September 2013 - Definitely in the third trimester now!

[badguider]

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

I used grobags almost from day 1 withh near 9lb DDS as it meant not having to put him back into cool sheets after a feed. I think the weight limit is normally round 8.5lb. You then don't have to faff around with sheets and blankets andnfeet to foot and all that.

Shoot! Lots of swaddle/ sleep bag chat here so I've cross posted with fb (Again).

Runningbear I dreamt last night that DH was going to work in China and was just going to come home a couple of times a week! It must be prime time for emotional dreams!

To 'commute home' that should say.

Fl0 I managed to miss the car crash news somehow! Hope all is ok now and that the insurance works out - if he wasn't insured (which I think I read), be warned that a lot of insurance companies will count the claim is yours which effects your no claims bonus even if it's the fault of the uninsured driver - that alone might make it worth considering his offer - or are you getting him to pay up for your choice of garage?

jammy Your friend sounds like she's being an ass (or overcome by pregnancy hormones) - whether you work or not at any time in life is up to you and nobodies business but yours, she's probably just jelous. I've got lots of friends that don't want to go back to work now they've had children and I'll be honest, I'm mildly jelous, but I love my career, I love where we live and to stay here we will need to both work, so I know it wouldn't be right for me - however if I really didn't want to work, we could sell up, move somewhere cheaper and I could stay at home - she's probably in the same position, but feels trapped by it, hopefully once both babies have arrived it'll be forgotton.

Ready - I feel the same about kicks, I'm getting lots up under my ribs and they make me feel sick - DH is actually getting worried that I won't like being a mum as I keep wincing with the kicks

I'm working from home today and thought that might be nice, but the heat is making me feel sick :( I hope the hospital isn't too hot - off to a 90min pregnance physio class they make you do before they see you properly!

Thanks purple. Insurance company have it covered. As we called police and have his details they will be persuing him for costs AFAIK. Plus our no claims is protected so that won't be harmed either thankfully.

I'm busy stressing at people on the internet trying to sell me things I don't want or need (but not the things I do!)....

Got 31wk mw appt later (but must find notes first... in safe place). Hot and bothered (but at least working from home today).

Trying out my passive post-baby pants. 2 dress sizes up and the ones that (pre preg) would go up and over your bellybutton ("full"). Husband not impressed, esp as I panic bought them and the only colour they had was... peach! yum!

thanks for your thoughts guys. I told dh bout it straight away, it isn't the first time I've had that kind of dream, but he was lovely and came and gave me a long cuddle and much reassurance. it is interesting though, clearly plays out our underlying insecurities and vulnerabilities at the moment. I've never had dreams like this before, but strangely dh used to have them when we lived out in Aus so knows how dreadful they can leave you feeling.

31 week appointment went well today. Bump is a little big, but within the normal ranges. Everything else seems fine. Apparently I had some protein/white blood cells or something in my last wee test, which could indicate an infection or something, but all clear today. Checking back through my diary I noted that the day after my last mw appointment I was ill all day! Feeling pleased to be making notes about how I'm feeling. Clearly what ever I had has passed.

I'm finding sitting at a desk so uncomfortable at the moment, feels like I'm squashing the bump all the time. Has anyone found a comfortable way to sit? I'm half lying down ... it isn't really working. Also, sitting in a chair seems to make my feet swell up. Sigh, how many weeks more of this!?

re. desk sitting - i've got the exercise ball out and am going to try blowing it up to sit on later this week. Lots of the women at my old work used that and i believe it can be quite good so long as the ball is big enough so that your pelvis is higher than your knees (that's important apparently)..

Running bear - I had the DH leaving dream a couple of months ago, was horrible :(

I don't have an exercise ball here. Might have to get DD's too-big-spacehopper out and give that a try!

Lots of great questions from people - glad I am not the only one who has been thinking about sheets and growbags! and great we have such a great group wherewe can tap into all this experience.

I have been very emotional lately - had a massive argument with my sister yesterday which left me shaking! then I got even more upset as baby wasn't moving for quite a while afterwards - once I'd calmed down she started kicking again. Have made up with my sister now - phew!

I went to Home Bargains yesterday and got lots of baby things - I have really struggled to get decent cheap muslin clothes but got a 5 pack for £3.99

Charl I completely agree- muslin squares are far too expensive for what they are!

I'm in Tameside too, i had my first there and the care was excellent. I think the maternity part is fine, its the other areas which have been in the headlines. Im off there tonight, theres a home birth session on from 7-8pm...hoping to persuade DH that its the way forward.

Has anyone else thought that as we are such a large group, statistically some of us will have early babies! Ive been on the due in August thread and a few have had theres already!

My best friend and sister in law both had babies at 29 and 32 weeks. One was a first child and one was her 5th! It makes you think about being more prepared!!

Had a letter today with results of 28 wk bloods, apparantly iron is at 103?? I'm guessing this is 10.3? I'm also guessing this means some sort of medication coming my way? I'm not stressing but would really like to have been low risk and reckon this might mean I'm not?!

What would I do with out you lot! I bought an exercise ball last week and had totally forgotten about it. think I've just given myself a hernia inflating it though.

MrsMango can you still get space hoppers!? I recommend the ball ... after 5 minutes of sitting on it, it is super comfy. I bought mine from Decathlon. Its green

Went to me apt and she's telling me to take 3/4 iron tabs a day. That's some mean constipation coming my way
Also my boy had had a ridiculous growth spurt and has gone from being smack in the 10th centile to waaaay above the 90th! In 3 weeks.
Also had my wc jab....altho had to remind mw I hadn't had it. Didnt feel a thing so hoping I don't react badly!

my exercise ball is green too - thought about sitting on it now whilst at computer but it gets sticky from the heat

frog my 28 w bloods sheet says 110-150 is the "reference range" so you are not far off. If you take the supplements and no other factors are higher risk you should be able to insist on still being considered low risk. It's mainly about the effect on the mother should you have a large mount of blood loss during birth. If you are over 110, you are evidently producing enough haemoglobin to cope with blood loss and recover quicker. Hope I've explained that right!! Mine was 115 at 28w which is quite a drop from February when I had 129. But I have been taking iron as well as preg vits, just forgot for a couple of weeks before the blood tests ... oops

oh forgot to say - I've had a bit of an explaination/mind settling bit of advice on why my bump is staying fairly small which has put my mind at rest!

I've had a retroverted uterus for years and always thought it moved forwards to the same place as everyone else when you get pregnant - apparently not, according to physio, there's a 50/50 split of people they see with PGP and lower back issues that have normal/large bumps, or much smaller than average bumps with a known retroverted uterus from before - so they do obviously move forward during pregnancy, but have a tendancy to stay as far back as possible which puts pressure on your spine and pushes up all your internals a lot more causing "rib flare" - it absolutely aligns to whats happened to me - I've gone from a 32 to a 36 in bras, with little cup change, have mild PGP but fairly severe lower back pain and baby's foot keeps geting stuck just under my rib which is agony!

It would be interesting to seeif anyone else on here knows they had a retroverted uterus before and feels they are smaller in the bump than everyone else?

I have all your symptoms purple.... But not a small bump! :-/ hmmm!

My iron levels haven't dropped. Had anaemia in my late teens though, so I'm a bit funny about keeping my intake up.

Running, that gym ball looks fab, and I think it will be big enough for me to sit on without pushing my knees up to my ears, thank you. FYI decathlon also sell space hoppers!

fl0 your peach pants sound utterly lovely. Also, the idea of passive pants made me snort squash all over my keyboard.

I've been sitting on a big exercise ball at work (i.e. bigger than they would usually recommend for my height: a 75cm one and I'm 5'6". But otherwise my hips aren't higher than my knees) and it helps a bit. I have to switch between it and the chair, but better than nothing. In fact, I have been cursing myself for leaving it in work as could do with it sitting at my desk at home. I got a Birth-ease birth ball from ebay for about £7 inc postage.

frog prune juice and kiwi fruit are the answer to constipation (I know I keep on about prune juice but it has magical properties, I tell you).

Just had my 34 week MW appt and all is good, which is reassuring. Baby is head down but with her back to the right, apparently they can still change sides lots though, including in labour. Have to see MW or consultant every 2 weeks now... all beginning to feel a bit too real!

Moonster let me tell you, these are seriously PASSIVE. :-S Ooops!
I've also been recommended a 75cm ball as I have a 55 and it's tiny (so knees higher than pelvis) and not al that comfy. Space hoper sounds much better!

I want a ball!! I've also bought hideous pants. In a fetching 'nude' shade of pale brown I bought a size bigger as my perfect and still slightly acceptable as normal pants tesco shorts are becoming small. But when I got the hideous brown numbers home, even they are too tight. The leg holes were too small and looked like they were cutting cheese on my clearly fat thighs.

Yeah, so you were right, there's loads of posts to go through and it's just too hot. Sooooo:

Jennimoo, have pm'd you re FB group.

What I really need to know is stuff like how much of everything do I need to see me through the first few weeks? I have bought a couple of vests and jersey trousers in 0-3 but that is my sum total so far. And what size? I've no idea yet how big baby is but I'm the size of a whale. Should I hold off buying any more til my proper growth scan?

What godsends should I take in my hospital bag?

And please will someone lie and tell me all the work I'm having done in my flat will be done by mid August?!

frog she did say the other 50% people get the symptoms from hormones etc too - just that I shouldn't beat myself up or belittle my pain just because bump is small :) without searching back, I can't remember, did you say you'd seen someone about PGP?