July 2010: Still getting bigger, gone are the days when we had a figure

[stac14]

July is getting closer and we're all still gabbing. Feel free to join in

34 weeks today and 5 weeks to go until the elective

My belly is huge and stretched, I can not believe there is more growing to do!

stac hope the bleeding clears up, that must have been quite a shock for you. I know I was shocked when I was leaking and that was just normal colostrum.

anifers Im in the same position as you, our nursery is in no way fit for a baby yet, I havent packed my hospital bag, I havent even bought the bits to go in the hospital bag AND my DP is also going on a stag outing this Sat so wont get anything done this weekend which means Ill have to wait til the weekend after which will make me at that point 34 weeks. So I wouldnt worry too much your not the only one

DP is playing his xbox as there is nothing on tv tonight so looks like I will be on here all evening

Lovely bump Spirael! Great nursery too. OUrs still has my BIL living in it and is full of crap... oh well, the baby will be in with us for a while anyway.

I will feel happier when we have a car seat, a crib mattress and some nappies... we're holding off buying anything much until we have our spare room back to put it in.

Off to France on holiday tomorrow - yay! Taking laptop though.

Hi Guys,
Just a quick msg, thanks so much for ur messages about my rib pain. gracie that article was good, thank you. I think it must be something like you said as i have a small frame and the baby was measuring on the top line last time i was measured, the MW said I measured 32 wks when i was exactly 31 so maybe LO is a bit big. Pain has been quite bad tonight, i have had two lots of paracetamol, which sucks as i was hoping not to take anything through out. Im going to see the consultant next thursday, will defo mention it then. Gracie what did the consultant say to do with urself, was there anything that made u feel any better? Off to bed now, feel really tired, will catch up properly tomorrow. xx

Im sorry kapars it was you who posted the link, thank you, i appreciate it!! xx

Evening!

Thanks ladies, I'm so glad I'm not the only discharge victim

I've seen the gp this morning and had a delightful internal . GP has sent a swab away to be tested for various nasties but she thinks it's either mild thrush, just hormonal changes at this stage or more of the plug coming away eeeeeek!! She's so lovely, she phoned me this evening coz she had a panic and wanted to check that it wasn't watery and possibly amniotic fluid leaking! It's not! I remember my waters going with dd (vividly lol) and it was more like greasy water.

Sooo, waiting til Friday to get the results now....

kapars my rings are jammed on too! I think if I get my hand cold enough I should be able to get them off and will aim to have them on a necklace from 38 weeks - just in case!

memphis I didn't have any internals when pg with dd, even in labour so don't worry if you don't either, you really don't want them!

spirael lucky you having nice bump comments! I think I must be freakish looking and it's getting embarrassing telling people that I have 5 weeks to go! Bump is measuring a week ahead, whereas dd always measured 3 weeks behind eek. Problem is I'm short and a size 10 all over except for my bump so i actually look like I have stuffed a beach ball up my t shirt!

kk there is nothing nicer than a washing line in the sun full of tiny newborn things

stac hope the leaking doesn't get any worse.

emster have a fab holiday! V jealous

Wicked im sure ur not freakish looking! Im usually a size 10 and only 5'2 so i know how u feel. I have gone from everyone commenting on how small i look to staring and raised eyebrows. I have also had the occasional dirty look too, which is nice.

My ribs have been hurting all night and dont feel good now. Im off work today so im going to walk the dog and see how i feel after that. I spoke to the MW yesterday and she said to take paracetamol and if no better phone the labour ward so we'll see.

Whats everyone up to today?
xx

wwsw thats good to know about the internal, i always thought it was the norm to have them as a routine, ive ive had to have a few at hospital but not a midwifes
siksam hope the pain eases try and take it easy today
lets hope gas man turns up today, im not holding by breath, my bro is suppost to be visiting today b4 he moves down south on friday it will be last time i see him b4 baby is born!!
hoping to get the bus into town today to collect parasol i ordered.dh is away tomorrow night for 1st time since i havent been well so im in a bit of a panic!!

vik hope those ribs feel better, but don't leave it too late before getting checked out.

memphis my dh is away tmrw night too, but luckily for me my mum is away this week so dad is on his own so he's coming round I like a bit of company in the evenings!

I really should get off my bum and go and do some housework but I'm pretty tired today. Have to bake some cakes for preschool for tomorrow as we're having a cake sale to raise so more funds so will do that this afternoon with dd. No point cleaning the kitchen yet then!!

Hope everyone has a good day

wwsw I tried to get my rings off today with cold water, frozen peas then butter and they will not budge!

On the getting prepared thing - it's probably better not to assume baby will be late. My friend's baby was born at 35 weeks recently and a couple in the NCT class didn't make it as their baby came at 33 weeks.
We don't have a nursery as we are moving house next year so haven't had much to do and I had done very little until a few weeks ago but panicked when I heard all these tales of people going early...

Had breastfeeding class at NCT yesterday which was really useful but then had a dream I was breastfeeding a cat and it bit off my nipple. Ow!

Thanks for the complements about the dress and bump, everyone. I was really lucky with the dress... Got it new with labels for pretty cheap off eBay at the start of the year. (I knew this wedding was happening ages ago.) It was such a roasting hot day on Sat, but I was lovely and cool in the floaty dress. Everyone kept asking me if I was ok when I was absolutely fine, while my poor DH (Best Man) and the Groom were roasting in their monkey suits and expected just to tolerate it!

I completely agree about the baby clothes looking so cute drying out on the line. I picked up a pack of little rompers from Next last week and washed them over the weekend, along with the 'real' nappies sample pack that I claimed off the council.

I now have-

Newborn size:
6 short sleeve vests
3 sleep suits

0-3 month size:
6 short sleeve vests
6 sleeveless vests
3 sleep suits
3 rompers

I have at least 3 cardigans incoming from my Mum and Nana, some sock/booties, as well as some other little clothes promised from various other family members. Might get a few gifts from friends/colleagues too... But that one is a big unknown.

Will this be enough to get me through the first day or two? I don't want to buy too much in case LO turns out to be huge or tiny, and I can always send friends/family out to acquire more a few days after the birth if necessary. As long as I can get through the first 24 hours or so, it should be fine.

In addition, I have an idea of what gender LO is from the 20 week scan, but it was only a 90% guess by the sonographer based on a flat NHS scan picture. Not had a 4D confirmation or anything. So I'm having to make sure to keep things gender neutral for the moment, juuuust in case. There doesn't seem to be a lot of choice for gender neutral - I find beige so dull!

Anyway, £15 isn't too bad for strawberries, memphis! I probably spend about that much a week on fruit. I get a variety of blackberries, blueberries, cherries, grapes, etc, however. Depends what is on offer and looks tasty-!

Hee, I wouldn't feel too bad, Anifers! I am abnormally and excessively organised. For example I'm all set with breast pads and night bras, ready for if/when nipple leaking commences... And naturally aside from a tiny bit of dried 'crud' every so often, I've not had any problems of the sort. So those preparations were a bit of a waste of time really... Ah well!

Funny you should ask about antenatal classes, I start my parenting classes at Leeds General Infirmary tonight. They're just the NHS classes, I decided against spending huge amounts of money for the NCT ones. I have a two hour session tonight and another one next Wednesday, and that's it. Hopefully the classes will be useful, so DH and I can learn something!

I think everyone might just have been being very polite at the wedding, WickedWitch. I've been consistantly measuring a week or two ahead as well. I started off around a size 12 and I'm only 5'2. With no real weight gain anywhere else, I'm betting that I'll be joining you shortly with the beachball up the t-shirt look! I'm lagging behind the crowd though, as due the end of July. Only just 32 weeks!

For those of us trailing at the back end of the month, it looks like we have the potential to be caught in the phasing out of the Child Trust Fund that the government are doing. If I go overdue (quite likely by all accounts, as this is #1!) then I'll be caught in the drop from £250 to £50 from the 1st August. I think anyone eligible for £500 goes to £250 at the same point.

I'm debating not claiming the CTF to be honest, especially if it's dropped to £50. I'm lucky enough that DH and I have good jobs and earn a reasonable salary. The restrictions on the accounts for the CTF make it a lot more hassle than it's worth... We're fully intending to open a savings account for LO and make regular contributions, but we don't want the Government imposed restrictions on the account as it'll make things very awkward - particularly with our plans to leave the country in a year or two!

I'd be interested to hear anyone elses thoughts regarding the CTF. I wonder if I can argue that I'm doing my part to aid the economic recovery by being too lazy declining to claim it?

spirael i spend a lot more on bananas satsumas and apples 2 but strawberries are my weakness! infact just had a whole punnet for breakfast!! i dont think im going to bother with the trust fund we will be opening an account he wont know about til hes 21 that i will put money into every month plus ive already started collecting £2 coins in his moneybox to top his account up!!

i had a dream last night that i had to give birth to LO everyday so he gets a clean change of clothes!! think its because my sil moaned yesterday that LO has too many clothes, she said how many clothes does he need? i replied well how many do you NEED you could survive on a tiny amount but have a full wardrobe

hi ladies. Well my colostrum still has blood through it, if its still the same tomorrow then i'll go back to the docs.

memphis and spireal i too spend loads on fruit, tends to be whatever looks good at the time and the strawberries are the best just now. I had mine last night with ice cream yum lol

Just curious for everyone who has found out what the gender of lo is, has it all been 4d or 3d scans? I only had the hospital scan and a gender scan but the woman was 100% sure lo was a girl. But i'm getting worried that i have all this pink but will end up with a boy, has everyone else bought gender related clothes? Probs just my paranoia xXx

To be honest vik the only thing that helps is lying down, which DS doesn't let me do very much of!!

Like I said, paracetamol can take the edge off, but I'm not finding it too helpful.

Consultant basically told me to try and maintain good posture, and that they don't recommend Chiropractic work in our area (depends which health authority you are under)

I do have a friend who is a chiropractor, but he won't touch me whilst I'm pg because he says a) it can be painful b) it tends to move back out within a few days of doing it - best to wait and see if it still bothers you after the birth and c) pregnancy can give you brittle bones, and he wouldn't want to be responsible for breaking a stubborn rib!!

stac all I had to confirm LO is a boy was the 20 week NHS scan, it looked VERY obv at the time and now couldnt think of him as a girl. We've bought gender specific clothes for everything except a few white vests but everything else is either blue or has footballs/tractors on.

My friend is coming over this afternoon, havent seen her for about a month so will be good to have a catch up.

I really want to go and see Sex and the City 2 at the cinema but I dont have anyone to go with and I dont have any money either lol, so looks like Ill have to wait for the dvd.

The weather is rubbish today so going to stay in, hope everyone else is having a good day.

memphis Thanks again, its my day off today so trying to take it easy but can feel it starting to come on now I did wonder about a chiropracter and even looked one up this morning so that was really usefull infomation.
spireal Im not sure about the CTF i dont suppose i know what the constraints are, i need to look in to it. When do you have to claim? I actually havent heard about it being slashed to £50, i have heard however that child benefit is going to be taxed at 40%. So it will be £13.40ish for the first child. I dont disagree that things should be means but only if its done in the right way and those that work their ass off dont get penalised.

means tested i meant to say!!

DH weather is great again here, where are u again? Its pants that u have no one to go with, Id rather go with u than clear my wardrobe out!! Why is it that you get half way through a job then start work avoidance and it becomes a giant chore to go back to it. I blame you guys on here!!!
I made a lovely fruit salad as a snack this morning and put lovely vanilla yogurt on it, went to answer the door and when i came back the dog was eating it!! naughty doggy!!! I toyed with still eating it, how wrong would that have been! got a nice smoothie with some slightly soft strawberrys now, yum!!

viksam I agree about the means testing thing - it seems utterly ridiculous that I get £190 for 'health in pregnancy'. I rather suspect that the women who do need it won't actually be spending it on their health..

DH and you other guys who aren't so organised are making me feel a bit better. We have got everything more or less spoken for, it's just that it's spread all over the country at different relatives' houses and we don't have a nursery to put it in yet anyway.

Today's not looking so hectic on the work front, so I may try and sneak out a little early and pick up some paint testers. I can get on with that whilst DH is off at his stag this weekend and we might even be able to start painting on Monday. I think once we get set to on it it'll be all sorted in no time. I ordered things for the hospital bag from the Boots website today, so now have all of those bits. I think I'll just keep them in a placcy bag somewhere, as I'll need my travel bag in the meantime, but it means I can just plonk the stuff in the case and be off in necessary.

Stac the NHS sonographer said she was 99% about the gender of ours, but the 4D scan confirmed it. However, I'm such a feminist that I'm refusing to go gender specific on anything anyway, and green's my favourite colour, and fits in with the name we've chosen, so we're going for that all the way.

viksam Im in Kent I agree that MN can be very distracting, I forgot to hoover last week because I sat down on here for a 10 min rest and never got up again!

anifers I wouldnt worry too much, Im very much looking forward to getting the nursery sorted but thats more because I cant stand seeing a room in such a state! As long as you've got something for your LO to sleep in and have clothes and nappies you'll be fine for at least the first few days

My friend has just text me and cancelled again, she helps out with the local rainbows and it "slipped her mind" that it was this afternoon. Shes coming over tomorrow she says but I wont hold my breath. Looks like another boring afternoon for me then.
Least I got you guys to talk to!

stac i agree with anifers on the scan they are 99% accurate, the 2d scan showed ours was a boy as its more black and white it shows up more, the boy being a definate white line and a girl is 3 white lines or as my friends sonographer called it the burger shot,a girl is more definate as more shows on scan as boy bits dont usually drop til 34 weeks, however on the 4d scan ours wasnt shy and was wafting it all over the place my mum did have a lady at work last week bring back a load of blue wool as scan was wrong so she had to swap it for pink!
viksam naughty doggy eating your fruit my dogs food of choice is ice cream and hewatches you when you eat salad as he loves lettuce!!
gasman came and sorted the boiler at 11 and then went to boots and bought my maternity pads and my friend some smellies for her b day

DH hmm - I've got all of those sleeping, nappy, clothes type things on order.... Let's hope nothing happens before they all arrive. ;)

Regarding ctf - if you don't choose one within 3 months of the birth the govt just pick one for you, so you don't really aid the economic recovery! You could just leave the £50 in it and forget about it though. No-one forces you to add to it IYSWIM. Your LO will still get it when they are 18, regardless of what it's worth!

hope the blood clears up before tomorrow stac.it cant be a nice feeling to see blood coming out of your nipple. and i didn't find out gender so cant help you on that on! you got a couple of scans though and im sure they're right!
have a fab holiday emster! very jealous! im meant to be in alicante this week but doc told me i wasn't allowed to go so they're all gone without me! we've booked our weekend away for next weekend and we'r booked into the radisson!!! cant wait!! and it has a lovely pool and spa and all so im definately going to indulge myself! had gp check up today and everything fine.head is down but not engaged yet but he said it will be soon. we're getting our hall painted tomorrow! finally getting something knocked off my list and hopefully next week all the new carpets wil be coming!

lucky you kk my friend said i've to stay at my aunts at the weekends to get proper rest, but the raddison sounds far better lol. I'm hoping it goes but it was still there this afternoon. Will wait till tomorrow to see how it goes. What you up to this weekend?

About CTF i havent looked into it but was thinking about just opening saving accounts for all the kids. I don't like the idea of the government having control over it.

Looks like the only further scan i could get is a growth scan up to 34wks or presentation scan from 35wks till term. But my gender scan is also 99% accurate and none of the 4 scans i have had have ever said they spotted mail parts. Talk bout worried.
It rained a bit today but its still lovely dh soz friend cancelled on you, pity we all didnt live closer then we could meet up. X

actually kkfariybrains that reminds me - I keep meaning to ask people. Have your babies all more or less settled down into head down now? And how can you tell what position they're in?

At my last visit to the midwife LO was diagonal, and the midwife didn't know which end the head was (!) and LO has been wriggling around and changing position non-stop since then. Today I've had what I think are tiny toes tickling my right side, so I guess she's transverse, but most of the time I've no idea how she's lying.

If she doesn't eventually go head down (and I know there's weeks yet) will that automatically mean I have to have a Caesarean?