Tea Room the Tenth: Tea and cake and rock and roll

[MadBadandDangerousToKnow]

Welcome back to the tea room.

In the search for the perfect venue, we have now decamped to a rambling country estate. The once-decaying castle, now restored, is a boutique hotel, popular with rock and roll gentry and visiting bishops, and the tea room (which never closes) is located in a tastefully converted barn. The charming garden contains a duck pond and ends in a haha. We need the haha, of course, to stop the bison trampling the herbaceous borders. Mellors the gardener is, as ever, in charge of the grounds.

Please come and join us for a celebratory drink.

Keeping my extremities crossed for Catita's mum.

Orangehaze- We badly need a new mattress as ours has collapsed. My master plan is to go and bounce on a few in a reputable bed shop (ie not Cheapo Beds R Us) and then buy the firmest one I can find, spending as much as I can afford as cheap beds seem like a false economy. Not much help, am I?

Sending a thermos jug of hot chocolate, and a cooler full of white wine, to Amber on her damp holiday.

eeek, when did my week suddenly get busy. Oh yeah, when I accepted a days work for friday, offered today. I'll get home about 4am saturday, my folks arrive 9am saturday leaving 8pm sunday. BiL & SiL arrive sunday afternoon staying till tues. OTher SiL & BiL have just told us they are moving their family to Africa in Feb.
So do I go to Yoga tomorrow evening or am I too busy with getting house in presentable state. Or do I leave that bit to DH while he is daddy daycare on friday...

Thanks for teh Tea Amber. and teh mffins from who ever they came from. I've raided teh chocolate cupboard too and scarfed teh Liquorice Alsorts.

Boy came out through the sun roof, as 24 hours after waters broke ( with Meconium staining) and after 12 hours of induction I was still only 5cm dilated and his heart rate was giving cause for concern. THen I felt sick after the op so Dh had all the first cuddles while anaesthetist etc worked on stabilising my blood pressure. Really not a big deal in grand scheme of things. In other parts of teh world boy would eventually have been delivered dead.

UniS - That last thing is what often gets overlooked (I feel) by the more fanatical of the natural birth zealots. Without medical intervention at the birth, both MadBadBaby and I would quite likely be pushing up the daisies.

And really that is the important thing to remember, isn't it?
My sis had 2 CS - first emergency, 2nd elective.

If she had continued to try with her 1st, no doubt the poor child would have been strangled as she had the cord round her neck and was effectively "bungeying" up and down on my sis's cervix, hence she wasn't dilating properly.

I was induced but miniThumb eventually came out the "natural" way. I didn't get the love at first sight thing either - just felt I'd known him for ages anyway but was just getting to see him for the first time. I've never had that "powerful rush of love" thingy, even 22m later.

Anyway, I bet all you CS-ers didn't feel like your insides were dropping out every time you stood up for the next week! It was tempting to put both hands between my legs to catch it, it felt so "droppy"!
A bonus for you.

Beds/mattresses - did I not post on here about my fab experience with the Mattress REquirement Analyser? Such fun - but it still came up too soft for me. The big thing, I think, is to try the mattress in your normal sleep position and to stay there for 5mins minimum, and to really concentrate on relaxing your bod so that you can feel if you are going out of alignment (well, I can but then I am extremely aware of my back problems most of the time).

Memory foam = bad for heat and also if you have some types of bad back - it doesn't allow your back to relax out of its tense position that it picks up during the day, because it moulds to that position when you lay on it. I gave up with my topper after a couple of weeks, realising that my low back had seized entirely.

Oh MadBad and UniS you are right. Daisyboy would have been pushing up daisies for sure - I had a prolapsed cord whcih even in the UK has a high mortality rate which is why at the time I was very happy indeed - plus I hadn't actually even read up about births and birth plan (I still had 4 weeks to go, see ?!?!)
so I only learnt about meconium and sticky poo some time after DaisyBoy was born - never even saw it

Anyway, I am Very Sorry about Hopeless Monsieur it is entirely disrespectful of him, but 1/2 late for Book Club? I think I would have gone - is your dress Stealth Revenge?

CMOT is home for 6 weeks good or will you start climbing walls? 4 weeks back and DaisyBloke is starting to look a little restless and to peer into his Exploration Kit Cupboard with some wistfulness. I suspect a trip to Stanfords will be next....

Daisy - Have a dress and some tops. Was in a rush so bought everything rather than be selective. Not revenge, just a distraction. Or preparation for Grab A Granny night at the local divorced and separated club. Would have been about an hour late for book group by the time I got there, by which time they've usually abandoned all discussion of the book and are gossiping about the teachers at the school which most of their (teenage) offspring attend or about their teenagers' love lives. It's made me wonder whether my own sainted mother used to spend time with her chums discussing whether I had dumped my latest squeeze or been dumped. I think - or, at least, hope - not.

Bolly?

Daisy, I think CMOTD was saying that she IS going somewhere every week for the next 6 weeks, not staying at home. Much worse, very tiring and disruptive.

Matresses. I must confess to nevver having bought one. The one we use now, Mr. Hatita bought before we got married and I was still in the UK. He seemed to manage to choose a comfy one. It's getting on the old side now (when should you change ? Every 10 years or so? I have a feeling in that case that I shall be umming and arring about such a decision quite soon too.)

Add me and JB to the list of people who'd be pushing up Daisy daisies now without intervention. Only in my case, intervention took the form of medieval torture devices forceps rather than a C-section. Cue Exploded Bits and Embarrassing Accidents followed by Reconstructive Op rather than disapparing section scar .
I don't seem to be able to be quite as sanguine about it yet as some... I wonder if some people are just more prone to going crazy developing post-traumatic stress than others? [science geek emoticon]

Bed mattresses. Don't get me started. Best advice I can give: Do Not Choose A Mattress While Pregnant.
Reason being, You Will Not Be Pregnant Forever.
And once you aren't, the mattress you picked While Pregnant may completely suck for your Non-Pregnant body.
So we now have a gorgeous soft cushy king-size mattress that makes my back hurt.

Ha ha ha JM I would add to the Don't Buy list - Don't choose a new sofa when you are 2 weeks post C-section you will find that indeed the soft, lolling, inviting and feathery sofa would have been better than the slightly too hard, prim and small one in the long run

Much sympathy about your horrid birth experience JM - I know the trauma you have been through and didn't mean to upset you

As to mattresses go to Mattress Man on the Web all you UK shoppers. Heaven. Cheap. Delivered next day. We just chose one that looked nice. And it is nice. It is made by Hypnos. I got fed up with old crap mattress and a couple of clicks later we had one

Am shattered after yesterday, and would like to loll around doing nothing on the chintz recliner... nudge me if I start snoring please... apologies for lack of smalltalk and general non-joining-in

Recently... by the time I have caught up with the tearoom gossip... it is time to do something constructive!

Orangehaze's 'I'm knackered and in need of a cake and a Bolly.' seems to me a good idea for the tearoom motto.

I will suggest to Mellors he paints it rather artfully over the archway that leads through to the front door Carl Larsson style.

OOoooo, have I coined a motto!? Feeling all accepted and warm and fuzzy in tea room now!! You lot sound to have had some quite nasty birth experiences I must say, poor things! My experience was fine but had a minging pregnancy with depression and SPD and am still having physio for it 3 years later!

Thanks for all the advice on mattress. JM, very good point about not choosing one whilst pregnant (or indeed not choosing anything of expense!) That's what we did last time and now we are sleeping on what feels like a mattress made of granite.

Spent about 2 hours in John Lewis bouncing (accidentally simulating rude actions before 2 old ladies came over laughing and pointing it out!) Ha!
Madbad, I too went out and bought half of White Stuff yesterday. ("What, this old thing darling, had it ages!")
OOppps

Bolly??

Hi tea I think that if you miss a few days you just have to plunge back in, otherwise you never catch up - I look at it like popping out for a wee when you're in the pub. You just come back in and carry on, you don't have to rewind the conversation if it goes too wrong someone generally corrects you.... like me thinking CMOT was styaing home when she's actully out all the time

Hmm, I like the new painting, but I don't think Mellors should have left his brushes lying around like that,,, a bit hazardous if you ask me!

Now, here is a lovely fresh bowl of roses on the table (see, they are in season here!) with beautiful mugs of coffee (I like the sheeny effect on the mugs don't you) and a beautiful walnut cake xx

'I'm knackered and in need of a cake and a Bolly' fits me to a tee too today.
I've been daashing about like a mad thing this week and am feeling it now. Had an after school meeting thingy on Tuesday night, then went for a quick pint with dh. Yesterday I drove to a work meeting about 90 miles from here, was all smug that dinner was bubbling away in the slow cooker. Got home to discover that slow cooker had been turned off by our cleaner so gammon and haricot beans stiitng cold and miserable. I then had to race around finding something we could eat - we have 2 Kiwi backpackers staying so felt I ought to do something 'proper'. Nice dinner duly prepared not at all in a martyr like manner and was enjoyed by dd, dh andI. Blimming visitors rolled in at 11 from day out in London, grrr.

Catita, keeping fingers crossed for your Mum
Oh, and add me to the emergency C section gang too .

Daisy... I'm sorry. I feel like I'm just harping on and on about JB's birth... it must be tiresome and I will try to stop. You didn't upset me... it's just that sometimes it all comes back more forcefully. Right now it's That Time Of The Month and everything feels crap down there, so of course the causative events are more in the forefront of my mind. I will try to tone it down before I get banned to the potting shed permanently

Catita, I may have missed it - did you tell us how come you had a section with Kittenito?

It is such utter crap not to have that first hour (or three) with your newborn. I remember seeing pictures of JB bundled in hospital blanket and little hat, and asking when they were taken as I didn't remember them. My mum said "you weren't back yet from the critical care unit" and I felt like I'd been stabbed in the heart - they were adorable pictures of everyone holding them and I knew nothing about them.

On a note, if we were every to play a game of pick-up basketball it sounds like we could be "sections" vs "flues" (picked that up from another thread, LOL) rather than "skins" vs "shirts"

Orangehaze - Oooh. White Stuff. I likeee. I have had to stop buying dresses there because they only really have one style and I have it in several versions. What did you buy?

Jacksmama - You're not harping on. If it helps you to rant talk, please carry on. Or are you just looking for an excuse to be locked in the potting shed with Mellors? I don't really understand the basketball reference, but will come at half-term and hand out oranges for the players.

Hope everybody has had a good day.

The sun is over the yardarm, so would anyone care for a Bolly?

A bolly, you say ? Yes, indeedy.

Roaming correspondent checking in from Vienna, where it is unseasonably warm - especially contrasted with home where I had to scrape my windscreen with a CD case at a very unsocialable hour this morning.

Our missing cat was found by the postlady, and has been grounded. I was starting to think we'd never see her again

Hooray for the return of CMOTkitty!

Where next on the Cmot Round The World In Less Than 80 Days Tour?

And here's a vain boast, inspired by the thread about meeting slebs: I met someone yesterday who once had her hand kissed by Brian May.

Anyone else for a Bolly? I may have a pint.

Thrilling places like Dusseldorf, a few days out in the UK, then a long US trip. On the upside, this really justifies (ahem) my purchase yesterday of a Kindle.

Gary Rhodes ran over my foot with his suitcase, and I'm sure I've told everyone about my encounter with Prince Phillip

Ooh, a Kindle. Is it good? How does it work? Where does the content come from - do you download it from somewhere?

Right. Sleb bidding wars. Jeremy Hardy pressed the button for me at a pelican crossing.

Would you care for a twiglet or two with that Bolly?

Brian May... Oh how lovely Madbad.

I happen to loosely know one of Carla Bruni's musicians. He says that she is really as beauiful as she looks on the telly and ontop of it and more importantly a really kind and sweet lady...and when her and Sarkozy are in the same room they are like teenagers in love!

Some quite scary birth stories. I feel quite fortunate that although I had an emergency section and dh got to hold gymgirlie before I did, it was in reality only 10 mins or so before I got to hold her.

I've not bought from White Stuff, not sure how big they go but I love the look of it. Am sorely tempted to take tomorrow off work and go shopping, have a proper night out in London planned and haven't a stitch to wear!

Kindle due to be delivered on the 22nd of October as it has to come from the US. You buy the 'books' on Amazon, and they magically appear on your Kindle, whereever you are, immediatly. Am v v v excited, as have wanted one for ages, but they weren't available in the UK. I read very fast, so sufficient reading material is a problem when travelling. I used to quilt or smock on planes, but the whole no scissors thing put paid to that