and regretting it. I am having to make a conscious effort to not do so. Your burp rags sound lovely.

I'm so tired today, DH found me crying in the kitchen because I couldn't cut up a tomato (no clean chopping boards so was trying to do it in a bowl. It was a culinary disaster all round though as there was a worm in the celery and the lettuce was all brown (one day since the supermarket) and the cheese had gone mouldy. It was still a bit extreme, I can't understand why I'm so tired I can't function. The midwife took a blood sample to check for anaemia but I've been taking my Pregnacare and eating lots of red meat so I should be okay for iron. There'll be no nesting at this rate, just feeling tired, sore and grumpy

I really wasn't this bad in my last two pregnancies. I feel like I should take to my bed for the next ten weeks.

I don't see the midwife again until 36 weeks! Blimey I could have had the baby before that.

Baby has been verrry active today, he must be getting big and strong. I'm getting excited about what he will look like. I'm mixed race and DH is white so there's quite a variety of genes being thrown into the pot. I'm still holding out for a blue-eyed baby like DH but I've given up on the dimple - it must be recessive!

Sorry about the me me me post, feeling a bit sorry for myself for being so lethargic and useless.

VQ Bad luck on the raincover; sounds dreadful. I always wonder what is going through people's heads when they put something like that into its wrapping and post it away. Put in a claim with ebay/paypal for 'item not as described' and you'll get your money back. DOesn't help with being short a rain cover though :/

Stunt I have days like that, everything makes me cry, I hope tomorrow is better for you.

Well I'm back from my camping trip in Devon, I bloody loved every second of it, even sat in the tent watching the near floods on Tuesday I haven't done that much walking for years, up hills and everything and even detoured to Weston Super Mare for a walk along the beach on the way home. If it wasn't so close to school starting I would have stayed for a few more days and I've had the best sleep ever last night.

Have been having flashes in my eyes and the centre goes blurry in a big circle, reckon it could be my blood pressure? It was high last week, I've been having it for a few weeks now.

Little baba has been very quiet today, didn't feel my first movement until about 8am today which is VERY unusual.

Evening all

My scan of the baby's heart went well today, everything looked ok thankfully. Was nice to see the little one again too, he or she is certainly looking bigger but then so am I! My bump is huge now

We went down to Brighton for the afternoon which was lovely, and I got my Wagamamas fix after all the talk about it the other day! Yum yum

Glad to hear your landlord got her comeuppance missmummy! And fingers crossed for your friend

shelleybobbs that does sound like your blood pressure could be a bit high, might be worth getting it checked

Oh and I would like my DCs to be bilingual too but I only speak a bit of French so don't think it's likely! Although my dad lives over there so we will go there for holidays a lot. I have found a French class for toddlers but it's only in Brighton at the mo, which is a bit far away to go every week. Hopefully they will start a class nearer to me soon

Imse vimse spindle is just BRILLIANT. Oh that made me smile. I love Nordic languages, the intonation is so comforting and charming. We're hoping in a few years time to spend a bit of time living in Norway with DH's job and I would love to pick up the language. I lived in Finland years ago and picked up the language quite well (though it's bloomin tricksy as it's not Indo-European), sadly despite my Dad being Polish - he never spoke the language to us as kids so I'm not bilingual. I tried to learn aged about 8 from my Grandparents but it was just too late. useless hippy Dad

Oh MissMummy - cracking news on the psycho landlady! Karma biting arses - I love it when that happens.

My Scandi-fetish also extends to a love of Nordic names - our favourite girls name is Swedish and our favourite boys name is Norwegian...

Stunt - hope you have a much better day tomo hon - whinge away - that's what we're here for! xx

ShelleyBobs I became mildly pre-eclamptic with my DS and was told that flashes in front of my eyes was a symptom of that when combined with headaches and swollen hands/ feet. Keep an eye on it and get in touch with your midwife if you get any of the other symptoms. Just to be on the safe side!