Due Dec 08 -- Getting Ready for final push (in every sense!)

[Beans33]

Here's a new thread for us all lovely Dec Mums!

poison - my midwife asks me to take a urine sample every visit - they should be checking for protein if nothing else - it's a bit odd that they don't ask you for it.

My only experience of Thanksgiving is from watching numerous Friends episodes - and it always makes me think of Rachel's 'English trifle' where she mixed up the recipes for trifle and shepherd's pie! I love sweet potato and marshmallows - but not together! (although I've never tried it!)

As for diet -well I try! Am getting through quite a lot of fruit - mainly because I'm trying to keep my bowels moving to prevent this bunch of grapes from growing any further out of my rear end (TMI! - sorry!) but am balancing it out nicely with crisps, supernoodles (I know!!!) and other very bad things. I had a Macdonalds last week and could have eaten the entire place! We can worry about the figure after the babies are born...!

I seem to have stopped crying for the moment! Hurray!

Veggie/Summer DS is also obsessed by Thomas - he has been known to shout Thomas! whilst asleep and it's very often his first word when he wakes up in the morning. Seems to have bit of a thing for Henry as well - and it's scary how he knows all their names (they all look the bloody same to me). Not sure if that's something to be proud or ashamed of at 19 months though!

Aha! So you mock me about my fancy dan tastes when you have actually been to La Scala double the amount of times I have! You're rumbled, PD Tell you what, if I went there now I'd need two seats

Talking of fancy dan, I have a couple of Christmas things coming up where I will need to look a bit ritzy, about three weeks after the birth I bought a smashing dress from Primark on Saturday in what I thought was quite a big size (it's not maternity but looked roomy so I bought a couple of sizes up from my pre-pregnancy size to be sure). I was thrilled as it was £18, which for a full length evening dress is pretty darn good imo. I cannot describe just how too small it was. I got it halfway down my boobs and had to give in as it actually HURT. And DP had to help me out of it. He was nearly wetting himself.

Just quickly popping in to moan. Will catch-up on all today's posts later.

After my hospital drama I dragged myself into work today and I am feeling terrible. My bump aches so much. When I stand up I get BHs all the time and when I sit down I get period pains. I am nauseated (from the antibiotics) and weirdly I can't pee .

I have spent the whole day trying to get things cleared but none of my direct team have come in. My secretary has a cold, my researcher's son is too ill for daycare and my other assistant has a tummy bug. I know this is such a bad thing to say, and I would never say it in RL, but I just want to scream at them all "I am 8 months pregnant, I have an infection, I am in false labour, I can't sleep at night, yet I seem to be the only one with any Goddam stamina around here!!!* . I know I sound like the worst boss in the world, and I never normally think like this, but I just want to cry. How am I ever going to start ML at this rate????

Traceface, Friends is my only experience of Thanksgiving as well. I liked the one where there had to be 3 different kinds of potatoes!

poison I'll keep my fingers crossed for your brother. Re antenatal classes, I haven't bothered this time around but that's mainly because I'm doing the antenatal education training anyway so have already learnt much more than I probably could from the classes! I know people who have done them say they are more of a debriefing from the first birth & a way to meet mums with more than one dc.

LadyT/Turnip - am very of your trips to the opera. I really enjoy listening to it but dh resents paying out for the tickets so have never seen one live . I think the closest I've come is The Pirates of Penzance at ENO & that was because he could get the tickets on offer!

Arti, sorry about work, really not what you need right now. Fingers crossed you manage to get finished this week.

although this is my second baby, I never went to antenatal last time because dd came too early, so I am booked in to go this time. My first one is this Friday so I'll let you know if it's any use. No idea what it's like, but as I had a section last time, any info on labour/ birth/pain releif will be gratefully accepted. I think I only have 3 sessions in total though.
Friends have told me it's a waste of time though! Maybe it depends on your hospital?

pd I agree about the engines all looking the same. Most of them are blue in varying sizes. Apparently these are Gordon, Thomas and Edward, and it should be obvious which are which as I have been told once

arti vent away. Bunch of slackers . Only joking, I hope you have more luck tomorrow, it sounds like you REALLY need to rest. Can you boss them around from home tomorrow? If you feel as bad as you do today I think you really shouldn't go in to work!

Arti...ok, the other two have valid excuses but your secretary is off with a COLD? Is there anyway someone could loan you someone from their team? You are in extremis. I know you don't want to seem like you can't cope, even at this stage with all the stuff you've got going on, but you CANNOT shoulder all this yourself. You will end up being off anyway at this rate, and you won't be clearing up any loose ends then. This is no good for you. Take a deep breath, and hang in there. One last push, but please, NOT before you have seen if there is anyone else out there who could lend a bit of assistance. We all try to be bionic but sometimes it's not possible. You have done amazingly even to be at work.

Rosmerta...I feel like sending you a blimmin' opera ticket myself.

Verso and ladyT very you won't make the meet up - i'm looking forward to it as it's on my first day of ML

kimberley your pics are great - looks like you are very well orgnaized! Hilarious - that Friends episode about ThanksGiving! I keep thinking of Joey's "ThanksGiving pants" which were really Phoebe's Maternity pants! OH I love that show and think I've seen every episode several times!

On antenatal classes - my hospital runs 5 but I was only booked for 3 of them due to the C/S and not needing some. The only one so far I've been to they said I may as well leave early as it was covering Natural birth stuff and then I had one for today but didn't go since it wasn't relative.... I've only got the BF one really which I'm def going to as I'm clueless about that.....I'm a first time mum hoping to wing it I guess!

arti sounds like above and beyond to me ... but then I don't have yours and LadyT's work ethic (which might explain the trail of sorry excuses for jobs in my wake). I personally am spending the last few days in the office weighing up how long it will take my boss to notice all the work I haven't done once I'm gone. Even so, a cold! Seriously though, you should think about staying at home if you possibly can. You're not well! Look after yourself and the baby.

Summer - I hate to admit it but I think I might actually be able to pick Gordon out of a lineup if forced. I was also most distressed the other day to find myself explaining to DP who each of the characters are in In the Night Garden, including the Ninky Nonk & Pinky Ponk (just you wait, all you CBeebies virgins...)

Beans my Mum is an alcoholic (stopped drinking after treatment for about three years, then started again) and in my experience, there is no point in you bringing it up. If she wants to talk about it she will. Never, ever try and give them advice though, it falls on deaf ears. All the experts say that they have to reach the decision to stop drinking by themselves so you sometimes just have to be an ear for them. You can help them come to this decision by implying that perhaps life would be better if they stopped drinking, but not being too obvious about it, not easy though, especially if you have a temper like mine!!!
I love my Mum dearly, but absolutely do not trust her and am actually quite scared about leaving my DS with her, especially when LO comes along. I know she would never intentionally do anything to harm him, but she often can't understand what he wants/needs because she is too drunk, and I know she wouldn't hear him if woke in the night. Seems so petty to moan about it when so many of you have lost your Mothers, so forgive me, and I know I should be grateful that she is still around, especially after 30 years of alcohol abuse!
Floods have receded a bit (I'm in the middle of nowhere in Herefordshire) so are going to head to our local pub for supper. DS is having chips, onion and cucumber apparently!

Blimey its taken nearly all of cbeebies bedtime hour to catch up.

We have had a power cut all afternoon and when it started to get dark all I had was a torch with fading batteries and a couple of really rubbish candles. Trying to entertain a toddler in the half dark is not fun thank god its working again now.

Tried to rememeber all that is going on much apologies to everyone that I miss.

PD what a crappy time you are having sending much love your way not much more I can say but I hope the outlook for your brother can be positive.

LadyT I took my driving test 5 times and everytime I failed on reverse round the corner. Dont be disheartened you will do it why not wait and book into somewhere near your DP's to do it and wait until the bubba is a couple of months old.

Beans if you want to see her go and dont get drawn into an alcohol type cobversation but if you dont want to go dont you need to think of yourself and your needs right now.

Kimberely is that the size of your bump now, gosh its neat must post a pic of my giganticus one for you all to have a laugh at.

Thanksgiving I cant remember who was talking about it but I love it after spending a couple of yrs in NY its one of my favourite holidays.

When it comes to diet mine is rubbish I try really hard to eat relatively sensibly I do cook from scratch most nights but I have never been a big fruit fan and my downfall is crisps and chocolate oh and coke. I have hardly remembered to take my vitimain in fact DP had a go at me about it today tried to tell him that I dont think it will make much difference at this late stage.

Arti breate my lovely your time to go on ML is nearly here.

Flumpy bloody nora next wk!!

Now I am sure I read ages down the pages someone was talking about hypnobirhting I am using the CD's not sure how much of it is going in especially as I keep falling asleep everytime I listen am hoping its working sublimely.

Also who as asking about classes? I am doing an NCT refresher course its just 4 wks and mainly because I wanted to meet some mums in my area as I dont know many people out here yet. I had the first class last wk and really enjoyed it we spoke abut telling the siblings about having a new baby and we talked about our previous birthing experiences and how we wanted this one to go.

Right bedtime hour nearly over so have to go do bathtime. Oh saw the midwife today we are officially engaged woohoo Did think the crotch zinger pains were getting a bit worse.

I have a confession to make. I can't remember for the life of me what I am meant to do with a baby. DS is 19 months old and can walk, talk, feed himself, climb upstairs etc.

I'm dreading that I have forgotten everything!!!

I did NCT refreshers too - just three sessions here though. I did hospital antenatal classes last time round and they were worse than useless - huge group from a massive catchment area, so no opportunity to make local Mum friends (which was the whole point) - and useless birthing advice...

The NCT ones were good. Expensive, but worth it to have a little group of people locally who are all having babies at the same time - or thereabouts (one of us isn't due until January!)

arti I have a scarily overdeveloped work ethic too and sometimes can be my own worst enemy . I hope you can manage to delegate LOTS and take it a bit easier until you finish. It's difficult to do, but you really have to put yourself and your bump first.

I second all the comments of approval about Friends and Green Wing, btw. Haven't watched Green Wing in ages but I agree about the blond doctor .

Arti-i know it is difficult to do but you are gonna have to take it easy, i kB's but that uti could still reek havoc on your kidneys which you don't need now so close to birth, and of course all a bit too close to baby Arti. As ell as taking it easy get yourself some cranberry juice (there is a component in it which stops bugs adhering to bladder wall) will flush those evil buggies right out.

i do know all the trains but i have to say those numbers on the sides and tenders do help....i also know what a tender is. SL- your DP is gonna love all the steam train rides he will get to go on. i have been on more old fashioned steam trains in the last 2 years then i thought existed. This country is full of them, also now living in Derby helps, train capital of the world.

I have to admit i can't stand Opera, in fact anything theater based with music (i.e. musicals). My brother is a professional ballet dancer and has danced in a few operas so have had to sit through them under duress. i quite like small independent theatre though of which there is some good stuff in London, haven't ventured out to any in Derby.

oh and hoping to do an NCT refresher mainly because i want to meet some local mums. However i have contacted them about it and they don't have any dates yet for december births but have put me on a list if they run one.

DS is another great train lover. I think Thomas is his favourite thing ever. There is a steam railway where we live so if he so much as hears a train he runs around like mad shouting "train" and "Choo Choo"

Evening! It just hasn't stopped raining allllll day!
Just had a stupid pathetic row with (notsoD)H and he's gone out and left me blubbing. So pathetic I can't even be arsed to go into it but save to say its an oft repeated one. Hormones suck...but he could have said goodbye...I was folding his pants as he mumbled 'I'm going out now then' and left.....
I think I need chocolate, Eastenders and an early night.

After all your high brow discussion about opera, can I add that I am going to see the Take That musical tomorrow night!!!! Not really my cup of tea but taking a friend for a suprise 30th treat. She used to love them! Hope it isn't raining again, will get soaked on the journey up to town.

I'm doing Hypnobirthing (natal hypnotherapy). I did it with DS and I think it helped a lot. Gonna need all the help I can get now I've opted for homebirthing!

Nursery is all together. We moved all the bits in there tonight (pre row!) and just need to get all the tiny clothes out of the loft. It looks very cute. Will have to get all techy and try to do some pictures.

Wotcha Oli. Sorry about the row. These boys can be rather lacking in empathy! I recommend a really indulgent bath and a touch of the cold shoulder when he gets back (but then make up as soon as he's got the message cos life's too short).

Veggie, my Mum is like you - except she doesn't like theatre either. Says she can't suspend her disbelief when she can hear people clacking around on a wooden stage!

Night girls x x

there is a take that musical??? how does that work? thats very nice of you Oli.

I Hope DH comes back with chocolate as a way of repentance. We seem to always go over the same argument but now i'm pregnant i react so much worse.

i should really get mt hypnobirthing stuff out and practice.

Oli the TT musical is brilliant it is totally tongue in cheek but a great get up and dance and singalong. I am a mahoosive TT fan just got our tickets for the summer shows. Opera shmopera.

jam the photo was taken about 4 weeks ago and I've grown quite a bit since then. I'm all baby and he's all out in front. None of my clothes are fitting anymore. Not sure what I'm going to do for the next 7 weeks or so! Don't really want to buy anymore clothes since I won't be able to wear them for long. I've actually taken some of DH workout trousers to wear around the house.

That's funny everyone keeps mentioning the Friends Thanksgivings episode! Wish we had a big enough place. I'd invite all of you to come and join in!

hello all - quick question. we are thinking of hiring a tens machine for d-day. then dh suggested buying one as it might be useful for period pains when they return. but then my aunt told me that people's period pains tend to lessen after the birth of the first child.

so, couple of questions:

• if you have experience of tens machines, do you think they would help with period pains?

• did your period pains lessen after the first birth?

hope those having arguments make up wonderfully, hope those feeling rubbish wake up feeling miraculously better, hope those with work problems get them solved and off on ml soon.

WG I was once told by a family planning clinic doctor that my (bad) period pains would get less once I started having children. They didn't - they got worse. I mentioned this to my Mum - despite her being very squeamish about such things (!) - and she did manage to tell me that she had the same experience. I think it's impossible to tell beforehand...

... also I found the TENS machine more annoying than helpful with early labour - it provided a distraction, so I could feel I was 'doing' something, but the pain relief benefit was nil. Other people have very different experiences though.

Oli I'm sorry you had a row with your (D)H. Must have been the evening for it as I had one too . Just been having problems booking this night nanny (now the agency are getting stroppy about us having a 'definite arrangement' - and I don't want to book the woman because she never returns my calls. Aaargh!) Anyway - long story short is that DH and I has so many rows when DD was little, because it shocked me how the responsibility for her fell 100% on my shoulders because I was breastfeeding and he has MS. He would NEVER 'promise' to do an evening, let alone a whole night - he would always say he would 'try' - and then when it came to the night in question he would go to bed with 'fatigue'. When he did that the second time, after I'd been muttering to myself all week through every middle of the night feed "just til Friday... just til Friday" I threatened to go and stay with a friend for a couple of nights and he told me I couldn't "run away every time it gets difficult".

It took a LOT for us to stay together... and last night brought it all back.

I didn't mean to, but we ended up going over the same old ground last night, because it's just not good enough. I DIDN'T GET A CHOICE. Someone had to stay up with DD... I ended up collapsing publicly in the health clinic with exhaustion and depression and still he (and my Mum) did nothing (apart from suggesting I switch to formula).

That's why this time I wanted to pay someone - reliable - so I could at least know I would get eight hours one night a week. I know loads of people have to manage without paid help - but my Mum doesn't 'do' babies, my MIL thinks my Mum's help is sufficient and she lives miles away anyway... and DD didn't sleep for longer than 1 hr 25 minutes in one go until about four months old... and 'through the night' when she was eight months. I am really really scared of going through that again .

Sorry for the rant - just ended up awake with heartburn as had dinner too late in the evening and needed to vent. I sound like a horrible selfish cow, I know. DH has MS and does what he can... and I'm grateful... but what I'm angry about is that he gets to set a limit. I don't because the buck has to stop with SOMEONE.