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

I seem to be working my way up near the top of that list , I have my scan on Friday to check the placenta so I'm hoping that it will have moved up or I'll be at the top I think!

Thanks for adding that Pixie, I am having a surprise - hoping the scan won't reveal anything! I think it's very normal to be worried, especially with your first baby - you're right to try and address it though as you want to be able to try and enjoy your pregnancy.

Wow, Spirael, you are an inspiration! Keep the tips coming

Fudge - hoping Splodge keeps putting on those grams!

Hoping things improve for those of you having a rough time of it and congrats on the scan Hobnob!

Congratulations to Desperate too - lovely name!

Well, have just spent the morning in the labour ward being monitored as I've been having regular pains for about 3 hours - turns out all is well and the doc thinks it's just ( just? ) strong Braxton Hicks. Freaky though, but no sign of proper contractions and everything looks ok in the cervix dept, so am now at home trying to relax. Mr Teeny was moving and kicking away when on the trace which is great and such a relief that he's not about to make an appearance! The doc who examined me said he was a big baby though - first time anyone's mentioned his size apart from to say measurements etc were fine at the scan - how accurate do you think they can be at this stage? Should I bother washing the newborn stuff?

worrisome that must have been scary for you, im glad to hear Mr Teeny is staying put for now. Did the doctor say how big they think he is?

you must be about 27\28 weeks now?

Nope, she just palpated my tum and said 'oh he's a big baby' - cue me imagining a 12 pounder... Yep, am 27+1, so much too early. How are you doing today?

im ok thanks. I was feeling very down yesterday thinking about what may happen but I have my chin up a bit more today.

I think I may have had a few BH's in the last week or so but im not too sure if thats what it was. It felt like a belt being pulled very tight at the same time as a bad AF cramp?

Hi All,

Bunny & Pixie I am trying to get some boxes picked up to give us more space to pack We are not moving out of the flat until 5/8 but we have so many busy weekends before then. Yes i am starting to freak out, my worst fear is that I do a fulham and go into labour at 30 weeks...can you imagine me in singapore or on a plane where are you moving to pixie?

hobnob nice to hear from you i hope you enjoy your time off before LO arrives (good timing with the school hols!)

Congrats to Despo and baby Dylan!! they are coming thick and fast now!

Worrisome & Pixie you are not overreacting!! without freaking you out i have to say i have these thoughts all the time. My Sister lost a child 1 day before she was due, i wont go into it all but she has since had a Son and she is very happy. The doctors told her if she was ever worried then the best test is to drink a REALLY cold sugary drink and sit still in whatever position is the one you feel baby move in most - you should feel the baby move within 10-15min, if baby is moving then you are all good. If it doesnt react, go to the hospital and they can check you out. now it does sound a little like torture, but in this hot weather i have no problems drinking something cold a nice cold milk shake will also work ! I dont think that we will ever stop worrying from now on

fudge Fantastic to hear splodge is growing, i hope you are doing ok too

aly glad your scan went well - it is so nice to see that there is a real baby in there isnt it? v.jealous you get another one tomorrow!

Bunny Any news on your friend yet? I know someone over here who was left to go over by 3weeks! she just had the baby and is all good now...but 3 weeks!!!

ozzy i know how you feel i keep on crying at the news DH has banned me from watching anything to do with the war. I know you dont feel sick, but if the doctor will sign you off do it otherwise you will end up sick.

addie it must be great to have someone close who you can talk to who is an expert!

Hermya Sorry you are not doing so well - dont worry about your friend she will get over it. hope your spd gets better

november enjoy the scan on friday - hope your placenta has moved!

Spirael I think its safe to say we are all impressed!

All is going well here, not able to sleep much LO has been practising what feels like karate from 2am to 5am, but i am taking this as a good thing...he is very active

I have a holiday today and am trying not to do anything but catch up on Tv and MN. Hope everyone is having a good week

woops super long post there missed you worrisome i hope you are feeling better now, and that mr teeny has decided to behave again.

fudge you are doing amazingly well, I am sure it is hard to stay positive all the time

fudge glad you're feeling cheerier today, I think you're coping amazingly well. Yep, that sounds BH-ish to me - all the previous ones I've had didnt hurt hence being so panicked this morning (plus they were coming at regular 5-10 min intervals). The doc said that it could be down to stretching of the uterus too.

chance enjoy your day off and forget the packing!

Hello fellow first-time frolickers!

I'm 6weeks+2 and feeling very nauseous today

It's fascinating reading all your stories at the various stages of pregnancy (both the ups and the downs) and thinking about all the different experiences people have as well as the things we have in common.

hang in there fudge. You are doing so well. Great to hear that splodge has put on a bit more weight. I hit the 28 wk milestone tomorrow which I have been looking forward to. Officially into the third trimester, and with a (hopefully) fully viable Pip. I think the next milestone will be 30 weeks. When the weeks remaining are in single figures it will suddenly all seem like it is going to happen very soon! We have pretty much everything bought, and the room decorated. We went for the bugaboo cameleon with the maxi cosi car seat that clicks onto it, and have all the nursery furniture sorted from John Lewis. I have been picking up clothes in various places so have plenty of those. I bought a beautiful swinging chair in the Mamas and Papa's sale last week, and have a baby bjorn carrier thing as well. We even have a baby monitor, and I bought a breast pump and a steriliser and some bottles and a nappy bin. I keep thinking there must be something I have missed but I think I have it all now. I am going to wait till nearer the time to stock up on nappies etc. Congratulations to the recent BFPs.
Worriesome - that sounds really frightening. I haven't had any BHs yet but no doubt will panic when I do for the first time! I wouldn't worry too much about the comment that it is a big baby, particularly as based on just having a bit of a feel rather than a scan or anything. My understanding is that pre-birth predictions of weight and size are notoriously inaccurate - I am sure your little one is a perfectly normal size!

Thanks addie, I agree about the docs prediction being inaccurate - although my DH has been making Godzilla noises since we got back from the hosp - very helpful! BH's are still continuing which is irritating but at least I'm not panicking at each one now.
I can't believe how organised you are! Which baby monitor did you go for? A friend of mine has the AngelCare with the pad that signals when the baby stops breathing but she says it's obv not working properly as sometimes they forget to turn it off when they take the LO out of the cot and it doesn't go off! Am thinking of one of the Tomy ones with a temp and nightlight.

superpenguin sorry to hear you're suffering with nausea - I found seabands an absolute godsend (I think several of the FF's used them too), so might be worth a try?

Hi girls,
I have been checking in most day but haven't posted for ages, so sorry for reading and running for the last wee while, i love coming on this thread as i learn so much from you all.

i think the last time i was on i was telling you about my best friend being in hospital with a threatened third miscarriage. Sadly it hasn't worked out again this time but they are going to move forward with tests. I have been so worried about her and am relieved she is going to give her body a break before trying again. We both started ttc at the same time late last summer and we actually fell pg at the same time (my first, her second) so I am really aware that us having a baby in December will be hard for her and now we have these three dates when there should have been a baby. So sad. Whilst she was in hospital i looked after her 2 year old for a whole day which was a lot of fun but so tiring and a massive wakeup call to how our lives are going to change! You really will play any game on repeat just to keep them occupied!

So i am going to try be more positive despite what has happened lately as a first pregnancy is such an unrepeatable experience and at 18 weeks tomorrow i think i am soon going to cross the line of 'God, hasn't she let herself go' to 'oh you are pg, when are you due?'! Can't wait to go for our 20 week scan on the 28th as hopefully the hospital will move my due date forward from Christmas Eve and give me an idea if they will bring me in prior to Christmas or just let nature take its course. I so want to have junior before Christmas but i guess whatever it takes to have a healthy child and a healthy labour.

fudge i am so glad little splodge is putting weight on, i have been checking in most days to see if you had any news and i really admire how you have coped and hope your chin up days continue.

worrisome what a scare you had at 27 weeks, about the big baby, i have known a few people lately who were told to prepare themselves for a big baby and ended up with lovely litle 7 lb bundles.

Does anyone know where i can find a realistic list of what you need to buy before the birth, i keep having dreams about not enough baby grows (sp?)!

My latest internet research obsession is car seats as we traded in my first car the other day for a sensible family car with 5 doors and a bigger boot, whilst it was a vw polo (the granny drivers favourite) i was really sad handing her over!

i promise to catch up with everyone tomorrow as i am back to work after two public holidays (northern ireland get an extra 2 in july) and a flexi day so the office will be really quiet as most people have taken the week.

penguin sorry to hear about the nausea. I found chewing gum really helped me - I don't know why but I've since had a few friends tell me that they found chewing helped too. It did mean I was chewing from after breakfast until the early evening only stopping to eat, so I ended up swapping constant nausea for jaw ache

lucky sorry to hear about your friend - I hope she has a successful pg soon. There are lots of threads on MN with lists of what to buy. Some of the more experienced mums on the due in November thread put together a list for us - it was probably on volume 1 of the thread if you want to look for it. I'd take the lists produced by places selling baby stuff with a pinch of salt - they seem to be designed to get money out of unsuspecting first time parents

worrisome glad to hear Mr Teeny's ok after your scare. I doubt the doctor can accurately tell the size just by feeling your bump so I wouldn't worry about giving birth to a giant baby too much yet!

chance no news from my friend yet.

I hve a friend who is a doctor who once had to deliver a baby on a plane - he got a free first class return ticket to anywhere in the world for his efforts. I'm not sure if the lady who had the baby got the same though

hermya sorry to hear you're not feeling so great. As for your friend, I'm sure she'll get over it. I think it's quite easy for people to get caught up in their pre-wedding madness for a while and forget that other people have feelings too.

I've been feeling pretty down this week - no idea why, I've just been really tearful for days. I'm feeling a bit better today though so hopefully it was just an excess of hormones for a few days. My mood's definitely been lifted by realising this morning that ALL of my spots have completely gone

And I managed to get the Seed Pod moses basket I wanted barely used from ebay for less than half price

Thanks for all your advice and support guys. I am definitely going to talk to the midwife tomorrow to make sure that it doesn't spiral out of control. I also have my GD test to look forward to and I wouldn't be at all surprised if I failed it magnificently! So lots of fun instore for me tomorrow morning.

Fudgecat that is great news that Splodge is still gaining weight, especially given how bleak the doctors were initially. Hopefully s/he has put on a good few more grams this weeks. I don't know how you have made it through this past month of hell [hug]

Addie - I am taking your advice and staying away from the sad threads to try and keep myself sane! Wow at your organisation - I don't have half that stuff yet. I really should get a move on or I'll be in a right panic at 40 weeks!

Aly thats fantastic that Arpad is doing so well Hope that the NT scan today is just as good. Glad you are feeling a bit better too - there is nothing quite so horrible as trying to stay professional while feeling completely green.

Bunny - has your friend popped yet? Is she nearby? That might be just the tonic to help you feel a little happier - a good squidge and sniff of a newborn!

Hermya - sorry you are feeling crap. This pregnancy lark is really not that much fun is it? Although no-one could have told me that while I was TTC! I think you have done the right thing re: being a bridesmaid. Your friend will probably realise that for herself once she gets pg.

Spirael - its no use trying to tell us about your hormones - we still all think that you are the perfect super-mum! Seriously, I hope you are feeling ok and the baby blues aren't hitting you too hard. Isn't it amazing that Mindy can be guzzling down all that and still have lost 11% of her birth weight? Amniotic fluid must be insansely fattening!
A very personal question for you - how are your boobs doing with the breastfeeding? The only friend I have with a baby said that BF was absolute agony for the first two or three weeks, what with all the uterus pulling and sore nips. She was sobbing every day with it. Is it as awful as all that? Be honest!

November - thinking migrating placenta thoughts for you for tomorrow!

Superpenguin - the nausea is a great sign although I'm sure it doesn't feel like it right now!

Chance - Without wanting to reveal too much RL stuff, I'm moving to the deep countryside! Not such a trek as you, but its still about six hours out of London and so will be very, very different to life now. I can't wait and and a bit scared all at the same time. Complete life overhaul!
Hmmm, giving birth in Singapore, or on the plane.... that would be such a great birth story for your LO that I am almost wishing that on you!!
I'm so sorry to hear about your sisters baby Its so terrifying how wrong it can all go so far into a pregnancy. Thank god she has her little son now.

Worrisome - god, I can't believe that happened to you after we were trying to be so positive the other night! That must have been terrifying I'm so relieved for you that Mr Teeny is ok, and swimming about completely obliviously! As for him being big - the last time I went to the midwife she said that I was measuring two weeks ahead of my dates, but that she wouldn't start to panic until the difference got any bigger than that. She is going to measure me again tomorrow and if it has increased then I will get a growth scan at 32 weeks to see what is happening. Addie is right that palpating on its own is notoriously innaccurate, and its just as likely to be lots of amniotic fluid as a giant baby. That said, Trying had a ten pounder without anyone flagging it up...
If you are looking for a baby monitor, Mamas and Papas have a sale on Phillips Avent stuff right now and there is a couple of monitors that look pretty good. I'm just waiting for payday and then I will be ordering away!

Happy rainy day vibes to everyone! I'm so glad this heatwave has broken, and I almost feel like a proper human being again

I've just been looking at one of the old Frolickers threads from wwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy back in Jan/Feb time and I can't believe that we're all over this side of the waters at the moment. I saw your BFP Pixie and then Whites story about leaving her test on top of the toilet for three days just to make sure it was still positive. There was also one of my posts about the crappy unattractive firemen. I have still to find one that is even anywhere near calender worthy.

I was watching the results of the British Crime survey on the news. It was interesting to hear their take on it. I'm keeping watch to see how it all pans out in reality to be honest. Oh well.

Oh the pregnancy side of things, I'm begining to feel like I'm carrying around a beach ball. I'm starting to get to the point where I can't bend properly because the jellybabies in the way. Bless him!! I'm going to go to the Docs next week about my work situation to see if they can help me get reduced hours. I'm finding it hard to cope with the SPD and the long hours.

Thanks for all your messages on the Bridesmaid thing, my friend still hasn't spoken to me since that conversation. I'm quite upset by this, but I know I've done the right thing. I just hope she doesn't use this as an 'end' for us as friends. Mind you if she does, that doesn't say much for her really. Anyway, I'm going to be positive and try and let it go. I have 14 and a half weeks to go and I get to have a snuggly baby of my own to distract me.

I also made the mistake of rewatching 'One Born Every Minute' on 4OD this morning. My advice would be to not even go there. I had to have a cup of tea to calm down. I'm so glad we've got a doula coming with us.

Pixie Yeah thats what I'm hoping as well, I hope you feel better soon. As someone who has had panic attacks I know it really isn't nice and you can find your anxieties taking over you. Have you thought about talking to a counciller. I talked to one earlier in my pregnancy and it was what I needed. I'm thinking of going back for another session as I can feel myself getting a bit anxious again (friend situation/spd/general pregnancy stuff). My DH has been wonderful though and has helped me a lot by just letting me talk through stuff with him.

Bunny Yay for no spots!!

Lucky Do you want me to copy my list of stuff that I came up with down? Also I can't believe you're nearly twenty weeks now. That went so fast. Sorry about your friend though, it's not nice is it.

Worrisome Sorry about whats been happening to you. I'm glad things seem to be ok now though.

Addie Wow 28 weeks, thats so cool!!

Fudge Yay for Splodge getting bigger and I'm glad you're feeling more positive.

Chance I hope you had a good day off.

Super Oh my gosh I remember that stage, it's not nice is it. Have you tried Lemongrass Lemon and Ginger cordial, that worked for me at times. I swigged the stuff like mad.

November Thinking moving thoughts for your placenta.

Ozzie Gosh thats rubbish, I hope you're feeling a bit better now though. I'm off to visit the Docs to see what they can do for me.

Spireal (sings) 'Wonder wooooooommmmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnn', glad you and Mindy are doing well.

Also have a question, there are going to be a few of us popping in the next while. Are we going to start a postnatel group or shall we do what some of the others seem to do and just lump it all in together on the one thread.

I got the bt 150 baby monitor which had been really well reviewed by Which and lots of our friends. I haven't taken it out of the box yet so can't add any personal comments!

Re the sea bands for nausea - I have to say that I think if you are really sick, nothing helps except prescription medication! I tried absolutely everything including sea bands, ginger, vitamin B6, morningwell cd, etc etc, and none of it made a blind bit of difference! after a few days of being unable to keep anything down the doctor gave me metaclompromide and cyclizine, both of which do definitely work and are safe to take when you are pregnant. If you get really sick superpenguin - its safer to take these drugs than it is to allow yourself to get really severely dehydrated, so get yourself to a GP!

Evening all! Just popping on quickly while DH does feeding duty with an expressed bottle. Though I get the feeling Mindy will guzzle it all in record time and then want more...

My breasts aren't doing too bad, all things considered, pixiestix. The left one is in pretty good shape, but the right took a bit of abuse during the first four hour feeding session on day 1 and is still recovering, so the nipple is a bit raw.

I've not had any problems with after pains during breast feeding, though I am aware of a slight tightening feeling so I'm assuming that's everything compressing down in response. I think it's meant to be worse for subsequent babies? So we should all escape as first timers.

I wouldn't exactly describe it as painful, but the first few seconds of breast feeding are a bit 'toe curling' as the let down happens and milk starts to flow. It's not exactly pleasant, but not bad enough to put me off. I'm hoping I either get used to the sensation or it goes away with time! It does seem to be bothering me less and less.

My nipples have been a bit tender, to the point where I can't dry my breasts with a towel, I have to either air dry or gently pat them with tissue paper at the moment. Putting a bra on is uncomfortable, but putting a nice padded breast pad in makes bra wearing absolutely fine. I'm not particularly leaking, but still using pads for that reason!

For the right hand nipple that got a bit savaged, putting some Lansinoh cream on just before feeding makes it a bit less tender. When it's feeling particularly bad, I've been using my breast pump on that side as I can be a bit more gentle with the movements than a ravenous newborn! Then just giving Mindy the milk straight away from the bottle.

They do say not to give a newborn a bottle for several weeks until breast feeding is established, but I can confirm that Mindy's been having at least one bottle a day since day 1 and has yet to show any confusion. She'll take whatever is offered, and more!!

I've not had any more tearful episodes, so hopefully I've managed to escape the worst of the baby blues. Touch wood, but my hormones seem relatively stable at present.

Anyway, the little milk monster does want more. Best go feed her again! She'd gained a little weight when they weighed her earlier, but still a bit less than they'd prefer, so she's being checked again on Sunday.

Where does she put all the milk, I wonder??

pixie good luck with the GD test. Sadly my friend is in the UK so I'll just get to look at pictures of her LO rather than getting a cuddle.

hermya I think we should definitely have a post natal thread once enough of us have popped.

I've also noticed that I'm having to adjust the way I move around - my centre of gravity's definitely changed and I have to sit down to put my socks on rather than beding forwards to do it, otherwise I feel like I'm going to topple over I keep winding DH up by telling him it won't be long until I can't reach my feet and he has to put my shoes and socks on for me

spirael glad to hear it looks like you've escaped the worst of the baby blues. And thanks for sharing all your tips.....there's so much to pregnancy and parenting that noone ever talks about in real life

Talking of sharing tips, one of my friends who has 2 DDs sent me an email with her best pregnancy and newborn tips. I've posted them here for anyone that's interested

Firsly, if you are planning to breastfeed, the most important thing you can do is buy some pure lanolin cream (called Lansinoh here) and pack it in your labour bag. Apply it EVERY time before you feed (don't worry, baby can ingest it) and you will be smiling as baby chomps on you for hours and hours. And if you forget this advice and start to feel sore, put some of this miracle stuff on and you'll stop wincing almost instantly. Trust me, it has to be lanolin. ALL OTHER nipple creams are rubbish, you NEED this. I am speaking from experience.

Next topic, raspberry leaf tea. It may seem like an old wives tale, but I am absolutley convinced it helped DD2 pop out in 23 mins (ok, she was my second one, but even so..). I had 4 cups a day for 4 weeks before due day. It doesn't induce labour, but it makes the contractions more efficient at pushing baby out, which is the end goal.

Sorry to be a bit grim, but nobody else is going to tell you this. Think of a reasonable amount of maternity towels you would buy for the first couple of weeks, then triple it. You don't want to be sending DH out for emergency supplies. Enough said. The same applies to breast pads, although you won't need many of those until the milk fairy comes to visit on day 3-4. So much to look forward to!

Morning everyone!

Spirael that's wonderful that Mindy is doing so well and it's so nice to read your posts.

Bunny I too feel a very awkward shape and putting on socks and shoes is a real effort now.

Pixie good luck with your GDM test - at least you have aly and me to give you some tips if you do "fail" and I am getting pretty used to the diet and the constant monitoring now.

I have been very pro active over the last few days. I have reserved a TENS machine and booked an appointment with a physio to teach me how to use it. It's covered by my health insurance, so I thought "why not?".

Secondly, I mentioned that I was going to be induced because of the diabetes and she recommended an acupuncturist who can help to ready the body for labour by helping to ripen the cervix etc.

So I've booked that in too. I have a session at 36, 37 and 38 weeks which focuses on the ripening and then she says if the Obs still plans to induce at 39 weeks they will try to induce the labour with acupuncture at 39 weeks first. She said I didn't have to, and it doesn't always work, but that it does seem to mean that the artificial induction seems to "take" better and you are less likely to need the drip as well as the pessary.

She also said it did seem to help with easing into contractions as the body is more ready.

Again, it's covered by health insurance so I figured that as I'm going to have to artificially induce labour anyway, I may as well do what I can to induce semi naturally.

I'll let you know if it works!!

It seems quite exciting now. I'm immersing myself in reading positive birth stories, frantically practising my pelvic floor exercises and doing loads of positive thinking. It's all very "woo" for me, as I am normally a hard nosed lawyer type, but I am fully embracing the hippy inside me.

I have bought various essential oils for the birth and am going to make my labour playlist this weekend.

I feel that they are kind of trying to turn my birth into a medicalised experience because of the diabetes, and so I am determined to do my part in bringing it back to feeling in control and making it as "natual" as possible.

I'll probably end up with a c-section after all this, but at least I'll feel like I've done my part to prepare!

Just a quick post as I'm exhausted today. We had our NT and baby arpie looks good and healthy. Unfortunately, my placenta is resting snugly on my cervix, so that's our new issue. I'm not allowed to do any real exercise, heavy lifting or to have sex (or even orgasms). It most likely will clear itself up, but who knows with my insane luck! I guess it's a good thing that I told work of my diabetes issues and am being moved to an easy assignment.

Looks like I'll probably end up with a cs, too. At least I'll be able to get loads of good advice from Ozzie!

aly sending "move placenta" vibes your way....

That's a nuisance (especially the orgasms bit!), but hopefully as the baby grows the placenta will move away from the cervix.

Great news that Arpad is healthy though!

addie thanks for that. I will certainly bear that in mind if it gets any worse.
I am not actually vomiting yet so won't be getting dehydrated but just feel soooo sick all the time. Don't feel like eating anything even though I am hungry there is nothing I fancy but am forcing myself to eat. The only thing that seems to help is sleep. Alas, I have to get up every damned morning and go to stupid work and pretend I am fine all day and stay awake and look normal until home time. Please tell me this won't last.
Sorry for the rant but feeling utter crap today. Bring on the weekend!

Have just been for scan and placenta has just moved enough away from the cervix! Little H is head down and was rather unhelpfully covering the area they needed to see so this meant an internal scan, but at least it has moved! Will be hoping for the same for you Aly!

The little rascal is currently back to back though so going to be doing lots of re-positioning exercises to hopefully turn in the next few weeks. And also have a lovely UTI to add to the anaemia and constipation, the joys of pregnancy

Thanks for the tips Bunny - I have also heard good things about Lansinoh

Glad to hear the feeding's still going well Spirael - keep those words of advice coming!

Worrisome and Pixie - I might be joining you on the giant baby front - little H's tummy measurement at the scan was right on the top centile, the obstetrician remarked, "well it certainly is a healthy growing baby"!

Sounds like the acupuncturist is a good idea Ozzie - I think anything you can do to reclaim the experience for yourself can only be a good thing.

superpenguin I am with you on the constantly feeling sick. I have thrown up a few times, but mostly it's dry heaves and feeling awful. And forcing myself to eat. Work is the worst thing, trying to keep working and pretend I'm ok.

Mine is worse when I'm tired, I've done some long days at work recently and that's normally when I've thrown up. I recommend lots of early nights.

Afternoon all!

Sorry to hear morning sickness is causing some of you problems. Only advice I can give is:

Keep eating - forget diets and eat whatever you can stomach. The books say to gain the weight in the second trimester, but I gained more in the first than the second because once the MS eased off I could eat healthily again. Doesn't seem to have done Mindy any harm and I haven't ended up massively overweight so it all seems to even out.

Get lots of rest - I found MS was worse when I was tired too. In the first trimester, I was literally coming home from work and falling asleep on the sofa. DH woke me with dinner, then it was back to snoozing on the sofa until bedtime! I guess I was lucky in some ways that it was the middle of winter for me, so didn't feel so bad to sleep so much as it was dark outside at the time.

Seabands - I found they didn't fix the MS but just took the edge off it enough that I was able to carry on functioning as a human being, most of the time. They're relatively cheap to pick up from Boots. Weirdly enough, no-one at my work even noticed me wearing them even though I thought they were obvious!

I found MS peaked at weeks 9-10, but then was completely gone by week 13. So hopefully it will ease off! Aside from the periods when I was being plagued by common colds, I found I felt surprisingly good for most of the second trimester.

Things are still going fine with Mindy. Though she seems to be going through a particularly hungry day today - I've been feeding near constantly since 8am! I wonder if this is the first growth spurt? They're meant to have one at two weeks, and she's 10 days today, but does seem prone to running a bit ahead of schedule.

Hopefully the constant feeding will mean when the midwife turns up tomorrow to weigh her, she'll have gained enough weight to appease their charts! So it's not all bad.

I'm glad to report on the breast feeding front that the 'toe curling' let down feeling does go away. I'm absolutely fine now on the left, it doesn't hurt in the slightest when she latches and suckles. The right is healed up now so I'm trying to feed her on it regularly, so the toe curling let down disappears from there too. It is definitely reducing each time.

Lansinoh lanolin is definitely good. A little bit on a raw nipple just eases it enough to be used. I got some nipple shields as well to give the right side a chance to heal. They worked...ok. Mindy seemed to find it harder work to get at the milk, so the feed took longer, but it did make it a bit less sore. So a trade off, I guess! More sore for a shorter time, or less sore for a longer time?