Graduated elderberries

[janey1234]

Hello all..,
Let's clog up a brand spanking new club over here

(By hello all, I guess I mean hello hazle. Hopefully the others will join us soon...)

Hi rache I feel pretty good actually, guess thats to be expected with the number of vitamins I'm taking

Serious constipation slight backache and a very spotty back are the only real tell tale signs I have.

Geez I'm rubbish without sleep! I would not be a nice person to be around

I am also rubbish without sleep. My poor DH! Although it's true to say it's actually all his fault for doing this freaky pregnancy thing to me in the first place. You have ages until the insomnia hits and you might be one of the lucky ones who sails through without any.

Ahh the constipation... I would get used to that.

Hi Mother! welcome.
I have to say I'm a little concerned that constant pain and not enough sleep makes monster a very grumpy, tetchy, intolerant monster indeed I don't think pregnancy agrees with me, I fear I'm not very nice anymore. I mean, I was never that nice anyway but now I'm even worse

Rach, perhaps we should try not to frighten the new graduates with talk of constipation followed by diarrhoea followed by constipation followed....to the point that you hum Jonny Cash 'ring of fire' to yourself as you enter the bathroom? Jus saying...you wouldn't want to frighten them away now would you?

Don't mention 'ring of fire' - that's how my cousin described crowning!!

Massive massive welcome to you mother, very glad to see you here

Lactulose is fab for constipation, and fine for use when pg unlike my favourite apple juice from m&s I've been drinking which I noticed today has a notice on the side saying not advised for pg women. Get some before you get into real, urm, difficulties. And of course lots if water and soft fleshed fruits too!

Insomnia wise I really struggled until about 12 weeks - needed to pee a couple of times a night even when I drank loads in the day, then stopped at 6pm. Really hope the last few nights aren't a sign of things to come - I too am bloody awful with no sleep...

apple juice not recommended? huh? why?

Yes I agree Purple. Definitely no mentions of those episodes of morning sickness where I was glued to the loo while leaning over to throw up in the sink. Or throwing a curry up mostly through my nose. Or leaking a little bit of wee during said barfing. Now that really would be cruel.

Janey How could apple juice possibly be bad for pregnant women? What on earth are M&S putting in it? I am drinking tonnes of fresh fruit juices.

It's some bloody delicious apple, white grape, mint and dandelion juice. Apparently it's very high in vitamin A and therefore not recommended. Have drunk quite a lot over the last few months as, unsurprisingly, I didn't think to check the label of a fruit juice

Yeah you guys are not helping lol.

Geez its a minefield huh, who'd have thought juice could be bad huh.

Oh gawd we're not allowed juice now? Whatever will they think of next? I'm surprised you even noticed (albeit late)
Yeah sorry Mother, happy to offer comfort support and advice but unfortunately can't tell you it's all going to be lovely because that would be lying! They reckon it's all worth it in the end though...

to be fair purple many things us girls endure are not fun but worth it in the end....we do tend to get the shitty end of the stick on most occassions.

Very true!

In my next life I want to be a man. Actually, on reflection, I'd rather be a cat!

me too, my cat lives the bloody life of riley!

I would like to come back in my next life as a pair of Steve Jones's pants. I know he comes across as a bit of a shit to women but cor blimey his looks make up for it.

Agreed rache, unless the rumours about him having herpes are true, in which case I wouldn't want to be near that general area.

I haven't heard those Janey. Now that would give me a quandry if the opportunity arose. Just sitting there looking at his face and body might be enough.

I am currently trying to decide when to start ML as I'm supposed to let them know by 25 weeks but I just can't decide.

I had thought I would be forced to take all my AL beforehand, meaning I would finish at about 32 weeks, but this is not the case and I can tag the unused remainder of this year's AL on to the end of my ML and finish whenever I want.

I have read previous threads where women with healthy pregnancies have finished anywhere from 29 weeks to 40 weeks so how I am supposed to decide??? I feel fine now (apart from a bit tired through erratic sleep pattern,) but how am I supposed to predict how I will feel in the third trimester?

What is everyone else thinking of doing?

Morning team - and congrats Mother! It's not all bad this pregnancy lark, honest... but negotiating life with an integral plus-one comes with a rather bizarre set of operating instructions which tends to change on a weekly basis.

Rache it's a tough call - what kind of job do you do? Mine involves lots of sitting at a desk and occasional meetings. I don't have a commute to speak of 2 mile walk each way, OH has already pledged to arrange a deal with a cab firm for last couple of weeks.

I'm planning to finish at 38 weeks, take three weeks of holiday then start ML. I'm convinced Baby Bear will be late because my whole family was late (10-12 days as standard) and because they are measuring me an impossible week ahead. The idea of starting ML and twiddling my thumbs seems, frankly, daft.

If BB comes early, ML starts automatically from day it's born. Also, the week I plan to finish is hte last week before a major event that will involve large crowds and lots of standing around off-site. Having covered it last year, it'll be impossible while being heavily pregnant.

The big bonus to tacking AL onto the end of ML is you get a huge financial boost when the cash is running out.

Another doc appointment this morning, all fine, have put on 5 kilos by now (24 weeks) so doc was happy. Had a ton of blood tests again, not even sure what they were all for.

Mother it's not all bad - except for feeling like I have a slight hangover on a few days, I didn't have any MS and haven't had, touch wood, any other issues either. Well except constipation, which is indeed a pain in the arse. And when trying to combat it with prunes, I broke a tooth. But that's pretty much it so far.

Rach I don't have the problem, as there's no mat leave before birth here - you just get a sick not from the doc when it gets too difficult. Boss already mentioned that well, the colleague who was pregnant last year worked until her due date, so I guess it's clear what the expectations are

I work field and home-based in sales. I cover the whole of the North West so I can do a lot of commuting on my own to meetings.

I think work will be quite accommodating if I chose to work late into the pregnancy - they will either buddy me up with a colleague so i'm not driving around on my own or they will find me an office-based role for a while so I'm not that worried about the logistics of working late, more about how shit I might be feeling in the later stages.

I don't want to mess them about by saying I'll finish at, say, 37 weeks but then have to tell them I'm finishing earlier if I end up struggling to cope.

My Sister finished at 31 weeks because she was having a few problems and had been diagnosed with physical stress. Since finishing (35 weeks now) she's been walking and swimming regularly as well as loads of resting. Her baby is now 4/5 engaged and in a good position which her MW is attributing to her change of lifestyle. Now this could easily be a complete coincidence and could have all happened if she was still at work, but it does make me think about the consequences of doing too much in the later stages and whether taking it easy might lead to less complications? But her pregnancy has been difficult all the way through whereas mine has been reasonably plain sailing.

But on the other hand I want as long as possible after the birth which means finishing as late as possible!

It makes my head hurt and I just can't decide.

Good news about your doc appt Hazle.

It certainly puts it into perspective that at least I have a choice on the matter. Poor you and the rubbish inafequate French (Swiss?) maternity provision.

Swiss. It's normal just to get a sick note though, doctors happy to give them, so most people still start the mat leave early. I'll see how I feel, I'm just 10 minds from office, so no long commutes and could also work from home.

Oh that sucks hazle. Rubbish.

rache - i really don't know, but thankfully I think my work should be pretty flexible - so I might aim for a late date, but finish earlier if necessary. It's not the job that worries me, but the commute - travelling from East to West London on the central line in the middle of summer will not be pleasant. It takes an hour door to door and I think it might be quite exhausting. Having said that, I always get into work really early, so I've already started thinking that when I get to around 30 weeks I might ask if I can still start early (I'm a morning person) but then finish earlier, meaning I work the equivalent of full time hours, but miss the evening rush hour. In all honesty I'd really, really like to get to 36 weeks minimum, just to give me longer on 'the other side' with the baby. Not sure if aiming for more than 36 weeks will be possible. Plus if I do go for an elcs, that's likely to be at 39 or 40 weeks, meaning I would like a couple of weeks off at home to prepare....

Yes I'm struggling to know how long I'll be able to work for too, I expect mini monster to make a late appearance which seems to be the norm in our family so don't want to sit around for weeks without a baby to look after but everyone that I know who has recently gone off on maternity has had to finish sooner than they thought because they were just more knackered than they expected. I sit at a desk all day with only a half an hour each way commute so should theoretically be able to keep working right up to the week before due date but who knows what the reality will be? If my hip problems keep getting worse I fear I'll be in no fit state to work much much sooner than I ever wanted or planned anyway so will just have to wait and see. Also, the way things are going, my prediction of me ending up absolutely enormous are on track after a slow start so that probably wont help either.

And yes Mother, it really ISN'T all bad, my top pregnancy bonuses are:
Fabulous hair that just doesn't ever seem to need washing any more
Healthy looking and fast growing fingernails
No periods
It made me give up smoking
and most important of all, being able to eat chocolate without constant guilt!