The PESH Deli serving gin cocktails, blue cheese and softly cooked egg sarnies

[givecarrotsachance]

Welcoming all BESH PESH "grads". Full bar service. Today serving:

Softly scrambled eggs with a side order of prawns, moules mariniere, pate on toast, swordfish and tuna bake with a full cheese board of stilton and unpasturised brie.

then you is indeed lucky igg

I have an appointment to go and see a doula tomorrow - she phoned today and she sounds lovely, especially as she phoned whilst I was in the middle of a medal-winning fluster, trying to get off the police bus whilst dropping my gloves and fastening my rucksack and biffing the chap behind me with my elbow. I'm sure she has a wonderful impression of me already

I guess... Not that am ungrateful, but I wouldn't have minded the nhs... I got a bit rail roaded

What can I do to stop my raspberries from being so bastard itchy They are driving me Up The Wall

Big congrats curly! Wow, it seems like you're officially 1 day ahead of me - I'm finding this absolutely mind blowing that there are 4 of us literally due within days. Will it become a race to the finish line? Should we as carrots suggested a while back have a sweepstake? Will cunty's chuff be back in semi working order by the time we have to do it?

Cunty I'm thinking loadsa vaseline so you can stick your hand down for a discrete rub without pulling any skin.

iggy Iz you going to have your baby at the Portland wiv all the other slebrititties and important wimmins?

... unless of course you've used all your Vaseline for bumsex?

Chocolate finger marks?

I am having a palava with my health insurance company. Over here health insurance is compulsary and costs (basic) ~90 euros a month. If you're a low/non-earner you'll get it subsidised/paid but obviously as I've a decent job I have to pay - fair enough - cheaper than NI. Anyway, in November I asked to be upgraded to the "mother & baby" insurance. They said they couldn't because I was behind with a payment. Fair enough, made all my payments and asked again to be upgraded. They sent me an email during my xmas holidays saying I must confirm I want upgraded before 31-12. Obviously I didn't get this email until Monday - at which point I wrote back "please upgrade me as per my previous request". Can't do that - because apparently my debt is now with a debt-collection agency. (They're buggers here for that, if you're more than 4 weeks late with almost any bill it goes straight to an agency). So, I phoned the agency and said "I believe I have a file with you but I'm a bit confused because I believe I've paid all my bills." She replied that yes, I have and they have a file for me but with zero balance. Aaaarrrrrgh. Health insurance people say as per law they cannot uprade my health insurance until 01-01-2011. WTF???? What if I were to find out TODAY I was pregnant? What about all the girls who ignore their pregnancy until in labour? I am totally and utterly confuzzled... it seems my current insurance covers everything it needs to and I will need to pay ~100 euros of my own money. Whatever. Can anyone explain the logic of all of this to me?

Of course not. If I was imbued with any kind of logic I would be able to tell you why I was sat at my desk with my eyes propped open by matchsticks, instead of lying under my toasty-warm duvet listenting to my pregnancy relaxation CD on the ipod (top quality investment btw - get it cheap on ebay (the CD, not the ipod))

ski - yes, my EDD was amended again to July 21. But with a family history of early births and the fact they are anticpating troubles, my bets (and hopes) are on the end of June. Sorry can't help with insurance logic. Not sure such a thing exists.

iggy wot ski said - are you having a Portland Baby? And if you will you let them do one of those late-90s style Discovery Home&Health documentary/video diary type thingys? (The ones where the mums turn up for scans dripping in diamonds, sporting fur and carrying £5000 handbags; go for an elective ceasarean and worry about little more than which nanny to hire ) In all seriousness, don't feel bad about getting a decent quality of care. My confidence in the NHS's ability to handle my pregnancy and birth had already been dented and I wish I could go private.

Morning cunty. I'm avoiding talk of your chuff, but think you talk much sense re staying under blankets.

Wtf is a pregnancy relaxation CD and how does it better 2 hours mid-afternoon sleep in bed?

Yup - is Portland Hosp... but I don't think that stops it from fucking hurting!

I know someone who had a wet nurse - but she did marry an obsenely rich man

Thing is - even if I could afford such things - why would you want them?!

ski the insurance thing sounds far to fucking confusing... All I know is my stupid health insurance doesn't even cover pregnancy stuff - even emergency shiz...

cunty what are we meaning by raspberries?! Nipples? whatever - I think vaseline may be the way forward... or sudocream..

Raspberries = nipples? (imagery falling into place in my head) Well, during my maddening itchy phase the doc prescribed me E45 itch relief and that was good. Currently using cocoa butter on nips, tits and belly every day to prevent a reoccurrence.

Anyone remember Portland Bill? iggy just made me think of it. Here is an episode called "Dogger's best trick"

Blimey - I didn't think anyone outside the colonies still used a wet nurse! Or at least would never, ever, ever admit to it!

I once knew a nurse who worked at the Portland - she reckoned these sleb mummies (and partners) were beyond vile. Rod Stewart and Mick Jagger being 2 she particularly despised. Also, it must've been knocking on 20 years ago there was a baby abducted from there (Alexandra someone?) - anyway, said nurse said the mother didn't once say thank you to anyone that helped.

As far as the health insurance goes it seems that "optional" hospital birth is not covered by any insurance. Obviously if it's decided you need a c-section it's covered. Also, in the blurb from my midwife team, if the baby comes outside 37-42 weeks I must go to the hospital - and that of course is covered to. So over 100 euros I'm not sure I want the stress of an enormous fight - as long as they don't say "oh you're not insured, we're not going to incubate the baby" or something like that... but then this is NL and NOT NYC!

Udder cream! snigger Seriously, nip along to any farm supplies shop, it'll be cheap as chips.

Udder cream is good stuff! Very good for cracked heels on the horslets... I have just realised that I can't teach this summer (horse riding that is) after having put my name dowm... duh..

ski I know... the whole idea of a wet nurse is freaky... but at least she didn't lose any sleep from having a baby

cassie I don't remember that.... did I miss out?!

Curly I was just wondering the other day how all your itching was going - has it eased up for you? I'm sorry btw that you've been told how you "must" have your birth - but at least you'll be able to demand more powerful drugs than us on the basis of your arthritis I suppose! Great scan pic btw! I can't believe how big our little people are getting.

Has anyone been able to feel their uterus yet? I'm not quite sure what I'm looking for touch-wise, any tips anyone? rots?

iggy I remember "ewww you were wet-nursed" being used as an insult... I seriously though it was something of a bygone age! I'm surprised that girl didn't get a surrogate - I mean why get podgy and hormonal unless you really must?

ski itchies all gone unless nips get dry and cracked. Belly and rest of tits itch free - yeay! Thanks for asking. and yeah, I is going to get well strong drugs

Think I can feel the hardness that is my womb when attacking that area with home dopple. BTW when sonographer was trying to get a good view yesterday, she attempted to look down from my belly button but could not manage because, apparently, my stomach muscles are "too good". Shame those muscles are now buried under a non-baby spare lorry tyre that makes me look six months gone

And my mum told me she has a wierd blood type (but she can't remember what that is) so I might get something "different" there too.

Now, where can I get me a wet nurse?

i interpreted raspberries as piles.

sorry cunty lol

ski - my uterus is now like a football. although i have no recollection of how it got like that it's a bit like when your pubes grew. all of a sudden it seems to be there

has anyone picked a pram yet?

have spent the last few days of my holiday wondering around baby superstores trying to suss all this stuff out. had no idea it was such a minefield. and of course, as usual left it too late. most of the stuff we would consider now has 12 week delivery which may well be too late.

FUCK!!!!

cheggers I think so, it looks as though we'll be going for the X-Explorer combo(?) at only 350 euros - so clearly I don't love my baybee as much as people who spend 800+. I do at least have the advantage of having the full array of baybee-shiz... wheras your options it seems are more limited.

But, we're also doing the papoose route because for the ease of walking the dogs I don't see how it's going to be possible for one person to hold two dogs and push a pram...

ski how organised are you?! I haven't even THOUGHT about prams or any other baby stuff... in fact I may still be in denial about everything...

iggy part of the reason for my post. don't leave it too late!!!

it all goes far quicker than you imagine. i thought we had bags of time left.

ski yep our choices are limited. not helped by the fact that we rather stupidly live in a third floor flat without a lift.

still waiting for confirmation from the landlord that we can dump one of these humungous twin contraptions in the hallway. crossing fingers as really can't be arsed to move.

not that we've even sorted out how we get them up and down the stairs yet

any ideas on how the hell you decide which one to get? There are so many - who am I to judge what's better?

I mean, price will be a factor ( at £800), but what about everything else? Help, I'm stuck!!

(And I have been on the product reviews here etc - still no help)

Curly Well, from what I can make out, if you absolutely "must" have a Bugaboo or a Quinny you're looking at 800 quid. If you want something with the same functionality you're looking at 3-500. Unless of course I've missed something in the blurb and actually the Quinaboo also changes nappies... They all (over 150 quid) fold down in to a traditional pushchair and come with a car-seat - so you get a 3-in-1 for all of them.

cheggers that would be a bloody nightmare. We've got 2 lifts thank god so there should always be one working.

What I mean Curly, is that a lot of it seems to be based upon the label - same in all of the world of course... you know, LV handbag vs. M&S handbag!

c.f., Baby cot/wardrobe/changing table combo for 1000 quid upwards - or all 3 from IKEA for 150 quid...

I suppose it all comes down to how much you love your baybee or not!