gurgle.com blog

Last night as I was loading and unloading the washing machine (in my oh-so-glamorous life) I put the wet clothes into a pile on the floor. The Bean was stood next to me and the next thing I noticed was that she was picking each item up and shaking it out before loading it into the tumble drier. I watched her, secretly proud at my domestic little toddler who was clearly relishing helping mummy out. It was certainly nice to get some help especially as my pregnant belly is starting to make being flexible impossible. I'm wondering whether she can come into work and help with some admin!

I thought needing the toilet all the time was something that happened in the first and last trimester, but since my baby is breech at the moment and all it's kicks seem to be focused on my bladder I find it really difficult to go anywhere without needing a wee. My walk to and from the tube in the morning is tricky and lunchtimes are generally spent searching for 'nice' public toilets! Being the editor of a baby and parenting website, it is probably beneficial for me to suffer from every pregnancy ailment going so that I can at least write about them and believe me - i've had many! (morning sickness, extreme tiredness, cramps and suspected gestational diabetes to name a few!)

Today on gurgle you may notice the homepage looking different and it's hopefully easier to use. We've added a new gallery called Newborn so you can upload all your new arrivals and share them with gurgle. Today is the last day for our baby of the month competition, but don't worry, you'll get a chance to enter your monsters and angels into February's competition starting tomorrow!

As you may have read, I am around six months pregnant with my second child. I do know the sex, but i'm not going to reveal anything for fear that my relatives read this blog! So, we have started thinking about names. I actually found The Bean's name in a baby names book I got for Christmas so perhaps I should have another flip through. It's really hard the second time around because you have to choose a name that sounds good with your first child's name. You also have to take relatives into account. The Bean is named Ivy after my Great-Grandmother, does this mean I should search through the family tree this time around to find a suitable name? Will I have to look into my husband's family tree so that I even things out? What I don't want is a 'cool' name. Where I live there seem to be far too many Jasper's and Casper's and I can already feel myself slipping down the traditional route... Luckily we have a fantastic babynamer on gurgle.com which can help me out - even if I want a geek name for my next child!

On gurgle today you'll see lots of new articles springing up including Dads and emotions, a feature for Dads-to-be to get their heads around the big event. The feature also contains advice for Dads on how to deal with labour and birth and importantly, caring for your baby after it is born. I was so scared of bathing The Bean after she was born my husband did it for three weeks until I was forced to do it when he returned to work. I was still convinced the whole time I would drop her in the water! See our video Bathing your newborn for some handy tips. Don't forget if you're pregnant and concerned about putting on weight you can use our pregnancy weight gain calculator to predict how much weight you are likely to put on during the next few months...Don't worry, most of your pregnancy weight is actually your baby, the placenta, the amniotic fluid, your increased body fluid including your blood and of course your breasts - all of which should disappear gradually after your baby is born!

I hadn't really taken The Bean swimming before, unless you count two weeks in Spain and another week in Menorca where she was afraid of the water so I didn't persevere. This time I had bought a maternity 'tankini' to wear at great expense so thought I should honor it by going swimming. Apart from having no baby or toddler changing facilities (this was a new leisure centre - you'd think they would have catered for infants) The Bean and I plodded into the crowded Saturday morning swimming pool for our swim. To my surprise The Bean absolutely loved swimming, not only did she splash and squeal with delight but by the end she was jumping off the side into my arms. I felt pretty proud of my brave little toddler and I also felt quite self-righteous as we returned home to find my hungover husband still sleeping on the couch in his pajamas! I certainly didn't let him forget how healthy The Bean and I were after our swim...See our article on swimming with your baby if you are planning a similar adventure! it's also a great way to keep fit in pregnancy whether you have a toddler in tow or not.

Today on gurgle.com lots of you have been adding your photos to our photo gallery. We've really enjoyed approving all the photos, but remember not to send us any of your baby in the bath, or without any clothes on because we will not publish them - no matter how innocent they look - sorry! We just want to protect out littlest members.

Also see our features on Big and small for dates, twinges during pregnancy, can I work out how my baby lies and our video positions for delivery if you have entered into your third trimester and need to put your feet up to have a read!

I'm feeling a bit let down by the NHS at the moment, having spent too much time in the antenatal clinic waiting for an appointment. I know it is because I suffered from pre eclampsia with my first pregnancy, so this time I have to be checked by an Obstetrician and have a different assortment of scans. My appointment was at 9.15 and I didn't leave till 1. Most of that time I was sat waiting in a room full of grumpy pregnant women, where there weren't enough chairs for everyone to sit down and all the dads were having to stand outside. Half the appointments had been messed up and it was utter chaos. The system they are using in the clinic must be from the 1950's - everything is handwritten and you can literally see people's results and blood tests etc getting lost in front of you! Enough of my gripping, I did finally get scanned and saw the obstetrician and my tiny baby is fine and doing well. No signs of pre eclampsia yet so fingers crossed....

If you are confused about antenatal appointments why not read our features on how many antenatal appointments will I have, Ultrasound scans, and concerns between antenatal appointments. Don't forget to read our new feature today on Childbirth tips for anyone nearing their due date. These real-life accounts can help you feel more prepared for birth and labour...
If you want to share my gripping about antenatal appointments why not visit our Chat Forum for a discussion.

Unfortunately I am not one of those pregnant women who wears a 'baby on board' badge, nor am I the kind of person who would ask someone to give up their seat for me (too chicken). Travelling home on the tube last night during rush hour when two trains had already become defective was hard work. After I had waited for three trains to come and go I decided i'd have to get on a crowded tube or The Bean was going to miss out on 'Owl Babies' before bed. Once i'd squashed on, I stood knowing that people were doing everything in their power to avoid looking me in the eye or worse still, looking at my bump. Now, I am only five months pregnant and my bump is small, but boy I poked it out last night - to no avail. Everyone seemed very interested in the paper or the tube map instead.  Worse still, when I was one stop away from home, a man said, 'I'm getting off at the next stop so you can have my seat', cheers - that meant he'd noticed my pregnancy and failed to act until he was getting off anyway! My suggestion is to let commuters travel with two sugar bags down their trousers and sand in their shoes and see how desperate they are for a seat...

Grouching over, today at gurgle you'll see new features popping up such as avoiding recurrent miscarriage and top tips for pregnant travellers. Don't forget to add your photos to our baby galleries where you can win all sorts of prizes and enter our competition to win an Early learning Centre toddle truck.
If you are struggling with sleep and your baby, why not watch our video on Bedtime Routines for your baby.

The main change in my life (apart from sleepless nights and never having a lie-in) after having a baby, is that I no longer 'socialise' as much with my husband. We used to do practically everything together, enjoy meals out and go for impromptu drinks all the time. Now we have a toddler, it is either one or the other (mostly him) going out whilst the other stays in to babysit The Bean. Of course now that I am five months pregnant again, going out has somewhat lost its appeal, with the lack of alcohol and tiredness that hits me at around 9pm! It was still a shock when I realised how different our life 'together' was compared to before we had children. At least we try to have one night out a week, where we don't talk about babies (this is harder than actually planning a night out) and we visit some of the pre-baby restaurants we used to love. I'd advise any new parents to try to get into the habit of going out once in a while, even if it's to sit together and share a bag of chips - just so you can rekindle some of your 'together time' again. See our articles on Making time for one another, the impact of a new baby on your relationship and Dads and emotions for more help.

It's birthday season for all of The Bean's little friends soon so i've been searching frantically for some 'different' presents. I know what it's like getting six of the same toy so I want to find something original. I stumbled across a great website called babyfish - www.babyfish.co.uk that specialises in customizing baby and toddler items, making great presents. I love the little aprons for boys and girls which have your toddler's name across them. Great for play dough sessions, water and sand pit adventures and cooking birthday cakes! Click here for more details.

Today on gurgle we've been adding new features so don't forget to read up on 'How do I get pregnant' for all of you who feel daunted with the task of working out when you ovulate and baby-making. We've also added an article on Coping with early pregnancy for those of you who are feeling bogged down with morning sickness, tiredness and for those who feel less than blooming!

I love the way toddlers who are learning to talk can give you real insight into how their minds work. The Bean is talking all the time now, but obviously at 20 months she's still learning about how to use words. 'Toast' for example is 'honey toast' and she obsessively repeats the phrase 'wannacupoftea' (wonder where she got this from?) My favourite is when she cut her finger and came running to show me and said, 'happened', which must be a response to adults saying, 'What happened?'.
I find it absolutely fascinating to see her constructing a language and trying her hardest to get her point across! Scarily she uses phrases I use such as 'night night sweetheart' which she says back to me and of course the dreaded 'NO'!
If you have a baby or toddler who is starting to form words or trying to speak, watch our gurgle.com video on helping your baby to talk, to gain insight into helping your child learn to talk.

As some of you may know I am currently 22 weeks pregnant. This means that from around April onwards I am going on maternity leave. We are currently looking for a site editor/manager to fill in as my maternity replacement so all budding baby journalists please send any CVs to nifa@gurgle.com if you think you might be interested in the position.

I also wanted to remind you all that you have the chance to win a prize when you upload your photos to any of our new photo galleries - not just baby of the month. Today's new gallery is Baby bumps so please share all your growing bellies with the gurgle community... Can I also remind any of you using our chat forum to avoid using personal information such as where you live, postcodes and your real names for privacy reasons! Thanks

Working mums hate Mondays. It's because they've spent a whole weekend with their little ones and have reluctantly handed them over to a nanny or childminder this morning. Slightly disheartening is that The Bean goes to her nanny Lula so easily in the mornings and sometimes doesn't even have time to give her poor old working mum a kiss goodbye! I struggled with Separation anxiety with her when she was about 7 months old and longed for the days when she would be less clingy to me. Now I long for the clingy moments back.... I suppose it's the start of your children getting older and getting used to you not being around. I thought it would happen in The Bean's teenage years, not at 20 months! I left her happily playing with her Early Learning Centre coins and notes, thinking about how she is bound to be a future banker!

Some of you have commented on the new layout of gurgle.com and the look of the Chat forums and Questions and Answers area. We changed the layout due to popular demand and also to keep it inline with other chat forums you might be using. From now on, if you have a query about teething for example, you can look at any of the chat threads about teething to see if they are relevant to you.

The thing that no one warns you about before having a baby, is that you'll never have a weekend where no-one 'drops in' again. This weekend I have visits from both sets of Grandparents and aunties and uncles, all obviously to see The Bean. Whilst I love to see my family, my weekends are sacred because i'm a working mum. Sometimes I long to hole up at home, see no one but my husband and The Bean and not have to make anyone lunch, or be polite. (Or tidy up - let me live in squalor!) Luckily i'm blessed with lovely in-laws, but since we started a Mother In-Laws Group and Chat forum on gurgle.com, it has become increasingly obvious that lots of you have problems in the in-law department. Why not print out and leave lying around our feature on Grandparents and new babies, which contains handy hints such as 'Don't just call over to the new parent's house unannounced, thinking you are helping them out - you aren't!'

Other features to keep you eye on today are Avoiding miscarriage and teenage pregnancy. If you're in the process of trying for a baby, don't forget to let our ovulation calculator help you out each month by predicting which days you are most fertile on...

Loads of you have been busy uploading the cutest baby pictures into our baby of the month gallery, but don't forget the winner will be chosen from all the categories so keep sharing your pics. We love seeing your little monsters...

It's pretty bad feeling ill (more so if you are male) but it's awful feeling ill and being pregnant. For a start you can't dose yourself up with lots of flu and cold medicine as Paracetamol is the only one you're allowed. Also, after weeks of morning sickness, pregnancy tiredness, tender breast complaints and cramp in the middle of the night, my husband seems less sympathetic to my flu sniffles and sneezes. Perhaps it's because this is my second pregnancy and I am now a hardy veteran of pregnancy? The good thing was I curled up on the sofa, watched 'The house of tiny tearaways' and thanked my lucky stars that The bean is relatively good! She (being female) understood that mummy wasn't well and was happy to watch 'In the night garden' instead of wanting me to read her 'Fairies' over and over again.

You may have noticed that gurgle.com is going through a transformation at the moment. Chat and Questions and Answers have changed how they look and are set out, so once you get the hang of them, we hope you'll find them easier to use. We have also added a baby photo gallery, where you can upload your best baby pics to share with gurgle. Each month we'll pick the best picture from any of the galleries and the winner will win a prize. We also have a new competition page where we'll have loads of fantastic prizes to give away. This month you can win an ELC toddle truck so good luck...

Just want to remind any of you who are heading off on maternity leave soon to email me with details of your new email address if you have to change it. This means you'll still get your weekly newsletters and can keep up with all your gurgle friends. Email me on nifa@gurgle.com with any queries...

Hello and sorry (Wed – 6-7pm GMT)
We’ve been having teething problems with the new look site since yesterday so rather than grin and bear it – we’re taking the site down for half an hour to introduce some fixes that we hope will make gurgle quicker, cleverer and prettier than ever. From tomorrow we’ll have competitions and baby galleries on the site so do come back and take a look.
Thanks
 
The gurgle team




The Bean has started to enter into a 'naughty' phase. Typical naughty behaviour includes flipping her breakfast cereal upside down (milk & cereal all over mummy) and pushing objects and people away from her, whilst performing a loud, screeching 'NO'. It's time to set some rules for Beanie so the Nanny, the Husband and I have devised a cunning plan. We all huddle in the corner and look as if we are having lots of fun whilst Beanie watches, anxious to join in. When she tries too,  we say, 'we're afraid this fun corner is for people who are good boys and girls and don't throw food or screech...' After a wobbly lip and sad moon eyes, the Bean admits she's sorry and is allowed to join in the fun. The problem is, when I can't work out something complicated I feel like throwing something like a banana or my mobile phone at the wall and letting out a loud screeching 'No'....

For those of you who are eager to get some more sleep (especially now Christmas is over) why not see our video on Establishing a bedtime routine and our features on Routines , Toddlers and sleep, sleep and breastfeeding and Creating a safe sleep environment for your baby. We're as anxious for you to get some more Zzzzz in too.

Don't ask me why I decided to start potty training The Bean five minutes before I left for work this morning. I think it was my excitement at having bought her a potty and eagerness that she masters it in a day!! For a start she wouldn't go anywhere near the potty, let alone sit on it so can tell I have a bit further to go in my training (mine and hers). The result was a little accident on the kitchen floor, (My husband wasn't too pleased as the floor is brand new) and it also resulted in me having to change my clothes. So, by that time, i'm already late for work, it's pouring with rain (and a Monday) and my nanny helpfully tells me that I should probably start potty training at the weekend, better still, in the summer when The Bean is wearing less clothes. Thanks for the advice. i'll be reading my 'New Toddler Taming' book on the way home tonight. If you too share my fear at having to potty train, why not see our video Potty Training, or read our feature Potty training basics before you start...

As you may or may not know, (possibly if you are in the May 2008 birth club you may know already) I am five months pregnant with my second child. I have survived morning sickness and tube travel and also pregnancy tiredness and being a working mum with a toddler. Luckily the second trimester seems to be going ok so far and 'Thumper' is kicking me at every opportunity. For those of you contemplating a second pregnancy - yes that lovely kicking feeling is just as special as the first time around!

You may notice some serious changes happening to gurgle.com at the moment and you'll have to bear with us for a while whilst we iron out the creases and hope you get used to the new look. Chat and Questions and Answers look different and should be easier to use. We have also added some fantastic new pages that should be with you tomorrow, so keep checking to see what's new...