September 2014 reaching the final stretch!

[ilovemonstersInc]

Last thread was full.
Some of us are in the last trimester and some nearly there!! Eeek not long left!

Still not had results back from GTT done on Monday... Trying not to be nervous! Anyone had it take that long?

I always forget about figleaves, and that M&S one must be new as it wasn't there last time I looked! There's a couple on there that fit my practical criteria but I don't like the colour/style. Thinking I might just have to suck it up and buy one that I'm not entirely happy with. Give me some motivation to get back to pre-pregnancy size at least!

Coolcat - I've not had the GTT but my midwife says she'll phone if any of my results come back abnormal. So no news seems like good news?

I am bloody fuming. Ive just been out in 27degress heat, road works, traffic lights galore to go to two Lidels as their website shows them selling zip up babygrows. After to speaking with staff they never had them in just the normal babygrows with poppers. arrgghhh. why are they so difficult to find!?

oh god ella- you were only ten!! I just think they are so much easier and quicker to use and they get rave reviews on blogs (ausi's and American)
I remember the night time screaming while trying to do up poppers on a kicking baby, very stressfull. I found some on gap website so might go instore or order online. Ill get a few and see how I go with them.

Im feeling very fed up and grumpy this afternoon, the combination of the heat and being pg makes me feel a little helpless and trapped in the house when I want to be out and about. Im waiting for a cool/rainy day to go and buy the cotbed/pushchair and carseat- now hubby wants to come which means a Saturday...urgghhh. DH did offer to go for me but I want to look and double check Im happy with it all.

Im also sick of going to he shops and coming home empty handed as they don't stock items- everything is online which is frustrating when you want to see it and your there stood in the shop so end up paying and waiting for delivery.

sorry grumpy moan over.

Eugh, I usually love the summer but it's just too hot for me at the moment (and I never say this). And the hospital I work in is just bloody boiling, not helped by our new work uniform being a horrible thick polyester material that seems to just absorb heat.

Not having the best work week generally really. I've bought up the subject several times with my manager about taking all my remaining annual leave back before my maternity leave so that I can still leave in good time and not have to start my official maternity leave until my due week (which suits me better as I want more time off with baby). She has always said this would be fine so I've submitted all my paperwork to HR to start my maternity leave on the week commencing 15th Sept (I'm due the 17th) anticipating that I would actually not be there for several weeks before this. AFTER I've sent this off she tells me I can only take 2 weeks annual leave beforehand as too many people have annual leave booked in for August. This means I have to work all the way up until September which I know I'm going to struggle with (not least because as I say work is ridiculously hot now, let alone what it will be in August). I'm on my feet all day and it's just stressful and I'm not sure how I'm going to cope working up to 37 and a half weeks (not helped by the knowledge that my Mum with her first baby went into labour at 37 weeks, so if I follow the same genetic pattern I could literally still be working when I go into labour)! Ekk!

Is anyone else planning on working quite late into their pregnancies? OR has anyone else done it and got any coping tips? x

I'm working until 3 weeks before. My mum had her first 5 weeks early and the other 2 2 weeks early - I've googled and there doesn't seem to be a link (fingers crossed!). I'm just using leave before my EDD too.

I'm working til 37 weeks but I'm sat down all day in an air conditioned office so hoping it won't be too much for me then. I'm saving what's left of holiday to take at the end of my mat leave, could that be an option for you Kitkat so you start your mat leave in August when you wanted the holiday & then add the holiday on at the back end?

I am working till 38 W but then My work is office work and If I possibly can I will try to avoid site visits in the last couple or weeks
I'll start my mat leave on my due date, i.e. 2nd Sep.. I hope baby will not be too late...

kitkat have you read your AL & mat leave policies fully? I'm NHS too and our policies say that AL can't be taken over to the following year, and all AL that will be accrued should be taken pre maternity leave, I'm starting mat leave at 36wks mainly because I've been unwell in my last 2 pgs, and if I'm sick after this it will be enforced anyway, but this means that my entire years AL needs taking before middle of August so as of this week I'm on AL, I'm doing some hours, but technically I could leave next week and not go back until may! My boss was ok with this, but actually there wasn't much of a choice. What I'm trying to say in a very long way, is that she may not be able to stop you taking your AL, at the end of the day, you could bring mat leave forward anyway and then you wouldn't be there AL or no AL
I'm struggling with the heat, and I'm seriously tired and very very grouchy, I'm sad to say my pre-schooler seems to be pressing all my buttons, which is draining, and I'm over the GD totally now, my days are just rounds of checking blood sugars, injections and nothing nice to eat! Woe is me, whinge whinge

Kitkat not sure whether the policies are different within the NHS or not as I'm NHS too and I've been told the same as boo. Although my line manager has been a little more flexible and I'm carrying a couple more days then the recommended 5.
The other thing I've had to do is complete a risk assessment with my line manager which gets sent to Occupational Health. So make sure that is done as if it is not feasible for you to work until 37+ weeks you're going to have to go off and it shouldn't make any difference to your boss if that's annual leave or not as you won't be there either way!
I would definitely challenge the decision as they can't make it impossible for you to take the a/l owed to you. I would ring HR too to discuss where you stand with it.
Anyway that was a longer rant than I thought so I'll shut up now!!

I'm glad it's cooled down a bit now. I had a funny turn earlier when I got to the school, It's nearly a mile uphill and I have DS in the pushchair. I was waiting for DD2 to come out then nearly fainted - I could feel myself going but luckily managed to ask the teacher for a chair. Then had to get hubby out of work early to drive us home (he would have hit the roof if I didn't tell him). I feel ok now and baby is moving just as much as normal so I'm putting it down to the heat.

I wish this sort of thing would stop happening to me so I can just get on with things!
Hope everyone else is ok x

tea that sounds scary, you go easy on yourself xx
Oh ella they will fade, I've tried palmers oil on scars which seems to really help, not as greasy as bio oil
I had my whooping cough injection on thurs & my arm still really aches, I'm a leftie so had it in my right arm which is annoying as I can only get comfy in bed on my right side!
Anyone else starving all the time? I know I'm eating crap but anything healthy just doesn't seem to fill the gap! Lol

DearD Im starving all the time too, all I do is eat and mostly complete crap. I got on the scales this morning to try and scare myself into not eating crap- it didn't work! I started a food diary yesterday but the hunger is so overwhelming I think sod it so that went out the window too!!

tea the school run in this heat while pg is bloody hard, its the hardest bit of my day and I too have moments though mine are usually in shops with horrible lighting.

I really want to pop out to shops (a busy shopping area) but this heat is really putting me off, its over 22 d here no breeze.

It's more frustrating than anything else as I'm normally quite fit. I go running and love long walks when not pregnant. I hate having to slow down!
My blood pressure has dropped quite a bit so I can't imagine that's helping.
Just through coincidence, I've had a couple of appointments when I've had a takeaway the night before, and my blood pressure is always a lot higher - still in the normal range, but up by about 20 on both measures! I guess it's probably all the salt in them.

What a lot of thunder we had last night! Seems to have cleared the air a bit here though.

Poor you tea how scary. Glad you were ok though. Hills, heat and low blood pressure certainly not much fun!

Well the muggy sticky heat at the moment is meaning my progress through housework is at the speed of a sleepy sloth. Got to get on writing school reports too, bleerrgh. Where is the sunshine though?

5 more weeks left at work. 25 days sounds even better though! Hope my employer gives me my confirmation of mat leave and pay before then. I've Bern waiting since 22nd April they really are useless sometimes.

Hope everyone is having a good Saturday.

I've been shopping! Bought a cot mobile, bf pillow, some cutesey sleep suits, even though I've been given loads & bought some dreaded maxi pads & breast pads, bought a swaddlepod too I like the idea of swaddling but I guess we'll just have to see if little lady likes it! My feet are like swollen stumps now, horizontal evening for me then! Xxx

I'm planning on also booking my maternity leave to start on my due date and having annual leave beforehand, but it means that I have to work to the week before I'm due, as they won't sign more than one odd day off before then.
really don't know how I'm going to cope though, I've had a rough week at work because of the heat and the workloads and my exhaustion, i've got a maternity assessment meeting next week with my manager and I'm going to tell her that unless I get some help, or only stick to my normal working hours rather than do all the extra ones then I'm going to self refer to ohu to get them to dictate that I can only work my normal hours. I'm feeling so close to breaking point at the moment that I would even consider speaking to a doctor to be signed off with exhaustion for a week, which given I've only ever been off sick for more than a few days once in my entire life when I had surgery would be a big step for me.

Its warm here too, but has just started raining. I had done some washing hoping to dry it outside, so now sat with the heating on to dry the washing, the windows open and the fan on. I laughed at my DF offering to buy me a tumble dryer last night ('You will need it when the baby is here') but right now I am considering taking him up on the offer!

I am also planning to work as long as possible, with my ML starting the Monday before my due date (a Wednesday). Until this last week, I wasn't even considering using holidays to finish earlier than that, as I work in an office and can work from home as required with a fairly understanding boss. But I am finding it all such hard work at the moment (I think it is the heat!) that I may change my mind.

Hey, I can see I'm not alone with the struggling with work, or who is having to work quite late into pregnancy for various reasons. I think I may ask my boss if I can take an annual leave day back each week or something to 'use up' my remaining annual leave, as I like the idea of only working 4 days a week from a months time. Not sure I'll cope with working full-time when really heavily pregnant. It's bad enough at 6 months! Had a long day today, up at 5.30am, busy shift, and spending ages sorting out issues that aren't really my responsibility (but of course it's the weekend so there's no manager around for miles ). Got out an hour late. Bloody knackered now but at least I'm off tomorrow!

cumbrian I bought a Lakeland heated airer as we don't have a tumble dryer, it's ace, & doesn't use much electric, much better than having heating on all year x

Thanks Dinah, I will have a looksie at those. Not really got the room for a dryer

So our babymoon has not got off to a smooth start. Delayed plane, then two hours on the Tarmac followed by an hour on a bus & now the flight had been cancelled. Think the hormonal pregnant lady card is going to be coming out fairly soon. Just hoping we can get on a flight tomorrow.