Expecting in Oxford 2012 (inc. late 2011 too)

[MakesCakesWhenStressed]

Hi... so just been confirmed I'm due 10th (ish) of January and would love to get chatting to some others in the same area who are also expecting... As I said In the title that includes those of you due late 2011, as well - it's a very inclusive thread - as long as you'd be able to make some meet ups in Oxfordshire and you're going through some stage of reproduction then you'd be welcome :-)

I know there's at least one more of you out there (ghost - you there?)

Stats time:

MakesCakesWhenStressed - expecting #1 EDD 10 Jan 2012

That's fantastic news - it must have been so hard for you to be on your own all this time. I hope you enjoy catching up with each other this weekend :-)

And yes - my mum popped up yesterday and treated us to a Pizza Express pizza for lunch and it was the first food I've actively enjoyed eating in weeks! It was so delicious I was wondering if I could find the money to go and buy myself another one today! Maybe not... :-)

in that case try [http://www.pizzaexpress-offers.co.uk/ this link] which might make you feel better about it

whoops link fail

lol - I don't need encouraging! :-)

Mmmm, pizza....

I do have a blue badge, but apparently it takes about 18 months to get a disabled space, which is somewhat missing the point! And it's not that likely we'll be in the same house by then. i'm hoping that the neighbours will be a bit more thoughtful when I'm visibly pregnant, so I'm have to see how that goes... I have dystonia, it's a rare neurological condition that makes walking difficult. No idea how it affects pregnancy :(

Yikes - well, keeping my fingers crossed the two don't make the other worse.

I'm a bit worried about family today. My MiL, SiL and nephew and niece were supposed to be visiting today, but 3 month old niece is in hospital with meningitis. They caught it fairly early, so we're pretty hopeful, but she's only a tiny little thing and we're worried. Also we can;t even go and visit them because we don;t how how meningitis will affect me if I caught it (doesn;t bear thinking about) so we're having to stay away. Your thoughts/prayers would be appreciated if you can spare a moment :-)

I hope you're having a lovely weekend with your DH, Ghost and love to all the rest of you
x

Oh I'm so sorry cakes. Meningitis is an horrendous thing. Wishing hard on your behalf for the little one. Keep us updated. You very much need to stay away though. If you've seen the little one recently then there are anti-vitals I think you can take. We've been through this in my family.

Thinking good thoughts for you all xx

No, I haven't seen her - or any of the in-laws - since late May, so I'm fine, just worrying. Thank you for your concern, but no updates yet.
xxx

So sorry to hear that cakes, best wishes to the little one and all the family.

Thanks Sara

how's things on the list today ladies? Am 13+4 today and I think I can finally say that the nausea has eased off a bit. It certainly hasn't been quite as bad over the last few days, which is a real relief. I managed to hurt myself a bit at the gym with some (apparently) over-zealous stretching; nothing I haven't done hundreds of times before, but I managed to yank a muscle in my back so I'm feeling a bit fragile today.

I've also got a hump on because I'm starting to realise that I probably can't go horseriding on my holiday (standard holiday treat for me; I rode for 7 years but can't afford the time or the money these days). I wanted to do some surfing too but I'm not certain I'll be able to book anywhere with the pregnancy tick on the medical list. I genuinely don't think it's dangerous - at least, the odds of doing something to the bump are no greater than the odds just walking home from work or getting in the car - but no one will take the insurance risk. As I think I've mentioned before, I don't really buy into the pregnancy = fragile bumpf that's peddled these days. Of course, awful things happen, and I have no right to be putting myself or the bump at undue risk, but I still need to live a bit and keep active!

[realises that the two paragraphs probably contradict each other, since I managed to pull a muscle doing yoga ]

/rant. How are you all feeling today?

Hello! 9+3 today I think!

Feeling ok, just like I'm permanently hungover! Not actually sick but generallly not quite right.

Sorry to hear the holiday plans have gone awry. I went sea kayaking a couple of weeks ago, my holiday treat (I'm scared of horses!), not sure I would have done it if I'd known I was pg but hey ho!

Must start my pregnancy yoga dvd soon!

13 + 5

Am feeling a bit groggy after an AWOL cat situation in the middle of the night (don't ask) but otherwise not too hideous. Am looking forward to the burst of energy I've been promised in the 2nd trimester!

I think you need to be more careful with these activities Ghost because all the ligaments and everything in your body have started loosening, which increases the likelihood of injury and, should you get injured, your body is sending all it's growing ability to the little person in your stomach, not your injured leg/arm/back - hence the fragile thing :-) Sorry...

I've started doing a bit more walking now, which is nice as I missed it, but it depends what kind of day it is - was laid low with a vile headache on Sunday. Almost migraine-like. Has anyone else been having these? I wasn't that prone to headches before, but have had 4 or 5 of these really bad ones since I got upduffed.

Oh, Ghost, I meant to aks how the big reunion went? Did your DH comment on any physical changes at all since it's been a while since he saw you last?

I'm a bit worried about how the baby will affect the neighbour situation bearing in mind that I could hear her dog drinking water from its bowl when I was lying in bed last night - there's no way she will fail to hear a screaming baby

hey cakes good to hear from you. Hope your niece is doing ok? Any change?

Partypooper! I know what you mean but I do know my body well - at least in terms of exercise - I don't want to give a false impression; I have slowed down a lot and given up on the hardcore exercising. I think it's going to take me longer to adapt to this than anything else, really. I have a lot of energy and I need to exercise otherwise I tend to have trouble sleeping. Will get there in the end though I'm sure!

I've been having bad headaches (I have a history of migraines) but for me they tend to get bad with humid weather. I don't know if it's the air pressure or something, but I suffered for 6-8 days with a monster headache while it was hot. And I couldn't take any of the good drugs! So, I definitely know what you mean and I think it's most likely pg related - you hear about it a lot. Sympathies! Are you feeling better now? It probably all ties in with dehydration/blood sugar/being hot/not being able to take some of the drugs that help.

It was lovely to see DH (though he had one day off and then had to go to work to be on call for three days - home tomorrow, grumble). I definitely have a belly and I said as much but he rather sweetly said that he thought that my boobs were doing rather well too . He's still very very excited.

Niece is improving from what I hear, but will havee to stay in hospital for the time being, poor little mite.

I seem to be passing out stone cold at 9pm every night whether I've done exercise or not, but then have manic dreams all night - and none of the good ones I had at the beginning of the pregnancy (for some reason James Martin figured heavily in those ones - dunno if I have a secret crush or it's just his way with puddings, but either way the dreams got a bit steamy!)

I'm very careful to drink lots - minimum of 4 pints a day - so I know it's not dehydration, but it probably isn't helped by this weather. I really don't cope well in the heat. I'm so English it's pathetic! I'm also refusing to take paracetemol unless I absolutely have to, so it's lots of cold flannels and lying down in darkened rooms! Am feeling much better now - well enough to have booked my first hair cut since January! I'm starting to look like a scarecrow!

Glad you had a nice time with your DH and that you got some compliments on how everything is growing! It's nice that they seem to appreciate the changes, isn't it? I actually feel more attractive than I have for ages :-) Well... when I'm not feeling sick! lol

Today I am determined to write 1500 words. I must do it. I am so fed up of having this thing hanging over me. I need a good deadline!

Hi cakes, good news then.

Yes, I've been more tired this week than any so far; had a little nap on the sofa after pilates at 8.30pm and still went up to bed at 9.30pm, but I read for quite a while. And I too have been having the wackiest dreams; they're really quite disturbing! The other day I was locked in some sort of submarine (with a hatch with a wheel) with my parents, and there was an evil zombie and I was trying to get them out. And then there was an evil zombie clone of my mum and I had to figure out which one was real to get her out. I have a lot of end-of-the-world dreams anyway (must be all the post-apocalyptic books I read) but they're much creepier at the moment. Thankfully I've forgotten last night's dream but it was vivid and I was very disturbed when I woke up this morning. I hate waking up feeling creeped out! So I sympathise. Hopefully your James Martin dreams will come back...

I've managed to tell most people about the pg now but still need to tell a few people at work, and a few friends. I realised last night that DH and I haven't told anyone while we've been together, since he's been away so much. And we wanted to tell some friends of ours at a party in a couple of weeks, but they've just emailed to say that they may not be able to have the party as they're having another baby and V is suffering really badly with morning sickness again. This is the couple who have a due date four days after ours so I'd really like to tell them face to face!

lol - how funny :-) Guess April was a popular month for conception! personally I blame all the bank holiday weekends :-D

And I had a dream t'other night about trying to get away from machine gun-toting terrorists who, for some unknown reason, were staging a coup in Wallingford. Woke up literally sweating and shaking - lovely night that was! How did you tell the difference between your real mum and zomb ie mum in the end? I keep thinking of passwords I'd set for if someone was trying to impersonate me or someone I loved so that the other person would know they were a fake... I blame the film Ghost personally :-)

I put the scan pics up on FB last night and have oodles of girlfriends cooing over them - they barely even look like a baby to me, but apparently people find them exciting! I feel like a big baby bore already :-D

God - so tired atm. Think I need a cup of tea to inspire those 1500 words. Funny, I'm drinking far more caffeine now than I ever did pre-pregnancy!

So exciting - my hypnotherapy book and CD arrived the other day for my hypnobirthing course and I've read it from cover to cover. Excuse me for sound like an aul' hippy for a moment, but I'm actually looking forward to giving birth now :-) It makes the whole thing seem natural and not scary and I can understand how it can be done without pain - I feel all light and cheerful about everything... I must be really annoying to be around atm! :-)

Is anyone else thinking about hypnobirthing? Our course isn't until November but there's only one space left on it already, so it's a good thing I booked when I did!

Not about hypnobirth but have active birth / yoga classes starting in September. i'm going for the yoga bit rather than the active birth bit, the chance of me having even a vaguely natural birth is minimal... I see the value in the exercise / relaxation aspects but I'll want full on medical support for the birth!

Because of your existing medical condition?

Oh, you'll have to let me know about the hypnobirthing key ideas! I haven't really thought about that yet. I definitely want a waterbirth, but I'm not sure whether I want to be at home or at the JR. I already do yoga and will be switching to prenatal yoga at about 20 weeks or so. I'm signed up for an NCT class in Nov, too.

Right now, I 'm quite pragmatic about the birth part (I'm sure that will change!) it will be hard and probably long, but my body is strong and it 's what we're designed to do after all. I'd love to do it without major pain relief but since I have no way of knowing how much it will hurt, I'm not ruling anything out! Hypnobirthing sounds interesting though; I've heard a little about it.

cakes, yes, I have no idea how it will affect pregnancy and labour and I'd never forgive myself if something went wrong and medical care wasn't available. My experience with doctors and hospitals have been very positive, I'm just hoping that childbirth won't change that .

The hypnobirthing is the best solution for me - I've read the book and it all makes complete sense to me - I don;t see any reason why childbirth should be so long or painful, just look at the way animals give birth! I decided to pay for this instead of NCT classes, because I don;t want to be scared by NCT horror stories and I've made sure to inform myself about birth so I know my options, so I doubt they can tell me much I don;t know. I'm having my baby in the Midwife led unit in Wallingford which is very supportive of 'alternative' methods of giving birth and I am already confident I can achieve it without pain or intervention.

I am fairly sure I'm getting annoying about it already :-)

My mum's been reading the book and she agrees with me and is very supportive, as is my DH who believes very strongly in the power of the mind. I tried self-hypnosis on myself last night when I was getting bad stomach pain and managed to reduce it to a strong, weird sensation rather than pain - not bad for only a few days' practice!

And yes, I would imagine they would want to keep an eye on you Sara if you have existing medical stuff, but you might be able to use some of the alternative things in conjunction with a more supervised birth - I hope your active birth classes go well :-)

I'm not convinced by the hypno side of things, but it's each to their own! At the end of the day whatever you can do to improve your overall health ( as yoga will!) and whatever helps you relax are the right thing for you.

I definitely take your point about the horror stories, I understand that people want to talk, I understand that not all births go smoothly but I'll take my chances thanks, there's no point worrying about all the possible things that could go wrong, it will make no difference to how your labour goes!

hey ladies, did anyone get their nuchal test results back yet? I was expecting a letter within a week of my scan, but it was two weeks ago today and I've still had nothing. I called the unit and eventually got a call back from a lovely MW who said that my letter had gone out on July 7th. I'm now a bit ticked off with Royal Mail but not too ticked off, in case the problem is actually my DH's 'filing' system for incoming mail... massive heap on the table. I have looked obvs but who knows!

In any case she was happy to tell me the results over the phone - we have a 1 in 1200 chance of downs, and the cut off for more tests is 1 in 150, so all looks good. Fingers crossed hey...

cakes I'm reading up too - I like to learn things this way (doesn't surprise me that you do, given your job!). I'm not really going to NCT for the information, so much as the rent-a-friend aspect . I really don't know many people here with young children and I'm hoping that the (very) local NCT classes will be full of nice people.

I'm not very informed about self-hypnosis but in a more general way I do believe that fear has a lot to do with pain and to some extent I think that expectations have a huge effect on us as individuals - so if I expect the birth to be 'painful' and 'difficult' then it probably will be. It's all about perspective (to a point anyway!) so I'm trying to gear myself up for birth being something I can cope with, tough, of course, but manageable, hopefully. My favourite rowing motto is 'pain is temporary, pride is forever' if that sheds any light on my outlook

I think I have a slightly hippy outlook too after over ten years of yoga and breathing exercises...