so here it is, a new home for us newly updiffed ladies or still seeking that golden egg after a mc part 3

[mrsb33]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/conception/1170413-Coffee-lounge-and-bar-for-MI5-interviewees-little-friends-and-other-CM-studiers-post-MC-Part-II

ladies here it is our new home, ive tried my best, im not very good at the witty banter so hopefully this will do, get yourself comfortable it could be a bumpy ride with me at the helm!!!

Ooh ladies - I think I've just been rather clever! I've added you all to my mumsnet mates list and have posted a couple of pics here on mn from friday that a professional photographer friend took, but have done it so that only you can see them (I think!) - so I think I'm mates with most of you on fb, other than sparkly so you know what I look like, but we love these pics so wanted to share them with you - amazing how black and white can iron out the creases! xx

Morning all

I think this is my first ny day without a hangover! I had one glass of champagne but it didn't really agree with me so water for the rest of the night. Oh how things have changed.

Meet up in London in may would def suit me, I'm off work until sept and the little one will be a couple of months old by then so should be no problem. I am so looking forward to joining wombat and sparkly on the other side.

I watched all of the previous OBEM so I'll prob watch this one too, I think it was on channel 4 so you can prob get it 'on demand'

Bag not packed although I have thought about it does that count? Looks like it'll have to be a suitcase anyway with all the stuff we have to bring. Is that normal or weird? DP is taking 2 weeks off after the birth then going to Australia for 2 weeks. I have lined up friends to help, one is even flying in from Switz for 4 days.

Re expressing, I'm not an expert at all but what I've understood is that you pump in the am as that is when you have most milk and then at night if dh gives him a bottle you just sleep through as you produce less milk then anyway and your very clever body adjusts. Your body is attuned to what your baby needs when and adjusts supply accordingly. That's my theoretical understanding, I have no practical knowledge at all!

wellie lots of fertile vibes to you, hope you get your baby this year.

kool feel free to continue lurking/posting as it suits you. Not sure about experts but happy to pass on anything that might help.

Right I really am going to have an actual English breakfast now and later today we're going to a hotel for afternoon tea. What a yummy day!

Wombat, your pics are so lovely! Gorgeous black and white ones, and I have total nursery envy, a beautiful wall hanging and what an amazing, huuuuge window! I didn't know you could do that with photos, clever! It sounds as though you're getting into a great routine there. I look forward to hearing harassed's news (wonder what on earth it could be?!!) - we're not fb friends as I think I arrived back on the thread when she was away for a bit. Exciting!

I'm in London too, so it's exciting to think that a meet could actually happen. I think I'd have previously thought that meeting up with people from the Internet is a bit but I made a couple of pals on a lovely ivf offshoot thread. Turns out that 3 of us live fairly close and we're all due in the next few months. We fairly recently met for tea and cake and it was lovely!

Yellow you thinking about your bag reminded me of me thinking about starting yoga ! Are you feeling ok about dp going to Oz a couple of weeks after the birth? It sounds as though you have a great support network which is great. I know London isn't the smallest of places but you never know we might not be too far away from each other (I'm South) and as I'm not working at the mo I'd be willing to help when working pals might not be available if you're desperate! (I say this on the basis of not having a clue!!!)

Tell me about it yellow - all I could manage was a sip of DH's g+t! Not weird at all re: a suitcase - I took 2 holdalls in the end - one for me and one for bubs. They also advised us in antenatal classes to pack an "emergency" small bag (I just used a plastic bag) with one vest, babygro and hat in case they need to whizz you off for a c section and it saves DP rummaging around (although he will need to know where the emergency bag is in your bag) and you can pack it with the stuff you would like her to be wearing in the inevitable thousands of newborn photos. Eek re: DP being away for that time! Great you have a good network around you for help though. I have found it surprisingly hard to be so reliant on other people - I never thought of myself as particularly independent, but it seems I must be! Thanks for the tips on the expressing - I am only doing that in the morning. What concerns me is what would happen if some days (i.e. weekends) DH did the 3am feeds but some days I did it? Never happy am I?! Perhaps he can do the midnight ones or something.... we'll work it out I'm sure! Enjoy your day of scrummy eating!

Aw thanks for the compliments kool - they mural was done by a friend of a friend for almost nothing and it does look fab - reminds me of an English countryside and DH is an occasional hot air balloon pilot hence those being in the mural too. How lovely re: your ivf meet-up - makes me want to do ours even more! I'll let you know when my flights are confirmed and we can go from there - how exciting!

xx

Your photos look brill wombat very clever that you sussed out the mumsnet mates thing as sparkly isn't on FB and will get to join us all in being able to picture you and Jack now. Thanks for the tip on the little first things bag. I will do that today. I had so far done the one bag for me and one for baby but forgot to pack my top and tale bowl which is apparently needed in hospital for nappy changes. While we all pretend we aren't going to just go on to wipes the minute we get out of hospital!!

yellow how unfortunate about DH having to go to Oz, is the date he goes already set in stone or moveable should you go past your DD? you really should get that bag packed you know.........

kool remind me again when you are due? Your meet up sounds great, and with you being London based you are far more likely to make real friendships as you will be able to physically stay in touch.......how lovely. How is DH doing?

Congratulations to harassed on her eye watering birth! 10LBs!

It is stupid oclock again and I am rather pissed off that despite deliberately denying myself any nan-naps yesterday I still can't sleep!
The date for DGF funeral is the 12th, so I will be 6 days post section and have had to accept the fact that I simply won't be able to go. The 6 hour journey each way is just not practical in a day and I don't want to stay overnight and be away from my other dc's when I have just got home from my hospital stay of 3 days in all likelyhood. The fact I am bringing a new member into the family at this sad time seems to be giving the family comfort and I will go down in february half term and pay my respects then and introduce baby to the family. I have also been mulling over having Harry (DGF name) as a middle name if we have a blue one, but unsure about it. I don't want to offend any other family members who have also passed on recently. (like they would ever know.....) What do you think?

I was just in the bath and when I used my tummy muscles there was a big weird lump in the middle. It would appear my abbs have separated all the way up to my ribs. I have made a mental note to request to see the physio while still in hospital to get some exercise advice or I could be destined to have pregnant looking tummy forever.

It felt very odd not having a hangover yesterday, we had a takeaway curry which was lush and I pushed the boat out and had a pint of shandy! If the amount of farts I had yesterday are anything to go by baby was in a jakuzi for the day a smelly one at that!

Morning all

What a pain not being able to sleep worm but I guess that is to be expected being so close to your date and with all the emotion of bereavement. Not sure what to advise re names, I think you can always manage to offend someone somehow so you should just focus on what feels right for you.

Nobody mentioned a top and tail bowl to me, do I need to get one?

Re DP going away it is set for first 2 weeks in march so depends when baba comes. If on time he'll be here for a month so just depends. The trip can be cancelled if I insist ask but it would be better in these uncertain times if he went. We'll see.

I have bought stuff for my bag just not assembled it yet. I'm hoping to be out of there within hours but packing for longer. DP is panicking about not being able to get cab on the night but living in fairly central London I cannot see it being an issue.

kool thanks for the offer, I am north but I guess they do have trains/tubes etc

Will catch up more tomorrow on proper keyboard, have v annoying stiff fingers today.

A very quick one from me, promise all the details later.

Max Reuben was born at 2.15am on New Years Day weighing 9lb 15.5oz (yes, that big!). It was a bit of time, about as far from my home birth as poss without a c sec! Having a bit of a job feeding him as he's so big, so can't wait for milk to come in.

Congrats harassed, wow, you did brilliantly! What a great start to the new year. I'd love to see pics as/when you're fbing, I'm friends with wombat, mrsb, wellie and worm - totally understand if you're a bit busy tho!!!

wombat, yay, roll on May! I was looking on the heals website earlier, they've got some funky looking wall stickers - not a patch on your mural but a decent option. Our nursery is pretty tiny so I plan to keep things simple. Did I mention that I'm managing our Edwardian house renovation? Madness! Can't wait to move in but it's all going to tie in with my due date, which should be interesting....

Worm I'm due 4th April, so a little while yet. Exciting that I can finally say its this year though! Thanks for asking, DH mostly sleeps, new treatment this year, so all fingers crossed. It's a lovely thought to have Harry as a middle name, it's a lovely name, but only do it if you want it. I think you're doing the right thing with the funeral, it'd just be too soon and probably pretty stressful. Perhaps you could mark the day at home, cuddling your LO, looking through family photo albums or something. (I'm very aware that I clearly have no idea about the demands of a LO yet though!!). I was reading a thread in the pregnancy topic earlier about bfing and someone's worries after a nct class. Someone on there mentioned something about your milk coming in differently (later?) after a section so I thought I'd mention it to you. You probably know this already but I can find the thread for you otherwise.

yellow I've been reading lots of threads about what to take with you and I don't think I've read about a top and tail bowl anywhere....might be worth giving them a call to find out - i'd be interested to know the answer. I have the same concerns as your DP about getting to the hospital when the big day happens as I'm not going with my closest hospital but it's the one I'm happiest with. We go there pretty regularly with DH and can take a good hour sometimes...

The top and tail bowl is because they only recommend using cotton wool and water for nappy changes in hospital . Well they did 10 years ago when I had dcs its more necessary for me really,knowing I will be in for 3 days. You ladies will pop yours out no problem and may not even have to deal with a poo nappy in hospital. I will also need mine for bed bathing myself on day 1.
Fingers firmly crossed the new treatment does the job for dh kool

Glad you are home harassed sending milk producing vibes. I read somewhere that drinking milk helps.

I don't mean to worry you London ladies but somebody on the January board is stressing about taxis not taking labouring ladies due to insurance ? Might be worth checking. Hopefully she has the wrong end of the stick.......

Re taxis we've been advised by the hospital not to mention being in labour and to get quietly into the cab! But if you give the hospital as a destination at 2am surely they'll work it out. We are going to give an address in the same street as the hospital and hope for the best!

I am very impressed you got him out without use of the sunroof harassesd hope milk comes through soon.

Aw, congratulations to Harassed and Max Reuben! Lovely name, Reuben especially I like - I considered that one but have an issue with my R's sometimes, and a dniece called Wooby so would have been too much . That's a fighting weight, bet dad is chuffed! Gabriel has put on further weight and is now 8lb4oz, can't believe I'm doing all this work and Max is still a couple of pounds ahead
Just out of a hot bath, and gearing up for another unpredictable night; must say, I much prefer the mornings, it's quite a relief to wake up at 5am-ish, nappy change, feed, then hopefully a light snooze waiting for dawn to break. I tend to get up and feed the cats for a bit of normality, then bring a cup of sweet tea back to bed (bought a thermos cup to keep it hot)

I don't feel too sleep-deprived yet but always welcome the positivity of a new day. That said, things are already seeming easier, I think the hormones are easing and I'm less disposed to burst into tears at the slightest thing. Feeding still going well if quite constant, but DH is now getting more confident with settling Gabes when its general comfort he needs rather than a boob; he (DH) got quite disheartened for a bit, because Gabes kept crying, but it was due to hunger and now he's feeding well he will settle nicely with DH against his bare skin and happily snooze for a good hour after a large feed. That's during the day, nights are pretty much constant feeding on and off, until I eventually pass out and Gabes gives up mithering and drfits off himself about 4am.
We have revisited Penelope Leach's 'The Essential First Year' which now we are 10 days in is providing a lot of reassurance that we are doing well, and our worries are perfectly normal. Gina is still on the shelf for the time being
I'll post some photos of the little man very shortly, he is adorable and whilst not yet quite in this world, is starting to become less cross eyed more alert. He is a good little chap and only cries when a boob takes longer than 5 seconds to be unleashed, or when he has his clothing removed. He also cried throughout his first bath, I had erred on the side of caution and made it shallow and oh-so-cool, and this was utterly wrong, so he now luxuriates in a deep, pretty hot bath and seems to really enjoy it. His cord stump fell off after about 7 days, and with it went the putrid smell, yippee! His skin is a bit flaky so we got some olive oil from the chemist which we rub on, perhaps a little too enthusiastically, he looks like a Sunday roast
Still a bit paranoid about co-sleeping, we've taken precautions of removing duvets and stuff but I'm not quite comfortable; we're considering DH moving into the spare room for a bit when he goes back to work, he will need the sleep and it will give Gabes more bedspace; I think that might be the only solution as there is no way he'd go down to sleep in his basket for any length of time; have you found anything that works Wombat?
Your photos are lovely by the way, good to put a face to the name; although have just realised you are not actually called Wombat
Ooh, little fella awake, about to profer a pendulous boozum so will be off.

He he spawkly
I have a few names I am thinking twice about because of the R issue. What makes it worse is our surname begins with an R too.

I am getting worried about there being nothing in my boobs. I have had no leakage and even gave them a squeeze just now to see if anything came out but no, nothing!! I need there to be stuff in there in less than 48 hours!!

You sound like you really are a natural, did you keep the cord clamp? I did and I didn't even wash it!!

Busy day for me today, I have so much I want to do, last minute things to do, I need to get my mother organised for DGF's funeral, colour her hair buy her and outfit etc, as well as get DS's haircut, buy shopping, eat big macs, and I am still sat here on the laptop in my dressing gown and soaking wet hair. After an enormous amount of activity from baby yesterday it is resting more today, like I knew it would, but it still terrifies me! 2 more days of worry........

worm, how topical....I'm in about something that happened this morning .....I'm already, erm, producing and I'm only 27 weeks ... I had a weird mark on my pj top last week and thought it was odd but presumed I'd spilt something on it without noticing. Then this morning I noticed it had happened again (on clean pjs of course!), so I had a little squeeze to see, and sure enough a tiny bit appeared. Is it wrong to say that it turned my stomach quite a lot ever so slightly? I've still got 13 weeks to go! I have fears of being nothing more than a squirty, walking udder by then!!!

I know this doesn't help you, I'm sure yours is imminent, I think I'm a bit early tbh...

Life in the sparkly household sounds lovely! Would you recommend that book then? I'm keen to do what it sounds as though you've done, which is learn your baby, then consult the book (rather than the other way round) but I'm quite keen to read something and am quite keen for it not to be GF!!

Afternoon all

Back at work today......boo! Well 8.5 days to go, will go quickly. I slept so well last night, I always do during a storm for some reason.

worm I wouldn't worry about the milk thing....I'm sure it'll all come together. At one of my classes, prob the b/f one, they said that some people have it in advance and some don't but it will come. What they said was on day 1 the baby sleeps a lot and won't necc be that interested in feeding, day 2 the baby will want to feed ALL THE TIME but you won't have much just that colustrum thingy but that is fine because the baby's tum is tiny and the purpose of all the feeding attempts is not to actually feed but to stimulate the milk. And day 3 you'll be gushing full of milk. I think I've got that right.

I noticed stains on my bra which are bits of leakage but only very tiny and not all the time. And sometimes a tiny bit of 'crust' on the nipple too. Once I squeezed and freaked out when something came out but I've tried it since and it doesn't work now. I was trying to work out where the 'ducts' that you are meant to squeeze are for 'self expressing' and have concluded that I don't have any! Apparently the hospital has a bf person on the post natal ward at all times so I'm planning to ask her. Or there are helplines and stuff to phone.

So kool it did freak me out too but didn't progress to anything so should be fine.

worm sounds like you have a lot on your plate, can't believe it's happening for you in 2 days......so jealous. How lovely it's going to be to hold your baby.

I was having a bit of a freak out last night about the whole being a mum thing. I've focused so much on the pregnancy, staying healthy and the birth that I haven't given much thought to the bi that comes after. I really have no clue at all and no experience either and cannot really imagine me changing a nappy or having responsibility for a little person. I'm not sure I can do it and the idea of not sleeping is terrifying. So trying to feed and look after a baby and being sleep deprived at the same time......I can't see me coping at all. I'm very worried I won't be able to b/f or that it'll hurt too much or arrrghhhh......need to calm down a bit!

It was werid coming to work today, for some reason I thought I'd have some kind of special treatment and not actually be required to work but that seems not to be the case. Not much chit chat about Xmas or anything, just straight back to business......bah! I am feeling ok but I'm sure I'll be knackered by Friday.

sparkly sounds like you are doing really well, you sound so calm. My DP is going to be off work for 2 weeks but when he goes back the plan is for him to spend most of the week in the spare room. We've bought one of those bedside cots so you push it up against your bed and can reach/pat the baby during the night and hoping that will work.

bedside cot

Have you tried swaddling? Lots of people have said it helps the baby to sleep/sleep longer? Feel free to ignore all the above as I'm still with the theory at the moment.

I've got loads of books but have only read the birth ones....must try harder and read something about what to do when she arrives and get that hospital bag sorted........

Right I think that's enough waffle for one day.....big snuggles to everyone

I was Hi all and what a lot of lovely messages to catch up on.

First off, huuuuge congrats to harassed on the safe, if not entirely what you wanted, arrival of the wonderful Max Reuben - agree that the name is a cracker. Hope that he and your milk production are settling into sync. Pic on fb is wonderful - he looks so content.

Wonderful to hear from you sparkly and to get the update on you and Gabes - sounds like you are doing fantastically so early on and well done on trusting your instincts on things like bathing etc. It's nice to get rid of that yukky cord stump isn't it - the smell was rank! Re: the going to sleep in the basket - we haven't done the co-sleeping, just kept him in the basket by the bed (my side of course!) and so long as he;s asleep when we put him in, he's fine in there. On the couple of nights it;s been a bit chilly here, I have put a hot water bottle in there first so the sheets aren;t too cool and therefore startle him awake. In hindsight, I think one of those bedside cots that yellow has so cleverly bought would be an excellent idea.

Re: the pre-milk kool and worm - every woman is completely different. I was concerned I hardly had anything but then voom - it really does come in with a vengeance! And in the first few days they hardly need anything - their stomachs are the size of a marble so imagine how quickly that fills up. Sounds like you have a lot on worm - I hope you are managing some rest in between. I think that having Harry as a middle name (assuming it's a boy) is a lovely touch - I'm sure the family would be very touched. Hope s/he's giving you lots of movements today to help you enjoy these last couple of days of pregnancy. What time is your section?

kool - glad to hear that your DH is in line for some new treatment - fingers, toes and all crossed here. Do tell us more about this Edwardian renovation you're doing - sounds most impressive. I was about to order some lovely wall stickers when the mural option came up - there are some brilliant ones out there. Oh and re: your stomach turning at your milk, definitely not weird - I had exactly the same reaction and tbh, only got my head around the b/feeding thing after a week or so - they've only had one purpose up til now, and it sure wasn't sticking a baby on them! I was given a book called "Baby Love" by a friend that is written by a wonderful Australian midwife that, despite its title, is extremely practical and has so far provided answers to all the questions we've had. I've also got the "What to expect the first year" book but haven't found it as helpful as Baby Love.

I think you need to stick your bump out more or something yellow - I miss being pregnant and the extra car and attention you get. I hope your colleagues thaw out a bit more in the next week or so and give you the special attention you deserve. I was freaking out for a good few months on the whole responsibility thing and only reading on a "need to know now" basis so the post-birth stuff seemed horribly alien. I had only changed a nappy about 20 years ago when I was an au pair in Switzerland for about a month (nice baby, horrid and mean parents). When people said to me, it will come naturally, I didn't believe them and thought I would be the exception to the rule, but it is true - there is some weird maternal instinct that kicks in. I don't always get it right, but we learn through our mistakes and heavens, Jack is only 5 weeks today so there'll be plenty more of those to come I'm sure.

He's been a bit of a monkey of late - he cries almost solidly from about 10-11.30pm and nothing seems to make him stop. I have just accepted the fact that this is part of his make-up and that there is nothing I can do and the acceptance makes it much easier to deal with. I can just let him get on with it. Not a great night last night - he didn't sleep for longer than 1.5 hours at a stretch and consequently am knackered today. He generally doesn't sleep for longer than 2 hours anyway but it's amazing how you value that extra half hour.....

Right, off to defrost the second to last frozen dinner we have - not quite sure what we'll do after that... eek!

Hi ladies
Not much banter from me today , I'm too worried. This time tomorrow I will be in pre op.

I won't be posting on fb about the sex until the dcs have been in as I want to see there faces when they find out what we have. But if my signal allows I will come on here to tell all you lovely ladies .
Christ I'm one step away from saying if I don't make it, its been nice knowing you! I need to go find something to clean .......... Sorry its so me me me love you all x x x

Oh bless you worm, what a lovely post. Of course you're worried, although I suspect there's also lots of excitement there too, even if is currently manifesting as fear. You're going to be brilliant! Wishing you all the very, very best. If I can't offer sloppy hugs and kisses today, when can I?! xxxxx

Ahhhh worm come and snuggle in here if you can find space with my massive bump.....it's totally normal to be feeling anxious but it's a planned, routine op and it'll be over before you know it. And what a reward! I think cleaning/keeping busy is the best you can do today but also try to rest if you can. I will be checking as much as possible today for updates so no pressure but let us know as soon as you can!

I don't have one of those smart phone things but thinking of getting one for those important kind of updates. I was thinking of a blackberry cos I like the keyboard, does anyone know if you can/cannot access mumsnet on them?

Thanks for the words of wisdom wombat i can't believe Jack is 5 weeks already, where did that time go? i really admire how well both you and sparkly are doing....i really feel very daunted about the whole thing. And harassed and worm are old hands so they'll be fine......kool can keep me company on the dunces bench! (only joking kool!)

Anyway, worm lots of hugs and love and remember we'll all be thinking of you tomorrow and sending you warm vibes and looking forward to your news.

Aw, Worm, hope you're managing to find some peace of mind today, and are looking forward to meeting your new family member tomorrow. It's daunting but quite amazing! We'll all be thinking of you and sending lots of happy vibes for a positive experience. Don't worry about your milk, it will appear regardless of age, inclination to bf, or size of boozums. Mine appeared about day 4-5, I was worried it wouldn't surface and that Gabes was starving but of course he is a chubby little buddha already. As you already know, just be prepared for those hormones! I know you're a bit worried about your other dc's, I bawled my eyes out around day 3 because I thought the cats were feeling neglected () so you'll probably have similar x100, but they sound like amazing, bright kids and I'm sure they'll welcome their new sibling. Just try to give everyone lots of whiskas hugs. My dniece, aged 3, is very cute with Gabes, she insists on calling him by his full title 'The newborn baby Gabriel'
Doing ok today, will update soon, baby quite grizzly so is maybe growing again, can't put him down long enough for a wee at the moment but such is to be expected. A few days in I'll let you know what books we have found useful so far, and which are total pap. At present we're very much feeding constantly on demand and giving lots of cuddles We're also trying to cut down on visitors now so I can take Gabes to bed for a snooze rather than spend his sleeping time making cups of tea.
Take care Worm and hugs to everyone else

Mmmm, orange clubs and tea? Thanks! I've been wondering how the Dcats are getting on, any feliway necessary or are they adjusting well? And are they still attempting to make beds in the moses basket? I'm sure you're not creating a rod for your own back with your plentiful cuddles - it wasn't so long ago that he was cuddled up constantly in your tummy after all. Good idea to plan to have more snoozes - failing that, your guests will have to make their own tea

No apologies necessary yellow, I'm firmly on the dunces bench ATM!! I think mrsb has a blackberry and can't post on here with it... Also, yesterday I was in a taxi and asked if he was allowed to take labouring women to hospital. He said as far as he knew he could and that he wouldn't mind. I think I'll be taken by the in laws but it's good to have a back up I guess. I can give you the taxi company details if you'd like altho I'd still want you to check that the guy I had knew what he was talking about! Also, I just asked my sister if she needed a top and tail bowl when she had her bubba a couple of weeks ago, she said it was on the hospital's list but she didn't take one so they gave her those disposable foil trays to use which were fine. I think your bedside cot looks ace btw - I could be tempted with the same.

Ooh, one born every minute tonight, exciting! I have my hands over my ears during the advert where a nurse helpfully says "it's the worst pain you'll experience in your life", with a glint in her eye - isn't that what epidurals are for?!! They're gonna love me at nct

wombat I'm most impressed with your epic posts! Always lovely to hear how it's all going, and useful too. Thanks for your crossed everything, I appreciate it. And for the book recommendation too, I'll check it out. I'd be fibbing if I said I was doing the house renovation - our lovely builder is managing it all, leaving me with the fun decisions, including spending more hours than I'd care to admit researching kitchen taps and the like! I popped round today and found it a bit spooky as the electricians had gone home, so an empty house is a bit spooky anyway but one with floorboards up and hanging wires makes it worse. I was doing some measuring and heard a loud bang, like a door slamming upstairs. I suddenly felt like a character in a horror film so got out quick, only to discover it was just the wheely bin which had blown over in the wind. Over active imagination here! I have a kitchen planning meeting at John Lewis tomorrow, I'm a bit excited !

Hello - sorry for barging in uninvited but just noticed Kools post and wanted to say hi . I hope you are well and enjoying your pregnancy, you must be quite far on now!

Skitoo.x

Hi skitoo! Bless you, how sweet! Lovely to hear from you, yep 27 weeks now so nearly the third trimester. How are things with you? xx

Hi Ladies
Well i'm a little better this morning, and seem to have got my business head on in that I just have to get on with it. Thanks for not fish-slapping me!

So little Jack is 5 weeks already?? wow where did that time go? Don't worry about the nightly screamathon wombat my dd did it, for a whole lon year in fact she was worse than you describe and she has survived it perfectly well. No ill effects. :) He must be having that growth spurt I keep reading about on the BF boards hense the 1.5 hours between feeds

I have an andriod phone yellow its touch screen, I couldnt see my fat fingers being any good on that little keyboard to be honest. I am getting on really well with it and able to post on here with it fine. It's worth shopping around, I got a really good deal free phone for 18 months, £25 per month and 6 of those will be refunded if I send the bill off to them.

Daunting as the house renovation may be for you kool it will probably be a good thing to keep your mind busy, what with being pregnant and having your other worries. A John lewis kitchen hey, sounds fab I love a bit of property porn so feel free to share links on it all!

You still sound like you are taking it all in your stride sparkly well done you.

Thanks again for all the snuggles yesterday, see you on the other side xxxxxx

Oooh - so excited for you worm! Hope you got my fb message as I failed to post one here yesterday - and how lovely about seeing your DCs faces about team blue or pink. WE shall be waiting with anticipation! Sparkly - do you have any treats to keep up going while we pace?! (shop bought will be fine, seeing as you're probably too busy to bake ) I couldn't stop smiling about your dniece and Gabes full title! Thanks for the reasurrance worm that the nightly screamathon is "normal" and I hope your newborn won't take after dd with that....

I'm still impressed with your house renov kool - DH and I are useless about buying house stuff in terms of doing research etc. - we are rather impulse buyers. Do keep us posted and I agree, it will be a good thing to keep your mind occupied while pg.

Daunted is completely normal yellow - do you remember what a mess I was leading up to the birth of Jack? So up and down with anxiety about the whole parenting thing. There were no words that managed to comfort me at the time, so I won't offer anything up here other than the fact I didn't think I could do it, but here I am actually doing it.... re: the blackberry - there's no mn app so you can access it via t'interweb but the screen is so small and so slow that it takes forever to read / post anything. I'm sure your people at HQ can provide you with a fancier gadget....!

A couple of slightly better nights, including 2 x 2 hour stretches last night. I do feel quite lucky compared to my best friend here whose ds is 6 days older than Jack - her last 2 nights have literally been sleepless - he's been awake, grizzling or crying for almost the whole time.... she has her parents here at the mo so can get a break during the day but even so - yikes! I'm getting my 6 week check-up next week which I hope will be fairly straightforward and I can get the all-clear to drive. I've done a couple of walks out but I've found that it's been quite stressful for me as I've been thinking he'll wake up and scream blue murder and I'd have to walk him home in my arms, plus pushchair. At least if I'm in the car I can stop it and feed him if needs be - a bit tricky on the open-air streets of a Muslim country built for cars, not pedestrians!