Graduated elderberries - 30+ and looking forward to DC1! (Thread 5)

[Alexandra6]

Hi everyone, hope you had good wkends, I'm looking forward to my holiday next Saturday (although won't be the usual sunbathing with wine flowing!), still can't wait just to relax especially as I'm feeling a bit rough and sick today! Work are piling on the pressure ahead of my hols but who cares, in one week I will be off for two weeks woop!

Just wondered when the really preggers people started to get lightning crotch/cervix pangs? So I can be prepared and not go into cervix panic!

juicy hopefully some more berry graduates will be along shortly.

Alex I'm sure they would have said something if it looked really serious.

We're trying to get an ID card for the baby. DH calls to check what we need to bring. Conversation goes like this:

• so, you need this and that.
• and that's it, nothing else? those are the only documents we need to bring, you're sure? (asks DH based on the previous experience with French administration)
• yes, yes, just those.

-what about that document? And don't you need also that other one?

• ah yes, well, those too..

Ah juicy, it's hard. Maybe join one of those groups as it is good to be surrounded by people going through the same thing at the same time... But please hang around with us too. We're a lovely mish mash of pregnancy/baby stages united by being ancient, and we'd miss you!

Alex - hope you're not worrying too much. Sure hazle is right - if they were really worried they wouldn't leave it four weeks either!

Just popped to doctor as my scar appears to be weeping on one side. Doctor thoroughly unconcerned and said that it looks like it's healed itself and the weeping stopping (only went as hospital were adamant that is there was any moistness in the wound at all I went straight to my GP) now, but she did say that apart from that one corner the wound was going to be invisible and she'd never seen such a good job. Felt bizarrely proud on behalf of my lovely consultant!! All the midwives in hospital kept saying how low and small the scar was too - seems I was lucky with my doctor!

Juicy I felt a bit behind when I joined but then our numbers where swelled by more lovely ladies and now I'm in the middle of the pack, so please don't leave us just yet.

Might be worth joining the March thread too though, I found the November one a bit too much to start with, a few too many horror stories and people fretting about every tiny twinge which made me a bit worried about what was happening with me. Also so many of them are on child number 2/3/4 so I felt a bit out of it. Seems to be much calmer on their now though so I loiter their too. Sorry, that sounds a bit doom and gloom when I didn't mean it too really hope the March thread is a good one.

I'd love to have a bigger bump juicy! I'm never satisfied It's definitely growing though, I had to give in and take my belly piercing out and it was getting sore.

Glad your scar is ok Janey, I know exactly what you mean, I had an op about 6 years ago which left me with a 5 inch scar on my neck just above my collarbone, everyone was thrilled about how well my consultant had done and how neat it is. I felt like giving him a big hug

Hazel that sounds about right for those sort of departments, don't know their ar$ehole from their elbow most of the time.

Hazle did you say you are using a wrap sling? Are you nursing in it or just using for carrying? I have got a Boba wrap, which I intend to hopefully use for nursing when out and about once I can walk with my knees together, but when I mentioned this to the first Midwife who came round (was on Sunday so not my normal one and was quite frankly a bit sour-faced and moaned the whole time about missing the tennis,) she looked horrified and said I should't do it. I thought nursing on-the-go was one of the big plus points of stretchy wraps? They raved about them at antenatal which is why I got one.

What?! Why on earth shouldn't you do it! My DSIL always used to do it in her sling, which she has kindly passed onto me....

cavort have just used it for carrying so far. Can't imagine why you shouldn't nurse though. Sure the baby is a bit squeezed but as long as they manage to eat it should be fine, I would think.

I didn't ask her to elaborate and I really wish I had now, but I really can't see any problem either. I wonder if she meant not to do it until baby can support her own head which kind of makes sense? But I would still like to use it now except I would obviously sit down and support her head for feeding - it would just be good for privacy. She is feeding so much I can't see any other way I am going to be able to leave the house!

Trapped on the sofa under the hot little bodies of a baby and a cat, someone really ought to come and rescue me...or at least pass me the peanut M&Ms I can't reach.

I've eaten an embarrassing amount of peanut m&m's over the last few days. Perhaps they're the post natal version of fanta?!

Hmm interesting theory, I've pretty much gone off food apart from apples and peanut M&Ms, they must be part of some sort of essential food group

I must not be at the Peanut M&M's stage yet... I am currently in training on Rowntrees Randoms. I was hoping the sweet craving would pass postnatally but no sign of it yet and that's not even mentioning the amount of ice cream I am still troughing

I certain will stick around, the March thread even has some women who are suicidal at the prospect of their fourth kid. Condoms, anyone? Turds.

Found some very faint beige on the loo roll before. Bloody fed up

Juicy I had that too, I think a few of us did. Scary but was fine. Implantation bleeds can happen very late on. I was told at my 8 wk scan that I had an implantation bleed (subchorionic haematoma) waiting to happen, and it would either come out and scare the bejezus out of me or be re-absorbed. Tis very very very normal.

Well said Quod.

Juicy I had two bleeds before getting BFP and then two more at six and nine weeks, all unexplained. I know it's asking the impossible to say not to worry, but it really is very common.

juicy my MW was actually surprised that I'd not had bleeding when I went to my first appointment, so as the girls say it must be really common. I know it's impossible not to worry but at least try not to panic too much.

Also it is was only beige it could be nothing at all, if you're anything like me you will soon start to get the niagra falls of discharge, not fun or attractive but common I have been informed.

So how are the babies mummies? All good I hope!

Also, how did those of you with pooches introduce bubba to pooch and how are they getting on? I plan to leave the baby channel on at home for a few hours each day so pooch gets used to baby noises. I'm also going to set up the travel cot we will have downstairs a week or so before and take pooch walking with the pram to get her used to it before hand. My friend who is a vet nurse old me that after baby is born my OH should come home that night with something smelling of baby and leave it with the dog for her to get used to, then when we bring baby home she said I should go in first and make a fuss of the dog and OH should bring the baby in so she knows I've not replaced her. Sounds fair enough...although perhaps allowing for my dog to be far more intelligent than she is!

Yes a few friends had brown/pink/beige spotting and all fine fingers crossed for you juicy I remember well how anxious the first trimester is! I can see what you mean about the march thread! We're all different stages here as I'm only 20 weeks today (woop), hopefully we'll get some more newbies too

I guess dogs are different to cats as I love our cat but am just planning to bring the baby home and the cat will get used to it (and probably avoid it!) The cat's in a strop with us anyway as the weather is hot and we left her for a couple of weeks when we were away, so she's not being affectionate with us, she goes through phases. She's also changed her miaow sound, looks really scruffy and had a fight with another cat last night which DH had to stop. She's going off the rails!

Alex are you sure no-one swapped her for a different cat while you were away?

Quod - you've rumbled me! I've always hated Alex's crappy cat

Juicy - it is very common. Really really hoping all is ok with you. Thinking of you x

It's an imposter cat!!! Tried to force her to cuddle me last night and she was having none of it!

mother we didn't do anything special with the dogs, but they have been just fine. There were some questioning looks at first when the baby cried, now they sometimes come and sniff him a little, but otherwise the baby is mostly ignored by all pets.

One of the cats tries to make a point and sleep in baby's bed, bugaboo, basket, playgym etc, but luckily he does not try to do that while the baby is there as well.

Mother unless your dog is particularly difficult/possessive I don't think there is any need to do all that pre-baby dog training. We did absolutely nothing and ours has been great so far. We just make sure we are still giving him a fuss and he still gets his walks, food and treats and he seems quite happy so far with the new arrival (which has given me a nice excuse to add a photo of the dog with the baby ) He has been over and sniffed her a few times but otherwise seems quite disinterested. I'm sure this will change when she starts crawling after him and pulling his tail.

Half way Alex, you're on the home straight now.

Elodie slept from 12.30-7am last night. I put an alarm on at 4am and tried to feed her but she was flat out and not interested so I just left her. She is feeding a hell of a lot during the day but for nights like that I can definitely live with this arrangement, I just hope it continues!

I don't wake Victor either, even though some sources say that you should. He's producing massive amounts of dirty nappies, so I don't think he's hungry. Still doing evening cluster feeding, which is honestly quite exhausting. From about 5 o'clock, he eats lazily for a minute, then nods off, but wakes in about 30 seconds furiously rooting like he's never been fed. Eats for a minute..and like that for hours.
But besides that he seems to be a quite quiet and happy baby, so I shouldn't really complain too much.

cavort that is amazing! I'd heard a few hours was a "good night" for a baby, that's great to have a run like that, hope it continues for you!

I read an article on pregnancy and the trend for people to comment on baby bumps/weight and was thinking "god, people are so sensitive, I love it when people talk about my bump, I stick it out so people see it more!".

THEN I got to work and a colleague is saying I didn't eat enough for lunch yesterday, what exactly did I eat when I got home ("that's not enough" apparently) and she's saying I don't eat enough food and protein, and she wants me to be blooming etc. So now I totally get the article Also it's hit a nerve after the small head size thing in my scan, I'm really trying to eat enough and have lots of protein. Everyone else has been saying this weak how well I look after my holiday, really healthy and glowing - I don't mind those comments as much!

Anyway that's my pregnancy moan of the day Does anyone know if I can eat sushi from itsu for lunch by the way as fancy that today?

alex their website says not to eat salmon as that's not pre-frozen, but the rest should be fine.
www.itsu.com/contact/FAQs.htm#faq6

Pass on sushi but think I read that as long as it's pre frozen it's fine- and all prepacked sushi in the UK is (I think)

Impressed at the sleep reports! My friend popped roundwith her 6 week old yesterday wwho's got much cuter since last time I saw him!

Have been having a hard time with DP this week, and was amazed at how much better I felt after a nice long cuddle (he fell asleep on me). Pretty sure he kicked my hormones into gear as afterwards I was getting period pains again.

Now I know it's different when you can hand them back, but it was definitely what needed.

Off to procure tens machine soon from the baby café that's conveniently 15 mins walk away.