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

Spirael - huge congratulations ... I'm keeping everything crossed that everybody here has such a positive birth experience.

Wow Spirael!!! - beautiful name, and fab to have a positive birthing experience... I am not worrying about that part, and mentally skipping straight from being preg to having a baby without to much thought until needed how the transition may occur - I'll be honest, the though of labour scares me, so best avoided until its nearer the time!!

We argued discussed nursery colours last night as we have loads of work to complete on the upstairs and have work pencilled in for Sept/Oct time (money issue rather than choice!) Luckily my wonderful pops is taking holiday from work (as a painter/decorator) and doing it for us, we just need to provide the materials, and have the main bulk to re-build the bits we removed when moving in? it seemed a great idea at the time to get as much out whilst we had the skip and re-build over time as we could cope with living in a shell? still, at least we don?t need to hire a skip again ? you would be surprised how expensive these are!

I?ll repost list below, and add my EDD

Hope everyone else is well!

ARRIVALS:

Fulhamgirl - EDD 30th May - DOB 9th Apr - Girl - Lily Ann - 4lb
Trying4Baby1 - EDD 25th Apr - DOB 6th May - Girl - Emily - 10lb 2.5oz
Pepperonipizza -EDD 24th May - DOB 28th May -Boy
CurlyCasper - EDD 21st July - DOB 24th June.
Spirael - EDD 25th Jul - DOB 7th July - Girl - Miranda Jane - 8lb 3oz

CURRENT__GRADUATES:

DesperateHousewife21 - BFP 3rd Nov - EDD 18th Jul - Boy - Dylan
Ozziegirly - BFP 16th Dec - EDD 24th Aug
Sazziej - BFP? - EDD 1st Sep - Girl - Evie
NovemberAli - BFP 24th Dec - EDD 2nd Sep
WhiteRoses - BFP 11th Jan - EDD 15th Sep - Boy
Hobnob - BFP 17th Jan - EDD 26th Sep - Girl
pixiestix - BFP 18th Jan - EDD 24th Sep - Surprise
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 - Boy
fudgecat - BFP 19th Feb ? EDD 28th Oct
Pidgin - BFP 27th Feb - EDD?
YorkshireTeaDrinker - BFP 1st Mar - EDD 6th Nov
bunnygirl80 - BFP 12th Mar - EDD 19th Nov-Boy
Mumnerves - BFP 1st Apr - EDD 8th Dec
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 17th Jan
Aly323 - BFP? - EDD 31st Jan
saltyair - BFP 18th June - EDD ?
muser - BFP 22nd June - EDD 27 Feb
superpenguin - BFP 1st July - EDD ?

Oh congratulations Spirael - what an amazing birth story! I guess your anniversary will be even more special now.

With all these early arrivals I am starting to question the wisdom of starting my maternity leave at 39 weeks

Hello muser glad to have you with us, hoping for a well behaved pregnancy for you from now on!

Will be keeping you in my thoughts Fudge, hoping Splodge can keep fighting.

Spirael, Oh my god, oh my god, oh my goooooooooooooooooooooood!!!

Just popping by.
A big CONGRATULATIONS to Spirael - that is a beautiful birth story, well done you.

Hope everyone else is doing well too.

My EDD is 7th March 2011.

Congrats Spirael - what a fabulous experience and more power to you for being so calm If you weren't a frolicker I would have thought you'd done this many times before. Also to go with a birth pool at home for your first - WOW.. I would love to go for a birth pool though wd do it in a hospie... Am popping in from the frolicker thread in the conception topic so still awaiting that elusive bfp.

congrats spirael so happy for you, DH and miranda jane. my sister is also called mindy and i think it's a beautiful name. congrats on such a great birth!!!

spirael what an amazing story, well done and welcome to the world Miranda Jane! i have now finished crying which is a good thing as the SKY tv man has 4 mins to get here. Working from home is great, you can have a good cry at a frolicker's good news and then get back to work!

My word, had a bit of a week of it. I've had to tell my friend that I didn't want to be a bridemaids at her wedding (found out about it a couple of weeks ago, wedding in two weeks). We've not had time to go Bridesmaid shopping and she's selected the dresses off of the internet. I tried the first one on and it was too tight and I didn't have the best reaction to my pregnant figure in it. Figured it was the sizing, got the next size up and cue the same reaction (dress is very low cut and you can see the stretch marks on my boobs). I was literally in tears at the thought of it all. Cue many talks with MIL and DH and then with friend who I asked if I could take a step back from being a Bridesmaid. She wasn't impressed but understood, she said she felt hurt and disapointed at my reaction but that she couldn't force me to do anything I didn't want to do.

Basically the thought of being on display like that fills me with dread and really upset me. I didn't know if I was being OTT but I'm sat here thinking about it and feeling quite distressed about it.

I know she's hurt and I know how she's feeling (Bridesmaid pulled out of my wedding for similar reasons) but I know I've done the right thing. I just hope she's ok with me eventually.

Apart from that, I am 24 weeks pregnant and that means my little boy is an official legal entity in his own right. I don't know if babies have personalities that are present in the womb, but going by his movements alone I'd say he's inherited my fidgets and DH's laid backness. He doesn't really kick that often, he sort of likes to take it easy and will occasionally just sort have a bit of a stretch and a good old wiggle after meals (I can never sit still after meals).

I do wonder about the reports of babies who are soothed by familiar noises that they've heard in the womb once they're outside. Thing is mine has had a bleepy radios has his background noise from work. I do wonder if when I take him in to show him off if he'll get calm from just being in the presence of those bleeps.

Other than that, I am now sporting a beautiful support belt courtesy of the NHS. Not sure if it's helping the SPD, but time will tell.

Ozzie Sorry about the insulin, at least you know your LO is bang on for his dates. You never know though, you may go early as is the trend for the frolickers at the moment.

Aly Fingers crossed for your bloom, mine came in the form of nice skin. I may feel a bit rough at times, but at least I look good.

Bunny, I'm almost 11 weeks and I think my ms might be letting off some (still exhausted though). Now I'm doing exactly what you mentioned- worrying. If it isn't one thing I'm worrying about, it's another. Luckily, although I still have mild dizziness, my two days of vertigo also seem to have passed.

Hermya, I'm sure your friend will understand. I think you did the right thing. It wouldn't be good for anyone if you had to spend the wedding (and the days leading up to it) feeling awful.

Ozzie sorry to hear you got stuck with the insulin. Everyone I know actually found that they preferred the insulin to diet control. Also, it's great that you're late on, hopefully that'll keep you from getting hypos. My hypos are all due to the fact that my body has sudden spurts where it just sucks in the insulin. It's really common in the first-tri. I think you'll find to be easier than one expects.

NovemberAli 39 weeks! If I could talk my doc into putting me out now, I would happily not work for the rest of my pregnancy. My boss claimed a few days ago that he's never had a woman make it all the way to the date they've given for maternity leave. They all go out early. His theory is because most of the women I work with are in their late 30's and are more likely to get put on bedrest. Like I said, I'm ready to stop now at 10-11 weeks.

As a matter of fact, I'm at home right now. I decided to call in today and take a "mental health" day. My house is filthy, I'm exhausted and I was too tired to even shower this morning. Hopefully since I'm not feeling too sick, I might actually straighten up a little. Wouldn't that be nice!!

Aly Whats a mental health day? I'm sorry you're feeling so tired, I hope you feel better soon though.

A mental health day a term commonly used in the states for when you call in sick, but are doing it just because you don't feel like working (therefore it's good for your mental health). My job is actually pretty good with allowing me to take off whenever I need. We have many paid days to use for whatever reason needed such as vacation, illness, bad mood. After that, we can still take days, but they will then cut into salary. Usually I get money back at the end of the year for not using all of my days. This year will probably be different. I'm just afraid to use too many days since I don't know what the third trimester will hold.

Also, I'm now struggling with asking to be taken out of my current assignment and placed in a less stressful one to help with managing my diabetes. Stress makes your blood sugar go up. Also, because of the insulin, I have several very low hypos a day where I get shaky, emotional and sometimes confused. I'm an attorney defending people on trial for serious crimes, several facing life in prison. I'm not in trial all the time, but am constantly thinking about it. Another position would mean more work, but less stress. It's tough to decide what's best.

Many congrats spirael xxx

Ozzie sorry to hear you've ended up on insulin. What's the reasoning behind inducing you - is it just so the baby doesn't grow too big? Although if the rest of the Frolicker babies are anything to go by, he may well have arrived by the time you get to 39 weeks.

It might not be any reassurance for you at all, but although induction has a bit of a reputation for not being all that nice, I've got a couple of friends who were induced early for various reasons, and they both had 5-6 hour labours with just gas and air for pain relief. So from my incredibly scientific sample of two, it's perfectly possible to have a short managable labour after being induced

November at you working until 39 weeks. I don't think there's any chance I'd make it that far

hermya I'm sure your friend will understand your feelings - there's no point in forcing you to do something that makes you feel so uncomfortable. I'm hoping that the thing about babies finding noises that they've heard in the womb soothing - I've put together a playlist on my iPod that I put on when I'm at home. I'll be able to play it through the baby swing once LO arrives. DH won't be happy though as I've put loads of Take That on it so he might get stuck listening to them on a loop if it really does work to calm LO down

aly it must be hard for you having to cope with insulin, sickness and having to be in court.

I feel like the "enforcer of the list" with everyone dutifully supplying EDD's as soon as I ask

DH has finally managed to feel LO kick. I'm glad he has as I think he was starting to feel a bit disappointed that every time he tried to feel LO would hide from him. I've noticed now that LO really responds to whats going on outside - if I poke my tummy then he will kick exactly where my hand is. When we were 4wding on hols every time we went from a proper road to a dirt track he would start kicking - not sure if this was a sign he was enjoying the ride, or a protest at being woken up by all the bumping around

ARRIVALS:

Fulhamgirl - EDD 30th May - DOB 9th Apr - Girl - Lily Ann - 4lb
Trying4Baby1 - EDD 25th Apr - DOB 6th May - Girl - Emily - 10lb 2.5oz
Pepperonipizza -EDD 24th May - DOB 28th May -Boy
CurlyCasper - EDD 21st July - DOB 24th June.
Spirael - EDD 25th Jul - DOB 7th July - Girl - Miranda Jane - 8lb 3oz

CURRENT__GRADUATES:

DesperateHousewife21 - BFP 3rd Nov - EDD 18th Jul - Boy - Dylan
Ozziegirly - BFP 16th Dec - EDD 24th Aug
Sazziej - BFP? - EDD 1st Sep - Girl - Evie
NovemberAli - BFP 24th Dec - EDD 2nd Sep
WhiteRoses - BFP 11th Jan - EDD 15th Sep - Boy
Hobnob - BFP 17th Jan - EDD 26th Sep - Girl
pixiestix - BFP 18th Jan - EDD 24th Sep - Surprise
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 - Boy
fudgecat - BFP 19th Feb ? EDD 28th Oct
Pidgin - BFP 27th Feb - EDD?
YorkshireTeaDrinker - BFP 1st Mar - EDD 6th Nov
bunnygirl80 - BFP 12th Mar - EDD 19th Nov-Boy
Mumnerves - BFP 1st Apr - EDD 8th Dec
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 17th Jan
Aly323 - BFP? - EDD 31st Jan
saltyair - BFP 18th June - EDD ?
muser - BFP 22nd June - EDD 27 Feb
superpenguin - BFP 1st July - EDD 7 Mar

Hermya I don't blame you not wanting to be a bridesmaid, I actually think that 24-30 week period is the worst because you feel fat but haven't necessarily got an obvious pregnant shape (I know I didn't) and I just felt like I looked huge and ungainly. As soon as I turned about 29 weeks though I got a proper bump and now I feel better about the way I look, and have actually allowed a few photos to be taken of me.

aly pleased to hear you're starting to feel a little better. A mental health day sounds like a very good idea. I also think trying to take it a bit easier at work is very sensible, with the diabetes. I go to court fairly often and even that, trying to organise doing the blood tests, eating and taking insulin at the same time around being in court is a bit of a nuisance, and I don't have to be as strict as you.

I doubt I will get hypos as I am on a tiny amount of insulin at this stage. It's been fine for the 3 meals I have taken it with so far, although I have to say, I do feel ever so vaguely queasy after eating, but this might not be the insulin, it could be the mere fact of injecting myself, or it could just be that I am full of baby and then add food into it where there isn't much room!

bunny their idea behind inducing early is that in some women with diabetes the placenta can start to not function as well, and therefore as the baby is basically cooked by 39 weeks they find that there is no risk to the baby, in comparison to the very tiny "risk" of leaving it in.

I have to say, if I felt massively strongly about it I think my obstetrician would probably let me go to term (depending on how things go from now) but as its my first baby I am more nervous about things going wrong.

They seem to manage diabetes really conservatively over here though - everything I have read about blood sugar levels in the UK would mean I probably wouldn't be on insulin if I was over there.

But my Obs tells me that they have excellent outcomes from being so strict, with incredibly low (almost negligible) stillbirths - which is the main thing they are trying to avoid.

The hospital I am having the baby in has all the new up to date stuff like mobile epidurals, mobile CTG machines, and so I intend to use all of these and try to make the induction as pleasant as possible.

Afternoon all! Hope things are going ok for everyone today.

It's actually my wedding anniversary today, we were just going to celebrate it a day late before as DH would have been working. Instead, I've been spending the vast majority of it breastfeeding, meanwhile poor DH is zoned out on the bed upstairs trying to catch a few hours of kip in case we have another long night of feeding!

Still enjoying parenthood though. Mindy is an absolute star and doing her best to make things easy for us while we learn how to care for her.

Anyway, before I forget, I figured I'd post a quick list of things I've learnt in the last 48 hours in case they're useful to anyone:

• Tena lady pants with a maternity pad are by far the most comfy thing for after birth with stitches and the bleeding. Lovely and soft, and the pants stop any leaks. Sure you look like you're wearing a nappy, but then you won't be the only one in the house thanks to your newborn!

• 10 Tena pants and 36-48 maternity pads should get you through the first few days to a week.

• Putting Vaseline on baby's bottom before a nappy makes the first few black tar poos easy as pie to remove. Even the MWs were impressed.

• For the first 24 hours after the birth, peeing really stings. Best solution? Pee in the shower. It gets better after the first day, but you'll want to wash yourself down with water afterwards rather than wipe, so keep a sports bottle of water nearby.

• Make sure you have enough paracetamol in for the first few days, as you are understandably a bit sore down below.

• LO not wanting to feed much/at all for the first 24 hours is normal and they won't die of hunger! They'll just suddenly get really hungry and make up for lost time...

• Giving your baby a tiny amount of formula following a marathon 4 hour night time feed after which LO is still crying with hunger doesn't ruin all breastfeeding plans. It just means everyone gets a few hours of sleep and everything can be picked up at dawn where it was left off.

• Online supermarket shopping is fantastic! Choose all your favourite foods from the comfort of the sofa and have them arrive on the doorstep.

• Brie and cranberry sandwiches are just as good as I remember.

I think that's all I have for now... If people find the tips useful, I'll post more things I've discovered as I discover them!

Spirael Firstly I'm pleased to hear that all is going well, can't believe that you've found time to post - that is very reassuring in itself!

thank you so much for posting your list of what you've learnt. I'm sure everyone else will be as impressed as me - off to put Vaseline in my hospital bag!Then I'll be off to investigate Tena Lady pants....

spireal well done you for being able to come online! Great to hear your tips... can I just ask about the Tena Lady (not having had much experience of these...) I assume they're based on your normal clothes size? Is there a range of 'absorbency', or did you just go for the thickest available? Also, which mat pads did you go for and would you recommend?

Hope you're enjoying Miranda's first Friday! and congrats on your anniversary, what a special way to celebrate!

Ooh, by the way, we found our nursery today, so very pleased about that. But it does seem weird to be thinking about putting LO into childcare already when he's not even here yet!

spirael I can't believe you're finding the time to post, although I'm greatful for the tips. My local supermarket actually stocks the mat pads and Tena Lady on the same shelf.....now I know why Hope you had an enjoyable anniversary

ozzie it does sound like they've been pretty strict with you so far, but if it reduces the risks of complications for the baby then it seems like a sensible approach.

worrisome it does seem really weird to be thinking about nurseries before LO's even here. DH's company will research nurseries for us, so we just need to choose, but we need to get a move on if I want to go back to work when I planned.

I'm not feeling very glowy and pg at the moment, more just big and fat. I seem to have piled on the weight over the last two weeks (possibly due to slight overindulgence on hols) and now my belly's really starting to stick out. It still looks more like flab than a bump though, and my waist has completely disappeared. I've never been self-conscious about my body before -perhaps because I've been lucky enough to be naturally slim - but this week I just want to cry when I see myself naked in the mirror. I keep telling myself to pull myself together, but it's not working at the moment

Looking on the bright side though, our pot smoking, group sex () having neighbours have moved out

bunny am that we're only just hearing the juicy gossip about your neighbours!! Not like Ramsey St at all huh?

Very cool that your DH's work will look into nurseries, can I assume that means they pay for it too?? Wow.

Am very on board with your 'big and fat' feelings. I'm getting very bored of being a big lump and there is more to come! Plus, having read in the paper this morning that bookies are slashing their odds on the UK beating the previous highest temp of 38 degrees, I am seriously wonderng if we can fit a walk-in freezer in our flat...

Mindy spends most of the day feeding and cuddle snoozing at the moment, both of which mean I can type one handed on the laptop set up next to me.

Though she will accept being put down to sleep for periods too if I need to do stuff. We even managed a trip out yesterday!

She's fantastic overnight at the moment. Sleeps happily in the moses basket for 3-4 hour bursts, which is more than I was getting when pregnant thanks to bladder squashing!

I'm surprised at just how well things are going, at present. When am I meant to start feeling tearful and overwhelmed?? Is this just the babymoon period I wonder..?

Anyway, the Tena pants I've been using are medium size Discreet 5 Absorbency, apparently. Oh, and they're a pack of 12, not 10. I started off a size 10-12 and I think I'm currently around 12-14 now, tummy aside. With a maternity pad, the pants just about fit ok, but I couldn't be too much bigger.

I'm actually rather smug at the moment to be fitting in to some of my pre-preg clothes. Admittedly they're my baggiest 14-16 drawstring type shorts/trousers, I'm a long way off squeezing into the tight jeans. But still, makes me happy!

A few more tips:

• A rocking stand for the moses basket makes re-settling LO overnight easier. I can just nudge it while half asleep myself if I hear her fuss slightly.

• This supports LOs head really well, I think it's helping her sleep as she's not flopping about.

Going to be another roasting day today, by all accounts. I hope everyone is coping ok.

Spirael, you are a total rockstar.

just doing a quick check in while taking a break from packing.....

spirael I agree with Aly you are a rock star!!!! Thanks for all of the tips, i am so glad you are coping so fantastically Keep the tips coming xxxx

Will be back for a proper catch up when i have managed a few more boxes