Due in September 2009: we are now officially blooming!

[StealthPolarBear]

Even if it doesn't seem like it most of the time

Well I've just come back from the hospital visiting my SIL and GORGEOUS little niece! She weighs 6lb 8oz and is just beautiful!! Ahhhhh I'm so broody now - so glad I'm already pregnant or else dp would have to be up for a bit of lovin tonight!

ladylush - my hospital says 1 pint of water 1 hour before scan, I think it depends on the machines cos they have new ones now - when I was pg with dd it was full bladder! So it would seem it depends on the hospital I think!? - Oh, and defo stay away from any aromatherapy for a while then eh?!!!

Enjoy the bank holiday everyone

Ladylush - I didn't have to have a full bladder this round. Thought it wasn't necessary now the uterus has moved up out of the pelvis area but guess it depends where you go. Perhaps arrive half full, easy to top up if needed.

My SIL just had a baby too. Her second boy. Very exciting and it was a quick, easy birth which is nice to hear. Does mean now that my baby is likely to be the only girl grandchild on both sides as my sis also has 2 boys.

Haven't told the family we're expecting a DD. My mother will go nuts shopping up a storm if she knew. She's a nightmare no matter what I say to stop her or slow her down. 'But it was on sale' she says as if that makes it ok. She just about bought DS his entire winter wardrobe, which is a nice of her but I don't mind having a bit of say in what he wears plus we got lots of stuff handed down from a friend.

Oh congrats on getting your mitts on a new baby FairySparkles (or should that be congrats to your SIL ...)

Thanks for posing the bladder question ladylush - have realised I have no guidance either so will have to ask the midwife on Wednesday.

Blue - your bump looks great! Mine is a little squishy too, and in fact appears to have two tiers, since I've got a little layer of 'front fat' (love that term) under me boobs now. Oh the shame. Clearly not baby but biscuits...

George the pirate is an excellent name. Nothing like getting your occupation sorted while you're still in a crib.

Feeling lalala myself, but have to figure out what we're going to do today. MIL is visiting and it's very overcast, so all my outdoorsy ideas aren't looking so attractive.

DD has had me awake since 5.20am and am now at work so very tired and very of all of you with days off!

I have bought quite a few bits and pieces for the little man now. Primark is excellent if you're on a budget particularly for basics like vests and baby grows. Asda is also excellent.

I have bought my babygros from Matalan tho as they have built in scratchmits which you just sort of fold over their hands. Fantastic idea as I know from experience that standard scratch mits are always falling off and the next thing you know your gorgeous baby has a great big red mark down the side of their face.

Ooh I can't wait to find out the sex! 10 sleeps!

I've been off work for the past week - went to gp who told me I have low bp and she prescribed me pregaday for the iron. Have to say, since taking that I've felt nowhere near as tired. Just thought I'd let people know, in case they're not taking iron supplements. Gp told me ALL women should take them from 16 weeks. When I read the instructions, they say pregaday should be taken from 13 weeks.

My friend has sold me loads of stuff...highchair, travel cot, mamas and papas cot, swinging crib, moses basket, 2 baby carriers [front and back], a rocking horse, steriliser, play mat, bouncy chair for £200 . I'm absolutely over the moon - all we need now is baby!

Hello everyone!

Gosh what a week. I have been ill since my last post and still am, stomach bug then cold so have been feeling yucky. It was my birthday on Saturday day too, I am now the grand old age of 21. It feels very odd as I really didn't plan on having a toddler and one on the way by this age but it all seems to be working out nicely so I can't really complain. The day itself was a bit of a disaster on many fronts and because of being ill and hormonal I spent most it in tears! Everyone seemed to understand though. Got some lovely presents which was nice. I was given a fortune in vouchers, its very tempting to go and buy baby clothes despite the strict instructions to spend it on myself. I haven't bought anything for this little one yet, I can hardly believe I am past half way its gone very quickly. I bought some things for ds before 12 weeks I think so I have some catching up to do.

I am being generous and giving dp a well deserved lie in this morning, he has been doing all the early shifts for a week now because of my various illnesses. He also stayed up all night, yes ALL night on Friday to bake me a birthday cake. It was very nice and very kind but I can't figure out how it took him 8 hours to make!

Not too sure what we are going to do with the bank holiday, just a quiet day in I think. We went to London Aquarium yesterday which was nice if far too busy. The sharks were pretty amazing, though I did feel a bit sorry for them, the tank compared to the size of them and the number in the space was very small. Ds had a lovely time and learn to say ray and shark to go along with 'weesh'.

Just two weeks now till the scan, seems like such a long wait. I'm just about to start another OU short course that should be finished in July/August- fingers crossed I get it done before the baby arrives, I'm not sure I can manage study, toddler and newborn!

Sorry to read some people are still having sickness problems. I hope things improve soon, or that you can find the strength and resolve to solider on till September. The things we go through for these babies is so admirable, the selflessness and sacrifice of parenthood starts from the bfp. It will all be worth it to see the little squeaky bundle.

That was a long one! I hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend. Oh yes I finally got round to putting up a bump picture from last night, the top bit is not baby though- just fat that can no longer be sucked in! Its quite bizarre, it was fairly flat if pretty wobbly before , all this sticking outness has come from nowhere, roll on the nice solid bump!

Fairy and ticklist - congrats on becoming aunties Will be lovely for your babies to have cousins close in age Just found out my cousin is pregnant, due two months after mine. Unfortunately we're not that close but will be nice at family occasions for the two to play.

Liz - hope MIL's visit goes well despite the weather. It's overcast here too. Going to take ds swimming at my gym as he's just started lessons and wants to try out what he's learned

We used the doppler this morning. Ds likes listening to his own hb as well as the baby's

Mummyhill - how are you feeling?

hope all you ladies have had a lovely long weekend. The weather here hasn't been great but had a lovely day today taking dd to a butterfly house.

After reading all the posts about donuts had to send dh to buy some so am currently sat here eating jam donuts and researching antenatal exercise classes.

Looks like im going to have to give the donuts up as i cant find anything within 10 miles of me, other than one aqua natal class that is on a Tuesday morning. how useless.

any way moan over hope you are all well

Ooh - a butterfly house, LittleCheese, sounds lovely!

Had quite a lazy weekend, really - gentle walk in the countryside on Saturday followed by visiting a friend, shopping for tops that will go round the expanding "waist-line" yesterday and housey stuff today. Could do without going back to work tomorrow...

The idea of getting my mitts on a newborn still sends me into a minor panic, but my friend told me she'd never changed a nappy until her DD arrived, so that was reassuring.

Glad to hear I'm not alone with my sudden excess of front fat. I'm also with those of you in la-la land. Who cares if the long weekend hasn't been wall to wall sunshine?

BigBang - you make me feel ancient . LOL at dp taking 8 hours to bake a cake - did you check the bin for failed attempts? Bless him.

I hadn't heard that about taking iron, blue and thought it was only if a problem was identified. I stopped taking the pregnacare that included iron when I was about 6 or 7 weeks, as the iron may have been contributing to the consitpation (went on to neat folic acid). Getting a bit tired, so may make an appointment to see GP if it gets worse.

Not feeling too bad this morning although if the kids keep on I may end up with extremely high blood pressure.

I found a pair of support tights/well shorts are helping with the bump pains but back is still driving me up the wall.

We went to the black Country museum yesterday and I was ready to drop by the time we got home. Dozed off whilst cooking dinner and burnt the meat! Dh was great and just laughed it off the kids had a sandwich!

Morning everyone. Hope you all had a lovely long weekend. I was a proper sloth as DH has gone away on business. Didn't even leave the house yesterday and spent most of the day either in front of computer or playing a new computer game.

Brought a buggy last week. Ended up buying it in NZ as £150 cheaper and then my Mum can bring it with her when she comes over. Bit cheeky really but she didn't seem to mind. We got the Phil & Ted Sport in Red.

I am now starting to get a few things for the wee kicker. Was quite odd ordering things for my own baby rather than someone elses. Have been doing quite a lot of looking online and I was really impressed that M&S have some organic baby grows that are reasonable. Can't quite remember offhand but there were less than £10 for 5 short sleeved and legged baby grows. That is if you are into organic. I am not going to be too precious about it but if they are in the same price range as the others, I figure I may as well get them.

I am also having some lower back pain, same on both sides rather than in centre. My sister's DH (who is a doctor) looked it up for me and said it was just my pelvis doing some stretching and seperating for the labour. Hopefully it goes easier then (wishful thinking!).

Lol on your happy mood StayFrosty. I am feeling pretty good too, but just wish work was over.

Daffodilli - have you pushed the Loola? Just asking as I had the Loola for DS and although I found it a dream to push, DH struggled for any length of time. He's 6'5" and found very often his back began to ache and he kicked the back of the buggy (where the unfolding mechanism is). After a while I got bored of his moaning, and bought a Maclaren Techno XT which is still DH's favourite. Just something to think about...not interferring as I know what it's like when you've got your heart set on a buggy. I've bought a Buzz even though I know all about the wide rear wheels making it hard to push through shopping aisles!!

Well, the little wriggler that was resembling a load of washing in a washing machine has now turned into a full blown Beckham kicker! I was woken up at 3am by massive internal blows. Little monkey won't perform for Daddy though, and DH got a little upset when I joked that the baby didn't like him already. Seems such a cruel thing for me to have said now, but amused me at the time!

Congrats to all those with new babies around. I've forgotten what newborns look/smell/sound like! For the first time, this baby has started to feel real, and I'm beginning to get bloody excited! Only taken me 21 weeks Still better late than never eh

Hope everyone enjoyed the bank holiday weekend - we went to the lovely wedding of our best friends, and after a frantic search, I splashed out on a gorgeous Isabella Oliver dress. Was loathed to pay for a dress I will in all likelyhood, only wear once, but I figure I can sell it on eBay once I'm done with the whole pregnancy thing! It made such a difference too - I spent about a month looking for a non-maternity outfit to wear so I could wear it after too, and nothing was right. I'm so pleased I did because I felt so glam on the day, and had so many compliments about the dress. Feel especially manky when I'm pregnant, so gave me a lovely confidence boost, and you can tell I'm genuinely smiling in the photos

No news to tell really - just jogging along and hoping everyone else is the same.

Much love to all

Hi all. Feeling a bit stressed out today. Its a bit long and whiny & i'd like your honest opinions on this:
My mother-in-law only had one child, (my partner, she did want more but couldn't have any).
Anyway now she's acting like my unborn baby is hers! She's even gone as far as joining a mother & baby group to get free nappies & bath stuff (which she is keeping for her "stash" & hasn't passed on to us) as well as buying most of the clothes & other bits, that I think I, as the mother should really be choosing.
Now, dont get me wrong I love that shes egar but she's sort of taking the fun out of me buying my baby stuff!
I know theres being the loving nanny but then theres the stepping on the first time parents-to-be toes.
I'm to scared to say anything as she would have loved more children (specially a girl), Im scared shes seeing my baby as the daughter she never had, not the granchild she's alway wanted.
Sorry if it seems a bit selfish but i cant speak to anyone in RL as they wont under stand!

Mumtobe, I totally understand. My MIL is in NZ but we are looking at moving home in Dec and she was complaining to me that she doesn't get to see her other granchildren enough BUT she sees them once every week usually. I, like you, am concerned about the amount she wants to be involved. Maybe you get a bit less precious about them once they have been around for a while but as a first timer I am a bit like - "hands off" (for now).

She has at least asked us what she can buy for the baby but despite us expressly asking her to show us what she intended to buy before she did (baby play mat) she went out and bought it anyway. Turned out ok but just annoys me that she ignored what we asked.

You are going to need to put up some boundaries there are you should be your DP to assist you. As for starting "her own stash" that is completely on the nose. It's nice that she wants to help out and buy stuff but I think she should involve you in the process so at the very least you would be doing it together.

Just read this post back and I sounds like a total b*tch but in all honesty I am worried about how much she wants to interfere. She has already started telling me bad things about ehr other DIL's parenting skills and how I shouldn't do this and that!

Thanks babylady for understanding, you sound exactly like your in my shoes (re hands off!) LOL!

Believe me I have toned the post down as i am in fact incredibly angry at her for some of her actions but my partner can't see the harm.
She politley "talks" to me about which pram to buy, telling me what i need to look out for as if i dont already know (& yes shes been into mothercare & online to enquire about them, even though we've already bought one)
She's also hinting at baby names she likes (which again we will definatley not be oicking even if they are nice ones)I wouldn't be surprised if she starts creating a nursery for her!
Dont worry babylady I think re-reading my post I sound like a b*ch too!

My daughter has her own wardrobe, bedroom complete set of toys etc at MIL's house. She was 1st grandchild. DS has a box of toys and a few clothes I sent over for when he occasionally goes to play there. DD gets picked up from school on Fridays and sleeps over DS can't because he doesn't sleep properly!

Are we seeing a pattern here? Am I happy about it? Am I fuck but no one listens to me and my little boy feels left out. So I dread to think what is going to happen this time round. Maybe I am overreacting but I do get quite bitter about the inequality shown here which according to most of the family is in my head.

My MIL is very needy and has a very odd relationship with her other DIL and she too has boxes of toys and clothes for my niece (6) just to have when she is with grandma which she doesn't share with anyone. Has caused no end of problems when my niece is at home as she wants all her own things and doesn't want to share with younger sister. I think it is like a power play where MIL is playing off my niece against her mother (my SIL) so she always wants to go to see Grandma.

I am dreading her doing this with my little one as well.

Tis always a difficult one, isn't it. When I had dd1 I turned to my mum a lot. Needless to say, MIL was not at all happy. She and I never saw eye-to-eye anyway and things just went from bad to worse. What I want to know is this: Why are there so many men's jokes about MIL's, when their mothers are far worse? Is it just a case of 'attack is best form of defence'?

You won't know how you will react/cope with it until baby arrives. I just ignored and let ex hubby deal with his mother. Didn't see it as my responsibility. [Did piss me off no end though]. I wouldn't stress yourself out worrying about it for now. It's kinda sad in a way. On the other hand, you might appreciate someone taking over now and again. Give you some time to yourself etc.

My mum is extremely close to dd1. She was present at the birth as well. [Found it really helped both me and ex hubby having her there]. I love the closeness that they have, 11 years on. When people ask, 'Is she a mummy's girl or daddy's girl?' I say, 'Neither - she's Grandma's girl'! If I'm totally honest, I wouldn't want someone intruding!

I feel quite sad when I think about this little one. My dp lost his mum when he was 17. She had lost a baby 3 years before that and went on to have his little sister, who is now 19. His mum died when his sister was 1. His dad went on to raise 4 kids. I would've loved his mum to be a bit part of this baby's life, as my children no longer have any contact with ex hubby's fam, due to him not speaking to them himself.

Sorry for such a long-winded post! I do have rather strong feelings about in-laws. We women just have to accept that most MIL's don't think most women are good enough for their little boys, and that they are far more qualified than us as mothers

On the whole I get on really well with MIL. It's just the whole favourite and spoiling the first grandchild thing I get on a line with! If she starts spoiling this little girl and still leaves ds out I will be hopping mad as she was forever telling me about how her in laws never did anything for her son and loads for her daughter and she felt it was unfair. I find it difficult to point out they are doing the same here iyswim. Need to get dh to have a word if it gets any worse. I could always put a stop to her going there on her own but it may be cutting off my nose to spite my face as they cannot cope with both of them together. I have suggested that they have one grandchild one week and the other the following week but drop ds home after tea rather than having him over night although he is getting much better and has stayed in his own bed all night for just over a week now!

I'm lucky as I have a non-interfering mil who is excellent when it comes to babysitting and will have ds overnight. Now, obviously so far we only have one dc so time will tell. I can understand why the inequality upsets you mummyhill

If anything it's my mum who oversteps the mark sometimes. She dotes on ds and buys him far too many toys/sweets etc. etc. Plus she always defends him regardless of what he's done. On the one hand it's very sweet, on the other hand it's quite annoying

Ergh how annoying mummytobe. Its not selfish to feel the way you do. Its your first baby and you are establishing your own family- last thing you want is another mother stepping on your toes. Let her have her own stash of stuff, either it will come in handy not having to lug baby things everywhere or it won't get used and she will being it round eventually! Or it is just wasted stuff- but thats not your problem!

Don't let her buying clothes stop you buying stuff you like. I would pick a few things she has bought that you don't mind and make sure she sees the baby wearing them a couple of times and leave the tags on everything else. Most baby shops let you exchange without a receipt if you explain it was a gift and you can get stuff you like. If she really over steps the mark I would just remind her gently that its your baby after all and she had her turn- its yours now.

At the end of that day you are the mummy and what you say goes. You know this and so does she. Let the wittering wash over you, nod and smile and then take delight in going and doing your own thing anyway!

Stayfrosty, we are in west yorkshire and went to tropical world in leeds, your butterfly house sounds lovley though. Tropical world was a little hectic for my liking and i felt a bit rushed but dd had fun which is the main thing.

Trixievix your dress sounds lovely. I know exactly what you mean about loathing spending lots of money on clothes you may only wear once, it really grates on me however i do think it makes a lot of difference to how i feel. Plus when I think about it I have loads of non maternity dresses that have only been worn once or twice

mumtobe I think im quite lucky in that my mil lives in spain and doesn't really have a chance to but in, my mum on the other hand loves to spoil my dd and bought so much when i was pregnant with her. I by no means resent her for this we are very close and I think she is amazing, however there have been a couple of occasions where I have felt put out. Last summer she bought dd's entire summer wardrobe. I was very grateful and all the clothes were beautiful and I know she only did it as we were struggling financially I was just upset that i couldn't justify buying anything I had chosen as she already had so much

gosh i had a lot to say tonight didnt i