Due May 2010: Into the third trimester we go, can the bumps get any bigger?

[MarquiseDeMerteuil]

So here's the continuation of the thread previously known as Due May 2010: Where we get a 'bloom' just in time for the christmas mayhem???
Let's see if this one lasts up until the first birth... Knowing how chatty we can be, I doubt it!

squirtsmum very !

Pamelat that is exactly what my husband thinks!!! He also said that he worries that the baby can see what is going on!!!! I promised to turn out the lights but it didn't make any difference!

Hollyoaks congratulations on surviving Ofsted! So much stress but at least it is over and everyone can relax at Easter! We're due in the summer term, hopefully I will miss it and they will come when I am on maternity leave! I'm hoping to work until the end of April and really hope they don't come between now and then! Knowling my luck, they will probably descend on my return to work!

I met my DH on a lovely, (very drunken) girly night out ! I told him that I was a good girl and to keep his hands to himself which he found highly amusing (still does - especially with the current state of affairs!) We arranged to meet up for a date a week later. I was so worried as I couldn't actually remember what he looked like - I just knew that he had very cute dimples!! Our DD has her daddy's dimples and they are so cute! I hope this LO also has his dimples!

Hello everyone,

Been trying to keep up, but I've missed a couple of days. I've been enjoying your stories about how you met DHs.

Hollyoaks - What a relief to have OFSTED out of the way, and their judgement. I am expecting them any time soon but hopefully they won't come before easter and I'll be on maternity leave. Only 4 weeks to go!

re: sex, My DH is a bit freaked out about the thought of getting intimate too. He thinks its wrong and that LO will know, hear, feel etc! I don't really feel like it either. We did try once but gave it up as a bad job!

Re: Meeting. Not very romantic or exciting but... DH lived 50 miles away but came to my town for his friend's fancy dress party - he was austin powers! I was already with someone at this point but a few weeks later, and me unattached, he turned up again and the rest is history. We had a long distance relationship for 5 years, just seeing eachother at weekends, bought a house 4 years ago, then last July we got married. He likes to take his time, I don't mind as I am quite easy going too, there's no rush.

Hope everyone else is ok. I really want to reply to more of you but I am so hungry, going to order a chinese. I will catch up more tomorrow when I am off. Have a good night!

TCH...ask the consultant what your GTT results were..there is no such thing as borderline..you are either diabetic..or not..they will treat you as diabetic if you levels 2 hours after glucose are more than 7.

Im going up to the hospital for a bit of peace of mind...baby been very quiet today..still had movements but not what I normall expect...just got to wait for DH to come home from work

Memorylapse - that's so helpful, thank you I'm not sure what the results are but I've called the MLU and they're going to phone back and let me know what the results actually were. I thought the 'borderline' thing sounded a bit odd, especially since everyone seemed very confused.

Hope everything's OK at the hospital when you go, and your LO's fine.

memorylapse, hope you get on ok, always best to be on the safe side.

Hello all! Gosh too much to catch up on!!

I met DH at college. He was my first boyfriend Sex...erm....well...we attempt it occasionally...getting a bit impossible now though lol

ML your pram link doesn't work, what pram is it? Hope you get on ok at hospital.

I bought a baby swing today reduced from £90 down to £39.99 in toysrus. Its a small one so thats great.

I am in a quandry really. The consultant said that he 'wouldn't advise a homebirth and he would EXPECT to see me in hospital for the birth' DH is upset too, he said that having seen me have the first 2 horrid, tense labours and births at hospital, then 2 at home that were a dream, he would much rather me have a homebirth as I was a different person and it was so nice cos he wasn't shoved out the door 10 minutes after the baby was born! I just don't know what to do.

I have got my 28 week appointment on monday at home, so I might have a talk with the midwife about it (providing its the nice midwife!!)

Littleowls & 30ish - thanks for the nice comments, its been unbelievably stressful, theres just been so much pressure. Fingers crossed you both miss them .

I met dh when I was on an 18-30 holiday to Malia with my friends from university. We both lived in different cities at the time but he only lived 3 miles away from where I grew up. We think of it as fate that we met so far away but both came home to the same place, we arranged a date the day after he returned and we were engaged three months later. Phew, we move fast, though waited three years to get married, and five before having dd.

angel - good luck with the mw.

Hi All

Thanks for all your reassurance on the size of the bump - feel much better now! I have it when MW do that - mention something that isn't really a concern in such a way that it makes your concerned, and then don't explain things properly. Thank God for Mumsnet!

Love all the stories about how you met your DHs/DPs. Ours is really traditional - DH came to visit his brother at Uni, I was friends with his brother, we went out as group to nightclub and we got together. He came back the next weekend, and the next, and then every weekend until I graduated, which was about 18 months! He was in Oxford and I was in Norwich, so we managed to put about 40000miles on DH's car during that time. Everyone said we wouldn't survive the distance, but 11 years on, 6 of them married, I think we've done a good job!

Me and DH are still managing "marital relations" once or twice a week. We are having to start getting creative with positions though, because the bump is in the way!

Hobnob - I didn't think my DH would cope well with labour the first time round. He was really worried about things beforehand, and would ask loads of questions at our NCT classes about things like what to do if he needed to deliver the baby in the car, or how long it would take to get me to operating theatre if there was an emergency. However, when it came to it, he was absolutely brilliant and I couldn't have done it without him. He listened to everything I said, which is a really important tip IMO, and supported my decisions for pain relief, etc even when they were completely different to what we had discussed before labour. He was also really good at making sure I was drinking, supporting and encouraging me during contractions without patronising - he was fab, really! In fact the MWs were so impressed with him that they fetched him the recliner chair from the nurses' station so that he could "have a rest" once my epidural kicked in, and they brought him tea and toast even when I couldn't eat anything because I might need an anaesthetic for a c-section. We still have a laugh about how his care was better than mine! I think as long as your DH listens to you and supports you, then he will be fine!

Moan time - work is really hacking me off at the moment. I have 5 weeks left [hurrah!] and I thought that by now, I would be winding down, transferring work to make sure there is an easy transition etc etc but instead I seem to be doing more than ever! Loads of travelling, which is really tiring and uncomfortable, lots of stress lots of lifting heavy files, lots of extra work - I just want to be at home, resting! Can't wait for maternity leave now!

Right, moan over. Off to bed. Good luck to all of you waiting GTT test results - I have no experience or advice to give you, but hope they all go well.

PS Hollyoaks and the other teachers - my Dad used to be an Ofsted advisor/inspector - he could never understand the stress. He once went to school where the head had had them all in over the weekend planting flowers in the tubs in the grounds to make sure the school looked nice - excessive! I hope all your inspections go well!

Tomlin - sounds like you're having a bit of a nightmare at work. Saw on your profile page that you're a solicitor - me too! I know all too well how law firms have a habit of piling the work on just when you're hoping things will calm down. I've been lucky so far (I think my bosses are terrified that I won't want to come back after maternity leave, so are trying hard to be nice), but I have friends at other firms who were working 9am-midnight or later on a regular basis up until 37 weeks and one was sent on a site visit to a construction site at 35 weeks, which involved climbing ladders. No allowances made at all. Is there any way you can you rope a trainee in on anything (at least to carry the files?!). I really hope things improve for you soon. At least you only have five weeks to go, so the end is in sight.

Angel, I hope your appointment with the midwife goes well, and you get the birth that you want. Am very impressed that she comes to your house for appointments!

Heffa - good luck with getting the confusion over your results sorted, it sounds very odd - your healthcare 'professionals' sound like they trump even my nutty GP for causing confusion!

No time for more now, sorry to those I've missed - there was too much to catch up on this evening! Hope everyone's doing well.

back from hospital..not 100 per cent happy..will post more tomorrow

pram link is here

Angel - my DH is my first boyfriend too Can you get a second opinion about the homebirth?

Tomlin - sorry you're stressed at work My DH was treated really well by MWs as well, they kept bringing him sandwiches

I spoke to the MW who did my GTT yesterday evening who gave me the results (4.5 after fasting, 8 one hour after drinking Lucozade, 5.5 two hours after drinking Lucozade) and told me that they are all below the cut-off points for GD (5.5, 11 and 9) so I have no idea why the consultant thinks any of those are borderline. She said it was absolutely ridiculous and is going to call the hospital today for me to find out what on earth's going on and to sort it out for me. So I feel very relieved to at least have someone on my side. Hopefully it will all get sorted out at some point with minimal stress

ML - what happened at the hospital? Hope you're OK. Thanks for your help yesterday, it really calmed me down and prompted me to call the MW to check the figures so that's been a huge help, I was in such a state about it yesterday.

morning all!

ML- hope your ok andthat abay is fine.

TCH- hopefully they will get the results sorted properly and you wont ahve to be worrying about what you eat!

Tomlin- cant work at laest give you some kind of pull along to carry your files since they dont seem to reducing the workload any.

angel- fingers crossed for the home birth...plus you could state to the midwife about the fact you would stress much less in labour at home.

had a bad night last night kept getting really strong and frequent braxton hicks and did panic slightly will all family being out of the country! but thankfully all calmed down around 1am. think it was baby trying to scare me into buying the amttress at the weekend.

hope everyone is well. take care
im just having my second breakfast and have a cookery class with DS at 10am so need to get a move on.

Hello! (waves)

Sorry I haven't been on for ages, hope everyone is fine.

memorylapse I really hope that you are OK.

Tomlin and Marquise - I'm also a lawyer, but I'm at the Bar and I am really grateful for it at the moment, as being self employed means turning down as much work as you like and not feeling bad . Just make sure you rope in some trainee/assistant to help with carrying...

Lots of love to all. Fairly exhausted this end.

Morning all.

ML hope you are ok. Text me if you want. That pram is one that I considered as well!!! I like the red one!. Its lovely

Heffa, yes I am going to have a word with my lovely midwife (who attended both my homebirths!) and see what she says. I trust her implicitly, so if she has doubts then that will be it for me really. She knows me as well, I am not just a statistic if you know what i mean.

Tomlin hope you get work sorted soon! LOL at 'getting creative' we are having trouble with even that as its getting painful some ways

OOoooh, can I join too? I'm expecting my first to arrive on May 8th

Hope you're all doing well, not long to go now!!

I have a day off work to do more packing - thanks for hte advice about keeping hospital bags stuff with me. I think I'll probably err on side of caution and keep basics out of storage

Re intimacies, with things being busy at work, the move and me rarely getting a good nights we're not getting time for much. Shame really because all the blood flowing around makes everything much more intense don't you think? DH is also finds babies presence a bit off putting though - thinks its a bit rude.

Good luck to all with GTT tests! I'm jealous of anyone getting ongoing scans . Would love to see the baby again - but can't quite bring myself to pay for a 4D scan. Maybe next week when we're less busy. I think it would still be possible for a rew weeks.

MDM your experience of finding baby suprisingly weighty on way to work some morings is very familiar to me. I think though my bump is just getting progressively heavier.

ML congrats on pram, looks lovely and cosy. I'm dying to order mine and I've started trying to justify buying new one too... Hope btw nothing too seriously wrong re hosptital today!

Carikube, hope things have improved between you and DH.

Tomlin - I think you can definitely refuse to lift things. Even with all the packing to be done I'm avoiding lifting anything large or heavy. A wheely bag sounds like a good option if there are no students around.

I had my first NCT class last night and it was great. Nice to meet the other couples. Learnt loads too - eg. that babies should have back to left ideally for birth and that they only rotate in one direction in the uterus (clockwise if you're looking from above). I didn't realise that. Anyway, as a result I spent my first night last night lying exclusively on left hand side trying to persuade baby to move to other side. I kept waking up with aching hip though

Also came away from NCT class thinking seriously for first time about requesting a home birth. The teacher had had a couple and one or two of the other girls were planning one. Can certainly see some advantages. Not sure if its too late for me, but I might see what the reaction is if I suggest it at next MW appt. Good luck with getting yours Angel/SK!

I better get on with wrapping things and putting them in boxes...

Nice to hear from you asparagus

Welcome Asparagusaddict!

Heffa I am so glad you got the numbers from your GTT, that just seems utterly ridiculous that they want to treat you as diabetic though you're below the maximum numbers at all stages of the test! I'm glad the midwife is going to speak to them for you.

ML I hope that everything is ok.

Tomlin I don't envy you with such a heavy workload and travelling around! I hope the next few weeks get better.

I'm enjoying hearing about how everyone met their partners, too!

Sounds like yesterday was a tough day for many of us! I had a hospital appointment with a consultant and also my 28 week midwife appointment. The consultant wants to get a copy of my birth notes from the hospital where I had DS1 before we discuss the birth of this baby in detail. So she's requesting these from the hospital and is going to send me a copy as well and then we will discuss in 4 weeks. I was really geared up to discuss it yesterday, but will appreciate having a debrief with her about the first birth and can hopefully put the trauma behind me.

I'm a bit annoyed as the midwife who did my 28 week check so obviously measured my fundus height wrong, it has only grown 1 cm in a month according to her. Not that I WANT to measure huge, but now this size is plotted on the growth chart in my notes. I fear that they'll try to do the same thing the midwives did in my first pregnancy, and might keep telling me that my baby is average sized (DS1 was 9lbs 12oz)! I think the consultant will still schedule a growth scan for me in a few weeks, so I shouldn't worry. I guess it's just residual anxiety from my first pregnancy. I felt really upset when DS1 was born so big and I had been told all that time that he was about average size (not to scare anyone!) I guess it just goes to show that it's pretty hard for them to estimate the size of the baby, really.

Also, the midwife said I had protein in my urine which is slightly worrying, though my blood pressure was perfectly normal so she said we'd just keep an eye on it next time. I suggested maybe it was because I was feeling very dehydrated yesterday after the fasting for the GTT on Wednesday. My pee was very concentrated (TMI) and I wondered if it might test funny.

Subsequently, felt very tearful and depressed last night. Feeling better this morning, though. My house looks like a tornado went through it! I'd better get off the computer and do some tidying, and then reward myself with a big piece of DH's birthday cake! It came out pretty nice! I'll post a photo so you can see my handiwork in the next day or two!

I hope you all have a good and restful weekend!

Welcome Asparagus Addict

TCH..your fasting level is fine..and 2 hours after lucozade is well within range..some hospitals now use the new NICE guidelines of asking you to check your sugar one hour after eating etc..but 8 one hour after is fine..so Im utterly bemused that they are treating you as diabetic!

my bloods 2 hours after eating were coming up between 8-9 which is why they put me on insulin..and when I had the steroids..my bms stayed constantly for 2 days at between 10-15...
your bms sound fine..I would definitely get your midwife to look into it.

Hospital last night was a nightmare...was seen by the sister on the ward...lovely lady but she is the "old school of midwifery"..so manhandled my bump really roughly..which I think just upset baby who then proceeded to try and get away from the CTG sensor, so the midwife then kept getting the pinnard stethescope out so she could locate her heartbeat and Ive never had it pushed so hard into my bump..I was nearly sick..and she kept doing this again and again...and then putting the ctg probe on my tummy and then pushing with all her might on the other side of my tummy .."to try and pick the hb up better" in her words..by the time she finished I was sore all over....

then half an hour into the trace..babies hb suddenly dropped to 94..then climbed slowly up..then shot up to 166..stayed at 166 for 5 mins...then climbed to 180, then to 190..then to 195..I was terrified..I couldnt feel her moving...midwife came in and said that the doctor had viewed it on the screen outside and wasnt bothered and not to worry and they would just leave me on it until it came down...which it did..but subsequently I came home home feeling very anxious as I think the hb was way to fast for 30 weeks....and this morning Ive listened in with my own doppler and again babies HB was 185...so Im feeling really frightened

Angel - glad you've got a good midwife, hope she's able to help

Welcome AsparagusAddict

Schipo - glad you're enjoying your NCT classes. Lots of good advice on MN about home births, sounds like a lovely option if you're able to

Rachel - sorry you had a difficult appointment as well I'd definitely try and get a growth scan if you're worried. I wouldn't worry too much about the protein, I was told it does just happen sometimes without meaning anything bad.

ML - thanks for that information. It does seem really bizarre. My midwife spoke to a midwife at the hospital who agrees that my results are normal and she's going to try and find out what's been going on and will let me know.

Sorry you had such a terrible time at the hospital, at the MW manhandling you. Is there anyone you can talk to about the heartbeat? Sounds like you really need someone to check things out properly and reassure you.

Well Ive phoned my CMW who isnt very happy either..shes coming out to see me, is going to check me over and decided if she actually wants me admitted back to hospital..

Wow...only away for a day and theres so much to catch up on!

Carikube- Sorry you are feeling down. We have never really left DD with anyone so too dreading whats going to happen. We have decided to make an exerted effort to leave her with others. This Sunday DH's parents are coming up to Babysit for a few hours. Purely so that she can get used to being left. We are going to the cinema- First time in about 2yrs!! Nervous about it though.

Happenedagain- I took black ones last time. Not the most stylish but hey.. they did the job.

Memory- Glad the pram is sorted. Not really much advise on the heartbeat as I dont know the norm. Try not to worry too much though [hugs]

SK- Sorry your feeling unsure now. Its just that not knowing, where and when isnt it thats so hard.

Hollyoaks- Ive been through a few ofsted inspections myself so know how stressful they are... Well done and relax now its over!

Heffa- Glad you managed to sort out the diabetes thing. How odd they wanted to treat you if the results were ok. How long did it take till you got your results back orginally?

Angel- Hope you get some answers from the MW.

Asparagus- Welcome

schipo- Glad you enjoyed the NCT class.

Spent yesterday down in my hometown visiting my parents. Went out shopping with my sister and niece. DD and her are only 8 weeks apart and played so nicely together My sis is also a hairdresser so cut my hair whilst the girls played. She cut 4inches off and its still below my shoulders! It had got soooo long. Looks much tidier now though.
Then had a lovely dinner with my parents.
The drive home on the m25 in the torrential rain wasnt quite so fun though!

Been busy this morning searching the web for cottages for my friends Hen weekend. Some people have dropped out at the last minute and the place we had planned to go is now too expensive so weve been looking for alternatives.

After DH's poker win, it seems as if someone is being kind to us up there! DH rang at lunch time to tell me his news. He read about his Bonus. (we knew it was coming) Anyway £2,500 Bonus. Very nice.
Seems he has also been promoted!! Hes now a principal consultant with a 4 grand payrise, Fantastic pension and car allowance- Even though he will be commuting on the train.
Woo Hooo! Hes only just got a payrise for moving Offices to London!

Memory - hope everything is okay and the CMW can get to the bottom of it. My FHR last Mon was 150. Back at 26 weeks it was 132, and a the beginning of Dec was 142. Not sure what it should be - but 185 does seem high. But perhaps baby was stressed by all the prodding - I cringe when I get a rough MW - I can feel the baby squirming to get away.

Let us know how you get on.

welcome to asparagus!!

I have finally caved and bought some maternity tops! they arrived this morning! im fed up of having a cold tummy haha.

Wow...500 posts, we are halfway through this thread too!!! natter boxes we are!!

Off to fetch my doggies ashes later

Hello! New to this thread, only one post. Due on May 17th with my first, starting to freak out a bit now . Finally going to look at a house this weekend, first floor one bed flat with a newborn is not my ideal living situation.
Been off work all week feeling breathless and exhausted, 28 weeks blood test revealed low iron levels which explains all really, so got some ferrous sulphate tablets on prescription. I'm trying spatone too (in juice) which hans't made me constipated so far. Got a big Mothercare trip planned for Sunday. Just been reading the thread on new baby starter kit! I need to streamline my shopping list I think...