40+ mums-to-be and those who've 'popped' - come say hi, pull up a chair and have some cake!

[jeanjeannie]

Hello everyone - yet another thread. I'm expecting a call anyday soon from ITV - as I imagine we'll be prime candidates for taking over the Loose Women slot when they need a break

So, for anyone interested in joining in with us - just jump in and say Hi - we don't bite - unless you're disguised as a chocolate sponge cake

Ladies..................Take it away

Good job JW!

Morning

Oh dear, DH long weekend off so having sausage bacon and eggs, better get my size fourteens out again

jw its a hard one to know what to do for the best, I had all mine done in the regular way, before the recent side effects were known with my older 3 and probably because I had no problems with them I rightly or wrongly thought I would be ok with DT, I do understand your dilema with K being prem like she was.

tee sounds a good nights sleep to me, means you'll be alert and on the ball for your retail therapy, enjoy

jj hope you feel better today

Congratulations stormfly baby number 3 on the way

Hello everyone and welcome Stormfly. I'm 42, and DD will be just 11 and my DS 6 yrs 9 months when #3 is born this June, so similar gaps to you. Most friends look at me with expressions veering from pity to envy .

Tee Have fun shoe shopping. I found myself looking in the Clark's window with interest, which is always a bad sign - they've got flat sort of Mary Janes in very soft blue and green leather and I thought Ooh they look comfy for summer. I fear I won't be teetering about on my crazy wedges this season.

JW Piano lessons: never heard that theory about 'wrong' notes, but musos I've talked to generally say that DC should be allowed access to go plinkety plonk (supervised if they're v young or v rough) on a piano whenever they feel like it and if there's a player in the house to answer questions so much the better, but that it's pointless starting lessons before 7/8ish. Mainly because they have to be completely literate and able to read, since they'll be dealing with 2 clefs and 8 letters of the alphabet which represent a different actual note on each clef. Research suggests that a child who starts at 7/8 will catch up with a child who started at 5 in around 6 months and DD has certainly picked it up quickly having started just before she turned 8. Their school does compulsory recorder from age 7 so that helped - and on the reverse side, he's also found learning the clarinet much easier than her friends who don't play anything else and is just about to take her grade 3 exam in under 2 yrs of teaching (whereas she'll take her Grade 3 piano in the autumn, having learned for over 3 yrs).

Do you play? My DH has taken it up again, done his grade 5 theory and is about to take grade 6 exam but I never got that far. They do piano/clarinet jamming sessions together; it's really lovely to hear them.

Hope you working girls are saying tfi friday

I play very badly. Although musically I am capable and was playing bassoon for Stockport Youth Orchestra in my teens. I started violin when I was 8 at primary school, bought my own and played for school orchestra. I tired of the instrument though by 12 which is when I switched to bassoon.

I am thinking of piano lessons for myself in the near future to brush up and of course, be there for K when she (hopefully) starts taking an interest.

I know the Clarks you are talking about. They had an offer on not long ago of 25% off all shoes. I couldn't justify buying any more pairs though. I've already got 4 pairs of Clarks (and two of them are identical).

Aren't wedges just great though, after not being able to wear stilletos while preganant with DT I had actually forgotten how to walk in them by the time I was able to wear them again and being only 5ft 3in it is a very important part of my wardrobe but managed to slowly break myself in again with my wedges and thank god it all came back to me

I seem to have lost the ability to wear heels at all - I'm too wobbly (i.e heavy).

Here ladies - have we seen the woman on the DM website who lost 8 stone while pregnant? She looks fab now. And no sign of loose skin either - amazing. She was huge and ate far too much before - then she ate sensible and all the weight fell off and she had a prefectly healthy pregnancy.

welcome stormfly

Yeah I saw her mrsb. I did lose during pregnancy. Think it was part of my GD.

sigh still no delivery. I think shoe shopping may have to wait until tomorrow.

I lost weight at the beginning of my pregnancy, it'll be interesting to see how it all comes out (so to speak) in the end! (so to speak )

Heels no can do but platform yes, at 5'4" I do like getting a bit of height that way. Your foot's not at a crazy angle like it is with high heels, it is just that knack of being able to place the sole down just right. I got some gorgeous wedge sandals from the Boden sale last year and only wore them once. Still, they'll keep till 2010, at which point I will naturally be a perfect, toned, well-pedicured size 10 (with saggy tits)

Welcome Stormfly. JW re the MMR. When I was about 15, we had the German Measles jab at school. (Does anyone else remember that?) due to the dangers to an unborn baby should be get pg in the following years. Therefore, I can't work out why the German Measles jab needs to be given to a baby. I had Mumps as a child and it did me no harm at all. I find it all a bit confusing. I'm toying with the idea of just havng Little Tab jabbed against Measles and forgetting the other two, though it's a long way off for her.

Tabitha German measles is indeed harmful to unborn babies, so if babies and children aren't immunised they can carry the disease and infect a pregnant mother - whose baby can die/suffer seriously as a result. Immunisation isn't only for the individual involved; it's a social health policy which relies on mass participation. In any case, rubella and mumps can be really horrible for children - mumps in particular can leave teenaged boys infertile - so preventing its spread is very sensible.

You can tell my parents are doctors, can't you? I'll start going on about Rhesus factors in a minute.. . But I do agree with them very strongly on this one.

tabitha vaccinating babies against measles is relatively new (say in the past 20 years?) It wasn't around when I had my DD#1 23 years ago so girls either caught it as children or you'd get the immunisation at 15. I think that's how it went anyway - memory very dodgy today

I've got some nice Clarks wedges which did me last summer. Can't do proper heels as I end up walking like Dick Emery.

Darn, looks like shoe shopping is on hold until tomorrow! Still no delivery and now once it shows up I just want a nap!

Oh and I haven't worn really high heels, or wedgies, or anything like that for years. Hurts my knee too much!

Since the vast majority of people are now immunised most people will expect to be when they grow up. Imagine if for some reason your daughter grew up not knowing she hadn't been immunised against Rubella then caught it while pregnant? I don't suppose they still do the immunisation of pubescent girls anymore since they will be offered it in the MMR.

I am rabidly in favour of immumisation also. I dread to think of D catching measles from an unimmunised child at nursery before he is old enough to get the MMR. We had a bad experince of measles when kids and I wouldn't want to put a child through it.

It drives me wild to read on threads here that "measles isn't as bad as its made out to be" and how its all been over exaggerated in some government conspiracy to get all children immunised.

mrsb any one who (stupidly) states that measles isn't as bad as it's made out to be has never and I mean NEVER, had a baby or small child that has contracted it. It's very bad. DD#1 had it when she started nursery (no MMR back in those days)...I thought she was dying at one point Obviously she didn't but it's a very scary illness. I would urge every parent to have their child immunised.

Ah, Ermintrude now I understand. Come to think of it, I don't know if I still have any immunity to German Measles. I presume I do, because, if the protection from MMR lasts that long, then, as I had the German Measles jab all those years ago, I guess it still covers me.

Tab part of my OBSESSION with immunisation is that I have had the Rubella jab 4 times - at school and then after 2 births and one m/mc, and am still not immune - happens to a small percentage of the population - so have been v worried about coming across someone who's got Rubella every time I've been pregnant. They test for immunity at your first MW appt so would (should) have told you if you are not immune and therefore at risk - worth checking though!

Mr D has a tooth! He was a bit whingy this morning for no apparent reason but I didn't have time to look inside his mouth before work - have collected him from grandma's and there is a little toothy

No more gummy smile

jw your daughter must have been born just before the introduction of MMR as my son is is just gone 22 had it (I think, ahem).

Don't know if DS1 (24yrs) had MMR, but definitely remember DD (22yrs) had it.

YAYAYAYA Mr D! Your first tooth!!

There is an embargo on this here, but 13 year old boy is not the father.

Hello all,

Can I go on the list? Peachyfox, 41, first baby.

I went to see the gynae today. Was a bit taken aback because he was in saffron robes and his room was a buddhist shrine. There were even little elephant bells hanging over the examination table. Is it me or is that a bit bizarre? I mean, I like buddhism, but I don't want someone's beads in my face when they're looking up my privates... Anyway, he was very nice and friendly, let me listen to the heartbeat for ages and was pleased with the size of my tum, so that's the main thing. Here you have a doctor and a midwife who comes with you to the hospital, and then something called wochenbette (i think) which is where you're supposed to stay in bed for a week after the birth and some nice lady comes in every day and looks after you. Then I went to a baby and bump group for English speakers here in Berlin so got to talk about BABIES for hours which I'd never be allowed to do at home.

I'm exhausted.

I definitely had rubella at school too. I think it's a shame the MMR scare stopped people from vaccinating. I don't really remember (it didn't affect me at the time) but I think there was never a proven link with autism. Correct me if I'm wrong though (has been known

Sorry that should be Peachyfox, 41, baby no. 1, due August 26th.

Awww well done D! There'll be no stopping him now

Mum41 Daughters 18 and 15 and 5 and twin boys born July 2008 Fraser and Regan

johnworf 42 - (Katherine) Born 28 May 08 (16 weeks early, was due September 14th 2008) 4th baby. Others are 23,20,17

jeanjeannie 43 - (Verity) Born 30 May 08. Iris is 2.

mrsb (Darragh) Born September 08. has an older DS too, can't remember how old though.

hedgepig 42 (Oliver) Born October 08. Also has Ben, 5.

Tee 40 due June 09. First baby.

Ermintrude13 due June. Also DD 10 and DS

Duchesse 41- boy of 15, girl of 13, girl of 11, due number 4 in August.

FloriaTosca 44;(Alexander) born 26 Sept 07

Neddie 41. Girl 16, girl 6 1/2, twins due Sept 09

ladymac due April, 5th baby. Elizabeth born April 07, Grace is 12, DD1 24 and DS 20

Tabitha8, 43. Little Tab due June. First ever baby.

kaz1967 (Kezzie) Born July 2008.

bonzoDoodah 41 DD1 18months, baby due in July

Peachyfox, 41, baby no. 1, due August 26th

tee why is there an embargo on it?