Due March 2008 Surely someone has to pop soon...

[turtle23]

New thread

sorry turtle cross posted and missed your update. sorry to hear you're feeling so sad. I don't blame you at all. Why is it your job to keep the house clean? When he's out carousing?

I hope he does make it up to you tomorrow. Tell him you're helping to get him acclimatised to what life will be like after the baby comes by letting the house get messy and not making home made soup from scratch.

paranoid1sttimer you poor thing, it really sounds like you're putting yourself under a lot of pressure. I totally identify with getting frustrated at the limitations of this stage of pregnancy - I just can't wait to get back on my bike, or be able to cut my own toenails, or you know jump up from the sofa when the phone rings.

yesterday my DH got cross because I yelled at him to stop as he carried a bunch of junk out of the living room and I saw that a bungee cord was attached to the table cloth and he was about to pull the cloth off the table and with it a glass jug we got as a wedding present which would have smashed and soaked a painting we also got as a wedding present. He was most put out at me for getting him to stop. Then I was all hurt as I hadn't been cross, just trying to avert a big mess. Is it hormones? stress at changes?

I have no idea but if you're valentine's day people I hope you both get some nice treats. I won't be getting anything, having married a very unromantic man. His gestures are mostly practical (like cutting my toenails for me last night) but at least one of us has to be I guess

glam how exciting! I wish I knew what day I was having my baby.

tori Go to udders!?!? that's outrageous and I'm cracking up here! I think often they just don't know what to say. DH had a friend round the other day and I heard DH mention that I was going to breastfeed and the friend (2 children, both bottle fed Contended Little Babies) say 'oooh, saggy boobs' in a ridiculous Kenneth Williams joke voice. Which is just wrong on so many levels I can't begin to list them.

turtle my DH is really fab overall but I know he doesn't quite get that maternity leave is meant to involve some rest at least and gives me a list of things to do every day. It's a bit annoying because I do actually do loads IMO - i clean the house every day and walk the 2 dogs who are bonkers, and I cook dinner every night, plus keep on top of clothes washing etc. In fact, thinking about it, I am a sodding 1950s housewife - the other day I found myself singing that song while I hoovered "hey, little girl, do your hair, fix your makeup" because it was all so ridiculous. We've always shared everything really equally - both worked full time, both done stuff around the house. Now we've got a real division of labour and it's a bit weird. That's not to say that I think it's wrong necessarily, he would clean the house if I was working and he wasn't, it's just that I know deep down he thinks i'm being a bit of a fat slob, hence the need to allocate chores daily. I mean I am a bit of a slob but my whole point is i'm meant to be, aren't I?

God almighty that was a rant and a half. What was the question again?

Sorry about the dh's! First baby seems to test the roles, doesn;t it. Vaguely remember friends at home mentioning that - more fun to look forward to!

Am trying to remember who besides me on here is Group B positive....my question is about whether to test again if I was positive at 32 weeks. All the websites say no but interested in what others are actually doing. For those who want test, it's ideally done 35-37 weeks which is now for many of us. And NHS doesn't provide, have to go private if you want it. More info here

MarchMum - I am GBS positive and I shan't be testing again. This is because it can come back at anytime so you can not have it at 35 weeks but it comes back at 39 or 40 weeks so seems to be a bit of a waste of money. I'm not going to take the risk and will be having the IV anti-biotics as for me it doesn't seem worth not having them.

However, it's a personal thing and I know many people who didn't want the anti b's but I personally can't see the benefits of not having them.

I only have two days left in the office until mat leave starts, hurrah! Felt very funny last night and had REALLY strong BH's so had a little panic. I move house this weekend so I need her to stay put until Tuesday and then she can come whenever she likes - the sooner the better!!

Ooooh Glam that is SO exciting, that was when I was due to be having my C Section but now I am going to give the natural route a bash I obviously don't know when it's going to happen. It's nice to have the date from a planning perspective, especially for those with other DC's.

Hope everyone has a nice Valentines Day! I'm going to see Casablanca at the cinema tonight it's one of my favourite films!

Missingmyheels - good luck with house move! And v brave going to see Casablanca - if I saw that now in current hormonal state I'd probably have to be stretchered out.
Glam - how exciting to know the day!
another moan - but I'm glad I'm not the only one with insensitive dh. I've had a massive spring clean in the house - working through room by room. Yesterday was busy all day and really needed sofa evening, dh had mad cleaning frenzy in utility room (which is good because it is full of his drills etc) but then rather spoilt it by saying that at least one of us was sorting out the house. It was a joke apparently! Is also expressing very litle interest in LO or me - never asks how I am or how appointments have gone or makes any kind of fuss of heavily pregnant wife!

Oh no piggyp - there seems to be a burst of rubbish DH/P behaviour occurring at the moment. I think it must be due to everything starting to feel very real - apparently men don't generally get used to the idea until it happens/very late pregnancy. They're probably all freaking out!

Hoping it'll pass soon, my raging hormones don't help as I am a stroppy cow all the time! I am taking a big box of tissues to the cinema...

hiya ladies how are we all today? ive started on the raspberry leaf tea, bought 3 boxes so i dont run out. have also decided not to have this one at home, was getting a bit stressed out about the whole thing and i dont think my dining room is big enough for 5 people to sit around in for hours. so i'll be off to the hospital and discharging myself as soon as possible afterwards.

my lovely dh left me in bed this morning whilst he got the kids sorted and took little un with him on the school run. then i got dippy eggs and soldiers and a brew much better then flowers [rin]

Happy Valentines Day all! Well DH has truely outdone himself today. I got a card which says 'To my Valentine ( not wife!) This card guarantees you a hot and steamy night.....inside, 1 x tea bag, enjoy! with all his love, hugs and undivided attention etc,etc,etc and promises of a special one next year!!!PMSL

I will hold him to next year though.

Well I am counting the days down now and can't wait to finish work.

Sympathy to all who are struggling to get comfy at night. I seem to be up and down like a yoyo. V.tired.

glad i'm not the only one who's a moody cow. I snap at everyone all the time! And I am one of the lucky few who sleeps all night. Occasionally have to get up for a wee but no more than when I wasn't preggers I think.

Filled in benefits forms today - child ben and tax credits, so that all I have to do when the babe arrives is fill in the date of birth and bits and send it off. I'm so glad I did it. The child ben form is fine, but the tax credits one is mental! Have been drowning in a sea of payslips and p60s and p45s and all sorts. Really couldn't have done it with a baby shouting in the background. Not sure we'll get much but every little helps, eh?

Off to sort bins out. This is really not how I imagined maternity leave.

No card from the Bloke, but then I didn't expect one really. Last year we both said that we weren't going to bother, so I didn't...he bought me a card from him, a card from the dogs, and an antique cookbook. This year I bought him a card, and will be making a big dinner tonight. (But this is mostly because I really really want to eat cheesy potatoes dauphinoise with pork chops, and don't trust him to make it properly - if I am going to be bad, I want to do it right!) Plus, my birthday is next Monday, so I tend to let him have V day off in the hope that I'll get a good birthday pressie. Obviously this year will be a bit quieter than usual, but I am hoping that Bump stays where it is for now, so I at least get a birthday. Is that being horribly selfish?

How is everyone today?

Fluff, you are very organized. Fully agree that those forms are designed to make sure that as few people as possible qualify for financial help. Because I moved jobs when I was about a week pregnant (spectacularly bad planning, but never mind) I had to apply for maternity allowance rather than getting maternity leave, and the form was a 38 page NIGHTMARE. Bloke couldn't believe it was that complicated - I kept thinking to myself, 'Come on, you've got a bloody degree FFS! SpaceHopper, how hard can this be?'.

Bloke seems to be making more jokes than usual...agree with what you say about it all getting real, Missingmyheels. He keeps joking that his gym related aches and pains and tiredness are far worse than anything I could be experiencing.

I have to redress the balance a little and confess that actually it is me that has been the bad half of the partnership today. DH and I were away last weekend so agreed that we weren't really going to do Valentine's Day this year as we'd had our treat. So I interpreted that as I didn't need to get him a card or a pressie. I felt very bad this morning when I got a lovely card at breakfast... I felt doubly worse because I've not been too busy at work and he's been working 13 hour days for weeks so it should have been me who had time to get a card, not him!

I'm going to cook him a nice dinner tonight (and hope I can still get a card!) to make up for it. Still, it's not like we have a romantic Valentine's Day planned - we have our tour of the hospital birth centre tonight, so all conversation will be about pain relief and water births...

I finish work in about an hour. For 13 months! HURRAY!

Glammama, gosh 14 days to go before Dday, hourra to you.

Fluff, you are not the only one moody at all, I keep having ups and downs, yesterday going to Yoga class someone had parked in the entrance of the car park and left his car to check X, Y and Z....well just to say that he was a bit chocked when he came back and got a peace of my mind indeed. The poor guy just did not know what to say at all ... he was just looking blank at this crazy women!!!! on the same day, I tried to get a mini shower head to install on the toilet water supply, so that we can get the yuki stuff from the nappies straight down the loo before cleaning them....well explaining that to the vendor was quite a challenge .... he just could not get it ...ended up with him telling me it was against Bermudian plumbing law... yeah right ....I explained to him it was not etc, ..but he still did not want to help .... so just turned around and left..he tried to catch me but when he saw how enraged I was, he turned around. He must have thought who is this crazy french women!!! this is only in the course of one day!!!

Turtle, put the equivalent in weight of what you have put on during your pregnancy in a back pack and make your DP carry it for a full day...and see how he fills afterward...if it does not do it, make him drink so he cannot sleep more than 50min at a time. He might get it then....

On the subject of Valentines day, DH has been lovely, improved breakfast in bed this morning (he does it everyday)and gave me a present which I still don't know how to react to it. A Yoga/birthing ball!!!!, I know it comes with the best intentions but what has happened to lingerie, trips away ....
Our shipment still has not arrive and we have sold the previous sofa last week etc... so we don't have anything home (moses basket, crib, new sofa, baby clothes, chest of draws, changing table etc... ). It has now been in customs for 2 1/2 weeks as the other peoples whom have items in the same container did not fill in their paper work properly....grr.....

fluff - your definitly more organised then me. my maternity allowence form hasnt even been sent off yet im still waiting for the council to get there fingers out their arses and send me the form to say im not eligable for maternity pay from them theyve already been over a month! ive already started my mat leave as well cos i thought they would have it sorted by now. how long did everyone elses mat allowence take to come through after they sent off forms?

Prisci bless him, it sounds like he actually thought about that. And breakfast in bed everyday is amazing!
I know that Bloke is struggling a bit about what to get for my birthday, fearing that anything he would usually buy me will be thrown in his face in a hormone-induced rage. Lingerie that would usually fit me would make me think he thinks I'm fat and ugly now, lingerie that fits me now would make me angry at him for wasting his money on something that is only going to fit for another few weeks (please God...). They might have it easier than we do at the moment, but it still must be quite difficult .

Did anyone see Javine on whispers LK Today this morning? Proudly talking about having gained 4 stone...hoorah is all I can say. I am creeping up to 3 extra stone, so was feeling quite bad about reading that the average is 2.

marchmum I too tested +ve for Grp B Strep and will be taking their antibiotic drip the sec I can get it so wee babs doesn't have to. My SIL's SIL only found out she was Grp B Strep +ve AFTER she ended up rushing her very ill baby to casualty on orders of her GP who said "What do you mean they didn't tell you you had Group B Strp?!?" Apparently, it was on her charts from the hospital and the GP spotted this when she called about the baby having taken ill in the first few days out of hospital and he was outraged they hadn't done anything about it. She had no idea what it was or that you need the antibiotics whilst in labour or for the baby straight after.

I have heard both horror stories AND stories where people think it's not even a problem but I will err on the side of caution esp since my notes says in bold "HEAVY GROWTH" mmmmmmmmm........ lovely...

How do you all know if you're Strep B +? They don't routinely test where I live and when I asked the midwife about paying privately she didn't have a clue. I don't fancy doing the swabs myself but then again what other options are there? Do they test the baby when it's born or is it a matter of wait and see if your baby gets ill? Is anyone else having the test privately?

Really jealous of those on maternity leave - I've still got 3 weeks left and am struggling!

well had my 38wk check today and all is well, babys head is engaged so we are good to go, esp as the baby seems 'a good size' midwife says it will def be a 9lber. dp actually got to come with me so he heard the babys heartbeat etc, tho the little sod was REALLY wriggly and every time midwife tried to listen in it moved

went shopping yesterday and we are now sorted for the birth etc, i got maternity pads, and all the other bits i will need. oh and i got nursing bras in mothercare, got measured elsewhere tho, but mothercare had a sale on they were all HLAF PRICE and buy one get one half price so i got three elle macpherson nursing bras for £38, bargain and they are nice, one purple, two black

oh the health visitor phoned me the other day, and i was and said "but ds3 isnt due for any checks etc as he is now 3" and the HV said no i am calling about the baby, and i was like "baby, what baby, oh THE BABY" had a bit of a duhh moment and then the HV explained that they like to come round and see you before you have the baby, so she is booked in to come and see me on the 26th feb and the midwife is booked to come round on the 28th feb for home visit, doubt the baby will turn up on its due date of the 29th feb but it would be good if it did.

hope everyone is well xxxxxxxx

oooh madboys, a leap year baby! I will be v jealous if yours arrives that day. I think it's a cool birthday to have!

Bunch of flowers and lovely card from DH.

My hosp doesn't routinely do gbs testing either (I think the tests that are any good are too expensive for the NHS), but I had a swab at 28/40 because I bled and they always swab then, so that came back negative. It's all a bit tricky isn't it because afaik you can be negative one day and positive the next?

Hayls...if it makes you feel any better I have gained 3 stone 5.

I'm just enjoying a midnight snack of a banana (for my leg cramps) and Cinammon Grahams cereal, which taste divine!

Two weeks to go until I start ML!!!

lol, my snack this evening was carrots, celery and a baby lettuce, talk about wierd pregnancy cravings, i think i may give birth to a cabbage patch doll baby

Happy Valentines Day everyone! Spent mine in a snit at DH about god knows what so check on the moody cow syndrome chez marchmum. will have to make it up to him at our weekend away this weekend. Lovely hotel in Berks and some spa/swimming/ridiculous eating planned so really looking forward to it.

glam sorry no turn but sounds like you are OK with the result. nice to know the day, i agree with the others. i have this weird feeling about mar 6 for me (edd is mar 3) but of course i am not in charge here! to all - don't shoot me but i am still enjoying being pregnant for now - baby still high, moving around but not hurting me like she used to. i'll be punished for saying that in a week's time i am sure but still savouring it for now.

prisci hope you get your shipment soon! do others in the uk have these toilet attachments? I am not familiar...should i get one if i am doing cloth?

skidoodle - i think cutting your toenails is actually a very romantic gesture :.)

No one in the NHS will breathe a word of GBS to you unless you had to get tested for some other reason (for me it was to see if my BH were brought on by infection). If you want it, just call private GP and ask for cervical swab for GBS. Info says must be done bt 35-37 weeks but as was mentioned it cna come adn go (if you are a carrier) so think they should do test any time. I know I need to resign myself to the antib's, was just looking around for an excuse :.)

Can't remember who asked about Krispy Kremes but one is never enough.

First meeting with doula tomorrow, looking forward to it.

have a good weekend everyone!

Marchmum - enjoy your lovely weekend away!

I redeemed myself last night by cooking a lovely dinner for DH. I have an obsession with chocolate eclairs at the moment so ended up buying extra large ones from M&S for dessert We then watched our Prison Break DVD so I got to spend Valentine's evening with both my DH and the rather scrummy shaven-headed Michael Scofield

The tour of the birth centre went well yesterday. The rooms are fab - the one they showed us round was massive, had a birth pool, a big bean bag and mat area, a bed, a bathroom, a gym ball, a birthing stool... and a CD player and disco glitter ball light!!! DH and I are now wondering if we should be packing Abba Gold as an essential item in my hospital bag...

Question for you: they said that the pain relief available includes diamorphine which they can give you when you first come in. Has anyone ever heard of this being used in labour? I was really surprised as I thought they only gave you that after major ops like a CS.

My last day at work!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Enjoy it, MissingMyHeels - leaving this afternoon will be the most amazing feeling. Have you got anything planned?

Managed to sleep all the way through last night, didn't have to get up AT ALL. Part of me (the naughty part of y brain)thinks this may be due to the glass of red I allowed myself as a B
Valentine's treat with dinner. Delicious, and the best night's sleep in about a fortnight!