September mums-to-be - the bumps get bigger and we all get more excited!

[HettySunshine]

Here we are ladies. A shiny new thread for us all. Let the chatting continue!

I have done some baby-stuff sorting. I now have the whelping kit (thanks for that lovely term DBro) box in my bedroom, lots of wipes and bum cream, and a whole crate (you know, one of those fruit boxes from the supermarket) full of feeding/expressing stuff. I have enough absorbent bibs but only a tiny amount of first clothes - think the rompers and sleep suits must have all gone into circulation amongst friends.

Then I have a pile I call 'not immediate but up to 6 months' including cloth nappies, nappy pail, also short on clothes. Then a pile of 6-18 month (including what seem so tiny sized 'weaning tubs' and many many plastic full-body bibs), a small selection of toys and multiple sleeping bags. These might/might not stay in the spare room according to the redecorating scheme (as yet undecided) Going straight back to the loft are the boxes of 12 month plus clothes.

I am really surprised how stereotypically boyish the clothes we have are, though. And the toys and books are heavily tractor/vehicle based. I am going to have to get some good explanations ready that don't sound too right-on and wanky if it turns out we have a girl. She would/will wear the same stuff and some new, but so would a second boy.

frog, why on earth did you go running as soon as she called? I'd have explained nicely (once!) that we were shopping right now, but we could head over after we'd taken the shopping home. Next time tell her she can fecking well wait! Grr, making me feel grumpy on your behalf!

so today my boobs have started leaking!! really freaked me out as I didnt expect that to happen for a little while yet. ive always had fairly small boobs (B to C cup depending on the bra) and generally they havent grown much really. not been too sore so it really caught me by surprise.
hope u ladies are all enjoying the sun. x

Wasn't me mrs.... Was DP. Believe me I had my say, as I usually do about her in tesco. Unfortunately she is the stem of most of mine and dps arguments. He's just stupid and comes from a family who have to pin people down to times and specific arrangements. As soon as DP test to say how long wed be, she turned on the whole 'well I'm not sure it's worth coming if you're going to be that late' bullshit lark. At tht point id have said 'ok, never mind' but DP is FAR too nice.

Ps. I don't like snickers. Any double deckers available?

Not that I only moan about her in tesco, lol. I just re read that! I could moan about her anywhere!

I think if moan about her anywhere frog!
I have just had to remove my skirt whilst driving back from the peaks, could not stand the waistband digging in for a moment longer!!! Thank goodness I wasn't stopped on the way back...

frog I never got flutters/popping either, was a shame to miss that stage. Sorry about SIL, I'm lucky - DH is an only child and my sis is very similar to my DH (bit weird at times - but generally makes life easier)

She even wills my baby to be 'naughty, whingy, up all night' because she thinks that would be hilarious as hers are 'golden well behaved sleep all nighters'.
Ok. I know I know I need to move on.

Sympathies, Frog, my sisters are lovely but DP's sister is (aged 37) a gigantic baby herself. Fortunately he agrees so we just don't see her that much. At least you know DP puts a high value on family, even if they are bonkers! Means you know he'll be a good daddy

Wowsers you ladies really do move fast! Been catering all weekend, a wedding on sat and a christening today so I'm bushed now... Have come to the conclusion that 8 hours a day on my feet is no good anymore.

Have hit third trimester (yay!) but the tiredness has come with it (boo).

Have also asked to join FB - have we already had the discussion re mn nn and RL names??

Frog, I'll take your snickers for a double decker.

Re kicks, my mw says ten kicks or movements in twelve hours and she's happy. Did have a quiet couple of days so panicked a little but he came back with some force!

I hope you're all well ladies and looking forward to FB meeting you! Thanks for sorting Fl0!

I described myself as a whale to DH last night....his response: 'well I don't know about a whale cos they really are massive....but you do seem to be developing a bit of a blow hole' (in reference to my now cavernous belly button). LOL

frog she sounds delightful. I also have SiL issues, but mine is more discreet than that!

cheesestraw me too - 3rd trimester...wow...

The scan was fine - one baby at 1lb15 and one at 2lb5, but the sonographer thinks the 'little' one is bigger, she just struggled to do the measurements, and she's only 1-2oz off average anyway. The 4d, predictably, freaked me out. I didn't think I'd like it, and I didn't, but I wanted to check their growth and measurements and position so got what I wanted

Omg you girls have had a busy weekend of chatting! I don't think I'm even going to try and catch up!

frog your SIL sounds like a nightmare and your DP needs a slap for pandering to her!

Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend? I went with some girlfriends on our annual "lets pretend to be posh and go to the polo" day out . Was lovely to get all dressed up for the day. Was going to treat myself to a small glass of champagne but 3 sips later I decided I didn't like the taste and went to get myself a Fanta!

Yesterday did some shopping and picked up a few baby bits - we now have a big pack of size 1 and two big packs of size 2 nappies (pampers on 3 for 2 in boots if anyone's interested). Also stocked up on baby wipes and got another pair of the H&m super comfy skinny over bump jeans.

Ooh, I also picked up a nursing bra in Debenhams - it's their own range and was only £22, but omg it's soooooo comfy!! It's non wired which I thought I'd hate but I don't, and also has moulded cups which I thought would be a bf nightmare but they're really soft and fold down easily. I might just live in it along with the whole family it's that big

Oh and fl0b0t thanks v much for the 7.40am lemon cheesecake craving

Oh frog I feel your pain. One of my SILs is a major pain in the backside. Fortunately she lives over 100 miles away; unfortunately she's due her second two weeks before me. One more piece of "advice" and I think I'll explode! Yours does sound particularly tiresome though. My only advice would be never to bitch about her to your DH. I make it a strict rule to rage about the annoying SIL only in my head or to my best friend. I saw my mother rage against my father's sisters and it just causes problems.

Rake you are freaking me out with your organisation! I need to quell the anxiety by just buying some baby stuff. Merrily pretending that I'm going to just carry on being pregnant and there isn't an end point is not working!

Kitten I'm super jealous of your fancy weekend. It sounds wonderful. I think I've become surgically attached to leggings. A trip to the supermarket (once in the last month and I had to observe from the gallery!) counts as going "out" in my unable to walk condition. Do you bet on polo? Is it like the races?

Nope no betting like at the races (although I'm sure you could if you we're desperate to). Mostly it consists of sitting in the sunshine bitching about other people's outfits people watching, sipping champagne/orange Fanta and ogling fit polo players looking all handsome on horses

Sorry you're in so much pain, I had no idea it was that bad for you - sounds awful Has the cabin fever set in yet or are you managing even short trips anywhere just to get out?

Oh kitten tht sounds every bit like my kind of day! The sitting around bitching about outfits and lounging in the sun is very me.... But with the aded bonus of men on horses!!
ION I suggested to DP that we make a list of things wed like to do before we become parents..... Things we haven't done before or things we might not get chance to do very often anymore..... Suggestions welcome, there's notice on our list so far!

Oh I like "discussing" other people's outfits! Although maybe less so now that my own wardrobe choices have shrunk so dramatically. My friend from primary school is a groom for polo teams. She has this incredibly glamourous, Jilly Cooperesque lifestyle including living in Argentina and Florida for lots of the time and cavorting with incredibly handsome (and rich!) polo players. Plus she has biceps and buns of steel! Clearly she joined a different queue on careers advice day!

I am extremely cabin feverish. Not being able to drive is a major disaster for me. The nearest shop is 13 miles away and the nearest neighbour is 2 1/2. Added to which I can't do any gardening (which I love) or any cleaning (which I dislike) so I'm not even able to crack on and sort stuff out which my nesting instinct is screaming at me to do. It's very, very frustrating. Weirdly though, still really like being pregnant.

Thank God for the internet is all I can say!

Morning all!

Jammy the 'too Catholic' comment made me laugh, as did Frog's suggestion that she saved up all her irritations about SIL to vent in Tesco. In fact, I am still chuckling at that idea.

My weekend was spent in two different b&Q's and a Homebase. What fun. And all we wanted were some bloody vanity units for the bathroom.

I'm feeling a bit enormous and disgusting at present - have been too tired/busy to eat properly for the last few weeks so am sure have put on masses of weight. And to make things worse, my sister, who is due the same time as me, has only put on 7lbs (at 28+4). Hurrumph. AND I've suddenly started to get really bad spots again - my skin really cleared up at the beginning but is definitely going back to its old ways.

And yes to the snoring! Have been booted into the spare room because it's so bad apparently. Are those nose strips worth a try?

In good news, had the GTT test and 28 week bloods and all is normal, which is reassuring.

Has anyone found any nice black trousers? I'm looking for over-bump, cotton (a bit of stretch would be ok, but not jersey fabric), straight/slim leg, in a long leg length. They don't seem to exist anywhere... I'm prepared to pay quite a lot if I can find some.

Just wondering- has anyone used a TENS machine before? What does it feel like? I'm really averse to anything that sends electricity through my body, not for any reason, I just really don't like the sensation (when there is one).

I keep looking at my toes and I am so aware that they need painting, and feel so frustrated at the fact there is no way in hell I can reach them!!! I fell up the stairs in the supermarket car park on Saturday (thankfully there was no bump to bump) and absolutely shattered one of my toe nails on one of the steps. Funnily enough, every person within a mile radius was like OMG preggo falling nooooooo!!! as DH casually strolled off blissfully unaware on his phone. I think he felt pretty guilty about it though.

I've woken up two mornings in a row sleeping on my tummy! Such a strange feeling as I somehow managed to get comfy on it- almost like I was balancing on the only bit where there is no baby, right underneath my boobs. Still made me worry though, and bean is being very quiet today.

frog your SIL sounds like a royal pain. You're obviously a better person than me cause I could never have tolerated her snidey behaviour.

Phew, that took a while catching up on all the news after a week in France. We had a lovely time wandering around, eating LOTS of ice cream, swimming and sleeping in parks. Discovered a whole world of hard & pastuarised French cheeses to make up for missing out on my favourite chevre.

flo have asked to join fb group please!

I've loved reading all your name suggestions. We'd picked two lovely girls names Philippa Daphne or Edith Daphne which I'm gutted we can't use for our little boy! Particularly as Daphne was dp's mum's name who died when he was little. Strangely Daphne is also my mum's name ... (even more strangely, our dad's have the same name ...) We've sort of decided on Hayden or possibly Hugo and George as a middle name after my amazing grandfather. I do wobble about Hayden being a bit close to the Jayden/Kayden clan which I hate, but it is actually an old English name and not used that often.

On the book front, I was given Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth which is AMAZING! I absolutely recommend it. It was first written in the 1980s when American childbirth was very doctor/medic/intervention led, and some of it is a little out of date. But her understanding of the birth process and how medication, medical interventions, stress, discomfort, unpleasant doctors/midwives, nutrition, etc all influence the labour process is amazing and revelatory (is that a word?). Anyway, after reading it and previously being absolutely against a home birth I'm actually going to contact the local home birth support group and find out about it - I would LOVE to be at home! ... also, she talks a lot about how they have achieved such low percentages of tears and epistomy's, which can't be a bad thing.

I need to find a way to stop weighing myself twice a week ... I'm sure it isn't helpful

Joskar, 'discussing' sounded so much better than bitching. Clearly kitten and I are not as diplomatic about our pastimes!
Mooster (I love that my fone wants to call you moister!) thinking about it DP and I often argue in tesco about literally anything. We are not good at amicable shopping!!

Moister... how lovely. Maybe I should change my mn name...

I seem to be quite snappy at the moment so frog I don't think I will have been quite so diplomatic if my SIL was such a pain!

I had a scan to see if my placenta has moved today andIt has! it's still low lying but has moved to its not right over my cervix now. I have to have another scan at 32 weeks so hopefully it will have moved so it is no longer low lying. It was lovely to see baby moving around so much too.

I went to my sisters this weekend and my nephews (one by each sister) were fascinated by my bump - they are both 3 years old. One asked if I had babies in my boobs as they have grown so much! I love my nephews to bits but they are exhausting - I don't know how those with small children cope when you're pregnant but hats off to you!

Joskar - me? organised??? you're joking right?!?! I have moved things into very rough categories that's all... I am humbled by some of the pics on our FB group of people who have the energy/time to actually decorate a room and put purpose-bought baby furniture in there with laundered clothes and muslins (no, phone, not laundered Muslims, don't be silly)

Was awake in the middle of the night wondering where the many fitted jersey sheets and cellular blanket cot bedding is (it didn't turn up on my first pass of the boxes) and where the 'family heirloom cot quilt' is - made by my mum for my brother. I think I can just about see in my mind's eye where I last had it, but can't mentally zoom out to put my finger on precisely where that picture is.

Very kicky baby today. Now thinking about footballer names...

You deserve a medal for being diplomatic with a SIL like that.

We've spent the afternoon at the hospital. Since 9pm last night I'd had two kicks. Probably should have gone in earlier but kept waiting, just in case. Broke down in tears at work and knew it was time to ring DH and go in. Got hooked up to the monitor, little monkeys heartbeat was pounding away beautifully. The midwife was fantastic and reassuring. Think I'd over done it at the weekend!