Graduated Elerberries - 30+ and expecting DC1 (thread no 4)

[HazleNutt]

Welcome old and new graduates and everybody else who wants to join us, elderly primigravidas aka Elderberries.

Good morning from my last working Tuesday for a very long time! I hope you all had a good weekend?

Hazle do you think it's actually weight gain or could it be water retention? I think I am retaining loads of water now as most shoes, knee high boots, watch and rings are too tight or leave a ridiculous indent after wearing. I am starting to feel like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and it's only going to get worse.

This breakdown assumes total weight gain of 26-31.5lbs. I have put on about 23lbs so far and I think you said you had put on similar? I think it's quite reassuring that only 6-8lbs is actual lard which will need shifting afterwards (although there is no way my boobs have gained 2lbs, more like 2g). If someone had told my pre-pregnant self I would only be left with half a stone to shift afterwards I think I would have been quite pleased, but it still doesn't stop me from feeling like a big fat git right now.

Baby: 7 to 8 pounds (about 3 to 3.6 kilograms)
Larger breasts: 2 pounds (about 1 kilogram)
Larger uterus: 2 pounds (about 1 kilogram)
Placenta: 1 1/2 pounds (about 0.7 kilogram)
Amniotic fluid: 2 pounds (about 1 kilogram)
Increased blood volume: 3 to 4 pounds (about 1.4 to 1.8 kilograms)
Increased fluid volume: 3 to 4 pounds (about 1.4 to 1.8 kilograms)
Fat stores: 6 to 8 pounds (about 2.7 to 3.6 kilograms)

DH is going to try to have his long distance meetings over the next 2 weeks so fingers crossed he won't be too far away around the due date, although best laid plans an all that.

Cavort yes I think I've put on around 10-12 kilos by now, but apparently it has mostly decided to gather around my face . And I started out heavier as well, put on weight due to thyroid surgery last year, so technically already had enough fat stores.

Ah well, I feel fine and even though it won't be fun, I'm sure I can lose the weight afterwards. Shouldn't really complain if this is my biggest issue during pregnancy, should I?

Hazle you say that you keep getting compliments on how good you look and how much pregnancy is suiting you so I'm sure your chins aren't looking that bad. With your exercise regime, especially if BF, you will be skeletal in no time.

I think being women, we have natural in-built neuroses surrounding weight gain and it's still quite difficult to get your head around it even though we know it's for a good reason.

Either those people telling me how good I look are lying and just trying to humour the pregnant woman or I've looked like a walrus even before getting pregnant

Last week before mat leave - how does that feel? Managed to finish and hand over everything? It will be a mess here as in all honesty, my paralegal needs a lot of direction and supervision and the boss will not be able to provide it. Have a doctor's appointment on Friday and will discuss, but I think I'll probably work til due date. (unless the baby decides to come early, of course).

God hazle I am overcome with respect for you. On the commute this morning (am 34 weeks today) I was thanking my lucky stars I only have to do it for another two weeks; two hours on the tube each day is too exhausting for me now! I wish I was as fit and active as you.

So as I say I have two weeks out. Just found out this morning that my boss is off this week, and he still hasn't read my detailed e-mail about cover for my job or approved it. Great. I need to start handing stuff over!!

cavort - enjoy your last Tuesday for aaaaages. Am jealous! Still, 9 days to go and counting...

I think the hand over is going well, although my workload this week is much higher than I had hoped it would be. I am on annual leave for 2 weeks before officially starting maternity leave on June 17th and have muggishly said I will leave my work BlackBerry turned on while I am on holiday to sort any hand over issues. After 17th though I am turning it off and throwing it in the drawer! I think I might have a few issues cutting off from work but I am looking forward to the rest before baby comes.

I really feel for you working right up until baby arrives.

janey 2 hours on the tube is exhausting for anybody, pregnant or not, I certainly would not want to do that any more. My commute is 10 minutes, so not that difficult to do really.

Morning all

Think this pregnancy is finally hitting me! Am achey and sore today... under-bump aches and back is aching too. And I'm totally hating work.

But just 5 full weeks to go here!

So glad I don't have the Tube to contend with - I honestly don't think I'd cope if I did. I ditched the walk in this morning with a full bus effort and was so glad I did.

I bet you don't look like a walrus Hazle - tho I agree that a bump line-up could be a bit harsh!

My mum has just offered to come up and stay in a hotel for a few days after DP goes back to work to 'do the housework and be a servant'. Am so shocked and so touched... DP seems prickly though.

Hi all, hope you had a lovely weekend. I've got three more weeks at work (including this week) but they're all going to be short weeks due to the overtime they owe me so I don't think I'm going to work Mondays any more. No handing over has happened here yet, their problem, I'm refusing to worry about it. 35 weeks today, where has the time gone?

Those last few weeks are going incredibly fast, aren't they? Quite different from the first 12 and 20.
I bet time will slow down again once we're overdue..

They really are going fast. It's weird how your sense of time can change so much - from the slowest ever, to the mad dash to have everything ready...

purple - am impressed at you working to 38 weeks, it's impressive. My first couple of weeks are effectively owed holiday, not maternity leave (soooo glad I saved it up and haven't really taken any, the cash will come in handy!) but will be very very glad to finish when I do. Feel like a bit of a lazy old pig compared to you lot finishing at 36 weeks!

Janey that was my plan, to take holiday at the start of my mat leave. But then I realised that I could save up accrued holiday for the end of mat leave (even from this holiday year) so I'd get a huge salary boost for the last few weeks of leave when i'll be down to SMP only and therefore totally skint.

Time is definitely going faster though. Am very glad about that - seems like only last week I was at the midwife for 28 week check, yet I'll be there again tomorrow for 32 week check - then I'm into fortnightly checks, albeit with GPs at 34 and 38.

Janey, given that you might be induced early I think you probably need to finish now otherwise you might not get chance to relax before the baby is here at all! They're tacking all of my annual leave on to the end of my maternity which I prefered the idea of (although lying on the sofa now instead of being at work sounds quite appealing too!)
I have an easy commute in my own car as well so no horrid tube journey to contend with, I do think I'm going to struggle due to my back but otherwise I think I would have been absolutely fine, I've got a very sedentary desk job!

I'm still hoping for no early arrivals, but bags are all packed and ready just in case. House is a tip (roof STILL leaking) though so an early arrival could be a nightmare from that point of view. Feel happy I've reached 34 weeks though, given the midwife said that was a big landmark (she explained that 30-34 weeks baby would almost certainly be fine, but after 34 weeks it would almost definitely be fine). Midwife this week, scan on Friday, and consultant next Thursday deciding everything, unless BP takes a turn for the worse in the meantime.

Purple - any idea on when the big day might be for you?

Well they wont let me go over my due date so I've got a maximum of 5 weeks to go which is a mixed blessing - my back says that isn't nearly soon enough but the state of the house disagrees entirely! Whether it's any sooner depends on if my bloods change and of course there's the added unknown of breech baby to take into account so I don't think I can really plan on anything much as it is all subject to change! I WILL get around to packing my hospital bag soon though, honestly I will
I cannot believe you haven't murdered the builders about the roof - you do know you could blame your hormones and get away with it?

I obviously don't envy your problems Janey and Purple, but I really envy that you won't go over and are quite likely to have a baby in your arms before I will. I'm fed up of being pregnant and I want the motherhood part to begin NOW! But I want to go straight from pregnant to baby without the birth bit in the middle.

I still think you'll beat me cavort. But yes, the idea of having a baby sooner rather than later is a nice one! (Roof permitting that is)

Got home and my lovely folks are here to help decorate. Anyway it seems my mum has got my nesting instinct for me - she's emptying and cleaning all my kitchen cupboards as I type!

Just found one of the cats asleep in the moses basket and the other one in the Bugaboo. We had a talk.

Oh hazle. Naughty cats. I hope they took your chat very seriously....

Well why spend money on one of those toys that make soothing sounds to send your baby to sleep when the cats are offering to do the job for you?

Haha Hazle I fear that is exactly what could happen in our house! When I was at my friends on Sunday we set up her baby gym play mat thingy & promptly had to shoo a cat away that found moving objects & a soft mat an irresistible combination! They look quite useful by the way as you can put baby down & it is supposed to be entertained but it is easily dismantled for storage.

Proof that having kids and dogs is pretty much the same thing:
www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/8705943.htm
www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3760213.htm

Hmmm...do they do a 6ft high crazed wolf proof model Hazle?

Lol - that's so funny! Hope the cats behave themselves when BabyNutt rocks up.

Agree with desire to know when (roughly) baby will arrive... To my mind 'somewhere in that 4-week period' is a bit vague, especially if you have to get induced anyway at the end of it.

Have a MW appt later on - pretty sure junior is still thinking laterally judging by the foot that spends a fair amount of time these days sticking out of the side of my belly - I can actually (gently) hold it now! Baby doesn't seem to mind, just quietly repositions after a time. Evidently, my mum 'knew' that I 'had a temper' because when she grabbed my foot I would stamp and kick really hard til she let go.

Btw loving the look of those playmat gym thingies. Oh, and when will someone tell me what on earth 'tummy time' is? At the moment it's up there with the mythical 'vitamin K' injection and afterbirth management elements as in - I've heard about them from MN and other places, but no-one's mentioned anything to me IRL. Don't get me wrong, I can figure it out - but would love to know why it's important and when you should do it etc.

Or do they expect every new mum to own a library of books so that she wakes up on the morning after giving birth as a maternal genius?

I have one of those puppy..I mean baby playpens. Something like this, adjustable height:
www.amazon.co.uk/TecTake-Baby-playpen-square-100x100/dp/B004LSV93O/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1369821089&sr=8-11&keywords=adjustable+playpen
Even though our dogs are gentle, they are still very big and I would not want to put baby down on the floor.

Tummy time is a ridiculously twee way of saying that it's good for babies' development if they spend some time (when awake) on their stomachs.