Spring is sprung, the grass is ris, I wonder where my toenails is - Due June 2010

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Ok, here it is ladies. Nice new thread for us all to enjoy

P.S. Does anyone know how to get rid of a persistently twitching eyelid? It's driving me insane. It's been doing it almost constantly for about a week now and although not visible to others (thank god!)it's really annoying!

madamefreckle I get a twitchy eyelid when I'm tired - it drives you crazy doesn't it. A few early nights should sort it out. I have a friend who has this permanently to the point that its really obvious to other people too - must be so annoying for her (she's worked nights for years and is permanently sleep deprived).

I was feeling really rough yesterday and very sorry for myself, but luckily much better this morning as I'm meeting MrsAlwaysRight for coffee later. Have a good day everyone!

Morning All.

I still havent managed to watch a single episode of "One born every minute"
i usually forget or im way too tired.
I was way too tired last night,had my 1st physio appointment and was just so stiff and achy. i hope it all improves somewhat today.

ive decided to go away for a few days over easter and im hoping im able to do something with the ds's. DH think's im crazy as ive started to feel car sick again on small trips
and sitting for too long hurts but im quite stubborn at times and i leave the worrying to others while i try to get on with what my brain whats to do

hope everyone has a nice relaxing easter.

And as for checking out the side view of my bump i try not to as i really feel like i look 40 weeks pg and then i get depressed as ive still 13 weeks to go

I had to buy new bras yesterday from Debenhams and I got an absolute fright looking in the horribly well lit full length mirrors. Not only am I bigger than I had thought but my breasts are all covered in big blue viens, most unapealing. Also I seem to have gone from a prefectly normal 34D to 38DD/E in the last 30 weeks, am most worried what I will look like when breastfeeding starts .

Have enjoyed looking at everyones profile photos and have finally loaded some on myself. Its horrible tryng to choose a photo I dont look too bad in so I just chose ones I cant be seen too well in instead .

Have no plans over easter, just life as normal here.

MrsDmamee I don't think you are missing out on "one born every minute" they seem to be showing the worse possible scenario's in every case.

I need new bra's too, is everyone buying more maternity bra's or is it time for the nursing bra's to be fitted ?

My girls break up tomorrow which is a double edged sword as no early mornings but they require entertaining and will want me to go Iceskating

Milly last time I got my nursing bras fitted about a week before I was due - and they still ended up being too small!!! I think if you have one, then get the rest after the birth as there is just no knowing how massive one's bazookas can become!!

Hi all. Thanks for the advice about my laptop but it definitely is going to have to go to the computer hospital! Bloody thing.

I've missed loads over the last couple of days.
Always we're off to a wedding towards the end of next month and have ordered myself a dress tent from Next.

Am having a sh*tty day today. DC's and DH are all really getting on my nerves at the moment so much so that a couple of times over the last few days I've contemplated taking the car and driving off somewhere to get away from them.

DH is still being a PITAP. Honestly it's like having another child (his parents did smother/baby him but that's another story). I had to traipse down to Plymouth with him yesterday as he had a hospital appointment. I had to go as he would never have made it there or navigated around the place on his own. His driving is atrocious, he can't drive and read road markings/signs at the same time....how the hell he ever passed his test I shall never know. He doesn't break when cars in front of him are and then screaches to a holt just before he goes up there arse (or so to speak). This morning at school he was turning around and pulled out in front of another car and nearly went up the backside of another. I just despair I really do and it frightens me when I'm in the car with him. Cannot wait til I can drive long distances again.

DD is being a little cow at the moment. Nothing is ever good enough for her, our food is bland/she doesn't like what she is given (even if she loved it last week) etc etc but at 'daddy's' house she eats everything/their food is wonderful.

DS, well, to put it mildly is driving me potty. He went back to school on Tues after his sickness bug only to wake up yesterday with the runs! This, I totally despair at, he found out he had the runs when he was itching his bum, farted and followed through onto his finger!!!! What have I brought up?
He's feeling ok in himself and is a total pain in the bum. He's one of these kids that cannot occupy himself. He won't go upstairs on his own, in fact he won't go downstairs on his own either. He is like a whirlwind creating havoc where ever he goes. I'm knackered and just haven't got the energy for it at the moment.

I feel like a shit mother at the moment because neither of my kids listen or do a single word I say. DH isn't much better, he winds them up but doesn't know when to stop so it always ends up with them screaming or crying. They get over zealous with the play fighting and may accidently hurt DH and then they get it in the neck but to me if he didn't wind them up in the first place then it wouldn't happen. If I say anything to him he blames it on them. FFS he's supposed to be the adult.

I could just keep going on and on all day. The crux of it all is that I may as well just be talking to myself instead of trying to get through to any of them. I had to drop DH off at work today and this might sound horrid but I'm glad it's p*ssing down and he is going to get soaked and I'm really tempted just to sodding well leave him there and not pick him up!!

If DS wasn't home today I think I would just spend the day in floods of tears, so I guess that's one good thing about him being home.

Right MEGA RANT over with and Mampam is back to normal now!

Right will try and catch up a bit now and not do a selfish post next time xx

mampam Selfish post away, that's what we're here for. Sounds like it's a shite day and no one's thinking about you, so you deserve a rant! I haven't been on here for a while so just saw your comment about my wedding pic and looking young - aww thanks!! It was 3.5 years ago though if I'm completely honest so I've uploaded a more recent one so you can see who I actually am nowadays.

goodname you have my complete sympathy on the bra front. My baps are out of control now. I was measured at about 15 weeks and was a 38F then and was completely . The worst thing is that the beautiful bras i treated myself to then have far too small and I dread to think how massive I am now. I am currently coping with a bra extender but another trip to Bravissimo is a must I fear.

I must be the only one who is completely loving one born every minute. Yes it makes me sob, but I find it such compelling viewing that I can't tear myself away and end up staying up past my usual 9.30 bedtime to watch it every week.

Had an amazing surprise this week. My incredibly lovely and thoughtful sister has spent the last 2 months hand-making a traditional style teddy bear for the bump. It is absolutely beautiful and she has even sewn a tag onto the ear saying 'handmade with love by Aunty DA and DD' and had it's own bag made with the bear's name (Charlie Harry) and the same message printed on it. I'll take a photo on my iphone now and see if I can upload it onto my profile. I was in floods of tears when she gave it to me thinking what an amazing and thoughtful thing to do and what a lucky baby I've got!

Thanks for all the helpful feedback on nappy disposal bins. That's a definite no then ladies! I need to stop looking for things to buy and convincing myself I won't be able to live without them. Has anyone got any absolute essentials that they wouldn't live without apart from the truly obvious stuff?

I have managed to upload a pic if anyone's interested in seeing my homemade bear.

Oh and one other thing. I am off to a wedding in April, and have ordered this dress which has come and is lovely for the price. Thought I'd post it in case anyone has any upcoming events and doesn't want to spend a fortune on a dress that'll hardly be worn.

Bah Meggy you still look really young in the more recent photo and totally gorgeous too
Love the bear, what a lovely thing for your sister to have done....really sweet

I'm still in my normal bra's so my boobs can't have grown but my nipples have! They are now ENORMOUS. They seem to have got bigger with each baby I've had (well the areola mainly). I think if I had any more kids I would just have giant nips/areola and no boobs as such. Dreading breast feeding as I don't want anyone to accidentally see them....just far too embarrassing

Meggymegs I am another fan of oneBorn - am totally addicted!

I forgot to post re. nappy bins, but actually I found mine really useful. Even in the early days, we changed DD in her nursery in an attempt to get her used to her room (as she slept in our room for a while). A nappy-bin was therefore indispensible! But each to their own. I rememeber DH thinking it was madness spending £40 on the thing, but we still use it now with DD.

How lovely of your sis! You will be constantly amazed at people's generosity once MiniMegs is born!

Love the dress too, this is mine.....here gonna dress it up with colourful accessories!

Alright everyone?

Unfortunately my holiday has been followed by 4 frantic work days (including 2 days of panicky emergency childcare arrangements because my nanny was sick) so I have now developed a very substantial MN backlog. Swapping notes with a number of colleagues this morning we are all feeling completely overwhelmed, so this is not likely to get better in the short run...penalty of working for a small company with big ambitions I guess.

Sorry to have missed you Filly - hope you're having a good time on hols. Anyway, if your post holiday thread catch up experience is anything like mine, you're going to find there's far too much to begin to make proper responses to everyone.

Interesting though, to see everyone's experiences of friction between SAHM and working mothers. I think you're all right: it's actually much more of a division between 'happy with their choices' and 'insecure' mothers. Personally, I'm pretty steel plated: I work, always have done, like it that way and if anyone wants to drop hints that that is the wrong choice well that says more about them than me. However, there is no doubt that it is easier to maintain that attitude when things are going well and my guess is most people are quite vulnerable when going through a major change like returning to work. Only thing you can do then is avoid the emotional vampires I think.

Mind you, I might be eating my words soon. I've been interviewing a load of people to cover my role. Many of them women, with similar patterns in their CVs:

-Job 1 permanent (~2 years)
-Job 2 permanent (~5 years)
-Job 3 permanent (~3 years)
-Contract/interim/flexible work (5-10 years)

For at least 3 of the woment I've talked to, the trigger for moving to more flexible work has been the arrival of their 3rd child . I'm wondering if I've missed something here?

LittleR, Play, I finally caught up with 'One born' last night: it was very wierd watching little Izzie knowing she was about the size that DD is now. And poor, sick little William - oh my heart went out to him - although he's lucky to have two such fantastic mothers. It reminded me strongly of the brief stay we had in NICU with DS1, although I was nowhere near as together as these parents seem to have been - I was the tear stained, damp lump snivelling next to DS1's cot for a few days.

The thing that does worry me a bit with One Born is the number of labours shown where babies have decels and go for a crash section. I know it's uncommon, particularly where there are no other symptoms like extended labour or meconium, but it does give me The Fear when you hear that dreadful thud...thud......thud............

..............

thud.

DS2 was born without any monitoring at all (homebirth) and it's the only thing that worries me a bit about doing it again: have any of you other homebirthers had midwives check baby's HR during labour?

Sorry for those of you who've been on the receiving end of crappy NHS care recently, Mampan, Saucepanman. To be honest, I've had really good experiences with the midwives and consultants in Addenbrookes dealing with our CMV issue - they've been respectful of my point of view and dealt with things quite efficiently. All of which leads me to dark suspicions that there may be some conditions they take seriously and some which are seen as less significant...rather depressing if true.

Anyway, on that front I did get some good news on Monday. They've tracked down my booking bloods (from Dec) and run some tests which show that I had a high level of avidity for CMV then. Translation: it's very likely that I either contracted the first dose of CMV just before conception or that this outbreak is a reoccurance of an old infection, in which case the risk of serious consequences is much lower. Huzzah!!! That, combined with another lovely normal scan ('she's got beautiful ventricles' said the Consultant - damn but that man knows how to charm a mother) means I've been put onto a 3 weekly, rather than 2 weekly, scan regime for the rest of the pregnancy. All very reassuring.

Baahhh: an immensely long post and I haven't dealt with half the things I meant to. However I must do some work so hopefully will catch up with you ladies shortly.

Both mampam and meggymegs - your dresses are gorgeous - you will definitely be projecting 'glowing'. But I shouldn't look at the links, because I've just ordered 3 things from the mothercare website - oops.

'Glowing' as in beautiful and gorgeous, not glowing as in women glow, men perspire etc etc

Good news on bloods Gizmo and very interesting on work patterns too. And you are right about insecurity. I have one friend with who mI used to be much closer. She worked when her DD was 6 months old and now has lost her job just before DD2 is born. She's trying to look at it as maternity leave and convenient but it's not a real choice. She makes lots of noises about personal choise and SAHMing as work, but I can't help thinking we would have remained closer if I had made the same choices as her!

Meggy - that bear is gorgeuos and so are you in your pics. Lovely wedding photo.

Mampam- I am really beinning to find that my patience is thinning now. DD isn't really being any different and is still delightful but I do lose it more than I would have donw before. I feel horrible about it and do try to keep it in check and stay fun but I am ratty. Maybe this is why your kids and DH seem so horrible too! Lovely dress too. I really fancy a maxi dress for the summer months. Not a dressy one like that, but more of a hipp style one. I'm not sure a 36 year-old can pull it off though.

Monkeymargot - forgot to say, great news about the twins.

Goodname - I can sympathis with you about bras. When I got pg with DD I was a 32D. By the time she was born I was a 36F . I must say though that I never engorged that much so bf didn't make a difference to bra size. I was a 34F when I got pg this time but have opted for the Bravado nursing bras which come in S/M/L and then +, ++ IYSWIM. They don't do much for your cleavage but they are wonderfully comfortable, and they fit multi sizes!

I can't watch One Born Every Minute. Mostly, this is because of DH who I have only just persuaded to be with me on this birth (he was last time, but I had to persuade him then too). I can see his reasons for not wanting to be there and am in two minds myself, but ultimately we both want him to be there. I also think though that it might be quite good for me to watch it and have a good weep as preparation forhtis birth. DD's birth was so touch and go that I am secretly terrified about this one and it might help me let it all out. I was hoping it would be on while he's away (yesterday until Saturday) but I don't think it is.

Oh, I meant to give you an update on my friend with the ill child. I left chocs and card yesterday and then a bag of homemade 'ready meals' today. Then she phoned me from the hospital. She, DD and new baby are in the quarrantine ward in the children's ward . Her DD isn't fighting off the infection and will have to be intravenously fed. She won't settle with anyone but mummy and mummy is breastfeeding (and the knwo that this is his beast protection from the infection), so there that all are in hopspital. Poor woman! A week in and she still ahsn't got to show her lovely new baby off. She's knackered and sore but hanging in there (not much choice!). At least her poor DH will have something to eat tonight without having to bother much.

They did take her in the chocs and card though, so I'm glad I did that!

gizmo glad you had a nice time even if things have been a bit frantic ever since.

Great news about the infection. Must be a relief

LaT I am soooooo knackered I don't know what to do with myself half the time. DS was up early hours of Sunday morning and Sunday night with his sickness bug, slept really badly Monday, Tuesday (ie doing my normal waking up at 2.30 and not going back to sleep until 5.30-6am) and last night was shattered and had a really good nights sleep last night until DH turned the TV off at 5 this morning.......I sleep with the TV on very quietly, don't know why but it helps me sleep????? It doesn't bother DH as he snores sleeps through anything. He knows that if he turns the TV off it wakes me up but he still did it anyway so my good night was cut short.

This is probably the reason why my tolerance of the 3 of them has gone waaaaay down. TBH pretty much everyone in RL is getting on my tits at the moment

Your poor friends DD, how awful. Hope she gets better soon.

I don't think 36 is 'too old' to pull off a maxi dress. Here's one I bought the other day. Bump fits perfectly into it. Can't wear a strapless bra with it at the moment so I just wear my normal bra and a little cardi over the top! It's great because it's stretchy over the boob area as well.
I love maxi dresses, they can hide a multitude of sins and you can dress them up or down. Wallis usually do a good range of them too.

Play it's good to treat yourself!!

Mampan I nearly cried laughing at your DS and his 'accident'. Im sure it wasnt that funny for him but it must have been hard keeping a straight face!

Loving all the dress ideas - Ive got a wedding to go to at 37 + 2 and Im dreading going dress shopping. Ive decided to get my hair done on the morning (which is something I never do) so that even if I look like a whale someone else will have made my hair look nice

Cheers for the wedge cushion tip LaT. I went and bought one earlier this week and Ive been trying it out.

Im still getting a lot of pain when I sit down just under my rib cage and I spoke to my pilates teacher who said she thinks it is the muscles which attach to the bottom of the rib cage pulling unevenly. Driving is getting unbearable so Im going to have to stump up some cash and see someone privately I think. Has anyone else had anything like this?

Sympathy to everyone with judgemental family/ friends about returning to work. My sister is a SAHM and is very fortunate in that her husband works part time so they both have lots of time with their two little ones. We almost had a blazing row last summer as she is so dismissive of anyone who uses childcare and returns to work. She never recognises that they are very lucky to be able to afford their life (their mortgage is approx £100/ month!!) and that not everyone has that choice. She always seems to have the attitude that their way is the only way and everyone else is materialistic. Very annoying and patronising. Looking forward to the family discussions when I go back part time!

MeggyMegs love the dress. I am also addicted to One born... cant wait for the next episode every week. Was disapointed by lack of actual births this week though. Great photos and V cute bear from your sister. My sister has two kids already and she keeps producing more and more stuff from her attic for me. Sisters are great. I also cannot stop looking for more things to buy before the baby comes. Think I am becoming a shopoholic. Can hardly get in the babies room now and all the drawers are full of clothes!
LaT you can watch it whenever you want online with chanel4 on demand. Its free and really easy esp if you have a laptop. Really hope your friends and her children are ok. I am sure they will be very grateful for your concern.
milly I just bought non wired bras from debenhams, they have quite a good sale on just now BTW as you dont want to be spending a fortune on something to last you a few weeks.
Was wondering how you go about buying maternity bras as surely you cant buy them before your milk comes in but also you wont want to go traipsing round the shops 3 days after the birth. Hmm someone should start up a business which comes to your house, measures you and leaves you some bras. That would be ace.
mampam so sorry about your dreadful sleep. I am always v grumpy/intolerant when I dont get enough sleep. Dont know what I will be like when baby comes (scared face)
gizmo really glad to hear about your blood results and scan, thats is sooo good. Hope you had a great holiday. Where were you?

Marmiteaddict I am planning on going back to work just part time after the baby and I am in the same lucky position as yr sister in that my DH can afford to work part time. However I know that we are just very lucky, bought a house at the right time etc. (and live in scotland where houses are considerably cheaper BTW).
I would never criticise people who are not as jammy as me. Maybe sometimes the SAHM people just feel a bit guilty that they are lucky enough to be in that position so they are a bit defensive?

gizmo that is spot on in my experience, I was with the same company after DD1 and DD2 came along and all was manageable. I then got married and found myself pregnant for the third time in 4 years and quite honestly my manager turned around and said I was taking the piss, childcare was £300 more than I was earning and I reached tipping point.
Personally I've never been back full time for more than 6 months and don't really intend to until the baby is 5.

Another one born every minute addict here, DH to be is enjoying it too as he says it makes him feel a little more prepared for what to expect.

madamefreckle I also have a twitchy eyelid quite a lot at the moment - presume it is tiredness but that won't go away for a while as not getting much sleep...

So much to catch on. Did a big car boot sale on Sunday to clear out what will be the nursery. It was good fun but I have paid for standing up for more than 7 hours this week.

Saucepanman hope you were able to speak to your DC's teachers and it wasn't a problem.

Alwayshopeful - never heard of varicose veins on the vulva before - sounds a bit scary.

Madamefreckle my eye twitches when I am tired or have been under continued pressure. It does ease up when I ease up.

Gizmo great to hear you've been reassured on the CMV front. Sounds like you are getting very good care.

Thanks for sharing all the links to the lovely dresses you have been buying Mampam and Meggy. I've got to get a dress for a wedding in two weeks time. We just had an invitation to a wedding in Norfolk a week before the baby is due - v close friend - and it is going to be a great bash. Half of me just wants to go for it but the other half thinks I should be sensible and not travel three hours from my hospital the week before the birth. Has anyone else carried on partying right until the last minute or is it just impossible?

Hi everyone, loving all these links to beautiful dresses. Its making me want to go shopping but I really shouldn't. I have a christening to go to at the beginning of May, but already have a maternity dress that's only been worn about 3 times over 2 pregnancies that I should really wear.

goodname I was fitted for feeding bras at 36 weeks last time (a couple of days before DD was born). I think they gave me a cup size bigger than I actually needed to allow for when my milk comes in and they fitted perfectly. I'm still wearing them now actually, so hope they'll still fit after this baby is born.

meggy that bear is gorgeous! Lucky baby.