February 2014. The cake mix is in the mug, the microwave is on, it's slowly rising and we'll be pinging in three more months!

[Shropshiremummy2B]

Sadly my cake mix is rising too much and resulting in a serious muffin top.

Oh Vix that is awful and so selfish of your sisters mum. Thinking of you. I hope you can remember your sister in your own way and are looking after yourself.

Eeyore congrats on your husbands job I hope your ribs are okay - it's the weekend so get that bra off and have a relax!

Marzi - yep I managed to get one for £124 plus £20 postage - which is obviously still pricey but is half price new so I'm chuffed.

I would definitely keep an eye out as I saw another one that would post last week. Maybe email sellers too and see if they would consider posting? You never know they might agree. Mine arrived yesterday and I need to unwrap it and check it's okay. Very excited

I just like the look if it so much better than other crib type things as it looks so lovely and cosy. I just need to find a new mattress for it now as you need new mattresses for baby when things are second hand don't you. Good luck finding one - I'll keep my fingers crossed for you x

Thanks! Yes that is still a really good deal. I'll keep my eye out then :)

lastnight Sorry to hear of your family troubles....definitely think you're making the right decision though. Look after yourself, rest when you need to and feel free to rant on here if you want to let it all out x

Re baby groups...I'm a bit worried really as I didn't really make any friends at the ones I went to with DD1. I was limited as to which ones I could go to as we don't have a car for a start off which didn't help. People do just generally talk about their babies there and i think this is where we ran into problems.

DD1 was just such an easy baby. I definitely don't think i've cracked it and I'm not smug but when everyone else was moaning about sleep, feeding, crying, etc I just ended up sat there like a lemon as I'm pretty sure leaping in with 'oh DD sleeps through most nights and doesn't cry longer than 15mins' wasn't going to go down well. Then when someone did ask I meekly told them and they'd all look at me like I was a smug twat.

DD1 didn't help matters by rolling, crawling and walking fairly early so while others babies were pretty static DD would look like she was doing cartwheels in comparison. Defo got some cats bum faces pulled at me.

I know it's a weird thing to moan about but it did bother me a fair bit.

I'm especially worried this time as we're not doing ante-natal classes again so i've no chance to make friends there either. Wish some of you lived nearer me!

By the way can I just say I fully expect DD2 to be the child from hell to make up for DD1's angel-like behaviour.....

A wee glass is fine Champagne. I'm having one so cheers!

I do worry about being isolated too...I'm really going to make a big effort this time - please remind me of this next year!

lastnight I hope you find your own, nice, way to say goodbye and find some peace.

Dawn I never managed to mingle much at playgroups but made LOADS of friends at breastfeeding groups. I don't know if its because there was a common experience for all of us to get chatting over, plus usually a leader who introduced us to each other, oh and we sat in a circle/played on the floor so I found it more inclusive than playgroups.

DS went into a cot bed at 3 days old he did look tiny but he's always slept well in it. Still there now at 2.7 years but with the sides off as a big boy bed. He will be turfed out shortly after christmas into a real single bed ready for dc2. For day time naps he just went in his carry cot/pushchair.

I had a britax car seat and isofix last time, but the seat handle broke after a couple of months so this time I am going with maxi cosy cabriofix or pebble with isofix base. Isofix is essential in my teeny tiny peugot 107 (only the 3 door version too!)! Pretty much everyone I know has maxi cosy so they must be doing something right!

I can really feel my tummy/uterus stretching tonight - ooof!

lastnight I'm sorry to hear that on top of everything, you're Dad's ex-wife is being unreasonable. Seconding all the others - do what's best for you, and say goodbye in your own way for now. And feel free to come on here and have a rant if you want to. Sorry to hear about the piles as well - what a bother! My tin of prunes escaped my shopping bag yesterday on the Tube, and I was handed it by two old ladies who looked knowingly at me - I don't care, I'm going for prunes all the way!

misskat that sleeper thing looks amazing! And I noticed handles in the illustration, so presumably you can cart the LO around the house when they're in it? We've been looking at vibrating chairs for Bean, that he can nap in, and like this one: Hauck rocker which we may ask my sister to buy as a pressie for him - she's asked for a list, bless her!

dawn I'm going to be moving to somewhere completely new, hopefully, so am also relying on these groups for some daytime conversation...we'll see how that goes!

champagne we had a stock of lovely red wine that got abandoned (rather than drunk) over the summer in a hot living room, and I tried not one, but two bottles last night and they're vinegar. Argle! I was complaining to my friend today, and she has given me a very nice bottle of red (she can only drink double-fermented stuff, so we sometimes swap out prosecco and cava for red) so I can have a glass tonight with leftover crumble. Don't forget that Danish study that suggested one to two units a week was actually beneficial to babies! I am thinking of having references to that paper printed onto cards and handing them out

Petty I've heard that about bf groups from other people. With DD1 she was EMCS so I wasn't fit to go anywhere for weeks and by the time I did I'd stopped bf. Aargh! Hopefully things will go better this time..

This baby is kicking me like crazy. He hardly ever stops. I was hoping to sleep tonight but looks like another night of being used as a punchbag. I am so glad he's active and obviously very strong but a break would be nice occasionally.
I can't see an issue with putting a newborn in a cotbed. If anything it saves having to settle them in different places as they grow out of moses basket/cot/cot bed/bed. We are using a moses basket that my mum was given and then straight into a cotbed in his own room. Well that's then plan anyway. Ended up co-sleeping very happily for years with ds2 but it might not work for us this time around.

Article on the Danish study re boozes

I love the fact that if pregnant women are allowed to drink at all, it's always in the context of a wedding "don't drink at all, but you can have a glass of champagne at a wedding".

Hope you're doing ok lastnight and that you're being well looked after too at the moment.

You've all swayed me to bid for a moses basket on ebay. Found one in my postcode so fingers crossed nobody outbids me and it"s in ok condition. I hadn't even thought about daytime naps (which I hope will be frequent and long for at least the first few weeks!) I'm basing most of my babycare knowledge on memories of my brother being a baby and he's now a strapping 21 yo so it's all a bit blurry - and he spent a lot of time napping in his second hand car seat so that's maybe not the best case study. Come to think of it, he also slept in his proper oldschool pram during the day (downstairs) and at night (upstairs) so someone must have lugged the pram up and downstairs morning and evening...

Happy half term to all you teachers

Only delayed about 45 mins in the end - not so bad really but had been working in that office partly for a shorter journey home.

Thanks for that link, gnitting. In my first pregnancy I pretty much gave up drinking entirely and really resented every drop that passed DH's lips, despite being a very moderate drinker beforehand. Being told I can't have something just makes me want it more! This time I didn't drink for the first 3 months but since then I've allowed myself a small glass of red once or twice a week and now I don't feel guilty!

Just a quicky while you're on the subject of cribs etc....

I really fancied a NCT bed nest but think these look lovely at a fraction of the price http://www.thelittlegreensheep.co.uk/the-little-green-sheep/snuzpod-3-in-1-bedside-crib-natural.aspx SNUZPOD

ooops....

snuzpod

Oh that snuzpod looks lush! Went ahead and hired the bednest a couple of hours ago so too late, but happy as I got this weeks 15% discount so it's £100 including delivery which is the most I wanted to spend (hire rather than purchase). Booked it for delivery mid-jan so I have a few weeks to train the cats to keep the feck out of it.

Oooh how did you get discount Who?

Go to bednest website rather than nct one and on either hire or purchase it's 15% off until 27th October if you use the code PARENT at checkout (for parents week)

My cat aversion attempts from baby kit are so far failing. I put the carrycot part of the travel system under a low side table to stop them sleeping on or in it - just a few inches between the top of it and the underside of the table. Pull it out today to have a good Hoover and the fecking cat had coughed up a fur ball that looks like a petrified turd right in the middle of it. I have zero idea how she was able to get at it. I should have been crosser but I was mostly quite impressed with how she managed it and why she would choose such a challenging spot to regurgitate her bonga locks. I think she knows it's for the baby and her protests against the new arrival are being felt earlier than anticipated.

Awwww poop the snuzpod looks ace lol whoput cats get bloody everywhere don't they! One of ours is currently training us up for dealing with babies by being sick in annoying places - like on the bed whilst were in it!

Vix what a shame that they can't look past things for once =( Perhaps you could have your own little memorial, and make sure you stay well and healthy x

I am so worried about little one - he was so active, but since the scan at 18-19 weeks he's been slowing right down, and now I haven't felt a proper kick for a week :( I did go to MW on tuesday and checked heartbeat, all was fine, but I am still worried!

Just going to add a few sentences here so I don't loose the thread. I have had a busy day out in the forest with my daughter and her friend collecting sticks for making witches brooms.

But now I have really bad pelvic pain to add to my misery of being run down with a cold. Oh well life goes on and we had great fun in the woods. My little chap is kicking away non stop.

Have a great weekend everyone.

littleen I'm not surprised you're worried! But it could well be that your LO has just found a comfy spot where his movements are muffled, eg he's punching into you, rather than against your stomach/bladder. It sounds crazy to me, but apparently there is still enough room to get turned around and upside down in there for now, so if the heartbeat was readily found, try not to worry too much. The way my LO is lying is really weird, and I'm hoping he moves a bit before his eviction notice, else I'm going to have a long, hard back to back labour, but there is still enough time for them to move around/boogie. I've also heard that the whole "count the kicks" thing is for when you're more advanced, eg 30+ weeks.

Morning. Does anyone have the link to the decent bra measuring guide that's been posted on here before please? X

Dawn - where in Leeds are you based? I'm in Leeds too. X

littleen if you're worried give the midwives a call. my kicks have been a lot more muffled the last few days, and as I was busy it's been difficult to actually feel them. I've ended up having to resort to sweet cold drinks, lying on my left side, and putting my hand on my bump. The kicks are there but much more muffled than normal. of course, as soon as DH put his hand on the bump the baby kicked, daddy's baby!

Although we're not supposed to start counting the kicks until 27 weeks, you can still get changes checked out.