Thanks for the advice Zeez! I'm ok thanks, still don't really feel pregnant apart from the occasional mild cramps and waves of nausea. Still deciding on whether or not to have an earlier scan, 12 weeks seems forever away! They just don't do bloods here in the UK like they seem to do as standard elsewhere. It seems so strange that so many people here don't see anyone at all until nearly the end of the first trimester, because some people must have their dates worked out wrong or be quite a bit further on than they thought, and many probably don't know about foods you should be avoiding at that time etc until it's too late, and don't know about takin folic acid etc.

I've started buying a few maternity clothing bits on eBay already as I found a few never worn or hardly worn bargains, and I need petite sized clothing which seems even harder to find in maternity wear than normal clothes so I need to start early! I'd also rather get most of it on eBay rather than pay out loads more for brand new stuff when I don't think I'll be wearing it that long, and I'd rather spend money on more important things like the nursery when the time comes.

bubbles -
They don´t do bloods here as standard either. They basically just take our word for being pregnant, dip a stick in your urine and schedule you for an ultrasound at the time that you think you would be about 12 weeks.
Then they give you a bunch of internet links to look at, and sayonara to you...

About maternity clothing, the only clothes I´ve really been wearing are:
2 pants (stretch waistband). I bought maternity jeans, which were kind of a waste of money for me, as they´ve been much too tight for my humongous belly for the last 3 months at least.
2 maternity bras
About 4-5 tops to use (sometimes I did go through 2-3 in a day due to excessive sweating, having a dryer is necessary to get away with so few of those).

Just my 5 cents

Ah thanks! I've just bought a couple of plain tops so far as I'm worried about having things suitable for work ready for when I need them, before anything else. I have a few weddings this year and wish I had some idea at this stage how big I will be for each one so I know if I can get away with dresses I already have or if I need to splash out for bump room! I may be wrong but I'm totally expecting to be one of those people noone even realises is pregnant until they're about to give birth, I'm so small and chances are baby will be small too, and there's a big chance I may end up having to have a c-section which means I'll be even earlier than expected.

Loukachu - if you don't feel all too bad physically, try to get out and do stuff cause you never know when morning sickness might wipe you off your feet or extreme exhaustion. So do things you enjoy while you can! That was a big motivator for me as well as knowing that stressing or feeling blue increased my odds of miscarriage - I did all I could to stay positive and try and enjoy each day of pregnancy. Endorphins are great for you! So try some positive thinking

rmsh - I hope that the lots going on with your pregnancy isn't anything too bad and you're doing ok! Congrats on your move

bubbles - don't you go see a doc or midwife for an initial consultation or something earlier on? where they schedule your first scan? I thought there was some short appointment where they gave you an info packet on what to do or not do. But I agree, some kind of confirmation would be nice! Although, the whole free healthcare thing IS nice…we pay a fortune a month to have insurance! Good thinking on saving money on maternity clothes - the supposed nice brand stuff is rubbish anyways. I splurged on this nice sweater and it started to pill on my belly after a couple wears! Not worth it…everything else, I've just bought on sale - clearance racks are nice

As far as what clothes to buy, it really depends on what you wear normally. I live in jeans so I bought 3 pairs of maternity jeans that I've been wearing none stop! I got one for daily wear, one nicer pair and then a fun "going out" pair which I used more in my late first and most of 2nd tri - now they feel a bit too tight. But I got them on clearance so I felt I got my money's worth! Then, I got a bunch of light sweater tunics as I was pregnant through fall and winter so they have been super useful. Recently, I bought 4 t-shirts as I've been feeling a bit hotter. Otherwise, I just use whatever I have of my own that fits over my bump! Oh and I had to invest in two bigger bras cause my boobs got bigger - but they are regular, Bali bras with no underwire. And as far as dresses for weddings, I had 3 weddings last year plus the holidays to get through. I didn't buy ONE maternity dress…just invest in a wrap dress or two in a stretchy fabric and you'll be fine! I bought my dresses on sale at Cache for like $50-60. That's my 8 cents


OK, time to hit the gym…then lunch, another tour of our current house (owner is trying to sell it), then chiropractor and then a Moms Night Out. I started a local group on meet up for expecting moms and moms of infants and newborns. There's 6 of us getting together for dinner tonight. I can't wait!

PS pilot, I will get back to you with a list of things to try hopefully later today. I got carried away on the clothing talk and need to run now!

My friend gave me some sleeping bras which have been great. Haven't thought about maternity clothes yet...

Bone weary tonight!

Fingers crossed that you remain smallish
My mom was 99cm around when she was 9 months gone with me.
I´m currently at 128 cm around... hehe. Guess we´re not that much alike, genetically.
My physique is basically so muscular and dense, that there is no room for a baby in there, but my mom has the skeleton and musculature of a princess...

MrsChezek - ah thanks, I look forward to trying out that list, if I don´t get started tonight.
We´re having pizza tonight, and I´m going to add some chili and pepper spices on it to try to get things started. I would add jalapeno´s but I´m not quite brave enough for that.

Bubbles I was in the UK until I was almost 18 weeks. I saw the doc at 5 weeks, and yep, no blood test, no urine test, no nothing! Just a referral to a midwife I saw no one until I was a few days short of 12 weeks, and my scan was not scheduled until I had seen the midwife, but it ended up being just a few days later. I was fortunate to get a sneaky scan at around 6 + 5, because I had been scheduled for a scan to check my ovaries, as another thing to rule out why I was having trouble getting pregnant. Well I got pregnant, but kept the appointment, so I got to see a little bean at that stage, and the sonographer was able to see the heartbeat, but I couldnt see it!

MrsChezak, I have had almost every symptom of pregnancy you could get. I had MS til around 17 weeks, where I could barely eat anything. I lost 5kg in weight, which I did not start gaining again til around 23 weeks. I was discovered to be hyperthyroid (only since becoming pregnant) so am part of a high risk clinic. Reflux hit hard at 23 weeks, so have to take medication to control that, piles, hernia, varicose veins, I recently developed carpel tunnel syndrome so am now waiting on an appointment to see a physio, and we had a 30 week growth scan and discovered we are having a very large baby, measuring in the 90th percentile! So now I get scans every 4 weeks to keep an eye on baby's size, and I may have to repeat the diabetes test, which was completely fine at 27 weeks But through all of that, baby is fine and healthy

Wow what a ride rmsh!!! I'm glad that everything is well with the baby despite all that hoopla! And that you're doing ok too

Pilot - assuming tonight's chile pizza doesn't do the trick, here is what I've learned:
1. This one may be too late for you but a big one is to stop sex at 36 weeks and then restart when you want to push things along. During sex, prostaglandins are deposited in your vagina (they're in semen) which is what most induction drugs are made from (synthetic prostaglandins). So the abstinence starves your body of them and then a lot of them will kick things into gear but I think even if you didn't stop the sex earlier, the presence of the prostaglandins is a trigger.

2. Breast stimulation - releases oxytocin which is the natural version of Pitocin (induction drug). Oxytocin stimulates contractions of uterine muscles. You can try one at a time or both if one isn't working.

Combining 1&2 is supposedly super effective.

Those are the more 'taboo' but enjoyable options! Sorry if it's TMI

Last but not least,
3. Castor oil - taken orally it acts as a laxative and it's stimulation of the digestive tract often starts labor. But it's not a pleasant experience!!!! Most midwives use it as a last resort. (1Tbsp in scrambled eggs or juice at breakfast - after you've slept so you have lots of energy)

Tada. That's all I can think of rigt now...I'll revisit my notes from class and see if there's anything else!


On another note, one of my high school friends who now lives in Italy is preggers and I've invited her to join our thread. Hope you all don't mind!

How is everyone? Any babies arrived yet? Its gone very quiet on here :-) xx

Still waiting on this end