October 2005 - part 3!

[SusiS]

goooogooooo

Morning all.

Went to the hospital yesterday to see the consultant about being recalled for the AFP (Downs) screening test. We asked for a scan to see if there are any markers for Downs and if there are none, then we will take our chance - although we do understand that the fact that there are no markers does not indicate for sure that there is no Downs syndrome. The midwife gave me the impression that if I had wanted an amnio, I would have been given it there and then, so I thought the same would have applied to the scan seeing that they scan you to assist with the amnio. But alas no - they will send out an appoinment for a scan to me and it will probably be another fortnight. Luckily, I have been able to rationalise the situation and do not feel too worried about it. Also, I am only 18+2 just now and the anomily scan is better at around 20 weeks.

And although it is not for the purpose of seeing the baby, I am looking forward to that too

Hope you all have a good weekend - I'm saying that now as I have noticed that the thread goes really quiet over the weekend! MB

is anyone else being laughed at?!!!!! all of my friends think i am monstrously huge and keep laughing and pointing. i can't say i am too bothered as i have only put on about half a stone (enitrely on arse and thighs, none on baby at all obviously!!) but i do keep misjudging where my stomach stops and shutting doors on it and stuff! I am surprised it is not covered in scuff marks .
in response to the sunbathing question.... i sunbathed last time i was pregnant and baby loved it, lots of jumping around and poking. just make sure your skin is well protected and that you don't get too hot. having given then sensible advice, i must admit that i have managed to burn two days in a row . not very bright of me i know, but i broke down yesterday (grrr) and had to walk to get to a phone and snack/icecream provider while i waited to be rescued. am now a bit pink!

mawbroon - we had a soft marker for a genetic problem at 12 weeks, but nothing since. we have had quite a lot of pressure to have cvs from the consultant given our history, but as they can offer us no other evidence and our downs thingy was really low, we are still saying no. 1 in 100 is just too high without equivalent risks. that doesn't mean i am not a bit worried, but we have had two detailed scans and everything looks fine. having said that we keep being told that detailed scans are unlikely to pick up any but the most obvious of markers (e.g. ds had twisted fingers and severe heart problems but they weren't picked up at 20 weeks because everything is just too small). not sure what i am trying to conclude. i think that if you want to know either way for sure then you will have to have cvs. all very difficult to know what the right thing to do is.

Joseyjo - sympathise with banging bump on door etc. I keep walking into things as I forget that I am rather larger than I was!! I have had some people tell me that I am big for 18 weeks and others say that they could hardly tell that I am pregnant, so my advice would be just to ignore them as there is b*er all you can do about the size of your bump anyway!

What is really frustrating me is that I have 18 minutes to get from the office to catch my train and I am catching the train by a smaller and smaller margin every day!! I will have to ask my boss soon if I can take 10 mins less for lunch so that I can make it to the station. Waddle waddle.

Bought my first maternity clothes the other day. A top from H&M and a pair of black trousers from Asda which were only £12 and they don't need ironing. My motto is that life is too short to iron and I don't buy clothes unless they are wash and wear. I moved house a year ago and can honestly say that I have not ironed one thing since I moved. In fact, I am not even sure where the iron is!! I thought that it was hard enough finding maternity clothes, never mind non iron ones!! I have my eye on some of DHs clothes for wearing round the house when I am bigger.

Hope you all have a good weekend and bank holiday for those who that applies to. MB

Are your Asda trousers maternity ones then Mawbroon? If so, I'll be hopping down there adter the weekend

Had my 20 week scan yesterday and good news - no soft markers for Down's or any other problems. Risk of Down's now down to 1 in 600. Also know what sex it is but not telling anyone except dh (as agreed).

Weight gain very upsetting though - usually 10 stone 5 ish, now 12 stone and less than 1 lb of that is baby

Alterego - Im with you on the weight thing... im up to about that too! Oh well, never mind! It WILL come off once bump is born!

Yes Alterego. They were in the maternity range and they have an under bump belt with four little cords tied on a silver ring at one side. They also have the button/elastic system on the side so that they grow with you! Hope that is an accurate enough description for you to find them! I've thrown the barcode away or else I would have given you that info as well. Never mind

I have been fairly lucky on the weight gain front so far (touch wood) having only put on 2kgs. I am expecting it to rocket soon though as the baby starts putting on the pounds.

I sometimes already feel a bit lopsided in the bump department if the baby is lying to one side. I have tried poking it to make it move, but is obviously as stubborn as it's mother . It was having a wee disco in there this afternoon with a couple of really big thumps which made me stop in my tracks! Wonder if I'll get used to it......

MB

SOO glad I'm not the only heffa around here. I put on nearly 4 stone with my first baby but it (mostly) all came off within a few months afterwards. The worst part was the 4 or so weeks afterwards when the belly was still ENORMOUS like a jelly mountain...

ah yes - I remember so well how utterly revolting my belly was in the days after giving birth - and also how painful the contractions were that (in theory) brought by stomach back to something more like its proper size. All this to look forward to .....

childbirth and the following months are not attractive are they!!! We can get away with it while pg as it can be masked by the baby, but afterwards..... there is no excuse!

my view - it took 9 months to put it on - it will take 9 months to get it off.... as jess was less than 9 months old before falling pg again, i believe i have an extra few months after this one is born to shift the excess weight!!!

Ref weight gain : lost half a stone within the first three months due to morning sickness and bad bug, put back on 3lbs since but have the feeling it's going to start piling on...

I have my sisters wedding in Aug 06 so I've got a few months to get back in shape to start going for bridesmaids dress fittings!

Wishing you all a really good bank holiday weekend!

No-one at work can believe I'm only 18 1/2 weeks because my bump's so big. Felt v. uncomfortable for the 1st time today, sitting in the car really hot and sweaty and clothes were sticking to me. To top it off dd was sick and I had to catch it in her sun-hat!

Is anyone drinking any alcohol at the moment? I know the 'official' guidelines now say to drink none at all, but I don't know many people who have stuck to this unless they cannot stand the smell/taste. I had none up until about 15 wks as I was so sick but I am drinking 1 or 2 glasses of red wine a week now and also had a beer tonight and am really enjoying the taste . Suddenly have come over really guilty and awful and feel like Sue-Ellen. Have searched about this on the archives and most people think/say that 1/2 units pw seems ok but wondered what you lot were all doing at this stage?

oh yeah, plus my ankles have swollen up in the heat and it looks like I've got my legs on upside down. nice....

morning girls!!! what a weather; sooooo hot (well, yesterday! today it's all overcast and very windy)
not sure if it's a good thing being pregnant during a heatwave
yep, swelling has started - and i don't mean the bump

re alcohol: lately i really want a little bit here or there but i say to myself it's not fair on bubs; especially since i stayed off for ds - so dd can expect the same!!

weight: i put on 7,5 kg so far

ouch mawbroon: the waddling has started, hasn't it just!!! not good when everything take double the time now and is sooooo exhausting!!!

re alcohol - i had 3 units at my brothers wedding last weekend spaced over 6 hours but im not a regular drinker anyway.... with first pg, i had 3 "binges" over the 9 months and it didnt seem to do any harm to the baby - just me the next morning!

LOL moomin at catching sick in sunhat - soooooooo disgusting! Vomit is the WORST thing about parenthood IMO!

I have been drinking 1-2 units whenever I've felt like it - which hadn't been very often, maybe once every couple of weeks. I tend to mix wine and 50% water so it goes further.

I WOULD recommend Beck's non-alcoholic beer - especially if you like Beck's - it's the best tasting non-alcoholic beer I've found and you can wander around drinking from a bottle and feeling like a proper boozer. I love it and get through loads on a Friday night while watching telly with DH!

Morning all. Jealous of this heatwave that you are talking about. It has been pishing with rain here non stop for a week. We are sorting out our garden and the main jobs left are putting down slabs and putting up a couple of fences. These both involve digging, so DH can't really do it in the rain as it will turn into a mudbath. And of course, I can't POSSIBLY help in my condition

Re: alcohol. I always enjoyed a good bevvy pre pregnancy, but felt that I wanted to be completely teetotal throughout. A while back I desperately wanted a drink (what's the number for AA?? ) so I bought some Becks alcohol free lager. It tastes surprisingly good, and one bottle was enough to satisfy my want for drink! I have also tried Kaliber but it is VILE!!!

Had my worst pregnancy sponge brain moment this morning when I turned up at the swimming pool without a towel. FFS. Luckily the lady there had one which had been left behind. She said it had been laundered - hope so - don't want nits or crabs or anything minging from it.

We are looking after our 18 month old niece this afternoon which should be fun. I am planning to do childminding once the baby is around 6 months, so have been stocking up on toddler toys etc from the charity shop. I got a huge bag of building bricks for £2.50 and my niece seems to like them. I also bought loads of baby stuff from my boss so it's not like I am trying to look after a toddler with nothing to amuse her with! Wish me luck!! MB

Sorry morningpaper. Posts crossed about Becks! We should get commission

Ooh yes alcohol-free Beck's is good stuff! I really think they should advertise in pregnancy magazine - I've introduced loads of pregnant women to it and they have all been pleasantly impressed!

I've been doing loads of hard garden work and digging - but I do find that after a few hours my hips and totally knackered and I can't walk. So you are probably wise to avoid it...

I didn't drink at all during my last pregnancy but I have been badly craving booze this time round. I try to stick to one glass of wine but I had two last night. I have been buying spirits/mixers/wine and beer everytime I go to the supermarket so my drinks cupboard is full to groaning. If I can't drink it I will just sniff it . Dh says that I am being a bad influence on him. We share one of those baby bottles of champagne once a week and I have been drinking Sainsburys low alcohol cider (1%) at barbeques.

why is it that walking/standing/running/exercising/anything makes your his ache? i keep getting that...
re alcohol - i find i get tipsy really quickly, so i have only been having half a glass about once a week. in my last pregnancy i had two glasses of champagne on my birthday and feel asleep within two hours and then woke up with a hangover!!!! didn't inspire me to do it again. i get "cravings" for beer sometimes, but my lovely dh lets me steal a bit of his to make shandy with - yumm in the sun!!
just spent the whole day pram shopping! so much fun although dh has had enough, he is now saying i can have what i want as long as he can stop shopping...poor boy!! i also went a bit mad in the mammas&pappas shop and spent £50 on baskets for the changing station. such a nightmare living in a consumer society, makes you want useless stuff that looks pretty....

ive been looknig at prams all day on the net - finally found a decent double buggy i like, but gotta work out where im gonna get the £300 to pay for it!!!

oh yeah - something else i found out today - us pg women arent supposed to eat ice cream from an ice cream van....... i was shocked!!!! JUst sending dh to the shop now to get a cornetto or magnum instead!

jm - i found that out too - i reckon some bloke out there is trying to guarantee that we have NO FUN by telling is all the nice things we can't eat!!

also, was just reading an interesting thread about quins and there was a link to a multiple birth website (i forget which, but i think it was tamba) that has second hand double buggies if that would help?
better do something about tea now

I remember reading that about ice cream, but I was under the impression that it was just the soft "Mr Whippy" type stuff that we are to avoid as there is risk of ingesting some nasty bacteria although cannot recall which one. not that it matters when you are puking your insides out!

Morningpaper - do you have a veg garden? We were lucky enough to buy our house from a dead keen gardener whos veg always swept the board at the local shows. He left his greenhouse which has mains gas, water and electric!! The soil in the veg beds is brilliant and we are looking forward to loads of fresh veg in the summer and beyond. How we are going to find the time to do all this when there is a baby on the scene is another matter but hopefully when (s)he is a bit older it will help prevent fussy eating. HA HA HA can you tell from my comment that I am first time Mum.

Mawbroon: I have some peas and salad stuff in pots and some beans and herbs in the borders. Basically I have a very large garden with loads of formal borders which are now extremely informal. DH is not remotely interested so it's up to me to do it all! Mowed the lawn on Friday - takes about half an hour even with our tip-top mower. I was KNACKERED! Your garden sounds fab!