February 2011 Babies: Where only us and a select few know.....

[KnitterNotTwitter]

Just starting up the new thread in anti-natal groups. Will cross post with the old thread and updated the stats in a moment!!

Well the nurse here in the US was really nice and there wasn't much difference to the midwife appointments in the UK, except I had to talk about billing at the end! It feels a little bit more official now. She did ask questions like how my husband and I met, what stresses we face etc.! I guess that was a little different.

leelteloo that's such a beautiful thing to do, thanks for sharing it! I don't believe it works like that either, so thanks for reassuring me.

Tbh they have done extensive tests on stretchmark prevention and found it more to do with genetics than creams etc. they occur in the deep layer of skin and are tiny tears. cream and oil can't penetrate the outer layer as its water proof.well looked after moisturised skin obviously looks nicer tho. just don't want ladies who get them to blame themselves for not using stuff. bio oil really improved the look of mine tho...reduced redness etc. Some women really struggle to come to terms with the changes to their bodies. I recommend reading what gok says about them..hillarious. anyway went swimmiwg yesterday not felt right since and this morning had tiny nude coloured spotting. trying not to worry cos had it before but off camping later so praying that's it and get no more. going to take it easy dh packing car up.what a worry eh

Hi knittakid, glad you thought it was sweet rather than "hand that rocked the cradle" crazy! I think this is the only place I would ever tell that story, people here seem to be as enthusiastic about parenthood as I am!
ledkr, I think i get that spotting too, very pale, couldn't be called blood coloured, like pale pinkish. I have be panicked every time i see it but then it goes and comes back few days later, just kind of getting used to it. Will start to really fret if it changes. Hope your camping is stress free! BTW, seems to be allot of campers on this thread, I love camping but DH not keen and now with a little dd, who doesn't even sleep well in her own cot think it would be a nightmare! But did enjoy reading about the best camp sites in the times over weekend, made me want to crack open the calor gas!

Thanks leel. That's very reassuring to hear. its a sort of nude colour. . Have had it 3 times. always on a Friday and always after I've done a lot. was going to cancel my meeting today but pulled myself together now and am going. the big prob now is extracting dh from pc to get moving

Since some of you seem to be knitting already, some knitting advice from all those knitters please. You've inspired me to think about knitting a little baby blanket (I'm so slow, it will probably take me the whole 9 months!) but can only do casting on and off and a basic knit. Should I do it as one big piece or as little bits that get sewn together? Or, I'm toying with the idea of doing like a sort of patchwork look one as I've got lots of odd bits of different coloured wool which would mean I can use it all up and get a really unique and personalised blanket...but then thinking the colours might run when it gets washed. Also, lots of the wool I have is that sort of fluffy stuff that I can imagine might drive a baby mad as the fluffy bits might come off and be unpleasant in their mouth - any experience on whether I should steer clear of this sort of wool or if I'm making a concern over nothing?

oh, I'm so excited about the thought of making this now

Hi everyone, not been on here for a while, busy getting property ready to sell! Takes a long time to catch up on this thread too! It's nice we're all gearing up for the scan and booking in appt phase now! My booking in is a week today on Fri 16th, scan date to follow. I do hope the midwife tries to hear a heartbeat! That would be lovely and so reassuring, lucky you who had it!

So sorry Panda & Moocowmrs, so sad to hear of people leaving. I hope they will be back on another thread soon.

My symptoms are easing on nausea which is a relief (& a worry of course!) but I too have a voracious appetite for savoury (can't remember who said that!). I am still constipated despite a healthy diet, it's no joke! Anyone else? I look several months gone already with all this bloat!

Have a great day! X

Hey lovely ladies

Just back from our booking in appointment. It took less than half an hour and they basically just updated what they had on the computer from last time - obviously the main thing was adding the details for my ectopic pregnancy.

I also said that i want a home birth which they were very supportive of - anyone else trying for one?

Just been through my Bounty pack too - in case you don't notice inside the frong cover of the 'bounty' magazine is a voucher for a free pack of huggies new born nappies (27 nappies) which you can pick up at Tescos - BARGAIN!!

front not frong !

ledkr I went swimming this morning and felt sooo good, first time in ages with no nausea, and then when I came out and went to the loo there was a light pink bit of spotting, so scary! so it's reassuring to know it's happenign to others and that it comes and goes. Good luck camping!

angels1 I would not use yarns that are not 100% (cotton, wool, alpaca, wathever, or a mix of those, also the vegetable yarns are nice, like soya or bamboo) and the fluffy ones are probably very acrylic, which means they won't last very long and will bubble, etc, and could cause allergies (I realize all this is very controversial, I'll try and find evidence to back this up at a later date). The idea of a patchwork is nice, just knit equal squares (or hexagrams, etc), the only problem is sewing them together - a real pain, but commonly done nevertheless. There are some lovely simple Knit blankets, are you on Ravelry? have a look there, lots of free patterns.

Ooh a free pack? That's pretty good, think it was a couple of nappies when I had ds

The bloating seems to have gone down dramatically but I don't remember expelling any air unless I did it in my sleep - ended up telling a few friends as will be seeing them tomorrow and didn't think I would be able to get away with it but now they will think I am mad as I don't look pg at all, after telling them I am the size of a house, not that I am complaining mind you.

knittakid no I've never heard of ravelry, but I don't understand knitting patterns anyway, so I'm not sure it would help me. Must learn though, as I'd love to be able to follow a pattern to make something. I think you're right on my wools though - they're a mix of a few things so may need to buy some nice ones

Phew, it's going to be a scorcher today here.

Knitter- Not at all, you copied my stats right, it's just that I've since had a birthday though so I've aged and I wasn't sure what was meant by DC as in will this pregnancy be DC 2 or have I already got a DC so I've changed it so it doesn't look like I already have 2DC. Probably don't make much sense but it's all ok now.

Chloe definitley - think it was one huggies and 3 pampers when I had DS. 27 nappies will keep us going for 4 or 5 days m'thinks...

Pah - just been to Sainsbury's to pick up my Bounty bag of exciting goodies - free washing powder and the like and they're out - double pah.

Had my booking in this morning as well there's a new MW since last time and she is lovely. We did all the family history stuff which took a while because DD kept climbing into my lap and saying 'booby more!' in the end DH took her for a wander so I could have my blood test done- 4 vials from one vein! I was very impressed.

Also chatted with the MW about the possibility of a home water birth although I am not 100% decided yet. Has anyone else thought about it yet? I know it's early days but she did ask

My dating scan will be at around 12 weeks so early August. It seems like aaaages away!

Hope you are all feeling well, very hot here today and it's making me sleepy (coupled with the fact that DD woke up at about 6am this morning )

angels here is some Ravelry patterns for really simple blankets

Sunny Baby Blanket

Heart Baby Blanket

Basketweave Baby Blanket

Patterns aren't that complicated and it's one of those things that once you get going you learn to 'speak the language'!!

All those patterns are free - you just need to register for Ravelry - also free.

Hi all
at sweetnitanitro's DD's demands - mine asked in Tesco the other day whilst being pushed along in the trolly - I asked her to think about the logistics of it.....

Saw a lovely knitted pram blanket in Mamas and Papas in the Trafford Centre yesterday and am thinking of trying to recreate something similar, although also like the idea of a patchwork style one but all in the same colour with different patterns knitted into each square....got ages though, so perhaps both!

I'm going into work today for my return to work meeting, have dressed carefully to hide my tummy as don't want to tell them yet, but not really looking forward to it...

sweet oooh me to re the homebirth. DS I definitely wanted to have in hospital being my first one and all that. But it went so smoothly - the only stressful bit was the transfer to hospital!

sbf you've got me searching Ravelry again to see what might fit your requirements...

there's this teddy bear blanket that I like as it is or you could do different patterns on each square

I'm seriously considering the apple trees blanket which someone else mentioned on here a while back

This Sampler blanket would be great if you wanted to do different textures

Or this other sampler one for pictures and colours - although maybe better for a bigger child?

Sod it there's just too many beautiful patterns out there... you'll just have to look for yourself

sweetnitanitro MW asked me about birth ideas and to be honest I will just do as I'm told! There will be issues so its likely that I will be on labour ward or on the MW led unit as the main hospital as opposed to the MW led unit nearer to me which is a shame but I am happy to go with whatever is better for the baby!

What is this mysterious bounty bag you all talk of? I no not of this interesting sounding thing.

Thanks for the links knitternottwitter am really excited to try and learn how to follow a pattern.

I'm actually really worried today ladies. My symptoms have been getting less problematic this week. It coincides with starting my new antisickness medicine though, so I keep trying to tell myself it's just that. I now feel alot less sick (putting that down to the strong meds that the leaflet says the drugs can be used for those undergoing cheomotheraphy, so I assume they are strong in how they work), less tired (although I'm hoping that's due to getting used to the 'drowy' effects of sickness medicines and so that'd wearing off), increasingly more appetite for different foods (although could be due to feeling less sick...) and generally feeling more myself and less overtaken by hormones. I also have an odd feeling of 'moistness' down there (tmi, sorry) like I get just before my period (although could just be the hot weather).

I'm getting myself really upset here and keep checking for blood as last time I had a mc, I had a few days of starting to feel better, and as I did'nt know what was going on, I thought 'great, I'm feeling a little better' little did I know... If I had another mc, I don't think I could cope. Do you think it's all in my mind? Some reassurnace/advice would be great if you have any. I know what will be will be and I can't do anything about it, but I just feel like I'm sort of not sure whether to hope or try and tell myself the worst.

Sorry for the less than positive post Am seeing the doctor anyway on monday, so if nothing new by then, will mention it to her.

angels you get given a pack of leaflets and whatnot when you book in, it's half advertising and half info on how your local NHS trust runs things. If you join some club or other you can get a bag of free samples of nappies etc.

Try not to worry too much, I'm sure all is fine. I have days when I feel fine and days when I feel like utter crap. When I was expecting DD I would puke for 3 days straight, feel fine for a couple of days and think it was all over and then puke all over again. I think it's perfectly normal for it to come and go.

smallblackflowers how old is your DD? Mine just climbs on me, sometimes she will do gymnastics while she is feeding. She can't sit still for more than a minute I don't know where she gets it from because I can sit still for hours! Nice to know there's another in the February club that's still BF, are you planning to carry on? I hope to tandem feed, fingers crossed it all works out.

sweet and sbf very at you still BFing. I had to stop at 19 months when I went into hospital for my ectopic. I had planned to still be BFing now

angels re the bounty pack you can read more here but basically when you book in they give you a plastic folder with a load of paperwork in it. Buried in there is a voucher you take to Boots or Sainsburys and exchange for another bigger bag which contains free samples of things like nappies, washing powder, stretchmark creams. I'm a great beliver that anything free is worth having - even if it's the sort of stuff i wouldn't buy normally!

One of the other things in my Bounty Pack was a leaflet about the Health in Pregnancy Grant which is a free £190 for everyone who is pregnant. More info here. I hadn't heard of that before so I guess it's a new thing. Lets just hope that we get to claim it before it gets cut but the Government

angels re your symptoms I honestly hope that it's just your body responding nicely to the meds and nothing more awful than that. One of my thoughts would be that you're probably quite focussed on your body at the moment - it is quite all-consuming when you're ill - you're probably reacting to every little change.... BUT you know your body better than anyone else and if you are worried can you go to your hospital and get a scan done?

sending you a huge

FWIW I feel like you've probably got my morning sicknes too as mine was so light - so thank you

Knitter, I spoke to my MW about the health for pregnancy grant. They are not stopping it until January so we should all get it. I've already got plans for it- since we won't be getting a £250 Child Trust Fund voucher, I shall be sticking this £190 in a savings account for bump instead.