A Giraffe and a Gruffalo went to the Cosmos to see the Starshine, but which WagonBaby will be first?

[Astarte]

It's like an 'in joke'

Births:
Kay - 12th December - 6:49pm - Dylan George - 10lbs 5ozs
Teuch- - - boy
Pop - 23rd December - twin boys, Hugo & Henry
Nat - 27th December - 8:36pm - Mikey Bradley - 6lb 10.5oz
Gin - 16th Jan- Girl - 7.25am- details tbc
Tink- 19th Jan - Girl - 1.51pm - Bracken Hope Willow - 8lbs 7oz
Astarte - 16th Feb - Girl - 8lb 12oz
Glask - 20th Feb - Girl - 7.47pm - Ruby Marie 4lb (8wks prem)
LardyBump - 21st Feb- Boy - 8lb 12oz
HappyNappies- 27th Feb- Boy - 12.01am 9lb13

Scan list:
Kooky - fetal heart echo + detailed scan @ 16 weeks - 18th March
LBOT - 22 week scan - 23 March
idreamofbeanie - 12 week scan - 23 March
STT - 12 week scan - 31st March
LaTour - 12 week scan - 31st March!

Weeks list:
Playing - ?????
GYo - 39 weeks, 1wk left. Surprise (17 Mar)
Star - 38 weeks, 2 weeks left. Surprise (22 Mar)
Cosmo - 38 weeks, 2 weeks left. Girl.(31st Mar)
Gruff - 35 weeks, 5 weeks left. Girl. (16th Apr)
Ses -32 weeks, 8 left. Surprise (10 May)
MINM- 30 weeks, 10 to go Surprise(19th May)
Diege - 26 weeks, 14 left to go. Boy!!!!(21st June)
LBOT - 20 weeks, 20 left to go (24th July)
KookyKid - 15 weeks, 25 weeks to go (2nd Sept) BOY!
Idreamofbeanie - 11 weeks (due 1st Oct)
LaTourEiffel - 10 weeks (due 8th Oct)
Sparklytwinkletoes - 10 weeks 12th Oct
BB - 5-6 weeks (due 31st oct)

Girls = 2
Boys= 4
Surprise = 4
Unknowns (yet) = 4

MW apps list:
LBOT - 21+6 weeks - Thu 19 March
Gruff - 36 weeks - Friday 20th March
GYo @ 40+4 weeks- Fri 20th March- S&S
Ses - @33wks - Tues 24th March
Cosmo - @ 40 wks - around 28th March
MINM- - 33 weeks- 31st March
DIEGE = 28 wk midwife/consultant/anti-d - 2nd April.
Mat leave countdown:
Playing - on Mat leave!!!!
GYo - on Mat leave!!!!!
Star - on Mat Leave!!!!
Cosmo - on Mat Leave!!!!
Gruff - on Mat Leave!!!!
Ses - last day 3rd April (35 weeks) 21 days, but only 15 days actually at work
STT - Somewhere around 120 working days
Diege - last day 29th April.

Ooh sorry Kayz- looked at your pics and forgot to mention it. Hair is a great colour and as Cosmo said looks in great condition Did you find it fell out after the birth of the boys? I've heard its quite common!

Cosmo- well done for gardening. Can you ask MW next time you see her to have a good feel and see if she will guess how much longer it will be? Least then you can accept it if she says 2wks or get excited if she says sooner?

Just thought it might help mentally really.. i find its the not knowing thats annoying!

GYo - Next MW appt not until 28th March now when I'll be almost 40 wks, so unless I see my mw friend before that, won't be able to find out. They said 2/5ths last time and the bump seems much lower and can feel more pressure down there....Wish I would have a show or something so I knew something was happening. She does seem very active at the moment though and getting a few sharp pains in bits so maybe the weeding could set something in motion!! It is hard not knowing....and I'm so impatient it's terrible!

Hope Gruff is ok.

Thank you for all the kind words, but seriously, it is too exciting on here at the moment to be all doom and gloom... We'll sort through it some how, we'll have to!

Glask, have you tried giving her expressed milk from today? TBH, although it might get a bit hairy if she's crying, I'd keep trying to latch her on before giving her a bottle, I think prem babies can have a few latch probs anyway, and the last thing you'd want to do is get into the situation of her only taking a bottle at this stage. I don't know how long it takes for any flavours to work through? I guess if you keep trying to latch her on, she'll eventually take it because it doesn't taste of garlic anymore IYKWIM?

Cosmo, with DS2, I saw the MW to book the HB, she came out to me at 38 weeks to bring the pack out, told me if I was still pregnant the next day she'd be very surprised... he was induced at 41 weeks! So even if you got a guess out of her, that is all it is, just a guess, and I can tell you that 3 weeks longer than her guess is a bloody loooooooong 3 weeks!

Thanks

Nat- I kept trying her at the breast before I gave her the bottle and in between each half an ounce I would take the bottle out and offer her the breast and she'd have a few sucks and that was it... I am so worried about mucking up all my hard work and her loosing her latch, so I think I am going to only offer her a bottle every other feed if she doesn't take much from the breast. I mean I have a bit of frozen milk in the freezer that was left over from when she was in SCBU so it needs using at some point, but I dont want her to be bottle fed at all.... god that sounds awful, but it is so much easier for me to breastfeed, and I haven't a clue about formula!!

Oh and i googled food to avoid and Garlic was mentioned on every site I looked on!! so I do think it might just be that!! But it didn't say anything about expressing and throwing away.... if she doesn't take any by tonight i'll express it all away and hopefully that'll sort it out.

Glask, don't worry yet, it is really just likely to be down to the garlic. Obviously, you know this, but just watch her weight, I'd express off everything you can and then try again in a couple of hours, once it's had chance to replenish.

But don't go worrying about formula or whatever yet, she has been taking the non-garlicfied EBM, if worst came to worst, you can carry on expressing, but that is well off yet.

Also, FWIW, by all means carry on trying if it makes you feel better, it's certainly not going to harm, but there is little point in taking the bottle out and trying her on the breast every so often, you have to remember that it is a lot easier for her to get the milk out of the bottle than it is your nipple, so once she's had the bottle, she's not going to want to work harder to get what she was getting easily from the bottle.

Thanks for the comments about my hair!! I love the colour and I wish I'd done it sooner.

GYo, My hair is still coming out. Loads and loads. It is horrible and I hope it stops soon.

Nat, sorry to hear about DH's job. I hope it picks up soon. You can get plenty of help with benefits if he does end up losing his job.

Loads of my hair fell out after DS1 and 2, but so far it doesn't seem to be happening this time, which is a good job because I don't have a lot in the first place! Fine hair and not lots of it isn't the best combination believe me!

As for benefits, they won't pay for the mortgage and the car, TBH in some ways it would be easier if he was made redundant because we have insurance's for that, but just a big drop in over time isn't covered, problem being the overtime has more or less dried up, and his basic only covers around 60% of our bills (and I do mean bills, not 'extras'). We were discussing if I should go to work but I can't do it, if I got a day time job my wages would go on child care, and if I went for evenings/weekends, then we'd be buggered every third week when he's on call, we've no one to stay with the kids, I wouldn't be able to have every 3rd week off, he can't not be on call, and that leaves night work, but that would leave DH seeing to the kids at night, which he can't do because he does all the driving/electrics/water - not a good combination with little sleep! - and then when would I sleep?

Anyway, so much for not going on about it! Sorry, again!

Hello

I've been out for some gaviscon and a browse at the garden centre. Wow, I know how to live

Nat/ Kayz- bugger about hair loss... oddly mine is alreay starting to come away which makes no sense at all. Hope I dont end up bald!

Talking of random symptoms, did anyone have REALLY sensitive nipples just before birth? Mine are super sore and im hoping they "toughen up" a bit before trying to feed on them... Want to do some nipple stimuation but not sure I can bare it!

Gruff- hope you are ok...

Meant to say, Glask thats a real bummer about the garlic interfering with feeding etc. Its good to find out what she will and wont tolerate though.

There must a few things like that and spicey food that you have to avoid whilst feeding... Tis a shame as I've been really looking forward to a proper curry after birth once I dont have heartburn to consider... Guess it will have to be something mild!

Tis a fun life being heavily preggers isn't it? I've been sofa dwelling trying to watch Pulp Fiction (never seen it all the way through) but I have the concentration span of a gnat at the moment, so have switched it off for now.

Such a sunny, nice day I feel bad sat in the house but can't be bothered to move really....

Sensitive nips sounds positive. Mine just keep leaking - it is making a mess of my bras but I hate wearing breast pads....will have to get used to it I guess.

You are brave trying to watch pulp fiction at any time. I've never been able to follow the plot even when completely unpregnant!

I've just ordered Madagascar... thought I might be able to deal with that

Yeah, you've got a point there...maybe I'll switch to The Little Mermaid instead...!

hi

bracken wasnt too bad with injections
she weighs 10lbs excatly she started on the 75th centile now on the 25th centile cant help worrying!!
dd1 started on 25th centile and dropped right below red centile @ the bottom.
must run in the genes.

kay - luv hair and good luck with ww
i am starting aerobics classes this week doing one tonite and thursday night

gyo hope that weeding starts something

gruff it is frustrating when they dont feed properley

LOL at your film choices!!

I've just put Monday's 24 on (obviously in the background whilst I'm wfh!) I do like a bit of Kiefer!!

Also I got a text to say my friend had her baby boy this morning by CS. 9lb4 with a lovely name - Ethan Nicholas

Glaskham - guess there's going to be good days and not so good days but I'm still v impressed with how you're doing.

NJ - sorry to hear about your worries but please don't apologise for posting about it. We are all here to share highs and lows. I really hope that something more positive comes through for you and your DH.

Kay - definitely love your hair! Lovely colour and it doesn't look like you've ahd any problems with hair loss!

Hi tink!
Had a phone call in the middle of posting so missed you there!
Well done Bracken on her injections!

Hi all

Havent had time to catch up yet but just wanted to let you know Im ok. Have been back to hospital for monitoring - have to do it twice a week now. Everything is fine and baby is 3/5 engaged which is good as Monday she was nowhere near!

Also I found out that horible doc from monday was now my consultant so I explained I had a bad experience with her and asked if I could change. Mw said she wasnt surprised by my request as they had had a fair few complaints about her!!!she is a locum posted for 5 months but she is applying for pwermanent position and all the mw's dont want her to get the job! I have been encouraged to write a formal letter of complaint. Anyway, in a blink of an eye I was put under a different consultant and have been told she is lovely so heres hoping I can relax a bit now!

Right I really need to catch up!

Hi Gruff!
3/5 sounds like good progress to me and great that you've got a different and lovely consultant! Such a shame that is has to get to the stage with the other one where the staff have to encourage patients to write and complain!!

Hey Ses, yeah it is bad but Im so impressed with how lovely the mw's are. They are so supportive and have managed to put me back at ease which is great.

Gyo - funnily enough my nipples were driving me crazy yesterday. I have bought some cream for them now. They are just really sore!Havent had any leakage yet though. Glad you made it to Sainsburys and garden centre.

I didnt go out at all yesterday as I was ill so was lovely to get in the sunshine today. Went to B&Q to get some new taps for sink and then a lovely wonder round Tesco and got some yummy food. Not to mention the 20% off clothing

Glask I would defrost the frozen EBM and give it via a cup or spoon rather than the bottle for the same reason as Nat said.
It could well be the garlic in which case expressing and chucking should sort it out. Curry has had the same effect for 3 of mine, I haven't had any yet to check if it'll be the same with this LO.

Lastly, I would just check your positioning if she's still not really very interested once you b'feed after the expressing, could be something as simple as that

Nat how worrying for you , do you have a planB?

Kayz your hair colour is beautiful! Doesn't look like you're losing any at all, looks thick and glossy
I'm supposed to be having mine cut & coloured tonight, but I've tons to do so might put it off.

Wagon-waddlers: I had such sensitive nips in the last couple of days before birth hat nip-stim was torturous, so hopefully it is a sign for you.

Ses any news on your nephew?

GYo glad to hear you're living it large! hehe x

ses - congrats 2 ur friend

gruff - glad mw went well and u have consultant sorted
ye for shopping

phew glad you are ok Gruff. 3/5 engaged is encouraging esp in 2 days! Is your cold a bit better now?

I've been doing my hypno cd this afternoon. Was really relaxed til the cat decided to come and purr in my ear about 10mins from end... very unimpressed!

You're not going to believe this...

Lady running the NCT class has just phoned to postpone the start until next week! Can't be helped as she's had a family bereavement, poor lady.

I've just told DH and he put on pretend indignance that he'd made a special effort to come home early tonight and is meant to be in Scotland next week and so will have to try and reschedule...

Astarte - thanks for asking about our nephew. He didn't have such a good night but has improved today. At the moment they are hoping he will continue to improve and come home on Saturday. It's at times like this that DH finds it so hard being so far away from the rest of his family. All his 8 nieces and nephews, 5 siblings and his parents are all within 20 mins of eachother over in Ireland and he's the only one further away.

GYo - LOL at cat purring in your ear! If she keeps doing that, maybe you'll need her to do it during the birth??!

Hi Gyo - thats so funny about your cat! He wanted to help you relax obviously!Cats like to involved ineverything don't they!

Yes my cold is so much better today thanks - Im like a completely different person to yesterday

Astarte - thats interesting about nips. Im also getting quite a lot of period cramps now and again and feel a bit funny down below.might just be effects of baby engaging though!

Hi tink! and anyone lurking!