The Elderberry Helicopter #3, in which we continue to fret and play 'guess the sex'

[Boomgoestheweasel]

Open to all elderberry grads and anyone who fits the berry criteria: over 30, pregnant with #1 after trying for a loooong time, and nervous as hell. Come on in for handholding and nub theory!

brod oooh really? Leeds Market is going on the list of places to visit then! I feel bad that you clearly know more places with bargains than I do around here and I've lived here most of my life!

Just been to the tip (only cardboard that's been hanging around in the spare room since Christmas, nothing heavy) and the tip men were all crowding round to make sure I wasn't lifting anything or climbing the stairs to the skips Perks of being a biffer eh?

Indeed - Monday is second-hand clothing day and there is this stall with big piles of cheap-as baby clothes. I bought a bag of 7 for a pound, and only 1 was a bit bobbly and another was freakishly long - the rest, all good.

Speaking of bottles and thermometers, this thread has been making me laugh: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/parenting/1981512-Flipping-freezing-sterilising-and-the-just-plain-ludicrous-what-daft-things-did-you-do-with-your-PFB

Have a feeling some of these may be making their way into the post-baby Brod household!

While I can barely be bothered to go out, I have booked a hair cut for this afternoon. It would be nice to feel a bit more human

Well, I'm now booked in and sitting on the sofa in a heap of leaflets etc. Midwife said she would try to hear heartbeat if I wanted but the chances of hearing it are low because it's so early so I decided not to ask her. (thanks to the kind poster up thread who let me know this was likely so I didn't get my hopes of hearing it up too high.)

Bunny - I know how you feel
I have reached the stage of wandering nervously along aisles of baby clothes and kit, feeling like a total impostor and very occasionally daring to touch something! Will be a while before I dare start shopping im earnest!

Am wondering whether signing up for bounty, emma's diary etc is worthwhile or just an invitation to get drowned in marketing bumpf - any advice?

Congrats Jess. I found it a weird period of limbo in early pregnancy... Not telling everybody, not daring to believe it, and it feeling too early to buy anything or prepare. I know exactly what you mean about feeling a fraud in baby departments! I did a fair bit of reading in the early stages about my pregnancy but haven't read anything since and am woefully underprepared for labour and baby now and signed up for bounty and Emma's diary. I did get bombarded with junk, and I now mostly don't read the emails they send me, but I suspect others will say they found them helpful.
Otherwise, assuming you're generally feeling well, make the most of it...

Hi jess, sorry I think I missed saying hello to you last time you posted! Belated welcome and glad your booking went well.

I suspect any of these big marketing machines will bombard you with useless crap, but to be honest I don't know what the benefits of signing up to bounty etc would be (I didn't even know it was something you were supposed to sign up to!)...my bounty pack had nothing in it that interested me in any way so I never looked into it. Sorry, no help at all from me!

I did get 3 welcome packs of freebees in boots thanks to printing some vouchers off of the emmas diary site. Do love free stuff! I also found it to be mainly spam though merk so ignored them in the end.

merk well done on your mega-shop! I'm going to attempt something similar on Monday with my mum - although might also attempt Ikea, so not sure I'll have the strength for anything else after that

jess I didn't sign up for Bounty or anything like that, but I get the NHS emails which send you one email per week with a bunch of useful links that are appropriate to the stage you're at. Quite like those. Also found the 'baby fruit' sites/apps essential in the early stages - now she's a poppy seed, now she's a raspberry, now she's a lime Helped to visualise that something might be happening when there was no other evidence.

The only thing I allowed myself to buy before 12 weeks was this book:
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1409142310/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

• Expecting better, by Emily Oster. Found it really helpful in sorting through all the evidence versus myths and old wives tales.

bunny hope we're not too scary... No, doing lots of tests is entirely normal - I think we all did that! And not feeling any symptoms is also completely normal (though unhelpful) - you can't read anything into it either way.

kitty re: uncomfortable bump, where are you up to now? My bump has been uncomfortable on and off for quite a few weeks now (I'm 28+1). It seems to be a combination of the uterus getting higher and higher, the return of indigestion and heartburn, and some Braxton Hicks. I've found warm (not hot) baths in the evening really soothing. I also got this cushion from SIL for Christmas:
www.amazon.co.uk/Funtime-Ltd-Cushtie-Squish-Pillow/dp/B0006VSTUQ
which is really nice to have in bed - I sort of wrap it around the bump and hold onto it, which supports it and creates a bit of pressure which helps IYSWIM (can't really explain why).

GTT today, and quick check-up. All looking good, measurements in the right places, haemoglobin very fractionally on the low side. Just need to wait for blood sugar results now...

Hey jess is it just you me and wino under the 12 weeks?

Thanks poppy for the reassurances. I was gonna ask about good pg books.

Do you think it would be ok to jump around a little bit tomorrow? I have friends round and fancy a bit of wii dance

Soooooooooooooo tired, i have taken tomorrow off work for an extra lie-in, aren't i naughty!

ooh shopping! sounds good merk

we have ordered nursery furniture and were given a crib. got lots of bits and bobs stashed away now!

think were looking at prams this weekend, eeeekk!!

puppy prepare to become bored to tears! I found pushchair shopping a fate worse than death! We still haven't bought ours but think we know what we want now.

bunny I did 14 tests in total!!!! It's just so hard to believe after all those years if ttc isn't it? Oh and you totally deserve a day off!

Guys, it's funny, we had the copter as the grads thread was so scary but we are actually turning into the grads you know!

poppy when do you get your gtt results? Got to have mine soon. I'm 24 +1 in answer to your question. The bump isn't always uncomfortable though, think I was just having a bad day the other day

jess it was my mw who wouldn't listen until 14 weeks. There's always dopplers from amazon or Argos though..,

In a rush so can't stop...

CLENCH!

Puppy I quite enjoyed pram shopping as it's a little bit like gadget shopping. I would say that the choice is large and baffling so having a list of things that are important to you is v helpful. Eg travel system, weight, parent facing, size of basket, height (handle and carrycot), tyres (where will you use it?), size etc

I did think that kitty!!! You will need a pre-copter soon or poor bunny will have a heart attack with all this baby equipment talk!!
Bunny I think I did about 10 tests and still have my frer in a drawer
How you feeling?

Hi all

Re pre copter- i reckon there will be such an influx of berries soon it will all balance out. I'm hoping for a direct transfer of berry HQ from conception to here....

Bunny - I'm 9+5 and feeling very first-trimesterish - if I wasn't so sick it would be totally unreal. So looking forward to first scan in a few weeks!

Any other early people on the thread? I'm sure it won't be long before we're scaring new arrivals with our veteran discussions of baby gear!

Nooo to the precoptercopter! We're all still pg in here, and anyway I've been saving this seat for Bunny for aaaaaaaaages so I'll be damned if she ain't going to sit on it when she finally lets go of the door

Awkward moment earlier, MIL skyped from Spain, was asking about coming over when the babies arrive and it became apparent that she thought she was going to stay with us for a few weeks immediately post-delivery...eeek. I'd assumed she realised that would be a TERRIBLE idea and would stay at my SIL's (5 minutes away). She can't cope with the dogs at the best of times, we have no spare room as the current spare room will have cot/baby stuff in it, plus the last thing I need is to feel I have to tidy up constantly and walk on eggshells. She's now sulking...argh!

Happy Friday peeps!

kitty lol Only done 5 tests so far, so I think I'm still in the sane category so far!

Thunder boom as much as I love you all I do need some more early pg berries to keep me from throwing myself out the copter and thanks for saving my seat

I am so sad it looks like Pip won't be joining us. Lots more berries started/ starting ivf though so FX!

jess not many of us early girlies, when did the sickness kick in. Any other symptoms?

boom nightmare situation with your MIL, I was just reading another thread about in-laws coming to stay, must be awkward sometimes. Luckily (or not) my folks, MIL and BIL/SIL all live within 30mins.

Bunny, first weeks I was feeling absolutely fine, just a bit sleepier. Then I got a nasty cold and sickness/vomiting together at the start of week 6 which was truly a grim week! Nausea is making eating tricky though I don't have much in the way of aversions or sensitivity to smell. Other than that, just sore breasts (haven't grown noticeably) and fatigue. I quite quickly got past the "so happy to be feeling sick because it means I'm pg" though it is reassuring to have symptoms! How are you doing so far?

merk funny you should say it's like gadget shopping! its so similar that I have delegated all responsibility to oh and told him to pick!! there is so much to compare/consider etc!

I told him the important bits I wanted and left him to it!! he has researched and now we need to test! all that attention to detail is right up his street!

he is also in charge of baby monitors too!

jess yep I'm feeling really tired, and some strange twinges now and again, how can it mess with my tum when it's the size of a poppy seed

Bunny baby may be small but your uterus and all the surrounding muscles are growing and moving like hell. The tiredness in the first tri is horrific so be prepared to maybe have a few less plans than normal

Dunno what it's like up North but the weather down here is horrific tonight. Debating whether it is ok to drive to the station in my pj bottoms to collect DH, or is that asking for something to happen where I end up having to leave the car and everybody nearby subsequently thinks I'm weird?

Merk, do it! Put dressing gown on under a raincoat and to hell with it!!
Bunny and Jess, lots of us felt ill at the beginning although I was the worst. Feel free to moan and ask anything you need to know!

They're posh PJ bottoms anyway Merk, not like my scrag-bag ones with holes in. Get a coat on, get out there! Besides, people were walking around town in onesies up here the other day, apparently bedwear as daywear is now socially acceptable!

My amazon parcels have arrived. My hot purchase... 15 pairs of disposable maternity pants! Figure it will make the first coupe of days easier