Official October Team Bumpkins

[Chaos]

My belly button has gone all weird; like inflamed & red at the top, but not really sore or anything; just looks rank is all. Have put a pic on- do you think it could be getting infected, or is it the start of a whopping stretch mark or something???

I don't think it's infected, I think that belly stone is too short for the tunnel and its stretching it. From the picture it does not look like there's much wiggle room. If I were you I'd pop to argos and get one of their plastic pregnancy bars, they are made from soft plastic, are flexible and longer to accommodate the growing tunnel.

I get that red scarred like spot at the top of mine when the top ball has been pressing in against the skin. This is the one I got, it cost me 4 quid when I was back in England in April.

https://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i260/ChaoticOtter/Forum%20uploads/36WeeksFront-1.jpg

You'll see there's a bit of room at the top and bottom. I tried to put my other one in (which is like yours at the moment) the other day just out of curiosity and the bar would not even reach the top of the tunnel to put the ball on.

 

[Chaos]

Taylorsmummy, speak to eon I wouldn't have prepaids they are usually more costly. If you haven't had a bill request one and ask about payment terms as they should of been billing you. Make sure they have the correct readings too. With many energy companies if you get a DD and go paperless and have both supplies with them you can get good discounts.

I know they charge at a higher rate, but sometimes I think they make you take note more of your power consumption and make you turn off the lights etc to save pennies.

TaylorsMum, if you hadn't had a bill since Feb, why didn't you call them to see what was going on? You normally get monthly bills from the power companies.....

 

[Kte]

florabean - is it where your bar is? It does look sore, hope it doen't get any worse.

Congrats on the milestone bump Mumof4!

 

[colsy]

i am so STRESSED! had the en bloke round this morning demanding 900 off us, for gas and electric! i havent recived one bill from them since living here [feb 09]. So made dp talk to him about it and were having prepaid things put in.

Nine hundred quid on fuel bills since February?!

 

[Kte]

i am so STRESSED! had the en bloke round this morning demanding 900 off us, for gas and electric! i havent recived one bill from them since living here [feb 09]. So made dp talk to him about it and were having prepaid things put in.

Nine hundred quid on fuel bills since February?!

I pay a DD of 114 a month duel fuel with them so Feb - Aug comes short at just under 800!

OH is sulking as the nicely cleaned cat litter tray has been used - by the cats ?!? We are trying to get the youngest to go outside but she is taking forever! He hates cleaning up the mess and sometimes, although he tries his best, makes it worse! I just wish I could do it so there was no fuss, obviously it's not a good idea. What will he do when its nappy time

 

[Chaos]

Kte ~ haha, my husband scoops the litter tray here when he gets home from work, as soon as he does, both cats, with out fail, get in and take a nice big dump, they sit there watching him waiting for him to finish hahah. Drives him NUTS.

 

[colsy]

I pay a DD of 114 a month duel fuel with them so Feb - Aug comes short at just under 800!

Dunno what you're all using your elec and gas for, but our combined fuel bill is about 800 quid *a year*. (It was about the same in our last house as well.)

 

[Kte]

Kte ~ haha, my husband scoops the litter tray here when he gets home from work, as soon as he does, both cats, with out fail, get in and take a nice big dump, they sit there watching him waiting for him to finish hahah. Drives him NUTS.

LOL. He seriously would be in a foul mood if they did that to him!! Cats eh!

 

[colsy]

I just wish I could do it so there was no fuss, obviously it's not a good idea. What will he do when its nappy time

This reminded me of my friend's brother. He and his wife had their first baby at Xmas just gone - and you know how many nappies he's changed so far? Not one! I don't get it - why can he assume that his wife will just do it? I don't suppose she just assumes that he'll feed the baby or bath her or cook her tea, or whatever. I've got really annoyed just thinking about it now

 

[Kte]

Dunno what you're all using your elec and gas for, but our combined fuel bill is about 800 quid *a year*. (It was about the same in our last house as well.)

Hmmmm, something to check!

What kind of house is it / were they? Just wondering if it's to do with mine being an old terraced house and crap and retaining heat? (Something we are slowly working on!)

The DD is an average too, so we shouldn't be using that much during 'Summer' but it will cover some of the extra we use in Winter.

Will still be investigating it tho!

I just wish I could do it so there was no fuss, obviously it's not a good idea. What will he do when its nappy time

This reminded me of my friend's brother. He and his wife had their first baby at Xmas just gone - and you know how many nappies he's changed so far? Not one! I don't get it - why can he assume that his wife will just do it? I don't suppose she just assumes that he'll feed the baby or bath her or cook her tea, or whatever. I've got really annoyed just thinking about it now

There is no way OH will get away with that!! He will make a fuss, gipping etc, but tough! I can't believe your friends brother hasn't changed one!! That is crazy!!

 

[colsy]

What kind of house is it / were they? Just wondering if it's to do with mine being an old terraced house and crap and retaining heat? (Something we are slowly working on!)

Last house was a Victorian terrace with high ceilings and draughty, uncarpeted floorboards (out of choice). Now we're in a large stone cottage - the ceilings are lower, but the floorboards (no carpets, again out of choice) are draught-tastic and we have two draughty fireplaces. Plus I do LOADS of cooking (on gas). AND we both work from home, so we have heating on all day in the winter.

However, what we do is have the thermostat set to about 18 or 19 degrees C 24 hours a day during the winter months, so in theory the temp of the house never drops below this and we don't waste energy warming it up and then letting it cool down.

We have a very efficient combi boiler so all our hot water is on demand and we don't waste energy heating up water that we then don't use.

All our appliances are as high-rated for efficiency as it's possible to get.

We don't leave stuff on standby.

We have a tiny little telly that uses a fraction of the energy that a plasma screen uses.

All really basic stuff, but clearly it makes a difference.

 

[Kte]

What kind of house is it / were they? Just wondering if it's to do with mine being an old terraced house and crap and retaining heat? (Something we are slowly working on!)

Last house was a Victorian terrace with high ceilings and draughty, uncarpeted floorboards (out of choice). Now we're in a large stone cottage - the ceilings are lower, but the floorboards (no carpets, again out of choice) are draught-tastic and we have two draughty fireplaces. Plus I do LOADS of cooking (on gas). AND we both work from home, so we have heating on all day in the winter.

However, what we do is have the thermostat set to about 18 or 19 degrees C 24 hours a day during the winter months, so in theory the temp of the house never drops below this and we don't waste energy warming it up and then letting it cool down.

We have a very efficient combi boiler so all our hot water is on demand and we don't waste energy heating up water that we then don't use.

All our appliances are as high-rated for efficiency as it's possible to get.

We don't leave stuff on standby.

We have a tiny little telly that uses a fraction of the energy that a plasma screen uses.

All really basic stuff, but clearly it makes a difference.

Thanks.

Hmmm... I don't know where I am going wrong then!

It has high ceilings, house the roof badly needs replacing and insulating but we are hoping to do a loft conversion so saving all the money to do it all at the same time.

The cellar lets the draft in from underneath, even with carpets and underlining but that is currently been converted into a computer / utility room so will have new plaster and carpets fitted which will help.

OH set heating at 20 degrees C yesterday, so that can be lowered a little.

We had a very efficient combi boiler installed last year too so all our hot water is on demand also meaning we don't waste energy heating up water that we then don't use too.

The TV is OH's from early 90's - black box thing, no plasma!!

Cooker is electric and hob is gas and we have a gas kettle to boil for drinks but if yousay you cook all the time with gas then surely my kettle shouldn't make more of a difference.

Some things are on standby but not if I can get away with it. I like to switch things off as I have a phobia the house will burn down when I am asleep if I leave things on.

All the new appliences are high-rated for efficiency as it's possible to get too.

The main difference with us last year was that the heating was on a timer. I didn't want to leave the heating on whilst we were both out but since I will be in most of the time this winter I can see if that makes a difference.

I will try and adjust a few things and check out the energy providers too

 

[xTaylorsMummy]

tbh i think it was the landlords fault. The meter has been read by the bloke and he said it was charged wrong so obv had a higher reading in feb. The landlord sorted out the bills without confirming with me, saying we will pay every 3months. Where as i would much prefer monthly. I just want to get it sorted once dexter is here, its stressing us out too much. iv worked out we come out with just under 800 a month with what i get and dp gets =[. I HATE being on benfits, dp lost his job in feb and no luck what so ever finding a job. Hes phoning up jobs as i type lol.

 

[colsy]

It has high ceilings, house the roof badly needs replacing and insulating but we are hoping to do a loft conversion so saving all the money to do it all at the same time.

It may well be your lack of insulation, then. I did forget to mention that we have super-thick insulation (a mix of lamb's wool and the stuff made from recycled bottles sold in B&Q) in our cottage - something like double the recommended minimum. Plus we had the cottage entirely re-roofed last winter ... got to the point where we were spending more money patching up leaks than we would if we just bit the bullet and did the whole thing.

Have you tried one of those electricity monitor things? I think they're called Owls or something. We haven't got one, but I was watching my friend's and it's amazing how it reveals "hidden" things that you forgot were switched on.

 

[Kte]

It may well be your lack of insulation, then. I did forget to mention that we have super-thick insulation (a mix of lamb's wool and the stuff made from recycled bottles sold in B&Q) in our cottage - something like double the recommended minimum. Plus we had the cottage entirely re-roofed last winter ... got to the point where we were spending more money patching up leaks than we would if we just bit the bullet and did the whole thing.

Have you tried one of those electricity monitor things? I think they're called Owls or something. We haven't got one, but I was watching my friend's and it's amazing how it reveals "hidden" things that you forgot were switched on.

Could be that as the roof it in a bad state (has plastic bags plugging some holes ) We just don't see the point patching like you say, plus the old roof stone is just crumbling so it wouldn't support a quick fix iykwim.

I haven't heard of an Owls thing - google here I come! Thank you

 

[florabean1981]

My belly button has gone all weird; like inflamed & red at the top, but not really sore or anything; just looks rank is all. Have put a pic on- do you think it could be getting infected, or is it the start of a whopping stretch mark or something???

I don't think it's infected, I think that belly stone is too short for the tunnel and its stretching it. From the picture it does not look like there's much wiggle room. If I were you I'd pop to argos and get one of their plastic pregnancy bars, they are made from soft plastic, are flexible and longer to accommodate the growing tunnel.

I get that red scarred like spot at the top of mine when the top ball has been pressing in against the skin. This is the one I got, it cost me 4 quid when I was back in England in April.

https://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i260/ChaoticOtter/Forum%20uploads/36WeeksFront-1.jpg

You'll see there's a bit of room at the top and bottom. I tried to put my other one in (which is like yours at the moment) the other day just out of curiosity and the bar would not even reach the top of the tunnel to put the ball on.

Have just got the argos bioflex thingy. It was only £3.49p! But even though it's the longest one they do, there's still not much 'wiggle' room as you put it, lol. Might go into town on monday & check out the piercing palours & see if they have anything- I just dont wanna take it out & let it close up, iykwim?

 

[florabean1981]

Wow, good energy saving tips there Colsy!

We spend about £50 per quarter on our gas & about £90 per quarter on our electric bills. I have a combi boiler too, so hot water is on demand & have the heating at a set temp of 19*C during the winter months- I turned the heating off completely back in June & dont plan to turn it back on again until the baby is here. I also got out of the habit of leaving things on standby & bought an energy efficient kettle & I now always make sure the any plugs not actually in use are either unplugged or switched off at the plug so I dont waste energy. (my phone charger was the main culprit in that one, lol)


Taylorsmummy: double check your meter reading & make sure you tell them exactly WHEN you moved in, how big the house/flat is etc. You should also make sure you're signed up for your yearly boiler servicing (it's free) as it's a legal requirement & can lower your bills because it makes sure everything is working at the right temps, right pressure etc. The cheapest way to pay is monthly direct debits based on actual meter readings NOT estimated ones, meaning you should really call & give them reading every 4-6 weeks to make sure you're paying the right amounts...
If you really do owe £900 squidlies, then ask them for a payment plan- they would rather you paid something each week/month than nothing at all, so they're usually pretty good.
My sister got into debt with her bills & now pays her gas, elec & water each at £10 a week to try to keep on top on things & it works for her because it allows her to properly budget, which considering she's a single mum of 2 under 5's, is especially important! lol.
Hope you manage to get it sorted soon.
I just paid my gas, electric, water, council tax & rent... £861 later, I am almost broke & it's only the start of the month!!!! Thankgod there's only my mobile bill to come out next week & food shopping for the month too, otherwise I'd be bricking it, haha!

 

[cloud9mummy]

I hope you get the heating bill sorted out taylorsmummy

Kte - thanks for crossing your fingers for me! Luckily all the Glucose Tolerance Test / full blood count / TORCH test results came back clear.

We had another scan yesterday and we were both feeling very anxious about what new issues there would be to worry about! Luckily Kai's ribs appear to have grown as before the heart was taking up over 1/2 of his chest cavity which was why the consultant was worried there wouldn't be space for his lungs but now it's back to the standard 1/3! I asked him about whether it looked like Kai would need help with breathing when born and he said he didn't know but should be fine.

Have to go in for an internal examination in 2 weeks *gulp*! this is to help the consultant decide whether to book me in for an elective caesarian or not! Been told we will see paediatrician then too.

 

[florabean1981]

Cloud9mummy: glad things with Kai's ribcage are better. You must be very relieved. Let's hope he continues to grow well & everything will be fine.

 

[harmonybunny]

Baby.love: The pic looks great! I really like the second one .

Florabean: Hmmm, it does look sore. I took my belly bar out a few weks ago and the top hole has gone a weird red colour too. It doesn't hurt but looks kinda off coloured like it's gonna turn into a stretch mark but hasn't. I really hope it doesn't lol!

Well folks i'm officially 33 weeks today! Only 7 weeks to go, yikes! The fear has well and truly settled in but i'm also excited to meet the little one too . I really feel like i've expanded tenfold in the last week or so. The gain seems so rapid it's unreal. Just when you think you can't possibly expand anymore...kaboom! I really doubt i've hit the worst of it either!