November 09 - Autumnal times are drawing near, soon our babes will be one year!

[MsInterpret]

Hello ladies, hope no one minds me taking the liberty of creating a new thread and approves of the name choice. We've been moving a bit slower than antenatal so though we'd most certainly have some year-olds by the time we finished this one!

MsI, I keep changing my method. new toothbrush, using two, one for her, one for me, letting her brush my teeth (with my own obviously) whilst I brush hers (this worked very well for a while, now she is only trying to put mine in her mouth),...
My husband is very good at it (but he only does it on weekends, so I guess that's the main reason why it's so interesting): he makes noises like a electric toothbrush

Tigger ooo you are moving too?Well done on selling th house! We moved across the country, from S London to YOrkshire, I must admit I found it quite stressful, but that was partly as I was useless at doing much of the heavy duty stuff, DH was working the whole time and S unpacked everything I packed! We had help from family but most of our stuff is in storage as we are staying with my parents' until after baby is born, and then hopefully we will get to find an area we like. We couldn't sell our flat and had to rent it out so that was an added stress. But it's all done now so I am ok! Will be good to have our own house, but for now it is v nice having grandparents on hand, esp as DH has buggered off skiing for the week . Very bloody nice for some!!!

Ursi how are you feeling now? I am liking the toothbrushing suggestions - S absolutely hates it, and it is a battle every night.

I really couldn't believe how lucky I was with this pregnancy, morning sickness wise, especially after feeling diabolical for most of S's. How many weeks are you now? Any sign of it easing off?

DWB how is your DH now about the new baby boy? Is he getting excited? We are struggling to agree on names of any kind! Somehow seems harder this time round! How many weeks are you now? I am, eeek, 33 weeks and starting to panic! Must find the old natal hypnotherapy wotsit, for all the good it did last time !

Happy Birthday DWB!

MsI S just squarks, and purses his lips so I end up prizing the damn brush in, which makes him v cross. Probably not the best approach!

tigger ah, see problem i have is Roo won't take bottles, and just sips milk from cups, not enough to fill him up. Sigh. back to the drawing board for me.

A reasonable night. But i don't want to say it aloud, as i will most certainly jinx it, if not already!

Will catch up properly tmrw (hopefully) but I open my mouth wide and Ethan copies me! He does only have four teeth so far so it's not too challenging yet.

Oh sod it I'll catch up now.

Thanks for the happy birthdays!

katster I'm 22+3 so roughly ten weeks behind you. I think we have a favourite (Luke), from around two or three (Adam, Theo, L, but a few people I know are due boys before me so migt

Argh bloody phone! That's why I hate posting big msgs from my phone.

Top list of names, Luke probably no 1, others include Theo, Adam, Logan, Lachlan, james & Matthew but Luke was up there for no1 and seems to be our favourite again. Only thing that might change our mind is if one of the people I know who are expecting a boy before us use it as I think that would probably put us off but we'll see.

DH & I are both delighted, looking forward to our two boys and I think DH will happily have no3 as well! Can't believe how quickly time is passing. You must be really excited and yet filled with apprehension katster! Have you bought a sling?! I think we'll need one!

Evening ladies

Get this - I am sat upstairs in my bedroom whist DD's party goes on downstairs!! How times have changed.. hopefully it will wind up before too long as I'm starting to want my bed!

Teeth wise - dentist told me that baby toothpaste is designed to be ingested so don't worry too much if the brushing isn't happening, as long as they get used to sucking and playing with it it will come in time.

scarlotti I saw your FB post! good for you! hope you had a great time out, funny that your DD has replaced you in the party stakes .

Oh you good ladies with the teeth cleaning. I am a Bad Mummy. I don't 'clean' his teeth at all. I give him his toothbrush when DD cleans hers, and in the morning do mine as well, we show him what to do, and he puts it in his mouth and chomps on it. That is it. Very occasionally I put paste on it, but not normally. He sometimes chews the wrong end, great for his gums! I am more interested in him being happy to have it in his mouth and learn what to do with it, in time I will do the whole forcing to clean but i just can't do with the fight. DD used to scream, so we often left it, and now at 4.5 she has good strong teeth and cleans them mostly twice a day with little fuss (we obviously help her). But, I have very strong teeth (no fillings) and she has my teeth, and DH has weak teeth (millions of fillings, teeth removed) so DS might need more encouraging that DD did, might not have the time to wait for him to learn perhaps.

That S Word. two nights ago. Marvelous. 7:30pm-3:45am. 4:15am-6am. Last night. Oh Dear. He was in with me in the end, and he did not sleep well at all. Oh well, that's just how it goes eh? I am rather philosophical about it today, hanging eye sockets and terrible feeling skin, aching muscles, but coffee is great for that 'zing' feeling!

Katster, thanks for asking. I'm quite ok, the sickness seems to be really just in the morning, or maybe until noon, but then I'm usually fine. Feeding Paula her porridge in the morning is usually hard and as DH is skiing in Austria it is really me who had to do it. Not fun but I did survive.

I'm 7 weeks now so still time enough for symptoms to increase but I think it can only be better than last time as I have no time to think about it.
I won't have my booking appointment until I'm 12 weeks, so annoying. And then they will only give me the appointment for the first scan. I really don't know if I can wait this long. I'm sure I won't be able to hide the bump until then but I really don't want to tell people before having had a positive scan.

I got a medical kit for Paula as she is screaming when we are at the GP. Even if it is about me. I hope it will help. So far she gives a lot of "nose spray" to her baby doll, and I have to hold her than and tell the doll, that it is already over and that everything is fine. You can tell, she is already traumatised by the spray. But it seems to help her a lot. So I do everything to get it in. Something I don't do when it comes to teeth brushing.

I am lurking.

Pav I am wetting myself in hysterics here. Had to re read your post regarding the "S word". At first I was thinking "you go girl - with two kids as well to get up in the morning" then I realised the S was for SLEEP. Ohhh silly me! For one moment I was mightily impressed!!!!!

Oh dear. I think DS1 may have chicken pox. DS? have been so poorly. Thought DS1 was on the mend yesterday but he woke with a temp and his cough a lot worse. DH away abroad still. I?m stuck in the house with 2 poorly DS' and NO SLEEP for me! Can you tell I'm feeling a little sorry for myself? Before I realised DS1 had a couple of spots appear, I decided to make a dash to the local M&S to get some more food supplies. Take DS' with me and park right outside the shop entrance and whizz in and be back home in half hour. That was the plan but no such luck! My car ABS light came on as I arrived in car park and it remained on, which started to worry me. I was a few mins away from the dealership we got the car from and I made my way there. Turns out the wheel was on the verge of falling off, something to do with a ball joint. Not how I planned my morning. Luckily the car is under warranty and the part was in stock. And even luckier we are alive and kicking! They fixed it within the hour and delivered the car back to my house. I had to make DS1 walk home whilst car being fixed. The poor mite looked terrible. He went straight to bed for 3 hours. Time will tell if the spots blister and if he gets any more. DS2 is bound to get it as well.

On the teeth brushing front. I?ve been meaning to get DS2 a toothbrush. But he?s only just sprouted some teeth recently. I think I?ll do the pav approach to start with. DS1 turned in to a nightmare with brushing teeth around this age. I think most kids are like this.

Fruit OMG, you poor thing. What a day you've had. Sending you lots of sleep vibes and get well soon vibes to your DS1

DD has gone up to bed already all day she's been a bit subdued but every time I suggest it might be a hangover I get told it's not in no uncertain terms!! Ha ha ha!

They had a great time last night and there were no breakages or anything so a big success. So nice to be able to let her have parties knowing they're good kids and my house will be in one piece at the end of it.

Pav sorry to hear sleep is still so hit and miss. I don't brush Ioan's teeth either yet despite having a brush and paste - I never remember

Ursi hope the nausea doesn't get too bad. Be prepared to barely see any medical professional during your pregnancy, once you're on no. 2 or more they leave you to it.

Ninja nice to see you

fruit oh your poor thing, you must be really suffering. Your poor boys. I hope your DS1 makes a good recovery.

ninja glad I made you chuckle that other S, it would certainly not last all night how are you and Alfie doing? and your oldest?

scarlotti hope you will be invited to the future parties

Roo is poorly too, not sure exactly what is wrong but he is very grumpy today! probably teeth, i guess. I shall blame the teeth at least

Hello Everyone!

Tigger congrats on selling/buying houses, very exciting!

DWB Happy belated birthday, hope you were spoilt by the men in your life! Love the name Luke by the way, fingers crossed no one gets to use it before you...

Pav I am with you on the teeth cleaning frount. I pass Millie the toothbrush with a scraping of paste and she chews on it for ages. Actually she quite likes it as she watches her brother clean his teeth and try's to copy, she even says "aaahhhh" when she's done to show me her teeth!

Scarlotti you are very lucky to have such a trustworthy daughter. Did you not feel like gatecrashing the party then?!

Fruit your poor ds, has he had any more spots? Hope he feels better soon

Sorry to everyone else with absent husbands/partners and poorly/not sleeping babes. Dh has gone to India for 3 nights, it was meant to be 5 but it got shortened in the end, thank god! I hate it when he has to travel, especially being so far from home. However, I've made some good friends out here and their husbands are traveling this week too so we can all stick together!

fruit, you poor thing, what a nightmare! I see you have had lots of good 'pox advice on FB which I am taking note of too. How was last night? Is DS2 showing spots? Hope DH is not away too much longer :(

Ah, helips, really glad to hear you've made some good friends in Singapore. I remember you feeling quite apprehensive at first so it's great you've got a network now.

Nice to see you ninja. Note to all: We must post lots more possibly rude/double entendre comments if it will entice ninja out of lurking!

We had a delicious birthday Burns Supper for DH last night with a few good friends. Always nice when you feel you've made the most of the weekend. Back to the grindstone now for me though - am trying to write up assessments/plan lessons so will say au revoir for now...!waves

fruit, I really hope that things are getting better soon and that you manage to get a little bit of sleep. When is your DH coming back?

scarlotti, oh, I had forgotten about the fact that they don't want to see you that often when you had already a successful pregnancy. I think I'm ok with that. I just wish I had a positive confirmation (scan with heartbeat) a bit earlier. I am a bit paranoid as my sister had already 3 MMC.

helips, good to hear that you have found some good friends.

ursi I can understand that - I had two m/c between DS1 and Ioan so I know how it feels. If you have any spotting and phoned your EPU they'd get you in for a scan ... not that I'm suggesting you should be dishonest ... just letting you know how the UK system works.

helips glad you've settled so well over there ... am not at all...

I had one of those really trying days today - a bit tired to start with then full on chat from DS1 all day and a teething and grumpy Ioan. Bathtime though lightened my spirits as they have a right laugh together, they were messing about getting dressed after and Ioan was in hysterics! Was still very glad to see 7pm though!

Thank you ladies for all your kind support. DH is back home at lunch time. It couldn't be a moment too soon. Worried about C. He is sleeping a lot (not that I'm complaining!) but wakes up tearful and needs to be cuddled and then goes back off to sleep again. He really isn't looking too good but no temperature. This is the pattern over the last 2 days. I'm phoning GP this morning for advice. DS1 seems to be getting off lightly with the spots. He has approx 12 and not itching him very much. I'm full of cold. I've had chicken pox as a child thankfully.

Sorry I'm not commenting on other posts. I will be lurking for a while

Hi Fruit, sorry to hear the boys are both unwell. As far as the sleeping goes, I'd have thought that would be allowing C's body time to recover from being unwell so it should be a good sign? Glad your DH is home today and hope the boys make a speedy recovery!

scarlotti Bath time is always a good plan when you're having a bad day! One of the many parenting emails I get had suggested doing it in the middle of the day if you're having 'one of those days'. I haven't been there yet but will bear it in mind when DS2 arrives!

Ursi I asked my midwife at my booking in appointment if I'd have less appointments this time, she said maybe one less! Still booking in, 12 week scan, 16 week check up, 20 week scan, 24 weeks, 28 weeks, 32 weeks - I think 34 weeks is optional on no 2, but every fortnight from 36 weeks on. So that's still 10 appointments if you go full term. Hopefully you'll have some reassurance soon. I know that feeling of unease, haven't been able to shake it entirely myself yet! 23 weeks tomorrow.

Thanks for the birthday wishes. Had a nice evening on Friday and a fairly chilled out weekend. Had to try to plan my maternity 'leave' (although I don't officially have a job to come back to) over the weekend. As DH is still on a temporary teaching contract, he won't be paid for the 7 week summer holiday so I think I need to work as late as possible. Looking at stopping mid-May, by which point I'll be 39 weeks. Not ideal but if I keep well I don't see why I can't work til then. Ethan arrived on his due date so I'm just hoping we're better organised this time around and this little one doesn't arrive early. Yawn!

Katster How are you doing? How long to go now? x

Wow, my boss has just spoken to an agency regarding finding cover for my maternity leave and said he will be happy to have me back part-time and find someone to work around me after baby no 2!! Delighted! After finding out I was pregnant between accepting the job and starting, it's good to know he hasn't held that against me, and it saves me trying to find part-time work when I'm ready to go back, which I imagine would be near impossible. Huge relief!

Just need a maths teaching position to open up permanently for DH now and we'll be sorted. Fingers crossed!

DWB great news about your job, hopefully something permanent will turn up for your dh too!

Fruit hope C gets better soon, is it worth giving nhs direct a quick ring? Hopefully your dh is back now to help with the load.

Scarlotti sometimes I wake up longing for 7pm, lol! That sounds bad doesn't it?! It's just sometimes being a mum is bloody hard work, especially the endless chat from the moment ds wakes until he goes to sleep, sometimes I wish there was a mute button!

Ursi, have you got a date for your scan yet?

My friend was due to have her first baby yesterday, so exciting! Can't wait to hear her news, she doesn't know what she's having so a complete surprise. She has posted a picture of her bump on facebook and looks gorgeous, I had bump envy!

DWB, that's great news about your job. And your boss. It must be really a good working environment if he is actually even trying to sort things out for you already especially after your timing of finding out about the pregnancy.

My booking appointment will be when I am already 12 weeks... No scan date yet, I will get it at the booking appointment (helips). In the leaflet which came with the letter, they explain that you can have a dating scan until 19 weeks. (If you want a nuchal fold scan it has to be done until 14 weeks I think). I only want a dating scan but it would be ridiculous to wait until 19 weeks. It is very likely that I will feel the baby before that as even the first time round I felt first movements when I was 17 weeks.
But to be fair, last time, in the same hospital, the booking appointment was at 12 weeks exactly (but I had thought so late because they had lost my referral) and the scan was actually three days later, so I'm sure I don't have to wait until 19 weeks.

scarlotti, thanks for your "suggestion". I was actually wondering if some people would imagine bad symptoms to get checked out earlier. But I won't do that. It feels like bad luck. And we could afford a private scan anyway. If I imagine how much money my DH is probably currently spending on his boy skiing trip...
And I've just got an unexpected tax return from when I stopped working before Paula was born. I guess I could go for 10 or even more scans with that money

Hey DWB, great news on the job front - you must be indispensable! Really good to hear of someone treating mummies/maternity leave fairly for a change

I've just been to the dentist and got no fillings, woo! So am celebrating with a cup of tea and soem chocolate fingers . Asked dentist about baby's teeth and he said was a bit rubbish on advice but just said use adult toothpaste and a pea-sized amount. Swallowing is fine as means the fluoride is going into their systems and will benefit teeth anyway. - but I'll buy it if it gets me off the hook for not doing a great job on teeth cleaning so far.

I know what you mean about bump envy. My good friend has just been tagged on facebook with a luverly bump. And found out a good friend got engaged atop Arthur's Seat this weekend. What a way to stave off the January blues, eh?!

Hi all!

Helips I get bump envy all the time - my friend looks like a super model with a water melon under her jumper. I look like a whale that has eaten a smaller whale. Grrr.

DWB Fantastic news about the job situation! What a relief that must be. Liking the name list too! I really like Theo. DH is not a fan I don't think, I will have to work on him. I am 34 weeks on Wed. Eeek! Still not had my booking in appointment at the new hospital! How annoying! I rang up today ( someone answered on the 7th attempt...) and they said they hadn't got my referral which was sent 3 weeks ago and to go back to the community midwife. I asked to speak to someone else in antenatal bookings, who said the same thing but said "it could be in this pile on my desk" and eventually found it! She said "oh! you're nearly 34 weeks, you need an appointment soon!" Hmm. Yes, I had said that when I first rang up! Anyway I have an appointment next Tues when I'll be 35 weeks....Yikes. The midwife round here is ace though, and I get loads more appointments than in London where I got one every 4 weeks right up to 38 weeks! Here it's every fortnight.

Fruitpastels what a nightmare with the chicken pox and the car. How scary. I wouldn't even know what an ABS light was! At least you were all ok. How is DS now?

Ninja I am nearly wetting myself at you thinking Pav and MrPav were at it from 7:15 - 3:45!!!! Go MrPav!!!

MsI I am not doing a great job on the tooth brushing front either - tonight was a total drama, I had to prize his mouth open as he screamed blue murder. He has 14 teeth now though so I really think they need doing. Did your dentist have any other suggestions?