April 2015 Thread 11: The finish line is in sight as we get closer to maternity leave and our babies!

[BrixtonBunny]

Old thread getting full xx

baby gym wasn't that successful for us as we have underfloor heating so she used to just fall asleep instantly! We have a skip hop one that is v cute. it was a gift. unfortunately our heating has a mind of its own so have never managed to control it properly

DH is now away for a week on a boys cycling holiday so I think it will be a tough week. He's not normally home til bedtime so that isn't the problem, it's more the mornings when he injects some humour and energy when I have neither! (I'm not a morning person).

We've not bought a baby gym as half expecting someone to buy us one as a gift once baby arrives (SIL has made noises about it). Ditto bouncy chair. But we can easily order that stuff once baby is here anyway!

Wardrobes are being built in the new house today and some plastering is being done. The builders have been amazing - working evenings and weekends, they are making amazing progress. Going to pop round tomorrow to see it in the flesh (DP has been going regularly but I'm too knackered to go after work!)

Sorry I haven't been checking the page! And you are all such chatterboxes
Quickly reads massive backlog...

Except Wednesday I've seen a MW every day this week and altho im glad i havent been high risk like some of you and forced to go to loads of appts, it has done wonders for making me feel more looked after. At least they all know who I am now!!

Update from me, had lots of pain yesterday and BP shot up further (diastolic 93?) But I've since had two protein FREE pees and my BP today was way down at 120/80 SIGH of RELIEF!

RL your BH question was pretty well answered but I'd say I've had them since about 24 weeks. Mostly painless but if your having a real muscle / skin growth spurt kind of day they can feel unpleasant.

I see a few of you were chatting about Raspberry tea. If your going to try stuff which may or may not work... You might want to try dates. Research shows women who ate 6 dates a day for the last month didn't go over their "date"! They were less likely to need induction or intervention according to a couple of small studies. My I've stocked up on dates :) unlike some other herbal things I can't imagine any quick acting/scary results.

I just got a skiphop treetop/woodlandy playgym for a tenner, really cute and think they are over £70 new! The only thing is I'm concerned about baby-on-floor and my dog. Hmmm... Even just the dog hair situation rather than the dog bothering about the baby.

Good thing babies like the sound of the hoover I guess!

My belly button hasn't popped out either but it was really deep. I still can't see the end of my belly button but it's turning into a bit of a dome and grossing me out got stretch marks too where my piercing was so it's all red and itchy. No other stretch Marks so far but I defo feel like my skins getting to about its limit.
I still like a good lounge on the sofa firaffe although I keep getting told I should be watching my posture now.

That last post was at half 8 this morning but only just posted.
Ooo and dates are good for you anyway so might try them, not sure I've ever had a date.
I've got a floor gym thing coz it was given to us, but with a little dog I'm not sure if we'll use it. dog hair isn't an issue as she doesn't malt and the Dyson is good at picking up but not sure how puppy will be with babY.she's easily excited and likes locking. .. A LOT!
mmmmm is it too early to eat an easter egg?!

Never to early for an Easter egg hiding!!!! My dog isnt interested in children, bit of a coward she just slopes off to sit in a corner if kids are in the house. I'd never 100% trust a dog but she is very calm. I know baby will benefit from tummy time and I'll prob be doing changes on the floor and I'm DREADING the dog hair getting on all the nice mats and quilts. She is basically half sheep. I may have to shave her...

Moomin, given that I'm very fond of dates anyway, I might as well give that a try! And the only side-effect I can think of (and why I'm scoffing them anyway) is that they'll help with constipation. Win all round ;) Glad things seem to be improving for you!

Brixton, so pleased to hear your builders are working all out for you! Our decorator is in today - he's stripped the nursery walls and is getting to work on lining it. No really nasty surprises - yet...

My belly button is still in, but it's not as deep as it was. I know this because as it got shallower, a bit of ancient umbilical cord came closer to the top... until it broke off one night. Which was just weird, frankly.

I'm not lounging on the sofa, exactly - my back stays straight, but I am putting my feet up a lot, as that feels most comfortable. No idea if that means baby might move or not, but fingers crossed they're quite firmly settled head-down now.

Yoga teacher this morning suggested coconut water and water with cucumber in it for the unusual thirst. I got some coconut water and while it's vile stuff, it does seem to have helped a bit - think I'll see if cucumber water does the job in future, though!

Annia I hope you'll post us a pic when the nursery is done!

Chicken I got some piriton and menthol dream for the itching, it helps to an extent. I think the medication for the OC is meant to help by bringing the bile acid levels down too.

Thanks all regarding the play gyms, definitely going to get one.

moomin pleased your BP is better! That play gym you mentioned is my favourite I have looked at online but you're right it's expensive new! Was just looking at one in asda for £15 but then I wasn't sure if it looked as good as others! But I suppose the baby won't mind how much it cost as long as it has some toys on.

Brixton pleased the house is coming on well!
Hiding no it's not too early for Easter eggs! We have just bought one for niece - will be surprised if it lasts until Easter. My only pregnancy craving up to now is basically - anything sweet. Sweets, chocolate. Bad things! Weird as I don't normally have a sweet tooth, but I could just eat that Easter egg now...

My belly button is almost an outy now!

Brixton, I will, although it's likely to be a bit of a work in progress for a while - we still haven't decided what colour carpet to have, beyond 'not showing the stains'!

Penguin I'm the same. Normally have a serious savoury preference, but since being preggo cannot get enough sweet stuff. Fruit, chocolate, cake, honey, sweets, you name it. It's pretty disgraceful when I think how much I'm giving in to it...

I'm obsessed with fruit too. And fizzy sour sweets and refreshers. And I stupidly gave up chocolate for lent. Why?!?

penguin have you tried Gumtree and local Facebook buy& swap groups, pretty much all the parts are washable on a playgym so second hand could be the way to go! My thinking was yeah baby will like whatever but its quite a big item in your room when its up it helps if you like the look of it. Actually apparently babies like black, red and white to stimulate them and help them focus but that doesn't go with my colour schemes LOL ultimate selfish mum to be!!!

I have such bad heartburn, just got my repeat script of strongest poss Ranitidine dose, yet I'm wanting to eat sour sweets and drink orange juice!! And I want salt! DH told me off for salt ( high BP...) I said but my body craves it so surely can't be that bad for me. His rebuke was - and what would you tell the heroin addict that tells you that!?
I didn't have my second portion of chips .

Glad you said that moo in and penguin, because said easter egg is now just a tinfoil wrapper
I was a serious chocoholic before being prego but that's the first bit of chocolate I've had in weeks. Oddly I now prefer sugar snap peas, and salad. Anything crunchy really, mm and crisps. I asked DH for plain crisps when I wasn't well last week and he brought me the most plain crisps ever, did even know they existed but they are seedbrooks perfectly unsalted. Can't get more plain than that but they are really nice :)
Would be nice if my want for healthy food stuck with me after pregnancy. I also think it might partly be due to the rainbow relaxation Cd. Only found out the other day that when the woman gets to yellow in the rainbow she talks about only putting nutritional foods into your body. I'm normally asleep by green so heard it for the first time the other day, it must be getting into my subconscious lol

P.S my DH says how are you all and hope your dh's are being good to you
lol, he's playing fifa but turned round to see if I was still playing plants vs zombies on the tablet but when he saw I was on MN he wanted to say hi. He keeps still aging he's going to invent a dadsnet.

Hiding, tell your DH that me and my DH are about to settle down in front of Netflix to watch a silly film with a bowl of popcorn :) Decorator has done for the day (room prepped and ready for lining tomorrow) and we're winding down a bit, even though I've got a pile of work I could be doing. Popcorn and silly film feel just the ticket :)

On crowdsourcing note - various people have mentioned various hypnobirthing books etc. What ones are you using, and would you recommend them? I'm not interested in doing a class, but am very open to picking up all the possible tools in the toolkit to make labour simple if at all possible.

Hello ladies, can't believe we're 18 pages in already!

Hiding DH is in a cottage in the middle of nowhere on a stag do, playing geeky board games and getting drunk. I am going to my mum's to be spoiled

Is anyone else suffering badly with swelling? My ankles aren't too bad if I sleep with them propped on a pillow, but I've got carpal tunnel in my hands and no feeling in the tips of my fingers. It's making life interesting!

Can't believe I'm due in 4.5 weeks, it's just crazy! And a lady on my NCT course got rushed into hospital last week just after we'd finished the course and had her little boy 6 weeks early! Her advice was make sure those hospital bags are packed

I've had to supervise DH with his cooking again but at least he is making the effort. It's roast rosemary chicken this week. Would be great if he could keep it up with this cooking once a week thing. Gives me an extra day off.
He laughed at me in the kitchen though and said nice belly I had to go look in the mirror. DD has covered the bottom of my bump and boobs with stickers! I couldn't see them looking down I have about 20 princess stickers! She was pretty cute when I let her feel the baby hiccuping. She calls them hay cups. Very cute.

I survived swimming and DD was very good so we went to mcdonalds. She got a shaun the sheep cereal bowl and has been begging for cereal in it ever since. She has been my shadow all day never leaving me alone despite DH being in. She's now practically up my jumper on the sofa playing on the ipad. It's nice to be wanted but I'm knackered. DH had the cheek to ask whose bed and wake up it was! Considering I got up this morning with her and she's barely left my side all day I'd says its his turn! He went quiet when I told him that.

Annia the Marie Mongan book is ace x

It was more than my turn to get up with DD unfortunately, but I was able to creep back to bed for most of the afternoon with a hot water bottle on my face!

lauren I know that feeling, DD has been attached to me like a limpet all the time I've been downstairs today, was only able to sneak off when she went for a nap, and I was luckily forgotten about once she woke up, but she's back to trying to be in me now I'm down again, keep telling her DH will be at work tomorrow and she should make the most of him, but no such luck!

river it's all getting a bit scary, keep looking at the crib and thinking 'omg, there will be an actual baby in there come April!

Some of you might remember babycakes11 from earlier threads, don't think she posts on here much, she's had a bleed and they might be giving her a section tonight if the bleeding doesn't stop, so we may well have our second April thread baby!

Annia I'm really enjoying the Maggie Howell CD's and book.

lol moomin perhaps a little harsh to like your extra salt to a heroin addiction!!

fir we were meant to start a pound coin pot, however once we have £11 i can buy papa john's for lunch, so there is never money in the pot

DD has dragged DH upstairs for a bath, I am stuck watching Waybaloo because i'm too lazy to find the remote...

Just re-read my last post, clearly I need to check what I'm writing when I've just woken up. Auto correct is not my friend! Haha

Lauren - obviously rocking the height of fashion with all those princess stickers!

I understand the papa johns problem Boo, although tends to be pizza hut as they deliver! Thankfully the bag is in a drawer so out of sight, out of mind. Will probably put in the labour bag when I pack it!

London does ufloor heating work at getting them to sleep? Do you think it would penetrate a Moses basket mattress? We didn't have it with DD but do now... Might work a treat for my plans to get new baby to nap at home so I can too while DD at nursery.

Great news Moomin! Hope all the tests continue in the same direction. Your DH is a brave man re the salt comments.

Hiding I think you have everyone's blessing to get into your Easter egg. I mean I've been at the creme eggs and malteaster bunnies since Jan. Mega LOLZ for your DH saying hello to everyone he sounds like a v nice man. Mine just rolls his eyes when he sees me tapping and scrolling away.

Penguin/ Brixton my sweet tooth - and tendency not even to try to resist it - in preg is a joke. I defo don't deserve to pass the GTT.

Brixton that's fab house news must be v encouraging to see them all making such a big effort for you.

Lauren I love your sticker bump that's hilarious. And that you didn't notice.