June 08 - a Coalition for all (even those with May or July 08 babies).

[DomesticGoddessInTraining]

Abdn liked the title so I just went ahead!

Poppy I'm so sorry.

Poppy, so sorry. have sent you a message on Fb, feel free to ignore if you wish.

I'm really sorry Poppy.

I'm so sorry Poppy

Got a text from DH at 8pm to say he was going for a quick pint. Nothing since, not answering phone (it's a crap phone and he can never hear it). Am very with him. He's supposed to be driving DS to nursery in the morning before I have to drive for miles for work. Grrrr.

Poppy, I hope you manage to get some sleep tonight.

Goddess - what time did he get in?

Poppy, if you're still around, hope that beautiful little girl of yours is giving you lots of hugs and kisses today.

poppy - very sorry to hear about your scan. My thoughts are with you and hope you are ok

I'm so sorry, lots of hugs poppy...

Oh Poppy I am so sorry to hear your news. Sending you lots of ((((hugs)))), how devastating. Hope E and your DH are looking after you like you deserve.

Poppy - I am so sorry. Sending you, DH and E lots and lot of love.

(Been lurking but wasn't able to post on old thread - and none of you saw this....)

Goddess - It used to drive me mad when DH did that (happened a few times too many in London). And in the midst of being absolutely furious I used to suddenly panic "but what if something's happened"? Then when he would finally get home he'd fall straight asleep whilst I lay awake fuming unable to sleep cos he was snoring. Grrrr.

Rant over. Trust he's home now?

glad you found us Penguin!

Poppy - so sorry, I am thinking of you.

Spider - your reaction sounds perfectly normal to me, it's a very emotional thing to talk about. I'll rant to anyone who will listen about J's birth (and may cry too). The hospital made the mistake of sending me a questionnaire about my experiences of the maternity service with H, I filled the comments page quite easily.

Penguin - Hi! Just shows how often we all look at the list of threads.
You missed out the annoyance of them stinking of stale booze when they finally do get back.

Sorry no one found you Penguin.

Thanks ktpie that's kind of you to say so. I have never cried about P's delivery before either in company or in private. I was very shocked at my own reaction. Feeling fine now.

You also missed out when they get home, wake you up, steal the duvet and then pass out. Last week DH went to a black tie do. I was quite glad when he didnt make it home all night as I didn't get disturbed. He rang at 8.30am to say that he was at his desk but had lost all his work clothes so was still in his DJ. His boss sent him home.

ROFL at your DH ending up in his office in his DJ Spider !

He got home at about 12.30 so not too bad. Very apologetic, but I was in an unforgiving mood. He's also very apologetic today as I had to drive S to nursery before driving down to the Borders and was late for a meeting.

He's now just a bit sheepish. So I will of course be taking advantage of this

Poppy if you're lurking I hope you're ok today.

Penquin - glad you found us!

Thinking of you, Poppy.

Spider, glad you got a good explanation about your section. That must have been very welcome. And it's great news that it was all one-offs that led to it, that is nothing you did 'wrong'. Does that give you more confidence for the VBAC? I think there are exercises you can do that encourage the baby to get into the right position for birth. Might be worth looking up nearer the time...?

Biscuits, sold a dummy is footballing term, no? I understood what you meant anyway!

Amber, ooh prams, well there is lots to think about. I have the T3 jogger which will fit all 3 in. Good for twins and a toddler too but it is very long (to balance the weight of the toddler on the front) and it is massive even when folded. It would be a real pain to get in and out of the car. I got it second hand on ebay for £360. I had the Mountain Buggy for the twins which was fab. I had the double carrycot attachment for the first 4mths which was so sweet with them lying there all cuddled up together. I bought the MB new for £550 and got the carrycot on ebay for £55 (and sold it for the same). So it doesn't have to cost £££. A second hand MB might do the job cos they are very hardwearing. You'd have to look to see how good a shape it was in. The Jane Powertwin is very popular, good for if you use the car a lot cos its a travel system and the car seats even lie flat so they are like carrycots too. If I were you tho I would get a pram all the kids can go in cos altho L will be over 2 and a half I think there will still be times when you need to strap him in. Saying that though, if you are thinking of using the car a lot then I would have a go at getting the T3 jogger in and out of the car before you buy to see if you think it's do-able over and over. And to see if it fits in the car! There is also the first wheels city twin which is quite versatile cos you can have carrycots (only single ones tho) then you can have seats facing you or away from you. All the other side by sides they have to face away from you. That has never bothered me though (or the DTs!). The 360 Nipper is very popular too and is a cheaper side by side (can't get carrycots for that one but can be used from birth). All the prams are very chunky and difficult to get in and out of the car - the Powertwin is the easiest, but you could always just have an umbrella fold buggy in the boot such as this red kite one which can be used from birth, or even a triple but that can only be used from 3mths. So you have a sturdy buggy for pounding the streets and then the umbrella fold for if you nip to the shops in the car. If you and Mark are together you could always use two prams of course!

how can I procrastinate when I'm supposed to be studying if none of you are here?

I want to know what Vallium has been buying from JL.

Penguin sorry we missed you - this is the only thread I frequent and I just bookmark them.

Anyone getting anything from the boden sale? It started this afternoon - ahead of schedule apparently.

Poppy, I'm so sorry to hear your news. I hope you'll be okay.

Penguin, I rarely look on other threads, unless I catch them in active convos, but glad you've found us again.

Goddess, did you say you were away for all of the Thomas days out? I think we're going to book for the Bo'ness and Kinneil one on Sat 7 August. There's another one there in September too.

I made the Thomas face for B's birthday cake yesterday - I was quite chuffed

Spider, glad you're feeling better now. I think my memories of B's birth are quite different from what actually happened. I've talked about with DP a couple of times, and my recollections are quite different from his. As I was off my face on morphine and gas and air, and in some altered state of reality I think through the pain, I guess his version is probably closest to the truth. I don't know if I'd actually like to go through a debrief, so I think you're very brave, and I wish you all the best with whatever you decide to do.

Abdn, I bought a pair of jeans in the Boden sale, but nothing else appealed - wasn't keen on any of the kids stuff. But I have done quite well at Gap and JL over the past few days!

Unfortunately we're away Bugger - that would have been a great opportunity for a meet up! Well done on the Thomas face - will we see pics of the completed cake on FB?

Haven't had a look at the Boden sale. Because we had an early summer holiday and I shopped like mad before then we're completely stocked up on summer stuff. I've done a Autumn preview order for stuff for S - I was very excited to discover the baby range is now extended to age 4, so ordered a few lovely things for him. The older boys range just seemed too old for toddlers.

The summer sales have pretty much passed me by this year - was very to have missed some great bargains on garden furniture at tesco though. Ours is a bit knackered and we're planning to pay someone to re-paint it [lazy]. In our defence, we've saved up a load of wee diy jobs that needed doing to justify the expense of getting a man in for the day

Spider I'm with Bugger - I think you're brave to go through a de-brief. I get upset when I talk about my birth experience (more so the immediate post-birth stuff which made a massive contribution towards S not bf-ing, and the fanjo damage) Sorry, tmi!!!! Must also remind myself I expressed for 6 weeks, so technically S did bf.

We're teaching S a new trick for his bday party. I say, how old will you be on your birthday, he shouts 'two' and holds up one finger . He can't figure out how to do two fingers. We also have loads of silly stuff where DH and I give him a big thumbs up and make a fuss of him (e.g. when he stays in his own bed all night) which he loves and tries to give us a thumbs up back. He can't do it though and just waves his fists at us (in a non-threatening way of course).

Neenz yes I asked them about optimal fetal positioning yesterday. Too early at the moment to do anything. In fact Peter's presentation probably couldn't have been improved through OFP though as mostly it aims to get them head down and on the left hand side. Towards the end of the pregnancy and even during the first half of labour they all thought he was LOA (ideal), it was only as I got to fully dilated that the mw began to think that his head didn't feel quite right. He was head down on the left hand side but his chin was up rather than tucked into his chest and his head was wedged into the side of the pelvis. As this pregnancy progresses I will certainly be doing all I can to avoid a breech though as that would be a quick route to a section given my history. In answer to your other question, yes, I am feeling more confident about a VBAC, specifically that my body can do it by itself. However what the appointment yesterday didn't cover was things like pain relief options, induction drugs and all the other stuff that is compromised once you have had a section. Possibly they decided to leave it as I was not in any state to discuss it rationally. I have another appointment at 36 weeks which is a long way off.

AH apart from bags and shoes, not much Boden stuff is going to fit me right now. Will still go and have a shufty though.

Sorry DGT for not providing a better distraction.

Neenz - fab post on buggies thanks but is making me feel sick at the amount of choice there is!

Domestic - how gorgeous with the fist waving!!

Spider - assuming everything is OK, I think I'll go for an elective c-section this time. Doubt i'll have a chance at a natural birth.

DH was out last night when I posted and clearly I tempted fate as all of the descriptions above applied!!! He only went to play darts with his Dad....

Spider - I completely understand the birth thing. Until my therapist brought it up, I never considered that could have affected my PND (doh!). However the therapy was great. This time I told the midwife my history and she was amazing. She said, would you like an ELCS? I said yes please. (She even crossed out the word labour on my birthplan saying, well you won't be doing any of that). Would you like a private room with an ensuite? Erm, yes please. Would you like DH to stay this time? Yes. And after last time, I'll put on my notes that you can stay as long as you like or leave as soon as the catheter is removed, would that be ok? At this point, I was considering dumping DH and marrying her, but simply nodded gob smacked that a MW could actually give a shit about you....

Opps, hadn't finished. She also went through my notes from last time and explained that Ry's jaundice (which kept me trapped in that prison St Georges was almost certainly caused by being in labour for 4 days and said that NZ will induce no later than 24 hours after waters breaking, not 76! I left sooooo relieved but also so angry about what I put up with last time. Sorry for the rant. What I'm trying to say is I completely understand why your appointment was emotional and I felt exactly the same. (LOL at DH losing his work clothes, has he found them yet?) 36 weeks sounds so far away!

DG - V's been buying lamps. Sorry for not being around for procrastinating! Love the sound of S's 'tricks'. Ry currently keeps saying 3-2-GO! Never 1-2-3 or 3-2-1. Bloody Roary....

Bugger - Is there a pic of the Thomas cake on FB? Pls remind me of your RL initals so I can see it if there is. We did a Roary one in the end - with some Kipper the Dogs around the edge. (Very personalised! )

Am I really mean? I'm not even considering a double buggy, I'm just looking at a baby holder and a buggy board. I've been walking Ry to and from town a lot recently so he's getting used to walking quite a bit.

Penguin that made me laugh - marrying the MW . Glad you are getting better care this time. Is it a private system in NZ or like a social insurance system like on Oz?

I think the double buggy is more for the parent than the child! I like to know I can strap them down when necessary. But if Ry is good at walking already then you might not need one at all. You could just get a cheapo umbrella fold twin buggy (about £100, cheaper second hand) to have handy if you think you might need something.

Amber, double buggy talk melts your brain doesn't it. I never bought a single pram and there are millions of them so I think we had it quite easy getting a double straight off as there were not that many choices then.

DH has outdone himself with idiotic behaviour these last two days . On wed he got stuck in a meeting so I asked my parents to pick up the DTs from the CM. They don't have car seats so I said go get Peter's car from the station (he gets the train into work). I checked with DH which station it was at (there are 2 in our town) and he said Freshfield. So mum and dad went to get it and couldn't find the car. Cue frantic calls to DH's receptionist to see if she could interrupt the meeting to ask where the bloody car was. Turns out it was at the other station . Then yesterday he left his car keys at court so when he got off the train he had no keys for his car. Luckily his parents were home and they have car seats so they were able to pick the kids up from the cm. You really do have to worry for the British justice system .