Due in June and entering the home stretch - keep the creme eggs rolling!

[makecakesnotwar]

And the Revels, the Greek Yogurt and the curly fries....

I'm not fed up of being pregnant but I can't imagine growing for another 12 weeks, I feel so big already.

Makecakes - I had the same head in the sand attitude with ds1, and I got worse towards the end, I read the bare minimum on the birth and left it at that, 2nd time around labour started and I thought oh I remember what it's like now!!It's so worth it though, and with your history it makes it even more special I imagine.

makecakes, I sympathise totally. sorry you've missed out on another house We've not had a sniff of our house yet, which is starting to panic me. Dh should be organising house hunting for us in Munich in the next couple of days, so then in (x?) weeks we'll go up and view say 6 in one day, then choose which one we want. And that's it. We've already been warned there's very little available, so no knowing if we'll end up with something we actually like. Scary. It's not like we can wait and wait for something, we just have to take what's on offer. Bit nervous if ours doesn't sell by July which is the latest I'll go, cos they don't really have estate agents here, so goodness only knows what we do re viewings - drive back from Munich everytime? Not like we've been inundated with requests for viewings so far

Good luck. We'll get our houses sold. we will we will we will.

As for pg, I was horribly impatient the other 3 times and couldn't wait for it to be over, This time, the weeks are flying past much too quick, I need time to slow down a bit. Esp with dh being away, mad with the house and kids, suddenly he's here again, and I think, 'omg another week's just whizzed by'. Yikes.

But I agree Deb - I just cannot see how I'm going to get 11 weeks bigger

Morning everyone!

Last time I was definitely sick of being pregnant - I felt way worse than this time and I was so excited to meet my baby. This time I'm like ernest - time's flying past between work and playing with DS and I'm not getting enough done! I'm also really looking forward to April (one week of vacation and all our end of year deadlines finished!) and then May (where I'll drop to 1/2 time at work) when I get a chance to spend some time with DS before the next one arrives.

I've posted a new belly picture on my profile - I'm finally showing and all that growth has been in about two weeks!

Morning all
God, awful day at work yesterday. Won't bore you with the details but am currently trying very hard not to be arg.

Debs/ ernest - I also can't imagine getting bigger for another 12 weeks. DH said last night as I was applying stretch mark cream to the tum - 'are you really going to get bigger? you're going to be massive' etc etc. To be fair, he was only talking about the size of the tum, as have put on very little weight everywhere else, but it did make me feel a bit freaked - cos he's right - the baby'll be three times the size she is now and I can't believe how big I'll be either!

Right, must try to stay positive today. Yesterday at work really was awful.

PS. Aberdeen - love your pic and your DS is SO CUTE! Please tell me he's an angel and never acts up [insert first timer emoticon]

Morning all,

I'm off to my 28 week midwife appt in about 15 minutes - but thought I'd agree with you all! I am heartily sick of being pregnant, yet don't want it to end! I can't wait to meet Bug, but still, I am no where near prepared for the arrival and I quite like the feeling of him/her inside me kicking away!

Good luck to all those with house selling/moving. Thankfully we can't afford to move, so we're not even looking at it. It's one less thing to worry about.

Right must dash and do some work in the next eeeeeek - 10 minutes!

I am sick of being pregnant. I really feel so exhausted again it feels like my body can't take it any longer. I have been pregnant for nearly a year with about 6 weeks break in between and feel like my baby should be here already. Only 11 more weeks to go and time has been flying by and hopefully it will continue to. When the baby arrives I' sure some days I'll wish she stayed in a bit longer so I can have some peace!

thegreenfairy - hehe! of course he acts up - often the hardest part is not to laugh when he's doing something ridiculous as he loves an audience! He's been sick and grumpy lately which is tough though - we had a long weekend.

Great bump aberdeen - it looks nice and compact. Some days I think mine seems about right, other days it looks massive! I feel a lot wider though so perhaps thats why.

Someone at work just commented on how big my bump is getting . She meant it in a nice, 'ooh the baby's growing kind of way'.

Actually woke up feeling very cheery about being pregnant this morning. Probably because DH were laughing hysterically about baby & pregnancy related things when I went to bed last night. Also starting to feel kicks a bit higher up which is kind of cool.

G43 - loads of sympathy for you though - I hope the 11 weeks passes v quickly. Hope appt went well too nettiehay.

I worked out I've been pregnant for 45 weeks out of the last 52, no wonder I'm sick of it!

Sorry to hear about the house selling problems, it is a really stressful and horrible thing to do so hope it is over quickly for both of you. Fortunately we don't have to move at the moment but will have to in a couple of years to get into the catchment area for the good secondary school (as opposed to the awful one where people have been caught bringing in knives etc).

I am a bit concerned about how huge I am going to be at the end of all this as well, but I can't say that I am eager for the labour or birth. I know it has to come, I just don't want to think about it, or wish it any closer!

wow goingfor3 - no wonder you are sick of being pregnant!

well mw appt went well although I have low blood pressure (80/50). So more salty snacks for me - mmmm crisps . She also said that the stitch like feeling I had on my right under my ribs isn't my stomach - its my liver. And apparently babies are fond of playing with them - hence the pain. Also, she was a bit shocked at how little room I have under my ribs for more growing, so I think it will all be out in front and low - there's no where else for it to go!!

All in all, everything was fine. only 12 1/2 weeks to go!

Ooh, its getting scary when you think of how many weeks there are to go. Just over 14 1/2 for me. Its funny to think of all those displaced organs kicking around.

g43 that must be really hard going

aberdeen you bump is lovely.

makecakes sorry about the house

I have a huge solid mass stuck up front although im fed up i think its more to do with the fact that i seem to be so limited in what i can do this time round and im getting endless colds which i never get.

I also watched a birthing programme last night and thought what the f* am i doing OMG I cant take the pain please knock me out and wake me a week later

My DD made me laugh out loud this morning which made everything seem better-she was jumping round the house saying im a kangaroo then she held her nose wiggled her elbow in a strange way made a howling nose and said "im an elephant" very cute and clever impression for a 2yrold

haven't caught up yet but josey your dd sounds so cute. ds will be 2 mid-april and he's just started saying...ooooh i'm hungry whilst rubbing his belly with both hands very dramatically which is just so cute! he also calls me honey and gorgeous because i call him that sometimes! he walks in the room and says, hi gorgeous!

oh, and if he, ahem, breaks wind (or if anyone else does) from either end he says, excuse me, piggy piggy!

Nettiehay - I'm getting that pain too, didn't realise it was my liver that baby was kicking.

Re. not sleeping: DH woke me at 1.30am on Saturday night when he got in from corporate hospitality piss-up (he gets led astray by these barristers, Rolf!) and I didn't get back to sleep until 4.30am!!! Then I thought well at least I will sleep till 10 or so, but no I was awake at 8am. Grrr!

Feeling quite tired and sore today, sore around the backs and insides of the tops of my legs, but it doesn't hurt to part my legs so don't think it is SPD. I don't think I'll manage another four weeks at work. Might need to get signed off for the last fortnight...

Had a chat about mat leave with HR last week and I can have 14 months off! 12 months mat leave (six months of it on half pay), six weeks holiday at full pay then four week parental leave at half pay. Bargain! And DH, who has always said he thought I should go back to work after having kids ("what's the problem, loads of women do it" ), heard something on the radio yesterday about how important it was that kids are happy and he said "I think you should stay at home with the kids if you want to - their happiness is most important"

Neez - what a fantastic maternity pay package - mine is so feeble, I don't know why I return to work (except need to earn money for education, clothing etc etc). There was no question of me not going back to work from DH [sounds of whip cracking in the background] - luckily I quite like my job and had itchy blackberry thumb by 3 months - but think I will have to take it a bit easier when I return - 5 days a week is a bit of a killer.

PS I have the same problem about errant husband staying twice as long at p*ss ups and coming in absolutely steaming drunk - is there a connection that he is a lawyer and often going out with barrister types?

for everyone having a homebirth i found this great homebirth list done up by a clearly very experienced midwife. am in the midst of looking for waterproof table covers!!

That's such a great list, and the midwife sounds lovely doesn't she?

I'm meeting the prospective doula tomorrow. Does anyone have any idea/suggestions for what I should be asking her to help me decide if she's right for me? I'm guessing that gut instinct will count for a lot but I'm sure there are specifics I should be thinking of.

Neenz - that's really good getting 6 months of your mat leave on half-pay. I'm also hugely impressed that you'll get half pay on parental leave - although everyone has statutory entitlement to parental leave the norm is for it to be unpaid. The only thing my HR brain is suggesting you check - how does that leave you in terms of parental leave and holiday for the remainder of the year that you go back? You dont want to leave yourself short if you need to take time off for any unforeseen reason. Sorry, you probably have checked all this out my its my field so I cant help interfering .

HAve to say that my DH would happily let me stay at home - if he managed to increase his salary by the same level as mine. As that's unlikely I imagine that I'll be back at work 4 days a week 9 months after the birth!

DMPO - that HB list is excellent. Thanks for posting it. Good call on the waterproofing - not sure I'd use it as a table cloth afterwards tho . Am seeing my MW in a fortnight so will get her to brief me on what Bristol MWs bring. She was a bit dismissive last time when I talked about HB as I have an increased risk of premature labour, in which case, to the hospital I go. She said 'we'll talk about it if you go to term' but I don't think that's good enough is it? Because what if I'm three weeks early? Officially that's term, but I could see her using it as an excuse not to send someone out or something and insist I go in. Hmmm. Must remember to be assertive.

Rolf - re the doula, I reckon the most important thing is gut instinct. But you might want to ask her about how 'involved' she likes to be. Will she fight your corner if need be re (for example) unwanted episiotomy? Will she drive you to hospital in an emergency (eg, if DH faints before he can drive you there...) - and will she insist on obeying the speed limit (have heard of this being an issue!). How many births has she attended. Is she a midwife (many are). Does she know staff at your hospital (I can't remember if you're hospital or hb so forgive me if I've remembered wrongly) and is she on good terms with them...
I'm sure you'll know within about 20 seconds whether you want her anyway. Hope it goes well!

I will admit I am very much looking forward to NOT being pregnant any more - it will be so nice to be able to walk places easily again! Although last time it took me several months after delivery to get to that point so I might have a while to go yet ...

Someone at work said to me I was enormous today too. My lovely best mate cheered me up by saying it's probably just because I'm so slim everywhere else the bump looks bigger. This is rubbish (I am squeezing into size 14 maternity) but made me feel better!! According to measurements last week the bump is a bit small for dates - but it was a student dr. with the tape measure who couldn't find the top of my uterus so I'm not sure how reliable that is!!

Sorry about house difficulties makecakes. You will manage, whatever happens. We desperately need more space already and should have tried to move, but as market was slowing down so much I just couldn't face preparing for endless viewings for no result so have put it off until things settle down again ... so we're probably looking at 2 or 3 years hence, argh! Still, forces us not to accumulate too much 'stuff' I guess.

My bump drew gasps recently . It really is ridiculous, although funnily enough I have had the same comment as you, SystemAddict - that it looks big because the rest of me is slim. Rubbish - I'm a size 14 as well. I reckon it's like walking around with a very fat friend - I look slim in comparison

Greenfairy - thanks for the doula comments. I'm sure you're right, that it will all be on gut instinct!