Due June 08 - Creme egg season is over, summer is now here, so time to tidy the ladygarden before the big day

[bitofadramaqueen]

I wonder how quickly we'll get through this thread?!?!?!?!

Yipeeeee DH is HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im so happy I could skip then again I would end up weeing myself and I dont think my fat feet and knees would have enough bounce to get me off the gound

Josey
Is that it now until the baby arrives and youa re settled?

It might be him home till bubs arrives ut I doubt it....he will prob end up away for a week between now and then which I can cope with...also they wont sent him abroad. I can at least breath easy for a while, its such a relief

josey - I love your post! So glad your DH is home and your image of a super-preggo one of us skipping, weeing, and not bouncing is hilarious! I know exactly how you feel...

oh - and re: engagement - I think this baby popped out last night, it definitely spun around to have it's back to my right front instead of left front. Drat! I much prefer how tightly set my DS was in the womb, rather than how much extra room this one seems to have to wiggle around (as someone said to me - it's used uterus syndrome - and comes pre-stretched!).

debinaustria i am ok thanks today i calmed down now ill always feel a bit angry about him but im a lot better today i think it was just hormones! another teacher! no wonder i was being told off about my text talk ha-ha!

upsuidedowncake i went back to bed at 6am for 3 hours so now i feel full of life i may do that when my baby is born mom said she will have her a couple of hours in a morning because shes always up early so i can get a bit of sleep! god bless my mother i dont know how i would cope without her and i am starting to see the world through her eyes now that im pratically a mommy myself!

I am off to have my hair done and styled in a bit so that will be nice and give me a bit of a boost. The weather is gorgeous again but it kills me this heat carrying a big bump around.

Hope everyone else is feeling good today x

Great news Josey- I'm so happy for you!

Gemma- what a tosser. As you say, you've made the effort, so just concentrate on your little girl and forget about him[grinn]

Debs at your 8 hours. Starting to get sharp pains across le bump that are waking me up. No bad thing as I will be induced this time next week.

LAst NCT class last night....bf bras arrived today. I called NCT but we don't have a measurer (sp?) locally (can't get out to town because of stupid pelvis)...the lady o the phone was incredibly helpful though, got me to measure etc and you can return them if they don't fit. Hopefully they will work better than M&S who were rubbish...can't remember who was asking about that. As far as BF tops, I bought two or three from Jojo Maman for when I get started, then hope I'll be competent enough tto do the t-shirt thing. I did buy a giant pink muslin from Pumpkin Patch that should do very well as a cover-all, but we'll only know if it works in a few weeks!!!!

No word from Neenz, so assume she is producing her creme eggs.....GO NEENZ!!!!!!!

gem ,it's great that you have your mum around to help. I would be totally miserable without mine helping out!

Feeling really rough again. Went to tescos last night and was nealry sick in the cheese aisle and then got really bad stomach crapms and had really hot flushes - I'm not going there again until after baby is born.

I'm guessing that Neenz has her babies now or will very soon!

Paro - I don't think I could ever have got away with those shorts, let alone post pregnancy! They claim to be maternity shorts as well - yeah right!

Hope everything is going well with Neenz, been a hot few days to have been in hospital.

goingfor3 i know as im getting older i really really appreciate my mom being here and do whatever i can to help her i have just helped decorate the bathroom and take her shopping and that because she has been so supportive. It sounds like you are really suffering bless you

no me neither ktpie! thats why it made me laugh!!

Snort at thought of shorts post-pregnancy. .

Back at work today and counting down the days till I finish. Two weeks tomorrow - yay!

Josey great news aobut your DH being home. Enjoy!

Anyone else managed to increase their bingo wings throughout pregnancy? I think that's adding to my misery about all the breastfeeding tops. They're all vests and I think I'd quite like to hide my upper arms, along with post baby belly, thight and bum this summer. . Will definitely have to get the Davina dvd out of the wrapper after the baby is born!

Josey, so pleased for you that dh is back. Such a weight off your mind.

I've finally chosen a hospital, and have an appointment next Friday to get booked in - just 3 weeks before the birth hope I don't pop early. It's about 25 degrees here now - is it same in UK?

I'm going to try and get a couple of skirts today. I have a couple of drawstring a line ones off last summer and they're great, cos I can just wear them now under the bump (long top, full modesty! - and as nomal when my body every returns to normal. No point in buying maternity stuff. Anyway, my sil lent me a Next maternity t-shirt, but it's no longer than a normal one, and I permanently had half my belly out - not impressed with that, so never waer it.

Word of caution re tops - I bought this time one bf top, but other 3 pg never botheres - just wore ordinary tops. I've so far tried on 3 vests / t-shirts, and as well as beinging clingy, which will be really bad on a post natal jelly belly, they also cling too much around the bust, so all the seams are shown off, and it looks especially awful with breast pads in to boot. My recommendadtion, is loose, not clingy, and patterned, not pale or plain, as pale, plain ones will show up the shape of the breastpad more, and also any leaks, and there will be some!

Afraid to say it, but another teacher here Gemma! Glad you're feeling so strong to be going through this. Can't understand how some 'men's' minds work, I really can't. Glad you've got rl support too.

My feet have started to swell - with each pg so far I've actually grown half a size - and stayed that way. I was a 5, then went to 5.5, then 6.... Plus my feet have got so wide, I need to go a bit bigger just for the width, so started off as 5 and now need 7

Our wills are hopelessly out of date, but it's difficult to renew them, being out of the country, and not knowing for sure for how long, Ours still has dh's mum as executor and my mum as guardian. God knows why I ever entertained the idea, but over my dead body........

AM officially registered in the country, so no longer illegal imiigrant . Just gotta sort out the house, the hospital, the paperwork, the baby stuff - still not bought a thing yet, I fear a trip to ikea, as I'll definitely need to make curtains for baby's room. Wish I could have a nap.

Glad you've chosen a hospital ernest - are you happy with it? Good tips on the bf tops. I think I'm going to stick with regular t's etc, but thought it would be nice to have one or two 'nice' tops for going out.

Chat today has reminded me that me and DH really need to do our wills!

aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Warning moan alert.

Am having to hand some of my clients over to this girl (also pregnant, but not till October). The way she is moaning, you would think I had handed everything over and found myself volunteering to write a strategy paper for one of them next week when in theory I'm supposed to be off. I want to say to her that it's not my fault if she is too busy becuase she has volunteered herslef for lots of internal marketing work becuase she wants to cosy up to the new management of the business. I know also that what I write next week, she will not get round to reading it and if she does, she'll red pen the whole thing and make out that she might as well have written it herself. Aagh - she is a real pain in the proverbial. Will probably have to come back to work early becuase these clients will be completely neglected and will need a lot of TLC when she goes off. God, sometimes I hate my job.

Other more fundamental moan - my DH is being forced by his London office to relocate to Manchester as soon as possible. I know Manchester is not the ends of the earth but the likelihood is he'll have to weekly commute between there and London for approx 1-3 years, and the start date will be 1 month at the latest after babe has been born. I know others have it much worse, but am miserable at the thought of him being away so much when I'm so used to having him around.

Oh mellymell that is so tough! Has he contemplated looking for something else or would you consider moving to Manchester?

mellymell, so sorry to hear about your dh Do you mean he'll be away all week and only return at w/e? There's really no alternative? YOu have my full sympathy - having just endured a period of separation I can really empathise, and know how tough it is, especially ith a new baby. Really no way around it? Really bad of his firm Is he really forced to move?

Thanks bitofa and Ernest - the issue is that in London there is no work. There was when this firm recruited him, but since he joined he's litterally been twiddling his thumbs. Now they've had the great idea of opening a Manchester office and need someone to run it. Noone else wants to go. They've pretty much said that there's no job for him in London, so unless he goes ... They are disorganised s**ts of the first order.

I suppose at least it will be a good platform for him to find something else, but in this market? People are being made redudant all over the place so it's not exactly the best time to be looking for something new.

Ernest, any tips on coping with this - hear such awful stories about people growing apart because of this type of scenario.

What does he do?

Gotta go out now, but will reply later xx

property lawyer

oh it's such a lovely day here, wish I was on mat leave already! Too many messages to make considered replies to everyone but you have my sympathies/congratulations/frustrations as relevant!

I agree with the majority re: M and S bra fitting service. I haven't been back since they told me I was a 36C when Bravissimo measured me in a wonderfully fitting 30G. not overly impressed with John Lewis either though, bought a couple of non-underwired ones there a few weeks ago as was desperately needing new size and bravissimo was other side of town. the woman insisted I was a 38G but this is far too loose round the back. will be going back to Bravissimo for nursing bras!

Disaster has struck at work today - the shop has run out of ice lollies. might have to leave early in desperation!

Move up here Mellymel. I will be your friend, our LOs can play together and your DH can instruct my DH . And when you and your DH run off with the firm's profits, Neenz's DH can represent you against the Assets Recovery Agency. And when you go on the run to Wales Essie can teach you Welsh. It will be dead cosy and not at all creepy .

With the amount of development work there is going on in the NW at the moment I'm not surprised their Manchester office has more work.

I spoke to a reflexologist yesterday who is prepared to touch my feet (they are hideous - in the usual gross feet way but also with chronic athlete's foot and veruccas ). I'm seeing her on Monday so trying desperately to make my feet less scary as it would be so mortifying if she decided it just wasn't worth the money. I'm also seeing a homeopath to get a labour kit. I bet that after all this touchy-feely preparation I'm doing I'll end up with a c-section observed by scores of scrofulous students.

Rolf - thanks for the offer which I would take up gladly, but I will be remaining in London holding the fort. DH would only be offered a single roomed accommodation and we can't sell our house here for a while.

on a lighter note - I have exactly the same issue on the feet. Have my first reflexology session on Saturday and was looking at how disgusting my feet are - possible veruca plus cracked heels plus complete and fat, puffy feet. yeuch.

Aargh I have nothing to wear now! Have been working the yoga pants for weeks but they are now too hot, so have had to come to work today with an elasticated-waist skirt perilously low under my bump, so that a gust of wind blowing my shirt askew reveals veiny bump and top of knickers. Mmm. And I'm someone who keeps the ladygarden au naturel too... added peril.
I wonder if I can get some kind of wonderful cotton or linen trousers or skirt that will do me for the next few weeks and then magically shrink down to wear post-partum? Any recommendations?
Re what sort of linguistic research I do - my background is in sociolinguistics and phonetics, and my research now is about pronunciation of multiple languages.

M and S seem to have some nice white linen type trousers if I remember correctly, that will do for a while after too, apart from the being white thing...

I've got a pair of cropped trousers from Isabella Oliver which are nice, but over the bump bit is getting too hot!

Ernest - glad you have found a hospital, and you are feeling more at home.

Mellymel, , what a bugger. Are you a lawyer too? I can't remember if you already have children? How long is the move for?

Rolf, LOL your feet!

I am wearing Sainsbury's (!) cropped yoga pants in white. They are cotton jersey, and actually look relatively smart ... (or am I deluded pregnant bird?)

LOL Laura re ice lollies!

Puddock - pronunciation of multiple languages - are you working with bilinguals? Is that to do with the effects of L1 on L2, for example? I've often thought that would be very interesting. Do you look at dialects / accents as well? - my DS has USA, South London and RP input and it's very interesting listening to him make sense of it.