Due May 2009 - Childbirth is getting closer and it's giving us the (blue) willies!!

[SpangleMaker]

In honour of llareggub's DS's painting experiments........

oh, its not a dress, its yoga bottoms and a very stretchy top. I really want another pair of the yoga bottoms, they're the comfiest things ever and they don't look too shabby (literally). They sure beat jeans, they were a waste of money in the comfort stakes. Although I have high hopes that they will be uesful for post bump gorging.

chocolatebunnies I'm not sure of the ins and outs of all the various benefits out there but We did get housing benefit a long time ago when my ex-husband & I first lived in edinburgh... rent there was also v expensive and i'm sure it was more dependant on your total household income than whether you are single or have a partner.... I have found this site which may be of help... www.entitledto.co.uk/default.aspx it seems you answer the questions and it calculates what benefits you may be entitled to. Also your local council website will have details of housing benefit allowances.. You mentioned devon but i wasn't sure if you were north/south/mid... eg this is the north devon housing benefit rates page.. you need to check how many bedrooms they consider you need in your family.. as they only help with what they consider you need... 2 kids of same sex can share but 1 of each need separate, a bedroom for you & DP etc

Oh alright I'm going to put this away too and do some work...right after I eat something...

sausagenmash You do deserve a HUGE pat on the back for giving up smoking and i'm sure your lecturer friend will be able give you some ideas for your work... whenever i'm working on a project (not anything as involved as yours) i always find the going through it & bouncing off ideas really useful to help be make it better.

polony you have a great bump I agree about the yoga pants... i could live in mine if they weren't so worn out looking!

I'm having some lunch and trying to relax after the stress of this morning. We went back on the market about a week ago and had someone round to view our flat this morning. I wanted to make sure everything looked at it's best while trying desperately to keep DS occupied, stopping him turning the place into toys-r-us and making sure the dog got out to pee when he needed it! Managed it just before they arrived and now it's the awful waiting game to find out from the agents if they liked it. Keep your fingers crossed everyone that they want to come back and have another look and hopefully like it so much we can move before lo comes [insert wishful thinking emoticon here]

Good luck Fi!! We moved in the summer so our house was on the market this time last year. I had mad panics everytime they rang to say someone was coming round as DD was just 2-4 months old and the house work was not often up to date- washing everywhere etc.
We are busy working on this house now and hope to have it back on the market in a year and i am already stressing about having 2 DCs to clean up after and keep the house looking the best. DD is a rent-a wreck at the moment at 15 months!!

just finished 3 pieces of pizza leftover from last night's meal. now regretting as carbs give me indigestion but then I don't listen to my body .

sausagenmash, it's a great feat to quit smoking and you should really be proud of yourself. I quit about 5 times and was eventually successful but it was the hardest thing I'd done (maybe more diff than childbirth ( again).

Yoga pants - lovely! I've just asked my mom to send me a pair as she wants to send me maternity clothes but I told her I preferred the comfy yogapants.

am also living in Uggs which are too expensive, ugly, trendy for my taste but got them from very generous DH and have defn traded in my cool cowboy boots with heels for the comfort of the uggs.

febes we initially went on the market in sept 2007 and only came off end sept 08... as we'd had no offers or interest for a while and we thought we'd just try and stick it out in our 1st floor flat with 2 kids and a dog... over xmas/new year and as my bump expands we've realised it's just not practical long term so giving it another go to get moved...

momino I'm doing the uggs look too.. mine are the uk version made by celtic sheepskin in devon. V v comfy but i'm starting to find it a bit tricky to bend over to get them off. When it snowed i was wearing my wellies while out with DS in the garden. When we came in i couldn't get them off... one of the estate agents had come round to take pictures and he had to pull them off for me or i'd have been stuck wearing them inside till dh came home from work

Here's another ugg lookalike fan, mine are actually River Island (£40). They're nice and comfy and have been lovely during the cold weather we've been getting. I've worn them with everything, even dresses and skirts! The only thing is that I'm starting to get hot all the time, but I really don't want to go out to buy some shoes anytime soon, because I've got the balance to pay for my Skate by the 1st of March and I'll have to buy the car seat to go with it too.

Having my SIL's dcs here today has made me realise something important: I can't fit in 3 booster seats next to eachother in my Corsa, so I think trying to fit a baby car seat in next to 2 boosters will be totally impossible! I told my DH and we're both a bit . I fear we'll have to swap my car earlier than planned and I don't want to , because my little corsa is so useful for parking at work.

Polony I found the Babybjorn synergy was quite good, it has excellent lumbar support. I had a Tomy one before that, but I tend to have long babies and even at it's deepest setting my dd's head was sticking out above the carrier and was not supported at all, on top of that the sling was definitely designed for shorter women and I found the lumbar support sat too high with me. This time around I want to try a wrap sling such as the kari-me. They look very good for breast feeding and can be used until toddlerhood. Because it's wrapped all the way around your body it looks like the baby's weight is spread more evenly and I hope this will be easier on my back. It also means that your height isn't all that much of a problem, because basically it just means the tail will be shorter if you need to use more material around yourself IYKWIM. I didn't use one with my other dcs, so I can't actually say how good it will be, but my hopes are high .

sausagen I admire you for doing a doctorate while working and being pregnant and everything. I did my bachelor's and that was enough for me! I feel like my pregnancy is eating up all my brain and thoughts and just like you I have to hand in some work soon (monday to be precise), but I just can't consentrate, because all I ever do it think baby things. I think in a way it's worse that anything I try to research has actually got to do with childbirth, because I usually get distracted in my searches by things I'm looking at for my own pregnancy, rather than for my reflection about my practice I hope you'll get your stuff finished by the 6th of march and definitely book yourself in for that lovely massage! Good luck

sausagenmash I'm in admiration for you doing a PhD while being pregant and working full time. How long will it take you do you think? I did my PhD full time straight after my BSc & it took me 4 years but that was partly because I was a lazy arse I know the criticism feels harsh but it is good for you in a way, partly because it's so important to get the research proposal right and partly because in the long run it helps you build resilience. Plus you should give yourself some leeway for being pregnant! My work now has nothing to do with my PhD subject but the experience was still incredibly worthwhile for the 'life lessons' - resilience, self motivation, independence, analytical skills etc. Good luck with getting your work in for the 6th, just keep thinking of that blissful massage

Oh and well done giving up smoking too! The only way I managed it was moving in with DH. He detests smoking so much it could have been a deal breaker in our relationship and that's the only thing that motivated me strongly enough to stop. The craving does go eventually & a few years down the line I found I couldn't stand the smell either.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. All of your kind words of encouragement and support have brought tears to my eyes - sorry if this sounds naff and non-MNy! You all really have no idea how you have all lifted my spirits and made me want to keep going with the
f&*%ing PhD thingy - I'll show 'em! The stress of it all REALLY makes me want the odd cig here or there, but I swear I haven't gone near one since I found out I was pregnant - and that was when I was only 2 days late! Doesn't help that dp has the crafty one here and there, but he's pretty much stopped too.

A very big un-MNy hug to you all

Hello everyone,

I live in Ontario, Canada but a UK friend joined the board recently and recommended it to me as a great space with intelligent literate people, so here I am!

I am due May 16th - first child. I work at a university in the anthropology department, and have embarked with my husband on an ambitious basement renovation project that we had hoped to fully complete before baby arrives, but that might have been a little optimistic.

Nice to meet you all.

Hello ladies. Gosh it has taken me so so long to catch up! Were in our new house now, and getting settled slowly. More room, which is good.

At my 28 week check last week, midwife couldn't feel which way baby was lying and told me she thinks I've got alot of water, so sent me off for a scan, she wanted baby's kidneys checking. It was very scary, baby was fine though, and 100% a boy!lol I do have alot of water, which I don't really know much about, but sonographer also said this baby is looking on the large side too. At 28 weeks exactly the baby weighed 2lb 13 1/2oz. I have no clue about how heavy baby should be either. DD was 2 weeks late and 9lb 3 1/2oz.

I also can't be the only one hav NO sleep whatsoever at night. I can't sleep on either side for more than ten mins. If I lie on my back for any period of time, baby does somersaults and I need to pee every 5 mins lol I need some sleep!

DD has gone to stay with her uncle until friday night, so I'm lonely, and not really liking being in the house alone, it's sooo quiet.

Ses I'll be interested to see if you have a boy, as the only thing I've majorly craved all through this pregnancy is everything tomatoey, and I'm expecting a boy this time.

Jael X

hi Hypatia,
I don't know about intelligent and literate (well the others here are... but me )!

I'm actually from Cleveland OH (practically a neighbour of yours) but have been living in the UK since 97. I think we're an international bunch here. so welcome! hope your basement renovation goes well.

i've just had to unhook my bra and grateful i work from home. anyone know where to get the bra extenders? M&S? can't be bothered to buy a new bra but with my huge bump, I don't know that i can fit into my usual maternity 34c bras.

jael, congrats on the new house and congrats on the boy! how exciting.

i'm not sleeping either but more because of nerves, stress, worrying about money, health, blah, blah, blah. i'm tired but can never get to sleep before midnight and always wake during the night.

have you tried using pillows/cushions for support? hope you find a comfortable position!

Momino apparently John Lewis do those bra extender thingies. Have been at home all day and have been bra-less the whole time. Bliss

I've got one of them strange pillows, thats like two pillows either side and flat in the middle, which is where you lie, if you get me. And it's supposed to be, so your bump can be supported by the pillows whichever side you lie on. It worked during the early months, but since my bump is so huge now, I'm finding it so difficult to lie on my side in bed, and it's hurting my back so much. I think i have poor posture to begin with.

Jael X

Jael, I'm having a boy and definitely craving tomatoes (although this does go in waves). Interesting!

I've heard a couple of people having a boy and craving tomatoes, it's really strange. My cravings come and go too, earlier on in pregnancy I was drinking a whole carton of tomato juice a day, along with other tomatoey things lol

I'm not craving tomatoes so prob having another girl (a big one at that!).

sausage thanks, but don't live near a JohnLewis. might try to find one online then. i'm working from home tomorrow again so will leave my bra off as well. pheww.

off to pick up girls from nursery.

Thanks Belgian - I like the look/sound of the kari me. Its hard without going and trying things on (shopping in shops is something I avoid like the plague) because in the pictures you see all these things that look like they hang off the shoulders which I'm sure they don't but it looks uncomfortable and the bjorn looks like it would be alright for out and about but not so comfy at home or breast feeding. The kari me has some good feedback on mumsnet (and as we are literate and intelligent - hello and welcome hypatia - this is a good sign) too. I wonder if our baby will be long...theres a reasonable chance of that being the case. DP is a bit taller than me, I'm 5'10" and he must be just under 6ft but he has lovely long legs for a bloke.

dandy a friend sent me these yoga bottoms...i just twisted round to see the tag (I do live in them and thank god I've been doing yoga in them as well or we'd never know what they were) they're "abiandjoseph" here. I know that negative voice too...just put it in its place [if only it were that simple emoticon..although in some ways it is...]. I've had times where that voice just bleats at me all hours of the day and night, I discovered when it was at its worst that I could in fact tell it where to go and enlist a more constructive voice...am I sounding mad yet? Anyway after years of rolling my eyes at that stupid cliche "be kind to yourself" I think its not a stupid cliche and it just took me ages to understand what it meant. I thought it was just something people said to you when they couldn't offer any advice and that it was right up there with "me time" - which i still think is a meaningless sales gimmick but there you are I have a lot of opinions...

momino the NCT do bra extenders which you can buy through their online shop.

Go saus! Bootcamp! Thats the spirit!

I'm afraid I'm really sceptical about the tomatoes=boy thing...could it be that in the same way its common to crave citrus (which has to be about vitamin c and getting enough iron), tomatoes are also chockers with vitamin c, so...? In the first trimester I was really into spicy virgin marys - its way better with vodka/sherry, we all know that, but its not a bad cocktail sunstitute either. I don't seem to register anything as "cravings" but I did eat a whole bag of tangerines yesterday and if I don't eat tomatoes (and have been haunting the farmers markets like an addict waiting for the good fresh ones to be back which they are thank goodness, oh, and their juice and sauce - has changed my life!) everyday I feel like something is missing. Maybe I'm having a boy...or a tomato (tangerato?).

Jael, pulapula et al. - I haven't had cravings for tomato at all, but I have no idea what the baby's sex is. Maybe I can be the control!

I don't think I have been craving anything really, except I have been drinking milk often and eating ice cream occasionally when normally I detest milk and do not care for ice cream. I think the milk is just from when I had evening sickness, it was the only thing that would settle my stomach long enough so I could eat.

I've lost my taste for chocolate, however, and that is a tragedy!

I've ordered a pushchair!!!!!

Went for the 2009 Britax Vigour 4+ and car seat.
Didn't realise there was so much of a difference between the old and the new versions but having seen them both, the new one has more space and goes flat so there's no need for the carrycot (although you can have it if you want).
I went for the puschair and car seat which together with the rain cover and foot muff, all came to £419.99 which - having looked at some prices on the internet - seemed quite reasonable. They've had to order the car seat so will go and collect in a couple of weeks.

It was really easy to click the car seat and buggy seat in and out and fold the frame down.

For anyone that lives in the vague direction of Chessington though, the place I went to was called A3Babybarn and was fab! They had all sorts in there - good range of puschairs, car seats, cots, bedding, etc. I'd definitely recommend. They're in the middle of a golf course though so you'd never know they were! I was lucky I found them via the internet.

Also, re tomatoes, I've definitely been craving tinned tomatoes and tomato based foods. Have no idea whether I'm having a girl or a boy but all this speculation is great!