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

[LittleConnie]

Come on over!

Getting loads of pains at bottom of bump today, especially when I walk around. Feel like growing pains or maybe Braxton Hicks - anyone know?

not sure sunshinemummy i get the achey pains but not sure why

i tell what i do get alot i keep pulling all the sideof my tummy every time i sneeze it'sawful!!

sunshinemummy and mustsleep - I get those pains too. I also wee myself when I cough and sneeze too!

Got an appointment at the breast clinic on weds morning so will keep you posted.

Feels really strange knowing the sex of my baby as with my ds we didnt as I only had one scan and he had his legs crossed! Keep calling him "it". My sister brought round loads of baby clothes today - been sorting through them all this afternoon

Am thinking of Harry George as a name. Dont know why, just like it.

eandz....sorry you are having a rough time family wise. Stand your ground.

My SIL has just arrived so must go.......

Hiya- Haven't been on here for a while. is anyone else still struggling to eat- loss of appetite etc. I still have a limited diet and don't really enjoy it when I do eat. Still waiting to feel like I would enjoy eating something.... Still the same- fruit, cereal, cheese sandwiches

becaroo love the name harry i wanted to use it but dh wasn't keen misery!!

Scan went brilliantly! Of the four scans I've had for my two children this was the clearest by miles, the pictures are absolutely fantastic. We saw all four chambers of the heart, incredible view of the spine, and the baby appeared to be sucking on the placenta! Doesn't look like this one will have dd's latching on problems. While we were waiting to see the consultant after the scan, the sonographer called us back in coz she'd forgotten to measure the head, so we got a bonus chance to see baby! Best friend is convinced she can see boy-bits on the pics, but we didn't ask and I don't want to know! There's such a strong family history of boys (dd 1st girl in four generations) that I feel like if this is a boy, I'll never have another girl, whereas if its a girl, I'm quite convinced the next one will be a boy!
According to all the things they measure I'm due on the 27th, 28th, 29th or 30th Sept. Officially on paper its due on the 27th, but I'm sticking with the 28th.

My dh is being a bit of a pain about the name Harry too mustsleep.

The other options are Toby, Samuel or Noah, but he isnt mad keen on any of those either.

Any of you think that as we have to carry the child and give birth to it we should get the final say????

carrion the 27th is dd bday!!

i'm dreading i'll go over as am due on the 12th and don't want to have lo on dd's birthday!

ooh mortgage is going through now and have just signed the formal offer is that it then after we've sent it to the sols they can;t revoke it can they

paid my look again bill on the phone on dh's credit card after trying to do it online and needing to set up a special visa identity thing.Any way got a letter this morning saying that my payment had been declined but online it's showing that it's gone through not sure what to do can't find my card anywhere and don;t want to end up paying it twice

I have officially got the wriggliest baby in North London! It took the midwife about 10 minutes to find the heartbeat because the little monkey kept moving around. She could actually feel it kicking her in protest! Eventually after chasing it round and round my belly, stopping to prod a bit more and feel for its head (!), she got about 10 seconds of a good strong hb. She told me she'd never had a baby like that before!

Baby has been kicking me all day ever since, not sure if it's been throwing the longest ever tantrum at having an annoying high-pitched frequency chase it round it's comfy bed for 10 minutes or if it's just feeling a bit lively!

I've now got my MatB1 certificate, but absolutely no idea what to do with it. I thought I'd get given some leaflets explaining the next steps. But no.

Mums who've done this before....where do I go now?

digitalgirl if you are employed you give it to your emplyer and they work out if you are entitled to smp

if you are self employed or have been working but are nolonger with your employer you get the MA claim form and forward it with that i believe. you get the MA form from the job centre or you can download it hth

am off to midwife to get mine tomorrow so hope it's this straight forward

phew!

i have JUST caught up. Long day I've had and quite annoying. So first I had to meet a friend but since I get sick on public transport I had to cab it...well when I got to the bank machine nothing came out, no bank slip, no balance on screen and of course, no money...turns out it's expired because my husband needed a new one, so they just sent us new ones, but my husband took the envelope to Geneva with him because he figured he'd activate it on his way to the airport. which he did, but now he's got both bank cards.

the only other card we have is an American express, SOO I had to barter my spending today with my friend, I bought her groceries in exchange for cash. I feel ghetto.

btw, everyone on this thread is seriously a million times nicer. thanks!

so i saw a couple maxi-cosy named things when i was in the bayswater area ... does anyone have experience with one of those? it looked sturdy and utilitarianish...

Our travel system is a very early maxi-cosi - the people who gave it to us got it about 5 years ago. I love that the car seat is the maxi-cosi, the pram is the maxi-dreami, and the buggy is the maxi-taxi! That really tickled dh's funny bone. My only grumble was the the front wheel on the three-wheel chassis doesn't turn, but they don't make them like that any more. We've been really really happy with ours, although we've ended up using our umbrella fold way more, and have now bought a phil&teds for multiple children!

I had the matb1 last time and I just handed it to my boss with the official letter informing her of my pregnancy, saying when I intended to go on leave, and when I would return (NEVER!) and she sorted the rest and the money magically appeared in my bank account for the next 9 months.

Still keep marvelling at our scan photos, they're just brilliant!

who is it that's in the baby magazine and which one is and what page is it? I bought Mother and Baby today, was that the right one?

Carrieon - so glad your scan was such a lovely experience for you. Those pics sound amazing

Debi - that would be me Yes that's the right one, I'll regret this but it's page 42! Ds1 decided to take it to school and show EVERYONE, including random strangers on the way home. You can't hide when you're this big either!

I am absolutely shattered. Dd is ill and was awake all night last night. She has been very clingy today so have done nothing. House is a tip and dd not long gone to sleep after crying non stop for over half an hour. Will keep giving Calpol and fingers crossed she'll wake up better, in the morning and not before!

Off to bed now before I fall down, goodnight ladies xx

so i've realized that i don't have a waist anymore...and i have a feeling i won't have one for a very long time.

DG try this website for MA info. Gives the link to download the form too. www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Expectingorbringingupchil dren/DG_10018869

Dobbins I feel for you with the lack of enthusiasm for food. Not that I'm suffering with it, but I had it tilll about 16 weeks and it was grim.

Becaroo if DP and i don't end up agreeing on a name, I am fully intending to announce that we are going with MY choice about 10 minutes after its born. i'm figuring he's not going to argue with the woman who just went through childbirth with his baby...

hopefully, i think i might use that as a secret weapon incase i stop liking the name we've agreed on.

it's only fair i think !

ok so this is for everyone whose already had a baby, i have a dumb question that i dont want to ask my doctor: after the birth, will my baby be hungry? i get really hungry during stressful times... and am wondering if he'll be born hungry? would it be ok to borrow boob milk from someone? is there like a boob milk reserve set up thats not mentioned?

i feel kinda bad actually, because i hate being hungry, and now i'm feeling guilty about the production of milk. when does it start? i have nipple cheese (but very small amounts) except i had a string once (few weeks ago)...i got kind of grossed out by it so i didn't measure it or keep it. (sorry for tmi). is there anything i can do to start up a reserve?

aww, starlight, i'm glad your back, but i'm sorry about the day. i had a molar pregnancy around this time last year, but nothing compared to your loss. i hope you have an uplifting and comforting day.

it's up to you really when you feed your baby after delivery, i'm pretty sure if your breastfeeding they like you to start asap

i think you have some milk straightaway and the mains supply comes in after a few days but not too sure as have never really bf

one of my friends got her milk before she had her babies she constantly had two wet patches on her tops from being about 6 months pregnant!!

i found with my two they were very sleepy and just crashed mostly for the first day but had a few feeds and then the day after started to develop an appetite but everyone's different

has anyone ever used a postnatal corset, asking as i heard it's supposed to help evrything back to were it shuld be,it took a long timefor my tummy to go afterwards both times so maybe this would be a good idea or would normal suck you in pants have the same effect,although i plan to be good this time and actually do some form of exercise afterwards and not just buy a dvd do it once and then sell it

eandz, your milk will not come in until 3 to 5 days after giving birth. until then, colostrum (nipple cheese) is what your baby will have. it is only produced in tiny amounts. we are talking drops, not ounces here. but it is very high in simple sugars and antibodies which is all your baby will need in the first days until your milk comes in.

it is best practice to have your baby delivered straight onto your tummy/chest immediately after giving birth. forget about being weighed, measured, wrapped. they come out remarkably 'clean' if a bit slippery and may only need a little wipe to remove some blood. The vernix which most babies are born with on their skin (a white waxy substance) is absorbed into their skin in the first hour and is a marvellous skin emollient so giving a bath is counterproductive.

The reason behind having them skin to skin for all of their first hour of life is to take advantage of a natural state in babies where they are primed to search and feed in the first hour. After this hour has passed, the instinct diminishes and they may sleep for a while.

You want to have your baby feed as often as the cue for a feed. Get restless, move their head from side to side, if you touch a cheek, they move with mouth open towards your touch etc. Crying is the last sign that they are hungry and a crying baby is harder to latch than a rooting one.

The purpose of having them feed as much as possible in the first day is that meconium, the poo they make while in utero starts to be reabsorbed into their bloodstream and this is hwat normally causes jaundice, normally called 'not enough milk jaundice'. Though what they are getting is really colostrum, not milk. The other marvellous thing about colostrum is that it works as a laxative which makes the baby poo quite soon if they are latched on well. However if they are not feeding often enough or efficiently in the first day, then they become jaundiced they are even harder to feed and they sleep too long making matters more difficult for everyone.

this is a fab video which shows how early a newborn baby can latch.

mustsleep-- my mother used this tummy tuck post natal girdle thing that brought her waist back into shape within 2 months of giving birth. apparently theres some sort of suction that the corset/tummy tucking underwear helps with and your body starts to assume that shape. i saw one for sale with agent provacataeur (i don't know how to spell it) but i plan on buying one too.

it's also the same thing they tell women who have had a surgical tummy tuck to wear while they are healing and helps with swelling or something. (not sure, my mom went back to normal size naturally). i think uma thurman wore two at a time when she was filming after she gave birth (but thats something my little sister told me, so not sure what the source it).

your post and kiskideemeanoldmother's made me feel a tons better. i was really feeling guilty about not feeding right away.

hmm might have to look on the agent provacataeur (sp?) website laer on!
i think gwyenth paltrow wore one too and vic reeves wife ... worth a go me thinks

right now have woken up this morning decided i defo need to get my hair trimmed and quite fancy having a long thick fringe cut in!! but let's see how brave i am later on

have got a midwife appt in a bit but i will be back!!