Emmsys Weebles; we all have our wobbles but we never fall down...

[VJay]

...thanks to all the support we get in the greenhouse

Blue I'm quite at your night out & all the drinking! I used to have an iron stomach when it came to drink but if I had what you'd had I'd be on the floor & under the table! Yes I did buy 'Katie's Coo' & also 'Katie's Moos' too - she loves them!

Vjay I think I stopped sterilising at 6 months. It was such a relief not to have to do it any more. Think about how many things Ajay picks up off the floor & puts in his mouth, as long as you clean the bottles properly he'll be fine.

Barbie babies seem to have an inbuilt mechanism that tells them when Mummy is not feeling well, my dd has always been a model child when I've not been able to do a thing but lay on the sofa & look green around the gills!

On a completely random note, if anyone suffers from hard skin on their feet I have found the best foot file. It's the pink Revlon one that looks a bit like a cheese grater & it costs £10 from Superdrug. Be warned though, you have to go easy as I nearly shaved my feet down to the bone!

Hello all. Glad to see I've introduced another good ol' Scottish word to the thread. I have to admit that shoogling has an air of desperation in it in our house.

LBM Hope J is a bit better today.

Iggy Anything yet?

Vjay I sterilised until DD1 stopped taking a bottle at about 18months but we didn't have a dishwasher then so probably won't do it so long this time if when H takes a bottle. She took a little bit of water from a tommee tipee cup today and had 5 sooks of a dummy (theory being it'll get her used to the teat) so some progress.

Barbie Really hope you feel better soon.

Blue so glad you had a great time. Can't wait til it's my turn. A CD of white noise would be no fun!

It's a year today since I got my BFP and H rewarded me by sleeping from 8-5. It'll all go pear shaped tonight but i'll take the sleep when it's offered, thanks.

Hi ladies baby went down at 7.30 with barely any crying...bliss.
I have also finally worked out my Close sling and absolutely love it! J falls asleep in it straight away too

Thanks for advice re piles; will def bring it up with GP on Thurs but they've actually been a lot better the last few days. MLS, eek to a potential op
Am also reassured that it was a good few months before some of you dtd after baby..although dh is definitely good to go anytime now!! He is all over me which I find baffling as I look a state but he is sweet & lies tells me I'm still attractive

barbie sorry your dh's trip is longer still sounds like you're doing amazingly well on your own. I too have NO idea how single parents do it.

blue the wedding sounds fab! How sad about your friend's last boyfriend but lovely she has a happy ending. Amazing about B going 7-7 now too; must be a relief!

Vjay so sorry about your poor doggy so lovely about the hedgehog in memory of him though! Also to Ajay walking!! This time last year we were still referring to him as Optimus!

Jools thanks for saying you like hearing the baby chat; I do worry about gushing too much. Hope your BBQ was good. We were meant to go to one Sunday but got cancelled cos of rain!

MLS When I say body back to normal no I definitely do not mean tummy too there's no way this flabby stretch-marked thing is ever seeing daylight again! Though I think some people are blessed with that gene...I caught a glimpse of an NCT friend's tummy when she hitched up her top to bf - flat as a pancake & not a single mark
Fab tip about the foot file! I'm having major hard skin issues as I've been back in flip flops for weeks will go look for it!
Hope you find an inspiring name too; looking forward to hearing it

Speaking of names- iggy have you and dh agreed on yours? I'm not asking what they are as I know you don't want it mentioned on here but just curious if you're still undecided. We will have to refer to your lo as piglet or something
Movements were definitely less significant for me at 40 weeks but as someone else said- as long as you're feeling something it's fine.

Thanks for advice re holiday abroad all. I would never consider doing it if it wasn't staying with relatives- so we will have some help with baby. One of my cousins is 14 year old girl so hoping she will be up for some babysitting so we can go out to dinner They have a pool too so we wouldn't have to venture out much. Think we're going to go for it maybe early Sept.

Louey I think we do get to pick our own bridesmaid dresses, yay My sister is thinking floral. She has impeccable taste though so we def won't be in puffy sleeved peach

Neeko fab that BW is helping H and lol at extractor fan A friend's baby always had to sleep in front of the dishwasher; can't imagine their bills keeping it on! Someone on the May PN thread has a white noise app on her iphone she swears by.

LBM sorry babyJ is having unsettled evenings Really hope you're ok..even with the little crying Jude does I get quite stressed so do feel for you.

PFJ hope you're ok.

4ever you too! Hope little S hasn't given her Mummy any more scares.

Something is happening... I have had bloody show.. But do realise could now be days before anything else happens... Don't you lot get too excited!

AAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! Go Iggy go! Off to text Neeko..... now what was that you said about not getting too excited

EEEEEEEEEKKK! Only a little bit excited here!

Sorry but I'm getting a bit excited too!! and isnt tomorrow your due date???

Hi mls

Hi neeko

Lets all get excited together!!

Bleeuugghhh, I feel sick, I can't be next on the list I have too much to do. I don't have baby-gro's or anywhere to put them. We haven't even looked at prams yet. Why am I so unorganised this time around? Where has the time gone? Has anyone got a paper bag? I need b-r-e-a-t-h-e.

iggy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anymore developments...like a baby or something?

mls thats how i felt when i got to the top of the list!

OOOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

How exciting iggy you are going to have your baby very soon!!!

Will be checking back often for updates but I'm sorry have no time for personals until things calm down. Work is mad, Isaac has loads of appointments this week plus we have a man starting to paint the spare room today. Its chaos

No news! Nothing more happening yet... Am out walking dog to try to encourage things along!

Been lurkin! VERY excited for you Iggy! On one of last posts i put 22nd on sweepstake, my nans birthday, but today is Mil birthday! Pom poms are out! Get bouncing/shagging/pineapple & curry eating/raspberry tea drinking! .....Sorry still no personals, S hanging off boob! Just mad unpunctuated posts from phone! ....Too add my tuppence worth i will still sterilise til 12m as like Barbie am a stickler for guidelines, also the tomee tipee flask is what we use when out, but dont go over a few hours with it tho, gonna recheck instructions for how long it lasts.. However i still get up to make night feeds fresh with a newly boiled kettle, she sleeps 5/6hrs at night so theres only 1 or 2 anyway.. Im just too scared of her being ill! .....AFM Our 'welcome to the world' bbq on sat was really lovely having the whole family round! I hardly got to see S as she got passed around & i was missing her by the end of the day! V proud mummy tho as everyone agreed how beautiful & amazingly chilled she is! Other news is last week we had the vicar round & we have arranged S christening for the 17th Oct! Means so much as there was a huge amount of praying done over these last few years & now daily thanks for our little miracle! Let the monica style organising commence! You are all invited to be cyber fairy godmothers!

Oh yea as it was getting discussed will just add i also had my 1st glass of wine in over a year at bbq on sat! Wah hey! Funny a few of us had a drink again at the weekend!

Go iggy go

4ever Summers christening is on Cjays birthday , you've got just under 3 months to get everything organised, plenty of time

Go iggy go, did I already say that?

thank you lovely ladies. the last two evenings have involved no screaming and shes not done a poo today so i'm feeling like a new person - much happier. however she has had her injections today and is now not happy - just out to get some calpol as our is 2 years out of date

not counting my chickens yet - a friend who is a midwife recommended yakult to try and solve the colic and it might be working ( tastes yuck though!)

GO IGGY

Cupcake travelling before babs is moving is a really good idea - we are taking out three to Oz next Easter as hupefully BabyJ won't be mobile by then. Whilst Jude is being fed by you, its really easy so make the most of it. i too love my closer sling - it is just fantastic , babyj spends some of each day in it and i get so many comments from others abou how good it is. J loves it and sleeps really well in it.

love to all- need to go to the chemist now

Iggy things might not be moving swiftly for you but thanks for giving me the kick up the bum I needed! After your post last night I put nappies, bottles & a bottle brush on the next food delivery, wrote my birth plan & today I bought some maternity pads, baby-gro's & vests & now I feel a whole lot better!

Vjay oct 17th is my birthday too & we're planning J's baptism for then too! Big day on the emmsy thread! LBM thanks, u make a good point! J is v portable at the mo so prob a lot easier than it would be next summer. Hope your J's evenings stay settled! MLS well done! we didn't get nappies til about 39 wks!

Oh and barbie that date stamp thing made me cry laughing!

v. quickie ironing is staring at me from a great height!

Iggy - eeeeeeeeeeeeeek! you're on the home straight . Hope it all kicks off soon if its not already causing you to grip the couch and yelp .

MLS - I'm impressed . How was Florida BTW???? Did you get a wave from Mickey? Did your DD die with happiness seeing all the princesses?

LBM - fingers crossed J has turned a corner. Big 'Close' sling fan here too. My DH loved it to and was the only thing that he could settle B in when he was tiny. He's too big for it now and way too wriggly .

Neeko - shoogling has an air of desperation about it in our house too .

barbie re: Jo Jo Maman - you can get a discount if you order it from here...

4ever - oooh another Christening! Have you got your new Next Directory book yet? Loads of Autmn clobber in there for you . A practice for being 'Mother of the Bride' . Do you have family robes? What a special day that will be...

Barbie I heart that thread you posted a link to. I'm reading a couple of pages a day & I have actual tears of laughter running down my cheeks! I especially love page 10, the one about the fb profile & the meeting!

Blue yes dd did die & go to heaven on holiday, I think her favorite was Winnie The Pooh though!

Any news from Iggy?

Evening ladies, I'm attempting a catch-up but apologies in advance if I miss anyone out or miss out on some major news. Do any of the other saggypanters find that their brain feels like mush or is it just me?

vjay So sorry to hear about your dog DS1 Sounded very brave. Yay to Ajay walking!

iggy any progress?? So exciting that we're going to have another graduate soon!

mls eeek! You're next! at your flurry of activity today! I thought the exact same about Stacey's belly in EE btw!

lbm good to hear your last 2 evenings went well with Baby J. Hope she's not in too much pain after the injections today

4ever Thanks for the invite Good to hear the bbq went well. What a lovely idea to have a 'welcome to the world' party

neeko I have more inappropriate texts to forward if you're interested? . I have another 'rocker' here with S. S used to go to sleep when she was younger either on the bottle or just by leaving her in the cot, but since she's been teething, and also crawling the only way she goes to sleep is by rocking her in the pushchair or bouncer. I dont really know how to break the habit to be honest. Any suggestions?

blue Sounds like you had a fab time at the wedding. You looked lovely btw

barbie How are you coping hun without DH? I'm another one who is in total awe of single mums. We havent had a chat on FB recently - must do something about that!

jools Hope you havent been working too hard again this week

louey I echo what the others said about the run-up to the due date being worst than the actual day itself. I also understand the need to get pregnant again. We had to wait 3 months after I mc'd and those 3 months were absolute hell. DH was adamant that we had to wait those 3 months even though I used to cry and beg him to change his mind. But then we went on holiday and conceived Saara at the first time trying.

mermaid Hope you're doing OK hun. Looking forward to seeing your list of names for babyiggy

monkey How was the wedding? Hope you had a fab time

cupcake We did baby massage as well and loved it. We're thinking of going on holiday in September for Saara's 1st birthday, before I go back to work, but I am worried about the travelling especially as she has ants in her pants most of the time and cannot sit still. She doesnt like sitting for too long in the car now either so I'm a bit worried as we have a weekend up North to see friends/family and my grandparents soon. Anyone have any suggestions on how to keep a nearly 10 month old entertained?

curly Still waiting for your email about our next meetup. Hoping it will be in the next few weeks. Ramadan starts in the week of August 9th which is when we fast for 30 days from sunrise to sunset. It will be the first Ramadan in a while when I've not been pregnant so that will be strange. Also it will be interesting to see how I cope with Saara and not going out as much as we normally do. Hopefully it wont be too hot as we cant drink water either.

pfj How are you feeling? Sending you lots of hugs

Sending hugs to you as well choccie

Waves to annie QA anyone else I've missed. Has anyone heard from gracie

I'm still sterilising bottles as well and will probably do so until she turns 1. With making formula, I'm sure its not the right thing to do [bad mummy emoticon] but every night I make up a flask of boiling water and use that if Saara needs a feed in the night. I also have a small flask which I take with me if I go out and Saara needs a feed as she doesnt drink cold milk (as curly saw when we met up!)

All of us at my workplace were supposed to find out today about our jobs, whether we've been job matched, in ring-fenced competition or being made redundant, but no news, which is a bit of a bummer especially as I've been in front of the work laptop all day hitting the refresh button. The consultation process has already started so the clock is ticking. Fingers crossed that I hear soon as its making me a bit anxious, especially as I might have to start preparing for interviews etc and I'm not ready to startusing my work brain yet

Still waiting to hear more about the London meet-up in October. Any updates on dates???

I've gone on for waaay too long Night all

Waves to Sabs, the flask at night doesn't sound like the wrong thing to do. My solution to keeping a lo entertained on long car journeys is to buy a portable dvd player to strap to the headrest & loads of Balamory dvd's - it worked for us!

sabs oh lovely that is a horrible worry for you, I have everything crossed that you find out tomorrow and that it is good news.x

Ronald
Axel

not that anything will happen for ages yet

I actually do rather like the name Loveday tis very Cornish.

For those who asked about Islamic traditions when a baby is born. One of the first things we do is recite the call to prayer (anyone who've been is Muslim countries and have been woken up by this at the crack of dawn will know what I mean ) gently into the baby's ear. So DH and my dad did that to Saara.

On the 7th day after the baby is born, the hair on the baby's head is shaved. The hair is then weighed and the equivalent amount of silver is then given to charity. We had her hair shaved but I havent done the charity bit yet

Also on the 7th day (apologies in advance if this is TMI for some people) an animal is sacrificed, normally a goat or a sheep, and the meat is distributed amongst family, friends and the poor. A lot of people dont do this on the 7th day but at another time and use the meat to have a big party, but what we did was asked for the meat to be cut in India rather than here and the meat was given to an orphanage

We also have to give the child a Muslim name and consideration should be taken into choosing a name with a good meaning. In Arabic, Saara means pure and happy but I also like the meaning in Hebrew, as it means princess .

Finally, we also did another tradition which is an Indian tradition rather than a Muslim one. When a baby is born in Indian culture is to give out Indian sweets to friends and family. Instead of Indian sweets though, we gave out pieces of victoria sponge cake decorated in pink icing and presented in a lovely box Those on FB might have seen the photo's of it

I'm sure I've left something out. Thanks for reading!