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...

I think that's 4 of us 40+ (okay okay, I'm 40 in a week, sheesh, so picky!!) mums who are due in June!

Totally agree on the subject of old fashioned (steps back, throws hands in air and exclaims 'honestly, this isn't a Daily Mail moment!) family values. Also agree that a lot of men expect the wife to be not only as good on the work front, but in the home as well. It's bollocks imho. Men are very bad at compromise and if they could get away with it, be 'looked after' by their OH just like mum used to

My dad used to pack up his dirty laundry each week and send it from university in Liverpool to his old mum in Blackpool, who would wash and iron it and send it back . Precious only son.

ermintrude frightening but believable.

K is full of a cold and DH now says he's off for a lie down as he's coming down with 'the flu' No sympathy for him here. Told him he'd better pull his finger out this weekend as I'm not doing everything myself. Think he had a vision of him lying on the bed with a little bell for when he wants something................BAHAHAHAHAHA !

Are blackout blinds expensive then? really need one for our bedroom. I used to wake at 4am every morning in summer and fail to go back to sleep (no danger of that now) but I'm sure Mr D will be the same.

Oh noes JW not the dreaded Man Flu!!!! Better take him directly to hospital!

Awww poor K. So is that what the cottage cheese puking was about then jw?

If you haven't already got one get one of those plug in things for the bedroom - when D had his cold we use done and ten mins after putting him to bed all the snuffling stopped and his passages cleared. I didn't expect it to work but it did. That and the snufflebabe.

Our DC's rooms are in the roof so they each have one side window with Ikea wooden Venetian blinds - they're nice and work well when closed completely - and then Velux windows in the roof for which Velux fortunately do a blackout blind that fits exactly. Not cheap but v effective. Our bedroom faces 2 streetlamps so I had our cream curtains backed with cream blackout fabric and that's effective too. Cost depends on the quality of the fabric used, and labour of course. To be honest I reckon I'd sleep with the sun streaming onto my closed eyes, but the DC definitely need to believe it's dark and therefore it's bedtime. Our DS wakes at 6.30 and shouts 'Is it morning yet?' because he can't tell from his dark room

look yummy blankies www.oliveandmoss.com/page22.htm

Ladies please stop posting all these expensive yummy sites!! My poor baby is going to be wrapped in hessian and sleeping a crate, since I gave away all the baby clothes in August and September (in retrospect, that step alone was bound to get me pregnant..).

Have just developed an utterly irrational craving for tinned peaches. I don't think I've even had a tinned peach since my grandmother died 15 years ago, so no idea what that's about!

I had a tinned peach craving Duchess, you can get little snack pots of them if you don't want to open a whole tin. The next thing will be a craving for evaporated milk to go on them uggg Congratulations on the scan

I had a tinned peach craving Duchess, you can get little snack pots of them if you don't want to open a whole tin. The next thing will be a craving for evaporated milk to go on them uggg Congratulations on the scan

I had a tinned peach craving Duchess, you can get little snack pots of them if you don't want to open a whole tin. The next thing will be a craving for evaporated milk to go on them uggg Congratulations on the scan

You too hedgepig?? I thought I was a freak! What is it about though? I can't imagine any inherent nutritional value to fruit that's essentially been nuked in syrup. And evaporated milk? mmmmm

Have sent DH off to Tesco's pharmacy to get one of the Karvol Vaporisers. She's coughing and sneezing all this snot everywhere Hope it stays as just a cold and doesn't go on to her chest. I don't even want to think about it. Perhaps its the curse of the MW saying on Wednesday they're fixing a date in March to take away the oxygen....

Loved that website mrsb. Nice things on there but can't spend any more pennies now. We're all skint. The man on the news told me. I am now I've just ordered K's blackout blind It's only a box room and the roller blind is £130 but he gave me a £20 discount as we've had him before. It's obviously made of spun gold and gossamer.

Like the sound of your children in the attic ermintrude

Must go, Princess Snot is shouting for me.

duchesse the only time I ever eat tinned fruit is when I'm pregnant! But I prefer the type that's in fruit juice. Not that I'm being healthier you understand, it's just so that I can spare the calories for the rice pudding I eat it with Can I recommend Rachel's Organic rice pudding which you will find near the yoghurts in your local supermarket. You get 2 pots because silly organic Rachel thinks you might share it with somebody else!

Good luck with Princess Snot johnworf. Elizabeth woke up with a cold this morning, it always amazes me how they just spring up from nowhere. Hope your blind is going to be worth the money, I assume it's a fancy roller blind that's backed with blackout material.

We are on a super tight budget at the moment so not even tempting myself by looking at fancy websites. I'm being good and meal planning which always saves me so much money. We are very lucky that we get our meat free and I've been doing that 'do I really need this' trick whilst out shopping. It's amazing how much I save by putting things back on the shelves!

ermintrude I'm very impressed by your small weight gain. I've put on about 23lbs so far and as well as on my bump some of it has definitely gone on my bum and I'm a bit more padded around the old love handles. Other than that I'm not looking too porky.

Can I make a recommendation to those of you who are pregnant? I bought myself some really nice t-shirts from H&M earlier in the pregnancy, they're not maternity but are long enough to cover the bump. They come in plain colours and are great for layering as some have long sleeves and some have 3/4 sleeves. Also come with different necklines. I'm sporting coral under black today. They are way cheaper and much nicer than any maternity tops I found, think I paid £7.99 for some and £9.99 for a thicker one but I also got brighter colours on sale.

jeanjeannie I was thinking that if you wanted any speech therapy tips please ask away. According to our speech therapist this morning I'm apparently doing all the right things! Gold star for ladymac. Please excuse my 2nd boast in as many days, but it is great to be told. Elizabeth is doing well and attempting to say quite a few words now though I'm not sure everyone would understand them. Is Iris frustrated by not being able to communicate? What level of speech (if any) does she have?

E had a late nap today as I had a couple of friends come round after speech therapy and she was in a very sociable mood. However, I think I can hear her stirring so must get off my large bottom and clear away the cups and plates from earlier. DD1 coming to eat with us as her boyfriend is out for the evening and it's been ages since we've seen her on her own. Steak tonight, courtesy of pa-in-law, just need to toddle up the road to buy a nice baguette.

ladymac I'm just getting my coat on so can you set another place for me please...pretty please?

I dunno what is on the back of this blind tbh. It should be solid silver the amount he's charged us. The width is only 3 feet. But what price can you put on an extra hour in bed? Her room gets the sun (what is this you may ask yourself) first thing in the morning so I really don't want to wake up at 4am with her

Totally agree with the budget maternity clothing. I think once they sew 'maternity' onto the label then it's price increases x 10 immediately.

Yeah these colds come without a warning. And I've been really careful about visitors and washing hands etc. Ah well. She was bound to get one sooner or later and she's done very well to get this far through the winter without getting one before.

ladymac Free meat! .

I'm wearing my sister's old maternity clothes and they include a lot of H&M tops, some maternity but lots not - as you say, they're long and good quality and great for layering. The ones I had were basically tents - I just wear them to sleep in now - even 7 yrs ago when I was last pregnant it was hard to find anything that didn't make me look like Denis Roussos (sp?)

JW poor snotty K, hope the inhaler thingy clears out her tubes pronto.

Gosh - busy, busy day.

We're a venentian blind family - so can't help re the Roman/roller dilema!

ermintrude LOVING the children in the Attic - new title for next book perchance?!

ladymac - well, not sure what's happening with speach therapy as they're now contacting me on monday to get a place at the group - which could be after the half term break. Iris says single words - some fab - some dreadful and if it's too long she sing-songs the syllables! Weirdly she knows (and can say) virtually every colour known to man! Plus all her shapes too Her stumbling block/frustration is 'doing' words and commands. All her friends says 'mummy do it' or 'Want it' 'more food' etc, etc...but she doesn't even attempt - just shrieks! Two words together is just a no-go! But I shall call upon you for inspiration - and HUGE pat on the back for both of you being so darn clever

Can I just second Hennes for maternity stuff! Also the breastfeeding tops are really excellent - great for at the beginning if like me you weren't keen on whipping yer norks out....now I just don't care

Iris back from swimming with MIL best go and do the tea

ah yes Karvol vapourisers - that's the thing jw! very good - makes the bedroom smell rather medicinal but at least baba should breathe easier.

also preggie ladies - I never really did maternity wear either - found it all too expensive/horrible/boring. La Redoute cheapy big tops and New Look also were good for ordinary baggy long tops.

OMFG that woman who had the octuplets already has SIX children under 8, lives with her parents apparently, is single and had fertility treatment to get pregnant with the eight. Why in god's name would anyone want fertility treatment if they already had 6 young children??? She can't be right in the head. And what sort of clinic implants 8 embryos these days anyway?

8 embryos all at once? Crikey. I wonder where she went for that? Do they get child benefit over there?

she won't tell the hospital where she had the fertility treatment - just turned up at 12 weeks with the eight of them. Gawd imagine how much child benefit you would get for 14 children - it wouldn't be bloody enough!!

I'd want servants if I had that many children.

jw hope K has a settled night. You've done amazingly well to avoid the bugs thgis far.

As for cravings....mine was for full fat thick greek yoghurt....and now I'm not preggie...I'm still craving it In fact I've got a whole load (with blueberries) right now