The Fantastic Forties Forum

[johnworf]

Pregnant or Popped. Partial to Cake. Thrills, Spills & Bellyaches....and SO much more. Come on in for 'mature' chat (go on, I dare you!)

Tab I think daytime will be best maybe you could fit the birth in between Homes under the hammer and Cash in the Attic do you think we need to get out more!
JW what time does K go to bed? O is totally done in by 6:30, we did go out for lunch today and he was happy for a bit, the grandparents were over so we had lots of hands for cuddles.

purple slingbacks

taken D out jw?? I've barely taken meself out! Would love to do the restaurant thing with him but he will brook no interference with his sleeping regime and there has been no toy or organic crunchy snack yet invented that would deter him from whinging if he were tired.

Oh dear I have given myself a tummy ache by accidentally a eating chipotle chilli Feels like its burning a hole in my stomach lining.

Must get sorted for bed - an "interesting" week at work beckons...

Morning ladies. Coughing got me up early today Best off with a cup of coffee and sitting upright.

Anyway, Mr patio man is coming for 7.30 OOOh I'm all excited. You'd think George Clooney was coming to dig it out today when in fact, he looks more like George Formby. No matter....as long as he gets the work done!

mrsb those shoes are indeed very enviable Luvverly. Cor, I never saw those in Next when I went in the other day but I did see a gorg pair of green shoes that I was very good and resisted. I went around the shop muttering as a chant 'DH will kill me if I bring more stuff home'.

I'm very into anything green at the mo. The colour green that is and not the political/ecological green. Think it suits my colouring. Btw has anyone else in our merry band of ancients noticed that their normal hair dye looks harsh against their skin tone or that make up they've used for ages just doesn't look right anymore? I'm finding this but also on the look out for things that do suit me instead...which is where green has come in

hedgepig homes under the hammer is my favourite programme due to it housing my very own daytime fantasy man; Martin Robert And yes, we DO need to get out more!

K went to bed last night around 8pm but she was really tired by then. Her daytime naps are down to 2-3 now but they aren't long ones, say 30 minutes each. However, once she goes in her cot at 8, I won't hear a peep from her until the morning...in fact, as I'm typing this at 6.30am, she isn't yet awake so I can't grumble.

Btw mrsb the only time we do get out is when the children are with us. They're like mini chaperones. Stop me and DH from sprogging anymore (like we would anyway )

Hope your tummy is feeling better today. The chili sounds mightily paiful

If anyone gets to see the DM site today, have a look at the Tina O'Brian pic ofher and her baby. OMG how much does that child look like it's father?! She's the double of him...

Morning jw. How exciting, a new patio! < eying up the concrete that passes for ours > Hopefully that will be inside a conservatory by the end of the year anyway... well the concrete won't be, but the area will.

Forgot to say my sister has just announced that she is expecting a baby in October. Not sure how that makes me feel (disclaimer- obviously happy for her as well) since she only started trying in February after I announced my pregnancy, and must have got pregnant straight away (despite reminding me a few weeks after my miscarriage in 2006 about how very infertile she is, after I'd been ttc for years, and how maybe I just wasn't meant to get pregnant and maybe it was just karma or something coughbitchhcough). Sometimes she brings out the worst in me.

duchesse what a lovely sister you have! If it was me I would be outwardly happy for her....I mean, her baby is the innocent party in this but I doubt I'd forget her cutting comments. Especially the ones after your MC.

How does that old saying go about not being able to choose your family..............?

Blooming heck Duchess that was a bit severe of your sister. Anyway you are going to have your babay soon and that is all that matters, I think people really should engage their brain before opening their gobs some time. Laughing at you convrete, we have concrete too but the people we bought the house off devided to paint it !!! so we have peeling paint to add to the sophisticated look.

Fab shoes MrsB although I did get vertigo just loking at them

O has just woken up from his 1st nap of the day (why can't he just sleep later? 5am used to be just a theoretical time for me [yawn emoction] and now it is so familiar.

ooh hedgepig peeling painted concrete! Fab I wonder where some people, especially previous owners of houses, get their ideas from. I've asked Mr patio man to take up two paths we have in our garden. They both end abruptly in the middle of the garden. I call them the road to nowhere. Pointless! I guess that's why I hate decorating because as soon as you start removing the paper then you suddenly find things that you wish you hadn't and that usually cost £££££££ to remedy.

K usually wakes up anywhere between 6 and 7am but this morning it was me that got myself up. The coughing and the horrid snot that lodges at the back of the throat did it. Not nice. Can't even blame baby.

Anyway hedgepig console yourself with the fact that at least you have the energy (just) to get up at 5am with O. Consider how the 66 year old will be managing at that time - although I suspect as she's wealthy she'll have some hired help!

Good morning!

Ahhh, maternity leave. Slept poorly from 2 - 5 but excellently from 5 - 9!

Cute shoes mrsb and JW. Too bad I can't wear heels any more. Arthritis sucks!

duchesse lovely sister you have there. I too would be very pleased for her on the outside and fuming and never forgetting on the inside.

I am a bit at all of you with patios. I love living in the heart of the city, but the lack of garden can be a bit annoying. Ah well, hopefully next year we'll have one.

I'm doing laundry and making phone calls today. And probably chatting away to y'all!!

I have even better than the painted concrete JW, we stated decorating our hall and we found just the most awful colour scheme. Downstairs is dark pink, up the stsirs is bright orange and the upstairs landing is a lighter pink. I will try and put a picture on my profile.

hedgepig that sounds lovely!!

I think I can top the painted concrete again- our "patio" is actually what remains of some dog breeding pens that used to be there. It is actually a concrete plinth about 6m square, and about 5 inches high, with a sump in the middle for sluicing out the dog pens into (mmmm-mmm).

morning all! hope you are all well

LO has started refusing my boob! not sure why? it is not smelly, honest, i have showered! and it is full of milk was a bit of a shit fight. i could not force him to latch on obviously. so i left it for a bit and then tried again. he cried when i put him near boob. but eventually he latched on and drank quite happily and fell asleep. it has been like that for a few days now. not sure what is going on! he will be 18 weeks tomorrow.

any of us breastfeeding mums experienced this ?

Hello all

Lovely shoes mrsb and jw - do you think I would be OK carrying the baby in a sling wearing them? . I'm quite glad I'll have this baby in summer when flatties and flip-flops are fine, otherwise I'd be looking forward to yet another autumn and winter in lesbian meter maid shoes..

duchesse some people feel they have to say something even if it is a pile of sh*ite. Anything about something being 'meant' or 'for the best' is liable to set my teeth on edge. Hope your sis remembers what she said and feels a little bit ashamed of herself.

Tabitha, for my labour, at 38 wks, I'm planning to get DC to school, come home and start contractions, call DH and midwives, give birth within 2 hours max to a baby that weighs no more than 8lb, eat a large meal and be all tucked up in bed ready to show the kids their new sibling when they come home from school. That's do-able isn't it?

Hedgepig lol @ painted concrete. My MIL once got bored of her sofa cover so painted it with emulsion and couldn't understand why it didn't have the desired effect . She assumed that special fabric paints were just a rip-off. They do everything on the cheap and never quite realise what a false economy that is.

Tee I've just found out about Maternity Allowance for the self-employed which I didn't know about before, and since my Class 2 NICs are completely up to date it looks like I'll be eligible. Am so excited, it means I really can have some proper maternity leave when I don't have to do anything and won't feel guilty about not bringing any cash in. So laundry and phonecalls here I come (fingers crossed).

Morning all. Iris in nursery today as we've got her ENT appointment on Friday - so they got us an alternative slot.

ducheses Cor, your sister does sound like her brain fails to engage before mouth pops into action Ad yes, once your LO is here, it'll all fade into the background.

jw Let's hear it for the patio man! Hope you've got the tea and biccies in just the right quanities...not enough to take his eye off the job but enough to keep him fuelled!

Hey, what's wrong with concrete?! OK, so we're not planning to paint ours (what is that all about?) but we are having the bit outside the window all freshly laid with just concrete. We figured that it's great for the girls to use their scooters, cars etc out there and then go onto the lawn...plus. it'll be a nice flat surface should we want a conservatory (one day) I say embrace your concrete with pride

hedgpeig sympathies m'dear - 5am is a nasty, nasty time to wake. Oh and I think that colour scheme really needs us to view it!

jw hope patio goes someway to making the cold more bearable...you know...something nice to watch happening while you choke in snot!

Righty ho - off to playgroup with Verity....we get a cup of tea and biccie at this one

morning all
DH is coming home today! feel so happy I could cry - but I'm not going to

duchesse - what a thoughtless person your sister is! (I guess it's not maliciously meant though). Still, in your shoes I'd be feeling glad/smug that I'd have my LO first IMO sisters are put on this earth to bring out the worst in us

Neddie - did your other mare deliver her foal last night? - Must be knackering for you if you're getting up seeing to them as well! Look forward to more pics of furry faces

mrsb love the purple shoes - especially the dainty double strappy bit at the back. Did I read on here that purples/berry colours are going to be "de rigeur" this autumn/winter?
I've got out of the habit of wearing heels and, since all my really nice ones seem to be slowly making their way up to DD's house , I may just have to start from scratch with my collection after LO's born

jw - I seem to have a green thing going on too - but in home decor (makes a change for me to have a colour that's in season!) As far as hair/face colour goes I didn't realise how dark my natural colour was until I didn't dye my hair for about 2 months! I had an inch or so of very dark (but grey streaked) roots with the rest a gingery mouse colour - it was utterly vile. Apparently if you use a semi permanent constantly it eventually becomes permanent!!! (even more is that the colour I put on is supposed to be a warm dark brown!)

Wonderwitch - hope you get some good advice today and that you're able to chill out a bit.

Anyhoo - best get cracking (I seem to turn into some kind of bloody stepford wife as soon as I know he's coming home can't help it either which is really annoying as I do like to keep in touch with my inner Waynetta at all times ) have a lovely day all

decor photo on profile plus one of DH & I going out to the Do on Saturday.

Thanks iris but I'm the self-employed one - Tee is on proper maternity leave! I'm sending off my form for MA today once I get form MAT B1 from the midwife (I have a slight worry that I sent that form off to get my free prescriptions and never got it back, but maybe that was something else or maybe you can get more than one ). Very good to hear it was processed so quickly. And yes, I've got my health in preg grant. I just kind of assumed there'd be nothing going for the self-employed whereas of course I am paying NICs.

Iris as ermintrude said, I do have an employer, and that's the leave I'm on. As for HiP grant, first one was signed at 24 weeks and 6 days and they rejected it because it wasn't 25 weeks yet. So have sent another one and waiting for that to come through! Also very happy for you that DH is coming home today!

ermintrude that great about MA! As for forms, the form you send in for Maternity 'scripts is just from your GP and you don't get it back. the MATB is totally different! Must remember to get mine tomorrow!

hedgepig how beautiful that decor is! I am sure you are planning on keeping it forever! You and DH do look quite nice all dolled up, however .

Right, so, emintrude, I need to get MATB1 from ye midwyfe, then fill in a ma1 from online (can't seem to fill it in actually online so shall have to print it and fill in with pen), and assuming my NIC2 are up to date (I've paid them from the time I registered as self-employed in 2005, does that make me up to date? confused), then bob should be my uncle? It is alarming me slightly about the test period, as I have bollock-all work at the moment, but should that matter if my NI contributions are up to date?

morning all

D slept from 11.30 until 6am!!! hurrah! and he had a bottle and went back down until 7.30. Feel like I had proper sleep.

Nice green shoes jw have been looking at them also. I can't wear heels either but it doesn't stop me buying 'em

Re the hairdye and make up , yes certialy re the dye - my dark brown suddenly ma me look at bit haggard and washed out which is whyI wnet for the highlights this time. Am aiming for a soft brown from now on. I can never get foundation to suit - a lady at a posh cosmetics counter once told me that the pH of my skin made it all turn yellow. I want to get the Laura Mercer tinted foundation but can't get it near me and don't want to buy it off the net until I have seen it.

duchesse far better to deliver yours first - you can get the horrible early weeks slog over with and be all established with your LO while she is still in the middle of it.

ohhhh yes jw saw the DM pic of thingy's baby last night - she is the dead spit of her daddy!

< need snooze before going out to work this afternoon >

How bad is it to curl up on the sofa with truly terrible daytime TV and a blanket? I know, I know, pretty bad. Maybe I'll stick to a book.

Ta Tee, so MW should be able to give me MATB form today.

duchesse as I read that site, as long as you're up to date with the NICs they don't even ask how much you actually earned (just as well - have filled in my tax return online and made a completely woeful amount this last year, but that's the nature of my 'business') but assume it's something like £145 p/wk and pay MA accordingly. That's what I'm hoping! The amount you earned only becomes relevant if you claimed for some form of exemption from the NICs. Good luck!

mrsb pH of your skin! What will they think of next. Was it a woman who looked as though she was wearing a bit of every product she sold on her own face? . Get thee to Boots or John Lewis and sit under a good light to try on loads of posh foundations - you'll find one to suit (for a cheapish and cheerful one, I found the new lightly tinted one from Boots No 7 really good - brightens without colouring too much and is either peachy or pinky and it's easy to see which will suit you best).

JW how's patio man getting on? You're not burying DH under there are you . Just think of all the shoes you could buy without anyone raising an eybrow.