***Lion Cub Mommies-Back In Action!***

[jelr]

Hey girls - will catch up once I get a minute as we only got home last night and my brother is heading back in the morning so I am cooking dinner this evening and myself and my two brothers are heading to the cinema tonight after Natasha is in bed and I need to get to the shops as we have nothing in after being away.

We had a great time at the wedding, Natasha was as good as gold all weekend and didn't shout boobies - I didn't think she would walk up the isle as she was running around at the rehearsal and I had walked her up the isle before the bride arrived and she had to stop at every seat to see the flowers and lanterns but she did it when the time came and went straight up in front of the bridesmaids and bride and so did the other little girl that was the same age as her - I actually thought I was going to cry I was so proud, she also sat and played with her stickers during the mass and coloured and sat nicely during the meal and really stole everyones hearts in between with dancing and singing and being so good and she looked so beautiful and cute in her dress. Sleep was a little off in a strange place and I had to pretend I was going to bed to get to her settle but once she went she stayed asleep and my family were great and took it in turns to babysit with the baby monitor in an ajoining room so as not to wake her with the tv on. I did find it hard over the weekend though as DH and I didn't get to spend much time together with minding a toddler and having to watch her like a hawk with so many around and in a strange place and taking it in turns to change / feed and get to her nap in between everything else, but it was still a great weekend, but it was go go go all the time.

had planned on starting potty training tomorrow, but am waivering now as I was really excited about it but not so much today but think it is just tiredness and feeling a little down after all the excitement and build up to finishing work and my birthday and the wedding and now it is all over with and I know I will really miss my brother when he is gone tomorrow so am wondering if I should wait as I dont want my being a bit down to impact on how well it goes, but then on the other hand I know I probably wont go anywhere this week as I'm so tired after all the going over the last few days and have a mountain of washing and housework to catch up on so this week would probably be the best as I will be indoors anyway and the weather is not great here. I think I will just see how I feel tomorrow as I really want to do it over the summer when I'm off and think she is ready.

Hope you are all well and I promise I will catch up tomorrow or the next day when things settle down a bit.

 

[spidey]

I'm so glad Natasha was such an angel at the wedding! I can't wait to see any pics you post on FB.

I'm still not certain when I want to potty train Kira. She tells me when she pees and she'll pretend to wipe herself. We also flush all her poops down the toilet and wave bye bye. When I use the bathroom she keeps me company and helps out by handing me little tiny pieces of toilet paper She also likes to sit on her potty and make a pushy face and twice she actually peed in it!

So the things holding me back are that she still has very poor coordination and cannot aim her butt to sit on the potty by herself. She also cannot get her pants up and down by herself. I suppose I could do these things for her, but I suspect she would put up a fuss with me helping her since she's very much into doing things herself these days. Also over the past couple of weeks she likes to strip down naked in the morning and if I ask "do you want to sit on the potty" she says no (because the answer to everything is NO ) and one morning she peed 3 times on the floor within a 5 minute span. Normally I don't take all her clothes off until her diaper is wet (since she holds her pee all night) but that particular morning DH was the one who did it and he watched in horror as pee went everywhere 3 separate times Kira didn't care and during all this we were trying to get her on the potty and she wanted nothing to do with it because she was having too much fun playing.

Jelr, if you decide to potty train you must give us daily updates!

Kira slept until 8:45 this morning!!! Thats the longest I've slept in for almost 1 1/2 years! But of course she only took a 5 minute nap and I am sooo tired now. Thankfully DH came home early so I'm getting some rest time in now.

 

[Shiv]

jelr - so glad Natasha was a good girl for the wedding, I hope we will get to see some photos of her looking lovely? i hope you manage to get some rest this week.

As for potty training, i don't think Sophia is ready. She doesn't know when she wees and is more than happy going around in a wet nappy. She does tell us when she has poo'd though so a step in the right direction. She is still wet in the mornings, and quite frankly her nappy always seems to be a bit heavy, so she must eb weeing really frequently. She knows what a potty is for, and when she tells us she has done a poo she then wants to sit on it (a bit late dear ), but not before.

In short i think i am going wait until she is more than ready if anything. The potty is always out downstairs so if she wants to sit on it then she can. But until she can tell us she needs a wee i am not seriously going to try to potty train her.

When we do, I plan to just put her in knickers during the day whether we are out and about or just at home. I think chopping and changing between having a nappy on and then not could be confusing. Obviously I'll still use nappies at night for a while.

Apparently if you do it when they are ready then can be dry within a week with very few accidents. So i guess you will know pretty soon if Natasha is ready. I hope she is ready and takes to it really well. Make sure you keep us up to date with all the messy details

Spidey - yay for the lie-in, boo for the lack of naps! Sophia actually had a nap today but then wouldn't go to sleep tonight

MJ - I think you shoudl defo go for the birthing centre. i think you will cope a lot better with labour this time around with better care at the birthing centre

 

[Mary Jo]

yes, Adam is some way from being ready to potty train and I am not forcing the issue. especially not with a house move (hopefully) coming up, and a new baby. I think he'll be well over 2 before we get going. I'm also waiting till he can tell me he needs a wee. he tells me he's done a poo, which is good, and he isn't anti-potty (he's sat on it and finds it great fun, but has never weed on it though he once weed on the floor next to it). he does hold his wee sometimes, though, and I know he can take his trousers down when he wants to (witness the nappy off, poo rubbed into floor incident of a few weeks ago) but I don't think he'd be able to pull them back up. I'd like to let him have nappy-free days but while we're selling the flat it's not the right time. I also don't *think* he'd understand stuff like getting a sticker or something for using the potty, so if we go down that route it won't be till I know it will give him some motivation.

Jean, so pleased the wedding went well and Natasha also enjoyed it. looking forward to pics that's great you had so much help from your family even though it wasn't much of a break for you.

hooray for a lie-in Spidey but grrr for it meaning no nap. that's what it's been like here. wishing for the days when he napped with no fuss, and went to bed at night with no fuss. oh well.

speaking of beds... I'm going to have to get Adam a bed, since we'll need the cot for Joel haha. Shiv, I know you have got a double for Sophia; now, we haven't got space in Adam's room for a double, so we're going to get a full-size single. space-wise a toddler bed would make more sense, but I want it to be somewhere an adult can also sleep (in case we have guests or if one of us needs to sleep with Adam, I couldn't face a night in a short, narrow bed). I'm just not sure how much I should spend. I don't want to get a cheap foam mattress but how far upscale should I go? It's not meant to be a bed he'll be in for years, since the longer-term plan is to get some sort of bunk bed system as the children will be sharing a room till one of them moves out (or we win the lottery). I am trying to work out what we need to spend on furnishing this house as we don't have a lot of ££ left now since having to cut the price for this bloody major works and we need quite a lot - bed, mattress and storage furniture for Adam, bed frame and wardrobe for ours (our current bed frame wastes a lot of space and it's a really small room), new carpet on the stairs and the bedrooms, wooden flooring for the two downstairs rooms, possibly two 2-seat settees for the living room... not to mention the baby stuff (though my parents are giving us some money and that'll buy the pushchair - if we get a 2nd hand pushchair it'll probably pay for everything we need, just a new cover for the infant car seat, a new moses basket mattress and a breast pump). AND the damp course, woodworm treatment and redecorating after all that. eeeeek.

thanks for the input on the birth centre idea... it's my ideal now but I am afraid of getting too set on it in case it doesn't work out. ack!

 

[Shiv]

Sophia has a foam matress on her double bed, it wasn't an uber cheap one, but the guy in the shop actually recommended a foam matress as with all the bouncing it is much less likely to bugger up than a sprung one. As I see it there are also likely to be numerous bed wetting instances over the next months (years?) so I would rather replace a cheaper matress than have to replace an expensive one. Also Sophia is so light in comparison to an adult that don't feel she will come to any harm on a foam matress!

Off to see my new midwide today - I have to go through the whole booking in process again, including bloods and lots of forms (boo). for once I remembered to wee in my little pot this morning so won't have to *perform* under pressure later!

 

[cleckner04]

Just popping in to say hi! :wave:

Everything is going good here. It's incredibly hot here which is a bummer. In the high 90s with a heat index in the 100s. But we spent yesterday at the lake and today we are trying to stay indoors so it's been okay. Emma is loving all the new attention from all her grandparents and cousins.

No TWW news from me. I don't think I'm pregnant this month because I feel no different. Oh well though.

I've gained a few lbs already I think. DH's family reunion is the cause because I went a bit overboard with the dessert. They had a ton of different pies though and pie is my favorite so I indulged. I didn't eat entire slices though I shared with DH but I still probably shouldn't have touched them. So I will probably have to start over with a new start weight when I return.

I hope you are all well. Too much chatter for me to catch up with now. I'm currently sitting at my parents using their wireless but I've been ignoring everyone for the past half hour.

 

[Mary Jo]

oh, ok, thanks Shiv. I guess we'll have to go to Ikea and bounce on a few mattresses and see how they are. good point about being prepared to replace it if and when it gets weed/pooed/sicked on. we definitely have to go and have a good look at other stuff at Ikea, I have quite a list.

what happened at the midwife? I saw your FB status. did you not like her? I have a mw appt tomorrow, hopefully my last at this surgery. I did ask last time what the protocol was for changing hospitals and they told me to photocopy my notes so the old hospital has its own record, but to take what I have with me. I hope I don't have to go through the whole gamut of blood tests again. I bet they're not offering extra scans though!

hi Cleck! so glad you're having a good time. how was the journey? please don't worry about a couple of pounds, you're on holiday! enjoy it and then you'll be extra motivated when you get back

 

[Shiv]

I am no expert on matresses MJ - they were just my musings!

As for the midwife, well this may be a long story!

It wasn't that i didn't like her, she was perfectly pleasant, it was her attitude to giving birth that annoyed me. in Kent the midwives were very pro home birth, with a birth centre next best option, and then hospital birth if you needed it.

This woman asked me where I was going to give birth and I said i wasn't sure of the options in the area, so she started off by saying

"well there is a birth centre, but you'll probably end up being transferred to hospital by ambulance, and nobody wants that"

I was gobsmacked so didn't say anything. SO then she said

"there is the hospital which is your best bet, I'll sign you up for there"

i said I was considering a home birth, and she said

"oh, well i suppose that is an option, but I'll be honest, the midwives are really pushed here and the on-call midwives are usually called to the hospital so would have to cancel any home births anyway"

I came back at her with is that legal, I am pretty sure if I call you in labour then you are obliged to send a midwife to me. She got a bit arsey and said

"if there are no midwives you'll have to make do with paramedics"

Not a happy bunny and I am fairly sure she is talking out of backside.

I am seeing a different midwife at my next appt 34 weeks so i am hoping for a better response in general to birthing options.

She also weighed me (and said they routinely weigh at each appt here ) and measured my height and proceeded to tell me my BMI, which was in the overweight category What the hell does she expect, i am 30 weeks pregnant! Not helpful I don't think!

So all in all i was disapointed with the appt and am now seriously considering moving back to my parents house for my last few weeks of pregnancy so that I can go back to where I had Sophia. I just want it sorted where I am going to give birth.

I almost feel like definitely having a home birth just to stick two fingers up at her

I hope you have (and am sure you will have ) a better experience with your new midwife MJ

Oh and David went away again this morning, til..........well, we don't know. have to play it day by day, as it all depends on the weather!

 

[Shiv]

Oh and hi Cleck - glad you are having a good time back home!

 

[Mary Jo]

oh dear god, no wonder you were a bit hacked off after that! I presume you told her you had a pretty quick, straightforward labour & delivery in a birth centre last time - no reason for her to presume you'll have to go anywhere near a hospital! you could call the midwive dept at the hospital/wherever it is, and talk through some of this, just so you have an idea if it seems to be regional/hospital policy or just that one midwife.

really hope I don't get someone who'll presume I am ok to do the easy thing (from their point of view) and just be admitted to the regular labour ward... but I guess since the birth centre I want to go to is just a unit on the labour ward it probably won't matter.

that's definitely crap what she said about forcing you to have a hospital birth. I have read stuff in the home birth section, word for word what to say, how to respond to people who say this sort of ting. they're just hoping to put you off and assuming you haven't educated yourself on your rights and what they are legally obliged to supply.

I hope I don't get weighed. eeeek. I was always led to believe that it's your BMI at the start of pregnancy that indicates anything. ANYONE who starts out at a mid-range normal BMI is going to end up technically overwight by the end/close to the end! I have a feeling my start BMI was 23 point something, close to 24. so it didn't take much for me to tip into overweight I will laugh at anyone who dares say anything. they'd be on your case so much if you hadn't gained any weight at this stage, given you didn't start out obese!

grrr. I am annoyed about it too! stupid woman.

 

[spidey]

Shiv, thats an awful thing for her to say about winding up in the hospital if you start at the birth center. Is this your assigned midwife or will it be different every time? I saw a group with 4 midwives and they all irritated me in different ways, but when it came time for the birth, the one who irritated me the most was the one who delivered Kira and it really turned out okay. Here the midwives just catch the baby and check the HB every so often, so they take a backseat to the whole process... is that how it works there? LOL about having a paramedic be at the birth, that is so silly! And who calculates the BMI of someone in the 3rd trimester!? My bit of moral support is to not let this one woman ruin your outlook on the whole thing. I remember having so many ups and downs with all the worries the MW's gave me (high bp, going over due, low iron, etc etc) that I was almost to the point of wanting to do an unassisted HB, but in the end I stood my ground and had the outcome that I wanted.

Hi Cleckner! I'm glad you're having fun and Emma is being spoiled by all the attention!! When are you going to test?

DH is home so we're off to grocery shop for the week. I'll write more later about mattresses

 

[jelr]

Hey girls

Well I'm finally able to get in properly although i can't remember most of it now after reading

Shiv: God I would be annoyed too, that is ridiculous her going on about the hospital and that you would probably end up there, what does she have against birthing centres. I really wish we did have some here as they sound so much less clinical and I do think the midwives no more than the bloody doctors anyway and if you had booked a home birth surely they would have to send a midwive. I really hope that the next one you see is a lot nicer and a lot more positive and WTF was calculating your BMI in aid of, of course you are going to be overweight when you are 30 weeks pregnant. I would imagine that if your BMI wasn't overweight that there would be something wrong FFS. I am actually angry for you :Growl:

I hope that David is not away too long this time and that he gets his work done quickly and I had hoped to ask you were you feeling less p*ssed off, but I doubt it after that appointment

I love your names by the way, any feelings yet as to whether it is a blue or pink bump?

MJ: So glad the house sale is moving on. FX it all keeps on going smoothly from here. I love the name Joel also. Glad you and C agreed on one. I never really thought about mattresses and we are actually putting Natasha into a double bed when we move her and it actually has a good mattress on it and I actually never thought about the wee and poo and sick - Oops, but then I may use it now as I dont want it getting damp by storing it for too long - I can't wait to see pictures of your new house.

Spidey: Best of luck in the tww, did you decide when you are going to test? That is weird about the spotting this month, I would love to know what goes on in our bodies sometimes. I hope your nip is healing well after getting bitten - Ouchy, it sounds painful.

Cleck: Glad you are getting on well at home, but do let yourself enjoy your holidays too, you deserve to after all your hard work and at most it will only be a few lbs and you will lose that in no time when you get back. Best of luck on the tww too.

Well the potty training is a disaster so far - I think I was a bit premature with it all tbh but my friend has said to stick with it for 3 days as sometimes the first two are a disaster and then they just get it on the 3rd so the fact that I have done a day I will keep going. I left her with no bottoms on all day and she did pee about 6 times but on the floor - the first time I had only walked out of the room and she called me and was saying "me mess, me mess" so I knew what had happened and then the other times she just said oo or nothing at all - so we had actually no wee's in the potty, but eventually this evening we managed to get a poo in there - only by chance though as I saw her starting to push and grabbed her and ran to the potty, which she didn't want to sit on (even though she spent most of the day sitting on and off of it, as it kept in it what ever room we were in) but the poo managed to fall in so DH and I made a big fuss and told her what a good girl she was and we made a big deal of flushing it and saying bye bye and she loved putting the sticker on her chart. She really loved the sticker chart and wanted to put stickers on it all day, and kept kissing Minnie mouse, but I just kept explaining that the stickers only go on when she does a wee or poo in the potty. I do think she can understand it all, but am not sure she actually has enough bladder control yet or is aware that she needs to go before she does so I think I will probably be putting it back to after Christmas and I will be off until after the 6th of January so hopefully if it doesn't work this time, she will be ready by then as it is something I really want to do myself and not have my mam do it if that makes sense and did think now would be a better time than winter to leave her with no bottoms on, but then again I'm sure she wont be cold if I leave the heating on all day in the winter either.

Well think the photos have just finished uploading on fb so I'm gonna run over there for a catch up too.

 

[Mary Jo]

awwww, I've just been over to FB to look at the wedding pics - they're great! Natasha looks so so sweet and pretty in her dress and little cape. and your dress looked lovely and not at all like the bridesmaids' dresses (which I thought were very nice - I was a bridesmaid for one of my good friends about 5 years ago, and her idea was to have us in dresses of Cadbury's purple. I wish we'd been put in something like your bridesmaids were in - I absolutely hated what we had to wear, the colour wasn't right, the fabric was awful... it's hard to grasp the full enormity of the awfulness from this pic... click for scary pic ...but yeah. I think someone vetoed strapless and didnt want to show their arms/shoulders, so those stupid bits of chiffon on the arms got added... and just yuck. (mind, it was nothing compared to what my friend the bride wore. again, hard to tell from that pic but it was like an Elizabethan serving wench costume not a wedding dress.)

I wouldn't worry about the potty training - if it's not time it's not time, no harm done and hopefully in a few months she'll be all set and keen. never know, though, if it's just day 1, it might just click tomorrow. according to my mother both me and my brother were fully trained before we were 2. no idea how she did that or if I even believe her! not that she's put any pressure on me re Adam, but I do remember some pointed comments she made to me when my SIL wasn't doing much about encouraging my nephew and niece. (my niece was quick to learn, but then she had her older brother as encouragement and to copy. my nephew was a lot slower, and he's still not dry overnight, poor little soul, he'll be 6 in a couple of months and he's mortified that he is still in pull-ups. and my little niece, who is almost 4, and shaping up to be a bit of a mean girl when she likes, rubs it in his face that he still is in a nappy.) I'm just aware that Adam is having some major changes in the next few months anyway - new house, new brother, sharing mummy and daddy, not sleeping with us or being near us every night - so I want him to be fully settled with it all before something else changes. plus like I said before, he really isnt showing enough signs for me to be dealing with the hassle of poo and wee everywhere, especially since he likes to rub it in to the floor when he accidentally does it. if I thought it was readier than he is, I'd go ahead!

3rd tri for me tomorrow - today was the day in my last pregnancy that I had my 4D scan. I want to get one this time round as well, but nothing is booked. been a bit overwhelmed with everything else to even remember I am pregnant sometimes.

oh, and my eating is not going especially well. I made the unfortunate discovery of chocolate triple chocolate chunk super chocolatey chocolate cookies from the Co-op of all places. (they were reduced for quick sale the first time but I paid full whack today.) o. m. g. no idea about the calories but these babies are BIG and must therefore be at least 300 each. and C and I had 2 each. oops.

 

[jelr]

Woohoo for 3rd Tri MJ - god your time is all flying (but that is easy for me to say when it is not my time )

Thanks for the lovely comments on me and Natasha - I did think she looked gorgeous, but then I'm meant to think that - I actually nearly cried when she walked up the isle, I really was so proud. - such a big softie

I'm sorry but I have to agree with you, those bits on the dresses really didn't do anything for it and I love purple but that is a funny shade, mind you you still manage to look great and are the best looking of them all.

Yeah you are right not to start with Adam, when he has so many changes going on, being honest I think most children are 2 and a half so I definitely wouldn't worry as he will do it in his own time and I'm not too worried either in fact I'm half thinking after today not only is Natasha not ready but I'm not ready either - It was a nightmare trying to clean her bum standing up after she pood compared to the changing mat but then i have done a day so I'll stick with it for the 3 now.

I wouldn't blame you being overwhelmed between your friend being sick and the move, I would definitely be overwhelmed myself. Hopefully with everything else going on though it means the time is going quicker for you

 

[spidey]

Jelr, thanks for sharing the pictures! I really enjoyed looking at them.

You should go with your gut with potty training and if nows not the right time then its best to put it off. This morning Kira asked to have her clothes and diaper off because she likes wiping herself with toilet paper. She peed 2 separate times on the floor and didn't seem to care at all! I don't think she's ready yet either My friend said that potty training her daughter in the winter wasn't bad because her daughter could feel when she wet herself since her pants got wet. And she said having the pants soak up most of the pee was much better than having pee all over the rug

MJ, congrats on being in 3rd tri! I can see why you didn't like the bridesmaid dress but despite it being not the prettiest, you still look good in it

I decided to test this morning and a BFN, but I know its early still since I ovulated last Monday. I don't feel pregnant and I don't feel like AF will come soon either. If I had to go completely off my psychic nips I might have suspicion that I'm pregnant. They're still sore and normally they're sore 5-7 days and then go back to normal for 4-5 days and then AF comes. But they can't be trusted this month because one was bitten and Kira's been latching on poorly and I see tooth indents when she's done nursing now. My poor nips!

 

[Shiv]

Spidey - sorry about the BFN but as you said it is very early days 9i told you to test on Friday ). Sounds like your nips are telling you somethign might be different this month! And even ifyou aren't pregnant (and you might be!) it sound slike AF is a way off so that means a nice long luteal phase! I have a good feeling though!

MJ - They are pretty awful bridesmaid dresses, I had a chuckle if I am honest! My eating has been ok the last few days, I think I am sticking to about 2000 cals a day (although not actively counting them), which considering my bmr says I shoudl be having about 1600 is probably still too much but hey ho!

What happened to your post on facebook. I had just settled down to write a nice lengthy reply and I can't find it! So i shall write it here!

I would go and see both birth centres/hospitals and see if one floats yoru boat more than the other. If it does then I would go to that one regardless of any scare stories of how busy it might be. If you can't choose between the two (I had this issue last time), then wait until you go into labour and give them both a ring and see which one has most room and a free birthing pool. I did this and both centres were happy to give me the info and happy for me to wait until then to decide where to go. Mymidwife was also more than happy for me to wait until labour to make my mind up and I just had my midwife appts at my local doctors. I am sure your new midwife will be happy to see you locally as she probably will serve both birth centres as they are so close. Lucky you having 2 birth centres within 6 miles! Don't know if that helsp at all, but remember any hospital/birth centre if you are having a normal pregnancy is obliged to take you if you are in labour, they can;t turn you away unless there is some urgent reason.

jelr- the photos of Natasha are gorgeous, she really is a beauty! Sorry potty training didn't go well yesterday, I hoep it went better today, or if not that you are happy to leave it for a while. It is so difficultto know when they are ready isn't it. It is great they you are being the potty training guinea pig for us all

As for me, well i am a bit calmer about the whole midiwfe thing. I will see what my next midwife is like and how she feels about home births. to be honest I guess i was just expecting the midwife to say "yes that's a great idea" and that would make my mind up, as i am still a little unsure.

Sophia has been a complete madam today, seriously bad. we didn;t leave the house because she just wouldn't co-operate at all. It took me 90 mins to get her dressed. And yes I could have done it quicker but I didn;t want to have to pin her down, especially as we had nowhere specific to go. Then she didn't want to go downstairs...........that was another hour. Then when we did go downstairs I told her it was too late to go out as it was nearly lunchtime, cue yet another meltdown. I ended up giving her lunch at 11am in the hopr of getting her down for a nap (whcih she was in desperate need of juddging by her tantrums). She went down at 11.45am and slept for 3 hours. Yay! But now I am still trying to get her to settle for the night (1hr and 45 mins after her normal bedtime!).

I am just wondering what to do about the whole nap vs bedtime thing. Waking her up 4 hours before bedtime is no longer working, so do i stop naps entirely and have a miserable madam on my hands, but one who goes tsraight to sleep at night. Or just let her nap but move her bedtime back and miss out on having any sort of evening to myself?

 

[Mary Jo]

eeek, Spidey, sorry about the BFN, hopefully it is just too soon and leaving it a couple of days will show something different! I laughed at your FB pic, did Kira make you slurp water from a bowl? (Adam sometimes does this if he has milk left in his cereal bowl. such beautiful manners!)

and sorry Sophia has been playing you up Shiv. I don't have answers on the nap thing, it's something we're dealing with now, as you know. though with you being alone with S so much at the moment with David away, I can see why you need your restful nice evenings (if Adam doesn't sleep, C goes up and settles him or goes to bed himself). but a grumpy toddler is no fun either. I have been going to wake Adam up if it's getting towards a 3 hour nap, unless the nap starts very early in the day. it's not foolproof, probably because I still have the mindset of let him sleep as much as he likes and it's hard to go wake him when I am enjoying the peace/getting stuff done as well.

the midwives I saw today (there was a student and a regular mw) suggested homebirth to me, which was nice (this after I asked about the birth centre). they were very very positive about the whole thing. I wish it was an option for me but there is no way C would agree, and whereas I do think - heck, it's my body, my birth, it is his home as well and if he isn't comfortable with it then he isn't. but if he is to veto one idea I am not letting him veto anything else! and really, I am too risk-averse to plan for a home birth anyway. maybe I should tell him I want one and then agree to compromise on the birth centre of my choice! win win!

as for my FB post - ack, I just suddenly felt it was too long, and decided to delete it. I wish I hadn't now, but oh well. if anyone missed it - in a nutshell I was saying: I want to give birth in a birth centre if poss, and mentioned it to the mw I saw today. however they didn't seem to think much of my chances of getting into the birth centre at what will be my local hospital when we move, because it's on the labour ward and therefore used as overspill when they are busy. so they recommended a different hospital with birth centre, 6 miles away from where we'll be. however there is no guarantee of getting in there either if it is busy, and while neither of the hospitals' regular labour wards get good reviews (and some truly terrible ones), the more local one seems to be less negative. I have to be aware that there is the possibility that I will not get into the birth centre and will have to go to the regular labour ward. so I don't know what to do. also I am concerned about where I'd go for mw appts if I go out of area - Shiv, the two hospitals are not in the same NHS trust, and I guess that matters. I won't know anything for sure til I register with a new GP and ask. Chris is likely to oppose me going to a not very local hospital, so I have decided to have flexible morals on this and if I have to I will tell him or have him believe that I have simply been referred there and that's it. he might swallow it if I say it's because I booked in late and the other hospital is likely to be far too busy!

thanks for the advice, Shiv, I didn't know I didn't have to commit to one or the other. hope them being different trusts won't make a difference? I am planning to go and have a look round both of them anyway, just so I have an idea of what I'm dealing with.

how's Natasha been on day 2, Jean?

my friend has now had her MRI and CT scans and found out today that her cancer is localised to her uterus, so that is good news. however, she requires a radical hysterectomy, but the doc wants her to lose a lot of weight first. doc is consulting with some people about that and so my friend doesn't have a date for her surgery. I am happy for her but I know she is now extra stressed. she had hoped drug treatment would be sufficient to control/cure the cancer but it seems not if the doc is talking surgery.

Adam is suddenly not well tonight. I am worried and thinking he might have to go to the hospital in the morning if he doesn't start drinking enough of the special drink he has to take when he's not well (because of this ketotic hypoglycemia). he was ok this morning, ate his breakfast as usual (a big bowl of bran flakes mixed with cheerios) and some milk, then we went to the midwife appt (and he was very good most of the time, bit fussy in the actual appt but nothing too bad), then he was tired when we got in and sat on the settee next to me. but I didn't think anything of that since it was past his nap time anyway. so we went up and he slept for about 3 and a half hours. I decided to get him up for lunch at around 3.30pm, because I didn't want such a long nap to affect his sleep later, and he ate a small dish of baked beans. and then he just stopped eating. didn't fuss, didn't cry or whine, didn't throw the rest of his food (some cheese, cucumber and buttered bread) but just sat there. so I cleaned him up and let him down from the high chair. he immediately went and lay down on the settee! this after such a long nap troubled me, so I thought, ok, see how he is in an hour or so and then I'll give him the emergency drink.

by the time an hour was up C was home, and Adam had asked to go back to the bedroom and was lying on the bed. of course C thought he was ok because he perked up to see him, and begged some of C's sandwich, but then he lay down again and was clearly not himself. so I went and got some ribena to see if he'd like the drink any better mixed with juice (he had some, not much) and got some biscuits (he had 1 and a half), and made dinner. his all-time favourite - sausages and a potato waffle. he ate half a sausage and nothing else. this is proof positive he's not right, usually he wolfs the sausages down.

so we let him back to bed again and he just lay down. not asleep but not moving. no energy. gah. according to the instructions I got from the hospital, we have to get him to drink 100ml of this drink (it's glucose and water basically) every 2 hours, day and night. there is little chance of that. I don't know how I can force a toddler to drink. so if he is the same in the morning I am going to ring up the nutritionist at the hospital and be prepared to take him down to children's A&E again. poor baby. blood tests and a drip for him if he doesn't improve soon.

 

[jelr]

spidey: ouchy that sounds sore seeing teeth indents, still them both being sore might be a good pregnancy sign. Sorry about the BFN, but I would definitely say it is too early especially since you it was later in your cycle to ovulate as I know I with Natasha I tested the day after AF was due and got a BFN but then when I tested a week later when she still didn't arrive it was a BFP and I'm putting it down to my cycle being longer that month, so fingers crossed for you.

I loved the picture of you on FB too. Kira has such an imagination.

Shiv: I'm glad you are feeling a bit better about the midwife appointment and hope that the next one is a lot nicer and gives you the proper info that you need to make a decision.

I always try and wake Natasha up at around the 2 hour mark if she is still asleep, I know it means less time to relax or get stuff done during the day, but she wont go down for me if she sleeps any longer and if I wake her before the two hours she is cross as she hasn't had enough. Maybe try that and if it is not working, try and wake her after the 2 hours and maybe just leave her a half hour later at night rather than leaving her too late and see if that works so at least then you have some time during the day and some of your evening. It really is all a guessing game isn't it. I can remember when Natasha started to nap properly instead of cat nap. I thought yes finally a nice routine to take the guess work out of it and now realise it is always going to be guess work as the minute something works, it all goes to pot and they change

I really hope Sophia is in better form tomorrow, could it be teeth again. Those days are really tough at the best of times, let alone with DH is away.

MJ: Sorry to hear Adam is not well and it is such a worry for you when he wont take the drink that he has too. FX he is just off colour and by morning he is back to himself and you wont need to go to the hospital. Poor baby

I'm so glad your friend's cancer is contained to her uterus and hasn't spread, not nice though having to face surgery though and definitely not nice having to lose weight at a stressful time like this. They only thing is at least with surgery it will all be done and over with and she wont have months of treatment ahead of her.

I dont have any advice on the birthing centre I'm afraid as our system is totally different here and it is just the hospital and it is always the one closest to you, we do have what is called a domino service that is midwife led but you still give birth in the same hospital, but all your appointments are with the midwife only and not the obstetrician and you can get home within 6 hours and the midwife calls to you at home for a few days, but I had asked about it the last time and due to my previous mc and my arthritis, they wouldn't allow me to do it and I would say I definitely wont have a hope next time as Natasha was faceup and I had to have vacuum and forceps and I had strep B also and then lost a lot of blood on top of it, and I actually heard today that they are doing away with it, but am not sure if it is true. I do think it is a good idea to have a look at them both and I honestly think you will have a gut feeling on which one is right for you.

Well AFU - I have decided to put the potty training on hold as she just isn't ready. I have being brining the potty into whatever room we are in so it is near and is easy access and today I managed between the tv and playing with my phone to get her to sit on it for 20mins and nothing and the minute she stood up she peed on the floor and then my mam was over and she said show me how you sit on your potty and she peed on the way over to it and then this afternoon I again I managed to get to her to sit on the potty for about 30mins between books and she got a money box that is a meer cat from my aunt at the weekend and he moves his head and makes noise when you put the money in so I empied our coin bottle and we played with that and nothing and two minutes after she stood up she peed on the floor again, so I definitely think she doesn't have enough bladder control or is not aware yet that she needs to go, as she is very aware of what she needs to do in it and what it is for. Also the time that she peed after sitting for 30 mins she actually got a bit upset and said "oh no me wee" - "on potty, on potty" and she ran to the potty. I then was thinking I would scrap it and put a knickers and skirt on her and brought her outside for a while and she went again and again went running to the potty so I dont want that she ends up stressed or upset that she can't make it or that she hasn't realised that she needs to go until it is too late and that it might only just upset her and put her off.

I'm also thinking the winter wouldn't be so bad as we plan on getting a stove put in (DH is so aware of losing heat because of his job and he reckons we lose loads up the chimney) so we have decided to do that out of his redundancy money but we are actually getting a loan from my dad to get it done in the summer time rather than in the winter where we can't have the heat off for a few days to get it all done, so anyway with the stove you can leave it lit all night so when I decide to try again, I can always have it on all night so the house is not cold first thing in the morning and as you were saying Spidey I might even leave pants on. I know they say that sometimes knickers or pants confuse them, but she was really aware when she went in the garden today, although I suspect there will be lots more washing, which I didn't have the last few days, except all the old rags to mop up the pee

Well by my calculations the dreaded middle of cycle is coming up this weekend, I dont feel like it is going to happen this month as I feel good even though I'm missing my brother so much, but then again I feel like this every month and then just wake up like a different person on one of the days - although hopefully the pms escape that I bought will help this time.

 

[spidey]

MJ, I hope Adam is well in the morning. Thats so stressful to have to worry about him taking a sudden turn for the worse like that. I have enough trouble trying to get Kira to eat so if she had that problem I just can't imagine the constant worry I would have. Could you freeze the liquid like a popsicle? Or freeze it and then make a shaved ice type slushy? Or perhaps put it in a fast food cup with a straw and he might think its a forbidden treat. You're right though, there is no way to force a toddler to eat or drink. Update us on how he is in the morning I don't have much advice on what to do about the birth center. Do they just say these things so you don't get completely disappointed if there is no space, or is it really that crowded?

Shiv, is there anyway Sophia could start her afternoon nap earlier in the day? Does she like to sit and watch tv? At 10am I always play Kira's favorite tv show to force her to recharge because she gets sooo cranky at 10am since I think she still could benefit from a morning nap. So instead of a morning nap she gets a tv rest. So perhaps Sophia could have an afternoon tv rest instead

jelr, it does sound like its too soon to potty train. When the time is right it'll be much easier I think. Fingers crossed your mid month depression is not as bad this month.

Luckily Kira doesn't make me do Kitty things while I'm meow meow mommy I do have to talk differently, so I might say "meow meow mommy is so hungry meow meow" And she'll keep checking to make sure I'm still wearing it and will make me put it back on if I have it off! But, Kira will listen to meow meow mommy more than regular mommy, so Shiv, you might want to try it with Sophia if she has another cranky day tomorrow We also play with hand puppets and Kira will treat my hand puppet character like a new friend and show off all her toys. It's so adorable, but DH thinks I'm crazy But he has no right since he was the one who created the Bad Bunny split personality for Kira!

I'm going to test again on Friday and see what I get. I had another one of those dizzy spells again today, but besides that and the nips I feel nothing else. It's hard not to get my hopes up each month... I swear that I won't get excited but I always do.

 

[Shiv]

eek MJ- how is Adam this morning? I hope he is better or that you can get him to drink the special drink. With Sophia if I put any drink in one of our glasses then she wants to drink it as she thinks it is special!

Gotta go as have a playdate that I am late for, will reply to everyone else later x