Due March 2010 - we're halfway there!

[annamama]

... this is a new thread following on from the last one, welcome oldies & newbies ...

In theory you shouldn't have any raw egg or runny eggs.

However - I've eaten runny eggs for 37 years and not caught salmonella yet so I really don't worry about this

ahhhh yes sariska it was indeed siamese's dress. And it could well have been blooming marv, will have a look. SIAMESE COME BACK AND TELL US...
Whilst we're on the topic of shopping, what do people think about buying nursing bras NOW? I'm toying with getting a couple more bras (since my old maternity bras are GREY and DON'T FIT) but on the other hand i did go up to a J cup when bfing last time so not sure it's such a good idea?

Applaud the will power of not eating the cookie dough, i suspect i would have chomped right in there and worried about the consequences later. How about making a giant cookie out of the leftovers??

I'm getting very tired now so tempted to go put my head down. Off to the opera tonight!! Sounded like a luxurious idea a few weeks ago, right now i think i'd rather an early night but it'll be a lot of fun and anyway, it's Madam Butterfly, nothing like a good hormonal sob to sort you out hey

found it oh the beautifulness

Greetings all!

I can't remember who it was mentioned Lansinoh nipple cream but I was just wondering if it's okay to use it now before the baby is born? My nipples are a bit dry and I'd like something to soothe them. Let me know if it's worth the money and safe to use.

anna I'm loving the songs! Cool!

Here is something to make you all or .... I went to M&S yesterday to get measured for a bra. I took my top off, left my old bra on, just normal boob measuring behaviour. M&S lady came into changing room, put measuring tape round me, and asked what size of bra I had on. I told her it was 34DD, but felt that boobs were getting bigger as pregnancy progresses. She took a step back from me, looked me up and down and announced that she hadn't noticed that I was pregnant!!!!!! I almost laughed in her face and offered to lend her my glasses! I am still wearing my normal size 12 clothes, but with no top on I am clearly pregnant, or look like a snake which has eaten a bouncy ball. She said that because I'm so tall (I'm 5" 7') she hadn't noticed.... that made me amused for the rest of the day.

It's a definite from me TLC, and just a little . I'm tall (5'10") and believe me, I look very pregnant. Indeed, people have been known to ask me if I am expecting twins when they find out I'm not due until March I don't much care though - I love my bump

Sariska & TLC - thanks! I really want to do another song, I guess I should get it done BEFORE I'll have a baby shaped leech attached to me 24/7 (as Pacific so poetically put it)...

TLC - Yes Lansinoh is perfectly safe, it's 100% natural, made from sheep's wool fat (Lanolin). Not sure if it'll be that great for dry skin, it is primarily to protect cracked skin. But you could give it a go. Very expensive (about £12) but lasts forever. www.lansinoh.co.uk/LanolinInfo.php

Well done for not looking preggers!

I saw a woman today at MW's, she was HUGE! Almost said "are your twins due soon", but decided to keep my mouth shut because A she's probably sick of strangers commenting and B it might not be twins.

Also took DD to baby clinic today, she's bang on average for both height and weight so I won't take her for another 6 months... Saw a lot of newborns, thought they were a bit........ ugly and boring! But I think I remember it being different when it's your own, then you think it's one of the wonders of the world!

Haha don't be so paranoid! It wasn't even M&S, it was midwife's.

Let's measure our bumps... mine is 42 inches.

I'm Marks & Sparks obsessed, obviously!

I just measured myself and have found that my bump is a whole 2" bigger than yours!

Ooh, posting up quite a storm today!

Well, I must have been in some sort of pain induced haze to have missed your link annamama... firstly, wowzers, you're one smoking hot chick (shut up before you protest, none of us really feel it very often these days even if it's true!) and secondly if you wanna get back in the studio, get back in it - you're pretty good!

My bump = just under 35 inches at 'biggest' point!

Speaking of pain induced haze, it feels SO good for it to have lifted. Two pills in last night (and gallons lots of cranberry juice later) I could feel an improvement, woke this morning for the pain to be merely niggly and another two pills later today (oh, must take another whilst I think of it) and it's GONEEEE! Antibiotics are the shit when they're actually needed (I haven't taken them for years); I still marvel and have those 'imagine if I were alive before they existed' thoughts.

S'funny marks and spencers has cropped up - I was in there yesterday and bought a chocolate fudge cake (and a carrot cake too - well, it was two for £3 so it would have been silly NOT to have purchased two. Shhh! That I only saved about 40p is irrelevant here!) and double cream... this afternoon, I cut myself a huge slab, warmed it in the microwave for about 20 secs then poured cream over it. Made a latte too and experienced 'afternoon delight' of a new order (since the traditional type is off the menu for me as you know. And it's been quite a struggle so far... what is it about not being able to have sex that suddenly makes it dominate your thoughts and why would a couple torture themselves by constantly mentioning how much they'd like to/making saucy comments (swiftly followed by 'But we can't!'. Hopefully that theory that the less you do it, the less you want it will start to ring true soon).

My mind is bogling over Lansinoh... there's fat in sheeps wool? I guess you really do learn something new each day! Ive been lucky enough to ebf twice (18mths and 12mths respectively) with no cracked niples or mastitis... but for some reason all this talk of nipple cream is making me worry I'll be cursed this time and need the miraculous wool fat. At least I have the wonderful resource of MN and it's oh-so-honest advice if I am in need of it this time

Mummyelk I think, 'traditionally' (sensibly?) you're supposed to wait for your milk to come in before buying the 'bulk' of your nursing bras as your norks can literally shoot up 2-3 sizes overnight. But that said, I reckon you'd be safe waiting until the third tri, get measured and then buy a couple of cups bigger - especially if you find some nursing bras on special offer (so won't be so out of pocket if it turns out you get the sizing wrong). OH! And enjoy Mdm Butterfly! I saw it at the Royal Opera House for Valentines day night a couple of years back (yup, the super rich boyfriend I had) and sobbed my blumming eyes out at the climax of the aria 'Un bel di vedremo' (I'll wait for hiiiimmmmmmm!) so god knows how I'd cope seeing it pregnant when almost anything remotely emotional sets me off these days. Take tissues. Lots of tissues. And wear waterproof mascara. (I wish someone had given me that advice before I saw Blood Brothers last week, but who knew Willy Russell would bring me to tears?!)

Can I recommend The Rakes Progress if you get the chance? It was a lot of fun and very 'accessible' (but I saw Lapage's vision at the ROH, he's known for being... different So maybe a more traditional production may not be so). I also saw a quirky prodction of Orfeo ed Euridice where the leads were both female - oh yes, lesbianism has made it into the fine arts now, dontcha know? (oh sweet irony - my sister is a lesbian and I've as much chance of dragging her to an opera as Elvis being discovered alive).

Ah, IWCAS! I had the page open for ages typing my last post as I went back and forth from the lappy so missed yours...

Indeed, I've had a crappy few weeks but here's hoping these anti b's are the back end of my wobbly period and I can pass go, collect £200, and start buying up lots of property in London... no, wait. I mean just starting to bloom and feel good. The choccie cake I mentioned before certainly bought me closer to feeling good (if not blooming. Balloning, maybe :p)

Well done for getting your Oink flu appointment booked, hope you don't get elephantitis of the arm the way... someone here did. I thought it was Pacific before, but I know it wasn't really...

Hmmm, cheese. Aren't those little packs of six pieces of Cathedral City convenient?

Evening all

My sympathies are with the commuters and the insomniacs - I'm driving an hour each way to work which is bad enough and have been waking every two hours to go to the loo. However, I have now discovered Gaviscon Double Action which is making life so much more comfy

shroomer thanks for the info about the exercise DVD - I don't feel so bad about not managing all those squats now, clearly it was too much for my poor pelvis.

MummyElk I ordered that dress last week - hoping it will last me through works night outs (I work with three different teams) as well as Christmas. I was going to go with the spotty one but DH liked the other better.

Good luck to everyone who has scans coming up too!

Lawks you chaps are fast posters.... I don't log on for one evening and it's gorn men'ul.

Pelvic Floors COme on everyone. If you're reading it squeeze..... (hmmm thinks there might be a thread title in that!)

Swine flu is it me, I thought there was supposed to be this enormous second wave in October.... Have I just neglected the BBC website for too long in favour of facebook & MN etc....?

Insomnia Hateful HATEFUL part of pregnancy.... Just as you get back to sleep your bladder wakes you back up again. thankfully mine didn't kick in until maternity leave the last two times but now I'm a SAHM I wonder if it'll be sooner.

Manda Have you ever stroked a sheep? Your hands get all oily from the lanolin... Sounds like you've got off lightly with the cracked nipplage and will probably avoid it again. Lucky moo. Glad ABs are kicking in.

Mumof2.5 and shroomer and anyone else new I've missed Hi and welcome. Standard Arcadie message. Did you know there's a facebook group for us too... if you're on FB and want to join it's under MN March 2010.

VERY IMPORTANT POST
It's my 33rd birthday tomorrow. Yay me. And I'm running a toddler group for half the day

OK. Off to make self a cake and squeeze presents that have braved the postal strikes...

Happy birthday for tomorrow Arcadie

Best not to test the sheep stroking til after the babies are born though!

IWCAS at your 'intimate' piercing!! At least the midwives in the labour suite might think you've made an effort to -erm- decorate??

Hmm, want to join in bump-measuring, but will have to track down tape measure first...will try and get back to you all on this tomorrow!

Manda glad you're feeling better and at your M&S cakes - mmmmm....

Swine flu jab - am still steadfastly burying head in sand over this one and am still not keen...will wait and see if the surgery calls me before I make a final decision I think.

Insomnia - haven't been afflicted since last week's two nights on the trot, so fingers crossed. Perhaps it was buying a book light for midnight reading that helped?? You know, like when you take an umbrella with you and it DOESN'T rain...?

Arcadie Happy Birthday for tomorrow!! Hope the toddlers are well-behaved and the presents are exciting!

Ok, I can hear my jammies calling...and that tub of Ben & Jerry's lurking in the freezer G'night all!

Hi, all, 12 hrs day at work today, so not up to anything much, sigh! Really late fraught bedtime for overtired DSs, double sigh!
So I am going to take me and my headache off to bed v v soon..

Blooming Marvellous gorgeous green dress: I wish you hadn't linked to it again, now I want it! I have perfectly nice maternity party frock from my brother's wedding 2 years ago. I will just have to keep repeating that to myself over and over again.

Happy Birthday tomorrow, Arcadie! Hope you have a fab day.

Have a nice evening all .

hi there - my dress (yes, that green one) came last week, just in time for my 30th birthday surprise My DH has good form on surprises - when we got engaged he arranged with work for a week off and took me to Iceland (country not shop..), so he had a lot to live up to...
anyway i had such an amazing time this weekend - drove down on friday to that London to stay with my sister (where DH is currently living as working in big smoke), and promptly had evil bathroom issues possibly due to 'salad bar' at morrisons on thursday.. what made it worse was sisters waterpipes burst overnight and i couldnt flush.. ewwwww... tmi??
Anyway, back to the nice stuff.. a late breakfast (feeling better) and a 'whores wash' as sister put it - no shower available - put on that amazing green dress and maternity tights (which i believe are total con - are just normal tights backwards, surely?) and went to covent garden which gave me a clue that we were off to see a show. Popped in to the Porterhouse and ta da... 15 of my friends were stood there!! All the way from yorkshire - the lying suspicious decieving sods!! So I of course cried and had my first half of bitter since June - yey! Then we went to see matinee of Avenue Q which i really did have to practise my pelvic floors during as it was SO funny! I loved it.. particularly 'the internet is for porn..' and then to a tapas near soho, where my other sister turned up! Hooray! Ate way way too much, and got loads of nice comments about how blooming I was etc, and enjoyed exercising my right to say i was tired at 10.15 and make excuses and go home to bed
I think my friends are jealous of how cool my husband is.. now I have to think of something just as cool for him.. maybe i will provide him with his first born in March!! He also bought me an antique jewellry box, such a sweetie.

So Ive been catching up on all your posts, and Ive booked myself in for my jab nx wk, and im so glad those of you who have finally had their scans are healthy and well!

swineflu I really would recommend the ditherers to have it. I am a scientist workign int he pharmaceutical industry and thought long and hard about whether to have it. At the end of the day the statistics speak for themselves. Approx 5 % of deaths due to swine flue have been in pregnant woman. Givent hat the proportion of pregnant womane on the UK as 100's of times less than that the risk is very real and far far exceeds the risk of complications due to the vaccine.

The very fact that the government puts pregnant woman above people with chronic lung disease speaks volumes.

Lansinoh - is truelly wonderful and is for all dry skin conditions. Put it on you lips before bed - far better than any other dry skin lip therapy! Years ago many beauty products contained it but it went of of fasion as it is an animal product.

Siamese, what a wonderful day! Gippy guts and waterwork malfuntions nonewithstanding!

Indeed, your DH sounds like a Very Thoughtful Man - they're pretty rare so cling on for all --you're- worth appreciate him Although it sounds like we were both in the west end on...Saturday? I coulda popped in and made your day even weirder more perfect if I'd known!

Happy Birthday Arcadie! Half day running toddler group, y'say? How fab! I'm sure the little darlings will sing you Happy Birthday, produce a homemade cake full of finger prods jam, and you'll shed a little tear... at least that's what I'm hoping for you . And, nope, never stroked a sheep. I had a very urban, uh, limited childhood, and although I've taken my children to the farm a couple of times I wasn't struck to touch the sheep who look a bit like Satan (I can't get past the eyes!) and, well, very dirty. I'm a little bit fussy when it comes to muck and germs stuff. Not quite ocd. Not quite...

Also from me re: you having gifties in the post to scratch 'n' sniff! It's my birthday Sunday and I'm positive I won't be doing anything much nor will there be surprises in the post! (a few of us are scorpios, it appears. Our sting-in-the-tail nature is perfect for MN, I feel )

Heckle you and I both, re: swine flu jab. I think, after seeing that I can just go and get it at a walk in pushed me closer to not having it. Probably sounds like odd reasoning, but I'm gonna stick with it, for now. I'm pretty sure I had the 'flu a couple of weeks back (the week long aching bone tiredness kinda tipped me off) and as much as I was miserable I think I coped pretty well despite not being able to medicate (didn't even succumb to paracetamol). Of course it may not have been the piggy type... but I may not catch the piggy type. And if I do, I may cope just as well. I dunno. I just don't feel to have to the jab. Hope I've not made your dilemma worse with my blathering!

I have another scan later today! As they couldn't visualise the little blighters heart properly because of his awkward lay (and his ankle alignment, too ) I'm having another exciting look scan for purely medical purposes . I have to admit, I have a slight worry as DP's sister has a serious congential heart condition and in addition to that I was told with DS1 that they thought his heart wasn't growing in a way 'compatible with life' and those fears weren't allayed until a specialist scan two weeks after that bombshell (he is ok, and was scanned again when about two... but that thought still sticks with me, regardless. I probably have post traumatic stress over it as I keep flashing back to it lately). Anyhow, my appointment is 11.40, then I have to follow up with my gp after my admission to hospital last week at 1.30 so I'll give you all the boring details update later .

Wow, it's 8.52 and I'm starving. This is a new sensation - I usually don't feel anything near a hunger pang until after midday!

x-posted... (I was making coffee whilst posting) Gah, BPM, just... GAH! I can't seem to keep a 'feeling' straight in my head over this darn vaccine, let alone an actual decision. Ok, I'm gonna do a little more reading on it. A little more, as opposed to my information gathering o far, which has been woeful: 'what I've heard' and info that's made it's way to me and perusal of the bbc news website.

I KNOW this is an important issue. So why is my head stil in the sand? Why?!

There are two pregnant women on ventilators at my local hospital.

Of course mose pregnant woment that have swine flu will be no more than absolutely miserable! I had flu (normal) when I was pregnant with DS2 - one of the most miserable 2 weeks of my life. Paracetamol dose littel to help.

In the US pregnant women routinely have seasonal flu vaccine but not in the UK.

Re swine flu, the best info I've found on the web is the bbc health correspondent's webpage - just google 'Fergus on Flu' and you'll find it. From this page on his blog:

www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/ferguswalsh/2009/10/who_says_swine_flu_jab_as_safe_as_seasonal_vacc ine.html

"Overall, from 7% to 10% of all hospitalized patients are pregnant women in their second or third trimester of pregnancy. Pregnant women are ten times more likely to need care in an intensive care unit when compared with the general population."
This chimes with the stats provided by BulletProofMum.

annamamma - you look too young to be giving your bump measurement in inches! I'm a mere 96cm (38 inches) compared to your 42 inches. I'm 22 and half weeks.

Morning all and firstly
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARCADIE!!!! Hope you do get to have a lovely day (clearly not helped by siamese's tales of her eventful day all comparisons will start with that i think!!) and that you have angelic and sweet toddlers with you rather than the one i just wrestled put to bed.

I'm liking the Swine flu debate (being a head in the sander) and it's nice to hear someone stepping forward with a Pro argument BPM, you're swaying me here i think!

Still pondering The Green Dress, pennyscotia the spotty one is also nice but I know that colour green works on me which is one of the reasons i love it i think...At this rate we'll all be bumping into each other in said green dress - ooh we could do a flashmob!!

currently downing a pint of squash to quell headache. tempted by a nap and some telly before busy afternoon but really REALLY need to sort the sink cupboard out which is a much more boring task.

And finally.. as I sat in the waiting room for the dentists today, it occurred to me that i'm a much better mum in public than at home...anyone else? I read several books beautifully to DD, had the patience of a saint and at no point did my voice rise to the usual rasping level of authority...