February 2014 - the one where we start to find out if we're team pink or blue!

[jazzcat28]

So I used the magic 1000th post in the last thread... ooops

Shropshire you are amazing! Well done that must have taken all day!

Have finally caught up with the thread at last but it took an age!

Lovely to hear about all the scans- we have ours tomorrow and defo going to find out sex if we can!

Been having an achey tummy too and having done 'flutterings' which I think might be the baby but it's just as likely to be wind!

Celeb bump grumble: why do they all look so glam and neat? That bloody Cowell woman looks amazing...I'm twice her size! Kate Winslet looks a bit more normal I suppose.....

Anyhoo-good luck with all the scans coming up

Kate Winslet looks amazing here www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2415291/Kate-Winslet-shows-pregnancy-curves-Toronto-International-Film-Festival-debut-Labor-Day.html I guess that's what having a stylist does for you!

I'm kind of disappointed by the midwife contact (or lack thereof) in my area.
Yesterday I left a message on my midwife team's message service (which is the only contact you get unless it's urgent, in which case I think you ring maternity triage) about a vaguely brown discharge that I was obviously worried about.
Nobody's got back to me at all.
Short of attempting to see my doctor everytime I have a question or worry, what exactly am I meant to do? Appointments with the mw are so far apart and so short I don't know how I'm meant to get questions answered.

The irritating thing is, the definitive answer to any worry online seems to be 'just ask your midwife!'. Which is difficult when you have an anonymous team with no direct number.

Other than that - is anyone else finding 20+ weeks left (22 for me) a hugely long time to contemplate? It feels like forever! I only work part time from home, so it can get pretty dragg-y.

Yowers well done Shrops!

Somany I am completely with you on spending that much on a pram, though feel a bit less weird about it if we can get a chunk of the money back by selling it.

Having researched the stokke a bit more it looks totally inappropriate for us so I'm back to haven't a clue what I want :)

Julietee tbh I have found the GPs so much more helpful than the midwives. I don't even know who my midwife is now because I've met 4 different ones and the only phone number I have is for one who is now on secondment in a completely different area!
The last one I met wrote 'all well' in my notes even though I'd just told her I was still puking and on meds

So in short - if you are really worried I would either make an appointment with your GP (if you have a sympathetic one) or call the EPU at your hospital.

Oh and 20 weeks does feel like forever, it's not so much that the time's dragging for me but that I just want to feel normal again!! :)

I actually think it'll go ever so quickly now. Christmas always comes round very quickly after DS's birthday at the end of August, and after Christmas it's only a matter of weeks

Although January does always tend to drag.....

Somanychanges Nowt wrong with second hand. We are currently kitting our new home out as we have no furniture and it is all coming second hand either through friends and off ebay and those dungaree's i mentioned upthread charity shop though they did still have label on and at £1.50 I wasn't going to turn them down :)

H&M tights are officially on my shit list

somany I am bargain/second hand hunting for dc2 and my house. Unfortunately I live round the corner from an indoor carboot/market which is open 3 days a week... all the days I don't work so due to the amount of "bargains" I have picked up my house is rammed and I am skint I haven't actually bought anything for baby yet, I will wait until my scan. Going to stay team yellow (I think) but need a sling and a buggy board and maybe some chest of drawers.

Had a v boring 16w mw appointment this afternoon (late - my fault!) nowt interesting other than I apparently had unidentified growths in my urine at my 12week scan/check. WTF??? They are checking my wee again but doubt anything will come of it!

Are there any medically/sciencey types on this thread? I am trying to work out if I am O neg and ds is O neg is dh? Will dc2 be O neg?

Phew been catching up after a hectic few days at work with open evening last night. I'm a total zombie today!

Thanks for updating the stats thread Shropshire! Awww not many team pinks yet.

My gps have annoyed me as I rang yesterday for a phone appointment and they haven't called me yesterday or today grrrr! Also I tried to book nhs antenatal classes today to find out the place I need to call is only open 3 days a week between 9 and 1!

Some of my kids have asked if I'm preggers now and are being very nice and excited about it

Managed to bag a bundle of baby clothes on eBay today woo hoo. I agree with the bargain love. Luckily my mum had offered to get our pram otherwise I would be going second hand (and still would if we wanted a crazy expensive one).

The aldi baby event starts today so I'm gonna drag myself off the sofa and go and have a look. Gosh how times have changed that I am now excited about baby wipes on offer in aldi!

Well done Shrops. Round of applause and a glass of grape juice for you
Yay go team blue!

Hello again,
Well today I got in touch with a friend who's a childminder as I'd have loved to have her as my childminder once I go back to work. But she's not available, so she directed me to someone else. Then I started thinking logistics and now I'm worried about how it all works! I've worked out that if I go back to work after 6 months my take home pay after childcare will be less than SMP!
I'm sure you all have your own money concerns but wondered if any experienced parents had any pearls of wisdom as to the best ways to cope with work/ childcare??
Sorry to raise this boring issue - feel free to ignore me!
On the plus side, after feeling an emotional mess yesterday on my day off, and dreading being busy all day today I found being busy really helpful. I had a great day and am even looking forward to tomorrow!

I am in a really grumpy place today. Another night of disrupted sleep, a totally unproductive and frustrating day at work, and a really uncomfortable journey home. I have rib pain pretty much 24/7 now. my poor DH was 7 minutes late to pick me up so I snapped his head off and then cried when I got home. All in all a little bit pathetic!

Anyway, well done shrops on updating the list, I'm well impressed!

jazz I sent my sister your link to the tigger outfit and she sent me a photo straight back of my new nephew on an almost identical outfit! so so cute.

I'm crashing out for the rest of the day now. working from home tomorrow so I get a lie in, and can bake a cake for my SIL birthday.

oooh, and in other news, my bump has finally popped out! It's a very recognisable baby bump now

Love hearing the scan and team news!

ch1134 - have you thought about childcare vouchers, if your employer offers them? Your partner can also claim them if his employer is part of a scheme. Your employer takes an amount off your earnings and puts it into a separate childcare account and you don't pay tax on it. It doesn't solve the world but does make childcare a little cheaper as you're not paying quite as much tax on your salary.

My DD goes to a wonderful childminder, I know they're all different but if you find the right one I think it's a great option, especially while they're still babies.

Also, check how the childminder charges for holidays, mine charges half rate if she takes a holiday, or half rate if I take a holiday, but doesn't work on bank holidays so I don't pay for them. I also pay a little extra for meals and soft play activities etc on top of the standard rate so check about the one you're interested in to get a proper idea on final price!

The other thing to remember if you're struggling to break even is that it's not forever - they get 15 hours childcare in term time when they're 3 and then school will take over. My DD will get her free hours in Jan which will be helpful, before I have to pay for childcare for this new baby!

Oh, my boss sent me an email today about options for my maternity cover and included an picture of Ocotomom showing her tummy - while she was ready to pop with her babies. Hopefully I will never get that big, carrying 8 babies in one go must be terrifying!

Shropshire thanks for updating the stats but ahem, you have made me team blue (I want to do a crying face but MN doesn't have one) please don't wish another boy on me.

My dates have changed too I am now due on 19th but I cannot seem to copy and paste it from my phone.

I love finding little bargains in charity shops. I remember when I was a teenager though I would want to drop dead if my mum took me in a charity shop haha! I think I have seen the Icandy I might get. But it means travelling quite far for a pick up. My husband said we could make a day out of it with the kids.

How long is the Aldi event on for anyone know?

ch1134 I get child-care tax credits (and child tax credits - confusing!) paid directly to me as our income is fairly low. If you qualify for tax credits they pay up to 75% of your childcare costs. Most of my friends do the childcare vouchers through their employers.

If you are only receiving smp and dp/dh isn't on a particularly high wage (ie under £25k-ish) its always worth applying for child tax credits. They base it on last years income for which you then usually get awarded nothing but one that "award" has come through you phone up with change of circumstances and then they recalculate it.

My ds goes to a wonderful childminder - he loves her and her family to bits. He asks to go there EVERY day (but goes 2-3 times a week). I looked at nurseries and interviewed a few cm's and this one just felt right. I pay £40 a day or £5 per hour and she is VERY flexible. I don't pay anything if she is away but I pay normal rate if I am away (her holidays work out quite nicely though!). I don't pay any extra for meals and outings and she spoils him rotten taking him to the horrifically expensive farm, out for lunch, soft play, etc...

Thanks shropshire, have just added myself to the stats too

Does anyone else find their bump growing in fits and starts? Either that or I'm eating too much cake...

Somany - I think the Aldi event lasts about a week. It seems like they have a new thing on next week but I reckon they sell the stuff until it's gone.

My bump has growth spurts too. Today's is mainly fuelled by cake though. 28 cupcakes ready to go to a friend's hen do tomorrow. Well... 26 now... Getting them all from London to Manchester is going to be a proper test of willpower.

Dh and I both work in the public sector so employers are v good with flexible working. Our plan is (currently...) to use compressed hours to reduce the number of days paid childcare we need - we both have long commutes too so reducing the number of journeys to work will free up 2-3 hrs of quality tantrum calming time for each non-working day.

My mum's also looking for an excuse to cut her hours a bit and has offered to do a day a week. Mil lives far away though so I'm a wee bit worried that she'll feel left out. Will take the baby to stay as much as possible but it's not the same as seeing it every week.

Oh my god I think I actually just felt some proper kicks! I've been getting a bit at not really knowing if I've felt things due to my placenta being in the way but lying in bed just now I'm sure I did. Feels bloody weird!!!!

Aww misskat it's the best!! I tried to get DH to feel them last night but they were just the little fluttery ones and he couldn't...hopefully she'll give me a few wallops later that he can actually feel.

Have fun at the hen do sunflowered

somany my Mum bought all our clothes at charity shops when we were kids, I always said "my kids are going to get all brand new clothes!" and now I'm obviously going to be exactly like Mum :)

Thanks for the advice re: childcare so far, much appreciated. I'll definitely look into the vouchers and tax credits - feel like all the help we can get will be appreciated!

My first sober hen do But a promise of good food and some form of crafty activity to make up for it

eeyore I have rib pain too. I used to get it pre-preg whenever I sat down for too long after eating but now it's almost constant on my right side.... anyone know what it is?