Dec 08: but that doesn't mean you can touch my bump!

[rosmerta]

New thread with bisou's title suggestion

Cleaning kmp? What's that then?

No, seriously, be prepared for it all to get a bit haphazard especially at first. The flat after ds was born was a nightmare! Mind you it was hard to keep tidy at the best of times as there was only 1 room for kitchen, dining and living.

I do a wash pretty much every day, alternating clothes and nappies. The nappy bucket gets over full before there is a full load so I do towels and bed linen with nappies so they can still be changed regularly without adding to the washing burden.

It is all about quick wipes round. Bathroom gets wiped a couple of times a week, taking about 5 mins each time. Kitchen surfaces at the same time as washing up, sweeping floor after meals. Living room gets a cursory tidy each evening when I put ds' toys away. Hoovering probably once a week downstairs, less upstairs and bedrooms get pretty neglected! Basically, quick surface cleans and concentrate on the important bits, eg putting toys away means you are an adult again once the monster is in bed.

Am also getting child free time before Dec, creche starts for the new term and since ds lived there when I was finishing the degree we decided to splurge a little and keep him there a day a week to play with his friends so from tomorrow I get a break every Tuesday. Feels naughty now but it will be good to have a day a week with just the new one come December.

zj what do we need talc and cotton wool for ? I have no idea what to put in a hospital bag Congrats on 'fully functioning' boobs !

Effie my baby was slightly small on all measurements except head at 20 weeks so I've got a big-headed baby in there too

LT I was at a physiotherapy AN class last week and the lady said if you have a desk job get up every half hour for a walk to ease back pain.

Turnip ouch, poor you ! Yes, c'mon Murray !

kmp I was in nesting mode at the weekend and gutted my kitchen and bedroom - such a good feeling but it will probably need to be done again by Dec !

Thanks for your kind words ladies - am feeling much better now and off to hospital for my delayed AN appt after Friday's fiasco - hope she measures my bump

hi all, can't keep up with the thread!

Mibbes just seen your last message about hospital bag, I took toiletries for me, clothes, baby clothes (vest, sleepsuit, hat), snacks, drinks, magazines and camera. Cotton wool is good for cleaning the baby's bottom with warm water rather than using wipes straight away.

Talc isn't usually recommended, I think because it sticks to a wet bum which can lead to nappy rash.

Sorry, I'm not ignoring you all, will have a proper read through later and catch up.

LadyT - i am impressed at thinking about bonking after the birth. Poor old DH does not get any action for quite some time. Cap is fine, providing you don't get urine infections or have wildly fluctuating weight. If you want to BF, you can only take the mini pill, and the mirena coil receives mixed reports. We stuck with condoms (until that mad drunken night ). You'd think with all this knowledge I would have managed to avoid an unexpected pregnancy but never mind.

Be prepared for your 6 week check - they will ask you if you've done the deed and then give you contraceptive "advice". If you are very unlucky, you might get The Chat by a 12 year old MW shortly after delivery. A GP friend of mine tells of how she always does the "ho ho ho, I am sure sex is the LAST thing on your mind but we do need to think about contraception" only to find that they have been on the pill since the baby was 2 weeks old! I think it is quite usual to feel less than wanton goddess like for quite a while, but it does come back eventually. Be wary of asking about teh snip though - I did this at the 6 week check and the GP said "but what if you died? Or your children died - you might want some more". I was rather after that.

Pixsix - good news on the scan. They tend to go by the scan dates rather than the LMP dates as theoretically they are more accurate as all babies are pretty much the same size til 12w. I had an 11 day discrepancy with DD1 and they went with the scan date, although they only let me go a week over in case it was wrong. Just as well really as DD1 was nearly 10lb at birth. She'd have been huge if she'd had another week. Not all women ovulate exactly 14 days before their period, hence the change.

Verso, Hatty - Isabella oliver stuff is lovely. I have a long black skirt from there which is my work uniform. Really rate it. I used a bump band to conceal my lard post baby and also used the vest trick.

Turnip - sympathy on the piles. If you can face them, the suppositories are great. I also found that having a small stool to put my feet on when I went to the loo really helped. I had really bad ones after DD2 and could barely walk. Alas we were in Italy at their worse, and I had to use my rudimentary italian to convey the problem. Very entertaining afterwards, though mortifying at the time and laughing made them hurt more.

KMP, Indith - cleaning is not an activity of choice here. DD1 was given a toy hoover and had to ask what it was. We are lucky enough to have a cleaner and I try to go out when she is here to let her get on with it. If she left me, I'd be gutted. And REALLY filthy.

How was the MW, Mibbes?

Welcome Ninni

Hello everyone else, hope you are all well.

Off to check on my stew now. It's been in the slow cooker all day and smells lovely.

Thanks for all your replies about clothes washing etc! I do a load of washing every 2nd day roughly at the moment so that makes me feel a bit more normal! As for the floors, we do have a dog so I guess that adds to my vacuuming obsession! I'm amazed or rather at how many people have a cleaner come in! When I met DH they had one where they lived but they were a house of 3 guys. I thought their cleaner did a terrible job, but they seemed to think she was ok!

Ok, time to catch up on everyone!

pixsix hope the sickness is better, glad the scan went well.

ladyt how exciting to think you'll be finishing work this week! Don't have any tips with posture I'm afraid, I know mine is just as bad!

ninii hi, how's your ds settling in at school?

summer glad you had a nice holiday

turnip are the piles any better? Poor you.

indith I'm glad to see someone has the same approach to cleaning as me ! I'm trying to keep on top of it all but its getting harder & harder.

kmp I am also of those who have a cleaner. We used to have one but when I stopped working it was a too much of a luxury. Am considering asking for one for xmas though!

effie can't believe you've only just been to a soft play! Htere's a lovely one near me where ds can go & play & I get to sit down with a magazine & cup of tea!

missmama packing your bags already? . We haven't even decided what we're doing re beds & cots yet. Better get into gear.

zoejeanne I had my first boob leakage the other day as well, I got strangely excited about it as I never had it with ds

Re contraception, we haven't used anything since ttc with ds . I was just very very careful & very very lucky . I will probably use something this time around though given that dh is already talking about number 3 (in his dreams!).

Right, think that's everything, must go & tidy up now!

Hope you get an effective treatment from the GP Turnip

turnip, sympathies, hope the gp is good.

I taped a documentary ages ago about freebirthing and just watching it now, its really interesting!

Turnip, you might not actually have to show him tbh. Hope it goes well and he gives you something really good...it sounds like you are really going through it if you can't walk properly!

Rosmerta, you are braver than me. I read a thread yesterday about a lady who had a vb with a breech baby - at home, with the help of a couple of radical midwives That sort of thing is just not for me, but whatever approach suits the individual in question is the thing to aim for.

Turnip, you poor, poor thing I saw your other thread too and am sending you masses of sympathies. I hope the dr can prescribe something good.

rosmerta thanks, I'm still feeling nauseous but can't seem to shake this cold so wondering if that's what is making me feel unwell.

Thanks for all the advice about EDD, my 12 week scan agreed with my LMP date so I'm not sure if they will take this new date or not. I suppose it only really matters if I go very overdue and they have to decide when to induce me. I do like the idea of being a week further on than I thought though, that would make me in the third trimester already! I guess I will wait and ask the midwife in 3 weeks at my 30 week check.

Have good days everyone.

Ladyt its shown 2 women giving birth at home on their own with only their partner present . It's interesting but not something I could do deliberately!

pixsix it could be the cold, I felt a bit grotty over the weekend and just seemed to be constantly dizzy.

rosmerta that's exactly how I feel, really dizzy and light-headed all the time, even when sitting down or lying in bed and very light-headed and breathless when standing for a long time (eg at the bus stop). Are you feeling better now?

Has anyone 'seen' Beans this week? Is she on holiday?

I have a feeling that Beans said she was going to france?? Lucky bugger. I am suffering post holiday blues. bored. Got a big bit of work to start and don't know where to begin!

Sorry to hear about all the ailments, especially Turnip ouch. I seem to be ok at the moment, though am slowing down, and put on loads of weight on holiday. Did some weeding in the garden last night and sounded like an old woman bending down!!!

I didn't think that they alter due date at 20 wk scan as size can vary then. Though they do at the 12 week scan as growth is so predictable? mine have agreed all along so there's been no changing, but my friend got hers moved forwards a week at the 12 week scan , that would've been nice!!

I have not bought a single thing for the baby yet, yikes!!!! Panic panic, have done some decorating and clearing out though. May have to drag DH out to baby shops this weekend as we don't have any free weekends for a bit. He won't be happy though!

pixsix I am feeling a bit better now, dh did a lot of the childcare on the weekend so I got quite a bit of rest!

summer I'm just going through the mothercare catalogue now and marking off what we definitely need to buy!

I know we've talked about slings before but I've got the chance to get a babasling quite cheap, does anyone know if they're good?

rosmerta: no idea re babaslings, but I've ordered my new Didymos so you'd be most welcome to borrow my old one . Are you coming to the meet-up on teh 19th?

Yeah, Beans was going to France for a long weekend I think. Pixsix and Rosmerta - I have this - the dizzy thing when standing or even sitting - but it's because my blood pressure is so darn low. Breathlessness I sometimes get at night but that's because BabyLady is so flamin' high up my lungs literally can't fill properly. But you shouldn't worry about oxygen getting to the baby apparently, because your body processes it a lot more efficiently in pregnancy and compensates.

Hi guys - thanks for your concern, much appreciated. I have been in France, got back on Sunday, but have been struck down by a disgusting cold - on Saturday! Grrr. Put a bit of a damper on the weekend, but only got bad Sunday afternoon, but spent the day in bed yesterday. Has now gone to my chest, so am coughing disgustingly, but feeling a lot clearer. Work have forbidden me from appearing til Thursday, so am having quite a nice time, actually! I do find coughing and drinking water are leaving me completely out of breath and pant for ages afterwards though! But it was a lovely weekend. Benn catching up on all your news this morning. (whilst watching Fern and Phil!)

Turnip - your piles sound miserable. I had one which made me a bit bleedy. But seems to have gone back up at moment - phew! But even just the one was the cause of a lot of itching and pain and blood, so poor poor old you.

JB - I'm probably a bit out of date now, but I'd just take the offered pram and then buy a new one if it isn't right - that way you haven't spent anything if it's good and if you do have to buy a new one, you haven't spent any more than you would have done anyway, IYKWIM.

LT - re the contraception - my DH told me last night that he thought you couldn't get pg while breastfeeding. Erm... I love men, they're quite deluded...

I haven't bought anything for the baby as yet. I think we're going to John Lewis in the next couple of weeks to stock up on all kit. We've also got to get our nursery sorted. It's still a spare room complete with double bed. I'm gagging to get it sorted, but it's just a question of time... Hopefully we'll start making time soon as I'm slightly panicking... so much to do!!! And we're going to get a new car. Think an Audi A4 - second hand one, you can get them for quite decent price, and they are lovely!

Oh, I've also bought one of these recently: very cheap and actually really comfortable.

Wow, that was a long post. I'm going to buy some fruit soon for a Vitamin C boost. And am going to sleep all afternoon if I can!

Bisou and Indith - your photos are lovely! Lucky you to be so glam! I look like a bit of a dishrag at the moment.

Ooh, very sweet story - DH was SO excited to watch bump moving yesterday and I told him that if he listened to it, he might be able to hear the heartbeat. Needless to say, he couldn't hear the heartbeat, but the little beast gave an almighty boot to his head! He was quite taken aback. Made me feel all mushy for him. So sweet!

Hi All! Been away to my brother's wedding this wkend in Devon, was really nice but very tiring trying to entertain my 3 yr old niece! She likes to play 'going to work' whilst wearing my sister's handbag and shoes...so cute! Starting to get very excited now!
Oh thanks all for the PND advice, very useful.
Also if anyone lives in Essex they do an eco nappy scheme where you get £85 worth of free eco nappies & products so if anyone wants any info....

Beans glad you had a good time despite the cold - have a good sleep this afternoon. And aaah bless your DH, how sweet

rosmerta yikes freebirthing sounds scary ! Mind you any birthing sound scary to me

MW appt went well, everything is fine - she didn't have a tape measure so I didn't get my bumnp measured - boo ! She had a good feel of bump and said uterus was in the right place. Ended up having my appt at maternity triage at the hospital and there was a poor woman there who thought she may be in labour at 29 weeks , her poor mother was in bits she was so worried for her. Apparently she lost some of her waters at 21-23 weeks and has held on until now - poor lady, hope she is ok. Stories like that make me so glad all is going well so far..

beans that so funny about your DH getting kicked! Can you really hear the heartbeat through the tummy? I would have thought all you'd get from mine would be my digestion swirling around! I shall have to get DH to try.

The baby did have hiccups last night though which was sweet for about the first 30 seconds and then increasingly annoying as I wanted to go to sleep and DH was already snoring so I couldn't even get all "aaahhh" with him.

Hi all have you been out in the torrential (sp) rain this morning? Wellies and raincoat for all 4 of us and we all got soaking!

Re nursery starts, my son's first day is 17th September but they dont expect him to be fulltime till week beg 6th Oct so i think thats about 2 1/2 weeks. In my experience state run nurseries in birmingham all do this. But thankfully when he gets to school next year it will just be two half days then straight into fulltime .. however i will be going through the same starting nursery process with my current youngest then so that will be fun!

Re cleaning i have to stay on top of it in my house because its not the biggest and with 5 of us here already there is little room for excess mess. So i clean kitchen once a day, 2 loads of washing a day, bathroom and living room twice a week, vacuum bedrooms, hall, stairs and landing once a week, and the children tidy their toys away downstairs and their bedrooms before they go to bed. God that sounds exhausting! But from a really young age i have done tidy up time with my kids and now its just part of their routine (not saying i dont have to do it again after them but my 8 year old daughter can now do a proper clean so i must have trained her well )

Re hospital bags i would just take basics for staying in as your DH or family can bring you extra, but do bring snacks for labour ward, your DH will probably need them!
And from experience talc gave my eldest a terrible rash so i have not used it on any of the others and you will def want to use cotton wool and warm water on a newborn instead of babywipes.

Took my boy's to have haircuts this morning, they look so cute, if a little bald!

Hi Bisou have just read your post on my baby name thread! Silly me getting Uncle Fester mixed up with Hester .. still you can see the association

OMG reban I am such an idiot - I thought the cotton wool and talc was for us !!
I need to keep remdnding myself what the end result of this big bump will be...! a teeny weeny person