January 2014 (thread 9) Pregnancy half time is over. Fast growing bumps, braxton hicks and we thought we would worry less!

[Frizz1986]

Hope its ok me setting up a new thread.
Couldnt see one, but if I am just being blind please tell me.....

toby good luck for the consultants appointment.

nature hope you had a good birthday, I'm very jealous of your cake! DH doesn't even like cake, he definitely couldn't make one!

sultana I can't do a clicky link but it's:

www.kiddicare.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/productdisplay0_10751_-1_136612_10001

Kelly My relationship would be more satisfying if I could have sex...I'm now starting to have all sorts of very wrong sex dreams as a result of my placenta praevia. Perhaps you could research safe sex for those of us who might haemorrhage at any given moment?

nature happy birthday for yesterday! Have some more

toby good luck at consultants today

sultana oh yes - we are #teamears. To the death. These are the bear booties. If I could be sure that bean would arrive before Christmas (which would, admittedly make him/her nearly two weeks early, but I LUFFS Christmas...) I would get these too. No ears, but they are cute enough to forgo ears for once.

I also got this which has ears on the bear faces, but MOST importantly can be teamed with this which I have to get (it's calling to me), and a white cotton hat with a bear face which is no longer on M&S website, but which came with two pairs of scratch mitts which have bear paws printed on them. I heart them hard. This will also all go well with this which I also got yesterday.

#teamears FTW

MrsG and sultana here's the clicky link

Humpty, I am also all about the ears! H&M have a few cute bits that I have bookmarked for purchase. I will, for example, be dressing my child as a raccoon and a bear She will need something to tell her therapist about in 20 years, right?

Thanks humpty :) and all those clothes are so cute!

I'm trying really hard not to buy too many clothes, it's my birthday in November and I've suggested baby clothes to everyone who's asked what I'd like!

Book I have a hoodie that is very similar to the bear costume but grey (with ears and everything!) I'm wearing it at the moment as our house is freezing, I'm trying to find a matching one for baby...

book my wallet just gave a tiny, defeated sigh. TOO CUTE!!!!!!!

I can only find this really expensive one mrsg - super cute though!

Aww! There was one in next ages ago, I'm hoping it'll come back in stock soon for winter :)

There's one on ebay www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Baby-Boys-NEXT-Furry-Zipped-Hoody-with-ears-Age-3-Months-/321203970460?pt=UK_Baby_Jumpers&hash=item4ac93fa19c :)

Good luck with the consultant toby

OMG i so want to dress up my baby. Am loving all these clothes!! I want to go for a sheep and also a frog lol.

sultana I know what you mean about seeming like a loon with baby movements. They feel really strong for me and as I know where to look when the kicking starts, I can sometimes see it from the outside.
DH however never seems to be able to feel it as much.
Really want my work people to feel it too but every time the kicking starts and I think about telling them to come feel it slows down, then starts again 5 mins later.
I know Ill hate it when I get feet poking in my ribs but its still so exciting at the moment.

Only a week until my 25 week MW app too. OMG time is flying now but I so can't wait to be a mum. It is my dream job!!

I cannot WAIT to dress up my baby! Most excited about pumpkin costume at Halloween, but also Father Christmas outfits/Easter Bunny hats etc.

Thanks for the good luck, ladies!

Consultant was a waste of time. So much conflicting information But I don't have to go again until December so they're obviously not that worried about me.

Kelly, I'm not entirely sure what the rules are, but you might want to check with MNHQ before posting on threads with requests for people to do your survey. IIRC, unsolicited requests lie somewhere on the scale between 'frowned upon' and 'not at all allowed'.

MrsG and Humpty thanks for the link. I googled and ordered it as so as I had posted, so it should be here tomorrow! Hurray!

Also some maternity PJ bottoms that I ordered arrived today and they are mega comfy! YES!!!

Humpty you are SUCH a bad influence! Cuteness at it's bestest! If I had any money left on my card I would sooooo be using it right now!!!

Frizz I am totally with you! DH did say to me "you will be whinging when LO keeps you up at night kicking and it hurts". Well, yes that is probably true, but it doesn't stop me getting excited about it and finding it weird and amazing!!!

Toby at least that is one thing no needing to go back til December....so annoying with conflicting and vague information that leaves you just as clueless as you were before you went in! I have a remedy for that - sweet potato brownies! You have to make them and eat them for me so I don't!!!

Still not heard from hospital re: glucose test, so really really hoping that means the results were negative, rather than they just haven't got their arses in gear! Please please please!!!

OMG Humpty the elf boots are SOOOO CUTEEEEEE!!!!

Will catch up properly later but... Does anyone know if the date you state you're starting mat leave can be a bank holiday?

toby bloody grrr to bloody consultants.

sultana heh I can spend your money, my money, DH's money - NO SWEAT. I am unstoppable.

MrsA no idea - depends on your work policy on BHs, I guess - we have to choose to use holidays to take them off, they're not automatic. If you automatically get them, I guess it then depends on whether that entitlement forms part of your AL allowance or not; if not, I can't see why not, if it does, I'm not sure you can officially start mat leave whilst on other forms of leave - but you could 'add' that onto the beginning of mat leave?

MrsAVB in my contract BHs were in addition to annual leave so I didn't accrue them whilst on mat leave. Therefore I insisted that it start the day AFTER the BH so I would still get the BH paid but off like normal. They were a bit funny about this because they would have preferred I started mat leave on a Monday but I was annoyed with them about the BHs by this point and insisted.
If you do accrue BHs on mat leave then I suppose it doesn't matter because you can just add the day on at the end (or be paid in lieu for it if you decide not to return).

Meant to add I think you can start it whenever you want but you might want to wait until the next day rather than lose the BH.

Its a bit of a minefield bank hols isnt it!

When will I learn to resist foods that make heartburn worse??? Stupid fresh spicy salsa!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr can I please just have a rant for a second? No need to read (it's boring, I know), but I just have to get it off my chest or poor DH will have ANOTHER night of me yelling/crying about work.

I was asked to tender out our Newsletter (print, rather than email one), which I did, and saved us a hefty wodge of cash by doing so.
The new print company then took THREE WEEKS just print the fucking thing, then a further two weeks to mail it, meaning it's arrived about 2-3 weeks later than usual. Fine - that's something worth complaining about - not actually my fault, but I get that it annoys people. Our members, who receive the newsletter, HATE change, and cannot bear things being 'late' (there is no official deadline, just 'when it's always been').

So, just now - after we're closed, btw, but I stupidly answered the phone as I'm still here - this CUNTDONKEY rings me to say that he's only just received his copy, and that this is unacceptable, as so many of the events advertised in the Newsletter have now passed. I pointed out that in fact ONE (of seven) has passed, that's hardly 'so many' and explained that it's not something we had any control over, and I can only apologise. He says he wanted to start the evening class (that I'm teaching, as it happens), which was meant to start two weeks ago. Aha, thinks I - he's not on the e-news mailing list, so he didn't get the notice that the start date had changed. I check, and sure enough, he's not - that's his fault, not mine. We aren't allowed to bulk subscribe members to a mailing list without their permission.

So, I explain this, and offer to subscribe him. He says 'well, fine, but I was really hoping to come to this class'. I reiterate that it now starts tomorrow and so he can still sign up - at which point he tells me that he can't make it tomorrow or for a fortnight to come, because of work commitments. SO HOW WOULD HE HAVE SIGNED UP FOR IT IN THE FIRST PLACE, FFS? He'd have missed these weeks, whether it ran from two weeks ago, or started tomorrow.
Christ, people really FUCKING LOVE complaining for no reason, don't they? I am steaming.

Please, if we are all still in touch when it comes to the end of my maternity leave and I start applying for jobs, please PLEASE remind me NEVER EVER to work in a job where I have to answer the phone to halfwits and mouth-breathers. I am sick to the back teeth of dealing with this utter fuckwittery.

Rant over. Thanks ladies, I feel better.