Due Sept '08: We're halfway there part 2....

[LittleConnie]

Come on over!

people don't think i'm pregnant. they think i'm fat.

Hi All - I haven't posted for absolutely ages - in fact this is the first time on the new thread

Have had a mammoth catch up and am glad to see the scans going well - I have mine next Friday and am in 2 minds whether to find out the sex DH says yes but I would quite like the big reveal when baby is born...

eandz I am pregnant and fat so nothing new for me really At least I can carry on wearing my fat bird clothes for a bit longer...

Am of those of you who are out and about in the sun - I am stuck in an non-aircon office with a puny desk fan wafting warm air over me. Lord knows how I'll cope when it gets really hot [hoping for a decent summer emoticon]

MissusH -- sorry your stuck at a small desk with ruddy fan. are you looking forward to your mat leave?

i am at home but have to wait inside as waiting for parcelforce to collect a parcel and i know that if i sit in theback garden i prob won;t hear the door

valuer has been but didn;t tell me how much and i couldnt really asked as when he said hello to dd she burst into tears and clung onto me until he had left she seems to have developed this fear of men lately not sure why though think is getting a bit shy

now i need to dg out my wage slips to apply for my maternity allowance and because i am a dickhead i can only find last months but i should get away with it if i can find the one before and will be getting one in may as well

sounds like your getting things taken care of!!!

Saw your post in employment issues, mustsleep, glad you're getting some good advice and sorting things out with work!

I am in a monster stress about money today - DP and I appear to be a lot poorer than previously suspected! how this has passed me by until now is unclear... Am going to try to have a propoer sit down about it tonight, and put as much of our income as possible into paying off our vast debts - we've been coasting along paying the minimum for too long, and it's time to sort it out. i'm feeling all proactive

thanks hopefully things are better at work now for th time being at least

can completely sympathise with the money thing, we were going to sell up and then with the house prices dropping changed our minds and thought we would remortgage to extend and added everything up and found out exactly how much debt we were in!! awful sleepless night and all that, now we can;t afford to extend or move but if his valuer is nice and values our house at what we need him to we should be more or less debt free apart from the mortgage and we wouldbe £400 a month better off!!! so fingers crossed

we have just being paying the minimum for ages too and you just never pay it off do you? have just got this months catalogue bill for £200 and am right up to my overdraft limit!! so really need to get this sorted out

eandz I don't finish until 22nd August but I am looking forward to it. I will have the last 2wks of the summer hols with dd which will be nice as there will be 4 of us for the next ones

ooh you finish on the same day as me missusH can not wait and it's only a matter of weeks (or at least that's what i keep telling myself)

Afternoon all, what a beautiful day!

MissusH, I can sympathise - I work in an office which has a window on to a courtyard outside but every year on the first hot sunny day, they come and block it off with a big marquee thing to use the outside space for a show! It doesn't come down until later in July... Ah well, at least there is a park opposite for lunchtime strolls.

I'm getting so jealous hearing about all your scans. Mine isn't until 3rd June! I can't wait to see the baby after feeling it kick around so much these last few weeks. I actually feel pregnant at last! Still not showing much yet though, just look a bit fat.

EandZ, I got some of those GAP cargo trousers and they are great. A bargain for a fiver. I also got some silver birkenstock-type shoes from Primark for about £4. They are much lighter and don't rub at all and if they wear out, then it's not big deal to buy more. Have also ordered some tops from Vertbaudet so I'll report back on what they are like when I get them.

Hey ho, back to work (can't wait to be on mat leave!).

awww....i can't wait to spend summer holidays with my little one!

I am trying to plan on starting mat leave on 12 August, but who knows if I'll last that long! really want to have as much money as possible afterwards, even if I don't go back, so going to try to struggle on. I just keep consoling myself that the time left in work is a lot less than the time I've spent since finding out I was pregnant.

It looks really nice but v windy outside, hope I catch some sun on my walk to Boots!

I'm starting my maternity leave on 24 July and can't wait for it to come, I have a feeling that as soon as the proper summer weather kicks in I am going to lose my sense of humour with the commute to work, I hate the bus at the best of times but the summer is awful and I'm uncomfortable every day now without sitting on that ruddy thing for 2 hours each way.

My maternity leave doesn't start till September 11th - I'm due two weeks later - but I do have 2 weeks holiday booked in July and another week in August, which is nice. Plus I only work 3 days (although I do have an hour and twenty minute commute including a 40 minute bike ride). But previously have been lucky with good health in late pregnancy - was still cycling at 8 months last time round. So fingers crossed this time round.

Anyone else getting Braxton Hicks already? I don't remember getting them this early previously, but I'm pretty sure that's what they are.

nope, i'm hoping whatever it is i'm going through is anything but braxton hicks. i'm not ready for that kind of milestone yet!!!

I'm not sure I would know what it is if I hadn't had them before, it's just a slight tingly, tight feeling around the bump, accompanied by a feeling of breathlessness. I've just checked and they CAN occur from around the middle of pregnancy, so I'm not going mad!

Speaking of which ... 20 weeks this weekend, so I will FINALLY be half way. Hurrah.

20 more weeks to goooo!!! yay!

Good to hear that you were still cycling up until the end Pidge! I do a 30 minute commute each way and the bike was the only thing keeping me going during the sickness months... Hope to go on mat leave on 12th Sept so that still gives me 2 weeks before the due date to have a rest but I intend to cycle for as long as I can.

Braxton Hicks already? - god that would be crazy right now. I'm 20 weeks too this weekend, can't believe I'm halfway already.

it's soooo beautiful out there!

I would love for it to stay like this for the rest of the summer, not get any hotter.

I was hoping to stay at work for as long as possible, keep the money rolling in. Hopefully I might have some holiday left by the end of the summer as DH and I have only booked a week off in June for my 30th (although another week in Aug would be lovely). In which case I can finish early September. But with weather like this, I fancy having the whole summer off!

On the shoe front, I have dug out last year's strappy mini-wedge sandals from Clarkes. I loved them last year and they still fit this year...so will probably buy some more from there if I need to. Or from Camper, I popped into their Covent Gdn brand and their summer sandals look really comfy.

DH and I have also gone over our savings/debts. We have enough to pay for a deposit on a new car, getting the garden done, buying some baby bits...and then emergency salary for him if business slows down towards the end of the year. Oh, the perils of being self-employed. I suppose it's no different to the threat of redundancy.

I played the baby some music yesterday. Headphones tucked into my waist band. Not much response to Marvin Gaye, but lots of kicking to some of DH's hip hop albums. I think we've got ourselves a little breakdancer

Pidge are braxton hicks where you feel like you're getting a period cramp? Coz I have those from time to time, I confuse them with those sensations where it feels like the baby's changing positions - womb goes hard and pokes out for a bit, then relaxes back down again.

mamamufin sorry to hear your news, hope you and your DH are ok. I bet you're really pleased you got the sonographer to write down that you're having a boy.

My maternity leave will officially start on 31st August (due 3rd Sept) but I won't work after 24th July as that's the end of term.

Have felt really odd all day, had to sit on the floor in assembly as I thought I was going to faint then have felt not quite right and a bit queasy all day. Bump has felt uncomfotable too. Hopefully its just that baby is getting itself into a different position or something. I don't want to be ill. Also the last 2 weekends have been really busy and work has been fairly busy so maybe I'm just over tired, I don't know.

I am getting servere shoe envy reading todays threads, lots of you seem to have the shoes I dream of

I am getting servere shoe envy reading todays threads, lots of you seem to have the shoes I dream of

lucky you debi with your extended ML. I know how you feel...I felt awful yesterday, was off sick with a sore throat and headache, felt nauseas too.

Hoping it was just another burst of hormones. I'm 20+2 today, how about you?

I'm starting my mat leave on 18th August but planning on taking holiday from 1st. Absolutely cannot wait - work is so unmotivating right now, especially with the weather how it is.

On the music front, Baloo was really quiet yesterday, and I was starting to get a little worried. Anyway, when DS and I got home we were watching the Tweenies and singing along to the 'wheels on the bus' when she started having a right old boot. To the point where I felt her foot pop right out of my tummy! She obviously has similar music taste to DS, although he also likes the Hoosiers, Air and Supertramp so I might try her on some of those too.

jennylindinha - in some ways cycling was easier than walking etc at the end when I was really heavy. Though I did used to get some funny looks at 8 months pregnant at Clapham Junction when I arrived on my bike and other commuters spotted my bump! I'm sure the cycling helped hugely with my fitness and mobility. Last time round I was due in March, and it was quite tough cycling through horrid weather in Jan and Feb, so I'm looking forward to the summer cycling this time round.

Digitalgirl - my braxtons (I'm pretty sure that's what they are) are completely painless - so not like period cramp for me. Literally the bump feels tight and I feel breathless. My early labour contractions on the other hand HAVE felt like period cramps a bit. So maybe braxtons can be that way too. I don't know!

Debi - have you got low blood pressure? That's how I feel if I get too hot and am standing up - faint and queasy. Sit down, or even lie down if possible. The other thing to check is your iron levels, as that can make you feel really ropey. Definitely time to put your feet up.