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'll be very interested in how your doula meeting goes tomorrow, Rolf. I am meeting one on Thursday. Part of me thought she was quite pushy on the phone - and I can't decide if that means she'll listen or not.

China/Greenfairy, sympathise with you re work. I had a shit time too today, and I am much more stressed it about it now than I would have been. I could feel my hands and feet swelling up in response as well. Back to the doctor this week for more pre-eclampsia tests.

Dylan, Josey, your dcs sound gorgeous. I love the fact that they can talk now. There's so much mroe to share now! LOL 'gorgeous' comment - just like DS, who calls both me 'gorgeous' and my DH (I call both of them 'gorgeous' so DS figures he can too!!!!)

G43 - sympathise with you about length of pregnancy, but I'm not so extreme as you. By the time the baby is born, I'll have done 48 weeks. My 'other baby' was due early April.

Ernest, good luck with houses. How are you feeling about the move to Munchen now?

Make cakes, good lukc with yuor house.

Hello all, had a bad day today, DD fell off the Sofa yesterday playing with DH and did something to her arm so that was an hour and a half in the doctors, she stayed home from nursery today as couldn't move it/didn't want to move it first thing, I went back to bed and tried to sleep for a bit (sleepless nights due to cough and bloddy sheep giving birth very noisily underneath bedroom window) and the took over DD duty from DH and spent the next 3 hours being ordered to change DVD's pick up things etc - be warned first timers you will feel like a slave, then DH took over again and I went back to bed. Tonights guest works for a German toour company and looking at possible accommodation for them to use to hopefully she will enjoy her evening and breakfast tomorrow morning.

Hi All,

Sophie so sorry to hear about your dd, sounds like she's recovering though if she's able to order you all about!

I don't think I'm fed up with pregnancy yet, but really can't wait to meet this little one! Still have so much to do before he/she comes though, we have an old back boiler in the roomI want to move ds to, so need to get it replaced but quotes have been ridiculous so far, and I really want to wash all ds's old baby clothes (if it's a girl I hope she likes blue!) and I really want to have a massive spring clean and get all the carpets washed - think I must be nesting!!

xxx

sophie, sorry to hear about dd. Have you considered taing her to casualty /whatever it's called in UK. Ds3 has mucking about with his brothers and fell off bed & hurt his arm. He also was avoiding using it/holding it funny. Turns out it was a weird dislocation (it's a common thing, can't remember the name). Was pretty horrible as the docs had to keep trying to manipulate it back into place. That was a fun evening at hospital. It also means we have to be extra careful, as up to age 7 or something it can go again. Hope she's ok xx

cakey, I'm now looking forward to Munich. Would just like to get on with it really now it's decided. The biggest factor really is all the stress I've had from ds1's hideous, incompetant, idiot teacher, that's really cast a shadow over this year for me. I will be so glad to get him out of that school. Plus, got e-mail confirmation yesterday that the 3 boys have been accepted at our 1st choice, really really lovely international school, so totally delighted. Thing is, after the house dh chose in Milan, with a half hour walk to the washing machine! I was hoping to come up and have a say in it, but he's been told today, there's hardly any houses, hardly anything on the market, and what comes up gets snapped up within hours, so looks like I'm going to have to trust him again

Everybody - ignore all bump comments. People say stuff and it's always wrong. If they say it's big people get offended. If they say it's small they get offended/worry. fingers in ears and la la la

Sophie, hope dd is OK. Ds1 did something similar coming down a slide, the next day when he was still driving his tractor one-handed I took him off to casualty. They thought it was broken, put a cast on for a few days, we went back and it was fine - -not broken just sprained.

Also good luck with your important guest - we've ended up with 8 students this week from germany - all male - the rooms are a joy to behold!!

Morning all-
overdid it yesterday with work, so will spend most of the day on the sofa taking it easy to appease the SPD Gods. Oh and DH fed the dog something yesterday that makes her fart like a trooper. Good thing it's so windy...it's clearing the air in the house!

But I'm smiling, I'm buying little things for CJ on Ebay and I'm waiting for the new mattress to be delivered. Sending you all virtual hot chocolate- perfect for a windy day!

Hi Girls - just a quickie as am at work to say fundal height measured yesterday and was spot on (26cm for 27 weeks) so am feeling very relieved I do feel like I've popped out of nowhere in the past 10 days, maybe it was DH's rest and eat steak regime

However, they still want me to go for growth scan at 30 weeks to check bood flow through cord and get more accurate idea of size etc

am exhausted, can't believe I will be working for another 11 weeks [hmmm]

BB xx

nettiehay - I got told I have low blood pressure yesterday too but mine was 90/50 - are you feeling faint?

My employer pays us for one week of parental leave a year which is great - it's so useful for when my DS gets sick. I don't use it for just single days - those I take from flexi-time - but for longer illnesses it's brilliant.

Also, I'm taking 11 months of maternity leave this time (yeah!) and I've already booked the new baby into nursery. It felt very strange filling out the form for a child without a first name! We love DS's nursery though so didn't want to risk not getting the two of them back in there (we're pulling DS out for 9 months to save money).

aberdeenhiker - i have woozy 'moments' but most of the time i feel fine. however, the 'moments' come on pretty quickly and apaprently I go really white, which is a bit scary for anyone with me at the time! I just lie down with my feet up for 5-10 minutes and it passes - I've not actually fainted yet (touch wood).

The m/w also measured me - I came in at 28 cms - she said that is a normal measurement for 27 1/2 weeks.

I've just found out that I am getting new carpet in my office at work - the only problem with that is that I have to sort through all the cr*p in my office now, to see what needs archiving. My boss is worried I will over do it and try to lift boxes - i assured him there was no way - I'll get a big strong boy from IT to do that bit for me.

Right must get on and do some work!

Makecakes - enjoy your day on the sofa with the windy dog!! Reminded of a husky sled ride we did in Norway - dh was driving the sled but I was sitting in it, I have loads of photographs of dogs bottoms as that was what I could see straight in front but the smell - Great experience though!!

BB - good that they're keeping an eye on you but if your fundal height is OK sounds good to me.Will be nice for you to see baby again at 30 weeks too.

AH - 11 months mat leave will be fantastic, I wish I'd had the common sense to do that when I had the boys( I had 6 months with ds1 and 5 months with ds2), completely different this time round though for me! Sounds like a great nursery if you can take ds out for 9 months and keep his place. Ds1 went to a fantastic Childminder and I kept him going for a few mornings a week even when I was on Maternity leave , he loved going and it was such a blessing for me. Even better was that she would pick him up from the house on the way back from the school run so on those mornings it didn't even matter if I wasn't dressed!!!

Nettie - I could do with sorting out some Cr*p , any spare strong boys from IT are very welcome here!!

Someone make me go and clean those students rooms... I'm putting it off! I thought they had snowballs on their windowsill - turns out they were socks, left outside overnight - can you imagine the smell!!

When I lived in Halls at college we had cleaners - can you imagine a worse job?

I'm just going to have to go and do it aren't I?

See you later

get on with it! AT least their sock on window sill - less smell? (hopeful emoticon)

our ds's are going to be seething unpleasant smells and hormones before you know it look on it as trial run

OK, mostly finished now, not too bad really - thanks Ernest for the "seething unpleasant smells and hormones" comment - GREAT!! Just got the rooms airing now!

not as hormonal as a teenage girl tho

but smellier. That's for sure

deb - I only took 6 months with DS too - and it wasn't long enough! He wasn't sleeping through the night and his immune system really struggled with all the germs. I'm hoping 11 months will be better.

DS' nursery doesn't offer part time places really so we couldn't just drop him down to one or two days a week (which is what most of my friends are doing). Oh well - that's probably why they are willing to hold a full-time spot for him!

(Also - from DS's perspective, it's been great there's no part time slots. Since he's fulltime, I think it's really nice that all the other kids are fulltime and in the same pattern as him. It's much less disruptive to have the same group of toddlers every day.)

bb and nh - my fundal height was 29 cm for 28 weeks - but that was over my jeans so my midwife figured it was spot on the right size. And I'm also having dizzy spells where I desparately need to sit down as things are starting to go black and white. Fortunately mine aren't too quick and I've always had time to find a place to rest. Still, far better to have low blood pressure than high!

The doula has just gone - she was lovely. I'm so excited and reassured. She teaches ante-natal yoga so is very keen on yoga breathing and relaxation techniques. When DH gets back from London I'm going to try to persuade him to work out a timetable with me so I can get to the yoga classes. They are at 6.30pm so I'd need him at home to do the children's bedtime.

Deb and Ernest - DS1 announces every morning that he has grown new muscles and he forces DS2 to be his wrestling partner. But yes, much easier than teenage girl hormones

Mellymell - my DH is a solicitor so barristers take him out on these jollies so that he will give them work! He behaves himself these days though - there was a time when he wouldn't have been in till 4am. I am encouraging him to go out on these things right now cos I am not much fun when we go out (well, compared to the old days anyway!) - I always want to come home at 10.30. He won't be able to go on these things so much when the babies are born so I want him to enjoy them while he can.

Dramaqueen - all the hols I'll take are ones I accrue while on mat leave, then the holiday year starts again so I will have another full entitlement. I won't have any parental leave left but want to take it then cos it will be paid at half my full-time hours - even though I'll only go back two days a week. If I take it after I go back I'll only get half my part-time pay. I only intend to go back for six months anyway (the minimum I have to to keep my additional mat pay).

Basilbrush that is such good news about your growth. Protein is what the baby is being made out of it so it may well be the steak!

Rolf, glad you liked the doula - it is a big decision deciding who to have with you at the birth. I'd like my mum to be there (She could be a doula after four births of her own and three of my sister's babies!) but DH wants it to be just us. Mum will be pacing the corridors though so if I want her in there (or if DH decides he does!) when the time comes, she'll be there. I felt bad asking her to come to the hospital just to wait outside but she said she'd be there whether I want her to be or not.

Hi everyone - that's great neenz - I think I have to try and re-write our maternity policy in the next two months !!

Only had time for a very quick scan of today's posts - used my lunch break to go the opticians which was expensive... I have to take a break from my contact lenses due to some allergy like symptoms so I had to buy some glasses. Not £500 though, thankfully.

Hope everyone is ok - feel like I'm missing out because my mw didn't measure my fundal height and next appointment not for another 3 weeks .

Dramaqueen - I've never had my fundal height measured here or heard the baby's heartbeat.

I've never had the fundal height measured either, have heard the babys heartbeat though Debs.
I've also had a couple of dizzy spells, when I've rushed upstairs too quick or been crouching down and standing up again too quickly. Keep trying to remember to slow down!

I never had my fundal height measured either, how do you do it? I think if the mw measured me it would scare the living daylights out of me. Ds was 8lb 1oz and 10 days early so I'm not expecting to have a small baby, although I think I've put on less weight than last time, but still a while to go yet!!!

Oh, glad its not me! I have heard the baby's heartbeat though.

Slow down ktpie!

This was the first time I'd been measured - and I must admit it was wierd being sized up by a tape measure - sort of like I was being fitted for carpets or curtains!