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

[rosmerta]

New thread with bisou's title suggestion

rosmerta - will look into Anita Blake book...

Does anyone have the most recent meet up link? I think the ones I've seen so far were for the last one, not the new one? I've got a couple of restaurant suggestions...

We said Victoria for meet up so poor old Verso wouldn't have to leave early again to get her train, but now, sadly, she can't come. Unless Victoria is super-convenient for everyone we could actually move it. I'm pretty central and don't care where it is tbh. I know some people are coming in from the South and some from the East (and North, come to think of it). So that doesn't help! (My brain's on a go-slow). Is Indith coming? She must be North-ish too if she is having her baby at the Royal Free. Hope all this doesn't seem too London-centric to the many ladies on our thread who don't live here! I may take some pictures for you other ones of the next meet up so those in other parts of the country/world (is it just France and Oz?) can put some faces to names!

Beans - new meet-up is at the end of the same thread as last time.

Found it! Thanks! Must say, Victoria would be best for me. Have put a couple of restaurant suggestions on there too..

OFF TO FRANCE NOW! A BIEN TOT. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ALL

XXXX

also - odd question... anyone else found the smell of their dp/dh has changed? i used to LOVE his smell, but since being pregnant, he smells like burnt rubber to me. i can't tell whether it's me or whether it's him (maybe some sebaceous glands have gone bonkers). it's such a shame because he was delicious before.

he told me that since being pregnant there have been times that i smell like a baby, so i suppose we all change a bit.

Have fun Beans!

Burnt rubber, WG?? Poor bloke

My sense of smell seems more acute though, I will say that.

I used to ponce around thinking I was quite important and civilised but all the various and rather BESTIAL aspects of pregnancy have brought me back down to earth somewhat. I am just an animal! A leaking, stinking, swollen, dappled, mottled animal.

Ok, I am not being entirely serious but I feel about as far from a goddess (as I think someone mentioned feeling) as it's possibly to get. I blame DP - he needs to work harder at preventing me from feeling so MORTAL.

WG I have noticed that my dh smells so much nicer but that is because he has finally given up smoking !

Actually I shouldn't be counting my chickens too much just yet as it's only been about 3 weeks and he was a smoker for nearly 20 years (although he hasn't been smoking in the house for the past 5 years or so). I'm just so proud of him though and so pleased that he's doing this for his own and our baby's health. I've also thought for a few years now that he would never want or be able to give up which obviously made me very sad. I'm just hoping he can keep it up but as an ex-smoker myself, I know how hard it is.

Sorry for the me post but it's exciting to write it down!

Also, I did have the nipple problem in the first trimester but it seems to be better now.

Oh and my growth scan is now booked for Monday afternoon so fingers crossed that there is nothing wrong with my baby and that I'm not growing a giant in there!

Have good weekends everyone.

Hello everyone,

Have a great hols beans! I bought that little red fleece suit you posted the link for a few weeks ago. It is so cute, so thanks for finding it

I had to have an extra scan week to check that the baby is growing OK as I have a pre-existing health thing which they are not sure if it will effect pregnancy as it is so rare! Anyway all is well . However it turns out that I am not allowed to breastfeed because some medication that I am on can transfer to breastmilk . I'm really gutted about it. DH doesn't really understand why I'm so bothered but it has really upset me . I feel like I'm starting the baby off on a bad foot, if anyone knows what I mean!

Also, has anyone any ideas about how to politely decline a pram my mother is trying to give me?! A friend's daughter has given it to her which is very kind but the pram is something I was really looking forward to choosing. Am I being horribly ungrateful?! It is a Graco if anyone has any experience of one. No idea on the model though.

rosmerta - I also had a flat nipple issue - one of the reasons DD didn't get on with feeding to start with. One of the tips at the neonatal unit was to try some nipple shields to start with so the LO has a bit more to get a hold of IYKWM and then give them up when feeding is established. Didn't especially work for us (DD just figured it out eventually), but might be worth a go?

beans enjoy your break!

waitinggirl - I am also in North London (East Finchley). Sadly can't make the meet up on the 19th though. Re sense of smell, mine all over the place too. Took DD to one of those farm attractions while we were on holiday, but literally couldn't go in to see the animals with her as every time I tried I started retching! I know they don't smell great, but I'm not usually such a delicate flower...

jollybear - know exactly what you mean about people giving you stuff! We got lots of offers last time, all well meant but not all of it useful and I know what you mean about wanting to get some of your own. Lots of it did come in really handy but there was definitely stuff that we just said no thanks to in the end. Most people understand that. Having said that, might the pram come in handy as a spare? We ended up with SIL's relatively knackered Jane, but it did the job while DD was very small, so she could lie flat in the carrycot bit and then moved her to the McLaren Techno which was much lighter. So far as I know the Gracos are not bad - not especially glamorous, but plenty of room for shopping etc.

Hi ladies. Hope you're all well. Just checking in quickly, I see it's going to take me a while to catch up....

hi pingu long time, no see!

invisible thanks, we did try nipple shields last time around but didn't work. Having said that they were kind of given to us as 'this will solve the problem' but no other help/advice offered!

jollybear you have my sympathies, its so hard when you want to bf but can't for whatever reason. I think its hard for dh's to understand, my dh thought of it in terms of at least he'd be able to help feed the baby but that wasn't much comfort to me at the time. At the end of the day, you are doing the best you can and that's all that matters

Hi everyone.

I just met a lad in the shop, who overheard me saying my baby's due on Christmas day, and said he absolutely loved having his birthday on Christmas day as a child.

He said is gets a bit rubbish as you get older "like about 16 or 17" (!) - I think he was about 18.

He said it made him feel special, and he loved getting lots of presents at once.

I'm really glad I met him, as I was worrying that a Christmas birthday would be really awful as a child, so I'm less worried about the date now. Just hope it's not a week or so late - Jan 1st or 2nd would be particularly bad as an adult I reckon?!

PinguRocks - indeed he does! Great name

waitinggirl, things do smell different / stronger, but I can't tell how much is down to giving up smoking myself (yippee!) or if it's special pregnancy thing.

The smell of my DP has changed - he smells like cigarettes! (Never noticed before!)

(He's giving up too soon apparently )

just wanted to say - ENORMOUS congrats to all those who have given up smoking!

my dad gave up after 54 years of being a heavy smoker last december - me trying to get pregnant may have had something to do with it, but for some reason the time was right and i am as proud as i can possibly be of him.

it must be so so hard to keep off them - but well done all of you (and your dps) and all the best for carrying on. hurrah for you!

Hello girls

Sorry to have been AWOL for a few days. Work really pants and I have been very tearful, so just reading but not posting. Surprise surprise I have had PND too, but not badly either time (thank goodness). Never got as bad as needing anti depressants, but just a bit of support from the fantastic HV round here (another surprise - the words "fantastic" and "HV" are not often seen together!). I think having friends with babies the same age makes a lot of difference. Mine were brilliant and I think things would have been much harder without them.

BF - I have both times and have loved it. Happy to give my phone no to anyone on the thread as well. I'm no expert but very keen on it, and quite frankly some of the professional advice from HVs (not the fab one) has been pants.

On a related note, Jollybear, I am so sorry that you have been told you can't BF. I can totally understand how disappointed you must feel and I think it's a thing men will never get. You can do lots of lovely things to be close to your baby and still have skin to skin etc even while you bottle feed. You will still give your baby a brilliant start so please don't beat yourself up about it.

I also had a donated graco which I hated but it was very useful. Lots of room for shopping and you can abandon it for the Techno once they get a bit bigger.

Drink - I still have the odd one. I bought a fab card today for DH which just about sums things up. Woman on the front with a glass of wine saying "I read that binge drinking and casual sex were really bad for you, so I gave up reading". Nuff said. Not that I do either of course but it seems rather apt as DS was conceived the ONLY time we were both so plastered we didn't bother with any contraception. Oh dear.

I think I am oversharing (and I'm not even tipsy) so I'll sign off. Happy weekend everyone!

DH took DS to the Clissold pool a few weeks ago and he loved it - the have a separate kiddy bit so you don;t have to worry about other swimmers . Nice to have the pool finally open... for those who were asking where I'm based, I am indeed in Stamford Hill. At least I am while we're still finishing off the flat to sell/let. Kitchen is now done and new oven installed, still some painting to do.

Every time I manage to log on the thread has moved on massively! Missmama so sorry to hear about your scare. Really hope it doesn't happen again and you don't need your bag for a good while yet. Getting past 24 weeks is a very good sign (next week for me).

Was it Veggiemummy who recommended the Museum in Docklands? We went today and it was great. DS loved charging round the exhibition space, then we had a go in the children's area (not as interesting for him oddly enough). He is very into boats and trains at the moment, so it was a good choice. Hellish journey back, I am not venturing on another bus in Hackney for a good while.

Oh and I don't know much about PND, but I know there are antidepressants you can take during pregnancy. Am rather about them being prescribed jsut in case, as they can have their own side-effects. I think PND was a concern with my first pg as we also have a family history of bipolar, but luckily I was fine, thanks in the main to great support from DH (and not getting out of bed for days - see profile ).

oh and on the stopping smoking, DH gave up just before I got pg with DS and has now not touched the fags for nearly 2 years. He had been a smoker since the age of 14 so pretty good going. Not only that, his mum has now given up (40 a day for well over 30 years) and his brother (going through a packet of rolling tobacco a day). I am very proud of all of them

Good evening ladies...God, it's pouring down with rain here. It's drowning out the sound of DS calling me from his bedroom (GO TO SLEEP CHILD!)...he's not upset before you all report me!!!! Just fidgity and noisy! Unfortunately it is also drowning out the sound of the TV so I thought I'd come on here and catch up. Great to hear from you again poison dwarf/pingurocks was starting to worry!
On the waking up in the night thing, I had it dreadfully with my first pg. Was regularly up at 2am until 6am watching sky +'d strictly come dancing and x factor and eating cereal!

Hiya EffiePerine, Hackney girl! you're from my neck of the woods. I'm in sunny Clapton right now, but keen to move off this road, Stamford Hill is one place we're looking at (or Stoke Newington borders as the estate agents would have it ). Where are you moving to?

Haven't tried Clissold yet, but glad to see it's open too. I'm keen to try the open air pool at London Fields now it's open again (I used to gto as a child).

olipop did ds finally get off to sleep last night?

chutney sorry work is rubbish, any chance of it getting better or are you just counting down to your maternity leave?

Am dithering over whether to be a good DIL and go with dh & ds to visit the ILs or stay home...

Where do I start with replying to this thread?!!

poisondwarf it's good to have you back although I'm sorry you've been having a tough time. Are your work still being a nightmare or is that sorted out now?

I've posted on the meet-up thread to say the group might as well move it from Victoria as I can't go but I see LadyT has also made the same suggestion on here - I should have read here first . Anyway - I hope those of you who are going have a fab time!

On the inverted/flat nipples thing and BF I read that it makes no difference - and I think you can use a breast pump or special nipple shields to 'draw out' the nipple if you really want to try. Don't quote me, but I had a difficult time BF at first too (not with nipple flatness - I have the - ahem - opposite problem these days! but just generally - so I read LOADS about it when I was looking for tips...) If anyone is struggling with BF to start with I'm happy to add myself to the BF support list too. It's great once the baby gets the hang of it! (Important to remember that babies have to learn how from scratch - you sort-of think it would be instinctive, but it isn't really at all!)

DH has rather chivalrously just gone to the post office depot for me as a parcel from Isabella Oliver arrived during the week . I know it's expensive but they had an offer on and last time round I didn't have any nice things. This time I have a staple wardrobe from Ebay but am hoping to jazz it up a bit! Am a bit excited (about maternity clothes???!!!)

Talking of not having nice things, I also had a secondhand Graco last time, and I agree the shopping basket is VERY practical - but that's about the only nice thing I can say about it. It worked fine... but I never liked it, and it was heavy with the car seat clipped in.

It's hard to turn down well-meant offers though. We were given a 'bouncy' seat last time which didn't bounce because it was so cumbersome and heavy and I felt so guilty because it was a gift we never replaced it! DD used to sit there looking very bemused and not moving at all!

Sorry - have rambled. I like weekends!

ARGH! My phone line died again Finally know what is wrong with it though and it is going to involve surveyers and digging up of lines, Fun fun. Thankfully I can still use the phone to ring out and for internet, it is just that people can't ring me!

Have put a couple of photos up for a little while on my profile.

Now then, what can I remember from what I just read? (note to self, next time have pen and paper to take notes)

No more scares please! Let your mothers relax now.

zoe where is that centre? Am in Durham and doesn't take that long to get to some parts of the Yorkshire coast, my parents are near Hull and my Gran in Kirkbymoorside so I visit a bit!

Have a nice time beans

I have no experience of pnd and ads etc but I'm sure that there is a lot of info in the archives etc here about what you can/can't take when pg and bf and if the Dr doesn't seem that sympathetic I would def double check and question things.

Re names, ds' middle name is for my mother's father who died when she was a child. I've heard so much about him, especially in more recent years and I wished I could have known him. It just seemed right to name ds for him. He was a Dr and did a lot of research into cancer with a German Dr (and considering that he served in the French army and my gran was a nurse in Bordeaux and once got locked up by the Germans not holding a grudge as my English gran does is pretty good going!) He died in a plane crash. Hope that is good inspiration for ds rather than unattainable targets!