The Continuing Adventures of the First Time Frolicker Graduates....

[Hermya321]

Right (plonks self down and breaks out the biscuit tin and tea bags), I've stuck the kettle on. Whose joining me?

ARRIVALS:

Fulhamgirl - EDD 30th May - DOB 9th Apr - Girl - Lily Ann - 4lb

CURRENT__GRADUATES:

Trying4Baby1 - BFP 21st Aug - 25th Apr - Girl
Kaystar - BFP 27th Aug - EDD?
Pepperonipizza - BFP 12th Sep - 24th May - Boy
Ladyemmalou83 - BFP 13th Oct - 23rd Jun - Girl - Erin Elizabeth
bluesnowfalcon - BFP 14th Oct - EDD?
DesperateHousewife21 - BFP 3rd Nov - EDD 18th Jul - Boy - Dylan
Spirael - BFP 7th Nov - EDD 25th Jul - Secret
Curlycasper - BFP 11th Nov - EDD 21st Jul - Girl
EmsieRo - BFP 16th Nov - EDD 20th Jul
vix206 - BFP 8th Dec - EDD 22nd Aug
HypotheticalMummy - BFP 9th Dec - EDD?
Ozziegirly - BFP 16th Dec - EDD 24th Aug
NovemberAli - BFP 24th Dec - EDD 2nd Sep
Eleanora - BFP 28th Dec - EDD 4th Sep
WhiteRoses - BFP 11th Jan - EDD 15th Sep - Boy
hamsterlover - BFP 11th Jan - EDD?
Hobnob - BFP 17th Jan - EDD 26th Sep
MadameG - BFP 17th Jan - EDD 16th Sep
pixiestix - BFP 18th Jan - EDD 24th Sep
ceebs05 - BFP 22nd Jan - EDD 29th Sep
addie81 - BFP 28th Jan - EDD 8th Oct
chancewouldbeafinething - BFP 1st Feb - EDD 11th Oct
WorrisomeHeart - BFP 29th Jan - EDD 12th Oct
Hermya321 - BFP 12th Feb - EDD 24th Oct
fudgecat - BFP 19th Feb ? EDD 28th Oct
Pidgin - BFP 27th Feb - EDD?
Honeymoo - BFP ? - EDD 1st Nov
YorkshireTeaDrinker - BFP 1st Mar - EDD 6th Nov
DrewsGirl - BFP 4th Mar - EDD?
bunnygirl80 - BFP 12th Mar - EDD 19th Nov
Mumnerves - BFP 1st Apr - EDD 8th Dec
Spanishlady - BFP 3rd Apr - EDD?
luckyseven - BFP 8th Apr - EDD 17th Dec
Capricorn76 - BFP 12th Apr - EDD 1st Jan
Homebound - BFP 30th Apr - EDD 8th Jan

FUTURE_GRADUATES:

aly323
Ariesgirl
Bellaby
calligraphy82
Calyx
CaveMum
chalky3
cher rycobbler
claireinthecommunity
Dinkytinky
evilgiraffe
FelicityFlick
haloflo
Kaloki
kkas
kurl yvoice
misshoohaa
MrsWajs
Muser
Papertiger
pinkiePoo
pipsicles
seablue
Sevans
Stiffybyn g
Wannamummy
Zippys

chance - I have bought loads of stretchy black dresses from Boden and am wearing my black usual jackets undone over the top of them. Getting the jacket done up is out of the question, partly because of the bump and partly because of the massive boobs. Its VERY hot though - dress, jacket, tights, wig, gown and high heeled shoes do not make for a comfortable pregnancy outfit!
I am getting fed up with being huge already and am thinking about entering a marathon for this time next year to incentivise me to get back into shape quickly. The only thing that controls the nausea is to keep eating, so I think I have put on some extra fat as well as normal baby weight!
worriesome - you have better intuition than me. I was sure our little pip was going to be a boy pip, and had always referred to the baby as a "he". My husband, on the other hand, was sure it would be a girl, so he won that bet!

Quick update for my EDD which was changed at the last scan -

ARRIVALS:

Fulhamgirl - EDD 30th May - DOB 9th Apr - Girl - Lily Ann - 4lb
Trying4Baby1 - EDD 25th Apr - DOB 6th May - Girl - Emily - 10lb 2.5oz

CURRENT__GRADUATES:

Kaystar - BFP 27th Aug - EDD?
Pepperonipizza - BFP 12th Sep - 24th May - Boy
Ladyemmalou83 - BFP 13th Oct - 23rd Jun - Girl - Erin Elizabeth
bluesnowfalcon - BFP 14th Oct - EDD?
DesperateHousewife21 - BFP 3rd Nov - EDD 18th Jul - Boy - Dylan
Spirael - BFP 7th Nov - EDD 25th Jul - Secret
Curlycasper - BFP 11th Nov - EDD 21st Jul - Girl
EmsieRo - BFP 16th Nov - EDD 20th Jul
vix206 - BFP 8th Dec - EDD 22nd Aug
HypotheticalMummy - BFP 9th Dec - EDD?
Ozziegirly - BFP 16th Dec - EDD 24th Aug
Sazziej - BFP? - EDD 1st Sep - Girl - Evie
NovemberAli - BFP 24th Dec - EDD 2nd Sep
Eleanora - BFP 28th Dec - EDD 4th Sep
WhiteRoses - BFP 11th Jan - EDD 15th Sep - Boy
hamsterlover - BFP 11th Jan - EDD?
Hobnob - BFP 17th Jan - EDD 26th Sep - Girl
MadameG - BFP 17th Jan - EDD 16th Sep
pixiestix - BFP 18th Jan - EDD 24th Sep - Surprise
ceebs05 - BFP 22nd Jan - EDD 29th Sep
addie81 - BFP 28th Jan - EDD 7th Oct - Girl
chancewouldbeafinething - BFP 1st Feb - EDD 10/10/10 - Boy
WorrisomeHeart - BFP 29th Jan - EDD 12th Oct - Boy!
Hermya321 - BFP 12th Feb - EDD 24th Oct
fudgecat - BFP 19th Feb ? EDD 28th Oct
Pidgin - BFP 27th Feb - EDD?
Honeymoo - BFP? - EDD 1st Nov
YorkshireTeaDrinker - BFP 1st Mar - EDD 6th Nov
DrewsGirl - BFP 4th Mar - EDD?
bunnygirl80 - BFP 12th Mar - EDD 19th Nov
Mumnerves - BFP 1st Apr - EDD 8th Dec
Spanishlady - BFP 3rd Apr - EDD?
luckyseven - BFP 8th Apr - EDD 17th Dec
Capricorn76 - BFP 12th Apr - EDD 1st Jan
Homebound - BFP 30th Apr - EDD 8th Jan
Seablue - BFP? - EDD 10th Jan
Oneof8 - BFP 18th May - EDD?
Aly323 - BFP? - EDD 31st Jan
Bellaby - BFP 25th May - EDD ?
Applecharlotte - BFP 29th May - EDD?
Chalky3 - BFP 30th May - EDD?
Papertiger - BFP 31st May - EDD?

FUTURE_GRADUATES:

Ariesgirl
calligraphy82
Calyx
CaveMum
cherrycobbler
chico193
Clai re 196
claireinthecommunity
Dinkytinky
evilgiraffe
FelicityFlick
Florin
hairytriangle
haloflo
H eadbanger
Junglebob
Kaloki
kkas
LankyLady
MrsWajs
moulesfrites
PinkiePoo
Pipsicl es
SaorAlba
Sevans
takethatlady
wakarimasen
Wannamummy
Womanlytales
Zippys

Hi everyone!

Been away a week again... I REALLY don't know where the time goes!

OneOf8 - hope you're doing okay and have totally recovered from your fall now.

Chance - lol at DH banning you from watching videos on YouTube! I wouldn't be surprised if my DH banned me soon!

Aww! Congratulations on your boy! Wonderful news! And though a shame that you had to go private, brilliant that you got your DVD and a look at your son's face!

Ozzie - thanks for the Bottom Butter tip. I'll bear it in mind for the summer. This time, with the hot weather not lasting, the rash cleared up on its own!

Bunny - interesting to hear about the placenta moving. I didn't know it could do that. Still, whatever happens happens, I guess. Just need to get on with it.

Great that you had such a nice lunch with your friend and her baby. Sorry to hear about your cold. (And you're right not to give DH any sympathy - he's a man, therefore he doesn't deserve it! Lol!)

at how your MIL phrased her "compliment"! But as others have said, if everyone's saying you look well, you must (regardless of the reason) and that is a good thing.

Sorry to hear about the ligament pain. And the toilet trips. Very frustrating. As you say, hopefully evverything'll shift soon and you'll get some relief.

Spireal - your dress was just gorgeous. Perfect for a christening too!

Not long now till maternity leave starts and very exciting about the home visit! How are you feeling? Nervous or just excited?

Claws?!

As for the nicknames, DH has called me "Tubby" a few times, but in an affectionate way, so I don't mind. On the other hand, my sister came up with a nickname for the LO that REALLY pissed me off. Meant as a joke but not funny. She's been dead "off" with me since the weekend when I had a go at her for it. Still. Worth nipping in the bud.

Bump grabbing... I've been lucky with that one too, I think. See, my uncle in the beginning decided to talk and listen to my bump, and it freaked me out so much that I think everyone's being extra careful around me now. (Except him - he's too thick-skinned, but luckily lives in a different country!) The only people who've touched my belly, aside from midwives, etc., are DH, my mum and my sister, and they've always been invited to do so first, so not a problem.

Bellaby, AppleCharlotte and PaperTiger - congratulations on your BFPs!

Pixie - I can talk?! I'm not the only one! :-P Lol!

I think you and I are going to be starting maternity leave at about the same time. Can't wait - can you?!

Lol at your drippy boobs! It's not nice, is it? After leaking through my top at 16wks, I've been wearing breast pads, but to be honest, I'm not really leaking all that much now. Still terrified that I will though, so don't want to ditch the bra, even when sleeping, which is a bit of a pain. Oh well. The joys! Guess in about a year and a half, my boobs will be my own again...

Hermya - sorry you didn't enjoy your weekend away as much as you might have, but great that you had such nice weather for it.

As for the cloth nappies... You're a better woman than me if you do it! I know it's a good thing to do, but, like Pixie, I don't want things to be any harder than they're already bound to be! (Also a lazy ocw! )

Aly - good news about your results, and the extra care you're getting. That's another week gone in since we last "spoke" and every day, never mind every week, means you're just that little bit safer. So all good! When are you getting your first scan - do you know? Will you get an early one?

Seablue - that's really shocking about your treatment at the hospital! Really, really awful. Glad you were able to keep your cool though, and that you knew she was an idiot. And also, really good news that you're only slightly "accurate" (lol, Pixie - I did the same!)

Chalky - HUGE congratulations! SO delighted to hear about your BFP! You were the one who introduced me to the Frolickers, way back, and I'm so glad you did. It's funny what you say about not really trying... That's exactly what happened to us. We gave it everything in the beginning, and then took a break, didn't use contraception, but didn't try either... Lo and behold - a BFP! I really think there's a lot to be said for just going with the flow, so to speak. More fun that way too!

Addie - glad to hear that all's well with your little girl, in spite of everything.

mumnerves - my DH innitially said the same about the 4D scans... Thought they looked like "ghost babies" or "Hans Solo encased in Carbonite" (don't even know what that means!) However, in the end, I wanted to book one scan, and HE persuaded ME to go for the top package, where you get a scan a month till the baby's born!

Actually, if anyone's going for a 4D scan, they say after 23/24wks is the ideal time. According to the guy who did mine, that's not strictly true, as, what happened to me with LO hiding his face often happens then. He reckons you often get great results at 20wks (though very skinny babies), then great results at 28wks, but at 24, babies are just the right size to bury into the placenta. (At 20wks, they're too small to, and at 28, too big.) So that's worth bearing in mind, I think.

Mumnerves - (sorry, I got side-tracked there!) I'm REALLY sorry to hear about your MS. I can sympathise, big time. It's just horrible. The only thing that brought me any relief were Sea Bands - don't know if you've tried them? Otherwise, as has already been said, just try and focus on the reason for it all, and how you'll feel holding your little baby in your arms for the very first time. x

Worrisome - HUGE congratulations on your boy! You and Chance in the past week - those of us with boys are catching up again!

Well this has been yet another mammoth post from me. I always say I should sit down daily and type a few lines, rather than having to do it all in one go, but somehow that never happens... I should really make a bigger effort.

All's fine with me anyway. Sore bum and queasy, but nothing out of the ordinary. The biggest and best thing has been reaching 24wks - viability. Tomorrow I'll be at 25wks, and that's when LO supposedly has a 50% chance of survival outside the womb - another brilliant milestone. Happy days! Anyway, better post this now - have spent all morning achieving absolutely nothing while poor DH has been busy, working away since early! Haven't even made the bed yet!

[pixie faints clean away] @ Addie "thinking about entering a marathon for this time next year"

Roses - I think my last day at work will be the 4th August and I can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!!
The drippy boob seems to have been a freak occurence - nothing more since then so I guess it was the hot weather that set things off? I am on nipple-inspection daily though!!
Absolutely LMAO at the Han Solo / 4D babies - that is brilliant!!

Hello all, long time no speak! well, that's me on maternity leave now (will be 33 weeks tomorrow). I can't promise to be the most prolific poster - and definitely can't complete with whiteroses and her epic post above! - but I do still care and I plan to be around a bit more.

We moved house and have lots of unpacking still to do, my pelvis is a mess, and I'm sleeping all the time - but there's still more MN time in each day! Off to catch up. Hope you are all well.

hermya sorry you are still really tired, wait a few weeks it gets better, I have not been as tired this past week or so. Last week i even cleaned the house (including defrosting the freezer!)
Ooh I am jealous of your shopping, I got some vouchers for Petit Bateau and i am itching to spend them. My mum told me she has 4 dozen cloth nappies for me I just have to remember how to use them...its been a few years, but like yours my DH has no idea so we have to get that sorted.

bunny I have to ask where do you fly to for work? My SIL has started working in a ortho office in Dubbo (yes my brother lives just outside of Dubbo, otherwise known as the middle of nowhere) and all of the staff fly in from Sydney...it would be funny if that was you!

mumsnerves SATC was good, but not as good as the first. DH did actually sigh a few times, but he is a good sport for me. Hope the MS passes soon, sea bands are quite good if you havent tried them yet, they are only around £5.

Ozzie all workwear advice is welcomed I wish i could get away with a nice wrap dress but they are mostly in jersey, i need to find the right one. I have given up caring about my flapping jacket as well!

Worrisome yeah another boy!! and great to hear he is doing what he is supposed to be doing Ozzie was the one who recommended the book (I have ordered it, should arrive tommorrow called growing great boys) Hope you have a great trip to NZ, it will be great to see everyone (i am getting really homesick now)

addie I was forgetting the wig and gown - you must be dying under all of that! dont enter anything just yet - maybe you should do a 10k rather than a marathon (I have been thinking of this too, and my brother told me how many hours he trained for the marathon, and i was tired just thinking about it)

chalky Congratulations!!!! really happy to hear your news, as roses said you are an original frolicker and its just great to have you on this thread now

roses so did you already have one of the scans then? what did you think? do you get a dvd or pictures? glad you are feeling sort of ok

curly enjoy your leave hope you can rest up and that your pelvis improves too! Good luck with the un-packing

Congrats to AppleCharlotte and PaperTiger on your BFP!!!

Sorry if i missed anyone, hope everyone enjoys the short week!

Hi, what an eventful week it has been whilst I was off on holidays in Italy, three BFPs in three days is fantastic!

Just checking in really before our first scan tomorrow morning. I am really really nervous whilst family that know so far are completely hyper about it. I spent a long time at lunchtime wandering round Boots trying to find a suitable 'sample pot' to bring in the morning!

I have decided not to get the swine flu jab if i can get away with it and really appreciate the opinions you all gave about it.

I can't wait to find out tomorrow if everything is ok and then properly start to feel pregnant and contribute more on this thread, I found out i was pg on CD23 as my cycles were so short so it seems like an eternity waiting for this scan - i think i should be 12 weeks on Thursday but the doctors think 11 weeks. Hopefully the scan will give us a more accuarte due date and then i can psych myself up for a possible Christmas Day baby if i go over!

Starting to get my energy back which is great and there are fewer random wretches than previously.

Sorry for the selfish post, i will be back tomorrow to let you know how it all works out and to catch up properly.

Wannamummy just got a BFP on the other thread! WTF is going on Frolicker-wise at the mo - we are creating fertility gold-dust all over MN!!!

Good luck tomorrow Lucky, let us know how it goes, and how Italy was.

[waves] to Curly. I was wondering where you were! How are the birth preparations going? Is the nursery all sorted and the hospital bag packed?

Oneof8 - wasn't it your midwife appt today? How did you get on?

Eeeeek, so excited at all the BFP's flying about!

Chance congratulations on your boy How lovely that you already 'knew'! Glad you enjoyed SATC. Have decided I want to watch Shrek first though, didn't know there was a new Shrek movie!!!

luckyseven good luck with the scan, the nerves are completely understandable, I'm sure everything will be fine, it was strange but my bump didn't start to show till after my scan, when I'd obviously started relaxing! Do let us know how you get on!

Thanks for the recommendation of seabands, everybody, unfortunately now I start feeling sick very quickly and actually throw up within 10 mins so no chance to even get the seabands on (I do have some)...and ginger actually makes me feel worse!

whiteroses it's the thought of LO at the end of it that does keep me going I kinda know what your DH means with the 'han solo' comment, TBH am slowly getting put off the idea of the scan, guess we'll just wait and see!

I'll be 13 weeks tomorrow Am just so pleased to get the 1st trimester behind me, just need to wait a few more weeks for the blooming

We're not going to find out what we're having, and was anyone else fed up at this point of people convinced that it was either a boy or a girl? Comments about the way I'm 'carrying' and therefore it must be a boy or a girl makes me just feel like snapping 'WELL! you've got 50% chance of getting it right anyway!'.....or maybe that's just my hormones speaking

I bought a lovely floral top 3 weeks ago with the intention of wearing when I went out last week and this weekend. Tried it on last thursday and it doesn't fit anymore and looks like a tent! Guess I'll just stick to cotton tops for now till I look more pregnant than having a big belly!

worrisome congratulations on your boy! Don't know how I missed your post x

addie congrats on your girl. It must be such a relief to know she's looking completely healthy. at you entering a marathon for this time next year - I'm far too lazy for that sort of thing

hermya glad you had fun buying baby stuff. I'm trying to convince DH that cloth nappies would be a good idea. He's not too sure though, although I've managed to get him to agree to using disposables for the first few weeks and at night, and cloth nappies the rest of the time.

ozzie I agree with you that the food guidelines over here seem to be super strict. Lucky for me I have completely gone off cured/cold meats - the smell of ham still makes me feel sick, so it's not been hard following them

worrisome congrats on your boy

roses I actually MIL's compliment might be fuelled by old wives tales - if you gain weight on your face then it's a girl - and she's desperate for a granddaughter, so I'm telling myself she's just hallucinating

casper good to see you back here. Glad the house move went ok and you're finally on mat leave

chance I work in Coff's Harbour, Dubbo's a bit too far away from civilisation for me It would have been strange if I was working with your SIL!

Congrats to all the new BFPs - it's nice to see my name moving up from the back of the EDD list - it makes me feel like the pg is progressing!

I dragged poor DH to a baby shop at the weekend to test drive prams. Every single one he pushed he had to make vroom vroom noises as he ran around with it I'm pretty sure I'm going to feel like I'm looking after 2 children

I feel sorry for all of you who have to try and wear suit/jackets/wigs to work. I'm lucky in just being able to wear T shirts and scrubs

Hi - was so tired yesterday! Got home from apointment, argued, and slept!

Little bit of a selfish post, but trying to catch up workwise before I fully induldge the MN addiction!

Midwife appt went well, I guess. Got the packs, the leaflets, etc, they took what felt like a gallon of blood and said they'd see me again in 8 weeks. Was told will get dating scan date in the post, but she "hopes" this will be before my next appointment.

OH was a bit put out that I said we are waiting till scan shows everything ok before telling people. Explained why - am little worried if anything is wrong etc. He started moaning I had "changed the goal posts" as we said 12 weeks odd then tell his family. Tried to expalin this may still be the case, but he wasn't listening, saying he thought I was "unfair keeping this from them". Lost my temper, pulled rank and told him as the current Vessel, Lord and Emperor of the child I will be getting my own way on this one and if he didn't like it, he still had weekend access to look forwards to

Feel a bitch for spoiling it for him as he is excited, but I just want to be as sure as we can be it is all ok before telling people. His family are hard enough at times to deal with and can be quite selfish - for example, at OUR engagmement party they wanted me to change my dress as "didn't go with the rest of the family for photos". Was winter, had a white dress with flowers design so I would stand out as being winter, most people would be wearing dark colours. I do not see how this affected them in the slightest but apparently "completly spoiled their evening" I was told later on. They still pass comment about this.

Just think if there is anything to deal with, I want to do it just us first and be ready without having to worry about other people as I already know it will become about them.

Sorry if anyone thinks I am being unreasonable and behaving like a moany-moaner-bitch

Hi,

Making a definite effort to keep up with posting! Lol!

Addie - I'm with Pixie and Bunny over you entering a marathon this time next year! My sole ambition for this time next year is to have learned how to "work" the baby! Anything over and above that (clean house, food for self and husband, etc.) is just going to be a bonus!

Pixie - finally Googled the Hans Solo thing (should I be feeling guilty that I ignored DH when he told me it was funny and immediately checked up on it once someone else did?! ) Yep, he actaully HAS got a point (for once!) Lol! Still love the scans though!

4th August - lucky you! I'm officially going on the 25th (37wks) but am hoping that holidays will allow me to stop around the 9th (34wks, 5days).

Dunno though, because now I have a whole new thing to consider... My company's offering voluntary redundancies and I may be tempted, if I can find out for sure that it won't affect my SMP/Maternity Allowance entitlement... Only found out about that yesterday, and have been trying to get in touch with the Job Centre all morning, with no luck as yet. We'll see though. Just when I thought everything was nice and simple too!

Curly - glad to hear you're on maternity leave now. You must be needing all that sleep! Hopefully there's not too much to do in your new house, is there? Other than unpacking? Cause I bet a lot of that can wait! Sorry to hear your pelvis is so bad, still. How are your other joints doing?

Chance - 10k's not that much better than a marathon, in my opinion! Lol! Good luck to you (and Addie!) if you decide to go for it though!

I have already had a 4D scan, Chance, at 23wks and 3days. We got a DVD and a CD with images on, and they printed off the four best pictures for us too, which we weren't expecting. The scan itself was great, in that they did a lot of extra little checks, to be sure LO was developing nicely, and they 100% confirmed his gender. Unfortunately though, my LO couldn't have been less cooperative in terms of showing us his face! In the beginning, he lay with his two arms over his face. Then he put his two legs up. Then he buried into the placenta (as I say, something he'd have been too small to do a couple of weeks ago, and will be too big to do in a couple of weeks' time). As well as all of that, he had loads of cord all up in front of his face too! The place were brilliant, kept me in for much longer than I should have been in for, let me go to the loo, drink water, get up and jiggle about, all to prompt him to move... Unfortunately, he was just too cosy! Seemingly, at this stage, when he has very little fat and his sense of touch is still developing, his comfort mainly depends on where his head is. So at 23/24wks, they often find that babies appear a little "shy". Never mind though. We did get one or two very quick glimpses, as well as the reassuance that all's well, and our next scan's a week on Saturday, so we can look forward to that too. One thing I did really love was that at this scan, I could feel the baby moving about as I could see it on the screen. At the 20wk scan, the movements were too slight to say for definite if it was him or the ultrasound probe. (I'll blame the anterior placenta for that one!) That was another thing - I only got told about my placenta position at the scan, and the doctor was able to point to where DH should be putting his hands in order to feel kicks. It was nice getting extra little tips like that, unlike at the NHS scan where it was (naturally) more rushed.

Gosh, I went on a bit there! Hope that's the kind of info you were wanting!

Aww, Lucky - I hope you're having/have had a wonderful time, seeing your LO for the very first time! Soooo exciting! (And hope you had a great time in Italy too!)

See the sample pots? Are you all good girls who rinse out your original containers? I'm a bit of a rebel! I always turn up a little early for my appointments, tell the receptionist I've forgotten my sample, she gives me a clean pot, and away I go to the toilet! If they asked me to pay for a new pot each time, I'd have no qualms at all, but I just don't like the thought of reusing this silly little container for months on end... Is that really bad?

Wannamummy - hurrah! Congratulations! I'm really hoping this is the start of another spell like in December/January when loads of us graduated within a few weeks of each other! Wouldn't that be lovely?

Mumnerves - I wore the Seabands round the clock. It wasn't the most comfortable thing to do, but if it helped at all with the sickness, I just wasn't caring! Ginger made me feel worse too.

I don't mind people asking/guessing about the gender too much - probably because we always intended finding out and never intended keeping it secret. However, I REALLY mind people asking about names all the time. Probably because it means I have to lie and say I don't know, and I hate lying. But still. I just don't like it. If I wanted to tell people I would. And I don't. I'd rather my baby heard his name before others did... Is that mad? DH thinks it is...

Bunny - are you finding out the gender? Do you feel bothered that MIL wants a girl so much? After having 6 sons herself, my MIL initially said she'd love her first grandchild to be a girl, and I was initially really worried that she'd be disappointed in a boy. However, now that she knows she's having a little grandson, I don't think she could possibly be happier. I think planning and buying for him reminds her of when she was planning and buying for DH, all those years ago!

Actually, lovely as she is, she's absolutely doing my head in with what she's buying... Clothes for an 18mth old, a highchair, a potty, tennis rackets..! Stuff we won't need for YEARS! Still, I suppose I should be grateful. I just hope the mad excitement wears off soon and she slows down a bit! Lol!

Lol at your DH with the prams! Mine was just about as bad, falling in love with anything remotely gadgety, whether practical or not! Men!

I forgot to say we've actually ordered our pram and car seat now too. I did that yesterday.

Aww, OneOf8 - you deserve a big hug! I had a similar situation with my DH, to be honest. Initially, DH wanted to make announcements right away, and I "won", in that he agreed to doing it after the first scan. (Supposed to be 12wks.) Then I got taken into hospital at 7wks and was given a scan. Though they saw a heartbeat, I still had a high risk of miscarriage due to underlying health problems, and I still didn't want to tell anyone until after 12wks, cause I was seeing a consultant after that scan. Anyway, DH reckoned I changed our goal posts, as we'd now had the first scan... It didn't help that my immediate family knew about the pregnancy from the begining. He reckoned his family was being side-lined. See, I didn't want MIL to know, because, nice as she is, I was sure she COULDN'T have kept her mouth shut once we told her. Anyway, luckily he backed down (I agreed not to show 7wk scan pictures or 12wk scan pictures to anyone till she'd seen them first, which somehow made a difference to him!) Anyway, we did show her the pictures first. Then we went home to phone his brothers. By the time we got home (15min drive, maximum!) she'd already been on to each of them and told them our news! (She'd been asked not to.) So. Morale of the story - you're right to stand your ground. If you have to make silly compromises (like I did with the pictures), fine, but otherwise, stick with what your gut tells you. x

OMG oneof8, your inlaws sound like a total nightmare! I always think mine are a nightmare, but actually stories like yours make me realise they are not so bad. My inlaws are incredibly irritating, and really quite right wing and ignorant, but most of the time they pretty much leave us alone. If they tried to tell me what to wear, I would basically tell them to F off, so if you managed not to do that at the engagement party you obviously have the patience of a saint.

I know I am mental about the marathon! I am just sick of being fat already and I am only 22 weeks in! I want to get back to my usual clothes, and not feeling like a great big blob all the time. The baby was measuring 1.5 weeks further along than I am at the last appointment so she is obviously going to be a whopper (me and my siblings were all over 9 lbs, I am 5'11 and my husband is 6'4, so it was never likely to be a small baby), so I dread to think how huge I am going to get before the end! eating is the only thing that keeps the nausea at bay so I have definitely gained fat as well as the inevitable weight of the baby and the bigger boobs etc. My brother and sister have already nicknamed me "chunker".

sorry - third post in a row. Keep thinking of extra things to say -
White Roses I am loving your chat about learning to work the baby! My DH has never even changed a nappy. He is in for a nasty shock!

So good to hear everyone's good news. Glad that even your story had a happy ending addie - poor poor you.

Am so tired at the moment that the idea of a marathon is totally incomprehensible! But respect to you for having such an amazing goal. I'm sure you could manage it, but I would be worried about the time you'll need to train for the full thing - perhaps 10k would be better as you say.

Has anyone found a good pregnancy fitness DVD? I've never even set foot inside a gym, but thought perhaps in the privacy of my own home I should maybe start getting a bit more limber while I can still see my toes. So something suitable for the girl who was always picked last for every team, and for whom the position of Deep Deep Fielder was invented.

I was wondering about Davina? Everyone on Amazon complains it's too gentle, so that sounds ideal!

Feeling naive about these samples. My first MW appt is coming up in a couple of weeks - am I meant to take a pot already filled? Presumably this information is somewhere buried amongst the zillions of bits of paper I've been given!

Enjoy your evenings.

Lol Addie - you know, they brought a baby in at the end of our antenatal class. Purpose was to "cheer us up" because they'd spent the previous two hours focussing on what can go wrong in pregnancy. Anyway, a gorgeous little one day old 8lb boy was carried in by his mum. Yet while all the other mums-to-be were cooing over him, all I could think was "good God, how did he come out of that poor little woman only yesterday?!" and "8lbs isn't even all THAT big!" Scary stuff!

And never mind your DH, I've not changed a baby's nappy since I was about eight! Seriously, I wasn't joking when I said learning how to work the baby will be an achievement in its own right!

Hi Seablue - cross post, sorry.

I wasn't asked for a sample at my first appointment, however, that's when I was given my pot and told to wash and fill it before taking it with me to every other appointment. As I say, one pot, nine months, I wasn't impressed. So I have given samples, but have always ditched the pot afterwards, requesting a new one before each new appointment. (In my experience, the receptionists couldn't care less anyway.) I just find it disgusting... You pee in this thing, they pour your pee out and into another container, then hand you back the pot (not rinsed, not in a bag, not even in a paper towel) and expect you to recycle it. No!

Anyway. I'm so bored. Been on hold for the CAB for 46mins, after spending all day on phone to one JobCentre dept after another, none of whom could answer my question about what would happen if I opted for redundancy. Now my phone's nearly flat. Grr!

You get your sample poured into another container, WhiteRoses? Consider yourself lucky... They test my sample while still in the initial container, then give me the container and sample back again to take home and clean out ready for the next appointment.

Anyway... I've been slack with posting again and fallen behind. Such a flurry of posts over the last few days! I'd like to say my absence was caused by something interesting, but no I've just been on holiday from work and pottering about getting little things done. Only seven more working days to go though! Then I'm free... Free!

I see there are new graduates. Congratulations! Wishing you good first trimesters with no worries or morning sickness-!

Haven't got time to reply to everything, sorry... Currently doing some baking and I only have a few minutes before it needs taking out of the oven. I will quickly contribute though regarding nappies, which I think were mentioned a short while ago?

I've gone for getting in lots of disposables for initial use, since I figure that anything making my life easier in the first few days is probably a good thing! And with all the vouchers I've been sent by various companies I think I've barely paid for any nappies so far.

However, my local council run a 'real nappies' scheme which I applied for. It's not means tested and they basically either offered money off real nappies or a sample pack with a couple of different sorts and some liners.

I've gone for the sample pack and figure that I'll give them a go once things have settled down from the initial panic and see how I get on. Then I can always acquire a few more real nappies if I get on with them ok.

So, for those thinking they might want to use real nappies, it might be worth checking your local councils to see whether similar schemes are run in different areas? Freebies are great!

Oh my gosh, I've had the most horrid day. People are so awful and I can't believe what they can do. I can't really put it into words, I'm sorry this is such a moany post but it has been a day and then some. I hope you are all well and that you're enjoying your days. On the plus side, its my third anniversery and DH got me a lovely necklace. I'm so lucky and blessed to have him.

White Oh my gosh whats happening with your job?

Oneof8 Oh my gosh, they sound like a nightmare!! Glad you put your foot down.

Bunny Sounds like something my DH would do.

Sorry if I've missed you out, just sort of wanted to see what was happening round these parts.

hi our internet is not working so posting on the phone with the good news that the scan went well we saw the baby and it waved at us! Five cm long and they reckon i am twelve weeks and until the twenty week scan they have my due date as christmas eve but imagine it will be the fifteenth- yes please! So relieved that everything is ok and will post again tom. I wish mumsnet was not a restricted site in work.

Oneof8 I'm that your ILs asked you to change your clothes to match them in photos at your own engagement party. You must be some sort of saint for putting up with them....I would probably punched my MIL if she said that to me

roses I don't mind that MIL wants a girl. She's wanted a granddaughter for as long as I've known her (all her children are boys) but when BIL and SIL had a boy she fell in love with him straight away. DH has decided we will find out hte gender so that I will stop doing online gender prediction tests based on old wives tales

LOL at you getting bought tennis rackets - where will you store all of this stuff until LO is old enough to use it?

spirael your plan with the nappies sounds like ours. I don't think I'll cope with the extra washing in the first few weeks so I'll introduce cloth once we're feeling more settled.

Our hospital provides all nappies/baby clothes while we're there and they use cloth nappies, so I'll get plenty of supervised experience with them.

roses a woman I used to work with came back very shell shocked from one of her ante natal classes - they were shown a 12 pound baby The mother had had a completely natural birth with no pain relief at all and it was her first, so it sounds as though even monster sized babies can pop out easily

hermya sorry you've had such a bad day. Hopefully things will be better tomorrow

luckyseven congrats on the good scan. It sounds like you're in with a good chance of a Christmas baby

The course info for my antenatal classes arrived yesterday - we're not going until September so they obviously like to send it out early. There's a section in there about what clothes to buy for baby where it mentions that you should buy some in newborn and some in 0-3 months in case you have a big baby. DH's response to this was to ask why we can't just wait until the baby's born and then go out and buy everything once we know how big he/she is!! He changed his mind pretty quickly once I pointeed out that he would have to go by himself while I was in hospital and have sole resposiblilty for choosing everything

Wow, loads of posts and loads of lovely news from people.

Oneof8 I'm pleased your appointment went well, same to you lucky.

I agree re not telling people, we didn't tell anyone until we had the first scan and saw a heartbeat and the actual baby. I think that was 10 weeks for us here.Seems like ages ago now!

Oneof8 your inlaws sound like total and utter loons.

Hi folks, this thread is so busy! I've been very bad and have just been reading and not posting, so will do my best to catch up with you all now..

addie can I just add my to your marathon plan?? On a serious note, good for you - I'm definitly in roses camp, and just hoping to be able to cope with the baby by this time next year! Although I should caveat that by saying I wouldn't have run a marathon in my previous life either! [lazy lump emoticon]

roses many congrats for reaching the 25 weeks milestone! And I have to say, I love the idea of Mr Teeny cuddling into the placenta, it is so sweet! At the scan he was using my bladder for a pillow so obviously he's very comfy in there! Have you managed to get any further with the question of SMP and VR? I'm sure there are some HR types on MN, maybe post in the Jobs section? Good luck with all that - it will be great if it all works out.

curly am v at you starting mat leave! I can't wait for mine - only 3 months and 8 days to go... Enjoy and get DH to do the unpacking - you have some serious relaxing to do!!

chance I've ordered that book too - am picking it up before we fly which is great, as I wanted it to read on the plane. I am very excited about going back but with all thats been going on this week it's almost not sunk in yet!! My sis has her 12 week scan tomorrow too, so very excited to be able to see her scan pics when we get there.

lucky so many congrats on the fab scan - and a possible Christmas baby!! Do you think it will be earlier because of your cycle, or were the docs just being cautious?

mumnerves I second roses suggestion of leaving the bands on all the time - I only took mine off to sleep in, but I was lucky and nighttime was one of the only times I didn't feel sick. I'm convinced they are the only thing that got me through that first 12 weeks. Am in complete agreement with you about people's comments re the sex - I was almost not wanting to tell people when we found out it was a boy, just because those people who had already guessed that would be smug (oh, like me then? ) One woman at work especially - she got me to do the Chinese prediction thingy and it said 'boy' so she will be extra smug!!

bunny lol at your DH and the prams. I think mine was a bit lost when we went to look at ours - mostly because we were really looking at only one type, I'd already done all the research and knew as much as the salesman! Which did you decide to go for in the end?

oneof8 I cannot believe your inlaws! I don't think you're being unreasonable at all - YOU need to be comfortable with people knowing and I completely understand you wanting to wait for the scan. Hope it all gets a bit easier.

seablue my initial letter said to bring a sample with me, but as I was going to the GP's for a BP check anyway I just cheekily asked if they had one I could take to avoid using a marmite jar! The nurse was very sweet and gave me several - since then I've only been given one to take home, the first one was kept by the hospital. I threw out the one that I took home, as just couldn't face washing and reusing - but I only have one left from my initial stock, so might have to grin and bear it next time!

spireal enjoy the countdown to your last day! Hope you're starting to feel relaxed.

hermya am sending big hugs to you, sorry your day was so rotten.

bunny I did an inventory of all the stuff I've bought so far yesterday and realised I have 14 0-3mth vests! Hmm... think I need to take a more organised view of this!! I definitely need to get some more NB vests and babygro's, and some more 0-3mth babgro's and some socks, and maybe some more bibs.... It's all sooo cute!

Have a fab day ladies!