First-timers this year . . .

[TJuice]

I was just wondering how many are there of us . . .

I am due end of June and love my antenatal thread as there is so much good advice there but thought it may be nice to share a little with others who are new to this whole thing too.

Anyone interested?

Hello all,
I'm another first timer and thanks to TJuice for setting this up, I had thought that a first timers thread would be a good idea but just hadn't got round to it myself!
I'm 23wks +2 and due towards the end of May, live in Kent with my lovely DH, we've been married for nearly 5 years and together for 10 so it really was about time we got on with this baby lark!
Have now got to a really good stage of pregnancy and finally people are asking straight out 'So, when's the baby due' I absolutely hated the chubby in-between stage and loving my bump that has kicked in properly in the last couple of weeks (check out bump pic on my profile!)
I've not bought anything yet apart from a gorgeous teddy which DH has accused of buying for myself - as if! Having a DIY frenzy doing up about 4 rooms at a time including baby-room which really will make it seem real (as if the constant kicking doesn't!)
Hope everyone is well and that first-trimester first timers are not too flat out with horrible exhaustion - it does go and you will get your energy back - promise!!

HI all.

Due 8th July with my first. Swing between excited, scared etc.

Feeling baby move more now. have pain quite low down today (sort of top of pubic bone) comes and goes so not too worried.

Not brought anything - except a small soft toys after first scan, can't seem to let myself - wierd! Hoping after next scan (late feb) i'll feel more relaxed.

TJuice - i'm working, gonna leave at 34 weeks (36 officially but 2 weeks annual leave first). Going to take 9 months off, so saving like crazy so we can pay mortgage during this time! SMP not great! Going back part time (3 days), nursery 2 days and grandma 1 day. As a nursery manager i've managed to jump the waiting list!

Anyone thinking off booking a nursery place - DO IT NOW! In my area Essex most nurseries have a very long waiting list for under 2's (next place available in our place 2009 - bearing in mind people already on list to book that). Not trying to scare you but its worth thinking about!

m-wannabe - i have to go back to work too. my dp is a junior doctor in malmo sweden and will get paid a pittance. so he will take 3 months paternity while i go back. i work part-time anyway so its okay.

you can't put names down for nursery here until they are born! so they don't usually go until they are about 10 months or so. you can join in some care-at-home schemes though. its seems so far away, but i guess it will go quickly.

Hi All,

Hope that I can join this even if it is early. I am due in Mid Sept. First time 32 year old (seems to be the trendy age on this thread!).

Despite 2 scans (bleeding and pain) and seeing heart beat the whole thing seems very new to me. And very scary. And not very real. When does the realness kick in? Slightly worried that I will be coming home from the maternity ward with small baby and still wondering when it will seem real... DP being helpful but also not being able to get head round the enormity of it - will it like us? Will it hate me if I can a only afford to take 6 moths mat leave?

Realised this morning that this worrying was not going to end for the next... well, forever.

I'm working Tjuice, as a software test analyst. Not a very rock star job, but it pays the bills. I just started with a new company and found I was pregnant. We weren't going to even try but you know after the mc, I was just so desperate for some lovin' everything just happened the first week I ovulated.

I'll get the gov't maternity allowance and the 39 weeks mat leave. 9 months. I'll probably take 6 to be fair.

Piggly you are so together!! I don't even HAVE a spare room! This kid is going to be going on the very bare minimum for the first few months.

We've just made our wish list on Amazon and have come up with £400.00 not including nappies, wipes, and bottles. We've given ourselves a £500.00 budget for now and can add on as the baby gets older. That way, we can buy what we can afford now and then know what we need towards the end.

We're having an anomaly scan early March that will check major organs and growth..and gender! Then my family are supposed to send some things from the states. I'm not going to count on it though, since I never got a single wedding present or Christmas card.

MIL is getting the travel system. We liked Mamas and Papas pramette because it's lightweight and doesn't take up too much space (and someone else is buying)

Hi to all the other first timers! How exciting

Hey up there in Aberdeen!! Lovely weather we're having eh?

Hi Crabby..First off, big hugs. I know what you mean about being an enormous deal inside your body and partners really don't get it. I think it all starting kicking in for my DH last week when I had my 16 week scan. Seeing it's wee hands wiggle..freaked him out.

My morning sickness is gone and I've almost stopped crying for no apparent reason.

There's a heap of books out there if you want to start reading. Sometime that helps to get you thinking about being a mum and see that you are not alone at feeling this way. This baby will need you for everything to survive of course it will love you.

You'll be awesome!

of course this is all just my humble opinion. I've yet to actually have a baby.

Hi all, also a first timer (following miscarriages) and due in July- making me 17 weeks tomorrow! Hello to you all!

Haven't bought anything yet- still not able to look at the later pages of the pregnancy book where it gets to all the birth business- accidently looked at it the other day when I was having a cup of tea and spontaneously threw it across the room!

Still in 'normal' clothes but one or two sizes bigger (god bless this baby's excellent timing with the xmas sale bargains). I think I look amazingly pregnant but apparently just look like I've been enjoying extra portions... there is an episode of 'Scrubs' where a pregnant women says to her bloke 'do I look like a pregnant women?' and he reassures by saying 'not at all, you just look like you've let yourself go' .... that's me at the minute.

Thanks mcchesers. I am sure you are right, just my denial about the whole thing (I promise - this little thing is planned and wanted) is a little disconcerting. I suppose you see the films, read the books (fiction) and think that you immediatly start running around and making mobiles to go in the DB's bedroom .

Which books do you recommend? I work in a medical field and so know quite a bit of the technical side of the baby business but depressingly little of the practical warm fuzzy stuff.

Will be amused (I think) by the "you just let youself go" stage. Weirdly, only struck me post BFP that getting in the best possible condition (and skinniest!!!) pre conception would be a good thing - for the selfish reason of thinking that was my last chance to actually have a small bum... possibly ever. Now the crash diet seems somewhat of a bad idea . Maybe its just easier to fantasise that I would have done it now that I can't!!!

Yesterday i feel i reached a kinda milestone.
It was the first time a stranger had asked me when i was due. Must definately look pregnant now.

bump
I love having a bump and feel very proud of it. I love showing it off! Have even been told that being pregnant suits me!

Hi guys! I'm a newbie too (due in June), and panicking about everything from whether bugaboos are too pretentious to whether I need to register the LO for nursery school already! I keep thinking that the worrying will end when the baby is born -- yeah, right!

hello, I am a first timer too,looking forward to meeting my baby. due beginning of march so 35+1 today.

am cracking up at all of you being so organised - i don't even have a cot yet. Am definitely definitely going to get sorted this week...

Morning!

Crabby my SIL sent me a book called "Pregnancy Sucks" which is a lighthearted look at her experience in pregnancy. There's also a good one called "What to expect when you are expecting"

I think it was just hearing so many other women feeling as mentally wishy washy as I was and how normal all these feelings are that helped.

Welcome Fluff! So you are first up then? How exciting!

yep, first up and it still doesn't seem real...

Morning all,

I thought I was the only one that was getting a bump, even my mum said 'wow your showing already' and I'm only 9 weeks this week

nausea seems to have calmed down slightly. I'm at the stage where I suddenly think 'oh my god I'm going to be sick'. I don't know what I prefer as I'm a community nursery nurse and visiting homes its very hard to stop mid conversation and throw up without them thinking that their baby is going to catch something

When did you all tell work and let them know when you wanted to start maternity leave?
I don't want to go back but can't live on one wage so hoping to sort out part-time.

Hi all, I'm 24 years old due to be a first time mum, 26+4 weeks due around the 1st of may.

Very excited, although not enjoying pregnancy, had morning sickness 24/7 which although has got better hasn't gone away and i just feel drained most of the time and i keep getting ill with different ailments!!!! Work have't been the slightest bit supportive and they don't pay sick pay (only statuory) so we're now in a finanical bind. So in all although i'm excited and desperate to meet my little one i also feel a little guilty and wrong for have got pregnant in the first place. If that makes any sense to you?

Hi everyone

I have "What to expect when you're expecting and I think its okay". I didn't get any others because I do use the internet and can get info overload sometimes.
the only other book i have bought so far is "Rock Star Momma" - a kind of pregnancy style book (its a bit crap though) and the Gina Ford book that causes so much controversy. My friend swears by it.

I told my work at 4 months, as I was a bit nervous and wanted to research and be prepared. Am still negotiating my deal. They have offered me six months at 3/4 of my salary. Most decent danish companies give you full pay for 6 months but i am not complaining. the final 2 or 3 months i will be on state pay and then my boyfriend gets that for the remainder of the year.

I think i will have to freelance a bit too to make ends meet. Its weird planning all this stuff. I have never been good with money and now I will just have to be better . . . .

I will go on maternity leave at the beginning of june, i think. but we have visitors for the whole month so my idea of just swanning around, sunbathing and preparing for the birth has been thwarted somewhat.

Hello

I'm a first time mum-to-be too... Am 12 weeks exactly today and have my first scan (a NT scan) tomorrow. Am so excited but also a little nervous incase there's anything wrong!!

Looking forward to feeling less tired - as everyone says that trimester two you've boundless energy. Find that hard to imagine at the moment as climbing the stairs is an effort!

And my emotions are all over the place too... Just running out of bread can leave me in tears on my poor husband

Anyway, wish me luck for tomorrow...

Hi TJuice thanks so much for setting up this thread, MissChika here from the Due July 08 thread. It's great to see that it's been so busy already and that there are quite a few of us first-timers around!!

Btw, I'm 18 weeks tomorrow and due on 1 July.

I'm really excited about being a mum but it is strange when you're one of the first out of your group of friends to have a baby. I just can't get excited about going out anymore and the smell of alcohol is the one thing that still makes me feel sick! It also means that DP can't really drink either though !

Haven't bought anything at all yet or planned the baby's room although we should probably start soon. I'll be starting maternity leave at the beginning of June and I think I'm going to take the whole year off (the last 3 months of it is unpaid though).

Pigleychez fab picture of your bump!

Hello can I join? Crabby i think you may be my doppelganger I'm also a 32-year-old first-timer due in september. The september thread has been fantastic so far but it's great tobe able to chat to lots of others all going through this for the first time I'm struggling to keep the anxiety at bay as had early mc in october but hopefully this will get a bit better as the weeks go by.

I agree it's particularly strange when you're the first out of your group of friends - my mates are all planning which music festivals they're going to this summer and I'm running out of excuses! Oh well they'll find out soon enough...

hi everyone - I'm a first-timer too (post miscarriages also), due in June. Another one is Scotland too!

I've been doing quite a bit of shopping I have to confess! I've ordered the bugaboo bee pram (please dont think I'm pretentious mumofone ; I just liked it because it was compact, light and DH could open/close it ok and lots of the other prams/travel systems looked a bit big and scary too me).

Book wise I have a few.... but 'what to expect when you're expecting' is definitely the most useful. If anyone wanting to research real nappies then I can recommend the 'nappylady' (easy to find website on google). It was recommended to me by a friend who uses real nappies and as well as loads of info, you can do a tailored questionnaire to find out what you're 'real nappy' needs are. Although it sells a range of real nappies it really is independant advice and there's no pressure/obligation to buy anything.

Thanks for the book recommendations. V excited to have a doppleganger. What to expect seems to get fairly mixed reviews on amazon, but it does seem to be the classic. I'll give it a whirl.

Stressful day again today as I am still having on and off bleeding. 2nd scan (on friday at 6 ish weeks) showed implantaton area causing the bleeding and the mws seemed fairly chilled about it. This is not so easy for me to feel relaxed, mc seems to loose large. Did anyone else have normal early scans and then go on to have a mc? Now I'm just torturing myself. Motherhood beckons!

I secretly think that bugaboos are cool. DP disagrees.

Thanks Crabby - my DH loved the bugaboo when he tried it out. He too was a bit scared of all the other prams in the shops; so many of them look too big, complicated and heavy!

Sorry to sound v. dim, but this is what happens when you are right at the beginning of this trip. Do you really need a pram/pushchair? I would have thought that for the early days at least then a car seat and baby bjorn or similar would do for travel. I am sure my sister only used a pushchair when her DD was older - ?1 year+. Or is this all wishful thinking? Will we need to bight the bullet and buy some serious baby gear for transportation? (Nearer the time obviously - not due til Sept fingers and toes crossed).

Hello all, can I join in? I'm 36 and my first is due in 8 weeks time! He's a boy and very active and (with any luck) will be born at home in a pool. I must admit I have everything sorted, but that's due to the 5 weeks til I'm considered "term" bit!!
Hope everyone is feeling well.

Hi all,

FeeBee71- my energy hasn't returned in 'boundless' amounts, but having felt like I'd never get off the sofa again, it is very nice in the last week and a half to have some at least! Went for an hours walk at the weekend- felt like such a massive acheivement!- totally identify with your not even getting up the stairs without being exhausted!

I'm only seventeen weeks but having lots of problems sleeping- have other people had this at this point? I'm sure it's more psychological than anything because my bump's no great size as yet, when I had the nausea I kept waking up in the night with that, so wondering if I've just got used to waking up I now I expect it??

Moved jobs just before Xmas, have told supervisor but no one else knows yet, feeling a bit nervous about telling people...