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?

Great names Cyteen!

Birth ball same as gym ball....

Won't be stocking our freezer on Maternity Leave as a)my freezer is full and b)we are moving house, in theory a week before my due date, so need to empty the freezer. Butfortunately my mum is coming to stay for a minth, so she can look after the baby whilst I cook....

First NCT class last night and DH found it less cringe-worthy than he thought, thank God, though he only has to make it through another two classes. I have those and two all-day girls-only classes to attend. Quite nice to meet people. I only hope that I sleep better after the next ones!

cyteen - i wish i worked for a charity instead of an ad agency - i am such a sell-out! love the name vincent particularly but edmund is great too.

forgot about your move cakes! sounds like a bit of a mare. is everything going according to plan?
i tried sitting on an exercise ball at work today and then everyone wanted a god. still paranoid about it bursting though . . .i feel like i have one up my jumper today - had a funny tummy for a while and its even more swollen.

anyone still looking for maternity clothes - topshop online are having a sale right now.
i am so over maternity wear - although i still need a good pair of jeans for the next 9 weeks . . . .

have to stop myself buying stuff now - its just too much. i just got a bunch of baby books and lullaby cds on ebay and yesterday got a swaddling blanket and interactive caterpillar toy. i have spent soooo much money!

Hi

I'm on the July thread so I recognize a few names. Having a baby boy on 8th July. Had a horrible 1st trim, a fantastic 2nd trim and now feel like an old granny (29+5). No one warned me that simply getting out of bed would be so difficult. Have really been enjoying lots of baby movements until I read another thread- now I've realised that all the kicks are low down which most likely means the baby is breech. I know there's plenty of time to move but it's something else to be worried about as the thought of a C section on the NHS in a dirty hospital is terrifying.
I've got nipple envy- wish mine were getting bigger- mine are both inverted- am really hoping that I will be able to bf, apparently there is a chance that I will.
Hope everyone has a good day.

jocesar absolutely no reason you should not be able to breast feed with inverted nipples. It can take a little more perseverances sometimes it you have but should not stop you. May be worth getting some Nipple shields (Mexican hats) and putting them in your bra to see if you can help them come out but even if that does not work there are ways to help just before a feed such as pinch the area around your nipple to make it pop out. Even if that does not work have still seen Mums breastfeed successfully (worked in neonatal intensive care and taught breastfeeding for 12 years) .

Thanks for that Kaz- that's the first positive thing I've heard re bf and rubbish nipples. Gives me hope! I've been trying the niplette- have you any advise about those? Should I start to wear the shields now and for every day?

Not heard of a niplette before but looks like it does a similar thing but in a more active way. I was working with Mums post delivery who had had a preterm baby and our recommendation was they kept them inside their bra before feeding they are silicone so would think they could get a little sweaty and slimy is in all day. We mainly did it because the babies we were dealing with had such small mouths and were not able to get the whole of the darker area in their mouth unlike a term baby. Some people feed with nipple shields but have known them cause as many problems as they solve and we normally did not recommend them for that.

If you have the added problem (possibly because of the negative things said about inverted nipples rather than anything else breastfeeding is a lot about maternal confidence and emotions) it may be worth finding out if the hospital you are going to deliver at is "baby friendly" this just means they have put a lot of work into supporting breastfeeding women and they should have a specialist who can be contacted to give you specific support. Midwives (and all the staff involved with hands on care) there should also be able to but sometimes it can feel like the regular staff are too busy doing other things. You can check that and other things out here www.babyfriendly.org.uk/page.asp?page=1 if they do not at least have a certificate of commitment it maybe worth joining the NCT, La Leche League, Breastfeeding Network, Association of Breastfeeding Mothers,or some other organisation that had lactation specialists in your area just so you have that extra support.

And your nipples are not rubbish they are just shy

Hi ladies, long time no post.

Poor you, Kaz, sounds like you're really going through the mill. Nice one on the exam - I bet you do loads better than the non-pregnant students!

Congrats on the boy, Cyteen - I love your names. I esp. like Vincent and may start working on dh...

France was lovely and I want to go back NOW!The food issue was massive, though, and it was like being vegetarian again - which most French people see as an unfortunate psychological condition. Plus my psycho sister (whom I was visiting) started making a really big deal out of it and shouted at me in cafes when I couldn't decide what to have from a limited menu in a foreign language - I will never go for a meal with that nutter again, and she is SO not visiting this summer now! The food was great, though, and I'm going to chill out about the Banned Foods List as I had to compromise or starve and little fetus seems to still be happy.

I also got more exercise walking around Paris than I have for weeks at home - yay ace legs from walking up the steps to Montmarte like Amelie! But slower, with breaks for wheezing.

Sorry to bang on, but this was my first holiday in 2 years, if you discount taking time off for DIY.

The sleep tips worked wonders, thank you all so much. I will look at the long pillows issue in due course as I hear they are ace.

TJuice, you can't pop those gym balls - they are well tough and made for punishment. The ones at my local leisure centre get bounced up and down on day in, day out by the lads and lasses from the sweet factory up the road all the time .

Tjuice, agree with Ruth on the balls, people much larger than me plus bump bounce on them for hours- if you like the one I got (totally by accident, didn't realise you could get them cheaper) is double walled- don't know what this means but it sounds reassuring!

Makecakes, can't believe you're moving- how's it all going?!?

Ruth, aren't holidays the best- particular like the image of a slow with breaks whizzing Amelie tripping about....! Can very much identify with that- internally I'm full of the joys of spring and impending motherhood, externally there's a lot of puffing, stops for breaks and rubbing my back! Am also developing quite a developing a bit of a drunken sailor lurch as the day wears on and I get more tired..

Ruth that was wheezing not whizzing!

Ruth I really must stop winging in another thread I am winging about having to have the GTT. But I just feel so bloody tired all the time and the hormones are kicking in big time put that together and I am spending half my time holding the tears back and the other half asleep.

carrieHD9 I have developed a slow waddle a bit like a fat duck, one hand on my back the other on my tummy not only do I get chronic back pain for years but now BH nearly every time I have to walk any distance. Even taken to using the lift at college every so often rather than walking up the stairs I get out of puff rather than wheeze I know my HB was heading down so think I am probably anaemic which is making it worse, will know next week from the blods taken on Thursday.

Just kick me if I winge again please

okay - gym ball it is.
the cost about £30 here though. but my parents are coming over in a couple of weeks - where can i get them from cheaply in england? Argos???

i went to a 40th birthday party on friday and it wasn't the fact that i couldn't drink that bored me - it was that nobody would talk to me about anything other than the baby, prenancy, birth and kids! it was nice at first but i would try and switch subjects and talk about something else and they would go back to talking about babies again!

oh well . . . its sweet,i guess. people get excited.

T- theyc cost about £8 in argos...

Kaz, you whinge as much as you like, love - it's what we're here for! I get cranky if I have to get up to wee, or can't eat certain foods, or don't fit into my jeans, for crying out loud. If I was having as crappy a time as you, you'd be able to hear me across the Pennines. I think you're being really brave.

Shopping - have just checked out the Bugaboo Bee (family are helping with cost) and OMG I want one now, never mind in November. I'm a shallow, shallow person, as I'm sure I'm slightly more excited about the baby now I've been window shopping for prams...

Cakes, you crazy lady moving house! Hope the preparations are all going smoothly and that him indoors and friends and family being supportive.

Back to work tomorrrow and scan on Wed afternoon - can't wait! I am now sure it's twins (see what I mean, Kaz?)...

TJuice - I bought my gym ball on ebay for £5 - bargain! I like sitting on my to put my washing on the clothes horse, which means taking it upstairs. Pregnant lady carrying gym ball doesn't work, so you have to roll it, and getting it back downstairs creates a kind of Indiana Jones scenario which also freaks out the cats. If it does nothing for your back, it will make you laugh!

I am only 23 weeks pregnant and was having agony in bed until I got my gym ball. It really helps with the back pain. I just need to find the time to sit on it now... hmm... that's tricky when I work full time and seem to need to spend every single minute at home in bed... I am Sleepy Sleepyson these days. Bed is already shrinking at nighttime...

Excitable I have not even blown up my gym ball. Just the picture of me rolling it down the stairs and Elwood my cat bot knowing which way to run has made my day.

Hi all, can't sleep so have been up since quarter to 6 doing reports for work- how grim is that! Getting pretty tired now and definately not working so well at work, wondering if I have overloaded these last few weeks with too much to do as I'll start to flag significantly? Problem is you plan your maternity leave in that halcyon period-the mid trimester- when you have boundless energy!

Excitable, agree with you about the ball and back pain- don't know what it does but it does it well!

Ruth, good luck today with scan!

Can't wait - will let you know if it/they's all okay. I sadly don't have a cat, but will get a gym ball just to roll it downstairs at DH, who would quite like to be Indiana Jones. Come to think of it, that scenario's got something for everyone...

It really has. It works even better if you shout random lines from the film as the ball goes down the stairs...
"You call him Dr. Jones, lady!" is my favourite... (and the only line I know from any of the films...)

Ruth, I think if you make him a hat out of newspaper, so he can snatch it up as the ball comes rolling towards him, that would work just fine, in all sorts of ways... mmm...

Blow up your ball, Kaz - it's so worth it.

Carrie, did you just wake up at quarter to 6, or did you have to get up that early to catch up?

I am in my halcyon period and not noticing that I boundless energy - I guess everything is relative.

Excitable might just have to just to chase Elwood down the stairs with it I want revenge for him poohing on the floor AGAIN

Just had my twenty week scan. It was fab. DH was completely enthralled, He says it was the technology, but I'm not so sure....

We can only agree on a boy's name but that's OK, because that's what it is! Oh and yes, the important stuff, all arms and legs, heart and spine and so on, all present and correct.

That was three hours ago, and I still havn't calmed down! I'm just so !

AHLH I find seeing this little (and hearing to some extent) ones is so magical I have another scan due on 12th May to check what these fibroids are doing and I just can't wait The Doc who admitted me when one of my fibroids was causing problems was going to scan my tummy just to reassure me I think I got really excited then the flippin portable machine would not work typical.

lucky scan people!

i got spoilt with two-weekly scans in the first trimester (although they were scary because i had had a miscarriage before) but now I have nothing until i actually sprog in eight weeks (EIGHT WEEKS!!)!!!!
i would love to see her little face already . . .

hope you are having a nice May Day. Its a holiday over here - but the one day recently where its a bit overcast and gloomy. i have tomorrow off too because the server is down at work!!!

Hi all - first timer here and wondered if any of you know the answer to a silly vain question

Is it okay to get my hair highlighted now that I am pregnant? I usually go to a salon that uses Aveda products as they are generally made up of mostly organic ingredients and are a bit more gentle than other dyes and although its only foil highlights it is still bleach! I am still very early - 7+5.

Wouldn't worry but for the fact that I am starting to look distinctly skunk-like as roots blossom into full view . . . .

Thanks!

cococat - I've had my hair highlighted a couple of times whilst being pregnant, although not in the 1st trimester - I'd ask your hairdressers about it.
Apparently it's ok to hightlight as the dye doesn't touch the scalp so not getting into your skin. I'd make sure the salon is well ventilated too, so don't breathe in fumes!

Perfectly sensible question cococat - foil highlights are apparently fine. I've had mine done and nothing bad happened. Those products sound better than the ones that they use in my hairdressers. My only concern is that it might make you feel sick, but that depends how sick you are day-to-day. Hairdressers are very smelly places and I couldn't contemplate going to mine before week 17 for fear of barfing on the other customers (how not to win friends and influence people!)

Kaz - practice your cross-mummy voice on your cat. See if you can put him on the naughty step. I've been practicing on my cats. I got my cat to sit next to the sewing box this week that he thinks is full of cat toys and not dip his paw in. I know it's a small victory, but it made me proud!

I am only 23 weeks pregnant, but I am a bit massive, so my employers are panicking that they haven't got my MAT B1 form because I look like I'm going to drop and they think it's sooner than it is.