Any summer 2016 babies?

[JJay]

Hi Everyone, sorry I've not been around. I've been feeling quite tired and not much energy lately. I guess I'm hitting the uncomfortable third trimester now and the nice easy non-eventful second trimester is pretty much done with!

LLawson huge congrats on your baby boy! I love your announcements.

Eva, sorry to hear you'll have to book a section for the 15th I will keep my fingers crossed something happens by then so you get your vbac. I'm pretty much resigned to a third section although I'll see what they say at my scan and consultants appointment next Thursday. We've always used disposable nappies and I plan to again this time - I probably should consider cloth but I just can't bear the thought of even more washing - I usually have the machine on 1-2 times a day now so it will be worse with a baby too!

Dimmu, I like your daughters name suggestion of JJ haha. My daughter is insistent on Rose for a girl but as her name is Rosie I don't think that's very likely! I've tried to explain it would be confusing! My names lost changes weekly so I think we'll wait until much nearer the time to decide. My favourites this week are Gemima for a girl and Archie for a boy.

Hey Megan, sorry to hear about your UTI and sciatica - I also have bad back pain at the moment. Some positions just send shooting pains across my back. This has happened with all of my pregnancies so I guess I'll just have to put up with it for a while. I felt movement quite early but it took forever to get strong and regular. At 18 weeks I was still going days without feeling anything. I'm sure in a few weeks baby will be keeping you awake!

Miss B, glad things are going well. Hahahha love the name Duck - that's brilliant! We've been to Peppa Pig world too and had a great time. It was a long way though so not sure we'll make the journey again. We've found CBeebies land at Alton towers is fab too and a little nearer for us.

Not much to report here either - I am gigantic and can't stop eating so it's only going to get worse. I'm feeling very much heavily pregnant now and have a definite waddle. I'm struggling to walk any distance as my bump and back hurt. I'm getting beaten up regularly by baby now - I haven't started counting kicks as midwife said 28 weeks but I'm feeling strong kicks and wriggles a lot of the time which I'm loving. I think baby keeps switching breech to head down as I feel hiccups quite often too and sometimes they're really low and sometimes higher.

I think I must be nesting as I'm making lists and shopping, tidying and organising! I think I've pretty much bought what I need except a monitor.

Next appointment is on 22st for a scan to check babys position, weight and see if placenta has moved up. My midwife suggested I talk to the consultant about my tummy overhang from my first Emergancy section. It's got no feeling left in it and I can't use the muscles at all so even when I lose weight it hangs down and gets uncomfortable and sore. I asked about it when I had my last section but was told they couldn't do anything, however the midwife said it might be possible to get a referral to plastics or at least get it tidied up a bit in the surgery which would be amazing. Fingers crossed.

 

[dimmu]

Hello!

Nice to see hear from you JJay! I hope you are not too upset that JJ didn't make it to our shortlist of names! We still can't come to an agreement. DH and I just have very different preferences! We now have Eleanor on the shortlist as well but have got friends who have a one-year old called Eleanor so not sure if it's ok. I also like Margaret but Maggie would sound bad with our last name. I really want something traditional but hubby keeps suggesting names such as Vanessa which I'm not keen on. It's so hard!! I like Gemima! Lily and Rose have also been on DD's list of suggestions.

I'm also getting very big and slow now, not waddling yet but I get a stitch/round ligament kind of pain if I walk too fast. It's always in the same place so must be the way the baby is positioned. I can feel the baby move lots, but haven't had that stomach turning feeling for a while now so not sure if she's running out of space to make full turns and somersaults. Lots of people have commented how I've really popped now and getting bigger so guess there's no hiding it! I also can't stop eating and I have developed a real sweet tooth and keep wanting ice cream.. I could go through a tub of Ben & Jerry's in one go quite easily if I let myself..

Jjay I'm so impressed you've done all your shopping already! I haven't bought anything yet. I will start my annual leave/maternity leave on June 2nd, and DH has booked some time off in June as well so think we'll do some shopping then when DD is at school. I also have some clothes, steriliser, bottles, monitor, cot etc left over from DD baby days, and I should be getting a moses basket from a friend. But still need lots of things, new mattress for the cot, bouncer, maybe a new sling, dummies, clothes, nappies....
I hope you get your tummy sorted when you have your section, that would be amazing.

Eva- yes I did try hypnobirthing last time. A friend of mine was swearing by it and managed to convince me to try. We did a rather expensive course with DH, I read the book, listened to the CD they gave us, practiced it in the evenings but I just wasn't getting it at all. It was quite frustrating to attend the course and see the other ladies (we were 4 couples) managing to relax and totally getting it. Not gonna bother with it this time.

Can you just have a section by the 15th if you request it if there is no medical reason for it? I saw a thread about nipple stimulation to bring on labour on the third trimester board, I might try and see if it works when I'm around 39 weeks as I still have my old breast pump.

I never did the NCT courses before as I opted for the expensive hypnobirthing course last time. That's why I thought I'd try it now, more to meet other local mums to be than anything else. Not quite sure about the content otherwise for us 2nd time mums. I will do the labour ward tour sometime soon as I gave birth in a different hospital last time.

I've not tried cloth nappies, don't think I could do with the extra laundry and our place just isn't big enough to have clothes and nappies drying everywhere.

I had my glucose test on Monday and it was ok. I got a bit nauseous but wasn't sick. Next week is a busy one, I have my 28 week midwife appointment, OB appointment to follow up the glucose test and I also have the dreaded work trip to look forward to. I have no idea what to wear as I can't fit into any of my more businessy clothes and don't want to buy something just for one client visit. Think I'll just wear one of my maternity dresses even though they're not exactly formal.

 

[eva1978]

Hi ladies,

just checking in quickly since I may be offline for a while - going on a short holiday up to Queensland! it is likely our last "vacation" until baby arrives. Internet is supposed to be somewhat limited up there! I'll try to catch up at some stage. Still lots of packing to do...

The names all sound cute! I like "old lady" names for girls. My grandmother's name was Eleanor (though my grandfather called her "El-ner") lol. Gemima and Archie are nice too! Is Archie short for Archibald, or just Archie? We're still struggling a bit with names... especially boys names.

About a c-section if no medical reason: I think I'm a good candidate since I've already had two. The OB last time suggested I should have one anyway... so I don't think it would be an issue from the hospital's perspective. It's just that I would rather *not* have one, if everything is going smoothly. However I'm also nervous to carry more than a few days past term, based on what I've heard doctors say about mums who've only delivered via c-section before, how it's more dangerous to let things keep going. They aren't supposed to induce me either (due to the past surgery), but I'm quite happy about that!

I also keep eating... desert every night... ugh! I should really stop doing that. Not getting enough exercise either

Good luck at your appointments next week! Have a good weekend! (already Friday afternoon here)!

 

[Miss Bellum]

Evening ladies, hope you are all doing well.

Not much going on here, still getting bigger and feeling movement quite a lot. Feeling tired a fair bit not helped by LG suddenly developing night terrors and waking at all hours of the night. We did consider moving house and were shocked by what the local estate agents valued our house at! We have had a look around some of the areas we considered but we cant find any thing that seems to be better than our current home so we have decided to stay put.

Megan- Sorry you are having to deal with sciatica & uti. Hope you feel better soon. I think with my first I never seemed to feel much movement so I think it does depend on the baby.

Llawson - Glad you are feeling more bonded with your lo now

Dimmu - How nice your lg is suggesting names. I like Matilda too. I know what you mean about trying to find people who you can connect with. Hopefully the NCT will help you with that. I met a lovely group first time round and we are still in touch. Planning a get together to celebrate 3 years in May (Going a few months early so we could avoid clashing with any new arrivals). I think I am lucky Bristol seems to have loads of different groups so there really is something for everyone which makes it much easier to make friends. Some start as FB groups for natural parenting, walking with families - is there anything similar you could find?

I like Eleanor for a girl - its our LG's name so I am biased! Me & OH agree that we like the more traditional names which can be shortened but cant quite decide which ones sound best.

Eva - First NCT spent ages on birth labour, breastfeeding and very minimal time on what to do once the baby arrived. Personally, as someone who didn't even know how to change a nappy, I would have much preferred the focus to be the other away around. They said the refresher would cover birth, bf and how to help children adjust so not sure I'd get much out of it.

I like your son's choice of names.

Hope you can get vaccinations sorted.

I really like the idea of re-usable nappies but cant seem to quite get to grips with them. There just seem to be so many options out there!

Have a lovely holiday.

Jjay - Sorry you are uncomfortable, hope you start feeling better soon. I like your current choice of names.

I'd love to try Cbeebie land but it’s a bit far for us.

Hope the scan goes well & fingers crossed you can get some help with the tummy.

 

[dimmu]

Hello, hope everyone is doing well.

Not much going on here, the baby is very active and her movements feel painful at times. Had my 28 week midwife appointment today and the baby is still in a transverse position with her bum towards my pelvis and head somewhere near my ribs on the right side, she hasn't moved since the 20 week scan. At least it explains why her movements feel uncomfortable at times. Here's hoping she'll turn soon!

Miss B - I really like both Eleanor and Matilda at the moment, DH still needs convincing. I favour the traditional names, I think I would have like Charlotte as well if it wasn't for the royals!
I kind of wish I had done NCT the first time around instead of hypnobirthing, couldn't afford doing both at the time. Then again we have moved to a different part of London since then so probably would have lost contact with those people by now anyway. Hopefully the NCT refresher course will go ahead and there are some nice people there. Not sure I'll get that much out of the course itself. I'm not that keen on facebook these days but might try that as well. A natural parenting group sounds like a good idea, maybe I'll try and find some sling/babywearing groups as well.

Hope your LG is better and is no longer suffering from night terrors. Has your house price gone up then? We bought our flat just before the housing market went crazy so don't think we'll ever be able to upgrade now. I'd love to live in a house with a garden but don't think that's ever gonna happen unless we move somewhere further out and DH is against that.

Eva - Hope you are having a lovely time on your break! I'm jealous, we haven't got any holidays planned for this year, don't think we can afford anything other than day trips to the seaside and similar when I'm on maternity leave and only getting SMP. DD also keeps asking to go to the Caribbean as she wants to play in the waves! We went there last year to visit DH's relatives and she of course loved it. Have to keep telling her that we won't be going back for quite some time now.
Maybe we can go to Spain or Greece or somewhere next year, I've actually never been on a Mediterranean beach holiday so not sure how much that would cost. Well maybe something for next year but certainly not now.

Anyway, have a lovely week everyone and hopefully will catch up again soon!

 

[MeganS0326]

Hi ladies! I'm sorry for being such a downer in my last post. I'm doing much better! UTI is gone (yay!) and baby started kicking so all in all it's been a pretty good week. Still having some pretty bad sciatica pain. Going to schedule a chiropractor appointment sometime soon to see if I can get some relief. I keep feeling like my legs are going to give out on me and it's happened a few times on the stairs so kinda scary. I hope they can fix me!!

Lawson - Love the name Raylen!! My DH would never go for it though. Boo!

Dimmu - I like Matilda a lot too! As for courses, I never took anything apart from the hospital tour with DS but this time I'm considering taking a breastfeeding class. I'm determined to not FF this time and I'm wondering if it would be of help to me at all. Good luck on your work trip this week. I hope it goes smoothly for you!!

eva1978 - I really hope baby cooperates and arrives on their own before 7/15. I've never done cloth diapers but I like the idea in theory but my laundry room is so tiny and is already a source of daily aggravation so I just don't think I could mentally handle all of the extra washing. Have fun in Queensland! My great grandmother was from Queensland and my great grandfather was from Brisbane. Getting to Australia to visits some family I have over there is on my bucket list.

JJay - Good luck at your consultant appointment on Thursday. I hope that you are cleared to try for a VBA2C if you decide you want one. If you do end up having to go the route of another CS I hope that they are able to fix your tummy troubles for you at least.

Miss Bellum - Sorry about your LG going through night terrors. That can't be fun at all. I hope she gets over that soon!!

Have a great week ladies!!!!

 

[eva1978]

Hi ladies!

Just arrived back from our holiday last night. It was great!!! except the extra hours of waiting time in the tiny island airport because apparently a plane broke down. At least my little one managed to have a 1.5 hr nap!
We also got home to find we are missing a chicken, so we're down from 6 to 5. She was one of the young ones and was just about to start laying eggs. We're guessing a fox got her, but haven't yet heard back from the person who was letting them out/locking them back in their coop

Sorry about your back pain and painful kicks, JJay. Hopefully it doesn't get any worse. I suppose being pregnant it's not advisable to take something like ibuprofen - which would normally be my go-to pain reliever for something like that :-/ I hope you can get some help!
How did your scan go? Any information on possible plastics/surgery for your tummy?

I got a call from a student midwife the other day since I had signed up for a 'help a student midwife' program. It's part of their training... so she will plan to attend the rest of my appointments and also be present at the birth. I'll get to meet her next week at my next OB appt.

Not too long now Dimmu until your leave starts! I also plan to start my leave early June, but haven't yet filed with HR. Thanks for the info on the hypnobirthing. Sounds like it's not worth the risk of $$, just in case it doesn't work.
I didn't know about nipple stimulation and labour inducing... so that can work from a breast pump? I don't have one but may be able to rent one, that's what we did in Germany from the local pharmacy. Actually I just realized I do have a small portable one that can run on batteries perhaps I'll try that in about 10 weeks or so!
When do you leave for your business trip? Or did it happen this past week? Manage to find something to wear?

That's cute DD wants to go back to the Caribbean! I don't blame her, I want to go too! ;-) I guess it's quite far though from Europe.
We took a nice holiday when I was pregnant with DS2 (when we lived in Germany) to Menorca, Spain (Son Bou). We stayed at a lovely family-friendly place called Royal Son Bou Family Club. They have little apartments and also offer some daycare facilities as well as evening entertainment for the small kids. We didn't use any of the 'we watch your kid while you eat' services since our son was only 2.5 years old and not quite comfortable with being left with strangers (we tried for 5 mins so we could have one "adult only" quick meal but no go, lol). I imagine though that for kids 4+ who are used to some kind of daycare it's great fun! Gives you a chance to only worry about the baby for a few hours
https://www.royalsonbou.com/en/home

Miss B - thanks for the NCT class breakdown. I was also clueless about how to change diapers when I had my first so that kind of thing would have been useful! Night terrors sound stressful. Any clue about how to help? We've luckily never had that happen though a friend of mine did with her (then) 2-3 year old girl. I'm not sure how/why things resolved themselves though.

Glad things are a bit better now Megan! Neat that you have relatives who were from Queensland/Brissy! We didn't get to properly visit the great barrier reef on this trip since we felt it would be a waste of money seeing as none of our kids can properly swim... so snorkelling off a boat may not have gone so well! We hope to return there in a few years and do one of those big boat tours that take you out to see the reef/snorkel/dive etc. I guess most of the reef is dying so it's a good idea to go sooner than later.

The place we stayed on Hamilton Island was great. Effectively there are many different accommodation options and no matter where you stay you can use pools/restaurants/child care facilities at the main resort. Eating out is very expensive but we had a kitchen in our apartment which made things more reasonable. Instead of renting a car everyone gets a golf cart to drive around the island with! It was all very relaxed and I was very impressed with the daycare (though we only used it for two 3-hr sessions).

Re: disposable nappies: I'm still not sure what to get either given the overwhelming options! I chatted to a friend about it though and I think I'm going to try the prefolds and maybe get a few other kinds in a small sample pack just to see what works. I'll give it a go and see if it sticks. Though when travelling I think we'll be mostly using disposables!

Enjoy your weekends!

 

[Miss Bellum]

Hi ladies hope you are all well. Not a lot to report here. Lots of movement, getting quite tired, tend to fall asleep on the sofa by 10pm.

Hope you all have a lovey weekend.


Dimmu - Its can be hard trying decide what courses are worthwhile to try. If you are in a new area, I think its worth doing a nct refresher course to help meet new people.

Our house has gone by a stupid amount but the problem is that everywhere has done likewise! We are going to look at a few different places today but luckily we like where we live so its not a major issue if we don’t like anywhere else.

Luckily the night terrors seemed to have passed fingers crossed.

Megan - glad you are feeling better.

Eva- Glad you had a lovely holiday apart from the delay.

The student midwife thing sounds really useful

The night terrors seem to have gone by themselves thankfully. We did try waking her up a few times to break the cycle but not sure if it helped or not.

 

[dimmu]

Hello everyone, hope you're all doing well.

Megan - glad to hear you're feeling better. I hope the chiropractor can help you with the sciatica, that sounds very uncomfortable! I can see you are past 20 weeks now - yay, half way there now!! Have you had your 20 week scan yet?

Eva - your holiday sounds amazing! I've got some family in Queensland and would love to go sometime, if only the journey wasn't so long! Hamilton island and the golf carts sound great, will keep the place in mind if we ever get to go there. Would be nice to visit the family but also to have time for yourself if you see what I mean! I have a driving licence but haven't driven for more than a decade (who needs a car in London!) but think I'd feel brave enough to drive a golf cart! Will definitely look into some Mediterranean destinations next year if I have any money left from my savings at that point, thanks for the recommendation! Unfortunately DD will have to wait a while before she gets to go back to the Caribbean, the flights alone cost quite a lot even if we don't have to pay much for food and accommodation there if we stay with DH's relatives. They also seem a bit crazy there when it comes to some things, or at least DH's family does, for example car seats for kids, they just don't seem to use them and even seatbelts don't always get used (a bit like it was in Europe when we were kids I guess!) so wouldn't be overly keen to go there with a young baby/toddler!

Sorry to hear about you chicken though, poor thing! I didn't even realise there were foxes in Australia. I'd love to have chickens as we go through a lot of eggs but not exactly an option when you live in a flat in a city centre. We do have two rabbits though who live on our roof terrace, at least the foxes can't get to them!

I think hypnobirthing works great for some people, like that friend of mine who convinced me to do it, she absolutely loved it. Unfortunately it wasn't for me, maybe it was just the course I chose, some other instructor might have been better.

I think I will give the breastpump a go in about ten weeks as well to try and induce labour, when you google it lots of stuff comes up so maybe there's something to it. I only have a cheap manual one, maybe should invest in an electric one.

Miss B - Will have to see if my NHS refresher course goes ahead or not. We've been living in this part of London for some 3.5 years but I don't know anyone else who is currently pregnant so would be nice to meet some other expecting mums. I'll probably do some baby classes as well once the baby is born, although not sure how doable that will be as DD will start her school holidays quite soon after the baby is born. Maybe I'll just bring her along and take a tablet with us for her to play with or something.

Good luck with the house hunt! The houses prices have gone mental here so if we ever wanted to upgrade we'd have to move somewhere else. It's not ideal either because of DD is at school now and we really like this area, but you need like a million or more if you want to buy a house. The budget we had for our flat would barely get you a studio these days and we got a 3-bed with a big terrace less than four years ago, it's just madness.

I'm doing well otherwise, and the baby seems to be thriving. She's incredibly active, much more so than DD ever was when I was pregnant with her. The baby is still in transverse/breech lie with her head on my right, bottom on my bladder and feet on the left which is not great, it's making life quite uncomfortable for me as it feels like things are too tight, especially when she stretches which she does a lot. And of course she can't come out this way so I'm gonna use a birthing ball to try and get her to turn.
I'll be having my whooping cough vaccine tomorrow, but otherwise I now won't have any midwife appointments until June which seems like a long time. I booked a private scan for when I'm 32 weeks, will be nice to see the baby again and it's a proper scan where they take measurements and check things, not just one of those where they take nice pictures.

 

[MeganS0326]

20 week scan tomorrow! Wish me luck ladies! I'll try to report back with pics but we are leaving for a beach trip on Friday so tomorrow is likely to be madness.

Hope everyones week is going well!

 

[dimmu]

20 week scan tomorrow! Wish me luck ladies! I'll try to report back with pics but we are leaving for a beach trip on Friday so tomorrow is likely to be madness.

Hope everyones week is going well!

Good luck today Megan, hope it all goes smoothly!

 

[MeganS0326]

Thanks, dimmiu!!

All went well today. Baby is measuring perfectly! He/she was not very cooperative so they need me to go back in 5 weeks for another sonogram to measure some stuff with the heart and the face. I only got a few pics and they are not great. They are just scary skeleton face pics. Hoping for a cute side profile pic at next appointment.

Hope you are all doing great!!

 

[Miss Bellum]

Had a midwife appointment yesterday. Was a bit disappointing, they didn’t listen to the hb Just measured bump & said measurements were all fine and so long as I could feel movements there was nothing to worry about. Bit of a pointless check up really. Nothing now for another six weeks.

Dimmu - Glad alls going well with you. Hope your little one turns the right way soon and makes things a bit more comfortable for you.

We are in the same boat as you housewise, whilst our property has gone up in value so has everything else. Have a view more viewings on Saturday so might make a decision on moving or staying then.

It does seem like a long time between appointments on the 2nd baby.

Megan - Glad your scan went well, shame lo wasn’t more co-operative. At least it means you will get another scan.
Nice picture.

Hope you have a lovely holiday.

 

[JJay]

Hi Everyone,

Congrats on a great scan Megan and lucky you get another one to see baby again!

Miss B, glad your appointment went well but strange they didn't listen to the hb - I thought they did this every appointment from 16 weeks?

Eva, glad you had a lovely holiday but sorry to hear about your chicken

Dimmu, sorry to hear your little girl is making you uncomfortable. Are they worried about the transverse lie or is that pretty common?

I've not been around much as I've been feeling a bit sorry for myself. Had my scan last Thursday and baby was measuring over 90th centile on weight, abdominal circumference and also fluid levels. I look huge too and am measuring 4 weeks ahead. Baby is still breech and placenta hasn't moved its still right next to my cervix. The consultant sent me for the GD 2 hour fasting test due to high measurements. I wasn't worried as I had the exact same thing with DS and the test was fine. I went on Monday and unfortunately the test came back that I have GD. I've got to try and manage with diet alone first and if that doesn't work I'll have to go on medication too. Ive got to test my blood 4 times a day and so far despite a super healthy diet this week I'm still getting quite high numbers so I think medication is inevitable. The diet is making me feel tired and grumpy. Ive had to cut out cake, biscuits, chocolate, ice cream, sweets, fruit juice, white carbs and very limited fresh fruit and whole meal carbs I feel like I want to go to sleep for the next 10 weeks then wake up with a baby, a bottle of wine and a chocolate cake!

I suppose the silver lining is I will limit my weight gain!

Oh and consultant also said a definite no to doing anything about my tummy.

Counting down the days!...

 

[eva1978]

Hi all,

JJay I'm sorry about your GD though it's good they caught it. Sounds really tough with the strict diet. Hopefully after some more days of following through you'll start to see a change in bloods. Keep us posted.

That is very disappointing about the flat out NO to the tummy-fix issue. Does this mean that if you want something you have to pay extra (e.g. at another time)? Would that be covered to some extent by the medical system? If the extra skin is a result of previous surgery then maybe you can make an argument for it? I would be pissed!

Any more news on house searching Miss B? I suppose in parts of England prices are just insane, particularly near London I assume? Last year DH and I were thinking about potentially moving to Soton for jobs, but we didn't get the offer(s). The salaries seemed a bit low for cost of living, but it's hard to judge since I've never liked in the UK. I used to think the German salaries seemed low (compared to US/Canada) but then realised that other things (like groceries and childcare) are cheap and it was actually quite a good salary.

Disappointing the mw didn't check the HB. Maybe next time if that happens ask her to do it? Seems a bit strange... perhaps the equipment wasn't working? At least your bump is measuring well.

The golf cart driving was a breeze, dimmu! I drive in Oz but didn't drive for about 4 years while in Europe (didn't need a car near Munich and embarrassingly I never properly learned how to drive manual)! So at least in Oz you will be used to driving the same side of the road as the UK ;-)

That would also freak me out if in-laws/parents didn't use seatbelts/carseats. Especially if you ask them to and they don't! I get that's how we were probably carted around most of the time but now there are larger vehicles and more people on the road, in addition to the legal issue.

That's really cool you have two rabbits + rooftop terrace! DH is somewhat obsessed with rooftop gardens/terraces. One day when we buy a place somewhere we'll see if it's something we can manage to incorporate/afford. Unfortunately we do have foxes here, they were introduced at some point. But now we think that an eagle probably took the chicken. The last two days around 4 pm we've seen 1-3 wedge-tailed eagles very close to our yard, and one was within swooping distance. The chickens were FREAKING out. Luckily my husband came around the corner at the right time and the eagles flew off. Now we're more seriously thinking about getting a dog!

Hopefully you can help the baby to shift positions. I imagine it's easier to do that sooner than later since I think at this stage the amount of amniotic fluid starts to decrease. I tried doing things to get DS1 to flip but with no luck - but I was further along (33 weeks?) when I started trying. If the fluid levels are too lowish then it's harder for baby to shift, which may have been part of the problem. Luckily this bub is head-down so far.

I had a scan this past week and all looked good I got to see the '3D/4D' (whatever it's called) image of the baby. He/she looks a lot like our DS2, e.g. seems to have DH's nose lol. My in-laws certainly think so! I met the student midwife at my OB appt and she's lovely. My next appt will be to see my 'regular' midwife mid-May. I may try to see my GP in between since I need him to add my flu and upcoming whooping cough vaccination updates to my pregnancy booklet.

Nice that your 20 week scan went well overall Megan. How was your beach holiday?

 

[dimmu]

Good morning everyone, hope you are all doing well.

Great picture Megan, glad to hear everything looked well. Always nice to have an extra scan!

Miss B- I don't even make it to 10 pm these days! I usually go to bed to read around 9.30 and five minutes later I'm nodding off! Strange they didn't do the HB, but at least everything else is looking fine. Hope the house viewing went well. I think we are stuck where we are for years to come but at least we are lucky enough not to be renting. Feel sorry for all the families having to rent with increasing costs and no security.

JJay - so sorry to hear about the GD! How awful, the diet sounds really challenging! I hope it gets easier over time and your bloods improve. Have you got a date set for your ecs? Such a shame they won't fix your tummy at the same time, guess that means you can't get it fixed at all on the NHS?

Eva- I don't think the post-docs etc pay particularly well, and Hampshire is still within commuting distance from London so think the houses are expensive. And childcare costs of course are just insane in the UK as it's all private until the child turns 3 (unless you're on low income) and not heavily government subsidised like in Germany.

Yes the lack of car seats really freaked me out, and there was just nowhere to get/borrow one! I do remember when I was a child people not using car seats for kids, I don't remember having one although there was one for my brother when he was baby, and sometimes babies would just sit on mum's lap as well but that was the early 80s. So definitely no plans to go back to visit with the baby any time soon, think if we have the money to spend might try and go to Australia instead sometime in the next few years.

I really didn't think things through when I got the rabbits, I wanted to have lots of plants and veggies growing on our roof terrace but the two bunnies eat absolutely anything and everything. A couple of years ago I had some salad, herbs and tomatoes growing in one of those little green houses, but somehow they managed to in and that was the end of it. That's bad news about the eagle, it's probably gonna come back for more. At least with foxes you can try and keep them out with fencing but it's harder with eagles unless you build a whole aviary for the chickens!

Great that you could see the 3/4D scan! I hope I get to have one in my private scan in three weeks, I'm not sure if it is included as it's a fetal wellbeing scan rather just a picture taking session. Will be interesting to see if the baby looks like DD who's a real mix of me and DH iwhen it comes to features, complexion, hair type.. DH has a very mixed heritage in terms of ethnicity so the baby could end up looking like anything!

Have you had any luck with finding someone to look after the older kids when you are in labour? Our neighbours have kindly agreed to take on DD once I go in labour but they're away the weekend before my due date so we still have to sort something out for then. It's really hard, you kind of have to ask people not to make any weekend plans just in case!

My baby is still very much sideways, I will really have to start looking into doing some exercises to encourage her to turn. I may wait until after my wellbeing scan before really pushing it in case there's something stopping her like a short cord. The thought of the baby doubling or even tripling in weight in the next 10 weeks sounds a bit scary if she stays transverse, my right side where her top half is already feels stretched.
I don't think the consultant/midwife is at all worried yet about her being transverse, still plenty of time to flip. I just wish she would get on with it!

 

[Miss Bellum]

Jjay - sorry to hear the consultant wont do anything to help with your tummy.

How frustrating to have GD Hope the diet helps. Not long to go at least, must be very hard going. Hope your LO turns soon.

Eva - We had a look at some more houses over the weekend. Not really convinced any of the ones we saw are better than what we have. The ones we can afford either need a lot of work doing or have slightly smaller rooms than our current place. The ones we could just about afford would really stretch our budget and don’t seem to be quite good enough to justify the price tag. Think we may stay put for a while. Looking round does make you appreciate what you have. Our house has been done up a to a high standard and we have 3 double bedrooms. Schools are OK and we can walk to work which saves loads of money on commuting costs. So we are reaching the conclusion that we are better off here.

House prices in the UK are getting really stupid, I do feel very sorry for anyone trying to get on the ladder now. We live in one of the most expensive parts of the UK outside London, but sadly don’t have the salaries to match. Salaries in the UK just don’t really match the cost of living unless you are in a really well paid job.

Glad you got on ok with the golf cart driving.

We'd love to get a dog but don’t really have much space at the moment. I also think it would be bullied by the 3 cats already in residence! What type of dog are you thinking about?

Good to hear your scan went well

Dimmu - Sounds a lot like me!

I do think we are lucky to have our place and I do feel so sorry for everyone who is stuck in the renting trap.

Shame about the bunnies eating your plants but the roof top terrace does sound amazing! I have brown fingers of doom and cant keep any plants alive so our little yard is looking a bit sorry for itself.

My mum has agreed to look after our LG but it does hinge on baby arriving when she has some annual leave so fingers crossed for this one arriving on time.

Hope your LO turns around soon.

 

[eva1978]

Hi all,

hope everyone is getting on OK. How are you feeling JJay? Any improvement with the GD situation? Any flipping baby yet, dimmu?

I didn't realize the childcare costs in the UK could be so high/private. Sounds a bit like here, though here you get a bit of a break if you are an Aussie citizen or a permanent ressie. Otherwise it's a bit insane to live here with young kids, imo!

That's too bad about the rabbits eating all your veg, dimmu! they actually got into the green houses!? Major bummer. Our chooks ate/scratched away most of our strawberries, but otherwise they weren't too destructive to our veg etc. They just make a bit of a mess of the yard with their scratching.

We have a plan now for when I go into labour/give birth Glad to hear you have a partial solution with your neighbour dimmu. I hope it works out with your mum, Miss B re: her leave period. A lady at my work who lives very close offered to be called any time of night if/when something happens - and she'd come over and sit the boys until morning. Then if needed she would switch with our other friend who lives a bit further into town. The other friend has childseats etc. so would be able to drive the kids to school/daycare if it applies. I'm due over the 2-week school holidays but I plan on signing my oldest up for the holiday program to make things a bit easier in anticipation of the birth. Are there any school holidays where you are that would affect things like preschool/daycare?

The current place you live does sound hard to beat, Miss b. Walking distance to work sure is great. We have that now but anywhere else we wouldn't anymore. LOL brown fingers of doom!
We were briefly thinking of getting something like a Pyrenees dog. Something that's a working/guard dog, and can stay outdoors, but is also family friendly. But at this point I think that idea's on hold. We haven't had any recent close encounters with losing another chicken, and with the baby coming there is no time to train a new dog. We've thought about getting an older dog (~1 year) that's mostly already trained to guard chickens... though getting a puppy would be fun even if a lot of work. Don't think we're ready yet though. We also travel a lot which is another problem. What kind of dog would you get at some point maybe?

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

 

[dimmu]

Good morning from a very sunny and warm London!

I'm really not used to this hot weather, it has been such a cold spring. I feel all hot and I get really sweaty underneath my bump! Well can't complain, it's nice that its finally so warm.

Not much has changed for me, the baby is still stubbornly stuck in her sideways position and showing no signs of moving. My plan to do a lot of walking once the weather gets better isn't working out that well, I try and walk a bit but my bump just hurts too much where the bulk of her weight is. I have my private scan booked in two weeks so if they confirm her position and there's nothing stopping her I'm gonna start doing some exercises to get her to flip.

Eva - so glad you have got something sorted for your other kids when you go into labour! DD is actually looking forward to going to our neighbours' when the baby is born, their daughter is her classmate so she's excited about the sleepover. We just have to find an alternative for that one weekend when the neighbours are busy and we should be sorted. I really hope I won't go into labour then, these neighbours are just behind the wall so doesn't get much easier, with anyone else we'd have transport etc to consider as well as we haven't got a car.

Yes the bunnies are really destructive! It was just a cheap little plastic green house that my husband got for me so guess it was never gonna last. One of the buns is actually quite smart as far as buns go and is always up to some mischief and trying to get to places he shouldn't, he's very inquisitive and likes to explore. So think when the greenhouse appeared it was like a new exciting challenge for him!!

Yes childcare is very expensive here in the UK, we used to pay £50 a day for DD's nursery and that was the cheapest I could find in the area, all the others were £70 per day or more. Doesn't leave you much to play with after mortgage, bills and nursery costs! This was one of the main reasons why we decided to wait until DD was at school before having another one, we just couldn't have afforded to pay for nursery fees for two kids and we both have to work to pay the bills.

Miss B - it does really sound like you're better off staying put! Guess you can just keep an eye out for properties in case anything pops up. Are you looking to find somewhere bigger? As much as I'd like a garden and more space it's just no feasible and really don't want a bigger mortgage to pay. DD's school also just got upgraded to outstanding by ofsted so really want her to stay there as she's doing really well.
Did you say you have another scan coming up soon? Is your baby head down by now this time?

 

[minties]

So much to catch up on, I don't think I've looked at this thread in forever!

I have GD and baby is scheduled to arrive at 39 weeks via c-section (July 22nd). Managing the GD fine on diet at the moment.

Can't believe how long some of you have between midwife appointments?! That sucks so much! It's every four weeks till 28 weeks then goes to fortnightly then once a week close to the end.

It's supposed to be winter here next month but the days are still warm and I'm sitting in bed with a fan on at 9:19pm at the moment.