February 2016 - Boobs are growing, sickness is going, and some of us are finally showing!!

[jellypi3]

Stats are HERE

The Baby Whisperer rufus

rufus I'm reading Penelope Leach The Essential First Year and I'm loving it; informative and pragmatic. I looked at the baby whisperer but it was far to twee, shame because I loved her TV show.

yay clara for a good scan! Do they want you to go back to scan the brain again?

There's a local antenatal swimming class! yay! Need to cancel my current gym membership and switch over tho...

I'm feeling ready to go all out and get stuff ready for the baby now. On eBay and Gumtree buying an isofix base, carry cot for the B-Agile and a cotbed this weekend. It's my birthday next week so if people are asking what I would like I'm saying amazon vouchers as the B-Agile car seat is £100. Then it's just a new mattress for the cotbed and textiles like muslin cloths, baby bedding, clothes etc all of which will be on my Christmas list. My sis is doing the nursery for me at Christmas (she's an artist). Oh and after that the only big outlay is the washable nappies (about £300 - compared to £1,000 a year) and perhaps a tumble drier in the January sales. Phew that was exhausting, best put the kettle on!

got that Friday feeling :)

rufus good question. DH and I realised that the other day and felt like complete numpties! A baby book is next on our list.

There's a little second hand sale on tomorrow which we're going to check out, but other than that I'm sticking to my January sales rhetoric - all Xmas presents also going towards the baby (and MIL is buying us a freezer). We've got bits of work to do in the house though - our guest room will be the baby room and we've got a little shed in the garden we want to convert into a guest space (nowhere to put them otherwise!) but have to empty it out first. So much organising to do! And we've been here a year and still don't have any blooming curtains...

Calypso, no they don't need me to go back for a third scan. They weren't concerned and I'm not either. I guess we forget that scans are optional, as pretty much most women would take one if offered. We're so lucky to have the NHS despite the problems it struggles with (i.e. no money!).

That's awesome about your sister designing your nursery - I love creative people (not being one myself). I think DH is keen to paint some sort of mural on the wall of our spare room but I'm from the 'let's buy some ready made decals off the internet' school of decorating!

I've also got that Friday feeling! Off to the Scotland v South Africa match in Newcastle tomorrow. Can't wait!!! Going to be an exciting day of rugby

rufus Google The Fourth Trimester. Also anything by William Sears, Oliver James, Sarah Ockwell Smith and L R Knost.

Breastfeeding wise: The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, The Food of Love, Ina Mays guide to breastfeeding.

Cleaner should be here soon, and whilst she's doing her thing I'm planning to lounge in bed and watch Greys Anatomy S5. Friday afternoon will be spent doing laundry. DDs are at their Dads this weekend so I'll mostly be lounging around doing naff all, eating, shopping online and getting my nails done I am due a lazy weekend.

calypso don't mind the style of the B.W., it's the practical bits that will help i.e. the 3 hour EASY schedule etc.

I used books with DD a lot, as I had no Google back then, no broadband and if there were any forums I didn't know about them!

With DS I found, apart from reading the BW, I mostly looked online for any support. The feeding section on MN is fab, so much good advice to be had there.

Um. My plan is to avoid books like the plague as the baby hasn't read them. But I'm a bit of a hippy when it comes to babies and think they don't stay little for long so cuddle them as much as possible.

Different books will suit different people. I read GF, baby whisperer and a couple of others. GF was far too rigid for me, although dd naturally fell into a very similar schedule, and she was a happy baby (though didn't sleep through). DS was a nightmare baby and I at first tried to enforce a similar routine to dds to desperately try to get some sleep but it just made me feel like a failure. Then I tried baby whisperer which made me actually want to kill people .

This baby is going to have to fit in with school runs etc so whatever 'routine' we have will be largely determined by that. I'll aim for spaced out feeds and longer sleeps as she gets older but nothing too rigid.

Crying is usually food, wind, bum or just wanting a cuddle. Sometimes it's obvious, other times it's just a process of elimination.

maisie i just couldn't stand the whole dear darling baby/precious little one vocabulary in the BW, and i put the book down when it said "have someone make you a camomile tea when you get home from hospital"

I think I'm just going to go with whatever the baby does. I saw my step mum almost kill herself trying to sort out a routine which changed every day - although saying that, I'll be going back to work (very part time as self employed) when the bubs is 2 months old so we'll have to see. I mainly want to know which way is the current way of putting it down to sleep and what not to feed it (like honey). Basically, how not to kill it...!

I know what you mean calypso - also she advocates a nap from 2pm to 5pm for all new mothers- err, not gonna happen for me I'm afraid!

I just found that having something to cling on to, in terms of where I was with naps and so on, was a big help.

I think it's only the second half of the book really, is the helpful bit.

I didn't read any books, but the authors mentioned above more or less follow what I've always done with my DCs. I follow them on Twitter. Breastfeeding books I do have and they are invaluable. The NHS does not provide adequate information or support to breastfeeding mothers. Basically:

1. You cannot spoil a baby. Hold them. A lot. Use a sling if you have a Velcro baby like my DD1 was.

2. Feed them on demand whether its breast or formula.

3. Change nappies when wet or pooed in.

4. Babies cannot manipulate you.

That's about all you need to know

GF People like her wind me up. I've had friends say her books bullshit massively contributed to their PND for various reasons.

Routines are a ridiculous notion for newborns.

Obviously my baby will have to slot in around school runs etc - I plan to use a sling so I can breastfeed whilst doing the school runs/after school club runs. I don't drive, live in a small town, so although it will be tricky, its not impossible. But other than that, I'll just be going with what baby needs and woe betide anyone who tells me different.

Rufus ask your local sure start centre about the free antenatal classes. Mine said they do a 5/6 week course starting around 26 weeks.

DH keeps rubbing my belly hoping to feel kicks, but I have hardly felt them myself yet so doubt he will feel them for a few weeks yet!

Somehow I don't foresee Gina Ford or whoever else knocking on my door and scolding me because it's 9.16am and the baby was meant to be down for a nap at 9.15.

They're books. Read them / don't read them, take from them the useful parts or discard them altogether as being at odds with your own or your baby's needs.

I am wondering how on earth a baby is going to fit around Brownies / Guides/ swimming / archery (all those things my 2 eldest are doing). Ho hum.

20 week scan was good, everything in the right place! Team blue here, sorry to tip the balance back again... and baby is apparently on the big side (head and tummy, shortish legs) so I get a glucose tolerance test next week. Yay... has anyone else had one yet?

Measurements:
HC: 188.3 mm
AC: 163.3 mm
FL: 31.6 mm

Sighing Yep same... My Mum had 5 girls - 10, 8, 5 and then newborn premature twins. Still have no clue how she got us to and from school every day! I imagine this baby will be trickier than the others, DD1 was 2 when DD2 was born and so we didn't have to do anything really, it was absolute bliss having 2 babies and being home all day with no sense of urgency about any day (although I did try and get out for a walk most days, even if it was a 6pm stroll to Tesco) but it'll be rather different this time.

Monkerina - I haven't had a GTT in this pregnancy but I had one in both my other pg's. With ds1 I didn't have gestational diabetes but I did with ds2 so I don't need a GTT this time I've just been treated as having gestational diabetes since 12 weeks.

Got a second attempt at my 20 week scan on Oct 15th at 9am hopefully baby will co operate this time.

I was at the hospital yesterday for an appointment to see dietician, midwife and doctors. Docs confirmed that after 2 previous c sections I will be having another around 39 weeks and they also looked through my scan report and said I'll need another scan at 32 weeks because my placenta is anterior and low.

All change at work for me from Monday. My work is emptying post boxes and collecting mail from post offices and firms and it can be quite heavy, especially coming up to Christmas, so I'm coming off driving and working indoors til I go on maternity leave, which I'm planning will be after Christmas, can't wait

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Some intriguing 4am reading for you all!
I have to say I hate pelvic floor exercises with a passion so I'm very ready to jump ship! More reading needed obv though. This is the second article on the topic, which clarifies better than the first mamasweat.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/pelvic-floor-encore.html?m=1

The first article mamasweat.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/pelvic-floor-party-kegels-are-not.html?m=1

Thanks haquoi - that's really interesting to me given my current, er, issue.

Off to do some squats!!

Thanks Haquoi!! I must must must start doing proper yoga again

Relieved you were awake at 4am to haquoi and it's not just me! Wondering if the insomnia will last till baby is born!

Hi all. Maisie here. I had to name change again as there's another poster with a really similar name to my Maisie one.

I have a weird pain in my ribs today. Just a weird ache at the bottom of my rib cage. Ribs are expanding I suppose.

I'm beginning to feel puffed out after carrying DS for any length of time. As in, even if I just carry him up the stairs I'm huffing and puffing afterwards He's bloody heavy! (12.5kg) He's barely standing so it'll be a while before he stops needing to be carried

Maefayner I know all about the huffing and puffing. I feel like any activity at all makes me huff and puff. Can be embarrassing when it's not like I'm huge at the moment but stupid things like making the bed winds me. DH dared to make fun of me about it once. I don't think he will do that again.