Scan you see it yet? Due in Jan 09

[fourlittlefeet]

Am keeping us in antinatal rather than in preganancy so newbies can find us! Have posted for tink on her thread.

x

good morning all. i finally have a scan date too. July 29th. still a bit off but have one.

moosemama i call it laughing legs. i've had those jitters even before being pregnant it just seems more often now... every other night. i get up (after much agitation that i must) and do a few simple leg stretches, (side lunges, bend over, standing while pulling foot to butt) as well as deep breathing and it seems to work.

i am having a bit of a concern. sometimes i feel very indifferent to being pregnant, other times pissed off because i can't enjoy what DH and friends are doing and other times very excited. i get freaked out when i feel indifferent though. isn't that a bit bizarre? being indifferent to being pregnant. my midwife says its probably just because i've had a very easy pregnancy so far... no nausea, not a lot of weight gain (at 15+5, i'm still in my regular clothes, although i had to let a notch out on the belt) and no real mood swings. i hope that's it.

have a great day everyone.

morning

i am 13+2 days in 2nd trimester
feel huge and look huge
sure i can feel movement 2 sparkle

Chefswife, I often feel indifferent towards my pregnancy or occasionally emotions even further along that spectrum! But also often very excited -- I'll suddenly get a flash of joy when I think about having a little baby inside me. But a lot of the time, I have to admit, pregnancy seems like a hassle more than a wonderful experience!

I think it does't help that I'm working really hard, and the tiredness and 'baby-brain' is making me feel less on my game than usual.

I did read somewhere that women who experience mixed emotions towards their pregnancy are less likely to have post-natal depression -- something to do with having more realistic expectations!

Thanks everyone for the floradex info. I will get some this weekend!

I have also been down to French connection and got a load of lovely sleevless but nice and roomy tops in their sale. (MissHair I'll be keeping an eye out for you!) This is after throwing a huge queenie rant in Dorothy Perkins! A good friend used to work for them and said they have the best mat clothes on the high street. Err, NO! Good awful things with great big lacy panels on the front (great for gargantuan boobs) or strange random zips on everything, low backs (great for showing off the huge bra for gargantuan boobs) or worse still effing ruffles on everthing!! My friend said they were to help draw the eye away from my bump. 'No, you still see the bump because it's got huge ruffles ON IT!!!' (said rather loudly and received glares from the twiglet shop assts). So flounced out feeling all hot and bothered and rather depressed at the thought of six months of fashion hell. So at very large piece of choccie cake and went over to french connection. Lovely people.

mel2005 - you can breastfeed two at once if you want (although I'd be going mix feeding b/f and formula if it were me) I had a freind who used to feed one on each boob with the babies legs under her arms (this may be called rugby ball hold or something???)

scared - I'm quite short and my bump was enormous as there was nowhere for it to go but out just get some bio oil to prevent strechmarks! - its expensive but seemed to work for me.

chefswife I have moments of feeling the same thing. I also get hit by waves of panic and terror. It's a massive change in your life and there is so much pressure to be excited and happy all the time. I call it Christmas Day Syndrome. The more pressure people pile on themselves (helped by others) to be completely happy or have the perfect pregnancy/newborn the more you are setting yourself up for dissapointment. We have to be realistic about what to expect and if that makes us feel a little grumpy or sad sometimes then thats ok.

I got very annoyed with one of my pregnancy books the other day. I was looking for reassurance about headaches (any advice gratefully received) and i was faced with a world in soft focus with lots of reclining contented looking pregnant women. The advice was to "limit my stress and take time to put things in perpective" and that when my baby was born "everyday trials will seem insignificant". I would love to see my MD's face whn i tell him I won't be meeting my dealine because it is 'insignificant' when compared to the newlife inside me and if you don't mind I'm off to put my feet up!

We live in the real world (unfortunately)

fy&b you are right about the position etc and i could have breastfed them if they were my only children but i have two young children already and it just will not work. we do go to the dino park and zoo etc alot and i am not going to make my older children stay at home everyday so i can feed the new babies. with one baby i could have gone out and done it discreatly (which is what i did with my second baby) but with two to feed i just will not be able to manage constant feeding.

also my little boy refused the boob and he had expressed and formula. he was a good weight and slept through from 6 weeks. my little girl was small and still is, she was solely breastfed and fed constantly, she was up 4 times in the night until 14months. the twins are likely to be very small and the only way i can ensure they get all they need and sleep through from a decent age is to formula feed. also i have to answer business calls during the day and i just couldnt sit down and relax to feed. i am planning to use baby bouncers with the bottle holders that are popular in america for multiple and they will be fed together.
it is going to be manic in our house. i already have been planning feeding times around trips to the nursery for pickup/drop off and sleep times. i want to have a good routine from the start or everything will just fall to bits.

fymandbean - one of my friends has twins and breastfeeds them doing the rugbyball hold - so it is possible, though she has no other children, a dh who works from home and who has been able to do lots for her so she has the time to sit and bf.... I think if life is busier than that, it is a lot to ask of yourself.

actually, I was shocked, when ds was born, at how hard I found breastfeeding. I thought it would be 'natural' and therefore I (and bub) would just know what to do. I WISH someone had warned me that it can be really tough. And painful. Not so I would've thought 'can't be doing with that' and given up, but so that I would have been more realistic and kinder to myself. As it was, bfing made the first few months hard. Being a stubborn git, I pushed myself to carry on (my poor ds, trying to feed while his ma gritted her teeth, swore, cried.. couldn't have been relaxing for him!!) Luckily it all eased off at about 4 months and he only stopped a couple of months ago. But I am apprehensive about this time.
Sorry, fymandbean, didn't mean to go into a rant
I've surprised myself, reacting like that.. obv need to talk to mw about bf support when bub's arrival is a bit nearer..
sorry everyone, feel free to ignore this

to be honest women are made to feel failures if they dont manage to breastfeed, i think this is really bad. with my first i spent hours expressing as he wouldnt take to the breast. i had to suppliment it with formula and lost my milk after 6 months. i had alot of comments from people because he was on the bottle and i felt a failure.
i did love breastfeeding my second but was desperate to get her onto the bottle so i could get a rest after a year. i would express and she would refuse it. i had a freezer full of breastmilk that ended up in the bin. i gave up at 14/15 months mainly because she was still waking for a feed 4 times in the night and i had an active toddler during the day - i just wanted to get some sleep!!!
if you can breastfeed thats great and if you cant dont worry. its not the end of the world and there are some great formulas out there. it better you put your energy into looking after your new baby not worrying what the doctors/MIL/healthvisitor/general public will think. i will try to get the first bit that has the antibodies in as i will be in hospital and hopefully have the babies with me and not in SCBU. after that i will not be breastfeeding/or will do a couple of feeds a day.

spink there are breastfeeding councellors who can help, there were some at my old baby group. they were just normal mums who breastfed and were trained to help other mums.
or you could just decide to bottle feed this time and just give baby the first bit before your milk comes in. if they take to it you can then breastfeed fully, it might be easier this time. or if it doesnt work dont worry you will have prepared to bottle feed. at least you will not be worrying through pregnancy about it.

thanks, mel.
I saw pretty much every bf counsellor there was in the area last time! and one thing I do know for this is that you only get help if you ask for it, and then there is plenty (but that it doesn't always solve the problems!)

I'm going to try to avoid the temptation of making plans just yet, and see how it goes. We'll have some bottles here and some cartons of formula just in case (we did for ds and still have them).
I guess what I found most frustrating is how noone said how hard it could be, and then as soon as I asked friends who had bf-ed for help, they all said "oh yes, it is tough isn't it" I just think it sets women up for feeling like failures if, when you go to NCT or the NHS classes, they don't talk about the fact that lots of women have problems, but that is normal, and that sometimes those problems can be sorted, and if not, formula might be best choice.
Anyway. I suppose I do know that this time, and hopefully will be easier on myself whatever happens..

(i'm off my boob soapbox now)
how is everyone today?
we just had a HUGE fry up and I think I might put my feet up and read while ds is napping. I LOVE WEEKENDS

Spink, v jealous -- I have been at work since 6am! 14 hours today and 12 hours tomorrow. Oh yes, love those weekends!

sorry missj! you can taunt me on your days off though.. if you like
anyway, the afternoon will turn bad, I can tell. dh has dropped off and he'll have one of those post-afternoon-nap moods on when he wakes, mouth dry and head befuddled.

Spink they sell it in most health shops including Holland and Barrett.

I've been shopping too.

Bought:

2 extra comfy camping chairs.
2 camping tables
1 camping kettle
1 low voltage fan heater
1 electric cool box
4 camping lanterns
torches for kids
loads of tupperware
fold up baskets
large plastic storage trunk with lid

Can you guess what we'll be doing in 2 weeks' time?

Obviously they didn't sell any maternity clothes at the camping shop, but I did buy the biggest warmest fleece I could find!

Wow, people are buying stuff already! I think i will need to buy a new pushchair this time round.

I am going out to dinner tonight, what do you think the risk of eating pate would be? I really want to eat it

its the vitamin A in the liver in pate that is dangerous i think.

Was told by mw that even veggie pates are out as they pose a high risk for listeria - sorry.

thanks moosemama

MsSparkle most advice seems to be to avoid pate. Having said that,

"Pate: Refrigerated pate or meat spreads should be avoided because they may contain the bacteria listeria. Canned pate, or shelf-safe meat spreads can be eaten." from the American Pregnancy Association

Apparently, small amounts of liver pate are ok, because the issue there is having too much Vit A, so a little bit wouldn't be harmful.

Babycentre say "pâté, including that made from vegetables or fish, should also be avoided during pregnancy to reduce the risk of listeria infection unless they are canned or labelled UHT (ultra heat-treated). "

If you're going out to dinner, they prob won't be serving up tinned pate though?!

No i doubt they would serve tinned. We were looking at the menu earlier and pate was the only thing i fancied on it! I may just have to have soup. Boring.

Bum. I've read that it is the storage of pate that is the problem really - if you make it and eat it straight away, it is very likely to be ok (as long as it isn't liver pate). Depends if you trust the restaurant re whether they made their pate themselves and when they say they did it..

You could always ask the chef to whip up something special for you off the menu!!

Have a lovely evening!

I'm sooooooooooo with you MsSparkle, Even through all my sickness the ONE thing i have wanted is some Pate on Toast! I'm a sucker for it.

I have resisting So far!

Hope you have a lovley evening- Hope the Soup/alternative is Yummy!

xx

morning ladies

13 and a half wks today
feel and look like a whale already!!

morning

i'm 13 weeks on tues and my belly seems to have really popped out in the last few days. i thought it was sticking out a bit before, but it's really out there now.

it's kinda nice but also a bit scared about how big im going to end up, i didnt show last time til at least 20 weeks. greasing myself up with bio oil whenever i get the chance!

got my nuchal on weds, yay

ps.nodding in agreement with all thats been said about breastfeeding and feeling like a failure if it doesnt come naturally... i remember a midwife literally grabbing my boob and shoving it in my babys mouth, without asking if i wanted help or anything, acting like i was the most stupid mother in the place because i couldnt get it right straight away. i felt like i was being assaulted or something. i did actually continue breastfeeding but i can see why many dont.
i dont think im going to this time.