Heeereee comes June, its the home streeeeetch!

[Tee2072]

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

She is indeed beautiful, laura!! What great shots of her face!

Thanks tee she was well behaved al throughout the scan..here's hoping it continues once she is born

Gorgeous pics, lauraloo! Amazing how clearly you can see her little face, awww.

Hello everybody, phew, what a catch up!
Choccie and Lauraloo happy belated birthdays!
Tee sorry to hear you're feeling pants again. I really sympathise.
LittleSarah loved your Michael M story - he is a lovely man. I once had a panic attack in the middle of an interview with the screenwriter Andrew Davidson. He was very lovely, but it was very embarrassing.
Ermitude love your pelvic floor advice. Does - ahem - "self-manipulation" as practised by long-term singletons count as pelvic floor exercise, I wonder?
I had my 4d scan yesterday, and lauraloo, isn't it utterly, utterly amazing? My baby was smiling and laughing! Even though we didn't see the genitals, it looks so much like my middle brother, I'm convinced he's a boy.
Babyfather was over from Brussels, so we went together, which was such good fun. He's soo excited now. We had great chat which totally smoothed my anxieties - he's very happy (ie relieved) to be outside in the corridor during the birth. I also confided that I had had nightmare about horrid custody battles, he said he wouldn't want a 7 day here then 7 day there arrangement either, as it would be too disruptive, and he wouldn't stop me living in New York if I got dream UN job either (though I imagine that this would change once baby is here, which wouldn't be unreasonable of him at all).
The clinic was on Harley St, then we went to John Lewis's to look at prams which was such good fun! He liked the Bugaboo, which I didn't dare suggest because of the price, (we're going to split it) but maybe I'll get away with it! Has anybody else got one of these?
The whole weekend has just reminded me of what good friends we are. He's just started dating somebody in Brussels, which doesn't feel weird or threatening at all. In fact, I think it helps clarify things: we love each other, just aren't in love. This doesn't mean we can't be fab parents; actually, I think it may be an advantage.
Anyway, met his mother today, she is clearly delighted and excited as well. I feel incredibly positive about our new "modern" family arrangement. Both his sisters and two of my brothers live within a 2 mile radius of me in Hackney - so how lucky am I? Suddenly, somehow, it's all working out.
ANyway, lunch with my parents tomorrow. Will keep you posted.
Muminmiddleeast - helloo and welcome! HOpe you and MrsMcJnr and all other expats are doing well and not too homesick.
Hello to everybody else and let's hope we all get a decent night's sleep tonight (fat chance...)

Great pics, Lauraloo!!!! It's amazing how clear they are!

Loooouise, so happy to hear you're feeling much more reassured and calm about everything. Things seem to be really mellow and I'm sure everything will be more than fine. And you will be fab parents for sure!

Have a great evening, ladies, talk to you tomorrow (I also hope we all have a decent night's sleep).

Mrsmcj ? got a mental image of you having to wear hospital gown the otherway round so you can bf ? not funny but made me smile stick to your guns and take in your pj?s!

Tibsy ? I?ve stalled about 7 chapters in with twilight ? too many jobs to do and then I end up vegging in front of telly, should really turn it off and read more

Chocie ? my belly button popped out ages ago interesting to hear bout your docs appointment about bits, I?m all low and swollen down there too ? whats a pelvic band? And happy birthday

June ? don?t give in, keep those tix for the people you want, they aren?t ?spare? glad fil was with you on that one, what car did you get? We?ve been to look at some today, Volvo V70, not glad but think we can get 3 baby seats in back, any more suggestions anyone for seriously pathetically small budget??

I completely avoided comic relief last night, was too emotional watching mountain climb one on Thurs!

Great news doris

And thanks to everyone for answering my silly questions, I?ll be back with some more soon I?m sure!

laura - glad scan was all well x

looouise the 4d scan was amazing could see her kicking me and smiling, even taking a wee huff as the sonographer tried to wake her up and she just pulled a really angry face (a bit of her mother there )

I'm glad things seem to be working out with babyfather and that any worries you had will be away, so happy the situation is easing for you.

Well i'm off to bed, been a busy couple of days nighty night all x

looouise the 4d scan was amazing could see her kicking me and smiling, even taking a wee huff as the sonographer tried to wake her up and she just pulled a really angry face (a bit of her mother there )

I'm glad things seem to be working out with babyfather and that any worries you had will be away, so happy the situation is easing for you.

Well i'm off to bed, been a busy couple of days nighty night all x

louise really happy for you and your arrangments, I can see how it's more comfortable if babyfather is dating.
I love the bugaboo and would definitely be going for it if we had the budget, spent it on the car unfortunately!

laura Aaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwww, that is so neat, she is beautiful :D I can't wait to book ours .... hopefully next Sunday!

Dh was also a bit miffed at bil/sil's bad attitude and reaction so he's "on my side" and made it very clear that the tickets are not spare and there's no-on else to blame than themselves.
I think we cleared the air in time for sils bday (round ours) tomorrow, good otherwise that would have been awkward.

insy we got a 5 door golf (had to take finance over 4 years for it), it's brilliant. I put the pram in the boot and there is hardly any room for anything else :S Downside of getting a cheaper pram I guess!
Got a cheap (£15) sling from tkmax today, and a gym ball to do my physio exercises.

Popped by Next to see what kind of prices they do baby clothes for and it was around a tenner per item. You could tell the clothes are better quality than asda ones but I reckon they grow out of them so quick at the beginning I'll stick with the cheaper stuff. Sainsbury's do cheap clothes too.

Right am gonna go sit on my gym ball for a while.

Hope you all get a good night sleep!

Hey ladies back from a lovely dinner out with DH and friends (just having my horlicks before bed

Laura - fabulous pics I'll post some of mine tomorrow but they are not nearly as clear as yours due to the placenta being in the way your little baby really looks sweet

Loooouise - things sound great with your babyfather, I am so pleased for you. I have a Bugaboo and it is FABULOUS, so does Daisy and I think she adores hers too. Just hope my Emmaljunga can live up to it

Insy - Yes your thought about the gown was similar to mine now ladies here are telling me you have to wear them so that the MWs can whip up your covers and check you out frequently [shcok] I think not - having the baby in the car on the way to the hospital and then turning round to go home is getting more appealing!

Hope everyone is having a lovely evening

Morning all

Loooouise, i'm so glad to hear everything's going so well with babyfather and his family, must be a huge weight off your mind Sounds like you're getting a really good support network around you now too!

Laura, what lovely pics, they're so clear as well!

MrsMcJnr, I take it they're not for kicking you out of hospital within a few hours of giving birth over there then? They seem a lot more hands on (literally!) than over here, even when I stayed in overnight with ds and had had a retained placenta they only came and had a poke of my belly once before I managed to escape get home. Hopefully you'll manage to escape get back home quickly after the birth

June, at least your fil backed you up, well done for not giving in with the tickets! That's the thing with baby clothes, they only last a few months and even then they hardly look worn, it's still nice to get a couple of really nice bits though!

Hope you're all having a good weekend.

Hello all! DH's is running a half-marathon today and has just left. I'm off to the IL's as FIL goes in for his stomach to be removed tomorrow (he's got stomach cancer and has finished his 9 weeks of chemo). We're having a little good luck party where FIL gets to eat whatever he likes! They're fab and we all get on really well. I do feel very lucky as I know there are people who have IL's who are a PITA.

Was so wiped out by my slow town wander yesterday (forgot to say that I was overtaken by a pensioner, at one point, with one of those wheelie trollies! Lapped by an OAP!) I slept like a brick! I did manage to stay awake through two episodes of The West Wing (of which I am quite proud!)

I've put on two stone already ! I think it's because I can't be anywhere near as active as I am usually with this freakin' SPD. I certainly haven't been going mad on the food either. I've cut out loads of bread and stuff so not much more I can do really. My only consolation is that I'm still in size 12 maternity stuff (my normal size is 12) so at least it's all going on in the places it's supposed to. The other consolation is that I was 3 stone up already, this time last pregnancy, so it's better than last time.

Laura - Glad to hear that the 4D scan was good. They're fab aren't they?

Looouise - Fab news about the scan and about babyfather being chilled. It makes life a little easier, I bet.

June - glad you seem to have cleared the air about the tickets. Well done for sticking to your guns. Sainsbury's and Tesco do fab clothes. Next ones are lovely, and they do great sales, but they are a little pricey, esp. when the babies are small. When they get past a year old and they stop growing at such a speedy rate, you can splash out a little more (but then all the tops get ruined by ANYTHING with tomato in it!). I've always found that Asda clothes are fine, the other place that do cheap ones is Primark. Some of the stuff is really good quality.

MrsMc - Glad you had a lovely dinner. Wish I could afford a Bugaboo. This little one is going to have all hand-me-downs (not that he'll realise!). I guess if we'd had a girl, then at least she'd have got new clothes!

Right, I'm off now. Hope you have relaxing Sundays xx

Morning all!

Actually had a good nights sleep, with DH actually next to me and not kicked to the spare room! Its a miracle!

Ineed oh no, lapped by an OAP!

Off to see Watchmen this afternoon and have tea out! A real date with my husband!

Ineed gosh, am impressed by your DH's activity, hope he does well in the half-marathon. lol@ being lapped by an old dear . Hope lunch with FIL is lovely, and that the op goes well.

I'm with you on the attitude to weight - if I'm still in my maternity size 12s then that's OK because it suggests the weight is mostly going on the bump (which is mahoosive!). The jeans may be a bit tighter around the thighs but they've not actually cut of blood supply yet...

looouise your scan experience sounds great, so glad that babyfather is getting excited too. It must be a bit weird for his new gf, but actually shows him in a very positive light as long as she's all european and broad-minded about it .

Re pelvic floor - well, orgasms are supposed to be good for the vaginal and uterine muscles however they're achieved so we owe it to ourselves

insy no specific tips for cars I'm afraid, except to repeat what all the papers are saying: that you can get some great bargains on 2 or 3 yr old cars at the moment. I typed in 'compact mpv' to google and lots of stuff came up including v useful reviews and test drive info. Not sure what we're doing about a car - muddling thru for now and seeing what we need I guess.

mrsmc look forward to seeing your scan pics

Better defrost some bacon for lunchtime fry-up - DD is playing footie, cheered on by DH, and they both come back starving. Have good days all.

Hi ladies!

MrsMc glad you had such a lovely evening out Looking forward to seeing your pics.

Tee enjoy your day out with DH! Glad you had a good night's sleep

I myself slept quite well, no visits to the loo and the few times I actually "woke up" I went back to sleep quite fast, so reaaaaaaally happy.

Insy Hope you enjoy your lunch with the ILs. that they're good ILs, as you say... some of us have nighmares hahaha

Calm day over here... very "springy", the temperature is great and the sun is shining . We're just going to stay home and watch a movie, then at 8 we have a hypnobirthing session .

Have lovely afternoon, ladies!!

Oh, my brain!
I meant Ineed not Insy!

Hiya Ladies hope you have all had a good weekend. Hope you had a nice Birthday choccie Pleased about your results Doris Just over a week to go until my gtt and scan. I went to my sisters to watch comic relief friday evening and cried often. Ive managed to book a long weekend away in Aberystwyth this Easter There will be at least 12 of us on Easter Sunday so am hoping the weather will be nice enough for a barbecue Its been nice enough weather for the kids to actually play out this weekend on the trampoline and Ive even managed to get stacks of washing done. Im also having terrible problems with heartburn and seem to be getting tired very easily. Not struggling too much with getting up at night to wee just yet

Hi everyone.
Glad you had a lovely dinner Mrsmc

Louise that is great that you are feeling more calm about the whole babyfather stuff. He sounds like a lovely friend.

Thanks everyone for you birthday wishes. I had a great day. The best birthday in years.
Our lunch was yummy and then we wandered the shops and dh bought me a gorgeous new bag!
Brought McD's home for the kids tea but they had been stuffed something sensless with goodies, chocs etc that they couldn't manage it.By the end of the eveninbg I was exhausted and vegged out in front of the tv with dh. All in all it was a wonderful day

Today has also been great. Brought the boys to a nearby working farm/gardens place where we met up with neighbours and had lunch together etc. It was a beautiful day. We brought our other neighbours 5 yr old DD with us so her mum could have a rest (other child still in hospital after 11 weeks but doing really well).

Had an hr nap this afternoon but when I woke up I didn't feel well AGAIN.

Then this evening dh was getting dinner ready and off went my stomach AGAIN. Have only mamaged a bowl of cereal. Feel too sick, bloated, and have tummy pains Have to go see DR after St.Patricks and find out what is going on. Does anyone know if Pregnacare tablets can also upset the tummy?

Sorry for not replying to everyone. Will catch up properly tomorrow.

Hey ladies sitting here at horlicks time again we went to see a really nice apartment this morning and it looks like it might be the one for us, fingers crossed I have to go for my GTT tomorrow no one has responded to me on the local Mums in Spain website as to where in the massive hospital to go so I am not looking forward to trying to work out where I should be.

How are you all?

Bigcar ? everyone stays at least 24/36 hours in hospital here, mainly because there is no aftercare like MWs or HV to visit you. Might arrange a private check up for the baby rather than take a tiny, tiny to the health centre.

Ineedmore ? hope your DH did well in his half-marathon and that FIL?s party went well. Poor man, how awful for him does that mean he cannot eat properly again? I hope his op goes well. LOL at being overtaken by a pensioner, when I was pg with DS two old gits made slow moving vehicle noises behind me as I walked down the high street All my DS?s clothes get ruined by mandarin oranges, his favourite food! Most of my new baby?s clothes were DS?s or from eBay I certainly couldn?t afford a Bugaboo now that I am a housemum

Tee ? hope you had a lovely day

Hey Ermintrude and Naat

Dreamy ? your Easter break sounds fun

Choccie ? so glad you had a lovely birthday Pregnacare has often made me throw up if I haven?t eaten enough first, when are you taking them?

Had a lovely time at the movies and then out to dinner with DH. I do not recommend Watchmen, however as it is 2.5 hours long and my back was killing from those theatre seats by the end! Decent flick, though, although very very violent.

MrsMcJnr GOOD LUCK at the hospital today and hope the apartment works out for you.

Morning ladies!

MrsMc good luck with the GTT thing today!
at the flat! Hope it's the one!!!

Choccie you had such a lovely bday. Pity you started feeling the same stomachache again I never took Pregnancare so no advice on that front. Hope you're feeling better today...

Tee you had a lovely time with DH yesterday.

Dreamy your long weekend away for Easter sounds fab!

I had a good night's sleep thank God! Woke up once to wee but managed to fall asleep quite quickly.

Question, has anyone heard reviews from friends or ever used those self-sterilising bottles? I saw them the other day in Mothercare, they're not esp. expensive but had never heard of them. They're supposed to have a special cap you put on and fill in with water, then microwave for x minutes and voilà... Sounds great if it's true...

Hello to all the ladies, hope you have a great beginning of the week

June ? I?d love a golf but I need something I can fit 3 baby seats in and a double buggy in boot ? it?s a tough challenge and I?m doing my best to avoid a huge people carrier at mo!
Re cheap clothes, check out your local NCT as new sales, they are fab, ours usually has some ridiculously priced gap, monsoon and mini boden stuff as well as loads of lovely next baby grows ? I only mention those brands as they are the ones that tend to wash and wear so so well. Stuff I picked up for ds1 ds2 is wearing now and they are both really hard wearing on clothes

Laura ? glad san was good and you had a lovely day with baby father and meeting his family. With all this talk of 4d scans your making me tempted to have one, I?m starting to regret not finding out the gender at the 20 wk scan!

Choccie ? was only going to add what mrsmcj said, when do you take pregnacare as I used to take them (down graded to cheaper one now) and it was very specific about taking them with your main meal so maybe they could irritate an empty stomach?? I hope its nothing serious, Glad you had lovely birthday

Had a lovely weekend, isn?t great not the weather is a little brighter, took boys for a walk last night after dinner and ds1 slept all night without a peep in his new bed (a v cheap ebay one and v naff bed in the shape of noddy?s car ? ds1 adores it ), ds2 still needs some sleep ?training? but dh sorted him out at 5am with some water so not a bad night. Dh at home with the boys today and taking them on his bike (with trailer) to playgroup, very envious as I sit here in office, not that I could go on bike anyway, can?t wait till we can do that next summer

Hope everyone else is doing ok x

morning al I hope everyone is well.

insy I think you were meaning louise having the day with babyfather, I'm married to my baby's dad but we did go for a 4d scan too on Friday and it was great

question: I feel like I've went back to the beginning of this pregnancy with sickness and insomnia, would it be cheeky of me to request a sick line from my doc for 1 week to see if this would help me as I wouldn't be sick and dealing with the stress of this office?

Morning all.

laura I think that's an excellent idea. You need to take care of yourself and the baby.

I myself feel like total crap today. I am hoping that my test results come back with an infection, because then at least I'd know why I keep getting nauseous! Of course, it could just be the 26 weeks pregnant issue!