September 2013 - Definitely in the third trimester now!

[badguider]

New thread... will try to find the stats thread and link...

fl0 yy to the wet pant issues, and this weather is definitely not helping matters!

And lol @ the convo with your friend (my pg sil also loves the name ralph - I'm willing to bet your friend read Forever as a teenager )

Hope everyone's ok this morning - I had six hours of unbroken sleep last night - feel like a new woman!

Hi all, yip after a night of panicking about why the nurse wanted to speak to me its because my iron levels are low. They are at 10.9? What's everyone elses? She said if I didnt want to take the tablets then I could wait and get retested at my 31 week appointment (29 weeks tomorrow).

I always had dodgy iron levels as a kid, and was anemic through most of my teenage years, but recently Ive been doing much better.

Also what can I eat, I know red meat is good but I normally like my steaks rare, it seems a sin to overcook it! Spinach is gross cooked, any suggestions?

High iron foods include squash, seeds and nuts, beans and pulses and.... wait for it.... dark chocolate! Hurrah!

emma spinnach leaves are nice in salad or easily hidden in curry! You can wilt a lot of spinnach down into a curry and barely notice it's there!

kitten glad I'm not the only one a bit... erm... wet! Gross!

Emma, I wasn't keen to take iron tablets as I'd heard they upset your digestive system. I've been taking spa tone, they come in sachets in liquid form. They are easy to digests and easily absorbed. Having 32 week bloods done tomorrow, will report back if they've been successful.

Has anyone found comfortable shorts? Can't find any online, have tried H&M, New Look, Mothercare. Don't want them to be bum hugging!! New look had nice ones but nothing in stock.

Spinach & ricotta pizza...yum! Also good in curry's, or just used instead of lettuce in sandwiches, salads etc (spinach, avocado & pine nut salad with balsamic vinaigrette...also yum!).

I'm vegetarian so have been lucky not to be pulled up on the iron front so far, have been taking pregnacare throughout tho...only had my 28 week bloods done on Friday so I guess I could still get the call!

flip I've got some v.comfy denim shorts from jojo maman bebe...they're mid thigh length so not too short!

I think I read somewhere that prune juice is good for iron? (I know I am in a minority, but I love prune juice).

Thanks for the link Fl0bot, I may invest. Am wearing a beautiful pair of non-maternity cropped/harem type track suit bottoms today and looking particularly beautiful. They highlight the puffy ankles in a very flattering way.

YY to feeling, ahem, damp. Delightful.

kitten I KNEW I had a good reason for my feelings towards the name Ralph. Forever! I wonde if Judy Blume will still be a thing when our LO's get to that age?

Brilliant, thanks ready!

Forever was my first reaction to Ralph!? Apparently they are making a film of Are you there God? Its me Margaret ... can't wait till it comes out. Cinema's will be full of 30 something women on their own, can't see DH coming along to that one.

On the iron front, I go with Feroglobin liquid iron as it is much easier on the stomach and I haven't had any constipation issues with it, and spinach with everything. Get baby leaf spinach in the salad isle and use it like lettuce for salads. Also it is really nice wilted gently with eggs, or in pasta/risotto/gnocchi sauces. You can chuck a whole bag in and it wilts to practically nothing, so doesn't taste too strong if you aren't a fan of the flavour of it cooked. I'm pretty much veggie too so am interested to know what my iron levels are like.

Yup Flo that is the dress. When I bought mine I was protected/herded by my lovely teenage cousin otherwise I probably wouldn't have gone in at all

flip I bought some of these linen shorts www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313.TR8.TRC0.Xnext+maternity+linen+short.TRS0&_nkw=next+maternity+linen+shorts&_sacat=0&_from=R40 I got mine from ebay, and I can't see on them on the next website. They are really comfy and light, and surprisingly flattering!

Amusing moment yesterday; went to buy yet another bra. Asked the lady what maternity bra's they had and she replied 'have you had your baby yet'!? WTF I'm 7 months pregnant wearing what I thought was quite obvious maternity clothes. Was in shock, just kinda pointed to the bump and went, urm no still pregnant ...

I do a spinach, chorizo & chickpea stew which is both tasty and healthy so worth a shot.
Liking the idea of films of judy blume books - surprised they haven't been filmed already.

Some of those spinach suggestions sound good. I must give it a try. I had been taking my prenecare religiouly but there mustnt be enough iron in it.

To be honest I don feel absolutly knackered today and I slept alsot yesterday! Maybe the level is starting to affect me.

Ha we should do a thread trip to the cinema to see Are you there God... can't believe they're making a film!

Sorry fl0, absolutely nothing against the name Ralph, it's a perfectly nice name - just forever ruined if you've read that book! As I told my SIL, if you haven't read it (she hasn't) then it doesn't matter

Ooh whoever makes the spinach & chorizo stew, care to share the recipe? Sounds amazing!

Can I ask a silly question... Can anyone search for and ask to join our FB group? Do you think we have 'randoms' on there? As we are sharing quite a lot of stuff do you think there's a way to make sure, ie needing everyone's mumsnet name to gain access or something.

Sorry Priscilla from Nebraska if we've been chatting for a while, you just don't sound like anyone on this thread...

Haha, it's not actually very high up our names list, I just heard it and went "ooh I like that". Ralph Wiggins though...... Best quote? "Ralph: I cheated wrong. I copied the Lisa name and used the Ralph answers." :-D

Shortwise (not suitable for work though) I've been wearing a pair of M&S from last year (non maternity obv). A bit like this www.marksandspencer.com/Pure-Linen-Drawstring-Turn-Shorts/dp/B00BBOEYTC?ie=UTF8&ref=sr_1_14&nodeId=2565563031&sr=1-14&qid=1373382194 V comfy!

Don't know about the fb group but was wondering the same thing!

Got my second nose bleed today! Anyone else? I assume its something to do with the heat, but don't usually get them.

yup was also just wondering who Priscilla and Brooke were, and how they appeared on the fb group, i thought it was invite only?

Who was the admin for fb?

Right...quick scan of posts and this is my input...
Yes to the dampness, I was worried I needed tena already.
I've also noticed others on the fb page and wondered who they are on the thread (suspicious face)
Haven't packed my bag yet but might have to think about it soon. Am 30 weeks on fri.
Saw some mat shorts in asda today but they looked like normal linen shorts with a wide waistband, not sure they're up to much.
Am awaiting iron level results although its been over a week ago I'm sure they'll say I need tablets. Went for an amazing steak last night so that's my iron contribution for this week! I hate spinach Willing to try the dark chocolate business though.
Am going for my 'nosey around' at the hosp later. A tenner says I cry.

jenni I was thinking exactly the same about FB - when Brooke asked me what marmite was I thought she was taking the michael
I don't think there is a way it can be monitored though.

Surely the admin can ask people for MN name before accepting their request to join? There's a few people who aren't on the spreadsheet but I expect most are legit.

I've written a very British post, basically politely asking them how they found us and mentioning that we all 'met' online... We shall see what's occurin'...

Don't forget that it's no good just eating spinach, red meat etc or just taking iron tablets you need to have lots of Vit C too otherwise you don't absorb the iron.

I reckon that the group must come up if you search or something, but I would prefer we keep the group to just us. I'm happy to be an admin and help to filter if that helps. I could also try to cross reference to the spreadsheet and then ask those not on there for their names to add on...

But happy to be outvoted if everyone else doesn't mind the randoms, I might just take off any personal info...