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

[LittleConnie]

Come on over!

imoscarsmum: I am interested in a waterbirth too. Don't let the midwife put you off having one. I also had high bp last time round. I may develop it again but yesterday, after speaking to the Matron about other issues, I brought up my wish for a water birth. she said no reason why you can't aim for one.

Again, you can get independent, evidence based advice from the NCT. Contact your local branch by email / phone and ask to be put in touch with the antenatal leader.

The NCT catalogue (if you look at their website) also has books for sale on home and water births. there is a website called www.homebirths.org or something like that. Worth having a look. there are lots of personal accounts of home births on there with women who had a variety of medical reasons that are commonly bandied about as reasons why they should not have had one.

good luck on your search.

starlight there's still a couple of scans to go... pidge and i aren't til next friday.

kiskidee would you recommend the NCT breastfeeding class?

I leave for my 20wk scan in half an hour!!

I am half excited and half apprehensive...

And I also think the slice of chocolate cake that I have just wolfed down is going to make the LO go mental and make the sonographers job twice as hard

gosh yes, littleconnie. I never did an antenatal class when pg with dd1. I have received the paperwork outlining what they cover. I think it really is worth it. Ring them up, ask for further info on the class. You can't make up your own mind with the limited info i can give you on here. besides, by contacting them direct, you can ask questions as tehy arise about their specific class. It is also a first step to building a network of 'mum' friends who will be going through a lot of the same things you are at the same time after your baby gets here. You will also meet their bf counsellor if there is one in the area. Networking early can make the outcome a better experience all round.

Hi all - was at midwife appointment yesterday so couldn't get on here, amazed at how fast it's moved.

digitalgirl I had exactly the same experience as you with trying to listen to Baloo's heartbeat yesterday. She kicks me all the time and I've known for a while that she doesn't like anything pressing on her (always kicks my pregnancy pillow when I'm getting comfy) and she wriggled and wriggled away from the probe. It took the MW ages to get a reading and she was laughing about how wriggly the baby is!

BTW just been to the ladies and realised I had my maternity trousers on the wrong way round! Have been wondering all morning why they felt so odd.

Eandz the Maxi Cosi Cabrio is the car seat that fits onto the Bugaboo (and a lot of other prams) so we had this for DS and have just bought the Isofix version for Baloo. We've also got the Priorifix carseat for DS now and it is brilliant. We're really pleased with both of them.

Re. the Tripp Trapp (not sure who posted) - DS really loves his and we like it too, to the extent that we've bought another one for Baloo. Love the fact that he's at the table with us and it looks really nice. DS will choose it as his seat even now it no longer has the bar on and he can sit anywhere. I guess different babies like different things.

Also, rear facing pushchairs - this is one of the reasons I like the Bug so much. When DS was little we had it rear-facing and I could talk and sing to him constantly. I think when he got to about 11m old he started trying to peer round the side of the seat to see what was in front of us and that's when I turned the seat forward facing. As I said before, we still use his Bug all the time and he's v. happy in it at 2.2.

Potxola DP brought me some Fitflops back from his last US trip. Apart from today and yesterday, due to weather, I've been using them as my commute shoes. I find them really comfortable (more so than Havaianas, which I normally live in). I haven't had any calf pain yet but maybe I'm not using them enough, although I do have a long walk up and down a steep hill to and from nursery.

Hey 4x4 bashers - each to their own. I might leave near Chelsea and, rarely go off road, but I love mine and it really is useful for everything we have to carry!

my baby never kicks up a storm. i think he's a lazybutt like his aunties. (my little sisters could sleep for days at a time if given the chance).

I've not had any wet discharge that I've noticed, but on some nights when I remove my bra I've got yellowish crust sorry if TMI doesn't smell at all just looks a bit eeeewwwwy!!

is that cheese? more like crusty bread?

it's your very own cheese

i'm smiling soo very big for you!!

yes like that stuff, oh so relieved do you think the nipple bit will be there when it needs to be?

thanks you are are Star will look for some more info, just love MN

OMG, my boss kills me.

She started laying on complaints about my working from home yesterday (for no apparent reason ), to the extent that i've agreed to change my days (still doing 2 days a week, so not really concerned).

So today, we finally get all of that sorted, and then she casually says, 'oh, I think you should do your last exam (I have 4 out of 5 financial exams that everyone on my publication does, I have more than anyone else and have done them in record time) before you go on maternity leave." The exam is a massive commitment, would require me to do about an hour's revision every night for a month or more, so I would be doing it just as i'm getting really enormous.

I try not to think bad things about her, as she hasn't got children so doesn't really get the exhaustion of pregnancy, but sometime i just think she is a bitter old cow who wants to make my life miserable. I would like to stick paperclips in her eyes today.

Hopefully when I get people like that at work I imagine sticking a fork into the fleshy bit at the top of their thigh. I think it would feel really satisfying!

"I would like to stick paperclips in her eyes today" lol hopefully that really made me laugh! I know what you mean though, they can very unreasonable at times. I hope you get something sorted.

I like your plan Starlight. I was thinking of leaving it for a few days and then telling her in the middle of next week that I am still exhausted after work, even though I'm working from home, and I don't want to waste company money on doing the exam if I'm not able to give it 100%, as it wouldn't benefit them or me. I will add on your bit about appreciating their commitment to my CPD!

ooh, sticking a fork in her... Mind you, she's so skinny and ratty I probably wouldn't be able to find any spare flesh. I think paperclips in the eyes is the way forward.

Good thing I'm not bitter or anything today! Sorry if I have ignored any current thread news in my self indulgent posts...

Wow, I've just had 3 pages of posts to catch up on (that's 150 posts) since Wednesday evening!!

Really appreciate all the BF info. I had a ridiculous conversation with a male client yesterday where he recommended i DON'T breastfeed as I wouldn't get any sleep and I would just be making life difficult for myself. What a TWAT!

My mum said that a baby that gets put to sleep on it's back all the time gets a flat head! She said I slept best on my tummy or my side. I mentioned the guidelines re: preventing SIDS and she said 'babies don't know what the guidelines are, they only know how they like to sleep'. Mind you, she said she barely slept when I was born as she liked to watch me sleep, so I suppose I was under constant supervision during my belly naps.

Everyone's got an opinion!

So, if I'm not co-sleeping but I have the baby in a moses basket/cot beside the bed. Is it still possible to know when the baby is hungry and wake up to feed it without it having to cry first? (Assuming I don't take after my mum and forgo all sleep just to watch baby breath)

Baby wasn't so active yesterday, I think it tired itself out from the day before. Although I'm now feeling the kicks above the belly button, which is weird.

No nipple cheese here yet, although nips are feeling a bit sensitive.

Also, I'm massively enjoying my food - but having to stop myself from eating huge portions as space is beginning to get restricted.

Thanks for the link for MA advice. DH rang the jobcentre and they said go away until the 16th June (I'll be 26 weeks then). But offered no further info. I think I just have to work out if I want to apply as a freelancer or as an employee (I still pay my own tax).

Sunshinemummy Thank you for the info. I will buy them. To be honest I can't walk much because of the problems I have had with bleeding, but at least I will walk those 10 min.doing a bit more exercise using the flitflops. That won't harm me.

Hopefully We will all support you on your decision. Think about what it is better for you.

digitalgirl I think there's an article about flat head syndrome in this month's Mother & Baby (beautiful children by the way Wombfor1more). The message is 'back for sleep, tummy for play'.

We have a Baby Einstein play gym, which comes with a really cleverly shaped cushion. You put the cushion under the baby's chest and it helps them to enjoy playing on their front more as it supports them a little more than just lying flat on their face. DS absolutely loved his (and the flashing light/tune thingy that goes above their heads) and he always liked being on his front.