Due May '09 - wave your bum in the air, like you just don't care !

[Tummum]

Here we go !

Evening ladies

Finally sitting down after my day out with Belgian - so nice to meet another lovely MN in RL! Lotti had a really great time, fell asleep in the car on the way home - only 45 mins back so much better than the 90 mins on the way there (M6 closed!) Oh and belgain witnessed Lotti's first drinking from a carton with a straw success Belgian your DCs are really lovely and kind little people and so clever being bi lingual - I wish I had had that opportunity in life!

Jael - big hug for you you girl, you poor thing you must just be desperate to get some medication - hope you get your early section and can get sorted out quickly.

I'm up for a post natal thread - altho last time I was worse than useless at keeping up but think I'll be better 2nd time around

Fi that sitting position you describe is called tailor sitting and is supposed to be very good for you/baby at this stage. As opposed to me slobbing on sofa and causing myself much back pain in the process (stupid girl!!)

at the shower/FIL story - am amazed at the enery and appetite of some of you cheeky girls - I can think of nothing I could be bothered with less (except perhaps football, or food shopping, or work, or...yes actually a few things!!)

One week today for the BIG waxing session - yowzer, then pedicure and manicure and some serious labour inducing reflexology and I'll be good to go

Right I'm off to tidy our bedroom as am convinced the sheer bloody mess in there is making it harder for me to sleep. Roll of bin bags at the ready to donate all DDs too small gear to charity - can't face the ironing and photograghy for e bay, plus all the crappy hangers I don't want in my sparkly new nursery wardrobe...may post a pic of it tomo am sooo pleased with it (and DP)

Had a sad death in the family today - Splash the goldfish has finally departed. Now am in a quandry as the other one is moping about but I don't want to get a new one - fish are sooo hard to look after!

Hi ses - welcome back too, start enjoying your ML !! Thanks for the info re the grant, I will relax. Was hoping to buy a double buggy before new arrival but guess I will have to wait.

Belgian- I didn't really increase in size when my milk came in with DD. I was a FF before being pregnant and then went into a G which I wore when breast feeding and throug this pregnancy (stopped BFing when I was 4 month PG) I hope I won't go up when milk comes in this time too as I have loads of nursing bras in G cup.

I feeling much better today but have been taking paracetamol every 4 hours so not sure if baby has moved again or pain relief is working but thank goodness I feel better.

Jael- I joined MN when PG with DD and we made a post natl thread when everyone started to pop and we all headed over when it was our time. I'm still on that thread Nov 07!!! Its great to chat about LO as they start to sit up, crawl, walk,wean, turn 1 etc.

Detsy were you on Nov 07 cause I don't remember you?? Maybe Oct 07??

Belgian Maybe your lo is doing star jumps?

Ses I remember you because we do the same job. I too have started ML. Wished I had started it 2 weeks ago though.

Looby Good luck....

Jael Omg how frightening. Hope you get it sorted.

HiP grant I've still not got hold of a form. They are in very short supply. My mw said when she gets them she is limiting them to only those over 30 weeks until she gets more. Can you retrospectively apply do you know?

febes I did go up in cup size when my milk came in with the other 2. I went from a D in pregnancy to an F when bf. This time I'm already a G when preg, so really no idea what will happen when my milk comes in

mat grant I'm pretty sure someone said somewhere that it wont be paid until May somewhere for everyone.

I'm watching Gok's Fashion Fix and it's the episode I watched the filming in the Bull Ring, so I'll have a closer look to see if I can see myself in the background

Just wanted to ask as not been covered for a while ... what is everyone eating/craving at the moment ?
I've been really bored of food and just can't decide what to eat lately.

although just eaten for dinner a packet of Citrus kick cous cous mixed with fried mushrooms and red peppers then smothered in balsamic pizza express salad dressing - yum !

although for lunch I must confess I was eating ... weird craving alert!! ... easter egg chocolate dipped in Houmous must admit I have been scoffing houmous for weeks and ran out of ideas what to dip in it - I normally hate chocolate .... lol

houmous and chocolate - very odd, lol

Went looking in town for a changing bag today - they are all so dull (I hate navy) and overpriced!
Do I really need one? I already have a travel change mat and am planning to BF (fingers crossed) and I could buy one of those insulated bottle holder thingys..
Cos I found a lovely leather bag in tkmaxx with lots of pockets in a really funky purple and its been reduced to £50! so a bargain really.
What do you think?

evening all.
HiP grant: i spoke to someone a few weeks ago and they told me it wasn't necessary to ring them but to wait as they won't start 'paying out' until 1st May. hth.

had really, really good news tonight (unrelated to pregnancy): close friend's 2 yr old was in open heart surgery today for membrane condition discovered last week - i can't even begin to imagine... surgery went well and toddler on way to recovery [huge relief emoticon]. just makes me want to hug my lo's.

minimenace, and lol at choc and houmous.

ses, I remember you, good to see you back .

febes I can't remember but guess I would have been on Oct 07 as she was due the day before my birthday on 24th. I don't think I ever posted after the first few weeks postnatally tho. I promise to be more efficient this time

Still not got to bedroom tidying - am going now as can't stand the thought of sleeping in there as it is

Thanks Momino

minimenace - my appetite seems to be getting back to normal. Not so obsessed with tinned tomatoes now and whereas I've been off curry all pregnancy, I cooked DH and I a lovely curry - and enjoyed it - last night.

Right, I'm off to bed in the hope I manage to get up earlier than this mornings 10am

chocolate and hummous lol! my main must have is still milk. v boring.. even my mini magnum cravings have gone over the last few days..

momino glad the heart surgery went well for your friends toddler.. IKWYM about things liked that just making you want to hug our lo's I sometimes look at ds and feel so much love for him it's scary. don't know how I'd cope if anything happened to him. can't bear the thought of it..

re the HIP grant they rang me today because I'd given the wrong bank details and they told me it would reach my bank account within 7-14 days.

Warning: possible TMi

has anyone any experience in expressing colostrum?

I have been advised to do this cos of GD so LO will have a top up when born. BF consultant gave me 4 sterile syringes to fill and told me to get on with it.
Have tried expressing each night in the bath (4 nights) in an attempt to get it flowing.
Last night I managed to fill 1 syringe from going back and forth, back and forth getting a tiny dribble from each side.
It took over an hour continuously and my nipples felt like they were on fire.
Is this normal?
I don't want to let the baby down by not having another go tonight but they are still sore and I'm worried that I'll do more harm than good

Any views?

looby any big bag with lots of pockets works as a changing bag.. if you're breast feeding at least you won't have to lug formula containers etc and if you have a small changing mat and a few pockets so your things don't get buried at the bottom of the bag it's perfect. nothing worse than hunting for the house keys amongst the toys nappies wipes creams muslins etc..

looby, I don't know about expressing but belgian might - there was a discussion about it some time ago. good luck and try not to worry.

llareggub, that's good news that at least you'll be getting the grant! do you remember when you sent in the application? I think I'd sent mine end Jan.

fiK, I've just had 2 mini magnums (defeats the purpose of their mini-ness, I know ). i think i need to get the full sized ones.

Looby I just bought on of these bags. I had the same dislike as you...I wanted something big as I have DD and her load of snacks, juice and toys too...but I hated the way they looked. I like this cause I can use it as a bag on my own if I wished too!

You can find them cheaper on Ebay too...I have not gotten mine yet but will let you know what I think when I do!

looby the hand expressing will get easier. I can't see what you're doing exactly, but don't squeeze your nipple itself and don't let your fingers slide over your skin. That might make it a bit more comfy. I found that my nipples have become less tender the more I do it, so persevere, but also don't do a whole hour. Generally we say 10 mins either side.

I think a big bag is just as good as a proper changing bag. I didn't actually use my changing bag for all that long with my ds. I swapped to a big handbag within a few months because I found it more useful. Don't forget you'll be carrying nappies around mainly and a few toys too, not just bottles.

I'm watching this teenage pregnancy programme and I just had one of the GGRRRR moments where an alarm was going on a monitor and they implied that it was because of baby's heart rate. We've got those monitors and it was the paper jam alarm! There are no high heart rate alarms, that's why a person needs to check on those monitors!

minimace houmous with chocolate egg, yuk!

Getting quite a few braxton hicks tonight. Not painful, but gosh my bump feels tight.

looby I've no experience of expressing.. didn't manage to bf ds due to milk never coming in properly after colostrum. think it's amazing you've managed one syringe .. I've tried in the bath too and I'm lucky if I pin sized bead forms.. let alone a dribble of any kind!

Looby With regard to expressing ... I had so much trouble until someone explained to me about the psychological aspect of the let down. I was always trying to express when DS was asleep and out of the room - I was advised to look at him or a picture of him and when did, suddenly, my let down and flow during expressing was much much better - it really helped.

I know thats not very helpful for you at the moment but maybe you could try looking at some pictures of babies in magazines or maybe your scan photo might work. whatever makes you go awwwwww - worth a try.

I'm not able to get more than a dribble out at the moment so 1 siringe in a evening is really good going. I remember it taking about an hour to get about an 1oz when I first started after DS was born.

Evening,
just a quick post as mum is visiting so not much time to catch up. hope I haven't missed anything mahoosive.

Glad you had a good meet detsy and belgian sorry I couldn't make it but I'm finding driving difficult.

spangle good to see you back here and congrats again on the arrival of Harvey, he is gorgeous.

Welcome back ses and mini llare hope your cold gets better soon, hope the pains do too (unless its the start of something exciting of course)

cote hope the exercises help, mine have up until this week but am seeing GP on Thurs to get some splints as well as mine is getting v bad and not helped by the marking I'm having to do for work!

I had a mw appt today and am measuring BIG (40cm for 34 weeks) which according to the graph in my notes is almost off the scale so mw is putting me in for a growth scan... she didn't seem concerned tho and said it could be just the way lo is lying. I guess I have to believe her altho its a bit worrying that I might be having a giant not a baby!! At least it means I get another chance to see him again (well def check it is a him!!) and I'll get a day off next week if work don't let me leave a bit early!!

I would love to be on a postnatal group, I don't know many ofther mums in my new village so its great to be on here chatting to you guys about what we're going through.

Ooh, almost forgot Looby if I don't get on here again this week, hope all goes well at the weekend. Will be thinking of you.

loobylou- I had a quick try the other night just to see if there was any there and only got a few drops. And I have been able to hand express before, so its not to do with technique.

I don't think you should be doing it for too long, as you will make yourself too sore to feed LO when they are out in a few days time.

thanks fikelly belgian think I'll have another go tommorrow morning - can't face it tonight