Due April 2009: Episode 18 - Mumble gets married and we have triplets and twins here!!

[PuzzleRocks]

Let the ramblings commence.

[gingersarah]

Congratulations, Mumble! sounds like a gorgeous day.

I am having to try really hard to stop myself from making a cake after reading all about the crumbles, etc. I could really go for a warm and crumbly apple cake.

This weekend DP dissembled the desk, and assembled the changing table. I washed lots of little sheets and blankets. Lovely fresh white laundry! I am nowhere near bag packing though. I am perhaps being a bit "la la la la" about the reality of maternity pads, etc.

Frekkles - how are you? Feeling any more settled? Did you tell your dp how you felt on Friday?

[B52s]

Maybe I should think about packing my bag - still hoping for a HB but at least I'll be ready if we need to go in and it'll all be in one place for DH to find. Spent the weekend painting (lovely paint fumes mmmh) and tidying, think my nesting may have finally kicked in. Good job if we're having MWs round though - might actually get the hoover out.

[LuLuBai]

Yup Schulte & BB - doing a poo was one of the reasons they wouldn't let me out too. So whatever you do, if your baby produces a poo make sure that someone has seen the evidence .

[B52s]

Ahhh maternity pads. I have about 60 at home under the bed, this will last me...what, maybe 3 days? Why are there things that no-one tells you about - at classes or in the books... 'you may experience some bleeding'!!! More like 'clots the size of dinner plates will fall out'.

Just been lurking on the March mum's club and they're popping already - one is even back to nookie after 14 days! 14 days!!!! My DH wouldn't come near me for about 3 months. And I was still like a bucket then

[gingersarah]

B52s - I am hoping for a home birth too, but some organised person, probably on here, told me it is good to have a bag packed whether you are going anywhere or not.

I have no idea which way up my baby is. There is a hard round seething bit in the middle at the top quite often, which I hope is bum and the head is down. But it feels like it could be a head.

When I tried to wear the support belt the baby seemed to get very angry or panicky against the top strap at the bottom of the bump. I don't know what that means and / or if it was really hurting him / her, but it made me feel cruel and I took it off as I had never felt the baby move like that.

[LuLuBai]

Gingersarah my baby reacts in the same way with some clothes. I have a pair of under-bump jeans that dig in when I sit down and baby goes ballistic.

B52s - 14 days . I still felt like I had been kicked in the fanjo by a horse at 14 days. We waited 6 weeks to the day after DD was born and even then it was quite a tentative, cautious event. I felt very wierdly as if I were losing my virginity all over again.

[B52s]

Yeah LuLu - it was all very tentative and I was very uptight, but not down there. Was quite self conscious and it felt like I was 16 again - not in a good way. I think at 14 days I was still v sore from the stitches and winced when I sat down and got up, and still bleeding loads too.

BB - my DS was born at 3:13 am and they still kept me in the next night as although he had pooed, I struggled to breastfeed and I had to stay till I could. Expect to stay in at least one night. Hence my preference for a HB, as we struggled to get checked out the hospital - it took forever.

Mumble - belated congratulations.

[BoffinMum]

Trista, it is possible in your situation to phone Social Services and explain the problem with the nursery run and so on, and they can provide temporary support. I am given to understand it actually makes a nice change for them working with 'normal' families rather than highly dysfunctional ones, and that is also what they are supposed to be there for. Alternatively you could ring your local Home Start and ask for a volunteer to help.

Ginger, a lot of people experience problems with the belts like you describe. Have you put it low down enough? It needs to really sit on your hips, and you are supposed to take it off every time you sit down.

Occupational therapy stuff has arrived. I am now the proud owner of two perching stools, a little food trolley thing, and a bath lift. Having a slight depressive wobbly as it's all very old people's stuff. What has become of me, that I am surrounded with brown plastic disability aids?

[LuLuBai]

Boffin don't feel down - what matters is that all the kit helps you. When I put my back out during last pregnancy I was very glad of the opportunity to able to spend time at my grandmother's and make use of her zimmer frame and collection of brown plastic stuff.

[B52s]

My Gran-in-laws stuff is all white plastic - including her commode. V tasteful.

[B52s]

Disability aid snobbery?

[Juwesm]

Afternoon all!

Today I have learned:

• I cannot 'do' mopping at 37 weeks. The muscles required for mopping have gone. I can still do hoovering though.
• If you paint in the nuddy, you don't get paint all over your clothes, and can wash off all spillages in the shower.
• It doesn't matter how many times you make a list of what to put in hospital bag, it still does not get the bag packed!
• According to NatWest budget thing, DH and I should have loads of spare cash for frittering away, yet we are both over-overdrawn at the end of each month. I believe this may be some sort of universal banking paradox.

Social services have just called, having heard that not only are my windows uPVC, but that the glazing has pretty much failed in almost all of the panes.

[Juwesm]

Or should that be 'learnt'? I weren't never taught no grammar.

[WhatFreshHellIsThis]

Hello ladies, marking yet another new thread, I really am hopeless at keeping up! Two and a bit weeks to go for me.....baby is very low, lots of Braxton Hicks, and some very hormonal moments, so fingers crossed for my VBAC and not going overdue....

hope you're all well, am officially on ML after Thursday so will be more chatty then

[BoffinMum]

LOL at disability aid snobbery!!

Haven't been out the house for days, which probably isn't helping ... perhaps I should get DD to take me on the razz to give me an airing.

Is this what life will be like when we're 90, except cars will have ceased to exist and we will be living as state controlled agri-peasants due to global warming??

[B52s]

When DH passed his driving test at 17 his mum was very pleased as it meant he could pick her up from nights on the town with her mates! Boff, your DD should be doing the same (after there's no longer any need for plastic kit).

[tristaleejac]

juwesm - lol at you painting in the nuddy. You should use your bump like a giant roller, that would be loads of fun and easier to wash the paint off!
Boffin - I talked to the teacher and she said she'd ask around and let me know when I pick up DS if there's anything they can do. She did mention family support network, so we'll see if they can help. Thanks for the advice though, it's good to have you behind me [secret boffin fan]
Right I'll go get the wee man.
Talk later x

[BabyBolat]

LOL at disability aid snobbery!

My bump is really painful today and very narrow although not contraction-y type pains more just aches so not getting any hopes up!!

Ju, I have made about 10 lists!

Re hospital stay - i know I probably will have to stay but am crossing all my fingers that my LO poos and suckles like a pro, I give birth really early and am out by night time!

[LuLuBai]

Blimmin 'eck I need a nap.

DD and Cat co-ordinated their bowel movements, so after sorting out a foul nappy and even worse litter tray I though I would treat myself to a cup of tea and a crumpet. Only to find that there was a crack in the 2 litre bottle of milk I just bought this morning and the whole fridge was full of milk.

Eventually cleaned all the milk from in and under fridge, back aching cos bump really too big for all this work on hands and knees. Made crumpets and tea. Nipped to loo cos bladder pathetic and DD has licked all the jam off my crumpet. Then the cheeky minx decides she doesn't like the jam (rhubarb & ginger) and spits it into my hand.

[LuLuBai]

Painting in the nuddy v. sensible.

Had a very sexy neighbour a few years ago who used to obligingly strip while he was redecorating his flat. It was great entertainment for me and my flatmates. We re-positioned our sofa by the window, poured ourselves drinks and watched him work.

Of course if you are Springy you have this sort of thing on tap all the time anyway.

[B52s]

lol at jam spitting. DH regularly spits back into my hand.

[B52s]

DS, not DH!!!

[SpringySunshine]

Honestly Boffin, if I finish catching up here to find that you're still even so much as contemplating DIY...

purple, I'm having exactly the same issue with my DH. I want to plan some nice things to do for after 37 weeks to help pass the time - & a couple of nice things after 40 weeks (which can be easily cancelled, obviously). I really think I'll go insane if I just have to sit around doing nothing for that time.

LuLu, I've not seen the Sex and the City film either. I refused to pay for it on principle, so am waiting for it to be shown on television. I say 'waiting', I'm not on the edge of my seat checking the listings every half an hour, I promise

Yay, Auld's back! for the many very stressful reasons for absence, though. How rubbish... I hope DS cheers up a bit soon & the school stop messing you around! Terrible about his CM, too. I really hope it's not as bad as it seems. Strikes are always a nightmare, so I feel for you there. How's the househunting going?

Your DS is so lovely - I love hearing about his language (mostly because I can understand his confusion between 'rest' & 'stay' for example, whereas I have no idea with the Spanish!) & I still smile when I think about how he tells you that he is 'have' when you're telling him to behave Bless him. I wish I was in a position to raise a bilingual child, but my language skills are very poor (increasingly so!) & DH's are worse. It's tempting to move to another country & let the environment do the work

Schulte, I'm just that good, what can I say

brettgirl, 'what is a cervix for' made me I saw window snobbery last night, actually! I was looking at the good housekeeping things about mould & mildew by windows & somebody was asking about how to clean their UPVC windows, to which there was derisive sneering & 'UPVC? Really?'

trista, you're poorly again?! You poor woman! Is DS avoiding it so far?

BB, you want to get that hospital bag done! Stop trying to Sod's Law the baby out - you'll be running around in such a flap if you're labouring without it ready.

Kitty, enjoy your mum I was on the phone to mine last night & she was going on about sterilisers & getting panicked because I don't have one yet. I will get one, but I don't see it as being so urgent because I really want to BF (& I kind of feel that if I have everything totally ready to go with formula in the flat, I'll give in far more easily under the strain, which I don't want to do). So she started going crazy about expressing & I tried to explain that I want to try to avoid it for the first few weeks because of nipple confusion & supply, etc. Which she quickly dismissed & said that it never bothered me.

I love my mum & she really did try to breastfeed me. She had no support at all (my dad didn't even like her doing it, because he didn't trust it - he wanted to see how much I was getting), everyone was telling her to stop & I was a very demanding baby. But she managed to BF me for 3 weeks. In the circumstances, that's a massive achievement. But I'm aiming for a bit more than that & find it difficult to take those 3 weeks as the shining example of How To Do It. I'm anticipating many of these sorts of conversations with her, but she will get the hint & back off eventually. & if not, my dad will tell her to. MIL, on the other hand, has a whole range of exciting advice, including blindfolding babies so they think it's night, & feeding baby rice from birth.

[LuLuBai]

Glad you clarified there B52s!

[SpringySunshine]

Ohhhhh, I wish Smutts was here. Ohhhh. The phrase 'lol at jam spitting. DH regularly spits back into my hand' makes me yearn for her

& LuLu, I do enjoy an awful lot of nudity, it's true. Last night he decided he was going to stand in the doorway of the bathroom in his dressing gown whilst I brushed my teeth. I rinsed my mouth out under the tap, looked up & found him standing there holding it wide open, flasher style. There was nothing sexy about that - it was just alarming The washing up in his underwear earlier in the day, though...