Due October 2006, PART THREE!

[Gemmitygem]

Thought I'd start a new one..

But will make sure no-one's left on the old one.

Hope everyone is blooming and not too hot!

I think 26w is 6 months but the 3rd trimester starts at 28w. Could well be wrong, though.

Catgirl: I'll try grinning at all those people who look surprised that I'm only 6 months or so - might give them a shock!

Hope everyone's managing OK in the heat - roll on the thunderstorms Though not on Sunday as I'm out for a picnic.

PS: Welcome BendyB!

hi all, glad everyone seems to be so chirpy in the heat Just had another fab lolly so at least have an excuse to eat them!!

Has antenatal dr appt last week & all went well, and 28 week bloods today - is really starting to feel like the home stretch, and even oh said last night we need to make a start on the nursery. Have been trying to motivate him for weeks as I just can't do it myself, but at least he has come round to the idea! Loads of people have offered cribs & cots and all sorts, but only some toys have arrived in a bag so far - is it rude if I tell them to get themselves into gear and hurry up as am now 12 weeks & counting??? Am getting desperate to bring some organisation into the chaos while I still can as I don't think I will be able to in a few weeks, was hoping to leave loads of it until I go on maternity leave, but i don't think I will feel like hauling myself round the shops by then

The gaviscon seems to have done the trick btw, or maybe eating slightly less fruit has helped - may have overdone the nectarines - I think lo is going to come out looking like a bit of fruit I have eaten so much of it, but as least it has kept the dreaded pg constipation at bay!!

Mamado - I too am feeling really tearful at the moment. Some days are fine and others it just all feels a bit too much. Also feel that everyone at my work place is incredibly unsypathetic; i don't expect to be given speical treatment but at the same time, it is a bit of an effort - especially as i start at 5am!

Blimey, you ladies have been busy today. It's just taken me ages to read it all.

jmc, I've been pigging on fruit and haven't had constipation yet either, even with an iron tablet. Haven't had indigestion or trouble sleeping yet either. I can't help thinking my body is saving it all up.

Welcome bendyb. I'm due 21 Oct and don't know whether it's a boy or girl.

My maternity/b'feeding bubble filled pillow arrived today, so I'll have somewhere to put my stomach tonight. In mush-brain state, don't forget to use mumsnet discounts where possible.

welcome bendyb, I'm a first timer too.

here is the article about liquorice bringing on labour: I'll definitely try it if I go beyond the due date..

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1378652.stm

I think you'd have to eat quite a lot though. Funnily enough I'd been eating a packet of it a week most of the way through; I just fancied it, but will stop now till at least week 38!

Re the cystitis, I'm sure it doesn't help that it's so hot and also the baby must be absorbing a lot of liquid.. I keep drinking but never weeing! (Which I'm sure you all needed to know!)

Hello all and welcome to Luboo and BendyB. Haven't been on for ages as I was focusing on my driving test (fourth time around) which I had at the end of last week. I was desperate to get it before LO is born as the thought of trying to get a double buggy on a London bus is quite depressing. Anyway, I PASSED and told thye examiner that I wanted to give her a big hug which was not carried out, greatly to her relief! Drove DS1 around on my own yesterday with the windows down with various nursery rhymes blaring out of the CD player. Kept him happy but can't get those tunes out of my head...!

I am feeling very tearful too Mamado. Went to the hospital yesterday and saw a man holding a newborn baby and could not stop crying thinking how beautiful the whole thing was. Also cried this morning whilst watching Boogie Beebies. DS1 was trying to do some of the moves and getting very excited about the whole thing. He is about to turn one and I was just thinking how far he has come since this time last year when he was still in my tummy!

Mrs Blobby, I had lots of urinary tract infections last pregnancy and ended up with pre eclampsia. Had to be hospitalised four days prior to DS1s birth. Best thing is to make sure that your GP and midwife monitor both the protein in your urine and your blood pressure regularly. Try to drink loads of water and cranberry juice and rest your feet in a bowl of hot water and bath salts every evening to help relax your feet and ankles, hopefully making the ankles less likely to swell. However, the product on the waterfall website sounds great and I am going to try to get some.

One little moan before I go ? those people who swear as you are taking ages trying to get through a door with the bump and pushchair in tow. Can't they just help which would speed the whole process up? They must be the same ones who sit on buses and tubes pretending that they have not seen a huge bump sticking out into their faces!

Well done and congrats on passing your test Tigerlion. Your a braver woman than me. I wouldnt dare learn to drive on the roads these days.Youve found some of those people too huh? They tut and swear while trying to push passed you through a single opening door. Maybe if they gave you a hand it would be a much qicker and smoother move in/out! Dont get me started on public transport.

Well done for passing your test, Tigerlion. A definite achievement, especially with a bump in the way!

I was quite embarrasingly tearful at the weekend we went to a local fair and a local dance school put on a performance with their youngest members, dressed up as bees, fairies, etc. They were all so sweet I gave a big emotional snort and spent the next 5 mins trying to hold back the tears. They looked so very cute! I am sure I'll be such an embarrassing parent, weeping proudly every time I see my child achieve anything!

Re. the bladder infection - believe it or not, I don't have one after all!!!! It was all a misunderstanding, due to the fact that the receptionist at the doctor's didn't want to say that the test results said 'vaginal' contamination! Instead she said a more cryptic 'contamination by a part of your body', which, for some reason, my midwife took as a definite 'yes, you have an infection - and this must be treated asap with antibiotics as this could lead to early labour!'

This caused me to check the internet, saw loads of horror stories, which made me stress more, for a day and a half, until I went back to the docs who explained the sample had been contaminated, but everything was perfectly normal and there was nothing at all to worry about.

Panic over . Thanks so nmuch for all your advice, though. It's def. helped to reassure me!

MrsBlobby: glad to hear the good news. Irritating that you had all that stress for nothing, though.

Tigerlion: Congratulations! I still can't drive and am trying to put off the evil day as long as possible. Your pg brain must be revving on all cylinders!

Dogmum: where did you get your pillow from? Was it a good buy?

Does anyone know how many babygros etc. you need as an absolute minimum? And what about the size? Am a bit worried that this baby might be too big for newborn clothes and don't want to buy lots that we won't use.

Look like the weather should be breaking (again) tonight - enjoy

well done Tigerlion - how proud you must feel.

Mrs Blobby - excellent news - how glad you must feel.

Whiffy - what is the book about going from 1 child to 2 like? recommend?

Everyone else - hope the day is kind to you all! I am staying indoors this lunch time - no more silly ideas about fresh air in this heat! Had to be on the tube last night (I am usually a bus girl), and was like a beetroot by the time I got home - very attractive!

well done tigerlion!!! congrats on passing your test!

mrs blobby - glad to hear that you have nothing to worry about after all

hope that every1 is doing well and that the heat is calming down a bit...i want rain!! lol

Swizzler. Take atleast 3 of each size into hospital. Meaning 3 new born or 0-3 months and 3 3-6 months just in case babys a bit bigger than you thought. I made the mistake of taking 0-3 with my first ds and he weighed 8lb 10 and never fitted into any first size stuff. It also depends where your shopping. Some stores come up slighlty bigger than others. Like Next stuff I found come up pretty roomy where as Mothercare stuff is pretty small fitting. Can never have too much shuff and dont forget you can always put it away for next time .

Congratulations Tigerlion. What an achievement! I think the driving test is the most difficult test to pass (apart from the pregnancy test obviously, but somehow we've all made it!) It's a pity that so many people driving don't look as though they can remember half of it. You go careful.

Mrs. Blobby, glad that your infection wasn't an infection. wrt preventing pre-eclampsia, I've heard that vitamin e helps (avocados, nuts, linseeds ...) Don't know if it's true or not.

Swizzler, I got the pillow from bumpto3 (with mumsnet discount) and it was fab last night. I got comfy really quickly.

Hope everyone has enjoyed some sort of rain this afternoon, however brief. (I swear our shower was under two minutes.)

I agree that you can never have too many baby gros etc. I heard a sales person in mamas and papas advising a new mum on sheets and she advised to buy 3 so there's one on the cot, one in the wash and one in the cupboard ready. I thought she was living in a dream world as for the first few nights I had to do several sheet changes either because of wet nappies or sick. As for one in the cupboard - oh to have been that organised, it was more a case of straight out of the tumble dryer.

I also took newborn size to hospital and then had an 8lb 12 baby it wa sonly when the midwife pointed out that my DS was bent like a banana because he was restricted in his sleepsuit. I'd obviously been too tired to notice!!

I agree that you can never have too many baby gros etc. I heard a sales person in mamas and papas advising a new mum on sheets and she advised to buy 3 so there's one on the cot, one in the wash and one in the cupboard ready. I thought she was living in a dream world as for the first few nights I had to do several sheet changes either because of wet nappies or sick. As for one in the cupboard - oh to have been that organised, it was more a case of straight out of the tumble dryer.

I also took newborn size to hospital and then had an 8lb 12 baby it wa sonly when the midwife pointed out that my DS was bent like a banana because he was restricted in his sleepsuit. I'd obviously been too tired to notice!!

Swizzler - I didn't buy any babygros before I went to hospital, but took couple of really soft baby blankets instead - for first couple of days the baby was 'swaddled' rather then dressed. Then I just got DH to pick up a pack of three from Tescos (not pretty, but they do the job until you;re up and about).

Catgirl - the book about having a second baby (three shoes, one sock, no hairbrush) is actually a fairly depressing read....it highlights quite a few negatives (sibling jealousy, attention seeking from firstborn, much higher depression/stress levels for mothers for first couple of years, increased exhaustion, difficulty in getting over birth whilst trying to deal with 2 kids etc etc). I think the intention of the book is to reassure people who go through all of this that they are normal and there will be light at end of the tunnel but not sure that in itself makes book worth reading. I did have very strong urge however to force my DH to read it so he could at least be prepared . Don;t recommend it as a fun read.

New nanny is installed and all looks promising. Having gone through sulky & sex-obsessed au-pairs in the past it is reassuring to have someone in the house who actually seems normal, has experience AND speaks the lingo. But she is still recovering from jet lag so won't really know till next week. Am looking forward to very relaxing maternity leave if it does work out.

Off to see Marthahm today for some top-notch osteo - hope I'm not too sweaty & smelly by then - the office is struggling to cope with the heat at the moment....will be v embarassing if fellow mnetter has to deal with me sliding off bed in the heat

Where's the rain?? No sign of it where I am. Decamped to sofa last night in a bid to get a bit of sleep - managed a couple of hours but feeling really groggy and cross this morning. Not helped by OH working really hard and prospect of parents turning up next week.

Dogmum: will have a look at bumpto3 - I think they have grobags as well. Also need to get a birthing ball to sit on at home - fed up with slouching on the sofa (as well as sleeping on it...)

Thanks for your congratulations regarding driving. Not too hot on the parking though! The other day I had a whole load of builders looking at me and I tried to get the car into a tight spot. No such luck so after 5 minutes of humiliation I drove the car to the supermarket car park and asked DH to park it when he got home!!!

As far as babygros are concerned, I found the best to get for home (when baby does not need to be smartly dressed to show off to friends...) were those from George at Asda or Primark. Only £5 for a pack of three and 100% cotton. primark actually have some really sweet designs. You need to change them the whole time at first (vomit, explosive poos etc) that it is best to get well stocked. As far as 'Newborn' is concerned on labels forget it as these are so small. Much better getting 0-3 months.

When is this heat going to stop? I have stocked up on my Magicool (thanks for the info about the offer at Boots) and I am addicted to the stuff. Busy trying to organise DS's first birthday party. I just hope it is cooler by then. I read somewhere (forgive my mushy pg brain if it was on MN) that the heatwave is due to last until the second week of August. Has anyone else heard that? I wish I was on the west coast of Wales where it is apparently 19 degrees and raining.

Tigerlion - congratulations on your driving.

hope everyone is ok,is it normal to start feeling really tired again like in the first 3 months at 28 weeks, i'm so tired I feel like ive been bopped on the head. just want to crawl into bed and go to sleep.

emmy x

Oh please dont say this heat is going to last that long Tigerlion cant stand it anymore. Yes Emmy 01 I went to bed at 9.30 last night and slept right through till 8am this morning. Which I realy cant remember when I last did that. Still feel realy tired today though as if last night didnt happen.
Dont know if I mentioned my 2 year old ds has had tonsilitis but hes much beter in himself and actualy ate some dinner last night. Got him up today, sat eating breakfast to discover a spot on his neck. Then another then another. Then two on his shoulder then some on his back and as if by magic alot more apeared on his tummy and chest. I took him to my real nice and helpful pharmacist just in case it was an alergic reaction to his penicilin hes on for his tonsils( Im alergic to it)only to be told he has chicken pox. Ho hum these things are sent to try us eh?
Bought him some Piriton liquid and some Calamine lotion just in case and have to keep him in for 48 hours till all the spots have come out. Poor little mite.

Gingeme, somehow I get the impression you're not having a good month?

Hope your mite gets better soon. FWIW my 2YO had chicken pox and only got about a dozen spots in total and was only under weather for 2 days.... apparantly that is quite typical and it's far better to get it as young as possible (or so I'm told)...

Who's up for a meet in August? Gingeme I think you should have the first option on dates so's you don;t miss out this time...

whiffy - might give that book a miss then - or just flick through it in the book shop!

Gingeme - one thing I found useful re chickenpox was giving ds a bath with bicarb of soda in it - stops the itching and also mixing the calomine with acquious (sp?) cream helps it go on a bit easier. My ds actually got it twice last year! Once very mildly with spots on his legs and feet, then again later in the summer - much worse, with spots on his torso and all over his head/face - talk about doing it by halves! Hope it is relatively painless for you all!

didn't get any rain yesterday - fingers crossed for today.

Had 26 week appt today and realise I am not here for my 28 week anti-d jab, will be at my parents, so will see if their doctors will jab me instead... what do you reckon my changes are?! not bothered if it is late, as last time the protocol was to give anti-d jab if needed after the birth, rather than 2 first. Baby having a right old kick as I type - can't decide if he/she likes the typing or not - or could it be in reaction to the chocolate mousse I just ate!

Gingeme, Have you definitely had chicken pox? You might want to check with your doctor anyway, so he/she can confirm your immunity. I stayed away from my nephew when he had it. Although I've had chicken pox, I was only five months old and can't remember the first thing about it.

catgirl my DD has managed to have chicken pox more than once-weird as I thought you only got it once. The third time was quite bad though so am hoping that was the third and final time.

glad the nanny is working out well Whiffy so far.

cannot wait to finish work. Oh well have Tues off for DD's third birthday so just 2 day week next week

Lol whiffy I take most of it in my stride now.Yes I have definately had it. My Mum tells me I had it pretty bad when I was 6 and caught it off my sister and closely followed by my neighbours daughter. August 21st any good to anyone for a meet up? I know for definate my dh will be on his hols then because I sat and booked them up with him! My other two ds were totaly different with chicken pox. My eldest had very few spots but was realy poorly with it but ds number 2 had tonnes and seemed to take it all in his stride. Oh well better get some sort of lunch now.
Keep hearing the odd rumble and Im pretty dur eits getting warmer. Heres hoping we get some rain soon.......