Due February 2016

My bump pic




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Good Morning

BabyT, I'll try to post a bump pic tonight or tomorrow morning - I must say that I am feeling HUGE and Benjamin keeps moving in below my ribs which can get quite uncomfortable. I get winded walking from my office to my car and have to move my bump around a bit when I sit down so I can breathe normally

I will be on leave for 2.5 weeks before my maternity leave starts for 5 months. I cannot believe that your company won't let you go on maternity leave until mid February. I realised just the other day that I would have REALLY not enjoyed working up to the week before my due date - with already having trouble sleeping and and just getting comfortable in general.

I must admit that I am quite jealous when I hear someone say they are going to the sea now. I also want to play in the cool waves and walk on the beach with my daughter. LoL

Bumblebee, your pics are BEAUTIFUL! We were going to go for a 4D next week but I've had to cancel as we have other engagements for that day.
Please let us know how your appointment with the doc goes today. Hope all goes well and that he does not try to bully you into (or out of) anything regarding your birth plan.
I must say that if I were able to go the natural way I would also ask for the pain relief...

Oh.. with my daughter I really worried about breastfeeding as I had heard such horror stories about the pain you go through and how difficult it can be. Well.. It was really not as scary as people had me believe. We bonded immediately and I had no trouble with breastfeeding. The only thing I had trouble with was when a new nurse came on duty the next morning and decided that she should help me and tried to force my breast into baby's mouth. That was horrible and I quickly told her that we're fine and she could stop. She hurt me quite bad and I'm really not comfortable with someone touching me like that.

Anyhow.. my point is... Don't let people scare you and though it's great to listen to advice, at least try things your own way and see what works for you. If someone does something that hurts you or makes you uncomfortable speak up - it's still your body. The BEST nipple cream in my opinion is HPA Lanolin from Lansinoh. It is expensive but really did the trick for me. (at Dischem R75 for 10ml or R182 for 40ml) I got about 3 tubes with my preg-omega during my pregnancy so yay!

I hope all of this makes sense... I'm having a crazy morning

Have a lovely day!

@JLK & BumbleBee - Such cute pics of baby. They are all growing so nicely. Cant believe how fast time is flying by now, we're almost down to single digit weeks remaining

We have our 4D Scan on Saturday - really looking forward to that! We also have our maternity shoot this Saturday, and our baby shower this Sunday. Lol - so much is happening this weekend, but really looking forward to it all.

Thanks for the link BumbleBee.

My company is forcing me to take all my annual leave & a few days unpaid leave 2 weeks before my EDD, but my official maternity leave is only starting 1 March. In all I think its going to be a rough couple of months until we get some monies back from UIF.

But on another note our antenatal classes were so much fun. I think it was an eye opener for DH - he didn't know half of the stuff that they discussed. He particularly enjoyed the session on breastfeeding..lol

@BumbleBee - I really hope your doctor doesn't bully you into anything you don't want to do. Unless there are medical reasons of course

Hahahaha, BumbleBee - I must admit that I had a little laugh at the way you describe your conviction to use pain relief during labour

I just think that you are already doing such a great thing in trying to go the natural way, that its okay to use some assistance in the form of drugs - I know that is what I keep telling myself! In our antenatal classes they discussed the different options and the effects that it has on baby, so that convinced me that I will definitely not be taking pethidine as a form of pain relief as it apparently makes baby floppy straight after birth. So I am leaning more towards an epidural, if things get a bit out of hand, that will get reduced the closer we get to the pushing stage... But that might still change as I am also not really one for extreme pain... But one thing I know for sure - If my mom survived child birth I sure as hell will as well.

I can absolutely not wait for our 4D scan that that will be done next week at exactly 31weeks - hope we get a good look at those chubby cheeks

Both the mommies pictures are soooooo cute!

Seems like we will be having a competition on who's baby will be the biggest....

Hello everyone! Hope you're all doing well and just quiet because you're trapped in the year-end madness like myself

@STK, you'd think it would be a no-brainer for companies to provide a private and hygienic spot to express - I know our company previously allowed mom's to use the storeroom and with 6 new moms in the company in the new year they will have to make a plan fast. Unfortunately it's not a requirement by law yet - as far as I understand. Found this interesting Q&A in case anyone is interested - regsdienste.solidariteit.co.za/regsvrae/...ding-breaks-at-work/

@BabyT, I know at some hospitals the lactation consultant makes a visit to each new mom. Must say the book has been very informative so far! It has however guilt tripped me a little in my choice to have medicated pain relief - I have a very low pain threshold and this is sure as sh!t not happening without some drugs! If I struggle with breastfeeding I'll prob join a La Leche League group

@JLK, our baby girl is also quite big! We went for a 3D/4D scan over the weekend as we haven't had a clear pic of her since 20 weeks, and the sonographer said she's still 1 week ahead in her growth as per the doc's estimate 4 weeks ago. At 29 weeks she weighs about 1.5kg and her feet are also 6cm By their guesstimate she'll be about 3.4kg at birth which is apparently a good weight, especially since I want to try natural - bigger babies are apparently easier to push out than small - more for your muscles to push down on.

We were hoping to get really good pics of her for her book, but she was very shy and kept hiding her face behind her hands, feet and cord - all 3 at once! Since 20w she's been head down the whole time, hope it stays that way.

Seeing our doc for our 30w scan tomorrow and need to discuss my birth and pain relief options with him. I'm honestly worried that he's going to bully me - he can be quite opinionated - and that I might need to change docs so late in the game...

Wow JLK, 1.8kg is quite impressive!!! But you forgot to add a pic of your baby bump

Awh cute 6.6 cm feet Can't wait to go to the doctor again next week!!!

How long are you on leave for before the maternity leave kicks in?

I was told in no uncertain terms that I can not go on maternity leave before the second week of Feb, as there is just to much work and the lady that I still need to train on certain tasks only comes back from her maternity leave on 1 Feb.... Nice hey.... Really very accommodating Already received a list of stuff that needs to be completed by our year end (which is long after my maternity leave finally starts!)

Everyone seems to be in the holiday spirit, just wish I could spend Christmas by the sea this year - but we will have to make a plan sometime next year to introduce baby to the ocean

I must honestly say that I think I am suffering from pregnancy insomnia! I only sleep from 22:00 - 02:00 and then I easily lay away until about 05:00, when obviously I want to sleep again but then I have to get up to go to work - I am soooooo tired Zzzzzz most of the days, but I guess its the bodies way of prepping up for the graveyard shift once baby arrives....

Hi Ladies,

How's everyone doing? It's been quiet here for the last few days...

At this stage I am counting the days until my annual leave starts - only 6 more work days
I'm going on maternity leave as my annual leave ends so I have quite a lot of work to keep me busy and these last days will hopefully fly by.
I've not been getting much sleep so I'm really tired and have to drag myself out of bed each morning. These warm nights don't help my sleep much and I've got this horrible pain in my left lower back that feels like bone clipping bone when I turn in bed - I MUST remember to discuss this with my doc at the next visit as I forgot to ask about it last week.

At our last appointment Benjamin weighed 1.8kg. He is a big baby and is making his presence known He is healthy and my doc specifically checked the cord - it is not wrapped around his neck, only lying in front of is neck and chest. He weighs more then my daughter did at that same stage and his measurements are also quite big - her feet were about 6cm at birth and his are already 6.6cm at 30 weeks I'll attach a few pics from the scan.

My sister has arranged a baby shower that will take place this weekend. I'm looking forward to celebrating this baby! I just hope my husband manages to finish painting both kids' bedrooms by then so I can start fixing up his room as soon as I am on leave. He promised to finish my daughter's room today

@Stormy, have you been for your anomaly scan? How did it go? I'm praying for you and your little one.

I truly hope that you are all doing well.