Heeereee comes June, its the home streeeeetch!

[Tee2072]

Here ya go, new thread! We're almost there!!!!!

choccie - am hugely impressed by the party you threw - that is an enormous effort! I hope your DS had fun and that you got to eat some yummy cake. And thanks for the advice on ensuring we have some girly time, too. Agree that unless I take care I will be up to my ears in dirty nappies with cocktails / pampering a distant memory. Although, cocktails are just a distant memory now, oh how I would love one!!

insy - hello again! We are planning on getting a Baby Bjorn, so thanks for the feedback. Will keep my eyes out for a NCT near new sale. London ladies - think there is one in NW London on Saturday 14 March.

Bigcar - thanks for reminder re pelvic floor exercises. Never my strongest point at the best of times!

Borrie - ooh, that is the pits! Hopefully Bigcar's tips will help. Feel for you though, sounds like a difficult, stressful time. Not what we pregnant women need!

Ermintrude - you are my new pregnancy inspiration. DH and I are planning "back-to-back" pregnancies as quickly as we can (I have stopped work, so may as well), although appreciate I sound like a completely naive first timer! The midwife advised against it, but it seems to make sense to me and glad to hear we aren't the only ones with a rapid fire approach to children!

Tee - how fun to be planning your 10 year anniversary dinner!

juicy hope you're ok, let us know how are you're getting on.

I too would like a sling, they had some at the baby show which were kinda like the babybjorn (but cheaper), forgot the name now

I'm 27w on sunday too I haven't put any more weight on since last time so still at 11kgs. My belly is very big.
Found a way to keep my over the bump trousers up: wear some huge maternity over the bumps knickers, at least they don't fall down.

I have to do the gtt because my bmi was over what they accept at the mw centre.
I'm gutted as I'd managed to keep it down for so long until we ttc, nevermind, all that running to look forward to when I get back to training.
I'm very of the people who managed to train while pregnant at my gym, I was going everyday for at least an hour and really thought I'd totally be one of them!

bunnymother the 3 in 3 yrs was insy I think, not me. I've been rather sluggish actually - couldn't conceive (ho ho) of having another one quickly after either of previous births so DD will be 11 and DS nearly 7 when this one arrives. Actually, 2 non-verbal DC at the same time would have done for me, but I know a lot of people who've enjoyed having them teeny at the same time so don't let me put you off your masterplan .

Borriebear so sorry to hear your disappointing news about benefits. I have a couple of well-off self-employed graphic designer friends who've described their careers as 'a licence to print money' so hope your DH manages to pick up some lucrative work soon. Try not to worry; babies don't need much apart from milk, nappies, a few sleepsuits and a lot of love and attention.

choccie I've only once dared a party without DH and that was for DS's 3rd which was just having a few mums and toddlers round for play and party tea before picking up older siblings from school. So well done you!

Tee I used to carry DD in a sling wearing high wedge sandals. Daft, I know, and I wouldn't do it now, but I never fell and if I had would have been able to get my hands down before she hit the ground, for sure

Borrie, I hope you're bearing up. Sounds like that's a real blow, I'm really sorry to hear it. I won't say "try not to worry", because you will! I've started to visualise singing to my baby or reading him/her a bedtime story when I get swamped with stressful thoughts as a way of focusing on the amazing gift we're getting in June. Hope you manage to feel a little more at ease soon.

June I haven't managed to do any training at all, and am still eating a cake/choc bar a day. My weight up 9.5kgs at 26+3, and nobody said I was over the recommended bmi. In fact, my midwives don't even weigh me - they just measure my bump! So, do the test but don't get downhearted!

Choccie children's parties AND stomach bugs? You are clearly wondermum. I hope you feel better soon.

Ooh, I saw I male midwife today, he was quite cute!
I heard baby's heartbeat, 150 bpm, which he said was good and fast AND MAY MEAN IT'S A GIRL. He also said the "little willy" I thought I may have gleaned at the 20 week scan could have been a clitorous. I have got to stop these stupid guessing games!

Hi all

I think its been about a month since I introduced myself but have been following the thread since then it moves at a ferocious speed!

insywinsyspider and others thanks for sharing great advice about slings and brands, really helpful! As a first-timer I wonder if a baby carrier like the Bjorn is easier on shoulders because the weight is evenly spread rather than all on one shoulder? Does anyone have a comparison to share? I have been hauling a laptop to work on my back for years because a briefcase/satchel puts so much weight on one shoulder? i'm in central-ish London and don't want to haul a pram around public transport and busy streets and also worried about inducing backache ?

Naat, ermintrude and others on pillows -- I've been using a long slim pillow I made as my maternity sleeping pillow its probably easier to buy one, but if anyone has a sewing maching it is really quick to whip up a long tube shape, I used foam squares but other fillings are available at fabric markets/stores. Thinking I might get into making a nursing pillow when I start maternity leave, if I'm feeling energetic (and the baby doesn't come early of course)

Borriebear sorry to hear you don't qualify for benefits -- how unfair! I work as a freelancer part-time (as a designer too, as it happens) and feel really lucky to get mat leave with my (part-time) lectureship, even though its only partial cover! It is too bad partners can't take leave in this country, as in Canada, Finland and other places, IMHO.

Bunnymother I've got that sale in my diary!

looouse DH and I were both convinced we saw balls at the 20-week scan and were v surprised when we had a DD. Labia are v swollen at that stage, so it's easy for the untutored eye to make an error

zozokat you sound very industrious with all that sewing!

Dads do get 2 wks paternity leave and other paternity rights in this country, by the way - worth checking out.

evening all

borrie sorry to hear your not entitled to maternity allowance as well as SMP but please, like bigcar said, check out the tax credits alongside child benefit x

On the sling debate I was considering getting a sling, but I have the same fears as tee of falling over and hurting the baby so I think I wont be buying one

Sorry I haven't been able to catch up with everyone else, the sickness and insomnia is really starting to bug me now, I thought I had passed this stage I know it will all be worth it in the end

counting down the days till i finish work...38 working days left (i have a few holidays coming up)

bunnymother - hope you meant me mums i know in rl life have all said i'm mad to be having 3 like 2 is enough, personally i think saying congratulations is more appropriate! i've always wanted babies close together, less of a shock to us each time!

tee - i've never fallen with sling on but reckon its better than falling just holding them as it a hands free kit and you can catch yourself, don't worry about them falling out either they are very secure in them

zozokat - the calin bleu goes across both shoulders and is very comfortable, my baby bjorn is an old style one so I find it puts a strain on my back if I wear if too long but i think the latest design is better and might be worth investment if on public transport lots (consider rucksack change bag too and over shoulder one and sling doesn't work to well)

borrie - that sucks and must be a worry, did the CAB give you anymore advice on what you can claim? x

zozokat once baby gets to around 5 months - nearly self-supporting - a backpack carrier is better for your spine and they love dribbling on your neck . When my DD was too heavy for her sling we had a backpack and we were close enough to chat as we walked along and she loved the high up view. I could also sit her down, still in the backpack, on a chair next to me on the train for short commutes which was more comfy than keeping her in a front sling once she was bigger.

I've uploaded a new pic of me, in all my 24 weeks belly glory, if anyone wants to see it!

Tee's Blog

I am not wondermum at all! I think "Mad as a hatter mum" may be more appropriate

Got tummy bug pains after the party so that was a blessing.

Gotta run, DS1 playing me up.

insy - Great point about falling over being a bit more of a hazard when holding a baby! I never thought of that, but then then falling either way never occurred to me last time. Slings are so handy though so I definitely recommend getting one to anyone wavering.

Gorgeous belly, Tee!! I think Insy has a point when she says you'll have your hands free to "hold on to anything" in the very unfortunate case you happen to fall with the baby on, so I wouldn't worry about it if I were you

DH got home about an hour ago and I already had the ebay page open showing the pregnancy pillow He really liked it and said to go for it (let's see if he gets jealous afterwards, Ermin hahah) I got it for under 12pounds, not too bad Zozokat, I'd love to be more "handy" in the sewing department like my mum haha, but I'm absolutely useless so, but proud of you that you made yourself one!

Lauraloo, hope you feel better soon and glad for you it's not too long for you to finish work...

Looouise, so you're not sure whether it's a boy or a girl? They told us it was a girl (both sonographers present at the scan were quite sure about it) but said they couldn't confirm it for legal reasons (I've already heard about some stories that ended up in hospitals being sued ) I have another scan on week 29 and I'll ask again, just in case hahaha

June, glad you found a solution for the trousers dropping all the time

Choccie, as we say in my homeland, "I take off my hat to you" or, as you guys say "hats off!" , you're a supermum. Hope your tummy gets better soon

Borriebear - Sorry to hear about your financial problems. I wasn't entitled to MA or SMP last time and was a single mum so was pretty poor - still am! - but managed fine and had a lovely time with dd, I'm sure you'll be the same.

Hey ladies saw another flat today, better than the last but not prefect, we now have 4 in the running each with its own quirk! I have realised though that the one from Monday makes me feel a bit depressed so don?t think it?s the one for us!

I have my 1st midwife appointment tomorrow (I have been seeing a Dr privately since the beginning of the pregnancy but now have my social security details so thought I?d better get in the system and save some money) I am quite nervous, silly really, how different can it be from MW appointments in the UK? I guess I just don?t know what to expect (or know if my Spanish is up to it!)

I am getting so sick of my cat waking me up every morning the little monkey scratches on DS?s door as she knows I don?t want him woken up so will come running, she does it either because there are less than 100 biscuits in her bowl or she?s bored I?d put her outside if she wasn?t a house cat!

Juicy ? feeling any better hon? Its tomorrow you go back to the hospital isn?t it? I hope you get some answers x

Daisy ? well done on finishing your assignment hope you get a better night?s sleep. No rental options I can find on washing machines to date don?t have any experience to draw from on the glue front but hope all is ok, how are your fingers now? Would love to see your bump pic and your project idea sounds fabulous.

Help ? poor you with the insomnia, can?t be fun

Hey Tee that bump is looking fab!!

Bunnymother & Tibsy ? hope you get a better night?s sleep

Loooouise ? maybe my 3D/4D scan next week will be different as I am further along but at the last scan at 24 weeks, the Dr had to really point out where the developing girlie bits were, I wouldn?t have had a clue otherwise

Ineedmore ? 27 weeks for me tomorrow, re we really 3rd trimester already???!!! Hope work is better next Tuesday!

Lauraloo ? sorry to hear that you are still having pains in your legs

Ermintrude ? I have one of those pillows, DH and I call him ?Nathan? after a sordid dream I had whilst pg with DS about Nathan Petrelli from Heroes the pillow is a godsend! Sorry to hear about you being sick still

Naat ? I researched slings and bought a Kari-me thinking that would be best for me, I tried it out before DS was born with a teddy bear and then only used it once, it was so hot and sweaty with all that material I borrowed a Baby Bjorn from my sister but DS hated it and a friend gave me a ring sling without instructions (which I got from the supplier yesterday for this time round!) so my experience to date with slings has not been great but I do intend to try again. Have you seen the review of slings in the Product section of MN?

Choccie ? sorry to hear you are still feeling crap that was some party you had! supermum!

Insy ? lovely to have you back I find that the only people you tell me having my babies close to together will be such hard work are the ones who haven?t done it! Whenever I meet anyone who had babies 15 months apart like mine will be they tell me it?s a lovely age gap we are planning to try for a 3rd when this baby is a year old. I feel ungrateful for what I have when I say that but DH and I always wanted a big family and in my opinion starting a family at 34 means you have to be organised and plan them!!

Hello Littlesarah and Bigcar

Poor you Borriebear money worries when you are pregnant feel even worse than usual I know. You will manage, try not too worry and try to enjoy this special time.

Hello to anyone I?ve missed must go to bed??

?.and come on ladies sssssssssqqqqqqqqqqquuuuuuuuuueeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzeeeeeee!!

On the subject of having children of similar ages...
I mentionned something about what kind of contraception I'd be using after birth (not a clue basically) and approached the subject of how many children we really want and how soon. (Mum came from a family of 13 and I love hanging out with all of my 30 odd cousins in France :D) I am more modestly aiming to get this one out first ;)

Ideally we'd like to have a second one quite soon too. Not sure how ambitious that is?

Tee you have a wicked belly!!!

Morning all

MrsMcJr Hope you choose a good flat out of the 4. It will come down to what feels right for you, where you can imagine yourselves. DH and I have bought 3 houses together and every time we walked out just 'knowing' even if our Ideal Tick List wasn't fully filled in. I know you're renting but it's still the same concern about whether it will work for your family and feel like home.

Lol@ Nathan your dream lover

Naat hope you get on well with your new bedfellow

June I was 31 when I had DD and seemed to have all the time in the world - we really enjoyed her babyhood and there was no way I was ready to think about going for another until she was nearly 3. I did conceive again easily but miscarried, so had DS 4 yrs 4 months after DD, who had just started school when he was born. And we just 'never got round' to having the 3rd we often talked about until now. I think lots depends on whether you're working, whether you like your job, what kind of leave conditions you have etc. as well as your emotional state and what you feel you can cope with. Completely personal and nobody else's business - if you don't pop out another within 2 yrs people start nagging and if you do they start saying ooh, what a lot of work. There's no pleasing everyone, so please yourselves

morning all
just wanted to say hi before dd and i head out for the morning and also what a beautiful bump tee you look really proud, as well you should.

we took some shadow photos of my bump for ds, they came out really nicely. dont have too many of me pg with dd and none of this pg so far. note to self: get on it!!!

anyway, will try and catch up with the squillions of posts later

Just a wee quick post just now

tee your byump looks great, one thing i wish i started doing was taking photos of my developing belly/bump may make a start on it this weekend as I feel my bump expanding every day now [gerin]

erintrude - I second the back pack carrier (again you can get good ones second hand - I don't think either of my babies have had anything new except matresses, pushchairs and car seats!) I was focusing on new born stage but completely forgotten you can't use baby bjorn from about 4 months (ds2 was very heavy)

Hello MrsMcJnr, hope mw appointment goes well x

june - I second what erintrude has said about age gaps being about whats right for your family, if a small one is what you want go for it, there is 15 mo between dh and his brother and 15 mo between me and my bro so we always knew it was what we wanted, you'll always get people commenting on how you should have done it (mainly to justify why they made their decisions!) what I found hardest was knowing I wanted dc's close and knowing I'd struggled to conceive ds1, it was hard not to get hung up about not hitting my 15mo plan even though I only had 19mo between them in the end! and this baby was a complete supprise - we wanted 3 but I was relaxed about having a bigger age gap - fate had other plans!

erintrude - I second the back pack carrier (again you can get good ones second hand - I don't think either of my babies have had anything new except matresses, pushchairs and car seats!) I was focusing on new born stage but completely forgotten you can't use baby bjorn from about 4 months (ds2 was very heavy)

Hello MrsMcJnr, hope mw appointment goes well x

june - I second what erintrude has said about age gaps being about whats right for your family, if a small one is what you want go for it, there is 15 mo between dh and his brother and 15 mo between me and my bro so we always knew it was what we wanted, you'll always get people commenting on how you should have done it (mainly to justify why they made their decisions!) what I found hardest was knowing I wanted dc's close and knowing I'd struggled to conceive ds1, it was hard not to get hung up about not hitting my 15mo plan even though I only had 19mo between them in the end! and this baby was a complete supprise - we wanted 3 but I was relaxed about having a bigger age gap - fate had other plans!

Needing help again...everyday it seems to be another problem

Last night the splints did nothing to stop the pains in my arms, actually felt worse.

I took pain in my legs again, and now as I'm sitting at my desk at work the top of my left leg connecting to the pelvic area is sore not painful enough to make me cry but an uncomfortable pain and it happens when I walk. I'm trying to not think that the pain is severe but I'm really starting to worry about the pains i'm experiencing does anyone know what could be causing this? I really dont want to phone midwife becuase I dont want to feel like I'm bothering her, and also work would be angry with me if I had to leave to see the midwife again as I have had to see her about every 2 weeks because of pain...Just looking for what fellow mn'ers think

Sorry to be bothering you again with this...god I must be bugging you guys now every post I seem to make now details my pain (dont get me wrong I would go through this pain again for another baby )

laura I have no advice, but I'm sorry you're suffering! And don't apologize, this is what we are here for!

Just popped in from the middle of my Board meeting to ask...is anyone else regularly choking on your own saliva? I don't even realize I've swallowed and then BAM coughing fit!

Just did a big post only for my laptop to crash and its all gone
Anyhow I will try again......
Lauraloo - Those splints never worked for me either. Maybe try and few more nights but I ended up throwing the towel in and just putting up with CTS tbh.
The pelvic pain could be due to softening of the tissue around pelvis which apparently is what prgy hormones can do. I would contact the midwife again. You are not bothering her. Its her job! You may get referred to a physio or something. I too am suffering from pelvic problems and have pysio appt.next week where they will give me exercises etc to help with the pain.

MrsMc - lol at the cushion Nathan! Good Luck with the flats.

RE: age gaps. I have 16 mths between ds's and it was hard for a while but is excellant now. No age gap is easy imho. My boys are however very close, keep each other entertained and I hope will take care of each other as they grow up. They do kill each other from time to time but don't they all?!

hi laura - not advice and having only just jumped on here obviously don't know how its been for you, I would say ring your mw, your aren't bothering her its what she's there for, you don't have to go and see her but it might be good to have a chat - have they given you any advice on what to do to ease the pain? Failing that nip out and ring a friend/grab someone to have coffee with - if I'm having a crap day I ring my mum doesn't change the day but helps me vent, my all male colleagues don't really appreciate me telling them about my pg aches and pains

have you posted in pregnancy section of MN? there might be someone on there who has been through what you have and has some advice, big hugs and hope your day gets better x