Graduated Elderberries (numero 3)

[BraveLilBear]

Welcome back oh graduated elderberries. Let us discuss the delights of being over-30 first-timers with google obsessions

Purple can you upload a bump photo? I'm sure you aren't just a bump with arms, legs and a head!

Well ladies I have put on 21lbs so far so it has definitely gone somewhere! I have put some on my bum and thighs but otherwise it's just on the bump I think. It's definitely not on the boobage.

Alex I take the dog out for at least 40 mins every day, sometimes twice if DH is back late or away, but other than that I haven't exercised anywhere near enough. I was swimming and doing Aqua-natal but found it was aggravating my SPD so stopped about a month ago.

Really sorry if we've covered this already but when it everyone planning on taking mat leave from (if you don't end up having to take it early)?

is not it!

I'll try to remember to do one later Cavort so you can have a good snigger you're probably right, I'm sure I'm not that abnormally large really I just feel it and everyone keeps saying 'oooh haven't you got big' which only makes it worse! I think my bump is probably normal sized but the fact that I'm not I'm hobbit sized just draws attention to it as it's not in proportion.

Alex - I'm finishing work when I'm 37/nearly 38 weeks in theory although they're pissing me off so much at the moment I keep looking at my annual leave entitlement and thinking wistfully 'I could just go now and never come back...' I'm sure I wont though.

cavort same weight gain here and my bump is still quite a bit larger!

alex - there's no maternity leave before birth here, just a normal sick leave if your doc thinks you should stay at home. From what I've seen, the norm seems to be to work part time from maybe 2 months before birth and stay home 6-4 weeks before. In my case, I'll probably end up having the baby at my desk just keep working until I feel up to it, so no plans.

But as I've understood, you will have to notify work quite early on? A bit unreasonable requirement really - what if you feel fine and could easily carry on?

Most people at my work seem to leave about a month beforehand and then end up being late so are soooo bored at home. We have to get a certificate from the dr if we intend to work beyond 2wks prior to EDD. One poor girl here pretty much announced she was pg & then had to go on maternity within a month on drs orders due to blood pressure.

Don't get me wrong Frog Jordan will never feel threatened by my norkage, but there's a heck of a lot more than there used to be (despite DP not noticing/caring!).

Alex I'm same as purple, planning to go at 37+4 - the Monday would be 38 weeks. Beginning to worry that it's too soon esp if Baby Bear stays all cosy inside. But then if s/he comes early or I have to have a section due to low placenta, transverse or breech positioning (all of which could still be possible as placenta is currently blocking Baby from staying vertical lol) then it'll be on time at best and maybe early, then I'll have just two weeks of prep/rest time.

I need to give 28 days notice to start leave so can leave it until after 32 week appt, but won't be able to wait for results of rescan (likely to be around 34 weeks) so am a bit in the dark

Have to say I'm loving your DP Frog he sounds adorable! can I borrow him?

Unfortunately Brave I think my DP was being sarcastic with his don't cry comment. He thinks I cry at the drop of a hat & hates it when I do.

I have to say, the crying was one of the worst things for me as I'm normally pretty tough and not an emotional type so uncontrollably bursting into tears really bothered me as I didn't feel like ME - it was like being demonically possessed by a pathetic emotional wreck and I HATED it! I'm soooo glad that was one symptom which didn't last. I think OH was a bit bewildered by it, he's far more accustomed to sarcasm, anger and death threats from me.

Oh Purple don't get me started on the rage

Comes from nowhere, implants random seed of 'must hit/throw/slam/shout', provokes DP to join in, cue tears, stomping and 2-year-old tantrum by me .

It's awful. At least I can now see it for what it is... I actually thought it was all DP to start with.

One to throw in with crying-at-EDF-energy-poo-and-everything-else is also sometimes not crying at something that would usually upset me. Weird.

Frog my DP finds it hilarious - watched Oblivion at the pictures the other week and I ended up blubbing so bad I left a wet patch on his grey blazer. Also lost it at How I Met Your Mother the other week. I won't even think about Up/Gladiator/Finding Neverland/City of Angels as the thought would be enough to tip me over into dehydration on a bad day!

My biggest problem is going to be SS I think. His behaviour (allegedly normal for an 8 yr old according to DP) sometimes used to be enough to make me throw a tantrum when AF was on the way so I dread to think what it's going to be like now. I might just have to stay out of his way as much as possible.

I got sooooo cross this morning when I couldn't find what it was that was preventing the fridge door from closing properly. Ridiculous. And I knew it was as well - I did feel a bit like it was an out of body experience where I could see myself doing it but couldn't stop myself.

Hopefully brave my DP will get to that stage too. At the moment I don't think he's really accepted that the pregnancy is actually real yet!

Oh my god, pregnant woman fury! I am ridiculous. Just from nowhere I'll be in a complete rage with a stranger for stopping in front of me in the street, or something else just as inoffensive. Situations like that, when usually I'd just silently tut in my head, have lead to me actually swearing at people I don't even know And then on Monday I woke up in a really bad mood, then cried because I couldn't tell poor DP what I was cross about (because there wasn't anything). First trimester and last have been worst for my moods - tears in the first and fury in the third!

Yes yes re occasionally not crying when ordinarily I would - eg when DP proposed. Odd.

Your descriptions of pregnancy-induced fury all just sound like me on a normal non-pregnant day.

My Sis has asked us to babysit on Saturday morning. This as great news as in addition to spending the whole of Saturday morning baby cuddling, it means I can use my gorgeous little nephew to road test all our new baby gear as well as seeing the dog's reaction to having a baby on his turf before ours arrives. I just hope she sends enough clean babygrows in case he soils himself or the poor little man's likely to end up wearing a pink one.

Ahhh to baby cuddling!

Just heard a ridiculous old wives tail theory that if you're hairier, you're having a boy, less hair and you're having a girl. I'm def growing hair a bit faster so wondering if there's any truth to it! DH has a feeling we're having a boy and a few people have told me that's they're feeling too, I know it's 50/50 but hmmm, I wonder...

Their not they're, turns out I'm thicker pregnant.

I'm in the pink camp and everything is growing mega fast so I'm not sure that theory is right unless expected DD turns out to be a surprise DS

You will also get people telling you the sex based on the shape of your bump, which is also a load of tosh IMO

alex i've lost pretty much all bodyhair, no shaving needed, and it's definitely a boy. And I felt I was having a girl, even managed to buy a cute dress before we found out.

at hazle. Had no idea that could happen - how amazing. Unfortunately if my leg wax yesterday was anything to go by I think I'm going the opposite way. Boy did I look like a plucked chicken yesterday.
I'm about 2 or 3 weeks behind another girl at work (who has been telling people ridiculously early cos she's a stress puppy & gets upset at everything so is now trying to justify this) so we are going to be constantly compared. Pls let me bloom & sail through with the smaller bump & less moaning! You know when you find out someone is pg & you know they're going to be a nightmare about it - that's her...

at hazle. Had no idea that could happen - how amazing. Unfortunately if my leg wax yesterday was anything to go by I think I'm going the opposite way. Boy did I look like a sore plucked chicken after.

I'm about 2 or 3 weeks behind another girl at work (who has been telling people ridiculously early cos she's a stress puppy & gets upset at everything so is now trying to justify this) so we are going to be constantly compared. Pls let me bloom & sail through with the smaller bump & less moaning! You know when you find out someone is pg & you know they're going to be a nightmare about it - that's her...

Oh & I get to baby cuddle later too as going to see my friend who's baby was born in February & I've not yet met . Obviously I can't say anything so it's also going to be torture. DP is being really strict on this as he says no one should know before SS & he's also paranoid about someone letting something slip on Facebook before we've told his parents.

Envious of newborn hugs. I had lots last Friday, with my friend's baby who was only born on Monday, and he was gorgeous. Not sure when I will see him again though, things are v.chaotic in our house now as the loft conversion nears an end allegedly .

Like you hazle, my hair growth on my legs has really, really slowed. I'm not very hairy at all anyway, and never shave (just epilate at home) and you saying that has made me realise that I've only done it once since I got back from Thailand - so once in over four months! And I've just checked, my legs are fine. Few stragglers, but hardly anything. How lovely!

I love sex theories! Soooo the hair on my legs has not quite stopped, but is about a tenth of what it was, and the hair that is there is much finer and softer. I am usually quite a furry bear, so love the lack of constant maintenance, especially as shower shaving becomes steadily tougher by the day!

Elsewhere tho.... arms, underarms and lady garden are about the same - plus I have lots of fuzz on my belly. Hair on head growing v fast, hardly ever sheds (used to pull out handfuls every time I washed it as it's so thick - now i get about 5 strands) and only need to wash once a week at the most.

I saw a good friend of mine last night who I'd not seen in ages and she said she thinks girl because of the way I'm carrying and the way my body shape has changed. She was also right about a mutual friend who had her little boy 5 days ago. My mum thinks girl, I think girl, DP thinks boy - as do his family as it seems they get a lot of boys in the family!

Other theories - heartrate is consistently around 140-150 (girl?), have put on lots of weight on bum, boobs loads bigger, DP has put on weight (some awesome Danish study that said 100% of fathers of girls put on weight during pregnancy, but only 5% of fathers of boys did!), and I feel a lot more feminine and girly than usual...

There is a 50/50 chance I'll be right!

Some fun indicators here iVillage link

Oh, and I am very envious of newborn snuggles I have one potential source of pre-Baby Bear snuggles, due in 6 weeks or so, but not sure I can wait that long!

Oh I love the old wives tales, they're a fabulous source of entertainment. My leg hair has slowed considerably (which is great because with my very dark hair, I usually resemble a gorilla after a couple of days) but underarms are about the same as before. I'm supposedly having a girl. Just for your research purposes

I don't have any newborns to snuggle (poor old stepson's Mum and new baby have had to be transferred to the 'big' hospital an hour away but are apparently doing ok and hopefully on the road to recovery). My regular cuddles are with my friends nearly 2 year old, I think I prefer her to a newborn anyway, she's adorable.

Very of the non-hairy ladies, I've stupidly started shaving again to save money on waxing for baby stuff but that just means I'm having to shave all the time again!

Bit of pregnancy fury at my boss. She told a client I'm preggers for planning purposes (said ok) but of course the client then congratulated me at the start of a meeting and we spoke for literally 2 seconds whilst sorting coffees out before my boss said "right that's enough baby talk, it's all she'll want to talk about if we start hahaha" which is a) patronising and b) annoying as I specifically only talk to that boss about it when she asks me how I'm feeling so I've really tried to not talk to much at work about it, especially around her as she's not the type to want to talk babies! So at the end of the meeting, the client wished me luck at my scan and I felt uncomfortable that she'd brought it up again which my boss shouldn't make me feel! I know, I know, I'm massively sensitive about things right now Am not going to say a word at work from now on, get the feeling if you say anything about it, they just think your mind's not on the job.