Due Jan 2008 - watch those pumpkin bumps grow!

[Amani]

hello!!!

Naetha - you must have an amazing pain threshold, some of those tattoos must have hurt like hell! I'm in awe ....and there was me saying I couldn't put the catch on the Quinny Buzz

Fruitful - are you in the Rosie? If so, I can pop in and visit you any time. I am only 10 mins down the road.

Please feel free to say "no, leave me alone", but if you do need anything or just a chat, I'm happy to come and visit you.

Hehe welcome back MrsMac, hope you had a good trip

The catch on the buzz wasn't easy, but was fairly manageable - I am quite strong and not at all dainty though!

As for the tattoos - it feels just like epilating, so if you can cope with that, you can cope with tattoos

Evening everyone

I had great fun at my temp job today!

I am also hoping to join the Bugaboo club, had a push of one at the weekend (complete with 18 month old) and thought it was brilliant! Now only job is persuading DP to part with the ££ as they are very pricey!

Evening all

Though I'd log in and see how everyone is doing.

Thanks barristermum for updating Mrs McJnr - it's MotherofZ! Did you have a nice time in Spain ?

Fruitful - fingers crossd for you hun, that you will be ok to leave hospital soon.
Thanks to whoever reminded me of linsonah cream - heard so much about it so defo going to pick some up

Baby seems to be doing acrobatics tonight - not sure if LO is having a major shift of position, but can actual se my tummy in lots of different places and it feels rock hard horizontally across the middle of my tummy.

Got m/w appointment tomorrow to draw some more blood - great! but looking forward to hearing heartbeat.

Still no sign or MM or Beller today?

Evening all

Though I'd log in and see how everyone is doing.

Thanks barristermum for updating Mrs McJnr - it's MotherofZ! Did you have a nice time in Spain ?

Fruitful - fingers crossd for you hun, that you will be ok to leave hospital soon.
Thanks to whoever reminded me of linsonah cream - heard so much about it so defo going to pick some up

Baby seems to be doing acrobatics tonight - not sure if LO is having a major shift of position, but can actual se my tummy in lots of different places and it feels rock hard horizontally across the middle of my tummy.

Got m/w appointment tomorrow to draw some more blood - great! but looking forward to hearing heartbeat.

Still no sign or MM or Beller today?

Ooh have a massive craving for beer at the moment!! DH opened a bottle of beer and I had a swig and I could have downed it in one!!

Now I can't stop thinking about it

sorry meant i can actually see my tummy move....

Just realised that I had a moment of madness the sentence in my previous posting should be

Baby seems to be doing acrobatics tonight - not sure if LO is having a major shift of position, but can actual see my tummy move in lots of different places and it feels rock hard horizontally across the middle.

DONE!!!

Amani the moving tummy thing is great. Pudding has been doing alien impressions too.

MrsMcjnr welcome back. How was spain? did you get lots of r&r? glad you cortisol test came back ok.

Sideways hi there, hope you are ok

Fruitful - sorry to here placenta moving wrong way. Good that they are more positive tho about how long you might be in for. I forgot you had 2 other children. Must be tough being apart from them Hopefully wont be for too long tho. Dont apologise for posting about you, that is what we are here for. Did you see sideways post?

Naetha - lol at furry boots. Not really a work look eh? I am still craving calippos. Also getting my fix of mars bar in before gtt. How the heck are we going to manage nil by mouth. Usually wouldnt be a problem but because I know I am not allowed it makes me want to eat after midnight lol at your dp, it reminds me of my dp when we both have colds. He is always 'sicker' than me. lol. I remember you saying about the Quinny. DP tho is so taken with the bugaboo gecko that i am leaving it with him.

Cazzy - if you get your dp to have a 'play' with the bugaboo the money will probably fade in significance.. that said it means i have to wait before getting a differnt car (have 3 door corsa atm).

Barristermum - hi there Are you coming ike the thinking with the leather seats.

bugger - cocked that last bit up

Barristermum - Are you likely to be in Southampton again in the near future? Also like the sound of your new car sounds fast too. lol at your beanie getting stage fright.

Just a quick hi to all - had a big day and am tired now.

Just wanted to say thanks very much to BeckyAu - Have decided against Argos on your advice and finally solved sofa dilamma by buying more expensive one locally. I think it's going to be scrummy.

Have a good night's sleep everyone. Wishing you recovered sons, no sore hips or bumps and a quiet night on the ward for you fruitful,

All ok with me and dh - i finally said i am just going to do it and he kind of said ok.

What are skin tags??

I find the palmers skin cream very good so far so good not a stretch mark in sight.

Osteopath tomorrow to try to get rid of pains under my ribs.

Next antenatal on wednesday - moving on to the birth plan etc i think will let you know.

Actually propbably going to do some prep and nothing too heavy in between now and the murder barrister mum.

Hope everyone well

Hello ladies,
I'm another one who has almost no chance of cathing up but have had a quick scan through!

MrsMcJnr - glad your hols were good and your cortisol test was ok, wish I had just turned brown for no reason, am currently very pale blue!!! Takes a week in the sun before I even look white. particularly annoying as DH is black and DD the most gorgeous pale coffee colour so they make me look even pastier!

Awen and Gingeme - so pleased your DS's are on the mend. It's just so awful when they feel rotten and you can't do anything to make it stop isn't it? At least they'l be free of the dreaded tonsilitis from now on!

Fruitful - what a nightmare for you, really hope they let you out soon. How is your other half coping with your other children on his own? Do you have family nearby who can help? I am hoping to have this baby in the Rosie too, my mum lives nearby and going to stay with her at the end of the pregnancy. My local hospital scares me!

Big wave to everybody else, hope you are all feeling good and not too achey!

I am starting to feel really rubbish now, sore back constant heartburn etc and v glad I am already on maternity leave! Went to a spa with my mum for a couple of nights 2 weeks ago and last week went to Dublin for 2 nights with DH which was fab! Stayed in v posh hotel and treated ourselves. DD stayed with my mum and was spoilt rotten!

Have started to decorate babies room, it has one wall with cath Kidston cowboy wallpaper and 3 cream walls, looks fab and made it all seem more real! Have bought most of what I need now (clothes, nappies, labour bag stuff etc) just need to get new buggy as hated the giant Graco thing I had for dd and ditched it after 6 weeks in favour of a little zippy Maclaren. Think I am going to get either the Maclaren XLR or the Mamas & papas Pliko, like the maclaren but it doesn't have a base that goes in the car and don't know if I can face strapping car seat in every day! Will test both this week and then decide

Apologies for the epic post, will attempt to post more frequently in future!!

do what nicky? What have i missed?

Skin tags are little bits of skin that almost look like little moles growing out of your skin (basically little tags)

Forgot to say about my dp that when he was away he read up on pregnancy etc. He announced that I need to sort out hospital bag and also start birth plan pmsl. I am glad that he is interested tho. Still found it very funny.

toomanyshoes - i went for a graco with ds1 and agree was huge and bulky and the car seat got really heavy (ended up getting a equally heavy 3 wheeler then an umbrella stroller). We are getting the britax first class car seat which will stay in situ in the car as I dont fancy lugging carseat around again.

Hi Awen, did think about skipping the whole travel system thing this time but decided that as I use car so much would be constantly waking the baby up to transfer him to the pram. Also, went to the baby screenings at my local cinema every week last time i was on mat leave and loved being able to carry dd into screening asleep in car seat and wedging it on seat next to me!! Don't think I've ever seen so many films, I loved it! Used to go with all my nct friends and have v long lunch afterwards

Like the sound of the cinema

Morning all
Hope you all are well.

Awen - your DP sounds like a real modern man!

Thought I'd pop in to say hi to everyone - haven't been on for a week or so.

Fruitful - really sorry to hear you're in hospital. I hope you're able to go home soon and that the LO sticks in there for a long while yet.

Awen and Gingme - glad to hear your DSs are getting better. I thought they were very brave to be eating weetbix and toast so soon after it, I'd insist on icecream only for weeks...!

Looks like everyone is getting really organised (or has a list of things they need to do to be organised...) We finally ordered our buggy on the weekend, went for the Quinny Buzz.

Also bought a rocking chair. I've read that rocking chairs should be avoided as they mean you rock the baby to sleep and store up problems for yourself, but some of my nicest memories from very early childhood are of sitting with my mom in her rocking chair while she read me a story so I bought one anyway. We left it in the lounge the day we bought it and our cat thought "ooh good, new chair!" and jumped up on it. Except that it rocked as he jumped so he completely missed the seat and fell off in a very undiginified heap!! He was NOT amused and swept out of the room with a furious glance at the chair - while we rolled around laughing! Anyay, when we got home from work on Monday he was sitting on it so had obviously figured out the chair in his own time.

I'm working from home today as I have an antenatal appointment this afternoon. Perfect day for it as well - raining and nasty in London so I'm glad not to be on the train in rush hour. I hope everyone is feeling well this morning.

good morning all. Well, unfortunately my most exciting news is that on the way to catch the train last night I turned my ankle landed, not particularly gracefully, on my knee. Put a hole in my favourite bump covering jeans... boohoo. So now I'm limping around pathetically, but it could be a lot worse I guess... and now I'm on the market for new jeans. Anyone got any recommendations for good bump covering jeans? (I have some under bump ones but only wear them when I can be bothered continuously hitching them up!)

We went to an Early Parenting class at the Active Birth Centre in North London last night. Not sure if any of you are in the area (we're actually not, based down in SE London but get the tube up for the classes) - we've done two classes there now and I really recommend them. They are v pro-attachment parenting, but lots of good tips, esp. if this is your first LO.

I finally made a decision on the winter coat sitution and ordered this one. I'm sure it's not to everyones taste but I like it Looking forward to it arriving as I'm fast growing out of my normal coats and it's gone all cold and miserable here again! Hope I don't have to wait too long thanks to the mail strike...

(laughing at myself as so many of you are ordering Bugaboos and new cars and I'm proud of myself for getting a new coat! Eh. Things will have to change around here soon!) Fortunately we got a 'list of things to buy' at the course last night - I needed one of those. And they did some demonstrations of a few different slings, which was also helpful.

Naetha - that conversation with your DH sounds v familiar to ones we have at our place! I think my DH is even growing a matching bump!

Fruitful - I'm thinking 'correct direction movement' thoughts for you and your placenta ;)

Am back from m/w.

Everything ok -love hearing the heartbeat again! Thankfully didin't pass out, but felt mega dizzy after the bloods so rested before making my way back to work.

Showed m/w the weird patches on my arms and she took additional blood samples as she said it might be cholestasis which is somehow connected to the liver ???? (need to read up on it)

Asked about Group B Steps testing as I had it in my previous pregnancy and since neither my baby or I were given antibiotics during or after labour I am not going to be tested for it.

sabinar - sorry to hear about your fall. hope you are ok.

Morning All

Its sooooo cold today, and raining a miserable, have just had to put the heating on to try and warm myself up!

Awen ? bless your DP for reading up on pregnancy, my DP made me laugh the other day, I told him I had some pain across one side of my bump and he announced that it was my uterus stretching, in a very matter of fact kind of way! Think he has been looking at some pregnancy websites!

BWMum ? My mum has given me her old rocking chair, it is currently in our Nursery/Spare room. I thought it would be brilliant for when baby arrives!

Sabinar ? sorry to hear about your fall and the hole in your jeans! I am still currently raving about the Zara maternity range, they have some lovely over the bump jeans! Your winter coat looks sooooo warm, would be perfect on a day like today!

Amani ? glad MW went well, hope your feeling ok after the bloods!

Hi to everyone else! I am off to get ready for my second day of temping ? had great fun yesterday, the lady I was working with was lovely and made me feel really at ease.

Oh BWmum Im laughing about your cat and your rocking chair. When I had ds3 my sil gave me one of those glider chairs. Our cat,who we no longer have, jumped onto it without realising it moved and was kinda stuck on what to do next. He jumped straight off and threw us a dirty look then scampered off with the hump
Ow sabiner hope your ankle isnt giving you too much pain now. Rest it as much as you can.
How are you today fruitful? Any chance of you being let home?
Awen bless your dp for taking such an interest in your pg. Hows ds today?
toomanyshoes please don't keep baby in the car seat for too long. I think I mentioned before about blue baby syndrome where tiny babys are all squashed in the car seat resulting in the wind pipe being closed and baby dying. I heard about this last year here on Mumsnet.
Well the weather is too wet to do much today. Think Ill make the most of it and rest up today ha ha ha who am I kidding

I suddenly realised that I never asked how the meet-up went, although it sounds as though Gingeme has other things on her mind at the moment...can anyone fill me in?!

Sabinar and MrsMc - thanks for the coat ideas. Unfortunately Sabinar's only comes in XS and I suspect I need something more like an M, which is a shame as it looks perfect...warm and waterproof.

Can anyone please please please tell me why Maternity coats appear to all be cardigans, fleeces etc - in other words, nothing remotely appropriate for a proper wet, cold English winter? I want a real coat....[stamps feet and sticks out tongue]. Oh, and for £100 or less, obviously. I fell in love with the one on the Formes website, but its ridiculously overpriced

For those of you who have bought Bugaboo's - we have loved ours for 2 years now! It was DH who decided on it after playing with that and the Jane, at the time I was fairly unbothered, but I've been so so so happy with it!

BF and sore nipples - nothing you can do to toughen up in advance but you should definitely invest in a tube of Lansinoh cream. It's amazing stuff - a friend who BF twins recommended it by saying "they should hand it to you as they deliver the baby" and I never had anything more than mild soreness for a few days. No cracking, bleeding, anything like that- just a bit sensitive for the first week or so.

The thing about BF-ing is that the key is positioning; if you get that right and the baby is on properly there's no reason to end up sore. I invested in 2 things that made the most enormous difference...

1. A strap on BF pillow called (groan) My Brest Mate. Its different to the sausage shaped ones you can buy as it attaches to you, so you can adjust the height, and has a decent back support. It was totally wonderful

2. A proper BF chair. Now, I held out on this and tried to use existing furniture and an old cane rocking chair I've had for years and had back-ache for the first 9 weeks. Then I visited a friend and used her chair for a feed...went home and immediately bought my own.

They're really expensive in the shops but 'only' about £80 from www.kiddicare.com and it was probably our best baby buy ever, after our bugabo! Again, 2 years on and we still use it all the time, for reading, cuddles etc. In fact, I'm going to buy another one for the new baby as I want to keep the existing one in DS's bedroom as we use it so much....

As for perineal massage, I didn't bother with DS but lots of friends did and said it didn't make the blindest bit of difference! So I guess its one of those 'do it if you can be bothered' type things, but it all seems to be hearsay rather than based on any scientific evidence! By the way, I had a huge epesiotomy, so it wouldn't have made the blindest bit of difference, and what really helped was having a donut cushion (you can get them for piles as well!) to sit on for the first few weeks afterwards!!

Eek, that was a long post ...sorry for wittering on for ages. Should probably get back to work now....sigh