40 + yummy mummies with baby tummies and those who've 'popped' - come hither!

[jeanjeannie]

Come join our merry (talkative) band of ladies who lunch - feel sick - are getting fatter - sleep deprived or run off their feet with babies! Some of us suffer all of the above - while trying to retain an air of calm and mystery

All we ask is you play nicely, eat cake and indulge in the occasional gossip and moan about our ills....or anything else that we can think of.

We're like grumpy old women....only not so grumpy...

ErminAtrude is my cousin, Tee. She's a real cow (not sure that cultural reference will translate into American ). I've just discovered my stash of large knickers - bought them 2 sizes bigger than normal and they lasted me all the way thru last time tho I fear this preg I'll need to go up another size. Huge striped old lady jobbies from M&S (I had a regular income in those days), perfect! I still think I might need actual support ones for near the end because it's feeling v heavy already... (btw, Tee, do you know that some disposable big knickers are very handy for the day or two post-partum, to go with the sanitary towels that reach from the small of your back to your navel? )

Hooray for sleep. mrsb, 'tis a fine thing.

ermintrude I do know what a cow is in that context.

I have heard that disposable pants are a must, but have not heard where I can buy such a thing. I know we have no Asda in NI at all (or at least no where close to me) and I don't know about Matalan!!

I may have to source large pants on the 'net! I get most of my 'net purchases sent to work...maybe this one I'll have sent to my house.

Tee I guess the Magic Roundabout has gone global now!

Boots sell disposable pants - in fact, a big Boots is a great place to go a few weeks before the birth and stock up on such delights. I used to like going to Boots for make-up, skin-care, bath treats...

jw - you're worried about dd choking .... Have a read of some of the baby-led-weaning sites. they're not all hippy nutters! Honest. The modern thinking is that babies co-ordinate the putting of food into their mouth with the time they develop enough to move food round their mouth with their tongues. So they don't need puree mush so much and can actually cope with soft lumpier stuff rather than smooth purees. My dd wouldn't touch any of the baby rice stuff (don't blame her) and went straight onto a ripe pear right out of my hand! (shocked surprise from me and smiling 6month and 2 week old). I made her fingers of banana with little bites taken out of the middle - to make a handhold, same with pieces of avocado and mango. She managed wunderfully. you have to remember most of the weaning advice is still left over from weaning at 4 months when they can't move lumps and stuff. 6 months is a lot different - even 6 months adjusted from 8. I'm sure V will surprise you if you give her the chance. Plus - have a read of a few first aid sites and learn how to treat a potential choke - it made me a lot more relaxed that I knew what to do IF something happened (but it never did - touchwood).

Oh I got my cheap, HUGE pants from High Wycombe market...they were from a stall that had the sign...."LUCKSURY NICKERS" ....How could a girl resist?

I have a feeling that Mr D would like me to do exaclty what BLWers would suggest bonzo

But what happens if they get to six months and still show no interest?

oh tee the market - you will get big pants there - or marks if you want a bit more up-market bloomerage

oh jj well done on getting Iris into the playgroup - what a good idea. You'll pick up loads I bet.

Mixed reactions in this house to BLW bonzo I keep away from the weaning board as anyone who does BLW seem to think it's the only way to go and slag off puree people!

My mate is an A&E doc and he says there has been a significant rise in choking since BLW... He'd never heard of it - being single and not a dad- but mentioned it as he's had a few parents in who'd said that's what they were doing not understood the basics. Apparently you shouldn't chop food into circles - like with a banana - as if there is choking and they can't get it back up in panic - then there is no gap for the air to flow through. He's in Birmingham and says that the parents have said that the HVs have been telling them they've got to BLW from 6mths because the babies won't be able to talk properly if they're fed pureee HVs dontcha just love em?!!

I'm not sure - I think if the baby is competent then yep - but they're all so different....and you've got to feel pretty confident about it yourself.

I know the New Scientist Blog confirms that Gail Rapley has had nothing published and WHO doesn't officially support the BLW line.
Plus, when you've had a prem baby - you're just slightly more nervous...and with good reason.

I do give finger food - but I've been so upset on that weaning board - it's like a club with big bully girls who are so anti-mush it's scary!

mrsB I reckon some babies just really like their milk - they're just not big on change!
I'm not sure what the BLWs say about doing it before 6 mths - over to Bonzo for that one!

I am especially worried about choking as K panics when she glugs too much milk. I think it's something to do with her being ventilated for so long and having something down her throat. Also my MW told me that babies with chronic lung disease panic easily regarding their airways. Thinks it's just an instinct in them but common practice.

Hear what you're saying re BLW, and horses for courses.....but not this one I'm afraid and I'll err on the cautious side with my net on a stick

Don't blame you, JW, not worth risking panic. Since I had my last 2 DC before BLW was a 'concept' I think I did what everyone did without worrying what it was called - tried them with a lick off a finger, on to puree, watched them like a hawk with soft things, kept checking how much of the end of the baguette they were still holding... at their own pace and without trauma.

I bet in the Very Olden Days before magiquicks and even moulis, mums would have done a bit of chewing of meat and passing it on to babies. My DS is so lazy about eating his tea after a long day at school, I bet he wouldn't object if I dropped chewed mouthfuls into his waiting beak

And whatever method, or non-method, you use... who knows any toddlers who can't eat...?

JJ good news about playgroup. My niece has a few gross motor skill problems and is a late talker - although a good communicator - and the doc said that as much socialising. soft play, swimming and all sorts of stimulus and activity is the best bet for her. My sis thought that was a great prescription!

don't blame you jw

I can see the reasoning behind some of the new fangled ideas like not weaning at 3 or 4 months as it might lead to food intolerances but feeding puréed mush seems perfectly natural to me and I haven't heard anything that might suggest it is any way harmful -crazy HV talk notwithstanding.

I was actually surprised when the poster for BLW went up at my antenatal clinic. Especially when I heard just after I saw it (about a month ago) that WHO is not endorsing it.

Its another thing I have not made any decisions on, nor will I for about 10 months! But I can totally understand your concern jw and would absolutely share them if I had a premie.

Gosh - i'd just run back on to post re: my 'attack' on BLW..sorry bonzo didn't mean to rant so harshly I've lay back in a darkened room on my chaise lounge and I'm much better now!

I do get upset though when it's still actually a 'concept' and not published research. It's still very new and there are more children with asthma/breathing difficulties/born prem than ever before and I think this is where the Med profeesion are uneasy that it's not for all - as many of us wouldn't be able to cope with choking, especially if there is another underlying problem.

Iris choked at my parent's house once...she turned blue and passed out...I literally forced my fingers down her throat while she was upside down and then she came too - it was horrific and spent hours at Notts A&E in floods of tears. All because she got over-excited by a sausage

As everyone here says - it's each to their own and ermintrude is right - everyone eats! Which reminds me - I've lost 5lbs I've just done the zip up on some Fat Face size 12 combat pants....can't sit down in them though- that's for next week

ermintrude hahah your sister's LO sounds like she's getting the same treatment as Iris! Iris can swim - thanks to MIL - she's sooo confident in the water - much better than she is on dry land

Talking of prems, my sister has gone into labour today, 8 weeks early. They've managed to stop the contractions and given her steroid injections for his lungs (she's having a boy). It's her third one and she seems very calm about the whole affair. Mind you I think a 32/33 weeker isn't so bad these days.

jw I have to say there was very little panic (don't panic, don't panic) after I got to 30 weeks...and by 33 when Iris appeared...it was just size that was the issue.

The steroid injection is the main thing. I hope all goes OK - keep us posted Aunty JW!

Hi there and welcome tabitha. Glad that little tab has stuck fast and that all is going well. I recognise you from the over 40 TTC thread which I used to post on and now just dip in from time to time to see how everyone is doing. I'm 45 and pregnant with no 5 - have Elizabeth who will be 2 in April, Grace who is 12 and a dd and ds who are grown up.

jeanjeannie the playgroup sounds fab. Is it run by your local authority or is it a private one? Has the dyspraxia been diagnosed or does Iris just fit the bill when you read about it? A lot of kids at the school where I work have found wobble boards to be really helpful, though I'm not sure what age they're recommended from.

tee I find big knickers uncomfortable so prefer to wear little ones that sit below my bump. Think they're just the bikini type and I bought one size bigger than I'd normally wear.

That's what I wearing now ladym but I really feel like they are slipping down all day! Kinda hard to hitch them up in the middle of my office!

Hi ladymac, how are you feeling?

My sister liked under-bump clothes including trousers and knickers. I suspect it's something to do with her being a skinny ribs who had a neat little bump and no fat whereas I have a wobble belly plus bump combo which cries out to be covered and supported!

Evenin' ladies! Had my scan today, which showed a kicking, live foetus of about 11 weeks 5 days. This is a little worrying because I thought I was 12 weeks 5 days... Was so relieved to see the little blighter alive and moving- last time I went for a 12 week scan, they found the baby had died. Anyway, this one had a nuchal fold of 1.2 mm, which she said was quite thin. Looking good so far...

I am going back on Tuesday to see the consultant due to being as old as the hills, and having a slightly dicky thyroid.

Yeah duchesse!! On my early scan there was a note that the date was +/- week, so might be 12 weeks! At my next scan, the scan date had caught up with my idea of gestational age!

Oh, and I just scoffed far too many crisps to "celebrate" I really must sort my diet out, but the thing that stops me feeling really at this time of day is a load of potato, fat and salt. Must resist, must resist...

Anyway, they gave me a due date of 17th August, which is good even if I am more pregnant than they think because I tend to go two weeks overdue.

Evening all - all snotty nosed munchkins are in bed...snorting away like little trufflehounds

duchesse yee haa! Great news on the scan - little blighter kicking away! Can sympathise of the crisps front. Crisps are my weakness and I go carb crazy when preggie....I can't snack enough down me...plus it also stopped the nausea...grrrr. No wonder I'm still shifting the pounds.

tee Just a thought...........how about NOT wearing any knickers??

ladymac They're just suggesting it as a possibility as she can't do many of the physical things alongside the word combining. It may be that it all comes together - but I could just do with a help to push things along. The joy is that it's not private - it's an NHS initiative for under 5s to help them along without huge waiting lists and referals. My friend in London is amazed as it's taken her 18mths to get help with her DS2. Loving the wobble board idea

There's an idea JJ!! Of course when I suggested to DH he was all 'that gross'!! Boys!